#ONTO THE FIGHT SCENE! but probably tomorrow

[clenastia]

At a page and a half, we have a Kakashi POV!

Definitely feels like it needs some editing, Kakashi himself feels a bit OOC, BUT WE'VE GOT IT DOWN BITCHES!!!

AND I STILL HAVE TIME TO MAKE DINNER!

FUCK YEAH!

[wardenparker]

Woo hoo! Way to go on the 2.5k followers! You deserve it

I would like to request Joel Miller w/ “put me down”

Pre-outbreak Joel Miller 1,642 words. "Put me down." Co-written with @absurdthirst

Reader has been drinking. Established relationship. Jealousy.

Joel rolls his eyes, wondering again what the hell is in the air tonight. He’s glad Sarah has already gone to bed, although she would probably be snickering at the scene. “Babe, maybe you should slow down.” He grunts swiping the beer bottle that he had been nursing and tossing it into the trash.

“Baby, it’s game day,” you protest with a giggle, even though you know he’s probably right. You made your sangria much stronger than usual and you’ve had more than a few cups while hanging out with his friends.

“Yeah it is.” You’re having fun, which is something that he would normally never deny you. Although it seems like you’ve gotten a little….boisterous in the last half hour. “How about we get a sandwich?” He suggests, thinking the bread would be good to help counteract the wine sloshing around in your stomach.

"But we have so many snacks!" The remnants of a chip and veggies and dip plate, the garnishes from a pile of wings, and the last two cookies from the batch Tommy baked are all out on the counter around you, but none of it constitutes actual eating.

He snorts, shaking his head at your wild flailing as you gesture around the counter and miss when you go to grab a chip. “Yep, sandwich.” He grunts to himself, turning around to grab the loaf of bread off the counter. “Or a wrap?”

"Can you be my wrap?" Alright, so you might be a bit tipsy. If the intense giggling from your silly joke is any indication. That doesn't mean you don't want to take advantage of the fact that you're the only two people in the kitchen right now to snuggle up with your boyfriend.

That makes him laugh, rolling his eyes at your antics and he turns to press his lips to your forehead. “You’re drunk.” He accuses fondly.

"Not totally," you protest, pouting at him as deeply as possible.

“Totally.” Joel laughs, leaning in and squashing your lips between his fingers playfully until you pull back. “Eat a wrap then you can have a glass of water.”

"And a kiss." Tacking that onto the end with a grin, you pull your arms around him so he can't pull away to do anything – let alone make a wrap or get a glass of water.

“And a kiss.” If you hadn’t almost started a fight, your possessiveness might be cute. Amusing even. But you had almost been ready to throw hands and he didn’t need the cops showing up here tonight.

"Oh-kay." The pleasant buzzing in your head and the fact that that bitch Larry Anderson had brought with him isn't in here to eye fuck Joel, combine to put you in a very amenable mood.

“Good.” He pecks your lips and reaches behind you to open the fridge. “Ham, or…ham?” He asks, the fridge slightly bare, but in his defense, he had been buying for the party and not wraps.

You hum, pretending to think really really hard, and realize you've forgotten the question while you were screwing up your face into comical expressions. "Ummm...wine?"

“Jesus.” Joel rolls his eyes and moves to the cabinet beside the fridge. “Water now.” He orders, tone a little sharper than before. He doesn’t want you with a bitch of a hangover tomorrow.

"Don't be mad." A pout overtakes your face immediately, but you lean against the kitchen counter and prepare to take whatever Joel dishes out. Even tipsy you know you probably overdid it earlier. It's not your fault that girl wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.

“I’m not.” He grabs a plastic cup, not even trusting you with a glass one at this point. “I just want you to be well hydrated.”

"Well..." The best you can do is shrug, but you're still pouting. "You sound mad."

“And I always look like an asshole.” Joel reminds you with a small chuckle. “So….?”

"I had to be mean to her." He pulls one of Sarah's plastic cups out of the cupboard and moves back to the fridge to fill it with cold, filtered water. "She was looking at you like you were a piece of meat, baby."

“Doesn’t matter.” He reminds with, turning around to hand the cup to you with a smirk. “I’m yours.”

Joel always takes care of you, and you know that even after two too many glasses of sangria, so you take the water cup dutifully. "I knowww. You're my piece of meat. But she wasn't respecting that and that's not okay."

“You don’t need to worry.” He promises softly, moving back to the fridge. “She doesn’t have anything on you.”

"I trust you," you clarify, dutifully sipping the water that he's gotten for you. Joel's loyalty has never been in question. Not when you were friends, not when you crossed the line into dating, and not now that you're living with him and Sarah. But the sangria had made you feisty and that was that.

“Good.” He chuckles as he slaps together some ham and a thick slice of that Muenster cheese you insist is better than Kraft. “Because you are the one sleeping in my bed, hogging the covers.”

"I keep telling youuuu." The singsong in your voice is interrupted by another drink of water. "We need a king-sized blanket. A big blanket. For us two hogs."

“I just will shiver every night.” He teases, folding the wrap up like a letter and handing it to you to eat. It wasn’t pretty, but he never claimed to be a good cook.

"But we could be warm snuggly burritos!" You insist, which is always the argument you give for why you should get an extra-large blanket for the queen sized bed you share, but this time you take a dramatic bite of the wrap he's made for you to punctuate your point.

“You would just steal all of those covers too.” He reminds you, leaning back against the counter as he eat watches you eat.

Giggling, you hold up one finger, crushing your wrap into an accordioned lump in the process. "One snuggly burrito."

“You might be a little cute when you’re this drunk.” Joel huffs, folding his arms over his chest.

"Baby..." Trying very hard to make your face serious fails spectacularly, and you end up giggling again. "I'm always cute. You said so."

“I did, didn’t I?” He huffs. “Finish eating and we’ll go back out to the party.” He bribes.

“Okayyyyyy.” It doesn’t stop you from leaning into his side though, and Joel lets you snuggle him without protest or question.

You eat the wrap quickly, making Joel think that one of your problems might be that you haven’t eaten today. When you reach for the veggies and dip, he encourages you to eat some of it too, not wanting you to have just the wrap on your stomach. Not having realized you were hungry in the first place, you’ve now eaten an entire meal standing in the kitchen and the pout you give Joel afterward intensifies. “Now I’m sleepy…” you huff, indignant at yourself for daring to be tired during a house party. Even a small one.

He chuckles quietly and pushes off the counter to walk over to where you had drifted away from him. Grazing off the table. Smirking, he bends down and scoops you up, about to carry you upstairs.

The squawk you let out could raise the dead, but he laughs so it ends up in half-hearted huffing and puffing as he carries you up the backstairs. “Put me doooowwwn! I can walk!” Not that you actually want him to, of course. Being manhandled by Joel is a privilege.

He smacks your ass, laughing again when you squeal. “No.” He tells you, continuing to climb the stairs. “You’ll go back out into the living room and fight that girl.”

“She put her tits in your face!” You groan, not bothering to fight as more stairs pass under Joel’s feet. He’s far stronger than you anyway. “Only my tits go in your face.”

You’re possessive when you’re drunk and it’s kind of hot. “I like your tits in my face.” He hums, grabbing your ass this time instead of slapping it. “That’s why I stood up. So she couldn’t do that.”

“And I like your little pancake ass,” you giggle, smacking his ass as he goes. Slinging you over his shoulder was a tactical error on Joel’s part.

“Hey.” Joel’s step falters and he snorts as you start to giggle. “Payback, huh?”

“Yep!” Another bright giggle breaks through as he hits the top step.

“You need to go to bed.” He huffs, shaking his head.

He carries you into the bedroom, only setting you down again when it can be directly on the bed. Before he can step away, though, you reach up to snag the edge of Joel's t-shirt and give him a soft smile. "I love you, baby."

“I love you too.” He promises, leaning back down to kiss you softly. “Lay down, I’ll get you some aspirin and water.”

"Then cuddles?" When you're tipsy – or drunk – it's not hard to turn almost any expression into wide, pleading eyes. In this case, it's the wide and pleading eyes that you know Joel just can't resist.

Joel sighs softly, knowing you are feeling a little vulnerable and he nods. “Fuck ‘em.” He decides. “Tommy can keep their asses in line.” He tells you as he brings the bottle of Advil and the cup of water from the bathroom.

“Cuddles!” Maybe it’s simple of you, but ending any night in Joel’s arms is all you want. All you’ve wanted for years now. The day you went from friends to lovers was a gift, and that gift is just as precious to you now as it was then.

______

Master Tags: @pixiedurango @chattychell @winter-fox-queen @lady-himbo @artsymaddie @princess76179 @paintballkid711 @missminkylove @pedrosbrat @ew-erin @sarahjkl82-blog @sharkbait77 @justanotherblonde23 @lv7867 @recklesswit @mylittlesenaar @f0rever15elf @gallowsjoker @steeevienicks @athalien @sherala007 @skvatnavle @thatpinkshirt @jaime1110 @girlimjusttryingtoreadfanfics @goodgriefitsawildworld @greeneyedblondie44 @littlemousedroid @harriedandharassed @churchill356 @ajathegreats-blog @haylzcyon   @beardsanddetectives @kirsteng42 @ladykatakuri @adancedivasmom @madiebear @tanzthompson @emilianamason @bigsdinger @xocalliexo @pedr0swh0r3 @avaleineandafryingpan @charlyrmv @avidreader73 @iceclaw101 @loveslide @elegantduckturtle @becsworld @julesonrecord @its-nebuleuse @itsrubberbisquit @mikeyswifie @guelyury @lizzie-cakes @for-a-longlongtime @vabeachazn @purplerain04 @weho2kcmo @madnessofadaydreamer

My Masterlist!

[eliciana]

Reverse SAGAU: The Weird Door At My Café

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2(here) | Chapter 3 | ...

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____________________________________

Tw: Reverse!Isekai!Sagau, Normal Au, Café Au, a bit of cussing like this bit 🤏.

Reader: Gn!Reader, Adult!Reader, Café Owner!Reader

Characters: Reader, Paimon, Traveler

Note: Restaurant to Another World animanga inspired au. You can slide into my dms if you ever want to be tagged in my works just tell me what series you want to be tagged in or all of them. thank you <3. Also, I may say that the characters other than the reader may be a bit OOC cause it's been a long time since I played genshin and I'm just finishing all of my works with my knowledge left from playing the game. So sorry about it 🙏🙏.

____________________________________

You stood, motionless, your eyes fixed in disbelief upon the distant scene before you. As the wind cut through the air, a shiver ran down your spine, leaving goosebumps in its wake. The purity of the air surrounded you, carrying with it an intoxicating scent that smelled pure. The warm touch of the sun's rays caressing your skin affirmed that this experience couldn't possibly be a figment of your imagination. A fleeting thought of doubt crept in, but you quickly dismissed it; after all, you had never dabbled in any kind of drugs. This moment, as unbelievable as it seems, had to be undeniably real.

With careful fingers, you gently retrieved your fallen shoe/heel/slipper from the bed of plush, emerald-green grass. As you slipped it back onto your foot, your eyes instinctively wandered upward, transfixed by the expansive stretch of blue sky above you. It was quite unlike the very bright pixelated one you see on your screen. Everything that you see within the door was real and not a nightmare.

____________________________________

After composing yourself, you went inside your cafe, close the door, drag a chair nearest to the door, took a seat on the chair you placed infront of the door, and contemplated life. A deep heavy sigh got out your mouth as you continue looking the the strange thing infront of you. "What now? What do I do? Should I just lock it?" you asked yourself and looked at the door. Welp, well, there goes your master plan. Suprise suprise there's no keyhole and having a key would not make any difference. "Ugh."

You sat up and opened the door again, only to be baffled to see a different scenery other than the distant City of Mondstadt. The door was now currently in the Liyue Harbor. You closed the door and opened it again, you were now in Inazuma. Close, open, and now in Sumeru. Once again, you are now in Fontaine.

"Yeah bye." you closed the door again and returned the chair from where it once was. Contemplating what you should do next, your feet carried you around the whole café. You went to the counter and decided to make yourself something to help with calming yourself first in order to think clearly. It was a good thing that you had brought all of the materials and ingredients you needed in the café because you had thought of opening the café tomorrow. But with how things are now, you don't know what to do.

Teyvat is filled with many dangerous beings such as hilichurls, slimes, etc. You are but a normal human being with no experience in fighting and fighting your baby cousins was not enough of an experience to be able to fight toe to toe with monsters you have only seen through a screen. Yes, a gun would probably best to use but you don't have a permit for that and you don't want to be in jail when you have just barely open your dream café. But nobody had to know, right? What if-

A deep sigh fell from your lips once again. The stress is really getting in to you, huh? The bitter/sweet aroma of (coffee/tea/juice) filled your sense of smell. You were making your favorite, (your choice of coffee/tea/juice). After some time of finishing your drink, you took it along with a (pastry of your choice) that you had in your car, in which you had thought of eating to celebrate the opening, and sat in a chair facing the door. Taking your time in eating/drinking, many thoughts come and go in your head to solve the predicament you are in now. You had even thought of postponing the opening of the café until you had thought of a way on what to do with the door.

Of course you read the fanfics circulating all around the genshin fandom and one of the those that you have read was SAGAU where you might be the imposter or the creator of teyvat or you become a villain or anything in between. The most common of them was being an imposter. What if you were to become the said imposter if one day a person will open the door to your café? What if they kill you? What if-

*creak......*

Your rambling came to a stop as you looked at the door horrified. Oh no no no no no no NO NO NO! YOU JINXED YOURSELF DIDN'T YOU?! THIS DAMNED FATE-

'Oh dear God, Buddha, Allah, Deities, whoever higher being there is, pls help me...' you thought as you clasp your hands, praying to higher beings. Before you could even feel it, tears cascaded down you face to the table. "I'm nOt ReAdy tO dIE yeT... Ughhhhhhhh" you sobbed into your hands loudly like a child lost in a mall.

"Hello?" a person peaked from behind the door.

Fuck.

____________________________________

The Traveler, along with Paimon, was doing their daily quests until they saw something shining in the far distance. Their curiousity made them want to investigate it.

"Hm. Why is a door in the middle of the forest with no support or whatsoever?" Paimon mumbled as the door came into their view. The Traveler also had the same thought.

"Is it perhaps a magic door of some kind? I think w-"

*creak*

The Traveler stopped speaking as the door opened but from where they are right now, they couldn't see who opened the door and couldn't get to ask since the door closed with a loud bang when they were going to get closer.

"Well... that was something..." Paimon looked at the Traveler. "Traveler? What's wrong? BREATHE! YOU'RE GOING TO DIE AT THIS RATE!" Paimon brought tons of fried egg out of the Traveler's bag and smacked it into the Traveler's mouth and forced them to chew the egg.

After confirming the Traveler is back into top condition, Paimon asked them what the hell happened to them.

"I-I don't know. I suddenly felt something when whoever opened that door and the air around me became heavy that it became hard to breathe..." The Traveler shooked their head gently and sighed. "I also felt something strange. The energy of whoever is beyond that door, excluded an aura that is very familiar to me, but I don't know who or what it is."

"Hm. Paimon thinks that we should open that door and see whoever that and see if they truly are familiar to you or maybe perhaps this connection that you feel is related to your sibling!" Paimon twirled around the air, exaggerating her words with her actions.

For once, Traveler thought it was a good idea at first but there is also a flaw in that idea. A flaw that might cause their life if whoever is beyond that door is hostile and will kill them. It is better to be cautious then to be 6ft underground before finding their sibling.

_________________________________________

Taglist:

@udretlnea

[burningfairytales]

On Bokuto being Fukurodani’s captain

I promised myself I wouldn’t make another Bokuto defence post, but I’ve been reliably informed the Fukurodani tag is lacking posts and I’m here to contribute.

We’ve probably all seen it - the post that is like, “every captain acts like a father figure to their team, and then there’s Fukurodani”

And I mean, it’s funny. It got a good chuckle out of me, too, because that is how jokes work. Jokes have to be funny, they don’t necessarily have to be true.

Because yes. For Karasuno, whose line-up consists of three first-years, and the dynamic duo Tanaka-and-Noya, sure, Daichi is more of a father figure. So is Kuroo, I suppose, for Nekoma (though where Daichi is the tough-love kind of dad, I see Kuroo as the “hey x, i’m dad” kind of person.)

And it works for them, because that’s what those teams need.

They’re young. They’re chaotic. They need a voice of reason (Karasuno) or, failing that, at least someone who’s capable of mediating in a fight. Who’s willing to tell the children to suck it up and make up, even if they weren’t in the wrong (Nekoma).

A captain should be what the team needs, after all.

But that is not how Fukurodani works.

Fukurodani has a completely different dynamic than Nekoma and Karasuno. Sure, they bicker. They probably fight, too. But listen. Save Akaashi and Onaga, the entire team is made up of third years - and we all know that in terms of maturity, Akaashi is on their level if not higher.

(Sorry Onaga. I’m afraid I don’t know enough about him yet to include him in that statement. Doesn’t come across as particularly childish either, for what it’s worth!)

So you’ve got an elite team. A team of more-or-less adults. The millennial kind of of adults, maybe - the “i need an adultier adult” kind. But a team of people who know when it’s okay to fool around and when it’s time to call it quits.

In a team like that, what use is a father figure?

And then there’s Bokuto.

Bokuto who is very much not mature at all. Bokuto who doesn’t know when to stop, when to call it quits. Bokuto who goes out to play not for the sake of winning, but to enjoy playing. To have fun. Winning is just the result of that.

Bokuto who looks at his teammates and gives them permission to just fool around and have fun, just for the sake of it. Want to try a cool spike? Great! It worked? That’s awesome, teach me how to do it.

Didn’t work? Too bad, try again.

Bokuto who gently and sometimes not-so-gently pushes his team. Try harder. Do better. Not because it’s disappointing if they don’t, but because it’s more fun if they do - because Bokuto firmly believes that they can.

Fukurodani is a great team. An elite team. They know they’re good. Maybe sometimes, just “good” feels like enough to them - but never to Bokuto. If you run three laps today, you might make it to four tomorrow. Maybe five laps the day after.

Bokuto is the kind of person who reaches, who moves forward, who doesn’t want to stop improving.

He’s also the kind of person who motivates his teammates to try harder simply because that’s what he does. They don’t want to fall behind. If Bokuto can do it, then so can we.

I think it’s such in important scene, at the end of the match against Mujinazaka, when Bokuto shakes hands with Kiryuu - not just because, despite their loss, Kiryuu can honestly say that he’s glad he played his last match against Bokuto, though I’d say that says a lot about Bokuto in general. It’s not a bad thing, losing to him. It’s sad - of course it’s sad, but it’s not frustrating. They played a good game. Hell, they had fun. It’s an acceptable loss.

But the really important part, to me, is when Bokuto holds onto his hand and tells him, “you should tell your team to give you better tosses. Even if it’s asking too much. You should still do it.”

Because not only does that show that Bokuto isn’t an idiot - he’s very much aware of what goes on on the field. He noticed that most of those tosses sucked. Kiryuu is amazing for managing to hit those, and Bokuto isn’t afraid of telling him that.

And it’s not even that he’s telling his opponent, hey, you’re already pretty incredibly and you could spike better if the set-up worked in your favour. (Because contrary to what seems a popular opinion, Bokuto’s “I’m the best!” Doesn’t mean “everyone else sucks.” I don’t understand why people tend to make him egoistical. Bokuto stops at nothing to tell others when they’re doing well and compliment them.)

No, the really important part of that exchange is that Bokuto is also saying, you aren’t letting your team improve if you keep letting them keep get away with this.

And it’s true, isn’t it. You can help your classmate cheat or do your coworker’s work for them - it saved them in that moment, maybe, but they will not learn. You’re taking away their opportunity for improvement.

Kiryuu can tell his team, it’s okay if your tosses are shit, I will hit them anyway. But at the end of the day, those tosses are still going to be shit. It doesn’t make them better players, and if any of them want to keep playing after high school they’re going to be in a lot of trouble, because not everyone will be able to hit them - or be even willing to try.

So no, Bokuto is about the farthest thing from a father figure. But he pushed his team to do better. Forces them to pick up the pace one way of another, sometimes maybe through his bad moods, but also by motivating them to stop accepting “good” as “good enough.”

And look, I’m not completey oblivious. I’m fairly certain Bokuto is probably not great at handling the official side of being captain - club applications and funding requests and whatever needs handling. But he’s not doing it alone, is he?

And of course Akaashi is impressive, making vice-captain as a second year. And I’m willing to bet Bokuto was the first to insist he’d have to do it.

So you’ve got the captain who pushes and the vice-captain who keeps things level. I’d say that’s the kind of team Fukurodani needs as their captains, don’t you?

[kozumesphone]

˗ˏˋ daughters of war ˎˊ˗

ch i. brown eyed girl

⟡ c. la rue x reader

d.o.w. nav | →

𝜗𝜚 wc . . . 1k

𝜗𝜚 a/n . . .

ahh i’m so excited for this! it’s my first multi-chapter fic + my first wlw fic too (the only one i’ve done before is the piper x fem!reader smau) <3 a huge shoutout to mori for coming up with an idea about how I could write the opening scene (: I don’t want to ramble lmao, so happy reading! this is a relatively short opening chapter, but there’s more to come (; ps. cliffhanger. find it under the cut <3

𝜗𝜚 warnings . . .

swearing like three times overall?, mentions of blood (bloody nose), nothing much else

𝜗𝜚 taglist . . .

@nuncscioquidsitamor-13 @seastargrl @nqds @kt88 @percabethlvr

@maybxlle @over-the-oceancall @mqstermindswift @metyouattherighttime @gabby-duhh

@death-in-love

“my brown-eyed girl; you, my brown-eyed girl . . .”

⋆˚ 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

“have you ever dreamt about the stars?”

“in what sense?”

“in the sense that embodies the cosmic loneliness they feel, being far away from another. and, in the sense that they burn so bright, they don’t appear so.”

“well no, never.”

⋆˚ 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

clarisse’s pov . . .

“let’s have a show of hands, guys!” the boy grinned. “who here wants to let this kid go, even before we get to the fun parts?”

his friends chortled like pigs, and kept their hands down, smirking at the young boy being cornered by them. I wasn’t too amused by their actions, but since they weren’t my siblings, I didn’t have any direct control over them unless they physically laid a hand on the kid.

“weren’t you ever taught that you shouldn’t pick on someone half your size, you wanker?” a voice rang out, loud. I sighed.

some girl was getting herself into trouble, and I promised myself I wouldn’t get involved in petty fights between pesky campers.

so, clicking my tongue lightly, my eyes drifted back to the book resting on my lap. I picked it up and continued reading.

“oh, help! i’m so scared, come pick me up, mommy!” one of the boys mocked.

smack!

“you should be.”

I looked up to see the oldest boy’s bloody nose. a smile threatened to take over my face.

either he didn’t know how to take a punch, or the girl packed a really good one. I really hoped it was the second one, so I could procure a competent camper to join my team for capture the flag tomorrow.

my gaze wandered to meet her brown eyes, sunlight striking them at an angle that made them look hauntingly beautiful.

the corners of her mouth slightly twisted up, in a smirk, or a grin, I couldn’t tell, and her head tilted just a bit to the side. her glasses were a bit askew, from the force of swinging her arm with strength rivalling my own, probably.

her piercing eyes narrowed onto my own.

and, oh boy, did that have an effect on me.

y/n’s pov . . .

do I regret hitting the guy without properly covering my knuckles first? probably.

do I feel bad for hearing a small ‘crack’ from the guy’s nose? absolutely not, actually.

just because he was an exchange camper from camp jupiter, and was jupiter’s son, he couldn’t just get away with treating others like shit.

I mean, jason is his technically-brother, but he turned out kind, didn’t he?

speaking of jason, I realised I had forgotten to pick up both of our extra pairs of glasses from a mortal shop for our next quest.

I turned around, looking for something to wipe my slightly-bloody hand on, when I met someone else’s eyes.

dark eyes. gorgeous eyes. making-me-weak-in-my-knees eyes.

my eyes trailed over her face, realising it was clarisse. clarisse was the name I was warned about; the vicious daughter of ares, apparently.

she didn’t look all that vicious as she held a cheesy romance novel in her hands.

whichever her expression was—of awe? disgust? admiration? annoyance?—she quickly masked it to a neutral one.

“that’s a nice book you’re reading,” I said, walking closer.

her neck turned red as blood rushed up till her ears. she shut the book with a snap! and I reached around her, to grab the towel hanging on the back of her chair.

“see you later, rue,” I whispered in her ear, grinning when she shivered.

“I want my towel back! and, it’s la rue to you!” she shouted, as I walked away.

“rue.”

⋆˚ 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

I informed chiron of my ride into the city to get my glasses and jason’s. he asked my sister, annabeth, to go with me.

and everyone knows that where my sister goes, her boyfriend does too (which is really cute, but I would never admit that to them, obviously.).

percy trailed behind annie and I as we stopped at a grocery store first, to get some snacks, while we talked about malcolm’s latest project for a camp competition.

“I need some chocolates,” percy said, randomly.

he added some blue syrup to the shopping cart, and I stacked up on some snacks. annie bought a swiss knife and a few coffee-flavoured chocolates.

“are those for-”

“grover? yeah,” annie replied, smiling.

“how come he’s spoiled with all these treats when he gets back from his quests, but i’m not?” percy pretended to frown. annie gave him a peck.

I laughed at him, and we paid for our stuff with chiron’s money, and loaded it all into the back of the car.

“everyone have their seatbelts on?” I asked before starting the car to drive to the glasses shop. after they hummed in response, I started the car.

“should you even be driving? I mean, is it safe? aren’t you too short for that?” percy smirked at me through the mirror.

“if you know what’s good for you, you won’t talk shit to the person who’s driving the car you’re sitting in, smartass,” I grumbled, narrowing my eyes at him.

I drove on the side roads to get to the store faster, wanting to get back to camp before night began.

the radio station was playing a japanese rock song that I remember thalia teaching me once.

‘haa? ussee ussee ussee wa!¹

anata ga omou yori kenkou desu!²

issai gassai bonyou na!³

anata ja wakaranai kamo ne!’⁴

it started drizzling, and so, smiling to myself, I pulled up to the parking in front of the glasses store.

“i’ll be right back guys, it’ll be just a few minutes,” I said, undoing my seatbelt.

“okay, just-”

“THE TRUCK-”

“WHAT THE F-”

crash!

¹— ‘huh? shut up, shut up, shut the fuck up!’

²— ‘i’m healthier than you think!’

³— ‘you are too ordinary,’

⁴— ‘to understand me, perhaps!’

⤷ song: うっせぇわ (usseewa) by ado

kozumesphone © 2024 | don’t repost my works onto other platforms, or edit and post them even on tumblr, without asking me first • don’t steal my works, steal my heart instead • reblogs and comments are more than appreciated !

[nxrdamp]

I’m having a huge Arven moment so I decided to ask for something cute and a little funny ☺️

Maybe Arven’s mabosstiff dislikes the reader’s dachsbun for awhile, until they just turn into inseparable best friends 😭 I love dogs and these two canine dog Pokémon stole my heart!!

Masterlist

Arven x Gn! Reader - Puppy Love

A warm sunny day in Paldea, something that was no rare occurrence. Nevertheless still enjoyed. Especially enjoyed by one little Dachsbun. (Y/n)’s Dachsbun was currently frolicking in the fields surrounding their picnic, playing with the (orange/purple) ball.

“Wow little buddy” Arven said while finely chopping basil for the sandwich,”Your Dachsbun there sure loves the outdoors. Cant say the same for ol’ Mabosstiff here.”

Mabosstiff, who was currently curled up underneath the fold out table, ruffed in annoyance.

“Awww” (Y/n) said, crouching to be eye to eye with Mabosstiff,”You don’t like the sun, do ya bud?”

He shook his head in response, but only to be interrupted by the other dog-like pokémon running over towards the table to eat the scraps of ham that fell from the sandwich, much to Arven’s complaints.

Mabosstiff growled defensively, making poor Dachsbun quiver and run behind (Y/n)‘s legs.

“Yeah don’t eat that- Hey, Mabosstiff” Arven said, placing his hands on his hips in a very motherly fashion,”Don’t be rude to their pokémon!…well maybe except (Koraidon/Miraidon)”

“Hey!” (Y/n) protested,”(Koraidon/Miraidon) is important too!”

Arven only looked over to them and gave them a “really?” look as the legendary was currently trying to steal Dachsbun’s sandwich.

(Y/n) only sighed, walking over to Dachsbun’s abandoned sandwich, and grabbing it to give it to the scared pokémon.

“Now Dachsbun, eat this and leave poor Mabosstiff alone. He doesn’t wanna play right now.”

The puppy pokémon looked up, her sad puppy dog eyes threatening to spill tears, and slowly took the sandwich and trotted away to a secluded place by the rocks.

Arven sadly sighed, seeing the pitiful sight before him,”Maybe I can do some convincing to Mabosstiff, to, ya know, be friends with Dachsbun. Poor girl is eating all alone.”

“Yeah.” (Y/n) replied, crossing their arms over their chest,”So much for a picnic. It seems to be more of a drama fest than anything.”

“I agree” Arven said,”This definitely is no where near the Lady and the Tramp. No spaghetti scene for these two, it appears.”

(Y/n) snorted in response, causing Arven’s heart to swell. No one laughs at his corny jokes, especially that not quote “bothersome student council girl”.

“It seems like we’re gonna have to be together a lot more to make them be friends. It’s a win-win” (Y/n) said, causing Arven to blush and hide his face in his hair.

“U-Um okay. Cool. Cool. I’ll uhh I’ll see you tomorrow! Make sure to bring Dachsbun and NOT (Koraidon/Miraidon).

(Y/n) kept the promise they’d heard, and brought Dachsbun and (Koraidon/Miraidon).

———

Over the span of the next week, every day they tried to get Mabosstiff and Dachsbun closer together.

And every day they failed.

“Damn it.” Arven said, looking at Mabosstiff who was currently kicking Dachsbun off of (Y/n)’s couch,”Why don’t they get along?”

“Maybe they just don’t share experiences with each other” (Y/n) suggested,”Like we battled through hell at Area Zero, and they kinda didn’t together. That’s probably why we’re so close and they’re not.”

“Not close enough…” Arven muttered under his breath, low enough where (Y/n) couldn’t hear

“Maybe we should go on a trip!!” (Y/n) said,”Why not to Kalos? It’s right on the edge of Paldea!”

“Hmmm. Thats a good idea, actually, thanks little buddy!” Arven said, attempting to give a “friendly” shoulder pat.

“Why do you call me little buddy? I feel like we’re more than ‘buddies’.”

Arven coughed, trying to fight a loosing battle against the blush creeping onto his face,”W-What?!?”

“Yeah! We’re the best buddies ever! Best friends!” (Y/n) said, giving Arven a hug.

‘I don’t even care I was just friend-zoned, I love this’ He thought to himself

“All right then, (Y/n), let’s-“

“(Y/n)?” They asked,”Just plain old (Y/n)? Do I mean that little to you?”

“N-NO!” Arven said, grabbing their shoulders and looking down to meet their sad eyes,”YOU’RE AMAZING! YOU’RE MY BEST BUD EVER AND I WISH YOU WERE MORE- I MEAN I APPRECIATE YOU BEING THERE FOR ME….haha….ha…..man I screwed up didn’t I?”

(Y/n) looked into his saddened blue eyes, tears threatening to spill,”No! You didn’t Arven, I-“

“You don’t have to say it! I know you hate me now!” Arven said, storming off.

“-feel the same way….” They finished before being blasted by a rush of air across their legs.

Dachsbun ran after Arven, seeking to comfort the crying boy on the doorstep of (Y/n)’s residence.

Mabosstiff perked up, seeing how the normally hyper pokémon was slowly and gently crawling into the lap of Mabosstiff’s trainer, giving him doggy kisses.

Arven starting to laugh through the sniffles of his crying, giving Dachsbun a good belly rub as she flopped down dramatically in his lap.

Mabosstiff then got off of the couch, and went over to (Y/n), who was letting the tears fall on their own face now.

“Hey Mabosstiff…you okay?” They asked, rubbing his head.

He barked in response, nudging their legs in the direction of his trainer.

“You think he’d listen?”

“Woof!”

“I take your word for it.”

They patted Mabosstiff on the head one last time before stepping out of the threshold of their home, and sitting beside the boy who was wiping his tears.

“You never let me finish, Arven, I like you back. Have since you told me about Mabosstiff and the Herba Mystica. I really have feelings for you. I’m not ‘just saying that’, I mean it Arven.”

“Ohhhh (Y/n)” He said, bawling his eyes out,”You mean so much to me! I love to hear you say that! Please, hold onto me and never let go”

“Trust me” (Y/n) said, looking into his glassy blue eyes,”I won’t. They apparently won’t either”

Both of their eyes adverted to Mabosstiff and Dachsbun, who were cuddled up beside each other watching the scene between their trainers unfold.

“THEY LIKE EACH OTHER!!” Arven said, crying even more out of joy,”THEY’RE FRIENDS!!!”

(Y/n) laid their head on his chest,”Yeah they are, but we sure aren’t, at least not anymore.”

“What…? I thought you said-“

(Y/n) looked up into Arven’s eyes,”Yeah, we’re more than friends”

Arven, who is now blushing instead of crying, turns his face to hide it in his hair,”Okay. Cool. Cooool. That’s cool.”

“You can be happy Arven, no need to cover it up with your ‘cool guy persona’”

Arven just laughed, resting his chin atop of (Y/n)‘a head,”You’re crazy little buddy”

“Yeah so are you Arvy”

“I like that” He replied,”My (Mom/Dad) never gave me a nickname, so I’m glad it was you”

“It’s my pleasure Arvy”

The two of them sat on (Y/n)‘a doorstep, watching the sun set as the two dogs who once hated each other, played with Dachbun’s toys together.

——

Word Count: 1177

[blueberrypancakesworld]

Between the books is love

Prince/Archmaster Vaegon Targaryen x fem!reader

warning : mentioned children death, alcohol (drinking wine), fluff, comfort, holding hands, no use of Y/n

Summary : Jahaerys and Alysanne had many children princes and princesses but the seventh would go down as Archmaster Vaegon and early prince. A young man who favours books over others, but is that true? Is it true that he cannot love or is the young prince hiding something like everyone else at court?

Info : I wanted to write for Vaemond for a long time and I thought he needs some fluffy in his life have fun reading ;)

cover by me (again I really like it)

masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

King Jahaerys the first of his name, the old king, the wise a man, a king and a father of thirteen children princes and princesses born to his beloved sister queen Alysanne Targaryen.

A royal couple who were probably among the most loved in history, rightly and wrongly, as duty, marriage and honour were something that would haunt the royal family, causing the deaths of many princes and princesses and rumoured to be a companion to the Dance of the Dragons.

But above all, the family was meant for the many different personalities of the children from the sweet little princesses who loved to have dolls and cats, the older sister who was a better fighter than some knights, the kind and respectful princes who could make it to king and the little runaways who caused trouble to the gentle simple ones.

Or the seventh son Vaegon Targaryen the only one of his family and one of the few with the blood of the dragon who neither had one nor was and would become king or prince for life.

The middle-born prince who never seemed to smile, who spent his silver-gold head behind books day in and day out seemed inquisitive, polite when it mattered and yet never did his duty again.

You never saw him fighting with his brothers, playing the harp or even in the dragon pit he was almost an oddity as if he was a shadow of his parents whose grief and emotions had turned away from him due to the many losses of his siblings. ,,An eccentric through and through who can't even fight properly...pathetic for a prince," she heard Alyssa say, sitting with her ladies in waiting in the garden under the white boy with the blood-like red leaves.

The princess and her high-born friends were surrounded by sweet food and bitter wine on a sunny day that had not started well. Taking a sip of the wine to stifle her words, she looked around.

She loved days like this when the sun was warm and she could just sit here with her friends and the princess, but thinking about tomorrow made her sad.

A kind of royal breakfast had been arranged in the great hall and the court had been invited to celebrate the alliance with a house, but there was an argument between Vaemond and her friend Alyssa.

The two-eyed woman had still not forgiven her younger brother for insulting his former fiancée and sister Daella as stupid. He shouldn't have said something like that back then, it was rude…but Alyssa is so mean, she thought, not realising how one of her friends was now trying to speak to her for the third time.

,,By the fire breath of Meyleys, where are your thoughts?" she finally heard the question and winced as the wine in her silver cup almost dripped onto the book on her lap and she quickly put the cup down.

,,Nowhere-nowhere, I'm just enjoying the day," she assured, but saw that her friends had seen through her and smiled. They all knew who each other fancied, some fancied a knight, others a lord, a merchant's son or Alyssa her brother, but they also knew that one of them fancied someone in particular.

,,Just enjoying the day? Or the thought of Vaegon giving you a look at breakfast today?" Lady Velaryon asked, her seahorse necklace moving slightly as she came closer, her eyes twinkling to depict the scene. While Alyssa put on an offended expression and mumbled about buffalo while making a grumpy expression.

Shaking her head slightly but not finding it funny, she rolled her eyes, ,,He doesn't like to smile and he's not always nice when he needs to be but he's a prince with a sense of duty and…well, pretty eyes," she defended herself and moments later was enveloped in a group hug by Alyssa and the others who all laughed together.

She appreciated her friends for that, they all supported each other and had even managed to have several meetings in the gardens and the courtyard, it was only a matter of time before they would all find a husband, the laughing flowers as they are sometimes called because of their different colour dresses and their hearty laughter.

The meeting that took place in the garden slowly came to an end in the afternoon as the princess had to go to Valyrian lessons and the others went about their own business. She, on the other hand, almost ran into the library where she had volunteered to dust books and refill candles.

A task she was quickly assigned by the servants who were happy not to do this as it was considered boring but not for her she liked reading love stories and dragons in addition to the ancient knowledge of the Archmasters. It was simply soothing and, above all, she could always see Vaegon sitting at a table with a pile of books next to him.

Opening the wooden door and going inside, it didn't take her long to grab the bucket of new white kezrne and a feather duster next to it and start crawling up the stairs into the upper, narrower and not insignificantly high compartment.

,,You always look like a spider," Alyssa had once said, removing spider threads from her hair as they only cleaned softly up there, but she didn't mind. It was a place where she could see everything and enjoyed reading alone or watching the prince in an almost forbidden way.

Time passed as she removed some of the cobwebs that almost enveloped the books, dusted them off and left them in there for a while before sorting them and replacing the candles in the shelves.

Some time passed and she heard the door open again, but a glance told her that it was neither one of the servants nor the castle's own master, it was her favourite Vaegon.

Just as she thought, he went to the shelves to get his books but she felt nervous when she saw him suddenly take the stairs up here.

looking down and smiling at him, ,,Good day my Prince Vaegon a pleasure to see you" she greeted him and felt the warmth on her cheeks as she looked into the violet eyes. Saw that he looked a little surprised when he saw her and looked at the books as he seemed to have found one. ,,My lady, could you give me the book on the ancient ores of Valyria, second shelf, third row?" he asked, pointing to the row in question.

Nodding hastily, she turned round and looked for it, feeling her heart beat faster as he called her My Lady and heard his quieter, ,,Thank you for making the effort" as he slowly descended the stairs again and waited for her.

She took the book he had meant to find and decided to fetch the ores and the dust mop later. Descending the stairs with the book in her hand, she had her eyes on Vaegon rather than her feet, which caused her to let out a startled cry as she stepped next to a ladder rung and lost her footing.

She clutched the book as if it would give her support, closing her eyes in fear of the pain as if that would make it any better. But instead of hitting the ground with a thud, she felt someone pulling her close.

Someone was holding her just too tightly, their fingers closed around her body and a smell of leather, wax and wine was coming towards her. ,,Are you all right?" was the first thing she heard as she looked into the completely worried face of Vaegon, who had slowly sat down on the floor while her body lay in his arms. His violet eyes showed life, emotion and concern for someone who was not himself for the first time.

He could feel some care that came from something deeper, otherwise she was sure he would have just let everyone else go down. His fingers holding her arms still didn't let her go and she just nodded slowly, ,,Yes-yes I'm fine thank you Vaegon" she replied, almost whispering, the shock and fear making her slightly fuzzy, her hands still closed tightly around the book and she held it out to him appathetically as if it was her life's work.

But then she heard something she had never heard before his laughter he laughed and laughed he thought it was hilarious that she was holding the book out to him and hugged her even closer. ,,Oh my lady you're ready for anything sweet and amusing" he said and she saw the surprised sparkle in his violet eyes as he slowly rose and pulled her to her feet.

His hand still gripped hers as he gave her another thank you and led her to his table, ,,Please take care lady and join me," he said, pointing to the chair next to him where he helped her up and slid one of his books over to her which contained Royal Houses of the First Men.

,,Light reading to ease your mind and distract you I wouldn't want anything to happen to you" he said and squeezed her hand lightly before opening his book and staying with her talking to her about books, wine and the citadel, his house, her house but above all he didn't let go of her hand and kept stroking and squeezing it to signal to her that he was there.

A prince would protect her whether with a smile or without one Vaegon was there for her he could very well feel something and it was a love hidden between two bookworms who saw each other more than once in the library and not just to read.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[chaosduckies]

Restoration (Chapter 8)

A bunch of scenes because why not? On another note, it is extremely hard to write a scene in winter when it’s the middle of April. I hope you enjoy anyhow! Because now I’m really getting into the plot.

Word Count: 5.9k

CW: Death, crying, vague thoughts of suicide, severe trauma, (anything else idk??)

8-Ryker

It was Thanksgiving break. The first official break from school until Christmas. Words could not describe how grateful I was for the week-long break. There was no reason to have so much work piled up a couple weeks before the end of first semester. 

I was laying in my bed on my phone. It was about to turn six, which meant I should probably get started on dinner, but I just couldn’t bring myself to climb out of bed. I was physically and mentally tired of keeping up with everyone and whatever plans they had with their friends, taking care of Isabelle and Angela since they were still little, and on top of that keep up with the chores around the house. 

I grabbed my phone off the charger, stretched out my arms and legs from laying down, and opened my door to get started on dinner. The living room was oddly quiet, with Dylan and Lucky playing a game. Isabelle playing a game with Angela on the carpet that consisted of a bunch of stuffed animals and blankets. I smiled to myself. 

“What do you guys feel like eating for dinner?” I leaned against the kitchen island, waiting for an answer. 

“Spaghetti!” Isabelle and Angela answered at the time, giggling at one another. I think I could do that. I don’t know if Lucky can though. It was the first weekend of the break and I’d probably need to go grocery shopping tomorrow anyways. 

I looked in Dylan’s direction, making them pause whatever they were playing together. He just shrugged his shoulders, “Whatever’s easier for you.” Always with the same response. 

“Ummm, I can go check what we have.” Lucky told me, getting Dylan to let him onto the floor. All I could do was wait now. Jasmine was staying over at her friends today and tomorrow. I just told her to text me if she goes anywhere far and if she needed anything. Weird, right? Usually the parent handles these kinds of things, but in the situation my siblings and I are in it’s literally impossible. 

Lucky came back, shaking his head, “We don’t have the things for spaghetti,” He laid down on the arm rest of the couch and grabbed his remote, “You should call Nathan to come over. He hasn’t been here in a while. Plus, he’s so much better at cooking than I am. Right, Angela?” 

“Yeah!” 

I bit the side of my cheek. I don’t know about that. Just asking Nathan to come over to cook and then ask him to leave? That was wrong. Plus, he told me before the break that he’ll be pretty busy. Or… texted me. Either way, I shouldn’t bother him. Maybe he actually has a meal with his family for Thanksgiving and they were all getting ready for it already. On the other hand, Lucky makes something else for him and Angela, Angela doesn’t eat, and then everything goes downhill from there. 

Looking at my phone, I picked it up, opening the messages app, and clicked on Nathan’s name. The last time he came here, Jasmine did kind of freak him out. I remember him not being able to leave anyone’s side if she was in the room. I wonder if he’d even want to come over after that. At school the next day he was a little nervous, but otherwise fine afterward, but I’m sure whatever Jasmine told him is still stuck in his mind. Ugh. This was such a bad idea. 

Ryker: I have a huge favor to ask you 

I waited for a response, watching Dylan and Lucky play a fighting game against one another. I had no idea who was winning, but I’m pretty sure it was Lucky. Actually… it was kind of weird how Lucky seemed to want Nathan around more often. Like, really weird. Especially when every time Nathan came, he would practically ditch him with me. I honestly don’t mind, I liked having Nathan come over, but still. I had wondered why, but I wasn’t going to ask. 

Nathan: Yeah?

Ryker: Do you mind coming over to help Lucky cook something? 

Ryker: You don’t have to 

Well, if he says no Lucky will have to make whatever he can and I’d have to break the news to Angela. If you didn’t know, four year olds can be a little hard to deal with sometimes. So, this might just turn out to be a very, very bad day. 

Nathan: Sure! 

Nathan: Anything specific?

I stared at his text, relief washing over me. Dylan let out a cheer from winning against Lucky. Wow. Perfect timing. I was just so grateful right now. Nathan was literally the greatest friend ever. Now I have to think of someway to thank him. That shouldn’t be too hard, right? 

Ryker: They wanted spaghetti

Ryker: And thank you  

Nathan: No problem :)

Ryker: I guess I’ll be at the bus stop in about twenty minutes? 

Nathan: Okay 

I stuffed my phone in my pocket, “Okay, I’ll be right back, just text me if something happens.” I told Dylan, who nodded his head. And with that, I walked out the door and into the cold air. 

———Nathan———

Winters in the city were bad. But not as bad as when we were still help captive. Now those days were terrible. Horrifying even. It was still freakishly cold here. Not something I enjoy. For several reasons really. One being that I already get cold really easily. Two, I just hated being cold and sick. And the most important reason being that it was during this kind of weather when my dad had died. Actually, in three days it’s officially been nine years since my dad died. November 24. A long time, right? 

It hurts. The memories. Not just of him but how they brutally murdered him in front of his own child. I shuddered at the sight pictured in my mind. Nope. Can’t think about that. Right now I should probably be getting ready to head over to the bus stop. I already had packed a tiny bag with the things I needed to cook. Weird enough, it was kind of a therapy for me at this point. To be cooking I mean. I guess that’s why my mom always gets worried when I’m baking for no reason. Because she knows. 

I sighed, giving my mom a quick text that I was heading over to Ryker’s for a little while. The last time I went, I thought everything was going great before Jasmine talked to me alone. everyone had left to go looking for something and it was just her and I. I was scared of course. We’ve never, ever talked before and from what I’ve gathered she’s really intimidating. 

Her exact words to me were: “If you hurt my brother in any way I will personally murder you.” and that was was it took for me to have an entire mental breakdown for nearly two weeks. I mean, who wouldn’t be scared if someone’s sibling threatened you like that? So, the week before the break, I might have been acting a little weird around Ryker, afraid that I might actually do something wrong or hurt him in any way, which I don’t really see how I could. 

Otherwise, I haven’t really been doing anything. I told Ryker that I would be busy during the break, but really I wasn’t. Only because I do actually have something to do on November 24, and I was already feeling the depression spikes as the day came closer and closer. As for Thanksgiving itself, my mom and I never do anything. Last year we were barely getting used to being in the mental hospital so we didn’t really do anything. This year she’s working so it’ll just be me. Nothing new. 

I made my way down the icy streets, the sun setting faster and faster. It was only getting colder, and I didn’t really have a winter jacket. Just some to wear in the classroom like when it’s freezing in there. So, yeah, I was basically freezing my face off. Not to mention that my mom told me it might snow later tonight since it was already under twenty degrees outside. I wasn’t used to cold weather. 

Once I made it to the bus stop, I snuggled up with my bag on the bench, trying to have some kind of warmth. Also because there were several people (giants) who were going back home from stores or getting off of work. The bus stop was actually used for both humans and giants. The human was a little ways from the huge one that was practically as tall as a skyscraper. Maybe taller. 

My hands were shaky from the cold, but it was only another five minutes before Ryker would come and hopefully I wouldn’t be as cold. Maybe. Hopefully. I don’t know what today has in store for me. All I knew was that I just wanted to wrap myself in a blanket with some hot chocolate and binge watch something on tv. 

Ryker came a few minutes later, smiling and giving a thanks before offering a hand. I threw the bag on first before struggling to get on. It was hard when the ground underneath you was starting to freeze over, but I figured it out after trying for a good minute. 

“You’re freezing.” Ryker told me, cupping his hand just a little. Sure, it was scary to have his fingers closer to me, but still, it was warm. How could I deny something that was practically calling me? 

  “That good?” He smiled, for some reason making sure I was comfortable. But I was not about to complain. I was desperate at this point. I nodded my head, bringing my knees closer to my chest to keep some of my body warmth with me. And yet another reason I hate winter. 

“Thanks again. Sorry for bothering you.” 

I continuously shook my head, hoping he would get the message that it was fine. Plus, I liked going over. Everyone was nice (Besides Jasmine I’m pretty sure she hates me) and never really tried to do anything too crazy with me. It was great. I’m not as afraid anymore, which was a miracle given I thought I could never trust anyone ever again, and I’ve actually made some friends. 

Ryker opened the door to his house, where we found them all watching a movie together. Everyone turned their heads as soon as the door closed behind Ryker. I jumped slightly, but relaxed after a while. Nothing to be afraid of. Dylan’s eyes landed on me, giving a smile and a two fingered wave. I waved back, but I doubt he could see it. 

I was set down on the ground, not entirely expecting to be in a tight hug the second I balanced myself. Lucky bursted out laughing, letting me go, “You are literally the best, Nathan.” I laughed with him, following Lucky into the room. 

——————

I didn’t eat anything. I wasn’t hungry. Of course Ryker tried to convince me to eat something, but I always answered no. Otherwise, dinner was okay. They had Lucky, Angela and I on the coffee table, which wasn’t really too big of a deal. I’m pretty sure Ryker and Dylan just didn’t want to handle any humans while they were eating, and hey, I was not about to say anything about it. There are just some things that will never leave my mind. 

After everyone ate, Dylan and Lucky started playing a game on the tv while Isabelle and Angela were playing hide and seek I’m pretty sure. I just hoped that no one would get hurt, but Ryker quickly reassured me that they would never harm one another. I just had to believe him. Most of his siblings are stuck together like glue. Which is a good thing. 

“It’s supposed to start snowing in a little bit.” Ryker announced, earning cheers from the other room where I was guessing Angela and Isabelle were. I was sitting on the arm rest of the couch by Ryker. I kind of wished that their house was a little warmer, because I was still annoyingly cold, but beggars can’t be choosers. I should have asked to grab a blanket. 

“Nice. Are we gonna go out?” Dylan asked, eyes glued to the screen. I had no idea who was winning, but I think it was him. 

“If you want to.” 

Ryker threw his phone on the other side of the couch, turning his head to the screen. I don’t want to go outside, but I’ll go if that makes things easier. I just don’t want to be in the snow. Reasons. Remember? 

It was about ten minutes later that it did actually start snowing. Angela and Isabelle were begging Ryker to let them outside, which he just laughed to and told them to get jackets on and to bring their hats. Dylan paused their game to go get on a jacket, and Ryker left to go help Isabelle. So I was alone in the living room while everyone was busy to go have some fun. I hated winter. In just three days. I reminded myself. 

What would happen? Would someone else be claimed victim? Something bad always happens during this time. I don’t know if it was just me. It probably was. Everyone else was smiling while I was crying in the corner. It’s how it was in the hospital. They all went outside if they could, and I stayed in my room, under the blankets and shove my face into my pillow to drown out my tears. I couldn’t do that now though. Not when so many people had their eyes on me. Not when a trip back to the hospital was a very viable option for me. I didn’t want to go back. Not because of something… traumatic that happened nine years ago. I should be over it, right? But I’m not. 

There goes one of my depression spells. Great. Just great. At a time like this? I sucked in a deep breath, calming myself down before anyone notices. This was embarrassing. 

Ryker came back into the room, eyes landing on me with an unsure look on his face. He walked up to me, holding a hand out. Was he not going to wear any gloves? He wouldn’t be cold? I stood up, keeping my balance on the soft surface underneath me and walking to climb onto his hand. 

“You don’t mind if I just keep you in my hand, right? I don’t want you to be freezing.” He asked. I shook my head, sitting down in the middle of his palm. That was actually what I preferred. I did not plan whatsoever to go into the snow anyways. 

Once everyone was outside, Ryker sat down on the stairs, cupping his hand and keeping me close. A little uneasy about it, but there was really no reason to be. It’s just instinct. And everything in me right now is saying to get the hell inside. But I wasn’t going to say that. Mostly because I don’t want to be alone.  

They were all screaming and laughing. It was snowing pretty hard too, already covering most of the frosted grass just after ten minutes. Other people were also sitting outside. Their kids playing around with the snow. I tried not to focus on that. Instead, I found myself scooting back slowly, almost to where I couldn’t see the heavy fall of the white flakes. 

My body was still freezing. It was so much colder than before. Was this how dad felt? The cold pricking at his skin I mean. 

“Nathan?” My thoughts were interrupted by a soft voice above me. I groaned, body shaking and stuffing my hands in my pockets to preserve some of my body heat. I shuddered a breath, trembling. It’s so cold… How could they even be having fun like this? I looked ahead, seeing Dylan helping Isabelle make a small snowman with both Angela and Lucky stuffed in his scarf. This was just another one of my depression spells. 

“Still cold?” Ryker asked me. I took a deep breath, “Y-Yeah…” It came out more like a quiet mumble, and I was surprised that he even heard me. Did he want to help them make a snowman? He probably did. I should just tell him to leave me inside. It would make things a million times easier for everyone. 

Ryker moved his hand a bit, making me worried about what he was trying to do, but he just kept it the same. I wondered why he was going through all this trouble just for me. There was really no point. There was only a couple more months until graduation and then we’d go our separate ways. That’s how it always goes. I’d be alone again, figuring out what to do with the rest of my life. That’s how my story goes. 

“Better?” 

I nodded my head, getting to a comfortable position and decided to just watch what they were all doing. Finishing up the head of the snowman. It was comfy even though I was kind of scared from being in someone’s hand. At least now that is. Currently I was just afraid of falling into the deep snow. I’m pretty sure if I fell I’d sink into it. Not something I would like to see or imagine. 

“You okay?” Ryker asked, softly smiling above me. There was no other response other than to nod. I couldn’t just say no. That wouldn’t do any good. But.. maybe if he notices that these next few days would be hard for me. Maybe. Just maybe. I doubt it though. I don’t plan on being here all of the time anyways. I couldn’t. 

Isabelle finished the snowman, grabbing some loose twigs for arms as they stepped back. It was still snowing, just not as much. Was dad watching me right now? Was he shocked just as much as I was? I never thought I’d ever be able to be around another giant for as long as I had lived, and here I am, sitting in one of their hands. Would he think I was crazy? Delusional? Psycho? Happy like my mom even? I would never know, but even I think I was crazy. 

Actually… why did I even trust Ryker? Or really anyone. They’re all so nice of course, but about four months ago I was so sure that every giant would only hurt me, and it almost became true with that lunch incident that felt like forever ago. So why did I trust these people with my life? In the back of my mind I keep thinking that this was all just a sick joke being played on me. But… I don’t think these people are lying about anything. They don’t have a reason to. And Ryker’s been nothing but patient, and kind, and… understanding. No one would go through all that trouble just to fool someone as gullible as me. 

I sighed, snuggling up closer to Ryker’s thumb and watching Isabelle throw snowballs at Dylan who was shielding Lucky and Angela from the crossfire. Was it scary being there? In the midst of everything? Having to trust someone at least fifty times your size to keep you safe? I sucked in a shaky breath, just watching. It wasn’t so bad really. 

———Ryker———

Today was November 24. Thanksgiving was here, and everything was a complete mess. I never learned how to make a turkey like the tradition, so usually I just made something that all of us had liked. Along with that, I had to make sure no one did anything too crazy while I was busy in the kitchen. Jasmine and Dylan were helping out cooking while I ordered something for Lucky and Angela. They both agreed on pizza (Because what else does a fourteen year-old and a four year-old want) so now I was busy with that. That part was mostly because Angela didn’t like when Lucky cooks something different. 

It was just pure chaos now. Everyone was running around the house, and at that point I had to ask Jasmine to keep an eye on Angela to make sure she didn’t wander off where we couldn’t find her. I wasn’t too worried about Lucky since he’s almost always with Dylan, plus he’s smart enough to stay off the floor when it’s something like this. 

I took out the lasagna, letting it cool down before making separate plates. Yeah, I know, super weird, but I can’t do anything better. I only know the basics thanks to my parents, and that was all I needed to know. 

There was a knock on the door, and I asked Dylan to open it. It was just the pizza. I washed whatever dishes I had and called everyone that dinner was ready. It’s days like this where I wished that my parents never left. I feel like I can never be like them even though I was the oldest. I mean, was I just supposed to let CPS split us all apart? I couldn’t do that. My siblings would never forgive me. I like to think that they’re all happy, but I doubt it. Sometimes I feel like I can’t do anything to help any of them. Like I’m doing this “parenting” thing all wrong. Of course I was. I was seventeen in my last year of high school taking care of five kids on my own while also juggling a job and trying to do fun things with them so we can forget about what happened a little over a year ago. There was no reason for one person to be doing all of this. 

It was snowing outside again. Not really surprising when you’ve lived here for your entire life. It was really nice though. I loved the cold. Weird, because most people don’t, but I do. I remember my parents freaking out when I would just be outside making a snowman in just a short sleeve and sweatpants when I was a kid. Of course it was so cold it burned, but I guess I kind of liked it? It was hard to explain. Or sometimes we’d stay inside and watch movies or play a game. I missed it really. 

“Ry.” Jasmine snapped her fingers in front of me to get my attention. I blinked a couple times before giving a clueless look. She groaned, “I asked if I could go shopping tomorrow, I have work the next three days so I just wanna go do something.”

“Oh, um, sure.” 

The tv was playing in the background, but I wasn’t paying attention. Come to think of it, I don’t think I was paying attention to anything. Dylan, Jasmine, and Lucky were all laughing about something. What were they laughing about again? Something about going back to school? I don’t even want to think about that right now. I needed a break anyways. Most of my classes love giving me piles and piles of work anyways. 

I sighed, pushing away my plate that I had barely eaten. The sun has already set, everyone was done eating, Angela asked Jasmine if she could go outside in the snow. She said yes, and so Isabelle followed. Dylan and Lucky were helping me wash the remaining dishes. Honestly I already felt so tired. It was only 8 p.m but my eyes threatened to close at any moment. 

“You okay, Ry?” Dylan asked, putting a plate up in the cabinet. 

“Yeah.” I replied, handing him another to dry. Lucky shook his head while continuously saying “no” over and over again. At some point Dylan grew tired of it and pressed the pad of his thumb into Lucky’s entire upper half of his body. 

“He’s not wrong. You’re always like this on holidays.” 

“I am?” I sighed, not really knowing how to get out of this one. These two have always been vigilant anyways. They would have noticed at some point. 

“Yeah.” 

“I don’t know. I just feel really tired today.”  

“That’s it?” 

“Mhm.” 

Dylan gave me a skeptical look before putting in another plate. He doesn’t believe me. I don’t think he ever will about these kinds of things. 

“Why don’t you call Nathan? You always seem happier around him.” 

I stopped only for a second, then continued to scrub off something on the pan I used. No. I won’t call him. Not this time. No matter how many times he’s actually made me feel better just by being here. I’ve noticed I was happier around him too, but it’s only short lived since he always goes back at the end of the day. Do I know why I was happier? Not really. I’ve thought of a few reasons. Because he’s the only friend I’ve made since middle school. He listens to me ramble on and on about the most useless information. Best of all he’s really nice. Doesn’t really seem like he’s tricking me either. Not that I think he could even if he wanted to. He was too sweet. 

“No.” I sighed. Cleaning out the sink and handing off the last dish. 

“Why not?” Dylan asked leaning against the counter. 

“Cause I’m tired. No point in calling if I’m just going to fall asleep,” I countered, drying my hands and heading to my room, “Make sure Isabelle and Angela are asleep by 10? Please?”  

Dylan nodded his head, I closed the door behind me and buried myself under the covers of my bed. I can’t keep on relying on Nathan to come fix every problem I have. He’s probably off dealing with whatever he’s doing right now anyways. But still, my hand reached for my phone, grabbing it and opening the messages app. I’m just gambling with myself at this point. If he answers in the next ten minutes I’ll ask to call, if he doesn’t, I’ll head to sleep. Either way it’s really a win-win. And here it goes. 

———Nathan———

I was laying on my bed, under the covers. No lights, no sounds, just nothing. I had cried earlier this morning when I visited his grave. My eyes were dry now. Red and puffy. I just sat curling in on myself while clutching the same teddy bear he gave me when I was still just a kid. It was childish, but if it’s all I have left of him then I’m taking advantage of that. 

Ironic, huh? How this holiday was supposed to bring family together. It was actually the opposite for me. Even though he didn’t actually die on this holiday, it’s just ironic how it happened this year. When we’re finally free and live like a “normal” family now. Was he watching me now? Sad and lonely in my bed? I hope he wasn’t. He’d scold me. 

My phone went off, but I didn’t feel like looking at it. It’s not like I wanted to be alone. Usually my mom would cheer me up by taking my mind off of it. Whether it was playing some makeshift game or just doing something I liked with me. What else was there to say? This year was the year I was completely alone. 

I sucked in a deep breath, picking up my phone with sore arms. I spent most of the day digging out the old flowers on his grave and replacing them with new ones. It was hard to do when a thin sheet of snow was covering most of the dirt and grass, but it was worth it to see the bright a beautiful colors. His favorites were lilacs. I remember mom telling me that. 

My eyes shot up when I saw who texted me. Ryker? I mean it was already night, so I doubt he was going to ask if I wanted to go over. But… I was kind of curious now. 

Ryker: Hey

Ryker: How was your day? 

Ryker: You’re probably doing something right now but I’d just thought I’d check what you were doing 

Sent five minutes ago. Why did he want to know what I was doing? It seemed weird to me, but maybe he was just bored. Did they celebrate? I hope they did. They seem to be happy with each other. 

Nathan: It was okay :) 

Nathan: And yours? 

Ryker: Chaotic

Nathan: Oh 

I wasn’t technically lying. My day was okay despite crying for most of it. 

Ryker: Yeahhh 

Ryker: Do you feel like calling? 

Ryker: You don’t have to of course 

I thought about it. It wouldn’t be that bad. Might keep my mind occupied.

  Nathan: Sure 

And so he called. 

“Hello?” His voice sounded tired and sad, like he just woke up or something. I couldn’t find my voice. It’s become rasp from sobbing anyways. It’d be embarrassing for it to sound like that over the phone. So hopefully it’ll get better in the morning. 

“Oh, right,” He sighed, “Sorry. I just felt like talking and usually you listen. You can just hang up if you don’t want to though.” He sounded nervous, but I didn’t want to hang up. Not only because it was the wrong thing to do, but because I always loved listening to what he was saying. No matter how irrelevant it was. It distracted my mind from everything wrong with me. And he seemed to like it when I did. 

Nathan: I’m listening 

I heard him let out a little chuckle before talking. I could hear at some points it sounded like he was going to cry, and some he sounded like he was so hurt, and sometimes he’d laugh. He changed the subject multiple times, but I kind of liked it. I just wished I could help in some other way. It sounded to me like he was stressed out and just wanted someone to be there, and I’m surprised none of his siblings were. Or maybe they were, but he just doesn’t want to put all of this on them. It seemed like something he would do. 

By the time he was done, it was an hour before midnight. Funny thing was, I wasn’t tired anymore. I was putting together pieces in my mind still about everything he had talked about. How he was mentally tired of juggling five things around at once. I would be too if I were him. How he’s been more and more exhausted by the end of the day. How his parents usually did all of these kinds of things. I was going to ask what happened to them, but I feel like that was a touchy subject. Especially when he just vented to me. I don’t mind though. Not at all. 

“Oh crap. Sorry for keeping you up.” Ryker apologized, saying sorry about five times before I texted him that it was okay. I wasn’t going to sleep anytime soon. 

“Thanks. Y’know. For listening.” I heard him yawn on the other side. He was the one tired. I silently laughed to myself, hugging the bear closer to my chest. If only he could see me now… this was embarrassing. He’d probably make fun of me for it. I wouldn’t care. 

“You’re too nice, you know that?” I heard shuffling on the other side of the phone. Probably Ryker getting ready to go to sleep. And I know this was selfish, but I didn’t want him to hang up. I didn’t want my mind to realize that I was alone again. Was is it really selfish then? To me, yes. It feels like I was making him do something he didn’t want to. 

“Hey, um, remember when you tried hugging me that one time? Why’d you do it?” He had asked, and I could practically see his face. Confused and happy at the same time. He was talking about when I had to stay overnight. I knew that would come up eventually, just not so soon. 

Nathan: Nobody’s ever been so nice to me before. Besides my mom of course 

Nathan: But I was kind of shocked you agreed without complaining 

Nathan: Are you mad about it?

“Mad? Nononono. Um, the complete opposite really,” He laughed quietly, “I was shocked, yeah, but happy too.” 

That gets rid of the guilt. I swear I thought I ruined everything between us, but now I know what he really thought. He wasn’t mad at me for anything. 

“What about the other day? When it was snowing. You looked comfortable. Like you were about to sleep.” My cheeks started blushing from embarrassment. I had hoped he didn’t see me snuggling closer into his palm to stay warm, but apparently he did. So embarrassing. I groaned quietly to myself, tightly hugging the bear closer. 

Nathan: Sorry 

Nathan: I was cold 

Nathan: You were warm 

Nathan: Sorry again 

It was silent for a second. 

“Why do you apologize for things like that?” 

I didn’t know the answer to that question. Usually my mind just takes over and then I spiral into the worst possible scenarios. So I have no idea why I do. Maybe because my brain thinks I’ll get hurt if I don’t? My body was scared of getting another broken bone or something getting hurt? 

Nathan: I don’t know 

It was silent again. 

“Do… do you like being around me? I-I mean most people stop talking to me as soon as they get what they want. So, I was just wondering.” His voice sounded hurt. Obviously this ha sharpened once or twice to him. And it hurt to hear that these things have happened to someone so amazing. I could never do that to Ryker. It’d hurt me more than it’d hurt him. 

“Y-yes.” I almost immediately replied, my voice a little raspy. It hurt to speak, but it was fine. It’ll get better in time. 

I heard him let out a sigh of relief, and I smiled. I was finally doing the right thing for once in my life. I’m kind of glad this was how the day ended. 

“I would give you a hug if you were here… and if you were comfortable enough with it,” We both laughed quietly, “I’ll let you go to sleep. I’ve kept you up long enough.” 

I shook my head, forgetting that he wasn’t here to see it. I didn’t want him to go. Then again he sounded exhausted. Then I would be the one keeping him up. Or he doesn’t even have to stay awake. Just the knowledge that I knew he was just on the other side of the phone was enough to make me feel like I wasn’t alone. 

“U-Um you d-don’t have to s-stay up b-but could we stay… stay on call? P-Please.” I waited for an answer, biting my tongue for stuttering so much. My body was shaky for no reason. I was nervous. He was going to say no. He was going to say no. He was going to- 

“I would love that.” 

I wish he could see the smile I had on my face. How fast my heart was beating. I laid down under the covers, getting comfortable and staring at my phone that read: Ryker: 3:14. Three hours and fourteen minutes. Another seven won’t hurt. 

“Thank you.” 

I fell asleep a couple minutes after he did. No nightmares haunted me tonight.

—————————————

My heart is meltinggggggg

By the way, this was not the great scene I was talking about. This was just one of many to make the one I actually want to write make sense.

Anywayssss I told you guys it would be a little plot heavy for a while! I loved how this chapter came out though.

Hope you enjoyed, and thank you for reading! Love you guys!

[literaryfandomangel]

The Promise - Chapter Ten

Lips parting in a soundless gasp, I realized what situation I had found myself in. My eyes darted around, searching for a friendly face or someone to jump into the fray, but I only found people who averted their eyes and walked faster. The men surrounding me were sneering at me, thinking it was funny that they could corner a female. 

“I’m talking to you!” One of the men said. He had a bald head and numerous tattoos covering his arms. 

“Scared now that none of those freaks are here to save you?” Another guy taunted, dark hair slicked back. He leaned down, putting his face close to mine. 

I gulped, my entire body shaking, anticipating what these men planned to do with me. I could have sworn that my fear was palpable, that a thick stench clouded the Boardwalk. I couldn’t break through the four men circled around me like a school of piranha that smelled blood, so I brought my arms tighter across my body. I tried to take comfort in Dwayne’s jacket and the sudden waft of his scent. One of the men reached out to grab at the leather. I pulled away, hitting my hip into the jut of the railing as I did. 

I gasped in pain, feeling a bloom of agony in my hip. Tears rushed to my eyes as the pain almost knocked my breath away. I wasn’t sure if I had broken my hip; it was throbbing so badly. 

“Please don’t,” I begged, green eyes wide with fear and unshed tears glimmering. 

“You don’t need their jackets,” the first man sneered, dipping his head down. He had a satisfied grin at being able to scare the female his rivals were enamored with. My nose wrinkled at the smell wafting from the dark cavern of his mouth. It smelled like rotting teeth, grease, pork hotdogs, and beer. 

“No!” I cried out, trying to shimmy away from the eight hands reaching out to rip the jacket from my body. I was too weak to fight them. 

“Come on, pretty girl,” a hand tried to touch my face. I flinched back, slamming into the railing. I felt a throbbing sensation in my back due to the handrail sharply digging into the prominent bones. I was going to be bruised tomorrow. 

“No!” I shouted, trying to get away from him. I watched in horror as he raised his hand as if he were going to backhand me. I screwed my eyes shut tight, trying to make myself smaller. I wondered if I could fall backways from the railing - and hit the sand. It might be safer. 

“Now, that’s no way to treat a beautiful lady,” a familiar, taunting voice filled the air. I sagged in relief, recognizing the voice as David’s. I opened my eyes, seeing Paul grasping the man’s wrist before he could follow the motion. I sighed in relief that they had finally shown up on the Boardwalk. 

“You okay, baby?” Marko pulled one of the guys roughly by his jacket. He tossed him without a care in the world. I panted, feeling the beginnings of my adrenaline rush fading as Marko wrapped an arm around me. The aches and pains were throbbing, becoming sharper with every passing moment. 

“Yeah,” I muttered, turning in Marko’s hold to bury my head in his soft, patched jacket. They were quiet for a few moments, probably thinking of how to handle the situation while the bullies were blubbering. 

“Go to Dwayne, darling,” David’s voice finally broke through the silence. I raised my head, looking at the man in charge of the four guys. David nodded at me, eyes gentle and appraising as he looked over my figure. Marko’s ironclad hold loosened as Dwayne held a hand out for me to take. 

I took a moment to calm myself further before I put my tiny hand in Dwayne’s outstretched appendage. His massive hand dwarfed mine as he tightly but gently squeezed our hands together. I looked up at Marko for a second, and he gave me a wink before I let Dwayne lead me away from the scene. 

When we reached their motorcycles, my teeth chattered as I succumbed to shock. Dwayne grabbed my waist, lifting me onto a bike. He inspected me, looking over my face as I convulsed with violent shudders. 

“Are you hurt?” Dwayne asked, concern bleeding into his voice as he finished his precursory check. I wanted to deny the injuries, but my hip was starting to swell. 

Instead of providing a response, I just looked up at the brunette who I had tried to find upon my initial appearance at the Boardwalk. Dwayne wasn’t wearing a jacket; he was just wearing his jewelry and a sash around his torso. I realized that I was still wearing his jacket and went to pull it off. 

Dwayne put his hand on top of mine, creating a ripple of hot tingles radiating from the source of the skin-to-skin contact. I gasped in amazement, becoming engrossed in the feeling of effervescence beneath my pale skin. I didn’t notice Dwayne’s fond expression as he watched me. I also didn’t hear the return of the three other males in the group. 

“Is she okay?” David’s calm voice cut through the fog that had filled my mind from the skin contact. I blinked and snapped out of my trance. 

“She hasn’t said a word,” Dwayne’s deep, velvety voice was worried as he stroked back the hair hanging around my face. Paul approached me, a massive smile on his face. 

“Are you hurt anywhere, honey?” Paul knelt down in front of me. His handles settled on my knees, a comforting and warm weight on my shivering frame. However, I felt the same tingles shooting through my bony patellas as I had with the other three. Marko ran his hand across my back to provide comfort, but I yelped. His hand had inadvertently hit a bruise, but I missed the anger that darkened their irises. 

Marko’s hands flew into the air immediately after I yelped. He was scared that it was his strength that had hurt me when it was just a slight pressure on a bruise. I tried to reach behind me, but I winced when twisting strained my hip. 

“Ow,” I mumbled, left hand reaching down to cradle my bruised hipbone. I knew I would be sore tomorrow if right now was any indication. 

“What hurts?” David demanded, his pale blue eyes holding my gaze. I felt compelled to tell him exactly what hurts. 

“My hip and back,” I whispered. Paul stood at his height of 5’11. He leaned around me, pulling the jacket back to lay eyes on my injuries. I shied away from his sudden tugging on my clothing. Their eyes narrowed at the reaction, but they decided not to say anything. They figured their mate would let them know when I was ready. 

“Let’s take her to the cave,” David commanded the other three while I furrowed my brow in confusion. Why would they want to take me to a cave? I wondered if that was their own language to describe their hang-out. 

David rested a gloved hand on my cheek. I nuzzled into the surprisingly warm and soft leather while David’s eyes softened at the action. He stepped back after a moment, getting onto his own bike. Dwayne straddled his own motorcycle, pulling my arms around his torso. That’s when I remembered that his torso was naked. Flesh warm beneath my cold fingers. 

Chapter Eleven

[asordinaryppl]

A3! Seasonal Event - Anniversary Game: Episode 6

Izumi: You’re all here!

Izumi: I think you’ve all read the script, but before we get to the read through, let’s go through the details once more.

Tsuzuru: The theme this time is chess.

Tsuzuru: The story is about a Red King and a Blue King fighting over one country, and you'll be playing the roles of the Red King, Bishop, Knight…

Tsuzuru: And also the Blue King, Bishop and Knight. They have the same feel, but they’re divided into different factions.

Azuma: It seems the Red and Blue Kings are brothers.

Chikage: The setting might seem shabby at first, but it’s got an interesting story with comical details here and there.

Hisoka: There’s also scenes where the audience participates…

Tsuzuru: Yes. It seems a lot of Chess Garden’s visitors are families, so I wanted to try writing a story young children would enjoy as well.

Izumi: As for the cast… First, Azami-kun is the Red King.

Kumon: A king with overflowing charisma who thinks that power is justice… Azami will play this so coolly!

Chikage: Then, Azuma-san is the gentle Red Bishop. Am I the hot-blooded Red Knight?

Tsuzuru: Yes. Since they’re the Red King’s subordinates, they’re actually both rather physically strong.

Azami: Kumon’s the sincere and serious Blue Knight.

Hisoka: Tsuzuru is the Blue Bishop who’s always worried about something or other…

Azuma: And the Red King’s older brother as well as adversary, the Blue King, is Hisoka. He’s a rather cool king… Smart and sarcastic, too.

Chikage: Even though their motifs are the same, the red and blue pieces have completely different personalities and feels to their characters, so it’d be good if we could complement each other just as well.

Kumon: Yeah, yeah! I wanna pay attention to that as I prepare for my role!

Izumi: Now that we’ve confirmed everyone’s roles, let’s start reading from the first scene!

-

Izumi: … Okay, let’s stop here for today.

Izumi: We’ll start practicing in earnest tomorrow, but does anyone have anything they’d like to confirm before that?

Azami: Uh, I don’t have anything I need to confirm, but I wanna say something…

Azami: I heard the guys over at Chess Garden want to make this event more exciting than the past ones. So I was wondering if there was anything else we could do…

Hisoka: Like what?

Azami: Like, maybe like the previous events, we could wear costumes and serve and guide customers.

Azami: We got the play though, so that might be difficult…

Azami: I’m just makin’ suggestions, and they all sound sorta impossible. And we gotta get permission from the guys at Chess Garden too.

Kumon: No, I think it’s an awesome idea! I wanna serve the customers, too!

Hisoka: I think it’s a good idea too. It’ll probably get more people interested in the stage.

Izumi: I agree. And the previous event was well-received, so suggesting it to the other party might not be a bad idea.

Tsuzuru: Then I’ll talk to those who participated in the previous events, they’ll probably be of help.

Azuma: Since it’s an anniversary event, we must all make sure it’s a big success.

Chikage: I’d like to show the visitors more than they came to see.

Izumi: I’ll contact Chess Garden once we’re done, then. Thank you for the idea, Azami-kun!

Azami: Nah, I should be thanking you…

Azami: (... I’m glad everyone agreed.)

-

Azami: I’m back.

Izumi: Oh, Azami-kun! Welcome back, I was waiting for you.

Azami: Did something happen?

Izumi: I’ll tell everyone else later, but Chess Garden happily accepted the idea you had yesterday.

Izumi: What’s more, they not only asked if we could serve and provide information to customers, but also announce the event on the first day…

Azami: For real?

Izumi: For real. But I’m not really sure we should take that on too.

Izumi: It will add onto your and Hisoka-kun’s burdens especially, since you’ll also have a lot of lines in the play…

Azami: No, I’ll be fine. I wanna try it if possible.

Izumi: … I see! Then, let’s ask Hisoka-kun how he feels about it later.

Izumi: If anything happens, I’ll also help out. Let’s all do our best to make this event a successful one.

Azami: Yeah.

previous episode | masterpost | next episode

[bullet-prooflove]

Trust Issues - Crockett Marcel x Reader (feat: Sam Abrams)

Tagging: @cosmic-psychickitty @celilice1 @kabloswrld @anime-weeb-4-life @fredandgeorgeweasley11 @99-reasons-to-live @legit9thlunaticwarrior @telepathay @teti-menchon0604 @depxiety @lelaart @mortal--soul @iworldlywriter @nu1freakshow @kylieramey @nothinbtannika @thebewingedjewelcat @irishavengersassemble

Takes place during Through The Dark in the scenes between their first meeting and their second.

Prequel to Because of You

Crockett has trust issues. He has since he opened up to Natalie about his daughter and then subsequently had his heart broken by her. He’s the first woman he loved after this ex-wife Claire and the only one he has ever told about Harper. He knows he’s messed up, that there’s a darkness in him that he fights with booze, women and a good time because Natalie’s rejection, it still stings.

In the aftermath of meeting you, he thinks about that. In fact he thinks about you often. You’re the first person to call him on his bullshit since Natalie left, and he finds it oddly refreshing. He wonders if that’s why he’s so attracted to you because you challenge him in ways that no one else has. You may have said some pretty shitty things to him but the thing is every single one of them were true.

“The problem is, she’s right.” He tells Sam Abrams as the two of them sit at the end of the bar in Molly’s. It’s been a tough day, the two of them had collaborated on a surgery with a low chance of success. It had gone as well as it could have, now they just need to see if their patient is actually going to wake up. It’s a waiting game, one that the two of them hate playing. “I wasn’t ready to deal with it.”

“I didn’t even know you had a daughter until today.” Sam remarks, watching the ice cubes in his Scotch clack together as he swills them around. “I think that in itself shows you’re making progress.”

Crockett contemplates that. This is the first time he’s mentioned Harper to anyone, and he knows it’s because of the kid lying in that hospital bed reminds him so much of his daughter that it kills him deep inside. Sam sighs, pulling out a silver Parker Pen with his initials engraved upon it before scribbling something down onto a napkin and using his fingertips to shove it towards Crockett. It’s a name with a line of digits underneath, a phone number he realises.

“My wife’s a counsellor.” Sam explains. “She actually gets paid to listen to people. She’s not taking on new clients at the moment but if you tell her I sent you she’ll make the time.”

Crockett stares down at the napkin clutched in his hand.

“You think I need therapy?”

Sam shrugs his shoulders.

“I think you need something.” He informs the other man. “Therapy, an intervention, probably something along those lines. I think you’ve gotten used to numbing the pain instead of dealing with it and at some point, in the future it’s going to affect your judgement. I don’t want to see an excellent surgeon lose sight of what’s important because he isn’t taking care of himself.”

Crockett feels his jaw tighten at the insinuation. He opens his mouth to say something but stops himself because it occurs to him that Sam doesn’t waste his breath. If he didn’t think there was an issue, he wouldn’t have handed over his wife’s number. This is his way of trying to help without getting all fuzzy about it.

“Fine.” He says, tucking the napkin into the pocket of his jeans. “I’ll give her a call tomorrow morning, see if she can fit me in.”

Love Crockett? Get added to his tag list!

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[schrijverr]

I Found Myself a Cheerleader 17

Chapter 17 out of 28

Bumped to the lowest step on the social ladder after his fight with Billy, Steve gets roped in with the cheer team. What starts as a favor to help them out when one member breaks her leg in turn for protection from the brunt of the bullying, sets the universe on a different path.

In this chapter, a second body is found and Nancy also joins their little crew as they try to prove Eddie’s innocence. Later, they also run into Lucas. More and more of what is going on unraveling in front of them as Max is also marked as a target.

On AO3.

Ships: steddie & buckingham

Warnings: general season 4 shenanigans, child abuse mention, homophobia mention, period typical homophobia

~~~~~~~

Chapter 17: The Second Death

Chrissy is naturally terrified. None of them understand what is happening yet, but Chrissy is definitely a target and she is also new to all of this. She has taken to sticking to Robin’s side and once this is over Steve will mercilessly tease Robin about her continuous redness, though he has to admit, she hasn’t been rambling too much.

Max has also taken a shine to Chrissy, sticking close to her side in that quiet way that has snuck up on her while she was pulling away. Steve is glad to see Max again, he has been worried for her. She is probably still dealing with Billy and now with the Upside Down being back, which isn’t good, but she is at least in his line of sight. Safe.

It’s getting too late to still drive up to Weathertop especially with a teen just dead that has all parents on edge.

So, Steve drops off Dustin and Max at the Henderson house, telling them he’s going to come pick them up tomorrow. The trailer park is still a crime scene and Steve will be more at ease, knowing Max isn’t alone.

When it’s just the older teens in the car, he says: “Robs, do you think your parents will let you stay at Chrissy’s house tonight?”

“What?” Robin asks, looking back at Steve from where she’d been watching Chrissy in the backseat through the rear view mirror.

“I mean, Chrissy’s mom probably won’t let her stay at someone else’s house, but she shouldn’t be alone tonight and I am definitely not getting in,” Steve explains, knowing that Robin just wasn’t paying attention, but not calling her out on it.

Chrissy pipes up: “I’d love for you to stay over, tonight.”

Robin catches up and flushes slightly, before thinking: “Well, I can always ask if we swing by. I can be very convincing.”

“Sure,” Steve grins with a tone that earns him a pout from Robin that he ignored. “And otherwise I’ll just kidnap you, Chris. I’m sure you’ll look lovely on a milk carton.”

“Shut up, Stevie,” Chrissy giggles.

“Yeah, not funny, dingus,” Robin laughs.

Robin manages to convince her parents that she should stay at Chrissy’s house, before the two call Mrs. Cunningham and lie that otherwise Robin – sorry, Stevie – would be home alone tonight with a killer on the loose. When Mrs. Cunningham says okay, they drive to Family Video where the two get picked up, pretending Chrissy has been at work with Robin all day.

With the two safely on their way to the Cunningham house, Steve drives alone to the cabin. He feels both like he is going to burst out of his skin and collapse onto his bed and sleep for years.

When he gets home, his hand hovers over the phone and he considers calling the Sinclairs to ask about Lucas, but he doesn’t. It’s late and he doesn’t want to worry his parents and if Lucas manages to stay safe and away from all this, Steve doesn’t want to drag him back. There are already enough people in danger right now.

So, he doesn’t pick up the phone and instead paces around the house. He is exhausted, but his bed seems unappealing.

At multiple points he considers getting into his car and driving to Lover’s Lake to see if Eddie is alright. One time he is already opening the door when he stops himself. Eddie has only just offered a tentative peace, no need to force more. He’s going through a horrible thing right now, the last thing he wants is for Steve to force his company on him.

He should sleep instead. It’s the best move to rest up now that he can. None of them know what the coming days will bring. This might be the last time, he gets a good night’s rest. Not that it is likely with how he tosses and turns all throughout the night.

On the morning of the 23rd he is at the Henderson house at the crack of dawn to drive the two to Weathertop. At the Cerebro, Dustin immediately disappears into setting it all up properly so that he can listen in on the police. Max looks a little less excited to be up.

“You doing okay, Mayfield?” Steve asks, worried.

“Yeah. Fine,” Max answers curtly. “Just early.”

“Well, try to get some rest while you keep an eye on that guy, okay?” Steve smiles at her, nodding to Dustin, who is ignoring both of them.

Max smiles back and nods. “Sure, I’ll keep him safe.”

“I resent that,” Dustin finally speaks up, before turning a dial with an aha-exclamation, which makes both of them laugh.

After that, Steve drives to the grocery store that has only just opened its door, getting all Eddie’s favorites so he’ll have at least something. Then he goes to get Chrissy and Robin, who are waiting at the end of the road.

Robin scrambles into the passenger seat as she loudly says: “Thank god, I was going to smash something, I swear to god. I don’t know how you do it, Chris.”

“You get used to it,” Chrissy replies with a smile and a sad undertone.

“Oh, sorry,” Robin says, feeling awkward.

“It’s okay,” Chrissy tells her with a kind smile.

“Lets go pick up the kids and see Eddie,” Steve says to get the attention away from the fumble for which both are grateful.

However, that gratitude doesn’t last for long. With just them in the car, Robin asks: “Are you okay, you know, seeing Eddie again?”

“I’m fine,” Steve grits.

“Dingus,” Robin frowns. He hates it when she frowns.

“We’re just worried,” Chrissy backs Robin up, leaning between them from the back.

“No need,” Steve says. “I’m fine. Eddie seems to not hate me, so that’s good. He’s shaken right now. It’s not the time to talk about it.”

“Are you sure?” Robin questions, looking unsure. “I know it was like a whole thing and you feel guilty about it, but if he is only a little bit of a dick, I’m punching him. He can be an asshole too, you know.”

“Will you ever let the not saying thing go?” Steve groans.

“No, it was fucked up and you know it,” Robin pouts.

“It was my idea, Robs,” Steve says, glad he can throw the car in park to yell at Dustin and Max to come down, which they do, bearing the bad news that Eddie is indeed a wanted man.

Steve can already imagine how Eddie’s eyes will look when he hears the news and he is not looking forward to that, even if he is anxious to see Eddie alive and well. After the whole night of horror visions, he just needs to see Eddie breathe.

Eddie indeed doesn’t look so hot when they come in and takes the food gratefully, quickly stuffing his mouth so he’ll have something to do. Steve knows it is a little gross, but he can’t help but think it’s cute how Eddie munches on the cereal.

“So,” Dustin decides to break it to him, Steve is glad it’s not his task. “We got, uhm, some good news and some bad news. How do you prefer it?”

“Bad news first, always,” Eddie says, radiating nervous energy.

“All right. Bad news, we tapped into the Hawkins PD dispatch with our Cerebro and they’re definitely looking for you,” Dustin tells him. “Also, they’re- they’re pretty convinced you killed Patrick. Like a 100% kind of convinced.”

“And the good news?” Eddie asks with a desperate voice that has Steve’s heart breaking as he looks away, unable to meet those wide brown eyes.

Robin has the answer to that: “Your name hasn’t gone public yet.” Then she immediately ruins that with her motormouth. “But if we found out about you, it's a matter of time before others do and once that gets out, everyone and their shallow-minded mother is gonna be gunning for you.”

Eddie is quiet for a second as he thinks over her words. A thousand emotions flash over across his eyes, before he looks at Robin, then Steve and bitterly says: “Hunt the freak, right?”

And Steve knows exactly what Eddie means when he says that. The meaning behind the words that only he and Robin will pick up.

The Freak.

It’s a conversation they’ve had in the quiet nights, a conversation they’ve had without words, but with actions. The big difference between them. How Steve could hide his queerness, how he could go back and play King Steve and hold up the smoke and mirrors, while Eddie has always been too outspoken, too expressive, too queer. Too much of a target.

All of those emotions swirl inside Steve. The anger at everyone that judged, the hurt that he has also felt when being targeted, the indigence for this boy who was never given leeway, the guilt for turning away from Eddie, for succumbing and hiding when Eddie could not.

“Exactly,” he says, knowing all those emotions can’t be put into words. Not by Steve. Not right now.

“Shit,” Eddie replies and it sounds like he understands.

“So, before that happens, we find Vecna, kill him and prove your innocence,” Dustin jumps in to cheer up Eddie, missing the extra layers that are added for him. For them.

“That’s all, Dustin? That’s all?” Eddie snaps with the voice of someone who hasn’t been dragged into this insanity by Dustin and his never ending optimism before.

“Yeah, no that is pretty much it,” Dustin tells him, oblivious to that.

“Listen, Eddie,” Robin starts what is clearly another disastrous attempt at cheering Eddie up that Steve knows he should stop, but he doesn’t know what to say to make it better either. “I know everything Dustin is saying sounds totally delusional, but we’ve actually been through this before. I mean, they have a- a few times and- and I have once.”

Chrissy next to her nods vigorously: “She told me about it. They fought other stuff before.”

“Yeah, I mean, mine was more human-flesh based and theirs was more smoke-related,” Robin says, only knowing the bit Steve told her, while Eddie is slowly loosing more and more faith. “But bottom line is, collectively, I really feel like we got this.”

While, Robin’s speech is not inspiring, Steve thinks that she is on the right track, so he adds: “We usually rely on this girl who has superpowers,” before realizing that he might have made a mistake as he trails off. “But, uh, those went bye-bye, so…”

“So, we’re technically in more of the-” Robin jumps in to help, however, one drawback to sharing a brain is that both draw a blank.

“Kinda…” Steve tries.

“Brainstorming phase,” Max saves them.

“Brainstorming,” Steve repeats, sounding unsure, but trying to come across like he knows what he’s talking about.

“There- There’s nothing to worry about,” Dustin adds, but the slight hesitation after all his naive optimism, only makes it worse. Eddie’s scoff speaks to that.

However, before the hopelessness of their situation can be revealed further, they’re snapped to attention by police sirens. Eddie curses and all of them panic, but Chrissy jumps into action and yells: “Tarp, the tarp,” as she ushers Eddie under it.

As Eddie hides, Dustin and Max fly to the window, followed by Steve, who is already thinking of excuses for the police if they do come knocking, though he comes up blank. Luckily, the police flies by the little house, urgently on their way to elsewhere.

They all let out a sigh of relief, before Chrissy wonders out loud: “Where do you think they’re going?”

“Maybe there’s another body,” Dustin proposes, his analytical mind working quicker than his social people mind, not realizing what he’s just said.

But the others do and all look at each other with wide eyes of horror. Max says: “We have to go check it out.”

“Yeah, here, Eddie,” Dustin hands Eddie a radio, so he can contact them, before marching out to the car. There is a sudden urgency about them and Steve only waves at Eddie, who is still sitting in the boat, before he’s rushing after them.

The police aren’t difficult to find, since the road is blocked where it curves closely to a beach. There are all sorts of people there, firefighters, an ambulance and Nancy- wait Nancy?

They all get out of the car and look at the scene in front of them, trying to comprehend what has just happened here. Steve catches Nancy’s eyes from where she is talking to Chief Powell and she seemingly almost bursts into tears when she sees them.

Steve watches her for a few moments, as she says something in the way he knows she is repeating something she said before. Then she gestures at Steve and the others, before pleading to Powell and only then is she let go, making her way to them.

When she gets there, she says relieved: “Thank god, you never guess what happened. Fred just got killed. It’s horrible, I think something is going on again.”

Then her eye falls on Chrissy and she frowns, obviously confused why they would take her along in their ragtag group. Luckily, Dustin, oblivious as he may be from time to time, says: “Good, we’ve been following it already. Lets talk about this somewhere else for a bit.”

With Nancy in the car too, it is more of a tight fit, but Steve makes Chrissy sit on Robin’s lap, which causes her to flush and glare at him, but Chrissy seems perfectly happy to be there, albeit a little embarrassed.

Nancy directs them to the trailer park where she left her car. At one of the picnic tables they compare notes, Nancy horrified by their discoveries and the return of the Upside Down and the others saddened by Fred’s death. Another victim, even if they didn’t know him well. Or Patrick for that matter.

However, despite her grief, Nancy realizes that the victims don’t make sense and Max and Chrissy have both seen the others at Ms. Kelley’s office – both also look equally uncomfortable to mention that they have been seeing Ms. Kelley, however Dustin immediate distracts by saying that’s where they have to investigate.

As they get up, Nancy doesn’t follow. Immediately Steve’s eyes are filled with hearing about her death, having to tell Mike when he returns from his trip to California. Before he knows it, he is exclaiming: “Whoa, whoa, Nance. Nance! Where are you going?”

“Oh,” Nancy says, playing innocent with her big eyes. “There is just something I wanna check on first.”

“Something you wanna share with us?” Steve immediately questions.

“I don’t want to waste your time. It’s a real shot in the dark,” Nancy tells him apologetically if Nancy’s ‘checking on something’ isn’t always incredibly dangerous and a little illegal.

“Yeah, okay,” Steve scoffs. “Are you out of your mind, flying solo wit Vecna on the loose? No, it’s too dangerous. You need- You need someone to-”

Steve doesn’t know what he’s offering exactly, he wants to make sure Nancy is safe, but he also wants to keep the other safe. He guesses Nancy’s excursion will be more dangerous, so he turns to the others and throws the car keys to Robin – the person he trusts most with his kids and Chrissy’s safety – and says: “Here, I’ll stick with Nancy. Take the car, check out the shrink.”

“I don’t think you want me driving your car,” Robin says and Steve can’t imagine why he wouldn’t want Robin in charge of these kind, loving, reckless, genius dumbasses.

“Why?”

“I don’t have a license,” Robin answers with an awkward look.

For a second, Steve is absolutely gobsmacked. They’ve been friends forever already and he never knew that. He thought she was just lazy and stubborn in making him drive, since it is his car they always take and he is a little protective about it. However, he would have taught her if she had told him, so he asks: “Why?”

“I’m poor,” Robin shoots back.

Next to her, Max lights up, jumping on it: “I can drive.”

“No, never again, please,” Steve shrieks, having flashbacks to her driving while he was heavily concussed. “Anybody but you. No.”

Dustin points to himself as he pulls a face and an even more horrible movie plays across Steve’s eyes as he imagines Dustin driving. He shudders and says: “No chance.”

“Oh come on.” Dustin pleads.

“No,” Steve says, instead looking to Chrissy, who might be the only one there that can actually drive safely and normally.

She grimaces apologetically and says: “My mom thinks driving isn’t lady like.”

Steve feels himself deflate at that, unsure of what to do now. Robin, fortunately steps in. “Alright, okay, this is stupid. Us ladies will stick together. Me and Chris will go, safety in numbers,” she says, taking a radio so she can contact Steve. Then she pulls a shit eating grin at him and says: “Unless you think we need you to protect us.”

He glares at her, knowing that they both know he doesn’t think that. Chrissy and her friends protected him for half his senior year and Robin was just as badass as him in that Russian bunker, so he just says: “Be careful,” and hopes they will. He can’t loose Robin or Chrissy. He can't.It’ll break him.

Robin looks back and gives him a small nod, to show she knows. Chrissy looks between them, perhaps for the first time fully grasping their closeness, before promising: “We will,” then they both disappear with Nancy.

Steve watches them go and feels a heaviness in his chest that always comes when they’re sucked back into this nonsense again. A dark part of him, can’t help but wonder if he’ll ever see the girls again, if Eddie will make it out of this, if any of them will.

He is snapped out of it by Dustin who smirks: “Just going to stand there and gawk?”

“Shut up,” Steve tells him, knowing what Dustin is going to imply and he is not here for it. He knows he has spend moths building up his straightness in front of Dustin, but he is so not in the mood to defend himself right now, so he won’t be shoved with any of the girls. It can get exhaustive.

The three of them drive to Ms. Kelley’s house and Steve can feel Dustin brimming with something that he ignores in favor of watching Max, saying: “She’s in.”

“I’m missing collarbones not eyes,” Dustin says and Steve suppresses an eye roll as he keeps an eye on where Max disappeared instead.

It’s quiet for a second, before Dustin breaks it. “So, we going to talk about it?”

“Huh, sorry, talk about what?” Steve plays dumb, something he’s good at.

“Your temporary insanity earlier today when you basically threw yourself at Nance?” Dustin points out, showing how he can be so smart and so dense too.

“That’s no what happened,” Steve tells him, hoping the squirt will drop it.

“Pretty sure that’s what happened,” Dustin counters, in that annoying condescending tone. “It was public. There were a lot of witnesses.”

“You implying I still have a thing for Nance?” Steve asks with pure disbelief, not sure how this is where his day is going.

“No,” Dustin says and Steve has a moment of relief, before he continues his sentence, “I’m not implying. I’m stating. And, as it relates to your steadfast refusal to date Robin or Chrissy, it is pretty much the only logical explanation.”

“That’s not the only one,” Steve mutters darkly, not wanting to out himself, but wanting Dustin to not jump to conclusions either. “And as for Nance,” he adds, because it is important. “I was just trying to protect a friend. A friend, Henderson.”

“Okay,” Dustin smirks, like he thinks Steve’s lying, which is flustering him and making him frustrated. It’s like he’s being interrogated by his peers again. Holy shit.

“I don want to find her with her eyes sucked out of her skull by this Vecna creep,” he exclaims, not understanding why Dustin doesn’t get it. Is this another straight boy thing?

“You’re bright red in the face right now,” Dustin points out with a chuckle.

It’s that fucking chuckle that makes Steve’s heckles raise. It reminds him of all the chuckles of less friendly people that followed him for months, how hard it was to shake their whispers, how they are still going on according to Lucas. It’s not meant like that, but it feels like scrutiny and Steve feels cornered.

And because Steve is still learning, he goes back to what he knows, he relapses and snaps: “I’m not and I don’t wanna talk about it. I’ll punch you so hard, you teeth will fall back out.”

One look at Dustin is enough to tell him how wrong that is and guilt floods through him as he immediately backtracks: “Whoa, too far. Not cool. Sorry.”

Luckily, Dustin is as kind as he is probing, so he just nods: “Not cool. It’s okay.”

After which the two sit in the silence of the car as they wait for Max to come back out and relieve them of their awkward silence.

They are saved when Max comes out of the house, seemingly rushing. Steve spots her first and starts the car as he says: “Here she comes. Here she comes.”

“What’d she say?” Dustin asks immediately.

“Nothing, just drive,” Max says and her tone makes Steve stop, but she’s not having it, forcefully repeating: “Steve, drive.”

“Okay, okay,” Steve says as he drives off.

As they drive, Max only tells them to go to the school. That they have to look at more files and with the state she’s in, Steve doesn’t ask too many questions and does as he’s told.

The tense silence that hangs in the car is broken by the radio going off. Steve’s first instinct is fear that something has happened to the girls, but then Lucas’s voice says: “Dustin. It’s Lucas. Do you copy? Dustin?”

However, it doesn’t take long for the fear to set in again. Steve thought he could keep Lucas out of it this time, to keep him safe, but apparently not. Apparently whatever is haunting Hawkins always manages to drag all of them back in.

Dustin pick up the radio and replies: “Lucas? Where the hell have you been?”

“Just listen,” Lucas says. “Are you looking for Eddie?” and Steve’s heart sinks more. Lucas is already in too deep again to turn him away.

“We found him, no thanks to you,” Dustin frowns, in that undeserved indignant way only he can pull of.

“You found him?” Lucas asks and Steve can’t tell if he’s glad or horrified.

“He’s at a boathouse on Coal Mill Road,” Dustin says. “Don’t worry. He’s safe.”

“You guys know he killed Patrick, right?” Lucas asks in a hurt voice.

Steve remembers how Lucas found a friend in Patrick, how scared he must be right now. Fuck, he should have called to check in on him the moment he heard the news. Feeling a little guilty that he’s glad that he isn’t the one that has to face Lucas as Dustin replies: “That’s bullshit, Eddie tried to save Patrick.”

“Then why do all the cops say he did it?” Lucas says.

Max leans over the back of the seat and takes the radio. In her usually blunt manner, she rolls her eyes and says: “Lucas, you are so behind, it’s ridiculous, okay? Just meet us at school. We’ll explain later.”

“I- I can’t,” Lucas says and Steve feels his heart sink, something that is not helped with Lucas goes on. “I think some real bad shit’s about to go down.”

“What are you talking about? What bad shit?” Max asks the question that Steve has been wanting to ask too, worry tinting her voice. This worry does not fade when they get static over the radio instead of an answer. Max pushes the button again and asks: “Lucas? Lucas?”

All three of them exchange glances and Steve speaks up first: “We should go look for Lucas. He could be in trouble.”

Max nods, but Dustin shakes his head: “We’ll never find him. He knows where we’re headed, if he doesn’t meet up with us there, we can go look for him and one of us can stay behind in case he shows up. It’s no use if we’re looking for him in one place, while he’s coming to meet us.”

Steve hates that Dustin is right, so he just drives to the school. The closed school. That they are breaking into, because Max said it was important. Since this is Steve’s life again. God, does he not miss the Upside Down when it is gone.

It’s already getting dark and Steve doesn’t know how he’ll explain this to their parents when they finally come home. However, the darkness does cloak their actions from prying eyes as they make it into the school and to Ms. Kelley’s office, where Max starts rustling through the files.

While they’re searching through the office, the girls contact them and Steve has never been more happy to hear Robin’s rambling, even if her voice is tinny through the radio. And he’s so glad, they’re coming too. All of them together is much safer, and he thinks of Eddie, all alone in that boathouse. His heart aches.

However, before he can be glad the three are okay – that’s at least three out of four okay, Lucas is still out there, his brain reminds him – he is distracted by Dustin, who has an anxious voice as he shakes Max and pleads: “Max, come on.”

She doesn’t respond, eyes far away and Eddie’s words flash through his mind as Steve joins Dustin and asks: “Max?”

Max just stands there.

Unresponsive.

Steve feels ice flood his veins. Not Max. Not like this. Not after all she survived. He can’t loose one of his kids. He can’t watch that.

Then Max takes a deep breath of air, coming back to them, relief evident in the room. But Max isn’t saying anything, just walking out of the room as Steve and Dustin follow her immediately as she makes her way through the hallways.

She comes to a stop in front of a normal wall, frowning. Right at that moment Chrissy, Nancy and Robin come in. The three of them looking curiously at the group in front of the wall, trying to see if there is anything about it.

Nancy looks a little bit on edge, side-eying Robin. Steve is just glad to see the three of them alive and well, especially Chrissy, looking completely unharmed.

He’s been worrying about her in the back of her head. Though all other worries have been playing in front of it, it was there the whole time and with what just happened to Max, his worry has been tenfold. But she looks okay, smiling at Robin and him.

“What’s going on?” Nancy asks, always the reporter.

Max tells them a story that has all their blood running cold. Tells them about a vision, a clock in the hallway that wasn’t there, but felt so real.

“That’s not even the bad part,” she says, turning back to them, looking like the small, scared child she is. And Steve can’t fix it. “Patrick and Fred, they both came to Ms. Kelley for help. Uh, they both were having headaches. Bad headaches. That wouldn’t go away. And then- then the nightmares. Trouble sleeping. They’d wake up in a cold sweat. Then they started seeing things. From their past. Bad things.”

Steve knows exactly what Max must have been seeing and his heart breaks for this young girl, who has already seen too much. He can’t help but notice, however, that Chrissy has been slowly becoming paler as Max talks.

“These visions, they just- they kept on getting worse and worse, until eventually,” she trails of for a second, then finishes, “everything ended.”

“Patrick’s headache started a week ago, Fred’s six days ago,” Max tells them. “I’ve been having them for five days. I don’t know how long I have. All I know is that for Fred and Patrick, they both died less than 24 hours after their first vision and I just saw that goddamn clock, so…” she lets out an uneven breath, looking terrified. She gives them a wobbly smile that will likely haunt Steve’s dreams for years to come as she says: “Looks like I’m gonna die tomorrow.”

“No, we can-” Steve starts, but he actually doesn’t know what to do. Max has been branded by death. She is going to die. And they have no clue how to stop it. Nothing. A weight crushes his chest, helplessness at this new enemy, who he can’t stand in front of, whose attacks he can’t take instead of these kids. These fucking kids that means so much to him.

“Chrissy,” Robin’s uncharacteristically sharp voice cuts through his panic as they all look at Robin, then at Chrissy, who has been trying to fade to the background. “How long have you been getting headaches?”

“Uhm, four days,” Chrissy says softly. And Steve’s panic only increases. It’s not just Max, his baby sister Max, who is in danger, but also Chrissy. Chrissy his best friend next to Robin. Chrissy with whom he does cheer, who gets that exercise helps him get out of his head.

The other person he cares about that he can’t protect from Vecna.

Before they can process it all, they are interrupted by a clang somewhere in the building. They are not alone anymore. This Steve can do something about, so he grabs the lamp, missing his nail bat, as he tells the others: “Stay here.”

None of them listen of course, but they at least stay behind him. All of them creeping through the hallway, until someone enters their line of visions. Everyone is yelling and Steve is about to swing when he recognizes the voice saying: “It’s me!”

“Lucas?” Nancy exclaims behind him.

“It’s me,” Lucas confirms.

“Jesus, what’s wrong with you, Sinclair?” Steve yells, trying to slow his rabbiting heartbeat.

“I’m sorry.”

“I could have taken you out with this lamp!” He shakes the lamp for emphasis, so Lucas realizes how stupid that was.

Lucas waves him away, still panting as he says: “Sorry, guys, sorry. I was- I was biking for eight miles. Gimme a second. Shit. We’ve got a code red.”

Steve can appreciate the dedication to that, eight miles is nothing to sniff at, but he doesn’t get why Lucas can have a code red, while they’re already in the middle of a pretty big code red. He is obviously fine, so nothing happened to him since their last talk on the radio. Confused he asks: “What?

“Dustin,” Lucas says, walking up to the boy in question. “I’ve been with Jason, Andy and Chance, and they’ve gone totally off the rails. They’re trying to capture Eddie. And they think you know where he is. You’re in terrible danger.”

Holy fuck. No. Just no. Steve can’t deal with someone else being in danger right now. It’s too much for one day.

Chrissy and Max are cursed and on the cusp of death. And not only is someone hunting Eddie, who is already wanted by the police, but those people are also targeting Dustin to do it. Just no, Steve, will die at 19 of a stress induced heart attack.

“Alright,” Dustin nods, sounding a little underwhelmed about the implications. “Yeah, that definitely sucks, but we’ve got bigger problems than Jason right now.”

Lucas looks confused at those words, eyes flitting between the others, before landing on Max, who doesn’t look him in the eyes. And Steve will never forget how Lucas’ face falls as he gets filled on what has been happening with them.

“What are we going to do now?” he asks, voice scared and terribly small.

And Steve isn’t trying to answer that again, even though Chrissy is looking at him with those scared eyes. She hasn’t been with them for long enough to know that Steve isn’t the plan guy, that Steve is only there to hit what needs to be hit.

When he doesn’t meet her eyes, she looks at Robin, who gives her a smile that says she doesn’t feel like smiling, but has no clue what else to do with her face.

Nancy, fortunately, takes the lead. She says: “We can’t do anything right now, but we three found a lead in Victor Creel. If we can talk to him, we can figure out why he was targeted by Vecna with his family and how he survived.”

“Vecna has killed before?” Dustin asks.

“Yes, in the fifties,” Nancy answers.

“We made copies of the information that you guys can read,” Robin tells them. “The library lady thought we were insane, but that is kind of usual for me. I mean, my library history is wild, so this won’t be too out of place and- and I’ll shut up now.”

“Thanks,” says Nancy in that tight lipped way that Steve doesn’t like. “I suggest we all go home, sleep and reconvene at my house in the mornings. It’ll be best for us to stay together, no one goes alone, okay.”

“You can stay at my place,” Robin offers to Chrissy, who looks relieved at takes it with a grateful smile, before the duo turns to Steve, obviously expecting him to join them as well.

Normally, Steve would take it immediately. However, his mind jumps to Eddie, who is being hunted by jocks as well as the police. Fred died of the same causes as Patrick, but at the lake, they’ll most certainly be looking for Eddie there. And Eddie is actually there.

He shakes his head and says: “I’m going to get Eddie and shelter him at the cabin. It’s the last place people will expect and with everyone after him, it’s the safest place for him to be. What about the rest of you guys?”

“If I go home, my mom won’t let me leave,” Dustin says.

“Same,” Lucas adds, displeased.

“I- I’d rather not go home right now,” Max says.

“You three can come with me,” Nancy tells them. “My parents won’t notice at this hour.”

“Then that’s settled,” Steve claps his hands to signal this conversation is over. “Robs, Chris, I’ll drive you two. As for you three, behave and be safe,” he looks all the kids in their eyes. “I’ll see you tomorrow at the Wheeler’s, okay.”

The three all say something along the lines of ‘Yes, Steve’ and ‘Goodbye, Steve’ which is good enough for him. He is anxious to check in with Eddie, but also nervous. If he doesn’t do it right now, he’s sure he’ll back out.

In the car, he asks Chrissy if she’s okay and she gives a crooked smile that breaks his heart as she says: “At least I have two days, am I right?”

“God, I hate this, I hate how it always comes back,” Steve groans.

“Hey, it’ll be okay, dingus,” Robin says, but she doesn’t look like she believes it, but Chrissy besides her nods, still hopeful, so Steve doesn’t counter it.

Instead he tells them both to be safe and Chrissy says: “You too, Stevie. Don’t do anything stupid tonight.”

“I won’t,” he promises.

“You sure, you’re going to be okay with Eddie?” Robin asks. “I still haven’t forgotten some of his dick moves and I’ll come with you, if you want.”

Steve is touched by her concern, but he doesn’t want to put her or Chrissy in danger and he actually wants to talk to Eddie. Alone. Make sure they’re cool if they’re going to be stuck in a life or death situation. So he just nods: “I’ll be fine. It’s the best way to keep everyone safe.”

“Alright, but radio if it goes bad,” Robin says, before the two get out of the car.

He waits until they’re both safely inside, greeted with relief by Daisy and Thomas, before he speeds off to Lover’s Lake to get Eddie.

~~

A/N:

Figuring out the timeline and how to fit all the new shit into this is going to be the thing that breaks me, I swear to god (especially what happens on the 22nd and what on the 23rd). If you notice a mistake, no you don’t <3

Also, yeah, I think what Steve said to Dustin was too harsh, but holy shit does Dustin get on my nerves with his pushing, like I would be so uncomfortable, even if I could be attracted to the person, you know. My mans needs to learn boundaries istg

[marvel-and-chicago-fan]

Believe Me Part 2/Twisted Stories

Warnings: Yelling, Mentions of shooting, Harassment, Assault, Fighting, Guns, and Attempted murder. I think that's all tell me if i missed anything 

A/n: I can't express how long this took to write because I don't know how to describe the scenes. Anyways, here's part 2 and I'm also working on a book.

Word Count: 1.7k ish

Summary: Nothing Really, just a huge twist 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The team had gotten all sorts of information, turns out that Milly wasn't actually Milly and her real name is Michelle Taylor. So much for changing her name . She has a crazy history in many schools and clearly her parents had changed her name so people would accept her into society and into places. 

“She's the principal's niece…y/n was telling the truth.” Jay spoke. “Alright let's move out” Voight snapped Jay out of whatever he was thinking.

The team arrived at Millys house but Kim and Adam went up to the door because everyone else had shown their faces at the front office due to you getting in trouble or parent meeting and stuff and Voight didn't want to risk messing up the plan. 

Kim knocked on the door and waited for someone to open the door, the door opened and there she was, your principal 

“Hi is there  Michelle Taylor here” Kim said calmly. Your principal slammed the door shut right in Kim's face and made a run for it. “I NEED BACKUP” kim shouted into her radio. Jay, Hailey and everyone else jumped out of their cars and ran. 

Jay had instructed you to stay in the car because he didn't want you to get hurt even more than you already were. Just then shots rang out all around the car and you dropped down to the floor of the car. 

Jays Pov(for this part because it's the only way i'll be able to write it)

We had arrested Y/n’s principal as we were all heading back to our cars. shots rang out and everyone dove down onto the ground. “Y/N!” i wanted to run to her but hailey held me back. “She’s smart jay, she probably got down to the floor.” Hailey suggested. But I had this gut feeling that something wasn't right. 

As soon as the gunshots were finished I ran to the car and practically ripped opened the door. Relife filled my body when I saw Y/n, she was ok, she had her hands over her ears, curled into a ball shaking. I slid into the car seat and pulled Y/n into my chest and she sobbed.

***

I sobbed into jays chest for what felt like hours which was only for a few minutes.  “Its ok y/n, i got you, its ok.” Jay soothed. “I-wa-was so scared i-” My chest felt tight, i couldn't even finish my sentence because i didn't have enough air to even talk. “Y/n you have to breath.” Jay said. “I-I-I can't”. “Hey, look at me. Match my breathing” I looked at jay and soon i started to calm down. 

We sat in Jay's car for a while, Jay was talking to Hailey, Adam and Kevin while stroking my hair. I didn't realize I fell asleep until I woke up on the couch in our apartment. “Hey Y/n” someone said in a soft voice. I recognize that voice, it was will. 

“What are you doing here?” I said in a groggy voice while sitting up. “Jay called and told me what happened and asked if i made sure you were all right.” “soooo the only time you come over is to see if im alright and not to watch a movie and bring me Mcdonalds?” I joked. “I don't have money for Mcdonalds” Will said while looking at my hand. “DUDE, I've seen your paycheck and you definitely have money,” I argued. “Alright, I'll take off tomorrow and you can have a junk food day, just don't tell Jay”  A huge smile was on my face. Finally i won an conversation against will, wait… hold up. “Wait, You never take off a whole day like that, what's the catch?” “Whoever did your cast didn't make it tight enough, so you'll have to get a new one tomorrow, and Connor needs to do some further look at it” Will explained. “Whatever at least i get whatever i want tomorrow” I said

***

It's been a couple of weeks since the whole incident at school. Today at the court case, I didn't really wanna go but Jay said I had to. Something along the lines with “they need you there for “evidence” and blah blah blah”. 

I wasn't gonna dress that nie so I just wore some flare pants and a Chicago Med Sweatshirt I stole from will.

“Michelle Taylor will be charged on many accounts of Thievery, Fraud, Assault, Harassment, attempted murder, possession of a firearm and many accounts of fleeing the police.” The judge spoke from his chair

Gosh you didn't Milly had committed all these crimes in one lifetime, you didn't even know she had a fake name. Quite frankly you didn't want to be here, you wanted to be at home in your bed sleeping or watching movies with your brothers. 

“Your honor, my client has a different side of her story based on what happened between her and Ms. Halstead.” Millys Lawyer spoke, Milly got up to the stage(or whatever you call it, i wanna be a doctor not a lawyer), and started talking.

“I was just talking to my friends about some girl who was being mean to me, and i guess she was eavesdropping on my conversation and she just came up to and punched me, i tried to defend myself, after we got pulled apart she- she threated to hurt me and my family with her brothers gun, and that she would come to school and ki-kill me” SHE WAS CRYING, SHE WAS REALLY FUCKING CRYING! You wouldn't believe what you were hearing, you did none of that, milly swung first, milly was talking about your family so you tried to talk and well… you already know the rest of the story. There was no way the Judge would believe this,  Or so you thought.

“Your honor, there's CCTV footage, my client has bruises and a swollen eye from the confrontation, she even has bruises from other fights she had gotten in with Ms, Taylor weeks and even months ago” Your lawyer spoke.

This went on for 40 minutes. Made up stories and most of them happened but words were twisted things were changed to make you look like the bad guy.  and afterwards you took a lunch break. “Their not gonna send Y/n to jail press any charges right hailey?” Jay spoke. Hailey knew a thing or two about courts since it was her first choice of what she wanted to be (idk if actually was but whatever). “Yeah- yeah she'll be fine jay.” Deep down hailey knew this wasn't going well and you'll probably end up with house arrest or something.

***

I sentence MiChelle Taylor to six Years in Jail with possible parole. You sighed, nothing bad was going to happen to you and you were fine. “And I sentence Y/n Halstead to 10 Months In Jail without parole, for Attempted Murder, Assault, and harassment” Suddenly there were so many Flashing lights, so many people talking, then you couldnt breath, you couldn't see, black spots clouded your vision…

Then one loud voice overcame all the other ones. “MOVE, LEAVE HER ALONE”, you were picked up and brought to an empty room. Y/n, it's ok, it's just me and will, you're safe, no ones gonna hurt you” a soft voice came. “You can open your eyes now, there's no cameras, no media, nobody, just us. Ok?” You didn't even realize that you were closing your eyes tightly.

“They're taking me to jail” You whispered, it came out of a question rather than a response. “y/n, I promise, we will do everything possible to make sure you don't go to jail. I promise” Will said while coming towards you and jay.

You already knew that promise was broken within a millisecond. “You can't promise that, it's already been done, there's nothing anybody can do.” “You'll have another court case to finalize everything by then we'll have figured out everything” Jay spoke

Just then police officers barged through the doors and pushed Will and Jay out of the way. “Let me go!” you yelped when they grabbed you with force. “Don't hurt her” Will tried to get to you but jay held him back “If you fight back you'll only make it worse for her” Jay said “BUT WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING JAY, I'M NOT JUST GONNA STAND BACK WHILE MY LITTLE SISTER GETS ARRESTED FOR A CRIME SHE DIDN'T COMMIT, IF YOUR NOT GONNA HELP THEN I WILL.” Will snapped, and with that he threw jays hand off his shoulder and walked out.

Jay was left standing there questioning what led to this, how was his family falling apart in just one day. 

When will ran outside he saw you looking at him with tears in your eyes. With one last chance on seeing you for awhile he signed *I promise little boss* During the pandemic, you, will and jay learned sign language for fun and ever since you guys have been using it, either so someone didn't figure out what you guys were talking about or in a serious situation where one of you couldn't talk. And the name, will had given to you when you were nine because you kept bossing everyone around and you were short for your age and you are still short, hence the name Little Boss. 

This was the day where the three halstead siblings lost each other…

The end

No i'm just joking. I was totally gonna make this a happy ending where milly goes to jail and You don't go to jail but no, this idea sprang to me at 7pm and i just word vomited all my ideas into the chapter but i hope there's one more chapter after this because i already have ideas for the last one. Btw my bad for being gone took me about a month to write this part. It's been since June 17th that I started this. Anyways, bye. 

[the-oc-lass]

Nimona OC - Charlotte Swiftheart/Corova

I'M VERY EXCITED FOR THIS ONE BUT ALSO NOT AS MUCH BECAUSE MAN, I SUCK AT FIGHT SCENES. BUT IT'S OKAY. I'LL WRITE IT TOMORROW.

First, Previous, Next

Norshe had absolutely hated this plan, but it's the only one that Charlotte has. She clings to the side of the Institute's wall, sticking close to it as she waits. She knows that Ballister is hidden somewhere, waiting for Ambrosius to arrive. And Nimona...Well, Nimona is right next to her. The shapeshifter had quickly discovered Charlotte as she was lying in wait, and Charlotte had made a face to shush her. It's at least semi comforting to know that if she falls, Nimona is around to catch her. Probably. Charlotte's cloak flows in the wind, but she's flat enough to the side of the wall that no one seems to have noticed her. She lifts her head slightly to watch as a carriage flies down. There's Ambrosius. Here they go. She shifts slightly as the carriage lands, peeking up over the edge. Ambrosius climbs out, but unfortunately, he helps the Director out right after. That complicates things severely. As the carriage pulls away, she sees Ballister step out of the shadows, pulling his hood down as Ambrosius shifts in front of the Director and the surrounding knights shift into defensive positions. Nimona quickly springs into action, jumping up from the side of the wall and silently taking out knights behind Ambrosius and the Director.

"Ambrosius," Ballister says, standing tall at the top of the short staircase. Ambrosius spins around.

"Knights!" he calls. But he turns just in time to see Nimona depositing the last unconscious knight onto her pile.

"They were like this when I got here," she says, kicking one of the knights' arms aside. As Nimona walks toward Ballister, Ambrosius shifts to shield the Director, who Charlotte can see glaring at Nimona from behind Ambrosius's back.

"You," she all but snarls, disgust clear in her voice. Nimona turns to look at her as she keeps walking, spreading her arms.

"Me," she says. Immediately after, she crosses her arms and makes a face at the Director, and Charlotte would've laughed had she not been clinging to a wall for dear life. Ballister stops next to her, facing Ambrosius head on.

"Ambrosius, the Director killed the queen," he says. Charlotte holds her breath and watches.

"What?" Ambrosius breathes in clear disbelief. The Director leans closer to his ear.

"Another desperate lie," she says.

"He's not a liar," Nimona says firmly. The Director laughs.

"Says the miscreant, whispering in his ear," she says. As if she's one to talk. Nimona, of course, takes it as a compliment.

"Aw, thank you," she says, waving her hand slightly. Ballister holds up placating hands, and his expression becomes softer, almost desperate. She knows how much he wants Ambrosius to believe him.

"I'm innocent, and I have proof," he says. He reaches one hand around behind him, for the phone. She can see the Director floundering a bit, knowing that Ambrosius can't see her.

"He's got a weapon!" she cries. As Ballister holds up the phone, it's shot out of his hand,.

"No!" he cries. A search light suddenly shines down over him and Nimona, and she can see knights spilling out through the doors behind them.

"Not anymore! Todd rules!" Todd yells, lifting his crossbow triumphantly above his head. He laughs, and Charlotte wishes that she could be up there to punch him directly in the face. She ducks down a bit as knights swarm the platform, surrounding Ballister and Nimona. She still has the element of surprise. Not that it's going to matter with this many knights...Gloreth, she knew this was going to go wrong.

"It doesn't matter. You shouldn't need proof. You know I'm not a murderer," Ballister says desperately. Charlotte carefully peers back up over the side, but she can't really see them anymore. There are too many knights in the way. But she doesn't need to see Ambrosius to know the way he pauses. She can almost picture him staring, wide eyed as he thinks. He knows, doesn't he? He has to know that the man he loves so dearly can't be a murderer.

"What are you waiting for, Captain?" the Director hisses. But even if he does believe Ballister, what can he do? Maybe something could've been done if they weren't surrounded by knights, with the Director whispering in Ambrosius's ear. But that's not how things played out. And the pit in Charlotte's stomach is growing.

"Hurry before the whale gets here," Todd calls, clearly annoyed. Oh, if Charlotte had her crossbow...

"Come on, man. Do the right thing," Nimona says, sounding almost as desperate as Ballister. It strikes Charlotte that Nimona wants this just as badly. Not for herself, but for Ballister.

"Who is she, Bal?" Ambrosius asks. A few beats pass, and his voice suddenly trembles a bit. "What is she?"

"Ambrosius, I am begging you to trust me-" She hears the moment the sword is drawn, and resignation settles upon her.

"Arrest them," Ambrosius says. Even with the note of heartbreak in his voice, she knows how this is going to go. So this is how things will be. Finally, she hoists herself up over the wall, staring at the backs of the knights.

"I knew it would be like this," she says. Knights turn, and a search light is cast down upon her as well. She can see Ambrosius now, looking over his shoulder and between the gaps in the knights. His eyes widen at the sight of her, and she sees the arm holding his sword lower just slightly. "I hoped I would be wrong...But it isn't often that I am." The light above her combined with her hood casts her face in shadow, and she can see the Director squinting at her.

"Who goes there? Reveal yourself!" she snarls. Charlotte begins moving toward them, and a few knights turn to face her, crossbows and swords raised and at the ready.

"Oh, you know exactly who I am, Director. After all, it was you who ruined my life. You're the very reason I'm standing here now, instead of with your knights," she says. She sees the Director's face scrunch slightly as she thinks, then scrunch more as she glares.

"Swiftheart," she snarls. Charlotte pauses and tilts her head, a smirk appearing on her lips.

"So she does remember me." She pulls the hood off her head, staring into the face of the woman who she once feared so much. "But it's Corova, actually. Charlotte Corova."

"I asked you to stay out of this, Charlotte! You don't need to be involved!" Ballister calls. She can barely see him through the crowd of knights. Though, it's not like she's looking. Her gaze is glued to Ambrosius and the Director.

"I'm already involved, Bal. And unfortunately for you, my affinity for following directions died with Charlotte Swiftheart." She focuses in on Ambrosius, who's still looking at her with wide eyes. "I'm going to ask you this one time, Brosi. Are you sure you want to go down this road?" And for a moment, she knows. She knows his guilt, his hesitance, his desperation. She knows how torn he feels. How lost.

"I-" He cuts himself off.

"Well, Captain?" the Director prompts. And Charlotte knows. She sees the resignation cross his face and then vanish as his expression hardens. He looks back at Ballister and raises his sword again. Of course, he can't even bring himself to look at her as he betrays her.

"Arrest them. All of them," he says. She purses her lips and lifts her chin slightly, looking past the guards at Ballister now. They make eye contact for a moment, and she sees the betrayal she feels on his face. It sets into determination.

"You wanna know who the kid is?" he asks. Nimona looks up at him, and she looks excited.

"Oh, I like where this is going," she says, rolling her shoulders as she turns to look at all of the knights.

"You wanna show 'em?" Charlotte smirks a bit, pushing back her cloak to grasp the hilt of her sword.

"I'd love to," Nimona says.

"Let's break stuff."

"Metal."

1/3

Lovely tagged people:

@ammonitetheseaserpent @perfectkittystranger @madlad06 @xxlunadrawsstuffxx @floxu

[otakween]

Digimon Adventure Drama CD 1 (Character Song + Mini Drama 1)

I almost forgot about drama CDs! Digimon has a whole bunch of them, it turns out. Looks like I get to cling onto the Adventure cast for a little bit longer. This CD is a combination of very short drama bits and character image songs, as the name suggests. It feels a bit on the short side but I guess that's because it's only part one ;)

Download link

SOS! Grade 5 Class A

Translation here

A very silly story about Taichi and Sora fighting a potato digimon (Jagamon) during home ec class. Very esoteric references to 1970s anime are made.

I liked that this was just Taichi and Sora. I know that was probably more of a budgeting thing, but one-on-one moments (even dumb ones like this) are important to me.

There's something icky about Taichi commanding Agumon to digivolve just for his amusement...poor little guy

Favorite part of this was all of the meta jokes about this being an audio drama. For example, when they introduce Jagamon the narrator's like "well...we can't show you what he looks like, but he looks like a potato just trust me bro"

I had to look up who Ikkyuu-san was. At least the one Japanese commenter on the YouTube video understood the reference lol.

Image Song 1 - Turn Courage Into Wings (Yagami Taichi)

Translation here

A somewhat generic, but very Taichi song. (When it comes down to it, Taichi is a pretty generic shounen guy). Of course it focuses on courage because that's Taichi's thing.

At first the "you" mentioned in song was supposed to be a romantic interest and then I realized he could be singing platonically to Agumon or Yamato. I like the Agumon option best, that's really cute.

Takeuchi Sora's Fluttering Yellow Card

This was less of a drama and more of a little radio DJ-like snippet featuring Sora and Piyomon. Sora's VA is apparently a DJ IRL so this was an in-joke.

Mimi asks Sora where her hat came from and she just say "I don't know!" lolwut. I'm not sure if this segment is supposed to be in character or in some sort of weird "behind-the-scenes" world where the characters are aware they're in an anime. Seems like the latter.

Image Song 2 - Tomorrow I'll Be...(Takeuchi Sora)

Translation here

Damn, Sora's song was pretty dark. It did have a tinge of hopefulness, but mostly it sounded like she was singing about depression/existentialism being temporary. Kind of like a "this too shall pass" song. :(

She sings about how she feels like she has no one to fight for and has lost sight of her dreams. This fits in with that one arc where she despaired over "love" being her crest because it didn't suit her. I think we all know that feeling of being lonely in a crowd, even a crowd of friends. This song helped me appreciate Sora's character a little more.

Joe's Singer Debut!? (Parts 1 & 2)

I like how these skits introduce the character image songs, that's a really cute idea. These characters aren't singers in-universe (except for Mimi), so I guess they wanted to give context for why they're singing haha.

Part 1 is Gomamon suggesting songs for Joe to sing and performing little samples. Very cute. (Of course, he can't really sing well lol, but that adds to the charm).

Part 2 is the studio rep explaining that the next drama CD will be about a love triangle between Mimi, Koushiro, and Hikari. That sounds like a terrible idea. No chemistry between either pair if you ask me...Maybe that's the joke though.

Image Song 3 - There's Another Me (Kido Jou)

Translation here

This song was all about Joe facing and overcoming his insecurities and fear of risks. He talks about how you'll never grow if you completely avoid pain of any kind. Honestly, a pretty inspirational song for kids out there. I can definitely relate to Joe's timidity. I'm always avoiding getting out of my comfort zone which has held me back in some ways.

[wizardheart83]

Rings of Power Analysis Part #5

Back to this format cause aesthetics

Durins 4 and 3 Vs Míriel and Palantir

Both are sets containing a ruler and an adult child. In both cases the ruler has access to mystical knowledge beyond the reach of most people ( the collective wisdom of past dwarf kings and Palantir’s palantir).

No moms, nowhere no sir, except Durin 4’s whose memory is a stick in the fight between him and his dad and everyone gets more beat up for it.

In both cases the adult heir to the throne is being hemmed in by the actions of their father.

Because of Palantir’s reforms Míriel walks a tightrope trying to be faithful but project agreement with the majority of her people. Because Durin 3 is holding onto the status quo that has worked well for his people and allowed them to thrive, his son Durin 4 feels frustrated and unable to enact plans he feels could bring them still more success. Durin 4 walks a tightrope between loyalty to his king and loyalty to himself and his friend. Interesting differences:

The royals in our two plots are asking fundamentally different questions.

Can khazad dum advance? vs Can Númenor be saved?

Both kings seem to be landing on “no” or maybe “not like that” but in different ways and by different means.

Palantir’s last scene shows him confused but hopeful, still believing that his daughter can turn the people to the old ways and save the island. But he doesn’t think that going to middle earth will help, and he believes it will be ruinous for at least Míriel.

Míriel and Palantir are/ were partners, carrying the secret of the wave and grappling with hope and fear together as Palantir declines, leaving Míriel alone, but not by his own choice.

King Durin has presided over a time of positive and rapid change and his rejection of Durin 4’s plan is seemingly based in the belief that that can continue without the risks associated with mithril.

The Durins are increasingly adversarial as the season goes on. They have different values and can’t bridge the gap, despite love and fealty binding them. Durin 3 in a sense abandons Durin 4 but it’s a pained act, he takes no joy in it .

Thus Durin 4 like Míriel, ends the season with a future in some serious doubt.

I’ve been tracking ambition in these, and of the two, Durin 4 is more openly ambitious but it’s debatable. Miriel is queen regent, vulnerable and powerful in equal measure. she’s on the tightrope over a populist uprising that could take the line of Elros off the throne for the first time since Numenor was founded and if she fails every still living soul she’s ever known or seen or had a passing thought about prior to Galadriel’s arrival dies horribly. Durin 4’s home will at best be more awesome, if he succeeds, or at worst stagnate (as far as he knows).

Míriel has more to lose, so what she personally wants is necessarily secondary to what she feels she can do without failing at her one very difficult job.

The above makes it hard to judge coloring in the line status as well … shall we call that “lawfulness”?

What does this show have to say about the tensions between being a good king and being a good father? Palantir has, we can infer, lost the ability to see Miriel by his end, to the extent that he can’t tell it’s not miriel in the room, but he talks clearly to his heir. Durin 3 turns his back on his son after looking him in the eyes and removing the symbol of his status as heir. (god this show has stuff to say about fathers, so much, but that’s another post)

The fates of these kingdoms and of the two adult children of their once rulers will be something to watch.

Both are at the end separated from the ones who incited much of the upheaval in their lives, our final pair Elrond and Galadriel. Look for that one tomorrow, probably. Then maybe some attempt at a conclusion but the show is in its earliest days so don’t count on that, this is a time for questions more than answers I think.

Ps if Durin 4 and Miriel parallels are your thing, this may interest you