Blossom Within The Skull. Theyre Not Themselves Anymore By The Time They Escape. Theyre Not Even Human

blossom within the skull. They’re not themselves anymore by the time they escape. They’re not even human anymore. (oneshot, 7k words, taivan and jackieshauna. A kinda-sorta Annihilation au. Written for yjoctober2023. Prompt 4: Yellowjackets reimagined as a different genre)

The children pulled themselves from fire and steel and into Its home, staring with wide scared eyes at the deer with vines spilling from an open wound in its flank, the owl with thorns and nettles poking out between its feathers, the corpse in the cabin with chanterelles erupting from its eyes, yarrow blooming from its gaping mouth.

The corpse, they called it, until they saw it breathe.

In the attic, under a bearskin rug, a journal. The pages molded beyond recognition, except the last.

If you are reading this you are already changing.

for the ask game, 9 + 13 for whatever fic(s) of your choice :)

Let's see, how about

she sleeps below (so down you go)

(aka, what would happen if only Van survived the crash? Bad things. Bad bad things.)

9. Were there any alternate versions of this fic?

The fic had an alternate ending: while driving her mother home from a bar, Van has a panic attack at the wheel and crashes. Her mother dies, Van survives (again), and having another instance of stupid, improbable, absurd survival (and the fact that she now has no one left to take care of) causes Van to break. After this, Van makes her way north to the wilderness, chasing her ghosts into oblivion. Ultimately, I went with a much more immediate, grim and violent ending. But hey, at least Van's happy. Her mind is shattered beyond repair, but she's happy.

13. What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn’t listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?

I don't necessarily listen to anything in particular while I write. That being said, there are two songs that I think of for this fic: Exit Music (For a Film) by Radiohead, and Growing Poppies by Alec Lambert.

Thanks for the ask!

now she’s all ready for spooky season—are you? 🌕🐺

... and the girl had a shadow.

hooked on you

10.19.23