#i mean i am scared that i might be recorded or whatever but i don’t think that’s going to happen so i don’t really care about that

[jjkamochoso]

Nobody Got You the Way I Do

Angst, Fluff

Soshiro Hoshina x gn!reader

No matter what problems you run into, big or small, you and Soshiro are always there for each other :)

Inspired by the Kaiju No. 8 outro song “Nobody” by One Republic

Warnings: light cussing, violence, mentions of blood, dead bodies, and people getting eaten by a kaiju

It's a bit of a long one so buckle up and enjoy! <3

[I'd take the fall/I got you covered when there's no one at all]

“There’s one more report that someone failed to turn in last night. Does anyone here have an explanation? Officer L/n?”

Your heart sank in your chest as you desperately tried to keep the internal freak out you were having from showing externally. You had forgotten to finish the last report of the night—well actually, morning, since it was 5 am when you finally left the office. You had written 10 other reports in a record time yesterday, somehow being on the recieving end of the Operations team’s grunt work even though you were a seasoned officer. You wanted to grip Captain Ashiro by the shoulders and force her to get a good look at your sleep deprived face so she understood that your forgotten report was a complete accident, brought on not by carelessness but by exhaustion, and then you would gladly grovel and beg for forgiveness so you wouldn’t get written up for your mistake. Before you could even move a muscle, though, Soshiro spoke up in your defense.

“My apologies, Captain, I had Officer L/n occupied as they helped me recount the details needed for my own reports. By the time we were finished, it was daybreak and I released them from their duties. You’ll have their report by noon today.”

Captain Ashiro gave a curt nod of acknowledgment before moving on to the next topic. When her back was turned toward you, you mouthed a thank you to Soshiro, who, in turn, shot you a wide smile.

[Oh, yeah, and I'd stay through the night/When you got demons tryna break through the walls]

You yawned, putting your feet in the slippers by your bed as you got up in search for a late night snack. You were having trouble sleeping and you figured a little walk and some food might help you relax. You padded through the quiet, dim hallways of the Defense Force base, your muscle memory taking you straight to the dining area without giving it a second thought. To your surprise, there was somebody already in there. You recognized the figure as your close friend Soshiro, but his body language was unlike anything you’d seen from him before. He had his arms outstretched in front of him, his fingers gripping the sides of the communal kitchen sink like it was a buoy in the open ocean. His chin was hanging low against his chest and you tried to make your footsteps a little louder so you didn’t sneak up behind him and accidentally scare him while he was in such a fragile state. You debated just leaving him be and heading back to your room so as not to bother him, but it seemed like he really needed someone there for him and you’d be damned if you let a friend suffer for no reason.

“Soshiro? Are you… is everything alright in there?”

You called out as softly as you could, but you saw the way his shoulders tensed up at your voice and your heart broke a little. The seemingly unshakable man you admired was seriously hurting and you were determined to help him get through whatever it was.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks.”

He flashed you a grin and a thumbs up to prove he was alright but his shaky breaths and dark circles under his eyes were telling a whole different story. Both of you knew you weren’t going to fall for such a blatant lie—you were much too observant and knew him well enough to know something was wrong. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to keep trying to push you away, though.

“Are you sure? No offense, but you don’t look it.”

“Really, y/n, I’m okay. Go back to bed, every good soldier needs their rest.”

No matter how long he kept up this act of nonchalance, you wouldn’t believe it for a second. Whether he wanted to fess up an explanation for his distress or not was his choice, but you were content to just give him company for a little while so he wasn’t alone.

“I think an impromptu hangout session would do us both some good right now since neither of us can sleep. My room’s a mess so we’ll have to go to yours if that’s cool.”

Soshiro’s eyebrows raised in a playful manner. “You want to go to my room after hours? If anyone sees us… they might get the wrong idea. People talk, you know.”

“So?” you questioned, grabbing a bag of chips from the cabinet. “Let them. I just want to talk with a friend and if that bothers someone, I couldn’t care less.”

He was too exhausted to argue so he let you lead the way out of the common area. When you made it back to Soshiro’s room, you both sat on his bed and munched on the food you brought. You kept the conversation lighthearted for a while before diving into the whole reason why you were there with him as the moon shone outside his window.

“So, do you wanna talk about earlier?”

“I do, but… it’s silly. Juvenile.”

“Who’s to say? I certainly won’t judge you,” you told him.

A few seconds passed, silence washing over you.

“I had a nightmare. Another one. They’ve been nonstop all night.”

That explained his jumpy demeanor and tired gaze.

“I’m sorry that’s happening to you. You deserve a time where you can escape all the shitty things you deal with in real life. It’s not fair you’re haunted at night, too.”

Soshiro was quiet as he nibbled on a chip, lost in thought.

“It’s the same one over and over again,” he continued after a bit, “the nightmare. I train, I fight, I lose, people die. It’s an endless cycle of my failure.”

You leaned in a little closer, sitting up on one arm while you rested a hand on his shoulder. “You’re hard on yourself for no reason and that stress is probably what causes the bad dreams. You’ve been a wise vice captain and a fierce fighter, taking down every kaiju you’ve come in contact with. I know you can’t will the nightmares away but just know that they couldn’t be further from the truth. The division puts its trust in you for a reason.”

Soshiro met your eyes as you sent a small smile his way.

“I put my trust in you for a reason, too, as you trust in me,” you explained. “There’s no one else I’d rather have by my side during hard times and I hope I can be that person for you as well.”

You gave his shoulder a final squeeze and moved your hand back to the soft comforter. His hand was ready to dash out and find purchase on your own, as a sign of comfort or something deeper he wasn’t sure, but he hesitated. The call of your bare skin wasn’t his to answer; he didn’t deserve your softness. He didn’t deserve this kindness and selflessness you were showing him as you listened to his foolish woes without judgement. What made him special enough to think he ever had a chance at seeing your enchanting figure at this hour every night for the rest of his life? If you weren’t in the room, he would’ve scoffed out loud. He was delusional. He was overly tired and emotionally drained, that’s all. There was no way he’d find himself as head over heels for you in the morning. You two were just close friends, that’s all. That was enough for him, wasn’t it? Why did he feel the burning desire for something more?

[There ain't no, no kinda line/That I wouldn't cross if you need me to/You're out here searchin' for signs/So I think it's finally time that you knew]

“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, you know.”

“That’s kinda hardcore considering we’re talking about a bottle of water.”

“Way to ruin the moment, L/n.”

Soshiro handed you your drink and you gulped it down gratefully. Actually, now that you’d given it more thought, you hadn’t even asked him for the bottle in the first place. Rather, you had made an off handed comment that morning during breakfast about wanting to be more hydrated throughout the day and Soshiro must’ve taken on the responsibility of making that happen.

“While I very much appreciate this gesture, aren’t you supposed to be in training?”

“I wanted to see you instead,” he said, a playful glint in his eye. “Besides, we can’t have our best operations officer wither away from dehydration. I’d be too lonely without you.”

He jutted out his bottom lip, making you laugh as you went back to work.

“Whatcha working on?” he inquired, spinning around in a chair.

“Strategic planning and city evacuation plans.”

“How thrilling.”

“S’not so bad,” you murmured, deep in thought. “And actually I’m glad you’re here because you’re the perfect man for this question.”

“You could’ve stopped at ‘perfect man’ and I would’ve suggested to the brass you needed a raise,” Soshiro teased, instantaneously on his feet to peruse the papers you had sprawled on the table.

“You could’ve omitted everything in that sentence except for the part about the raise,” you shot back, Soshiro sticking his tongue out at you. When you got to talking about work, it was like a flip of a switch with Soshiro. He immediately turned from joking to serious, listening intently to your question and helping you find the most logical solution. As he pored over the map in front of him, you noticed he was standing close to you so you took the time to observe the finer details about your friend. His violet hair was hanging loosely and framing his face perfectly. His toned arms were on full display from where the short sleeves of his tight training shirt ended. Speaking of tight shirt, it was ridiculous the way his broad, muscled back was having you almost gasp for air. However, it certainly wasn’t only his physical appearance that left you breathless. It was the way he made plates for you at meals when you were running late. It was the way he encouraged you to try your best during physical training, even if you were nowhere near having the prowess of soldiers on the front lines. It was the way he sought you out at any given moment. It was the way he was always there for you no matter what. You groaned inwardly. Your life would be so much less complicated if you didn’t realize you had caught major feelings for your close friend. Relationships were strongly discouraged in this line of work due to the danger you were constantly in and the lack of a promised future for any members of the Defense Force, but there was a nagging voice in the back of your mind saying that it was how you felt in the present that mattered, not what the future may or may not bring. Still, no matter if you thought about Soshiro romantically or platonically, there was one undeniable truth he needed to hear from you.

“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, either.”

Tearing his gaze from the map, Soshiro turned to you, mouth opened in surprise at your admission before quickly closing it again, his eyes softening as his heart swelled in his chest. You said the words with such conviction that it made him want to marry you on the spot.

“Vice captain!”

The wheezing voice of Kafka Hibino rang through the room, breaking the eye contact between you and Soshiro.

“Y-you’re needed… at the training grounds… right away.”

Kafka looked like he was a second away from passing out with the way he was clutching his chest and gasping for air. You quickly came to his aid by dumping the contents of your bottle into his mouth as he drank it greedily. Spilled water dribbled down his chin as he thanked you profusely, looking at you like you hung all the stars in the sky.

“Hibino!” Soshiro’s eyes were narrowed more than usual as he addressed his soldier. “Go refill Officer L/n’s bottle. If you take longer than 20 seconds, you don’t get any more water breaks for the rest of today’s training.”

“Yes sir!”

Kafka ran with the speed of a cheetah and you swatted at Soshiro’s arm lightly.

“The poor guy was on his deathbed, cut him some slack. I could’ve refilled the bottle myself.”

“I know.” His lips curled up slyly. “But it’s fun to mess with him and I like taking care of you.”

You wanted to explore that sentiment a LOT further but your moment with Soshiro was over as Kafka burst through the door again, your water bottle filled to the brim. You thanked him and the men were on their way out, Soshiro sending you a wave that you gladly returned.

“You’re always happy but you look more smiley than usual, sir. Was it because of y/n?”

Uh oh. Did I say that out loud? thought Kafka.

“15 laps around the building for being nosy and 100 push ups for referring to a superior improperly.”

“But-”

“20 laps and 150 push ups. Or does 25 laps and 200 push ups sound better?”

“N-no, Vice Captain! I’m sorry!”

Kafka took off at full speed, not wanting to incur any more punishment as Soshiro just shook his head, laughing to himself.

[Nobody got you the way I do/Whatever demons you're fightin' through/When you need somebody to turn to/Nobody got you the way I do]

You were having a really, terribly, horribly shitty day at work. Nothing was going right: all of your coworkers were in a bad mood, the computer system kept crashing and losing your saved data. You were beyond ready to clock out as soon as time allowed, but you were ordered to stay behind and go through computer files to double check none of the information had been compromised. You didn't know what divine figure you must've upset because there could be no other explanation as to why you were always being punished like this. Competency was truly a curse, and since you were the best at your job, along with everyone else's, you continuously got the task of making sure the Operations team didn't fall apart. It was an honor to be seen as responsible and irreplaceable in the eyes of the higher ups, sure, but not at the expense of your mental health. By the time you were finished, it was another late night at the office for you, but at least it was over. You gathered your things and trudged toward your room, eager to lay down and give your tired eyes a break. You rounded another corner of the building but stopped in your tracks when the light of the training room practically blinded you from down the hall.

"Waste of electricity," you grumbled to yourself, walking over to turn off the light. To your surprise, you heard footfalls and grunts from inside. Who would be up training this late? Your question was answered as you observed Soshiro fly around the room, swinging his practice swords with precise movements.

"Y/n!" he greeted when he spotted you in the doorway, ceasing his training, "I missed you at mealtime. Don't tell me you found another table to sit at."

He wore a fake frown that was replaced by his signature smile in an instant, his canines peeking out of his mouth.

"I'm glad you came away unscathed today. I heard it was brutal in the office."

"Brutal is definitely one word for it," you said, sitting on a weight bench. "I want to cry for hours on end but I think my body's too tired to let go of the tears."

Soshiro set his swords down and took up the spot next to you, his leg brushing against your own.

"You wanna talk about it?"

You would've loved nothing more, but you didn't want to bother him with nonsensical babbling about how sucky your day was. His work was vital and you refused to be the one preventing him from continuing it.

"I appreciate the offer," you said, standing up and already missing the feeling of his leg on yours, "but I should let you get back to training. Ranting about my work annoyances aren't crucial to humanity's survival like your training is, so I'll see you later."

You turned away, ready to walk to your room, when the vice captain hurriedly took hold of your hand to stop you from leaving.

"Wait," he said, his tone affectionate yet pleading, "let me be there for you like you were, and always are, there for me. I want you to know you can turn to me at times like these. I won't push you away."

You stared at each other in silence before he spoke once more.

"Please don't go."

Your dam of tears burst.

You didn't know who pulled who in first, but it was of no importance--the only thing that mattered was that Soshiro was offering you a safe space to let go of the misery you'd been holding in for much too long. Your tears were easily escaping down your cheeks, soaking the back of Soshiro's shirt.

"It's okay, I'm here, I'm here," he soothed. The feeling of safety and security in his arms was something you hadn't felt in a long time and was almost too much for you to bear, making you cry even harder. As more tears fell, you felt his grip on you tighten and you returned the favor, hanging onto him like he was your lifeline. His nimble fingers slowly worked their way up and down your back, sliding around in a comforting manner. His familiar scent wafted up your nostrils, doing wonders to calm you down after your outburst.

"Shh, you're alright," he cooed, his voice as warm and gentle as a summer breeze. "Today was a bad day but they don't last forever. Tomorrow will be better, I promise. You'll get though it. And if you can't get through it on your own, then we'll get through it together, okay?"

You sniffled and nodded your head, making Soshiro relieved that his comforting skills weren't as bad as he thought they might've been. You didn't know how long you stayed with your arms wrapped around each other but you wished it could be forever. You finally pulled away from Soshiro's embrace when you felt like you were about to fall asleep on his shoulder.

You let out an awkward laugh as you wiped away a stray tear. "Soshiro, I... I'm sorry you had to see that. But thank you."

He was completely unbothered, it seemed, as he brought you in for one last hug. The temptation to press a chaste kiss to the top of your head was strong, but his will was stronger, opting to leave you with some final words from his heart instead.

"Don't worry about it, y/n, you know I always got your back. Nobody's got you the way I do."

[When you go dark and the night gets so cold/I'll be on my way to you/You know I ain't tryna lose you, oh, no/If you're in Hell, I'll go there too/There ain't no, no kinda line/That I wouldn't cross if you need me to/You're out here searchin' for signs/So I think it's finally time that you knew…]

"Vice Captain! The kaiju is exhibiting strange behavior! It's headed for the train stati-"

The communications line went dead.

"Operations, do you copy?"

No answer.

"This is Hoshina. Is anyone there?"

Static crackled in Soshiro's ear and he growled in frustration, fighting the urge to rip out the useless earpiece and trample it. Did they say the train station? This kaiju was being a real piece of work. Their kind is usually predictable and easy to understand, but this one just had to be unique, didn't it? Soshiro sighed, running to catch up to other members of the Third Division to regroup and strategize.

"Nakanoshima! Do we have eyes on the kaiju?"

"Yes, sir!" the pink haired woman said, "it's like Ops said, headed toward the train station. They're trying to evacuate right now."

"Right. Thanks."

This was NOT good. A kaiju, especially the honju they were dealing with, could kill a lot of people in a short amount of time and the stations was always jam packed at in the evening. Since comms were down, Soshiro figured cell service was too, but it didn't hurt to check. He pulled out his phone and glanced at the screen. Nothing. However, he had one unread message from earlier that must've come through before the signal cut out.

Y/n: That meeting was sooo boringgg :((( but my train got here earlier than expected so I'll get to the station around 5:15! When I'm back on base I'll treat you to dinner... at the dining hall lol

He felt the air leave his lungs when he spied the current time: 5:20.

Soshiro was desperately trying to do the math in his head to see if you were still at the station. The kaiju attack started 10 minutes ago, you've would've been here 5 minutes after that, but if they just began evacuations from the trains...

He hauled himself on top of the nearest building, desperately looking into the distance for an answer to quell his worries. There wasn't a train stopped in the middle of the tracks anywhere so that meant the train you were on made it to the station and was probably the one that people were currently pouring out of in a mad dash to escape from the monster headed their way. Soshiro cursed under his breath as he jumped back to the ground, now surrounded by his soldiers.

"Vice Captain! We figured out the kaiju seems to be attracted to huge groups of people, more so than usual! That's why it's going to the station!"

"Good work, Reno," replied Soshiro, his face hardening as he addressed everyone. "You guys heard him. We work together as a group, got it? Nobody goes off on their own. We have to get this thing interested in us instead of civilians."

The Third Division set off in a hurry, making their way toward the rampaging Kaiju.

Well, this was new.

As you heard the announcement about a kaiju barreling toward the train station you'd just arrived to, you thought about how you'd somehow managed to never see one up close-- until today, most likely. The screams of the passengers around you got louder as you all heard the kaiju's steps hit the ground in a frenzied state, emboldened by the prospect of a large meal, and you found yourself getting jostled in a sea of bodies as people desperately tried to escape the train and underground station. You decided to hang back for a moment, not wanting to risk getting trampled. You looked out the train window, trying to stay calm.

"Kaiju ahead! Prepare to engage!"

Soshiro, for once in his life, was nervous to fight a kaiju. When he found you, he'd have to scold you for making him worry like this.

Yes, that was a when, not an if. He will be finding you, alive. He couldn't lose you. Not today, not ever.

"Vice Captain! Yoju are headed this way!"

Soshiro followed where Kafka's finger was pointed. The little kaiju were running toward the Third Division while the honju was still dead set on terrorizing the train station.

At least some of them took the bait.

"You guys take care of the yoju. The honju is mine," snarled Soshiro, running as fast as he could.

When the train eventually cleared enough for you to make a run for it, your chance to escape the station was getting slimmer by the second. The honju's steps were making the ground shake and you could barely stay upright. You and a few other passengers were the only ones left below the surface and were now following the emergency signage, hoping the kaiju wasn't overhead. You were feeling better about the distance you had put between you and the kaiju when all of a sudden, the roof of the train station began to rumble. You knew immediately that it was about to collapse so you yelled out a warning and ran as fast as your legs could go, heading above ground. Sure enough, as soon as you got up the stairs, the pavement next to you caved in and left a huge gaping hole in the middle of the street. Along with the other passengers you made your escape with, you put your hands on your knees, panting and trying to catch your breath. You were lucky you didn't get caught up in wreckage because it was a certain death sentence, much like the kaiju licking its lips in front of you. You wanted to scream in frustration as you realized you had run right into the trap it set. Somehow the kaiju had known hordes of people would run from the station and right into the area it was using as a plate. You had to give this thing credit for its intelligence as you were at a loss of what to do next. Most of the people you had boarded the train with were dead, save for the lucky few who evacuated the station right away. You knew this because of the numerous bodies and bones strewn about around you. The only thing left of the people you ran up here with was their blood soaking the street as the kaiju dined on their corpses. You were resigned to the fact that you were about to die and you just hoped it was quick. In a blink of an eye, you were picked up in its claw, the smell of blood overtaking your senses and making you want to puke. The kaiju growled at you in a mocking manner as you were raised to its lips, its razor sharp teeth about to bite down on your head.

"No you don't, you greedy piece of shit."

Soshiro's voice rang out, echoing in the bloodied remains of the street. The kaiju roared, upset at the intrusion of his meal. The big beast threw you down in a tantrum, intending to end your life on the pavement, but a flash of purple and two seconds later, you found yourself safely on the ground with minimal injuries.

"Soshiro," you breathed out, "how did you..."

"I thought I told you," he stated firmly, but with his ever present boyish grin, "I always got you."

He then addressed the kaiju directly. "Looks like you had enough dinner, hmm?" He pulled out his swords, the light reflecting off the sharp edges as he made a glorious display of his specialty weapons. "What do you say to me giving everyone a show?"

Soshiro was in the air in an instant, engaging in the ferocious clash between beast and blade. You could only watch with awe as Soshiro's lithe movements easily evaded the clunky kaiju. At certain points, it almost seemed like he was toying with the large monster to prove the point that he was superior and you would've felt bad for the kaiju if you hadn't just watched it devour humans a few minutes ago. Soshiro then brought the battle to a close, laying the final blows, and the defeated kaiju fell to the ground.

"Are you alright?" he asked, giving you a once over as he extended a hand to help you up.

"I'm perfectly fine thanks to you. Seriously, Soshiro, you saved my life. I don't know how to thank you."

"Thank me? No need for that, it's my job to keep people safe." His voice dropped low, indicating he was about to tell you something serious. "But I knew I couldn't lose you. You mean much more to me than you could ever know. Y/n, I..." He didn't finish his sentence, afraid of telling you how he truly felt for you. It wasn't that he was afraid of rejection so much as he was afraid of the emotional vulnerability that came with telling someone you loved them. Thankfully for him, you understood perfectly what he was trying to get at.

"You always got me?" you suggested, wearing a cheeky smile.

"Yeah," he said, a mix of determination and pure love present in his features as he looked upon you. "I always got you."

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Yandere Squid Game AU | Idia Shroud

Working for a secret organization that murdered its players on a massive scale wasn’t as horrifying as it sounds. Granted, it was truly mortifying but you get used to it. You don’t show your face, you don’t flinch, and you listen to the Frontman. If you keep quiet and stay in your lane it isn’t long before you start moving up the ladder. From triangle to circle to square–it was like any other job. Like in any typical occupation if your boss, finds favor in your physique or otherwise you naturally get promoted. Thus was your fate as you went from being a mere circle to becoming the masked servant in the VIP room where you subject yourself to the whims of the richest and most disgusting patrons.

Idia Shroud 

Not many had the privilege of seeing the identity of the Host but you weren’t a part of the many. He was a technical genius, an avid inventor, and the one who loved to switch between his position as the Host and Frontman: Idia Shroud.

Now that you knew the joyful tilde in the disguised voice was made with a toothy smile of a gamer with azure flame-like hair; it made a disturbing amount of sense. No longer could you differentiate the man from his madness when he demanded you call his name in private. 

When you first met him he gave an odd aura, speaking as though he was imitating someone or making fun of whoever he was talking to. It made for an interesting work environment, he would make oddly specific references as he commanded the squares who could only tilt their heads and agree. Usually, you’d practiced your stoicism keeping yourself as robotlike as possible. 

But one meme. 

One reference. 

That has you chuckling and answering the Frontman, who seemed to freeze behind his mask still turned in your direction. He continues on acting as if nothing happened and you worry that you may have embarrassed yourself in front of your boss. Only to be broken out of your routine by one of the squares who handed you folded clothes and gave you instructions to begin your job as a VIP waiter. 

So maybe he did like it?

“You’re the new waiter, right?”

You nodded. 

“Good. You like it, here?”

“...Yes.”

“Good.”

The interaction was so curt and quick that you missed the skip in his step. It doesn’t take long for you to realize whoever is behind the frontman’s mask is also the one pretending to dress up as whatever shape employee you need to interact with. At that point, it makes you tirelessly paranoid as you feel the possible pressure of your boss constantly watching you.

And while you think you might have hidden your fear behind your masks, guess who’s got heavy surveillance on your room? He sees the way you pace on your time off and the recordings of you whispering affirmations in the bathroom. He enjoys seeing your cute reactions when he scares you a bit or how you tilt your head when you're trying to guess if it's him. But he loves you more. And if his kitten is feeling skittish he’ll change your environment. 

“You. Come with me.”

You nod, sending a look to the other VIP waiters who express their worry with as little expression as possible. Following the Host whose appearances were so far and in between would mean instant death should you disappoint. But with as many things in your life, you expected who this was. 

“...Sir?”

The Host turns their head to you, stopping in his tracks. 

‘How dare you?’

You sighed harnessing your courage as you continued.

“I know who you are…you’re the one who's been behind the masks right?”

He stayed in place.

“The one who’s left those memes in my room. That was you, right?”

He turned fully around. Facing you with his arms behind his back.

“And if I am?”

You didn’t actually know. You just wanted to be sure. To throw away this facade of deception. You wanted the truth. 

“I would prefer it if you just told me it was you. Rather than pretending you were someone else.”

A bellied voice-modified laughter emanated from the Host. He grabbed his wrist, subtly clicking at a device on his arm. Before returning to cradle his stomach. 

“Awfully bold of you to approach your boss like this.”

Perhaps your relocation could wait.

[hardboiledleggs]

Tattoo Artist Eddie Munson Part 2

Part 1 Here!

I could kiss all of you consensually on the mouth, you were so nice about part 1 I cried several times. Here is the long awaited part 2, which I am considering turning into a full length fic on ao3 so if anyone wants to follow me there here it is! Sorry it is so short! This is mostly a stepping stone for my plan for part 3. As always, if anyone would like to be added to my permanent Steddie fic tag list or the tag list for this fic specifically, let me know below :)

~~~

As a general rule, Steve considers himself a confident person. Unfortunately, there’s something about Eddie Munson that reduces him to a nervous, sweaty wreck with decidedly NOT perfect hair. Every time he pulls the now well-worn scrap of paper with Eddie’s number from his pocket, his heart rate jumps to an unhealthy level, and he stuffs it away. This has, of course, royally pissed off Robin Buckley.

“I mean, Jesus Christ, Steve. What is the point of getting a cute guy’s number if you aren’t even going to use it? I think I would have called him more than you have by now, and he doesn’t even have boobies!”

Steve crosses his arms and lets out a disgruntled huff. “Look, I told him some seriously personal stuff, okay? I doubt he even wants me to call him.”

Robin shoots him a deadly glare as she restocks the chocolate chunk ice cream, her stern look tempered slightly by her ridiculous sailor outfit. Scoops Ahoy is an okay place to work, all things considered, but Steve has considered reporting the ice cream shop to the Better Business Bureau for the uniforms alone.

“Why the hell would he give you his number, then? Please don’t be a dingus,” she snorts as she wipes an arm across her sweaty forehead.

“He probably felt bad for me, okay? Seriously. If I had told you that story, you wouldn’t be like ‘Wow, can’t wait to jump his bones!’ You’d think I was a pathetic dude with daddy issues,” Steve groans, flopping forward against the counter. His track record with guys had been, so far, awful. It was hard enough to be a bisexual man in the 80s, let alone in a small town in Indiana. One wrong move, the wrong word, and he could be arrested or worse. It didn’t give a guy a whole lot of confidence.

“For the record, I wouldn’t have wanted to jump your bones regardless, but whatever,” Robin says dryly. Her eyes are soft as she catches his arm. “Just don’t let yourself lose out on something nice ‘cause you’re scared, okay?”

Steve doesn’t look at her as he tugs out of her grip and starts organizing the spoons.

~~~

Eddie Munson has always hated places like the Starcourt Mall. There are always way too many people, too much erroneous noise, and the workers start to follow you around the store if you start touching everything that looks like it might be soft. However, even he cannot deny the hypnotic pull of a brand-new Tower Records shop.

Weaving in between soccer moms and bubblegum-chewing teenage girls, he skids around a corner and gazes above the heads of the crowd, trying to spot the Tower Records logo amongst the perms. Nothing catches his eye except a blue and red neon sign flashing ‘Scoops Ahoy Ice Cream Parlor’ across the mall. Figuring there were worse places to take a break and get directions, Eddie shrugs and fights his way through the crowd and steps into the nautical ice cream parlor.

The man at the counter has his back to Eddie, but upon hearing Eddie’s boots squeak on the linoleum he turns and begins to recite sullenly, as if from a drilling manual; “Ahoy, are you ready to set off into an ocean of flavor with me as your capt-“

Steve snaps his mouth shut when he makes eye contact with Eddie. In comparison, Eddie’s mouth is gaping like a beached trout, and he doesn’t seem to have the capacity to shut it, because Steve, “tattoo boy who he had moaned and whined about to Argyle for literal hours” Steve, is standing right in front of him in tiny shorts and a sailor’s hat and is that lip gloss?

His face is on fire, smoke might be coming out of his ears, but he can’t bring himself to look away from the shorts. Apparently, the Scoops Ahoy motto was “Serve ice cream and invade Eddie Munson’s wet dreams for at least a month!” Eddie shifts his weight from foot to foot, his discomfort growing as the silence stretches longer. It had been days since they’d met, and Steve hadn’t called once. Wayne had gotten so sick of him asking if he had any messages that he’d threatened to tear the phone out of the wall.

“Well, hiya Stevie. How’d that ink turn out? Thought I might get to hear about it after you left, but I think my phone might be busted? That, or my uncle is lying to me about not getting any messages.” There. False bravado. The tried and true method of any queer man about to get rejected by an obscenely handsome ice cream salesman.

“I’m sorry,” Steve blurts. His hands twitch, as though he wanted to reach across the grimy counter but thought better of it at the last second. “I didn’t know how to call you and… so I didn’t.”

His face is ashen, full lips parted as he breathes. Eddie thinks he might never see a more beautiful thing in his life, but he takes a step back, a false grin stretching his lips into a practiced and careful expression.

“Hey, man, no big deal. I misread things. It happens! You were darling, and I am well-known for my sweet tooth.” He smiles a real smile this time and holds out his hand to shake. “No hard feelings as long as you can point me in the direction of the new record store?”

Steve stares at his ring-clad fingers for too long before he turns and starts to wrestle with the junky cash register on the counter. Something snaps as he yanks it open and fumbles for the receipt paper, tearing off a sheet and beginning to scribble furiously. Eddie is just thinking to himself that this guy must think he’s too stupid to remember one or two sentences of directions when the paper is shoved into his outstretched hand. Steve has scrawled his full name and number in thin, slanted handwriting.

A bubble of hope rises in Eddie’s chest as he stares at the piece of paper in his hand. This isn’t platonic with a capital P. Or at least if it is, the universe is mean and should reevaluate how it operates.

“This way you can call me, because I’m a total chickenshit and am definitely terrified of you,” Steve declares as he gnaws on his bottom lip. “Or if I fucked it up that’s whatever and I get it. The record store is like 15 stores down to the right.” He looks like a puppy someone had kicked and left out in the rain.

“When is your shift over? Or rather, when will you be home and sitting by the phone?” Eddie asks in a breathless rush.

Steve’s face brightens with a shy but triumphant smile. “I’m off at 7, home by 7:15!”

“7:30, loverboy. I need a ride.” The pane of frosted glass behind Steve slides open, revealing a pretty girl in a similar uniform to her coworker, although her outfit isn’t having quite the same effect on Eddie as Steve’s is. Grinning like a hyena, she pulls a whiteboard out from behind her and uncaps a marker, putting a single tally in a column labeled “You Rule” that has thus far remained empty. Steve tosses a waffle cone at her head, which she ducks, before sliding the panel shut once more.

“7:30 then. Got it. Expect my call, big boy,” Eddie bows theatrically. He steps backward, attempting a suave exit, and spins around before he can say anything else horrific and embarrassing like “Need a skipper for your next voyage?”

As he is hurrying out of the shop, he hears a crash and a shout of “Buckley, you are so dead!” Eddie grins and stares down at the phone number in his hand, trip to the record store completely forgotten. Steve Harrington had no idea what he was signing up for.

~~~

If I tag you in error I am so sorry!! Please message me or comment and I will take you off no hard feelings I am super frazzled by the response to this series and very likely have screwed up this list. If I missed your name feel free to absolutely roast me in the comments :) I can take the heat

Tag list (Holy moly here we go) - @mackdaddyofheimlichcountyy @throwbackthrowaway @vampireinthesun @mightbeasleep @steve-the-hairrington @nelotegreitic @swimmingbirdrunningrock @thehumblefigtree @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @idsellmysoulforsteddie @toobluebrunette @azreadytodie @rainydays35 @luna-munson83 @sl1187 @artiststarme @bethebitch @ultrarainbowunicorn100 @doilooklikebees @this-is-moony-lovegood @impeachy @grimmfitzz @lifeisnotsobadonceyoustopcaring @maya-custodios-dionach @brassreign @kurumeki @zerokrox-blog @starxlark @chaoticvictorianspirit @2nd-star-2-the-rhgt @adankrivervalleynearyou @yikes-a-bee @e0509 @babyblender @shinekocreator @hope-can-be-your-sword @hellomynameismoo @knitsforthetrail @thegingerrapunzel @blindbisexualgoose @4nemo1egend @piningapple @aceflavouredyougurt @cyranyx @fruitandbubbles @eyesofshinigami @thefreakandthehair @prettyboyandthemetalhead @void-library @steddio @jjoesjonas @vecnuthy @twiggspots @spectrum-spectre @henderdads @sweetcreaturetm @morning-rituals @inmoonywetrust @kyoxyukiforever 

[ecstasyhighway]

You & I | e. williams

chapter ii

CW: abby cheats on reader 😓 uhhhh there is no smut in this its really just a look into their lives kinda. Drinking and literally one mention of ellie being high. reader has her own friends who ive just given random ahh names and the owner of the music store ellie works at is mentioned. ermmm i think thats it if i missed anything pls lmk.

a/n: please understand that i am not a professional writer.. shit might be wrong (grammer, punctuation ect) its not really proofread but its been put through grammarly so yehah enjoysies i guess

MEN DNI I WILL FIND YOU.

wc: 2.3k ish

prologue. ch 1.

You wake up to the sun shining into your room, your phone going off relentlessly, “Man what the- who is texting me” You pick up your phone,

*45 missed messages from Abby*

‘baby cmon’

‘It was a mistake, I'm sorry’

‘y/n you are doin way too much rn just pick up baby please’

You roll your eyes at her pleads. She cheated on you with one of your best friends and she just expects you to forgive her? Hell no! She betrayed your trust. You put your phone on Do Not Disturb and began to get ready to shower.

‘Where the fuck is my speaker..’ you think to yourself as you look through your apartment, making a mess of clothes on the floor. You stop and think back to the last time you used it.. Last night! you go to your kitchen and sure enough there it is, right on the counter. You grab it and go to your bathroom, put on a playlist, and get in the shower.

Ellie couldn’t sleep, she was just too embarrassed, she still could not believe she was touching herself out in public. She thought she was cringe as fuck for that.. Whatever she has to get ready for work. She does a quick sniff test ‘Good enough’ she gets into her car and heads to the shop.

She gets to the store and notices that one of the lights on the sign has gone out. She grabs her phone out of her pocket and sends a text to Mrs. Alden,

‘Good morning Mrs. Alden, I just got to the shop and noticed that one of the lights that are on the sign has gone out. Would you like me to call someone?’

‘Good Morning Ellie. Yes, you can call someone. I will be stopping by at around 4 pm. I need to pick up something and I need to pay the bills. I will see you later Ellie.’

*Ellie liked a message*

Ellie heads inside and gets the store ready to be opened, she calls a repair company to schedule an appointment to get the light fixed. She goes to the back to do a quick restock.

“Ellie! I'm here, do you need anything?” Jesse yells from the other room, Ellie flinches at the sound of his voice and walks to where he was

“Fuck, Jesse you scared me, I dunno maybe? Not right now I don’t think. The electrician is coming to fix a light on the sign at like 12, but I might not be here so will you be able to let him in and show him which light it is? Oh also Mrs. Alden is coming around 4 so be respectful she's old and she will fire you if you are just the slightest bit disrespectful”

Jesse gives her a nod indicating that he understands,

Ellie goes to her little music room to rest as the store doesn't open until 10 and it's only 8 right now. She is nervous. As much as she loves Mrs. Alden, she scares the shit out of Ellie, she's quite old and mean, and she never comes to the shop…like ever.

Whitney Alden Is the owner of ‘Musemoon’, she started the shop in 1999 and it's been her baby ever since, she met Ellie when she was 10 and took her in, she helped Ellie understand music better and form a connection with it. Ellie is terrified of Mrs. Alden, why? Don't ask, she just is.

So Alden coming to the shop is very stressful for Ellie as she is the manager and is next in line to own the store when Whitney dies. Everything has to be perfect, no album out of place, no dust on the record players. Oh, and Ellie’s music room needs to be spick and span. So before Ellie takes a little nap she sets two alarms, one for 9:50 and another for 3:00.

The sound of the alarm jolts Ellie out of her sleep. She looks at the time, it’s 9:55, enough time for her to open up the store and do some inventory.

“Jessie, I'm gonna open up shop and do some inventory before it gets too busy in here alright”

“Okay”

The repair man had come to fix the light about 8 hours ago and Mrs. Alden left an hour ago. It’s currently 8 and Ellie is getting ready to leave, but Jessie stops her

“Hey, Ellie, Dina and I were going to go to this bar downtown with a couple of friends, you wanna come?”

“uhhh yeah, who all is gonna be there?”

“Me, Dina, Tara, Cat, Syd-”

“I’m sorry, Cat?” Ellie looked at him like he was stupid “Cat as in my ex? the girl who literally made me lose my shit for like half a year?”

“Yeah, but I thought ya’ll ended on good terms?”

“Jessie Jesus fuck of course we didn’t end on good terms I literally had to stop working for a while? She made me go insane, To her we ended on good terms but to me, she fucked me up.”

“sooooo that's a no to going to the bar?”

“no fuck you im going, I need a drink. Alden stressed the fuck out of me” She rolls her eyes playfully and gives him a lighthearted punch in the arm.

————————————

You get a call from Abby, she has been blowing your phone up all day. Why can’t she catch a hint, you’re pissed at her. You don’t want to talk to her. Ignoring the phone isn’t going to stop her. You need to talk to her. Face to face. ‘fuck’ you thought to yourself, you know if you pull up to her house and try to argue with her about this, all that's gonna happen is her hands in your pants fingering away the anger. No, you decided to stand your ground, you’re going to go to her house and talk to her like the adults you are. This will not end in hate fucking, you promise to yourself.

You get in your car and drive to her house, your phone still going off constantly. Once you get to her house your eyes fixate on a car. A car you’ve seen, shit a car you’ve rode in. What. The. Fuck. You walk to her front porch and bang on the door

“ABBY” you continue knocking but still no answer.

“ABBY MOTHER FUCKE- LET ME IN OR GOD SO HELP ME I WILL KICK YOUR DOOR DOWN”

The door swings open and you see Abby, she has a black muscle shirt on and some black and red basketball shorts. You can’t lie, she looks so fine.. But no you’re mad at her.

“Baby, baby..calm down we can talk abo-”

you cut her off mid-sentence and push past her and walk into her home. “Now why the fuck” you laugh a little in disbelief “Why the fuck is Lexi’s car in your driveway?”

“it's not what you think baby I promise”

you’re looking at her intensely, she’s bullshitting you right now,

“bullshit”

You begin to head to Abby’s room, hoping to god that it was really just a misunderstanding. But your stomach drops when she tries her hardest to stop you from going in there. You burst into her room and there you see it. Lexi Smith. Here in the flesh. Literally. She’s naked and in Abby’s bed.

“Are you fucking kidding me..?” Tears begin to swell in your eyes and your voice trembles. “are both of you being so serious right now? Lexi what? Abby, I'm used to you doing stupid shit like this. But Lexi? Really? fuck both of yall”

Lexi sits there, silent with nothing to say. You look at Abby, her arms are crossed and her head is down. You walk up to her. “Look at me,” you say sternly

She opens her eyes and looks into yours. Her eyes are looking into yours so gently, she thinks she's gonna get away with this. Not this time. You’re done. You can’t take this shit anymore.

You look in her eyes. Anger filled your senses, and before you could even process it, you slapped her, hard enough to leave a mark. “Don’t call my phone ever again. I'm done, Abby. I'm done with you” You storm off to your car, tears still in your eyes, you get into your car and just sit there. You finally let go of the anger and sadness that had just built up in your body. You try your hardest not to cry too much but it's already too late. You drive home still crying. You open the door to your apartment and dial Jillian’s number.

‘hello..?’

“Jilly”

‘sweetheart? what's wrong?’

“Can you comeover please”

‘of course my love’

You hang up the phone and lie on your couch feeling numb. Why, though? This isn’t the first time Abby’s cheated… Maybe it's because it's your best friend that she cheated on you with. You sob even harder thinking about it.

about 5 minutes pass when you hear your door unlock and open

“y/n? sweetie? It's Jill” She walks over to you confused

“what’s wrong?”

you sniff, “Abby.. a-nd Lexi” You hiccup slightly between words “they…she..” You can’t even get your words out without getting the urge to cry. But Jillian understood what you said. She just hugs you and you both sit there for a moment so you can calm yourself.

“how about we try to take your mind off them for now, let's go out! a bar, my treat, Marshall and Jean can come yeah?”

you nod at her offer. Marshall, Jean, and Jillian. The ones who have been there since day one. The ones that have never betrayed you.

Jillian tells you to go get dressed and that Jean and Marshall will be there in about an hour.

Going out feels like a chore to you, you really don’t want to leave but, Jillian always knows what's best for you so you oblige. Throwing on a beige sweater dress and some heels, you and her were ready to hit the town.

Once you both arrive at the bar, you spot Marshall and Jean, ready with open arms to talk about how they never really fucked with Lexi and how they all knew she was fake. Even though they were the ones who told you to become friends with her during your freshman year of college, but whatever you know they’re just saying what you want to hear, trying to lighten the mood.

You are about three shots into some alcohol Jill had ordered for the table when you see a familiar face. Where did you see this girl? She looks so familiar, you begin to think back a day or two but the alcohol in your system was clouding your memory. The music store, right what was her name

you were so lost in thought you didn’t even realize Jean was trying to get your attention

“Hellooo?? Earth to y/n? girl hello I'm trying to talk to you”

“shit my bad what's up”

Marshall chimes in “What were you thinking about babes? you were so out of it”

You look at him and giggle a little, “okay guys, just listen” you pause hoping you have their full undivided attention. “you see that auburn-haired girl over there” You point in her direction trying to be discreet. “I know her, I met her like yesterday at that music store I went to”

They all look “Girll what is her name?” Marshall asks, trying to get any type of information he's definitely going to look her up and do some digging for you.

“I honestly do not remember. I know it started with an E or an A. Elsie? Ally?..Ellie! it was Ellie”

“bitchhh you should go talk to her” Jean chimes in but Jillian objects

“I really don’t think you should, you had a rough day and you’re already tipsy”

Jean and Marshall look at her angrily, “which is exactly why she should go talk to her. It might take her mind off of everything” Marshall says, trying to persuade her.

Jillian just throws her hands up in defeat. “Do whatever makes you happy y/n, just know I don’t think this is a good idea”

You consider just listening to her and not even taking the chance, but after some more encouraging words from Marshall and Jean, you give in, taking another shot before walking to her table.

You walk over to her, she’s sitting there so uninterested in what's happening around her.

“Hey?” you say softly trying not to startle her, She looks up at you, her eyes glossy and slightly red, she’s high..

“oh shit hey, you’re umm that girl from yesterday, y/n right?”

“yes, I am, anndd you’re Ellie right?”

she nods and looks into your eyes, “I just wanted to say hi, I saw you from across the room”

She smiles slightly “Well hey”

You realize you’ve been just standing there awkwardly, not saying anything

“Sorry I just wanted to say hi, I’ll get out of your hair now, again so sorry for bothering you”

She looks you up and down, “noo you are not bothering me if anything you’re saving me from them” She laughs and looks at her friends who are talking amongst themselves. You smile and giggle at her, you are very embarrassed,

“You want a drink?” She asks as she gets up from her seat and puts out her hand for you to take. You accept her offer and take her hand, she leads you to the bar and orders two whiskey sours

——————————

OH! and this was inspired by “The Thought Of You” by @ap3arll !!

🏷️ @vqxen @shiimer @bready101

[itzsana-kiddingmenow]

Alien:

𝒍𝒆𝒆: Alien!Jisung

𝒍𝒆𝒓: Reader

𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘦𝘢 𝘪 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨! 💗🧋

 ⚠️ I choose to keep some element of surprise to the story, so read at your own risk! THERE ARE SOME MENTIONS OF VIOLENCE!!!⚠️ 

I DIDNT INCLUDE THE PROMPTS IM SORRY 😭😭😭

OH MY GOD THIS IS SO LONGGGG I HOPE YALL ENJOY BUILDUP 🤞🏼 ALSO IDK HOW TO FEEL ABOUT THIS cause it’s just more story than tickling lol, i think it’s cute tho

𝕥𝕒𝕘𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥: @someone-who-loves-kpop-saranghae @jeonginsdiary @leeknowstan33 @v--143 @wereallgonnadieonedaybutnottoday @inkytornpages

“What are you doing?” Your voice cut through the air, clear as day. 

The boy you were watching clearly didn’t understand you. He tilted his head, looking almost innocently at you. 

Your voice shook. “I said, what are you doing?” You were honestly scared.

You had come home from a long day at work, just to find someone in your house. 

Now, the boy understood. “Who are you?” You asked. 

“My name is H-Han Jisung.” The boy spoke in muffled English. Clearly, it wasn’t his first language. 

“Han Jisung, why are you in my house?” You asked, practically shaking in fear.

“I don’t know where I am. I saw your human…house and I wanted to ask for help.” He replied. 

“What? Why would you break into my house if you wanted to ask for help?” Your body was shaking, Jisung noticed. 

“I wasn’t aware that it was wrong to do. Why are you shaking, are you hurt? Let me help you…” You immediately jumped back away from his touch. 

Han looked hurt, but you couldn’t care less. He had broken into your house, and now he was trying to take care of you?

That’s when you backtracked completely. “Wait wait wait. What do you mean, human house?” You took two steps back, pressing your hand to your wrist to check your pulse. 

“I mean…human house.”  Han Jisung pulled off his beanie, and you clamped your hand over your mouth to stop the terrified scream from leaving your throat. 

The antennas dangled over his head, wobbling and tilting when he spoke.

 “I know this might come as a shock to you…” He was cut off by his own loud scream when you suddenly grabbed a vase, throwing it at his head. 

“Wait WAIT!” He yelled, raising his wrist to block the hit, and the vase shattered against his wrist, blood dripping from the cuts. 

The blood was blue. 

That only spurred your actions as you continued throwing whatever you could reach at the boy, pool balls, picture frames, your record player, which Jisung luckily swerved. 

The boy dodged your hits, you were just throwing things and your limbs at him. 

He tilted his head to avoid a spatula, and caught one of the pool balls as it soared past his head. Talk about reflexes.

“Please! Just hear me out!” He yelled, ducking when your record box flew over his head.

He kept walking closer to you, which honestly just scared you even more.

Then you ran out of objects to throw. You grabbed your phone from right next to you. 

You were planning to call the police, but Jisung caught your wrist right before you were able to raise it, a dark look in his eyes as a stream of his azure blood flowed down his face. 

You tried to scream for help, but his hand slammed over your mouth before your throat even gained the courage to make a noise. 

“Now, just lis-OW!” He yelled when you kicked him in the shin, ducking down and overthrowing him just like you had learned in your karate lesson. 

You flipped him to the floor, straddling Han’s waist and pulling his arms above his head. You had learned about pressure points, but you were unsure on whether it would work on…whatever he was. 

You tried anyway, and true to your word, it didn’t work. 

He kept struggling, and no matter how much your tried to keep him down, you knew that soon enough, it would be fruitless, and he would overpower you.

So you started hitting wherever you could. There’s no way he didn’t have a pressure point. 

True to your point, you hit riiight underneath his neck, and he slumped underneath you.

You made sure to pick him up gently, only to find out that he weighed barely anything, and you could feel his ribs by just touching. 

You felt wrong for sympathizing with an alien who broke into your house. You should be calling the police. 

But maybe, seeing the cuts from the objects you threw at him, you wanted to know more. 

Aliens exist.

The reality only hit you now, and the shock from the thought almost caused you to drop the unconscious boy in your arms. 

You looked down at him, and felt kinda bad. You had asked him a question, and when he had tried to answer, you had hurt him. 

Jisung opened his eyes, and then promptly regretted it. 

Bright lights flashed in his eyes, and he immediately started struggling, just to find out that you had tied him to a chair, no doubt that it was so he couldn’t escape.

Han whimpered in fright. What if you had called the police? 

He would be sent away to some government lab, where they would run experiments on him like some rat.

Jisung immediately tried finding any way to escape, any backup plan, anything. 

His antennas drooped disappointingly as he accepted his fate, leaning his head back and breathing heavily. 

He noticed, however, that you had wrapped up his wrist, and all the other cuts that littered his body. 

He was also wearing different clothes, a thin shirt and black sweatpants.

He could feel his anxiousness flare up as waves of panic took over him, like water in the sea. 

Jisung tried to keep his breathing regulated, he couldn’t afford to have an attack where there was no one to help. 

The door opened, and the appendages hanging above his head perked up. 

He tried to keep his breathing steady, and he gulped and blinked his frightened tears away. Maybe you would let him go?

You walked into the room, instead, carrying a lamp. 

It was clear that you were incredibly afraid and worried that he was going to hurt you.

“What…are you?” You asked, prodding at his side with the lamp end. 

He twitched and bucked away from the feeling. “Ummm…I’m a really weird…human.” He responded. 

You gave him a very sarcastic look before handing him a mirror. He gulped when he saw his own face, littered with sparkles and stars. 

“Your makeup rubbed off a little, so I used some makeup remover. You’re not even human, are you? Are you an alien?!” You asked. 

Jisung gave you a very sheepish look. “Umm. I guess you can call me that…” He grinned at you, and you couldn’t help but feel happier inside, even if you kept your stoic attitude outside. 

“You’re gonna tell me everything. Or else.” You waved a baseball bat around, clearly threatening him. 

However, he just leaned backwards, a little smirk playing on his lips. He stared at the bat. “That’s cute.” He added, laughing when your face turned a stubborn red. 

You lifted his chin with the bat. “You’re gonna speak. Now. Unless you want those little antennas to get smashed into your head.” You practically growled. 

He looked slightly more frightened. You knew you weren’t actually gonna bash his head in, but you felt bad. 

You watched as his chest heaved, tears flowed down his face, and his breathing become unsteady. 

You knew what was happening. He was having a panic attack. Maybe you should’ve been a liiittle less graphic with your threats. 

You ran out of the room to get some water for the hyperventilating boy, feeling terrible and trying to find a way to apologize. 

Soon enough, you had gingerly untied the alien, and he was sitting criss-crossed on the floor, sipping at the water. 

“Water tastes different here…” He commented quietly. 

You nodded. “I bet…”

You both sat in silence for quite a while. You decided that it was probably the right time to apologize. 

“Listen, I’m sorry for threatening you earlier, I was a little frightened-” You started, but Han waved you off. 

“Dont worry about it! It must have been quite a shock for you, huh?” He gave you a wide, toothy grin that made your heart soar. 

“Yeah.” You giggled, poking his side, just to hear him squeal and jerk away. 

“Ticklish?~” You tease. 

“What does that mean?” He asked, rubbing at his side. 

“You don’t know what tickling is?” You gasped. Jisung thought for a few seconds before shaking his head. 

“Well, i’ve got to teach you now, don’t I?” You ask, sneakily straddling his waist as he gives you the cutest little confused look. 

“Hm? What are you doi-NG AGH! THAHAHAT’S SOHOHO WEIRD!” He squealed and bucked as your hands dug into his sides through his thin shirt. 

“Weird how?” You asked through his laughter. 

In reality, you found the screaming boy beneath you incredibly adorable, and you constantly resisted the urge to squish his cheeks. 

“HAHA WHY AHAHAM IHI LAHAHAUGHING?!” 

He squealed loudly and arched his back when you attacked his v-line, however, one scribble to his back and he was back on the floor. 

“HAHAHA! PLEHEHEASE! DOHOHON’T STAHAHAHAP!” He screeched. 

You had a double take. Wait, what?

Don’t stop?

“Why don’t you want me to stop?” You continued the tickling, making sure to give small breaks between each spot. 

“It feels so good and tingly. And I feel happy. Why would I want it to end?” He asked, and you only saw sincerity in his eyes. 

He doesn’t understand how flustering it was for a HUMAN to admit the same though. 

“Oh! Okay!” You smiled. Even you kinda didn’t want it to end so quickly.

You started on his ribs, counting each one, just to come to a shocking discovery. 

“You only have ten ribs?” You made sure to count again.

“HAHA YEA! EHEHE WHY?!” He asked, tears pooling up in his eyes as they squeezed shut. 

“Um I don’t know. We have twelve.” You informed him. 

“twehehelve?!” He yelled, arching his back yet again. However, you took care of that.

You wormed your fingers into his back and flipped him over, smiling when he giggled in anticipation. 

You immediately attacked his back ribs, laughing with the lee as he let out a desperate cry for mercy. 

“NAHAHAHAHA!” Jisung cackled as he tried his hardest to keep his hands at his sides, not wanting to hurt you in any way. 

Jisung shook his head wildly when you attacked his sides yet again, and he lost himself in another round of mirth. 

What you find incredibly endearing, however, was how his antennas wobbled and shook as he was tickled, and whenever you stopped to give him a break, they drooped in exhaustion. 

You nonchalantly attacked his knees, digging into the sensitive skin beneath them, not really expecting a response, however, the area had him screaming like he was getting murdered.

“NOAHAHAHA! PLEHEHEHEASE I-IHI STOOOOP!” He yelled, unable to take the tickles anymore. 

Of course, you stopped. You didn’t wanna kill the first alien you had ever seen. 

Jisung gasped for breath, smile still wide and bright as he sprawled onto the floor. 

“Wait! Can I do one more thing? I just wanna try it out I swear…” You reached over to stroke an antenna, making sure to be gentle as to not scare the boy. 

He didn’t seem to mind, in fact, he leaned into the touch. 

“Mhmm, sure.” He sounded almost…sleepy. 

You made a mental note to give him tons of aftercare. 

You lifted his shirt up while he was still vulnerable to the head rubs, and his antennas were perking up with happiness. 

You ducked down and suddenly pressed your lips to his bellybutton, blowing outwards in a ticklish raspberry. 

He immediately squealed and tried to curl in on himself, but a simple push onto his ribs had him on the floor again. 

“IHIHIT TIHIHICKLES SOHO BAHAHAHAD!” Jisung squealed cutely when you attacked his v-line next. 

You littered his flat belly with kisses and raspberries, absolutely murdering the boy with tickles. 

“NOOOO! HAHAHAHA IHITS ENOUGH PLEASE! I CAHAHANT BREAAATHE!” He screamed with the last of his breath, tears had dampened the collar of his shirt, and his hair was considerably disheveled. 

You finally let up and admired how pretty Jisung looked when he was wrecked, face flushed and wet as his antennas hung above his head, thoroughly shaking. 

You pressed a kiss to his cheek as they puffed up, watching as he blushed a deep red. 

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it.” You grinned sheepishly and pulled him into your lap, stroking his hair as he fell asleep. 

Later, when he woke up, the smell of food wafted through the air. 

Han realized that he was laying in a bed, in a cozy-looking room that was most likely yours. 

He slowly opened the door, walking into what he assumed was a kitchen. 

He watched as you danced while you cooked, humming and twirling as you mixed whatever was inside the pot.

He suddenly felt very relaxed and fond. Jisung wanted to hug you. 

He walked up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist, eliciting a loud squeak from you. 

“Ticklish?~” He teased the same way you had done earlier. 

“N-NO JIHIHIHISUNG!” You screeched as fingers dug deep into your waist. 

i hope you enjoyed! please check my intro post before interacting! love ya! 💕💗💖

not the anon saying i can do it as a drabble but i end up making it my longest and most favourite fic-

it’s 2171 words lol 🤡

if you guys want a part two with some story line to it pls gimme some ideas

also no lee reader thx!

[andreafmn]

So I am OBSESSED with your Carlisle fics.

I was hoping I would request an imagine with a female reader who is asexual and afraid Carlisle won't want her, but of course, he is totally loving and accepting of her.

Thank you and I hope you're well.

Word Count: 2.7K

Paring: Carlisle Cullen x Female!Reader

Story Description: Rejection after rejection was the way (Y/N) went through life because of her sexuality, or rather lack thereof. But when she meets Carlisle Cullen, as in love with him as she is, she can't help but let the fear of her past keep her from telling him that she is asexual.

A/N: Loved writing this request and I hope I did it justice. 😊😊 My content will always be free, but if you’re feeling particularly generous, you can leave a tip on any of my posts to support me and my love of writing or buy me a coffee

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As You Are

Delving into a relationship is no easy task. It’s allowing someone to know every part of you, every moment and secret that has made you who you are, and hoping they accept it without an exception. It’s one of the most vulnerable and exposed anyone could be. 

But there was a rather daunting sense of defenselessness that came from admiring your sexuality. Especially to a world that might not understand. The same world that valued love in the same standing as intercourse. 

(Y/N) had always felt like maybe there was something wrong with the way she loved. That whatever it was she was missing from the checklist society had written for her would be completed by the next person she fell for. Because maybe, just maybe, someone else had what she needed. 

But, as time went by, and partners came and went, nothing magically sparked inside her. And she feared that it never would. 

Until she met Clara. Well, @clara1986x on an internet blog site. 

(Y/N) needed to understand what she was feeling –not feeling. She did what any teenager with an avid curiosity, a life-changing question, and no answers would do. She turned to the internet. For hours she sat in front of a blank search bar, scared of what lived behind the screen. There were no expectations, but there was that underlying fear that there was something wrong with her.  

But, pushing it off wouldn’t change whatever results would pop up. With shaking hands, she typed slowly as she took deep breaths to calm her racing heart. It pitter-pattered against her chest as it hammered in her ears. There was no turning back once she hit the enter key. 

I do not feel sexually attracted to anyone… is there something wrong with me?

The first thing that popped up on the results page made her eyes fill with tears. There is nothing wrong with you, the page was titled. Could it be true? That whatever she was feeling was normal?  

She clicked on the webpage and a personal blog loaded on her screen. 

There Is Nothing Wrong With You

If this page showed up in your results there’s a huge chance you may think that you’re lacking something in your romantic life. News flash! There isn’t. 

Let me guess, you think if you’re not sexually attracted to your partner then it means you don’t really love them. Well, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. There are many ways to love and be in love with someone without adding sex to the mix — it also never has to be added for some. 

Have you ever heard of the term asexual? “The word asexual combines the prefix a-, meaning “not” or “without,” and sexual, referring to sex. Asexual is first recorded in the late 1700s, originally used in biology to refer to organisms, especially plants, that had no sex organs.” [That’s from the dictionary]

In the simple (and broadest) of terms, an asexual person is someone that doesn’t feel sexual attraction toward others or low to no desire for sexual relations. But since we know that sexuality is a spectrum [even if so many people don’t want to agree] this might mean something different to everyone that reads this. 

So, why am I focusing only on the most basic form of asexuality if there is such a big spectrum? 

Because I used to think there was something wrong with me. I used to search in partners for something I was lacking and no one could tell me why I didn’t feel like most people did. I didn’t want to have sex, with guys or girls. I never felt the need to establish a relationship with sex to admit I loved that person. And before you ask, yes, I have tried sex before; no, I don’t need to find the right person for it; and no, I’m not missing out. 

Being asexual doesn’t mean I don’t want to fall in love, or have a partner, or be with someone for the rest of my life. It simply means that I don’t need sex to “seal the deal.” I want the romance and the giddiness, I want the hand-holding and the kisses, I want everything that comes with being in love, I just don’t want sex.

Hi, I’m Claudia and I am asexual.

“Hi, Claudia,” (Y/N) cried as she finished reading the post, a smile spreading across her face. “I’m (Y/N), and I think that so am I.” 

It was the first time in her life that she had heard of the term, let alone found someone that felt exactly the same way she did. For the longest time, she thought she had been an anomaly in the population. That something had been wired differently inside her and she needed to be fixed. 

There was nothing wrong with what she didn’t want. Love had never had to equal sex, and she could be in love with someone without adding it to the equation. She did not need it to feel complete.

But that didn’t mean that everyone else understood what it meant. 

As she left high school and entered college, her dating pool expanded. But their mentality did not. It seemed she was stuck in a vicious cycle that she simply could not break. (Y/N) would meet someone new, they would go out on a few wonderful dates, and form a connection. Yet, when the time came to speak about the dreaded s-word, they all seemed to be taken aback. With some it was a quick rejection, sex was too much of a deal breaker to not have. With others, it was a slowly dying fire that, at the end of the day, always died out.

Whether it was that they didn’t want a relationship without sex or they didn’t want her without the promise of sex, she had not met someone that could accept her as she was and all that she would not offer. 

Until Carlisle Cullen.

After an unlucky slip on ice on her way to visit her mom’s new home, (Y/N) found herself in Forks Community Hospital with a twisted ankle. Thankfully, her condition wasn’t dire and her head could focus on the Adonis-like statue that had been caring for her that afternoon. 

She had heard of the handsome doctor from her mother a few too many times. No one in town understood why an accomplished doctor like him could end up in a small town like Forks. Much less the fact that he was a single man with adopted teenage kids. There was a peculiarity to that family that no one got but rarely questioned out loud.  

No comment from her mother could have ever prepared her for the man that stood before her. A man carved out of perfection by the very hands of whatever god was real. A vision of blonde hair and unnatural amber eyes. 

“Well, Miss (Y/L/N), I think as long as you stay clear of any slush in the street, you’ll be good,” he smiled. “Just make sure to ice that ankle every couple of hours and you should be okay.”

“I’m just staying the rest of the month in Forks. I’ve got a job lined up in Seattle, but my mom recently moved here,” she said. “So, hopefully, no more mishaps.”

“That’s a shame,” he responded. A grin so mischievous on his face she could not help the flutter in her chest. “That it wasn’t you that moved here, that is.” 

“And why is that?” Her curiosity peaked. Was the doctor flirting with her?

“If you were new in town I could offer to show you around under the guise of it being a date,” he started. “I could take you out to dinner, show you how beautiful the woods are during winter –when you’re not falling on ice–, maybe end the night with a kiss.” 

“Do you usually hit on your patients like this, Dr. Cullen?” (Y/N) played along, a sense of confidence overtaking her senses. “I’m pretty sure there’s a rule against that.” 

“That would only apply if you were my patient after you left through those doors,” he smirked. “But that could only happen if you were staying. What a pity.”

“Nothing’s stopping you from doing it for the time being,” she teased. “Better than to always wonder what if.” 

“You make quite a valid point.” 

“Then, do it,” she smirked. “Pretend I just moved here and ask to show me around. I might just say yes.”

A hearty chuckle left Carlisle’s throat, his eyes glittering with the fluorescent light of the hospital room. “Alright then, Miss (Y/L/N),” he smiled. “Since you’re new here, it would be an honor to show you around town. Would that be something you would like to do?”

“That sounds perfect, Doctor Cullen.”

And the rest was history. 

Weeks turned into months, her office job turned into a local administrative assistant in the hospital, and her apartment turned into a room at her mom’s house. It wasn’t anything like what she expected her life to turn like, but something about Carlisle told her he was worth the change. 

Yet, as perfect as their relationship seemed, there was always something lingering in the darkness. To (Y/N), everything felt too good to be true, but she had yearned for so long for a relationship that felt right. She carried with her every rejection, every disappearance, every weird look. She didn’t want things with Carlisle to end because of what they would never have. 

Not even when he confessed to himself and his family being vampires did the pressure of speaking about her sexuality –or lack thereof- alleviate. It felt easier for her to accept the fact that supernatural beings roamed the earth than for her partner to understand that she did not feel sexual attraction. 

It was a backward way of thinking, she knew that. But she couldn’t help and remember all the times she trusted someone enough to tell them about being asexual. Every repudiation toward her because of her sexuality had left an irrevocable mark on her heart, a pain that remained quietly festering deep within her soul. 

But Carlisle could tell there was something wrong. He always could. As someone that was used to harboring big secrets, it was an easy task to know that (Y/N) had a big one weighing on her heart. 

He didn’t want to push her. Her secrets were hers to tell and he had never wanted her to reveal anything she did not feel comfortable saying. It did hurt, he could not lie. Carlisle had tried his best to let her know he was a person she could trust, that nothing she could have said, done, or felt would ever be able to push him away. 

The worst part, he knew Edward knew what her secret was, and so did Alice. But they had both said it was something that only (Y/N) could tell him, on her own time. The only thing they could say to appease his mind was that it was not a bad confession, but it was hard for her to talk about. 

Still, even if he had agreed to allow (Y/N) to speak her truths on her own time, it pained him to know the worry she carried with her whenever she was around. She deserved to feel calm and loved when they were together, and that was what he wanted the most. 

“How’re you feeling, darling?” Carlisle asked one day. “I brought you a blanket.”

(Y/N) was standing on the back deck of his home, staring at the setting sun on the horizon. Her hair was slightly drenched from the rain that had fallen, but she did not seem bothered by it. She allowed the man to drape the blanket over her shoulders, sighing as the warm fabric embraced her body. 

“I’m okay,” she smiled softly. “Just thinking.” 

“What about?” 

She took a deep breath, knowing she had put off the conversation for too long. There was no reason to keep hiding it. He had trusted her with the biggest secret he had, and she needed to trust him enough to share hers. Whatever happened after was something she could not control. She just had to be brave enough to face whichever outcome happened. 

“There’s actually something I’ve been meaning to tell you,” she started before leading him to join her on the white couch. “It’s not anything bad, but it’s something that’s very important. And I’m just scared of how you will react.”  

“Darling, you can tell me anything,” he smiled, taking her hands in his. “There’s nothing you could say that would ever push me away from you. I hope you know that.”

“I know you’re a different man, a completely different person than anyone from my past. But I can’t help being scared to talk about this when everyone I’ve told this before left once I told them this,” she sniffled. “There’s been this festering fear inside me for the longest time because I’m scared that it’ll make you look at me differently and reject me. I don’t know if I could take another one.” 

“(Y/N), you know I love you and you can trust me with anything.” 

“I know that, Carlisle, and I love you too. And that’s the reason why I’ve been so afraid to tell you this, because I really don’t want to lose you.” 

“You will never lose me, (Y/N). But, please, tell me what it is. I don’t want you to have to keep carrying this in your heart.”

(Y/N) knew the moment had come. Regardless of all her fears and concerns, they had gotten to the point where she couldn’t hold back anymore. 

“Carlisle, I’m asexual,” she breathed. “Which means I don’t feel sexual attraction to anyone and I have no desire to engage in any type of sexual activity. It doesn’t mean that I’m not in love with you or that I don’t want to have any type of intimacy. It’s just that I want everything that comes with being in love and in a relationship just not the sex part.” 

Carlisle took her in his arms, embracing her tightly as she cried onto his chest. He brushed her hair softly, kissing the top of her head comfortingly. All he felt at that moment was how much he loved her. 

“Thank you for telling me, darling,” he spoke softly, his hands caressing her cheeks as he stared into her eyes. “I know how hard it must have been for you to tell me that and I’m so grateful that you trusted me enough to tell me. And I want you to know that I love you completely and utterly as you are. I don’t need physical intimacy to know that I want forever with you.

You are more than just a body, (Y/N). I love you because you are a smart, caring, kind, and wonderful woman. You accepted me —my family— as I am, supernatural being and all. I’ve gone centuries without sex and I can go centuries more without it as long as you are by my side.” 

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to hear those words,” she cried happily. “I wish I hadn’t been so afraid to tell you sooner, but I’m just so glad that I did. I love you, Carlisle, and I want forever with you. Just as you are.”

(Y/N) couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. Even as Carlisle kissed her tenderly, it never faltered. 

She had gone her whole life searching for the person that would accept her for who she was without the expectation that her sexuality would change. It had made every rejection, every broken heart worth it because they had brought her to him. 

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[aralana765]

A situation for your consideration: after Prentiss and the worms die, Martin still isn’t comfortable going back to his flat. Elias, however, isn’t going to just let an employee (who isn’t Jon) keep living in the institute. So Jon, fully exhausted and traumatized, accidentally offers to let Martin stay with him while he finds a new place.

So Jon is desperately digging into his coworkers’ lives, stalking them, digging through their trash, the whole shebang. And Martin’s in the kitchen watching him mutter “Supplemental” and stare at pictures of Tim’s house or talk about following Sasha to Madame Tussaud’s or even laugh about Elias’ history as a “pothead”. He’s complained at work with Tim, done the intervention, and then finally one day when Jon is getting all up in his head about one red herring or another, Martin just.

“That doesn’t even make sense, you know.”

Jon, who had completely forgotten he had a flat mate for the time being, desperately tries to hide his recorder and notes. “Sorry, no, what?”

“Tim suddenly leaving a good job and getting into paranormal research doesn’t make him suspicious. It means he probably had an encounter. Like almost anyone at the institute who wasn’t just desperate for any job. It’s not suspicion.”

Jon stares blankly. Martin shrugs and goes back to fixing up tea for them both. “Coming up with crackpot, paranoid theories for how all of are out to get you is all well and good, but context is important too. Tim and Sasha were your friends in research, right? What would they gain by killing Gertrude? You knew them at that time, right?”

“Uh.” Jon, still shocked, starting to lean towards defensive, “W-well. Sasha would have made an excellent Head Archivist. She easily could have been given the promotion. Which…which could lead to my death in turn. Al-although I can’t rule out outside influences, of course.”

Martin shrugs. “Of course.”

“And Tim… well. He’s trickier to nail down. Whatever sent him here… it could be anything. And- and he was missing in the tunnels for a good long while. He might have moved Gertrude’s body to a more easily findable location.”

Martin considers that, bringing out a mug to Jon. “…plausible, both. But, you know them. Sasha is dedicated and absolutely willing to go to far lengths to get what she wants, but I’ve never seen her actually hurt someone.”

“She killed Timothy Hodge.”

“The- the worm man?! Yeah, you would have too. That’s not the same thing and you know it.”

Jon purses his lips and takes the tea. “…okay, maybe, but. Still. But Tim still has a lot of unanswered questions.”

“So you ask him. /Politely/. Or, actually, don’t. Not now. That ship has sailed for you. He’s pretty angry with you. But. He’s your friend, Jon. We’re your friends.” He sighs. “Look, you’re scared. We all are. But I’m not about to let you take it out on us anymore. So. You are not allowed to keep your weird paranoid theories just to yourself and your recorder anymore.”

“My- my what? I don’t-“

“I’m home a lot more than you think I am, Jon.”

Silence for a moment, a defensive tension, then a slump. “That’s…that says something about how little prepared I am, I think.”

“Yeah, probably. But I want you to bring them to me. We’ll talk them through together, and you can have someone to pull you back from the edge when you’re going too far.” Martin sips his tea. “I mean, I already told you my big secret, and I’m living in your flat, so you’re keeping a constant eye on me anyway.”

“That’s…that’s true. And, I suppose, an extra investigative force wouldn’t go amiss…”

“Probably not.”

Jon sighed, examined his tea skeptically, then sipped it. “Fine, yes, alright. I’ll keep you in the loop, if I must.”

“Good. And I’ll try to calm the others down, so long as you play nice. I’m not having you lose your friends, Jon. We’re all in a rough place. But we can still get better.”

“Hm.” Jon took another sip, less tentative this time. “It would be nice to cross people off the list. I don’t like watching over my shoulder all the time.”

“And you’re not that great at it, honestly,” Martin joked. Jon smiled weakly. “It’ll be okay, Jon. We’ll figure it out, get things back on track. You and me, yeah?”

Jon was quiet for a moment, then hesitantly nodded. “…Yes. Yes, I hope so.”

[countessofravenclaw]

Like the Red Rose blooms in the Oxford Garden: Chapter seven

Sometimes when your heart breaks… it feels like there is no way to fix it. No matter what you try. All the memories get left behind as something unfinished… But maybe, there is to way to fix it, A second chance. Some way to finish the story you two started writing because it was never the end, but just a part of the story… even if you have to travel far to achieve it.

My heart, my body, my love. There isn't a part of me you didn't touch

“I don’t know, I honestly do not know anymore. Sometimes I can just feel it, when he looks at me, he feels the same. I can see it from his eyes… but then other times I am convinced that it’s not the case.” A tear rolled down from Nina’s eye as she was talking to Luna. “I can’t bear this anymore. I love him, and that hasn’t changed. It won’t change, no matter what I do.”

“Nina, I don’t like to see you like this.” Luna smiled at her sympathetically “What makes you think he doesn’t?” 

“I told you, he pulled away.” Nina sighed, “I know him, he would have made a move by now. He hasn’t…”

“What if he’s just scared?”

“Scared?”

“What if he is just afraid to admit that he still likes you,” Luna shrugged, “That was the case with me and Matteo at least twice. Maybe you should make the first move?”

“You know I am not good at that,” Nina shook her head, “I hid behind a screen for a year because I was so afraid to put myself out there and get rejected, even when everything I ever wanted was right before my reach.”

“You won’t know if you don’t try,” Luna smirked, “And to me it is kind of hard to believe that Gastón has gone through all the trouble to help you with that physics, or whatever it is that you are doing, if there is nothing there anymore.”

“I don’t know,” Nina shook her head again. It was so hard to let herself hope, everything would just end up hurting twice as worse. “I don’t want to lose him… but I can’t keep going like this either…”

“Luna!” Someone was yelling for Luna behind the computer screen. 

“Ambar’s calling me,” Luna turned around, “I’m sorry but I need to go. I miss you amiga.”

“I miss you too. Talk to you tomorrow?”

Nina fell down on her bed. Maybe Luna was right… and all of this was just in her head, and she should just take a risk…

Another tear rolled down her cheek. What was she supposed to do? Call him right now and plead her heart out to him, only to get rejected and ending up looking desperate. Would they just spend rest of their time at Oxford avoiding each other? She wouldn’t be able to bear that.

On the other hand, would she be able to bear to watch him live his life from the sidelines as his friend? Watching him fall in love and build that life, she had always wished to have with him, with someone else while knowing that she had thrown away her second shot when she had had it. 

Did she even have a shot?

The thoughts started to swirl in her head with such a force, Nina had to close her eyes. She couldn’t keep thinking about this anymore. 

Nina grabbed her phone and started scrolling on it pretty aimlessly, with no particular goal. She just needed some distraction. 

She wasn’t sure how she had ended up there, but after little time had passed, she found herself browsing the audio files she had saved on her phone. 

Why did she have so many unnamed files? Nina decided that as she had nothing better to do, she might as well start deleting them. 

But what if some of them had something important? She honestly did not remember what those even were for… 

There was only one way to find out. She picked one file at random and clicked on it.

“…The human voice isn’t the only way to communicate. But unlike gestures and signs, speech generates a lot more meaning when it comes to communicating ideas and feeling…”

Nina realized too late what this recording was… it was this.

“…The human voice has a perfect smile…”

She knew the she probably should have stopped listening to the recording but she just couldn’t bring herself to press pause.

“…A pair of eyes, so musical that…”

Nina closed her eyes and tears started streaming out of them again. It was too much, listening to the 16-year-old herself fawn over the same guy, those same musical eyes that still caused her heartache today when she was almost 20. If only she had known, she would have been wiser, done things differently, and avoided all the hardship.

…Delete, Delete, Delete.

She curled on the bed tighter. The clock was nearing midnight, she hadn’t even noticed that. Living in the dorms and sharing a room with two other people, no matter how well they got along, had made her value her privacy. But tonight, she really wished she wouldn’t need to sleep alone.

***

Gastón groaned and rolled over on his bed. He had not slept well… at all. 

It wasn’t like him to just lie in bed for hours in the morning but now he couldn’t think of anything else to do. Not like he was in a hurry to go anywhere. 

His talk with Matteo had not exactly helped anything, but at least he had been able to vent. Not that it had solved anything. Honestly, he didn’t see any way out of his situation… it was impossible to just turn your feelings off.

The most logical option was to just stay away from Nina, but he honestly couldn’t bring himself to even finish that thought. It would be extremely hard, because they saw each other all the time, and she would notice something was up. 

The biggest reason obviously was that he didn’t want to. He wanted to see her every day, hear her talk and laugh, see her smile. In the back of his mind, he hoped he could wake up next to her rest of his life. 

There also was the dynamic that he full on was forced to see her right now. He had promised to see her through the physics course and the exam was in three weeks. If he bailed on

Nina now, she would hate him, and to be fair that would mean that he would not need to worry about staying away from her, but he could never bring himself to do that. He would not be able to live with himself if he knew that Nina hated him. 

There was no solution to this. They were meeting at the library at 9 pm, and he would just need to control himself. 

Gastón rolled over his bed and again reached for his phone. When had things gotten so hard? Honestly, he had brought this all onto himself, by himself.

He noticed that he had instinctively opened the chat between him and Nina. He really needed to get rid of these habits. 

He had expected to see the message where they had confirmed the time for today’s tutoring session but somehow, he had scrolled way further. What he was looking at were messages from 2016… or one message in particular. 

Against all of his better judgment, he clicked on the video he had sent Nina in a ditch attempt to reach her before she left Buenos Aires. He had not had any actual hope of stopping her, and had been just desperate to let her know what he felt. He had been willing to wait for her until she came back. That felt like an eternity ago now. 

“...Nina and Felicity, the girl of my dreams…”

He had had it all figured out when he had been 17. She still was the girl of his dreams no matter how much he had screwed things up. 

Almost like the rest of the day had gone past in a trance because soon enough Gastón found himself walking back to the library when the clock chimed 9 pm. He felt himself to be visibly nervous. 

He saw Nina from afar already. She was sitting in their usual spot that was mostly concealed from view by the bookcases. She was writing something on her computer. He could notget his eyes off her and tried to ignore as well as he could that she was only wearing a cardigan on top of a tank top. 

“Hey, I’m sorry that I’m late,” he finally got himself together enough to actually approach the table. 

“It’s fine,” Nina looked up at him smiling as he sat down. He instantly got lost in it.

“What did you say?”

Gastón had to shake himself back into the moment as he heard that Nina had been saying something. 

“Just that I thought you’d like to know that I talked with Mom.”

“That’s great.” Gastón answered, “How did it go?”

“Pretty great,” Nina nodded, “It was a conversation we really needed to have, and I think things will get better from here.”

“That is really good to hear.” Gastón smiled back at her and noticed something from the corner of his eye. What Nina had on her computer screen didn't look like physics homework. It was Spanish prose, so could not be any of her literature assignments either,

“What is that?”

“Oh, it’s nothing…” Nina glanced at the screen visibly getting a bit nervous.

“Doesn’t look like nothing,” Gastón raised his eyebrow at her, “You do know that I can tell pretty well when you are lying?”

“Okay,” Nina relented.

“I don’t honestly know what it is quite yet… but it is trying to be a novel… maybe.”

“A novel? Really?”

“Maybe, I don’t really know what I am doing,” Nina shook her head, “Honestly, this probably won’t be a good idea. I just kind of started it after I gave up on the Amigos el Patin since journalism wasn’t really for me.”

“What makes you think so?” Gastón questioned, “You’re an amazing writer. What is it about?”

“Well, about this girl, she does not have a name yet, whose parents get divorced, and the custody battle ends up being so bad that she ends up in the system,” Nina started explaining, “The divorce issue in the media is often used as comic relief and child’s trauma is not fleshed out or given enough focus. I want to change that.”

“That sounds really intriguing. And you have real-life experience with it,” Gastón nodded.

“My situation didn’t end up as bad at that, thankfully,” Nina huffed, “Not to say that it was great all the time like you know. I never tried to run away, but I sure did think about it. But enough about this, it is just my silly project. It’s probably gonna mount out to nothing.”

“I think you have beginnings of something great here,” Gastón countered, “You can make it happen if anybody.”

“You really think so?”

“Of course.” He made a huge mistake by looking at her straight in the eyes so she could see that he truly meant it. She was so close, it would be so easy to lean towards her… NO, he needed to stop thinking about that. “So, what problem did we leave it on yesterday?”

“Five,” Nina said while tapping on her computer to open the physics document. The she reached for her notebook which she had apparently left on her left, so she needed to reach across Gastón’s arms to get it. 

That was the only thing he could focus on for a second, how her hand had almost brushed his again.

Seriously, he needed to stop this, they were just friends. 

“You okay?” He realized he had been staring into nothingness until Nina’s voice shook him back into reality. 

“Oh yeah, I am. Sorry, just zoned out for a moment.” He turned back towards her. “What were you saying?”

“About this, do I need the harmonic force’s formula for this or not?” Nina pointed towards the next problem.

“Okay, let me see,”

Gastón leaned closer to the computer, “Yes, you do need that. The weight is on a spring which will have its own wave sequence. You know, a certain amount of movement in a certain period of time, just like the heartbeat—”

As he quit talking about the heartbeat, he realized that his own heart was racing. He turned his head to his right and realized that Nina had leaned towards the screen as well and placed her hand over his in the process… he saw her slowly turn her head towards him as well. They were only millimeters away from each other. 

Their eyes locked and eye contact got as intense as it had been the day before, if not more. 

Gastón felt himself be completely frozen, any part of him refused to function…

“Kiss me.”

Nina’s voice filled the silence suddenly. At that moment his brain short-circuited, and his mind blacked out completely. He wasn’t even sure what was happening until his left-hand dove into her hair and placed it on the back of her neck. And he kissed her.

He kissed her. 

It got intense really fast. Gastón felt Nina’s hands run along on his chest and he wrapped his right arm around her waist in an attempt to get her closer. It forced them to get up from the chairs. 

Once they were forced to separate due to them running out of air, they just stared at each other. Gastón’s mind was running over 200 kilometers in an hour. Had that just happened?

“Sorr…” he stopped himself before he finished what he was about to say. He couldn’t brush this off as spur of a moment. Like Matteo had said, it was all or nothing. This was his only shot and there was no going back now. “Actually no. I am not sorry. I have wanted to do that for months. I—”

“Gastón…”

“Please let me talk,” Gastón interrupted Nina as she was about to open her mouth. “Look, I don’t know if this is coming completely from the left field for you, but for me, it is not. I— I can’t keep doing this anymore. I love you, you have been the only thing in my mind ever since I crashed into you on the first day and before that too. Leaving you was the worst decision I have ever made in my life, and I have regretted it ever since. Thoughts of you have kept me up at night countless times. I don’t know what I was thinking. I don’t want to keep pretending to be your friend when all I want is you, all of you. I know this might be way too much for you and I have no right to say any of this. If you want, I will stay away from your life as far as possible, you don’t need to see me again, but I just need you to know this. I love you, I always have, that is the only thing I know for certain. I don’t know how to stop.”

“Gastón,” Nina grabbed his arms and looked at him straight in the eyes, “It was me who asked you to kiss me in the first place.”

Gastón realized that he had not fully even registered that since he had acted on such an impulse. 

“I came here, because I didn’t want to be afraid anymore. Afraid of taking risks for what I want. But I can’t stop being afraid if I’m not with you. I know that now.” Nina was looking at him straight in the eyes. Gastón could have sworn he saw stars on them. “I didn’t know what I wanted, because the missing part in all of my plans was you. I love you and I don’t know how to stop either.”

“I never should have left,” Gastón shook his head, “I never stopped loving you. I can’t bear it anymore without you.”

“It’s a good thing I am here then,” Nina continued. Gastón had moved his hand on her arm and her hands were resting on his chest. He really had to fight the urge to pull her back tightly against him, but he wanted to let her finish talking first. “Maybe, this was how it was always supposed to happen. You were the one who said that we’d find each other someday and the sea would always keep our names. Maybe it is just waiting for us to decide when it is time… and Maybe it is now.”

“There is no maybe about it.” He said before the small distance between them became too much and he closed the gap between their lips once more. 

The kiss was much more intense than the last one. Both of his arms were around her waist this time, pulling her tightly against him as possible while her arms were around his neck. The tongues got involved very quickly as the pure desperation from both of them became very clear. Everything that had been charged between them, during the past months, weeks and days, was finally released. 

Gastón ended up rotating them, as there were no walls in close proximity to press her against and lifted Nina onto the table, simultaneously pulling that stupid cardigan off of her. 

Things would have probably escalated much further if they hadn’t suddenly heard a noise. The place they were was secluded, but still not completely hidden and getting caught in the position they currently were in was not something that you’d wish to happen to anybody. This wasn’t the Blake Library. 

“We should get out of here.” Gastón helped Nina off the table, still keeping her as close as possible.

“That’s a good idea,” Nina smiled at him and for the first time he allowed himself to just look at her, without any kind of reservations. She was beautiful.

They walked out of the library as discreetly as they could, never letting go of each other's hands. As soon as they got to the lobby of their dorm wing, Gastón picked Nina up and twirled her in the air. 

“I missed you, every day, every hour every minute,” He pulled her into a very tight hug.

“I missed you too,” Nina buried her face into his neck, “More that I could ever describe with words.”

“Luna and Matteo will have a field day,” Gastón laughed. “You are right about that,” Nina laughed with him. 

“Stop that.” He brushed her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her right ear. 

“What?”

“If you smile like that I can’t stop kissing you,” Gastón smirked and kissed her again. 

*

The clock was striking 11 pm when Gastón walked Nina to her dorm room door. 

“Good night.” He pulled her into another hug. He really didn’t want to let her go… honestly ever. “Do you know how happy I am right now?”

“I can feel it.” Nina slid her arms around his neck. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” He placed his hand on her waist. “Good night.” He leaned down and kissed her. 

It was supposed to be a light, sweet, and tender kiss of goodnight, but he maybe should have known better. As soon as she laced her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer, he automatically deepened the kiss into an extremely passionate one and backed her against the door they had been standing in front of. 

Honestly, after the library, he had tried not to have any expectations of anything. Gastón didn’t want to pressure Nina into anything. They had just started to figure things out a little over an hour ago after all. But as he was running his hands through her sides and the kiss growing more heated with every passing second, it was impossible to ignore how much he wanted her.

Soon enough he moved away from her mouth and moved his lips onto her neck. 

“Gastón.”

“Do you want me to stop?” He pushed himself off of her and the door, only to Nina to open the door and suddenly and pull him inside. 

“No, don’t stop.”

{}

Heyyyyyy! It finally happened didn't it? I mean I have been so scared to get to this chapter because I have been thinking about this since I started writing. I am super scared that this will feel rushed to some readers, and they feel like there should have been more angs, but I bad at angst. And what kind of angst would there have been? We aint doing a love triangle with anybody, Gastina are way above of that. Plus my view on this is that only reason Gastón and Nina were able to stay separate was that there was a physical distance keeping them apart. Now there is absolutely nothing keeping them apart outside them themselves and they would just naturally end up back together because they just can't stay away from each other. Sometimes nature just works it out for you Plus this story has never been the gastina gets back together at Oxford: Story, this is the Gastina Oxford: Story. There is more to the story after they are back happily in love. More adventures are to come.

[nyotasaimiri]

Arc Two (redux) 75

Arrowmail watched them go, then looked down at Sonny. “Curious. Well, we may as well start studying that carving for them, yes?” he suggested. “We might find something they missed.”

Sonny dimmed down and all but literally shrank back on herself. “Yeah. Let’s do that.” Her boots scuffed quietly on the old stone floor as she retreated back away from the cold room.

Arrowmail blinked unhappily as he followed her back into the chamber with the ancient script. She was avoiding looking at him, keeping her focus on the floor and then on the wall. That meant anxious, usually. He made a quiet rattling sound, unconsciously mimicking Arjun clearing his throat. “Sympathetic. You are nervous? Do you… regret staying behind?”

Sonny huffed softly as she started running her glowing hands over the stone, looking for hidden marks. “Sure, I guess. I mean no, it’s better if I’m not in the way, but I guess… yeah, I am nervous. It ain’t for me, though. I mean…”

Arrowmail took the hint—she wasn’t ready to talk about it. He tucked his hand into her free hand, just briefly, and pulled out his notebook (he wondered if it said something about him, drenched in new recording technology and he still preferred a physical ledger). “Respectful. We should record all we can from this room. That will let them focus on handling whatever they find.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Sonny made a quiet noise halfway between heat-sigh and radio drone, shook herself a bit, and started scanning the walls again.

Arrowmail busied himself with writing down what the Captain had read earlier. It still fascinated him, how flawlessly she had read it. If it hadn’t been for her response to it, he might have suspected a prank, almost. But that was not like their captain, not at all. She did not joke when it was not the right time. He hummed, quite satisfied. It was a good trait. And they were good words. They reminded him of some of the earliest Glitch poets, with the formal structure and the talk of destinies.

“Musing. I do wonder what she meant about remnants.”

“Eh?” Sonny flickered and looked up from her studying. “What’s that?”

Arrowmail laughed, embarrassed, and shook his head. “Apologetic. It’s nothing. I was talking to myself, really.”

“Oh, that’s… that’s alright.” Sonny turned back to the wall. Her hands were moving a lot slower now, and Arrowmail could tell she wasn’t really focused on it. “Guess I needed a distraction, is all.”

“Worried. Sonny?” Arrowmail set his notebook down. “What’s wrong?”

Sonny waved a hand at him and avoided looking his way again. “Really now, it’s alright. It’s gonna pass in a minute.”

“I could help it pass quicker?”

She stopped, shoulders bowed forward, then looked back at him. Her thin humming voice was almost plaintive, almost pleading. “Arrow, you saw what happened to Lis. I’m scared for our captain and the old man. They don’t get along, you saw, and we don’t know what’s in here, not really.”

Arrowmail stepped forward and offered an arm. “Gentle. They will be alright, Sonny. He’s practical, and the Captain is strong now.”

Sonny shook her head hard. “She ain’t, she really… She tries to hide it, but she can’t really. I can read her, y’see? I can read it plain and clear, she feels like she’s losin’, like she’s fightin’ something all the time and she’s not on top, not at all. Sometimes… but not much. I told the old man off and all, ‘cause he ain’t right either, but… She’s still her, but I’m scared, Arrow.”

Arrowmail hummed, uncertain. He was trained as a scribe, a scholar. This sort of thing was such new ground to him. But he couldn’t bear seeing Sonny sad. He’d known that after the Baron’s keep, and he’d worked so hard to learn to fight, to make sure nothing would ever make her sad again. So she would never be dimmed and darkened by all the evil in their world. But this was something his sword wasn’t good for. All he had were his words.

“Pensive. Do you remember,” he said slowly, emotions failing to lead the words because even he couldn’t name them, “when we fought the Occasus at that Keep? How we were cornered, those awful cultists, but Nyota charged in and just threw them away from us? Hadley was down, I was, I couldn’t protect you… but she protected all of us. She said she would, didn’t she? This isn’t too different, really.” Arrowmail offered his hand again with a soft, gentle glow in his eyes. “Confident. I think she can do that here too. You did say she’s still our Nyota. That’s just what our Nyota would do.”

Sonny looked up at him. “You promise?”

“Hesitant. I can’t control…” He shook his head and started again. “Affirmative. Captain promised it. So she’ll make it right.”

Sonny warmed again and leaned back into him. “Y’know, you’re right. You’re right. She will.”

[dzthenerd490]

Addendum: x-1

Warning! the following is to only be seen by administrators and O5 council members.

SCANNING

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CHECKING RANK DATA OF VIEWER

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RANK OF VIEWER CONFIRMED

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NO SIGNS OF TAMPERING DETECTED

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VIEWING OF ADDENDUM: X-1 APPROVED

the following is a written unredacted report of the details within the recording of Dr. Wicked during his encounters in the town of Wheelsy, South Carolina.

"Is this thing on? testing? testing? Ok good it works. ahem! Good evening, I am Dr. Wicked, and I am with a small investigation squad composed of disguised Iota-10 operatives. We are here to assess the situation on whether or not this squid man actually exists."

"Come on Doc, I think this is another prank call or mass hysteria. you know like that other small town that kept talking about sasquatch visiting their church."

"Uh, Bigfoot is real, man."

"Wait seriously?"

"Yeah, it's SCP-1000, don't you ever read the files?"

"Nah, I'm too scared to do that, I heard there was this one SCP that when you talk about it, it takes you away."

"Oh yeah that thing, but seriously man you really should know more about the SCP's."

"Ok that's enough, let's not make this recording longer than it needs to be. ahem! Anyways in case this is a biohazard anomaly two different de-briefing biohazard stations have been placed to keep anyone who might be infected with whatever this is from escaping and spreading any possible infections. Said biohazard stations are employed with MTF's Iota-10, Epsilon-6, and Epsilon-9 Troopers on standby should they be required. Oh, it looks like we have made it to the police station where most of the reports have been made so we will be departing right now.” One of the soldiers then opened the door and Dr. Wicked was the first of them to exit the small truck. Dr. Wicked was disguised as a CDC researcher while the three Iota-10's were wearing their FBI disguises, they then enter the sheriff's office to gain any local information and have the local law enforcement cooperate in containment if possible.

"Look Bill, just control this however you-" everyone in the station then goes silent when Dr. Wicked and the three Iota-10 agents enter the station.

"...huh... ahem! I am Dr. Wicked of the CDC and as you can see behind me are three FBI agents. We are here because we have heard several reports of a uh... squid man, who is causing trouble? We have reason to believe that this man is infected with a terrible disease, so we are here to find, contain and hopefully cure him."

"Oh no! no! no! no need! no need! we don't need the government coming here and causing trouble-"

"Well sorry sir but if not handled properly this could be a national emergency. So, we just need to speak to the sheriff and-"

"Ok listen, I am the mayor of this fine town and I say we got this under control." The sheriff and other law enforcers at the office then started chuckling to which the mayor quickly tried to shush them all.

"... really, well then Mr. Mayor, if you have this under control then would you mind telling me what uh... Mr. Grant is infected with."

"Oh... uh... well that's easy he uh... well he's obviously infected with Lymes disease!"

"... Lymes disease... you're sure about that?"

"Yeah, I mean you know, when you touch deer feces and then eat a sandwich without washing your hands and then bam!"

"... bam? you suddenly turn into a squid person?" The mayor looked back at Bill in anger while he and the other officers started laughing again. The mayor then turned back to Dr. Wicked who was looking more unamused and disappointed as time went on, leaving the mayor to smile nervously.

"Ok well um I think that's just people wanting attention. I mean, you know how boring life in a small town can be, some people just need to make stuff up."

"Uh Mayor the last time we saw Grant, his hand was all long and limping around like a noodle or something." The Mayor then looked at Dr. Wicked in fear but then smiled while the doctor just glared in disappointment.

"Ok um... Witcher right?"

"Dr. Wicked actually."

"Yeah, whatever anyways-"

"DR. WICKED!"

"...right, Dr. Wicked. um you know if your government folks start rolling in then people are gonna start to freak out, I can't have that."

"Wait so government folks are bad but Grant killing everybody's cows is ok?"

"Can you just shut your mouth for five seconds!"

"Ok, Mr. Mayor, listen to me. Like it or not we are here and you need us, and please rest assured during our time here we will be as discreet as possible, but if we need to evacuate this entire town then under the law of the U.S. Government as well as the safety of this town, we will do what is necessary, because with all due respect you're not the highest authority here anymore." The Mayor was dead silent out of intimidation and some of the officers even chuckled and so did the Iota-10 soldiers.

"Uh Bill, sorry to interrupt but there's been another attack."

"Attack?"

"Oh yeah, our honest-to-god Mayor forgot to tell you that Grant's been taking animals off of the farms from the edge of town."

"Ok then everyone, get your guns, this time we got these FBI folks with us but uh keep an eye on them we don't want to be at fault if they get Lymes disease!"

"Oh haha! fucking ha!"

"Oh, right uh, your government boys need a ride?"

"No, we got a van, we'll meet you there."

***

"... so, this is what the attacks normally look like." Dr Wicked and Sheriff Bill were at the farm field of the latest attack. Both were watching an officer and an Iota-10 soldier examine the field with a large blood trail and dog corpses.

"Naw this is actually pretty decent compared to the last one, you see Grant used to cut up the cows and just take the stomach and sometimes the head too but now he's taking the whole body."

"Interesting, how uh, how do you think he does that?"

"... you know for a guy from the big cities you don't seem very spooked by this, aren't your government folks supposed to be rich clean freaks?"

"Uh, no, and for the record just because I work for the CDC doesn't mean I'm a clean freak, I just happen to know more about diseases than most people. it's my job after all, which is the exact reason I'm asking as much as I can."

"... uh, right sorry."

"It's fine, so uh, it's normal for Grant to leave bits of the corpse of the dead livestock?"

"Yeah, guess he's starting to clean up."

"Hey Chief! I found another dog!" an officer in the tall grass then showed Bill, Wally and Dr. Wicked a mostly cleanly cut dog head.

"Oh god! put that down, numb nuts!"

"No wait! let me see that."

"You sure?! ok then” The officer then tossed the dog head to the ground in front of Dr. Wicked causing him to jump back.

"God damn it! I meant hand it to me you idiot!" Dr. Wicked glared at the officer while they just shrugged and walked off. Dr. Wicked then grunted and reluctantly picked up the dog head and started examining its neck.

"So, uh... you think he's gonna make it doc?" Dr. Wicked glared at Bill unamused while Bill who was smiling quickly stopped and remained silent. Dr. Wicked then sighed and looked back at the head of the dog.

"... Jesus, look at this cut, it's almost clean! How do you think Grant could do this?"

"Well, I'll tell you what I do know, Grant absolutely hates dogs." Dr. Wicked again glared at Bill with much more anger this time.

"I mean you know, because uh... this whole thing doesn't really strike me as the work of a dog lover..."

"Right..."

"Hey Bill! The trail ends in the forest!"

"He dragged the whole damn cow in there, how does one man do that?"

"Uh we've heard reports that Grant was a uh... squid man, could you elaborate on that?"

"I'm gonna be honest doc I know just as much as you, I haven't seen Grant since he tried to kill Starla and that was when his arm got all stretched out and was waving everywhere like a noodle or something. His face was all messed up too, it looked like he was hit with a mix of poison ivy and some kind of cancer."

"So, he's mutating, that would explain how he's able to drag a whole cow, he's probably twice his original size now."

"Twice his... Doc, that's crazy."

"I've seen crazier."

"Shit... ok Wally! make some calls, we need to get a posse ready, there's only one farm left that's close to the forest, we gonna get this son of a bitch tonight."

***

Dr. Wicked did not bother recording this moment as it was just the Sheriff Bill discussing the plan to capture Grant with his police officers and the local posse. Recording resumes after planning has ended.

"Alright everyone this ends tonight! lock and load!" Dr. Wicked then got on the phone and requested additional assistance from Epsilon-6 and two Epsilon-9 units. He made sure to inform them not to bother with disguises and just arm themselves. However, upon finishing his Call Starla showed up and started begging Bill to let her come. When Bill caved in, Dr. Wicked quickly intervened.

"Wait a civilian?! no, no way, out of the question! we are not letting a civilian join our manhunt... squid hunt... we can't endanger a civilian! I'm sorry Ma'am but you need to leave!"

"Doc, it's ok Starla is Grant's wife."

"All the more reason for them not to make contact, what if he's contagious?! Do you want her to get infected?"

"Look Mister! Grant is my husband! I promised him I would be by his side for better or worse! And if you want to stop me then you're gonna have to shoot me!"

"... ok." Dr. Wicked then pulled out his pistol and pointed it right at Starla's head. Bill pulled out his pistol at Dr. Wicked, but the MTF quickly drew their guns much faster on him. in response the other officers and possie volunteers drew their weapons as well. They were quickly out gunned; However, Dr. Wicked did not stand down, in fact he had little reason too. Soon two more vans pulled in and out of both came out four Epsilon-6 Troopers in standard Military armor and a single Epsilon-9 flamethrower unit. The Epsilon 6 Troopers quickly surrounded everyone with their rifles ready to fire. Bill and the other officers and volunteers laid their guns on the ground and put their hands up.

Dr. Wicked smiled at their defeat but glared at Starla in disappointment when he saw that she wasn't budging. Instead, she put her hand on his gun and pointed it right on her forehead thus ensuring her own fate should Dr. Wicked pulled the trigger.

"Ain't no stuck-up government prick gonna keep me from helping my husband. So, either shoot or fuck off!" Dr. Wicked looked like he was actually going to pull the trigger for a moment, but he quickly pulled his gun up and sighed in annoyance.

"... Hmph, of all places, why did it have to be here?" Dr. Wicked then ordered the MTF's to stand down as he got into his Van without saying a single word.

***

Later that night the police force and volunteers as well as reinforcements from Iota-10, Epsilon-6, and Epsilon-9 were all hiding around a field where a single cow was eating grass in pieces. At one of the hiding spots Bill and Wally were watching in boredom while Starla and Dr. Wicked were sitting in the back. Dr. Wicked was still very unhappy that Starla was there.

"So uh, Starla, are you in any medical profession or military at least?"

"Uh no, I'm actually a schoolteacher."

"... right."

"But uh, you're from the CDC so you can help Grant, right?"

"*sigh* ma'am, we are going to do whatever we can to find the source of Grant's sickness, contain it and hopefully find a cure for Grant, but um... I want you to be prepared should we need to find more... lethal methods to stop the infection." Starla then looked at Dr. Wicked in fear while he continued to look at her in all seriousness.

"Hey Doc, come on. Why do you gotta say stupid shit like that?"

"I just think she should be prepared for the possibility that we may have to get more drastic in order to keep the safety of the public in check."

"Is that why you brought all these damn military soldiers, I mean come on what is this Afghanistan?"

"They're an extra safety measure, we know absolutely nothing about Grant's current situation, so we need to be prepared for any possible..."

"... Doc?" Dr. Wicked then pointed out to the field and then Starla, Bill, and Wally turned to see a heavily mutated Grant slithering his way toward the cow.

"G- Grant?"

"Ho. ly. shit."

"That is the most fucked up thing I have ever seen..."

"...meh, I've seen worse." Bill, Starla, and Wally then looked at Dr. Wicked in both confusion and Horror. Just then Grant killed the cow and started dragging its corpse away into the forest.

"Ok good he's on the move, I think we should follow his trail so that we can find his nest and hopefully the source of- where the fuck is she going?!" Bill and Wally then turned back to the field and saw that Starla was walking after Grant. The other policemen and troopers then left their hiding spots in confusion to which Bill and Dr. Wicked quickly ordered them all to follow her and Grant. It didn't take long for them all to stumble across another wide field in the forest and to which Starla cried out to Grant which surprisingly made him stop. Everyone then quickly surrounded Grant while Starla continued to talk to him.

"... it's ok Grant, you're just sick is all. you're just sick." Some of the soldiers and police officers looked at each other wondering if Starla actually believed that or if she was just trying to comfort Grant.

"We got some people from the CDC! here to get you the help you need." Starla then looked at Dr. Wicked and he looked at her frightened knowing that now he had to step forward. He was shaking the entire time but regardless he continued to walk toward and stand right by Starla.

"*sigh* God damn it, Ahem! uh, hello Grant. I am Dr. Wicked of the CDE- ABC- bah! the- the CDC! Ahem! A- And believe it or not we’ve seen cases like yours but believe me there are those that have got it way worse than you! um, regardless we learned a thing or two so if you just come with us then we can help you, we can build you a brand-new body. you just need to take Starla's hand and let her lead you to the biohazard debriefing station."

"That's right, Grant, I'm gonna stay by you just like I swore I would! for better or worse!"

"Much fucking worse." Grant then growled at Bill, to which Dr. Wicked glared back at him in fearful frustration.

"Shut up! For the love of God!"

"Grant! marriage is a sacred bond, right baby?" Again, the soldiers then looked at each other in disgust wondering how Starla could say that to an abomination of flesh and tentacles. Grant then roared at them all and was about to leave but then one of the farmers got in front of him.

"Stop right there, you son of a bitch!" Dr. Wicked then signaled two soldiers to stand by him and keep Grant from escaping.

"Now I don't care what kind of leprosy you got! We need to find that girl, so you can either make this peaceful or me and these boys will blow a hole in your tentacle ass." The two soldiers then looked at the farmer in disgust. Dr. Wicked noticed how aggravated Grant looked and panicked.

"Tranquilizers! Open fire!” The soldiers armed with tranquilizer guns then shot Grant in the back, but he just looked at them all in annoyance then he turned back to the farmer and two soldiers and then swung his tentacle at them. Luckily one of the soldiers ducked in time but the farmer and the other soldier weren't so lucky and instantly fell apart from being cut in two.

"FUCK! OPEN FIRE!"

"TAKE EM OUT!" Just then everyone started shooting at Grant, but he slithered away, though he happened to slither by the one soldier that ducked. When the soldier noticed him, he quickly jumped on Grant and tried to grab onto him. The soldier held on tight and pulled out his knife and started stabbing Grant. Grant quickly used his tentacles to throw him off and whip him into pieces while in the air. The pieces of the soldier then went flying into the trees. The sight was horrific, but no one was stopping; they were all chasing through the forest to get Grant once and for all. However, it was quite clear quickly they weren't making good progress. Grand was slithering extremely quickly, and in the woods, he was impossible to catch up to.

"Shit! activate the drones!" Two of the soldiers then stopped in place while two other soldiers reached in their backpacks and activated anomalous biohazard detection drones. They were new models and still experimental, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Thankfully the worked and were able to not only fly correctly but detect the anomalous mutations on Grant. The drones were pursuing him quickly and with the connected computer pads the soldiers were able to see what the drones saw. Bill saw the drones in the air and looked at Dr. Wicked who was right by him.

"Doc? what the hell are those things?"

"Their drones! It's a miracle they work since they're still in the experimental phase! We adapted them from the kinds of drones that the military uses!"

"Military! Doc what they hell are you using military tech for?!" Dr. Wicked then stopped running and held his hand in front of Bill to keep him still. Dr. Wicked then glared at Bill in disappointment.

"Sheriff Bill, the livestock of your town are dying, a woman is missing, and one of your citizen's named Grant has turned into a giant squid monster. Do you really think using military tech is overkill right now?"

"... Fair enough..."

"Dr. Wicked! Over here!" Dr. Wicked and Bill then ran over to where everyone else was and found them all huddled around an old shed where the drones were hovering in front of. One of the soldiers then walked up to Dr. Wicked and showed him a pad screen to see what the drone saw.

"It looks like a large anomalous biological entity in that shed."

"Hey, I hear Brenda crying in there!"

"Interesting, that must mean we found the nest, either that or we found the source of Grant's mutations. which means he's probably mutating this Brenda right now."

"Uh, wait does that mean we could be mutated too if we go in the shed?"

"Only one way to find out, I'm afraid." Bill and his officers along with the MTF soldiers were now all filled with fear at the possibility of becoming an abomination like Grant. Bill then sneaked over to a soldier and nudged him in the shoulder.

"Alright you heard him, open it."

"Wha-?! me?! you open it!"

"Hey, your military, you should be prepared for this kind of shit."

"You're the sheriff! this is your deal, you open it!"

"Will one of you morons just open it!" Both the soldier and Bill grunted; Bill then held out his hand to signal he wanted to play Rock, Paper, Scissors. The Soldier Agreed and they went on three with Bill giving Paper and the soldier going for Rock but quickly changing to Scissors.

"... you suck." Bill then grunted in annoyance and went over to the door of the shed. Bill looked back and all the officers and soldiers had their guns ready. Bill then quickly opened it and was the first to charge inside. However, he quickly stopped when he saw the state of Brenda.

"Somethings wrong with me!"

"... uh... yeah..."

"Oh my god!"

"Dear lord!"

"Ugh..."

"... Meh, I've seen worse." Everyone, even his own soldiers, looked at Dr. Wicked in either fear or annoyance.

"Sorry! sorry... it's become a habit of me to say that." Brenda's torso then moved which spooked everyone but then she just stayed still just as fast.

"Ok that's interesting. Hey Bill! go talk to her, keep her calm while I do a checkup." Bill then looked at Dr. Wicked in confusion.

"You sure doc? I'm no doctor but... I think it might just be a cold."

"Just talk to her will you!"

"Bill? Is that you? How's my boy? Is he alright?"

"Oh uh, your boy is fine Brenda." Bill then walked up to Brenda to talk to her while Dr. Wicked walked to her side to examine her. He got out a handheld bio scanner to see what was going on with her internally.

"Ahem! So uh, what's... what's going on here... exactly?" Dr. Wicked then looked at Bill in disappointment while Bill just shrugged.

"I'm so fucking hungry Bill, I never knew anyone could be so hungry... could you uh, pass me a bit of that possums over there. just a little bit." Just as the mayor left the shed to puke. Dr. Wicked realized from the results he was getting that under Brenda's skin were thousands of slugs.

"Ok, I think we best get you to a hospital right quick."

"What the fuck are they supposed to do with her in a hospital, Bill?"

"Shut up. Doc can help her. Doc, you can help her, right?"

"Uh... no, we need to go!" Just then Brenda started moving.

"Why is she doing that?!"

"Her torso is moving!"

"Doc do something!"

"There's nothing I can do! we need to go!" Brenda started moving even more.

"Someone, make her stop doing that shit!"

"Doc, we are not leaving Brenda! Give her some penicillin or something!"

"Penicil- OH MY GOD LISTEN TO ME! THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF SLUG LIKE PARASITES ROAMING AROUND INSIDE HER AND THEY ARE GOING TO BURST OUT OF HER AND CRAWL RIGHT UP OUR ASSHOLES IF WE DON'T GET OUT OF HERE NOW!"

"... what?" Just then Brenda's flesh started tearing up.

"AAAH! THE FUCKERS ARE TEARING ME APART!"

"Oh, fuck it. I tried to warn them." Dr. Wicked then ran for the barn door and quickly closed it.

"BURN IT DOWN!” Then the two Epsilon-9 units started their flamethrowers and lit the barn up while the other troopers backed up and were ready to fire. However, it was too late, the slugs burst the door down and quickly overwhelmed everyone. Though of course not right away some of the soldiers managed to keep standing long enough to shoot a few of the slugs but in the end most of the soldiers were overwhelmed.

Those who were left heard Bill shout, "cover your mouth!" and most listened instantly though others didn't need to since their mouths were already covered by helmets and mouthguards. In the end the slugs left and the only ones not infected were the Mayor, Starla, Bill, Margaret, Dr. Wicked, and five soldiers.

"Ugh! they tried to get into my mouth! pfft! What kind of thing wants you to eat it?!"

"a parasite that's what, be thankful it didn't get you." Bill left the shed and confronted Dr. Wicked while filled with frustration and annoyance.

"*cough, cough* ugh... hey yeah- by the way thanks for the help doc! Yeah, you're a regular saint ain't ya!"

"oh, stuff a sock in it! I told you there was nothing I could do, if you would have just listened to me and ran, we would have burned this barn down by now and no one would have been infected by those parasites." Bill then calmed down for he couldn't deny that Dr. Wicked was correct. However, he didn't blame himself either since no sane person would have believed that Brenda would have exploded into a thousand parasite-like slugs, yet it did happen. However, what caught Bill's attention the most was how Dr. Wicked only seemed a little annoyed but not as scared as everyone else given the Nightmare that just happened.

"You... You know Doc, you act like you know these things, do you know what this is, please say yes."

"... no, I've never encountered anything like this, just worse."

"Worse?! god damn it you keep saying that! You mean there's stuff like this happening in other places?!"

"That's all I can say, so just use your imagination." Dr. Wicked then walked to one of the dead MTF's and administered a strange syringe into him. Dr. Wicked then looked at the other MTF's and just shook his head to which they all looked frustrated.

"... fuck... ok, Shelby, Shelby come in... Shelby, come in! ... shit! I can't contact the station."

"Allow me, checkpoint 1 come in, we have a biohazard breach... checkpoint 1 come in... checkpoint 2 can you hear me... checkpoint 2 respond! damn it we're too deep in the forest we need to get back to town to get a clearer signal."

"Hey, wait doc, what about your guys and our guys? We can't just leave them here."

"We don't even know what's happening to them and even if we did, we don't have the proper equipment to help them. The best thing we can do is get back to town and radio back up."

"Alright, fine, but I'm comin with you."

"That's fair, the rest of you should stay here, you four, I want you to stay behind and keep them safe, as for you, come with us and watch our backs in case Grant ambushes us. Alright then let's move out."

***

Dr. Wicked, Bill, and the Epsilon-6 soldier were walking through the forest. All of them are quite shaken and ready to get out of the forest given the horrible experience they both witnessed and experienced. The soldier was especially on edge wondering if one of those slugs were going to ambush one of them again.

The soldier's paranoia ended up being justified when he heard something roaming around the forest. Bill pulled out his pistol and Dr. Wicked did the same, the three of them then huddled together with their guns all pointed out ready to shoot at anything that shows up. Then suddenly an entity then jumped out of the bushes and all three of them jumped back with Dr. Wicked giving off a high-pitched screaming. The three of them pointed their guns at the entity only for it to just be a simple deer.

"Oh..."

"Huh... she's a beauty..."

"Yeah... he, nice reaction there, Doc."

"Oh, shut up, for all you know it could have been Grant." Now that the three were calm they looked at the Deer as it peacefully walked away. For a moment it was like the nightmare had ended. Then they were reminded of the nightmare when a slug slid on the deer and entered its mouth forcing it to fall into a comatose state.

"Ugh! God damn it, Grant! you killed the beauty of nature!"

"Shit we can't let these worms get into the town. Come on, let's pick up the pace!" Dr. Wicked grunted and followed Bill but then the Epsilon-6 soldier grabbed Dr. Wicked's hand to hold him back.

"Sir, it's more than likely the parasites have made it into the town and if they do it's extremely likely that all infected hosts will become anomalous variants of Grant. shouldn't we consider this town lost?"

"... of course, it's lost, that's why we're trying to contact the Checkpoint bases to get us and the remaining civilians out of here so we can blow this city to oblivion before the entity gets out."

"Oh, uh, of course sir."

"Don't worry, we know its parasite-based pathogen anomaly now and the parasites aren't microscopic, meaning we have viable evidence that we aren't infected. The Foundation won't abandon us, not with all the data we collected. As for the civilians... well in normal circumstances they would be expendable but I'm not as heartless as the O5, so let's at least try to save who we can."

***

The Following is another recording from one of the soldier's assisting the civilians with the infected hosts. The following audio is added for context in future events of the recording.

"Hey, are they still alive?" After checking their pulse, Starla nodded to confirm.

"Praise Jesus."

"Praise Jesus?! All of this shit is as far from God as the devil himself, I never seen this kind of shit before! and I watch Animal planet!" The MTF soldiers started laughing a little to which the mayor looked at them annoyed.

"Well glad to know you boys are still having fun!" The MTF soldiers were dragging the bodies and putting them closely together. Starla noticed this and was confused.

"Um excuse me, I think it would be better if we keep them farther apart." the MTF looked at Starla for a little bit and then just ignored her and went to get another body.

"Hey! We need to give them space!" Starla tried to stop one of the MTF soldiers, but he just shook his arm out of her grasp and continued to ignore her. The Mayor and Margaret then got one of the bodies out of the barn, the MTF soldiers quickly just pushed them out of the way and took it to put it close to the others.

"Ha?! You see that! These government folks don't care if we fall so long as they get what they want! I bet you they're gonna try to turn Grant into some kind of weapon! I saw that in a movie once! government folks' are always doing stupid shit like that! Not me though, I'm like one of the people you know? I tell you what when all this shit ends, I'm gonna sue that CDC doctor! you'll help me right Margret?! I don't care that you're a Lesbo, we all gotta stand together against these corrupt cock suckers!" Once the MTF's were done they looked at the mayor, who looked scared at first but then flipped them off. The MTF just ignored him and focused on the bodies again.

Starla couldn't help but look at the MTF's in anger as they just ignored the people around them. Starla was then shocked to see one of the MTF grab a flamethrower from the body of an Epsilon-9 soldier. He then armed it and pointed it at the bodies while the others stood back, He didn't ignite but the sight still shocked Starla.

"Hey! what are you doing?"

"It's just a precautionary measure ma'am."

"Ha! see! I told you government folks are bad news! they're trying to erase the evidence of this even happening! You’re not gonna erase us, cock suckers!" The mayor then tried to lift up his rifle but one of the MTF proved to be faster by pulling out their own pistol and shot the rifle out of the mayor's grip.

"Ah! ... uh... ok I surrender."

"*sigh* I already said it's a precaution. We don't know what the parasites are doing to them. If push comes to shove, we need to be ready to face whatever the parasites have in store, even burn the bodies if we must."

"And let me tell you, keeping the hosts alive is normally not a good sign."

"You don't even know if the parasites are killing them!"

"Trust me, I would prefer they did do that, but as I said, keeping the host alive is a really bad sign. we're not actually going to burn them if we don't have to, but we need to be prepared."

"Prefer they kill them?! What kind of soldiers are you?! aren't you supposed to protect civilians?!"

"Look man'am humanity's survival is our priority! But frankly, if we have to burn a few people to ensure this. Then we will do it without hesitation!" Starla was now furious with the MTFs and tried to walk towards one to push him away. However, the MTF with the flamethrower pointed it right at her, making Starla stop in her tracks.

"No single life is above the survival of all humanity, not your friends and most certainly not you!"

"He... hey! .... hey!" Starla and the MTF unit felt chills up their spine as they heard Wally start talking. Wally then raised himself up and started standing up while his body was standing crooked and flimsy like something that wasn't familiar with his body was possessing him.

"You... You outta watch... where you point a weapon like that... especially when you point it at someone's wife..."

"Wally? You, ok? You don't look so good."

"I don't think that's the Wally you know." Suddenly the others started rising up as well, quickly surrounding everyone and two even grabbed Margret.

"Listen... sugar plum..." suddenly they were all now talking at once.

"I'm sorry for scaring you earlier like that... I just... nature calls you know? ... and this... is my nature now... I know it's a lot to take in... but just so you know... I never stopped thinking about you... but sometimes... you gotta do what you gotta do..." The Wally host then spat at Margaret, she started screaming in pain as her neck started swelling up, then she died due to the massive inflammation.

"Oh my god!"

"Jesus Christ!"

"Grant! if that's really you then please stop baby! just stop!"

"Sugar plum, this is who I am! ... I can't stop this, and neither can you! ... but why would you want to anyways? you said it yourself... Marriage is a sacred bond... for better or worse... are you saying... now that you've seen my worst... you want me gone?!" Several of the hosts started hissing and roaring to show the acid building up in their mouths. one or two of them even started laughing thinking they had all the power. However, the MTF soldiers still had their guns and flamethrower but also made it clear to the hosts when they raised them up. The hosts only had enough time to react in fear before being torched and shot down by the MTFs. The only host left was Wally, the MTFs were about to fire on him but Starla got a shotgun and aimed it at him instead.

"You... You bitch! ... you think you can stop me! ... no one can stop me! ... Besides, admit it! ... you're nothing without me! ... I gave you a comfortable life and this is how you repay me! ... I am your husband! ... sacred bond my ass! ... you just like take and take-” Starla then shot the Wally host in the head. In response the parasite slug crawled out of the head and started fleeing. One of the MTFs saw where it was going and quickly jumped after it, grabbing it before it could escape.

The MTF then struggled to keep the slug still while another MTF grabbed a biohazard sample bag and opened it up. After they got it bagged, they both took a deep breath of relief after catching the sample.

"Alright we got a sample! now let's get out of here before the situation gets worse."

"Worse? Most of my police force is dead, Brenda turned into a goddamn balloon filled with parasite slugs, and those slugs are turning people into Grant talking zombies! How the hell could it possibly get worse?!" as if one que, several straggler slugs started slithering form the woods and right towards them.

"Shit! Run!" The MTF with the flamethrower blazed the ground to cut off the slugs and quickly ran with everyone else before the slugs started going around the flames. Every so often he scorched trees and bushes with flames to keep the slugs off their trail.

***

The MTF's recording from this point was unintelligible due to all the running and fire blocking out their voices. The following audio is back to Dr. Wicked, Sheriff Bill, and the MTF soldier for clear context.

"Hey, is that drone working yet?"

"Uh no sir, I think we pushed it over its limit, it was a prototype."

"I tell you Doc, I still don't know why the CDC has military tech but right now I certainly ain't complaining. I just wish we had more."

"don't worry Sheriff, once we get into contact with the Biohazard Checkpoints, we'll be able to call in reinforcements, tell them what happened here so they can come prepared, then contain this whole nightmare while we get out."

"Wait, get out? Doc, don't you want to help these people?"

"I work better in a lab than in the field, besides we need all the help we can get to contain this thing before it spreads. Frankly I think myself to be WAY too under equipped for this situation. But hey, if you wanna stay and fight this head on without the proper equipment then by all means go for it." Bill was annoyed by how cold and logical Dr. Wicked was, but he had nothing to say in response. It was true, they were massively unprepared for what Grant had in store for them. Also, Bill didn't really want to admit it, but he also wanted to leave and just let the CDC handle this mess. Now that they were out, the forest, the three of them started running while Bill was trying his radio and Dr. Wicked was trying his. However, they were still too far away from town to get anything. Then suddenly Dr. Wicked managed to contact Checkpoint 2 since they were at the edge of town.

"This is Biohazard Checkpoint 2, who the hell is this?!"

"This is Dr. Wicked! Requesting immediate assistance now! Sent out a request for MTF Lambda-12 to be deployed with Chi-7 on standby! As well as three evacuation vehicles with a medical team! I have survivors and MTF forces incapacitated by an unknown parasitic pathogen!"

"Ah! damn it, burn them! Sorry sir, but that request might be delayed! We're being overrun by an unknown swarm of slugs! they have a crimson blood texture and no visible sensory organs!"

"What?! Those are the parasites! Don't let them into your mouth! Repeat, do not let them into your mouth! ... hello? Hello?! Damn it, I can't reach them anymore! How they hell did the slugs get that far so fast!"

"Shit they probably already hit the town! Come one Doc, pick up the pace!" Bill then ran towards Otis's house with the MTF soldier and Dr. Wicked following him. Suddenly they heard yelling and screaming coming from the front of the house. Bill ran up to the house and saw Otis and his family attacking their own car.

"Hey! Hey, what's going on?! what the hell are you all doing?!" Kylie then ran out of the truck and right towards Sheriff Bill.

"Whoa, easy, easy."

"Hey! Are you alright? you're covered in boils! Did those slugs get you?!"

"Oh hey Doc... this... no, no... this must be poison ivy... from out back I recon."

"Ok, that's definitely not normal."

"No, don't listen to them! they're not my parents! The worms are in their brains!" Dr. Wicked and Bill looked at each other in fear, they then looked at Otis and his family and sure enough. They were not moving or acting normal, like they were possessed. Both Dr. Wicked and Bill knew that Kylie was right about the worms but that didn't make them any less afraid.

"Shit... uh ok! you guys stay right there! Kylie's going to come with me! And uh... I'm gonna get you folks paramedic!" Dr. Wicked glared at Bill in disappointment as it was clearly not convincing the infected hosts. Bill noticed Dr. Wicked's glare and just shrugged since he couldn't think of anything better to say.

"Hey there Killer!" Suddenly another Host showed up with a shovel ready to strike down Bill, but thankfully the MTF soldier behind Bill noticed this and shot him down. The host was on his knees and filled with holes but was still twitching as if the Worm was trying to maintain control.

"Starla's... my woman... you prick..." the host then died but before anyone could react, another host ambushed the MTF and tried to steal his gun. However, the soldier managed to shake off the host and shoot him too. Dr. Wicked then got out his pistol and Bill did the same and they started shooting as many of the hosts as they could. However, Bill started to hesitate as Kylie's family was getting closer, then he had to dodge when one of the little girls spat the bio acid. Dr. Wicked then had to dodge as well with the hosts getting closer.

"Damn it, there's too many of them! We gotta get out of here now!"

"Our vehicles are right there! Come on, haul ass!" The MTF Trooper ran to the cars and Dr. Wicked, Bill, and Kylie followed him. After clumsily getting over the fence, Bill got Kylie in his car while standing outside and shooting at more Hosts. Dr. Wicked and the MTF soldier did the same for their van to hold the Hosts off as much as possible.

"Sheriff! Just get in and get the girl out of here!"

"My friends are still out there! we can't just leave them!"

"Uh, but I guess we can wait for them to come to us!" Dr. Wicked then pointed at Starla, Jack and the other three MTF Troopers running from several hosts.

"God damn it! what the hell is going on?!" Bill then got in his car after barely managing to dodge several acid spits. Dr. Wicked saw that one of the running MTF Troopers had a captured parasite and ordered them to quickly get to the Van. With the Host's closing in and surrounding them Dr. Wicked was cut off from the van and went to Bill's car instead.

"Sir, hold on, we'll clear a way for you!"

"Negative! get that sample and get the hell out of here! go now!" The MTF units all went into the van and just barely managed to dodge the acid spits. The Van then drove off but not before hitting a Host that was attacking Jack. As the van passed by it stopped and opened a door and an MTF Trooper got out to let Starla in. However, she instead grabbed his gun and shot several Hosts and even the Host the van hit several times while screaming in anger. All while Jack, Bill, Dr, Wicked, Kylie, and all the MTF soldiers watched in both horror and amazement.

After Starla unloaded the entire clip on a single Host, she took a deep breath and handed the gun back to the MTF soldier who fearfully took it. The MTF then pushed her away and shot down another Host trying to ambush them. The van then drove off and Starla helped Jack up and got into Bill's car. They then drove off as the remaining Hosts chased after them.

***

Bill drove his police car, with Starla in the front seat, Kylie and Jack in the back and Dr. Wicked uncomfortable sitting in-between them. Nobody really said anything because they were all still coping with the fact that the townsfolk were now all zombies possessed by bloody slugs.

"so... How's everybody's evening? Good?"

"What. Do you think?"

"... I'm just trying to stay positive Doc." Dr. Wicked just groaned in annoyance, he then saw the MTF van in front of them and got his radio out.

"All remaining Units, this is Dr. Wicked, can you read me? Over."

"We read you sir. What are our orders? Over."

"Get to Biohazard Checkpoint 1 and send that sample to the Foundation as soon as possible. Don't wait for us, we will catch up with you. Over."

"Sir, shouldn't we turn around and head to Biohazard Checkpoint 2? Over."

"Negative Checkpoint 2 has been compromised, head to Checkpoint 1 and hurry. Over and out!" Now that Bill was calm, he could think more clearly and remembered about Shelby. He quickly got his own radio and called her.

"Shelby... Shelby you there?"

"Hey Chief, how you doin?" Everyone then sighed in relief except for Dr. Wicked for he forgot who Shelby was.

"Shelby, have you seen these uh... well I don't know what to call them, just these big red slugs that are really fast."

"Uh no... no slugs, but your mamma called. she said the toilet is backed up again."

"Shelby, I need you to listen to me we-"

"She says it's because of your accident last Sunday."

"... Alright I need you to get the CDC on the horn for me, ok? tell them we got Dr. Wicked with-"

"The CDC?! Just tell her to get the hell out of there!"

"wha? But Doc what about the-"

"Bill! tell her to evacuate and to get as many people as she can to do the same! Tell them to get to the road leading out of town they'll find Biohazard Checkpoint 1. Tell her that now!"

"Ok, ok! Shelby listen to me, scratch that call to the CDC, go home, get your stuff, and get the hell out of town. Tell anyone you come across to do the same! ... Shelby, are you nodding?"

"Oh, uh yeah, I'll get to it. you want me to stay in contact?"

"Yes, Shelby, just get out of there and please pick up my mom, ok?"

"she's gonna be mad that you're ignoring the toilet issue."

"... Shelby, just do it." Bill then put down the radio and noticed everyone looking at him.

"Uh... my mom has a tree in the front yard, it messes with the sewage line. you know how it is."

"Sheriff Bill, we have bigger issues, let's just get out of here and let the reinforcements take care of it... but seriously CDC, pfft! what the hell could they do." Jack, Bill, and Starla then looked at Dr. Wicked with concern and confusion.

"... What?"

"Aren't- Aren't you from the CDC?" Dr. Wicked's eyes widened for he just realized he messed up and revealed something

"Uh... about that..."

"Oh god damn it..."

"This better be fucking good..."

"*sigh* ok I guess you have all seen enough to not get shocked anymore so fuck it. I'm not from the CDC, I'm actually a researcher that works for an organization called the SCP foundation. We secure, we contain, and we protect anomalous entities and objects that interfere with the normalcy of everyday life... kinda like what's happening right now."

"... What is that why you keep saying you've seen worse? Because you quite literally seen worse?!"

"so, wait you fucker's deal with this shit on a regular basis yet even you don't know what they fuck this is?!"

"Every anomaly is different, Mayor! It's kinda why they're called anomalies! because they don't make sense when compared to our standards of normalcy and understanding of the laws of physics. Ahem! As far as we could tell, the worst thing about this anomaly was that there was a squid person roaming around. I personally thought it was a Sarkic cultist but no, apparently it's worse than that."

"Sarkic cultist?"

"Never mind! Look, the point is that we failed at the first attempt of containment but it's ok! Once we get to Checkpoint 1, we can deliver the sample and info we've cataloged and have MTF Lambda-12 and Chi-7 forces contain this mess and get you all to safety."

"You won't be safe... not from him..." Dr. Wicked, Jack, Bill, and Starla were now looking at Kylie in concern and fear.

"I was him... part of him..."

"Who? Kylie, who?"

"Grant, Starla's husband." Dr. Wicked, Bill, and Jack then looked at Starla in shock.

"Wait, now that I think about it those acid spitting freaks were talking to Starla like they were Grant when they woke up."

"Hey Bill, didn't one of the Hosts tell you that Starla was his woman?"

"Yeah, then he called me a Prick... just like Grant would. So wait, Kylie, are you saying all these worms are connected to Grant?"

"Yeah, but he wasn't always Grant. His real face looks like a needle, and he comes from." Kylie then starts shaking out of fear as she pointed to the sky.

"Wait, are you saying it's a goddamn Martian?"

"Martians are from Mars, Jack."

"It's a general term meaning out space, fucker."

"No, it ain't!"

"Look it up cocksucker!"

"Both you idiots shut up!" Dr. Wicked growled at them both; Bill and Jack just grunted as they remained silent.

"... and for the record Martian is not a general term at all... also Martians don't look like that." Bill and Jack then looked at Dr. Wicked again in confusion.

"Ahem, anyways Kylie please continue, you're saying this needle creature is what's causing Grant's anomalous state and it's from outer space?"

"He goes from place to place, entire worlds and planets... killing them. Some he gets pregnant, others he infects with his worms, and the rest he eats. He doesn't stop till they're gone. That's why we're not safe, he's been doing this for centuries across hundreds of worlds. He won't stop hunting us down till we are either pregnant, infected, or his food."

"So, are all the worms are connected? Like they're all one big deal?"

"They're a conscious disease..."

"And Grant is right at the center." Dr. Wicked then checked his audio recorder to see if it was getting all of this and sighed in relief that it was.

"I see, thank you Kylie, with this information the MTF's and researchers will be able to stop this thing."

"No, you don't understand. He gets stronger the more he infects and eats. If you want to stop him, you need to rip him apart or even burn him!"

"Ok... then we'll do that." Kylie couldn't understand how Dr. Wicked was so calm considering he just experienced the same nightmare they did.

"Hm, if there's anything to admire about the Foundation it's that we're persistent bastards. Regardless of how dangerous it is, we don't stop until it's contained."

"Doc, I don't mean to be critical here but maybe it would be better to kill this thing instead of containing it." Starla looked at Bill fearfully.

"Ah, well I mean... "

"If it comes down to it, Sheriff, we might just do that. However, it's always better to at least try to contain the unknown first so that you can study it. Can't properly kill something until you know how it works first." Dr. Wicked then noticed Starla seeming increasingly depressed; he then leaned forward to place his hand on her shoulder.

"Containment is only the first step. Once we understand this monster, we will know how to deal with it. If it's possible to save your husband, we will be the first to know and the first to help." Starla actually smiled and thanked Dr. Wicked, they weren't on good terms at first but now that they were in this mess together it seemed only fitting that they rely on each other more.

"GAH! GOD DAMN IT!"

"Ah!"

"Jack what the hell is it?!"

"God damn it there's no Mr. Pib!" Starla, Bill, and Kylie sighed in relief while Dr. Wicked glared at Jack in seething rage.

"I fucking told your secretary to pack a Mr. Pib! God damn it!" Dr. Wicked then smacked Jack on the back of the head.

"Ah! you cock sucker!"

"Shut up you idiot! We have bigger things to worry about!"

"Ok everyone, calm down! We're at the edge of town, everything's going to be ok!" Starla smiled at first but as they got close everyone saw the town sign covered in slugs.

"God damn it there here too." Dr. Wicked then got on his radio to contact Checkpoint 1.

"Hey! This is Dr. Wicked. Did you boys get the sample out of here? Over?"

"Dr. Wicked? yes, we got the sample but- ah! God damn it!"

"What is it? what's wrong?!"

"Sir we managed to seal ourselves at Checkpoint 1, but the base is currently surrounded by parasites! We already sent a request for appropriate MTF reinforcements, but we don't know how long it will take!"

"Damn it!"

"Sir, you should know, after we reported our situation... a proposal was made to incinerate the town."

"What?!"

"Sir, the infection is spreading too fast. Higher ups are getting scared and thinking it would be better to cut our losses. Sir if you have anything left to do, I recommend you do it now and get the hell out of here! Shit, Hosts are coming everyone get ready for a breach!"

"Hey, wait did Shelby and my mom get there?!"

"Uh wait, Checkpoint 1, did any civilians make it out of the town?"

"What?! uh, no! No Sir! No civilians have left the town! Shit! Sorry sir, I need to help reinforce the door!"

"Ok! We'll be passing you by soon, keep us posted! *sigh* Damn it... Sorry Bill."

"God damn it, what the hell is that girl doing?" Bill then got his radio to contact Shelby.

"Shelby where are you? For the love of god, please don't tell me you forgot to bring your radio."

"Welcome back... Killer..." Chills went up everyone's spine, they were too late, the parasites got everyone; they were now the only ones left.

"Grant you son of a bitch!"

"don't be like that killer... After all... I got a surprise for the lot of you... right around the corner!"

"What? what the hell are-" Suddenly the truck rammed into them, forcing them to crash.

***

The Recorder is undamaged, but nothing can clearly be heard other than muffled groaning, glass breaking, and screaming. It takes a few minutes before the recording could properly resume.

"Ugh... damn it." Dr. Wicked's vision was still faded but as he got his seat belt off, his vision cleared only for him to see Jack and Starla getting dragged away.

"Oh shit!" Kylie screamed as more hosts tried to grab them, Dr. Wicked then pulled out his pistol and shot several of them allowing Kylie and himself to escape. Dr. Wicked saw that Bill who also managed to escape, they covered one another as they got out of the area. Unfortunately, the host numbers were growing, and they had to leave while the hosts grabbed Starla and Jack. Bill and Dr. Wicked escorted Kylie into the woods where they were out of sight of the hosts and hopefully the worms too.

"Ah... God, damn it the worms beat us here."

"... Fuck, we need to get out of here as soon as possible."

"What? What about Starla and Jack?"

"Bill, look around you! They might as well be dead." Bill did as Dr. Wicked asked and sure enough he saw several dead bodies being dragged away by hosts. The entire town was quickly being deserted, leaving nothing but dead bodies and hosts. However, Bill's gaze fell onto the police station, and he quickly remembered the grenade he left.

"Doc, how much ammo you got?"

"Only one clip left, why?"

"I got a grenade back at the police station, right over there. I say you and me, get it. If we kill Grant this whole mess will end."

"...Ok, theoretically that could work but frankly we don't have the forces to get such an operation done. Sheriff Bill, for our safety and the safety of this civilian we need to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Doc, Starla is still out there and I'm not going to leave her. Leave if you want but I'm staying and I'm killing Grant! You wanna leave, then take Kylie with you and get the hell out of here."

"No. No way, Bill. Grant killed my family, if you're gonna kill him I wanna help." Bill and Kylie then looked at Dr. Wicked as he looked at both of them shocked then his expression changed to disappointed defeat.

"Ugh... fine, as a Foundation staff member I'm obligated to at least try to minimize casualties when I can. So, I will help."

"Heh, you make it sound like casualties happen all the time at your workplace." Dr. Wicked continued to look at Bill in disappointment. Soon Bill's smile turned to a look of regret when he realized his joke was actually right on the money.

"Uh. Sorry."

"No need to be sorry, like everyone else at the Foundation I've practically become numb to it." Dr. Wicked just made his statement so casually only to see the shock and fear in Bill's and Kylie's faces.

"*sigh* IN ANY CASE, let's just get the grenade and be done with this suicide mission shall we."

"Hey, come on Doc, don't call it like that."

"I call it what it is." Dr. Wicked just walked out onto the street and headed toward the police station while watching out for wandering hosts. Bill just sighed and followed him, telling Kylie to stay there in case they were to be ambushed. Thankfully it didn't take long before Bill and Dr. Wicked made it to the police station. Bill went right to the radio that Shelby operated and tried to call for local reinforcements. However, Dr. Wicked quickly shut down the radio.

"Wha-? Doc what are you doing?"

"Sheriff Bill, the purpose of our foundation is to maintain normalcy. We Secure, Contain, and Protect the Anomalous. Now we can't do any of that if more people know about what's going on."

"Wha- Doc, come on! we need to get some help here."

"Foundation reinforcements are already on their way, let them be the ones to handle this."

"Doc, no offense but your boys don't sound like they're doing well, I would rather-" Dr. Wicked then pulled out his pistol and aimed it right at Bill.

"Sheriff Bill, I have legal right to execute any civilian I deem a threat to the work of the Foundation, I don't want to kill you, but I will if I have to." Bill then raised his hands to show surrender but quickly grabbed onto Dr. Wicked's arms and got his pistol. Or at least that would have happened, instead Bill was having a lot of trouble actually overpowering Dr. Wicked. Dr. Wicked proved to be very strong and was looking at Bill unimpressed as he tried but failed to get the gun out of his hand. Dr. Wicked then just shocked off Bill's grip, Bill looked up at Dr. Wicked in fear and just made a piece sigh to show he surrendered.

"... ugh... hold on." Dr. Wicked then got out his radio and contacted Checkpoint 1.

"Hey, are you boys still alive or am I talking to Grant now?"

"Uh Grant? no Sir, this is Checkpoint 1. The slugs and hosts retreated and are going back into the Town. Where are you Sir?"

"I'm still in the town, look we think we have a way to stop the entity and in order to prevent this situation from getting worse were going forward with the plan now."

"What?! Sir the request to incinerate the town was denied but that doesn't make this plan of yours any less dangerous! Please just take the civilians and get out of there! Lambda-12 forces are on their way!"

"Then tell them to pick up the pace, cause one way or another this ends tonight. over and out." Dr. Wicked then cut off his radio and gave Bill a hand to get up.

"Thanks Doc, it does feel good to know you believe in me."

"I don't believe in you, in fact I'm sure you're either going to get eaten or get impregnated by Grant. Fucking Christ, I can't believe I just said that, ahem! However, I need to observe whatever I can of the entity, and I believe following you on your suicide plan might lead to the best results. And to comfort you please be aware that I will protect Kylie and get her out of here after Grant has killed you horribly."

"... Doc have your friends ever told you that your great at inspirational speeches because I really think-"

"Shut up and get the Grenade."

"Yup, on it." Bill then went for the weapon's locker and reached for the locker for Gernade after unlocking it. However, before he could actually grab it, he heard strange chewing noises. Bill looked to his left to see a host deer eating a corpse on the floor.

"Bill what the hell is taking so lo-!" Dr. Wicked then saw the host deer and at the same time it noticed the two of them and growled. Dr. Wicked then patted Bill on the shoulder as if to comfort him.

"You got this Sheriff."

"What?" Dr. Wicked then quickly ran off as the Deer quickly pounced on Bill and started biting him.

"Gah! God! Doc, help me!"

"Don't worry Bill, I'll tell Starla and Kylie you were brave!"

"Doc for fuck's sake get this god damn deer off of me!"

"Ugh, fine!" Dr. Wicked was about to get his pistol but knew better than to waste the ammo. Instead, Dr. Wicked got on the host deer and tried choking it while punching its face. The host deer was clearly getting hurt but its anger managed to cloud the pain and shock of Dr. Wicked. The host deer then walked over to Dr. Wicked and growled in anger.

"*sigh* this is what I get for trying to help someone." The host deer then pounced on Dr. Wicked and started biting into his chest. Dr. Wicked grunted in frustration while trying to get the deer off of him. Bill noticed as he got up that Dr. Wicked strangely didn't seem to be in actual pain, he was just angry the host deer was on him and was trying to get it off. Bill tried to help him, but the host deer sensed him and quickly used its hind legs to kick him in the stomach. Now Bill was in pain on the ground while Dr. Wicked was getting attacked by the host deer.

"Hey, mother fucker!" The host deer then looked up to see Kylie with a fire extinguisher, she quickly rammed it right into the host deer's face, smashing its head in and killing it instantly. Kylie then quickly helped Dr. Wicked and Bill up.

"Ah... thank you."

"We have to move, when one of them sees us they all do." Bill then quickly grabbed the grenade from the weapons locker and reloaded his pistol with new ammo.

"Ok, come on."

***

After managing to dodge several hosts and getting out of sight they managed to find an area to lay low. However, they quickly noticed that on the other side of a fence there were some survivors being killed by hosts with the bio acid and then getting dragged away.

"Kylie. Sweetheart, don't look."

"God, what are we gonna do if we can't kill Grant."

"Die horribly and get eaten."

"That's awfully negative."

"Well, it's been that kind of day. Doc can attest to that." Dr. Wicked looked at Bill for only a second before looking away back to the hosts.

"By the way, thanks for saving us from the deer. But for the record, when I tell that story it's gonna be me saving you." Kylie just scoffed while Dr. Wicked noticed the hosts who were dragging the last of the bodies.

"Hey, they're taking all the bodies in the exact same direction."

"Wait, I know where they're going, they're going to Grant's house. That must be where Starla's at."

"You really care for her huh?" Dr. Wicked and Bill then looked at Kylie.

"Grant could see it, it's why he hates you so much. He knows you two used to dream of going to Hollywood together when you were young. But you couldn't do it so neither could Starla. But even after you drifted apart, Grant could see the way you looked at her."

"... yeah... I abandoned her once I won't do it again, that's for god damn sure."

"Bill, as touching as that is, are we actually doing this because you really believe a grenade of all things will actually kill Grant or is this just a desperate attempt to save the woman you love because if it is-"

"Doc... look, I know you think I'm an idiot. But this son of a bitch parasite turned Grant into a monster that killed my friends and is fucking up my town. Of course, this is desperate, but it's all I got. I'm sorry Doc but I ain't gonna wait for your boys to get their asses over here. I'm ending this tonight or die trying. Besides, you said you'd protect Kylie and Starla if I died right?"

"... heh, alright then, Sheriff Bill. Let's go get this son of a bitch."

***

Though it too some time Dr. Wicked, Bill, and Kylie managed to get to the outskirts of Grant's house where several hosts were wandering around like guards. Dr. Wicked was making sure to observe as much as he could about their behavior.

"Look, that's where they gather the food for the Wombs." Kylie then pointed at the back door of the house where several hosts were dragging the dead bodies into.

"Wombs?"

"The people Grant gets pregnant to make more worms."

"Shit so the cycle is already starting. If we're going to do this, we need to hurry."

"What the hell... is that?" Bill pointed out another door where a large amount of flesh was practically leaking out.

"That's how Grant eats, while most of the worms go out finding more meat, others get absorbed into Grant to make him stronger." Just then a fat man walked up to the flesh blob, got naked, and started sinking into the flesh as it started fusing its flesh with his.

"Now that... is some fucked up shit... let me guess doc you've seen worse?" Bill then looked back to Dr. Wicked only to be quite shocked to see that he was actually close to throwing up.

"... no... this is about as bad as it gets." Bill almost laughed at the sight but then he saw Starla inside.

"there's Starla! She's alive! I'm going in."

"What, that's it? You're just going in? you're not going to come up with a plan first?"

"I got a plan, Kill Grant and save Starla." Bill then ran ahead leaving Dr. Wicked and Kylie alone there.

"... We could just leave him and wait for Foundation reinforcements." Kylie looked at Dr. Wicked in disappointment and held her hand out. Dr. Wicked knew what this meant, he groaned and gave her a spare gun he found at the police station. Dr. Wicked and Kylie closely followed Bill but almost immediately was separated from him due to wandering host guards. Then the both of them heard gunshots indicating that Bill was under attack. Kylie was about to run to help but was grabbed by a host, thankfully her quick reflexes allowed her to shoot the host before it could spit on her.

Dr. Wicked sighed as he pushed Kylie forward to catch up with Bill while he covered her by shooting any host trying to ambush them. Finally, then managed to catch up to Grant at the front of the house and quickly entered. However, upon entering the house Bill was stopped by a mutated Jack.

"Kill me! please for the love of God, kill me!"

"Oh, stop being such a baby!" Dr. Wicked then grabbed out another vial, a similar one he used on the dead MTF earlier and injected it into Jack. Suddenly he started feeling better and the large growth on his neck started shrinking.

"Ah! so, it works on Wombs, that's good to know."

"Doc what the hell was that?"

"An experimental drug that's meant to reverse the effects of extreme biological mutation."

"Why didn't you use that on my friends?"

"I tried but it didn't work. I guess, I guess parasites are immune to the medicine. Anyways Jack you might feel some side effects such as headaches, rashes, flaky skin-" Jack then barfed on Dr. Wicked's face a large amount of white substance.

"... Nausea, but besides that you should be ok." As Dr. Wicked wiped his face, the four of them heard Starla screaming. Bill was the first to run toward the noise with Kylie following him, Dr Wicked was about to follow but Jack stopped him.

"Hey, didn't your boys earlier say that they were gonna blow up the town? Let's just get out of here!"

"Now someone agrees with me? Look Jack, the house is surrounded by hosts so if you wanna leave I'm not going to stop you but don't be surprised if you get a face full of acid." Dr. Wicked then ran after Bill and Kylie, Jack grunted and decided to follow as well. The four of them then showed up to the living room of the house to see a heavily mutated Grant. With several hosts infused with his biomass.

"Dear god!"

"Yup, this is definitely as bad as it gets." Bill then noticed that Grant was using one of his large tentacles to strangle Starla. In response he raised the grenade to show Grant he meant business.

"Alright Grant let her go!"

"What the- Bill! Just throw the Grenade!"

"Don't worry Doc I got this-" Then one of Grant's tentacles slapped the Grenade out Bill's hand. The Grenade landed behind a couch and unfortunately the pin was already pulled.

"Shit!" Bill then went right after the Grenade.

"Goddamn it, help me cover him!" Kylie and Dr. Wicked started shooting at Grant in hopes it would stall for time so that Bill could get the grenade before it explodes. However, it wasn't long before the both of them ran out of ammo. Grant then slapped Dr. Wicked into a wall; Starla tried to get away but was slashed on the face by Grant's tentacles. Grant was about to slash Kylie in two, but Jack pushed her out of the way and got slashed himself.

"Oh, goddamn it! I just saved him!"

"Hey I got it!" Bill got the Grenade and Grant saw this, so he tried to slash him with his tentacle. Dr. Wicked saw this and tried to save Bill by jumping in the way hoping that Bill would use that last second to throw the Grenade. However, Grant proved to be too fast and slapped them both through the window and out of the house. Bill ended up losing the Grenade again and it went off right inside the pool. Dr. Wicked and Bill looked at each other with Bill looking defeated and Dr. Wicked having disappointment written all over his face.

"Nice plan there, Sheriff."

"As if you had any better ideas."

"I wanted to wait for help! But no! Let's jump in and fight against the psychotic obsessive asshole of a husband that was possessed by a planet conquering parasite! I mean seriously how could this possibly get any worse!" As if on cue, Bill and Dr. Wicked heard the groans of hundreds of hosts surrounding the house. Then to make matters worse Grant unleashed his womb tentacles and one stabbed Bill in the stomach. Before the other one could stab him, Bill managed to catch it in time. Dr. Wicked quickly helped him pull it away, Dr. Wicked even started grunting in frustration as he tried to tear the tentacle apart. Bill then noticed the propane tank next to Dr. Wicked.

"Doc! The tank!" Dr. Wicked looked at Bill confused, then looked to where Bill was pointing and saw the propane tank.

"The gas! Fill Grant with the gas!" Dr. Wicked then did as Bill asked and forced the tentacle toward the tank and stabbed it into the opening releasing the gas. Dr. Wicked then set the propane tank on full release, it was now pumping gas into Grant. Dr. Wicked tried to grab the tentacle stabbing bill and find a place to stab it into the propane tank as well. However, Grant quickly started retracting the tentacles which dragged them both back into the house.

"Starla shoot!" Dr. Wicked then noticed that Starla was holding Bill's pistol, the one he dropped after Grant slapped away the Grenade. Dr. Wicked realized they were dangerously close to the explosion and quickly shielded Bill from the incoming explosion. Then, after a second of hesitation, Starla shot Grant and the gas in his body ignited causing him to explode and all the hosts and infected wombs to die. Just like that, it was over, the nightmare was finally over, and the only ones left alive were Starla, Kylie, Bill, and Dr. Wicked. Dr. Wicked had flames on his back because of the explosion but he quickly rolled away from Bill and landed on his back, extinguishing the flames instantly.

"Ugh... Nice plan there, Sheriff."

"Haha... told you it would work."

"Bill, are you ok?" Starla then ran over to Bill to help him up and get the tentacle out of him.

"That depends on whether or not this tentacle did its job."

"Both have to be in, Grant needs to stab you with both tentacles or else it won't work."

"Well Hala-fucking-luya!" Kylie then helped Dr. Wicked up and Starla helped Bill up and they all got out of the house only to see it surrounded by dead bodies.

"... I was kinda hoping they would all be ok after we killed Grant."

"We can't save everyone; you'll get used to it."

"We’ll get used to it? what do you mean by that?"

"Well, thanks to the protocol I made. I have the pleasure to ask you three an important question. You have all witnessed firsthand an anomalous attack and have contributed to its destruction, Normally the Foundation prefers containment but none-the-less a win is a win. Now under Foundation protocol you will be given two options. First you can get your memories wiped by Foundation Amnestic and live completely normal lives in new towns with new families without ever knowing any of this happened in the first place. Or you can take the second choice where you join the Foundation and help us fight and contain anomalous threats like this one. I know it's a big choice but at the Foundation we need people like you to help us combat these threats or at the very least to forget we ever existed. But for now, it's entirely your choice." Bill, Starla, and Kylie looked at each other unsure of what to do since both options were so drastic.

"So, you're saying we can either keep fighting stuff out our nightmares for the government or forget all this shit happened and let the government get away with it regardless."

"Well technically we are above the government. Look, I know this stuff is insane but it's thanks to you three that this anomaly didn't spread further. I'm not saying it will always be this easy but frankly the Foundation is the best chance humanity has to maintain its normalcy. Without the Foundation, there would be chaos, destruction, and death everywhere. But not everyone would want to know that so again if you think you can't handle it then just follow me and we'll get your memories wiped and relocated."

"What if we say no to both?"

"... Then we'll choose for you. I know it's harsh, but I don't make the rules. I only write proposals and hope they get approved. kinda like the proposal I made that allows me to even ask this question... normally the Foundation would just erase all your memories forcefully and get it over with." Again, Bill looked back at Kylie and Starla, Starla looked back at the house that she and Grant lived in. Starla was still depressed over it, but she knew she'd rather die than forget what happened here; Starla nodded at Bill. Kylie had already lost her family and it really weighed on her heart, but she would be lying if this whole experience was an adrenaline rush. Besides, if she could help the Foundation improve and prevent this from happening to anyone else, she was all for it, so she nodded as well. Bill was actually surprised to see the two of them agree to it but he just sighed and looked at Dr. Wicked with a smile of determination.

"We're in."

"Heh, then let's head over to Checkpoint 1 and get debriefed, a research and cleanup team will be deployed afterwards to take care of this mess." Bill almost stumbled so Dr. Wicked quickly helped him up while the four of them walked toward Checkpoint 1.

"Oh! Kylie, why don't you tell Starla how I saved you from that deer?"

"Oh yeah... Bill saved me from a deer... that's the story."

"What? That's not true, the host deer nearly killed Bill and I. Kylie was the one who saved us."

"What the- Doc!"

"What? that's the truth."

"Ugh, for fucks sake."

"What?! Bill for crying out loud, what did I say?" Starla and Kyle started laughing while Bill walked forward in anger, Dr. Wicked just sighed as he was regretting not just amnesticing them all. 

End Log

End Note: Though the subjugation of SCP-AAA was a success Dr. Wicked was still reprimanded for his rash decisions, and thus was punished with exposure to SCP-682 for about a week. Afterwards he was given back his level 5 Clearance and class F status.

Bill was processed into Foundation security and works alongside Dr. Wicked as a bodyguard. Because he was assigned to Dr. Wicked, he was given the same training as MTF Alpha-1. It’s been reported that Dr. Wicked was watching and laughing at Bill as he was training. 

Starla originally had undergone training as a field researcher. However, upon learning about the Fire Suppression Department she became a researcher there. She hopes to one day work her way up to the Ethics committee. After seven months of service, she and Bill got married. She requested Dr. Wicked to marry them off and under order of the Ethics Committee, he begrudgingly obliged.

Kylie has only recently completed her training as a field researcher, thanks to her exposure to SCP-AAA her mind has expanded allowing her to recall and absorb more knowledge than the average human. As such, she has been given F class status the same as Dr. Wicked. She works as a trustworthy and hardworking field researcher and thanks to her improved combat experience she works especially well in missions alongside MTF.

The proposal that was referred to in Addendum X-1 was created by Dr. Wicked and called "Sole Survivor” which states: "should a civilian survive an encounter with an anomalous entity and assist the Foundation in its containment or destruction. That civilian should be given the choice to either be Amnestied with a new life or to put their luck, talent, and services to assisting the Foundation." Through heavy debate by the O5 council and Ethics committee, the proposal was eventually approved and made an official Foundation protocol.

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Go back to File: Slither

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SCP: Horror Movie Files Hub

[thegreatobsesso]

UGH THESE TWO 💖

I wrote this scene years ago and revisiting it in the final chapter of book 1/part 1 was just.......... ugh. Simon = 💯. Callie = 💯. Simon + Callie = 💯🔥✨💥💕💯🔥✨💥 god I;m melting

((( to anyone curious and actually remembering shit I posted in other snippets, I guess this is actually kinda spoilery to a certain degree but..... u know what.. F it :) )))

✨ taglist ✨

@avrablake​ @adie-dee​ @dontjudgemeimawriter​ @ryorine​ @thelaughingstag​ @winterandwords​ @afoolandathief​ @asomeoneperson​ @cedar-west​ @diphthongsfordays​ @lowslore​​​​​​

Comment to be added or removed :)

Simon

Little black cameras dotted the corners of the quarantine room. Of course he knew the warden would be listening, and he was certain they were being recorded too.

Callie lifted her head, smirked at the sight of him. “I’d say hello,” she said, her voice scratchy. “But it’s like I never left you, isn’t it?”

She looked awful. Her red-rimmed eyes matched her hair; one was still swollen, decorated in bruises. “I am sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean for this.” He gestured between his head and hers.

“You get a good spanking for it? I’m sure nobody expected their golden boy to go rogue.”

Back at Delaney she was able to skewer him with a couple choice words - now, it all just sounded hollow. Nothing but noises, and not even the loudest ones coming from her direction. He pulled up a chair and sat opposite her at the steel table, mirroring her position with his hands folded in front of him, except for the absence of cuffs.

We could talk like this, he said, if you don’t want them to listen.

A mangled negative reply splattered across their connection. He nodded.

“There’s a whole team of people on the other side of the door, trying to figure out the best way to keep your magic suppressed on a minute-by-minute basis,” he said.

“Can you believe it? All this fuss for little old me.”

“Well, you’ve convinced the world you’re a dangerous monster and now you’re being treated like one. You did this to yourself.”

“Did you hear me complaining?”

She was sweating, the scrubs damp under her armpits. Whatever he felt had to be a fraction of it and he’d already had enough.

“Just tell them,” he said. “Tell them what I know, that it was an accident from the start and you don’t wanna hurt anyone else, and they might let up.”

“I don’t want them to,” she said, voice strained, hanging onto composure by a thread. “I like the pain.”

if I’m in pain I’m getting what I deserve I don’t have to feel guilty as long as I’m in pain

“Is that why you’re still here?” he asked. He’d never felt a mind twisted up into knots like this. He looked toward the glass where he knew Warden Prescott was still standing, watching and listening. “They know you’re letting this happen. That if you wanted to, you could stop it.”

She blinked; a ferocious emptiness surged up inside her. “Where else am I supposed to go?”

It wasn’t a rhetorical question - she was interested in an answer if he had one, but he didn’t. He lived her life alongside her in a compressed whirlwind of tightly-packed disappointments and she had no family to take her in, Delaney certainly wouldn’t have her, there were no relationships, no friends…

He pulled back. It hurt to be near.

“Just because you say you’re not gonna try to escape again…” He fumbled, trying to lay out the mess. “They still can’t take you at your word, Callie. You’ve got the public frightened that Downing Bay can’t hold you and the authorities are scared you’re gonna prove it.”

She winced; something crossed her mind too quickly for him to get a good look. “What are they gonna do to me?” she asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t think they do either.”

“Why don’t they just kill me?”

The way she said these things, like she really didn’t care - it was infuriating. “They can’t just execute someone because they don’t know what else to do.” He narrowed his eyes like it might help him see her clearer. “Is that what you want? To die?”

She rolled it around in her head. “Not really,” she shrugged. “But I don’t really wanna live either.”

The meaningless chasm across the connection told him she wasn’t being melodramatic, and its vastness made him want to scream.

“Don’t,” she snarled, suddenly aware of his presence next to her thoughts. “Don’t you feel sorry for me, you jackass. I don’t want your pity, I’d rather you spit in my eye.”

“I can’t help it,” he groaned. “You sit there acting like this while… it’s, it’s like two different radio stations blasting into each of my ears, I can’t think.”

She swallowed thickly. “Do you wanna know exactly how much sympathy I have for you right now?”

“No.”

“Zero,” she said anyway. “Nobody made you drill yourself your own personal pipeline into my brain.”

“That’s not what I was trying to do.”

“Oh, so sad,” she pouted, turning her bottom lip out. “You made your first mistake. Feels like shit, doesn’t it?”

he’ll tell everybody, then everyone will know how stupid, how useless, how embarrassing, and he’s listening to you RIGHT NOW, he knows it all, i wish i WAS dead so i didn’t have to, would be easier than this-

“You let me think you did it on purpose,” he bit out, too overwhelmed to hold it back. “You let me think the absolute worst of you.”

“The worst of me is the truth, the shit you know now.”

“No, it’s not. What you are is not worse than a cold-blooded killer, a, a liar, somebody I could spend the rest of my life feeling like a fool for letting in, how do you justify doing that to me?”

She blinked slowly, helplessly, like she couldn’t believe she had to put something so simple into words. “I… the damage was done.”

He scoffed - he couldn’t help it. “It wasn’t. There was a lot more damage left to do, and you did it all. You didn’t miss a single damn opportunity to twist the knife.”

Anger, fresh and bitter, burned through their connection. i was trying to fix it if you would’ve just walked away none of this would be happening i could have made it go away-

“At what cost?” he demanded, not caring what a non sequitur it’d sound like to anyone listening, or the hysterical edge that cracked his voice. “Even if the orblex could do what you were planning, you can’t possibly predict how it would’ve worked. Did you think it would just drop you off on Christmas twelve years ago and let you start again, clean and neat? Did you think about how Grace wouldn’t even exist anymore if you did it right? No one knows how Time magic works and you wanted to just unleash it. For all you know you could have ripped the world apart.”

Disbelief. how could he say something like that?

“Wouldn’t you?” she asked. A tear that hadn’t been there a moment before sprang to her eye and rolled down her cheek. “You wouldn’t risk it, Bennett? To bring him back?”

He wanted to say no, but it got stuck in his throat. She still grieved for him, as hard as he ever did, and it annihilated the space between them, blurred the final lines.

He pushed his chair back and got up - he needed a second. Not to be looking at her, not to be sharing feelings.

“Where are you going?”

are you leaving? don’t leave

He clasped his hands behind his head, breathed in and out, shut his eyes.

say something say something say something say something-

“There’s gonna be a hearing tomorrow,” he said, cutting off the flood of her thoughts she couldn’t control. “Or, not a hearing. A discussion, I guess.”

He turned to face her again; she was listening with rapt attention. She hadn’t been told yet.

“They’re gonna talk about whether there’s any kind of precedent they can fall back on for this, anything at all,” he said, a sudden weariness weighing on his shoulders. “I don’t know if they want me there as a witness or a human lie detector, but they asked me to stay for it and I’m staying. After that, I don’t know. Maybe I’ll see you again, maybe I won’t. I have to think this-”

He gestured to the space between their heads again, at a loss for what to call it. “This’ll fade with time and distance. It’ll have to. It can’t stay forever.”

It couldn’t, could it?

[tirelesslytenderthoughts]

i wrote this 7 weeks ago on my main tumblr after finished reading Rilke. i thought i might as well include it here after the longest time of not writing. here it goes–

i feel like writing my thoughts now that the season is mellow and rainy and cosy and everything else in between that fits the category.

my readings and books that i have read did not really evolve and the amount have become concernedly little. that only means life has taken its toll on me ever since. yet i continue and do not wish it to cease.

the age of 30 to me equals to the age of no longer accepting immaturity in any way but having only a year ahead of me before i turn to the said significant year proves me otherwise, though not completely. was i terrified of getting old? not really. i was quite adamant about it but the journey in completing my masters degree together with the process of getting married helped me shape quite an optimistic perspective, and here i am feeling thrilled as ever.

i feel like i’m allowed to start fresh all over again though nobody is stopping me. when understanding things flow better as i age, my worries become much less. don’t get me wrong, overthinking is never my companion but i’m guessing i have always been calculative around people over how i react and feel. being attentive is generally exhausting but now that i’m aware of how and who to give my time to, i’m more calm and it soothes my soul so much. this space i have in my heart for my loved ones sometimes aches but i frequently remind myself that god has ways to show me things and it’s my chore to process for my own betterment. that’s just how i learn to live.

imperfection is another matter that i try to live without. i learn to let go of things well by watching other people do it flawlessly. maybe there’s a moment i ridicule their selfish act, but through and through, i consider it a knowledge so i know when to hold myself back from reacting impulsively. for the record, i have been impulsive for the past years and let me tell you that being impulsive and attentive altogether would give you pain and sting to the head. 

i just finished reading Rilke’s letters. he preached on solitude for the betterment of one’s own, and as a hasty person reading them feels nothing but a soft slap in the face. though it’s precisely on creativity, i still took it personally. the thing about change is that i’m scared of losing myself along the way, be it marriage or aging or whatever that’s coming. let’s put it this way; i have this bell at the back of my head reminding me that if i act decisively, i might regret soon and if i’m indecisive, nothing is done and i’m insensible. 

no idea where this is going at all but 2023 has been the year that i collected pails of tears, not because of any loss so far alhamdulillah, but ironically, in knowing things and unveiling the (open) secrets that were always there for me to move forward and to be in the next stage of life comfortably. as fruit needs time in the sun to ripen, i pat myself on the back for braving through the unpleasant weight to feel this fulfilled at this moment in time, therefore grateful nonetheless. 

i’m sure there will be more thoughts i’ll be pouring down from now onwards as god has always been nice to me and life makes its own turns and twists when i believe it to be.

this feels nice. i shall do this more often.

the time is 18:06 and chore, responsibilities, and the love of my life are calling me. and i have never felt the unfeigned delight to be in their service. this surprises me, too. just like life does when perspectives undergo a sea change.

yours sincerely, x

[discardedmask]

I used to be your star, my core got heavy, skin went cool. before the fires all went dim you used your words as wicked tools. I miss you babe for sure, but there are questions I must ask. You made me feel meaningless, like you could forget your past.

Did I die in brilliant light, or disappear in the night sky? My core has frozen over and I can’t remember why. You made me feel so frozen, and afraid, my knees grew weak. I shiver and I shake as I turn my other cheek.

When my lifetime ended did I go out in a blast? Did I break you into pieces? Turn you brittle into glass? Did you float out of my presence to an orbit that would last? Am I with you? Did you leave me in the past?

When you look back where you came can you still see me? am I gone? Despite all of our distance can I love you? Is that wrong?

With time I will reform to something new. I guess I’m just in pieces with the memories of you.

I learned to play my music so that I could sing for you. Learned scales, chords, and melodies so my hands had things to do. But I fear my dear these broken chords are not enough for you. So I’ll busy up my hands with someone else’s tune.

These sounds they cannot travel space, and other stars can take my place. I’ll burn away at record pace, cause you’re the high I’ll always chase. That sweet romantic lovely taste, the flavour that I can’t replace.

Oh what dear shall I do. For now I am in pieces with the memories of you.

I know you might be angry but now that the fighting’s over. Do pieces of my soul float in your heart like supernova? Or plucked away from where I once stood in your life so bright, did I left a hole so deep it eats away your light?

My darling moon in the night sky. I’ll love you till the day I die. Every star will fall, so just whatever. But I wish death didn’t have to mean forever.

Forevers much too long, I cannot always sing this song. I can’t just wait to sing along. So I must say babe that it’s through.

I’ll pick up my broken pieces, and leave my memories of you.

——

Babe. I’m always going to love you, but I can’t anymore. I have to use the big word, you’re an abuser.

I know you’re scared. I’m scared too. But you need to let go of your desire for control.

Darling I will make you feel powerful. I will worship you at the altar. I will pray to you and bend for you and break for you. But that is my choice, and if I cannot choose that for myself without your imposed consequences then I cannot love you any longer.

The door will always be open to you, but I guess in parallel to how we became so close, it’s your turn to go to therapy. You allowed me to feel empowered by growth and achievement. It’s your turn to do the same. Three months, with an evidenced change, and I’m yours again,

We all grow up, and in that process we see some of the darkest parts of ourselves. We lose parts of ourselves. We find parts of ourselves. These pieces don’t die. I don’t wish that they would.

You learn to control the body with the mind. You learn to overcome fear and let go of control. You learn to embrace the inherent sufferings of love. You learn to allow yourself to be vulnerable. You learn to allow yourself to be hurt, only to be hurt again. You learn to admit your mistakes.

Maybe you’ll learn to love me? Maybe we can go from cherry wine to sunlight. Maybe I just love you too much to hate you. I’ll never know, you’ll never take the time to talk it out.

I’ll miss you though dear.

[crazybigredlove]

9th November 2013 

Dear Pete, 

No word as yet from The Czech. I am now forced to concede that after two years that ship has finally sailed; if it was ever in port, that is. While I could embrace my well-hidden slutty side and send him a message that whets his appetite (as Andrew previously suggested), I really don't think that's going to get anyone anywhere except laid, followed in quick succession by disappointed. 

If I really wanted that I would do it from the comfort of my own home with your brother. 

"Did you call him?" It's late when Chris appears in my doorway. "Hey, did you just get home?" "Yeah, we were short-staffed today so I stuck around to help a bit." 

"Such a Good Samaritan." "I only do it for the karma points. I like to cash them in for casual sex with strangers." "You're such a simple creature." "I've been telling you that for years. Did you call him?" "Of course not." "Why not?" "Because a simple little fact about men that you taught me is that if they like you they call." "I taught you that?" "You did." "Was I trying to have sex with you at the time." "Yes." He nods. "That would explain it." 

"It's at the stage now where I think I have to accept that none of the men who have been in my life are not for me. That's not such a bad thing. I mean, it sucks that I have to go to all of the trouble of getting to know someone new, I am not happy about that part, but otherwise it's not so bad. Unless of course you're terminally scared of meeting new people and trying new things, then it can be a little intimidating and better to save yourself the trouble and buy a dog instead." 

"You believe yourself when you say that?" "Not even a little bit. The words feel wrong. I don't talk like that. Ugh." I toss my head to try and shake off whatever it is that has clung to me and is making me feel in strange ways. "What if I told you that maybe I might be wrong?" "I would need to tell you to hold that thought while I set my phone to the video setting so that I could record it and play it back to myself later once disbelief had set in and I started thinking I imagined it." "Still fighting pausing between thoughts, huh?" "I have so much to say it's easier if I let all the words run together and then stop and think later." "Right. I'm serious though. I think this could be the exception to the rule." "How do you figure?" Chris drums his fingers on the wall as he takes a seat at the foot of the bed. "How many times did you shut down Will?" "Define shut down." "How many times did you tell him you didn't want to be with him?" "Well," I lean against the backboard of the bed and try to count them all up. "There was the time I told him he was dead to me, when I told him I was happy with friendship, when we went out to dinner and all I talked about was the new guy I was dating. Also, when he tried to have sex when we were dating I kept telling him I didn't want to. When he showed his friends those messages I told him never to contact me again. I also make fun of him and his dating behaviours a lot, but I think he mostly understands how that is more to cover-up the pain of him rejecting me than anything else. Here," I hold out my hands. "I'm going to need your hands too, I'm running out of fingers to count these all on." 

He pushed my hands away. "Bottom line is that you've rejected him close to more times than all the other women he's ever made a move on combined." "Oh come on, you can't prove that." "Did you really tell him he was dead to you?" "Yes, but to be fair it was after I hadn't heard from him for two weeks and he'd promised to call within two days," I protest but know that I may have overreacted a little. "And when you felt shit about Big Red who did you call?" "Will." "And when it didn't work out with Will and - what was her name?" "Lisa." "Right, Lisa. Who did he call?" "What if you're wrong though?" Chris dropped his head to the side in thought. "I might be, but all I'm really saying is that the rule about guys calling doesn't apply here because of how many times you told him not to." "I told him that a lot, didn't I?" "Yeah, you definitely did." "Dammit." 

Chris went back to his room a short time later, kissing my forehead as he left. 

Like I said, that ship has sailed. 

Liv x 

[potentialtheophage]

So I’m watching this YouTube documentary about the Uruk civilization (early human civilization, not… like… LotR orcs or something) and the narrator is going on about how early proto-cuneiform had different counting systems and measurements for counting different types of things. For instance, counting area (farmland, distance, the Uruk equivalent of house square-footage) would use a different counting system than counting livestock or slaves, and both of those would use a different counting system from, say, bushels of grains. The guy is making this point about how tough it would have been for clerks at the time to keep track of their records and the meaning, because they’d need to track and understand around 60 different symbols and measurements at the same time in order to understand their reports.

And I guess… I understand the point there; that sounds like a really cumbersome system, but also I can appreciate the ingenuity of that, because even if that original system was a bit clunky (and the narrator goes on to say that the system becomes more refined and adds around 500+ new symbols), the idea seems to be that with many of those, just by looking at the numeration system, the clerk would be able to tell exactly what kind of account they would be looking at. We do something similar in English with our little abbreviated measure markers at the end, like ft. and oz., and I’ll be perfectly frank, I still don’t understand all of those, but we still have a similar principle— oz are measured in sets of 16, ft in measures of 12 inches, and a whole host of other odd measurement systems! We still have varying base counting systems for different things! (Metric system enthusiasts don’t come at me I’m too enthralled in the common thread of human existence to care about base ten right now).

Anyway, apart from the point that the narrator makes about the difficulty keeping track of the different systems and the fact that many use the same symbols but mean different things, he also makes a point about how many symbols would be necessary to know for this. 60 is the number he states but I don’t know how accurate that is so we’ll just go with it. Imagine that. 60 individual symbols you need to be able to keep track of in order to read your tax returns or quarterly reports. That’s so many!!

Or is it

Because the thing I think might be getting overlooked is that we STILL have so many! Like, even just taking English again, for most of those reports you’re gonna need our alphabet and the base 10 numbering system, but let’s put THOSE aside as well, and get into the other fun stuff. Percentages? Mathematic symbols? If you’re on a spreadsheet you’re gonna be seeing a lot more of those. And let’s take this out of a purely business environment. When’s the last time that you needed to know the meaning of a bunch of individual symbols with setting-specific application and variance?

🤷

Yeah!

I don’t even want to count how many emojis we have nowadays because the number scares me and my general attitude towards technology that existed before me is a vague sense of horror and apprehension. But you get my point! Even a step more abstract, memes! The meaning of *those* is pretty obvious to anyone who is familiar enough with them, but to an outsider, or the metaphorically uninitiated, it’s nonsense and very, very confusing! (Side note: I know these are different phenomena, linguistically or whatever. I just think it’s rad and I’m making a point, ok? I took exactly 1 class on linguistics ever and I am not sure I remember a single second of it). My point is, we’ve ALWAYS had complicated systems of communication, counting, and record keeping! If you make me look at a trig problem or any level of calculus I will start crying! But my engineer friends look at that stuff and it makes perfect sense to them! If you tried to start understanding call from nothing but a few filled-out worksheets left out in the sun of COURSE it would look complicated and confusing! But it wouldn’t be for those that live and breathe this stuff.

So, at this point, I’m just equal parts delighted, encouraged, and joyous about the perpetuity of humanity’s habits and tendencies— the fact that so many things change and yet so many retain those familiar elements, resonating across the centuries and epochs of our history, and equal parts reminded (and perhaps reminding) that our ancestors were smart. Maybe they didn’t know as much raw information as we do today, but by god were they clever, and I think we forget that a lot, confusing our current level of accumulated knowledge for being bumbling idiots. No, humans are clever, more clever than we realize sometimes, and I believe that’s one of those lingering, echoing reflections of our predecessors that we still see when we look in the mirror.

[kitten4sannie]

ᴘᴜɴɪꜱʜᴍᴇɴᴛ (ᴛᴇᴀꜱᴇʀ)

Full Version: here

Boyfriend! Hongjoong x Afab! Reader 

Genre: smut, idol! au

Summary: What happens when you distract Hongjoong from his work? He loses his temper, obviously. Good thing that’s exactly what you were hoping for 🖤

Warnings: established relationship, dom! Hongjoong, sub! reader, Hongjoong is ruthless, filthy dialogue (when i say filthy i mean FILTHY), frequent use of the word “Daddy”, it’s givinggg ddlg, brat taming, name calling, degradation, hair pulling, slapping, spit play, pussy slapping, sex toy usage, orgasm denial, squirting, fingering, spanking, sorta passionate sorta rough (unprotected) sex, very brief cockwarming 

Author's Note: I just wanted to say thank you for getting me to 300 followers, like I honestly can’t even believe it. Thank you so, so much 🥹🖤  Also, I s(c)reamed when I found this picture of HJ on pinterest because he’s literally in the room where he works on his music and he has that judgemental look on his face likeee I AM ON MY KNEES SIR 🧎🏻‍♀️I’ll be releasing this very soon so keep an eye out! 🖤 

➽───────────────❥

You sat beside your boyfriend in his recording studio, chewing on your lip and aimlessly looking around to quell your boredom. Hongjoong had been working on a demo for the last thirty minutes, completely engulfed in his own world. 

He had promised to spend some time with you earlier that week. Instead, here you were all dolled up for him and he hadn’t even spared you a single glance.You’d be lying if you said you weren’t upset, so you figured you might as well make an attempt to steal back his attention.

This, however, was a pretty risky move. You already knew that Hongjoong hated being interrupted when his creative juices were flowing; in fact, the last time you had done that, your ass was so bruised that you couldn’t sit down for a week, without wanting to cry.

 You usually preferred when Hongjoong was his normal, exceptionally sweet self, but the masochist inside you had an affinity for the cruel version of himself that he sometimes revealed to you. Perhaps it was time for him to pay you a visit. 

“Daddyyyy….” you whined into his pierced ear, grabbing onto the sleeve of his hoodie and tugging at it. “I’m literally going to die if you don’t give me attention right now…”

Hongjoong stopped moving his computer mouse around, giving you a side eye. You knew better than to start acting like this while he was working, so that alone already began to piss him off. 

“Sweetie,” he started, his voice devoid of any warmth. “I told you that I would need an hour to get this done. It’s very important. I know we were supposed to do something together tonight, so I’ll make it up to you, okay?”

You pouted, crossing your arms across your chest and leaning back into the computer chair you were sitting in. “Whatever,” you muttered, rolling your eyes. 

Hongjoong’s jaw clenched in response to your bratty behavior, eyes scanning you for a minute to see if you were going to pull another stunt. When he saw that you were just sitting there quietly, his attention turned back onto the track he was working on. 

Only a few minutes had passed, before you were ready for phase two of Operation: Mean Hongjoong. It was a very simple plan, but it was fool-proof. You could feel more and more butterflies accumulating in your stomach the longer you waited to act on your carnal desires. 

Taking in a deep breath, you stood up suddenly and swung one of your legs over Hongjoong’s lower half, before sitting down on his lap. Without another word, you grabbed the computer mouse from his hand and tossed it across the desk where he couldn’t reach it. 

“I can’t wait, Daddy. I want your attention now!” you whined, grabbing his shoulders tightly and shaking him a bit.

The almost glazed-over look in Hongjoong’s eyes would’ve scared you if it hadn’t turned you on first. Every time he got like this, it was like you were dealing with an entirely different person. Your precious Joongie was nowhere to be found; in this state, he might as well have been a demon disguised as a human. And this version of himself wanted nothing more than to see you crying and begging for his mercy. 

“Daddy, did you hear me? I said I w-” 

Your words were quickly cut short when he abruptly grabbed a fistful of your hair, his fingers keeping a tight grip near the base of your scalp. It burned and you loved it. You really were nothing but a slut for the pain he occasionally provided you, but who could blame you? It’s not your fault you had daddy issues.

 The rough, yet very precise slap that Hongjoong brought to your cheek pulled you out of your current headspace.

 “Ow!” you reacted, looking at him with wide eyes and a pout, feigning innocence.“What was that for, Daddy? You’re so mean…” you murmured, rubbing your cheek, as a way to ease the pain. 

Without hesitation, Hongjoong gave you another smack, this time on your other cheek, leaving both sides of your face warm and stinging. 

“Don’t play games, brat. You know the rules. It’s time for your punishment.” 

Release Date: Sep 28

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