#instead of fighting to communicate and get Tai help

[novelconcepts]

hi novel! do you have any meta / thoughts on taissa’s relationships with simone and sammy? I really want them to go into that more, similar to the shauna-jeff-callie storyline in s2

Simone and Sammy are what should have been. The life Taissa would have led if they’d never crashed. Even if it wasn’t Simone, even if it was Van, the idea of the perfect happy family is what matters. I think it matters that she’s the only one we see have a warm moment with her parents before the crash; that would shape her whole outlook. Grow up, go to good schools, get a great job, marry a beautiful woman, build a life that makes sense. And we know from Tai telling Shauna about her dream life: this is exactly the path she takes. Shauna’s dreams change utterly as soon as they crash; Tai, the bastion of repression, doesn’t change hers at all. She comes home, and she’s different, she’s traumatized, she has lost and hurt and has all these horrible dark secrets—but she believes if she just works hard enough, she can overwrite the shadows with the light of a life she’s wanted all along.

The problem with this as it applies to Simone and Sammy is they’re not plans, they’re not dreams, they’re people—and to have the meaningful, wonderful relationships that make that Perfect Life, she needs to be able to communicate with them as such. And she doesn’t. She doesn’t let herself. She won’t explain anything of what she went through to her wife; even when push comes to panicked shove, she just demands Simone leave her alone. She doesn’t even feel that “it” factor when it comes to Simone, because she can’t let herself. She’s forever tied intensity of feeling to a loss of control, a loss of who she was “meant to be” before the accident.

Her family, her job, all of it is emblematic of Before Tai. The Tai who didn’t have a sleepwalking problem, who never watched her girlfriend get nearly mauled to death, who never ate her friends to stay alive, who never gave into the hunt. It can’t ever be healthy, for her or for Simone and Sammy, until she accepts that Before Tai is gone. She’s been stitched together with the Taissa who survived the wilderness. And accepting that runs contrary to the perfect life she’s tried so hard to create. She can fall back into old habits with her old friends and old love, but the new version of her? That Taissa isn’t allowed those behavior patterns.

It’s really interesting looking at her family vs Shauna’s, because 1) they’re the only two of the core six to build a traditional family post-rescue, and 2) Shauna tries to play the same game—except the “dream life” she’s living isn’t Shauna’s at all. It’s Jackie’s. Or what she feels she stole from Jackie. And because of that, because Jeff and Callie were never Shauna’s dream, I think it makes it a little easier to let them into the darkness. Tai won’t let herself do that, because it’d be admitting a kind of defeat, and that really isn’t Tai’s style.

#ask #yellowjacket spoilers #yj meta #taissa turner #I very much look at Simone and Sammy and want better for them #not because Tai isn’t great; she’s easily my second fave in the whole show #but because from the very inception of that family she’d already decided to shut them out #she cares for them and she cares for what they represent #but she’s boxed up so much of herself before even meeting her wife that like. how could that ever be a fulfilling relationship? #it’s such a degree of trauma that her id feels the need to take control #and she can’t and won’t share it #it bugged me so much on first watch that Simone’s reaction was to just leave with Sammy #instead of fighting to communicate and get Tai help #but then I realized: she’s probably been trying for years to no avail #so when it comes down to seeing the shrine she just gives up what little hope she has and pivots to taking care of her child #and that makes absolute sense but it’s also so sad. that inherent lack of trust because the woman she married has never let her in

[lingeringscars]

mari's way of ...dealing with? for lack of a better term? her guilt is so fascinating. the reality is that i don't know how guilty mari actually feels, but she is a prime example of one core aspect of teenage behavior: deflection. mari feels guilty so she projects that outward. mari has done things that could easily reflect poorly on her, so she twists the narrative and focuses on someone else instead.

this is very obvious with misty, who she, two months later, is still blaming for what happened with the shrooms. the reality is that neither was fully at fault for what happened, and it was a lack of communication that resulted in what occurred. misty left to go help shauna zip up her outfit, and mari noticed mushrooms on the table. of course she was excited. of course she wanted to share the wealth. ( how she was storing the fruit that later were all gone is another interesting aspect because ... she stored it for so long it essentially fermented. so she wasn't keeping those berries solely for herself, and when she realized that they were planning a party, she did offer it up ).

mari was the actor, misty was the provider, and none of them intended for it to happen. but that night changed A Lot and javi also went missing then. misty is no longer allowed near the food, but mari is. mari directed that so clearly that no one trusts misty with the food even though she was the one that added the content. mari, essentially, has suffered no consequences and remains the cook.

i don't think mari blames herself; i do think she fully blames misty. i also think that she wants to keep the attention off of her and scapegoat misty as the easy target. i think it is also something that can easily unify people; everyone against one target. this can only last for so long though. i think it's a lot easier to deflect the blame even though misty only intended to drug one person, not everyone.

then we have jackie and shauna.

"oh now you're her protector? too little too late"

mari and shauna who actually do, to some extent, share some blame in what happened to jackie. (dammit jackie i can't control the weather) but shauna tells jackie to get out and mari verbalizes that she should. shauna and jackie have the fight but mari tells jackie that if she thinks they're all crazy she should just go. tai tried to speak up but was shut down by jackie, and no one else made a sound so they're all complicit in a way to the demise of jackie ( + later all together for the taking ).

mari so viciously throwing this back at shauna in this moment where she was going to take more from jackie is so real! she is deflecting all the blame. she is focusing in on shauna instead of what she was trying to do ( take jackie's clothes ). it's such a teenager thing to do. deflect the blame. point the finger at someone else. ignore the guilt by pushing it onto someone else.

#muse: mari #meta: mari #still goign insnae over this scene #everyone in it #every single one #yellowjackets spoilers #yj spoilers

[rosemaidenvixen]

Dig your eight graves

Part 1

Ao3

Big thank you to @avirxy they were a huge help with this story and it absolutely wouldn't have gotten off the ground without them.

Strong content warning: this story includes gore and graphic, onscreen deaths. Please take note of the rating and look over the tags carefully before you read to make sure this story is ok for you.

That being said, pleasant reading and Happy Halloween

---

“Come on Pepperjack, everyone knows Halloween was invented by the candy companies,”

“It was not! It’s based on the Celtic festival of Samhain!”

Claire rolled her eyes and went back to reclining against the large stone. It was a lovely day and she had a lovely view; perfect fall weather halfway between warm and crisp, the trees around her rustling with autumnal colors; red and orange and gold. Even Steve and Eli’s squabbling couldn’t ruin it.

“Saw-een? You’re making that up,”

Eli bristled “I am not! Samhain was their harvest celebration and when the ancient Celts believed that that gate to the afterlife was–”

“Dude if I wanted a boring history lesson I would have gone straight to the museum with Mr. Strickler, you totally made sew…in or whatever is up, just like you made up seeing those monsters,”

“I did see monsters! Last month I saw two of them fighting under the canal bridge before one crawled into a drainage pipe and escaped,”

“Pics or it didn’t happen, and since there’s no pics, it didn’t happen,”

Eli’s face turned lobster red, but before he could get another word out Shannon spoke up.

“Ignore him Eli,” she said cooly “He’s just baiting you,”

Eli snapped his mouth shut and glared at Steve, who smirked back at him, before folding his arms and staring daggers down at the ground with an indignant pout on his face “Why are we even here again?”

“Steve wanted to show us where his grandpa smoked pot,” Mary said cheekily.

The smug look dropped off of Steve’s face “He did not,”

“Yes he did,” Toby piped up “Source, my Nana came out here to smoke pot with her buddies in the woods back in the seventies,”

“He did not! Grandpa just found this place while he was hiking, and he came up here to commune with nature and become one with the universe and stuff,”

“That’s secret code for smoking pot,” Jim mumbled.

“Either way it doesn’t look like anyone’s been up here for a while,” Darci nervously eyed a rusty beer can.

Claire was inclined to agree. The clearing was only about twenty feet across in any given direction and nestled deep in the woods. The trail leading to it so overgrown that it would be almost impossible to find unless you knew it was here. 

The border was ringed by medium sized rocks, possibly put in place by bored and/or stoned hippies, and there was a fire pit in the middle slightly sunken and surrounded by smaller stones. Little traces of human presence were here; a candy wrapper by that boulder faded beyond recognition, rusty beer cans scattered everywhere, grass poking through the mound of ash in the fire pit, along with the tops of several beer cans. 

People had definitely been here before, but not for a long time.

“Yeah Nana says that when they opened the planetarium in the eighties all the stoners started going there instead,”

Shannon leaned forward “I heard there was a bunch of cult activity in Arcadia back in the twenties,” her voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper “They used the woods to perform their rituals, and police had to bust them up again and again before the cults were eventually forced to leave town,”

“Cults?” Darci’s voice was tight and small.

Mary waved her off “That was forever ago,"

"Yeah," Toby said with a shrug "Cults, hippies, po-tay-to, pa-tah-to, and they both smoke pot,”

“Grandpa didn’t just come here to smoke pot!” Steve’s face was nearly as red as Eli’s had been, voice a hair away from a shout.

“Then why did he come up here Steve?” Toby fired back.

“Well just…it’s a really cool place,” Steve spread his arms, gesturing all around them “My grandpa always said he felt like this place was special, he took my mom here a bunch of times, and then she took me, and I…I wanted to show you guys,”

The surprising amount of vulnerability in Steve’s voice gave Claire pause. For as long as she’d known him Steve had basically been a huge jerk. But this year had been different, he didn’t shove Eli in his locker anymore, he actually pulled his weight on group projects, and it was times like this that she saw just how hard he was trying.

She leaned back against the stone and looked around. And besides this place did feel…special. 

The clearing was just rocks and trees and grass, nothing that they couldn’t find in the rest of the woods surrounding town. But there was a peaceful stillness to this clearing, even though she knew that the town was close by, here Claire felt worlds apart.

“You’re right Steve, this place is special,”

Steve practically glowed at the praise.

Darci shifted uncomfortably “Can we head back now, this feels too much like the start of a horror movie for my comfort,”

Mary just shrugged “Nah, we’re fine for a little longer,”

“I mean a group of teenagers alone in the woods on Halloween, talking about cults and–”

“Yeah,” Steve chuckled “Then the chainsaw wielding maniac comes in and starts randomly picking us off one by one,”

Toby rolled his eyes “Get your facts straight Steve, it wouldn’t be random, the ones who sneak off and make out would be killed first, and then there’d be one final girl at the end,”

“So Lake and Nuñez are definitely going first–”

“Go bite a tree Steve,” Jim said with a scowl.

“So who would be the final girl?”

Toby tapped his chin, looking around the clearing at the rest of them “What do you think ladies, who’d be the last woman standing?”

Mary made a big show of thinking it over, then turned over towards Toby with a wide cheshire grin on her face “We’re all getting out and leaving you boys to die,”

He hissed “Ouch, harsh Mare,”

“Except for Claire, she and Jimmy Jam definitely die first,”

Claire glared at her “Hey–”

“Sorry C-Bomb, but since the two of you started dating you’ve had tunnel vision, you’d be so busy making goo goo eyes at each other you wouldn’t see Mr. Chainsaw until he’s already hacking you apart,”

Despite herself Claire felt her cheeks start to burn “I could be a final girl,”

Mary just flashed an infuriating smirk at her.

Shannon shrugged “All I know is I’d definitely survive, I clawed my way to the treasure’s seat, I could take out one dude with a chainsaw,”

Eli cupped his chin thoughtfully “Yeah you’ve got powerful final girl–”

Mary cleared her throat.

“Or girls, energy, you’d survive for sure, at least until dying in the first ten minutes of the se–”

“Can we please go back now,” a desperate pleading, almost a whine, entered Darci’s voice.

Steve held up his hands “Hey we’re just discussing classic horror tropes,”

“Yeah, like the one about how characters that look like me don't live very long!” she spat bitterly, eyes brimming.

Just like that the upbeat mood was gone.

“Sorry,” Mary mumbled.

Claire got to her feet “Let’s head back, it’s about time anyways,”

They all stood and started heading towards the faint trail at the edge of the cleaning. All of a sudden Eli froze and whipped his head around “Did you guys hear that?”

The look Mary shot at him was murderous “Dude that is so not funny,”

“No really I–” 

The loud snap of a twig echoed from the woods in front of them, all of them instantly going dead silent.

Claire felt her heartbeat kick up a notch, there was no way all of them imagined that, so what was–

“There you are!”

They all shrieked and staggered back.

Coach Lawrence stepped out from behind a tree, nostrils flaring “I let you out for a five minute potty break, and you all sneak off to try and get acquainted with your good friend Mary Jane!?”

“Why does everyone think that…” Steve mumbled.

“We weren’t smoking pot Coach!” Eli piped up defensively.

“Nice try,” Coach folded his arms, still glaring at them “But I know exactly what a stoner hang out spot looks like,”

“How do you know that Coach?”

“I– you– Never mind how I know! Now I want to see all your butts in the van on the double!” 

They trooped along the faint trail back towards the main road and the van parked alongside it, Coach Lawrence muttering to himself the entire time. After they all took their seats and buckled in, crammed elbow to elbow, Coach Lawrence settled into the driver’s seat before turning to face them.

“Now I know you all volunteered to help Mr. Fier with his Fall Fair, but that doesn’t mean you can just run wild. I want all of you on your best behavior; no tricks, no hijinks, no nothing. One whiff of shenanigans from any of you and I will turn this van around! You hear me?”

They all nodded enthusiastically at that, Toby making a zipping motion over his lips. 

Coach gave a soft grunt before turning back and pulling out onto the main road. Claire tugged at the edge of her jacket. The idea of sitting silently in the car for another twenty minutes was unbearable, they were already way out of cellphone range, and bringing up horror movies again seemed like a bad idea, but maybe…

“So what do you guys know about this Mr. Fier?”

“Nothing except for the fact he’s doing this Fall Fair,” Shannon replied.

“I think he also does the Christmas market,” Toby leaned forward “And the 4th of July parade,”

“I know a bit more about him. He sets up this Santa’s Village at the hospital every year, my mom’s talked to him a few times,”

They all turned to look at Jim, he squirmed slightly at the attention but continued “He’s super old, and he owns almost all the buildings downtown, all the trendy restaurants and shops and stuff, he inherited them from his dad who got them from his dad, and I think if you go way way back his great great grandpa or something was one of the original town founders,”

“I read about him!” Eli stretched back from the passenger’s seat, seatbelt straining “Solomon Fier, he was part of the first group of settlers who founded the town in 1875. And he was the one who started the city’s anniversary festival, he hosted the very first one to celebrate the town’s first anniversary,”

“So his family has been hosting these fairs and festivals for over a hundred years?” Darci spoke with genuine interest, her anxiety from minutes ago gone “That’s pretty cool,”

“Well you can ask him all about it yourself,” Coach Lawrence’s voice cut in “Because we’re here,”

Claire scooted to the side and craned her head to see out the window. The van had emerged from the tunnel of trees into a large clearing, absolutely massive compared to the one Steve showed them. The gravel road led up to a large red barn, with several smaller buildings and a white clapboard farmhouse set behind it. And on the far side of the clearing there was a squat yellow structure, which as they got closer, Claire realized was a hay maze.

On the opposite side of the road from the barn were two small fenced in areas. Nothing was inside them, but signs posted outside them read ‘Future pony ride’ and ‘Future petting zoo’.

A couple of large wooden posts stood on either side of the road just a little ways away from the main barn and the fences, where an old gate or sign used to be if Claire had to guess. But instead of a huge sign an old rocking chair had been placed in front of one of the posts, sitting in it was a smiling scarecrow wearing overalls and green flannel with a wide straw hat, holding up a wooden sign that read ‘Welcome to Fier Fall Festival’.

Driving past the scarecrow, Coach pulled the van to a stop and killed the engine, turning and fixing them with his trademark stare as they filed out of the van.

“Alright listen up, let’s go over the game plan one more time. We’re here because Mr. Fier wants your feedback on what he has set up so far, and that’s what we’re going to do; no tricks, no monkey business. And once we’re done you’re all getting back in the van to go to the Pumpkin Ball at the museum, understand?”

They all sounded off with ‘Yes Coach’ although Claire caught Toby, Steve, and Mary rolling their eyes.

Shannon glanced around “Wasn’t Mr. Fier supposed to meet us out here?”

For the first time this afternoon Coach Lawrence’s steely expression flickered into uncertainty “Oh, uh…yes he was. I’m not sure why he’s not here yet,”

Eli wave a hand in the air “You should check your phone Coach,”

Coach grumbled but nevertheless pulled out his phone “Pepperjack we’re in a dead zone, if Mr. Fier had texted me it would have to have been nearly an hour agoooo…”

His eyes practically bugged out as he stared at his phone, gaze shooting back up at them with a sheepish look on his face “New plan. Mr. Fier’s car broke down, so I’ll head back into town, pick him up, and come back here,” he scrambled back into the driver’s seat “And because I can’t fit him and you all in the van, you all will wait here until we get back,”

Abruptly his gaze turned narrow again “You kids will wait right here,” he pointed sharply down at the ground just outside the van “You will stay together at all times, and will not touch anything while I’m gone, you got that?”

‘Yes Coach,’ they chimed again.

Coach gave a tight nod, shooting them one more ‘I’m watching you’ with two fingers before shutting the door and heading the van back the way it came.

They all stood there watching as the van vanished into the tunnel of trees, leaving them standing alone in front of the barn. No one said anything.

For about ten seconds.

“Welp, you buttsnacks stay here if you want,” Steve turned on his heel and started walking into the farm “I’m going to check this place out,” 

“Count me in,”

“I’m in to,”

Toby and Mary broke off from the rest and sped up to join him.

Eli’s jaw dropped, eyes going huge behind his glasses “B– but Coach said we have to stay here!”

“I’m not standing in the parking lot for an hour,” Mary waved him off “And what Coach doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” 

“Yeah,” Steve chuckled “We have this whole place to ourselves, might as well enjoy it,”

Claire, Jim, Darci, and Shannon all glanced at each other, matching giddy looks slowly spreading across their faces, before following after them, leaving Eli gaping in the parking lot.

“Buh– but–”

“Eli it’ll be fine,” Jim called back after him “We’ll just have a look around and be back way before Coach gets back. Besides, sticking together’s the most important thing, right?”

Eli shut his mouth, glancing back and forth between the road where the van disappeared and the rest of them, then dashed to catch up with them.

Jim then turned towards Claire, a shy smile on his face “And maybe before Coach gets back we can have some time to ourselves?”

Claire smiled back at him, reaching out to grasp his hand with her own, feeling a thrill of excitement when his cheeks turned pink as she did.

“I’d like that,”

---

Lawrence let out a sigh of relief as the dirt underneath the van turned to coarse pavement. Then, after quickly checking to make sure he was the only car around, pulled out his phone and dialed.

The other end picked up after just two rings.

“Hello?”

“Hello Mr. Fier, this is Coach Lawrence with Arcadia Oaks,” the words all came out in a rush “I’m so sorry I missed your call earlier, I just dropped the kids off at the farm and I am on my way to pick you up. But don’t worry, they will not touch anythi–”

The voice on the other side of the line let out a hearty laugh ”Oh please don’t worry yourself, let the kids have fun, and my daughter’s in town so don’t worry about keeping me waiting,”

Lawrence held the phone away from his face so his sigh of relief wouldn’t be heard “Really Mr. Fier I can’t thank you enough for being so understanding,”

More laughter “No, thank you, and please call me Sam,”

“Oh, ok…Sam,”

“Really it’s you and the kids doing me a favor, I already have a good idea what the little kids like, but I want to make sure the fair is fun for older kids to. Having your students walk through my trial run and give me their honest feedback is invaluable. I grew up going to harvest festivals all across the east coast, and I want the children of Arcadia Oaks to have the same. And once I get your students’ feedback and make the necessary changes, I can start planning and the Fier Fall Festival will be open to the public next year,”

Lawrence slowly relaxed into his seat, easing up on the gas as the road became twisty, a sure sign that the highway was close “Well I’ll be over as soon as I can to pick you up, and then we can get back out here and get started,”

“Like I said, no reason to break your neck getting here, and the kids can have fun exploring the place by themselves, maybe they’ll even find the surprise I left for them,”

“Surprise?” Lawrence shot up ramrod straight “What kind of surprise?”

The voice on the other end of the phone took on a mischievous lilt “Well if I told you it wouldn’t be much of a surprise now would it?”

He settled back into his seat, keeping his eyes locked on the road. Had to be careful now, there were several sharp turns along some steep inclines here. And with all the trees he couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead at a time “Oh…ok then, I’ll be there soon,”

“See you then,” 

Lawrence hung up the phone, letting out another sigh of relief, turning his focus back to the road. It was really good that Mr. Fier wasn’t upset about Lawrence missing his text, or about the kids having free run of the place for a bit. He might not be on the school board, but it wouldn’t be good to piss off the guy who owned half the town.

Now all he had to do was pick up Fier as quick as he could and head back to where the kids were–

As he rounded a sharp corner he came face to face with a large deer in the road only feet away from him. Lawrence jerked in panic and cranked the wheel hard, he swerved, missing the deer by inches, but sending the van over the side of the road. Lawrence fought to regain control as half the tires went into the dirt, but he’d gone too far off the road and the ground underneath him was too loose. 

The van violently rocked from side to side as it fishtailed along the edge of the road. Leaning far to the side as the tires lost traction against the dirt. 

Abruptly the land on the side of the road dropped off into a steep incline, tires losing purchase and center of gravity giving way, sending the van toppling over the edge of the cliff.

Its momentum shot it forward and down, rolling down the steep hill, rocks and trees tearing at the metal frame, crashing to a stop as it collided with a large tree near the bottom of the embankment in a deafening bang of metal against wood. 

The vehicle lay there crumpled between the hill and the tree, four tires spinning in the air, Lawrence hanging limply from his seat, suspended by his seatbelt, blood dripping from his forehead down onto the windshield. 

Back up on the road the deer hadn’t moved so much as an inch, not even twitching at the near miss from the vehicle.

For a moment things were still, the only movement the slowly rotating tires of the van. Then a figure stepped out of the trees on the opposite side of the road. They walked across the street to the deer, leather boots soft against the pavement, slinging it over their shoulder before turning and going back the way they came. Walking a few yards into the woods, they came to a large black truck and threw the deer shaped archery target in the bed before climbing into the driver's seat. 

Pulling the truck out onto the road from the hidden side street, the driver only spared a brief glance down the embankment before speeding away. Heading back up the road without turning once towards the upturned van, the last of its spinning tires slowly coming to a stop.

---

Claire flicked the switch on the electric tea light, setting it onto the shelf with the others “You know…I don’t think that dog has been house trained,”

“Really?” Jim set down his own candle and stepped over to her “You should report them to the humane society,”

She looked up from the snarling wolf animatronic, stationary without a power source, smirking “You know, I think I will,”

They’d just finished going through the farmhouse, set up as a haunted house. Turning on all the electric candles and giving a running commentary as they went.

Moving towards the door Claire stepped out onto the back porch and into the glow of autumn sunlight, Jim just behind her.

“Let’s go check out the pumpkin canon,” he spoke up “I know Toby said he wanted to figure out how it work,”

“Sounds great,”

They stepped down onto the grass and started walking towards the back of the main barn. As they got closer Claire heard the hiss of compressed air and the ‘thwump’ of it releasing.

She felt a smile slowly stretching across her face “I think he succeeded,” 

Rounding the corner, they came to the main space of the fair. A large clear space ringed with rocks  was slightly off from the center, plastic sign by it reading ‘Future bonfire pit’, directly behind the main barn a massive throne of sorts had been constructed out of hay bales, pumpkins scattered on and around it. Mary occupied the seat, posing and taking selfies with the small pumpkin on her lap. And then on the far edge of the clearing was the pumpkin canon, motor humming, with Darci and Toby standing by it. 

“Pull!” Darci shouted.

Toby yanked a lever, a pumpkin shooting out of the barrel with a ‘fwoom’ arcing over the stretch of clearing before landing with a dull thumb in the distance.

“Hey Tobes, you had enough of tormenting innocent squash?”

“Not even close,”

Mary clutched her pumpkin protectively “You’re prying Penelope out of my cold, dead hands,”

“Hey girls,” Claire smiled at Darci and Mary in turn “You know where everyone else is?”

Darci jerked a thumb behind her towards the double wide trailer “Eli and Shannon are checking out the escape rooms, and Steve’s over at the haunted house,”

“We just came from there, I didn’t see him,”

“Oh,”

“So Shannon and Eli are in the escape room,” Toby called out from where he and Jim were struggling to load a large pumpkin “And none of us have any idea where Steve is,”

“Tobes I don’t think this pumpkin is physically capable of fitting inside the canon,”

“Not with that attitude,”

Mary perched back on her pumpkin throne “Having a good time ladies?”

“Yep,”

“You know it,” Darci glanced towards the front entrance uneasily “But shouldn’t Coach have been back by now?”

That gave Claire pause, a quick glance at her phone told her it had been just over an hour since Coach had left, he should be getting here pretty soon…

Mary waved them off “He probably just stopped to trim his nose hairs or som–”

“Jackpot!”

Claire jumped at the sudden sound of Steve’s voice. Turning to see him walking over dragging a large cooler behind him.

Toby abandoned the large pumpkin, Jim looking all too happy to do so, and walked over to them “What are you talking about?”

“I was checking out some of the concession stands when I found this!” he opened the cooler with a flourish.

Curious, Claire stepped closer to see what was inside.

It looked like a bunch of snacks, which she’d sort of expected with it being a cooler, but this was a lot more than just goldfish and juice boxes. 

Full size candy bars, caramel covered apples, cupcakes, shrink wrapped packages of fudge, even a gallon of apple cider.

 “Yeah I thought about keeping this all to myself,” Steve leaned against the cooler with exaggerated casualness “But this is too much, even more the Palchuk, so I figured why not spread the wealth,”

Darci bounced up and down with barely restrained glee, giddy smile stretched out over her face as she hurried over to kneel in front of the open cooler “Steve you are the best!”

“Totally dude!” Toby joined Darci kneeling in front of the cooler “I take back everything I ever said about you!”

“No big deal I– wait what?” Steve’s smugness flickered as they all gathered in.

Claire rolled her eyes “Thank you Steve, this was really sweet,”

Steve’s smug grin slid back into place.

Jim picked up the gallon of cider out “I’m going to see if I can find some way to heat this up,”

“I’ll go get Eli and Shannon,” Claire and Jim turned and each walked off in opposite directions. Coming up to the double wide, she went around to the side door and gave it a soft knock.

“Shannon, Eli, you in there?”

“Don’t open the door!” Eli’s voice piped up “We have to find our way out ourselves, escape room code!”

“We found fudge and candy apples,”

“....please open the door,”

Claire complied, letting the two of them out, all three of them heading back to where Mary, Darci, and Toby were already divvying up the snacks with Steve standing by.

“I’ll take the white chocolate candy apple,” 

“Ooh gimmie one of the cupcakes with chocolate frosting!”

“Hey save some peanut butter fudge for the rest of us!”

As the three of them came up towards the cooler, Claire saw Jim approaching with his arms full and a big grin on his face.

“Cups, a kettle, and a battery operated hot plate. We have cider,”

Claire settled on the ground as they finished distributing the snacks between all eight of them, Jim getting the cider set up.

Soon they were all sitting on the ground and assorted hay bales, no sounds except for their munching on snacks and occasional sips of cider.

Wiping the fudge crumbs carefully off her face, Mary selected a shiny red candy apple and leaned back to take a selfie with it.

Darci gave her an unimpressed look “Do you have to do that every time we eat out?” 

“I’m not even going to dignify that with a response,”

Toby looked between the two of them, then pulled out his own phone, slung an arm around Jim’s shoulder, and flashed a gigantic smile.

“Smile for the camera,” Toby said while raising phone and his cider in a cheer “Here’s to our best Halloween ever,”

Jim started for a moment before raising his own cup and flashing a smile as Toby clicked a picture of the two of them.

Claire felt her own lips twitch, grinning and holding her cupcake up to her cheek while she snapped her own picture.

Darci threw her head back and let out an aggravated groan “You guys are literally the worst,”

Mary smirked at her while she took a picture of Steve and Eli ‘dueling’ with their candy apples “Jealous?”

Toby nodded sagely “She’s totally jealous,”

“Ugghhh!”

Shannon smiled and reached into her own pocket, but the second her hand went in the smile dropped off her face.

“Shoot, I lost my phone,”

All of them turned towards her.

“Where’d you see it last?” Eli asked.

Abruptly Shannon sat up bolt upright “I had it in the hay maze, and I took out to take pictures,” she got to her feet “I’ll check for it there,”

Claire set aside her cupcake “Want us to come help you look?”

Shannon waved her off “I got it, the maze wasn’t too hard so I should be quick,”

She turned and jogged off towards the hay maze, the others watching her go until she vanished around the side of the barn.

Coming to a stop at the entrance of the maze, Shannon paused to pull in a deep breath and headed in. She took the maze slow and steady. Keeping a hand on the left wall, surveying the various rows and glancing down corridors on either side of her for any trace of her phone. 

Ten minutes of careful searching passed without any trace of her phone, but she refused to let that worry her.

This maze was big and twisty, and she’d only covered a third of it, she still had a lot left to search before her missing phone became panic worthy.

Shannon glanced left and right as she passed by the different hay aisles.

No phone, no phone, no phone, no pho–

There!

She skidded to a stop, backtracking two steps. Down the aisle to her right there was a small black rectangle that could only be her phone, sitting on a large ‘chair’ of hay bales less than twenty feet away. A small sigh of relief escaped her, Shannon did not want to have to go to her parents about another lost phone, as she turned and headed towards it.

Approaching the hay chair, Shannon leaned down and picked up her phone, and looking closer it was indeed her phone, sliding it back into her pocket with no small amount of satisfaction. 

She raised a foot to turn and go back to the others, when she heard a soft snap from behind her. Shannon gave a little start, foot still poised halfway off the ground. Did one of the other kids follow he–

Something flew in front of her face, crushing pressure enveloping her throat.

Her body reacted faster than her brain. Limbs flailing a blind panic, clawing at her neck and kicking out at anything her feet could reach.

Blood pounded in her ears, lungs burning for air, the unyielding pressure wrapping around her neck tighter and tighter not letting so much as a gasp escape.

Even in her frenzied haze she could see the shadow of a person standing behind her, two hands pulling the cord tighter around her throat.

I’m being strangled, someone’s strangling me–

Shannon fought to regain her bearings even while her body was still in panic mode. Trying to direct her kicks and punches towards the figure behind her. An elbow to the gut, a kick to the shins.

Anything to get them to loosen their grip.

It felt like her head was going to explode, bright spots of light burning in her eyes, lungs aching for air. 

She might as well be fighting back against stone. The person behind her didn’t move, unflinching against her blows, pulling the cord around her neck tighter and tighter.

The pressure in her skull was nearly unbearable, the blazing spots swallowing up all her vision. Any lucidity she had left was burned away in animalistic terror, clawing madly at her neck, desperate to make this stop–

The blinding lights in her eyes began fading away into darkness. Panic flared at what that meant only to be instantly sucked away into the blackness that was claiming all sensation. Shannon was vaguely aware of her hands falling limply away from her neck, legs going slack, static in her ears. 

One final thought bubbled to the surface before her mind was completely consumed by oblivion.

I’m going to die here.

---

Claire bit her lip, amber sunlight filtering through the trees. 

“Maybe we should try calling hi–”

“We’ve tried calling him!” Mary’s voice was a shrill snap, barely masking her panic “In case you’ve forgotten we’re in a dead zone!”

Coach should have been back over an hour ago. The sun was well and truly setting, filtered into a dusky glow by the forest, and Shannon had been gone for a long time. 

She knew in the pit of her gut that something had gone wrong, definitely with Coach,  and maybe Shannon to.

The jovial mood from earlier was gone, stark tension taking its place. Being alone here wasn’t fun anymore. And Claire couldn’t help but wonder if she was the only one whose mind kept cycling back to their talk of horror movies.

Either way no one was cracking jokes anymore. All flickering their gazes back and forth between the road Coach was supposed to drive up on, and the steadily setting sun. Waiting for something to happen.

Then Jim stood up. 

“Shannon’s been gone too long, we need to go look for her,” 

Mary shot to her feet alongside him, looking relieved at the chance to do something “Agreed,”

Claire was standing next to them less than a second later.

“We should all go together,” Toby added “I don’t think we should be splitting up right now,”

The others all got to their feet and joined them, except for Eli. 

He shot a stubborn glare up at them, folding both arms across his chest and firmly settling into his seat on the hay bale.

“I’m staying right here,”

Claire looked over at the others, the same uncomfortable look bouncing across the six of them. Darci broke away and took half a step towards him “Eli…I really don’t think we should split up like this,”

“Well tough, I’m not going anywhere, so if you guys don’t want to split up, stay here.”

“Shannon could be hurt or stuck somewhere,” Toby fired back, narrowing his gaze at him “And you’re more worried about getting in trouble than helping her?”

“You can tell Coach we made you come with us,” Jim added “But we shouldn’t leave you or Shannon all alone out here,”

Eli’s expression wavered, a shadow of uncertainty passing over his face, before hardening “It’s bad enough I let you guys convince me to wander off in the first palace, and eat the snacks Steve stole. I’m sure Shannon just got lost in the maze, and Coach is going to be back any minute, you guys do what you want, but I’m not going to move from this spot until he gets here!”

By the end Eli was practically shouting at them, all of them staggering back a little. Stunned at the normally meek Eli losing his cool.

Claire was torn, she knew deliberately leaving Eli by himself wasn’t right. But Shannon could be in desperate need of help, while Eli was just being stubborn.

“We’re going to go look for Shannon,” Claire said at last “Wait here and we’ll be right back,”

Her words seemed to give everyone the permission they were waiting for. Turning and heading towards the hay maze, all of them shooting tentative glances back at Eli as they went. But not slowing down.

Eli kept his mouth fixed into a firm frown, glaring at their retreating backs until he disappeared as they went around the barn.

“Yo Shannon, are you in here!” Toby shouted as they came up to the maze.

No reply.

“Well uh…looks like we’re doing this the old fashioned way,” Steve let out a nervous chuckle.

“Let’s stick together in here,” Darci said, tone forcibly light “If we split up things will just get even more confused,”

“Sounds good,”

“Works for me,”

“Definitely,”

“Let’s do it,”

Claire nodded her head, the six of them heading down their first turn into the maze.

They searched the corn maze as methodically as they could, someone going to examine every twist and dead end, without ever leaving the sight of the group, constantly calling out Shannon’s name, but even after almost ten minutes of searching there was no sight or sound of Shannon.  

Steve lingered by a group of haybales stacked into the shape of a chair “You guys think she’s mad at us, she has to, like, just be ignoring us….right?”

Claire tried to tamp down her steadily rising nerves. In theory it was possible that Shannon had slipped out of the maze without them seeing, but where would she go without telling them? And this farm was big but not that big so why wasn’t she answering when they called? 

Mary walked back to the group from the short dead end she was exploring “Let’s go to the beginning, try taking a different tu–”

An ear splitting shriek cut through the air, all of them involuntarily whirling towards the source of the sound.

Steve was scrambling backwards from the hay chair, face deathly pale and trembling all over.

Claire hurried over to him “What is it, what’s wrong?”

Steve didn’t say anything, jaw working up and down, skin chalky, raising a shaking finger to point at the hay chair. Claire stepped over to it to try see what had Steve so–

Her heart stopped.

Steve hadn’t been pointing at the chair, he’d been pointing at what was behind it.

From behind her she heard the others scream and stagger back, Claire herself couldn’t move, paralyzed by the sight in front of her.

Laying crumpled in a heap behind the hay bales was Shannon. Her eyes were blood red, staring sightlessly up at the sky. Deep claw marks had been gouged into her neck, from where she must have tried to tear away at the electrical cord still wrapped tightly around her throat.

“Is she– is she, dead?” Toby squeaked.

Mary shoved Jim forward “Your mom’s a doctor– check her pulse or something!”

Jim stumbled towards Shannon, he hesitated in front of her for a few seconds, before bending down to press two fingers against her neck. He looked up, face grave, and gave a single shake of the head.

That small action set the group a buzz with chatter, voices rising in pitch and intensity.

They all washed over Claire in a haze of noise, eyes still focused on Shannon–

Her dead body

In front of her. Heart pumping icy cold blood through her body with each drum-like beat.

Shannon couldn’t really be dead. This had to be a trick, or a prank or something. She’d been snacking and chatting with them just half an hour ago.

Before she even realized what was doing Claire was stepping around the hay chair to kneel in the dirt right next to Shannon.

This had to be a prank, a hoax, she knew Jim wouldn’t joke like that but he probably just made a mistake. Just because his mom was a doctor didn’t mean he knew exactly how to check for a pulse.

“Shannon?” Claire leaned in close “Get up this isn’t funny any more,”

Shannon didn’t so much as twitch.

The chill beneath her skin dropping a dozen degrees, Claire reached out to grab her wrist.

“C’mon Sha–”

The words shriveled and died in Claire’s throat.

Shannon’s wrist hung limp and lifeless, dead weight in her hand. Her skin cool, far too cool, to the touch.

There wasn’t any way she could be faking this.

Shannon was dead.

She scrambled back from the corpse–

That’s what she was now a corpse

The voices around her come back into focus with a pop.

“There aren’t even any mental hospitals around here!”

“Which is why I’m saying this has to be the guy who owned the farm!”

“But why the fuck would he want to kill us!? What did we do!?”

Claire all but stomped to her feet and whirled on the others “It doesn’t matter!”

They all jerked back, stunned into silence by Claire’s sudden outburst.

“It doesn’t matter who killed Shannon or why. What matters is that they’re here, they killed her, and now we’re all in danger. So what are we going to do about it?”

Everyone glanced around at each other uncertainly.

“We need to find somewhere secure to hunker down,” Darci said at last “Barricade ourselves in one of the buildings until Coach comes back,”

“No, what we need to do is get out of here, now.” Toby said with no small amount of force “The longer we hang around the more chances we have of this psycho finding us,”

“Agreed,” Mary added “We’re close to the woods right here, so I say we tear through the haybales towards the edge and then book it into the forest and head towards town,”

“What!?” Steve squeaked out ”There’s a psycho murderer here and you want to run into the dark spooky woods!?”

“It’s not like we’ve got a lot of options here!” Toby snapped.

“I’m with Steve one hundred percent,” Darci folded her arms “Running off to stumble through miles of dark woods doesn’t seem like a good idea,”

“And waiting here like sitting ducks is!?” Mary spat, face red.

“So your answer is to take us into the woods to get picked off one by one!?” Steve shot back.

“Oh like you–”

“Enough!” Claire shouted the word with enough force that everyone fell silent again.

She shut her eyes and pulled in a deep breath. Running through the different options in her mind “Toby and Mary are right, we need to get into the woods ASAP,”

“But–”

“I know it’s dangerous,” Claire cut Daric off “But staying would be worse. Coach should have been here over an hour ago, something went wrong and we can’t count on anyone coming to help us. Staying here just means that Shannon’s killer knows exactly where we are, and bottom line there’s no where here we can hunker down that the killer couldn’t set on fire,”

Darci shut her mouth, skin going ashy.

“I don’t want to run around the woods in the dark any more than you do, but at least whoever did this will have a harder time finding us there. And I’d rather deal with maybe a murderer in the woods than definately a murderer here,”

Dead silence settled over the six of them, tension crackling in the air.

“You’re right,” Darci’s voice cracked “We need to–”

“Oh my god,” Jim spoke up in a hushed whisper, eyes going wide “Eli!”

A fresh wave of shock rippled through the group.

Darci scrambled towards him, both of them whirling on the rest of them “He’s all alone,” her voice was shrill with panic “We have to go back for him!”

No one moved, Mary and Toby sharing a look.

Jim glanced back and forth between the two of them, clearly picking up on some nonverbal cue “Guys, what are you–”

“I think we need to make a break for it,” Mary said at last “Without Eli,”

Four jaws simultaneously fell open.

“Chances are Eli’s dead already,” Mary said stonily “And if we go back for him we’ll just get killed to,”

“What!?” Darci all but shrieked “We can’t just leave him behind!”

Toby shifted from foot to foot, gaze pointed down at the ground “If there’s a killer on the loose who’s picking us off one by one when we go off alone then Eli’s probably–”

“You don’t know that!” Jim fired back “If there’s a chance that Eli’s hurt and scared and we can still help him we have to try!” 

No one moved, a tense standoff forming, Darci and Jim on one side and Toby and Mary on the other. Steve whipped his head from side to side at each of them, jaw gaping open and shut with no sound coming out.

Claire looked back and forth between the two groups, weighing the decision in her mind, going back and forth before making her choice..

She moved to stand by Jim and Darci “If there’s a chance we can still save Eli we have to try,” she met Mary and Toby’s eyes in turn “We’d do the same for either of you,”

Toby and Mary wavered, glancing at each other.

“Ok…” Mary said softly “We’ll go back for him,”

“But no messing around in the maze,” Toby added “We knock the hay bales over and make straight for the entrance,”

“But….what about Shannon?” Steve’s gaze flickered back over behind the hay chair, face turning green and staggering back “We can’t just…leave her like this?”

“We can’t carry her Steve,” Mary’s voice was hollow “And I didn’t know Shannon too well, but I know she was pragmatic, she wouldn’t want us to risk our necks when she’s already beyond saving,”

Claire couldn’t help but flinch at that.

“But…” Steve eyed the chair again, expression pained.

“I– I got it,” Jim stepped around the stack of hay, reached down, and unwound the electrical cord from her neck, throwing it to the far end of the aisle. He pulled off his jacket, gently laying it over Shannon’s face and torso before standing back upright, face pale and hands shaking “Let’s go,”

Claire nodded at him before looking over to the rest of them “Toby and I will take point, Jim Mary, do you mind bringing up the rear and keeping an eye on our backs?”

“Got it,”

“Can do,”

“Great, Steve Darci, you stay in the middle and be ready for anything,”

Steve managed to squeak out an ‘ok’ while Darci’s only response was a tense nod.

They cut through the hay maze, Claire and Toby tearing bales aside to clear a straight line towards the entrance, Jim and Mary followed in last, constantly looking behind them and occasionally pulling some hay bales aside to cover their trail, with Steve and Darci nestled in the center.

Soon, far too soon, they stood at the entrance of the maze, lingering. The maze wasn’t safe, they’d just proven anyone could knock down the walls, and there was a good chance Shannon’s killer could still be lingering inside. But nothing bad had happened to them in the maze, now there was a sense of security to it, however irrational. No one wanted to leave to pseudosecurity of the maze to face the unknown.

But Eli was out there.

Claire swallowed.

The only way out is forward, dragging your feet is just going to put everyone in more danger. You have to keep going. 

“It’s just a straight shot and then one turn to the front of the barn. We’ll keep the same formation; Toby and I up front, Mary and Jim watching our backs and Steve and Darci keeping an eye on our sides,”

She forced herself to take a step outside the maze, a distance of less than two feet that felt like a thousand miles, then turned back to the others “We go in, grab Eli, and then book it straight into the woods,”

No one moved, all of their faces were pinched with various levels of panic and terror. Then Darci pulled in a deep breath and took a step after her. The others followed.

They moved quickly, a tight knot of people hustling towards the barn constantly surveying their surroundings in every direction. Searching the rapidly growing shadows of the deserted farm for any sign of a threat. It was less than a five minute walk to the front, but it seemed to stretch so much longer. Every step closer to their destination ratcheting Claire’s heartbeat up another notch.

Towards the fire pit, past the pumpkin throne, around the other side of the barn to where it faced the parking lo–

They stopped in their tracks, Claire’s stomach dropping, from behind she heard several soft gasps.

Eli wasn’t here, the hay bale he’d been sitting on, all the hay bales heaped in front of the barn were empty.

“Pepperjack?” Steve called out hesitantly “You here?”

They spread out among the bales, scanning all around them for any sign or trace of Eli.

“Come on out dude,” Toby this time “If you’re trying to get back at us you totally did it,”

Claire fought to keep her breathing under control, even while she couldn’t stop her mind from bracing itself for another sight like Shannon in the maze.

The only reason Eli wouldn’t be here was if something happened. They left him alone and the same person who got Shannon got him and–

She bit the inside of her cheek so hard she tasted blood.

Stop working herself up and assuming the worst, Eli probably just stepped out to go to the bathroom. They were going to find him and then they would all get out of he–

“Oh– oh god–” Darci let out a strangled sob.

Claire snapped her gaze over towards her, seeing Darci with both hands pressed against her mouth with an expression of abject terror, and followed her line of sight to–

Her heart stopped for the second time today.

Ten feet inside the barn there was a steel tub, despite the thicker shadows inside she could see the glimmer of water filling the tub to the brim. Hanging over the side, face down and completely motionless in the water was Eli. Even through the dusky gloom she could see water dripping from his limp fingertips to land soundlessly on the dirt floor.

All around her the others screamed and shrieked with distress. Claire herself couldn’t make a sound if she wanted to, pulled by some nameless forced to step closer to Eli–

His corpse, another corpse.

She stared down at him, a dull roaring in her ears.

How long ago did this happen, did the killer pounce on him the second we left, could we have saved him if we were just a little faster.

Ears filling with static, she reached out to pull Eli from the tub. Maybe it wasn’t too late to save him, maybe they could still do CPR or something and bring him around. And even if he was dead they couldn’t just leave him like thi–

“Claire look out!”

She snapped her head up, whirling around towards–

The breath was knocked from her lungs.

A figure lurked near the wall of the barn, maybe they’d been there this whole time, with their all black outfit they blended seamlessly into the shadows. Long sleeved black shirt, black jeans tucked into black black boots. Even a pair of black leather gloves. The only color on them was the rubber clown mask they wore, white latex, a rubber fanged grin with a tuft of red polyester hair sticking straight up.

And the shining silver butcher knife they held in their hand. 

Claire knew, knew all the way down to her bones, even while the rest of her mind was screaming in panic, that this was the person who’d killed Shannon and Eli.

And they were going to kill her to.

Clown face stepped towards her, knife raised and ready to be brought down with lethal intent.

Claire couldn’t move, couldn’t breath, frozen in place even while her instincts were screaming at her to run–

Toby didn’t have that problem.

He let out a primal cry of rage, charging the clown face with a large rock in his hand.

Clown face whirled and stabbed down at him, Toby sidestepped at the last second and tackled clown face to the ground, not wasting a second and bringing the rock down hard against the clown’s temple, again and again. 

Seeing Toby rushing in broke the spell and spurred the rest of them into action. 

Jim tackled clown face’s other arm, pinning them completely to the ground while Claire kicked the knife away. Mary ran up and stomped on clown face’s groin as hard as she could again and again, her and Toby pummeling them from either end. Steve and Darci stepped in closer, but otherwise hung back and watched them go to town.

After what seemed like an eternity, Toby stopped pounding at clown face with the rock, the hand holding it still raised and ready to bring down again, panting.

Clown face lay there on the ground unmoving, Toby had been bashing him so hard with the rock that maybe…

Mary took a step back “Is he…”

“I…I think so,” Toby got off of him with shaky steps “But just to be safe let’s find some rope and– hnk”

Something hot and wet hit Claire in the face, hand going to her cheek involuntarily, it came away red.

She spun to the side only to see Toby sinking to the ground, a gaping hole in his neck.

Another clown face was standing behind him, same black pants and shirt, three tufts of green hair and blue diamonds over their rubber eyes.

And a bloody scythe in their hand.

The whites of Jim’s eyes bulged inside of his blood spattered face.

“Toby!”

Claire grabbed Jim by the arm and yanked him back to where the others were clustering up together.

On the ground the first clown face slowly rose to his feet, reaching over to retrieve his knife– 

He was getting up, how was he possibly getting up, even if he wasn’t dead Toby and Mary had beaten him so much he had to be at least a little injured, how could he possibly just get back up?

They’d been so focused on the killer clown in front of them that they hadn’t noticed another one sneaking up behind them. Claire had thought only one person was doing this but she was wrong, there wasn’t just one killer, there were at least two, maybe even–

She whirled around frantically, trying to see if there were any–

There, another clown face outside, fringe of blue hair and a wide red grin on his mask, steadily approaching the barn entrance.

A machete in hand.

Three killers– at the least, maybe even more, laying in wait, boxing them in from all sides. 

This wasn’t a spree, it was a hunt.

“Run,” Claire whispered.

They booked it, Claire pushing her way to the front, dragging the sobbing Jim behind her. Leading them all away from the macheted clown before they could be surrounded “Follow me guys, I’ve got a plan,”

Did she, did she really? Was this really a plan or just a flimsy, half baked idea thrown together with adrenaline and desperation?

But she needed to do something–

Inaction would only get them all killed.

Whether because they believed her or she was the only one giving orders, or maybe they were just acting on instinct now, they followed Claire as she ran towards the haunted farmhouse. Running up the porch steps, tearing open the door, and shoving Jim inside, the rest of them rushing in after. As soon as they were all inside she stepped in and slammed the door shut behind her, grabbing the coat rack and a chair and an end table– throwing whatever she could in front of the door to barricade it. At some point she noticed that Steve had joined her, grabbing the heaviest objects he could and piling them up to try and bar the door. Behind her she was vaguely aware of the sound of Darci consoling Jim.

“Toby would have wanted you to live, you’ve gotta keep going for his sake,”

The image of Toby with his throat slashed open flashed in her mind, a phantom spray of blood on her cheek. The real blood now dry and tacky against her skin.

It had been bad enough, more than bad, terrifying, horrific, to stumble across Shannon and Eli dead. But to actually see Toby being…

A wave of nausea hit her, but instead of crashing it rose higher and higher.

Just a little while ago they’d all been hanging together chatting and laughing, now three of them were de–

The manic fear crescendoed, Claire’s body could barely contain it. 

Who are these people, why are the doing this to us, why are they doing this why are theydoingthiswhyaretheydo

Claire squeezed her eyes shut, studs digging into her palms as she threw the end table against the door. Forcing the panic deep down past her stomach, all the way to the bottoms of her feet, putting herself on top of it.

It didn’t matter who these people were or why they were doing this.

They were here. They were killing them.

That was all that mattered.

As she grounded herself the sounds of the others around her came back into focus.

Steve huffing and puffing as he labored alongside her, Jim and Darci’s sniffles, and Mary’s quiet shushing.

Just like that there was nothing left to throw at the door, Claire and Steve stopped and stepped back. Claire allowing herself one more deep breath.

Claire needed to get it together. Running around in a panic like frightened rabbits was the worst thing to do right now. If they were going to survive she needed to keep a clear head. Calm, controlled, rational. 

Their survival depended on it.

“That’s not going to hold them for long…” Steve said slowly.

“It doesn’t have to, just long enough to slow them down,”

“Uh Claire, I hate to poke holes in your master plan,” the sarcasm Mary’s voice barely masking her terror “But there are only two ways in or out of here, all the killer clowns have to do is have one of them stand outside the exit and we’re trapped,”

“Not exactly,” Claire turned to face them “There’s a root cellar in the basement, saw it from the outside, I think we can get into it through the kitchen, if we can get there we can escape out the basement and book it to the woods before the clowns ever spot us,”

None of them said anything to that, and how could they really. It didn’t matter if it was a good or bad plan, it was their only option.

“Let’s go,” Jim said, cheeks and voice wet “I know the way,”

They moved to the next room, Jim in the lead and Claire right behind him. The first room off the front entrance was the dining room, the majority of the space taken up by a long wooden table, half a dozen chairs set up around it. The table had been set up with props for the ‘food’. Dishes of eyeballs and severed fingers, a bowl of rotting fruit and a severed head on a tray. All made more haunting by the light of the electric candles.

The chairs were occupied by dummies. Most looking like farmers with gruesome injuries, a bashed in skull, a saw blade sticking out of a chest, but there were a few skeletons and zombies mixed in.

But thankfully no clowns.

They crept around the table, keeping their backs to the wall as they edged around the room.

Everything they were looking at was plastic and latex, Claire knew that, she’d seen all of this earlier when she and Jim had gone through the house.. But in the wake of everything that had happened, there was a new sinister edge to the display in front of them.

Worst of all was the chair at the head of the table. Seat empty, pulled out to face them, hanging from the top was a sign written in jagged, sloppy letters.

‘Room for one more’

Her guts gave a painful twist.

They all skirted past the final chair silently, creeping into the next room, Claire forcing herself to turn her back to the dining room and face what was aheaad. 

The next room was the living room. Wine colored couches and chairs, fake cobwebs stretched over every surface, upside down crosses and pentagrams on the walls, tall flickering candles on the tables and mantle, and a portrait of a pale, dour faced man in a black robe hanging over the fireplace.

Just through this room, down the hall, then into the kitchen. From the kitchen they should be able to find a way into the cellar. Then from the cellar they should be able to slip out past the clown faces. Then all they had to do was lose them in the woods, and the–

“Did you guys hear that?”

Everyone stopped dead in their tracks.

“I just…” Darci glanced nervously from side to side “I thought I heard a creak or something,”

No one moved. Completely still and dead silent standing in the gruesome parlor. 

Nothing but silence radiated through the house, not even their breathing, all standing completely still and waiting for something to happen.

After a few more moments of dead quiet Jim hesitantly took half a step forward “I think that was probably just the house set–”

In a blur of motion a figure jumped out from behind the couch, charging towards Jim with a flash of silver. 

Claire’s ears and throat burned as they all screamed, Jim staggering back, both hands pressed to his belly, blood spilling out between his fingers. Clown face charged forward, raising the bloody butcher knife, but before he could bring it down again Steve slammed his shoulder into the clown’s chest and knocked him to the ground.

The two of them wrestled on the ground, Steve kicking the knife away and trying to pin him to the floor “Go!” he shouted, struggling against the squirming clown “I’ll be right behind you!”

Darci and Mary pulled Jim back and slung an arm over each of their shoulders, dragging him with them through the room to the exit. Claire was right on their heels, lingering by the doorway even as the three made their way down the hall. Fingers gripping the edge of the frame, watching Steve struggle against the clown “Come on Steve let’s go!”

He twisted and thrashed, each of them fighting to gain leverage over the other. Then in a surge of strength Steve bodily shoved the clown off of him and staggered to his feet, charging towards Claire.

He sprinted towards the door, but before he could reach her clown face grabbed his ankle and yanked him back with all his might, leaving Claire to helplessly watch in horror as Steve toppled towards the fireplace.

The fireplace was old and cold, there hadn’t been an actual fire in it for over sixty years, maybe even longer.

But the cast iron grate was still there, and the spikes were still very sharp.

Steve’s back hit the grate with a wet, sickening crack. Bent over it at an unnatural angle with two spikes piercing through his chest, blood soaking into the fabric around them. 

“Steve!”

Claire stood there, frozen in horror, Steve twitching on the grate.

A faint groan came from off to the side. She whirled to see clown face slowly but surely getting to his feet. 

She needed to get Steve out of here, take the whole grate if she had to–

But could she carry that much, even just Steve on his own? And even if she could, was Claire capable of moving both of them fast enough?

And even if she could carry him, moving him would make his injury worse, and with a wound like that would he even live long enough to get to a hospital? 

She needed to leave him. 

Steve was dead already.

But she couldn’t just abandon him, this wasn’t like the others. Steve was right here, he was alive and moving, Claire couldn’t just–

From across the room the two locked eyes. Steve coughed, a trickle of blood coming out, then his mouth soundlessly formed the shape of a word.

‘Go’ 

Claire didn't move, jaw working open and shut. She couldn’t– wouldn't leave Steve behind, they’d already lost Shannon and Eli and Toby–

Clown face was on his feet, stepping over to retrieve his knife.

Steve spasmed, hacking up more blood, his expression turned pleading ‘Go’.

Claire’s vision blurred, eyes brimming. 

One way or another Steve was already dead. Leaving him behind was the only option. He knew that and he was telling her it was ok.

But it still tore her up inside.

With a sob Claire turned and sprinted down the hallway after Mary and Darci, leaving Steve to his fate.

---

Steve watched Claire vanish through the door. Relief washing over him, but not enough to drown out the agony. 

His whole chest was a blaze of pain, more stabbing through him with every heartbeat, lungs burning, every little twitch and motion sending fresh bolts of agony through him. But just in his chest, he didn’t feel anything below that. Not just ‘no pain’, nothing, not his feet, not his legs, nothing. He tried to wiggle his toes but nothing happened.

They said that’s how you knew you were hurt really bad.

His body gave another painful spasm, mouth filling with a coppery taste he knew had to be blood.

Steve didn’t want to die, he didn’t want it to be game over at fifteen. There was so much he still hadn’t seen, so much he wanted to do. 

But at least in the end he hadn’t been useless.

The second things had gotten bad, no– his whole life, Steve had just been dead weight for everyone.

He hadn’t done anything to stop Shannon and Eli from going off alone and getting killed. And he’d been a coward and wanted to ditch Eli and make a break for it, Darci and Jim were the ones who made them go back for Eli.

Claire was the one who came up with the ultimate escape plan. The rest of them jumping into action to follow her lead without hesitation while Steve just stood there like a useless lump.

Toby had charged the killer without wasting a second, getting killed because Steve was too stupid to watch their backs….

He heard rather than saw, moving his neck right now or even moving at all, wasn’t going to happen, the killer clown walking over to him. Staring down at Steve with an utterly blank stare, or maybe not, that was a mask, not his actual face.

At least in the end he was able to help the others get away, at least he’d gone out doing something useful and hadn’t dragged anyone else down with him.

He might be a goner, but the others would be ok, they were going to get out of here. That was something, right?

The killer grabbed a fire poker and raised it high above his head.

Steve felt his eyes brimming, even as more blood filled his mouth.

He didn’t want to die.

The poker came down hard against his skull.

---

Claire sprinted down the hallway, choking on her tears, rushing into the kitchen through the entryway.

The others were already here, Mary and Darci were tearing the room apart, shoving aside dummies and props and ripping away faux bloodstained sheets. In contrast Jim was still, leaning against the counter with one hand pressed to his abdomen, face pale and t-shirt stained with red. 

They whirled at Claire rushing into the kitchen, marginally relaxing when they saw it was her.

“Where’s Steve?” Darci asked.

The only sound Claire could manage was a strangled sob.

All three of their faces turned grim as the realization sank in.

Mary shuddered once and then it was back to business “We think that the entrance to the cellar’s in the floor, help us lift up this rug,”

Claire got down on her knees next to Darci and Mary, lifting the thin, stiff carpet to expose shriveled wooden floorboards. They rolled the carpet away, an injured Jim watching from the side, exposing more and more floor, and finally–

“Here,” Darci pushed aside a section of carpet, revealing a wooden square cut into the floor, fixed with a large brass ring.

She and Claire grabbed the ring and pulled. The door opened with an ear splitting creak, a puff of stale, musty air filling the room, below was a rickety ladder propped against the side, descending into the darkness beyond.

Mary grasped Jim’s shoulder and gently tugged him towards the trapdoor “Let’s go,” Claire watched the three of them descend into the cellar one at a time, and once Jim disappeared from her line of sight she followed. Climbing down the ladder and shutting the trapdoor behind her, descending into the darkness below.

She didn’t see any of the clown faces on their immediate heels, but she couldn't assume they weren’t following.

They still had a chance to take them by surprise and give them the slip, but their window was slim and getting narrower by the second. They needed to move fast and get out of here.

She caught a glimpse of Jim, both hands locked against his bleeding belly, her stomach pinching dangerously at the sight.

And get Jim to a hospital.

Unlike the rest of the house the basement was old and decrepit and dusty in an authentic and not intentional way. And because she and Jim hadn’t come through earlier and turned on the electric candles, the only light came from Mary and Darci’s phone flashlights.

Claire pulled her own phone out and turned on the light. Bouncing it around the dark space until she spotted the cellar doors.

“There’s the exit, we may have to bust it open so let’s be ready to–”

“Claire, wait,”

They all turned towards Darci, who was eyeing the cellar doors suspiciously “One of those guys was already in here waiting for us, what if they set up another ambush outside?”

Ice water crashed over Claire, now eyeing the door like she would a nest of poisonous snakes, imagining one of the clowns waiting just on the other side.

“Then…what do we do?” Jim croaked out.

Heartbeat in her throat, Claire frantically bounced her light around the small space. There had to be another way out, a third option, something she just wasn't seeing, there had to–

She froze as her light caught something shiny, and when she realized what it was, hope surged.

“Over there!” Claire pointed towards a small door set high on the wall, metal slide leading up to it “I think it’s an old coal chute, that’s our way out,”

Mary rushed forward to join Claire at the shut, Darci letting Jim lean on her as they stepped up themselves. The light of their phones flashing on the metal as they pointed it up towards the door.

“Darc, C-bomb, you guys head out first so you can pull Jim up while I give him a boost, I’ll follow behind him,”

“I– I can–” Jim spat up a mouthful of blood.

Something cold and heavy sank in Claire’s gut “You just take it easy Jim, we’ll get you to the hospital in no time,”

Jim’s only response was a tight nod.

Claire opened her mouth to ask if Darci wanted to head out first–

What if they set up another ambush outside?

The words shriveled and died in her throat.

“Wh– why don’t I go first,”

Darci’s eyebrows raised, sharing a quizzical look with Mary “Oh…ok,”

Claire knew if she dragged this out she was never going to do it so she got down on her belly and started shimmying up the chute without wasting another second.

She pushed open the metal door, wincing at the load creak, and peeked out. In the brief time they’d been inside the daylight had faded away to almost nothing. But even through the dusk she could see that the area behind the farmhouse was vacant.

“All clear guys,” Claire pulled herself up and out through the metal door, bellycrawling onto the grass, as soon as she was clear she turned and reopened it, extending a hand down “Come on, I’ll pull you up,”

Darci’s ascent was fast, crawling up the chute and out the door to join Claire on the grass in less than ten seconds. 

Through the cracked door Claire could hear Mary’s voice wafting up from the basement.

“Come on Jimmy Jam you’re up,”

Claire and Darci flanked the door, holding it wide open and each of them extending a hand down as far as they could reach. From below Mary helped Jim climb onto the shute, boosting him up to them by a foot, bringing him high enough for Darci and Claire to each grab a hand and pull. 

Something inside her twisted when she spotted Jim’s face. Expression pinched, skin pale and clammy, practically sweating in pain, and maybe she was imagining it but the dark red spot on his belly seemed even bigger.

Claire bit her lip and fought to keep her breathing under control as they pulled him out onto the grass. Jim would be fine, he was still alive and moving, they were almost home free, they were going to get out of here and get Jim to a hospital.

He was going to be fine, they all were.

Jim collapsed onto the ground, she moved to help him up, but he held up a hand.

“I’m….fine….” he pushed the word out past gritted teeth “Get…Mary…out”

She crawled back over to rejoin Darci at the door, reaching a hand down to where Mary was already shimmying up the slide to pull her up through the door.

Now that they were out they needed to get into the woods ASAP, the closest way would be back the way they came, but Claire really didn’t want to be funneled between the barn and the hay maze again. They could go through the empty booths set up behind the house, but with all those little buildings their could easily be another amb–

Something ripped Mary out of her hands.

Mary caught herself on the edge of the edge of the door by her fingertips, face a picture of shock.

Glimpsing past her down into the cellar Claire’s breath caught in her throat.

Down in the basement two figures had grabbed Mary by the ankles. 

Both of them wearing clown masks.

Turning and peeking behind her, the whites of Mary’s eyes bulged.

“Pull me up!” 

Claire and Darci surged forward, grabbing Mary’s forearms and yanking with all their might.

The pull on the other end was unyielding but they didn’t give up, they didn’t dare.

Mary gritted her teeth, her whole body pulled taut “Don’t stop,” she forced out “Keep going,”

She couldn’t let Mary go, not when she was so close, not when they were so close. They’d lost so many, half of them were dead. They couldn’t lose anyone else.

She wouldn’t let that happen.

Claire dug in her heels, tightened her fingers around the flesh of Mary’s hand and forearm, and pulled.

Finally, finally, there was some give. Slowly but steadily Claire and Darci pulled Mary through the door. Tugging and tugging until her shoulders were out, then her waist. 

Buzzing euphoria shot through Claire

They were going to do it, they were going to pull Mary free and book it towards the woods and then–

Out of nowhere the pull dragging Mary back into the basement suddenly became much stronger, before Claire could react Mary was ripped out of their arms, dragged screaming down back into the cellar.

With the killers.

Claire immediately dropped to her knees, scrambling at the small door. Tearing it open, through the basement gloom she saw Mary crumpled on the ground in front of the chute. Behind her stood the two clown faces, one of them had his arm raised. He was holding something shiny, it was too big to be a knife, so what could it–

The machete.

“Mary!”

He swung the machete down hard, landing in Mary’s shoulder with a sickening squelch of blade meeting flesh and a spray of blood, an agonized howl ripping out of Mary’s throat. 

Then he did it again, over and over, more blood spraying out, spattering the metal shute and the pasty clown masks, Mary thrashing on the ground under the relentless hacks of the machete, her cries of pain getting louder and sharper, stretching out into something so pained and twisted that it barely sounded human.

She had to do something, help her, save her, she couldn’t just leave Mary to die–

Something ripped her away from the barn, the sight vanishing but wails of pain and sounds of blade meeting meat persisting. Claire yanked one arm free, spinning around to shove away the force pulling on her other shoulder.

Only to stop dead when she saw it was Jim tugging on her. Face waxy but expression resolute. From off to the side Darci recovered from the harsh shove “C’mon Claire we’ve gotta go,”

“We need to go back for Mary!”

“Claire we…we…” Darci choked up “We can’t help her…”

“So what, we just leave her behind!?” 

“We can’t help Mary without getting ourselves killed…” Darci moved to grab Claire’s shoulder again but Claire shook her off, something breaking in Darci’s expression as she did “Claire we’ve got to go, we’ve got to–”

A blur of motion cut past them, a low grunt escaping Jim. Claire and Darci snapped around, Jim was staggering, the shaft of an arrow sticking out of his shoulder. Fresh panic spiking through her, Claire whirled her gaze upwards. There was another clown face standing on the roof of the farmhouse, staring down at them through the sights of a crossbow.

“Run!” Darci screamed. 

They each grabbed one of Jim’s arms and ran.

They booked it around the side of the house. This wasn’t the fastest way to the woods, in fact there was a large stretch of empty field between the woods and them this way. But an open area meant less opportunities for ambush, and they’d be able to see anyone com–

As they cleared the farmhouse and sprinted towards the clearing, Claire glanced to their side–

The pumpkin canon, which earlier had been pointed down towards the open field, was now aimed directly at them, with a clown standing by it.

Claire staggered to a stop, pulling Darci and Jim to a halt with her.

The tell-tale hiss of compressed air crept across the clearing.

Darci stumbled “Claire wha–”

“Back the other way,”

“What ar–”

“Back the other way!”

Darci’s gaze landed on the pumpkin canon, confusion smoothing out into terrified realization. 

They scrambled back the way they came, pulling a staggering Jim after them. There was a loud whoosh and a rush of air, a large pumpkin shooting past where they’d been standing just seconds ago to splatter against the side of one of the booths.

Claire and Darci rushed back past the haunted house. Couldn’t go through the field, couldn’t go past the booths, their only shot was the gap between the barn and the maze that cut straight up against the woods.

The three of them charged, Claire’s heart threatening to beat out of her chest. The narrow passage to the trees seeming miles away.

Almost there, they were almost there, the woods and the meager protection they offered were right in front of them. They were so close, they just had to make it past the barn and then the–

There was a deafening crash and Claire was knocked to the ground.

Head spinning, Claire pushed herself upright, struggling to regain her bearings. Blinking her vision back into clarity, Claire found herself staring at a large chunk of concrete sitting on the ground in front of her. Jim was off to the side, groaning and pushing smaller chunks of concrete off himself. Darci was–

Her mouth went dry.

Darci wheezed, trying and failing to squirm. While Claire and Jim had just gotten glancing blows from the debris, from the chest down Darci was pinned underneath a gigantic pile of concrete and rebar. 

She looked up, eyes bleary and unfocused, but still softening when they landed on her “Claire….”

Hearing Darci sound so frail shot Claire into action. She scrambled over on her hands and knees, tearing chunks of concrete off of Darci as fast as she could “It’s going to be ok Darc, I’m gonna get you out of here,”

Darci’s only response was a strangled moan.

Blood was rushing in her ears, Claire’s hands were shaking. The concrete was so heavy, some pieces she could barely lift, and there were so many on top of Darci, crushing her, killing her. Claire needed to get her free and get them out of–

In a tremendous crash more concrete rained down on top of them, Claire jerking her arms up to shield her face and Darci letting out a shrill cry as more piled on top of her.

As soon as the hail of concrete ceased Claire’s gaze shot up. Another clown face was standing on the roof of the barn next to them, staring down at them through their mask, holding an empty wheelbarrow.

Claire forced herself to rip her gaze away from the clown, going back to frantically tearing at the pile of concrete on Darci. Her hands were worn raw, blood oozing from her palms, but she didn’t slow down, she didn’t dare.

Darci whimpered, twitching under the concrete.

“I’ve got you Darci, I’ve got–”

Another deafening rain of stone and concrete, sharps chunks bruising and cutting Claire’s face and arms as they descented. And when it finally ended only one of Darci’s hands was visible.

Claire’s galloping heart gave a painful clench. There was no way she could dig her out of this in time, she’d given it her all and barely made a dent, and that clown kept throwing more and more–

Desperate, Claire grabbed the hand sticking out of the concrete and pulled, Darci’s finger’s feebly gripping her own “Come on Darci, I’ve got you, I’ve got you, I–”

Glancing off to the side, her blood went cold, frozen with Darci’s hand in her grip, two clown faces steadily approaching them.

Nerves screaming, Claire’s pulling intensified, even while Darci’s grip weakened “I’ve got you I’ve got you I’ve go–”

Another relentless hail of concrete and stone, but this time Claire didn’t let go of Darci’s hand, even all jagged chunks of concrete ripped at her face and arms.

She glared up at the clown on the roof through her tears.

"Leave us alone!"

Darci’s hand barely had any strength left in it, but Claire didn't stop pulling. 

Can't leave her behind, have to get her out of here, have to get all of them out of he–

Jim groaned from behind her, off to the side the clowns were getting closer, butcher knife and bloody machete held at the ready.

And no matter how much she pulled Darci wasn’t budging.

Her hand a limp, heavy thing in Claire’s grip. 

Claire let out a howling sob, dropped Darci’s hand, heart ripping in two, pulled Jim up by the shoulder, and ran.

She sprinted with all her might towards the woods, Jim stumbling beside her with one arm slung over her shoulder, not daring to look behind her. Even when they reached the treeline she didn’t slow down. Stumbling over roots and brambles charging deep into the dark forest with all her might.

---

From atop the roof of the old farmhouse, the lone figure kept their gaze trained and crossbow aimed at the two smaller figures in the distance as they ran towards the forest, barely visible in the dying sunlight. 

The figure held steady, even as the two on the ground vanished into the trees. For a second they continued holding the crossbow up, then slowly lowered it. Unloading and un-notching it. Crossbow lowered, they pulled a small object from their hip and raised it to their face.

"I just spotted the last two heading into the forest by the barn," 

The device crackled in their grip, the static clearing into another voice. 

"Leave them, the last thing we want is to be playing hide and seek in the woods, and the six we already got will be more than enough,"

They reholstered the radio, not bothering to reply, and headed towards the edge of the roof, climbing down the same ladder they’d used to get up.

On the ground near the bottom of the house others in similar garb waited for them.

The figure from the roof looked over them for a moment, all of them standing there silently, then reached up and pulled off her mask.

---

Claire didn’t know how long they’d been running, the woods were pitch black, she had no idea where they were going, they'd nearly tripped countless times in their breakneck sprint over rocks and tree roots. 

But she didn’t dare slow down, for all she knew the clowns could be right behind them. Claire could see it so clearly in her mind, the clowns chasing after them, right on their heels with blades in hand, ready to carve her and Jim apart in an instant. 

So she kept on running, even as her legs and lungs ached, heart threatening to burst, keeping a steely grip on Jim’s arm slung over the back of her neck.

By now she was practically dragging him.

The whole time they’d been running Jim had been getting slower and slower, putting more and more weight on her. Claire struggling to keep up her speed while practically carrying him. 

And while the front of her mind was ablaze with panic, deep down dark worry of what that meant for Jim swirled. 

Claire gritted her teeth, hauled Jim up higher against her shoulder, and pressed on. Emptying her mind of all thoughts except putting one foot in front of the other. 

She had to keep going, no matter how far away it was their only hope was forward, behind them was certain death. Had to press on, couldn’t slow down, their lives depended on it. 

Just keep runni–

Her foot caught against a rock, gravity took control before she could right herself and their momentum turned against them. 

Claire and Jim hurtled towards the ground, dirt and bark tearing into her arms and legs as she tried to break her fall, and landed hard. The air knocked from her already burning lungs and sudden brightness popping into her vision.

Shocked at how bright it was, Claire scrambled upright, ignoring the stinging in her palms and knees, and glanced around. They had stumbled into a clear space in the woods, the moon wasn’t full full but it was pretty big, and now that it wasn’t blocked by the trees it gave her just enough light to see by.

Shaking off the surprise, Claire frantically crawled over to where Jim lay sprawled out on the forest floor. Fortunately he’d fallen on his front, so the bolt hadn’t been forced in deeper. Her fingers twitched, tempted to yank it out, but she knew that would only make the bleeding worse. She grabbed one of his arms and pulled him onto his side.

“C’mon Jim we gotta keep going we gotta–”

Jim spasmed, head jerking to the side, a horrible hacking sound escaping him, blood coming out with it.

Knives twisted in her gut “Jim we have to keep going, we have to get you to the hospital, we–”

“Can’t–” he coughed, more blood flecking on his lips “C– Can’t…”

“Jim you have to, we–”

Claire happened to look down, the chill already racing beneath her skin getting even colder. The front of his shirt was completely soaked with blood, ink black under the moonlight.

She gritted her teeth, if Jim couldn’t walk she would carry him herself. Claire put her feet underneath her and pushed herself upright, only to get knocked back to the ground by a wave of exhaustion. She tried to get up again but her muscles were jello.

Stopping had been a mistake, now the adrenaline that had been keeping her going was gone and she could barely move.

Jim needed a hospital, but neither of them could stand right now, let alone run. She needed to try to slow the bleeding down herself.

Shaking, Claire sank back onto her knees and pulled Jim into her lap, taking care to avoid the bolt. And even while the idea of what she was about to do made her nauseous, Claire put her hand over where the blood was thickest on Jim’s stomach and pressed down. Bile rose in her throat, gagging as warm sticky blood oozed between her fingers and a pained hiss escaped Jim’s teeth “It’s ok, I’ve got you I’ve got you…”

Claire kept pressing down, even as more blood welled up around her hand, stomach pinching dangerously, forcing back the urge to vomit. She didn’t dare let up on the pressure, but if she kept looking she was going to puke.

Tearing her gaze away, Claire forced herself to focus on the far side of the clearing to try and clear her–

An unexpected pop of color stood out against the forest floor. It took a few seconds for her to realize what it was.

A rusty beer can.  

She swept her gaze around the clearing, taking scope of their surroundings. A clearing in the forest surrounded by stones, littered with decades old debris, and a small fire pit full of empty beer cans in the middle. They’d been here, all of them, just a few hours ago. The rock she’d tripped on had been the same one Darci had sat on.

Jim coughed again, Claire’s focus snapping back to him, a low mumble escaping him.

“Don’t try to talk, just hang in there and I–”

“I…I made you slow,” he wheezed “If I hadn’t…then Darci…and Mary…and Steve wouldn’t have had to…” he was cut off by another spasm, shaking him from deep within.

“Don’t talk like that!” Claire snapped, harsher than she intended “It’s not your fault, you didn’t do anything wrong, you couldn’t have…”

Jim’s bloody lips twisted in a grimace, he opened his mouth again, only to have it come out as a wheeze that turned into another bloody cough.

Claire’s heart twisted in on itself, squeezing his shoulder as tight as she could, pressing on his stomach as hard as she dared. Her eyes never leaving his.

“It’s gonna be ok Jim, I’ve got you,”

Jim’s shoulders slumped back into her grip, blood pouring out from between his lips, looking up at her with a pained gaze.

“It’s going to be fine, we’re going to get you the the hospital and–”

Jim shuddered again, a low rasp of air escaping him, the back of his head slumping into her arm as his entire body went limp.

The pain in his eyes fading away into an awful emptiness.

“....Ji….Jim?”

He didn’t move, a heaviness to his body that hadn’t been there seconds ago. Face slack, trickle of blood running out of his open mouth, blue eyes staring sightlessly into her own.

She jerked her bloody hand away from his stomach, the world around her spinning to a stop.

Jim was gone, she was holding him right here in her arms, staring into his eyes, but he was gone.

A deep hollowness settled into her gut, even as her ribs constricted around her chest.

She’d pulled him from that basement, dragged him halfway through the woods, and now he was gone.

No it was just her, all alone, clinging to Jim’s dead body.

Everyone was gone. Jim, Mary and Darci, Steve, Toby, Shannon and Eli.

They were all dead, all but her.

Claire couldn’t move, breath picking up faster and faster, pinned in place by the shock and horror of it all, hysteria rising.

Even though she was covered in their blood it almost didn’t feel real. Things like this were only supposed to happen in movies, not in real life, not to them.

Just a few hours ago, it felt like a lifetime, all of them had been sitting here without a care in the world, laughing and joking together.

Then those sick bastards had killed them all.

Leaving just her standing among all the bodies.

I could be a final girl.

Despite everything the edges of her mouth involuntarily curled upwards, panting breaths twisting into a hysterical laugh.

That’s how stories like this were supposed to end right? With one final sole survivor. 

The last woman standing. 

The final girl.

Left alive to walk triumphantly into the sunrise as the end credits rolled. 

Just as quickly as it had come the manic laughter trailed off into gut wrenching sobs.

What a sick fucking joke.

She didn’t feel anything like a survivor. All her friends were dead slaughtered in front of her eyes. She couldn’t save a single one of them, their lives ripped away in front of her eyes.

Weak.

How could she go on after letting all their lives slip through her fingers? 

Useless. 

And the worst part was deep down she knew their killers would never be punished.

By the time Claire made it out of the woods, called the police, and got cops out to the farm, the killers would be long gone.

Her eyes burned, tears running down her cheeks, as she stared into Jim’s sightless ones, more sobs gushing out of her. They’d only been dating for a month, but he was sweet and caring and she loved the time they’d shared together. Now every future kiss, every future dance, every moment they’d never had was stolen from them.

A keening sound escaped the back of her throat as more tears fell.

Mary and Darci, her two best friends, they’d known each other for over a decade. Made plans for senior year and college and adulthood together. Now all that was gone, their lives ripped out of her hands.

More sobs came, rocking her whole body with their force.

And Steve, for almost all the time Claire knew him he’d been a jerk, but he’d been trying so hard to be better, and now he never would.

She’d only known Toby through being Jim’s best friend, but she liked him, he was sweet and funny, and he’d charged at the killer without a second thought. And now he was gone.

Eli hadn’t deserved what had happened to him, dying alone and abandoned.

Even Shannon, someone she barely knew, and now never would.

Claire was barely aware of  Jim’s weight in her arms, an ocean of grief surging through her. Countless emotions crashing into her at once, pinning her in place on the ground while her body quaked with the force of the sobs shaking it.

People she loved, people she knew, people she wanted to know. All gone.

You failed them.

And every time she shut her eyes she saw them dying all over again.

The storm inside her surging to a peak, Claire pulled Jim as tight to her chest as she could, threw back her head, and screamed.

Screamed with grief for what she’d lost, screamed with anguish for what she would never have, and screamed with helpless rage at the killers who would never be punished. 

Claire screamed and screamed until there was no air left inside her, trailing off into a hoarse croak, no emotions left to empty out into the empty forest, absolute silence filling the clearing. 

Sitting there on her knees, panting and trembling, Jim still sprawled across her lap, body too weak to move but still burning with–

A concussive wave blasted through the clearing. 

Wobbling, Claire braced herself on the ground with one hand, the other protectively clutching Jim’s shoulder. Grief eclipsed by fresh panic.

What was that?

The sensation had reminded her of the boom of especially loud bass at concerts, but even that wasn’t quite right, and that sensation had always been more like a push, this had been a pull tugging her towards–

Claire glanced towards the center of the clearing only to stop dead. The firepit was gone. The circle of small stones was still there, but the inside was gone, everything inside the ring of stone a solid void of pitch black. She kept looking and looking and waiting for her eyes to adjust and give her a peek at one of the beer cans inside it, but it remained a bottomless black.

A chill swept over her that had nothing to do with the autumn night or the horrors she had just endured. Hadn’t it been normal when she’d stumbled into this clearing a few minutes ago? She hadn’t been paying a lot of attention to her surroundings, but a pitch black pit like surely would have grabbed her attention so when–

The stones bled.

Claire jerked backwards reflexively, dragging Jim with her, the oily redness around the pit rapidly spreading outwards. Grass and plants withered as the redness touched them, shriveling into burned looking husks. Rusty looking flakes peeling off of them falling–

Claire’s mouth went dry.

Up, they were falling up. Filling the air like flakes of bloody snow ascending to the sky.

For a moment she was so stunned she forgot to be afraid, it was only when the redness was about to touch them did she remember her fear.

She fumbled backwards, trying to get Jim and herself clear, but the redness swept under them, leaving them untouched, continuing its progress along the clearing, only halting when it reached the larger stones at the edge.

Claire just stayed there kneeling in the dirt, swiveling around at the inexplicable scene unfolding around her. So caught up in the sight of the rusty stuff rising from the ground she nearly missed the little flicker of motion.

She stopped and stared, surely she’d just imagi– 

Something moved inside the bottomless blackness of the pit.

Claire froze, breath caught inside her chest. More shadows shifting inside the dark pit, before something emerged. 

It was long and narrow, the top tapered to a sharp point, several more just like it following shortly after all connected to a–

An icy chill crept up her spine.

Those were fingers, that was a hand.

The hand slowly reached over the circle of stones and pressed against the ground, joints cracking as it did. The wrist bent at a sharp angle, releasing more cracking sounds as it did, the hand pushing against the ground to raise a long long arm connected to it out of the pit. Then a second hand emerged with another long arm behind it.

Claire could only watch, heart pounding in her throat, as whatever was in the pit pulled itself free.

A round head emerged first, facing away from her, followed by a spindly neck connected to broad, angular shoulders tapering to a narrow, almost emaciated chest. The…the thing sank low to the ground, crawling the rest of the way out of the pit. Its waist impossibly thin, almost wasp-like over sharp, jutting hip bones, legs just as long and gangly as its arms trailing along after it. 

For a moment it stayed there crouched on its hands and feet on the ground, then it snapped its head straight back, in a move that should have broken its neck, piercing Claire with its gaze.

A sharp gasp of breath escaped her, pinned in place under the thing’s stare. Its head was smooth and featureless; no mouth or nose, not even ears, just eyes. The thing's eyes were solid silver, the only part of its body that wasn’t dark, no pupil or sclera to speak of, staring back at her like twin, gleaming coins. 

Without moving its head, the creature slowly stood and rose to its full height, body snapping and contorting to face her without its eyes ever once leaving her. It was tall, head nearly even with the tree trops, long fingered hands hanging down to its knees. There was something vaguely skeletal about it, the suggestion of hip and shoulder bones in the sharp angles of its waist and shoulders, rib-like ridges lining its chest. Under the moonlight the thing had looked black at first, but now she could see it was actually a dark, almost wet looking red, giving the overall appearance of something that had been skinned. Shining silver gaze still locked onto Claire. 

Her instincts were screaming at her to run, but exhaustion pressing down on her too heavily.

They stared at each other in silence, red ash falling up all around them. 

“Who are you who has summoned me?” 

A voice boomed out, not overly loud, but unfathomably deep, echoing across the clearing.

Claire jerked back out of reflex, was that the–

“You who have called me to this plane,” the thing took a step towards her, speaking somehow despite having no mouth “What would you have of me?”

Her jaw gaped open and shut, struggling to get words out of her petrified throat "Wh– who are you?"

The creature didn't so much as twitch “I have been known by many names across the eons, but the ones who first pulled me through these stones knew me as the crooked one, the god of the bloody mound, Crom Cruach,”

“Cr– Crom Cruach…” 

For the first time the thing’s gaze left her own, going down to Jim in her arms.

“So that is what called to me, your loss,”

Claire scrabbled backwards against the ground, sneakers kicking up dirt, sending more red flakes up in a flurry, dragging Jim away from it “Do– don’t you touch him!” 

She tried to make her voice sound angry, but what came out was a desperate whine.

It– he? Crom, lifted his gaze back up towards her “Tell me child,” he took another step towards her, Claire scooting further back “What would you do, to have your lover returned to you?”

Claire’s jaw dropped open, blinking in surprise.

Did he….did he mean….

Crom slowly raised a long, dagger sharp finger, pointing it down at Jim in her arms

“Ask it of me, and you may hold him, whole and sound, in your arms again this night,”

Her teeth ground together so hard they hurt, fresh burning surging behind her eyes. 

A big scary monster rising out of the ground and offering to bring her dead boyfriend back to life?

Yeah, fuck that.

“No thanks,” she growled.

Crom crooked his head to the side with a painful sounding crack “You speak of denial, but even now I can taste your sorrow, why try to deceive me and yourself when I can grant your deepest wish?” 

All the emotion from the past several hours; rage, grief, fear, exhaustion, surged, boiled over, overriding ever ounce of self preservation in her body “You think I’m stupid!?” she snapped “You say you’ll bring him back, but you're probably just full of it! And even if you could bring Jim back it’d just be as a– a– a zombie or something!”

He cocked his head even further, so far that it almost looked like its neck was broken “Zom…bie?”

Claire pulled a lip up in a growl “A walking corpse! A sick, rotting fake! You say you can bring him back, but I don’t believe you!”

She sat there panting, heart pounding, Crom staring at her with his liquid metal gaze. For a moment Claire was sure he would rip her head off with a single swipe of his hands, then he stepped forward, closing the distance between them in a single breath.

“Lies are a human art,” he bent down towards her in a series of jerking motions “The wolf does not deceive as it slaughters the lamb, nor does the flame as it consumes the forest, so child…” 

His face was only inches away from her now “Look into my eyes, and tell me if you think I am speaking false,”

Alarm bells were screaming in Claire’s head, clutching Jim protectively to her chest–

But there’s nothing to protect, he’s just a corpse now, you’re clinging to a dead lump of meat.

Despite every instinct in her body wailing at her to get away– she couldn’t contain her burning curiosity…and the faint flicker of hope.

Claire squeezed her eyes shut, raised her head until she knew she was facing Crom dead on, and then opened them.

Twin pits of liquid silver started back at her, glowing with unearthly light. As she stared, she found that she was able to pick little flecks out of what she had thought had been solid.

Glimmers, flickers, sparks.

Hundreds of thousands of white hot metal sparks swam in his eyes, burning in an infinite, silver inferno, the head of them heat searing into her eyes.

Brighter, hotter, than anything she’d seen before.

Than anything that had a right to exist.

Claire wanted to look away but found herself mesmerized, even as the horror grew.

These weren’t eyes, they were gates, pits leading down into that merciless white hell, burning and burning.

This fire wasn’t something that deceived, squeezed itself into a different shape and pretended to be something it wasn’t. It would only tear and burn and consume everything that it touched.

Claire finally forced herself to rip her gaze away, staring at the ground, panting with fear, blood rushing in her ears, hearing the creaks as Crom stood back up straight.

She didn’t know what this thing in front of her– Crom, was, but he wasn’t lying, that much she was sure of, but still…

“It can’t be that easy…” she whispered, still looking down at the rusty, peeling ground, Jim clutched protectively against her chest “If bringing people back to life was easy everyone would do it…”

Crom snapped his head up straight “There is truth in what you say. Death takes a tithe that even I cannot deny. Your love’s human life has ended, but I can summon his soul from the otherworld into a new life,”

Claire peeked up at him “You…make it sound like he wouldn’t be human,”

“He would not,”

Her gaze lowering until her eyes met Jim’s sightless ones, heart pounding “If he wouldn’t be human…what would he be?”

“A beast of old, a being of magic reflected from his own essence. But though his flesh will no longer be human, his soul will be untarnished, his memories intact, and his mind his own,” 

Despite herself Claire felt her breathing start to pick up, it sounded too good to be true. But it had to be, whatever he was Crom wouldn’t– couldn’t lie, and Jim wouldn’t be human but he would still be Jim, and tha–

“Then, there is the matter of my payment,”

The glimmer of hope flickered.

There it was, the horrible catch, he’d bring back Jim, but only if Claire paid some kind of terrible price. She knew this was coming, Crom might not be a liar but she knew he was dangerous. If she was smart she’d tell him to go back to whatever hell he crawled out of, but….

She looked down at Jim again, his eyes, once so full of warmth and kindness, now cold and empty, his entire front slick with rapidly cooling blood, the sight twisting a knife in her heart–

Darci and Mary’s fingers wrapped tight around her own, the sickening crack as Steve's spine hit the iron grate, Toby’s blood splattering on her face, water dripping from Eli’s clammy fingertips, Shannon’s crumpled body lying there behind the hay–

She’d failed them, she’d let them all die. But now she had a chance to save them, all of them, and she wouldn’t let that slip through her fingers.

No matter how much it cost her.

“I’ll do it,” her voice was diamond hard “But I want to bring all of my friends back, not just Jim, all seven of them,”

If Crom was pleased or displeased by this he gave no sign “The payment for seven souls will be greater than for one,”

“I don’t care!” Claire snapped “I want them back, All of them!”

Crom stared at her for a moment, studying her with his molten silver gaze, before raising a hand, large enough to wrap around a tree trunk, and holding it out towards her “Very well, now my price,”

Claire swallowed hard but nodded her head.

“You shall serve as my priestess, blessed with unrivaled power and the collective knowledge of all my past shamans, and–”

“No.”

Crom stopped, his stare burning into her.

Claire swallowed but held her ground “I don’t want power, I don’t want revenge, I just want my friends back,”

A shudder rippled across Crom’s body, claw-like fingers curling together over his palm.

Claire shrunk back.

For the first time since she’d seen him, Crom was…displeased.

“There are forces and tithes in these worlds that even I cannot deny,” his voice was no louder than it was before, but now had a jagged edge to it “In order to work my miracles on this plane I need an anchor for my power,”

He raised his other hand, a single sharp finger pointing down at her “A priestess, and I have no use for a weak emissary, the power and knowledge I would give you is not something to be bargained for, but tied to your priestesshood. What you do with that power is entirely your own choice,”

Claire felt herself start to shake but nodded her head “Ok, I– I’ll be your priestess, but you said you needed a priestess just to bring them back, what else do you need?”

Crom’s head twisted to the side with a sharp snap “There is a balance to the worlds that cannot be disrupted, in order to summon seven souls from the otherworld I need seven more to cast down. To give your life new power I need a life to consign to the flame. For the seven souls returned and your own flesh reborn I require eight souls before the sun rises, eight for eight,”

“So…to bring my friends back…you need me to be your priestess to give you an anchor, and you need…you need to…take…eight people, before sunrise, to keep the balance?” 

“Correct, on this night while the veil is thin, all souls may exist on this plane, but if you do not bring me the eight before the sun rises, your power will fade and the souls of your companions will be pulled back to the otherworld.”

“If…if that’s just what you need, then….” Claire’s voice dropped to a low whisper “Then what’s the payment?”

---

Crom kept his hand outstretched towards her “Do we have a bargain?”

Claire bit her lip. This was it, she was so close to bringing them back, all of them, and yet…

“What happens to people whose lives you claim? Do their souls go to…to hell or…”

Crom crooked his head again, by now Claire knew that was the way he showed surprise or curiosity, but for her sake, not his own.

“Just as this world has mountains and deserts, so to does the otherworld have many peaks and valleys. The souls of those who depart this world dwell there, as do I. I can call souls forth or cast them down but I cannot control where they fall,”

Claire’s teeth dug so hard into her skin she tasted blood. That was…still unclear, but it was probably the best she was going to get from him, and it didn’t sound like souls he claimed were instantly condemned to hell. That was good right?

But still, what he wanted in return…

“So child,” Crom again offered her his upturned hand “Do you accept the terms of our compact?”

Claire didn’t answer him, again looking down at Jim’s bloody, dead-eyed body in her arms. Even though the thought of what she was about to do, what she was agreeing to, sickened her, Claire didn’t let herself stop. She reached behind him, grabbed that shaft of the bolt, and yanked it out of his shoulder with a sickening squelch, throwing it to the other side of the clearing. Now free of the protrusion, she gently lowered him to lie flat on the ground, and then forced her own feet underneath her.

This was going to be bad, just the bare minimum of what he needed was almost too much. And then the actual price…

Claire swallowed back her nerves, forcing her trembling arms and legs to steady.

But all the people she failed, her friends, they would be back, all of them. And maybe they wouldn’t be human, but they’d be themselves and they’d be alive. And Claire would be the only one to pay the price, not them. 

She raised her chin, meeting Crom’s gaze without flinching “I do,”

Crom stepped even closer, Claire forcing herself to hold her ground as he approached.

Only a foot away from her now, Crom held out his upturned palm, which as she watched, welled up with oily red fluid. It reminded her a little of blood, but blood wasn’t this dark, or this thick.

“Then accept it,”

Even though every instinct in her body was screaming at her to get away Claire lifted her own hand.

She was going to get them back, all of them. She would save them the way she couldn’t before.

She eyed the dark fluid in his hand, belly churning with dread. Crom remained still the entire time, liquid metal gaze watching her every move.

Then before she could stop herself, Claire plunged her hand into the middle of his. It sank up the wrist, the fluid surrounding it thick and tacky, almost like tar. Even as more dread flooded into her Claire shoved her hand deeper and de–

The fluid clamped around her hand, thousands of needles stabbing into every inch of skin it touched. Lightning shooting up her arm until it hit her spine, crackling through her entire body, every cell wailing in agony. She tried to jerk her hand away but the nerves wouldn’t respond, her entire body spasming as electricity raced through her, hand crushed inside a thousand teeth.

Then, through the agony spotting her vision, Claire saw Crom raising his other hand, lifting a single finger to tap her in the center of her forehead.

Bright light exploded in her vision, head threatening to crack in two even as every inch of her body blazed with pain.

The ground rushed up to meet her, Claire barely noticed hitting the dirt, getting a flash of black veins shooting up her arm as she fell. She lay there helpless, spasming on the ground. Wave after wave of agonizing energy coursing through her, tearing into every inch of her body. From the skin on her fingertips down to her toes all the way into the marrow of her bones, not one part of her escaped, every speck of her flesh searing with pain. 

Her teeth clacked together as she continued to convulse. Lightning crackling through her skull, the white hot stars flashing behind her eyes morphing into images.

A wild storm over an ocean of raging garnet colored waves.

People standing in a circle inside this same stone ring, raising blank, wooden masks to their faces.

Squalling babies thrown into a dark pit.

Countless gaping mouths full of gnashing teeth.

Claire was barely aware of the foam spilling out the corners of her mouth, writhing on the ground as unrelenting waves of pain crashed over again and again. In between the flashes of visions she could see Crom still see Crom’s shining silver eyes watching her.

Men with cords wrapped around their necks and blades stuck in their chests shoved into swamps.

Blood pouring from a slit throat.

Shriveled grains turning green and plump.

Just when she thought she couldn’t take any more, that her body would rip apart under the strain, there was a shift.

The caustic energy shooting through her didn’t abate, but it started to settle. The pain simultaneously getting worse and better as the flesh that had rebelled so violently to the energy’s presence slowly started to let it in.

A man with a white beard down to his feet, raising his hands to the sky as rain fell around him.

People dressed in furs dancing around a massive bonfire, heads thrown back in joyful laughter, lips smeared with milk and honey.

The pain started to drain away as her body hummed with energy, a storm captured beneath her skin..

A woman painted in red from head to toe, only the whites of her eyes visible. Monsters of all shape and size, teeth and claws and fangs, all ran, but not towards her, from her. Fear flashing in their yellow eyes.

The last of the pain faded away, sensation slowly creeping back into Claire’s limbs, feeling the power that thrummed through them.

The storm wasn’t trapped inside her it was her. It swam in her blood, crackled in her nerves, sang in her bones. Buzzing along the contours of her flesh. 

That’s what she was now, a storm in the shape of a girl.

Claire rose to her feet, wiping her mouth with the back of her arm, the crippling agony from moments ago a faded memory. She squared her shoulders and looked Crom dead in the eye. He hadn't moved the entire time, hand still outstretched, palm welling with fluid, watching her expectantly. Without breaking eye contact she flicked her wrist, the storm inside her surging.

Flames burst to life around the edge of the clearing. Circling them in a ring of fire.

Crom let out a satisfied hiss, the flames illuminating the blizzard of red around them, his meat-like skin glistening in the light.

The fluid in his hand bubbled and seethed, threatening to spill over the edge of his palm.

“Our compact is made,” Crom turned and took two steps towards Jim.

Claire watched as he raised his hand over Jim and tilted it, letting some of the deep red fluid dribble on to his face.

“Now let the fallen return,”

She kept her eyes locked on Jim, on the fluid that had landed on his cheek. For a second it sat there stagnant, before sinking into his skin, draining away like water into parched earth until it vanished entirely.

Claire didn’t move, her eyes still locked onto Jim’s blue ones as they stared blankly towards her.

Then Jim blinked.

#tales of arcadia #trollhunters #toahalloween #halloween #fanfic #rmvwrites #horror #gore #dark #slasher movie style deaths #slasher movie tropes #aversion of slasher movie tropes #implied/referenced racism #implied/referenced drug use #misogynistic language #major character death #graphic depictions of violence #dig your eight graves

[i-windwater]

2023 Zodiac Analysis for Rooster, Dog, and Pig - Part 4 of 4

2023 Zodiac Analysis for Rooster, Dog, and Pig

This is the last part of our series for the 2023 Rabbit year zodiac forecast, including animal signs of Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Visit Part 1 for Rat, Ox, Tiger here: https://picturehealer.com/blog/rat-ox-and-tiger-zodiac-signs-in-2023-the-year-of-rabbit

Part 2 for animal signs of Rabbit, Dragon, and Snake here: https://picturehealer.com/blog/2023-rabbit-dragon-and-snake-chinese-zodiac-forecast-part-2-of-3

Part 3 for animal signs of Horse, Goat, and Monkey here: https://picturehealer.com/blog/2023-zodiac-analysis-for-horse-goat-and-monkey-and-the-top-money-luck-by-birth-year

We listed birth years related to each animal sign, and their compatible zodiac signs. This is for reference only. Compatible animal signs tend to get along with you easily and the incompatible signs might have very different perspectives. It takes more communication to understand each other and work toward the same goal. More misunderstandings could happen with incompatible signs.

We also pick the 3 best and worst lunar months for each zodiac sign. This is just for the big picture, so you can plan ahead and be aware of potential trouble. In real life, each month will have mixed lucky and unlucky energy. Our behavior could override everything and change the outcome.

The video link is at the bottom of this post. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel for weekly videos.

Roosters

Birth year, compatible and incompatible zodiac signs for Roosters

Stars in 2023 for Roosters

2023 is the year of the Rabbit, and Rooster is in the opposite direction. So just like Rabbit, Rooster is affected by the Tai Sui star. The major star in Rooster is called Sui Po or the year breaker. Similar to Tai Sui, it can bring more ups and downs, and unexpected changes. Avoid facing the East long term. Carrying jade or crystals for protection this year.

Lucky lunar months in 2023 for Roosters

Dogs

Birth year, compatible and incompatible zodiac signs for Dogs

Stars in 2023 for Dogs

Dogs have a major lucky star called “Long De”, among other auspicious stars. This brings a lot of good fortune, helpful people, business success, and wealth.

Some minor negative stars can bring conflict or money loss. Also, watch out for negative friends causing trouble behind you, and pay attention to your health in 2023.

Lucky lunar months in 2023 for Dogs

Pig

Birth year, compatible and incompatible zodiac signs for Pigs

Stars in 2023 for Pigs

Pigs have mixed luck in 2023. The 3-harmony star brings career luck and financial luck, but several inauspicious stars could bring you conflict or accident.

Watch out for “Xiao Ren” behind you, avoid fighting or argument, and pay attention to travel safety this year.

Lucky lunar months in 2023 for Pigs

What to do with negative stars

Here are some tips to cope with negative stars in general. First, just be mindful of your weakness and potential trouble at certain times. Awareness is the best prevention. Be more conservative during those times.

Second, do more charity work and help others. You can donate money, time, blood… It shifts your mindset and outlook. It might not cause any immediate change, but you are building up good karma. Eventually, a bigger fortune will come back to you.

Third, set up Feng Shui cures or carry lucky items with you. For example, display a Pi Xiu, Dragon, or Hulu at home for protection and to attract good energy. And wear or carry jades or crystals to raise your Qi. Any auspicious or meaningful items to you can have the same power.

The last tip is just to be patient. Instead of trying to compete with everyone, you can focus on improving yourself during this time. Learn and sharpen your skills. The luck will change around soon, and then it will be your turn to shine again.

Watch our video about 2023 zodiac signs of Rooster, Dog, and Pig

Link to the Amazon page for our picks of Feng Shui cures and enhancers: https://www.amazon.com/shop/picturehealer (This is an affiliated page for your shopping convenience. We might make a small commission for qualified purchases without any extra cost to you.)

Recent Posts

#2023 zodiac #2023 prediction #2023 rooster #2023 dog #2023 pig #2023 Chinese horoscope #2023 chinese zoidac

[itsclydebitches]

Rewatching RWBY there's this chilling lack of empathy through the volumes that I used to just wave off. Yang has no empathy for Tai, Blake is just entirely about what Blake needs, Weiss almost kills a woman at a party and her takeaway is 'my dad is mean so I'm going to run away'. Qrow sinks hard into depression in vol. 6 and Ruby's reaction is to yell she's never needed him. No one has EVER helped a civilian. It's so prevelant. Knowing how 7&8 go really changes the earlier writing.

I think there was a great deal of well-written empathy in the early volumes — after all, this cast was designed as the kind, well-meaning heroes — but that care was expressed almost solely within the group itself. Ruby sits by Jaune in the hallway and says "Nope!" to his self doubt. Weiss offers Ruby a hand up after she fails to kill the death stalker. Yang seeks out Blake and gets her to open up about what's bothering her. Now, I want to emphasize that there's nothing inherently wrong with this. It actually makes perfect sense. These are our main characters and they're written as peers co-habiting the same space. Of course whatever emotional growth we get, which automatically includes moments of compassion, would be directed towards each other. Similarly, the dynamics originally introduced — that of teachers and parents — likewise (rightly) puts the burden on the adults to provide the comfort, not the other way around. Port snaps Weiss out of her arrogant mindset. Ozpin reassures Ruby about her leadership worries. Tai is there to support his daughter when she's recovering from a lost limb. That's the natural order of things, so to speak.

The problem, to my mind, begins to occur when the group exits those dynamics. They're no longer students, they're licensed huntsmen. They're no longer kids, but equals who never needed adults in the first place. They're no longer doing things for themselves and their friends on personal downtime, they're doing them for the community at large as a profession (to say nothing of the world-altering war they've insisted on shouldering responsibility for). That's what a huntsmen is meant to be, a defender of the people, not someone who uses that power for personal interests alone. All of this is a huge change from where we started out: cutesy kids going off on comparatively low-stakes adventures because one or more of their teammates are invested, only just beginning to realize that they're signing up for a job where their desires come second (that fireside conversation at Mountain Glenn).

This change invites — demands, really — that the audience read them differently too. Qrow's spiral in Volume 6 is a good example of this. If Ruby is demanding to be treated not just as an equal in terms of maturity and experience, but also as the primary leader of this group, then the viewer expects her to treat her uncle as an equal too, not dismiss his hardship. I've seen numerous fans defend that arc with some version of, "He's her uncle. He's supposed to take care of her. He's failing" but that, according to the show, is no longer the dynamic. Qrow is now just a member of Ruby's team, someone she's responsible for as their leader. It's easiest to see the problem if we switch out Qrow for any of the other members. If Blake developed a drinking problem, do we think Ruby would just shout at her until she magically got over it? If Jaune endangered the group, do we think they'd all be angry about it, rather than trying to figure out the source of what caused the mistake? We don't even need to think hypothetically for that one because we saw it on screen. Jaune attacked Oscar and drove him off, not just threatening him, but arguably endangering the whole team by requiring a search party. Fans have long insisted they had to steal that airship right then because being in Argus was too much of a risk, but if we buy that reading (which I personally don't, but), then that means Jaune made things exponentially worse by forcing them out into that super dangerous city, rather than allowing everyone to stay hidden inside. He made a massive mistake which, according to the logic of Qrow's arc, should be met with frustration, disdain, and eventual demands to get over his anger at Ozpin or ship out. But, of course, he received nothing but concern. Yang was worried about him, not Oscar. The search becomes about his grief for Pyrrha and his team's willingness (as well as Pyrrha's family member) to provide more comfort. Suddenly, the tendency to express care solely towards those within the group becomes a flaw the story won't acknowledge.

And then it spirals. The thing to remember is that no single act here is bad on its own, especially when we consider that yes, we want flawed characters. Rather, it's about the pattern. Ruby is allowed to get mad at Qrow for his behavior and chuck her scroll in frustration. She's human. I'd be crazy frustrated too. However, if Ruby is meant to be written as a caring, sympathetic character, she should not only respond to the situation with frustration, yelling, a refusal to listen, and demands that he follow her lead, no questions asked. We can, and should, acknowledge that Weiss was the victim during that party. Her father was hurting her, the woman was beyond insensitive, Weiss was triggered in regards to a horrific event, and her power acted on its own. However, if we want to write Weiss as a compassionate, mature huntress to-be, she should acknowledge that she nearly killed someone — even an asshole someone — and vow to work on her control because she's not willing to put someone in danger like that ever again. Both of these moments have a "They could have been handled better" response attached to them — the former more-so than the latter imo — but these moments are made far, far worse due to later events in the show, events where the characters are cruel without any justification attached. Weiss didn't mean to attack that woman, but she did mean to ignore Whitely and threaten him with her weapon. So once we see that, it informs our understanding of what came before it. "Oh. The fact that Weiss never reacted to nearly killing someone isn't just a bit of missed potential, it's an early indicator that she... doesn't seem to care. If she endangers people, threatens people... that's fine with her." The group has a right to be frustrated with Qrow. The group did not have the right to magically steal Ozpin's entire life story, assault him, and blame him for the world's problems until he felt his only course of action was to run from them. So when we see that it becomes, "Oh. The fact that the group treated Qrow so poorly isn't just a one-time mistake born of a stressful situation and young adults being out of their depth in regards to alcoholism. They really will just abandon anyone the moment they start making mistakes." Anyone outside of their group, that is.

To say nothing of how all of these moments interconnect. Yang's recovery isn't just about getting used to not having an arm, it's about getting used to having a new one. Weiss' party isn't just about nearly killing someone, it's about not committing manslaughter because someone else stepped in. The Volume 6 arc isn't just about trying to escape with the Relic, it's about trying to get it somewhere safe. Fans frustrated with Ironwood's treatment don't harp on these details out of some desperate attempt to make him look good post-murder spree, rather, they recognize that he's a character that's been around since nearly the beginning, originally written as a good guy, and thus has accumulated a number of key connections with the cast. So when none of those connections are acknowledged during an arc about trust... that makes the group look very uncaring. Yang doesn't care that he gave her the arm, Weiss doesn't care that he saved her from hurting/potentially killing someone, Qrow doesn't care that he's trusted Ironwood for years (in a rival-bros way) and that they've been heading towards him this whole time. And when Ironwood begins to spiral, they don't do anything to try and help him, let alone acknowledge that their own choices, that lack of trust and empathy, had a hand in getting them here. "But it's not their responsibility to fix him!" Isn't it? Even a little? Just as human beings seeing an ally struggling under horrific decisions and circumstances? Sure, they don't have to try... but that doesn't make them look very heroic to my mind. And we can't even shrug that off by simplifying things with, "Well, Ironwood is evil now so who cares about him." They simultaneously don't care about finding Qrow who is missing, then captured. They don't do anything to try and find their missing teammates, with the exception of sending May to do it instead. They don't help the army fight off the grimm. Don't try to make sure Pietro and Maria had portals to escape through. Barely hesitate when the newly resurrected characters goes, "Kill me. That's the easiest thing for everyone." And these are just a few of the big ticket moments. It doesn't even begin to cover all the details we get that paint a picture of, "Wow okay. They just really don't care about people outside the group, huh? I mean, they say they do, in a life-or-death way, but they're not putting forth effort to show it on a daily basis."

And if you pick up on all that, if you acknowledge how much the group has changed based on where they started out, you might wonder when in the world that started. Surely we didn't just flip a switch around Volume 6. So you re-watch early stuff and, sure enough, there are moments that feel like setup for what's to come later. Not intentional setup (quite obviously), but a lack of care towards details across the series that, once the dynamic changed, became far, far more pronounced. Characters should be at least somewhat recognizable from start to finish, especially characters who have only experienced about two years of in-world time, so if we now get to see Ruby blandly commenting on all the people who are dying, or Weiss using her weapon as a means of coercing her little brother into doing what she wants, or Yang and Jaune dismissing Ren until he gives in to their point of view... we're going to look for the beginnings of that behavior early on. As you say, we were able to wave all those little details off due to a number of important factors. Now though? Now they feel like they hold a lot more weight, simply by virtue of that early material proceeding what we have now.

#rwby #rwde #mymetas

[nexyra]

RWBY's Love Language - Part 2

Hello friend ! I'm back at it with a second part and whatever character I can think of ! (Among which best boy Oscar because he deserves it, and also more adults)

Let's go !

***

Oscar Pine

So ! While I love Oscar with my whole heart, honestly guessing his Love Language is no easy feat. One thing for sure : touch isn't is thing even if it's how everyone else chose to communicate their love.

I saw a post a while back detailing how Oscar is always putting his hands up as a barrier when he's scared or uncomfortable and that makes me cry a little instead but it's true TT. Anyway...

In the latest volumes we've got quite a bit of comforting Oscar-talks but I have to wonder how much of that is due to Ozpin's influence really. As a result I've decided to settle on... Acts of Service or Quality Time ! This is based on a few details : when people are upset with him in one shape or form, Oscar was always very eager to prove himself useful, give some aspect of concrete help (such as cooking a Casserole, ringing any bell ?). Plus I imagine that's the exact brand of help his Aunt would have needed most on a farm. Added to that, he always seems fairly happy to be included, be with the others no matter what's going on. Training ? Yay ! A movie with Jaune & Weiss ? Smiling puppy look. Fancy party ? Shenanigans together ! So yea, I love seeing my boy loved and hugged but please everyone settle for the loving he's most comfortable with <3

“She made a choice! A choice to put others before herself! So do I.”

“Oh, uh, yeah. I thought you guys would appreciate a hot meal after... spending all day looking for me, apparently.”

“No, it's okay. These past few days, I've been scared of the same things you were. I don't know how much longer I'm going to be... me. But I did some thinking, and I do know that I want to do everything I can to help with whatever time I have left.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Ozpin

For our favorite immortal wizard aka not quite dead Headmaster... I think the answer is rather obvious. When you're so careful with your words, but also so fiercely devoted to humanity, Words of Affirmation is a must. Ozpin constantly does his best to calm, to reassure. He's good at controlling the conversation and getting people where he wants... Except he more often than not use it to make them think and help them reach an healing ore motivating conclusion. This man is so insisten on giving and cultivating hope, so painfully aware of just how much words can change... There's no doubt in my mind that it's through these very same words that he tries to fight the darkness in others' mind, even when they don't want to let themselves be persuaded. And with some help from the farmboi, Ozpin is gaining in honesty and earnestness. And that can only help in giving comfort.

But to be honest... If you offer him a hug I doubt he'd refuse, and he definitely deserves one. Also therapy. For Oscar too. Everyone in therapy 2k21.

“Ruby. I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet. But at this moment I would not consider your appointment to leader to be one of them. Do you?”

“It's not every day that friends are able to come together like this. Time has a way of testing our bonds, but it's nights like these that can help keep them stronger than ever. Nights like these are ones we'll never forget.”

“Don't worry, Mr. Arc. Your journey is far from over, and the same might be said for all of you. Unlocking your Semblance isn't the end. It can still grow and evolve. Providing you are willing to put in the work, who knows what could happen?”

- - - - - - - - - -

Emerald Sustrai

Now here I'm gonna go ahead and say that the way Emerald has been taught to express her love and the way SHE would rather preffered to be loved most likely do not align. At the side of someone like Cinder, and even Mercury who isn't exactly the most emotionally vulnerable person; the only brand of love that gets an easy pass is Acts of Service, and that's probably what Emerald is the most used to. I can go on a mission with you. I can help. We go right back to the "I can be useful" mentality and I'm not sure she's been shown any other way honestly. Let's be real though : if someone offered a hug or some gentle words ? She'd probably pout & fuss but I hardly doubt she'd object.

“I don't care about Salem! But I owe Cinder everything. You want to fight her that bad? Be my guest.”

“I just... Cinder was the only family I ever had. She cared about me, taught me things... But without her here, I don't know if what we're doing--”

“I've been working on my Semblance. I can help. I won't tell anybody.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Pyrrha Nikos

What's with everyone and dedicating their whole love toward just helping their teammates anyway they can ?! Stop ! But any way, you guessed it. I'm pretty sure one of Pyrrha's top way of showing love is Acts of Service, and nothing means quite as much to her as Quality Time. For someone who's been put on a pedestal and has a hard time relating to people; both touch and words can be a bit awkward. But if they're wrapped up neatly in a training session or semblance explanations ? Well that's already a more familiar area. Pyrrha gives her whole to her friends and those she cares about. And in exchange, if anyone can simply... be there and spend time with her... May it be at the ball or simply sitting in the courtyard... I'm sure our girl would be delighted.

“Jaune, you know if you ever need help, you can just ask.”

“I'm constantly surrounded by love and praise; but when you're placed on a pedestal like that for so long, you become separated from the people that put you there in the first place. But thanks to you, I've made friendships that will last a lifetime.”

“I'll do it. If you believe this will help humanity, then I will become your Fall Maiden.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Qrow Branwen

If I say Gift Giving for the corvid, is someone gonna hit me ? Come on it's fun ! Okay, more seriously... I think this kind of love conversation is kind of a necessity for Qrow. With a semblance such as Bad Luck, making everything complicated... Qrow tries to keep his distance from those he cares about. And since he's an emotionally repressed (but caring) asshole on top of it... Well that kinda narrows down his option. You know what DOESN'T put anyone at risk but can still bring smiles on their face ? GIFTS. Shiny things, souvenirs from his missions all over the world to give to 2 smol nieces. Sounds safe right ? That said, as any good emotionally unavailable character in this show, I gotta say Qrow probably has a thing for helping out and making himself useful in relation to Oz, Tai or the rest of the inner circle. So you know what that means *whisper* Acts of Service.

That said ! When it comes to receiving some love back... Qrow probably likes everything he doesn't allow himself to have. Soft touches, loving & comforting words, spending time with a friend without his semblance making everything complicated... We know that's all he wants.

“You idiot. I know you didn't do this.”

“Look, pal, I'm not sure who you are, but you need to leave my niece alone.”

“No one wanted me... I was cursed... I gave my life to you because you gave me a place in this world... I thought I was finally doing some good...”

- - - - - - - - - -

Clover Ebi

And among our newbies (and gone too soon) friends we have Clover ! Clover was a very good contrast to our dusty old crow but also a great help. Kind-hearted, perceptive and honest; he knew just how to put Qrow's self-loathing in his place and push him to give himself some credit. He always had a nice word or a joke for everyone, and visibly the rock of the Ace Ops : an expert a keeping the moral up and the mood companiable. Evidently, Words of Affirmation was his expertise. Had things gone differently, I'm sure we'd have had time for many more earnest and helpful conversations with this teal-eyed fisherman.

“It's a good thing they had someone to look up to and get them through it. Not everyone is so lucky.”

“I meant deflect a compliment. Those kids wouldn't be where they are without you. You've had more of an effect on them than you realize.”

“We don't have to fight, friend.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Winter Schnee

And today in the "emotionally unavailable" category we have... Winter Schnee ! TALK ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS PEOPLE ! Just - I would say look at Ruby but even she doesn't talk about her bad vibes... Nor does any of the "Words of Affirmation" peeps. Honestly what's wrong with y'all people ? Anyway Winter cares so much. Is it hidden behind professionalism and a stern *big sister* demeanour ? Sure. But it doesn't negate just how much she loves her closed ones. She's fiercely loyal, and even if she doesn't let her personal feelings get in the way of her duty and doing what needs to be done, no one is allowed to say she doesn't care. Countrary to Weiss, Winter doesn't seem as good nor as aware of the love that exists in simply *being* with people. Rather, she's dutiful and ready to help any way she can when given the chance. You guessed it, yet another Acts of Service kind of love... Maybe I'm doing this wrong XD. I'm on the fence about Words of Affirmation as well. Despite her standoffish looks, Winter has always been very open & reassuring during her discussions with Penny. But she's more stern when it comes to Weiss so I dunno x)

“I don't recall asking about your ranking, I'm asking how you've been. Are you eating properly? Have you taken up any hobbies? Are you making new friends?”

“You've grown up a bit, haven't you? You're not the little girl clinging to the family name anymore.”

“You can't just buy trust like everything else! You have to earn it!”

And that's it for Part 2 ! I might do some other characters if people suggest some but I don't have a pressing need to right now. I have many ideas of songs to apply to various characters however so that's prob what my next posts will consist of (or fun templates)

If anyone has tips to create RWBY gifs or links to download the eps in good quality I'll take it ! Good day everyone !

#rwby #oscar pine #emerald sustrai #ozpin #winter schnee #qrow branwen #clover ebi #pyrrha nikos #love language #fair game #love langauges

[barkkletshunt]

Those Worth Fighting For Part six

Hey everyone! Sorry this took forever to get out, work and school have been hectic. This chapter was a little rushed because of it since I’ve only been able to write it before work each mornings, but I hope you’ll like it nonetheless. 

Taglist:

@ladybug-182 @fruit-snacc-ace @miraculous-simmer7 @lavenderjunes  @use-flamethrower 

Part one             Part two

Part three           Part four

Part five             Part six (you’re here)

Part seven         Part eight 

Things were out of control. The pipes throughout Paris were alive and there weren’t enough superheroes to keep people safe, and Ladybug had no idea what to do. She had called everyone to tell them that the weak spot of the beast was at the museum, but that didn’t stop the destruction from around Paris from happening. 

There was chaos all around her, and it made it nearly impossible to get to the actual museum itself. If it hadn’t been for that Alley Cat intervening she wasn’t sure if she would have found her way there at all. The situation had her on high alert and she couldn’t help but be reminded of the day she lost the miraculous’ and that fear had gripped her heart. It was almost enough to make her cry. 

That wasn’t going to happen again though, and she knew it. She had thought up more backup and emergency plans just for the box than she had any time before then. The box was safe inside three other boxes in her own basement. She had designed specialty locks with Max to ensure it won’t be unlocked by fall damage or a personal assistant of a heiress. She knew it was safe. The damage had been done and she had learned from it, and now could only hope that she could make up for it. She wouldn’t fall down that rabbit hole of self doubt again.

Ladybug dodged the metal pipes that tried to attack her, and with a quick group call on her yoyo she was able to make sure everyone was on the same page on where to go. Much to her surprise two unfamiliar voices responded along with the heroes she knew would be out. 

“Miss. Bug, if you have a moment?” Alley Cat's voice came clear over her yoyo in a personal call, just the two of them. 

“What is it?” She snapped with more harshness than she had meant. She was irritated at the circumstance, and only a little at the stray cat that called. 

“I found two new miraculous holders, and they’re going to join us.” She didn’t have time for this. She was already overwhelmed and Cat adding more responsibility didn’t help.

“You just so happen to find two miraculous holders right as everything goes to Hell? You sure you didn’t just hand off two to people instead of telling me you had them?” 

“Miss. Bug, I assure you that I have no interest in keeping any miraculous away from you aside from my own. I only got to speak with the one for a moment, but they claimed to have found a second miraculous on their own and wanted to give it to you. They want to join your team.” He tried his best to calm her, trying to sooth her with his voice, but it didn’t work.

It wasn’t like she trusted him to begin with, and even with his sweet words earlier that made her heart ache, she knew not to trust anyone willy nilly. 

If only Felix was the one to find the cat miraculous, Ladybug thought. Felix thought ahead and worked with her as a team, unlike the man in black leather who seemed to know where all her buttons were to push.

“Not everyone wants to take over Paris, Miss. Bug.” Alley cat said over their walkie talkie function. “Some just want to protect it.”

She didn’t have much time to dwell on what he was insinuating with the museum coming up close. She could deal with him and the new miraculous holders later and pray that they were also on her side instead of Queen Fishers. Judging by how they were on her friends list on her communicator, they hadn’t turned their Kwami’s dark. She was just going to have to trust that for now, even if she couldn’t trust the new heroes themselves.

Most of the heroes were already there by the time Ladybug arrived. Instead of a snake head like she assumed would be what they were fighting, it turned out to be the building itself that was taken over by the amok. Pipes both old and new stretched from the building to attach her friends, and with the way they all defended each other made her proud. They had all come so far from being awkward strangers to friends, in and out of the suits. At least, all but three of the people there were friends. 

There was a woman dressed in all white with gold stripes lining her suit cutting down the pipes that were attacking their small group, her cat ears flattened against her head in frustration. The tiger reminded her too much of Chat Blanc for Ladybug to feel at ease, but this time eyes like molten gold burned under the stark white mask. Eyes that looked at the sentimonster with disgust, as if each attack toward the two heros behind her was a personal insult to her. 

Ladybug dropped down to greet the outsider heroes. “You must be the two the cat brought in. How’d he find you?”

The other hero in the group was, without any doubt in her mind, the dog holder. There were floppy brown ears that faded to black at the tips placed delicately on their head, hidden among a mess of brown hair. Their suit looked similar to the markings of a hound dog, but with red belts hanging on their hips. They were the first one to greet the senior hero with a soft timid wave, their other hand holding their specialty weapon. A crossbow. Even she was impressed by how straightforward that weapon was. 

“That guy?” The tiger hero gave a humourless laugh. “He wishes he could claim to be the one to discover my talents as a hero.”

“It is less that he found me, and more like I found him.” The dog hero stated, jumping in tune with Ladybug to dodge another metal attack. “I wasn’t going to jump in, but Barkk told me you guys might need help so I joined in and found Alley Cat. Better late than never to join the hero party, eh?”

“If it wasn’t for Roaar I wouldn’t have joined in either.” The tiger hero agreed. “I’m Tigress, by the way.”

“I’m Canis.” 

“We have a lot to discuss once this battle is over with, but for now, welcome to the team.” 

After everyone had made their brief introductions they all worked together on taking down the beast before them. Tigress, ScapeGoat, HoneyBee, Carapace, and GinnyPig all focused on defence while the other five focused on getting to the heart of the problem. With the problem solvers all focused on the same goal it took only minutes to get inside and destroy the item infused with the amok, a pipe that was almost as old as Paris itself.

Ryuko destroyed the door to get them inside, Canis was able to sniff out the item among the endless pipes inside, Mattamorphis protected them with his cane against oncoming attacks, and just as they found the item Alley Chat cataclysmed it and Ladybug purified the feather. 

Everything went smoothly as soon as they were all together and soon they were all standing around in the fixed building talking, while Ladybug processed what was happening. 

Canis stood with Mattamorphis, ScapeGoat, HoneyBee, and GinnyPig talking excitedly with the other heroes, and on the other side of her there was Tigress talking about the benefits of tai chi with Ryuko and Carapace. Within one fight everyone was getting along and she didn’t know whether she should invite them to join the team or to ask them to hand over their miraculous’. 

“You’re a they/them? Me too!” She could hear ScapeGoat excitedly talking before being interrupted by Ladybugs least favourite man. 

“Oi, Canis, don’t you have something to give the Lady here?” Alley Cat yelled, his English accent coming out clearer than ever. 

“Bloody brit,” the dog hero mumbled under their breath. Ladybug wanted to laugh. Canis wasn’t from France either if their accent was anything to go by, and Tigress had a similar accent to the other cat on their team. Ladybug only hoped that once Alya returned from America where she was filming a documentary about the Sparrow that she wouldn’t have the accent to go along with it, or the French miraculous holders would almost be outnumbered. 

“I found this the other day while shopping for jewelry for my-,” Canis cut themselves off, immediately scratching their neck in embarrassment. “Well I was out shopping and I found this.”

The hero outstretched their hand to produce a miraculous Ladybug hadn’t seen in a long time. The rooster. 

“I was kind of afraid of what kind of name that hero would use.” Canis said, smiling to themselves at their own joke. “Heros need to be family friendly after all.” 

Ladybug stared at the jewel in her hand. They hadn’t hesitated to give up a miraculous, they just wanted to do the right thing. “Thank you. The Guardian of the box also thanks you, now more than ever we need to crack down and retrieve the missing miraculous’.”

“Well I am certainly glad that you are all getting along, but there is a very wonderful woman waiting for me and I’d hate to keep my date waiting.” Alley Cat stretched his arms above his head, trying to be as dramatic as possible.

“Oh my God I left my girlfriend in a public bathroom in a city we don’t even live in.” Canis gasped, slapping their hands over their face. “She’s going to kill me!”

“At least your partner didn’t shove you in a public bathroom in order to protect you,” Tigress laughed. 

“Ey, I got to go too, Ladybug. I have some friends waiting for me. Got some important business to attend to.” Carapace joined in, and soon everyone was agreeing that they had to leave. 

“Canis, Tigress.” Ladybug used her best team leader voice to get the two’s attention. She couldn’t leave things as they were. “I appreciate your help today but the miraculous’ need to go back to the Guardian.”

The heroes ears flattened.

“Ladybug,” Canis looked at the heroine with large blue eyes, tears starting to form. “Barkk gave me a kwagatama. I’d do anything to be able to keep them in my life. She means the world to me and I promise I won’t do anything reckless.”

“And I’m on your side, I swear.” Tigress brushed her near white bangs out of her face. “I’m not going to use the miraculous for anything nefarious. Roarr means too much to me and I wouldn’t do anything that could get her taken away.”

Ladybug remembered when Tikki gave her a Kwagatama. It had been her birthday and she recalled how much those little jewels meant to be gifted one by their Kwami. If Barkk was that serious about Canis, did she even have a choice? What about Tigress?

“We will all be having a meeting in two days' time, at ten o’clock, at the top of the Eiffel Tower.” Ladybug announced. “Understood?”

“Us too?” The new heroes asked.

“Especially you two, now go. Don’t leave your partners waiting.” Ladybug pinched the bridge of her nose as the group of heroes all ran off except for one. 

“I honestly thought you were going to take away their miraculous in front of everyone.” Alley Cat said, leaning forward to put his face in front of her own. “Does that mean you’ll stop asking for mine now?”

“Would you listen even if I did ask for it?”

“Not as long as I’m in France, Miss. Bug.” Alley Cat laughed, taking a step back just as Ladybug tried to snatch his hand for the ring. It was a half ditch effort she didn’t put enough energy into in order to really get it back, but the black cat didn’t seem to take offence. 

“When are you leaving Paris?” 

“Depends,” he muttered. “If my date goes as well as I hope, maybe I’ll never leave.”

“You like this girl that much?” Ladybug raised a brow. “Even though I saw you flirting with someone earlier?”

“It was love at first sight with my beloved, but I didn’t stop seeing after that, y’know.” The cat ran his fingers through his hair, wistfully looking off in the distance as if remembering Marinette fondly. “If I ever have a vote on who gets a miraculous, I’d vote for her. She ran to protect me from that sentimonster without any thought of her own safety. She has the makings of a hero, Miss. Bug.”

“Good thing you aren’t getting a vote.” She needed him to stop before her face turned as red as her suit. “There is more to being a hero than sacrificing yourself.”

The man hummed to himself, that annoying smirk never leaving his face. “I’d say you need to keep a better watch on that girl, she is definitely more brilliant than you are giving her credit for. I’d bet one of my nine lives on it.” 

#Those worth fighting for #twff #felix x marinette #marinette dupain cheng #felinette #fanon felix #felix graham de vanily #Nino lahiffe #marc anciel #nathaniel kurtzberg #Kagami Tsurugi #aurore beauréal #mireille caquet #Ladybug #alley cat #miraculous ryuko #ScapeGoat #Mattamorphis #Carapace #GinnyPig #HoneyBee #Tigress #Canis #OC Canis

[thenixkat]

HCs and OCs for a fic

Toyomitsu family: Descended from one of the first giant mutants in Japan. Tend to have monster or animal related transformation quirks in addition to being huge. Own farmland and forested areas all over the Kansai region. The family founded the Devil’s Market yakuza group which has been extremely long-running and focused on buying and selling illicit goods, general goods, and general supplies and labor for larger people. A Toyomitsu has been either the boss or first lieutenant of the Devil’s Market for as long as it’s existed. They had to move out of their Osaka base when All For One set up shop, their current main base of operations is in Esuha city. The family also runs a franchise of butcher shops across most of Japan under the name of Oni Meats which carries a vast selection of animal protein from around the world. Nearly all members of the family have prey drives from their monstrous transformations.

Ma- Manami- (Quirk) Bugbear- transformation quirk. If the user is sufficiently fat then they can transform into a hybrid bear/reptile monster. Has great senses and night vision as well as enhanced strength. Can induce fear by staring someone directly in the eyes. -->Prefers not to be involved with the less legal dealings of the family and Devil’s Market. She’s more than capable of being as much of if not more a terrifying mob boss than her little brother. She just likes farming better. -->Generally doesn’t look people in the eyes unless she doesn’t like them b/c her terror-inducing power stays active regardless of her form. She prefers not to scare folks who don’t deserve it. -->Gets on very well with her sister-in-law, if she wasn’t married she’d steal her brother’s wife. -->Met her husband in a fighting ring. She eviscerated him with her claws and he broke one of her arms and several of her ribs. They started talking while getting patched up. -->Is about 7’10” and built like a well-padded brick house. -->Is the one who judges new recruits into the gang. Tends to have them do farm work for at least a month to get a bead on their personalities.

Pa- Noel ‘Blue Devil’ Diablo nee Toyomitsu- (Quirk) Energy absorption- emitter quirk. Can absorb, temporarily store, and redirect kinetic/thermal/electric energy. Too much energy kept in the body for too long causes reckless and impulsive behavior and hyperactivity. Devil- mutant quirk. Has devil-like horns and a tail. -->Used to be a nomad b4 settling down with his strong beautiful wife. Supported himself on his travels with fighting, gambling, handyman skills, and musical skills. -->Brings nothing to the table in his household other than his good looks, good nature, and knack for fixing things and a broad range of skills. -->Holding in excess energy makes him glow blue, especially his horns. -->Loves his family just so much. Is the goofy dad and great flirty husband. -->Loved to carry his kids until they got waaaay too big for him to pick up. Stands on a char to talk to his kids and wife on their level. B/c they are just so damn tall. -->Is 6 ft tall with a strong build with very little body fat b/c of a side effect of his quirk. He gets cold easily b/c of this and it bothers his joints.

Grandpa- Ryuji ‘The Dragon/ Dread Emperor of Giants’ - (Quirk) Dragon- transformation quirk. Can transform into an eastern dragon or humanoid eastern dragon with the severity of the transformation depending on percentage of body fat. Can also control the weather. -->Controlling the weather means that his farms never have a bad year. He does sell this service on the black market through the Devil’s Market. -->Wanted to be a hero when he was young and stopped when his mom got sent to jail for vigilantism and murder for stopping a serial killer from preying on women in the community -->Retired after a betrayal from some too ambitious underlings lead to a crippling knee injury. Still acts as a source of wisdom for the family and the gang. -->Is the go-to babysitter. -->Prefers to be in his transformed state and hates the anti-public quirk use laws with a passion. -->His full dragon form is as long as a bus and can fly. His humanoid dragon form/human form (sans antlers) is 8’5”

Grandma- Akane- (Quirk) None. -->An ex-mercenary who beat Ryuji in his prime AND in his full dragon form with nothing but some rope and her bare hands. -->Very good with guns and knives -->Takes advantage of the fact that as a plump quirkless woman she tends to get overlooked by people with powers to end fuckers. -->Was the one who got rid of the over-ambitious underlings who attempted a coup against her husband. -->Is about 5’10”, very chubby, wears glasses, and is rather soft-spoken. -->Is an icon to the quirkless members of the Devil’s Market and teaches them how to fight people with powers.

Uncle- Wani ‘The Butcher’- (Quirk) Crocodilian- transformation quirk. Similar to grandpa but crocodile instead of dragon. Has a great sense of smell and hearing as well as night vision. Is bulletproof at full strength. -->A strong proponent of community defense to the point where more people came to him about community issues than go to police or heroes. He gets problems handled permanently. -->Also heavily invested in technology and occult studies to see if there was a way to make life easier for people -->Also prefers to be in his transformed state -->Caught and ate 3 quirk diagnosing doctors in the area who were trafficking children into human experimentation. Managed to rescue most of the kids. -->Was arrested and sent to Tartarus for a string of killing corrupt cops and heroes fucking around in his neighborhood. His family often visits him. -->Fell for his wife when she bet him she could drink him under the table with the loser paying the tab. She won. -->Is about 8 ft tall and at least half as wide b4 going to jail. In prison he rapidly lost weight, the family is planning a jailbreak.

Auntie- Jay ‘Jaybird/Hummingbird’ Johnson nee Toyomitsu- (Quirk) Fast Twitch- emitter quirk. A speedster type. Can move and think at superhuman speeds for a few minutes at a time every hour. Has a very high metabolism and needs to consume large amounts of food in general. -->Was a villain before settling down. Still pulls off a robbery every now and then and has a fondness for gems. -->A Black American who came to Japan to hide from law enforcement after a heist gone wrong. -->Thinks that the way people throw the word villain around to just about any fucker committing any kind of crime while using a quirk really dilutes the word. Thinks that villains need fun costumes and proper themes and intent. -->Her sister-in-law was one of the first women she’s ever met who never criticized her eating habits and she would kill for the other woman. Ride or die friendship. -->Is constantly hungry due to her speedster metabolism and has to eat a lot. -->About 5’8” and leggy with plenty of visible muscle.

Sister- Onini ‘Oni/Gargoyle’- (Quirk) Gargoyle- transformation quirk. Can transform into a stone-skinned gargoyle with the severity of the transformation being dependant on amount of body fat. Heat Sink- emitter quirk. Can absorb, store, and release thermal energy. -->Tried to become a hero but was bullied out of school -->Named after one of her mom’s friends -->Considers cousin Kenji to be effectively one of her brothers -->Became a firefighter and uses her quirks on the job even tho it’s illegal. Not like the people she’s saving are gonna complain. -->Tends to flirt with strong women. -->Actually tends to stay partially transformed b/c she likes having a tail and passes herself off as a mutant -->If she gets too hungry and loses control she can become a heat vampire and freeze things to death while feeding on their body heat. -->Spends a lot of time helping out on the farm and her mother is most likely to pass ownership of the family land to her once she retires. -->The most likely person in her generation of the family to have biological kids. --->Keeps teasing Fatgum about when he’s gonna officially adopt his interns. -->Is about 7’5” and technically is too heavy to fly but she glides pretty well.

Cousin- Kenjiro ‘Kenji/Ken/Shuten’- (Quirk) Fast Oni- transformation quirk. Can transform into an oni with enhanced speed and strength. Transforming causes his metabolism to speed up and he burns fat to stay in oni form. Has a speedster metabolism in regular form, if he doesn’t eat a substantial meal every 5 hours he starts losing weight (fat and muscle) rapidly and is consequently always hungry. -->Would love to stay in his transformed form but can’t due to the timer. -->Is jealous of Taishiro’s height and metabolism so he makes fun of the way Tai’s face looks when he’s transformed. Also jealous of Onini’s ability to not be constantly hungry. -->Is constantly hungry from the day his quirk came in and had to take appetite suppressants during puberty to keep from losing his head and chowing down on anything and anyone in reach during his growth spurts. -->Has been mistaken for Fatgum more than once due to their similar-ish size and clothing choices. It frustrates him to no end b/c he’s way darker than Tai and prefers wearing blue or white. -->Has intentionally eaten people. Most notable example being him ending a war with a rival yakuza group by capturing, butchering, and cooking the rival leader and openly serving him for dinner at the peace treaty/gang merger. -->Strongly supports Fatgum as a hero and the two combine resources to help the community whether that is through funding housing for the homeless or getting a very good tailor the resources to make clothing for specific clientele or sending the other to deal with a situation appropriately. -->Brings a knife to a gunfight b/c he’s a superstrong speedster and a gun ain’t go do shit if you ain’t got no hands. -->Thinks Overhaul is a stupid asshole b/c it’s not that hard to get blood out of a kid or train a kid to be ok with it. -->Is about 7’10” and has heard every short joke under the sun from Tai

Fatgum-Taishiro ‘Tai’- (Quirk) Fat Absorption- Transformation quirk into an uncanny valley cartoony blob man that is as strong as the amount of body fat he has. Can absorb, neutralize, or release kinetic energy. Eyes glow in the dark like a cartoon when his quirk is active. Has a great sense of taste and is incapable of feeling sated/is always hungry. Also has an extremely efficient digestive system that breaks food down in seconds. Can also convert fat into muscle as well as generally having enhanced strength and speed while transformed. -->Was a late bloomer. His quirk didn’t start coming in till he was 8 and it took a while b4 he was fat enough for it to have notable effects. -->Preferred being in his skinnier form during middle and high school due to bullying and self-esteem issues that he didn’t work through until his early twenties. -->Started high school at 5’7” (170 cm) at 14 yrs old and was 8’2 (250 cm) when he graduated at 18 yrs old. Puberty was hell and pants were his enemy. -->Had a friend in hero support who took it as a personal challenge to make him clothing that he couldn’t destroy, that would grow and shrink with him, and that he couldn’t outgrow heightwise either. Ended up inventing ‘indestructible pants’ and making bank. -->Does not have canine teeth due to a mutation related to his quirk. Does have several rows of teeth that can replace themselves like a shark’s due to the same mutation. The fuckery of his mouth is only really noticeable if he’s ‘stretching’/pushing his transformation to its fullest extent or if someone’s feeling around inside of his mouth for whatever reason. -->Does not have a gag reflex -->Has been constantly hungry since his quirk emerged and like Kenji had to take appetite suppressants during his growth spurts to keep control of himself. An asshole classmate once replaced his appetite suppressants with appetite stimulants to see what happens. Several people ended up hospitalized, Taishiro still has nightmares about it and said asshole student actually managed to get expelled. Has a restraining order against said asshole classmate who fucked off to England to be a hero there. -->Is so glad he’s done growing. Went through clothes like water when he was a teen. -->Going several days without getting enough calories in tends to activate his prey drive and he really doesn’t like that b/c heroes shouldn’t murder or maul people. Figured out this aspect when he mauled a bully after his quirk just came in and later during a survival training exercise in hero school in which he ended up eating a live bear after several days of living on trail rations (scared his teammates for life with that one). -->A lot of aspects of his costume with the bright colors and friendly mannerisms is to reduce the intimidation factor/terrifying aspects of his appearance. He is aware that in his transformed state he’s a giant uncanny valley cartoony egg man monster that can fucking absorb people into his body. -->While transformed his limb, mouth, and eye proportions are extremely fluid and change nearly at will. If he wants to his face can be entirely mouth, which he knows is terrifying to other people. His arms and legs can rubber hose it though they aren’t as strong when he does that, does mean he can grab from angles that shouldn’t be possible. -->Was bullied as a kid for being ‘quirkless’ b4 his quirk manifested and then he was bullied for being fat. It did a number on his self-esteem as a teen leading him to prefer using his thinner form as his default. -->His thinner form was considered a heartthrob in school to his frustration. Didn’t mean he didn’t take advantage of the fact people found him hot to make money or flirt a free lunch off of someone. Was in a hot guy calendar made and distributed by one of his classmates. -->It absolutely gets on his nerves when people only find his skinny form attractive. -->After graduation, he lost muscle b/c that starter hero paycheck ain’t shit and the Hero Commission refused to let him write off food costs as business expenses. Had to save his food money for patrols leading to him losing weight. -->Participated in underground fighting rings to both make some money on the side and get better at using his quirk -->Has tried Trigger b4 and carries a small vial of the good version of it just in case he really needs it one day. (Listen, you ain’t finding shit trying to pat down fucking Fatgum) -->While transformed the absorbing things into him thing is automatic, put too much pressure on the flabbier parts of his body and you’ll just sink in. It takes effort to release things and took him a while to learn how to do this as a kid. Before he learned how to release things, he’d just turn off his quirk to get things out of him. -->Was blackmailed into working for the cops after getting caught during a raid of one of the fighting rings he was participating in. Decided to be a double agent and give away info on cases to the Devil’s Market to help them stay ahead of the cops. Also blew a decent chunk of the Osaka police force’s budget on his feeding since they wanted to use him. Ultimately this is what caused the police to break their partnership with him b/c he was too damn expensive to keep on the payroll. -->Once he became decently popular he and the Devil’s Market started funding a superhero trade school to get people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to get into hero schools for various reasons trained up and educated enough to get a hero license. -->As a hero he just doesn’t enforce the dumber laws like anti-public quirk use laws b/c who cares if people use their quirks if they aren’t hurting anyone. Also prefers not to label criminals as villains unless they’ve done some truly heinous shit b/c he knows that villains get harsher punishments in the justice system. Is also a strong proponent for rehabilitation for criminals. -->Once got caught in a scandal where he and a close friend and classmate managed to get a quirkless friend of theirs enrolled in their hero school with the help of a hacker. It took months for the school to catch on, during which said quirkless friend excelled in the hero classes. Fatgum and his friend nearly got expelled when caught. Later he helps that quirkless friend get a provisional hero license to become Japan’s first quirkless hero. -->From his family history, to his accent, to his size, to his ancestry Fatgum got torn apart by the media when he first started making waves. It took years but his image as a fun friendly beloved hero won out over ‘loose canon with criminal ties who’ll probably turn villain any day now’ -->Most of his sidekicks are folks he knew in his underground fighting days or rehabilitated criminals. Sidekicks and interns from actual hero schools are picked based on both potential as well as ‘how well can you bend the law/see in shades of grey instead of black and white?’. Essentially interning with Fatgum is a long process of unlearning propaganda and a practical application of morality on a case by case basis. -->Is aware of the hornier corners of his fandom and doesn’t know how to get them to understand that death via snusnu is not a way they want to go out (“How do you know this?” “...No comment.”) and telling them that they would def either die or require medical attention only makes them hornier. He finds it distressing and tries to avoid these people. -->Only found out that his name and birthday were puns when he was in middle school. He was not pleased. His parents had a blast since they were waiting for him to figure it out. -->When transformed his face, hands, feet, knees, and elbows are the most vulnerable parts of his body. Hence the leg armor (and occasionally arm armor). -->Due to his size, he’s got a few glaring blind spots, the main one being that he simply can’t see past his belly when looking down. He has tripped over short people b4 b/c of this. At least one of his friends from school would take advantage of this when he was in his larger form to sneak up on him.

#long post #nix meows #headcanons #my hero academia #fatgum #ocs #aus #probably repeated myself at least once #cannibalism #body horror #cause i know what i'm about

[echo-of-sounds]

adhd pt.2

How Fatgum, Gang Orca, and Midnight would help and support their s/o who has ADHD. Midnight’s are a little shorter than the others. I had a hard time thinking of more headcanons for her.

Warnings: nothing incredibly explicit, but a couple of these talk about sex

Toyomitsu Taishiro

Tai is a friendly guy. He talks to everyone when you're out and about. Sometimes it's fine. Sometimes it's a lot to handle. He wants you to immediately tell him when you’re starting to feel overstimulated or anxious. Before it gets too bad, he’ll carry you to a safe space. And it doesn’t matter where you are, his sweatshirts are yours. Weight can be very grounding and with his size, they’re very heavy. He’ll hold you close and talk you through the emotions.

Any time you lash out, he might try to ease the tension by making a joke. If you’ve ever been angry, you know jokes just make it worse. He’ll give you time to gather yourself when he realizes you’re actually angry. He won’t snap back. Fighting isn’t what he wants to do. Take some time to cool down. You’ll find him waiting for you with a smile. It’s hard to get him angry and it doesn't hurt his feelings when you lash out, but you should still apologize. He would appreciate it.

Feelings overwhelmed can erupt suddenly. When you sit down at your desk and there are five notebooks, scattered pens and pencils, loose papers, and just useless junk everywhere, you feel completely engulfed under them. It’s almost like you can’t breathe. You don’t know where to start or what to do. Tai will set some time aside to help you sort through your stuff. He may not know exactly where everything goes, but he really wants to help. He hates the look on your face when you’re overwhelmed and he’ll do anything to make it go away.

Lack of restraint and risk-taking behaviors are the most concerning to him. Sure, impulsively buying a dumb stuffed animal is one thing. But buying a new gaming system and four video games is another. The costs add up quickly. Or maybe you take another shot at the bar because screw it, you only live once. Then you do that over and over. ‘Just another shot’ turns into ten more. Your safety is always his number one priority and he worries himself sick thinking you’re going to damage your finances, career, or worse, yourself.

If you didn’t catch what he said, he has no problem repeating himself. Though he worries you aren’t paying attention while you’re in public or when something important is happening. He doesn’t want you mindlessly agreeing to something that you don’t actually want to do or potentially getting hurt. Like how you fling your arms out when you’re talking and hit someone or a wall. To ease his anxiety about you, he’ll hold your hand a lot and offer to give you piggyback rides.

He has a little trouble focusing on smaller tasks as well. He would much rather be doing fun activities out in the world. So he understands your trouble. He also understands how you forget to vacuum even though you promised you would. He isn’t annoyed. He’ll remind you when you’re home to do it. 

Since Tai is such a big guy he taught himself to be gentle early on in his life, particularly when it comes to sex, therefore he isn’t worried if you have sexual hypersensitivities. He's also great at communication and loves talking. He’ll ask what positions you can’t do and where you don’t like to be touched to ensure your comfort is at its max. During sex, if your attention starts drifting, he’ll let you take over to help keep you focused.

Gang Orca

Kugo’s a clean, organized man. To him, it’s helpful knowing that everything has its place. If you leave bowls and books around or are an overall cluttered person, he’ll pick up after you. Eventually, when your clutter gets to be too much, he’ll create a routine and a to-do list. Before bed, look at the list and look around the room if there are any pillows to put back on the couch or papers to straighten out.

Having physical sensitives is something Kugo can understand. While it’s not to the point he’s overstimulated like people with ADHD have, his skin is still quite sensitive- more than your ‘average’ human skin because of his mutant-type quirk. Whatever you need for self-soothing, he can bring to you when you’re starting to feel overstimulated. Your favorite heavy quilt will be wrapped around your shoulders and he’ll light some vanilla candles.

He’s utterly unbothered by tapping, fidgeting, or restlessness. However, he’s deeply concerned when he notices blood on your lip or fingers. It’s mindless. You don’t hurt yourself on purpose. No matter how many times you explain, it won’t quell his worries. He just really hates seeing you bleed. Out in public, he’ll hold your hand to stop your picking. At home, he keeps a close eye on you and points out your unhealthy habit so you can find a fidget toy or a pen to click. He hopes if he does it enough times it’ll become a subconscious reaction for you to grab a toy to play with instead of your body.

High mood swings and anger are easy for him to take. Your quick snaps go in one ear and out the other- mainly because he knows it's not about him. While he understands the frustration comes at the flip of a switch, he strongly urges you to find ways to deal with your emotions in a healthy way. He’s willing to listen if you want to talk it out. He’s willing to go to the gym if you need to exercise it out. And (if you’re at that point in the relationship), he’s willing to have sex if you need to fuck it out. 

Kugo loves listening to your interests. He supports any and all of your studies. Are you currently into a new TV series? He’ll buy you posters and action figures for surprises on your bad days. Or is the Viking culture suddenly fascinating and you need to learn everything about it? He scoops up some obscure book from that bookstore he passes every day. Even though his presents might not be exactly what you’re looking for, his excitement and passion to support you is really cute.

Focusing on smaller tasks is incredibly difficult. You strain yourself then get frustrated then give up. Seriously, that one piece of paperwork should take ten minutes tops to complete. But it ends up taking over two hours because you just can’t sit and do it. Whenever he notices you fussing at the table, he’ll sit down with you so you can go through the paperwork together. Having someone next to you is helpful. They keep you on track and guide the way through the long passages of words and seemingly confusing questions.

He's uneasy when it comes to any sexual sensitivities. It takes him a while to be ready for sex in general, but if you’re hypersensitive, it’ll take him a hell of a lot longer. He’s so scared of hurting you, especially since his fingers are more like claws and his teeth are sharp. He tries his damnedest to be gentle because he’s always scared that he’ll overstimulate you to the point you’re crying. Your sexual relationship will start with oral and fingering, plateauing at that for a while until he convinces himself he won’t hurt you.

Kayama Nemuri

Thoughts that bubble up and instantly spout from your mouth are common. Half the time you don’t even realize you spoke. Nemuri will be a little miffed if you keep interrupting her. She doesn’t want to forget her train of thought. She knows you have difficulty controlling it but she would appreciate it if you let her finish her sentence so she can fully listen to and understand yours.

Fidgeting and squirming don’t annoy her. She’s a Hero and a teacher. She’s become desensitized to all sorts of restlessness. Though she is in the same boat as Aizawa in that, if you’re a clicker or tapper, she’ll ask if you could find something else to fidget with. But she won’t snap at you as he may. She has a serious soft spot for her partner and rarely raises her voice.

However, those times when your anger gets sparked because your lotion bottle broke or you thought you had more of your favorite chips and you lash out when she asks what’s wrong, she’ll get defensive from time to time and might snap back. It depends on how long her day was and how tired/stressed she is. Most of the time she can reel herself back, realizing you’re not angry at her. But if she had a hard day, her retort comes quickly and sharply. It’s enough to make you pause, recognizing how you reacted to her simple question. When you apologize, she will too, wanting to make up as soon as possible.

Her quirk is quite convenient for overstimulation. If you give your consent, she can emit a tiny amount of her aroma to relax you. If you need serious instant relief, she can put you to sleep. But she won’t rely on her quirk every single time. She doesn’t like completely knocking you out. Any self-soothing techniques you use, she’ll read about and work out ways she can provide you with what you need.

Nemuri will have to change her outlook on sex a little bit. She’s very dominant, loves being the active partner, and dips (more than a little) into sadism. But she’s experienced. She’s aware her kinks aren’t always liked. Before you’re ever intimate, she’ll sit down with you to set clear and defined boundaries about what you can take. If pain is something you can’t handle or just don’t want, she’s fine without it. Her love for you is more important than her kinks. 

#fatgum #fatgum x reader #taishiro toyomitsu #taishiro toyomitsu x reader #gang orca #gang orca x reader #kugo sakamata #kugo x reader #midnight #midnight x reader #nemuri kayama #nemuri kayama x reader #fatgum headcanons #gang orca headcanons #midnight headcanons #bnha #bnha x reader #bnha headcanons

[secret-engima]

This. Has been a perfectly terrible day. Can I beg you for a ficbit or a snippet from one of your works, like Team Gremlin or Noctscar or something ? I just - they’re beautiful, and I just really, really need something beautiful right now.

SURE. I don’t have much in the way of snippets, but lemme see what I can find. I might have to throw in something from BNHA cause that’s the fandom the muses are chewing on this exact second.

...

Team Gremlin:

     It had been … a very bad few weeks for Qrow all told. And that was saying something. Everything had seemed fine one day, business as usual. Tai was back from his requisite number of missions to keep his license and teaching at Signal again —which he genuinely seemed to enjoy for some reason—, his nieces were as adorable as ever, and Summer was sometimes talking his ear off about maybe taking a teaching position somewhere herself after running a few missions to keep her own license active —she’d been busier lately with the girls than running around kicking butt, but it wasn’t like Qrow blamed her for that—.

     Then Leo was found dead in his office. Knifed in the neck, one round discharged from his weapon in the direction of the guest couch, blood pooling all over the chair and low table where the investigators said he’d been dragged from and laid on the floor in some kind of pose. No one unusual had been seen going in or out, there had been nothing on the office cameras —covered by a Semblance of some kind, it was decided, because of the fading, glass-like Aura shards on the floor—. The only warning had been the sound of Leo’s single shot before he died. Qrow had arrived as soon as he could to help investigate, since the primary suspect would … not be one the police even knew to look for. He had helped Dyna —poor woman had been wire tense with rage rather than her usual calm self, and it was no wonder—, search for clues the police would miss, then searched the secret tunnels for good measure.

     They had found a Grimm inside one of the deeper antechambers, far too deep to have gotten there by accident, a strange, jellyfish like beast that had been surprisingly hard to kill for something that small. They’d never seen it’s like before, and the thought of it being under the school, where kids were, where Oz and his inner circle were supposed to hold sway-. He’d never seen the otter Faunus more furious as they stood amid the fading Dark dust, her lips twisted, brow wrinkled in a way that had made the black line and red dots of her old bandit tattoos look more pronounced.

     They’d found no other signs that Salem knew how to get into the school tunnels, but they rechecked them all and trapped several of the ones leading outward as temporary security measures. With Dyna in place as the new —temporary on paper but soon to be permanent— Headmaster, Qrow had gathered up what evidence they could pry loose from their police contacts and gone back to Oz so they could try to sort this out.

     Of course, Qrow’s first impulse was to blame Salem, but Oz had listened to the report of a jellyfish Grimm under the school and his expression had folded into something pained. Knowing. He must have known what kind of Grimm it was, but hadn’t elaborated yet, just told Dyna to investigate all of Leo’s documents, Scroll calls, and communications over the past year, and insisted he would not explain until there was either evidence or not for his theory, for fear of making them biased.

     So, with Salem seemingly not the automatic culprit, they had started hunting for info. Summer had offered to come back and help, but Oz had told her to stay on her chosen mission instead.

     The pen had been an unexpected complication.

...

Always I Dreamed verse

     Summer ducked past her into the shower as Raven left it, pausing to stare at Raven’s tattoos for only a moment before chirping a quiet good morning and asking if she was okay after yesterday. Raven just grunted, because she was combat functional and frankly that was all that mattered. She had already pulled on her clothes from yesterday —all their possessions were in her inventory and she didn’t want questions on where it came from, she’d have to stuff it all in a duffel bag and hide it in the den to explain that away later— by the time Taiyang got up and Raven remembered the uniforms. Raven nudged open the bag while Qrow ducked out of their den and peered over her shoulder, “Everybody has to wear that stuff?” Qrow sneered as Raven pulled out the first button down shirt, “Hardly looks sturdy.”

     “It’s just for the school grounds I think, we have our combat gear for training missions and stuff anyway.” Taiyang said as he pulled out a shirt of his own from a different bag. Raven took a moment to glance at his bare torso. He slept in pants but not a shirt apparently, which was stupid, but better than being entirely naked at night. He had a decent build, which she knew from watching him fight yesterday, and a truly appalling lack of scars. Her life had been saved by somebody who had probably never had a truly decent fight in his life before that day. Wonderful.

     He also had tattoos, and Raven squinted at them for a moment because despite the differing size and placement, they all looked very much like the ones Raven and Qrow had gotten during a rare moment of total drunkenness at fifteen. He was missing the large asian dragon outline that wound up Raven’s own torso, but he had the blue crow perched as if about to take flight that Raven had, the running blue wolf who’s lower half dissolved into petals, and she thought she glimpsed a blue clockwork rabbit under his right arm. When he turned around briefly to put his back to them, she saw that most of his back had been taken up with the stylized outline of a raven in flight.

     She shook her head and looked away. Whatever. Summer possessed a tattoo on her arm similar to the asian dragon winding up Qrow’s arm from elbow to shoulder. Some tattoos were just popular, and blue ink was easier to come by for fill-in tattoos than the black used for outlines.

     Qrow must have remembered Taiyang’s words last night about Raven’s uniform being at the top, because he was already rooting down to the outfit right beneath hers —there was more fabric in the bag than that, but Raven wasn’t going to worry about why just yet—. He yanked out a shirt and jacket that looked his size, then blinked when something short and plaid tumbled out with it. Snatching it up, he unfolded it and made a face, “Is this a skirt? With my uniform?”

     Summer poked her head out of the bathroom, a wash of steam following her —oh right, hot water showers were a thing, darn— while Taiyang looked from Qrow to the skirt and back. Qrow was busy staring at the skirt, so he missed the expression of pure glee that flickered over the other teen’s face before he casually said, “What, that? It’s a kilt, man. Old Vale tradition.” Raven blinked very slowly, because that was a surprisingly good lie even though she knew it was nonsense —her memory on early canon was fuzzy, but she would have remembered the male characters running around in skirts—. She debated calling him on it for a moment, but she was from outside the kingdoms like Qrow, so technically she had no way to know that Taiyang was lying.

     Besides, if Taiyang wanted to poke the bear that was her brother’s temper, better he do it now and get it over with than later when they were training.

     Qrow was still making annoyed noises under his breath as he examined the “kilt”, and a glance at Summer slipping out of the shower in a towel showed she was fighting down laughter. Silver eyes met Raven’s with hopeful amusement and Raven looked away. She was still angry that the Story had forced itself into place in her life. With a shake of her head, Raven finished yanking out her uniform —one of? There was so much fabric in there, did the school really waste money making multiple outfits for each student?— and started pulling off her old clothes to put it on. Taiyang made a noise like someone had knifed him just as she dropped her shirt to the floor and she looked up in alarm. Taiyang had whipped around to put his back to her, and she could see the flush of color crawling up his neck and the backs of his ears. He didn’t look hurt or anything, but when Summer wandered in and dropped her towel onto her bed to put on her uniform —huh, she had the same tattoos as Raven, Qrow, and Taiyang, just with the perched crow as a large outline that went down to her mid back and a large blue raven in flight over her abdomen that looked like the smaller one on Qrow’s back—, Taiyang made the dying noise again, snatched up his bag of clothes, and rushed for the bathroom.

     Raven had the feeling she should understand what that was about, but she didn’t get it, and when she risked a glance at Summer, the other girl actually looked just as baffled. So maybe it wasn’t some social thing she’d forgotten. Maybe it was just a thing with him specifically.

...

Feather-Light and Fire-Bright verse (BNHA)

     Which was why, the next time she spotted a little red feather slinking over to place a trio of shiny buttons on the park bench she liked best, she hastily caught it with one hand. It was very soft, wiggling slightly in her grip, twitching and fluttering almost like a frightened living thing, so much so she shushed it gently on instinct, “It’s okay, I won’t damage you.” Taking out the note she’d spent days agonizing over, she skewered it to the quill of the feather, “I need you to take a message to whoever controls you.” She let it go and the feather wiggled erratically in the air, like a cat trying to wiggle free of an unfamiliar collar before flitting away. Fuyumi resisted the urge to chase it and see where it led. She’d sent her note, now she would wait for a reaction.

     She absently took the three coat buttons and put them in her pocket before going home. It would be stupid to leave them as litter in the park, but it also felt like a bad idea to throw them away and possibly anger whoever was watching her. Besides, she had a collection going now, she almost had enough matching buttons to make a full set for a long coat.

     A week went by with no sign of her shadow before she finally spotted a red feather again. It lurked on the edges of the park, flitting out into view as she walked by before slipping off in the direction of a more sequestered part of the park. Fuyumi hesitated, saw the feather come back and swirl around her a few times like an excited puppy before rushing off again and decided she was either about to meet someone shy or about to be kidnapped and potentially murdered. Slipping her hand into her handbag to grip the small pro-grade taser inside just in case, Fuyumi followed the feather into the copse of trees that shielded that part of the park from the street and the rest of the grassy area.

     The feather slipped away to rejoin … a lot of other feathers, and Fuyumi paused on the edges of the little forested nook to get a good look at her mysterious shadow for the first time. Golden eyes, piercing and almost predatory in intensity, flitted up to meet her gaze as he stood up. He was about her age she would guess, maybe a year older, so lean that if she hadn’t been able to see the muscles of his bare arms she would have called him scrawny. He was wearing a sleeveless hoodie that looked like it had lost a few too many rounds with a washing machine, clean but all faded and stretched and worn looking. His hair was all tousled and pale gold, and the red feathers were clustered on his back in huge wings that looked like they belonged on someone about twice his size and weight. He smiled a little, a practiced thing that was too nervous to be real, but if Fuyumi hadn’t lived her entire life around Pro Heroes and the children of other such elites, she would never had known.

     He held up her note between too fingers, not commenting on the wary distance still between them nor making any moves to close it, “Um, I’m not a stalker, just wanna get that out of the way. Sorry if I … came off that way? I’m, uh, not good at introducing myself and I didn’t … really know what else to do.”

#SE asks #hamelin-born asks #snippets #snippet #Secret Engima Rambles #Melodies and Manuscripts #Team Gremlin verse #Always I Dreamed verse #Feather Light and Ember Bright verse

[rescueabandonment]

NON TYRANNICAL SUDDEN POLICY SHAPE SHIFT WEREWOLF WOLVERINE MARINE

PUBLIC NOTICE: These are POW traitors as clearly noted on WORLDWIDE. NATIONAL DEFENSE UNIT that each person is, is obligated to strike down these EUGENICS traitors defined as POW's by the NATIONAL DEFENSE ACT. What does the need for not performing optimal duty come from? Any ideas? Why are you scared to COMMUNICATE THE DETERRENTS to ensure PUBLIC AWARENESS?  You can save so many lives with SPECIAL FORCES JAG COMMUNICATIONS warning system of TRANSPARENCY is the law!! YOU MUST OPTIMIZE!! BURN YOUR BADGES and go REPENT in the park til we get you in spring or summer or fall. You maybe will play baseball & serf with your own families. IMAGINE YOUR STUBBORN ARROGANCE TO THIS DAY!!!!! WHY? NO APOLOGIES? THERE ARE SCORES TO SETTLE. 1 on 1 FIGHT AS NOTED on your POW training badge here. YOU ARE OBLIGATED TO FIGHT 1 on 1 when we say you are! GO REPENT IN THE PARK. TAI CHI IS AIKIDO STANCE is KIND ADVICE. REPLY with ideas? EACH PERSON is a LAW ENFORCING NATIONAL DEFENSE UNIT paid $250,000 each, ACROSS CANADA & USA, & WORLDWIDE this very second!! NON TYRANNICAL SUDDEN POLICY SHAPE SHIFT WEREWOLF WOLVERINE MARINE. Each person in CANADA & USA & EVERY NATION ON EARTH, instantly like that!!  SO THAT IS WHERE WE STAND as THE PEOPLE OF EARTH/ENDOR. We are each paid this amount of $250,000 each year for being NATIONAL DEFENSE UNITS (Public Safety is Common Sense, Common Sense prevents suffering, non-suffering leads to stability, reason, hope and limitlessly being in awareness as Living Knowledge & Person that is seeking more understanding). THE RCMP & WORLDWIDE, we must replace all the CANNIBALS installed by BUCKINGHAM PALACE, VATICAN FAKE LEADERS of vile CANNIBALISM from so long ago maintained is evidenced. Also Netherlands Royals are vile, the most vile rites of predation I have heard is there too. We try to help you stubborn assholes of the RCMP and other invalid POW defined fakes with badges. YOU SELL CHILDREN, YOU MUST SURRENDER OUTSIDE AND BURN YOUR BADGES AND GO CAMP at the local outdoor rink and cherish your ability to maybe do something to help instead of sell kids!!  DID YOU SELL THEM? NO? MAYBE YOU CAN COACH THIS SPRING IN THE FU*CKING PARK YOU ARROGANT FUC*S!!!!!  MERCY? the people are all national defense. COPS ARE DONE. NO MORE POLICE. NATURAL NATIONAL DEFENSE COMMON SENSE

NATURAL DEFENSE NATIONAL DEFENSE COMMON SENSE * COMMUNICATE WHAT YOU SHOULD BE COMMUNICATING! DECLARE THE REPUBLIC OF CANADA EVERY HOUR ON THE HOUR NOW! EACH DETACHMENT WORLDWIDE TOO!! NOW! THEN STEP OUT AND BURN YOUR BADGES, GO REPENT AND COACH BALL HOCKEY LACROSSE IF YOU ARENT A FILTHY CANNIBAL! 1111 THE NATIONAL DEFENSE UNITS (ALL OF US) * $250,000 PER PERSON WORLDWIDE AND NO MORE POLICE SYSTEM. YOU JUST GOT RESCUED AND A RAISE?  HELLO? OBSERVE, ANALYZE & LEAD THE WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! R A

#rescue_abandonment #freecoreyhurren

[nerdygaymormon]

America’s Pre-Stonewall  Queer Rights Movement

We talk like the 1969 Stonewall Riots came out of nowhere, and in some important ways it did as it upended the gay rights movement that had existed. It rejected the respectability politics of prior efforts. We were no longer trying to say we’re just like you, please treat us nicely. Post-Stonewall we were radical and demanding rights, legal reforms and power. However, the steps prior to Stonewall were important as it showed LGBTQ people exist and helped people start getting organized, building networks and methods of communication that could be used after Stonewall

———————————————————————

A lot of queer people lived in small towns and farming communities and felt like they were the only one. Then they were drafted into the military and fought in World War II and found each other. 

Upon returning home from war, they were under a great deal of pressure to marry and conform to a conservative lifestyle. Most did but they still looked for opportunities to meet others and many upstanding men in their communities would go to certain bathrooms or parks to cruise (finding other men for sex) and then return home to their respectable life afterwards. They were out to satisfy a need and if the cops ran a sting, they slinked out shamefully, and feared their name being reported in the newspaper for that could destroy their life. 

The United States government was scared of the Communists and called that threat the Red Scare. Related to this is the Lavender Scare, which is the belief that queer people would be susceptible to being blackmailed and so it was important to remove them from positions in government, business, & society. Many cities passed laws that further marginalized queer people. But not everyone took this meekly, they started organizing to try to fight back. 

———————————————————————

1945 - World War II ends

1947 - Vice Versa, the first American lesbian publication, is written and self-published by Lisa Ben (real name Edith Eyde) in Los Angeles. Lisa Ben is an anagram of “lesbian.” It survived 8 months and published 9 issues. Vice Versa's mix of editorials, short stories, poetry, book and film reviews and a letters column, a pattern subsequently followed by many queer publications. 

1950 - The Mattachine Society is the first national gay rights organization formed after WWII. They coined the term homophile (to be used instead of homosexual which feels so clinical and often used as a diagnosis of a disorder), and when asked to speak about what is a homophile, they talked about love instead of sex. At the time, LGBT people were regularly described as deviants and having mental issues, frequently portrayed as villains in the movies, often were homeless & sex workers as a result of being kicked out of their homes. The Mattachine Society fought to change that perception by portraying LGBT people as respectable citizens. The society went into decline in the mid-1960′s and disappeared after Stonewall for seeming too stuffy and unwilling to be confrontational.

1952 - "Spring Fire," the first lesbian paperback novel, was published and sold 1.5 million copies. It was written by lesbian Marijane Meaker under the false name Vin Packer.

1952 - Christine Jorgensen becomes the first widely-publicized person to have sex reassignment surgery, in this case, male to female, creating a world-wide sensation. This was performed in Denmark, and upon arriving in the USA, her transition was the subject of a New York Daily News front-page story, making her a celebrity. She published an autobiography in 1967

1952 - Several members of the Mattachine Society formed a separate society called One, Inc. They published ONE magazine, a monthly magazine and the first U.S. pro-gay publication. The US Post Office declared it obscene and refused to deliver, but it was sold at newstands in LA. ONE existed until 1965.

1953 - The Diana Foundation was created in Houston and is still in existence, making it the oldest continuously active gay organization in the United States. The Diana Foundation is focused on assisting and supporting the needs of the gay community, by distributing funds to organizations that are dedicated to providing services that enhance the lives of individuals in the community.

1953 - President Eisenhower signs an Executive Order banning anyone identified as threats to national security--including those with criminal records, alcoholics, and “sex perverts”--to be excluded or terminated from federal employment. It's estimated 5000 employees were let go, and this number does not include the many who were not hired as questions about their sexual orientation were found during background checks. This ban extended to all subcontractors who want to do business with the federal government, like Boeing, IBM, and many other businesses.  1955 - Dissatisfied at the lack of women voices in the Mattachine Society, the first lesbian rights organization in the US, The Daughters of Bilitis, was founded. It was originally meant to be a social alternative to lesbian bars, which were subject to raids and police harassment. As the Daughters of Bilitis gained members, they shifted their focus to supporting women who were afraid to come out by educating them about their rights and about gay history. They held national conventions in Los Angeles every 2 years from 1960 to 1968. Their 1962 convention was covered by local TV channel WTTV, making it the first  American broadcast that specifically covered lesbians.

1956 – The Ladder, the first nationally distributed lesbian publication in the United States, began publication. It was published monthly from 1956 to 1970, and every other month in 1971 and 1972. It was the primary publication and method of communication for the Daughters of Bilitis. A big part of it’s end was debate over whether to remain aligned with other homophile groups or to join the National Organization for Women and their fight for women’s rights. 

1956 - Dr. Evelyn Hooker presented her work that disproved the diagnosis that being gay is a mental illness. She conducted psychological tests of gay individuals who were not incarcerated and also were not psychological patients. Her work was met with incredulity, but she continued her work and published several additional studies over the coming years.  

1957 - The word “transsexual” is coined by U.S. physician Harry Benjamin to refer to people who have a gender identity inconsistent with their assigned sex and desire to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually through medical means (hormones & surgery) 

1958 - The US Supreme Court ruled against the US Post Office for refusing to allow ONE magazine to be delivered by mail simply for having stories and poems about lesbian and gay characters. This is the first US Supreme Court ruling to deal with homosexuality

1958 - The first gay leather bar in the United States, the Gold Coast, opened in Chicago

1961 - in San Francisco, José Sarria became the first openly gay candidate in the United States to run for public office, running for a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Sarria almost won by default as there were fewer than 5 candidates for the 5 open seats, but city officials recognized this and on the final day had gotten more than 30 candidates registered. Sarria lost but won enough votes to create the idea that a gay voting bloc could wield real power in city politics

1961 - the Tay-Bush raid, the largest raid on a gay bar in San Francisco, resulted in the arrests of 103 people. It is considered a pivotal event in the history of LGBT rights in San Francisco.

1962 – Illinois becomes the first U.S. state to remove sodomy law from its criminal code, but it criminalized acts of "Open Lewdness,” such as open displays of affection between people of the same sex

1962 - The Janus Society was founded in Philadelphia. It is notable as the publisher of Drum magazine, one of the earliest gay publications in the United States and the one most widely circulated in the 1960s. The Janus Society focused on a strategy of seeking respect by showing the public gay individuals conforming to hetero-normative standards of dress at protests.

1962 - In San Francisco the Tavern Guild, the first gay business association in the United States, was created by gay bar owners as a response to the Tay-Bush raid and continued police harassment and closing of gay bars 

1962 - A panel of 8 gay men had 90 minutes on a New York radio station to talk about what it was like to be gay. They talked about their difficulties in maintaining careers, the problems of police harassment, and the social responsibility of gays and straights alike. 

1964 - the first organized protest against gay discrimination took place in New York City. 10 people picketed in New York City to protest the armed forces’ anti-gay discrimination and the army’s failure to keep gay men’s draft records confidential. These brave people stood up and spoke out at a time when very few were willing to do so because they did not want to be identified for fear of their family's reaction and the likely loss of their job and housing.

1964 - Life magazine published the article "Homosexuality In America" which was the first time a national publication reported on gay issues. The article described San Francisco as "The Gay Capital of America." This resulted in a big migration of gays to the city.

1964 - the Council on Religion and the Homosexual was the first group in the U.S. to use the word "homosexual" in its name. It was a San Francisco-based organization founded for the purpose of joining homosexual activists and religious leaders. It held an event where local politicians could be questioned about issues concerning gay and lesbian people, including police intimidation. The event marks the first known instance of "the gay vote" being sought.

1965 - Frank Kameny & Jack Nichols led the first “homosexual rights” protest at the White House. They wanted equal treatment of gay employees in the federal government, the repeal of sodomy laws, and the removal of homosexuality as a mental disorder in the American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental disorders. 10 men & 3 women bravely picketed, and were covered by ABC, UPI, AP, Reuters, and other news organizations. 

1965 - Inspired by the picket at the White House, on July 4th 39 conservatively-dressed people were part of a protest called “Reminder Day” held in Philadelphia at the Liberty Bell to point out that gay people are denied the rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. This picket was done on July 4th for 5 years in a row. The last time just a week after the Stonewall Riots.

1965 - Vanguard was created, an organization of LGBT youth in a low-income San Francisco district. It is considered the first Gay Liberation organization in the U.S. which encouraged gays & lesbians to engage in radical direct action, and to counter societal shame with gay pride, such as by coming out to family & friends

1966 - The New York Mattachine Society stages a "Sip-In" at Julius Bar in New York City. New York liquor laws prohibited serving alcohol to gays. While unsuccessful that day in getting served, the publicity helped get the law changed.  1966 - Riot at Compton's Cafeteria in San Francisco - Compton’s became a regular hangout for drag queens, trans individuals, and young gay street hustlers, including many who belonged to Vanguard, much to the chagrin of it’s owners. The gay bars didn’t allow them in due to transphobic policies. One night management was fed-up by the noisy crowd at one table and called the police. When a cop attempted to arrest a transgender woman (cross-dressing was illegal), she resisted by throwing coffee at the police officer. It was followed by drag queens pouring into the streets, fighting back with their high heels and heavy bags. In the aftermath of this, the city of San Francisco began treating trans people as a community of citizens with legitimate needs instead of simply as a problem to get rid of.

1966 - In Los Angeles a coalition of Homosexual organizations organized demonstrations for Armed Forces Day to protest the exclusion of LGBT from the U.S. armed services. The 15-car motorcade is sometimes called the nation's first gay pride parade

1966 - National Transsexual Counseling Unit was formed in San Francisco, the first transgender organization ever, this is one action taken due to the Compton’s Cafeteria riot.

1966 - The Society for Individual Rights opened America’s first gay and lesbian community center in San Francisco

1967 - On New Years Day at the Black Cat Tavern in Los Angeles, the balloons dropped at midnight, auld lang syne was sung and some bar patrons kissed, then at five minutes after midnight, 12 plainclothes policemen began swinging clubs and pool cues, dragging patrons out the door and into the street. Sixteen people were arrested that night—six of them charged with lewd conduct (otherwise known as kissing). The raid prompted a series of protests that began on 5 January 1967, organized by P.R.I.D.E. (Personal Rights in Defense and Education). It's the first use of the term "Pride" that came to be associated with LGBT rights.

1967 - The Advocate, an American LGBT-interest magazine, was first published as a local newsletter by the activist group Personal Rights in Defense and Education (PRIDE) in Los Angeles. It began as a way to alert gay men to police raids in Los Angeles gay bars.

1967 - Craig Rodwell opened the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop in New York City, the first bookstore in the country focused on literature by gay and lesbian authors. Rodwell was also vice president of the Mattachine Society and the bookstore doubled as a community center. 

1967 - The Student Homophile League at Columbia University is the first institutionally recognized gay student group in the United States.

1969 - Stonewall Riots

#queer history

[dovebuffy92]

Check Out my Reservation Dogs Season 1 Review!

Reservation Dogs Season 1 created by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi, is a brilliant magic realism quirky comedy about a friend group of indigenous teenagers in rural Okren, Oklahoma. The mischievous friends call themselves the Reservation Dogs.

The FX television series’ creators, directors, writers, and most of the actors are indigenous. The majority of them are descendants of North American tribes like the Muscogee, Navajo, and Anishinaabe. While Reservation Dogs shows the poverty in reservations and rural communities like Okren, it heavily features the richness and joy of this Oklahoma salt of the earth indigenous community.

My only minor issue with the first season is that actress twenty-eight-year-old Devery Jacobs, who plays teenage Elora Danan Postoak is between eight to twelve years older than her fellow co-stars. Now it’s important to remember that the first season was wrapped in July 2021. D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai and Paulina Alexis are twenty years old now but were still teenagers when filming began. Lane Factor is sixteen years old, so he is the only “age-appropriate” actor.

There is also a big difference between twenty years old and twenty-eight. However, before I give any critiques, Devery does an excellent job performing as Elora, especially in “California Dreamin,” when she finds Daniel’s (Dalton Kramer) body.

I am thrilled that the actress will now be joining the season two writer’s room. The only problem is that Elora seems like an adult who doesn’t need any parental support while the other main characters feel like teenagers.

Elora is the group’s caretaker, but she doesn’t seem like a teenager who has matured too quickly. Instead, she reads like an adult relative or family friend. Everybody else whose characters are teenagers in Reservation Dogs acts like fifteen or sixteen-year-olds who goof around.

Elora’s character core controlling behavior and coldness comes from the trauma of losing her best friend Daniel, which makes some of her “adult” behavior natural. The problem is we, as the viewers, are not worried when she runs off to California.

If Cheese (Lane Factor), Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis), or Bear Smallhill (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai ) had taken off in a car with just their archenemy Jackie (Elva Guerra), there would be legitimate concerns since I don’t think it’s realistic that they could survive in Los Angeles on their own. With Elora, she seems like a twenty-something who might struggle a little bit living in a big city but could get everything sorted. While lack of makeup and wardrobe can make Devery look like a believable teenager, it’s not enough to erase her natural maturity. Devery’s “adult” behavior makes it hard to believe that she is a minor.

Magic Realism is weaved throughout episodes bringing humor to the series while also pointing out societal issues in the community. Okren, Oklahoma, is an average, primarily small rustic community except when Native American residents interact with the spirit realm.

There are not a lot of special effects or stylized shots that make these magical beings look otherworldly. Instead, Reservation Dogs feels rooted in the real world.

The spirit guide William Knifeman (Dallas Goldtooth) visits Bear whenever he passes out or needs some advice. The awkward Warrior utters wise counsel to Bear while swearing at his horse or eating communion waivers. The spirit guide asks questions rather than directly ordering the teenage boy around. Instead of being this stereotypical silent “noble warrior,” William Knifeman appears to be this goofy guy who happened to be at the Little Big Horn Battle. The spirit guide wants Bear and his friends to help their community rather than race off to California.

In “Come and Get Your Love,” the Deer Lady (Kaniehtiioo Horn) comes to life as a vigilante who protects women and children from abusive, violent men who hurt their community. The Deer Lady legend is a childhood story in the Cherokee, Seminole, Muscogee, and the Pawnee tribes.

She can be benign but also lures promiscuous men to their deaths. The Deer Lady usually takes the form of a beautiful woman or deer. In Reservation Dogs, the Deer Lady is a gorgeous Native American woman who wears an aviator jacket, beaded earrings, and bell-bottom jeans that hide her deer legs. The Deer Lady violently kills two White robbers who knock out a cashier and threatens Young Big’s (Bodhi Linton) life during a flashback.

After speaking to the spirit as a child, Officer Big (Zahn McClarnon) learns to be a good man who punishes criminals hurting the community rather than arresting decent people dealing with rough times. The Deer Lady warns the boy not to fall into the trap of alcoholism or become a deadbeat father. She wants Young Big to imagine his deceased grandmother is always with him to inspire him to fight evil.

If he remains a good person, he won’t see the avenging spirit again. So we are left with the impression that Big will continue to be a decent man and police officer.

I recommend Reservation Dogs Season 1 to anybody who enjoys coming-of-age comedies and wants to see work about indigenous communities created by Native American artists. So many films and television shows about indigenous communities are poverty porn that ignores the culture within these reservations or small towns. Now it’s essential to bring attention to the missing and murdered indigenous women or the high rate of teen suicides in reservations.

Sadly the world is not full of Officer Bigs or Deer Ladies who can protect these teens and women. Still, it’s also vital for young Native Americans to see positive representations of themselves.

Also, the greater public is enriched by viewing indigenous people as good sheriffs, quirky teenagers, film buffs, and community leaders rather than just “wild west” stereotypes or as drunks. Watch the whole series on Hulu!

#reservation dogs #fx on hulu #reservation dogs season 1 #tv show #tv review #tv reviewer #blogger #indigenous #native american #taika waititi #sterlin harjo #bear smallhill #willie jack #rez dogs #cheese #paulina alexis #d'pharaoh woon a tai #devery jacobs #lane factor

[dokidokivisual]

Gochiusa BLOOM episode 6 impressions

Previously: 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1

Oh no, we are already halfway through the season! Time sure flies fast, doesn’t it? Anyway, let’s see what the episode 6 had to offer.

The episode opens with the titular “fluffle of rabbits” (which supposedly is an actual term for a group of rabbits in parts of Northern Canada, but honestly that just sounds completely made-up. I mean rabbits don’t even live in Nothern Canada, or are they? but I digress) surrounding Sharo.

Sharo’s costume and her holding a flyer is a direct callback to a scene from season 1 episode 7 “Call me Sister” where Sharo has encountered Wildgeese while distributing fliers for Fleur du Lapin. It’s not really explained in the episode, but this time Sharo is on the job to pass out fliers as well, but is tolerating the rabbits for the sake of Chino.

The fact that rabbits (other than Tippy, Anko and Wildgeese) kind of avoid Chino is also a previously established trait, namely in season 1 episode 6, but it’s not mentioned very often. However it’s interesting to rewatch that part of season 1 episode (06:00 - 06:30 and 08:20 - 09:00), because it establishes a metaphor which is crucial for understanding the current one.

Basically the rabbits rejecting Chino symbolize her lack of sociability (called komyusho  コミュ障 or “communication disorder” in Japanese). While Chino thinks that the fact that the rabbits don’t run away has to do with Sharo being present, it’s actually explained by her personal growth over the last year or so.

In fact the theme for the entire episode can be summarized as “growth”. It’s fitting that rabbits are also a symbol of growth... in numbers at least.

After the OP, the story suddenly switches to Chimame’s middle school as they decide on a natural look for their graduation photo album. It’s another reminder of the passage of time, and the fact that Chimame-tai are about to become high schoolers in a few months. But it’s still October, and at least the manga takes its sweet time to get there.

By the way this pose is similar to Chimame “victory pose” from season 1 episode 5.

Megu decides that her hair type resembles Sharo’s and decides to ask her for advice. It might be hard to notice with their usual hairstyles, but if you look at Clockwork Rabbit Sharo you can see the resemblance. Coincidentally Sharo is getting a haircut right outside her home, so Megu hides behind a fire hydrant. In the manga she hides behind the corner of a building which I guess didn’t make sense given the geometry of the location. Then again, how large is this fire hydrant that Megu can easily hide behind it?

Sharo and Chiya eventually do spot her, and start fighting over who gets to do Megu’s hair. It turns out that they both cut each other’s hair, even though they’re not particularly satisfied with the result. The point of contention seems to be them cutting the bangs in a straight line, which is called pattsun ぱっつん in Japanese. Koi has previously mentioned this concept in volume 3 chapter 2 titled “Pattun Horizon”, which was adapted as part of season 1 episode 10. In that chapter Cocoa has a sleepover with Chiya and Sharo, and gets a matching pattsun to commemorate the occasion.

By the way there is an entire character song about Sharo having her hair cut by Chiya and it’s called  空色サロン (”Sky-colored salon”). It’s a really good song from the recent Blend of Letters album so check it out.

In the end, Megu gets her hair styled by Chiya’s grandma, using the same “thing” (probably a brush) she grooms Anko with. This also includes perming her curls straight. Unfortunately we don’t get to see how it went, and the scene switches to Maya right after. By the way, this manga chapter is called “Megu loses her tornado” (メグ、トルネードを失う).

Meanwhile Maya goes to a hair accessory shop to cover up her ahoge (”idiot hair”). Rize also happens to be there (implying that she might also be preparing for a graduation album photo) and tries to help Maya. She seems to carry some sort of hair conditioner with herself, although Maya’s ahoge is too strong for it. In the end they decide to buy matching hairpins.

Even though Rize holds a yellow hairpin and Maya a purple one, the back of the packaging is identical for both and indicates yellow color (黄). This is probably a mistake. The barcode number 8/08 140 2/14 160 indicates Maya and Rize’s birthday and height respectively (similar to Aoyama’s bounty in episode 3). I wasn’t able to read the QR code but maybe it encodes something as well.

Later when Rize scolds Maya she flicks a finger at her forehead (called dekopin でこピン in Japanese) while calling her DekoMaya (でこマヤ). Rize is basically implying that Maya has a big forehead, however it only got exposed because of the hair decoration she put on.

Finally it’s Chino’s turn. Apparently Chino usually cuts her hair herself. However this time she notices Tippy looking unusually fluffy and it turns out it was Cocoa who trimmed his fur (which is normally also done by Chino). Since angora rabbits were bred for their wool, it grows very fast, so unlike most other rabbit breeds it’s necessary to regularly trim it.

Chino becomes resolved to let Cocoa cut her hair, which makes her quite surprised and happy. Like Sharo and Chiya before, Chino is willing to put her trust in Cocoa, which shows how much their relationship has progressed. Cocoa tries to imitate a hair salon beautician, in particular the phrase “kayui tokoro wa gozaimasen ka?” (”does it itch somewhere?”) seems to be a staple phrase among Japanese hair stylists. This might be how Mocha used to cut her hair back home. Chino comments that Cocoa’s hair has grown longer, however it doesn’t look much longer than in previous episodes when in manga it was obviously longer:

The theme of growing hair corresponding to growth of a person is explored here. Mocha has very long hair, and Cocoa is thinking of growing her hair just as long to overcome her sense of inferiority. However regardless of hair length, we still see Cocoa being as immature as ever. For example she offers to hit her with a pico-pico hammer (pikohan) in case she makes a mistake. This toy is commonly featured in Japanese variety shows, and even in videogames, in fact it was invented in Japan by Masudaya toy company in 1968.

As I mentioned in episode 4 review, in the manga Cocoa only finds out that Chino has decided to go to her school at the end of this chapter. In this scene Cocoa doesn’t know it yet, and Chino when asked about it says she thought about joining Megu and Maya in Sharo’s school. This causes Cocoa to inadvertently cut Chino’s hair wrong. In the anime the dialogue is changed completely, but the end result is still the same. Chino learns that it’s inappropriate to joke around in certain situations, and Cocoa learns that longer hair doesn’t necessarily make you a good oneechan.

In the end Cocoa and Chino cut each other’s hair and Takahiro reassures them they did a good job after all. In the manga this hairstyle was labeled as つるてーん (tsuruten) which I think comes from the expression つんつるてん　tsuntsuruten which is used for clothing which is too short, for example pants being so short that lower legs are exposed. Perhaps it’s implied that they cut their bangs too short and too much of forehead is exposed.

In the end we get to see Chimame-tai’s final form. Megu’s change is the most radical as she did get a straight perm after all.

Now onto part B. It’s based on the same chapter as the opening scene with rabbits and Chino, namely volume 6 chapter 4. In the manga this scene follows directly after, which explains why Sharo is still wearing Fleur uniform there.

The original bread festival happened in season 1 episode 7 and was also advertised via distribution of leaflets. Here’s the original poster for comparison:

Compared to the original poster, Rabbit House is now spelled correctly, and “Welcome come on” is now written in English. Also Tippy is now singing a weird jingle (papan-pan-pan-pan-matsuri) which brings to mind Cocoa’s bread-themed Rabbit House theme song from Sing For You as well as Cocoa’s character song パンパカパンのパンのパーティー which features “welcome come on” and I guess was inspired by Cocoa’s bread festivals.

Soon, Aoyama and Rin turn up, still chasing each other since the previous episode. However the previous episode omitted an important detail about Rin from the manga chapter, which is that she doesn’t really like coffee. In the anime it’s revealed later, but it explains why nobody seems to care about Chino’s “special blend”. In response Chino turns into delinquent mode, with Wildgeese on her head instead of Tippy. 

The way Chino speaks changes too. Normally Chino always speaks in polite register, using desu and -masu verb forms at the end of the sentence. This is one of the defining characteristics of Chino since she’s the only character in the series to do this even in informal situations.

In this scene Chino switches to plain register, ending her sentence with da ze, which is a plain copula da followed by ending particle ze indicating forcefulness. This sentence ending is well known from the catchphrase yare yare da ze of Jotaro Kujo from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.

When Wildgeese is replaced with Anko, Chino goes into a stupor. In the end it turns out Chino was playing along, and it was another of her “pranks”. Rize comments that Chino became just like Cocoa, perhaps recalling Cocoa’s breakdown in season 2 episode 10.

The bread festival is about to begin, and Chino still seems to be upset, even though Cocoa praises her (too late). Cocoa herself also seems to be unsure of her bread’s quality (especially compared to her sister).

For some reason, Sharo is in the mood for some coffee and orders Chino’s special blend. This causes everyone else to order it too. Maybe Sharo felt bad for Chino in the earlier scene and took one for the team?

Anyway, Chino’s coffee is very pretty and features a flower made from whipped cream (for which there’s an official tutorial how to make it). I guess this ties into the theme of BLOOM, however in the manga it was also a flower and it was probably written before the season 3 title was decided.

Sharo tastes Chino’s coffee and ends up in “paradise”. You might notice, with the field of flowers and flower wreaths it also fits into the BLOOM theme.

Seeing this reaction, Rin also decides to order coffee. Rize responds with “but you said you don’t like coffee”, but she never says this in anime. Unless it was supposed to be an off-screen conversation? Anyway, Rin also enjoys Chino’s coffee, and the “warmth” she put into it. Chino, who originally had a rather cold personality takes this praise to heart.

It turns out that there were many customers other than the regular characters (which doesn’t happen often in Rabbit House). Lots of children too, who seem to particularly like Chino as has been previously established. Chino shows them how to make latte art, promising to make a “fluffy rabbit” which might be a reference to the rabbit she draws in the ED of this episode.

Cocoa also has a self-reflection moment when she decides she doesn’t have to be like her sister because Chino looks up to Cocoa anyway. Cocoa explains that can’t distinguish Chino’s blends of coffee because they’re all similarly delicious to her. Considering she misidentifies one of Chino’s blends as instant coffee in the first episode there are reasons to doubt this confession. It works on Chino though who can hardly contain her happiness.

Despite all the praise heaped on her, Chino is still not sure if she’s changed. However as she comes out to take down the signboard, a lone rabbit approaches Chino and doesn’t run away.

Under the warm sunset colors, Chino gives a “warm” welcome to the rabbit, referencing the episode’s title (though it was just one rabbit, not a “fluffle” of them) and giving a conclusion to this arc. As I explained in the beginning, the rabbit is a symbol of Chino becoming more approachable over the past few episodes. She is also now seen as a grownup by those who are smaller than her, such as children and, well, rabbits.

So that was a “growth” episode of Gochiusa BLOOM, and the next episode (which is Halloween-themed) promises to be quite important as well.

Oh, and poor Rize’s pasta... Nobody seem to have ordered or even mentioned it. I’m sure it was delicious as well. Can we get a Rize appreciation episode please?

#gochiusa #gochuumon wa usagi desu ka? #is the order a rabbit? #review

[benscaligraphyset]

Chapter three

(A/N: I hope you all enjoy this new update! Please let me know what you think in the replies/reblogs! Reblogs are always appreciated :) )

Warnings: none that I can think of

“What exactly did you feel?” Leia asked after you nearly broke down her door at the crack of dawn. 

She wrapped a pink robe around herself and followed your pursuit around the house. You couldn’t stay still in the state that you were in, because staying still is doing nothing and doing nothing is not helping Ben.

“All I know is it was Ben, okay? And he felt so scared and lost and I don’t think he even meant to reach out to me. It was just a very strong feeling, but it was him, I know it,” you insisted as you went into their kitchenette, Leia trailing behind you.

“Y/N, wait,” Leia said and whirled around to face her.

You knew you must look crazy, eyes puffy, dark rimmed and wide with desperation, hair a giant tangle, and you were so jittery you couldn’t even stand in still for one minute. But, you finally had a real lead on Ben and refused to lose him again.

Leia sighed. “This could be a trap.”

“A trap by who?”

Leia hesitated but you didn’t have the patience to wait for an answer.  

“And even if it is, Ben still needs our help.”

You helped yourself to a breakfast biscuit, the crumbly bread at least providing you with some energy, but you knew you would inevitably throw it up. You saw some ration packs in the cabinet and looked at Leia, the silent question evident on your face. She nodded and you shoved some into your bag.

“I know, all I’m saying is maybe we should think before we go in blasters blazing—“

“You can stay here and think, but I’m going after your son,” you snapped.

She recoiled away as if you had physically struck her and you instantly regretted what you had said. But, why did it seem that you were more interested in saving her son than she was? It was making you so angry. 

“Look, I’m sorry I snapped, but the more time we waste—”

“Y/N—”

“What?”

“Han will be here soon, we can take the Falcon,” Leia said. You didn’t realize how jittery you finally stopped moving.

Grateful tears pricked your eyes and you threw your arms around her. You didn’t miss the fact that she said, “we” as opposed to “you”. You knew if there was even a chance that Ben was close to falling to the dark side, you would need the whole Solo family to help pull him back. He needed to know he was wanted and loved, especially by the people he felt sent him away.

“Thank you, Leia.”

“But, we need to have a plan,” she said. “And you need to tell me exactly what you felt.”

“Well, I had this dream, but I don’t know if—“

“Anything can be helpful,” Leia said, urging you to sit down at the kitchen table.

You sat down across from her. “It was mostly flashes. Ben was with these men in strange masks and they said they were going to Minemoon the next day. Then, it shifted to what I guess was Minemoon and a couple of my classmates were there...I forgot they were off world.”

“They were off world the night the temple was attacked?” Leia asked and you nodded.

“I completely forgot until now,” you mused. Three classmates were off world and only two were in your vision, but you tried not to think about what that could suggest.

“Anyway,” you continued before Leia could ask anymore questions, “they were fighting the masked guys, but I don’t think Ben was sure of who’s side to fight on—but I watched Tai die with Ben just standing there…I couldn’t tell what he was feeling.”

You broke off to wipe a stray tear. Tai was always kind to you and he helped you to center yourself many times when your emotions got too overwhelming. You were grateful to him that he didn’t treat Ben like he was a ticking time bomb, and instead a human being who was suffering. Tai is the last classmate Ben would ever harm. You don’t think he would be capable of harming even Voe, who was always horrible to everyone.

“Then what happened?” Leia pressed gently.

“And then Voe was dead...and Ben was walking away. Then, I woke up and I could finally feel Ben again! But, the connection was full of fear and pain. I’ve never felt it so dark before,” you said, lip trembling. “And then...and then he just shut me out again.”

Leia sighed and reached forward, grabbing your hands. 

“You know Ben has always struggled with the darkness inside of him—“

“No,” you cut her off before she could finish her thought. 

You refused to believe he would fall to the dark side and yeah, maybe that meant you were in denial in which case, fine, you were in denial, but you knew the man you fell in love with. Of course you felt the darkness raging a war inside of him, it’d be hard to miss, but you also felt so much light inside of him, so much goodness. 

“There’s good inside of him.” You didn’t know who you were trying to convince, you or Leia. 

“I know,” Leia agreed. She didn’t say anything more, obviously realizing the conversation would go no where. 

You weren’t able to say anything before you heard a key being shoved into the lock on the front door. A few seconds later, Han came through the door. 

“Y/N, Leia! I didn’t expect either of you to be up this early,” Han greeted you gruffly. Old isn’t the word you would use to describe Han, and you know he’d ring anyone’s neck who said otherwise, but he was definitely older. His hair and beard were almost completely grey and wrinkles were starting to appear around his eyes and on his cheeks, but the one thing that hadn’t changed was that permanent cocky smirk he wore. 

You and Leia exchanged a glance, wondering who should tell him. 

“Y/N thinks she has a lead on Ben,” Leia ended up saying. Han’s smirk fell and he looked between the two of you as if you both had two heads. 

“Are you kidding? What are we just sitting around for? Let’s go!” Han said, turning to the side to yell, “Hey Chewie, stop unloading we’re about to take off again!”

“Han—“

“We’re going to get Ben!” Han shouted back in response to Chewbacca’s grumble and you heard a distant triumphant roar. 

“Han, we need a plan before we go,” Leia said, sounding annoyed already.

“We have a plan, getting our son back.” 

You grinned at him, taking this as your cue to stand and join him in the doorway. Leia sighed harshly and looked down at the table in exasperation. She had always said whenever you and Han were together it was like there were two of you and you could practically hear her saying it now.

“We can’t just go in without knowing what we’re walking into! Y/N only has a vague idea of where he’ll be—“

“He’s going to be at Minemoon tomorrow I know it,” you insisted, locking your pleading eyes with her. “Leia, please, we’ll make a plan on the way, but we need to go get Ben.”

Leia looked from you to Han and then back to you and sighed. 

“Well, I’m obviously outnumbered, so I guess I’ll get my things,” Leia grumbled and shuffled back into her room. 

You turned to Han, grin returning and he wrapped an arm around you. 

“C’mere kid,” he said and pulled you in for a tight hug. You relaxed into it and hugged him back, breathing in his scent. 

“I’ve missed you so much,” you nearly sobbed into his chest and you felt him rub your back soothingly. 

“I’ve missed you too, kid.” 

Han pulled back and gave you a once over. 

“Are you wearing my shirt?” he asked, just now realizing. 

“Oh, uh, yeah,” you said, looking down with a chuckle. “Leia let me wear it to sleep.” 

Han glanced back at the shirt and huffed. He didn’t say it, but you could feel adoration coming off of him. 

“Well, go put on some real clothes so we can go rescue my son.” 

Han hung back while you went to the Falcon, no doubt in need to speak with Leia privately. 

You’d borrowed some robes from Leia and they made you shift uncomfortably with every step. You’d been wearing the same standard robes for months while training with Master Luke and it’s not that Leia’s robes weren’t nice, it’s just that they just felt off. At least there was a belt for you to put your saber. 

You sighed as you made your way up the ramp, pulling at the pants that were squeezing your thighs. You weren’t prepared for the surge of memories that appeared when you entered the curved tunnels of the Falcon’s walkway. You hadn’t been here in years. 

Last time you were on here, Han was teaching Ben to fly her. 

“No, Ben you’ve gotta—“

“I’ve got it, dad!”

“No, you don’t because—“

The two men cut off as the ship began to shake violently and Ben’s eyes looked around in panic. 

“Move over,” Han had snapped gruffly, leaning over Ben to flip some switches, bringing the ship back to a steady cruise. He turned back to Ben in irritation and the younger boy had shrunk under his gaze. 

You couldn’t help the giggle that escaped you at the sight of both of their faces. Han turned his stern face onto you now and your smile instantly fell. You cleared your throat, trying to play it off and your eyes flickered to Ben who just smirked at you in response. When Han has first scolded him, you could feel his embarrassment and shame rolling off his shoulders, but at the reminder of your presence he relaxed and you could feel him reaching out to you. You gladly reached back, sending feelings of encouragement his way. 

“If you two are done Jedi flirting,” Han said and your cheeks grew hot. Han didn’t know much about the Force, but he had come to recognize when you and Ben were communicating through it. You instantly felt Ben retreat from you and watched the tips of his ears turn pink. 

Your thoughts were interrupted when you heard a mighty roar and you turned to see a wall of fur. 

“Chewie!” you greeted in excitement and he didn’t hesitate to wrap you in a bone crushing hug, lifting you in the air. 

“I missed you too, buddy,” you choked out and Chewie, hearing your strain, reduced the pressure on your ribs and set you down. He apologized and laid a large hand on your shoulder. 

“It’s okay,” you said with a chuckle, placing your much smaller hand over his. 

He asked you what the plan was.

“We’re going to get Ben on Minemoon, a moon off of Mimban.”

He asked you what he was doing there, but before you could answer, Han’s voice rang out. 

“We never should’ve sent him away,” Han grumbled, stomping his way up the ramp with Leia in tow. 

“Who was going to train him then, hm? You?” Leia asked. 

“Did you ever think to ask him what he wanted? Maybe he didn’t want to be a Jedi!” Han rounded on Leia. 

Chewie wailed loudly, objecting to their arguing. 

“Stay out of it!” They both screamed in union and Chewie grumbled in annoyance. 

“Did he not want to be a Jedi, Han? Or did you not want him to?” 

Chewie gave a low whine and looked to you desperately. 

“Guys—“

“We never should’ve trust Luke with him, that little—“

“Han!” you shouted and he whirled around to face you, face angry until he realized it was you, then it seemed to soften. “Can I talk to you? Privately?” 

Now seemed as good a time as ever to have this talk, you thought, and at least it was a good reason to get them to stop fighting. Han sighed and turned back to Leia. 

“This isn’t over,” he said. 

“It never is,” she mumbled before making her way to the cockpit. 

You started walking towards the crew quarters, angry steps behind you letting you know he was trailing behind. He looked at you expectantly when you closed the door behind him. 

“What’s up, kid?” Han asked. He sounded exhausted already and you briefly wondered if he had gotten any sleep since the news either. 

“I, uh, there’s something I need to tell you...” 

“Well, come on, then, spit it out.” 

You’d be offended by his words if you didn’t already know this was Han’s way of being encouraging. 

“I’m—I’m pregnant,” you said, bringing your hand down to cup your abdomen. You watched as Han’s lip twitched into a surprised smile. 

“That’s great news!” he exclaimed until he noticed you weren’t joining him in his joy. “Or not?”

“It’s, uh, it is good news. It’s just...it’s Ben’s,” you admitted softly. Han’s smile faltered and his face showed an emotion you couldn’t place; you don’t think he understood what he was feeling either. 

Every second he was silent felt like an eternity to you and you were losing your mind at not knowing what was going on inside of his head. 

“I’m gonna be a granddaddy?” he asked quietly after a minute, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Yeah, yeah, you are.” 

He instantly wrapped you in his arms and you happily returned the hug. You could finally feel all the emotions coming off him in hot waves. Disbelief, fear, happiness; all those emotions were swirling around in his head, fighting for dominance. Han pulled back after a minute and met his eyes with yours, staring at you intently. 

“We’re going to find him, okay?” 

You smiled and a tear escaped your eye, falling down your cheek, and Han reached forward to wipe it away. You leaned into his warm, calloused hand and he gently stroked your cheek with nothing but love in his eyes. Those were eyes that told you that you would never going to truly be alone.

Ben must’ve gotten those from his father, you realized. 

You nodded. “Okay.” 

“I was wondering why Leia was asking me to pick up those hormone pills. Pregnant neighbor, my ass!”

“Speaking of Leia, lay off her will you? She’s just worried about him too,” you said, voice stern. Han nodded and let his shoulders sag in defeat. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” he agreed. “I hate it when you women are right.” 

You giggled. “Unfortunately for you, that’s pretty much always.”

Han rolled his eyes but still wore a giddy grin from the news. At first glance, Han doesn’t seem like a sentimental man, but when you truly know him and learn his mannerisms, (Han-isms as you and Leia liked to call them) you’d come to understand what a loving man he truly is. He rumpled your hair on his way out and you heard the hiss of the door opening. 

“Chewie! I’m gonna be a granddaddy!” he instantly shouted, the words echoing throughout the whole ship. You heard a roar of excitement and heavy footsteps coming your way. 

You snorted. You should’ve seen that coming. 

After vomiting very lady-like into a waste bin in the crews quarters with Chewie holding your hair back, you pulled yourself together in the refresher and went to rejoin the others. You were glad Han and Chewie were already privy to your little secret as it would be hard to explain the constant vomiting spells otherwise. 

On your way to the cockpit however you were caught off guard by the resurgence of your and Ben’s connection.

Y/N... you heard him as clearly as if he was right next to you.

“Ben?” you asked, frantically looking around to no avail. He wasn't here. 

And then, as quickly as he let in you, he shut you out again, leaving you with a hole in your chest. You wiped away a tear that had managed to escape for eye and you pulled yourself together. You needed to focus.

Han and Leia appeared to have made up if her sitting in his lap was any indication. Maybe the prospect of them both being future grandparents brought them together and made them realize how petty their feud really was. You smiled when he placed a silent kiss into her braided hair before he heard you come in.

He must’ve seen you out of his peripherals because a second later his head turned to you and he rolled his eyes at your triumphant smile. Leia turned to you and gave you a grateful smile. 

“So, where is it we’re going again?” Han asked, tapping Leia’s thigh as an indication for her to get up. She complied and settled for standing next to him, a steady hand resting on his shoulder. 

“Minemoon,” you repeated for what felt like the hundredth time today. “It orbits Mimban in the Circarpous System.” 

Han tapped coordinates into the system, beeps sounding at each press. You flopped down in the chair behind him and closed your eyes, letting out an involuntary sigh. You still hadn’t slept well in four days now and that made the daily pregnancy fatigue even worse. Your head was pounding and you felt gross and clammy from recently throwing up. 

“Why don’t you rest, Y/N?” Leia suggested  and you opened your eyes. 

“I’ll rest when we have Ben back,” you said with a tone of finality. No one dared argue with you, even as the bags under your eyes had become dangerously dark. 

Even though you had assumed a position of stubborn consciousness, arms tightly crossed around your chest, you barley remember the Falcon groaning into hyperdrive as you finally lost consciousness just after that. You fell asleep to the feeling of Ben’s steady Force signature and the dream of him coming back to you.

(A/N: Again, I so hope you guys enjoyed this update and that it was worth the wait! Let me know what you thought!)

Taglist (ask to be added): 

@chewymoustachio @keverdeen395 @obsessionprofessional @promiscuoussatan @annepamgkrth​ @angelicwolf98 @allmyawesomeness @jaydaduckyy @starfishfaerie @oh-mymendes @dark-night-sky-99 @starktonyx @bensoloslover @kylosbeanswolo @oopsiedoopsie23 @moonprincess003 @starktonyx @heda-mikaelson

#ben solo #ben solo x reader #ben solo x you #ben solo imagine #kylo ren x reader #kylo ren x you #Kylo Ren imagine #ben solo fanfic #ben solo fanfiction #Kylo Ren fanfic #Kylo Ren fanfiction #Leia Organa #Han Solo #sw fanfic #sw fanfiction #Star Wars fanfic #star wars reader insert #kylo ren reader insert #ben solo reader insert

[itsclydebitches]

The post about how characters don't connect to the setting is one of the reasons why the beginning of V7 frustrated me so much. James gives this plan of telling the world about Salem, Weiss rightfully points out their will be panic everywhere and NO ONE connects that with the very real fear that this plan could put all their families in danger. Nor does anyone get excited about the Amity project potentially allowing them to call home. Ruby's been away for A YEAR. Doesn't she miss her dad at all?

Exactly! This isn't a bad faith criticism where we're demanding the show do a ton of emotional work that there just isn't time for in the fighting focused plot; a claim that it's awful because it's not functioning as one genre (like a drama, soap opera, etc.) over another (action/adventure, fantasy, sci-fi)... I mean we get nothing in regards to this issue. Not even crumbs. And these connections are, supposedly, at the very heart of the "trust love" narrative. I think it's easy for people to forget what happens between volumes — especially given the "Only the latest volume is canon" mentality — but we literally had Ironwood announce to Ruby that he'd need to use his army to keep the grimm attacks at bay once the Salem secret was revealed and then a volume later Ruby reveals the Salem secret (along with a whole lot else that is scary, horrifying, and generally negative-emotion educing) after she's cut all ties with Ironwood and his army is fully engaged in keeping Salem at bay. There is no discussion, let along concern and worry, about how many people she just got killed for an announcement that the show has failed to justify. Why is telling the world about Salem worth the casualties it will cause? What is the world going to do against the immortal witch? Ruby doesn't know. That's her whole dilemma this volume: wanting easy answers and then crumbling when she can't think of any. Problem is, she endangered the whole world before admitting, "Oh, I have no idea how to stop all this awfulness."

I mean, I understand on an emotional level why the hypocrisy of Ruby's lies and secrets don't land because most people in the fandom dislike, or outright hate, Ozpin. That's really going to color any reading there, when suddenly the beloved hero is mirroring someone you despise — you'll do whatever mental gymnastics are necessary to keep them separate. But Ruby has no evil contrast here. This is all her. We watch her make a decision that she knows will endanger the entire world, including her loved ones, and it's never even raised as a concern. The same way no one raises concerns about going to Vacuo. Yes, supposedly escaping was the only option available (I say "supposedly" because the plot did a terrible job of convincing us that evacuation was still necessary with Salem currently exploded and it having been established that she's only after the Relic on Atlas), and in a crisis situation they aren't necessarily thinking about long-term survival (that's my own stance regarding Ironwood's desire to rise high: he's not thinking about how to live there indefinitely, just how to survive the next few hours), but why send them to the Kingdom they know Salem will attack next? The Crown is hidden. You have the Lamp and the Staff. You know Salem is after all the Relics, so of course she's going to Vacuo. And so you dump however many refugees there, in the city she's gunning for next, intentionally setting up the next Fall of Atlas? Yeah, we all know it's because structurally the story hasn't been to Vacuo yet, but in-world it makes the characters look incredibly stupid. Why dump an entire Kingdom's worth of people in the most hostile environment, with the most wary citizens, a place you know the Big Bad is heading to next, when you could instead split them up and send them to safer Kingdoms that aren't currently in Salem's path? "Oh, it's because Vacuo still has huntsmen and they need huntsmen to combat all the grimm." There wouldn't be a massive grimm problem is Ruby hadn't told the whole world about Salem!

And this problem of not thinking through actions in a way that demonstrates real care for the world is just compounded over and over on a personal level. It's the same way Ruby doesn't care about what happened to Qrow until she hopes he can fix everything. The same way she doesn't react to Yang "dying." The same way Yang didn't mention Summer for five volumes. The same way Jaune, Yang, and Nora rejected Ren until he fell in line. The same way Blake is trying to inspire Ruby when they've barely exchanged a handful of sentences since Beacon. The same way, as you say, no one has made mention of the family they've left behind, let alone considered how building a communications tower might be a way of reconnecting with them, especially when at least two of them — Ruby and Oscar — left completely out of the blue. Are they presented as caring about how that inevitably hurt their care givers? Nah. The fandom gives Tai so little slack, but at least the story showed him watching Ruby's message and being upset at the danger she's in. When was the last time the girls mentioned Tai?

... have they mentioned him since they left home?

The show has done a terrible job in the last couple of years of showing that these characters actually care for one another, beyond a superficial level, especially when all the cute friendship moments that function as filler are obliterated the moment one of them disagrees about something (see: Ren). There's no sense of place and little sense of real family, from Weiss doing multiple 180s with Whitley, to Blake being the only one who reacts to Yang's "death." It all rings so hollow. I'm supposed to believe that Ruby is still the one to inspire the world towards unity when she, at the point of her speech, still hasn't even tried to reconcile with Ozpin, has been betraying Ironwood this whole time, insta-turned on the Ace Ops for trying to make her face consequences for the crimes she knows she committed, fought her way into the kingdom because she didn't like the peaceful solution Cordovin offered (send Weiss), hasn't made mention of her father, collapsed over hearing her mother's name only to get over it seconds later, at this point in the volume barely interacts with her sister, and is leading a team whose attitude ranges from "Glares at Marrow for daring to suggest she works with anyone other than Yang" and "Points a weapon at her baby brother because she, apparently, can't even manage to work with a minor civilian family member." This is the team who is going to inspire Remnant to unify against Salem, the group who keeps not unifying with everyone they need to work with? There is a serious disconnect here. You can't tell the audience to "trust love" while failing to show basic love and support among the cast, and you can't try to make Ruby the poster child for unity when she has, since Volume 6, has consistently failed to unify with anyone: not Cordovin, not Qrow until he agreed to stop questioning her, not Ozpin, not Ironwood, not the Ace Ops, not even Robyn considering that was all Yang and Blake. Ruby's struggle right now is an inability to work with people who don't agree with her 100%, her biggest flaw is an all or nothing attitude, and the writing is failing to see how that might just be a problem when she's telling everyone else to put their differences aside to work together. Having Ruby actually try to connect with people more, worry about them, express love for them, etc. — both family and allies — would at least help soften this issue, but without it her characterization has severely tanked in terms of the compassion the show wants us to believe is still there.

#rwby #rwde #salt #mymetas