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preservationofnormalcy · 6 months

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[It is November of 2021. I am being led down a hallway that looks more like it should be on a ship than a government building. Metal walls with painted horizontal lines down its length, marked with “water depth” markers every 30 feet or so. My guide is a bored-looking man in a suit, balding, checking his clipboard. I seem to remember his name is Clarke, but he’s not who I’m here to see.]

M] Does this tunnel flood?

C] Hm?

M] The water markers.

C] Oh, those. Not unless something bad happens. She’s pretty good about it.

M] Is her name really –

C] Yth’Wa, Herald of Change. Yes. Changed it legally. Not that she gets out much.

M] …kind of an indoorsy person?

C] I mean she’s never in the outside world.

M] Not even to get food?

C] She has people for that.

[Suddenly, from doorways that lead off the hallway, we are joined by six figures wearing yellow robes that conceal their identities entirely. I smell brine and dead fish. Clarke looks back and seems to count the figures, but otherwise doesn’t react.]

M] Is this a joke?

C] Wish it was, ma’am. Hey, fellas.

[Two of the figures wave. We approach a bulkhead at the end of the hall, and Clarke spins the wheel lock. The taste of salt hits my mouth - like the seaside, like brine. Clarke enters the chamber beyond, and three of the figures follow him. Three of them wait behind me, as if waiting to escort me. After a moment’s hesitation, I enter the chamber.

It is dark, hewn from rough stone, sloping downward into dark water. I look up, and the ceiling cannot be seen in the darkness. Utility lights illuminate the path downward, a few of them trailing into the still water. Clarke takes up a post next to the door, and the yellow figures form a pattern facing the water. Two of them kneel, two of them prostrate themselves, and two raise their hands and begin a chant.

I can’t help myself. I back up, and whisper to Clarke.]

M] You cannot be serious.

C] You’re the one that wanted to meet her.

M] Who the hell am I meeting?

[Wordlessly, Clarke points to the water. A figure is emerging.

A humanoid figure, also clad in yellow robes. Her hood is pulled low over her face, only the bottom half of her face visible. She has both hands placed together, palms pressed together in a gesture of prayer. She walks calmly from the water, up the incline, and it becomes clear she must be…seven feet tall, or more. Pallid grey-green skin is visible under her hood, and her hair….not hair. Tentacles. Tendrils roll down her shoulders and chest, spill from her sleeves. Her face is thin, her cheeks are marked with slits - gills.

As she emerges, she joins the chant with her own voice. As water spills from her form, fully on dry land now, her words change to English. An unearthly, inhuman voice…but not unpleasant.]

Yth’Wa] Fathoms deep, fathoms old. Fathoms dark, fathoms cold. We leave the cradle, leave the fold. To serve the one, the Lord in Gold.

[There is a pause. Yth’Wa smiles and stands beyond the yellow figures, who are silent but have not moved from their spots. She is close to me, and seems to regard me with a small smile. Her face is…unnatural, but not ugly. Something beyond. When she speaks, it is with a strange resonance, and no small amount of amusement.]

Y] Ms Hendricks. I was told of your coming.

M] …wh…Yth’Wa?

Y] Do not be afraid.

[She moved her arms, spreading them out. Water dripped off her robes, and tentacles slipped back into her sleeves.]

Y] I am an ally of the Office. I do not harm the unbeliever, as they have their part to play in the grand Circle. The King Of All And Nothing has spoken, and we listen.

M] I don’t…I don’t know what to say.

Y] Then speak your truth.

M] ….I’m here to ask you questions.

[Yth’Wa’s smile widens. Her teeth are sharp, triangular, serrated. I look back at Clarke, who seems nonplussed. He looks at his phone and swears softly, seemingly realizing he doesn’t get reception here. Yth’Wa’s tone is not unfriendly, but somehow…as if she’s humoring me. Slight but not aggressive sarcasm rolls off her lips.]

Y] Inquisitiveness is what drew us all to the Circle, Ms Hendricks. It is a virtue worthy of the Yellow Empty. This is a holy quest.

M] I feel like I’m being condescended to.

Y] No force in the ocean could compel me to do so.

M] But on land?

[She puts her hands back together with a playful smile.]

Y] What are your questions, my dear?

M] …I was going to ask you about the poster, but first…who are you?

Y] I am Yth’Wa, Herald of Change, leader of the Yellow Circle.

M] And what is the…Yellow Circle?

[Yth’Wa gestures to the other figures in yellow behind her.]

Y] We are the children of the One Who Dwells Between. We reach out in humility and hope to the space beyond our candlelight, and we embrace what we find. Our god, the Golden Father, shepherds us into the dark void, and bestows upon us gifts that we take upon ourselves gladly.

M] And you’re….allied with the Office? They’re okay with this.

[Yth’Wa’s smile is slightly more amused, almost smug. Her tone is like kindly addressing a child.]

Y] It’s our world too, Meghan. We live here. We have a vested interest in keeping the things that slither around the lighthouse of the human mind at bay…or under our control. The Office often finds these skills useful. Such as your poster.

M] The….sock a Shoggoth one.

Y] Indeed. It’s an old one. You saw a ripple of waters past, Ms Hendricks.

M] Sorry?

Y] Do you know of Operation Deep Whisper?

M] I…I don’t, no.

Y] Mmmh.

[She steps forward. I’m unsure of what to do, and in my hesitation, she walks around me. Studying me, her eyes never visible but nonetheless biting into me.]

Y] You’ve met Josiah. Josiah Carter.

M] Of Psychotronics?

Y] Of those who wade in pools they will drown in. Tell me. Did he talk about the things they invited?

M] He mentioned things that…came from their experiments.

Y] Poor Josiah. He knew only half of what he unleashed.

M] I don’t think I understand.

[Yth’Wa took in a deep breath.]

Y] When men take hammers to glass, they should not be surprised when it leaks. Those at the Office, in their uniforms and titles. They frayed the real in order to see through it, and they didn’t like what they saw. What they let through. By the 1960s, the camera obscura they had made in their blind stabbing through reality had become a tear. A broken fence post, and of course things came through. Things…not under our control.

M] The things he described sounded horrific. What are they?

Y] Me and mine are…inured to them, somewhat. The Office now calls them Outsiders. Entities from other spaces, other realms, dimensions beyond ours. Beyond the veils. As you can imagine, they are often dangerous to humanity. Physically violent, or ontologically inimical to human life. Often...alien thought patterns, incompatible with the mortal mind. Ontologically incompatible - too many of them, and their reality leaks into ours...impossible geometry, mosses and fungi that degrade the integrity of realspace. Or reality, as humans see it.

M] And you can control them?

Y] More or less. Keep them at bay, influence their behavior. Sometimes they can appreciate something that thinks like them. But all that and more were slowly being unleashed through the world, a secret plague that threatened to collapse the Office’s so called normality. Beasts, anomalies, and forces threatened even our way of life.

M] So they asked the Yellow Circle for help.

Y] Indeed. I was not the leader at the time, but the Circle allied with the Office to eradicate this plague. Using resources and funding from the more mundane conflict in Vietnam, we battled the Outsider across the globe throughout the 1960s, and into the 70s. Our people call it Gul’tho Z’Thuth G-Uz, the Conflict of Brother Blood. But the Office calls it Operation Deep Whisper. It is there your posters come into play - propaganda, encouragement for a war against an enemy so alien that they cannot be understood.

[That smile again.]

Y] By the Office, anyway.

M] And it worked?

Y] You had not heard of Outsiders before you came to the Office, had you? We saved the world, Ms Hendricks. Our world.

M] I guess we can chalk that one up as a success.

Y] Indeed.

M] I don’t feel the need for most of my questions….Yth’Wa. But I guess I had another.

Y] Speak freely.

M] You were…human, right? All of you, but especially you. Who were you before you were Yth’Wa?

[There is a moment of silence. Yth’Wa looked…momentarily annoyed, her thin lips turning down at the ends in a way that made my stomach churn. But after a moment, she seemed to reset, relax her posture.]

Y] Who I was is dead. The One Whose Sign Dances saw me for who I was, and made me into something…more. More real, more truthful. Who I was is…dead. Do you understand?

M] I….I think I do.

Y] Magnificent. If you had no further questions….

[She steps forward, and I flinch. She pauses, as if attempting not to spook an animal, reaching into her robes and slowly pulling free a single scallop shell. It shined like an oil spill in the dim light, runes and markings along the outside of the shell. They hurt to look at.]

Y] If you wish to see me again, throw this shell into the largest body of water you can reach in a day’s walk under the light of the moon. I will see you, I will reach you. And we can talk.

M] …thank you, Yth’Wa.

Y] May the Shattered Lord keep you and guide you.

M] Let the…the Keeper of Yellow—- oh, god, what…what was that? I can taste it.

[Yth’Wa laughs, leaning in further, teeth gleaming in the odd light.]

Y] Truth. Oh, Ms Hendricks. You’ve tasted truth.

(Buy the poster here!)

#Yellow Circle #interview #microfiction #sci fi #sci fi horror #lovecraft #cosmic horror

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nattinatalia · 11 months

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Watching a scary movie with Jack and scaring him on purpose 🤭

It was date night for you and Jack.

You usually go out to dinner and for a walk but since you both have been working nonstop you suggested staying in ordering food and watching a movie.

You had already picked out some comedy and action films but Jack had other plans.

“Mi amor you can’t handle scary movies, we’ve been through this.” You sit back on the couch, your sushi takeout on your lap.

“But I want to watch it, it’s still daylight outside so I won’t be scared.”

“Jack.” You warn.

“Plus it’s fake, so how bad could it be?”

“Mhmm.” You shrug. “What did you pick?”

He smiles, “Okay so Urban recommended this one.” He hands you his phone. “Apparently it’s a Hispanic tale, something adults tell their kids to scare them.”

You raise your eyebrows and look down at the text Urban sent him. “Are you sure you want to watch this?”

He nods, turning off the lamp beside him and sits next to you. “Yeah, of course.”

Jack hits play and you both eat while watching the movie. You’d throw glances at Jack here and there watching his reaction.

It was halfway through the movie that you needed to pee real quick so you stood up.

“Babe, wait where are you going?”

“I have to go use the restroom, I’ll be back.”

“Do not leave me here alone.” He whispers.

“Why are you whispering?” You chuckle.

He looks around. “She could be here.”

You roll your eyes, “I’ll be quick.” You make a run for the bathroom.

Once you were done using the restroom you came up with an evil plan.

You head to the blanket closet and take out a white bed sheet and toss it over your head covering your entire body.

You slam the door shut, “Y/N?” You hear Jack yell from the living room.

“BABE, YOU OKAY?” He yells out again, worried in his voice.

“Hay mis hijos.” You cry out.

“WHAT THE FUCK?” Jack yells out scared.

You’re walking to the living room, arms open continuing chanting “HAY MIS HIJOOOS.”

“No, nope absolutely not.” Jack jumps from the couch and across the living room. “What did you do to my fiancé?”

“MIS HIJOS.”

“We don’t have kids, so you’re lost lady!” Jack is trying to make a run out of the living room. “BABE WHERE ARE YOU?” He heads to the front door.

You quickly chase after him, he trips on the mat as he falls opening the door. “Nope, no.” He runs to his jeep.

You start laughing and take off the bed sheet. “Jackman, you were really about to leave me behind to die?”

He gasps, “Y/N?” He gets out of the car and heads your way. “Not funny, I think I might’ve peed myself.”

You laugh and look down at his sweats. “It’s what you deserve.”

“How did I deserve that? Scared me to death.”

“Why are you requesting real life scary movies in the first place?”

“Urban recommen- pause, what do you mean real life?”

You shrug, “This is based on a true story.”

“Nope, no.” He picks you up, throwing you over his shoulder.

“Jack” you laugh. “Where are we going?”

“We’re moving out and leaving everything behind”.

“She can follow us.”

He gasps out. “Y/N, STOP.”

You laugh, “Kidding.”

#harlowcomehome #jack harlow #jack harlow concepts #jack harlow x y/n #jack harlow x oc #jack harlow x yn #jack harlow x you #jack harlow x reader

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gojocumdumpster · 9 months

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”My name is Baki…Baki Hanma” 2

Type of story: Sfw

Afab reader (Sorry guys if there's not a lot gender neutral yall know im slow as hell)

I'm not using those pink letters int this story for y/n.

You had arrived home going to your bedroom, "I think I'll take a shower tomorrow." You said laying down on your bed. All you could think of was Baki..Baki Hanma. Maybe those girls who sat next to you were right. 2 weeks past and the next tournament was today.

Baki's POV: She said she was going to be here, should I ask for her number? Would if she says no..? Would if she thinks I'm a monster, would if she has a boyfriend.. Baki said to himself walking around circles in his graffitied house.

You woke up, today was the tournament and today you were going to see Baki. You paided for your tickets through the app and got the same spot you sat last time, you decided to wear a black dress to show off those curves. Hol on y/n do a 360 lemme see that ass move This was your dress: here with your choice of shoes. cause yall gon bash me for picking crocs You did your morning routine and had time to make breakfast so you made oatmeal and left.

You made it to the tournament building and waited in the lane for people who paided online, you parked your car and made your way towards the lobby, men were staring at you up and down the girls were giving you nasty looks but you didn't care because you were the bad bitch only in there. Except Jackiesha was the OG you can't out do the OG..anyways..

You made your to the food court and got you a hot dog and a drink, you walked to the arena as you took your seat, Round 1 was a tie because they both got knocked out at the same time. People were saying it wasn't fair and some were, you had to get on someone's case because they were doing to damn much. After that they were quiet the whole time, last round you saw that same Reddish-brownish haired boy. You stood up chanting his name as you waved at him to get his attention, he some how heard you through all those loud manly deep voices when you had a soft voice. Look at you. Now your doing to much y/n sit tf down.. He looked up at you and shook his head smiling.

You sat down waiting for the next fighter to come out. You ate your food as your were excited to see baki win. 6 minutes in the round baki was about to lose until he did a special move his father taught him that had everyone in shock. Everyone was silent as he got up and walked away until he heard *Clap Clap..* No it isnt what you think... You stood up clapping for Baki soon people were clapping with you. He looked at you with a big smile as he gave you a thumbs up.

It was time to leave and you were "lost" again as you walked to the back. You saw fighters looking at you like last time biting there lips at you. You didn't know which room Baki was so kept walking until you saw a room with there door creaked halfway. It looked like Baki was there! *Knock Knock* "Room service is here!" You said knocking on the door. "Y/n is that you.?!" he said chuckling and opening the door more. He let you come in his room as it had a shower and a couch with a TV. He closed the door and turned towards you. "W-wow you look better up close" He said nervously.."Thank's Baki!" You say as you give him a 360.

"Is it okay if I hug you?" He said fiddling with his hands. "Sure!" You said reaching your hands out. You guys hugged each other his hand's slowly trailing from your back to your waist and resting on your hips as he rubs your hips gripping the thickness of it, slowly going down to your plump round butt both hands touching it. You were blushing in his neck the whole time with your hands around his neck, he gripped your ass as they fit perfectly in his hands. I'm sorry y/n I think I lost myself for a second as he lets go. "It's okay Baki" you say laughing at his flustered face. You guys took a seat on the couch he wanted to tell you something. You could tell, "What is it Baki? Tell me.' You say with your hand on his thigh looking at him with pleading eyes. He looked at you in shock as if you almost read his mind. "Can I get your number..? It's fine if you don't-" You cut him off "Of course Baki!" as you put your number in his phone fast as light. He smiled at you shaking his head. You guys hung out for hours on the couch. It was time to go and he had walked you out to the entrance. You said your goodbyes and quickly kissed him on his cheek and ran off to your car. He touched the part where you kissed him and looked at your car in shock as you drove off.

#baki x reader #baki the grappler x reader #pickle baki #baki son of ogre #baki hanma #baki the grappler #baki dou #baki headcanons

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that-rad-jewish-girl · 23 days

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Do you know anything about claims that Israel just blocked the 3 biggest organizations preventing famine in Gaza—UNWRA, ANERA and World Central Kitchen? Saw a friend share it online and it seemed pretty dumb and far-fetched, but I know you’re way more versed on what’s actually going on than myself, and also know most news outlets in Canada (where I am) are bent towards Gaza/against the Jewish People

Hello! Thank you for this ask. This is a lot, so bear with me.

Israel is not “blocking” these organizations - though there was a recent incident with World Central Kitchen (WCK). Very recently a WCK aid truck was hit by a military strike which resulted in 7 deaths. Israel did take full responsibility and accountability is underway. They’ve started with the firing of several top military officials responsible for the bad call. I imagine more is to come on this - possibly legal accountability as well. WCK is an unbiased third party to this war, so this is extremely tragic for all involved. They work to provide food for individuals affected by any type of conflict or disaster - they do amazing work.

UNWRA and ANERA are a separate story. To be clear, Israel is still not “blocking” these two organizations. Though Israel has stopped funding both organizations.

ANERA has been under scrutiny multiple times in the past for misusage of donation funds. They essentially gave a lot of money to Hamas and used their charity donations to help build terrorist centers in Gaza. They’ve admitted to donating funds to the Gazan fund for martyrs and their families (i.e. terrorists who attempted to kill or did kill Israelis). ANERA has also made several claims that Israel is responsible for ALL of the humanitarian suffering in the region. Even during the second intifada, ANERA was refusing to admit Palestinian involvement in terrorism and was actively funding terrorism. The second intifada saw parents strapping bombs to their children, sending them into Israel, and blowing up random civilian areas. The borders between Israel and Gaza were not anything like today before the second intifada. This is largely why people say if Palestinians cared about their children more than they care about killing Jews, the wars would end.

UNWRA has been repeatedly exposed for helping terrorism in the region. It is run by Hamas. Their schools openly teach children to become “martyrs for the cause”, and you can see videos of UNWRA school teachers chanting with their students “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be Arab”. Many of the hostages released and/or rescued from Gaza have said they were transported and held hostage by UNWRA associates. Several UNWRA teachers were seen in videos participating in Oct. 7th. After Oct. 7th, the UNWRA schools announced a day off to honor martyrs. Several UNWRA staffers posted on their socials about honoring the terrorists, celebrating the “great October massacre”, and Allah being great for allowing the massacre to happen.

Since you are from Canada, I’ll add in here that there are several Canadians families suing your government right now over the funding of UNRWA. Although Canada suspended their funding for UNWRA after their involvement in the 7th came out, they have recently resumed it. Several Canadian families of Canadian hostages held in Gaza still have come together to sue the Canadian government for funding terrorism. Funding the same orgs that participated in the murder, kidnapping, and rape of Canadians, as well as several other nationalities.

#jewish #israel #jewblr #jumblr #hamas is evil #antisemites #israel 🇮🇱#pro israel #i stand with israel #hamas are nazis #hamas attack footage #hamas is isis #hamas is a terrorist organization #hamas war crimes

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mydarllinglover · 10 months

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Alone || Split up

When they had got back to the church, they pushed the trolleys up the stairs and into the place.

Abraham was under the bus, fixing it up whilst Rosita helped him.

Sully ran towards Natalia, barking as his tail wagged, but he halted when he sniffed her, walking in a circle as he ran his nose along her legs, trying to work out what it was.

"What the hell happened to you?" Carol asked, looking down at her from the steps, Daryl was smoking, as he leaned against the railing.

"Oh, y'know, just a leisurely swim in walker infested water, that has been brewing for god knows how long, heh, get it, god knows." She pointed at the church. "Anyway, I got a cool jacket." Natalia shrugged, "I'm going to be fishing walker goop out of crevices for a week, and almost got killed cause of a priest, all in a days work."

"What?" Daryl asked, talking to her for the first time in a while, looking around for Gabriel.

"Got scared, shoved me out of his way as he tried to flee, totally bombed it though."

"Did you get hurt?" Carol asked, Daryl was still scanning the brunette, like he was trying to find any injuries.

"Nope, no bites, no scratches, all good."

"Are you sure?" She pressed.

"Yes, you want me to strip so you can check?" Natalia huffed, walking past the pair and heading into the church, Sully walked beside her. "I'm offended people ask me that so often, I can handle myself."

"It's okay to accept the fact that people love and care about you." Carol called after her.

Later that night, when the sun had set, The group sat around the church, enjoying their first proper meal together in a long time, chatting and laughing, enjoying each others company, feeling at peace for the first time in a long time.

Glenn and Tara had formed a game of how high can Sully catch, where they would take in turns throwing a piece of food into the air and see the furthest he could catch it from, the people around them found this pretty amusing, pitying the dog by giving him a spoonful from their own plate, he was definitely enjoying the buffet.

"I'd like to propose a toast." Abraham gathered the rooms attention, standing at the front of the room with a glass of wine in hand.

Michonne and Natalia took their seats beside each other as everyone went quiet, waiting to see what the man had to say.

"I look around this room and I see survivors." He started. "Each and everyone of you has earned that title. To the survivors."

"Survivors! Cheers!" Everyone chanted, raising their glasses.

"Is that all you want to be?" Abraham continued, Natalia knew where this was going, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. "Wake up in the morning, fight the undead pricks, forage for food, go to sleep at night with two eyes open, rinse and repeat? 'Cause you can do that. I mean, you got the strength. You got the skill. Thing is, for you people, for what you can do, that's just surrender. Now, we get Eugene to Washington and he will make the dead die and the living will have this world again. And that is not a bad takeaway for a little road trip. Eugene, what's in DC?"

"Infrastructure constructed to withstand pandemics. Even of this Fubar magnitude. That means food, fuel, refuge. Restart."

"However this plays out, however long it takes for this restart button to kick in, you can be safe there. Safer than you've been since this whole thing started. Come with us. Save the world for that little one. Save it so you can take your dog on walks without fear of it ending up something's dinner. Save it for yourselves. Save it for the people out there... who don't got nothing left to do except survive."

Judith began to make noises, as she sat on her fathers lap.

"What was that?" Rick asked her as people laughed. "I think she knows what I'm about to say. She's in. If she's in, I'm in. We're in. Let's do it."

Everyone cheered and clapped for the plan, Sully let out a howl, joining in on the noise, Tara copied the dog, letting out her own howl.

After a while, people gradually went outside, getting some fresh air.

"Has anyone who's gone outside come back yet?" Natalia asked Rick, looking around.

"Sasha went out to look for Bob, said he'd been out for a while." Tyreese weighed in.

"Carol and Daryl's been gone for a while, too." Natalia hummed.

"Alright, me and Tyreese will go look for them, everyone stay here, I don't want anyone else disappearing." Rick said, standing up.

"I'll help." Natalia offered, going to stand up, but Rick stopped her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"No, I need you here, to keep an eye on Gabriel, he does anything, I know you can handle it, we'll find them." He assured her.

"But-"

"Natalia, I need you in here." He repeated.

"Fine, take Sully, he'll be able to sniff them out from anywhere, especially Daryl." She mused, knowing full well how much fond the dog and man were of each other, even if Daryl didn't express it, but she could tell by the way he kept Sully's rabbit in his back pocket If the dog had forgotten it, or dropped it when something else caught his attention.

"We'll take care of him." Rick nodded.

"I know you will." She offered a small smile.

Natalia was sat in a pew, her eyes never left the father, watching his every move, her gun in her hand, resting in her lap.

The other people went about doing their own thing, waiting for the arrival of their family to return.

The doors opened with loud creaks, Tyreese, Rick and Sully returned with Sasha, but no Bob, Daryl or Carol.

Sasha walked towards Father Gabriel.

"Stop." She told the man in a hushed voice.

He stared at her, pausing the motion of pouring himself another glass of wine.

"What are you doing?" She asked. "What are you doing?" She repeated, much more slower, when he had yet to answer. "This is all connected. You show up, we're being watched, and now three of us are gone."

"I..." He started. "I don't... I don't have anything to do with this."

Sasha pulled out her knife, walking towards the man as he backed up.

"Wait!"

"Don't!" Rosita ordered, lunging forward, but Abraham grabbed a hold of her.

"Sasha, put it away." Tyreese told his younger sister.

"Who's out there?" Sasha asked, ignoring the other people in the room.

"I... I don't have anything to do with this." Gabriel put his hands up in surrender.

"Where are our people?"

"I don't have anything to..."

"Where are our people?" Sasha screamed at him.

"Please, I don't have anything to do with this."

Rick pulled Sasha back, taking her place.

"Why'd you bring us here?" He asked.

"I... I... please." Gabriel stuttered.

"Are you working with someone?"

"I'm alone. I'm alone. I was always alone."

"What about the woman in the food bank, Gabriel?" Rick pushed forward. "What did you do to her? "You'll burn for this." That was for you. Why? What are you going to burn for, Gabriel?"

Gabriel had yet to answer him, ticking the man off even more.

Rick grabbed him by the collar, pushing him against the table full of candles.

"What? What did you do?" He shouted, his jaw clenched. "What did you do?" He pushed the man away, taking a step back.

"I lock the doors at night. I always lock the doors at night. I always lock the doors at night." He repeated, breaking down. "I always- They started coming, my congregation. Atlanta was bombed the night before and they were scared. They were- They were looking for a safe place, a place where they felt safe. And it was so early. It was so early. And the doors were still locked. You see... it was my choice. There were so many of them and they were trying to pry the shutters and banging on the sidings, screaming at me. And so the dead came for them. Women... children. Entire families calling my name as they were torn apart, begging me for mercy. Begging me for mercy. Damning me to Hell." He sobbed. "I buried their bones. I buried it all. The lord sent you here to finally punish me." He collapsed to the ground as he continued to cry.

Natalia was feeling more angry by the second, he was the sole reason that countless of families had suffered brutally, because he couldn't be bothered to help them, to offer shelter, and he was feeling sorry for himself?

"I'm damned. I was damned before. I always lock the doors. I always lock the doors."

A whistle sounded outside the church, Sully began barking and howling at the door, Natalia headed towards him, pulling the dog away as Glenn headed for the window.

"There's something... There's someone outside lying in the grass."

Sasha had ran for the door.

"Sasha." Rick followed.

The others chased after them, running outside.

"Oh! Bob!" Sasha shouted, as everyone set their sights on the passed out Bob.

Two walkers were heading for them.

"His leg." Maggie looked in horror, Bob's left leg was missing.

"Get Bob inside. We'll take care of them." Glenn ordered, him heading for the first walker as Natalia ran to the other, her knife pushing into it's eye.

"Can you help me, please? Help me. Help me." Sasha sobbed to Tara, trying to pick her boyfriend up.

"Get inside! Go!"

More walkers were appearing, Rick had started shooting at them as Natalia and Glenn ran back to help everyone with Bob.

"Rick!" Natalia called out, staring at the big red A that was painted on their wall.

"Let's go." He told her, pushing the small woman in the building and locking the door.

Everyone gathered around Bob, he had managed to wake up.

"I was in the graveyard. Somebody knocked me out." He told, once he was able to. I woke up outside this place. It looked like a school. It was that guy, Gareth. And five other ones."

Natalia looked at Rick, they were the ones who demanded to finish it off.

"They were eating my leg, right in front of me. Like it was nothing. All proud like they had it all figured out."

"Did they have Daryl and Carol?" Rick asked in a gentle tone.

"Gareth said they drove off."

"What?" Natalia hissed. Why the hell would they drive off? Unless... that black car.

Bob tried to sit up, groaning in agony.

"He's in pain. Do we have anything?" Sasha asked Rosita.

"I think we have a few pill packets in the first aid kit." Rosita said, getting up to fetch them.

"Yeah." Sasha nodded at her.

"Save 'em." Bob called towards her.

"No."

"Really." Bob sniffled as he sat up, pulling his T-shirt down to reveal a tear of flesh.

Bob was bitten.

"It happened at the food bank." He told Sasha, who stared wide eyed at it.

"It's okay." She whispered, helping him lay back down.

"Bob?" Sasha asked, when he fell. Tara caught his head, so he didn't hit it on the floor.

"There's a sofa in my office." Gabriel offered. "I know its not much, but..."

"Thank you."

"I got him." Tyreese stood up, helping Bob into the office.

Rick and Natalia moved towards the father, seeming to have the same thought.

"Do you know the place Bob was talking about?" Rick beat her to it.

"It's an elementary school. It's close."

"How close." Natalia asked, before he even finished the word.

He hesitated.

"How close?" Rick pushed.

"It's just a 10-minute walk through the woods from here, due south of the graveyard."

Judith started to cry, so Carl carried her into the other room, in her basket.

"Does he have a fever?" Rick asked Maggie.

"He's just warm."

"Jim lasted more than two days before we left him." Glenn remembered.

"Time for a reality check." Abraham called out. "We all need to leave for DC right now."

"No way! Not when Daryl and Carol are missing." Natalia snapped.

"They're gonna be back." Rick agreed. "We're not going anywhere without them."

"I respect that, but there's a clear threat here, to Eugene. I need to extract his ass before things get any uglier. So if y'all won't come, good luck to you. We'll go our separate ways."

"Well, bye!" Natalia waved at the large man.

"You leaving on foot?" Rick asked his retreating back.

"We fixed that damn bus ourselves." Abraham turned around.

"There are a lot more of us." Rick marched towards him.

"You want to keep it that way? You should come."

"Carol saved your life. We saved your life."

"Well, I am trying to save yours! Save everyone's."

"We're not going anywhere without our people."

"Your people took off."

"They're coming back."

"To what, picked-over bones?"

"You're not taking-" Rick reached for the man.

"Do not lay your hands!" Abraham grabbed him.

Natalia took her gun off safety whilst Glenn ran over to intervene.

"Abraham!" Rosita shouted.

"Hey, hey, stop! Now!" Glenn came in the middle of the pair, creating distance. "Do you really think that you're gonna be any safer leaving right now, in the middle of the night?" Glenn asked Abraham.

"Yeah." Abraham nodded. "Yeah."

"What about tomorrow? We need each other for this. We need each other to get to DC. We can get through all of it together." Glenn expressed.

"I have an idea." Tara stepped forward. "If you stay here just one more day and help, I'll go with you to DC no matter what." Abraham seemed to think this over, when she turned to Maggie. "Okay?"

"Glenn and Maggie, too."

"No." Rick declined.

"Good luck, then. I'm not interested in breaking up what you have here. Rosita, grab your gear."

"Abraham."

"Now." He ordered. "Eugene, let's go. Eugene. Move it."

"I don't want to." Eugene stayed seated.

"Now." Abraham growled.

"Okay." The scientist whispered, getting up from the pew.

The three moved towards the door.

"You're not taking the bus." Rick told him.

"Try to stop me." He responded.

Rick waited a moment, before walking towards the redhead, who passed his gun to Rosita.

"Hey, wait, wait wait, wait, wait, wait!" Glenn ran forward, breaking them up again. "Hey, hey, hey!"

He looked between the pair before speaking again.

"You stay. You stay and help us, and we will go with you."

"No." Rick refused.

"It's not your call." He looked back to Abraham. "You stay, help us."

"Half a day." Abraham bargained. "Come high noon, we're taillights. I'm not waiting for the other damn shoe to drop."

"And we will leave with you." Maggie spoke up.

"12 hours." He declared. "Then we go." He walked towards the first pew, narrowly missing barging into Rick.

The group gathered around, as Rick hatched out the plan of action to put an end to Terminus as they loaded up guns and got ready for the fight.

"We're in here and they could be anywhere." Rick said. "But we know exactly where they are."

"Plans got stones, I'll give you that." Abraham said.

"Make our move before they do." Glenn nodded.

"That's right." Rick nodded. "They're not counting on us thinking straight"

"But what if that's their idea." Natalia thought out loud. "Draw us out to their spot and leave our vulnerable unprotected, give themselves leverage, just like how they used Carl at the train carts."

"Then we make sure we get to them first, before they get the chance." Rick said. "Tyreese."

"Yeah?"

"You up for this?" Rick asked the man, who looked to be somewhere else.

He didn't answer, their attention moved towards Sasha, who had walked out of the office.

"I'm going with you." She declared.

"You should stay with Bob." Tyreese told her.

"No, I want to be out there. I want to be apart of this."

She didn't give anyone a chance to argue, walking back into the office.

Tyreese went after her.

The group carried on, whilst the siblings spoke in the office.

Rick had took on what Natalia had suggested, Carl, Judith, Gabriel, Rosita, Eugene and Tyreese sat in the office with Bob's passed out body, Sully paced around the room, missing his owner and sensing that something was happening.

If the cannibals were to turn up, they would be ready to deal with them.

The remaining members of the group vacated the church, heading into the woods and towards the elementary school.

When they had got there, the place was empty, no one in sight, a fire was put out recently.

"I knew it!" Natalia hissed.

"Go, lets go!" Rick ordered, and they all ran back towards the church.

They had got back quickly.

Before she was given a chance to get turned down by Rick, Natalia sneaked up the steps and into the open doors, the rest were on her tail, making sure they were deadly silent.

"Are we done?" A man with a hood up asked, he was stood behind Gareth.

"We'll hit the hinges." Gareth said lowly, gesturing for the two people who were stood outside the office to do exactly that.

Before they were given the chance, Natalia shot down the man, than the woman at the door to their people.

"Put your guns on the floor." Rick had walked further into the church, the end of the building looked pitch black to the enemies, not a person was in sight.

"Rick, we'll fire into that office. So you lower your gun..." Gareth pointed at the door.

Rick took aim, shooting the mans two fingers straight off as he screamed in agony.

"Not nice when someone takes your body parts off, is it?" Natalia pouted, staying in the shadow, her gun aimed at the next potential threat.

"Ah!" Gareth whimpered, keeling over.

"Put your guns on the floor and kneel." Rick repeated, walking forwards.

"Do what he says." Gareth groaned.

Natalia put her gun away, taking out her knife as Terminus followed the order.

"Martin there's no choice here." Gareth told the only person who wasn't kneeling.

"Yeah, there is." Martin disagreed.

Abraham stepped towards him, his gun pointed at the mans head.

"Wanna bet?"

He threw his gun down, kneeling.

The group stood in front of the surrendering cannibals, Sasha and Rick had boxed Gareth in as he moved around on the floor, looking at Rick.

"No point in begging, right?" He asked.

"No." Rick breathed.

"Still, you could of killed us when you came in. There had to be a reason for that."

"We didn't want to waste the bullets." Rick shrugged.

"We used to help people. We saved people. Things changed, they came in and After that I know that you've been out there, but I can see it. You don't know what it is to be hungry. You don't have to do this. We can walk away. And we will never cross paths again. I promise you."

But you'll cross someone's path." Rick said. "You'd do this to anyone, right? Besides, I already made you a promise." Rick pulled out his red handled machete, slashing it into the man's head.

This was the signal, to attack the other terminus members.

Michonne, Sasha, Natalia and Abraham attacked them brutally as the others watched in horror.

Natalia slit one of the men's throat, blood spraying around as she kneed him in the face, letting him fall on his back as he choked on his blood, before ending his misery and stomping hard on his skull, smashing it into brain matter and goop.

The room was silent when they had dealt with every single one, blood, stained the floor of the church pooling on the wood and the carpet, as mangled bodies layed across it.

Michonne had found something among the Terminus's stuff, pulling it out, to reveal her missing sword.

"It could have been us." Rick told the group.

"They gave us a reason, we were just food to them." Natalia agreed, wiping her knife on the dead bodies shirt. "This was self defence."

"Yeah." Sasha whispered, her voice shaking as she took in what she had just done.

Gabriel stared in horror at what had happened in his holy sanctuary, Rick, Natalia, Abraham and Sasha passed him, walking into the office to check on their loved ones.

"This is the Lords house." Gabriel uttered.

"No." Maggie denied. "It's just four walls and a roof."

The sun had rose, and Bob was losing the battle against the fever, everyone gathered around the office to say their final goodbyes.

"You'll always be with us." Maggie told the man. "Part of us." She kissed his hand, smiling at him reassuringly.

"And, if It clears your conscience, I forgive you for the time you went to shoot me." Natalia teased, as they both laughed, smiling at each other.

"I'm glad I didn't." He told her.

The group went to leave the man in peace, Sasha moving towards him.

"Rick." Bob called out to their leader.

Natalia took Judith off his hands, so he could talk to Bob.

"Come here, Judy." Natalia cooed, walking outside the room, Carl beside her.

She sat on the pew, Judith on her lap, and Carl next to her, petting Sully, Judith reached out for the dog, grabbing at his ears.

Natalia wondered if he was reminded of someone else, the same person she was thinking off as she watched the baby interact with the dog, who was gentle and patient as anything, making the little girl giggle as he licked at her hands, that Natalia made sure went nowhere near her face before being cleaned.

"He's good with kids." Carl said.

"He's good with everyone." Natalia smiled. "I got really lucky with him."

"Do you think Daryl and Carols gonna come back?"

"Of course they will, something probably just came up and they had to deal with it, they wouldn't leave us." She tried to reassure him.

Soon enough, noon had come.

Sasha sat by Bob's grave, wearing his jacket as she made sure the cross was tied securely.

Abraham was bidding Rick, Michonne and Natalia goodbye.

"This is our route to DC." He said, handing Rick a map. "We'll stick to it as long as we're able. If not, well, you got our destination. Once Eugene gets to the big brains left up there, things are gonna bounce back. This group should be there for it. You should be there for it."

"They will be." Maggie assured.

"We will." Michonne nodded.

"We will." Rick repeated.

"I guess we will." Natalia joined in.

Abraham nodded, turning around and back to the bus.

"Let's go."

"You both better be safe, save the world for all of us." Natalia told Glenn and Maggie, hugging both of them.

"You better make sure everyone here is alright." Glenn told her, patting her back and stepping away, patting Sully's head.

"Keep her out of trouble." Maggie told the dog, patting his head as well as he let out a woof of agreement.

The DC group got into the bus, as the others stood on the steps of the church.

Rick and Abraham shared another nod before the redhead closed the doors of the bus, setting off on their journey.

At night, Natalia sat on the front steps of the church, keeping lookout, but also wanting to keep an eye out for Carol and Daryl, they still hadn't come back, she missed them both, and was driving herself mad, coming up with loads of different scenarios of what could of happened, if it wasn't for the fact that she had no idea where they could be, she would be out looking for them, she knew that she was being harsh and cold towards the pair, especially with Daryl, but she didn't know how to act around him, after what happened, they were equally mad at each other, how they handled the claimers, and they weren't given a chance to hash it out, but he had made it obvious that he still cared and worried about her, she just couldn't deal with it, when everything was still so fresh, and she could feel the lingering weight, the bruises and cuts on her face still stung, her back was itching as the graze was scabbing over, it was too much, she felt she was suffocating but she didn't have the time to cry for herself, to reflect on the events, Natalia had to push through, put her energy into protecting her friends.

Michonne had come outside, sitting beside her friend, her sword in her lap. Neither woman had to say anything, just sat in each others company as they battled their own thoughts.

Longer into the night, the door opened, Father Gabriel stepped out.

"I can't sleep." He announced, leaning against the wooden rail. "And now, sitting in there... Quiet."

Natalia, nor Michonne answered him.

"It isn't just what happened last night. Saying what happened before out loud, I see it all again. I hear them."

"Yeah." Michonne whispered. "That won't stop."

"But it'll get quieter." Natalia added.

"And it won't be all the time."

A rustling sound cut the conversation.

Natalia jumped up, grabbing her knife, as Michonne slowly followed, signalling to Gabriel to be quiet, who went back inside.

Natalia moved towards the sound, Michonne was right behind her, unsheathing her sword.

They walked towards the trees, where the sound had come from, but not being able to see anything.

Something was emerging from the leaves, coming towards them.

It was Daryl.

Natalia stepped towards him, hitting his chest before wrapping her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, as he put his arm around her middle, as Michonne laughed, breathing in a sigh of relief.

"Where the hell were you? Where's Carol?" She asked, looking behind him, but not seeing the woman.

Daryl stepped back from Natalia, looking over his shoulder.

"Come on out." He said.

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sl-newsie · 11 months

Text

Spelled (Carlos de Vil x Sanderson Daughter)- Ch. 2: Uh-Oh

This evening’s supper is dripping with awkward silence, and it’s only until after I’ve nearly finished my Shepard's pie that my father finally speaks.

“Magica, how would you like to come with me to the village tomorrow?”

My heart nearly stops and I cough out my food. “What?”

Dad gives a hearty laugh at my response. “Well I’ve been thinking, and it’s probably alright that you should be socializing more instead of walking in the woods all the time.”

I suppress a cringe in order to avoid revealing my secret magic schooling sessions with Binx.

“But… I like the woods. Isolation is my friend, dad!” I say almost too positively with a wide smile.

He gives me an odd look but continues. “Yes, but it’ll be nice for you to be with kids your age. Just like how you and Ben like to hang out!”

I grunt. “Ben’s the only one who doesn’t act like an arrogant fool. Why should I bother when I’ll always be different? Why can’t I just go with you and do errands, father?”

“Magica, you can’t always go with me to avoid social interaction.”

A wicked grin spreads on my face. “Why socialize with those hooligans when I could be causing mischief with Ben?”

Now my father stops eating and rubs his forehead. “As much as I’m glad about your special friendship, running a-muck with Ben isn’t always the best idea, Magica.”

The word triggers a gleeful smile on my face and I start clapping. “A-muck! A-muck! A-muck! A-muck! A-muck!”

Dad groans. “Ugh. You definitely get that from your mother. Never could stop chanting about causing shenanigans.”

The next morning I gather some rolls and apples for the walk to the village, as well as a few odds and ends materials for spells in case I need them. In no time at all we’ve reached the village limits when father pulls me over.

“Now Magica, I need you to really keep a lid on your magic. Stay calm and focused, and remember your temper.”

Ah yes, my good ‘ol Aunt Winnie’s temper. I’ve learned to control it and have become pretty tolerant, but if someone pushes my buttons too far then I can get really aggravated.

“Yes dad, I know. I’ll just keep to myself and head to Little Miss Muffet’s Bakery-” I try to sneak away but father grabs my cloak.

“Now I didn’t mean that. I want you to go find some kids your age, maybe some from Auradon?”

I groan. “Ugh, no! Why them? Can’t I just-?”

“No,” Dad holds up a hand to end the debate. “I’m off to order a new chest from Pinoccio, you go socialize. And I want you to tell me about at least one friend you make when we go home.”

“No promises.” I roll my eyes and wrap my cloak tighter around me, wishing it was an invisibility cloak. I keep my face covered and keep as low profile as possible until I reach Miss Muffet’s. Inside I can see delicious-looking pies and glazed pastries.

“Looks good, huh?”

I nearly drop my basket. “Binx, don’t you know it’s dangerous to sneak up on a witch?!” I hiss.

The cat in question chuckles. “Yes, but did you know it’s bad luck to be around a black cat? So, how’s the adventure going?”

I give the black cat a pleading look. “I wanted to get one step closer to having people accept my magic, but I don’t think they’ll ever change their minds no matter how hard I try to prove I’m good.”

Binx wanders off a bit, then says: “Why don’t you use your magic to help someone? That could prove you’re a good witch.”

I consider this, then look around for any good deeds. I soon spot a young boy trying to light a lantern.

“Ugh- Darn it! Son of a witch!” He gives up and throws the contraption to the ground. After he stomps off I pick the lantern up and give it a good look.

“Maybe an illumination spell? That’s pretty safe.” I get a pointed look from Binx. “Don’t give me that! I’ve worked out the kinks, I swear! Just gotta…” I close my eyes and concentrate real hard as I channel energy into my hands. “Illumincerate!”

Pink magic flies off my fingers, but instead of pink electricity I’m horrified to see sparks instead, which land on a nearby straw pile and begin to burn up to the roof.

“Uh-oh! Binx- Oh my God- what did I do wrong?! What should I do?!”

“Just stay calm! I’ll be right back!”

Binx scrambles around trying to get help while I frantically search for anything that can help.

“No!” I shriek as the pink flames climb higher up the building. I finally spot a broom leaning against a bench. Stretching my hand out, the broom zooms forward and I mount it.

“Fly!” The word activates the levitation magic and the broom lifts me up to the burning roof.

Meanwhile, the billowing flames have attracted a crowd of angry villagers.

“Aquafiosa!” I chant as more pink sparks fly off my fingers, only this time the flames are smothered and the roof is only partially damaged. But that doesn’t hide the fact that I’ve just let the whole town in on my secret.

“Witch! Witch! Witch!” The crowd roars from below.

I float down on the broom and try to remain calm. “People, I swear, I’m a good witch!”

“Whose descendant are you?” Willow Darling, Wendy’s daughter, demands.

“Wait!” I look over and see my father fighting his way through the crowd. “Get away from her! Magica is my daughter!”

“But who is her mother, Robert?” Ms. Goldilocks asks with her hands on her hips. “How do we know she’s a good witch? All magic children are kept at Auradon Prep to prevent them from turning evil!”

My father’s face is one of sadness and his shoulders slump. “Magica… is the daughter of-”

“The daughter of Sarah Sanderson!” I yell over him. Everyone gasps, and I swear one lady faints. I go to stand on a crate and address the mob. “That’s right, I’m a descendant of the Sanderson Sisters! I am not proud of my family’s history, but I will not deny my heritage! Their magic runs through me, but I swear on my life that I am not a wicked witch!”

Everyone’s yelling over each other and trying to fight their way past my father. But soon the Royal Guard is summoned, and the General silences the crowd.

“We have been told that there is a witch loose in our kingdom.”

Willow points an accusing finger at me. “Magica Sanderson! She’s a witch!”

“Witch! Witch! Witch!” The mob chants.

The general now glares at me and signals his men to surround me.

“Magica Sanderson, you are under arrest for being an unregistered witch and will be taken to Auradon Prep to be dealt with by the Fairy Godmother.”

“No! Please! Have mercy-!” I plead as my hands are bound.

“Get away from her! She’s innocent, I tell you! Magica would never hurt anyone-!” But despite my father’s demands I’m still dragged down the cobblestone road towards Auradon.

#descendants carlos #disney descendants #carlos de vil #carlos de vil x reader #jay descendants #mal descendants #evie descendants #ben descendants #audrey descendants #uma descendants #harry hook descendants #disney #descendants #descendants x reader #hocus pocus #binx hocus pocus #winifred sanderson #sarah sanderson #mary sanderson

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donnerpartyofone · 6 months

Text

I'm so disoriented today I barely know what to do with myself. I managed to get myself up and put together enough to get some exercise and keep an appointment this morning, but the whole time it was happening I barely had any idea of what was going on. You'd think I'd have done some sort of heavy drug last night, but no such luck. I just caught myself pacing back and forth across the same 10' of floor for so long, now I'm making myself sit down and try to reconstruct what happened yesterday.

I woke up at 8:30 and, mistakenly thinking that mass was at 9 instead of 9:30, I managed to get dressed and ride a mile to Star of the Sea in 25 minutes. Pretty soon Louise joined me, the sweet old lady who gave me a Catherine Labouré medal and taught me to say the rosary. I didn't have any beads with me, and she lent me hers so we could say one together. I've come to really enjoy it, and not only because I'm intensely orally fixated and I enjoy talking and chanting and singing; when repeated over and over, some things lose meaning, while other things gain it. You say these words over and over and as your mind tries to escape boredom, you start to really think about the phrasing, what was originally meant by it, how it changes if you emphasize one thing over the other. "Mother of God" is an absolutely wild thing to say, a description of the creation of the creator, it's like a riddle that bends time, like in the Sun Ra song that says "It's after the end of the world, don't you know that yet?" The amazing monsignor gave a homily about how outsiders and people on the margins--people who do not have religious training or conservative social indoctrination--are more likely to apprehend spiritual messages with thoughtfulness and imagination than people who really consider themselves religious (and who may therefore take their own religion for granted, or think there's nothing they don't know about it), and I felt like he must have been speaking directly to me. That guy can make you feel like that.

But it was right before he began the service that I noticed I had an email from someone who I was sure was dead. An old friend of mine who had gotten a raw deal in life and who was always on the brink of oblivion, I gave him money or food whenever I could but we both knew he couldn't be my ward forever, when I stopped hearing from him I thought there was no possible way that he had physically survived another winter in the city. I felt guilty, I had nightmares, but what could I do? I sometimes thought about calling hospitals, but it didn't make any sense, I wasn't even sure if he would have ID if someone found him. But apparently his estranged brother took him in and turned him around and he's doing a lot better; an impossible outcome. I couldn't believe it.

After mass I dropped off some clothing with the drycleaner for repairs (I wish I knew how to do anything), and raced home to have a televisit with my doctor about all my weird problems. Renewed a script, discontinued a script, scheduled x-rays, got a physical therapy referral. Chose not to say, "That medication you put me on has permanently ruined my skin and now I'm chronically dependent on 3 other medications with less-bad side effects and I'm staring down the barrel of indefinitely regular $$$$ laser treatments so I can handle my increasingly public job, I know you didn't realize this would happen but it did, so now you have to hear about how angry I am." We hung up and I drew my ex-boss his annual (late) Halloween card, a tradition I instituted a couple years ago, and it should arrive at his assisted living facility in Utah in time for his birthday. Then I tried to vote, and apparently even though I changed my registration when we moved and I received a confirmation of this change in the mail, they still didn't have the change in the system and they told me to go to my old polling place instead. I swear to god the past like several times I have voted, which is the simplest process in the world as long as you can fill in a circle with a pen, I have found myself standing in the middle of a circle of people all telling me some complicated thing I did wrong while everyone else in the room stares at us. I don't know why I'm so bad at absolutely every single thing, or what planet I'm actually suited to live on, but I can reliably find a way to make even the most basic adult functions into a spectacular embarrassment.

So I ran home to host this month's online horror lecture for the little academic org I'm part of, which was kind of intense. It became clear pretty quickly that the speaker just didn't have that much material and was done with her presentation little more than half way through her time slot, so I had to keep her talking for another hour to honor what people had paid for. It was pretty fun and everyone seemed engaged and even inspired at times, but it was also a lot of work that I wasn't expecting to have to do, and I had my cantankerous boss chatting me the entire time with anxious-making criticisms and suggestions while I was just trying as hard as I could to think on my feet and give everyone what they were owed.

I was pretty frazzled after that and decided I'd have a drink after I went to vote. I had to do that almost all the way back in our old neighborhood, so I decided to pop into the brewery by our last place. I couldn't help eavesdropping on this guy with a horror-related shirt I didn't quite recognize. We connected briefly about the underrated Karloff-Lugosi movie THE BLACK CAT, and also about Emo Philips, and finally I thought to give him a business card with my horror org info because he seemed like the target audience for what we do. He looked at the card with this stunned expression and said, "Are you Claire Donner...party of one???" Like yeah, but...what was going on? What should I say? And he revealed that he was an old customer from the comic shop I worked at for years, where my boss was the guy I had just made the card for earlier in the day. He remembered everything about me; he immediately told several really funny stories about me, and he recalled all the books I made him read and how good they were. However it may sound there was nothing untoward about any of this and we would up talking for an hour or two about all kinds of things (including our spouses, so mercifully there was no ambiguity there). What a great guy. I'm hoping that we'll spot each other again, the whole episode was very amusing and surprising.

I got home too late to help my husband with dinner like I promised, but I had been in touch and he encouraged me to stay out and have fun. Thankfully I have been cooking more than I ever have in my life lately (most recently roasted cauliflower soup with a merguez crumble, that was decent) so I didn't have to feel too useless, all things considered. He made an astounding scratch mac and cheese and we watched 30 Coins and went to bed.

Often if I have too much social exposure, I really need to like sit alone in the dark for a couple of days and get back to myself. I have boundary issues and I easily feel contaminated, even if my experiences have been positive. I don't really have time to do that today, technically--I have to do a live interview on Friday with this author about his new book on HP Lovecraft's time in NYC and how it affected his creative development, and I have a lot of supplementary reading to catch up on--but for the moment I just can't even think about anything. I'm using a thesaurus to try to remember the most basic words and I feel like I've completely lost my center of gravity. Time to watch some trashy movies and rest up so I have enough powers of concentration to make the balsamic & feta veggie roast that I was supposed to make last night, to go with the fish my husband is frying up for our dinner.

#it's not that dramatic #and yet it is totally dramatic

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kpop-stan-writer · 1 month

Text

Chapter 1 and 2 of the prince and me and my cellphone A Bangchan x Reader

Chapter one

The crowd was screaming and chanting as Stray Kids got on stage. I spent most of my savings to come here. I gasped as they got on stage. It seemed so surreal. My eyes never left Bangchan. His perfect hair and eyes and body. My heart skipped a beat I could almost feel our eyes meet. Logically I know that's not possible but, in my head, I felt it.

No one in my life understands my love for Stray Kids. Everyone just thinks I’m some crazy fan girl that is obsessed with them because I think they’re hot. That’s not the truth. They don’t understand that they were there when no one else was. Through all the bullying and abuse they were there. Their music and videos helped me through it all.

“Y/N...” my friend, Alice, whispered from next to me. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail that showed off her beautiful, and gentle face. “Can we leave? I’m bored and I don’t want to be here anymore...”

“You can leave. I want to see them perform.” I said with a smile. Alice rolled her eyes but nodded.

“Okay just...be careful.” She said before leaving. Alice and I are complete opposites. Alice is confident and outgoing and popular. I was shy and insecure and the only friend I had was Alice. I honestly don’t know why she remains friends with me. We’ve known each other since diapers so I guess that’s why.

I watched as Alice left. I was a little disappointed because I wanted her to stay but as soon as my attention went back to Bangchan my disappointment left me. He was so attractive. I wanted to be with someone like him so bad. Someone as kind and as good of a leader as him. I sometimes fantasize about us getting married.

By the time the show ended the only thing I could think of was food. I left the concert and went to Alice’s and I’s favorite restaurant. It was a little Italian place. It was cheap and didn’t always smell great, but it had the best food I’ve ever tasted. While I sat waiting for my order, I heard a familiar voice.

“I don’t know why I hang out with Y/N. She’s so annoying. All she wants to do is talk about her kpop boy bands.” It was Alice. She sounded so mad. I continued to listen.

“Then just stop talking to her.” Sophia, a girl we went to high school with, said.

“I’m afraid she’d hurt herself.” Alice said with a sigh.

“I wouldn’t hurt myself.” I said standing up and going to walk out.

“Y/N!!” Alice said and followed me out.

“I’m sorry I’m so annoying!” I yelled at her as I started walking across the street. Next thing I knew Alice screamed, a horn honked, and then everything went black.

Chapter 2

“Your highness?” A soft voice said as I woke up slowly looking around. The sun light is shining in through a window. The bed was comfortable and warm. I didn’t want to move. “Your highness.” The voice repeated. “it’s time for breakfast.”

“Hm?” I look in the direction of the man standing next to my bed and I scream. His hands were gentle as he grabbed me.

“whats wrong your highness?” his eyes were a gentle blue. His skin was tan and his hair was long and black. “why are you screaming?”

“Who are you? Where am I?” I am backing away from him in fear.

“Well I’m Vincent. And you’re in the princes’ palace. The place you’ve been for the past year your highness.” His words were kind and gentle.

“what do you mean I've been here for the past year? I don't even know where here is.”

“You must have had too much to drink last night.”

. “I didn’t drink at all last night? What are you talking about?” I sat up holding my head. “All I remember was getting hit by a car.” all the memories started flooding back in my head. Alice, the concert, the car

. “a car?” he asked looking puzzled. He put his hand against your forehead and went pale “if you’re not Y/N who are you?”

“I am y/n! I just don’t know where I am!” I looked down at myself and realizing for the first time I’m naked. I let out a shriek.

“Whats wrong now?” he asked sounding a bit annoyed.

“Why am I naked?”

“I believe you and Prince Bangchan slept together.”

“Me and Prince… prince Bangchan?” I felt my cheeks heat up.

“yes?” he looks confused. “You two are married.”

#stray kids #skz #bang chan #bangchan x reader

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duckletranslations · 2 years

Text

If you say “Little Kitten”......?

Writer: Mitsuki

Characters: Natsume, Kaoru, Arashi

Associated Gacha: Notre Recontre (CN/KR exclusive)

Kaoru: Hm…. I went to the store Hinata-kun recommended to me for lunch, and the pancakes served with coffee were really good. It’s the kind of taste I keep thinking about even after eating it all.

It’s just the kind of store that all the girls like~ If Anzu-chan and I go, we can chill while eating yummy food, right? Then will she smile brightly?

Fufu, just imagining it makes me laugh out loud ♪

( —W-wait, why am I laughing out loud by myself like an idiot!)

(I was looking for good places to eat nearby and even made a list, but right now I can’t even get a date!)

(Jeez… I dunno why but whenever I talk to that girl, it’s always just about business.)

(There’s no one around in the garden right now, should I try practicing? This time I can’t, absolutely can’t bring up work!)

(First take a deep breath, haa~hoo)

Uh, hey, Anzu-chan! Are you free tonight? What I’m trying to say is—

???: Hakaze-senpai, what are you doing there all by yourSELF?

Kaoru: Uahh! You, you scared me!

Oh, it’s Natsume-kun? If it was Anzu-chan I’d be so embarrassed I wouldn’t even be able to lift my head…

Natsume: What’s with that expression, letting out a sigh of reLIEF? Do you not know how large a mistake you’ve maDE? Care to move those dirty feet of yoURS?

Kaoru: Eh~ Why as soon as you come, you’re in a temper~

Natsume: Why, it could only be because you are stepping all over the herbs I painstakingly grEW. Look, all of these children are all in such low spirits nOW.

I only meant to ask you to move a bIT. I didn’t know you would get so scared like thAT.

Kaoru: Oh, I see, I’m sorry….! It wasn’t on purpose!

Natsume: Hmph, if everything could be resolved with a single apology, wouldn’t this world be so easy to live IN?

Kaoru: I’m really sorry, I’ll be careful so this kind of thing doesn’t happen in the future….. Instead, as an apology, I’ll do anything I can.

Natsume: (Hm? On the surface he seems quite frivolOUS, but he has a serious side, doesn’t HE?)

(Plants have a strong vitality, and will grow well again in a few dAYS. But that doesn’t mean the herbs aren’t hURT.)

(If so, it wouldn’t hurt to get a small revenge just the size of the herb’s share, riGHT….. ♪)

Ahem, I was actually growing herbs in this garden to make a magical love poTION.

Kaoru: Love…..potion? Is that kinda thing actually real?

Natsume: Fufu, nothing is impossible for a magiCIAN.

If you take this chemiCAL, you’ll fall in love with the first person you mEET. When it’s ready, I’m going to experiment on Little KitTEN ♪.

Kaoru:Ehhh?!

(Wait, Natsume-kun has called Anzu-chan Little Kitten, right?!)

Na-natsume-kun, the “Little Kitten” you’re talking about, could it be….?

Natsume: CorRECT, that “Little Kitten” is the first thing that came to your mIND ♪

If you really are sorry as you say, Hakaze-senpAI, won’t you help me out a bIT? I would appreciate it if you could first pick the herbs over thERE.

Kaoru: Alright…

Natsume: Thanks to your help, Hakaze-senpAI, the potion will be finished quickLY ♪

Senpai, will you watch over the process until it’s finishED? Although it’s fine either wAY.

Kaoru: Haha… It was my bad, so of course I must help out til the end. I swear it’s not because I’m worried or anything?!

Natsume: Good, then do as you plEASE. Now, let’s be attenTIVE. If we put the last herb and another ingredient in the pot and stIR…..

Of course, we cannot forget the magic of lOVE—Abracadabra ♪

Kaoru: (Whoa, as soon as Natsume-kun chanted the spell, mysteriously colored smoke rose from the pot…)

(It has a pretty faint scent, but is it really okay to feed to a real person…..?)

Natsume: With this it’s complETE! Now, should I go out and find “Little Kitten” ♪

Kaoru: (Wh, what should I do?! Should I secretly tell Anzu-chan to run away in a message or something?)

Natsume: Narukami-kun, I finished the goods you have requestED. Go on and give it a test rUN. ♪

Arashi: Ara~ That was quicker than I thought. As expected for Natsume-chan ♪

Kaoru: Whoa there, what? I thought something was up when we arrived at Starmony. Since Starmony is off limits for producers….

Natsume-kun, you didn’t go out to find Anzu-chan? What’s going on?

Natsume: I said I was going to find “Little KittEN,” I never said I was going to find the produCER?

Arashi: Hm? What are you saying? Go on, try to make a little sense~

If you say kitten, a while back, I bought a pet care essence that was all over the internet. But I tried it on Nyanko, and it didn’t really work.

Naturally, I asked Natsume-chan, who also has a cat, about it. Then he offered to make his own essence.

Ufufu, I think Nyanko likes the smell of the essence. She’s staring so intently at Natsume-chan’s hand ♪

Natsume: There there, aren’t you swEET ♪

Kaoru: Haa… So it turns out Natsume-kun went looking for an actual cat. Anyway, it’s a relief nothing happened~

I dunno why, but I’m completely worn out…. I’ll go ahead and head back to my room.

Natsume: (Ahaha, while Hakaze-senpai was completely fooled by my antICS, he really does care for that gIRL.)

(However, if I used a potion to win over Little Kitten’s heart, I would simply be hatED. That’s why I’ll never, ever, do something like thAT……♪)

#enstars #enstars tl #enstars translation #natsume sakasaki #kaoru hakaze #arashi narukami #duckletranslations

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notinthislife50 · 11 months

Text

Chapter 24

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

As you sat in the diner with Sam and Dean you looked down at the table. You quickly wiped away tears from your eyes with the sleeve of your jumper.

“Hey “ Dean jumped up and came beside you wrapping his arms around you.

“I'm okay.” you pulled yourself away.

Dean sat confused about why you would pull away. But he tried to ignore it.

“So where are you and Pamela close?” he asked.

“She visited the roadhouse a lot” you sniffed.

But before Dean could ask any more questions Sam returned to the table.

“What'd Bobby say?” Dean asked.

Sam looked at you ”Pam's stable. And out of I.C.U.”

“But still blind, because of us.” you spat back “And we still have no clue who we're dealing with.” you stormed off.

Dean looked at Sam and sighed “ I have an idea, I think we should try summoning him again”

“Are you mad?” Sam asked did you see what happened to Pam, her eyes are gone, Dean.”

“But he saved me, maybe I could work him over” Dean argued.

“You're crazy” Sam scoffed.

“What you any better ideas?” Dean was getting angry.

“Well yea, I saw some demons in town they have to know something right?” Sam suggested.

When the waitress brought the food she sat beside Dean staring at him.

Dean looked at her smirking “Want a tip sweetheart?”

She smiled but before she could say anything she heard you behind her.

“Get the fuck off me” you pushed the demon who lead you into the room by your arm.

He turned and backhanded you and Dean and Sam jumped up from the table.

“Sit down boys” the waitress ordered her eyes turning black.

As Sam and Dean scanned the room they saw multiple demons and slowly took their seats.

“Good boys,” the demon laughed.

She then turned in your direction and talked to the demon that just slapped you ”You may not want to do that again unless you want the big man after you, now lock the door”

She turned back to Dean and scowled “ Dean Winchester, So you get to just stroll out of the pit, huh? Tell me. What makes you so special I ought to drag you back myself.”

As Dean and the demon sat and stared at each other Dean slapped her in the face then again but the demon just sat there.

“Ya that’s what I thought,” he smirked “he stood up and looked at you and Sam “Let’s go” and the three of you made your way towards the door.

As you dozed on the bed of the run-down motel you woke up by the sound of the door closing and noticed Sam had disappeared.

As you were about to follow him the radio clicked on causing you to drop to your knees in pain.

As you looked for Dean the windows smashed in and the pain intensified, as you screamed in pain you felt someone drag you out of the room.

“You kids doing okay?” Bobby asked.

“Yea, Bobby thank you “You hugged him from the back seat and he smiled at you through the rearview mirror.

You turned to Dean who was on the phone with Sam.

“Where is he, where the hell did he go? you demanded.

Dean held his finger up to you and you flopped yourself back in the seat.

All you heard was Dean saying to Sam that the three of you were heading for a drink and then hanging up.

“What the hell is going on? “ Bobby shouted.

“We are going to summon this thing” Dean shrugged.

As you and Bobby tried to argue with Dean about how you guys didn’t even know what you were summoning, Dean argued back “This thing is after me we need to find out what it is.”

“And what about Sam? “ you asked.

“He’s better off out of this,” he replied.

As you stood in the warehouse Bobby told you what kind of symbols to paint on the walls, you asked him what did it all mean.

“Traps and talismans are from every faith on the globe” he answered then turning to Dean “you know this is still a bad idea.”

“I heard you the first 10 times Bobby “ Dean snapped back.

“ Dean “you scolded

But Bobby looked at you signaling it was okay

“Ready to ring the doorbell? “ Dean asked.

And you both nodded taking your positions while Bobby started chanting.

A while later the three of you sat exhausted.

“You sure you did it right?” Dean asked, then everything started to break around you.

You ran to Dean and hugged him and he covered your head. He quickly let you go and the three of you looked at the man coming towards you. As you all shot at him the bullets didn't even pierce him and you started to panic, looking at both Dean and Bobby they stopped shooting looking just as bewildered as you.

Dean grabbed his blade and asked, “Who are you?”

“I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition. “ the man calmly said.

“Yea well, thanks for that “Dean stated his eyes never leaving the man.

The man stalked toward you and Bobby and you fell to the ground.

Next thing you knew Dean had you in his arms “Your okay Pikachu.”

“What happened?” you said groggily”

“I promise ill explain everything in time “Dean hugged you tightly and kissed you.

You never said another word having a feeling it wasn’t going to be good.

#dean winchester #dean #deanwinchester #dean winchester supernatural #dean winchester fic #dean winchester fanfic #dean winchester fanfiction #dean x reader #dean x you #dean x y/n #dean x reader smut #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester x you #dean winchester x y/n #Dean Winchester x Female!Reader #Supernatural fanfic #dean supernatural #Supernatural smut

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talesfromsiteredacted · 1 year

Text

The War On Soup

It's Friday, and Clef is not in love with the Site Cafeteria. My diagnosis? Too many lukewarm bowls of tomato soup. By extention, he's declared war on all broth based foods. He's mad as hell, he won't take it anymore, and... honestly I can't say I blame him. I hate tomato soup.

I'm directly behind Dr. Clef in line at the site cafeteria. I know a classic Clef tantrum has been brewing all week, it usually happens should O5 deny him permission to neutralize an anomaly. He makes it through the salad line with hardly a twitch of his third eye. Goes through the beverage section, selects coffee with way more sugar than I can stand, and... we're off to Danger Alley, aka the soup line. There it is, the first twitch.

"Steady, Boss. It's not worth the Keter Duty."

"There had better not be any tomato soup today." We trudge on, with little hope of finding actual taste in today's main offerings. While the food here is plentiful, about 85-95% is a special kind of institutional bland no hot sauce will fix. I tend to just avoid the issue altogether, but I ran late today with no time to pack lunch. Dr. Clef sees the familiar ladles and giant vats, and twitch number two happens, a double. Yeah... someone is about to have a bad time. Most likely me trying to talk my boss down.

"You don't have to eat here."

"I know, but... I kind of suck at lunch planning. And... with our funding you'd think they could have food that tastes like real food, not the fake as hell Hollywood advertising variants."

"True, but I doubt going on a rampage would convince them to hire Gordon Ramsey."

We get to the luckless worker behind the soup vats. He greets us, then recites the offerings of the day.

"We got cream of broccoli, chicken gumbo, potato cheddar bisque, 3 bean soup, chili, and..."

"Here it comes." Clef muttered.

"Garden tomato." Uh oh. Third twitch, and my boss is about to blow.

"You did not just say that. Again. Garden tomato? That gross reddish goo probably never even saw sunlight, never mind the garden. And serving it every 343 damned day is such cruel and unusual nourisment. It's gastrointestinal torture. And if the Geneva Conventions even applied to us I'd have whomever plans the menus up on war crimes, hell... I'd even volunteer for the firing squads myself." A medium crowd has gathered, and a few are even cheering him on.

"Damn straight, Doc!"

"Screw your soups!"

"Give us something other than soup!" A wise Agent would be calling in every MTF in house to prevent a riot. Anyone who ate here would understandably turn on the cafeteria staff. But... before I can even grab my radio, Clef leaps over the counter, chasing the poor D-Class forced into kitchen labor. There's a mob after him, but not trying to stop him... nope. They're destroying every damn potential stock and soup pot in the joint. I can hear the horrible chanting over all the clanging of metal...

"No! More! Soup!" "No! More! Soup!" "No! More! Soup!"

After five minutes, the chaos subsides. Every. Single. Stock. Pot... GONE. Every. Soup. Pot... Destroyed. But... surprisingly, no human injuries. Aside from Mabel's black eye, and Dr. Clef tore his favorite shirt, a blue based nightmare covered in yellow hibiscus and flamingos. No sign of most of the staff, they knew when to get gone at least even if they can't cook. I'm helping poor Mabel to her feet when Dr. Glass sneaks up on us.

"It was the soup again, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, I should have seen this coming. Granted, I hate tomato soup too. But violence against cookware is a bit extreme. That's it. Boss? You back in reality yet, or you gonna Hulk out again?"

"I'm good. Aside from being hungry, obviously."

"Great. You're coming with me, unless you'd rather face the wrath of Gears on an empty stomach. And from now on, I'm bringing you lunch." Shocked looks from both my superiors. "This is a matter of Site safety. If Clef goes off his rocker over cream of supposedly chicken next time, what happens if someone gets hurt? Nope, better to bring lunch for two than have that on my conscience. I am not flirting with him, nor am I trying to gain a promotion. I'm doing this to save lives, gents."

"Fair enough. As for the mess... I'll just tell the Counsel that Dr. Clef tried making French onion soup or something."

"They'll buy that, I am a lousy cook."

"Yeah, but that's one of the many reasons you put up with me."

"Rabbit, I like you. You see the truth before even we do. Your kitchen witchery is just a happy bonus, honestly. Although... any chance of some lasagna?"

"That'd take too long from scratch. But... I do have some penne with chicken and vodka sauce. There's enough for three, Dr. Glass, if you're interested?"

"Tempting, but... I have a lunch date. I just wanted to be sure there really were no casualties. Besides Clef's shirt."

"Oh. Well... enjoy your date, Doctor."

#scp foundation #tales from site redacted #agent rabbit #dr clef #no more soup

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