#AND THEY'RE LEFT WONDERING THE WHAT IFS

[balladofthe101st]

i know joe went up to the bar just to flirt with george with the classic, "you come here often?" but george, seeing joe walk towards him, looking so handsome and lean in his class a's, panicked, and before joe could use his line, george blurts out, "corporal toye, there will be no leaning in my company. are those dusty jump wings? how do you expect to slay the huns with dust on your jump wings?" joe, bewildered and flustered, plays along, straightening up and dusting off his jump wings, just to see that sweet smile on george's face. that night didn't go as joe planned but between a couple glass of beers, sharing a smoke, and spending the rest of the evening until the next early morning with george and that goddamn sweet smile of his, joe wouldn't have spent the night any different. next time, he thinks wistfully, next time maybe he'll get a kiss

[monotone-artist]

just a few foster puppy pictures out of the hmm. 500 that i have

[id: nine photographs of various brown, floppy-eared puppies. first: top view where puppy is sitting down and looking up at the camera. second: sitting with his tongue out. third: laying down on her side with her head on my leg, looking straight at the camera.

fourth: laying down on her belly. fifth: sitting and leaning against me, his head quite close to the camera, which he's looking at. sixth: one puppy lays down while another rests her chin on his back.

seventh: an extremely close-up view of a puppy's face. eighth: a puppy, who notably has one blue eye, looks through the glass door. ninth: puppy stands on her hind legs, front paws on the glass door, looking inside. end id]

[fnafawoundleftbleedingau]

One thing I hope, is that once AWLB, WWLWWF and Through the Static are finished. That I'll think of more AU's that I can write long fics about afterwards too.

[002yb]

Dick peppering kisses all over Jason's face as soon as he gets home?

The problem with loving a hero is that nothing will ever come before their cause. Despite this, Jason isn't bothered. It's not like he sets aside his own agendas as a vigilante to assuage his boyfriend. Then again, Jason has never asked Dick to wait around with no contact for a fucking month, the bastard.

It's the longest they've been apart since they got together and Jason can't help but grimace at the hollow ache he feels in his chest because damn it - even if Jason resolved himself to being okay with Dick's hero work, he misses his boyfriend.

Jason wonders if Dick has missed him, too. How embarrassing would it be for him if it's just Jason that's been despondent and grouchy and distracted and needy all these weeks.

The only consolation Jason has is that he has a stranglehold on the crime in his territory after a month of boredom and loneliness. It's done a lot to help quell his agitation (over being left alone, over not being able to help, over the haunting thoughts of what-ifs and worst case scenarios), but now with nothing to do - Jason is back where he started.

A lot can happen in a month. Maybe Dick got hurt and needs help. Maybe Dick regained some sense and realized Jason isn't worth the trouble. Maybe he ran off to ghost Jason entirely. Fucking bastard.

Or maybe he's being stupid and Dick is thinking about Jason - missing him. Maybe he's rushing home like he said he would and they'll do all those depraved things Dick promised before he left. Or maybe they'll just hold each other. Jason wouldn't mind that.

Fuck, Jason misses him. The charming, handsome son of a bitch.

"Come home already, dick." Jason grumbles to himself.

And like the universe has finally heard enough of Jason's incessant whining, Jason hears a knock on his window. He sits upright from where he laid on his couch, wild-eyed and breathless, a biting smile pulling at his lips to match his boyfriend's toothy grin as Dick persists in slapping the window

Dick is already leaning through the window before Jason fully opens it, hands on either side of Jason's face and peppering it with kisses. Pressing forward until they tumble back to the floor and laughing through complaints because, 'A fucking month, c'mere.'

Chaste, fleeting pecks that still somehow make Jason flush with warmth because they're relentless and wanting and as desperate as Jason has felt for so many weeks.

"Missed you." Dick breathes over his skin and the combination makes Jason shiver and laugh under his breath. A cut off, breathy sound that hitches when Dick nips just beneath Jason's jaw and presses another three kisses to his face after.

"Thought you might have ran." Jason says, holding Dick back. It does little to stop his boyfriend who just takes Jason's hands and kisses his fingers instead, the heel of his palm.

"Ran here." Dick laughs, breathless. "Couldn't wait to see you."

Nothing will ever come before a hero's cause, but Jason thinks he might come close just from how Dick looks at him - bright-eyed with contentment and delight. Maybe their relationship can't be conventional, but Jason doesn't think he needs it to be.

They're a hero and a vigilante; they're made of tougher stuff.

A month's worth of kisses and affection. A month's worth of uncertainty chased away in an instant. They'll be okay.

[incorrectbatfam]

Hey! Dunno if you ship this or not, but FUTURE JonDami headcannons?

I love them but I'm also in the mood for some high school messiness also let's pretend they didn't age Jon up

Whatever you do though, don't imagine them slowly becoming different people in high school.

Don't imagine them drifting apart as they take different classes, try different clubs, and eventually become part of different friend groups. Don't imagine Damian becoming popular among the people who wanna get close to the Wayne kid, and don't imagine Jon being favored by a completely different crowd.

Don't imagine their joint patrols becoming fewer and farther between as they're busy with homework and receiving different missions on their own. Don't imagine their late night texts fizzling out to the occasional assignment question or vigilante notes. Don't imagine them in their rooms, wondering if they should text first or if the other person wants space.

Don't imagine Damian coming to the conclusion that he thinks about Jon the same way Tim talks about Bernard. Don't imagine him trying to push the feelings away, because even though it's been so long since he was in the League of Assassins, part of him still sees it as a weakness that he needs to distract himself from. Don't imagine Jon realizing the same after talking to Kon one starry night and the thought of it terrifying him because he doesn't wanna screw up what they have. Or what's left.

Don't imagine Jon working up the courage to ask Damian to senior prom with a journal full of ideas. Don't imagine him flying over Gotham with a bouquet only to see Damian laughing over frozen yogurt with a recently returned Colin Wilkes. There's nothing going on, but Jon doesn't know that. Don't imagine Jon going to Smallville and venting his frustrations in the cornfields.

Don't imagine the next Monday when Jay Nakamura asks Jon out in the halls and Damian overhearing. Don't imagine Damian leaving in a quiet huff before Jon could answer, because he was smiling and smiles were almost always followed by an affirmative, right? Don't imagine Damian's siblings picking up that something's off when he's rougher than usual during training.

Don't imagine on prom night their parents asking if they're going to the dance and both of them saying no because they'll just end up alone, watching the one they care about in someone else's hands. Don't imagine them sitting on their balconies, looking out at the hazy night sky before glancing down at their last texts from months ago, wondering if the other person even thinks about them anymore.

Don't imagine them miles apart grieving the same what ifs.

Just don't.

[mewtwoandme]

So Louie will be a secret that Sivith, Jericho, and Mew will take to their graves. It's not better or worse that no one will ever know, but I can't help but imagine that Blu would have loved to have known about his brother. But it is what it is

It's more or less a "some things are better left unsaid" matter. Cause we really don't know how Blu would take that kind of information. It could have negative repercussions, or it might not, but Siv wouldn't want to open him up to the heaviness of her past. Sometimes parents hide their past from their kids to protect them, doesn't mean they're necessarily right or wrong for doing so, but Siv wouldn't want to drag Blu down, having him wonder about the "what ifs" and "what could have beens" with his brother.

[its-chelisey-stuff]

everybody's favorite scene was the ending (and I mean, what a cliffhanger!! is it saturday yet???) but my heart stayed here and some of my tears Also, the way he looks at her this whole scene aaaaaaahhhhh I'm melting!

so many what-ifs, so much things left unsaid over the years, misunderstandings piling up, so much resentment! ouch! it just hurts so much but at least they're finally having this conversation and hey, better late than never.

I love their opinions on what has happened, because it highlights their insecurities and biggest regrets. HyunWoo wishes he would have done better in their marriage, knows he's at fault. While HaeIn wishes they never married, so they could've prevented all the pain both of them went through, especially HyunWoo. He doesn't want to hear it, because for him there's only been one woman. And for her, there's only been one man, too. But now she knows how alone and miserable he felt fo so long, he wanted to divorce her.

I have come to appreciate and love Hyunwoo a lot more than I did at the beginning. It was easy for me to hate him right away because of the way he conducted himself and the things he did. But the guy was on autopilot, survival mode and just like he said, he'd forgotten what was important. Dislike, resentment and indifference took over.

!!!!! So obsessed by how this implies he would've been still thinking of her, even if they broke up, always wondering about the what-if. He believes she wouldn't have done the same (and this is clearly her fault lol my queen is not without flaws) but it wouldn't have been like that at all. She was as obsessed, and we know she still believed (or wanted to) in the strenght of her marriage even when it was already crumbling down. *Sighs* They're just so stupid.

I look at this man that we have now on ep 10, and realize just how much he's changed back to the man who married HaeIn, completely in love. The man who chased her, confessed to her and promised to take care of her and her family if it was necessary (oh dear, I never thought that'd be a foreshadowing) and even after divorcing, he stays true to his word.

Aaaaah it's just so sad, and so regretful, but they both were such idiots about it. So childish too, in a way. I get that they were angry and dealing with loss (btw the miscarriage started this, but then little by little misunderstandings started piling up... it was death by a thousand cuts) but they should have fought harder for their marriage. Fight for each other, even while upset. Hate is not the opposite of love, it's indiference.

Despite everything, Hyunwoo took the Hong family to his hometown and gave them shelter, food and a place to sleep. Warmth. The very warmth he didn't get to experience in three years of marriage, living with them. But it doesn't matter, because while I know he is doing this for HaeIn, it's also for them. He sees them as family. And I mean, to be fair, they also gave him a job with a big salary, a big house, expensive getaways with the family and they trusted him with a LOT of legal shit. Not to mention, the italian suits and the Mercedez Benz lol

In times like this, I really really hate her terminal illness and find it so unncessary lol Because they can take back Queens, put EunSeong behind bars and his crazy mother or whatever. They can still fix their relationship. But if her time is indeed running out, it makes all the more tragic all that time they lost. And it would be horrible if at the end, HaeIn dies. So unfair, as well. Because then, what was all this for?

[thesecretwriter]

more than just friends (part 1) - steve rogers.

pairing: Steve Rogers x female reader

warning: angst city, mean!steve rogers, hurtful words, argument between steve and reader, platonic!bucky barnes, features some of the avengers

summary: the reader and steve have a tension between them - even if they're just friends. whenever they are in the company of each other everything feels right. even at the smallest of moments. steve wants the opportunity to love someone. he wants to move on from the 'what ifs?' from his past, but why does it seem so hard? this is where the reader comes in, always there when steve needs to talk or just bask in the silence of each other’s company. she craves to feel a love she has never known. can the man she dreams about provide that for her or is she pinning after a story with no ending.

word count: 2.4k

a/n: this is a rewrite of a fic from a while back. i didn't like how it was, so here ya go, enjoy!

minors/ageless blogs dni.

Masterlists

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5

“Steve, have you seen y/n?” Sam asked as Steve walked into the living room.

“No, how would I know where she is?” Steve asked confused, with a hint of annoyance in his tone.

“What’s going on with you? I just asked a question.” Sam stated perplexed.

Steve was never one to be rude to his friends, regardless of his mood, he was always able to be respectable. However, his mood seemed to be on the downside today.

He ignored Sam and walked to the elevators. As he waited for the elevator, Tony appeared next to him with a small smirk.

“Top of the morning to you, Cap,” he said greeted unnecessarily loudly.  

“Tony,” he responded with a stiff nod.

“What’s the plans for today?” He asked.

“Nothing,” Steve answered straightforwardly.

“Okay good. Do you know where y/n is?” he asked, feigning curiosity.

“No. I do not,” he answered muttered.

All Tony did was nod since Steve seemed agitated, which was very rare to see.

“Alright then, I’ll leave you to it. Although if you are looking for her, I suggest looking near the compound grounds,” with nothing else left to say. Steve is left wondering why you could possibly be out there on your own.

He didn’t seem to notice the contradiction behind what Tony said, he asked where you were, but ended up answering his own question.

Steve made his way down and was thinking of asking Bucky to spar with him outside. It seemed like the weather was good, and all he wanted was to take his mind off from today. Sparing would be a good distraction.

“Hey buck, wanna spar outside? The weather seems to be working in our favor,” he asked Bucky who was seemingly playing with his pocketknife.

“Sorry Steve. Kinda busy right now. You could ask y/n though. She’s available today,” he said dismissively.

“I would’ve asked her if I wanted to.” He grunted and started to walk off.

What was wrong with everyone? They kept on mentioning y/n, he thought to himself.

Steve had a good mind of telling everyone to leave him alone, but the curiosity of got the best of him and he found himself walking toward the compound grounds.

After 2 years of exchanging glances and smiles, sharing vulnerable words and subtle touches, you were finally going to tell Steve about how you feel. Anyone with two eyes and a brain can see and sense the feelings that Steve seems to feel towards you.

So, you came clean to the team about what you wanted to do. Being the good support system they were, they helped you to set up a cute little picnic for you and Steve on the compound grounds that has a breathtaking scenery surrounding it.

The difficult part was getting an unsuspecting Steve to your location, but that seemed to work on your behalf since you see Steve heading in your direction.

“Hey,” you say nervously as he gets closer.

“Hi, what’s with the food and picnic setup?” he asked as he glanced behind you to see all the food set out.

“I decided that it was a good morning to have a little picnic, in fact I was hoping for you to join me since I have something to discuss with you,” you rambled on trying to grasp onto the right words while your hands moved around.

The night before had your tummy filled with butterflies. You even practiced what you wanted to say and how you were going to say it.  

“Alright, but I have somewhere I need to be in about an hour,” Steve replied, his tone was monotone which was rather unusual of him. He glanced down at his watch and then back up at you.

“It won’t be long,” you smiled and went over to the blanket you had spread out.

Steve sat across from you and took a plum that was within his reach.

It was quiet for a moment before you finally built up the courage to start telling him how you feel.

“You’re a very dear friend of mine and I’m happy to have you be a part of my life. God knows how many times you were there when I needed someone. We’ve shared many moments in the time we have known each other in ways no one else could. You may be Captain America to the world, but to me you’re Steve Rogers. The man who puts everyone before himself and adjusted to living in a new world. There are so many things about you to admire. The moment you and I made eye contact when we were celebrating Peter’s 18th birthday made me realize how I feel about you. Every moment I spend with you, I fall deeper,”

Your heart rate had spiked up since the moment you started talking. Your eyes never left Steve’s; he could see the emotion in your eyes as every word left your lips.

A moment of silence passed through the atmosphere around you.

Steve woke up from where he was sat and began to walk away from you, not even looking back.

It happened so fast that you only took a deep breath in after his figure faded into the distance.

You suddenly felt a drop on your hand that was settled on your lap. It was your tears. One by one, the tears began to roll down your cheeks.

Everything hit you at once and the negative thoughts started, how could you even think that he could feel the same? Steve Rogers, who had encountered so many people that did more than you could ever dream of.

But then again everyone around you were so sure that he felt the same, were they wrong? All of them?

You sat there alone and staggered with your thoughts – time moved around you and you didn’t know how long it took, but you eventually gathered the food and other items and walked toward the compound hoping to not see anyone on your way up to your room. You couldn’t bear to have them see you like this.

Once you were in your room, you collapsed on your bed and sobbed to your hearts content. Only one thought was on your mind.

His words would’ve been better than his silence.

Hours passed, and by now it was dark outside.

“Steven Grant Rogers, who gave you the audacity to act the way you did with y/n?” Bucky’s voice boomed through the empty living room as Steve arrived back at the compound after spending the whole day away and Bucky had been sitting and waiting for him.

“What now Buck? I had a rough day and would like to spend the night peacefully in my room,” Steve complained as he glared at his metal armed friend.

“Rough day? You have some nerve acting like that after what happened between you and y/n?” Bucky questioned growing annoyed.

“It’s none of your business,” Steve stiffened knowing that by now every one of the avengers knew what happened.

Upon your lack of presence the whole day, Bucky sought you out to see how the picnic had panned out, you had given him the rundown version of what happened, and to say he was disappointed and angered towards Steve would be an understatement.

“None of my business? Funny how you say that after talking to me about her the way you do. In all our years of friendship, I have never heard you speak about anyone the way you spoke about her. She finally got the courage to express how she felt and all you did was walk away?” Bucky was on the verge of throwing the nearest object at Steve.

Steve spent hours talking about what an admirable woman you are and how the smallest things you did made his heart skip a beat. Where were those words now? What changed how he felt? If anything, he should be happy that you reciprocated the way he felt towards you.

“Today is just not the day for that, and I don’t want to deal with her overexaggerating,” he said with anger.

“Where is all this even coming from? And what day could it possibly be that you would act this way-“

“It’s the damn day I first met Peggy, okay!” Steve shouted.

A silence fell upon the two super soldiers.

“The day you met her-…Steve that is the silliest thing that has ever come from you. I would understand if it were the day she died, but this? The day you met her? Peggy lived a full life with a man she loved, she had children and experienced life till the end. You have someone who is more than willing to give you the same, and you disregard her because it is the day you met Peggy?”

Bucky stared at Steve with a look of shock, the man standing before him was unrecognizable to him.

Steve remains quiet.

Yes, he did have someone who he can have a life with, but to him Peggy was it. She saw him for who he really was. Had he not gone under ice he would have been the man to give Peggy the life she deserved. At least that’s how he felt whenever his thoughts strayed to the past.

He ignores Bucky’s stare and makes his way to your room. In his mind, his best friend would not have spoken to him like that if you did not open your mouth to them. This is all your fault, or at least in his eyes it was.

Once in front of your door, he angrily knocked on it, waiting for you to open the door.

“It is 9 freaking pm, whoever is behind this door better have a good reason to be knocking on it,” he heard you mutter.

“Oh, I have a very good reason,” he grits as you open the door and stand looking at him astounded.

“Wha-… Steve, where were you? I haven’t seen you since the morning,” you inquire, completely forgetting about how he made you feel and concentrating on whether he was okay from the way he looked so angered.

“Where I go and what I do is none of your business, but since you can’t seem to keep your mouth shut. I was at Peggy’s grave the entire day,” you stared at him with your mouth agape, he had never spoken to you with such a venomous tone.

“… and if you would’ve kept your mouth shut, then I wouldn’t have my best friend blowing up in my face and arguing with me the minute I step in. Can you ever keep things to yourself?” he asked annoyed.

By now you had processed every word you said.

“Steve, I would never say anything to cause an argument between you and Bucky. Whatever happened this morning did hurt me, I confessed my feelings to you, and you just left. But Bucky and the rest of the team were the ones to convince me to even talk to you about it. Had I known what day it was I would’ve never done anything,” you kept your tone calm and collected. Although Steve had never spoken to you like this, you would never hold this against him.

Today was a meaningful day for him, and like you said, had you known what day it was you would have never even planned the picnic.

“Is that so? Because if I recall you were the one to orchestrate the whole plan. Sure, the others may have pushed me in your direction, but you played the bigger part in it,” he said recalling how everyone basically made him find you this morning.

“I’m going to ignore every word you say because I know you’re only saying it out of anger. You can speak to me when you have calmed down and collected your thoughts, because clearly this is not the Steve that I know talking,” you said this looking him straight in the eyes and meaning every word that left your lips.

It is unfortunate to say, but there were many times where you fell victim to being the target of many people’s anger. Although you knew they would never say these words in the right state of mind, it still hurt to endure hearing them from people you care about, and right now hearing it from the man you love was slowly tearing your heart apart.

“You think you know me so well. Sure, I come to you when I need someone but that is only because you were just there, always waiting. Doing nothing else but waiting. You think I want to come to you? The only reason I even make my way to you is because Peggy is not here. If she were here, you wouldn’t even be an option,”

Each word to you was a knife to the heart and a pinch at your soul.

Tears made their way down your face, your knees felt weak, with your heart beating too fast. His words had struck a nerve, and to you, they may have held some form of honesty in them.

“You don’t think I know that? I stay at your side knowing that I will never be good enough. That I will never be her, yet I still stayed when you needed me, just hoping that somewhere in that heart of yours you would find a way to love me... No more now, no more will I put your feelings before mine. I stand by what I said before, but your words hurt too much to ignore. Goodnight Captain,”

With that being said you close the door and lock it, falling to the floor and bringing your knees to your chest.

You heart was officially done.

[beanghostprincess]

Tbh I don’t even need Shanks or Buggy to be pining 100 percent of the time, I’ll gladly would read a fic or thing where they both have moved on (for the most part because Buggy hasn’t ever been normal about Shanks ever as evidence by the earlier at chapters he ever even appeared in. Nobody who’s moved on gets flashbacks to the time a guy made you eat a fruit) but Shanks sees the opportunity to at least… talk to his old crewmate and takes it. They used to best friends after all. Just curious to see what Buggy’s been doing is all. And Buggy is just in a position where drinking with isn’t the worst he could do that day so he accepts the invitation. None of them have been “pining” for the other really. They never even really expected to run into each other like this again.

… and all it takes is five minutes of Shanks listening to Buggy rambling to remember that little crush he had on him as a child and it takes an hour for him to suddenly realize “…. Oh fuck. The feelings back. Or it never left and was just behind a layer of time that now has been pulled away. The exact same feeling. Fuck. Turns out it wasn’t even a “little crush” either. Shit. Gonna drink myself into a stupor.”

And it doesn’t even take half an hour for Buggy to suddenly remember why the idea of going for the One Piece with Shanks seemed like at least a feasible idea at one point before Shanks managed to destroy Buggy’s image of him as a shining Star so thoroughly, because Shanks has put his remaining arm around him and is laughing and there’s just this charisma dripping of him and Buggy remembers that Shanks looked kinda cute back in the day with just the slightest amount of baby fat still in his cheeks but now he’s fucking STUNNING and god why is he wondering about the “what ifs” and “what could have beens” NOW? He hasn’t questioned his choice to leave that fool standing in the rain for DECADES why is - Fuck it! Gonna drink himself into a stupor.

New dynamic dropped: “We used to be over each over but now we had one good night out that made us question everything and none of us can be normal about it for five minutes”

You literally read my mind completely with this. I am obsessed with this concept because it's, for me, the closest to their canon dynamic and characters. They're still very important to each other and seeing the other brings back both good and bad memories. Their relationship is extremely complex and full of love covered in layers and layers of years without each other and new experiences. And I'm 100% sure they constantly ask themselves what could've been or what would have happened if they had stayed together. Chapter 1082 of the manga (why the hell do I know the number? Don't ask. I am not obsessed and it's not like I reread that chapter every day) confirms that. They make me go insane. I wish I could say more about it but you've said everything on my mind???? Thank you.

[bookished]

Can I kindly request dialogue prompts for mutual suffering heart break ❤️‍🩹

MUTUAL SUFFERING HEARTBREAK PROMPTS

feel free to make edits to better suit your muse, but please don’t edit or add on to the original post 💛 tag me when you use any!

"We're both shattered, and I wish I could mend your broken pieces, but I don't know how to fix myself either."

"It's like we burned too bright, and now we're both left in the ashes."

"I wish I could turn back time and save us from all this pain."

"We both have our reasons for breaking each other's hearts, but I can't help but miss you."

"I miss you too, even though I know we're both better off apart."

"I know the feeling. It's like we've ruined each other for anyone else."

"I often wonder where we went wrong, how we ended up here."

"It's strange how our love story turned into a tragedy."

"We had dreams, plans... and now they're just broken pieces of what could have been."

"Our future together crumbled into what-ifs and maybes."

"Our harmony turned into dissonance, and I miss the music we once made."

"I thought time would heal our wounds, but it's only made the scars deeper."

"Time has this cruel way of making us remember what we're trying to forget."

"Your absence haunts me, even in the moments when I wish I could forget."

"Sometimes I imagine parallel universes where we got our happy ending."

"I wish we could have found a way to save us, to rewrite our story."

"We were so sure we'd be the exception, but we became the rule, another story of heartbreak."

"I never thought I'd say this, but I miss the pain of loving you more than the emptiness without you."

"The pain was a reminder that I was alive, that we were something."

"Maybe one day, we'll look back on this and it won't hurt as much."

Did you find this useful? Please, consider sending me feedback or buying me a coffee. If you would like to request something (either advice or a piece of a story) for me to write it, go and message me. Also, if you'd like, you can check my masterlist. Happy writing!

[clone-anon]

Hello! You are an absolute angel, your stories are so lovely and many of them have moved me to tears <3

I know it's a bit dark but I was wondering if you could do a Tech x f!reader where the reader is struggling with passive suicidal ideation (suicidal thoughts with no intent to act upon them) and feeling trapped inside her mind. Reader is touch starved and maybe Tech is too and they both find safety holding each other.

No worries if you can't do it! Thanks for making so many peoples' day including mine <3

Thank you! I'm glad you like my writing and decided to prioritize this since it's such a heavy topic.

Warnings: ongoing passive suicidal ideation mentioned, one moment of suicidal ideation involving a ledge with no intention to act

A/N: The squad is all back together again, but there is no mention of how. We don't need to know how right now, just that they're together. Also, I think this could be read as gender neutral reader.

Although Tech was not as demonstrative with his physical expressions in the same way Wrecker was, he would sometimes reach out and touch your shoulder or arm in a supportive way. He was not entirely sure of the line, but you always seemed to lean into his hand enough to let him know the feeling was welcome. You had all been looking for some place to lay low for the time being. A lot had happened and you did not want to lose each other. The squad was whole and you all wanted it to stay that way.

One evening on a forested moon you sat under the stars. There was a bit of a ledge not far from where the ship was parked and the campfire set up. Everyone was inside at the moment and you simply stared. It wasn't a far drop. Your mind fell into the trap of thinking what-ifs. You wrapped your arms around your shoulders and tried to shudder the thought away as Tech approached. He sat next to you and tried to read your expression.

"What is it?" he asked.

You looked down at your hands and took a calming breath as his warm presence settled next to you.

"Nothing," you replied.

"It's not nothing," he insisted softer than you'd ever heard him. "Tell me."

"I keep having these thoughts. Do you know what suicidal ideation is?"

Eyes wide he answered, "Of course I do, but what is the reason for this? How can I help?" His arms encircled you, although loosely, as his eyes followed yours to the ledge.

"It's passive, Tech. I won't do it. These thoughts come to mind and I can't seem to stop them or turn them off."

"Promise me you will come to me before acting on anything," he replied.

"I just said I won't do it," you said as your expression vulnerable expression pleaded for understanding.

"I know." He looked at you and nodded. "However, I won't have you experience this alone and I won't take chances."

You looked up at him and his arms seemed to hold you just a little more snugly. Your own snaked around his torso and you leaned into him. His embrace seemed to clear out the thoughts you had only moments ago.

"Breathe with me," he suggested. Your chests rose and fell in rhythm and you felt grounded in each other. It was soothing for him just as much as it was for you and you felt like your mind was more your own than it was just moments before.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" you asked.

"Of course. I'll stay with you every night if that is what it takes."

You stood up and he put out the fire before putting a hand on your back and walking onto the ship with you. You got settled into your bunk and he brought his pillow, laying so that you were between him and the wall. You leaned into each other and loosely left an arm around the other's waist.

"Promise me," he softly requested again.

"I promise I'll come to you."

"Good. I can't lose you."

He closed his eyes and rested his forehead to yours. In the quiet of the ship you fell asleep together.

[sofiiel]

Cryptid!Eddie x Reader | PART SIX

⇠ Part 1 | Part 5 | Next ⇢

Warnings: None that I can *think* of. Proofread from phone :') I'm still waiting on my new glasses, so I probably missed more than usual. I am sorry.

A/n: there will be a short for this chapter eventually explaining what happened when Eddie snuck out. Just for the POV change.

Eddie climbed back into the window and was greeted with the clearing of your throat and the unamused "Mrow" of Toad.

You clap your hands to turn the lights on in shock Eddie lost his footing falling flat onto the carpet, his blanket safely tucked under his arm.

You watched him lay there, eyes shut tight and face burning red.

"I heard your bell when you left, you know." You mutter flatly.

Getting up, you go over to him and cross your arms. "You can give me a heads-up if you're going out, just let me know ifs not because you've gone into 'munch crunch' mode." you sighed.

Eddie peeked up at you with one eye, "Noted, sorry. You were just sleeping so good." he said.

Sitting up and crossing his legs, Eddie looked down at the blanket in his lap. He petted it with satisfaction.

"I left this...." He said, fighting the smile on this face.

The air is pushed from your lungs as you glance down to find the old worm blanket. You are unable to fight your smile and exhale in defeat.

Eddie looked up at you with a sheepish grin.

"Your tail is hanging out the window still, by the way." you murmur, heading back to bed and clapping off the lights.

The next morning, you've got a pen lock between your teeth as you look over the many orders you've scrawled down on a note paper. It was the largest to-go order you'd received in your life.

Lucas came bouncing in through the door on his lunch break.

"I dropped off the goodie-basket at Wayne's." He said with a chuckle.

"Oh, how'd that go?" you asked.

He gave a shrug, "He didn't know what to make of it. I think he's assume it's still Dustin's mom."

You smiled a bit, "Wait til he finds out who's really having them sent." you said, glancing up towards the ceiling.

"Hey, ____ if you want to go check on things, I can cover for your lunch break now." Robin offered.

"Thanks, I'll be right back." you hummed, heading for the lift.

Eddie stood in the center of the living room, frowning at his flooded pants. Visibly sulking.

"They're a little short." You commented.

"A little? They might as well BE shorts..." He muttered.

With one leg, he lifted a foot and used its talons to scratch at his ankle.

"Stop that!" you called out.

"Huh? Oh!" Eddie gasped, placing his foot back on the floor.

He looked down at the torn bandages, "sorry, it itches like a bitch." he muttered.

You sighed, "I came to see how the clothes that Steve brought you fit and if you were hungry."

Eddie walked to his place on the sofa and threw his blanket over his head. Snatching up the remote and a jar of peanuts, Gareth brought him.

He held a contented smile, "I'm just fine." he said.

"Well, Jeff told me you like DnD, There's paper in the old trunk at the foot of my bed. You can get it out from there if you'd like." You mention.

Eddie's eyes sparkled, "Wait, why would I need paper?" he asked, but he could already feel the answer.

"For a campaign, I told them you could host one down in the shop. Providing all the curtains remain drawn and doors are locked."

Eddie beamed and opened his mouth, but you instantly pointed at him.

"If you call me-"

Eddie laughed, "I wasn't, I was going to say you're like a patron god. I'm just wondering when I'll need to hold up my half of the deal."

"Patron what?" you asked.

"It's a Dnd th- never mind. Just, thanks....again." He said.

"Mhmm, I've getting free labor out of it so," you teased, offering a few scratches to Toad before heading into your kitchen to make a lunch.

Eddie eyeballed you.

"I thought you weren't hungry?" you asked.

"You didn't say anything about sandwiches." he spoke quickly.

You held up the head of lettuce, "Alright, I'll make you one, but you have to chop this"

Eddie smirked a flexed his claws, "easy." he said, chest a little puffed.

You laughed softly at the amount of pride that dripped from his voice. "You cut a few apples, and you're king of the world?" you asked while Eddie washed hi hands.

He smiled down into the sink, of which his hands barely fit, "You don't know how long I've been useless for anything besides killing things." he said.

There was a moment when his voice fell quiet, Eddie watching the water run across his skin.

Unable to take the melancholy on his face, you gently bumped your shoulder into his side, causing Eddie to sway.

His eyes flickered to you, "Do you think I'll be able to pick up the guitar again. Like, honestly?" He asked, the question laced with a sort of fear.

"Music is important to you, isn't it?" You asked him.

Eddie gave a shaken smile, "You have no idea."

"Then, yes. I do. Something tell's me you're... ah, very headstrong." you tell him.

Eddie chuckled and took the lettuce from your hands, by stabbing a claw into it. "You mean hardheaded." he laughed.

"My way sounds more flattering. Don't you think?"

"It does. You know, If you're right. When I finally take the stage again. I'll play you a song." said Eddie.

"Hold on, I don't even know if you're any good!" you teased.

Eddie froze, "We're the best." he shot without a second, missed.

You stuck out your tongue, "You'll have to prove it."

With ____ back downstairs at work, Eddie decided to see if he could find the paper in the trunk.

Though, he wasn't one hundred percent sure on how he was going to handle a pen.

"Face that battle when it gets here." he told himself, opening the trunk and diving in.

It was jammed packed full of random items.

"It's a wonder ____ can find anything in here." He muttered, diving in deeper. Betting that a paper was crumpled to hell and back.

If the objects inside hand't looked so well taken care of, he might have considered this something of a junk drawer.

Finally, Eddie could see the paper, surprisingly uncrumpled. But on top of it, rested a clay sculpture. It wasn't very good, in fact if it hadn't been for the smiling faces carved in, it would have been lost that if was two people.

Next to it, a ring of faded silver topped with a colorful stone.

Eddie tried to take just the paper, though the two strange object kept drawing his gaze. He felt like a magpie asked to ignore a glittering trinket.

Taking up the paper, Eddie went to close the trunk.

"Those little faces are looking at you." he muttered.

"____ said you could go in the trunk, can't be bad if I just take a closer look." Eddie thought, dropping the paper on the ground and digging back in.

Eddie slipped the ring onto his claw and wrapped his tail around the sculpture.

"Trust you more than my own hands." he said to his tail, before taking his paper and going back to the sofa.

Eddie settled down comfortably and turned over the Sculpture, taking care to hold it over his lap in case his hands decided to drop it.

Underneath the chipped green paint of the sculpture base, names were carved in. the worn jagged grooves spelling out "From Elias for ____."

"Your brother made this for you..." Eddie murmured to ____.

He suddenly felt as if he'd violated some sacred thing just by holding it within in claws.

Eddie examined the sculpture carefully, one of the figures looked as if the artist had no desire to shape it, while the other showed some effort.

He frowned, "He didn't care very much about himself, did he? But you did." Eddie thought.

From the corner of is eye, Eddie noticed the colorful stone in the ring slowly change color around his claw.

"Oh" two voices sighed in surprise.

Eddie glanced up quickly, hugging the sculpture to his body to ensure it wouldn't fall as he jumped.

Your eyes lingered on the stone, even from a distance you could spot the colors turning slowly, undecided in its emotions.

"You found Elias' sculpture." you said, going to join Eddie on the sofa.

He studied your reaction, "um...sorry if I wasn't supposed to, well, you know." Eddie said.

"No, it's fine, I have lots of them. Elias liked to making things." you shrugged.

Reaching out, you let your finger tap the stone on the ring.

"I don't think this works very well." Eddie stated, "though it's not exactly on my finger."

"It works, there's just no color to match what you're feeling." you explained, letting your eyes wander up to meet his.

"They don't have a color for when you're sad."

Eddie inhaled, his lips parting slightly, unable to admit or deny if he was or not. His eyes simply slipped back to the sculpture.

"If it's for either Elias or me, you shouldn't be. He did what would make him happy, and he left me his lifetime of mementos and memories." You managed with a smile.

Eddie looked at you, quiet, for a long time before his large hand plopped on top of your head. His claws curled down over your forehead, the tips visible as you peered upward.

A wide smirk spread across your face and your eyes narrowed, quite pleased, moving to look at Eddie.

"W-why are you looking at me like that?" He questioned.

"That level of smug is....terrifying." Eddie muttered.

"Do I tell him? Do I let him know?" you questioned yourself inwardly.

For the second time, he'd allowed himself to touch someone without pause or instant dread. Once with his bandmates and just now.

"It'd ruin it. If you say something, he will be aware of it." you tell yourself.

"No reason." you answered briskly.

Eddie tilted his head, "oh there's a reason, there has to be." He pushed.

It was hard not to grin, he'd never realize he was his own answer.

"Anyway, I came because we're out of receipt paper and I need to get to my trunk to get a fresh roll." you said.

Eddie's eyes narrowed his time, "Nice try, don't change the- hey wait!" He stood up to make chase as he got up, slipped out from under his hand and walked away.

Pausing in his steps, Eddie concentrated on setting down your brother's items with care, then scurrying off after you. Earning himself a lazy swipe from Toad's paw in passing.

The end of the day was welcomed with the relaxed company of Eddie's friends, gathered down in the shop. The settled into the chair surrounding the fire.

Eddie falling right into place as if he'd forgotten what he'd become, if only for a moment.

You returned with a tray full of warm drinks, setting them down and going to leave the little party to themselves.

Eddie watched you head for the front door, pulling on your coat and gathering your keys. He fought the urge to frown and failed.

"Where are you going?" he called out to you, peering around Jeff.

"I'm just leaving you guys to it," you said, pulling a small envelope out of your coat pocket. "I need to mail this out as well. I won't be long."

"You don't have to leave." Eddie spoke quickly.

Gareth, Jeff and Grant glanced at each other.

"Right? Come join us! This is your place." Jeff laughed.

You smiled as Gareth moved over to make room for you.

"Thanks, but really, I need to get this out. Otherwise, I'll forget." you said.

Eddie heaved a sulking sigh, "ok." he said, fidgeting with his fingers as he cast nervous eyes towards the guys.

"We'll stay until ____, gets back. Don't look so scared, man." Gareth teased.

Eddie's expression fell into an intense stare, "That thing is still out there." He warned you.

"Oh, I am well aware. But what are the odds it ventures this far into town?" You asked.

"I did." Eddie answered.

"You two are hardly the same, that thing had nothing human left about it." you reasoned.

"Maybe it did once, what you should say is-"

Your insistent smile cut Eddie's words off, "I'll keep an eye out." you said.

"I'll walk with them there." Grant offered.

"Not that I am any good against monsters, but I think ____ is right. You're worrying over nothing. I need to head home and check on the munchkin's anyway." He added.

"See, now it's two again one." You chimed. You flashed Grant a thankful smile as he took up his keys and jacket.

"This way you don't have to walk either." Grant said.

The boys bid their goodbyes to Grant and the two of you stepped out the door.

The car side was quiet, Grant was shier than you'd expected compared with how he acted around his friends.

But the music from the CD he'd popped in kept you well enough company, as did the streetlights.

"Thank you for what you're doing for Eddie." He finally spoke up.

"If we could have we would have taken him in but. I have kids, I hate to say it, but he'd scare them half to death." said Grant.

"Jeff and Gareth room together but the landlords, strict, wouldn't let them so much a keep a pet snake. Hiding Eddie would be hard." he continued with a sigh, "and Eddie's still too scared to show himself to Wayne..."

You gave a nod, "You don't have to thank me. I didn't have any friends here, or family. Eddie's a bit of a riot. It's less lonely. And Now I've got extra help around the shop after hours." You said.

"Well, I've only ever seen him let down his guard this much with Wayne." Grant chuckled

"You can feel pretty safe with anyone crazy enough to welcome the thing that goes bump in the night into their home."

"Yeah, he thinks you're nuts." Grant laughed.

"He makes that known as much as possible, I see."

"Eddie also is clearly impressed. You might be crazy, but that takes guts." said Grant.

"Well, a life knee-deep in a government family finally came in handy." you murmured, glancing down at the envelope in your lap.

"Sorry, what was that?" Grant asked.

"Oh, nothing," you hummed.

The car came to a stop before the delivery box outside the post office. You rolled down the window and slipped the envelope inside.

"Thanks for this." You said to Grant.

"Anytime."

By the time the guys left, they'd worn Eddie out. It'd been a long time since he'd had so much social interaction. You shook your head at him as he slept on the sofa, one legs dangling off, his blanket hooked into his elbow.

"Clonked right out in the middle of talking." you giggled inwardly.

Quietly, you try your best not to disturb him when you slip the blanket away. Shaking it open to cover him up.

While pulling the blanket over his shoulders, Eddie's eyes fluttered open. Clouded a milky white that sent shivers across your body.

"That's not good." you thought, afraid to move.

Eddie's gaze fixed not on you but through you. As you stood stunned, his tail snuck around your waist, drawing a cry out of you when it lifted your frame into the air.

"This shouldn't be possible!" you shouted, gripping his tail.

"Eddie wake up!"

Yet, he simply closed his eyes and turned over, snuggling into his pillow.

"No, Eddie! Damn it!" you shouted, ducking to keep your head from hitting the ceiling.

Toad's head swayed as she followed your movements, watching you bob about in the air. Her eyes large, unsure of what was going on. Were the two of you playing? Because it certainly did not look like fun.

"T-Toad, wake him up!" you called.

Eddie began to murmur and you fell silent.

"We're making it out...... together. I won't....not this time."

"A memory? Or a dream?" You mutter. Giving up the struggle, you hope that he will continue.

Though, you're left with the breeze through the window and the distant chirp of crickets.

Without warning, Eddie slung his tail. You fold your arms over your head to stop the impact of the ceiling.

"Wait!" Eddie called out.

"My thoughts exactly! Eddie, Wake up!" You shouted, being trashed about.

"You're home! Sleeping, safe and sound. Remember? Your band visited today!"

Slowly Eddie began to lower you, as you drop to the floor the room spun if only a little. Feeling as though you'd just stepped off a boat.

You propped yourself against the coffee table with a groan.

"Holy shit, how many muscles are in that tail?" you thought, watching as it curled around him.

Eddie'd finally settled back to sleep.

Getting up after taking time to recover, you retreat to your bed, pulling out a notebook. You pencil down the date, what you'd heard of his dream and his reactions to it.

"If I collect these for a few days, Eddie and the Others can try to piece together what happened to him." you reasoned with yourself.

"Though I will need to be more care from here on." you sighed, rubbing your neck. As if your shoulder pain wasn't enough.

A week went by faster than you would have thought. The morning routine unfolding as it had for the past several days. You woke up first, Eddie'd set the hot water kettle before nodding off and cocooning into his favorite worn blanket.

Which left you to throw together breakfast before the start of your day. You'd watch cartoons and then head down to work.

However, this morning as you flipped on the TV, you nearly spit out your morning beverage. Nearly, instead, the piping hot drink gulped down and scorched your throat.

"EDDIE!" you yelped, voice raspy, rushing towards the screen.

It was only a silhouette, but it was an unmistakable one.

Eddie turned over, his back facing the rest of the room, murmuring in his sleep, "I rolled a twelve...that's bullshit."

Your mouth fell open, the newscaster's voice sounding like static through your astonished ears. Your eyes following the shadow in the grainy video.

"Eddie, wake up! Right. Now."

He groaned and rolled over, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Where's the fire?" he asked through a yawn, his six fangs glinting in the sunlight through the window.

You point to the screen, stepping out of his way to give him a clear view.

"Look familiar?" you asked.

Eddie blinked, his eyes shifting between the shadow and the thing it carried in its talons.

"Is that-"

"Uh huh, you and your blankie." You said quickly, "you and your blankie! Eddie!"

"Do you have to call it that?" Eddie murmured, face flush.

"Also, no one will believe that, the video's all fuzzy. Besides, I thought it was late enough..." He muttered.

You turn to face the TV once more, biting lightly on your knuckle.

"Someone will. After all, somebody said the same thing about Big Foot, Mothman, Nessie, Chupacabras, Baba Yaga, aliens..." You counted on your fingers, "and people hunt for them in droves."

Eddie sat up slowly, his elbows resting on his thighs, "yeah, but Halloween is a month away. They'll chalk it up to some pranksters having fun." he reasoned.

You watched as the footage replayed over and over. The newscasters giggled amongst each other. But that did little for the sour feeling in your gut.

"Maybe..." you murmured.

"It took this long for someone to show it, right? It was probably hard for them to find a channel willing to." Eddie said.

Something scrapped across your shoulder, your body pushed forward slightly. Eddie chuckled, his eyes crinkling into an apologetic smile while he peered down at you.

"Sorry, um tripped." he admitted, looking down at his toes.

"Don't worry so much, we're being careful. If I've made it this long, I'm good." Eddie said.

"But you've relaxed. Yes, that's a good thing, but it means you're not on your toes as much." you thought, watching him reach into the linen cabinet and pull free a towel.

"I call first dibs." He whistled, closing the bathroom door behind him.

The shop door chimed and in strolled, what was becoming a familiar face.

"Hello, Mr.Munson. The usual?" You asked.

He offered you a small, tired smile as he nodded. "Am I still getting those baskets?" he questioned.

"Yep, I set it on the table near the fireplace. It rained this morning, seems it got colder. Warm yourself up a bit before heading into work." You offered.

"Hey, Wayne!" Lucas called happily, passing the man his sports paper.

From the counter, you lingered as observed Eddie's uncle. The poor man just seemed permanently exhausted.

"It's been a week, Eddie seems stable enough to be able to meet up with the man. I don't see the harm if it's early and not at night." You thought, making your way back to the kitchen.

"Then again, he works nights so, he'll be asleep in the morning...and Eddie likely will too. Go figure they'd both be nocturnal." you sighed.

"Still worrying over Wayne?" Robin asked.

"Eddie's got stories about Wayne for days. He'll be ruined if something happens to him, or he falls ill again before He gets the chance to see him face to face." you said.

"Ask Eddie if he's up to trying." Robin shrugged.

"I might have one of the guys bring it up to him. Honestly? I'm not entirely sure it's my place to push to hard. He's doing better now with all of you." You sighed.

"While that might be true. You and I both know he'd be over the moon if he could see his uncle face to face again." she said.

"Are you kidding, He'd be crying, Wayne'd be crying and all of us eavesdropping? We would be crying." Lucas spoke as he made his way through the kitchens.

"We have an order for that orange smoothie thing." he added.

"Oooh the Jack-o-lantern mango smoothie? I've got it, that's a fun one." Robin said, hurrying off towards the blinder.

"You just like showing off with the shaker!" Lucas called after her.

You shook your head, "I'm going to see how Mr. Wayne is doing." you said.

"You know I've seen some of everything the years I spent truckin" Wayne murmured with a shake of his head. He'd heard you draw nearer.

Tired or not, the old man was sharp.

"You were a trucker?" You asked him pulling up a chair.

"For ten years jus' about." he said with some pride. In his eyes, you could tell he had fun doing it. It was the same glint Eddie got when he mentioned anything he was particularly fond of.

Wayne held out his paper, showing a grayscale image of the footage shown on TV that morning.

"Nobody will believe it, he said. Pranksters, he said." you thought with a roll of your eyes.

"Folk shouldn't just laugh these things off. Halloween today s'based off a sacred holiday. All legends can't be false. The thing people forget about f tales is that there's always some truth in 'em." Wayne reasoned.

"But a winged, tailed man?" You questioned in a jittered chuckle.

Wayne fixed his gaze on you, and you knew you'd failed at being convincing.

"You believe in it." He said, turning back to the paper.

"Knew a guy, said he spotted a creature one night. He'd pulled over after nearly sixteen hours of drivin' none stop. In the pitch black, in the middle of nowhere. Sure, he wasn't the most honest man I'd ever known, but." Wayne's voice fell into a gravely, deep lull, and you found yourself leaning in like a child around the campfire.

"The fear that took over his face, six foot five giant of a man that he was, while he explained what it was he saw." Wayne nodded to you.

"A person's eyes can tell you everything. Some things you see, they dig in deep and they stay there. When he said he saw a seven-foot faceless critter, not man or beast. You could only believe 'im. If only for that look in his eyes."

You sat in silence, blinking several times.

"But this is Hawkins, and lord knows we got enough idiot kids bored enough to pull something like this." Wayne grunted, rolling up his paper.

You shook yourself away from the memory of the Monster you'd come in contact with in the cornfields.

Your eyes followed Wayne as he stood and collected his basket.

"You have a good one." He said leaving a tip on the side table.

Your mouth struggled to make words, fighting between blurting out that you knew where his nephew was, and that you did in fact believe the new story.

Wayne held open the door for the young lady who'd ordered the Jack-o-lantern mango smoothie, and you called to him just before he could step out the door himself.

"Mr. Munson!"

He paused, looking over his shoulder.

Robin shot you a warning glance.

"right, not yet." you thought, swallowing back the urge to come clean.

"You be careful getting home for early in the morning. You're right about this time of year. You know." You said.

He smiled at you, "well shoot, didn't mean to scare you. You take care now." with that, Wayne stepped out the shop.

Exhaling, you looked to Robin.

"What was all that about?" She asked you.

"Haven't you seen the-"

"Where is he! Where is he, I'm gonna kill him for real!"

A voice boomed in a strained, choked up shout.

You jumped as the front door slammed.

"Dustin?" Lucas questioned, rushing out of the kitchen armed with a pan.

"Lucas!" Dustin called. "Where's the idiot! I demand to see him!" he shouted.

"Henderson?" You asked carefully.

Dustin turned to you, simmering down, his face slacking a little as he looked you over. Trying to figure out if he'd known you.

"You don't know them, that's ____." Robin explained.

Lucas rushed to the door, flipping the sign for "Open" to "Closed" before locking up.

"How was your visit with-"

"Shhh!" Dustin hushed, "don't change the subject. Where is he?" He asked again.

The Lift dinged, and the doors opened.

"Jesus, Dustin, they could hear you on Mars." Eddie spoke. His words carrying more confidence than they had been while revealing himself to the band.

"I think you've been rehearsing what this day would be like." You thought, watching over the scene.

"Eddie?" Dustin questioned quietly, arms falling to his side.

"Well, you listen well enough, haven't changed a bit - hairs a little longer." Eddie commented. Trying his best to crack a half smile.

Though, that smile vanished as the twenty something-year-old rushed forward like the freshman he once was and latched his arms around Eddie.

"You son of a bitch!" Dustin muffled face buried in the hug.

Eddie chuckled and returned the hug, batting away the water in his eyes. "You're still short, man." He teased.

"You son of a bitch..." Dustin repeated.

"Shut up or going to make me cry too, Henderson." Eddie warned.

"Um, it's kind of too late for that." Robin said.

Dustin stepped back, "You're...you're part demobat..." he exhaled, looking Eddie over.

"Tail and everything!" he nearly shouted.

"Be careful, that tail is dangerous." You jumped in.

Eddie blushed, "That was an accident, I was sleeping." He said in his own defense.

"You nearly flung ____ into the ceiling." said Lucas.

"Dustin, ____. ____, Dustin." Eddie introduced.

"So you're the one who found him?" Dustin asked you.

You simply nodded, "well that's currently in debate, I say it's like we ran into each other."

"Doesn't matter, you just stepped into a whole world of shit." Dustin said quickly.

"Wasn't expecting that reaction..." you thought.

"Has anyone told El?" Dustin asked.

Lucas and Robin simply shook their heads.

"Hopper?" Dustin tried again.

"He's on vacation with Joyce, Vow renewals and all that." said Lucas.

Dustin deflated, "So?" he lulled expectantly.

"We have us here, the band, Steve and... Mr. Clarke's working on guitar strings for Eddie." Robin replied.

"But he doesn't know they're for Eddie, or monster Eddie." Lucas added.

Dustin's dead pan stare said more than he could voice.

"Um, we might have Nancy and Erica soon." Lucas peeped.

"You're lucky I'm back early." Dustin sighed.

Taglist:

@bibieddiesgf @eddiesgirlforever @ilovetaquitosmmmm @cherrycolas-things @fan-girl-97 @obsessivelycraftygothfandomwitch

I think that was everybody who asked? I'm sorry if I missed you - shout at me, I'll fix it next chapter.

⇠ Part 1 | Part 5 | Next ⇢

[darkfictionjude]

Personally, I'm always happy to see poly options in IFs. There's not a lot of representation for us out there (though in the IF Community, it's kind of becoming an option more often? At least from what I've seen). Most of the time poly relationships are met with hostility and ignorance and seeing Anons feel entitled over characters and trying to force their way is disheartening to see. It's something that happens so often, especially when a character is "outed" (for lack of better word) as trans, non-binary, poc, poly.

I understand feeling left out when it comes to certain things like a character being genderlocked or when they're only romanceable for certain genders. I'm a pansexual/-romantic guy, and seeing some IFs be genderlocked female often makes me sad and feel disappointed. And don't even get me started on romance focused fanfics. But I'll still reblog the main post in a show of support and then I'll move on.

And with this? Anons, there are more ROs in this IF. Choose the ones you vibe with and give them love instead of hating on the poly ROs and forcing your hatred into the inbox.

Anyways, sorry for the long rant, have a wonderful week:)

Yeah I think everything is fine now, I do think that anons who try to pressure writers over and over to change sexuality or gender do not want to “give up” any characters. All the IF I’ve played always have an option for a regular monogamous cis relationship, authors should be allowed to think about other groups of people, tell their stories without people feeling they are entitled to certain characters. The majority of asks I’ve gotten here about Carmen are fine, respectful and just curious about how the situation will play out. I was lucky that I only got one person who didn’t like it, it tells me that my readers are a respectful and understanding bunch.

But heavy on the reblog, thank you for that it really really does help like I love the likes but reblogs do so much to help get our work out there especially since many of us don’t have the backing of the big IF publishers

And you have a good week too ☺️

[extasiswings]

i really loved how pepa was all "marriage, who said anything about marriage?" when that was immediately where eddie's head went about one fix-up. and pepa was basically like "i just want you to have someone to run errands with on your saturdays". lol (i wonder who that could be eddie)

anyway, i love hearing your thoughts so i was wondering what you thought about eddie immediately connecting dating to marriage and kind of panicking about it? where's his head at with that?

Oh, I love this question, I'm kissing you on the forehead for asking this, nonny.

So, as with all things Eddie Diaz, because he is a funny funny repressed queer little man who should be studied under a microscope, the answer is: it's complicated, and there are Layers.

On the absolute most surface level, I don't think it's an unreasonable logical leap in cultural context to assume if your family is setting you up it's not so you can have a casual fling, it's with an end goal of getting you married off.

Diving a little deeper, I think he also jumps to marriage because Serial Monogamist Eddie Diaz simply has zero conception of or experience with casual dating and non-serious relationships. And also, I think in his heart of hearts, what he wants (but is afraid of having) is a serious relationship. He wants a great grand forever love with a real romantic life partner! And "marriage" is the state that's traditionally emblematic of that, a serious, legally-binding commitment to share your life with someone. (And his heart already knows there's a specific person he wants as his partner, even if it's a little unclear what his head knows at the moment, so at least some of the kneejerk reaction against letting in anyone new is that he's taken).

But. Again, it's complicated. Because "marriage" for Eddie is...fraught.

On a still deeper level, that leap for me ties back to Christopher. It has to. Because all of the what-ifs of Eddie's life, the FOMO, the unanswered questions about who he is or could be...they all lead back to him. (Catch me screaming forever about Christopher's "the things that make you sad, am I one of them?"). And it's pointed that we know so very little about Eddie's life before Christopher, about his hopes and dreams, the kind of life he wanted for himself, the kind of man he wanted to be, but at the same time the little we do know, especially in the context of this arc is loud.

Because the only thing we know about Eddie and relationships pre-Christopher is Shannon. And while we don't know how Eddie and Shannon's relationship was before everything fell apart, while we never got to see it, it's implied at least that before she got pregnant, before they got married too young and too soon, their relationship worked, they were happy, they were in love. One of the few things Eddie says explicitly, unequivocally, about her/them/his feelings from back then, is "I knew I loved her, but I didn't think I was ready to get married." But he did. Because of Christopher.

For Eddie, being a husband and being a father are two sides of the same coin. They're states that were inherently connected in his early life, they're roles that carry so much weight, so many responsibilities, expectations, pressure to perform. They're roles that he was forced to take on before he was ready, and his fear of failure, his performance anxiety, became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

There's really something to the idea that Eddie and Shannon both lost themselves when she got pregnant. That both of them fell into the trap of letting the people they were be erased, so that he could no longer be Eddie, but Christopher's dad and Shannon's husband, and she became Christopher's mom and Eddie's wife, and because they lost themselves, they also lost what they had together before, and hurt each other. He ran away, and then she did, and where once they had uncomplicated young love, they were left with broken hearts, broken trust, guilt, shame, grief...and all of that is connected with Marriage. Doubly-so for Eddie, because he came back and learned how to be a father, how to get comfortable with that so he was no longer just playing a role he wasn't ready for, but when he decided that he was ready to step in and open himself up again and be a husband for real...Shannon was the one who asked for a divorce. And her entire point was that she needed to do exactly what he did, she needed to get comfortable with being a mother before she could also be a wife, lest she risk failing at both, but all Eddie took away from that was that she was rejecting him as a romantic partner, as a husband specifically, that there was something wrong with him, and because she died so soon after that, he never got the chance to get clarification, to realize that he was capable.

Eddie + Fear is the big theme swirling around his development in general, but his love life in particular (similar to Buck + Death). He's allowed fear to control his whole life. Fear of not fitting what he thought he had to be leading him to smother his individuality when he became a husband and father. Fear of failure leading him to join the military and run to the other side of the world. Fear of being hurt again leading him to keep Shannon at arm's length. Fear of not giving Christopher what he needed leading him to get involved with Ana even though he knew he wasn't ready (and literally said as much!). And now fear of the unknown and also fear of the same rejection and heartbreak and pain he felt with Shannon (both within their relationship and because of her death) keeping him from admitting what and who his heart really wants now...

Anyway, this massively got away from me, but...yeah...Eddie + Love, Eddie + Fear, Eddie + Marriage, all tying together in one lovely journey of queer adult self-discovery. It's Something.

[hazelira]

𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟𝐬 | JUNGWON

genres: angst, comfort, and delulu

word count: 780

summary: Jungwon from ENHYPEN becomes unexpectedly attached to a particular fan, feeling a unique connection despite not knowing them personally. However, the fan suddenly disappears from the fandom, leaving Jungwon overwhelmed with "what ifs." As he grapples with the loss of this unseen bond, he navigates the emotions of attachment and longing, reflecting on the fleeting nature of connections in the world of K-Pop. 

˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚

The lights dimmed as the concert drew close, and the screams of engines filled the arena. Jungwon stood on stage with a warm smile as he waved to the sea of fans. In moments like these, he made everything worthwhile. Yet, amidst the cheering crowd, his eyes always seemed to search for one person—someone he didn’t even know but felt inexplicably connected to.

˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚

(Flashback) Jungwon first noticed them at a fan sign event. They had a quiet demeanour, an aura of calm amid chaos. When it was their turn to speak with him, their eyes met, and for a split second, the world seemed to stand still. "Hi, Jungwon," they said softly, their voice barely audible over the noise. "Hi," he replied, his heart inexplicably racing. "What's your name?" "Y/N," they answered, a shy smile on their lips. "Thank you for supporting us, Y/N," Jungwon said, his eyes never leaving theirs. "It means a lot." That brief interaction left an indelible mark on his heart. After that day, he looked for them at every event, hoping for another chance to talk and connect.

˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚

(Present) Months passed, and Jungwon couldn’t shake the feeling of attachment. Y/N had become a constant presence in his thoughts, a comforting yet frustrating reminder of something unfinished. He had scoured social media, hoping to find traces of them, but they seemed to have vanished into the vast expanse of the fandom. One night, after a particularly exhausting rehearsal, Jungwon sat in his dorm room, scrolling through old photos and videos from fan events. His heart ached with a sense of loss for someone he barely knew. "What if I had said more?" he wondered. "What if I had asked for their social media? What if I never see them again?" The thoughts haunted him, a series of what-ifs spiralling into an abyss of regret.

˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚

(Flashback) At another fan sign event, he saw them again. This time, they looked distant, as if something had changed. "Hi, Y/N," he greeted them, hoping to recapture their previous connection. "Hi, Jungwon," they replied, their smile not reaching their eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked, concern evident. "Yeah, just... busy with life," they said, their tone evasive. Before he could say more, their time was up, and they moved on. It was the last time he saw them.

˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚

(Present) Jungwon sighed, running a hand through his hair. He knew he was being delusional, letting his mind conjure up scenarios and feelings that might not even exist. But he couldn’t help it. Y/N had imprinted on his heart, and the uncertainty gnawed at him. One evening, as he prepared for bed, he stared out the window, lost in thought. The city lights twinkled below, a reminder of the world beyond his reach. "What if I never find them?" he whispered to the night. "What if they're gone forever?" The uncertainty was painful, but he also realized something important. He couldn’t live in the what-ifs. He had to cherish the memories and accept that some things were beyond his control.

˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚

(Days Later) Jungwon decided to share his feelings during a live broadcast, hoping it might bring him some closure. "Hey, ENGENEs," he began, his voice soft but steady. "I want to share something personal with you all. There's someone I met, a fan, who left a big impact on me. I don’t know where they are now, but I hope they're doing well." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "Sometimes, we meet people who touch our lives in unexpected ways. Even if they’re only with us briefly, their presence can be felt forever. To that fan, if you're watching, thank you. Thank you for being part of my journey, even if it was just for a moment." As he ended the broadcast, Jungwon felt a sense of peace over him. The what-ifs would always be there, but he could move forward, knowing he had expressed his feelings.

˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚

(Months Later) Jungwon continued his life, performing, creating music, and connecting with fans. The ache of losing Y/N never entirely disappeared, but it became a part of him, a reminder of the fleeting nature of life. One day, while scrolling through fan messages, he saw a familiar name. "Hi, Jungwon. It's Y/N. I just wanted to let you know that your words during the broadcast meant a lot to me. I'm still here, supporting you from afar." His heart skipped a beat as he read the message. They were still out there, still supporting him. It wasn’t the reunion he had dreamed of, but it was enough. It was a sign that their connection, however brief, was real. "Thank you, Y/N," he thought, a smile spreading across his face. "Thank you for being my what-if." And with that, Jungwon felt a sense of closure. The future was uncertain, but he knew that some bonds, however brief, were meant to last a lifetime.

˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚

If you liked my story, reblogging, liking and adding comments are greatly appreciated! thank u!

©hazelira, all work is written by me, do not copy or repost.

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Great Hunt! Chapter 37: What Might Be

Everyone has that moment that they've looked back on and wonder, "What if I'd done it differently?" Sometimes we can move on, put what-ifs to rest, but sometimes that question will haunt us for the rest of our lives. Don't let this post be that moment. Don't let future you think to themself, an hour from now, "What if I just hadn't spoiled the whole Wheel of Time series for myself by reading this post? What if I'd enjoyed the books by reading them without spoilers?" Don't click "Keep reading" unless you already know all the spoilers and thus will not forever be wondering.

(And yet... perhaps if you do not choose to spoil yourself, years from now you will look back on this moment and wonder what might have happened if you had.)

This chapter has a Portal Stone icon because we're doing one of the best chapters in the whole damn series.

“We stood it upright,” Alar said, “when we found it many years ago, but we did not move it. It . . . seemed to . . . resist being moved.”

Probably the Stones are all entangled in some sort of higher dimensional quantum process, on one part just to be able to function at all and on another to ensure that no one warps off to an alternate world where it turns out that the Stone was tossed into a volcanic caldera a few years back and thus they instantly die. I wonder if there's wiggle room to allow stuff like Stones falling in one world but not another, or if they're all so tied up that reorienting it in one world caused it to be fixed in all of the others too.

Forgive us for our lack of ceremony in leaving you, but the Wheel waits for no woman.

Since I've given Jordan a bit of guff here and there for enforcing his own gender beliefs on the settings, point here for having Verin use "woman" as the default term. Hashtag HER-story, amirite?

Ingtar’s back stiffened. “I hold back at nothing. Take us to Toman Head or take us to Shayol Ghul. If the Horn of Valere lies at the end, I will follow you.”

Really you might argue that this here was the real moment of redemption for Ingtar and that all the rest is just the formality of seeing it through.

I have never used a Stone; that is why your use is more recent than mine.

"Bitch I'm just covering so no one has to know you're the Dragon Reborn. Do the plot thing already!"

Also I kinda feel that Verin is really stretching the oaths she's pretending to have here.

What would I not give to talk with this girl of yours? Or better, to put my hands on her book. It is generally thought that no copy of Mirrors of the Wheel survived the Breaking whole. Serafelle always tells me there are more books that we believe lost than I could credit waiting to be found.

Honestly, even though rumors are so rarely right in this world, I think popular opinion is correct and none survive. I also find it pretty doubtful that there's that many lost books left to be recovered at this point: three and a half thousand years is a long-ass time, too long for most forms of writing to survive.

Apparently, not every Stone connects to every world, and the Aes Sedai of the Age of Legends believed that there were possible worlds no Stones at all touched.

Among others, any timeline where a Portal Stone was never constructed would by definition remain off of the network. I wonder how they decide what Stones connect to what, though. Was it perhaps based on what ifs related to the nearby areas? What other worlds were missing?

With one finger she outlined a rectangle containing eight carvings that were much alike, a circle and an arrow, but in half the arrow was contained inside the circle, while in the others the point pierced the circle through. The arrows pointed left, right, up and down, and surrounding each circle was a different line of what Rand was sure was script, though in no language he knew, all curving lines that suddenly became jagged hooks, then flowed on again.

I expect that these worlds have extremely non-Euclidean geometries at play, based on how they were used to make the Ways. Likely the arrow has something to do with a physical force, probably gravity.

As my father would have said, it’s time to roll the dice.

Headcanon: Mat is Verin's dad reborn.

“I am Rand al’Thor,” he growled. “I am not the Dragon Reborn. I won’t be a false Dragon.” “You are what you are. Will you choose, or will you stand here until your friend dies?”

As I've said before, the one thing Rand's not allowed to do is stand still: every time he does the pressure only mounts until he has to act. Verin at least offers the kindness of spelling it out for him.

The flame consumed fear and passion and was gone almost before he thought to form it. Gone, leaving only emptiness, and shining saidin, sickening, tantalizing, stomach-turning, seductive. He . . . reached for it . . . and it filled him, made him alive. He did not move a muscle, but he felt as if he were quivering with the rush of the One Power into him.

After all this time, I still can't decide if being a channeler would be really awesome or really awful.

“Father!” Rand screamed. Clawing his belt knife from its sheath, he threw himself over the table to help his father, and screamed again as the first sword ran through his chest.

Though of course the Mirror Worlds take from the Many Worlds Theory, we must remember that they're not actually the same. The Many Worlds Theory is a way of resolving one of the fundamental mysteries of quantum mechanics. When not observed, particles don't have discrete locations but probabilites of being here, there, or even over there. These odds are called a "waveform". When observed, the waveform collapses and the particle is only in one of those places. The thing scientists don't get yet is the mechanic of that collapse nor the reason. Many Worlds Theory says "The collapse is an illusion. All of those possibilities exist somewhere but since we can only exist in one place we can only ever observe one possibility. All worlds continue on, none with more value or reality than any other except in that those who exist in only one must favor where they are."

This is not what the Mirror Worlds are. The Pattern of Ages is a specific framework which dictates one reality (T'A'R) reigns supreme above all the others, and that among these the closest reflection (the Prime Reality) is inherently more valid than the increasingly distorted copies.

In Many Worlds theory, one can discuss the relative probabilties of different timelines. One location for a particle might have had a 2/3rds chance of being the real one while the other two were each only a sixth. Amid the Mirror Worlds, there's no such thing. T'A'R and the Prime reality each have a 100% chance of being true and all other worlds have a 0% chance of happening.

That said, the Wheel does seem to think some Mirror Worlds are more plausible than others, and I think Rand's journey is - at least at first - moving in order of descending plausibility. Him dying immediately when the story began is a very "likely" outcome - to some degree more likely than other potential deaths later in the timeline just because in each of those scenarios Rand had a little more experience to keep him going.

There was a year when neither merchants nor peddlers came, and when they returned the next they brought word that Artur Hawkwing’s armies had come back, or their descendants, at least.

It's bizarrely heartening to think that even the Seanchan invasion will completely miss that the Two Rivers exists.

Also note that this world - where Rand is never found by Fain or Moiraine and never leaves as a result - seems next most likely amid the categories.

Egwene grew frightened when the moods were on him, for strange things sometimes happened when he was at his bleakest—lightning storms she had not heard listening to the wind, wildfires in the forest—but she loved him and cared for him and kept him sane, though some muttered that Rand al’Thor was crazy and dangerous.

I wonder what happened to this Egwene that she accepts the Two Rivers life without complaint while Rand is forever ranting about how life should be. I also do think that the haters should remember that this is the "no inciting incident" default Egwene: a caring person who stays with Rand until the end. The pair grow apart because of outside forces, not because Egwene is fundamentally flawed as a person.

Women came, too, shouldering what weapons they could find, marching alongside the men. Some laughed, saying that they had the strange feeling they had done this before.

This is both nice foreshadowing for how the Two Rivers folk will respond to the real Shadowspawn invasion and another hint of the old blood amid the people. It would not be surprising at all if many of them were truly the last of Manetheren reborn.

Tam tried to console Rand when Egwene took sick and died just a week before their wedding.

The nextmost implausible sort of world: no inciting incident and Rand survives his channeling sickness but Egwene does not. Being a slightly mainer character than she is, it tracks that this is more plausible than a world where he dies young while she stays on track to be Wisdom.

Elayne did not look at him, of course; she married a Tairen prince, though she did not seem happy in it.

I'd be upset too in this position. What a strange world this is, that a gal who should be the first Aes Sedai queen in centuries should end up married to anyone from Tear. What the fuck is going on at the White Tower to lead to this? I would guess that the reason Moiraine didn't find Rand is that Siuan isn't Amyrlin and that whoever is in charge instead has run the place into the ground.

Also, assuming "prince" means "son of a High Lord or Lady", if not "High Lord" directly, I wonder which horrible family Elayne is stuck with.

He knew he was mad, and did not care. A wasting sickness came on him, and he did not care about that, either, and neither did anyone else, for word had come that Artur Hawkwing’s armies had returned to reclaim the land.

1. It seems that this Rand is doomed to never be able to complete his character development without the actual plot happening.

2. What's delayed the Seanchan by years if not a decade? How far back does this timeline's divergence have to be to account for all of this?

Many of the people of Caemlyn had fled already, and many counseled the army to retreat further, but Elayne was Queen, now, and vowed she would not leave Caemlyn. She would not look at his ruined face, scarred by his sickness, but he could not leave her, and so what was left of the Queen’s Guards prepared to defend the Queen while her people ran.

I expect that this was foreshadowing Caemlyn's importance in the Last Battle, an importance that Sanderson didn't fully follow up on. Even in this life, Rand finds himself head of an army by Elayne's side leading a desperate last stand.

I have won again, Lews Therin. Flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker flicker.

There's some great details in the paragraph that precedes this bit, much too much to analyze. It says a great deal about the central nature of Rand to the Pattern that he can have so many bizarre outcomes: I expect no one else in the party had anywhere near so much variety in their lives.

We also get confirmation that Rand is Aiel, which is nice, though it's sad that the closest thing to a reference Aviendha gets in this procession is "women he had never seen before".

Of course, Rand's lovers aren't the important part here. Elayne and Min get mentioned but it is Egwene who receives a similar multi-faceted fate. So often she is a central figure in his life; she can't help but be his opposite even when their lives have gone horribly off-script.

And of course, our iconic line. The Dark One wins again and again, but like I already said: none of these worlds have even a 0.00000000000000000000000000000001 percent chance of happening. None of these victories matter in the slightest.

“Does it surprise you that your life might go differently if you made different choices, or different things happened to you? Though I never thought I—Well. The important thing is, we are here. Though not as we hoped.”

I desperately wish I had the slightest idea what Verin had seen in her procession. Were there worlds where she avoided the Black Ajah altogether, or worlds where she happily threw in with them? Maybe a world where she poisoned Cadsuane, or one where she was in Moiraine's place and threw Lanfear through the twisted red door?

You should not have tried to bring us directly here. I don’t know what went wrong—I don’t suppose I ever will—but from the trees, I would say it is well into late autumn.

Presumably it's the nature of those arrow worlds. I've joked about the Ways being akin to the inside of a black hole and suggested that they had strange geometry and I expect this is proof. They did come instantly but it also took four months by another spacetime's reckoning.

“Rand, I’d never tell anyone about—about you. I wouldn’t betray you. You have to believe that!”

It's true! Mat doesn't do that in this reality and none of the other ones count. But I do think he was tempted at points. Not enough to go through with it (and he had no real opportunity to do so), but still. Now though, that door is permanently closed.

The curly-haired youth dropped his hands from his face with a sigh. Red marks scored his forehead and cheeks where his nails had dug in. His yellow eyes hid his thoughts.

Wolf boy here probably had one hell of a time in the pack. Or perhaps he just got out of that weird timeline where he mistakes Laila for a Trolloc.

Rand backed away when she reached for him. “Don’t be foolish,” she told him. “I don’t want your help,” he said quietly. “Or any Aes Sedai help.” Her lips twitched. “As you wish.”

1. I expect that nearly everyone has now forgotten a good deal of the experience thanks to Verin's help, which ironically helps Rand even though he doesn't want it.

2. Verin must really chafe at the sheer ingratitude of this, considering just how much she's doing for the dumb boy.

3. That's the end of our chapter folks! Next time: Remember Egwene? She still exists!