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teyamsatan · 1 year

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Cruel Summer | Chapter III: Clean

Pairings: Neteyam x (f)Human!Reader

Word Count: 6.6k words

Warnings/notes: angst, allusions to/mentions of smut, friends-with-benefits, mutual pining, some Spider x Reader, 18+ minors DNI

Synopsis: You and Neteyam learn to navigate life without the other.

A/N: Hey besties, I’m sorry that this took so long, but I’ve honestly been struggling a little on this website, and it’s taken quite the toll on me. It’s been a weird week(?), in which although I’ve never received more followers and more notes etc., I’ve also never felt more alone, and more disconnected from the platform and the people in it. I think you will be able to tell in the chapter as well. When I was posting the Cardigan series, although I had a lot less followers, I felt like people genuinely enjoyed/connected to the story, and I just don’t really feel that way anymore, and I think I’m still learning to deal with it. Anyway, personal issues aside, I really hope you enjoy this chapter! I think it’s only going to be another couple chapters in this story. I might however make an alternate ending to it? I’ve also had some inspiration for Midnight Rain Part II, and thank you so much for being patient with me with that story, it took me a while to understand what I wanted to do with it, as I wasn’t planning on it having a second part initially. Ramble over, I promise.

enjoy besties ily xoxo

: ̗̀➛ listen to Clean here : ̗̀➛ masterlist (x) : ̗̀➛ series masterlist (x)

The drought was the very worst

When the flowers that we'd grown together died of thirst

It was months and months of back and forth

You're still all over me like a wine-stained dress I can't wear anymore

“Come on… open the door, please?”

Lo’ak’s voice was pleading and saddened, and so were Kiri’s soft sobs, but you pretended you couldn’t hear them, not their tone nor their words, because hearing them meant acknowledging it and you couldn’t. You couldn’t acknowledge them, or the previous few that tried. Not Jake, not Norm, not Neteyam. Definitely not Neteyam. You couldn’t open that door, because if you did, you would crumble at their feet, you would beg and scream and thrash, and you didn’t want to do any of those things. The anger you felt for all of them, each and every one of them was strong enough to drown any other emotion, any emotion other than overwhelming hurt and anguish that was threatening to tear you apart with each passing moment that these people were standing outside your door, every moment that passed in which they were still leaving, still leaving you behind, leaving you alone.

You were all alone. No matter how many years you have spent by their side, no matter how much Jake promised you were as much their kid as the rest of them, no matter how many hours and days and months and years you have spent stuck to Neteyam like glue, it was all in vain. It was all fake. You would never be a part of their family. All these years, you were just a family pet, that they would pass on to the next owners when the situation called for it. This thought was fuel enough for a new set of wailed cries that you tried to muffle with a hand over your mouth. It took a while, but eventually, they left you to your own devices, left you to deal with the mess they made, a mess you’ll never forgive them for. Never forgive him for.

At the dawn of a new day, the dreaded day, a new knock, more timid and timed bellowed, and the sound rang painfully in your ears.

“Kid… they’re leaving. They really want to say goodbye to you… they all do. Tuk is crying, she’s saying you’re mad at her. Just… just please come out, honey, ok?”

Tuk…

“Tuk can come in. But that’s it.” You hoped Norm couldn’t make out how hoarse and broken your voice sounded, and hope he couldn’t tell that you cried so much in one night that you blacked out from dehydration, only to be woken up by his announcement.Sure enough, a few minutes later, Tuk came in through the door you just unlocked. You tried to wash your face and look a little more presentable, but as you took one swift look in the mirror, you knew it was pointless. You just prayed Tuk wouldn’t notice.

“Come in, baby.” She ran into your arms and fastened her arms around your neck, and you were always shocked at how she was just as tall as you, and somehow even stronger.

“Sister! I thought I wouldn’t get the chance to say goodbye.” She was crying, you realised, as her hot tears spilled down your back, getting absorbed in your cotton top.

“Of course you would, baby. I am so sorry. I’m so sad that you’re going, so I needed some time, but I would never let you leave without telling you how much I’ll miss you, and that I love you so, so much. You’re the best little sister anyone could have ever asked for.” Her high-pitched cries tugged at your heart painfully, but you knew you had to be strong for her. She didn’t deserve any of it, any pain or hurt, anything other than pure bliss.

“I love you, too! I want you to come with. Why can’t you come with?”

You tried to ignore the way your entire body felt like it was being put through the meat grinder, and just focused on her, on her tears and her soft little hair that you caressed gently, and the way her head fit so well in the crook of your neck.

“Because I’m human, baby. And where you are going, they wouldn’t like me. I wouldn’t fit in. But baby, look at me.” You brushed the unruly braids out of her face and her tears from her cheeks, giving her the biggest smile you could muster. “This isn’t goodbye forever. I will see you again soon, and I can’t wait to hear all the adventures you’ve had and all the memories you’ve made. I’m so proud of you, you know? One day, you’ll outgrow me, and I’ll get to watch you be the most amazing warrior ever, just like your mummy is. And I’ll still be your biggest cheerleader, and I’ll watch from the bleachers, like in the movies, do you remember?”

She nods half-heartedly, but her face lights up a little, and you think the worst is over.

“Come, I’m sure everyone’s waiting. I will miss you, sweet girl. Be safe.”

You kissed her forehead and both of her cheeks, and with one last hug, she left.

They left. He left.

Hung my head as I lost the war

And the sky turned black like a perfect storm

•☽────✧˖°˖☆˖°˖✧────☾•

“How does it feel?” Neteyam watched as you eyed his queue, that was leisurely hung over his shoulder, a glimmer of curiosity in your eyes. He’s noticed you doing that for a while now, and when you were kids, he’s let you touch it once or twice, but it’s been years now, and the situation was no longer applicable. You were no longer just a friend, not quite a mate, somewhere in between, something undefined and awkward, something you didn’t talk about unless absolutely necessary.

“How does what feel, Vol?”

“The Tsaheylu. Connecting to another animal, another Na’vi. How does it feel?”

“I thought you knew about from all your little books.” You rolled your eyes and huffed annoyedly.

“Yes, I do. I know the theory. I know you use it to connect to other beings, to Eywa, I know you can feel each other’s emotions. I know all of that. But how does it feel?”

Neteyam thought about it for a long time. How was he supposed to describe something that was so natural and so quintessential to his life, to his existence, to someone who would never be able to experience for themselves?

“Do you know how sometimes we look at each other and we kind of just have a whole conversation just with one look? Because we know each other so well now, that words are not really necessary? Vol… I know everything you think, and everything you feel. I know you so deep in my soul, it’s hard to separate my own feelings from yours, my own thoughts. You’ve become so essential to my being, it’s like you are a constant part of me.”

He suddenly felt very vulnerable and exposed at the confession, and felt like he overshared something that may have been better left unsaid.

“I mean, I-“

“I know what you mean.”

You sighed and got closer to him, and you moved until you were in his lap, in your own little bubble of safety and comfort. It was your favourite place in the world, you once told him.

“I know what you mean too well. Sometimes, it’s hard to tell where I stop and you start.”

He felt relieved at your words, relieved to know you understood and felt the same. That you got him.

“Well, there you go. That’s kinda how it feels like.”

“But, how does it feel like? When you mate with someone, does it amplify the sensations, does it… make it better? Make it so you never want someone else ever again?”

The saddened, desolate tone of your voice told Neteyam that you were moving into uncharted territory, that this conversation was taking a turn neither of you were ready or skilled enough to navigate safely. He didn’t know what was the right way to answer something like that. Because the truth was that yes, from his understanding, it did make it better. It made it more intense, more special, it made it everything. There was a reason Na’vi had sex with however many people they wanted, but only bonded with one. It was the bond that separated a sexual experience from a mating experience, from something you would only ever wanted to experience with just one special someone. But he couldn’t say that to you. Not when you didn’t have this ability and never will, not when he knew how much you wanted it, not when there was nothing neither of you could do about it. So he considered a different approach.

“Do you want to touch it?”

Neteyam’s never allowed anyone near his queue before. No Na’vi would. The kuru was for themselves, for their mates and for their mothers as infants. It was the most sensitive and intimate part of them, and so naturally, Neteyam was a little uneasy and nervous. But he trusted you. He loved you. He was in love with you, and would have given anything to mate with you, but maybe this will be enough.

He laughed softly at the way your eyes widened in shock. You understood the implication of what he was asking you, and that scared you both. But still, almost bashfully, you nodded, a soft warm loving smile taking over your features. You softly reached for it and brushed your hands over the length that was draped over his shoulder, a touch so soft, so minuscule that it was barely there, but Neteyam’s whole body shuddered, goosebumps instantly appearing throughout his whole body. You quickly removed your hand, and looked guilty as you spoke.

“I’m sorry. This was probably a bad ide-“

“Hey, stop.”

Neteyam couldn’t help his fingers as they reached out and stroked you face and jaw, making their way down your throat and collarbone. He smirked a little when you shivered under his touch.

“See? Did that feel bad?”

You smiled and shook your head gently.

“It doesn’t feel bad. It’s just… new. But I want you to do it, Vol. I want you to do it.”

A little unnerved, you resumed your inspection of his braid, grabbing at as gently as you could and bringing it up to eye level.

“The hair here is softer.” You mused, almost to yourself. “I love that.”

Slowly, you moved downstream, until eventually, you reached its end, and gasped slowly as the pink tendrils came into view, moving a lot more erratically and enthusiastically than they normally did.

“Why are they doing that?”

“Because of you, Vol.” he said through panted breaths. He was experiencing a range and intensity of emotions he never had before, never in his life. The things you were doing to him, that only you ever did to him, the feelings you evoked in his mind and body, were now intensified a thousand fold, and he was crumbling under their weight.

“It’s doing that because my body feels you. Feels what you’re doing, knows who you are.” He hesitated before speaking, but he needed to get it out, he had to get it out. “It’s doing that because it knows I’m close to someone it… it wants to mate with.”

You removed your hand from him almost like his queue burned you. Your face contorted in a frown and you were struggling to push tears back in your eyes.

“Oh. Well, unfortunately, that’s never going to be able to happen, so…” You removed yourself from his lap and started turning your back to him, but he caught you and held you in place. You were almost face to face like this, which Neteyam was happy about. He had to look into your eyes to get his point across. He had to look into your eyes to get the courage needed to say this.

“Ma Vol, it doesn’t matter.” You scoffed, and the small movement of your head spilled unwanted tears, that you quickly brushed away with your thumb.

“Hey, look at me. Please?” You did so hesitantly. His thumb was caressing your face, your jaw and lips.

“It doesn’t matter. Do you not understand, Vol?” He moved his hand to rest on your chest, above your heart. “I can feel you. I can feel everything you feel. I can feel feel it like I’m going through it. When you’re sad, I’m sad. When you’re happy or shy, or anxious or scared, when you are annoyed or excited, I feel it all. You see? It doesn’t matter.”

“Don’t you get it? It never mattered. Not with you.” A small moan escaped you at his words, that he knew you needed to hear, and he needed to speak out loud. He didn’t know what would happen, didn’t know if he should have, but as you wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him, harsh and needy, he couldn’t find it in him to care.

•☽────✧˖°˖☆˖°˖✧────☾•

There was nothing left to do

When the butterflies turned to dust that covered my whole room

So I punched a hole in the roof

Let the flood carry away all my pictures of you

Neteyam woke up with a mean headache, and he felt almost hungover. He always did these days, pain seeping through every dimension of his life, of his body and mind. The dreams were unrelenting, and they stung each night, so many memories, so many moments he wished he could go back to, that he wished he could relive… that he wish he could forget. It’s been weeks, yet your final interaction still haunts him. How could it not? He didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye. Nineteen years of friendship, of being each other’s safety net were swiftly thrown out the window in a split second, and Neteyam found it difficult to cope with the gap you and your presence left behind. There was so much that had to change for him, it felt like every day was a new life he never asked for and didn’t want, but was forced to live through regardless. A strange purgatory, one with warm breezes and crystal clear water and golden sandy beaches. Probably not the worst of purgatories, if Neteyam was honest with himself, but even Heaven could easily feel like Hell under the right circumstances.

“Ok kids, remember, no getting into trouble. Go meet Tsireya and Aonung and train. Pull your weight. Neteyam, once you’ve mastered the ilu, Tonowari said you can start learning how to tame the tsurak. Now let’s go show the Metkayina how the Omatikaya do things, alright, kids?”

“Yes, sir.”

Neteyam walked alongside his siblings to the meeting place they’ve been training every day for the past couple of weeks. As it turns out, the Metkayina can hold their breath underwater for up to 15 minutes, their bodies physically adapted to allow them to, and well… the Sullys couldn’t. So there was a lot of breathing training, on top of swimming lessons and ilu riding practice. Neteyam was frustrated to have to start anew, frustrated that he couldn’t fly every day, the way he has grown accustomed to for the past 6 years since completing his Iknimaya, frustrated that he went from being the future Olo’eyktan to a novice, to a nobody.

Despite everything, he tried. That was in his nature. He would always try, he would always give his best, and he would always make the best out of a bad situation, because that’s who he was. That’s who he had to be. The move left him broken and unmoored, with no purpose and no home, but Neteyam would still keep going, because his family depended on him, and that knowledge alone was enough to keep him afloat just a little while longer.

Neteyam couldn’t help be jealous of his little brother, who not only adapted, but he did so almost instantly. The new place felt immediately like home to the boy who has always felt alone and misunderstood, like a pariah and an outcast. It was the same here, yet somehow, the presence of the Olo’eyktan’s only daughter seem to lessen the blow and make him want to try harder than he ever has before. His breathing technique was better than all of theirs, except Kiri's, most likely due to the extra lessons he was getting every day from Tsireya. Neteyam was proud of Lo’ak, he really was. But he couldn’t shake the feeling of annoyance that once more, whilst Neteyam was plagued with insurmountable challenges and continuous sacrifices, Lo’ak once more got everything he’s wanted handed to him on a silver platter. He just wishes sometimes life could work out in his favour the same way, at least once. At least in one aspect. The one aspect.

The days were long and tedious, but every day something happened that he wished he could tell you about, that he wished you could experience. You loved water. He could just about imagine your face, your thoughts, your every expression, every sound you would make, every undulation of your voice. He could imagine taking you to the mangrove forest and finding a spot just for the two of you, your screams of pleasure drowned by the greenery and the sounds of exotic birds. He could see you taking your mask off despite his complaints, and kissing him, deeply and passionately, smiling as his tongue explored your body, as your hands explored his.

He missed you. He wondered if you missed him too, or if the hatred that probably fuelled your days prevented you from doing so.

•☽────✧˖°˖☆˖°˖✧────☾•

“I’ve missed you.”

You were a mess of tangled limbs on your bed, Neteyam’s warmth enveloping you like a cozy blanket, much more so than the one currently covering you both. His voice was thick and laced with languor, and so sweet, it was making your eyes flutter closed in bliss and soothing relaxation.

“I’ve missed you, too, Teyam.”

Neteyam’s large hand cupped your face, lifting it gently so he could meet your eyes, smiling softly as he did.

“Ma Vol… are you happy?”

Neteyam’s loaded question took you by surprise, and woke you from your near-sleep. You thought about it for a while, pondering the weight of the word. Happy. Were you happy? Happiness was such a strange, abstract concept to you. On one hand, yes, you were. So, so happy. In this moment, you were happy. In every moment you were in his arms, every moment he laughed at your silly jokes, or watched you intently as you spoke about your day, in every moment he was just who he was, your best friend, your confidant, your boyfriend and mate for all intents and purposes, except the one that mattered most. And there was the flip side, the ugly monster, that was ever-present and following you everywhere you went, marring even the most serene, the most beautiful, the happiest memories. The truth. The truth was the antithesis of happiness. Because the truth told you that one day, Neteyam would up and leave you, and when he did, your life as you have come to know it for 19 years will change. Because let’s be honest. Not only will you lose him as a lover, as an unofficial boyfriend, but you knew you would lose him as a friend. You knew that whoever it was that would be his mate would not approve of your friendship, and that, in time, even that will dwindle and fall apart, leaving you completely on your own.

Still, all of that was far away in the future in your mind, and telling Neteyam any of it meant admitting feelings you shouldn’t be harbouring to begin with, so you settled for a white lie. A harmless lie. A necessary lie.

“I am, Teyam.”

“Are you?”

“Right now, I am.”

“Good. Because so I am. I know it’s strange. I hate this place, you know. So many horrible things have come out of it, so much hurt and pain and death, but somehow, being here with you… this room, this bed. Somehow it feels like home. And I think it’s you. I think you’re my home.”

You tightened your grip on his body and didn’t say anything as you allowed yourself the respite of his words, and the hope of tomorrow.

•☽────✧˖°˖☆˖°˖✧────☾•

You woke up in pain, and crying, as you did most nights these days. You were slowly losing hope the nightmares would ever stop, that his face would ever be erased from your mind, both conscious and unconscious, tugging at every strand of sanity you had left, any shred of self-preservation still keeping you going. It’s been long enough that you thought the pain should have subsided by now. Long enough that maybe, just maybe, the world wouldn’t be as dark and gloomy anymore, that maybe while not the whole sun, but at least one ray of it could penetrate the ice that wrapped around your heart, slowly thawing it. But your world was still dark and filled with dim shadows and water that was slowly filling every chamber of your heart and lungs, slowly drowning you.

You got out of bed with a sigh and turned on the shower, water so hot it felt almost scalding on your skin, the only way you showered these days, the only way it was bearable, the only way. Because this way, in your mind, little by little, every inch of skin on your body he ever touched was slowly melting away, and in time, all the cells that died would be replaced with new ones, and in time, your body will be rid of his imprint and then, maybe then, you could finally be free.

You made your way to the dining area, determined to be a productive member of society at least to some extent today, determined to not spend yet another day in bed, replaying the same 10 songs that only made you sadder, or the same show that you have seen so many times you have memorised by heart. Most of the humans and Avatars were there, enjoying some breakfast prior to a long day ahead. There was yet another attacked planned today. Tarsem was a good leader. Strong and capable, unrelenting in his quest to impede as many of the human developments as he possibly could. He was not deterred by the Recoms and he had faith in Eywa’s ability and desire to protect her world and her people, and so far, he has been right. Even with Avatars, they have not been able to find the new Omatikaya base of operations, and you have even found some of them dead in the woods, mostly likely as a result of an attack by all the ikran that lived in the mountains.

“Morning, honey.” Max sent a wide smile your way, that you tried your best to reciprocate.

“Coffee?” The words were music to your ears. You’ve only tasted coffee a couple of times when you were young, before the provisions depleted, but now, with all the trains and helicopters that the Na’vi and Avatars managed to take down, the stronghold had plenty to spare once more.

“Yes, please.” Norm poured you the magic liquid and took a sip of it himself, sighing happily to himself.

“You know, it really does suck that the humans came back, but my God, this is definitely a silver lining.”

You chuckled a little.

“I doubt the Na’vi will see it that way, Norm.”

“No, but outside of coffee and burgers and all the other human things we’ve missed, Tarsem is incredible, kid! We have so many lab supplies, reagents and equipment that we are still trying to unpack, categorise and put together. It’s incredible all the stuff they brought with them. It’s almost like all the stuff we used to do on Earth, they’re trying to bring here. Who knows what we could do with all of it?”

“After breakfast, I can help you with it. This way we can go through it faster and figure it out?”

“That’d be great, kid.”

“Where’s Spider?”

“He’s training with the Olo’eyktan and his men. You know? Tarsem loves him!” Norm laughs heartily. You raise an eyebrow.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, kid! Turns out 19 years of training with Neteyam and Lo’ak under Jake’s supervision really did make him quite the fighter. Now, he’s obviously never going to be able to take the Iknimaya or be one of the people, but Tarsem sees a true warrior in him. Can you believe that?”

You couldn’t really, but you also couldn’t help the swell of pride that overtook you. It was nice to know there was some hope for the humans in the clan after all.

“Why don’t you go with him? You’ve also trained with the kids growing up. I know you split your time between that and being in the lab, but kid, it’s worth a shot. There’s a whole life out there waiting for you, and this way, you get to feel more integrated with the village. This is what you’ve wanted all your life, isn’t it?”

Yeah, you thought bitterly. A different life.

Despite everything, you took Norm’s advice, and spent your time training with Spider and the Na’vi warriors, deepening your understanding of guns, practicing bow and arrows and even learning hand to hand combat from the human Avatars. In the spare time, you helped in the lab, doing experiments and organising all the overwhelming amounts of new things you were receiving from all the raids. It was a good distraction, and it kept you busy sun up til sun down, each day, every day.

You and Spider got closer by the day, even closer somehow than you used to be. You cleaned his wounds and he helped clean yours, although he didn’t know much about how to do it, but in time, you taught him and you enjoyed the feeling of another person helping you, another person healing you. You almost felt the edges of the gaping hole in your chest start to close when you spent your days together.

But no amount of distraction could really keep the nightmares away when they wanted to come and haunt you in the night.

Ten months sober, I must admit

Just because you're clean, don't mean you don't miss it

You woke up panting, crying and tugging at your night gown in an effort to make the pain stop, the gaping hole in your heart that hurt still as badly as that first day, that never seemed to get any smaller, that refused to heal. You barely registered the door to your bedroom sliding open with a soft whoosh, but jumped when you noticed a dark figure approaching you slowly.

“Spider, you scared the shit out of me.”

“Sorry. I just heard you scream, I was worried about you.”

You looked at Spider, your eyes adjusted to the dark enough to make out his beautiful face and his dreads that were getting longer by the day. He needs a haircut, you decided mindlessly. You had to admit his presence was soothing to you, his presence in this room that only Neteyam truly ever came in, that only Neteyam ever slept in, that only Neteyam knew as well and intimately as you did. But Neteyam wasn’t here. Neteyam would never be here again. You winced at the sharp burst of pain that shot through you at the thought.

“I’m alright. Thanks for asking. Just had a nightmare.”

Spider sighed, picking at something on his arm.

“Yeah. I get those too.”

You barely stopped to consider what Spider must be going through, too self-involved in your own heartbreak to recognise his own, one that was probably closer to yours that you could have ever thought. You lost Neteyam, but Spider lost Kiri. You both lost a Sully, both lost a love you cared for deeply, more than anyone could ever understand except the other.

“Ok, well, sleep well. Let me know if you need anything.”

You saw Spider turn around and make his way towards the exit, and you could’t help the voice that came out uninvited.

“Can you… stay? Please? I don’t want to be alone.”

Spider stopped in his tracks, still turned away from you, and you watched as the atmosphere of the room shifted, as the silence became thicker than it had been a few moments ago.

“Yeah… yeah, I can stay.” He slowly walked towards your desk chair that had a few clothes thrown carelessly on it, that he removed and put on your desk instead. He sat down, playing with the height and back support controls.

“Goodnight, gorgeous.”

You laughed quietly.

“Spider, I meant stay with me.” You shuffled on one edge of your bed and patted the other side. You watched his eyes go wide and mouth agape, as he stared at you in shock.

“You don’t have to, if you’re uncomfortable with it.”

He shook his head and lowered his eyes to the ground. “No, it’s not that, it’s just…”

“Spider, it’s ok. Forget I asked, ok?”

“Oh, shut up. I want to, ok? I just needed a second to adjust. Jeez.”

In true Spider fashion, he stomped over to the bed and got under the covers, and slowly turned around to face you. This was a strange feeling to adjust to for sure. You’ve never had a normal sized person in this bed before. You’ve never had anyone else in here before except Neteyam. Spider looked tiny by comparison, even though the young man was almost a whole head taller than you. Your synchronised breaths were the only thing filling up the tense, awkward silence.

“This is a little weird.”

You couldn’t help chuckle. Well, at least one of you acknowledged it.

“A little.” You admitted. “But I’m glad you’re here, Spider.” He gave you a boyish, crooked smile, one that you’ve grown up seeing develop, just like the rest of him had. You never really paid attention to Spider before. To you, he was just your weird, Tarzan-impersonator, lanky and smelly friend, someone that was just always there. After Neteyam, you never really paid attention to anyone, especially of the opposite sex. Why would you? Any second spent on such affairs was a second wasted, in your mind. But now, Neteyam was gone. Neteyam would move on, and he’d find a mate, whether in the Metkayina or back here, if he ever return. It was time for you to pay attention, it seemed. And you did.

Spider grew up into a beautiful man. He was tall and strong, a testimony to the entire life dedicated to living as close to a Na’vi as he possibly could in this body, that was pure muscle. He was completely naked barring a pair of boxers, and even in the cover of darkness, you couldn’t help trace his biceps and pecs, his pronounced collarbones, and settle you gaze on his face, still kind and innocent, still the same kid you’ve known your whole life.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” you smiled a little, almost bashful that he caught you, not that you were in any way subtle about it.

“You’re beautiful, you know? I think I’ve always been caught up in my own bullshit to really notice, and I’m sorry for that.” He rolled his eyes, but the blush in his cheeks was so intense it was noticeable even in the dim light coming from the bioluminescent glow of the nature right outside your window.

“You mean caught up in Neteyam.”

It was your turns to blush, hard enough that your cheeks felt like they caught fire. He laughs at you.

“It’s ok. You’re not the only one who knows what it’s like to love someone you can never have, and also not the only one who did things Neytiri would kill you for if she ever found out.” He opened up his arms.

“Come here.”

You hesitated for a second, but couldn’t help the sudden need to be held again, to allow yourself the chance of some sort of connection, some sort of lull in a sea of storms and heartache. Once in his arms, you were once again painfully aware of the difference between him and the man you’ve come to know by heart, the man that still held every part of you hostage, trapped in his hold.

“I know you’ve had a really tough time, and I know that you’re angry, and that most of all, you’re sad that it’s over. I am, too. But the rest of us are still here, you know? The rest of the world is still here. And I think maybe it’s time you give it a chance. Who knows what will happen?”

“How can you be so ok with it? They left us. They abandoned us.” His hand was calloused, but warm and gentle and it caressed up and down your back, and the touch, so familiar and yet so different, brought tears in your eyes as you found yourself wishing once more other hands, bigger and bluer, could do it instead.

“They had no choice. You really think any of them would abandon their home, their family, the forest… any of it, if they could help it?”

You were surprised at Spider’s words and way of thinking, so much more nuanced and level-headed than yours. You knew he was right. You knew it in your head that you shouldn’t blame any of them, shouldn’t blame him, that this was probably even harder for them that it would ever be for you, and yet still, your head and your heart rarely ever got along or saw eye to eye. Your heart was aching, shooting its poisoned blood all throughout your body with every heartbeat, trickling onto every cell, every ounce of you it could get to, making a mess out of you, leaving you reeling and broken, full of hatred and resentment.

“Don’t you… miss her?” He sighed, and stilled his hand movement on the nape of your neck. “I do. I miss them all. But this is a chance to prove myself, to live and show people that I am more than the Sullys’ little pet. And I will take this opportunity and give it everything I got. I suggest you do the same.”

“You should sleep. I’m gonna kick your ass in practice tomorrow otherwise.”

And so you did. And for the first time in months, you had a peaceful night.

Ten months older, I won't give in

Now that I'm clean, I'm never gonna risk it

The peace didn’t last, as it never seemed to, as Norm burst in the lab one day when you were doing some experiments.

“Kid. I just heard from Jake.”

The mention of Jake’s name stilled you in your tracks. The name and the names associated with it could always do that, will always do that, even though it’s been months. You knew Jake would never risk their cover to get in touch, so whatever the reason for this was, it was serious. You felt a lump in your throat, restricting your airways, making the breaths you took shallow and uneven.

“What’s the matter?”

”It’s Kiri. Something happened to her underwater. She’s unconscious. Jake asked us to come right away.”

Kiri… your sister in all the ways that mattered, you loved this girl with all your heart. The thought of anything bad happening to her was unthinkable to you. Another thought crept unwelcome in your mind, increasing the lump now completely obstructing your breath, that got stuck in your airways. Spider…

Trying to calm your thoughts, you spoke, and the voice scratched your throat painfully on its way out.

“Did you t-… did you tell him?”

“He’s out in the forest. There is no time. Me and Max are going now. Kid… I think you should come with.”

Eyebrows raised and mouth agape, you struggled to gather your thoughts enough to speak, only soft mumbles coming out instead.

“W-wh-“

“Because I think there’s a lot left unsaid. I know you’re angry, and you have a right to be, far be it from me to tell you how to feel, but…” he sighed, and you could tell he felt uneasy speaking to you about this. “Spider got some closure. You didn’t. Take it from an old man, life’s too short to not have some peace of mind. Kiri’s unwell, and if something happens to her, you will regret for the rest of your life not having said a proper goodbye when they left, when they wanted to.”

“I know it’s not what you want to hear, but they did think they were protecting you by leaving. You know they love you, kid. You’re their sister, their best friend. You’re as good as Jake’s daughter. They wouldn’t have left if they ever thought they had a choice.”

“Look, you don’t have to come. I just want what’s best for you, and I think isolating yourself the way you’ve been doing for months isn’t what’s best for you. Just come. Help us save Kiri, say your peace to the Sully family and then maybe you can move on, honey. And who knows… maybe you and Spider…”

You refused to think about his last sentence and focused on how your mind was short-circuiting at his other words, at his desire for you to join, at the thought of seeing them again. Of seeing him again. Your heart was beating so hard it felt like it was trying to escape your ribcage, and you ran your hand up and down your arms in order to remove the sweat that was gathering on your skin. You knew you probably shouldn’t, you knew that you were better off never seeing them again and forgetting the way his touch and his presence and his voice still had the power to make your knees buckle under the weight of what he meant to you, of the calamitous love you will always feel for him, but another thought, more pressing and urgent, more demanding, made you speak before your mind could intervene.

“Fine. Let’s go.”

The drought was the very worst

When the flowers that we'd grown together died of thirst

Taglist: @liluvtojineteyam @pinkpantheris @netemoon @fanboyluvr@bananafruityawne @liluvtojineteyam @zaddyneteyamlovergirl @netemoon @www-interludeshadow-com

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beebeetheclown · 3 months

Note

Hey! I have an imagine request for domonic from banshees

Hi thank you for this request💕

I was obsessed with Barry’s character in this film and am happy to write about him for you though I don’t write many imagines but I hope I did this right and you enjoy it🥰

Dominic Kearney Imagine

Dominic Kearney x reader

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~🌿~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Living alone had its pros and cons. You liked the quiet and it was just easier in general to live alone, but if you ever planned to go out for a long period of time, you always had to find someone to look over the house and take care of the three cows you had. You didn’t trust a lot of the people around you, you worried that they’d steal something when you were away or that they would do a poor job of looking after the cows. Dominic was the only one you really seemed to trust.

He didn’t live far from you, so you thought it wouldn’t be that much of a bother to make him be the one to guard the house and cows while you were away. He was always happy to do it as it always gave him something to do; he grew bored quite often.

As the two of you got to know each other more, he would sometimes stop by your house without telling you that he was coming over. He’d knock on the door and he would have a smile on his face every time you would open it for him.

“I hope I’m not being a bother to you.” He would say. You’d let him come into the house as he would keep you company wherever you felt lonely. Sometimes, you would let him stay for dinner or while you did house work. He talked a lot, sometimes he talked so much that he would just ramble on and on and you wouldn’t even really pay attention, you’d just nod your head and act like you were listening to him.

One time, he came out to help you with the cows. He pet them and helped you feed them. He helped you name the three cows, calling them Ferguson, Penelope, and Leonard. As he was petting Ferguson a thought came up and he shared it without thinking, it was a thing he always did, he would share his thoughts out loud without thinking first,

“Have you ever thought about having one of these guys for dinner? Ferguson looks like he'd make a good burger.”

“Dominic! Bloody hell, not ever have I thought like that.”

“Right, sorry, sorry. It was just a thought I had I guess. What’s for dinner anyways?”

“I don’t know, ask your father.”

“Can’t I just stay here? I’m sure you’re cooking up something better than my daddy.”

“Dominic, you have been staying for dinner for the past three days, I think it’s time you go back to your own place for dinner.”

He scratched the back of his head, “Yeah, okay, I guess you’re right. My daddy will probably like me to eat with him anyways. He always gets bored easily that one.” He took his hand off Ferguson and began to walk towards the gate, “Well, if you’re not having me for dinner, I guess I should be heading off then.”

“Okay, good bye Dominic.”

“Goodbye, do you think I could come by tomorrow?”

“Oh, I don’t know, I have quite a lot to do.”

“I could always help you out.”

“We’ll see okay? Now you get back home.”

He nodded his head a little, “Alright, I’ll get back home, Goodbye again.”

“Goodbye.”

He began to walk back home now and you watched him leave. The truth was that you didn’t think you could bear to have another meal with him, he talked so much even when he had taken bites of his food. Dominic always had so much to say. You needed to eat dinner in silence for once. You did like Dominic, but he was just a bit much at times.

On that same day, he came back to see you just as you were cleaning up the dishes. He knocked on the door four times before he began to call your name then he knocked on the door again. He kept hollering and knocking until you had opened the door. It was a little dark out now as the sun had set, but you could still see the scars on his face. The scars were not there earlier that day.

“Dominic, what’s happened to your face?”

“My daddy didn’t really like me sayin’ that I didn’t like his cooking. I guess it made him a little angry.” He said with an awkward little giggle. “I know I wasn’t supposed to come here but I didn’t want to stay with him.”

“Come in, come in. Let me fix you up.” You put a hand on his shoulder and allowed him to step inside your small home, “Sit right at the table, I’ll clean you up.”

With your hand still on his shoulder, you guided him over to the table and pulled a chair out for him and he sat. You went to the sink and got a clean washcloth and ran it under the water before walking over to him. You sat right next to him at the table and faced him. You brought the cloth to his face and lightly dabbed where his scars were, wiping away the blood. His blue eyes watched yours the whole time you cleaned up his scars.

“I hope I’m not being a bother to you.” He said quietly, “I guess I just didn’t really know where else to go.”

“No, not at all, don’t worry about it. I am always here to help you Dominic.”

“But why?”

You lower the cloth down into your lap and smile at him, “You help me with things like taking care of my cows and looking after the house when I’m gone.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” You could tell he had something else t say but for once, he was hesitant.

“What is it?”

“What is what?”

“What is on your mind?”

“A lot of things.” He replied with a little grin, “Which would you like to know first.”

“You were hesitant about something, I could tell, what were you being so hesitant about.”

He inhaled, then let a sigh leave him, “I don’t know, you probably won’t like the idea very much.”

“Just tell me anyway.” You brought your thumb to brush over the scar that was on his cheek just below his eye.

It got quiet for a moment, “Do you think maybe I could, I don’t know, stay here for the night? My daddy is probably still angry with me for runnin’ out of the house, or he’s probably wanging himself to sleep.”

You couldn’t help but giggle a little at the last part, Dominic wasn’t very good at keeping private information to himself.

“Oh, I don’t know-”

“I can sleep right on that couch there, I won’t be a bother to you. I promise I don’t snore, at least I don’t think I do.”

You weren’t sure if you liked the idea of him spending the night, but you also didn’t want to force him to go back home, “Alright, but just for this one night and then you go back home.”

He got excited, “Really? No one’s ever let me have a sleepover before you know? Thank you!” He leaned over and gave you a hug. You were taken back by the hug at first but them hugged him back,

“Yes, you’re welcome, but just for this one night.”

“Just for this one night.” He repeated.

He got up when the hug ended and walked over to the small couch. He immediately lied down as soon as he got on it, “It is not as comfortable as I thought.”

“Well, would you rather sleep with the smelly old cows?”

“No, no. Don’t make me sleep with the cows. Here is just fine.” He sat up again, “It would be nice to have a blanket though.”

“This is no motel you know? I am not your servant.” You teased, “But I’ll get you some blankets, I won’t make you sleep cold.” You went to get him some extra blankets you had in your bedroom and when you brought them out to him, you sat down next to him, “I don’t have many extras, I hope this is enough.”

“I think it will be enough for me, thank you. I didn’t make you take blankets off of your bed did I?”

“No, I’ve got my own, you’re alright.” He fidgeted with his sleeves then looked at you deeply without saying anything, “What is it now?” You asked softly.

The next thing he did took you by surprise as you weren’t expecting it at all. He leaned in and kissed your lips. It was a very quick kiss; it was the type of kiss little elementary school children would give each other. You looked at him blankly, not knowing what to do or say.

“I’m sorry,” He said, “I’m sorry, that was silly of me wasn’t it?” He looked down at his lap then laughed a little, “I guess I’ve made a mistake haven’t I?”

You felt a little bad for him as you could tell he was embarrassed by his actions, “No, it’s okay. Don’t, uh, don’t worry about it.” The room got quiet for a moment, “I think I’ll be off to bed now.” You said.

“But it isn’t even late yet.”

You couldn’t help by lie to him, you felt a little awkward, “Yes, but I guess I’m just feeling very tired.”

“Oh, okay.” He replied, sounding a little disappointed, “Goodnight then I guess.”

“Goodnight Dominic.” You stood from the couch and when you made it a couple feet away from him he spoke again, “I didn’t make you dislike me did I?”

You turned to face him, “No, of course not Dominc. I’m fine, really. Just try and sleep now, okay?”

He nodded his head, “Okay, I will sleep now.”

When you made it back to your room, you stayed lying wide awake in your bed. You didn’t know how you felt about Dominic kissing you. You never thought of him that way, then again, you didn’t dislike feeling his lips on your lips.

Maybe you liked the kiss because you felt sorry for poor little Dominic, maybe you liked it out of sorrowness. Or maybe, you liked the kiss because you actually enjoyed it.

…

#barry keoghan #the banshees of inisherin #dominic kearney #dominic kearney x reader #barry keoghan x reader

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errorryx · 1 year

Text

grian's confession booth

read on ao3 | limited life ensemble, 3.4k words

Under the impression that Grian can't hear them, some of his fellow server members take the opportunity to spill the beans on things they probably would never have told him otherwise.

—

Joel hadn’t known what to do when Grian woke him and Jimmy early in the morning, with a look on his face that was desperately trying to be a smile. Once they were both properly awake and had stopped groaning about it, Grian had launched into an explanation that had done very little to soothe their concerns.

It’s a Watcher thing, he’d said. I’ll be back before you know it, hopefully by tomorrow. I’m sure the two of you will keep me safe while I’m gone, right?

Jimmy agreed almost immediately, and Joel a little more grudgingly, still working under the assumption that Grian was pranking them. It wasn’t until Grian climbed up on the llama, said his goodbyes, and went perfectly, horrifyingly still that Joel was even partially convinced otherwise.

He stared at Grian for a long time after, waiting for him to mess up and reveal his hand. But Grian didn’t move. He didn’t even blink. Joel made a point of watching his stomach for a while to see if it was moving, and he was pretty sure Grian wasn’t breathing either.

“D’you think his heart’s still beating?” he asked, casting a nervous glance in Jimmy’s direction.

The unreadable expression on Jimmy’s face slowly melted back into a more familiar look of contemplation, and Joel breathed a sigh of relief. “Dunno,” Jimmy said. “S’pose there’s only one way to find out.”

“Yeah,” Joel agreed. “You should check his pulse.”

“Me? It was your idea, wasn’t it?”

“What? I’m not touching him! Not when he’s all—” Joel gestured. “You know.”

Jimmy crossed his arms, the first hints of a well-worn scowl starting to form on his face. “So you expect me to do it instead?”

“Well, you’re the one who knows about this stuff, not me. Whatever your deal is.”

“Whatever my deal is? What’s that supposed to mean?” Jimmy asked, immediately defensive. “You don’t see me just up and leaving my body, do you? That’s a Grian thing. I’ve got nothing to do with it.”

“Whatever,” Joel huffed. “It doesn’t matter, anyway.” He didn’t want to argue with Jimmy while Grian was gone, or he’d have nobody left.

But after a while, Jimmy left anyway, leaving Joel to watch Grian on his own. There was something about hanging out with a silent, unmoving Grian that made Joel want to talk and talk and never stop, just to fill the silence. He rambled on about his plan to build a submarine, built a tower out of carpet, and got to work flooding the mansion. Before he knew it, he was leaning on the fencepost of Grian’s enclosure, prattling on about nothing at all. Thank god no one else was there to hear him.

“Jimmy never tells me anything,” he complained. “Neither of you do. Yesterday I didn’t even know this was something you could do, and now here you are, dead to the world or whatever. It’s freaking me out. Couldn’t you at least have closed your eyes?”

Grian didn’t answer. He sat perfectly still atop his llama, his eyes fixed on a spot somewhere off in the distance. Joel followed his line of vision, but he didn’t see much of anything in that direction.

“I’m not really mad, you know,” he said. “Just—I’m worried about you, okay? I know that’s not very bad of me, but I can’t help it. I know Jimmy’s worried too, he worries about everything.”

The uncomfortable silence lingered a little too long for Joel’s taste. Finally, the llama interrupted with a loud bray right in his ear, making him jump almost a foot in the air.

“Oi! Don’t do that.” Joel glared at the llama, who stared right back at him. The stupid llama looked more alert than Grian did. “You better not tell Jimmy I’m sat over here worrying, alright, ‘cause I’m doing just fine. Having a fantastic time out here all by myself.”

If Grian was listening, Joel hoped he was convinced. That would make one of them, at least.

—

“Oh, good, there you are, Grian,” Martyn told Grian’s unmoving form. “I’m really sorry I killed you. It was self-defense, I swear. I hope this doesn’t make us enemies when you get back, but for now we just need to get you somewhere safe.”

He started digging down, taking Grian along with him. Hopefully Joel and Jimmy wouldn’t attack him again, because he really didn’t want Grian to die a third time. He hadn’t wanted him to die a second time either, but it had all happened so quickly.

“I hope you’re doing alright,” he told Grian as he dug, “whatever you’re up to. Kick some ass. Or don’t, if that’s not what you’re going for.”

It wasn’t much longer before Jimmy and Joel made it back to spawn and immediately started digging down to find Grian. None of them died this time around, and Martyn managed to convince them that he wanted to protect Grian, too—especially after that death, which he did feel rather bad about. Joel and Jimmy left, leaving Martyn alone with Grian again.

“Anyway,” he said. “Like I said. Hope you’re doing okay out there. Get home safe. Don’t destroy yourself and doom the rest of us to a life of eternal torment.” He hesitated. “The occasional torment is still okay.”

Grian didn’t answer. Martyn began digging out some more space around him, boxing him into a corner. “I’ll be here if you want to talk about it, or something,” he said, feeling a bit foolish for even speaking the words. “Yeah. Whatever.”

Grian’s eyes didn’t refocus when Martyn was blocking his line of sight. Martyn placed a torch down right beside Grian’s head, just to see if his pupils would dilate.

They didn’t.

“Huh.” He took a step back, breaking the torch. “You know, maybe it’s best if we hide you a bit.”

He filled the hole he’d dug up to the surface with water, letting it fall from the ceiling right in front of Grian. That way, it’d be easier to get in and out. He needed to invite some other people down here, or he’d start to go mad.

“Hey, Cleo!” he called, faintly hearing her voice from above. “Come down here and check this out!”

—

“Here he is!” Martyn said, making a ta-da gesture with both arms. “He looks just like a fortune teller, doesn’t he?”

He does,” Cleo agreed. “The water does him a lot of favors. Hard to tell there’s anything the matter with him.”

She peered through the water stream at Grian, who stood perfectly upright, staring right through her. The water obscured most of what was uncanny about him, but it couldn’t hide his impeccable posture. The real Grian was always hunching his shoulders, bending his knees, constantly plotting his next move, but this Grian reminded her more of a mannequin than of himself.

“What’s her fortune, Grian?” she heard Martyn ask.

Cleo laughed, idly brushing her fingers against the now-dried blood she’d smeared over her cheeks. “That I’ll die an untimely death, most likely.”

“I’d say that applies to all of us, doesn’t it?”

“Mmm.” She took her eyes off Grian for a moment to give Martyn a scrutinizing look. “You wouldn’t happen to know what he’s up to, would you?”

“Oh, I haven’t got a clue,” Martyn said. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

She took a step closer. “I do hope you’d know better than to lie to me.”

“I wouldn’t lie about this, Cleo. Grian and I, we…we don’t talk much about this kind of thing.”

Cleo believed him. When Martyn started sounding pathetic, he was usually being honest.

“What about back home?” Martyn asked. “Does he talk about this stuff on Hermitcraft?”

“Not to me,” Cleo said dismissively. “You’d have to go to Pearl about that, I expect. If anyone knows, Pearl knows.”

“Then why don’t you ask her?” Martyn suggested.

“Pearl’s not so easy to threaten,” Cleo said, allowing a small smile to creep across her face. “Besides, it’s really none of my business. He’ll be back soon enough.”

“Right, yeah. Of course.”

Cleo had no reason not to take Grian at his word—or Joel and Jimmy at theirs, since they were the ones that had passed on Grian’s message. But she couldn’t help wondering what would happen if Grian didn’t return in a timely fashion. Would they leave him here for the rest of the game, letting his clock run out naturally? Would red players flock to him, unable to resist the temptation of an easy kill?

“Let’s get some other people down here to have their fortunes read,” she said briskly. “Keep him company.” No use letting herself brood over hypotheticals.

—

“Hi, Grian!” Scar said. “I’m so sorry, but it had to happen. Thank you.”

“Scar, this isn’t a confessional,” Bdubs laughed at him. “He’s a fortune-teller.”

“Hey, it can be whatever you want it to be,” Scott said. “For Scar it’s a confessional, for the rest of us it’s fortune-tellings…”

“Thank you, Scott.” Scar hopped into the water stream, poking his head out on the other side so he could breathe. “I’m sorry I killed you, Grian, but it was part of the moment. You understand the moment, I’m sure. Things happen!”

When he opened his eyes a moment later, he realized how close he was. Grian’s eyes were hollow and unblinking, and his lips were pressed firmly together, neither smiling nor frowning. If Scar didn’t know any better, he would have thought he was looking at a statue of Grian, not his real human body.

He pulled back as quickly as he could without making it look like he was panicking, and turned his back on Grian entirely as he faced the others. “That’s a relief. He said he forgives me!”

No one seemed impressed, but Scar didn’t care. There were too many people around for him to say what was really on his mind, anyway.

—

“This is weird,” Etho said.

Until right this second, he hadn’t fully considered how weird it would be to talk to Grian one-on-one like this. He hadn’t gotten a good look at Grian in all the chaos earlier, so this was his first time taking it all in.

“Cleo said I should go talk to you,” Etho said, “and I guess she was right, because this is really putting things into perspective. Like, sure, I spent a ton of time mining today and only found two diamonds, and then I died to a creeper! But it could be lot worse. I could have died twice and found no diamonds.”

The worst thing about it was how subtle it was. Etho couldn’t put his finger on anything specifically wrong, but he could feel the tension in the air just from his proximity to Grian. Grian’s…body. His temporarily unused body.

“I’m about to turn yellow, actually,” Etho said. “Two minutes. Comin’ up pretty soon, and I think I’m gonna go kill somebody once it happens. ‘Course, you’re already yellow, so you’re safe.”

Grian didn’t answer. Etho shuffled his feet, wondering how long this conversation was supposed to go on.

“And you know what?” he said. “Bdubs said he’d ditch Scar and Cleo for me in a heartbeat. His exact words.” Grian did not seem shocked to hear it.

“I don’t really know what to do with that,” Etho admitted. “I don’t really know what to do with Bdubs in general, but you know what I mean. I swear, sometimes I think we have polar opposite brains—I don’t know how we put up with each other.

“Bdubs loves swearing his undying loyalty to people—well, mostly to me, I think. Hard to wrap my head around it sometimes, but there’s only two outcomes, y’know? Either he’s lying, which would be bad, obviously, or he means, it, which…

“Well. We’ve done this whole thing before. I don’t know if it’s a good idea. I don’t know if I want to betray my whole team for him or whatever. Which is dumb, right? It’s just a silly game, I know they’ll all forgive me after it’s over, but Bdubs…we don’t have a great track record in these games, the two of us.

“I guess you’d understand that better than anyone.”

Grian didn’t answer.

“This was weird,” Etho said. “This was really weird. I’m gonna go.”

He took one last look at Grian before he returned to the surface. Grian still hadn’t moved, but then again, maybe he had. Maybe he was moving so slightly that Etho didn’t even notice. Usually Etho was a pretty perceptive guy, but he had his blind spots.

“You better not tell Bdubs,” he said, and left.

—

“Hey, Grian!” Impulse said. “Heard you had a rough time this session, huh?”

He’d already seen Grian when the boogeyman had been chosen, but Impulse was very distracted at the time. Without a bunch of people laughing and talking around him, Grian looked downright ghostly, and Impulse couldn’t say it wasn’t getting to him.

“I’m sorry you died,” he said. “I feel really bad about that, even though I didn’t have anything to do with it. Funny, right? I had something to do with someone else’s death, and I don’t feel bad about that at all. Not sure what’s up with that.”

Grian’s blank expression was a little warped through the water, and for a moment, Impulse almost thought Grian was giving him a look of exasperation. “Okay, okay,” Impulse said, “I know exactly what’s up with it. I guess I can be honest with you, since you’re kinda down for the count right now. We’re all here to let loose, right? Nothing wrong with a bit of murder between friends! It’s just a game, and Pearl and I will go back to being friends again once it’s over.”

Grian didn’t answer, but that was okay. Impulse didn’t want anyone else to hear what he was about to say. It was a good thing Martyn had set this up, because after a long day of contemplating murder, it was getting difficult for him to keep his thoughts to himself.

“I’m planning on killing Bdubs when I get to red.” He let out a long sigh of relief. “Gosh, that feels good to admit. Been keeping that one quiet for a while. I’ve always wanted to have one of those big dramatic moments like the rest of you, and I’ve never gotten the chance. It's only fair, right? Sure, winning would be nice, but all I can really think about is the moment I finally get my turn to do something people will remember.

I don’t think that’ll make a big difference to my teammates—not to Tango and Skizz, at least, they’re not the biggest fans of Bdubs right now. But I can’t help thinking if I had to choose between keeping my team safe or focusing on my plan, I’m not sure I would—”

He paused, hearing some noises from up above. “Skizz and Tango are on their way, I think—yeah, here they come.” Impulse took a step back to let Tango and Skizz out of the water. “Hey, guys!”

“Hey, Impulse!” Tango said, stepping over the cobblestone base of the water stream. “Did I hear you talking about us?”

“All good things, I’m sure,” Skizz added, jumping out behind him.

“Of course! I was just telling Grian about our beautiful new tower,” Impulse said, prompting an irritated noise from Tango. “He said all the best towers are asymmetrical nowadays.”

They seemed to believe him, thankfully. And if Grian had heard any of Impulse’s secrets, he didn’t breathe a word.

—

“Hey, Grian. Just checking to see if you were back yet before I went to sleep.”

Pearl had seen Grian like this before, here and there, but it didn’t make it any easier. Even after everything, she wasn’t immune to getting the creeps.

“A lot happened today,” she told him. “Lots of people died. Including me! Twice! I thought I had this one in the bag, you know, and now look at me, I’m yellow! Though admittedly, there’s a lot of that going around.”

Pearl was pretty comfortable talking to Grian like this. She’d tested him before, telling him all manner of secrets and bits of gossip that came to mind. She knew he wouldn’t be able to resist bringing it up afterwards, and he’d never mentioned any of it to her.

“I just can’t get into it like I did last time,” she admitted. “Playing to win seems a little pointless, doesn’t it? I already found out what happens when I win. It doesn’t fix anything. I really wish you’d warned me.

“I don’t know how you still manage it. You’ve kept trying to win all the way through every one of these games. I’m not sure I want to keep trying anymore.”

She poked him in the stomach, just for good measure. If all else failed, she’d always be able to get a reaction out of Grian that way. He didn’t move, which was proof enough for her.

“Thanks, Grian,” Pearl sighed. “Good luck out there.”

—

“Well, hey there, Grian! Thought I’d stop by one last time.”

Everyone else had gone to sleep for the night, but Scar couldn’t keep himself away. He’d waited for spawn to be deserted as long as he dared, but Grian had told everyone he’d only be gone for a day, and Scar didn’t want to miss his chance. “Can you hear anything people have been saying to you?” he asked.

Grian didn’t answer.

“I’m just going to assume you can’t, for the sake of my own well-being.” Scar checked his watch, still ticking down the time as merrily as ever. He could swear that his timer had gone a little wonky in Grian’s absence, though it was hard to tell in all the chaos. He’d killed five people today, but hadn’t gotten full credit for all of them. Hopefully Grian would set things straight when he got back.

Grian had been one of those kills, and even hours later, Scar’s head was still rushing from it. He sat back against the wall, facing the opposite direction from Grian. Scar had learned his lesson earlier about getting up close and personal with him.

“I said I was sorry, earlier,” Scar said. “I don’t know how true that is.”

He felt bad almost immediately after saying it. “I shouldn’t say that. I do feel bad, you know! I’m not like—like you, or Joel, or Bdubs, I guess. I love causing some chaos, but things settle down and I start regretting it a little. And I do regret it, but I don’t feel sorry, and I’m not sure why.

“I’m sorry for not being sorry, I guess.”

Grian didn’t answer. Usually when Grian was silent, which was really only when he was asleep, Scar could listen for his breathing. This time, he heard nothing but the trickling water between them.

Grian had always been a constant, in more ways than one. Scar could depend on him to stir things up whenever they were getting too boring. He could always count on finding Grian, if not in the center of the action, then right on the edge instead, either orchestrating the chaos or just observing it—drawn there like a magnet the way Scar was drawn to him. But the one thing Scar never thought he’d lose was the simple fact of Grian’s physical presence.

Scar had thought about killing Grian plenty of times, but the only time he’d managed to do it was when Grian wasn’t Grian at all. No death cry, no promise of vengeance. Not even a breath.

“Don’t worry,” he said, turning his head to the side to catch Grian’s silhouette in the corner of his vision, as close as he was willing to get. “I’ll make it up to you. Once you get back, I’ll work up the nerve to kill you for real. I’ll make you proud.”

Grian didn’t answer, but Scar could envision his smile. Not his feverish post-death laughter, but the softer, rarer expression of fondness he made when he thought no one was looking. Scar had caught only wisps of it in the past, but if he squinted, he could almost see it through his lashes.

He didn’t mean to fall asleep like that, leaning up against the wall of a tiny cave in the ground. But he couldn’t resist the thought of Grian waking him up the next morning, with either a friendly smile or a sword through his stomach.

“Goodnight, Grian,” he said.

Grian didn’t answer, which was just fine with Scar. It was safer that way.

—

if you read this all the way through and enjoyed, please consider reblogging!

(also, since i've been asked about previous fics, you're welcome to interpret and tag this as shipping if you like. i intentionally left it up to interpretation.)

#grian #goodtimeswithscar #smallishbeans #inthelittlewood #zombiecleo #ethoslab #impulsesv #pearlescentmoon #limited life spoilers #my stuff #my writing #lml

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paintyoureyeswithavividmind · 10 months

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close to home | chapter twenty four

plot: Daryl finds out that the reader set off, while the reader regrets her decision while she finds disaster on the road at every turn

series masterlist

Pairing: Eventual Daryl Dixon x f!reader Word Count: 1,116 Warnings: violence, blood, typical twd A/N: thank you for reading!!!

Daryl sighed with relief when he saw Michonne through the bushes and made his way toward her. Noah was on his trail, seeing all the unasked questions on her face. She led him and Noah into the church, where everyone was asking questions at once.

Daryl explained what happened and how Noah knew Beth. He explained what happened to Carol and how the hospital worked. That both Carol and Beth were now slaves there and that they needed to help them.

He didn’t notice you weren’t there in the chaos of explaining everything to Rick, and when he looked around, Rick noticed.

“I gotta talk to you,” Rick said, “About (Y/N).”

Daryl looked around the room again as his heart sped up. He didn’t see the damn cat, either. “What about her?”

“She’s gone,”

His mouth went dry, and his head swooned. “Whatta ya mean she gone?” He yelled.

Rick rubbed his head and took a step back, “Abraham. They wanted to leave. I needed their help. Glenn made a deal. They’re on their way to D.C.”

“What?” Daryl asked.

“She went with them. She couldn’t part from Maggie. She told me… she asked me to tell you she was sorry and knew you would understand.”

“I don’t!” Daryl yelled, grabbing his crossbow and heading towards the door.

“Where are you going?”

“To find her! Bring ‘em back,” Daryl said.

“Daryl…” Rick caught up with the archer and grabbed his arm. “They left this morning. I have a map of what route they’re taking. Once we figure out Beth and Carol, we’re going after them.”

***

thirteen hours earlier

You were sitting on the bus by yourself, your arms crossed and your legs propped up on the backrest of the seat in front of you. Tora was lying next to you, sleeping soundly, and your bag kept bumping into your feet.

Your side was hurting, but it was better this morning. With all the pain meds getting you through the worst, you were sure it would get better now. It still ached, but you’d managed to perfectly fine this morning. And Rick made sure you took enough of the medkit to see yourself through. You cried when you said goodbye to him and Carl, and thanked them endlessly for letting you be a part of the family.

It was hot in the bus, and being locked in here with people who hadn’t bathed in who knows how long didn’t help. And being so heartbroken over leaving the rest of your family only made things worse. You didn’t know what happened to Daryl and Carol. They could be dead for all you knew; you had to live with it now. You could only hope and pray that they’re okay and will be leaving to follow you soon.

As much as you hated leaving everyone and how much you longed for your best friend already, you didn’t regret it. Being with Maggie, with Glenn, they were your family in a way that nobody else was. She was your blood, and he was basically a brother now. You couldn’t have let them go. So you didn’t regret your decision. It just really sucked that it was basically made for you.

You ignored the group as they talked. You weren’t interested in hearing Eugene ramble on about how he will save the world. What he said didn’t make sense anyway. And you certainly didn’t care about listening to Rosita talk about haircuts.

You just wanted to sulk in the back of the bus and wish that things were different.

You rolled your eyes when you heard Eugene ramble on about the Human Genome Project and then closed them to hopefully get some sleep.

Some sort of explosion up front made you jump, and the bus shifted dramatically as Abraham tried to get control of the vehicle. You grabbed the seat tightly and looked ahead, just in time to watch Abraham hit a car, and then you were airborne.

Your head smacked against the side of the bus as it landed, and you yelled in pain. Your vision was blurry as you tried to sit up. There was broken glass and smoke filling the air, and you stumbled as you tried to get up.

Tora was meowing in anger, and you looked for her, wincing, and finally found her. The bag landed on her, and she was all tangled up but seemed okay for the most part. You heard Abraham calling for Eugene, and Glenn came to check on you. Once he saw you were okay, he gave your arm a squeeze and then went to help Abraham.

You quickly knelt down and put Tora in the bag. You could hear the walkers assembling outside; the last thing you needed was for her to bolt. Slinging the bag on your back, you grabbed your scattered weapons and walked towards the door. Eugene and Tara had already made their way out.

Maggie yelled at you to stand back and let them handle it that you were still healing, but you ignored her and worked to kill a walker and then some.

When they finally dropped, you knelt on the ground and breathed heavily. Tora was meowing in the bag, and you let her out.

“Are you okay?” Maggie asked.

You nodded and looked over when Abraham started yelling--again. You rolled your eyes and grabbed the water Maggie offered you.

There was nothing you wanted more than to sit down, but the group wanted to keep moving, so you didn’t complain.

***

You reached a small town a few hours after sunset and found a library to hold up in for the night. You were more than happy to see where you would be staying and couldn’t wait to lie down and sleep for the night.

But there were things to do first, and you all worked together to get the place in tip-top shape. Before long, the place was decent enough, and you sat down to drink toilet water and eat the little rations you had left.

Tora curled up near your legs and stared up at you with her big eyes, and you felt a wide range of emotions. You would miss seeing Carl give her love and attention and then watch her offer affection to anyone who would give her food.

You reached down and gave her pets behind the ear and then her belly. Then you finally laid down and slept.

#daryl x y/n #daryl x reader #daryl dixion x reader #the walking dead daryl #daryl fanfiction #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon #twd #daryl twd #daryl x you

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mvltixcc · 2 months

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Girls Like Girls - Robin Buckley X Cheerleader!Reader

Summary: Robin has a crush on the new girl in town. Y/N is also a new member of the cheer squad, which means Robin sees her all the time at games and other school events. Unfortunately, Robin is put in a tough situation. She's scared to talk to her because the cheerleaders have a reputation of being mean girls and she fears that Y/N may not feel the same. Little does Robin know that Y/N does not appear as she seems. Y/N becomes best friends with Eddie, which seems unlikely at the surface due to different social circles. This leads to rumors of course and word spreads like wildfire here at Hawkins, which then makes Robin's feelings even more confusing. After hanging out with Steve and the gang, Robin starts to see a different side to Y/N. Will they end up together or will they just remain friends?

Word Count: 2.2k

Pinterest board for inspiration

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

Chapter 4

“Listen, all I’m saying is that they hate us ‘bottom of the food chain’ folk because they don’t like that we’re different. But you know what I say to that? Screw em’! Who wants to be like those boring rich assholes anyways?!” Eddie proclaimed as he drove you and Robin home. He tried to make Robin feel better about what had happened, lord knows he knew what it’s like to be treated that way. He was labeled the town freak after all. Eddie’s actions made Robin feel guilty for the way she had thought and spoke to him as of late. Maybe he really is a nice guy after all. The pair of you were still holding hands and you had rubbed her hand with your thumb to soothe her. Robin was feeling an emotion she had never felt before and she was unsure of what it was, peace maybe? She couldn't tell, but she didn’t mind it.

“Alright, we’re here.” Eddie said as he pulled up to your house. You and Robin had both piled out of the van and made your way to the driver side window.

“Thanks for picking us up, Eds. You’re a real lifesaver.” Y/N said with gratitude.

“Yeah, thanks Munson.” Robin said, still feeling guilty.

“Don’t mention it, I’d do it again any day! Now get inside before the little assholes throw eggs at you.” Eddie stated.

You waved goodbye and led Robin to the front door, opening it and getting inside. Both of you made your way upstairs and headed to your room. “Whoa.” Robin said in awe as you opened the door and turned on the light.

“Is that a bad 'whoa'?” You chuckled.

“No no, I just- I wasn’t expecting your room to look this way I guess.” Robin stammered. Your room had sage green walls that had photos of friends and family on one side, while the other was lined with a few movie posters. Your bedding was green and black, which seemed in theme. You watched Robin as she toured around your room in shock. “I guess I was expecting something more-”

“Pink and girly?” You interrupted as she browsed your vinyl collection. She nodded in response. “Yeah I’m sure that’s what a lot of people think. They think that because I’m a cheerleader, well was a cheerleader, that I like all things pink and frilly and cute. Not that there’s anything wrong with liking those things, it’s just not me at all. Oh god I’m rambling again aren’t I? Oh god I’m sorry.” You giggled nervously as you sat on your bed.

“No no it’s okay really! I don’t mind it, I like rambling. I ramble myself sometimes.” Robin said as she smiled. She made her way over to your bed and sat next to you. “You know, I was expecting to be going back to my place-” Robin began to say.

“Do you want me to call Eddie again? I can tell him to take you home if you’d like! I just figured it was getting late and I don’t live too far from Steve so we could just come here to get away fast ya know?” You interrupted.

“Oh I’m not complaining, I just wasn’t expecting my night to end like this. Here with you. But I don't mind it, I'm glad I'm here actually.” Robin spoke softly. You both sat with one another for a moment, but it didn’t feel awkward. It felt peaceful, almost right. Like she was meant to be here.

You soon got up and went toward your dresser. “Here’s some clothes to wear for the night, the bathroom is just down the hall and to the left if you wanna go change in there.” You said handing her the clothes. She nodded and headed to the bathroom. While she was gone, you had also changed and gotten yourself ready for bed. Robin soon returned and scrunched up her clothes into a ball on the floor, you watched in confusion.

“What are you doing?” You asked.

“I figured I should probably sleep on the floor, it just makes sense ya know?” Robin replied as she sat on the floor. “Do you have a blanket or anything I can use?” She asked. You nodded and handed her a few blankets as well as a pillow.

“Here’s a couple just in case and a pillow so you’re more comfortable.” You said with a small smile. She took them and got herself situated. “I guess we should probably sleep then huh?” You suggested.

“I guess so.” Robin replied.

You turned the lights off and made your way to your bed. “Goodnight Robin, if you need anything at all just let me know okay?” You said crawling into bed.

“I will, goodnight Y/N.” She said turning over and heading to sleep.

Some time had passed before she heard you speak. “Robin? Are you awake?” You asked.

“Yeah, I’m still awake. You?” Robin asked, soon facepalming herself as she realized you were obviously awake as you had asked the question. 'Dumbass!' She thought to herself.

“Yes I am silly.” You giggled. She sighed in relief that you weren’t laughing at her. “You should come up here, I feel bad that you’re on the floor.” You said sitting up and facing her.

“Are you sure? I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable or anything like that.” Robin asked, now facing you as well. You nodded and made a spot for her. She stood from her spot on the floor and crawled in next to you. You moved closer to her after she had gotten settled, you were now facing one another. Robin was grateful that it was mostly dark as she didn’t want you to see how badly she was blushing. Though she is also grateful that the moonlight is peaking through the window as it’s shining onto your face. You were absolutely radiant and Robin couldn’t get enough of you. Robin shuffled closer to you and now both of your foreheads were touching. You giggled and scrunched your nose. God how she loved when you did that. You both lay in the comfort of one another and soon you both drifted off to sleep.

Robin felt a gentle tap on her arm that had woken her up. “Hmm” She cooed as she slowly opened her eyes.

“It’s time to get up Robin, it’s almost noon, silly.” She heard you giggle. She soon sat up and rubbed her eyes. Robin began to yawn and soon the realization had hit her all at once.

“Oh my god I’m gonna be late for work!” Robin proclaimed as she jumped out of the bed. You couldn’t help but let out a giggle as you watched Robin scramble around your room. “I need different clothes, I can’t wear my costume to work oh god!” She was rambling on until she noticed you holding something in your hand. “What uh what is that?” She asked.

“It’s your clothes you goof, I asked Steve if he could pick them up for you since he was already gonna be taking us to work today.” You said handing her the clothes. “He’s downstairs right now, he’s probably eating some of the food I made.”

Robin looked on in confusion. “You made- you made breakfast? For me?” She was a little taken aback.

“Of course I did, I wouldn’t be a good friend if I let you go to work hungry! Plus I owe you after what happened last night.” You stated.

“Well thank you, that's very kind of you. I’m gonna change and then we can go.” Robin said as she headed toward the bathroom.

“Okay, I’ll be downstairs fighting Steve off of the food!” You yelled from the top of the stairs.

“I heard that!” Steve yelled back.

Work was pretty slow that day. Not many people showed up as it was the day after Halloween. They were either hungover from all the partying or still asleep from staying up so late, probably from the high on a sugar rush from all the candy. The three of you pretty much just sat around and watched the movies that played until it was time for your break.

Soon the door swung open. “Hey there losers!”

“Who are you calling lose- oh never mind.” Steve said, turning around and seeing Eddie standing there.

“Well shit, if this is the thanks I get for bringing you all lunch?” Eddie witted as he set the bags of food down as well as the drinks.

“How did you know it was-” Robin began to ask.

“I always bring Y/N lunch when she’s working.” Eddie said, playfully rubbing your head as you began to drink your soda. Robin watched on and she began to feel jealous again. She tried so hard not to feel this way, but she couldn’t help it.

“Oh well uh thanks I guess.” Steve thanked him.

“Hey, it's no problem at all.” Eddie winked back at Steve, this caused Steve to turn a shade of crimson. He quickly turned around to hide his face from Eddie, if he knew what this did to him he’d never live it down.

You noticed Robin’s mood shift and made your way over to her. “You okay angel?” You asked, gently grabbing her hand.

“What oh yeah I’m uh I’m fine. Just peachy!” Robin tried to brush it off, but you could see right through it.

“You can tell me you know, I wont judge.” You whispered to her as to not cause Eddie or Steve who were in the middle of an argument about movies to look over to the two of you.

“I’m just a little tired is all, slow day ya know?” She lied. She hated that she did it, but what else was there to do. She couldn’t just say it was because she hated seeing Eddie be sweet with you and not her.

“Why don’t you go home and get some rest? Steve and I have this covered, really it’s no trouble at all!” You suggested.

“Are you sure?” Robin asked, looking at Steve who just nodded.

“Of course! Hey Eds, do you think you can take Robin home for me please?” Y/N asked with pleading eyes.

“Only because you asked so kindly. Come on Buckley, let’s blow this popsicle stand.” Eddie joked as they headed toward the door. They both got into the van and headed on to drop her off. They both sat in an uncomfortable amount of silence before anyone had said anything. Robin had been staring out the window and then finally Eddie spoke to try and break the tension.

“Look I know you don’t like me very much, I’m not really sure why. But I want you to know that I think you’re pretty cool, especially being friends with Y/N and all. I care about her a lot and if she has you in her circle of people, then you must be pretty damn special.” Eddie said as he focused on the road. Eddie was normally a maniac when he drove. But when he drove with you around, he was as safe as he could be. So he’d do the same with Robin because she was your friend and he knew you’d kill him if something happened to her.

“Eddie look-” Robin began.

“Hey, you don’t have to tell me anything I get it ya know. I’m not everyone’s favorite person in the world.” Eddie stated with a frown. It made Robin feel even more guilty. They had pulled up to her house and before she got out, Eddie spoke again. “Just do me a favor?”

Robin nodded for him to proceed. “Just make sure you don’t screw it up with Y/N, she’s been through a lot and I’d hate to see her get hurt. She cares about you a lot, you know. I mean she literally never shuts up about you.” He chuckled.

“I won't, I promise.” Robin responded. You were the last person that she wanted to hurt. You’ve been nothing but kind to her and she cared for you too much. Even though it killed her that she couldn’t be with you. All she ever thought about was you, you were so special to her and nothing would ever change that.

Next chapter

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infinite-ticking-clock37 · 5 months

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Alright fellas, here's Infinites thoughts on III 17

!!SPOILERS BELOW!!

(Also CW for SilverCandle (for one of my moots))

Alright, so first off imma say I LOVED THIS EPISODE SO MUCH LIKE HOLY MOLY, IT WAS DIFFERENT FROM THE REST OF THE EPISODES IN A VERY GOOD WAY AND IT WAS FUNNY AS HELL TOO

Honestly SO GLAD that this was just to make extra episodes and not that the contestants help writing, idk why but I'm jus happy about thay

Sadly there wasn't much Silverloon this episode BUT WE GOT SOME SILVERCANDLE! AND I LIKE SILVERCANDLE SO THIS IS A WIN!!

Love his face bro omg. BRO IF THE OBJECTS CAN BLUSH THEN WE TOTALLY COULD'VE GOTTEN THE PART IN III 16 WHEN SILVER BLUSHES WHEN BALLOON COMPLIMENTS HIM AW MAN, tho this was very cute

THEN WE GOT MORE OF SILVERS INNER FLAME WHICH IS AMAZINGG

Sad that my theory on him setting on fire like a torch when his Inner flame comes out is wrong but yk we live on this is still cool (where's the cool third eye tho)

THEN WE GOT THE SUDDEN APPEARANCES OF CHEESY, PAPER, AND COINY FROM BFDI FOR SOME REASON

(didn't get a good screenshot of Coiny) also hfj one challenge real omg (I say we nominate Balloon to play the baby tomato/Charlie)

Oh god what to I talk about now uhhhhhhhhh OH YES

So much second hand embarrassment with that animation machine EVERYTIME, I CANT WATCH III 9 WITHOUT HAVING TO SKIP AHEAD FROM THE EMBARRASSMENT OF THE SHOWS, NOTHING GOOD COMES OUTTA THAT DAMN MACHINE AND THATS FINAL. (A little funny tho)

And to top this all off, GOODBYE NICKEL, YOU WILL BE MISSED!! FAREWELL

ok Nickels gone this means Silverloon has more opportunities for interactions =D /hj

Aww this is sweet I like this this is cute

Aww I'm slowly starting to like Nickloon a bit more aww-

OH WHAT THE FUCK AHH SPRINGY GO BACK DOWN THERE WHAT THE HELL I KNEW WE COULDN'T TRUST THAT DAMN WALKY TALKY WHAT THE HELL AHHHHHHH-

Anyways some final notes here

- Silver Spoon has a big fuckin crush on Candle

- Balloon is amazing at card towers

- Cabby can't draw for shit

- Springy is coming back

- fuck you Walky Talky lady

- II and BFDI are in the same universe

- Balloon can only befriend coins like the socially awkward guy he is (relatable I kin Balloon sm after that actually)

- Silver Spoon is amazing with cartoons

- i hate the animation machine

Thanks you for listening to me ramble about this episode there is just so much to talk about in this

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sazzujazzu · 12 hours

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Hello, as the days count down and the Bad Batch finale draws closer, may I show to the fine folks of tumblr my first Star Wars OC in 20 years, created thanks to this show? 😃

Too bad, I'm showing them anyway 😊 somberly chilling while listening to their bestie talk.

Please excuse the poor background (I got lazy) and half-finished Tech (I got sad)

there's, uh, a big mess of words under the image because I wanted to put into words the importance this show has for me, and I am bad at doing so.

I want to get some thoughts off my chest, because I have no one in my day-to-day life who cares about the animated Star Wars shows, and especially the Bad Batch. (well, other than my mom, but I don't want to bore her with my rambling too much. she already banned star wars from me once, i won't let that happen again lol)

I can't stop thinking how much I don't want Bad Batch to end.

This show has been so dear to me. I can't remember the last time I've loved something this much.

Before the second season started, I had an artistic block that had lasted way too long. Anything I drew or wrote, mostly turned out a horrible mess after staring at a blank page for hours and hours, if I ever managed to create anything at all. For someone who tends to draw whenever their hands aren't otherwise busy (aka all the damn time), such a block weighed down on my mental health.

Well, then season two happened, and full-on gave me back my love for Star Wars, a love that had somewhat gone out over the last few years. Then, Plan 99 happened, and broke me because again my favorite character "died" (I'm in team Tech lives until I draw my last breath or until proven correct. That chocolate-eyed cutie-pie is alive nothing will convince me otherwise). Pretty much after finishing the episode and staring at a wall for another 30 minutes, I said "nope" and began writing.

I wrote for hours. I believe it's been well over a decade since I last wrote fanfiction, but here I was, creating a Star Wars oc, something I'd last done as a ten-year-old. And now, roughly a year later, I think I've written over a hundred pages of (very self-indulgent) fanfiction with the Batch, and with my oc that I've come to love.

And drawing, oh boy, have I been drawing!

(... Sure, I've mostly been drawing Tech, over and over again, to a point I once actually considered lying and saying "yeah that's my boyfriend haha!" to a man at my job last summer, when asked who it was that I was drawing for maybe fifth day in a row 😂 likely would've been a more acceptable excuse for someone my age. But, I mean... I just really love drawing him, not only because he is my favorite character of maybe all time, but because he is just so fun to draw! And most of all, at least I draw again!)

And it is all thanks to this wonderful show about a bunch of defective and effective copy-paste boys and their sister.

It's probably something many say, but I've always felt like a bit of an outsider. I've felt like I have no place; when I was a kid, my interests were very different from the other kids of [gender assigned at birth], and trying to play with them while inserting my own interests into the games, often didn't go so well. I was... kind of an odd child (although now, older and questionably wiser, knowing that I might actually be autistic, many things make more sense now. me kind of discovering this about myself is also partially thanks to Bad Batch)

Also, growing up trans/non-binary, while not even knowing what that is or having a word for it, didn't really do much to help with the feeling of "I'm different and an outsider because of it". Perhaps it was one more reason I fell in love with Clone Force 99, because I could see some of myself in them. Being different from the "regs".

I love this show, and these fictional people have become my family, and I am not ready to say goodbye to them.

Alright, weird pile of thoughts over. In case someone read all this, uh... thanks 😊

#i'm nervously rambling into the void #the bad batch #the bad batch fanart #star wars oc #jedi oc

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kiwiwritescrap · 3 months

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hi guys i was listening to a little too much jukebox the ghost so here’s Kiwi’s Disorganized Thoughts About Let Live & Let Ghosts because i want to rant

My Heart’s the Same and Lighting Myself on Fire lead into each other WHAT that’s so cool, plus the similar lyrics??

Fire in the Sky, Where Are All the Scientists Now and A Matter of Time are all directly connected

While not directly connected I think Beady Eyes, 7000th Dream, and Static are connected to Fire in the Sky, Where Are All the Scientists Now and A Matter of Time. All follow similar ideas of the world ending and religious motifs.

All the fire??

Beady Eyes on The Horizon: “There's a dead man hanging, slumped over the steering wheel of an interstate runaway, bursting into flames”

Static:

“And they’re burning their draft cards”

“Burnt through the heart by static through the heart, static through the heart, static through the…”

“Mom and dad wake wake from your slumber because we’re gonna burn this motherfucker down”

Victoria: “Victoria approached me with a fire in her eyes”

Lighting Myself on Fire: do I really need to explain this one? it’s the whole song

Fire in The Sky: pretty self explanatory

Where Are All the Scientists Now: “As the smoke came flooding in beneath the doorway”

Hella religious imagery

Hold It In: “If there’s a God he’s embarrassed and there’s no secret why”

Beady Eyes on the Horizon (there’s a LOT here):

“And the devil was gently breathing, sleeping face-down in my apartment”

“This was a story told to me when I was just the age of 17, one which God himself dictated to me,”

“And there were preachers in the desert, waving to the crowd, dictating seven angry letters from a man up in the clouds”

“There are no angels in the woodwork or devils on the ground”

“A pair of beady eyes, looking down onto the pavement while the stars are gathered 'round, because they all will want a front seat when shit starts going down”

Static:

“A man crouches on the street with static in his eyes, and takes it as a sign from the gods up above”

“Knowing what it meant to be showered with sound, he became a believer, he became a believer”

Fire in The Sky: literally the whole song it’s 56 seconds long

Where Are All the Scientists Now: “I saw Satan shaking hands holding a briefcase”

Honorable mention Miss Templeton’s 7000th dream: “It's just the stars stooping down to sing their goodbyes while a man with a briefcase and hollowed out eyes speaks”

Same man (satan) with a briefcase from the 7000th dream and Where Are All the Scientists Now?

The piano runs in Miss Templeton’s 7000th Dream and Static are the same (or very similar) might be imagining it tho

Theory that Miss Templeton is the woman from Beady Eyes who sees “faces in her dreams” idk i could be delusional

Hurricanes mentioned in both Beady Eyes on the Horizon and A Matter of Time

Beady Eyes on the Horizon and Static are oddly similar plus the repeated line in both “this is not a test, this is the real thing” Where Are All the Scientists Now also has some similar lyrics, all seem to be about the end of the world

Talk of being ‘in the desert’ in Where are All the Scientists Now (the soldiers) and in Beady Eyes on the Horizon (preachers)

anyways i probably missed a whole bunch of stuff or i’m overanalyzing just go listen to the album yourself it’s so good, i’ll update the post if needed but that’s all i have to say if you read this thank you for listening to me ramble <3

#kiwisayscrap #jukebox the ghost #let live & let ghosts #i just really like their music it’s so cool #i’m yapping so much rn but i’m so hyper fixated #my heart’s the same makes me cry tbh

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thousand-winters · 4 months

Note

For the toh asks, 3, 6, 7, 12!!

Hey there 💕

3. Favorite episode? Why? Ramble as much as you'd like.

Man, this one's really hard because TOH has SUCH good episodes, but I'm going to have to go with what I believe is ultimately the popular answer and say Hollow Mind.

It's just so well done, it's been said again and again but the way they make the reveal of past foreshadowing (Belos being Philip Wittebane, Hunter being a grimwalker) is SO good. Even if you knew or strongly suspected, the way they do it makes it so the impact is perfect, both on the plot going forward and the emotional impact it has on the characters as well (like even if Luz doesn't immediately crumble like Hunter does, you can tell it gets to her and it starts building up overtime until it gets to her being full of guilt and straight up suicidal which... uh oh).

The way they make use of established lore with the mindscape, the foreshadowing and more lore we get for the future (wooo for Wittebanes lore but rip for Flapjack) is just so damn cool. Even while filled with dread while watching, the episode is just so engaging to watch that you can get pretty much focused on it during rewatches as well.

Plus, when it comes to more self-indulgent feelings, Hunter finally getting out from the castle and away from Belos + the papa wold Dadrius moment are just too good for me not to enjoy it. Oh! And on that note, Hunter straight up having a panic attack when they got out of the mindscape also was 10/10 for me, because I'm just not used to media addressing how traumatizing some situations can be for the characters, ngl, I was SO happy to see it and even happier when it continued in Labyrinth Runners, as weird as it sounds.

6. A character you didn't expect to love? What made you start liking them?

Not in a dislike sense at all, but definitely Darius lmao.

I vaguely remember seeing him for the first time and thinking "oh, he's so fun, he has such a cool design as well, and his voice is pretty, it's a shame he's a villain. Anyway-" and just continuing being invested in the Raeda disaster happening right there.

Truly I also found his abomination transformation the coolest thing I've ever seen, but in my mind it was like "we're surely not seeing much of him, oh, well" (which is sadly true, but not in the way I thought), so with such an "unimportant" character, there was no way for me to get invested or love him, right?

WRONG. Dadrius attack.

Listen. Listen. I liked him as a character but not so much as a person, I suppose, though again I never hated him because there was just so little of him for that to happen. But then Any Sport in a Storm happened and watching him doing the Head Chop™️ to Hunter was like "god, I hope this doesn't awaken anything in me".

I think from that moment I started toying with the possibility of him adopting Hunter because I was desperate so it was half joking, half serious and as such, I started thinking more about him as well, which eventually ended up with me and my thousand headcanons and theories about him, his backstory and such. As it happens when you're a Darius fan, it's rough out here.

7. Has the show ever made you cry? What scene(s)?

I cry. so much.

So TOH absolutely got to me. I think the first scene that got to me was the one that gets to everyone, Eda thanking Luz for being in her life and telling her goodbye before transforming into the Owl Beast.

And then you know, Season 2 is life ruining /lh.

So I cried in Separate Tides in the same part Luz wants to cry lmao, I cried in Eda's Requiem, I cried in Reaching Out, I cried in O Titan, I cried in King's Tide.

Shoutout to me crying also at Hunter talking about being unable to trust himself in Labyrinth Runners, and I still can't watch Keeping Up A-fear-ances without crying, that one's hitting a little too close to home for comfort, frankly lmao.

I think the rest is also very predictable, Thanks to Them when Flapjack died, For the Future during Camila and Luz's conversation and Watching and Dreaming when Luz dies and pretty much the whole scene with the Owl Trio fighting together, plus the ending. Like I said, I cry a lot.

12. What do you consider the most memorable scene? Why?

Another hard one.

Objectively speaking, I feel like there are two super memorable scenes: The repetition of Luz's speech about "I'm the good witch!" through the show and the way it gets recontextualized each time, from it being just kinda silly and about her using it as escapism a little bit, to her using it to reclaim her belonging to the two worlds she chose for herself and her identity as part of them with all the people she loves.

I would call that one probably the most memorable one. I think the other that everyone remembers, which is why I would say it's memorable as well, is Eda telling Luz the whole thing about how everyone was to be chosen, but if one just waited for that, they'd die waiting, that you have to choose yourself. Even more memorable since it came back during Watching and Dreaming.

Personally, definitely less sweet and less overall plot important, but a scene that haunts me forever and ever is the palisman souls in Belos' Mind finally reaching Luz and Hunter and the reveal that they're palisman souls in the first place: It's so damn chilling when they start talking with the whole "danger! get away from him! run!". Just... holy shit. Okay, that makes me one to cry too, we have established I'm a crybaby ajsfjsdg

I'm just... the amount of compassion for them to be suffering like that and to go "this happened to us, he killed us, please, get away, we don't want him to kill you too, we don't want you to suffer too", especially considering that Hunter had accidentally contributed in some of those deaths. I'm gonna go cry some more, actually, bye asfhsdg

Thanks for the questions 💗

From this ask meme

#the owl house #toh #ask games

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a-tale-of-legends · 9 months

Text

Restless

Summary: N reflects and comes to a decision, with the help of a friend.

Notes: Some context for my version of N: he never said farewell to the protags ( Alexis and Elliot) and left when the two were severely hurt. It's something that eats at him constantly, even after they have forgiven him. He bounds himself in Unova because of it.

~~~

I have made plenty of mistakes in my life. Some were not my fault. But they still haunt me. Leaving without a goodbye….

"N?" Kamari questions, looking up at him, a slight concern in his eyes. Poochyena stops biting at his arm, looking up at N curiously, " Are you alright? You were spacing out there,"

N smiles, waving his hand slightly.

" I'm alright. I was just…..thinking,"

It's a guilt that I carry with me for a long time. I have long since apologized, have long since forgiven. But it still hurts. Cursing me at the back of my mind. How I left them. They were hurt and I left them-

" Hm," Kamari hums, focusing his attention on Poochyena, giving her a few scratches, " Penny for your thoughts then?"

N ponders a bit, debating on whether or not to share his thoughts. He glances at Kamari, who's patiently waiting for his answer. While he could never put a finger as to why, Kamari has always made him comfortable to just. Speak. He always listens, no matter how long N tends to ramble. That…..and tends to know when something is bothering him. How? He doesn't really know. But nothing really escapes Kamari, so why bother to hide it?

I promised that I wouldn't leave after that. Not like that, anyway. I found some clarity, and continue to learn and grow here, in Unova. I've never felt so happy…..but even so, I can't help but feel-

"-restless" N shrugs, " Like I should be doing something," he sighs, slumping slightly down the tree trunk he's resting on.

Kamari is silent for a second, and Poochyena ditches him as she jumps onto N's lap, her tail wagging happily.

'You should go on a run, mister! That helps me!' she exclaims, and N chuckles at her excitement.

" Oh? Well maybe I have to give it a try" he muses at he pets Poochyena on the head.

"What did she say?" Kamari asks, inching a bit closer.

" She said I should go for a run," N chuckles, and Kamari smiles ever so slightly.

" I don't think that'll help much, girl," Kamari says, also giving Poochyena head pats, spoiling the girl. Her tail wags happily.

"....N."

"Hm?"

" Have you considered traveling again? Outside of the region, I mean"

N's eyes widen slightly, a small panic enter his heart.

" I- no! No, I can't just leave, I just-"

"N."

Kamari's voice is strong, yet gentle. He looks at N with sternly, yet ultimately understanding.

" Do you want to leave, N?"

And I know it's selfish. After all the pain I caused.

"....would you wait for me?"

So very selfish

" Of course,"

But it feels so good to fly. To not be bound. To be free.

"...I miss traveling, Kamari. I miss exploring the world,"

" And you still can. I understand. I'm sure they all will,"

' Yeah! I'll wait for you! I'll be a big strong Mightyena when you come back!!!' Poochyena cries, determination in her eyes.

N feels like he's going to cry.

…..how Kamari does this to me, I don't know. But I am forever thankful.

I don't want to be restless anymore. I want to travel and see different places and people- more than what Unova has to offer. I will be better this time. I will say farewell. I will keep in touch. I'll even send gifts.

….I have made many mistakes in my life. I guess it's time for me to forgive myself for them, hm?

#legendverse #r writes #pokemon n #made this on a whim #i hope you all like it :)

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justanisabelakinnie · 1 year

Text

December 28

(It’s Camilo’s birthday! Aka the one day in which I can simp for this fantastic kiddo! You didn’t think I’d forget our beloved shapeshifter’s birthday too, now did you? I have something very special in mind for him, but you have to wait until the end to see. Also I had to throw my ship in here, I’m sorry, I just had to. Anyway, sit down, buckle up, and prepare for an exciting and hilarious ride, because today is also Holy Innocent’s Day, aka the equivalent of April Fool’s Day in Colombia. Enjoy!)

It was the middle of the night when Mirabel felt a pair of knees destroying her abdomen.

Wincing at the unbearable pain, she opened her eyes to find herself being attacked, smothered to death by some crazy person as she was unable to wrestle free due to her body’s lazy, sleep like state.

So all she could do was stare wide-eyed into the blackness as whoever was trying to murder her—or kidnap her, perhaps—continued to giggle like a maniac.

“Mmfmmpppphhh—“ was all she could say as the arms tightened around her neck and she found herself smothered by this person’s shoulder. “Mmmpphhfffpphfffhmmm! Mmmm!”

“It’s my birthday, Mirabel! Can you believe it! It’s my birthday!”

Why would she need to know that?

“I’m finally sixteen, Mirabel! And you’re still left behind. Sorry. But I’m just so excited!” Cue the relentless giggling.

Mirabel was enraged. “Camilo?”

Camilo giggled, sitting up and finally crawling off of her to make himself welcome as an unwanted guest on Mirabel’s bed. “Yeah, I…stayed up all night to count down until my birthday. You know like New Year’s. I can’t wait to see the presents you all give me!!! It’s gonna be the best birthday ever. Even better than the last. You know sometimes I wish I were a girl so I could have a quince, but…”

Camilo continued to ramble on and on excitedly about his birthday. But Mirabel was not listening. What she was doing was gripping her head with her hands as she tried not to let it roll off.

“And remember when I was ten years old and asked Isabela to make me a flower crown? Those were the days. But—“

“Camilo?”

“Yeah?”

“Go. back. to. SLEEP!!! GODDAMN!”

Camilo should have been deterred. “Can’t I sleep with you—“

“No,” Mirabel moaned with a sob. “Just—goodnight, primo.”

“It’s not night, it’s morning. And it’s my—“

“I know, I know. Happy birthday Camilo. Goodbye.”

Mirabel felt a kiss plant itself magically on her cheek before Camilo finally left her in peace. Thank goodness.

She flopped down on the bed and tried to go back to sleep. Which she did soon enough. But goddamnit if it wasn’t hard.

Still, a twitching smile stretched out upon her face. Camilo was gonna have the birthday of his life when he woke up that morning. She was sure of it.

💛

“Cumpleaños feliz, te deseamos a tí, Feliz cumpleaños a Camilo, feliz cumpleaños a tí! Que los cumpla feliz, que los vuelva a cumplir, que los siga cumpliendo, hasta el año tres mil!”

Camilo blew out the candles. All sixteen of them. He giggled. Everyone clapped. It was a beautiful day, and he was happy!

“Why did you choose to have your birthday party in the morning and afternoon instead of at night, Cami?” Luisa asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Easy! So that I can spend the evening with my lovely girlfriend, of course!” Camilo’s chirped, beaming up at his older cousin.

“Ooo-ooooh!” Isabela, Mirabel, Antonio, and Bruno lilted, Camilo blushing and looking down.

“But anyway—“ Camilo started, but he was cut off.

“You have a girlfriend?” Antonio bounced up and down. “Ooh! Who is it?”

“Quiet down Antonio,” Mirabel urged. “But it’s Emiliana. My best friend. You know, the girl who falls asleep a lot?”

“I like her, she’s pretty and nice! Are you gonna get married?”

“I never thought about that,” Camilo answered, his blush betraying him.

Bruno opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it.

A storm cloud appeared over Pepa’s head. “No funny business, Camilo. I mean it. Because if you get up to something you know you’ll regret—“

Mirabel chuckled, Isabela bounced her eyebrows, and Luisa and Dolores looked like they didn’t want to be there. Camilo glared at Isabela and Mirabel.

“Ugh, I know Mami. Just because I’m sixteen now doesn’t mean I’m suddenly—anyway, can I open my presents now, please?”

“Sure, Cami, and I have the first one!” Dolores said, picking up her present off of the table and walking up to him, outstretching her hands for him to take it.

Camilo opened it. “Thanks sis!” He took it out. “Oh…it’s one of those…whatchamacallits, I forgot…”

Dolores had given him a tiny box with a handle at the side that, according to Dolores, he had to turn in a circular direction. So he did. And he was so confused and focused on that that he didn’t see Dolores grinning and covering her ears.

And then a giant face sprang out from the box and scared Camilo shitless. He screamed and ran for cover. Just kidding. He only threw the box in the air and jumped to hide under his chair.

“What is that thing?!” He shrieked.

Dolores smirked and tilted her head to the side. “Hm! It’s a…a…jack-in-the-box?”

“I haven’t played with one of those since I was a kid!”

“Sorry,” Dolores shrugged. “I thought you’d like it, but…”

“No, no, it’s not that I don’t like it,” Camilo took it from Dolores with a grin. “It’s just…a surprise. That’s all. Hehe. Thanks big sis!” He hugged his beloved older sister. “You are the second best pranker in the family!”

“Second?” Dolores raised an eyebrow.

“Second?” Mirabel smirked, hip bumping Isabela.

“Oh come on,” Camilo snorted. “You don’t actually think you’re a better pranker than me.”

“We’ll see about that,” Mirabel murmured.

“My turn!” Antonio ran up to Camilo with a wrapped present in his hands. “I made this for you myself big brother! I hope you like it!” He cheered jumping up and down.

“Oh, and what is this, hombrecito?” Camilo bent down and took the present from Antonio’s hands. Opening it, he tried not to chuckle at the cute(stick figure) drawing of a yellow figure, clearly representing himself, with big squiggly circles for hair and a square around his torso symbolizing his ruana, standing between a tall red figure with a filled-in circle on her head and a big bow, a triangle shape resembling a dress, and a short orange figure, their arms crossing through the yellow figure.

“See, that’s me,” Antonio was saying, pointing at the orange figure. “That’s Dolores,” he pointed at the red figure. “And that’s you!” He pointed at the yellow figure in the center. “And our arms are like that because we’re giving you a hug, because we love you!”

Camilo smiled at the picture, especially since it was oh-so cleverly captioned with the words “te 💛 Camilo” in big sloppy multicolored letters.

“Oh, it is just the sweetest, hermanito!” Camilo cooed, bending down to pick his brother up and kiss him all over his face. “Te amo mucho mucho mucho, awww!”

Antonio giggled. “Put me down big brother, your lips are tickling me.”

“Oh, okay, cosa linda.” He put the grinning little pipsqueak down, and Pepa and Felix came forth with their gifts.

“It’s a book!” Camilo gasped, almost wanting to jump out of his chair. “A book of all the greatest plays in the last century! I…how did you know I wanted this?”

“It’s all you ever asked for, chico,” Pepa said with a smile.

“And you deserve it,” Felix added, giving his son a manly hug.

“Thanks, familia!” Camilo grinned as his parents hugged and kissed him.

The rest of the family then gave their gifts. Mirabel gave Camilo a new ruana that she had sewn herself, it was blue with yellow squiggly stripes and even had embroidery, which Camilo loved, so much so that he nearly scooped Mirabel up hugging and kissing her. Isabela got her cousin a book as well, except it was about fairytales and mythology. Knowing how much he loved princesses, Isabela knew Camilo was sure to appreciate it. Which he did. And Luisa got him a lanyard bracelet that she had made herself, knowing that her primito was allergic to jewelry. Julieta gave Camilo a new and colorful football to replace the one he had torn. Agustin gave Camilo some cologne. Bruno gave him a football trophy that he himself won when he was sixteen. Like uncle like nephew, he had said with a wink. Which made Camilo smile.

“Who’s next?” Camilo asked, although he knew the answer.

“I believe that would be me, chico.” Alma winked.

“Ooh, okay!” Camilo rubbed his hands together. “So umm what do…or what did…you buy me for my birthday?”

“Oh,” Alma started feeling around her pockets, searching for the gift, until finally she pulled it out with a smile.

Camilo stared. “A comb?”

Agustin wheezed.

“Why yes!” Alma said with a smile. “So that you can comb that big beautiful hair of yours early in the morning. And tonight on your date with your girlfriend too!”

Camilo blinked, while Mirabel covered her grin with her mouth.

Finally, Alma burst out laughing, and the rest of the cool-colored family(and Bruno) with her. “Oh, I’m just teasing, lindo.”

“Good one, Abuela!” Isabela choked up, and Camilo couldn’t even resist the urge to grin. He’d never have guessed that he got his pranking ways from his grandma of all people!

“Here is your gift!” She clapped her hands expectantly. “Casita?”

The tiles click clacked against the floor, and Camilo gasped.

“A BIKE?!” Camilo squealed, causing Dolores to cover her precious, sensitive ears.

“Why yes, of course, a bike!” Alma nodded her head and laughed. “Why, when I was your age, me and my sisters would spend days learning how to ride a bike—oh?”

She never got to finish telling her story, before Camilo leapt at her in a smothering hug.

“Thank you, Abuela,” Camilo whispered tenderly. “I always knew you were the best grandmother ever and wanted me to be happy, want all of us to be happy, not just Isabela.”

Alma paused, then hugged Camilo dearly back. “You’re welcome, hermoso.”

“Oh!” Isabela perked up, dragging Dolores to her side and linking their arms. “Me and Dolores will teach you how to ride, that’s what we agreed on, how does that sound?”

Camilo smiled at them, breaking from the hug as he did so. “That sounds amazing. Thank you, primas-hermanas!”

The primas-hermanas grinned back.

“Ahem, anyway,” Bruno changed the subject. “I think it’s cake time, I’m starving.”

“Oh yes, so am I, hermanito,” Pepa agreed.

“And then it’s time to PARTY!”

Felix laughed as he patted Bruno on the shoulder blade. “It sure is.”

💛

“Oooh, Camilo, someone’s at the door for you!” Mirabel cooed in a flirtatious manner.

“Is that who I think it is?” Camilo sprang up.

“It sure is!” Mirabel giggled. “Come and greet your lady!”

“Yeah, go hombrecito,” Bruno encouraged with a jerk of his head in the direction of the door.

Camilo smiled at his Tío before shoving his primita to the side and opening the door to greet his beautiful sweet girlfriend Emiliana.

“Hey, sweet cheeks!” Camilo smiled from ear to ear as he tightly embraced the love of his life.

“Hi,” Emiliana giggled. “Can I come in?”

“Oh, of course, why wouldn’t we let you in?” Camilo walked his girlfriend in. “Oh, Im sure you’ve met my father and uncle, right? Because it would be pretty embarrassing if you hadn’t.”

“Hola, mi chica bonita!” Felix greeted Emiliana with an energetic handshake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you! And a pleasure to see you dating my son!”

Emiliana grinned. “Oh, thank you, Sr.—“

“Felix,” her boyfriend’s father said with a smile. “Call me Felix.”

“Oh! Okay Felix!”

“And you already know me!” Bruno said with a wave.

“Of course!” Emiliana said, giving Bruno a fist bump. “Hey Bruno!”

“Hey kid! So, where are you taking my nephew?”

“I can’t tell you yet, it’s a surprise!”

“Oh, silly me! I shouldn’t have asked. Well you two enjoy your date, and if you need anything, well, you can always count on us!”

“Thank you!” Emiliana turned to Camilo. “So anyway, umm, shall we go?”

“Oh sure!” Camilo waved at the men before leaving. “Tell the rest of the family that I said goodbye!”

“We will!” Felix and Bruno said with a wave, but soon Pepa and Julieta came down, along with Agustin.

“Oh, Emiliana!” Pepa said with a wave. “Bye, querida! Goodbye!”

“Goodbye Emiliana! ¡Adios, Camilo!” Julieta said with a wave.

“Have a happy date, the both of you!” Agustin said with a thumbs up as Emiliana smiled and waved her departure. “Oh, and sobrino, remember what your mother said—“

“Yes, yep!” Camilo flushed with embarrassment. “Bye!” And shut the door behind them.

“What did your mother say?” Emiliana asked.

“Oh nothing.” Camilo shrugged. “Just to have fun. A-anyway, we’re alone now, baby, what do you wanna do?”

“Well, like I told Bruno, I can’t reveal it yet. But you’ll love it, just you wait and see.”

“Oh, okay,” Camilo said as they walked, hand in hand, through the village. It was a peaceful and beautiful evening. The sun was slowly setting, the sky an array of bright, beautiful colors, and a half-moon could be seen in the sky along with the setting sun.

Overall, the perfect occasion for a lovely romantic date between a pair of enamored teenagers.

“So your family actually let you go on a date with me?” Camilo asked, breaking the peaceful silence.

“Huh? Oh yeah.” Emiliana swatted a hand. “Come to think of it, they probably just want me out of the house because my quince is a week after yours and they’re trying to prepare. I just promised them that nothing bad was going to go down tonight and that you were treating me right. Don’t worry about it.”

“Of course not, baby, I love you!” Camilo promised, patting his heart with her hand. “Plus, I’m kinda scared to death of your oldest sister.”

Emiliana laughed. “Aren’t we all? But enough about me, let’s talk about you! So how was your birthday?” she asked him.

“Oh, it was perfect!” Camilo said. “Everyone enjoyed themselves and got me such perfect gifts. For example, Abuela got me a bike, my prima got me a storybook, my Tío got me cologne—“

“Is that why you smell so good?” Emiliana flirted.

“U-uh, yeah, and mi hermano drew me the most adorable picture.”

“Aww, he takes after his big bro.”

“Hehe, yup.”

“What about Dolores?” Emiliana inquired, wanting to know what her friend’s present for her love had been. “What did she get you?”

“Oh, this really weird…jack-in-the-box? It’s nothing special.”

“Nothing special?” Emiliana balked. “Camilo, it’s your birthday, and she got you something silly she thought you’d love! Show some gratitude!”

“I do love it, it’s just—“

“It’s just what?”

“Well…”

“EMILIANA! CAMILO! COME QUICK!!!”

Both teens were shocked as they looked up at Camilo’s eldest prima, screaming her head off as she ran towards them. Upon reaching them both, Isabela placed a hand down on each of their shoulders and lightly shook.

“I-I…it’s Mirabel. I didn’t mean for this to happen but I—“ Isabela burst into tears before she could finish, and an entire garden sprouted on her head. It would have been amusing to watch normally, but not this time.

“Woah, slow down, Isabela,” Emiliana soothes, placing a warm arm on Isabela’s shoulder as the older girl wept, her head in her hands. “Tell us calmly. What happened? Ooh!” She plucked a few grapes from Isabela’s hair and threw them in her mouth, chewing.

“We…we went to this art shed one of Luisa’s friends had set up, she said she and the rest of us girls could use it any time we wanted. So Mirabel, Luisa, Dolores and I went there after you and Camilo left for your date. We were just spraying things and having some fun, until one thing led to another, Mirabel and I got into a fight—“

“As usual,” Camilo snorted.

“And somehow I ended up turning her into a flower statue! I-I just feel so hideous and stupid, why, why, why?!” Isabela started crying heavier as tiny potatoes grew from her scalp and rolled from her hair onto the floor. “I’m an AWFUL big sister!!! Oh—“

Emiliana hugged Isabela tightly, and Isabela hugged back. “It’s, it’s okay, Isabela. It wasn’t your fault, and you’re a great big sister!”

“I am?” Isabela sniffled.

“You are!” Emiliana beamed. “Mirabel tells me all about you all the time.”

“No she—“

“Anyway,” Emiliana cut her boyfriend off. “Take us to the art shed and we’ll find a way to fix your sister! Right, Camilo?”

“B-but what about our date?” Camilo squawked.

“Our date?”

“Y-you don’t care about your cousin!” Isabela whined before wailing again. Emiliana sighed, exasperated.

“All right, Isa, that’s enough, I think he gets it,” Emiliana whispered in her ear. Isabela wiped her eyes daintily with a pink handkerchief, trying to maintain her composure and settle down a bit to think logically about what is going on.

“Camilo,” Emiliana placed both hands on her boyfriend’s shoulders. “Do you believe that I love you?”

“Yes.”

“Exactly! And do you believe that our date isn’t going anywhere and that the moment we save Mirabel we’ll go back to our little romantic night out?”

“Yes?”

“Good!” She kissed him on the nose. “Let’s go-WOAH WOAH WOAH!”

Isabela had swooped both Emiliana and Camilo in the air with her vines and both soared over the entire Encanto—or at least that’s what it felt like to Emiliana—before settling down safely in front of the art shed.

Emiliana beamed, jumping up and down. “Oh, that was so much fun! Yes!” She whooped, thrusting a fist into the sky. “I never told anybody, well, except for my sister Victoria, but I’ve always wanted to do that.” She wrapped her arms around Isabela’s waist and squeezed. “Thank you, Isabela, for not killing my boyfriend and I—“

“You’re welcome,” Isabela choked.

“Anyway, Mirabel, right, operation save Mirabel.

The three of them walked into the shed, which was dim, empty, and a little bit dark.

“I don’t see anything,” Camilo said.

And then the lights flew open.

Camilo took a shaky breath. “Well, that was kind of creepy—“

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!”

“Babe?!”

Emiliana pointed in horror at the plant statue of Mirabel that was right in front of her. Frozen in terror, Mirabel had the most horrifying look on her face as her eyes were wide open, her mouth rounded in a silent scream, her hands held up in front of her in defense as Isabela took her life and breath away. Her best friend took a shaky inhale.

“I know,” Isabela’s voice trembled as she spoke. “Dolores, Luisa, and I were just as fear-stricken when we saw what I had done as well.”

“How can you DO that?” Camilo exclaimed, gesturing to flower-Mirabel. “Remind me not to mess with you ever again!”

“I don’t know!” Isabela wailed in agony. “I was very angry, and got very emotional! But you’ve gotta fix it back, Camilo!”

“Oh, so you created this mess but you can’t get my cousin out of it?” Camilo pressed, a hand on his hips as he rotated his neck. “NUH-UH, prima, that is NOT how we work around here!”

“It’s okay, Isabela, Camilo will fix it, I have faith in him!” Emiliana said, cowering behind her boyfriend. Even though he was shorter and weaker than her.

“Hold up, why me?”

“Because I love you, Camilo,” Emiliana said, nudging Camilo towards the eerie and tragic figure of Mirabel.

“Girl—“ Camilo hissed his teeth, but reluctantly moved closer to the statue, while Emiliana moved closer to Isabela, both clutching each other’s hands and staying out of harm’s way.

Camilo gulped in fear. He didn’t want to do this. But he had to. For his cousins. For his girlfriend. For himself.

He reached forward, finger trembling, in terror of the statue, before poking it ever so gently with his finger.

And it exploded.

The next thing he knew Camilo was covered in a huge splatter of thick, wet, sweet-smelling substance.

And Emiliana and Isabela exploded too, with laughter.

“What the—“ Camilo shook the creamy contents off of him in frustration as he stared aghast at the bits and pieces of green and pink flower petals he saw scattered across the floor of the shed. “Huh? Did I kill Mirabel?”

This only made Emiliana and Isabela wheeze harder, stomping their feet as they were barely able to contain themselves. Camilo stared at them, his brain almost but not quite catching onto the situation at hand.

Before both girls yelled “SURPRISE!!!” at him.

To make matters worse, Dolores and Luisa came out of their hiding spot through a back door as well. And with them was a perfectly intact and alive Mirabel who most definitely was NOT made of green and pink flower petals!!!

“That. Was. HILARIOUS!” Mirabel shouted before bending over, wheezing with glee.

Luisa laughed out loud, clapping her hands. “You can’t say we didn’t get you Camilo.”

“Indeed,” Dolores sputtered. “You should’ve, you should’ve seen your faHAHAHAHAHA!!!!”

Camilo stood there, covered in cream-like goodness as he was made a mockery of by the five girls surrounding him, all were laughing their asses off as they took glances at Camilo, only to look away as they laughed even harder.

Isabela slapped Emiliana’s hand in a high five. “You go, chica. We got him!”

“Thanks for letting me be a part of this!”

“And thanks for helping!”

Camilo, meanwhile, was not happy. He was seeing red. “Was this…was this a PRANK?!”

“It was!” Isabela admitted with watery eyes as she hiccuped.

“We hope you like custard!” Dolores said with a wink.

“I-I-I can’t beLIEVE YOU!” The custard monster roared. “You…you were supposed to be my favorite cousin, Mirabel, you had me worried for your life when Isabela came crying to me that she killed you, all for—and Emiliana, you were supposed to be the love of my life! I trusted you! And Isabela, you started putting on a performance with your crocodile tears when it turned out all along to be some sick JOKE?! And—“ he glared at Dolores and Luisa while licking custard off his face. “I don’t even have anything to SAY to you two! I thought you were sweet and gentle, but clearly I was wrong! I…I am just so disappointed!”

But being reprimanded by a guy covered head to toe in custard? That only made them laugh harder. They couldn’t take it seriously!

“Hah, what a night huh?” Emiliana got up and walked towards Camilo. “What a night. Anyway, we went through all this trouble, so we may as well see how you taste.” She licked some of the custard off her boyfriend’s cheek. “Mmm! Yummy! Sorry about your cologne though.”

“Ooh, let me try!” Mirabel ran up to her cousin and wiped some of the custard off his other cheek with her finger. Licking it off. “Wow! That is delish!”

“Lemme!” Isabela took some off of the nose. “Wow, this does not disappoint.”

“I have to agree,” Dolores said as she took some off of Camilo’s forehead.

“Hey, don’t look so downhearted, kiddo,” Luisa said with a grin as she too ate custard out of Camilo’s hair. “At least you get to be a delectable delicacy! Don’t worry, we’ll clean you right up!”

“Yes we will!” Emiliana agreed. “Now gimme your hand.” She picked up Camilo’s hand and ran her fingers along its palm, gathering up custard and putting it in her mouth.

Camilo sighed as the girls rubbed their fingers on him and ate the custard off his body and clothes. They were so busy eating him that they barely even noticed the door opening as one of Luisa’s friends stepped in—and quickly stepped out after realizing what was going on.

But they didn’t care. They were having too much fun. And now that Camilo thought about it, this joke was pretty clever. Even though he was utterly humiliated that day in the worst way imaginable, he knew he would laugh about it someday like his father always told him. Today just…wasn’t that day.

He turned to his girlfriend. “So, umm, sweetie pie. About that date…”

“Yeah?”

“Where did you plan on us going?”

Emiliana’s face paled as her eyes shifted and she giggled awkwardly. “Oh, well, about that…”

The End!

Until next time! 👋🏾

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