#12 April: okay we need a plan—
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Mornings | Jaehyun
summary: fluff, a collection of mornings with Jaehyun over the years as you spend your lives together.
word count: 1,127
Saturday August 10, 2019 [7:18 am]
You woke up, having hardly gotten any sleep, but energized as ever. Today you were meeting up with your boyfriend, Jaehyun. You two had just made everything official and your heart was so happy.
You go into the bathroom to do your skincare, and when you walk back into your room, you notice a good morning text from him.
Jaehyun: "Good morning baby! Can't wait to see you today <3"
A single text shouldn't make you this filled with joy, but it's from Jaehyun, so of course it does.
Y/n: "I can't wait either! Do you think we could also get some ice cream afterwards?"
Jaehyun: "We'll do anything you want angel"
You flop back onto your unmade bed, your thoughts filled with how lucky you feel to be Jaehyun's girl. You start to get giggly because you know that, by the end of the date he's going to cup your face into his hands and tell you how pretty he thinks you are, like he always does.
⸻
Sunday November 10th, 2019 [1:17 am]
You were supposed to be at home, already asleep in bed by now, but you and Jaehyun didn't want to leave each other. Each of you making excuses to prolong your date. Now it's one in the morning and you're on a walk, the street lit up by the moonlight. Each step you take, now unconsciously synced with his.
Jaehyun hasn't let go of your hand once, and you wish that he never would. While you were enjoying your stroll, his mind was racing, thinking of how to tell you. He knew in his heart that you felt the same way about him, so he decided it would be best to just tell you outright.
"Y/n?" He says, with a hint of nervousness in his voice.
You both stop and turn to face each other, knowing from the tone in his voice that he needs to tell you something important. "I love you."
Words cannot describe how your heart feels in this moment. The way he's looking at you, like you're the most precious person in the world to him, was making you melt.
"You love me?" You say with a teasing smile, tilting your head slightly.
"So much y/n. I can hardly take it." He says, breathlessly.
You stand up on your tippy toes and give him the biggest kiss you've ever given him. "I love you too, Jaehyun."
⸻
Sunday December 15th, 2019 [9:12 am]
The slight movement of Jaehyun cuddling more into you was the reason you had woken up. You move to get into a more comfortable position, causing Jaehyun to wrap his arm tighter around you.
“I’m sorry baby, did I wake you up?” Jaehyun says with his morning voice that you couldn’t get enough of.
“Hm, it’s okay. I love cuddling with you in the mornings.”
Jaehyun nuzzles his head into your neck, “Me too, baby.”
You fall back asleep, thinking about how excited you were that it’s almost your six month anniversary together. You can’t believe that you’ve been together for that long, the time feeling like it was going by so fast.
⸻
Friday April 16, 2021 [7:32 am]
You knew something was up. You weren't sure what, but Jaehyun and all your friends and family had been acting strange for the past month. Like they all knew something you didn't.
You had just gotten a promotion at work, so maybe they all came together to plan a surprise party for you. But that's not really something you would enjoy and they all know that, so you really had no clue what it could be.
Today, Jaehyun was taking you out on a fancy dinner date, so whatever was going on definitely wasn't happening today.
"Good morning, angel." Jaehyun says, once he sees that you're awake. He's carrying a suit that he must have just picked up from the dry cleaners.
"Did you buy a brand new suit for our dinner?" You ask, confused.
"Yeah." He shrugs, as if getting a new suit was no big deal. As if he didn't have to spend days finding the right one for the special occasion. As if he didn't get the suit tailored to fit him exactly the way he knows you like.
You had more questions, but Jaehyun distracted you from them all by climbing into bed with you and giving you a million little kisses. You were in heaven whenever he did this.
Little did you know, that in only a couple of hours he was going to be down on one knee, in the park that you two visited during your first date, asking you to make him the happiest man on earth.
⸻
Monday May 16, 2022 [10:35 am]
You woke up with the waves coming from right outside your hotel window. You feel around the bed and notice that Jaehyun must have already gotten up. You hear a sound in the bathroom and know that he just got finished with his morning shower.
He comes out of the bathroom with a white robe on, his hair wet and messy, but you don’t think you’ve ever seen anyone as handsome in your life.
“Can you believe we got married two days ago, Jae?” You ask, unapologetically staring him down.
“No, I can't." He says, jumping back under the covers with you. "Did my beautiful wife have a good night's sleep?”
You rest your chin on his now bear chest. “Yes, I did.”
He strokes your hair as he looks down at you. “Should we sleep in on the first day of our honeymoon?”
You nod your head yes, adamantly. You come up to press a kiss onto his lips and he cups your face into his hands and kisses you back. He pulls away, but just for a moment to ask you a question. “Do you know how beautiful you are y/n?”
⸻
Monday May 8th, 2028 [7:23 am]
“Mommy!” You hear as your oldest hops onto your bed, waking you up. “Mommy, happy mothers day!” She presses kisses all over you, making sure that you're fully awake.
“Thank you sweetheart.” You say, sitting up so you can give her a hug and another kiss. She giggles in your arms and gets close to your ear like she has a secret to tell you.
"We made you something." She whispers.
Soon after, Jaehyun walks through the door, balancing your youngest in one arm and a stack of pancakes in the other.
“Happy mothers day, angel.” Jaehyun tells you as he sits the pancakes down on the bed and leans over to give you a sweet kiss.
#jaehyun#nct#nct 127#drabble#nct scenarios#imagine#jaehyun x reader#jaehyun x y/n#fluff#k-pop#fanfiction#nct fanfic#jeong jaehyun
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If I'm There
Summary: You hadn't seen or spoken to him in over a year, but now you have to track down your ex-husband over unpaid parking tickets. It was supposed to be easy, but seeing him with his new partner made it anything but.
Soulmates AU, Simon/Johnny/Reader
Warnings: so much angst, past child death, alcoholism, divorce, heavy stuff, but happy ending.
A/N: I'm not completely pleased with it, I don't feel very strong with Simon and Johnny’s characters in this, but posting anyways. It's part of a series I had written a while ago, but it works as a one shot too. Song is 'If I'm There' by Bad Omens.
“Riley! I got a job for you!”
I looked up from the paperwork I had been doing, bored out of my mind before stuffing it into the file it had come in.
“Yes! Farah, love of my life, light of my heart, tell me it’s a good one,” I said, walking over to get a look from her.
“Seems you’re on the hunt for a blast from your past,” the dark haired woman said, handing me a file. “12 unpaid parking tickets and has not shown up to court.” I opened the file, wanting to throw it away immediately, but seeing the large bounty on it, I kept it. It wasn’t often that amount was put out on people for nonviolent crimes and I wasn’t about to pass up something so easy. “Also a second one. 4 unpaid speeding tickets, 3 failure to signal tickets, and 1 ticket for having a pet off leash. . . An emu.” Farah handed me another file and the bounty was just as much.
“And a partridge in a pear tree,” I said with a snort. “Merry Christmas to me.”
“It’s April,” Farah said evenly before turning back to the computer.
“Well, it’ll feel like Christmas when I turn these two idiots in,” I said, taking their addresses to shove into my back pocket in case my first plan didn’t work. “With a nice bonus for you too.”
“Oh happy days,” Farah said dryly.
“You know, you could be a bit more cheery about life,” I said, folding the legal paperwork I needed before putting it into my jacket pocket.
“I could, but then we’d be friends and we can’t have that,” Farah said, not looking back.
“Of course, we wouldn’t want that,” I said, grabbing my phone from my desk. “Alright, I’m off. Hold down the fort and don’t set it on fire. Again.”
“I make no promises,” Farah said as I walked out the door. Walking over to my car, I pulled out my phone to dial a number I had deleted from my phone over a year ago. As I sat in the car, a little voice in the back of my head told me to ignore this job. That it was inviting chaos and discourse back into my life after I had struggled to get some sort of peace. I had to see him at some point and it was probably easier to do it this way rather than during an awkward grocery store run in. Tapping the numbers was second nature and I didn’t even hesitate on a single digit. I held the phone to my ear as I coached myself to stay cool.
“Hello?” A man’s voice came over the line. I hadn’t heard it in nearly a year, but it still sounded the same. “Hello?”
“Hey. . . It’s me,” I said, swallowing back every urge that wanted to throw the phone into the street and speed away. “I really need to talk to someone. Are you free right now?” There was a sigh then silence. I thought he’d hung up on me, but a jostling noise told me he was still there.
“Sure, where do you want to meet?” He asked, his tone flat.
“Joe’s Coffee Shop? Half an hour?” I asked. I felt a little bad about tricking him, but then again I had bills to pay and he clearly was already done with me. So I didn’t feel too bad.
“Okay, see you there,” he said before hanging up.
There are scars that'll never ever show themselves
You get when you're left alone too long in Hell
The drive to the coffee shop was short thankfully and I was able to get a good parking spot to wrangle my targets into it. Hereford had its ups and downs, but the ups were that it really wasn’t as big as everyone thought. My ex and I had lived there for most of our adult lives before we split. Going our separate ways had meant chaos and disarray at first, but then I got my current job after a few months and it was something I could throw myself into.
We stayed in this area because while it was on the west coast, it was also a close knit community of sorts. People knew each other, local places were more abundant than chains, it just felt like back home. At Joe’s, I pulled up to park on the street before getting out of my black sedan.
Joe’s Coffee Shop was a local favorite with an outdoor patio. It was April and a sunny day so there were lots of people there sunbathing while sipping on iced coffees. Going in, I ordered one myself before picking a spot outside. Lazily sipping my drink, I pulled out my phone to check the time. I was never patient and even when I was early and he was on time, it had always got on my nerves.
“Hey.”
I looked up to see him standing there with that blank look he always had. Mostly hidden by his black face mask. It was the same one I made him that had the lower half of a skull printed onto it. He always wore a balaclava with a similar print, but walking around with that got him into trouble a lot. So, I made a face mask for him. I had taken the time to learn to sew and make patterns when I was not a crafty person. Seeing him still wearing it, I was thrown off my game.
“Hey Simon,” I said, standing up. Did I hug him? Shake hands? High five? Regret was filling my stomach as he stood there. We’d divorced over a year ago and hadn’t talked to each other since, but now his stupid unpaid parking tickets brought him back into my life.
We were supposed to be soulmates. We had the marks that everyone was born with. Everyone had a soulmate, people even had more than one at a time. It was supposed to mean we were going to spend the rest of our lives together, like some magical fairy tale that adults tell children.
If you found your soulmate you would feel more deeply, be more in tune with the other, have this special bond that no one else could have with you. Simon and I had had that bond.
But then we didn’t.
Things changed and we lost the bond or it broke or something and we couldn’t hack it. So, we divorced. I covered my mark on my hand with a small black bar tattoo, but Simon didn’t. I hated that he still had it. Just three simple arrows in a row on his forearm. We were meant to be together, so say the powers that be, but we proved them wrong. Life wasn’t a fairy tale.
“Everythin’ okay?” He asked, sitting across from me, shaking me from my thoughts.
“Yeah, just. . . Got lost for a second,” I said, sitting down as well.
“Are you seein’ that counselor still?” He asked. I nodded, taking a deep breath. I wasn’t there to catch up, I was there to collect a bounty. “Good,” he said.
“The reason I called you to talk in person is that I have a question,” I said, pulling out the legal paperwork.
“About what?” Simon asked with a frown.
“12 unpaid parking tickets? You have 12 unpaid parking tickets?” I asked as I shook my head at him, holding up the warrant.
“What about them?” He asked, narrowing his eyes at the papers. “How do you know about that?”
“Because you’ve got a warrant out for your arrest,” I said. “And I’m here to take you in.”
“Jesus,” Simon groaned, rolling his eyes as he shook his head. “You’re a bounty hunter now?”
“Yup. I was going to turn yours down, but the money was too good to give to someone else,” I said with a snort. Simon pinched his nose as he stayed sitting.
“This is a joke, isn’t it? It’s a really bad joke,” he said, looking at me. “Just tell me it’s a joke.”
“Not a joke,” I said, showing my badge and permit. “You never paid the tickets or showed up to court.”
“Fuck me,” Simon hissed.
“Everythin’ okay, Simon?” A Scottish brogue said.
I turned to see another man with a mohawk and the brightest blue eyes I’d ever seen walk over with a pair of coffees in hand. Wait a second.
“Don’t tell me, you’re Johnny MacTavish?” I asked, looking up at him.
“Uh, I am,” the man said, frowning as he looked at me.
“Oh wow, this has got to be the luckiest break ever!” I said, laughing as I stood up.
“Simon?” Johnny said, frowning.
“Easiest job I’ve ever had,” I said, pulling out the handcuffs from my belt.
“You’re not actually goin’ to take me in,” Simon said, tilting his head to look up at me. “This is just a heads up, right?”
“Oh no. I’m for real arresting you both right now,” I said. “Unpaid parking tickets, jay walking and traffic tickets, no shows in court, and a fucking emu? This is truly an April Christmas miracle.”
“I’m still confused, Simon?” Johnny said, looking at the other man.
“Wait, how do you two know each other?” I asked, realizing they had shown up together.
“Johnny, this my ex-wife,” Simon said as he stood up. “And this is my boyfriend, Johnny.”
I did not expect to feel that pang in my chest hit so hard. Of course he moved on. Why wouldn’t he? He had been the more grounded of us after the dust settled. I had no right to feel jealous or hurt by it. If he hadn’t been in trouble then I would have had no idea anyways.
“Wait, so she’s the one-” Johnny started.
“Yes, she is the one,” Simon nodded. “Now, when you’re done havin’ a laugh, I have to go. We have plans. Can’t believe after almost a year of not talkin’ and avoidin’ each other this is how you choose to show up again.”
“Oh, uh, it was nice to meet you,” Johnny said, tentatively holding out his hand for me to take after setting his drinks down. Fuck this. I slapped a cuff onto Johnny who cried out in confusion as I easily turned him to get his other hand.
“I wasn’t kidding,” I grunted as I handled Johnny, directing him to my car.
“Are you fucking’ kiddin’ me right now!?” Simon snapped.
“Like I said, I have arrest warrants for both of you. You’re lucky I even told you that,” I snapped back at him. Opening the car door, I put Johnny in the back before shutting the door. Simon didn’t seem to think it was going to go far, instead choosing to get on the phone with someone.
“Yes, hello?” He said before I ripped his phone from him to hang up. “What the hell!?”
“Simon, just let me cuff you so we can get this over with and we can move on with our lives,” I said.
“What is wrong with you? Normal ex’s don’t arrest each other,” he said, as I was able to get the cuffs on him just as easily.
“Yeah, well, we’re not normal ex’s,” I said with a sigh, putting the cuffs extra tight on his wrists. “Now shut up and get in the car.” Dragging him to the other side, I pushed him in next to Johnny before getting in myself.
“Are we being kidnapped?” Johnny asked as I pulled out onto the road.
“You’ve both have warrants out for your arrest because you two dumbasses didn’t pay tickets on time or show up to court,” I said. “5 years we were together and you never learned to pay the damn tickets.”
“I was goin’ to pay them,” Simon said with a huff. “I’ve been busy.”
“Uh huh,” I said, rolling my eyes at him. Johnny seemed to just be in a constant state of confusion, but kept quiet at least. The drive to the police station was shorand usually if there was more than one to book I would have other people with me, but given that those two weren’t going to really give me trouble, I didn’t worry too much. With both of them in cuffs and compliant, I was able to get them booked easily enough.
“Hey, Riley,” the officer at the desk, Roach, called as Simon and Johnny were being taken to be processed. I paused in my get away, ready to run as far and fast as I could.
They tried to keep in the secrets that you wouldn't tell
But they just stripped you for parts you had to sell
“Yeah?” I said, walking back over. I could see Simon staring at me hard from the cubicle he was in with Johnny that was just a couple of meters away. No doubt he heard the officer call me back over, still using his last name.
“Just need you to sign a few things for us,” Roach said.
“Alright fine, but it better be quick, I got a lunch date with a Blood Mary,” I said with a huff.
“You never changed your name,” Simon said, looking at me with a frown.
“Uh… No, no I did not,” I said, keeping my eyes on the papers in front of me.
“Why didn’t you change your name?” He asked.
“Because it’s a bitch to file paperwork and I’ve already been writing it for nearly 5 years. I made it a habit,” I said, glancing at him.
“No, no, you were filin’ for divorce before you even brought it up to me. You filed everythin’ before sayin’ a word,” Simon pushed. “Why didn’t you change your name?”
“I swear to god, Simon,” I hissed, slamming the pen on the counter. The small police station should have been buzzing about with noise, but as Simon kept demanding, everything and everyone went quiet.
“Just tell me why you didn’t change your last name,” he pushed.
“Because I still love you, okay?!” I snapped, whirling to glare at him. “I still love you, but we are not good together and it’s one piece of us that I can have without trouble. So there, there’s your answer, in front of your new boyfriend, too.”
“Love,” Simon said with a sigh.
“Don’t,” I said, cutting him off. “Anything else for me to sign?” I asked, turning back to glare at Roach.
“Uh, no that’s it,” Roach said. I hadn’t meant to crumble so easily. I thought I was stronger than that, but seeing him again, with someone else. . . What was I supposed to do? We used to be so good together, but then everything happened and shit hit the fan. I couldn’t be as soft as I once was and I couldn’t let him back in. It wasn’t fair to him. Not after the shit I put him through.
“Thanks,” I said, turning on my heel. Thankfully no one called after me again, letting me get to my car and drive home in peace. Getting home, I walked in to shut the door behind me. It was barely 2pm but there I was going right for the vodka in my freezer. I’d been sober almost four months, but seeing Simon. . . I couldn’t. It was supposed to be an easy grab and go, he’d get pissed and grouchy while I hauled his ass to jail.
Then it turned into a sudden confession at the police station in front of everyone and their dog to see and hear. I hoped that was the last I’d seen of him for a while. If ever.
Well, if I'm there to catch you when you fall
You'll have a friend down in Hell after all
Pulling a glass from my cupboard, I put a handful of ice in it before filling it with the liquor. I brought the glass to my lips, but paused. On the fridge was a magnet with a purple heart on it and the name ‘Dierdre’ in cursive letters. Staring at it, I held onto the drink as that ache brought back by Simon deepened. Like a scab reopening to become infected. The burning smell of the vodka was enough to pull me from scratching that open wound. Slowly, I set the glass down. That job was a mistake and I knew it the whole time. I thought maybe the money would soften any damage done or any hurt feelings, but it hadn’t done a damn thing.
Taking a deep breath as my mind threatened to unravel any second, I reached out to grab the bottle of vodka. Unscrewing the cap, I let it drop to the counter. The feel of the icy bottle in my hand helped pull me up from the warmth of depression that was pulling me into its arms. I tipped the bottle to watch the clear liquid pour into the sink, splashing and running down the drain. When the bottle was empty, I did the same to the drink I had made.
Standing in silence, I let out a sigh before moving to my living room, leaving the empty bottle on the counter.
And if you're there to catch me when I fall
Then maybe Hell ain't so bad after all
I pulled off my boots and jacket, texting Farah that I had everything signed and turned in and that I was done for the day. Shutting my phone off, I moved to flop onto the couch after peeling off my tight jeans. My bra went flying behind me, letting me settle in the warm weather with my windows open. The apartment was modest as Simon had kept almost everything in the divorce. I didn’t want it, so I left the house and anything I didn’t readily need with him. It was for the best. I didn’t need much and it made for less stuff when I moved.
Flipping on the TV, I turned it to good ol’ golf. I could put golf on at any time and it would put me in a dreamless sleep. That was what I needed. No dreams, no thoughts, no worries or wonders. Just the comfortable void that I could exist in without overwhelming feelings of any kind. In minutes I was passed out on the couch.
Until someone pounded on my front door.
Groggily, I looked around, confused as the sun had set and I was chilly in my underwear and tank top. Another loud knock came that had me glaring at the offending door.
“I’m coming!” I yelled, going to the door. Beside it in a small side table, I hid a Glock for when unsolicited callers came to the door. It was registered and everything, but wasn’t kept completely legal considering it wasn’t locked up with the ammo separated. My previous job and being a bounty hunter didn’t exactly make for the safest of conditions and the bad guys wouldn’t wait for me to put in my combination to my safe. “Who is it?” I asked, hand on the gun hidden under the table top.
“It’s Simon.” Quiet a moment, I scrunched my face in frustration while holding back the urge to tell him to fuck off.
“What do you want?” I asked, not letting him in or taking my hand off the gun.
“I want to talk to you,” he said. I heard him shifting around, waiting for me to answer. The thought of climbing out my window crossed my mind, but he’d just follow right behind me. Sighing heavily, I took my hand from the gun before I unlocked the door to open it. “Thank. . . You,” he said, his eyes trailing down my body. “Well then.”
“I was napping,” I grumbled, stepping aside. “Besides you’ve seen more of that.” I pushed the door to shut it, but it stopped when Johnny popped in. “Excuse me?” I said, looking between the two.
“We need to talk about earlier,” Simon said as Johnny walked in. “All three of us.”
“I don’t understand,” I groaned, scrubbing my face. “Why are both of you here?”
“Do you wanna put some pants on? We can turn around,” Johnny offered. I stared at him before looking to Simon.
“Just go have a seat on the couch, Darlin’,” Simon said with a soft sigh, rubbing Johnny’s arm. My eye twitched at the gesture and nickname, but I stayed quiet.
“I’ll be right back,” I said, going to the bedroom which was technically part of the living room. It had a partition set up to kind of offer a sense of it being a different room, but I didn’t try that hard. I grabbed a pair of sweatpants and hoodie to pull on before I rejoined the two men. Johnny sat on the couch, watching some show on TV that had come on during my nap while Simon was in the kitchen, holding the empty liquor bottle.
I didn't want to believe how much you needed help
And I just left you to be all by yourself
“I thought you said you were goin’ to counselin’,” he said softly.
“I am,” I said, taking the bottle from him to put in the recycling. “It was in the freezer from almost 6 months ago. I poured it out.”
“Are you bein’ honest with me?” Simon asked, looking at me. His dark eyes looked scared, worried, unsure. It was more than he gave me earlier that day at the coffee shop.
“I am,” I said. “Promise.”
“Good,” Simon said with a nod before motioning to the couch.
“So, what was it you two wanted to talk about?” I asked, pulling over a chair from my table as Simon sat next to Johnny.
“Aren’t you curious how we found ye?” Johnny asked as I turned off the TV.
“Not really. I know how you found me,” I said. “One of two options. Either you tracked me back through my phone records or you talked to my office manager, Farah. Who honestly should know better than to give my address out, but I assumed you pestered her enough that she caved.��
“Wow, she is good Simon,” Johnny said with a smile.
“I told you,” Simon said with a chuckle. I felt a hint of heat in my cheeks. Simon told Johnny about me? About how I was good at seeing things others didn’t? “Sorry, I told him you used to be a private investigator and he thinks it’s the greatest thing.”
“I love all those detective movies where the police don’t believe the evidence, but that rogue investigator finds it all out and cracks the case!” Johnny said excitedly. It was almost annoying, but it was also sweet. I hadn’t felt excited, truly excited, like that in a long time and didn’t know if I ever could again.
“It was mostly catching people cheating on each other,” I said, rubbing my face. “Hate to break the dream for ya.”
“That’s not what Simon said,” Johnny said. It was Simon’s turn to get a bit red in the cheeks.
“Oh really? What did he say?” I asked, crossing my legs as I leaned forward.
“Not why we’re here,” Simon said, covering Johnny’s mouth with his hand.
“Then why are you here?” I asked, turning my attention to him.
“We’re here to talk about us,” Simon said, motioning between me and him.
“What’s there to talk about?” I asked, sitting back up to cross my arms over my chest. “We’re divorced. We gave it a shot and it didn’t work out.”
“No, we gave it a shot and you called it quits. I was willin’ to work it out,” Simon said with a sigh.
“Obviously you don’t want to anymore, you brought your boyfriend over,” I said, motioning to Johnny.
“Johnny, go ahead and show her,” Simon said, looking to the other.
“Show me what?” I asked. Johnny glanced from me to Simon before he pulled up his shirt and pulled his pants down a bit. On his right hip was his soulmate mark. I swallowed hard, looking at it as tears pricked my eyes. It was the same as me and Simon’s. Three small arrows. “Well, good for you, you found a soulmate after I covered my mark,” I said. “You wanted to let me know you’d moved on completely and that I shouldn’t contact you again.”
“No, that’s not it,” Simon said as Johnny sat back down.
“Then what is it, Simon?” I snapped. “What do you want? I filed for divorce, I left you, I moved away from you, and the first time I called you in nearly a year is to arrest you, so you think that means anything?”
And now I wish I had seen that you weren't doing well
But I just came back to see how hard you fell
“You said at the station that you were still in love with me,” Simon said.
“No, I said I still loved you. There’s a difference. I’m not in love with you,” I said. It was mean and cruel, but I couldn’t let him think there was a chance we’d have a happily ever after. I was too much of a mess and barely managed to keep myself going most days as a functioning adult.
“But you could be,” Johnny said. I narrowed my eyes at him, snarling almost, but he didn’t flinch. “You could fall back in love with him.”
“I. . . I am not the person I used to be, Simon,” I said, trying to swallow back tears. “I’m not the girl you fell in love with and I probably won’t ever be her again. I’m not who you want or need.”
“Maybe Johnny’s right,” Simon said, scooting closer to me. “We’re both different people, but we could fall in love again.”
“It has been over a year, Simon,” I said. “You moved on with Johnny and I moved on. What is the point of us getting back together? We’re not good together.”
“No, we were,” Simon said. “We just lost each other when we lost Dierdre.”
“Don’t,” I snapped, close to losing it. “Don’t bring her into this.”
Well, if I'm there to catch you when you fall
You'll have a friend down in Hell after all
“You shut down so hard and pushed me so far away when we lost her, Love,” Simon said, reaching out to touch my knee. I pulled away instantly like his touch burned me. I sat rigid in my seat as I refused to look at him. “We made mistakes and we fucked up. I fucked up. I’m sorry that I wasn’t there when you needed me.” His voice was catching, making it hard to steel myself, to keep myself in my self appointed isolation. “It’s not your fault and I don’t blame you for anythin’. The drinkin’, the lyin’, the fights, I don’t blame you. Neither of us were in the right. I. . . I never stopped lovin’ you. Even when I met Johnny, I still loved you just as much as I did before. I still do.”
I shook my head, feeling my shell crack as tears slid down my face.
“You had a miscarriage, Love. We lost our baby girl and I thought I lost you too,” Simon choked out. We didn’t talk like this after we got home from the hospital. I had been seven months pregnant when something happened. There were sharp pains that I shouldn’t have had. Before we knew it I was in the hospital bleeding, hemorrhaging. The sac she was in didn’t develop right and it burst. By the time I was in delivery she was already gone. I barely made it out alive.
“You’re not just one event in your Simon’s life,” Johnny said suddenly, making me flinch. “A loss of a child is one of the hardest emotional pains to endure and a lot of couples do divorce afterwards because it seems like the world has come down upon you. It’s okay to feel those feelings and work through them, but it seems that you didn’t want to or didn’t have the capacity at the time to work through it with Simon. These things take time and that may be what was needed. Time.”
“Johnny was my counselor for a while,” Simon said with a soft chuckle. I looked at him, seeing the tears running down his cheeks, his mask off. It was the first time I had seen his face since before the hospital visit. “Then for obvious reasons I started seein’ a different counselor.”
And if you're there to catch me when I fall
Then maybe Hell ain't so bad after all
“The heart wants what it wants,” Johnny said with a soft smile and a shrug. “All that aside, with everything Simon has told me, I couldn’t deny him of seeing you. He loves you too much and I love him. I want us to be happy and even if that means we have separate relationships with Simon or if you just want to be friends again, I am all for it. Being married and together for so long, as well as soulmates, makes for an intense relationship, but also one you can’t just forget and burn a bridge to with something like you guys. All I ask is that you consider it and we’ll work through it together.”
“I don’t know,” I said softly. “I don’t think I’m ready or ever will be ready.”
“Love,” Simon said, reaching out to grasp my hand that had gripped my knee tightly. “We don’t have to pick up where we left off. I just. . . I need you in my life. Please.”
God, the feel of his hand around mine made me want to curl into a ball in his lap, let him rock me and hold me. It was so hard to keep myself in check.
“So, this is about making yourself feel better?” I said, trying to make a wedge between us. He needed to leave and move on with Johnny. They could be happy together, adopt, get a dog. I was too broken and missing pieces. There was no way that I could go back to him, not because he had been the cause, but because I was certain I would only hurt him again when he saw how badly I was cracked. “I told you, Simon. I am not who I was when we met, let alone when we got married. This version of me is not someone who is the loving and caring partner that is soft and a safe place to land.”
Build me up or tear me down, I will never make a sound
Build me up or tear me down
“How about a reset?” Johnny said. I looked at him confused, unsure what he was getting at. “You wipe the slate clean, you start over. That means, you start out as friends again, move on from there. I find it helps couples that feel they can’t get over certain bumps in the road to have an imaginary reset button. It’s been a year since you two have been around each other, you’re obviously in different places in your lives, and you have changed. A reset would probably be the best thing for you two if you want to be around one another again.”
“So what, we just pretend nothing happened before now?” I asked with a scoff.
“No, you definitely don’t do that,” Johnny said. “You start fresh. You acknowledge that you both have a past, but you don’t work around it. You work with it.”
“I’m on board for whatever you want,” Simon said. I took a deep breath, holding Simon’s hand without realizing it.
Run a dagger through my chest, I believe it's for the best
Build me up or tear me down
“I can’t,” I said, pulling my hand away from him. “I just can’t.” That sucking pit in my chest that had snuck up on me was gasping to get more of me.
“You don’t have to punish yourself for losing a child,” Johnny said. He had gone to his knees in front of me, making me see his face as he looked up at me. His words were spoken softly, but a force to pull me back from that place I was comfortable with. Where it was dark and lonely and it made sense to feel guilt. “You did everything you could to keep her safe and loved her so much. You were a good mum. It’s not your fault.”
All I could do was stare at him as he nodded, taking my shaky, clammy hands in his large, rough ones. I had manhandled him into cuffs earlier without hesitation, moving on instinct, and now I was in his calm, grounding grasp. “But-”
“It will never be your fault. There is no need to punish you for something that was not your doing. You deserve to be loved and have someone be there for you. This was not a failure on your part and never will be. You can let go of that weight. You’re not alone anymore and don’t have to be again.”
There are scars that'll never ever show themselves
You get when you're left alone too long in Hell
“Okay,” I choked out. “I. . . I want to try the reset thing.”
“We’ll go slow and easy,” Simon said.
“I want to start as friends, with both you and Johnny,” I said looking from Simon to Johnny.
“That’s the most I would ask for,” Johnny said, a smile on his face.
“Give me some time right now. I’ll text you later and we’ll go from there, okay?” I said, needing to remember to breathe.
They tried to keep in the secrets that you wouldn't tell
But they just stripped you for parts you had to sell
“Sounds good,” Simon said, a smile spreading across his face as well. Even though we got what we all wanted apparently, why was I the only one not smiling? Why did it feel like I wasn’t going to get what was promised? The only person dangling the carrot in front of me was myself and I knew the bitch would never let me have it if someone didn’t make her.
“I’m gonna give you two a minute, I’ll be out in the car,” Johnny said, getting up. He dropped a kiss to Simon’s head and waved to me before letting himself out.
“What?” I said, looking at Simon as he stared me down.
“Do you really want to do this? To reset?” He asked.
“If I didn’t, would I have said yes to it?” I asked, rolling my eyes, unable to keep from putting up my guards.
“No, but that doesn’t mean you’re lettin’ it all out there,” he said.
“I just. . . I don’t know. I feel like I let two strangers into my apartment to emotionally bully me into a relationship that I am terrified of,” I said with a sigh. “I don’t know how to be or to act around you anymore.”
“It’s okay,” Simon said, taking my hand in his. It was warm and rough, just like always. “We’ll figure it out. I’ll give you all the time and space you want.”
“What if I don’t want space?” I blurted out. I had shut down after Dierdre, pushed everyone away, and made myself alone. Like Johnny had figured out, I was punishing myself for my daughter’s death. I did that to myself because it felt like the right thing to do at the time, but I didn’t want it anymore. Not when Simon wanted me back, but. . .
“What do you mean?” Simon asked.
“I mean. . . I am so tired of being alone and I am so tired of pushing people away. I don’t care about the sex or kissing, I just don’t want to be alone again,” I said, managing to get it out before I broke down into sobs.
And if you're there to catch me when I fall
Then maybe Hell ain't so bad after all
Simon didn’t let go of me. Slowly, he pulled me from my chair to set me in his lap. His long arms wrapped around me, holding me tight as I sobbed against him.
It had been so long since I’d had that simple comfort that I didn’t want to let go. I didn’t want to go slow and stay home by myself. I wanted to go with Simon and Johnny and just stop being fucking alone. It was as if Simon was reading my mind as the back of my hand began to itch under my tattoo.
“Why don’t you come home with us for a while?” Simon asked. “Don’t worry about anythin’, I’ll help you pack a bag and when you feel up to it, we’ll come back.”
Build me up or tear me down, I will never make a sound
Build me up or tear me down
“Okay,” I nodded, hiccuping from crying so hard. There was no fight left in me as he continued to hold me, only taking out his phone to text Johnny. A few more minutes and I walked with him like a child holding their parents hand to their bedroom where the monsters were. We packed a basic bag before I slid on shoes then grabbed my keys, phone, and wallet. With my place locked up, Simon led me out to the car where Johnny was waiting in the driver’s seat. He didn’t say a word or make any fuss as Simon got in the back with me to hold me as we drove back to their house.
I knew Simon had sold our old house six months ago, getting another one down the street from it. It was a blessing because I would not be able to go back into that house. Brief flashes of how we had worked to make it ours, the decorations, furniture, the nursery ran through my mind. But instead of breaking down and having a drink, I nuzzled against Simon’s chest as his heavy arm kept me close.
Run a dagger through my chest, I believe it's for the best
Build me up or tear me down
Once there, I walked in holding Simon’s hand. Johnny didn’t seem surprised at all by any of it. In fact it was almost like he was expecting it. “Here’s some water and ibuprofen, you probably have a headache and are dehydrated,” he said as he handed me both items.
“Thanks,” I said, taking them.
“If you’re hungry we can order something or you’re more than welcome to lay down or even take a shower, whatever you’d like,” Johnny said as he took my bag for me. Going down the hall and straight to their room. I knew it was their room because it had a huge bed I could see from the front.
“I can sleep on the couch or the guest room,” I said, trying to back peddle from something I didn’t even realize was taking off so quickly.
“Don’t worry about,” Johnny said. “You’re probably touch starved and your soulmates haven’t been around in a year. It’ll create a tension of sorts, make you irritable, cause mood swings, depression, anxiety, general mental disarray. The best thing to do for it, if you can, is to be with your soulmates. That means you share the bed with us.”
“Us?” I said, my voice cracking.
If I'm there to catch you when you fall
You'll have a friend down in Hell after all
“Simon will sleep in the middle, don’t worry,” Johnny said as he walked to the closet to grab extra pillows and blankets.
“I think I’ve just been bamboozled,” I mumbled. That little shit knew all along that I’d end up coming home with them. He probably knew about the tickets! Knew that I was a bounty hunter! I was going to have to keep my eye on him.
“Probably,” Simon said with a chuckle. “He’s shifty like that. But, he is right. You’re probably touch starved, so you’re stayin’ in the same bed as us. Do you want to shower or anythin’?”
“I just want to lay down. My head is killing me and I’m a bit overwhelmed,” I said.
“Fair enough, keep drinkin’ the water though,” Simon said as he led me to the bedroom.
“Yes, Sir,” I said with a snort before taking a drink of the water.
“Oh, yeah, Simon is definitely, Sir,” Johnny said as he put the pillows and blankets on the bed for me. I couldn’t help but choke on my water. “Oh, too soon?”
And if you're there to catch me when I fall
Then maybe Hell ain't so bad after all
“I think she just needs to rest,” Simon said, patting me on the back.
“Okay,” Johnny said with a shrug. “Here’s a wet cloth for ye too.” He handed me one for my eyes before walking out.
“Here, you get settled,” Simon said, helping me get into the large, California King sized bed. “Need anything else?”
If I'm there to catch you when you fall
You'll have a friend down in Hell after all
“No, I think I’m good,” I said, letting him drape the wet cloth over my forehead.
“Alright. I’m gonna go take a shower then I’ll be in to lay down with you, okay?” He said.
“Okay,” I mumbled, already falling asleep. It didn’t take long for me to do just that, but I woke up later as Simon was sliding into bed. All the noises were gone from the usual household that was awake, telling me everyone was going to bed. I felt Simon lay on his back, making it easy for me to move to lay with my arm over his belly. What I didn’t expect was another arm to lay over mine. At first I wanted to pull away, but the longer I let it stay, the more it felt right.
And if you're there to catch me when I fall
Then maybe Hell ain't so bad after all
Masterlist
Taglist: @birdstoprey @sebbytheraccoon @pricescigar @alwaysshallow @sae1kie @sleepydang @lexi-zsy09 @ghostlywhiskey @ghosts-cyphera @poohkie90 @neothewitch @shadofireshinobi @sadslasher13 @0alk0msan @xaestheticalien
#john soap mactavish#simon ghost riley#simon riley#simon riley x reader#simon riley x you#soapghost#soap x reader#john mactavish#johnny mactavish/reader#soap/reader/ghost
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Yes, We're Doing It Again!
It's time for another round of steamy stories, art, and podfic celebrating the passion between our beloved Seeker and Shuttle. This year, we're switching things up by using a Discord server for the exchange. When assignments are given out, participants will also receive an invitation to join the server.
This year's schedule:
Sign-ups: February 3-10 (close at 11:59 PM PST)
Assignments go out: February 12
Check-Ins: This year we will be checking in with each participant individually to make sure assignments are on track.
First Check-In: March 1st. At this point, participants are expected to have chosen their prompt(s) and have a plan for how they're going to fill them. This could mean a sketch, an outline for a story, or (if you're a pantser) a general sense of where your piece is going. If you're a podficcer, you need to have chosen the story you plan to record.
Second Check-In: March 15. At this point, assignments are expected to be well underway (30% to 60% finished). This will be the final drop-out deadline, and assignments that have not yet been started will be reassigned to a pinch-hitter. We're being strict about this, because we want everyone to receive a gift.
Gift completion deadline: March 31. We will touch base with you once more to confirm that your assignment is complete and ready to be posted. The moderators can give feedback on request, but our primary focus is ensuring that each submission meets the prompt requirements and is fully finished.
Posting: April 8-12. You can post SFW promos of art to Tumblr, and according to Tumblr’s guidelines you can post NSFW text, so fic should be fine. You can post your completed art on Twitter without having to censor it, and you can post uncensored fic and art on AO3. The AO3 collection is HERE. It will open for posting when gifts are due. If you tag the Tumblr/Twitter account, we’ll reblog/retweet your posted gift.
All gifts MUST be posted by April 12.
Rules for sign-up/prompts:
All participants must be over 18. Yes, mods will check your social media and make sure.
Fill out the questionnaire below. We’ll need your Discord handle so we can contact you with details of your assignment and invite you to join the server.
Please provide a minimum of 3 prompts, but preferably more. Be specific about what you want and don't be afraid to provide detailed prompts. The more information you provide with your prompts, the easier it will be for your gifter to fill them!
Rules for filling prompts:
Gifts can be art, fic, or podfic! Art must be lined and colored; fic must be at least 1000 words. Podfic must be of a fic that is at least 1000 words, and recorded clearly.
You MUST fill at least one prompt, but you CAN fill multiple prompts for your giftee if you wish!
Be kind! We’re all here for horny reasons, but sometimes folks aren’t into the same stuff. Remember Kinktomato: Your Kink Is Not My Kink (And That’s Okay). The assignments are made randomly, but the mods will look them over to make sure no one is writing a kink they aren't comfortable with as per their entry survey. If you really don’t want to write any of your giftee’s prompts/kinks, please contact us immediately, and we’ll see if we can swap your assignment.
Be considerate! Please include tags and/or content warnings for common triggers (eg dubcon, gore, etc).
Be responsible! By signing up for this event, you are making a commitment to fulfill at least one of your recipient's requests by the due date. We understand that life can be unpredictable, but it is your duty to inform us promptly if you believe you may not be able to complete your assignment. We reserve the right to ban individuals from future exchanges if it appears they are not making a sincere attempt to finish their assignment on time.
Fill out the form below if you’re interested, and feel free to DM us if you have any questions! The exchange mods can be contacted through their Tumblr or Twitter accounts, or through the accounts specifically for the exchange. We look forward to hearing from you!
Your Friendly Moderators:
Dark Star of Chaos (they/them):
darkstarofchaos on discord
@darkstarofchaos on tumblr
@DarkStarArt1 on twitter
Grayseeker (she/they):
grayseeker on discord
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@grayseekerfic on twitter
Official Exchange Accounts:
on tumblr
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AO3 collection link
Happy smutting! Please reblog to spread the news! :3 SIGN-UP FORM HERE
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She Was Like A Sunflower
Read on AO3
Read Part 1 Here
1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12
“Just your imagination!”
.
“Trust your imagination…”
Jax and Pomni remember who they used to be, the childhoods they grew up from, the lives they lived and the love they shared. But it doesn’t mean their journey is finished yet. They still need to find a way to escape and return home. Things become more complicated in the real world when Riley starts to investigate further into the disappearances with the help of Samual. The more everyone tries to piece together the puzzle, the more C&A keeps breathing down their neck. But one thing is for sure, time is becoming limited each day. Will Pomni, Jax and the rest of the circus be able to escape before it runs out? Or will they fade away into nothing but pixels?
Bet ya thought this was gonna be Royally Screwed chap 5? Well guess what, I LIED MWAHAHAHAHA. THIS WAS THE REAL APRILS FOOLS JOKE ALL ALONG!!!
So strap yourselves in, cause if you thought chapter 5 was bad then you are in no way prepared for what I have planned. Chapter 5 was child's play my dude, we going straight into the deep end hehehehe
Hope you're prepared 😈
Willow
Wait for the signal and I'll meet you after dark
Show me the places where the others gave you scars – Willow by Taylor Swift
.
.
.
Three Months Ago
“Penny?” Amber knocked on the door of her daughter’s apartment. “Penny, it’s mom!”
Throughout the past week, Penny had been eerily silent. Normally she would let in her mother or sister, or occasionally answer the phone if they called. But every time Amber reached out, she never replied. She tried to cook it up to her daughter grieving, but she was a mother. Mothers worried.
So here she was, outside Penny’s home and trying to get her to answer the door.
“Look Penny, I know these past few months have been stressful,” Amber said, “But everyone is getting worried about you. I had to stop Riley from charging down here to get you out. We all just want to help you, please.”
Amber gave her a moment, to see if she would hear someone saying they were coming, or have the door unlocked and revealing a messy haired brunette. But nothing. Amber sighed, she didn’t want to do this, but she had to make sure Penny was okay. She reached into her purse and pulled out the spare key her daughter had given, opening the door slowly.
The apartment was in a state, dirty dishes and dust gathering on the countertops. It had been a while since the woman visited, who would usually help her daughter clean. Maybe she would do that today. “Penny!” Amber called out, still no answer. “Penny, we gotta try and get up today.” She walked to the bedroom, “Maybe we can get some coffee or go to the park or-”
Her stomach dropped. The moment she stepped into the bedroom, the bed was empty, without a body in sight. But what scared her more was the turned-on computer with nothing open and a damaged headset…just like Riley’s cases.
“No, no, no, no, no, no, no,” Amber chanted, running out of the room, scouring every inch of the place. “Penny?!” She reached the bathroom, no one. “Penny?!” she checked her sewing room, still nothing. “Penny!” the centre of the living room and kitchen. Again, void of anyone there.
She went back into the bedroom, pulling off the sheets, praying her eyes were playing tricks on her. But deep down she knew the truth. She covered her mouth, tears stinging in her eyes. She was gone. Her baby was gone.
She reached into her purse and grabbed her phone, hastily dialling until an operator picked up. “Yes hi! My name is Amber Reed!” she cried, “I went to visit my daughter Penny Reed but when I got there she was gone! All that was left was a broken headset and computer just like…just like.” Her voice broke off into a cry.
The operator understood immediately, asking for an address and told the woman that the police would arrive shortly. Amber thanked them and hung up, before dialling a new number.
Riley’s number.
“Hello?” Riley answered, “Mom, is everything okay?”
“Riley…Penny,” Amber sniffed, unable to say the words.
“What?” Riley asked, her voice starting to lace with concern. “Mom what happened?!”
Amber gulped, “It’s Penny…she’s gone.”
.
.
.
Jax stirred, now that it was confirmed that he could actually sleep here, it was certainly something to get used to again. He didn’t mind though, it was something that made him feel more alive, more sane, more human. Especially now that he remembered who he was. Jack Bloom, he missed hearing that name. But he missed another even more.
A warm body stirred next to him. Penny he lovingly threaded his fingers through Pomni’s short hair. He still couldn’t believe she was here! That she went all through that for him! He was going to get them out of here, no matter what.
Pomni hummed at the sensation of his fingers, mumbling and kneading her pillow beneath her hand like a cat. Jax chuckled, he missed watching her do that, every night she would do it. It was the cutest thing to him. Her eyes blinked open, taking in the purple rabbit before her and smiled sleepily.
“It wasn’t a dream,” she hummed, “It was real.”
“As real as it can get sweetheart,” Jax pressed a kiss to her forehead. “God you’re so beautiful.”
She giggled as his fur tickled her skin, wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing him in for another kiss, “Not so fast bunny boy.”
He chuckled against her lips, giving her bottom lip a small nip, “I’m definitely not complaining.” He pulled her closer to him, revelling in her warmth. Jax missed this, he missed this so much. He missed her so much. How could he ever imagine losing all of this? He literally had the world in his hands and the future ahead of his path was a bright one, and because of Luke, he was so quick to throw it away.
He pulled his lips away, he almost lost his person. He was such an idiot. Jax buried his face into Pomni’s neck, breathing in as much of her scent as he could and keeping her close. He never wanted to lose her again.
“Jack?” Pomni brought her hand up to stroke the back of his head, “Hey, talk to me. What’s going on?”
He shuddered, he feared what to say next, feared that the next wrong move would ruin something. But he shook that thought away, those were the same things in his head that drove him away from Penny in the first place. He wasn’t going to make that same mistake again. “I shouldn’t have made that deal with Jason,” he murmured into her shoulder, turning his face to look at her. “I’m the reason we’re in this mess. You deserve to be home, with your mother and sister, making your dreams come true. And I…I’m really sorry Pen.”
“Hey,” she cupped his cheeks in her hands. “You didn’t know any of this was going to happen. There was no way you could have known that you were gonna end up here after putting on that headset. We fought, yes. But I know that if this whole place didn’t exist, we would have figured out the situation we were in. I put on the headset too, you know. I don’t blame you for anything. I love you so much Jack.”
He sighed, how did the world give him the sweetest soul ever created? She was perfect. “I adore you,” he pushed himself up onto his forearms, leaning over her.
“You’re trying to out do me mister,” she pouted.
“Oh am I?” he smirked, “Can’t I not express how I have the most beautiful, perfect fiancé in the world?”
“I know you mister,” she stuck her tongue out at him, “I’ve known you long enough when you’re trying to be a show-off.”
“So you think I’m being a show-off when I’m doing this?” without warning, his lips were fluttering little kisses against her neck, reaching all the spots where he knew Pomni was most ticklish.
“Jack!” Pomni snorted, trying to shove him off her, “You asshole! Don’t make me bite you!”
“Oh no,” Jax drawled, he knew he was pushing her, “Whatever shall I do?” He didn’t stop his kiss attack.
Just as they both expected, Pomni launched up and bite him on the shoulder, making the rabbit laugh out loud. There was a bit of rough and tumble, with both the rabbit and the jester fighting for control, until Pomni eventually pinned his arms down while straddling his waist. “You can sweet talk me all you want,” she jeered, “But never think that I don’t get even.”
“I mean, I’m definitely not mad about these current circumstances sweetie,” Jax grinned, “As long as I get to look at your beautiful face.”
Pomni groaned, shaking her head, “What am I gonna do with you?”
“Hmm, how about marrying me the moment we get back home?” the rabbit suggested, wiggling his eyebrows.
The jester giggled, her annoyance vanishing, “Yeah, I guess that can be arranged.”
His hands were moving up to the back of her head, caressing the soft strands between his fingers. Her short locks were a contrast to her usually long hair that he loved to bury his hands in whenever they kissed, but she still looked beautiful, nonetheless. He lifted his upper body off the mattress, watching as her face softened with relaxation the more he massaged her scalp. His lips inched closer to hers, ready to press them together when-
“-Jax, are you in there?” Ragatha asked on the other side of Jax’s bedroom door, giving it three sharp knocks. “I need to talk to you.”
“Eep!” Pomni squeaked, rolling off her partner and buried herself under the covers. “She’s probably looking for me since I’m not in my room!”
“Shoot!” Jax cursed. Well, as best as he could without triggering Caine’s censorship feature. “This isn’t how I planned to tell everyone about us!”
“I didn’t intend on having a plan at all!” Pomni hissed, “Get in front of me! I’m short enough to hide behind you!”
She found herself regretting those words when she saw a smirk creep on Jax’s lips, “Oh so the little lady finally admits that she’s small.”
Pomni growled, “Keep talking like that and you’ll see how much damage a small person can do to your shins!”
“I’m coming in!” Ragatha called.
Jax immediately sobered up, using his height to cover Pomni behind him, he could hear the rustling of his sheets as she tried to cover herself up with them. He leaned his cheek on his palm, trying to appear as relaxed as possible as Ragatha cracked the door open. “Doll face,” he really hoped he sounded casual, “Don’t you know its rude to break into people’s rooms.”
“Look who’s talking,” she deadpanned, “Besides, you weren’t in your room when I went to check on you last night. I was gonna look for you but then Caine started pressuring us to get to bed at a ‘proper time’.”
Jax face faltered a bit, she cared enough to look for him? After he treated her like nothing but garbage? Little things like that made him all the more grateful that Pomni found her way back into his life. For those last few months and memories, she had managed to get him to open up in ways that no one else could. Maybe deep down it was him trying to get back out or her just being her most sweet and honest self that he couldn’t help but let his edges soften. But either way, it gave him so much more clarity with how he was with the others, and how ashamed that he was blind to the fact that they actually did want to help him. That it wasn’t a cruel trick that someone like Luke would pull. God he was an idiot.
“Guess I got tired of sleeping on a hard stage so I came back to bed,” he gulped down any nerves that were rushing up. “See, no big deal.”
“Well, I hope you’re feeling better,” Ragatha smiled softly. “Pomni was really worried about you when you didn’t come back.”
He felt the jester shuffle behind him when her name was spoken. He wanted nothing more than to smother her with affection right there and then, to show her how much he appreciated even the smallest pieces of kindness she had to offer. “Don’t worry, I’ll see her later and show her that I’m fine,” he told the ragdoll. “But…how was she? After the whole…”
He felt Pomni stiffen, Jax suddenly felt guilty about bringing it up. But seeing her scared little face, how she felt the sensation of dying…Even if she was alright now, it didn’t mean that the trauma of it all was erased. It was just another part of this hell that they were forced to be part of. A hell that Caine was either too naïve or stubborn to fix.
“I won’t lie, she was pretty shaken up. And that’s me giving the sugar-coated version of it,” Ragatha tod him, sighing. “You’d think that we’d be used to it all by now, or at least, we are. But Caine just has to one up himself every time. I know she didn’t – you know. But I was there once, I know how she felt and-” She stopped herself, her voice edging on sounding tearful. Jax watched as she danced the same routine that she always did when she felt as if she was about to cry.
Ragatha closed her eyes, breathed in forcefully and gripped her hands so tight that Jax swore that were almost about to rip. She beamed, as though she wasn’t even sad in the first place. But her smile was just too fake to be considered real, “Anyways, have you seen Pomni? I was going to fetch her for breakfast but she wasn’t in her room. Have you stumbled upon her while going back up to your room.”
Stumbled was definitely a loose term. I mean, if you believed tearful kisses, a long-awaited reunion, the bringing back of lost memories and the passionate promise to return to the real world was just a little stumble then yes, perhaps he did stumble into her. “Uh, nope,” Jax shook his head, “I haven’t seen her. But then again, she is pretty short. It would be hard for anyone not to see her.”
He bit his lip as Pomni kicked him in the leg. Despite her small and light structure, Riley had definitely taught her a thing or two about strength.
“Right,” Ragatha hung her head with worry. “I’m sure she’ll show up eventually. Oh and once you see her again, please be nice to her, for some reason she really likes you. If I didn’t know any better I’d think she has a crush on you.”
“Is that so?” Oh how Jax wished he could see how red Pomni’s face could be turning right now. “I did not know that at all.”
“Unsurprisingly, men are pretty dumb about that stuff,” she scoffed, turning before shutting the door behind her.
When he was sure the sounds of her steps were far away enough, he burst out laughing, echoing off the walls as he fell onto his back.
“Shut up!” Pomni’s was flustered head to toe, grabbing a pillow and smacking him. “So what if I was crushing on you before we got our memories back?! We’re already engaged!”
“It’s the principal little lady!” he snickered, grabbing the pillow and throwing it away. With nothing to hold onto, she fell forward onto his chest with a yelp while the rabbit encased her in his arms. “But I think it’s pretty cute that you were crushing on me even if you didn’t know me.”
Pomni whined, burying her face into Jax’s fluffy chest as she continued to mumble and groan with embarrassment. Jax patted her hair gently, deciding to take pity on her…for now. “There, there,” his fingers combed through her short locks, “I’m sorry for teasing you Penny.”
She went silent there, looking back up at him slowly, “Huh.”
Jax raised on eyebrow, slightly confused, “What? Did I say something weird?”
“You always say weird stuff,” she grinned, earning her a flick to the forehead. The couple giggled as Pomni snuggled up against him more, “It’s just…still getting used to hearing my name again. I feel like I’ve denied of myself for so long, it’s nice knowing that I am someone. And that I do have importance.”
Jax felt himself smile softly, looking at Pomni with all the love he could muster, “That’s my girl.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, “And I’ll say it as many times as you want as long as it makes you happy. Penny-Penny-Penny-Penny-Penny-” He started smothering her with kisses again as his fiancé squealed.
“Jack!” she snorted, “You can’t say it all the time! The others don’t know yet!”
“I guess that means I get to keep you to myself a little longer,” he chortled.
“Ugh,” she grumbled, “Dumbass.”
“Shortie,” he retorted as she stuck her tongue out at him.
“Well, I think ‘keeping me a little longer’ is gonna have to wait,” Pomni told him, “I gotta head back to my room so no one else gets any more suspicious.”
“You sure I can’t keep you for five more seconds,” Jax pouted.
“Jack Bloom you will learn to be patient,” she poked him on the nose. “Once today is over I’ll be right back.” She cupped his face in her palms, “As long as we see each other throughout the day, then that’s enough for me.”
He took her hand, kissing the inside, “And it’s enough for me too.”
Pomni smiled, pressing one last kiss to his forehead and began to swing her legs off the bed until a long purple arm pulled her back. “Changed my mind! I want five more seconds!” his lips began to attack her neck as she screeched and squirmed.
“Jack!” Pomni cackled, “You asshole!” She couldn’t stop giggling, tackling the rabbit to the bed again as the two began to scuffle about, kisses and laughter filling the room.
Five seconds turned to five minutes…then ten minutes. They made it to breakfast eventually, with Jax having to wait a while after before joining the table in order to erase suspicion. Everyone raised a brow at him, usually the rabbit would be there before anyone, ready with a prank and make everyone else’s morning more miserable. Yet he was late, with a carefree smile and said nothing as he sat down (he was grateful that he as least still got to sit next to Pomni).
It still didn’t stop everyone from raising an eyebrow at this sudden new development, and even whispering about it while eating. “See,” he spoke in a hushed voice in Pomni’s direction, “I knew we’d be good at this whole secret thing.”
Pomni never wanted the ground to swallow her up whole as she did now.
.
.
.
The smell of warm coffee filled Riley’s nose as she filled two mugs. Winter was still at work and now she had this stranger in her house. She was still trying to wrap her head around things, the whiplash of finally being able to get her sister back had thrown her for a loop. Did she trust this Samual kid yet? Not really. But she would wait and see if he was bluffing or not. As long as there was a chance to find Penny, she didn’t want to waste it.
She carried the mugs back through to the living room, where Samual was waiting patiently on the sofa. His eyes scanned the room, widened with curiosity. His gaze landed on a small picture frame with three women, two with red hair and one with brown hair-
“-Take it,” Riley shoved the mug in his face, the boy nearly jumping of his skin.
“Ah, sorry, sorry,” he apologised, taking the coffee gratefully. “I usually get distracted. Um, that girl in the photo, is she-?”
“-Aren’t we here to talk about why you should help me?!” Riley snapped. She didn’t mean to sound so cruel, but right now they were here to discuss business. They weren’t friends, and she certainly didn’t want him to familiarise with Penny.
“Sorry, you’re right, I-I’m sorry,” he cleared his throat, gripping the warm mug as the heat washed through his hands before beginning his story. “I always had a funny feeling about Jason since my parents disappeared. At first I thought he was fine. Whenever my aunt and uncle were unsure with how to help me, Jason was always there to try and cheer me up. Before they went missing, he was close with me and my parents, even letting me see games that weren’t finished yet. But when I started getting older things got…different.”
He shifted in his seat in discomfort, his hands tightening around the cup, “He became more controlling, restrictive. He was very vocal about the stuff that I should be studying like coding and computer science, stuff that my dad used to do. He also kept breathing over my shoulder with where I would go and why I wouldn’t spend time with him. Like, he was angry that I wasn’t always in the building. I chalked it up to thinking that maybe he just wanted me to take over C&A, like my dad did, and maybe this was his own way of grieving his loss. But whenever I tried to talk to him about my parents, he always shut me down. I remember this one time where it was just us, I was begging him to tell me at least one thing about my parents. I…I never saw him so angry in my life. It was the last time I brought it up. Whenever I tried to talk about them to someone else at C&A, they’d either bring up a different conversation or not talk to me at all. If someone did talk to me Jason would either get super pissed, and sometimes even fire them.”
His knuckles started to turn white, “I tried to talk to my aunt and uncle about him, how I didn’t want him in my life anymore. But he was always really good to them and helped them out since I was a kid so they didn’t see anything wrong with him, even saying that I was being dramatic. They even supported him when he tried to pick out what college I should go to and what I should study there! As if it wasn’t my choice!” He cringed once he realised the volume of his voice, shrinking a bit in his seat. “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.”
“It’s fine,” Riley muttered, gathering more information in her head while listening to him.
“Um, well. Everything kinda changed a few months ago, after Jack went missing,” he continued, “Before…well…your sister went missing. I started getting these anonymous messages. There was never any email address attached, just words on a page. I asked them who they were but they never gave me a proper answer. The only thing they mentioned was that they were trapped and needed a way out. I tried to figure out what they meant, asked questions about how they could get out. Anything else they told me was about bugs, keys and trying to find an escape. I don’t think they meant to be confusing, their whole tone made them sound really scared. However one day…there were no more messages. I tried to email them back but they never responded.” He reached into his pocket, pulling out a piece of paper. “This was the last thing they sent me.”
He handed it to Riley, taking it carefully while still feeling slightly suspicious. The whole thing so far had sounded extremely bizarre. She unfolded the paper, blinking in shock at what she saw.
GAME
ITS ALL A GAME
TRAPPED
HELP
THE EXIT IS NEAR
WE NEED A KEY
C&A IS A LIE
FIND THE BUGS
It seemed to be written in a panic. Each sentence quick and at least trying to get to some sort of point. “You sure they didn’t at least have some sort of name?” Riley asked.
“Well, kinda,” Samual shrugged. “The only thing they referred to themselves as was Queenie. But that’s all I got from them.”
“Queenie?” Riley deadpanned. She sighed, running a hand over her face. As if it was realistic for a sane person to have that sort of name. “Look kid, I get your giving me what you know so far, but it’s not realistic for be to see if literally anyone has that name.”
“I know, I know,” Samual told her. “Believe me, I wish that there was more that I could tell you. But that fact that it stated that C&A did something raised so many red flags for me, and it would explain why Jason is so tight lipped about anything relating to my parents.”
“Do you even have proof that you didn’t just make these up?” Riley questioned, her tone harsher as she raised her brow at him.
“N-no,” Samual’s voice wavered slightly. “B-but! I can take you to C&A and show you that I’m telling the truth! I could say that you’re helping with the case and they’d let you in!”
Riley didn’t say a word, taking a long sip of her own coffee. She didn’t know what to believe, everything that this kid had mentioned just seemed off the walls insane! But he spoke to earnestly that a part of her almost felt inclined to believe him. “One chance,” she said, “Got it?”
He was practically radiating with joy the moment those words left her mouth, “Yes! Yes! Absolutely! I promise I won’t let you down!”
She nearly smiled at him, but she forced it away. She wasn’t going to celebrate anything yet until there was solid evidence that he was telling the truth. But she wasn’t going to lie, this was the first time that Riley felt a glimmer of hope with finding Penny.
After so many months of disappointment.
So
Much
Disappointment.
.
.
.
Three Months Ago
Riley was on a mission, her knuckles white as she gripped onto the steering wheel of her car. It was barely a day since Penny was announced missing, and she wanted to confirm that the worst-case scenarios didn’t happen before focusing on anything else. Did she like what she was planning to do? No fucking way. But if it meant getting rid at least part of her worries, then it was worth it.
The car pulled up on a shoddy looking house, the white paint on the bricks fading into grey with chips cracking along the surface. From the windows it didn’t even seem like the place had been cleaned, with grease marks all over the window and what seemed to be a pile of dirty clothes from the corner. She jumped out the car, slamming the door shut before going up to the front of the house.
Riley hammered on the door, not ceasing until she heard an angered, “Alright!” from a male voice.
After the sound of a lock turning, the door opened, revealing a haggard man in a tank top stained with sweat. He seemed like he’d seen better days. Riley cringed at the scent of cigarettes on his breath, “Is David here?”
“Yeah, so?” the man shrugged.
She shoved past him, ignoring his cursing at her. The stronger scent of whiskey and smoke hit her all at once, like a gentlemen’s club that served only the strongest of liquors and lacked any type of windows for air. If the house already seemed messy on the outside, it was so much worse on the inside.
On the floor was more dirty laundry scattered about, dust was collecting on the furniture and there was a build up of unclean dishes nearly covering the kitchen surfaces and sink. In what was supposed to be the dining area, a group of men were huddled round a table, with opened cans of beer, cigarettes and each one was holding a handful on playing cards.
She ignored them, there was only one person – hopefully two – that she was looking for. “David!” she yelled, venturing into the hallway.
“Woah, woah!” one of the men stood up, “Who’s this bitch?!”
“Dunno,” the man from the door scratched his stomach, “Just came in here liked she owned the place.”
The second man scoffed, “Listen lady, I don’t know who you are but you’re a real cunt for interrupting our-”
He tried to reach out and grab Riley’s shoulder, only for the woman to whip back round and grab his arm. She twisted it behind her arm, smirking at his yelp of pain, “Or what? What would you do to a member of the FBI?” That seemed to scare the others off, the men sinking into their seats with Riley’s silent threat. “That’s what I thought.”
She let the man go as he staggered back to his seat. “David!” she went back into the hallway again, stepping over the piles of fabric on the ground.
A body came hurling towards her, but Riley was quick to react as she pushed the body to the wall, the back of head hitting the hard surface. She sighed, she found the idiot she was looking for, “David.”
The man came to, a delirious grin spreading across his face the moment he recognised her. “Well, well,” he drawled, the stench of beer hanging of his breath, “Fellas! This is my oldest, Riley!” He was drunk, obviously. But it didn’t make it hurt for Riley any less, “Come here kiddo!”
He tried to reach in for a hug, but Riley was quick to push him back against the wall with a growl, “Where’s Penny?”
“The fuck are you talking about?” he slurred.
Riley rolled her eyes, if he was playing dumb then she wasn’t going to risk it, “Didn’t you even at least here from the news? She’s missing. I figured that could be the only way you would find out since you like to pretend she doesn’t even exist.”
“Yeah I did,” he scoffed. “She ain’t here. Why would I drag her sorry ass out here?”
That stung more than it should have. His daughter went missing yet he treated it as though as he had a speck of lint on his shoulder. “Dunno,” she scowled, “You always wanted to make sure she was miserable as possible. Wanted to make sure that she wasn’t here.”
“Riley you gotta stop being dramatic,” David said, “It’s a bad habit you got from your mom. You guys always freak out over Penny.”
“Right,” she balled her hands into fists, “Her daughter and my sister went missing and no one can find her but sure. We’re being ‘dramatic’.” She walked away from him, she couldn’t stop searching yet. “Penny!”
She searched through each room of the house, even checking in the wardrobes. Maybe it wasn’t plausible, but that fearful section of her mind wouldn’t let go of that fear until it was confirmed that her father wasn’t a complete monster to her baby sister. He still was, and Riley would never forget that. She could still hear him trying to get her attention, trying to give her some sort of ‘apology’ (which mostly resulted in him trying to avoid any type of blame whatsoever).
Once she made sure she didn’t miss anything from the inside, she ventured back out, gulping in as much fresh air as she could in order to erase the stink of cheap booze and smoke. There was only one more place she wanted to look. She went over to David’s car, unsurprised to find it unlocked, and opened the trunk. Was it a stretch? Honestly, she could never tell with him. The way he treated Penny was enough to make her this fearful. She could feel relief swarm her when there was no one in there. Penny wasn’t here, that’s good.
Worry was quick to fill Riley again, then where was she?
“You’re really being paranoid Riles,” David muttered, stepping outside.
“I’m doing my job,” she spat at him, slamming the trunk closed.
“Don’t use that tone on me young lady,” he scolded, “I’m just trying to help.”
“Seriously? You decide now that you want to attempt at being my dad?” she snarled, “Because that stopped happening the moment you wanted nothing to do with me and Penny after she was born! You held a grudge over a fucking baby! And if you really want to help, you can get off your lazy ass and help Mom with the search parties or even pitch in any ideas to help find your daughter!”
“Come on Riley,” he groaned, “You know your sister has had her freakouts before. She’s probably having one of those after her little boyfriend dumped her.”
Riley grit her teeth, no one spoke about her Winter’s brother like that, “Jack didn’t dump her, he’s missing too. And you’re seriously calling what Penny went through ‘freakouts’? Especially that you’re the reason behind most of them? How fucking dare you?!”
“Oh come on, the car accident was years ago, you should be over this by now,” David crossed his arms. “It’s not my fault your mother was too lazy to pick up that little brat. It was my day off but Amber just had to be a bitch about it anyway.” Riley felt her fist balling up again, her veins raising to her wrist at the intensity. “And if I’m being honest, it’s probably a good thing that she’s missing! It’ll finally teach her to stop being so fucking selfish-”
Riley’s fist collided with David’s nose, sending him to the ground. He screamed as he clutched the now bleeding appendage. Riley flexed her fingers, that felt good. “That’s all I needed,” she muttered, “See you around David.”
She ignored his cries, opting to go round the side of the house to reach her car. She sighed the moment she shut the door behind her and started the engine, not bothering to look back at the dingy old house.
Riley hated him, she hated him so much. She hated that she shared his blood. She hated that he threw away the chance to be her father because of his own entitlement. She hated that he made her baby sister so afraid of being touched despite him not laying a hand on her. She hated how he spoke about her kind, sweet mother in the vilest ways possible. And she hated for wishing for the potential of the relationship they could have had.
She hated him she hated him she hated him sha hated him she hated him-
SHE HATED HIM
The tires of her car screeched to a halt on the empty road. Riley let out a blood-curdling, painful scream, banging her hands on the steering wheel. This always happened whenever she saw David, all the anguish and hurt he fed to her over the years coming full front and forcing their way into her heart.
But this time it was worse. This time Penny was gone. Riley had spent the last few days burying down the panic, the fear, the intrusive thoughts that plagued her mind. Now it was rising like bile in her throat.
A tear ran down her cheek as she pressed her forehead to the wheel.
She just wanted her baby sister back.
.
.
.
“Uh, Miss Riley? Are you okay?”
Riley snapped out of her gaze. She turned to face Samual’s brown eyes. Huh, there the exact same shade as Penny’s- No! Enough! She wasn’t going to get soft on him. Where was she again? Oh, right. After the information that Samual gave her, they had driven up to C&A to carry out the kid’s plan. Right now they were parked outside, with Riley just snapping out of her daydream. “I’m fine,” she murmured.
“You sure?” Samual asked, “We can wait a few minutes in case you need a breather-”
“-I’m fine!” she snapped at him, his eyes widening with panic. Riley sighed, she didn’t mean to snap at him, but right now was more tense than she ever believed she could be capable of. “Just tell me what you want us to do.”
“R-right, okay,” he fidgeted with his hands for a moments. “Um, so I’m able to tell them that you’re still working on Jack’s missing case. You know since he used to work here and all. Then I can take you to where I found the emails, I still have them hidden.”
The plan seemed plausible enough, and Riley was still working on Jack’s case so her boss wouldn’t have any complaints with her being here. “Okay, let’s get started,” she stated.
Samual nodded eagerly, already jumping out the car. Riley sighed, this kid’s energy was too difficult for her to catch up to. She followed him into the building, taking in the familiar site when she first started working on the case. She didn’t think she would get used to the size yet, she knew this company was popular but it was definitely noticeable with the size of this place.
Samual walked up to the desk, Riley already reaching into her pocket for her badge. “Donna,” he greeted the receptionist, “I’m here with Agent Reed from the FBI.”
“Sorry to disturb ma’am,” Riley spoke, holding up her badge. “But I had to come back here to make sure there wasn’t anything I missed for the Jack Blossom case.”
“Oh, uh,” the woman seemed startled, her eyes almost panicked. It already raised a few red flags for Riley. Sure Jack’s case was still going but C&A seemed to have their hands clean so far. This didn’t seem like a reaction for concern, but rather like a child having their hand stuck in a cookie jar.
“Yes, yes of course,” the receptionist finally answered, running a hand through her hair anxiously. “Go right ahead agent, do what you need to do.”
Riley gave her a brisk nod, with Samual leading her further into the building. When they reached the elevator and the doors were shut did Samual begin to grin again, “Woah! That was amazing! Is this what it feels like when you’re undercover? You’re all mysterious and secretive, it feels like being in a play!”
“Easy kid,” she put a hand on his shoulder.
“Right, right, sorry,” he panted a little bit from the excitement. “I��ll be calm. It’s just – so freaking cool!”
Riley rolled her eyes. And if there was a smile slowly quirking at the corner of her lips then she was quick to get rid of it.
With a small ‘ding’ of the elevator, the duo found themselves on the floor they were looking for. Samual led her down a few hallways before stumbling into some sort of office. Samual looked back and forth in the hallway before shutting the door between them. “Okay, this is the place where I started getting the messages,” he informed her, “I kept them on this computer to make sure that it was safe.”
Samual logged onto the monitor, scanning through each folder until he finally found what he was looking for. He clicked on the first file, an email detailing the start of a conversation.
Hello?
Is someone there?
Please
You can see this
Can’t you?
My name is Queenie
I need your help
“You see!” Samual pointed to the screen, “I told you.”
Riley felt her heart flutter a bit, hoping filling it once again. Samual clicked on another email.
You’re back!
Something is happening with the insects here
They’re acting strange
What did you find?
Don’t worry it’s gonna be okay!
We’ll find something
He clicked on a few more pages, each one detailing something similar. Both Samual and this ‘Queenie’ person were trying to find something, something that could somehow set this mystery person free from whatever prison they were in. Samual finally clicked on one more.
It’s all a simulation
Like a game
I remember the headset
I know that I had a life
I know that I am trapped in the amazing digital circus
Riley raised a brow at that, it sounded familiar, “The amazing digital-”
“Samual! What do you think you’re doing?!” a male voice thundered.
Both Riley and Samual jumped, turning to the source of the voice.
Samual gulped, “J-Jason.”
Jason Wood stood at the door, his arms crossed and his face holding nothing but fury, “Donna told me that you were bring an agent here so I rushed out of my meeting to deal with this nonsense. You better explain the meaning of this.”
“I-I, y-you, um,” Samual stuttered, the words not being able to form.
“I can explain sir,” Riley walked over. “It’s for the Jack Blossom case, I got in contact with Sam to see if he could help me out since he knew Jack before he went missing.”
Jason’s eyes furrowed more, looking past Riley to deepen his frightful gaze onto Samual. The boy felt and looked smaller than he ever did, wanting nothing more than to disappear. Jason walked past Riley and over to the computer, “What is this?”
“I-it’s just something to help with the case!” Samual said, “I only wanted to help, I promise!”
“Oh, Samual, not this again,” Jason computer.
Riley looked to Samual, again?
Jason looked back to Riley, pity drawn all over his face, “He did this when his parents disappeared. He created an imaginary version of them to talk to out of grief, the poor kid.”
“Well, kids need to find their own way to grieve, right?” Riley pointed out, dreading that this conversation wasn’t going where she thought it was going.
“Sure for kids,” Jason nodded, “But not for teenagers.” He turned back to Samual, “This is probably another one of his episodes. Last time this happened we had to admit him to the psych ward. I really hope this isn’t another one of these situations, it nearly broke me, his aunt and his uncle seeing him like that.”
A pit formed in Riley’s stomach. Of course she was being naive! The recent cases must have been making this kid act up again, and she only made it worse by selfishly indulging in it.
“No, no!” Samual yelled out. “That’s not true! Riley this isn’t true!”
“So you weren’t admitted to the psych ward?” Riley demanded.
“Yes but not for the reasons you think?!” Samual sniffled. “It was him!” he pointed at Jason, “I stepped out of line and he punished me for it! That’s what he does!”
Riley pressed her fingers to her temples, massaging them. How could I be such a fool? “I’m sorry for wasting your time Mr Wood,” she sighed, “I should get going.”
“That’s quite alright dear,” he smiled warmly.
“No, no, wait!” Samual cried out, chasing after Riley as she went back into the hallway. “Riley please believe me! Those emails were real! I can help you!”
“STOP!” Riley screamed, “Just stop! I can’t believe I was so stupid enough to trust what random kid had to say in order to find my sister!”
“It wasn’t a mistake, please!” he begged, “Riley I can help you! We can find her! We can find Jack! We can find my parents!”
“Enough!” Riley growled, “Enough. You need help Samual, I’m sorry for what you went through but this isn’t going to bring your parents back.”
“You think I haven’t gotten help?!” his voice broke, “You think I didn’t want help?! I had to threaten to leave C&A in order for Jason to let me go to therapy before he weaponised the psych ward in order to get me out the way! This isn’t a deranged theory, this is me finally asking for help after months and months of denying it because I was scared people didn’t believe me! You were the only person I could trust who wouldn’t betray me! Please Riley! Please stay!”
Riley closed her eyes. She couldn’t make the same mistake, “Goodbye Samual, have a nice life.”
With that, she turned on her heel and walked back to the elevator.
“Riley please!” she heard Samual sob. “I don’t want to be alone again!”
She walked into the elevator.
“Please! I can’t!” Tears were streaming down the boy’s cheeks.
Riley tried to ignore how much it reminded her how Penny used to cry for her as the elevator doors shut.
.
.
.
Seven hours should never feel this long!
Jax wanted to sob as the adventure finished up for the day. It was some sort of fast-food type of adventure, where he had to take multiple orders at once, get yelled at by an NPC manager, and wasn’t allowed to take a single break. Worst of all? He hadn’t seen Pomni once. It felt like some sort of crime to deny him of his fiancé’s beautiful face.
He laughed to himself, he wondered what the others would think of cruel, sarcastic Jax having such sappy thoughts about the love of his life. A few days ago, he would ignore these thoughts in order to keep up his act of the heartless joker. But now? He couldn’t care less. He loved Pomni and he wasn’t going to change that one bit. Not when he had been refused of her for so long.
Speaking of Pomni, she was currently talking to Gangle. The body of ribbons was held back by Ragatha while the former tried to give Pomni a hug, still clearly concerned for her after the pool incident the other day. Pomni smiled, stating that she was perfectly fine and that the masked lady didn’t need to worry.
Jax felt himself smiling. She was here, as hellish as today was, Pomni was all that mattered to him. He didn’t want to interrupt her yet, besides, the scene was quite funny to watch. Although it seemed to be only them and himself in the ring, he wondered where Zooble and Kinger…oh, right.
Kinger.
“Stop speaking to me as if you know me! You’re nothing but an insect-obsessed, stupid piece of wood who can barely remember his name!
He still remembered the sting of saying that. He wished he could take it back. He wished he took take a lot of things back. Before everything he thought he was fine. He was a prankster, sure, but he never wanted to be cruel like the people who hurt him. But here, without the memories, without something to lean on, without all he built after years of therapy – of course it would cause his scars to bleed again. But he shouldn’t have scarred others along the way.
Jax gulped as his eyes finally caught the chess piece talking with Zooble. He wanted to try and make this right. He walked up to the duo, “Hey hoo-haa, Zoobs. What dumb thing are you talking about now?” Seriously! You try and makes things right and this is how you start the conversation?!
“What do you want now Jax?” Zooble crossed their arms, already annoyed.
“I just wanna talk to the old royal over here for a sec, okay,” Jax replied, trying to seem his usual, casual self.
“Why? So you can kick him down another hole again?” Zooble questioned bitterly. “Yeah, I don’t think so.”
Jax looked to Kinger, the chess piece was avoiding eye contact with him. “Kinger, I wanted to say-”
“You don’t get to say anything!” Zooble growled, “Not after how you talked to him! Yeah, I overheard your conversation while I was giving Caine an earful! The f&*k did Kinger even do for you to say that?! He was just trying to help!”
“I know, I know!” Jax ran a hand over his face. “I know that I shouldn’t have said that I was scared and I lashed out. I didn’t think-”
“You don’t think at all Jax,” Kinger spoke softly. Both him and Zooble turning to face the chess piece. “You believe everything that you do here is just mindless fun for you. But every time you push us down, every time you call us names, every time you grin cruelly at us, we all remember it. But sometimes there’s a glimmer of hope in you, I saw it when you talked to me about - you know. And every time I see it, you always try to squash it, as though you’re afraid. As though it makes you brave to deny yourself the slightest chance of goodness, but it doesn’t…you’re a coward Jax.”
It felt as if all the air had been knocked out of Jax, he nearly stumbled on the spot. To hear that from Kinger, the only person he felt close to other than Queenie, brought him a shame that he never knew existed. “I…I really am sorry Kinger,” he said with all the sincerity he could muster.
Kinger sighed, “I wish I could believe that.” He pulled out a paper butterfly, red like the old cloak that Queenie used to wear. His eyes smiled softly at the familiarity. “But Queenie always had an eyes for the diamond in the rough. And I trust her more than anyone. I might forgive you, but not today.”
The chess piece’s eyes held the same wisdom as they did back when he and the rabbit built the fort together. A pair of years with decades of knowledge. But as soon as he blinked, he was back to normal old Kinger, “Oh look, a butterfly! That will be perfect for my collection.” He looked back up to the rabbit, “Oh hi Jax…bye Jax.”
With that, he turned away, leaving Jax starstruck again. Zooble gave him a final glare before walking away too. Jax sighed, while that conversation didn’t go the way he wanted it to, he wouldn’t lie and say that it wasn’t unrealistic. Of course Kinger wouldn’t forgive him right away, not after Jax had mistreated him and the others for so long. He felt a hand curl into his, he tightened his hold onto it.
“You okay?” Pomni asked.
He lifted his head to the side to face her, those beautiful and unique eyes already bringing him peace, “I will be.” His eyes scanned the room, everyone was gone. “Remember my promise with getting us out of here?”
Pomni nodded.
“I need to show you something,” he told her, guiding her back to his room.
He made sure the door was locked behind him, erasing the risk of getting caught. “I don’t show these to anyone else,” he said, walking over to a chest and pulling another key out. “But I think this might help with our situation.”
The lock of the chest clicked open, the lid falling back as a hundred of different golden keys were revealed. “Woah,” Pomni’s red and blue eyes widened, “That’s…that’s definitely a lot.”
“Yup, I told you I got keys everywhere here,” he smirked.
She nudged him slightly, “Could come in handy for us sometime.”
“Watch it little lady,” he snickered, his face falling serious again. “I’ve used these keys on every single door I could find but I haven’t found an exit. But with you here, maybe there’s a better chance of finding one.”
Pomni was lost in thought, taking out a singular key and fiddling with it in her hands. “Yeah,” she replied absentmindedly. “I think it might be closer than you think.”
Jax whipped his head round to her, “Come again?”
“Uh…” Pomni trailed off, realising that she had been speaking out loud. “So, remember when I said to Caine a while back that I stopped seeing exits doors? Well…”
Jax raised a brow at her.
Soon enough they were in her room, the chest of keys laying by the wall while both the rabbit and jester were pushing her wardrobe away from the other wall. Jax’s jaw dropped at what he saw once the wardrobe was pushed away. Right behind the piece of furniture was a bright red exit door, the green sign glowing above it. “It appeared here after my first dinner here,” she explained, “I tried to see what was behind it but all it led me to was another maze of weird office hallways.”
“Another?” Jax asked. “Wait, you really did see other exit doors when you arrived here?”
“Yeah, three times actually,” Pomni said. “The only time I went through one it led me to the maze I was talking about.”
“That’s…I,” Jax, for the first time here, was rendered speechless. He thought Pomni had arrived at the void some other way. But she really had seen exits doors and no one believed her, not even him. “There has to be a reason why you’re targeted. If it didn’t do this to us, why you?”
“I wish I knew,” Pomni glanced down, shuffling her feet.
“Hey, hey,” he took her chin into his palm, lifting her head up to face him. “Don’t feel bad, okay? Sorry, I didn’t mean to come off as harsh.” He stroked her cheek gently, “We’re gonna figure this out together, okay? And with our memories back we now have an advantage.”
Pomni sighed, leaning into his touch. It had been too long since she last felt his gentle touch, “Yeah, we do. We’re gonna get out of here.”
He pressed his forehead to hers, giving her a wink, “That’s my girl.”
They settled there for a few moments before Pomni turned away again to look at the keys. Jax wanted to be greedy and pull her back, but right now there was business to attend to. “You said you tried every key with every door, right?” she asked.
“Yup,” the rabbit nodded, “Yet it always never worked. They would either be a room that was part of the circus or would never unlock.”
Pomni hummed in curiosity, picking up another one, “Maybe…” she peered to the bright red door on her wall.
Jax followed her gaze, a grin playing on her lips at what she was implying, “Maybe what?”
She rolled her eyes at him, “Maybe it could work on an exit door?”
“God I love your brain,” he exclaimed.
“Phhh, by making a suggestion?” Pomni snorted.
“By making a smart suggestion, like you always do,” he corrected leaning into her face and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.
“Okay mister,” she retorted, pushing him away with her index finger as the rabbit chortled. She looked down to the key in her palms, it had a circular end with four holes in the middle. This no doubt had to be Ragatha’s key. She looked back to her fiancé, “May I have the honours?”
“It would be my pleasure little lady,” he bowed dramatically.
Pomni huffed, pretending to be annoyed but didn’t force away the smile that tugged at her lips. She breathed out slowly, her breath slightly shaking as she did so. She slid the golden key into the hole, turning it once as they door clicked open.
Jax’s tail twitched with anticipation, awaiting what could possibly be behind it. Pomni reached up to the handle, twisting it and pulling the door open slowly. Her heart plummeted when the familiar office structure appeared again. She shut the door, “I’m sorry I got your hopes up.”
“No, no,” Jax’s voice was gentle as he took her hand. “You didn’t do anything wrong, okay? Let’s try two more, how does that sound?”
The jester bit her lip, nodding quietly in agreement. Jax pulled out two more keys from the chest, the first had the shape of some sort of castle on its end while the second had a jester hat – Pomni’s key. “You’ll probably need this back once we’re done,” he told her, referring to the object. “In case you need your privacy, I know how Caine can be.”
“Aw, honey,” she cooed. “You’re playing favourites.”
He flicked her nose, the jester rubbing it while giggling, “Yeah, yeah. You get your wife privileges.”
“I’m not your wife yet,” she retorted.
Jax grinned, “But soon you will be.”
She shook her head, placing the next key into the lock. She felt a twinge of disappointment when it led to the same grey hallway again. Pomni closed the door again, taking her own key from Jax’s paw, “Maybe third time’s the charm?”
Jax gave her a gentle smile, wanting to keep her as hopeful as possible. But both of them felt the intensity of the situation, if this didn’t work then another dead end was hit, then neither of them would know what to do. Please, please work.
She slid it in, the lock clicked, the door creaked open.
Pomni shut her eyes slightly, she didn’t want to be disappointed again.
“Oh my god,” she heard Jax gasp.
She peeked one eye open, then the other as they widened at what she saw.
It was a hospital room, void of the cold grey scale of the office hallway. The walls were a warm light brown with a lamp switched on by a bed, contrasting with the midnight sky from the window. Pomni’s breath hitched when she saw who was laying on the bed.
“Mom,” she whispered.
A younger Amber was sat up in the hospital bed, her red hair was messy and bags were under her eyes. But she looked so incredibly happy. Next to her was a glass case with holes and inside a little baby with brown curls wrapped up in a pink blanket slept.
“Is that…” Jax trailed off.
“Yeah,” Pomni felt her spirits lift ever so slightly when she looked at the date on the small clock next to the lamp. “That’s me. This was the day when I was born.”
She watched as the woman’s fingers trailed across the glass, marvelling at the tiny human inside. “Hi Penny,” she exhaled happily. “Welcome to the world. I can’t wait for Riley to see you, she’s been so excited to have a little sister. I don’t know where your daddy went but I’m sure he’ll be back soon. When you get better, we’re gonna have so much fun together.” A tear of mirth ran down Amber’s cheek, “Look at you, you’re perfect.”
Pomni felt a tear of her own escape as she watched the scene in front of her. She had been told about how her mother was glued to her side as a baby, watching her every move when the doctors told her how sick and weak she was. Amber had spent every waking moment making sure her daughter was healing. It wasn’t easy with a sickly newborn, an absent husband and a rowdy four-year-old, but she did it anyway.
“I miss her so much,” Pomni sniffled.
“Oh, Pen,” Jax wrapped his arms around the smaller woman’s body, pressing a chaste kiss at the back of her neck. “You’re gonna see her again, I promise.”
She turned and pressed her lips to his cheek, agreeing silently.
Another door creaked open, drawing the duo’s attention. It was the door of the hospital room opening, but instead of leading to a hallway, it seemed to be leading outside instead. The rabbit and jester shared a look before moving ahead, for them it was the most plausible thing to do.
The moment they stepped out, they had to squint from a beam of sunlight shining in their eyes. It seemed like they were in some sort of back garden, with real soft grass beneath their feet and fresh air filling their lungs. It made them feel human.
Pomni let out a shocked yet excited laugh when she saw what was in front of her, this wasn’t any ordinary back garden. It was the one where she grew up in where she and Riley would play when the sun was shining and dried up the rain. The ground was scattered with toys, with a trampoline at the right-hand side and a swing on the left.
She gasped, for on the swing was a girl about ten-years-old, wearing a long-sleeved pink shirt and purple overalls with white butterflies on the pockets, her brunette hair was short and ended by hair jaw as she stared out into the garden with her chocolate brown eyes. “T-that’s me!” Pomni said, startled. “I remember this!”
Jax was going to say something, his smile widening seeing the jester so happy when another voice cut him off.
“Marco!”
The little girl snickered at the new voice, jumping off the swing, “Polo!”
A girl around fourteen years of age, with red hair tied into a ponytail, ran into the garden, dropping a school bag in favour of chasing the younger of the two. Pomni pressed her hands to her mouth, “Riley.”
The older girl snorted as the younger ran around the swing set, reaching out in order to grab her, “I’m gonna get you!”
“Nuh uh!” a younger Penny retorted, “You’re too slow Riles!”
“Oh, now you’re gonna get it!” Riley smirked, the two squealing as the chase continued.
Unfortunately it came to a halt when Penny tripped over a toy and landed on the concrete path leading to the house. Riley gasped, rushing over to her as the little girl picked herself up, her palms bloody and staining her skin. Fat tears ran down her cheeks as she began wailing, “Mommy!”
Riley wrapped her arms around her, rubbing her arm and rocking her slowly. Amber ran out of the door, kneeling down and gently taking her daughter’s hands, “Oh baby. Don’t worry, we’ll get these cleaned up.”
She scooped her youngest into her arms, walking back into the house.
“Mom I’m really sorry!” Riley panicked. “We were playing and she tripped, I should have kept a closer eye on her.”
“Riley, Riley, it’s okay,” Amber spoke calmly. “This was an accident, it’s not your fault, okay?” That didn’t seem to make the older girl feel any better. Amber hummed in thought, “How about you go get the bandages while I clean Penny’s hands, how does that sound?”
Riley nodded furiously, already running in and up the stairs. Pomni followed her mother and younger self into the kitchen, Jax tailing behind her. Amber sat Penny upon the countertop next to the kitchen sink, running the tap while Penny tried to gulp down her cries. “Oh Penny,” Amber ran her fingers under her daughter’s eyes, wiping away the tears. “We’ll get you fixed up, it’s alright baby.”
Penny shook her head, trying to quiet her crying as much as possible, “I-I’m being a b-baby! I n-need to be s-strong!”
“You’re not being a baby for getting hurt,” Amber’s brows furrowed, concern lacing her voice.
“B-but Daddy said t-that crying i-is w-weak,” Penny sniffled.
Amber inhaled sharply, her jaw tensing before slipping into her relaxed position again, “Your Daddy isn’t always right about a lot of things. This is one of them. Even the strongest people in the world need to cry Penny, never feel like you aren’t strong for doing so.”
Like a magnet, Penny clutched onto her mother, wrapping her arms round the tall women’s neck. Amber kissed the top of her child’s head, rubbing her hands up and down the little one’s back. There was probably blood on the back of her shirt, but she didn’t care, not when her child needed comfort. “How about we wash that blood off, okay?” Amber suggested.
Penny nodded against her shoulder, unwrapping her arms. Amber led her hands under the running water, Penny hissing at soon as the liquid touched her skin.
“I know baby, I know,” Amber ran her fingers through the child’s hair, “You’ll feel better soon, I promise.”
“I got the bandages!” Riley announced, running back into the kitchen.
“Perfect,” Amber switched off the tap once Penny’s hands were clean enough. She patted them dry with a towel and took the bandages from Riley. Slowly and carefully, she wrapped up each hand in the white gauze, finishing it off with a small bow on the top of each hand. “See, much better.”
Penny rubbed one last tear away, holding her hands out for her mother again, “Thank you Mommy.”
Amber cooed, picking her up and holding her close, “Always baby.” With a spare arm, Amber pulled Riley into the hug, rubbing the older girl’s shoulder, “Thank you for your help.”
Riley let out a trembling breath, burying her face into her mother’s shoulder, the woman holding her daughters in a vice grip as though they would disappear if she let go.
Pomni felt her stomach twist, Amber’s daughter did disappear. And her mother had no idea where she was.
Jax placed a hand on her shoulder, Pomni touched it as pressed her cheeks onto it, “It still hurts, knowing she doesn’t know where I am.”
“I know,” Jax agreed. “I know how much you mean to your mother. She’ll see you again, I know it.”
The back door creaked open like the hospital door did, this time is showed the inside of a living room.
Walking through, a wave of familiarity hit them both at once. It was their old apartment. Everything was the same, from the furniture to the wallpaper to even the starry mug that Penny loved to use all the time. Said mug was on the coffee table, steaming rising from the top.
Laughter broke the two out of their trance, for in the middle of the living room from was…them. Their human forms, engagement rings on their fingers as they danced while slow romantic music filled the room.
“Watch your speed!” Penny giggled, “I can barely keep up!”
Jack snickered, “Says you! You keep tripping over yourself!”
“It’s not my fault I have two left feet!” Penny retorted grinning.
Jack ran a hand over his face, another laugh escaping his mouth, “Imagine if we danced like this on our wedding day.”
“We’d certainly attract a crowd, that’s for sure,” Penny sighed wistfully, her arms curling round his neck, “How about we just settle for swaying?”
“Yeah, swaying sounds good,” Jack’s hands settled round her waist, the two moving from side to side. “I guess this isn’t so bad.”
Penny hummed in agreement, “Looks like our wedding dance won’t be a complete disaster after all.”
“It was never gonna be, I’ll make sure it will be the best day for you, promise,” Jack’s nose rubbed against hers, earning him another giggle.
Pomni looked up at Jax, the latter looking on longingly at their past selves. Life could have continued like this if he hadn’t been so selfish, so entitled, so cowardly…Kinger was right.
“Hey,” Pomni spoke up, it was his turn to listen to her. “It’s not your fault for what happened, okay? If you believe that we can get out of here, then so can I.”
Jax felt warmth spread about himself, this was why he loved Pomni so much. Despite her own fears and anxieties, when her kindness shone then it shone brightly. Many actions that she had done spoke loudly than any word she spoke. And if she couldn’t see how amazing she is, then he could do it for her. “You’re incredible, you know that right?” he said.
Pomni blushed, trying to hide behind her short hair, “Maybe.”
Jax chuckled, he never wanted her to change. The sound of another door creaking made them turn. Just like they did many times before, they walked through.
They were back in Amber’s house, though this time it had aged, they were in the living room instead, although furniture seemed more recent in memory than Pomni expected. “Is this ringing any bells?” Jax asked.
“No, no this doesn’t seem that familiar, aside from the room,” Pomni replied.
Footsteps entered the room. It was Amber, now older and more tired. Pomni watched as her mother sat on the sofa, there were bags under her eyes and dried tear stains on her cheeks. In her hands was a small pile of papers, Penny’s face printed on the very top and well as the words ‘MISSING’ written in bold black letters.
“This isn’t a memory,” Pomni murmured. “This is now.”
Jax let out a tiny gasp of realisation, they had come so far they were teetering on the border of the outside world, something that no one could possibly imagining happening in the circus!
But the circumstances weren’t as bright. Right now they were watching Amber mourn over her lost daughter, the one thing she feared the most.
Amber gripped onto the papers tighter, her lips quivering as more tears hit the posters. She let them go, each one scattering across the floor as she brought her hands up to cover her face, muffling her sobs.
Pomni’s heart twisted, she wished for nothing more than to reach out to her mother and engulf her in the biggest hug she can manage. “Mom, I’m here,” she spoke, “I’m okay.”
But nothing, it could be as though the wind had spoken. It was silence.
Pomni wanted to cry, to yell, to scream IM HERE. But it was pointless, wasn’t it?
The jester lifted her hand to a switched off lamp next to the sofa. When she was young, Amber would always turn on her bedside lamp, telling her that she would feel safe as long as that was on. Pomni’s fingers grazed the handle of the lamp, that was what she wanted for Amber, for her to feel safe like she did for her.
Without even realising, her fingers lightly pushed against the button, the pressure making it flicker on. Pomni jumped back, did she do that?!
Amber turned to the sudden light, sighing, “Lights are acting up, great.”
Pomni looked down at her hands, Amber couldn’t see her still. But what if…
She looked to Jax, the rabbit looking just as surprised as she did. He turned to the light switch on the wall, quickly moving towards it and flicking it on. Just like with Pomni, it shone throughout the room. He let out a strangled laugh, he could do it too!
Amber’s brows furrowed in confusion, “What is happening?”
Pomni held onto the lamp again, determination on her mind. She wasn’t going to leave until her mother knew that she was here and she was alive. She flicked the lamp on and off again, feeling guilty when Amber jumped in surprise. She did the same with another lamp on the chest of drawers at the side of the room, flicking it on and off while Jax did the same with the room light.
Amber whipped round, watching in shock as this bizarre event unfolded before her. She knew that lights had a habit of acting out, but never to this extent. “What’s going on?!” she exclaimed, “Is someone doing this?!”
Pomni bit her lip, she had to let Amber know that she was here. She scanned the room, trying to see if there was something, anything that could help. Her traveling eyes came to a stop when she spotted Amber’s computer tucked away into the corner, a printer next to it with missing posters on top of it. She must have moved it down here when making them.
Pomni rushed towards it, pressing the ‘on’ button and praying that her plan would work.
Amber yelped as she heard the sound of her computer switch on, panic rising in her chest.
The jester pressed a few keys on the keyboard, searching until she landed on a blank document, here goes nothing. And so, she began to type.
Mom
It’s me
Penny
Amber took a few steps back as her missing daughter’s name appeared on her screen, it felt like a horror movie unravelling in front of her. She let out a broken laugh, “Okay you got me! Whoever’s here better piss off with their sick joke before I call the police!”
Pomni winced, she had to keep trying.
It’s okay!
It’s Penny Mom!
You don’t need to be scared!
Amber shook her head, this had to be some sick joke. “My daughter’s missing!” she felt insane for talking back to the computer. “How could she be able to do this?! Whoever you are, you better show yourself!”
Pomni wracked her brain, she had to think of something, anything. A lightbulb went off in her head, she began to type again.
I was born on August 13th, 1999, at 11:59 PM
I was born too early so I had to be incubated at the hospital
On my fifth birthday you gave me a purple teddy bear and I named her Candy
You always sang ‘Silent Night’ to me to help me fall asleep even when it wasn’t Christmas
You brought a giant sign at Riley’s graduation saying ‘YOU’RE AN AGENT NOW RILEY’ when she completed her FBI training
Riley hates carrot cake but she always brings some for Winter whenever they go on dates
You took time off work just so you could help homeschool me when I left high school and helped me when I struggled to eat
I’m terrified of bees but I love butterflies
I hate the water, I always have
I always wanted to go into costume designing
When I finally felt confident in myself you asked me to make you a promise
I promised you that no matter what I am Penny Reed
I have a role in this world
I am worthy of greatness
And I have always mattered
Mom
It’s me
Amber’s breath hitched, nearly stumbling back a bit. No one could know something so personal about one person. Could it really be… “Penny?”
Pomni felt her own tears escape.
Hi Mom
Amber’s knees dropped to the ground, tears of relief and joy escaping. “Oh my baby!” she sobbed, “You’re here! Are you…Are you alive?”
Pomni sniffed, letting out a small laugh.
Yes Mom
I’m alive
Another cry tore from Amber’s throat, her daughter was alive. And somehow, she was here. “Penny where are you?” she asked, wiping away her tears. “What’s going on?”
It’s hard to explain
And I don’t know how long I can stay
“No, baby don’t go yet,” Amber begged. “Just stay, at least until Riley gets here.”
Jax’s ears twitched, a soft voice calling from the distance.
“Jax?”
“Pomni?”
He could recognise that voice from anywhere. Jax grasped Pomni’s shoulder, “Ragatha’s looking for us, we gotta go.”
Pomni was startled for a second, but she knew that he was serious. She turned back to her mother.
I’m sorry Mom
I have to go
“Penny please!” Amber panicked, “Don’t go!”
I’ll come back
I’m so sorry
But I’m okay
I promise
“Stay!” Amber cried, “Penny, stay!”
It felt as though Pomni’s heart was being ripped from her chest, but she couldn’t risk her or Jax’s safety. What if Caine was with Ragatha? Then they would really be in trouble.
She and Jax rushed to the door, the room outside of it reverting back to Jax’s bedroom. Pomni looked back to her sobbing mother, guilt stabbing at her. “I’ll be back soon,” she promised, even if Amber couldn’t hear her.
She forced herself to tear her eyes away and ran back into Jax’s bedroom, the rabbit closing the door behind her. “Hey,” he placed both of his hands on her shoulders, “I know that must have been really hard for you, but we can go back. We’re able to now, we finally have a chance to try and get out of here.”
“I just,” Pomni sniffled, “I just miss my Mom.”
Jax brought her into his arms, letting her cry out as much as she needed to. He wasn’t going to let go, never again. Both mother and daughter were terrified of this bizarre situation, the mother fearing that she would never see her child and the daughter wishing for her mother to hold her. Until they were back, Jax had to protect Pomni. It was serious now, bigger things were at play and everything was different. No matter what, her safety was his priority.
“Jax?” Ragatha knocked on the door. “Come on, open up please.”
Pomni let go, her eyes darting to the door with worry.
“It’s okay,” Jax reassured her, “Take the keys and hide behind the side of my bed, I’ll take care of doll face.”
Pomni looked to the keys and back at him, “O-okay.”
He kissed her forehead, stroking her cheek lightly before the two pulled away. Pomni picked up the chest, taking it and ducking behind the bedside while Jax pulled the wardrobe back over the exit door as silently as he could.
The door knocked again, he smoothed down the fur on his head I’m cool and collected, I’m cool and collected. Once he had slipped into his persona again, he opened the door. He gulped, apart from Caine and Bubble, everyone was there.
“So, Rags,” he leaned against the side of the door. “How can I help you?”
“Pomni’s in there,” Ragatha crossed her arms over her chest. “Isn’t she?”
I’M COOL AND COLLECTED, I’M COOL AND COLLECTED! Jax’s tail twitched nervously as he let out a laugh that seemed fake even to him, “What? No, of course not!”
“I saw you go in her room a while ago,” Gangle mumbled. “I didn’t know if you were pulling a prank on her but I had to get the others just in case.”
“And imagine my panic when I found out the door was locked!” Ragatha growled. “You better explain yourself, Pomni better be okay!”
“Ragatha,” Pomni peered above the bed, jumping over it and made her way towards the door. “Don’t worry I’m fine-”
“Oh Pomni you’re okay!” Ragatha gasped, reaching out her hand to the jester. “Come here, what type of prank did he pull on you?”
Pomni surprised everyone when she jumped back, opting to stand beside Jax instead. “Ragatha,” she spoke softly, “You don’t have to worry, I’m completely fine. Jax didn’t do anything.”
“T-then why is he in your room?” the ragdoll asked. “You two have been acting strange for the past couple of days and we’re all getting worried, what’s going on?”
Pomni and Jax shared a look, a silent conversation between the two. Pomni, without breaking eyes contact, nudged her head towards the group. Sparing the others a glance, he looked back to Pomni with a nod.
“You guys come in,” Pomni said, opening the door wider. “There’s a lot you gotta know.”
.
.
.
This had to be the second time Riley was emotionally exhausted while driving back home, the first was when finding out Penny was missing. But her hopes had gone up too many times and had blind faith in someone who was hurting like she was, maybe even more. It was strange, everything Samual said felt true, but Jason Wood was a prominent figure who helped raise him after his parent’s disappearance, who was she to have a say in that situation?
Perhaps the wish to have her sister back was overtaking her logic. But now anymore, she was going to put her headfirst and figure this out the way she always did. Her phone began to ring in the cup holder next to her seat, it was Amber. She put the phone on speaker, keeping her eyes on the road, “Hey Mom, what’s up?”
“Riley!” Amber panted over the phone. “Riley you need to get here now!”
Riley practically kicked the break to stop the car, ignoring the other honking cars behind her as she pressed the phone to her ear, “Mom! Is everything ok?! What happened?!”
“It’s about your sister!” Amber blubbered. “You need to get here as soon as you can, please!”
Before Riley could say another word, the line was caught off. She pressed on the accelerator, her heart pounding. If her mother was speaking in that panicked and it involved her sister, she was going to drop everything and be there first thing.
The car skid to a stop when she arrived at her mother’s house, running to the door as fast as she could and slammed it open. “Mom!” Riley called out, “What happened?!”
Amber was collecting posters off the floor, dumping them down on the coffee table before pulling Riley inside. “Riley!” she gasped, “You won’t believe it! I know it sounds insane but I saw it happen in front of my eyes!”
“What? What did?!” Riley was starting to worry now. “Mom you’re scaring me, what does Penny have to do with this!”
“Everything!” Amber bellowed, a wide grin forming while more joyful tears leaked down her face. “Penny was here! She’s alive!”
The whole world went still for Riley, “Penny?! She’s alive?! Wait-wait, what do you mean ‘was here’?! Where is she?!”
“That’s the thing!” Amber pointed to the computer. “She wasn’t ‘here’ here, she was speaking to me through that!”
Riley’s palms began to sweat, this was beginning to sound familiar, “What do you mean by through the computer?”
“She wasn’t here in a physical sense, but she was messing with the lights, writing to me on that computer!” Amber exclaimed. “I don’t know how it’s possible and I know it sounds crazy, but your sister is alive! My daughter is alive! And she needs our help!”
Riley nearly staggered on the spot, Amber’s concerned calling for her name falling on deaf ears. Her mother wasn’t someone who spouted nonsense (that was more of David’s thing) and there was no way this type of situation could be a coincidence, it wasn’t something that anyone could make up on the spot.
She looked past Amber and to the screen behind her. Her breath hitched, on the screen was basically what Samual had showed her. Someone trying to communicate through anonymous messages with no email attached. Except this time it was different, this time it described parts of her life that no one else could know about, this time there was undeniable proof that someone was talking to her mother, this time there was a name.
Penny’s name.
Riley gasped.
Samual was telling the truth…and she pushed him away.
#the amazing digital circus#jax#pomni#pomnijax#funnybunny#ragatha#gangle#kinger#zooble#caine#bubble#my writing#dragon rambles#fanfiction#fanfic#ao3#jax x pomni#pomni x jax#jaxni
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Many Roads Diverge in the Woods - Second Run - Part Six
The Beginning | Previous
The results are in.
You've made your decision. Wonder what you'll see? You all are being so incredibly reasonable this whole run fdhjakslh None of you are like "hmm, what if I saw the bad choices?" Or, well, some of you might be, idk, I can't see into your heads. Wonder how you'll deal with this choice, then... :)c
The poll at the bottom to decide what happens next is only open for one day, expiring on April 20th at 12:00pm PST. Part Seven will be up the next day, April 21st, at the same time.
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“Bro, it’s not gonna be that hard to tell us what you’re talking about,” Chase says.
Marvin raises an eyebrow. “It’s also not gonna be that hard to walk three meters from where you’re standing to the room.”
It’s farther than that, JJ says.
“Semantics.”
“Marvin, I think what we are trying to say is that... you have been acting a bit unusual,” Schneep says delicately. “We need some trust.”
“Yeah, maybe when we walk in you’ll lock us in the room or something,” Jackie adds.
“What the fuck? No!” Marvin folds his arms. “Okay, fine, if you guys are being so weird about it. The room is pretty much empty except for some chairs. But there’s a pattern burned into the floor that I know is a ritual circle for spells.”
Jackie blinks. “What?”
Marvin throws his hands in the air. “See? You have no idea what that means! My explanation is fucking useless to you!”
Even that is better than going in completely blind, JJ says. Thank you, Marvin. We’ll check it out now.
“Finally. You guys are being weird.”
“No, you’re being weird!” Chase insists. “You’ve been weird since we came down to see what you were doing!”
Marvin starts to snap back, but stops. He frowns, like he’s considering something. For a moment, he looks worried. Then he pushes past it. “Well... I’ll try to stop being weird, then. Come on. I’ll go in first, if you’re so worried about me locking you in.” And he turns around and walks back into the room he came from. The other four glance at each other, a bit concerned, but follow him.
The room is exactly as Marvin described, empty except for four wooden chairs. A single dim bulb lights it up, though there are still shadows around the edges. And on the floor—wooden boards instead of the blank concrete in the basement hallway—is a design. Chase traces the lines with his eyes. A circle. With lines crisscrossing back and forth, and six strange symbols burned into the empty space in the center. The four chairs sit on the edge of this circle, evenly spaced between each other.
“So... you said this was a ritual circle?” Schneep asked. “For what?”
“I don’t really know, actually,” Marvin says slowly. “I don’t recognize the pattern. And actually, patterns aren’t really used that much, it’s usually just the circle, maybe with some runes around the edges if you want to be fancy.”
“What about these?” Jackie points at the symbols in the center. “They seem important. Do you recognize them?”
“I... kind of?” Marvin says. “It’s weird. I don’t know how I know this, but it’s something about... life? And... change? Transformation, o-or maybe transference, I don’t know.”
“Why’s it burned into the ground?” Chase mutters, tapping one of the lines with the tip of his shoe. “Seems like a lot of effort.”
“I’m guessing whoever did it was planning on using it a lot.”
JJ frowns. Why is this in Jack’s cabin? Along with all those magic books in the other room? I didn’t think he was into that sort of stuff.
“Maybe it belonged to some other family member,” Jackie suggests.
Chase gives the room a second look, as if he could find something new. And, surprisingly, he does. “Hey, these chairs were in the other room,” Chase says. “With the table. Marvin, did you move them in here?”
Marvin stares at Chase for a moment. Then at the chairs. He blinks, confusion clouding his face. “I... don’t know. Maybe? I—ow!” Marvin flinches a bit, pressing a hand to the side of his head.
“Are you okay?” Schneep asks.
“Yeah, I just... my head... started... hurt...” Marvin’s words trail off. He slowly lowers his hand. And he steps further into the room, going right up to the symbols in the center, looking down as he stands on them.
“Marvin?” Jackie asks, concerned.
Marvin looks up. “I remember what one of these means,” he says in a slow, almost monotone voice. “It means ‘blood.’ And I found something else in this room.” He puts his hand behind his back and then takes it out again. A knife is clasped in his hand. A thin blade, almost a dagger.
“Whoa!” Jackie steps forward, holding his arms out protectively in front of the others. “Okay, uh, cool? Th-that makes sense, I guess. Now, uh, can you put it down?”
Marvin grins. “Does it make you nervous?”
“No!” Jackie protests.
“I-it does a little,” Schneep says quietly.
“Really? What are you afraid of? That I’ll hurt you? I’m hurt that you’d think that.” Marvin flips the knife in his hand. “I’ll show you how hurt I am.” Slowly, he raises the shaking knife to his throat.
Chase gasps. He pushes past Jackie. “Marvin, no!”
JJ also tries to push past him, but Schneep grabs him and pulls him back. “Be careful!” Schneep hisses.
“Be careful?! Be careful?! Are you seeing this?!” Chase takes a couple steps forward. “Marvin, put the knife down.”
Marvin just laughs. The blade presses against his neck.
#jacksepticeye#jacksepticeye fanfiction#jacksepticegos#septic egos#septic egos au#jacksepticeye au#chase brody#jackieboy man#marvin the magnificent#jameson jackson#dr schneeplestein#brigid writes fanfiction#manyroadsdivergejse
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So… about that Miraculous rewrite, what do you have in mind?
Okay, thank you for asking, I appreciate it. I’ll try and make this as concise as possible, because there’s a lot and I tend to ramble, so I’ve made it in the form of a numbered list:
1. I don’t plan on redeeming Chloé. I feel like despite actually knowing why Chloé didn’t get redeemed, there’s a pretty decent lesson about how entitlement doesn’t mean you get what you want that they definitely also could’ve gone with of if they were a bit smarter with it.
2. No zodiac kwami. They’re the bane of my existence. Why are two of them time travel based in power?
3. Adrienette is the endgame couple.
4. As of right now I’m sitting at three seasons, each one being 16 episodes plus three specials but I might either add a season four or make season three longer. One of the specials is the alternate dimension one. I love the concept of it.
5. I also gave the show an actual timeline. Because the Christmas specials says it’s Adrien’s first Christmas without his mother, but then season one has the Valentine’s Day episode which means it’s February and then the school year in France starts in September so if we look at season one as somewhat chronological, it means the Christmas special is wrong and that drove me crazy so I just redid the whole timeline. Because it would be his second Christmas without his mom.
6. Nathalie doesn’t have an unrequited crush on Gabriel. I never quite got that.
7. Any rich kid that was a sentimonster isn’t one anymore. The peacock miraculous doesn’t create sentimonsters but rather charms enemies as its main skill.
8. Adrien has more of a backbone than he does is canon and Marinette’s crush on. Adrian is a bit more healthy.
9. Rather than using potions to unlock new skills, the kwamis can manifest them themselves. They just need to expend extra energy and there are just some situations where that’s more difficult. I just feel like the book and the potions and the rennlings from the Shanghai special make the kwamis feel less like something ancient powerful and more like a tool. And also because Frozer takes place in January/February and Syren takes place in March/April (both are season two episodes though).
10. Up until the collector, Natalie didn’t know that Gabriel was Hawkmoth and agrees to wear the butterfly miraculous in order to get Gabriel to let Adrien go back to school and not be able to pull them out for a stupid reason anymore otherwise she’ll just go to the cops and be like “my boss is the supervillain.” She does this again in Simon Says but with Adrien’s love life as a preemptive caution.
11. Adrien is in the finale battle. I don’t get why they didn’t include him in season 5.
12. Emilie Agreste is a famous actress so her disappearance (aka I haven’t quite settled on what I want to do with her) is a lot more well-known to the public.
13. I am planning on renaming both of Felix‘s parents. I just haven’t quite settled on names yet.
I think that’s all I got right now. I’ve mainly been focussing on the timeline and the episode list and any changes to episodes rather than the characters themselves which feels counterproductive, but it’s just the way that my brain works, especially since I find it really difficult to think out Marinette and Adrien as individuals. My brain kinda just weaves them together.

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oswlld's monthly wrap up: april
note: i am trying something a bit different this year, so bear with me as i figure out how i want to format this. i wanted to spend more time sharing what i consume, beyond what i rb, and put my thoughts in one place. these posts are okay to rb
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This Is How You Lose the Time War, Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone [started 04/04, finished 04/09] *drags my hands down my face until the end of time* I want to meet you in every place I ever loved. I want to meet you in every place I ever loved. I want to meet you in every place I ever loved. I want to meet you in every place I ever loved. I want to meet you in every place I ever loved. I WANT TO MEET YOU!!!! IN EVERY PLACE I EVER LOVED!!!!!!!!!!!!! 4.75⭐️ in storygraph. — Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell [started 04/12, in prog] I am about 100 pages in and still not sure if I want to keep going or DNF it. idk what isn’t sticking because the writing is beautiful and the pacing is great. And I do care about the characters, I really do. I love the way the author borrows from future grief, it’s what I am enjoying most about this read so far. Maybe I’ll give it 50 more pages and see if it finally sticks.
23.5 Degrees, GMMTV [started: 03/08, ongoing] As mentioned, I am caught up on eps 3-8. I’ll likely not be able to watch it live in may but I will be keeping up with the series til the end. It’s so lighthearted and charming! Not sure how they managed this, but I am constantly surprised by the character group dynamics. It’s def due to the great chemistry everyone has with literally everyone. I need NEED to discuss the score of this show because it’s IMMACULATE. The celestial themes, from the props all the way down to the music, is so rich. I’m so excited to see how this story unravels. — Devil’s Plan [started: 04/23, ongoing] This is a bestie pick, a show my best friend chose to have us watch on our facetime calls. We are 1.5 eps in and it’s a grower. The first game is hella complex and we’re slowly picking up on what’s happening. The people on this show are incredibly intelligent, so I feel like I have to work extra hard to keep up. It does feel rewarding, I’m hooked.
Oppenheimer, Peacock [watched on 04/05] I am a self-proclaimed Nolan girlie, I’ll admit it. I do enjoy his work and the many ways he translates time into film. When I wrote this, it had been a few days since I watched it and I still think abt the little moments that blew me away. Moments like the accentuated dust particles, how the coloring of the movie can be an unreliable narrator, and the utilization of a crowded hall stomping their feet to create tension. The last eight minutes still haunts me. I find more value in the technical side of film, but I will give credit when credit is due: every award Cillian Murphy got this season was so well earned. He carried all three hours of that film with such powerful quietude. And lastly, my heart now belongs to Jennifer Lame. Upon seeing her accept the award for Best Film Editing for Oppenheimer, I have come to learn that she also edited Tenet. HER MIND!!! She has such a bright future ahead of her, to be up there with the minds of Thelma Schoonmaker and Anne V Coates. — Yellow Door: ’90s Lo-Fi Film Club [watched on 04/14] This film needs to be studied in film school. It’s incredibly meta in some ways, having renown directors be the subjects, talking about their passion for film. The production being so stylized and the editing feels very reminiscent of Our Beloved Summer, with the way the found footage and the aspect ratios are intertwined with current day quality shots. This film will hit everyone right in the millennial. A true surprise for me is discovering that Bong Joon Ho and I are more alike that I had originally thought. The way he speaks in casual conversation and his story of setting strict rules for their film collection had me hollering because SAME. The most jessi thing he recounted was how all the VHS tapes were labelled. Yellow Door is somehow the opposite of the "doesn’t take itself too seriously" mentality; it’s actually so great that they made the film like that. By fully immersing us with gorgeous cinematography, cheeky editing sequences, and lush music to tug at your heartstrings, it bewitches you into loving film as much as they did. And still do.
Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé [relisten] I’ve given this several good cycles to confirm my first impressions: it’s def one of her most cohesive albums to date and still stands as a spectacular album. This passion project of hers takes such great care and attention to the voices she amplifies. I can feel the hunger, the innate need for her to make this album. If you haven’t heard how this album came to be, I insist you take the time to educate yourselves. It makes the listening experience so much more empowering. Good for her… GOOD. FOR. HER!! Current favs: Ameriican Requiem, 16 Carriages, Bodyguard, Jolene, Spaghettii, Ya Ya, Desert Eagle, II Hands II Heaven, and Sweet/Honey/Buckin’. — Older, Lizzy McAlpine [first time listening] Coming off the heels of my Five Seconds Flat hyperfixation last year, I haphazardly went into Older hoping its a natural progression in production value. I was shocked that it turned out to be a completely different sound. I soon learned that she actually didn’t really like how Five Seconds Flat was produced because it didn’t feel true to her as an artist. Tbh I was feeling a little lost after the first listen but after digesting this new info, I went back into it and appreciated it a lot more. In fact, the third listen was when I realized that it gave off the same energy as Laufey. I’m excited to listen to it again soon. — Stick Season: Forever, Noah Kahan [first time listening] Having stumbled on all the collabs on Alexa earlier this year, Forever was the only new song for me from his latest release. I’m OBSESSED with this song!!!! The way his voice carries the entire weight of every hurt inside me and just takes it away. Something healed in me. I play it in the car every time I leave the house. I cry in the car every time I leave the house. — The Tortured Poets Department, Taylor Swift [first time listening, standard vinyl ed.] I am going to get this out of the way and say that this album is great. Just great. I understand more than ever why she felt the need to make this album. Having only listened to the standard version a couple times and the anthology twice through, I sit here in this kind of… discomfort. And I’m kind of okay with that feeling. But… it pains me that I can’t share this album with some people in my life and it’s largely due to how she depicts her struggles with people with mental illness/addiction. It’s one, if not the biggest, strike I have against this album and by extension, her. Songs cycling in my head: Down Bad, So Long London, Guilty as Sin?, Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?, loml, imgonnagetyouback, Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus, How Did It End?, I Look in People’s Windows, The Prophecy, Peter, and The Manuscript.
EXPO Chicago [attended 04/13] Yes, I am doxxing myself a bit if you didn’t already know. During college, I used to attend EXPO yearly and occasionally went back long after I finished school. I haven’t attended in a long time, so I made it my goal to attend this year. And I had a blast! My mother tagged along and she’s not one to attend shows like this or art museums in general. It was a beautiful day trip to the city and it was nice to have her company. She mostly trailed behind and took pics of me as I floated around the exhibition hall. I have 50+ artists I tracked on my phone to actively research in my spare time. I sat in on one of the panel talks (ON COLOR), discussing color theory in today’s bipoc landscape. I took so much away from that conversation, it was very charged. I'm kinda obsessed with Alteronce Gumby, I need to do an artist deepdive on his work. — Coachella [watched from 04/12 to 04/14] I work for a big tech company and one of the biggest events to be on standby for is Coachella. I had to be on call for Friday and was backup support for Sunday lineups. Thus, Saturday was the only day I could sit back and relax while watching. My first time lineups included: Hatsune Miku, Peso Pluma, Late Night Drive Home, Jon Batiste, Ateez, le Sserafim, Purple Disco Machine, Bleachers, No Doubt, 88rising Futures, and Latin Mafia. Of all of the performances, I want to take a full deep dive into Ateez and Peso Pluma’s discography in the near future.
#oswlld 2024 wrap up#mine: edits#long post#this is how you lose the time war#23.5 degrees#devil's plan#oppenheimer#bong joon ho#yellow door#cowboy carter#beyonce#lizzy mcalpine#noah kahan#taylor swift#alteronce gumby#ateez#peso pluma#ive been tackling ttpd as though it was folklore/evermore#it reads more like sister albums for me it gives length and structure like musical theatre cast recordings#i dissect the narrative in acts#and im enjoying the writing and narrative more in ttpd standard#but i LOVE the production and variety of topics in the anthology collection#this level of vulnerability and info dumping is not for everyone#and tbh it might not even be for me but it doesn’t make it a bad album#it’s like… i get why there’s criticism about how it needs to be edited down or polished or that it needed ‘more time’#i do get it and a part of me buys into it#imo she’s prob too big to fail. she can get away with almost anything at this rate#im still enjoying it tho. she's a grower#i have the rest of time to have it grow on me. there will be songs that will hit harder in a week/month/year#sorry about the tangent see yall in june
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12 april 2024
busy day. currently triggered. so why am I writing this then. good question. want to stay aware I guess. am dissociating. im overwhelmed. I'll put on a song I like. I tried grounding earlier and it worked but it was weird cause I think it wasn't me. whatever. got triggered outside. likely the smell. smell has been REALLY intense today. I think it must be pollen? I saw a lot of pollen floating around. i started dissociating outside. I used the grapefruit scent stick outside. At home I put on this one lotion I bought that has a cooling effect and smells strongly of menthol. I also had a sour candy. I hated it, it was so sour. I might put on the menthol again.
aye. youtube is autoplaying a song that makes me dissociate more..
no clue how much time passed but I'm back and more grounded I think?
apparently an hour has passed.
The song playing right now gives me so much strength and hope. It really hits my heart. ( A.C.E. - Callin' ) I don't know why but that song always gives me hope for the future. It's about self acceptance for me.
I'm so out of it. I think making this post has a purpose. I think I was going to go over my day.
My mother asked me to go for a walk with my grandma and I agreed. My grandma needs to practice walking. She has a walker I bought her but even with the walker she still struggles. My mother drove us to a location at the water. I recognized it from trauma memories. I didn't know we were going there and I hadn't been there for years. I didn't want to get out of the car at first but I didn't want to tell my mother and grandma why so I just got out reluctantly and told myself it was okay. There was also a strong scent of spring. A lot of memories resurfaced from seeing the location. Luckily the memories were pretty mild trauma (in terms of how I judge it for myself). I was extremely on edge that my abuser was going to be there. I was scanning my environment like crazy. Eventually I managed to be more calm. I focused more on the water and the boats and the wind and the smell of the water. There was also a lot of people walking their dogs. We went inside somewhere to have a drink and cake. I felt safe there. I had no memories inside that location.
I had set the goal for myself to have lunch in the city to do exposure there. Even though I did unexpected exposure already, I still wanted to proceed with my plan. I walked to the city choosing the most scary roads. I usually ask myself: 'which route brings me the most fear to walk?' and then I pick the one that scares me the most to challenge my fears. I felt proud of myself for the way I walked. I decided to not have lunch because it was rather late, but I did go to the lunch location to just walk around it. I did exposure at another store that really scares me. I managed to stay inside about 2 minutes. Then I walked the scary road back to the bus stop and took the bus home.
I'll have to take note of the resurfaced memories so I can maybe process them in therapy if they don't fade to the background again.
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Little Mouse Ch. 21
Warnings this fic will contain mature themes. Such as but not limited to teasing, kidnapping, Stockholm syndrome, very unhealthy relationships, some elements of non-con/rape, threesomes, drug use, breath play, voyeurism, branding, sex.
Summery: We get a little threesome action going on. So if you do not like FMM then you may not like the end of this chapter and the start of chapter 22.
Word Count: 6472
AN: I will be visiting my little sister who just had a baby and so I will not be posting anything from April 12-26. I will make a post on my tumbler as well but incase no one sees it. Chapter 22 will be posted on April 29th sorry for the wait.
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The days to follow fell into an odd little routine. Toga actually held up her end and actually practiced fighting with Rin nearly daily. There were a few times Rin would find Dabi waiting in the blondes place but that was fine. He always agreed to practice first. Though at the end it always ended with her pinned and at some point them both naked or semi naked. How exactly she would end up in such situations was hard to say, it always seemed to happen fighting between them always ended up in them fucking as well. And this practice session was no different. Though that was not much of a surprise and really she was not complaining it always held release any of the tension she may be feeling. Especially as she found herself sticking closer to Shigaraki now taking over Kurogiri’s job of being his babysitter.
So now when Rin was not practicing to regain those old fighting skills she once had she was doing as she was now. Sitting in the same room as Shiggy to make sure he did not throw a temper tantrum or anything of the sort. It was often boring, though she would be lying if she did not admit that Shiggy could at times be okay company. Often it was when she could get him to talk about some of his more favorite games. That often was one conversation that would at least not have him raging by the end of.
But today Rin did not have to go to such lengths to try and keep the man happy, whether she was lucky or what she was not going to complain about. Shigaraki was rather calm and quiet for a nice change and she was keeping silent and reading a magazine she had Toga snatch for her to help fight off the boredom that came with no one really letting her go anywhere or do very much. But at the moment no one was really doing anything and so she relaxed on an old couch reading. Shiggy was in the middle of talking with some doctor dude who worked with All for One and was supposedly the person who had created those creatures she had met back in Hosu that one wild night. She had also learned that the doctor could at times be a touchy subject, as what was to be the plans for the future. So she bit her tongue and kept her questions to herself waiting for the man to tell them all instead of trying to push for answers.
So Rin tried her best to keep her attention on the magazine in her hands even though fashion really did not interest her, nor any of those what's your perfect man tests and crap. But she needed to at least try and look like she was doing more than sit there bored out of her mind while keeping an eye on the man who was sitting in an old worn computer chair, an old handheld gaming system in hand. It was not as great as his old PC and counsel that he used to have at the old bar, and he made sure everyone knew when Twice had showed up with the system. Still he may have bitched like a kid but that did not stop him from playing with the small handful of games the others had been able to provide the man child.
The sound of the door to the room creaking open loudly had green eyes peering up from over the top of her magazine to see who had dared to join her and Shiggy during such a nice and rare quiet moment. She should not have been surprised to find it was Dabi who had come to ruin the peace.
“What do you want Dabi?” Shigaraki had beaten her to the punch and asked the question first, drawing Dabi’s wide grin and bright eyes away from Rin to look over at the pale haired man who was still playing his game.
“Just come looking for my little mouse,” Dabi said, smirking widely as he turned his attention from Shiggy back to Rin. To which she rolled her eyes at the man before trying to turn her attention back to the magazine in hand even though she had not flipped the page she was on for over five minutes.
“What do you want, Dabi?” She asked just getting straight to the point and repeating Shiggy’s question as she listened to the man's heavy boots start to walk towards her. She tried to ignore him as she continued to pretend to be reading the words in front of her.
“I’m bored and simply came looking for you to cure that,” Was the reply from the man. Which just had her once again rolling her eyes at him. He was bored which meant he wanted sex to pass the time she was sure.
“Can’t you go harass someone else I am trying to relax,” She said simply not originally feeling in the mood. Of course her little bit of attitude was met with him glaring down at her. She pretended not to notice, kind of hoping the man would just turn and walk away. Though that was wishful thinking on her behalf.
“Oh but you’re just so fun to harass,” The man said simply before he reached out and grabbed the magazine she had been staring at and ripping it from her hands which had her cry out in protest even though she was not actually reading it.
“Give that back,” She demanded as she glared up at the man as he smirked down at her and stepped back as she tried to reach out for the magazine.
“Oh you want this back? Well then come and get it,” He taunted her expecting her to jump to her feet which is exactly what she did as she once again tried to reach for the magazine in the man’s hand even though she had a good idea of what was going to happen as they started to struggle over the magazine. It was such a childish thing to do and yet it was enough to irritate the woman and had her trying to grab the magazine which in turn had the dark haired man dancing around her like a matador dancing around an angry bull. Rin would lunge for the magazine and Dabi would easily keep the papers from her reach. It wasn’t even like Dabi was that much taller than her so it was not a case that he was holding the magazine above her head. So he resorted to simply dancing around with the woman for a moment as she struggled to try and reach for her belonging.
Of course the dance only lasted a few moments before she found his other hand striking out to grab her arm, keeping her from being able to try and lunge for her magazine. She found herself pulled in towards his chest as her magazine found its way to being tossed to the floor a little ways away from them. With her back against his chest his hand that was now free moved quickly to wrap his fingers around her neck snugly up against the base of her jaw. It was almost more like he was holding the head of a hissing snake as he kept his hand snuck against her jaw and tilted her head up slightly in the process.
“Dabi,” She hissed at him as she found herself pinned against him. His one hand held her left arm while his right hand held her neck tightly. Her right hand moved up to grab his forearm but she made no other attempt to remove his hand. She could feel his tongue running up the side of her left cheek before his lips found themselves resting against her ear.
“What's the matter little mouse? Did you get yourself trapped?” He was completely teasing her and she knew that. Yet still once his left hand let go of her arm she did not struggle, she had no reason to and knew all too well what it would get her if she did. And although she enjoyed being bratty at times she also was all too aware of the blood shot eyes watching the two of them from across the room.
“Okay Dabi you win,” She said softly as she stood still wondering if he would release her now that she admitted he won. Of course that was not in the man's plans but still she had to try. Yet all that got her was the fingers around her neck tightening their grip a little more. She could feel her own pulse start to race. And with the way his fingers were gripped along her neck she could tell that he could feel every beat of her heart as his fingers laid very precisely over her arties along her neck.
“I did, didn't I? Well then I am going to enjoy my prize for winning then,” His breath was warm against her cheek as she felt his teeth suddenly nipping at her ear. Whether it was the action of the nip, his words or the fact they were being watched she was not sure but damn she hated the way her body reacted to the man. Yet her cheeks filled with a little colour as she glanced over and her eyes locked with Shigaraki before she was able to force herself to look away.
“Dabi not here. We are not alone,” She said softly, feeling her cheeks light up even more. It was one thing when the others teased about being able to hear them from a nearby room. But actually being watched was an entirely different matter. And yet she could not say it was killing the mood in any way.
“So?” Was the single word Dabi said as his smirk grew wider as he pressed his growing hard cock against the woman's backside and felt her start to squirm. When she did not say anything back his grip on her throat carefully tightened a little more before he continued toying with her but also a little with the man who was clearly no longer paying his game any attention, “Maybe Crusty over there wants to watch? Or maybe he would like to join?”
Rin was a little surprised when Dabi mentioned that maybe Shigaraki wanted to watch them. Did he? Another question was did she want him to watch? She had never exactly thought about it nor talked about it with Dabi. Then again they never really talked about what was okay and what was not with sex. Well that is not at all healthy, but then again nothing about her new life was healthy both physically and mentally. And yet she just went with it. Why? She did not have a clue and now was not a time she wanted to ponder that question as she felt her head start to spin a little. Her body squirmed as her panties grew damp and uncomfortable. The action had her slightly grinding back against Dabi which seemed to just make him more happy as he turned his attention to Shigaraki as one hand moved to suddenly grab a breast as he started to man handle it a little. The feeling of Dabi’s hand roughly groping her drew a soft moan from the woman as her eyes fluttered shut and she found herself leaning into Dabi’s hand.
Had she been paying any attention at all like Dabi she would have noticed that Shigaraki had not yet looked away from the two who were standing in the middle of the room giving him a show. She also would have noticed that he did not down right refuse the second Dabi asked him if he wished to watch or join. Which had Dabi’s grin grow even wider. He was usually not one to share and especially with someone like Shigaraki and yet toying with both Rin and their little leader it was too fun of an opportunity to pass up.
“Well I don’t hear either of you complaining so then let's enjoy ourselves,” Dabi grinned at Shigaraki once more before burying his face into the side of Rin’s neck sucking, and biting at the soft skin as his hand stopped groping her breast and instead was on the hunt to find the bottom of her shirt and started to slip his hand underneath of it trailing his hot hand up her stomach. His hand pulled the material of her shirt up with it as he moved his way up to her breasts finding the bottom of her bra and wasted no time pushing the material up allowing her breasts to fall out of her bra. Rin could hear herself gasp, surprised at the fact her shirt and bra were both pushed up to rest as high up her chest as they could stretching the fabric almost uncomfortably under her arms. Her head was spinning too much to allow her the thought of trying to just completely remove the clothes as slight dots danced across her vision before the hand around her neck seemed to feel her body almost slump and the hand loosened its grip allowing blood and oxygen to once again fill her brain just before she would pass out.
Her head had rolled back to rest against Dabi’s shoulder as she moaned when his fingers took a hard nipple between his rough fingers. Pinching and tugging he was far from gentle and yet she did not even try to stop him as her arms instead moved to grip along the forearm of the hand that still held her neck. Her hand held tightly to his arm for the simple support of she feared her legs would not hold herself up for very long at the way he was toying with her. Between the breath play and the teasing she was not sure if she would end up a crumpled mess on the floor if he decided to drop her. Her body felt heavy, although the world was no longer spinning she still felt a little light headed and her body seemed almost no longer her own as pleasure washed over her as she arched her back and cried out when Dabi pinched a nipple hard and gave it a good twist. Was it pain or pleasure that had her soaking her panties? Who knew but she did know she craved more.
“Dabi,” She nearly sobbed as she felt her body squirm softly as she felt her inner walls clamping down slightly against nothing. She wanted to cry out in frustration as the need to be filled outweighed the need to be touched.
“Oh what’s this already begging? Do you enjoy being watched that much? Does knowing Shigaraki is watching you turn you on?” Dabi was teasing her when in reality she had nearly forgotten about their silent company. At the mention of said man Rin once again looked over at their pale haired leader who had now completely abandoned his game he had been playing. His hand held completely tossed aside having long ago lost his interest. Those red eyes of his were now locked onto her. At first they were clearly taking in the sight of her bare chest, perky nipples for the world to see as Dabi’s fingers teased and toyed with the soft mounds to his heart's content. And he fully planned to drag this out enjoying the way his usually loud and childish leader had become silent taking in the view before him. It was almost painfully hard for Dabi not to tease the man wanting to call out if he had ever actually seen a woman’s body in person. Dabi was not stupid enough to make that comment in the moment, no he would do it after.
“Dabi please don't tease,” Rin gasped struggling to force the words from her mouth. Now whether that was meant to him not to tease her or not to tease Shigaraki she was not sure. Her mind was quickly turning to mush. She no longer cared that Shigaraki had not moved from his seat even though he had started to palm himself through his old jeans. At first he had just simply tried to make himself more comfortable and shift the tent in his pants but that had not done Shigaraki any good. And so as he sat there watching he found his right running along his hard member through his pants. A pinky up to ensure he did not rush disintegrating his pants by accident.
It was very clear why Dabi enjoyed the woman’s company so much. Her soft body was one to behold. Even with the new scar that sat above her left hip. Her body had a little bit of fat making her curvier than most hero’s who were all lean. But she was still in a little bit of shape from her past experience of fighting and her once semi-regular gym days even after she quit being a sidekick. Her breasts were soft round mounts that seemed to be a perfect handful in Dabi’s hand as he groped and teased her. Perky pink nipples were almost impossible for Shigaraki to pull his eyes away. But as she cried out he looked up at her face watching the blissed out look as she cried out as Dabi had sunk his teeth into the skin of the top of one shoulder. The cry had not lasted long before it turned into a low moan from the woman as she was already panting hard as if she had run a marathon. Why exactly he did not tell them to leave, or just leave himself he was not sure but it was truly a show to behold as he sat there watching.
The feeling of Dabi’s teeth sinking into her soft skin had her crying out unable to help herself and yet her eyes had nearly rolled into the back of her head at the pleasure the pain brought her. She felt her knees buckling as the hand around her throat tightened its grip and she struggled to keep herself from crumpling to the ground. She gasped for breath as her hands clung to Dabi even as he finally removed his teeth from her shoulder. She was a little surprised by the sudden dental impression Dabi had left, but then again he always did seem to enjoy nibbling and leaving marks. And this was one that truly screamed his since one could actually see the marks and indents left by each tooth that had sunk into her skin. How he could leave such a mark and not break the skin was impressive.
Rin was so blissed out she did not even notice the movement from across the room until she finally got her eyes to refocus. Well fuck she may have cum from that. Who knew she enjoyed being chewed on. Blinking her eyes she felt Dabi’s fingers shift to now reach up from under her jaw to grab her cheeks tilting her head forwards so she was now greeted with the sight of Shigaraki leaning over her.
“Well she already looks fucked out of her mind and you haven’t even done anything,” was the words that she heard from Shigaraki as she watched those red eyes glance down her body. He wasn’t wrong; she was pretty sure she had started to drool and had even lost feeling in her limbs.
The sudden feeling of what felt like sandpaper against the skin of her stomach had her gasp loudly. It surprised her at first till she realized that it was two of his fingers running down her bare stomach and even over the light scar that sat above her left hip. A shiver quickly ran up her back as she felt his rough skin against her soft skin.
“You’re right. It seemed she really enjoyed that,” Dabi smirked, running his tongue over the angry red teeth marks he had left. That had a whine escape her at the pain that shot through her shoulder. The sound had both men smirking as she felt Dabi’s chest vibrate softly in a silent chuckle. Yet she did not care if he was teasing or toying with her, her panties were soaked and her body nearly ached to be filled. Her skin was already starting to become clammy with sweat, her pants felt uncomfortable as did her shirt being crammed up under her arms.
The sudden feel of a dry, rough finger running along the underside of her breast had all other thoughts vanish as her back arched wanting to feel more of the odd sensation. Sure Dabi’s fingers were far from soft against her skin but Shigaraki’s felt like sandpaper at that moment. Yet that did not actually bother her. She was also very accustomed to Dabi’s nearly burning hot hands so Shigaraki’s touch was oddly cool against her quickly growing warm skin. The urge to try and rip her own clothes off was quickly growing as she realized Shigaraki’s hand was painstakingly slowly exploring what exposed skin he could see. His touch was almost feather light against her skin, now whether that was to tease her or was a subconscious decision in an underlying fear that she may suddenly turn to ashes in his hands if he did touch her.
She did not even think about the fact that if Shigaraki so much as placed his entire hand against her stomach she could find herself dead before she realized what happened. Funny how the brain stops functioning when blood is not flowing freely to it. She did not even realize she had been making soft little whines and whimpers as she squirmed softly as shivers ran up her back at the sensation of his rough skin against hers. Her legs shook under her own weight and for once she actually wished there was a bed in the room, would at least make this a little more comfortable for herself.
Her hands slowly reached up, allowing her fingers to play with the edge of the shirt Shigaraki was wearing, curious to see if he would stop her since she could not exactly move while Dabi kept her pinned against his body. Though he was not exempt from her teasing either as she was more than happy to roll her hips back against him hearing the soft hiss that came from him as her ass moved against him. And of course how could she miss the feel of his hard cock being pushed back into her as he returned the simple teasing action. God she wanted to just rip her clothes off but the hand around her neck would make that a little bit hard to do. So instead she found herself softly tugging at the man in front of hers shirt as if that may somehow get the message across. At least he had not slapped her hand away so she took that as an okay sign that what she was doing was not bothering the man who seemed far too invested in staring down her chest that was now free for the world to see.
She had to admit his touch was much gentler than she expected from the pale haired man. Or was she just growing accustomed to Dabi’s often rough treatment that when someone touched her gently she was amazed by it? Or maybe Shigaraki was nervous about touching her? It made sense as he ran no more than a two finger along her skin at a time. But he was quickly growing bolder, it seemed as a finger started to nearly painfully slowly circle around one hard nipple before he finally took it between his fingers watching her reaction. She did not even attempt to contain the soft gasp that slipped past her parted lips at the feeling of her sensitive bud being teased by rough fingers. She watched Shigaraki’s lips curl up when she made a sound at something he did, those red eyes of his seemed to just light up like a kid in a candy store. But she was the delicate sweet that had him so enticed over.
Even Dabi had to admit watching their oh so brave leader eyeing up the woman like a wonderful new candy bar was rather entertaining, of course he also fully anticipated to tease and bug the man about his lack of experience. Dabi knew better than to do that now though as he had no desire to kill the mood that he had started. But damn he would have fun with this all later as well.
“Dabi, Shigaraki,” She whimpered both men's names as she struggled not to pant in between the two single words she was able to get out. She was going crazy with the slow teasing they were both giving her in their own little ways.
“Oh what's the matter princess? Crusty is just doing a little exploring. Let the man enjoy himself,” Dabi smirked into her ear, completely teasing her as the hand that was not around her neck moved to rest on one hip before slowly sliding along the top of her jeans. But those incredibly warm fingers of his did nothing more than slide easily across the skin of her stomach back and forth from one hip to just above the button of her jeans and then back to the side of her hip.
“Too hot,” She gasped softly, mostly talking about the feeling of how warm her own body was feeling from the simple rush as she could feel a bead of sweat running down her back. Though the heat radiating off of Dabi’s body pressed up against hers was no help either.
“Well is that all princess? Well we can surely help with that,” Dabi said smirking as he glanced quickly over her shoulder at Shigaraki. A silent agreement seemed to cross the two men as Dabi’s fingers made quick work of undoing the button of her jeans as Shigaraki’s fingers let go of her nipple and slipped up her breast before his fingers carefully glanced over the material of her shirt and bra. The feeling of the material disintegrating had her body tense up for a second for fear if she moved and was unlucky that those five fingers may accidentally brush against her own skin rendering her in the same shape as her top which now spread across the floor as nothing more than dust.
Now that her shirt was gone she did have to admit it was much more comfortable though she wanted to glare at Shigaraki for destroying her shirt and bra. She did not exactly have a lot of either and even if she did. Finding a nice bra that was comfortable was a pain in the ass and she had liked that one. Though she should know by now with Dabi alone not to wear clothes she values as them being ripped, burnt or disintegrated were clearly bound to happen. The sound of her pants hitting the floor finally registered that she was now standing in nothing but her panties between two men who could very easily kill her if they wanted to. It was a rather interesting rush that she only got to enjoy for a second before Dabi’s hand slipped under her panties and she was nearly collapsing into his grip as a warm finger teasingly glided along her wet folds doing nothing more than agonizingly teasing her.
Her reaction to Dabi’s touch was enough to have Shigaraki snicker softly to himself as his eyes seemed so happy to roam all over her nearly naked form as if he was trying to commit it to memory. Though he probably was trying to memorize were every mark was on her soft skin as his fingers gently and carefully once again started to skim over her skin now moving along her shoulders, down her collar bone, between her breasts which was where his fingers paused for a moment as if he was debating which breast to give his attention to first. Rin had been trying to keep her attention on Shigaraki as her hand grabbed his shirt as if he would somehow offer some support for her quickly growing weak legs.
It was hard to pay attention to what each man was doing as Dabi’s fingers lazily started to tease her clit which had her whimpering as she ached to be filled, even by something as simple as his fingers. Meanwhile Shigaraki was more than happy to help torment her as he leaned forwards. The feeling of his tongue running over the skin of her breast and over her nipple had her tugging against the hand around her neck. The hand seemed to shift from gripping her neck to gripping her cheeks or jaw depending on if Dabi wanted to move her head at his leisure, or if he wished to make her vision blur and her body struggle to stay conscious. Bastard was enjoying the little breath play any time his fingers found themselves resting over her racing pulse.
Her body almost felt over stimulated as her foggy brain struggled to keep up with everything and tell what pleasure was coming from what man. Lips and teeth found themselves nibbling at her breast and nipples. It seemed Dabi would not be the only one who left his mark on her fair skin as Shigaraki happily would suck at her soft skin leaving behind soft little bruises. Her hips bucked against Dabi’s hand in a silent plea to do more than just tease her, though it’s not like his fingers would give her the same pleasure she was aching for but still her body ached as it clenched around nothing and the need to be filled had her whining softly.
When a finger finally slipped past her folds she cried out in rejoice and eyes pleasure as at least a small bit of her aching seemed to subside as she once again ground her hips against his hand and his hard cock that had almost painfully been pressing into her lower back.
“Dabi! Please!” She whined once she realized the finger alone was not going to give her the release she wanted. Either due to the angle or the fact Dabi was lazily just thrusting the finger in and out of her slowly. That was not enough, another finger, a curl or hook of the digit, just something else, something more. She needed it.
“Oh you’re a whiny thing today,” Dabi teased her as he nipped at her ear which had her clamp down around his finger. Yet still once again it was just not enough to allow the knot that sat in her stomach to snap. She was so close yet the grant pleasure was so far away at the same time. It was driving her insane.
“Please stop teasing,” she could feel the tears threaten to fill her eyes as she forced them back with a few rapped blinks. Her green eyes instead chose to look at Shigaraki as she begged hoping that the man would be unable to deny her the begged request. Of course she knew Shigaraki in his own way was probably just as sick and twisted but he did not seem to always share Dabi’s sadistic streak, or at least she did not notice such a shared similarity in their day to day life.
Her pleading eyes were met with a growing wide smirk as she watched the man slowly let go of a nipple he had been teasing between his teeth before he slowly stood tall before her. A half step towards her and there was almost no room between them as she could feel his shirt glance across her tender nipples causing a shiver to run up her back.
It was easy to tell Shigaraki was also enjoying teasing her and watching her come undone under the treatment of them both. But even he could not deny his cock was aching to get a taste of that delicate cunt of hers. Still he had to flash her a wide and twisted grin before he finally glanced over her shoulder. A simple nod of his head was all that was needed for Dabi to rip his hand away from her, having her cry out in protest at the sudden feeling of being completely empty when she wanted nothing more than to be stuffed full.
For a split second she was pinned between the two men. Dabi behind her she could feel his cock digging into her lower back. Then Shigaraki stood in front of her, she could feel him pressing into her lower stomach. For a split second she held her breath unsure if moving was a good idea as she was stuck pinned between the two murder's. But all they did was smirk down at her before she felt Shigaraki take a step back and the hand around her neck moved down to rest along the top of one shoulder as if to make sure she would remain standing now that there was distance between her and both men as even Dabi seemed to shuffle a half step back from her. And for a second she almost felt unbalanced on her own feet but all she needed was a moment to find her balance before she was looking between the two men a little unsure why they had pulled back and away from her.
She had done nothing more than glance back over her shoulder at Dabi as she tried to take this moment to catch her breath as she watched him smirk at her before giving her the order he wished for her to follow.
“Alright princess, if you do not want those panties of yours to end up like your other clothes I would suggest you take them off before one of us does it for you,” Dabi said in a husk voice as he watched her obediently nod her head. She really should just stop wearing panties at this rate as she was lucky if Dabi did not rip or burn them off of her on a nearly daily basis. She did not hesitate to slip them off of her hips and let them hit the floor before she stepped out of them. With a quick glance at Shigaraki first to watch his reaction she then quickly glanced back at Dabi once again waiting for her next order.
“Good girl,” The man nearly purred to her while the praise alone nearly had her drop to her knees for the man. Damn when did she pick up a praise kink? Actually that probably was not anything truly new. She had always strived to be praised inside or outside the bedroom. With a simple pause Dabi looked from her to Shigaraki then around the room before spotting the old couch. It would not be as comfortable but would still do the job.
“Now my little mouse, why don’t you go bend yourself over the armrest of the couch and spread those pretty legs?” Although it came out sounding like a question she knew that there was no room for debate. That was truly where he expected her to go and do exactly as she was told to. A silent nod of her head was all she gave before walking away from both men. She did not even look back to watch them. She was more than aware that both sets of eyes were watching her as she walked away from them and towards the couch. Reaching the end of the couch she slightly spread her legs, placing her feet a little more than shoulder length apart before she slowly leaned down to lay her torso over the armrest and allowed her arms to rest on the couch cushion before she finally picked her head up to glance over at the two man before she watched Dabi smirk and whisper something at Shigaraki before the pale haired man glared and growled something back. She was pretty sure Dabi made a comment about Shigaraki in some way or another and yet the younger man did not lash out at the dark haired man.
Nonetheless she watched Shigaraki be the first to walk towards her. She remained unmoving as she felt a finger run along her shoulder blades and down her back. Following her spine till he reached the top of her tailbone which was now the highest part of her as she felt her heels lifted off the ground a little pushing her ass higher into the air as if she was some cat in heat. She was a little surprised as she felt his hand cup her ass. For a split second she almost panicked till she realized that not all of his fingers were touching her skin. Still she wanted to growl at him for giving her such a scare. But there was no time for that as she could hear a zipper being pulled down as the man strolled to stand behind her.
The rough hand seemed more than happy to grope and massage her ass cheek as his other hand worked to open his pants and retrieve his hard cock from the confinement of his clothes. She did not need to look over her shoulder to know that Shigaraki was more than likely fascinated with the view of her ass up in the air for him. Though she was curious that Dabi was allowing the other man to go first, or maybe she should not have been surprised. He would make sure to claim every inch of her once Shiggy was done, she was sure of it.
She couldn’t help the little gasp that escaped her at the feeling of the head of Shigaraki’s cock as he barely teased her before the hand on her ass quickly grabbed at her hip as if she may suddenly try to pull away or run from him as he gave no warning before a rough single thrust had him almost fully sheathed within her body. She couldn't help but cry out in surprise as she finally got what she had started to beg for. She could hear the man behind her hissing loudly at his own pleasure of feeling her tight body around him. Shigaraki did not seem to want to waste any more time as his hips quickly picked up a rough and fast pace as Rin gripped at the couch as if that would somehow help keep her soul from leaving her body as she started to moan.
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#boku no hero#mha#bnha smut#no beta read#bnha dabi#dabi#dabi smut#dabi x oc#shigaraki tomura#dabi/shigaraki/oc
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This is my first post ever and I thought maybe I could share a nice story with ya all. I've never really put it in complete order so it's time I do that.
As prelude, I own 3 cats. One of them, the oldest, is, at the time of writing this, 12 years old, with his papers noting that he was born the 6th of April 2012, 3 days after my dad's birthday. His name is Sacha, despite the vets who all name him Sasha (and also wrote that he's a girl for some reason? I mean he doesn't seem bothered but I don't think he understands English.) His name is kinda dumb but my bro named him. I prefer giving Egyptian names to my cats.
I got Sacha around 2015, I don't really remember which month. I was around 13 at the time and my first cat had just died. My mom was really feeling bad so we adopted Sacha from a center. His previous owners had placed him there cuz the lady got pregnant and apparently cats can mess with fetuses or something. Idk but I think his previous owners were lame cuz he stayed in that center for like 6 months and they took bad care of him. His claws grew in his paws, his fur got a lot of knots and he smelled really bad. He's half Persian so he needs a lot of care.
When he arrived home he was super sweet but really doing poorly. We toon him to the vet for his claws and hired a lady to remove his knots. He didn't like his new cut so the lady zooted him on I thinl weed? It was some drug, mfer has had more experiences with illicit substances than I and I'm kinda jealous tbh.
Sacha was my only cat for a while. My mom adopted Bagheera, a kitten born from one of her sister's cats when she divorced my dad around 2016 and Sacha stayed at my dad's place with me and my brother (the fucker who named him with such a lame name).
Anyway time passed, I lived my best life with my cat, took care of him, took him to vet every year for his vaccines (he goes outside), reconnected with my mom and adopted a kitten who was born in my mom's backyard and named him Settra. So that's why I have 3 cats. But back on track, in 2022 Sacha got an eye infection. We had to do a lot of ophtalmology to get it sorted and my mom helped a lot with that despite the fact that the cat wasn't even in her home. His eye's doing okay now but he needed new material be brought in his eye. Persians tend to be weak in eyes and nose.
Then when the summer vacations of 2023 ended, Sacha got sick. At first it was a minor cold so we didn't do anything, some snot in his nose, then around mid September he ate less. Come end of September and he was doing bad, still eating but always sneezing and his throat was inflamed. I brought him to the vet and he was given antibiotics that kinda helped.
By the beginning of October Sacha was doing pretty poorly and eating way less. He was always a fat cat so this concerned me a lot. The vet couldn't tell why the antibiotics weren't acting as he was supposed to have an infection so they gave him more and asked us to get a visit to a pet hospital 1h of travel away (Belgium is small, 1h of travel looks a lot for me but for American folks it's prilly shorert). So we did, got something planned for end of october. I wanted faster but they were full and he was still eating so not an emergency.
Meanwhile Sacha's health got worse. One of his eyes (not the one who had the surgery) couldn't open and he had little things in the part of forehead between his eyes that made a sort of scritchy sound when you ran your hand over it. Most concerningly, he wasn't eating. We (my mom and I) took him to another vet who did acupuncture with relative success, allowed Sacha to eat well for a day or two before going back to not eating.
I was getting really desperate so I mixed his food and fed him with a syringe for a week. I knew if my dad knew he wasn't eating, he'd suggest euthanasia as the costs of bringing a pet to the hospital are quite high. So I took his wet food, put it in my mom's mixer and mixed it for like 15 minutes when going back from school while dad was away, then cut it into even smaller bits and forcefed him with a syringe (his throat was super inflamed and small so he was probably in pain and I knew it but I couldn't stand to watch him thin like that).
On the 26th of October, we went to the hospital for him. My mom and I were reluctant to go there because it's an universitary hospital and we were kinda scared that he'd be put on life support and...I guess experimented on? We didn't want his life be prolonged if he was in constant pain but we went nonetheless. My mom took a day off work (again, she took a lot to get the cat to the vet) and I warned my Spanish teacher that I couldn't attend. She's a really sweet lady and I told her the story, she was super supportive.
The hospital was not all like we anticipated. The doctors were really charming and quite open with how much stuff cost. I speak French and the hospital staff spoke Dutch so we settled on English as a language to communicate with. Tirns out spending all that time playing dnd with strangers on discord paid off for me, I was able to talk with these docs no problem.
Of course without insurance it was expensive but it was doable to pay. They ran scans on Sacha and it was promising, they said he had an infection but had the right antibiotics for him. Since he didn't eat, they wanted to keep him there and we agreed. We gave our phone numbers and left.
When we visited Sacha the following day, they told us he had a lymphoma. It's blood cancer for those who dunno what that means (I certainly didn't till October). They asked us if we wanted to begin chemo.
I was fucking devastated. That cat had been with me through my parents' divorce, the death of family members, graduation, the lowest of my sick days and the brightest of my good days. I didn't want to leave him die of hunger without a fight.
My mom didn't have enough money to pay for it in full and my dad'd never use his money to pay for a cat's chemotherapy so I agreed to pay most of ot. I had a decent bit of money in a bank account, I basically never buy anything so pockeh money, student job money and birthday money stacked up. My dad'd never have allowed me to pay for that (neither him nor I even knew they had chemotherapy for cats) so I lied and said my mom paid for it.
He stayed at the hospital until the 31st of October, of course we visited him everyday and the hospital staff kept us informed with daily phonecalls to schedule a visit and tell us what was up. During that time (5 days since he arrived, 4 days since chemo started) they put a tube in his throat to feed him and started the chemo.
That. Shit. Worked. When we brought him home, he could open his eye again and even wanted to go for food (motherfucker do you know how much that tube costs?). He played with the other cats and we had a weekly checkup for him. I missed many Spanish classes. During his time at the center he really liked one doctor who calls him Sir and basically saved his life.
Of course he stayed at my mom's place. It was easier for feeding through his tube at first, my mom was in vacations and he needed 3 meals a day, then he stayed there. Wasn't gonna let him stay in the home of a person who'd let him die. I love my dad but fuck him for this. He admitted several times he'd have never brought my cat to that hospital (so he'd have left him die of cancer and hunger, poor cat was thinning by the day).
His tube was removed a month later and visits moved to once every 3 weeks. It's been continuing since then with me and my mom paying 50/50 for the costs. I missed a university travel to Athens because I couldn't afford it (something I'll never admit to my parents, I pretended there was drama and I didn't want to get involved) and I guess I won't leave the country this year. Honestly I'd have cut both arms to save that cat so it's a small price.
The people at the hospital love him too. He's really friendly so students can take his blood and try to take his heartbeat without worries. Problem is that he purrs too loud for a good lung listening to take place. Turns out Sacha loves getting pets and attention from groups of students and doctors who give him treats and headpats. He has done more drugs than me and has a better date game than me.
It's been quite a while now. Sacha's been doing really well and the recent reports note that he is in remission. I may have cried when I read that mail ngl. He goes outside and killed a big pigeon a few weeks ago. He plays with the other cats, he really likes Settra and for the first time in his life he does playfight. Bagheera likes him as a punching bag despite being smaller than him. My mom stays with him everyday and I visit half of the days of the week. He eats like a lion too, he went from 3 kilos to 4.7 kilos when he was last checked this Wednesday.
I guess this is a selfish post, it's kind of my way of both thanking the people who helped me like my mom, the docs and my Spanish teacher, without having to say thank you to their faces yet again, and a way of making my cat immortal in a way. Even with all the help, Sacha's gonna be gone one day, hopefully in a very long time. But this post'll remain for a while more so there'll be a trace of what humans did for that cat.
I also wanted to say that please don't be afraid to go to universitary pet hospitals if you have the means to afford it. It's a scary place, I didn't even know it existed but these people aren't out there vivisecting animals. They're really nice. And don't give up too early on stuff that matters to you, it's really worth to keep going, at least in this case.
And if you could do a few prayers for Sacha, that'd genuinely mean a lot to me.
Anyway here is the cat tax. I've included quite a few pics so this post can be even longer than it is.
Sacha as he was before he got sick:
Sacha as he was in October:
(Don't mind his lack of fur that's because he had too many knots and drastic measures had to be taken)
Sacha as he is now:
Sacha with Bagheera, on their favorite blankets.
Sacha and Settra begging to go outside (it's raining! I open the door and they don't leave!)
I love you, you dumb orange fuck.
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Unnamed Mini-Series
12 Donatello: I'm sorry, did you say MAGIC!?
14 Raphael: Okay, I'm calling bullshit
03 Michaelangelo: We have magic, but it's sealed away.
87 Raphael: Great super powered babies, just what we need.
14 Casey Jones: Please don't be too OP
87 Casey: HELLO CHILDREN WITH QUESTIONABLE MORALS AND IMPRESSIVE POWERS!
Magic_Mike: Old Man Jones! Hiii! We didn't die! Please don't find an excuse to come back!
Queen GOONGALA: Old Man! I want a rematch!
NeonLeon: Pls with fists this time
87 April: Wait Casey, you've been to their universe?
87 Casey Jones: YES I HAVE, NOW DID WHAT I SAY WAS GOING TO HAPPEN ACTUALLY HAPPEN!?
Magic_Mike:...
Bootyyyshaker9000:...
NeonLeon:...
Commander O'Neil: Yes, Yes it did and wow...
Red King: Raph does not like this but I guess thanks or whatever.
Junior Cadet: It's really that bad Raph?
87 Donatello: Is what bad? Is your Raphael okay?
NeonLeon: Raphie had a little bit of a growth spurt and he doesn't like how...big he got.
12 Raphael: Growth spurt! Boy would I kill for one of those!
Red King: One that tops you off a 15ft?
03 Raphael: I..What?
87 Raphael: Bullshit!
14 Raphael: You're taller than Donnie!?
12 Raphael: Fuck you and your height! I'm fucking 5'0!!!
03 Raphael:...How are you shorter than 87 Raph!?
14 Raphael: Damn you're fun sized...
87 Raphael: Lol shortie
03 Casey Jones: Dude, you just admitted to being the shortest person here...
Bootyyyshaker9000: Actually Mikey is the same height so he isn't alone.
Red King: Can we please introduce ourselves so we can forget about this? Junior, you start since you made the chat.
Junior Cadet: I'm Casey Arnold Jones Jr! I came from an apocalyptic future and it turns out I like penguins!
Queen GOONGALA: I'm Cassandra Casey Jones I'm Junior's bio mom and I'm still planning on world domination, what I'm doing afterwards is a mystery.
Commander O'Neil: I'm April O'Neil long time best friends with the turtles and honorary older sister! I have many licenses for anything not a car!
Red King: I'm Hamato Raphael, I am currently standing on top of Metro Tower about to show Casey something I came up with.
Bootyyyshaker9000: I am Hamato Donatello Von Ryan, I am watching Raph jump off of Metro Tower and...this motherfucker...ok that's kinda cool.
NeonLeon: I'm Hamato Leonardo and Donnie if you let him die Im going to take drastic measures against you. Also gay.
Magic_Mike: I'm Hamato Michelangelo! I like to do art and sometimes do commissions! I'm also the strongest magic user compared to my brother!
14 Casey Jones: I'm Casey Jones, I guess you can call me Case and I'm a cop.
Several people are typing...
A/N: I am picking up where I'm leaving off lol, also I'm messing with the timeline a bit so might make Raph 16, Donnie and Leo are 15 and Mikey is 14. Yes the Kraang shit has happened already. No I did not do this oldest to youngest (on purpose) so it's not accurate. And expect my short for my Peepaw project tonight.
#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles#tmnt fandom#tmnt#owl imagines#owl writes#tmnt 12#tmnt Bayverse#tmnt 03#tmnt 87#Mini-Series#Turtleverse
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A Day at Station 19 (Alex Karev's Sister Imagine)
Age Rating: 12+
Chapters: One of Two
Fandom: Station 19
Canon Episode: Season 3 Episode 12
AN: Hey guys I decided to show a little bit of Amber and Jackson’s friendship by having them work together at Station 19. The next chapter will be released tomorrow same time.
Summary: Amber and Jackson hang out at the station with Warren where she runs into Carina who reveals shocking information about Andrew.
Words: 2266
Amber is working up a sweat running at 10 MPH on the treadmill in the workout room at station 19. She is clad in her red zipper front sports bra with matching red leggings and her white hoodie wrapped around her waist. In front of the treadmill, she’s using is Jackson Avery lifting weights above him laying on the bench with Ben Warren next to her riding the cycling bike. All three of them workout with their pants filling the silent room.
After Andrew caused a scene in the middle of the hospital two days ago by screaming that his patient was being trafficked, Jackson knew Amber needed a change. He knew she was gonna be under scrutiny and ruthless gossip at the hospital for having a mentally unstable boyfriend. He wanted to give her time away from the hospital by convincing Warren to let her assist them in the PRT for now. She was more than happy to join him even smiling at the personal tour of the PRT which made him smile as his plan to cheer her up was working.
However, she workouts at the treadmill with a frown that is not coming from burning thighs. She reaches into her phone inside her pocket exhales at the screen and puts it back in her pocket. She then boosts the speed up to 12 MPH telling Jackson who is still lifting that something on her phone made her mad.
“What’s wrong?” Jackson grunts as he does another lift.
Amber’s ponytail swings back and forth with the speed she’s running, “I tried calling him after he left just to make sure he’s okay and not dead in a ditch.” Amber pants, “I left him about four voicemails with no response or texts or email not even snail mail.”
“You know snail mail is regular mail, right?” Warren chips in still on the bike.
“Well, he’s not using any sort of communication to let me know where he is which brings my mind back to when my mom would leave the house at night and not pick up her phone for days or weeks.” Amber amps up the speed to 15, “He’s not returning my calls or texts which means he either left his phone at home like an idiot, he’s run his stupid bike off the bridge or he just wants to make me as crazy as him because he hates me more than I hate him which I honestly don’t think is possible right now!”
Jackson lifts the barbell back on the rack, stands up and walks to his friend who is clearly overexerting herself and presses the cool down button for her own good causing her to glare at him.
“Okay first of all, you are gonna give me your phone because the empty notifications box is gonna cause you to run until you get rhabdomyolysis. Give it.” Amber sighs but reluctantly hands him her phone that he pockets, “Two you need to focus on your first day at the PRT. We are about to operate on patients immediately after pulling them out of a burning building inside a truck in the middle of a call.” Jackson grins at himself over the awesomeness while Amber walks on the treadmill with a blank face, “Do you know how cool that is and how lucky you are to be one of the first people to do that?”
“It is pretty damn cool.” Warren says while biking.
“Well, I don’t feel lucky.” Amber sighs and sips her water bottle, “Look I appreciate the both of you letting me ride along with you and I am super stoked about the PRT. But I just got punched in the soul by a guy I thought I could love and depend on.”
“I get that, I felt that way after me and April broke up but I found a way to purge all of that negative emotion.”
Amber shakes her head, “I’m not sure I want to hear about your purging Jackson.”
Jackson chuckles, “It was hard at first but I channeled that rage and sadness into saving lives and eventually I laughed and smiled through the pain.”
Amber sighs and amps the speed up to a respectable 8, “Jackson you have your way of purging whether it’s surgery or getting an extra set of abs or looking at trees but I need to find my own way. And right now the only thing helping me past the rage, the exhaustion, the sexual frustration, the burning desire to hunt Andrew down so I can run him down with my car is by running until my thighs are burning. I am running from the issues until I can’t run anymore so leave me to it before I take it out on you instead.”
Jackson can see that Amber is serious and decides to leave her alone for now and go back to lifting weights. They all workout in silence again until Vic walks in taken back by the presence of Jackson and Amber in the gym. Vic broke up with Jackson which makes her feel awkward seeing him at her place of work. Amber has made it more than clear that she doesn’t like her given how she told her to shut up for once the morning they met two weeks ago when she tried to make small talk with Amber.
“What are you doing here?”
Jackson looks confused as he lifts, “Warren didn't tell you?”
“I told her.”
Vic turns to Ben, “Tell me my ex is sweating in my gym? No, you didn't.”
“I told you he was gonna work with me on the PRT.”
Jackson lifts the weight above him, “Only on my days off.”
Amber chips in as she keeps running, “And for the next few weeks so I can make trauma hours more fun.”
“Yeah, no, knew that. Didn't like it. But I knew it. My question is, why are they both in my gym looking like they’re filming a Vogue shoot?”
Ben explains to Vic who is still peeved, “I was showing them around, you know, putting them through some first-responder protocols.”
“Too bad one of those don’t include how to use an ax because I have an Italian head I want to cut off.”
Jackson grins at Amber’s dark comment, “We thought we'd enjoy some of the amenities since we’re working here now. It's pretty nice.”
Vic grins sarcastically, “’Amenities.’ You know this isn't a resort, right?”
“Wait, this is not the Maldives?” Jackson jokes with Amber joining in.
“Hey maybe Vic can put on a waitress outfit at your request and hand you a pina colada.”
Vic groans at Amber, “Let me get this straight, you get mad at me for temporarily moving into your home without asking, and then, wow, look, here you are, moving into my home without asking.”
Jackson lifts the weight on the rack and sits up to face Vic, “Except that actually is my home and this is not your home.”
“I eat here, and I sleep here, and I clip my toenails here, so this is my home.” Amber rolls her eyes at Vic who ignores her, “Seriously, this is not weird for you, working together?”
Jackson is dumbfounded, “Vic, why would it be?”
“Because you dated her.”
Amber snorts at Warren’s comment, “Screwed is more like it.”
Vic groans at Amber’s insult, “You know what you also got mad at me after I moved in with my friend and his kid while you let…” Vic tries to find the right words to describe Amber, “Barbie and Scarlett Johanssen hybrid here move in with you and your kid. How is that fair?”
“Because unlike your roommate I have no interest in sleeping with her at all.” Jackson explains.
“And neither does mine.” Amber chuckles at Vic’s defense who gets offended, “Something you want to say doctor?”
“Hughes everyone can see clear as day that Dean likes you.” Ben keeps working out ignoring the conflict, “And either your blind or just too plain stupid to see what is right in front of you.”
Vic widens her eyes at that and turns to Jackson in fury, “She did not just call me stupid to my face.”
“I did and you are so…” Amber shrugs unashamed feeling so much rage she has to take it out on someone.
Vic grins maliciously at Jackson who looks regretful for Amber’s words, “Nice she’s great she’s a better roommate than me that’s for sure.” Vic turns to walk away but has something else to say to Amber specifically who is still running, “You know I know I don’t have an MD and I don’t have a license to cut into people but guess what Karev we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Mine are I am not afraid to run into fire and I am calm in a deadly situation and yeah maybe I grieve people I love the wrong way which makes me stupid in your book. But at least my main weakness isn’t being an awful person to people who don’t deserve to be talked down to so she can feel better about herself.” Amber exhales keeping a blank face as she runs, “I’ll see you out there after I rescue one of your patients so you can save them in that pretty truck.” Vic leaves the room in a huff causing Jackson to face Amber with a frown.
“Hey, you wanted me to purge man.”
Jackson grins despite this, “You know you and your brother are actually more alike than I thought.”
Ben feels awkward, “Kinda feels like I shouldn't be here.” They all resume their workouts in silence for the rest of the hour.
Later
Amber puts her black PRT jumpsuit on over her baby blue scrubs in the bathroom marveling at herself in the mirror over how badass she looks and feels. She smiles for the first time feeling like she’s worth something in weeks. She spins around in front of the mirror chucking while Jackson gets out of the shower behind her wrapping a towel around his waist.
“At least I got a smile out of you.”
“That you did buddy.” Amber zips the jumpsuit all the way up and Jackson laughs at Amber’s giddiness before exiting the bathroom. Suddenly someone walks in by her right.
“Sorry I was just-” Amber freezes when she sees that Carina DeLuca was the one who walked in. She feels bad all over again seeing Andrew’s sister at her temporary workplace, “What the hell are you doing here? Are you following me?”
“No, I am not I swear.” Carina closes the door behind her to give them privacy, “I came by to drop off some lunch for Maya I didn’t realize today was your first day I’m sorry.”
“Why would you drop off lunch for the Captain?” Carina raises an eyebrow giving her a scandalous look that she catches on, “Oh wow I see we moved on from fetal surgeons to firefighters damn. At least one of us is getting some.”
Carina grins, “You look good very…baddie.”
Amber snorts at Carina’s lack of English idioms, “Badass and thank you…I needed to get away from the hospital after what happened. He quit so naturally the stares and whispers meant for him would fall on me and I cannot handle that not now.”
“I understand.” Carina says with kindness, “I uh I asked him how he felt about you and he just…” Amber freezes at the revelation that Andrew was talking to Carina, “He tries to change the subject every time I think deep down he feels bad about what happened and he’s avoiding it.” Amber takes a shaky break leaning down on her hands on the counter with Carina noticing, “What’s wrong?”
“He’s talking to you?” Amber asks with a veil of fury, “He is responding to your calls and telling you how he is while he is ignoring my calls by choice?”
Carina gasps at what she has done, “I-I am so sorry I didn’t realize I thought he would-”
“Thought he would what care?” Amber asks in frustration, “You thought he would care about me after he compared me to my parents and kicked me to the streets like garbage? Why would you and more importantly why did I?” Amber chuckles darkly with Carina looking on in sympathy.
“He loves you he does it’s just the illness is-”
“I am tired of using that excuse I have used that excuse my whole damn life!” Carina jumps back at Amber yelling, “I am tired of using it and I am tired of this same shit over and over again! I am tired of everybody taking their shit out on me and I am tired of your brother making me his punching bag! I’m done with him, I am not gonna stand by and wait for a call from a man who doesn’t give two fucks about me! The next time he calls tell him Amber says, ‘Fuck you!”
Amber leaves Carina in the bathroom slamming the door loudly seeing that Jackson and Vic were right outside clearly listening to her yells as they look uncomfortable.
Amber groans, “Great!” She starts to walk away when the Klaxons blare ‘Engine 19, Aid Car 19, PRT. Backup at 233 Fordham Street.’ Amber exhales in relief, immediately running to the PRT with Jackson who quickly puts his jumpsuit on while Amber gets the supplies ready with Ben.
“Okay issues later right now let’s save some lives.” Jackson hops inside closing the doors behind them.
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Rumor-tracking anon here. I feel like I should make a side-tumblr with the name.
So many many apologies in advance for another long one. This one is incredibly nuanced because there are a lot of moving pieces and it does sound tinhatty but I PROMISE there's a point.
TL;DR - I need People Anon's help in trying to figure out the timing of the interview and the photoshoot if Kashner was filing his story around 8/2/17. I'm totally okay with extrapolating if she can only answer/give context using People's weekly format. My questions:
1) How long before a monthly magazine is published does the book close? 2) How long before the book closes are the articles and photographs due to be filed? 3) How far in advance of a publication's release are the advance copies/previews done?
The two three rumors I am working on are:
Harry proposed a very long time before they announced the engagement.
They kept the engagement a secret for a long time for a specific reason.
Something happened that caused the palace and Harry to "let" Meghan stay after the VF interview when in the past, Harry notoriously cut friends and girls out if they talked to the press.
And the Big Question is: when exactly did Harry propose?
So now the verrrrrrry long version. (feel free to put a cut here!)
Bower's VF excerpt says:
After Harry proposed, they discussed announcing the engagement when The Queen returned from her summer in Balmoral.
They were engaged when Meghan did the VF interview.
VF sent a preview copy when Meghan and Harry were in Botswana for her birthday, which Meghan saw after returning home.
The pictures accompanying the VF article were taken in London.
Meghan, Harry, and the Palace were angry that the VF story was about Harry. (Meghan b/c she wanted the focus to be her philanthropy, Harry b/c he didn't want to be in the article, and the Palace because she existed.)
From internet sleuthing -- all dates 2017 unless noted otherwise and I'm using American date convention (mm/dd).
Meghan shut her social media down in April 2017. We know she thrived on social media so she wouldn't have shut it down without something definite and concrete being given to her in return.
Meghan was papped with Harry in May 2017 - early May at polo and mid-May around Pippa's wedding.
Meghan did not attend Wimbledon 2017. (Serena wasn't playing so of course Meghan wasn't going to waste her time.) So she was not papped in London in late June/early July.
Per the Court Circular, Harry's summer holiday started 7/29. We know he was back in London by 8/29 as he attended the Diana Sunken Garden thing on 8/30.
Per the Court Circular, The Queen was in Balmoral from 8/7 to 10/10 so Harry and Meghan weren't planning to tell anyone they were engaged until at least 10/11.
Meghan's birthday is August 4. Meghan and Harry were papped at the airport in Botswana on 8/4 and her PR said there was a birthday party for her that night. We can assume Meghan flew into London around 7/28, when Harry took off for the summer.
Suits Season 7 announced filming dates of 4/4 - 11/15. Production actually wrapped on 11/23. The last pictures of Meghan on the Suits set were from 11/11. Meghan's stand-in tweeted on 11/17 and it seems to be a goodbye/thank you tweet, suggesting that 11/17 was her last day, meaning no more scenes involving Rachel Zane.
Suits Season 7 was split into half-seasons, with the first half airing in summer 2017 (7/12 - 9/13) and the second half airing in spring 2018 (3/28/18 - 4/25/18). This suggests that the production took a break in the summer for the cast to do PR for the premiere.
Members of Suits started doing PR for the new season in June 2017 with the ATX Festival. Meghan is seen in set photos taken 7/12 to celebrate filming Suits' 100th episode that Sarah Rafferty posted on IG.
On 11/20, Meghan moved to London after being spotted in the London airport and after movers were seen at her Toronto house.
The engagement was announced on 11/27.
So all of this to say I think the VF photoshoot was at the end of July, probably no later than 7/28 since Harry usually didn't work when she's visiting. Since Kashner (the VF writer) ended his story by saying Meghan texted him right before he was filing that she would be unreachable and a couple days later were the Botswana airport pics, that suggests he was probably filing the story around 8/4.
If Kashner filed on 8/4, then it was probably after a few weeks for VF to fact-check her, a week or two to write the story and turn in a draft for fact-checking, and a day or so for the interview. That puts the interview happening in early July, or at least sometime before July 12 when we know definitively she was still in Toronto on the Suits set. Which means that the photoshoot was either at the end of July when she was flying in ahead of the Botswana trip or in early/mid-May when she was papped at polo or Pippa's wedding. The latter sounds like it might be too early in the process since if the interview was early July, then they were probably negotiating the article in June with the offer being made late May/early June. (People Anon, help! Does this timeline sound reasonable? Is this the process?)
And if Bower's tea that they were engaged before she did the VF interview is true, then the evidence is indicating they actually got engaged in April or May. (Of course, it's also entirely possible there were other secret trips to London in the intervening time but when you look at Meghan's PR cycle, which always had a pap walk or a story about her being in London with Harry every 3-4 weeks like clockwork and there are no new stories between Pippa's wedding and August, it does seem unlikely.)
We know from their engagement interview that the proposal was very spur-of-the-moment, unexpected, and Harry had been unprepared. To me this sounds like Harry didn't have a ring for her. He just got caught up in the emotions of seeing her again and proposed, sans ring. Was that May? Maybe. Was that July? Maybe. Definitely wasn't November when she moved to London like their PR's been claiming since 2017. Definitely wasn't September or October like maybe they told friends, if they told people they were waiting till The Queen came back from Balmoral. Maybe Harry presented her with the ring around that time to make it official and that's their story, they're sticking to it, but it doesn't jibe with Bower's findings nor basic internet sleuthing.
(In other words, shenanigans afoot since the very beginning as everyone rightly suspected.)
So if they were secretly engaged when she did the VF interview, that means the proposal or the discussion to marry was in the late spring. And if Harry did propose in the late spring/mid-summer like the evidence shows (rather than the autumn like they claim), then why did they wait 4 to 7 months till November to announce? Why didn't they announce it around August 31st, the 20th anniversary of Diana's death, in a tribute to his mother's legacy? (It was guaranteed wall-to-wall press coverage and Meghan probably would've sold out the VF issue if they did, possibly cementing her as a "serious" cover girl at Kate's level.) Why didn't they announce it in September ahead of the Toronto Invictus Games and after the VF article? (Arguably they did with Meghan's strategic product placement of the Husband shirt.) Why didn't they announce it the second The Queen was back from Balmoral?
My theory: Harry knew they effed up with the VF article and delayed it to let the palace's anger blow over, and luckily Big Bro William to the rescue announcing Kate's third pregnancy right before Meghan's VF issue dropped so the firm could ignore the Meghan story in favor of pushing the new Cambridge baby.
And if Harry proposed before Meghan did the interview and if they were engaged before the issue dropped/the advance copy went out, then that explains why Meghan got to stick around after talking to the press about their relationship and why Meghan got the official royal treatment at Toronto IG despite being "just" a girlfriend; Harry was already committed and engaged to Meghan.
So finally FINALLY all this to say that People Anon might help me confirm this long-held Tumblr rumor: Meghan had something over Harry that caused him to keep her after she talked to VF about the relationship, and that was their engagement.
Whew.
If you want to respond with that Charlie Day gif from It's Always Sunny, the one where he's crazy on coffee explaining conspiracy theories in front of the wall of paper, I totally understand.
Although at this point I've been researching and writing this up for so long that now I'm doubting Bower's excerpt says they were engaged when she did the VF interview and I made that part up by overthinking it too much. I'm just going to click submit and you can tell me if I imagined that part.
I'll crawl back into my research hole now.
Phew. I hope you are saving all these somewhere.
Paging People Anon for Rumor Tracking Anon.
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NIGHTWISH Cancels Oslo Concert Due To Singer FLOOR JANSEN's Health
NIGHTWISH has canceled its June 22 appearance at the Tons Of Rock festival in Oslo, Norway.
Earlier today, the band released the following statement via social media: "Due to circumstances concerning [NIGHTWISH singer] Floor's [Jansen] health, we're unfortunately forced to cancel our show in Oslo on the 22nd of June. Floor's pregnancy is totally unaffected, and she heads home for some much needed rest.
"Even though all six of us are gutted over this decision, it was an easy one to make, as health must always come first.
"On a more positive note, the rehearsals and recordings of the new album begin in less than two weeks, so onwards!"
NIGHTWISH played its last concert before its upcoming break from touring this past Saturday, June 17 at Lemonsoft Stadion in Vaasa. Fan-filmed video of that show can be seen below.
In November 2022, Floor revealed that she was "cancer free" after recently undergoing surgery to have a tumor removed following a breast cancer diagnosis.
This past March, Floor and SABATON drummer Hannes Van Dahl announced that they were expecting their second child. Jansen and Van Dahl already have a six-year-old daughter named Freja, who was born on March 15, 2017.
In April, NIGHTWISH surprised fans by announcing that the band was not going to be playing any live shows for the foreseeable future and would be not be touring in support of the group's next studio album, which is tentatively due in 2024.
NIGHTWISH's statement read as follows: "As the 'Human :ll: Nature - World Tour' is drawing to a close, we feel now is the time to tell you of our plans for the next phase in our journey.
"After the planned shows for June 2023 we will be 'hanging up our spurs' for an indeterminate time, as far as live concert performances go, and won't be touring the next album.
"The reasons for this decision are personal, but, we all agree, vital to the wellbeing and future of the band. Be assured that we still love working together, and this decision has nothing to do with Floor's pregnancy or our other individual projects.
"However, an album of 12 new songs will see bright daylight in 2024, as will 3 music videos! The band is positively hyped beyond words over this new upcoming musical adventure.
"Stay tuned for updates from our legendary NIGHTWISH band camp & studio this summer!"
Last December, NIGHTWISH keyboardist and main songwriter Tuomas Holopainen said the band's upcoming follow-up to 2020's "Human. :II: Nature." will be the third part of a trilogy that began with 2015's "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" album. He told Metal Hammer: "I immediately knew after getting that album ['Endless Forms Most Beautiful'] done that, 'Okay, we have to do more songs about this, because there's so much more to explore and tell the world. We're not done with this.' And the same thing happened after 'Human. :II: Nature.'; we're still not done. So let's do one more. At least one more.
"In a way, [the next album] is the third part of a trilogy, which started with 'Endless Forms…' and then 'Human. :II: Nature.' There are some major surprises there again, but it feels like a natural continuation to 'Human. :II: Nature.'"
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And here we go! Your special mystery blind box. Hope you enjoy!
-📝 nonnie
--
"You- you can't use FIREBALL!! I'm in the middle of the fray!" The half-orc paladin cried out, swinging her battle axe. The blade connected with a ravenous furry shape that, had you asked her earlier, Bearbones would have called absolutely adorable. Now the massive swarm was growing taxing.
"Then get out of the way!" snapped Arous, the halfling holding her spell while kicking a creature away. "We're getting swamped by these wolpertingers, and they're a little too BITEY for my taste!"
"I...Rolled an 18, the AC seems to be twelve- Okay I hit, and I use my canon on the group over to the left. Eat zap cannon, you over grown rats!!" The artificer bellowed.
"Alright, listen. I'm just saying, maybe we shouldn't be doing this quest to free the Great Fairy of Rot, y'know?" The Aarakokra bard was back to back with his Kenku sibling that was using him as hidden cover to get extra damage in. "What say you, Nitpick?"
A series of affirming chirps and clicks meshed with broken words stolen from other conversations the kenku heard. "Aztiel is RIGHT...but Rot Fairy Siofra is...Very Pretty. Have to help her."
"Oh jeez, Mikey's crushing on the rot fairy." Leo whined, head in his hands. You grinned, giggling at the revelation that rolled through the group. Battle now on standby, Donatello glared over at his twin.
"You idiot! Without Siofra, the other Great Seasons Fairies are going to ruin the world. Rot is needed for new life and all that."
"Wow. Nitpick likes Siofra huh?" Raph leaned over, looking at what Michelangelo was doodling. The eldest huffed in amusement, staring at a rough sketch of the kenku fantasizing over a 12 foot nature goddess.
"Maybe! I think Nitpick just likes Big Tall Misunderstood Lady."
April shrugged. "Honestly you could pick worse."
You got up, chuckling to yourself as you went to the kitchen. You bagged another, your DMing prowess of making your players becaome smitten with NPC knew no end. Well, correction. It knew one.
You hadn't managed to get Leonardo yet. And, for the life of you, you couldn't figure out why.
You got Raphael with his character's rival, a Firbolg ranger who she shared one good, deep conversation with and it shook his character's faith somewhat while showing the other wasn't so bad a guy. April's sorcerer already had a girlfriend, and you made sure she got to interact and write to her frequently, and the sorcerer was planning on proposing. Michelangelo was fawning over Siofra, his character bonding with her despite being trapped in a crystal prison by being a great listener. Donatello's was the tricksiest one by far, his high elf character becoming smitten with a kobold thief who, as a shock to you, his character saw all the stealing of his machines as flirting, and now he made trinkets for them to purposely steal as a kind of...courtship game.
But Leo? Nothing, no NPC, be it the handsome rival bard or the lich king, made him enamored.
"I'm grabbing drinks! Anyone want one?" You listened as a collection of of yeses called out and you nodded, already knowing who wanted what. A chair scraped across the floor and you heard footsteps follow.
"I'll help out."
"Thanks, Leo."
Humming, the two of you gathered up sodas and teas and coffees galore, nabbing some more pizza while on your impromptu snack break. You glanced over at the red eared slider. "May I ask a question?"
"Mh? Sure thing. What's up?" Leo adjusted the tails of his cobalt bandana before reaching for a sleeve of cookies.
"What's your type?"
Leonardo froze, sweat beading on his brow as he stared HARD into the cabinet. He swore there should be some cheez-its in here somewhere.
"My uh. Type?"
"Yeah! Do you like big muscles and massive pecs, small wet cat energy, cocky, calm and collected, regal, maybe something more chaotic...?"
Biting his lip, he looked over to you, noting you refused to look at him. Like you were planning something. Being sneaky.
...Oh! He knew what was happening.
He relaxed a bit, nodding to himself, before he quickly became red in the face and jittery.
Oh. He knew what was happening!!
The leader looked to the side, scratching the back of his head nervously. "Well, um. I have to say uh...I like...creative types. With big imaginations and a love for storytelling." Leonardo cleared his throat. "And uh, hopefully a fondness for my jokes and willing to put up with my charming personality."
You blinked at that. "So...artsy nerd with a high stupidity tolerance?" Damn what a character you'd have to make.
The turtle gaped at you, looking mildly offended. "Hey!"
You shrugged. "You're a bit of a peacock."
"Hey!!"
You snickered to yourself, grinning at your joke and Leonardo felt his heart...swell, bubble and melt like chocolate. His mouth buzzed with the cloying bittersweetness you radiated, and it made him crave your attention, your AFFECTION, more.
Smiling to himself some, he bumped your hip with his own, looking up at you under half lidded eyes. "Yeah, I guess nerd is a good term for em."
"What else? What do they do?" you asked, a coy look on you face, and he felt the thrill of teasing and playing with you making him giddy.
"I mean they're hot, for sure. Love their nose, it does this cute thing when they smile. And theyre one hell of a master of dungeons."
"A master of dungeons? Ahh so you like power eh?"
"Mhm. You could say Godly."
Man, a mortal falling in love with a god would be great. You'd push one of the great fairies, but they didn't fit personality-wise. Perhaps you would make another godly being, or there was the massive eldritch sea creature, but they wouldnt find that til the High seas chapter...
Godly. Master of Dungeons. Creative story teller with a love for...oh.
Oh.
The pieces clicked, and your eyes grew wide, face now flushed and hot to the touch. You whipped around to look at Leonardo, whose cocky grin faltered some at your bewildered look.
"Me, um- I just. I mean- I was asking for the campaign. For Aztiel."
Leonardo's face did the opposite of yours, blood draining quickly and making him appear pallor.
"Ah. I'm. Oh my god."
You two grew quiet. Your thoughts were that of a notebook in a whirlwind, papers and words and pictures whipping around you while you sat in the middle, getting fleeting frenzied glimpses at the chaos surrounding you. Leonardo's own were like tv static, harsh and crowding and, though others tried to push through, the screeching noise drowned them out.
"...No wonder I never could make an NPC you loved."
Leonardo swallowed nervously. He looked away, hot shame stabbing him in the gut and through the ribs. He felt ill.
"Yeah. They, um...Well I do like all of your characters. I love something about em all. They all have a little piece of you in them... I'm sorry- that's weird and I'm just going to-"
Masked eyes widened, his brain coming to a sudden, stuttering halt. He couldn't move, and he stopped breathing briefly as you pulled away, tongue swiping your own chapped and chewed lips nervously. You gathered the drinks again.
"I'm... free on Friday, if you wanna sneak out to go see the horror movie marathon at the drive in theater with me. My treat."
It took a few pulls of his brain's rip chord before his ability to think came back, but when it did, it was like all thoughts came to him at once. So many questions wanted to pour out of his mouth that they were scrambled, before he finally managed to ask-
"So! Uh, it's date, yea? A date? Like, with me? Boyfriend?"
You grinned, starting to walk out of the kitchen with a bit of extra pop to your step. "Yeah. A date with you would be wonderful. I've wanted to go on one with you for a while now."
YESSSSSSS LET'S GO DISASTER DATE LEO!!!
Thank you so much for the blind box fic! The way Leo just kinda studies reader while describing them, reader's obliviousness... Love it!!!
#kana's chats#rottmnt#rottmnt x reader#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles#rise of the tmnt#rise leo x reader#📝 anon
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Get To Know Your Fanfic Writer
Thanks for tagging me, @myheartalivewrites and @heybuddy-drabbles !
When did you post your first ever fanfic?
April 4, 2019
First characters you wrote for:
Regina and Robin- OQ!
Main characters you're currently writing for:
Mostly Alex and Henry lately, with a little Robin and Regina (mostly Regina) mixed in!
Character(s) you haven’t written about before but plan on writing about soon:
Nobody is really on that list at the moment... Although I need to include Zahra and Shaan and the rest of the Super Six more!
Fandom(s) you’re currently writing for:
RWRB with my toes still dipped in OUAT a bit.
Platonic pairing(s) you currently write for:
None- though I do need to work the rest of the Super Six into my fics more!
Romantic pairing(s) you currently write for:
OQ and firstprince consistently
Your top 3 tags on AO3 (if you post your works on AO3):
I didn't use additional tags until this fandom, so probably angst with a happy ending? Fluff?
Your current platform where you post your works:
Ao3
Snippet of the wip you’re currently working on:
Some of this I shared for WIP Wednesday, but:
"Want to start over?"
They're the hardest words Alex thought he'd ever said. He grew up with June, and having an older sister and good parents meant that he'd learned things like that it was okay to share every once in awhile long ago. One thing he'd never been good at, though, was saying when he was wrong. He was at one of those crossroads now (or close enough, anyway), and his skin was crawling like he had ants creeping all over it and his heart was in his throat. Two needed to play this game. He had promised Nora he would fix things at least a little bit, but Henry needed to meet him halfway.
Henry nodded. "I think that would be for the best, yes." He held out his hand. "I'm Henry."
Alex laughed. "Alex," he replied, shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you."
"All right, you guys, listen up," Zahra said, clapping her hands to get the class's attention. "Tomorrow is the last day I'm going to give you to work on this in class. After this, as we talked about at the beginning of the year, we'll be watching film adaptations of everything we've read this year and comparing them to what we read. So I suggest you come up with a game plan with your partner for finishing the assignment now, or you will regret it later."
No pressure tagging @read-and-write- @raysletters @everwitch-magiks @daisymae-12 @14carrotghoul and @heybuddy-drabbles
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