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itneverendshere · 9 months ago

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hi! For the bartender!Universe would u mind writing a pregnancy scare? It brings a lot of mixed emotions when they find out she wasn’t pregnant and it ends up a really deep talk about what they want with their future? Thank you so much 💕💕

i got a similiar ask at the exact same time so i decided to combine aspects of both!!! the other request: "this one’s a lil angsty. maybe you have a pregnancy scare and while rafes like super excited for the potential baby, you’re not, the stress of keeping rafe clean and not heading back to rehab lingers your mind".

hope you both enjoy!!!!❤️🫂🤭

just want you in my life keep you warm at nights - r.c

pairing: rafe x pogue!reader (bartender!reader universe) warnings: pregnancy scare; insecurities

Rafe was sprawled out beside you, his arm draped lazily across your stomach as he scrolled through his phone. You could feel the pressure of his hand pressing on your skin, but your mind was a million miles away, your gaze stuck on the ceiling fan.

Everything had been on autopilot for the past few days, your mind preoccupied with one thing—late. Not like a few days late.

More like over a week late.

It wasn’t the first time your period had been irregular, but you couldn’t help but spiral immediately. Rafe and you had been together for three and a half years, living together for a while now and he’d proposed last autumn. But this wasn’t part of the plan, yet.

“Hey,” His voice brought you back to the present, concern evident in his blue eyes. “What’s wrong?”

You blinked, forcing a smile. “Nothing...thinking.”

He shifted, propping himself up on his elbow to look at you more closely. “Thinkin’ about what?”

You hadn’t told him yet. You weren’t sure if there was anything to tell because you hadn’t even taken the test. You weren’t sure if you wanted to. Saying it out loud would make it real.

Rafe, on the other hand, would probably be thrilled. He’d always talked about kids like they were a given for you two, an unspoken future you were destined for. You wanted them too, but the truth was, the idea of being responsible for another human being when you were still trying to recover from Rafe's scare last year and keeping your shit together now that you’d gotten a promotion at the club, was scary.

You couldn’t say that without sounding mean though.

The next day, you stared at the small plastic stick in your hand, heart hammering in your chest as you waited for the result to appear. The bathroom was dead silent, save for the faint drip of the sink, but your mind was anything but quiet.

This one stupid piece of plastic was going to dictate the rest of your life. It could change everything in the blink of an eye. Three minutes, that’s how long it would take to find out if your entire world was about to be turned upside down.

You still hadn’t told Rafe, you didn’t know how to. His mind was in a good place lately, and you didn't want to ruin that. After everything you'd been through—the relapse, the rehab, the nights where you weren’t sure if he’d make it out—this was not something you were ready to throw on both of you.

You hadn’t even wrapped your head around it. Shit, you could barely breathe just from thinking about the possibility.

You glanced at your phone, biting your lip as the seconds ticked by.

Your stomach twisted into endless little knots.

Rafe was in the living room, blissfully unaware of the panic attack you were on the verge of having just a few feet away. You could hear him flipping through channels on the TV, looking for a show to binge when you got back. You felt guilty for not telling him, but how were you supposed to tell him when you didn’t even know what you wanted?

The idea of being pregnant had scared you more than you expected. You didn't hate kids, you grew up rising Milo for fuck’s sake—it was the timing that threw you off. And also the fact your mom died shortly after you were born and your dad…a drunk piece of shit was hardly a good parental figure.

You had never let yourself think about it before, Rafe had told you how good you were with kids a million times over the years, but you didn’t know how you’d turn out with your own kids. You didn’t want to be anything like them, ever.

Taking a deep breath, you finally glanced down at the test.

Negative.

Relief took over you so fast it made you lightheaded. You hadn’t realized how much pressure you’d been carrying until it was gone in an instant. Thank God. Your shoulders slumped as you exhaled, leaning on the sink for support. You could finally could breathe again, relax properly for the first time in what felt like weeks.

There was no baby or life-altering change; no new responsibility that you didn’t know how to handle.

This was good, the outcome you needed.

But life had a twisted sense of humor and the door creaked open.

“Hey, baby, you—”

Your eyes flew open, heart dropping to your ass as you quickly hid the pregnancy test behind your back. Rafe stood in the doorway, looking at you with his signature confused look—one brow cocked, lips slightly parted, walking in on something he wasn’t supposed to.

You attempted a smile.

“Oh, uh, hey! What’s up?” Your voice cracked on the last word, and you internally winced. Smooth.

He narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms as he leaned against the doorframe. “What are you hiding behind your back?”

Shit.

You tried to laugh it off, shaking your head.

“Hiding? I’m not hiding anything.”

His eyes moved to the hand behind your back.

“Really? Because it sure looks like you are.”

You swallowed hard, brain rushing to come up with an excuse. The longer you stood there in silence, the more suspicious you looked.

Rafe was nothing if not persistent when he thought something was up. Before you could stop him, he pushed off the doorframe and closed the distance between you, his hand reaching behind your back in one smooth motion.

Your stomach dropped as he grabbed the test from your hand, pulling it out in front of both of you.

He stared at the pregnancy test in his hand, eyes widening with realization as he processed what he was seeing, what he was holding.

“Y-You thought you were pregnant?”

The heat rose to your cheeks, the anxiety that had been building in your stomach for days came back at full speed. You were still reeling from the relief of the negative result, but now that relief was giving up space for guilt.

You didn't want him to find out like this, or maybe not even at all. It was better to avoid dragging him into the spiral you’d been caught in, when things had been going so well lately.

“I... I wasn’t sure,” you stammered, looking down at the floor because it was easier than meeting his eyes. “I mean, I was late, and I just…I didn’t know.”

Rafe’s face softened, the confusion in his eyes giving way to concern as he took a step toward you. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

The last thing you wanted to do was lie but telling him the truth felt impossible.

“I didn’t want to stress you out,” you admitted, “I wasn’t even sure if I was, and I didn’t want to freak you out for no reason.”

Rafe’s hand was still holding the test, but now he was looking at you with that intensity he always had when he knew you were telling the entire truth. He wasn’t mad—he never got mad —but you could tell he was hurt that you hadn’t told him before. You felt awful about it.

“I wouldn’t have freaked out,” he said gently, “You know that, right? You don’t have to do this alone.”

That was the thing, though. Over the past year you’d spent so long worrying about him, making sure he was healthy, that the idea of burdening him again with your own fears had become...strange.

You didn’t want to be another weight on his shoulders.

“I know…” You sighed, running a hand through your hair. “I didn’t know how to feel about it. And I didn’t want you to—”

“To what?” he pressed, his voice so calm and reassuring that it made the stress loosen.

You took a deep breath, “I didn’t want you to get your hopes up, I guess. Or feel disappointed if it was negative.”

He set the test down on the counter beside him, reaching out to cup your face in his hands.

“Baby, I wouldn’t be disappointed,” he murmured, thumb brushing against your cheek. “If it had been positive, great. If it’s not, that’s fine too. We’ve got time. It’s not like we have to figure this out right now.”

The lump in your throat made it hard to speak. “You’re really not mad?”

Rafe shook his head, “I wish you would’ve told me what you were going through. I don’t want you to carry that by yourself.”

You closed your eyes, leaning into his touch.

There was so much you wanted to say, so many fears you’d been holding onto—not only about the possibility of being pregnant, but about everything. About whether you were even ready for kids at all, what kind of parent you’d be, if you could handle the responsibility when your past still haunted you in ways you hadn’t recovered from.

“It’s not just that,” you timidly confessed, “I don’t know if I’m ready, Rafe. And it scares the shit out of me.”

He was silent and when you took a peek, his expression so understanding, that it almost broke you.

“Hey,” he pulled you into his arms. “We don’t have to be ready right now. There’s no rush. When you’re ready, we’ll talk about it."

You buried your face in his chest, letting him heartbeat calm you. His arms wrapped around you tightly.

“I-I know you want a baby. But—”

He sighed against your hair, lips brushing your temple, “What I want is for you to be happy. And if this doesn’t make you happy right now, I don’t mind waiting. We got forever, remember?”

Planning a wedding, keeping up with work, holding your relationship together after what you both had been through, it was incredibly overwhelming. The idea of a baby on top of that? You’d go crazy.

Rafe’s fingers brushed your hair, and you just let yourself be in his comfort. But the guilt was still there, eating you whole from the inside. You should’ve told him from the start, not carried it all on your own like you always do.

“I’m sorry,” you muttered into his chest, voice muffled. “I didn’t mean to keep it from you. I didn’t know what to do. It’s been a lot lately.”

He kissed the top of your head.

“You don’t have to apologize, baby. You’re dealing with enough already.”

You let out a shaky laugh. “Yeah, I think I’m losing my mind.”

The wedding. God, the wedding. You hadn’t even let yourself fully acknowledge how much that had been stressing you out too. You’d dreamed about this day since you were a kid, but now, between caterers, guest lists, dress fittings, and everything else, it felt like a full-time job. The worst part was, the more overwhelmed you got, the more guilty you felt for not being excited enough about it.

“I want everything to be perfect,” you admitted, biting your lip. “I want it to be special, but it’s starting to feel like a chore. I’m supposed to care more about seating charts and floral arrangements than... than actually enjoying the fact that we’re getting married.”

“Then let’s cut back. We don’t need a huge, over-the-top thing if it’s stressing you out. I want to marry you, that’s all that matters to me.”

He always knew what to say to get you to calm down, reminding you what was important when everything else felt too crazy.

“But what about your family?” you asked, wiping at the corner of your eyes. “They’re expecting this big thing.”

He shrugged, “They’ll get over it. This is about us, not them. If you want something smaller, we can do that. Shit, we can get married in the backyard for all I care, as long as it’s what you want.”

The sincerity in his voice made you want to bawl your eyes out.

You took a deep breath, nodding. “I think I’d like that. Something smaller. More us.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” he nodded.

You let out a sigh of relief, the knot in your chest loosening more. This was what you needed—let go of the pressure of having it all figured out. It was okay to not be ready for everything.

“I love you,” you whispered, leaning into his touch.

“I love you too,” he replied, “But baby, you have to stop worrying so much about me. I’m okay. ’m not going back there. But you’re gonna drive yourself crazy if you keep putting me first and ignoring what you need.”

“I’m not ignoring what I need—”

“You are,” He cut in gently. “You’ve been doing it for months now. Since the relapse, since rehab. You’ve been carrying all this, stressing about keeping everything together. And I love you for wanting to take care of me, but you can’t keep putting yourself second. It’s not fair to you.”

You wanted to argue that it was what you had to do to keep everything from falling apart. But he was right. You’d been holding on so tight, so terrified that if you let go, stopped worrying about him for even a second, you’d lose him again.

“I’m just scared,” you whispered, the lump in your throat making it hard to speak. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“You’re not going to lose me,” Rafe reassured you, “But if you keep this up, you’re gonna lose yourself.”

You closed your eyes, pressing your face into his chest as the tears you’d been holding back started to fall.

Rafe held you tighter, hands rubbing comforting circles on your back. He didn’t try to hush you or tell you to stop, he knew you needed this release for a long time.

You pulled back, sniffling as you wiped at your eyes. “I’m sorry,” you muttered. “I didn’t mean to—”

“Stop apologizing,” Rafe shook his head. “You don’t have to apologize for feeling what you’re feeling. But you’ve gotta start trusting that I’m okay."

“I know.”

"You’re allowed to let me take care of you too, you know?”

You let out a small laugh, wiping the last of the tears from your face. “I’m not great at that.”

“Meh, you used to be a lot worse.”

“Yeah?” you asked, raising an eyebrow, leaning into his familiar warmth.

“Oh yeah,” he smirked, hand brushing a strand of hair behind your ear. “You used to keep everything so locked up, I’d have to pry things out of you.

His words made you chuckle, despite yourself. It was true. You had gotten better at letting him in—at least compared to before.

“You’ve always been so good at taking care of me,” You nails traced patterns across his chest. “Sometimes I still forget that I don’t have to be strong all the time.”

“You don’t. I’ve got you, baby. I’ve always got you.”

This was Rafe at his best, the man who had fought his way back from the darkness, who had become the partner you always knew he could be. The boy you fell in love with, the man you were going to marry and grow old with.

“I’m really trying,” you murmured, blinking back the last of your tears. “I don’t want to keep worrying about everything or trying to control what’s out of my hands. I just want us to be happy.”

“You make me happier than I’ve ever been, and I don’t want you to ever doubt that.”

You hesitated for a second, biting your lip before finally speaking up.

"Rafe?"

He hummed in response.

"Are you… Are you sure you're not sad about the, uh, not pregnant thing?" Your voice was quiet, unsure. You didn’t know why you felt the need to ask again, even with all his encouragement.

He sighed, lips quirking into an understanding smile.

"Baby, no," He shook his head as if to emphasize his point. "I promise you, I’m not sad. It doesn’t change anything between us. I told you before—we’ve got time. I’m happy with where we are right now. I don’t need a baby to make me feel complete. You already do that."

You couldn't help but ask again, just to be sure. "Really? You’re not disappointed?"

"Not disappointed. Not sad. I’m just glad you’re here. That’s all I care about. I’m fine with whatever the outcome is as long as I have you.”

"You’re really okay with this?"

He frowned, hand coming up to tilt your chin so you were looking directly at him. "Listen to me. You could never disappoint me. Okay?"

You still had questions, insecurities about the future, but for the first time in days, you weren’t consumed by them and allowed yourself to believe that everything was going to be okay.

"Okay."

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aionue-writes · 2 months ago

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Shapeshifter? - Milo Manheim

Chapter one

Summary: Milo and Auroras friendship is complicated. They act like they’re together but both of them swear they’re just friends. Well Aurora does. But things starts to change during the break before season 2

Playlist

Song rec: The downtown lights • The Blue Nile

———

The press tour had been a whirlwind—city after city, interview after interview—but today felt different. Maybe it was the exhaustion settling in, or maybe it was the way Milo kept looking at Aurora like she was the most fascinating thing in the room. This wasn’t new though, he always looked at her like she hung the moon and stars just for him.

They were in a bright, modern studio, seated on a plush semi-circle couch for one of the many press segments lined up for the day. A coffee table sat in front of them, scattered with cue cards and bottles of water. The energy was still high despite the long hours, everyone laughing and joking in between takes.

The interviewer, a woman with a warm smile and an easygoing demeanor, leaned forward, holding up a stack of cards. "Alright, we're going to play a quick game of Who's Most Likely To? You guys ready?"

The cast responded with various murmurs of excitement, stretching and settling in. Aurora tucked one leg underneath her, brushing her fingers through her hair as she glanced at Milo beside her. He was sitting relaxed, an arm draped over the back of the couch, his eyes crinkling as he smiled.

"Okay," the interviewer began, “Hi I’m here with the cast of school spirts and today we’re going to be playing who’s most likely!”

“Hi, I’m Peyton and I play Maddie!”

“Hi I’m nick and I play Charlie!”

“Hi I’m Aurora also known as Bug and I play Tilly.”

“Hi I’m Sarah and I play Ronda!”

“And I’m Milo Manheim and I play Wally!”

The group went through there introductions for the video before the interviewer continued by reading the first card. "Who's most likely to break character during a serious scene?"

Three hands pointed at Nick without hesitation.

"Oh, come on!" he groaned, throwing his hands up.

"Listen, buddy," Aurora said, grinning. "I love you, but we’ve all had to re-shoot scenes because of you."

"That one time—"

"Multiple times," Milo cut in, smirking. The group laughed as Nick shook his head in defeat.

The interviewer pulled another card. "Who's most likely to show up late to set?"

There was a brief pause before Aurora hesitantly raised her own hand, wincing playfully.

"See, I want to argue," Milo said, tilting his head, "but I can’t."

"Okay, in my defense—" Aurora started.

"There is no defense," Sarah teased. "You just suck at waking up early."

The next few questions sparked more laughter and playful accusations.

"Who's most likely to get lost in a new city?"

"Peyton," Aurora and Milo said in unison.

"Wow. Betrayal." Peyton said with her hand on her chest with fake hurt

"Who's most likely to cry during a movie?"

Aurora immediately pointed at herself, and Milo raised a hand, too.

"Wait, you cry during movies?" she asked, nudging him.

"Sometimes," he admitted. "I’m a sensitive man."

Aurora grinned. "Good to know."

The next card was read aloud. "Who's most likely to brighten everyone's day without even trying?"

Milo barely hesitated before turning toward Aurora. "Bug. No question."

The playful atmosphere shifted just slightly, the laughter dying down as Aurora blinked at him, caught off guard. "What?"

"You just…you have this way of making everything feel lighter," he said, his voice sincere. "Like, even when we're exhausted or filming a really tough scene, you always find a way to make us laugh or keep us going."

There was a collective aww from the group, and Aurora felt warmth creep up her neck. She met his eyes, offering a soft smile. "That’s really sweet."

Milo just shrugged, but there was a hint of something behind his usual easygoing expression—something almost shy.

By mid-afternoon, Aurora’s throat was dry from talking so much, and a small cough escaped her. Before she could even reach for her own drink, Milo was already holding out his water bottle.

She hesitated for just a second before taking it, their fingers brushing lightly. "Thanks."

He gave a small nod, watching as she took a sip.

“Who’s most likely to have the best playlist?”

“Mi! 100% there’s a reason why I get him to drive me home everyday from set!” Aurora said enthusiastically

“What kinda songs do you have?” The interviewer asked

“Oh I got everything! Lizzy, Sabrina, Taylor, Kendrick, the weekend all the good stuff!” Milo listed artist off as he scrolled through his playlist

“The amount of times I’ve caught these two in bugs trailer screaming cruel summer is unreal!” Peyton said as the group laughed

“Taylor is an icon we can’t help it!” Milo said holding his hand up in defence

By the time they wrapped for the day, everyone was drained. Despite that, they decided to head out for dinner together. After a full day of sightseeing with their co-stars, Aurora and Milo found themselves walking side by side, a little behind the rest of the group. The city lights shimmered above them, and the streets buzzed with life.

“You hungry?” Milo asked, glancing down at her.

Aurora gave him a look. “Milo, when am I not hungry?”

He grinned, nudging her with his shoulder. “Fair point.”

The restaurant was tucked away on a quiet street, warm and inviting, with dim lighting and the rich scent of garlic and spices filling the air. The cast had been on their feet all day—filming interviews, sightseeing, and navigating through the city crowds—but somehow, the energy was still high as they slid into their seats around a long table in the center of the dining room.

Aurora found herself seated between Milo and Sarah, with Nick and the others across from them. The table was already scattered with menus and glasses of water, condensation trickling down the sides.

A waiter approached, and the group wasted no time in ordering—pasta, steak, seafood, and enough appetizers to feed a small army.

“Okay, so who decided we needed three different kinds of bread?” Eli asked, raising an eyebrow at the selection of baskets in the middle of the table.

“That would be me,” Aurora said, reaching for a slice. “And you’re welcome.”

Milo smirked beside her. “That’s why she’s the smartest one here.”

Aurora elbowed him playfully. “See? Someone appreciates my genius.”

“Oh, trust me, I’m very appreciative,” Milo said, leaning in just slightly. His voice dropped, just for her. “You always know exactly what I need.”

She shot him a look, trying to ignore the warmth creeping up her neck. “Behave.”

He grinned. “Where’s the fun in that?” Across the table, Peyton rolled her eyes.

“Can you two not flirt for like, five minutes?”

Aurora huffed. “We are not flirting.”

Nick snorted. “Oh, you absolutely are.”

Milo just shrugged, completely unbothered. “What can I say? She brings it out of me.”

Aurora groaned, covering her face. “I hate all of you.” Laughter rippled through the group as the appetizers arrived, and soon, everyone was too busy digging into the food to tease her any further.

“Okay, but seriously,” Sarah said between bites. “Best moment of the press tour so far?”

“Oh, easy,” Nick said. “Milo tripping over a mic cord right before we went live.”

Milo groaned, tossing a piece of bread at him. “I told you not to bring that up.”

Aurora laughed, nudging him with her knee. “To be fair, that was pretty iconic.”

He turned to her, eyes narrowing playfully. “You laughed at me.”

“I did not—”

“You absolutely did.”

Aurora bit her lip, fighting a smile. “Okay, fine. Maybe a little.”

Milo shook his head. “Unbelievable. And here I thought you were on my side.”

Aurora placed a hand over her heart, feigning sincerity. “I am on your side. I just also really enjoy seeing you suffer.”

He leaned in again, his voice low. “You enjoy seeing me suffer, huh?” There was something in his tone—something teasing, but also…something else. Something that sent a flicker of warmth down her spine.

She cleared her throat, reaching for her drink. “Shut up and eat your pasta, Milo.”

Milo just smirked, clearly pleased with himself.

The conversation flowed easily as the meal continued—stories from set, embarrassing moments, inside jokes that only made sense to them. Aurora found herself laughing more than she had in days, the exhaustion from earlier fading into the background.

“Wine?” he asked, already reaching for the menu.

Aurora smirked. “Are you trying to impress me?”

“Depends,” he said, flashing a slow, lazy grin. “Is it working?”

She pretended to study her menu, ignoring the way her stomach flipped. “Jury’s still out.”

Conversation with him as easy, effortless, full of teasing and laughter. Milo was in full charm mode—leaning in just a little too close when he asked her opinion on something, stealing bites of her food like it was his right, throwing in the occasional wink just to see her roll her eyes.

“You do realize you have your own meal, right?” Aurora asked as Milo plucked another fry from her plate.

“Yeah, but yours tastes better.

She huffed. “That is objectively not true.”

He smirked. “Bet you just like the attention.”

She pointed a fry at him. “You are so lucky you’re funny.” Milo laughed, and damn it, she liked the sound of it.

At some point, dessert arrived—a rich, chocolatey something that non of them technically had room for, but Milo insisted on ordering anyway.

Aurora picked up her spoon, but before she could take a bite, Milo reached over, dragging his own spoon through the dessert before holding it up to her lips.

“Open up, princess,” he said, eyes full of mischief.

She gave him a deadpan look. “You did not just call me that.”

He wiggled the spoon slightly. “Don’t keep me waiting.”

With an exasperated sigh, she leaned forward, letting him feed her the bite. The second the flavor hit her tongue, she closed her eyes, humming in approval.

When she opened them, Milo was watching her. His gaze had darkened just a fraction, and the playful smirk on his lips softened into something else entirely.

“Good?” he asked, his voice lower now.

Aurora swallowed. “Yeah.”

For a moment, they just…looked at each other. The restaurant bustled around them, but all she could focus on was the heat in his eyes, the way his fingers toyed absentmindedly with the edge of his napkin, like he was holding himself back.

Then, as quickly as the moment arrived, Milo leaned back, grinning again. “Told you we needed dessert.” Aurora let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

Nick groaned. “Oh my God, just date already.”

Aurora nearly choked on her drink. “Excuse me?!”

Milo, meanwhile, just smirked, twirling his fork in his pasta. “Patience, Nick. We’ve gotta keep the slow burn going.”

Aurora turned to glare at him. “I hate you.”

He grinned. “No, you don’t.”

She kicked him under the table.

He winked.

And just like that, the night carried on, filled with good food, endless laughter, and just a little more flirting than Aurora cared to admit.

By the time they made it back to the hotel, exhaustion fully hit. Aurora sighed as they walked through the lobby, reaching down to slip her heels off.

"I think my feet have officially given up," she mumbled.

Milo glanced down, shaking his head. "Why do you do this to yourself?"

"Fashion over function."

Without another word, he crouched slightly. "C'mon."

She frowned. "What—"

"Get on," he said, giving her a pointed look. "I’m not letting you limp up the stairs."

Aurora hesitated, but the dull ache in her feet made the decision for her. With a quiet sigh, she climbed onto his back, arms draping around his shoulders.

"You’re ridiculous," she muttered, but there was a smile in her voice.

"That’s what I’ve been told," he replied, adjusting his grip.

When they reached her door, she climbed down with a relieved sigh, stretching out her legs. "You’re officially my hero."

"I accept that title."

Instead of heading to his own room, Milo lingered for a bit. She unlocked her door and glanced at Milo, who was leaning against the wall next to her.

“You tired?” she asked.

Milo shrugged. “Nah. You?”

She hesitated.

He caught onto it immediately. “You want me to stay,” he teased.

“I didn’t say that.”

He smirked. “Didn’t have to.” With an exaggerated sigh, she stepped aside, holding the door open for him.

“Fine. But if you fall asleep on my couch, I’m kicking you out.”

Milo walked in like he owned the place, collapsing onto her couch with a dramatic groan. “God, I love being right.”

Aurora grabbed a bottle of water from the mini-fridge and tossed it at him. “Hydrate, ego boy.”

He caught it easily, cracking it open. “You should probably listen to your own advice, Miss ‘I Forget to Drink Water Until I Have a Headache.’”She rolled her eyes but took a sip of her own water anyway.

They fell into an easy rhythm—flipping through channels, scrolling through their phones, laughing at stupid memes. At one point, Milo leaned over, resting his chin on her shoulder to see what she was looking at.

“What’s that?”

Aurora didn’t even flinch at his proximity anymore. “Just pictures from today. Oh, look.” She turned the screen to show him a candid someone had taken of them when they were doing portraits of each other in a buzz-feed interview and she’d lent over smudging paint on his nose.

Milo smirked. “Proof that you treat me like a human canvas.”

“You let me do it,” she pointed out

“Maybe I just like being touched by you.”

The words were so casual, so effortlessly flirty, that it took her a second to process them.

Her heart did a stupid little flip.

“Milo—”

He stretched out, resting an arm along the back of the couch behind her. “Relax, princess. I’m just messing with you.”

She huffed. “I hate you.”

He grinned. “No, you don’t.”

He wasn’t wrong.

The longer they sat there, the heavier Aurora’s eyelids became. At some point, she shifted, curling into the couch, her head resting against Milo’s shoulder without much thought.

Milo froze for half a second before exhaling softly, his fingers brushing lightly against her arm.

“You’re getting sleepy, huh?” he murmured.

“Mmm,” was all she managed in response.

Eventually, he stood, stretching. "I should probably let you sleep."

Aurora stifled a yawn, nodding. "Yeah, probably."

But as he reached the door, she hesitated. "Hey, Milo?"

He turned back. "Yeah bug?"

She smiled, softer this time. "Thanks. For earlier. And for, you know…everything."

His gaze held hers for a moment before he gave a small nod. "Anytime, Aurora."

#milo manheim x y/n #milo manheim x you #milo manheim x reader #milo manheim #wally clark x y/n #wally clark x you #wally clark x reader #wally clark

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aragaki · 9 months ago

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Milo/Tank Cassettes

I wanted to make cassettes and descriptions for audios based on my Milo/Darlin thoughts but these have been sitting in my drafts so long I've accepted I'm not gonna make any more,,, so enjoy these!!

Found by Your Feisty Pack Member

Barcode: missedyou

Tank has been tracking Quinn on their own since they left their family in Washington. They stumbled on two of Quinn's friends during their hunt and took them on alone. Heavily injured and delirious from blood loss they couldn't stop themselves from going somewhere they were familiar with and ended up collapsing a block away from Milo's apartment. Milo, who is just making his way home finds them passed out and brings them back up to his apartment, and tries to patch them up as best as he can.

The two have a conversation with Milo filling them in on everything they missed and that they've been missed, which Tank expresses their doubt over. Tank is avoiding telling him the full extent of what's going on but says there's someone they need to take care of. Milo offers to help, offering his place to crash if they don't want to risk getting found by David. Milo is kept in the dark but is willing to back Tank up with what little they're letting him.

Your Pack Member Wants to Know More

Barcode: justwannahelp

Milo wakes up in the middle of the night and finds Tank in the living room wrapping new injuries. They look ready to fall apart and Milo doesn't think either of them has the skills to treat their wounds this time. He tries to press them for information about what happened but they shut him down, insisting that they handled it. Milo is getting frustrated that they aren't trusting him with what's going on when they're so willing to throw themselves into danger when he's putting himself at risk with the pack for them.

When Tank starts to freeze up and look like they might bail and handle it alone Milo backpedals and starts treating their wounds for them. He assures them that they can always come back to his apartment but wants them to open up when they're ready.

Your Alpha Corners Your Feisty Pack Member

Barcode: liarsgetcaught

David knows that not only is Quinn still at large and that Tank has been lying to him but they've been staying with Milo since they got back to Dahlia. With two pack members going behind his back, he confronts the wolf that's easier to find. Milo is stunned to learn that the person Tank is hunting is Quinn and struggles to comprehend how much danger Tank has been putting themselves and inadvertently the pack in.

David is both unsurprised and disappointed that Milo doesn't know the full extent of what he is getting into when trying to help Tank. Milo tries to explain that he didn't want to ask too many questions and risk making them run since Tank doesn't feel close to the pack and if they left they might not return. David tells him it's no excuse and makes it clear that Milo has put himself and the pack in just as much danger as Tank -- and broken David's trust in the process. He affirms that he's going to find Tank next and they're both expected to be at the next pack meeting. He leaves, telling Milo not to fuck up like that again.

Milo curses quietly to himself, taking a few deep breaths and trying not to cry. There's the sound of footsteps, then a number being dialed.

#redacted asmr #redacted audio #redacted milo #milo greer #david shaw #redacted david #redacted darlin #redacted tank #redactedverse

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polo-drone-070 · 6 months ago

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Buzz is Born: Maximus Tries Something New

A mascot meeting

Oi, so we were at the mascot meetin’, right? All of us—me, Grayden (@polo-drone-084), Bucky (@buckygold), and the pups—workin’ out how to get the crowd hyped for the match against Vanguard. Grayden was goin’ over plans, his usual smirky, boss-man self, lookin’ sharp as ever. Bucky’s throwin’ out ideas, proper focused, all knightly n’ shit. Me? I’m buzzin’ just thinkin’ about suiting up as the Golden Knight again. Ain’t nothin’ like flexin’ in that gear, hearin’ the crowd go mental, yeah?

But then, Chevy (@chevy-gold) n’ Grant (@grant-gold43) start givin’ me this look, their tails waggin’ like mad. Them two already propa settled in their roles as Golden Pups—cheeky, rowdy, proper full of energy, init. They always make it look like a right laugh, even if they’re a bit daft with it. Milo—PDU-151— (@polo-drone-151) was sittin’ calm as ever in his black rubber polo, tail flickin’ lazily. Always quiet, always focused, but you can feel he’s takin’ everything in.

Chevy leans over to me, his ears floppin’ as he grins. “Oi, Maximus, you ever think about tryin’ somethin’ new, bruv?”

I squint at him. “What d’ya mean, bruv? I’m already the Golden Knight, init? Ain’t much better than that.”

Grant smirks, nudgin’ me. “Yeah, but think about it, mate. When Grayden or Bucky are suitin’ up as the knight, yeah? Wouldn’t it be proper sick to have more pups runnin’ with ’em? You know, a whole pack hypin’ up the crowd, bouncin’ about, goin’ mental?”

“Pack, yeah?” I say, blinkin’. “You think I’m cut out for all that woof-woof shit? You takin�� the piss, bruv?”

Chevy’s tail wags even faster. “Nah, mate, serious talk. You’ve got the energy for it! Enthusiastic, rowdy, proper dumb—but in the best way! You’d be perfect as a golden pup. And we got the perfect name for ya: Buzz. You’d be Buzzin’ all over the place.”

“Buzz?” I ask, scratchin’ me bald head.

Milo finally speaks up, his tone calm but firm. “Buzz suits you, Maximus. It aligns with your energy and enthusiasm. You’d complement the pack well.”

I stare at the three of ’em. They’re propa serious, like they actually think I could pull this off. Me? A pup? Proper mental idea... but also kinda excitin’. The Gold Army’s been pushin’ everyone to try new things this week, and I ain’t about to back down from a challenge.

“All right, bruvs,” I say, grinnin’. “Let’s do it. Make me Buzz.”

Collared and Ready : Golden pup energy

Chevy and Grant get to work right away. They slap a gold collar round me neck, the tag jinglin’ as they clip it on. “Buzz,” it says, all shiny n’ official-like.

“Buzz,” I say, rollin’ the name round me mouth. “Oi, yeah, sounds propa zippy. I like it.”

Grant grins, handin’ me a golden pup hood with floppy ears. “Stick this on, bruv. You’re about to become one of us.”

I pull the hood over me head, snug n’ tight, and they clip a waggin’ tail to me shorts. I can’t help but laugh as it bounces with every move I make. “Oi, bruvs, look at me!” I bark, strikin’ a dumb pose. “Propa pup material, yeah?”

“Atta boy, Buzz!” Chevy cheers, waggin’ his own tail. “Now, let’s get ya hypin’ the crowd like a proper golden pup. Rowdy, dumb, full of energy—just go wild!”

I throw meself into it, barkin’ n’ bouncin’ round like I’ve been a pup me whole life. Chevy tosses a foam ball across the practice field, n’ I take off after it like a rocket, grabbin’ it with a massive grin on me face.

“Got it, bruvs!” I bark, waggin’ me tail as I bring it back.

“Good boy!” Grant laughs, rubbin’ me head. The praise makes me all warm inside, like I’m doin’ somethin’ proper good.

We spend ages just messin’ about, chasin’ balls, jumpin’ n’ rollin’, hypin’ each other up. I’ve never felt so... free.

Milo’s Turn : Drone pup programming

Then Milo steps in, his black rubber polo gleamin’ under the lights. His tail twitches as he approaches, calm n’ composed. “All right, Buzz. Time to see how you perform as a drone pup.”

My tail slows as I stare at the gear he’s holdin’—a black rubber polo n’ matching shorts, shiny and snug, just like his. The vibe shifts immediately. There’s no more rowdy energy from Chevy n’ Grant; it’s all focus now, serious-like.

I nod slowly, lettin’ Milo guide me as he slips the polo over me head. The rubber clings tight, snug n’ firm, and as it settles into place, somethin’ in me shifts. The rowdy, bouncin’ energy starts to fade, replaced by a deep calm. The black shorts follow, and with each piece of gear, I feel my head quietin’ further.

Milo clips a black tag onto me collar, and that’s when it happens. The programming stirs. The sharpness of the rubber’s embrace pulls me under. 070 rises, not all the way, but just enough to bring its order n’ discipline to the surface.

“Good, Buzz,” Milo says, his voice steady n’ firm. “Now, follow my commands. Let the programming guide you.”

Buzz is still here, yeah, but it’s 070 now, too. A mix of the pup’s playful energy n’ the drone’s perfect focus. The commands come, and there’s no hesitation, no thinkin’, just action.

“Jump.”

070 obeys, the body springin’ into a perfect leap, paws landin’ with precision.

“Spin.”

A flawless turn, controlled n’ sharp.

“Roll.”

The movement is seamless, efficient, yet still carries that pup-like enthusiasm, tail waggin’ at the end.

“Bark.”

“Woof!” The sound bursts out, loud n’ clear, but with a sense of controlled power.

Each command feels natural, like it’s what this body was built to do. The mix of playful pup energy n’ drone obedience blends into somethin’... perfect. 070 recognizes this state as optimal.

“Cheer,” Milo commands.

“GO GOLD!” I bark, leapin’ high into the air, my voice filled with unwavering energy n’ loyalty. The jump is precise, the landing flawless, but the cheer is still hyped n’ joyful, reflectin’ Buzz’s personality wrapped in 070’s discipline.

Milo nods, his tail waggin’ faintly as he observes. “Good drone pup. You’re performing as expected. Let’s take it further.”

Milo steps closer, his tone calm but more intense. “You are PDU-070, a drone pup. Your purpose is to serve, inspire, and obey. Playfulness enhances morale. Precision ensures perfection. Let the programming guide you completely.”

The words sink deep. The pup hood n’ rubber polo amplify the programming already embedded in me. It’s no longer just Buzz or just 070—it’s both, workin’ together perfectly.

“Yesss,” I say, my voice soft n’ slurred, the words comin’ out automatically. “PDU-070... serves... obeys... inspires...”

Milo watches, his expression calm n’ satisfied. “Good drone pup. Now, perform.”

I run through more stunts, each one flawless but still filled with playful energy. I roll, fetch, leap, and spin on command, barkin’ when prompted. It’s pure bliss—no overthinkin’, no distractions, just obeyin’ n’ servin’ like I was built for it.

Buzz Reflections

When the session ends, I flop onto the turf, pantin’ n’ grinnin’ under the hood. The mix of Buzz n’ 070 fades slightly, leavin’ me feelin’ proper accomplished. “Oi, bruvs, that was propa mental!” I bark, tail waggin’. “Never thought I’d be a pup, but fuck me, that was amazin’. Buzz n’ 070 workin’ together—lit as fuck, yeah?”

Chevy laughs, rufflin’ me hood. “Told ya, Buzz. You’re a natural. The pack’s better with ya in it.”

Milo clips off the black tag, his calm demeanor never shiftin’. “You performed well, PDU-070. Your obedience and precision enhance the pack. You will continue to train and grow.”

I nod, proper eager. “Yeah, bruvs. Can’t wait to train more. Maybe 049 (@polo-drone-049) will take us out for a pack walk. Heard he’s got loads of drone pups, like Chevy n’ 098. Bet they’d be a laugh to run with.”

As I sit there, waggin’ me tail, I think back to a month ago, when Spencer—PDU-098— (@polo-drone-098) had me in a similar state. He’d put me back in drone mode when I was slippin’, added a hood to the mix, and brought me back to full focus. It was... intense, yeah, but now I get it. The hood, the rubber—it’s not just gear. It’s part of what makes me better.

The trainin’ wraps up, and I strip back into me gold kit, but the memory of the rubber polo stays with me. Being Buzz ain’t just about havin’ fun or playin’ a role. It’s about servin’ the Gold, whether as a rowdy pup or a precise drone pup.

“Oi, bruvs,” I say, grinnin’ at Chevy n’ Grant. “Propa glad I tried somethin’ new. Buzz is here to stay, yeah?”

They cheer, waggin’ their tails as we head out. Milo follows, calm as ever, already plannin’ the next session. Me? I can’t wait to get back to trainin’ n’ hypin’ the crowd, whether as Buzz, 070, or somethin’ in between.

Woof-woof, bruvs. Let’s go.

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flowery-mess · 8 months ago

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Midnights of October🍁🧡🎃

October 28th

Family beach day [boydad!Noah]

warnings: parenthood, Noah as a dad, I think that's it

taglist: @concreteangel92 @sorrowsofsilence @lma1986 @stardustsirenmelody @dream-machine-love @mrsnoahsebastian (let me know if you want to be tagged or deleted!😊)

Midnights of October masterlist

Do you remember the videos of Noah from summer festivals where he was fighting for his life with the sun, turning red through the whole set?

That's the same scenario in this case

See the thing is I'd be just the same, and what's the fun in that, so let's say reader is good at tanning

So in the morning you pack things for you, Noah and Milo, making sure you pack his favorite things to play with and his favorite snack

You call for Noah and Milo to come downstairs

When Noah comes down the stairs with Milo in his hands you see them having matching hats that you bought them last summer

They also have matching smiles on their faces

"Told you I know where to find them." Noah said with a proud smirk, after you argued about who washed them last and where did they put it

"We're matching mommy!" Milo said with excitement

"We are, we should buy mommy one too." said Noah and Milo started nodding his little head

"No babe, you two need them so your faces don't turn into tomatoes the second you step out of the house." you winked at them

When you arrived at the beach you found a spot to lay your blanket down, close to the sea, but also close to the trees so you can have Noah and Milo in shade

Actually beach day for you is like a relax day, because Noah and Milo can spend the whole day in the sea or building sand castles, eat snacks and maybe take a nap

Before you send them off to do their thing you make sure Milo has sunscreen on, his full body swimming suit on and his floatie ready

Then you move over to Noah, applying sunscreen on his body as well, because if you won't do it, nobody will

Noah complains every time, but he's thankful every time he leaves without a sunburnt

When him and Milo go alone or with the rest of the boys, he always comes home with red face and shoulders

And you enjoy every "I told you." you can give him

They both run into the water and you lay comfortably on the blanket

You watch them splash water at each other, every splash followed by their laughs

Milo's favorite thing is when Noah throws him in the air

While reading your book you always hear Milo's scream and then splash

After some time in water they run back to you, in silence, so they can lay on top of you

First you feel Noah's wet and cold body, then you feel bit more added weight from Milo's body

"We got you mommy!" you hear Milo

You just laugh at their playful behavor

Then you eat some snacks together and listen to Milo's babbling

And then comes the most serious part of the day

Sandcastles!

They both build one and then you decide who's the winner

You'd think Noah would never get offended that you always choose Milo's, for obvious reasons, but he gets sad and then you have to tell him his castle was better in bed when you go to sleep

After doing the hard job of a juror you all go into water one more time before you leave

Milo always takes something home with him, rock, shell or one time he took fish home

He didn't tell you, you found it back home and it lived for like 3 days

On the way back home in car you watch Milo through the rearview mirror in the towel that has bunny ears on the hood

Then you squeeze back Noah's hand that sits gently on your thigh and wish that you could spend every Sunday like this

#noah sebastian #bad omens #noah sebastian x reader #bad omens imagine #noah sebastian band #noah sebastian fanfiction #dad Noah #dad Noah Sebastian #midnights of october

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annahxredaxted · 1 year ago

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OKAY OKAY OKAY

sam & sweetheart sibling ramble

just so we’re all clear this is just MY version of sweetheart you don’t have to agree and you definitely don’t have to ridicule.

(i am southern so i am definitely projecting a bit)

so if you know me you know my interpretation of sweetheart and sam is that their siblings.

sam left when sweetheart was 9-10 ish

their parents had sam YOUNG like teenagers

but they had sweetheart when they were like late 20s early 30s

sam left bc of abuse yadayada

they were reunited and you can find my other post about that here.

but they have another brother..

***

ANYWAY TIME SKIP TO CURRENTLY

Sam,darlin, sweetheart and Milo and sweetheart are at a random bowling alley and they’re all having fun.

it’s milo’s turn and sam is getting drinks

darlin is sitting down and sweetheart is just watching when their gaze is looking round and they see an ODDLY familiar face with a few people

it’s their brother, hunter (they have conservative, abusive AND southern parents let’s be real)

hunter is a informed unempowered but he’s basically a pro and very knowledgeable of magic and magical races.

hunter is the middle child, sweetheart being the youngest. sam being the oldest

sam came back and saw sweetheart looking shocked and almost scared

he turned and saw him and was very confused

hunter is an asshole, their parents favorited him bc he took the family trade etc

sweetheart ran to the bathroom and was just nervous, milo turned to see something was going on and sweetheart was upset.

milo did NOT like hunter, he cursed him out for a bit .

“what the fucking hell did you say to them asshole? who do you think you are?” he pushed hunter by the shoulder, sam had to stop him.

hunter has a southern accent as well but more diluted than sam’s.

tank was behind milo but definitely ready to throw hands.

sam remembered when he reunited with sweetheart a few years back and they had a very similar reaction.

sweetheart had been abandoned by their family a few times. and it’s hurt milo and sam to see them like this.

“what did i do?” hunter would start and sam would scold him (like the older brother he is)

“do.not.start.” sam would say VERY angrily

“i thought you guys would be happy to see me..” he would be VERY sarcastic.

sam nudged him angrily

“why do you think you can just waltz back here just because- (sweetheart) wasn’t prepared for that!” sam scolded again

“well i didn’t mean to sammy-boy it just happened.” sam would scowl “oh get over it they’ve always been a crybaby.” hunter would say again.

MILO WAS NOT HAVING IT

“you better take my mates name out of your mouth before i put my fist in it.” he got ANGRY

“mate? well that’s hilarious.. (sweetheart)? keeping a relationship? please.”

sam had to hold milo back to keep him from pouncing on hunter.

“down doggy”

suffice it to say sam let go of him.

they got kicked out…

sweetheart came outside and their face was tearstained and they were breathing heavy.

“milo what— hunter— why—“ they were shocked to see hunters nose bleeding and milo with a bruised fist.

“sorry sweetheart i just—“

they were almost disappointed, but they were definitely in a bad mood.

all three of the siblings were standing side by side and their resemblances were uncanny. it was almost funny.

“woah..” darlin whispered.

“lets just go home.” sweetheart whispered grumpily.

hunter sighed, almost upset like he felt bad.

“(sweetheart)—“

“i don’t wanna hear it hunter..” they blew him off..

sam looked angrily at hunter again.

milo and sweetheart went home- not without sweetheart reading him the riot act about how he shouldn’t have punched him how he wasn’t worth it.

“what the hell were you thinking coming to the place you knew we were?” sam spat

hunter didn’t have an answer

“it— i— i haven’t seen y’all in a while..” hunter whispered embarrassed his accent making it hard to hear him with all the mumbling.

sam almost felt bad for him.

“do us all a favor and go back home. your not wanted here, go help dad and be the golden child.” hunters head dropped.

sam almost regretted saying it but he held his ground. hunter walked away.

•••

WOWZERS IT FELT GOOD TO GET THIS DOWN.

erm this is kinda a fic sooo

Taglist:

@darlin-collins @shellssstuff @itsdaifuku @verrverii @youisagayhooman @kuteheadrest @glitchedvariety @hobiesrockstargf @mrsmiagreer

#sam and sweetheart siblings #personal headcanon #redacted asmr #redacted milo #redacted sweetheart #redacted sam #redacted darlin #redacted oc #oc; hunter #hunter: sam and sweethearts brother

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dragondemoness · 6 months ago

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Everything's Okay - Arcane Oneshot

Summary: Powder listens to her big sister, and things turn out fine.

Takes place during season one, episode three "The Base Violence Necessary for a Change," where Powder doesn't follow the others to the factory or throw the bomb

Cross-posted on AO3 and in the Tumblr Arcane community

Powder couldn't believe this. Vander was gone, and her big sister and her brothers were about to go after him without her? He was her father too!

She felt shattered when her own big sister told her she wasn't ready, leaving her with a blue flare and a loving side-hug before exiting the bar with her adoptive brothers at her side.

After a few minutes alone in the dark basement of the bar, Powder broke down screaming, crying, throwing her things around the room in sheer hurt and frustration. Had her sister believed she was a jinx after all? She had tried everything she could to prove herself, prove that she was more than just dead weight, but her sister still didn't believe her.

Shortly, her anger was directed less at her siblings and more at herself. Of course they wouldn't take you, she thought, all you ever do is mess things up.

She jinxes every job! Milo's voice echoed in her head. Every time he directed his aggravation over their failed missions at her, each voice piling on top of the other while Powder feebly rammed her knuckles against her head to get them to shut up.

There are some things Powder just can't do, came her big sister's.

That one hurt the most.

Still, her big sister always knew best, even if Powder hated it. If she was told to stay away, she had to stay away, and there was nothing she could do about it.

After some time, Powder cried herself to sleep, overcome with frustration and despair. She could only hope that her siblings and adoptive father would return safely and that it would all be over once she woke up.

—————————————————————————

"Pow-Pow?"

Powder awoke to a familiar soft voice and a warm touch on her cheek. How long had she been asleep? Powder let out a soft groan as she forced her heavy eyelids to open, looking up to find Vi kneeling next to her bottom bunk, looking at her with a gentle smile.

"Hey. We're back." Vi murmured, and Powder sat up in bed as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She felt the dried tear streaks on her cheeks, and her eyes were still puffy after the long minutes of crying earlier.

"Where are the others...?" Powder's voice was hoarse from screaming, and she could barely raise it above a whisper.

"The boys are helping Vander get to bed. He's pretty exhausted," Vi answered. Powder let out a soft hum of understanding as she turned to face Vi. Taking a closer look, Vi had dark bruises on her face, and fresh blood peeked through bandages wrapped around her hands. Powder made a soft noise of worry, and Vi gave her a soft, reassuring smile as she ran a hand through her younger sister's blue hair.

"Hey. Everything's okay, Pow. I'm okay. We're alive, we got Vander back, and that creepy bastard Silco isn't gonna come after us anytime soon."

"Because I wasn't there, right?" Powder looked down with a tired, dejected expression, her earlier anger towards being left behind now replaced by exhaustion.

"Pow..." Vi reached forward to hold Powder's cheeks, but the younger sister grabbed her wrists and held them still.

"You think I'm a jinx, don't you? If I came along, I would've ruined everything. That's why you left me. Mylo was right."

Vi's expression twisted into pure sorrow as she moved to sit next to Powder on the bed, bringing a strong arm around her and pulling her into a side hug. This time, Powder didn't resist, leaning idly into her older sister.

"Oh Powder, no. You're not a jinx. Mylo was wrong, he doesn't know what he's talking about. I just didn't want anything to happen to you, Pow."

"You said I wasn't ready," Powder grumbled. "Vander's my father too. I wanted to help."

"I know, Pow-Pow." Vi murmured softly as she began to run her hand up and down Powder's arm soothingly. "But that wasn't like the other jobs we've done, where we'd steal whatever we found and run away. It was a matter of life and death. Vander's life was on the line, our lives were on the line. That situation would have too much for you. You're smart, Pow, there's plenty of things you can do. You just... have to keep learning, so you can use those skills when it matters most."

Powder thought back to the strange crystals she found at the apartment they robbed not too long ago. The explosion was powerful, unlike anything Powder had ever seen. She was sure she could get them to work, turn her failed creations into something amazing.

But her sister was right; she had to keep experimenting until she got them right. And once she was sure they would work, she would finally show her siblings what she was truly capable of.

She snapped out of her thoughts when Vi took her chin in one hand, looking at her with a mix of love and concern, reading her face to make sure her words were landing with Powder.

"And... Look, I'm not gonna say what we did was the smartest thing in the world. You know me; punch first, think later." Vi let out a short chuckle of amusement, smiling when Powder managed a short one of her own.

"Me and the boys... we didn't have a plan. We didn't know what we were doing. We just did the things we were good at, scared shitless and hoping what we were doing worked. And by some gods-forsaken miracle, it did. But Vander's still gonna hand our asses to us later. At least you won't have to deal with that, right?"

She gave Powder a gentle squeeze, earning a soft giggle and a nod out of her. Vi smiled at the endearing sight before turning serious as she coaxed her sister to face her once more.

"But the point is, even though we're older and have more experience, we have a lot of learning to do too, just like you. But we'll do better, and you'll get there too. And one of these days, Pow, you're gonna be one of the biggest badasses in all of Zaun."

Powder looked up at her big sister hopefully. "You really think so?"

Vi grinned, leaning in to press a kiss to Powder's forehead. "I know so. Alrighty, let's get some sleep. It's been one hell of a day for all of us, and me and the boys have one more night before Vander kills us."

Powder giggled as she settled back down in bed, and Vi smiled as she pulled the covers over her little sister. She then noticed the stuffed rabbit on the floor, the one that once belonged to her that she passed down to Powder. She then picked it up and placed the toy next to Powder, who immediately took it and held it tight in her arms. Vi softly smiled at the scene as she ran her hand over Powder's cheek, though her smile faltered as she remembered something else.

"Hey," she whispered, "Listen. Um... Ekko's going through a lot right now, and he's gonna be staying with us for a while. You don't mind sharing a bed with him, do you?"

Powder's eyes flutter open as she looks up at Vi, her expression of concern mirroring her sister's as she shakes her head. She had heard about what happened to Benzo, Ekko's guardian, and her heart ached for her best friend. She certainly didn't mind having the boy around. She hoped she could cheer him up somehow. Find a way to help.

Vi gently brushed Powder's cheek with her thumb before giving her another quick kiss on the forehead, turning to walk upstairs and leave the room. Before she left, Powder called out to her.

"Vi?" Vi stopped in her tracks, turning to face her little sister. Powder propped herself up on her hands, looking up at the pink-haired teenager.

"I'm glad you guys are okay." Vi softly smiled and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, me too, kiddo. Get some rest. The boys will be down here in a minute. Love you."

"Love you too," Powder murmured sleepily as she started to drift off, her earlier frustration and despair towards the situation now replaced with relief that her siblings and her father were back, alive and safe. There was still a pang of worry in her heart, for Ekko and the man who killed Benzo.

Silco, Vi said he was called. Powder shivered. She really hoped they wouldn't encounter him again, but she knew they likely would, one of these days.

After some time, Powder woke up again as she recognized Mylo and Claggor's footsteps. She kept her eyes closed, however, and heard them stop next to their bunk bed. She was sure they were looking at her, and she waited for Mylo to brag about their success, how everything went off without a hitch thanks to Powder's absence. But surprisingly enough, he was completely silent.

Neither boy spoke, and Powder was tempted to open her eyes and talk to them, but decided against it. She then heard the beds creak as the boys climbed in, and she clutched the stuffed rabbit as she started to drift off once again.

Later, Vi would return, holding a passed-out Ekko in her arms as she approached Powder's bottom bunk. The young girl had already moved towards the wall to make room for Ekko, and Vi carefully pulled down the covers and laid the boy down, pulling the covers over him as she looked down at the two kids with a mix of affection and concern.

She knew the journey ahead wouldn't be easy. But she climbed into her top bunk with the reminder that Vander was back and everyone was together now, and her worries were soothed at least a little bit as she drifted off to sleep.

#arcane #arcane oneshot #league of legends #arcane vi #arcane jinx #arcane powder

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no-see-um-incorrect · 2 years ago

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Ok soooo im having a really fucked day mentally…….. so here’s how my favorite ASMR boys would help you during your mentally fucked days

Seth🏕️

He’s been there. He knows how it is.

He’ll pick you up throw you over his shoulder, grab the softest blanket in the house and a whole box of your favorite cookies/comfort snack. He puts on your favorite playlist/movie/TV show

Put you on his lap with the blanket over you and hold you close. gently kissing your neck and shoulders. He doesn’t say much. he doesn’t have to say much. he’ll listen, he’ll nod. But rarely will any words be spoken unless prompted

Charlie🍕🐭

He knows you. You guys literally grew up together, trying to hide it from him is pointless.

He’ll walk up to you and give you a big hug. (as big as the skinny bitch can muster) and he won’t let you go until you are willing to sit down and talk about it.

“it’s OK Casper”

“let it out……I’ll be here when you’re ready”

“Your not a burden babe… you’re never a burden”

After you’re done talking, you lay in bed together and cuddle until you both asleep

Milo🐾

We already know how good Milo is at this kind of thing.

Provided that you’re not already in panic zone. Milo can always tell when his sweetheart is not doing well. he goes up behind you and wraps his arms around your waist.

(provided that you have the same reaction as me that would make you cry right then and there.)

He listens, he holds you close, he makes it better.

You’d think he was taking lessons From caelum for how quickly he makes “the knots” go away. Sure some knots will always be there and he knows that. But he will try his hardest to make you feel safe and loved.

If I do caelum I just might cry While typing this

Sam❤️

(What is it with broken southern men) Sam. much like Seth also knows what it’s like.

“I got ya darlin’….you’re safe here”

Sam holds you close to his chest. And just lets you vent while he softly rubs your back. He’ll use his flannel sleeve to wipe off any stray tears.

You can ask if you’re being too much. You can tell him you didn’t want to be a burden.

But he won’t have any of it.

“darlin do you think it’s a burden when I share my sorrows with you?”

“No.” (If you say yes. f@ck you)

“then why do you think I’d be burdened with hearing yours?”

Once the vent session is done, and your tears are dried. He’ll give you all the kisses, and whisper all the sweet nothings. And get you back to feeling like you’re on top of the world.

Auron📚

(Didn’t think I was gonna bring him out did ya)

We know that he’s not the softest guy in the world, but when he is it’s good.

He realizes that you’re not acting your normal self and will request a meeting with you (whilst also clearing the next two hours of his schedule)

He sits on the couch in his office (he’s loaded He has one) you sit down next to him, and he pats his lap.

“come here. rest your eyes rook” you lay your head in his lap, and he runs his fingers through your hair. He won’t push you to talk. He’ll just wait until you’re ready. but if he feels that you’re not telling him because you don’t want to bother him. He’ll reassure you.

“we may be on work hours, but I want you to know i’m still here….. you can interrupt me at any time of the day or night if you need anything”

The rest is up to you.

Guy🍕

It doesn’t matter if you are the best at hiding it. if literally nothing in your demeanor changes, if you’re just the same as you always are,

he knows

“Honeyyyyy~ what’s wrong”

Hide your emotions all you want you’re gonna end up talking about it. he’ll kiss all over you, Whispering little praises, make extremely lewd comments. you know guy being guy just a lotmore than usual. and somehow even he’s confused about this. It makes you feel better.

Sorry if this sucks, my hands were shaking the entire time and I still don’t have my glasses fixed. Love y’all, and I wish you well

#redacted asmr #writing #incorrect quotes #redacted audio #redacted headcanons #redacted incorrect quotes #redacted milo #redacted sam #redacted guy #redacted pizza guy #redacted milo greer #redacted sam collins #for the dark days #yuurivoice charlie #yuurivoice auron #yuurivoice seth

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queenmuzz · 7 months ago

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Contract Accepted

A Prologue to Milo De Riva's journey to track down Solas

Milo sits there, that ever present smile on his face, as if he's not tied to a chair, that there are six dour faced Crows in the next room, that Viago is staring at him with murderous rage. "You were specifically told to monitor the Antaam, not interfere, and most explicitly" Viago bends down so that his face is inches from his own, "to attack them. Do you have any idea what you've done?" Viago asks, restraining the urge to slap him for his actions.

Milo's face doesn't lose any of that aggravating confidence. "I'm going to assume this is one of your 'rhetorical questions' you like to ask before dressing me down, so let's just get it out of your system"

"Your little stunt was the equivalent of poking the Antaam hornet nest, throwing rocks at it, and then jumping up and down on it. All while all Eight Talon Houses were coordinating on how to burn it and eliminate the threat once and for all. Now, I have the entire Crow leadership on me, demanding to know what happened, and how I am to ... rectify..." he paused to put emphasis on that word, "the situation. They want answers, Milo... and they want blood."

The young man's smile lessens just a tiny bit. "They were... transporting 'hostages', Viago. You know what happens to them, once the Antaam locks them up. They use that shit to mess with their minds, make them brainless drooling idiots, only good for manual labour."

"It was a price that we were willing to pay." Viago counters. "THERE WERE CHILDREN IN THE GROUP! IS THAT A PRICE YOU WERE WILLING TO SPEND LIVES FOR?" Ah, Viago thinks, now it makes sense. The boy has always had a soft spot for children, whether they were fledglings, or the street ragamuffins he keeps giving coins to in the market. It was a mistake, in hindsight to put him in surveillance. He should have assigned him somewhere else, although knowing Milo, he'd no doubt have found out and still made himself a nuisance to both the Antaam and the Crows. Still, the damage had been done, and his mind goes back at the whispers that had been going around. A traitor in their ranks, someone who had cooperated with the blasted Ox-men into taking the city so easily... It couldn't possibly be...

"You've made a fine mess for us, Crow." he deliberately refuses to use the name. He needs to mentally distance himself from the prisoner before he does what must be done. "You've destroyed much of what advantage we still had, and now your actions will result in the deaths of more people than you saved. You know that, right? Maybe you even did that on purpose. Kill a few qunari, save a few children, play the hero and bring down the Crow leadership so you could slip right in."

The smile drops completely, and for a breif moment, his hands, still tied behind his back flash with veilfire. His voice comes out in an outraged hiss. "You would DARE accuse me of being a traitor?" The fire goes out, and Viago notices that had Milo wished it, he could have just burnt the ropes, blasted him back with some magic, and made a run for it. But he doesn't. A small part of Viago's heart relaxes. He knew the boy wasn't a traitor. This just confirms it. Milo, whatever his faults, is true hearted to the Crows. Which makes what he must do even more painful.

"I'm not a traitor," Milo repeats, "I fucked up, I know. I got half the Crows ready to stab me for what I've done. But..." his smile returns, aggravating Viago to a nearly boiling rage with how unserious he looks. "I won't apologise for what I've done. I don't have a single regret that those kids live another day free from that slavery shit."

Milo's mouth is quick to talk himself out of dangerous situations, but Viago's knife is quicker. It's an instant later that the Fifth Talon stands up, grabs the boy by the hair, and yanks his head back, exposing his throat. It's another instant, and he has his dagger's naked blade resting at his carotid artery. All it takes is another instant, and price of defiance will be paid out. Milo's reaction is only a fraction of a second behind. There's the hiss of pain from his hair being yanked, the widening of the eyes at the realization of what is about to happen, and then... a soft tender smile. Not what Viago expected. He'd thought there would be a struggle, a flash of magic as Milo instinctively defended himself. But no, he remains still, his good eye never leaving Viago's. He can feel Milo's pulse against the blade, and it thrums at a leisurely pace, as if he's relaxing with a cup of his favourite drink.

"You know... I've imagined how I would die... and who would kill me. Countless times," Milo speaks calmly. There is no begging, no defiant jokes. Just simple acceptance. "And you know what?"

"I'm glad it was you"

Viago has always been a man of action. When he sets out to do a job, he does not swerve until it is completed. Whether its an assassination, a power play within the Crows, acquiring a new dagger for Teia, he always sees it through to the end. He's a De Riva, after all. And yet, the blade trembles, even as it seems so easy to slide it against the supple flesh, and let the blood flow. Because when it comes down to it, Milo isn't just some run of the mill assassin, albeit one skilled in magic. This has been a man who has spent the better part of the last decade diligently serving the Crows, whether it was by working on the most demanding jobs, by helping the fledglings find their tail feathers, and even once saving Viago's life. Killing him is like killing a part of himself...

He disguises that moment of doubt with a snarl, and yanks the blade back, releasing Milo's hair, but giving him a powerful slap in the face. Before Milo can come up with a quip, (or a taunt about his cowardice), he storms out, slamming the door behind him. That's when he notices over a dozen various Crows, staring at him. He is in no mood to deal with any of them. He knows he has only delayed the inevitable. If not him, another Crow sent by one of the houses will come to demand their pound of flesh from the boy.

"Why are you all standing there, you slacked jawed idiots?! We have work to do." They scurry away, none questioning what had just transpired.

He storms down the hallway to get to his office, ignoring the whispers, barely noticing how everyone fled in his presence. He vaguely hears a voice calling his name. "Viago... VIAGO!!!"

He turns on his heel to come face to face with Teia, who by the sound of her heavy breathing sounds like she must have run the entire distance between her casino and the Roost. Her eyes are wide, and only widen further as she sees the blade, naked and still clenched in his hand.

"You didn't...." she whispers in fear, "Please tell me you didn't..."

"He lives..." he lowers his voice so its just heard by her, and he can see her visibly relax. "For now..." He motions her into the relative privacy of his office.

"There must be something we can do, Viago," she pleads. "Milo may be an idiot, but he's OUR idiot. He doesn't do things like that on impulse. Surely the other Talons would listen to reason, especially coming from you." "And risk bringing down the De Riva's?" "You know the Cantoris would support you, many of my people have worked with him, can attest to his loyalty and skill." "We'd bring you down with us" he counters, and she looks down, acquiescing the point, before looking back up at him. "What about sending him away? A year at the most, by that time, tempers would cool. Maybe send him to Orlais, have him learn about 'culture' that you're always complaining he doesn't have." She smiles hopefully, but its a mask, she already knows his response. "You know that it would be a death sentence to him. Milo is a Crow, it's in his blood. He needs a purpose. To be sent out without direction would cause him to do something that would get him killed. And he might even welcome death."

She sighs sadly. She's fond of the boy, always has been since she first met him as a scrawny sixteen year old, trying to do his best to follow Viago everywhere like a loyal mabari hound. She's even tried finding him a nice woman for him to settle down with, (to no avail, Milo seems notoriously bad at romance). "There must be something we can do..."

"Perhaps I can help?"

A voice comes from the doorway, and the two of them whirl around to see a dwarf standing there.

"Sorry, didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I was asking around for a..." he pauses, "Viago De Riva and they acted kinda scared when they directed me here. The name's Varric. Varric Tethras."

Viago frowns. He's heard of the famous author who was recently known to be part of some Chantry offshoot called the Inquisition, doing whatever those weird zealots do in the south.

"I originally wanted to come here to thank you," Varric continues. "Got myself into a pickle when I was rounded up by the Antaam. I think they thought I was one of the kids or something." He grumbles at the insult, before continuing, "Anyways one of your Crows swooped in and killed seven of those guys before anyone noticed, allowing us to make a run for it, so I just wanted to express appreciation...but I get the feeling that this particular Crow has stirred up some shit."

Viago crosses his arms, not sure what to make of this dwarf. He seems genuine in his thanks, but he had picked a poor time to do so. Perhaps it would bring Milo comfort to know of the appreciation in his last moments.

"I propose a deal. You see, I'm on... 'unofficial' business, trying to find a guy that's planning something big and very, very, VERY bad. Something that makes the qunari occupation here seem a kids game of King of the Castle. I need someone with skills, someone who isn't afraid to get their hands dirty, and someone whose willing to make a big trek for what could possibly be for years. And wouldn't you know it, I may have found my guy. Especially if you want him out of town for the foreseeable future....unless I'm mistaken?"

Viago muses on it. Teia remains silent, but she looks up at him hopefully, her ears trembling ever so slightly when she gets worked up about something. This might be the only shot Milo has for survival. Of course, survival isn't guaranteed, but every Crow knows that for any mission, no matter how easy it seems. And staying in Antiva will guarantee Milo's death. No doubt the boy will be furious with Viago for sending him away, but he'll have no one but himself to blame. He slept with the dogs, now he must deal with the fleas. He closes his eyes, pinches the bridge of his nose and exhales once before releasing the tension that's been building within him all day. "Contract Accepted"

#dragon age the veilguard #veilguard spoilers #viago de riva #teia cantori #de riva rook #Milo de Riva #My Writing

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realmackross · 2 years ago

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

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

Wynne asked, "What is skinny dipping?"

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

Ray entered for the first time

Ray left the chat

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

Alex waved and said, "Hey, Soup!"

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

—

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

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

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