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ashiemochi · 2 years

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pussidon - ACT II | iii

✠ Pussidon ↳ sounds like trouble ↳↳ can we eat it?

➶ pairing: OC x Leon S(exy) Kennedy. ➶ genre: fluff, angst, gore, smut/suggestive themes ➶ word count: no

NOTE: ✠ = time skip ✠✠ = switching povs/characters

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“Jiwoo said he saw some big monster before some sort of fog began flooding the campus,” So Ah began informing as they walked down the corridor with the windows overlooking the wide campus.

“And a man helped us, an agent,” She frowned deeply at the memory, “And when we were locked in that room, he turned.”

Minji shuddered as she recalled seeing zombified James snarling on top of her little sister. Leon’s eyes hardened, hating that he wasn’t there to help. Then again, Leon was with the President – who was also groaning for flesh.

“If this thing spread in gas form, then anyone who breathed it in got infected,” Leon added, eyes glowering down out of the window.

“That would mean… Everyone on campus.” Helena’s voice was quiet as she spoke, as if afraid to reawaken some not-so-sleeping zombies.

“But, why is it so quiet? Aren’t those…” Minji trailed away, face cringing in disgust and horror, “Those things kind of loud?”

So Ah gently bumped into Leon, craving something she couldn’t put a finger on just yet. Leon glanced down at her, noting the worried frown on her lips. She never had any rescue missions as she was always told to stay at a safe distance and keep enemies at bay with her marksman skills. Chris took every precaution to make her a talented soldier and keep her unscathed as she was still under the protection of the BSAA.

Did he know about the tracker? No.

Does Leon know about it? No.

Turns out, some scientists are mad and they found a way to re-trigger the virus in her to put her life at risk once again. To them, she’s their valuable source of ‘evolution’. Holding onto the G-Virus and a sample of the Plagas for years only to never turn and produce the antibody; that’s one big scientific breakthrough for them.

From training to horrifying check-ups to more training, her body was exhausted beyond belief but her regenerative abilities kept her going – dragging her body from place to place as all she had wanted was for people to stop shitting on her family.

And now here she was, a DSO trusted agent, having her very first unofficial rescue mission.

And she was scared. She worked hard for this – so why was she so anxious?

“I don’t know,” Helena replied to Minji, “I have a bad feeling about this…”

Leon could see So Ah didn’t want to talk, but she just wanted to borrow his presence for a moment. Knowing any corner could have rotten death awaiting for them, she wanted those little moments. Leon flashed her a concerned look, brows furrowing just a tad and she only shook her head with a small forced smile.

They rounded the corner, reaching a closed door which Helena opened and Leon entered first, Helena and So Ah right behind him with Minji staying close to her sister. The room was similar to a university classroom. A clank came from Leon’s spot, accidentally kicking over an empty can of soda down the stairs. It hit the floor and rolled then a zombie woke up, groaning as if saying.

‘Who the fuck disturbed my beauty sleep?’

“Didn’t mean to interrupt,” Leon said sarcastically, watching as the zombie stood up with his arms raised towards the DSO agent.

Minji gave her sister a blank stare as Leon shot the creature down only to reawaken two more.

“Is he always like that?” Minji asked while Helena joined him in taking care of them as So Ah stayed with her sister, slowly walking down the stairs with her gun up aiming from side to side.

So Ah giggled a little, smiling, “You should’ve seen him back in California – he always seems to jinx himself into getting into more trouble.”

His fiancee observed him with such heart-eyes as Leon slid over the table only to slam his foot down onto the zombie’s head. She didn’t know why but that looked attractive. Leon was hella handsome and Greek Godly beautiful, but seeing him in action just hits different.

A good different.

“You girls gonna just stand there?” Leon called out to them as Helena finished up the last zombie, cracking his neck which was pretty impressive to see.

“Someone gotta keep an eye on her.” So Ah chimed back, before glancing to the side at the herb which she took for later use.

“You two are sisters, right?” Helena asked, looking at them and So Ah nodded but before she could open her mouth, Minji raced her to it.

“Yep, and she’s engaged to him – just a reminder.” Minji gave Helena a tilted smile which received a taken aback look from the Secret Service Agent, a glare from her little sister and a snicker from Leon.

“Okay… Congrats?” Helena was a bit confused, eyeing Minji and then So Ah who gave her an apologetic and unimpressed look.

“Thanks!” Minji beamed, bouncing Jiwoo on her other arm as it was beginning to grow numb and So Ah groaned a little, moving ahead as she looked at Leon. He was grinning at her and even threw her a little wink.

“Can we just keep going?”

✠

Going through the university was no walk in the park. Usually, you’d be heading to the library to study for your AP Calculus that you were most likely going to fail, make out with your boyfriend in the dorm, and laugh with your friends during lunch. But this place was roaming with zombies pretending to be asleep or deaddead. Kind of like a surprise gift you never really wanted.

‘SURPRISE! I bite your ankle now!’

That’s how it was going so far.

“I wonder if there are any survivors…” Leon grumbled, eyes gravely trailing at the bloody marks on the stairs before landing on the groaning zombie on the bottom floor. Minji groaned, mimicking the zombie as she stilled in her spot in uneasiness while So Ah shot it from her spot.

“Leon, I beg of you to shut up.” Minji commented.

✠

At some point, they reached another classroom and cinnamon eyes instantly landed on the ammo and two incendiary grenades on the desk. As Leon and Helena took the zombies down, So Ah nabbed the ammunition, stars in her eyes as she gazed at the fire-based grenades.

Leon came to a stop in front of her, raising an eyebrow at her awestruck face, “Found something you like?”

“Fire.” So Ah only said, showing him the two grenades and he hummed, impressed before reaching to take one but she pulled them to her chest.

“Finders keepers, losers weepers.”

“Well, sharing is caring.” His lips twitched at the corners, noting her playfulness and the weird obsession she’s got with fire-based grenades.

“And I don’t care.”

Helena and Minji blinked, watching the couple, almost impressed with their light-heartedness in this situation.

“Are they always like this?” Helena asked Minji, brows furrowing as Leon attempted to take at least one of the grenades but So Ah stepped back, a smile teasing its way to their faces.

Minji let out a hum, “Mhm, you get used to it though.”

✠

So Ah now knew why it was so quiet. Those zombies don’t make sounds for shit unless a slab of fresh human meat was in front of them – which was unfair.

Minji had set Jiwoo down to rest her arms as she let the agents do the dirty work of cleaning up the garden from the flesh-eating creatures. So Ah would observe how Leon would be a little too close for comfort to a zombie only to yank the axe from their body and slam it down on their heads, killing them.

So, she mimicked him, finding it better than using up all her ammo. So far, all she was doing was shooting a zombie in the leg to bring it down onto its knees then, with all her strength, round-house kicking its head which crashed like rusty bones.

She raised her gun as Helena ran across her, aiming to take care of another zombie while So Ah was focused on a distant one. It held a wooden pole in its hand that seemed to have spiky nails at the top. Before she could pull the trigger on its head, a scream erupted from behind. A familiar one.

Chills ran down her spine as she whipped around to face her sister and Jiwoo. Jiwoo was the one screaming and crying, holding onto his mom who was panicking; a zombie was coming after them. Her heart dropped to her stomach as she yelled out, fear in her wide cinnamon eyes.

“Step away from him!”

Then her vision blackened out for a moment, sending her falling to all fours with a yelp. The pain was building up on her shoulder blade, sending electrifying fire throughout her nerves. Her trembling free hand went up to her shoulder, breath hitching as she felt the sharpness of it.

Since when do they throw their weapons?!

Her name was called out by Leon who began running towards her, pushing through some stray zombies and Helena took care of the one who threw the weapon. She didn’t pay attention to that, eyes tearing up as she cried out her sister’s name to get away. She needed to take the wooden pole out for her wounds to heal up but her sister was her main priority.

Through trembling aim, she pulled the trigger on the zombie’s leg, sending him to the ground. Minji snapped her head towards her sister, eyes widening when she found her on the ground with a wooden pole in her back but her little sister didn’t seem to care, only yelling out an order.

“Kick him now!”

Minji yelped at the zombie slowly rising but raised her leg and kicked his head to the side. It snapped and the zombie fell, the body slowly bubbling away. So Ah whimpered out in relief, sniffling as she reached for the pole but Leon knelt down next to her.

“Don’t worry – I got you,” Leon murmured, one hand pressed flat against her back and the other grabbing onto the pole, then in one swift movement; he yanked it out. It enticed another yelp from her and she nearly fell completely to the ground but Leon wrapped an arm around her, pushing her to sit.

“Breathe, sweetheart, you’re going to be alright.” Leon coaxed as she whimpered at the pain, feeling the virus rushing to her injury to close it back up.

Her hand was on his that was pressed to her cheek and the other was gripping onto his leather jacket, his free hand on her upper arm, keeping his azuls focused on her panicked cinnamon ones.

“Is she alright?!” Helena asked, running up to them, panting breathlessly and her eyes widened at the puncture wounds closing up gradually as if nothing had ever happened, “What… What was that?”

So Ah swallowed thickly, breathing heavily as she looked up at Helena tiredly, “It’s a long story.”

Minji jogged up to them with worried and apologetic eyes, but something else lingered in there. Her hand was gripping onto Jiwoo’s as she spoke.

“Soo, I’m so sorry, I –”

“Why…” So Ah’s voice came out snappy as she pushed herself up to her feet, Leon giving her a bit of leverage when she stumbled, “What happened? Why didn’t you run?”

Minji’s voice fell quiet, nearly cowering at the disappointed but horrified glint in her sister’s eyes. Her skin was a bit pale but ever so slowly regaining her colours back when her injuries were completely healed.

So Ah felt her world crumble when she saw her sister and nephew standing there exactly like a flesh slab of human meat for that now deaddead zombie. She thought that that was it; Leon and Helena had their hands full and So Ah failed to keep her sister away from harm. She hated this so bad.

Loathed it.

Seeing Minji standing in front of her, completely clueless as to what to do in this situation reminded her of herself back in the H-Outbreak.

And how she saw herself as a liability.

That was it.

A liability.

“Forget it,” So Ah shook her head, glancing down at her blood-coated hand before shaking it off, “Let’s move on.”

“But, are you okay?” Minji was quick to ask before So Ah could proceed and she checked her gun for ammo and then held it in her hands.

“I will be once you two are safe.”

Leon and Helena shared a glance then followed after to the security gate.

This wasn’t the right time to talk about it.

✠

The gate ended up being locked so they had to take a detour, opening the doors to a long hallway that led to a door at the end. Surprise surprise, the door was locked by a code.

Helena attempted to get it open but the alarms blared, alerting every zombie within a three-mile radius. The annoying alarms even raised the red flags in So Ah’s head as Leon took a few big steps back from the door, brows furrowed.

Leon looked outside the windows before raising his two fingers to his earpiece, “Hunnigan, the door��s locked! There’s no way out!”

Judging from Leon’s ‘time-for-action-but-fuck-am-I-tired-of-this’ expression, So Ah could tell Hunnigan was attempting to hack the door open and needed time.

“Minji! Stay far from the windows!” She ordered out, taking out her gun as her sister took her son and went to the standing floor air conditioner.

She hid behind it and away from the now zombies jumping through the windows. The shattered glass emitted a little gasp from them and Minji only held Jiwoo close, trying to make herself seem as small as possible.

The fight against those zombies wasn’t eventful. I mean, Hunnigan was focused on unlocking the door, Helena was shooting zombies once in the face to stagger them then proceeding to slam its head against the wall, Leon was shooting left and right quite literally as he had a pair of Wing Shooters, and So Ah kept the creatures as far from Minji as possible.

“Shit!”

So Ah’s head perked up at Leon’s grunt and without a second thought, she rushed over. Leon was pinned to the wall, the zombie trying to take a bite out of his face with an axe stuck in its back.

She shoved her gun into its holster, yanking out the axe and then with both hands, slammed it against the zombie’s head. It sent the head exploding before crumbling to the floor and Leon’s eyes glimmered in intrigue.

So Ah, however, was hit with a wave of nostalgia as the axe lay in her hands, bloody and cold. Pieces of memories floated around in her head before she dropped the weapon, looking at Leon worryingly.

“Thanks,” Leon gave her a nod with a tilted smile and her lips mimicked him softly.

“Of course.”

Despite the horriblehorrible situation they were in, like seriously a life or death situation with her sister being a part of it, So Ah was more than content with having her fiance with her. Unlike the H-Outbreak, Leon’s next to her and she hoped it would stay that way.

✠

“Leon… Never get behind any wheel ever again.” Minji groaned as her sister pulled out Jiwoo from the wreckage – luckily, they were both unharmed. A few bruises and scratches along with the building trauma; everything was a-okay.

Oh, right, a little backstory.

Right after Hunnigan had managed to unlock the door, the group rushed in for safety. They found a keycard that unlocked the main gate. The metal detectors of course went off for absolutely no reason other than the fact the agents had guns. Minji scolded them as a mom would all because the detector didn’t go off when she passed.

The agents felt weirdly ashamed if that was the word.

Then, they had to book it for the car. Leon and So Ah jumped into the front while Helena and Minji sat in the back. Leon was hurriedly searching for the keys and when he got them, the car engine revved to life. So Ah instantly buckled herself in with a nervous look.

“Try not to kill us, please?”

Leon scoffed light-heartedly then slammed the gas, “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Minji glanced around for her seatbelt then looked at them in concern, “Wait, we don’t have seatbelts here!”

“Hold on, this might get bumpy.” Leon reversed the car and then returned ahead as Helena held onto the grab handle, eyes darting from the Han girl to the DSO agent silently.

“Hold onto what!? There’s nothing to hold onto!”

Long story short, Minji was losing her shit and then the car ended up flipping over. Oh, and now they’re heading to the sewers.

✠

So Ah stumbled forward, nearly squinting her eyes at the darkness. She chose to jump in first to scour the area before her sister could jump in – but she forgot just how dark it is.

She turned to the sound of them jumping in then their lights flashed on. Helena was a bit too close to Leon, having him holding her arms from falling over. Their flashlights illuminated their faces then it hit her.

Jealousy.

Reassurance was what she was craving.

So Ah knew Leon had the strong inclination to help out others – men or women. But what she almost resented were the women falling head over heels for him. Her fiance. Her soon-to-be husband. She knew him longer than Helena, that’s for sure, and she truly loved Leon with her whole heart and soul.

So Ah was never a morning person, but if Leon was that orange sunrise, then she sure as hell would wake up every day early just to see him. She was more than infatuated with him – and she knew he felt the same way towards her. The entire way to her current situation, she had been cautious with Helena being around. She assisted in the fucking attack for god’s sake.

That was the biggest red flag she had ever seen since her ex hid his phone around her.

Minji did her ‘job’ of chastising Helena mentally and even vocally throwing a comment or two about how her sister and Leon just can’t get their hands off of each other. But seeing Helena’s browns connecting with Leon’s, she wondered if Leon was beginning to be her sunshine.

So Ah hated this. This fucking moment engraved itself stubbornly in her head, even when she looked away to face the empty darkness of the stairs. Her eyes stung with tears but if the memory is stubborn, then God help her iron will of being even more stubborn than it.

After what seemed like a whole eternity, Minji needed help with getting Jiwoo down and that resulted in Leon’s hold slipping from Helena’s arm. Heart clenching itself at the slight bicker coming from the trio, she failed to notice a familiar pair of azures that she fell in love with landing on her form. Hell, her shadow seemed to elongate down onto the stairs when his flashlight was on her.

“Oh, it stinks,” Minji complained, landing on the floor with her phone’s flashlight then Jiwoo held onto her hand.

So Ah barely glanced down at the rat skittering by her feet then shook her head a little as if getting rid of her welling up tears, “Let’s keep moving.”

She furrowed her brows at herself when her voice seemed to tighten in the middle. Even Leon tilted his head to the side at that tone – he knew something was up. So Ah, to him, was like an open book. After years and years of being with her, Leon had learned to pick up on the tiniest of details as that was where her true emotions lay.

Fuck, So Ah thought as she moved forward with Minji staying close behind for the light. Minji spared her a glance as if saying ‘I saw it.’

And So Ah only shook her head, rolling her glistening eyes, ‘It’s nothing.’

At least, I hope so.

Blink.

They were running down the train tracks, shooting any distant zombies that were rushing toward them. One did manage to almost tackle Leon down but Helena took care of it before So Ah could even head his way. So Ah resented that. She’d shake her head and focus on her priorities rather than the stupid problem she just made up; get Minji and Jiwoo to safety.

“Watch out! Train!”

Say fucking what now?

Blink.

So Ah was pressed against the wall, eyes slammed shut as the angry rush of the train wafted just past her. Her hair quivered in front of her in the wind, her heart practically pounding against her ribs as it made her feel its vibrations. Rattling her body and then she was able to breathe.

The train had zoomed on by and she stumbled forward, eyes reopening to find Helena and Minji along with Jiwoo on the other side of the wall. Minji was consoling Jiwoo who was clinging to her – wait, wasn’t she the one who grabbed her arm?

“Hey, you alright?”

Oh.

She looked next to her, finding Leon – her sunrise. His flashlight was on her as his eyes scanned her form for injuries then back up to her eyes. Leon was reading her. Again. She only nodded, removing her arm from his grasp, missing the slight deflated but confused look from him as she moved on ahead.

“Come on,” Helena reminded, unaware of their little conflict, “We have to keep moving.”

Blink.

“Good work!” Leon complimented as Helena smashed the zombie's head in with her foot.

“Thanks!” Helena returned the favour, running ahead.

Minji spared her little sister a glance after she had saved her again; she could see the jealousy. The poison. It darkened her usually lively cinnamons the more she progressed, but they’d seem to soften up whenever they’d land on that beautiful ring around her finger.

Then she’d nudge her to move on, “Stay close.”

“You’re doing well, Soo…” Minji whispered as she followed after her and for once, a smile teased her sister’s lips. A sad one.

“Thank you, Minnie.”

Blink.

“Not my lucky day…” Leon muttered as they entered a different area. A swarm of zombies were rushing towards them, running and some were close to sprinting – though stumbling – on their dead feet.

So Ah wanted through with this so she took out her incendiary grenade. She fumbled with it a bit before taking a few strides forward and throwing it at them. It clanked right in the middle before it exploded, erupting the area into flames and dropping most of the zombies to the ground. They were burnt to a crisp.

Leon’s eyes widened a little in awe, turning to face her as she took out her gun. Boy, did she make his heart pound. Despite being in the sewers and having just gotten out of a car crash, those smears of dirt on her cheek and clothes and the faint damp surface on her temple seemed to have made her more ethereal to look at.

And surprisingly, her tights were going strong.

“Beautiful…”

Her ears perked up at his honeyed voice, looking up at him in surprise. Those prettypretty, boldbold, and lovingloving azures of his. Gazing at her with such adoration and attention, she thought she was going to burst. Heat rushed to her cheeks at his gaze and she cleared her throat, moving forward.

A soft smile lingered on the corner of her lips, “Thank you…”

Maybe blinking to skip the time wasn’t so bad.

Halting at the end of the train tracks, a train was blocking the way. Helena shot the zombie trying to crawl from the vents as Leon climbed up the platform to check on the door. Leon huffed when it wouldn’t budge, stepping aside when the two agents got up with him.

“We’re not getting that open…” Leon said, eyeing the door, trying to find its weak point.

“Maybe there’s a way around it?” Helena questioned and So Ah shook her head, humming.

“That side is a dead end too.”

While the agents were pondering on how to get past it, Minji looked up at the faint light coming above the train. Ticking her head to the side, she faced Jiwoo with a smile, “Hey honey, stay near your aunt, okay?”

“Where are you going, eomma?” Jiwoo whispered back, watching her climbing up the train’s door, her tall height giving her the advantage as she pushed her body up, using the handles to go further.

“Eomma is giving our aunty a hand.”

So Ah picked up on the faint whispers and tilted her head to the side, going to the train tracks only to see Jiwoo standing there, big eyes connecting with hers. He began climbing up the platform with her help and she scanned the area from afar.

WHAT.

“Jiwoo? Where’s your mom?”

THE.

“Eomma said she wants to help!”

FUCK.

As if on cue, a yelp came from inside the train, alerting the agents to the familiar sound. So Ah rushed to the door, finding Leon trying to break it open.

“Minji!” So Ah called out her name, worried sick.

“How did she get in there?!” Helena asked, noting the concern and fear from both agents.

“How the hell am I supposed to know?!” So Ah snapped back, a bit too harshly that it made Helena blink and Leon furrowed his brows at her tone.

Before anyone could speak, the door opened. Minji stood there with a sheepish smile and a box of ammo in her hand. She shook it and then offered it to the speechless Leon.

“Here, it looks like it fits your gun.”

Bewildered, So Ah and Leon glanced down at the ammo, then back at her, and Leon asked, “How…”

“I saw you reloading your gun with similar bullets.” Minji grinned, seemingly proud of her little action.

“Were you…Are you hurt?” Helena asked, entering the train to see what the commotion was about only to find a zombie on the floor, slowly bubbling away with a pipe dug into its head.

“Nope, all good!”

They piled in, the silence of ‘what the hell’ lingering in the air and So Ah glanced at Minji with an impressed look then narrowed her eyes almost seriously – yet it didn’t mask the proud glint in her cinnamons.

“I’m not taking my eyes off of you from now on… But good job.”

Minji beamed at the praise, picking up Jiwoo with a little bounce, and she stayed silent. Giggling faintly, she went after her sister.

#leon kennedy x reader #leon s kennedy #leon s kennedy x reader #resident evil #resident evil infinite darkness #leon kennedy #dbd fanfic #resident evil fandom #resident evil fanfiction #leon kennedy imagines #resident evil memes #dbd memes #leon kennedy x you #leon kennedy fanfic #leon kennedy x reader smut #leon scott kennedy #leon scott kennedy smut

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snowverit · 1 year

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Overturned Daisies Chapter 5 - Infection

Here is a snippet from my most recent chapter!

Overwhelming nausea flooded through James the moment the line went dead, finger on the hook switch as he held the phone to his cheek. It should be a good thing, he figured, that Marlene and Sirius were alright, albeit hours away in some town in the middle of nowhere with a stolen police car and a random woman. If he could up and teleport, maybe the wave of fear in his stomach would dissipate. He had never had to deal with fear so thick to wade through, like a swamp with mud that dragged at his legs, urging him lower under the surface with every step. He had to inhale through his nose at this point, the rest of his body submerged in the bog, feet held steady and pulled deeper into the peat.

For a first time feeling fear so deep it shook his bones, he felt immobile. He had always figured he would feel that type of dread one day, although he never truthfully took it seriously. He figured it was far away, an experience he would deal with in his 80s with death around the corner. He was 22 and drowning.

“Potter.” The voice shook him from his stupor, landline falling from his ear down to his knees to look at the man, in silence he had approached him. Eyes studying James like a specimen, and James’ face lifted, clearing his throat and grabbing the sleek device, placing it down on the holder.

“Ayup?” James spoke, moving the landline back to its spot on the floor and turning to face Regulus, the corner of his lip tipping up lopsidedly. “Are you hungry? We better grab something to eat before we get going?” James couldn’t imagine eating, he couldn’t imagine doing anything until he reconnected with his family. At least Sirius had the pager, that was the one thing to note. They could keep finding payphones and keeping in reach through it all. It would not be much longer if they both left at the same time, if they were driving it would take barely a day. Nearly a few hours, the highlands were easy enough to get to by car. The issue however, was that Sirius had mentioned that they had problems getting gas. If lack of access to fuel was already occurring so near the university, it was likely that where it was harder to deliver gas, as well as where the virus had already spread, had no gas altogether.

“I’m not hungry.” Regulus mumbled, eyes scanning over James’ face. “That's it then? You’re going to go to meet him somewhere?” He regarded him with a strange look on his features, uncertainty did not begin to cover it. There was more hidden within it, and James could not fathom to understand what any of it meant.

“We’re going.” James corrected, pushing himself to his feet and Regulus shuffled a step back without another word. “So we have to start packing.” James knelt down to his pile of clothes, immediately sorting through it for a pair of clean socks.

“I’m not going anywhere with you. I’m quite capable, I’ll take my chances here.”

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acostavillarreal · 2 years

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How To Choose A Feline Type Like The Experts

Household chemicals, shrubs, trees and plants can all be harmful for the feline and a cat owners need to have an apt knowledge of it. When you think a case of poisoning, the job of a veterinarian becomes much easier, if you can especially call the things causing this poisoning. Some plants and household chemicals are mentioned here that can affect your feline; although, it is difficult to understand about the agent when your cat marches.

A part of proficient sphynx cat care includes being sure to keep your present cat's character in mind when you bring in another cat. If your existing cat is active, she may more easily accept a kittycat as the new feline on the block. A peaceful, older cat will appreciate another unwinded feline in the house. Never evergive any medication without specificinstructions from your vet. Do not offer any medications to your felines that are planned for people. NEVERoffer your feline Aspirin or acetaminophen. Both of these senior cat care medicinesmaykill your feline. If your cat appears to be experiencing pain when using the litter box, or you discover signs of blood in her urine, she might have a urinary tract infection. Cats can get these infections the same method that we can. A feline struggling with a UTI might likewise have more accidents on the carpet than a healthy one, or make more trips to the box than typical. Extremely moderate UTIs will clear up before you even observe, but extreme ones can trigger problem for your cat. Go to the veterinarian as quickly as possible if you suspect your feline has a UTI. Prescription antibiotics are the initial step to treating this condition. The antibiotics generally will clear things up if you have actually caught the UTI early. Your feline might have to have surgery if the infection has actually progressed to the bladder or kidney. Cat health modifications as the cat ages and the body appears to undergo changes just as a person does. Senior felines appear a bit more laid back and appear to sleep quite a bit more than they did when they were younger. Since they become lazy so to speak as they get older, their muscles appear to get exhausted and unconditioned making the normal movements in a day hard to do. Jumping, running and walking might slow down or become eliminate to simply leaping to discover a place to sleep. Talking about cat health older problems and the right food and nutrition needs falls under the term elderly care. They might have problems with their health if your feline does not receive the correct cat care clinic food and nutrition. why cats knead Some cats grow up on dry feline food, however as they grow older, they need soft feline food in order to maintain their strength. The teeth tend to end up being breakable and break, as the feline grows older. Hubby's dad would enable said cat to being in his lap, but he never ever touched her or cuddled her. His girlfriend did get cozier with the feline, however. So, when Pie got to our house she anticipated to be enjoyed by the women of the family and disregarded or endured by the males. She was probably shocked to discover that my child and hubby might love her as well. As I've discussed with Venita, it took a best storm of errors for Atlas to capture this awful virus. And I do understand, as I discussed at length with Dr. Nappier, the probabilities for this exact situation to occur were darn near impossible. I am sort of feeling like I need to develop a timeline to demonstrate how the near impossible took place. So this article is a little long. Bear in mind the internal medication specialist said she hasn't seen an adult case of feline distemper in twenty years of practice. The vet firmly insists that is due to the unbelievable effectiveness of the vaccine, Panleukopenia has actually been almost eradicated in adult cats. It is basically relegated these days to feral nests, catteries, boarding centers, and shelters.

#why grown cats knead #why cats knead

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violet-knox · 2 years

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Young severus x hufflepuff afab reader

smut, fluff

Hello! Thanks for your request but I'm not taking any requests at the moment (please see the description of my blog). I'm in fact having some trouble finding time to write at all these days 😞 I'm hoping to get back to it soon though

#some sort of virus keeps infecting my family #took a month for us all to recover last time #hopefully this time won't be as bad #And work has been hella stressful taking up all my time #But writing has always been on the back of my mind #I just need to find some time to sit down and get back into it #update on me #ask #not taking requests

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aurorasillusion · 3 years

Text

MY Dumbass

Dedicated to @kdrama-i-nation

↳ Choi Minho x GN!Reader

↳ Summary Minho is in love with a chaotic dumbass

↳ Genre Fluff, Crack fic.

↳ Prompt Person A walks in, in a hazmat suit. Person B "what the fuck" Person A "my good looks are contagious I don't want to pass it on." Person B ~ why have I been in love with this clown for four months. ~

↳ Tags One shot, Set at the beginning of the COVID 19 Pandemic, Kinda Minho centric i think?, Talks about Covid, Talks of Illness, University AU, Slice of life AU?, Pining, The rest of SHINee is in the fic too, Including Jonghyun, Fluff, Humour, Ambiguous but a fluffy ending, pining, requited love.

↳ A/N This prompt was based on a real story that happened to my moot @mullettaegi (minus the being in love part) they have many interesting crazy stories from college that they tell me all the time. Big stress on a lot of this about Korea handling the virus is made up because I don't remember how they copped I just know it was better than the UK.

The day was like any other, despite the one situation that was going on in different countries in different parts of the world: COVID 19.

Minho was at university, as most people were still allowed to go about their lives with the necessary precautions. He was sat around talking to his close friends in one of the common rooms.

Kibum had brought up the topic that was on the tip of everyone's tongue, that was all anyone including the news was talking about lately. So naturally, they had all begun discussing it, each other expressing how scary it was to see something like that happening. Especially with the way it was the first of the sorts they'd witnessed in their lifetime.

It was worrying to hear just how badly other countries and the people in them were starting to suffer from the virus. Death Tolls rising with little to no understanding from health professionals at this point how they could contain and stop the virus. Currently, Korea wasn't being hit too bad compared to some countries but no one knew how long that would last.

"I feel for everyone, particularly for those who are in hospital with the virus and without. They're so vulnerable, and some so life-threateningly ill life is now a waiting game for them. Yet because of the virus, their loved ones can't come to see them in the hospital, having to stay away. It's just... awful." Taemin expressed.

"We already have lots infected in the smaller towns, I'm sure there are people now in Korea that are experiencing the implications of their loves ones being infected." Jonghyun added.

Currently, they were in the stage where although it was becoming more widespread in Korea it wasn't at the same rate as other countries.

Out of culture, they already wore masks, didn't invade people's personal space bubbles so it was stopping the virus from spreading as quickly as it could, keeping people safer for a little longer.

Therefore there wasn't mass hysteria within the country, which is why Minho could attend a university like this. Plus the people knew their government would make the right decisions at key times so trusted them to keep them safe.

Of course, Minho was a little worried about his family, and his friends getting this virus. And was a little worried for himself but more because of not wanting to pass it on. However, being at school and with his friends did take his mind off the worry, not the whole thing completely but it settled the anxiousness in him.

Just as Onew changed the subject, Minho looked up at the rest of the commons room only to see a person entering in a bright yellow unmissable massive hazmat suit.

His mind was doing gymnastic routines to comprehend what he was seeing. Baffled, was what he settled on. Baffled by the whole situation that was unfolding right before his very eyes.

He blinked a couple of times, making sure he was actually seeing this right. Checking around the room to see if anyone else was seeing this otherwise it would mean that Minho was experiencing hallucinations. Thankfully he also saw some people staring a the suited and booted figure in mild confusion, letting him know he wasn't hallucinating.

Who was this, was this some kind of scientist coming to tell them all they were all contagious and now could not leave this room. That they weren't allowed to go home and would live sealed up in this room until well he didn't know, just like in the movies.

Or was this someone who is scared, expressing anxiety, stress, and paranoia about catching the virus? Maybe they were a germaphobe and this had pushed them over the edge. Even possibly someone with a poor immune system trying to protect themselves.

Minho could only take his pick.

With the reality that this was happening, how he was indeed seeing a person in a fucking hazmat suit, sinking in hysteria started mixing in with the baffledness. Making him want to laugh in, what the fuck is going on ahaha - I'm confused and slightly scared, way.

He looked back at his friends, to see if they too had noticed anything but they were still, now, animatedly talking between themselves. They hadn't even noticed that he hadn't put his two pence into the conversation as, they were too wrapped up in whatever subject was now the topic of conversation.

Minho watched as the person in the, cartoon duck yellow, hazmat suit came further into the common room. They seemed to be heading in his direction, although he couldn't say they were heading to him. For all, he knew this could be a friend of anyone else in the room.

Like someone waved at you, you thought they were indeed waving at you, so you wave back only to get this feeling and look behind you to see someone else behind you. To then realize they were the person, the other person was actually waving at, not you.

He got the feeling it was a student and someone's friend by the way they hadn't just stopped in the doorway and made some big official speech.

Something along the lines of like they were a scientist or infection control, or part of the government and then explained what they were doing here. Considering they hadn't done that and didn't look like they were about to do it anytime soon, he felt like he could 100 percent say this was someone's friend.

It was rude to stare he knew that, but he couldn't help but to gape at this person. Curiosity and confusion left him unable to look away. So he studied this person, who got closer and closer to the area of sofas he, Taemin, Jonghyun, Kibum, and Onew were sat.

As they edged nearer to him, he expected them to walk right by, much like the notorious waving situation everyone goes through.

'Surely they aren't approaching me' He thought as they grew ever closer to him.

Proved wrong he was though when, the strange suited up person got right to just the other side of where he was; standing behind the sofa opposite to him. The very couch where Jonghyun, Key, and Onew were sitting on, backs towards the person incredibly unaware of their presence.

Before he could say anything as his brain didn't respond quick enough to talk, the monster's inc hazmat-suited person's arm reached out before its hand came down resting on his best friend Jonghyun's, shoulder.

Minho felt so sorry for him at that moment. Had that have been him, he too would've jumped out of his skin. His soul would've left his body and if this was in an animation the viewers would've seen the ghost of him floating just outside his body.

Just as the hand touched Jonghyun's shoulder, he whipped around letting out a scared panicked scream clearly not expecting to see what he did. The unusualness of it freaking him out more.

Violently he threw himself off the couch trying to get away from the looming yellow figure, scrambling on the floor towards Minho.

Minho watched Jonghyun as he didn't take his eyes off the cause of the heart attack, his brain only regeristing fear kicking his body into flight or fight.

The others finally looked up breaking the tunnel vision type attention they had on the conversation, surprised by their friend's sudden panicked scream. Their attention refocused on Jonghyun before they looked for the cause of their friend's fear, only to be greeted with this great looming figure standing behind and above them.

The hazmat suit was so big that it made the person wearing it look even bigger, and if it wasn't for what was happening in the world it would be more bizarrely funny than bizarrely scary. The suit made the person in it, despite them not knowing them nor seeing them, majorly intimidating which contributed to them being terrifying.

Minho watched the reactions of the others to the human being that had just shit near everyone up.

Key was visibly confused yet not phased by the weirdo in the suit. Not even a flinch out of him.

Taemin's face depicted a picture of a fearful 'ahaha what the fuck' definitely scared but a mixture of confusion flinching and moving that bit further away from the person.

Onew was as white as a sheet of paper, as though he'd seen a ghost and all the blood had drained from his face.

Not that anyone could blame him they still didn't know the intentions of this person. They could kidnap them for all they knew.

Neither Onew nor Key moved an inch. Key, not bothered, and Onew not daring as they continued to stare at the human that had decided to approach them. Minho being the dear friend he was lugged Jonghyun off the floor and into the seat next to him. Giving him a reassuring full palm back rub to calm him down.

Seconds after Jonghyun had, had the fright of his life the helmet was lifted off. It felt like slow-motion like in a movie but in reality, it wasn't.

Immediately the feeling of fondness punched Minho in his heart, as it always does nowadays.

It's you!

He watched as you revealed yourself, pulling off the helmet, shaking your hair out, and running a hand through it as it clung to your slightly damp, flushed skin.

The fondness that punched him in his heart, came back for a k.o. and spread throughout his body as your, beautiful angel smile made an appearance.

It made him want to profess his love for you there and then, just feeling so fucking fond and smitten. He bit his tongue though barely holding back. Now a days he was holding on by a thread almost telling you but not quite.

"Hi." You smiled at all your friends, not even bothered you gave them a heart attack.

They stared at you in disbelief but you didn't mind. Your smile just widened ever further as Minho blurted out,

"What the fuck." Brain finally able to make words leave his mouth.

The rest parroted after Minho, sharing the same sentiment. Everyone at this point was actually just baffled with your choice of fashion, egar for you to explain yourself.

"My good looks are contagious. I don't want to pass them on." You explained, framing your face with your hands to emphasis your point.

You made light of the fact you came in a hazmat suit as extra protection from the people around you in these times.

'Why have I been in love with this clown for four months.' Minho thought affectionately.

Truly everything you did had him whipped. Though he had to admit you were a little bonkers, that was his favorite thing about you. The way you're unabashedly yourself, which was a clown nonetheless.

It's true that people don't have a choice who they fall for but Minho was glad to fall for you.

You were effortlessly beautiful like a gift bestowed upon this earth. Your amazing personality shone like stars and attracted him to you like a moth to a flame. And although your humor could be considered questionable at times, you were the funniest. Not to mention how clever you were when the time called for it.

Minho didn't even hesitate that time ago when he danced on the fine line of liking you as a friend to like liking you. He flung himself across it ready to embrace his feelings for you knowing he couldn't fall for anyone better. That you were the one for him.

He came back to reality from in his head, as he heard the sounds of you and the others light-heartedly bickering.

Bickering because Key had jokingly teased you about your so called contagious good looks. Which had of course had started a bickering war between you and the rest like the annoying but loved friends you were.

Maybe he overused the word fond when it came to you but he was fond. So fucking fond and in love and every other word that meant you owned his heart and that you were his world. He was full to the brim, almost bursting with the love he just wanted to give to you.

He would ask you out soon, that much he promised to you and himself; secretly. No more dancing around it, the courage would be summoned and he would do it.

In the near future when the thread snapped, and the courage flooded him: he confessed. The answer he was faced with .........

End Notes

I don't know about SHINee/Shawol etiquette when it comes to writing fics. I don't know if there are any rules all things considered. So I hope this is okay. If there is anything wrong or that I need to be told about please don't hesitate to drop me an anon or a dm.

I'm not trying to make a big deal or create a problem where there isn't I decided to add this end note because I don't want to be attacked or anything like that. There is a lot of toxicity on the internet nowadays that comes from other toxic people, for accidentally doing the wrong thing or something they don't like specifically in regard to k-pop if that makes sense.

So I hope the intentions behind this little author's note are understood! :D

Also on AO3 if you want to read in a different format

Masterlist.

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lea-andres · 2 years

Note

Bringing back the Shitty Apartment AU for headcanons because I live for it.

There's a no hoberbarding inside rule that was made strictly for Jet after he tried on the first day there.

Whenever Amy and Big are unavailable, Rouge is the one to babysit Cream.

Vector was flabbergasted to find out that there's a buffet on Fridays curtsy of Wave and Vanilla's combined forces.

Ray and Bean hangout often since they're so close in age and because they relate to one another.

Game night is always full of laughter and banter; it's so fun for those playing and those watching.

Big is Amy's legal guardian on paper. He acts like a father figure to her whenever she needs one and now that they live together they're practically family.

Fang still uses his cork gun to chase Mighty and Ray away from Team Hooligan's apartment.

Silver and Espio hangout very often.

There's a coffee machine in the common area and it's most constant users are Tails along with Wave and Vector. Shadow crunches on the coffee beans.

When Christmas rolls around, there's of course going to be secret santa. Sonic gets Cream, Shadow gets Storm, Tails gets Bean, Knuckles gets Espio, Fang gets Wave, Bark gets Jewl (Bean rigged it to), Tangle gets Charmy, Whisper gets Bark, Jewl gets Tails, Vector gets Silver, Blaze gets Marine, Wave gets Jet, Amy gets Shadow, Silver gets Tangle, Big gets Fang, Storm gets Big, Omega gets Bark, Rouge gets Vector, Bean gets Amy, Cream gets Rouge, Charmy gets Sonic, and Silver gets Omega.

Tails, Charmy and Ray all formed a "Yellow Flying Sidekick" club.

Shadow has a habit of ignoring his hunger no matter how much growling his stomach releases, so it's become a sort of game to see who can get him to eat first.

Tails, eating cereal in Team Sonic's apartment kitchen: I'm never going to go through puberty.

Knuckles beside him: Of course you will kiddo, but we're a family of late bloomers. I didn't until I was 13, nor did Sonic.

Tails: Why does that matter? I'm adopted.

Sonic, slamming the cabinet door shut in surprise: What!? Oh my god, who told you?

The apartment has their own makeshift version of family feud that all teams have participated in.

In my version, it was Rouge who got infected with the metal virus rather than shadow - she and Omega had a plan B where Omega would take Shadow to safety if things get hasty, and things did. Shadow still has nightmares about it, and Rouge doesn't regret her decision but does feel guilty for the nightmares.

Sonic has werehog tendencies still so he goes into the roof at like 3AM every full moon to howl for a solid 10 minutes.

Yay more Shitty Apartment AU headcanons!

- I love how Jet barely made it 24 hours without trying to hoverboard and getting it immediately banned. 😂

- Big being Amy's legal guardian is an interesting headcanon, and I'm extremely tempted to pull that idea from this AU and apply it to other stuff. 🧐

- Everyone else who uses the coffee machine uses it like normal people, then Shadow waltzes up and pulls this exact gif on them:

- Bean rigging a Secret Santa purely for pulling matchmaking bullshit on his best friend (well, his dad/guardian, since it sounds like kid!Bean applies to this AU too) is probably my favorite idea. I feel like he should've gone a step further and made sure Jewel got Bark too, but maybe he was worried they'd suspect something if they had each other. Plus Whisper got Bark, so she'd probably turn to Jewel for help anyway. 😏😂

- I love the idea of the Yellow Flying Sidekicks regularly swinging by the Team Hooligan apartment to see Bean, and all four of them getting kicked out by Fang who wants some goddamn peace and quiet. ��

- Oh GOD, Family Feud must get so chaotic. 😂 The Chaotix and the Hooligans went up against each other exactly once, and now everyone tries desperately to keep that from happening again.

- 😭 Poor Team Dark.

- Sonic's up on the roof howling and everyone's yelling at him to shut the fuck up and go to sleep. 😂

#shitty apartment au #team sonic #team rose #team dark #team chaotix #babylon rogues #team hooligan #team sapphire #bugbear

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dantelionwishes · 3 years

Photo

life is full of ups and downs downs downs downs dow

loredump under the cut. not kidding when I say its gonna be long!

oh shit you actually clicked keep reading thank you for your interest 😭😭😭

YOU KNOW THE DRILL tw // suggestive dont read ahead if youre uncomfortable with the topic of aphrodisiacs!

MIDDLE SCHOOL

before anything, I gotta explain he was born to parents who had an infatuation quirk (makes them hardcore fall in love with you) and an infection quirk (transmits a virus via saliva)

developed his quirk late, since they usually get it by the time kids are four

most people knew him as quirkless before the first incident

in middle school, his class was preparing for a school play, he and his classmate got cast as the main lead prince and princess

coincidentally, they both had a crush on each other and had a scene where they kissed

technically they weren’t supposed to, since its just a play, but one time they were practicing in private and wanted to try kissing “for real”

so they shared a super giggly cute middle school first kiss but well UNFORTUNATELY FOR HIM HIS QUIRK HAD WELL DEVELOPED–

BADABING BADABOOM YOU HAVE AN IMAGINATION USE IT

the only way for the quirk’s effects to go away is to come at least once or pleasuring yourself until it goes away

I DO NOT WANT TO IMAGINE IT BUT. IMAGINE BEING A TEACHER AND FINDING A MIDDLE SCHOOLER WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING TO HER AND AN ADULT IS FORCED TO TELL HER HOW TO MAKE IT GO AWAY LLLLIKE–

rip now that I’m thinking abt it, I don’t even think anybody would even kNOW HOW TO MAKE IT GO AWAY so lets imagine she painfully stays that way until they figure out how to make it stop :^(

there’s a big fight that happens between the teachers, principal, and parents of both parties

of course the crush’s parents got mad and called their kid a fuckin uhhhhh sexual predator or some shit despite also beING THE SAME AGE AND NOT EVEN KNOWING ABT HIS OWN QUIRK LIKE HELLLO

obviously an incident like this is going to spread like wildfire but the principal does not want something like this to leak, especially since it was not on purpose and was a total accident

the other kid’s parents and some teachers did not feel comfortable however, and sato was forced to drop out

but not wanting to spread the gossip about their son’s quirk and the incident, they leave the town and move someplace else

thankfully, the principal gives the sato family his good grades and a recommendation to a decent highschool for the trouble

they’re originally from osaka, but moved to tokyo

this is where they start taking precautions with sato, basically teaching him to be careful with his saliva

it was easily taught and learned esp since the mom was already like that around him and others everyday anyway!! she has to take care of her saliva-based infection quirk, after all

HIGH SCHOOL

he got enrolled into a regular highschool in tokyo

no hero course, no support course, no business, just a regular ol’ school

if before, he loved surrounding himself with people, this was where he was forced to develop a lonely disposition to protect himself and others

at least his parents were very protective and supportive of him and they were generally a happy family!

but in school, pretending to be quirkless was just as difficult, getting bullied or pitied for having no special abilities

his excuse for wearing a mask all the time was because his mother had a virus-related quirk, and had to be careful

one day his dad was suddenly got really, really sick

the more he had an excuse to wear a mask because he didnt want to get whatever disease his father started to develop

sato started thinking it could be his mother (but why?) the results didn’t say anything about an unknown virus killing him (which is his mom’s quirk), and that his father really did contract a strong yet very normal disease

while on his second year in highschool, his father, yozo sato, died

apparently, without him knowing anything about his parents, his mother, oba sato, was actually under the dad’s infatuation quirk this whole time

she realised she wasn’t really in love with him when oba had accidentally allowed a drop of her saliva to fall into the meal she was making him, making him sick, and therefore making him weak enough to deactivate his quirk on her

oba, back in her college years, wanted to marry someone else but yozo, who had a crush on her wanted her to himself, used his quirk to make him fall in love with her

so in revenge for making her put up with him all these years to the point of marriage and having a kid, she continued to do this to his food

her quirk doesn’t make anybody sick enough to die, but it made her husband’s immune system weak enough to the point that it contracted a real, serious disease which he ended up dying from instead

sato only finds out the real story when he graduates from highschool, days right after his graduation the mom confesses it all

she does say she truly loves him, but can’t stay around him knowing he was technically “unconsensual love”

sato gets reminded of what his quirk does, and true enough, that’s what him and his quirk turned out to be (a sick combination of his mom and his dad)

they cant bear to be around each other after that revelation and decide to just not see each other again

COLLEGE YEARS

he enrolls into an education course, inspired by the kind principal who helped him finish his middleschool-highschool education when it all started going downhill

sato struggles paying for his college fees esp since he doesn’t exactly have his parents supporting him anymore, nor any contact with immediate family

he has a lot of part time jobs that go all around the clock, he continues pretending to be quirkless so he gets bullied, and has to deal with all that emotional baggage plus being alone so…….clearly my man is TIRED as hell

his side job hustles include: convenience store cashier, bookstore attendant, bar bouncer, and rookie gym trainer (he went to the local gym long enough for him to get recommended a job as a trainer)

college was that point where he starts developing a hardcore yearning for a companion because oh my god hes so lonELY (but cant)

ANYWAY SO

there’s this bully guy who always picks on him in college (for being “quirkless” and a loner and overall a fuckin weirdo with a mask)

tbh sato doesnt really give a shit he’s so used to it but he doesnt have his mother as an excuse to wear the mask anymore, this is where he starts forming the “I have bad breath” excuse

“口臭い” (kuchi kusai) translates to “bad breath” or “stinky mouth” so sato unlovingly gets nicknamed “kusato”

one day he’s walking around the campus at night and finds the bully with his gang cornering another quirkless student, with plans of assaulting her

sato was never the hero type, and was about to ignore the commotion as to not get involved, but something in him moved on its own and he found himself face to face with the gang

he confronts them, but the bully mocks both him and the girl for not having powers to stop them anyway

SIKE BITCH sato’s able to easily strike the other two guys, knock them off their feet enough to be able to tug the to-be victim aside, telling her to report them, before asking her to run away as fast as she can

none of the guys want that (they’re all students) so they have a full on brawl (and this isnt hero academy, its a totally normal university so I wouldn’t assume these guys had very impressive quirks)

except the main bully actually has a pretty decent quirk (he’s like a kinda half human half dragon with sharp claws, scales, and dragon eyes) and gets to injure sato with his sharp claws, seriously injuring his face

a part of his ear is also sort of sliced off, which is how his mask gets accidentally removed in the process

the dragon bully grabs him by the collar and starts angrily shouting at him for ruining his night, being able to do all this shit without a quirk and all and all other derogatory speech

“Well? what do you have to say for yourself?!“

Sato stays silent before spitting right into the bully’s mouth

The bully drops him immediately, about to angrily fuck him up for doing something super fucking gross but WHOOP WHOOP YOU KNOW WHATS BOUTTA HAPPEN the quirk works immediately and the bully is a TOTAL MESS on the ground

Im going to TLDR this part cos its…obviously nsfw but like: sato fully embarrasses him in public (beside the bully’s two colleges nonetheless)

sato stays in the hospital for some time to heal from his wounds

fortunately, afterwards, the bullies all get expelled

unfortunately for sato, he also gets expelled for engaging in bad behaviour, and the bully did say what happened to him (and the college principal did not want his…dangerous quirk on campus) so as to lower any incident, all four were expelled

at least without having to pay for college fees anymore, he could fully focus on paying for food, shelter, and clothes

minus of course the hospital bills needed to pay plus he got a sick ass scar from it anyway HAHAHAHA BSDJHJRHDHF

ADULT LIFE

he had a lot of jobs here and there, but was more or less doing best as a trainer at a local gym where people weren’t allowed to use their quirks and strengthen their body regularly

a few years went by and he eventually shrugged off everything that happened in his final college years but one day someone familiar walked into the gym! It was the fellow college student he saved!!!

she became a policewoman who wanted to get stronger in this quirkless friendly gym and hadn’t given up on her dreams of being a “hero,” inspired by how sato saved her that day

sato never really saw himself as some hero, he was left many nights alone thinking about how easily he could become a villain with his quirk, so hearing that really made him happy

he trains her as her gym coach and she eventually asks him to join her patrol this small part of the city from a gang that was currently going around doing crimes since he’s good at it anyway, saying she could use some extra hands hehe

so yeah!! he does this side gig with her where he patrols alongside her looking for gang crimes and such c:

AND ONE DAY. [WISTFUL SIGH] ONE DAY. HE FINDS SOMEBODY GETTING MUGGED BY A GANG MEMBER AND SAVES………A CERTAIN MAN–

thank you for reading all the way here!!!

feel free to ask for questions or for any clarifications 😭😭😭!!!!!!

#bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha oc comeback #mha #bnha oc #mha oc #lionhe(art)#I know I havent exactly written stuff from meeting toshinori onwards #but thats for another day!!#I only ever wrote Sato's backstory pre meeting all might #yet all I drew as a teen was them as a couple lMAOOO #idk if anyone would wanna read that but honestly iM SURE THE STUDENTS WANT THAT SPICY RELATIONSHIP INFO JHSDJGHAJHJK #my 17-year old self would have been happy in my place ;;3;; !!!!!#i finally got to share his lore!! that was a lot so if you seriously read it all thank you so much aaaaaaaaaaaa #Osamu sato-sensei

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books-and-cookies · 3 years

Text

Best lines from “Death to 2020″

(Death to 2020 is a comedy on Netflix, that came out on December 27th)

* “fire, a radicalized, angry form of air”

* “Davos [summit] is basically Coachella for billionaires”

* “[Greta Thunberg] is this teenage girl who’d become famous even though everything she says is depressing. Kind of Like Billie Eilish”

* “The U.S. president was facing an impeachment trial, which is a traditional ceremony that Americans perform to work whether their president has gone off.”

* “What Trump needed was a distraction, either something big, like a goose flying through the window, or something small, like World War 3″

* about the Iranian general, Soleimani: “the Beyonce of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard”

* the queen about Meghan and Harry: “Sadly, I believe they felt there is a degree of prejudice in Britain. Which is why they moved to America, where race has never been an issue at all.”

* about the “diversity” of Oscar nominees: “You got Marriage Story, two mopey white people trapped in an affluent marriage; Ford v. Ferrari, that’s white guys on wheels; Little Women, four white girls standing on the cusp of Karenhood; and Joker, whose lead actor performs in whiteface, thereby appropriating his own cultural identity while denying a role for a genuine clown. Oh and 1917, which was the year the movie was set, and the number of white people in it”

* “so, the democrats claim that Trump pressured Ukraine into digging up dirt on the Biden family and their only real “evidence” of that is a transcript of him doing it”

* “I think to many Americans, Biden is uncle Joe. He’s been a part of their lives for centuries. As familiar as an old armchair, and nearly as sharp-witted.”

* about the beginning of the pandemic: “now, those who’ve closely studied the history books, knew that this was strongly reminiscent of the time the White Walkers led their army of the dead towards the warring factions of Westeros”

* about Tom Hanks being infected with the virus: “it showed the virus could also pass from humans to icons, which raised the possibility it may one day infect God. And God is older than the universe, which puts him in a high risk category”

* "across the USA, supplies of masks, which, unlike guns, cannot be cheaply and easily manufactured, run low”

* “Trump seemed to feel that the virus was one of those things that goes away if you ignore it, like a wasp or a wife”

* “by the end of March, lockdowns have been rolled out right across the planet, making them the most successful global franchise since the Marvel cinematic universe”

* “the monarch only addresses the nation on special occasions, such as christmas or the end of the world, so this was a huge moment”

* about Boris Johnson recovering from covid: “Incredibly, the virus didn’t seem to have affected his abilities in any way. He still didn’t have any.”

* “That ought to be the number one sales feature for the iPhone. Fuck your “Megapixel Display”. How about put “Exposes Police Brutality” on the box?”

* “The president skilfully placates the situation with some soothing incendiary comments, and in Washington, he orders peaceful demonstrators to be gently dispersed with some courteous state violence”.

* “You had corporations going woke too, asking themselves how can they support Black people without actually paying them.”

* “I live on my own and after a while I got so lonely, I developed a multiple personality disorder on purpose, so I could keep myself company. But then, of course, I had to try and keep two meters away from myself at all times. Don’t know if you’ve ever tried doing that, but it’s a bloody nightmare”

* “Also, there were questions about his fitness to govern, in part because of the way he had to drink a glass of water using both hands, but mainly because of everything else he did”

* “But then I got into this show called America, which was amazing. Have you seen it? It’s on the news channel. It’s totally mental. Just one twist after another. They had this sort of election fight happening between a bloke who looked like a ticket inspector on a ghost train and an inflatable orange maniac who didn’t seem to be dealing with the plague.”

* “And then the debate started and straightaway it was like a rap battle in a senior home. But worse.”; “I’d say it was a trainwreck and a shitshow, but that would be unfair to trains and shit.”

* “Following the debate, the only positive news for Trump is his coronavirus test result”

* “all eyes turn to the crucial state of Pennsylvania, where Trump has been on a winning streak. Until officials stubbornly insist on counting Biden’s votes too.”

* “Mr. Trump doesn’t know the meaning of the word “concede” and he was furious when they told him.”

* “No 5G vaccine for me, thank you very much. It’s made in a laboratory. And you shouldn’t trust anything that’s not natural. I read about it on Facebook.”

Please, please watch this, it’s fucking hilarious.

#death to 2020 #netflix #mary rambles #2020 mood

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self-proclaimed-chaotic-good · 3 years

Text

All the time in what's left of the world | 28 Days Later!Jim x Reader (Oneshot)

Words: 1776

Warnings: Mention of death, slight innuendos

A/N: I'm surprised I hadn't written for him sooner, but I needed something to write to take a break from the other series I've been writing.

When the outbreak of the Rage virus happened, you tried calling your loved ones. Some answered and were rushing to get on the next flight or boat ride off the island. Some never picked up. You were glad that your parents had moved to the States to be with the other family members. When you called, they said that they were fine and that only the UK seemed to be affected. For now. While your parents were safe, those words also meant that the government was going to shut down the whole country into quarantine. There would be no point in trying to get out.

Your friend, Jim, had been in a coma for days after his accident and you had been by his side almost every day if your job had allowed it. When the doctor assured you that you and his parents would be notified as soon as he woke up, you had left to focus on yourself more and catch up with your work. Jim’s parents used to call every day, asking if he woke up. They lived a little ways from the hospital, so they relied on you for updates when they couldn’t go. You always told them the same thing, just that his injuries had been healing properly and that he should be waking up any time now.

Assuming that the hospital would have some kind of quarantine protocol that could keep him safe, you decided to look for each and every friend or distant relative in the area, hoping to find someone when they stopped answering their phones. Travelling had become scarier the more the virus had spread. And if it wasn’t for the infected chasing after you, it was the living wanting to scavenge off of you. Your car was long gone within a week of the outbreak and had to search for a bicycle for the trip.

You couldn’t find anyone. They either left in a hurry or got attacked by the infected on their way out. News of the infection spreading to other countries reached the radio and news channels until they, too, were gone. With your hopes of finding any allies on your side dwindling, you went straight for Jim’s parent’s house. They weren’t answering their phone either, but you hoped that being away from London would have at least meant that the virus took longer to reach them. It was optimistic, but you were also reminded that it had been almost a month since the outbreak and everything happened so fast.

His parents had told you where the spare key was, so you had no problem getting in. Parking your bike at the front, you spotted Jim’s old bikes that his parents had kept over the years. He had been the one to teach you how to ride a bike and you weren’t too surprised when you found out he had taken a job as a bike courier. Jim always liked living simple.

The silence was ringing in your ears as you crept through the house. You were afraid to call out in case there were nearby infected, or worse. You searched each room, memories of when it was lived in coming in flashes until you reached upstairs to their room. A chill was already running up your spine as you spotted their door closed, a rotting smell leaking through the cracks of the door. Opening it slowly, your eyes swept the room until they landed on the bed. Your hand flew to your mouth as you collapsed on the floor, stifling your sobs.

You couldn’t bear to be near the room anymore and not even daring to go in, rushing down the steps. It wasn’t until you almost tripped over the last two steps did you take a deep breath and come to your senses, the whole thing feeling like a twisted nightmare until now. Everything was real, the virus, the killings, the bodies all around the country. There was no way to get out of it. Unless foreign aid came to help stop the virus, you didn’t see a way for this nightmare to end any time soon.

Seeing the sun going down outside, you reluctantly decided to stay the night at the house, gathering supplies around the place before dredging back up the stairs. You paused at the landing, willing yourself in avoiding looking anywhere near that room and made your way straight to Jim’s old room. His mother was always tidy, but after turning on the desk light, you could see the thin layer of dust that had settled within the past month.

You locked the door and dragged a chair under the door knob before flopping tiredly onto the bed. Staring up at the ceiling with Jim’s old posters lining the wall, you could still picture yourself with Jim lounging around in his room attempting homework while talking about everything and nothing. When you used to sleep over, you would share the bed with ease until you both got a little older and a little more uncomfortable with it. There was one late night, though, where he laid next to you on the bed.

He buried his face in your shoulder and whispered, “I don’t want you to go.”

It was the night before you moved away to go to college. You couldn’t say anything.

Growing up, he had been the more expressive of the two of you until he got older and was told that real men didn’t cry. There were times where he let his anger take hold of him and lash out on you and you’d fight back, but you both hated it. He’d run away with tears streaking down his cheeks while you had to break away and let the anger simmer out until the emotions finally sunk in and overwhelm you as well.

When you both calmed down, you were always able to find him. Eventually, the two of you had a talk and sorted things out. That was the closest that your friendship had been to breaking. Back then, that had been the scariest and nearly heartbreaking thing to have happened to you.

A loud bang had jerked you awake, setting your body into shock as your heart began to race. You grabbed the machete that you found among the old family camping gear and strapped your backpack on you. The noise paused, followed by some shuffling.

“Stop making all that noise!” a woman hissed. “We don’t have time for this.”

“Wait, I just need to grab something from my room before we go,” came a familiar voice.

Another man sighed. “We can just leave him.”

“You’ve got less than ten minutes, then we’re leaving. With or without you,” the woman said.

After the two pairs of footsteps disappeared down the stairs, Jim sighed and tried the door knob again. You approached the door slowly, pulling the chair away before opening the door. Even with his uneven dark hair and unkempt beard, you could recognize your best friend anywhere.

His blue eyes widened when he realized what he was seeing in front of him. He reached a hand out to touch your face, squeezing your cheeks together. You pinched him, making him bite down a yelp as he flinched away. You reached over to squeeze his cheeks, too, ending it with a slap. His smile brightened up his face as he pulled you into a tight hug.

“I thought you were dead,” he muttered into your hair. “My… my mom and dad… they-”

“I know. I saw. I’m so sorry, Jimmy.”

The footsteps returned, the woman stared at the two of you with a neutral expression. “It’s too dark to go to the shops. We’ll have to sleep here for the night.”

Jim nodded. His head had been in a daze until he found out you were still alive. It was all still much to take in, but with you around, he felt more grounded with all things considered.

“You and Mark can take my room. We can sleep downstairs,” Jim offered.

The woman glanced in the room. “We’ll sleep in the same room. It’s safer.” She walked over to you and nodded. “I’m Selena and that idiot downstairs is Mark. It’s a good thing we were there when your boyfriend was being chased down.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” you muttered, but she ignored it, turning around to get Mark.

“You and Selena can take the bed,” Jim said, going in to clear up the space.

“No need,” Selena said, climbing back up the stairs, “We’ll take the floor and you lovebirds can get the bed.”

“Don’t get too carried away, though,” Mark teased.

Jim grimaced, obviously not a fan of Mark’s type of humor. Selena scoffed, setting her things down in one corner of the room. Mark was used to Selena’s serious demeanor and simply chuckled, slapping Jim’s back before pushing past the two of you into the room. You shook your head, your hand raising up to run through his messy hair where it had grown around his stitching.

“Does it look that bad?” Jim asked in amusement.

“I guess it doesn’t matter during a zombie apocalypse if you look good or not,” you teased.

Once everyone was settled down in their own corners, you and Jim adjusted yourselves on the bed. He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and sighed, passing it over to you. In his mother’s handwriting, it said: “Jim - with endless love, we left you sleeping. Now we’re sleeping with you. Don’t wake up.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have woken up to this… this nightmare.” His eyes were shut as he rubbed his temples. “First thing I saw was being alone, naked in the hospital bed. The whole building was empty and everything was just a mess. You weren’t there and I knew that you had always been there because I could hear you.”

“You could?” you whispered back.

Jim hummed and nodded.

“Could you hear my snoring?”

That made him snort. He shook his head at your attempt of lifting the mood before shifting around to lay on his side to face you. He leaned into you, slinging an arm across your stomach, very reminiscent of your last night here in his bedroom. Even after you had reconnected after college, life never made time for the two of you to spend time together like this. Now, with a raging virus spreading around the world, it seemed that any time would be the last time. You hope that would not be the case, that the two of you would find a way to get out of this alive.

#jim x reader #28 days later #cillian murphy imagine #cillian murphy fanfiction #28 days later imagine #oneshot #I'm still typing out ideas for an emmett x reader fic for a quiet place p II

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baseballbitch116 · 3 years

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Dixons Next Door - Chapter 4

Introduction: Anna was a small town girl from Atlanta when she became the guardian of her two younger siblings. She was determined to keep them from the same abuse that she endured from her family, so she moved into a small beaten up house just outside the city in 2009. The new neighbors next door - the Dixon brothers - were definitely trouble. She wanted to escape her past, not repeat her parents history with these redneck brothers. Matters only escalate when the news is talking about the possibility of some virus getting out and infecting people… Are Merle and Daryl just as bad as her past? How is she going to keep her brother and sister safe from this virus getting out? What did Anna get herself into?

Setting: Pre-apocalypse

Word Count: 6896

Series Warnings: Offensive language, mentions/suggestion of physical abuse, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, sexual themes, violence & death

Chapter Warnings: Alcohol consumption, drug use, offensive language, assault, violence, sensitive themes - potential trigger warning

A/N: I got a little carried away and made this an extra long chapter, but it’s a good one! There are some sensitive topics in it so this is a trigger warning - it’s nothing too bad but some people may not want to read it. 18+ You’ve been warned.

Previous Chapter

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I had been cleaning out the pool for the kids while they ate lunch the next time that I was interrupted by Merle. He came over with a beer and hand and stood nearby me, watching silently. I gave him a look but he made no comment, he just sipped on his beer. I sighed and continued skimming the bugs and leaves out of the pool. “Isn’t it a little early to be drinking?” I ask without looking back at him. He chuckles.

“Why ya cleanin it? Just gonna get dirty again?” He asks, ignoring your question. You roll your eyes and smack the skimmer on the ground to get the debris off of it.

“Why shower - just gonna get dirty again.” I remark sarcastically.

“Exactly.” Merle agrees, and I look up in momentary shock before catching the sarcastic smirk on his face. “Ew,” I mutter, tossing the skimmer to the side and throwing the chlorine in the pool.

“So what bar ya work at?” He asks, glancing into the pool for a moment before looking back at you. You want to lie, but there’s literally only two bars in this small town, so it’s not like it matters much.

“Happy Hour Tavern.” I respond, wiping my hands off on my shorts and crossing my arms. “Surprised I haven’t seen ya there yet.” Referring to the beer in his hand at two in the afternoon.

He smirks. “Ya wanna see me there?” He suggests, and I roll my eyes.

“Didn’t say that.”

“Don’t ya worry, sugar. I’ll stop by.” He assures me, and I know he probably will.

“Great,” I mutter, and he chuckles.

“Where ya kids at?” He asks.

“Inside eating.”

“Wanna make me somethin to eat, sugarlips?” He asks flirtatiously. I roll my eyes again and huff.

“My name is Anna, and no, I don’t really have the money to be feeding the neighborhood.” I respond.

“Ain’t the neighborhood, doll. Just a friend.” He winks.

“Oh, so we’re friends?” I ask, shifting my weight.

“Yeah sure. Ya seem to be cozying up to my brother and all, ‘course we’re friends.” He responds sarcastically. The grin is gone from his face and he seems more serious now.

“What?” I ask, baffled by what he means by ‘cozying up to his brother.’

“Don’t play dumb, sweetheart. I saw ya the other day. Got him doing shit for ya, too. Impressive.” He rolls his eyes and takes a large gulp of his beer. Suddenly, the mood shifts, and I feel uncomfortable. Is he angry at me for asking Daryl for help? He is so hard to read, everything was just fine - what happened?

“I needed help lifting a heavy ass box. He was there. Doesn’t mean I’m ‘cozying up to anyone.’” I respond sternly. I don’t like being accused of using people. Merle chuckles.

“Relax, darlin, I ain’t jealous.” He taunts, lifting a hand to shield his eyes and looking up at the sky. “Issa good huntin day, bet he’s goin out there soon. I’ll see ya around, sugarlips.” Merle says as he begins walking away from me, leaving me confused and startled. What the hell just happened?

I began getting texts from my father that same day. I wasn’t entirely surprised, but I knew he wouldn’t go to the cops.

1:04 - Bring back my fuckin kids

1:15 - U ungrateful bitch after all i done 4 u

2:06 - Ima have every1 lookin 4 u

2:10 - U best not let me find u

3:34 - Ima tell the pigs u kidnapped em

4:08 - Just wait til i find u

My brother even texted me a few times, too.

12:30 - Pa’s lookin 4 u. He’s mad

1:10 - U took them? Ur not they momma, u kidnapped em

2:30 - U best bring em back or u’ll regret it Anna

The texts continued on and off throughout the day but I ignored them. My prejudice, abusive family would not get the best of me. He was probably drunk and went to find us to pick a fight and finally noticed we were gone. I couldn’t help but worry about if he ever did manage to find us. We were only a half hour away, it wouldn’t be too hard. It was only a matter of how much he was determined to do so. He’s not a smart man, I doubt he could track us down very easily. Plus, everyone who knew him, hated him. No one who knew us would help him - they would know the kids were safer with me. I’d rather be poor than abused.

Eventually I left my phone on silent and tried to keep my thoughts occupied. I didn’t tell the kids, of course. The kids had been playing in their room for most of the day, having fun with the large box that my bed frame had come in, using it as some sort of rocket or something. So I let them be inside and sat on the front steps to think in peace. I looked up at the sky and willed myself not to cry. They did not deserve my tears. They didn’t even deserve a moment’s thought. I forced myself not to think about all that they had put me through in my childhood. The nights I spent crying myself to sleep on my mattress on the floor. The bruises and scars I hid at school. The lies I told to keep myself from being taken away - only so I could protect my siblings.

My eyes burned as I fought back the tears and I hid my face in my hands on my lap.

“C’mon, Anna. It’s over now.” I mutter to myself, trying to believe my own words. Anger boiled over inside of me at the thought of what my father might do if he found us and took the kids back. I would not let him. Even if it killed me - he would not ruin their lives like he did mine.

A crash of thunder made me jump, bringing me back to the present. I looked up just in time to see Merle approaching from the woods, resheathing a knife on his hip. I figured he was hunting, and that gave me an idea.

“Hey, Merle!” I call out, quickly wiping my face and jumping up to head over to him. He looks pleasantly surprised and stopped in his tracks, smirking as I approached him. “I have a question.”

“Whatcha want, sugar?” He drawls, wiping his hand on a rag from his pocket. I notice a bit of blood and then the bag over his shoulder, making me wince. I didn’t wanna know.

“I wanna get a gun. But I don’t know the first thing about them, and I kinda hoped you did?” I inform him, glancing behind me to make sure the kids hadn’t come out. He chuckles quietly and looks me up and down.

“Whatcha want with a gun?” He asks. I resist getting defensive, sure that he thinks a woman can’t handle one.

“To protect myself. Family problems, let’s leave it at that.” I inform him with a look. “Do you think you could help me?” I plead. I didn’t wanna go into town and get scammed into buying a crappy, overpriced gun. Merle looks at me for a long moment, looking up at the darkening sky before shrugging.

“Come with me.” He responds, nodding toward his house. I look at it then back to him, giving him a sharp look. “I’m serious, ya want me help or not?” He demands. I look back toward my house for a moment before sighing.

“I can’t be long.” I tell him, and he smirks, heading toward his porch. I hesitantly follow behind him, dreading entering his place. Considering the trash and overgrown grass outside, I had a feeling the inside was much worse. I stepped inside the house cautiously, keeping my eye on Merle as I did so. He seemed to be the only one here, which relieved me. If any of those men from the other night were, I would have left. Merle tosses the bag from his shoulder onto an old wooden table and heads down the hall toward a bedroom, leaving me alone. The floor is dirty, there’s an old, stained armed chair in front of a box TV, and there’s stuff scattered everywhere. The place smells a little weird too, but I resist complaining. Merle returns a moment later with a case in hand. “Here,” Merle opens the case and reveals a gun, holding it out to me. It’s a handgun, I know that much. I look up at him and he gives me an impatient look, so I hesitantly grab the gun. It’s heavier than it looks, and I make sure to keep my finger off the trigger. “Ya ever shot one?” He asks, smirking at me.

“Once or twice.” I mumble, having flashbacks to the one time my father tried teaching me how to shoot bottles in the backyard. It wasn’t a fond memory at all��

“Ya can have it, but it’ll cost ya.” He winks.

“How much?” I ask, and he chuckles.

“Ion want ya money,” He drawls, and I immediately frown, thinking I know what he is implying.

“I’m not doing that either,” I scowl, going to hand the gun back to him. He doesn’t take it, chuckling some more.

“Whatcha want a gun for anyway?” He asks. I didn’t want to get into it, but maybe this would be a way around having to do something for him for it. I let out a sigh and looked at the weapon in my hand for a long moment.

“My father,” I start, not meeting his eye. “He’s uh, well he’s a piece of shit basically. I took the kids from him in the middle of the night and got this place, never told anyone where we were going. If he comes around… Well, I’m gonna need this.” I finally look up and meet his eye, exhaling deeply. He looks at me for a long moment, his face expressionless. It’s quiet and I am surprised he doesn’t make any rude or sarcastic comments. He shrugs, placing the case down on the old table.

“Keep it.” He tells me, and I raise my brows at him.

“Really?” I clarify, confused why he changed his mind.

“Ya need it more than I do. Got plenty round here.” He mutters, waving his arm up in no general direction. “I know all about piece of shit fathers.” He continues, giving me a solemn look. “My pops was. You was right, yer gonna need that. So take it, before I change my mind.” He drawls, heading over to their fridge and grabbing a bottle of beer, kicking it shut behind him. I don’t argue, despite being shocked and confused.

“Thank you, Merle.” I give him a sincere smile for the first time, and turn the gun over in my hands to ensure the safety is on.

“Takes 9MM. It’s loaded.” He informs me, plopping into the beaten up chair by the TV and opening his beer, taking a large gulp. I nod slowly and shift my weight, feeling awkward holding the gun but trying not to let him know.

“Okay,” I respond, turning to head out the door as he turns the TV on. “Thanks again.” I holler before I head out the door into the humid air. The sky has gotten very dark with storm clouds and the wind picked up, so I jog across the lawn back to my house and tuck the gun into the back of my shorts, hiding it under my shirt before I walk inside. I don’t need the kids seeing this.

“Anna! Look what we did!” Colton calls out from the hallway with a big grin on his face. I smile back at him and walk down the hall to their room, letting out a dramatic gasp when I see the box colored on with a bunch of random colors. “It’s our rocket!” He exclaims excitedly, rejoining his sister inside the big box.

“Wow! It looks so good guys!” I exclaim, grinning as they go back to their playing. I watch them for a moment before remembering the gun and walking into my own room, placing the gun on the top shelf in the closet. This will have to do until I have more furniture and somewhere safe to keep it.

The texts kept coming throughout the rest of the night.

6:05 - ware tf r my kids

6:43 - dont make me hunt u down girl

7:16 - uv always been a cunt this is just like u

8:11 - wat r u gonna do when u get nocked up by some prick u dont have money 4 all dem kids

The string of insults and threats lasted most of the night, the only reason I kept looking at them was to make sure that they hadn’t found us somehow, or had any ideas. I would need a head start if they did. I’m not sure if I would be able to shoot my brother, but I know I could shoot my dad. He deserved it. After all he did to me, all he put us through. Even my dead beat mother didn’t deserve him. He was half the reason she’s as bad as she is. Apparently, my mother hadn’t started using drugs until after I was born. My father had escalated when he had his first daughter, and his true colors began to shine through. My mom used in order to live with herself, the guilt, his abuse. She even made sure to get clean each time she learned she was pregnant, but she always relapsed. She was a strong woman - I had to give her that. If nothing else, she was strong. But still a horrible mother. She should have taken us with her when she left.

But now it was my responsibility. I had to do what she couldn’t. I couldn’t help but think about my parents, my horrible family - as I stood in the doorway, watching them sleep. I may not be able to change what happened to me, but I would do anything it took to prevent it from happening to Bailey and Colton. If it comes down to it, I will kill my own father to ensure he never lays another hand on them.

Watching them sleep peacefully, side by side in their own brand new bed with clean sheets and a safe roof over their head - that made it all worth it.

Jessie and Beau came over at nine with beers and I set up a fire in the front yard. I had found this old firepit someone was throwing away on the side of the road the other night and I took it of course. I was excited for some relaxing adult time before my shift tonight. I hated my job, but I made good money there so far.

“What time you work tonight?” Jessie asks as she pops open a bottle of beer and hands it to me with a grin on her face.

“Eleven to three. At least it’ll go by fast.” I respond, taking a gulp. The alcohol burns as it goes down my throat and I let out a sigh, leaning back into the stairs. I hadn’t gotten around to getting chairs for the yard yet - an unnecessary expense I couldn’t afford just yet. Jessie sat beside me, a lemonade in hand instead of beer, given that she was pregnant, and Beau sat on the hood of his truck, rolling a joint. I always enjoyed nights like this - quiet, relaxing, worry free. Jessie had been the best friend I’d ever had, I’m glad we’re still so close.

“That man ever come back?” She asks, referring to a customer from a few nights ago. He had gotten too drunk and handsy, trying to get me to give him my number. He even waited until the bar closed for me and the manager had to call the cops to get him to leave so I could go home. That was the latest reason I hated my job that I’d only had for a few weeks.

“No. Hopefully he never comes back, I don’t wanna have to use what Merle gave me earlier on him.” I mutter, glancing behind me to make sure the kids hadn’t woken up.

“The neighbor?” Beau asks. I nod.

“What did he give you? Are yous like, talking now?” Jessie asks, leaning on her knees and giving me a worried look.

“No, it’s nothing like that. I wanted to look into getting… a gun, for protection. From Dad.” I explain in a quieter tone. “I figured someone like him would know a place, and he actually ended up giving me a handgun.” I continue, watching Jessie’s disapproving look and wide eyes. “I’ll be safe. I really need it. If Dad finds out where we are…” I trail off, taking a large sip of my beer and letting a huff out.

“Why’d he just give you a gun for free?” Beau asks, looking up from where he was rolling the joint on the hood.

“I dunno. At first he said it was gonna cost me, but then when I mentioned it was because of Dad, he let me just have it. Said he knew all about asshole fathers.” I shrugged. “Either way, works for me.”

“Just don’t let him use that against you. Who knows what he might try to pull, he reminds me of Mack.” Jessie rolls her eyes when she mentions my older brother, grimacing. She hates me as much as I do. He had tried to get with her a million times and it made him resentful, yelling and cursing at her. Which then resulted in Beau beating the shit out of him - which was a sight for sore eyes.

“Yeah, he’s a bit better than him though. From what I’ve seen, at least.” I shrug, taking another swig of my beer. “Dad’s been texting me most of the day, he texted me earlier too. The bullshit you’d expect - pretending to care I took the kids, threatening me.” I explain, handing my phone to Jessie to see the string of unanswered texts.

“I hate them,” She grumbles as she scrolls through the texts. “They won’t find you, don’t worry. They’re too stupid to figure it out.” I chuckle at her comment.

“Yeah, you’re right about that.” I giggle. Beau stands up and offers me the blunt, which I accept and take a long hit from. As I am doing so, I hear a man start laughing and sure enough, Merle and Daryl are standing at the bottom of their porch. I exhale the large puff of smoke and hand the blunt back to Beau, leaning on my knees and resisting the urge to cough.

“Damn girl, who knew ya could have a little fun!” Merle exclaims, walking across the lawn toward us. Daryl and I make eye contact for a short moment before he rolls his eyes and leans against the beat up railing, placing his crossbow on the porch stairs, seemingly waiting for his brother. I roll my eyes with a smirk at Merle’s comment. Ever since earlier, I’ve decided to cut him a little slack. If I was interpreting right, we had more in common than I thought - at least, regarding families.

“Yeah, sometimes.” I respond, offering my beer bottle to him, earning a surprised look from Jessie. I was trying to be nice to Merle to repay him for the gun, so he wouldn’t come collecting in another way. It was the least I could do for a free handgun and clip. Merle looks shocked for a short moment but smirks and takes the bottle from my hand, taking a large swig.

“Yous her family?” Merle asks, looking at Jessie. She hesitates for a moment before shaking her head.

“Friends.” She responds, readjusting her feet uncomfortably. I stand up and suddenly I’m aware of just how close Merle was to me. I am almost touching him as he leans against my railing, my bottle in his large hands, a smirk plastered across his face. He looks fairly attractive in the fire light and his seemingly clean-ish clothes. He’s wearing black cargo pants and a white T-shirt under a jacket, and I take notice of the knife holstered on his hip. “Going hunting?” I ask, taking a step away from him toward the fire and tossing another log in.

“Mhm,” He responds, taking another sip of my beer. “Wanna come with, sweetheart? Can show ya the ways.” He suggests flirtatiously.

“I actually know how to,” I smirk, stepping closer to him and grabbing the beer from his hand, taking a large sip while looking into his eyes. The alcohol and hit were starting to get to me - I was a bit of a lightweight nowadays, since I’ve lost weight and had less time to do this kind of stuff. Merle bites his bottom lip and holds the intense eye contact with me, taking the beer back when I hand it to him and I can feel his eyes on me as I retake my seat beside Jessie.

“Yer loss.” He shrugs, pretending to be indifferent.

“C’mon man!” Daryl shouts from their side of the lawn impatiently. I wish that he would come join us too - I wanna get to know him better.

“Ugh I’m comin! Get yer panties outta a bunch!” He shouts over his shoulder. Merle hands the beer back to me after one last gulp and heads off to rejoin Daryl, walking away into the dark woods.

“What was that all about?” Jessie demands when they are out of earsight. I shrug and set the beer down, not wanting to get anymore intoxicated, given that I still have work later.

“I dunno, gotta be nice. I kinda owe him.” I mumble, kicking at dirt. Truth be told, I found those brothers interesting. Mysterious and dangerous, but alluring. Yes, they were trouble, but I always ended up attracting trouble anyway.

“You better be careful.” Jessie warns me, and I nod.

The night went on peacefully and we all enjoyed talking over the fire and relaxing with the kids asleep. I left for work and Jessie stayed at my place while Beau went out with his friends after dropping me off. He was gonna pick me up after work too, since he was gonna be in the same general area.

My shift was going fine until about one, when I recognized a familiar face and my whole night went sour. The creepy man from the other night was back, and he had his eyes on me. He was with another man at a table instead of the bar, but he was very obviously watching me. I informed the manager on duty but it wasn’t the same man from the other night, so he didn’t know the extent of how creepy the man was. He only came up to the bar once, having his buddy order drinks while he watched me. I remained calm and didn’t even glance at him, handing the drinks to his friend and accepting the two dollar tip without a word.

It took about a half an hour to finish cleaning up after everyone was out of the bar and I was dreading heading outside. I had a feeling that the man would be waiting for me again, but the manager didn’t want me wasting hours and had to stay behind to finish up, so I had to go out alone. I hung up my apron at the door and sighed as I locked up behind myself, leaving the manager alone in the building to finish recounting the drawers. I had already stuffed my tip money into my purse and had my keys tucked between my fingers as I looked around cautiously for a sign of anyone. There were still people out, despite being a bit past three in the morning. Beau hadn’t answered my texts in the last half hour and Jessie was asleep, so I had to wait. Great. Across the street, I spotted a nice looking motorcycle across the street, but that was the only vehicle besides far down the road.

I started walking toward the street light by the corner to wait for Beau when I heard a male voice call out. “Hey! Bitch!” I grasped my keys tighter in my hand and turned my head, spotting the man and his buddy down the alleyway. They stood up from leaning on the wall and started heading my way, so I started walking faster, but then they started running.

“Help!” I hollered and started running across the street. The adrenaline kicked in in my body as fear took over and I ran as fast as I could down the opposite side of the street. They were close behind me and I tried to hop over a fence, but they caught up and threw me onto the ground before I could get all the way over. “Help! Please!” I screamed as loud as I could, trying to kick the men away from me. The main guy sat on top of my hip and shoved a hand over my mouth, smirking evilly down at me as his buddy started trying to lift me. I kicked and flailed as hard as I could but I couldn’t get away as they drug me across the ground into a back alley.

“Hey!” I heard a different male voice holler and then there was the sound of glass breaking. The main man let go of his hand over my mouth to look behind him and I took that opportunity to scream as loud as my lungs would let me, before the second guy punched me in the face. I swore I saw stars as my face throbbed, the two still pinning me, my head propped against the second guy’s chest where he held a knife to my throat.

“Get off her. Now.” A deep male voice demands. I can’t see with the main guy on top of me but I am grateful for whoever it is coming to my rescue. The men only chuckle evilly but then something happens and the second guy jumps away from me quickly, making me slam my head down on the concrete. I groan and my vision goes blurry with tears as the stinging in my head intensifies. “Help…” I mutter as I fight to stay conscious, my head throbbing. The cold, rocky concrete is painful against my cheek, but not as bad as the weight of the man or the stinging in my head.

I can finally see around the main guy and spot a man a few yards away, aiming something in our direction. It’s hard to see with my blurred vision and the darkness, but it looks like a weird sideways weapon. “Ay, man. Chill out. We was just having some fun, that’s all.” The second guy insists, holding his hands up a little. I try to wiggle away but the man on top of me grabs onto my throat and holds a knife toward me.

“Think I won’t? Get the hell outta here or I’ll kill her right here, right now.” The man growls. I stare at the sharp tip of the knife in my face, fearing this is where my life will end. What will happen to Bailey and Colton without me?

The next moment is a huge blur. One second, there is a knife in my face, and the next, the man falls off of me, screaming in pain on the ground beside me. I jump up off the ground as fast as I can and stumble away from them, running blindly in the direction of where I had seen the shadowy figure of the other man. I stumble and trip in the combination of darkness and the pain throughout my body, reaching out to the brick wall to catch myself from falling but someone else catches me and I start flailing and trying to get away, until I look up.

It’s Merle. He hoists me up from where I was half fallen on the ground onto my feet and puts a hand around my waist to keep me up against him. His face is serious and it’s the first time he hasn’t cracked any jokes to me. I’ve never been more relieved to see someone in my life. I reach up and hold onto his neck, trying to keep my balance. The man continues screaming and cursing and I look back, spotting Daryl holding up a crossbow. “Oh shit! Fuck!” The second man screams, running away and leaving his friend behind with an arrow in his ass. Daryl walks over to him and takes his knife, pressing a foot on the man’s back and yanking the arrow out from his asscheek. I turn and hide my face in Merle’s shirt, disgusted and terrified. The screaming continues and then I hear a second scream and a trash can get knocked over. When I look back again, the other man is laying on the ground toward the back of the alley, an arrow in his leg.

Daryl stalks over to him and rips the arrow from his leg as well, kicking the man in the face before heading back toward the first man. “Ya ever, ever - come back here again… I’ll kill ya.” Daryl growls at the main guy who had been stalking me. Daryl rejoins us and puts a hand on my back hesitantly, looking down at me. I’d never been this close to either of the brothers and yet, somehow, I felt safer now.

“T-thank you.” I mumble into Merle’s chest, holding onto him tight, too afraid to let go. Tears stained into his shirt but I couldn’t bring myself to care - I was shaking and biting back crying.

“C’mon,” Merle mumbles, grasping onto my tight and trying to turn me around. I held onto him tight and let them lead me away, not paying attention. I saw Daryl grab my purse and keys in the corner of my eye and noticed Merle was leading me to a motorcycle. “You take her back, little brother. I’ll meet ya there after I finish up here.” Merle lets go of me and I feel like I’m going to fall over from the pounding in my head, but Daryl grabs onto me before I can fall completely over.

“Damn,” Daryl mutters, grabbing me tight and I notice that we are face to face. He’s got me by my waist and my hands grasp onto his shirt collar. “Sorry…” I mumble, blinking away fresh tears. He doesn’t respond but he helps me onto the back of the motorcycle. “Hold onto this.” He takes my hand and places it on these handlebar things, and I do. I do my best to stay up straight while he attaches my purse and his crossbow onto the back of the motorcycle and then sits in front of me. I whip my head toward the alley when I hear more screaming, but Daryl starts the engine and revs the bike. “Hold onto me. Tight.” Daryl hollers over his shoulder, and I do so without hesitation. I wrap my arms tightly around his waist and lean my head against his shoulder, terrified to fall off. I’ve never been on a motorcycle before - if I had been in a normal state of mind, I would have objected. But at this point, I wanted to get home as fast as possible.

The motorcycle is fast and the wind blows past us. I keep my eyes closed and focus on holding onto Daryl, feeling lightheaded and scared of falling off. It’s a short ride and he has to help me off of the bike. Holding onto his rough hand made me feel anxious and insecure but I had to in order to keep upright. He led me inside his house, and I did not object, as I did not want the kids to see me or for me to wake them up. He leads me over to a beaten up couch and I hesitantly sit down, looking around cautiously. I didn’t know if anyone else was here, but it seemed we were alone. I held onto my own arms tightly and tried to focus on my breathing. “I should uh, check ya out.” Daryl mumbles, crouching down in front of me. He waits for me to respond in some way, so I nod and uncross my arms. He runs a hand up my bare leg and I force myself not to flinch. I’m not afraid of Daryl, but tonight’s events have me shaken up. “Stand up,” He says, offering me his hand to help me get up. He lifts up my shirt a little and I flinch when he touches my back. “Yer pretty scratched up.” He comments, removing his hand from my back. “Should put somethin on that, so it don’t get infected.” He stands up when I sit back down and walks away, presumably to grab something. I hold onto my head and wince in pain where there is a large bump already forming.

Daryl returns with a few items in hand. He gives me a package of peas and shrugs, not meeting my eye. “Don’t have ice packs.” He mumbles, kneeling in front of me. “Turn around.” He tells me, and I move so that he can get to my back, placing the ice on my head. He starts applying something cold to my back and I sit as still as I can, wincing at the pain from where I was drug across the concrete. “Yer shirt’s all torn.” He notes when he pulls it back down. “Lemme see yer head.” I remove the ice and he gently runs his fingers through my hair, eventually finding the lump and I jump in pain, tearing up. “Sorry,” He mutters. “How do you feel? Ya might have a concussion.” He says, and I groan.

“I can’t afford to have a concussion.” I mumble and lean back into the sofa, holding the ice against my head once more. Daryl places a gentle hand on my cheek, below my eye, where I was punched. I look into his eyes as he gently rubs his rough thumb over what is surely a black eye. “M’sorry this happened to ya.” He mutters, looking away.

“Thank you for saving me.” I respond quietly.

“Wish I’d been there sooner.” He grumbles, standing up and removing his vest, tossing it onto the seat. He is wearing a black button down shirt and black jeans, his hair is matted against his forehead - but he looks very attractive. I look down at my bare knees that are now scratched up and feel my eyes burning again.

“What were you doing there, anyway?” I ask, changing the subject.

“Merle wanted a drink. Said ya worked there, wanted to bother ya I’m sure.” I let out a small chuckle and he continues. “We were leavin to head back, but we heard ya yellin.” I nod and look down again, trying not to think about it. I should be used to this sort of thing by now, given what I went through as a child.

Before either of us can say anything more, the door opens and Merle steps in, wiping his hands off on a rag. I notice the faint red marks on his knuckles and wonder what he had been doing, but try not to think of that either. Whatever he did, I didn’t care. Those men deserved it.

“She good?” Merle asks his brother, looking over at me huddled on their sofa. Daryl nods and explains my injuries briefly to Merle, who huffs. “Lucky we were there, sugar.” He comments. I don’t respond, hugging myself and shivering a little. Daryl notices but Merle heads to the bathroom, probably to clean up. Daryl walks away but returns shortly with a shirt and sweatpants. “Here. Ya can change in my room.” He mutters, handing the clothes to me. I am shocked but I accept and stand up slowly, following him back to his room. He shuts the door behind himself and I stand there for a moment, surprised to be in his room. He’s a lot sweeter than he likes to come off, it seems. It’s a very standard room. Pretty messy, no decorations, basic sheets on the bed, old paint. He clearly doesn’t care much for the room, it seems like he probably only uses it to sleep. It’s not “homey.” I remove my now ruined shirt and skirt and throw the large T-shirt on and tie the sweatpants on tight so they will fit me. The shirt is baggy and I notice it smells like Daryl. I hadn’t known what he smelled like before today but now I recognize it. It kinda smells like the outdoors, like firewood or something. It’s a nice scent, though, and I find it comforting.

I open the door with my old clothes in hand and spot Daryl waiting down the hall, leant up against the wall. Merle comes out of the bathroom at the same time and we make awkward eye contact. “Look like a Darylina.” He comments with a chuckle, walking past me toward the kitchen. Daryl looks at me for a long moment, until I meet his eye, and then he drops his gaze to the floor. I slowly approach him and give him a forced, appreciative smile. “Thank you.” I tell him gratefully. He has been so kind to me tonight. Before today, I hadn’t barely spoken to him before and he was always standoffish and seemed to avoid talking to me. It was a weird change, but welcomed. If only the circumstances it occurred under were different…

“Want me to throw em away?” He asks, referring to my clothes in hand. I shrug and hand them to him. He tosses them into a trash can and Merle walks over to the chair by the TV, popping open and beer and kicking his feet up. He seemed so nonchalant about the whole situation, it was weird. “Oh shit,” I mutter, realizing Beau is probably worried, waiting for me. “Do you have my phone?” I ask Daryl.

“That’s what yer worried bout?” Merle speaks up.

“No, I had been waiting for my ride. He’s probably worried.” I explain, looking to Daryl, hoping he had grabbed it. Silently, he pulls my phone from his pocket and hands it to me. “Thank you.” I unlock it and find a million missed calls from both Beau and Jessie. He must have woken her up when I never showed up. “Shit.” I grumble. I hated worrying them, after all they do for me.

“Yer boyfriend?” Merle asks, gulping down some of his beer.

“No, my friend’s boyfriend.” I respond as I text both of them in a group message that I was okay and that I would explain.

“Why would yer friend’s man be pickin ya up at three in the mornin?” Merle asks with a wink.

“Ew, no. I’m not like that. He’s a good friend, she’s watching the kids for me at my house right now. I gotta go let them know I’m okay…” I trail off, then remember I’m in Daryl’s clothes. “Uh, I can go change and bring these back-” I start, but he shakes his head.

“Keep em.” He insists, and I feel bad, but don’t fight back. “Ya might have a concussion, so ya should have someone check up on ya when ya sleep tonight, and get it checked.” He explains.

“Doctor Daryl.” Merle jokes sarcastically, and his brother shoots him an evil eye.

“Thank you guys for helping me. I don’t know how I can repay you…” I trail off, refusing to think about the course of the night again.

“Don’t worry bout it, darlin.” Merle smirks.

“Couldn’t just leave ya there.” Daryl mutters awkwardly, shuffling his feet.

“Well, still. Thank you.” I repeat before heading toward the door. Daryl follows behind me, handing me my purse and keys, and I wave before walking out and heading back to my house slowly, careful not to trip. I look back and notice he is watching me and I feel my cheeks heat up, fumbling to get my key out and open my door. I notice Beau’s truck is here and when I open the door, the two of them are sitting on the sofa, waiting for me.

Jessie and Beau were furious when I told them what happened and I ended up crying on her shoulder, letting the emotions from the night settle in. Beau threatened to go back out looking for them but I told him what I suspected Merle did and he didn’t. Jessie helped me get cleaned up and settled into bed. She slept next to me in my bed that night and woke me up every two hours, in case I had a concussion. Beau slept on the couch and I had never felt more appreciative for anyone more than I did for them and Daryl in that very moment...

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dwellordream · 3 years

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now that i have access to my full book collection again i am once again recommending the following post apoc/dystopian faves:

station eleven by emily st john mandel: my favorite book of all time. ever. i adore it. the quintessential ‘soft’ post apocalypse novel.

some twenty years after a virus wiped out over 90% of humanity in the span of mere months, a traveling orchestra and theater company journeys around the northern US and canada, performing for the various settlements and villages that have sprung up.

under the motto of ‘survival is insufficient’ and led by the capable Conductor, the orchestra is a collection of misfit survivors unwilling to settle down and incredibly pedantic and passionate about their craft.

kirsten, a former child actress, spends her free time scavenging for memories alongside her best friend august. they are left behind when the orchestra runs afoul of a dangerous cult and must fight to reunite with their friends and evade the prophet, the cult’s obsessive leader.

station eleven is notable for having very little violence and very few explicit scenes despite being in the post apocalypse genre. rather than being focused on gore or action sequences it is almost entirely character focused and jumps back and forth in time from Before and After the virus. it has a special regard for the beauty of life in spite of its horrors and how family is the people you choose, not the one you’re born into.

the water knife by paolo bacigalupi: set in a dystopian USA on the verge of total environmental collapse, the water knife is a cyberpunk thriller revolving around a young migrant girl desperate to escape her dangerous home territory for greener pastures, a hardened ‘water knife’ who essentially works as a mercenary for a sinister corporation buying up what little water remains, and an intrepid journalist who wants to make a difference.

extremely dark and violent but incredibly compelling and suspenseful, very hard to put down. some very sharp commentary on immigration, environmental destruction, and unchecked capitalism.

california by edan lepucki: a sort of real time post apocalypse book that covers more so the slow deterioration into apocalyptic conditions than any one catastrophic event. which makes it all that more scary.

essentially shows how a series of terrorist attacks, separatists movements, and environmental disasters lead to society grinding to a halt and most people fleeing the cities for the countryside or in the main characters’ case, the forests of california.

mostly focused on how people adapt to a life without the technology and convenience they were raised with and the debate over how to raise future generations (or if to raise them at all). not a super violent book but has some incredibly disturbing scenes and moral questions about survival and the greater good.

the handmaid’s tale by margaret atwood: yes everyone knows this one but the handmaid’s tale still holds up as terrifyingly believable and a very convincing portrayal of how evil flourishes when good people look the other way and do nothing.

very different in tone and smaller in scale from the hit tv show, the book focuses not on a rebellion within gilead but the mundane and horrifying life of offred, a woman living within the system as a handmaid for the ‘crime’ of marrying a divorced man.

atwood published the book in the 80s and portrays an america turned into a theocratic nightmare after an alliance between the christian right and sex worker exclusionary radical feminists leads to a series of ‘cultural reforms’ that culminate in a terrorist attack which destroys most of the federal government and leads to a brutal civil war.

the handmaid’s tale is compelling because it’s a story of small everyday resistance which allows offred to endure and survive, rather than the promise of a great rebellion. offred is very purposefully your average everyday woman who led a perfectly mundane life and who did not realize the road she was on until it was far too late.

as a handmaid her ability to still appreciate the beauty of life and hold out hope for change is what keeps her alive even under terrible conditions.

the blondes by emily schulz: basically the book can be summed up as this: a ‘rage virus’ infects the world’s blonde and female population, bringing society to a screeching halt. looks at a world in which women, particularly white women are no longer seen as vulnerable and in need of protection but as the number one deadly threat.

half satire half serious, takes a look at policing, state violence, and reproductive rights. pretty much an all women cast of characters who talk about any and everything but men.

find me by laura van den berg: a mysterious illness sweeps the US inducing memory loss, dementia, and death in its victims. the protagonist is one of the few immune to the sickness, and is ironically plagued by her own memories of a traumatic childhood in foster care. she sets off on a quest to find her birth mother, who she knows is living in florida.

in order to do this she just has to break out of the lab she’s being held as a test subject in, evade dangerous groups of survivors, and somehow make the journey hundreds of miles south on her own.

pretty much the definition of ‘it’s about the experience, not the destination.’ less about finding her mother and more about finding herself in a world that can’t remember anything and never offered much to her in the first place.

#recommendations #station eleven #the water knife #california #the handmaid’s tale #the blondes #find me

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kyle-valenti · 3 years

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burnout only feels like burning

2.7k / Summary: kyle valenti doesn't have the same quarantine as his friends; an exploration of kyle's trauma during covid as a doctor. (tw depression & other triggers you’d imagine with this subject)

read & comment/ ao3

A little like the virus itself, Kyle’s relationship with his mask begins with worry, annoyance, and then pain. He’s more than happy to have the proper N-95 mask as they begin to get their first case at Roswell General but then a couple more patients trickle in and within a few days his skin is irritated and itching. Maybe it’s the news, maybe it’s the texts from his friends that he’s increasingly missing, but when the Regiment starts spouting off about how COVID is a joke he thinks it might be affecting his nerves too. By week three his former red mark left by the mask has become a permanent feature to his face and by week five it’s not a mark but a bruise instead. Blisters and cracks in his skin litter his hands from over-washing. His feet become so overused the pads of his feet feel numb and bruised and he wears through an entire pair of shoes.

Positivity has fled from his life by week seven and now he’s inside of a survival mode he’s never experienced. He thought after last year he’d be used to anything the world (or universe, rather, given all these aliens) could throw at him. Now what feels foolish, he had believed that there was nothing that could be worse than the previous pain of losing a patient or finding out his father had experimented on people’s lives.

When he’s out of ventilators and CPAP machines because Albuquerque needs them more and he has to choose whether or not to save the life of an eighty five year old or a thirty two year old he remembers from high school, he breaks.

Guilt is one thing, grief is another, but the pure rage he feels knowing that Max Evans is out on the town patrolling as some fucking cop and not someone who could heal most of this hospital makes him want to commit actual murder. Maybe trading the blood of an alien on his hands would feel less heart-wrenching. But no. Max had brought back Rosa and had paid the price. Quelling his anger, he went back to work.

He slept at the hospital most nights in the height of it. Sure the couch was rough, but it was better than the other on-call doctor beds down the hall. Three twelve hour ER shifts of a usual work week doubled to five days of thirteen hour shifts. Soon there’s a week where he pulls double shifts for an entire week when one of his nurses is urgently hospitalized herself. Hospital directors had left them with no PPE except contaminated masks to reuse. Maria, Isobel, and Rosa are in the forefront of a drive to make and donate masks to his hospital after some social media posts that he doesn’t even see until the cloth masks arrive and his medical assistants give him their handwritten note. It makes him smile, but smiling feels so foreign that he almost wants to break from that.

Visitors are no longer allowed which means Kyle isn’t allowed to use his bedside manner to comfort the family of patients. He has to facetime mothers, spouses, and children and hold the phone over a patient who can’t breathe without machine assistance and pretend that everything is fine and that there’s still hope despite the hypoxia and lack of rising vitals. Ignore that if the patient goes into cardiac arrest more than once, the kindest thing to do given prognosis is to let the patient pass. Resuscitation and DNR (a patient’s begging request to not be resuscitated) becomes a word he uses in his daily work and not simply for intense surgeries.

Exhaustion isn’t a deep enough adjective to describe the fugue state he goes into. File to file, room to room, ventilator to next… he isn’t surprised when his body starts to wear down. When he no longer feels hunger and instead feels all too hot and dizzy. Telling himself it’s just because of how much he’s exerting his body while covered in layers and layers of protective clothing doesn’t help the fact that he’s starting to have more trouble breathing as he walks the hallways at a fast pace. When he begins to cough, he does what he promised himself he wouldn’t do and drives out post-shift to the desert cabin of Max Evans.

Part of him is too desperately tired to knock, but when he arrives on the property with the cop car idle and the house dark and at peace for the night, his fury greets him with the embrace of a long-lost friend. Knuckles pound at the wood and Max answers the door with surprise and a general look of defense, and Kyle tries not to immediately punch him in the face at the fact he looks like he had woken up from a comfortable sleep.

“Heal me.” Kyle manages to spit out.

“I—what’s wrong?”

“Beginning stages of respiratory distress, fever, nausea—what do you fucking think?”

“Kyle—,” Max starts to say, the hesitation deepening, and that does it.

“No. I have not asked you for anything in all of this, Evans. Anything!” He shouts, voice hoarse. “Not when people got sick, not when they started dying, not even when we started having to let people die on purpose. And you know what? I wasn’t going to even come and ask you now, but I can’t get sick when I’m the one here fucking saving lives out of the two of us and you’re just cruising the streets handing out goddamn traffic tickets.”

Max’s face isn’t stony like it usually is when Kyle’s yelling at him; this time it’s crushed and guilty but not nearly enough. “What kind of hours you work this week, Evans? A nice 8 to 4? Did you get facetime with Isobel or your mom, maybe binge through a few books and movies after you’re home? Did you sit down and eat a nice dinner and or go over to drink a few beers with Guerin since you can’t get sick? Even get a nice eight hours of sleep in your own bed in your nice quiet home?”

No response.

“I am not asking to sequence your DNA like Liz. All I am asking is for you to let me heal people since you don’t want to.”

A night breeze is all that makes noise for a moment as Kyle catches his breath and glares at Max, who stands quietly but is staring down at his boots before he finally looks up and nods. Max steps forward then, and Kyle sees that his eyes are actually filled with tears. Temper deflating, but still not subsiding entirely, given that not much else is able to be done; Kyle lets Max place a hand on his shoulder and feels the extremely weird feeling spread throughout his body. Something more electric than anything else, which God knew made a lot more sense concerning his powers and how the body operated with electrical nerve impulses, but that is a train of thought better left for another day. He wants to just walk away, and he almost does, but he still mutters a “thank you” before he does so.

When his nurse dies a few days later and he watches as the staff double bag her body to take to the morgue, he escapes to his office and crashes on his couch with sobs. There’s no one here to support him. He can’t go to his mother’s home and collapse into one of her comforting embraces without risking infecting her. He can’t get wasted at the Wild Pony with Maria when it’s closed. He can’t visit Rosa or Arturo at the Crashdown. Keeping his friends and family safe meant keeping them away from him. Keeping them safe meant he needed to stop pushing his head into his hands to try and control the sound of his crying and get back to work at saving the lives around them.

He gets put on leave by the hospital administrator when he’s almost arrested for decking Wyatt Long in the hospital parking lot as the idiot stood outside with a sign rallying Regiment members to make sure the hospital was told it was killing people on purpose for the election. If Jenna hadn’t been the officer on duty he would have been cuffed and put on record, jeopardizing his license, but there was some self-preserving part of him that desperately wished for his practice to be over anyway. He’s not even sure how Jenna handles it, honestly, all he remembers is her dropping him off at his house from her patrol car like she had been nothing but an uber. No matter how angry and adamant he gets, his boss refuses to bend, saying it’s for his own good given the connections the Long’s have in the town and how Kyle has worked almost 74 of the past 76 days.

Alex is the first to visit him, unannounced. When the doorbell rings Kyle is mindlessly pretending to watch some tv show in his living room that’ll distract him from his consuming thoughts about patients, so he doesn’t get up to answer. He checks his silent phone to see if he was forewarned of a visitor but sees nothing. Unsure if it’s his boss or a patient’s family, he forces himself up onto his sore feet and opens the door after grabbing a regular mask off the coffee table. Black face mask on and standing further out from the door on the porch is Alex, the usual gruff hello turned into something soft. “Hey.”

Kyle heaves a sigh. He had wondered when the pity visits would begin. “Hey. You really shouldn’t be around me, you know.”

“I’m clearly a minimum of eight feet away in an open space while masked.” Alex smarts back. “Either way, I’m worried about you.”

Scoffing, he shakes his head. “Don’t fucking worry about me. Worry about getting sick, because if I have to see another person I care about die, I--,”

“Kyle.” the other says too kindly, the sort of pacifying voice Alex reserved for only the most dire situations. “I have no idea what you’re dealing with in specifics, but my experiences do overlap with yours in some places.”

“And?”

Maybe it came out a little too rude, because Alex raises a brow, but then sighs instead. “And I’m just checking in to make sure you know people care about you.”

“Thanks, Manes.” Kyle huffs in return, managing not to roll his eyes because focusing on being blunt and abrasive was so much easier.

“Just be careful.” Alex interjects before Kyle could close the door and turn back to his show. “Dealing with the trauma of what you’re dealing with gets dark very quickly.”

“Because I punched Wyatt Long?” he spits back sarcastically.

��No, because the suicide rates for healthcare professionals are drastically increasing along with the rates of PTSD diagnoses.” Alex says flatly, ever one to be unfazed by sarcasm. “And I’ve lost more active duty members to suicide than I have combat.”

Kyle pauses, caught. Maybe Alex had known he would be, because there isn’t some way he can give a smile and reassuring wave with him like he could his mother or Liz. While Kyle hadn’t actively thought of a plan, he couldn’t pretend he had noticed signs of depression the second he was alone in his house.

“The quiet is the worst part, right?” Alex says, all but reading his mind. “Not always because of the flashbacks, although those are horrible, but because if things are quiet then--,”

“--people are dying.” Kyle finishes, his voice raspier by the end of the three words. “Yeah, well, mine still are.”

“They’re going to.” Is what felt like a cold response, but somehow gave Kyle the understanding he’s been craving. “They’re going to die and because of your profession you’re going to be able to save some of them. Which will make you think you’re responsible to save all of them and because you’re a good person you’re going to feel guilty in ways that no one will understand for being human and failing to.”

“Failing is all I do lately.” Kyle replies. “Usually the wins feel higher than the losses as a doctor, but with this-- and no one outside of it cares. They go outside and yell about how this is about a fucking election and when it’s not the patients, it’s the hospital pretending they don’t have enough money to buy us proper protection. Or the government saying this will all go away and that it’s just a light cold.”

Alex gives a small nod. “I know. I also know telling you the same advice that you’d give another doctor of trying not to burn out and instead taking a small rest is useless. So I’m just going to drop off these dvd’s and make you report back to me the difference when you’re done.”

Star Trek and Star Wars. Kyle finds a smile tug on his lips. Alex leaves with one on his as well.

When he gives a response to Alex a few days later on how Star Wars is better not more than a few minutes later Deluca is texting him with recommendations on joining her Buffy the Vampire Slayer rewatch. There’s something sweet about the fact that people have been clearly talking about him, even if definitely borderline creepy with how nosy his circle of friends can be, but he sighs and lets Maria add him to the group chat she has with Rosa and Liz where they review each episode after the fact and even chimes in every now and then. Isobel gets added not long after due to an Instagram story Maria shares and then the group has moved onto Friends after everyone shoots down Liz for suggesting Grey’s Anatomy on behalf of Kyle. Alex is also in there, even if it’s rare he chimes in with an opinion, but once they start Friends his commentary about how much he hates Ross that gets the entire group riled up does tend to make him laugh. Even Kyle agrees with Forest-- whose opinion had been shared by Alex-- that Chandler had all too many queer-coded scenes with Joey.

His mother facetimes him daily, which given how they both don’t exactly go out much starts to become monotonous, until she begins to give in and talk about memories she has of their father. Tidbits she never would have shared with him about their adult life when he was a child or teenager. He in turn facetimes Rosa and shares some of the memories of their father as well, which as much as she tries to pretend she doesn’t want for Arturo’s sake she clearly does with the million questions she asks every single time and the small smile she gives him at the end of their calls.

Liz updates him on her work which is a nice reprieve from everyone’s normalcy and lack of medical jargon sometimes, especially when she gives him inside info on covid vaccine studies not yet published to the general public yet. Everything in him wants this more than anything else in the world right now and he texts her almost every day asking if she’s heard more news even when he knows things take time. She’s a good sport about everything, even when he shares in a very angry rant about Max Evans and how they could have helped so many more people so much more quickly with his DNA-- however selfish that might have been.

When he goes back to work, he feels refreshed, even when it makes things hit like a freight train once more. Lost in a sea of inadequacy, his feelings extend past the pandemic. Even when things return to a level of normalcy and the cases subside he gets alien medical drama thrown in his face once more, and he starts to wonder if he’ll ever recover. If he was wrong to choose this calling. If the fact he can’t help Max or Maria is a sign from above or his father that it’s time to make some career move or change location like his mother and Liz. But, like he tells Michael Guerin. He can’t think he can face his future children and say he walked away from this. Or let people die by quitting, just like Rosa warns. And so he stays and tries to heal both other people and himself.

#so yeah this was the lighter version #i had to stop before things got to dark for my own mind #also genuinely feel like the mentions he gives to rosa about feeling lost #should stem from this if the writers aren't cowards #kyle valenti #rnm fic #kyle valenti fic #roswell new mexico #tw covid #tw depression #my fic #my post

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