#still rotating the guy in my head like its a microwave

[gabe-lovebot]

hello councilnation how are we feeling

[kanonavi]

hello new mutual navi <3 what are your thoughts on tgcf <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Hiiii new mutual Star <3 It's nice to hear from you, even though Hua is a menace and is terrorizing us <3 <3 I'll have you know I was at orchestra rehearsal and was unable to defend myself from their vicious attack, this was all very rude of them lol

But yeah tgcf omg.... I have so many thoughts about it tbh. For reference, I'm currently 6 volumes in (7 is in my possession, just waiting on my roommate to finish it first. If I read past him he'll get sad) and have watched all of the donghua so far and it's like. There are few things that I have felt more like the Target Audience for. My roommate clocked me for this, so this entire thing is his fault and now I've read 6 entire not-insubstantial novels in half a year.

To get the obvious part out of the way, I adore hualian, and out of all of my ships I think they're the closest I've ever gotten to loving both characters in it equally. Like in xiaoven I have a bias for Venti and in xingyun I have a bias for Chongyun, but with hualian I really and truly struggle to pick a favorite. If I had to choose, Xie Lian would probably win out just barely over Hua Cheng, but probably only because we're in his head for the books and thus get to experience his silly thoughts and awful trauma firsthand. However, they are rightfully a set, do not separate in my mind.

I do have a favorite character outside of the main pairing though and that character is Shi Qingxuan and I love her so so so so much it's not even funny. My roommate didn't predict this even though Qingxuan and Venti are so incredibly same guy, it's like. Of course I, renowned Venti enjoyer amongst my compatriots, was going to love the character who's the master of the wind, is a bit silly goofy, enjoys their drink, and also has a cool Gender going on. I have, however, been cursed (blessed) by my roommate's takes about her that don't seem very fandom mainstream, so I am just going to be content rotating her in my brain endlessly. She is in the microwave. Also, it's been an absolute treat watching her in s2 of the donghua, she is everything to me.

The last thing I'll add for my bare minimum thoughts about this series is that I do actually like it for very similar reasons that I like Genshin Impact. In Genshin, I've always been very fond of the immortal characters because I love the way that the writers at mhy explore the humanity of inhuman characters. The Gods and Dragons and Adepti and God-made Puppets and otherwise in Genshin aren't human, but the struggles that they face are incredibly human, whether living like and alongside humanity is one of their goals or not.

Tgcf, with its humans (exceptional humans, but still humans) that ascend to godhood, is much the same to me. Most of the Upper Court officials are completely detached from humanity much of the time, but their struggles and their vices are completely and totally human. Xie Lian is the most interesting of them all to me, since he's used his godhood to live the human life that he was never allowed when he was actually human, and I could go on an entire rant about that but I'll spare you the details. Every character in the series is so interesting in the way that their human problems have been left to grow and fester over the course of the centuries, and it's both awful and enthralling to watch.

oops that was so long my head is very full of thoughts. Thank you for the ask, even though it was kind of an arranged playdate lol I appreciate the chance to ramble <3

[thedndgoblinwholivesinyourwalls]

it is late but have my thoughts.

I have found myself having nark rotating in my brain microwave. Which suprised me because i began to like the ship just since i thought it was funny. (i still think its funny/pos)

And while I still have a head canon that lark is aro- my brain has decided to focus on nark. So. yipeee.

I like it since we saw the two guys and where like ‘now kiss’ and honestly understandable.

But one thing i have to say is can we have more romantic nark stuff. maybe its just the top posts on tumblr but its always bordering on sexual stuff. (No complaints to the people who make that, good on you, just could we have more romantic stuff)

Apologies for my rant that went nowhere :D

(reason of need for more romantic stuff is my asexual ass self- which is ok with some stuff but agh- apologies apologies)

[yuuugay]

Would you mind if I asked you about your OC Ner Wanless? I'm a bit curious about what could possibly drive him so far down that Caine would raise his blade at him 🕺🕺🕺 Had he left the Shepherds by then? Did he become a vigilante? Where are the other Shepherds (Blade, Chase, etc.), and if they were still around and not, you know, Dead, had they cut ties with Ner? WHAT WAS HE DOING? 🗣🗣🗣

Staring intensely at your OC. Thinking. Rotating him in my head like a microwave. But a sleepy microwave. Because it's 4am and I fear I'm about to pass out, gnight 😔💔

cringe story blurb incoming

My story is just a lil au add on to shoh :))

This story happens when the whole magic ban by the autarchy is lifted akjdjdhd. Also, in my au, nobody in the Shepherds die ajjsjd i love them all. Ner cut ties with them instead.

The Shepherds were kinda just like a passing phase for Ner

(He knew he wouldn't stay that long, and that he would leave someday. Only for the protection from the autarchy and money). It was mostly a bad choice in his part to not say anything to anyone, except Caine and Blade. To Caine, whom he left a short letter (A letter in which I have already written out kajdjjd) and his weapon too. So he became a sort of vagrant (Wayfarer, traveler ect, ect. He prefers the life of never settling down.)

Along the way, he got himself some sort of curse that forces him to kill to sate the curse's bloodlust. Nobody could lift it because it's so old and archaic. So he starts taking mercenary requests, but I like to think the curse has its periods where it's strongest that he needs to kill more. But mercenary work takes a while. Him being good at psionic magic, he could dig deep inside peoples minds to find their wrongdoings that haven't yet faced consequences. He didn't find a fault in it; it helped him, and it rid the world of someone terrible, regardless whether the killed tried to repent for it or not. So in part, yes he became a vigilante, but to an outsiders pov, he's straight up just a murderer.

Ofc, a random, dangerous Aetherai-Psionic mage killing seemingly innocents periodically would find themselves facing the Shepherds best one day. Which Ner found himself in the unlucky battle between caines team and himself. I would imagine the battle would be Ner holding back while Caine has to begrudgingly admit that his old best friend is a murderer. Ner refuses to explain himself, he thought it was probably too late anyway. He was already a bad guy to everyone. So it was a battle of *Emotional damage* Lots of stuff said, maybe a lot of cuts and cruises and blood spilled.

but the real damage done was to Ner's insides. Cause you know, he ends up dead anyway.

But ofc, this all would be irrelevant if Lena gives us the option to let MC die. I'll probably do that, but it's always nice to have my own interpretation of what could happen.

So yeah, nothing really that crazy. Just something self indulgent I thought of a while back.

[loressa]

Burgertime

----

Salt, fat, sizzle, sear - the components are basic and mandatory. The burger is the star and never let anyone tell you otherwise...even if that someone is a stupid bullshit Goodwill microwave because *someone* (Brenda in HR) is too fucking cheapass to upgrade.

I dont have time for this - Timmons needs a submit by noon for a merge by five because Perkins is absolutely horrible at his job - but fuck Perkins. I want a burger, specifically MY deliciously seared burger from last night, so it's time to settle in and wait. Triple beep on that idiot machine (fuck you, Brenda) and the microwave power's at 50% for that slow, deep reheat.

Some TV while we wait - Pedro seems to be really doing it dirty to Janessa Maria. Would NOT be surprised if he ends up stabbed with all those side chicas he's had going for weeks.

Annoyingly, the lunchroom TV cuts from daytime telenovelas to grainy cellphone zooms of movie monsters spilling out of weird machines. I check on my burger - ten minutes left and still rotating nicely, despite all expectations - and then focus back on the news again.

Invasion. Aliens. Doom. This channel sucks. Flip through a few, but it's all the same broadcast - burger doing great - and that's when I realized what's happening.

This bullshit castoff Oliver of a microwave is all please-maam-may-I-have-moreing my burger into a dry, shitty crumble. Fuck you, Brenda. Power down even lower, might help, has to help. I still hate Brenda.

Back to ten minutes and what is this bullshit on the TV. Timmons' task floats into my head and I kick myself - I didn't drop those completed components into code review. By the time I get back from that, we're at eight minutes, the burger is lightly sizzling and I've realized the entire office is empty.

Fucking corporate yoga. I can even hear them upstairs - graceful, my ass, they sound like elephants tap dancing. Seven minutes to heaven, though, so who gives a shit. I think I'll add some BBQ sauce, just to be heathenous.

I hear a crash from the area near Perkins' desk, but who cares. The guy is a mess. Six minutes. Looking juicy. Another crash. Did they have a lunch out? Perkins *likes* to drink, why do you think he's useless after lunchtime?

Flip channels for a bit, but it's all the same stupid YouTube alien movie promo crap - five minutes, die in a fire, Brenda - so I browse Reddit looking at food pics. Another crash and now it's starting to seem a bit weird. I glance at the microwave, mouth almost aching - four minutes - and sigh. Gotta help Perkins.

Aaaand, nope, that's an alien. That's totally, completely, absolutely, how the fuck is that an alien. He's... she's? It's tall, scaly, oozy, slimy, totally not human, pure nightmare factory, and appears to be baffled by a stapler. Why does Perkins even have a stapler?

You how know under pressure our brains turn into trapped rats trying to find the easiest way out and we think and do amazing shit? So yeah, three minutes left and burger is looking good.

I thank my Brenda-esque brain for absolutely nothing and dart back into the lunchroom, which has apparently become my safe house against an alien invasion. Yay, I always wanted to fight for my life surrounded by old egg salad and leftover pasta.

Right about now is when I realize my problem. See, the microwave has been going with an ambient hum since Sumeria was the shit, so any changes are going to be instantly noticed...and we're at two minutes left. Also the burger is looking amazi-

Right, yeah, pull it together girl. Fuck you, Brenda. With a REAL microwave, I would have been out of here alr-

Well, hold on now. I creep back to the door. The alien's apparently given up on staplers and is kinda scanning the room. Like, literally, scanning. There's old 90s style movie graphics sprouting out of his/her/its eyes.

One minute left - hi burger, you're beautiful - and I'm fumbling with my phone. This whole situation is stupid enough, might as well try....

And there we are. WiFi scanner is picking up something absolutely weird and confusing, clearly some sort of network we can't identify. The alien's got some tech - or biology? - emitting a signal.

I groan. I know the answer. I hate the answer. I sigh. I curse fucking Brenda. 10 seconds left. I back away and close my eyes. Everyone sacrifices in trying times.

3, 2, 1 - the rotation stops and the stupid little defunct microwave gives a happy chirp of a ding. Done! Aren't you proud of me? Never, Brenda-spawn.

A claw appears around the door. Oh fuuuuck, yep, this is happening. I duck down behind a table and reach up to fumble at the microwave door. Hopefully aliens aren't vegan. I manage to jab it open and suddenly the delicious, intoxicating smell of the perfect burger floods the lunchroom, rich and redolent.

Apparently demons like burgers, but I was counting on this. Everyone likes burgers unless they are useless bitches named Brenda. S/he/it leaps for the microwave and I slide sideways - this is a horrible idea - putting myself closer to her as my arms fumble at the countertop. Oh, god, it stinks like childhood trauma and ozone. Too late now and here we go - the creature realizes I'm here far too late, flailing and turning with way too many arms writhing about. His head is at the same level of the counter top, body coiled to strike.

My lunging fall nearly fails, apparently my aim is terrible, but I trip on a chair and surge upwards again, hands finally wrapping around the microwave.

"You like to transmit shit about Earth?????!" I want to scream but instead I just kinda squeak as I grab the horrible microwave with its beautiful payload and slide the entire thing over the creature's head.

"Farrady cage?" I whisper hopefully, quickly backing away, because that - and my burger - was really all I had. For a second, the alien is still, simply standing there with his/her/its head crammed in a microwave, before its head gives a sudden, anticlimactic plop and sinks to the ground, ooze puddling out on his/her/its shoulders.

As the creature falls, his/her/it's body gives a shake, some final death throe, and, with a rattle, a little brown disc comes soaring out of the microwave. It's a beautiful, heartwarming moment. The alien's dead, Berlin is playing take my breath away and I've been reunited with my hamburger.

The rest of earth can wait a few more minutes for me to save it. This shit is finally hot and ready and it's lunchtime for momma.

[nexfarious]

hi! i finished binging dq recently and i wanted to share some of my thoughts bc the brainrot it has given me is literally insane like. You dont understand. i didnt want to put this probably gigantic block of text in the ao3 comments so i figured id send it here so you can decide if you want it posted or not!

back to the topic i need to put thief in a blender (said with as much affection as possible btw). theyre soo painfully realistic and have a very unique perspective on the killing game which isnt rlly explored in fanfics so im eating it up! their talent is so cool and i cant wait to see them use it more later on. i also love how despite their paranoia and distrust they are still. Kind. Like they still reached out to ryouma and it literally saved his life!!!!! btw i think not killing him off in ch2 was a really good writing choice bc i think him dying after That scene with thief would just destroy them entirely -but on the topic of ryouma! im very glad you decided to give more spotlight to characters that werent given much of it in canon (or fanon ngl). him and tsumugi are characters that im rlly interested in but the game straight up gave them next to nothing, which i guess is very usual for danganronpa but yknow. Its still disappointing

thief and saiharas relationship makes me want to use both of them as a chew toy bc theyre so. So!!!!! im literally obsessed w them. we are still pretty early in the killing game but so many of their moments are already rotating in my mind At All Times. from the detective/criminal dynamic, to how much they care abt each other (thief obviously having a soft spot for shu despite not trusting people is soooo cute i need them gone). though that one scene in ch19 (i think?) where its said that their situation wld be considered romantic if it thief didnt have a knife at his throat is Life Changing and ive been thinking abt it so much -the contrast is just so good and the scene itself is so sad. also "Maybe this really was truly Shuichi, another side reflected to all of you, gleaming in the light like shards of a prism. Maybe you couldn’t see all of the sides right now, in this moment, but what you could see was so wonderful, spots danced in the back of your eyes." is such a beautifully written paragraph but the fact that thief thought this in the middle of a trial is so hilarious to me but i still support them. sometimes you really need to admire your Friend in a life or death situation to be able to push through. I get it

ok enough of those two. i love how you take the time to explore thief's relationships w other people as well. the break up scene between them and tsumugi had me blankly staring at my screen for good 30 seconds i think. the brief thief/ouma collab was great as well. i already mentioned ryouma but he is so dear to me head in hands.......cant wait for ch3 to physically beat the shit out of me

i have more thoughts but i also think this is too long already so ill stop it here. anyways i love your writing so much and im looking forward to more of dq! take care of yourself and have a nice day/night!

hi umm . this ask destroyed me emotionally, threw me out the window and then stole my lunch money /pos

this is genuinely so so lovely to read, i can’t believe you would take the time out of your day to come and tell me what you think of my fic,,, that’s so sweet <3

thief is my little freak whom i need to microwave at the highest temperatures. i think a lot of people should be more selfish in the killing game tbh, there’s a lot of characters who are ready to throw away everything for each other, i mean even a lot of the killers have selfless motives (kirumi, kaede) which is totally fine but!!! where my selfish bitches at where are the guys who just want to survive. despite all their paranoia though, they are a good person at heart which is something i’ve always found compelling in writing them.

WHY DIDN’T RYOMA LIVE IN CANON!!! you’re telling me a major theme of the game is overcoming yourself and pushing through despite hopelessness and then you just . kill off the other guy who’s canonically suicidal? it kinda left a bad taste in my mouth tbh. “oh you have nothing left to live for? die” i love ryoma i love mugi (obviously) and they deserve better than what the game gave them

they haven’t had much time for each other because we’re not even halfway through the game but UGH thiefhara means so much to me . thief wants to keep everyone at arm’s length but is actually way too soft to go through with it because there’s a detective with pretty eyes (which is so real btw) . i cant tell you anything about the plot but let it be known that chapter three is gonna have quite a few important moments in their relationship!!!

tbh the knife scene was something i just came up with as i was writing and thought “yeah okay that would be funny” and now people seem to love it,,, good thing i love it too

thief’s friends are so incredibly important to me btw . tsumugi who just wanted to be their friend but was rejected and has turned to angie and tenko, ryoma who still doesn’t have a reason to keep going but wants to try because there is someone who cares enough to reach out, kokichi (derogatory/with love), kaede who betrayed them in thief’s mind and still haunts them - someone who broke their trust after they went out on a line for someone, kaito whom i need thief to spend more time with because honestly he deserves more scenes

i hope chapter three slam dunks you into another dimension anon (said with so much sincerity and love), we got major canon divergence incoming ^-^

ANYWAY !!! don’t ever apologise for sending me your thoughts it’s actively encouraged and motivates me to write!! if you ever have anything more to say you are more than welcome to leave a comment or another ask i promise it makes me giggle and do a little spin in my chair of evil . hope you’re doing well too anon

[uniquezombiedestiny]

🔥+uhhhh *spins the wheel of ocs* mason from lcorp agents

he is being rotated in my head. so fast. im biting him. hes in the microwave. being irradiated /pos

these posts.............. being stranded......... jumping to conclusions............ you have been Through It(tm)

also he knows the reality of the world hes in so well. he talks about it a lot. he thinks about it a lot. but he still cares for people so much!!!!!! hes still human after everything!!!!! despite the nature of the world and everything terrible hes seen and done he is still friendly and caring :) i like that. both things

oh also also. afaik he doesnt know anonager is dead and i cant wait to hit him with that like a baseball bat (there are spikes on it. thats seph-a sending the ask about it. with an extra thing to say :) <- evil)

also some posts i Think about (wtf they embed. ew. ew. e [ft. anonager time])

^ this one is from seph-a btw. its also a lie

so is this one! the favor part is a lie so they dont feel bad. if anonager lived the lies probably wouldve progressed too

so over all i Think of him sometimes 👍 <- microwaving him rn

[mischief-managed-snitches]

Obispo Losa

Part two of Obispo and Lily. I have so many ideas for this and I'm so excited to try them out! Thank you all for the love and encouragement!

Warnings: Swearing, Angst

As always, I do not own anything Mayans related. I do own my character and her story.

My first language is English. I do know some Spanish but I am not fluent. I will be keeping the Spanish in this story to a minimum to avoid butchering a beautiful language.

"Come on, it'll be fun!"

"You said that last time, Leti."

"I know and I'm really sorry about what happened, but I swear nothing like that would ever go down here. The guys wouldn't allow it."

"I don't know, Leti..."

"Come on! Bishop has been asking about you. He wants to see you."

"He said that?"

"...In so many words."

"Leti!"

"He has been asking about you! 'how's your friend, Leticia? How's her arm? Have you seen her today?" Leti dropped her voice to mimic the low bravado that was Bishop's voice.

"He did not ask you all that!"

"He did!"

"Really?"

"Yes, Lily!"

"Okay, what time is this party?"

"Uhh the guys have a meeting and then we usually party afterwards. Maybe like eight o'clockish? I'll text you the address."

"Sounds good."

"Oh and Lily, wear something slu-"

Click.

Lily tapped the red button quickly, not wanting to hear the rest of that sentence. She would wear whatever she wanted and it would not be to impress any man. Or so she thought, until the clock ticked 7:30 and she was buzzing around her bedroom, ripping open drawers and rifling through her closet like a mad woman. Swearing under her breath, Lily's frustration mounted as nothing seemed to fit right.

Lily was a bit curvier than most women, especially her friend Leti. Borrowing an outfit from her would be out of the question and some how everything in Lily's closet just seemed wrong. Blowing out an annoyed puff of air, Lily looked back over her clothes, trying not to be so critical. Bishop probably wouldn't even notice, not with all his friends around. Or so she hoped...

Gravel crunched under her tires as Lily turned off the road and into the driveway of what looked like some kind of auto mechanic business. A sign for oil changes and tire rotations hung out front, welcoming visitors into what looked like a run down garage. Random cars sat around, looking like they were falling apart or maybe just scrap pieces for other projects. A house sat connected to the garage, a porch welcomed any visitors and a large fire pit sat in front of its steps with a few picnic tables dotted around.

Parking her car off to the side, Lily wondered if she had the wrong address. Eyeing the row of motorcycles, she changed her mind. This had to be right.

Lily stepped out of her car just as the front door opened. A man she recognized immediately stepped out. Black hair buzzed close to his head, thin mustache, thick muscled arms. Oh yeah, she remembered him. He had steadied her when the guy had shoved her and then later, Leti had hugged him like they were best friends.

Lily offered him a smile, noting the way his leather vest differed slightly from the others she had seen. "Hi, I'm Lily, Leti invited me?"

"Yeah, hi, EZ."

"Wait, what?"

"Ezekiel Reyes, EZ for short." He grinned, "nice to meet you Lily." His eyes seemed to twinkle in the fading light. Somewhere in her mind she knew instantly that he was someone she could trust and with that realization a portion of her nervousness evaporated. EZ met her at the bottom of the porch steps, shaking her hand gently.

"Nice to meet you too." She couldn't help but return his smile, it was infectious.

"Leticia's inside, you can head on in, I'm going to start a fire." EZ jerked his head toward the door.

"Thank you!" Lily stepped inside, looking around at the unusual decor. A large statue of Saint Mary stood by the door, various framed pictures hung on the walls and the furniture looked like hand-me-downs from an array of different homes with different styles. The place was definitely decorated by men. Lily laughed to herself, smile growing as she spotted her friend across the room. Though the place was dimly lit, Lily could plainly see Leticia working hard behind the bar. Her hands moved quickly, preparing drinks, or food, or both. Glancing up as Lily shut the door, Leticia let out a squeal.

"You made it!"

"I did!"

"Yay! Get over here and help me prep this stuff! The guys will be out any minute."

"Out?" Lily dropped her purse on the bar stool at the end before walking around the bar. As expected, there was a mini kitchen set-up back there. Fridge, stove, microwave, sink, what little counter Lily could see was covered in random food items. Everything from salsa and chips to hot dogs and hamburgers sat before them.

"Yeah, they had a meeting tonight, but it should be over soon." She nodded in the direction of a rusted sliding door. "They'll grill the meat for us, but I like to have the sides and stuff ready to go a while."

"Okay," Lily wasn't sure what kind of meeting she meant, but it didn't matter anyway. She was too busy trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach to ask anything else. Leti handed her a knife and a bowl of peppers, instructing her to chop them up.

Lily had just finished the bowl and was washing her hands when a metallic screech filled the. Lifting her eyes as the door rolled open, Lily watched as the first few guys stepped through. One broke away from the rest, smiling at her as he plopped himself on the nearest bar stool.

"What's up, how are you?"

"Good, thank you, better than when we first met."

"Glad to hear it!" He swiped a stand of black hair away from his face, smiling at her warmly.

"Lily, this is my dad, Coco."

Lily felt her brows raise, surprised by the information. He looked so young, more like a brother than a father. She didn't comment on it though, instead, she smiled, offering her hand, "nice to meet you, Coco. Thanks for helping out the other night."

"Nahh, that was all Bish. We were just back up if things popped off."

"Sounds like they did later!" Leti jumped in.

"Yeah! Heard Bish broke that pendejo's nose!"

"Serves him right!" Lily stayed quiet, smiling as Leti and Coco continued talking. They really did act a lot alike and the resemblance in their faces was uncanny.

Eyes flicking to the doorway again, Lily was surprised by the amount of disappointment that washed through her.

"Bish is still at the table. Thinking things through I guess." Coco supplied, meeting her eyes with a knowing smile. Lily blushed, nodding as she looked down at her hands.

"Why don't you take him a beer? Tell him the meats on the grill?" Leti suggested, elbowing her gently.

"Yeah, that ones his favorite." Coco leaned across the bar, pointing to one of the many bottles they had just uncapped for the guys.

"Do you think that would be okay?" Lily asked awkwardly, shifting from one foot to the other.

"As long as he's not talking business with anyone, he shouldn't care." Coco shrugged, taking a bottle for himself.

Lily nodded again, grabbing the bottle he had pointed to and striding confidently across the room. Her bravery didn't last long though. By the time she was standing in the door way her anxiety was back in full swing. The coast was clear, no one else was with him.

He sat alone, smoking a cigarette, papers laying in front of him. The room was dark, one single light hung overhead, casting a soft glow over Bishop's chair. He looked like a king sitting in the spotlight. His bulky frame illuminated against the dark of the room.

It's now or never.

Lily cleared her throat, stepping into the room hesitantly, praying he wouldn't throw her back out. He looked deep in thought and extremely tired, probably not in the mood to chit chat. This was a bad idea. Lily berated herself. What made her think this was a good plan?

Bishop's head lifted, cigarette nearly falling out of his mouth as he realized who was joining him. Her breath caught in her throat as he looked at her. Dark eyes fell all the way to her feet, taking in a pair of blood-red heels before dragging slowly up her body to land on her face. The black dress she'd chosen clung to her body in way that she hoped was flattering and not accenting her every bump and roll. She shifted on her feet, suddenly questioning her decision to wear this outfit. That was... Until she watched his tongue poke out of his mouth, wetting his lips almost nervously. Dropping his cigarette into a nearby ash tray, Bishop stood up, almost toppling his chair with his hastiness.

"Lily?"

"Hi, Obispo." She smiled, heat rising to her cheeks as he stared openly at her. "I umm... Brought you a drink." She lifted the bottle, stepping closer to hold it out to him. She swallowed hard as he walked around the table, wrapping his hand around the neck of the bottle, grazing her fingers as he took it.

"Thank you." His mustache lifted as he smiled at her, eyes twinkling with something she couldn't place. "Am I drinking alone?" He spoke teasingly, lifting the beer to his lips and taking a slow sip.

Lily watched his throat work as he swallowed it, clocked the way his plush lips pressed against the glass. Clearing her throat again, Lilly took a step back. "I-I don't really drink, but I uh... I wanted to let you know the meats on the grill a- and the food will be ready soon."

"Thank you," he said again with that same smile on his lips. He was amused by her awkwardness, finding her stammering cute. He liked this kind of nervousness, jitters brought on by attraction and not fear. Seeing her retreat another step, Bishop pushed off the table where he was previously leaning. "You don't have to go."

"I should help Leti with the rest of the stuff." Lily jerked a thumb over her shoulder, stumbling as she bumped into a chair.

"Watch that, querida." Bishop gave her a lopsided smile, taking one long step forward, the urge to be closer to her guiding his feet.

"Yeah..." Lily took another step back, tripping over another chair in the process. This time she couldn't catch herself, she was too shaken, too flustered. Bishop lunged forward, wrapping an arm around her waist before she could fall.

He pulled her upright, tugging her against his chest, steadying her with one hand all while holding his beer with the other. The little gasp that left her lips had his heart stuttering in his chest. "Easy does it, querida." His breath fanned her face, his voice low and soft.

He smelled of cigarettes and leather and a hint of spearmint. His hand laid heavy on her back, fingers splayed wide, each one burning a hole through the material of the dress. He was warm and tall and all hard planes where she was short and soft, fitting perfectly against his broad chest. Lily's small hands pressed to his stomach, torn between pushing him away and letting him hold her.

"Bish..." It was soft and breathy and effecting him in way that was completely inappropriate for only talking to her twice.

"I'm here, Preciosa." He spoke with the same volume as her, hushed, low, a tone that shot right to her belly. Her insides seems to melt and mush. A shiver crawled down her spine, goosebumps raising on her arms. He gazed down at her, dark eyes boring into hers as his thumb traced a slow circle on her lower back.

"Lily! Get your ass out here and help me!" Leti yelled from the other room sounding agitated. Lily startled in his arms, and just like that the spell was broken. Her hands were pushing off his stomach and she was stepping away before he could stop her.

Bishop dropped his arm reluctantly, feeling as if all the heat was zapped from his body as he did. It took everything in him not to reach out and pull her back, instead he gripped his beer tighter, sinking back into a chair as she disappeared through the doorway. Releasing a sigh, Bishop raked a hand through his hair. Shit.

[liklty]

Wizard And Sorceress - Hisirdoux Casperan | Becoming: Part 3

Plot: (Y/N) (L/N), a 17-year-old girl who has long known she was a sorceress, has been roped into her cousin’s Trollhunter adventures alongside a couple of friends.

Word Count: 4609

Warning: Like, one swear word or two

A/N: Woah! This was a kind of a long chapter. I had quite a bit of trouble writing the middle part of this chapter, but I hope you guys enjoy it! 

The next morning, you were sitting on the end of the sofa that was across from where Jim still laid, your back facing the television as your legs rested on the plush seats. You'd already prepared your and Jim's lunches and had yourself ready for school. You took a quick glimpse of Jim before looking back at your phone. It was now just a matter of waiting for your cousin to wake up.

Jim awoke with a start not a moment too soon, shocking you and causing your head to snap towards him.

 “Jim!” 

“(Y/N)!”

“Hey, are you doing okay?” You asked as you put your phone on your lap and pushed your legs over the edge of the couch.

“(Y/N), you’re never going to believe this-” Jim came to a halt, surveying his surroundings, “Did you bring me here?” He asked, briefly pointing at you.

“Oh, yeah, I did. I didn’t want to leave you on the floor, so…”

“Does- does that mean you saw-!” He made a circular motion with his hands before pointing to the basement.

“The two um... um, beasts? Yeah, I saw them. Are you okay, though?” You asked as you stood up and sat down next to him, “Did they hurt you in some way?”

“I’m fine, but I’m freaking out here! Apparently, I've been chosen to be some kind of Trollhunter, and there's like, a bunch of trolls living underground or something, which I have to protect,” He stood up and began to walk around.

Huh?

He faced you, “What do I do?!”

“I- uh- why are you asking me?!” You asked, taken aback as the information began to sink into you, “I don’t know! I’ve never been in this type of situation before! Plus, I give shit advice!” 

Jim sighed and rubbed his temples. “You came down right?” He asked as he came to a halt and stared at you with absolute concern and worry. “Did they cause you any harm?”

“Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” You responded, waving a hand dismissively, “They just kind of up and left when I came ha...” 

“Okay, that's good,” The boy said with a sigh of relief. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before his eyes jerked open and he hurriedly glanced at the time, “Wait, we have school!” he said, looking at the clock. We need to get going- I haven't even made lunch yet!”

“Don't worry, I got it covered,” You said as you stood up and threw his bag at him. “I tried my best,” you said with a wary smile.

“Let's just hope it doesn't kill me.” He told you jokingly, chucklingly at the end and you joined in.

As you went to get your bag, he thanked you before the two of you headed to the garage. He was about to call Toby, but you reminded him that Toby had an orthodontist appointment today, so he probably wasn’t able to chat.

----

You and Jim went home after school and cooked a couple of burgers together. You found Jim starting at the amulet that was visible from his bag pocket as you put a meat patty on the last burger. It had a blue hue to it.

You were about to ask him what’s wrong, but he spoke up, “Hey (Y/N), follow me..” He told you as he picked up his bag and walked towards the backdoor.

“Uh- okay, but why?” You asked, trailing after him, clearly confused. 

“I want to see something,” Jim answered simply.

You did nothing besides hum and accompanied him to the backyard.

You could hear barking and then a lady crying out, “Parker! Parker, come here, bud!” 

As you stood beside him, Jim held the amulet up for you to examine. The object started to rotate clockwise rapidly, with the hands and gears trailing along. Blue letters in an unknown language appeared at the edges of the object until it began to spin clockwise rapidly. You furrowed your brows, perplexed by the current situation. It would come to a halt a few times, the letters forming into different languages each time. It came to a halt once more, this time with the letters translated into English.

“For the glory of Merlin,” Jim read aloud, “Daylight is mine to command.” 

As the fences rattled, the wind started to pick up, sending a swarm of leaves rushing past the two of you. As your eyes darted around, an uncomfortable feeling settled in your stomach. Jim examined the amulet closely before seeing a blue orb emerge from it. You took a step back, stunned but awestruck.

It twirled around you before moving on to your cousin, leaving a trail of blue mist behind it that faded away slowly. Then it flew into Jim's chest and vanished, making you panic more than you already were. Suddenly, more of the same blue orbs emerged, doing the same action the previous one had done. The boy then started to float into the air, causing your eyes to widen as swirls of blue encircled him. Armor materialized and latched onto him, which appeared to be very large on him. He squeaked as he returned to the ground and the armor adjusted itself to suit him comfortably. He took a good look at himself before smiling and looked you.

“This is so freaking cool!” He shouted, jumping about gleefully before striking a superhero pose.

“Oh my god!” You exclaimed, “You look exactly like a knight!” you screamed, jumping with delight before pouting, “Where’s mine? I would look so cool and a suit of armor,” you grumbled.

Jim laughed in front of you until he saw more of the blue orbs emerge from his armor and fly towards his hand. His palm glowed, and a massive sword formed in his hand, which dropped to the ground due to its weight. The boy grunted in frustration as he attempted to lift it up but failed to do so.

Fortunately for him, the sword shrank to the ideal size for Jim to comfortably carry. You were giddy with delight as you watched your cousin wave his sword about aimlessly, which resulted in him having his sword trapped in a large rock behind him.

“Why don't we see if I'm worthy of taking the sword of the stone?” you hummed as you strolled up to the rock with a smug grin on your face.

“Okay, let's see you try,” Jim said as he stepped back, crossing his arm and smirking. He put his weight on his left leg and watched you.

You have a confident nod and tried to lift the sword out of the rock, but when it wouldn’t budge, you placed your legs on the rock, one on each slide of the weapon. Using all your muscle power, which, to be honest, wasn’t much, you attempted to try to pull it out, only to fall to the ground. You groaned and rubbed your butt.

“Better luck next time.” Jim grinned smugly, patting your head, “You couldn’t lift a vacuum even if you tried.” He jokingly said. 

you feigned a gasp, “First of all, that thing is really stuck in there good, and second of all, how dare you call me out like that! It’s not like it’s my fault I have no muscles! Excising takes a lot of time and effort that I don’t have and makes me sweat so much! I hate sweating. It makes me all icky and yucky.” You make a face vomiting noise, “I'd like to see you attempt to get it out.”

“Glady.”

As you got up and moved to the side, Jim grinned innocently at you. He walked over to the rock and attempted to remove the sword, but he, just like you, was unable to achieve this goal.

“Ha!” You said, "Why don’t you look at that! Even you won't be able to do it!”

He eventually got it out after a few attempts, only to have it get stuck in a nearby rock. You erupted in laughter.

----

When you and Jim arrived at Marlo Mueleas' dental clinic by bike, you and Jim parked near a bench and were greeted by calming music when the two of you walked into the clinic. You were about to take a seat in one of the plush chairs until you saw Jim walking over to the room where Toby was.

“Don’t go in there, he’s with a patient.” The lady behind the desk said, but Jim paid no mind to her and went in.

With a raised brow, the lady looked at you. You just apologetically smiled at her before settling into one of the seats, pulling out your phone, and shanking into the seat.

----

“It's been eight hours! I can't believe it took so long!” As Toby rubbed his cheek, Jim exclaimed, pacing around the kitchen.

You hummed in agreement, also quite shocked that his appointment took that long.

“Two molars, plus insertions and some cleanup,” Toby clarified, raising a finger for each point.

“Yeah, but it shouldn’t have taken that long.” You said, crossing your arms and placing your weight on your left leg. 

Toby just shrugged his shoulders.

“Okay, Tobes.” Jim said, grasping the boy’s shoulders before running to his bag, “You are never going to believe this.” 

"My mouth is still a little sore," Toby complained, prompting you to take out a cold box of pizza and hand it to him. It wasn't an ice pack, but you think I'll be able to do the job just as well.

“Thank you!” He thanked, placing it on his cheek. 

“Take a look at this,” Jim said, putting his amulet in front of you and Toby.

Jim locked his gaze on the object, his lips pressed together in a thin line.

“Do you have any aspirin?” Toby asked dully, bringing the box to his nose and inhaling deeply, “Mmmm.”

“Toby, pay attention,” you gently nudged the brunette, smiling down at him. “You won't regret it.”

He gave you a brief nod before returning his gaze to the dark-haired boy.

“For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to-” Jim exhaled.

The sound of a bell causes you to flinch and turn your head towards the source. It was just the microwave. Toby patted your back before removing a slice of pizza from the microwave. How did he sneak that in there without your knowledge...?

“Are the two of you punking me right now?” The boy asked, closing the tiny door behind him and turning to Jim.

“Okay. Wait, wait, wait, wait.” Jim closed his eyes as he was deep in thought and breathed in deeply. His amulet started to glow in his palm.

Toby gasped as his friend floated into the air, his jaw-dropping as his eyes widened, “Holy champignon!”

You giggled at Toby’s awestruck look. 

Once Jim was in the suit of armor and had his sword in hand, he dropped to his feet, “oh-ho-ho-ho!”

“Look!” you desperately pointed at your cousin as you roughly shook Toby by the shoulders, bubbling with excitement, “Look! Look! He's a knight! He’s a knight!” 

“Whaaaaaaat,” Toby gasped breathlessly, “Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh!” Toby approached his friend and examined him, exclaiming, "So cool, so cool, so cool! Dude, you know what this means, right?,” He said, pointing to the amulet he wore over Jim’s heart. “You have a sacred responsibility here!”

“That’s what they said!”

“Oh, my gosh!” Chanted Toby as he bounced over to you. He grabbed your hands and you bounced along with him chanting, “ Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh!  Oh, my gosh! Oh, my-”

“You have to use these new powers for the benefit of all mankind,” Toby said as he bit into his pizza.  “You have to use this to kick Steve's butt!”

“Yeah!” You agreed, pumping your fists into the air.

Jim tilted his head in disbelief as he looked at Toby, “Really?” He asked, casting a quick glare at you before returning his gaze to Toby. “I just showed you a glowing sword and a suit of armor that can only be magic and that’s how you respond?”

“Seriously! It’s butt-kicking time.” 

“I agree!” You said, slinging your arm around Toby’s shoulders and placing your other hand on your hip.

“See? She agrees.” Toby nudged his head towards your direction and crossed his arms proudly, “Wait- also, who’s they?”

Jim scratched the back of his head, “Well, that’s the part that I’ve been freaking out over!”

As the three of you snapped your heads toward the back door, you were startled by the pounding. The same blue troll you saw two days ago appeared in view through the glass, waving at the three of you with a huge smile on his face.

Toby gasped, pointing at him,  “What- what the heck is that?! Don’t open the door!”

The blue troll burst through the door just as he finished speaking.

“Ha-ha! Master Jim!”

Toby screamed and ran behind Jim, dragging you behind him.

“I’m calling 911.” He whispered before shrieked again, pulling Jim close to him as he saw the larger troll from two days ago to emerge, trying to get in due to his massive size.

“No, animal control!” Toby rolled behind the counter.

“Um- Toby-”

“Oh, gosh,” He said, cutting you off, peeking over the counter, ”Oh, gosh, Oh, gosh. They talk.”

“I knew it was but a matter of time before the amulet called to us.” The four-eyed troll said to your cousin.

“‘Called’ to you?” Jim said, confused.

“Actually, no. We’ve been spying on you.” 

“Spy on you.” The big one laughed before attempting to enter again, which he did successfully this time, “Door small,” He said as he dropped to the ground, causing the floor to shake.

“Monsters, at my best friends’ house!” You heard Toby say on the phone, “I need you to send a squad!”

You sighed and took the phone away from him, murmuring an apology to the person on the other end before hanging up.

“Hey! Why did you do that!”

“They wouldn’t have believed you.”

“You told your stout little friend about us?” The blue troll said, looking quite worried.

“Um, is that a problem?” Jim asked.

“Master Jim, we trolls have gone to great lengths to keep our existence secret from your kind, lest there be panic.”

The big troll sniffed around the counter and loomed over it. Toby was picked up by the troll, but when he started screaming, the troll dropped him. Toby stumbling up to his feet, grabbing a ladle, and repeating, "Oh, my gosh." He used the ladle as a shield to protect himself against the troll.

“Like that.” The blue troll pointed. 

“It’s alright, Tobes.” Jim said walking over, “This is my best friend, Toby D.”

“He has like 800 eyes. We’re going to die.” Toby said this as he jabbed the appliance back and forth between the two trolls’ direction.

Jim pointed to you and said, “And this is my cousin, (Y/N).”

You gave a little wave and a sheepish smile, feeling guilty about what you had done to them a few days before. They seemed to be very friendly.

“Sorcerer,” The big one said, pointing at you.

You immediately turned pale. Jim and Toby turned their heads to you, their brows furrowed in bewilderment. Maybe you should have told them sooner so that you wouldn't be in this situation in the first place.

“Ah yes, we already have your cousin, Master Jim,” The smaller troll said, “It’s been such a long time since I met another sorcerer. Say, do any of your parents use magic as well?” 

“Wait- wait- hold up- what. I’m so confused.” Toby stammered, looking at the blue troll,  “(Y/N) isn’t a sorcerer,” He looked back at you, “You’re not, right?”

“Ah, I see what’s going on.” The four-armed troll said apologetically, “I wasn’t aware they did not know that you have magic. Please accept my apologies.”

“Sorry.” The green troll said as well, patting your head gently.

“So, it’s true?!” Jim exclaimed in shock, “You have magic?! Why haven’t you told us?”

You despised the fact that there were so many sets of eyes on you.

“Well, um, first off, sorry about blasting you guys,” You told the two trolls, waving your hands around slightly, “I was just really scared and I, you know…” 

“Ah, don’t worry my dear, it is understandable.” 

“And, uh, yeah,” You faced the two boys, “I can use magic, yeah… It’s just, you never really asked sooo...”

“Why would we ask you something like that?” Jim questioned.

“I don’t know, man.”

“Well, regardless, that’s super cool!” Toby exclaimed, raising his arms into the air in excitement, “How long have you know? What can you exactly do with your magic? Oh-oh! Are you able to raise the dead?!”

“Uh, since I was 10 and um, I can tell you later and no, I can’t raise the dead.” You took a pause, “I think.”

“In any case, We must get back on track. I'm Blinkous Galadrigal or Blinky, as my friends call me, and this is Aaarrrgghh,” The blue troll said, shifting the conversation away from you to much to your relief, “Master Jim is the Trollhunter, as you might know, and it is his noble duty to protect us trolls from the bad trolls. There are also trolls, grotesque gnomes, and the odd rogue gnome.”

“You mean like a superhero? Oh, can I be his sidekick?” Toby, who was now sitting on the counter, said, “With a cool superhero name like Deathblade or Snipersnake?”

“The mantle of Trollhunter is a sacred responsibility. One which has never been passed to a human before. This one is a momentous occasion.” Binky said, each sentence bringing him closer to a visibly frightened Jim. 

Before stepping back, he gave Jim a wide smile. You looked over to the front of your house after hearing a car honk a couple of times in less than a second. You could see Barbara's car pulling into the driveway through the window in the front door.

“It’s Aunty!” You said, gaining everyone’s attention.

“Uhhh, upstairs quick!” Jim ordered, breaking into a sprint. 

“Aunty?” Aaarrrgghh questioned.

You and the others dashed upstairs in the nick of time, just as Barbara entered the house. You all dashed to the restroom, Jim slamming the door shut behind him.

“Jim? (Y/N)? It’s me.” Barbara called out. 

“She’s not supposed to be here until midnight!” You said, panicking. 

Aaarrrgghh inhaled deeply Toby’s sent, “Hmm… You smell like cat.” He said as he continued to sniff Toby.

“My nana has a Siamese,” Toby said, awkwardly.

“Tasty.” 

“I forgot my phone.” Jim’s mother said from the other side of the door, “Are you okay in there?”

Jim jumped, silently asking you and the others what he should do. When the others looked around, you desperately pointed to your stomach, pretending to vomit over the sink.

“Um, I’m fine. I mean, my stomach’s a little uh…”

Toby plunged a toilet bowl brush into the toilet, creating fart noises as water splashed around. 

“Uh, you know, I may have a food poisoning situation,” Jim said, waving his arms at Toby in an attempt to get him to stop.

“Honey, I’ll get you some medicine, okay? Does (Y/N) also have food poisoning? Where is she?”

“Uh, no, she doesn’t! She’s out right now at a bookstore!”

“Okay, I’ll be back.” You heard the redhead’s footsteps fade away.

“Okay, what's going on here?” Jim frowned, glancing at his flickering amulet.

“The amulet reacts to your emotional state.”Blinky responded as Toby switched off the lights, mesmerized by the blue glow, “You appear to be in some distress.”

“You think?” Jim said while Aaarrrgghh switched the light on and off. 

Toby raised his hand and said, "I have a question."

“Speak, Theodore.”

“It’s Toby, actually. Or Tobias. If Jim’s the first human Trollhunter like you said,” Toby smacked away Aaarrrgghh’s arm, leaving the room in darkness, “Then who or what was the Trollhunter before him.”

The question sparked your curiosity. 

“The glorious mantle has been passed from troll to troll for hundreds of years,” Blinky stated.

“So, the previous Trollhunter, what, retried?” Jim asked. 

“Was felled,” Aaarrrgghh responded sadly.

“Felled?” You asked.

“Means killed,” Aaarrrgghh responded. 

“Turned to stone and smashed.” Blink added, “Kanjigar the Courageous was his name. Brutally slain by a ruthless troll named Bular.”

Oh, no... As worry filled the pit of your stomach, you couldn't help but feel bad for the previous Trollhunter. Will anything similar happen to your cousin? God, you hope that wouldn’t happen.

Before turning on the lights, Toby put a comforting hand on Jim's shoulders and said, “Don’t worry, dude. This Bular guy probably just got lucky.”

Yeah, he just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

“The evidence does not suggest that. Bular is a formidable opponent.” Blinky told you three.

“Then the other guy, he was just off his game of something right?” Jim suggested. 

“Doubtful, Kanjiar was perhaps the most alert and able of all the Trollhunters.”

“But not the best, right.” You asked, hopeful. 

“Oh, the very best! Many songs and sages have been written about him.”

As a wave of fear slammed into you, you felt your heart drop. Your cousin was just 15 years old and now he has the responsibility to protect all trolls?! Jim meant a lot to you and you didn’t want him to meet the same fate as the previous Trollhunter.

Before facing Blinky, Toby cringed, glancing at Jim then at you, noting the concern and tension on your faces, “Uh, I think my friends are a little worried about this and so am I. If this-”

“Bular” Aaarrrgghh butted in, licking the toilet bush, making you shiver in disgust.

 “Yes, Bular. If he could smash Kanjiar-”

“Smashed into pieces.”

“So, what's going to happen to Jim?” Toby motioned to his friend, who was slumped against the door and on the floor.

As he leaned against you, you stood beside him, patting his head.

“A most appropriate, if troubling, query, Tom.” Toby squinted at Blinky, “Tobias! Of course, we would never expect Master Jim to engage in battle without the proper training. Not at all.”

“See!” You said cheerfully, pulling the dark-haired boy up and smiling at him, “With enough training, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“How long does the training normally take?” Toby asked. 

“Oh..” Blinky started counting with all 20 fingers, “Decades.” 

You instantly frowned.

“And... how much time do I have?” Jim asked, a little hesitantly.

“A day or two”

Jim grimaced. 

“I have medicine and ginger ale, Jim,” Barbara announced, catching you all off guard. “Please come out.”

Jim told your aunt, "I'm fine, really."

“I’m a doctor. I’m going to treat my own son.” The redhead said sternly. 

“I just need a little privacy.”

“You’re worrying me. Oh…” 

Jim's armor vanished, his previous clothes reappeared, and he pushed you all into the bathtub. Being squished between Toby and the two trolls made you feel very uneasy.

“I’m coming in.” You heard Barbara say and then you heard the door open. 

“Ooh! See? All good.” Jim chuckled as you heard him leave the room. 

“Huh… okay.” Barbara made a small noise of disgust and left as well. 

Aaarrrgghh sniffed Toby, much to the boy’s dismay.

“Stop sniffing me, giant troll dude!”

“Smell like cat.”

----

You and the boys eventually sneaked a peek as Jim's mother drove away. When you turned around, you saw Aaarrrgghh struggling to walk around because he was much too big for your home. He brushed up against the ceiling lamps and knocked a stack of books off the table.

“Your cave, too small.” He said, also knocking a stack of VHS tapes off the bookshelf by mistake.

Jim began picking up books from the floor, while Toby assisted you in cleaning up the VHS tapes.

“So, Master Jim, are you ready? We should begin your training immediately.” Blinky told the dark-haired boy. 

“Uh, it’s a school night.”

“I assure you, the relevance escapes me.”

“I’m 15! I have to stay home and, uh, study and stuff. Do homework?”

You picked out a tape and looked at it before seeing Aaarrrgghh’s eyes lit up and licked his lips. The troll started to smell it. As he placed some of the tapes onto the self, Toby cast a glance at the two of you. Aaarrrgghh opened his mouth and you tossed the tape in with hesitancy, and he happily munched on it.

“I can’t be out, you know, trollhunting.”

“Because?”

“Well, the whole ‘getting killed by a vicious troll named Bular’ might be a deal-breaker.”

“Dude! He eats VHS’s” Toby exclaimed, pointing to the large troll as you fed him another tape. 

You cautiously patted Aaarrrgghh on the head, and he sighed contentedly before blenching. Your nose scrunched up by the scent, and you giggled a little as you turn away slightly and fan out the smell. You offer him another one.

“Dealbreaker?”

“I don’t want to die!”

You furrowed your brows as you looked at Jim and Blinky.

“Goodness gracious! Who does?”

Jim's shoulders sagged and he had a defeated look on his face, “Maybe you should take this back,” He said softly as he took out the amulet and extended his arm to him. 

Blinky clasped his hands over his, pulling them back towards him, saying, “The amulet called to you, Master Jim. You were chosen by it. It is your-”

“Please, don’t say ‘destiny’.”

“Sacred obligation.”

“Or that.” Jim facepalmed.

“You cannot refuse it. You cannot give it back. It is yours until you die.”

Jim shoved the amulet in his hands, “And I would like to get a little further past puberty before that happens.”

“Master Jim, you are now responsible for the safety of the two worlds, human and troll alike,” Blinky shoved it back into his hands, "If you do not keep the balance, evil trolls such as Bular will come into yours and wreak havoc.”

“You’re saying this Bular could hurt people?” 

“Like you.” Aaarrrgghh pointed.

Blinky turned to Aaarrrgghh, “Not helping!

“What’s he talking about?

Blinky looked at Jim, “With the amulet now in your possession, Bular will seek you out and you will face him one way or another.”

“Hey,” Toby said as he stood up and walked over to Jim, “I think Jim needs some time to process everything. He’s young and you just told him he has a big responsibility to fulfill.”  He said as he wrapped his arm around him.

Blinky thought about it for a moment, “Fine, fine. We shall return tomorrow then to begin your training.”

You assisted Toby in his attempt to get Aaarrrgghh through the door in the kitchen. Once you'd done that, Blinky would follow him out. The three of you said your goodbyes to the trolls, who returned before jumping over the fence and disappearing.

“They’re pretty stealthy.” Toby asked, gently fist-bumping Jim's chest, “How’s that? I brought you a night.” Toby said, leaning against the doorframe.

“A night?” Jim asked, his brows furrowed.

“Dude, you’re the one who’s always talking about wanting an adventure and something more. Well, wish granted.” Toby went inside, “Who knew trolls were a thing? Who knew. Oh-oh! (Y/N) tell me more about your magic!”

“Of course!” you chuckled as you trailed behind Toby.

Behind you, Jim locked the door and gazed out the window.

[tiliamericana]

Muay Thai: 1.09

Nairi double checked the address Linden had texted her and looked back up at the set of buildings. They were squat and stuck together, looking kind of like a demountable set up someone had made permanent as best they could. The foundation was brickwork that looked more recent than the dirty siding, and about halfway up the wall it was all old windows, half of which were propped open.

The number she was looking for was around the side and about halfway down, and Nairi could smell cleaning supplies and cooking food, and hear discordant music as she walked up the ramp towards the door she was looking for. It was propped open a couple of inches by a worn paint can filled with concrete, a little angry face painted on it in red. She knocked on the window panel in the door. “Linden?”

The door swung all the way open, and Linden poked her head out, smiling at her. “There you are! Found it okay?”

She was completely bare faced for the first time since Nairi had met her, and while the denim cut offs were a familiar part of her wardrobe rotation, the oversize grey t-shirt was new, shapeless and paint spattered. There was also paint all along her forearms, some of which had managed to get onto her legs as well.

“Yeah,” said Nairi, holding up the paper bag. “And I brought lunch, as requested.”

“Oh, I’ll have to keep you around,” said Linden, grinning as she stepped back and opened the door properly to let Nairi in. She took the bag as Nairi stepped past her, digging in to retrieve her enchilada with a pleased noise.

“Having a… productive Tuesday?” asked Nairi as Linden let the door fall back into the paint can with a muffled clang.

Even with all of the windows propped open and the extractor fan wheezing loudly, the room still stunk of turpentine, paint, and something else chemical and sweet that she couldn’t quite identify. There was an unfinished counter running along one side of the room, cluttered with tubs of paint and half-filled bottles of oil, dirty jars and mugs, with an industrial sink at the end with an old microwaved plugged in next to it. One of its hinges was held on with electrical tape. The shelves under the counter had a lot of plastic tubs filling the space, labelled in masking tape and marker.

Linden crossed the room to a section where the floor was covered by an old bedsheet, sitting down on a wheeled office chair with the back broken off in front of an easel holding a canvas that was mostly pale green. She nodded as she picked up a tall ceramic mug with a lid, and she drank deeply from it, gesturing at a ratty couch under the windows on the wall. The mug had a strip of masking tape wrapped around it, ‘NO TURPS >:|’ scrawled on it in thick marker.

“Yeah, I got my wash layer down for the base of this bad boy,” said Linden, setting the mug back down and jerking her thumb over her shoulder at the canvas. “I spent a good chunk of last week fucking around with thumbnails, but your housewarming gift is officially on the way as of now.”

Nairi, sat on the couch. A strut creaked under her, threatening to crack. “You don’t have to—”

Linden waved her off. “I told you, your walls are too bare, and this is literally my area of expertise. How was your morning anyway?”

Nairi shrugged. “Okay, I guess? I really only got out of bed when you texted me.”

“Nice for some,” said Linden, grinning at her. “Layabout! How do you and Aggy get anything scheduled? She’s up by six and in bed by ten sharp.”

Nairi shrugged, unwrapping her own lunch and shifting uncomfortably on the terrible couch. “I guess we’ll find out; I’m having dinner at her apartment tonight.”

“Co-sy,” said Linden sarcastically, setting her enchilada on the folding table next to her ‘not turpentine’ and a clear jar filled with what was presumably turpentine. She picked up a flat paintbrush and dabbed it at her palette, rolling her chair forward and making a couple of light, decisive strokes on the green. “You two are enjoying yourselves, then?”

“I think so,” said Nairi, not entirely certain if she’d messed something up or was missing something. “Have you got plans for the night then? Or are you working?”

“Both,” said Linden promptly. “Got a hot date with a cool hook up, and then a much hotter date with the rest of next month’s rent check. Can I ask you a favour?”

“Sure,” said Nairi, chewing slowly. “For your cool hook up or next month’s rent?”

Linden turned her head and bounced her eyebrows at Nairi. “Next month’s rent check. Si’s kind of a dickhead, but he’s only dangerous if you don’t like T.S. Eliot or are allergic to, like, papercuts, or lignin, or something. I need a safety check in for when I finish my job. I have a couple of people I’d usually ask, but the one I normally go to during the week has a daughter in hospital for her appendix, and Flo takes melatonin to keep her schedule, like, regulated during semester so asking her to wait up on a school night is a no-go.”

“I should be able to do that,” said Nairi, nodding, partially because her only other option was asking what the hell ‘lignin’ was. “What do you need for it?”

“It’s just waiting for me to call when I’m finished with my job, or calling to check in, just to make sure I haven’t been murdered or whatever,” said Linden, leaning back a little to scan the lines she’d marked out on the canvas. “I’m booked for eleven, so I should be done before one. I’ll like, send you the address and the number for my work phone and stuff.”

Nairi nodded again. “Okay, sounds easy. So, if I can’t reach you by one, what do I need to do?”

“I’d tell you to call Nick, but he’d only call the cops so you can probably just cut him out of the equation and go straight to them. I’d like, rather not with them, like at all, ever,” she emphasised this with a slashing motion of her paintbrush, “but if it comes to that, then tell them like, I’m on a first date with a guy my dad thinks is creepy and I promised to check in or something, I don’t know.”

If she had the address, then… well. “Why would Nicholas call the cops if he knows you’d hate it?”

Linden rolled her eyes extravagantly and set her brush down, going for her enchilada again. “Because he believes in the power of the system, doesn’t approve of my job, is convinced that one day cops will magically stop being shitty to me, and also he apparently still thinks I’m sixteen.”

“Right,” said Nairi, slowly balling up the foil and paper of her lunch. “He uh, cares a lot about you, huh?”

“Yeah, he’s an old friend of my dad’s,” said Linden, nodding and swallowing. “Looked out for me when I was a teenager, you know? He’s still convinced that every time he turns around I’m gonna run off and nearly get myself killed again, it’s a real pain in the ass.”

“Again?”

A rueful smile flickered across Linden’s face. “Yeah, I ran away from home when I was about fifteen. Jim’s the one who found me and got me off the streets at first, but Edie and Nick were the ones who really made sure I got on my feet.”

“Right,” said Nairi, and she hesitated. “Jim’s a friend of theirs?”

“Was, yeah,” said Linden, glancing down at her lap to brush off an invisible crumb. “He died when I was about nineteen. Lung cancer, you know. It happens.”

“Damn,” said Nairi, not sure what to say in the face of that. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too, sometimes,” said Linden, her smile a little lopsided as she looked up. “It was a long time ago, though—water under the bridge and all that.”

“Yeah,” said Nairi, glancing at her hands briefly. “So what, Nicholas is worried that you’ll end up in a gutter?”

“Street corner, more like,” said Linden, dryness creeping back into her tone as she popped the last piece of her enchilada into her mouth, shaking her head. “He was pretty pissed off when I got out of college and went straight back to hooking.”

Nairi snorted. “Yeah, he doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who’d ‘approve’ of that.”

“Real stick up his ass, yeah,” said Linden, nodding again. “Edithwas the fun one when I was a teenager, so you can imagine what a downer life was back then.”

“A little, yeah,” said Nairi, her mouth twitching. “I didn’t know anyone like that as a teenager, maybe it would’ve helped me out some.”

“Oh, I know that feeling,” said Linden with a laugh, giving Nairi a carefully measured side-eye. “He’s very useful to have around sometimes—my taxes get filed on time every year and all that.”

Nairi laughed. “Nothing shows you care like robust budgeting, huh?”

Linden cackled with laughter, a loud, startled noise. “Yes! Exactly—god, you should have seen him when I got my first apartment. He came with me to sign the lease and he interrogated my landlord, did his own goddamn tour, took his own photos of the place when I moved in and hunted the guy down to sign that he’d seen them, made copies of my bond payment, and thenhe was on me every single month to make sure I had a receipt for my rent.”

“Ferocious,” said Nairi, grinning at her.

“And wildly disappointed in me the first time I got evicted,” said Linden, grinning back at her.

Nairi laughed without expecting it, the lines around her eyes creasing. “You’re a menace, then?”

Linden was smiling with bright eyes; head tilted a little. “Damn right I am. Nick’s been putting up with my shit for ten years, I really thought he’d’ve clued in by now.”

“Maybe he thinks you can be better than shit?” suggested Nairi.

Linden’s smile softened a little as she picked up the paintbrush again. “No, he’s a little better at managing his expectations than that. I mean, he sticks up for me with dad, but it’s not like I get away scot free when I fuck up!”

“Your dad’s not a fan of the hooking I take it?”

Linden made a wheezing sort of noise as she went for her paint again. “Oh god, no, my dad doesn’t know about the hooking, he’s an attorney, he’d kill me. That’s part of why Nick fucking hates it, he doesn’t like lying for anything, least of all my sorry ass.”

Nairi nodded again. “Okay, so, your dad’s just kind of a dick, huh?”

Linden paused and turned her head to look at Nairi, giving her an annoyed look. “No, he’s fine. We don’t get along that well, is all. And that whole thing where I was a missing teenager for four years and then came back queer and punk didn’t exactly help things either. We’re fine, I’m going up for dinner with him in a couple of weeks, actually.”

“Right, sorry,” said Nairi, holding up a hand. “I never met my parents, I don’t know what’s like, normal or whatever.”

“It’s fine,” said Linden, shrugging at her. “People get the wrong impression sometimes, is all.”

Somehow Nairi wasn’t shocked by this. “Will I hit another pothole if I ask about your mom?” she said instead.

Linden laughed. “I never knew her. I asked about her a bunch when I was a kid, but my dad was kind of really evasive and I stopped asking—I sort of got the impression she died when I was extra small or something. Edie reckons that whoever she was they were never really, like ‘together’, ‘cause apparently I was a surprise baby for everyone who knew him.”

“Oh, I don’t think kids work well as surprises,” said Nairi with a wince.

“Definitely not,” said Linden, grinning widely. “He did okay, though.”

Nairi shifted uncomfortably on the couch again. “You turned out okay, so he must have.”

Linden snorted.

Nairi’s phone chirped in her back pocket and she tugged it out to check the message. The couch creaked ominously as she shifted again, and she paused, glancing down at it. “Just out of curiosity, how much did you pay for this couch?”

“I didn’t, I nicked it from a guy who was throwing it out,” said Linden, taking a drink of not turps as Nairi’s phone chirped again. “Who’s texting?”

Nairi glanced down at her screen, tapping open the messaging inbox. “Agatha. She’s just checking that we’re still on for tonight.”

“You’re not gonna disappoint her, are you?” teased Linden.

Nairi looked up at her, not sure what to make of the way her tone had dipped. “No?”

Linden hummed, her mouth twitching. “Well, don’t party too hard then,” she said in the same tone again, and she turned her attention back to her canvas.

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Weird “Keep them Warm”

Hey guys, Hope you are having a great week. This one is gonna be both awkward and funny hopefully. It was given to me as a prompt idea from one of my readers, and I hope they enjoy it as well. It involves a new alien species that I think you all might be interested in. I would suggest taking a look :) 

“So you’re telling me we found another sentient omnivore species.” The commander grunted ripping his boot from a watery patch of mud and nearly crashing into the swampy water between two twisted tree roots.

Sunny reached out with one of her four armored arms, and caught him by the back of his pack pulling him back upright. He nodded a thanks to her and adjusted his gear. Behind her Ramirez ducked under a low hanging branch slogging through a pool of knee-high water, adjusting the containment pod, holding Krill more comfortably over both shoulders.

Krill, comfortable and warm inside his containment pod, watched the marines, scientists, and a linguist struggle through the mud under a covering of impossibly tall twisted trees their canopy blocking out all light that might have dared cut downwards towards the watery floor below. “Not entirely sentient, I suppose.” Krill answered , “Unfortunately the way in which they communicate is going to drastically reduce their ability to create complex structures and perform mathematical equations.”

Together they maneuvered themselves over a root, which at some point in the distant past, had decided to grow upwards instead of down. At about four feet high, it had changed its mind and arched back down into the water. Perhaps it had been smaller then, but at four feet wide, the root was an absolute monstrosity now.

The trees themselves were massive, challenging, and sometimes outgrowing the legendary redwood forests of the western Americas, but unlike the redwoods, these trees didn’t stand tall and proud. Instead, they chose a twisted path much like the branching veins which made up a human vascular system. They twisted and undulated interlocking past each other with branches that were well over two feet wide in many cases,and stretching to over four feet wide in others. No one direction was good enough, and the trees twisted ducked swirleded and reached grasping for any sort of light to be found.

On top of the darkness cast by the trees and the soggy nature of the forest floor, it was also horribly hot and humid giving the impression of a microwaved wet blanket thrown over the world. Where heat from the upper canopy met the cooler air of deep forest pools, it created a perpetually thick mist which writhed and undulated through the trees, leaving only the shadowy impressions of twisted trunks and clawing branches past distances greater than 50 feet.

“They communicate primarily through pheromones and heat modulation. From what I understand, the language in itself isn’t precise, and really only works in generalities and feelings than it does in absolutes.”

Commander Vir kicked a rotting log out of the way ducking as a massive green bug buzzed over his head and into the fog. Turns out the hotter and more humid a planet gets, the bigger the bugs get, “But we were still able to communicate with them.

KRill nodded from inside his case, “Yes, generally speaking.For a species that cannot communicate in absolutes, I hear they are quite reasonable. They seem willing to accept our friendship, and have….. invited, I guess, us to participate in some sort of primitive ritual.”

The commander nodded scrambling over another tree branch, “Alright, so….. where are these things anyway.” His boots hit solid ground, covered in some sort of wet spongy fungus and glanced down at his GPS. Behind him the other marines went silent heads lifted towards the sky in shock.

“Fuck me.” ONe of the marines whispered scrambling back behind a tree root.

Commander Vir turned and nearly fell into the water again eyes locked onto the creatures descending from high above.

They were huge, about the size of large horses, and horrifically spider like in their construction, or perhaps an ant. They had large-scale abdomens connected to a thinner thorax. All together they had ten appendages, three pairs of spider-like legs on the abdomen which, instead of ending in a pod or foot, ended in a sharp pointed spike. On the abdomen, they had two arm-like appendages, with two many joints and strange waves tentacles instead of fingers

The head was just as disconcerting. It seemed too large for the body, grossly out of proportion and strangely out of place, like some cosmic sentience had used a random animal generator to assign parts to its body. The head was wolflike, if you were to strip the skin and fur away leaving only the muscle underneath. You could see the line of teeth running up either side of the muzzle while the large red-pink ears rotated continuously.

Commander Vir had backed himself into the bowl of a tree eyes wide. Sunny slogged herself up from the water placing herself between the strange spidery creatures and the human.

They didn’t descend like a spider might, on threads of silk, but they used their back six feet, and the spikes on the end to dig into the bark of the trees with a disconcerting thud thud thud thu.

FInally the largest of the creatures reached the ground surprisingly silent for it’s massive bulk.

Glancing around Sunny’s tensed body, he noticed something he hadn’t before, and that was a strange small mass gripping onto the spidery creature’s underbelly. Upon closer inspection he counted ten legs and a surprisingly spidery head buried against its underside….. a completely separate creature holding on to it’s companion.

Behind the largest creature, he noted ANOTHER type of creature. It boasted the same sort of structure as the large creature, but its abdomen was devoid of scales, and covered in strange black bulbs suctioned onto its body by way of a strange, sticky black-green webbing. It’s head was also constructed differently  more like a lizard than a wolf, with large bulbous eyes that could rotated behind it’s own head to look in all directions.

Commander Vir fiddled nervously with the advanced translation headset he wore strapped to his helmet, supposedly it was supposed to be able to understand what these things were saying.

“Sky….. friends.” The translation was somewhat garbled, but he understood it was the large wolf-head who spoke.

He walked forward, pushing Sunny gently to the side despite her clear reluctance, “Yes, we are friends, and we are here to offer peace to you, and the assistance of the Galactic Assembly.” He wasn’t entirely sure how that was going to translate over in smell, but the creature seemed happy lifting it’s head and gnashing it’s large K-9 teeth.

“Agreement….. for a favor.”

Commander Vir grew unsure then letting off a reluctant, “What favor.”

The spidery shape moved closer sniffing at him with it’s large wolffish nose. Sunny stiffened at his side, and he put a hand on her arm to calm her.

“Ritual…. you help.”

“None of us will get hurt ... will we?”

The creature stopped and pondered the question for a long moment, “No danger….. live ... healthy ... happy.”

Commander Vir nodded slowly, “Alright, what do we have to do?”

The creature hefted it’s large bulk, and turned in the opposite direction, “Follow.” It commanded scuttling off into the trees.

***

“This is very interesting.” Krill was saying to one of the accompanying scientists, who nodded vigorously in agreement.

“What’s so interesting.” Commander Vir whispered from where he stood at the edge of yet another, but larger fungus covered clearing, watching as the creatures scuttle back and forth.

The scientist learned in in excitement, “It seems that these creatures have a ternary gender system.” Before the commander could ask, the scientist continued, “For ease of speech, the large ones are the females, and those things on their bellies are probably the males. The medium ones are the third gender, the ‘they’ if you will. It looks like the male impregnates the female who then attaches the eggs to the third party. Dr. Krill tells me that the third party have a very high heat signature probably to incubate the young. Those attachments probably provide nutrients into the egg and may even transfer DNA over as well.”

“WOw…. freaky.” The commander muttered in fascination.

“Kind of gross if you ask me.” Sunny muttered.

“I’m with her.” Ramirez muttered receiving a few nods from the other marines.

“Oh please.” Krill whispered, “I know what human reproduction is like, and it’s arguable way worse.”

The scientist waved them all off, “The big one there, the one that’s been talking to us. I think she’s the queen, and judging from those egg sacks, this is probably mating season, if they have one.”

“Creepy, but cool, I guess.” The captain muttered.

They watched for a little longer as the queen scuttled around the clearing and then return to look at them lowering her meaty wolffish head to the Commander’s eyes level. “Ritual ... find…. eggkeeper.” SHe scuttled away

“Oh….. this is some sort of? Mating ritual maybe….. to choose that third party you were talking about.”

“This isn’t exactly the kind of “Mating ritual” I wanted to see.” One of the marines muttered. The other marines turned to look at him with raised eyebrows. Sunny stuck her tongue out in disgust.

Off in the clearing, some of the smaller females had moved themselves onto the high branches scuttling through the trees to examine the “they” who waited patiently. It appeared that side was very important in the ritual, as they all fought for the largest counterpart. Once found, the wolffish head would lower, and open up to reveal a tube under the tongue. From there she would…. disgorge the egg onto the abdomen of the ‘they’ and the mucus would solidify to hold them on.

“It has to do with size.” Krill hissed, “But it seems that it has more to do with heat. The big ones only get chosen more because they also happen to be warmer than the smaller ones. I’d say they incubate at an average of 90 degrees.”

They watched this for a while, the scientists taking notes and the marines making inappropriate jokes.

Eventually most of the creatures had finished leaving only the queen left over. Everything went still when she began to move, and she scuttled around the clearing looking over all the available ‘theys’ she could find, but she just didn’t seem satisfied.

Commander Vir tugged at the collar of his jacket, a line of sweat dripping down his face.

She continued her circuit once and then twice, at some point she turned her head large eyes locking on the humans. She sniffed at them.

The human laughter died as she advanced.

“What is she doing.” The commander muttered under his breath

The scientist that stood next to him hidden partially behind Sunny, “I…. I’m not sure.”

She scuttled even closer, and the humans backed away.

“Hey doc…. didn’t you say something about….. them being attracted to heat.” Ramirez wondered hiding himself behind a root.

“Yeah….. I did, why.”

“Not to freak anyone out or anything but….. isn’t average human heat about 98.6….”

What followed was a rather violent game of nose goes, but instead of involving touching ones nose to see who was the last person standing, it involved a mad rush to reduce body heat. The smartest marines took the initiative and dove into the water beside the clearing. Completely submerging themselves under the surface. Others chose to cover whatever exposed skin they might have in mud as if to mask the heat. Still others chose to cut and run.

Unfortunately, with his position at the head of the group, Commander Vir wasn’t fast enough.

She came at him in a scuttling rush, and in a frantic leap to get away, his boot caught on a root and he hit the ground hard. Sunny tried to leap in front of him, but was bowled over by the mad rushing form.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Commander vir repeated scuttling backwards across the ground as the large spidery shape loomed over him.

He stopped dead in his tracks backed against a tree root. She leaned closer.

He raised his hands above his head blocking his face, “Please don’t lay your eggs in me. Please don’t lay your eggs in me.”

She reached out one of her forward hands surprisingly delicate as she cut through the first layers of his jacket, and shirt. THey fell away in slices revealing the pale human skin underneath red and sticky with the tropical heat. His chest and abdomen heaved with his breath as he tried to scramble away, but she caught him with the prong of one of her back legs pinning him in place.

“Fuck…. Help…. HELP.”

Sunny wasn’t fast enough, having been tipped head over heels into the water, with the rest of the marines in similar positions, Krill contained inside his tube unable to help but unable to look away.

She lowered her head, and the man screamed. It was cold, gelatinous and slimy at first, but even as it touched open air, he could feel it fusing against his skin solidifying. He thrashed and wriggled, but she was far to strong holding him in place. Finally though, she backed away leaving him panting on the ground shaking and trembling leg throbbing where he had been pinned.

She leaned her head down to examine him, “Warm.”

THey locked eyes, “Friends…. now…. Keep them….. warm.”

SHe retreated, and he struggled to his knees turning to look down at his body which was now partially obscured by a sticky pod of six black eggs pulled tight against his skin. His hand were shaking as he reached down to touch them, cold and smooth. HE tried tugging on one, but nearly fainted at the pain it caused against his skin.

They were withdrawing back into the trees leaving him kneeling on the fungus hands trembling as looked downwards.

Sunny was the first to recover scrambling out of the water and over to him, placing a hand on his back as she examined the strange eggs attached to his skin, “Mother of-“

THe marines cut her off as they came wriggling from the trees, “Commander, Commander are you ok….”  One of the marines cut around front frozen in his tracks eyes wide once he saw, “WHAT THE HELL!”\

Sunny reached out as if to tug on one of them, “NO!” He snapped jerking away from her.

The others gathered around to look with exclamations of shock and disgust. The commander looked up at Sunny pleadingly. She decided to take charge, helping him to his feet and then pulling him into her arms, “We have to get him back to the ship, let's move, NOW!”

***

“What do you think, Dr.”

Dr Katie examined the scan with a frown, “It’s very, very strange, that’s for sure.”

Commander VIr lifted his head to look down at them, “Well what the HELL does that mean.”

Krill shoved his head back onto the table, “Stay still.”

Dr. Katie hummed softly as she continued to examine the scans, “It looks like these little filaments have breached the skin ... and…. well at least one of them has made it to your liver, this one here has made it to your lungs.”

“What about white blood count.” Krill wondered, “THe body must have noticed something by now?”

Dr Katie shook her head, “Nothing, the body seems to have accepted it. I took some samples and….. well I think I might know why.” She rolled herself to the side in her chair and over to one of the adjoining computers, “See this, this is his DNA ...and this is the DNA of the strands.”

Krill pearled over her shoulder, “What the….. they look almost identical.”

“Yes…. I don’t think the body knows anything is wrong.” She turned her chair back around to look at the Commander, “Congratulations Commander,  you are perhaps, in the weirdest way possible, the only man in the history of existence who might just experience the miracle of life.”

The look on his face made it clear he wasn’t interested in being congratulated, “What the actual fuck does that mean?” He snapped

Dr. Katie rolled closer, “Well, to explain in terms you may understand. You are doing more than keeping them warm. Those filaments that you saw are acting like umbilical cords. The one at your liver is using it as a filter, and to take in nutrients as it seems to have branching filaments to the stomach and intestines. The one going to your lungs is taking in carbon…… not sure what that’s going to do to your breathing if anything. But at this point I don’t think that even Dr. Krill, as good as he can remove them. We would have to remove too much of your internal structure to it to be viable, plus they don’t seem to be hurting you.” 

“Not hurting me! NOT HURTING ME! You said it yourself they are SUCKING OUT MY VITAL JUICES.”

Dr. Katie shrugged, “Welcome to pregnancy….. sort of. Look we will monitor you, make sure they aren’t sucking away to many nutrients. Look on the bright side, you can probably eat more, and judging form an analysis of the egg sacks, the average gestational period is only around two months.”

“TWO MONTHS!”

Sunny, who had been standing next to the man at the head of the exam table, couldn’t suppress a short chirp of laughter.

He glowered at her, “What’s so funny!”

She chirped again placing a hand on his arm, “You’re gonna be a mom.”

If looks could kill, shed be reduced to a singularity, “Get your hand off me or ill break it in half!”

She continued chirping, but removed her hand just in case.

This was going to be a very awkward call to the UNSC and the GA.

For that matter, it was going to be a very awkward call home.

[pinnithin-writes]

Good Jokes

Chapter 1

The new posters on the board in the break room had Tommy in stitches.

Who put this up here? They were huge sheets of paper, large enough to cover the rest of the flyers that were tacked on first. The printer’s settings were fucked, apparently, and it had rolled out three crisp eleven by seventeens of incomprehensible inky bullshit.

Tommy stood in front of the bulletin laughing for thirty straight seconds when he first walked in for his break. The fact that someone had printed out this garbage and still put in the effort to post them here was cracking him up. His coworkers, humorless as ever, were giving him strange looks for the fit of giggles he was in, so he popped the tab on a can of Sprite from the vending machine to try and calm down.

Distantly, he heard an unfamiliar, animated voice echo further down the hall. Right, the new guy was here today. The guy who was going to put on the fancy orange suit and risk his life for science. Tommy was supposed to be working on that project, too, making observations from behind a sheet of safety glass.

He wandered down the hall toward the voice, figuring he might as well be polite and introduce himself. Not a lot of folks around here liked to talk much, and he could hear the discouraged faltering in the man’s words as he tried and failed to make conversation. Maybe it would be nice to have a talker around. Keep things interesting.

When he rounded the corner, Tommy had to pause and regain his bearings. So the new guy was cute. He had dark curly hair, a beard that was neat-but-not-too-neat, and a charming smile that showed off his dimples. His face was framed by a tasteful pair of glasses and he walked like he had places to go, people to see. Friendly, but studious. Tommy wanted to derail him from his quest immediately.

“Hello,” he cast a greeting down the hall.

The new guy paused mid-stride, somewhat startled. “Hello.” What was his name again? Freeman? He was an MIT boy, if Tommy recalled correctly, a physicist who had published a thesis that was so long Tommy had stopped paying attention halfway through the title. A man of many words. A man of too many words, perhaps.

Oh, shit, he was walking over here.

“I’m new,” Tommy blurted, even though he wasn’t. Good job, idiot.

“You’re new here? Me, too, I think,” the new guy replied, brow wrinkled studiously as he approached.

I think? Maybe they were both idiots. Tommy gave the man a quick up-and-down look. He was a big guy, but well built. Athletic. Hard to believe he transferred from the education sector.

“What’s your name?” Tommy asked.

“Gordon Freeman.”

Right, that was it. Tommy remembered looking at his file now. “My name’s Tommy,” he told him, his grip tight on his Sprite can.

Gordon Freeman raised his eyebrows, like he was surprised someone had bothered to talk to him. “Tommy?” he repeated.

“Yeah.”

“Okay, Tommy,” he went on. “Are you - what department are you in? Where are you supposed to be right now? You headed to the break room?”

Wow, this guy asked a lot of questions. He looked adorably lost. Tommy could point him in the right direction, but his mention of the break room reminded him of the nonsense on the wall in there, and he fought down a snort of laughter. Maybe the new guy would appreciate the signs.

“Yeah,” he affirmed. “I like to read the billboards there.”

‘Billboards’ wasn’t right. It was a bulletin board; Tommy caught it as soon as the words were out of his mouth. But it made Gordon laugh in a puzzled sort of way, and it was such a lovely sound that Tommy left it.

“The - the billboards? In the break room?” he asked in bewilderment. “Are they - putting ads up in there?”

Tommy was fighting back another snicker. “Yeah,” he said, turning away to hide the grin on his face. “Follow me.”

He led the new guy down the hall and to the break room, passing the greasy microwave and the gaggle of disinterested coworkers. Man, those posters were even funnier the second time. Tommy wanted to find the person who had tacked them up and shake their hand.

“Oh, is this what you were talking about?” Gordon asked, realization dawning as he saw the bulletin. He cast Tommy a prompting look. “The billboards ?” He asked, politely giving him a chance to correct himself.

That was considerate of him, Tommy thought, but he stuck to his guns - he was already too far in the bit. “Yeah, tell me what it says,” he threw back.

He was going to pop a blood vessel trying not to laugh, and Gordon could clearly tell by now. Letting out a breathy chuckle, he glanced up at the bulletin and played along.

“Yeah, I can’t read it either, dude,” Gordon said, dark eyes passing over the nonsense in front of him. “Maybe he can?” He tossed the question to one of the scientists loitering nearby, who muttered something rude under his breath. Gordon turned an unflappable smile back to Tommy, ignoring his coworker. “Yeah, maybe.”

Oh, Tommy liked this one. He wanted to keep him for himself. Nobody around here appreciated his jokes, much less ran with them.

“I don’t know what it - can you read?” Gordon went on.

It took Tommy a half second to parse if he was serious or not, and realized the question was a continuation of the joke. He mimed a studious pose, taking a thoughtful sip from his Sprite as he pretended to decipher the clouds of ink.

“I’m trying, but it’s very - I -” He was breaking - he couldn’t help it - snorting out a laugh.  “The person who printed all these papers really fucked up.”

Gordon was grinning fully now, shading his eyes from a nonexistent sun as he glanced back at the notice board. “I think they used like, one DPI? Y’know - you know how a printer works? Like, dots per inch? I don’t think they got any - like - the right amount of dots - I can’t read any of this.” He gave another prompting glance to Tommy, clearly enjoying their little vignette. “What do you make of that?”

This man spoke like a machine gun, and it delighted Tommy. The words just came firing out of him with barely any comprehensive thread between them, a steady stream of consciousness straight from his brain to his mouth. It was wonderful. He shook his head in disbelief that someone so fun had just fallen into his lap.

“I don’t know,” was all he could reply.

Still chuckling, but still in a hurry, Gordon did his best to excuse himself politely. He had a test chamber to get to. “Are you staying here?” he asked.

Tommy wanted to follow him, but he had no real reason to outside of his attraction to the guy, so he nodded. “I’m on,” he faltered, glancing down at the Sprite in his hand, “lunch break.”

Gordon’s laughter staccatoed his farewell. “Okay, we’ll see - I’ll s- I’ll catch you later, Tommy.”

Tommy was grinning like a fool as he watched him leave the break room. Charming guy. Hilarious. Sharp as a tack, if a little scattered. His laugh sounded like bells ringing and he loved it.

“I drink soda for lunch,” he called down the hall after him, one last attempt to pull that laugh from him before he saw him again.

Gordon must not have heard him, because he didn’t reply. That was fine. They’d cross paths again. Tommy would be watching him very closely as they ran the test today.

---

The test chamber in the Anomalous Materials department wasn’t Tommy’s favorite place in the world. He thought the spectrometer was grandiose in a spooky sort of way, its rotating claw hanging menacingly from the ceiling. He was glad Gordon Freeman was the one going in the barrel instead of him.

Everyone who worked down here had a grim purpose about them, and it weirded Tommy out. There were many times during his research that he tried to lighten the mood, but most of his jokes sailed over his coworkers’ heads. Or they were rudely ignoring him. At this point, either option was plausible.

He stood behind the reinforced safety glass alongside the other members of the research team. All of them were older than he was, the majority born in the facility, which Tommy concluded was the only quality they really had in common. He was well qualified for the job with his range of experience and his Ph.D. in nuclear engineering, but whispers of nepotism still sometimes circulated.

Tommy ignored them for the most part. Everyone who worked for Black Mesa was stuck living in an underground bunker regardless of pay grade, so it wasn’t like he was any better off than his peers in that regard. He didn’t make anyone call him Dr. Coolatta, either, because that just sounded fucking stupid. Dr. Thomas Coolatta? Please. Tommy was fine.

He was zoning out, lost in his thoughts, when he noticed a blip in on the ground floor of the test chamber. The blip took the form of a short man in a blue uniform, and suddenly Tommy was very uneasy. He knew that guy.

Seconds later, the doors to the chamber whirred open, and Gordon Freeman strolled in. Tommy watched him gesticulate angrily at the security guard who had spontaneously manifested inside the spectrometer. He put two and two together and figured Benrey had been following Gordon for some time, riling the other man up as he was so wont to do to people. This could be bad. He reached over on the control panel and hit the broadcast button on the mic, ignoring the murmurs of indignation from his colleagues.

“Hello?”

Both of the men in the barrel whipped their heads up to the control room. Tommy raised a hand in a grim wave.

Benrey cupped his hands around his mouth and hollered back at him, voice grating in his ears, shivering down his spine. “Tommy!”

He had to handle this carefully. The entity in the chamber with Gordon was an anomaly that Tommy should have considered, but he hadn’t predicted Benrey would have latched himself onto the new guy so quickly. He darted a glance to his coworkers, who were all staring at Tommy expectantly, and then down to the scene below. There were things Tommy knew that the others weren’t allowed to know.

His hand was still on the intercom. “Gordon,” he began carefully.

“Tommy,” Benrey cut him off, a threat in his voice. The two of them stared one another down through the pane of glass, unspoken words passing between them. Finally, he sighed heavily. “Hi,” he muttered.

“Tommy, do you know this man?” the scientist beside him asked.

He was an older gentleman, the product of an experiment that probably had a name at one point, but had gone by ‘Bubby’ for as long as Tommy could remember. Tommy would have thought the nickname was a joke if Bubby had a single humorous bone in his body, which he didn’t. Well, unless he counted his humerus. Which he also didn’t.

Tommy killed the mic and fixed Bubby with a careful look. “He’s not a man,” he said without elaboration. He didn’t have to. Bubby could connect the dots well enough on his own.

On Tommy’s left, another colleague jockeyed beside him to hit the intercom button. He was a cheerful fellow, empty-eyed and cotton-headed. Tommy recalled that his name was Coomer. He also recalled that brawl in the dining facility a while back where he had knocked a fully grown man out with one punch.

“You know, he didn’t bring his passport,” Dr. Coomer informed the team brightly over the loudspeaker, even though they were all standing in the same room with him.

Tommy rolled his eyes. “I heard you don’t have your passport,” he said dryly down to Gordon.

But the new guy was occupied with the entity standing next to him, gesturing in agitation as he spoke with him, pointing to the chamber door. Probably was trying to get Benrey out of there. Worried about his safety. It would be a reasonable request made by any decent human, one that should have been backed up by the rest of the staff.

Several pairs of eyes were watching Tommy, knowing his security clearance, waiting for his decision. Benrey would be fine; he couldn’t be killed by any normal means. Tommy’s concern was for Gordon, bright orange and oblivious in his HEV suit below. If something went wrong, he would be paying for it.

He looked at Bubby again. “Standard procedure,” he told him.

If Benrey was up to no good, which he almost always was, Tommy could stop him. He could blink down there in an instant and kick him into another dimension for a while. Not fun, not easy, but he could do it. He moved closer to the glass, deciding to watch and wait.

The two figures dicked around in the test chamber for an insufferable amount of time, a fact that Tommy would find incredibly funny if it weren’t Benrey in there with Gordon. His colleagues were backing up Tommy’s decision, assuring Dr. Freeman that this was all normal and part of the process, while Gordon grew increasingly agitated. Poor guy. He had no idea what was going on.

Tommy decided to throw him a bone, leaning into the mic again. “Gordon?” he prompted. “Do you see the next step?”

The grinding of machinery in the room drowned out most of his response, but Tommy caught what he needed to. Push the shit into the thing. So easy an MIT grad could do it.

“Yes,” he affirmed.

“Very carefully,” Bubby said seriously over Tommy’s shoulder, miffed that he had been nudged away from the mic.

“Very carefully,” Tommy agreed. “Slower than molasses drips off a spoon,” he added, simply because he couldn’t help himself, ignoring the puzzled looks the other scientists passed in his direction.

He couldn’t really hear Gordon’s laughter, but he saw the man’s shoulders shake with mirth and his even teeth flashing that pretty smile. Tommy grinned. Worth it.

That was the only bright spot Tommy got to have before everything went to shit. Benrey was hassling Gordon mercilessly, Bubby was grinding insults into the mic, and Dr. Freeman was losing his mind. Tommy was standing there, taut like a mousetrap. Laser focused on Benrey. He was not paying attention to Gordon, or the glass shattering in front of him, or the error alarm blaring over the loudspeakers.

He did, however, catch the flashbang of light from the spectrometer. The ghost-white form of Bubby vaulting over the console and through the broken window. He tore his eyes away from his target for a second, and then there was electricity raising his hair and voltage shivering through the building and an acid-green shockwave flashing over all of them.

Shit. Fuck. Shit. Benrey was nowhere to be seen. Tommy gripped the edge of the window, ignoring the slice of broken glass into his palms. Bubby looked… utterly dead, in a crumpled heap below him. Shock was forcing a waterfall of panicked words out of Gordon as he watched everything crash down around his head.

The machine groaned and surged outward. Tommy had seconds to choose: find where the fuck the entity went and snap him out of existence, or shield the new guy before he turned into a smoking crater on the ground.

Tommy made a decision. The world ripped apart.

---> Chapter 2

[thelittlesttimelord]

The Littlest Timelord: The Death of the Doctor Chapter 16

TITLE: The Littlest Timelord: The Death of the Doctor Chapter 16 PAIRING: No Pairing RATING: T CHAPTER: 16/? SUMMARY: The Doctor’s death is looming on the horizon and Elise is growing every day. What the Doctor doesn’t know is that he has 200 years to teach Elise all he knows. Amy, Rory, and River let Elise in on their secret, because River knows she will keep it. What will Elise do when he’s gone?

One of the smaller tanks in the room began filling with Flesh and a copy of Jennifer sat up. She shot up and every jumped back.

“Well, I can see why you keep it in a church. Miracle of life,” the Doctor said.

Elise thought it was amazing.

“No need to get poncey. It's just gunge,” Buzzer commented.

“How can you say that?” Elise asked before she could stop herself, “Look at her! She’s a living, breathing, human being!”

The Doctor put a hand on her shoulder. Internally he was jumping for joy. There was the Elise he remembered.

“Guys, we need to get to work,” Cleaves told her team.

“Okay, everybody, let's crack on,” Jimmy said.

There was a crack of thunder and lightning.

“Did I mention the solar storm?” the Doctor reminded them, “You need to get out of here.”

“Where do you want us to go? We're on a tiny island.”

“Well, I can get you all off it.”

“Don't be ridiculous. We've got a job to do,” Cleaves told him.

The Doctor pulled the snowglobe out of his jacket again. “It's coming.”

A shrill alarm started going off.

“That's the alarm,” Jennifer said.

“How do you get power?” the Doctor asked.

“We're solar. We use a solar router. The weathervane,” Cleaves told him.

“Big problem.”

“Boss, maybe if the storm's back we should get underground,” Jimmy suggested, “The factory's seen better days. The acid pipes might not withstand another hit.”

“We have two hundred tons of acid to pump out. We fall behind, we stay another rotation. Anyone want that?” Cleaves asked.

The Doctor grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from the tank. “Please, you are making a massive mistake here. You're right at the crossroads of it. Don't turn the wrong way. If you don't, if you don't prepare for this storm, you are all in terrible danger. Understand?”

“My factory, my rules.”

“I need to check the progress of the storm.” The Doctor turned to Jennifer. “Monitoring station?”

Jennifer looked at him, not sure if she should answer or not.

“Monitoring station,” he reiterated. He was in no mood to argue.

“Three lefts, a right and a left. Third door on your left.”

“Thank you.”

Amy, Rory, and Elise hurried after him all the while the building shook with the force of the solar storm.

The Doctor went straight for the controls. “Waves disturbing the Earth's magnetic field. There is going to be the mother and father of all power surges. See this weathervane, the cock-a-doodle-do? It's a solar router feeding the whole factory with solar power. When that wave hits, ka-boom. I've to get to that cockerel before all hell breaks loose.”

He started to run out of the room when he turned back to them. He smiled. “I never thought I'd have to say that again. Amy, breathe.” He turned back around and ran through the corridor.

“Yeah! I mean, thanks. I'll try!” she called after him.

The three of them ran back into the Flesh room before the Monastery went dark.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Elise sat up and rubbed her head. Amy and Rory were passed out next to her. Apparently, she had landed between them.

Rory’s eyes opened. “Oh. For want of a better word, ow!”

Elise jumped up.

“Elise what is it?” Amy asked.

“Cleaves’ team!”

Rory and Amy got to their feet, found some portable lights, and made their way to the harness room.

Buzzer was being helped down from his harness. “I feel like I been toasted,” he said.

“What the hell happened?” Jimmy asked.

“The tsunami happened. You hurt?” Amy asked them.

“It feels like the National Grid's run through my bones but apart from that…”

“I hope the meter's not bust. I still want to get paid,” Buzzer said.

Elise rolled her eyes. “We have bigger things to worry about than that.”

Amy put a hand on her shoulder. Why was everyone trying to tell her to be quiet?

Rory ran over to Jennifer who was crying and hugged her. Amy looked over at them in jealousy.

Elise took her hand and said, “Rory loves you.”

Amy smiled at the young Timelord. “Thanks, Elise.”

The Doctor and Cleaves ran into the room. The Doctor ran over to Elise, checking her over for injuries.

“I’m fine, daddy,” she told him.

“Doctor, these are all real people, so where are their Gangers?” Amy asked.

“Don't worry. When the link shuts down the Gangers return to pure Flesh,” Cleaves reassured them, “Now, the storm's left us with acid leaks all over, so we need to contact the mainland. They can have a rescue shuttle out here in no time.”

The Dusty Springfield song from earlier started up again.

“That's my record. Who's playing my record?” Jimmy asked.

“Your Gangers. They've gone walkabout,” the Doctor said.

Cleaves shook her head. “No, it's impossible. They're not active. Cars don't fly themselves, cranes don't lift themselves and Gangers don't…”

They followed the sound of the record into the dining hall. It was a mess.

“No way,” Buzzer said.

“I don't, I don't believe this,” Cleaves added. The poor woman looked like she was about to pass out.

“They could've escaped through the service door at the back,” Jimmy suggested.

“This is just like the Isle of Sheppey,” Buzzer told them.

The Doctor sat down at the table. “It would seem the storm has animated your Gangers.”

“They've ransacked everything,” Cleaves said.

“Not ransacked, searched.”

“Through our stuff!”

“Their stuff.”

“Searching for what?” Jimmy asked.

“Confirmation. They need to know their memories are real.”

“Oh, so they've got flaming memories now?” Buzzer scoffed. He was really starting to get on Elise’s nerves, but Elise kept her mouth shut. No one was listening to her anyway.

“They feel compelled to connect to their lives,” the Doctor told them.

“Their stolen lives,” Cleaves said.

“No, bequeathed. You gave them this. You poured in your personalities, emotions, traits, memories, secrets, everything. You gave them your lives. Human lives are amazing. Are you surprised they walked off with them?”

“I'll say it again. Isle of Sheppey. Ganger got an electric shock, toddled off, killed his operator right there in his harness,” Buzzer told them, “I've seen the photos. This bloke's ear was all hanging…”

Jimmy cut him off. “Even if this has actually happened, they can't remain stable without us plumbed in to them, can they, boss?”

Cleaves looked at him. “Guess we'll find out.”

Jennifer gasped and grabbed onto the table she was standing next to.

“Are you okay? Do you need some water?” Rory asked, going into nurse mode.

“I feel funny. I need the washroom.”

“I'll come with you.” Rory followed her out.

Dicken sneezed, causing Amy to jump.

“Sorry,” he said.

“Oh! That’s okay.”

The Doctor stared at the card tower on the table.

“That's me. It's good to have a hobby,” Buzzer told him, “So what, my Ganger did that all on its own?”

“Who taught you to do this?”

“My granddad.”

“Well, your Ganger's granddad taught him to do it, too. You both have the same childhood memories, just as clear, just as real.”

Buzzer shook his head and destroyed the card tower. “No.”

“Scared, disorientated, struggling to come to terms with an entire life in their heads.”

“We need to protect ourselves,” Jimmy said.

The Doctor popped a meal into the microwave.

Elise narrowed her eyes at him. How could he think about food at a time like this?

“Are you a violent man, Jimmy?” he asked.

“No.”

“Then why would the other Jimmy be?”

“Don't tell me you can eat at a time like this, Doctor,” Cleaves said, voicing what Elise was thinking.

“You told me we were out cold for a few minutes, Cleaves, when in fact it was an hour.”

“Sorry, I just assumed…”

“Well, it's not your fault. Like I said, they're disoriented. Amy, when you got to the alcoves, who was in harness?”

“Jimmy and Dicken were helping Buzzer out.”

“Jennifer?”

“She was standing on her own when we got to her.”

The microwave dinged and the Doctor handed the plate to Cleaves.

Elise’s eyes widened, realizing what the Doctor was doing.

“It's hot,” the Doctor told her.

Cleaves quickly dropped the plate.

The Doctor took Cleaves’ hand, looking at her palm. “Trans-matter's still a little rubbery. Nerve endings not quite fused properly.”

Cleaves yanked her hand out of his. “What are you talking about?”

“It's okay.”

“Why didn't I feel that?”

“You will. You'll stabilize.”

“No, stop it. You're playing stupid games. Stop it!” She turned away from them.

“You don't have to hide. Please, trust me. I'm the Doctor.”

She spun around, her face now completely Ganger.

Buzzer grabbed a knife, but Jimmy held him back. “Where's the real Cleaves, you thing? What have you done with her?” he spat.

“That's it. Good, you remember. This is early Flesh. The early stages of the technology. So much to learn.”

“Doctor, what's happened to her?” Amy asked.

“She can't stabilize. She's shifting between half-formed and full-formed, for now at least.”

“We are living!” She ran out of the room, screaming.

“Let her go,” the Doctor told them.

Elise gasped. “Rory.”

Amy turned to the Doctor, realizing the same thing. “Doctor, Rory.”

“Rory?”

“Rory!”

“Oh, Rory. Rory! Always with the Rory.”

[soft-sarcasm]

JUNG JAEHYUN: GUTLESS GUISE.

Pairing: jung jaehyun x reader.

Summary: and it gnawed at you, an emptiness that would never be satisfied. (Or alternatively a visit disguised as something completely innocent.)

Genre: smut, angst, mentions of ramen for the umpteenth time.

Warnings: oral (male receiving,) riding, alcohol?

Word Count: 2,5+k.

a/n: i kinda like this, kinda hate this. i've started another piece right now and I'm like a good six pages into it but now I had to transfer it over to my laptop and exams have been eating up my soul. so hope you guys enjoy.

A chorus of rain smacking against concrete and mechanical whir of the microwave soundtracked the emptiness that flipped in the pit of your stomach. It was a reflex in the face of the patronisingly slow rotation that was working to heat up the edible substance that would be your first source of sustenance for the day. 

Eating had become something of an afterthought in the peripheral of your mind that had tunneled its vision down to the mountain of academic papers you had to decipher before your upcoming exams. This was the third time this week that your first meal of the day was going to be after 9pm and while you knew it wasn't exactly a healthy routine to fall into hunger was easy to ignore in the sted of anxiety. It was especially easy these days when there always seemed to be a perpetual sense of vacancy in your gut.

Finally, the heavenly chime of the radiating machine dinged and your hands were lurching to open it to retrieve the carcinogens saturated meal. The tantalising scent of artificially flavoured noodles and broth caused another twist in your belly as you rushed in the direction of your match-stick table where you wrestled yourself into the chair. You grabbed the set of chopsticks you had already set out for yourself and instantly dived in, your tongue lapping out on instinct to bring the savoury delight into your system. 

You were happily slurping on your noodles when there was a matter of a knock against the front door to your apartment and your head baulked up from its bent position. A sense of anticipation and disquiet crept up your throat that suddenly closed despite the waft of delicious cholesterol tempted the air.

You stood on instinct, hands moving to smooth the frazzle of your hair and the edges of your clothes before you could even make the conscious decision to do so. You couldn't help but glance back at the kitchen where a lonely pack of Shin casually sat as if it hadn't been purposefully placed there and suddenly you were walking to the door. It was no small feat to actually pull open the door despite the quieter but far more intelligent part of your brain telling you to resist and there was little time to react to the sight that punched you directly in your desolate abdomen. 

You thought at this point you would be prepared for the impact of seeing Jaehyun and yet it still never failed to test the buckle of your knees. He stood at his ordinary towering stature, left hand shoved in the pocket of his rain-damp hoodie as the other strangled the neck of the overly familiar clear vixen in his right grip. 

There was a noted tension in his shoulders as he shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, "Hey."

"Hey," You repeated as anything more eloquent simply slipped your vocabulary.

"Got any ramen?" He questioned as he shuffled again.

You nodded wordlessly, stepping out of the way so that he could slink past you. The tension never leaving his stature while the collapse in your legs walked along with you as you followed after him. It was only when you took refuge in the safety of your seat, your own bowl of food being slightly forgotten in favour of watching him manoeuvre around your kitchen with an inherent sense of familiarity. No words were exchanged and the smacks of rain continued undisturbed as Jaehyun went about preparing himself the meal he had used as his pretence. The soft clink of glasses sounded as he grabbed two from the top cupboard and brought them alongside their intoxicating Russian friend that to you was a declared enemy that you still willingly allowed to invade your system. 

There was no inquiry between the setting down of the glasses and the pouring of liquid as he instantly offered the freshly filled glass to you. You accepted without hesitation and tipped back the drink with a similar level of disregard as Jaehyun simply stared on. His stare was fathomless and made you feel vile in your own skin to the point you were grateful to the microwave for announcing its completion so that his attention was thankfully pulled elsewhere for at least a moment. It gave you time to at least somewhat collect yourself in the form of reaching for the bottle and allocating out another hefty pour for yourself. Jaehyun was soon joining you at the small table, twirling a ribbon of noodles around his chopsticks as you took another gulp while you still had yet to take another bite.

It had been a good twenty minutes now since Jaehyun had first arrived and you were both fully immersed in the effect of the now close to dry bottle of Vodka. This fact was made evident in the way that your hands tangled across each others' body with no abandon, a common trait of a shared lack of inhibitions.

Jaehyun's mouth swallowed your own in a way that was pleasantly suffocating. The harder it was to breathe the harder it was to think about ramifications. His large hand crept in between your two bodies that had intertwined over the polyester plush of your couch and he instantly found a perch in between your legs at the cleve in your jeans. The delicious amount of pressure he so expertly applied had you letting out a low growl as you took the skin of his bottom lip in between your teeth in retaliation to thumb that pressed down.

Your snarl was met with additional pressure and you clutched tightly to the grips of Jaehyun's shoulders to keep your balance hunched and straddled over him. Jaehyun removed his hand for only a moment and you instantly took the opportunity to slam your core down onto his elevated one causing a strangled moan to escape him.

"Fuck- shit," Jaehyun gasped in between the clash of your incisors and the expert swivel of your hips.

A gleeless smile pulled at your lips at the desolate sound and you suddenly gained a hunger to hear more which led to lethally slinking down the length of Jaehyun's anticipation taut body. Your hands instinctively found the waist of his jeans and you were popping the button with your teeth before he could even catch his breath.  The part in the denim gave you view of the grey underwear you couldn't help but believe he had chosen specifically for you from the knowledge of your fascination with the way the fabric darkened with his arousal. The effort whether conscious or not proved successful as your mouth watered at the darkened spot and instantly leaned down to gather a taste.

Your mouth latched down onto the head of his cock that pressed against the cotton and an explicit noise was elicited from the back of Jaehyun's throat as his back arched and his head flung back into the couch cushions. "Oh fuck yes."

You pulled away only when you had thoroughly suckled on the profusely leaking crown, using the moment to pull down the material barrier so you could sink your mouth onto the now exposed flesh. Jaehyun's cock was impossibly hard and seemed to stiffen with each swipe of your tongue as he continued to curse out your name, fist finding the root of your hair when you finally took him into the cavern of your mouth. Your gag reflex subsided in understanding of the intrusion, allowing you to all but completely swallow Jaehyun down. You absolutely thrived off of the weight of dick on your tongue and the sound of pleas on Jaehyun's lips as he attempted to restrain himself from pushing you further. But the last thing you wanted was for Jaehyun to maintain control and was why you momentarily retreated from him so that his attention was pinned to you in the loss of contact.

"Fuck my mouth," You adjured as your fingers absentmindedly kept the base of his cock occupied.

"What?" Jaehyun spluttered as you gave an expert twist of your wrist.

"Fuck my mouth, " You simply reiterated as you lowered back down to his dick, "I wanna choke on your cock."

Jaehyun let out a strangled cry as you engulfed him back into your mouth, tongue finding the underside of his dick. For a moment you thought you would have to repeat your request as he did little more but gurgle at the sensation of you taking him into your mouth. But almost as soon as the thought drifted through your mind, his hips were thrusting upwards and you found yourself spluttering. Suddenly the hold on your hair became a vice-like grip and you were struggling to breathe in between the punching thrusts that hit the back of your throat. The muscle of Jaehyun's thighs flexed in exertion as they rutted his cock up into your fauces and you felt the oxygen being deliciously stolen from you.

It was somehow more bearable to meet his eyes now rather than it was over the scent of cheap vodka and even cheaper noodles. Somehow the fact that he was using you to his own gain of pleasure was less evasive then looking at him without his cock in your mouth.

Jaehyun must have felt equally comfortable with the sight of yor because one glance down at your assumably wrecked expression had him reeling back, "Fuck you look perfect."

You squashed out the swell of your heart that attempted to rise in delight to the compliment, knowing full well that it was just his hormones and the fact that you looked a mess with your jaw unhinged and your eyes watering to accommodate his dick. So instead you tapped his thighs to let him know you wanted up and he slowed the tempo of his hips so you could come up for air, a trail of saliva connecting your lips to his cock even as you pulled back.

Without any further prompting then the impending ache in between your legs, you removed your trousers and underwear, not giving Jaehyun any warning before you were slamming yourself down onto his length.

"Fuck," He cried out having to clutch onto your hips for support as you took him to the hilt.

"Shit," You sighed in content at the sensation of being so pleasantly filled and the previous emptiness being subdued if even for a second.

You slowly began to roll your hips, taking Jaehyun in a bit deeper with every swirl. Jaehyun started up at you with his mouth parted in a mixture of pleasure and awe as you jostled on top of him.

"Don't look at me like that, " You ordered in between pants as you raised yourself up and slammed back down, hand drifting down to your clit so that you could speed up the process. Because loathing had begun to blossom in your chest at the flickers of hope that a look so close to affection yet so devoid of it caused within you.

"Sorry," Jaehyun gasped even though there was little apology in his voice when he was arching into each of your ministrations and twitching within you, "Are you close?"

Your insides clenched almost in answer as he rammed his hips up to meet yours and you pressed down expertly onto your clit, "Yeah."

"Thank god," Jaehyun sputtered, eyes now closed for your sanity, "I don't know how much longer I can hold on."

You nodded in agreement even though you knew he would be unable to see it, your own conscious tipping in the direction of ecstasy as your movements grew more frantic. You placed your hands onto his chest for better support as you rigorously rolled your body, chasing after that split instance of relief.

"Fuck, fuck, I'm gonna-" You began to babble in time for your actions to meet the edge of paradise and suddenly you were spiralling, hips moving on instinct as you rode to keep up with it.

Your vigorous chase triggered Jaehyun's own release that warmed the deepest part of you in a way that would have been potentially hazardous if it weren't for your daily dose of precautions. Your name left his lips like a forgotten song and you slumped forward in exhaustion, swirling beneath the haze of pleasure. 

Unfortunately, the fog lifted a bit too soon as Jaehyun moved to remove you for on top of him so he could free himself to a sitting position. You allowed yourself to be placed to the side as you always have, watching as his back turned to you and he moved to the furthest edge of the couch.

"We can't keep doing this," Jaehyun stated and his words ricocheted off every wall, booming directly in your ear and into your soul.

"You're the one who keeps coming back," You pointed out in an attempt of bravado that did little to quell the shame that crept like tentacles up your spine, "You broke up with me remember?"

Jaehyun winced as if the truth of the matter burned, "I know. But we weren'- aren't right for each other; this has to be the last time."

"Yeah," You conceded even though you knew there was no substance to your utterance.

You allowed your eyes to slip close so that you wouldn't have to watch as Jaehyun rose to his feet to clean himself off and redress; hearing it was painful enough. You blindly grasped for a residing blanket to cover your nakedness though knowing that Jaehyun was preparing to leave yet again made you feel far more vulnerable than any lack of clothing ever could.

You remained with your eyes fastened shut through the moments that ticked on as Jaehyun rustled around for his things, your ears pricking to the exhale he let out by the door. There was a sharp metallic click of a handle that made you finally open your eyes to see Jaehyun's back, a sight that had become all too familiar these past few months during these less than conducive yet more than frequent visits.

"I'll see you," You spoke dryly over the tension, "I'm sure it'll be the last time next time."

Your answer was silence as Jaehyun took a step outside of your door. Because what could he say? You both knew that it wouldn't be long until he would be stepping right back in.

[arivers610]

Bitches Be Crazy

Erica perked up when Celeste and Mina sat down,

“Good you guys are here now, okay so how does everyone feel about going to a club this weekend!”

Daisy and Mina nodded but Celeste and Nehemie didn’t seem too excited.

Celeste shrugged her shoulders,

“I’m just not a “club” person. Sorry but I think I’m going to pass.”

Nehemie nodded,

“Me too.”

“Oh come ‘on Neh, just tell your parents you’re staying over at my place.”

“And what will you be telling your parents Aminata?” Nehemie using Mina’s full name made her sound even more like the mother of the group.

“I’ll tell them we’re having a sleepover at your place. It’ll be just like that time we went to New York to see Drake and that turned out fine.”

“Us missing our bus, you losing your money and making us stay at some rent by the hour motel is not my definition of fine.”

“But that won’t happen because Celeste said that she lives on he own, everyone looked at Celeste, so can we stay with you this weekend?”

“Sure but I don’t know if I want to go out.”

“Please Celeste, Mina begged then Erica joined in, we need the whole gang.”

“Okay fine, but I have to ask my roommate.”

“Who’s your roommate?” Daisy asked

“His name is Julien, I found him on craigslist and he hasn’t killed me yet so he’s a pretty good roommate.”

“You live with a guy that you met on craigslist?” Erica shouted

“Is he cute?” Daisy asked

“He is and he is also very, very gay so there’s no need to worry about anything other than him possibly stealing your clothes.”

“Well that settles it, we’ll get ready at Celeste’s, drive over to the club and crash at her place, Erica shrugged her shoulders, as long as it’s okay with your roommate.”

Celeste sighed and nodded,

“I’ll ask him tonight but, Celeste pointed to Erica before she could celebrate, when one of us is ready to leave we all leave together, okay?”

Everyone nodded in agreement. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later on~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Celeste decided to take a break from her school work and do something that would relax her, paint. She threw on an old t-shirt of hers that was already splattered with paint, a pair of Soffe shorts, also covered in paint, and pulled her hair into a pony tail at the top of her head.

She laid down her white tarp, turned on some music and let her paint brush glide across the blank canvas. Her go to thing to paint was birds or flowers but this time she just started painting lines and dripping paint onto the canvas. Celeste picked up the canvas and slowly rotated it. The pinks and purples swirled together with the blue. She decided to leave the one corner completely free of paint. She dipped a thinner paint brush into some brown paint and painted a bird with its wings spread out. Underneath it she wrote with her fancy paint pen,

Be like a bird, fly forwards not backwards

When Julien came home, Celeste showed him her painting.

“I like the Jackson Pollock vibes, not crazy about the bird, Celeste rolled her eyes, but then again I can barely draw stick figures so who am I too judge. I love it.”

“Thanks, so how was work?”Celeste asked.

“It was okay, clam chowder girl called off again. So I had to stick around until thick ass Tony came in.” Julien smiled and grabbed a plate to warm up the leftover chicken and rice.

“I know why you call Tony, thick ass Tony but why do you call that girl clam chowder girl again?”

“Because it was the first thing she dropped when she started working, Celeste smiled and nodded, oh and how was school today? Did you learn anything?” he popped it in the microwave for 90 seconds.

Celeste shrugged her shoulders ,

“It was okay, oh by the way some of my friends want to go out on Saturday so I told them they can crash here afterwards, is that okay with you.”

Julien jumped up and hugged Celeste,

“Yes of course it’s okay, he flung her back and forth, I’m so happy you’re making friends.”

Celeste laughed and pushed him away,

“JuJu, you act like I’m some shut in who never wants to leave the house and would love nothing more than to lay on the couch and, Celeste stopped and nodded, okay so I guess that is pretty much me.”

“But not anymore, this weekend you’re going out, maybe next weekend you’ll  finally get laid.” Julien clapped his hands together.

Celeste sighed and shook her head,

“I don’t need to get laid Julien.”

“Oh really, he walked into the living room and grabbed the remote, let’s check and see what you’ve been watching on Netflix, shall we?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“When you’re sexually frustrated you watch Marvel movies because you’ve got the hots for the three Chris’s, Evans, Hemsworth and Pratt.”

“No I don’t, Celeste lunged at Julien for the remote, okay you’ve made you’re point. But it still doesn’t matter.”

Julien backed off,

“Okay, you’re right. I’m sorry I brought it up, he put his arm around her, you can do or not do whoever you want. Besides, one of us in this apartment should be welcomed at the pearly gates.” He winked and nudged his shoulder into hers.

“Nah, I’m already going to hell for laughing at old people falling down in those life alert commercials.”

“Did you ever see the video where someone takes clips from the commercials and adds music to it?”

“Yes, but let’s watch them anyway.”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The next day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The feminist voice of Sylvia Plath can be heard in her writing and told through her life, Celeste cleared her throat and looked down at her note cards, an examples of her feminist voice can be found in her poem Lady Lazarus which ends with the words, out of the ash I rise with my red hair and I eat men like air, Celeste looked up from her note cards and saw Ian smiling at her, even at the young age of 17 Sylvia wasn’t interested in the traditional roles that women had during that time. She wrote, I am afraid of getting older. I am afraid of getting married. Spare me from cooking three meals a day, spare me from the relentless cage of routine and rote. I want to be free I want to think, to be omniscient.”

Celeste put her note cards down and used the rest of her time to show images of Sylvia in a PowerPoint.

“Okay thank you Ms. Drummer, that was very informative. Does anyone have any questions, just as she was about to go sit down, a hand shot up in the air, Ian do you have a question for Celeste?”

Celeste clenched her jaw and let out an audible sigh. Ian nodded and leaned forward in his seat,

“Yeah I was wondering why you didn’t mention the fact that she was mentally ill?”

“Well because it doesn’t have anything to do with her being a feminist. If this was a Psych class I would’ve mentioned it. Unless you think they’re connected?”

Everyone turned and looked at Ian. He shook his head,

“I’m not saying they’re connected but maybe there is some truth to the saying, bitches be crazy.”

A few people in the class laughed but the teacher stopped it from going any further,

“Okay let’s keep the questions relevant and stop using terms like bitch to describe women.”

“My apologies Ms. Anderson and Celeste, I should have phrased the question better.”

His apologetic smile was enough for the teacher but Celeste stuck her lip up in disgust and took her seat.

After class the teacher handed Celeste her paper back and the grade she got on her presentation,

“You’re paper was great I just wish you would have brought that in a little more with your presentation but overall you did a good job. Keep it up!”

Celeste smiled and took her paper from the teacher. An A- wasn’t a bad grade but if it weren’t for the presentation part of the assignment she would have gotten higher than a 90%. She walked out of class with her head down reading the comments on her paper. Someone in front of her held the door for her,

“Thanks.” She said without looking up.

“You’re welcome Ms. Drummer.”

Celeste shook her head and turned around to face Ian,

“Don’t say my name like that.” Celeste straightened her back to appear taller and louder than she actually was.

“Like what?” Ian put his hands in his pockets and leaned in.

“Like, Celeste waved her hands in front of his face, that. Like everything you say has some hidden motive. It’s creepy and weird.”

“Whatever you say, he looked down at her paper then up to her face, good job by the way.” He winked and brushed past her.

IanJReyes0716: “The night I lost my keys, broke into a car and realized it wasn’t my car.”

KingStephen009:”You never did get that jacket back from that tattooed chick, did you?”

IanJReyes0716: “Nope but it was worth it.”

[sending-the-message]

Lock the door! by M59Gar

I had the strangest roommate in my freshman year of college. Despite being otherwise normal and even a bit shy, Eddy would, every so often, become frantically possessed by a sudden overwhelming need to lock the door. It didn't matter which door, either. Wherever he was when the fit came upon him, he would leap up, run to the closest entrance, and lock it. People who stood in his way were screamed at. Anyone who tried to stop him would get attacked. He became a ranting sweaty madman until his mysterious sense of vulnerability passed—but the moment it was gone, he would apologize profusely, sink timidly into himself, and scurry away embarrassed. For that reason, it was hard to hate him.

But it became a little easier to despise him each time I returned home to find myself locked out. Similarly, each time I brought him to a party and he had one of his episodes, I inevitably lost potential romantic interests and friends because I was roommates with that Eddy guy. Halfway through the year, after the third almost-girlfriend ghosted me because he scared the shit out of her, I put in for a dorm room transfer and washed my hands of the poor guy.

That was almost seven years ago now, so when Eddy messaged me on social media and said he was in town and had run into some travel issues, I decided to give him another shot. I'd always felt sort of felt bad about how I'd treated him in the end. So, I drove half an hour out to his broken-down car and picked him up around one in the morning on a normal Wednesday night three weeks ago.

I remember pulling up to the edge of a high cliff-side road to see a skinny silhouette waving at me. He was leaner than I remembered, and somewhat more in shape. My headlights illuminated him fully; I saw his face glisten, and I laughed. That was Eddy alright��sweat was sort of his hallmark. He hefted a duffel bag and ran up to my passenger side before fiddling with the door handle repeatedly.

"Don't pull it when I'm unlocking it," I told him.

He waited a tick; I pushed the button, and he tried the handle at the same time. "Oops!"

"Wait," I said again, hitting unlock as I did so. "Ok, now."

He finally got the door open and clambered in with a nervous laugh. "Sorry, man." His long legs folded up a bit as he got situated, and I could see his exposed ankles. "Thanks for picking me up."

I shrugged. "No problem at all. Do you know what's wrong with it?"

"Yeah, the alternator's been having trouble. I think the cold weather finally did her in."

"Cool." I gave a slight cough to clear my throat, and we drove in awkward silence until he brought up a joke from the past. Just like that, we slipped into that first semester seven years before, with all its new experiences, hilarious misadventures, and surprise pressures. By the time we reached my place, I'd remembered the good things about him, and I was glad I'd decided to help him out. On the way in, I pointed to the couch. "That's probably the best spot in the apartment. I'm trying to save money these days, so the place is pretty small."

"Rent these days, eh?" he asked, before placing his duffel bag down and sitting carefully on the couch to evaluate its softness. "This'll do fine. I can't thank you enough. I'll get out of your hair in the morning as soon as the repair shops open."

"No problem at all, Eddy."

"Actually, I go by Ed now."

Good for him. He'd definitely grown as a person from the socially fearful outcast I remembered. I grinned. "Then no problem at all, Ed."

I went to bed back in my room without a single worry. It seemed like his issues had been resolved by maturity or medication, and who was I to judge someone for trouble beyond their control? That was in the past.

Of course, I was completely wrong.

Around four in the morning, I awoke and got up to get a glass of water from the kitchen. I knew my own apartment, so my footsteps were pretty much silent, but Eddy still sighed and stirred on the couch as if something was bothering him. I stood by the fridge, glass in hand, as he whimpered, struggled, and then leapt up. In a mad terrified dash, he ran to my front door and slammed the deadbolt. He gave out a deep breath of relief and remained there with his head down while I tried to figure out the best way to let him know I was present. Well, if he was having a fit, there was no good way to do this.

"Ed?"

He seized up mightily, gasped in as much air as his lungs could hold, and then slowly turned around. His face was obscured in dimness, since the only light came from various red or green pinpoints on the television and microwave, but I could tell he was sweating profusely. After a long moment, he managed to breathe again. Finally, he said, "Oh. Hey. Didn't see you there."

"Yeah." I put my glass down on the counter. "You alright, dude?"

He meant his laugh to sound nonchalant, but it just came out nervous and high-strung. "Same old, same old, you know how it is."

I went around the counter and approached him. He moved back a few steps, and I touched the door. "This is a safe neighborhood. There's nothing to worry about."

He nodded awkwardly.

Unsure I believed his calmness, I moved my hand to the deadbolt. I wanted to make sure he wasn't going to get weird while I was asleep if I went back to bed.

He made a sudden half-halted leap toward me, hand out. "Don't!"

At that moment, I was starting to remember the times I'd seen him attack people during an episode. "There's nothing out there!" I gripped the deadbolt to turn it back toward me, but a very slight shadow moved somewhere in my vision. The hell? No, it couldn't be. Reacting rapidly, I put my eye to the peephole.

My brain made sense of the curved panorama just in time to see a sliver of a silhouette disappear along the sidewalk to the left.

Eddy moved closer, bringing the smell of his panicked sweat with him. "Did you see something?!"

"No," I lied. I kept staring out through the peephole, watching the quiet night in my otherwise unremarkable neighborhood. The asphalt glimmered darkly under the stars while distant lamp posts cast long shadows across grass. "Remind me again, what makes you suddenly want to lock the door?"

Now that I wasn't actively trying to unlock it, he seemed slightly less manic. "I never told you because I thought you were starting to hate me, but, uh, when I was eight years old I had a sudden feeling that I should lock the door. I didn't, and, uh—" He shivered. "—some men broke in a moment later and robbed us."

I frowned at his glistening shadowed face. "Jesus. Was anyone hurt?"

He nodded between audible breaths. "My mom." Another three breaths passed in the otherwise silent darkness. "She didn't make it."

"Damn." I didn't know what else to say. "Just—damn. No wonder."

"No wonder?"

Before I could elaborate, the sound of something skittering outside reached us. He turned and listened in one rapid motion like a startled animal, and I had to admit, I was none too calm either. Still, I couldn't risk amping up his anxiety. I did want to sleep again at some point.

He whispered, "Where was that?"

"It sounded like it came from the back." I whispered, too. "I'm sure it's nothing. Let's go." I led the way, and we crept through my apartment. He made sure to mimic my steps, but he was still louder than me, and I nearly winced at every creak. By the time we entered my bedroom and reached a rear window, my nerves were raw.

The window was fitted with stops that prevented it opening all the way; I usually left it open for the breeze, even in the winter. We sat in total darkness in front of that thin rectangle of cool air. Looking and listening, we sought any sign of what had made the noise.

Have you ever actually listened to the sounds of the city at night? What I'd gotten used to as silence was actually anything but. Soft wind stirred a rustling in the nearby bushes. A train blew a horn in the unknown distance. A dog barked twice. Briefly, an ambulance siren trekked across the horizon. Under it all, a constant low haunting wail emanated across the world from the nearby highway. I'd always hated that noise whenever I'd accidentally become aware of it because I thought it sounded like a thousand ghosts screaming from very far away, but I wasn't about to tell Eddy that.

It was about that time that my gaze landed upon something among the trees. When I'd first seen the closely bunched collection of white pinpoints, I'd assumed they were reflections from somewhere. Now, though, as I watched them carefully, I was nearly certain I was seeing them rotate upward. It was as if someone was spinning a wheel of lights whose narrow side was facing us; from the size and distance, the wheel must have been two or three feet in diameter. I whispered, "What is that?"

After finding it with help from my pointing finger, Eddy's stare deepened. "I've never seen anything like it. What could that possibly be?"

I couldn't make sense of it. While I watched, it grew slightly dimmer, then slightly brighter. "It's definitely casting light around it. I think I saw some leaves above it."

"Is it changing?" Eddy clutched my wrist as he stared at those strange up-wheeling lights. "Is it getting bigger?"

I couldn't be sure, but how could it be getting bigger unless—

Jumping up, I placed my fingers on either side of the window and brought it down swiftly and quietly. Then, I turned the latch and locked it before pulling the nearby cord and sliding the blinds down. "Whatever it is, we're secure in here. We'll be fine. It's probably just some kids playing with light toys or something."

He sighed and opened his mouth to speak, but a visible change came over the silhouetted contours of his head. An instant later, he leapt over and slammed my bedroom door shut. The boom echoed loudly in my ears. I demanded to know what he was doing as he locked my door.

Eddy turned around and put his back to it. I could tell he was wild-eyed from the way he whispered. "Be quiet! It's in your apartment!"

The adrenaline spike from the slammed door made me a little angrier than I wanted to be. "What? What's in my apartment?"

His frantic whisper was nearly a hiss. "I don't know! I just know that we have to keep this door locked!"

I was fuming, but if I spoke, I would have said something I regretted, so we stood there in the dark for a solid few minutes. I began to calm down as those minutes passed, and, once I was in control again, I opened my mouth to whisper. "Hey, I'm sorry, I—"

The floor creaked outside my bedroom door.

I froze.

Eddy backed away from the door and faced it alongside me.

It was nothing but a dark rectangle in front of us, but I stared at it for any hint of motion or change. The crazy thing was, I had no idea what I was even looking or listening for. What could possibly have been out there? Not only had we left the front door locked, there'd been no sound of entry, forced or otherwise. If there was someone or something out there, how had they gotten in?

Dim light began to move across the walls of my room, and I waited for the sound of a passing car—but none came. As we watched the door, brighter light began to roll upwards around us, again as if someone was spinning some sort of lit wheel. It didn't take long for us to realize that whatever we'd seen in the distance outside was growing closer to my window. Beyond the blinds, something was coming nearer, but neither of us dared look away from my bedroom door for even an instant.

Then, I saw it.

Between moving lines of shadow and light, I could have sworn my door handle had changed angles.

I backed away; a look at the blinds showed definite lights spinning closer, as if they were right outside the window and about to come up against it. Grabbing Eddy by the shoulder, I pulled him with me into my tiny one-person bathroom. He closed and locked the door the instant we were inside.

My heart was hammering in my chest to the point of actual pain. Grunting my whisper, I asked, "What the hell is happening?"

He shook his head. "I have no idea."

"Are you sure?" I asked him, squeezing his wrists. "This all started with that robbery and attack on your mom, right?"

"No," he whispered back.

My bathroom door was flush to the outside carpet, but hints of rotating light began to appear beneath, as if that insane impossible wheel had somehow entered my room without opening or breaking the window. None of this made sense! "It has to be you somehow."

"No!"

"It has to be!" I shook him violently. "Is your fear making it real? Is something after you?"

"You don't understand," he whimpered. "I didn't finish the story. It didn't start with that incident. I'd been getting the urge to lock doors for years before that. The first time I didn't—that's when they came."

I couldn't understand exactly what he meant. "The robbers?"

He shook his head.

Oh, god. "They weren't robbers, were they?"

He shook his head again.

My voice dropped to a razor hiss. "What's out there, Eddy?"

All he could say was, "They want in."

Something about the way he said it finally made me understand. "It's not about the bathroom door, is it?" I looked out through it, thinking of my bedroom door, and my apartment door beyond that. "It's not about the literal entrance to the room you're in."

The rotating light below began intensifying as whatever was out there approached our hiding spot.

His panicked grip on my hands told me I was right. "Then why do you lock real doors, Eddy?" I shook him until he looked at me despite his fear. "Is it a metaphor? Does it make you feel better? Does it close them off somehow? Why isn't it working this time?"

He began to cry, sending mixed drops of tears and sweat onto my forearms. "I couldn't take it anymore. I'm tired of the constant struggle."

The high cliff-side curb where I'd picked him up flashed through my mind clear as crystal, and the fear that had been building since the moment I saw him wake suddenly left me. He'd gone to that cliff for a reason, and he'd probably had second thoughts as he stood there alone in the dark. Completely calm, I asked, "Your car didn't break down, did it?"

He shook his head.

"You messaged everyone, didn't you?"

He nodded.

"And I was the only one that responded."

He rocked back and forth in front of me. "I just couldn't take it anymore. They want in. They're always out there. They want in. I always lock them out, but they never stop. I'm tired of being terrified every minute of every day!"

Air began moving under the door as the lights reached peak intensity outside; whatever it was, it was almost upon us. "There's nowhere to go, Eddy. Let's open that door. Maybe you're constantly terrified because they want you that way. Let's face them. Let's be unafraid—and it might just work."

He didn't respond, but I dragged him to his feet. I had never wanted to do anything less in my entire life, but there was nowhere else to go. With a firm grip on his wrist, I reached forward with my free hand, unlocked the door, and flung it open.

I don't care if you believe me. That's not the point. But I'll tell you what I saw: the lights were eyes. They were bright enough to obscure the grotesque moving body beneath. I still can't understand how it was spinning like that. Snakelike curves connected things in shadow. Every blazing pinpoint swung up, flashed us with images of hatred and fear and paranoia, and then continued past, moving on too fast to process. That was the thing: the images were lies. My girlfriend was cheating on me. My teachers at school had thought of me as a failure. My boss hated me and only put up with me because he hadn't found a replacement yet.

But each individual lie raced past too quickly to pick apart and resist. I knew they weren't true, but they just kept coming. At the heart of this creature, I sensed a hunger for fear; I kicked a wide grasping mouth away and jerked Eddy out with me, getting a few feet past whatever the hell that thing was. It turned toward us again as I flung the bedroom door open.

I'd been right about the door handle turning. That much I knew in that instant.

The madly spinning shadows and light failed to illuminate the beast that lay beyond that door. Immediately, I knew the thing behind us was just a servant to this, because this was so, so, so, so much worse. The only thing I truly registered was a melted face. Its misshapen gaze seized the beating heart muscles in my chest and filled me with absolute terror, as if it had the power to reach inside me and dredge out all the blackness and animal fear in the corners of my human soul.

I knew: these things didn't want in to my apartment or my bedroom. It wasn't so simple as that. They wanted in to our world, and Eddy was some sort of conduit for that nightmarish goal. He always had been. I had the knife-keen vicious sense that I needed to kill him immediately.

But maybe that urge came from the emotions those creatures were giving off.

As the sludge specter with the melted face began a rising scream that threatened to deafen me, I did what I had to do: I grabbed the heavy lamp from my nightstand and smashed my window clean through. I threw Eddy out a moment after, and then pulled my arm from a burning grip of caustic acid to escape. I could only lay on the ground screaming as Eddy did the rest by dragging me away from that place.

That was three weeks ago.

The burn from the grasping hand of that sludge creature refused to heal. The doctors at the emergency room couldn't make heads or tails of it. Something had burned the shape of a melted hand around my forearm—and continued to burn as they studied it. They could find no acid, no catalyst, and no heat. Eventually, they had to release me. Of course, their lack of understanding didn't lessen the hefty medical bill any.

I parted from Eddy the next day, telling him to stay strong and remain unafraid. We'd beaten the forces of hatred and paranoia personified and escaped with our lives by charging through rather than hiding. He seemed unconvinced, and repeatedly said that we hadn't done anything, that I'd dragged him out of there, and that without me he didn't know if he could do it. "But I have a life to live," I told him. "Gotta pay off that ER bill and find a new place."

He understood—or at least, he said that he did.

Today, I saw Eddy again. He didn't know I was there, because it was just a chance encounter on a city street. He was in a bar watching a television above and drinking a beer. I stood outside and watched him through the window for a moment, awed at the change. He was sitting with new friends. He was wry, confident, and completely ignoring the door of the bar instead of nervously looking at the entrances every so often. It was such a positive change that I actually went inside with a smile.

But I stopped about ten feet behind him as, over the noise of the bar television above, I began to hear what he was talking about.

His words floated in the air with a nearly perceptible stench; sludge dripped from the back of his sentences, burning the ears of those near his group. His new friends agreed happily and haughtily, replying noxiously in kind.

A disgruntled customer nudged me as he passed. "Ignore those assholes."

I turned away with misting eyes and walked out into the chill night. I hadn't saved Eddy at all. He'd found refuge not in standing up to those creatures, but by going down a path I hadn't even considered. I looked through the window of that bar one last time. The misshapen creature that had burned me with its touch grinned back from the shadowed corners behind the television. It had found the entry into our world that it had craved for so long.

I'd unlocked the door, but it was Eddy that had let them in.

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