☆There's No Place Like Home☆
Episode 1: A Warm Welcome
[Pilot]
《You are new to this... Neighborhood? Where the hell are you?》
《Warnings: the subject matter this ARG has are potentially disturbing. DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT. Welcome Home was created by Clown @ partycoffin 》
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Furiously wiping at your eyes, snot running down to your chin. You try to control yourself when realizing that the voices didn't sound like they were gonna hurt you.
"Oh, dear!"
"My goodness!"
"Are you alright!?"
Shaking like a leaf, you gaze down at the rainbow-colored pieces of paper falling down your shoulders.
"Wh-hat?"
You choke out, feeling spit and vile in the back of your throat.
"Neighbor, are you alright?" A soft voice questioned you, gazing up at...
That is not a person. What are you even looking at?
A yellow fleece-skinned puppet with blue hair styled into a tall, spiraled pompadour and 70s clothing greets you. He kneels beside you, reaching out a yellow hand to your back, rubbing it up and down gently.
His expression was rather calm than frightened of your well-being.
You wanted him to back away and didn't have the energy to shove him if you were honest. It felt like your skin was saggy and your bones turned into juice.
"I'm so sorry Neighbor, we didn't mean to frighten you. Right everyone?" The male puppet says, looking at the other puppets that stared at you with worry.
"O-oh, yes!" One of them rushes to you, causing you to lean back. "I'm so so so sorry! We didn't mean to come in without asking! Of course, we scared you! Poor thing!" The pink fleece-skinned skinned puppet exclaimed.
"Julie, maybe give them a bit of space, you're invading it." Another voice pipes up behind the female puppet. A gray puppet pulls the girl back by the arms gently.
"Oh, right!"
"What are you?" You whisper, and your pupils were blown out with fear.
"WHO. Are you?" You ask more loudly, catching the colorful group off guard.
"I forgot! Introductions are in order!" The pink puppet proclaimed.
"My name is Julie! Julie Joyful, oh, this is Frank!" "Frank Frankly."
"I wanna go next!" A voice boomed, and another puppet appears in your line of vision. "My name's Sally! Sally Starlet! And I'm a star!" She flaunts good-naturedly, her eyes bright with energy.
"Oh, I forgot!" Sally pulls a giant bird with rainbow feathers, a caterpillar-like puppet, and a mailman puppet toward your supposed "group".
"This is Poppy, Eddie, and Howdy!" They smile at you kindly before Howdy pulls out a cake, (from seemingly out of nowhere.). He holds it out with a smile with his multitude of hands.
"We brought a welcome cake from my bodega! We hope you would enjoy it," Howdy said showing it out to you from your position on the floor. The cake was layered with white frosting and rainbow sprinkles slathered around the giant frosted words: Welcome To The Neighborhood.
Little signatures surround the bottom of the bolded words. "Oh.. Thank you..? That's very, uhm, sweet."
You pause, recalling your words in your head and becoming quiet.
"Hahah! Good one bud'!" A big blue puppet dog laughed, slapping his paw on his knee. His laughter was contagious as the rest of the marionettes giggled along.
"You're gonna' fit right in! Names, Barnby B. Beagle, your new Neighbor."
The dog winked, holding out his hand for a shake. Yet moves his hand away when he pulls the yellow puppet from beside you. Holding him by his armpits and showcasing him like a shiny trinket. The blue-haired puppet seemed unfazed and still had his soft expression.
"This nice 'fella here is Wally, a real Darling! Hehe, a pal of mine! My best-est buddy, and hopefully, your's too!"
Why did it feel like this was a commercial or a horrible skit you weren't in on?
"It's lovely to meet you, Neighbor," Wally replied.
You nodded, looking away from his eyes and focusing on the cake.
You felt better than earlier when you thought you walked into some murdered party or cult-type thing. But was it worse than talking puppets without strings?
You aren't sure yet?
Was this cake even real? Was any of this real??
"W-ell, thank you for the hospitality. But this isn't my home... I'm not even sure where this place even is?"
The puppets grow quiet at your words. Their confused stares made you uncomfortable and queasy. "This is Home, where inside your Home silly! Isn't this all your stuff?"
Poppy points out, gazing at the clutter of unopened boxes and furniture.
"Hmm, they must have forgotten. Moving is tricky business, especially on short notice." Frank states thoughtfully.
"N-no that's not-"
You feel your tongue become limp and your eyesight blurring into meshes of color.
"Are you okay, Neighbor? I bet all that stress of moving got ya' pretty tired. C'mon, let's eat some cake!"
Barnby states, letting go of Wally and helping you up.
Everyone cheers as Sally goes off to find cutlery in one of the boxes. Howdy places the cake on a table hidden away in a corner while Eddie and Frank round up any chairs they could find.
Wally pulls out your seat like a gentleman, handing you a plate of cake as everyone chats and eats
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[Taglist closed]
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[Hiya! Thank you guys so much for such the positive comments! I need some more, I crave. Readings ya'lls reactions are the best and make it easier for me. Thanks! Art is always appreciated!]
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Lost (15) - Sanctuary
Tara Carpenter x female Reader
Summary: To anyone on the outside, and to Tara’s friends, you were Tara’s fierce protector, the MMA fighter who’d take anyone on for Tara. The Guard Dog, as Amber called you. You had no idea you’d have to protect her from people who claimed they loved her. It didn’t matter. As long as you and Tara had one another there was nothing you wouldn’t be able to survive.
Story warnings: Scream violence, family issues, trauma, angst, certain sensitive topics
Word count: 3.8k
Story masterlist / First part / Previous part / Next part
-When the rain starts to take its toll you can slow me down. 'Cause we both know that the world's turned cold and I just need you now-
There was a part of Tara that would never forgive Sam for dragging her out of the bodega and leaving you behind with Ghostface, despite Tara screaming her lungs out and trashing in Sam's hold.
"Tara, please!" Sam was begging her to cooperate, to leave you behind.
"No! No, please! Let me go! Y/N!" at this point Sam probably lifted her up several times just to stop her from getting out of Sam's hold. "Sam, I can't leave her!" she cried out, tears uncontrollably falling down her face.
"Y/N is strong, Tara! Please, I need to get you somewhere safe!" Sam argued, but how could Tara just let Sam take her.
"Something's wrong, Sam! Y/N said it! I need to help her!" her voice was getting hoarse from all the crying and screaming, but she didn't care.
Sam held her closer as Tara exhausted herself. "You can't help her! Tara, I can't lose you!"
Tara never apologized, she never said she didn't mean it when she accused you of being controlling and possessive. She never got to tell you how she wished she could take back everything she said during your argument. She never got to tell you how sorry she was for what she put you through over the past four months. She only got to reassure you she wasn't about to cheat. It wasn't enough. She never even got to tell you how no one would be able to do to her what you did, make her feel the way you did. She was yours, mind, body, and soul. "I need to tell her, Sam please, she doesn't know," she never told you how desperately she needs you in her life. How you've been the one and only person who never abandoned her, who stayed by her side no matter what she said or did. How she doesn't know how to live without you, and she can't even stand the idea of ever having to do so.
The sound of glass shattering stopped her trashing in Sam's arms and her tear-filled eyes widened when she saw you crashing through and landing on the harsh pavement with a loud thud. "Y/N!" her cry echoed and seeing you like that must have shocked Sam as well, because Tara finally managed to set herself free and run to you. It felt like she was a mile away, it felt like every step she took forward actually took her two steps back, even if the rational part of her brain told her she was getting closer to you. She saw you coughing, gasping for air as you turned over. She saw the way you struggled to get on your hands and knees as glass shards fell off your clothes.
Finally, she did reach you and she dropped to her knees, ignoring the glass beneath her. Tara touched your face, brought the side of your head to her chest, holding on to you as if her life depended on it. "Y/N," she whispered your name, trying to get you to look at her. You looked afraid and she couldn't do anything about it.
When you finally looked at Tara, she wished she could forget the next words you spoke. "I can't beat him," you whispered, as if you were trying to comprehend the meaning of your own words.
"It doesn't matter, we'll find a way," she reassured you while struggling to control her own fear. Who could beat him if you couldn't?
"Miss, do you need medical help?" Tara only now realized the police had arrived.
You shook your head. "No, I'm just catching my breath," you waved the officer off and got back to your feet, which also meant pulling Tara up to her feet as well. "Why did you come back?" you hugged her, lifting her up off the ground and pressing your face into the side of her neck.
"Why did you send me away?" she demanded, but still relaxed as you held her. It was moments like these that gave Tara the right to be needy and clingy with you. There was no one else who could get you to calm down the way she could, no one else could stop you from getting stuck in your head the way she could. The frantic gasps, shaky grasp on her, uncertainty and fear in your eyes, the shock of being defeated, it was all fading away with Tara in your arms.
"I'll beat him, somehow," you promised as firmly as you could given the circumstances and Tara nodded, accepting that there was likely no other way out of this.
"Y/N," Sam approached the two of you and, while you still held Tara, pulled both of you into a brief hug. Now that it was over, for now, Tara could reason that Sam was worried about you as well, but chose to focus on Tara's safety.
"I'll be fine, I just need to rest for a bit," you gently lowered Tara back down and patted Sam's shoulder. "Thanks for getting Tara out," Tara, despite occasional complaints, loved how protective you and Sam were, but right now, when being protective meant leaving you behind, she hated it.
Sam gave you a wry smile. "Let's not do that again, I can't take seeing Tara like that, Y/N," you raised an eyebrow and looked at Tara.
"Love?" surely you knew how broken Tara would be without you, right? How she'd feel if she lost you for any reason. Instead of saying anything Tara just pulled you down for a kiss hoping that would get the message across until you went back home. Judging by the way you pulled her closer you got the message.
~X~
Considering what happened, the first thing you did while you were on the way to the police station was to send a message on the group chats for each session at the gym, canceling training until further notice. The second thing was to pull Tara into your lap, hug her, and fall asleep the moment police officers left you in a room to wait for a detective.
The sleep and the warmth of Tara's body pressed against your own lessened the pain from all the hits you took. When you woke up the three of you were still alone, so you took a moment to think about the fight, well if that could even be considered a fight. Richie and Amber were ridiculously durable, tanking several of your hits. You wondered if there was some variation of placebo going on there, where putting that costume would make you believe you were invincible.
The mask would lower the impact, but there was something else. Whenever you hit the face he would sway to the side, temporarily delaying the impact and thus lowering the effectiveness of your punches. All your fights were available on the internet, but you doubted someone could just watch them and learn what to do without proper years-long training behind them.
An MMA fighter? Thomas? The more you thought about it, the more it made sense. He was supposedly on a vacation. That could have been a lie. But why? Just for fame? Him and you weren't even close. Revenge for his losses against Zack? No, he couldn’t have made the connection, could he?
A man came in, greeting the three of you and raising an eyebrow as he took in the way you and Tara were. "Dude, it's been a long night, just let us be," you said before he could even say anything. He just shrugged, setting several photos on the table. Soon after he did that another man came in, carrying a packed Ghostface mask.
"Detective Bailey, nice to meet you," he said as he sat down. You glanced at Sam and Tara, alarmed. "I know my daughter answered your ad online, I know it looks like one big coincidence, but I assure you, I'm just doing my job. I don't exactly get to choose which cases I work on," he explained right away.
"Sure, I guess," you shrugged, though there was no way you'd be lowering your guard just yet.
"This was found at the scene of the crime. DNA test shows it belonged to someone named Richie Kirsch. Does that ring a bell?" he asked.
"We are familiar with him," Sam nodded, sighing as she stared at the mask for a couple of moments.
"But the one that attacked us had a different mask on. It was kind of more beat up, like it was older," Tara told him
"Uh, I have to ask you, do you have alibis earlier tonight?" he continued the interrogation.
"I was at a party with my friends," Tara replied, leaning back into you slightly. With the way she brushed her fingers against the back of your hands, you thought she was probably remembering the argument you had.
"I was at work, Laurent MMA, then I went to pick up Sam and went home," you said.
"I was at my therapist's. I can give you his information so you can check if you want. Then I met up with Y/N, she drove me home, and then I went and met up with Tara at the party. Where I tased someone," that was a brand new information to you. "Unrelated."
The detective unlocked his phone and showed a video of Sam pushing a girl back. "Was that before or after this?"
The fuck did you miss tonight?
"Before," Sam replied.
"The point is, we were with people the whole night," Tara got the conversation back on track.
"Right, so, your driver's license was at the scene of the crime. If we assume someone planted it there then it would have to be someone close to you. How long have you known your friends?" you definitely didn't like the way he sounded when he said assume.
"Well, we moved here with Mindy and Chad like, six months ago for the summer semester. So, Ethan and Anika, both since then," Tara told him, she was taking the lead, answering the questions and you were more than happy to let her. Sam was being defensive, with her arms crossed and leaning back against the chair. You were trying to figure out if the detective was really on your side. You could play the 'dumb fighter' for a bit.
"Do you have anyone who might want to target you?" Bailey asked, so far nothing about his posture told you he was someone to be wary of.
There was a pause as Tara and Sam looked at one another. "Not anyone who's still alive."
Ooh, that sentence, the tone, the confidence Tara had when she said it. Damn.
"Yikes," Bailey winced at that.
One of the cops came in. "FBI's here, claiming jurisdiction," he said and thus, the interrogation was interrupted and you met Kirby Reed, you weren't at Woodsboro when she was involved with the killing spree of Ghostfaces that came before Amber and Richie, and after you moved to Woodsboro there simply wasn't a reason for you to know her.
A brief greeting and chat between Kirby and Bailey later one of the cops brought the mask to Bailey.
"He left this mask at the bodega. DNA traces of Charlie Walker are on it," Bailey revealed.
Kirby took the mask. "One of the Ghostface killers of 2011," she pulled up her sweater, revealing scars. "He gave me this. Like I said, I take a special interest. Is this the mask he was wearing when he attacked you?"
You shook your head, having gotten really close and personal with the man. "No," you said.
"So, he's leaving them on purpose," Bailey said and that got you to think about something rather peculiar.
This mask had Charlie's DNA, the one left at the crime scene had Richie's DNA. Where was the mask with Amber's DNA?
"Are we missing an attack?" you blurted out before you could reconsider how smart sharing your thoughts was.
"I'm sorry?" Kirby looked at you.
"The mask inside," you pointed your thumb back toward the interrogation room. "Belonged to Richie. This one is Charlie's. Where is Amber's? If whoever is doing this is going backward then this should have had Amber's DNA," you pointed at the mask in Kirby's hands.
"Unless there was an attack we don't know about," Kirby seemed to seriously consider your thoughts.
You suddenly had a really bad feeling, like you were missing something very important here. Like you were right there, so close to figuring something out, but it kept evading you.
"It doesn't matter. We're leaving," this time you and Sam agreed, and so did Tara. Last night you weren't sure Ghostface was after you again, but now there was no denying it.
"I'm sorry, that's not possible," Bailey's words stopped you and made you turn around. "You're all persons of interest in a double homicide, so you're not allowed to leave town. Sorry."
Well, fuck.
~X~
When you stepped outside you were met by way too many news reporters asking way too many questions as you and Sam shielded Tara from them and tried to move past the crowd.
"Gale Weathers, Channel 4," yeah, you couldn't ignore that. All three of you turned around to look at Gale. Last time you saw her you parted on good terms. Things weren't so nice between you now. "Do you ladies think you're the reason the Ghostface killer has come to the Big Apple?"
Sam let out an exasperated sigh before throwing a punch toward Gale's face. Gale easily dodged it, it was too telegraphed, you'd have to give Sam another lesson soon.
"Nice try, sweetie. But, I've done this dance before," and then there was a beautiful punch.
A wonderful right hook with enough force put behind it to make Gale stumble back a bit. You were sure you had the most lovestruck look possible on your face as you carved the image of Tara after she threw that punch into your brain.
"Stay away from us," Tara left no room for debate and you couldn't do anything but follow after your girlfriend.
"Are you seriously still mad at me?" Gale demanded as she went after you.
Sam swiftly turned around. "You said you wouldn't write a book about what happened and then you wrote a book about what happened," Sam snapped.
"Oh, come on, someone was going to write about it," Gale defended herself.
"And it just had to be you. You were bound by duty or something," you rolled your eyes. The rumors about Sam didn't start with Gale's book, but it was certainly used as an argument once the rumors did start.
"After everything we went through together. What would Dewey think?" Sam didn't pull punches. She missed an actual one, but this one landed with a much greater impact.
"That's a low blow," you could see the shift in Gale's eyes, remorse, maybe even regret.
"So was your book. You called me 'unstable' and a 'born killer'," Sam reminded her.
"That's taken out of context," no it wasn't. You read it. It wasn't.
"That's literally a quote," Sam argued back.
"You don't think what you wrote has anything to do with what's happening to us?" Tara had enough of this. "Come on."
Gale wouldn't let you leave that easily though. "Hey, I talked to Sidney."
That got Tara and Sam to stop as you opened the doors of a cab. "She's not coming here, is she?" Tara sounded concerned. You understood, if it wasn't for Sidney placing that tracker on your car Sam would very likely be dead.
Gale shook her head. "No. She sends her love, but she's taking Mark and the kids someplace safe. She deserves to have her happy ending."
"On that much, we agree," Sam got in the car and you waited for Tara to get in.
"Hey! I want to catch this fucker as much as you do!" Gale tried one last time.
"Maybe. Or maybe you're just afraid that without Ghostface in your life, you're gonna fade away," Tara just... you had no words.
'Damn, I'm so in love,' and probably a bit turned on right now.
~X~
Later that same day Tara remained by your side, while the others went out. You were probably missing out on Mindy's suspect talk, again. Still, this time Tara ended up switching positions with you. You slept with your head on Tara's chest as she gently ran her fingers through your hair. You looked so peaceful right now and even though she wanted to tell you so many things she just didn't have it in her to wake you up.
Eventually, your eyes fluttered open and you yawned a bit, making Tara swoon on the inside because of how adorable you looked to her right now. "Hey, Love," you mumbled, not really making any moves to get up.
"Did you sleep well?" she asked, moving her hand down to gently scratch the back of your neck.
"Like a lamb," you let out a content sigh and stretched a bit. "Did you sleep at all?"
She didn't. She couldn't. She needed to stay alert and ready if anything happened while you were sleeping. "I couldn't," she wouldn't lie to you, though.
You, admittedly reluctantly, rolled off Tara and laid down on your back next to her before propping yourself up on your elbows. "Watching over me?"
"Watching over you," she smiled, already missing your warmth.
You stopped propping yourself up and just pulled a pillow beneath your head. Then, to raise your head just a bit higher, you placed your left forearm beneath your head. "What did I ever do to deserve you?" it was a rhetorical question, but it still made Tara devastated at the mere idea of you asking that.
So, she straddled you and looked right into your eyes. "More than you could imagine," your gaze was intense. "Y/N, I... I need to talk to you, about last night," it's been so long since she felt uncertain about something concerning you, but the dread of something possibly happening to you before she could tell you everything pushed her to talk. To just tell you everything in case anything happened to prevent her from doing so.
You, as attentive to her as always, softened up and reached out to gently rub her thigh with your free hand. "Yeah?" you whispered softly.
"You're not possessive, or controlling, you're definitely not anything like Amber," there, the first thing she needed to tell you, it came out rushed, but she said it. She licked her lips, for a moment wondering when did they get so dry.
You smiled, sitting up and pressing your forehead against Tara's. "I am a bit possessive and maybe even a bit controlling though," you said.
"I like it, you know?" she whispered back as she wrapped her arms around your neck. "Besides, it's more like desire and overprotectiveness," being slightly possessive was also her thing.
"Tell me more," if you only knew what were you doing to her with that tone. Your voice was low, a bit raspy, partly from recently waking up,
She kissed you, hard and desperate, she pressed her body against yours, doing everything she could to close the distance. "I'd never cheat, I swear Y/N. I'm yours. All yours," she breathed out, gasping when you began kissing her neck.
"Mine?" you asked with a hint of teasing in your tone.
"Yes. Yes," she assured you leaning her head back, relaxing further as you gently moved your hand up and down her back. She could feel the smirk against her neck when she shuddered under your touch. She thought she'd be used to this by now. Your touch still affected her, it still put her mind at ease, or drove her wild, depending on what you were doing. This time you wanted to do both and, damn, were you doing a great job at that. And it wasn’t helping that Tara was a tiny bit pent up, and if it wasn’t for another Ghostface crisis she would have taken things further right away.
"What else do you want to tell me?" you requested, persistent and gentle in the way you attempted to get her to open up. To get those words she was struggling with out. "Love, please talk to me," the uncertainty she felt gradually vanished, courtesy of your actions.
"You asked what you did to deserve me," she said, you remained silent, only nodding to confirm her statement. "That's my line, Y/N," your kisses all over her neck became a bit more than a ghost of your lips on her skin. "I was nine and a stranger offered to help me, when my own mother made me go to the shop on a bicycle I was three years too early to safely ride," she pushed against your shoulders, loving the way you just gave in and let her lie down on top of you. "I was almost ten when that same stranger carried me home in heavy rain when my mother wouldn't pick me up from school."
She kissed you, opening her mouth to let your tongue in. She moaned into the kiss as she felt your hands on her sides. "When Sam abandoned me and I argued with you, fearing you'd leave as well you stayed," she moved down, kissing your neck, biting as gently as she could while still leaving her mark on you. "Whenever I gave you a reason to leave you chose to stay, you chose to protect me, to keep me safe and I'm so sorry, Y/N," you didn't interrupt her, you just kissed her back when she once again, as frantic as she was, kissed your lips. "I'm sorry for causing trouble, for worrying you, for disappearing, for once again giving you the reasons to leave me just for a brief thrill and reassurance that you won't leave," because you always made sure to let her know, either by saying or doing something that proved it, that you were irrevocably and completely by her side and hers.
There, she said it all. She bared her heart and soul to you and she waited.
And then you spoke.
"You gave me a reason to keep living, then you gave me a reason to make the best life I can. It can’t be the best life if you aren't in it."
A/N: Well, this is moving. Thanks for reading. See you next time! Updated on 30.03.2024.
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