#the thing reader

Yeah sure! Enjoy!

MacReady and Reader Comfort

(TW:: Body horror, burning bodies, canon typical violence, panic attack description, character death)

First it got Clark, then Bennings, then Fuchs. It was a horrifying, bloody mess.

One moment these people were your friends. Men you worked with for months. Then they were contorted, bloody corpses. They shrieked and wailed as their bodies split apart and twisted into something sickening.

The bodies were burnt. The smell of charred flesh filled the icy air. After Fuchs, you collapsed in the snow. Knees buckling, refusing to hold you up.

Tears stung your eyes and your chest tightened like a vice grip. One by one, the men you worked with, men you may have considered your friends, were dying in grotesque ways that were forever burned into your mind.

You shook, not from the chill of the Arctic night but from the frustration and fear that bubbled up inside you. Clouding your mind and suffocating all other thoughts.

How much longer until you lost everyone? How much longer until this creature claimed you too?

You pulled your trembling knees close to your chest as you watched the smoldering remains of Fuchs burn out in the snow. It was the only thing you could see at the moment. Vision seeping to tunnel in on the body.

And then a heavy hand landed on your shoulder. Firm, grounding.

You jumped, pulling away, startled by this but calmed as you turned and saw who was behind you.

It was MacReady.

He held his hands up, showing he was not a threat and leaned back slightly.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s me. I just…didn’t want you to freeze out here.” He offers. His voice was calm and judgement free. Something about that broke something in you.

“Oh God they’re dead! They’re fucking dead! And we’re all next!” You shouted, it all coming down on you at once as you shook more violently.

Strong arms wrapped around your trembling body, holding you steady.

“Hey, hey, I’m not gonna let that happen. No one else is gonna die. Not on my watch.” He promised, sounding so sure of himself as he rubbed your back.

He sat with you and let you sob into his chest before gently picking you up and carrying you inside the base.

Everyone else was trying to conjure a plan but MacReady would deal with them later.

He set you on the couch and covered you with a warm blanket.

“Just, stay here for a moment. Take some breaths and we’ll get through this. Alright?” He offered, his voice calm as ever.

Even though you both weren’t sure how this would go down, for a moment, you felt safe.

I was wondering if you could write some headcanons or small ficlet involving The Thing (1982)?

I’ve had an idea about a domestication!au with The Thing. Basically, Palmer, Norris, Bennings, and Blair were experiments created from Thing cells that had been unearthed (from ufo remains) a few years ago before the event of the movie would’ve took place in. Their transformations only start once they’re “activated” (either from stress, strong emotion, or anything that brings distress). But they still remain some of their humanity and can be reasoned with in their forms.

So hear me out: What if Palmer had like… a really shit day (it could be the blood test scene if you want)? And all the stress causes him to transform into his thing form? So, the reader (who may or may not has a crush on him, up to you ^^) helps calm him down and stop him from unintentionally hurting anyone?

Sorry if this is a weird ask. But thank you so much if you answer this! ^^

(SORRY IT TOOK A WHILE!! School has been kicking my butt and I genuinely forgot I had the asks oops.

Anyway! Here’s the fic! This is a banger idea)

Today was the most stressful day of the expedition so far. They uncovered something in the ice and now MacReady was convinced that something was disguised as one of them! It was right out of those science fiction books Palmer liked to read and yap about when stoned.

MacReady suggested they do a blood test. They took blood from everyone on base that was still alive and sat everyone on the couch in the common room. The idea was that this…creature. This thing it was all connected, even if it got blown to pieces, the pieces would respond to each other like they were one. MacReady would touch the blood with a hot wire and if the blood was a part of this thing, then it would react and they would know who was what.

Palmer’s skin rippled like disturbed water. He was panicked because he knew something was wrong with him. He wasn’t human and he knew it and soon, everyone on base would know it.

He was seated by you. You could sweat dripping off his brow. His hands shook slightly. He was gripping them tightly and for a moment, you could almost see the hands fuse together.

“Hey,” you start, gently placing a hand on his back. You felt the heat radiate from him like an oven heating up. He jumped a little and glanced down at you, a crooked smile twitching onto his lips like he was trying to convince you he was okay.

Maybe you knew what he was, maybe you didn’t. All you saw now was that your friend was loosing his cool and you wanted to help.

“You okay? Is it all the talk of body-snatching, killer aliens that has you jumpy?” You ask, tilting your head to watch him more closely.

“Huh? Yeah, that’s it.” He says, nodding quickly. He’s preoccupied with something at the moment,

“Well, don’t worry. Whatever happens, we face it together. Okay?” You say as you take his sweaty hands in yours and squeeze. The tremor in them slows.

“Yeah. Together.” He repeats, his crooked smile getting more confident. Whatever MacReady finds, it’ll be okay.

Norris had been extra protective of y/n lately. Norris would usually just stay in his own work and mind his own business but when it came to y/n… he couldn’t stay out of the situation.

He kept placing MacReady’s liquor outside of common areas or places he knew you would be. He even tried to hide Palmer’s stash once but Palmer threatened him twice already about it.

One day, Palmer was rolling a joint in the common area. This wasn’t an uncommon occurrence but Norris found him doing it. Normally, he would just walk by and do what he was going to do but he couldn’t ignore it this time! Especially not with y/n sitting right there watching TV. You could see Palmer.

He plucked the joint out of the younger man’s hands just as he was about to light it.

“What the hell, man? I always do this shit here!” Palmer yelled when Norris snatched his joint from his hand and tossed it in the waste bin.

“Not in front of y/n!” Norris hissed at the other man who grumbled and dug his weed out of the trash before stalking back into his room to smoke it.

“What was that about? I know Palmer is the residential stoner.” You ask once it’s just you and Norris in the room.

“It’s a bad influence! Between him smoking pot around you and MacReady’s alcoholism, I don’t know. I just don’t want them to make you into sad old men too I guess.” He shrugged retreating back into his office. He didn’t have an actual explanation for what came over him. Well, not one he wanted to tell you.

He didn’t want to make things awkward around the base but he felt the strong need t protect you. Especially from the others and their bad habits.