#not an edit bc i didn't do anything to it i just got so excited when i saw the tweet just now

[samandcolby-ownme]

Credit to the edit creator on TikTok for the Johnnie pictures!

This one shot is going to have reader being choked with a chain necklace, PLEASE DONT READ IF YOURE UNCOMFORTABLE!

Summary: anon request - "begging anyone that will listen to make sumthing based off this necklace bc the way he pulled it is rlly doing something to me"

Warnings: SMUT18+, strong language, choking will be a big part of this, hair pulling, unprotected sex, creampie, filth

I'm also going to be writing this my own way, so if you've seen the actual video it isn't going to be accurate.

Word count: 2.5k | not edited

TikTok I'm writing for specifically

╔═══━━━─── • ───━━━═══╗

You walk up to the front door of the house, giggling drunkly to yourself as you fish for your keys inside your purse.

You're just getting home from your night out with Tara, so Johnnie expect you to come home at least, somewhat drunk.

You push the door open, seeing the empty scene as you think, he must be streaming.

He was. As you walked back the hall, you heard the faint sound of him strumming his guitar from behind the door.

The closer you get, you can hear him faintly singing. You smile as you rest your head on the door, waiting for him to finish before you gently knock and open the door.

"Uh oh. Look who it is!" He smiles at you and leans his guitar against the desk, "Guy, y/n just got home from being with Tara. Should she come say hi?"

You roll your eyes, giggling as you shake your head. He holds his hand out, "Come hither. They want to say hi."

You sigh, pushing your body off the door frame as you walk over. You lean down, waving into the camera, "Hi guys!"

"Yeah, her outfit does look phenomenal tonight." Johnnie leans back, "She always looks good, to me anyway."

You look at him and stand up, "Thank you." He lays his hands on your hips, pulling you onto his lap, "You're going to finish this stream with me."

"No." You whine lightly with a laugh, "I need a shower."

"You can get one after. Guys. I've been teaching her how to play the guitar." Johnnie smiles and you look at the screen, "No. I'm not going to embarrass myself like that." You laugh, "No way!"

Johnnie lays his hand on your leg, weaving his fingers through the openings in your fishnet stockings, "Don't worry. I'll get her to open up and play for you."

You roll your eyes, moving to snake your arm around his neck, "Maybe." You smile down at him, "I'm going to get a water, do you want anything?"

He shakes his head, letting you stand up before he places his guitar back onto his lap. You leave, quickly making your way back after going to the fridge.

You slip in, sitting on the chair off to the side and in your still, slightly drunk state, Johnnie tugging on the metal chain around his neck starts to get your mind racing with such dirty thoughts.

You bite down on the inside of your lip, adjusting how you're sitting. Johnnie glances over at you, pulling the chain to adjust it and your eyes stay fixated on it.

He smirks slightly, looking back to the screen as he leans back, sliding his hand up his arm to push his sleeve up.

He looks so good tonight.

The combination of his hair, makeup, and outfit were all the absolute perfect combination.

You were secretly hoping his stream would be done soon, you didn't know how much longer you could take without his hands on your body.

"I'll play a snippet from my new song then I think I'm going to get off for tonight."

His words caused your excitement to grow.

You couldn't wait much longer for him to finally fulfill those words.

You sat there, elbow digging into the spot above your knee as your hand rests under your chin. Your eyes stay fixated on him and he knows you're watching.

He smirks at you, pushing up his sleeves as his guitar rests in his lap. Your lip pulls between your teeth as your head slightly tilts to the side.

You need him. Bad.

After a little bit more of listening to Johnnie sing, he finally ends the live and turns to you as he sets his guitar down.

"Get over here."

His words have you up on your feet with in a second after rolling off of his tongue. You walk over, straddling his lap and running your hands over the sides of his neck.

His hands slide over your hips and you whimper out a quiet, "Need you."

"I know." He smirks, "I could tell since you came home." He bites down on his lip ring and nods towards the door, "Come on."

You get up, taking his hand as he leads you to his room. He pulls you in front of him, hands on your waist as he guides you backwards into the room.

He reaches back, pushing the door shut before laying his hand on your neck, "You look so good." He leans in, connecting his lips to yours.

"I can say the same about you." You gently bite his lip, pulling it as you tilt your head back. A quiet gasp leaves his throat and his hand squeezes your hip, "Get these clothes off. Now."

You step back, turning to face him as he walks over to the bed. You bend down, unzipping your black boots so you can stand up and kick them off.

Your hands move to your belt, undoing it as your eyes fixate on the metal change wrapped around Johnnie's thumb, "That outfit is crazy hot."

You smile at his words, "I figured you'd like it." You throw your belt on the floor and slip your fingers into the hem of your red, lace crop bralette top.

Johnnie watches as you lift it up over your head, shaking your hair slightly as you toss it to the ground with your boots.

You lock eyes with Johnnie as you push your skirt down, leaving you in nothing but your black lace panties.

He holds his hands out, indicating he wants you to come to him, and you comply. You walk over to him, straddling his lap again. His hand slips down between your thighs and he smirks, "What's got you this turned on, sweetheart?"

"You want me to be honest?" You smirk slightly as Johnnie nods, "Always, baby."

Your hand drags up his chest, tangling the metal chain around your finger, "This. How fucking hot you looked while playing with it."

He licks his lips, "What do you want me to do with it?" He tilts his head, "Actually. Don't tell me, I'll just.." he trails off, lifting it up over his head and placing it around your neck.

His eyes scan over the chain hanging down between your boobs, "mm. I see what you mean." He smirks and grabs the chain, pulling you in to kiss him.

The kiss quickly turns heated, grinding down on him, moaning out as he bites down on your lip.

"P-please." You whimper out, desperate for his cock at this point, "Johnnie.”

He leans back, brushing hair from your face, "Hands and knees baby." You move off of him, crawling up the bed to hold your weight up with your hands pressed firmly into the bed.

You can hear Johnnie get undressed, but your mind is racing about one thing.

That chain tightening around your neck.

The bed dips down behind you and Johnnie slides your panties down, letting them drop to your knees, causing your heart rate to pick up.

It picks up drastically, when he slides a hand up your back and moves it under your hair to grab the chain.

He slowly and teasingly pulls it back, dragging it over your shoulders until it's pulled tight against your neck.

You gulp with excitement, knowing why Johnnie’s necklace was around your neck was exhilarating.

There’s just enough pressure, you can still breathe normal, but you can tell with one yank, your air supply will be cut well in half.

“Bring your ass up, baby.” Johnnie lays a hand on your hip and you drop your shoulders to the bed, the chain pulling tighter the further you move down towards the bed.

“You are so fucking sexy.” Johnnie says lowly as he admires the position you’re in. He grabs his cock, stroking it a few times before tapping the head of it against your wet slit.

You bite your lip, gripping the blanket below you as you feel him slowly push his cock into you.

You let out a moan, pushing your hips back to gain more of him.

He pulls the chain, causing it to grow tighter.

“Fuuuck.” He breathes out, fingers digging into your skin harder as he slides in more, “Shit.” You whimper at both the feeling of his cock and the chain tightening around your neck.

He wraps the chain around his hand, “Sit up a little for me.”

You rise up, holding your self up with your forearms on the bed. You tilt your head back and Johnnie leans forward to look down at you.

Your eyes lock with his, a strangled moan leaving your lips as he slowly pulls his cock out and slowly slides back in.

He bites his lip, watching your face twist with pleasure, “Does that feel good?”

You nod as best as you can, “Mm.”

“Is this what you wanted?” He asks and you open your eyes, whimpering out a small, “Y-yes.”

He smirks, leaning back, chain still wrapped around his hand, “I wanted to do this before you left, that little outfit you had on, fuck. It was so fucking sexy.”

He keeps the chain tight against your neck as he picks up his thrusts. It’s soon a punishing pace, the chain tightening more and more with each time his body connects with yours.

You try to moan, but you can’t.

Strangled noises leave your lips at random times.

Between the chain and Johnnie’s thrusts bringing you closer and closer to orgasm, your vision starts to go spotty.

You reach up, scratching at the chain and Jonnie loosens it. You take a deep breath as he leans forward, “You good?”

You nod, looking up at him weakly with a smile, “Uh huh. Keep going.”

He smirks, leaning back to resume his thrusts. He waits to tighten the chain, “I wanna hear ya.”

You let out a loud moan, pushing your hips back to meet his, “F-fuck.” You whine, “S-so close.” He lets go of the chain, gripping your hips to pull you back to him, slamming your body into his, “Shit.”

You drop your head down, moaning loudly as you clench around his cock, pulling the blankets as you finally hit that point.

“that’s it, baby.” Johnnie groans, “feels so good.”

Johnnie continues to fuck you, guiding you through your high before pulling out and rolling you over. Your eyes meet his as he leans down, grabbing the chain and wrapping it around his hand.

He pins it down beside your head, it tight against your neck.

He groans as he slips back into you, bringing your one leg up. His fingers dig into the outside of your thigh.

You whimper, eyes rolling back as his thrusts resume to being punishing. He leans down, crashing his lips onto yours.

You reach up, tangling your fingers into his hair, pulling, which earns a groan from him.

You loved hearing him, too.

“You’re so fucking good to me.” He whispers against your lips, “So fucking good.”

Your lips part as you watch him lean back, the chain loosening just enough for your moans to come out full volume.

He smirks, biting onto his lip as he closes his eyes. He tilts his head back, thrusts growing sloppy, “Fuck. Fuck.” He leans back down, tightening the chain once again as he rails into you.

The chain dulls your screamed moans as you drag your nails down his back. He groans loudly, “Fuckin hell.”

He dips his head down, lips attaching to yours as he pushes in, his cock twitching to coat your walls white.

He keeps his lips on yours, moving them in a slow rhythm with yours as he lets go of the chain. You take a deep breath as he moves to plant kisses on your cheek.

“You sure you’re okay?” He whispers as he brushes his finger over your neck. You turn your head to face him, “I’m good, baby.”

He picks your lips, sitting up to pull out and stand up.

He grabs his shirt and wipes off your thighs, “I really hope that wasn’t too hard.” He glances up at you as you sit up and you shrug, “Aw well.”

You laugh slightly which causes him to laugh, “I can’t believe you talked me into that.”

“I didn’t talk you into anything.” You stand up, “But I will talk you into going for a shower with me.”

“If I ever say no to that, use that chain and choke me out until I’m dead.” He walks over to you, wrapping an arm around your waist as he leads you to the bathroom.

The next morning, you wake up, sitting up to stretch as you look over at Johnnie, who’s still sleeping.

He was up late last night editing a video, so you decided to let him sleep in. You go out and start to make some breakfast before the curiosity of whether or not the chain left a mark gets the best of you.

You set down your mug and make your way to the bathroom. You flick on the light and as soon as your eyes meet your neck in the mirror, they grow wide and your mouth drops open.

“Oh fuck.” You cover your mouth, leaning in to drag your fingers down over the chain like bruise that circles around your neck, “Fuck.”

You laugh slightly, shaking your head. You look towards the open doorway as you hear Johnnie’s door open, “y/n.”

“Bathroom, babe.” You call out, leaning against the counter to wait for him. He walks around the corner, hand ruffling his hair, “What are ya doing?”

You bite your lip, “Um. I was just-“

“Holy fuck!” Johnnie drops his hands and move towards you, placing them on the sides of your neck.

His thumbs trace over the mark, “What the fuck.” He looks up at you and you can’t help but laugh, “I know. That’s why I came in here.”

Johnnie laughs in shock, “Jesus Christ.”

“It could be worse.” You shrug and Johnnie looks at you. You lean in, “I liked it. I promise. I’ll just cover it up with necklaces and stuff. No worries.”

“You are one freaky slut, you know that?” Johnnie slides his hands down to your hips and you pull him closer to you, “Those sound like fighting words.”

“Maybe they are.” He raises his brows and tilts his head, “what do ya say? Hmm. Wanna go a few rounds?”

.·:*¨ ✘ ¨*:·.

Thank you guys for being patient and thank you for reading! I truly appreciate and love you all so much! I hope you enjoyed this! 🖤

Likes and reblogs are greatly appreciated!

#samandcolby-ownme #Johnnie Guilbert #Johnnie Guilbert one shot #Johnnie Guilbert smut #smut #smut one shot #smut Johnnie Guilbert #johnnie guilbert one shots #Johnnie Guilbert dirty one shot #dirty one shots #one shot smut #dirty one shot Johnnie Guilbert #smut writing #smut writer #Metal Chain #Johnnie Guilbert dirty one shots

[multifandom-gabi]

hello!! i hope you’re doing well ☺️ i saw you were looking for xavier request and was thinking about pyrokinetic reader who accidentally burns xavier during their first kiss like on his arm or neck while grabbing him so they freak and avoid him till he confronts them and is like it’s whatever bc it’s worth it being with them and they find a way. maybe the end result is reader wearing oven mitts while being affectionate so they don’t accidentally burn him

love that burns - xavier thorpe

pairing: xavier thorpe x reader (anon didn't specifics gender, so the reader can be any gender! i will be using they/them pronouns and y/n!)

warnings: talks about pain/burns, friends to lovers, angst tbh, some kissing, like 1 curse word?

this is not edited

word count: 2.1K

summary: you catch feelings for xavier, but burn him with your powers when you kiss, causing you to avoid him to keep him safe.

═══ -ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ- ═══

When you first got your powers, you were five. Just what two parents want, a five year old that can not only control fire, but create it out of thin air. Your parents had a hard time helping you get the hang of things. Unlike you, they both controlled water. Your aunt was the only other one in the family who was pyrokinetic, but she had already passed away at the time your powers developed.

Immediately, your parents had to hire someone to train you, sort of like a tutor. You were catching the stove on fire just about every day, without even meaning to. If you felt any type of strong emotion, anger, fear, or even love, fire would come out of your hands. As a five your old, being emotionless is hard, nearly impossible.

As time went by, you got a hold of your powers. The fireplace wasn't exploding when you got angry, the stove wasn't igniting when you got excited, and your hands weren't lighting up whenever you cried. There was one aspect that you never seemed to be able to control, whenever you were in love. No, not the love to your parents or your friends, but to a lover. You couldn't even get near your first middle school crush without the fire alarm going off, it was embarrassing.

You and your parents had enough of the bullying you endured in a normie school, and the whispering that always seemed to linger behind you. They shipped you off sent you to Nevermore Academy.

You were the only pyrokinetic at Nevermore. It worried you, when you first arrived, but you were welcomed with open arms. Enid was your first best friend. She was always crazy energetic, and you loved that about her. It Enid lit things on fire every time she got excited, Nevermore would be nothing but ash. Ajax was also a great friend of yours. He was fascinated by your powers and begged you to use them to play pranks on people. You denied (most of the time) because you didn’t wanna get expelled.

Then there's Xavier. You first encountered Xavier when he was painting a mural at Nevermore. Enid and Ajax were showing you around. “Xavierrrr,” Ajax yelled across the quad in a sing-songy voice. “This is y/n, they just transferred here.” He said with a smile on his face. Xavier climbed down the ladder he was standing on and jumped off of the bottom step. When his feet hit the ground, he stumbled a little, causing the paintbrush in his hand to fly and hit you right in the chest, splattering paint all over your shirt, and then hitting the ground.

“Wow, I so am great at first impressions.” Xavier said, bending down to grab the paint brush, setting it on the latter behind him. “It’s no problem,” you said, looking down at the blue streaks on your cream colored shirt. “I don’t really like this shirt that much anyways.”

That was a lie, why would you wear a shirt you didn’t like to your first day at Nevermore?

Although you and Xavier started out weird, you two became inseparable. You say by him in most classes, you sat next to each other at the lunch table, you hung out in his art studio. He became the person you could tell just about anything.

In all honesty, you never really thought about him being more than just a friend. If you did, you quickly shoved those feelings away. It wasn’t until one day that you were sitting at a table on the quad with him. He was scribbling away on his sketch pad, but he had it hidden from you because he wanted it to be a surprise. “Oh come on just show me already!” You said, impatiently. Xavier looked at you and said nothing, he just smiled. He waved his hand in front of his sketchbook, still hiding it from you, until something started rising from it.

Then, it happen. Your hands started to burn, not light on fire, but they were hot enough to cause you to yelp and pull your hand from your face and shoot up from the table. You hid the palms of your hands from him. “What’s wrong?” Xavier questioned, standing up from the table as well. “I’ll be right back!” You said, turning from the table and sprinting away from the quad.

You ran up the stairs and took a left down the hallway. Your feet took you all the way to Enid’s room. You knew she was with Wednesday, a new transfer and her very new girlfriend, but you busted in the room without knocking, your eyes closed. “I am really sorry for busting in and I hope I wasn’t interrupted anything.” You said as fast as you could.

“You can open your eyes, Enid was just showing me how to cuddle. I am not sure how I feel about it yet.” Wednesday said, and you opened your eyes.

You had told your friends about your powers, all except the part you still to this day couldn’t control, the love aspect. You turned your palms around and showed Wednesday and Enid your reddened hands. “What happened?” questioned Enid, standing up from her bed. You then proceeded to tell her everything, how your hands have been burning and lighting on fire every time you had a crush, so you never even dated anyone. You hadn’t even had your first kiss because your powers scared you.

“Who were you with that caused you to be like this?” Wednesday questioned, but you went silent, looking down at your feet. Your cheeks turned red, not from an actual burn, but from blushing. “Xavier…” You whispered, and Enid started jumping up and down. “I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!” She said, her feet hitting the ground ever so loudly.

“Maybe you should tell him how you feel before this one combusts.” Wednesday said, pointing over to Enid who looked like she just won the lottery. “You have to Y/N, I am almost certain he feels the same way. Don’t ask me how I know.” She said, and you couldn’t help but feel giddy. You left Enid and Wednesday and ran towards the quad. You frowned when Xavier wasn’t there anymore, but you took off to his art shed, where you knew he’d be.

You knocked on the door, and it flung open super fast. Xavier, of course, was standing in the door way. “Can I come in?” You questioned, and he nodded. You stepped in his art studio, an oh so familiar place, and just like before, there were paintings scattered everywhere. There was one you hadn’t seen before sticking out from the rest.

It was you, with a flame coming from your hand, but not in a scary way, it was majestic. Xavier, almost embarrassed, tried to cover it up before you could get any closer. “Listen, Y/N, you weren’t really supposed to see that. I wanted it to give it to you when the time was right, when I could tell you how I really feel about you.” He said, the last few words trailing off into a whisper. “What we’re those last few words again?” You questioned, even though you knew exactly what he said.

Xavier shuffled his feet until he was standing right in front of you. You looked up at him, as he did tower over you a bit. “I want us to be more than friends and I’ve been terrified you don’t feel the same and it’s been—”

You cut Xavier off by giving him a small kiss on the lips. You quickly pulled away from him, unsure of how he would react. You looked him directly in the eyes, and he pulled you in for another kiss, wrapping his arms around your back. Your wrapped your arms around his neck, and before you could even think, your hands were on fire, burning Xavier’s neck. “Shit!” He yelled, causing you to stumble back from him.

You instantly began to panic. You didn’t even help him, or explain to him why you even burnt him, which you insanely regret. You pushed open to door to his art shed and ran. You ran as fast as your legs could take you, even though he was yelling your name. You stumbled into a tree, far enough from Xavier that he wouldn’t be able to catch up just yet if he was chasing after you. You leaned against the tree, sinking to the ground. Tears started rushing from your eyes.

You endured years of losing friends because of your powers, and because you were different. You could not let your powers hurt anyone else, even if it meant having to distance yourself from Xavier.

+++

For the next week, you were “sick” in your room from a terrible fever. That fever being you heating up your face with your hands, but no one had to know that. Enid, Wednesday, and Ajax had come to your door to drop anything from soup to notes from class off. Xavier hadn’t darkened your door one time, which made you think distancing yourself ruined your friendship even more.

You couldn’t stay in your room forever, but you sure didn’t wanna go outside and face Xavier. You felt horrible for what had happened, and you didn’t want to ruin Xavier’s life by burning him every time you touched. You stared at the ceiling, wishing there was something you could do.

Suddenly, your door busts open, and you froze. You sat up from your bed and your eyes met Xavier standing in your doorway. On the back of his neck is a big bandage, and your heart sank.

“Uhhh I’m sick Xavier, you shouldn’t be in here!” You said with panic in your voice, giving a few fake coughs in between your words. He rolled his eyes and marched towards your bed. He sat an array of objects beside you, and took a seat on your bed. “Do you want to explain what going on or should I since you seem to forget sometimes that I have visions?” He questioned.

You cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “So when I was younger, I used to catch things on fire and fire would come out of my hands for every little thing. Most of the time it would happen when I had extreme emotions of anger, sadness, excitement. I got the hang of controlling them all, every one of them except for love.” You said, letting your voice get quiet at the end.

Xavier turned towards you so that his whole body was facing you on the bed. “Y/N, I don’t want to just be your friend anymore. I want to go on dates with you, I want to hold your hand and kiss you in public, I wanna be able to paint and draw a million pictures of you with you knowing. I want you to be mine. I don’t care about the fire or getting burnt, because that is apart of you.” He said, and you kinda wanted to tear up.

He leaned forward to kiss you, but you hesitantly pulled away. “I don’t know how to stop it from happening.” You said, looking down at your hands.

That is when Xavier smiled and picked up all of the things he had brought in. They consisted of oven mitts, winter gloves, and leather gloves. You looked at him and giggled, but he was serious about you putting them on. He slipped the oven mitts onto your hands and then placed them on the back of his neck.

You leaned in and kissed him, a little harder then the first time you two had kissed. This was a different type of burn, there was passion between the two of you. His lips were soft, and you loved the feeling of them against yours. Xavier smiled into the kiss and you laughed when the two of you pulled away at the sight of oven mitts around his neck.

“So you’ve been having dreams about me?” You questioned. He pushed his hair out of his face and looked at you shyly. “Well yes, but not about this, I kind of lied about that to get you to talk. Enid spilled the details to me about the whole ‘hands catch on fire when you’re in love’ thing.” You let your forehead hit his shoulder. Of course Enid told him.

“Can we please go be way too affectionate in public now?” You asked, and the two of you were off.

═══ -ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ- ═══

A/N: i am SO happy to be writing again! i am a little rusty so it’s taking me a bit to get through my requests, but plz keep them coming!! i love bringing your ideas to life

#xavier thorpe #wednesday #xavier thorpe x reader #xavier thorpe x fem!reader #xavier thorpe x male!reader #xavier thorpe x male reader #xavier thorpe x non binary reader #friends to lovers #kissing #romance #percy hynes white

[barbi2709]

Soobin with an anime nerd s/o

Disclaimer: This and each of my stories are only fiction and are not intended to offend or make anyone uncomfortable, if this type of content makes you uncomfortable, feel free to leave without resentment :]

Paring: Soobin x gn!reader

A/N: I'm doing this bc it's just a underrated topic here (no bc I'm in my delulu moments and bc im an anime nerd myself, nonono). Also im doing this to get out of a writer block to continue with my other txt series which I haven't even started (loln't)

Our Soobinnie <3

My boy just want someone who gets just as excited as him when they watch anime :(

So when he met you he was so excited to finally meet someone like him.

Once u both started dating, anime dates became a thing really quick.

You going to his place or him going to yours to watch anime.

You both have a list of animes to watch and is endless.

You both promised to never finish an anime that you are currently watching together.

Ok, but the anime dates you have are just so cute :(((((

Like, you both with cozy blankets while cuddling on the couch and watching like 6 chapters on a raw bc neither of you want to stop watching or leave each other.

(I truly believe he would agree to build a pillow fort)

He wouldn't admit it at first but he IS into romance animes.

The most cheesy shit you can find out there, he'd be like 🤮🤮🤮🤮 at first but once you ask him to watch it together my man agrees before he can register his answer.

If you're more into Shonen and seinen, be prepared to an excited Soobin every time a fight scene come to the screen.

You both could be talking for HOURS about theories or making bets about who would win the last battle.

And also be prepared to defend your fav characters from this man *cofcofmegumicofcof*

(If Megumi hater, why so hot?)

But also my man is the type to get a little bit jealous of 2D characters, so whenever you got a new husbando please make sure to reassure him.

(Or tell your sexy bf that the character is ur fav bc they're almost as sexy as him)

Having crisis together at 3 a.m. because of the spoilers for the next anime or manga chapter that you're waiting for.

He comforts you when your fav character dies.

You both cried the shit out of you after the end of snk.

Manga shopping dates are also a thing in your relationship and I swear is the cutest thing ever :(

Like, you want that one limited edition but you think you've bought enough for the day so he bought it for you and leave it at your dorm as a surprise :(

I want him </3

Whenever he's on tour, he tries everything on his power to take you when he's going to Japan.

Or he plans a trip with you to Japan bc one of his life goals is to go with u at least once in his life.

If you can't go to Japan with him he'd buy EVERYTHING for you.

"I saw this Okkotsu plushie and bought it for you"

"I thought you'd like to have a Naruto lamp for your night stand"

:((((((

The members think you both are annoying bc of how nerds you're.

But they are happy that Soobin found someone who shared his same interests.

So now you're just annoyingly cute as a couple.

I feel like he's the one to watch "guess the anime opening challenge" type of videos.

And you both are SO. FUCKING. COMPETITIVE

He's always making rules to got one win

"Let's add the rule that if you also sing the opening you got the point"

"Binnie, you didn't knew the lyrics"

There's also dates when you both are just reading mangas with soft music at the background, no one's talking, just the comfort of each other presence.

You got him to do the Tik Tok trend of Wotakoi hands dance with you during pandemic.

At least in one of his social media accounts he has an anime matching icon with you.

I don't think he'd be into cosplay or going to conventions, but if you ask him enough times he'd be doing anything for you <3.

And that's it, love y'all

#txt imagines #txt #txt fluff #txt fanfiction #txt fanfic #txt angst #soobin scenarios #soobin fluff #soobin smut #choi soobin #txt soobin #choi soobin imagines #soobin fanfic #soobin imagines #soobin soft thoughts #soobin x reader #soobin x reader fluff #soobin x y/n #soobin x you #soobin #choi soobin x you #choi soobin scenarios #choi soobin x reader #choi soobin fanfic

[alexxncl]

who fell first, who fell harder (brothers)

based on the og game, lesson 16+ spoilers

dateables edition

masterlist

luci

this might be unpopular but he did both

it just took him forever to realize bc he was too caught up in making sure mc didn’t get themselves killed

always went easy on them whenever they got in trouble

pushed his pride to the side *shockingly* whenever they got hurt

would be one of the first to help them whenever they needed anything and gave in to everything they asked for with no prompting

realized how down bad he was after they studied together one night, he fell asleep at his desk and they brought a blanket over and put a pillow under his head so he'd be more comfortable

woke up with hot coffee, breakfast, and a note telling him to take better care of himself with the bed half made, he realized mc stayed in the room with him the whole night

connected the dots right before he made a pact with them in lesson 20 (?) and confessed to them after they [redacted]

mc always saw through his stuck up act, sympathized with him once they realized he genuinely cared about their well being

started spending more time with him after the lesson 16 incident

he forbade them from going to school until they fully recovered from everything that happened, insisted on walking them to school every day

the stereotypical kdrama tripping and falling into the person's arms while they walked to school

they confessed after the whole pact situation right before they left the devildom

mams

we all know he did both like let's be fr

"first man"

i love him sm y'all dont understand

every time he needed help, he'd go to them

every time he was feeling insecure, he'd go to them

he noticed little changes in their demeanor and always did his best to cheer them up if something was wrong

not exactly a love at first sight thing, but real close to it

quite literally broke down in their arms the day before they left the devildom

all his brothers picked up on it and teased him relentlessly, he had to talk to lucifer to even build up the courage to confess

and even then it took him until the night before they left

mc was oblivious as hell to his feelings which is crazy bc he did nothing to hide them

they saw through his tsundere act and warmed up to him the fastest

honestly they fell not long after he did but they didn't wanna say anything out of fear of ruining their friendship

the lesson 16 incident shook him up so badly that he clung to them for weeks after it, he didn't let belphie anywhere near them even after apologizing

yelled at the brothers whenever they talked shit and called him names, they almost always went too far and it always got to him

after they went back to the human realm, he skipped class and dealt with being strung up by luci just to see them

levi

levi fell first, mc fell harder

HEAR ME OUT

he'd invite them over to game with him and watch anime at ungodly hours of the night

they're awful at videogames so he'd let them win just to see them get all excited

don't tell his brothers that though

when they slept over, they made sure he got out of his habit of oversleeping so he could avoid lectures

helped him with his anxiety since they also dealt with it

with mc, they empathized with his anxiety/depression and spent as much time with him as possible whenever he had his episodes

saw how much he cared for his brothers and his pet(s) and, eventually, how much he cared about them

they opened up to him about their insecurities and he did his best to reassure and relate to them so they felt less alone

they confessed to him first bc of mammon's encouragement, he knew his brother wouldn't be able to do it without prompting

they did it a few weeks before they left the devildom so they'd have time together

after the lesson 16 incident, he'd always go to their room with manga or a console to try to take their mind off of what happened

every time they went out together, he'd be in his demon form and have his tail wrapped around either their ankle or their wrist/hand subconsciously

satan

satan fell first, mc fell harder

again, hear me out

the first thing he noticed about their interactions with him was their lack of fear

they were so much less powerful and more fragile in comparison to him, but that didn't deter them from wanting to get close to him

in true tsundere fashion, he tried pushing them away once he realized his feelings

that didn't work and they tried spending more time with him to see why he started acting weird

THEN they ended up falling for him

how he acted like he didn't care for his brothers but went out if his way to make sure they were ok

how he was able to be vulnerable with them about his insecurities and self hatred bc of his birth

how they got to see his soft side with belphie and cats

his reaction to the lesson 16 incident also pushed them over the edge

his entire angry demeanor crumbled, he always had new book recs and brought them cats when he had to go to school si they wouldn't be alone

they confessed first, but it was right before they left bc they were too scared of rejection

asmo

mc fell first, asmo fell harder

mc never fell for his "me, me, me" attitude and got him to open up easily

they found themself gravitating towards his room whenever they needed a pick me up, he'd always be down to give them a spa day

despite his sin, he never overstepped with the sexual jokes and advances

it starred off as a tiny crush, but mc realized it was more than that after a really bad day for asmo, they got to take care of him the way he took care of them

asmo was head over heels after that, never left their side

he stopped trying to act like he wasn't insecure about his position in the devildom or his looks, he was more comfortable opening up about his struggles

even tho mc fell first, asmo confessed like a month before they had to leave the devildom

the lesson 16 incident had him clinging to them 100 times more than he had before, lucifer had to pry him away from them so he could go to school

the day they left the devildom was full of tears

beel

mc fell first, beel fell harder

he has such a big heart and he's trusting of everyone, his openness helped mc become more comfortable around him

he only gets angry in regards to his sin or his family, and he considered mc family very early on

they'd start packing extra snacks in their bookbag when they knew they had classes with him, and id they weren't in school, they'd have them in their pockets

after a really stressful day, mc went to beel for consolation, and he dragged them to the kitchen after wrapping them up in one of belphies weighted blankets to try and fix them a beel-sized meal to make them feel better

seeing how easily he'd drop everything to make sure they were ok

seeing how gentle he was with them despite his size and strength

seeing how happy he looked when talking about his family

him allowing himself to be vulnerable about belphie and lilith

all of it boiled over when he cooked for them, they confessed on the spot

he was caught off guard, but realized after some thinking that he felt the same and didn't realize it

they moved slowly, and while beel navigated his feelings for them, he realized how much he cared about them

giving them extra servings when it was his turn to cook, and when it wasnt, he'd slide some of his food onto their plate

going to their room to talk if he had a nightmare about the celestial war

asking satan and luci what the best ways to deal with anxiety were

making sure they drank enough water

and after the lesson 16 incident, his feelings were all over the place

he was angry at himself, angry at lucifer, angry at belphie, but never angry at mc

he didn't want to be angry with belphie, but once mc (reluctantly) forgave him, he and belphies relationship was fixed

they spent their last days in the devildom together going to all of his favorite restaurants and food trucks

belphie

belphie did both.

he hated the human. he hated all humans. he had to, for lilith.

he manipulated them, lied to them, betrayed their trust, he KILLED them

so why did he feel so guilty about it?

why did he find himself gravitating towards their room every day before school, waking up early just to peek through the crack in their door to see how they were doing, disobeying lucifer's direct orders?

why did every flinch of theirs leave him with a gaping hole in his chest?

no matter how many times he apologized, he never felt like he truly deserved forgiveness

but they were so kind, so understanding, so infuriatingly sweet to him despite everything he did

he loved them, and he do everything in his power to show it, even if they never felt the same

mc saw how much he was hurting, they saw how much his actions affected him, how he was trying to be a better person

the brothers would understand if they never forgave him, but why did they feel inclined to?

they were never really asleep when he snuck by their room to check on them, he had to have known that

his brothers spoiled him the way he spoiled them

after learning to navigate their friendship, mc realized what they felt was deeper than whatever platonic feelings they thought they had

they were in the attic, belphie ranting about one of his anti-lucifer-league schemes failing, and they kissed him

they spent their remaining weeks in the devildom attached to his hip, much to the brothers' disdain, but they couldn't hide how relieved they were at his sudden change of heart towards humans

#obey me nightbringer #obey me #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me x mc #obey me hcs #obey me headcanon

[sasukimimochi]

So i decided to repost the original sketches [plus one i thought was appropriate to put with these, since its got a butt i put it under the cut] and delete the cringe original post- since it didn't get any notes anyway- after cleaning them up/adding a block of color behind them [plus me toying with demon wwx's colors] so i hope you enjoy them!! More about the fic under the cut :D

The extra sketch that has a bumbum which is why the read more line. [plus the extra info and all].

Scroll to the bottom for links! [up to date as of 3/25/2023]

“Clash of Immortals” / COI is an upcoming project I’m super excited about with Demon WWX and Angel LWJ. I use my own version of hell/heaven for this, allowing for lots of fun details and some creatures unique to my universe, including A-Yuan who is a “Garden of Eden” [not drawn yet].

Information i can share!

Demon WWX / Wei Wuxian - Demon type: A black-blue feathered “Captive” or “Fallen” - a type of demon caused by cutting an angel’s ascension short as they are being lifted into the heavens, caused by demons trying to prevent as many new angels from entering heaven as possible. This means originally he was supposed to become an angel, but his line was cut and he was dragged past hell’s gates, causing him to descend instead of ascend once he passed through the gate.

This leaves a nasty scar on his back from the hook used to pull him up [if ascended the hook will disappear harmlessly] and this is why they are also nicknamed "Hook Demons" as they will sometimes even go around with the hook still in their back, just filed down, because they are going through a vital area and can't be fully removed.

Angel LWJ / Lan Wangji - Nearly a white wing, shares a nearly identical wing color to LXC, His is white with minimal jade undertones; he has MANY piercings to compensate his abilities in order to prevent his body from tearing apart. He does however have a unique trait- two of his flight feathers [one on each side] are completely black [I will test this with his design so don't hold me to this]. After his descent heaven is a bit perplexed- they allow this type of movement but LWJ is a very important for heaven’s force of angels, as one of the most powerful.

Fun Facts ;]

When they see each other for the first time as angel/demon they bristle, [in my universe, angels and demons feel wrong when in each other's presence, even if they're very soft and sweet. It'd probably be a good mirror to how LWJ and WWX don't necessarily get along in the actual series when they first meet too.] but then it’s a cheery reunion- LWJ might be somewhat uncomfortable, but WWX tames the sensation more easily as he is nearly unrestrained in power.

Someone comes within 50 feet of A-Yuan and Wei Wuxian sends the person’s heart to their throat just by looking at them despite this being a bad habit he probably shouldn’t use around the "Garden of Eden."*

*original species invented which will be explained better in story, I don't wanna spoil too much

and then we have "BED" HABITS

WWX is aggressive as all hell with everyone else besides his kind [in hell anyway bc he doesn't like everyone's attitude] -not in an intimate way he wouldn't do anything with anyone else- but becomes tame with LWJ, it's like a switch gets flipped. LWJ is the growling demon in bed while WWX is the purring angel, despite their anatomy quite clearly showing otherwise; and let me tell u I love purring demons and growling angels

NO ONE believes him when LWJ says wwx isnt the aggressive one, thinking the demon is tainting their precious second jade despite wwx not having a choice about his demonhood. LWJ be like: we still husbands regardless of who's the more aggressive one anyway. Yes, I’ve just decided we’re still married no extra ceremony required.

my COI music playlist can be found here. My favorite COI song is this one: "Into Darkness" by Thomas Bergersen.

all art in this post drawn in drawpile and edited on clip studio paint

Here's all the sketches for COI in order! ♥️ They update regularly on my original COI post [you are here] / the mdzs ff masterpost.

OG POST - Demon WWX & Angel LWJ [you are here].

COI - MXY YLLZ WWX Demon WIP COI - Chibi kisses COI - Cuddles COI - Slumber COI - hugs COI - Hellscape Concept art [ficlet included in this post] COI - Er-Gege COI - Marks COI - Reunion COI - Thank you! COI - I'm Home! (Previews) COI - I'm Home! ...

Reddit Posts!

See the OG Reddit post here [contains 11 drawings] Rough Hellscape Concept art [has more art here that i didn't post on Tumblr!] Slumber Hellscape Concept art [same as Tumblr] hugs/hold er-gege reunion Thanks [separated drawings] Marks Reunion Thank you! I'm Home!

See the Explicit™ COI ficlet here [i can't post this on tumblr, so i posted this on Reddit, sorry!

See the first peek at Ch 1 of COI here!

You can find all my other projects here!

Did you get this far? :0 hello! Thank you for reading it all ♥️ ♥️ ♥️

#mdzs #mdzs fanfic #mdzs fic #mdzs fanfiction #SasukiMimochi #fanfiction #fanfic #mo dao zu shi fanart #mo dao zu shi #the grandmaster of demonic cultivation #the grandmaster of demonic cultivation fanart #lwj #lan wangji #lan zhan #wei ying #wei wuxian #demon wwx #angel lwj #angel #demon #COI #Clash of Immortals #Concepts

[reveriesofawriter]

book rambling don't mind me

the book kept saying anharion was his title... so was that also his name? did his name become a title when the Betrayal happened? does "anharion" translate to Betrayer or is that just what he's known as? was it a mistranslation from the old language? edit: I just reread the part where sarcean said he used to be called something else and now I feel like that's going to give away the whole ~is he the sun prince~ thing

I've seen some theories about the Collar and to what extent it actually controls james and like. as much as it would be less big and exciting to see it this way... what if the Collar is mostly symbolic? bc sarcean can talk people into doing what he wants anyway and james was obviously not immune to the charm (it's magnified for him even) well before will knew anything about himself or his powers so what if the collar was just a way to show other people that anharion belonged to him? but GOD if this moral stronghold of not wanting to manipulate james into kissing him and wanting him to do it of his own free will stops these boys from having a lil smooch for the majority of the third book I will Die

I've also seen people try to draw lines between will/sarcean and james/anharion as far as their past/present personalities and the consensus seems to be that will has a more clear line between himself and sarcean but I saw someone say it was more like intrusive thoughts and I think that's fascinating, also that will is seeing james and not anharion the betrayer when he looks at james but james in every sense is this cocky little asshole (affectionate) who flirts and uses his powers to take advantage of people while anharion in the past wasn't like that sooooo I think will isn't Seeing james as who he is I think he's seeing anharion for who he used to be before he turned against sarcean. which is so interesting when you think about will saying people shouldn't be judged by what they've done but what they can do

the tangled web of who hates who is so messy but I trust violet to, if not outright take will's side, then to convince the others to let him go like banish him or whatever instead of killing him right away (even if james's powers would physically protect him from that I just need violet to believe in him)

I'm still thinking about little 6 year old will setting a rich fucker's clothes on fire bc he laid his hands on a woman who was nice to him, how violet saved his life and he's spent every day after that trying to return the favor including using a newfound power he doesn't know how to control yet to set her free from a cage in another country

can't wait to see how the narratives shift when we get other perspectives on what the past was really like bc from what I can tell sarcean and the lady weren't really In Love they just had a fling one time

on that note I thought will was switched out for the girls somehow when they were kids but elizabeth was told her mother had a son before her and she believes that son is will, which would mean will is both blood of the lady and the dark king, which brings to question who his dad is bc they said it wasn't simon but I don't think his birth was a virgin mary situation, also I know sarcean got around but are will and simon's family related any closer than one ancestor thousands of years ago? is sinclair will's father?

I don't think tom and violet will fight to the death, tom may die in another way tho

what's the fourth kingdom and how does that pay into this? bc the first gate was in england the second was underwater somewhere and the third is in italy so the fourth...? on that note there must be more stewards alive who weren't in the hall when it was torn through, people who either left that life behind, or like cyprian at the beginning who didn't drink from the cup but still follow the lifestyle, or maybe like small covens of stewards who never went to the hall bc they found their own communities elsewhere idk it's just very eurocentric to think everyone from everywhere would meet up in this one place when the whole rest of the world exists

will needs some alone time after all this someone give him a safe place to rest and a hot drink

phillip and visander... and the unicorn....... love triangle of the ages... (I wonder if visander will find his way back into a man's body somehow or if he's stuck looking like katherine forever lol) (realistically. I don't think this man fucked his horse. but. metaphorically? metaphysically? whatever they had was probably as erotically charged as that magic scene right?)

#dark rise #dark heir #def some spoilers in here #got two friends now who have said they need to read these books #side note i read it not listened to it. how do you pronounce sarcean? bc in my head i've been saying sar-cean like the second half of ocean #which feels like a very irish way to pronounce it but if the name is rooted in latin it would probs have 3 syllables? sar-say-ən?

[soulsforsales]

Professor Steven Grant x Reader

Warning: OK this one's a bit sad, the reader's self-doubting, age gap, no use of Y/n, fluff-ish (at least the date part), this was edited on my phone/laptop so I apologize for any grammatical mistakes

Pairing: Steven Grant x Reader

A/N: I wanted to post this so much sooner but life lately has been just WOW and I was sick and I am sorry bcs some of this writing is just shitty. I have been going thru stuff please understand babes<3

Summary: You love everything about Steven... but, maybe he isn't feeling the same.

Chapter 2

Your anxiety is starting to creep in as you are standing in front of the mirror staring at the fifth - if not the tenth outfit you've tried on.

Your date with Steven is today. The outfit you had planned in your head looked awful and now you don't know what to do.

You send your images to your friend asking if you look okay. She says you look amazing and shouldn't be freaking out - it's just a date, she says, it's not. You are talking about Steven here and want this date to be perfect. You and Steven had talked over text almost the whole last night and he seemed just as excited about this as you did and now you didn't want to let your anxiety take the best of you and ruin anything.

You settle on a good enough outfit and make your way out of your apartment building. You are supposed to meet Steven at the restaurant. You reach on time. He's late but you really don't mind, the place is beautiful and it gives you some time to calm your nerves.

Gosh, you really are freaking out.

Steven shows up about five minutes late. You stand up from your table and walk up to him.

'Love, I am terribly sorry. I got held up,' he says, panting.

You shake your head, 'Did you run here?' You ask with a small laugh. Steven looks undoubtedly dashing in black, he's so alluring you could just stare forever.

'You look beautiful.' He says, ignoring your question, your cheeks flush. Even the way he's looking at you right now makes you feel things.

'Thanks,' you mutter, suddenly unable to breathe, 'you too'

Steven blushes, giving a bouquet of flowers to you. You stare at it. You've had many boyfriends before but you have never been given flowers in a romantic way. It melts your heart.

'Wow, I - these are beautiful. Thankyou, Steven,' you exclaim, blushing harder as you both take your seats.

'You like it?' He asks, his brown eyes gleaming with excitement.

You nod, taking in the sweet scent of the flowers.

You both order your food and Steven was right, it tastes amazing. Steven tells you about himself and you spend the whole time talking and smiling like idiots. Steven felt... warm.

You found out that no matter how quiet and introverted he might appear, Steven liked to talk and you loved listening to him, his accent, and the way his voice sounded had you smitten, just having him smile at you made your heart flutter. You felt that you would never get bored of hearing facts and stories and theories if he was the one telling you about them.

The day went as perfectly as you could've imagined. Steven was as perfect as you could've imagined.

After dinner, he offered to walk you home. He even bought ice creams for the both of you on your walk. He listened to you intently. Looking into your eyes, nodding at you, and not being bothered by your silly little stories and rants. This was your first date and you were already ranting.

No one had ever bothered to listen to you the way Steven did and that's how you ended up telling him about your most embarrassing childhood memory and it made him laugh.

And, oh, when he laughed. Steven's laugh was a sweet, hearty, and sincere one and it turned your stomach upside down and you had to fight the desperate urge to take him in your arms and hear him laugh forever, it spread across his whole face making his eyes shine and it filled you with happiness knowing you were the reason behind it.

But, like anything good, it ended. You both reached your apartment and you'd to tell Steven goodbye.

'It was perfect,' you whisper, 'um, the date... I - I loved it'

Steven smiles at you, 'Me too, looking forward to the next time I get to see you, yeah?'

You grin, unable to hide your happiness anymore, 'yeah, sure'

A second date.

You had a great time and you really couldn't wait to see him again and he hadn't even left yet.

Steven leans in and your breath catches in your throat. Your heart beating so fast as if it would jump out anytime. Was he going to kiss you? You push the bouquet closer to your chest, closing your eyes when you feel his breath across your face and his sweet scent fills you. He doesn't kiss you. Well, not on the lips at least. It's a soft kiss, planted on the cheek. And even that sets you ablaze.

'I'll call you, alright?' He says, pulling back, his smell brutally taken away from you. Ah, what amazing perfume does he use?

You are too buzzed by your feelings to reply and he is already making his way across the dimly lit streets. You wave at him, he waves back, smiling.

You check your phone for the hundredth time today and Steven still hasn't replied to any of your calls or messages.

Your first date with Steven had been, well, everything you thought it would be. You two had been talking non-stop ever since and you couldn't wait to see him again. Your skin flushes even at the thought of him.

You have not felt like this for someone in a long time.

But when Steven kissed you the night of your first date it became obvious that he wanted to take it slow and, honestly, you respect that decision but it was getting tough not to give in and plan a second date yourself.

You scroll through the messages one last time before putting your phone away. Steven must be busy. He wouldn't ignore you otherwise.

You start typing on the computer, trying to focus but you are distracted once again when your phone brightens up with a notification. It's embarrassing how fast you jump wishing it's Steven - it isn't. It's your friend, she wants to see you at the cafe, you aren't disappointed, you were just expecting... a reply, no, you clear your head before doubts start forming, you couldn't afford to think things like this.

You reply with a cheery, "Sure :)" and put the phone away.

It's almost been two weeks since you last talked to Steven. Two weeks. You don't know what's up with him but he's gone completely MIA on you and now you're sitting in your everyday coffee place with your friend because of your desperate need to keep your mind off of other things.

Your eyes keep wandering off to the spooky Halloween decorations the Cafe has set up while your friend is rambling about her Uni and work.

'Enough of my rants, tell me about Steven already,' she says suddenly, pulling your attention to herself. It had been weird at first but eventually, your friend came around to calling him Steven instead of Mr. Grant.

You shake your head slightly, 'it's... fine.' You reply, a frown tugging at your lips instead of the cheeky smile that was usually there whenever he was mentioned.

'Did he ask you for a second date?' She asks, oblivious.

You shake your head again. Suddenly, a weird feeling fills your stomach. Was he playing you... all this time?

'Hey, you okay?' Your friend asks at last, leaning closer to look at your face. 'Did... did something happen?'

'Steven's been... quite distant, I don't know. He hasn't replied to any of my calls or messages. I mean, it's been almost two weeks now... maybe-' you admit at last, you need to tell someone and your best friend had to be that person.

'He must have been busy,' she interrupts, eyes filling with concern

'Steven always found time before, but - I - I... barely know him... maybe I just... I just got it all wrong.' You let out a defeated sigh.

Your friend pushes herself back in the chair and you can tell from the way she's nibbling her lower lip that she doesn't know what to say. You don't really care.

'It's fine,' you say, waving your hand.

Your friend gives your hand a squeeze with an apologetic expression on her face. She knew how it had been for you all your life. So many failed relationships. Heartbreaks. And once again, you are the idiot.

Steven Grant could get anyone he wanted, why would he ever choose you? It made sense now.

You stare at your reflection in the bus's window.

Was he... ghosting you? You can't understand, it just felt so wrong. He was so nice... so, horribly staggering and he seemed to really... like you. Why would he do this now? Why not on your first date already?

Maybe you did something wrong. Maybe it's your fault. Tears pool at the corner of your eyes as you remember the hundred messages like these you'd sent to him.

"Hey, is everything alright?"

"Are you busy?"

"Why won't you reply?"

"Did I do something wrong?"

You just feel pathetic remembering about it now. You squeeze your eyes shut. You aren't going to cry about a guy you had one date with, but the tears fall anyway.

You eventually delete the texts that the two of you had shared, ignoring the pain in your chest as you do so. You had really liked Steven Grant but obviously, he didn't feel the same. It just wasn't meant to be, that's what you told yourself, at least.

A month went by and you had moved on from whatever it was between you and Steven Grant. You had been... hurt at first since he was obviously showing up for lectures (your friend told you so) and going about his life as if your stupid date never even happened but, now, you couldn't care less.

You had been way too hard on yourself. Your friend told you it wasn't good for you with a, "You had one date with the guy and he ignored you for weeks, babe, you can do better than that."

So you had tried. You went on a few dates but you just weren't feeling it. Maybe it wasn't time for you yet.

You accepted the fact and moved on. But the mention of Steven and you was still a sour subject and your friend knew it. You needed some time but you'll be okay.

•--------🌙

You are sitting in the cafe once again. Your friend's holidays are around the corner and she wanted to meet you one last time before she leaves to visit her family, although you were more than happy that she was being this thoughtful, your heart skipped a beat at the possibility of Steven being here too.

But, what were the chances, right? So, you agreed.

Your hot coffee is placed on the table as you are too busy typing into your laptop. Your friend hasn't arrived yet so you decided to get some work done. You are so intrigued that you don't even notice anyone coming to you until a shadow falls over the table.

'Hello there,' he says and your neck shoots up instantly.

Steven. Steven Grant is standing in front of you. It's almost winter and he's wearing a jacket two sizes too big for him with a scarf wrapped around his neck. And he's looking at you - he's looking at you with the saddest, most tired brown eyes you've ever seen.

You gulp. You want to run away but you can barely move.

"Hello?" Is that all he has to say? After everything he put you through? God, this man really is driving you crazy.

To be continued...

Tagging: @sunnyskyapplepie @ominoose @tsukkie-daisuke @ivystoryreader @steven-grants-world (anyone who wants to be tagged lmk!)

Previous Chapter:

#steven grant x you #steven grant x reader #moon knight fic #fic writing #fanfic writing #marvel moon knight #steven grant #fluff

[mrhowells]

Smallville 4x03

such an iconic episode, I'm so ready😩 (edit: ignore any typos you might find, I was going through it💀)

NOOOOOOOO THIS IS SO FKN FUNNY PLS LOOK AT THIS MAN'S HAIR I CAN'T BREATHE

Honestly I'm so thankful that not a single one of my schools was like this, it's like everyone just reached an unspoken agreement that bullying was uncool and we'd mind our own business.

needles😬

"Have I told you how much I'm gonna miss you?"

no you haven't but you definitely should, go on😌

*in unison* around where????

HELL YEAH FORCED PROXIMITY FTW

"Come on, do you know how many people would kill to relive their senior year of high school?"

No way in hell, and I had a relatively peaceful experience💀😭

"The last thing I want to be is a reporter."

She would absolutely be perfect but let's get one thing straight: If there's a person on this show who knows when to mind their own fucking business, it's LOIS🤷🏻‍♀️

I mean both Chloe and Lois make valid points, she's 17 and while I totally understand why Abby did it, it really is a bit concerning. Especially considering her mother has been pushing her to do it for the last 3 years😬

I got a comment from a helpful user under my post for last episode (ty🥰), apparently Jason is roughly the same age as Lex?? And he started dating Lana when she was 17?? AND HE'S THE FKN ASSISTANT COACH AT SCHOOL?

Clark wants to try out for the team again🥺

Jonathan let Martha have a job off the farm dude come on, be supportive. YES THANK YOU

omg did he fake his parent's signature on the permission slip???

"...they want people to look at them differently."

he's making points🤷🏻‍♀️

UGH I'm so weak for happy, excited Clark just look at himmm😭🥹

"Maybe if I'd been more patient I would've seen who you really are." EEEEEEEW throw the whole man away🤢

honestly fuck everyone who destroyed her self-esteem to the point where she's flattered bc a crusty man like that shows interest

asjaksjaksj

he's not even denying it-

PLSSSS their faces, especially Lois😭

I LOVE THEM YOUR HONOR

and look at Lois "not interested in journalism" Lane right on the story😌😌😌

I'm connecting some dots here and I don't like ittttt😬😬

"I still can't believe that you have a job at my school."

I feel like Lana has had more personality in these last few episodes than she had in the last 3 seasons combined, so that's great to see.

Lex knowssss👀

OMFG LOIS I LOVE YOU

I'mghfdjfghdj LOIS ARE U FREE ON MONDAY-

look at herrrrr😭 LISTEN IF I HAD CLARK'S POWERS-

I mean I agree that beauty is on the inside but that's very easy to say when you look like a literal angel💀 OOp evil surgery lady just said the same thing I did idk how to feel about that💀💀

I love that they're already establishing little things about her, she's messy, she can't spell etc. (though Chloe sounded a bit passive aggressive in both instances, maybe I'm just reading it wrong tho😬)

"It looks like Lois is one step ahead of us." THAT MAKES ME SO PROUD🥺🥺

Clark saving Lois and then Lois saving Clark is something so personal to me actually-

UGH LOOK AT THEMMMMMM😭

*kicks woman* "Bitch."

her lil smile seeing her article in the torch😭

yesss she has fans as she fucking should😌

(Can I just quickly say that as much as I love Homecoming, they could've had at least ONE person at the reunion remember Lois from high school, watching that shit left permanent scars on my soul, it was so cruel😭 Like come on, if reading her article was a "life changing experience" for some students, it would make total sense for SOMEONE to remember her. (yes I'm super salty and what about it))

FUUUUUUUCK I JUST REALIZED I HIT THE 30 IMAGE LIMIT AND I'M NOT EVEN AT THEE DUNK TANK SCENE😭 (off to delete some of them I guess😭)

omg here it comes

"Come on Lois, didn't those guys at the base teach you anything?" "Wouldn't you like to know."

akasjkasdjak YOU KNOW HE WOULD

they wanna bone so bad it makes them look like absolute fucking clowns there I said it

DOESN'TMATTERCAUSEYOU'REGOINGDOWNTHAT'LLBETHEDAYSKADWNKW can you tell I'm losing my last shred of dignity here

ALTERED MY BRAIN CHEMISTRY CLEARED MY SKIN IMPROVED MY GRADES WALKED MY DOGS ETC THIS SCENE CHANGED MY WHOLE FUCKING LIFE YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND-

and Tumblr won't even let me upload my 5732893 screenshots where's the justice😭

#ellie's smallville thoughts #smallville #4x03 #clark kent #lois lane #clois #honestly tagging anyone else I mentioned in the post apart from these two would be clownery at this point #like i'm not gonna make some poor lex luthor fan who went into his tag scroll through this; I do have a conscience💀

[aurcls]

HSHQTASK059: FAREWELL !

i know i already yapped in the admin post but let me continue <3

1: when did you join ? what made you join ? what do you remember from the plotlines that were current at the time ? where were you in life when you joined and where are you now ?

i joined in 2015 as a high school freshman, jfc ! i don't think there was anything major going on, the rp was very much a rich kids rp so the drama was chill and petty; entertaining but not that deep. one thing that made me join ( aside from my obsession with royals ) was the fact that phoebe tonkin - THE most popular fc at the time - was up for grabs. i thought it was meant to be !

2: which characters have you written over the years ?

errrmmm... merjem/kalla, olivier, livia, florencio, alexander, anneli, lixun, nicole, maryam, blazej, definitely some other characters whose names and existence i cannot remember

3: what is your favourite plotline that you've been part of ?

i think this is just nostalgia but i think olivier-viggo-armani-lykke-anton-etc era was my fave. artistically it's very hollow but i think the lightness of it all makes it my favourite. i also sort of view it as a testament of my own naivety and youth. i'm not saying i'm old now but i'm not 17 without a single worry. back then ( because i wasn't busy and i could sat in front of my computer for hours ) the plots moved quickly and the threads were really fun to follow. there weren't that many characters so everyone was, in a way, forced to write with each other so the plotlines were very interactive. i appreciate the organic way things evolved. ( i do have a soft spot for annexei but i think it's mainly bc i admire alexei's characterization so much and elisa's ability to depict depression )

4: what about other people's plotlines ?

i was insanely invested in the zulu conflict of 2020. it had so many moving parts and i think if it had only gotten a chance to evolve even further, it would have been on a whole new level <3

5: who is your favourite character from the ones you've played ? why ? what made you love them ? what made them so fun to write ?

i think nicole or olivier. nicole's plotline was so well defined that it was fun to write her. i loved her relationships and it was interesting to write someone older. i think she's a character i could write a book about but she wasn't the best for an rp setting ? getting a chance to be involved in the english drama was wonderful ! olivier on the other hand... i think he's just a fave because he lets me connect to the old days ? when rp was a top priority and everything was exciting and fun. i don't want this to sound like it isn't that anymore but times were different back then and i don't think it ever felt the same after maybe high school graduation ?

6: if you could relive a plotline, which would it be ?

i think the finale of the english plotline maybe ? or the insanity of the lawn chair thing. possibly the rise of olykke too <3 but honestly i would like to experience all of it again, as cliche as it sounds. i will very think of the nights i stayed up until 4 or 5 am just to write/read the dash. waiting for a reply was such an addictive feeling and idk where i'll find my replacement for it. it really breaks my heart and makes me feel very old to realize that i don't know if i'll experience the excitement again. those sleep-deprived nights were some of my best. i've said "it's just rp" a million times but honestly, rping itself is such an experience and i'm glad i've gotten to get the best version of it.

7: is there a plotline that you'd edit now if you could ?

i think i'd improve the kalla era's germany. i didn't do much with it.

8: what's a plotline you wish you would have been able to finish before closing or just write more of ?

i would have loved to finish aurel x araya story, i mean i can probably still accomplish that but nbskdgbjs there were big plans for the slovakians and it's a shame we never got to write it out on the dash. i think i would have enjoyed writing the inner struggle of blazej. he had a lot of potential but alas, it could not be !

9: what is your favourite ooc memory ?

i have two that stick out but my trip with serre ? we were on my sister's couch writing the stupid lawn chair saga and i think it was the first time in a long time that i had that much fun writing ! the second one would be me visiting evy because it was a surreal experience and i have to admit i was so socially awkward that evy's family probably thinks i'm weird nfgbkdsgbj i just think it's amazing that those two meetings could happen ? prior to hshq, i hadn't really believed in online friendships, everyone felt just too remote ! a special mention goes to this crackthread thing we wrote: link just a random memory though: i remember when we did those feedback surveys. we sorta forgot them but they were so important at that one point. other funny thing is our old adminooc blog. snapchat replaced it and then some years later discord replaced snapchat. we should bring the admin snapchat back btw @armanicatherina & @barbiebraganca

10: where can others find you if they want to get in touch ?

i'll be on discord !!! you can find me on the hshq server ( which we aren't deleting if i can have a say ;) )

11: what else would you like to say ?

i said a lot in the admin post but i actually had to "keep it short" so here i will say so many things that you wish i had edited this. for me rping has been an amazing way to connect with other people, learn about people through writing and to experience emotions that i wouldn't otherwise. some of the words i've read here have managed to capture thoughts that i hadn't been able to put into words and it's been amazing to see how differently people think but also how alike some feelings among different people are. i often try to wrap my head around the fact that this group's been going for eight amazing years. i've gone through a lot in those eight years and the existence of this group has brought me a lot of joy. i am sad to let go of it and i guess i'm in a bit of denial because i keep thinking that 1x1 rping exists and y'know... even if a group doesn't exist, threads can still happen. when i think about hshq and the plotlines i've read and written, one thing really sticks out to me and it's the way we shifted from a p basic rich kids rp into something intricate and sophisticated ( yes, we had a drug related nye event and we've had a fair share of petty fights ). the range of emotions people have been able to write and the psychological work they've done to write a convincing and very realistic humans is something everyone can be proud of. i don't know if i look like a sadist but i was most impressed by the depictions of sadness, guilt and self-loathing. in my opinion it's not easy to write a piece of sad prose without it being a bit melodramatic. aside from hshq's longevity, the most amazing thing has to be everyone's willingness to get involved. the plot drops that i wrote wouldn't have happened without your input and when it got too tough for me to write them myself, y'all stepped up and continued the plotdrops with your newsposts. as an admin, it's been so so so so so awesome that we've been able to put some responsibilities on the members and have you guys perform better than well. i think we did something unique here and i'm so proud of us as a group!!!! i wish i could flex about this irl because hshq's history and way of working is something extraordinary. i really wish i could properly put my love for hshq into words. i don't know how to express its meaning and influence in my life. i feel like it has helped me to improve my writing but more importantly it has taught me a thing of two about empathy <3 i really hope we'll stay in touch and if anyone comes to europe, or more spesifically finland, don't be afraid to message me bc i'd love to meet up !

#hshqtask059 #i'll do the task058 a bit later

[luke-hughes43]

Draft Day | trevor and Mackenzie

so as I do all things, I'm posting an insta edit to kick start this au!!!

_mackboldy

liked by mattboldy, trevorzegras, and others.

_mackboldy my twin brother, boyfriend, and best friends (that aren't the girls) got drafted today! I couldn't have been more proud of all of you for your dreams coming true.

matt, my twin brother and built in best friend, I love you and I'm so proud of you. I've loved being apart of this journey with you and being there every step fo the ay since we were kids. I can't wait to get to play with you again this fall and see all of the amazing things that you're gonna accomplish at BC and beyond.

trevor, my boyfriend and best friend, I love you so much and I'm so glad I get to be apart of this journey with you. I'm so incredibly proud of you. I know that come September we'll be rivals (and you'll get get your butt kicked in the battle of comm ave) but I'll love you all the same and that's never gonna change.

pat, my best friend and 3rd brother, you've come a long ay since we were kids and I'm so proud of you. you've been the best friend a girl could ask for and I'm so thankful for you.

boys, thank you for accepting me into the group not only as matt's twin sister, but as a teammate during u18 world and trevor's girlfriend too. I'm thankful for all the laughs and fun times that you've invited me to be a part of. I know we didn't have the results we wanted at u18 worlds but I'm proud of all us and incredibly proud of those who got drafted today. usa all the way!

(also, alex newhook, congrats on the avalanche! you'll probably see me a lot since you're living with my brother and playing with me!)

Tagged: mattboldy, trevorzegras, patrickmoynihan_, jackhughes, _alexturcotte, colecaufield, _johnbeecher, slknight35, marshallwarren_, cam.york, alexnewhook_

Comments: (have been limited by user)

mattboldy best twin in the game. thank you kenz, love you too.

_mackboldy 🫶🏻

trevorzegras I love you too baby❤️ thank you for supporting me in this and I'm excited for this next chapter with you.

_mackboldy I love you trev❤️

patrickmoynihan_ love you too kenzie.

_mackboldy🫶🏻

jackhughes we've been saying this since we met you, we like you more than matt, that's not gonna change mack.

_alexturcotte ^agreed patrickmoynihan_ ^I've been saying that since we were kids. colecaufield ^^ _johnbeecher ^ trevorzegras ^I agree but I am also slightly biased _mackboldy I appreciate that boys. mattboldy I'm offended. deeply. jackhughes good.

_alexturcotte to college puck we go!

_mackboldy indeed.

colecaufield no no, thank you for taming trevor.

_mackboldy he just needs constant attention and I'm more than happy to give it to him.🥰

_johnbeecher no one else id rather share a birthday with.

_mackboldy thanks beech!🫶🏻 mattboldy what about me? _johnbeecher eh. I like her more. _mackboldy hehe

alexnewhook_ thank you! I'm looking forward to playing with you and if you're anything like your brother, we should get along just fine.

_mackboldy I'm nothing like him. alexnewhook_ even better. mattboldy HEY!

#mackenzie boldy #trevor zegras

[brickmvster]

Adaptation [Ellie Williams]

Synopsis: Ellie wakes up one morning to find that she is showing symptoms of infection but her sanity remains in tact. While navigating the cruel and dangerous wilderness outside of Jackson, she must learn to adapt to the changes that are rapidly affecting her, and the sense of newfound isolation that comes with them.

Tags/warnings: minor canon-typical violence (non-graphic), minor injuries, guns, body horror, post-canon, ambiguous/open ending, suicidal ideation (extremely brief), angst, kind of a character study, not beta read

Word Count: 13k+

Author's Note: Hello everyone! Firstly, a HUGE thank you to the artist who's fanart inspired me to write this! They are @/teamashina on Twitter, and here is the link to the amazing work of art that gave me this fic idea: here. Ellie showing signs of infection but remaining sane is their idea! They have so much fanart relating to this concept and it is all so cool so please check it out.

I also took partial inspiration from the Korean television show "All of Us are Dead." In that show there is this concept of "human zombies" which are people who have been infected but do not go insane and also have side effects; those side effects are incorporated in this fic bc I just thought it was really cool :)

This has been proofread, edited, and revised, but not beta read, so if any grammatical/spelling errors still managed to slip by me, I apologize; they all belong to me, if there are any.

I really hope y'all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it <3

This has been crossposted on ao3.

Side Note 1/10/24: apologies for adding x reader tags, as this is not an x reader fic, but I just wanted to give this story more exposure ❤

After Ellie had visited the farmhouse one last time, she was then completely on her own.

Ellie craved stability. In the middle of nowhere, where danger loomed around every corner, she missed having a roof over her head. Shelter was often hard to come by and Ellie found herself sleeping in less than ideal places – an abandoned car that was dirty, cramped, and cluttered, or if she was lucky, maybe she’d come across a small, nearly picked-over convenience store. She was exhausted, walking with heavy steps due to frequent tossing and turning and being woken up by the slightest of noises, most of them imagined. Sometimes, whenever she closed her eyes, she dreamt of her small room back in Jackson; she imagined the feeling of her soft mattress and thick blanket, the warm glow of her fairy lights, her comic books scattered across the table. It was almost as if she was really there, and everyone that she loved was still in her life, and she got to see them everyday. But when the sun peeked over the horizon, and Ellie was stirred awake, the mirage once again faded into the darkness, just out of reach. 

Ellie found herself residing in a travel van stuck on a lonely highway after walking on sore feet for several hours in a randomly chosen direction, hoping to stumble upon something, anything worthwhile. Most days were uneventful and never caught Ellie by surprise. Food wasn’t readily available, but Ellie’s hunting skills had been honed and sharpened by that point and wasn’t much of a challenge for her. On the more exciting days, infected wandered a bit too close to the van, leaving Ellie to take care of them swiftly and quietly. Often it was one or two, but sometimes they came in larger numbers. Ellie still had her beloved switchblade with her that she cleaned and took care of to the best of her ability that became her best friend when a group of runners decided to pay her a visit.

Ellie's run-ins with infected didn't always end with her leaving unscathed, though. The bite on Ellie's arm, partially hidden by her tattoo and the chemical burn, was now accompanied by a plethora of other bites, including one on her shoulder and a couple on her other arm; But they were nothing but mild annoyances.

Ellie would say she was doing fairly well, even if it didn’t look like it. Her hair was on the longer side and fell into her eyes a lot. She had lost a significant amount of weight, as her food supply wasn’t as steady as it once was and some days she would be unlucky on her hunting trips. She adjusted to only having eight fingers far more quickly than she initially thought she would. She could still hold her weapons just fine and her accuracy didn’t change too drastically. She was still alive and breathing; even if she felt and looked like shit, that’s what was most important. 

There wasn’t much at all that could be done for entertainment. She still wrote and drew things in her journal, almost having filled up every page. She had to start using the backs of pages now.

Her journal entries were usually fairly short. There was nothing very interesting to document in her life, after all. She had been writing more poems, though. They were also short, many of them unfinished. But sometimes she was able to better communicate her feelings through a few words and single sentences.

Her drawings, though, were more frequent. It was mostly random objects or something that caught her attention while hunting or simply walking outside for fresh air. Maybe it was a carcass being picked at by a flock of birds, or random, lost objects that once belonged to a person, now forever buried with overgrowth. Other times she drew her memories. Dina and JJ. Joel. Jesse. These people were all gone but she felt they had to be immortalized in some way.

Although Ellie knew she might have been better off than others, she could never stop thinking about the place she once called home. The people of Jackson weren’t trigger happy like the WLFs or a fucked-up, sheltered cult like the Seraphites. They were accepting, willing to take anyone in with open arms. Surely they would welcome Ellie back, right?

She felt that she had waited long enough, and there was only one way to find out.

When Ellie woke up one morning, ready to pack and head out for Jackson, she made a discovery that stopped her in her tracks. 

She sat up in the small space of her bed, staring at her arm in shock, confusion, and fear.

Her arm was partially covered in a hard fungal growth, and it had effectively torn through the fabric of her brown flannel. It was only a small section of her arm, and it just barely covered part of her fern tattoo. She touched it, wincing in advance as she anticipated pain, but she felt nothing. Frantically, she felt her face and her legs, feeling for the same growth, but it seemed to only be her arm. Ellie wasn’t sure how to process the slight changes that her body had undergone overnight. Was her luck finally running out? Was her immunity only temporary? These were all questions that polluted her mind like oil to water. 

There wasn’t much Ellie could do other than brush it off – even though turning into a clicker was not something one could necessarily forget about as if it was a minor inconvenience. 

The whole day, Ellie kept stealing glances at her arm to see if the growth would spread, but it remained in that one area. When she had sat down to eat dinner, she pulled out her journal, flipping through countless pages before eventually opening it up to a blank page, pencil in hand as she chewed on two-day old rabbit.

What’s happening to me?

I woke up this morning and saw something had happened to my arm. There was fungal growth. It scared the fuck outta me.

What does this mean?

My immunity couldn’t have just disappeared yesterday. If that was the case, I would’ve woken up a runner. It seems like my body has just completely skipped the earlier stages of infection. It takes… a fuck-ton of time to turn into a clicker. Why am I turning into one in only 24 hours? I don’t know what to do and I’m terrified. I tried breaking it off. But it’s so damn hard. Harder than it looks. It’s sturdy. Being covered in this might feel as if you’re wearing a fucking suit of armor.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

And tomorrow brought, well, even more surprises. Unpleasant ones. 

When Ellie had awoken, the growth had spread to more areas of her body rapidly. Small sections of both of her legs were now covered in the same growth, as well as her other arm. Much to Ellie's horror, when she had felt her face, she was terrified to know that the growth had finally reached her face, too. It was protruding from her cheek in a way that may have looked like it should have hurt, but once again, she felt nothing. From her discoveries yesterday she knew that she wouldn't be able to remove them and yet she tried anyway, bending and twisting and manipulating the tough fungal plates using all the strength she could muster. But to no avail.

Ellie spent the day much like how she spent yesterday, only significantly more perplexed. She had hoped that yesterday was just an awful dream, and that when she woke up the next day her arm would be clear and only her tattoo would remain. 

Ellie tried to make sense of this, but couldn't, no matter how long she sat and thought about it. She wasn't twitching erratically or moving in any way an actual infected person would, which she thought was a good sign. But something she did notice was how her senses had seemingly increased in strength.

She first noticed these changes when she was sitting at the table, scribbling away in her journal like she usually did. But the sentence she was currently writing was cut short when suddenly her stomach began cramping in unbelievable pain. 

It was so terrible that she had fallen out of her seat, clutching her stomach tightly, tears welling up in her eyes. She was convulsing, nausea overcoming her, the room spinning. She genuinely felt as if she would die right there on the floor if she didn't devour something, and quickly . 

The leftover rabbit meat that she had stored away in a cabinet somewhere had become extremely potent; what usually had no smell began producing a scent that was like nothing Ellie had ever smelled. It smelled so good, almost too good, and Ellie tried her damndest to get up so she could retrieve it. It was a struggle, as she could barely stand on her feet and every time she tried she just ended up back where she started. But through enough persistence she succeeded. She ran to where she stored the rabbit meat, keeping it wrapped up in a clean cloth. Her eyes widened as she saw that she only had a single strip of meat left. She ate it, so fast that she could've choked and she nearly bit off her fingers. But it wasn't enough, and she knew it wouldn't be enough. The pain within her stomach continued, so she stumbled over to the bed, bumping into the edges of things on the short trip there. She collapsed onto the bed, the sharp, unwavering pain rendering her motionless.

Ellie weeped and sobbed, thinking to herself that death would be preferable in this moment. Right as she began contemplating it, her gun just out of reach in her bag, she passed out before she could do anything.

____

Ellie's eyes had fluttered open for the second time that day. When she had woken up, the sunset was filtering in through the windows of the van. She had been out for a while.

Fortunately, the pain was gone. Ellie needed to hunt; she was completely out of rabbit meat now. But she was far too weak and felt exhausted from what she had experienced earlier. Her throat was dry, but she had no water either.

She had just enough energy to get up and grab her journal before returning to the warmth and comfort of her bed. She decided to just stay curled up in bed for the rest of day, having been pushed to her limits just a few hours ago.

She opened up her journal to where she remembered writing a new entry. She read it curiously, wondering where she left off. 

The fungal growth has spread. It's all over me now. It fucking sucks, to put it lightly.

It feels kind of itchy. Not enough to be awful, but just enough to be slightly annoying. Still no pain, though. I tried breaking it off again this morning knowing that I would get the same results.

I can't see what I look like. There's no mirror in this damn van. But I imagine I look hideous. 

I don't understand why this is happening to me. All of this has got to be some fucking nightm

The spelling of the last word was left unfinished, and Ellie was immediately reminded of the pain that had overwhelmed her in that moment. She slammed the journal shut.

Ellie thought about writing another entry, but instead, she laid back down, closing her eyes. All she wanted was sleep. The fungal growth made some sleeping positions uncomfortable, so she opted for simply lying on her back, letting out a tired sigh.

Sleep never actually caught up to her, though, as she heard the sound of voices from outside.

The voices were loud and clear, not coming from outside the van but from a distance. Ellie was startled at the fact that she could hear them so clearly from seemingly so far away and could even differentiate the tone of each voice – a woman and a man. She remained still, wondering if they were just wanderers. 

It was impossible to try to sleep then, because all she could hear was their conversation. She picked up every word.

"We've been walking for ages and haven't found anything."

"I'm sure we'll find somewhere to hole up eventually. We gotta keep searchi-"

"Hey! Look up ahead! Is that a van?"

"Holy shit. Let's get closer and check it out."

Ellie had immediately raised up in bed, grabbing her bag that was right next to her and unzipping it with great haste. She reached in and grabbed her pistol, reloading it swiftly. She stayed where she was, keeping the weapon firmly grasped within her hand. She listened closely to the people's footsteps, continuing to listen to the words exchanged between them (not that she had much of a choice because their voices were so goddamn loud– her hearing had drastically improved).

"You think there's anyone in there?"

"One way to find out." 

"We should knock." 

"Or we could just-"

"Let's knock, Travis. If someone is in there we could get shot on sight." 

"Fine."

After several minutes, Ellie could tell that they were right outside the entrance to the van. She kept her finger gently resting on the trigger, completely still, like a snake silently waiting to attack its prey. She could hear every thump of her heartbeat in her ears.

Then, she heard another sound. The sound of knocking. It was heavy and loud, the person making their presence known. The deeper voice of the man had asked a question from outside the door.

"Is anyone in there?" 

Ellie didn't respond; not right away, anyway. She slowly got out of bed, coming just slightly closer to the door, keeping her gun trained in that direction. Fatigue was still coursing through her, but she used what little strength she had to keep her arms steady and her gaze focused. After clearing her throat, Ellie replied.

"What do you want?" She asked, her voice calm but firm.

There was silence on the other end for a few minutes before the woman responded. 

"We don't want any trouble. We've been walking for a while and we need someplace to rest. I'm Kathy, and the voice you heard before is my husband, Travis." 

Ellie remained silent. Travis spoke up again. 

"Please. My wife is pregnant." He said, his voice wavering. 

Ellie sighed, lowering the gun, but keeping it within her grasp. She weighed her options, feeling conflicted with the choices presented to her. Ellie wanted to invite them in, The van was a small space, and it would certainly begin to feel claustrophobic with the addition of two people, but she was vehemently against the idea of sending them walking again. Ellie had so much blood on her hands from taking away so many lives on her journey for vengeance, but now, with her violent history behind her, the least she could do was help people when they needed helping. But Ellie was also fully aware of what she looked like at the moment; these people probably wouldn’t want to be around her for very long. They may even shoot her on sight once she opens the door. She walks like a human, and talks like a human, but her body took on a drastic transformation, one that would definitely cause people to look at her differently. People were going to fear her and Ellie was going to be even more isolated than she already was. 

She had only been living out of the van for a few weeks; it was only just now starting to feel like home. But she knew the choice she had to make. The choice she wanted to make.

Ellie must've been silent for too long, prompting Kathy to speak again. 

"Please." Was all she said, her tone hopeful. Ellie took small steps toward the door, unlocking it, before backing up again. Her finger was still just barely brushing against the trigger of the gun as spoke, her voice just barely loud enough for them to hear, “come in.”

They didn't come in immediately. Ellie imagined that they both must've been taken aback by being invited in and expected to be shooed away. But, after only a couple of minutes, the door was opened, the hinges emitting a loud, telltale creak.

Kathy and Travis had stepped inside the van tentatively. When their eyes landed on Ellie standing across from them, Travis wasted no time in slinging his rifle off of his shoulder and pointing it directly at her.

“What the hell – you’re – you’re infected–” He stammered, eyes wide, clearly unsure of how to proceed.

Kathy had defensively pulled out a pistol from a holster that was attached to her thigh, but she wasn’t aiming it. Instead, she merely looked at Ellie, eyebrows drawn together in bewilderment. Travis had stepped in front of her protectively, but Kathy immediately stepped aside him again, placing a hand on Travis’s rifle and gently lowering it. Travis’s eyes snapped to his wife, and he raised an eyebrow at her, as if silently questioning her. 

“It’s okay, Travis. Relax.” Kathy said in a soft-spoken yet firm voice. Travis couldn’t seem to take her advice, shoulders still visibly tense, his fingers gripping his rifle tightly as if the weapon would grow wings and fly away. Nonetheless, he didn’t try to retaliate, and he let his wife try to take control of the situation. But he kept his eyes trained on Ellie carefully, prepared to strike if the situation ever called for it.

Kathy continued to speak. “I’ve never seen someone like you before. You look like a clicker… but you’re not… y’know, batshit crazy.” She said.

“I don’t know what happened. I can’t– I couldn’t explain it to you. But I promise I’m not… a threat.” Ellie responded. 

Travis scoffed. It seemed like he gave all his might to stay silent but eventually caved in and spoke anyway, much to his wife’s distaste. “Bullshit. Just because you may be walking and talking like us doesn’t mean anything. You could still just suddenly snap for all we know.” He replied. Kathy placed a gentle hand on Travis’s shoulder, but the glare she had sent him was anything but gentle. Travis could only laugh in response, as if what he said was something completely absurd and not within the realm of possibility. 

“Why are you looking at me like that, honey? Do you seriously feel safe around her? We need to go somewhere else.” 

Kathy immediately shook her head. “No. We’ve been walking around for hours. I’m fucking exhausted, Travis! I’m not going back out there. I’m not.”

Travis gave Ellie a quick up and down, disgust written all over his face. “I’m not sharing this van with her. She is a danger to us all. You’re pregnant, and I can’t risk anything.” 

“And you’re gonna make a pregnant woman walk some more ?” 

“Goddamn it, Kathy, we don’t know what we’re working with here!”

Kathy crossed her arms in growing frustration, her jaw clenched as she tried to remain level-headed. Ellie had gotten enough of their bickering and moved to the bed to retrieve her backpack. Travis’s eyes had quickly bounced to Ellie the second he saw her movement out of the corner of his eye. Kathy turned her head to observe Ellie as well, and they both fell silent. Ellie could feel their eyes boring into the back of her skull as she holstered her gun and put her journal inside her backpack, zipping it closed. She felt her back pocket briefly, just to make certain that her switchblade was there. Lastly, she grabbed Joel’s tan leather jacket from where it had been haphazardly thrown on the bed, hastily putting it on. When she had everything she needed, she turned around, yet again meeting eyes with the married couple who watched her every move. It was almost as if they were waiting for her to twitch.

Ellie cleared her throat. “The van is all yours.” she firmly stated, leaving no room for disagreement, making her way toward the door. Travis didn’t waste a second moving out of the way of the door, but Kathy was hesitant; she stayed standing where she was as if she was tethered to the floor, looking at Ellie pitifully. Her lips were fixed in a slight frown and her expression could only be read as sympathetic. Ellie mustered a barely noticeable smile, hoping to extinguish any feelings of sorrow that Kathy was feeling. 

Kathy stood in front of the door for several minutes before finally moving to the side, joining her husband. Ellie sauntered toward the door, her footsteps heavy, but before she left, she glanced at the married couple over her shoulder one last time. Kathy had waved at her, returning the same smile that Ellie had given mere seconds ago. Her eyes then migrated to Travis, who’s expression was dour, large hands still clutching his gun; Kathy had holstered hers long ago.

Despite the situation that Ellie found herself in, she could only feel content. The travel van that she was just beginning to call her home was no longer hers, but she didn’t feel sorrow when she had to part with it. Ellie’s conscience was put at ease knowing that she had just helped a couple, soon-to-be-family, find somewhere stable and mostly secure to settle down in, even if just for the time being. 

She stole one last look at the van, before focusing her attention on the imaginary path ahead of her – but she had only taken a couple of steps before she heard the door of the van swing open once more. She turned around, being greeted by Kathy, who was holding a handful of granola bars with an apologetic smile. She waved Ellie over, gesturing for her to come closer. Ellie obeyed, silently walking over and looking at her curiously.

When she approached, she held out her hands, waiting for Ellie to accept her offering. "Take these," she said, voice firm. "It wouldn't be right for us to kick you out and not give you a, uh…. parting gift, of some sort." She spoke.

Ellie shook her head. "You didn't kick me out. It's okay, really," she glanced at the granola bars in Kathy's hands. "And you should keep those. Any kind of food is hard to come by all the way out here." 

Kathy sighed, eyebrows furrowing in bubbling impatience. Suddenly, with confident strides, she walked behind Ellie and unzipped her backpack, stuffing the granola bars inside. "Exactly, which is even more of a reason to give you these." She said as she closed up the backpack. When she was facing Ellie again, she let out a series of chuckles upon seeing Ellie's look of defeat, standing there with her bag just a little heavier.

Ellie adjusted the straps of her backpack as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Thanks. That was, uh… really kind of you." 

Kathy absentmindedly rested her hand on her protruding stomach. "It was the least I could do." 

There were a few beats of silence that passed between the two women as they looked at each other, sharing glances of mutual acknowledgment at the fact they would be parting ways. Kathy gave Ellie one final grin, waving once more and waiting half a second for Ellie to wave back, before heading back toward the entrance of the van. Ellie continued to stare until the door was closed shut.

Once again, that familiar feeling of loneliness had reappeared as she looked at the road ahead of her, walking forward into the unknown. 

She wasn’t sure where she was going, she was simply letting her feet take her where they wanted to go. Ellie wasn’t in any rush, either, walking casually as if she was taking a stroll in the park. On either side of her was nothing but forest, the trees tall and imposing, the leaves moving gracefully in the breeze, seemingly breathing as if alive. There were plenty of broken down cars alongside the road, and the occasional animal that would always scurry away once they picked up Ellie’s scent. 

The sky was still a captivating blend of oranges and pinks, but it was noticeably getting darker. There was a slight chill in the air, causing Ellie to wrap Joel's– her jacket around her body more securely, tucking her hands inside of her arms, trying to keep them warm. She was grateful for the granola bars that Kathy had given her, having devoured two of them earlier along her journey. If only she had water to wash everything down; the assortment of nuts and oats not doing much for her already dry throat.

Surprisingly, she hadn’t encountered much trouble during her walk. It was almost unsettling, how barren the world around her was. Ellie observed her surroundings closely, her eyes moving a mile a minute as she anticipated an ambush, whether it be from people or infected. She was tense, ready to pull her pistol from its holster at the slightest of sounds. But the journey remained relatively peaceful. It was a stark contrast from places like Seattle, where Ellie couldn’t go anywhere without a Wolf or a Scar ready to ruin her plans. For the first time ever, even if only momentarily, being alone was not a miserable experience for Ellie, but a tranquil one. She closed her eyes, losing herself in the calming amalgamation of nature’s sounds and the sound of her feet softly hitting the pavement. It was during this moment that fatigue was settling within her aching bones, her gait gradually becoming slower, her eyelids getting harder and harder to keep open without effort. Ellie briefly considered curling up on the side of the road, but as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she was startled awake by the sound of loud and penetrating voices hitting her ears.

Her eyes shot open, looking left, right, and behind her, before realizing that the voices were coming from up ahead. She heard the sound of a group of men conversing with one another before she actually saw them.

“I’m fucking starving. I could eat a horse.”

“We’re all hungry. Just stop complaining, for fuck’s sake.”

“We’re in shitty shape, man. No food. No shelter. Barely any water because your dumbass drank it all. Y’know, I think it’s your fault we’re in this situation.”

“Are you two really bickering right now? Shut the fuck up, Jesus.”

It was mostly dark now, so she quickly turned on her flashlight, but the light was dim and barely helped her with seeing a few feet in front of her. A curse word fell from her lips, knowing full well she didn’t have spare batteries. She thought it would be a better idea to conserve what little light the flashlight was producing, clicking it off. 

The group of men had come into Ellie’s view eventually, and she noticed that they were all heavily armed, with a dog keeping close to their side. Ellie removed her pistol from its holster, gripping it securely. It took several minutes for the men to notice her, but when they did, they stopped for a few long seconds, exchanging words with one another, their voices barely above a whisper. Little did they know, Ellie’s hearing had bettered significantly, and she was tuning in to every sentence.

“That woman looks pretty fucked up. I say we leave her alone.”

“She’s got a backpack. It might be worth searching.”

“Let’s just focus on getting where we need to go-”

“It’s four of us, one of her. We can take her out easily. Let’s get closer.”

Ellie’s finger was now resting on the trigger of her gun. She continued walking closer to them, slowly closing the distance between them. One of the men leading the group spoke first.

“Hey! You there! You alright?” He shouted. He was clad in all black, a shotgun being held in his grasp. 

Ellie didn’t respond. Once again, she began observing her surroundings, searching for a potential escape route. Ellie realized fairly quickly that her best bet would be darting off into the forest if she wanted to lose them. The second man who was walking beside the leader nudged his arm to grab his attention, a sickening smirk resting on his lips. He was carrying another long gun; a rifle. He muttered something else to the man in charge, which obviously did not go unnoticed by Ellie.

“Is she deaf, or what?” He said with a chuckle. The leader only glared at him, effectively silencing him as he returned his attention to Ellie. The distance between her and the men was shrinking, and Ellie, not wanting to immediately provoke them, began walking backwards. She had passed a clearing into the forest on her right side, and decided that she would make a mad dash through the trees.

The leader provoked Ellie once more, this time, his voice much less friendly than before. “Where are you going? We just wanna talk. Maybe we could help each other out.” 

On the surface, his request sounded innocent, but by the sinister smiles plastered on his henchmen’s face, to the overall intimidating nature that they all shared, Ellie had put two and two together. 

But, in typical Ellie fashion, she gave them all the finger before sprinting into the clearing, narrowly avoiding gunshots, the harsh and piercing sound of bullets firing clashing with the gentler sounds of the natural world around them.

With only the moon illuminating Ellie’s path, she had a difficult time trying to see exactly where she was going, noticing a large branch on the ground just a couple seconds too late, tripping over it and landing on the ground. It was during this fall that she also noticed there was a steep incline, steeper than she thought it was, and she was sent rolling down a small hill. She was stopped by a large, thick log, rolling into it and feeling the pain shoot through her shoulder. 

Ellie was effectively winded, frozen on the ground as she tried to recuperate, breathing in and out through her nose heavily. Adrenaline had long been running through her veins, giving her just enough energy to power through the intense pain in her shoulder to stand up. She blinked a few times, her vision spotty; and once she was able to see the environment around her clearly again, she soon realized that her gun had fallen out of her hand some time during her trip down the hill. Panic hit her hard like a bucket of cold ice water as she fell to the ground again, knees digging into the dirt as she pushed away fallen leaves, feeling for the cold metal of her pistol. The men were surely chasing after her and she knew her gun was around here somewhere .

As if matters couldn't get any worse, Ellie picked up the telltale sound of groans and clicking in the distance that never failed to send chills down her spine; and the sounds were very quickly getting closer. 

When Ellie had finally found her pistol, she hastily brushed off leaves and dirt, but before she could even make her next move, there was a horde of infected already shambling toward her from behind, snarling and feral. Ellie was stuck in a crossroads, not wanting to turn her back on the road – but the infected made themselves the more immediate problem. Ellie could see them getting closer and closer. She raised her arm, releasing shaky breaths. She took one step back – stepping on a large rock and losing her footing.

When she felt herself falling to the ground again, a loud shriek escaped her throat, followed by a string of profanities. The infected were right in front of her now, and there was no way Ellie could get back up in time to defend herself.

“She ran in here!” She heard one of the men shout. Ellie shut her eyes tight, believing that her fate had already been sealed, waiting to either get torn apart by the runners or shot to death by the men. 

But neither happened.

The infected had completely surrounded her, but they weren’t attacking. No, they weren’t even looking at Ellie. They seemed to be attracted to the sound of the men shouting, looking around frantically, groaning and convulsing, completely animalistic at the smell of fresh meat. Ellie looked up at them from where she was still lying on the ground, complete and utter bewilderment coloring her features. They weren’t interested in her.

Ellie stood up, slowly, brushing herself off. All of the runners had glanced at her and were aware of their presence, and yet they never touched her; she might as well have been a tree or a rock with how disinterested they were in her.

When the men finally caught up, out of breath and red in the face, they looked ahead, immediately noticing the hoard. But they also noticed Ellie standing directly in the center of it.

One of the henchmen’s jaws practically dropped to the forest floor, watching the sight in front of him in disbelief, fear chilling him to the bone and keeping him frozen. All of the men shared a similar expression, and Ellie could only chuckle at how their eyes comically popped out of their heads.

“Look, everyone.” Ellie spoke to the infected as if they were old friends, feeling a newfound power. “Fresh meat.” 

As if on cue, the runners attacked the four men before they could regain their wits and aim their weapons. The runners wasted no time in digging in, the men screaming in unimaginable agony – until they weren’t, and only the sounds of aggressive chewing could be heard. The dog that was with them had sprinted off into the forest, and Ellie watched the fluffy animal disappear into the distance before refocusing her attention on the runners and their feast.

While the runners were eating, Ellie approached the corpses, checking their pockets (she had to push some runners out of the way, to which some of them would grumble angrily before deciding to snack elsewhere). She took whatever ammunition she could find, stealing the rifle and shotgun as well, both weapons fortunately having been equipped with shoulder straps for easy transportation.

One of the henchmen, who was in the middle of having his leg devoured, had a map in his pocket. When Ellie unfolded it, she gave it a quick once over and realized that it was a map leading to Jackson. Ellie wasn’t sure where she was, but according to the map, Jackson was merely miles away. Not exactly close on foot, but just knowing that the place she once called her home was somewhat nearby took her by surprise. Her plans on returning to Jackson had effectively been turned upside down after the transformations that her body had undergone – but she pocketed the map anyway. Besides showing the location of Jackson, it also displayed nearby restaurants and convenience stores, which could definitely be worth scavenging.

She let the runners finish their meal, walking a little bit further into the forest and sitting down on a tree stump to catch her breath and process everything that had just occurred within the last several minutes.

She turned on her flashlight, removing her backpack from her shoulders. The dim lighting was just enough for Ellie to locate her journal within the bag. She pulled it out, as well as a pen, and opened her journal to a fresh page. She felt the need to document the changes that were happening to her body to better understand everything that she had been experiencing.

Before she began writing, though, she reached into her bag once more to pull out a granola bar. After unwrapping it, she finished it in just a few bites. She threw the wrapper to the ground and finally put her pen to the paper.

Okay. I totally just fucking cheated death just now.

Not only are mushrooms growing out of me, but I have superpowers too, apparently.

I can hear peoples’ voices from miles away as if they’re standing right next to me. I can smell everything around me – the grass, the soil, rotting animal carcasses… I could even faintly smell those guys who tried to kill me before I even saw them. 

I also feel hunger more intensely than the average person. Whenever I get hungry, I get these god awful cramps that hurt more than any other kind of pain I’ve ever fucking experienced. Thankfully, though, I haven’t felt the desire to eat human flesh. Not yet, anyway.

The craziest thing, though, is the fact that other infected don't even pay attention to me. Like I’m not even there. They get close to me, but they aren’t hostile. I still can’t believe it. 

When all this shit started happening to me, I thought I was some kind of monster. But all of these… symptoms of my infection… are actually proving to be kind of useful. I’m conflicted.

I’ve never felt more alone. There’s nobody else going through this but me. I wish I had answers. I wish

Ellie stopped mid-sentence when she felt a cold nose poking her hand. Startled, she retracted her hand, but her nerves were quickly calmed when she noticed that it was the dog from earlier. He was a beautiful golden retriever, although he wasn’t very golden anymore because of how dirty he was. A small grin broke out on Ellie’s face, and she reached her hand out, hesitant, anticipating aggressiveness, but the dog didn’t growl or bare any teeth – instead, he sat there patiently, tail wagging as he waited to be pet. Ellie did just that, running her fingers through his slightly matted fur. Pets were never really Ellie’s thing – but she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t thoroughly enjoying the furry friend’s company.

“Hey, buddy,” Ellie said softly. “I thought you had run away.”

The dog just continued to sit there, staring up at Ellie with big, round eyes. Ellie’s heart was warm at how truly and undeniably adorable he was. In a world full of ugly people, infected and non-infected alike, this wide-eyed golden retriever that was currently resting his head on Ellie’s leg, satisfied at receiving affection, was a reminder that not everything in this world was ugly.

An idea had popped into Ellie’s mind, causing her to momentarily pause the headpats that she was giving. The dog whined, nudging her hand. Ellie giggled at the feeling. 

“Wait just a moment, buddy. Are you hungry? I got something for you.” Ellie said.

She closed her journal and put it back in her bag, the pen acting as a bookmark, mentally making a note that she would finish the entry later. She then pulled out the very last granola bar (it was chocolate free, Ellie noted).

The dog’s ears perked up at the crinkle of the wrapper. When the granola bar was free from its plastic sheath, Ellie placed it in the palm of her hand, holding it out to him. The dog sniffed the bar curiously, briefly looking up at Ellie as if asking for permission to eat it. Ellie smiled. “Go on. It’s all yours.” She muttered, and as if the dog could understand her, he gobbled up the granola bar in one bite. 

While he was chewing, Ellie glanced at the dog’s neck. She noticed that he was wearing a collar. She reached out and grabbed the silver pendant, holding up the flashlight in front of it to read the engraving. 

“Your name is… Otis? God, who would name you Otis?” Ellie spoke in an amused tone, a laugh bubbling out of her throat. 

After the touching moment, silence had befell the both of them briefly. Otis’s head had returned to its resting position on top of Ellie’s leg, and Ellie absentmindedly continued petting him as she stared off into space. It was nearly pitch black outside if not for the moonlight and Ellie didn’t feel entirely comfortable continuing her journey on the road without being able to see her surroundings very well – it seemed like another ambush just waiting to happen. But Ellie didn’t seem to have much of a choice; sleeping in the middle of the forest didn’t seem to provide a lot of safety either.

The gears in Ellie’s mind were turning as she considered her options. But she was suddenly stirred by her thoughts when Otis had run off into the distance, and Ellie had immediately missed the warmth of his head on her leg and the feeling of his fur between her fingers. She sighed, getting up and slinging her backpack on, her muscles sore and aching from the events that had transpired just moments prior. She could especially feel the pain in her shoulder now that the adrenaline had dissipated. She knew without even having to look at it that there was definitely a pretty black and blue bruise that had formed.

Ellie stood up from the tree stump, stretching her limbs, before making her way back to the open road.

She didn’t get very far, though, when she heard two loud barks. She froze in her tracks, a smile almost immediately breaking out on her face when she turned around to be met with Otis again. She kneeled down and opened her arms, to which Otis ran into Ellie’s embrace happily. 

“Are you gonna leave me or not? Make up your mind, little guy.” She asked playfully. Otis barked again, and Ellie put a finger to her lips as if Otis could understand what that meant.

“Quiet, boy. We don’t wanna attract any unwanted attention, yeah? I’m still pretty worn out from earlier, aren’t you?” Ellie questioned with a lighthearted chuckle.

Otis allowed Ellie to pet him a few more times before removing himself from her arms and scurrying off again, but this time he stopped just a little bit ahead of Ellie, staring at her with those big, round eyes. His tail was wagging behind him excitedly. Ellie cocked her head, much like a confused animal would, returning the eye contact with Otis.

“What is it, boy?” Ellie asked. Otis trotted only a tad further into the distance before stopping again and turning his head to look at Ellie once more. 

“Ah, I see,” Ellie began. “You want me to, uh… follow you?”

As if trying to answer her question, Otis barked again. Ellie immediately kicked into gear, following the dog just to get him to stop making noise.

“Okay, okay.” Ellie said.

Ellie followed Otis silently, wondering to herself why she was even following some random dog in the first place. You should be back on that road, Ellie thought. This is a complete waste of time.

Ellie sighed, considering turning around and leaving the dog for good as it seemed like he just wanted to go on a stroll, until she saw something just up ahead. A cabin.

Otis had led Ellie to shelter.

A grin that stretched from ear to ear appeared on Ellie's face, her eyes widening in surprise. She called Otis over and showered him affection, endless praise spilling from her lips.

"You're the best, aren't you, boy? I'll take this over a fucking travel van any day." 

Ellie slowly walked up to the cabin, Otis following close behind. From what she could see outside, she noticed a warm, faint glow emanating through the front windows, perhaps from a fireplace or a lantern.

Removing her pistol from its holster, she knocked on the large wooden door. It didn’t open immediately, which Ellie had expected. Instead, she heard a muffled voice from the other side. 

“What do you want?” She said curtly, her voice stern. Otis’s ears perked up at the sound of the person’s voice, her tail wagging in eagerness. 

“I don’t want any trouble. I, uh… I need somewhere to sleep for the night.” Ellie replied. There was silence on the other end for several minutes as the person was seemingly contemplating. The silence stretched on for so long that even Otis had become impatient, letting out high-pitched whines. Ellie placed a comforting hand on his head, rubbing gently.

Ellie sighed, tiredly running her other hand through her unkempt hair. “Please… I just need someplace to rest-”

Her sentence had abruptly ended when the door had finally swung open, and she was met with the barrel of a gun being pointed directly into her face. In mere seconds, Ellie raised both of her arms, her gaze shifting from the weapon to the woman’s steel gaze. She looked to be no younger than Ellie, or possibly slightly older, and she had long, dark hair collected into two braids that complimented her olive skin tone. She was clad in white jeans (that were definitely whiter when we're brand new) and a forest green blouse, a black jacket over her shoulders. Ellie noticed that her eyes had widened considerably, as she was visibly bewildered by Ellie’s appearance. 

“You– You have fifteen seconds. I suggest you leave.” The woman threatened.

“I’m not infected! I know what this looks like, but please-” Ellie started, but the woman only stepped closer to her, the pointed gun in her hands never wavering for a second, to which Ellie subsequently took a small step back. 

“Bullshit.” The woman spat. 

“I swear .” Ellie replied. She could see the woman’s eyes rake across her skin as she observed her closely. She had fallen silent now, and Ellie could tell the woman was mulling over a decision in her mind. While she was taking those few minutes to contemplate, Ellie spoke again.

“Look, I can’t explain– this whole situation,” Ellie said, gesturing to the fungal growth that covered her body. “But I won’t hurt you.” 

The woman still kept her contemplative gaze, but her eye contact with Ellie was broken when she noticed a small movement out of the corner of her eye. When the woman looked down, that’s when she noticed Otis, lying patiently next to Ellie’s shoes, her head resting on the top of her paws. The woman’s hand began to shake as she finally felt her resolve crumble, and with a sigh, she lowered her weapon, stepping aside to make room for Ellie and her furry friend to come in.

“Get inside. Quickly.” She said curtly. Ellie didn’t hesitate, walking into the woman’s residence with hurried steps, Otis following behind her. 

When Ellie had come in, the woman poked her head outside once more, looking left, and then looking right, before shutting it closed and locking it behind her. Ellie briefly watched as Kennedy grabbed a nearby chair and placed it under the doorknob.

Upon being welcomed inside, Ellie took several moments to observe her new surroundings. Ellie could tell she was in the middle of a living room, noticing a couch, recliner, and a glass coffee table among other things. There was a fireplace in said living room, the sound of the fire crackling resonating throughout the small space and basking it in a warm, orange glow. In front of the glowing fire was a small throw pillow and a blanket that had been folded to create a makeshift mattress of sorts, as well as another, slightly smaller blanket folded on top. Ellie removed her jacket, already beginning to feel quite warm, the heat of the fire having effectively filled the entire room. She wasn’t sure how long the woman would let her stay for, but she was going to enjoy every second. After placing her long guns on the table, Ellie made her way toward the fireplace, sitting down in front of it and holding out her hands. Otis had the same idea, taking his spot next to Ellie. 

The woman was still standing by the door, gun in hand, but her finger wasn’t on the trigger. She watched Ellie closely, her eyes raking over all the parts of Ellie’s body where fungal growth could be seen. The woman still chose to keep her distance, as she wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from the mysterious stranger.

Ellie felt a pair of eyes on her back, and she turned around to be met with the woman’s stare. Ellie wasn’t surprised in the slightest that the woman seemed to be put off by her presence. She didn’t question her blatant discomfort and opted for making light conversation instead.

“Thanks. For letting me in.” Ellie started. She wasn’t really expecting a response, so she turned her back toward the woman again, her mind wandering elsewhere as she observed the burning wood. 

“No problem.” The woman replied, much to Ellie’s surprise. Ellie turned back around and saw that the woman’s eyes were no longer cold and sharp but instead much warmer, softer, a glint of curiosity hidden in them. Her voice had also lost its sternness, her words coming out much lighter. She opened her mouth to speak again. 

“I’m Kennedy.” She said. Ellie repeated the name in her head, even though she’d probably be asked to leave after a couple of days and would never see her again. Regardless of how long she would know this woman, she couldn’t think of a reason to not share her name as well.

“Ellie.” She said simply.

Kennedy gave her a small, barely noticeable grin of acknowledgement. After the exchange of names, they were both quiet for a few minutes as the both of them tried to move past the initial stage of meeting someone. Kennedy remained rooted in front of the door, leaning against it and holstering her weapon. Ellie was in the middle of running her fingers through Otis’s fur, watching the tufts of golden blonde poke through the space in between them, when Kennedy decided to break the ice first.

“So… where did you come from?” She asked. Ellie knew that Kennedy probably had more pressing questions at the tip of her tongue, more than likely relating to the fact that she was covered in bites and had mushrooms emerging from her skin, but wasn’t ready to ask. At least, not yet.

“I stayed in an old travel van a few miles from here. It was shitty but better than nothing.” She replied. Kennedy nodded, listening intently.

“I see… so you walked all the way here, I presume?”

“Yeah,” Ellie said. She cleared her throat. “What about you? How’d you even find this place?”

Kennedy chuckled softly. “Before I came here I was with a group of people. We were living out of some grocery store. Got separated…” she trailed off, staring at the hard wood floor beneath her blankly. Ellie sensed that she had begun reliving some kind of unpleasant memory, but before she could say anything about it, Kennedy shook her head, as if trying to dispel the sudden thought. 

“We, um, got separated, and I ran off in a random direction. I guess I just got lucky… coming across this.” She said, gesturing to the cabin itself. 

“Real lucky.” Ellie added. Kennedy nodded in agreement. 

“Yeah…” she said quietly. 

Suddenly, she stopped leaning on the door and walked toward Ellie, grabbing a backpack that had been placed on the recliner on the way, before sitting down next to her on her folded blanket. She still left a considerable amount of space between them.

“How long have you been staying here?” Ellie questioned. 

“Only for a few days. I actually plan on leaving tomorrow morning, though.”

Ellie perked up at that. “Where to?”

“A place called Jackson.”

Ellie fell silent, feeling a familiar tenseness in her shoulders. Her stare was blank as she looked ahead at the flames in front of her. 

“Jackson?”

Kennedy looked at Ellie quizzically. “Yeah. You heard of it? Had a friend tell me that they had food, clean water, shelter, electricity, a decently sized community… seems like a great place to stay. It could be a rumor for all I know, but I had to find out for myself.”

“I know about Jackson,” Ellie replied. Kennedy looked at Ellie in surprise. 

“Are you from there?” She asked excitedly, eyes shimmering with hope.

“I, um… know about people from there.” 

A smile had broken out on Kennedy’s face upon hearing this information. She scooted closer to Ellie, and whether it was a subconscious or conscious action, Ellie wasn’t sure.

“Would you happen to know if it’s nearby? All my friend told me was to keep heading north. At least, that’s what she heard from other people.”

Ellie’s eyebrows had furrowed slightly in confusion. “She didn’t give you any landmarks, at least?”

Kennedy shook her head. “No..” she said.

“So you’ve just been wandering around, hoping and praying to some higher power that you’re going in the right direction?” Ellie couldn’t hide the amusement in her tone nor could she fight the smile that was tugging on the corner of her lips. Kennedy also found herself sporting a mirthful expression in response to Ellie’s blatant teasing.

“Listen, a lead is a lead, okay? Now, do you know if Jackson is close by or not?” Kennedy asked, suppressing giggles that threatened to bubble from her throat. 

“You really are lucky, then. You’re not too far off. But, uh,” Ellie thought about the map that she found earlier. She grabbed her backpack, opening it up and pulling out the folded piece of paper from inside. She handed it to Kennedy.

"This might help you out." Ellie said.

Kennedy could only gawk at the piece of paper, effectively being stunned into silence. She stared at it for a few long seconds as if she thought it was going to vanish from Ellie’s hand. She accepted the map, looking at it in awe. 

“Holy shit. How did you find this?”

“I guess I… got lucky?” Ellie replied, echoing Kennedy’s words from earlier, to which Kennedy let out a genuine, hearty laugh that shook her whole body and even had Otis poking his head up in curiosity, disturbed by all of the sudden ruckus.

Ellie noticed Kennedy’s wide smile, mirroring the expression. Kennedy’s laugh was truly contagious, and the infectiousness of the sound had spread to Ellie, causing a few chuckles to escape her throat.

Eventually, Kennedy had calmed down, feeling a little out of breath from the exertion that comes from having a good laugh. 

“Thank you, Ellie. Really.” Kennedy said. “I’m… glad you found me when you did.” 

Ellie shrugged. She felt that same warmth she felt when she helped the married couple just mere hours ago. “Don’t mention it.”

After tucking away the map in her backpack, Kennedy began rummaging inside for something else. She found what she was searching for eventually, pulling out a tupperware bowl full of clean cuts of meat. Ellie wasn’t even fully aware of how hungry she actually was until seeing it, and Otis was now giving Kennedy all of his attention, automatically equating the bowl in Kennedy’s hand to something to do with food.

“Please excuse my lack of hospitality,” Kennedy said, teasingly. “You must be pretty hungry, huh? Here, you can have this.” She outstretched her arm and offered Ellie the bowl of meat, to which Ellie gladly accepted and tore open the lid in the blink of an eye.

“Thanks,” she said. “A lot.” 

Kennedy chuckled. “It’s not a problem. Oh, and there should be enough in there for the dog, too.” She said.

Before Ellie dove in and had a few strips herself, she took out some pieces of meat to give Otis. Otis ate them happily, tail wagging against the rug. Once Otis was satisfied and taken care of, Ellie ate the remaining pieces, so hungry that she was eating faster than she intended to but she didn’t really care all that much. The meat was bland, like she expected it to be. It wasn’t anything she wasn’t used to at this point. She still devoured the meat anyway, too starved to give a damn.

There was a comfortable silence that had fallen over the both of them as they sat in front of the fire. Ellie didn’t realize it until now, but she missed being in the company of somebody else. She missed having someone to have a conversation with, and for once, it was nice to feel truly safe. In the travel van, she always found herself peering out of its few windows at the slightest noise. There was obviously no one around to speak to; to befriend. 

She thought she had gotten used to being alone. But Kennedy made her realize that she was far from truly accepting her loneliness. Ellie didn’t want the sun to rise, because then that meant Kennedy would leave; and her worst fear would become true once more.

But she knew she couldn’t talk Kennedy out of her trip. She wouldn’t want to, anyway. Ellie knew that Jackson would be a far better place for her than in a small cabin out in the middle of the woods.

“I want to ask you a few things.” Kennedy’s voice pulled Ellie out of her mind. 

“Ask away.” Ellie said. She braced herself.

“So. You’re immune.” Kennedy didn’t phrase it like a question; more like a statement, to which Ellie nodded. 

“Yeah.” 

“When… when did you find that out?”

Ellie sighed, taking some minutes to compose herself. “When I was 14.” she replied, silently hoping that Kennedy wouldn’t pry for more information after that.

“Shit. You were so young.” Kennedy said. Ellie nodded.

“Can I… touch it? I won’t hurt you, will I?” Kennedy inquired. It had caught Ellie a little off guard, but she was thankful that Kennedy wasn’t asking for more details about how she got her first bite, so she didn’t mind. She held out her arm, and Kennedy had reached out her hand but she hesitated. She met Ellie’s eyes, once again asking for permission non-verbally, to which Ellie simply nodded.

Kennedy’s fingers slowly touched the fungal growth on Ellie’s arm. She did the same thing Ellie did when she first got it, tugging on them and attempting to twist and bend them. Kennedy’s expression was that of innocent curiosity as she continued to feel Ellie’s arm. She glanced up at Ellie occasionally, checking for any signs of discomfort, but Ellie only sat there patiently.

“They’re so hard,” Kennedy observed. “And it doesn’t hurt?”

Ellie lightly shook her head. “No, I promise. It’s itchy sometimes. That’s about it.”

“I see. Man, it’s crazy to see these things up close. Can’t really get close to a clicker.” Kennedy said. Ellie exhaled sharply through her nose, the sound resembling something of a chuckle. 

“I didn’t think anyone like you even existed. I wonder if there’s more immune people.” 

Ellie quickly shook her head. Kennedy noticed the slight movement out of the corner of her eyes. She was finished analyzing Ellie’s arm, meeting Ellie’s gaze. She was quiet, allowing Ellie to elaborate.

“There is no one else.” Ellie said softly but with finality in her tone, her eyes filled with sincerity. 

“There has to be. I mean, people could be hiding it or something. It’s not like they can just going around telling ever-”

“There is. No one. Else .” Ellie interrupted, her voice coming out more stern then she intended it to. Kennedy was effectively silenced, and Ellie watched the hope dissipate from her eyes as she leaned back, hugging her knees to her chest and staring off into the fire. Ellie mentally cursed herself for being the one to suddenly shift the mood.

“Shit. I’m sorry.” Ellie said. 

After a few beats of silence, Kennedy sighed. "It's okay. I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable."

Ellie was quick to distinguish any ounce of self-blame that Kennedy was feeling. "You didn't. I didn't mean for it to come out the way." 

Kennedy gave Ellie a small smile. "It's alright, Ellie. Let's just move on, yeah?" 

Ellie nodded, wordlessly agreeing. She cleared her throat. 

"So, anyway… you wouldn't happen to have anything to wash this down with, would you?" 

Kennedy once again reached into her bag and pulled out a canteen. She shook it, and she frowned when she heard that there was very little water left. 

"This is all I have. But you can have the rest of it." 

Ellie was quick to decline. "No… you'll need that for your trip tomorrow-" 

"Please." Kennedy insisted, a faint grin resting on her lips and a finality in her tone that Ellie just couldn't say no to. She accepted the water, nodding her head as a silent thanks. 

She wasted no time in chugging the remaining water that was inside the canteen, eagerly lapping up every last drop. Otis stared at her curiously, whining to get Ellie's attention; but Ellie had already emptied the canteen. 

Ellie looked down at Otis apologetically, petting the top of her head for compensation. “I’m sorry, buddy.”

Kennedy frowned while observing the interaction, immediately being kicked into action. She grabbed her gun and reached out her hand to take the canteen. “I can get some more water. The nearest lake is a bit of a walk, but-”

“It’s alright,” Ellie started. “I’m sure he can make it through the night.”

“You sure?” Kennedy asked. Ellie nodded.

“Okay.” She replied, sitting back down in front of the fire.

With an audible yawn, Kennedy laid down on her back. Ellie continued sitting upright, staring emptily into the fire.

“Aren’t you tired, Ellie?” Kennedy asked. Ellie just shrugged.

“I’m fine. Just… thought I should keep an eye out.” She replied.

Kennedy chuckled at Ellie’s paranoia. “Hey, we’re safe here, I promise. I’ve been alone here for a while now and you’re the first person to find this place.” 

Ellie would be lying if she said that she wasn’t beginning to feel the exhaustion overtaking her. Aside from the fact that she had quite the tiring day, many of the nights she spent in the travel van were sleepless ones, and all those missed hours of rest were certainly catching up to her. She could feel it in the way her bones ached with every slight movement, and how her eyelids were getting heavier and heavier with each passing minute. Even Otis had fallen asleep before her, lying on his side, his chest rising and falling slowly. The fire wasn’t helping, either, only adding to her fatigue as the fire’s warmth encompassed her body like a thick blanket.

Ellie sighed, ultimately making the choice to listen to the signals her body was giving her. 

Ellie started to lay down, grabbing her backpack to use as a pillow.

“Wait,” Kennedy said. Ellie froze, turning her body around to see what Kennedy was up to.

Kennedy took the blanket she was lying on top of and unfolded it, placing it on the floor in a way that would allow Ellie to lie on top of it as well. 

“There. So you’re not sleeping directly on the floor.” Kennedy said with a smile. Ellie gave her a barely noticeable grin in return as a silent thanks. 

When Ellie had laid down comfortably, Kennedy grabbed a second blanket of hers and covered the both of them with the soft fabric. There was just enough of it so that the both of them could fit under it comfortably. Kennedy was lying on her back, her hands behind her head, whilst Ellie was lying in the fetal position, facing away from her. There was a comfortable silence that fell between the two of them. Ellie’s eyes had fallen closed, and she felt the looming presence of sleep creeping up to her–

“Ellie.” Kennedy whispered. “Are you sleeping?”

“No.” Ellie replied. 

“I just… have more questions I wanna ask you.” Kennedy said. Ellie could have simply told her to ask them tomorrow, but she hadn’t had any kind of company in what felt like an eternity, and she knew that Kennedy would be leaving as soon as the sun rose, so she gave Kennedy her full attention.

Ellie turned her body around, still remaining in a position akin to the fetal position but facing Kennedy. Kennedy adjusted her position as well, now facing Ellie. There was still a decent amount of distance between the two of them, but they were much closer together now. For anybody else, the close proximity would have probably caused some level of discomfort, but Ellie didn’t find herself shying away.

“Shoot.” Ellie said.

Kennedy cleared her throat. “Um, so… can I ask what happened to your hand? I noticed it when you first came in, but I didn’t wanna bring it up at the time…”

Ellie was silent.

“You don’t… have to answer. Or tell me the full story. I’d hate to make you uncomfortable… again-”

“I got in a fight, and the person I was fighting… bit them off.”

Ellie could see Kennedy’s eyes widen and her eyebrows raise even in the darkness of the room. “Holy shit. They… bit them off?” Kennedy repeated, disbelief evident in her tone. Ellie nodded in confirmation.

“Yeah,” She said quietly. 

“Well, I hope you won that fight. Did you?” Kennedy asked. 

“Sure did.” Ellie lied. Kennedy didn’t suspect otherwise, chuckling at Ellie’s answer. 

“Hell yeah.” Kennedy responded, a light grin resting on her face. Shortly after, though, the grin quickly faded.

“Oh and… sorry about that.” Kennedy added. 

Ellie shrugged. “I’ve… gotten used to it.” She replied.

“Having only eight fingers… what does it change for you?”

Ellie was quiet for a moment as she thought about her answer. “Well, uh… holding guns felt a little weird, but I figured that out pretty quickly. I’m not left-handed, which is a good thing I guess, but… I think the thing I’m upset about the most is that I can’t play guitar.”

Kennedy let out a barely audible gasp, but Ellie picked up on it. “You play guitar? Or, um… played?”

Ellie nodded. “Yeah. Did… did you?” She asked.

A wide smile broke out on Kennedy’s face, stretching from ear to ear. “Yeah, actually. I played guitar for years. Even had one of my own, back when I was with my group. But when we got attacked, I had to… leave it behind.” Kennedy’s voice began to shake. “I miss playing so much. It really just… took my mind off of everything, y’know? Felt like I was back with my friends and family… sorry, I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

Almost subconsciously, Ellie reached out her hand, gently placing it on Kennedy’s arm.

“Losing the one connection to your past… I get it. And I’m sorry.” Ellie said softly. 

Kennedy didn’t say anything in response, the sound of her occasional sniffles filling the silence of the room. 

“Y,know,” Ellie began. “When you get to Jackson, you might be able to find a new one.”

“A new guitar?” Kennedy asked. Ellie nodded. 

“Yeah. The people there trade stuff all the time, you might get lucky.”

“Maybe…” Kennedy trailed off. 

When silence befell the two of them again, Ellie took that time to roll over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. Subconsciously, she scratched the area of her arm where the fungal growth was located. 

“When you get to Jackson, what are you gonna do?” Ellie inquired, curiosity lacing her tone. 

“Let’s see,” Kenney said, releasing a sigh as she contemplated her answer for a moment. “Honestly? I just want to be able to settle down and start over. I wanna create a new life for myself. Meet new people.” She explained. 

“I’m sure you’ll be able to do that.” Ellie replied.

Slowly, Kennedy’s wistful expression morphed into one of confusion. “Why don’t you… come with me?” She asked.

Ellie stiffened, sitting up and resting her forearms on her knees. Almost immediately, Kennedy sat up as well, maintaining eye contact with her despite the fact that Ellie was now zeroing in on the fire in front of her. 

Ellie found herself picking at the fungal plates on her arm. 

“I can’t.” Ellie said, after a few moments of heavy silence.

Kennedy’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why can’t you? I mean, do you really wanna stay out here?”

Ellie shrugged. “No one in Jackson would want me around when I look like this .”

Kennedy’s eyes briefly went up and down the length of Ellie’s body like it was her first time seeing the fungal growth on her skin. “Give them enough time, and I’m sure they’ll get accustomed to it. I mean, I did.”

The chuckle that was emitted from Ellie’s throat was a humorless one. “Some people might get used to it. Other people won’t. They’d only feel unsafe around me… and I don’t want that.”

“But you’re not a threat–”

“I’m not going back, Kennedy. There’s no place for me there anymore.”

Kennedy scooted closer to Ellie. “Anymore?” She asked, subtly urging Ellie to elaborate.

“I… used to live in Jackson. For quite a while, actually.”

“Why did you–”

“I don’t wanna get into why I left. I just want you to understand. I can’t go back. I don’t even want to go back. Not right now, anyway.” Ellie said with finality in her tone.

Kennedy nodded, a deep frown etched into her features. She began fiddling with a loose string on the blanket.

“I’m sure the people there miss you.” Kennedy said. 

“For all I know, they probably think I’m dead. Or at the very least, they’re not concerned with me anymore.”

“But you’re not dead. And there is still time for you to–”

“You can’t convince me, Kennedy. I’m sorry.”

“Right. I understand.” She said quietly.

With a sigh, Ellie began putting out the fire. “We should sleep.” She said, abruptly ending their conversation there. 

It took a few minutes to put the fire out, as Ellie carefully observed the flames and waited until they had completely dissipated. When no embers remained, it left the room mostly pitch black, with the exception of a few rays of moonlight filtering in through the curtains. 

Ellie and Kennedy both laid back down atop the blanket, turning away from each other. 

For the first time in a long time, Ellie slept peacefully throughout the night.

—-

The next morning, Ellie woke up to the sound of a door closing gently. 

Kennedy had come from outside, with Otis coming in shortly after. She held two deceased rabbits in her hand. 

"Morning." Ellie said. Kennedy threw a smile in her direction, placing the rabbits in front of the fire. Ellie quickly noticed her rifle that was slung over Kennedy’s shoulders.

"Morning. I went ahead and took Otis out to use the bathroom and to get some air – and sorry I, uh… stole your rifle, but hopefully this can suffice for breakfast. Do you… know how to skin a-"

"I got it. Thanks." Ellie replied. 

“Awesome,” Kennedy said. “Just so you know… there’s a freshwater lake right behind the cabin. It’s roughly a 20 minute walk. I recommend boiling it before you use it for anything. Obviously there’s plenty of wood around for the fireplace.”

“Okay.” Ellie replied simply. She noticed that Kennedy was about to put the rifle back down where she found it, and quickly halted her movements, to which Kennedy glanced at her in slight confusion.

“Keep it.” Ellie said. Kennedy seemed taken aback.

“I can’t just-”

“Is your pistol the only gun you have?”

Kennedy paused, but then nodded. “Well… yeah, but-”

“Then please, keep it. You never know when you’ll need a backup. I’ll be fine without it.” Ellie said. She then grabbed her backpack, rummaging inside for a few minutes before pulling out a couple of packs of ammunition and handing it to her.

“Here.” Ellie said. Kennedy humbly accepted the ammunition and the weapon, giving Ellie an expression that could only be read as grateful, before going to retrieve her bag off of the recliner. She pulled out the map that she had hastily thrown inside before slinging the straps over her shoulders. She picked up her gun from the table and holstered it, and threw the strap of the rifle over her shoulder, making her way to the door. But she didn't leave immediately, instead pausing in front of it and turning around to face Ellie. This time, the expression on her face was one Ellie couldn’t quite read. Kennedy stared at the ground for a few moments, almost as if she was contemplating if she really wanted to leave. 

"I guess this is where we part ways." Kennedy spoke solemnly. Ellie gave a small nod, remaining silent. 

A sigh blew past Kennedy's lips. "I take it you still haven't changed your mind?" 

"No. I haven't." Ellie replied. 

"I figured, but I just wanted to make sure." Kennedy said, chuckling humorlessly. "Well, Ellie, before I go… I think it'd only be right to thank you." 

"For what?" 

"Well, for starters, giving me a map so that I know where the hell I'm going,” She replied with a grin. “And… for last night. It's been a long time since I had a conversation with someone. It felt nice." 

Ellie nodded in silent agreement. "Yeah. It did.”

Kennedy’s grin stretched into a smile. "You stay safe out here, okay?" 

“I’ll try.” Ellie responded, a smile of her own creeping onto her features. 

Kennedy shared one more meaningful glance with Ellie before turning around and slowly turning the doorknob. Otis had rested his head on Ellie’s knee, eyes fixated on Kennedy as he watched her leave. As Ellie ran her fingers through his fur, a sudden but sorrowful realization had dawned on her.

“Wait.” Ellie said, and Kennedy was only halfway out of the door when she had stopped in her tracks. 

“Do you think you could take him with you?” Ellie asked, gesturing toward Otis. “There’s no way I’d be able to provide for him out here. Jackson will have everything he needs. Pets were never really my thing, anyway.”

A grin reappeared on Kennedy’s face as she nodded. “Yeah, of course. I’ll take him off your hands.”

“Thank you.” Ellie replied. Kennedy made a short, clicking noise with her mouth, getting Otis’s attention. She gestured for him to come toward her, and like the obedient dog he was, he did just that, trotting over to her while wagging his bushy tail. At that moment, as Otis sat next to her feet, Kennedy seemed to have suddenly remembered something.

“You know, I can’t believe I never asked what his name was.” She said, chuckling incredulously. 

Ellie couldn’t suppress her own chuckles as she thought back to the moment she first found out the dog’s name just last night. “You’ll laugh when you find out what it is.” She said.

“Surely it’s not that bad,” Kennedy replied as she kneeled down to read the dog’s collar. When she had read the name, sharp laughter escaped her throat, just like Ellie had predicted. Ellie found herself laughing with her, while Otis just sat there, completely unaware that the two humans were poking fun at his name.

“Otis?” Kennedy spoke after her laughter had died down. “Man, I can’t say I’ve ever heard that one.”

“Me neither.” Ellie said, a light smile on her face. 

“But,” Kennedy spoke, running her fingers through the dog’s fur affectionately. “I gotta say, it suits him.” 

Ellie gave a small nod. “It really does.” 

When silence dawned on them again, the air around them felt different. Ellie knew that Kennedy couldn’t stick around for much longer. There was a pit that was settling in the bottom of Ellie’s stomach at the realization that she would be alone again. 

“Can I… walk you out?” Ellie asked. Kennedy nodded fervently.

The two of them, plus Otis, walked back outside. Ellie decided to lean against one of the wooden beams on the porch as she watched Otis and Kennedy descend the small flight of stairs and head toward the road. Kennedy stopped after a few steps, though, turning around to face Ellie one last time.

“Do you think that we’ll… cross paths again someday?” Kennedy questioned. 

“Maybe.” Ellie said.

“That’s better than a no, so I’ll take it.” Kennedy replied, grinning playfully.

Suddenly, their departure didn’t feel sorrowful anymore – instead, it felt hopeful. Ellie believed that this would be a new beginning for the both of them.

“See you, Ellie.” Kennedy said.

“Goodbye, Kennedy.” 

With one final wave, Kennedy clicked her tongue again to alert Otis to follow her, and the two of them began their long journey to Jackson.

“You’ll make it to Jackson in one piece, right?” Ellie called out. Kennedy whipped her head around to briefly glance at Ellie. 

“You can count on it.” She replied, giving Ellie a salute. 

Then, her eyes were back on the path ahead of her. 

Ellie watched as Kennedy and Otis got farther and farther away until she could no longer see them. When they had completely disappeared into the dense foliage, Ellie’s gaze wandered elsewhere. In the few minutes that she took to properly observe the life around her, she was struck with something.

 In a world where the overall human population was left decimated, and small towns and large cities completely ruined, there was still so much beauty in the wilderness, and Ellie couldn’t deny that. There was something so profound about the fact that while everything else succumbed to the fate of a lethal fungal infection, mother nature endured. Inside of that old travel van, Ellie never noticed just how vibrant the trees were, and how tall they stood. There were squirrels and rabbits and birds going about their day without a worry in the world.

She may have lost everything. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t start anew. 

There were changes that her body was undergoing, ones that she didn’t fully understand. But Ellie knew that just like every other living thing in the world, she would adapt.

She heard a voice in the far back of her mind:

You keep finding something to fight for.

And fight, she would.

#the last of us #the last of us part 2 #the last of us part ii #the last of us fanfiction #the last of us fic #the last of us part 2 fic #the last of us part 2 fanfiction #ellie williams fanfic #ellie williams fic #ellie tlou fic #ellie tlou fanfiction #ellie williams #ellie x reader #ellie williams x reader #abby x reader #abby anderson x reader

[dearreader]

latam swiftie here

I'm not on tik tok so idk what's going on there. The math side of the easter eggs has got a bit out of hand and they don'tknow what they're talking about. And I agree with you on "not needing an announcement to make it special". I feel this is kind of similar to when ppl complain about the surprise songs they got. I would have never chosen Labyrinth!! And I got it and loved every second of it!! It's special because it was my surprise song, not the other way around.

I didn't believe we'd get an announcement tonight until her dancers started posting black hearts. But my favourite thing would be for her to just play foolish one.

I'm super grateful for the shows, I got to see the mashup, it was insane and I loved every second of it. I had been waiting for over a decade for this so it meant everything to me. I am not expecting her to do anything other than show up at the announced time and perform (as long as weather and health allows her to).

I waited 3 years between 1989 and rep, im not expecting releases this often. No one was expecting 1989 tv right after speak now (I certainly wasn't expecting it until early next year the soonest). But she did announce it and it did happen. Thats just why it's not that crazy to think of an announcement this soon. It just hurts to see everyone calling us ungrateful. Over 17 years we only got 3 tour dates. And we're so so grateful for it, we tried to show her that with the "we will stay" fan project. I screamed so loud every single lyric I damaged my vocal chords and it took me a week to recover. People are still making edits, friendship bracelets, they're gathering in the parks and doing swiftie meetups, today I gave two fbs away on the subway!!

The reasons why I believe she won't come back are market-related and financial, but the whole T4F fiasco didn't help at all. The local producer (T4F) is responsible, not the stadium (Im saying this bc i saw this confusion a lot, here those are two different companies, I believe in the US it's the same one).

I understand and agree with what you said, I just want you to know we're very grateful for what we got. (and I didn't think you were rude). In all honestly, the feeling I got from everyone in that crowd was excitement and wanting to be a part of something this big. We didn't want to show anything other than support and love. I heard exactly 0 people complain we didn't get an announcement (but I'm not on tik tok so i might be wrong lol)

And no, we're not really a part of this whole thing the same way everyone (the US, Europe and even parts of Asia/Oceania) is. But I'm not gonna complain because at least we got tour dates. There are lots of places who got no tours dates at all (African swifties you're in my heart). I obviously understand she can't please the entire world and that there are financial decisions to be made!! She's a human and a business woman and I understand. But it does mean we get left aside (again! This is a world/capitalism problem where poorer countries get less chances in general and I'm not expecting Taylor to solve this).

Im sorry, this is so long. Im just trying to say that this is a reality (a sad one), that we understand it exceeds her 100%, and are grateful she toured this year. But that in the bigger picture, we're not a part of things like "the rest of you" and I believe thats where this whole rep tv thing is coming from. It doesn't mean we're not super grateful she took a chance on us and visited this year 😊

Thank you for reading and answering. I know you didn't have to. I really hope you enjoy the last show of 2023 :)

hi, please forgive me for a not good response as i’m tired and focusing on my breathing right now.

but thank you again for responding and explaining more about the financial aspect. and i’m so sorry if i ever implied latam swifties were ungrateful, i never meant to or ever thought that as everything i’ve seen has been nothing but overwhelming love and support from latam, and i really really hope she you’re there again because it’s clear the fans love her and i want her to just be able to be with fans and people who love the music. and the fact you guys are still doing friendship bracelet exchanges is insane and i love it!

and i do think she plans on releasing all of the taylor’s versions on the tour and she wanted to hit certain dates, which is why she announced speak now and 1989 so close together. i think we’ll get reputation sometimes early next year (late january or february ((but i think february is more accurate))) and debut a bit closer to the end of the tour.

and i’m not going and sit here and say you’re apart of this tour just as much as any other location is, because again i’m an american so no matter what i’m not going to understand what it’s like in latam. but i really hope it doesn’t feel like you’re apart if this differently than anyone else, this tour is a monumental moment in taylor’s life and career and the fact she’s able to go to so many locations (especially for the first time) is so massive and big in of itself. an album announcement is a special thing but it doesn’t make the tour or anything about the night any less special.

again, im sorry if this isn’t the best response, but i do hope that you have a good night 🫶🏻

#kelly babels #love letters #eras tour #the eras tour latam #reputation tv #anonymous

[showyoumyfavoriteobsession]

long-ass tl post below. i'm not trying to start shit i'm just venting bc i've been thinking about this episode for like 12 hours today lol

man. anyway. there were definitely good moments in the finale but I was just so disappointed by the execution of almost all of the storylines' conclusions.

I want to start off that I'm not particularly broken up by any of the ships we thought would happen not happening in and of themselves, but the way we got jerked around this season for all of these storylines to have no real resolution is really frustrating.

The Roy/Keeley/Jamie triangle is a big one for me. We spent all of this season developing all of their characters individually, focused on Roy and Jamie becoming friends (which was great and one of the strongest parts of the season!), and then we wrap it up with... a literal fistfight and shitty, sexist pronouncements of ownership? Taking the foundations of their relationships, the things they've been working on for three seasons - trust, communication, accountability - and just throwing it out the window? And for what?

The Beard/Jane thing makes me absolutely furious. This is the plot thread that makes this finale feel the most rushed and shoehorned, as if they were planning to go somewhere else and just didn't have time. What was the fucking point of Beard After Hours if they were heading towards this shit the whole time

(I do think that montage at the end was supposed to be a dream, but Beard leaving the plane for Jane wasn't!! And if Ted was imagining Beard and Jane being happy together forever that's still pretty fucked up!!)

What was the fucking point of the Zava storyline. What was the fucking point of the Jack storyline. What was the fucking point of the Shandy storyline. What was the fucking point of the Tish storyline. What was the fucking point of Trent's book

(i edited that above bullet like three times while writing the rest of this post because i kept remembering other storylines that went nowhere lol)

Ted himself was giving absolutely nothing during this episode. I thought he was being quiet and reserved because he was bottling up to have a breakdown of some kind towards the end, but he just seemed... empty. Even his final speech to the team felt distant. I couldn't tell if he was conflicted about leaving, happy about leaving... I get the future was supposed to be ambiguous, but I couldn't even tell if he would ever want to go back to Richmond for a visit.

It's been pointed out before (and I agree) that the actor playing Henry is... not the best. He's very flat in a lot of the emotional scenes that he's in, and it made it harder to believe that he really missed Ted that much, especially in 3x08, which was probably supposed to be an important link in that storyline. But I can't blame him for everything - there hasn't been a lot in the script for him, so Dottie's "your son misses you" last week felt kind of unearned. And Ted's reaction to it last week felt real! But then there's barely anything in this episode that makes it feel like he's actually excited to see his son again. (When Henry was coming to visit in season 1, he was tracking the plane! He was chatting about it to Beard and Nate and Rebecca! In this episode we got one text of a gif.) If Ted's story was actually about the sacrifices of being a parent, why don't we get one (1) scene expressing that?

Nate. I really really really wanted to like Nate's storyline this season and the conclusion still kind of pissed me off. It was really that all the important parts were offscreen in this episode - did he choose to be a (assistant) kit man again or was he demoted? How did the team welcome him back? What was Ted and his reunion like? The only good thing was Nick Mohammed's acting - his apology to Ted just instantly made me start crying - but it was like a 2-minute scene! We couldn't have cut that stupid K/J/R scene for more closure on Nate?? There's something to him being back in the same place but more secure in himself, but we didn't actually get to see him choose it in any real way.

I was a big Ted/Rebecca fan in the earlier seasons, but I truly would have fine with them being completely platonic, and by the middle of this season, I was thinking they probably would be. Unfortunately, by this episode they don't even feel like friends anymore. Again, Ted is just doing absolutely nothing during their scene in the stands, and barely anything more at the airport scene. Where's the trust? The openness? And again, all the hints, the misdirects, the biscuits with the boss, the army men... and for what? To barely look each other in the eye, to leave with no promise that they'll ever see each other again?

Again, I do think the montage towards the end was a dream, but Rebecca reuniting with the Dutch guy felt like another really sloppy ending. We didn't spend an entire episode with them specifically not learning each other's names for them to suddenly be soulmates

Overall, I felt like this season varied in quality pretty drastically from episode to episode. I do think part of it was that they wrote seasons 1 and 2 back-to-back before any of it was released, and then this season was written after the huge response to the first two seasons. The rest of this is pure speculation, but I've thought a couple times this season that it felt a little "tryhard", like they were suddenly self-conscious of the goofiness and earnestness of the show but still wanted to do it. And now it feels like all of that led to last-minute rewrites, plots getting shifted around due to audience reactions, and maybe some marvel-style spoiler avoidance (that thing where whenever something leaks/gets guessed, they just change the script to something else to 'preserve the surprise' even if it makes no sense). It's fine when this show is predictable! The first two seasons were still fun when they were predictable!! It seems a little bit like this season was left open-ended in case they decide to do another season or something, but they did the rest of the show such a disservice by doing this that I'm not that interested in anything else they want to say past this point. This whole season, all the plot threads that went nowhere, I still trusted that the writers had a plan to tie it all together in the end because they've done it before, and this is what we got.

There's a place for ambiguity, but when everything is left ambiguous it's just sloppy. If we weren't sure where Ted's mind was at OR Roy/Keeley/Jamie was still up in the air OR Nate's future was uncertain OR Rebecca had maybe found a healthy relationship... any of those would have been fine, but when you have all of them unresolved it feels like no one wanted to commit to actually ending the thing.

whew. anyway. it's just such a bummer when a show you've gotten invested in shoots itself in the foot like this. this post is already too long but i'm going to end with the moments i did like:

I actually liked (most of) the opening scene, it made me laugh maybe more than anything else. I had just convinced myself that no, they're never actually going to have a canonical throuple on this show, and then I really thought for a second that they just plunked Ted/Rebecca/Beard down in front of us with no warning lol

Colin! I'm happy he got his happy ending.

Frankly, my general disinterest in Trent and, to a lesser extent, Colin, really stemmed from the fandom valorization of them from the very first season. It felt like (and I think it was, at least for a while!) that very Tumblr thing of "paying vastly more attention to conventionally attractive white men in very minor roles than any women or people of color that have actual storylines". But they had really good storylines this season - some of the better ones - and I really enjoyed them as written! I just still find their fandoms kind of annoying.

The scenes with Jamie and Roy (before they go to Keeley's) were mostly really lovely. I think that's been the strongest subplot of this season, and it's been a real joy to watch.

(i just realized 'joy' could be a ship name for jamie/roy lmao)

In a general sense, I really like that a lot of the major characters did not end up in romantic relationships, because those aren't the most important journeys they went on. Obviously I have quibbles about the execution (and larger quibbles about the ones who did (see above)), but I love that as an overall message.

Roy going to therapy!! You absolutely love to see it!!!

i keep trying to think of other stuff and keep coming up with more stuff i'm irritated about and it's past midnight so i'm going to stop lol. definitely going to be sitting on this episode/show for a bit but. yeah

The return of the Believe sign. As I've said, I'm a sucker for some well-timed cheese, and that was a really sweet scene.

ETA: OH the diamond dogs scene was actually lovely!! It got so lost in the rest of this episode but it was the only part that attempted to address the actual themes of the show!

#not kidding. long ass post. i am once again having Thoughts #j rambles

[transxfiles]

For the book ask, number 3, 13, and 24 ?

3. What were your top five books of the year?

it was a difficult time narrowing these down, but probably:

1) It Came From The Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror edited by Joe Vallese 2) Sir Gawain & The Green Knight translated by Burton Raffel 3) An Unauthorized Fan Treatise by Lauren James 4) The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle 5) Pinky & Pepper Forever by Eddy Atoms

margaret atwood's oryx and crake, tom stoppard's rosencrantz & guildenstern are dead, and sarah ruhl's the clean house are all runners-up. and there are lots more tbh,,, this was a good reading year for me!! (in terms of enjoyment at the very least)

13. What were your least favorite books of the year?

this one's also kind of hard to narrow down, because i disliked various books for various different reasons. the luminous dead by caitlin starling was a pretty low point because i spent YEARS tracking down a copy of this book, paid for it FULL PRICE, had heard so many good things about it - and then it was a massive let down. mid plot mid romance awful worldbuilding (in my opinion) and very poor storytelling/writing. like, from a craft standpoint, just not very good. it was a massive letdown and it's a situation where i can't believe i spent my own money on it, yknow?

a more recent let-down was crazy food truck by rokurou ogaki, i had some free time before exams one day so i just sat down in a corner of my local bookstore and started reading this one. i heard about it either at the very end of 2022 or the very beginning of this year and put in for an ARC on netgalley but didn't get it (probably for the better tbh?) and the one-sentence description sounds really fun - grizzled man runs a food truck in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. but the way the author portrayed his only female character was so awful i just couldn't do it.

there are definitely others, but these are the first two that come to mind.

24. Did you DNF anything? Why?

YES i used to be a completionist but 2023 was the year i started embracing the power of a good DNF. had to stop reading the troop by nick cutter bc even though it was really interesting horror from a conceptual standpoint, the graphic violence against animals and children was really starting to fuck me up, and i got to a certain point in the book where it was clear it would only get worse and i just had to put it down. thought i'd be able to get over it in a day or two (normally horror books just don't bother me?) but i didn't and i ended up selling the book to a local secondhand bookstore two days after that.

i also DNF'd something to talk about by meryl wilsner after trying to read it for like a year and a half. i picked it up a while ago at a thrift store and i was SO excited bc i never see lesbian romances at thrift stores and something to talk about specifically was a big deal bc it was the first lesbian romance novel published by a mainstream romance publisher iirc. but it's SO. SOOOOO. SOOOOOOOO fucking boring. it's not even a slow burn that shit is glacial and listen i don't mind a lesbian romance that moves at a snail's pace but the book WAS the romance. or at least was supposed to be. and the non-romance subplots simply were not strong enough to support the rest of the story. AND the two leads had negative chemistry, just like, nothing going on there in my opinion. and most of the characters had the same voice </3 so frustrating bc i wanted to enjoy this book so bad which is why i stuck with it for so long, but after a while i just said "nope i can't do this anymore" and donated it.

#a-cool-bee #asks #books #2023

[volterran-wine]

Ok so I'm reading Pride and prejudice for the very first time (I didn't even seen the movie, sacrilege I know, I'm a Jane Austen virgin ;-;) and I would like to ask you how do you think Demetri would react to his s/o reading it for the first time too, do you think he would be on edge trying not to spoil anything, would he be anxious to them to finish so he can speak with them abt the book? Bc I honestly have this image of him just fangirling and being a giggly mess

• — 𝐷𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑖 & 𝐴𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑛 𝑉𝑖𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑠

Well darling Anonymous, first of all; welcome to the wonderful world of Austen, hopefully you find her writings as lovely as I and dear Demetri do.

First he would be slightly appalled and shocked that his significant other had never read Austen, let alone had not managed to find out what Pride and Prejudice is about. He would recover from the initial shock and find his favourite edition of the book and gift it to his significant other with strict instructions on how to read and enjoy this experience.

The following days he would check in on their reading process, not saying anything more than letting out an appreciative hum when they have got farther in the book than he had hoped.

The moment his significant other comes to him, glowing and excited to have finished the book; Demetri cannot contain a bright smile and whisks them away to his rooms. There he has already prepared his favourite blood wine, excited to discuss the book in front of the roaring fire.

Next on his significant others reading list? Mansfield Park; Demetri’s favourite book.

#Volturi Questionnaire #Demetri Volturi

[waltwhitmansbeard]

heyooo I just started writing fan fic and I really have no idea what I'm doing haha, can you explain how you draft and edit and write you long fics? i don't know what to do besides just starting at the beginning and writing to the end. (also sending this to multiple writiers so I can get lots of opinions)

hey! first of all, i wanna say i'm flattered that you ask, although i can claim no sense of credibility in the realm of writing anything, fanfic or otherwise. i'm just some guy, like everyone else on here, and i'm just doing my best with what i've got.

i don't believe that every writer will approach a longfic the same way, and i don't think a writer will approach each of their longfics in the same way, either. i know that the fic i'm hoping to write when gocmh is done is going to have a different process than mfl/gocmh did, because the stories are different and the needs are different. i can tell you how i approached mfl, and maybe you'll find that helpful, but if you don't, that's okay. your fic isn't gonna be mfl, it's gonna be yours, and ultimately you're the only one who is going to be able to figure out how to write it.

i'm gonna skip past all the general writing advice, which is read a lot and spend almost your entire childhood and adolescence meticulously picking apart all the stories you love to figure out how they work like they're clocks make of gears and springs. when it came to mfl, i wrote the first 5-8 chapters on pure vibes. every chapter's contents were just as big a mystery to me at the outset of writing them as they were to the readers when they sat down to read them. i was only ever thinking about the next step, the next sentence, the next tiny jump in the story. i was not thinking about where we'd end up, bc as far as i was concerned, that wasn't my business. my business was what happens next.

and in the process of writing that way, i was basically just improvising. it's a cliché, i know, but the first rule of improv is to yes, and, and i yes anded myself over and over and over. if i typed that the world of mfl was like x, then it was like x, and i had to just fucking deal with that. so much of early mfl (and truly all of that world) is just me making up rules and facts that later me would have to treat as sacred. is this the most efficient way to write? idk, and idc, either. this was the most fun, exciting way for me to write the story, and i don't regret it.

after a while though, my brain naturally started to stretch its legs (ew, terrible metaphor, abort, abort), and i started thinking ahead. not like terribly far ahead, but enough where i could say, "ok, if i'm at point a, and i know what point e i want to reach someday, i just gotta figure out points b through d." and sometimes that involved outlining the chapters that could get me from a to e, and sometimes i'd make it up as i went. it depended on the day and the points and what was going on in my life at the time. as i write this, i have the final ten-ish chapters of gocmh planned out, what's going to happen, who's pov it's gonna be in, etc. i actually planned out the last 15-ish chapters this way, and have written some, but even in the process of writing those chapters, shit has changed! something i thought was a good idea in the planning process didn't work out the way i'd hoped in execution, and i had to pivot. that's writing, baby.

now i know this isn't going to work for the the fic i have planned for after gocmh. i'm going to want that fic properly planned out, each chapter outlined and themes woven in carefully ahead of time, bc that's that story. i fully expect for shit to go haywire in the actual writing, of course, because in all my years of fic writing (and friends, there is so much more fic writing than y'all know about with this username), shit has never not gone haywire in the actual writing. but idk, that's the fun part. subverting your own expectations. cutting yourself off at the knees. kicking your own ass. it's fun!

i'll also talk a bit about how i wrote people and rhythm, the originals fic you can still find on my ao3 account. that fic took about six months to write, and to date i don't think i've ever had so much fun writing anything. imagine, if you will, two whiteboards, each divided vertically in half, covered in sticky notes. on each of those sticky notes is written a brief scene description, an event that Has to Happen. each of the four whiteboard halves represents an episode (that fic was organized by episodes, not chapters, bc i fancied myself an Auteur), and i would place and replace and replace those sticky notes until i had all the scenes i needed to make an episode in the order they needed to happen in. and then i would write! and bc i'd already done the organizational work to figure out the story beats, i could write the individual scenes in the order that struck my fancy, bc if i skipped a piece of the story that was important, it didn't matter. i knew where that sticky note went, and i could fill in the blank later. if this type of planning/writing appeals to you, i recommend the website/app trello, which is basically the digital version of whiteboards and sticky notes.

i wanna talk about something you said in your ask. "i don't know what to do besides just starting at the beginning and writing to the end." so, uhhhh, who says? who says you gotta start at the beginning and write to the end? start in the middle. start at the shit that makes you excited. write the scene that makes your mouth water and your hands turn into claws. write the good shit first, and then when you've got it, ask yourself, "ok, how do i earn this? i want my readers to get to here, bc it's good and juicy and so much fun, but i gotta work to get them here." start where you wanna start and work backwards from there if you must. asking "why" is so useful for this. oh, you're at point f? why did point f happen? that's point e. why did point e happen? that's point d. (then, you know, use the rest of the alphabet.) so much of life is just us reacting to shit, dealing with the onslaught of Life as best we know how, even if it fucks shit up for us in the future, so if you wanna write the reaction first, go for it! just remember that reactions stem from actions, so you gotta give us those, too.

(also, a story need not be told in order! flashbacks and the manipulation of time can be extremely fun and exciting! this is something that takes a lot of skill, though, not to say that you don't have that skill, but just be careful when doing this. you can still use the concepts of time jumps in your writing process, even if you don't present your story in a jumbled order.)

i don't know if i've said anything of value here. i can only talk about writing as i experience it, which is not, of course, how any other writer experiences it. i can't give you tips or actionable advice bc i, too, am making this shit up as i go. i write bc i like telling lil stories for my lil internet friends, and bc sometimes ppl say nice words, and i collect those nice words like a dragon hoarding its shinies in its lair. but don't write for the nice words, bc if they don't come as fast as you like or as much as you like, you'll get discouraged, and ultimately it's more important that the story be told than that it be praised.

(not to belabor the point, but there's a john green quote i love so much i have a poster of it hanging in my bedroom now, as an almost 30yo, that i've had since my college dorm room, and the quote is:

“Don’t make stuff because you want to make money — it will never make you enough money. And don’t make stuff because you want to get famous — because you will never feel famous enough. Make gifts for people — and work hard on making those gifts in the hope that those people will notice and like the gifts. Maybe they will notice how hard you worked, and maybe they won’t — and if they don’t notice, I know it’s frustrating. But, ultimately, that doesn't change anything — because your responsibility is not to the people you’re making the gift for, but to the gift itself.”

just something to keep in mind when writing. write for you, and write for the ppl you love, and write for the thing itself. the thing you create is a gift, and the gift deserves to exist for its own sake.)

so that was long! i hope it helps, and if it doesn't, sorry! i did try my best. i hope you find a method of writing that feels fun and natural and exciting to you, one that keeps you coming back for more. writing is the thing that keeps me going on days when i don't really want to keep going, and if it can become that thing for you (or hey, maybe it already is!) then i think is a gift, too.

#ask #Anonymous #writing #i really do hope this helps