#I wanted to go running again cause we woke up at six again. but the thought of going outside and being perceived? terrifying.

[neverendingford]

.

[ladykailitha]

Staking a Claim Part 2

Hello! We get a resolution to the last cliffhanger and add a second less dire cliffhanger.

I will be posting this on Sundays and Tuesdays until it's completed for a total of six parts. Thursdays will be reserved for whatever story I want to update that week. It might be the soulmate AU, the werewolf AU, or even omega AU. Wednesdays are still for WIP Wednesday.

Part 1

***

Steve woke up with a pressing need to throw up. He sat up in a hurry and looked around. He didn’t recognize his surroundings and didn’t know where to go to empty his guts.

Someone thrust a bucket into his hands and he gratefully puked into it. A warm hand rubbed his back and that person began muttering encouraging inanities.

Finally he was able to stop and he looked up to see who his rescuer was.

“Eddie?” he murmured. “What happened?”

“Hey, babe,” Eddie whispered back. “Don’t worry about that right now. I just need you to keep throwing up whatever’s in your stomach, okay?”

Steve blinked at him a moment before he was forced to vomit again. It came out through his nose as well as his mouth. His nose was raw and his throat wrecked. But he couldn’t stop.

Tears ran down his face as he body continued to reject whatever it was that was causing this.

“That’s right, let it all out.”

Again Steve stopped and he looked up at Eddie mournfully. “I hate this.”

Eddie pulled him into his arms and held him tightly. “You think you can make the short walk to the bathroom?”

Steve nodded and went to go set down the bucket but Eddie stopped him.

“You might want to hold on to that just in case.”

Steve looked at Eddie then back at the bucket. He nodded.

“You hold onto your new friend Mr. Bucket,” Eddie said lightly, “and I’ll hold onto you. Okay?”

Steve nodded again and let Eddie help him to the bathroom. Eddie took the bucket and set it in the bathtub. He opened the toilet seat so if Steve needed to throw up, nothing would impede that and went in search of a spare toothbrush. He didn’t think that any of the guys would want Steve touching theirs and he wasn’t about to let him touch his.

“Eureka!” he whisper shouted. “When you feel up to it, you can use this to brush your teeth.”

Steve stared at him blankly like putting anything in his mouth would be a nightmare right then.

Eddie took a deep breath and held it for a moment. “Right, that’s not important at this moment. Got it. Priorities, Munson. Get it together.”

Tears streamed down Steve’s face and he whispered, “I’m sorry. I tend to ruin everything.” And then promptly began throwing up again. He started to shake as the vomiting and the cold got to him.

Eddie walked out and Steve really began to sob.

Then there was a warm blanket placed around his shoulders. “You didn’t ruin anything, Stevie. I promise I’ll tell you all about it when your well enough to hear it, but it wasn’t your fault.”

Steve sobs became hiccups then the hiccups became sniffles and then Eddie looked down to see that he had fallen asleep.

Eddie rocked him back and forth on the cold bathroom floor, trying hard to not fall in love with this man.

*

When Steve woke up a second time, he was in a cramped bathroom, wrapped in a warm blanket and pressed to Eddie’s side.

Eddie must have felt him stir. “Hey, baby. How you feeling?”

Steve buried his face into Eddie’s neck. “Like I’ve been run over. I didn’t think I drank that much to get this hungover.”

Eddie carded his fingers through Steve’s hair. “Do you still feel like you need to throw up?”

Steve lifted his head as he thought about it. “No. I feel like shit, but not like my guts are going turn themselves inside out.”

“Good,” he said. “I’m glad. Why don’t you take a shower and brush your teeth and I’ll set some clothes for you to change into on the toilet seat, okay?”

Steve nodded.

Eddie helped him to his feet and got the water in the shower started for him.

Steve stripped out of his clothes and got into the shower. He closed the curtain and just let the warm water wash over him. He thought hard about what happened last night.

The only thing he remembered was that he had been having a great time and then nothing. He heard the door open and then close quickly. He peeked around the curtain and saw the clothes on the toilet seat as promised.

Steve relaxed with a sigh. He looked around the shower and was surprised to see how neatly organized it all was. But he didn’t want to take anyone’s shampoo or anything so he just rinsed his hair instead. The body wash on the other hand was something he had to use. He opened each one to smell them, not wanting to grab something that would give him a migraine later.

He settled on the third one. It was woody, like pine. But not super strong or fake smelling. He got to work scrubbing himself down.

Once he no longer felt as though he’d been dragged out of hell by his balls he stepped out of the shower and dried off with the big fluffy towel that was on the hamper.

He dressed in the clothes Eddie had set out for him, complete with underwear. They still had the fold lines and wrinkles fresh from the pack. They were black boxers but then Steve couldn’t really see Eddie wearing anything else.

He slid them on and they were warm and comfortable. Next went the warm sweats and then finally the band shirt. He looked at himself in the mirror. He looked and felt like shit. There was nothing for it. He had to go out and face the music.

Or at least Eddie Munson, which as far as Steve was concerned was the same thing.

When he walked out into the main part of the apartment, he could tell it was still early enough that everyone else was in bed, but not so early that it was obscene to be seen awake after a night at the bar.

Steve slid into one of the bar stools at the counter and watched as Eddie made breakfast. Eggs, link sausage, bacon, and hashbrowns.

“That’s a lot,” he murmured. “I’m not sure my stomach is going to appreciate your effort.”

Eddie grinned. “It seems really counter-intuitive, but greasy foods tend fair better on hangovers and upset stomachs. You’d think it’d be the opposite, but nope.”

Steve cocked his head to the side. “Huh, I never would have thought it either.��

“Why don’t you call someone to let them know you’re okay, while I go rouse the boys?” Eddie suggested as he turned all the heat on the stove to low. He nodded to the phone on the wall.

“Robin!” Steve cried. He looked around for a clock for the exact time. “Shit! I was supposed to be at work twenty minutes ago!”

***

Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

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[steddieas-shegoes]

Part 2 to this post

When gay marriage became legal, everyone expected Steve and Eddie to run to the courthouse and get it done.

They’d waited long enough.

But they were watching the news on a hospital room television instead of their home, keeping Wayne company while he received his last chemo treatment.

It had been a really rough six months, Eddie taking the brunt of caring for Wayne so Steve could work and pay the bills for all of them. But they wanted to.

Wayne had done so much for both of them, he deserved to be taken care of now.

The doctors had said he was getting to an age where the chemo would most likely only extend his life by a few years at most, that the cancer growing in his body would only be stopped temporarily by this drug that made him weaker than any cancer could.

At first, he didn’t want it. He told them both it wasn’t worth putting his body through it at his age, but Eddie convinced him through tears that he wasn’t ready to let him go yet.

And Wayne always did have a soft spot for Eddie’s tears.

Every other Friday, Wayne was brought to the hospital by Eddie, sometimes accompanied by Steve if his day off lined up right, hooked up to an IV of fluids and a harsh chemo mix, and kept for observation for 8 hours to ensure it didn’t cause any major issues on his frailer than he’d like to admit body.

The last treatment hadn’t gone well. Wayne ended up having low oxygen levels and high blood pressure, so they kept him overnight. Overnight turned into 3 nights, four days, which is sort of like a cruise to the Bahamas if you take out the fact they were in a hospital in Indiana.

Steve was holding Eddie’s hand as they all watched the tv, their silver wedding bands from a decade ago resting on their ring fingers.

It didn’t have to be legal to mean something to them.

Wayne had been much livelier over the last 24 hours, his blood pressure back at a normal for him level, though his oxygen level still fluctuated between too low and normal.

“Would ya look at that? They did it.”

Steve looked over at where he was sitting up in bed, smiling at the tv.

“They did.”

Eddie was wiping a tear from his cheek.

“Took them long enough.”

Everyone in the room huffed out an unamused laugh.

It did take way too long.

“Steve.”

Steve looked back over to Wayne and noticed he was looking tired again, like the news was the only reason he’d been forcing himself to be awake.

“You remember that bet?”

They’d made a lot of bets over the years, usually during March Madness. Wayne purposely bet against Steve because it was an easy win, even though they liked the same teams and often had similar brackets.

So no, he didn’t really remember whatever bet he was talking about now.

“Oh come on. I’m the old one here. You’re supposed to have great memory.”

“I’ve had like, eight concussions. My memory is like a goldfish.”

Eddie snorted next to him and nodded in agreement. Just this morning Eddie had to remind him that it was trash day despite it being the same day every week for the last 17 years they’d lived in their house.

“You owe me $5.”

“I’d remember that.”

“Eddie asked for you.”

Steve and Eddie looked at each other with concern. Was Wayne having a stroke? Was he slowly losing lucidity? He’d never shown any signs of memory problems, but sometimes being in the hospital had a lot of negative effects.

“When Eddie woke up in ‘86. I told you he’d ask for ya first and he did. Never collected on the bet because you two were too much.”

Steve suddenly remembered everything from that day, tears pooling in his eyes at how all of this started.

If he hadn’t stayed to hold Eddie’s hand then, would he be holding it now? Would they be husbands in every way but legally?

Steve looked at Eddie with a smile.

Then he turned to Wayne and smirked.

“Bet you $5 I propose right now.”

Wayne smirked back at him.

“Bet you won’t.”

Steve gave him the look that said ‘just watch me’ and stood up, dropping to one knee slowly.

“Eddie Munson. We already wear rings. We’ve lived together as husbands for so long, I can’t even believe we aren’t actually married. But I want to be. I want to fill out the stupid paperwork at the courthouse and maybe plan a little wedding with our kids and family. I want to have a honeymoon and be young and in love even though we aren’t young anymore. I want to be yours in every way starting right now. How does that sound?”

Eddie was crying. He was always more emotional than Steve, he just hid it better. Usually.

“You wanna be mine?”

“I’m already yours. I just want us to have everything.”

“Then I wanna be yours.”

“Good.”

Eddie leaned forward and kissed him, more passionately than they usually ever did in public or around Wayne. It was a special occasion, though, what choice did they really have?

After a minute, Steve pulled away and looked over to Wayne.

“Sorry about your $5.”

“I’m not.”

Wayne had never been more pleased to not be able to collect on a bet.

[prolife-is-prolie]

I celebrated Roe V Wade being overturned. I am now being investigated for having a miscarriage.

"The happiest moment in my life was when I said "I do" to my husband seven years ago. My second happiest moment was at the Supreme Court building on June 24, 2022. Seeing an endless sea of happy, cheerful faces, the champagne bottles being popped open, watching as bubbles floated on by, the feeling was electric! Babies were going to be saved!

And then a year later, on June 24, 2023, the third happiest moment in my life occurred. The two faint lines revealed themselves on the pregnancy test. I was pregnant! Finally! After years of hoping, praying, and multiple IVF treatments, I was finally pregnant! Life was perfect. My husband took me out to dinner and he never left my side the whole night. He came home from work one day with a giant book of baby names. It didn't take us long to decide: Ophelia if it was a girl, and Benson if it was a boy.

I thanked the Lord for gifting me with a happy marriage and a baby that I prayed so much for. But the Lord had other plans. August 23, 2023, my world came crashing down. I woke from a deep sleep and was overcome with painful cramps. I looked under the blanket and was horrified by what I saw: A huge puddle of red. I ran to the bathroom and sat on the toilet and I cried. I was having a miscarriage.

My husband woke up and noticed the puddle of blood. I've never seen him look so scared in my life. He hugged me while I sat and bled on the toilet. We then stripped down and got in the shower, where he held me, not caring about the blood running down my legs. I scheduled an emergency doctor's appointment for later in the day. The doctor confirmed our worst fear, I had a complete miscarriage. There wasn't anything more that could be done.

I sat on the table in that cold room while I waited for the doctor to come back with my paperwork. I was completely numb. I had no more tears left to cry. My husband stood by me and held my hand while we waited. And then we heard the knock on the door. We were expecting the doctor to enter. Instead, we were met with a couple of police officers.

My husband and I were escorted to the police station. It was there that we were informed that my miscarriage was deemed suspicious. The officers told us that due to the fact that we lived in a pro-life state, this was the new protocol. My husband and I were each taken to separate interview rooms, where we were questioned for six hours. I was asked a variety of questions:

What did I do the night before miscarrying?

Did I have a fall that could have caused the miscarriage?

Did I intentionally cause trauma to my abdomen to induce a miscarriage?

Did I take abortion pills?

Could my husband have slipped abortion pills into my drink?

At first, I tried to be understanding, but that quickly turned to anger. They were accusing my husband and me of purposefully killing our baby. I told the interviewer over and over that we wanted our baby and that we would do nothing to cause harm to our baby. After six hours, the questions let up. The interviewer left the room and I instantly broke down in tears again.

I cried for the baby I lost. I cried because my husband and I were being accused of killing our baby. I cried because I felt like nobody was listening to me. And I cried because this is what pro-choicers said would happen when Roe was overturned. Everything that they said would happen was happening.

Miscarriages were being investigated as murders. Children were being forced to give birth to their rapists' babies. Babies were being born and discarded in trash cans and dumpsters. And we have not done a damn thing about any of this. My husband and I were released, but not before being told that we weren't allowed to leave town due to the fact that we were being investigated.

I read articles about the women in Texas suing the state because of the anti-abortion laws. I read about the 13-year-old girl who gave birth to a baby she did not want. I read about the 11-year-old who had to flee her home state to get an abortion, only for the doctor who performed the abortion to get fined. I felt sick to my stomach reading these stories. And once again, my sorrow was replaced with anger.

I thought back to what I thought was one of the happiest moments of my life, Roe V Wade being overturned. In my mind, the happy smiles that I saw were suddenly replaced with evil snarls. The champagne that was popped was replaced with acid. The bubbles became heavy glass and they fell to the ground. My god, what have we done?

I forwarded the articles to my husband and I saw all color leave his face. The night after our interrogations, we ate dinner in silence. After knowing this man for 17 years and being married to him for seven of those years, he didn't need to talk for me to know what he was thinking. And I agreed with him:

Overturning Roe V Wade was a huge mistake."

-Constance, 37.

[lionlena]

Unforgivable mistake (JoelMillerxreader) Part 10

Summary: Reader is much younger than Joel and is in love with  him. One night, after arguing with Tess and getting drunk, Joel spends  the night with a reader, but in the morning he breaks her heart…  She  runs away from Boston hoping that she will never meet this cold bastard  again in her life. But almost six years later, she unexpectedly sees  Joel in Jackson. She decides to hide herself and her little secret from  this asshole.

Warnings: age gap (reader is about 28 years, Joel 58),  strong language, swearing, past trauma, bullying, attempted rape, memories of sexual abuse, unprotect p in v,  dom!Joel, Joel is asshole, ANGST, hurt, sadness and heartbreaking, sexual harassment, women abuse, violence, injury, sickness.

I'm sorry you had to wait for this new chapter for so long. I hope I will write 11 much faster ;)

Part 10

You spent a few more days with Anna and Toby, helping them and making sure they would be ready for winter.

You were surprised at how well you all were doing. You fell into a nice rhythm. You got up first and made breakfast for everyone with Anna's help. Ellie also helped you sometimes. Teddy would get up and go straight to Joel. He often spent a few more minutes napping with his dad. Then Joel came to the kitchen with his son. Meanwhile, Toby also showed up. You ate breakfast and together planned the work that needed to be done. Once you were ready to go to work, Teddy was left in the care of Ellie and Toby.

You were positively surprised by how you all worked together. No arguments or misunderstandings. You worked together like a family.

In the evening you came back for dinner and you all spent time together playing games and having fun. If you weren't very tired, you went for a short walk with Joel.

You noticed that he was trying to give you space, but he still couldn't stop himself from hugging you and kissing your cheek, but you didn't mind.

The day always ended the same. You fell asleep in Joel's arms wearing his T-shirt and woke up in the morning.

But last night you couldn't sleep. You lay next to Joel, who was snoring lightly, and you thought about how surreal this moment was.

It's as if everything Joel did in Boston happened to someone else.

Sometimes you imagined things would have turned out differently. Joel approached you at the bar and asked if he could walk you home. Of course, you agreed. On the stairs, Joel tripped and you held him. He kissed you… Passionately and gently. Then he took you to his apartment and made love to you… No, he didn't fuck you… He was gentle and caring, and after it was all over, you fell asleep together in each other's arms. But in the morning Joel sobered up and realized that he had made a mistake. He apologized to you and told you that he wouldn't leave Tess, that you were just a child to him and he shouldn't take advantage of your naivety. Of course, that would break your heart too, you would scream and cry, but then you would calm down. The next day you would set out with Claudia into the unknown and... What would happen then? Did you fall in love with someone else?

You sighed heavily and rolled over. After a while, you felt a gentle kiss on the back of your neck and heard his hoarse, sleepy voice.

"Is something wrong, darling? Can't you sleep?"

You were silent for a moment, not sure if you should share your thoughts with him. You knew that was what a good relationship was all about, but… You also knew that Joel felt really bad about himself. He wanted to forget about how he treated you. But the problem was that it was impossible to forget. This had to be worked through.

“I think,” you finally said. "Would... Would we be here now, together, if our first time had been different? Or maybe I would have already had someone... A boyfriend, a husband... I don't know, these are stupid thoughts..."

You could feel how Joel was tense. Like you caused him physical pain, but he still wanted to be supportive of you.

"Hey, hey baby, it's not stupid… I…" His voice became almost a whisper. "Sometimes I think what would have happened if you had stayed in Boston... I don't know if it would have been better... I'm actually happy that Teddy was born here. He wouldn't have had such a happy childhood in Boston."

You nodded because you knew he was right. You wouldn't want to raise Teddy in this dirty and violent place.

You felt Joel hug you tighter and press his face into your back. You didn't want him to be so sad. You gently stroked his hand that rested on your stomach.

"Joel?"

"Hmm?"

"What happened... It had to happen... for us to be where we are now and... We just have to live with it and move on."

Joel placed a gentle kiss on the back of your neck again.

"I don't deserve you. You're too good, too sweet, too caring... You're perfect."

You smiled softly.

"You may not deserve it, but it's what you get. Deal with it."

After a while, you added:

"There's something else."

"What?"

What you were going to say was a distortion of reality, but you felt the need to say it.

"If Teddy ever asks about our beginnings, we will lie to him. Do you understand? I'm not doing it just for you, but mainly for him. I want him to know that he was created because his mom and dad loved each other... Then we argued over something stupid and we broke up before we discovered I was pregnant. But we wanted to have children, we loved each other..."

Joel murmurs softly into your neck:

"Thank you."

You couldn't see his face, but if you turned around you would see tears in his eyes.

*

The next day you said goodbye to Anna and Toby and promised them you would come back soon. Even Ellie seemed sad to leave them.

When you entered the gates of Jackson, it was already evening and you were all tired. You hoped that you would put your baby son to bed quickly and rest, but... Tired Teddy was sometimes cranky. You helped him get to the ground and he immediately was clinging to Joel, whining and looking at daddy with pleading eyes. Joel picked him up and rubbed his back soothingly.

"What's the matter 'bear cub'?"

"I want you to sing me at bedtime." The baby boy whined.

Joel laughed lightly and ruffled Teddy's hair.

"Of course."

You just rolled your eyes, already knowing what was coming. And you were right. It didn't end with one song. Teddy also wanted you to tell him a story and hug him. Then he wanted his dad to bring him something to drink and hug him. Then he wanted both of you... Then again only dad. And he said all this while looking at you with those sweet but tired brown eyes of his, so neither of you could even get angry at him.

Joel sat down next to you on the couch with a huff after singing a song to his son for the fourth time.

"He fell asleep..."

You giggled slightly.

"Well, apparently he inherited my fondness for your voice."

Joel smiled to himself. He couldn't deny that your words brought a pleasant warm feeling to his chest.

"I think that's not the only thing he inherited from you. He's sweet, but sometimes he's…"

Joel looked at you and you frowned. Feigning indignation you said:

"You mean he's stubborn like me."

Joel looked at you, flustered, and scratched the back of his neck.

"No... that's not what I meant...what I meant was that he's relentless."

You laughed and gave him an amused look.

"Relax. I'm just joking."

Joel sighed and leaned further into the couch. He closed his eyes.

"I'm tired."

You nodded.

"Me too. I'll fall asleep as soon as I put my head on the pillow."

With a groan, Joel stood up and leaned down to give you a kiss on the cheek.

"Good night. See you tomorrow."

You closed your eyes and whispered.

"Good night."

*

However, some time later you discovered how wrong you were. You were tired, and yet you were rolling over on the mattress for an hour. You couldn't find a comfortable position on the bed and it was ridiculous. The bed at Anna and Toby's house was uncomfortable, and yet you slept perfectly well... Did you really get used to Joel's presence that quickly?

You groaned in frustration and got out of bed. You remembered Joel's warmth and scent, his solid chest...

“Ugh…Y/N, pull yourself together.”

You decided to go to the kitchen and get something to drink. You poured yourself some water and leaned against the kitchen counter. You felt that your drowsiness had completely left you. You were still extremely tired and wondering what you could do when you heard a soft knock. At first, you froze. A shiver of fear ran through your body. Who could be knocking on your door so late? You carefully looked out the window and immediately took a breath. Even in the dim light, you would recognize who this silhouette belongs to. You opened the door with a slight smile.

"Joel, what happened?"

You were sure he had gone to bed long ago. You stepped aside to let him in and you noticed that he looked tired.

"I wanted to ask the same thing, I noticed you had the light on in the bedroom and the kitchen and... I wanted to check if everything was okay with you, and Teddy."

You nodded and looked at him gratefully. It was nice to feel that someone cared about you and your son. You led him to the kitchen, where you sat down across from each other.

"Teddy's sleeping... I can't sleep..."

And then suddenly something hit you. Joel wouldn't be able to see your bedroom window and kitchen from his house, which meant...

"Joel? What were you doing exactly? Wandering around? I thought you were already asleep."

Joel shrugged and rubbed his face.

"I can't sleep," he muttered quietly.

You raised your eyebrows and huffed in amusement.

"You? You never have trouble falling asleep."

He looked at you as if you had offended him. "I don't fall asleep on watch." Then, a little shyly, he replied: "The bed seems too big to me."

You felt your heart beat faster, understanding what he meant, but you decided to tease him some more.

"Have you tried falling asleep on the couch?"

Joel gasped in surprise. "I... Umm... Maybe I really should."

You started laughing and stood up from your seat. You walked up to him and stood in between his legs, resting your hands on his shoulders and looking down at him.

"I think I slept better with you next to me."

Joel sighed in relief and gently placed his hands on your hips. "Me too, honey... Do you think... Do you think we can sleep in the same bed tonight?"

You bit your lip and smiled. You had another idea.

"It does not make sense."

Joel looked at you with sadness, even fear. He started to wonder what he had done wrong and was about to remove his hands from your body when you said:

"Living next to each other, instead of together." Joel's eyes lit up. "I think I'm ready... The last week we spent together showed me that this would be the best and easiest thing. Let's be honest, Joel... We won't be able to sleep tomorrow either... And the day after tomorrow."

Joel very carefully began to stroke your sides. "Do I understand this correctly? Will you and Teddy live with me and Ellie?"

You smiled and replied, "Yes."

Joel pulled you closer to him and hugged you tightly. You started stroking his hair and slowly felt sleepiness coming back to you. You were about to ask him to go to the bedroom with you when you heard his hesitant question.

"Y/N, what are we exactly? Don't get me wrong, I don't want to force you to define our relationship... I just don't know. Are we boyfriend and girlfriend?"

You giggled at his expression. Joel wasn't the best at these kinds of conversations, but he sure was sweet.

"I don't know." You answered honestly. "We are the parents of a wonderful baby boy, that's for sure. We've become friends, despite our complicated past... And I guess we're partners... You know, I mean... Friends don't do that..."

You leaned up and lightly kissed him on the lips and he grunted in pleasure. His hand ran through your hair. When you pulled away from him, you both sighed in contentment. You rested your forehead against his and sighed. His large hands caressed your sides and back. You felt the heat coming from his body and for you, it was like sleeping pills. You moved away from him a bit and muttered:

"I don't know how to define exactly what's going on between us. But does it matter? We'll figure it out later but for now... Let's go to sleep."

Joel eagerly followed you to the bedroom. He stripped down to his boxers and t-shirt. As you lay down next to him, a wave of peace immediately washed over you. All he had to do was wrap his arms around you and you immediately began to drift off to sleep. Before you fell asleep completely, you felt Joel kiss your head tenderly.

*

A few days later, you officially moved in with Joel and Ellie. You were sure of your decision. You really felt like it was the right thing to do. Not only did it make taking care of Teddy easier, but it also made your relationship with Joel stronger and took it to a new level. Not to mention that your son went crazy with joy. You've never seen him pack his things so quickly. And he didn't even complain. With a broad smile on his face, he moved his things to the new house and new room. Seeing his happy face filled you with joy and peace.

You thought that nothing could disturb your peace. But you were wrong.

*

You were feeding the horses when Ellie ran into the stable.

“Y/N!”

You looked carefully at the teenage girl. She looked nervous and you immediately stopped what you were doing.

"Something happened?"

Ellie took a deep breath as if trying to steady her nerves.

"Well... Did you hear that new people have arrived?"

You nodded and wondered why that would be a reason to be nervous. You thought it was good that the community was growing. You calmly replied:

"Yes, Sofia has already told me everything. Two older women, one younger with a little daughter, and two teenage boys. Is that right?"

Ellie still didn't look calm.

"Yes and umm... This young woman..."

"What about her?"

Ellie opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again, and took a deep breath.

"She's fine, she's just..."

“Y/N!”

You both looked at Maria as she entered the stable. You smiled slightly when you saw her pregnant belly. You still had a tense relationship from the moment you stood up for Joel, but you still wished her the best.

Maria gave you and Ellie a weak smile and immediately decided to get to the point.

"Is your old house available now?"

Her question surprised you. The truth was that you left a few things behind because... Despite the feelings you felt for Joel and the certainty that you had made the right decision, you wanted an emergency exit. You felt you had the right to do so after everything you had been through.

"Uh... Actually... I left some summer clothes there and... A few other things."

Maria raised her eyebrows. "I thought your move to Joel's was permanent."

You felt an unpleasant pang in your chest. "Because it is." You said quickly and maybe a little too loudly. "I just didn't have time to move everything, so I decided some things could stay there for now."

"I understand, but I would like you to take everything away. Your old house will become a new home for our new resident, her daughter, and her elderly mother."

You felt like you were out of breath. You were sure that you would have a happy future with Joel, but... The uncertainty was still inside you and it was hard for you to come to terms with losing your safe oasis that was your home so quickly. But you knew there was no point in arguing about it. You tried to look casual as you said,

"Oh... Yeah, sure. I'll do it soon."

Ellie looked at you sympathetically and quickly added, "I'll help you."

Maria nodded. "Okay. I'll come with them soon."

Before you left the stables, Ellie grabbed your arm.

"Maybe let's talk to Joel so he can talk to Tommy. It's not fair that Maria is taking your house. There are several other empty houses in the city. She's doing it maliciously."

You sighed heavily and shook your head. "No, Ellie... I don't want Joel to know that I wanted an escape route. He's trying so hard to make things better between us. I don't want him to think that I doubt him... That I assume that it won't work out. Maybe it's for the best."

Ellie nodded and you both started walking towards your old house. You saw that the teenage girl was thinking about something. She obviously wanted to tell you something, but she didn't know how. But you didn't have time to ask her about it. You focused on getting all your things as quickly as possible.

With Ellie's help, it went really smoothly. You were just taking the last box outside when you noticed Maria with three new Jackson residents in front of the house. You almost dropped the box and looked at Ellie. You realized that was what she was trying to tell you.

The young woman who stood next to Maria looked like a younger version of Tess. You felt a knot in your stomach and swallowed hard. You wanted to scream at the universe and ask why it hated you. Then you woke up. Just because she looked like Tess, didn't mean Joel would abandon you. But still, you couldn't help but feel uneasy that a woman who looked like your partner's former lover would be living next door. You heard Ellie lightly clear her throat as she tried to bring you back to reality.

"Oh, hello... The house is empty now."

Maria nodded. "That's great. I present to you Emily, her mother Lucia, and her daughter Rose."

The little girl waved at you shyly and you tried to smile. She was a similar age to Teddy, so Joel... You mentally cursed yourself for your ridiculous thoughts. Joel was in love with you and Teddy was his world. He wouldn't abandon you just because some woman looked like Tess and had a daughter.

“I'm Y/N, this is Ellie…” You felt your voice shake slightly. "We live next door with my son Teddy and... My... My partner Joel."

You tried to make the word "partner" sound as loud as possible. Ellie looked at you with her eyebrows slightly raised. Well, you will be going to explain to her what "marking territory" means when she is older.

"How old is your son?" Emily asked.

"He'll be seven soon."

"Oh, that's wonderful. Rose turned six a month ago... I hope that once we get settled and rest, we'll get to know each other better."

You stuck a fake smile on your face.

"That would be great, now... Let's go now. We still have a few things to do, right Ellie?"

The girl nodded nervously. "Yeah, sure... We have to make dinner for Joel..."

"That's right. See you later."

As soon as you entered the house, you threw the box in the corner and immediately stood by the window in the living room, where you could see your 'old' house.

"Is this what you wanted to tell me?" you asked, quickly glancing at Ellie.

The girl nodded and carefully approached you.

"She is not that similar... On closer view, she is actually completely different."

You smiled slightly at her attempts at comfort and looked out the window again.

"She's very similar" you muttered sadly.

Ellie immediately tried to distract you from your bad thoughts.

"Hey, let's go to the kitchen... I'm hungry and... Standing by the window won't change anything."

You nodded and moved towards her. Ellie was right. Standing by the window and staring at Tess's doppelgänger didn't change anything. But there was something else you needed to know.

"Ellie, has Joel seen her yet?"

The teenage girl shrugged.

"I do not know, probably no."

"Okay. Let's go get something to eat."

For the rest of the day, you tried to keep your mind occupied. But no matter what you did, you always glanced towards your former home.

When Joel returned, you began to watch him carefully and waited for the right moment to talk. He acted very normal. He gave you a kiss on the cheek to greet you, he played with Teddy and, unlike you, he didn't constantly glance towards the window. You started to wonder if he had seen Emily. If not, maybe you can somehow maintain this state longer. Then you rolled your eyes... That was a ridiculous idea. How would you implement this plan? You would lock Joel in the house, or maybe you would cover his eyes? Tess's doppelgänger literally lived on your doorstep.

"Darling?"

His deep voice brought you out of your thoughts. You were sitting on the couch and looking out the window.

"Huh?"

Joel sat down next to you and gently placed his hand on your knee. He looked at you worriedly.

"This is about your house? Right."

You blinked your eyes in shock. Well, Joel may not have gotten to the heart of the problem, but he was close.

"I... It's not..."

Joel gave you a reassuring smile.

“It's okay that you wanted to still have a safe place. I don't blame you for that and…” He gently lifted your chin so you were looking straight into his eyes. "I want you to be aware that if things don't work out between us, I will move out. You don't have to worry about not having a home."

You felt a surge of gratitude. It was surprising how well Joel already knew you. But not being able to return to your previous home wasn't the only problem. You had to bring this up. There was no point in running away from it anyway.

"Have you seen our new neighbor?" you asked quietly and he nodded. “She reminds me of Tess,” you said even more quietly and swallowed.

You watched Joel's face carefully for any signs of nervousness, but he still looked at you calmly. Not a muscle in his face even twitched at the mention of Tess.

"I don't know... Maybe a little. Does it matter?"

You gave him a look like, "Seriously?"

"You were in a relationship with Tess."

Joel looked at you surprised. He was still trying to figure out what this had to do with your new neighbor.

"Yes, I was in a relationship with Tess and it was... A specific relationship. We were comfortable together. You know? Tess was a convenient option for me in Boston. We worked and slept together." Joel grabbed your hands. "But I don't know if that relationship would last here. I think I would probably be too interested in you and would like to spend time with Teddy."

You could hear the genuine sincerity in his voice and it calmed your nerves a bit.

"Okay. I guess I got a little carried away with anxiety and the ridiculous idea that you and Emily... It's stupid."

Joel pulled you to him and kissed your forehead.

"Wait... What were you afraid of? That I would abandon you as soon as I saw someone like Tess." Joel couldn't hide the slight amusement in his voice. "Honey, she's just a woman of similar looks like Tess... I don't know her. And her looks don't matter because I only have my eyes on one woman."

He gently brushed his lips against yours.

"Only you."

You sighed and relaxed in his arms. For a moment you forgot about your anxiety. Joel wrapped his arms around you and hugged you tighter. You rested your head on his chest and tried to focus on his heartbeat, but deep inside you still felt this unexplainable fear. You felt the shadows of your past return and you were afraid they would consume you.

Part 9

Part 11

Taglist: @casa-boiardi @noisynightmarepoetry @ihavetwoholesforareason @sloanexx @creedslove @orcasoul @o-sacra-virgo-laudes-tibi @i-workwithpens @milla-frenchy @liatome @jojo-munson @pascalislove @goldenhxurs @elliaze @aestheticangel612 @cheyxfu @prestinalove @stevengmybeloved @faith-alons26​ @harriedandharassed @this--is--music ​@joeldjarin @elliaze @ajeff855 @anislabonis-love @quality-lust @sarahhxx03 @sofiparallel @misshoneypaper

*I don't know if tags work ;( If anyone knows how to make them work, let me know

[ramsayxme]

Chapter One / Chapter Two / Chapter Three / Chapter Four / Chapter Five / Chapter Six / AO3 Link

TW - ramsay bolton, marriage, forceful sex, choking, unconscious sex, murder, death, manipulation, cutting / talking about wounds in detail, violence, stockholm syndrome.

Chapter Seven: You Belong Here

For the first time in a very long time, you were woken up by sunlight beaming down on your face. You turned over, nuzzling into your sleeping lover. Ramsay slept flat on his back with one hand always touching you. You blinked as you woke up, staring lovingly at Ramsay. Sleep made him look soft, his chest rose and fell gently with his breathing. You kissed his chest as you propped yourself up on your elbows, stomach on the bed. "Ramsay..." You whispered. He softly stirred, his eyes rolling open, a small grunt escaping his lips. Seeing him like this made you smile.

"My love, wake up." You whispered again, tracing the muscles on his toned arms with your fingertips. Ramsay rolled into you, wrapping you in his arms. He nuzzled his warm face in your chest, a raspy groan coming from his throat. "No." He said, his voice hoarse and thick with sleep but muffled into your body. You could feel him exhaling against your chest as you stroked his hair. You knew you were falling in love with him. You hadn't fully accepted it yet, but you knew it was happening. Today you were going to marry him and the idea didn't completely scare you, in fact you were almost excited.

"Ramsay, we are going to have our wedding today." You whispered, causing him to roll onto his back and finally open his beautiful eyes. "Yes, we are." He mumbled, his lips turning into a grin. "Are you excited?" He asked. You nodded, your hair falling onto his bare chest. "Of course I am. Are you?" He chuckled, brushing your hair back with his hand. "Yes. I am."

Ramsay sat up and climbed out of bed. "In fact, we should get up. I would hate to have to wait any longer than we have to for our wedding night." He flashed a grin at you and you felt your stomach flutter. You giggled and scurried off, Ramsay slapping your ass as you ran away. You ran all the way to your chambers where there was a long white dress waiting for you on your bed, and a white fur cloak. Reek was waiting for you in the corner of your room. He startled you, as you didn’t expect to see anyone.

“I’m here to help you with anything you may need, M’Lady.” He muttered. You walked up to him. “I’m sorry for last night, Reek… I didn’t want to hit you.” You reached your hand out to him, trying to show some humanly comfort but he only flinched. He didn’t respond to your apology. “Master said I am not allowed to s-speak any more to you, only to say what I have to.” Reek trembled. You sighed as you turned to your dress. There was no sense in trying anymore, he was a lost cause. Reek turned around so you could get dressed. You wondered if you were also a lost cause as you pulled your wedding gown over your head and fastened your bridal cloak.

You heard footsteps running in the hallway and a few men shouting. This wasn’t normal, but you didn’t want to involve yourself. Reek shuddered at the sound. Ramsay opened your door, he was dressed in the finest leather you’ve seen him wear. Gods, he was handsome. His hair was clean and curling under his ears. His freshly shaven skin looked soft and gentle, but you knew it was a mask; one that you’d come to love. Ramsay grinned. “Reek! Go make sure everything is set up to my liking and let me have a moment with my future wife!” He barked, sending Reek scrambling out the door.

That’s when you noticed the bloody knife in Ramsay’s hand. He wiped the knife clean on a blanket draped over the chair in your room. He noticed your gaze lingering on his knife and he chuckled. “Don’t worry, my love. I’ll never hurt you. It’s unfortunate, really…. My father must’ve been poisoned by our enemies… I just found him dead.” Ramsay grinned at you as he stepped closer, putting his knife back into its sheath. He wrapped his hands around your waist and admired your beauty. “Now, we truly can be the Lord and Lady of the Dreadfort.”

Your chest felt warm as you pressed your lips against his. You knew he had just stabbed his own father, but you felt the urge to belong to him in this moment. He was doing this for your future, your title, your family. You felt somewhat honored. Again, Ramsay had the power to make you feel less than the dirt caked to his shoes one minute and then the next minute, the best prize in all of the seven kingdoms. Your arms hung around his neck, your fingers playing with his curls on the back of his neck. He gave you a closed lip smile as his eyes scanned your face.

Your wedding was somber, as Roose Bolton had just been murdered, but it was beautiful for you and your husband. Bolton men lined the courtyard with torches as you and Ramsay shared your moments. It was early evening, the sun had set and the sky was hazy. Nothing else mattered, the audible fear from both women and men had been drowned out by Ramsays gaze. He stared at you with a mixture of possession and longing. Snow gently fell, sprinkling flakes on Ramsay's dark hair. He looked absolutely handsome. His eyes pierced into you, his mouth tightened into a grin as you spoke. "I take this man." You announced when prompted, and you and Ramsay sealed your marriage with a kiss.

You walked down the aisle together now as husband and wife, Lord and Lady of the Dreadfort, Warden and Wardeness of the North. Ramsay was grinning from ear to ear and so were you. Although the pit of fear in your stomach was always there, you had learned to befriend it; almost welcome it. Ramsay was yours, and you were his.

Ramsay led you to your chamber that you now shared. You stepped in and he closed the door with a loud groan from the old hinges. "Are you pleased, my lady?" He asked you, stepping towards you. You nodded, smiling. "Yes, very. I love you, Ramsay." You finally spoke the words that you had been holding deep within you, locked away in a box built of shame and guilt. Ramsay smiled as he took your hands, leading you to the bed. You were completely under his spell, you were putty in his hands. He could tear you to pieces if he wanted to, limb by limb, and you wouldn't complain.

All of the sudden, Ramsay spun you around and yanked your body against his, your back pressing into his chest. He snarled as his teeth yanked at the shoulder of your dress, his hand snaking around your body to grip your throat. "You're mine." He growled, causing your eyes to flutter, knowing he was about to ravish your body. "Take off your clothes." He demanded, shoving you forward and causing you to fall to the floor. Your hands were shaky with anticipation as you unclasped your cloak and began pulling at your dress. It was fastened tightly, it was taking a long time. Ramsay was growing impatient as he grabbed the same knife that had plunged into his father's chest that evening. He brought the knife to your back and sliced the back of the dress open.

You felt pain as you realized he had also slashed the skin on your back quite deeply while cutting the cloth. You felt the warmth of blood begin trickling out of your fresh wound. Ramsay didn't care, jerking the dress open fully with his hands until it fell to the floor. Ramsay had the devil in his eyes as he turned you around, meeting your gaze. He flashed his teeth before he sunk them into your shoulder. You moaned as Ramsay began to suck on your skin, leaving dark bruises in his path.

He pushed you down on the bed, stomach down and face first. He yanked his own clothing off before he mounted you, spitting on his hard cock before shoving it deep inside you. As soon as his cock entered you, you felt his fingers at your back wound. He pressed his fingers into the deep cut, causing you to scream out in pain. Ramsay growled as he began thrusting hard, you know he enjoyed to hear you in pain. He leaned forward and bit your wound, pulling even more screams from your lungs. Your eyes swelled with tears as he applied more pressure to your open skin.

Even with the pain you were enduring, you tilted your hips slightly to allow Ramsay full access into you. He groaned when you did so, the slight angle allowing him to slide in with more ease. "That's a good girl... I've trained you so well." He moaned as he stayed leaned forward, his teeth leaving throbbing marks on your upper back. One of his hands found your hair as he yanked your head back, forcing your neck to bend so you could look at him upside-down.

His pace slowed as he leaned closer to your ear. His face had your blood on it from kissing your wounded back. He gently whispered to you, "Do you remember our first night together? You fought me so hard... and now, your cunt is soaking wet with the thought of me abusing you, isn't it? You're so good." He purred. You couldn't deny him, moaning in agreement. He yanked on your hair even more, your neck unable to bend back any further, as he let go of your hair and wrapped his arm around your neck. Your chin rested in the crook of his elbow as he squeezed, growling in your ear as he choked you relentlessly. You attempted to whine, but only wheezes came out as you felt yourself slipping into unconsciousness.

You immediately knew you had passed out. You sucked in air as you felt reality seep back in, Ramsay still fucking you without yield. You were dizzy as Ramsay flipped you over, your body obeying him like a rag doll. You looked at your husbands face, he had wiped the blood off of himself. Ramsay's lips tightened as he reached his hand out and slapped you across the face with all of his force. The single stinging slap was enough to nearly knock you unconscious again.

You felt your eyes rattling in your skull as you focused on Ramsay, his hand pulled back so he could swing again. Before he could, you reached up and gripped his throat with both of your hands. He grinned, "There you go!" He growled. He grabbed you tightly and flipped the both of you over once more, so you were on top of him. His hair flopped on the bed and he looked up at you. "I made you mine. Now, make me yours." His eyebrows raised when you hesitated.

You leaned forward, putting all of your weight onto his throat. His eyes slightly bulged as he smiled, "Hit me." He wheezed. You pulled your hand back and slapped him with all the strength you had. His smile didn't fade as his eyes fluttered. You pulled back again, forming a fist this time. You landed your punch on his cheekbone, he moaned with sadistic satisfaction. You didn't ease up, your body was bubbling over with leftover anger from how he had treated you, sudden bursts of power, and an uncontrollable urge to hurt him.

You kept throwing punches at your new husband's gorgeous face, kissing each of his cheekbones with flowering bruises. He never stopped grinning as he absorbed your blows. You leaned forward to choke him again, not letting go. Ramsay's eyes slid backwards as he fell unconscious just as you had. The monster within him fell silent as his head fell limply to the side. You paused as you realized he was knocked out, his cock still hard inside you. You rocked back and forth, wanting your pleasure to continue. Ramsay had used you, couldn't you use him in return?

You slid your body up and down on his cock, peering at his face every few moments to see if he was waking back up. You felt powerful, but nothing in you wanted to leave him. You could've gotten up and left him forever but instead you leaned forward, pressing your bare chest against his as you bucked your hips up and down on his cock. You felt the warmth growing in your core as you reached down to rub yourself as he slid in and out of you at your own perfect pace. You started to teeter on the edge of an orgasm when you saw his eyes flicker back to life. He grinned, watching you bring yourself to climax on his cock. You erupted, quivering and moaning as your body rode out the wave on him. He lay there, his arms behind his head and grinning, admiring his wife's orgasmic bliss.

You slowly came down from your orgasm as you laughed, sliding your body off of Ramsay. "My Lord, that was-" You had barely lifted yourself off of him before he grabbed your throat once again, slamming you backwards into the bed. "You think I am finished with you? I didn't get to come yet, my love! You'd be quite selfish if you didn't allow your husband to finish on his wedding night, don't you think?" He purred as he inserted himself back into your soaking slit, forcing your back into the bed. Your back ached as you remembered your wound, now being scratched against the blankets once more.

Ramsay choked you hard with both of his hands as he fucked you, knocking you unconscious once again. This time, you knew it was for a long period of time. You woke to find your husband sleeping at your side, and your body leaking his seed. You groaned as you saw the welts across your chest from his bites, your wounded back had crusted itself to the covers as you peeled yourself upright. Your body was screaming with agony as you turned sideways to lay within the crescent shape of your husbands body.

You prayed to the Gods that night. You prayed that you were pregnant with Ramsay's son. You prayed that he wouldn't hurt you through the night. You prayed for a happy marriage and for Ramsay to love you as much as you felt yourself growing to love him, regardless of the things he did to you. You prayed a second time to be pregnant with an heir. You didn't want to to disappoint your husband and the sooner you could provide him an heir, the happier he would be. You drifted off to sleep, your body screaming for help but your mind in a blissful state of attachment. You officially belonged to Ramsay. You smiled, allowing the screams from your body to be silenced by your husbands gentle snoring.

Chapter Eight

[sassykattery]

No Rest for the Wicked, Pt. 2

Tsk tsk tsk...

CW: MC is afab, uses she/her pronouns. MC is a demon and poly. Smut scene: hate/angry sex, followed by an emotionally tumultuous moment. PIV, explicit mentions of m and f genitalia.

Themes: Romance. Adventure. Engagement. DiavoloxMC. BarbatosxMC. LuciferxMC

Characters: MC. Diavolo. Lucifer. Barbatos.

Minors and ageless blogs DNI

18+ only

Masterlist

Enjoy!

The next morning, at least you thought it was, you woke up– well, you tried to. Immediately, you groaned and rolled around, finding your bed to be empty. You grabbed your D.D.D. to check the time, hissing at the offensive brightness, only to find it was well into the afternoon.

Slowly, you got dressed, nearly crying when you brushed your hair as your head pounded. When you looked in the mirror, you realized your outfit was mismatched, and you sighed and found a different set to wear. Finally looking better than you felt, you stumbled on downstairs. You could hear Lucifer and Diavolo in the dining hall, so you skirted around to the kitchen to find something to soothe your warzone of a stomach and your pounding head.

"Might I suggest some soda and crackers, mistress?" Barbatos said, making you jump, which didn't help your head at all.

"Sure..." you grumbled.

Barbatos nodded and grabbed a few things for you, setting them on the counter in front of you.

"Care to share?" the butler asked, pouring the soda for you.

"I got drunk at Ristorante Six and here I am," you replied, bristled.

"I see. And that's not like you, so what's troubling you?"

You took the soda and took a sip, trying to savor the carbonation. With a sigh, you replied, "It just seems like every few months, something terrible happens, and I cause a whole bunch of trouble for people, and the wedding dates are coming, and I really want those days to go perfect-"

Barbatos held up a hand. You were talking in run-ons and becoming frantic. Taking a deep breath, you continued, "I just want everything to go well. I don't want to screw this up," you finished.

"I understand, mistress, but you're placing undue stress onto yourself, surely you don't need to do that either," Barbatos replied.

You munched on a cracker and nodded in agreement.

"Moreover, you have the young master, Lucifer, and me, right here," he added.

You were silent for a moment, considering his words. Then, you threw your arms around his neck and sighed. "Thank you."

He reciprocated and held you tight against himself. "Of course." You two remained like that for several moments, soaking each other in.

"Ah," you said, pulling away. "I don't know if you picked up on my hint, but I remember what we talked about when I lost my memory. I just want you to know, I've always thought of you as more than a friend, but there was a wall up between us for a while, so I never pursued it until recently. I trust you," you said, taking his gloved hand and holding it against your cheek. "I love you dearly, Barbatos, and you can ask whatever you'd like of me."

Barbatos' eyes widened at your sudden confession. Feeling a touch brave, he gently leaned forward and kissed your forehead. You smiled up at him, making his heart pound in his chest. He savored the smell of your skin and shampoo infiltrating his nose, creating a symphony of beauty to his olfactory senses.

"This is enough for me, mistress," he murmured.

"Very well, as you say," you replied, using his words.

In better spirits, you took your soda and crackers to enter the dining hall, where Lucifer and Diavolo were talking up until you appeared in the entryway.

"Well, there she is, our little drunk sleeping beauty," Lucifer said maliciously. You set your things down at the table and blue vapors appeared behind you.

"Try again," you hissed.

"You don't scare me," Lucifer said in an unamused tone, picking up the newspaper and rifling through it. Diavolo stared between you two.

"Well, she scares me, so please don't aggravate her, Lucifer," Diavolo muttered.

You smiled and placed a kiss on his forehead as you walked by to get some tea. Lucifer "tched" you as you smirked at him, giving him nary even a touch as you walked by him.

Sitting down at your spot, you began to drink your tea and Diavolo spoke up again.

"Your photos came back today; would you like to see them?" he asked excitedly.

"Mm, I'd like that," you replied.

"Careful, she'll just get a big head over it again," Lucifer piped up while reading.

For some reason, your switch flipped, and you knocked your fist into the table.

"I'm not terribly fond of your attitude today," you ground out between your teeth.

"And I'm not terribly fond of you drinking yourself under the table that we have to carry you out of a restaurant full of people, your royal highness," Lucifer quipped, finally looking up at you.

Diavolo simply watched between you two, keeping his comments to himself.

Your cheeks burned but your lips tightened as if there was a zipper on them. You abruptly stood from your chair, grabbing your soda, and stomped off.

"Good job," Diavolo groaned in dismay. He rubbed his face in his hands, knowing he was just as much in the proverbial doghouse.

"I meant what I said," Lucifer replied in a monotone.

"Right, and because of that, I'll let you fix that mess yourself. Good luck," Diavolo replied tartly, leaving to go to his office.

Once alone, Lucifer set the newspaper down on the table and sighed. He knew he shouldn't have said what he said, and he wasn't being terribly kind to you, even after what Diavolo told him about you wanting to make him proud, and that you wanted to sleep next to him from the previous night.

Feeling guilty, he walked around the castle looking for you, and strangely, you weren't in your suite, which made him slightly nervous, given everything that's happened with repeated disappearances and a possibly ultra-powerful demoness that roamed the Devildom. Following your scent, he found himself outside one of the guest bedrooms, one that he had stayed in many times since being in the Devildom.

He opened the door, seeing you curled up on the bed in the middle of the room.

You looked over at him, and though you wanted to say some rather venomous things, the zipper stayed closed on your mouth. Instead, you focused your sight back on the window you looked out of.

"Darling," Lucifer said, sitting on the edge of the bed at your feet. You remained quiet. "I suppose I'm not being very fair to you," he admitted.

You shot upward and glared at Lucifer, finally snapping. "How is it any different than the nights you'd go out drinking with Diavolo or anyone else and you'd come home plastered?"

He inched closer and his gaze hardened, "Usually I'm not in the middle of a high-profile area where I just had a televised interview and everyone has their eyes on me," he replied harshly.

This time you brought your face closer and bared your fangs, "Just say what you actually mean, Lucifer," you growled.

"I mean you're being sloppy and need to keep your public image in check, for everyone's sake," he growled back.

You lunged forward, almost nose to nose with him, and spoke in a seething whisper, "I am the damned Avatar of Vainglory, and my image is everything to me, you don't think I know how to handle myself all of a sudden?"

"I know you can't, given last night," he retorted.

Your eyes started to shine, and the horns adorning your head materialized, "You ever think the amount of pressure you put on me is part of the reason why I struggle so much?"

"You put that pressure on yourself," he stated. Lucifer's patience was starting to wear thin.

The words flew out of your mouth with spite, "You're the one who started all of this with your snide comments! Go fuck yourself." You jumped out of the bed and began to storm away when he grabbed your shoulders and shoved you into the nearest wall, your back making a rather loud thud as you slammed into it.

You stared up at Lucifer, furious and ready to throw down. "Where do you get the gall-"

But he interrupted you with a sloppy kiss, pressing his whole body into yours. You turned your head away to break the kiss and looked back at him with a wrathful gaze, jaw locked tight.

Lucifer stared back at you, clearly frustrated and thinking about his next move or choice of words. The longer you looked at him, the more you felt a heat circulating down below, and your body started making decisions for you. Your hands dove up to his hair, tangling your fingers in his locks, while his hands took hold of your waist, holding you in place.

Still feeling angry, you brought your hands back down to his chest and pushed hard, actually using your strength against him. He stepped back a couple feet, but then you tackled him to the ground, both of you trying to devour each other on the way down with angry, heated kisses.

Both of you tore into each other's clothes as quickly as possible, bypassing getting your tops completely off in favor of working off your bottoms. Lucifer rolled you onto your back and slotted himself between your legs, rubbing his hardened cock against your slit to cover it in your slick that was building up. You snatched the back of his neck in your hand and yanked him into another kiss.

Each of you grabbed and groped each other with mean hands, your nails digging into his back as he plunged his cock into your core. He gave a few rough thrusts into you, to which you both growled and grunted at your pleasure, before he started railing into you as hard as he could. The goal wasn't to be fast, but to fuck out your mutual frustrations. His hips smacked yours hard with each downward stroke, and when you looked up, you saw him in his demon form as well, so you gripped his horns, causing him to fuck you that much harder.

Sitting himself up on one elbow, he brought his other arm down to rub your clit with his slender fingers, causing your grunts to become wails. All too quickly, your orgasm dropped on you like a hammer, your eyes flying open to watch the very demon making you feel so good as you came apart on his dick. Your mouth drew to an "o" shape, and your thighs shook as the electric volts of pleasure took over. But it was also in this moment, your emotions were heightened, and your eyes flooded with tears, your face flushed.

Lucifer noticed this, but you continued to moan and cry out your orgasm, and you never stopped him, so he took that as his cue to continue. Breaking away from rubbing your clit, he leaned back to bring your legs to his shoulders to deepen his penetration. Your face contorted to something of unfathomable pleasure, and your tears finally began to roll down your cheeks.

Your hands reached up to his face with your fingers gently raking through his messy locks. His eyes widened, because for a moment, to see you become so gentle and emotional reminded him of your humanity. Leaving his hair, your hands dropped down to his shoulders, gripping onto to him tenderly. He kept his pace, but he started to lose his rhythm, so he leaned down close to you, his forehead touching yours.

"Cum with me, dove, let's finish together," he whispered. You nodded, and both of you collided into a kiss at the same time, much more sweetly now.

"Ahh ah, Luci-" you whimpered quietly, your voice going hoarse.

"MC," he called back to you, tensing up as he approached his high. Your body shuddered involuntarily, and deep within your core the explosions of your climax flashed out. He felt the warmth of your cum cover his cock, causing him to slow to a stop as he released his cum into you.

"I'm sorry," you cried, burying your face into his neck with hot tears streaming down. "You're right, I am a beast with a horrible attitude-"

"Shh, darling," he said, wrapping his arms underneath you. "I shouldn't have ever said that." He then pulled you up, his cock still sheathed inside of you, and he sat up to his knees. You remained wrapped around him, koala style. "I love you my sweet, sweet dove."

"Why? I clearly can't handle this or anything else-"

"Please stop," he murmured. He cradled your jaw in his palm and pulled your face to his, kissing you softly. "You can do this; I will make sure of it. I won't let you falter. You can rely on me to help you at a moment's notice. I'll always come to your side should you need me. Do you understand?"

You sniffed but ultimately nodded. "Yes," you whispered. His hands went to your rear to support you as he stood to his feet, walking you both over to the bed. He sat on the edge and just held you as you clung to him, stroking small circles onto your back.

"I don't want you to ever think I don't want or love you," he said into your ear. Though you couldn't see it, he was gazing ahead, looking out the window in the bedroom. "We've been through far too much together for you to think those things."

----

Thanks for reading <3

Post made by sassykattery. Do not repost to other sites. Reblogs and comments appreciated.

Tags: @l-d-8 @itsmeninerz @flemmingbamse @loquacious-libra @biteable-pink-pixie @themythicaldisaster @bontensbabygirl @dajitm @marvelous-maniac @delphi-dreamin

[lost-girl-2021]

Amnesia (or is it?)

“What’s your name?”

“ . . . Miles.”

I don’t know why I said that, he thought to himself. He knew who he was and it was not Miles Quaritch Jr. But, something about the way the Sully’s— the way Neytiri looked at him made him lie. In all the years he’d known her, Spider had never seen Neytiri look at him with anything so close to care and maybe even worry. The last time he’d had the attention of all six of the Sully clan, he had broken his arm after Lo’ak pushed him jokingly and he’d fallen from a tree. That’d been when he was ten, he was fifteen— no, sixteen now. He’d celebrated his birthday in captivity.

The heartbroken expression that covered Kiri’s face almost made him want to take it back. He didn’t want to hurt anyone, not after that exhausting fight that had just taken place, not to mention Neteyam’s near-death in the water. Even now, the boy looked a little sickly, propped against Lo’ak in the semi-circle spread around him. The curtains of the new home had been shut, giving them some privacy to regroup. Outside, he could hear cries and cheers alike. Celebrating the victory, mourning the losses. He wasn’t ready to face any of that, wasn’t ready to go back to being a stray.

“Do you know who we are? Who I am?” Jake asked after a long pause, voice shaky in a way Spider wasn’t familiar with. Jake was never anything short of strong, steady. The sound left Spider with goosebumps.

“Uh . . . no?” His voice cracked, still rough from all the screaming he’d done. “I— I um, I remember being on the ship with my— I think he was my dad? And, and then there was a fight and . . . he got shot.“ He hesitated. “Um, I don’t really remember what happened next. I hit my head again, maybe? And then I was, well, I woke up and you guys were off to do . . . whatever it was that you did. I didn’t really catch that part.”

It sounded lame, even to him, but Jake nodded along anyways. Yes, Spider remembered him. He remembered almost everything. Being dragged down below, taking out the steering controls and making a run for it. Neteyam and Lo’ak grabbing him, the momentary confusion— because surely, they wouldn’t have come back for him —making them think he’d lost his memories. And then, Neteyam was shot and they were racing for safety on the back of an animal he could not name.

And he really did lose a bit of memory then, cause the next thing he knew they were watching Neteyam breathe and everyone was crying and he was stood on the edge of the rock swaying and then he was in the water again. It wasn’t like he could drown, thanks to the mask and all, but they yanked him up quickly nonetheless. He was settled next to Neteyam and all he could do was watch as Neytiri and Jake swam off, Lo’ak quick on their heels. It’s not like he knew the new person’s name, so that awkwardness was natural for him. And, y��know, Neteyam nearly died for him, so that was a little awkward too.

Now, suddenly, he’s an apparent amnesiac.

Lol, hey. Sorry for ghosting y'all for a few months. Started a new job, it's great but left me hella tired. Also, I got a car finally so ngl, I've just been cruising and spending too much money lol. But, here I am! Here's a lil something something I just thought of and whipped up.

[mvltisstuff]

Hi, I loved you recent fic about reader being Eddies sister, it was amazing.

Can we get a part two with reader and Buck getting to know each other and then eventually dating at the end 🙏

Love your fics keep up the good work.

mr. rager (cont.) - e.b

summary: request

evan buckley x reader

gif from @evanbuckleydaily

a/n: ok so eddie had the spotlight in part one but this is bucks part 🤭 this is a bit of a shorter one but i hope you like it 💗

“eddie,” y/n complained. “i really don’t think i want to start anything-“

“c’mon, he’s nice! i’ve known him for a while i swear he’s a good guy,” eddie attempts to convince y/n again.

“i know, i’ve met him before. i get that you have some weird obsession with him and me but pipe down.”

“alright! i’m just saying he is an option.”

truth? y/n and buck have been going out for weeks. they’ve been hanging out and getting dinner and they actually hit it off. she realized that there’s people out there who understand her. growing up, she felt more alone than anyone. until she found buck and his radiance, he were someone to confide in. buck always was the spotlight of criticism when he was being raised. between his parents and comparisons of him and maddie, it was intolerable, so he left. similar to y/n.

they knew all too well that eddie was trying to get them together, but why not try to mess with him? they figured they wanted to sneak around a bit, act like teenagers again. sure, eddie would be pissed, but y/n was gleaming with buck. buck knew she was different from all of the girls he’s been with. abby, ally, taylor, didn’t have the elements that y/n did when she came into the room. the elements that buck needed.

they were both surprised when the other started spitting out their exact feelings, finishing their sentences like they were a psychic. it was scary at the beginning. y/n figured those issues would eventually crash together, causing damage that couldn’t reverse. she couldn’t bear to lose buck so early on.

as mentioned, they were continuously sneaking around, avoiding eddie and people who could say something. so usually, they were just at buck or y/n’s apartment where no one could bother them. y/n was laying on bucks bed, propped up on her elbows with bucks lips pressed against hers. her hands rubbed against his forearms as his were keeping himself above her, loving on her neck and admiring her lips. they stayed in that position until y/n sat up, running her hands through bucks growing hair and letting them fall to his jaw.

bucks shift had ended a few hours ago, and after long hours of working, he texted y/n, wanting her to come over. so there they were, making out in bucks small apartment.

“when do you have to go to work?”

“don’t worry about it,” buck smiles, continuing to kiss her.

“just wanna know how much time we have,” she smirks and the knocking on bucks front door interrupts them. “clearly not as much as i had hoped.”

“ugh,” buck groans, planting one more quick peck on y/n’s lips before rushing downstairs to peek into the peephole. his heart races when he sees his best friends figure waiting by the door, six-pack in his hand. “shit!”

“what’s wrong-“

“go in the bathroom, it’s your brother!” buck whisper-yells.

“why is he here?” y/n asks, frantically trying to decide what to do.

“i’ll cover for you, just, i’m so sorry,” he stutters and moves to open the door. y/n locks herself in bucks bathroom, standing there until eddie leaves. “uh, hey! what’s up?” he asks awkwardly.

“nothing much… bad time?”

“no! no, you’re good,” buck moves to let eddie in. he’s trying to make it seem less suspicious, so he just decides to let him stop by for a few minutes. “i just woke up anyway.”

“makes sense, your hairs a mess,” eddie says, making bucks eyes widen and run his fingers through it. “relax, buck. what’s got you so on edge?”

“me? i’m fine!”

“alright,” eddie replies, not believing a word of his act. “i was gonna see if y/n was busy, but she didn’t answer her phone.”

“is she at work?”

“no, her shift would have ended a while ago,” eddie tells him. “here, i’m gonna call her again.”

“are you sure?” buck spits. “it’s just, maybe she’s asleep? or out with people? or on a date?”

“c’mon, it’s y/n. i’m just gonna make sure she’s ok,” eddie presses her name on his phone and buck immediately knows his fate. he’s screwed, basically. eddie would be pissed if he found out they didn’t tell him. shouldn’t they have said something sooner? it doesn’t matter now, because he’ll find out anyway. eddie unfortunately notices the distinct ringtone of y/n’s coming from above, on his nightstand. buck tries to cover it up by coughing, but eddie just puts his phone down.

“nice try, buck,” he crosses his arms. “where is my sister?”

“i-i don’t know what you mean-“

“y/n?” eddie shouts, knowing that she’s been hiding in there somewhere. even in the bathroom, she silently curses buck, trying to figure out which part of his brain told him to do this. no turning back now, though. she flicks the lock and pulls the door open, smiling awkwardly as she steps out of the bathroom. “come down here.”

she steps down, carefully incase she has to make a run for it. maybe she should do that anyway, just escape to el paso from the pure embarrassment she feels.

“and how long have you been seeing each other and not telling me?”

“oh, you know just a-“

“four months.” buck speaks, quickly and it’s barely inaudible.

“sorry, did you say four months?” eddie exclaims. “why didn’t you say anything?”

“you had your fair share of sneaking around growing up? i’m a grown woman, i can see whoever i want. and buck is a grown man, he can make his own decisions.”

“i’m not mad, i’ve just been trying to make this work for months!”

“well, congrats,” buck adds. eddie takes a beer from the pack and takes the lid off.

“tía owes me $20,” he adds, taking a sip of the beer.

[heian-era-housewife]

Hello all!

Recovery, diagnosis, and continued health journey below the break.

TLDR: Stage 4 endometriosis, still waiting on results for the heart condition, tired, sore, overall am going to be okay 👍 I do, however, hate being the owner of a uterus.

Most importantly, thanks everyone for the love, support, and well wishes! Glad to be back! It will be slow. Don't expect too much, but I do still plan to play catch up on Kinktober, even if it goes into November a little bit.

Trigger warnings: blood, mental health, mention of sex, gender identity, generally just Yuri whining 😅

I'm not sure where to begin. When I imagined writing this comeback post, pre-surgery I thought it would be all smiles and sunshine. I knew there would be pain, but I thought the worst of it would be behind me. Currently, I feel like I'm sitting toward the bottom of what may be a very long uphill struggle.

While my surgery went smoothly, the care I received around the surgery was eye opening. We waited for hours on end both before and after the surgery to get answers, to get help, to use the bathroom or be offered water.

Sometime before I woke up I had apparently been given some disposable underwear and a pad because I was bleeding pretty heavily. When I was finally able to use the restroom, I discovered that the pad had been placed cotton-side down with the adhesive side facing my body. The sticky part was still covered with the backing (thankfully), but this had caused blood to run everywhere including down my legs where I could not reach, as I was unable to bend. The only person available to help me at the time was a man whose bedside manner was less than desirable, so I just lived with the blood stains.

This was just one of many instances where it felt like I was almost being punished for having the reproductive organs that I do. And frankly, that has been my experience my entire life as someone who menstruates, who has had difficulty with menstruation, and who has had near constant pain and problems in that area.

Ultimately, I was diagnosed with stage 4 endometriosis. I know very little about this condition and by the time I had woken up from surgery, the surgical staff had gone home. There was no one willing to answer questions and I have since been told I will need to wait two weeks until my follow up appointment to speak with the doctor and get details. Until then, I am left with my own research. From what it seems, there is no cure and very minimal that can be done for treatment of symptoms. My discharge notes make mention of heavy scarring on my ovaries from recurring cysts, which are sure to continue. The endometrial tissue can also appear on or effect other parts of the body as they had in this past instance where tissue was present around my intestines. It can grow on lungs and even the brain, though these cases are extremely rare.

It's hard not to feel discouraged right now. I thought this surgery would be a huge step forward toward feeling better, but it feels more like a tiny drop in a bucket of larger issues and possibly more surgeries and complications to come. Not only this, but I am enraged both by the absolutely abysmal healthcare system here in the U.S. but by the treatment of and complete lack of empathy for those who have vaginas, uteruses, who experience menstruation or pregnancy and any number of complications from these things. I've said it before and I'll say it again, "women's" healthcare is a JOKE, but this goes beyond women. If I, a cisgender female, am experiencing such a lack of care and empathy, I can only imagine how any person with these organs who doesn't fit the stereotypical image or definition gets treated. I hate it.

Anyhoo...

Recovery is expected to take about two weeks. No sex for six weeks (for real this time)

Still waiting on results from my heart monitor.

Wanting to tackle mental health after squaring away what I can of physical health.

Depression and anxiety is now worse than ever. Doing my best not to slither into my little hermit hole and hide from it all.

Writing helps. Drawing helps. The love and care from amazing people on this silly little site helps.

And of course, there is Hubs, who deserves a standing ovation for the incredible job he has done caring for me, advocating for me, and reminding me every day that truly good people do still exist 🩷

If you've read this far, please go get yourself a cookie or something 🍪 and thank you, truly, for being part of this little journey with me 💕

[bohemian-nights]

No this fandom is actually insane

Do people think it’s ok to write “he was teaching her how to bathe”?????? I’m honestly scared to go read the post that they were talking about. The lengths that these people will go to just to prove that dettles never happened

Read at your own risk.

The person who wrote that is actually Black(or so they claim), but is willing to throw Black characters and Black fans under the bus and promote negative stereotypes about us for their mostly (racist) followers in defense of a racist characters desirability.

Sir/ma’am, if you are reading this, get some self respect. I’m actually embarrassed for you cause this shit is actually pathetic. You’re better than this.

Case in point they wrote this crap a while back with 100% sincerity:

(I should also note that I actually had a run in with them about a year and some change ago and they threatened to block me after I asked them if Corlys bathing with Rhaenyra would be normal father daughter figure bonding time so I blocked them first😊).

Like you don’t have to like Dettles, but when you are pushing harmful ideology and stereotypes (Black people are so stupid/dirty that we need the white mans help to civilize us) as a way to discredit them and make those who ship it look like angry Black women jealous of the poor helpless white woman and her stans, you’ve gone too far.

Let’s keep in mind that this poor helpless white woman was actively trying to kill a Black girl for a crime she claims she didn’t commit and that despite claiming that Nettles definitely didn’t sleep with Daemon her stans spazz out everytime you mention her name and actively want her cut from the show.

Or how about the fact that these same stans actively stalk and harass Dettles shippers whose only crime has been pointing out y’all’s bullshit.

Let’s keep in mind all of this shall we:

So who is actually jealous of who here? Who in this scenario wants racial revenge?* Who is the problem in this hellhole of a fandom?

Is it the people merely pointing out Nettles importance to the Dance and Daemon’s arc or the people who hurl racial insults and stereotypes? The people who want her erased from the narrative in its entirety cause she disrupts the status quo?

(The fact that someone would even fix their mouth to say that when Black people have been beaten, raped, enslaved, terrorized, tortured, disenfranchised, abused, subjected, and not even given common decency and respect for centuries by these people. If we wanted racial revenge it damn sure wouldn’t be off the back of a fucking fictional character).

The fact that they can’t see Nettles value and only see her as some irrelevant Black girl and reduce people liking her down to a gotcha/“woke” moment is fandom misogynoir in action.

They forget that she comes from nothing, claims a dragon, has a prince willing to give his life for her(six men or sixty remember that since y’all claim to be capable of reading🙃), survives the Dance and becomes a firewitch worshipped by a group of people, because they don’t want to acknowledge her importance.

It makes them uncomfortable to do so because she doesn’t look like them, but people like I’m not like those other Negros cover up for them so that when they are called out for it they can go see this n-I mean this Black person agrees with me.

Imagine being this butt hurt about a fictional character that you can’t even leave your racism or tap dancing at the door for five seconds.

Nettles doesn’t fit the mold, but that’s the point of her story.

They can recognize maester propaganda and scream about feminism when it comes to their white faves, but when it comes to the Black girl who is actively being stereotyped and maligned for her gender, race, and social standing in the source material they believe it no questions asked?

Again, what does it say about you that you are so willing to believe that a Black girl who was clever enough to claim a wild dragon doesn’t know how to bathe herself? What does it say about you that you think Daemon would never touch her with a ten foot pole just because she’s Black?

What does it say about you don’t want her on the show because of her race? What does it say about you that a fictional character who just so happens to be Black has you worked up into a tizzy.

Y’all claim to be for women(real or fictional), but in reality you only care about the women who look like you and shit on women you see as beneath you. Women who you think are a threat to the status quo. You’re no better than the men who oppress you.

[anxiousnerdwritings]

No pressure but could you do an angsty love letter from romantic!Yan Jason todd<3 I love ur writing btw:)

(Name),

I’m at a loss. Out of everyone I thought I could trust you the most, no matter what. I thought you were supposed to be the one I could count on and vice versa. Wasn’t that something we always told each other? It was us against the world. You and me. Me and you.

We made a promise to each other.

You made a promise to me.

And you broke it.

I get it; I died. I was dead and gone, buried six feet in the ground. You had every right to move on but I guess I just never thought you actually would. Then again I never thought I would die either, leaving you alone as early as I did. Guess I never was good about weighting the odds of things.

You have no idea how hard it’s been. When I woke up again it was a shit show. Everything looked the same but it was all so different. I saw everything in a darker light than I ever did before and it scared me. All I wanted to do was run to you cause I knew you would be there for me. To help me. To comfort me. To be with me. And god, were you always on my mind. There wasn’t a second I didn’t think about you and getting to see you, hear you, feel you. I needed you and when I finally came back to you, you weren’t ready for me.

I watched from the shadows as you smiled, laughed, held and kissed someone else. Someone who wasn’t me. I couldn’t help but just watch you as you lived a new life with a new somebody. It hurt. It hurt so fucking bad. But I couldn’t blame you, not completely. If it wasn’t for that damn clown then I would be living out the life I longed to live with you.

It would be me who you were smiling at.

It would be me who was getting to hear your laugh.

It would be me who you held close to you, like a life line.

It would be me who got to feel your kisses and be enveloped in your love.

It would be me and not the stranger who took my place. But here I was watching the life I craved for be played out by someone else. A no name. A blank face in a crowd. A place holder.

That’s all they were. You looked happy, I’ll give you that but it’s not the same compared to when it was you and me. And it’ll be that way again, soon. I promise it will be you and me once again, and this time nothing and nobody is going to ruin it.

[tsumtsumrry]

(based on an ask i got on my old acc)

warnings: mentions of cheating, language, angst (obviously)

AN: i can’t decide if this is too long or too short just please enjoy lol (i‘m a slut for feedback and reblogs btw)

“Ha-harry. Need to you pick me up.” Your voice was choppy, with the sobs you’re trying your best to suppress.

“Love? Wha’s happened?” his voice slurs a bit, and it sounds gravely from misuse, letting you know you woke him from his sleep. You feel a pang of guilt hit you and you just feel so miserable, like everything is your fault. You were hoping Harry could make it better, but being a burden to him just makes you feel worse.

“Just, just need you to pick me up. I swear I’ll explain e-everything, just please.” A sob finally breaks its way through and you hear rustling on the other line.

Harry’s heart is breaking listening to yours break like this, he asks for directions, speeding his way to you, breaking way too many traffic laws in the process. He just needs you to be okay, always needs you to be okay.

As soon as you see his car pull up and him running out of it you practically sprint him, collapsing into his arms.

“Precious, what’s—“ he’s distraught, panicked because what could have you acting like this. Sobbing in him arms on an abandoned street at nearly three A.M. in the morning.

“Please, please just take me home. Please, Harry.” you croak, your throat stinging with every word you have to force out.

For the most of the car ride you were in shock, not saying anything until you got to Harry’s house. You’re glad he took the hint that by home you meant home.

He his your home. Your best friend of at least ten years. You don’t remember a time where he wasn’t a constant. He’s everything to you.

It’s takes you a couple days of staying at Harry’s house in comfortable/uncomfortable silence for you to break down and tell him everything.

The look on his face, when he figured it out, before you even said anything, you’d never seen such pain, anguish, and fury. And the fact that you were causing all of it only made you feel worse.

Your fiancé of two years, with another woman. You’ve never been so fucking crushed. You felt like you were worth nothing, what had you done wrong? How could you be so unlovable?

He knew you like the back his hand though, and he could tell exactly the dark places your mind was going.

“Precious, none of this is your fault, I need you to look me in my eyes and tell me you believe that.”

You just blinked at him, with your lower lip wobbling and eyebrows crinkling in pain.

He never fucking liked him, knew he was a piece of shit. He wants to put him fucking six feet under for what he did to you, but right now, you’re the priority.

“Precious…” he breathes out and his voice sounds so full of pain and heartbreak, he pulls you into his arms and holds you until you fall asleep, kissing your head and rocking you back and forth softly.

“Didn’t deserve this. Didn’t fuckin’ deserve this.” he whispers under his breath once he knows you’re asleep.

It took you a while to heal, but you’re still taking one day at a time. Harry has helped you through it, letting you cry with him, always coming to you the second you needed it. And with all this growth, you felt you were ready, ready to get back out there. Start dating again. You’ve decided you can’t let what he did to you ruin your self esteem for the rest of your life.

“So what do you think?” you ask Harry, holding your chopsticks in your hand. He’s typing on his computer, barely paying attention to you.

“Harry.”

“Hmm, precious?”

“What do you think about Shawn?” you say for the second (or maybe third) time today.

All at once the annoying clicking sound of the keyboard stops and Harry’s intense jade eyes are boring into yours, “Shawn? Shawn Rivers?”

“Yeah.” you smile, getting a little bashful, “met him at that coffee shop we always go too. He’s cute and he asked me out so I think I’m gonna go…what do you think?” you say that last part cautiously, your eyes assessing his reaction as best as you can while most of his face is hidden behind a large computer.

He’s gotten a little more protective of you since last year, which is understandable, but if you can move on you figure he can too. Right?

The typing starts back up, only slower and you frown.

“Harry?”

“Hmm.”

“What do you think?” You swear if you have the repeat that sentence again you’re gonna explode.

He just shrugs, his typing becoming faster and more forceful, your eyes flick down to how his arms and from what you can see, there’s a faint vein.

“Harry c’mon I really need your opinion on this.” You whine, truly not understanding why he’s being this way.

“Don’t think you want my opinion, love.” his tone has a bite to it that you aren’t fond of, your frown deepens.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you say cautiously, you’re choosing your words carefully. You’ve never been a big fan of confrontation, especially with those that you care so deeply about.

“I know Shawn, he used to work with me, just don’t think he’s right for you.” he says with a tone of finality.

Your face wears bewilderment, and you look up to see his face, still hard and still concentrated on the computer. He looks absolutely emotionless.

“Not right for me?” you scoff, “and how exactly would you know?”

He looks up from his computer screen, pausing his typing, “I know you and I know him. Simple.”

To you Harry looks emotionless, but under all that he’s seething, but not with anger, with panic and heartache. He had just figured out that he loved you, literally just yesterday. He was working up to courage to say something and then you come in here and tell him you’re ready to start dating other people? No way.

“Well maybe you’re wrong about him.” you say defensively, though your defense is hardly strong with the way your voice wavers.

“Well fuck, I was right about the last one wasn’t I?”

You freeze. What?

Harry’s heart drops as soon as the words leave his lips and as soon as he sees the look on your face.

The shock, the pain, he never wanted to be the one to make you feel this way, never wanted to be on the list of people who’s hurt you.

“Precious…precious I didn’t mean—“

“Leave.” you croak out. Your heart is shattered. Never in your life could you ever think that Harry would say anything like this to you.

“No please, let me—“

“I want you to leave Harry. Please.” your lifeline. The one person you depended on, and you can’t even look him in the eye.

He knows how much what happened affected you, and just to throw back in your face like that? For what?

He takes a step towards you, extending his arm but his heart breaks when you take a step back. You hate that you know him so well, that you can read his eyes, because you can see when the pain flashes in them.

“Precious, please we can sit and talk, you know I would neve—I-I didn’t mean it.”

“Leave, leave, leave.” you mutter, losing your patience.

“Okay, okay. I’m gonna leave, alright? But I’m gonna call you. Is that okay?” you just stare blankly at the floor. “Precious?”

You wish he’d stop calling you that.

When he realizes you’re not gonna give him an answer he slowly picks up his stuff, you here a sniffle but don’t dare to look up, not wanting to see the tears in his eyes.

“I love you, alright? Love you so much. Please, please answer my call.” and with that he leaves.

You immediately burst into tears, your hands shaking and your breath shortening.

How could he say that to you?

Harry calls you a total of eight times before he finally gets the hint that you aren’t gonna answer. You sat by your phone and watched every time his face popped up on your screen with tears streaming down your face.

Maybe you’re overreacting? Surely he didn’t mean it.

H : Precious, you have no idea how sorry I am. You know I would never purposely use your pain against you. Please answer. H

You note that there’s no “xx” after the message.

“Preci-“ He cuts himself and yells your name. You chose the perfect day to go to your favorite coffee shop, there he was, in all his glory.

“Hi.” you mumble, looking shaken.

“Hey.” he breathes out, just in awe that you’re actually in front of him. His pretty girl, god he missed you so much.

“Can we…um talk?” you surprise him by asking. You can see the relief in his eyes, the way they practically well up with tears.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’d…like that. Thank you.”

“Why’d you say it?” you immediately blurt out the second you guys are sat down not-so-comfortable on your couch.

How does he even begin to explain that to you?

“I d-dunno to be honest. I was obviously being a dick. I didn’t know what I was saying, a-and that’s not an excuse but I—“

“Did you mean it?”

“No—No of course not. Could never mean—“

“Okay.”

“Okay?

“Okay. I um—just need some time. Sorry.” you mumble.

“Don’ have to apologize fo’ that, love.” his accent is so thick with all the emotion in his voice and it brings on a new wave of tears to your eyes.

“Can I hug you?” he croaks out, “I know I don’ deserve it but I missed you so much and—and I didn’ know if you were okay. Was worried sick I just—I”

You cut him off by pulling him into your arms. Feeling him try to hold back his sobs against your chest your heart breaks, you just wanna keep him in your arms forever but you can’t deny that what he said really hurt you.

“Sorry” he wipes his nose and detaches from you “I’ll see you. I love you.” he rushes out his words, sounding like he’s about to break down and before you can even blink he’s out of the house.

The pain in his voice wrecks you, and you’d honestly do anything to make it go away, but you need to work through your pain first.

It’s a week before you call him. You wanted to do it earlier, but you had your phone in your hand hovering over his contact, chickening out every time you got close.

You processed your emotions, talked it out with him, and you think you actually got somewhere.

Harry told you why he said what he said, and that conversation ending in tears. You not believing he was actually in love with you and him not believing he actually got it off his chest.

What he said still hurt you, but you understand how his pain turned into irrationality.

You can’t believe it but it feels like everything’s fallen into place.

“Hi, Precious.” he smiles softly at you, reaching over to hold your hand across the table, “missed you.”

[hopepetal]

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five pog | Part Six

I'm honestly so honored to be writing this. The feedback has been absolutely amazing, and I'm just floored with all the support and love you guys have given me. I have been screaming /pos over all your comments and reblogs, and it honestly makes my day. Thank you all so so much <3

@applestruda @stiffyck pspspsp the dumbasses with pointy sticks and rocket launchers are back

Scar woke to darkness and a pounding headache that spiked with each rattle of the wagon. Disoriented and confused, he rolled over with a long groan, blinking his surroundings into focus. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, but as sleep loosened its grip he became more aware. 

Narrowing his eyes, Scar did his best to ignore the ever-present headache as he examined his surroundings. It seemed to be a small wagon of sorts, one drawn by horses if the clip-clop of hooves outside were any indication. He noted that his hands were tied behind his back, the rope rough and scratchy against his skin. Nevertheless, he managed to push himself up into a sitting position, leaning back against the side of the wagon.

That’s when he noticed Grian.

His friend was curled up in a ball on the other side of the wagon, soft whimpers and grunts of pain coming from him whenever the wagon went over a rough bump or jostled too much. The smell of blood around him was strong, and as Scar scrambled over he noticed just how bloodstained the bandages had become.

Guilt shot through him upon seeing this. Here he was again, powerless and unable to help his friends. It seemed that every time he tried to make things better, to do something right, he just messed up again. Now they were both in trouble, and Grian was badly hurt. All because Scar had been selfish and thought he deserved to have a family. 

Looking down at Grian, Scar scooted forward and nudged him gently with his knee. “G? G, wake up. Come on, you’re the lightest sleeper I know. Don’t do this to me now…”

Grian’s eyes fluttered open, and he groaned softly. Pain clouded eyes caught Scar’s worried gaze before slipping shut again. Scar’s panic only grew with that, and he nudged Grian again. “C’mon buddy, stay with me. I know it hurts but you gotta keep your eyes open, okay?” He looked around frantically for anything that could possibly help, cursing himself once more for not bringing a weapon. “Shoot, um… hold on, Grian, I’ll get you help.” Somehow. 

After another moment of scrambling for ideas, Scar sighed. “Okay. Okay, fine. I don’t think this is going to work but…” Raising his voice, he called out, “hey! Hey, can someone help? My friend is kinda dying here!” He continued to shout until the wagon came to a halt, the sound of heavy footsteps approaching. 

The wagon cover was pulled back, the sudden light flooding in causing Scar to squint, turning his head away so his eyes could adjust. Blinking rapidly, he glanced back to see the sword wielding mercenary from before glaring down at him. “Okay, okay, listen. My friend is hurt.” Scar jerked his head in Grian’s direction. “Can you help him? Please? I promise I won’t ask anything else of you-”

The mercenary groaned, rolling his eyes. “Why should I? Give me one good reason as to why I shouldn’t toss the bird out and leave him for the vultures.”

Scar’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly, his thoughts running wild. He glanced over at his friend, unconscious and bleeding, and made a decision. Taking a deep breath, he looked back up at the mercenary. “We’re soulbound.” The lie came with ease, years of manipulation and swindling coming in handy. “You want me alive, right? Then you’ll have to keep him alive, too.”

“Oh, for crying out loud.” The man groaned, running a hand through his hair. “You have got to be kidding me.” He lowered his hand to glare at Scar. “Fine. Your soulmate will get new bandages and potions when we stop at the next village. But no shenanigans, got it?”

Scar grinned. He would’ve given a mock salute were he able to. “Yessir! Absolutely no shenaniganry back here, no siree!”

“Whatever.” With that, the wagon cover was pulled back over the wagon, and Scar was plunged into darkness once more.

He waited until the horses started moving again to talk to Grian. “Did you hear that? It’s gonna be okay, G. We’re going to get you help, and then we can… I don’t know, figure a way out of here. Okay?”

Grian just let out a soft mumble, curling in on himself further. His wings wrapped around his trembling form like a blanket, and Scar heaved a sigh. Leaning back against the wagon again, he gazed at his friend with worry and compassion. “...Mumbo’s gonna kill us when we get back,” he muttered.

-o-

Honestly, Mumbo was a bit worried for his friends. He had always been a bit of a nervous man, though he had always put his faith in Grian’s capabilities. But now…

“Can you please stop pacing?” Iskall asked, watching as Mumbo continued to stride back and forth anxiously.

“What if they’re hurt? What if they’re stuck out there, all alone? What if-?” Mumbo was interrupted by Iskall’s soft laughter. “What? I’m just worried!”

“They aren’t children, Mumbo. They’ll be fine.” Iskall stood, placing a hand on Mumbo’s shoulder reassuringly. “Come on. Let's get something to drink. That way you can relax. Alright?”

Mumbo hesitated, before sighing. “...alright, I suppose.”

Whatever was happening, Mumbo just had to trust his friends would be alright.

[yumieio]

Ok yall imagine with me big fight scene ( this is in the age were garp Rayleigh whitebeard sengoku and tsuru are all young) ok so back to thyme topic big fight scene bunch of different pirates and marines fighting all of a sudden a loud shout it stop some but most keep fighting then the words” were is dragon” stops three in their tracks Tsuru sengoku and garp and the three start looking around panicked Roger is confused were garp is gonna g and why isn’t he fight and what stops whitebeard rayleigh and Roger In their tracks is a child’s cry actually it stops most of the fighting pirates and marines who turn to look were the sound came from and to garp , Tsuru and sengoku horror their was baby/ child dragon in the hands of dangerous pirate well hanging from the hands of a dangerous pirate cause the man was just on a tall edge with baby/ child dragon in his hand with a sharp object that looked like it was cursed it seem theman had take dragon from Were garp had put him before the battle the marine trio ran to were ledge and were soon following by the three pirates ( Rayleigh whitebeard and Roger) they wanted to kill him but the man just help the object closer to dragon neck it seemed he was physically hurting dragon as well to their horror they could see blood dripping but they couldn’t pin point from were after begging and fighting and saying they would do whatever the man wanted he just laughed and said “all I want is for you all you suffer and I think I know how” and with that he took one jab at dragon who cried out to in pain and threw the child the six all ran to try and catch dragon not caring about the fighting around them just trying to catch him lucky whitebeard caught him and gave him to garp and he was injured pretty badly and who knows what that item was cursed with tears were running down dragon cheeks he was wheezing and coughing blood was coming from too many places and the six ran they ran to the nearest hospital/ infirmary they couldn’t be i the room with dragon no mater how hard they fought so there they were three pirates and three marines waiting in the waiting room to see if this kid was gonna be ok when everything finally settled in all garp could do was cry sengoku tried not to but tear slipped the same for tsuru roger did not smile for once Rayleigh was pacing back and forth whitebeard was so worried he felt like he was goon vomit when the doctor finally came it did help the six when they saw his somber look the doctor said “ he’s in really bad condition you were right her was stab with a cursed item he might take a long time to heal and we may need to operate” garp said “whatever it takes doctor to save him I’ll do it” the doctor nods the six fell asleep at the hospital that day and the days after 3 weeks later they were allowed to visit dragon so they all went out and bought him everything he would like they entered his hospital room quietly dragon looked weaker and paler which really unsettled them but they smiled back when he gave them a weak smile he had stitches and bandages all over him they gave him presents they got him he thanked them all they kept visiting till one day were everything went wrong they all fell asleep then they heard a loud alarm go off which woke them all up then in seconds they were being rushed out and doctors were going in it felt like they were doing it all over again it felt like h dragon had gotten injured all over again garp was on the verge of spiraling dragon had to go into emergency surgery lucky he turned out ok in the end the she six stayed friend even though they didn’t tell anyone but the sox had a final mission were they hunted down the pirate that cause all of this pain and suffering and gave him the beating of life for legal mariner reason let just say he got a talking to and is still walking alive today

[lunarsands]

Multi-SMP Fanfic: Which Fate’s Fairest To Us All – Ch 6

Characters: Mythical Sausage (1st), Rusty the Copper Golem, PearlescentMoon, Scott Smajor (1st), Mythical Sausage (2nd), Hermes, Mythical Sausage (3rd), Scott Smajor (2nd), Rocky the Goblin, and a couple of briefly mentioned cameos at the end!

WARNINGS: Character death (but they get better because Afterlife/New Life rules are in play), body horror

Chapter Summary: The group escapes the labyrinth at last only to run straight into a new battle against Sparrow and the sculk. Afterward, fate continues to have other plans for Myth and Smajor as they find their way to Sanctuary…

Sequel to Mirror Tenfold, Beyond the Wall and follows sometime after the events of Thou, O Kings, Fair Be You All.

(Also available on Ao3!)

[ Chapter One ] [ Chapter Two ] [ Chapter Three ] [ Chapter Four ] [ Chapter Five ]

---

Chapter Six

That tide felt like it would sweep Myth himself away.

“It all started when he – well, when I did what guardian angels do, try to defend against evil, and vampires are the epitome of evil, right? My holy water didn’t seem to do much, so I ran away and he chased me down, and I ended up unconscious, and I woke up as his prisoner for him to feed off of whenever he wanted. He had taken my wings to display as a trophy and cut me off from the sky and sunlight. Eventually he weakened me enough that I ‘died’ – in a way – but I returned to life still in that dungeon but as a wither. Maybe there was something to that resurrection magic for choosing that particular creature for me to become, maybe some sort of influence after all, because I now saw the world from his point of view, and teamed up with him to spread despair in the world.

“But we were never fully on friendly terms. I snapped one day and withered my own wings, no longer allowing him that victory but staying at his side to continue down the path of evil. And then one day he came back dying from poison. And then he revived as an angel. And that was when my mind truly snapped, convinced he had stolen my holiness from me so he could turn himself into something more powerful. We both fell into insanity from the overwhelming need to get revenge on each other, and that’s how we ended up going through dozens of lives, all with different powers and different ways to murder each other, ignoring the rest of the world as we sought to kill the other a final time and win.”

Myth drew a deep breath. “I found a little sanity at some point, probably after I suffered five deaths in a row. Then I became a blazeborn, and Smajor became a gravital, and we had a stalemate going, and I led him into the Deep Dark hoping that a Warden would help take him down a few times. But we ended up going through the portal, and found ourselves in that labyrinth. And then we ran into our doubles, and when they got their previous powers back and I saw how my double looked at his Scott with adoration when he regrew angel wings… I snapped again. And instead of three of us working together to subdue Smajor, we all fought each other. It was that Scott who defeated me – subdued <i>me,</i> saying he had no intention of killing me despite knowing the exact weakness that would destroy me, and I came back to my senses.

“The other me dealt with Smajor and even tried to ‘fix’ him – using his wither powers, he temporarily removed Smajor’s soul and used some combination of his abilities to stabilize it, removing Smajor’s insanity and knocking him out, too. Then they flew off to try to find an exit. Which they did, returning to lead me out and that’s how I knew how to get here this time.”

Now he sighed wearily. “But just because Smajor was no longer insane it didn’t take away his need for revenge. So, that’s why he caused the death that made me a seraph. I was foolish to think that it was a reward for working together with the Mythical Sausage who was the complete opposite of me. I thought it was a sign to avenge everything Smajor had put me through for as many times as I saw fit. But I went too far, causing myself to become fallen. The celestial realm rejected me and punished me, turning my wings blood red to serve as a warning for others to stay away, that I wasn’t any kind of savior. But I didn’t care. I kept taking vengeance on Smajor. I took every life he had, in every form. No powers he gained could stop me. And eventually I became something more condemned than a fallen angel – I became a cursed one.”

Myth’s gaze went to Sausage. “That was the me you met. By then I had found the limit of the transformation magic in our world, and Smajor had no powers at all. But he didn’t die a final time, so I kept him imprisoned, because I could never believe he would change his ways. If he was allowed to go free, I just knew he would find a way to be a menace again, and he had plenty of time to figure out how since we’ve both been doomed to miserable immortality.”

Everyone’s attention was glued to this honest disclosure of Myth’s past. Scott and Ghast-sage had expressions of uneasy concern, while Sausage and Hermes had different amounts of sympathy clear on their faces. Rusty was silent, although his antenna did bob a few times.

“One time, the doubles we had met here appeared in our world – this was before Sanctuary, but the other seraph was in his final form and his Scott was some sort of purple sparkly creature that could call down meteor strikes – as you can guess, I fought with them again… but I really just wanted them to leave me alone. I had given up on redemption. Fate had already told me that I was cursed to be Smajor’s warden.”

Myth grimaced at the irony of the term, given what they had just been through. “Then, one day – after the Sanctuary incident – some kind of magical force teleported us to another world. It was the Superhero’s world.” Here, he cast another glance at Sausage. “Smajor’s double found him before I did, and used vampire powers to turn Smajor – giving him supernatural abilities again. Honestly, I’m just glad Smajor didn’t gain ten powers at once like those guys. The Superhero, his teammate, and I stopped them both, but I went too far again and… was ready to kill that Scott because I assumed too much about his preference for his vampire powers. The Superhero stopped me, things calmed down, a portal appeared that had what we thought were obvious signs it would take us home, and we left on unwelcome terms.”

He hadn’t wanted to admit the one part, worried that the Scott in front of him now would no longer trust him – a justified thought, as Scott took a hasty step back. Myth continued to keep his arms at his sides even though the lack of gesticulating as he spoke made him feel weird. “Something happened during the teleport once we went through. I lost sight of Smajor, and then suddenly I was turned into a phoenix. And then I stepped out of a Nether portal into your world.” He gave a nod to Scott and Ghast-sage.

“Everyone who came by assumed I was their ghast mage, so I pretended to ‘forget’ what had happened that made ‘me’ turn into a phoenix just so I could… well, wrap my head around it all. Rusty knew something was up, but he let me adjust to life there. It was… a nice break from the back-and-forth murder. I… had a chance to just live and learn new things, like all that technology you have. I, um, I tried to keep things in good condition for you.”

Myth briefly glanced at Ghast-sage, then lowered his gaze only to glance back again. “Then Smajor showed up. He had changed, too, into a fungal mage. He had accepted being mistaken for their Scott, too, but he somehow grew a conscience and wanted to find the versions of us that belonged there. I told him to go away because I didn’t trust his motives. Then he came back with news of where his investigations had led him: the Ancient City and its active portal. I knew what that meant. And he knew that I was the only one who would know how to get out of the labyrinth.”

Myth sighed regretfully. “I still didn’t want to trust him, and I didn’t know which option was better: both of us going in and unwillingly splitting up to find you, or only me and having no choice but to trust him to not destroy the portal behind me. And then I had no say in it, anyway, because sculk began to attack and he used his powers to fight it – and to fling me into the portal. And now that is what could be waiting for us on the other side.”

Myth brought his hands forward to look at them as he curled and uncurled his fingers a few times. “Guess I also now have what I need to stop the sculk and stop Smajor if he tries anything.” He nodded at Sausage and Hermes. “At least you can safely go through your portal. It will let you out where you entered. My plan is to go through with them, destroy the sculk if it’s still there, grab Smajor, and come back here. All of you must destroy your portals after that, and any others you find in your worlds to stop anyone else getting stuck in this limbo dimension – and stop any of that mutated sculk from escaping here.”

Hermes slowly panned his gaze over the entirety of the portal cluster. “What about the rest of these? And what if there are more spots like this in here with more portals?”

“I’m going to drag Smajor through each one and back to warn the people in those worlds. I’ve got infinite time to do it.”

“Mate, that’s going to take too long.” Hermes began ticking off a list on his fingers.  “You’ll lose him every time you come back in. He could escape through any of the other portals while you’re trying to find him. More people might wander in while you’re busy in just one world trying to convince them. You might meet people who want to stop you.” He shook his head emphatically. “I think you’ll want to leave this to someone who has more experience with navigating the multiverse.”

Myth scowled, all too aware of the logistics; a second later an amused smirk crossed his face. “Ah. So, if the Guardian of Realities’ job here wasn’t to guide us out, it was to learn about this problem and travel around to deal with it. Then I guess there’s no use for Smajor and I after all. Makes enough sense. But I still need to collect him before I go home, so let’s get moving.”

Feeling a little drained from all the talking – as well as feeling redundant yet again – Myth flew up to the portal that once led to his new life. He waited before entering, giving Scott a few seconds to teleport Ghast-sage and Rusty to the inner edge of the portal frame before saying to them, “Escape as soon as you can when we’re on the other side. I’ll still be the one to handle Smajor and the sculk. Protector!” he then called down, watching Hermes pick up his father to make it a little easier to reach their own portal. In an effort to offer the sincerest thing he could think of, Myth said, “Good luck. May the pearlescent moon’s guidance speed your travels.”

He didn’t hear Sausage gasp. The swooshing sound of the teleportation magic was already taking hold.

~*~

Myth was alert for Smajor’s position as soon as the Ancient City came into view through the swirling particles. When he caught movement to his left he spun toward it, spreading his wings to shield Scott and Ghast-sage behind him. He made a shooing motion with his right hand, signaling them to move away. He trusted them to take cover further back or even defend themselves from any encroaching sculk, because he was dead set on catching Smajor before anything else.

With his attention firmly turned away from the portal it was easy for additional figures to slip out of it and also run for cover.

As he leapt toward the suspicious movement in front of him, Myth prepared to utter the unsettling noise that he fully expected to get Smajor’s attention. However, Myth was the one who came up short at the sight awaiting him. At first it seemed Smajor was attacking Sparrow – except he was human again, or human-ish; at the very least, Myth was very certain that Sparrow had been a copper golem the last time he had seen him.

Next he noted the blotches of sculk all over Sparrow’s body, including both skin and clothes. Then there was the distinct fact that Sparrow was standing over Smajor, pressing closer and closer to the fungal mage’s throat with an unusual-looking strand of sculk vein.

Of important note was also that there was absolutely no mycelium near Smajor. His back was against a large unbroken carpet of sculk, and despite the flicker of spores around his hands revealed by the light of nearby soul lanterns, the strand wasn’t converting, either. Meanwhile, there was a visible bubbling effect occurring where Sparrow held it.

When tinier bits of sculk vein oozed out of these bubbles to land on Smajor’s chest and face Myth knew where to focus his attack. He pounced, reaching around from behind Sparrow to grab the strand, grasping it directly next to Sparrow’s hands. Myth registered the wire-like feel of it before activating his powers. Within less than a second the whole length of it was crumbling due to decay.

And as Myth had suspected, Sparrow yelped in pain when the decay touched his hands.

The sculk-possessed humanoid’s instincts were to jump away, but Myth closed his arms around him. He refrained from using any more decay – he needed answers, not a disappearing pile of dust while Sparrow’s consciousness revived elsewhere. He did, however, finally utter the bone-chilling breath of a wither, intending to strike some fear into Sparrow.

It was Smajor who emitted a terrified gasp and began a frenzied attempt to slide away backward. He failed to move an inch. Myth now saw that the fungal mage was not just lying on the sculk but was actually trapped by a sludgy form of it that was clinging to his robes.

Smajor really wasn’t the culprit here. It was Sparrow.

“Let me go!” the now-struggling Sparrow yelled. “Intruders must be eliminated!”

Myth scoffed at the irony. “Well, I guess that means I need to be eliminated, too. Don’t really care for that. How about you settle down instead? We need to talk.” Maintaining a tight grasp on Sparrow with one arm, Myth leaned to the side to grab a fistful of sculk out of the ground. He brought it around to hold it in front of Sparrow’s face. “You might be able to play fungus tug-of-war with him, but I can make it so no one has any ammunition.” He crushed the sculk in his hand. The ashen remains fluttered down before Sparrow’s eyes.

Sparrow thrashed wildly in response, forcing Myth to turn around in an effort to keep him restrained. “No! How could you do that to us?! This is our home! Our domain! You’re the ones who don’t belong here! You can’t stop us! We can keep spreading from anywhere and we’ll keep coming back no matter what you do!”

“You’re right about him and me not belonging. But I think we’re exactly what this world needed: two people who are very good at destruction.” Myth’s gaze flicked to a flurry of orange particles in the distance. In the next second he was shoving Sparrow into Scott’s arms; they disappeared immediately, and once he saw the transporter reappear on top of a sculk-free deepslate wall, Myth plunged his hands into the sculk at his very feet with a roar.

Decay shot across the entire surface in an expanding radius around him. Smajor dropped onto the layer of solid deepslate below as the muck trapping him crumbled away. He coughed from the stale remnants that floated in the air before those, too, dissipated. He stayed where he was, simply watching the wave of decay as it continued ever outward. However, he abruptly scrambled to his feet when he saw other faces peeking out from around a deepslate pillar – one that was partially held up by sculk. He ran toward it and flung his hands out, sending a line of mycelium across the floor and up the pillar, replacing the sculk just as the spreading decay was about to reach it.  Smajor then fell backward, chest heaving before he recovered enough to sit up again.

Sparrow’s distorted voice rang out. “No, no, no!! Where are the guardians of this city?! Rise, Wardens! I command you!” His voice lost all semblance of itself on the final three words.

The ground underneath Myth rumbled and churned. Before he could react, numerous large clawed hands thrust upward out of the resulting rubble and grabbed him, pulling him down through the displaced floor with bits of deepslate cutting at him on the way.

Scott teleported to the spot but even he was too slow to do anything – the deepslate reformed itself into solid ground right before his eyes. Sparrow laughed in triumph.

“Ohmygod!” Ghast-sage shouted from where he was hiding. “Th-They can just do that?!”

Scott squatted to touch the floor. Surely it would start crumbling away when Myth unleashed his powers in order to destroy the Wardens that had grabbed him, and surely he could make deepslate decay just like the sculk…

A sound like the reversed shattering of glass interrupted the horrified silence that had followed. From behind the pillar Smajor had prevented from falling came a small bolt of orange energy that ricocheted rapidly off of thin air. It struck the ground where Myth had disappeared. Scott drew back, startled, but then lowered his hand again. He could swear the surface under his palm was growing warm.

No, it definitely was.

He leapt away a breath before the deepslate turned molten and buckled upward in the shape of a volcanic cone. A blazing form burst from the center – Myth, his wings and upper body aflame in hues of glowing orange. A split-second glimpse of his eyes revealed twin blind embers as he continued soaring straight up. A deafening hawk-like screech rent the cavern. Myth crashed right into the ceiling a second later.

No one saw what happened to him in the aftermath. While they had been watching him, the volcano in the floor had doubled in size and its sides had begun to protrude. It exploded outward, covering the entire area in a blanket of burning lava.

~*~

The next thing Myth became aware of was a voice that sounded an awful lot like Hermes and might have been asking Myth if he could hear him. He lifted his head from the oddly warm ground. At the corners of his fuzzy vision, he could discern the fading light of lava disappearing into cracks before the rest of it began to cool. He was confused by the orange tufts at the top of his line of sight. Groggily maneuvering a hand out from under his prone body to touch them revealed that it was his own hair. He shifted a wing into view. His feathers were orange again.

This universe really was dead-set on wanting him to be a phoenix.

He sat up, keeping his hand to his head, while Hermes kept plying him for a response. Myth’s ears were ringing, so the words weren’t clear, plus he was still processing the fact the young man was there. “Wha… You were… Your own portal…” Myth mumbled. “How’d you… get here?”

Hermes’ voice continued to be muffled by the thankfully now-dulling ring, so Myth tried using his eyes to gain information. He saw the blurry figure of Sausage standing over someone, talking to them. The blur was resolving itself slowly, so Myth squinted at the sitting figure. The red shape that bobbed along with their head movements clarified into a mushroom cap. Myth tried to lunge onto his feet, a warning on his lips.

He fell flat on his face instead. He had been revived once again, yet he didn’t feel particularly refreshed in the energy department this time around.

“Easy, mate,” came a gentle reproach from Hermes as he lent Myth a hand in sitting up again. “You smacked into the ceiling pretty hard. We figured you could withstand the heat better than the others, so we recovered them first. I’ve got to say, the resurrection magic of this world is fascinating to witness.”

Myth looked to where Sausage stood. There were four bodies near him: three laying on the ground with Rusty pacing next to one of them and the last one sitting up as the chat with Sausage continued. Now Myth could tell there was a difference; although there was the white hair under the mushroom cap like Smajor, the clothes were Scott’s.

Myth’s body froze up as a realization began to dawn in his brain, but his gaze was able to slide to the other figures. The identical fungal mage was there, in the same robes as expected with his satchel beside him. Next was Sparrow, lacking the sculk that had marred him before. And then a face identical to his own right down to the orange beard and hair, if not minus the extensive scar, with orange-feathered wings splayed out underneath him, and wearing the Ghast Mage’s robes.

Understanding settled over him. He let a bitter smile cross his face then he slouched, letting an invisible weight off his shoulders. He turned his head as Hermes sat down beside him. “I need you to explain again why you’re here. I didn’t catch it the first time.”

“Sure. We were about to go through our portal but Dad said he sensed something from the Staff and insisted we follow you guys. You were already moving away when we came through, so we took cover to watch what might happen. Dad was trying to figure out what the Staff wanted, then that gemstone in it shattered and released some sort of magic beam out to where you got dragged underground. After that things got kind of dicey because a massive lava eruption happened after you flew out of like, a volcano-looking thing. Or maybe the volcano spat you out and the lava followed. N-Not to say you caused it,” Hermes quickly amended. “I’m not sure how conscious you even were at that point, and that was before you hit the ceiling.”

Myth put a hand to his head as if feeling for a bump, shifting his gaze to his boots. “I don’t remember anything between the Wardens pulling me in and a few minutes ago. But it’s obvious Smajor and I have to go soon. This world doesn’t need two phoenixes and fungal mages.” He started to push himself up, then felt a wave of dizziness, so he sat back down. “…After a little more rest.”

By now Smajor had awakened and was talking quietly to Scott. His movements were sluggish as he picked up his satchel of mushrooms and opened it. However, once he began pointing inside as the two chatted his energy seemed to pick up a bit. Myth kept what he felt was a reasonable amount of wariness, although perhaps he had given enough warnings about Smajor up till then that Hermes and Sausage could handle him.

The former Ghast Mage woke next. He snuck a few glances at Myth between observing the two fungal mages. Myth didn’t feel like chatting with him, anyway, so it was for the best that the other stayed where he was. He instead turned his mind toward composing a strategy for his next move.

As if privy to his train of thought, Hermes asked, “Are you still planning to go back in that labyrinth?”

“Of course. What else is there?”

“Well, I think you should come with my dad and I to Sanctuary. You could rest up a little more so you’ll be in better shape to chase down your unfortunately assigned ward over there when you get separated. It will be more comfortable than sitting around this cave. Plus, these guys will have their hands full going around destroying all the Ancient City portals here. In Sanctuary Dad and I can help keep an eye on Smajor.”

With the amicable-sounding conversation from the two fungal mages floating his way Myth admitted that this would, perhaps, be the better option.

~*~

After swapping clothes with their doubles, Myth, Smajor, and the rest of their new group stood watching from their hiding spot as the rightful phoenix and fungal mage of that universe walked away, Sparrow trudging wearily along between them and Rusty looking over the former Ghast-sage’s shoulder. Sparrow was still dazed from his experience, having been mumbling is distressed sorrow over having fought with his friends, and was apologizing profusely to Scott for trying to kill him.

They all thought it best to not involve Sparrow in the confusion of doubles from other realities; he had no memory of Myth destroying the sculk or of the Wardens dragging Myth underground. All Sparrow said he could recall was some kind of large explosion, comparing it to TNT.

After waiting ten minutes to make sure they were gone, Sausage held the Staff aloft – incidentally showing that it was back to its mossy and red-mushroom bedecked appearance – and a moment later Myth found himself blinking against bright sunlight streaming through tall stands of bamboo. A path with assorted flowers decorating random spots meandered away in front of them, splitting to the left to go up a slope to a small building while the rest of the path passed through a variety of trees, beyond which were the homes and businesses of Sanctuary itself. Myth cast a glance over his shoulder. Behind them was a giant tree stump with a giant white tulip growing atop it. Below the tulip and slightly to the right was a Nether portal.

He assumed this was a coincidence.

Sausage and Hermes walked past behind him, so Myth fully turned to watch and wait for a sign to follow. Now he saw a second, large-ish tree with a hollow in the middle near the roots. Squinting, Myth could see an armor stand inside. It was here that Sausage placed the Staff on one side of the armor stand while Hermes placed his trident on the other. A shimmer appeared over the front of the hollow as they exited.

Sausage smiled as he returned to the visitors, tired wrinkles appearing on his face. “Needs to recharge. Let’s go refresh at the tavern!”

As their host led the way, Myth none-too-subtly tossed glares at Smajor from the corner of his eyes. Smajor peered at him once with a neutral expression then lowered his head, keeping pace between Myth and Hermes the whole way.

The ambience of a breeze off the sea and call of animals hidden by trees and bamboo was a stark contrast to the stagnant isolation of both the labyrinth and the Deep Dark. When they reached the town proper Myth saw people of every race and species going about their day. Some of them called out greetings to Sausage and Hermes. There was a reverence in a few of the tones, as if they were addressing a king – or maybe it was Hermes’ status as a demi-god. Either way, the Protector and his son responded as friends rather than as rulers.

Upon reaching the tavern Sausage flung the door open and cheerfully called out, “¡Regresamos! ¿Cómo están todos? ¡María! ¡Justo a quién quería ver!” He crossed between tables to a person who, to Myth’s eyes, looked like an anthropomorphic rabbit wearing leatherworker gear. She had been helping an Allay change out tablecloths in the booths along the wall, but spoke an excited greeting then began chatting away with Sausage in his native language.

Hermes waved Myth and Smajor toward the bar. The latter hesitated. “Come on. Take a seat. My little brother can mix up some drinks to your liking. Best bartender in Sanctuary! ¡Hola, Rocky! We have newcomers!”

“¡Hola!” said a gravelly voice from behind the bar. From below behind the bar. Myth was about to sit on one of the barstools but curiosity seized him so he leaned over the bar to see what this brother of a demi-god might look like. He ended up making eye contact with a short, green-skinned person wearing similar brightly-colored clothes as the people around town. They uttered a strange sort of chirp in response. “¡Ay! ¡Papá! ¿Qué te pasó en la cara? ¡Y el pelo!”

Hermes laughed. “No, no, hermano– this is one of Dad’s dobles from another reality.”

“Oh. You could have warned me!” The small fellow chirped again. He added a sort of gargling sound afterward, then went about getting some clean mugs.

Apparently replying to these vocalizations, Hermes said, “Something to give everyone a little pick-me-up. No, I think you can leave out the redstone zest for now. We’ve had enough high blood pressure for one day.” He sat down as Myth settled onto the barstool, explaining, “Rocky is adopted from the goblin kingdom. He goes back and forth between languages in the same sentence, kind of an assimilation quirk of goblinfolk when they intermingle with other cultures they’re exposed to.”

Smajor had remained standing, hovering near the end of the bar. When Rocky stepped up onto a wooden ledge to place a mug in front of him, Smajor lightly shook his head. “No thank you, actually. I think I would rather just sleep. Using up my mana twenty times in a row is exhausting.” He continued to avoid looking at Myth – which was difficult, since he wanted to address Hermes.

Rocky uttered a “Prrrt” and stepped down. He then brought the mug over to Hermes and slid it next to where the young man rested his elbow, making an indiscernible comment. He then exited the bar, walking around to where Smajor was. “Follow me, Don Sombrero de Hongo. We offer the most comfortable rooms in all of Sanctuary to visitors.”

“I have no idea what you just called me,” Smajor said wearily. “But, whatever. Show me the way.” As they headed up the staircase Maria followed, one hand casually resting on the pommel of the dagger stuck through a loop on her apron.

Sausage came over to sit next to Hermes. He pulled over the mug Rocky had left, holding it between his hands. “Maria will keep an eye on him. Just in case.” He took a sip from the mug then let out a satisfied sigh. “Ah, it’s good to be home. I’ll start sending explanations about the Ancient City portals to the other empires in a little while. For now, these old bones need to rest!” He sighed again before taking a long, noisy sip of his drink.

Hermes casually cleared his throat. “Speaking of Ancient Cities, I have a proposal for you.” He swiveled his barstool toward Myth. “I have more training to do as Apprentice-Guardian-of-Realities, and obviously that means I have to go visit a bunch more worlds. You want to go around the multiverse in a round-about fashion. So, why don’t you travel with me? Using the Staff to get around will be much more efficient than having to go through that labyrinth over and over again. Sounds kind of lonely to me, really. Might as well have someone along who can vouch for what’s going on in that place. And I can help you avoid any realities that you’ve already been to – by the way, do the mobs in the Superhero’s world have ten powers, too?”

Myth stared back blankly for a moment, confused by Hermes’ blithe tone. The young man clearly hadn’t gotten enough of a taste of how dangerous it was to be around him. “I wouldn’t be alone, technically,” Myth blurted. “I’m taking Smajor. And there is no way I would risk bringing him along with that Staff there to tempt him—”

Sausage, hands resting around his mug again, calmly interrupted, “Well, there isn’t a Scott in this world anymore, so it wouldn’t cause a cosmic paradox if yours stayed here. Under my supervision, of course. Everyone is welcome to take shelter in Sanctuary, after all.” A small smile graced his visage, his age-lined eyes holding gentleness and patience as he looked at Myth.

Old buried resentment threatened to surface until Myth realized that this was a look of understanding and acceptance, not the pleading insistence of a shining seraph who wanted a cursed angel to give up his pain before he was ready. Still, his voice came out in a grumble. “You can’t be implying that I should stay here, too. You and I still make a paradox.”

“I’m the Guardian of Realities! Come on, now! I can cheat a little bit to make an exception for myself! And for whichever of myselves happen to find their way to my doorstep! But, ehhh, it is probably a good idea to leave with Hermes regularly. Just so no overarching multiversal powers-that-be don’t catch on, if you know what I’m sayin’. It’ll be fine! Don’t you worry for a minute! The multiverse has a job for you, after all!”

~*~   EPILOGUE   ~*~

Three months later…

Sausage walked out of the former L.O.R.E. headquarters after bidding everyone farewell, his sunflower-styled walking stick in hand. The items from the rift incident had been carefully packed away to be replaced by an ever-growing pile of charts and arrangements of different colored string across a bulletin board. The latter was to illustrate which realities shared similarities, noted mainly out of the interest in which ones were parallels of each other. The charts recorded spatial coordinates for each reality and the types of worlds that existed within them.

The initial team of two had grown during their travels throughout the multiverse. The debriefing room currently accommodated the likes of Blood Pearl of Mythland, an accomplished reality-hopper herself, who had been seeking a way to save her dear friend the Farmer King of Helianthia from fated doom; a Time Witch named Cleo who was on a quest to fix her own fractured timeline; and Interstellar Paladin Sparklez, who had been attempting to teach the ways of balance to the multiverse after his goddess, Lady Ianite, sacrificed herself to save his world.

Sausage had listened in enough times to acknowledge that Myth had gotten the hang of things, so he felt he could take his leave. He stopped off at the tavern and the bakery, procuring a picnic basket on the way to fill with some supplies, then headed off into a denser part of the bamboo forest outside of Sanctuary. He stopped briefly near a weather-worn stone memorial to check on a patch of unique flowers with an equally weather-worn wooden sign in front of the small border that surrounded them. The two species of flowers, which only grew in that one location in all the world, were thriving as they always had, so he continued on his trek.

A few minutes later the tall bamboo began to be overshadowed by the caps of giant mushrooms. Shorter clusters of them hugged the sides of the path along the way, some of mixed red and brown, some just one or the other at different heights, and even some warped and crimson fungus were there standing out amongst the mundane colors.

Then he reached the main mushroom grove, where the path itself turned to pure mycelium while around it was grass of a rich, deep emerald color. With even more of the giant mushrooms providing shade overhead, the air felt cooler as well as holding a comfortable dew point, making it seem like a completely different biome had been plunked down in the middle of the bamboo jungle.

Sausage leaned on his walking stick as he admired one of the giant mushrooms that had three joined stems, noting how it had the shape of a brown mushroom but with the bright orange specks found on a warped fungus.

A polite yawn behind him made him turn; Smajor stood there holding the last basket that Sausage had brought out, tiny mushrooms piled up to the point they were going to spill out if he tilted it. “Hello, Protector,” he greeted in a neutral tone. He had adopted the title to use for referring to him, never once calling Sausage by name. “What brings you out here?”

“I just thought I’d stop by and check on things.” Sausage held up the new basket, not needing to include this also meant offering his guest some food and drinks.

Smajor gently set down the one he had been carrying then waved a hand, causing two red mushrooms big enough to sit on to spring up behind himself and Sausage.

“Ah. Thank you.” Sausage leaned over to set his basket down on the ground too, then leaned on his walking stick again as he carefully lowered himself onto the provided seat. “It’s looking very nice out here. It feels serene. I’m particularly impressed with that one, there.” He gestured to the three-stemmed mushroom. “It reminds me of a kingdom I once saw. They also had magically-grown mushrooms in different colors, although that was attributed to special crystals that had been planted alongside regular mushrooms.”

“I thought I would experiment a little with the types I can conjure. As for that particular one…” Smajor paused, his eyes seeming to go distant for a second, then he continued, “They remind me of… home. From a long, long time ago. This place is very bright in comparison, so it’s not going to be a perfect imitation. But when the sun sets and the light is just right… It feels like my own little private piece of a twilight forest.”

There was a wistfulness in his voice that reached Sausage’s heart. “I’m glad you’ve been able to make a place for yourself during your time here. You’re always welcome in town, too, whenever you like.”

A frown pulled at the corners of Smajor’s lips, but he didn’t take out any of his bitterness on the well-meaning old man. “No, I’d rather stay here. Talking to nature suits me better than talking to people, and I definitely don’t want to run into Myth by accident. And I don’t want him to come here.”

“I’m pretty sure he’s too busy to pay a visit.”

"Either way, he will never stop looking at me like he thinks I'm going to murder you all if the wind starts blowing from another direction." Smajor sighed in feigned-resignation. "I mean, I still want to see him dead, but since that is extremely unlikely to ever happen, I'll stick with never seeing his particular face again. Out here is my peace, and if you want more reasons to stop feeling obligated to invite me to town, then think of it as me staying out here makes it safer for everyone. I want to keep it that way.”

THE END

[post-A/N: That wraps things up for Myth and Smajor, along with the Past Unmasked timeline! Well, unless I get struck by more inspiration out of the blue. Obviously this went far beyond a couple of darkfics written for the heck of it and an AU based on a friend's artwork, so who knows! But I do want to focus on other Empires S1 stuff and potentially one more fic for Soul Liminality 2, so please stay tuned! I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to read these bizarre AUs of mine, with a special shout out to those who left comments! The encouragement is greatly appreciated! Thank you so much for staying with me through the development of these characters and their wanderings away from canon. I hope you'll enjoy the fics I write in the future!]

~*~*~

Translations:

¡Regresamos! ¿Cómo están todos? ¡María! ¡Justo a quién quería ver!  -We have returned! How is everyone? Maria! Just who I wanted to see!

Hola! – Hello!

¡Ay! ¡Papá! ¿Qué te pasó en la cara? ¡Y el pelo!  - Yikes! Papa! What happened to your face? And hair!

Hermano -  brother

Dobles - doubles

Don Sombrero de Hongo - Mister Mushroom Hat