#What a cool looking beastie!!!!

[butterknifves]

What is youre favorite fact about Venezuela?

gotta be the dancing devils of yare. look at these absolute beasties

who else is doing it like this

[falmerbrook]

I should finish this thing. I hit a bit of a wall last time I touched it because I got all confuddled by the pigs and crabs

I have those morrowind/skyrim phylogenies I was working on all drawn out, but I want to do a write up explaining my decisions and my ecological headcanons for each species (and make a food web) for when I post them

I'm being way too wordy (I have two pages written on trolls alone) but whatever. I'm doing this more for my own fun than anything

[solxamber]

Giving Them Chocolates on Valentine's Day with: Diasomnia

Go here for other dorms

Malleus Draconia

When you hand Malleus the box of chocolates, he takes it carefully, his touch delicate, reverent. His emerald eyes flicker between you and the gift, his expression curious.

“…What is the occasion?” he asks, tilting his head ever so slightly.

You blink. “It’s Valentine’s Day.”

His brow furrows in thought. “Ah… I have read about this custom. A day where humans exchange tokens of affection.” His gaze settles back on you, warm and searching. “And you are giving this to me?”

You inhale, steadying yourself before you say it—before you make it real.

“Yes,” you say, voice firm but soft. “Because I like you, Malleus.”

For a moment, he just looks at you.

And then—he lights up.

Not just in surprise, not just in happiness, but in something deeper, something radiant. His pupils dilate, his lips parting slightly as he processes the words, and then—his entire expression softens into something breathtaking.

“You…” He exhales, almost in wonder, as if he is memorizing this moment, etching it into eternity.

His grip on the chocolates tightens just slightly, like he’s holding something precious.

“…Then I must thank you,” he says at last, his voice so tender it nearly steals your breath. “For this gift. And for your feelings.”

He steps closer, his presence impossibly warm despite the cool night air. “Because I return them.”

Your heart stumbles. “You do?”

Malleus smiles, and it is gentle, certain—undeniably his.

“Yes,” he murmurs. “And if you will allow it… I would like to be your partner.”

The word settles over you like it belongs there—like it has always belonged there.

And how could you say anything but yes?

“I’d love that,” you whisper.

His smile deepens, something ancient and endless and full of warmth. Without hesitation, he takes your hand, intertwining your fingers with a quiet certainty.

As you begin to walk together—his grip steady, unwavering, real—it feels so easy, so natural.

Like this was always meant to be.

Lilia Vanrouge

When you walk up to Lilia, he’s already watching you with knowing amusement, arms crossed, eyes twinkling like he’s been expecting this all along.

“Ah, I see, I see~” he hums, grinning before you even say a word. “Here comes my beastie with something important to say.”

Your steps slow. You narrow your eyes. “You already know?”

He chuckles, clearly enjoying himself. “Oh, I had my suspicions. But don’t let that stop you. Go on, I’ll pretend to be surprised.”

You roll your eyes, but there’s no stopping now. You take a breath and hold out the chocolates. “These are for you, Lilia. Because I like you.”

For a second, Lilia softens. It’s quick—a flicker of something warm and genuine—before he’s grinning again, sharp and playful.

“And here I thought you’d never confess!” He places a dramatic hand over his chest. “Making an old man wait for so long… how cruel!”

You snort. “Lilia, please. You don’t even look a day over twenty.”

He winks. “Why, thank you. I do try.”

You shake your head, exasperated but fond. “So? What do you say?”

Lilia’s grin softens just slightly. “Well, I say you’ve made a very bold choice, my dear.” He takes the chocolates, cradling them like a prized treasure. “And I accept, of course.”

Your stomach flutters.

Then—Lilia claps his hands together. “Well! We must celebrate! How about a homemade meal, cooked just for you?”

Your entire soul leaves your body.

“Lilia, wait—” You hold up both hands, alarmed. “We can save that for another day.”

He blinks, tilting his head innocently. “Oh? You don’t want to try my cooking?”

You scramble to save yourself. “No! I mean—yes! Just—not today! I want to, uh… savor the moment. Yeah.”

Lilia watches you far too knowingly, but after a beat, he laughs. “Fair enough! You drive a hard bargain, my dear.”

Then—with all the ease in the world—he reaches out, taking your hand and pressing a light kiss to your fingers.

“Well then,” he muses, looking up at you with mischief and something warmer. “Shall we go on our date?”

Your face burns. “Y-Yeah. Let’s go.”

And as he pulls you along, chuckling to himself, you can’t help but think—

You’re in for quite the adventure.

Silver Vanrouge

Silver is fast asleep under a tree, looking so peaceful that you almost feel guilty waking him.

Almost.

Because one, you’re here to confess, and two… is that a squirrel braiding his hair?

You pause. Stare. The squirrel, completely unbothered, continues its work, its tiny paws weaving strands of silver like it’s done this a thousand times before.

…Never mind.

Shaking off your distraction, you step closer and crouch beside him. “Silver,” you call softly.

He stirs, blinking slowly as he wakes. And then he sees you.

His lips curl into a small, sleepy smile. “Oh,” he murmurs, voice still soft with drowsiness. “It’s you.”

Your stomach does a very unnecessary flip.

You exhale, steeling yourself. “I made these for you,” you say, holding out the chocolates. “Because it’s Valentine’s. And because I like you.”

Silver blinks. Once. Twice. His eyes focus a little sharper as he processes your words. Then, slowly, he pushes himself upright, his gaze never leaving yours.

“…You like me?” he asks, his tone gentle, careful.

You nod, heat creeping up your neck. “Yeah. I do.”

For a moment, he just looks at you.

Then—softly, warmly—he smiles.

“Thank you,” he says, his voice so sincere it makes your heart ache. “I… like you too.”

Before you can even react, he reaches for your hand, lifting it carefully. His fingers are steady, warm, reverent as he brings it to his lips—and presses the softest kiss against your knuckles.

The gesture is so simple, so sweet, so utterly Silver. There’s no teasing, no dramatics—just quiet, unwavering affection.

When he pulls back, his thumb lingers just slightly over your fingers. “Would you like to take a walk with me?” he asks, his expression soft.

Your chest feels too full. You nod, smiling. “Yeah. I’d love to.”

He stands, still holding your hand, his grip secure and warm.

The squirrel, now done with its masterpiece, chatters approvingly before scurrying off.

Neither of you even acknowledge it. Because right now—nothing else matters.

Sebek is not prepared.

Not for the chocolates. Not for your confession. Not for any of it.

One second, he’s standing tall, proud as ever, probably ready to launch into a speech about how he has no time for frivolous human customs.

And the next?

The usual loud, booming Sebek disappears.

Gone. Vanished. Launched into the stratosphere.

All that remains is a wide-eyed, speechless mess, his mouth opening and closing with nothing but a choked squeak escaping.

You wait, patiently.

Still, nothing.

“…Sebek?” you ask, biting back a smile.

He suddenly snaps upright, as if forcibly rebooting. “I—I—” His voice cracks spectacularly, and his face erupts into color, bright red from the tips of his ears down to his neck.

And then, as if his body is moving before his brain can keep up, he takes your hand in both of his own, bows his head, and presses the most reverent, careful kiss to the back of it.

Your breath catches.

When he looks back up, his usual intensity is still there—but this time, it’s softer. Warmer.

“I—I accept!” he declares, his grip strong, steady, firm. “I—I—I have long admired you as well! I—” He swallows hard, visibly overwhelmed. “I like you, too.”

Your heart melts.

Still smiling, you squeeze his hands lightly. “Then, will you be my boyfriend?”

Sebek freezes again.

His entire body tenses. His pupils dilate. You watch in real-time as his soul leaves his body, fights its way back, and then leaves again.

“I—” he tries, voice cracking once more. He clears his throat so aggressively that you’re almost worried for him.

Then, finally, finally, he nods, jerky but determined.

“Yes!” he exclaims, as if accepting the most sacred of oaths. “Yes, of course! I shall devote myself to you with all the strength and loyalty I possess!”

You can’t help it. You laugh.

Sebek, red-faced and flustered beyond belief, holds your hand even tighter, as if making sure you don’t disappear.

And honestly? You wouldn’t dream of it.

Masterlist ; Valentine's Event

[everytimewetouch-dot-mp3]

christ more dragon god sy yapping:

all those b-points he got from finishing that first quest? gone. my mans got like 100 every time he blessed a new generation of peak lords, plus the 500 he got from finishing that first main quest {From the Ground Up}, plus whatever he got from fighting off all those beasties who tried to kill his little cultivators way back when.

but when he unlocks his human form, he does not unlock clothes, and he has to buy them from the system store! truly unfair! he looks pretty similar to how he looked in his first life, just a little less sickly. he also has to buy a sword from the system, which is frankly bullshit. but lanrui is a lovely sword—an almost pearlescent sheen to the blade, with peach blossoms inlaid in the hilt and a dragon scale sheath that…it’s almost certainly made from his scales, actually. weird. after buying everything he needs from the bullshit system’s scam shop, he’s left with about 150 B-points.

after his magical girl transformation from gigantic dragon god to gangly human wrapped in way too many layers of sumptuous green and blue silks, shen yuan is sent off the mountain on a couple of missions from the system. pop into the demon realm to slay this evil, fend off these fierce corpses attacking this little town—tutorial shit. it’s weird having such a small body again after six (or seven hundred???? he’s not thinking about the enormity of time right now) years as a gigantic dragon. his steps feel a thousand times lighter, and the first time he tries to pick a fruit from a tree, he kind of explodes it with spiritual energy. the tutorial is, unfortunately, necessary.

the system is almost helpful when it shares his stats and all his cool dragon skills. his official name here is lord canglong, but honestly it would be so hard to explore this world if people were falling all over themselves when they heard his names. did dragon gods get personal names before courtesy too? fighting with the system gets him a corny, half-assed compromise.

he still gets to be shen yuan, but while his first life’s yuan was 垣 yuán (wall), in his second life it’s 愿 yuàn (desire, hope), and the shen he has is… very transparently 神, shén (god, deity). he’s got stupid amounts of spiritual energy, he doesn’t need to eat or drink, and sometimes plants bloom around him since he’s the also kind of the god of springtime?

right when he gets excited thinking about how he’s a god!! (the dragon god in PIDW!! that bastardization of qinglong that airplane wrote who never did shit to defend the realms until his mountain was being destroyed by binghe merging them!!) the system butts in to remind him that there are limitations. he can’t kill humans except in certain circumstances or else he’ll be punished, which—fine, he didn’t plan to go around murdering people anyway? his dragon form will be locked whenever he’s not on canglong peak (bullshit!! what kind of half assed nerfing—) and there’s a permanent penalty on his account, [Dragon Ex Machina], that threatens to penalize him if he uses his dragon god powers to bully the plot into going his way.

so what’s the point of being a dragon god, then!?!??!?!

he spends days bickering debating with the system while he learns to use his sword and qi without exploding whatever he touches, but the system refuses to budge. if he tries to bully the plot too much, he’ll be punished. it’s bullshit, but so is this whole novel he’s found himself in, so…

shen yuan is ready to spend a few more days acclimating before he gets a game plan together but that flies out the window when something starts burning at the back of his mind, screaming that something’s wrong, something is in danger, part of his territory is threatened. he hasn’t felt that since the last demon invasion, and before he can stop himself, he’s mounted lanrui and darted off toward that feeling that something is wrong, wrong, wrong.

he ends up having blown in a wall of qing jing’s discipline hall, the tail of shen qingqiu’s whip caught in his fist (and fuck, that hurt to catch!!! his hand is definitely bleeding) as he stares down the man who was really just about to start whipping a child. a couple of disciples have gone white; a couple others have fallen over. the only ones in the room unaffected are shen yuan, luo binghe whose eyes are wide as he gazes up at him, and fucking scum villain extraordinaire, shen qingqiu. and the scum villain’s first words to him, lord canglong, dragon god of qing jing peak???

“move, or i’ll beat you too.”

[strangelittlestories]

There’s a larp (live action roleplaying) game that I play, where there exists a creature we have dubbed a ‘Chronovore’.

This planet-sized sci-fi beastie eats time via a cool-ass external digestive system that ranges out from its main corpus (what are effectively its digestive enzymes look like glowing blue-winged angels, which are creepy as sin).

My character in this game fell victim to said chronovoric digestion and was aged 30 years by the experience. They lost what they expected to be the most valuable years of their life - the time when they expected to most make a difference to the universe.

I have a lot of emotions about this. Especially because when I look at my life aged 39 and consider the shape I am trying to hammer it into, one thought keeps recurring: I wish I had started this work sooner.

And then I consider my ADHD (a condition I am really certain I have, but am still seeking diagnosis for) and damn if I do not feel like it straight up ate decades of my life.

That’s how it feels, gang. There’s this bubbling resentful rage and grief for years spent with an invisible wall between me and what I wanted. For the nights where I spent (and still spend) revenge procrastinating and wrecking my days. For all the hours chasing short-term dopamine that was often destructive for me.

Hours. Days. Years. Eaten by a part of me that often feels like a monster squatting in my brain, hiding in my bones.

It reminds me, too, of that scene from a Hammer Horror movie where a monster expert is talking about vampires and says something like “Oh, you still think vamps are just things with big teeth that gotta bite your neck and drink your blood? Sweet baby, there’s all kinds of these creatures; some of them just fully suck your life straight out of your soul.”

This is why I don’t think I’ll ever think of my ADHD as a superpower. Or, at least, if it is: it’s from one of those gritty think piece superhero stories where your power is also a hecking curse.

I am preoccupied by what my own brain has taken from me.

And the thing is: it’s not really true. At least, not all the way true.

Those years I think of as lost were filled with good times. I made meaningful connections. I wrote poems and stories that I love. I performed art that meant something to me in front of people who enjoyed it. I consumed a lot of good media. I learned and dreamed and tried really hard to be a person I could be happy being.

But I also let a lot of the things fall into the background. I started a lot, but didn’t finish a lot. I missed the chance to work on skills that are now harder to learn because I’m older.

So I find myself cursing the Chronovore.

I nearly wrote this as a piece of fiction. If I had, I would probably have ended with the protagonist finding a way to subvert or redeem or work with the Chronovore.

Maybe the satisfying ending just this: none of us get as much time as we want. We all give time away - whether it be taxed by things we resent or gifted to what is important.

The Chronovore is not special.

And if it is not special, then it is mutable.

Maybe that is enough.

[lnkinpark]

can you do an eminem hc in which his gf is in a band/ a rock artist?? strong gjrlboss vibes that matches his attitude :)

not my gif

...

title: em's punk gf

req: yes

warnings: blood mention and cussing

eminem masterlist

...

• alr so, she's prolly into punk

• dark blue hair and baggy clothes omg

• no one has ever seen her in a dress

• she's in a band too

• like a band that's as big as blink-182

• she can drum too

• ex drummer turned bass player omg

• huge stage presence, she walks on stage n the crowd goes crazy

• her and marsh met on the warped tour back in '99

• he had came up to her to ask if she was alright bc while she was on stage, she somehow busted her face open

• not really, but it was a big gash on her eyebrow

"yo, are you alright?" the bleach blonde went up to the bleeding girl.

"yea, i'll be fine, it's just a cut" she smiled

"y/n ... you're literally about to go get stitches" her bandmate chimed in

"yeah, but still, i'll be fine" she reassured.

"it's gonna make a dope scar, too" she joked, turning to the blonde guy.

"hey, you're that slim shady guy, right?" she asked, wiping some of the blood off of her eyelid with the back of her hand

"yeah" he half-smiled, still worried about the girl

"dope ... i like your music, i'm y/n" she introduced herself, sticking out her right hand that was covered in her blood before switching to the left one, which had none

"i'm marshall" the rapper shook her hand.

"are you sure you're good?" he asked once again

"yeah, i'll be fine, this happens a lot" she said while grabbing a towel to put on her wound

• the only shoes she wears are beat-up vans that has all her friends signature on it

• she looks like a skater but in reality she can't skate to save her life

• reappearing guest on jackass

• she has a lot of tattoos

• like amy winehouse type tats

• chipped nail polish

• she only ever paints her left hand nails because she's not left-handed and refuses to even try

• middle finger up in almost all her pictures

• anti-paparazzi

• she hates paparazzi

• and interviews

• mostly because they say shit like "why do you dress like a boy" "have u tried wearing clothes your size?" "are you dating one of your bandmates?" "are u gay?"

• she keeps a lot of her life in private (does that make sense?)

• like relationships n shit

• interviews like:

"so, we see that you hang out with eminem a lot"

"yeah, he's really cool"

"is there anything we should know?

"what do you mean by that?"

"like are you seeing each other?"

"why would that be something you need to know?"

"girl, just tell us! is there anything? do you have a crush on him?"

"no. do you?"

• she's in the punk rock genre but her favorite artists are mariah carey and beyonce

• marshall fell in love with her the day she sang an entire beastie boys album by heart

...

thats all i got bye

[nocasdatsgay]

Not Going Anywhere: Spring Time Affairs

Pairing: Tamlin/Elain/Lucien/Flora| Rating: G | Word Count: 934

Master List| Read on Ao3

Summary: Elain is pregnant with her first child and Ez has concerns about his place in Elain and Lucien’s life now.

Author’s note: For Day 3: Will There Be Enough Room @polysjmweek

Tagging: @ninthcircleofprythian @hieragalbatorixdottir @thisblogisaboutabook @daycourtofficial @secret-third-thing @pit-and-the-pen

“Wait, when does Lucien come back?” 

Flora had stood up fast, turning to Elain with wide eyes. Before, they were working in silence. Flora picked herbs for one of her new experiments, while Elain sat on a stool in front of a portable table, propagating some tulips from the continent. They both started early while the greenhouse was still cool.

Elain glance up thought for a moment. “I’m not sure. Should be before dinner.”

Flora sighed deeply, dumping her herbs into her basket. “I doubt that will be in time. I forgot to tell you, Ez wanted to speak with you both today. Knowing him, he’ll find you first.” 

Elain gently tilted her head.  “What for?” 

“For that,” Flora pointed at Elain’s round belly hidden by the table. “He’s worse than me with his worries. He told me last night he thought you and Lu would be leaving and not love him anymore.”

Elain’s eyes instantly watered, shock etched into her features. “Why would he ever think that?” 

“I don’t know,” she sighed and placed her herbs in her basket. “I asked if it was nerves from not being the only youngling anymore. He said no, he was still excited. I think someone in court said something in front of him. You know, because of Lucien’s real father.” 

Elain instantly angered. “They have no right to gossip in front of our boy like that. It’s none of their business who Lucien might be tied to. We talked to Helion half a century ago. He isn’t going anywhere any time soon. By the mother, if something happens the magic might even choose Elios instead of Lucien.” 

“Cauldron knows it but these old fae like gossip.” Flora sighed heavily again. “Remember when I had Ez? I just knew they were whispering behind my back.” Then she laughed. “Maybe that’s why Ez worries so much.”

“Maybe.” 

A flood of emotions hit Elain hard. It was easy to be overwhelmed with the babe growing inside her. She rubbed her stomach, the babe gently kicking back. Ez had been the most excited out of all of them when Elain’s scent changed. Once he knew what that meant anyways. He’d help her pick out the colors for her announcements and theme for the nursery. She didn’t understand why he would suddenly think they would leave. 

Sure enough, he found her later while she was sitting by the fountain in the afternoon, soaking in the sun and cool breeze in the swing. Judging by the ink on his hands, he’d finished lessons for the day. She smiled at him as he approached, trying to not giggle as she watched him brush his blond hair out of his face from the wind. 

“Lainy?” 

“Yes, my little beastie?” 

He smiled bashfully, stopping in front of her. “Mama said I should talk to you.” 

“Did she?” Elain feigned ignorance. “About what?” 

 “Well, you and Lu are having a baby.” He glanced down at her stomach. 

“We are.” 

“And you said I was your baby.” 

“I did.”

There was a long pause between them and Elain rocked the swing with her foot gently while Ez looked at the ground. 

He finally whispered, “So you, you don’t need me anymore?” 

It hurt Elain’s heart to hear him say it. More so than she thought it would. She blinked profusely before asking, “What do you mean, Ez?” 

“You have your own baby now. You don’t need me anymore. I’ll just be mama and papa's.”

“Why would you think that?” 

“I know you love me and mama and papa. But you aren’t my mama.” He frowned, with tears in his eyes. “Are you going to leave and have a new house? For your new baby?”

Mother help her. 

“Come here,” Elain stopped the swing and reached out to him. He hesitated, but stepped forward. Elain cupped his face and brushed his cheek with her fingers. “Why do you think we are going to leave?”

“Drax moved away.” He whispered. 

Right, Elain thought. Drax was one of the few younglings Ezyrn’s age. Soren was expecting again and announced it right as her husband agreed to take on governing duties in the village in the east. They’d left a week ago, which explained Ez’s sudden thoughts.

“We aren’t going to leave. Ez, look at me.” She tilted his chin up gently. “You are just as much my baby as this one. I will always need you, my little beastie.” 

“Even Lu?” 

“Lu especially. We love you very much. We aren’t going anywhere. Understand?” Ez nodded. After a moment she sat back and added. “Do you want to know a surprise?” His eyes widened and he nodded again. “It’s a boy. Which means you’ll have a brother in a sense. Your mama doesn’t know yet. Do you want to be the one to tell her?”

He grinned.“And papa?” 

“Papa knows.” She couldn’t help herself laughing. Ez didn’t know it was payback for when he was in his mothers belly. “It’s a surprise for just your mother. The court doesn’t know yet either.”

“Can I go tell her now?” His face was lit with excitement. 

“At dinner. I want Lu and your father to see the look on her face too,” Elain replied, with a cryptid smile of her own. She stood from the swing and held out her hand to Ez. “Let’s go for a walk. Tell me about what you learned today.” 

Any fears Ez had were gone. He took Elain’s hand and they walked to the gardens together while he told her about his studies of the day. 

[diyasgarden]

I think about that scene in the bathhouse where Patrick said that none of the girls he was with wanted to marry him. What if after all that, when his friendship with Art normal again (beasties back), he can find someone who will be with him no matter what and even wants to marry him? I'm sure of this happens, Patrick would tell Art about it on the phone and Art's reaction would be 'well, as it turns out, you're not just made for tennis'. Of course there could be a bunch of other scenarios about this, like Patrick mentioning that no one wanted to marry him and this girl being like 'dude, it's just because they knew they weren't as cool as me', just to cheer him up. Or something else. I'd like to know what you think about this?!??!?! 😇

“Would you marry me?” he murmurs shifting to look at where you're laying down beside him.

It takes a moment to even register the question. His voice is quiet and hesitant, and when you look over to him, you see the slight knit of concentration in his eyebrows.

He wasn't actually asking. Not a proposal, but a still a question.

“Yeah,” you murmur back, “I’d marry you.”

He makes a sound somewhat like a hum before whispering, “Thought you’d say no."

Once again a foreign vulnerability lingers in his voice. A tiredness that goes back too far to pinpoint. Something you should discuss, unpack before it comes back to swallow your relationship whole.

Instead you move your head to rest in the crook of his neck, and whisper "well then you're being stupid."

When he chuckles in response, you smile at how it vibrates against your cheek.

[prettyoddfever]

the Seattle Ryden story is fake.

Tumblr's new post format is way better than 2020, so I’m expanding my old post here.

THE GENERAL STORY:

I just googled this...

REAL-LIFE AUGUST 2007 EVENTS:

The band did a string of shows & appearances in the UK (Decaydance Fest, Kerrang Awards, Reading, Leeds) in late August 2007. The last show was on August 26th and then the band flew back home (they lived in Vegas & Chicago btw... not California). They had a few days off before they needed to be in Seattle for their Bumbershoot performance on September 1st. Brendon and Ryan had a work obligation in NYC on August 31st, so it looked like Ryan went to stay with Keltie in NYC. There were pictures of them hanging out in places like Central Park and they did this photoshoot.

Yes, Keltie threw Ryan a bday party at Angels & Kings on August 30th. Ryan hung out at Angels & Kings with Keltie and her friends earlier that summer too. Plus, Travie McCoy had a birthday party at Angels & Kings that summer with a cake that looked very close to the one Ryan got. Their bday parties were good publicity for the new bar. Angels & Kings had opened around early May that year and other Decaydance bands invested in it, but the P!ATD guys had been too young.

Ryan's friends who lived in NYC were at the party, like Gabe Saporta, Eric Ronick, and Travie McCoy (who also performed at Bumbershoot). However, Ryan's crew of Vegas friends he'd been hanging out with that year weren't there. It just seemed like a NYC thing. I didn't think it was weird that the band members who weren't even in NYC were absent, even though I didn't know specifically why. A lot of fans assumed that the guys wanted a few days off nbd. Also, even if Brendon was in NYC in time for that party, he was still underage. A couple weeks later he and Spencer were turned away from Crush Management's party before the VMAs lol.

Anyways, on August 31st Brendon and Ryan needed to do the interview for Fuse that was chopped up to use in all of those Videos That Rocked The World daily episodes that came out after Thanksgiving:

These episodes covered some big names, so it was very cool that P!ATD's opinion was included... even if the ads seemed to feature Brendon & Ryan more than the actual episodes did lol. Here's an example of the first episode (others were for Madonna, Aerosmith, OK Go, Guns N' Roses, Van Halen, Britney Spears, Public Enemy, Alanis Morissette, and Beastie Boys):

here's more from that episode.

The band's Fuse interviews were usually done in New York City while they were on tour. A few years ago I emailed someone who worked on the VTRTW set because I wanted to double-check the date and location of Brendon & Ryan's interview before sharing that it wasn't Seattle. She gave me some other contact info and three very kind people looked into their old emails & call sheets. The director and the executive producer for the VTRTW series separately confirmed the NYC location and 8/31 date. Maybe they were both mistaken about the location, and Fuse randomly decided to film in Seattle despite the fact that their studio was in NYC... but the romantic motivation for Ryan to join Brendon is still erased.

Also, whoever made up the Seattle story seems to think that birthdays were important and meaningful to Ryan to the extent that he would fly across the country in the middle of the night to spend it with someone ~special. Ryan talked to Upbeet Music in fall 2005 about touring on his birthday and said "Birthdays were never a really huge deal in my family so it’s not like I’m bummed out that I didn’t get a party or anything so it’s cool." Obviously people can change over the years, so I'm just adding that as a side detail.

THE PICTURE:

Does anyone know who the fan is who shared the picture above? and what their original story was? It’s repeated a lot but I’ve never seen a source, a direct quote, or anyone who even saw the original person’s post (which is super weird). The whole Seattle story sounds about as reliable as the current fandom’s “funeral picture” tbh. There was also a problem in the pre-split years where some fans would steal other people’s pictures, claim it was theirs, invent a story about meeting the band, and then crop out or draw over the original person (and spin a story about how they looked ugly that day, didn’t want their face online, didn't want the band to know who was sharing the story, etc). Maybe that happened here too.

side tangent: idk why people are saying that since Ryan's outfit in the picture above is the same as his birthday then he must have arrived in Seattle without luggage. Why even add that part lol. He clearly wore a different outfit of his for Bumbershoot.

Anyways, I do agree that the picture at the top of this post looks like it was taken around the same time as the interview based on small details with their hair & outfits (the fact that they're wearing the same general clothes isn't reliable because those guys could repeat outfits for daysss). Fuse was located on 7th Avenue across from Madison Square Garden. The background of the picture looks like it could potentially be in that whole area. Maybe a fan got a picture with them while they were heading to their interview, who knows.

OTHER SEATTLE THINGS THAT *SHOULD* BE UNRELATED:

Yes, Brendon changed a line in That Green Gentleman to joke about Ryan while they were doing an acoustic show at the Space Needle in Seattle in October 2008. That was a normal thing and shouldn't stand out in any way.

Please don’t ruin Northern Downpour by dragging it into the Seattle theory and/or making it a Ryden thing. People are wildly misinterpreting some interview quotes & events (possibly because they don’t understand Ryan’s role in the band), so there’s more in this post about Northern Downpour.

Brendon, Ryan, Spencer, and Brent all talked about how much they loved the Pacific Northwest starting from the first time they played a show there in fall 2005. The boys were from a desert area and talked a lot in the early months about how they hadn’t had the chance to travel much (except Brent had been to Canada). Each time they visited Seattle or Portland at least one of them would mention how they loved the weather, trees, etc. Their strong appreciation of Seattle started in 2005 and has nothing to do with a fake affair in 2007.

There are a lot of assumptions surrounding the Seattle story in general, most of which seem to come from a lack of knowledge about the band. Even this post still assumes & projects a lot:

Brendon was not Ryan's best friend in 2007. That was pretty easy to spot (there's more in this post).

idk what else people are saying about Seattle, but I'll probably add more here later

[diazsdimples]

So I know we all think of Tommy as this big, fearless man, which like, fair bc he's a pilot and a firefighter and built like a brick shithouse and all that. But like, just imagine a Tommy that is deathly afraid of spiders, and this is how Buck finds out.

Buck comes home from the grocery store with all the ingredients for lasagna cause he's been telling Tommy he'd make it for him ever since they started getting serious. He's a bit confused when Tommy doesn't answer the door but it's fine cause he's got a key, and he lets himself in, calling out Tommy's name as he walks in. There's no reply other than a barely audible whimper so Buck walks through to the kitchen where he finds Tommy standing on a stool in the middle of the floor, looking positively petrified and shaking like a leaf. And Buck's all "sweetheart what's wrong, why the hell are you up there" so Tommy just points with a shaky finger to this spec on the ground, which honestly looks like a bit of lint until Buck inspects it further and discovers that it's a little jumping spider. He puts the groceries on the counter and stoops over to pick it up, but before he can Tommy yells out "do not touch it!!" and Buck's all like, "why? it's just a lil spider, I was gonna put it outside." And Tommy can't quite articulate why he doesn't want Buck to touch it but Buck's not a silly guy and he quickly puts two and two together that oh, Tommy is actually shit scared of this little 8 legged beastie and he's protecting Buck (in his mind) by telling him not to touch it. Buck, however, loves insects, so he tells Tommy that it's absolutely fine, he's just gonna put the spider outside, and scoops it up into the palm of his hand. As he takes it outside, he's doing all this baby talk to the spider like "aww buddy did the big scary man yell at you? don't worry, I'll take you outside and we'll find you a nice cool tree to hang out in" and he puts the spider in a bush. He goes back inside to find that Tommy's gotten off the stool but is looking a little pale and shaky and clutching the kitchen counter with quite a bit of force, so Buck goes over to him and runs his hands up and down Tommy's arms and kisses his nose and cheeks and forehead and whispers soothing calming words to him until Tommy's calmed down a little. Buck leads him to the couch where he sits him down with a glass of water and tells him to relax and that it's okay, the mean spider is all gone, and that he'll make Tommy some dinner and they'll be just fine. And Tommy reaches out and grabs his hand as he's about to walk away and kisses Buck's knuckles and very quietly says "thank you baby", so Buck's gotta kiss him to reassure him that it's fine. They never bring it up again cause Tommy's embarrassed as hell about it but Buck does start to give the house "spider sweeps" as he calls them every couple of days, just to make sure Tommy is safe, and he makes a little spider colony in the bushes outside Tommy's front door.

[woundedsoul12]

I get by with a little help from my friends

Going to be loud on main for this one. I have met tons of wonderful people since my return to writing, AO3, and Tumblr. But going to introduce you to the 5 people that I speak to daily that keep me going. The reason I haven't given up yet and just crawled back into my obscure hole. And know if you aren't mentioned I still adore you. This is just my Crew

So now you get to learn a little about them and what makes them so special.

1. @tarasmom - Like the only person I get to beta for me (the few times I use a beta). Tara is my hyper fixation deep dive sister from another mister. Want to lore plunge into some obscure reference? Want to talk through the history of the Tevinter Empire? Tara got you. Tara just... gets me. Like look across the room lock eyes and have a whole conversation. Standing in the middle of jellyfish fields with our nets screaming with excitement like SpongeBob and Patrick. And tbh one of the first people I found when I returned to fandom. Her Rook is Mina Aldwir and she's the queen of expose style writing and complex plots

2. @captastra - yet another I found early in my return. I think she more found me. Like a feral kitten outside her door. She is my adventure buddy. My 'hey Beasty I want to do this get out your shell and come with me'. Multi fandom bestie! Dragging me along for a good time. Not letting me be a loser. Inspiration for so many things I put into the universe. Her Rook is Nesiri Ingellvar and I love her so much. And Feylis her Avowed is just... everything to me

3. @lustaniasaxon - the only person I will cowrite with. My resident Illario lover. My muse. The person who keeps me going when I'm tired. A fellow gender bender. The only one I have found who can channel the ADHD into something useful. Her Rook is Lustania de Riva. Lover to my boys Sam and Brick.

4. @julie-spirit-finn - My fellow Healthcare bitch. Keeping people alive one idiot at a time. Listening to me bitch constantly about real life and fandom. Reading every single thing I write and leaving the best damn comments. Ultimate cheerleader and hopeless romantic. The most positive person I know in the most non annoying way. Helping me sort my complex silly plotlines no matter how dumb. Introducing me to Dread Rook. Turning me into a Solas lover. I might have never shipped him with Lavellan (she goes with Cullen) but I definitely like him with Rook.

5. And last but not least @thebarghestiest - fellow transmasc extraordinare. No one else can understand like we can huh? Again reading everything I write. Always commenting. Always supporting me. Listening to my stupid ideas and being like 'look bro I love it' even when you should probably tell me to stfu. Being cool with Julie and I just inviting ourselves to the Sleep Token concert. Putting up with all my dumb shit and depression. And screaming about Davrook, AUs, and dead doves with me. His Rook is Titus Ingellvar. Oh and the Durge Ghost who loves my Halsin bear daddy

And I guess I will finish up with I'm Beasty. I write entirely too much and the restlessness is strong. I'm also an antisocial loner but these people? We just vibe

Also if you have time, go read their works. They are all fucking amazing writers.

[taintedcigs]

GETAWAY CAR — rockstar!e.m. x f!reader

CHAPTER THREE: I’LL SWIM DOWN, WOULD YOU?

← prev chapter // next chapter →

✦ summary: in which eddie takes you for a trip down memory lane. (wc: 6.7k+)

✦ warnings — ANGSTANGSTANGST, fluff!, pining and slowburn, strong language!, mentions of alc*hol and drg use and a toxic/ab*sive relationship, reader is sad but also mad </3, mention of bruises from an ab*sive relationship (in the past)

✦ pairings — rockstar!eddie munson x fem!reader, past billy hargrove x fem!reader

✦ authors note — im so glad you guys are liking this series !! feel free to chat with me in the asks and sorry for the cliffhanger >:( also not proof-read pls ignore mistakes!! and sorry for the twisted sister slander eddie said it not me!

series masterlist | series playlist

It was late, really fucking late. Something you missed noticing while you were taking your supposed one hour sobbing nap. 

Your gaze gravitated toward the window, fingers fluttering to adjust the comfortable, frilly black dress you had casually slipped into moments earlier. But now, it made you feel stupid, like you were trying too hard, your mind was telling you that no matter which pretty dress you chose, he’d never want you. 

He wanted her now.

Your attention diverted toward the glove compartment, fighting the urge to yank it open, wishing those The Cure tapes could fall on your lap now. 

The uncomfortable silence between the two of you was starting to sink in now, accompanied by the Beastie Boys blasting through Eddie’s speakers. And you knew he was doing it on purpose because he knew you couldn’t resist, automatically making you hum along to it while he tapped his fingers rhythmically on the steering wheel, the two of you perfectly in sync with the beat, and it shouldn’t bring such a silly smile to your face, but it does. 

“So, uh…” He started off, eyes still on the road, he couldn’t afford to look at you, you looked breathtakingly pretty; the soft glow of the dashboard light highlighted your features, and with that goddamn black dress on you, Eddie was sure he was fully enamored by you.

“I’m–I’m sorry about the whole Chrissy thing,” He muttered, gaze avoiding yours. “It just kind of happened, but–she changed, she really changed.” 

“She–she told me how sorry she was about the whole Billy thing,” You gulped physically at the name, biting your lips nervously.

It didn���t fucking matter how sorry she was now, Chrissy was supposed to be your friend. You already had a hard time trusting people but you gave Chrissy that chance, you opened your heart to her, and you let her in, but she decided to stomp on it and chewed your trust in the cruelest way possible.

“I would’ve never talked to her if she hadn’t.” He avoided your gaze again.

“Cool… and you gathered that in what? A week?” You muttered angrily. 

Eddie fell silent at that, he didn’t know what to say next, he knew he was in the wrong, and he was desperate to fix it now.

“No, no I– just,” he sighed. “I don’t want to talk about this, Eddie,” you snapped, head turning towards the view of the window, lips pressed into a thin, bloodless line in an attempt to hold the words you wanted to say. 

You’re jealous—so incredibly jealous that it seeps through your skin. You wonder if he can tell, if he can see through you like he always did. 

“We’re not together,” He muttered embarrassedly. Chrissy seemed nice, but Eddie knew that she wasn’t you. Sure, Chrissy was pretty, but her face couldn’t make the gloomiest person in the world grin like yours did. And she was funny, but she could never make him nearly choke on his drink the way you always did. And he knew she could never, ever make him feel in a way you did. 

He was acutely aware of how awful that sounded, but he wasn’t trying to use her in any way; he was just trying to move on, but with you here, it was fucking impossible. You would always be his priority. No matter what happened between the two of you, if you even so much as glanced his way, he'd drop everything and come running. And that’s what scared him, that’s what made him act so unlike him toward you today because it was terrifying how much he truly wanted you.

You glared at him now, a second warning to shut him up, and he was quick to press his lips tight together. 

He huffed. “Look, how about we just… start over?” You finally plucked up the courage to face him again. With the warm breeze of summer nights in Hawkins having its full effect as it rustled through the open car windows, you could see his hopeful eyes.  

“Let’s just put it all behind us, you know… wipe the slate clean.” Your interest peaked with that; both of you had fucked up already, and if there was any way to survive the next five days with him and not be a burden to both Jonathan and Nancy, this was the perfect solution.

“Because I really don’t want us to have this weirdness over this whole wedding weekend- uhh… five day thing.” Shit. Was he actually reading your mind?

“Me neither.” You agreed in a mumble.

“Yeah?” Eddie asked with that pretty grin stuck on his lips. God, it was infectious, and his hopeful question fluttered your heart, you could feel yourself soften. Maybe this could work.

“So, uh- can we be… civil?” His voice was wavering, visibly nervous. 

You could put the whole Chrissy thing behind you for now, couldn’t you? At least until your next inevitable encounter with her. Maybe that was selfish, but you wanted to spend time with him; you wanted him all for yourself, just for a few hours, without any third person meddling their way in, so you nodded furiously. 

“Friends?” He offered, his hand extending to shake yours.

And even though that word fucking hurt, that’s all you could afford with him, too. You didn’t want to reopen the old wounds, at least not yet, and you were more than ready to settle for being friends with him for now. If it meant you could talk to him or be near him, you would do anything.

“Friends.” You agreed, hand harshly shaking his as you squinted your eyes jokingly. 

“They talked some sense into you, didn’t they?” You squinted.

“Nancy?” You asked with a slight smirk.

“Dustin and Jonathan, actually.”

“Dustin told me I was in the wrong with the whole Chrissy thing,” Eddie muttered as he stole a glance at you before he focused on the road again.  You fought hard to shrug off the smug smile on your lips; just the image of both Dustin and Jonathan telling Eddie off filled you with glee. “I swear that little shit is more mature than any of us.” You added.

“Don’t I know it?” He breathed, making you giggle. 

“So, where exactly are we headed to? Because I’m tired of seeing trees everywhere, and I’m starting to think you’re going to kidnap me.” You muttered with a narrowed gaze, attempting to ease the tension.

“You can’t tell?” He huffed, a little smile tugging at his lips at your joke. 

“Nuh-uh.” 

“You’re getting rusty, sweetheart.” You scoffed at that, eyeing the road quickly so you could tell him off. 

Once he passed by Mirkwood, you knew exactly where he was headed. A squeal escaped your lips childishly. “Oh my god!” 

The community pool. 

The two of you had snuck in at least a hundred times before. Even Chief Hopper had gotten tired of dragging both of your drunk asses off the pool. 

He couldn’t help the way his lips fully etched into a grin now, he had missed that genuine smile on your face and that childish squeal. 

“Eddie!” You squealed again when he finally neared, mouth stood agape. 

“Are we going in?” You asked excitedly. It was boggling your mind how quickly he melted your defenses. 

Before letting him nod, you spoke up again. “Ahh, shit! If I had known, I’d put on a bathing suit,” you huffed, causing Eddie to snort lightly. 

Your eyes drifted toward his features now; he looked… so happy, and that goddamn grin on his lips—why did he have to be so pretty? 

“What?” You muttered, feeling almost shy under his gaze now. 

He used to look at you like that a lot, like you meant something to him, like you were the most important thing in his life. And it felt so good to have that back, to see those deep brown eyes glimmer again.

There was another deep pause, as if he were debating whether or not he should let you know how much it truly meant that you were here. How much he had missed you. How much he missed that graceful curve of your lips as it stretched to a sugary smile, missed the way your eyes sparkled childishly when something excited you. 

“Nothing… uh- I just... I’m glad that-uhh you’re back,” he muttered, shaking his head, a strand of curly hair falling on his forehead.

He wanted nothing more than to feel just a graze of your touch, he had wanted to wrap his arms around your frame the whole day; he wanted you to sweep his curls off his forehead as you threw him a giggle, that angelic sound filling the space. 

And oh, how he missed your presence. He missed the way you filled the space around him, filling him with warmth and making him feel alive. But his thoughts remained unspoken; instead, he settled for a simple, “I missed you.” 

He held your gaze, tracing the contours of your face and memorizing every feature; he wanted each and every part of you etched into his brain, just because he didn’t know if you would leave again; he couldn’t handle forgetting your features, not again.

“I missed you, too,” you murmured, voice low when you could barely let the words out. There was a softness in his gaze, a vulnerability he only showed through it, and you returned it.

That impalpable silence was interrupted as he shook his head. “Let’s go, before you start getting in your head about getting in the pool with your clothes,” he teased, parking the car before he rushed off to your side. 

“M’lady,” He bowed dramatically when he opened the door for you, extending his hand, you took it with a giggle. “Such a gentleman!” You exclaimed, hands shaky when his grazed against yours. 

If Nancy and Jonathan could see the two of you now, their heads would probably explode, considering how both of you had been fluctuating between hot and cold the entire day.

“How are we even gonna get in?” You asked with a shrug, trying to keep up with him. 

He looked at you like he took offense to your question. “The old way, duh.” He shrugged carelessly, before he led the way. 

As you approached the silver metal fence, your heart skipped a beat, it had been so long since you had last done this, and when it loomed before you now, you had to physically gulp. “You scared or somethin’?” Eddie whispered in your ear with a sly grin, making you slightly jump. “N-no,” You muttered. 

"Then, do you wanna do the honors, sweetheart?” He asked with a wink, a mischievous glint sparkling in his eyes. With a deep inhale you nodded, placing your hands on the cold, textured metal of the fence. Once you fully braced yourself, Eddie hoisted you with a strong push, you probably would’ve been more anxious if you weren’t distracted by the fact that Eddie’s calloused hands were grazing against your waist. 

You cursed at the loss of touch when you made it to the top, and with a disappointed sigh, you swung your leg over the fence, carefully climbing down to the other side. 

You watched him almost jump over it with no hesitation, and now you were concerned with how much this had turned you on. Shit, shit, shit. Why did he have to be so fucking attractive in everything he did?

“Jesus Christ, you’d think they would’ve made this more secure by now,” you muttered with a giggle in an attempt to shut up your dirty thoughts about him, hands stretching out to dust your dress off before you followed him toward the pool. 

The poolside area was the first thing that caught your attention. Maybe it was the stupid deja-vu but you couldn’t help but be intrigued by everything. The pool lights created a cool ambiance that was kissed by the moonlight cascading on them. Each ripple of the water’s surface carried around the awful scent of sunscreen and chlorine; each sight of this goddamn place took you down memory lane. 

“You want one?” Eddie’s voice caught your attention when he plopped into an empty lounge chair, his hand fishing out a poorly rolled joint—which was probably just squished from being in his pocket all day.  

You nodded, mind still spiraling from the fact that you were here, with him. “Our spot, remember?” He muttered, hand signaling toward his side so you could sit down next to him. 

You hummed in agreement, before you shyly sat down next to him. “Here, let me.” You muttered, pulling the dragon lighter from the pocket of your jacket. 

His eyes almost widened again at the sight of that lighter, a tense silence overtook the space while you helped him light the joint sitting on his lips. “Uhh, t-thanks,” He muttered awkwardly. 

The two of you basked in that uncomfortable silence before Eddie finally turned toward you. “Is it just me or does this feel fuckin’ awkward again?” He took another long drag from the joint, breathing out before he turned to pass it to you, a nervous look crossing his features. 

And it makes you feel comfortable, that nervous breath you were holding in for so long finally slips out. “Thank god, because I thought I was goin’ crazy,” You murmured, happily accepting the joint as you placed it on your lips. 

“I-I just… I know a lot of shit happened between us, and I know we can’t fully pretend it never happened, but, this… this feels so nice.” You admit, gaze avoiding him. 

“It’s like, we used to have so much fun, we could do all this crazy shit and not give a single fuck. Do you even remember how many times Hopper escorted us out of here?” You asked with a slight smirk.

Eddie bit back on his tongue, he wanted to tell you that it was your fault. Wanted to remind you that the two of you could have been having fun all this time if you hadn’t just left him like that. 

But a clean slate is what he promised you, even though it was so fucking hard not to be bitter when he knew how much it hurt, because you had no clue how much you leaving him did a number on him. He had to pick on his own wounds, just so he wouldn’t reopen yours, just so you would talk to him again. 

He shook his head with a slight chuckle. “He really hated us, didn’t he?” 

“Oh, totally,” You muttered, head falling more toward his direction with a giggle. “Do you remember that time he chased us around here?” You almost gasped at the memory. 

“Shit!” He joined in on your laughter; his eyes met yours, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still. “How could I fucking forget?” He coughed out the drag he was holding in. 

"His stupid hat fell in the water," He recalled with a mischievous glint in his eyes, you giggled again leaning in closer, shoulders brushed against his, and both of your chuckles intertwined now. Once you finally caught your breath, you spoke up again "and he tried to get it. And then, oh my god..." You paused for dramatic effect, biting your lip to hold back more laughter.

"He slipped," he continued, with another chuckle, "face first into the pool!" Your laughter erupted louder as the memory replayed in your minds. And it felt so nice to have that genuine bond again. It gave you this sort of hope that whatever the two of you had, maybe it could withstand you leaving him; maybe it could withstand Chrissy, and the time and distance spent apart. 

And you so wanted to believe it, because this had genuinely been the happiest the two of you had ever been in the last five years.

Once both of your laughter died off, you took a deep breath, hand reaching out for the joint as you tapped on his fingers to pass it to you. You sucked on it until it numbed your mind, causing you to break the comfortable silence with your train of thought. “I still can’t believe they are getting married,” You breathed.

“Hmmm?” Eddie responded carelessly.

"I mean, I know they're literally like soulmates," you continued, "and I always knew they'd eventually get married. But isn't it too soon? Aren't we still too young for all of this?"

Eddie turned his gaze toward you, looking at you with his brows pinched together. "Why wait?" He asked, curiosity took over his features as he studied your face.

“If you have met the ‘love of your life’ and all that bullshit, and you knew you’d want to spend the rest of your life with them…” You shifted your position, propping yourself up on one elbow to look at him more closely. “Wouldn’t you want to do that as soon as possible?” 

You considered his words for a moment before you spoke. “But how could anyone be… sure?” A hint of uncertainty was wavering in your tone. 

“What if they wake up one day and decide they're not in love anymore? Or they suddenly want completely different things in life? Or, oh god, what if they betray each other?"

His brows pinched together. “Oh, Pinky…” He shook his head.

“What?” You asked, your voice laced with curiosity.

“You still do that?” Eddie asked disapprovingly.

“Do what?” You retorted, sounding slightly defensive.

“You don’t trust anyone or anything, just so you don't get hurt,” he muttered.

“You nitpick every single part of something good... always trying to sabotage it because you’d rather ruin it than lose it,” Eddie explained with a concerned look on his face, and you hated it. You hated that he knew you so well, that he knew you by heart.  

“I do not do that!” You protested.

“Are you actually gonna tell me you never did that?” He gently prodded, tilting his head slightly as he regarded you with an all-knowing look.

You hesitated, your defenses crumbling just a bit. “Okay, maybe like one time, Munson,” you admitted with a reluctant squint of your eyes.

“You’re so afraid of losing something you love that you refuse to love anything,” He muttered, not realizing his concern had hit a nerve.

“But it doesn’t work like that. Love is not supposed to be that complicated.” He continued with a whisper, your gaze drifting away as you fiddled with your fingers, because he was right. 

“Why do you assume being loved by someone would ever be so hard?” Eddie realized he had truly hit a nerve and immediately regretted it. He could see the pain flash in your eyes—that familiar hurt you carried with you. You shook it off—a defense mechanism you had perfected over the years.

You found it too difficult to believe that someone could ever truly love you. And he knew that; he hated that he couldn’t tell you how much he loved every fucking part of you and how much he loved you for being you. You didn’t need to try for him; you didn’t need to do anything. You could just exist, and he’d still love you. But he couldn’t tell you that, not when you had left him. 

And he knew he couldn’t apologize for his words because you’d just brush it off, you’d just close off on him more and more, and he didn’t want to ruin this in any way. 

Desperate to shift the mood, Eddie changed the subject, opting for a game of questions just so he could distract you. By the time the two of you had started passing around the second joint and had gotten over thousands of questions, you were seated near the pool now, knees grazing each other as your feet dangled into the water.

With a mischievous glint in your eye, you initiated the next question, “Favorite color?” You asked with a soft giggle.

Eddie responded with a playful tilt of his head, "That has to be the lamest question, ever," he quipped.

You gasped animatedly, pretending to be offended by his comment. "Oh, really?"

"Well then, Munson, do you have a better one up your sleeve?" Your eyes squinted in a playful challenge.

Eddie, puffed out his cheeks as he wrestled with his thoughts to come up with a question. After a moment, a mischievous glint sparkled in his eyes. “I’ve got one,” He muttered playfully.  

 “Saddest song you’ve ever heard?” Eddie inquired.

You let out a groan of mock exasperation, your shoulders slumping dramatically. "Oh, come on! How am I supposed to answer that?"

Eddie leaned back casually on his elbows. "Well, I already have mine," he shrugged.

“Really?” You huffed, “I need like an hour,” You muttered, causing Eddie to give you a look.

“Okay, fine, fine!” You sighed audibly, racking your brain.

“Oh, oh!” You shot up quickly, splashing your feet in the water, when you finally thought of something, “can I name two?” Eddie raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Two? Now you've got my attention, princess." He winked teasingly.

You leaned back on your elbows. "Uhhh… Here Comes a Regular or… Wango Tango."

Eddie couldn't help but snort at the unexpected combination. "What?" he chuckled. “I can understand Here Comes a Regular, but Wango Tango? Really?” He gave you that puzzled look again. 

“Okay, okay, before you judge!” You squinted your eyes. “Hear me out, because it has a story.” You said. 

“I don’t know if I should tell you this,” you admitted, noticing Eddie's raised eyebrows and intensified curiosity.

“What? Why?” He questioned. “Because I never told you about this before, and I feel like it’s just gonna drag our mood down,” you murmured, biting your lip nervously, as Eddie’s eagerness peaked further.

“Are you kidding? You absolutely have to tell me now!” Eddie demanded softly.  

“I mean, are you sure? It’s just a stupid story, and I don’t even know if it matters now—” You began to waver, failing to notice the intensity of Eddie's interest.

“Pinky, please.” He interrupted with a tilt of his head, his voice filled with an urgency to know. You nodded hesitantly.

"So, uhh, you remember how he used to uhh- drove me and Max to school every week?" He nodded, his muscles tensing as he understood who you were referring to. “I think it was another tough week for him, and we had already been fighting a lot," you began, tone laced with a hint of exasperation.

"I think that’s why he was on the edge again, like he was ready to explode at any moment," you continued, gaze avoiding him and fixed on the shimmering water of the pool.  "W-we were in the car, and you- you were driving like two cars in front of us.” Your eyes squinted as you recalled the details animatedly, and Eddie listened curiously, his gaze fixed on you with a mixture of emotions.

“I think that like ticked him off or somethin’.” You shrugged, your voice wavering. “He started going on and on about you and he was already mad about us hanging out too much,” you stuttered and Eddie's jaw clenched as he listened, his eyes flashing with anger on your behalf.

“He threw me a look that I knew was nothing but trouble," you huffed with an ironic chuckle, but Eddie's expression remained stern, and you were starting to realize how dumb of a decision telling this story was, but it was too late now. 

“So then he, uhh- he started laughing all weirdly and following you, and I could just feel my blood boil, you know?” You went on, your eyes narrowing at the memory.

"I was telling him to stop, uhh, repeatedly, but he just… he just ignored me and sang that stupid song, tapping along to the rhythm.” Your lips curled with disgust at the thought.

“And oh god, Max just sunk into her seat, and that just made me go absolutely insane, Eddie!” 

“He was getting so close to you, like so close. And I-I knew you had no clue because I knew how loud you liked listening to your music in Aurora,” you muttered with a chuckle, attempting to lighten the mood, but Eddie didn’t focus on your joke; he could feel his insides burning with that familiar rage and the need to protect you.

“I don’t- I don’t even know what came over me, and I-I just drove the car off the road." You breathed. “And I know that’s… that’s horrible because Max was there too but I had no other idea and I was scared,” you admitted, biting your lips to hold all of your emotions inside of you as you took a deep breath.

“And I wanted to keep you safe,” you murmured, and Eddie’s heart almost stopped at that. The guilt of you being hurt because of him weighed in on him now. And he wanted nothing more than to go back in time and beat the shit out of that douchebag, again.  

“And I just remember that look on Max’s face… that pure terror, and while all of that was happening… fucking Wango Tango was playing.” You couldn’t help the exasperated chuckle that left your lips. 

You finally looked up at Eddie again, realizing how much you had unloaded on him. "What?" he asked, dumbfounded.

“H-he did what?” He stuttered in fury; you could see it in the way he scrunched his brows together.  

“Shit… I don’t know what I was thinking; I really shouldn’t have told you this when we were having a good time-” You shook your head, sighing. “I just… right before I left Nancy’s, I-I saw that Camaro and that song has been stuck in my mind and it’s the first thing I could think of." You rambled quickly; you had never opened up this much about Billy before, and you were starting to regret it because you didn’t want him to pity you. 

“God, I must sound so annoying but I swear I’m not saying any of this to make you pity me or anything-”

“No, no, that’s not it.” He interrupted with a shake of his head. “I would never think that, are you kidding?” His hand sat on your knee for reassurance.

“No… no, I just wish... Why didn’t you just tell me?” He spoke to you in a gentle tone, but you could see his jaw clench. 

“I-I don’t know, I was scared, Eddie, and I didn’t want to drag you into my bullshit,” You murmured, gulping when you looked down at his fingertips gently caressing your skin. Your emotions were all over the place, his one touch just calmed you down, all of your worries vanishing in mere seconds. 

“Are you kidding?” He asked softly. “I-If I had known, I would’ve done something a lot sooner, Pinky, I used to think he was just a shitty boyfriend, If I had known how he was-I swear, I swear, I would’ve never let him hurt you.” His voice was desperate as he leaned in closer, gaze never leaving yours. 

“I should’ve fuckin’ known,” he mumbled under his breath, he wanted to punch himself for not seeing it quicker, not seeing him sucking the light out of you, the way you flinched around him, and, oh god, the random bruises. 

He was stupid. So fucking stupid. 

“Don’t say that!” You protested. “I was the one who kept it a secret, it’s not your fault, in any way,” you muttered, your thigh grazing against his.

“Eddie, you quite literally saved me,” you whispered, a graceful smile adorning your lips.

His eyes drifted toward you again, gaze locking with yours.

“Look, I don’t give a shit what happens between us, you can always, always tell me anything, okay? Any fucking thing.” Eddie reassured, with a soft tone.

You nodded, the smile that formed on your face was genuine, you really appreciated each of his words. Whatever happened between the two of you didn’t matter—Chrissy, you leaving him in LA, the fight at Nancy's—none of it fucking mattered. Eddie was still here for you, and you were going to do everything you could to make sure you wouldn’t lose him ever again. 

"Anything?" you asked, seeking confirmation. Eddie didn't hesitate. He nodded in affirmation, his gaze soft and unwavering. "Anything."

“Oh, good! Because I’ve been dying to let you know how much of a dork you look like in your own band’s shirt,” you said with a slight smirk playing on your face.  

Eddie raised his brows gleefully, and a grin overtook his features once again. "Oh, I'm so getting you for that one," he muttered, his fingers quick to graze against your sides. Once you realized what he was up to, you tried to get away, but it was too late. 

He started tickling you relentlessly while you squirmed and wriggled under his touch, trying to catch your breath between giggles. 

"Okay, wait—stop, stop!" You managed to speak, your voice coming out in gasps as you pleaded for a momentary break. Eddie finally relented, his fingers retreating as you caught your breath.

"You still haven't told me yours!" you exclaimed between your chuckles, trying to catch your breath and eager to distract him from tickling you again.

“Ahh shit,” he muttered with a chuckle. “Now I really don’t want to tell you mine, because it’s gonna sound so petty and childish.”

“Nuh-uh!” You protested. “You absolutely have to after all the shit I told you!” You encouraged. 

“Fine,” he muttered. “Leader of the Pack by Twisted Sisters,” he huffed, his face souring.

“What? Why?” You asked with a baffled look.

“Because, I waited for that album for two years, and the moment I listened to that song, I wanted to die.” His hand daggered through his chest dramatically, making you huff.

“A bit dramatic, don't you think?” Your brows pinched together playfully.

“No, I'm serious Pinky. That album was pure garbage, I swear I got teary over it.” You giggled slightly.

“No, but I love that!” you exclaimed, your eyes lighting up immediately.

“Love what? That awful song?” He asked with a scoff.

“No, you dumbass,” you huffed, rolling your eyes dramatically at him.

“I love that a record can make you feel so many different emotions, you know?” you mused. “Anyone can listen to it, and they can have so many different stories, it’s super fascinating to me.”

Your gaze shifted toward the pool’s rippling water. “That’s one of the things I love about working in a record shop—people have so many different stories and feelings regarding music and it’s just..." You muttered. “I don’t know I think it’s great that just one thing can make everyone feel something different, it’s like a secret language that speaks uniquely to everyone, you know?”

Eddie nodded, leaning closer to you now. “That is kinda… inspiring,” Eddie hummed as he pondered for a minute, and that piqued your curiosity. “Hold on a second,” he said, holding up a finger as you watched him reach into his pocket.

A worn notebook was sprawled on his lap, and once you leaned closer, you realized it was the ‘promise’ notebook. Your eyes widened as you tried to catch a glimpse of what he was scribbling inside. "What are you doing?" you asked, a mischievous giggle escaping your lips, but he playfully blocked your view.

"That's going in the notebook!" he exclaimed, a glimmer of excitement in his eyes. 

“Nuh-uh,” you disapproved. “That was so lame.” You shook your head embarrassedly.

"No, it was quite touching, actually," Eddie replied with his head still buried in the notebook.

“So you just write down everything like that?” You asked with your head tilted.

“Pretty much,” he shrugged. “I just scribble down anything that feels important to me.” A smile etched on your lips at that. 

“And then sometimes, if I’m lucky, and I mean very very lucky, these thousand notes can turn into a song,” he hummed excitedly.

“Can I see them?” You asked with a hopeful look.

“No way!” He chuckled.

“What?” You exclaimed. “I should be like the only person who has access to that!” You huffed with your arms crossed across your chest.

“And why would that be, princess?” He pinched his brows together, teasing you.

“Uh, maybe because I gave you that notebook, asshole?” You retorted animatedly, teasing him back. 

He contemplated for a moment before he spoke. “Okay, how about this…” He mocked a thinking face, piquing your curiosity. “You go in the water with me… and I’ll give you a note,” he offered. 

Your gaze drifted toward the cold water. You always hated going to the pool without your bathing suit, and he knew that, but you so wanted those notes. 

“Just one?” You squinted your gaze. 

Eddie sighed dramatically. "Fine, I can give you one paper with notes on both sides," he conceded. You nodded frantically. “Deal!” You exclaimed, holding out your hand for him to shake it. 

“But one more thing,” He spoke up again causing you to groan. “You can only read it once you get home,” he mute. 

“Fine, is that all of your conditions, Munson?” you quipped, arching an eyebrow.  He mocked a thinking face again. “Pretty much, yeah,” he replied with a sly smirk.

“Okay, okay. Then I’ll go in the pool with you.” 

“You promise?” 

“Yeah,” you muttered. 

“Pinky promise?” He asked with a grin, and you rolled your eyes. Elbowing him playfully at his joke “Jerk,” you muttered under your breath. 

“Close your eyes,” he said, his voice low. “What?” You inquired.

“Close your eyes so I can pick a note, and put it in your pocket.” He shrugged, and you obliged with a huff. 

You could hear him whipping through the notes, cursing as he debated which one he wanted you to see. 

“Your eyes still closed?” He asked, his voice still gentle. You nodded with a huff, trying to appear annoyed when your excitement was building with each passing second.

“‘Kay,” he mumbled, and you could feel his hands grazing you as he stuffed the note in the pocket of your jacket. 

“You can open them,” he said as soon as he was finished. 

“All done?” You muttered, cheeks still embarrassingly heating after you just felt a graze of his touch. He nodded with a grin. 

“Now it’s your turn,” he teased, fingers pointing toward the pool. 

Giving him an annoyed glare, you sucked in a shuddering breath. You glanced around at the pool again, the illuminating lights created a cosy atmosphere that truly warmed you, but you knew the chilly water would give you a rude awakening. 

Your trembling fingers slid your coat off your shoulders, tossing it aside as your feet splashed around the water. It was cold, and you looked back at Eddie with a pout. “We’re going to catch a cold,” you whined. 

Eddie huffed in mock annoyance, his impatience evident. "For the love of God, just go in," he exclaimed. You faced the pool again, feet still swishing around in the water. The more time you took, the closer you could feel Eddie’s silhouette behind you, and you knew if you didn’t go in soon, he was going to intervene. 

Your fingers fiddled nervously with the hem of your dress as you contemplated your decision once again. But before you could make up your mind, a sudden and unexpected push from Eddie left you in shock. Without warning, you were propelled dramatically into the pool, the water enveloping you with a cold, exhilarating rush. You emerged almost as soon as you fell in, sputtering and laughing, your dress clinging to your body and your hair plastered to your face.

“You asshole! I knew you would do that,” you exclaimed with a chuckle. 

You dived in once, fixing your hair after you emerged again. Your head tilting to see that sly smirk on his lips. “Jerk,” you muttered again. 

“Oh, you’ll live,” he mocked.

You extended your hand toward him with a pout, and he had a baffled look on his face. “Help me up, please,” you whined, shaking your hand further to convince him, but he could see that mischievous glint in your eyes.

Eddie squinted at you playfully, his head cocked in mock suspicion. “You think I’m fallin’ for that?” Your scoff only elicited a roll of his eyes. “You pushed me in, dumbass! The least you could do is pull me up." You protested, your hand waving in the air, waiting for him to fall into your trap. 

“Nah,” he shrugged nonchalantly, a smirk playing at his lips. You continued to whine, your hand still reaching out to him.

“Eddie, I’m serious, it’s super cold, and this dress is suffocating me!” You argued, the slight desperation in your voice making him feel for you. Eddie hesitated for a moment. That soft, innocent look in your eyes and the sweet pout on your lips were more than enough to convince him. If only he weren't as hopelessly infatuated with you, he might have resisted longer.

With a deep sigh, he extended his hand toward yours, taking it in a firm grip. “Fine, but if you try to pull me down, I swear to god-”

Before he could finish his threat, you swiftly pulled him toward you, yanking him off balance and into the water with a resounding splash.

Giggles erupted from your lips. “Too late!” you declared triumphantly, a wide grin adorning your face.

As you watched him resurface, he gave his head a good shake, water droplets flew around as his chuckles filled the air, and he couldn't help but praise you with a playful smirk. “You're good,” he admitted, the characteristic dimples on his cheeks making an appearance. You returned his compliment with a warm smile. “I know.”

Eddie felt dizzy; a flood of feelings hit him all at once when he looked at you again. He tried to divert his eyes away from you—from your smooth skin, from the sweet curve of your lips, from the way your brows pinched together when you giggled so sweetly. But he couldn’t.

Those innocent, big eyes that had a slight bit of mischievous glint in them—the way you fluttered your eyelashes at him whenever you teased him—it was all too fucking much for him.

Don’t look at her, Eddie. He tried to remind himself, but it was useless.

God, you really were beautiful. 

He shouldn’t be any closer to you, but he couldn’t fucking help it. 

When he swam closer, the laughter in the air had fully died down; there was only tension—so much tension that you could hear your own heart rate picking up. 

The water around you seemed to shimmer the closer he got to you, caging you between him and the edge of the pool. You gulped physically when you felt the concrete hit your back; he had you cornered. 

Each second stretched into hours now, and all the two of you did was gaze into each other's eyes, speaking a language without any words being spoken. 

He couldn’t help it when his gaze drooped down to your glossy lips, they looked so kissable that Eddie was about to lose his mind. You opened your mouth to speak but it was of no use, no words dared to come out of it. 

You watched in awe as his hands grazed against your cheek first, then he tucked that one strand of hair behind your ears. You could feel his breath fanning against your cheeks—that same speechless expression on his face that mirrored yours.  

Eddie was sure you had this unexplainable, tight hold on his heart. He had never, ever felt so completely possessed by someone before. You completely invaded his mind in a way that he struggled to put into words.

His calloused hands hooked behind your back as he inched you a little bit closer.  Your heart was pounding inside your ribcage, and your eyes were following his every movement. The second his forehead came to rest against yours, all you could do was squeeze your eyes shut. 

“Look at me.” He whispered all huskily, and you were sure you had never heard him filled with this much desire.  

You didn’t dare to open your eyes, standing still and even afraid to let out that gasp you’ve been holding on to for far too long. 

Was this all real?

Was he actually going to kiss you?

[ramblinscramblin]

Hey there! I read your headcanons and they are pretty cool! I wanted to ask for small headcanons myself

Sniper, Scout and Pauling discovers that reader is a vampire! How will they react?

Reader can be any pronounce you want. You can do romantic or platonic, whatever is comfortable with you!

-💀🌌

→With a vampire!Reader!

Genre: fluff, a lil silly

Characters: Sniper, Scout, and Pauling Warning: canon typical gore.

I love love love this request, thank you so much! This was kind of a hard prompt to get ideas for for some reason. Also I’ve actually never written for Pauling before, let’s hope I get her right!

Sniper

Sniper took note of your gloomy and loner disposition right away.

It’s part of the reason he bothered getting close to you in the first place.

He’s observant so he probably noticed everything separately even if he hadn’t fully put it together yet. Definitely took note of your fangs.

The dislike of garlic, avoiding the sun, never seen eating anything, never seeming flushed or red, your sunken in look, everyone sort of already joked about it.

So he wasn’t all too shocked when you told him.

I honestly imagine he feels pretty threatened by you.

He is generally distrusting of people normally, so you being a night stalking blood drinking beasty doesn’t do much to quell his anxieties.

Couldn’t help but feel intrigued though, can't help but feel compelled by you, even despite his reservations he can't really keep away for long.

The idea of a vampire I feel like would be something he would be very attracted too, the thrill of it all kind of excites him. Of course he doesn't say that, or act on it very often, but you know it anyways.

Idk if this is an out of character headcanon but I highkey think Sniper is a monster fucker.

Supplies you with blood if he sees your low, enjoys how much you brighten after a drink.

Overall finds you very fasicnating, likes learning how to manage life as a vampire

Scout

Scout thinks you're messing with him until the moment he watches you drain the blood from a civilian.

Cautious with the kinds of jokes he makes after that.

He guesses it does kind of make sense in retrospect, you did have a sort of dark air about you.

Honestly finds it so sick, thinks of you as sort of his personal gaurd dog at night, wouldn't say that outloud but internally yes.

He generally would treat you about the same, vampire or not.

If we're talking old timey vampires here finds it hilarious that you can't enter a space without explict permission, will torture you by not inviting you into a room as he walks right through.

Thinks you turning into a bat is one of the coolest things, honestly big jealous vibes from Scout, he wishes he was a big cool vampire too.

It’s a fantasy of his for you to drink some of his blood, is too proud/paranoid to ever say it out loud. But you don’t miss his little sighs as he looks at your fangs.

Secretly dreams of you turning him too, so very secretly.

Pauling

Was honestly so overworked she hardly even noticed.

"Huh? What did you say? Oh yeah, yeah that's nice," she said with a polite nod one day, burying a group of hippies as she did so.

Just enjoys having someone with her during the night, like Scout wouldn't realize you were serious until she sees you feed, once she does it's like a start up noise.

Genuinely uses you as an asset in her work, you turning into a bat and flying is amazing for locating survivors, youre such a big help!

Like I said enjoys the nightly company more than words can describe, she loves quality time.

Really enjoys your darker aesthetic and sometimes thinks you're way too cool to be spending all your time with her.

Will make sure you're always fed, you never have to worry about going hungry while Pauling is around.

If you've been around a few generations wants to hear what life was like before she was around, how it felt to live in a vastly diffrent time period. Finds it so intresting to hear about!

Ohhh boy I hope this is okay anon! Like I said it was kind of hard to think of things to write about for some reason,,, I hope this was good! I had a lot of fun writing it even despite the trouble I had.

[xamaxenta]

Ace yawning and showing off his huge sharp chompers and Marco misses his mouth twice with his spoon cuz he was staring like uhh

Namur helpfully points out that hes got sauce on his shirt and Fossa asks if he’s had enough sleep as of late

Thatch however knows because Thatch always knows and Thatch is also incredibly nosey (this has nothing to do with his magnificent schnozz being almost as large as his hair—)

“I hear he was raised in the jungle.” Thatch says conversationally

Ace still sits a small ways away from them, newly appointed second division commander and he’s still holding them all at arms length

“Heard he took out hunter beasts thrice his size with his bare hands.” Thatch adds, his voice lowered to a dramatic hush

Marco would’ve challenged that if they hadnt seen him take out a sea king solo the week prior

“Whats your point” Marco phrases his question as stoutly and forthright as he can muster this early in the morning

“What im saying is youre a beastie.”

“Thanks.” Marco says dryly

Ace yawns again like a large cat, heavy canines on display

Marco gives up on his breakfast

“And what im catching on is that you wanna be his dinner next—“

Marco stands abruptly, its not that Thatch is wrong, its just that Ace has keen hearing and as far as hes concerned, Ace doesnt see them as anything beyond a working relationship

“We will talk about this later.” And by later never, everyone knows this because Marco is unfortunately a very busy man

“Sure.” Thatch draws out the syllables annoyingly, his grin coy in the smarmy manner he’s always gotten into trouble for

Marco leaves trailing blue gold plumage, the back of his neck prickling from the gaze of a new predator following him all the way out of the mess

Ace remembers to blink when the door closes gently behind Marcos retreating form and he looks down at his empty plate and then at Deuce

Deuce regards him with faint disconcert but that might just be his general expression, its hard to tell with the mask

“Dya know your eyes do this weird thing when you do stuff like that?”

Ace doesnt know, what he does know is hes gonna go get thirds, he offers seconds to Deuce who declines

“What does that even mean?”

“Your pupils do this weird cat slit dilation thing.”

“Cats are cool.” Ace replies and walks off unperturbed towards his apparent weird cat shit.

Deuce thinks maybe he couldve explained himself a little better, or maybe Ace truly doesnt really care. He’s not exactly worried about Marco or anything, Ace is young and strong sure but still leagues beneath anything the phoenix was capable of.

He’s not supersitious but something nags at his subconscious, invest in earplugs, they. Probably would come in handy

[bluebirdinhissky]

A best friend’s duty is to help you overcome your fears.

Hyunjin x Y/N.

I didn’t expect this to turn into a series but I feel like it should be this way. Also, sorryyy! I know I’m so late in the timelines because tbh I thought about this when they were going to Australia but somehow whenever I tried to write I would be blocked. I apologize for grammar mistakes. Thank you everyone who has been reading so far, really thank you.

*

Hyunjin already knew she would say NO. “I’d rather die than set foot in Hell on Earth”, she would probably say (Hell on Earth = Australia). He’d hear her say how it’s the one place where every nightmare-ish creature could crawl out in your bedroom, bathroom, street, beach or basically just everywhere you were and kill you. “I rather not die from a spider bite or simply touching a leaf”, she’d say. He would sometimes like to tease her about her aversion towards Australia, but this time he was about asking her to join him and the guys for their shows there.

He asked Felix and Chan for help. He asked them to talk wonders about their country to her, and they would do so with a passion that would make anyone want to travel there as soon as possible, but not her. It didn’t matter how many times they told her she would most likely never even get to see a spider the size of her hands just roaming around the city. Hyunjin was starting to feel defeated.

One cloudy night, Hyunjin was feeling anxious. He started to paint to relax but he kept being unhappy with the results. He sighed and threw his brushes to the side. He stood up and made his way to the roof of the apartment. He had a spot to sit down and look at the city lights whenever he felt like it, and that night he just wanted to feel the cool breeze on his face.

He was a bit surprised to find the spot wasn’t empty. SHE was there, a startled look on her face.

“You scared me”

“Am I that ugly?. Beastie, what are you doing here?”

“I couldn’t sleep”

Hyunjin reached her side and sat down beside her. The city lights from downtown’s skyscrapers were dim, semi-hidden behind a thin fog that made the scenery look like out of a movie.

“Are you okay?”, he asked after a few seconds.

“Yes, I think I just had too much coffee. Are you okay?”

“Yes” he smiled softly and lingered his gaze on the buildings far away. She noticed and looked intently at them too. Silence followed for a couple of minutes, where she leaned her head down to Hyunjin’s shoulders and he wrapped his arm around her. He felt his heart racing and hoped those moments could last forever.

“Can you imagine” she broke the silence with her soft voice, almost as if she was talking to herself only “what would we do if we were looking at those buildings and suddenly a Godzilla sized creature showed up?”

Hyunjin snorted.

“Well, beastie, I think we would be doomed. And we would spend our last moments together”

“What if the creature doesn’t come this way. We just see everything from far”

“We’d still be doomed”

“That’s scary”, she said hiding her face in his chest.

“Come now, aren’t you the one who loves Godzilla?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean it’s not scary”

“Speaking about scary stuff…” Hyunjin cleared his throat “I want you to come to Australia with me. With us I mean…”

“Hyunjin…” she rolled her eyes.

“I know, I know, “spiders the size of my hand”, I promise you, most places have pest control systems”

“Hyunjin…”

Hyunjin gave her his best puppy eyes.

“Pleaseeee beastie”, he was now being playfully dramatic “I can’t live without you”

“What if I DO see a spider and I get bitten and I die?”

“You won’t die. And if you do, I’ll catch the same spider and get bitten too”

“Calm down, Romeo”, she laughed and he laughed too. There was a bit of silence after that.

“Well. Let’s do this: let’s sleep together” he smirked “I mean sleep in the same room. We take turns sleeping”. She sighed.

“You promise you’ll keep me safe?”

“I promise” he said softly.

“Fine. I’ll go with you to Hell”

He made a fist to the sky as sign of victory and then hugged her hard.

Maybe his plans to confess were finally on the right path.

[hesbuckcompton-baby]

Damage Gets Done - SAS: Rogue Heroes x OC - Chapter 13

Masterlist | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 |-| Chapter 14

AO3

Summary: In the aftermath of a fateful night, Diana attempts to come to terms with the prospect of freedom

Relationships: L Detachment x Platonic!OC, Reg Seekings x OC

Warnings: Canon-typical violence, injury description

Word Count: 4.8k

Tags: @20th-centu-fairy-girl @6thofapril1917 @dcyllom @footprintsinthesxnd @regseekings @roseszirnheld @hellofanidea

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Morning came as an even ruder awakening than usual, sunlight streaming through the entrance to Diana's tent and hitting her square in the eyes as her face practically shrivelled at the intrusion. Groping blindly for her blanket, she tossed it off, pushing herself upright as a tired groan escaped her dry throat. She cringed to remember the night before - the chaos she'd left in Cairo, the belongings she'd inevitably have to return to collect from her father's house. But as she raised a hand to scoop her curls into their usual half-arsed attempt at a bun, she found herself groping at empty air.

Oh, that's right.

Her hair was cropped short beneath her ears, the result of quick, whispered work between her and Johnny, done by the light of a torch. He'd grinned when she handed him the scissors, that mischievous spark in his eye visible even in the dead of night. What was left of her curls had been swept unceremoniously beneath the sand, gone as if it had never existed, a physical purging of the emotional baggage she had disposed of back in Cairo.

Withers was lingering by her tent as Diana stepped outside, his nose to the ground as he attempted to dig some ants out of the sand. "C'mere beastie," She tutted, scooping the little dog up with one arm as he let out a confused whine, ear flapping backwards as he tilted his head up at her, eliciting a chuckle.

Jalo was still quiet, many still hiding from the brightening dawn. A breeze struck the back of her neck, its presence soothing and unfamiliar as she headed for the mess hall in search of something to eat. The dark room was mercifully cool as Diana clattered about one-handed, still holding Withers with one arm as she emptied the stray grains of sand that had gathered in the bottom of the kettle. Beginning to squirm, she let the dog go, but he didn't stray from her, lingering at her feet and hoping for a loose scrap of food.

"Mornin'" Kershaw's voice rang out behind her as he wandered in, not yet sparing her a glance as he went straight for the food.

"Hey," Diana hummed. "Making coffee, d'you want some?"

"Yeah, I- Fuckin' hell," He blurted, cutting himself off the moment he locked eyes on her.

"Oh, God, did Cooper fuck up the back?" She groaned, hand groping at the back of her head as she tried to feel for something terrible.

"No. No, it looks fine. Just... last night went well, then?"

Diana chuckled, rather more darkly than he had intended, a response which only made Dave's brow arch further in confusion. Her laughter trailed off awkwardly, offering a serious nod.

"Yes," She stated. His stare only grew more pointed. She sighed. "Look, I threatened a few people. Including my dad. But I didn't hurt anyone."

"Right."

"Oh, that's not true. I went to see Andrew in the hospital."

"The one who got-"

"The one who got shot, yeah. I sorta... stuck a finger in it."

"In what?"

"The bullet hole."

"Jesus Christ," He huffed, pinching his brow exhaustedly. Diana watched his reaction for a moment, bottom lip drawn between her teeth as she stood awkwardly.

"... So... Coffee?"

Dave stared at her.

"... Yeah."

"Alright."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Diana squinted in the sun as she headed outside after breakfast, another cup of coffee in her hand as her heels sank into the sand slightly with each step. The desert didn't bother her today - not the way it usually seemed to. The warmth against her face was soothing, the taste of coffee on her tongue rejuvenating. Even the desert sore on her thigh didn't bother her as much. She was in a good mood - a genuinely good mood for the first time in what seemed like forever.

She may have only slept a couple of hours last night, but those hours had been peaceful, unburdened by nightmares. More and more over the past week she had found herself under the water again, feeling that hand against the back of her head as she fought for breath, waking up choking and drenched in sweat. It had been a much-needed reprieve.

"... Di?"

At the sound of Reg's voice, she turned to look at him, a friendly smile leaving creases in her cheeks. Her eyes were dark with exhaustion, but the smile was very real. Real enough to reassure him, and wonderful enough to knock the breath from his lungs.

"Hey!" She chirped, taking a few steps back up the sandy slope towards where he had paused mid-stride at the sight of her.

"Wh-" He paused slightly, searching for the right words. "... You-"

"Yeah, Johnny gave me a hand with it when I got back last night. Oh, and I made coffee - there's some left inside if you want some."

"Uh huh," Reg nodded, jaw hanging slightly slack. "... It looks nice."

"Oh, thanks," Diana grinned. "Yeah, I like it. It's... breezy," She shrugged.

He nodded again. Reg wasn't a fool - he didn't need to probe to figure out why she'd really done it. He'd seen her throw that painting over the balcony, that portrait of a woman that had never been her. Her hair had grown sun-bleached, curls tight and frizzy against the desert breeze. A small scar dipped in the centre of her forehead. She'd told him once she'd gotten it her first day in the SAS. She was branded as one of them, now more than ever.

"... You're alright though, yeah?" Reg grunted, passing his weight from foot to foot. His gaze darted from her to the sandy ground below, unable to meet her eye from the moment the question passed his lips, frightened as if the moment she looked back into him she would know everything that went unspoken with those words.

He heard her let out a huff, and without even looking he knew she was smiling.

"Yeah."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Withers curled up on Diana's lap, snoozing in the afternoon sun as she lounged in one of the dusty old deck chairs, thumbing through one of Paddy's poetry books whilst the men played rugby nearby, scrambling and shouting and kicking up clouds of sand. An engine rumbled in the distance, growing steadily louder as whoever it was approached. She did not bother looking up - if anything had been amiss the men would've stopped playing by now.

The car fell silent, footsteps nearing, crunching against the sand. Diana turned the page, skimming over the next verse.

"Diana," Stirling's voice came, sweeter than usual in a way that made her frown.

She peered up at him over her sunglasses. "What."

"There's a dossier in my tent that we'll be needing for this afternoon's briefing."

"Well, that's nice."

"Can you get it while I assemble the men?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Have your legs stopped working?"

David rolled his eyes, leaning down closer. "If you go and get it now you can read the classified parts."

Diana's brow pinched with a frown, pouting slightly like a bribed child.

"... Fine."

With an irritated huff, she gently patted Withers awake, shooing the pup from her lap as she stood up. Shooting David a glare, she began to march up the dune towards the tents.

"Where will you be?" Diana called over her shoulder.

"Mess hall!" Stirling blurted before he could stop himself. Realising his plan was crumbling, he yelled again. "Actually no, I'll-!" But she was already too far away, and he cut himself off with an exasperated sigh. "Shit."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

A book hit the side of Stirling's tent with a muffled thud as Diana rummaged through his belongings, growing steadily more incensed with each second that passed without finding the files she had come for. "Fucking prick wants me to do all his fucking work, come find it yourself you fucker," She muttered, tossing his blanket onto the floor and condemning him to a bed full of sand. Still nothing.

"Fuck it," She scoffed, hands thrown up in irritation as she clambered back out of the tent, squinting momentarily in the sun's glare as she marched back towards the mess hall.

Storming up the slope, accidentally kicking sand into her boots as she went, Diana's cheery mood from that morning had all but vanished.

"Send me to fetch your fucking papers. I'm not your errand boy," She uttered to herself as she approached the entrance, brow furrowed in annoyance, far too absorbed in her own annoyance to notice what the men inside were saying.

"David, next time you want me to fetch you fucking files, at least-" Diana cut herself off with a squawk, rage sapped from her the moment she stepped through the door. "-Christ!"

Some of the men had been fast enough, hands flying downwards to cover their naked fronts the moment she had burst in yelling.

Most had not.

Something between a snort and a guffaw ripped free from her throat, doubling over as she scurried back out the door, leaving a room of red-faced men in her wake.

By the time the men began to reemerge, wincing and aching from their tended sores, Diana found to her amusement that they couldn't quite manage to meet her eye. The French shuffled awkwardly past, and the men that she had grown closest to over the last several months cringed to find that she was still lingering outside when they were freed from Doctor Gamal's toothbrush.

Almonds had been one of the lucky few to require no serious attention, still fumbling with the top button of his shirt as he paused on his way by. "How, uh-" He began, looking past her instead of at her. "What did you see?"

"Oh, everything."

"Christ," Jim sighed. "It just... feels like my little sister's walked in on me showering, yunno?"

"Yeah, well," Diana nodded, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "At least your penis is fine."

"... You saw Dave then."

"Oh, Jesus Christ, I'll never unsee it."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Her trousers pooled around her ankles as she stood in her shirt and underwear, hands planted firmly on her hips as Doctor Gamal scraped away the infected flesh from the desert sore that had bloomed on the side of her thigh. Stirling was midway through the process of catching her up on the men's briefing, pausing as she let out a slight hiss of pain.

"... Are you sure you wouldn't rather wait until you're finished?" He asked tentatively.

"Waste of time. We can multi-task," Diana stated, eyes narrowing as another jolt of pain shot through her leg. "You managed to do the speech with thirty-odd dicks in your face, you can do it without my trousers, David. I believe in you."

"Right..." He glanced back at the map on the wall, doing a double-take back to her. "Have I already mentioned the submarine?"

"Yes, David."

"... Right."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The beginnings of a cool evening breeze were blowing through Jalo as Diana made her way out to the jeeps, rifle slung over her shoulder, her thumb tracing across the familiar nicks and dents in the wooden stock. It hadn't been long since her last jolly, but her exile from the most recent run made her yearn for it as if it had been years, a morbid smile tugging at her lip at the sight of everyone ready to go, loaded up with bombs and guns and ready to wreak all manner of chaos.

"Oi," Kershaw called from the passenger seat as she passed by his jeep. Turning on her heel, Diana approached, propping her elbow against the door.

"Evenin'. So they've seen to your... issue, then," She nodded towards his crotch, earning a shove to the shoulder.

"Fuck off. Yes," He scoffed. "Yours?"

"All good," Diana affirmed. The padded dressing taped to her thigh felt awkward beneath her trousers, but it beat the alternative.

"Good, good. You with Stirling then?"

"Needs someone to tug his lead," She shrugged. There was something restrained in his nod of reply. "... Hey, you good?"

"Yeah, yeah," Kershaw nodded non-committally.

"... Still hurts doesn't it?"

"Oh, god, yeah," He laughed, wincing slightly as he shifted in his seat.

Diana offered a sympathetic smile, chuckling slightly as she pushed herself away from the jeep. "Alright. I gotta head over. See ya later."

"Oi! Watch your arse out there!" He called as she began to walk away.

"Only if you promise to shave that dead rat on your chin when I get back!"

Letting out a snort, Dave shook his head teasingly. "Nevermind - you don't have to come back."

She grinned, flipping him a middle finger. "Whatever."

Still smiling to herself as she walked away, Diana headed in Stirling's direction, where he was talking to his driver about something. Nudging his shoulder in acknowledgement as she passed, she clambered up into the back with a grunt, crouching beside Johnny, the pair bracketed by machine guns. Cooper gave a satisfied nod as he took a moment to peer at her hair, finally getting a good look in the daylight.

"Not too bad," He stated.

"You're multi-talented, dear," She smiled, their shoulders bumping against each other as the jeep swayed slightly as Stirling climbed in.

"How's the leg?" David asked.

"Looking for an excuse to remember me in my underwear, are we?" Diana teased, grin widening as she heard Johnny let out a snicker.

"I don't know why I bother."

"You don't really have any other friends."

The wind whistled past her ears as they streaked across the desert, the sky fading from blue to black as night fell upon the group, obscuring the horizon from view. Diana tugged at her scarf, pulling it up to her chin, short hair leaving her neck freshly exposed as a sharp chill rattled down her spine. Her thumbnail rubbed back and forth against the grooves in the wood of her rifle, tracing the spot where she'd scratched her initials into the butt as a girl.

D. F.

Even her father's cruelty had its limits. If he'd taken her name - branded her with his own - maybe she'd never have left. Maybe Diana Hannigan might have felt loved as something other than a weapon.

She didn't know her mother's name. It was so easy to fade into nothing, as if you'd never existed, never left so much as a footprint in the sand.

Diana was her footprint.

She always got too in-her-head on these long drives, swaying against the lurching of the jeep, gaze listless and unfixed. The lights of Benina were barely a speck in the distance as they rolled to a halt and she felt Johnny's elbow poke gently into her side, rousing her to attention. He raised a brow. She nodded.

"Plan," Diana prompted, digging her foot against the back of Stirling's seat.

"I have an idea," He announced, voice raised slightly so that the others could hear.

"Hm. Threatening."

"Tonight, we will be raising a little bedlam with our new toys."

Only half convinced that he hadn't started to crack, she let out a long, low hum, chuckling as Reg muttered an 'oh, fuck' from the next jeep.

For a moment, her excitement faltered, replaced by a low sinking of dread. She hadn't steeled herself for a fight - hadn't felt that rush of adrenaline - since the day she'd almost died, the day she'd realised she wasn't as good as she thought she was. If Diana focused hard enough, she could still feel the man's grip, her hair caught in his fist as he held her under, the water filling her mouth. These situations were nothing alike, but that didn't seem to matter to an exhausted mind.

It seemed little longer than a blink before they were rolling at full-speed toward Benina, although she knew that couldn't be the case. Her fists clenched around the rifle, knuckles whitening, finger hovering over the trigger. A pair of gloves would have been nice, the cold night air battering exposed skin, but the feeling of her palms against the gun calmed her. It was familiar and safe in her hands, a reminder of something she knew she could do, a means of defending herself that couldn't be taken away.

The rattle of gunfire was deafening, a sharp ringing in her ears as her senses were dulled to everything but the task at hand. Machine guns mowed down the crowds without discrimination - her work was more precise. With each tug of the bolt handle, empty cases shooting outwards, she picked off the stragglers one by one, taking out the lone men, too far from the groups to be worth hitting with a dozen rapid-fire bullets.

One shot would do just fine in her hands.

It didn't occur to her to care that they were already fleeing.

Something went ping against the side of the jeep, and before she knew it a sharp stinging sensation slashed across her upper arm, throwing off her focus. "Fuck!" Diana hissed, voice lost within the wall of noise as she glanced down at where the fabric of her shirt had frayed, a bullet fragment embedding itself in the skin as blood began to ooze from the wound. It was painful but shallow, and she raised her rifle again, closing her mind off to the throbbing as she pulled the trigger to fire. Again. Again. Again.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The sunlight was almost blinding as Diana's eyes blinked slowly open, squinting uncomfortably in the glare. At some point during the drive back to Benina, she'd managed to fall asleep, rocking this way and that with the movement of the jeep in such a way that she was simply glad not to have fallen out in her unconscious state. When she'd woken up the previous morning, the world had felt vivid and alive, a hefty weight lifted from her shoulders. Now she just wanted to sleep again.

She had her freedom. There was just nothing to be done with it.

Swiping a hand across her brow, she brushed away the sand stuck to the sweat, groaning as she stretched out her neck. Cooper's knee bumped against hers, and she glanced over at him.

"Y'okay?" Diana asked, blinking again as she finally adjusted to the light.

"Mhm. Yep." He nodded without commitment, clutching the side of the jeep to steady himself.

She found herself staring at him for a moment. He was so young. When she had been his age, she was ready for war. She shouldn't have been.

"I need a fucking nap," She confessed.

Johnny snorted. "You just had one. Thought you were gonna fall out when we went over the dunes back there."

"Well, it's a good thing you woke me up out of concern then, isn't it?" Diana shot back, voice dripping with sarcasm. He laughed, smiling that boyish grin that always met his eyes.

The moment they reached the rendezvous, she could tell Stirling was in a foul mood without even having to see his bitter expression. She could read it in the way he held his shoulders as he walked ahead of her, their months of proximity paying off - he was soured, even more so than usual.

"How'd it go?" Diana called to Paddy as she and Stirling wandered towards the well, empty flask in her hand ready to be refilled.

"Premature ejaculation on behalf of the French," Paddy admitted, less irritated than she'd come to expect. "Got nothin'."

She hummed, pulling up the bucket. The ragged edges of her ripped shirtsleeve flapped in the breeze, stained a deep red where her blood had seeped through the fabric and dried. Stirling scooped a palm through the warm water, lifting a handful to his mouth, brow firmly furrowed.

"David-"

"Go and sort yourself out, Diana," He ordered. "I won't have you bleeding all over the place."

"Armed or unarmed they're still the enemy," Diana pressed, looking to Paddy in the vague hope of some support. "Yes?"

He said nothing.

"Paddy-"

"Right. Armed or unarmed. They are the enemy." He repeated, voice uncomfortably steady.

Stirling was staring at her, assessing her, trying to figure out how much she truly believed what she was saying.

She met his eye, catching his gaze and holding it.

These things didn't weigh on her conscience. That mere fact was more haunting to her than any of the things she'd done.

She could play the monster if it gave the others a shred of humanity in return. She was good at that.

"Clean yourself up," Stirling muttered. Diana pushed herself away from the well with the heel of her palm, taking a swig of the foul-tasting water. Paddy brushed a hand against her uninjured shoulder as she passed, the hint of affection almost making her pause.

He raised a brow - the closest he'd ever get to asking if she was alright. She nodded.

There was a makeshift aid kit stashed in one of the jeeps, and she located it quickly, wandering through the ruins until she found somewhere solitary and quiet. For a moment, Diana just stared at the scorch marks running up the wall, the sand-coloured stone marred a sooty black. She couldn't quite picture what this place might have been before it was destroyed.

What had she been?

She shrugged off her shirt to leave the wound bare, tying the sleeves around her waist so that it hung loosely, unwashed hands rummaging through the aid kit. Each time she moved her arm, she could feel the bullet fragment, rubbing against her flesh from the inside, its intrusion almost violating. Locating the tweezers with a slight huff of relief, Diana angled her arm awkwardly, attempting to get a decent look as she readied herself for the task at hand.

"Oi," Reg called, stilling her movement. "Don't just- Don't do that. Give it here."

She hadn't heard him approach - hadn't noticed him following her - but the moment she heard his voice something in her relaxed, an ounce of tension releasing itself from her body, her fists unclenching.

"Hey," Diana sighed, handing over the tweezers without protest. He wrapped a gentle hand around her arm, palm rough against smooth skin, the bullet catching the sun with a glint as he angled her towards him.

"Not too bad," He uttered, leaning in close. "Not deep," She hissed as the tweezers poked inside, pressing against tender flesh as they pinched around the fragment. Her eyes screwed tightly shut, fighting the urge to flinch and make everything worse.

"Yeah, well. You should see the other guy," She huffed, trying to distract herself. He worked slowly, carefully, clearly unsure of himself - a gesture she would've appreciated had it not made the whole ordeal take twice as long.

"Reg, I really don't care if it scars, just get it out."

"Almost done, fuckin' hell," Reg scoffed. Another twang of pain shot through her with the last slight tug, and then it was over. He flicked the fragment onto the ground, leaving a slight spatter of blood across the sand.

"Thanks," Diana sighed, rubbing the back of her thumb across her brow. Without saying a word, he started to unravel a bandage, tying it around her arm before she scarcely had a chance to notice what he was doing.

He did so much for her without having to be asked. Over and over, time and time again, he softened those rough hands of his for her without ever expecting a thing in return.

He'd fixed the strap on her helmet before their first jump. She could tell he'd been embarrassed then - he wasn't now.

Her gaze softened as she watched him, his fingers fumbling as he tied off the knot and she felt the tug of a smile.

She felt safe with him. Actually safe, properly safe - how many people could she say that about? Even when he caused her pain, she knew it never came from an intention to hurt. There was a vulnerability that no one else had quite drawn out the same way. A vulnerability that she wasn't sure she'd known existed before she met him.

And what the hell had she ever given him in return?

It didn't seem fair - it wasn't. There was no equal exchange. He gave and she took because deep down Diana wasn't sure she knew how to give back. She wasn't sure she had anything worth giving.

"There," Reg nodded, meeting her eye as he looked up from the bandages. She was still staring. "... What?"

Her hand pressed against the back of his neck, sucking in a sharp, deep breath as if she were about to plunge below water.

She kissed him.

Diana could feel his nose pressing on her face as she pushed her lips hard against his, uncertain of how anything she wanted this much could still feel so forced. His hand hovered at her jaw, barely touching her as if afraid she might vanish if he did.

It couldn't have been more than a few seconds before she broke away, taking one quick breath after another, her forehead resting against his.

"... Right," Reg breathed.

"Yeah," Diana nodded, taking a step back.

"Okay."

"Mhm."

She untied her shirt from around her waist, shrugging it back over her wounded shoulder. Her heart was pounding so hard that she could hear it, and there was a sudden creeping anxiety that he could hear it too.

Passing her weight awkwardly from one foot to the other, she tucked a curl behind her ear. "I'm gonna-"

"Oh, yeah," He nodded.

"Right. Yeah."

Diana walked away, sweeping past him before he could even get the chance to say anything else. Reg listened to the repetitive crunch crunch crunch of boots against sand, her footsteps trailing away until they were gone and he was wholly alone.

He grinned.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Paddy and Diana sat quietly beneath their makeshift canopy, battered books in their hands and sweat beading on their brows, the thin sheet of fabric over their heads little use against the desert sun.

Their tiny camp was silent, calm - uncharacteristically so. The rumble of an approaching engine pulled every eye as the jeep came into distant focus, taking shape against the flat wasteland. With one hand, she reached for her gun, holding her page with the other.

Paddy was already up. Diana held back, waiting for the driver to come into view.

She knew that terrible beard anywhere.

Rifle and book both discarded, she clambered to her feet, a lopsided smile tugging at her cheek as the jeep rolled to a stop and Kershaw sent her a wave. As Reg climbed out, advancing towards them, they exchanged a wordless nod of acknowledgement.

"Message from GHQ Cairo," He announced, stopping before Paddy. Diana hovered at his side, bouncing on her heels.

"Go on, then."

Even as he unfolded the paper, she had a feeling that whatever it was, it was big.

"Stirling captured at Gabes Gap... Stop," He gave her an uneasy look. She tried not to let her expression flicker at the news. "Overall command of SAS regiment, all units to pass to Maj-... Overall command of SAS regiment, all units to pass to Major Robert Blair Paddy Mayne."

There was a moment of prolonged silence. Diana slowly turned to stare at Paddy, gaze drilling into the side of his head.

"They've made you a major and put you in charge, Paddy. The mad bastards have put you in charge of fucking everything."

Mayne glanced over to meet her eye. In her surprise, Diana let out a cackle of laughter, smacking a hand over her mouth to stop the sound.

"Sorry."

Suddenly he was chuckling too, the pair laughing among themselves as the others watched on in silent shock. At some point over the next few days, it would sink in that Stirling was gone. In the next few weeks, she'd start to miss him.

Right now it was all just far too fucking bizarre.

Paddy began to walk away, still chuckling to himself, the low sound growing more menacing the longer it went on. Diana let out a sigh, her laughter trailing off as Reg stared at her like she'd gone mad. "Let's see it," She muttered, taking the note as he passed it over. She was still half-smiling as she read it over - once, twice, again.

Then she realised it was real.

She looked back up at Reg, eyes wide. She wasn't smiling anymore.

"... Oh, fuck."