#but i need to tag this for my own administration

[thelargefrye]

ATEEZ AS MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS ... bullet - point fic ( 17+ )

pairing : teacher!ateez x teacher!f!reader (separately)

genre : teacher au, fluff, comedy, workplace romance, bulletpoint headcanons, implied co-workers to lovers (for all of them), secret relationships (for a lot of them)

word count : 4.1k

warnings : middle schoolers (yes this is needed), mentions of students shipping their teachers, mentions of a past make-out from college (mingi's section)

note : inspired by these prompts and my own job lol

honorary tag : @sanjoongie

what i think it would be like working with ateez in a middle school and perhaps being something more than co-workers with them.

KIM HONGJOONG

he's a math teacher – seventh grade and also head of the math department at the school

when he's teaching, he's in his element and he's very passionate about teaching his student and the content

he was terrible at math when he was a student and often tells his own students in order to motivate them...

sometimes it works but most times it doesn't

he's definitely one of the more stricter teachers at the beginning of the year, but lets up near the end of the year

students love him, like there's not one kid who hates him

some students do wonder how he manages to get away with his funky hair colors, but no one really questions it anymore

he's also very stylish and is known for his fashionable looks that make him look like he just came off the runway

the two of you met when you started teaching at the same school, he's been teaching for two years longer than you have

you also teach seventh grade and immediately clicked as friends on your first day

he answers any questions you have that isn't content related and is kind of seen as the head of the seventh grade as well

he gets along well with the older teachers who have been doing this for 20+ years, those teachers either go to you or him when they need help with the new programs that admin is making them use in class

a lot of the students ask him if you two are dating because you're the younger teachers in the grade-level and are always hanging out

"dating? why are you worried about who i'm dating? we have equations to worry about," he would say and always brush them off

most of the students drop, not really wanting to make hongjoong upset but that doesn't mean the question won't come up again later on

your students will also ask you the same question and like hongjoong, you brush them off and not really answering them

the students would often go back and forth on if you two were dating or not with some even trying to provide "evidence" that you were dating

and some students gave up on thinking that their literature and math teacher were dating

until one day you showed up to school wearing a cardigan

and not just any cardigan

a cardigan that hongjoong wore a month ago, one that students knew was custom made by their teacher himself

and the whole seventh grade lost their minds because holy cow, their literature teacher and math teacher WERE in fact dating

the evidence of you wearing hongjoong's cardigan was enough to convince all the students it was true

so then some of them decided to confront you both

"teacher kim, teacher l/n we know your secret."

you and hongjoong were of course confused because of course your students had to be cryptic about everything... seventh graders 😒

"we know you guys are dating! teacher l/n, you're wearing teacher kim's custom cardigan!"

hongjoong had never turned his head so fast in his life and he immediately looked at the cardigan and sure enough

it was his

and you two were busted because now all your students knew you both were at least something, if not more than friends

PARK SEONGHWA

seonghwa teaches eighth grade reading / literature, he also has his masters in special education and administration

he is also the teacher that heads student council – like he built it from the ground up after the teacher before him let it crash and burn allowed it to be ruined

but seonghwa rebuilt the student council club and now its flourishes thanks to his leadership skills and teaching the students those same leadership skills

being a teacher is like a family job, his mother was a teacher and taught at the same school that he now teaches at

he wanted to become one to continue her legacy

students think he's way too handsome to be a teacher

he's also way too nice to be a teacher but like... none of the students ever give him issues

like even the behavior students don't disrespect him like they would other teachers – its kind of crazy

you had always admired seonghwa because of how good he was at his job and honestly... you were kind of jealous of him too

but you wouldn't dare tell him

you can't help but be amazed when you watch him speak at department meetings and how he always voices his thoughts so elegantly

seonghwa is also never afraid to help you if he sees you struggling or to ask for your opinion during meetings when he notices you haven't spoken

and he'll always back you up which surprises you because you aren't friends or even in the same grade

you kind of developed a crush on him but again you would never tell him or anybody for that matter

which to be honest, your crush and admiration is probably what lead you to volunteering to help out with the student council overnight trip to a student council convention

it was you, seonghwa, plus the ten student council students that qualified to go

you really never knew who exhausting planning a field trip was and seonghwa amazed you once again with how well-planned out the trip was

it kind of made you feel guilty because of how little you did to help out with the planning

"don't feel bad y/n! i'm glad you volunteered to come, i usually struggle with finding someone to come with me to help chaperone."

"really?"

"yeah."

well... that did make you feel a little better

and of course since you two were the only chaperones, that meant the two of you got to room together

the students were pretty sure they almost saw you pass out in the hotel lobby when seonghwa told you that

"teacher l/n, are you okay! you don't look so good!"

"i'm fine..."

"you're fine with sharing a room together right?" seonghwa asks once the two of you are alone in the hotel room

the students were also in their own hotel rooms and winding down after the long trip, you could feel yourself sink into the bed once you got into the room

"its fine, i don't mind," you tell him and seonghwa gives you a warm smile as he settles down on the bed next to yours "are field trips always this exhausting?"

"only the overnight ones"

"great"

JEONG YUNHO

eighth grade history teacher but he's also taught sixth grade history in the past as well

yunho is very serious about teaching and strict when it comes to listening, doing work, being respectful, etc.

especially in the beginning of the year, but does let up a little bit near the end and after exams and stuff

he has a strict schedule that he follows when teaching his content and knows his content like the back of his hand

he has a routine and the students are quick to learn it and make sure the others are at least doing what they are suppose to be doing when the bell rings

but despite how strict and stuff he is, yunho loves teaching and the kids love his class

even if they don't like it at the beginning, the class and yunho will grow on them before the year is over

even the other teachers respect yunho and will ask him on how he teaches certain events and whatnot, always going to him for tips on where to find good materials

yunho is like the jack-of-all-materials

even has his own tpt page because of how much stuff he has made for his own class and co-workers

you will also always find him and san hanging out together in each other's room during their planning time

usually gossiping about students or other teachers

students have learned that when san walks into yunho's room, then its serious because san never leaves his room during class time

also no one ever really bothers yunho because of how strict he is with teaching and getting everything he needs done, to get done

however, students are shocked when you walk into yunho's room one day WHILE he's teaching to ask him a question

like their jaws drop when yunho stops teaching in order to help you with something and laughing with you as he brushes your apology off

it was like they just watched a mean dog turned into the friendliest puppy when you walked in

some of them questioned if they were transported to a different reality because there is no way this is happening

you and yunho are like night and day, yunho with dark button-ups and you with your funky colored pants

"you're seeing this to right?" one of them would whisper to the other students around them

the students were too stunned to speak

"hey! get to work, i expect you to have these notes written down by the time i'm done," yunho would say and immediately the students would get to work

"thank you teacher jeong, i appreciate the help with this new program"

"sure, its no problem," he says as he walks you to the door. "choi came to me during planning asking about it plus some other teachers as well"

"ah, well glad i'm not the only one struggling!" you let out a laugh and yunho returns it and laughs with you, "i'll see you after school, yeah?"

"of course"

you wave as you close the door behind you and yunho immediately goes back into his teaching mode

once again leaving his students shocked and with whiplash from how fast his attitude changed

"we really were in just another reality"

KANG YEOSANG

seventh grade history but wants to one day be a librarian

yeosang loves history but is also certified to teach reading/literature

a lot of the students and teachers love him for how nice he is to everyone

he really connects well with the behavior students, like a lot of them will always say he's there favorite teacher

even the ones who never come to class, go to yeosang's class because who in their right mind who skip teacher kang's class?

no one that's who

students will always go to him when there's an issue because they know he will help them

that's why a lot of them are surprised when they find out him and wooyoung are best friends since high school

"you and teacher jung are best friends!?"

"yep! have been for years!" and yeosang is proud to say that him and wooyoung are best friends and can teach together at the same school

none of the students can get over how handsome he is as well and a lot of sixth graders can only hope to get him in seventh grade

"teacher kang, you're so handsome you could be an actor!"

yeosang can only smile at the comments, not really saying anything as he's use to those comments by now

well coming from his students or other adults that is

however, hearing those comments (or reading them) from you is a different story

he doesn't know how you manage to time it whenever his students are doing independent work but you do

he'll be at his desk or walking around, when you come in and some the students will immediately greet you

you simply smile and wave at them before walking over to hand yeosang something

"i got the stuff from your mailbox while i was at mine," you told him

yeosang thanks you and you smile at him before turning and leaving

you usually go to the mailbox when you need a break from your class and there's already someone in there to help

yeosang looks at the stuff in his hands, and notices the folded piece of paper that had his name written nicely in your handwriting

he opens it as he walks to his desk and immediately feels a warmth overtake his face

'you look really pretty today, yeo ;) can't wait to hangout after school in our usual place! miss you already!'

yeosang quickly stored the note in his desk, before quickly going back to teaching and trying to hide the excitement of seeing you later to the back of his mind

CHOI SAN

eighth grade reading/literature teacher along with seonghwa and school's volleyball coach

he played volleyball when he was in school and so he's very passionate about the sport and his athletes

a tough coach and an even tougher teacher, but only because he knows all his students can do better than what they showing him

like seonghwa with student council, san managed to help the volleyball team go to nationals thanks to his coaching and the his girls' effort and teamwork

a lot of students are scared of him because of how he coaches, especially his athletes – like even just the mention of san gets them scared

but really san just wants the best for all his students and just like volleyball, he's also passionate about his teaching

very writing focused versus seonghwa who is more reading based, but they work really well together to make sure all their students are getting the same knowledge and material

san's not afraid to speak his mind during department meetings and the other teachers know this – like he will straight up call something out if he knows it won't work

seonghwa usually has to cut him off because of this, they are a very funny duo and students love watching them interact

"teacher choi is like a dark cloud and teacher park is like a sunny day"

like the kids, you are also intimidated by him because of how much just pure authority he gives off

like you would think he's a principal from how students act around him

he actually does step up as an admin when the actual principals are out of the building because he does have his masters in administration, so he could very well one day become a principal

but going back to you being intimidated by him 💀

you never really dared to approach him, always sitting on the opposite side of the room during department meetings

mainly because you didn't want to get on his bad side

"please teacher l/n, can you help us start this club?"

"sure, girls!" you were more than happy to help sponsor their club "who's the other teacher?"

you watched as the girls' faces deflated at the question, of course you don't blame them for not knowing that clubs needed two teachers to become official, not just one

"i have a teacher in mind!"

"who?" "tell us!"

"coach choi, can help! especially since volleyball is over!"

you felt the color drain from your face at the thought of san and you running a club together

"teacher l/n will you ask coach choi if he can help us?"

"sure... i'll ask."

"a club?"

"yeah, some of your volleyball girls recommended you and wanted to see if you could be the second teacher sponsor."

"ah, that's right. the school has that stupid two teacher club sponsor rule. always did think that was dumb."

san thought for a minute which felt like a lifetime the longer you stood in his classroom

"sure, why not. i'm sure it'll be fun to run a club together."

"i'm sure the girls will also appreciate it. i'll send you the information when i hear back from the principal about the club."

"of course, if you have any issues let me know."

"will do, thanks!"

that was definitely a lot less nerve-racking then you thought it would be...

maybe running a club san won't be so bad after all

SONG MINGI

mingi is THE ms. frizzle aka the best science teacher you will ever have

he teaches sixth grade science and is always having some sort of fun with testing experiments and theories with the students

science class will forever be ruined after you have him as a teacher because no one is doing it like mingi

literally older students will come by to see either him or wooyoung and they will always ask mingi what he is currently doing in that class

and while he's an amazing teacher – he's also hella clumsy

like students learn fast not to leave their things in the floor if they don't want this 6ft tall man tripping over and possible destroying their things

someone save this man from all those decorative pencil pouches and metal water bottles pls 💀

anyways, a lot of students love mingi because of his fun personality and not because he almost below up the science lab because a experiment gone wrong

very much into team building and having all the students work together towards a goal because he knows how important teamwork is in life and wants students to have it

a lot of students are actually intimidated by him when they first see him because of his tall stature and harsh look

but he's really cool once him and the students build that rapport

so a lot of students were surprised when they found out that you and mingi were best friends

it never really clicked for most of them since you both taught different grades AND subjects

but then during school assemblies and such, you and mingi would always be sitting next to each other

whispering and laughing to each other and it would leave students bewildered when they saw the two of you

like "what in the world are they laughing about?"

"you know... the kiddos asked me the other day about us," you said, leaning over and whispering into his ear

"yeah?"

"they asked me how long we've been friends"

"w-what did you tell them?"

"since college, i left out the part where you made out with my best friend before tripping over her bag and landed into my lap."

you could tell mingi was blushing, his ears turning red at your words

"i-it wasn't like that!"

"i know, no need to feel embarrassed. i agreed to go out with you didn't i?"

you couldn't help the smirk on your face while mingi had a pout on his own, completely forgetting that the two of you were suppose to be watching the talent show and not flirting

JUNG WOOYOUNG

teaches sixth grade math and is an on-going menace to his students

you either love or hate him because of how he teaches and runs his classroom

always changing the seating desk arrangement in his room which keeps students on their toes

he's always a complete 180 from hongjoong who is the head of the math department

like students get whiplash when they go from wooyoung to hongjoong because of how different they are

but that's not to say wooyoung is bad at his job, on the contrary wooyoung is fantastic at his job

always has a math pun ready to whip out when needed and is always dishing out savage remarks to his students when they try to be a smart-ass to him

they learn quick that they won't be able make smart comments with him around

wooyoung is just very blunt with how he's feeling – like if a student makes him mad you'll know he's mad

does a lot of bootcamp punishments (i.e makes them do exercises when they don't listen to him like: jumping jacks, squats, nothing too extreme) this makes kids not want to disrespect him because they know what will happen if they do

some parents have thought it was "extreme" but he simply told them "well it got your child to listen for once in their life" – that shut the parent up real quick

but wooyoung rarely gets serious because he has the respect from students and so those bootcamp punishments are rare and few in-between

most of the time he's fun and playful which also travels over to how he acts with his fellow teachers

including you

wooyoung always visits you when he's on his planning period

like your class can always expect him to stop by at least once during their class

which none of them mind cause that means they can see their favorite math teacher again but don't tell hongjoong that

however with his constant visits, it makes students question if you guys are dating

especially when wooyoung is always complimenting you when you're at your desk and you both think that the students can't hear you

"you look very lovely today, teacher l/n."

"watch yourself, jung."

you eventually have to run wooyoung off so you can get back to teaching

"oh they are totally dating" students would whisper to each other watching the two of you interact

students really really ship you guys together and are always questioning you about your ideal type and stuff

but you always brush off their questions and comments about how you and teacher jung would look great together

and eventually the students had moved on to something else and you were thankfully left alone about your love life by your students

until one day when you and wooyoung were spotted by some students outside of school

you and him had went to the store together, not really thinking about school as you both spent time together

however that peace between the two of you was set ablaze when heard a familiar "teacher l/n! teacher jung!" and snapping the two of you out of your daze

wooyoung was quick to greet the students who approached you both, a smile on his face and arm around his shoulder

and you knew your secret was out because of how the students' zoned in on wooyoung's arm around your shoulder

you couldn't help but dread what would happen when you arrive at school tomorrow

"i didn't like keeping it a secret anyways," he would making you smack the back of his head in response before pushing the shopping cart and walking away from your boyfriend

CHOI JONGHO

eighth grade math who got roped into teaching seventh grade science as well

jongho is really in his element when it comes to math

and is really hanging by a thread when it comes to science

like he's the opposite of mingi and HATES science – like who thought it was a good idea to have this man teach it?

oh, they did a budget cut and so they were down a science teacher? makes sense.

the kids either love or hate him because of how he teaches

his eighth graders and seventh graders are like night and day when it comes to literally everything

it might also have something to do with the content but just let him complain about his seventh graders

you actually found him one day in the workroom stressing over his science while eating his ramen

you remember some of your kids talking about jongho and you've seen him at faculty meetings

but never had a one-on-one conversation with him mainly because he was in a totally different content and grade from you (he was still an eighth grade teacher at the end of the day)

you know hongjoong really likes him and praises him for learning how to adapt so well to a new content era that he never studied in

you think that for a first-year teacher he's doing a lot better than you had when you were in his shoes

and you figure what's the harm in talking to him and seeing how he's doing

"everything going okay, teacher choi?"

he's caught off guard by your voice, jumping and looking up at you as you walk over to get your copies from the copier

"oh, um, i'm fine. just thinking about what i'm gonna do for my science class"

"ahh, that's fair, i still can't believe they have you teaching science and math for your first year"

jongho lets out a laugh which is followed by a small "yeah... i can't either"

"but hongjoong says that you're doing a good job for your first year, so you should be proud! hongjoong never compliments anyone"

"really?"

"really. and just know that if you ever need help just reach out. i know you're not a seventh grade teacher but us who teach seventh grade needs to stick together. its a tough group."

"oh my god, i'm so glad you think that as well! i thought it was just me!"

"oh no, everyone knows seventh grade is always the worse year, we all struggle with them at some point"

"that really makes me feel better about doing my job"

"jongho, you're doing a great job. the kids love you and there will always be those kids that make you feel like you are terrible at your job. but all you have to do is teach to the ones who want to be there, and worry about them."

you tell him the exact same words you were told when you were a first year and thinking the same thing

"thank you, y/n"

you can't help but smile as you nod your head, taking your copies and heading back to your room while jongho finishes his ramen

tag list : @frankenstein852 @watamotee33 @kawennote09 @mixling-blog @marahleiwhen @kpopnightingale @harry-the-pottypus @pyeonghongrie @sanniesbum @marvelahsobx @khjcoo @mysticfire0435 @exfolitae @dementedaly @simeonswhore @moonm1st @nvmbheart @spooo00oky @frgogh @sookacc @seongwin @burnsmepls @ad0rechuu @tunaasan @northerngalxy @silverpixiedust23 @cheesekimchi @confusedmoonchild777 @mjyungi @innieontop @iweirdthingsblog @s0obinluvr @worcesheshestershiresauce @moonlightgrleric @wineyoungie @jeongwangjessmina @lemineso

network : @cultofdionysusnet @cromernet

#cultofdionysusnet #cromernet #kdiarynet #ateez x reader #ateez blurbs #ateez imagines #ateez scenarios #ateez fluff #ateez headcanons #ateez hongjoong x reader #ateez seonghwa x reader #ateez yunho x reader #ateez yeosang x reader #ateez san x reader #ateez mingi x reader #ateez wooyoung x reader #ateez jongho x reader

[plzfeedmebread]

Revenant - Chapter 1

word count: 4392

Pairing: Colonel Miles Quaritch x Female! Wife! Reader Warnings/Tags: None

Chapter Summary: You discuss the mission a bit more in depth, and visit someone very important to you.

[Masterlist] - [Previous Chapter] - [Next Chapter]

In Tenebra Fidemus - In darkness we trust. In Luce Vigemus - In light we thrive.

---

“Do you have any questions, [Y/N]?” James throws the last file into the fire. He assures you information will be clearer and more readily available once you touch down moon side.

“What of communication? How long is the delay to reach Earth?”

“Ah. You’ll be pleased to know that the Superluminal Communications used by the RDA allow for instantaneous interstellar communication between worlds. And naturally, we have set up our own private networks.”

Your eyes widen slightly at this. You had thought communication took as long as the commute; 6 years. You are happy to be wrong.

“There is a drawback, however, in that you can only send three bits of information per hour, and at the cost of $7,500 per bit. So do keep it as concise as possible, won’t you? And only when necessary.”

“Of course, James. Who shall be my contact on world? What of supplies? Gear?”

“Your on-world Handler shall be a woman by the name of Paz Socorro; a pilot with SecOps. She will be responsible for meeting any and all of your needs. Now in regards to your cover…”

James retrieves a thin black folder from his desk, handing it to you.

“You have two options. One – you will arrive as a Magistrate of the Interplanetary Commerce Administration. It is by their hand that the RDA has a monopoly on Pandora and the export of her resources. You will be there to oversee that the RDA adheres to the strict rules set by the ICA, less their monopoly be revoked. You will be given complete authority over the entire base in this instance; thus you shall be able to move about unhindered. We will also assign Miss Socorro as your personal pilot for the duration of your stay. The downside here is that, by being in such a position of authority, you will have eyes on you constantly. You may also encounter resistance from some personnel in both SciOps and SecOps.”

You nod quietly as he explains further.

“Two – you will be a bioengineer, sent at the behest of the RDA to work alongside Grace’s team. You will be researching ways to utilise the planets flora and fauna to combat disease, prolong human life, perhaps chemical warfare if you feel so inclined. We will forge the necessary scholarly documents as required. In this position, you will be far more inconspicuous; just another member of the SciOps team. However your interactions with Miss Socorro will be lessened, as we cannot guarantee she will always be your designated pilot in the field.”

You nod, crossing your arms as you consider the two options.

“What would you suggest, James?”

“Honestly? Option one. I believe it will make your life easier. No one will question your decisions, and even if they perhaps did, you may simply ask them under who’s authority do they operate. Anything you do, can be under the guise of the ICA’s interests, and never will you have to explain your reasonings. Conversely, you may use your position as a bioengineer to gain access to invaluable research on deadly fauna and how it could be used to eliminate your target. Either way worry not; you needn’t give your answer just yet. You have until tomorrow night to come up with the decision.”

“Tomorrow evening. A shuttle will collect you from your apartment at 2300 hours.”

‘That soon?!’ That left you barely any time at all to tie up any loose ends here on Earth. Without any true way to estimate the length of time you’d spend away, you wanted to make sure you left nothing behind undone.

“Time is of the essence my dear. Here, some light reading for you before your long slumber.” He hands you a book detailing the Na’vi language; aptly named the same.

“It’ll be lonely without you here…Try and come back in one piece won’t you? In Tenebra Fidemus.” He half bows with a hand flat on his heart.

“In Luce Vigemus.” You mimic his gesture. “Thank you James, for all you have done for me and mine. I will not disappoint.”

“I know...Good luck, [Y/N], and stay safe.” He places a firm hand on your shoulders, and you look up. Your eyes meet piercing silver. You commit his face to memory; the thick grey mop of hair he keeps styled back, the wrinkles strewn on his face, the crookedness of his mouth and the crease in his eyes when he smiles. Time has been unrelenting, aging him like fine wine.

He is old, you realise, and you suddenly ponder if he’ll be there to greet you upon your return. A round trip would be over a decade, and that’s without factoring in time spent planet side. The realisation sits heavy on your heart, for you now are certain this is perhaps the last time you shall see your father figure. Although he was the one to pull you into his dark world of blood and shadow, he still did more for you than your birth parents ever did.

You jump at him, wrapping your arms around his mid, burying your face into his chest. By sheer force of will you do not cry, but your shoulders shake still.

Words remain unspoken, unneeded, as he wraps his arms around you in turn. He knows precisely what you’re thinking. He holds you for a moment not yet long enough.

“Go. Before I try and change your mind.” He gently pushes you from him. You take his hand, squeezing the back of it to your cheek. Your eyes meet once more, and with a final determined nod, you turn and briskly walk out of the suite.

You don’t look back.

---

Descension was no less easier.

Your new mission weighs heavily upon your mind. You have faced dangers untold and hardships unnumbered in your pursuit of betterment. But to be pulled nearly 4 and a half light years away? Unthinkable. Inconsiderable.

But of course you had agreed; in actuality, there was little choice to be made. Denying would look poorly upon both you and your handler for a start, and you were not about to tarnish the reputation of the man that essentially raised you. More importantly, you thought of your dear brother, Tom.

As smart as he was, he was not built for combat. He was decidedly the smarter twin. Academically gifted , the man was inundated with PhD honours. He deserved the safety of his books, the certainty of walls and structure. What kind of sister would you be then, if you let his gentle soul venture into these uncharted wilds, leaving him at the mercy of this xenosanctuary?

Thus your choice was clear; you must accept the contract. You gave yourself a secondary mission then; eliminate all who would threaten the safety of your brother. From the lowest grunt, to The Director themself; no one would be spared your golden stiletto blades.

Family above all else.

---

A shuttle awaits you as you exit the premises after a quick shower and wardrobe change. You inform the AI of your destination, and with monotone acceptance, you’re off into the skies.

A song you don’t recognise plays, but you enjoy the feeling of the dark bass as it pulses through your bones.

Far off in the distance, thick grey clouds reach up towards an unseen sky. Deep orange cuts through the effervescent neon sea; the remnants of your last mission set ablaze.

You peel your eyes from the scene, dragging your gaze over the city below. Flashing lights, dancing holograms. The people move as one; a single living organism splintering itself into every nook and cranny, invading the dark crevices below.

And somewhere in this hell of concrete spires and minds of metal, your two brothers reside.

---

Tom’s apartment complex resides somewhere in the nicer part of town; if you can even call it that. The shuttle drops you off at a designated landing zone, several floors above where you need to be.

The moment your heel touches down, you’re off in a hurried gait. You become one with the crowd, pirouetting through the sea of warm bodies, avoiding their touch as you weave through. The air is thick, laden with the stench of garbage, street food, and something sickly sweet.

You pay no mind to the AI holos that vie for your attention, their faux voices disappear into the background as you press forward.  Advertisements in a language you don’t understand lick at your ears from all directions, drowned only by the sound of the locals around you; drunks arguing with any who look at them wrong, the not so sound of mind and their unintelligible ramblings, users openly abusing on the streets, even the faint moans wafting on the air from dark corners unseen.

You hate this cesspool of debauchery and sin. But time and time again, your brother refuses your offers to live with you. Your apartment is high in the clouds, far away from the lower dregs of society. It would be much safer you insisted, pleaded, but your brother is as stubborn as you are deadly. He doesn’t want to rely on you, wants to be able to stand on his own two feet. An intellectual prodigy, you often wonder if common sense was perhaps lost on him. Never the matter, you had him under constant surveillance. Thanks to your connections, the criminals operating in this sector know the resident of this apartment is off limits – no exceptions.

You arrive to his front door. With your knuckles, you perform a rhythmic set of taps; a secret signal to let him know it was safe to open, and whom to expect. You hear hurried footsteps from inside, a loud thump followed by muffled cursing. There is the distinct sound of things being knocked over, followed by more footsteps, and the fumbling of several locks. The door is wrenched open, and you are greeted with the flushed face of your beloved brother.

“[Y/N]!!!” He exclaims, grabbing you by the hand and pulling you into a hug. You return it with equal enthusiasm.

“Tommy! Sorry, did I come at a bad time? I hope I didn’t wake you.” You step into the apartment, closing the door and reengaging the  multitude of locks.

“No not at all! I’ve just been going through some of my notes from my dissertation.” He busies himself with picking up scattered papers and books strewn along the floor; no doubt the result of the scuffling you heard before. You make yourself comfortable on the couch.

“Don’t you already have a PhD?”

“Yeeeeees, but one can never be over prepared! Grace Augustine is a world renowned Xenobotanist and Xenolinguist. I have to cover all my bases if I want to impress her!” Your heart melts and your expression softens when you see the twinkle in his eye, and hear the fire in his voice.

“Tommy – you’ve already impressed her. You start training next year! I’m sure she’s just as excited for you to get there, as you are.”

“Maybe you’re right…” He gives you a shy smile, a small huff of a laugh leaves him as he rubs the back of his head. His expression morphs to confusion though as he gives you a thoughtful look.

“Hey, it is pretty late...What did you come by for? Not that you’re unwelcome or anything! It’s just, you know, later than usual…”

You cover your mouth as you giggle at his fumbling.

“Nothing bad, don’t worry! It’s good news actually!”

Tommy ceases his cleaning, and comes to sit beside you. He faces you, giving you his undivided attention.

“Soooo you know how I have that government job that I’m under strict contractual obligation to not divulge, under any circumstance, to anyone, ever?”

“You mean the very suspicious career that Jake and I are both convinced is actually you working as a high-class escort for the billionaires that run the world? Yes, please do go on.”

You make an offended gasp, but laugh as you playfully punch him in the arm.

“AAH! No! Stop! I’m sorry! I bruise easily!”

The two of you are in a fit of giggles as you continue to shove each other, which then devolves into the two of you grabbing couch cushions and start wailing on one another.

Tom holds up his hands in surrender, yielding to your superior strength. The conversation resumes once the two of you become calm once more and the laughter dies down.

“As I was saying—I’m being shipped off-world for my next big project.”

“Oh? Which colony are off to? Somewhere in the Zeta quadrant?”

You shake your head. You let him fire off a few more guesses, enjoying the frustrated look slowly developing on his face as he wracks his brain for an answer.

“Try something a little closer to home. Something you might one day be, intimately familiar with, as it were.”

He stares at you, brow furrowed with confusion.

Realisation then hits him, eyes widening.

“Noooooo…”

“Yeeeeees,” there is a tease in the tone of your voice as you nod with a widening smile.

“[Y/N]! Are you serious?! This is amazing!” Without warning he has you trapped in another hug, vigorously swaying side to side.

“I have so many questions! When are you going? What will you be doing? Will we be at the same RDA base? Is the government giving you your own Avatar? Have you been practising the Na’vi language? Have you even started? Would learning it even be beneficial to whatever it is you’re doing there?! What—”

“Tom!” Both of your hands are immediately cradling his head. It shuts him up instantly.

“Breathe bro. You know damn well I can’t answer, ANY of those questions! Ah well, except I’m actually getting flown out tomorrow night…”

“Tomorrow?! That’s so soon…” Tom grabs your hands in his, slowly lowering them to his lap. His eyes are cast downward. You can see his pupils shifting rapidly as his mind races with unknown thoughts.

Quickly his on his feet, releasing your hands. He sprints off into his room without a word. You call after him.

“Tom…?”

“One sec!”

After a few minutes, he’s right back in front of you, cradling a small black box.

“I was gonna wait till your birthday to give this to you—but seeing as I won’t see you for a few years…” He holds the box out to you.

The material is soft velvet, smooth under your skin. You let out a faint gasp when your eyes see the contents within.

A small pendant of silver, fashioned into the shape of a rose, with a ruby fastened into the centre; tied to a thin silver chain.

“Tom, it’s beautiful.”

“You’re welcome.” He gives you a self-assured smile, clearly quite pleased with himself. You turn around and he helps fasten it around your neck. It sits comfortably just below your clavicle.

“Thank you, you really didn’t have to do this.”

“I know…But I wanted to give you something special, now that I can afford to. It’s made of platinum by the way, so it’s nice and durable.” You wordlessly nod, putting the small black box into your jacket pocket. Tom grabs both your hands in his, holding them up in the space between you two.

“…Listen. You always took good care of Jake and I, ever since…Well you’ve acted not only as our big sister, but also filled the shoes of mom and dad. And you know what? I’m happy it was you there, and not them. Seeing you work hard, coming home at ridiculous hours, but still finding time to spend with us? It must’ve been hard, having to grow up so fast…But you were always smiling—Hell I don’t remember you ever complaining, even when we were being brats for no reason…You’re one of, if not, the strongest person I know.”

There comes a painful throb in your chest, the soft silk of his words wraps itself around you, squeezing. Your eyes glisten with the promise of tears, but you hold steadfast to your emotions.

“Look, all I’m trying to say is, thank you. Thank you, for taking care of me. Without you, I wouldn't have gotten all those scholarships, wouldn’t have had the drive to get my PhDs, and probably wouldn’t be sitting in front of you right now. So, my beloved big sister [Y/N], thank you for being my family. I love you.”

And the dam breaks.

You crash into him, hugging him with all your might. Tears flow freely down your face as you wail uncontrollably. Hearing him say those things, suddenly makes everything you have done, everything you have sacrificed, worth it all. There is an almost indescribable feeling that washes over and through you. It brings about a peace you hadn’t known you needed. It was a reassurance that your brother was going to be okay—his future was secure, thanks you both yours and his efforts; all in spite of the rough start you had in life.

“TOOOOOM!!! IT’S OKAY!!! I’D DO IT ALL AGAIN FOR YOU GUYS!!! I LOVE YOU TOOOOO!!!” You bawl out, still crying.

Tom laughs as he pats your back.

---

“Here, just TAKE it. It’ll give me peace of mind!” You hold out your spare apartment keycard. He sighs at your antics.

Some time after you had finally calmed down, you brought up the idea that he should live in your apartment while you are away; look after the place as it were. He wouldn’t have to pay rent, as that was covered by your job, and it would be in a safer neighbourhood. Still he fights you on this. You pout at him, puffing your cheeks.

“You owe me for making me cry!”

“Oh my GOD fine! Give it here!” He grabs the card, and immediately you face turns to a victorious smile.

“Good. I’ll be gone by tomorrow, so you can start moving your stuff in the day after.”

Tom nods but stifles a yawn at the same time. You cast a glance at the clock on the wall, realising the time.

“I should probably head off then, it’s getting rather late, and you clearly need your beauty sleep.”

He swats your arm playfully, and calls you something in a language you don’t recognise as the two of you make your way to the door.

“What did you just call me?”

“Ha! It’s Na’vi for ‘moron’. Even if you don’t need to learn the language for your job, I suggest you do. Because even if we’re not at the same base, you better believe I’m going to annoy you every chance I get! Even if it has to be over comms.”

You roll your eyes at him as you undo the various locks. With the door open, you turn to your brother once more. You pull him into one final hug. This time the two of you remain quiet as you embrace.

Your stomach flips, an uncomfortableness settles deep within. This goodbye feels far too final, and you do not like that.

Hesitantly do you remove yourself from his embrace, taking a small step back and out into the cold.

“I’d say goodbye, but that doesn’t feel right. So, I’ll see you later?”

He gives you a confident smile.

“Yeah…See ya later [Y/N]. Have a safe trip home. And a safe journey too. Keep Pandora warm for me.”

With a tiny wave, you turn and slowly start the ascent to the shuttle bay. Before you disappear behind the next flight of stairs, you turn to meet his gaze once more. The two of you share one final wave and an exchange of smiles.

He knows you won’t move first, and so you watch him disappear safely behind his apartment door.

---

The penthouse is dark when you arrive. You remove your shoes, leaving them in the entryway. Your hands glide over the walls as you meander into the living room, collapsing on the couch.

You lay there for a few moments, idly playing with the pedant on your chest. You can feel sleep tugging at the recesses of your mind, threatening to take you in a moments notice. With a grunt you sit yourself up. You know you have to call Jake now; you’ll be far too busy tomorrow.

You heart feels heavy in your chest as you think of him. He was deployed into active service in Venezuela a few months back, and contact with him is few and far between. The odds of him picking up are unlikely, but you attempt to establish a connection anyway.

It rings and rings, but there is no answer. The AI offers for you to record a video message.

You sigh in defeat, saddened that you would not be able to speak with him before you leave. For you it would feel like days, maybe weeks till you spoke with him next. But for him, he’d have to wait 6 years before he hears from you again. Guilt gnaws away at you, but the situation is out of your hands. Despite your pleas, he was insistent on joining the marines. He was more adamant than ever once he was accepted and started their rigorous training.

Often he would call you all hours of the night, once he retired with his fellow recruits to their bunkers. And even though he looked battered and bruised, his smile was toothy and genuine. The comradery of his fellows made known as they always invaded his personal space when he was chatting with you.

“Yooo Sully!!! Aye, bro! Is that your missus?!” The face of a stranger pushes against Jake’s as they try and get a better look at you on the comm pad in his hands.

“No you dick—that’s my sister! Urgh, [Y/N] this is Waitara. Waitara, this [Y/N] my SISTER.” You hide your mouth behind your hand as you let out a soft giggle.

“Hiiii Waitara. I hope you guys are taking good care of my baby brother?”

“Ayyyye, I promise, we’re taking good care of this one!” He puts one arm around Jake, giving him a noogie in the process. You once again laugh at your brother’s annoyed reaction as he tries to swat the other man away.

“Well then you have my deepest thanks Waitara.”

“Aww Miss! You can just call me Matiu, means ‘Gift of God’—”

“OKAY Romeo that’s enough! Stop trying to flirt with my sister!” Jake interrupts Matiu with a hard shove to the side. You can hear him laughing at Jake’s expense off camera. You faintly hear him call out to the others, Jake rolling his eyes, and before you know it, you’re being introduced to the others; much to Jake’s annoyance.

You on the other hand are all smiles and laughter as they inundate you with embarrassing stories of Jake, plus variations of “Miss Sully! Look what I can do!”

You smile at the memory, but remind yourself you need to record this now lest you fall asleep.

You hit the button to begin the recording, and your image appears on the screen.

You give an enthusiastic wave to the camera and a wide smile.

“Hi Jake! How are you doing? I hope everything is uhh, as good as it can be…” Your smile falters when you realise the man is in active duty, not training. He could very well be on the battlefield right now, under enemy fire. You bite your lip to stop yourself from over-thinking. Unlike Tom, Jake was always a fighter. Where Tom excelled academically, Jake excelled physically. His confidence was easily backed by the strength of his heart, and the strength of his fist. You shake your head and continue.

“Urgh sorry. I know you’re on active duty right now and it probably sucks…But I have some good news! Uhh, though whether you think it’s good remains to be seen…Anyway! You know my job, government, classified, NDA yadda yadda. Well! I have been given a big new assignment to take on…And for it, they’re going to be shipping me off-world! It’s gonna take me 6 years to get there cuz it's about four and a half light years away…I was hoping to speak with you before I leave, but I guess the universe has other plans huh? I’d tell you where, but, ya know. NDA and all that…”

Unfortunately you couldn’t really speak of where you going, nor elude to what you were doing. Tom was also under restrictions in regards to his future work with the Avatar Program. The only reason he spoke of it to you was, one, you are his big sister and he was always going to spill the beans to you, risks be damned. But two, your ‘government job’ meant you were well entitled to be privy to such information. At least that’s how you spun it to him.

“Oh! I just came back from seeing Tom, look what he gave me, isn’t it pretty?” You lean in closer to the camera, showing off the pendant.

“Said it was for my upcoming birthday…” You go quiet again, but only for moment.

“Listen Jake. I don’t know how often, if at all, I’ll be able to get in contact with you once I touch down. It’s a pretty remote place, and the work I’m doing…Look I don’t want you to feel like I’m abandoning you here on Earth while I go, chasing the stars or whatever. Everything I do, I do for you and Tommy. I love you guys, so, SO much. You’re my precious baby brother, and there isn’t anything in the entire God damn galaxy I wouldn’t do for you. I hope you know that… I love you Jake. Please stay safe out there. Come back to me in one piece? Love you, and I’ll see you later…”

You hit stop on the recording, sending it in one go.

There is so much more you want to say, so much more you feel you should say. But your emotions are running high, and you feel so utterly drained from everything that has happened, compounded with your worries for the future.

With conscious effort you drag yourself to the bedroom, changing into you usual sleep attire.

You move to throw yourself onto the bed.

You’re asleep before your head even hits the pillow.

---

[Masterlist] - [Previous Chapter] - [Next Chapter]

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Author's Notes: And so the adventure begins. Thank you to @mechformers for her constant support and feedback! <3 Apologies for grammatical errors, hope you all enjoy this first step.

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Fic Tag List: @sofiebstar @winxschester @yhern05 @an0th3rsss @gamerxpfighter @to-earth-from-the-sun @exulqnsisxthoughts @sweetirilly @wolfgirl497 @thebeckyjolene @goddesslilithmoriarty @the-anjos @bitchykittenconnoisseur

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Perma Tag List: [Interactive Post] alternatively reply below if you want to be tagged just for the story

@mechformers @wwebaby657 @zomerlovesme @girlnred @raving-raven-writing @meeeeep5 @imavaduh @mxn14 @ashy-kit @manymaria111 @johoevi @iamwh0iam @jadesmyname @lvangel98 @watertastesnice1 @belos-simp69 @wren-solos @pandoragalora @strbyallycow @so-this-is-a-thing-noww @grimistangel @drinking-tea-and-be-obsessed @ducks118 @graysonmalik2550 @p9scal @ohshititsfenharel @ourmurdermessiah @cocoaflare @sarcasticrandy @liyahsocorro

#colonel quaritch x reader #colonel miles quaritch x reader #recom quaritch x reader #miles quaritch x reader #quaritch x reader #colonel quaritch x reader smut #recom quaritch x avatar reader #colonel miles quaritch #miles quaritch x you #miles quaritch #miles quaritch fluff #recom miles quaritch #miles quaritch smut #avatar fanfiction #avatar reader #human reader #mom reader #reader is spider's mom #wife reader #Spotify

[aerowolf]

autocomplete tells me about the TF2 characters

scout tf2 reference to another country is the funniest video on my own character into a thorn 

spy on my own but you don't need it tagged me too

pyro and solly and I will cry 

Soldier Poet and I will cry while I am in the middle / Solly wrap up with the glasses

Engineer pyro pyr now and then i gotta get to the office / Engie honestly because of me is mad

Sniper x reader stuff in my life ( Y'ALL WHAT I LIKE SCOUT NOT SNIPES??? ) / Snipes but you don't need it 

Heavy I'd like that one song before

Medic had a good time as to how Medic is just a lot to do

Miss Pauling is so much fun in fencing class

Archimedes makes sense to ever happen ever

  Demo also I have no clue what's happened here / Demoman the only thing in my head

Saxton Hale after he came back and see what I meant

The Administrator then we will never know

Zhanna we are going out of business

Bidwell is one thing you need is so much fun with your mom

#ivy speaks #tf2 #team fortress 2 #tf2 scout #miss pauling #tf2 engineer #tf2 sniper #spy tf2 #zhanna #soldier tf2 #pyro tf2 #bidwell #archimedes #saxton hale #tf2 demoman #medic tf2 #heavy tf2 #autocomplete

[olderthannetfic]

https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/730025691294449664/i-really-dislike-when-people-warn-about-something?source=share

This isn't about the post itself so much but I appreciate the suggestions in the replies about alternate terms to use that don't involve "warning" at all. I'm a college film professor who has often assigned content that is disturbing, and I've agonized a lot over how to do content warnings and what to call them, because while I haven't had problems so far, I know from talking to colleagues at both my and other institutions/reading studies about it that using the term "trigger/content warning" tends to turn on certain light bulbs in the heads of progressive students who are familiar with how those terms are used in progressive communities, where even if they're not that upset by that content they feel like the SHOULD be.... and those are the students who tend to cause the biggest headaches administratively if they feel like a professor who GAVE a warning didn't handle it correctly or shouldn't have been assigning the work in the first place or whatever. And that's also a thing I want to push against hard, because I've spent enough time in communities like social justice Tumblr and the feminist blogosphere before it to know that's a problem. I don't want students to think that to be a good feminist or ally or whatever that you HAVE to be unable to watch a rape scene in a film or TV show. I want to instead be able to discuss the framing of those scenes, and what is the difference between the more exploitative kinds of rape scenes we are used to vs. one that centers the feelings and experience of rape victims and is important to show because that is unfortunately a part of the human experience that we should be able to grapple with in film, like all art.

....At the same time, I don't want to just not give content warnings, because some students do legitimately need it. I've had students who had PTSD specifically request warnings from me. Ideally this should be handled by Disability Services, but we all know a lot of those offices don't do that and they often have barriers to entry that mean they don't catch every student. Plus, I want students to be able to have that who might need it but might not feel comfortable approaching me to ask for it. So there needs to be a solution that isn't just "don't give warnings at all."

Anyway, on a similar note, "warning" just isn't the right word for some of the things you want to give students a head's-up for. I for a long time resisted giving any kinds of "warnings" about consensual sex or nudity in film, because I knew American culture stigmatized that and I didn't want to add to that stigma. (And witnessing the recent discourse on Tumblr about "is it ever ok to have sex scenes in movies? is it ever useful for something besides getting people off?" (yes. easy question) has only added to that, although it's been my personal experience from teaching that the puritanical kids on Tumblr are firmly in the minority, just a loud minority, and that most of the university-age kids of Gen Z are just as edgelord about that stuff as every other generation has been at their age. I say this positively; I was an edgelord, too, still kind of am in my mid-30s, and I think it's legitimately concerning developmentally if you never go through that phase.) But I realized during the lockdown when I started screening films on Zoom - a practice I've kept up in some cases post-lockdown - and also when I assign things for students to watch on their own outside of class, that it's still a good idea to give students a head's-up for stuff, because they might be watching in public and it can be super awkward if you're in the wrong place and there's graphic sex/nudity visibly on your screen. For the same reason that most people on Tumblr asking you to tag nsfw content aren't asking because they're prudes, but because they browse at work or otherwise in public and don't want that showing up unannounced in a time when it could be awkward or get them in trouble. So I wanted to give students a head's up so they could decide ahead of time if watching in certain places was a thing they were willing to do. But I didn't want to call it a "warning," since that stigmatizes the thing.

So the stuff about "this may contain" is much better. And I feel like it's weird I didn't think about that before! Thanks!

(Sidenote: I kind of wonder if the "is there ever a reason for a sex scene?" discourse is so common on Tumblr because it's a very fandom-centric space and there are a lot of people getting their media expectations via fanfic, where when sex scenes show up it is usually at least somewhat with the intention of getting people off, and also when it shows up it tends to be a major feature of the fic - or at least people think of it that way, will decide not to read if they don't want any of that, etc. because of the way tagging systems on fic sites work. So the idea of media that includes sex where "getting the viewer off" has nothing to do with why it's there, but just because it's a part of life like anything else, or because of some other narrative purpose like "the way these two people have sex tells you about the relationship between them" etc. is just so foreign to people whose expectations are set by fanfic.)

--

TBH, last time we discussed the sex scene thing, it became clear that a bunch of people hadn't really been exposed to anything where sex scenes were well done, served a broader artistic purpose in a way that was reasonably obvious, and weren't aimed at the most cliched cishet dude audience tastes.

I don't think it's so much that fic is often horny as that fairly mainstream media contains a lot more sex and nudity than it used to, but the people telling those stories are no more varied than in the past. Some viewers feel like horny stuff that is boring and distasteful to them is inescapable, and that's exhausting.

If there's a fandom effect, I'd posit that the larger part of it is that when you hang out in a space where the default media doesn't necessarily prioritize a cliche of what cishet male viewers supposedly want, you become ever less tolerant of having the "default" shoved in your eyeballs all day long.

People have woken up to "It doesn't have to be like this" and "But I want to be the one catered to" but haven't quite gotten over the baggage of Only Men Like Porn or Sex Is Low Art or whatever.

Possibly there's some degree of effect from how fic archives are a space where people want to see only exactly what is their favorite while never seeing anything that makes them uncomfortable, which is very different from the desires of your average moviegoer at some arthouse theater.

[thelaundrybitch]

A New Beginning

TURTLE DOVES!!!

I found something in my drafts, and I decided to share it.

I wrote this FOREVER ago - So I'm unsure if I will continue with it.

@leosgirl82 was there when it happened. 😁😎🤩🫶🏽💃🏽

And @drowninghell made some fanart for it - Which I will be posting if it's alright with her 🥰😍💖

Tee hee

Anyways. It was something somewhere between "write what you know" and "wicked fucking self-indulgent."

Also

IT'S NINJA FUCKING TURTLES

SO

Without further ado...

I give you...

Some Cowabunga 💙❤️💜🧡

18+ content - for mature audiences only!

THESE ARE AGED-UP NINJA TURTLES. THEY ARE GROWN ASSED ADULTS. DON'T BE A <FILL IN THE BLANK>. 😘

Or at least that’s what I tell everyone.

My name is Liz, and I work for OSHA.

You see, after I graduated with an Associate’s in Science for Occupational and Environmental Safety Management, I was offered a job with FED OSHA - Occupational Safety and Health Administration through the federal government - The job of my dreams. So, you can imagine how ecstatic I was when they hired me. 

Everything was great for the first few months - until they brought me in on a top-secret project in New York. They told me they needed a Safety Technician who specialized in humanitarian issues and loved animals. Apparently, they thought I was their girl.

Weird, right?

So, they brought me to this gargantuan underground facility, where I was given my own office with all the latest and greatest technology and safety gadgets - even ones that hadn’t been put on the market yet; It was a fucking dream. One of those ‘too good to be true’ scenarios.

And indeed. It was too good to be true. 

They moved me to Manhattan to be closer to the facility because it was necessary for me to be on call 24/7 - which was totally fine because it was just me. 

And because they paid me WELL.

So, after a few months of puttering around, fixing compliance issues, they decided it was time for me to start in my REAL job position.

“Ms. Bueno, we will be bringing you in today, to help with the major issue we hired you for, initially.”

“Great! I can’t wait to get to work!” I said to the director.

“Good. I’ll be waiting in Section K22. Please meet me down there.”

“The high-security clearance sector?” I asked, a bit confused.

“Yes,” he replied.

I nodded, and he went to walk away but stopped at my office door. “ Oh, and Ms. Bueno?”

“Yes, sir?” I asked.

“Do make sure you use the restroom before you head down. Some of the things you see may be… Shocking,” he told me.

“Certainly, sir,” I said as he turned and left completely this time.

What the actual fuck are they doing down there. 

I met the director at the entrance to K22 - which turned out to be more secure than Fort Knox - and I was handed a white lab coat and some safety glasses by his security detail, which consisted of like seven huge dudes.

“Why are you guys all wearing bullet-proof vests, and I get this?” I asked, shaking the flimsy lab coat between my index finger and thumb.

“They seem to have a soft spot for females,” said ‘Bruce’, according to his name tag.

“Well, Bruce,” I said, unimpressed by his explanation, “OSHA clearly states that whatever PPE or other safety-related articles are donned by personnel going into an area of safety concern, those same articles need to be worn by EVERYONE that enters. Not just the men,” I stated, giving him my best OSHA inspector face. 

“She’s not wrong. Give her a vest for under her lab coat,” said the director.

That’s right. Fuck you, Bruce.

After all of my safety gear was on, they walked me down a long, brightly lit corridor that led to another door. This door could only be opened using iris recognition. 

“Ms. Bueno, what you are about to see, is one of the World’s most highly classified projects. If you tell anyone about this, you and said people will be eliminated.”

“Eliminated?” I choked out through a slightly embarrassing squeak.

“Eliminated. As in loss of life. Death. And you will be expunged - completely erased so no one knows you ever existed. Do you agree to these terms?”

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. What in the HELL have I gotten myself into…

“Uh, yes?” I said, making my response sound more like a question.

“I’m not convinced, Ms. Bueno. I need to be very convinced before we go through these doors. It’s a matter of national security.”

“100%, sir. I am absolutely, 100% positive. I swear to these terms, sir,” I told him, feeling my backbone reappear.

“Good. Samuel, we’re ready for entry,” he told the biggest security staff member.

Samuel cocked his gun and stood in front of the door, in the ready position, pointing the gun at it like the zombie apocalypse was about to ensue.

I swallowed nervously.

That’s a fucking lie. I’m about to shit my pants. No wonder he had me go to the bathroom before I came down here.

Anyway, as I’m wishing I had a diaper on, the director leaned in and initiated the iris recognition scan, successfully opening the sealed door. The security detail filed in first.

I followed the director into what looked like a giant laboratory. As we got ready to turn the corner, his security detail fanned out in front of us.

“LET US OUT!” Boomed a deep, raspy voice.

*Adrenaline rush*

“Just sit down. It’s not gonna help,” said another.

“HE NEEDS HELP!” yelled the first voice.

“I know, but they aren’t gonna let us out. And honestly, I don’t even know who could, or would, help him.” came a third voice.

I saw the director from the corner of my eye, turn and look at me as I stood stock-still, looking forward, and waiting to be told that I could proceed.   

He didn’t say anything, so I turned and looked at him, my eyes the size of Jupiter. All pupil.

He nodded once, and I stepped around the corner.

May God strike me dead where I stand, if I’m lying. 

There was a giant reinforced cage, resembling jail cells, holding the fucking Ninja Turtles in them.

I shit you not.

Albeit they were a bit older than we’d seen them in movies, and they looked slightly different, but they were definitely THE Ninja Turtles.

I gathered myself and turned to the director. “What is my job here, sir?” I asked him, completely composed with a straight face.

“Health and Safety,” He said, sadness flashing across his eyes for less than a moment. “We will leave you and let you do what you need to do,” he said, leaving me alone with the caged turtle-men. 

Once I was sure I was alone, I looked around for security cameras. When I'd decided there were none - probably for top-secret and national security reasons - I took off the stupid lab coat, safety glasses, and bulletproof vest and ran to the cages.

“Oh my god, what happened to him?” I asked, squatting down and reaching an arm through the bars to check Donatello’s pulse.

The other three turned and looked at me, confused. 

“Don’t touch him,” Growled the red-banded bara.

“Who are you?” asked Leonardo, putting a hand up in a placating manner, in an attempt to get his brother to back down.

“I’m the lead Health and Safety technician for this project. They hired me six months ago for this project, but this is the first time hearing about all of this,” I said, slightly alarmed by the faintness of Donnie's heartbeat. “Now, please tell me, what happened to him,” I said to Leo, looking him directly in the eyes.

“We don’t know. They sedated him. Heavily. And took him out of the lab. He was gone for two days. He’s been like this since they brought him back,” said Leo, now kneeling in the corner of the cell so he was next to me and his unconscious brother.

“And how long ago did they bring him back?” I asked.

“Maybe three to four hours ago? It’s hard to tell. We’ve been stuck in here forever.”

“Oh God… Is he allergic to anything? Does he have any health issues?” I prodded, my eyebrows furrowed, and my face twisted in clear heartache.

“Uh, no, no. None of us do. I mean, unless you count the fact that we’re overgrown, mutated, humanoid turtles…” He said.

I couldn't help but smirk at him, “No. That’s actually quite normal. This is New York, after all.” 

Mikey huffed a stifled giggle from beside me, now standing the closest he could get to us, in his own cage.

As I started to stand up, Leo stuck his hand through the bars and grabbed my wrist. I looked into his gorgeous blue eyes, which were filled with sorrow and hope. “Thank you,” he whispered.

“Don’t thank me yet. I haven’t even done anything,” I told him softly.

“Yea, but you’re going to - I can see the genuine worry on your face,” he said, my face heating up as he pulled me closer to his cage to get a better look at me.

“I need to go look through the files over by the entry door,” I whispered to him. “I need to see what they were doing to him, so I can help him.”

Leo released my wrist and wiped a tear from my cheek. I didn’t even realize I was crying. 

“I’m Leo,” he introduced himself.

“I know who you guys are. You’re kinda my childhood heroes,” I confessed, looking down.

“Thank God,” huffed Raphael, visibly relaxing.

“You’re actually gonna help us then?” asked Mikey from behind me.

I turned and looked at the orange-clad turtle, “Yes, of course.”

I turned back to Leo and leaned in closer to him so he could hear me whisper...

“I don’t know how, but I promise, I’ll help you get out of here.” 

Enjoying my work? Find my Master list HERE

~Tags~

@leosgirl82 @sharpwindow @post-apocalyptic-daydream @eveandtheturtles @m1dnyt3-w0lf @raphsmuneca @tmnt-tychou @snackugaki @scholastic-dragon @miss-andromeda @happymoonangel @drowninghell @raphslovemuffin80 @chicchanmooshy @xanadu-702 @pheradream-15 @jurikyu-blog @raphielover @zombiesnips-blog @meowph-132 @shakeyourtrees @iheartchv @fluffytriceratops @fyreball66 @memes-in-a-half-shell @t-annuki @waterstar2016 @symmetricalkazekage @androidships007 @tinkabelle19

*If you aren’t on this list, please let me know if you want me to tag you in my other work or if you prefer me to not tag you 😘

#thelaundrybitch #tmnt aged up #A New Beginning TMNT #Safety Turts #hahaha see what I did there #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt bayverse #tmnt #tmnt fanfiction #tmnt au #This feels very #Blurple #Maybe I'll keep writing this series #THESE ARE AGED-UP NINJA TURTLES. THEY ARE GROWN ASSED ADULTS. DON'T BE A <FILL IN THE BLANK>.

[deeper-x-deeper]

[NEW PINNED 4/14/2024]

WARNING!

18+ HERE THERE BE HORNY 18+

MINORS DNI

hi I'm a 26 year old transmasc boything with an emotional support god complex. (it's mostly a bit but I may like it a little too much) he/him, it/its, or ze/zem/zis (treated as grammatically singular) pronouns. they/them is whatever but not preferred. top surgery and on T. if you absolutely must refer to me by some kind of name/title, Administrator or Admin will do, since that's what I use in recordings and drone style sessions. I use Handler for petplay style things but don't usually use it verbally. otherwise you can just mention "god" in your moans while you jack off to my blog and I'll accept that as an offering of worship. :3

Aromantic and Asexual Service Switch. I enjoy sex bc I like making others feel good. I have a preference for dominance, and despite being proudly easy to hypnotize, I do not submit for just any generic dom, and my submission must be earned. however, I have no preference between top or bottom.

I will mostly be talking about hypnosis on this blog. Honestly, most of my non-hypnosis posts can be interpreted with hypnotic undertones, and my god complex posts should always be interpreted to have hypnosis involved.

I also make my own recordings! The free ones will be linked here, but if you want to keep up with the stuff that I can't post here...

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=118883163

I also have a YouTube page for the recordings available for free at the above link.

https://youtube.com/@hypnosis-rar

💚 asks, anons, dms open, please be respectful or I will block 💚

(I may play up the god complex but please speak to me like a person first)

main kinks talked about on here:

Hypnosis (obviously)

Puppy play

CNC and occasionally free use

monsterfucking including oviposition

idk what it's called when I get off on pretending to be a cult leader but that's here

I've probably forgotten a lot of them but I try to remember to tag oviposition for posts and rbs but I only seem to remember to tag hypnosis on my original posts.

important tags: (updated)

#my art [for original artworks I either have rbed from my main or are so horny they're only available here]

#my vibrations [for original hypnotic voice recordings]

#text induction [for text based inductions]

#covert induction [usually paired with the text induction tag]

#personal thoughts [for original text posts]

#trance ideas [for potential future scripts]

#records for my research [for posts about my irl and vc hypnosis sessions]

#god complex? it's simple really [for posts containing my cult leader fantasies]

#spiral

#gif (and #flashing but rarely and it's never intense)

[these are separate as not every gif is a spiral, and not every spiral is a gif]

HARD LIMITS

detrans/forcefem

ddlg

feet

💚Final Remarks💚

if you receive a follow from stinkypossum, that's my main art blog.

if you receive an anonymous ask signed

- d x d

that's me

this pinned will be directly edited as needed and I will update the date at the top to reflect changes

let's have fun and be weird!

#pinned post #pinned intro #my art #my vibrations #personal thoughts #trance ideas #records for my research #god complex? it's simple really

[z0mbiechylde]

Marble Hornets and proxies

My opinion is that Brian and Tim from Marble Hornets are indeed proxies. Maybe unwilling ones, but proxies nonetheless. That's what Slenderman does to you. He gets into your head and slowly makes you lose your mind. He makes Tim kill Alex and his best friend, Brian. Yes, Tim regrets it, yes he was always trying to resist, but in the end, Slenderman got what he wanted. Brian and Tim ARE proxies, just not out of their own free will. However, they still served Slenderman and did his bidding. You could maybe argue that Brian was resisting the Operator's influence the most and wasn't really a proxy, but for Tim I am not so sure. And Alex was completely convinced he needed to kill his friends. He was under the Operator's influence the most and barely resisted. The Operator literally stalked both Alex and Tim since their childhood. Of course they would slowly but surely become his proxies, Alex more so than Tim. That is why I love Entry #72 so much, where Tim tries so hard to resist the Operator's influence to save Jay. If he was a willing proxy, this whole entry would be boring. He would be a villain and not Jay's friend who tries to save his life. Ticci-Toby, who is canonically a proxie of the Slenderman, had the very same fate. People don't realize that this is how Slenderman's influence works. You are NEVER a proxy out of own free will, because you WANT to work for Slenderman. No, he chooses you because you are weak and already mentally instable. Toby has several health and mental issues and a crappy relationship with his father which Slenderman uses to his advantage. When I reblog artwork of the Marble Hornets characters, I tend to tag Brian and Tim as proxies. The only reason why I don't tag Alex as one is because he never hides his face behind a mask like Brian and Tim do. Even in TribeTwelve, the Collective that is working for the Administrator (Slenderman), hide their faces. And just like Brian and Tim, I do not believe for a second that any of the Collective's members are willing proxies. The members don't have enough character depth to say for sure, but I think especially Kevin (The Observer) would rather be a normal young man and Noah's friend and not that crazy guy who works for the Administrator. Slenderman chooses you to work for him, and most people would never do it ouf of their own free will. He gets into your head until you become the proxy that he wants. He spreads like a virus and infects you. Most people in the Slenderverse fandom seem to think that proxies usually WANT to work for Slenderman, but I believe this to be false. So kudos to Brian who resisted the hardest which was only possible due to the drugs that he stole from Tim.

#Marble Hornets #TribeTwelve #Tim Wright #Brian Haight #Alex Kralie #Slenderman #Slenderverse #proxies #text post

[unholybinchicken]

WIP Wednesday*

(*technically Thursday because of the timezone)

Thanks @unholy-fabray for tagging me!

I'm going to share a snippet from the upcoming chapter of i'm open to falling from grace that I've been working on. I haven't updated the fic since September last year but should hopefully have some time over the weekend to work a bit more on chapter 3.

Tagging: @yourstreetserenade, @spacelizzbian, @genghisthebrain and anyone else who wants to share any WIPs

General premise: This story is part of my fic series 'this life, well it's slipping right through my hands', which is a coming of age series mostly Santana-centric but heavy focus on Brittana, as well as family/platonic relationships. This one is 10 chapters and centres around Kurt and Santana, a shared (traumatic) experience they had over the summer of 2010, the aftermath, and the life events that led to their summer. This story is non-linear and also deals with potentially triggering themes (reader discretion is advised; no trigger warnings needed for this particular snippet but relevant trigger warnings are listed on ao3).

As a new school year starts at William McKinley High School in dreary Lima, Ohio, two teenagers forced together in dire circumstances during a disastrous summer attempt to go back to normality ... whatever that means

Chapter 3 focuses on the relationship between Kurt and Finn.

August 27th, 2008

The day Kurt Hummel first saw Finn Hudson was not eventful.  The weather was ordinary and expected.  Kurt had eaten a completely normal, mundane breakfast of oatmeal and berries.  His father had, of course, enjoyed a Coke and a first-year mechanic’s leftover chocolate birthday cake.  Kurt had tried to subtly nudge his father in the direction of his own breakfast, citing its nutritional benefits, but Burt had refused and Kurt had decided not to push the matter.  He had far more pressing matters to deal with.

Specifically William McKinley High School and its mandatory gym class, which Kurt had the misfortune of sharing with a lot of the football players and cheerleaders from his grade.  People who were tall and appeared to have finished puberty long before Kurt had even started.  Some of them were actually younger than him.  All of them were younger than him, actually.  The universe really was unfair and out to get him.

The school administrators highlighted the likelihood of catching up physically to his peers, maybe even surpassing them, as a possible benefit to repeating third grade, something that his father welcomed.  It never happened.  He was older than his classmates, but certainly not bigger.

Compulsory gym class wasn’t new to him.  He’d had to endure it in middle school as well, but his middle school had been fairly tiny.  It had been mostly an artsy school; not necessarily advertised as such, but that was the culture.  It was the closest he’d ever come to liking school, and of course he had to graduate to high school.  William McKinley High School was known for a highly selective cheer squad and a losing football team, and not much else.

The worst thing about McKinley High was dodgeball in gym class.  A class he shared with a kid named Noah Puckerman, who was on the football team.  Kurt had never spoken to Noah Puckerman, but he was certain that he hated him.  

Noah hadn’t spoken to Kurt either, but he’d spoken at him.  Kurt didn’t think that counted.  Sometimes he wondered what would happen if he threw a large pineapple at Noah’s head.  Of course, he knew that wouldn’t end well, but one could only fantasise.  All he could do in gym class was watch in disgust as Noah ogled the cheerleaders in the class, not even trying to hide that he was trying to look up their skirts.

Coach Tanaka was about as interested in teaching freshman gym class as Kurt was in participating, and his lesson plan appeared to be just to let Noah Puckerman and a girl, who Noah had spent the last five minutes trying to flirt with, choose teams for a free-for-all volleyball match, while Tanaka ate a sub sandwich in a bid to nurse a hangover.  For a moment, Kurt deserately hoped that he might end up on Noah’s team.  It was wishful thinking, since the closest Noah had come to speaking to him was to shove him in a locker and call him a fairy, but it meant the luxury of avoiding being pelted with a volleyball.  

Unsurprisingly, Noah’s gangly friend, whose hair reminded Kurt of Astro Boy, was chosen first.  Kurt watched as person after person got chosen before him, fully expecting to be the last one standing, before he realised that his name had just been called.

Sort of.  The female captain, a dark-haired girl with braces, awkwardly pointed at him and said, “You, I guess.  I don’t know your name.”

He was relieved not to have been chosen last, but his heart sank when he realised he wouldn’t be immune to being pelted at by Puckerman.  He got up and joined the rest of his team, opting to stay out of everyone’s way.  

Sports had never been his thing.  His father had, to no avail, tried to engage him with them over the years, especially after his mother died.  Burt eventually gave up when an eleven-year-old Kurt spent the entire last half of a pee-wee hockey game in the stands doing Spice Girls dance moves, and the coach advised it would be best if they didn’t return, and that Kurt’s talents were better used elsewhere.  Burt was disappointed.  Kurt was relieved.

For the next few minutes, while everyone else tossed a volleyball from one side of the net to the other, Kurt watched Coach Tanaka, who appeared engrossed in his toenails.  Apparently they’d grown so long they resembled talons, something Kurt didn’t particularly enjoy thinking about but couldn’t look away from.  He was quickly snapped out of his reverie by a searing pain in the side of his head.  It all happened so quickly that he barely registered the air leave his lungs as he fell to the ground.  The only thing that cushioned him was the left shoe of the girl who’d, against her better judgement, chosen him to be on her team.

He opened his eyes and saw a figure standing over him.  A gangly figure, with dark, spiky hair.  Astro Boy.  Noah’s friend.  Kurt didn’t know his name.  This is embarrassing.  Normally I’m good at sports.”

“Shut up Finn,” the girl captain, whose name Kurt still didn’t know, said.  “No one cares.”

#wip wednesday #my writing #unholybinchicken #ao3 #kurt hummel #finn hudson #hudmel #furt

[buckleydiazes]

Hello fellow bylers, I saw some tags on a Stranger Things post by @biigiiiii making conjecture about being gay in the 80s and I thought, well my dad was a gay teen in the 80s, let me ask him! And it was originally intended to just be sent via messages but then I figured it would be easier to structure as a text post and idk maybe someone else would be interested in hearing his thoughts. All of this is his own personal experience, obviously that is not universal. Hopefully someone finds this interesting or enlightening in some way though.

Gays at Large

What was the general feeling toward LGBTQ people in the 80s?

Homophobia was bad enough that people did not give a second thought to it or how damaging what they were saying was. Between the AIDS epidemic and Raegan administration, homophobia was extremely commonplace and pretty ingrained in Western culture. It was generally more prominent in rural areas than cities — that much has not changed.

The Q Word

How does he feel about the word queer and has his feelings changed at all over the years?

Well, despite rampant homophobia, there had also been a lot of pushing for LGBT advocacy in recent years. The Stonewall Rebellion happened in 1969, which had a significant effect on American society. A year later, in 1970, were the first gay pride marches. For my dad, queer was a word that had already been reclaimed by many, and so therefore meant little to him. In his words, "I'm a queer? A [f slur]? Tell me something I don't know. What, are you going to call me a [hispanic slur] next? 🙄"

Knowing vs Awareness

Was he aware he was gay as a teen? No but yes. As with many who are considered different by society's strandards, there is always an undercurrent of Knowing that you are different. You understand, on some deep level, that you are not fitting the mold that you should be. But that doesn't mean you actively aware and thinking about it. In fact, a lot of people do their best to not think about it and pretend to be "normal."

In my dad's case, he knew he was different, but he didn't "have time" to think about it that much. There was other things going on in his life that made it easier to put thoughts of his sexuality on the back burner. And yet, despite this suppression, he still was keenly aware of other people's attitudes toward LGBTQ folk, which became a sort of sixth sense.

Hypervigilance is Exhausting

As a survival instinct, my dad was always on the look out for who was "safe" and who wasn't. My dad was not a particular flamboyant person and he was into more "masculine" interests (his career is in HVAC, plumbing, and electric, and his hobbies involve listening to the news and playing the guitar); this made it easier for him to fit in, but he still could not ever truly let his guard down. This became so ingrained that he sometimes wonders if his personality would have ended up different had he been allowed to be himself without fear. Fear is a powerful tool in shaping a young mind, after all. And it's also so very wearying. Eventually, he got to a poijt in his life where he decided to hell with what everyone else thinks and feels and he would be himself shamelessly because there's not enough years in a life to be constantly forcing yourself into a socially acceptable boxm

The Curse of Internalized Homophobia

But...what about internalized homophobia? Yeah, unfortunately, he very much experienced it. And, even more unfortunately, it found its way into his speech, throwing around some homophobic slurs of his own before he came out of the closet. According to him, he has known many a gay man who shared in homophobic language during their closeted/repressed years. I don't think I need to tell anyone how terrible it is the way society can coerce you into being part of your own groups oppression.

Birds of a Feather

Did he know any other gay people though? Again, no but yes. You might have noticed or heard about the concept of gay people flocking together before any of them even know/accept that they're gay. His case is another one for the books. There were definitely a few people he knew were closeted, though he never approached them with the topic, but it wasn't for many years later that he would find out how many people around him were LGBTQ in one way or another.

Funnily enough, he married my mom out of high school, and as it turns out, she's bi and trans. (Trans man, she/her, very complicated history with gender. Also they are divorced but still best friends.)

Stolen Youth and New Hope

So, what is the overall feeling of having been a closeted gay teen in the 80s? Well, like something precious was kept from you. Those experiences that cishet folk got to have, you didn't. So many of the formative experiences many have in their adolescence were not viable for LGBTQ folks—from openly having a partner to just being and presenting how you wanted to. And, like I mentioned before, he was left with a persistent wondering about who he would have been had the world been a better place. (This isn't even something unique to his time either, many LGBTQ folks of all ages feel like this!)

That said, he is still so glad to see the positive changes in the world. He watches things like Heartstopper and is happy that, at the least, he got to live long enough to see that sort of representation on TV. And I think that's lovely. (As a personal aside: fuck you @ everyone who bitched about Heartstopper being "too sanitized", gay people deserve all types of representation on TV. If you don't like a certain kind, move on to something else and let those that do like it enjoy themselves.)

So, yeah, there's all the stuff I talked to my dad about. If you have any further questions for/about him (or my mom perhaps), feel free to shoot me a message!

#stranger things #byler #obvs the target audiences here #his not having time to think too hard abt his sexuality would be so in line with mike i think #bigger fish to fry than an identity crisis lets just shove that to the back of our mind #lgbtq #gay #el dot txt

[anneapocalypse]

15 lines of dialogue

Thank you for the tags @redwayfarers and @lilas!

Tagging: @farfromdaylight @dreadfutures @rosella-writes @darethshirl @ecosystem-administrator @ialpiriel @ishgard

Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you're free to include those as well!

These are all going to be from unposted works in progress, but here we go. 😉

"If this is the price of the Blessing of Light—if you're going to take everyone I love, over and over again, then I don't want it! Do you hear me? I don't want it, I don't want it, I don't…"

"You didn't have to do this. You helped save Ishgard, too. You should be here to see the changes you wrought."

“I’ll be honest, I never imagined anyone would use the word ‘formidable’ to describe me. I do most of my work standing behind someone with a sword.”

“It’s not that. I’ve trained under people who didn’t like me or believe in me before. I can handle it. It was… he started going on about how archery was a Wildwood discipline, passed down through generations. He said I could never understand.”

"My home is gone. There’s nothing for me to go back to. I’m not Gridanian. I’m not Ishgardian. I’m not anything. I’m not even… I’m not even one of you. The Scions. Not really. You’ve all known each other for years, you knew Master Louisoix, you have all this history. I’m just some farm girl you pulled off the street because I had headaches and saw things. No matter what people call me, even the ones who think I’m a hero, I’m never one of them. I save the day, and then I move on. I never belong anywhere.”

"I understand you developed a unique variation on the carbuncle? I should love to hear about the theory behind it."

“He’d turn me loose in his library, and then ask me about what I’d read and what I thought of it. No care for what was appropriate for children, either! Ma used to argue with him about it, until she realized it was fruitless. ‘Books are for everyone,’ he’d say. ‘If she can understand it, then she can read it, and if she doesn’t she’ll put it down soon enough and find another.'”

“Urianger, this is important, so listen carefully. I want to hear everything about the fae. Everything. Should you ever doubt my desire to hear about something, you may ask me, ‘Ariane, wouldst thou care to hear of the intricacies of the customs of the fair folk?’ that I may assure you, my dear friend, that I do in fact want to hear all about it.”

“You knew that I would do what needed to be done no matter what, right? You knew that I would not turn from the plight of this star, no matter the danger to myself. That isn’t why you kept this from me, is it?”

"A smile better suits a hero. Perhaps it does, love. Perhaps it does, but I haven't one to give, at the moment."

"What do you know of his history? Do you know how it has haunted him, what he did to Minfilia? What he kept from us? Did you see him shut himself up in the Waking Sands, convinced he deserved neither comfort nor forgiveness?"

“How would I have done otherwise? When have I ever done anything but what other people told me to do? I couldn’t defy my own mother until she was dead.”

"Sometimes she was. Other times, she was a woman who gave in to all her worst fears about the world, one for whom everything beyond our doorstep was deadly and terrifying, and would have denied me a life because of it. But I dare say she was right about the tea. And the soup."

“I loved a woman once who gave up her life for me. And then I loved a man who did the same. And I’m so tired of losing people, I’m so tired—I don’t want anyone else to give up everything for me. I just want someone who will stay. Live with me. Be by my side. Be with me, whatever we face—together. I said I couldn’t ask you to change who you are, but it’s more than that. I don’t want you to change who you are. Just be with me.”

"Perhaps some things are meant to be. But the secret of our art is it's as much shaping the future as it is reading it. You've said yourself, love—you may accept what you see foretold, or defy it. As our dear Minfilia stood before the Flood of Light. It gives me some comfort to think that things can be changed. To believe—and I do—that the future is not set in stone."

#tag meme #15 lines of dialogue meme #ariane clairière #this was fun #i often wonder if i have any kind of a cohesive voice for her and it's very much a work in progress #so i like seeing some lines laid out for myself like this #writing stuff

[artsynightowl]

Plauge of Consequences

Description: You're a college student living on your own for the first time. Everything seems to be moving so fast yet so slow. Learning to adjust to adulting is taking it toll. Now you're new job is either going to be your savior or worst nightmare. Being a janitor wasn't at a Pizzaplex wasn't your first choose in jobs, but seemed the best option with your new schedule need to a slightly above average job. Maybe it was because the bots put off questionable emotions. Almost made them seem sentient. Nevertheless, a job was a job and here you are now.

Chapter One: Claws Out

Word count: 5,934

1/? Of chapters

Gender Neutral

Adulting was already going to be hard. The apartment smelled slightly musty, paint was a light tan and bare. Furniture was lacking, a crunchy bean bag, as well as a new mattress, sat on the floor. The kitchen had a pan, and pot that could both be bigger. The two plates and two bowls were nothing fancy. They came as a weirdly cheap bundle deal at the thrift store down the road.

    Most of the stuff you got came from the thrift store or dumpster diving. The apartment deposit, rent, new mattress, and textbook costs a lot more than you had expected. It was a good thing I had gotten one of the many jobs you applied for. Anything was better than nothing right now even if your new workplace was across town and paid a little under what you were hoping for. Still, it was enough to get by plus some. How bad could it be?

***

    "Well shit." You stare dumbstruck at the building. Had you thought of working at the PizzaPlex through? Well, yea, to some degree, but it didn't hit you till now that you are picking up and cleaning all day. In a place that has hundreds of thousands of children.

    With a sigh, you made your way through the gigantic doors and into the front lobby. The place was popping. Families covered most of the floor. Most were parents following their kids around. Then there are the kids running around like chickens chasing each other.

    You simply ignored them and scanned the sides of the room. The administration office was almost completely covered by the lost and found. It was pretty tiny. As you made your way over to the desk your thoughts were racing, 'Was this a good idea? Maybe you could find another job making the same with a flexible schedule like this one? Nope. This is it. Hopefully the cramped rank bus didn't affect my appearance too much.'

    "H-hello, I'm supposed to be training for my new job as-" The bot you're speaking to stared at you blankly as you talked before turning around mid-sentence. When the bot whipped back around they shoved some clothes, a name tag/key card, a faz watch, and a mini faz tablet.

    "Welcome to Freddy's Mega Pizzaplex! The Glamrock family is thrilled that you. Scott sends his regards for not being able to teach you. He has assigned you a glamrock staff tablet and faz watch with instructions for you." He then grabs a map from behind the booth and opens it. "Please make your way to the customer service area here. Thank you again for joining the Glamrock family, (Y/N)."

    You grab the map and mumble thanks before following the map to customer service. Between you looking at the map making sure you're going the right way and fumbling to get faz watch to your wrist you almost walk into a kid and parent. In reality, the parent was dragging the kid in front of you not paying attention. How could you tell? The kid tripped over your shoe when you stopped and the mother paid no mind to what happened.

    Parents were probably miserable here considering they can't do anything besides paying for overpriced food, and merch that was of okay quality. Oh, and the obvious, looking after their children but I'm sure some wouldn't. Hopefully working with the bots will be easier than working with all the customers.

    You continue customer service. When there you approach the staff bot inside. They were the same model as any other staff bot just different colors. "Hi, new Janitor (Y/N)."

    "Your second task is now complete. Please turn on your faz watch and tablet in the break room and continue with your training." He swung his left arm and motioned to a down behind him." With a nod of thank you do as told. Though this whole situation did seem off.

    Once the tablet is turned on. It seemed you had to make a Faz Staff Account. You hastily fill out what you needed. Then the terms came up. It was over 400 pages long. You scrolled to the very end. Check mark what was needed. And just when you thought you were about to begin a video popped up. It showed a map of the groundfloor then a drawing of a bot popped up. "Here at the Mega Pizzaplex, your safety is our top priority. A safe worker is a happy worker and a happy worker is a hard worker. Here at Freddy's Mega Pizzaplex we only want the best for our best employees. That being said, please turn your attention to the red area on the map. That red area is the medbay." It flashes through the other floors showing all the medbays on each floor. One is on each floor.

    The video removes the maps and slides the bot to the middle. "It is important you have a map for your tasks throughout the day. Please turn to your faz watch now." The bot slides back to the side of the screen and a picture of the faz watch appears. "Hold the button on the top of the faz watch till I tell you." You do so. "You have now connected your faz watch and faz tablet. You can now do the same thing on your faz watch as you do on the faz tablet. Thank you for joining our Glamrock family." With that, the video is over. That was quite a boring experience. Thank God that was over.

    Looking down at the tablet revealed your first task. Change into work uniform if not done yet. It was a box at the bottom to check the mark when down. With a sigh, you turned to the clothes you had set on the scratched-up wooden table. Any and every work outfit looks horrible.

    To your luck, there's a bathroom inside the break room. You go and change. Taking a look at the mirror you didn't know how to feel about the outfit. You can understand wearing black pants, a black leather glossy belt, and a white long-sleeved undershirt. Not the shirt though, black was the main color then followed by neon blue, orange, and green. It was like they wanted you to stand out.

    Sat back down at the table in the flimsy chair and put your name tag on. You checked the task and an animation confetti blew up on the screen. The next task then popped up followed by the rest.

    You put your clothes in the lockers and follow the instructions in the description of the first task. Leading you to a large red door. As soon as you open it a musty, chemically, greasy, whiff smacks your nostrils. Inside was cleaning supplies on sleeves with worn-down boxes at the bottom. In the middle was a dusty go-cart. It was clear this closet hadn't been used much.

    You make your way to the side of the go golf-cart only to see a cart about the same size as the golf-cart. That'll make things easier to hall things around.

    The go-cart had baskets instead of the back seat. Some half empty bottles of cleaning supplies, with rags, toilet paper, toilet brush in a holder, trash bags, and a bucket that held a mop inside were all in the basket. Honestly, it was pretty nifty.

    Looking through the bottle you found the off brand lemon zest for multi use purposes. You douse both carts before taking multiple rags to dust them off. It took longer than expected with the dust being like a thick wrap you'd put on an actual vehicle.

    Once done you step back and take in the carts to actually paint. Of course it was brown with red trim and a neon blue lightning bolt on the front. The typical Glamrock Freddy color scheme.

    Confetti littered the tablet screen as you checked off this task. That was gonna get old and annoying fast. The next on the list in bold was LAUNDRY. In the description it explains the cleaning rags from last night were to be washed, dried, and placed in each janitor's closet for the staff bots tonight.

    You followed your map to an elevator not too far away. The inside was bigger than most elevators. Definitely oversized, perfect for bringing the carts down here later.

    The basement was dingy and smelled like the janitors closet, but without the burning chemicals burning your nose. That didn't last long through. Two carts in the corner were full of rags and towels. You get straight to work loading the washer. Loading all those crusty rags into the washer made you start to sweat. Good thing all you had to do was push start.

    Since you had some time on your hands in-between loading, and switching, the washer and dryer you had decided you'd clean restock the supply closets for the staff bots upstairs. You made your way through the hall to the storage.

    There you found a free cart and filled it with the supplies listed underneath its task. You then went back to the laundry to grab the bags. The cart was filled to the top once you throw the bags of rags in there. It took some effort to push but it was better than putting all those dirty rags in the washer. It was even going to be more of a hassle to take out the rags when they were wet.

    The elevator creaked as it moved up with you and the cart. Clearly this elevator needed some fixing up but I'm sure staff don't use it often. At least not living staff. Which led to a question, why had you not seen any other human staff member? Surely you couldn't be the only one. They were handing those fliers out like free samples at the mall.

    The elevator came to a jerking stop before the doors opened slower than before. Yep, differently not taking the golf-cart on this thing. You went to push the cart but it seemed to be stuck. The elevator door alarm started blaring after you pulled the cart back and rammed it into the door frame. Starting at the front wheels you pulled the cart all the way back till ramped it over the doors and frames. Thank goodness it stayed up right.

***

    Stocking up the closets was easy and only took 40 minutes so by the time you were done the washer was too. Moving the rags from the washer to dry was horrible. They were three times as heavy as before. At least they didn't smell strongly of chemicals now. They did however soak your shirt by the amount you took out at one time. Filling the washer now felt like a blessing of sorts. Even more so now that one cart was empty. Now it was time to find another task to do.

    You took the stairs back up to the ground floor. The thought of the amount of people you'd have to maneuver through didn't cross your mind at all. It was like trying to get through a maze. That golf cart is differently going to be around closing time. That was bullshit but you gotta take what you can get.

    The stairs were like waiting in line at a waterpark when trying to get through the crowd. Many parents shot you dirty looks as you passed by. You however just shrugged as they probably have not seen a human employee before. Though it was rather rude.

    At the janitors closet you detached the cart from the golf-cart after some fighting. You then took the basket off the golf cart and set it at the bottom of the cart as well as a wet floor sign. Then you head toward the restroom.

    People were heading in and out. Just like the other tasks this one had a description. But this one had in bold letters NOT to let customers in the bathroom while cleaning. You didn't question it and parked your cart in front of the entryway so people couldn't get in. Of course you moved it for people coming out. Nasty looks and a couple grumbles were thrown your way.

    You had just let the last person out and put up the out of service banner outside before heading back inside. Toilet paper littered the floor, trash can was overflowing, and soap was emptied onto the floor. This is what you signed up for working around kids and drained parents.

    For starters gloves are your best friend. The bathroom was rank it was definitely gonna take a couple of washes to get the smell out of your shoes.

    The trash can had paper towels rolling across the floor after some struggle to get the bag out. It was really packed in there. You set the first bag next to the entrance, put a new trash bag in, and started picking up the litter on the floor.

    Saying it was nasty was an understatement. Some pieces were fine while others were damp or drenched in unknown liquid. The guessing made it worse as did the toilet paper breaking apart. The slush sound when it hit the floor was revolting.

    As you go to put the other bag next to the cartsomething smacks right into your legs. It was a little boy with shaggy dirty-blonde hair. He takes a step back with a stunned expression on his face and shakes his head a bit.

    "Watch where you're going! You could've really hurt my son!" There standing behind the boy, the mother of the spawn. She had the typical bulb shape hair cut with mostly blonde hair with brown roots shining through. Don't even get started on the outfit.

    "Ma'am the restroom is closed for cleaning. I'm gonna have to ask you to leave." You state, setting down the bag of trash in hand.

    "Little Timmy just needs to pee." She buffs, pushing out her chest and grabbing her son's shoulder. He smiles at you brightly before running past you.

    "Hey!" Before you could do anything the boy's feet flew out from under him and hit his back on the wet tile outside a stall. You cringe back at the sight while Karen rushes to his aid.

    The boy didn't even make a peep while sitting up from the floor rubbing his head until mom wrapped her body around him. He wailed as the mom started raving at you. "My baby! My poor baby! How dare you do this! You should know better than to wet the floor at a children's facility!" She continues on getting more aggressive. You kind of just watched her not taking in anything she had to say.

    A cold pressure suddenly is placed on your shoulder. Glancing back you see none other than Glamrock Freddy. He didn't look at you but at the two on the floor. A light shines over the two from his eye. "No injuries are detected. Katherine Yardow for breaking protocol 9.3, and 24.7 a you are to be escorted off the premises. This area is off limits at the moment and isn't a safe play place for your son or you."

    Katherine dropped her child and stormed right up to us. Before she could reach us Freddy swiftly pushes you back as he moves in front of you. She screams profanities at him, jabbing her finger on his chest plate but that turned to hitting in a matter of seconds.

    It didn't last long before three staff bots rolled into the restroom. Two hastily grab her by the arms and lift her up to keep her feet from touching the floor. They then wheel her out while the other goes, picks up the child, and follows after them.

    "Are you alright y/n l/n?" Freddy asks, turning his attention to you.

    "Yea, thanks. That was crazy." You chuckle nervously, rubbing the back of your neck looking over your shoulder. That's when you noticed the cart. It had been moved about a 90 degree angle. "Did you move that?"

    "Yes, I had seen the child and parent walk through the front of the golf-cart to enter. I was going to wait outside the bathroom when I detected shouting that wasn't an opinion. I'll move it back now. You have a good rest of the day." He moves the cart back then bends done on the other side so that his face is viable through the cart. "Let any of us know if you need anything or have questions." With that he left. Leaving you alone to your thoughts and job.

    You didn't want to be in that bathroom any longer then you had to and quickly finished. Somehow getting completely disregarded made cleaning less miserable.

    An hour was all it took to clean all the public bathrooms in the building. It was nice to know that the cleaning and restocking wouldn't take long at closing time.

    The next task was to drop off wipes and soft chemical streaming supplies to the daycare as well as taking the trash out. As you drive up to the daycare door you see a child probably around ages 3 to 5 yelling and running around. They all seemed to be having a blast. The cart outside is parked next to the large glass window in front of a cloud, shoving the roll of trash bags liners into your back pocket and picking up the box of supplies the daycare required.

      Before you can open the door it slams right into you, knocking you and all of the soupy to the floor. You blink a couple times and rub your forehead, trying to get your bearings on what just happened. A repeated tapping was all you hear. Looking towards the sound you find the sun animatronic.

      Once your eyes meet his white ones he does a little wave before pointing toward the door. You follow where he was pointing to see a muscular middle aged fellow with a bushy beard, a black band tshirt, with a blue jean vest over top, and a black jean pants with a chain dangling on the loopholes.

      "Shit, you okay there kid?" He offers you a hand which you accept gladly.

      "I'll be alr-"

      "Here let me help you with this." He begins picking up the supplies.

      "Sir, it's really no big deal." You examine, wanting the awkwardness to just end already.

      "Nonsense, don't be so modest." He waved you off, picked on another thing of wipes before putting them in the box. You quickly reached done to help since he was insisting.

      It didn't take but 3 seconds to pick everything up and put them back in the box. He hands you a box and dusts off his hands before reaching for the door. "Again I'm terribly sorry."

      This is a completely different interaction from Karen in the bathroom this morning. It had you taken a back a bit. "Oh, it really is okay, thank you " With that you walked into the daycare. He smiled and with a nod let go of the door.

      You watch as the door closes behind you. Damn, how embarrassing to get hit by a door. Thank goodness it was a nice customer though. Inhaling deeply helps the embarrassment wash away, and body relaxes before turning around on your heels. White. That was all you saw making you freak out and jump back a bit. There in front was the daycare attendant bending down to your level.

      "Hello new friend! Are you feeling okay!? That was an awful hard hit to your noggin!" He talked rather quickly and bobbly. He needed that much energy to keep up with the little ones though. You didn't even have time to respond back he really was quick "Oh you brought the cleaning supplies! Thank you friend!" He takes the box and stands up. Man was he tall.

      "Just doing my job." Just then out of the corn of your eye you see a little boy squeezing a bottle of pink glitter glue into a girl's hair. "Ah," you went to say something but then you realize you didn't know what the animatronic's name was tell him what was happening. Though it seemed he got the hit from the sound you made as well as you looking back and forth in a panic.

      "Chase! Glitter glue is for paper! Never anything else!" He scolds the little boy, holding the box of supplies on his hip, arm around it. With his free hand he swipes away the glitter glue from the boy. .

      Meanwhile, Sally is grabbing at her long red hair with big watery eyes. When she felt the glob of glue she immediately became the great falls. Tears flooded down her little rosy freckled cheeks and her mouth gaps like a catfish as she whales.

      Something in you just seemed to snap. It could easily have been instinct but if it wasn't you maybe just didn't wanna hear her crying. It could break glass if any higher. You swiftly pick up the little girl. "Where's the bathroom? I'll try and get out the glitter."

      The animatronic's expression widens, "Right over there!" He points, giving you a nod as thanks before dealing with Chase, who ran off as soon as the daycare attendant was distracted by you.

      In the bathroom you were quick about getting Sally's hair soaking in the sink. The hot water seemed to make the glue dissolve. You ran your fingers through her hair a couple of times. When the glitter made a thin lining on the out rim of the light pink water to float up you unplugged the sink and ran water through her hair for good measure. It was surprisingly easy to get out after that with paper towels. Just a couple of stray sparkles left.

      "There we go." Through her sniffles she looks in the mirror and run a hair through her hair. Her emerald green eyes widen, she whipped her hair back and without warning leaps into your arms.

      "Oh thank you!"

      "It was no problem." Squeeze out. You could feel your shirt get wetter by the second. Should probably do something about the wet hair. You could dry it off with a shit ton of paper towel, but the smudged up hand dryer next to the door would do a better job.

      "Would you like to dry your hair?" Sally nods and you're quick to guide her over to the hand dryer. She appeared puzzled till you hit on. Her eyes lit up and practically danced under it followed by giggles. You rolled your eyes at the scene. Kids we're really something else.

      Little Sally skipped out of the bathroom, her dry wavy hair flowing behind her, with you following suit. It wasn't long before Sally spotted her friends and was climbing up the play structure.

      "New friend!" Your whole body spun around at the sudden voice. It's going to take some getting used to that amount of energy. " Ah! I didn't mean to scare you! I just wanted to say thank you! Chase has been picking on Sally for the last two days!"

      "Sounds like Chase is having a hard time adjusting." You state lean back on the desk

      "It's not that! He plays great with the other kids! Oh that reminds me!" He reaches around you, "Could you bring these down to the glam rocks." He beams, dropping a stack of drawing into your arms. With a stare at the papers for a good second then back at the bubbly yellow guy. His smile has widened and eyes now in the form of triangles.

      One of the tasks on your list was to clean out the trash in the glamrocks rooms anyways. "Sure thing. Let me know if you need anything else." You wave over your shoulder. Before you can open the door it swings open. Higher up on the door, yellow hand pressed.

      "I'll make sure to let you know if anything comes up."

      You put the stack of drawings in a cardboard box, don't want them falling over, or ever worse off the golf cart. The golf cart was coming in handy not trailing back and forth to each janitor's closet for supplies but the swarm of but with it getting closer to noon more people were rolling into the place making it hard drive through the crowd. Maybe that's why it had been covered in dust.

   You put the golf cart up in the end. It was just taking too long to get places and the customers didn't care that they're kids were climbing over it. This left you with a belt like a contraction work but instead of tools it held little bottles of chemicals and had a large Fanny pack like pocket with a couple of tools as well as a rag stored inside. If you needed a cart for hauling there was one in every closet.

      With the cart in toe that held the box of drawings, you made your way down to the glamrocks rooms. A green blur caught the eye making you slow down. Next to the bathrooms was Monty Gator. If he wasn't a robot one would think he was trying to scratch his back but the spot was just out of reach. He most have felt a presence in the force or some shit because his gaze spotted on you and he went straightened up. "What are ya looking at?"

      "I'm not sure." You lean against the cart. It was painful obvious he needed help with something. You had planned on asking but with the tone he used speaking to you it made you rethink that.

      The gator grumbles his way to you. Ah the tone matches the body language how interesting. "Listen here runt, ya didn't see anything-" You kind of just started tuning him out as your curiosity got the better of you. You took one large side step and bam the mystery was solved. On the center of his back was a piece of hard candy. "Hey! What do-"

      "I can get that for you." You hold up a rag and a bottle of clearer. He's joints lower and with a huff he exposes his back to you. The candy didn't budge till it was moist. When the sucker finally popped off you threw it into a nearby trash can.

      "I can't believe they hired another human after so long?" If we wouldn't have been so close to the gator while cleaning off the residue of candy you might of night heard him grumble that. You didn't think too much after all this place was run by mostly boys.

      "They're good as new." Monotony straightened up, crossed his arms, huff, and turned his head. His red eyes glanced at you through the side of his glass. They seemed too soft at the sight of you beaming up at him.

      "Thanks Runt." He finally says something normally, but his eyes left your gaze before he did. Weird.

      "No problem." You wave to him to continue on the mission at hand. Freddy was in his room messing with an amp. You didn't even get a chance to knock before you were greeted. "Afternoon Y/N."

      "Hello again, I'm here for any trash you have." He nods steps out of the doorway, motioning towards the trash can. The trash can was filled to the rim unlike most of the over trash cans, easy. "Thank you."

      "Wait one second," You drop the trash bag, and grab the drawings. Can't forget those bad boys. Freddy's eyes widened as you handed over the box. "The daycare attendant asked me to give you these."

      "Sundrop is such a nice fellow, I wish they'd come see us like they used too." He seemed to dent the box ever so slightly. What was that supposed to mean? They work together. Kind of.

      "Here." He hands you a stack of sticker sheets. "Have him give these to the kids." You agreed with a nod before heading over to chica's room. There was a tiny bag of trash outside her door. Guess she didn't want to be disturbed right now.

      "Ah more fans- oh you must be the janitor." She headed back over to her make up stand and started spray painting her hair. As you're pulling out the trash you stop at the studden bomb of the gray wolf's voice. "You must be an amazing janitor for them to hire you." You didn't know if that was a normal complement or a back handed one. Either way Roxy seemed busy, so you were hasty was putting a new bag in and getting the fuck out of there. Maybe Monty would be more welcoming than her.

      You weren't wrong but you weren't right either. Like Chica he had left the trash bag outside the door, but he was inside. His loud ranting and strumming of jagged notes was a clear indication of that. Hopefully he catches a break soon.

      The rest of the tasks were simple and easy, but there were many. Not to mention all the messes you had to clean up after parties around the stage. Customers were messy and acted as if it was a normal thing to not clean up after themselves.

      The last thing you had to do before clocking out for the day was bring the stickers to the daycare attendant. Darkness consumed the daycare with only the haze of the lights outside the daycare coming in through the window. All the little ones laid scattered on matts with tiny blankets that had glow in the dark stars on them. Swiftly you made your way over to the desk, set down the stickers, grabbed a sticky note, and wrote, "Freddy sent these as a thank you."

      Just as you were finishing up the note you felt the hair on the back of your neck rise. You whipped around to find the same scene as before. The more your eyes adjusted though you spotted something. Okay it was more of someone. Honestly, Chase did a good job at hiding underneath the play structure. If his little leg wasn't sticking out you would've never seen him.

      "Hey there," You greeted the blonde boy. He smacked his head back ahead of the pillar that was curled up behind. He quinces and with a sniffle rubs his snot on his arm. "Why're you crying?"

      He sniffled and sobbed, "I left my Roxxe plush in the tent." He then chokes on his own sob for a second. "Mr. Moon won't let me in the Castle to get her." He hugged his blanket and curled up into his knees.

      You scanned your surroundings looking for your target. The castle was next to the ball pit with about 20 kids inbetween you. Laying next to them are swords made out of pool noodles and shields made out of cardboard. "Come on," you nudge him. "Let's go get her back."

       He perks up immediately and his brown eyes sparkle. "Really!?"

      You shush him by putting a finger up to your lips. He slaps his hands over his mouth then opens them. "Really?" He whispers.

      "Yep we just gotta be quiet and sneak past the castle guards." You whisper, motioning him to follow you out from under the play structure. He scrambled out after you and quickly held onto your pants. His eyes search the room frantically.

   "Come on." You take a step forward. He follows your soft steps around his sleeping companions. For a kid who was causing chaos earlier he was surprisingly good at keeping quiet.

      When outside the castle you got this feeling like you were being watched and Chase wasn't helping calm your nerves with him now clinging to your leg. This was just a tent in a building that was freaking you out so badly. No wild animals were around unless you counted the kids as animals.

      With a small sigh you take Chase's sweaty little hand and lead him inside. The feeling subsided a bit. "Where'd you last have her?"

"Oh she was on the pillows. Over here." He tugs on you to the back corner. Sure enough upon her throne of pillows sat a Roxy plush. She has a couple sock puppet at the bottom pillow. "She's their queen." He giggles, picking up the plush before holding your hand and smiling up brightly. "Thank you."

      The smile on your face drop when you turn rn to exit the tent. You froze for a second before pushing Chase behind you. What greeted you at the entrance of the tent stood a tall shadow figure. One of its claws ripped the entrance of the tent with its grip while the other had them curl in and out at its side. Its hunched over torso and black eyes with a bead of electric red in the middle screamed not kid friendly.

      The creature's head spun along with its starry night cap as it crept inside. Something about that last movement was a lot more jagged than others. It sent you into survival mode.

      You grabbed the nearest objects in one scoop and chucked them swiftly at it. The animatronic wasn't fazed at all by the sock puppets. To make matters worse it is now inside, with its sharp smile widening. The lining of the teeth began to thicken. Desperate and backed into a corner like prey, you searched for anything in here to defend yourself again. That's when you saw it. A foam noodle sword.

      You sprung at the creature's feet, grabbed the sword, and rolled to the side. Just in time too. The creature's claws dug into the floor where you landed. Its focus was on you and face inches away from your's.

       A clank rang out throughout the tent and hit them in their faceplate. Its head spun around as its neck bent backward. You booked it out of the tent in a heart beat to the doors. They were locked and the jingles where getting closer. That's when you saw the light switch. The sign tapped above it that said lights on and the tape on the switch pulled down. Maybe just maybe.

      You reach for the switch on to have a claw grab your arm and yank you up into the air. "Naught, naughty~" It sang into your face.

      Its claws now dig into your arm. They twitched and loosen then tighten some more. Your eyes were glued to the free hand that's lifting up into the air. A blur and breezed passed your face.

      You tumble to the floor clenching your wounded arm as the animatic screeches and claws at its now yellow faceplate. Its eyes shift between black, red and white before landing on the all white one. Seven triangles pop out the side of its head and the hat is now to be found. In Front of you stood the overly bubbly day care attendant you had met only hours ago.

      He reached for you before but retracted his hand to his torso. "No! No! Not again!"

~A/N~

Please remember to comment and like I love feedback! It fuels my speed production for the next chapter

This chapter as been edited my a sleep deprived, dyslexic fool. It will be edited again in time my apologies in the mean time.

#fnaf daycare attendant #fnaf poc #fnaf sundrop #fnaf moodrop #fnaf reader #fnaf fanfic #fnaf sb #daycare attendant fnaf #plauge of consequences #fnaf roxy #fnaf monty #fnaf security breach #fnaf au #fnaf freddy #fnaf chica #fnaf superstar daycare #daycare attendant

[annasinterests]

don't look at me like that unless you mean it

pain, make your way to me, to me ♫ and i'll always be just so inviting

|| series masterlist || main masterlist ||

a/n: this chapter properly beat my ass. like. i struggled so hard to write this one you guys. however, i'm excited for the chapter after this one! i do think the next one will be a lot longer than the previous chapters, i've written a lot and i haven't even gotten halfway the plot of it. that being said, it may take a little longer to push out! as well as the fact that i will be working a lot this week (i do contracting work so i'm also lowkey daydreaming of joel half the time and let me tell you,, i will prob be putting out works based on those daydreams alone lmfaooo). anyways, i'll cut the rambling short- hope you guys are enjoying this fic! :)

word count: 3k

pairings: joel miller x f!reader

warnings & tags: minors dni, angst, reader dealing with past trauma, depictions of anxiety, ellie and reader spend time together, joel is cute at the end — please tell me if i missed anything!

Today marked your final day of administration duties for the week before a much-needed two-day break for patrol rotation.

You dreaded the switch more than ever now, but also because of the heat. During the summer, patrol weeks always felt like they came too quick. You could do the cool nights, you actually looked forward to those more, but you absolutely hated the long, unbearably hot days that preceded them.

The house had been quiet since your last conversation with Joel days ago. Since he held your face and told you that everything was going to be okay with the most tender look on his. Since you once again walked that careful line of what is and what could be.

During the day, you were able to keep yourself occupied with work, but it was harder at night when all you could do was stare at the ceiling and think yourself down a hole.

Ellie took note of your change in behavior. In fact, she knew it all too well. How it always looked like your head was somewhere else other than the present, the quietness, the thousand-yard stare. She especially sensed it when she overheard you and Joel talking on the back porch one night when you thought she wasn’t home, revisiting your previous conversation and asking how to break it to her that she couldn’t do patrol until things settled down. Though she didn’t outright confront you about it, she knew something was under your skin.

And she was right; you just couldn’t shake this off. So, you slung your pack over your shoulder and your gun in its holster on the way out to find the one person who could give you the answers you sought: Maria.

Her office resided on the second floor of the town hall, facing the wall built around Jackson, specifically arranged so she could watch the gate when she wasn't doing other duties around the town.

You thought up reasons and excuses to give for dropping in, but they all pointed to ones that wouldn’t warrant a visit or would reveal too much of your own thoughts.

Coming to the Bison tomorrow? No. She wouldn’t be interested in having that conversation, probably. Hey, any updates from patrol? Too direct. She’ll know you’re looking for something. You scoffed at yourself for not having a better plan.

Approaching her door, you silently prepared yourself for a somewhat calculated conversation. You knew her guarded nature, and you needed to employ a cunning approach to elicit the details you came for. Be light– not intrusive or eager. Maria was smart, you had to conceal and control your words and expressions.

You plastered on the biggest smile you could muster and knocked on the door, peeking your head in. “Maria, not catching you at a bad time, am I?”

Her head turned towards you, “Oh please, come in,” she gestured for you to join her at the window she stood at, "out of anyone, I'm glad it's you that came knocking."

This.. could be easier than you thought. You sauntered over next to her and followed her line of sight that fell upon the patrol, they'd been in a tight circle just before the gate. Tommy stood in the center of it all– seemingly giving a speech as he pointed and paired up people as he went along. When you caught sight of Joel, your heart skipped a beat, followed by a weight of discomfort. You watched as Fitz strolled over to him with a wide grin, which of course he didn’t return.

"Most of the time, I don't feel anything when he leaves," Maria's voice was calm and steady, "because part of me knows that he'll come back." She maintained her gaze below, shaking her head that it was almost imperceptible. "But now.. I'm not so sure of that."

You turned your attention to her, eyebrows slightly furrowed, looking for any indication of emotion from her words, but she stayed the same. Relaxed. Which contrasted from what she was insinuating. And while she was speaking of her own dilemma, you couldn't help but see that it was yours too.

“I’m gonna tell you something that has to stay between us,” you eased your expression as she shifted to face you, “and I’m gonna trust that you keep it to yourself, for now, at least.” Her eyes locked on you with caution before turning away to her desk, leaning her weight upon her palms.

"This group.. They're called the Washington Liberation Front. Most of them are former Fireflies."

Your jaw tensed at the name. The Fireflies, once perceived as fighting for a good cause, had betrayed you in the worst way possible, almost taking another person you loved, and framing it as a sacrifice for the greater good of humanity. Your hands twitched into a fist at the memory.

“Tommy started noticing the same descriptions on the patrol logs, so he sent a small group out for a couple weeks to see if they could find a trail.” You glanced back towards the window; the patrol had already left. "They found camps, concealed caches full of weapons and supplies.. And believe it or not, the last Firefly activity.”

You snapped your head at Maria as she chuckled lowly.

“Seems like they had some big operation in..” she flicked through some papers on her desk, dragging her finger across a page and tapping it once she found it, “Salt Lake City.”

It was like a pair of hands wrapped themselves around your throat.

No.

“I just- I don’t know-” she shook her head, “I don’t know what Jackson has to do with it.”

The wounds were tearing open, reminding you of all the bloodshed from that day, and how it stained your hands permanently. That shattered hospital, a place forever burned into your memories, tormented your conscience and left you wishing that you could erase every second spent in there.

You slowly leaned your arm on the window sill, trying to stabilize yourself as it felt like you could've collapsed right then and there. You hoped to God that your face wasn't giving anything away as you tried to maintain steady eye contact with her, even though she wasn't looking at you. She pulled a tattered paper from her drawer and handed it to you. "We found this the night before the meeting."

With shaky hands, you unfolded a map marked with color-coded strategic points and messages in regard to the group's surveillance of Jackson.

The havoc you wreaked on the Fireflies hadn’t been enough to end them, leading to something far worse; a bigger, stronger, more threatening militia than you could’ve imagined. The weight of the world threatened to crush you, you tried to control your breathing through your nose and struggled to keep your hand steady as you looked over the map. You felt your heart beating so hard that you were sure Maria could hear it too.

You had to maintain your composure. Nobody in Jackson knew, not even Tommy, and you were not about to fill the gaps for Maria right now.

As you studied it, you noticed an emblem in the top right corner that read ‘W.L.F’ with a crudely drawn wolf head right beneath it. Ugh– another one of those cliché military group symbols designed with an overinflated ego and heightened sense of self-importance. Overlooking your personal issues with it, you read a specific note in red ink:

WV - EC - CB

MVL > BM

Mike, Tango 2x, Sierra 2x

Fuck, that does looks like some sort of tracking. Goddamnit, Tommy.

Your face scrunched up as you reread the words, racking your brain to figure out the combination of military-alphabet and abbreviations. You held up the map with an inquisitive brow, “Have you figured this out?”

“No,” Maria shook her head as she pulled out more papers from her desk, stacking them gently before pushing them into your possession, “but I think maybe you can."

She looked at you in a way that let you know that you couldn't decline at least trying. You reluctantly nodded as you folded up the map and added it to the pile you held in between your fingers. Her trust in you was appreciated, but at the same time, you didn’t want it. Not for this, at least.

You gave her an affiliative smile and turned away to the door, but she called your name at the last moment as your hand grabbed the handle, anchoring you where you stood. You turned over your shoulder to her.

“Do you have any idea what they want with Jackson?”

You bit your lip and shook your head in a moment of silence.

“No.”

The rest of the day dragged on longer than ever, and forcing yourself through interactions proved harder to be than you thought. Even though most of your conversations were regular routine checks, you dreaded each one. You counted down the minutes until you could seal yourself away in your home.

The papers stuck out of your pack the whole day, a nagging reminder of what you had to look at sooner or later.

As soon as the town lights came on, that was your cue that your work day had come to a close, and you carried yourself home as quickly as possible, feeling like your legs would give up on you at any moment. Once the door clicked shut, you slumped against it and slid until you hit the floor, throwing the cursed papers away from you and sitting in complete silence and darkness.

You wanted to cry. Scream. Punch, kick, or break something. All day, you had to bottle up this knowledge while faking your smiles and laughs. But now it all came barreling down on your head. You had just gotten everything back, finally able to put the past behind you. But you felt it resurfacing with a mean fucking vengeance, and you didn’t know if you could endure it this time.

If this was your karma– a toll had already been taken. How much more had to give for your sins?

You tried to take deep breaths, but they seemed to make things worse. A familiar dizziness and numbness riddled your body as your hands and arms trembled. The air was getting thicker, and you were gasping out, fearing you couldn’t get enough of it into your lungs. Tears blurred your vision and hot streaks streamed down your face. Involuntarily, you rocked back and forth, hiding your face in your hands and knees that were pulled to your chest, and letting out broken cries and choked breaths.

It hit you with an overwhelming force. Your thoughts spiraled, each worry and concern feeding into the next. Minutes stretched into eternity, and it felt impossible to rip yourself from the vicious cycle.

You rested your head against the door, pushing out heavy sighs to ground yourself from the come down of adrenaline, and letting a profound exhaustion settle in. You rubbed at your eyes to dry any residual tears and massaged your temples, staring straight forward at the laundry room at the end of the hall. The streetlight filtered through the back door and glowed over a pair of Joel’s boots and Ellie’s sneakers kicked off next to each other. You whimpered and closed your eyes, not ready to start crying all over again.

You wanted them home so indescribably bad.

When you opened them, they landed on the documents strewn about the floor in front of you. And with a flicker to the laundry room and back, you leaned forward to grab them and pushed yourself off the floor.

Upstairs in your room, you flicked on a lamp and spread out the papers onto your bed to see exactly what Maria had given you: The map and a roster of members retrieved from their camp, a copy of Jackson's previous and future patrol schedules, threat assessment reports from patrolmen, and descriptions pulled from patrol logs.

You lazily glossed over the threat assessment reports, most of them contained the same details and alluded to the same idea that they meant harm. You didn’t bother looking at the roster and patrol logs for now, not even trying to attempt to make connections between descriptions and names and whatnot.

You grouped the items and slipped them into your nightstand drawer, turning your attention back to the map and patrol schedule. You sunk into your bed as you flipped through the several pages of the schedule, reading the same names, days, and times over and over again, your eyes lingering longer when they read Joel’s name.

After a certain point, you couldn’t make out anything, and a fizzled-out frustration crept in as the pieces of parchment became nothing more than just blurs of ink. Your head was pounding between the crying and attempting to make sense of all the information. Your fingers soothed the skin on the bridge of your nose, gliding over your eyebrows and temples, and then dragging down to rest your cheeks in the palms of your hands.

“Hello! Anybody home?”

Ellie’s voice caught you off guard, you hadn’t even heard the front door open.

“Up here!”

You quickly stowed away the rest of the papers in your nightstand and made your way downstairs. She'd been taking her shoes off on the couch when you saw her, and you felt instant relief. She was home. Home and safe. She peered over her shoulder at you as she fussed with the laces, "All the lights were off?"

“Oh- I just.. got in a few minutes ago,” you turned into the kitchen in time to miss the iffy look she gave you, “wasn’t sure if you were coming home or not.”

Ellie followed into the kitchen after you. “Sorry, I know you said not to be out past curfew,” she gestured two glass tupperwares in her hands towards you, “I was packing up leftovers from Dina’s for you and Joel.”

With that sheepish smile on her face, you couldn’t even be mad at her. She’d been late because of you. You smiled warmly at the sentiment, placing them on the counter and pulling her into a hug, holding her longer and tighter than you normally would, afraid to let go as if maybe you wouldn’t get the chance again. As you broke away, you lovingly smoothed her hair, “Thank you, Ellie.”

She stayed in the kitchen even after you went to store the leftovers in the fridge, watching you with an attentiveness you weren’t particularly used to from her. “Something on your mind?”

Her bottom lip jutted out, her voice a little higher than normal. “No.. Just wondering if maybe you wanted to.. watch a movie?” A small smile appeared on her face as she raised her shoulders.

You mirrored her smile. “I’d love to, kiddo. Why don’t you go pick out what you want to watch?”

She shook her head, walking over to you and guiding you out of the kitchen. “Nuh-uh. You always let me pick, I want you to pick and I’ll get everything else ready.”

You chuckled at her insistence and padded into the living room, crouching before the media center and picking through the titles until you found the one that piqued your interest the most.

Once you had it, you popped it into the DVD player and fiddled with the remote until it was at the title screen. You moved the coffee table in front of the tv and pulled the couch over accordingly, and just when you were about to go fetch more blankets and pillows, Ellie joined you with your share of the leftovers heated up “just incase” and a plethora of snacks and drinks. She swatted at you to sit while she reminded you that you were only supposed to pick the movie and nothing more, scolding you down the hall as she retrieved all the movie night necessities.

“Curtis and Viper 2? I swear, you and Joel are the same person sometimes!” She laughed as she finally saw the screen. “Speaking of Joel– he’s gonna be so mad when he sees that we watched it without him-”

“Again!” You blurted out with her, falling into a fit of laughter.

For the next almost two hours, you were able to forget about your entire day, solely enjoying the time you had with Ellie. Together, you recited your favorite lines from the film without missing a beat, humming the soundtrack while making dramatic action-like moves with your arms at each other. You bursted out in laughter at the cheesy one-liners, and gripped the blanket with anticipation at the climax of the film, though you knew the resolution. Your cheeks hurt from smiling so much and your lungs ached in a happy pain.

This was what you needed.

In somewhere in the falling point of the film, you dozed off to sleep, unable to fight against the soft pillows and blankets you were wrapped up in. Ellie noticed when she went to nudge you during another scene you both loved and you didn’t respond, and instead of waking you up, she lowered the volume on the tv and sat with you until the end credits rolled.

It was well after midnight when Joel came home and Ellie was already in her house in the back. She’d tiptoed around the house to clean up so you wouldn’t have to in the morning, but forgot to put the DVD back with the others.

He almost walked past the living room until he saw the furniture rearranged, taking a few steps in to see you peacefully sleeping on the couch. He mustered up a tired smile at the sight of you, gently reaching out to brush stray hairs from your face.

And when he noticed Curtis and Viper 2 still on the coffee table, his smile deepend despite missing out on movie night once again. He spoke in a whisper that could have easily been to you or himself.

“You two are gonna be the death of me, you know that?”

#joel miller #joel miller x reader #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller fic #tlou #the last of us #tlou fanfiction #annasmasterlist #annawrites

[goodnightmoonvale]

shoutout to @bplotd (who Tumblr won't let me tag for some reason) who sent this ask to me a while ago. I'm copy pasting it here, because I want to keep it in my inbox to look at forever. But I'm feeling a lot of rage and despair today about how I'm ever going to make a difference in the world, and this helped me a lot before, so I'm posting it again so other people can see it too:

I know there is an underpinning narrative in the current zeitgeist to move people away from the paralysis of the terminally online "gotta do everything all the time" anxiety by encouraging folks to exert effort in a single direction consistently. And I think that attitude is largely useful and helpful. But here is something i have learned from 10 years in international development: this isn't the only way to effect change. It may not even be the most effective way. So many successful projects I have seen, and long term positive changes, are yes due to the work of dedicated individuals or groups, but they are often equally due to one single, well-placed "yes". One lucky break. One teacher who says "sure you can use my curriculum notes" or one administrator who says "sure, you can turn in your grant late" or one community member who speaks up with a good idea or a very timely complaint or a young person who babysits for a key night so a mom can go to a meeting or --- Listen, what I'm saying is that random acts of kindness can and do make a difference, in many cases a HUGE one. They're sometimes the lucky break on which an entire project or opportunity hinges. I'm sure you've heard that phrase about "planting a garden you will never see". It can be so hard, because this random kindness or justice may never, ever connect their little good deed with the actual good it does in the world. I can't help you know exactly what your own kindness has wrought in the future - that is a gift that so few of us ever are given. But if you contribution is consistently /doing a good or kind of helpful thing/ when presented with the opportunity, you are doing enough, more than enough. Consistent effort isn't just volunteering or doing a job or working on something tangible. Sometimes consistent effort means being the person who makes little daily choices to extend grace to others. And friend, that isnt just "good enough", that is /salvation/. The people who need it will find you.

#may a lucky break find you #may you be someone's lucky break #rage against the dying of the light #hope is a discipline #I'm trying not to let the overwhelm turn into helplessness #some days it's really fucking hard #life on the moon

[tinygamertris]

THIS IS VERY BELATED but I want you to know I saw your tags and LAUGHED, so I wanted to pick from one of them (or, more, blend two): How did your characters experience as an orphan shape their perception of Garlemald? Might this have changed if their parents lived? Might this have changed if they were adopted/received a different family?

I'm not playing Gentian any more but I spent SO LONG working on his lore that I can still answer the questions! Yay!

(Also I'm very glad I made you laugh!)

(EDIT: I spent twenty minutes gushing to one of my besties about how much fun I had making this post, and then explaining to him about Gentian, and now I'm back to playing the lad who is going to fix Garlemald come hell or high water! Thank you! XD)

For the first 12-odd years of his life, or at least the bits he remembers, Gentian's world was the orphanage, the block of old homes and slowly collapsing businesses around it, and the people who lived there. Nobody was rich, nobody was strong, but everyone banded together and helped out. The little old ladies in the bakery three doors down always made sure that someone had a cake for their birthday even if it was teeny. The family down the road would hand down clothes as their own army of kids grew up. The kids in the orphanage would run packages around the neighbourhood for the veteran who lost his legs in the Werlyt Campaign and he'd tell them stories of the friends he'd made and loved and lost and sometimes men from his unit would come around and the whole neighbourhood would come together to help them return to civilian life. It was hard but everyone pulled together, and I think it shaped his love of Garlemald in a way that can never be shaken. He's seen the worst of his country, yes, but he's also seen the best.

If his parents had lived he would probably have grown up in Ala Mhigo, loyal to the Empire and completely inured from the dark side of the country. His parents came to the country because his mother was part of the second army of builders, managers and administrators who followed the Garlean victory (she could use paperwork to make almost anything happen, and the messy state of the country genuinely did need people like her), and of course they couldn't leave him behind! It was an accident of bad timing and rebels who didn't care overmuch about civilian casualties that killed them; if she'd left work five minutes later or earlier they'd have lived. I think he'd have still felt loyal to the Empire, and probably still contributed to their magitek in time, but he wouldn't have had the same intense love for the civilian population he has in canon.

It would've been so, so easy for someone terrible to adopt him. The noble families of Garlemald are often twisting knots of infighting and jockeying for power, and we've seen how many innocent sons Valens van Varro took in and tried to corrupt. We've seen how the grandson and great-grandson of the Most Beloved Emperor Solus zos Galvus were raised! He was genuinely lucky it was the Dravis family that got wind of him first, given that they were honest and generally kind. If word of his magitek skills never got out, though, he would've stayed at the orphanage until 18, then been sent to the army to earn his citizenship. I don't think he'd have been happy in that life, and I also don't think he'd survive for very long.

#Gentian jen Dravis #I do miss the lad a bit #I just love Ewan more and have trouble splitting my brain #Asked and Answered