#Property management Mountain House

[eaglepropertymanagement]

Need of Hiring Best Property Management companies in Lathrop

Renting a home is a hard task in Lathrop. For sure, you need to advertise this, find someone to rent this property from you and then go about collecting rent each month along with ensuring that they are happy with the rental home and no issues arise. Property management companies Lathrop makes it easier for potential tenants to find and view your home quickly and efficiently. They take the hassle out of renting your home while maximizing its revenue potential.

[motomamita]

viking!könig × female!villager!reader

warnings: smut, +18, possesive!könig, breeding kink, kidnapping, mentions of rape and virginity!!

Viking!König who, along with his warriors, disembark in a small village located by the sea. Dressed in animal skins, swords and armor, they enter the village to loot and destroy everything within their reach.

It is then that he manages to spot a small house at the top of a small mountain, not far from all the others. Upon reaching the field, he notices a female figure coming out of the small garden with a basket of tomatoes. It was you, dressed in a long white skirt, a beige shirt and a scarf around your head. You look like an angel fallen from heaven, so harmonious and calm, totally different from König's rude figure.

It doesn't take you long to notice that tall, burly man at the entrance to your home, who seems anything but pleasant. You recognize their clothing and the bad intentions that characterized the vikingos. An expression of terror was marked on your face and you immediately ran into your home, shouting your father's name and without letting go of the basket of tomatoes.

Konig's stomach twisted in a feeling of excitement at your reaction, feeling powerful at the fear of the rest of the people seeing him. With his long, muscular legs, he followed your steps to the interior of the home where a series of murmurs welcomed him.

In the humble living room there was an adult couple who looked somewhat sick and next to them was you, who covered 2 small children no more than 6 years old with your body. König was tall and in good shape compared to your family, who apparently barely had enough to eat.

"Please, don't hurt us.." sobbed your mother, who brought her skinny hands to her chest, begging.

"We don't have anything valuable, you can check for yourself." Your father spoke now, pointing around you. König began to walk around the room, observing everything around him and verifying that there was nothing there that would be useful to him. "The only thing we can offer him are vegetables and fruits from our garden. Daughter, give him the basket of tomatoes!" Your father ordered, hoping that König would agree and leave as soon as possible.

You stepped forward timidly and held out the basket with the tomatoes to him, taking a distance and with your hands trembling. König looked down at you, smiling slightly at your fear and how you couldn't maintain eye contact with his cold blue eyes. He reached his hand to the basket and took a tomato, it had a good size and color. Without thinking he brought it to his mouth and tasted a little of it, not caring how the juice fell from his lips to his bushy beard.

"And then? What do you think? If you want, you can take the whole basket, it's all yours!" Your father insisted.

To tell the truth, that tomato was delicious but you were even more so. "I'll take everything from the garden... And your daughter too." König spoke for the first time, generating a shiver throughout your body.

"No problem. Girl, put on some shoes and go!" Your father spoke coldly, capable of doing everything possible to defend his family, even if it meant giving you away to an unknown Viking.

You sobbed and screamed that they wouldn't let you leave with him, with König, but your father did nothing but raise his voice even more and even try to hit you. Your mother and your brothers cried in silence, observing the situation with sadness but without intervening on your behalf. The decision was already made, you were now König's property.

It was widely said that the Vikings came to the villages not only to plunder but also to rape their women and then return to their more 'relaxed' ways. Luckily for you, or not, that had not been the case for you. No, König didn't just see you as a hole to fill with his powerful semen. But as his property, as something to take care of and defend from the other Vikings who had no intention of formalizing with any woman. He wanted to be the only one with something to fight for and stay alive. And, soon, with whom to form a small family of warriors.

During the short time you had to gather your few things, your father took it upon himself to inform König of all the good things you had to offer. You knew how to wash, cook, heal, and, best of all, you were a virgin. That last one excited König even more, who was excited by the idea of ​​being the first (and only) to be between your legs.

You boarded a large ship with your wrists handcuffed to prevent you from escaping and an old cloth bag with some items of clothing. According to König, none of that would help you in the cold climate of traveling over the sea, plus he wanted you not to wear underwear.

"Look guys! König brought us this sweetness to share!" one of the Vikings exclaimed, making all the men's hungry gazes turn towards you. You sobbed at the idea of ​​having to serve as a sexual slave for all those scary Vikings but that idea quickly disappeared when you noticed how König approached the man and growled: "don't go near her." Reporting that you were not a common asset to the crew, but his alone.

That same night you slept next to König in a more exclusive room than the rest of the men, who all slept in the same crowded place. You noticed that he had a higher rank than the rest, therefore you had certain advantages over the others. Luckily for you, König explored your body externally, caressing your breasts, ass and pussy but without trying anything else.

The weeks passed and with them you managed to get used to the lifestyle of those men. König had already warned everyone about your exclusivity only with him, so no one ever tried anything with you. Your routine was based on washing and cooking König's clothes, cleaning his war wounds and cooking for him and his men. During the nights, you only had to be in charge of helping him bathe and dress the times when he arrived very exhausted, then both of you would just lie down and sleep.

Inevitably you managed to appreciate him and desire the closeness of that massive man. König, for his part, also wanted you, demonstrating it in the way that during the night he would rest his big erection against your ass, or how he would sit you on his lap and take advantage of the movements of the boat to obtain a pleasurable friction.

That night, the sexual tension between the two was unsustainable and it didn't take long for both of them to achieve what they had longed for. Due to your tightness and the large size of König's member, his first thrusts were painful and uncomfortable. However, he took care of reducing your disagreement by sucking and biting your breasts.

"My little wife- ah I love your breasts and how tight you are.." König growled, bringing his hands to your hips, using you as his personal fleshlight.

Slowly, his long and thick cock entered completely inside of you, feeling a sensation of simultaneous pain and pleasure. His hot breath and masculine scent made your walls wrap even tighter around him, causing him to moan loudly.

"Mine, only mine. This pussy belongs to me, your breasts belong to me, you belong to me completely..." he murmured, bringing his mouth to your ear and lightly biting your lobe.

His thrusts increased along with his grunts, you sobbed with pleasure at the way his hair pubes touched your clit. "König- I want more.." you stammered, not quite able to formulate words.

"Huh? You want my cum? You want me to fill you up inside?" He asked as his pace became more clumsy, announcing that he was about to finish.

And so he did, filling your entire interior with his powerful semen that, after 9 months later, took shape into 2 chubby and healthy warriors.

[dragons-and-magic]

According to my studies... The Engines are cats.

Giant metal cats. Need proof? Allow me to present my case.

Exhibit A: Zoomies.

All those time the engines felt the need for speed and went hurtling down the tracks like they've lost their minds? Cats do that too. In some cases, the end result can have the same level of property damage.

Exhibit B: Swatting. Also known as, aggressive/panicked shunting.

Thing doesn't work right? Smack thing. Cats do this all the time. Engines do too. We see this a lot when they interact with trucks. Something looks scary/wrong about that truck? Or it's acting up? Get that away from me!!! *Rams Truck, sending it flying*

Exhibit C: Aversion to water.

Most cats don't like water. Neither to engines. Even if it's not enough to put out their fire. They just hate it. There are obvious exceptions of course, like James. (But he's pretty much the engine version of an overly pampered house cat, that gets baths everyday, so that makes sense.)

Exhibit D: Flying things are bad.

Percy and Harold. James and the Hot Air Balloon. Need I say more? Cat's like to chase, attack, and eat flying things. They hate them with a burning passion.

Exhibit E: Neatniks.

Most engines like to stay clean, or at least get cleaned up after the hard work. They hate hate messy paint, dirt, and mud. Sound familiar? James is the perfect example of this. He's like that cat that licks itself everytime you pet it, because you "messed up it's fur". Lol.

Exhibit F: How did you get in there???

Cats seem to get themselves in the weirdest places. So have the engines. They are almost always found in the weirdest predicaments. And certain engine on Sodor, has done this MANY TIMES. How he managed to get clear on the other side of a mountain without tracks? Good luck trying to figure that out Topham. Pfft.

The engines are cats. I rest my case.

(Note: This is not to be taken seriously. This is just silly posting. Thank you.)

[elfven-blog]

Deals with the Devil ain't so bad

Summary: Arthur Morgan became the devil's bounty hunter...but god does he miss you fiercly. Ghost Rider!Arthur Morgan x F!Reader CW: MDNI, 18+ Only, p in v, fingers, forest/public, nearly caught, fingers, flames used during. Is this technically monster? Word count: 2.9K

He remembers signing that contract like it was yesterday. Remembers how the wind felt against his breath as he looked at the sun rising, how he struggled to breath, the sound of his own raspy voice shaking as he took what should have been his last breath. How his lungs hurt, and his eyes watered from the realisation that this was it.

Then suddenly there was the man. He stood watching Arthur dying on that mountain, his hands wrapped on his cain and the silver skull glinted in the morning rays. His eyes were cold and his voice worse as he spoke “I can help you” was all he said. The outlaws' eyes flickering to the strange man. The corner of his mouth turned up as he watched the dying man give a small nod, his breaths starting to wheeze.

Echoes of his steps fall around the mountain as he bends at the knee, resting right next to Arthur “I won’t ask you to get up”. He unrolls paper, and places it on the ground next to the outlaw. Arthur see’s something shining in that pale man’s eyes, there’s something wrong with him. But Arthur’s greedy.

He wants another chance at life, he wants to right his wrongs, he wants to see you again. He’s a selfish man, he thinks as his hands struggle to grasp the paper, and he doesn’t even read the contract before he tries to sign his name. The man laughs as Arthur coughs and his blood splatters the page “That’ll do just fine Mr Morgan” and he takes the contract away from him, rolling it back up and sheathing it in a metal cylinder. “When you open your eyes next, you’ll be healthy as a horse”. The man grins before he’s gone, and Arthur’s eyes slipped shut.

And now here he was a year down the line. The devil’s bounty hunter. He’d spent the past year collecting souls and returning them back to hell, never seeing you. He should never have taken that contract, he should have died that day on the mountain. You thought he had, Charles and John thought he had. Even set him up a nice little grave that he’d watched you visit time and time again over the year.

His heart yearned to be near you again, to feel your warmth and your softness beneath his fingers but he refused to let Mephisto know his weakness. So he spent his days wandering the west, the shire he’d gotten from Hosea had become his ride and he went everywhere with Arthur. 

Even right now, here he was in the small town you’d settled in, watching as you brought in the washing. Your head turning up to look at the sky causing your shoulders to sag when you saw the grey clouds hanging overhead. Arthur kept his hat down low so if you happened to look, you wouldn’t see that rugged outlaw you’d lost a year ago.

The rider stood there for a little longer watching you but his sadness quickly turned to jealousy, his gaze dropping from that aching to venom as he watched some man he’d never seen before riding up to your house. The stranger dismounting as he pressed flowers into your hand which you seemed to accept willingly. That smile you reserved only for him was present and all Arthur wanted in that moment was to drag that man down to hell.

It was a few days later when he returned to you, and you were out tending to the small garden you’d managed to maintain. The sky had been clear for some time and he watched you worry your bottom lip between your teeth. You disappeared inside the door for a few seconds before coming back out with a basket, leaving the garden and turning down to walk through the trees that your property backed onto.

Arthur stood up straight, his hand shaking the cigarette and throwing it onto the ground once it was out. He pushed his hat slightly down as he began to walk after you. The outlaw watched you carefully, not showing himself just yet, and fooling himself that he was following you because the forest wasn’t safe. Who knows what was here, you needed that protection.

While he had taught you to use a gun some years ago, that didn’t mean you were any good at it. Least not better than him.

He followed you for a while, you hadn’t even noticed. More reason for him to be accurately worried. And he watched as you bent to pick more flowers, adding them to the already full basket. His brow furrowed as he finally took note of them, originally he thought the book you held was full of the information and pictures of them but now, as he looked closer, he noticed the familiar worn leather. His own journal.

You’d kept it. You’d kept it.

And that seemed to be what made him snap. Your head turning fast at the sound of someone stomping towards you. Hands forcing you to stand up, an arm wrapping around your waist and someone's mouth crashing to yours.. Teeth clashing against your own as your eyes widened and you tried to push this sudden figure off you. Anger filled your mind, until he pulled slightly away from you.

Your eyes still wide as you dropped the basket, shaky hands holding his face gently. One of your fingers gently tracing his face, mouth opening and shutting as you tried to speak.

It was Arthur who spoke first “I missed you darlin’” came that rough timber that you’d spent nights trying to replay in your mind “Missed ya somethin’ fierce”.

You were the one to kiss him this time, pulling him forward so quickly it knocked his hat back but he didn’t care as he kissed you back. Tongue pushing your lips apart so he could explore every inch of your mouth, you didn’t fight it like you normally would. His brow furrowed as he tasted something salty and opened his eyes to see you crying.

He pulled away again, shushing you gently as his thumbs brushed away the tears “I’m sorry, I know baby girl but I’m here now” you buried your face into his neck, breathing in the scent of him. Leather, gunpowder and sandalwood flooded your nose and it felt like you could breathe for the first time in a year. Your hands took the hat from his head completely so you could run your hands through his soft strands, looking up at him in wonder.

“You were gone” Arthur swore he could have fell to his knees right there with the way your voice cracked, he had never meant to cause such pain. Maybe taking that deal wasn’t such a bad thing, if it meant he could hold you like this, if he could hear that sweet melody of your voice.

“Let me make it up to ya” one of his hands slowly moved down from your waist to grab your ass, squeezing it tightly as his mouth crooks up into a grin and your cheeks go red at his insinuation. You try to stammer a reply but he just shushes you again “Come on girl, just lay here and look pretty, alrigh’?”

Those words are all it takes for him to quickly have you on the floor, hiking your skirts up over your waist and Arthur’s quickly pushing his trousers down. The gun belt is somewhere near his hat. His hands are as rough as you remember as he pushes your thighs open, his eyes dark at the sight between them “Hold” comes his gruff voice, and your hands immediately go under your knees to keep yourself held open for him.

The way his eyes watch you sends arousal thrumming through your body and your hole clenches around nothing causing the man above you to roll his neck and breath through his nose. His hands trace down the fat of your thighs before his thumb pushes against your clit and he slowly circles it “Missed me that much, sugar?”

You can only nod and grip your legs as he applies more pressure “I missed you so much Arthur” he leans down to kiss at your neck, your eyes fluttering and mouth dropping open as his teeth scrape against the skin. His fingers slide down your wet lips, gathering some of it before he gently pushes against your hole. Your body doesn’t deny the man entrance, he meets almost no resistance as he begins to move his fingers in and out, his thumb still rubbing at the sensitive nub.

“Then I won’t tease ya” he mumbles against the pulse in your throat, and you mewl in agreement. He stretches you gently, adding another finger and this causes you to gasp “S’okay darlin’ just been a while, gotta get you ready” your hand moves to the base of his hair, tanging in the strands and tugging to get his face to move up, pressing your lips to his again.

Your legs tremble in your own hold as his fingers press up against the soft spot inside you, the pressure on your clit and the way he kisses you until your breathless has your back arching. His mouth swallows all the sweet noises you give him. 

It doesn’t take long for the man to expertly bring you to that edge, it’s been so long since you felt like this. You’d tried to do it yourself once you’d thought you were done grieving but your own hand just hadn’t been enough. Oh but Arthur’s hand? It knew exactly where to stroke, how fast to go, the right amount of pressure to apply. “That’s it sweetheart, just like that. Such a good girl f’me”

And his words had you going over that edge, your fingers leaving marks on your own skin, your legs trying to close even as you held them open. Arthur’s eyes watching the way your hole tightened around his fingers, slick drooling down to the forest floor as your eyes fluttered shut and you could only whimper and whine at the feeling.

Arthur’s fingers left your cunt leaving you to whine as he shushes you, his hands making quick work to pull his trousers half way down his thighs, enough to bring his cock out of his underwear. The fabric pressed just under his balls. Your eyes gravitated there, tracing the hard dick he sported. 

You couldn’t tear your gaze away, his own hand barely able to wrap around it as he pumped a few times, his head tipping back with a groan and his cock jumped at the action. Arthur stroked the head against your folds, the precum oozing from the slit and coating your pussy as he gathered the wetness. You pouted up at him, trying to roll your hips up against him and Arthur raised an eyebrow.

His free hand moving to pin your body down as he threatened “Have I gotta crush you to floor, girl?” his tone let you know not to do that again, and your entire body relaxed against the leaves and sticks as he finally pushed into your hole. A gasp leaving you, and he stilled with just the tip inside as he let you get used to the feeling again.

Both of you tensed at the sound of your name being yelled through the forest, seeming to echo as someone called your name and suddenly Arthur’s loving exterior was gone. Your hands let go of your legs and you sat up to push him off you “Oh oh, we got to stop” but the outlaw only pushed you back to the floor, his body weight on you as he pushed the rest of his cock inside you.

“We ain’t gotta do nothing. You gotta lay here and take it” Your eyes widened, you’d never seen him like this before, but as Arthur started to buck his hips up against you, you could only do as he said. Your arms wrapping around his shoulders and clinging to the back of his jacket, his own hands gripping your thighs this time to keep them open. His fingers dimpling the fat as he almost seemed in a frenzy to fuck you.

You couldn’t see his face, but you heard the grunts and growls as his hips humped at you, his cock stretching you out over and over as he used your cunt. The yelling of your name got louder before fading away, the person walking in a different direction “He couldn’t do ya ike this, nah, he aint the type to give you what ya need darlin’”. You had no idea what he was talking about, brow furrowing but you couldn’t focus on one single thought. Not with the way his fingers bruising your thighs as the head bruised your cervix.

And then, all of a sudden, you felt very hot. Your eyes shot open as you watched flames engulf Arthur. His hands burning at your skin and as you looked down all you saw were bones gripping at your thighs “W-what?” you whispered out, your body tensing and Arthur froze too.

His mind went blank as he realised what had happened, and he stammered and stuttered as he tried to think of something to say “Darlin’ I, well, er” Your hand moved to touch the skeleton fingers, and they seemed to change back into his own fingers. And then you realised the flames didn’t really hurt. They were just hot.

Arthur’s eyes widened as he felt your hole clench around him, and it caused him to groan as he thrust into you again. Calming enough that he could morph back into your loving cowboy, his hands gripping your thighs again as he set back into his brutal “Ya like that, dont ya, sugar?” his voice dripped in arousal as he continued the assault on your cunt. This time his touch was accompanied with the flames you seemed to find fascinating. He watched you nod up at him, that devious grin charming up his face.

He brought one of his hands up to your corset, setting it on fire and you gasped as it turned to ash, blowing away in the wind. Mouth going dry as he teased at your hardened nipple, the flame licking at the bud but never burning you. And your hips rolled up forcing more of his cock into you, and your back arched pressing his hand against your breast again. “yeah you like it” came his deep timbre again.

With the added touch of his flames against your skin now, it was easy to get you back into that syrupy head space allowing Arthur to fuck you against the forest floor as he humped into your cunt, his cock dragging along your g-spot in the most delicious way. His words slipping into your ears as he brought you closer and closer to that edge again, his hand making it’s way down your body, burning the pieces of clothing that stopped its path before it could press against your clit.

Your entire body thrummed as he applied some of that heat while he circled your clit, your cunt starting to ache from how he used you and a whimper leaving your mouth as you soaked the floor and Arthur’s pants. He pressed closer to you until you could feel his shirt against your face, his hips keeping your legs apart while his hands moved to grab at the floor. Trying to keep himself grounded as he slowed down his pace “Fuck darlin’!” his voice rang out as you came undone around him.

His eyes rolling as his cock twitched, hot ropes of cum painting your walls white and he stayed as close as possible as his hips rolled and pressed you into the floor. His hands grasped around dirt and leaves as he filled you. “Forgot how good that feels” the outlaws voice was a raspy pant as he breathed heavily above you.

And you both stayed there for a few minutes, until his cock had softened inside you and he pulled out slowly, his hands soothing at your thighs while he shushed you. Your body tensing at the ache between your thighs, and little whimpers left you as he pulled out “I know, I know, ‘m sorry” came the once again gentle Arthur. The one you knew.

As you slowly blinked, trying to gain control over your breathing again, you moved your hand to touch his face. Brow furrowing as you tried to make sense of what you had seen. Not only was the man you loved back from the dead…but he seemed to be some kind of fire skeleton. Confusion swarmed your mind.

The rough man pressed a kiss to your palm, his hand moving to take your own off his face as he gave you a shy smile, his gaze full of concern and something else. Something that seemed awfully similar to that look when he was self-conscious all those years ago “I can explain”

You nodded up at him, looking at him expectedly as he began to explain what had happened. And while it didn’t all make sense to you, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was you had Arthut back. Whether he was tethered to this ‘Ghost Rider’ demon or not.

[strangersteddierthings]

The Conversation

Final Part of The Interview [Part One] [Part Two] [Ao3]

Steve finishes putting on his boots, shoves a beanie on his head, and grabs his thermos of coffee before heading outside. Robin had texted when they left Pendleton so they should be arriving soon, and he wants to make sure the dogs stay clear of the driveway, and also finish some of the chores he is being lazy about. The mountain air is cold in February, and the snow is deep, but it's still warm for a winter day in Eastern Oregon.

His childhood house had been at the edge of a little forest. His current home is tucked away in the woods, trees for miles, and the nearest neighbor farther still than that. He's lived a lot of places, been able to see the whole of America almost, and in the process, he's learned that he'll always be a small-town boy. The real revelation is how at home he feels in this two-bedroom cabin sequestered away from any town at all. Sure, he's got to drive a little over half an hour to get to the nearest grocery store, but he's learned he likes that.

He's got 1600 acres of woods all to himself and the dogs. He's owned this property for almost four years, but recent events made him finally move out here. Originally, he'd bought it to make it as another flip project, but something in his gut told him to make it a vacation home / safe haven for his family instead. Robin, mainly, as a getaway from the LA life and overwhelming spotlight she'd started to face as her music career took off. He might be turning it into his permanent home and base of operations, but everyone knows they're still welcome.

Anyway, the day might be warm for winter, but the night won't be, so Steve sets his thermos on the top of the wooden railing of the porch and heads down the steps to the woodshed. The plan in the summer is to update the cabin, which includes adding central air and a good heating system, but until then, portable heaters are in the bedrooms and the wood stove gets the rest of the cabin. There's also plans to start the construction on the guest house. It's going to be a busy summer.

He replenishes the woodpile on the porch from the woodshed and debates chopping more but decides against it. That can be a tomorrow chore. Next is cleaning up the snow paths he's made previously. Doesn't want anyone falling on their ass on the way to the house, no matter how funny that'll be to watch. As usual, Pancake makes the task difficult because she wants to play with the snow shovel. Melody cries until he throws snow into the air by the shovel full for her to play in. Chowder, old man that he is, supervises from the porch, front paws hanging just off the top step.

It's rough going but he manages to complete the few chores, even with two dogs underfoot.

Steve is on the front porch, forearms holding his weight as he leans against the railing, thermos of coffee between his hands, taking in the afternoon sun and enjoying the silence when Dustin's work truck slides into the driveway. Almost literally, given the foot and a half of snow still on the ground. The driveway is long, okay. Steve's doesn't have enough time in his day to keep up with salting it all.

It'll be strange to see Eddie after all these years. He still can't believe Robin got him to come. When he'd asked how she did it, she brushed him off with an it's not important.

Speaking of Robin, she's the first person out of the truck, sliding out of the passenger seat and then cursing when she drops right into the snow. She shoots an accusatory look towards the cabin, and therefore Steve, like he placed the snow there himself, when the fault is Dustin, who has left the driver side with plenty of room between the truck and the snowbank.

Dustin gets out of the truck and Steve faintly hears him say this side, man, less snow before pushing his door closed and turning to brace himself as Pancake and Melody rush from the porch to circle like sharks, barely restraining themselves from jumping up. Chowder follows after slowly, taking his sweet time getting to Robin, his favorite human. Steve can't even be jealous about that because Robin is his favorite human, too.

The back driver side door opens, and he watches as Eddie Munson all but falls out of the truck. It's the least graceful anyone's looked getting out of the back of the truck and that's counting Chowder and his old man hips. Seeing Eddie again is- well, it's a lot of emotions all at once, but they're are all overshadowed at the moment by how Eddie looks... well, bad. His hair is longer than Steve's ever seen it, a little longer than mid-back length, but it looks like it hasn't seen a proper hair brush in a couple of days. Even from this distance Steve can see the bags under his eyes. He looks like he hasn't slept in days.

He pushes himself off the railing and meanders down the two steps, waiting for them to notice he's waiting. Robin trudges out of the snow berm and to the front of the truck, where Chowder is waiting patiently for his pets and kisses. Dustin has managed to get Melody to stop hopping in front of him so she can get her side scratches, and Pancake has realized there is a new, third person with a set of hands currently not petting her, and is circling Eddie, waiting for him to reach down and pet her but he just stands completely still, heading tracking her in her circles.

"She's friendly, I promise," Steve calls out, which makes Eddie's head snap up to look for the source of the voice. Well, everyone looks, but Eddie looks like he's seeing a ghost, which. Fair. Steve kind of feels the same way.

"Hello, Dingus," Robin calls as she stands from her crouched position, where she's been cuddling Chowder. As soon as she stands, he starts making his way back to the porch. "I have delivered one Edward Keaton Munson. You are not allowed to ask anything of me for, at minimum, a year."

"Steve! Why didn't you tell me you knew the Eddie Munson?" Dustin shouts.

Robin is scoffing, clearly offended. "Am I not famous enough for you Henderson!?"

"Get back to me when you've run a 24-hour Dungeons and Dragons live stream for charity!" Dustin shoots back, then has to dodge Robin's half-hearted punch aimed for his arm.

Eddie stays silent, looking more pale than when he got out of the truck. Steve's a little concerned he's going to faint.

"You been living under a rock, Dustin?" Steve asks. "My knowing him is apparently the only thing on the internet currently."

Dustin puts his whole head into the eye roll. "You spend a month backpacking with your girlfriend in the southern hemisphere and you never get to hear the end of it. I told you I'd catch up on your drama after I catch up on my DnD Live Plays."

"You also missed me winning a Grammy, you know."

"I thought Steve's thing was more important?"

"You are impossible, Henderson."

"You guys going to argue in the snow all afternoon, or do you want to come inside?" Steve says then places his fingers in his mouth and whistles. Melody and Pancake dash for the front door, where Chowder is already waiting. Dustin, Robin, and a still eerily quiet Eddie fall into line to walk the trail to the porch Steve had cleared.

Steve jumps the steps, grabs his thermos, lets the dogs in, and then holds the door for everyone else. Robin and Dustin breeze past, but Eddie slows, eyes jumping around Steve's face as they just look at each other for a moment. Eddie opens, then closes, then opens, then closes his mouth.

"Hi," Steve offers up, shifting a foot to hold the door open so he can wave his fingers at Eddie.

Eddie swallows thickly, then whispers back, "hey."

"In the house, Eddie. Don't want to let too much cold in," Steve tilts his head towards the doorway.

"Oh, right, sorry," that kick starts Eddie again and he crosses the threshold, Steve close behind.

Robin and Dustin are currently occupying the bench just inside the door, taking off their shoes. Once Dustin has his boots off, he leaves the bench, heading to the kitchen. Eddie seems lost, just standing in the entryway, so Steve takes the spot Dustin just left and proceeds to undo the laces on his boots. He gets one boot done by the time Robin stands, wandering after Dustin once she's hung up her coat, scarf, and gloves. Eddie doesn't move still, so Steve pats the empty spot beside him.

"No shoes in the cabin. Dogs track in enough snow, don't need us doing it too," Steve says, then busies himself with his other boot.

He sees Eddie sit and begin to untie his- jesus, he's not even wearing boots. Just a black pair of sneakers. Eddie unties his shoes in silence, sitting rather stiffly next to Steve.

This quiet, obedient Eddie is not what he expected.

"You want something to drink?" Steve asks, once both of them are free of their shoes.

"No, thank you."

"Alright. Have a seat, then," he gestures towards the couch. The cabin door opens up directly into the living area, which Steve has set up as 3/4th a living room and 1/4th dining room, in that a small kitchen table is along the far wall. Beyond that wall is the kitchen, where Robin and Dustin are undoubtedly helping themselves to his coffee or hot chocolate.

Eddie shuffles off to sit on the edge of the couch, as close to the armrest as he can get. Now that Steve can see him closer, he can see he's added more piercing to his face than just the eyebrow ring he wore in high school. Snake bites, a septum piercing, and a second eyebrow ring next to the original. He's sure that if Eddie's hair wasn't covering his ears, he'd see more metal there. Eddie had hung up the coat he'd been wearing but under that is a hoodie he didn't take off, so Steve can only guess if he ever got those tattoos he'd been planning in high school. His entire outfit is black, which just makes him look sickly in the cabin lighting.

Steve drops himself into the chair facing the couch. It's Melody's favorite chair to curl up in, but Steve thinks she'll forgive him for taking it. There's tension in the room, so he tries to break it. "You look like you've seen a ghost, dude."

Eddie makes a weird nose, almost a whimper or a whine, but before he can say anything, Robin rounds the wall, holding a mug of hot liquid and she says, "Oh, I'm sure he feels that he has. I didn't tell me we were coming to see you."

"Robin!" Steve is shocked.

"What? You said you wouldn't mind getting some closure, so I got him here. Does it matter how?" She takes a seat on the opposite end of the couch from Eddie, making a show of how comfortable she is in the space by sitting cross-legged and leaning back against the couch, in comparison to Eddie who is sitting up completely straight, barely on the couch with how close to the edge he's sitting.

"Yeah, it does! If he's not here voluntarily- if Eddie doesn't want to talk to me you can't-"

"I do," Eddie says. It grabs Steve and Robin's attention and Steve sees Eddie almost wilt under their twin stares. He clears his throat before continuing, "I mean, I would have come still, if she'd told me. I do want to talk to you. Apologize for.... for everything. So much I don't even know where to begin, or how."

"Uhh, this feels like something personal," Dustin says from where he's standing with his own mug, hovering nearby. "Should I be here for this?"

Good question. Steve doesn't care if Robin and Dustin hear what they talk about, but Eddie might. "How about we just relax a bit. How was the drive?"

Eddie scrunches his face, a half confused expression on his face.

"Fine," Robin says at the same time Dustin says, "Tense as fuck."

"Those two things don't seem like they match," Steve says.

Dustin moves to plop himself on the couch in between Eddie and Robin, then quietly curses as his drink sloshes over the edge of the mug. He starts mopping at it with the sleeve of his shirt as he says, "Robin is a liar. The tension in the truck is going to linger that's how bad it was. I'll be feeling the tension every time I get in the rig. Clients will feel the tension when I pull up to their curbs!"

"It was not that bad!" Robin swats Dustin. Successfully this time, since there's no way for him to dodge unless he wants to spill his drink again.

Steve just laughs. "Robs, light of my life, mate of my soul, knowing you and your grudges, Dustin's probably going easy on the description of the tension here."

"Well, there wouldn't be tension if I was allowed to say what I want to say."

"Can we go, like, five minutes without your negativity?"

"My negativity!? I'm not negative, I'm rational and level-headed!"

"You are not sounding very level-headed right now."

Dustin chimes in, "Steve's right. Level-headed people don't have to shout that they're level-headed."

"What say you, Eds?" Steve asks, the old nickname slipping out. He doesn't have time to be embarrassed about it though.

Eddie stands quickly and flings his hands in the air, having reached an invisible limit Steve is unaware of, pacing about the living room as he basically shouts, "Why don't you hate me!? You should hate me! I hate me! I can't- why are you just sitting there, trying to have a-a decent conversation with me? You should be screaming at me! You should be mad! Why aren't you? My fuckin' song ruined your life!"

The silence in the living room is heavy following that, all eyes on Eddie. Even the dogs, who had been in various states of sleep, lift their heads and look in Eddie's direction.

He looks mortified by the out burst, and his face turns red. "I-I'm sorry. I- I'm just, I'm sorry. I need air."

They all watch silently as Eddie jams his shoes back on and goes out the front door without tying them or grabbing his coat.

Steve sighs, deep and annoyed. At Robin and himself. He looks to Robin and she looks shocked by Eddie's outburst. She was watching the door, but turns her head to meet Steve's eye, a small frown on her face.

"Well, it's not like he's going far," Dustin says. "You going after him?"

"I don't know if I should."

Dustin scoffs. "Don't be an idiot, of course you should. We drug that guy to the middle of nowhere to talk to you. He agreed to come to the middle of nowhere even though I could have been a hit man hired by Robin to off him in the woods and he didn't even complain. Didn't even question. I don't know what happened, but I think you two need talk it over."

Steve blinks at Dustin. "Since when did you get so wise?"

"I've always been wise. You just refuse to see it with your ageism. Go. Robin can fill me in on the beef, here in the toasty, cozy cabin, while you two chat in the cold, and freeze your asses off."

"I don't have ageism-"

"Wrong argument to be having, Steve!" Dustin interrupts. "And take another cup of coffee with you. Even if he doesn't drink it, dude doesn't have gloves either so y'know, warm the hands."

Steve does just that. Fills his other thermos with coffee, taking a chance by adding cream and sugar, before putting his boots, coat, and beanie back on. He throws Eddie's coat over his arm and tucks both thermos' against his body with that same arm so he can have a free hand to open the door.

Eddie isn't far. He's pacing back and forth in front of the truck, talking to himself.

Taking a deep breath to steel himself, Steve steps off the porch and makes his way to Eddie. "Hey."

The pacing stops and Eddie turns to look at Steve. They just look at each other as Steve approaches. Steve doesn't stop until he's close enough to reach out and touch before he shuffles the two thermos's to his other arm and extends the one with Eddie's coat on it out.

"Thank you," Eddie says, taking the coat and shoving himself into it quickly.

"Brought you coffee, too," Steve holds out one thermos and after a pause, Eddie takes it, too, then almost instantly brings his other hand up to cradle it, warming his fingers.

He looks up from the thermos and meets Steve's eye. "I am sorry, Steve. I'm sorry for how things ended between us, and for the song I wrote, and for-for not thinking about how people would be able to work out that you were the Steve from Hey Steve. You should hate me for that alone. I'm so sorry for everything that's happened because I didn't think of the consequences."

"I don't- I don't hate you man. Not... not anymore. Not for a long time."

"Well, you should!"

Steve frowns. He wants to argue because who is Eddie to tell him how he should feel? But that's not going to help anything. "When Robin called me. During her interview after the Grammy's and asked if she could tell the truth I never- I didn't know what she meant by the truth. But. Well, nothing she said was a lie, but it wasn't the full story."

Eddie stays silent, seemingly waiting for Steve to continue.

"Those first two years after our breakup were- I'm not going to lie, they were fucking awful. I think I received my first bit of hate mail the very same day Hey Steve released. It was harsh. All from the same person, but sent to my Facebook and my Twitter and Instagram. Guess they really wanted me to read it.

"And then, with each passing day, a new person, new message, just as awful. After three days I deleted Instagram and Twitter. Then I locked down Facebook but like- physical letters showed up at my house. I can't lie, it certainly felt like you'd ruined my life."

Eddie makes a wounded sound at that. "That's because I did! What I did was unforgivable and-"

"You don't get to decide for me if I forgive you or not!" Steve snaps. "I haven't actually said I did forgive you, did I? All I've said is I don't hate you."

That gets Eddie quiet again for a moment, then he says, "you ended up hospitalized because of me."

"Robin said I ended up hospitalized, and that's true, but it wasn't- It was more complicated that just being your, and your fans', fault. For people who were supposedly on 'your side' of our breakup, they used a lot of homophobic language. That's how my mom found out. The letters were easy enough to just get rid of because all the bad shit was on the inside, but someone sent a post card, and mom collected the mail that day. It's... I don't like talking about this."

"Then don't," Eddie is quick to say, "you don't have to explain anything to me, or make yourself relive these events. It's- you don't owe that to me."

"I think I need to. I wrote you a song, said I'd do it all again, and I meant that. I want you to understand why. Just. Just give me a minute."

Eddie nods and takes a sip of his coffee. He looks pleasantly surprised and takes bigger drink before his face falls into a frown as he stares down at the thermos and Steve has to look away. He turns and squeezes his eyes shut to continue. "Mom showed the postcard to my father, and he confronted me that evening. It was.... it didn't start off bad. He asked if it was true. That I was gay. I made a choice, then. I didn't have to; I could have lied. I could have told him I was straight and that I didn't understand what the postcard was saying, but I didn't.

"I knew how he felt about queer people, and I told him the truth anyway. I was bisexual. I thought it was a miracle that he didn't kick me out instantly. Instead, he calmly asked me if that meant I liked woman. I said it meant I liked more than just woman.

"Then he told me that didn't matter. That so long as I liked woman, I would be with a woman, and that we never had to speak of this again. And I told him no. He didn't get to decide that for me. He said that he would rather have a dead son than a faggot one. And I thought- I never- surely he was just meaning, like, metaphorically, right? Like, he'd disown me, kick me out or something so I scoffed and said- God, I was so stupid. I knew it wasn't safe, but I was so angry at him, I shouted 'dead or alive, I'm your faggot son so deal with it.' And he- he said 'dead it is' and he attacked me."

He hears Eddie suck in a breath, hears the crunch of snow in what could only be Eddie taking a step towards him but stopping after just one step. Steve doesn't know if he wants Eddie to close the distance and give him the hug he knows Eddie wants to do. Steve doesn't know if he'd welcome the embrace or not. He sucks in his own shaky breath, and continues, "He almost beat me to death that night. The only reason he didn't was because mom dialed 911," Steve turns around, looks at Eddie and sees the tears falling down his own face reflected on Eddie. "As far as I know, dad's still serving time for his attempted murder, so like, at least I don't have to worry about him. And mom... I don't even know what to think of that.

"She called 911, didn't want to see me die, I guess, but also couldn't have a gay son. She sold the house, and everything in it, while I was still in the hospital, and just... disappeared. Robin's family took me in. She told that story during the interview, you knoe, but I wasn't even at the house when that guy with the gun showed up. I was meeting with a lawyer.

"She-Mom was- I don't know what she was trying to do but she gave me the family business. The whole company! It felt like she was trying to buy my forgiveness, except she didn't ask for it and still hasn't contacted me. It's like... she felt guilty about what happened but hated me at the same time. Felt she needed to do something to alleviate her guilt? Or maybe she just wanted to cut herself free of the whole Harrington name; free herself from me and my father. I don't think I'll ever get closure for that one."

Steve quits talking, needs to take another moment. He'd already rambled on about more than he meant to but talking to Eddie had always done that to him. Afterall, before they dated, they'd been friends. He sips at his coffee, not knowing what else to say.

"Jesus, Stevie, I'm so sorry. I didn't know- It's no excuse but I'm just so sorry."

He doesn't think Eddie knows he called him Stevie, but it's nice to hear. "So, see, it wasn't your fault. Your song set things into motion, for sure, so it's nice to hear an apology, but like, if anyone is the bad guy in this situation, it's Richard Harrington."

"But Robin said she just had to help you move to here. That you still get hate mail, and doxxed. That's on me. I saw your list of addresses, Steve! You've had to move, like, eight times a year!"

Steve can't help the cackle that springs from him. He surprises himself with the laugh, and Eddie, too, if his wide eyes and eyebrows hidden behind his bangs are any indication. "I- yeah, I move a lot. And yes, this most recent move was because of a brick with Hey Steve scratched into it broke my living room window, but like, I've only had to move because of harassment like, four times, if I'm counting the whole mom-selling-the-house thing."

"What?"

Steve holds up a finger, adding a new one as he counts them out. "Mom sold house. Scary gun guy at Robin's. The year anniversary of your first album's release. I was still in Hawkins, figuring out what to do with all the money I'd, uhh, inherited I guess, so I was easy to find. And the most recent one. Not sure what inspired it this time. Usually, the hate mail resurges when you go on tour, but it's less and less every time. Anyway, none of those other moves are because of crazy fans."

Eddie blinks at him, a picture of confusion. "But I found a YouTube video and that guy- he showed all your old addresses. He said- I thought..."

"Well, there are a lot of addresses. But not because of your fans. I move for my job. Do you... did you even read the truck?" Steve gestures to Dustin's truck and Eddie steps around to see the printed H&H Project Flip and below that is their website.

Eddie looks back to Steve like that answers nothing. Which, fair, but it would answer a lot of questions if Eddie had looked up the website. "After that surge of anniversary hate, I knew I needed to get out of Hawkins. Robin was graduated, then, and headed to college. I decided I wanted to see more than just Hawkins. I followed Robin to college in Chicago, and uh, bought a house. A real fixer upper but that was fine. I had plenty of money to throw into it. On a whim I thought, what if I try to fix it. I had a lot of free time and if it ended up badly, I could afford to pay a professional to fix whatever I broke. I found that I loved doing that."

He's still just being looked at like he's not making sense.

Steve rolls his eyes, "I flip houses, dude. Me and Dustin. Harrington and Henderson Project Flip. I was in Chicago for three years, lots of addresses for that city. But then Robin pointed out there were a lot of states. That I should see all 50 of 'em by renovating a house in each. She'd moved in with her then-girlfriend by this time, so she said I should go. See the States at the least. So, I did. I find it easier to just live in the house I'm renovating, so I'm not paying mortgage and then rent somewhere else in the same city."

Eddie looks like he's had a rug pulled out from under him and he lets out a laugh that's a little hysterical.

"And moving so much has allowed me to meet so many amazing people, y'know? I got friends in all the states. So, like, yeah, you did ruin my life, but like, just my life from 18 to 20. So, yeah, I'd do it all again. Did you think I've been living in perpetual misery for the last ten years?"

"Robin certainly made it easy to assume that, so yeah!"

"I think she did that on purpose. To hurt you back."

"I deserve it," Eddie says. "I didn't even try to check in on you. Well, once, but when I couldn't find you on any socials I just. Gave up."

Steve shrugs. "I didn't reach out either. And if you'll remember, I broke up with you. Screamed in your face that we were over and went home."

"I don't know when, or even if, Corroded Coffin will tour again, but I swear to you, we'll never play or release Hey Steve again. And I'll release a statement, or go on camera, or something, and address this. I can't make it right, but I can make a change starting now, to do better and be better," Eddie says this while gripping his thermos to death.

"I believe you, and I forgive you."

Eddie nods grimly, then looks from Steve to the cabin, and back to Steve. "Do you think Robin will ever forgive me?"

"I don't know. You hurt her pretty badly, too. We were all best friends in school and when we broke up, you cut off Robin, too. And then, when she started to gain her own fame- I think when she first moved to LA, she thought you'd try to reach out. But you never did."

A silence falls over them, and Steve refuses to break it. He's done enough talking. They drink their coffees 'til they're empty before Eddie speaks.

"Where does this leave us?"

Steve thinks about it before answering. "You were my best friend before you were my boyfriend. You'd been in my life longer than you've been out of it. We don't have to be anything. We can have our closure and go our separate ways, if you'd prefer. But, I think I'd like another chance at being your friend."

"I can do friend," Eddie says slowly, like he's picking his words carefully. "I can. But, full transparency, I think I still love you."

It hurts to hear, after all the pain and the time, and it's a bittersweet kind of hurt. "I'll always love you, Eds. I meant it, you know, every word of the song. But I don't know if we can, or should, try again. We were so good until we weren't."

Tears spring from Eddie's eyes when Steve says he loves him, and they don't stop falling even as he's nodding along with everything Steve says. "No, I know. I know. I just, I needed you to know. Friend is, it's so fucking great. More than I ever expected, and certainly more than I dared hope."

"Come on. Let's go inside where it's warm and chat with Dustin and Robin like civilized people. I need a break from the heavy talk."

"Yeah. Me too. Thank you, Steve. For the chance."

Steve shrugs and shoots him a crooked grin. "Yeah, well, ruin this a second time and Robin will rip you to shreds on live TV, probably."

There's more to talk about. More hurts to heal and things to discuss, Steve knows. And maybe after all the talking, they'll learn they've changed too much to even be friends. But that'll be okay, because if that's how it goes, it'll be because they talked it out instead of screaming at each other in a living room.

If they've changed too much, this time, it'll end gently.

It doesn't stop Steve from letting a little bit of hope in. That this won't end, that they can find a way to be in each other's lives again.

As friends, or more.

[brooks-corner]

It Was Always You - Jacob x reader fic

Chapter 2 - Hello Jacob Black

Thank you to those who reblogged my story I appreciate it :) I honestly didn't think anyone would see it so I'm glad it's getting some attention even if it's just a little. Feel free to give me any critiques regarding my writing!

Enjoy

When you wake up, the first thing that you notice is that these aren't your sheets. Your eyes flutter open and confirm that this is indeed not your room. There is a window to your left and it tells you from the lack of light that it is still nighttime. You sit up from the sheets and try to remember what happened to you.

You remember the wedding. But was that all a dream? You're still wearing the silk wedding guest dress so that tells you that it did indeed happen. What did you do after the reception though? You remember how you felt flushed and stuffy around the guests, something about a red bird? Now it is all coming back. The tree branch, the wolf. You wished animals could talk. You wanted to know why the scary creature helped you. Because you are sure it did. It freed you. It cleaned your wounds... or you guess licked the blood off. Now that you think about it, wolf saliva being slathered onto your gash doesn't sound all that sanitary.

You remove the camo blanket that was draped over you so you could examine your leg and see what the damage was but, surprisingly, you find it all bandaged up with gauze and everything. Who helped you? Whoever found you in the woods you would need to thank because you could have been seriously injured. Making it back to your house would have been a pain in the ass with your leg.

You get up cautiously, being careful to not putt any weight on your bad leg and look around the room to find the door. As your eyes scan the room, you can see various items. Straight ahead of you is a poster on the wall with a flowing river and mountains in the background. Out of the window is a beautiful field followed by a lush forest. You figure that whoever own this house sure does have a gorgeous property.

Now that you are a little more awake, and your eyes have adjusted to the dark, you can clearly tell that this is a boy's room. All of the color in here is predominantly green paired with the various clothing items on the ground screams teenage male.

Above the bed you can see a dream catcher. You always had bad dreams. Violent ones at that. You would wake up in the middle of the night with a cold sweat after someone would stab you or punch you in your dreams. You always hated that. They come sporadically but you definitely wish you had a dream catcher. Even if they don't really work it would be comforting to you. The boy which the trinket belongs to is really lucky or really crafty because you have never seen a dream catcher like this one. You can tell someone spent a lot of time on it. The design in the middle is very intricate for one this small. The diameter of it would be comparable to your palm but there are a couple of things hanging down from it that makes the piece of art stand out. Hanging from the inside are various tiny rocks with one carved into a wolf howling in the middle. You really like this dream catcher. You admire the boy who has it, as he must have some good taste.

The sound of hushed shouting brings you out of your state of admiration for the trinket. You look towards the source of the arguing which is the door that leads out of the room. A warm light is coming from the bottom of the door, and you decide to head out into it. You realize that you should be heading home now so your dad doesn't get too worried. While figuring out a hop and drag method to get you through the door on your bad foot, you manage to make it through and go down the hallway towards the people you were hearing.

You hope that you don't get them mad for interrupting anything, especially if it was a fight. That would be awkward. However, you really do need to be heading home. If it was late at night when the wedding ended, it would definitely be late at night now.

You follow the sound of people, and it gets louder and louder until you finally make it to its source. Although it took a while, you managed to hobble over and peer over the wall to see what the group was doing.

The very first thing you notice is that everyone there is shirtless. Except for the girl but regardless. All of the guys were in just shorts. Granted there were just two boys but still. It made your cheeks turn bright red. It wasn't like you hadn't seen a shirtless guy before, but you were never really good at talking to boys. You would always end up stuttering of sorts or embarrassing yourself one way or another. You thought it would be best just to avoid boys if you could help it. Although, it kind of seems unavoidable now.

Through the hushed arguing you can make out a couple of words.

"...and how could you have let this happen? We talked about this. What if she wasn't someone important?!"

You can tell it was a very angry girl who had said that part.

"I was upset Leah. And who was going to be out there in the middle of nowhere anyways?"

A boy with a low voice responded defensively.

"Well obviously someone Jacob!"

Jacob. The boy's name is Jacob.

"Who Leah? Say it. My imprint. Not just anyone. It was meant to be that I was out there when it happened. Then maybe we never would have met."

"Yeah, right after you finished crying about your unrequited love. Give me a break."

"Okay break it up you two," The voice was a mans and much lower than the other boys.

"Ahem."

Your voice cut through the fighting. You felt bad about listening in on their conversation and you wanted to go home anyways.

Everyone's attention was on you now. Including the shirtless men.

"H-hi um." You advert to not stare and continue, "I uh really appreciate you guys letting me stay here. I really do. Whoever found me in the woods I owe you one. Same to the person who patched me up. But I should really head home soon my dad is going to be worried and-" The blush on your cheeks made you want to die. Why did you have to be like this? Thankfully you did not have to continue your flustered plea because one of the boys spoke up.

"Hey yeah I get it uh is your leg, okay?" He made a move to get closer to you. You recognize his voice to be Jacob's. If he was a teenager he was definitely the most jacked you've ever seen. He had a black shoulder tattoo that contrasted against his tan skin nicely.

The only girl, who you can only assume is Leah, scoffs. "She's fine Jacob." You guessed correctly.

"Uh y-yeah it is a lot of b-better thank you. Um do I know you?" You ask the boy with a strong blush filling your cheeks.

Jacob notices and smiles but thankfully doesn't say anything about your flushed face. "No, you don't know me, but I am friends with your sister."

Leah bursts out into a laughter and the other man snickers.

"Ignore her, that is just Leah. Nobody likes her." He whispers in your ear which makes you laugh and helps you calm down a bit. The man starts to talk to Leah about calming down, and they go off on their own mini fight.

Meanwhile, you copy how Jacob whispered to you and got on your tippy toes to return you conversation, "So how do you know Bella?" This brings a grin to Jacob's face.

"We grew up together before she moved down with your mom. When she moved back here, we kind of reunited for a while since her shithead boyfriend left for a couple of months.

"You didn't like him either?" You said more happily than you'd like to admit.

"Wait you don't like him?" Jacob looks taken aback but you didn't miss the grin that was across his face either.

"I always thought he was creepy. I am not going to lie I loathed the fact that they got together but I guess it all worked out in the end." You shrugged.

" I can already tell that I am going to like you." Jacob responded with a smile.

With the conversation over, yours and Jacob's attention return to Leah and the man's conversation, or rather, argument.

Jacob took one look at it and decided that he was not going to deal with it right that second. "Come with me." he said. And so, you followed.

Jacob took you to his car and drove you back to your dad's place. The ride there were filled with conversations about the hatred for Edward, the introduction to who the man was, Sam Ulley, and your guys' full names. Thomas Jacob Black (who is indeed 17, the same as you) and (your full name) got along really well during the ride home and you would be lying if you said you weren't sad that the car ride ended too soon.

Per usual, dad was worried about you but at least he didn't call his troops in when like Bella went missing for the night. He almost went bezerk when he saw your beat-up leg but when you explained that it was your fault, he calmed down a lot and called you a clumsy idiot.

Your dad thanked Jacob for looking after me and when I went inside, I noticed that Jacob watched me until I got home safe, but not before we exchanged numbers.

Going to bed that night all you could think of was how everything is so natural when it comes to talking to Jacob. And how thankful you are that he helped you. And if you were being completely honest, how excited you are to see him again.

[eaglepropertymanagement]

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[thelampisaflashlight]

You Are A Haunted House

[Don't you just hate it when your boss places a curse upon you post mortem? Or, what happens when Bea gets promoted Sister Imperator. Feat. Mountain and Rain.] Below the cut.

There is a notion that all old buildings are haunted; That the creaks and groans are not that of the ancient wood settling, nails squeaking as it expands and contracts with the seasons, but rather the forlorn groans of those long since passed.

Whether these ghosts are real or the conjuration of of an excitable mind is left up in the air, no one has indisputable proof of life after death, and yet, so many hold to superstition, even if they are not wholly aware of it.

Those who hold onto traditions passed down through the generations, despite their original purpose being lost in the relative comforts of modern living.

Few have to worry about wayward spirits leading them astray in the forest, nor need to fear that the creature they are viewing prancing about the meadow is not really a deer, but we as human beings know almost instinctually when something is not as it seems.

And in those moments, even the faithless turn to God.

Beatrix Milne, however, turns to Mountain.

"It's fuckin' creepy is what it is."

Before the pair stands the ruins of the former "Little Chapel" -it never had a proper name before, always referred to as either the small or little chapel- that sits a ways into the forest surrounding the abbey's grounds.

Despite only amounting to a singular room with no roof or even a door to speak of, Bea finds the structure... ominous and dark, though not the sort of darkness she's grown accustomed to working around the abbey.

The forest is still here, and while Bea may not know much about the natural world beyond what is necessary to do her job, she knows this stillness, this deep, unsettling quiet, is not normal.

Mountain, too, is silent as he takes in the wreckage.

"...You think it's haunted?" Bea laughs nervously, trying to bring a little light to the situation, but the ghoul gives her a look that has her stepping just a smidge closer into the safety of his towering form.

"For such a brash young woman, you certainly frighten easily, Miss. Milne." Mountain chuckles, offering her his hand as he walks towards the burnt out building, dry leaves crunching under his cloven hooves, "Not all places touched by man are left with an impression of them."

"There are no ill memories in this place, save for that of its end."

Bea follows the ghoul through the narrow threshold, her boots finding stone where she thought she might hear the soft squeak of weathered boards or damp soil.

The interior of the building is not in much better shape than the exterior; Though, Bea supposes, this may still count as being outside, given the lack of protection from the elements.

A cold drop of rain water manages to make its way down through the dense canopy and lands directly in the space made by the hood of her jacket and her bare neck, causing her to yelp, and the earth giant to snort.

"Fuckin' cold!" she hisses, shaking her shoulders as she feels the water trickle down her back, "Remind me why we're out here again??"

"A bit of water isn't the end of the world." Mountain smirks, earning a harrumph from the small woman, "In order to properly care of the grounds in my absence-"

Bea narrows her eyes at him.

"-Which I know you're already doing just fine-" he adds quickly to avoid starting an argument, "You need to be more acquainted with the parts of the property that you weren't allowed to visit before."

"Now that Sister Imperator has..." he inhales deeply, "...gone to see the father... It has fallen to Papa... Frater Imperator to decide how the staff will manage things in her absence."

"...I don't know whether I'm being promoted or being set up right now, Mountain." Bea says after a moment of quiet contemplation, "Sister Imperator forbade me from coming out this way for the sake of my personal safety, I don't think Copia changing his title means I am any safer here now than I was before..."

"It's true that parts of the grounds are more dangerous than others, and that this place is no exception, but if you want to stay-"

"-I do." she interrupts, then frets, "I-Is that old man thinking of kicking me out??"

Mountain stiffens, "I, well... He..."

"Does he think I'm not capable of doing my job??"

"No, but-"

"Mountain, I can't lose this fucking job." Bea pleads, grabbing hold of the front of Mountain's shirt, "I can't fucking go back to-"

"Bea." Mountain grabs her shoulders, "I am doing this so you don't have to worry about that."

"...What... What are you going to do?" she asks, feeling the air around her grow cold, "Mountain, what is this? Mountain, I'm scared-"

"Just close your eyes and it will all be over soon..." he whispers, moving his hand up to cup her face, "...Just..."

"-Wake up already!"

Bea bolts upright in bed, her eyes searching the dark expanse of her bedroom, coughing a little as she groans and falls back down onto the mattress, cringing when she's met by the pool of sweat that had gathered beneath her in her sleep.

"Fuck..." she wheezes out, "That was a fucking stupid nightmare..."

She coughs again, pulling herself upright and kicking her feet over the side of the bed, "Water..."

Wandering over to the sink, Bea turns on the tap and runs it for a short while until the water turns cold, rinsing out the mug she used for her tea earlier before filling it up.

She stares out the window as she drinks, eyes trained on the lake beyond her garden gate.

Slightly obscured by the waves rolling over the water from, Bea can see the shine of Rain's scales growing beneath the surface, and stares quietly as the ghoul slithers about in his beastly form.

It's an oddly soothing sight for what it is; A monster, impossibly large and frightening making its presence known to her, because he somehow always knows when she's awake... but Bea will take comfort where she can find it.

Lately -at least since Sister Imperator's passing- Bea's been feeling... out of sorts.

She has to wonder if the spell the older woman had cast upon her were beginning to fade now that she was gone.

Bea thinks of her nightmare, and the many more that came before it.

Oddly specific, always featuring Mountain, always ending in... not quite death but something akin to it.

She's not sure how to describe the sensation.

With a spluttering cough, she is brought back to the present, having inhaled a bit of her water trying not to spit out the contents in her mouth, but unable to swallow.

She stands over the sink hacking and wheezing for a solid minute before she manages to get her lungs to cooperate with her, again.

She swallows and goes to pour the rest of her drink down the drain, when she notices a splattering of dark liquid standing out against the metal; Acrid and watery, so dark it almost seems black until she pushes herself away from the counter and her shadow moves, revealing the rosy red hue of it.

Blood.

She brings a hand to her lips, feeling it stick to her thumb as she tries to wipe her mouth clean.

It's not... She's not...

What is this?

Why is this...

Why is this happening?

And then suddenly...

"Mountain?" she calls out weakly, looking towards the door, and she can almost see him in her head, hand poised to knock, now frozen in confusion.

"...How did you...?"

And then she can see him.

As if she's standing on the porch beside him, like she's outside, she can even feel the night air on her overwarm skin, and-

"...Mount, I think I'm gonna throw up..."

[calxia]

I had the most stupid thought. Monopoly with the ghouls... I just know that'd be a disaster. Somebody would be trying to eat the game pieces. Others are fighting over property.. Somebody is just sitting in the corner scared of everything that's happening.

I imagine Copia had put them in timeout many times which did not work and ended up having to ban the game completely because they can't act right

- 🎸 Anon

I very almost added the Monopoly videogame to the 'ghouls and videogames' ask you sent last until I had images of the Nintendo Switch being thrown out of the window when someone gets bancrupted.

The pack has never actually been able to finish a game of Monopoly because it always ends up with someone crying (normally Phantom) and someone in a blind rage flipping the table (Dew.)

The fighting always starts from the second the game box is opened when everyone quarrels over which piece they all want, despite how they always pick the exact same ones every time. Mountain prefers to just watch and mediate any quarrels that break out while Copia acts as the banker because nobody else can be trusted with the fake money.

everything goes smoothly for the first few turns until more and more properties get bought up. the board quickly fills up with bought properties. Sunny somehow always manages to lose all her money which prompts an argument if she gets new notes or if they consider her bankrupt already. The table gets knocked and they have to pick everything up off the floor and try to remember who was where.

Swiss rolls the dice so hard it goes skidding off the table and under the sofa, so they have to pause the game to move it to retrieve it. It's already been an hour and most of them are getting bored. Phantom ended up in jail 2 turns ago and is unable to roll a double so he has to mortgage his properties to pay bail. Cirrus and Cumulus have somehow managed to build houses already which sends Dew into a blind rage when he lands on them.

Copia has had to move the bank to the other side of the room because Rain kept trying to distract him to steal money so he doesn't have to mortgage his properties. Aurora and Phantom quickly get bankrupted when they run out of properties to mortgage. Cirrus now owns half the board.

Swiss has gotten bored by this point and has started flicking houses at Phantom from over the table. He then pulls a card and has to bankrupt because he can't pay his taxes. Only Dew, Aether, Cirrus and Cumulus are still in the game by this point. Dew and Aether have about four properties between them and the rest is owned by the ghoulettes. Most spaces now have hotels on them. Aether loses to Cumulus.

Dew tries to kick Cirrus from under the table but instead boots Phantom in the shins which makes him burst into tears. He gets told off but it only makes him more angry. Aurora and Sunny are trying to stack the unused house pieces as high as possible on the edge of the table.

Dew lands on Cirrus' Boardwalk with a hotel, immediately loses all his money and gets bankrupted. he flips the table in a blind fit of rage and starts screaming at Cirrus. She screams back at him. There are game pieces all over the floor in the living room. Phantom is crying in the corner with Swiss trying to stop him. Aether is trying to calm down Dew while the ghoulettes try to calm Cirrus down. Rain is somehow managing to ignore the chaos while playing Pokemon

Copia bans the game after that. (it's not like they'd have been able to play again anyway given how most of the pieces were now missing)

[skyrim-forever]

Day 8: Free Day

A/N: WE DID IT LADS, THEY (ME) SAID IT COULDN'T BE DONE BUT! Here is day 8, the happy ending I so desperately wanted Theodora to have. Warnings: Slightly suggestive towards the end so minors begone! May have went insane and this is 3k words and includes a timeskip, oopsies. Tagging: @tes-summer-fest

Did it have to be Morrowind? Ondoelmar thought as the Northern Maiden followed the course to Solstheim. Anywhere in Tamriel and she chose Morrowind? Sky darkened with ash, he could see the Red Mountain in the distance, growing closer as the ship approached the island. Being in between Vvardenfell and Windhelm was quite possibly the last place he wanted to be. Or it would have been, had love not apparently made him a madman. 

Upon arriving at her property, Lakeview Manor, he only recalled after he was met by her steward and his wife. Theodora had mentioned them before, he had visited the property once whilst the staff were away. The Bosmer steward, who he would relearn was named Faendal, was apprehensive to help him at all. He both cursed the mer for making the task that much more difficult and was thankful that Theodora had people supporting her; even if it made his own life harder in that moment. 

It was his wife, an Imperial named Camilla that aided him, hearing the ruckus at the door caused her to approach. When he said he was looking for Theodora, she asked for his name. Using an alias would do him no favours. 

“Ondolemar” he said plainly. And to his joy, she knew who he was. 

“Faendal it’s okay, he means Theodora and us no harm.” Camilla turns away from the steward, she addresses him with a warm smile. 

“Come in, you look worse for wear.” Not only did they provide him with the information he was seeking, that Theodora had left for due to some threat on the island of Solstheim, but they also fed him and let him stay the night. Although he wondered what in Morrowind would require her to solve it, he felt the best he had in weeks knowing where she was. 

“You can take Theodora’s room.” Camilla had told him when they finished eating, they had had stag. A meal he was certainly not accustomed to but one doesn’t turn away hospitality. Besides, he figured he’d bruise the Bosmer’s ego by turning his nose up at his catch. “It’s up the stairs there” she said pointing to the stairs behind him, on the left side of the house “right down the hall.” The room had been the same as when he last saw it a few months ago, he had previously gathered that she didn’t stay in one place for long. There were some papers discarded off to the side, bounties for various bandits in various holds; her father’s wanted poster still hung by the door. Ricardo Viticius, it said. He remembered how Theodora lit up when he asked about it, more than happy to talk about her wonderful, albeit criminal, father. 

That had been several days ago, thanking them and taking the information, he made his way dreadfully to Windhelm and managed to get passage to the island. 

“Land ho” one of the sailors calls out and the ash rock comes into view. Ash rock as that’s exactly what it is, he can’t bring himself to call it an island. Though by Dunmer standards it certainly was. The air is thick, something he made note of as they got closer. Though Skyrim was cold, cruel, and wretched in many ways, it had very crisp air. Something he sorely missed. 

As he gathers his things to leave the boat he is approached by a well-dressed Dunmer.

“I don't recognize you, so I'll assume this is your first visit to Raven Rock, outlander. State your intentions.” He says. 

“I’m looking for a Theodora Viticius.” This causes the Dunmer to look him up and down, almost hesitantly, as though he already knows something about him. Luckily, his demeanor soon softens. 

“Follow me, she has taken up residence in town.” Ondolemar follows, as he leads him off the dock and into the town. Raven Rock he recounts him saying. He’s never felt this out of place, there’s nary anyone around who is not Dunmer, and those that are look equally as unfriendly. For the hundredth time today he wonders what business she could possibly have in a place like this. Stopping by an outdoor market, his guide speaks again. “She lives in that house over there” gesturing to a large building at the edge of town. 

“Thank you” He doesn’t respond to his thanks. 

“I am Second Councilor Arano and I’ll be watching you closely outlander. It would do you well to remember that Raven Rock is sovereign territory of House Redoran. This is Morrowind, not Skyrim. While you're here you will be expected to abide by our laws.”

“Understood.” He nods at him and Ondolemar walks towards the property. He doesn’t get far before he sees her, chopping wood off to the side and it stops him in his tracks. It is in this moment that it dawns on him he never considered what he would do when he found her. A part of him wonders if she would even recognize him out of uniform, another worries that she had moved on from their time together. Nerves begin to overtake him, he cannot even walk closer lest his worries prove right. Perhaps by divine intervention, she turns to look right where he is standing. 

“Ondolemar” His worries are forgotten as she runs towards him, tossing the axe to the side. Arms open as she rushes into them, pulling her head into his chest. 

“Theodora”. It’s all he can say while he’s so deeply thankful to feel her again. The wholest he has felt since she was gone. Words stammer out of her mouth, he’s never known her to be at a loss for words. 

“I, um, I didn’t leave, um, Elenwen, she-” He cuts her off, tilting her chin to look at him. 

“It’s okay, I know, I know.” A smile beams on her face amidst the tears that have begun to fall. 

“I’m so happy to see you. I’m so sorry, I should have left a note or something.”

“Shhhhh, it’s okay. I understand darling. You did nothing wrong.” 

“Why are you here?” Theodora adds on before he can answer. “Not that I’m not thrilled, I am. Believe me I am, but does anyone know you’re here? Won’t you get in trouble?”

“I’ll explain later, but no. No more hiding, no more soldiers, no more duties. I’m here to stay.” He places a kiss on her lips, one she deepens by pulling him closer, arms wrapped around his neck. Breaking it he says “if you’ll have me of course.”

“Of course! Of course I will!” Another kiss, this one for ages, slowly as to savour it, as though she’s not yet convinced it’s real. As though she might lose him again. 

It is mid-kiss that they are interrupted. Not by an enemy, or a creature, or even one of the citizens of Raven Rock; but by the sound of a baby crying. Ondolemar gives her a confused look, his mind already in a whirlwind at having found her and her still wanting him. She returns his look with a smile, a full genuine smile. One he remembers missing so much. “Shhhhh, come here.” He leads her to a table by the property, on it a small basket where the noise seems to be coming from. A child? He watches her reach inside of it and turn around holding a baby in her arms. A small child with golden skin and pointed ears. His child.

“Oh yes my son, your naptime is up, that's right.” She rocks him softly side to side, that smile still on her face, even brighter now. If that was even possible. Theodora walks over to him, instantly his hands open. “Arthano, meet your father.”

Father. A word that changes you and in that moment it did. His months of confusion are washing away into a new clarity now. She places him, Arthano, his son, in his arms. 

“Arthano” he says quietly, “that’s a good name.” Theodora wraps an arm around him and uses the other to touch the baby. 

“I’m glad you like it.”

“How old is he?”

“Six months.” Six months? For six months he had been alive and Ondolemar had not known of him. And even longer still had he existed, the whole time he had missed her he had not known of him. And it is that moment in which the former soldier, Thalmor, an example of everything the Altmeri Dominion promotes, cries. 

As though she can read his thoughts or sense his worries, she comforts him. 

“It’s okay love, it’s okay. You’re here now. And that’s what matters.” A sniffle comes from him. Gods I’m such a wreck. Though she is right, had he not come he could have been robbed of a whole lifetime. Regaining some composure he smiles. 

“He’s beautiful, truly beautiful.”

“He is. I dreamed about him, he came to me in a dream when I first found out. Looked just as he does now.”

“Was it hard? Did you have help? Were you safe?” The questions leave his mouth frantically, he hopes she didn’t suffer. I don’t know what I’d do if she did.

“It was painful, certainly painful. Yet, all the pain washed away when I got to see him. I had him in a village northeast of here. I had help, don't worry.” A sigh of relief leaves him, much louder than he expected as she laughs at him. 

“You’ve already got the parental worrying down.” her chuckles as well. Old worries replaced with new ones. 

“What do we do?”

“I think what we can. We do our best and hope it’s enough.”

“Oh Gods, I’m scared.”

“I’m scared too. But he’s been okay so far.” Theodora’s gaze goes up to meet his, causing him to tear his eyes away from their son for a moment. “And now he’s got you, we have you.” Their lips meet for another kiss, it’s a new feeling. One of beginnings after so long of living like it is the end. 

“You do.”

12 Years Later

She gave the goblets a dry before putting them back into the cabinet. The meeting with Dignitaries from the Summerset Isle had gone well, better than Theodora had hoped for honestly. Their plan for overthrowing the Dominion government in order to establish a representative council was moving along. Through funding resistance measures and counter-intelligence, the group had taken the entire Western half and had cut off-trade routes to Alinor. In part thanks to her prior connections to the Empire, she was able to establish a branch of the Imperial Legion to support them, overseen by her. There were challenges of course, many of those soldiers had relatives who fought in the Great War. Training them to not seek revenge had been difficult, luckily it seemed people on all sides were sensitive to the issue. With her husband’s decades of experience with the Thalmor they were able to gain a significant advantage due to the insider knowledge. 

As the last of the goblets are put away, the Altmer were going to drink her out of house and home one of these days, she feels arms wrap around her midsection. 

“Finally the day is done darling.” Ondolemar placed a kiss on her head.

“And what a long day it was. The children are asleep?” 

“Yes. Arthano is easy, a simple ‘Night Dad’ and he’s good. Although he’s been sleeping with that dagger next to his bed, says he’s prepared incase of an attack.” Theodora rolled her eyes, she nearly didn’t let Teldryn give him that dagger last time they visited because she knew this is how he would be.

“What attack? What is he worried about happening?”

“I don’t think it's a worry love, I think he’s hoping to get a chance to use it.” Ondolemar lightly laughs “The boy is already behaving like a hardened warrior, I wonder where he gets that from?.” Another kiss is placed on her head as she leans into him, enjoying the comfort he brings.

“Perhaps.” A wide smile appears on her face. Arthano was like her, maybe a bit too much at times. Especially now that he is getting older, he’d be 13 in a few months time. Theodora wondered where the time had gone. “How are Ricardo and Ceridwen?” Ondolemar turns her around to face him.

“Ricardo wanted help picking out a book. So I took him into the study, and he discovered the Dwemer collection.” 

“He’s done with the military history books already?” She smirks at him. 

“Apparently so. He said he wasn’t really into war history.”

“I can’t say I’m upset to hear that.”

“Me neither.” Ondolemar clasps her hand and they begin walking to their room. The children’s rooms were on the second floor with the study and balcony. Their room was off to the side of the courtyard, offering a bit of privacy. At least as private as you can get with three children.  “We found two for him, hopefully they will keep him busy for a bit, Chronicles of Nchuleft and I convinced him to try some fiction with Chimarvamidium.” 

“Ah, two books? So he’ll be up half the night and then be surprised when he is exhausted tomorrow?” She laughs at him, a little snort coming out of her. 

They both begin getting ready for the night, changing out of the formal clothing and into comfortable robes. Theodora sits at her vanity, taking pins out of her head and freeing her ears from the heavy jewelry. 

“Ceridwen took a bit longer. She has created a whole set up with her dolls, paperweights, anything she can get her hands on actually. She insisted we play with them before bed.” He sits on the edge of the bed, looking at his wife. He thought she looked her best at the end of a day, something Theodora would vehemently oppose. Perhaps he liked her best at these times because they would be free from obligations until the coming morning. 

“Ah, make that two tired children.”

“I’ll confess I can’t say no to her.”

“What was the story tonight?”

“Well, she assigned us all respective dolls. For some reason I am a Minator, trying not to be offended by that.” Hair finished, she goes to join him on the bed, sitting up behind him and rubbing his shoulders. 

“Did she at least give you an explanation?”

“Well the Minator is the tallest, so obviously it’s me.” 

“Oh obviously.” Her hands stop as she gives him a small kiss on the neck. “Who am I?”

“You are a small dragon carving. I think she took it from Arthano’s room.”

“Well that’s fitting. And the boys?” Ondolemar sighs lightly, shaking his head. 

“The poor boys are rocks she found outside.” This time a loud snort laugh erupts from Theodora. 

“Oh that’s too good, for someone so cute she sure is something else.”

“I think it makes her even cuter.” Ceridwen was the baby of the family. Having a daughter had been really healing for her, she got to recreate all the things she had wanted to do with her own mother. They were very blessed by all the kids, they all had such strong and vibrant personalities. Switching positions, Theodora now laid back on their bed looking at her husband. It still felt unbelievable some days, they were married. Not only married but living outside the Imperial City, three kids, the whole domestic life. Although hectic in its own way, especially given their involvement in current politics, it was so much more peaceful than anything she had known before. 

It’s Ondolemar who breaks the calm silence. “The advances that have been made in the past month are quite promising. Regaining stability will be difficult but I see trips to Sunhold in our future.” Sunhold, the place of his youth. 

“That would be lovely, I want the children to see where you’re from. Vacations in Anvil are nice but I want them to have sufficient cultural exposure.”

“So do I. We have done good though. They all speak Altmeri, to various degrees, Ricardo in particular seems very interested in the culture.” Moving to the Imperial City had been strategic, it provided them with the opportunity to balance both of the family's cultures. The children were very happy to celebrate many festivals. “And besides, I've longed to take you there for many years.” He moves over her, a hand gently rubbing her side. 

“It sounds beautiful, from how you’ve described it. I can only imagine words pale in comparison to being there.”

“They do, we will have to take a trip there once, just you and I.”

“Is that so?” She pulls him down into a kiss, one that starts chaste and upon the second time they touch lips becomes hungry. Biting his bottom lip, earning her a groan from the Altmer. A hand finds its way under her robes and to her breast.

“Yes.” His voice is low, still full of the same desire for her as when they met. Although deepened by years of time together. Ondolemar’s fingers toy with her nipple and she begins taking him out of his robes, feverishly between kisses. 

Suddenly, there’s a loud crash from upstairs. Ondolemar lets out a long, tired sigh. 

“The children are blessings.” 

“That they are.”

“In moments like this I feel the need to remind myself of the fact.”

“Which one do you think it was?”

“It wasn’t Ricardo.”

“I’ll give Arthano the benefit of the doubt and say it was Ceridwen.” 

“Well then I’ll tell him his mother thought better of him.” He smirks, getting up and retying the robe. “You stay here, I’ll find out what happened.”

“Thank you love.” It’s true things were still unpredictable at times, the world was moving towards a better state but not yet there. Having three children who took after their parents in both the best and worst ways could be difficult. Figuring out what was best for their future, making sure they were eating right, had good social lives, learning; these were all difficult. But, as Theodora lay there, in their large room in their estate outside the Imperial City, the house that had allowed them to raise those three children; she was incredibly grateful that these were her difficulties. Such wonderful difficulties.

[lumpyorganelle]

Enneagram Self-preservation (SP) Instinct

Keys words: Survival, comfort, stability, home, independence, practical foundation, resources, hoarding, well-being, domesticity, structure, sustainability, shelter, work, finances, safety, environment, self-care, balance

Summary of SP instinct:

The first instinct to have evolved. This is an orientation towards survival, health, and comfort. SP drive checks in with the body: “Is this not enough or too much?” and orients by what the body reports on its needs. Of the three instincts, this is the oldest one; it dictates: “I must survive.”

primary concerns:

physical safety, comfort, and well-being; securing an orderly and aesthetically pleasing way of life (food, clothing, money, housing, and physical health)

primary focus:

security, comfort, and well-being of the environment (lighting, temperature, comfortable furniture, aesthetics, food quality)

primary ambition:

using practicality and financial sense to create a secure environment in the home and workplace (paying bills, acquiring skills to ensure the orderly flow of life)

primary stresses:

money, sustenance (how they will get food, when it will come, if they will like it, if it fits their diet), scarcity of resources

coping methods (unhealthy/distorted):

over-stocking, overbuying, overeating, under-eating, over-purging, oversleeping, under-sleeping, overindulging in aesthetics or comfort foods, not exercising or over-exercising, constant concern about lack of resources and survival, lethargy and fear of stepping out of comfort zones, never feeling secure or struggling to relax

Topics SP types might bring up in conversation:

food, dining out, dieting, nutrition, health, fitness, appearance and looks, money, savings and sales, shopping, quality or durability of objects, clothing, design, home decoration, employment, benefits, insurance, comfort, strength, vitality, sickness, death, discomfort, noise, safety, security, environment, resource management, physical sciences, engineering, architecture.

Example thoughts SP subtypes might have:

Physical Well-Being: 

Is this food healthy? Why do I feel so tired today? When can I get back to the gym so I can feel more energetic? Could I climb to the top of this mountain? Could I survive in the forest for one month?

Self-Regulation and Skills: 

Can I take this apart/fix it? How does this work? What work needs to be done to get what I want? How can I autonomously create my own life? Did we do the laundry? Are my affairs in order? Will I be able to settle in a new place? How do I make this more convenient?

Foundations and Resources: 

Is owning property better than renting? How much money do I have this month? Where’s the closest grocery store? Why am I stuck here when I really want to travel and see the rest of the world? Why isn’t there enough nature in this city? Do I have any savings?

References:

https://thepracticalenneagram.com/instincts/self-preservation-instinct/

https://re-fi-ne-ment.tumblr.com/post/161035338043/instinctual-variants-and-cruelty

https://www.reddit.com/r/Enneagram/comments/14bw32k/are_enneagrammers_instinct_example_thoughts/

[girlystories]

Bittersweet

— pairings: various ninjago x female/runaway/slightly depressed reader

Summary: you run away from your abusive and controlling parents, only to almost be killed in the middle of nowhere. mysteriously miraculously you manage to avoid them alive, and stumble upon two amazing siblings. Additional warnings: none. Words: 2.8k

previous part here

next part here

Chapter 3: Whole day of boredom

Shutting the book, [Name] let out an irritated sigh. She was practically doing nothing all day, while the others were out searching for the weapons. To put it simply, she was quite frankly bored out of her mind.

She literally jumped off the bed, and she suck in a breath as her hip sting in pain. She totally forgot about it. Simply cursing under her breath, she ignored it, walking through the house, her eyes searching something to spare her time upon.

Passing the living room she saw the video game consoles under the tv. Maybe she could play some of Jay's video games? She shook her head, immediately dismissing the idea. It wasn't her place to snoop around other people's property.

She decided to go to the kitchen. Maybe do some chores? That's the only usefull thing she could do at least. She of course, had to put on some music first, now that her phone was fully charged. She could aimlessly waste her time on social media, sure, but where's the fun in that? She promised herself she would get rid of her old depressive habits, now that she finally got a chance of a new start. Meeting Kai and Nya was quite literally a life changer.

The music echoed throughout the whole Monastery and [Name] was humming and bopping her head in the rythym. If the Monastery wasn't built on top of the mountain, everyone would have been able to hear the blasting music.

In no time, she managed to clean the whole house. It was no surprise night came relatively quick. The floor was basically sparkling, the cabins and drawers had no inch of dust, and all the rooms were now filled with the scent of flowers. She even cleaned the training equipment making them look brand new.

[Name] shut her eyes, taking a long breath in, inhaling the sweet aroma of fresh clean air. Satisfied with her hard work, she signed wiping off the sweat on her forehead. She looked at the time on her phone. 9:31 pm. Just perfect timing for her to take a shower. She grabbed a tower and started the water running.

Jumping on the bed, [Name] fell asleep almost instantly. She didn't waste any minute to do anything but rest her aching body. She didn't even forge the strength to cook something for her to eat. She didn't even feel hungry.

 

   [Name] opened her eyes, but was unable to make out anything. She reached her arms out but couldn't see them either, the thick pitch black darkness surrounding her. Suffocating her. She hugged her shaking frame. She wanted to yell for help yet her lips remained still.

Suddenly a voice broke out. It was sharp and demanding. She knew it quite too well. It called for her name. Again and again. Yet she still didn't reply. Instead, she shut her eyes, crouching down to her knees. She wanted to leave from that place. She wanted to disappear.

As she was steadying her breath, a rough hand wrapped around her neck. "Don't you hear me when I'm speaking to you?!"

She choked, scratching and pulling the man's grip to let air fill her lugs. It was hopeless. She was too weak.

She forced her eyes open, still choking. This time water filling her lugs. She did everything she could. She tried to swim to the surface, her lims moving rapidly, yet seemingly only went deeper into the ocean. She was going to die.

She was going to die.

Another dream, huh?

She steadied her breathing, her eyes getting used to the dark room. Light still shimmed through the window from the moon as crickets sang their melody. The moon. It was almost like it was watching after her. Calming her down everytime she needed to.

Signing she pulled an arm over her head, as if hiding her expression. She was tired of that dream. She wanted to forget that incident, yet the memory always came back to haunt her in her nightmares. Guess she couldn't get rid off all her past, huh?

Something suddenly triggered her brain, and she pulled to side, aiming her phone on the counter. She immediately regretted opening it as light hit her tiresome eyes, making them sting. She groaned and lowered the opacity. 4:55 am. Does that mean the others came back? If so, why didn't they wake her up?

Almost immediately, she yanked the covers off, carefully yet quick steps echoing from the wooden floor. Opening slightly the door, she perked her head inside all the rooms, searching for a sight of another person. Useless. She was still all alone.

She wasn't scared of the dark, no. More like scared of being alone and the unknown. The feeling crawled over her as a chill running through her whole body, making her run back to her room. Sliding the door shut, she got under the covers. There's no way she could go back to sleep now. The only possible solution was to wait for the sun to rise, so she would be able to start with her day. Maybe she could make breakfast for them?

Her uneasiness disappeared, as she smiled at the thought of her roommates. They could maybe like her cooking, or even they could all become friends. If they'd want to of course...

[Name] opened her phone deciding to waste her time on it. Her stomach dropped as she remembered. Oh, yeah. Wouldn't her parents try and look for her?

Tap tap tap.

Shit.

99+ missed calls.

67 messages from mom.

99+ messages from dad.

55 messages [unknown].

Whoops.

Guess she totally forgot about them, huh? She bit her fingernails, thinking of some way to fix this. When she realized.

There is no way to fix this.

She had, quite literally, ran away from home. And was now, what? Missing for maybe a whole ass week? What if they somehow find her? They could've have somehow downloaded a tracking device on her phone, and would be come barging at the door any moment now. Knowing her parents, they'd definitely do that.

But if that's the case why hadn't they already come for her then? That idea was scrapped.

The thought of her father finding her made her shake under the covers, despite not even feeling cold.

Maybe Sensei Wu could help?

No...

Could he?

Groaning, she decided to ignore her buggy thoughts. It only made her more anxious. So, the simple girl that she is, she decided to watch every single meaningless content she could find on her phone. It was useful, though, as it made [Name] fall unconscious again.

"[Name]! [Name]!", the young girl's body shook rapidly. She only groaned pushing away the person who was disturbing her sleep.

"[Name]! Wake up!" the annoying voice only seemingly increased in volume, making her more irritated.

The bugging stopped for a moment, but her whole body felt cold as the covers were torn off her grasp. Whining, [Name] opened her eyes, making the other person sign in relief. "Finally."

She could make out her surroundings now quite clearly, as she rubbed her eyes. In front of her were Kai and Jay, both having toothy grins from ear to ear. They bring four golden weapons close to her face, not saying a word. She looked at the weapons then at them, raising an eyebrow.

Wait, not just any golden weapons. These were the Golden Weapons. Her frown was switched with a proud smile. "You managed to get the weapons!"

The two boys cheered, offering [Name] a high five.

She stopped laughing now giving them a stern look. "What took you so long? I was so worried!"

Jay gave her a cheesy smile. "Why? Did you miss me?"

Kai gave him a playful smile, bumbling his shoulder with his. "Watch it."

[Name] pushed them both slightly. "Shut up! I was just so bored all day. At least you could've came back at night..."

"Why?" Kai leaned close. "Scared of the dark, are we?"

The now, red-faced girl, pushed Kai back, looking to the side. "N-no! I was just, lonely is all..."

The two ninja chuckled at her flustered reaction, thinking of another plan to torture the poor girl. Before they could though, the door slid open. Cole was holding a wooden tray of food and set it beside [Name]. "I see someone has finally decided to wake up."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

Jay laughed and pointed to the clock hung on the wall. "What he means is that you've been sleeping till 3 pm!"

She stoop up, as if taking a better look at the wall. "What?!"

Jay laughed again, this time a bit harder.

"What is it?", Cole tilted his head to the side.

[Name] only ignored him, groaning and making turns around the room. She was mumbling something under her breath, almost nervously.

Cole's frown only deepened and he placed his palm on her shoulder, making her stop stumbling through the whole room. "[Name]", he stated, bringing her out of her thoughts. "What's wrong?"

"Ugh..." [Name] avoided his gaze, rubbing the back of her head. "I just wanted to surprise you all..."

"What do you mean?" Jay asked, who had now calmed down from laughing so hard. Still there were tears around his blue eyes, making them resemble the deep sky.

"It's nothing", she took a breath in. "I just wanted to make you all breakfast before you arrived. Now it's noon already... "

Cole chuckled slightly. "Is that it?

[Name] nodded her head in shame.

"Don't worry, [Name]. Zane has cooked us lunch, so we don't have to worry about that, okay?" [Name] wasn't convinced and Cole continued, "We can both make breakfast together another time. How does that sound?"

[Name] returned his gaze, a smile placed on her lips. "Okay."

Kai perked his head, as if remembering something. "You haven't forgotten something, have you?"

The girl stared at him, not a thought reaching her mind.

"Guess who's back..."

It took her a while, but her eyes widened when she realized. "You don't mean... "

She didn't even wait for a response, immediately barging out the room, her steps being heard through the whole Monastery. She let out a sign of relief as her eyes caught the familiar brown ones and black short hair. She didn't waste any second, instantly wrapping her arms around her friend, squeezing her tight, in fear she might somehow disappear under her grasp. "Nya!"

The girl under her chuckled, patting her friend's back. " Good morning, sleepy-head."

[Name] tightened her grip. "I'm so glad you're finally back."

They both stayed there for a while, hugging each other tightly, cherishing the moment. As they broke the embrace they studied each other's eyes, smiling brightly.

"So what happened with Lord Garmadon?"

Nya took her friend's arm, taking alongside her. "I'll tell you on the way."

"On the way where?"

"Jay agreed to give me a ride back home for me take some of my stuff. And I want you to come along." she explained as they made their way outside. Jay was petting a dragon, which was sitting in the Monastery courtyard alongside three other dragons. [Name] visibly widened her eyes, almost jumping out of her skin. She grabbed onto Nya tightly, as if hiding from the dragons in front of her.

"Are those...?!"

"Oops..." Nya awkwardly laughed, seemingly forgetting to inform the terrified girl clinging to her. "I guess I should've told you we have dragons now, huh?"

"Oh yeah, you think?!"

Nya signed, placing her hands on [Name]'s shoulder and dragging her where Jay and his dragon were waiting for them. "Don't worry, they're harmless. They can be pretty cute when you actually get to know them."

[Name]'s face was becoming more and more paler, sweat drops forming on her forehead. "I won't take your word for it."

"Hey, Jay" Nya greeted, which made he boy in question blush and stumble his words.

"O-oh hey, Nya. Ready to go?"

"Yep, in a moment. You don't mind [Name] coming along, do you?"

Jay shook his head. "Of course not! Here, let me help you get on Wisp", he said as he assisted Nya.

"Wisp?"

"Yeah! That's how I named him. Ain't he just awesome?" he said, petting the dragon.

[Name] did her best setting aside her nervousness. With Jay's assistance she climbed on the dragon, sitting behind Nya, "Sure..."

Jay got on top as well. "Alright, ready to go?"

"Ready!" Nya exclaimed and [Name] wrapped her arms around the girl tightly as Wisp moved its wings, going off ground. She couldn't remember much of the trip, since her head was burried on Nya's back. She decided she would look down... another time.

After a while Wisp decreased its pace.

"Hey, check this out" Jay called out. This made [Name] raise her head but she immediately regretted it. Jay flew down close ground level as fast as he can, disturbing the peace of the citizens. [Name] squeeled in fear, alongside the other citizens running away.

"Jay, grow up", Nya shook her head as they arrived at the shop. Wisp landed slowly, and [Name] felt herself pucking any moment now. Nya patted her back, "Are you okay, [Name]?"

The girl in question nodded slowly, a hand placed on her stomach. "Yep... Nothing to worry about."

Nya nodded and climbed down the dragon from it's wing, "Thanks for helping out, blue boy. Now that I'm moving in with you guys, I just need to get a few things."

"Okay, cool. Need a hand?"

"No, just wait here."

Jay rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, uh... okay."

The two girls made their way inside the shop and Nya placed her backpack on the floor, then grabbing the anvil next to it. "This is kind of a secret but... I'm sure I can trust you on this one."

[Name] raised a brow, "What do you mean?"

As Nya turned the anvil around, [Name] watched in awe as the wall in front of her rotated, revealing a storage full of weapons.

"Woah... I had no idea this was hidden here! I didn't even notice a thing."

Nya laughed slightly, and proceeded to take the weapons and put then into her bag, as well as wear a bracelet around her right wrist. "Well, I figured you'd find sooner or later."

Just then, they got ambushed by four skulin, likely to take revenge from losing alongside Lord Garmadon. Nya came in front of [Name] to protect her as she shrieked. She took position to strike as they they cornered them. "Well hello there. We've been expecting you", one said mischievously.

"May I remind you that this is private property and that trespassing is against Ninjago law paragraph thirteen section two?"

"Oh, I thought paragraph thirteen was-", before the skulin could finish his sentence, Nya punched him in the face. She then rotated the anvil again, making the skulin next to the wall spun alongside it. Making a few turns caused the skeleton to became dizzy, decapitating its head. Falling on another's skeletons lap it let out an irritated yell. She giggled.

Nya took hold of a sword, and used it as balance to spin in the air, kicking two skulin.

Swinging a sword, the skulin aimed for [Name] but she manged to dodge last second, her arm wrapped on her head defensively. Letting out a scream she kicked the skulin and Nya threw a weapon at it but missed.

As they all cornered them Nya threw a golden round metal at the skulin on the left. One skeleton missed both of them, hitting the metal which made a loud sound. In the end the two girls got the upper hand.

All the skulin were decapitated, some left on the table in the corner while some laying on the floor. Nya smirked at her independence and [Name] couldn't help but smile as well. Nya wore her backpack on her back and turned her attention to [Name], "Shall we go then?"

[Name] giggled, nodding in return. She followed after her and they both walked outside the shop. Jay ran to them. Seems like he heard the commotion.

"Is something wrong? What was that sound?"

Nya passed by him. "Oh, nothing! We just got excited and knocked over some samurai helmets and stuff."

[Name] giggled as she followed after Nya, and Jay did as well. "You don't have to worry so much, Jay."

I'm the end Jay didn't push the matter any further. They all climbed on Wisp and took off flying. As the air blew on (Name)'s face she looked down. Maybe flying wasn't as scary. Maybe fighting wasn't that scary either. She promised herself one thing; just because she wasn't going to become a ninja like Kai didn't mean she couldn't become strong herself.

"So what happened to Garmadon?"

Nya giggled awkwardly. "Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you about that..."

[mountainstogo]

This is going to be a long rambling post about nothing and everything. I have a lot of feelings that I want to yell into the void

Hmm where to start..

My dad ruined Christmas again. It’s more complicated than that but I am very close to just going no contact? Very low contact? I don’t think I can go much lower, we speak twice a year. Once on my birthday and once around the holidays for him to inevitably disappoint me. Idk why I actually thought this year would be any different.

Anyway I love this stupid holiday and I don’t refuse to let this man completely destroy my joy. My roomies and I decorated and the house looks really cute, although it’s missing a few things still.

I’m feeling pretty ok on money?? (Such a stark contrast to this time last year) I can afford to buy people presents this year and splurge on a few things myself. Turns out it may be a very quiet Christmas and there aren’t that many people to buy presents for. So I might spoil my roomies and friends and s. I’m also motivated to donate and collect food/clothes to bring to displaced migrant families that have been bused to a major city near me.

So maybe Christmas isn’t totally ruined. But my relationship with my dad certainly is.

I pupsat for my boss in his nice house last week. He lives in the foothills and his house and property were just gorgeous. I could hike up a mountain right from his backyard.

Complicated feelings about work rn. I fluctuate between thinking everyone hates me and I’m failing and doing a horrible job; to maybe I’m actually doing ok and I need to cut myself some slack. Regardless, I���ve been super anxiety ridden over work and I need to figure out how to manage that better.

Last update is in re: to weight gain and fitness stuff. I’ve gained weight (around 136 this morning but that might still be turkey day and alcohol bloating from the weekend). Anyway I’ve been coming in around 132-134 for the past few months. My lowest weight was 122lbs (that was too low and prob not sustainable); I think I feel my best at around 128-130, so I could lose a few lbs and I know my diet is the culprit. I don’t want to obsess over the numbers since I look much different now than the last time I was 136. I’ve gained a lot of muscle mass and need to just focus on eating more protein and less processed foods. That’s all, the numbers on the scale will do whatever they do 🤷🏻‍♀️

Everything feels messy and busy. There are too many things to do and the days are too short. But I’ve had really good times too, first day skiing!!! A lovely Friendsgiving, quiet times at the barn.

[eaglepropertymanagement]

Tasks Property Management Central Valley Perform

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[real-time-twilight]

Breaking Dawn in Real Time

September 13th, 2006 (Wednesday)

Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous 🌖

🌄 Sunrise: 6:50 AM

🌅 Sunset : 7:35 PM

Breaking Dawn, Pgs. 369-483

Ch. 19 ("Burning")

Ch. 20 ("New")

Ch. 21 ("First Hunt")

Ch. 22 ("Promised")

Ch. 23 ("Memories")

Ch. 24 ("Surprise")

10:00 AM (Approx.) - Bella hears Edward and Alice discussing her transformation; Alice says it won't be long

4:00 PM (Approx.) - Carlisle confirms that Bella's transformation is nearly complete

4:01 PM (Approx.) - Bella awakens as a newborn vampire and backflips off the table at Edward's touch because he does not feel cold to herEdward assures Bella that everything is alright and touches her face; Bella realizes her newborn strength when she hugs Edward too tightly

4:02 PM (Approx.) - Forgetting that they are not alone in the room, Bella kisses Edward passionately; Emmett breaks the mood by coughing; Carlisle asks Bella how she feels; Bella asks to see Renesmee, Carlisle and Edward agree that this would be unwise before Bella has hunted; Alice insists that Bella see herself before they leave

4:03 PM (Approx.) - Edward and Bella leave for her first

4:13 PM (Approx.) - Edward and Bella stop to find prey; in the process of hunting a deer, Bella catches a human scent and alters her path in pursuit; Edward chases Bella, who turns on him and shocks herself back into sense by snarling at him

4:14 PM (Approx.) - Bella flees the human scent

4:20 PM (Approx.) - Edward follows Bella and asks how she managed to overcome her thirst, stunned by her abnormal control and rationality

4:23 PM (Approx.) - Bella hunts a mountain lion and some deer; Bella gets horny from watching Edward hunt and makes out with him

4:50 PM (Approx.) - Finished hunting, Bella and Edward start back to the house to see Renesmee; Edward tells Bella about their daughter and her advanced development

5:00 PM (Approx.) - Bella and Edward met Jacob at the edge of the property, as a test to see if Bella can control herself around a human; Bella is confused by Jacob's continued presence; Bella passes Jacob's test

5:02 PM (Approx.) - Bella sees Renesmee for the first time; Jasper is reluctant to let Bella near Renesmee; Edward explains her inexplicable control

5:04 PM (Approx.) - Bella holds her daughter for the first time, and experiences Renesmee's supernatural gift, which allows her to show others her thoughts by touching them

5:05 PM (Approx.) - Bella realizes why Jacob is so overprotective of Renesmee, and is not pleased; Bella hands Renesmee off to Rosalie

5:06 PM (Approx.) - Jacob tries to argue his own defense

5:07 PM (Approx.) - Bella is angered by Jacob's nickname for Renesmee (Nessie) and lunges to attack him; Seth jumps on front of Jake, breaking shoulder and collarbone

5:15 PM (Approx.) - Carlisle braces Seth's shoulder; Rosalie and Jake agree that Bella should be kept away from Renesmee until she's certain of her temper; Bella ruminates on the issue of Charlie

6:00 PM - Carlisle measures Renesmee

6:04 PM (Approx.) - Bella holds Renesmee until she brings up a memory of drinking blood and Jasper pre-emptively restrains Bella; Jasper has an existential crisis over Bella's super self-control and must leave the house--Alice follows; Bella spends the evening watching Renesmee's thoughts

9:00 PM (Approx) - Alice and Jasper return; Alice announces its time for Bella to get her birthday present

9:02 PM (Approx.) - Edward and Alice lead Bella to the cottage

9:04 PM (Approx.) - Alice leaves Edward to give Bella the inside tour alone

9:07 PM (Approx.) - Edward hints at why Alice left them alone; Edward and Bella get right down to business on the bedroom floor.