#[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * no one saved you. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

meatriarch · 22 days

Text

CC / NOSY : SAWYER - FLORES - McKINNEY KIDS.

( * - the kids present in the two dire au's vary between the cc / nosy domestication routes but generally : thomas, lil luda & daisy mae appear in both while bambi, theo & rosie are nosy specific c: thomas / tomas also appears in wilted/shine routes ! this doesn't include maria, johnny and lee's adopted kids - they will be in a separate post once their personalities / backgrounds are better developed ! )

THOMAS "TOM" EARL / named tomás in wilted/shine au routes.

tom is the eldest boy between maria and johnny in cc / nosy / in other routes of other aus. he is more on the serious side like his father, can be stern when needed. but is gentle when it comes to his younger siblings. responsible, constantly helping out with chores around the property, always helping papa and dad with cars or heavy lifting or hard labour. always helping mama wrangle the younger kids, keeps an eye out for them when they run around outside. he's a near carbon copy of johnny save for the few features from maria that shine through - down to the need to be constantly doing or working on something, working with his hands. hes a visual learner more than he is book smart, and can easily pick up what hes shown within the first couple attempts. likes to shadow both johnny and lee on alot of what they do, was always intrigued and like the lil :whoa: disc cat emote up at them when they'd take the time to show him or talk about what they were doing when he was younger.

tom's namesakes stem from two prominent family members in johnny's life - cousin thomas, and grandpa earl sawyer.

tom looks fairly identical to johnny when he was younger, save for faint dimples on his cheeks that he gets from maria. otherwise, his features are sharper like his papa's than mama's soft, round ones. he has johnny's dark brown eyes, if just a tad lighter. more narrowed eye shape as well, compared to marias round doe-eyes.

LUDA GRACE / also called lil' luda.

lil luda is the eldest daughter between johnny and maria, and very much takes after her namesakes as well. she is primarily named after our mom luda, however her middle name if grace is also a gentle nod to nancy too ( as well as, technically, ana - as ana means "favored grace" ).

lil luda, however, is very much a spitting image in personality to both johnny and her grandmothers, especially in terms of her more tough love and her bite being as bad as her bark. in johnny's own words, my daughters a bitch. she will scold her younger siblings, and even tom, if they make messes, or get into something they shouldnt, or run off and get lost, if they misbehave. shes equally as responsible as tom, being the older kids, but shes definitely less lenient on things than even tom can be. lil luda is also not one to back down from an argument or fight, no matter who it is. if she believes shes right on something, she will argue people into the ground - and if they get in her face about it, she will punch them in the face. zero questions. zero hesitation. and if anyone disrespects her, her parents, or mistreats any of her siblings? its on sight. its swing first, ask questions thirteen hits later.

lil luda, also, looks more like johnny but with marias light brunette hair and hazel eyes. they, however, are surrounded by johnnys sharper features too, his low brows that make her glares harsh like his. she does have a dimple, too, though rather than like marias deep-set cheeks ones, lil ludas' is closer and lower to one corner of her mouth - only visible when she gives a crooked smile like her papa. she otherwise has faint freckles dotting across her shoulders and face and arms, like maria does.

ROWAN "BAMBI".

bambi is the oldest boy between maria and leland but the third oldest of the trios' children. hes the sweetest, happiest, brightest lil guy out there, also the embodiment of the :whoa: emote but at like, a baseline constant state. named both in part after the deer, of course, but also named for his absolute wide, round, bambi-doe-eyes x2 that he inherited from both maria and lee. hes got marias hair color and nose, with her softer face shape but lee's lips and grins.

bambi is a cheerful happy lil guy with deep-set cheek dimples and almost always donning a grin across his face. hes energetic, bouncy excitable. if leland is true golden retriever energy then bambi is golden retriever puppy energy tenfold. hes got the soft rounder features of maria but definitely can see he takes after lee quite a bit. he can, however, be mischievous and a bit of a troublemaker at times - which, he learns to weaponize those bambi eyes of his just like maria and lee to get his way. he heavily takes on that southern drawl from johnny however, and is the cutest and most hilarious thing to overhear when he picks up on some of johnnys bad language and starts cussing in the most babiest, heaviest accent around.

being third oldest, however, bambi also inherited lee's fierce, bottomless drive to protect and look after those he loves and cares about. he would do anything for his older and his younger siblings, happily helps out when needed, happily plays with the younger kids. but hes not above doing as needed to make sure they stay safe. and would go to the ends of the earth to do so if needed.

THEODORE "THEO / TEDDY".

theo, or teddy, is the fourth kid of the bunch but is second eldest son between maria and leland. much more timid and shy and quiet compared to the older three, theo tends to blend more into the background - he will hide behind any of his parents' legs when guests are over, or peek around doorframes and corners or past stair railings rather than often engage with people hes not too familiar with. like lil luda, theo's dimples are lower than the corners of his mouth but appear on both sides rather than just the one. he looks closer to maria, with her eyes and freckles and round features. but shares lelands brows and lashes and hair and nose.

theo likes to spend time with cousin thomas quite a bit, because theyre both quiet and calm and its an easing time sitting watching thomas work on things.

he often gets dragged around by bambi into his shenanigans and mischief, and pouts whenever they get scolded by lil luda or tom or their parents for going too far on them. hes a very sweet and loving boy though, very quick to unprompted give little gifts to his siblings or to mama, or to papa and dad. loves to pick wildflowers to give to his mama. like tom, too, he likes to sit and watch people work - and so, he'll often peer over the side of cars that johnny or lee are working on to see what they're doing, and is all eyes and ears when they pick him up and set him down so he can look under the hood with them and they can point things out to him. not always as quick to understand as tom is, but given some time and he can manage to recite step-by-step what he'd need to do in order to change out or fix something, etc.

like how bambi shares more of his dads' retriever, bubbly qualities, i like to think that theo shares more of lee's quiet, observant, somewhat insecure or unsure tendencies. just overall, theo is more gentle and timid and quiet compared to his brother. theo also gives some of the best bear hugs ever - hence part of why his nickname is teddy. gives some of the best, most comforting hugs - just like his dad.

ROSEMARY "ROSIE" CLOVER.

rosie is the youngest between leland and maria and fifth out of the trio's children together. she's closer to maria in appearance, with her soft features, with freckles on her face and shoulders. but with lee's nose and hair color, and more of his brows and his eyes as well. her namesake stems primarily from two of lee and marias favorite flowers, roses and marigolds alongside of course, rosemary itself. her middle name is also a gentle nod to lee's clover cosmetic.

rosie, however, can be a fierce little spitfire at times, taking after tom and lil luda with how sharp her tongue can get. she can be warm and sweet like her mama and dad, but definitely can see the influences from papa shine through when she gets upset or insulted or threatened. shes very vocal and protective over her siblings, even though shes second-youngest of their kids together. she will happily stand up for any of them if she felt she needed to, and though hes older, will defend theo's gentle nature if anyone teases him about it.

she likes to help mama out around the house and in the gardens, with a natural green thumb and a knack for easily picking up on different flowers or fruits or vegetables they grow. she also enjoys visiting with our mom luda and grandma nancy, and enjoys helping them bake and cook. shes often seen wandering around with theo and little daisy mae waddling beside her.

DAISY MAE.

the babiest of the dire throuples' kids. daisy mae is the last baby between any of them, but is specifically maria and johnny's last kid together. she is a literal carbon copy of maria, almost entirely taking after her. from deep cheek dimples to freckles to soft rounded features to big doe-eyes and long pretty lashes. she, however, has big dark brown eyes like her papa's.

daisy mae is the shyest and most timid of the all the kids. she is incredibly sheepish around new faces especially, and often will want to be picked up and held so she can hug around johnny or lee or maria's necks and hide her face against them. shes a complete daddy's girl though, and loves to be carried around and will whine or cry if they put her down. could argue she's got some separation anxiety - or, she just really loves to be held and cuddled. either way? when she isn't being shy or scared or hiding, she's easy to get going into a fit of giggle - and she's got her mama's big, beaming smile that resembles sunlight.

she's also prone to wandering off and getting lost around the property, partly due to her quiet nature and her being so teenie-tiny - she's only about 2-3 around the time ch2 rolls around. its not uncommon to have to send out little search parties for her because of how surprisingly easy it is for her to get lost.

( * - this also does not include the potential twins that may be added dep. on route. )

#[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * cold case.#[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * no one saved you.#[ ♡ ] ── * maria f. / 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦.#[ rel. ] ── * leland m. / 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘷𝘦𝘳.#[ rel. ] ── * johnny s. / 𝘫𝘰𝘩𝘯𝘯𝘺𝘴𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳.#this is primarily for future reference for ya'll if you hear us yapping about the cc/nosy kiddos c: & for ourselves!

4 notes · View notes

extrameat · 5 months

Text

TAGS LIST:

[ rel. ] ── * johnny s. / 𝘫𝘰𝘩𝘯𝘯𝘺𝘴𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳.

[ rel. ] ── * leland m. / 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘷𝘦𝘳.

[ rel. ] ── * connie t. / 𝘧𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥.

[ rel. ] ── * donnie w. / 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘣𝘪𝘵.

[ ♡ ] ── * maria f.

[ ♡ ] ── * maria f. / 𝘪𝘤.

[ ♡ ] ── * maria f. / 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦.

[ ♡ ] ── * ana f.

[ ♡ ] ── * ana f. / 𝘪𝘤.

[ ♡ ] ── * ana f. / 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦.

[ ♡ ] ── * danny a. o.

[ ♡ ] ── * danny a. o. / 𝘪𝘤.

[ ♡ ] ── * danny a. o. / 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦.

[ ♡ ] ── * birdie.

[ ♡ ] ── * birdie. / 𝘪𝘤.

[ ♡ ] ── * birdie. / 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦.

[ ♡ ] ── * pepper h.

[ ♡ ] ── * pepper h. / 𝘪𝘤.

[ ♡ ] ── * pepper h. / 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦.

[ ♡ ] ── * luda m. h.

[ ♡ ] ── * luda m. h. / 𝘪𝘤.

[ ♡ ] ── * luda m. h. / 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦.

[ ♡ ] ── * thomas b. h.

[ ♡ ] ── * thomas b. h. / 𝘪𝘤.

[ ♡ ] ── * thomas b. h. / 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦.

[ ♡ ] ── * nancy s.

[ ♡ ] ── * nancy s. / 𝘪𝘤.

[ ♡ ] ── * nancy s. / 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦.

[ 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘦. ] ── * pinned.

[ 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘦. ] ── * queue.

[ 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘦. ] ── * shoutout.

[ 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘦. ] ── * sp.

[ 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘦. ] ── * do not reblog / repost.

[ 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘦. ] ── * answered.

[ 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘦. ] ── * the yappening.

[ 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘦. ] ── * dni.

[ 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘶𝘮. ] ── * saved.

[ ♡ ] ── * study.

[ ♡ ] ── * aes.

[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * cold case.

[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * no one saved you.

[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * choke chained.

[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * wilted.

[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * shine.

[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * sunlight.

[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * oath binded.

[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * prequel.

[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * retribution. / ch. 2.

[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * in bloom.

[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * dbd.

[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * sinyala.

[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * friday the thirteenth.

[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * college au.

[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * gilded eternity.

0 notes

meatriarch · 22 hours

Text

im half dead to the world rn but kinda piggypacking, i still think it was so cute and silly when kels peeked into the dms after i started nosediving into maria dabbling around with the idea of aliases / personas to use in the dire aus about playing around with lee having them and what theyve turned into over the months is one of my favorite lil aspects about nosy

i was planning to reblog them but, ill just copy-paste the past posts under the cut so its all in one place now <3

brief descriptions on maria's aliases in cc / nosy ♡

dolores.

maria's more subdued, soft, docile persona. one of her primary lures. dolores acts as a way to entice targets who are looking for someone they think is easy to control or influence. submissive and eager to go along with whatever they want really, dolores as a persona is maria's way of gauging and pulling very strong, very cocky, very frankly stupid victims into going someplace secluded with her - and into the hunting grounds of her two scary guard dogs to have fun with. she's the persona, alongside aurelia, that brings victims into back alleys, back to a designated place on the sawyer-hewitt property, to decoy houses / buildings, or to specific fields or stops where its been established earlier in the night with johnny ( & lee ) that she will get them to, for them to meet there. dolores is that sweet, softer, doe-eyed side of maria really being coaxed out in order to quite literally throw someone to the wolves. dolores is symbolized by lambs / sheep, also to come across in a softer light to those who interact with her and fall victim, for other unassuming creature to take you by the hand, frolicking out into open field, unknowingly being circled by predators hidden in the grass around them.nickname : dolly.

aurelia.

more of a push into maria's more bubbly self, aurelia's more of that out-there, perky, sunshine-incarnate type persona that draws people attention. she's all smiles, all touchy, PDA at max. she's also that more kinda ditzy personality, too, if she feels her target likes it. she'll play heavily into the 'oh please keep talking i am SO interested in what youre saying!! omg no really you do all that??? wow you're so strong / so smart / etc' type of person, showering with compliments. definitely more of the persona for those kinds of people who LOVE talking about themselves and making themselves seem more important / tougher / etc than they really are. aurelia works as another lure because she's the type that'll convince targets to drink and drink and drink, or pull them off to dance with her, let them get handsy, let them think they have a shot. aurelia is symbolized by rabbits / bunnies, cute and sweet little prey animal, unassuming. one that lets you give chase, until you find yourself inches from wolves' widened jaws.nickname : lia.

rosa.

not as much of a lure than more utilized when maria's working alone, but rosa works to get targets alone and vulnerable. she's flirty, handsy, siren eyed rather than doe. truly come fuck me eyes. its the persona to let her explore things on a more sexual note, but its also the one where after things are said and done and theres a body on the floor, she wants to reaffirm her devotion to the scary dog(s) more - like a very, get this fuckers' scent off of me right now and put yours all over me instead kinda thing, if you will. but its also very much, i get to toy around with them a little more, be teasing, be mean. very hey heres your body let me snap a picture with you gh.ostface style ♡ its more of her violent side that comes out, because its really one of the personas where she gets to really disarm people - from being flirtatious to im stabbing you to im sinking my teeth in your neck and ripping at you rather than it being a simple love bite. still uses rosa, though regardless if working alone or with the scary dog(s). rosa's symbolized by both butterflies & moths, metamorphosis from maria into territory she was never all that comfortable in before. its exploration of a different side - both sexual and violent. its the specific kinds, of mourning cloak butterfly, of death's-head hawkmoths, of black witch moths, with meanings of change, of rebirths, and of death or misfortune. nickname : typical pet names one gives a one-night-stand.

magdalena.

in a sense, magdalena's come to be a persona by several factors, and its more of her long game, lone wolf type. its more of maria taking influence from not only johnny by also nancy, in routes where she ( & lee ) are accepted by her into the family. its getting a lil more personal with her targets, earning their trust over a longer timeframe. befriending them even. its more of her wolf coming out - where one one side, magdalena comes across as a typical neighbor, someone who bakes you things and brings it over unprompted ( sometimes we get silly and slow-poison them! c: ) esp during rough times - similar to how nancy works. its the slowburn of growing closer to them, earning trust, being let into their lives, just to one day down the line rip that security out from under them, turn their homes into a bloodbath really. magdalena's more of that, mercy doesnt exist in this body, morality doesnt exist, theres an anger and a hatred and a coldness to the world thats been dormant in these bones like the old gods who sleep for millennia hidden among us like mountain ranges. while physically maria isn't nearly on the same levels as johnny or leland, i'd argue magdalena's by far her more brutal and unhinged persona in that she'll not only make an absolute mess out of her target, but will also prolong things at times - make it last hours, if she can manage, if they stay alive long enough. magdalena is also moreso in swing post-acceptance by nancy, meaning the likelihood that she's been taught how to use the same types of ability, the possession, the hallucinations, is very high. magdalena's symbolized by wolf peering out from under sheepskin. nicknames : lena.

maria's safest aliases to utilize are dolores & aurelia -- they are almost solely used as lure & bait, and rarely are her big scary guard dogs straying too far to intervene whenever necessary. dolores / aurelia's primary purpose is to garner her target(s) trust and entice them to go someplace secluded with her to get ambushed by her boys. where she is, rarely are at least one of them not nearby. reina arguably does come right after them both -- reina works similarly to rosa, but think in terms of spotting reina more in "classier environments" whereas rosa's spotted at parties or bars or seedy motels, etc. both rosa & reina, however, run the risks of being alone and vulnerable in some potentially compromising situations -- reina's just more likely to also have at least one of her scary dogs nearby still to intervene. rosa is commonly used when maria's working mostly on her own as each of them are also likely enticing someone to a motel room etc -- its usually rosa who puts an end to if not severely incapacitates the target before the scary guard dogs get in there. magdalena i'd consider right after because this is maria's long-game, slowburn alias. just instead, really, of working like a "lure" -- its more of a carefully laid out trap she sets out. she works to get closer to every target, until they let their guards down enough. its maria's lone wolf work. not often cropping up to be fair. magdalena's also used when something gets a little too personal. and if all the aliases begin at maria, then they all end at magdalena. magdalena's utilized as self-preservation if need be. if somethings going wrong with a target? switch is flipped and things get messy. paloma, then, is also a bit of a slowburn alias -- though arguably, her riskiest because unlike dolores & aurelia & rosa & reina where she does still likely have the boys nearby, paloma gets utilized as a bit of a challenge. those she targets are, usually, absolutely pieces of shit. she knows shes often biting off more than she can chew -- especially working alone. she's more likely to end those encounters with wounds than arguably any other alias at work.

something to note re: maria's aliases that i hadnt thought of when making that the previous points with the two additional personas being added but, said before how as the aliases start with maria, then they end at magdalena -- and what i mean by that is, ofc maria is always the starting point to where she takes any of the aliases during hunts. and every single one of them, in turn, can switch and end in magdalena. magdalena comes out primarily later on, namely post-nancy acceptance into the family or when johnny kills her in order to keep maria ( & lee in nosy ) safe. but its the careful alias. the calculated one. the shut down, shut off everything -- brutal one. magdalena is where, especially, anything that nancy eventually teaches her re: her abilities comes into play. and with paloma -- one of the two new aliases -- paloma i feel comes into play when nancy ran her little tests on her ( & lee ). we were chatting abt it earlier, and i know nancy pulls maria & lee into few challenging encounters in order to see if they're worth keeping around -- and part of paloma's thing is, biting off more than you can chew. theres something in maria, i feel, that shortcircuits during those challenges that hasnt happened yet in cc / nosy timelines, and it draws out something different in her. she returns after nancys finished in fairly rough shape i feel. moreso than she has with any other target, any other hunt -- because normally, she isn't alone like that. not completely. theres a type of raging self-preservation thats drawn out from cornered prey animal.

#[ ♡ ] ── * maria f. / 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦.#[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * no one saved you.#[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * cold case.#[ rel. ] ── * johnny s. / 𝘫𝘰𝘩𝘯𝘯𝘺𝘴𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳.#[ rel. ] ── * leland m. / 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘷𝘦𝘳.#[ ♡ ] ── * dolores. / 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘴.#[ ♡ ] ── * aurelia. / 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘴.#[ ♡ ] ── * rosa. / 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘴.#[ ♡ ] ── * magdalena. / 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘴.#[ ♡ ] ── * paloma. / 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘴.#[ ♡ ] ── * reina. / 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘴.

3 notes · View notes

meatriarch · 4 days

Text

leland's gaze sweeps across the group. the scatter of their friends stopped by the gas station. lands on danny again, the sharp lines of him, standing alone at the roadside. surveying, or keeping watch, like he does. how he pulls away, gives off smoke and seething and quiet frustration. and leland hesitates. he knows what dan doesn't want to hear. they all know dan doesn't want to hear a happy birthday, today. doesn't want anything unless it brings them closer to finding maria. that he won't be able to let himself rest, until they do. so. leland knows better than to say happy birthday. and he knows, if maria were here with them, she'd be making danny smile despite himself, anyway. leland can't do that. he can't ever replicate maria flores, or her warmth. how her absence felt like a hole in the middle of them, and there was no point trying to pretend it wasn't there. instead, leland quietly saunters up next to danny's side, stares after dark, intense eyes for a long moment. down the road. across the sweltering heat lines coming off the pavement. he shifts his weight uncertainly. then he bumps danny's shoulder, gently; to say, i'm here with you. to give a softly serious look. ❝ ... we'll find her, dan. i know we will.❞ a beat. the rustle of wind in the tall grass; ❝i promise we will. ❞ — @lifesver

the sun overhead was relentless. beating its rays down across the lot of them, along asphalt underfoot of the gas station they stopped at. the heat pricked through fabric, stinging. burning. like his anger, bubbling and boiling deep in his chest. at yet another shrug of shoulders when they held up maria's photo. at yet another wall, another dead end, another brush off by every different local in this fucking town.

they say unbearable heat draws out a certain type of seething in a person. and the blistering sun above them felt like the universe was taunting them all.

maria was like the sun in all its warmth and light. but the sun, nowadays — since carmen and ana got that visit by the sheriffs to inform them of maria being missing over a week ago — the sun felt like a goddamn cruel reminder of the hole she has left among them. a missing piece that burned through skin deep into bone. painful reminder — one given every. fucking. day. that passed with nothing to show for their efforts.

danny's brows hung low over dark eyes. pinched together above scowl. he had to step away from the others. recollect himself. his bark had started to hit that moment of bite, and there was only so much he can manage to restrain himself from snapping at one of them. at ana. at leland. at julie. connie and sonny, however, kept distance. for the best.

he needed to cool off. and yet, the fucking sun—

bump against shoulder brings a new wave of tension through him, and arms tighten further across chest, lips thinning further to scowl.

he knows what today is. march twenty-second. his birthday. perhaps, thats why his temper, his patience, his frustration feels as hazed as the heat waves dancing along the horizon lines around them. mocking celebration.

eyes close as he listens, however, to the scuff of lee's feet against the ground, to the sound of his voice filling the air quietly — slow, carefully. knew to choose his words wisely, with him, at the moment. white-knuckles tighten more, stretch of thinned skin over bone, as danny breathes the heat deep into his chest. slow. eyes squeezed shut. the heat was suffocating. as was the tension. of what he was being. he was just as suffocating, he was sure, to the others, right now. they didn't need this. air blows out slow through dried mouth. listening, silent, as lee speaks.

we will find her.

it draws out a flinch, the mention of the crevice maria has left in them. brings a sensation of television static across nose and tops of cheeks. eyes tighten closed. and then, danny looks at lee.

sees the hesitation in his stance. the worry, the concern. the hurt, peering back cautiously at him. and vice grip in danny's chest loosens. expression falls — brows level themselves, lips ease themselves. shoulders relax from under fabric, and danny returns the the bump against lee's own shoulder. gentle. half apologetic. half a silent thank you.

" dangerous thing to do. making a promise like that, chico de oro. "

danny's words, though, come out quiet. leveled. careful to not let slip his frustration. hopes, too, the endearment helps to ease lee's hesitance. his eyes cross back in front of himself. out at the fields across the road. little dots of colors sprinkling along yellowed grass.

without thinking, he adds on, " i can see her over there . . . running around. picking those flowers, making those wreaths and crowns of hers. can hear her laughing, too . . . telling my to lighten up. " a smile plays at the corner of mouth, before heaviness — that sting. that hole. — festers once against in chest.

" we have to find her . . . we have to bring her home. "

the last person in their group danny had expected to jump off feet to help ana, help carmen, was leland. all pretty boy, all typical athlete — guy whose mind and life and story all revolved around the one ticket he had to be shipped off to austin. he was certain he'd had leland entirely figured out from the second they were introduced. selfish. self-centered. one-track minded. indifferent to those around him.

yet? lee was anything but those.

and it showed clearer as the days dragged on, since maria went missing. saw it on his face when he stood there, holding maria's letter in hand, marigold photographs in the other. his little birthday gift from her, while she was on this trip over break. brows turned upward, eyes widened and horrified, as the realization that those little pieces may be the last any one of them had heard from her settled in.

lee was nothing like the bastards crowding into frat houses, messily getting drunk off their asses every weekend.

— maria.

he reminded danny of maria, at times.

and the image in his head, of lee scooting behind her and dropping his chin on the top of her head, or down on shoulder, and the two of them beaming widely for him to snap a photograph of them with her camera . . .

the grumble from danny of how stupid he'd look — drawing out a pout and a whine from lee, and a scolding from maria, and a chuckle from himself—

he's gone silent again, for a few passing moments, at the memories. etched into his minds eye. what he'd give to re-do those moments, bite back dumb remark. to snap another photo of the two of them. memorialize it not just in print and ink, but in his memory. properly, this time.

danny's voice returns to him, amidst the heat. the silence. the tension. barely a whisper, but loud enough for lee to hear him still over the sound of the others behind them.

" . . . i think i can trust that promise, if its you, lee. "

#me like two months later finally answering th-#danny on his bday: dont fuckin come near me. one (1) golden retriever boy: that doesnt mean me tho right? :D #[ ♡ ] ── * danny a. o. / 𝘪𝘤.#lifesver #[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * no one saved you.

2 notes · View notes

meatriarch · 10 days

Text

my brain is hurting today but bc its now on the mind,

i think what makes luda so interesting to write for is just truly that strong maternal presence within the family but also just? her openness, too, that allows for her to be sympathetic and almost regretful at times towards the familys' victims.

within this blogs' base canon across the board the sawyers already have a very Interesting history re: how they keep their family afloat ( ie. the c.annibalism, the murders ) but, the hewitts side? never did until both luda joined the family yes but mainly once h*yt returned from his deployment & p.ow experience. luda, however, never took part in the sawyer traditions - or, perhaps, not knowingly. there's always the chance that during hard times her parents / grandparents had silently put food on the table by any means necessary - but, even canonically to the remakes, with exception to how cold her personality was in '03, like. luda does appear to be fairly polite and gentle to a point with outsiders. and sure maybe thats just part of the front the family puts up to coax victims in but, i do think luda also is just. more of a warmer personality by default. strong and at times stubborn as hell, but warm regardless.

but speaking in terms of the dire au's where maria and lee, for example, are brought into the family by johnny, luda takes to them both fairly quickly. whether thats in cc, or nosy, or dusk. regardless of how them being held captive and eventually assimilated in pans out, if johnny brings them over to the hewitt property, luda has always treated them as kindly as possible.

and part of that yes is because of her closeness to johnny, but its also that initial meeting she had with lee - during the friendgroups' searches - where she took to him pretty fast, and quietly gave him a warning to get his friends and leave before they got caught up into any trouble. luda tried to give him an out. he was kind. he was polite. not at all like many of the younger folk that pass through town, you know? she tried. he didnt listen - none of the friends had. and seeing him dragged in beat to shit and everything was upsetting to her, deep down. but perhaps thats why she always resolved to be gentle towards him - harsh, scolding - but gentle. like a mother. like a grandmother.

and with maria, the poor girl in luda's eyes was just scared. and she knows very well why that is, and understands it completely. when you dont live among the types of family dynamics the sawyers & hewitts do, their way of living and survival is horrifying. but, despite all the horrors and feeling completely alone, she watched as maria remained polite too. gentle. kind. timid. how she'd offer to help her around the house, or helped her with cooking or baking something. she saw how maria, in turn, slowly started to influence how johnny was too. and knew that elsewhere within the family, it'd be far more difficult to try and welcome her as one of their own.

i think its just like. the hewitt family side is so fractured, so spread out, so limited in their contact with one another. luda i think misses what the sawyer side had in her younger years - those bonds, that tight-knit, supportive family unit. with the families both respectively suffering especially as grandpa sawyer really declined, i think luda just wants that feeling of family again. and even though bringing in outsiders who may not fully understand what the family has to do to survive and may never build up that same loyalty to one another as the family does, i think shes so partial to both maria & lee especially because they both bring to the table that sense of normalcy the familys missing - that sense of love, of compassion, of care. something not so rooted in just fighting to live day by day but to live in the moment, too.

idk its just. luda reads at times as such an outlier in comparison to the rest of the family and its very interesting to compare how she is to other notable members like nancy or drayton or earl etc.

#[ ♡ ] ── * luda h. / 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦.#me yapping my way thru a headache:#[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * cold case.#[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * no one saved you.#[ ♡ ] ── * maria f. / 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦.#[ rel. ] ── * leland m. / 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘷𝘦𝘳.#[ rel. ] ── * johnny s. / 𝘫𝘰𝘩𝘯𝘯𝘺𝘴𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳.

3 notes · View notes

meatriarch · 25 days

Text

just saying for the dire aus generally but like. with nosy in particular.

maria will literally never leave lee behind. ever.

even before the obituarys' / empty-casket funerals for them both and that abandonment complex really sinks in, maria could NEVER bring herself to use an exit to get away when she doesnt know for certain that lee's right behind her. she does NOT want to leave him abandoned, no matter how upset he may get with her for not taking off, for staying put, for willingly getting found and caught again by johnny. either they leave together or they stay together - there is no other option, in her eyes.

she just could not imagine leaving him in that same lonely forgotten mindset that she was in during those first weeks and up til he had stayed back to let the others go on.

and its not that im saying ( in these earlier parts namely ) that maria at the time blames the others for not ensuring he got out too - she just does not have it in her to turn her back on him. not after all he does for her down in the cells. all he goes through. all the beatings and the pits against other captives and johnnys' cruelty. she just could never leave him by himself. it'd kill her.

#[ ♡ ] ── * maria f. / 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦.#[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * no one saved you.#[ rel. ] ── * leland m. / 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘷𝘦𝘳.#this doesnt however count for post-obituary/funeral maria though. that resentment & hate on his behalf for being left behind grows #as time passes. because for all he did for HER - and then all that she knows & can assume she did for THEM in the basement?#theres simply such a seething & distaste & bitterness that festers as months & years go by. shes so angry FOR him. bc he never deserved to #be forgotten & tossed aside like he was. & she just could not imagine doing the same. hurting him the same.

2 notes · View notes

meatriarch · 2 months

Text

thinking about just like. early on cc / nosy, where the additional victim is brought into the basement. before realization really settled in, became ingrained.

how maria, since her restraints were almost always purposely left loose just enough for her to be able to wriggle out of them, how she'd get out of her cell and try to run, but would always feel so bad for possibly leaving another soul alone down there and so, she'd always try to figure out where the door keys were to their cell, how to get their restraints off, tried to escape together.

and it was always a failed attempt. everything set up, left out in the open, by johnny. all so very calculated. and how those handful of times, maria thought she was doing good - by not leaving them behind, for giving them some kind of a shot with her, for them to get out.

and yet every single time, they get caught. and the other gets killed in front of her. and its the realization that doing so is getting them killed - that she is getting them killed. every single time. harsh lesson to be learned - that sitting still, shutting up, not engaging with them is infinitely better than directly playing a hand into them getting killed.

#[ ♡ ] ── * maria f. / 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦.#like what brand of guilt do u want: being directly involved w/ getting someone killed - or that of looking away & ignoring it all #[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * cold case.#[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * no one saved you.

3 notes · View notes

meatriarch · 3 months

Text

something to note re: maria's aliases that i hadnt thought of when making that quick post with the two additional personas being added but,

said before how as the aliases start with maria, then they end at magdalena -- and what i mean by that is, ofc maria is always the starting point to where she takes any of the aliases during hunts. and every single one of them, in turn, can switch and end in magdalena. magdalena comes out primarily later on, namely post-nancy acceptance into the family or when johnny kills her in order to keep maria ( & lee in nosy ) safe. but its the careful alias. the calculated one. the shut down, shut off everything -- brutal one. magdalena is where, especially, anything that nancy eventually teaches her re: her abilities comes into play.

and with paloma -- one of the two new aliases -- paloma i feel comes into play when nancy ran her little tests on her ( & lee ). we were chatting abt it earlier, and i know nancy pulls maria & lee into few challenging encounters in order to see if they're worth keeping around -- and part of paloma's thing is, biting off more than you can chew. theres something in maria, i feel, that shortcircuits during those challenges that hasnt happened yet in cc / nosy timelines, and it draws out something different in her. she returns after nancys finished in fairly rough shape i feel. moreso than she has with any other target, any other hunt -- because normally, she isn't alone like that. not completely. theres a type of rage, self-preservation thats drawn out from cornered prey animal.

#alias brainrots always occurring behind the scenes i fear #ie. magdalena is more refined and confident killer-maria. paloma is... disarming / letting u get away w shit & oh somethings wrong h-#[ ♡ ] ── * magdalena. / 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘴.#[ ♡ ] ── * paloma. / 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘴.#but also its a lil funny that magdalena & paloma both have religious undertones. lena for obv reasons but then paloma means Dove.#which.... doves = holy spirit. and when thinking of matriarch-trinity? nancys the unholy spirit. funny lil parallels.#but also implications that palomas as brutal as magdalena but different font. more unhinged. messier. in spite of such gentle name. (:#[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * cold case.#[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * no one saved you.

2 notes · View notes

meatriarch · 4 months

Text

𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐀. / brief verse summaries.

❤. 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐋.

aka, prequel. a pre-game canon verse, following the adventures and first-meetings of maria and her friends up until the last time they saw her - when they parted ways for spring break, and she went missing.

❤. 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐓𝐄𝐃.

a girl once doomed to die by the narrative, maria in this verse survives the horrors done unto her by the sawyer - hewitt family -- thanks to the bravery and love of her by her sister and friends. she is, however, haunted by the memories of the traumatic weeks she spent there -- [ depending on interaction as well : held captive by johnny ( lamb's ) at first, and later his mother figure, nancy. ] in this verse, upon the friends surviving the ordeal and returning home to recover, maria is overwhelmed by the attempt to return to a sense of normalcy - between locals and schoolmates bombarding invasive questions of "what actually happened" and the toll on her mental and emotional state, maria makes a hasty, heart-breaking decision to quietly move away without a word to her friends. she now resides in the pacific north west, in the gloomy forests just on the outskirts of a small mountain town, where she lives with two large dogs for protection and deterrence and revolver and shotgun in arms reach. just in case.

❤. 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐄.

an alternate route of WILTED, maria is discovered packing her apartment up. in the ensuing confusion and upset at her seemingly leaving without warning, maria reverts her decision to move away and instead stays in texas, with her friends and family close by, to support one anothers' healing from what they experienced. maria still deals with the emotional and mental struggles as in Wilted -- ranging from hallucinations to depressive episodes to anxiety attacks, sleep paralysis / night terrors and more. this route, however, slowly shows a brighter future ahead of them, as they continue with their lives -- together.

❤. 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓.

they did it! voice in head whispers. she could see them up ahead, frames silhouetted by the rising sun awaiting to bask them in its radiance. the back of one of them, so warm and comforting as they carried her towards the light, brought a wave of relief into her tired, aching body, and she could feel herself relaxing far more than she's felt since she was first brought to this hell. peering past closing eyelids, at the rest of them ahead, haloed by the sun, her angels whom she loved so dearly, for coming to find her, for loving her so deeply in return. for everything, voice softly whispers close to the ear of the one carrying her, i love you all. thank you. smile spreads across her face. and as they pass through and into the open air, as the suns warm rays of light shine down on them all - relief and happiness on their faces at everyone getting out safely - maria sighs quietly, and welcomes the light of the sun one last time. an alternate end to the young woman with a smile and heart as bright and warm as the light shining down on them when they have escaped the familys' clutches. maria, upon seeing that her friends have all made it out alive, succumbs to her injuries in the height of their celebration. bitter yet sweet, it may be comforting to know that they - at the very least - can lay her rest someplace far better suited for their sister & friend than to leave her to be picked at and rot in the depths of the basement.

❤. 𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐁𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍.

aka, chapter 2. basement brawl begins once again. almost two entire decades later, with everyone having seemingly moved on, comes the proposition to return to the house - finish what was started, ensure an end is put on the family that so greatly altered their lives all those years ago. essentially ch.2 overall, but also serves as a catch-all for other verses ( ie cc/nosy or wilted/shine's versions of the friendgroup returning to the house to finish what was started twenty years ago ).

❤. 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒.

aka, college au and beyond. all the silly, lovely adventures of a group of friends simply living their lives - no murder house, no hell basement, no losing a friend. simply good vibes and good times ahead.

❤. 𝐌𝐘 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐀 𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆.

a modern verse plopping maria down in todays setting. she has a very successful side career of roadtripping and uploading vlogs & photography about her travels.

❤. 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐄.

aka, cc or dire au. ( with johnnysslaughter ) what happens after a person goes missing? when trail runs cold, evidence and leads are suppressed, and search is called off in spite of family and friends' pleads to continue? when the man who murmured sweet praises to you and flashed handsome smiles as your gaze met his across the room -- now towers over you, cowering in fear, with teeth bared into wild grin? kept in the shack outside of nancy's home, maria is held captive by johnny serving as a cute little plaything to torment, to mold into something lethal like him. this timeline explores several routes of the years maria has spent with the murderous family, a lamb amongst wolves. ( multiple routes. )

❤. 𝐍𝐎 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔.

aka, nosy or dire au & we saved us or wsu. ( with johnnysslaughter & lifesver ) intertwining two ill-fated ends of two remarkably kind-hearted, sunshine-coded friends, maria & leland are caught by johnny in this timeline -- held captive together. the leverage johnny gains on them amps the harsh treatment of the two, being pushed to limits and violence in desperate attempt to keep one another as safe as possible in spite of the circumstances they have found themselves in. ( multiple routes. )

❤. 𝐎𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐁𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐃.

aka, medieval / fantasy au or pre-prequel of maria & johnny. ( with johnnysslaughter ) [ maria ] is the only child -- a princess -- of a king struggling to retain peace and strength of his kingdom. brought up to eventually step in to rule and protect their people and be eventually married off, her safety is entrusted to one of the kingdoms' most loyal and strongest knights -- sir james [ johnny ]. however, time passes and something brews between the princess and her devoted knight -- an oath is promised and broken, an oath is promised and kept -- and the consequences of those sacred vows unraveling spiral the forbidden lovers into a vicious cycle of reincarnation spanning centuries, spanning universes and timelines. a tale of the beginning of maria & johnny's red string of fate. a pair of souls doomed to live and die and cross paths -- some ending peaceful and loving; others . . . violently.

4 notes · View notes

meatriarch · 4 months

Text

johnny's mother, it seemed, came and went at random, for varying lengths of time. it was often enough, however, that it allowed for them to roam around freely, get some much-needed fresh air.

it was more than welcomed — getting those hours, days at times, to leave the claustrophobic walls of the shack. there was only so much space to properly accommodate three people, as opposed to having been plenty of room for only johnny within its shell prior to him bringing them both upstairs from their cells in the basement.

for johnny to bring them over to the car port some days when he had a new one to tinker around with, to fix up or rip apart.

( she found herself curious at times, wanting to ask where he found so many, so often — stupid, really, considering gaze would undoubtedly pick out the dried blood along the sides, or soaked into seats; dented and cracked exterior with strands of hair stuck between jagged metal — no doubt the poor owner likely being beat and slammed into the thing by him. it was obvious, she'd tell herself, biting back pointless curiosity.

it could have been her own car, in this place, had things not gone differently than they had back in march. )

and, now? now she was perched up on table, safe from the glaring heat of the summer sun overhead, back against wall as eyes scanned across newspaper in hand. peering past the tops of headlines over at the two of them, quietly watching johnny leaned under open hood. at lee standing close by, passing tools back and forth from workbench when asked for them. otherwise, though, the two of them listened as johnny explained what he was doing, learning bits and pieces that he shared in between their banter, their shooting of glares ( though, not as hostile as they once were ) back and forth as they messed around with one another. drawing out a chuckle even, now and then.

a smile passes across her face at them both. strange, how things have changed in these couple weeks. it was . . . it was nice.

given their circumstances.

it was a weird sense of comfort with finding themselves settling into their new normal. from waking up in the shack, huddled in warmth under quilts made with care and a motherlike love — half-asleep eyes peering across the room at johnny's mattress, just barely making him out at times in the faint glow of early morning peeking past curtain beside him. of hearing him stir and wake, get himself up to his feet. feel his eyes linger down at them both, her head resting against lee's shoulder. to hearing johnnys' footfalls round past divider curtain into the other half of the shack. the sounds of him getting ready for the day stirring lee awake, and prompting her to get up, as well.

of them — some mornings — sitting at the table together, eating simple breakfast. johnny giving them both heads-up to how long he'd be gone for that day.

and maria catches herself, more and more lately, stealing glances at the clock. counting down the hours to when he'd return. thought at times crossed her mind, over the weeks since being brought up to shack — of settling into this new routine, this new normal, that she missed his presence when he left them there, alone, for hours.

maria appreciated these days, more than ever, with that in mind.

of being able to breathe. walk around. sometimes go up to the front garden, enjoy the flowers — pick some of them, cautiously, when johnny allowed it. to place into vases around the shack. brighten it up more. appreciated that she and lee were found to be trustworthy, now, to roam around the property on these days where nancy wasn't nearby. without fear of them running off — not that the thought of doing so had completely disappeared from either of their minds.

but . . . things weren't so bad anymore, were they?

when she looks on at them both, at the slow-building companionship it seems they've begun to foster with johnny, it slips her mind where they all started from. back in march, when johnny had taken her. in april, when lee had been the last of their friends on the property — when he had ensured the rest of them got away safely.

eyes focus, then, on leland.

selfless. what he did to make sure their friends got out, that ana got out. it was selfless. brave. stupid. done with so much love for them in spite of how little he had known any of them, really, by that point. maria truthfully wouldn't have blamed him in the slightest had he been more selfish, more self-preserving — he had little that he owed any of them, really. and yet? he pushed himself on the back-end of importance compared to them all, to make sure the rest of them lived.

he didn't deserve to be stuck here with her. and she'd be lying if she claimed not to feel guilty for what he felt he had to give up for everyones' sake.

( such a decision, maria was certain, was something the others would not forget, not let go to waste. she was certain, hopeful, that it would be anytime soon — even after all this time of virtually radio-silence from anything past the boundaries of the familys' properties — that they'd finally be saved, finally return home, get to hug their mothers, their sisters, their friends again. )

running and getting out was always an option, even now, if chance presented itself, if they believed they could, maybe, successfully pull it off finally. however . . . as maria's eyes leave leland, cross over to johnny. where eyes meet briefly before he continues whatever-it-was he was doing with the engine, that creeping thought crawls back to the forefront,

that maybe it'd be better to just . . . stay. with him. with lee. here.

that things weren't so bad anymore. that she started to feel closer to johnny, even though they were both kept at arms length with most of himself. but, he was starting to smile little by little, laugh and joke around more. less canine, less threat. slowly, something more eased around them both. slowly, something else entirely — when smile crosses features, and she's reminded of that night at that bar all over again. how it sent butterflies fluttering about in her chest and brought a warmth to her skin, without fail, every time. how it did, just now, when eyes met once again and he flashed another her way before looking back at lee, smile twisting to scowl at the tease leland poses at him.

maria couldn't stop her laughter at the exchange. prompts leland to glance back at her, grinning and giving her a wink — playful, as always. more like himself, nowadays; more like how she remembered him, before everything happened.

their back-&-forth starts up once again, and her cheeks start to hurt at the grin across her own face at the both of them. this, voice murmurs in her mind, is so much better than what it was . . .

she lowers eyes back to the newspaper in hand, scanning up and down columns and deciding there was nothing else printed out on opened pages that caught her interest. and she turns to the next page — as their voices sound drown out into something akin to radio chatter — reading headline after headline, skimming and skipping over blocks of words one after the next. skips another page. and then another. and then another. and then anoth—

it catches the air in her throat when eyes fall upon it.

the world falls dead around her.

the soft chirps of nearby birds fall into silence. the rustling of the trees and bushes around the back yard lie dead — the wind seemingly at standstill. the dry heat of the texas summer turning every attempt at a breath, every attempt at harsh swallow, grate down along inside of throat — as if the skin lining inside was shredded and parched, sandpaper tongue scratching at the insides of her mouth. the heat was making it harder to breathe.

outside, her skin began to prick and blister and made her want to claw at her arms, get it to stop, get herself to feel something else. inside, in her chest, in her gut, in her veins, was like she was freezing. like she'd taken in gulps of air from down in the cold room and the foul rot of it was attempting to bring her insides into decay, as well.

everything else seemed to go silent. save for the loud THUMP of heartbeat in her ears, pace increasing until it was all but a droning of pressure in her ears.

confusion, then, finally made itself known to her.

why was this in here? how did they get this picture? crossed her mind, frantic, terrified, lost.

why am i looking at myself?

the flimsy newspaper crinkled in white-knuckled fists as maria stared down . . . at her own face, printed in black and white in the middle of the next page. it'd been so long since she's seen or heard a thing about herself in the news, not since that last broadcast — not since the searches for her had been called off. so, then, why—?

eyes scoured the page over, reading but hardly comprehending a thing printed among the dozens of other faces, before maria's stare falls on the headline on the top of the other page.

OBITUARIES.

the word repeats itself in her minds' voice. again. again. and again.

the world fell dead around her — and there she was. dead with it.

her gaze crawls back to her photo, and then down to the paragraphs written below it. a note was made, prior to anything sentimental, reciting to its reader how the young university of texas student, maria aurora flores, had been declared missing earlier in march. how despite weeks of continuous searching, no leads, no evidence, had ever been brought forward. and in an incredibly difficult situation, the flores family wished to declare her as DECEASED, to have the chance to mourn their loss, to give her and themselves a sense of closure after her investigation was classified an unsolved cold case.

how the additional paragraph below it spoke about her, as a kind, bright, warm young girl. how she loved photography. how she was cherished by those who knew her, how she loved those she cared—

droplets blew out patches of text at random, sent ink spreading and fading. a sound, questioning, came from somewhere to her left. drew her attention up from the paper. leland's figure, darker blues from his shirt, cleared and blurred and cleared again in her vision.

eyes dropped again, to the top of the page. over a week and a half ago, the paper was dated.

they buried me. i'm alive and they buried me.

i'm still here. i'm still breathing, i'm still here why did they—?

funeral date had been two days ago.

her funeral.

footfalls drew closer, and eyes blink furiously, clearing vision a moment, as she slaps paper down on table and scoots herself off it. leland, concerned as he comes closer, tries to reach out, repeating her name again, asking what's wrong? what happened? maria feigns a smile in his direction — though hardly registering its him — hardly realizing just how much she's already crying, tears streaking down cheeks, as voice comes out, shaking, " i - i'm just, i'm going back inside, i - i'm okay— " and moves past him, not noticing johnny, too, has stopped what he was doing, moving away from the car closer to them. feet carrying her faster with every step, wanting to be out of the sun, wanting to be away from the heat, away from that photo, away from those defeated words below it, away from that fucking headline,

wanted to crawl into the deepest hole she could find and rot there—

the shack door shuddered when she slammed it shut behind her, not meaning to do so as forcefully. her lungs shuddered along with it as she gasped for air, shaked them in haggardly and drew them back out harsh. the shack was all but a blur as water welled over hazel. didn't know what to do with her hands, where to go, paced around open floor, paused every few steps to grip onto back of chair, or counters' edge, maria tried to ground herself. nothing worked. she couldn't breathe. suffocating. like she was buried alive — and all that paper did was confirm that she might as well have been.

i'm dead. on paper. to mama. to ana. to our friends. to abuela and abuelo. to my tias and tios. my cousins.

maria aurora flores was dead to the world outside of the crowded walls of this fucking shack.

i am dead. what now?

what was the point, now, in ever trying to get away from here? away from johnny? away from this shack and its confusing basement? away from the stench of blood and bodies permeating throughout it? there was always a homesickness in her gut, all this time, that had still made her hopeful that they'd be saved, that they'd get away, that they'd get to go home—

but where is home supposed to be, when those back there have reduced you to an empty box in the ground, name scrawled across cold, indifferent, uncaring slab of stone above it? when those who should have been searching and demanding for your safe return have . . . given up on you?

they gave up . . . didn't they . . .

the crunch of boots on dirt broke the whirlwind of heartbreak — betrayal — in her mind, and maria moves from counter and scurries off past curtain divider, back to the other half of the shack. trembling hands wiping harshly at cheeks, feeble attempt to hide the freefall of tears.

they don't care. they gave up.

the shack door opens, and the both of them trail inside, closing it shut behind them, careful. leland's voice calls out her name, but her attempt to call back, to reassure him, them, that she was fine gets caught in her throat. a pathetic whimper, some strangled sort of noise, comes out instead. and she clamps up, heat spreading across her face, as fingers frustratingly continue swiping under her eyes.

curtain slides across its bar and she's all-too-aware of pairs of eyes landing on her. leland says her name once again. waits a moment, to see if she'll respond. her chin, stiff yet quivering, tries to relax enough for her to do so but, once again, all she can manage is some kind of exasperated puff of air, something akin to a laugh cut short. there's a hesitation to him again, before voice breaks the silence, and he quietly tells her that they both looked at the paper, at what she saw, read—

her eyes close then. biting down on bottom lip. nearly cracked skin open. she swallows, hard, draws in a breath after, slowly, another swipe against her cheek.

and she turns her head, looking at him — spotting johnny behind him, by the curtain still, silently watching on — looking back at lee, a futile attempt to finally respond, as straight-faced as she could muster up, " they buried me . . . they gave up on me, " and her voice cracks, then, saying it aloud, like breathing life to it, it sinking in, " t - they buried me, i - i'm dead, lee, they really stopped looking for me— "

he moves to close distance between them. eyes stick on him wide and terrified and hurt, even as his features blur, even as his voice warps and muffles all over again, helpless in tone and softly, quietly spoken, as he moves his arms open for her, come here, i think you need a hug . . .

she didn't move away from him, this time. instead cracking voice stammers out, " th - they stopped, lee, they, they think i'm d - dead— i'm, but i'm here? i'm here, lee, aren't i? but th - they stopped— "

mama, ana, danny, connie, julie, sonny, her family — they all gave up on her, didn't they?

she couldn't say what his expression read. everything was lost, now, around her. the world was dead. and she along with it. and she all but collapsed herself against him. all but fractured pieces of herself — when floodgates finally broke apart and sobs hit her like the wind had been knocked out of her. all but trembling, shaking body, hands covering face, hiding into herself. lee caught her as she collapsed against him, and carefully, gently, got them both on the ground, someplace stable for her, arms around her. attempting to be of some sort of comfort, as best as he could.

she could barely speak, between the sobs, the heaving, the gasps for air. she felt small, in his arms, as he held her close, tried to soothe her, tried to reassure her. held her there, for what seemed like hours. pulling her closer, rubbing palm against her shoulder, back, murmured down at her, from time to time, between all the outpour — her heart felt fractured, shattered, with pieces tossed about carelessly in all directions. all by those she believed would have gone to the ends of the world to find her, bring her home—

home . . .

minutes ached by slowly as her cries and trembling slowly started to ease, as it started to feel easier to breathe, at last. his shirt against her face was soaked through, uncomfortable to be pressed against cold, tear-wet fabric. maria lifts her face a little from him, skin flushed from sobbing, from his warmth against her cheeks.

home . . . the word crosses her mind once again, and she finds herself, quietly, murmuring to him, hoarse and cracked still, " i - i don't have a h - home anymore . . . do i— " she feels him stiffen when she asks, uncertain, of how to respond. maria's gaze, exhausted, lost, hurt, peers past lee's shoulder, across at johnny, still standing by the curtain, silent as ever, watching them both. she couldn't make out his face, either. however, as eyes fixated at his blurred figure, hazy features, silently voice whispers in her head,

maybe . . . this is home, now?

maybe, he can be home, too, now—

johnny fades into a blur once again, and maria feels the prickling start again along nose, in her eyes. looks away from him, then, and buries herself back into lee, into the last bit of home she has left, now.

@lifesver : “Come here, I think you need a hug.”

#cw for like...death talk sad vibes nosy situations iykyk-#[ ♡ ] ── * maria f. / 𝘪𝘤.#lifesver #johnnysslaughter #[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * no one saved you.#hi hello good noons sorry for behaving in a way heres some sad nosy vibes :) hope you enjoy sorry lee for the Sad <3 #tagging lamb ofc for nosy situations <3 #death mention cw #funeral mention cw

3 notes · View notes

meatriarch · 4 months

Text

thinking about the differences in how maria reacts in ch2 era cc & nosy, respectively, to the friends returning twenty years after the house.

cc maria, she's more hesitantly receptive to them to a point. depends on what they do, if they still try going after the family like they originally planned or not, if they try getting her to run off back home. because by that point she's so tethered to johnny who has been her literal only real pillar in the last two decades, and the familiar-but-grown faces of her old friends and sister are at that point basically strangers to her. twenty years is such a long time for people to change and for all she knows, they arent the same people who was close to back then and she knows she isnt the same girl they knew all that time ago, either. but i say she's hesitantly receptive because truly, think she keeps away from them as much as she can until she gets some sort of cue from johnny whether or not he feels its safe to engage really.

nosy maria would have had the same outlook had it not been for that reuniting with donnie about midway into those two decades & the friends never seemingly bothering to look for lee. that entire scenario shuts her off almost completely to nearly any sort of hesitance by the time ch2 rolls in. the hardest ones still are with ana and danny, thats her little sister - of course its going to be difficult and complicated even then. and danny was her longest friend of the group, its equally as difficult facing him, too. but them all coming back around makes her think that donnie likely said something, at some point, and the fact that he does show up again... but, she's angry. at all of them. because them coming back twenty years down the line means that they - to her - just simply never bothered to try coming back at any time in those two decades when they easily could have. they want to show up now instead, midlife-crisis? guilt eating away at them for leaving her and lee to rot back there without even trying to come back? without trying to get officials to come out to look for him at least?

maria just doesnt understand why. why bother coming back at all, now?

in twenty years, her & lee made a new life for themselves among the family, with johnny, moved past their old lives for the most part. why bother coming back all this time later for no other reason but personal revenge, considering they all believed they were just dead to have buried empty caskets for them both? to maria, its just: you all had your "closure", as fake and selfish as it was, it was understandable to a degree, i get it. but then why pretend like you give a shit now when you didnt back then. when you havent all this time. when i doubt we were at the forefront of your minds all these years - because you werent for mine / ours. we moved on. why couldnt you?

and i think like with maria's reunion with donnie -- altho probably not with ana & danny -- but similar to that reply, i think maria develops that hazy-face when looking at them all. makes it easier to disconnect further from their familiarity, makes it easier view them as any other target, any other potential victim.and i think, if shes alone when any of them stumble onto her, she slips into toying with them - plays role of captive all over again, disarms them. lets them get comfortable with her, lets them spill who all tagged along with them, what they planned to do coming back, where they left their cars, etc. depends how it all goes down truly.

#cc maria? hesitant. but if johnny allowed it? would be more willing to approach them on neutral terms.#nosy maria? why the fuck are any of you back here- you all deserve whats coming to you at this point .#[ ♡ ] ── * maria f. / 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦.#[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * no one saved you.#[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * cold case.

3 notes · View notes

meatriarch · 5 months

Text

brief descriptions on maria's aliases in cc / nosy ♡

dolores.

aurelia.

rosa.

magdalena.

#the dires aliases always got me chinhandsing frankly. get to be silly & cute & sexy with the corruption arcs uwu ♡#[ ♡ ] ── * maria f. / 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦.#[ ♡ ] ── * study.#[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * cold case.#[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * no one saved you.#[ ♡ ] ── * dolores. / 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘴.#[ ♡ ] ── * aurelia. / 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘴.#[ ♡ ] ── * rosa. / 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘴.#[ ♡ ] ── * magdalena. / 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘴.

2 notes · View notes

meatriarch · 5 months

Text

i think its rather interesting that within the different cc & nosy au routes, maria's eventual corruption into one of the same with the family is very much harbored and nurtured and encouraged by the treatment given onto her by johnny - how he gives her a window to allow herself to express hate without restriction, violence without judgement - without fear of someone thinking ill of her, without the fear in the back of mind of what those she cares for would think of her because at that point, do their opinions even matter anymore when they left her there? when they abandoned the search in cc, and when they seemingly didnt even try to search for lee in nosy?

all of it being encouraged directly by johnny.

and then in her wilted / shine au's, when they've managed to get out, return home - but returning to a 'regular life' is so overwhelming, and you feel like you should be happy to be alive, happy that you all made it out, and yet? somethings' festering in you and you simply cannot for the life of you understand WHY you arent happy?

the outlet provided in cc/nosy simply isnt there - and those negative and violent emotions have no where else to go except to be constantly shoved deeper into gut. and so you self-isolate in hopes that it keeps those you care about safe, because you're unsure of what those feelings may turn into and its terrifying to think about.

and then, years later, you find yourself sitting across from one of them - and they tell you they want to go back.

and its like furnace has been set alight deep inside, and all that rage and hate and violent urges you spent so long trying to suppress finally starts to bubble and boil again.

maria may not have spent remotely as much time being affected by johnny / nancy in wilted as she does in cc/nosy, but the idea that it was enough to harbor those feelings for nearly two decades after to want to go back is... sad.

truly is haunted by them.

#[ ♡ ] ── * maria f. / 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦.#[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * cold case.#[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * no one saved you.#like. -vague hand gestures- something something johnny provided a form of expression - an outlet to let her feel these types of emotions/#thoughts that she otherwise wouldnt and couldnt FATHOM showing in view of her friends/family? because it contradicts who she feels she is/#how others view her? sweet good ppl should NOT be thinking like this / acting out like this / etc etc. train of thought. johnny providing #her the sense of “freedom” to claw her way out of that mold of strictly sunshine coded sweetheart in cc/nosy - and yet she *doesnt* have #that in Wilted / Shine so its internalized and fostered by her own mind working against her. and a big part of why she isolated.#just the fear of it coming out and being turned onto any of her family or friends. them seeing how damaging what she went thru was.

4 notes · View notes

meatriarch · 5 months

Text

im still on my fuckshit but when i think of cc maria ( by extension also nosy maria but specifically noting the isolation aspect of cc );

can you imagine one day skimming the paper. its been a few weeks since all the commotion knowing your friends' had attempted to come find you but then were chased off. never actually heard or saw any of them, but you know they were around.

but you've been moved from the cells to a mattress upstairs. you're given more freedom, more wiggle room, you're allowed to do things - little hobby-type activities - you're given better foods, you're looked after by the older woman at the other house. the man who took you, who terrifies you still to some degree, slowly doesn't feel like such a stranger anymore, you're right to still be cautious around him but as the days, the weeks, pass by, there's simply a different air about him, and in the shack. lighter, in a sense.

you find yourself growing used to the new daily - the new routine. of waking to the sound of him getting ready for the day, of being left alone in there for hours sometimes, others trailing after him like a duckling, around the older womans' property, helping with an array of tasks. and you worry about upsetting her at first, unsure if doing so will earn a knife to the throat. you listen, you do as you're told, you find some kind of way to co-exist - all the while still, in the back of your mind, there's still a ray of hope,

that maybe, maybe, since the rest of them got away - that they're merely licking their wounds, that they'll get word out and even with all the silence since they had been on the property, there's that shred of hope that maybe? someone will waltz in, guns blazing so to speak, and you'll get out of this hell finally.

that is, until that day - that you're skimming through the paper, and you recognize yourself in a little column - and you realize you're staring at your own fucking obituary.

and in that moment everything seems solidified.

you're never getting away.

there's no point in it.

there's no one out there who are still trying to find you, get you back, bring you home, back to your mothers' arms, back to being an older sister, back to the circle of friends you loved so dearly.

you're dead.

not just to the world, but to those you loved - those who claimed to have loved you, too.

what else do you have at that point? where else do you go, even if you still tried to leave? who wouldn't look at you sideways for the blood that's already stained your hands? for the flesh caught between teeth?

who else is there, except the one murmuring encouragement and praise in your ear?

the only constant you've had in all these weeks? whose words rang true - clearly - that no one cared? that they abandoned you? left you there, didn't even care to make sure you were alive or not? only thought of themselves and got the fuck outta there without confirming if you were even still alive.

#[ ♡ ] ── * maria f. / 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦.#[ 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘦. ] ── * queue.#[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * cold case.#[ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. ] ── * no one saved you.#for cc maria its just. theres literally no one else. the only constant has been johnny. hes the one who was there with her when the #broadcasts sounded off her searches being called off. the only one who ensured she ate - was clothed - was looked after when she fell ill.#who she could talk to. who in spite of all her escape attempts & all her attempts at trying to kill him kept her around - taught her how to #do things properly - protected her from others that'd be brought down below shack. honestly. her isolation in cc - only having any sort of #connection being with johnny for *months* before he trusted her enough to let her join him for longer periods - like its. complicated.#SO fucking complicated. youre seen as dead to literally everyone else in existence - *except for him*. he who sees you. who hears you.#who talks to you. looks after you. its hard not to find yourself becoming attached/devoted. to the only person who knows you still exist #like i mentioned for nosy its. theres lee there too now so its. a little different. it doesnt hit right away - the almost blind devotion.#but it still happens - over time - with the both of them. the last two people who for a time at least know you were even still living.#and its by the time ch2 rolls in for either cc/nosy its just. its so confusing to her. why they all bother returning then?#for cc its just. you all buried me in an empty box twenty years ago...you all moved on then. you accepted that. so why are you here now.#why are you re-opening wounds that shouldve been long buried - with that empty casket. why suddenly care now?#in nosy she suppresses it w. her bitterness but cc i feel it comes out more like... grief & hurt. all over again. because if you came back #20 yrs after the fact? then why DIDNT you return back then? why *now* and not then? at any point in the last two decades?

4 notes · View notes