#shell of what i was before quarantine

[amber-michaelson]

Shower time

Mattheo riddle x reader

Summary: mattheo always showers after his gymming season and this time you decide join

Read at own risk

Warning: swearing, shower sex

Yn pov

i watched as mattheo did pull ups in our home gym we made over quarantine “i can feel you staring” he grunted  dropping and turned to me “while you do it why can’t i” i smiled and walked to him “because you  have bouncing boobs i have nothing” he chuckled pulling me to him i giggled and lightly punched him “you have stuff to look at” i giggled and kissed his cheek “and what is that babe” he eyed me i laughed and got out his hold “that you have a boner sticking through your shorts” i laughed and decided i would go back to what i was doing before staring at him “go shower dinner is almost ready” i yelled and went back to chopping.

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“mattheo foods ready” but no response i shrug my shoulders and walk down the hall way and as i got closer to the bedroom i heard the shower going “dinner can wait a bit” i mumbled and took off my clothes and walked into the bathroom “mind if i join you” i asked moving the curtains aside “fuck yes” mattheo eagerly pulled me in and closed the curtain “i heard the showing going and i just had to join you” i murmur seductively running my hands up and down his chest “and im glad you did” he groaned grinding his boner into me, mattheo kissed my neck as he entered me “mattheo” i moaned in pleasure as i clawed his back “fuck baby” he grunted thrusting into me “you feel so fucking good inside me mat” i cried in pleasure, we kissed as the water ran over our heads "I wish I can do this all fucking day" he muttered pushing me up against the shower wall and thrusted harder "mattheo" I moaned "jump" I nodded and did as he told, he held me against the wall thrusting as hard as he could and leaving love bites on my neck to show everyone I'm taken "mattheo" I clenched my legs around him "lets make this more enjoyable shell we" he growled and started rubbing my clit I threw my head back in pleasure and turned into a moaning mess "you feel so good baby, clenching around my cock" mattheo groaned kissing my exposed neck "getting close" I cried and held onto Mattheos neck and clenched my legs tightly around his hips "fuck" I moaned as I cam but he wasn't done "mattheo" I whined from the extra pleasure I was receiving "come on baby a little longer" he grinned going even harder "your going to make me cum again" I moaned scratching his neck with my nails "almost there" he groaned and did a final thrust before releasing into me "fuck" I cried cumming again "fuck Mattheo" I panted and kissed his lips "I think we should bath next" he murmured raising his eyebrows "if you put the candles on yes" I smiled tiredly and squealed as he carried me and put me on the side of the bath "stay" he murmured and pointed his finger at me I nodded obediently and watched as he went to put the water on before going different places, he lit all the candles in the bathroom, went and fetched the wine and two glasses, dimming the lights as he came in and put some bath salt into the water and hoped in "join me babe" he murmured and helped me to sit infront of him "here you go my love" he said filling up a glass and handing it to me "I'm glad we had shower time".

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[mirandapriestlyswife]

Mirandy Fanfic- Apocalypse AU; Chapter 2

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Hi! This chapters not that great, but I hope you enjoy anyways :) constructive criticism is welcome as this is my first fic! Enjoy!

Prologue https://www.tumblr.com/mirandapriestlyswife/747204446805704704/mirandy-fanfic-apocalypse-au-prologue

Chapter 1 https://www.tumblr.com/mirandapriestlyswife/747303362291286016/mirandy-apocalypse-fic-chapter-1

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“You wanna play 20 questions?”

“No.”

“Okay.”

“….”

“What are you doing?”

“Work.”

“Work? What work?”

“Honestly Andrea, what does it look like im doing?” Miranda sighed exasperatedly and turned around in her office chair to face away from the brunette. Her office was a mess. Old copies of Runway were scattered across all surfaces, photos from shoots that go as far back as 1972 fluttered about. They interested Andy for about the first 20 minutes of arrival at Elias-Clark, as promised, at 7 AM. But now they just made her sad. It was like when she was going through her old high school yearbook after Lily passed. It made her smile to think about all the fun times they’d had… But then the realization that she would never hear her voice again settled in. The photos of past models gave her a similar feeling. Those people had lives. They had hopes and dreams. And now they were dead.

Miranda sighed and placed down her pen, rubbing her temples.

“You okay?”

“Oh…” She didn’t say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ but at least she acknowledged the question. Andy sighed and got up to stretch. Shed been sitting on the floor close to Mirandas desk all morning. She was really desiring human contact. Sure they didn’t have to fall asleep in each-other’s arms, but a hug would be nice every once in a while.

“..Where are you going..?”

“No where. Just stretching.”

Miranda clicked her tongue. “Good.”

‘Good’? Did that mean she liked her presence? Andy smiled and leaned on the wall.

“So.. What do you do in your free-time?”

Miranda visibly rolled her eyes at this. It was fascinating, the woman looked so impossibly bored whenever Andy tried to initiate some type of conversation. Yet she looked over at her constantly, as if to make sure she was real. It was almost sweet… Almost.

“I work. Review old issues, critique. There isn’t much to do in an empty city.”

“Do you leave the building to get food or-“

“Upstairs. Theres a deep freezer. It somehow manages to keep things moderately fresh if I turn the power back on every few hours.” Miranda dropped her pen and leaned back in her chair. Gazing up at Andy.

She stood self consciously. “Do you ever leave the building..?”

“No? Why would I? I expect the streets are riddled with the smell of death.”

Andy shrugged. She wasn’t wrong. The bodies that weren’t relocated to mass graveyards at the beginning of the infection were in fact rotting in the last place they were before death. She walked past the gruesome sight of a homeless man with his eyes pecked out by pigeons every time she left the apartment. She ended up throwing up on the side of the road the first few times she saw it. But like most things, she just got used to it after a while. She kept reminding herself that theres no soul in that body, it was simply an empty shell. The sight still made her nauseas though.

“Yeah.. When I realized there was seemingly no one else left in the city I broke into The Plaza Hotel. I thought, ‘Hey if you’re the last woman alive, why not live a life of luxury?’” She chuckled. “Yeah.. That didn’t last long.. Walked in on some Wall Street guy that died in bed.”

Miranda closed her eyes momentarily, her lips forming a displeased expression.

“Why are there no body’s in this building?”

“Did you really just ask me why there are no corpses in this building?”

Andy sighed, was this woman trying to make her feel stupid? “Yes..?”

Miranda rolled her eyes and looked up at the ceiling, “Theres no bodies because we underwent quarantine two weeks before the initial mass outbreak. Alike your job I assumed.. Wherever you ended up.”

Andy shrugged, “We stayed open for a while.. You know, the world of journalism was really booming at the beginning.”

“Why only at the beginning?”

“Well.. People stopped reading.” She sighed sadly then put on the upmost pitiful laugh, “They got sad reading the latest death poll I guess..”

Miranda nodded, her eyes still shut.

“So…”

Miranda opened one eye which made Andy chuckle. “You just work all day? Where do you sleep?”

An immediate eye roll followed by a response of, “Where do you think?” In which Andy had no answer to.

“I sleep here.”

“Well I knew that much.. But theres-“ She looked around just to confirm her suspicions, “Theres no bed-“

“Correct…”

“Then where do you-“

“Honestly Andrea, not everyone needs a bed to sleep.”

Miranda Priestly doesn’t sleep in a bed? What? “..So.. You sleep.. On the floor..? Really..?”

“I sleep on the couch.” The older woman rolled her eyes and when Andy clearly wasn’t understanding, she cocked her head in the direction of the couch, corner of the office.

“..That can’t be good for your back.”

“And why are my back issues of your concern?”

Andy scoffed. “Well incase you haven’t noticed you’re the only one around here to talk to, and I honestly would rather you not be dead.”

“How would a little back ache cause me to die?” Miranda raised an eyebrow as she leaned forward and went back to what looked like aimlessly making notes on old magazines.

“Well.. I don’t know but-“ Andy stopped herself when she caught Mirandas eyes, but to her own surprise, she continued, “I care about you and-“

“Oh did you care about me when you abandoned me in Paris? To be mobbed by paparazzi questioning my divorce now questioning why my assistant is running off with her tail between her legs like some wounded animal? Did you care, Andrea? Did you care when you threw your company phone in a fountain? Don’t think I didn’t catch wind of that.”

Andy was stunned.. Out of all things she expected to hear from Miranda, confrontation wasn’t one of them. “Miranda, please.. I was young-“

“You’re still young.”

“I was immature!”

“Seems like nothings changed, has it?” Miranda shut the magazine and stood up, glaring at the taller woman. Andy frowned, out of all the damn people to be left alive on Earth, why did it have to be her spiteful boss?! She took a deep breath, she couldn’t afford to ruin the one chance at some sort of companionship with Miranda.

“Look, I’m sorry for that… ‘Stunt’ I pulled in Paris.. I was young! My whole life outside of work was falling apart! My boyfriend had just left me and-“

“Oh yes ‘Nate’, let’s hear about ‘Nate’.”

Andy was about to fire back when she realized.. How did Miranda know Nates name? Did she have her phone wired or something?! “You.. Know about Nate..?”

Miranda’s mask slipped for a moment, she looked almost embarrassed as she pursed her lips. “I may have.. Overheard some conversations between you and Emily.” She straightened herself up, “Nothing of interest of course.”

Oh.. Lovely to know her old boss was probably listening to every complaint Andy made when she had the time. She raised her eyebrows and chewed her bottom lip, not knowing how to continue without resulting in an argument. “So you-“

“You should stay here tonight.”

Andy stared at the older woman, bewildered.

“Here…? With you..?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.” Miranda took off her reading glasses and added on, “Unless you’re uninterested.”

She wasn’t sure she wanted to.. She wasn’t sure she didn’t want to either. And what did she mean by ‘uninterested’? Uninterested in what exactly? In Miranda? In the idea of staying with her?

“I.. I kind of should go back to Lily’s apartment.. All of my stu- I- belongings.. Are there.” She sighed in relief that she caught herself from saying ‘stuff’. Somehow proper use of filler words was more important than figuring out what to eat for dinner that night. Andy almost smiled before she noticed the slight disappointment in Miranda’s complexion. “..Maybe you want to come back with me? I mean- I don’t have a lot of room but..” IDIOT! Shit! Shit! Shit! Why did she just invite Miranda over like that?! Of course she wouldn’t be interested in-

“Acceptable.” Andy was shocked. Miranda Priestly was willing to spend the night in the same building as her? Let alone the same room? She felt a blush creeping up her cheeks and swallowed hard. Those unresolved feelings from Paris seemed to be fighting their way through the deep corners of her subconscious she had them buried.

“Great.. We can head out-“

“Lets go now.” Miranda sighed, looking around with little interest and then looking at Andy expectingly. “Well?”

“Well? Well, what?”

The older woman scoffed, “Do I look like I know my way to your apartment, please Andrea lead the way.” She muttered as she grabbed her Prada bag that she had carelessly discarded on her dust ridden desk. Miranda Priestly was quite the mess without two full time assistants at her disposal 24/7.

“..Right- it’s a long walk..”

“Andrea, I’ve lived in this city since before you were born im sure, I know how to walk places.”

“Right.. But are you really going to do that in.. You know.. Heels-?”

Miranda snickered, or at least thats what it sorta looked like. Somewhere between an almost laugh and a downright hiss. “Trust me. I can walk fine, Andrea.”

“Yes, Miranda.”

The walk to the apartment was rather quiet. Except for Andys occasional attempt at making conversation.

“We should check out BloomingDales, you know.. Raid them of their designer clothes.” She tried to joke but Miranda simply put on her Versace sunglasses and acted as if she didn’t hear her. Of course.

“How much longer must we drag our feet for?”

“..Well we just passed the bagel place.. So maybe.. um.. 30ish more minutes?”

Miranda clicked her tongue at that. Andy wanted to ask her why the hell she had even agreed to come spend the night with her if all she was going to do was shoot her disapproving glares, but she kept quiet and instead focused on the sound of falling leaves.

The city stank. It always stank. Since it was built it was as if the founding fathers had decided ‘This shalt be the city that smell like shit’. But instead of sewage water, the place reeked of decomposing flesh. Andy covered her nose with her sweatshirt as they passed the body of what looked like a woman that had simply fallen asleep in the park when the infection had killed her. She heard Miranda gag behind her which would’ve made Andy chuckle under different circumstances.

“You don’t leave Elias-Clarke much?”

“I try not to.”

“Why not?”

“Why would I want to walk around a city of corpses?”

Andy didn’t respond as the two continued their walk in silence.

“It’s a nice day out..”

Miranda made a noise of approval in response.

Finally.. Fucking finally.. After a torturous walk in silence, they had finally arrived at Lily’s apartment. Of course, Lily didn’t live there anymore. But she still referred to it as ‘Lily’s apartment’, as if she were carrying out her best friend’s legacy by naming a crappy studio apartment in her honor. She jiggled open the door, which she had left unlocked. She lost the key months ago and only really locked up at night.. Besides, in the off chance that a psychotic murderer had broken into the apartment, she’s sure she’d welcome death with open arms.

“Well.. Here it is.” She shrugged as she made her way through the messy apartment. Books on top of books and magazines covered almost every available surface.

“So.. Do you wanna stay on the couch or-“

“I assumed there were two bedrooms? Did you and Lily not live here together?”

Andy cringed at the accusatory tone Miranda took, it almost sounded like jealousy..

“Um.. Yeah- well- the couch is a pullout.. I usually sleep there anyways.” She gestured to the mass of pillows and blankets on the folded up pull out couch. “I don’t touch the bedroom- that was Lily’s. I’d like to keep that door closed if you don’t mind while you’re here.”

Miranda nodded and turned her head towards the kitchen, observing the area. “If I take the couch, where will you sleep?”

“I don’t mind the floor.. I can take the pillows from the chair and-“

“We can share the pullout.” Miranda set her purse on the kitchen counter and looked to Andy to set up the pullout couch for the two of them. Andy stared at her in shock. It actually didn’t sound.. Unpleasant. God knows the fantasies she had about Miranda before Paris.. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad? She’s missed the physical touch of another person.

“Yeah that sounds.. Good.” She looked Miranda up and down, “You didn’t bring pajamas- did you?” That sounded a lot more perverted than she meant to.

Miranda seemed surprisingly unaffected, “No. I was a bit…” she clicked her tongue, “Spontaneous when agreeing to this.”

Andy shifted awkwardly on her heels, “Right.. Well.. I have some old shirts and sweaters you can go through if you want. Some of its clean.” Some of it was in fact clean. She had learned how to wash clothes with a jug of water, scrub brush, and soap, but it still didn’t seem that hygienic. Miranda pursed her lips and nodded.

“And what do you eat..?”

Andy’s face flushed in embarrassment. Food had always been a.. Sore subject when it came to Miranda to say the least. Being called the ‘fat, smart girl’ by the woman she quite honestly thought was hotter than the Ohio pavement on an August afternoon took quite a chip at her relationship with food. Pun not intended. “Oh.. You know.. Just cans of things I pick up- theres some apricots..” She walked over to the pile of canned goods she’d been hoarding in her kitchen, digging around, “Around here somewhere…”

“I’ll look myself Andrea, thank you.” She kept digging through the cans anyways. What would tonights meal be? A can of olives that’ll have her waking up in the middle of the night more dehydrated than a damn sponge? She heard Miranda shuffling around the apartment, probably going through the laundry pile. She heard Miranda groan in disgust at the sight of her clothes from Old Navy and the Gap. God, this was going to be a long night.

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Hope you enjoyed!

[unreliablesnake]

Wounded animals

Pairing(s): It's supposed to be a Joel Miller x reader piece, but Tommy took control when I wrote it so it might be a Tommy Miller x reader story. Idk.

Note: This is like a pilot chapter. I'm more of a short chapters kind of girl because–to quote Neil Ellice–I have the attention span of a bag of squirrels.

Warning: afab!reader

It had been a very long shift so far and you still didn't see the end of it. Since the night seemed to be relatively quiet, you lied down on the bottom bunk bed in the on-call room, hoping you could catch some sleep.

You had no idea how much time had passed, but you were woken up by someone coming in and talking to you, saying words you couldn't quite understand just yet. Your eyes slowly opened and you found a man standing there, suddenly falling silent as he watched you.

"I can't believe it," he muttered under his breath as he walked inside and closed the door behind him. "It's really you."

He knew you, he was familiar, but the pieces of the puzzle simply didn't click in your head after spending so much time awake. But then you noticed a scar on his forearm, right below his elbow, that jump-started your memory. "Tommy!" you squealed as you stood up and rushed over to hug him.

His arms sneaked around your waist as he embraced you, keeping you in a bear hug you couldn't escape from. "We thought no one got out of the hospital alive, we thought you died," he said, chin resting on top of your head.

With a quiet chuckle, you leaned back a little to look up at him. "The military came in and took every staff member somewhere safe. They put us in quarantine to see if we were infected, but once we were proven to be clear, they took us to different clinics to help whoever got injured in that mess," you explained.

"I'm so happy to see you," he said, murmuring into your hair before reluctantly letting you go as he stepped away from you.

"What about Joel and Sarah? Do you know anything about them?"

"Sarah was killed by a soldier right at the start, we couldn't save her," he began to tell you, sitting down on the edge of the bed, elbows resting on his thighs. "Joel… Something broke in him that night, he's… not the same."

Not the same. Tommy's words echoed in your mind, making you wonder what had happened to him. Losing his daughter and finding himself in a strange new world probably had its toll on him, but at the same time his younger brother seemed perfectly fine. How bad could that be?

"Is he here in the QZ?" you asked quietly.

Tommy nodded. "He's right here, on this floor. I came in here because he finally woke up and it would be great if someone could take a look at him. The doctor who helped him went home apparently," he told you with a smile.

You sat down next to him, your eyes fixed on the door as you thought about this. Twelve years. It had been twelve years since the world went crazy. Since you had to leave everything behind. Since you were separated from Joel. Since you last felt love.

Now? Now you weren't sure you could look Joel in the eye. Your heart had been empty lately. It was much easier to deal with your job in this new world if you didn't have any feelings for others. No friends. No lovers. No family. Nothing. You were just an empty shell compared to your old self.

Suddenly you felt Tommy take your hand in his, fingers absentmindedly tangling with yours as he watched you. Tilting your head to the side, you gave him a questioning look. Something was wrong, you could feel it, but you also didn't want to force him to tell you what bothered him.

Then he stood up and pulled you up with him, his hand not letting go of yours, even when you left the room. As he led you to the room Joel was in, you wondered what you should say to him. What do you say to your ex-finacé you hadn't seen in over a decade?

"It's gonna be alright," Tommy told you when he stopped in front of a door. You gave him a doubtful look, and he leaned down to kiss the top of your head in return. "Just don't expect the old Joel, okay?" You nodded obediently. "Good. Let's go."

Your heart was beating in your throat, the world around you slowing down as he opened the door and stepped inside. You followed him like a lapdog, your eyes fixed on your shoes as you walked. It was hard to look up, to look at Joel again after all those years.

"You've gotta be fuckin' kidding me," you heard Joel say bitterly.

That's when you finally looked up, facing the man with a sad look in your eyes. He didn't sound like the old Joel. Your Joel. This man was a stranger, with no softness in his brown eyes.

"I found her sleeping in a room," Tommy said with a short laugh, probably to lighten the mood. "After all these years it turns out she survived."

"I heard what happened to Sarah. I'm so–"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Joel growled like a rabid dog.

You took a step back at the same time you felt Tommy's hand on the small of your back. When you looked up at him, he only shook his head with a sad smile. Don't ask, don't object, just stay calm. You could certainly do that.

With a sigh, you finally pulled yourself together and walked closer to the bed. "Can I take a look at your wound?" you asked cautiously. You were a doctor, it was your job to help him.

But Joel had a different idea. "I want another doctor," he snarled.

This took you off guard, and you soon felt Tommy put a hand on your waist to pull you behind him. "Joel, calm down, she just wants to help. She's a doctor in case you forgot, and you're a patient. Let her help," he tried.

"Get out. Both of you."

He didn't have to say twice, you shook your head and turned around to leave the room as he asked. Once outside, you leaned your back against the wall and started to cry silently, his words replaying in your head over and over again, each time hurting you more than before. Tommy had been right, this wasn't the Joel you knew so well.

"Hey, hey, don't cry, it's not worth the tears," Tommy said when he showed up in front of you, raising his hand to wipe your tears away. "He's been like that for a long time, don't take it personally. I think you remind him of his old life, of Sarah, and it's too much for him. Also, he's like a wounded animal now, attacking anyone who goes near him."

You didn't object when he pulled you into a hug, his hand rubbing along your spine to soothe you. Soon you stopped crying, your brain focusing on him instead, listening to the mixture of the steady rhythm of his breathing and the way his heart pounded against his chest.

Maybe this was for the better. If he really had changed this much over the years, it would probably be for the best if you didn't talk to him. He was in the past, it would be better to keep nothing more but the good memories.

Your hands instinctively moved to your necklace and the ring you had on it. He gave you this engagement ring before the military took you away, and you weren't about to let it go until now. But today you realized the Joel you remembered was nothing more but a ghost that kept haunting you.

So you took it off and placed it into Tommy's hand. "Could you give it back to him?" you asked.

He took a look at the piece of jewelry and you saw a glint in his eyes that you didn't really understand at the time. But he eventually flashed a smile at you and nodded. "Sure. When will your shift end?"

You let out a long sigh as you thought about whether or not you wanted to think about hanging out with him. Because that's what he wanted to ask, you could feel it. In the end you looked at your watch and let out a thoughtful hum.

"I still have five and a half hours left, and then I'm gonna hit the bed at home," you replied.

Tommy suddenly leaned over to place a kiss on your forehead. "Okay, sleep is important, especially in your line of work," he began. "I know where to find you now, so we'll talk some other time then."

Apparently he wasn't about to give up so you gave in. After nodding, you said goodbye and left to return to the on-call room, hopefully catching some sleep.

Not like you could sleep with Joel on your mind.

••••••

Taglist (although I won't do this in the future - hit the get notifications button and you'll know when I post something): @kyuupidwrites

[butmakeitgayblog]

Can you Tell us the story about how you met your wife and got together? I know It was somehow Clexa related, pretty please ;)

Oh Sam's not actually my wife 😅 we're not married and probably will never get married. Between us both being the products of divorce (and unhappy marriages prior to that involving parents who stayed together way too long), plus with my whole health issues thing and maybe ending up needing to be on disability down the road, we just decided to shelve that whole notion for the foreseeable future, possibly forever. But in spirit she is, a piece of paper isn't needed. I mean she buys me rotisserie chickens 🥹

Anyway yeah!

So shortly before the pandemic hit I was going out to dinner with a group of friends and one of them asked if she could bring her cousin along. She said her cousin had recently moved down into the area for work and didn't really know anybody else and so, ya know, it'll give her a chance to socialize. We all met up and it was nice and I'm thinking hmm she's cute but also pretty quiet and kinda stoic and probably straight so it was like meh whatever she's alright I guess 🥴. But then during dinner I was eating something that everyone knew would make me feel icky and I said something along the lines of like, "Eh fuck it, victory stands on the back of sacrifice, right?" Fully thinking no one would pick up on it because I knew no one else there had ever watched the show.

But then miss thang's head shot up like 😳

Nobody else having caught this reference, we spend the next several seconds having a silent

moment across the table 🥴

She said I turned both white as a sheet and then fire engine fuckin red😅😅😅 (I have a very real blushing problem. It's the cross I bear that comes with the chubby cheeks, r.i.p.)

After that she started joining in the convo more and actually coming out of her shell. We started kind of having our own side convo just between us and when the check came everyone else decided to call it a night but we stayed behind and had another drink at the bar. We ended up staying till right about closing, and then exchanged numbers and decided to ~hang out~ the next day ~just us~.

For the conversation, obviously.

And that was kind of that. We saw each other pretty much every day after that and text constantly and called each other every night before bed if we weren't staying over together. At first Iiiiiii had a *moment* of panic of not really knowing what we were because it just went from not knowing she existed to having her be kind of the focal point of my life, but she was kind enough to just be like "🙄+😏+🤦‍♀️ we're dating, Andi. We've been dating. That's what we are. Don't hurt yourself there, champ."

So kudos to her for that...

It was tough during the beginning stages of the pandemic because she has family that is very high risk and so do I, both of which if they got it they'd probably die, so quarantine and social distancing was rough but necessary, but we worked through it and both feel more solid for it. And now we live together and she helps me take care of my mother and myself and I do my best to be her support and help her and be her best cheerleader whenever I can 🥹

Downside tho is I'll forever be labeled "Cousin Fucker" in my friend's phone contacts 😒

[emonerdboy]

There's been an apocalypse AU for MLP going around on tiktok so I'm putting my spin on it using creature lore from the show!

{{scroll down to 💀 for AU story}}

I am so sorry to all the Fluttershy fans out there for making her the patient 0 😭 it just made the most sense for my version of the "virus". I say that with quotation because in my version it's not a virus rather a parasite!

More specifically Parasprites! Much like the zombie fungus which is technically parasitic and uses other creatures bodies as a host body, in my au Parasprites do essentially the same thing lol. I'll go into more detail another time but here's the first part of the story!!

💀💀💀

{{Day one of the Parasprites Outbreak}}

• Twilight has been tasked with finding Fluttershy. 2 weeks ago she went out to the forest and hasn't been seen since. Dispite not being worried at first, twilight soon began to sense something was off when she arrived to fluttershy's hut on the outskirts of Ponyville.

Empty sheddings of what appear to be insect shells scattered across fluttershy's home, the lights were off making it hard to see inside the small building but a croaky voice whispered through the stale air.

"Kill me..." Twilight froze for a moment unsure what to expect, did she really just hear that right?.

"Fluttershy? Is...is that you?" She called out but no reply, just the sounds of weak shuffling in the back corner of the house.

"No..no..hungry...stop..twi...li...get" the voice gargles out, was Fluttershy okay? Twilight thought to herself. 'She...she needs help' she pondered taking a few steps closer to the figure in the corner.

"Fluttershy...I'm here to help" twilight said nervously as she stepped towards Fluttershy, her eyes adjusting to the dim shadows before falling upon the rotting corpse like creature that sat there in fluttershy's skin...Parasprites flying out of clusters of holes that adorned fluttershy's skin.

"Flu..tter..shy?" Twilights eyes widened before she began slowly backing up toward the exist. If she's fast enough maybe she can contain this...whatever this is to fluttershy's home, quarantine the cottage.

Fluttershy suddenly stood up, her legs longer then usual making the disfigured filly tower over twilight.

"Please...so..hungry...ki..kill me... twi...light" the voice fought with itself on what it was trying to say as if Fluttershy was still in there trying to warn twilight.

[theterribletenno]

Can’t draw so I’ll just write

Reclaimed Helminth Technocyte Testing.

Test site: Orokin Tower ship designation EUPHRATES, geosynchronous high-orbit above Pluto.

Overseer: Lady Chamis Muderole, 2nd daughter of Muderole family.

Staff: 14 Archimedean scientists (9 Technocyte specialist, 5 general biologist), 26 Dax, 31 Bridge crew, 109 Service crew, 19 prisoners.

Mission details: Experimental use of reclaimed technocyte from feral samples.  Former technocyte lab on surface of Pluto experienced un-planned release of specimens, resulting in colony infestation.  Contamination spread prevented by quarantine, feral infested unable to survive Plutonian surface climate.  Dax special force squadron collected samples before cauterization of compromised site.  Collected “Post-Helminth” samples have been extensively tested and modified for attempted re-integration into Helminth project.

Lady Chamis Muderole Personal Notes: I am repeatedly cautioned by my Archimedeans that the post-Helminth strains are unstable and unpredictable and that results cannot be guaranteed.  Executor Ballas has made it clear that more warframes are needed urgently, and that quantity supersedes quality.  Batch three testing will begin in less than an hour.  Archimedean Philias has been selected to fill one of the empty specimen tables after her unseemly outburst during my last lab visit.  My Dax guard’s sword came within an inch of her neck when she grabbed my wrist.  Speaking of the Dax, with only six of our seven tables filled I chose two of my Dax soldiers - Imugi and Pliamet, two of my best - and gave them a simple command.  Fight to the death, the survivor gets the honor of becoming a warframe.  Pliamet Dax began to speak, I did not bother to heed his words but I believe he intended to disregard my orders.  Imugi Dax had no such compunctions.  His sword struck true in the blink of an eye, and Pliamet’s head tumbled to the ground.  With Archimedean Philias and Imugi Dax filling the last of the seven specimen tables we can begin as soon as the injectors are loaded.  To stifle Philias’ incessant screaming I instructed my Dax to gag her with one of my golden bracelets.  It did so amuse me how perfectly that heavy golden bead fit in her whimpering mouth.

Post-Helminth Batch 3 test results

Specimen 1: Total failure, tagged for incineration.  What a mess.  It was sickening to behold.  Specimen 1 (John Doe, convicted of heresy) was an immediate failure.  The flesh at the injection site began to boil immediately, deforming into a raspberry-like mass of tumors that hung from naked bone.  The subject’s body continued to degrade until catastrophic failure of multiple organs.  What’s left of him wouldn’t even look like it had ever been human if it weren’t for the bloody skull visible on the left side of what was once his head.  The right side of his body was less affected, as he died before the infestation could spread thoroughly throughout.  Initial prognosis for failure is over-mutation of technocyte sample.  No further testing is required, the sample will be atomized.

Specimen 2: Success.  Unique phenotype, tagged for further study.  I had high hopes for this specimen (Son Nguyen; convicted of aiding and abetting rebel terrorists) and I was not disappointed.  The Archimedeans are right, the helminth strain does more with what’s inside a person than their flesh alone.  His flesh changed rapidly, the technocyte covering his arms, legs, and head with a smooth shell of gleaming steel.  Across his round iron carapace a multitude of pockmarks emerged, a pattern of sunken recesses that glow with unnatural blue light, a long thin needle rising from the very middle of each one.  These pocks and needles emit a tingling electric hum.  He will need to be inspected by experts on sacred Lua to determine if he is a new type, or a variation of the golem they call Volt.

Specimen 3: Final-stage failure, tagged for autopsy.  Specimen 3 (Dorian Mastiff; convicted of armed assault, murder of the first & second degree, and three other crimes) responded well to initial injection.  Very little screaming.  Plate-like extrusions of dull gray metal emerged across his skin, dermis underwent full replacement.  Musculoskeletal augmentation appears successful, pending autopsy report.  However, after protracted convulsions the subject’s belly collapsed inwards and then ripped open, spilling pink, red, orange and yellow entrails across the table and floor while the subject’s vitals flatlined.  Cause of failure to be determined during autopsy.

Specimens 4 & 5: Unqualified success, recommended for immediate deployment.  I had no particular expectations for our last two criminal specimens (Torres & Sia Fallon; convicted of possession of illegal firearms and conspiracy to commit treason) and so I was pleasantly surprised by the results.  It all began with the usual howling and thrashing as bone reshapes and skin turns inside out but imagine my shock when each of the two managed to wrest an arm free of the clamps, only so they could hold each others hand as they endured holy metamorphosis.  Beautiful to behold, as the shapes of their bodies deformed into haunting curves bulbous and hollow, hand in hand as they sang into the walls of the transmogrification lab.  Seeing them now I nearly feel a tear in my eye, the shapes of their curves, their peaks and valleys seem perfect to fit against each other like the pieces of a puzzle.  Two halves of a whole; balancing each other in both shape and color.  If Executor Ballas allows, I would very much like to keep these two for myself.

Specimen 6: Success.  Unique phenotype, tagged for further study.  Our Archimedeans are chosen for the prowess of their minds, not for their ability to withstand even the slightest amount of pain.  With the golden ball from my bracelet muffling her screams Archimedean Philias squealed and whimpered throughout the entire process.  If I had not gagged her I’m sure her screaming would have drowned out all other noise in the room.  And oh how I chuckled when I saw that gleaming golden bead trapped permanently in the angular beak that had replaced Philias’ mouth, clenched and frozen.  A precious little momento of her final moments as a human being.  Oh, I do adore her now.  How her research vestments gave way to streaming silken ribbons, how her features were completely hidden by the shining metal mask that grew from her skull.  She is so beautiful now, and so quiet.  I think I wish I could keep her most of all.  No telling what powers this new form of yellow gold and red silk could possibly possess, but that is what tests are for.  I wish I could see that perfectly chiseled beak of hers clutching that golden ball every day.

Specimen 7: Unqualified success, recommended for immediate deployment.  (Imugi Dax, volunteered)  In retrospect, I admit that subjecting Archimedean Philias to the transformation was impulsive and emotional, and doing the same to Imugi Dax was pure whimsy.  The only things aboard this ship that are allowed to second-guess me are myself and my cephalon.  I won’t express regret for my decision, but I will admit its shortsightedness.  With that said, I now ask myself why we do not use the Dax soldiers for more of our warframe projects.  The technocyte grafts with their flesh and bone so easily, Imugi never once screamed.  While the others howled, cried, and gurgled, Imugi was silent as stone.  The nanomachines rushed through his veins and arteries, turning his whole body a noble blue.  How calmly his shape changed.  The quiet re-ordering of bone and muscle.  Thick yet slender, powerful yet elegant, the stately helmet of the Dax fusing to his skull to give him a most commanding silhouette... and that beautiful slate blue all over him accented by dots and streaks of noble jade glow.  A perfect warframe.

Additional notes: We are squandering a great deal of potential using criminals as our primary test subjects for the Warframe Project.  The Helminth technocyte is best when it has good material to work with: individuals of exceptional quality.  Results from tests conducted on subjects with superior skills, knowledge, and physical condition like the Dax have such a high success rate while wasting test batches of degenerates and reprobates leaves me with tables full of mangled corpses.  The criminal fodder is much more suited for use in controlled mass-production cloning of archetypes.  This research is no longer just my assignment.  It is my passion.  It is my art.  We should not be wasting time and resources on reclaiming technocyte clay from the feral mud, we should be culturing strains of the finest porcelain for our masterpieces!

[ritualcaster]

Im a man of my word.

DAY 1.

Although I'm writing this down, it's only a courtesy to any who may find this journal. Today Isn't something I think I'll ever forget.

We got lucky. Oh so very lucky. The trains were still running when I sent for Cattail and our colleauges in high society, most of them managed to make it out before the rings were declared a quarantine zone. That said, we didn't get everybody, and not nearly enough either. Cattail hasn't left the guest bedroom I lent him since he got here, he didn't have time to go back for Eden or his wife so I can hardly say I'd fare any better.

For some reason, Fossil stayed behind willingly, presumably to research and possibly find a cure. If anybody can do that, its her. Our communications were cut by rioters before she could fully explain.

We had no response from carrot.

DAY 20.

Theres nothing i can do from here except

Trek there by foot and lead my own rescue mission.

Push has advised against it... strongly...

I can't just leave them.

I have supplies for 2 months.

DAY 23.

Cattail was already packed when I went to tell him I was leaving. I wasn't able to convince him otherwise, but I won't deny I'm happy to have his help.

Cattail knows those outskirts better than anybody. I'm glad we're both omnivores.

Cattail and I fully planned this mission from top to bottom with 3 main goals in mind, save "Eden" and her best friend, dynamite, collect data on the situation, and find at least one sample to bring back.

I originally planned to set up more reliable contact with fossil as well, but Cattail decided traveling into high society would be too dangerous and limited me to as far as the middle ring. To be truthful, I was not expecting him to be this level headed, all things considered.

If possible, although dangerous, we will attempt to bring back other surviviors from the center ring as well.

DAY 24.

We set out for travel today, and, to go back on my word, we did not set out on foot.

Who doesn't love a good off-roading trip in a car that may-or-may-not belong to your boss?

DAY 26.

We can see the rings from here.

We will not be traveling to the center ring.

DAY 28.

We parked the jeep near the wall and decided to climb instead of using the main entrance to avoid rioters and a paniced mob, Cattail and I decided to split up for exactly 24 hours, and meet back here, I suggested it because I was worried Cattail wouldn't survive an encounter with whatever these things are.

DAY 29.

They got my fucking eye.

Excuse my profanity.

I managed 2 different samples

The first was by far less dangerous, I stalked one for about 4 hours, and managed to catch what seems to be some kind of maggot that fell off of it as it rounded a corner.

The second was stationary it was completley different than the first, with multiple roaming around it, almost gaurding it as i observed from the rooftop.

But even more worriesome were the "spikes", maybe "stingers"? Regardless, I watched a crow get a little too close, they both lunged at it midair and before long the crow was nothing but rotting flesh.

I should have backed down there, but I was determined, I took the crossbow from my bag, I only brought one bolt, not expecting this kind of foe. With two paper clips, a rubberband, and a long piece of stitching thread from the medkit I managed to create something extrordinary, a crossbow bolt with two paper clips on it. It was enough to get a small sample, so i don't think it mattered. I climbed down from the roof top, carefully avoiding the ones roaming around, and staying well out of reach of the stingers, I fired the bolt at the main structure, then yanked it back with the thread, as for how I lost my eye, every single one that was roaming around the structure made a beeline for mee as soon as the bolt hit the main structure. I "shelled up" a little too late. After attacking me for what seemed like years, the parasites eventually left me alone.

I'm never coming back here again.

DAY 30.

I didn't realize the full extent of the damage I took yesterday until i was done writing, they didn't just get my eye, they cracked the back of my shell aswell. I must have been in shock because this is incredibly painful. My shell has taken hits from bears, beastials, and once even a "false king" on my missions and never once has my shell taken any damage more than a scratch.

Cattail managed to find the two we came for, albiet not in the best state. Eden looked so different that i originally didn't recognize her, and not just in the maturity sense, she had apperently completely changed forms multiple times since I last saw her, I always assumed Cattail was exagerating, but this truly isnt normal even for her object type. I'll have to talk with her about that later.

We made it back to the jeep and from there we were home free, just a three day drive back.

DAY 32.

Those kids apperently worked up an appetite because we ended up having to forage multiple times. We packed for *two months* what happened to these two?

I tried making conversation, but all three of them seemed to be out of it, even more so than myself!

DAY 33.

It's worse than i thought

We arrived home and unpacked, but as soon as the two walked inside cattail pulled me aside and told me what had happened too them in such a short amount of time. How it spread so quickly terrified me, and i later checked the samples, which had both "died".

I feel horrible for not leaving earlier.

Its a lot harder than you'd think to write with one eye. I'll leave these three alone for awhile while i get my eye fixed, they need time.

DAY 34.

I got in contact with pin, and they respawned me in treatment as a quick fix as per push' suggestion. My eye was fixed but for some reason I still had all my scars and my shell had visible "fuse" lines.

When I asked about it they shrugged.

I need a better doctor.

Day 35.

I woke up in push' office, I talked with push in person, and she told me the goverment of reaching gardens is seizing my samples, but push should still have a say over what happens to them from her position.

I don't know what I was expecting really.

I'll stay with push for now, They need space.

DAY 36.

Who knew push could cook?

Anyway after we studied the sample all we could see was printer materials and not much else. Honestly if these things are made by terminals Fossil might actually have a chance, esspecially with carrot helping her! Luckily already cut off the terminals from the rings, we got readings they weren't functioning properly and cut the connection weeks before the outbreak. Who knows what would hablve happened if we didnt.

With just these two samples and limited knowledge om terminal coding and function, this is all the research we can do for now

DAY 37.

I asked cattail for updates today, and they had gone to court without telling me. Accirding to Cattail dynamite had snuck out shortly after i left and confessed to an officer, but all charges the were dropped as soon as they heard he was from the rings.

I can only imagine how guilty he must feel.

I began planning a second "rescue mission" with push. I may not enjoy it but I'm obligated regardless.

DAY 38.

Neither of us slept at all.

We're looking to rescue as many people as legally and physically possible but with our sparce resources the most we're looking at

Is two helicopters and a few ground vehicles.

I called shotgun

DAY 39.

With each passing minute i'm getting more and more anxious to leave. I won't let this situation progress any further.

Push managed to haggle the government into three times the resources if we bring back a live sample, but i have no idea how we'll make it into center ring let alone high society even with those resources.

DAY 40.

Everything is in place to leave

We're bringing extra food this time

Cattail decided to stay here with mushroom and dynamite after I urged him these resources were plenty and his help wasn't needed.

I may have been too harsh, I'm not good at lying.

DAY 41.

Writing [???] helicopter [???]

[??????]

they [???] really big tank

[????????????????]

DAY 44.

I apologize for my previous notes, the "tank" i mentioned is a glass tank they gave us last second for the live sample, its very small so I have no idea how we'll manage. Perhaps my eyesight hasn't fully recovered quite yet, but writing from a helicopter is surprisingly difficult.

The land party went in though the gate this time, they were armed, but for the most part it was seemingly empty.

This mission is going WAY better than last time so far, we're already just outside the center ring!

DAY 45.

Our radios picked up a short message,

But it went to static to quickly to understand or respond, they reffered to these things as "parasites" which seems much more accurate than "those things" so I'll use that from now on.

When we first got into the center ring, our windows fogged up completely, we actually had to land. typically the rings arent nearly this humid.

We decided to set up camp at the center ring, that way if things go south, we can too! So far, no survivors, we have gunned down about three of these things now, but we switched to a handheld flamethrower push brought (???) Because the noise was attracting parasites and possibly scaring off survivors.

That radio signal gave me an idea though

DAY 45.

Push's flamethrower has been incredibly effective at keeping them at bay while I broadcasted our location over the radio with a short message about the situation.

The first too arrive was a group of 5.

4 adults, one child.

When they arrived the set up their own section of camp without a word. One of them was severely injured, but we fixed him up ok. He'll live for now.

That kid and her chalk is getting pretty annoying.

DAY 46.

I suggested we move into high society but push was against it. Shes the one rrunning this mission so I couldn't really argue.

We had 2 seperate groups of survivors arrive today, but they seemed to know each other. Why is everything with these survivors so complicated?

The first too arrive were two girls that I was afraid to make eye contact with. They were a lot more talkative then the previous group, I explained that we were a rescue party from reaching gardens, they offered too help defend camp while we waited for more survivors.

The second group was much larger, and all three groups keep giving each other dirty looks. They all seem to know each other and not in a good way. Im debating leaving these guys if we get over crowded...

DAY 46

We were debating whether or not it was time to try and capture one alive when a smaller fellow wandered in, and I do mean wandered, he's the only one that not here from the radio signal.

We were warned by two of the previous groups about him, but not in any particular way, just that he was somehow more dangerous than he looked. With thise warnings in mind, I gladly put him in the tank. Temporarily of course. I picked him up with one hand to do so, I am unsure if this guy is dangerous in any way, but better safe than sorry...

DAY 47.

We were almost at max capacity and debating leaving and coming back later, when we were alerted by one of the pilots that something was coming, A massive horde of parasites was headed directly for us, but even more importantly just ahead of the massive horde was a jeep going faster than i have ever seen a jeep go.

Fossil you crazy bastard.

She made it too us well before the horde did, and we left immedeatly.

I avoided writing this one until we landed.

DAY 50.

We made it back, and with bullets to spare.

I was getting tired of gunshots.

We didnt manage to get a live sample though, so Push is about to have to pay so much money.

I kept that weirdo in the tank, maybe he's enough of a specimen.

DAY 51.

He was a specimen.

We scanned everybody for infectiom when we got back using an invention of fossils.

He was the only one who came up positive.

My luck has come though a suspicious amount of times now...

DAY 52.

That weirdo, "Wagyu" he said, is probably the strangest person I have ever met. Although, considering the circumstances, that does make sense.

From what we can tell, wagyu isnt infected quite like the others, for some reason, the thousands of parasites crawling all over him won't mutate him at all.

[abbatoirablaze]

Captain Penisi, Chapter 8

Word Count: 1.1k

Warnings:  none really

“Hey…uh…what are you doing here?”

Auggie froze in her tracks.  It’d been nearly a year since she’d seen anyone from Station 24, but Vickie was ever insistent that she renew her bonds with the rest of the station. 

And while it had been some time, the recognition of the voice was instantaneous.

In her time away, she’d spent a lot of time with the two younger McConkys, acting almost like a big sister to them when they would come by the hospital, as they felt abandoned by their older sister when she moved out. 

And Terry had all but accepted her as the long-last daughter he never thought that he would have. 

But she was still shell-shocked when she turned around, trying to balance the tote of items that her and Vickie had gotten together for the station after they’d announced that they were going into a quarantine because of a previous call that left them potentially open to a viral attack that had been fatal for a capuchin.

“Eddie…” she muttered softly, "I-I'm just stopping by...I-"

She had been told by Terry himself that no one was allowed outside of the station’s bubble to ensure that they didn’t possibly infect anyone else. And she thought that she would be safe unpacking the items from her car.

But she wasn't.

“Y-you weren’t supposed to be out here,” she said quickly, looking to the older man, "Vickie and Terry-"

"Ahh, I never listen to what they say," he smirked as he leaned against his car, "why are you here?"

She had to fight back the giggles, seeing him with graying mutton chops and a hazardous materials suit on, “I-I was just dropping stuff off for you guys.  Vickie said that everyone has been miserable...I figured that you guys could use some entertain-“

“You look great…”

The words died in her throat as Eddie stared at her in awe.  She gave him a soft smile, “Th-thank you!”

“I-It’s been a while since we’ve seen you around the station,” he said quickly, awkwardly as he shifted on his heels, “I-I mean, not that I noticed it or anything but I just-“

“Me and Lucy got into an argument!” she said quickly, cutting the captain off.  She and Eddie stood in relative silence while they stared awkwardly at one another, both of them sizing the other up, "and then I mean there's the whole me and Ike breaking up thing..."

“Lola’s kid wasn’t mine!”

“Yeah…Vickie told me that.”

"Yeah…”

“Yeah…”

“I-I’m really glad that it’s you stopping by with supplies!” he said quickly, gesturing to the tote that she was balancing on her hip, “I mean…I’m sure everyone will be really happy to see you.  I-“

“I can’t go in there, Eddie!”

“What?” he asked, his brow raising, “of course you can.  I mean…I know that it’s been a while…but Ike’s gotten over you two breaking up.  And I  know that Lucy misses having you as a friend.  She always-“

“Eddie everyone is contagious with something and no one knows what it is,” she said quickly, shaking her head, “even if I was on the best of terms with everyone I wouldn’t go in there because of that.”

“Oh…yeah…”

“And anyways,” she shrugged, “I’m pretty sure you guys only put up with me because Vickie and Terry like me and treat me as one of their children/good friends depending on their moods on any given day.”

“I-I always liked you!” he said slowly, watching her reaction.  He noticed her lips part ever so slightly and he instantly started to think that he might have crossed a line by subtly admitting that he’d felt something more than platonic friendship towards her, “I mean…I-I can’t speak for anyone else, but I always really enjoyed when you were around!”

She scoffed, “was this before or after you broke my nose?  And poisoned me with seafood, making me have an allergic reaction.”

“I-none of that stuff was intentional.”

She frowned when she noticed the sadness crossing his eyes, “I-I know…I just-“

“It’s easier to put distance between us when you think I hate you!”

This time she looked at him, surprise lacing her own features, “what?”

He took a deep breath before looking her in the eyes, “I-I know this is going to sound absolutely crazy…but just go with it for a second?”

“What are you-“  “ I know that you have a crush on me!”

Anxiety rose up from the pit of her stomach, and flooded every inch of her body.  Her throat went dry as she stared at him, her lips parting ever so slightly, “y-you what?”

“The night of the Tay Tay McVee concert-“

“You mean the time you gave me and Lucy fake tickets?”

He sighed, “i-I wanted to impress you…I didn’t think that they would actually turn you girls away…”

“Why would you want to impress me?”

“The same reason that you kept giving me chances when I thought I blew them,” he admitted softly, “I-I don’t do this kind of thing, so bear with me…but I-I really, really like you Auggie.  That night when you and Lucy snuck into the station and went to the roof to look at the stars, you passed my office.  And I heard the two of you talking.  You admitted to Lucy that you had feelings for me.”

“Eddie-“

“And the more I’d been thinking about it this past year, and why I haven’t seen you…I-I figured that it probably had something to do with me,” he admitted, “and this stupid virus that we have from this capuchin call has had me freaking out…all I keep thinking about is what happens if this is something that’s fatal to us.  We still hadn’t gotten a call from the coroner to figure out what it is, but all I keep hearing is Granny making a panic…and Terry’s eating sandwiches in my bed, and I just…-“

She stood there for another minute, processing everything that the older man had told her, while also trying to figure out what to do next.  But nothing came.

She stared at Eddie like a clueless kid.

“Well?”

“Well what?” she asked softly. 

“Damn it, Auggie,” he growled, ripping his mask off.  He was quick to pull her to his chest, forcing her to drop the tote of items that she’d brought for them.  Instead, her attention went to the man who’s lips were now melting perfectly against hers. Instantly, she felt light-headed as she allowed herself to give into the kiss.   It felt like seconds, but he pulled away, breathless, “I like you too, Auggie…the only thing this stupid quarantine put into my mind is that if I’m going to die from some strange monkey disease then I want you to know how I feel…I want you-“

“Eddie…you just kissed me…”

A small grin fell over his face as he looked at the flushed young woman in front of himself.  She was still wrapped up in his arms, and she’d even managed to wrap her arms around his neck.  Her eyes stared into his, full of a dreamy gaze. 

And then he frowned. 

Realization hit him like  a freight train and worry coated every nerve, “shit…I just kissed you…”

“Yeah…”

“No…Auggie…I’m supposed to be in quarantine!” he said quickly, his eyes going wide, “I-I just exposed you to whatever I have…I just-“

“Shut up and kiss me again!” she begged gently, pulling his face towards hers once more.

Chapter 9

[mikodrawnnarratives]

I've been thinking about Fish inside a Birdcage renegades animatic ideas that I doubt I'd ever get to draw BUT

With Max as the fish inside the birdcage, since I think that before, during and after the events of renegades, the time he spent in the quarantine is central to his character

Who would be the brother?

after thinking abt it

Both characters fit the chorus of the song "so carry me from these walls brother of mine... (and so on)"

For the sections that I think fit the individual characters, look under the cut

Adrian specifically fits the lyrics:

My brother always sings me songs With his beak he tries to soothe me He makes me feel that I belong He has a wild imagination And tells me things that must be true Like there's a world where I can take flight Where I can freely move

Explanation: Pretty self explanatory, Adrian made miniture buildings and whatnot for Max and shows him the world that way when he was in quarantine.

And Maggie:

As I breathe into our silence There's a voice that comforts me It's a voice of understanding It's the voice of empathy Wings of feathers, tails, and fin tips We feel it works so differently You gave me more than I could ask for Indistinguishability

Explanation: Maggie has a similar origin to Max when you take a look at them both being orphans, Maggie's parents were murdered and no one wanted her at the orphanage since she was just another orphaned prodigy (her words not mine). Seeing the orphanage's reputation, her backstory ties to her powers. It is similar to the fact Max's power resulted in him being abandoned. Maggie's voice of empathy. She could also relate depending on her experience at the orphanage.

I headcanon that after the events of the renegades trilogy, Max still keeps to himself even after becoming famous. The affects of isolation have made it difficult to socialize and he's still different from other kids. Plus, I think his family would a LIL bit overprotective. Jus a bit. And with him being so isolated, I like to think Maggie brings him out of his shell and gets him into daring to do more things. Some questionably legal to illegal but I like to think of them exchanging items. Maggie brings him rocks and what not since that is her love language I've decided and he exchanges to. She shows him the world.

Also. Magpie. Bird. Birdcage

[leiawritesstories]

Rowaelin prompt: "Stop pretending you care"

*angst monster crashes in* BEEN A WHILE SINCE I VISITED

Word count: 1,275

CW: Miscarriage, grief

A/N: *hits "post," runs away*

Empty

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Who. The. Fuck. Did. He. Think. He. Was?! 

Rowan had left her. Left her. Strode out of her life, slamming her door behind him with a filthy curse on his lips and a bladed glare in his forest-colored eyes, masking the soul-deep chasm of pain that the fight tore open between them. 

She’d be fucking damned if she was the one to move towards him. 

No, the only thing she'd find if she reached out to him, if she tried to bridge the rift that had split them apart, was regret.

It had barely been three months since...since it happened. Since Aelin woke up from a nap feeling jolts of pain slice through her abdomen and was rushed to the emergency room. Three months since that tense, fear-choked afternoon and evening when Rowan held her hand the whole damn time they were in the ER, then held her close to his chest as her OB, tears in her eyes, delivered the news.

Three months since they'd lost their baby.

Aelin's OB could offer no explanation for the miscarriage. Both Aelin and the baby had been perfectly healthy, following all the instructions and recommendations to the letter, and nothing from any of her appointments had indicated that there might be any chance of complications to the pregnancy. Because she was into the second trimester, only seventeen weeks, she couldn't have pseudo-labor induced, but had to be rushed into emergency surgery to make sure she was safe and healthy.

No words, no sounds, no thing was enough to describe the ocean of grief in her eyes when she was wheeled out of the room she and Rowan had spend the last several hours in, when her fingers slipped from his as the doctors wheeled her away to surgery. Nothing could properly communicate the broken emptiness in her face, in his face, when she woke from the anesthesia with his hand linked with hers, alone and empty in a sterile hospital bed.

Aelin hadn't spoken for days after she came home except to cry into Rowan's shoulder, the salty heat of her tears soaking his skin. And when she broke her silence, her voice raspy from disuse and choked with grief, the first word out of her mouth was why?

"Why, Rowan? What did we do wrong? What did I do wrong?"

He hadn't been able to answer.

"It hurts," she croaked, gripping his shoulders. "It hurts, Ro."

"I know," he whispered, his own voice thick with tears. "I'm so sorry, my love."

~

Too soon, Rowan had to return to work, and he left her alone in her house, murmuring his reluctance into her hair. He hated to leave her like this, he wanted to stay with her, but he couldn't blatantly refuse his boss's orders to come back. Couldn't use any more of his time off before said boss got angry.

To Aelin, a broken shell of herself, it all sounded like excuses.

"Tell your boss to fuck off," she'd said, her eyes pleading with him to stay. "Tell her you're sick, tell her you have to quarantine, anything. I can't, Ro." She gulped. "I can't do this alone."

"Fireheart," he breathed, cupping her face, "you aren't alone. You have me at the press of a button, and you have everyone else--your parents, Lys, Aedion, Elide, our friends. You aren't alone, my love."

"I don't want anyone else," she croaked. "Just you."

"I can't," he choked out around the lump in his throat. "I can't lose my job, no matter how much I want to tell work to fuck off."

Aelin pulled back, pain and anger narrowing her eyes. "Coward."

"Fireheart--"

"See you this evening." She shut the door in his face and sank to the floor, wrapping her arms around her middle, over the still-tender scar on her abdomen. And cried silent, heavy tears, a tidal wave of emotion breaking over her.

Midafternoon, she'd called Rowan, thanking all things holy when he picked up rather than letting her go to voicemail. "A--Aelin?"

"I'm sorry I snapped at you," she whispered. "I'm--I'm hurting, Ro. I don't know what to do with myself when it all hits me."

"Oh, Aelin," he sighed, his voice a caress through the phone. "I forgive you, my Fireheart." A beat. "I know you're hurting, and if I'm being fully honest, I...I don't know what to do either."

"Don't think there's any answer," she murmured. "I love you, buzzard."

"Love you, Fireheart."

~

Slowly, as the weeks passed, Aelin had started going out of the house again, started to see her friends and family, started to figure out going back to work. Nothing was normal. Not even close. But... but the searing pain of losing her baby was beginning to dull, the edge fading from blazing grief into a gentler kind of mourning. Her body was healing, as was her soul.

And yet...she didn't know if Rowan was.

He'd grown more distant after the loss, throwing himself into his work as if to stop himself from thinking of the miscarriage, and it seemed that every time she tried to reach out, he brushed her aside or never fully answered her gentle probing. She told herself it was just his method of coping, that he would approach her when he was ready.

But as the weeks passed and he pulled further away, her empathy curdled into anger.

Until one night, she couldn't stand it anymore.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" she demanded, storming into the living room and yanking the folder out of his hands.

"Baby--"

"Don't 'baby' me, Rowan Whitethorn." Her voice was steel, the cold edge hiding her tears.

His jaw locked. "Nothing's 'wrong' with me, Aelin. Why the fuck can't you see that?"

"And that's the problem!" she yelled. "Rowan, we lost our baby! What kind of heartless, soulless asshole just fucking forgets about it after he goes back to work?!"

"I'm not fucking heartless," he spat, pushing himself up to his full height. "You have your way of processing and I have mine. And gods, Aelin, stop using me as an excuse not to go to your therapist."

Her eyes flashed with sparks. "Don't you fucking dare, Whitethorn. You don't get to throw that bullshit at me."

"Not bullshit if it's true," he fired back. "Lie to yourself all you want, but we both know you're only leaning on me because you're too damn scared to go see Yrene."

"Fuck you," she spat, tears brimming up in her eyes.

His laugh was bitter. "Isn't that what got us into this argument in the first place? Too many lines crossed too soon?"

The crack of her hand across his cheek was deafening in the sudden silence.

They stared at each other, insults and emotions battling for dominance in each of their gazes. Until Aelin, her whole body tense with the effort of not crying, pointed towards the door.

"Get out." No more than a whisper, the two words malevolent nonetheless.

"Aelin--"

"Get. Out."

"Fine," he growled, collecting his work bag and striding across to the door. "Don't bother calling."

The door slammed shut.

And Aelin sank to her knees, a wild sob clawing out of her throat, her grief an uncontrollable storm.

Hours later, all her tears drained, she stood, wincing at the aches that came from spending too long crouched on the floor. She went to her bathroom, locked the door, braced her hands on the sink, stared into the smooth glass of the mirror. Stared into the broken, dull eyes that stared back.

Grief had emptied her completely, left nothing but a shell behind.

~~~

TAGS:

@charlizeed

@cretaceous-therapod

@clea-nightingale

@autumnbabylon

@nerdperson524

@claralady

@fireheartwhitethorn4ever

@morganofthewildfire

@rowanaelinn

@wesupremeginger

@story-scribbler

@nicolivesinbooks

@mackenzieclutt

@stardelia

@shanias-world

@mybloodrunsblue

@swankii-art-teacher

@wordsafterhours

@cookiemonsterwholovesbooks

@violet-mermaid7

@holdthefrickup

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@dealfea

@irondork

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@live-the-fangirl-life

@darling-im-the-queen-of-hell

@chronicchthonic14

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@sweet-but-stormy

@hanging-from-a-cliff

@jorjy-jo

@rowaelinrambling

@thegreyj

@silentquartz

@backtobl4ck

[final-girl96]

Firefly Chapter Thirty-Two

Pittsburgh 2023

"How did you know that guy wasn't hurt?" Ellie asked. I looked over at Joel who was clearly trying to avoid answering the question. "Because we've been on both sides," I told her. She looked at us and Joel opened the door. As soon as we stepped outside we saw a pile of ash and bone. "You killed people?" She asked, looking at the pile of bones and ash that was still smoking. "We did what we had to do," Joel told her.

He jumped up onto an outside air vent and up into a fire escape. Ellie and I jumped up to stand beside him. He pointed his finger towards the distance, "we need to get over there to that bridge," he said. In the distance stood the Fort Pitt Bridge. The yellow arce not hard to miss. "Looks so far away," Ellie said, then jumped down over the fence that was below the fire escape.

"El, wait up!" I said, jumping after her. Joel climbed down after us and then we jumped down onto the road that led into the QZ. "Is this the same road we came to before turning around?" Ellie asked. Joel hummed. The road was jammed with cars, trucks, and buses. Some cars were just a blackened shell and some had the skeletons of those who never made it into the zone.

"Your hunter buddies do this too?" Ellie asked. Looking down at a pair of skeletons. I walked up beside her and took a deep breath. "No. Back when they announced there would be quarantine zones, everyone was trying to get in. And when the zones came to their capacity…" I clicked my tongue and she looked up at me. "They just killed them? Even if they were infected?"

"Yup. Even if they weren't infected they still killed them because it was better than taking the chance of them getting infected. Less people…less infected," Joel said and continued walking. We walked through the cars, occasionally looking inside to see if there was anything of use. As we got closer we another bus blocked the main entrance into the zone. Joel's arm shot out in front of Ellie and pulled her behind a car with me right behind them.

There were three men up ahead on top of the bus. "Shit. What're we doing?" I asked. Joel gave me a look that said that was a stupid question. He was going to kill them. I mean it was only three of them. Or at least that we would see, there were only three. Joel pulled his gun and shot. "Fuck!" Ellie said, covering her ears. "I pulled my own gun and shot one of the three men. Before the other one could even process what happened Joel shot him.

After they were taken care of we continued on our way. We walked around looking in the vehicles. "Okay, we need to lighten the mood, ready?" I turned my head to look at Ellie, who was following behind Joel and I. She had her joke book out. "It doesn't matter how much you push the envelope…it'll still be stationary."

Joel looked over at me before directing his attention to her. "What is that?" He asked. "Joke book. No Pun Intended: Volume Two by Will Livingston." Joel sighed heavily and turned around. "Let's keep going." Of course, Ellie being who she is kept going with her jokes. "What did the mermaid wear to her math class? An algae bra.” she chuckled a little at that and kept going.

"I stayed up all night wondering where the sun went, and then it dawned on me," she looked up at me with a smile on her face. Joel jumped up on top of the bus and Ellie put her book away. "Okay, fine. But there will be more!" She climbed up after him and I was last to climb up beside them. "Another abandoned zone?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah, there aren't as many around anymore. Boston is one of few that are still functioning " I told her. We jumped down onto the other side and on the wall read: "give us our reactions." Ellie had stopped and looked at the wall. "Why weren't they giving them their rations?" She asked. Joel stopped beside her and looked at the wall. "It's a way to control people and they started running low on food and supplies."

"That's never happened in Boston," she said. We walked through the line area to get to the entrance into the QZ where they would get people registered. "Happens more often than you know," Joel mumbled. As we got closer we heard voices. "There's more people," Ellie whispered.

I turned and looked at her, "you stay behind me or Joel at all times. If you can't stay behind one of us then you hide until we say it's safe to come out." She nodded her head and followed Joel and I as we crouched down and made our way around to the other side to get a better look. We were outside a bookstore.

Two men were standing outside until the canvas tent that FEDRA had out up. "There are probably more inside. We take them out silently then head inside." I nodded at Joel and followed him around the side of the metal wall. Joel took the one on the left and I took the one on the right. We put them in headlocks, cutting off their airway and then snapped their necks. I heard Ellie whisper, "Jesus." Before we quietly and carefully made our way inside.

Inside on the bottom floor was where people had been registered before being allowed into the zone itself. Joel had separated from me and Ellie, who stayed behind me but also stayed far enough away that if she needed to run she could without getting caught in the crossfire.

I counted four on my side that I could see and when Joel finally made his way back to us and didn't look happy. "There are more upstairs. At least five of them," he said. "There's at least four down here," I told him. He nodded, "okay. We can try and distract them. Get them separated and take them out so they don't gang up on us. Take her and go back outside where we came in. I'll make a distraction and wait near the alley on the other side."

Ellie and I made our way back to where we had come in. Then we heard a big bang and saw Joel quickly making his way to the other side. There were voices from inside the building. "What was that?" One voice asked. "I'll check it out." One of the men, from where we were just at, came out the front door. He slowly walked further out, looking around as he got closer to where Ellie and I were, I quickly grabbed him and shoved my knife into his throat.

There was a strangled cry from the other side indicating that Joel took out another one of them. I grabbed a brick off the ground and threw it at one of the windows causing more men to get curious about what was going on. We took about two more before moving back inside and shooting it out with the rest.

Of course, there was that one that thought hebwas sneaky. He came up behind me, wrapping his arm around my neck and holding a knife to it. The darkness in Joel's eyes would have scared anyone, and it did at least for the asshole behind me. His voice shook as he demanded for Joel to back up. What he wasn't expecting was for me to twist in his arms and stab him just above the waistband of his pants.

Then, when he fell to the ground, my hands wrapped around his head from behind, and I snapped his neck. Ellie looked at me with wide eyes. "You're fucking scary. You know that? Isn't she fucking scary, Joel?!" I could see Joel wanted to say something. To lecture me on needing to be more aware of my surroundings. But he didn't. For once in his life he didn't say anything and we moved on.

[bleakbluejay]

I wanna rant a little, I guess, about the moment I realized I was obsessed with the Mandalorian.

It was actually the 2nd to last episode of season 2. I mean I really liked the show up until that point, certainly, but that episode, where Din, Cara, Migs, Fennec, and Boba all go to the refinery so they can figure out where Grogu is, it stuck with me in my little brain and exploded and bloomed.

Specifically when Din decided he had to take his helmet off if he was going to save Grogu's life. The hesitance at first, letting the scanner try his helmet first. The determination, next, of letting it scan him so he can get it over with before anyone noticed. It's very resolute.

Then... the panic.

The absolute panic and fear freezing him when Valin Hess begins asking questions. This guy can't move, he can't talk. He can just stare with wide-eyed terror, speechless, and what little he can say isn't right. The increased panic as he realizes he's failing, he's failing this social interaction, he's failing Grogu, and he's failing himself, and he freezes. It looks like he's fighting back tears, almost, like he's moments away from breaking.

Which is the same way I handle panic and anxiety attacks. As an autistic person, my fear/anxiety response is just freezing, going nonverbal/semiverbal, and hoping that the stressor will just go away. I very, very rarely see this in fiction, and especially rarely under the exact circumstances being portrayed. I went from merely loving this character to thinking this is me, he is me. And that empathy link got intensely established.

I kept thinking about how traumatic this entire situation must be for him. How stressful the circumstances. How he, someone relatively zealous, forsake one of the most important tenets of his faith, showing his face to other living things, and there's nothing he could do about it. For the first time in easily 20-30 years, he was seen. He was vulnerable. There was no durasteel, no beskar, no protective shell separating him from the hard world outside or prying eyes or judgement or failure. Suddenly, his facial expressions mattered, facial expressions he didn't need to worry about mirroring or faking in decades if ever. And they didn't just matter the way they matter to a ND person like me in regular social situations. This was life-or-death.

I remember about two years in quarantine and masking during COVID took me soooo far back in terms of how well I "mask" my autism around allistics. I barely do it at all, now, and I have trouble forcing myself to. It made me very insecure of my face and expressions because I couldn't do them right anymore. That was just two years. What could 20-30 years do?

So I sat there, suddenly extremely connected, heart-to-heart with that tin man, metaphorical spear through my chest as I watched all the stages of grief pass over his face during that scene, and my whole brain chemistry was being altered. I finished the episode, finished the season, finished Book of Boba Fett, and then rewatched the Mandalorian, with this new perspective. Then I rewatched it again. And again. And every time I felt more and more connected to the guy. His tenderness, his gentleness, his strength, his courage, his love, his light, his fear. He became my favorite fictional character, and in so, so short a period of time. In just two weeks. And all sparked by Pedro Pascal's fucking 🥺 face.

(And of course, Din isn't canonically autistic but yes he is <3 I said so and I know everything.)

[sovpologist]

Camrin Dumuzi Masterpost (Updated 2/21/23)

I did posts for Jolyon and Sjur so I wanted to do one for Camrin as well! Kind of like Sjur (or Devrim Kay and Marc), Camrin is Ana Bray’s partner who is only mentioned in lore and the Bungie comics, never appearing in-game. This can lead to a lot of people not knowing that Ana is a lesbian, or has a girlfriend, or even that Camrin exists. Camrin does not have a dedicated category or bio on Ishtar Collective, and even in Ana’s character bio it only states that Ana “worked with” Camrin, not that the two are in a romantic relationship. So here’s a little bio and timeline for Camrin! 

Who is Camrin? 

Camrin Dumuzi is a research scientist for Owl Sector, and Ana Bray’s girlfriend. She is smart, witty, loyal, and dedicated to her work. Camrin works with Owl Sector on classified assignments, usually related to whatever is happening in the main Destiny storyline.

Camrin technically has more lore than Jol (she’s in three whole comics!) but we never really see her when she’s not interacting with Ana or like, in a coma offscreen, so it can still be difficult to pin down her personality. Sorry for this being so bare bones! 

What is Owl Sector? 

“So Camrin is part of Owl Sector,” I hear you saying, “but what the hell is that?” Owl Sector is a group of non-Guardians whose mission is to “uphold and support the Tower and its Guardians.” They were tasked with quarantining/curing Guardians when the House of Devils used Siva tech to enhance their own bodies and passed “mites” along to Guardians in the Cosmodrome (this was the leadup to the Rise of Iron DLC). They also researched Clovis Bray and his activities on Mars. They are under the jurisdiction of the Vanguard Commander. (The Transmission Crisis, Vanguard Commander)

Timeline: 

Five years before the Red War, Ana Bray snuck back into the City after faking her own death, wanting to find more information about Clovis Bray and Rasputin. Camrin and Ana met in the Bray archives and flirt over nanotechnology, starting a close friendship. Ana was using a fake identity and Camrin was secretly a part of Owl Sector, monitoring the Bray archives for the Vanguard. The two grew close while researching Rasputin and eventually came clean to each other about their identities. When they figured out Rasputin was on Mars, they kissed in excitement. During the Red War, the two headed to the Meridian Bay facility on Mars, where Camrin was heavily injured by a Vex grenade. (Warmind Issue 3, Cryptarch)  

Camrin’s injuries prevented her from going with Ana to the Hellas Basin, and they shared a kiss when Ana goes to tell her goodbye before leaving. Camrin continued to guide Ana from afar, but flat-lined while Ana was out searching for Rasputin. Ana almost drowned, but her love for Camrin kept her strong enough to fight her way to the surface and survive, and after that she eventually found the Warmind vault. (Warmind, Warmind Issue 2) 

After finding the Warmind vault, Ana put Camrin into medical stasis in a Warmind med-vault to recover from her injuries. Camrin’s right arm was amputated and replaced with a prosthetic arm, and she ended up fully recovering. She woke up after the events of the Warmind DLC and she and Ana kissed. (Warmind Issue 3)  

During Season of the Forge (2018), Ana went to Eva Levante to get Dawning party supplies to throw a surprise party for Camrin. Unbeknownst to her, Camrin had already bought supplies from Eva to throw a surprise party for Ana. The two presumably spent the Dawning together. (No Such Thing As Coincidence)

During Season of the Worthy (2020), Camrin was busy with Owl Sector on the Moon. The two are still together and Ana has a picture of Camrin on her ship. (Legacy Pt 2) 

During Season of the Haunted (2022), Camrin was working with Owl Sector to investigate the link between the Lunar Pyramid and the Leviathan. (Eidolon Shell)

As of Season of the Seraph (2023), Ana and Camrin are still happily in a relationship. Ana offers to introduce her sister to Camrin, and Ana and Camrin decide to adopt the robot dog from the Seraph station. (Heist Battleground: Moon [Week Four], Heist Battleground: Mars [Final Weeks])

[cassromero]

⸻⸻ ✦ CHRISTIAN SERRATOS, CISFEMALE, SHE/HER ✦ CASSANDRA ROMERO the TWENTY-EIGHT year old has been in the QZ for EIGHTEEN YEARS. The SOLDIER is/are said to be INTELLEGENT and SECRETIVE but I guess we’ll find out for ourselves. ( mel / 23 / est / they/them )

𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆: death, military experience, murder

𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐒.

Name: Cassandra Roselyn Romero Nicknames/Alias: Cass

Faceclaim: Christian Serratos

Age: Twenty-eight Gender: Cisfemale Sexuality: Pansexual Date/Place of Birth: January 20th / Dayton, OH Currently: Dallas QZ

Positive Traits: Intelligent, analytical, calculated Negative Traits: Secretive, abrasive, closed-off Astrological Sign: Capricorn Archetype: The Hardened

𝐁𝐈𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇𝐘.

Fighting is part of one's life -- when one is the daughter of a well-respected military man. One thing she was certainly used to was moving -- having gone through elementary schools like one goes through tissues. Her mother was absent from the time she was four, leaving her "old life" behind. And so, Cass and her dad lived by one creed: they would always have each other. They would continue to do so as the outbreak engulfed the world. As expected, Cass and her father put their feet to the ground, grabbed what they could -- and they were off.

She was only eight and already, a survivalist in her own right.

The two years Cass spent with her dad on her own were spent learning everything she could from him. Weapons, combat -- everything. While it seemed expected to her at the time, that she needed to defend herself, her father who she always admired with rose-tinted glasses feared one thing and one thing only: this new world would take him, leaving her with nothing.

The pair were lucky to find the Dallas QZ within days before her tenth birthday, for the first time having a true place to call home. And while it was nothing like the life she had once lived before, a luxury in comparison, Cass found herself blossoming, allowing herself to be a child in the moments that she could.

The very moment she was eligible, Cass knew she was meant to fight for the QZ alongside her father. It was her destiny. Armed with everything he had taught her, no one in the quarantine zone would feel any pain -- for it would be she who took it all. And so, she joined rank. Followed orders. Became the soldier she had always been.

When she was twenty, her father would accompany a recruiter outside of the QZ. And while he had come back many a time before, the recruiter would return home alone -- her father's dog tags being the only remnant of him she had would ever have again.

She took the apologies, the sympathy with nothing more than a simple nod. However, in private -- her sadness and anger would rage deeper than any sea. A different person left her home the day after her father died, a simple shell left in the woman's place.

Cass now keeps his tags in a secure pocket wherever she goes, and they are what keep her grounded and treading on. In a way, she keeps him with her -- as if he is fighting along beside her as he always had before.

She has established a name for herself in Dallas, no longer just Emmett's daughter, but someone not to be messed with. While she cares for the people she protects, she has had to learn to lose one thing in her line of work -- mercy.

𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒.

While as a child in the QZ she was able to make some friends, ever since her father's death she has remained rather distant. A couple people have been able to get through to her -- but having no friends means that there's less to lose. Less biases to keep. Only an allegiance to Dallas.

As for romantic relationships -- Cass tries to keep her distance. Not because she believes that theres something revolting about them (okay, may just a little) she believes she doesn't deserve them. That she doesn't deserve to be vunerable, and someone will get hurt if she is.

Adorned in mostly tattered clothes, keeping in mind that she needs to be practical. While comfort is always something she tries to think of -- it is sometimes a sacrifice that she is required to make and she knows it.

Rarely ever lets loose but when she does, she goes wild. It's why she often doesn't drink -- opting to be alert and ready for anything. There have been very few times when she has been convinced to let her guard down, and it often results in a night she'd rather forget.

Has a scar on her right cheek underneath her eye.

MORE TO COME.

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒.

Best Friends - Even protectors need to have friends - even if Cass is skeptical about it. Either from her childhood or her later teens onward, she's allowed these people to hug her while she cried, to help her feel again. ( 0/2 ): OPEN

Friends - Cass shows friendship through respect. If she respects you, than she'll likely try her hardest to keep you in her circle. These people have made the cut. ( 0/any ): OPEN

Healthy Competition - Likely another soldier or fighter of some kind who sees Cass as their biggest competition to be the best. While she wouldn't say it out loud, Cass thinks the same thing. While they push each other (both physically and the other's respective buttons), they care for and respect the hell out of each other. ( 0/1 ): OPEN

The Big Ex - This relationship ended after her father passed, out of her fear of losing yet another person she loved. Where they stand is UTP, but Cass wants nothing more than for them to be happy -- even if she doesn't believe she deserves it herself. ( 0/1 ): OPEN

Hookup - Nothing more than someone to call upon when the night is too quiet, when her bed is too empty. A temporary experience to fill an even bigger void. ( 0/any, current or former ): Joshua Morgan, OPEN

Love Interest - Cass knows the feeling all too well - the very moment this person steps into her gaze, her breath hitches. Her palms start sweating, her hands start to shake. Symptoms of an illness, or at least, she believes it to be so. But then comes the gut-wrenching heartbreak at the thought of anything happening to them.... ( 0/1 ): OPEN

[huhwuhs]

A lot has happened since my last post!!! I got some floating plants (selvinia and frogbit):

I got some meds to dose the tank with that should take care of any parasites the fishies came home with that clouded up the water, but are giving me some real peace of mind!

Horribly I've had an outbreak of uninvited snails IN THE TANK!!!! of which I am seriously hoping are bladder snails but they were too small for me to identify. I've seen and removed 4 so far.

Took out my driftwood, worried there were snails living on/in it and gave them a good scrub with a toothbrush and inspection. I put them back in in different spots to try and keep the Snail Epicenter clear. I've found 3/4 of them on the gravel under/around the one driftwood piece and the 4th heading down from the waterline on the back wall.

I think I like this arrangement with the right piece leaning on the left piece better than what I had before, so I'll probably keep it similar when I move them back to the center.

And, finally!!! I got a tiger nerite to keep snailissa company. I moved them into the tank this morning because I was concerned about them not eating in the vase I was quarantining them in. Unfortunately the tip of their shell is gone so I hope they'll recover quickly with our hard, hard water.

So far they've just opened their trapdoor but haven't moved.

[thepkmnreserve]

How are things going with that hyper aggressive Paras?

"Things with Shiitake is finally looking good. Z's suggestion of using honey covered oran berries seemed to calm it down enough for me to examine it."

"I had never seen a Paras like this one before. Its shell is much harder than a normal Paras and the pattern on its mushrooms doesn't match any patterns found in the regions Paras is native to. I've gotten in touch with a couple of professors with my findings, hoping one of them will know what's going on with this odd Paras. Until then, it'll stay quarantined away from the others as it's still highly aggressive."