#alright I yield. I'm done

[lixie-phoria]

comforting bf!hyunjin

requested : yes | genre : angst with a happy ending | word count : 0.6k

Can I request y/n talking Hyunjin down from a breakdown and being there for him when he feels kinda numb after and helping him brush his hair, eat, and just being there for him through a hard time

an: this is my first time writing smth like this and I'm not sure how much I like how it's turned out :')

"Hyunjin. Let me in, please"

How long had it been? Half an hour? An hour? You weren't sure as you leaned your forehead against the door, cursing the locked barrier.

"Leave me alone."

His voice was raw, punctuated only by the soft sound of his stifled sobs.

"Jinnie, please. I want to help. Tell me what's wrong."

You were met with silence.

Hyunjin's practice had run late that night.

He'd been down for the past few days, so you stayed up to make sure he wouldn't return home to a cold, dark hall. But you hadn't expected him to storm in at 2 a.m, hair a mess and tear stains running down his cheeks. He didn't even give you a chance to speak. The first thing he'd done was lock himself into your shared bedroom, trying to muffle his sobs, but they seeped into the silence of the hall anyways.

"Babe, what's wrong? Did I do something?"

"No."

"Then let me in, please."

His reply was a strangled sob. "I don't want you seeing me like this. I'm a mess"

"I don't care how you look, hyunjin. I want to make sure you're alright."

It's a while before you hear the lock click, and you're on your feet immediately, pushing the door open to find your boyfriend seated at the foot of your bed, head in his hands and body shaking from sobs.

the sight broke your heart.

You're by his side in an instant, wrapping your arms around him as he hides his face in the crook of your neck, a fresh wave of sobs escaping him.

"What's wrong, hyune?"

"Do you love me?"

His question hung in the air, delicate and heart-wrenching.

"Of course I do. I love you. So much."

"But why?"

You rested your temple against his, sorrow digging a dagger into your heart. You hated seeing him like this.

"Where is all of this coming from?"

His hold around you tightens, but he doesn't answer.

"Is it the haters?"

You knew you had guessed correctly when he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to keep the tears at bay.

"I don't want to talk about it right now."

"that's not healthy. you know that. let me help you, please."

"not today."

you sighed. you don't want to push it. he'll come around eventually, he always does.

"how about in the morning?"

he nods silently as you finally turn your body to face his, gently taking his face in your hands.

"you know i love you, right? i love you no matter what. always."

he leans into your touch, eyes closing. "thank you."

"And you are not the opinion of someone who doesn't know you."

Though he couldn't see it, a soft smile plays at your lips as you press a kiss to his furrowed brow.

"do you want to eat something?"

"it's 3 in the morning."

"screw that."

that earns a small chuckle from him as he meets your gaze, warm brown orbs staring into yours.

"thank you," he repeats.

"you don't have to thank me, hyune."

you help him up from the floor, standing on your toes to tuck the lose strands that had escaped from his hair tie.

"i didn't think you'd stay with me after seeing me like this."

"i'll stay with you no matter what."

As the night slowly yielded to the first hints of dawn, you found yourselves nestled together on the bed. Hyunjin's breathing had steadied, and his weary eyes met yours with a newfound warmth.

"We're in this together, always," you whisper, lacing his fingers with yours as he leaned in, his lips meeting yours in a tender kiss.

At that moment, a meteorite could've come crashing down upon the earth, but what mattered was that you were in his arms. safe.

tags : @foxinnie8 @hamburgers101 @starlostlaiba @laylasbunbunny (send an ask to be added/removed)

©lixie-phoria, 2023

[advid-vibe-stealer]

Some incorrect quotes with Will, Nico, and others

Will : So my therapist was talking to me and she said that I really just need to break down my walls and let people in.

Will : So I’ve decided to break the fourth wall.

Will : *looks at camera* Hi there. I use humor as a coping mechanism.

Cecil, tearing up the room: Where are they?

Cecil, looking under a pillow: Who moved them? Who moved my children?

Cecil: Somebody moved my skittles, and now I am going to start killing.

Cecil: Thanks for opening my message and not responding.

Nico : All good bro, any time.

Cecil: Fuck you.

Austin : Stressed

Nico : Depressed

Lou Ellen : Possessed

Kayla: Obsessed

Will : Impressed

Cecil: Chicken breast

Everyone: ...What

Cecil: I just wanted to join in

Will: Live, laugh, love!

Nico: Die, cry, hate.

Will : I love cooking breakfast. It makes the whole house smell like bacon.

Cecil: That’s true, but it also smells like fire and panic.

Will : You and the smoke detector need to get off my case.

Nico : The waiter at Olive Garden has been grating my cheese for 6 hours now, waiting for me to say when. Customers are screaming. Three people have died.

Nico : I will not yield.

Will : I am going to cry. I’m going to cry until I can no longer physically cry anymore because all the water in my body is gone and I die from dehydration.

Austin : Are you okay?

Kayla: Did you actually just ask him that? Like, you need that to be answered otherwise you won’t know?

Lou Ellen : I'm going the fight the next person who insults Will .

Will : I hate myself.

Lou Ellen : Alright, square up.

Nico : Without ugly, there would be no beauty in this world.

Will : Thank you for your sacrifice, Cecil

*after discussing a plan*

Cecil: Does anyone have any questions?

Will : Is this legal?

Cecil: Does anyone have any relevant questions?

Lou Ellen , in the groupchat: So you guys robbed Will

Will: Yeah, all of them.

Austin: Lies.

Nico : Slander.

Kayla: That’s bullshit.

Cecil : And we’d do it again.

Cecil: Yeah, I'll smoke a joint tonight, but let's not get too crazy.

*The gang proceeds to get arrested for blocking the road in large traffic cone costumes*

Will : What, I can’t be in a bad mood? It’s like people think, “Oh, Will is such a nice person, Will is so happy-go-lucky! Will can’t be in a bad mood!” Well, you know what? Will CAN be in a bad mood. And right now, Will IS be in a bad mood.

Cecil: Am I going to far?

Will : No, no, no. You went too far about 7 hours ago. Now you’re going to prison.

Kayla: It’s the gift that keeps giving!

Cecil: It’s the flower that keeps blooming!

Lou Ellen : It’s the boat that keeps sailing!

Nico di angelo : It’s the serial killer that keeps stabbing!

Will : PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT UPSEXY IS!

Cecil: Could you rephrase the question, in like, two words maybe?

Austin , texting Will : Will there’s a moth on the outside of the bathroom door can you get rid of it?

Austin : Pls hurry because I’m going to cry

Austin : Will

Austin : Will

Will : Will is dead. You’re next. Love, Moth.

reactions to being called straight:

Austin : The fuck, no I'm not.

Lou Ellen : Excuse the hell out of you?

Cecil: Ding dong, you are wrong!

Will : Who told you that? And why did they lie?

Kayla: Rude.

Nico di angelo : *punches the person*

Nico di angelo : Did you ever have like a pet run away and find it or anything?

Cecil: I had a lizard that I burnt.

Kayla, pointing to the wall: What color is this?

Cecil: Gray.

Lou Ellen : Grey.

Kayla, turning to Nico di angelo : Now tell them what color you think it is.

Nico di angelo : Dark white.

Austin : I'm not that stupid!

Nico: Austin , you literally ate the wax from a babybel.

Austin : WILL TOLD ME IT WAS EDIBLE!

Kayla: What's the worst thing you guys have done?

Cecil : Rickrolled my teacher in 4th grade.

Will : I kicked Austin in the shin-

Austin : -So I kicked Will between the legs.

Nico: I burned a town down.

Kayla: What?!

Austin : What the hell is wrong with you?!?

Nico: A lot of things.

Will : No shit.

Lou Ellen : Wanna hear some dark humor.

Nico di angelo : Yeah, I love dark humor.

Lou Ellen : Alright.

Lou Ellen : *Turns off the lights*

Lou Ellen : Knock knock.

Nico di angelo : Turn the damn lights back on.

Nico di angelo : I have issues.

Cecil: Finally, you admit it! The first step to redemption is accept-

Nico di angelo : With you.

I have some Cecil crumbs for you @ethan-the-weirdo

I hope you all like this I thought they were pretty funny let me know if you want me to do another one with specific people

[dixons-sunshine]

Yielding Isn't My Middle Name—Chapter Three | Daryl Dixon x Fem!Reader

Chapter Summary: Your suspicions regarding the community you were trapped in only heightened with each passing second. Daryl was mad at you, and you had confirmation that you were pregnant. Things couldn't get worse, could it?

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of pregnancy, blood and injuries.

Word count: 2.7k.

A/n: I feel like this is all over the place, plot-wise. However, another chapter was highly requested (by a few anons asking about it), so I stuck it out and this was born. I also feel like it ends on an awkward note, but I wanted to end it on a cliffhanger. I don't know if I did it right lol. Anyways, I hope you like this!

Taglist: @dixons-girl89 @jupiter1700 @enlightndone @shadowcitrine @ddamm @caseylicious @celtic-crossbow

YIMMN Masterlist | Prev / Next

“Alright, then.” Doctor Owen Miller tightly secured the bandage around Daryl's wrist. “The bandages should be able to come off in two to three days. The rope burns weren't that severe. You can feel really lucky about that.”

The doctor's suspiciously friendly voice barely reached the archer's ears. His ocean coloured eyes stared off at nothing in particular, his mind desperately attempting to wrap around that one pivotal fact the doctor had accidentally exposed to the unsuspecting father. Due to that fact, about a million thoughts were flooding through his brain—pregnant. You're pregnant. Baby. Father. He was going to be a father. He needed to get you out of there. He needed to keep you safe.

“Liam should be made aware that I expect to see the lady again tomorrow,” Doctor Owen told Mariah, subtly motioning over to you. “With the beating Peter gave her, I want to monitor the baby. I want to ensure that these two don't lose their child due to that asshole's—” The doctor cut himself off and took a deep breath before continuing. “Peter's recklessness. Please bring that to his attention.” With that, the doctor walked towards the door and opened it, momentarily stopping to add one last thing. “I'm off for the rest of day. Don't forget to lock up once your done.”

Mariah nodded as she helped you from the bed, careful not to disturb your injuries. “Of course.” She turned towards you and gave you a hesitant smile. “Ma'am, how are you feeling?”

How were you feeling? There were at least a million answers to that question: Slightly happy. Angry. Sad. Frustrated. But above all else? Overwhelmed. You were truly and undeniably extremely overwhelmed. You now had concrete evidence that you had a life growing within you, and although you were ecstatic at the news, you knew there were far more pressing matters at hand. For one, you were a thousand percent sure that your husband was pissed at you for keeping your pregnancy a secret and insisting on going with him beyond the safety the walls of Alexandria provided. On another note, you were even more certain that the supposed safe zone the two of you found yourselves trapped in wasn't all what Liam was making it out to be. That almost definitely meant that blood would be shed when you and Daryl attempted your escapes.

“Ma'am?” Mariah prompted, snapping her fingers in your face to grab your attention. “How are you feeling?” she repeated the question in a softer tone.

You shrugged and cast your eyes down towards your feet. “Okay, I guess,” you mumbled out weakly, your voice unknowingly snapping Daryl out of his trance and redirecting his fiery gaze to you. “I've had it way worse than this before.”

Mariah chuckled before she took a step back. “I bet,” she began, picking up the tray with the various tools and ointments that were used to clean and fix up your wounds. “You look like a real tough gal. You wouldn't have survived if you didn't get roughed up a couple of times, right?”

“Right,” you agreed in a mutter, your eyes hesitantly moving to meet those of your husband. You flinched a bit when you were met with a glare, but you didn't blame him. You knew he'd be pissed, and rightfully so. You just didn't expect him to be so open about his anger. Well, open by your standards. To the regular eye, his anger would be mistaken for the signature Daryl scowl, but you knew better. This was different. He was angry. And he was angry at you, which made it so much worse.

Mariah placed the tray on one of the tables before turning back to face you and Daryl. However, before she could speak up, a voice could be heard through the room; a voice that you had grown to know and hate, all within a few... Minutes? Hours? You didn't even know at this point.

“Mariah, love,” the voice of your captor, Liam, rung through the air from the walkie talkie that was sat on one of the shelves. “It was just brought to my attention that Doctor Miller is done with the new recruits. Please bring them up to the house for me.”

Mariah sighed, her steadily relaxing demeanour being replaced by that earlier nervous, mouse-like stature she had when you had originally met her. She walked towards the door and opened it. “Please follow me,” she squeaked out nervously, her eyes darting around.

You slowly walked towards her, not sparing Daryl a glance because you didn't want to see the anger behind those beautiful blue eyes of his. Besides, as mad as the archer was at you, he would never let you face that man alone. He would much rather die, that much you knew.

Daryl grumbled to himself and followed behind you, proving your point. Together, in silence, the two of you followed the woman out of the makeshift medical building and up to the big farmhouse you vaguely remembered spotting earlier—the farmhouse Liam had mentioned you and Daryl would be staying in with him. In no time at all, the three of you were walking up the steps of the majestic, white home, and in through the front door.

The inside of the home looked even more beautiful than the outside. It seemed as if though the horrors of the outside world were never heard of for this house. The floors were shining, the walls were decorated with all sorts of artwork, and there was even a television resting in the living room. However, you doubted the object even worked, because you hadn't spotted solar panels or anything that could generate power, so the thing was more of a decoration than anything else.

You were snapped out of your rather unnecessary train of thought by the feeling of someone's hand resting on your shoulder. The touch was all too familiar—it was your husband who was resting his hand on your shoulder. A subtle glance to your left proved your suspicions correct. So your husband didn't hate you. You considered that a win. However, you were confused as to why he felt the need to do that. He rarely did that in public, unless he was trying to comfort you, or to refrain himself from launching a punch in someone's direction. So why would he—

Your thoughts were cut off by the obnoxious sound of an all too familiar British accented voice. “Ah, well would you look at you?” Liam began as he descended down the stairs, his green eyes alight with invitation. However, whether or not it was genuine, you were yet to find out. “You're looking better, Y/N. Doctor Miller did a good job. A shower and a set of fresh clothes will certainly make you look rather ravishing.” Daryl's hand tightened on your shoulder, and you brought your hand to rest over his, a subtle way of trying to calm him down. Liam noticed, however, and sent Daryl a reassuring smile with a raise of his hands. “Woah, there, champ. No need to get all feisty. I already have a lady of my own. I was just making an observation.”

“Observation, my ass. Shouldn't even be lookin' at her, ya stupid fuck,” you heard Daryl mumble under his breath, and you had to refrain from giggling. Daryl wasn't a jealous guy perse, and he certainly wouldn't stop you from befriending other guys, but he definitely had his moments. Although he had other reasons to want to knock this guy out, it was rather cute to know that he didn't want Liam to look at you that way.

Liam, thankfully, was blissfully unaware of the archer's hateful words, instead turning to regard Mariah, who had been quiet during the whole exchange. “Hey, my beautiful girl,” he greeted her, opening his arms as an invitation for a hug.

Mariah hesitantly walked into his arms, tensing slightly when he pressed a soft kiss to the side of her head. You were sure to make a mental note about that. You didn't know why exactly Mariah was so scared of her husband, but you knew it wasn't good. If his own wife was terrified of him for god knows what reason, you didn't even want to know what he could do to complete strangers.

After he was satisfied with the hug, Liam pulled back and turned back to you and Daryl. He was about to say something until an unknown man barged into the room, breathless and sweating. Liam scowled angrily at the man, swiftly pushing Mariah aside. “Reggie, this better be really fucking important. You know how I feel about being interrupted when interviewing new recruits.”

The man—Reggie—quickly nodded. “I know, I know.” He panted breathlessly and leaned against the wall in an attempt to recapture his breath. “There was a man who demanded to speak to you. He refuses to speak to anyone but the leader.”

Liam stared at Reggie for a few seconds, his face giving absolutely nothing away, until he nodded and turned back to you and Daryl. “Please make yourselves comfortable. I promise I won't be long. Mariah,” he began, turning to his wife and lazily waving towards the door that lead to another room. “Please make our guests something to eat. I'm sure they must be absolutely famished. Oh, and get them something to drink as well.” Liam sent the two of you a smile. “I hope wine is alright. I'd offer up some scotch, but that's really hard to come by and I don't fancy wine that much, you see.”

“Liam!” Reggie exclaimed impatiently. “We got to go!”

“For fuck's sake, alright!” Liam roared loudly, his eyes alight with a fiery glare. He roughly pushed past the man and stormed out of the door, Reggie having to jog behind him to keep up. The door closed behind them with a slam, and just like that, you and Daryl were left alone with Mariah for the second time that day.

Mariah let out a small sigh, and you could see her visibly relax without Liam's presence. It was odd to you that the woman felt more at ease with two complete strangers who could turn around and end up hurting—or killing—her, and it only fueled your reluctance to trust Liam. There was something very off about that man, and you were determined to find out what.

Mariah turned to look at you, her eyes darting between your face and your stomach. “Um, are you sure you want wine? I mean, I don't want to force you to do anything, but—”

“It's okay,” you cut her off, sending her a small, tight-lipped smile. “Water is fine, thank you.”

Mariah nodded and motioned towards the couches. “Please, feel free to make yourselves comfortable. I won't be long.” With that, she scurried off into the kitchen, leaving you and Daryl alone in the living room.

Without the company of others, the air surrounding the two of you got tense very quickly. Neither of you made a move to sit down, but Daryl did move away from you, his warm, comforting touch leaving your shoulder. He refused to make eye contact with you, and it broke your heart. You knew he was mad at you, and he had every right to be, but it certainly didn't mean that it didn't hurt. You were certain it would be up to you to clear the air, and that's what you'd do—whether Mariah heard it or not.

“Daryl—” you began hesitantly, but you were instantly shut down.

“Don't,” he muttered bitterly, his back still turned to you. His shoulders were visibly tensed and even though you couldn't see it, you knew his jaw was as well. He was trying hard not to lash out at you, and you had to give him credit for his self-control.

However, you weren't having any of it. You were nothing if not extremely persistent, so you'd stop at nothing until you'd had a chance to explain yourself. “No, I'm not gonna stop until you've let me speak my mind.”

Daryl whipped around to face you, his eyes finally meeting yours. His eyes were set in a steely glare, but you didn't back down. “Where could ya possibly start explainin' yerself to me?” he spat bitterly. “Yer pregnant and ya kept tha' from me? Ya begged and pleaded to come with me on the run today and put yerself and our baby in danger! Now 'cause'a tha', yer in fuckin' danger. If ya had jus' told me tha' ya were pregnant, maybe things would'a been different. Maybe we would'a been safe back home. Maybe I never would'a suggested the run. Maybe I would'a let Rick come with instead'a ya. Maybe—”

You cut Daryl off by pulling him into a hug, nuzzling your face into his chest. He froze for a few seconds, hesitating to return the hug, but ultimately wrapped his arms around you. He rested his chin on top of your head, closing his eyes as he felt the anger drain from his body. He never could stay mad at you. However, it didn't mean that he wasn't still upset that you were in danger.

“I'm sorry,” you whispered against his chest. “I should've told you I was pregnant, I know that. I just didn't want to say anything until I was a hundred percent sure. That's why I wanted to go on that run with you. I wanted to find a few pregnancy test. I guess I could've just asked you to do that, but I didn't want you to freak out. I was... Scared. I was scared that if you knew that I thought I was pregnant, something would go wrong. I don't know what I expected to go wrong, but I just... I promise I was gonna tell you after I knew for sure. You have to believe me. I—”

“Hey, s'okay,” Daryl reassured you, pulling back to look into your eyes. Daryl was feeling all kinds of bad at that moment. You didn't deserve to be treated like that for any reason, especially not by him. You had your reasons for keeping it a secret from him, and he couldn't blame you for it. He was upset, but the two of you could figure that out later. For now, all he wanted to do was get you the hell out of that place, and to do that, he needed a clear mind. “M'sorry fer reactin' like tha'. M'upset ya didn't tell me, but there ain't nothin' we can do 'bout it now. We jus' have to figure out a way to get the fuck outta here. We can figure the rest out later, alrigh'?”

You nodded. “Okay.”

The two of you practically sprung apart when the door flung open again. However, instead of being met by Liam, you were met by somebody completely different. The man came strutting in like he owned the place. The man stopped and regarded the two of you with an indifferent look. “And you two are?” he questioned, plopping himself down on one of the couches.

You shared a look with Daryl, neither of you making any attempts to answer the question. However, you didn't need to, because Liam soon entered the home as well, sending you and Daryl a suspiciously friendly smile. “Sorry for disappearing, champs,” he began. “He was the one causing an uproar by the gates. This guy can make quite the spectacle when he wants to, don't you, brother?” The two men shared a laugh, before Liam calmed down and regarded the two of you. A look of realization dawned on his face, and he hit his forehead with his palm. “Oh, how rude of me. Allow me to introduce him. This is Lucas Davis, my brother and right-hand man.”

The man—Lucas—sent you a small smirk, his eyes trailing you up and down. And for some reason, you knew that the arrival of this man would only mean trouble.

©dixons-sunshine 2024. I do not give permission for my works to be copied, modified, adapted or translated to any other site or platform without evidence of my given consent.

[drowninginblox]

Ships in the Night

Pt 1, 2

Rough waters lead to similar nights. Sea sickness is unlike you; yet the reality of your emotions isn't lost. This crush has only gotten stronger since that first conversation. Either luck is on your side, or your seafaring party is orchestrating the happenstances of the days since that encounter.

For some reason, the likelihood of you and Kurt being in the same room together has gone up exponentially. It would be laughable if it weren't for the fact that you stumble over your words around him. Then again, he doesn't seem to have better luck, balance-wise, that is. Recently, his signature teleports have left him stumbling on entry. He almost fell overboard- nearly becoming fish food if it wasn't for Sammy grabbing his wrist at the last second. Being only a day out from your destination must have left him restless. Perhaps from the anxiety of any last-minute dangers? More likely, the ever-prevalent reality of being met with hostility at his appearance. It's a sad truth that those with more physical mutations have a higher likelihood of being hatecrimmed. You should know... even in the darkness of the hual, you can see your ever-shifting skin. Neon yellow to pale pink, cyan to midnight purple- the complexity of your emotions swarming as you cannot know what to make of Genosha. What was once a pipe dream is turning into a too sweet to be true reality. And for what? What if Nightcrawler and Sam are rejected at the door? What if you were too human? What even is color shifting as a power if there is no use for it?

When the ship was going down, when danger was only a few yards away, there was nothing you could do. With glue secretion, water breathing, flying, and machine communication at the helm- what else could be done? Practical skills were damned when all needs were met, making you just another body; a role you knew too well.

Sitting up on the bed was the closest stabilizer you had against the rocking of the ship. Opening up to the reality or drifting off into nightmares- what was the difference anymore? Burden is the only role for you.

Your left hand catches your eye. Blood red, ripe tangerine, bubblegum pink, twilight purple, baby blue. An eye-catcher in the worst sense of the word at best, an onlooker at most. A breath breaks out through your nose while your extended legs fold into your chest. There are so many more remarkable people out there, be they human or mutant. "You know better than to get your hopes up, Y/n," You breathe, "and he deserves nothing less than the world." Your hands cover your face as another sigh breaths free. "Why am I like this...?"

"Like what?" A whisper breaks you out of your muttered scolding. Tensing muscles break away from your self-imposed scolding session as your shin shifts to a bright, dangerous red. Looking around yielded nothing, and your sleep-soaked soul is making you doubt the noise entirely. "Fruine, it's me, look straight ahead." You follow his instruction to be met with the high contrast of his eyes. A sigh breaks free. "Oh- good god,... Kurt, you can't scare a girl like that," You half joke in between heaves. "Ja, I'm sorry. I was about to head to bed, but then I overheard you. I know it's not my place, but are you alright?" He mutters. You glance around to see the other passengers still trying to sleep. "No, no, I'm not, but... It's not important. You should sleep-" Those luminous eyes of his have narrowed. The hope is his brows are merely furrowed in confusion, but anger isn't out of the question. After all, you have never heard of the Nightcrawler when he's mad.

"Y/n, please, don't undermine yourself." Disappointment is palpable. He glances to your bed. A hand brushes close to your thigh, making the two of you tense. "I'm sorry-" He mutters, yet you are already making space for him. "I'll make room-" You interrupt. He breaks through the tension once you are comfortable on the worn mattress. "You're important to me, just like everyone else on this ship. So your feelings are important." You almost curse. This man is too considerate for his own good. "Kurt, I don't know what to tell you other than I'm kind of having a crisis?" His eyes widened a little. "Over what? We're less than two days out from Genosha, no one is sick, our food supply is stable," He tries to look at you properly. "And yet," You sigh. "And yet?" He echoes. "Kurt, what if it's no better?"

Waves crash against the ship, swaying him through the machinations of thought. Any and all to dissuade this cruel possibility from your mind. Yet with every moment he lingers on this being null, there is yet another moment of confirmation. Eventually, he softens. His eyes, his posture, and even what movement of his tail stills. "Y/n, I..." He eventually sighs. A hand holds his face. "Y/n," He mumbles, "Yeah?" You mumble. "Can... can we just pretend?"

A small plea in the dark. Your cheeks dampen as you move closer to him. He returns the motion, moving closer to you. You find his hand. He says nothing.

Although the sensation is not what you predicted, the warmth he holds is a comfort you wouldn't trade for anything in the world. "Pretending that everything is fine..." You whisper. "It is a nice thought, ja?" He asks softly. Emotion seeps from his being. You squeeze his hand. "Let's make a promise..." You murmur. A risk is taken. The impact of your profile on his shoulder is a comfort for you. Kurt tenses but relaxes soon after. He leans back into you, allowing you to continue. "If they don't accept you, they won't get me." You whisper. The smile you force doesn't stop the tears from running down your face. He chuckles bitterly. "Oh really? You'd give up paradise for me?" He breathes. "No, I'd give up paradise for... a friend."

He squeezes your hand in return. "Well... then I guess I'd do the same for you, mein Freund."

[famwhy]

Right Way Up (04)

Stranger Things

Yandere! Steve Harrington X F!Reader, Yandere! Eddie Munson X F!Reader, Yandere! Billy Hargrove X F!Reader

Synopsis: You always hated when your favourite characters died in shows or movies; always longed to have the opportunity to save them. So when you're transported into one of your favourite shows of all time, what else are you supposed to do besides save your beloved characters?

Warnings: Threat/violence, Gore, Mentions of sexual content (implicit), Death, Manipulation, Depictions of toxic relationships, Drugs and alcohol abuse

Note: omg guys, I came across an account that said their current favourite fic was this one in their bio. I'm acc so happy, tysm

prev part. masterlist.

04. bring unto me peculiarity

trait: e.m.

YOU blinked, jaw hung open and muscles tense as her grip around you tightened—constricting your movements and clogging your airways. Though, breathing was the least of your concerns when it came to tight hugs at the moment, not when you had your dumb arm to worry about.

As if on cue, a sharp rupture of pain spiked your side, and you winced, grunting a little before sucking a breath in through your teeth and asking—albeit with scrunched up features—"...sorry, do I know you?"

"Wha—?" She pulled away at that, and the look she gave you—oh, the look she gave you—it was full of heartbreak, emotional turmoil spanning as far as the eye could see. "It's me, baby, it's mommy."

"Mom?"

You thought you didn't have a mother. 

"Yes, baby, it's me. It's mom." She smiled, pupils shaking in—and you could be wrong about this, but—what seemed like... desperation?

What's up with that?

And, if this lady really was your mother, where the hell had she been all these days?

"Y/N? The hell is taking so—?"

A strange sense of déjà vu drenched your form as your eyes followed the new voice, landing on the slightly-parted lips and wide, almost-disbelieving eyes of your second oldest brother—hands still covered by the huge, red gloves he often adorned.

Then, his features scrunched up—though, it wasn't like yours had just done—no—his were harder, more purposeful; his were clouded in a storm consisting purely of loathing so unadulterated, you had half a mind to think he was staring—no, glaring—into the form of his worst enemy.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" And as he spoke, venom spat out of his mouth, launching itself straight onto the woman still loosely holding you and causing her face to scrunch up in a pained wince. "Shouldn't you be on one of your fucking five-year-long business trips?"

"Oh honey—"

His glare grew sharper. "Don't call me that."

"I..." she trailed off and you blinked, helpless to the scene that was playing out right before your very eyes.

"I don't know what the fuck got into you but you can't just waltz in here like..." his face scrunched up, brows furrowing as he paused the sentence for one... two... three seconds before continuing, spite still as prevalent as ever, "like you belong!"

You watched as her face dropped even further at that—the barely visible bags under her eyes looking about ten times worse than they did before.

Now, you had no idea what type of past you were meant to have shared with this woman—how horrible it truly was—but surely someone who greeted you so warmly at the door couldn't be too bad?

So with that thought in mind, you narrowed your eyes by the slightest amount—a little... hesitantly—before lightly scolding, "Hey. Curt, maybe tone it down a little?"

His attention averted from the woman—hateful, dark eyes that were once throwing daggers her way, now unapologetically directed towards you. "'Tone it down a little'? Do you hear yourself, Y/N? That woman missed almost every single birthday of yours! Every. Single. One!"

Alright, so, you didn't usually consider yourself to be much of a coward, but being the recipient of that deadly gaze was enough to make you yield just this once—both of your hands flying up to rest in the air beside your head. Hey, you tried, he just didn't listen.

Besides, you were only a mere bystander in this squabble anyway. Sure, you felt bad for the woman, but not bad enough to get socked in the face by a boxer for her.

...okay, now you just sounded like a jerk. 

Feeling your heart tighten slightly, you shook your head to rid yourself of those awful, intrusive thoughts and parted your lips in an attempt to redeem yourself.

Keyword: attempt.

Before even a word could breeze past your tongue, another voice entered the fray—one a lot more grounded than any other you'd heard since you opened the door—"What the hell is with all this—? Mom?"

You tilted your head just enough to catch the approaching form of your oldest brother—his figure growing with each step he took—and the closer he grew, the clearer his facial expression became.

His brows were furrowed, but instead of the hostile way that Curt's were, his were more... well, confused?—shocked, perhaps?—or maybe a better word for it would be baffled? Either/or, he didn't look like he was terribly upset with her appearance, further grinding your theory of her not being that bad into reality.

"What are you doing here?"

"I just thought that—" the sudden lack of warmth around your arms had your head whipping back, eyes watching as the same fingers that were once wrapped around you, now awkwardly rubbed the woman's other limb, "—maybe it was about time I spent some quality time with you all?"

Before you could even register what she had said—Curt's voice hastily cut through the air; a tone of finality you hadn't heard him use before laced so deeply within it, "Too little too late."

Though—if you were being entirely honest—you were starting to tune it out—all of it: the apologies, the confusion, the arguing; all of it. A familiar sense of surrealism washed over you as you witnessed the events unfold; as you watched their mouths move soundlessly—your new brothers seemingly arguing with a woman who held the looks of your mother but seemed to act nothing like her.

It was weird, strange. You weren't even sure how to feel. From the looks of things, this... mother of yours seemed to not be around much—and one of your brothers hated her for it, while the other merely seemed to... well, you weren't entirely sure what he felt yet. Hell, you didn't even know what you were supposed to feel.

Should you be sad? Mad? Indifferent?—'cause that's what you felt right now. This world wasn't even meant to have you in it at all. There was no character named Y/N who looked exactly like you and had two older brothers with a seemingly neglectful mother and who-knows-what-happened-to-him father.

Even if you wanted to copy the mannerisms of the Y/N belonging to this world, you couldn't because there wasn't one. She didn't exist.

How the hell were you supposed to react?

You could've asked yourself that question a billion more times, but the sudden rush of air that hit your face crashed you straight back to reality—just in time too, for not even moments later, an abrupt 'slam!' echoed from behind.

Confused, your gaze found Cain's.

"Give him some time. He's probably off to go fuck some chick and get his mind off this."

Slowly, you nodded.

Then, you heard it; the sound of her voice continuing to speak behind you with that broken lilt—the one she just couldn't seem to drop—laced so deeply in her tone.

"I'm so sorry, babies." The woman—your mother—reached out, and you felt her fingers graze you again, "I'm so so sorry."

"It's... alright, mom," Cain responded before you could—voice seeming almost... hesitant, "It's all good."

There was no chatter after that—not a single sound escaped their lips. That was your cue; your cue to either condemn her down to hell or forgive her for this supposed neglect you weren't even around to experience.

"Sweetie..." her voice was shaky—desperate, no doubt, and seeking the forgiveness of a daughter that didn't even belong to her, "please..."

"Uh..." you weren't sure what it was, but something was holding you back from saying anything; from doing something—

—and it looked like she noticed that too. 

"It's okay, I understand..." 

She seems a bit... what's the word?

With hands that were once hopefully clasped around one another, now pitifully falling by her sides, and eyes that seemed to droop just a tad bit more despite the small, ingenuine quirk of her lips upwards; her whole demeanour almost screamed...

Ah. Forlorn. 

Your chest felt heavy at the sight—tight and weighed down. Some type of... guilt was it? ebbed away at you. Though you didn't know why—it wasn't like she was your real mother, after all. In fact, she was a complete stranger to you; someone who you wouldn't even bother sondering over if you passed her by on the street.

How strange.

"Y/N," the soft call of your name caused your ears to perk up, and you turned to your remaining brother, "C'mon, you're due for a change."

"A change?" You tilted your head, eyes still not all there—at least, not until—

"Your bandages."

"Ohhh." 

To be honest, you completely forgot about that.

"Bandages?" From the looks of things, though, your mother couldn't pass it off as easily as you. "For what?" 

Immediately, Cain's eyes locked with yours—his hues swirling with a query you were able to decipher pretty easily: 'Should we tell her?'

Should you? Well, the fact that he had to ask that question in the first place was concerning, to say the least. Maybe you'd hold off on telling her for now. Just for now. Nothing permanent.

Mind made up and eyes stopping at nothing to avoid her own, you told your mother, "Don't worry about it, it's all good."

Her lips turned down, shoulders sagging and gaze falling to the floor like a glossy river over the edge of a cliff; swift and hopeless to anything wishing to stop it.

She looked so... so...

Defeated.

"Ah, okay."

You wished you could say you forgave her—you desperately prayed to—but how could you when the words refused to come out of your throat?—when they relentlessly fought with your tongue to the point they immobilised it and unfairly rendered you incapable of speech?

You could have stood there hopelessly staring at her for hours if you so wished, but the small tug on your wrist averted your gaze, and you found yourself staring at the loosened expression of your other kin.

"Let's get you wrapped up, Y/N."

You nodded.

He then took to guiding you towards the kitchen, and the whole way there, your gaze didn't leave your mother's form—watching as her figure grew smaller with each step—shorter with each breath—before completely disappearing around the corner.

"Don't feel bad."

Your ears perked up—head turning to face your older brother. 

"'Bout mom," he continued, not particularly looking your way, "She hasn't been around for most of our lives, you're allowed to not forgive her."

"What about you?" You asked, "You didn't sound too sure of forgiving her yourself."

He paused. 

"I..."—a rough 'ahem'—"I'm trying to."

You tilted your head. "Trying to?"

"It's..." He trailed off and furrowed his brows, as if searching for something in his mind, before continuing, "hard. Really hard. To look after people—I mean. Especially on your own."

It was your turn to furrow your brows, lips tugging down as you took in his words and really—well—thought for a good second.

It was clear that he was trying his best to be empathetic; to sympathise with her situation. And who better than him? You didn't have to be a genius to decipher the fact that he had been the one to take care of both you and Curt for pretty much the majority of your—supposed—'life'. He probably had to grow up a lot faster than 'you' would've. In that case, he could relate to her.

But, on the other hand...

"It's not fair."

"Huh?" He turned your way, blinking twice.

"To compare yourself to her," you continued, lips still curved down, "You're completely different. While she never bothered to be around, you did. You learned how to cook, clean—hell, maybe even change diapers—"

"Maybe even? You were a little shit and you know it—"

Shit, he changed your diapers too? You were just trying to be dramatic but damn.

"Okay—" that came off a little more exasperated than you wanted and clearly he could sense it too, judging by the way he snickered right after, little shit, "—my point is, you were there and she wasn't. And it's not even your responsibility to take care of us. I get that she has her supposed 'five-year-long' business trips, but she could've made time for us. You're her son too, you're allowed to be mad that she wasn't there."

He stayed silent for a few moments, and you found your hands naturally drifting down—fingers digging into your skirt harshly; anxiously. Sweat gathered on your brow and anticipation ate at your insides, chipping away at your organs and clogging your brain with worry; worry for the elongated silence that greeted your words.

Had you said something wrong? Was he going to snap at you?

Goodbye, cruel world, remember—

A chuckle.

Your ears perked up and your eyes widened in disbelief.

"And here I thought I was the one meant to be cheering you up." His shoulders bounced in a pattern you could only describe as uneven, one hand rising up to swipe at his eye.

The sight caused your muscles to loosen up, fingers losing their grip on your skirt and eyes crinkling fondly as you watched him reach up into an open cupboard—arm disappearing within the confines before reappearing not long after with a red, rectangular bag.

The sound of a zip was the next thing you heard—accompanied by his voice as he said, "Alright, let's get you all patched up, worm."

You scrunched up your nose. "Worm?" 

"Yeah, annoying little things, aren't they?"

"Rude."

Another snicker had your lips quirking up again, a swirl of warmth gathering in your chest; a hint of fondness and pride. Was this how sibling banter felt?

It's... nice.

Before you could enjoy the moment any longer though, your brain just had to ruin it, giving you a thought that had your ears falling again—stomach dropping into a bottomless pit within the confines of your body.

"Is..." you started, and his ears perked up from behind the arm that slowly tugged at the grey gauze, "Is Curt gonna be okay?"

A scoff. "Yeah. You know him, he'll be super bitchy about it but he'll come running back tomorrow morning so don't worry."

You smiled. "So long as he's—ow! Watch it!"

"My bad."

"You did that on purpose."

"I did that on purpose."

"Asshole."

"D'aww, is wittle sissy's feewings hurt?"

"Shut up, you dick!"

You took it back, sibling banter was so not nice.

But, at least it was somewhat fun—unlike what happened next.

"Sweeties?" You tensed, head turning as Cain backed away—the warmth of his hand leaving you with new, pure white gauze around your arm—and turned with you. "I'm gonna head out for the night and go meet up with some old friends. Are you two going to be okay?"

Maybe if you were actually part of this world, you would've said something petty like 'nothing new there' or 'you've already not been around for most of my life, what's one more night?'—but, you weren't, and so settled with a good old fashioned—"We'll be fine,"—instead.

She was out the door in no less than two seconds.

It quickly grew dark following that—night approaching faster than you could register—and there had yet to be any sign of Curt. Guess Cain was right when he said the younger of the two would be back in the morning.

Speaking of Cain, he had some last minute call from a client regarding car troubles. Apparently, they were stranded and in dire need of assistance, so Cain was required to go to them in order to help—though, he was quite reluctant as he, no doubt, voiced to you.

"Oh my god, Cain, I'll be fine." You rolled your eyes.

"Are you sure? This street isn't exactly known for safety," he responded, expression scrunched up with what you recognised as pure worry.

"God, you're just like Steve. Nothing will happen, don't worry."

When the corner of his lips quirked up in response to your words, you felt something akin to dread claw at your innards. "Oh, I'm just like Steve, am I?"

"Shut up, he has a girlfriend," you were saying that more to yourself than him, to be honest.

"Yeah, that he drops anytime you're within two feet of him."

"I swear to god, Cain."

He snickered.

"Just go! I know you're doing this just to stall, go find that poor person stranded by the phone booth!"

"Okay, okay, I'm going."

And as his shoulders kept jerking up and down, your hand found purchase against the bumpy texture of your wooden door before pushing at full force; a 'slam!' echoing not long after.

"Stupid piece of shit," you grumbled, though, not genuinely.

...okay, maybe just a little genuinely actually, 'cause now he put the stupid thought in your head; the stupid thought of Steve Harrington actually liking you.

Preposterous.

He probably just thought of you as a really close friend—he supposedly knew you since childhood, after all, of course he would value you over Nancy sometimes.

But... theoretically, say he felt more, what would it be like?

Would he hold your hand and pull you in close? Whisper sweet nothings into your ear as you lay against him in the dead of night?—sinking into his warmth and stuffing your face in his sturdy chest. Would his lips feel soft against the bare skin of your neck?—passionate and sublime as he marked you up as his own, going lower and lower and—

Three knocks against your door.

Ugh.

"Oh my god, Cain, how many times—? Nancy?"

Lo and behold, there stood the very girlfriend of the guy you were just fantasising about.

Honestly, you would've thought it awkward had you not caught a glimpse of her expression; just a glance long enough to bleed you dry of all your previous thoughts and scrunch your face up as a whole new set rushed in—worrisome ones.

Her eyes were bloodshot, red veins visible and bringing out the puffiness to a degree that had your heart clenching and your lips subconsciously parting open to ask, "Are you alright?"

She gulped, voice shaky as she responded with, "Can I come in?" 

Slowly, you nodded—palm pushing against the door just enough to allow it to fall slightly more ajar.

"Here, come sit." You gestured to the couch, hands hesitantly ghosting over her shoulders as you guided her there—watching as she gently sat down, the cotton shifting under her weight. "Can I get you anything?"

She didn't respond: head tilted down, shoulders drooped, and overall demeanour looking to be completely put-off. The poor thing.

You figured a cup of water would be fine, she looked like she needed it.

What was she doing here, anyway? From what you gathered based on the very few interactions you'd had with her, the two of you weren't very close. Why, then, would she suddenly show up at your door so late at night?

Those thoughts plagued your mind as you made your way over to the kitchen—bare feet numb to the cool of the floor. They haunted you as you reached for a cup with one hand and twisted the tap with the other—fingers unfeeling of the pressure that rained upon them. They consumed your entire being until you were left with nothing but the husk of a person on autopilot—quietly making your way back to the living room.

It was only when your eyes landed on her form again, that you snapped out of it in a small burst of surprise.

Gone was the once sat-down figure with an air of dismay clouding her form—replaced, instead, by one that stood up straight, brows furrowed and shoulders tensed as she paced back and forth vigorously. Keyword: paced—she stopped as soon as you arrived, much to your own confusion.

"Nancy, what are you—?" 

"You're thinking about Barb too, right?"

She looked you dead in the eyes, and you almost found yourself growing fidgety under her intense gaze.

"What?"

"It's just that..." she trailed off, faltering for a moment, "well, Steve mentioned you've been acting off lately—"

Shit. Steve was catching on.

"—and I was wondering if... it was bothering you too." 

You blinked, parting your lips to ask for a little more—for some sort of elaboration—but her voice continued before you even had a chance.

"I mean, it's dumb that we have to keep this whole thing a secret!" She exclaimed, hands making wild gestures now. "Her family deserves to know." 

You stood there, blinking in a daze that hadn't quite passed since the moment she arrived. It felt like you had just wandered into a confusing maze, with twists and turns spanning as far as the eye could see; each one riddled with its own set of confusing obstacles you couldn't quite wrap your head around.

On one hand, Nancy's words made sense, you saw why she felt that way—you heard her—and it was so much more prominent in person than over a screen.

On the other hand, as a viewer of the show and a victim of unfortunate circumstance, you hadn't a clue where she was going with this. You knew why she was telling you all of this (you were acting strange and she was feeling off so duh she would try and see if you related) but, where was she going with it? What did she want with you? Surely it wasn't just comfort.

"Do you... want to come with me to tell her parents?"

Ah. There it was.

She wanted you to join her. This was certainly quite the twist. Everything that had happened up until now had alluded to the fact that you were going to join Steve for this season—and to be honest, you preferred that over this.

Besides, she was meant to do all of this with Jonathan—if you said yes, you'd just be getting in the way of their romance and, ergo, the plot itself.

"I don't know..." you started, mind already made up but heart trying its best to ease her into it, "the government wouldn't really like that and we could get in a ton of trouble."

She scoffed. "Who gives a fuck what they think?"

You deadpanned. "Well, Nance, they are kinda the government so..."

"There's this guy," she started, cutting you off and handing you a card, "Barb's parents told me about him—if things don't work out, we can go to him."

Sure enough, you recognised the character as soon as she mentioned him—another prominent adult within the series, quite the funny one too. But, not funny enough for you to pass up spending this season helping out Steve instead.

"Look, Nancy, I—"

You were cut off when her gaze hardened, fists clenching and head shaking from side-to-side—almost seeming disappointed.

"God, you're just like him." And when she spoke, it was bitter—plagued with an icky green—"You two are perfect for each other."

The following events happened too quickly for you to register; one second, she was standing before you with desperation clear on her visage—the next?—she had snatched the card right out from your hands and stormed over to your front door, steps heavy and quaking and loud.

"Nance, wait! Nancy!"

A slam.

Well shit.

You bit your lip, brain replaying the events that had just occurred in too rapid of a succession for you to be able to even respond to them.

A small voice prodded at the back of your mind, lulling you into following after her and clearing up... whatever the hell that was.

However, a much larger, more prominent voice said, fuck it. Because—well, you were in Stranger Things for god's sake! Who the hell cared about some teen drama when there were fucking monsters to worry about?—monsters that you sure as hell weren't about to face weaponless.

Nancy could get over whatever was bothering her so much on her own, you had bigger issues to worry about.

Come on, Y/N, get your head out of the clouds and into the game.

Resolve strengthened and distractions now temporarily at the back of your mind, your feet bounded towards a familiar box mounted onto the wall, fingers wrapping around the cool metal before you punched in a number you had long since memorised over your time in this world.

Turned out, this drama was just the push you needed.

"Harrington residence."

"Steve."

It was silent for a few seconds before you were graced with a response. "Y/N? If you're calling about the dinner at Barb's, I swear—"

"No, no. It's not that, don't worry."

Another pause.

"Are you... okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

"You sure? You sound a little... tense."

Your lips quirked up. "You can tell?"

"Well, yeah. I've known you since like, birth."

Leave it to Steve Harrington to put a smile on your face where there wasn't one before.

Seriously though, you might not have actually known him since birth but... something about him noticing how you felt from just the sound of your voice made you feel all... tingly inside—like a warm cloud of pure pink coated you within its comfy confines.

 "Y/N? You there?"

"Oh." You jolted, fingers halting in their ministrations with the phone wire, since when did you start twirling it around? "Uh, yeah. I just called to let you know I'm skipping tomorrow so don't bother picking me up, okay?"

"You're skipping? What? Why?"

"Just—uh, don't feel like it."

"You know you've already missed seven days, right?" 

"Yeah—" you shrugged as though he could see you, "—what's a couple more?"

"...alright, if that's what you want."

"Thanks Stevie, you're the best, love you!"

You slammed the phone back into the wall before he could respond, but you imagined he released quite the long sigh after your words.

Nevermind that though, you should probably head to bed—you had a long day ahead of you tomorrow; one consisting of many preparations for the challenges that lay ahead.

First things first, you needed yourself a weapon—and no, a wrench was not ideal. You got lucky the first time, you'd rather not risk it the second.

A gun; long reach, high chances of actually killing, probably easy to use—it sounded perfect. Just the thing you'd need. The only problem you could possibly see was...

...how would you get one?

You weren't terribly familiar with gun laws—never had the need to look into them—but even if you were, they definitely changed since the 80s so you were pretty much clueless in that regard. 

You could ask one of your brothers if they had one, they certainly seemed like the type—at least, Curt definitely did. 

Or maybe he's the type to only fight with his fists?

Tricky—that's what this all was. So tricky, in fact, that the rest of the night was spent contemplating how you would go about obtaining the lethal weapon—

—actually, that wasn't entirely true; you sure wished it was though. Unfortunately for you however, your brain rather stupidly refused to focus on the task at hand, randomly flushing you with thoughts of both your... mother and Nancy whenever you least expected it, two huge pieces of drama that you—quite frankly—didn't feel like dealing with.

But apparently, pushing them to the back of your mind was easier said than done.

Come next morning, you figured indulging in those thoughts wouldn't be too big of a headache after being well-rested with a nice cup of coffee to aid you through your day.

Okay, so, Nancy's behaviour last night wasn't too strange; she had that dinner at Barb's—one you knew she cried at since they dedicated a whole scene to her sobbing in the bathroom. That explained why she was quick to jump to aggression you guessed.

Still, it was strange how she snapped at you (basically her acquaintance) like how she had done Steve (her literal boyfriend) in the show. Did you get something wrong? Were you two closer than you thought you were? Perhaps you had some history with her you weren't aware of.

Unfortunately, until you had more information, you were gonna have to leave that trail of thought.

Now, about your mother...

"Morning, sis."

You nodded—eyes clouded—before responding with, "Morning Cain," and then, as if just registering who you were talking to after their name spilled from your lips, your eyes cleared up and you turned to continue with a much more firm voice, "Hey, do you know if we have any guns at home?"

He paused, one hand rested against the handle of the fridge, one floating mid-air. "Guns?"

"Yeah, guns."

He turned to you fully now, eyes narrowing and sturdy arms folding over his chest as the door shut behind him. "Why would you need to know where the guns are?"

The lie was quick to form on your tongue. "For self-defence, duh."

"Uh-huh."

"Please Cain—" you clasped both hands over each other, "—I promise I won't hurt anyone with them."

Not anyone human, at least.

"You do realise they're made for hurting people, right?"

"Yeah, but I won't use them that way."

He deadpanned. "You're not getting a gun."

"Dammit." 

Okay, this was fine. You could work with this. He just confirmed to you that you did, in fact, have guns in this house. All you had to do was look for them. And you knew just where to start.

"Uh, where the hell are you going?"

You paused, hand grazing the bumpy, wooden rail as you tilted your head just enough to peek into the kitchen again. "To my room, where else?"

"Don't you have school?"

"Don't you have a job?"

He crossed his arms again. "You're not skipping, shitbird."

"What?" 

"I said: you aren't skipping."

Your eyes widened, jaw dropping open and stomach falling with the spoilt remains of your plan—the ashes and dust piling up enough to cause you to splutter and ask, "You serious?"

His gaze was stern, holding no hint of that playful demeanour you acquainted yourself with last night, "Completely. No playing hooky. You've already got enough absents from that injury of yours."

As if suddenly reminded of its own existence, said wound sent a shock down your arm—trailing through your veins to usher a visible wince on your face.

Before you could say anything else though—plead your case and hope to god he'd let you off—his eyes widened a little, mouth forming a circle before he spoke again, saying, "That's why Harrington ain't here, right? You told him you were skipping?"

You said nothing.

A long, highly exasperated sigh. "Just go get ready, I'll drop you off."

He didn't have to tell you twice.

You rushed up the stairs, wasting no time to burst into a room flooded with posters—all holding different expressions with one, huge thing in common; a pair of bright red gloves.

If anyone had a gun, it was definitely Curt.

Tick. Tock. You were on a time constraint so you had to be quick with this. Anything that even remotely seemed to have enough space to hold a gun inside was instantly ripped open—hinges jingling and wood slamming against wood as your hands scurried the area—rummaged through the masses—desperately seeking what they had yet to find.

That was—until, now.

In the midst of multiple hung up pieces of soft materials shrouded in darkness, your fingers grazed something cold and solid; rough and bumpy. Slowly they wound around the thing, noting its shape, before exerting a force—a tug.

Nothing. It didn't budge.

You tried again, pushing this time.

Again. Nothing.

Third time's the charm.

This time, you pushed upwards.

Bingo.

As if by magic, it fell straight into your hands, and you wasted no time to pull it into the light.

Dark, L-shaped, and a lever poking out from one side—yup, there was no doubt about it. Though, it was one of the weaker variants of the lethal weapon—it would have to do.

Now you could—

"What are you doing in my room?"

Curt. Shit.

"Scratch that—what are you doing with a gun?!"

Your wrist was seized at the entrance before you could even attempt to sneak past—his E/C eyes trained on the object in your hand, not at all paying attention to the way your expression shifted into one of unease, smile twitching a little.

"Curt, hey! When did you come in..?"

"Doesn't matter," he dismissed, "Why do you have a gun? Is someone bothering you at school? You know you can say the word and I'll take care of it, right? Like in Freshman year?"

"Freshman year?" What happened in Freshman year?

"That dickhead Senior who kept picking on you? How did you forget that already?"

You parted your lips, an excuse practically begging to be released from your tongue, but he beat you to it.

"Nevermind, just tell me who it is and I'll take care of it. There's no need to bring a gun into it."

There's no need to bring a gun but it's totally okay beating them up? Some scuffed logic there.

"No one's bothering me, Curt. I uh, I just need it to kill the wolf that attacked me the other day."

He rose a brow. "Kill the wolf that attacked you the other day?"

"Uh... yup."

God, this was so stupid. What kind of excuse was that? 'Kill the wolf that attacked you the other day'? Yeah right.

"Atta girl. That's my sister."

A good excuse apparently—it was a good excuse.

You almost couldn't believe it—the way he pulled you in, wrapping his arm around your neck in a half-hug that almost made it seem as though he was proud of you.

Surely he had taken way too many hits to the head in his profession because you had no clue how he bought that.

But, you weren't complaining.

"Hey, uh, do me a favour?" 

He rose a brow. "What?"

"Don't tell Cain, yeah?" 

He rolled his eyes. "Of course not, he'd have my head in a heartbeat if he knew I was condoning this."

You grinned, just about ready to give him two thumbs up leaking gratitude and appreciation—when a voice called from downstairs.

"Y/N! Hurry up!"

"A few more minutes!"

That was your cue to go to your room.

Cool air hit your skin as soon as the cotton of your sleepwear was removed—the slight buzz of pain on your arm making itself known once more with another prick, annoying but not unbearable; not like before.

The new bandages looked better than the previous ones; cleaner. Some spots seemed to have given in—allowing red to seep through their snow-white sheets; stain their pure surface. Those parts were stickier than the others, but also, few and far between.

Damn, kinda looks badass.

"I'm not getting any younger here, Y/N!"

"I'm coming! Gheez."

What was that? His catchphrase or something?

With a roll of your eyes, you threw on a top, slipped into a skirt, very quickly touched up on your make-up, and ran down the steps. Nothing too elaborate—you didn't plan on actually going into school anyway.

What? You said you'd skip, so you were gonna skip. You'd just wait 'till he drove off or something.

Actually... this could work out better than you thought.

He was bringing you to school; where one Steve Harrington currently was. And you know what else was at school? Steve's BMW—AKA, the perfect place to store your gun until it was needed.

Yeah, this could work out perfectly.

"Get in, shitbird."

You said nothing, seizing the frigid handle like you had done many a time before, and climbing straight in.

The sky was bleak—the sun invisible; covered by the vast curtain of grey clouds that seemed uninteresting but, for some reason, you couldn't stop looking at. 

The pistol you held was tucked under you—out of sight; though not of mind. It felt cool against your skin, sent a shudder through you, up your spine and through your nerves. It kept you rigid.

"I would've let you skip."

You turned, observing the way Cain's gaze stayed trained onto the road ahead, one hand on the wheel, one resting on his lap.

"On any normal circumstance," he continued, shrugging, "but y'know, mom's home and—I don't know if you wanna stick around for that."

"Okay."

"You good?" Now he gave you a bit of a side-eye, one brow raised.

"Yeah, just... thinking about what I'm gonna wear for the Halloween bash at Tina's."

That was a lie, you honestly couldn't care less.

"Party, huh?" He turned his gaze back ahead. "I remember the ragers I used to go to way back when."

"Must've been fun, huh fossil?"

"Watch it, worm."

You snickered.

"Alright, we're here. Get out before I make you."

Older brothers are a piece of work.

You shimmied in your seat, swinging both legs over to the open door, hand firmly around the handle of the weapon beneath your thighs, when—

"What are you doing?"

You froze. "Uh, I don't... I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're getting out of the car weirdly." His tone was pointed—suspicious—and even without having to turn around, you could tell his brow was raised in question.

"No I'm not."

"Uh, yeah you are."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

Slowly, you found yourself able to move your limbs again—annoyance bringing both them and your own brow to life, filtering out any previous fear within an instant. "Don't you have work or something?" 

You heard nothing for a few tense moments—though soon, a curt—"Just go,"—made its way to your ears, and the weight on your shoulders was relieved of you.

Once again, you found yourself thinking, he didn't have to tell you twice.

The cool air almost felt relieving against your skin when you finally jumped out—the 'crunch!' of pebbles echoing beneath you—but nothing could compare to the pure amount of genuine solace you were graced with when the sound of the engine starting up again behind you danced into your ears; the sound of wheels skidding across the ground slowly growing farther.

That was a little too close for your liking.

No matter, it was time to find Steve's BMW. While looking for it, though, you might as well review your thoughts.

The events of Season 2 had already kicked off the moment you saw Billy, which meant that while you waited for the next canonical event to occur with the teens, the main group of kids were having their own scenes play out. You were sure by now they were off trying to befriend Billy's stepsister. But, quite frankly, that was irrelevant information to you.

What was relevant, however, was the fact that one of the kids—Dustin Henderson—would end up dragging Steve into quite the predicament. That predicament being one wherein he would end up being surrounded by a bunch of grotesque, man-eating monsters with nothing but a bat to defend himself with—granted, it had nails on the end but it was still not a weapon you'd use.

Now, more likely than not, you would be by his side while it all went down—and you already established that you weren't about to die in this world, so, really, your only option was getting that gun to use in case those demon dogs changed their minds and decided they wanted a taste of fresh, alternative dimension meat.

You had seen first-hand what they were like—held scars they forced onto you on your first day. You felt that chilling fear grip you at the sight of them—chain your limbs up and strangle you enough to almost render you immovable; immobile. Their boney structure, their razor-sharp teeth, their—

"N/N? What are you doing here?"

You jumped, startled out of your thoughts to meet with two pools of brown—familiar in their warmth and softened edges.

"I thought you were playing hooky today."

"Oh, uh—" you cleared your throat, patting down the ruffles of your skirt and avoiding any eye-contact, "—I still am but, Cain caught me and drove me to school so."

He didn't say anything after that, so you took to peering up again. This time, however, you were met with a different set of eyes, ones looking a little bloodshot and inflamed—barely noticeable if you hadn't already seen it the previous night. 

They were looking at you through narrowed lenses, pupils shrunk in and gaze heavy with the events of the other night—the distaste of that fateful encounter.

You looked away.

"Oh, uh, Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"I uh, left some of my lipstick in your car, do you mind if I go grab it?"

You returned your gaze to him just in time to catch the pointed look on his face, hands on his hips in that 'mom' way that just screamed Steve Harrington.

"Really, N/N? This is—what?—like the tenth time already?"

You forced a sheepish look, turning your lips up with nerves that weren't triggered by the sentence you'd just heard, per se—but rather, the pair of eyes still burning a hole through your head.

You ignored them when Steve tossed you the keys with a playful roll of his eyes; when you half-entered the car, stuffing the gun into a compartment you knew he wouldn't open anytime soon; you even ignored them as you made your way back to the duo, handing Steve his keys back and quickly denying his offer to cut class with you.

"You sure?" He pushed, brows scrunched up and lips tugged down.

"Yup!" You rose both thumbs. "Hundred percent!"

He parted his mouth open but you didn't wait for a response, turning around quickly to scurry off with those eyes still refusing to leave your backside.

Why the hell did she have to be there?

You couldn't even enjoy your successful little quest, too tense from Nancy's heavy gaze to do anything. It was as though the moment you saw her, your brain instantly replayed the events of last night—the disdain in her voice—and from the looks of her glare, she had the same problem.

Man, this sucked.

You just wanted to experience the world of Stranger Things as safely and non-dramatically as possible but noooo, you had to deal with freaking monsters and teenage girls who—

"Woah, we have got to stop bumping into each other like this."

Your lashes fluttered, eyes training onto a familiar battle jacket littered with logos a plenty—all of which belonged to heavy metal bands. 

"Eddie." 

"Hey, sweetheart." His lips quirked up—smile reaching his eyes so much so that they crinkled. "What are you doing here? I thought you were playing hooky?"

You deadpanned. "Does everyone know I'm skipping?"

"Well, you are kinda the Queen Bee, sweetheart." His hair bounced as he shrugged.

A thought occurred to you just then, and you found your eyes widening slightly in alarm. "Even the teachers?!"

"Well, no wastoid is exactly going to tell any teachers that the Queen of Hawkins High is skipping." 

Wastoid? Wha—?

"Hey, uh—" you blinked, watching as Eddie took to throwing a hand behind his neck, rubbing against the skin as he continued, tone feigning confidence, "—I was actually planning on skipping too so, if you want, we could hotbox in my car?"

Tempting. With all this stress from Nancy, your mom, and the demodogs—weed seemed like the perfect thing to kick back to.

You deserved some time to relax, no? 

"Yeah, sure, let's do it."

He perked up, excitement seeping through the grin on his lips as he dramatically bowed with one hand stretched out. "Right this way, milady."

You giggled, your own hand rising up to rest gently against his as you tried your damndest to keep from squealing because—holy shit, you were holding Eddie Munson's hand. You knew girls who would fucking kill to be in your position right now.

His skin was hot against your own; or maybe that was just your whole body heating up in general. You couldn't deny your attraction to the man—hell, you got literal heart eyes whenever you watched him on TV.

Eddie Munson—the guy who got held back in high-school for two years (well—one year as of right now). Eddie Munson—the guy who held the personality of a fun, playful ray of sunshine despite the way he dressed. Eddie Munson—the guy who sacrificed himself to save a whole town of people who abhorred him.

Yeah, you had a big, fat crush on the man.

He could literally be leading you to your death right now and you'd thank him.

"Alright," the sound of a car door sliding open perked your ears up, "I just got a new batch rolling in from Cali so—"

He cut himself off when he turned back around, jaw falling slack as a streak of red slowly crawled across his face, tinging the tips of his ears and ushering a cough straight out of his mouth.

Now, you would normally wonder why he'd reacted that way but you were too distracted by the ache of your own cheeks to—

Ohhh. The ache of your own cheeks.

You quickly cleared your throat, steeling your expression and cursing yourself for being so obvious. Gushing so blatantly in front of characters was going to get you killed in this world, you really had to get rid of that habit.

Lord knew what type of ridiculous expression you had on your face just then.

"Right, uh, you were saying?" You asked as you climbed in, willing yourself to ignore what had just happened.

"Oh, uh, I just had a new batch come in from Cali."

You perked up, interest piqued. "From Cali?! They have the best stuff."

He grinned with you, blush calming down as he rummaged around, hands digging through the many different boxes that scattered the floor.

Meanwhile, you took to shutting the door of the vehicle. Come to think of it, this van kinda looked a bit like the mystery van from scooby doo, except, without the colour. 

It was a mess on the inside; if there weren't boxes of who-knows-what substances lying around, then there were various different instruments instead, nothing differing from the norm associated with a band; and yet, just the fact that Eddie was here—that all of this belonged to him—was enough to make it feel special.

You should really ask Eddie if you could sit in on one of his practices one day.

Speaking of the drug dealer, he finally emerged from the pile of boxes hidden in the corner—a plastic zip bag containing a crushed substance within one of his ring-clad hands.

He flicked it with a grin on his face, head turning up as a pair of excited pools met with your own. "Bag of peaceful bliss right here."

You watched with intrigue as his fingers got to work, rolling up the substance effortlessly, as if he'd done it a million times before—which, granted, he probably had.

"Ladies first."

Your lips quirked up, fingers winding around the roll and, in turn, brushing against his own. It was a light touch—a feathery brush—still, it was enough to run tingles down your arm.

The stick was placed to your mouth with one hand, the other curling in on itself in a gesture that asked Eddie to pass over the lighter.

His large hand slowly came to cup your own, fingers engulfing yours—sending warmth to circulate in your blood; to flood your vision in pink—before lightly moving it away. "Allow me, sweetheart."

You didn't move, staying still as he pulled the metallic box up to your face, thumb flicking against the open lid a few times before the flame jumped to life.

It was hot; unbearably so—his breath across your face. The flame was practically nothing compared to him and his proximity. And it only got hotter as you continued staring at him.

It was because you were staring at him so intensely, in fact, that you caught the way his eyes briefly flickered. It was quick, barely noticeable—but you had noticed, and you had seen where they looked.

Your lips quirked up and you took the roll out of your mouth, puffing smoke straight into his face. "Staring at my lips, huh, pretty boy?"

Your grin only grew when he spluttered. 

Before he could respond, though, you had lightly shoved the roll into his mouth—lips still quirked up.

You only withdrew when he rose two fingers to rest the cigar against. 

"Hey, Eddie?"

He blinked.

"You're not gonna make me pay for this, are you?"

The roll left his mouth with a puff. "Depends."

As he placed it back inside, you rose a brow. "Oh?"

"Yeah, oh."

"Well..." you trailed off, slowly shifting your hips up before plopping them back down—

—straight. onto. his. lap.

His breath audibly hitched; a series of coughs following not long after.

"Careful," you hissed out, plucking the roll from his lips and shifting in your seat—about to climb off—when a warmth snaked its way around your waist, rendering you motionless.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Heat crawled up your spine, invading your senses and hyperfixating your attention on Eddie and the way his lips grazed the lobe of your ear. Any and all previous thoughts were washed away; taking with them your breath.

His hand fell over your own again, ushering the substance back into your mouth and your eyes grew heavy as you took another puff, melting into putty in the arms of the school freak.

The car was quickly fogging up—everywhere you breathed was starting to have that strong, earthy taste to it.

Trippy.

You pulled away, mind hazy and barely able to register the way his lips tugged down. 

With just a little wiggle of your hips, his arms fell and his brows scrunched up with worry. You didn't let him voice it though, quickly turning around to lay down and prop your elbows up on his thighs—arms almost immediately going lax once you got comfortable.

Your head now rested on his lap, and you peered up at him through hooded eyes. "Much better."

He smiled down at you again, finger moving to trace your cheek with that same feathery touch from before—the one that elicited a flurry of tingles through your skin.

"Tell me about yourself, Eds."

"Hm?"

"I wanna know you better."

Better than you already did, that was.

"What d'you wanna know?" He asked.

"Anything." You threw your hands up, puffing once more. "I wanna know more 'bout Super Senior Eddie Munson."

He hummed. "I plan to make it big one day."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Groupies 'n everything."

You reached up, placing the blunt against his lips as you proclaimed loudly, "I bet they would trip over 'emselves to get a taste of you."

He winked. "That's what 'm planning." Then, he paused for a minute, expression softening before another inquiry left his mouth. "What about you?"

"Me?"

What were you planning? Survival, really. But, to be honest—and this wasn't just the weed speaking (or was it? You couldn't really tell)—you just wanted to experience the show; meet the characters and bond over little things. Kinda like what you were doing right now.

"I plan on..."

The characters from this show were precious, and you loved them all to bits. They didn't deserve any of what happened to them, that was why you planned on...

"...protecting those I love."

Yeah, perfect.

His eyes widened a little—startled, no doubt, and not expecting that kind of response from you. The perfect opportunity to trip him up more.

"Wanna be one of them?" 

He already was one but—he didn't know that.

You assumed he must've been too flustered to talk, because he didn't respond to that—only choosing to continuously blink at you.

This weed was sure making your confidence sky rocket.

Speaking of things the weed was doing for you—your vision was tripping majorly.

The ceiling seemed to zoom in, but also zoom out at the same time, and sometimes you swore you could see the detailed wisps of the smoke that flooded the car's inside; the very atoms that made them up. 

Colours were hard to register in your mind; their names even harder—but, with how relaxed the fumes were making you and your tensed muscles, you couldn't really bring yourself to care.

And Eddie—oh Eddie—he just looked so pretty to you right now; so jaw-dropping and mesmerising. Even with how red his eyes were and the extent at which his pupils dilated, they still looked tremendously pretty. His lips were so cute, pink and begging for attention.

You couldn't help it; the way your hand reached out to cup his cheek and guide his head down. Luckily, though, you still had enough sense to tilt his head enough so that instead of your lips touching, your noses did.

If you were going to kiss Eddie, it sure as hell wasn't happening while you were high.

"Y'know," Eddie breathed into your eyes, causing them to flutter shut as you hummed, "I used to think you were a huge bitch."

That shot your eyes open.

"I mean, when you stuck around with people like Tommy H and Carol, it was kinda hard not to."

Ah. Steve's former friends.

"Not to mention King Steve. Though, I don't know if I should call him that anymore."

"'Cause of Billy?"

"Yeah." He chuckled. "Have you seen him? It's only, like, his second day and he's got girls wrapped around his finger like it's nothing."

"I'm sure it'll stay that way permanently too."

"Yeah, he seems like the type to like it."

"Hm?"

"The attention."

Your lips tugged down. "Are you implying something, Eddie?"

"...maybe a little."

Your frown grew deeper. "Y'know, Eds, you shouldn't judge people without getting to know them first."

"Oh? And I suppose you know a ton about Hargrove, huh?"

You narrowed your eyes before you spoke again—tone laced in warning—"Eddie."

He rose both hands, and you let out a breath you didn't even know you were holding in.

"My bad."

"It's okay, let's just forget about it," you said, "I came here to relax and enjoy some time away from stress."

"Stress?"

Well, you supposed it wouldn't be the end of the world if you shared a little with the class. 

"Nancy said something... weird to me the other night." 

"Harrington's girl?"

"Yeah... she sounded bitter."

"Maybe she was jealous."

You moved to sit up but Eddie was quick to push you back down, both hands placed firmly—yet gently—on your shoulders. "Jealous?"

"Yeah."

"Why would she be jealous for?"

He scoffed. "Oh please, you and Harrington are attached at the hip—if I were your boyfriend, I would be jealous."

For a moment, you allowed yourself to ignore the hypothetical scenario of Eddie being your boyfriend, if only to pay more attention to the apparent green creature that held Nancy by the neck.

Could it be? Was she jealous? Was that why she reacted as strongly as she did when you tried to let her down slowly?

"Hey now, whatever you're thinking, stop thinking it." Eddie's finger tapped against your cheek, sending tiny ripples through your skin. "You said it yourself, you're here to relax, not to stress."

He couldn't be more right.

And with that thought in mind, you sank deeper into the warmth of Eddie's lap, pure safety and comfort shrouding your form—blanketing you so nicely in the soothing presence that was Eddie Munson.

And as your eyes fluttered shut, you whispered one last thing with a warm smile, "This was nice. Thank you, Eddie."

@bdudette, @tanyaherondale, @killerqueenfan, @l3xiluve, @thedoubleexposurephotography, @xxqueenofdemonsxx, @briarsheart, @nickey-diano, @uselessbutinteresting, @steeldaisies, @thesebitcheslovesosadotcom, @patheticreative, @majestichugs, @eddiesbitch83, @secretdryrose, @bloodywickedvamp, @charlizekkelly, @sophiaj650, @mfnqueen1, @axionn, @harrysgoldenwatermelon, @simpfo, @adrienette715, @tippyeddy

I've been watching a lot of zombie stuff recently so I was wondering how Steve, Eddie, and Billy would react to a zombie apocalypse. I'm tempted to write an au but I need to focus on the next part 😭

Tell you what, if the masterlist to this series ever reaches 500 notes, I'll write a zombie apocalypse AU (Edit: Holy shit, it's at 400, wtf?)

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

Jason calling reader Wildflower? I am undone, my heart!

He's also undone.

As a rule, Bruce had told them when they were old enough to take interest in ladies, not to go around kissing virgins and unmarried ladies. For practical and ethical purposes.

And for the most part- they avoided it. When they could. Sometimes, they didn't know. Or it couldn't be avoided.

The gentleman he was supposed to be was screaming at him to stop. But. A man could only be tempted so long, he supposed. Not that you'd done anything to invite it. But- he was only a man. And he had a weakness for curves. And a soft spot for sweet young things in distress. He couldn't help it.

And here you were. Inexperienced and yielding. Lost and reeling. So entranced you hardly noticed that he'd put you on his lap. Shifting into the chair he'd lifted you out of.

Until the door crashed open.

"Oops," and then a giggle and Jason froze. Tucking your face against his shoulder. A Wayne brat in a dark corner with someone would hardly raise an eyebrow. Just a few days of speculation unless-

"That little minx."

"Shit," Jason muttered. And when the feet- male and female disappeared... well. He couldn't blame you for starting to hyperventilate.

"What did I do I can't-"

"Shh," he soothed. "It'll be alright."

"It won't I can't-"

"Wildflower," he said, hoping his voice was steadier than his heart. "Just trust me, alright? First I'm going to take you home."

"Alone?"

"In for a penny," he said, smiling wryly. "And besides. I don't think we're quite done kissing yet, do you?"

[kingconia]

Hellooo I'M kinda asking for angstyy but Imaginee Gn reader does a break up prank on the Dormleaders 😶‼️(idk if this was already done??)

TWISTED WONDERLAND'S HOUSEWARDENS WHEN THEIR S/O IS TRYING TO PRANK THEM BY BREAKING UP

cw: Of course, some angst ensues.

Riddle Rosehearts. ❤️

— Riddle is having a hard time with understanding even common humour, so, of course, he has not a single idea what is going on;

— He takes your words very seriously, to the point you can see his eyes watering slightly as he turns away from you;

— An instant regret! That is too much, you realise. An attempt to fix everything apparently goes even worse. Riddle is glad that you are not breaking up, but he is clearly offended by what you had done.

•

”I am so, so sorry,” you murmur, taking his cold hands in yours. ”I didn't think that—”

”You didn't think at all,” Riddle cuts you, voice despite being cold, wavering slightly. ”It seems like you don't respect my feelings enough, do you? Someone, who loves you wouldn't do that.”

It is hard not to feel ashamed already, but the way Riddle speaks, yielding his words as swords, hurt even more. You know of his streak to be more passive aggressive when he feels offended, so you are not surprised. But it still unpleasant to hear.

”No, I do,” you kiss his knuckles softly, looking straight in his eyes. ”I will make up for you, alright?”

Riddle nods, but an expression on his face is a gloom one. It definitely will take some time to deserve his forgiveness.

Leona Kingscholar. 💛

— Leona takes some time to process what he had heard. He is fighting the urge to say that it must be a joke, but your acting is too realistic, so he trusts you with being honest;

— Leona is tired from this urge to fight for love and acceptance, when others get it so easily. So, he is not planning to talk with you about all of it; he will merely give up. And despite his heart aching painfully at your words, Leona will only shrug it off. He doesn't want you to he aware of his true feelings;

— When you stop him by telling that it is a joke, Leona feels something between a relief and irritation. He tries not to show it, too—it will only make you understand that he, in fact, was hurt by yours words. But he fails anyway.

•

”Stupid,” Leona spats out, turning his head away from you.

Your fingers wrap around his wrist, either trying to keep him out from leaving or comforting him like this. In retrospection, you can see how cruel your joke was—Leona is a neglected kid, and, perhaps, you overdone yourself by triggering it.

”I am sorry once again, and...” Your eyes widen. ”L-leona, are you crying?”

”Like fuck I am,” he denies right away, a free hand coming to rub his eyes. ”Fuck off.”

Now, you feel even worse. It is rare to see Leona so vulnerable, after all.

”Oh, Leona,” you murmur, crashing in him with a hug. ”Please, I didn't mean to hurt you, I swear...”

And that is how you settle with agreement—Leona forgets your poor idea of a prank, and you pretend that you had never seen him crying. It works for both of you well, surprisingly. And, at least, he is not mad at you.

Azul Ashengrotto. 🩵

— Azul is panicking as soon as he hears your speech, but he will never show it to you. Instead, he bluffs, saying that you will not do that;

— When you ask him why he thinks that, Azul very nervously tries to prove you that you love him, mentioning all of your recent actions and words addressed to him;

— He only relaxes, when you offer him a smile, nodding at his words, explaining how it was a popular joke on the internet. And, let me tell you this, Azul had never been so happy of being correct.

•

”You are too smart for your own good,” you sigh, sitting down on his lap, a light pout appearing on your face. ”How I supposed to prank you, when you are like this?”

Azul wraps arms around your waist, hiding face in your shoulder blades. As a deep sigh leaves his lips, you are suddenly feel like something is really wrong with him.

”Hey... You okay?”

Azul raises his head for a second, so he can kiss your bare nape, but then again, falls into same position. His answer is rather a reluctant one.

”I am just tired after lessons, that's it.”

”Ah, sorry... I probably took your time with my stupid jokes.”

”That's fine, angelfish.”

You definitely sleep better in the nights with not knowing that you are the one, who exhausted Azul today...

Kalim Al-Asim. 🧡

— Just as Riddle, Kalim is a little bit dense when it comes to pranks, so your breaking up suggestion is treated with absolute seriousness;

— Kalim is speechless for a few moments, and when he finally gains ability to speak again, he merely asks if he wronged you somehow, if he hurt you;

— He looks so lost, so genuinely concerned, that you are rushing to say him that it is a prank. However, Jamil is quicker.

•

”Ah, excuse me?” Kalim scratches his head, looking between you and Jamil, who suddenly materialised in the room, almost out of nowhere.

”It is a prank that runs around school,” Jalim says, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly. ”They are not breaking up with you. It is a joke.”

”That's right,” you nod eagerly, watching at Kalim with an unhidden regret. ”Sorry, Kalim.”

His eyes instantly flare with relief and happiness as he smiles widely at you. He is clearly not mad. If anything, he is in high spirits!

”Ha! I see! Then, let's break up, Y/n!” Kalim winks at you radiantly.

You smile in return, ignoring annoyed look on Jamil's face. It is good to know that Kalim had some fun out of it, too.

Vil Schoenheit. 💜

— Vil is a very mature person, so he naturally treats your break up with him with an utter respect. And, he tries to talk out everything with you;

— He sats you down, brings some water, and offers to tell him your reasonings to do so. Is it his tight schedule? Is he neglecting you? Do you feel like something is wrong? Or, perhaps, you have a mental health problems? Talk with him! Even if your decision is final, Vil is still your friend. He wants to be aware of your feelings;

— When you are telling him the truth, Vil is annoyed. He is genuinely worried about you all the time, can't you not worsen it, potato?

•

”You are telling me, that I was frowning a five minutes over nothing,” Vil deadpans tiredly, folding arms on his chest.

You smile awkwardly, and move forward to smooth a wrinkle between his brows.

”First of all, you still do that,” Vil tries to relax his face instantly. ”And, second of all... Sorry. But you handled it so well, so I don't feel that bad.”

Vil rolls his eyes, and as he catches you hand in both of his, he kisses it softly. You blush under his closer look. Now, that's unfair.

”...But I am glad that you are still mine,” he murmurs quietly.

”What did you say?”

”I am not going to repeat myself,” he snaps.

You laugh quietly at how annoyed he looks.

You don't consider a prank to be a failure. More like another proof that you had chosen a perfect lover to yourself!

Idia Shroud. 💙

— I am quite sure that no one will agree with me on this one, but... Idia tries this prank on you faster. Yes, I think he can be quite mischievous when he feels safe enough, and, he is the kid of the internet just as you, so...

— You stare at him all the time as he ”breaks up” with you, and the fact that you planned to do this prank just today, makes every even worse;

— When you explain to him that you know it is a prank, and you were meaning to do the same, Idia can't help but laugh quietly. It is, indeed, stupid.

•

”That is just ridiculous,” you murmur, hiding face in your hands.

Idia puts his chin on the top of your head, arms wrapping around your stomach as he hums.

”Geniuses are always sharing the same unique thoughts.”

”Yes,” you glare at him. ”And idiots, too. So, what it makes us?”

Idia lowers his eyes as well, exchanging amused looks with you. Smiling crookedly, he offers a good compromise.

”Soulmates?”

And, well, he is not wrong.

Malleus Draconia. 💚

— Just like Riddle, Malleus knows nothing about pranks of this sorts, so he assumes that you are genuinely breaking up with him;

— An instant regret x2. There is so much sorrow in his eyes! Much like Leona, he doesn't want to be seen emotional, let alone pathetic, so he mutters incoherent apologises and scrambles to leave the room;

— Gladly, you trap him in hug faster, yelling that it is just a joke. Malleus, however, has a very mixed feelings about this one...

•

”I... See,” Malleus averts an eye contact desperately as he examines the floor. ”I apologise for not understanding it earlier.”

You sigh, feeling shame creeping on you for such an awful and disrespectful attitude. After all, you know how Malleus is mostly unaware about all humanly stuff.

”No, no... It is me, who should apologise!” Your lips are shutting in a thin line. ”Would you accept it? That is not a mistake I will repeat, I swear.”

Malleus is quick to look at you again, probably sensing a deep regret in your words. Very carefully, he smiles at you.

”Of course,” he kisses you on the forehead hastily. ”I am not mad at you, child of men.”

Ah. You are so lucky that Malleus loves you this much. Yet, it is clear as day that it will take some time to assure him that you love him, after all...

[risestarkissomega]

A question from @overthinkingspark-blue

"So, I’ve been thinking a lot about these Steven universe-style fusions that @teenagenutant made for the rise turtles. I’ve been working on a fanfic of them with another writer actually!

here’s the tag for them: https://www.tumblr.com/teenagenutant/tagged/fmau

So I’ve just been wondering- since I have absolutely no knowledge on fashion- what kinds of outfits *these* characters would wear, them being fusions of the rise turtles and all because it’s kinda hard to imagine they’d just wear both their components’ clothes together

if that makes sense?

Theres also the fact that a lot of them are designed wearing shorts/pants, so that may give hints to what kind of style they’d prefer. So since you’re well versed in the topic of fashion for the turtles, I figured why not ask you what you thought about it!

...And I was thinking specifically for what their wrestling outfits would be like or what they’d wear in a. “clothes don’t make the turtle” scenario...Though the ones that seem the most intriguing to me are Titian (Raph and Donnie fusion that looks like a mech) and Caravaggio (Leo and Raph fusion with the loooongggg mask tails and mega anxiety)

Because those two are hard to guess

And also Newton! (Donnie and Mikey fusion.)..."

○○○○

Ooo.

Firstly, combining the turtles into fusions is a really cool concept! The boys' personalities are already so interesting, so blending them would surely yield some very intriguing results...

Also, I just so happened to have watched all of Steven Universe. So, I'll be using my understanding of the SU rules for these fusions. (Assuming that these turtles fusions are using the same rules. If not, I'm so sorry! 😣)

Let's get started!

From what I've gathered from SU, the fusion rules are not as hard and fast as they could be when it comes to their designs...

Sometimes, the fashion is a true amalgamation of what each component was already wearing, which is usually in the case for Stevonnie.

Other times, and in my opinion more commonly, the designs involve the fusion's personality coming out in their fashion choices. But, it's not necessarily a direct reflection of the component's clothing.

My example for that is Sugilite.

The design for her clothing is not exactly what Garnet and Amethyst is wearing, but is more a reflection of who they become when they're together; this rough and tumble, rough around the edges, strong-willed, and powerful gem-which is reflected in the exaggerated and excessively ripped outfit, so it still works!

(BTW, this is also an example of the "Exaggeration" component of good character design.)

Alright, so I've said all of that to say: In SU, I believe that there's no absolute way to have a fusion. It seems to be more of a sliding scale from a "perfectly balanced physical amalgamation" to a "completely emotional combination," depending on the design choices of the creators, if that makes sense...

So, I'll summarize the SU fusion rules (in my opinion) that I'll be using going forward: This is a more "Physical Amalgamation" Fusion Design: Rainbow Quartz 2.0

vs.

A more "Emotional Amalgamation" Fusion Design: Sunstone

vs.

Something Right in the Middle: Sardonyx

Additional SU Note: In the end, the sliding scale of physical to emotional fusion choices is all at the discretion of the character designer! - IE. Rebecca caught a lot of flak for her Sunstone design, but in the end it's Rebecca's design (as revealed in the "Steven Universe: End of an Era" book.) Thus, how she chooses to depict the fusion of Steven and Garnet is up to her discretion!

Phew, ok. With that foundation out of the way...

Let's look at the turtles!

And since you mentioned their wrestling outfits, let's look at those specifically:

I found the easiest way to come up with a good representation of various turtle combinations is to do what we've always done in science...use punnett squares!

However, instead of crossing "alleles/genes," let's cross clothing design characteristics! (Stay with me! 😂) I went ahead and made a square using their wrestling clothing choices.

Let me just pop that baby right here:

Here's a reminder of all of the boys' wrestling fits:

And as an example, let's look at T.I.T.I.A.N. (Donnie and Raph's Fusion) since he seems to be one of the hardest to predict:

(T.I.T.I.A.N. as depicted by the original creator, @teenagenutant)

BTW, the design for T.I.T.I.A.N. is so logical!

With Raph's overly bureaucratic nature (as he's a stickler for the rules) and Donnie's hyper-analytic personality, the two of them combining to be a giant robot just makes sense! 😌❤️💜

"Uh, Ma’am, you misplace your five dollar bill directly into my palm."

"I need pre-game stats, highlights of past stats, projections of future stats. We’re missing the stats, people!"

Anywhoozle...

Here's a close up of my estimations for T.I.T.I.A.N.'s outfit based on the "SU fusion rules" I established earlier and the general application of the punnett square:

For me, the takeaway is the DRAMATICS!

Raph was a natural showman in the ring, and Donnie is just dramatic in general. Sooo, in my eyes, T.I.T.I.A.N.'s wrestling persona would be HIGHLY theatrical. 🙄

But yeah, by using the punnett square, you can just fill in the blanks, thus making any combination you'd like!

Or scrap all of my thoughts and start fresh! The point is it's a tool to make combining the turtles easier. 😁 Psssst! BTW.... I don't think you were the only ones inspired by Steven Universe:

💙💜🧡❤️Happy Creating! ❤️🧡💜💙

○○○○

YOUTUBE | KOFI | 🎵 BANDCAMP 🎵

I appreciate you! 😌

💜💜💜

[the-fiction-witch]

Loverboy

Media - The Maze Runner Series Character - Newt Couple - Newt X Reader Reader - Y/n Rating - Adorable +Sad Word Count - 3487

I yawned as the morning sun gently crept over the walls, casting a warm glow on the glade grass, causing it to shimmer in the light breeze. Although I was gradually waking up, I yearned to prolong my time in the comforting embrace of my hammock. The soft, yielding fabric beneath me cradled me in a way that made me feel weightless, while the cosy blanket covering my legs and the warm hoodie enveloping my body provided a sense of security. Newt lay behind me, his arm casually draped over my waist, while the other hand held mine, our fingers intertwined. I could feel his warm, unhurried breath against the nape of my neck, and his body pressed closely against mine, offering a comforting sense of closeness. The glade remained tranquil, yet to fully rouse for the day, with only the sound of runners in the showers and a handful of kitchen staff quietly preparing for breakfast.

I shifted and stirred a little, letting out a long yawn.

"Oohh big yawn this morning," Newt pressed a kiss to my shoulder, "You still all tired out?" he whispered peppering kisses up my neck and to my ear lobe,

"Mhm," I nodded,

"My poor little love, you've been working too hard," he said,

"Maybe,"

"You need a nice back rub?"

"No thank you, I'm okay,"

"You sure?"

"I'm sure, but thank you Newt,"

"You're very welcome," he cooed, "You awake?"

"Kinda,"

"Do you think... you're awake enough for a kiss?"

"...Ummm... I suppose," I teased shifting and turning around to face him.

He reclined in the hammock with his chest exposed, his fluffy, tousled blonde hair catching the sunlight. As he embraced me tightly, he flashed a sweet, endearing smile that lit up his face."What?"

"Nothing," He smiled As he leaned in, his warm breath brushed against my lips, and then he gave me a soft and gentle kiss. The kiss was slow and tender, and as our lips met, it filled my heart with a flutter of butterflies, making the moment feel truly magical.

"Happy?" I asked,

"I think so," he nodded, "Y/n?"

"Yes, Newt?"

"...I love you so much,"

"Aww I love you too," I smiled nuzzling into his chest,

"Humm how ever did you get so beautiful?"

"I don't know," I laughed, "However did you get so sweet loverboy?"

"...humm I think I must have eaten too much sugar," he joked, "or maybe you're just so perfect and beautiful I can't help but smile so wide only sweet little words can come out my mouth,"

"You are so stupid sometimes," I laughed giving him a playful shove, "Come on we need to get to work,"

"Fine," he sighed, "One more kiss?"

"One more loverboy," I giggled giving him another sweet kiss before I climbed out of the hammock,

"Not looking," He said putting the pillow over his face as he lay there,

"newt? Seriously?! We've been dating for two years," I laughed grabbing the pillow and taking it away, "Nothing you haven't seen before," I tapped his nose,

"No, but I am a gentleman," He said putting his hand over his eyes,

"Alright loverboy," I teased him as I began to get dressed for the day tossing him back his hoodie I had worn to sleep, however as I dressed I did notice him peak out the corner of my eye, Once I was done he hopped out the hammock and began to get ready himself, "I'll grab breakfast meet you as usual,"

"Okay see you in a sec," He smiled kissing me one more time before I headed into the glade to fetch our breakfast.

I spent the day immersed in the serenity of the garden, meticulously tending to each plant, pulling out weeds, and gently tying back the unruly vines as the late afternoon sun cast a warm glow over the landscape. With the day drawing to a close, I knew I had to complete the final few garden beds before dinner. Wiping the perspiration from my forehead, I let out a contented sigh and moved on to the next bed.

As I worked, my gaze wandered to the edge of the gardens, where a group of workers, including Newt, were diligently clearing space by felling some of the ageing deadhead trees. Newt, with his characteristic warmth and affable nature, noticed me and flashed his endearing, dorky smile, offering a friendly wave. I reciprocated with a sweet wave of my own. Newt then playfully blew me a kiss, I responded in kind before returning to my task, the image of his gesture bringing a smile to my face as I worked.

I heard the familiar shout of the boys, and the sound of the tree falling, but then I heard an unexpected sound.

"Newt!" Many voices yelled,

As the deafening sound of the cracking tree filled the air, I swiftly pivoted to witness the colossal tree plummeting to the ground. My eyes widened in horror as I observed Newt, who had been standing in the vicinity, becoming ensnared by one of the branches that had splintered off during the descent. The force of the impact caused him to plummet to the ground, where he lay motionless and unconscious.

"NEWT!" I screamed bolting over and picking him gently in my arms seeing the blood from the back of his head, "Medjacks! Now!" I screamed my voice echoing across the glade, "You're gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay..." I muttered holding him tightly and kissing his forehead.

I sat in the medjacks, I hadn't slept all night. Just sat by his bedside holding his hand watching his every breath. He lay motionless, his hand in my own, his grip limp, his breaths slow, his bandage around him tight where the branch had hit the back of his head and neck causing his skin to bleed and bruise, I could barely breathe my tears caught in my chest so afraid of the pain he must have been in. As his eyes slowly fluttered open, I couldn't help but gasp in astonishment. I watched as those deep, chocolate-coloured orbs opened, revealing a look of bewilderment across his face. His eyes flicked around the room, taking in his surroundings before he slowly sat up, wincing slightly. His hand instinctively went to his neck, gingerly feeling the bandage that was wrapped around it. Then, his gaze locked onto our connected hands, and I could see the moment his expression changed as his skin turned clammy and cold.

"Uhh... hello?" His tone questionable,

"Hello," my voice broke as I hugged him giving him a good squeeze, "I'm so happy you're okay!" I cried with joy going to kiss him but he backed away letting out a yelp, "Newt?"

"Wha- what who- who's newt!?" He began to cry panic across his face,

"What- You- you're newt."

"Me?"

"Yes, you're newt..." I got choked up once more, "Don't you remember?"

"...no,"

"Do you remember anything? Where you are? who you are? who... who I am?"

"... no," He said, "what is this place?" he asked trembling with fear,

I called in the other boys to help but all that did was make Newt even more confused and scared, he looked through all of us, not a single glint of recognition in his eyes. He truly didn't remember any of us.

"Newt? Hey man! how are you feeling?" Minho asked but nothing,

"You alright Newt?" Gally asked, trying to move closer but Newt flinched away,

"Newt. what's in your mind tell us." Alby demanded,

"I... I... where am I? Who are you, people? please someone tell me what's going on?" he begged,

"what's happened to him?" Minho asked,

"When the tree came down must have busted up his head," Gally said,

"Well, when can he get back to normal!" I said quickly,

"Y/n... I'm sure this will wear off, between now and then just... work on getting him to remember stuff." Alby told me,

I nodded, and after a few more attempts the boys left us again,

"Please miss... what's going on?"

"You really don't remember?"

He shook his head,

"Okay... well, this is the glade. You're Newt. I'm Y/n."

"Glade?"

"The glade, it's where we live. for not at least."

"And I'm Newt?"

"Yes. Newt. that's your name,"

"Ohh... I have a strange name,"

"I know," I chuckled, "And I'm Y/n,"

"Y/n?"

"Yeah, Y/n,"

"You have a very nice name,"

"Thank you," I almost cried, to hear that. Even without remembering me, he was so sweet, "and we..."

"We?"

"...doesn't matter." I lied, "But we need to focus on getting you better."

He nodded sheepishly,

We tried, for months. But nothing ever came back to Newt. It was like he was a greenie again with nothing but his name. I tried desperately to show him things, tell him things but in the end, I began to give up. It felt like grief... almost like I lost Newt, I lost the man who was my boyfriend and even just looking at him hurt. I wished so much for him to remember but I didn't want to force him into a relationship with me if he didn't have the memories and feelings he once had. When we escaped and were forced into this facility, I felt so alone. I wanted nothing more than his touch, his hugs, his kisses, his sweet words. But he treated me as a freind and nothing more.

I got out of my bunk bed and let out a long yawn when I perked up.

"Ohh big yawn this morning," Newt spoke up with a sweet dorky smile as he came down from his own,

For a moment my heart swelled with hope, "Mhm, maybe I uhh... maybe I'm tired. Perhaps working too hard," I joked,

"Yeah maybe," He chuckled giving my arm a playful shove with his elbow before he headed for a shower,

Immediately my heart fell to my ankles as it had so many times before.

After we escaped from Wicked, we found an old mall, everyone began to gather supplies so I grabbed a bag loading it up. I soon found some better more tactile clothes so I moved away from the boys a little and began to change.

"Oh. I uhh- Sorry Y/n!" Newt snapped putting his hand over his eyes as he had to come to get changed,

"Oh... it's okay Newt, you didn't know," I answered,

"I uhh I'll just uhh change over here," He said sheepishly keeping his eyes covered as he began to change in his little corner, "I'm not looking... I promise,"

I chuckled a little, "You uhhh quite the gentlemen,"

"Ohh uhhh I uhh I guess," He blushed even if I did see him peak at me, it made my heart flutter to think he still had the desire to peak at me even without his memories,

"Newt?"

"Yeah, Y/n?"

"...However did you get so handsome?" I asked as I finished getting changed,

"W-what?" he stuttered,

"However did you get so handsome?" I asked,

"Ohh I uhhh I don't know," he blushed as he finished up too and turned to see me, "How uhh however did you get so sweet, Love?"

I smiled so widely moving a little closer and watching his face turn red, "I think... I must have eaten too much sugar," I smiled,

He smiled widely, "Yeah I think maybe you did,"

"Or maybe... you're just so handsome and perfect that I can't help but smile so wide that only sweet words can come out my mouth,"

"Ooohh uhh you really are too sweet to me," he blushed hard,

"And you are too stupid," I chuckled, "you... really don't remember anything from before the fall Newt?"

"No, but... I wish I did. You... I wish I knew about more memories with you,"

"I wish you knew about them too," I had to sniffle and force myself away heading back to the others before I began to cry.

I sat watching the sea kiss the sand as people worked on the ship that was to take us away, to paradise so they said... I was starting to think the glade was paradise and strangely I miss the place so much, all the people we lost, all the sweet moments, and newt... back when he remembered me.

Thomas came over and he looked nervous,

"What?" I asked,

"It's Newt."

"What about him?"

"He... he's asking for you,"

I nodded and began my walk.

I had been avoiding Newt, not because I didn't want to see him. But because he had caught the flare, it was crawling up his arm and shoulder infecting him worse day by day. At first, I never left his bedside but now... I had washed my hands of it. I knew he was dying and I couldn't bear to face him. To see the man I loved so endlessly and be unable to tell him of my feelings and share the memories we had, or well I had. As he didn't remember them at all. In some days I had been grieving Newt since he lost his memories, so in some way, I was almost prepared for him to die.

When I reached the tent thomas left me and Newt alone, seeing him was horrible. Newt lay in the bed, the black virus veins popping out his arm and shoulder, the tendrils crawling down his chest and up his neck to his face, his skin shined with sweat, his eyes red. He was fighting, but he was losing the fight fast.

"Hey... thomas said... you wanted to see me?" I asked lingering by the door,

"Y/n..." he gasped, "I did... I did want to see you," he swallowed, "Come here... please,"

I went over standing by his bed I could barely even look, but he took my hand in his and pulled me down to sit on his bed at his side as I had so long ago, He tipped my chin up to meet his eyes,

"I know I'm a sight... but please, won't you look at me,"

"It's hard to..." I admit,

"I know, but please..."

I nodded and did my best to keep eye contact,

"I... I need to tell you something,"

"What?"

"I... I... Y/n, I love you,"

"What?"

"I know- I know... but I promise it's not just my sickness, I know I don't remember much about our time in the glade together, but ever since I woke up in that bed you, have been a constant in my life. And... now, I realize I don't want to live my life without you in it. I think I loved you the moment I first saw you, the first eyes I saw and I just knew. My heart beats your name, my mind whispers it in the night, you... you are everything to me." He cried the tears falling from his eyes as he squeezed my hand tight, "And I'm so sorry it took me too long to tell you, I know I'm dying, and I don't think I have much longer, but I want to spent every second I have left with you."

I teared up at his words, "Ohh newt... you're so sweet," I stroked his cheek, "I love you too," I whispered,

"You do? not just to comfort-"

"No, not just to comfort you. I would tell you this no matter what I would scream it from the tallest tree, I love you. And I have always loved you. From the moment you pulled me from the box I knew I loved you so much, every time that you touch me, or hold me, or kiss me I feel alive. like nothing else in this world. and I will love you for as long as I live... and longer if that is even a possibility."

"But we... we've never-"

"We did... once."

"What are you saying?"

"You loved me once before Newt... before your fall,"

"I did?"

"I did, You were my boyfriend,"

"I was! Why didn't you tell me!"

"I thought your memories would return, you'd remember on your own but... you never did. I didn't want to tell you and make you feel obligated to still treat me that way without the memories that created those feelings,"

"...I didn't have the memories, but I still have the feelings, Y/n. I knew the moment I woke up I loved you. I loved yourY/H/Chair, your sweet pale skin, your ocean Y/H/C eyes... I loved you. I am so so sorry. I could have told you then and we could have-"

"No... you lost those memories of that time. It's okay, The newt I loved is gone... lost. But I have you. And I love you as much as I did him if not more."

"You mean it?"

"I do," I nodded,

"My sweet Y/n," He stroked my cheek,

"Ohh newt," I cooed, "Come here loverboy," I smiled pulling him into a soft gentle kiss but he pulled back, for a moment I was frightened I had scared him too much but he looked at me those chocolate eyes flashing with something... he looked at me like he saw me in a way he never had before, his hands trembling as he pulled me into another kiss this one felt different like he kissed me with the passion I remembered from before his memory loss, and when he pulled back he was crying with that dorky smile I had missed so much.

"Y/n... Love... I... I remember..."

"You - you what!"

"I remember!" He yelled, "You're kisses! you're love! that stupid name! All the nights in your hammock laid cuddled in your arms, all the kisses by the doors, all the shared bacon by the fire, everything! I remember... I remember it all."

"Oh, newt!" I cried squeezing him tight and he hugged me like he never wanted to let me go for a second, but he trembled more than he should his body began to convulse and shake as the infection began to battle his body once more,

"N-Y/n..." He choked out grabbing my hand before his eyes closed, his hand went limp, and his breathing stopped.

"Newt..." I whispered, "Newt... No... no... NO! NO!" I screamed out tears flooding down my cheeks, "NOOO! Please! No! You are not dying on me! I have spent my life at your side, only now you have your memories again and I am not losing you again!" I screamed as I worked giving him air, working on his heart anything I could but nothing worked all while I screamed and cried, "You are not allowed to die! I am not letting you go you hear me! I will crawl down to hell and I will drag you back kicking and screaming if I have to!" I screamed,

The noise had brought Fry and thomas to the tent and they both tried to stop me, but I wouldn't I forced them, both away and grabbed at a random vile on the counter stabbing the blue liquid in his neck in a violent frenzy.

"Y/n enough!" Thomas forced me away, "You even know what that was!"

"No! I don't care! I will give him everything in this camp until he wakes up"

"Y/n... Y/n... he's gone. just let him go." fry held me close and I just cried into his chest, But I heard the sharp intake of breath. I looked back and saw him breathing,

"NEWT!" I screamed rushing to his side and giving him a hug and as many kisses as he could take in his weak state,

"Y/n... love..." He gasped, "I love you so much,"

"I love you more," I cooed giving him a sweet kiss and holding him in my arms as he rested,

"Thomas what the hell was that stuff?" fry asked,

"Uhh... some stuff Mary made with my blood test..." Thomas answered,

"MARY!" Fry called,

I smiled sitting on the beach watching the wind and waves, and the sweetest sight I could see. As little George digs his little sand castle in the sand with his wooden trowel that Minho made for him, It made me chuckle a little seeing his sweet blonde hair and cute blue eyes.

"What are you chuckling about?" newt asked as he sat with me on the sand my head on his shoulder, even on the beach he wore a long sleeve hoodie, mostly because he still loved them but also as to not spook anyone on camp with his virus scars let alone little George.

Newt was cured, all better with not a single relapse. That stuff turned out to be an experiment Mary had run on thomas, and it ended up being the perfect cure. Newt was all better now with only some scars to show for it, his memories back in full of our time in the glade, neither of us could remember before then but that was enough and all we needed. The rest of the world was slowly going back to normal but those of us who survived the trails were given paradise as our home, to build a life. All of us, together.

"Nothing, nothing at all loverboy," I smiled kissing his cheek,

making him blush and smile that dorky smile at me, his hand coming to caress my baby bump,

"Come on we need to get back for dinner,"

"Just five more minutes newt?"

"Okay, for you love." he nodded kissing my head, 

[moonstrider9904]

One of the main purposes I'm spotting in Crosshair's character arc is owning up to the consequences of your own choices.

Something I tried to say in this post that I couldn't quite articulate as much as I wanted to was that Wrecker and Hunter are not wrong for being wary of Crosshair and receiving him the way they did. Other posts have expressed this beautifully, saying that they have not seen what we have seen on screen.

Yes, Crosshair has defected from the Empire. He killed an officer over Mayday's death, solidifying his choice to turn on the Empire. He was tortured. He's yielded to Omega, accepted the shots she's called, done things her way, but this is something that Hunter and Wrecker are not aware of. Maybe Omega's going to tell them all that Crosshair's been through since, or maybe Crosshair will get the chance to explain himself.

But, back to my initial point - the point (or one of the major points) of Crosshair is ownership. He chose to remain with the Empire, and he dealt with the loneliness that came with that along with being treated like he was expendable. He chose to defect from the Empire by killing an officer, and he dealt with it by becoming a prisoner. He chose to leave his family in pursuit of a different goal, a decision that hurt their relationship, and now it looks like he's going to struggle rebuilding that relationship.

Dealing with the consequences of our own choices and actions is what helps us learn and grow.

I think that based on what we've seen so far of Season 3, Corbett and the showrunners are doing a really good job making a point of this. He's not just the guy who was unlucky enough to have his chip activated, he's not just the poor lonely man we've seen him to be, as much as those things did happen to him, they weren't everything. We are what we do with what's given to us, and Crosshair has had one big journey in that department. The things he's chosen as a result of what's happened to him are what's hindered his relationship with his brothers, but many of those choices have also turned him into a man with a heart of gold in the process.

He's not black or white, he never has been.

And lastly, for the record, as a huge Crosshair girlie, I do not blame Hunter or Wrecker for their reaction. Like I said before, it is warranted. It was painful to watch, given how tangible the tension from that scene was and how much I just want them to be together as a family, how much I relate that to my own desire to just return home to my family and have things be alright whilst knowing it cannot and will not be that simple (my folks and I are on good terms but there's other stuff).

What's going to be really interesting to see is how they emerge from that.

We as viewers still don't know when the chip was removed (part of me still wants to die on the hill that it's still in there) but I think that's going to play a huge role in this entire arc as well.

[ywpd-translations]

Ride 758: The senpai's few words

Pag 2

1: Aoyagi-san!!

Pag 3

1: Wha- what happened, Danchiku, you stopped so suddenly

2: Why is he here, in Kyushu!?

What is it, what is it

4: He's probably the person I'd want to see the most right now!!

5: What is it, is there someone in the audience area?

Someone you know? You look so surprised

I wouldn't be so surprised even if someone was there

Pag 4

2: He-hello!! You... you came to... cheer us on!?

3: It's been a while, Danchiku

4: Yes.... yes!!

Thank you so much for coming so far to see us!!

5: You got bigger

Pag 5

2: Thank you so much

3: Uhm, actually

There's something I'd like to talk to you about, is that....

4: Aoyagi-saaaan!!

-okay!?

Pag 6

1: What, for real!?

What, are you really here- amaaazing!!

Oi, Issa, I was....

2: Wait... did you just made Aoyagi-san lose consciousness with your tackle!?

3: Aoyagi-saaan!! Hahahaha!!

You're attacking him when he's already down...!!

4: I'm... o... okay...

No, he keeps pausing while talking!!

Hahaha

5: I'll lead you to our tent!! Carry him, Danchiku!!

'Carry him'....

Pag 7

2: Thank you

2: I wished you had told me you'd come though, Aoyagi!!

You forgot to add “san”, Kabuagi

3: There was something... I wanted to talk to you about but

4: I guess it can't be helped....

(You're ending up yielding again, Danchiku)

5: Ah right

6: Aoyagi-san is

Pag 8

1: A member of last year's team!!

He's the column who supported Sohoku from below last year!!

2: Someone who gained experience through hard work and difficulties and debuted in his third year, ran as a sprinter, pulled the team, and brought back the members so many times

3: Without talking, without refusing, he just did it silently!!

5: Even when he was in a pinch, when he was injured, he moved forward with all his might without ever standing out!!

If he hadn't been there, there's no way Sohoku could have won!!

Pag 9

1: He-he sounds amazing, teh

Right!! I'm really flashy, so his way of running is probably the exact opposite of mine

2: Hearing it again, he really is an amazing person.....

and I also know well what happened with his leg on the third day

4: If I was in the same position and got injured.... would I be able to run the same way?

5: “He'll run away right away”

“He's a chicken”

Pag 10

1: In this Inter High that is about to start

Pag 11

1: Since Aoyagi-san came to see us, I'll smash the starting dash!

There's no need to smash, run calmly

2: Should I get subbed out?

I'm still in time

4: “No one will blame you”

“I can be done in fifteen minutes”

5: I'm at my peak now!!

Save it for the race

6: You're an idiot as usual

I'll forgive everything you say, Aoyagi-san!!

7: What can I do, what......

Nothing....!!

Pag 12

1: The stage event is starting soon

Last year's champions, Sohoku High School, representative of Chiba, please come to the stage

Kakaka, it's our turn!!

2: Teh.... I'm nervous, the

There's gonna be tons of spectators!!

3: Do-do we take a video? I'll do it, Sugimoto-san

I'll leave it to you then. I'll finish up here

4: Su-

Sugimoto-san!!

6: Ao.... yagi-san.....

Pag 13

1: Could you do me one favor?

2: Ah- yes!

Do you want something to eat!! Right away!!

3: The food truck is there... is curry alright?

4: …. no

5: A band-aid!? A nail-clipper!?

Leave it to me, after all I worked a lot behind-the-scene last year

6: Oi, Danchiku, what are you doing. Let's go

8: Ye.... yes

Pag 14

1: Take care of that idiot

Pag 15

3: The Inter High is harsh and long

But he's reckless and can't read the air

5: You, on the other hand

6: You always keep an eye on your surroundings and pay attention to what people say and do

And that means

Pag 16

1: That you can make an accurate judgment of risk in any situation

3: The ability to read small details when you're in a pinch is essential in road racing

4: Earlier in the midst of more than a hundred people in the audience area, you

Pag 17

1: found me at one glance

4: I think you know this too, but he can only look ahead

Please support him, take a step back and, as always

5: be watchful

Pag 18

2: Yessir!! Thank you so much!!

4: “Take a step back”.....!! Taking a step back.... yielding, are my...

5: If this small heart is my ability

Pag 19

2: then I'll be the one running, Issa!!

Together with you!!

At full throttle!!

Pag 20

1: Run, Danchiku

Just like I did last year

2: with Junta

3: I'm sure your feelings will give you strength

These are the members of Sohoku, the Chiba prefecture representative who won the championship last year

Pag 21

1: So far they have won two times in a row

3: What's wrong.... your balloon... shall I get it for you?

Pag 22

2: Thank you, Onii-chan

3: That's surprising, Midosuji-san

You're so kind

4: Puku.... I am kind, though?

To

5: anyone who doesn't wear a number bib, that is!!

[fungifanart]

Like a bundle of grapes

Characters: Yuu (GN), Ace, Deuce, Grim, Azul, Jade, Floyd

CW: Cartoon violence, crack

Word count: 964

Notes: Wrote this for @twst-charity and their charity drive to send aid to Palestine! Go check out the other works done for it and feel free to donate, if you can! We have SO many talented artists and writers involved!

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

Yuu is going to MURDER that octopus.

Actually, no. Death is too good for him.

Yuu is going to cut off his tentacles, make them into takoyaki and then feed it to him.

There, that's better. 

Now that they have a plan of attack, Yuu quickens their pace as they march angrily towards the Mostro Lounge to go collect their three anemone-headed idiots.

What else was Yuu gonna do when the man running the Mostro Lounge just casually ruined what was SUPPOSED to be a nice hangout between them, Ace, Deuce and Grim?

Yuu slams their foot into the front door, forcing it open with a loud bang that causes a wave of silence to wash over the lounge's patrons as they look at them in shock, their three idiots included.

"AZUL ASHENGROTTO!!!" Yuu's enraged voice echoes throughout the lounge, prompting the sound of footsteps coming from the back hallway a minute later.

"Well, well! I was wondering who could possibly have the GALL to walk in and disrupt my business and then I find out that it's our darling Prefect!" The man in question says calmly as he rounds the corner into the main dining room, "To what do I owe the pleasure of you gracing my establishment with your ever calming presence?"

Yuu's eye twitches as they close the distance between themself and him, "Cut the crap, Ashengrotto. You know exactly why I'm here." They say as they stop in front of him and cross their arms impatiently.

"Oh dear, I'm afraid I really don't! I can tell that you're quite upset with me, but would you be so kind as to clarify why?" Azul says after throwing his hands up dramatically.

"Tch, alright fine. You suckered Ace, Deuce and Grim into another contract and screwed them over with the fine print! I thought you said you were gonna be nicer from now on!" Yuu says while pushing their finger against the man's chest accusingly.

Azul waves Yuu's hand away dismissively before responding, "Surely this isn't what you came all the way here for? Surely you realize that you should be angry at those three for not reading the fine print rather than at me?"

"Dissolve the contracts." Yuu says, not yielding even an inch.

"Oh? And why would I do that? The only ones who violated the terms of the contracts are the ones that signed them, so I'm not the one at fault here. And need I remind you that YOU decided to enter MY establishment and disrupt MY business? I could have Jade and Floyd kick you out for that alone, you know." Azul says condescendingly as the two eels in question slowly close in on either side of Yuu, most likely waiting for a signal from him.

"Oh please, we both know those two would happily let me beat you up if I made it funny." They say while rolling their eyes.

"My, how confident we are today! And how do you suppose you could do that?" The octopus says arrogantly.

"Like THIS!!!" Yuu responds before dashing behind Azul faster than he can react, wrapping their arms around his waist in a vice-like grip and arcing their back fully backwards, taking him with them as he lets out a shrill scream before colliding with the hard floor.

A beat of pin-drop silence passes as everyone's brains collectively catch up with what Yuu has done.

The silence is then broken by Floyd bursting out into howling laughter, accompanied by Jade struggling to keep his composure with his hand clamped over his mouth.

With Azul out cold and the eels successfully incapacitated, Yuu quickly rifles through the octopus's jacket pockets and pulls out Ace, Deuce and Grim's contracts before grabbing their owners by the anemones and dragging them out of the Mostro Lounge, still dazed by Yuu's actions.

Upon reaching a safe distance from the establishment, Yuu rips all three contracts to shreds, releasing their friends from the anemones and Azul's grasp.

Feeling the empty space on their heads, the three's brains finally catch up as they cheer in excitement and move to pull Yuu into a group hug, only for Yuu to dodge and instead deliver a tight and painful pinch to each of their cheeks.

“Owowowow! What gives?!” Ace asks while rubbing his cheek.

“Have you three learned nothing from the last time Azul pulled something like this?” Yuu asks with their hands on their hips like a scolding parent.

“L-look, we're sorry, it's just–” Grim tries to respond, but Yuu's frustrated voice cuts him off.

“Just what? What could be so important that you'd put yourselves at risk like that?” Yuu questions harshly, losing whatever patience they have by the second.

“Sam's shop just got a shipment of fresh watermelons, so…” Ace trails off while twiddling his thumbs.

“We wanted to get some for our hangout today, but we were short on cash, so we signed on to do some quick odd jobs for Azul, but…well…you know the rest.” Deuce explains as all three of them look at the ground.

Yuu's mouth hangs agape for a few seconds before guilt overtakes them and they wrap the other three in a tight hug, “Oh, you guys! I'm sorry for getting so angry!! I'd love to have watermelon with you!!!” They say while shaking them around.

Yuu only lets go upon hearing the door to the Mostro Lounge burst open to the sound of their favorite octopus screaming bloody murder at them and two eels that are still struggling to contain their laughter as they follow him.

“Race you to Sam's shop!” Yuu says to their friends with a challenging smile.

Breaking out into a run, the four classmates make their way to the mirror, laughing all the while.

[hippiegoth97]

Into the Fire: An Eddie Munson x Reader Story Pt. 20

Collage by me :)

Master List

Part 19

Tag List: @keikoraven @ar-jupiter @alcielo1438 @cairro-xx @stolen-in-moonlight

@micheledawn1975 @janiejenn @rafescurtainbangz @melodymunson @spacedoutdaydreamer

@veemoon @sariahs-stuff @feral-pumpkin-energy @comeonatmebruh @munsoneightysixx

@morgthemagpie @josephquinnsfreckles @jenniquinn @usergeta @cometzombie

@spookybabey @daggerdaggerkitten @nina6708 @sanctumdemunson @yourdailymemedelivery

@person-005 @slowandsteddie @gri959 @elegantkoalapaper @letitgoandletlive

@loserboysandlithium @costellation-hunter @leelei1980 @h-ness1944 @pretendthisnameisclever

@ohmeg @stalactitekilla @hellfirenacht @birdysaturne @oneforthemunny

@prettyboyeddiemunson @eddievanmunson @msgexymunson @rattkween86 @violetpixiedust

@bimbobaggins69 @angel-munson @eldermayfield @munsonsbtch @babygorewhore

@mediocredreams @xxbimbobunnyxx @taintedcigs @ali-r3n

Content Warning 18+ Only, Minors DNI: swearing, teasing, anxiety, arguing, panic attack, domestic violence/abuse, masturbation, mentions of suicide/depression, mentions of vomit, mentions of death/murder, sexual harassment, mentions of alcoholism, angst, smut, tobacco/alcohol use, mentions of death/miscarriage, mentions of war, crying, teasing, dirty talk, groping, breaking-and-entering, unprotected sex, sex in a swimming pool, semi-public sex, sex under the influence, praise/degradation, role-swapping, rough sex

Word Count: 18k

divider by @strangergraphics

Part 20.1: Shout

Saturday, June 17th, 1989

You’ve done everything in your power to keep Eddie at ease for the past week, in preparation for visiting Wilfred at the prison. There's many times where he flip-flops on whether or not he's actually gonna go through with facing his father, but you always convince him to stick to his promise. Not just for Wayne, but for himself. You just know he'll regret it if he doesn't take this chance. You reiterate to him that he is under no obligation to believe anything his father says, let alone extend an ounce of forgiveness. But to allow Wilfred to at least apologize might heal a few of the wounds that Eddie has been carrying for far too long.

You wake up early in the morning, 6am sharp, to Eddie's displeasure. You practically have to drag him out of bed, he's certainly not a morning person. "Fuck off. I'm not going." Eddie grumbles against the pillows. He yanks the covers over his head and scrunches up into an impenetrable ball.

"Eddie, c'mon. I'm not having this conversation again. You promised you'd do this, and I know damn well you're not a liar." You groan, tugging at any loose corner of the blanket you can. But it's to no avail, he's got an iron grip.

"It's never too late to start." He replies, curling further into himself. You hear the front door opening, and the sound of Mom greeting Wayne.

"Please, Eds. We gotta get ready, Wayne's waiting for us." You beg, still pulling as hard as you can on the covers. You plant your feet on the mattress, leaning back with all your might to loosen the fabric. Your audibly strain against his hold, your back angled over the carpet behind you. "You're going to the fucking prison today, even if I have to drag you there myself!" You say through clenched teeth.

"Ugh, fine!" He yields to you, tossing the blankets away. Unfortunately, you're still forcefully pulling against them, so his surrender sends you flying backwards off the bed. You land hard on your back and ass, the force of which knocks the wind out of you.

"Ow!" You squeak, unable to breathe for a good few seconds.

"Oh shit! Are you okay?" Eddie asks with concern, scrambling off the bed to attend to you. All you can do is nod from the floor.

"Y/N, are you alright in there? We heard something fall." Mom says, knocking lightly on the other side of the door. You suspect Wayne is accompanying her.

"I’m good, just rolled off the bed." You reply weakly, letting Eddie help you stand up. You’ll definitely be sore today, but there's nothing you can do about it now.

"Okay, just be careful!" Claudia warns in her usual motherly way.

"Will do, Mom." You call back while going to your dresser to pull out some clothes.

"Don't be too long, kiddos. We gotta hit the road in a minute here if we want to make our visiting time." Wayne says, before heading back down the hall. You hear Mom offer him some coffee and a donut, which he politely accepts.

"Are you okay, angel? I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for you to fall off the bed." Eddie says apologetically, stroking your back with his hand. His touch warms you, melting away the slight annoyance you're harboring towards him.

"I'm fine. Just get dressed, it's a long drive to Michigan City." You reply shortly, shoving yourself into schedule mode. You know it was an accident, so you don't want to dwell on it.

"Sure thing, sweetheart." He sighs as goes to his bag, changing out of his old boxers and slipping into new ones. He feels really bad about making you fall over, it sounded like a hard landing. If he hadn't been so stubborn about visiting his old man, you wouldn't be pissed off so early in the morning.

Arwen observes you two as you get ready, occasionally weaving herself between your legs while purring loudly. You wish you could bring her along since you'll be staying near the prison overnight. But she'll survive one day without you, and Dustin promised to feed her and give her some cuddles on your behalf. He's more than happy to do it, he absolutely loves the kitten. "I'm sorry, little one, but you have to stay home. Uncle Wayne is allergic to kitties, but Uncle Dustin will give you all the love you need while we're gone." You say to her sweetly, drawing her fuzzy little head to look up at you. She tilts it to and fro as you speak, which gives you the impression that she knows exactly what you're telling her.

"Mew!" Arwen says, before slinking away to lay down in her bed. She snuggles herself up, her head resting on her rump as she coils like a cinnamon roll. You take this simple action as her saying 'I understand, Mother. I'll be very good for Uncle Dustin, and waiting for you and Father to come home.' You like to imagine Arwen is very articulate inside her mind, but you'll never know for sure.

You finish getting ready, zipping up your bags. Eddie walks over to you, wrapping his arms around your waist.  His lips meet your neck, and your hands rest over top of your bag on the dresser. You look at him in the reflection of your mirror, finding excessive apology in his eyes. "Eds, we've gotta get going." You say softly, though the feeling of his mouth on your throat is very nice.

"I know, I just wanna have a minute with you. We're gonna be stuck in the truck with Wayne for five hours, and sharing a hotel room with him. We won't have a lot of alone time." He replies, continuing his pilgrimage along your tender flesh. His teeth meet your collarbone, making a small love bite. "Are you sure you're alright, princess? You landed pretty hard." He says, a hint of guilt in his voice.

"I'll be okay, baby. It was an accident. I appreciate how concerned you are about me, though." You turn your head, lifting his own with your hand to bring his lips to yours. You rotate your body to face him, allowing him to lift you onto the dresser. You moan into the kiss, tangling your fingers in his hair. You have something more important to be doing right now, but Eddie's just too irresistible sometimes. Your legs dangle over the dresser, with him standing firmly between them. You can feel him growing in his jeans, pressing into your inner thigh. You want him so badly, but one of you will have to call this off at some point. You set your lust aside, focusing on the task at hand. You gently put a hand to his chest, pushing him away in the nicest way possible.

"Angel, I need you." Eddie whimpers, the sound of which sends a wave of desire through you. You bite your lip to suppress the sentence that demands to be uttered from your mouth in response. You absolutely love it when he begs, but you have to resist for the sake of your trip.

"I need you too, baby. But we have to go. Maybe we can try to find some time later. You know...the hotel has a pool. Maybe we could take a little night swim?" You suggest with a mischievous smile.

"I can live with that. And I'll finally get to see how sexy you look in your swimsuit." Eddie grins, giving you one more kiss before helping you down.

"Who said I'd be wearing a swimsuit?" You say seriously, though deep inside you know you'll definitely be wearing a bikini to the pool. At least, until he inevitably takes it off of you.

"Fuck, you're gonna be the death of me, baby." He groans at the thought of you swimming in the nude, your perfect body gliding gracefully through the chlorinated water. The swells of your tits and curves of your ass peeking out through the translucent blue with every stroke.

You head towards the door, with Eddie still standing awkwardly in the room. "Something wrong, Eds?" You ask, knowing full well he's got a raging boner right now. You can see the outline of it through his tight jeans, no doubt he's picturing you swimming completely naked in the pool.

"Yeah, just tell Wayne I'll be a minute. I gotta make this fuckin' thing go down." He says in frustration, gesturing at his crotch. It's mostly his own damn fault, he started it. But you certainly didn't help with planting certain imagery inside his head. At this rate it would just be easier to whack off, but he knows that will take too long.

"Sure thing, love. I can stall for a few minutes if you need to...you know?" You can see it all over his face, he's painfully turned on to a point of no return. You'd offer to help instead, but that'll only delay you both further.

"Please? This is kinda embarrassing." He chuckles dryly.

"I've got you, Eds. I'll take your bag, and we'll be waiting for you, okay? You could go in the bathroom if it'll provide a better cover story for you." You suggest. It would be a lot less suspicious for him to leave the restroom than your bedroom after being alone for an extended period of time.

"That's perfect. Thanks, sweetheart." He nods. You open the door, both of you heading your separate ways. Eddie rushes into the bathroom, shutting the door a little too loud. You giggle at the thought, he's so desperate to relieve himself of all the pent-up lust you’ve provided him. It's oddly hot, the idea of him jerking off to the thought of you. In your own home, no less. You're getting a little wet yourself as you picture him stroking his cock in his hand, whispering your name as sweat gathers on his brow. You walk down the hall with your bags, setting them on the counter. 

Wayne's sipping his cup of coffee, munching away on his donut as him and your mother talk about you and Eddie. "He doin' alright? Saw him run to the toilet pretty fast." He asks you, nudging his head towards the hall.

"Uh, yeah. He's just a bit nervous about today." You reply, quietly suggesting something far less embarrassing than the idea of him masturbating in your house.

"Oh, I see. Poor kid, I hope he's ready for this. Cuz once we're in that truck, I ain't turnin' back unless someone's bleedin'." Wayne replies with a small chuckle. Though he can't imagine today is going to be easy for Eddie.

"He'll be fine. But I did have to force him out of bed." You reach for an apple from the bowl on the kitchen island, taking a large bite out of it. You imagine there won't be a lot of stops on this trip besides gas and the bathroom. So you'd better fuel up while you can.

"I'm sure you did, darlin'. I appreciate you getting him to stick with it, and for comin' along with us. There was a moment on the drive over where I debated turnin' right back around and callin' the whole thing off." Wayne says, putting his hand over yours in gratitude. You share a smile, and Mom pours you a cup of coffee. Milk and sugar, just how you like it.

"How about you, Y/N? Are you nervous about this trip?" Claudia asks, unwilling to hide the intense worry she feels about you going to a prison to visit a convicted man. Eddie's father or not, the idea scares her to death.

"I'm gonna be fine, Mom. I've never met the man, so I'm not afraid of him. Besides, Eddie needs me. That's what I'm choosing to focus on." You reply confidently, downing a good third of your coffee.

"That's a good mindset to have. Ah, speak of the devil." Wayne says as Eddie enters the room.

"You were talking about me? Only good things, I hope." Eddie grins, looking at you. You can see the post-orgasm flush all over his face, a light coat of perspiration glistening on his skin. Once again your mind drifts to dirty places, and you wish you could've seen the look on his face when he came.

You clear your throat to push the thought away, nodding your head. "Always, love. Feeling better?" You ask, reaching for his hand. He gladly gives it to you, running his thumb over your knuckles.

"Very much, babydoll." He replies with a knowing smile, recognizing the subtle motion you're making under the counter. Your thighs rubbing together, trying to relieve that pressure he knows all too well. Shit, he can feel himself getting hard again. You must have been thinking about him this whole time, picturing just how fucked he was for you, and his needy little noises.

"Alright, quit makin' eyes at each other. It's time to go." Wayne snaps you both out of it, your heads whipping in his direction. He laughs at your shocked expressions, praying to God he never becomes privy to whatever you were just thinking about. He does find it really sweet that you seem to be very much in love, Eddie's never been happier. Until you came around, he was worried about his nephew for a good while. He remembers the days where he couldn't get Edward out of bed for hours straight. He's certainly no psychologist, but some old war buddies of his used to do that before taking their own lives. He was scared to all hell that one day, he'd come home and find Eddie had done something similar to himself. But his nephew seems to have gotten a lot better, now that you've come into his life. Wayne only hopes that this relationship sticks, dreading the potentially fatal consequences if it doesn't.

"Sorry, Wayne. We're ready. Let's get this over with." Eddie sighs, taking his turn carrying the bags as you three head out to the truck. Claudia follows behind, giving all of you a big hug before setting off on your journey.

"Call me when you make it to the hotel, okay? And don't pick up any hitchhikers!" Mom says, struggling to keep her maternal impulses to a minimum.

"I will, and we'll be fine, Mom. We can't fit anyone else in the truck anyways." You calmly explain, before leaving her to sandwich yourself between Eddie and Wayne in the cab of the truck. Mom waves goodbye as Wayne pulls out of the driveway, and you all wave back to her.

"Alright, how 'bout some music?" Eddie says, flicking on the radio and tuning it to the rock station.

"Edward, you know the rules. Driver picks the music. And passengers shut their cake holes." Wayne retorts, flicking it back to the country station. "Besides, I raised you on this stuff. So don't pretend you don't like it." He glances at Eddie as he gets on the long road to leave Hawkins.

"Yeah, whatever." Eddie grumbles, leaning into you as he sulks.

"I like country, too, you know. Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline. They're great, really." You say to Wayne, happy to have a little break from the rock n' roll. You enjoy really any kind of music, especially on a road trip. You can just stare out the window, and drift off to all kinds of places within your head. It's like two journeys in one.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you, Y/N. Got yourself a woman of taste, Edward." Wayne smiles as "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash comes on. The large sign announcing that you're now leaving Hawkins comes up on the right side of the road, and you fully settle into your seat. Your head rests on Eddie's shoulder, and you watch silently as the road unfolds before the three of you.

You make a pit stop about halfway through your trip, stretching your legs and getting a snack from the gas station. Wayne's filling up the truck, and Eddie went to go take a piss. You'd asked Wayne if he needed a map, but he insists that he still remembers the way from the last visit he'd made to the prison. It's been ten years, almost to the day, and he still recalls every turn and exit on this lengthy journey. It appears the roads don't change much when they lead to the dead end of society.

"You pick somethin' good, angel?" Eddie asks as he appears behind you.

"Um...still deciding." You say thoughtfully as he takes hold of your waist. You're stuck choosing between potato chips and trail mix. You've already picked out some sodas for the three of you. "Ugh, you pick. I can't make up my mind." You groan quietly, leaning backwards into him.

"Don't mind if I do, sweetheart." He kisses your cheek, reaching a hand forward to pick up a can of Pringles, and a pack of Hostess cupcakes. "Here. We'd better check out and get back out there. Wayne might just drive away without us."

"I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you?" You ask jokingly.

"Well, I can't say I didn't think about climbing out the bathroom window and booking it. But then I thought about you, and I couldn't possibly leave you behind." He gives you another kiss, on your neck this time. You look around you, hoping to find no one else in your direct vicinity as Eddie's teeth latch on to your tender flesh. You gasp slightly, your grip tightening on the canned soda in your hands.

"Someone's needy." You quip, drawing a low chuckle from Eddie's throat.

"You have no idea, princess." He says seductively, before pulling away. "C'mon, let's pay and get outta here." It appears he's playing a certain game that you and him played at the very start of your relationship.

"Fuckin' tease." You mutter, walking hand in hand to the register.

"You know you love it." He replies with a grin, setting his items on the counter in front of the cashier. You do the same, and Eddie pulls out his wallet. He pays for the snacks, and you both head back outside where Wayne is waiting for you. You climb back into the truck, settling in for the second half of your trip.

"Took ya long enough. I was worried ya made a run for it." Wayne says, lighting up a smoke before pulling away from the pump. You and Eddie follow suit. You haven't had a cigarette all day, surprisingly enough.

"I considered it." Eddie says as he lights two cigs in his mouth. He hands one off to you, and you both inhale a deep drag.

"Well, I'm glad you thought better of it, Edward." Wayne replies, flicking his ash out the window. The radio begins to play "Old Records" by Margie Singleton, which just happens to be one of your favorites.

"Oh, man. I love this one." You say with a smile as the beginning notes fill the cab of the truck.

"It sure is a good one. Used to be Margaret's favorite." Wayne chuckles, recalling his sister-in-law singing along to the record back in the day. The good times, before she and Wilfred fell headfirst down the bottle together. Her velveteen voice used to coo the words to Eddie as a baby, up until he was about five years old. After that, the singing stopped entirely. The only kind of 'music' heard in the Munson household from then on was the landing of punches, dishes smashing against the walls, blood dripping onto the floor. You notice Wayne's face twisting slightly, as if the memory of Margaret is too painful to bear.

"I'm sorry. We can turn it off if it's too much." You say sympathetically, reaching for the dial. But Wayne puts his hand over yours to stop you, shaking his head.

"No, it's alright. It's been so long since I heard it last, I'm due to listen to it again." He sniffs, allowing Margie to sing sweetly to the three of you. It's about time he's able to associate the song with something positive, no longer tying it to lingering heartache and suffering.

"Okay." You reply, turning yourself slightly to cuddle up against Eddie. He's been pretty quiet, no doubt hearing this song again can't be easy for him either. "You okay, Eds?" You ask softly.

"Yeah. I'm fine." He says through a half-breath. His free hand strokes your hair, more as a way to keep himself from crying than anything else. He never thought he'd hear this song again, and it hurts like hell to know that his mom won't ever be the one singing it. Similarly to his uncle, Eddie longs for those brief years where he got to have the perfect family. His dad worked hard, hadn't thought to commit a single crime in his life. His mom was the perfect housewife, and an excellent cook. They went on family trips, though it was never anything fancy. Camping, cheap motels with swimming pools, an occasional state fair. But he didn't mind, all those places felt like goddamn Disneyland to him.

What's left of the song is spent smoking quietly, taking every lyric into close consideration. Bringing it up against all your pasts, presents, and futures. When you really think about it, the three of you have been through so much as individuals, though in very different ways. Life has put you through the wringer, and today surely won't be any easier. But you have each other, and that's all one can really ask for. Someone to hold your hand through the hard times, until the happy ones come along to give you a chance to breathe.

Thankfully the song finally changes to something far less heart-wrenching. "Jolene" by Dolly Parton, which sounds like the cheeriest song on the planet compared to the previous tune. The melancholy energy dissipates between you all, and you flick your spent butts out your respective windows before rolling them up. "C'mere, Y/N." Eddie says, turning himself in a way to lay his head against the door of the truck. He holds his arms out for you to put yourself against him. You slip into his embrace with ease, letting him hold you whichever way he likes.

"You tired, love?" You ask, noticing his drooping eyelids. He wasn't exactly keen on waking up so damn early. He's more of a night owl, a 'creature of the night', as he so eagerly describes himself at times.

"Mmhmm. Just cuddle me, princess. I need a nap if I'm gonna have the energy to deal with my dad today." Eddie says sleepily, letting his eyes fully close. The sun is thankfully shining in the other direction, he doesn't want anything to disturb him for a while.

"Anything you want, baby. I'm here for you." You coo to him, gently stroking his strong arms as they lay over you. The position is surprisingly comfortable, considering the very limited amount of space inside the vehicle. You can't resist allowing your own eyes to flutter shut, joining your love in his light slumber. Wayne glances over at the two of you, smiling happily at the affectionate image before him.The lull of the truck driving down winding roads and highways keeps you blissful and serene. Eddie's chest rises and falls gently beneath you, and the radio plays at the perfect volume to act as a relaxing soundtrack until you reach the hotel. 

Before you know it, Wayne pulls into the parking lot of the Baymont Inn, killing the engine. Your eyes open at the sudden motion, looking around to see where you are. "Hey, sleepyhead. I'm gonna get us checked in. Be right back." Wayne says with a chuckle at your sleep-drenched expression. You nod in understanding of his words, still trying to fully wake up.

"Eds, wake up. We're at the hotel." You pat his arms gently, attempting to sit up. He groans in protest, tightening his grip on you. "Eddie, I'll give you some kisses if you get up." You sing-song at him, playing into his never-ending hunger for you. He perks right up at this, making you laugh at how quickly he pushes you off of him and turns you around. Your eyes meet his, sharing a small smile. "Hey there, handsome." You say softly.

"Hi, beautiful. I believe some kisses were promised to me." He smirks, leaning in to accept his reward. You meet him in the middle, giving him quick, repeated pecks on his plush lips. This soon turns into Eddie pulling you onto his lap, unable to help himself as he deepens the kisses and shoves his tongue in your mouth.

"Better be careful, your uncle will be back any minute." You warn as Eddie moves on to plant tiny butterfly kisses all over your neck. You can't help whimpering at the contact, it feels so nice.

"Baby, the goddamn Pope could catch us and it still wouldn't stop me." He says breathlessly as it's heating up significantly in here. His hands rest on your hips, guiding you to grind on him every so often. You take a turn now, marking up his throat with your teeth and tongue. He lets out the sweetest little noises while you do so, his palms moving to squeeze the rounds of your ass.

"Eddie." You moan, biting his skin harshly in response. The windows are fogging up, blocking out the world as you continue to turn up the temperature. You pull back and look at your handiwork, finding a dark purple bruise smack dab in the middle of his neck. Mine, you think to yourself. You love marking Eddie as your own, and he enthusiastically returns the favor every chance he gets. "I love you so much, baby." You murmur, giving him a warm kiss.

"I love you too, princess. I'm so glad you came here with me." He cups your cheek, resting his forehead against yours. You're both extremely wound up now, but you'll have to wait until later to act on your smoldering desire. You're content enough just to sit here in the summer humidity, baking in the truck as you hold each other tenderly.

You're startled by someone knocking on the driver's side window, but you can't see who it is. "Knock it off in there. Help me bring the bags in." Wayne says firmly, making you both blush hard at your antics. You separate yourselves, climbing out of the truck to assist him with the luggage. "Keep in mind we're sharin' a room, you two. I don't wanna hear any squeakin' bed springs tonight, if ya don't mind." He chuckles at your embarrassed expressions, shaking his head. Oh, to be young and in love again.

"Yes, Wayne." You both reply at the same time, following his lead to the room. He trails down the hall on the first floor, finding the room that corresponds to the number on the key in his hand. 113, right at the end of the hall and a couple doors down from the indoor pool. He slips the key in the lock, twisting it with ease. He lets the three of you in, and it's nicer than you expected. There's two large beds, a TV, a small coffee maker, and even a microwave. There's the typical little soaps in the bathroom, and perfectly folded towels. The window faces the parking lot, and there's thick curtains that block out every sliver of sunlight. You and Eddie set your bags down in one of the armchairs in the room, and plop down on the edge of the bed for a moment.

"Don't get too comfortable now. We should grab some lunch before we head to the prison." Wayne says, already going for the door. His demeanor has changed a little, becoming stiff and uptight. You suppose the rapidly approaching visit you have with Wilfred is starting to get to him. You share an odd look with Eddie, before getting off the bed together. He takes your hand in his, and you leave the room as soon as you entered. Wayne locks the door behind you, and you follow him out of the hotel and across the street to a Denny's. You can't help feeling uneasy yourself as you enter the diner. The last time you visited a Denny's, it ended in a bloodbath. Lucky for you, there's no old high school enemies to be found here. Those are all hours away, leaving you safe and sound in Michigan City.

A waitress shows you three to a booth in the back, walking away shortly after to allow you to look over the menus. "What are you gonna get, Eds?" You ask, cutting into the tense silence that's been bubbling within your group. Everyone's on edge, and from your extensive prior experience, that never ends well.

"I dunno, I'm not very hungry." Eddie says nervously. Every minute that passes means he's one step closer to being face to face with the man who tried to kill him.

"You've gotta eat somethin', Edward." Wayne says as he reads over the options himself.

"I know. I'm not a fuckin' child." Eddie grumbles, flipping through the sticky pages. You put a hand on his shoulder, drawing his eyes to you. He's wearing an irritated expression, a good helping of fear mixed in with it.

"Baby, relax. Everything is gonna be fine, okay?" You speak softly to soothe him. 

He gives you a nod, forcing his shoulders to loosen up as they tensed to all hell just a moment ago. "Yeah." He replies simply, pasting on a small smile. It's really all he can manage at the moment, the gears in his head are shifting, slowly working their way towards total chaos. Hopefully, you can keep him grounded and avoid yet another crisis in your lives.

The waitress takes your order, and the food comes out about fifteen minutes later. You dig into your waffles, and Wayne has no issues consuming his country-fried steak. Eddie, however, is barely picking at his BLT. "Baby, what's wrong?" You ask, putting a bite of syrupy waffle into your mouth.

"I'm fine, love." He lies, picking up half of the sandwich and taking a large bite to shut you up. He doesn't want you to worry, it'll only make things worse. He chews slowly, the texture of the bacon making his stomach turn. It takes everything in him to swallow, his throat doesn't want to let the food go down. He forces it through anyway, and it hits his belly like a brick. Today is going to be even harder than he thought it would be.

"If you say so. You can still change your mind if you really want to. We could go back to the hotel and Wayne could go to the prison alone, no questions asked. But it's up to you, okay?" You know he's putting on a brave face. You've become pretty intuitive to Eddie's defense mechanisms, as he has done with yours. You don't blame him for hiding. His task would prove difficult for even the most iron-willed of men. You only hope he'll see it through, it's what's best for him.

Eddie's eyes flick to Wayne, who nods to affirm your statement. "I know. But I'm gonna do it. I'm not turning back now." He says stubbornly, making himself take another bite of his sandwich. He holds back a gag at the taste, this has got to be the most challenging meal of his life. Every chew seems to last an eternity, and every single atom of sustenance weighs a thousand pounds upon his jaw.

When you finish eating and the check comes around, Wayne pulls out his wallet. You try to pay for your share, but he insists that he's got it. He pays, and you go back across the street to load into the truck. Eddie's gone quiet again, though neither you or his uncle have much to say either. It only takes about ten minutes to reach the prison, and you can see it at the end of a long dirt road, looming over you like a gray giant. Eddie takes hold of your hand as you approach the gate, squeezing tightly. He's trembling, and you look up to see what's going on inside his head. His face remains stoic, however, giving you little indication of what he's thinking. You can certainly imagine it's not very pleasant.

"Get the ID's out, kids. Need to show 'em to the guard to get in." Wayne says, one hand leaving the wheel to dig out his license. You and Eddie do the same, and hand the little cards over to him. The truck stalls at the gate, and a burly man in a pressed uniform steps out of his little shack to greet you. He stands stout, his head barely reaching above the driver's side window.

"Welcome to Indiana State Prison. I assume you're here to visit an inmate?" The man says, looking over his aviators to give you all a curious glance.

"Yes, sir. We're here to see Wilfred Munson." Wayne replies cordially, handing over your identification for the guard to look over. The man inspects the cards, nodding his head as he finds them satisfactory.

"Alright, just follow the road down that way, and they'll have you check in at the front desk." The guard instructs as he gives the ID's back to Wayne.

"Thanks." Wayne replies, pressing on further into the belly of the beast. He parks as close to the front door as he can, and puts the truck in park. He turns to look at you and Eddie. "Okay, now there's a few rules you oughta follow while we're in there. Eddie, you probably remember, but Y/N doesn't know 'em."

"Okay." You nod, waiting to hear what these rules are.

"One, do everything the guards tell ya to the letter. They ain't fuckin' around in there. Don't question it, just do it. It's for your safety, and theirs. Two, don't let anyone give ya anything. It ain't likely we'll run into wandering inmates since we'll be in the infirmary, but it is a possibility. Three, now this is just more of a warnin' than anything else. Those men in there might say things to you, or make vulgar gestures. They don't see a lot of young ladies like yourself in there much. But just ignore them, they won't do nothin' to ya. Understand?" Wayne speaks seriously, and you listen closely to every word. You plan to follow his advice completely, it's clear to you that this place is not to be taken lightly.

"I understand, Wayne." You answer, giving an emphatic nod.

"Good. You ready, Eddie?" He asks his nephew, who has still managed to be practically mute through all of this. It's a bit jarring, given how much of a chatterbox he usually is.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Eddie flashes a weak smile, turning to open his door and step out into the June heat. You follow close behind as he's still gripping your hand for dear life. Wayne follows suit, and the three of you head to the entrance. Your boyfriend's feet stop a few feet away from it, however.

You look back at him from your couple steps of distance you'd made before he stilled you in your tracks. "Eddie, you okay?" You're sure he's tired of you asking him that a million different ways today. But you can't help it, you have to keep a close eye on him. He needs you to hold him to his promise, as he'd probably never fulfill it on his own.

"Y-Yeah. I just need a second." He replies shakily, swallowing a lump that's formed in his throat. He feels hot and clammy, his heart is racing. He's sweating profusely, and his stomach is doing somersaults. Alarm bells ring loudly in his head that going inside the prison will only end badly. It's like he can't fucking breathe. He might be having a panic attack. He imagines this is what you go through all the time, which only makes him feel more sorry for you than he did previously. He pushes through, ignoring all the warning signs as they flash behind his eyes. "Let's get this over with." He huffs the words out, and you finally head inside.

Wayne leads you through check-in, thankfully he's got the system down pat. The guards check you for weapons and contraband, and you fill out some simple forms. It's a very interesting, if not intimidating, process. It goes smoother than you expect, though Eddie seems to be struggling a little. His hand shakes terribly as he fills out the papers, and he can't help being a bit jumpy when the guard pats him down. Said guard gives him a suspicious look, but you kindly explain that he's just nervous about seeing his father. Your words seem to satisfy the man well enough, and he clears you three to go down to the infirmary.

A separate guard brings you down the long hallways of the prison, his shiny shoes clicking on the floor and his keys jingling with every step. This path takes you past rows and rows of cells filled with pent-up inmates, and they do exactly as Wayne said they might. Hooting and hollering, whistling at you, saying every vulgar thing you can possibly think of. But you do as Wayne told you, and completely ignore them. Head looking forward, no expression on your face as you follow the clicking and tinkling sounds before you. One inmate in particular tries to fling his semen at you, you don't even blink as it barely misses you by an inch. It splats onto the floor in front of your left foot, and you just step over it and keep going.

You maintain a strong hold of Eddie's hand the whole way. As much as you can pretend the rowdiness of the prisoners doesn't bother you on the outside, on the inside, you're pretty fuckin' scared. You've never heard so many men shout at you like this, especially not so loudly and lewdly. You feel like a piece of meat being stared down by a thousand hungry wolves. And you know if one of these cells wasn't fully locked, any one of these men could do unspeakable things to you. You don't honestly think it's every single one participating, but you know better than to look their way and check.

"Alright, you have one hour. I'll be standing right outside, in case ol' Willy tries anything. He's a slippery fucker, even though he's on death's door." The guard, who's name tag reads 'Hill', says as you approach the double doors of the infirmary. The windows are frosted glass, you suppose for patient privacy. Well, as much privacy as a patient can get when they're incarcerated. "Now, I suggest you stay in the chairs as we have them arranged in the room, but it's up to you if you want to take the risk." Hill says, opening one of the doors to let you inside.

You step into the room, checking your surroundings. There's five beds in a neat row against the wall, only one of which is occupied. There's a thin curtain drawn around it, which you suspect is where Wilfred is. There's a strong smell of bleach and an overall medicinal scent in here, overwhelming your nostrils. The beep of machines running is the only sound once your footsteps have stilled. The windows at the back wall are frosted over like the doors, with thick steel bars secured over them. A petite nurse sits at a small station in the corner of the room, and she smiles when she notices your presence. "Hello, I'm nurse Gina. I was told you'd be coming. Let me just see if he's awake. He spends most of his time sleeping now." The woman says kindly, getting off of her stool to check on her patient. She steps inside the curtain, not quite revealing the man to you yet. "Mr. Munson, your family is here to see you." She says softly, and you hear a rough cough follow it.

"Oh, good. I've been waitin' for 'em. Thank you, Gina." You hear a gruff voice say, the exact one you remember hearing on the phone, and in your dream.

"Okay." She replies, and the scraping of the curtain rings running along their track fills the still air as she reveals the dying man to you. It goes quicker than you expect, and once again you're faced with the spitting image of the man you recall from your nightmare. But he's far less threatening in real life. His hair and skin look as you imagined, but his body is even thinner. You can see his skull hiding just beneath his flesh, and his arms are just as skeletal. His lower half is covered by a thick knit blanket, and he's hooked up to various monitors, an oxygen tank, and an IV.

His glassy eyes meet the three of you lazily as you stand in an awkward huddle by the door. He seems to be barely holding on to consciousness, and he gives you an odd look as he doesn't recognize you. His gaze lands on Eddie, and his chapped lips pull up into a sickly smile. "Long time no see, Edward. You've certainly grown up." Wilfred says weakly. You check Eddie's face to see how he's reacting to this, and your eyes widen at what you find. He's even more pale than his dad, and he's slicked in sweat. He's breathing heavily, and his eyes refuse to leave his father's. You know exactly what's happening, only because you've experienced it yourself so many times.

"Shit. Um, Gina? Can you get us a glass of water, and a trash can, please?" You ask as calmly as you can, and then you look at Wayne. "Can you get a chair over here, Wayne? I think he might pass out."

"You got it, kiddo." Wayne says, quickly bringing one of the three chairs positioned at the bedside over to where you're stuck in place.

"Sit down, Eds. And breathe." You lead Eddie to sit down, and his ass plops down roughly into the plastic seat. The metal legs scrape backwards along the floor an inch at the impact. He doesn't feel faint now, but he still can't look away from his dad. You kneel before him and take his head in your hands, forcing him to break his terrified stare. "Baby, look at me." His pupils finally roll to you, but he's still breathing rapidly. "It's gonna be okay, just relax. Don't look at him, look at me. I'm right here, and he can't hurt you. Okay?" He nods, and Gina comes over with the items you requested.

"Is he going to be alright?" She asks, looking very concerned for your boyfriend's wellbeing.

"Yeah. It's just a panic attack. I get them all the time, I know what to do." You decide to turn his chair to face the wall, letting Eddie pretend his father isn't here right now. You hand him the glass of water, and put the trash can in his lap for the inevitable vomiting that will surely come soon. "Just breathe, love. It's okay." You continue to comfort him, holding his free hand as he sips on the water.

"I'm sorry, Y/N. I really thought I could do this." Eddie croaks, a few tears beginning to prick his eyes. He really doesn't want to break down like this. Not in front of his dad, or Wayne, or this random nurse. It's so embarrassing. But he can't help it, this whole situation is just too much.

"Hey now, it's alright. I still think you can, Eddie. You're so brave for even stepping foot inside this prison, and coming into this room, and looking your father in the eyes. You don't have to do anything else if you don't want to. But I think you've already done the hardest part, which was coming here in the first place." You speak soothingly to him, slowly calming his nerves.

"I ain't gonna bite ya, Ed. Shit, I can barely scratch my own ass." Wilfred pipes up from the bed, a slight wheeze in his voice as he pushes each word from his lips. Your own eyes sweep to look at the sickly man again, and you're met with pupils that honestly freak you the hell out. There's nothing outright malicious about them, but they feel...untrustworthy, somehow. You can't quite put your finger on it, but this makes you very wary about how this visit might pan out. "So, you must be Eddie's little girlfriend, hm? The girl who picked up the phone and had the nerve to hang up on me?" The frail man questions, raising an eyebrow at you.

"Yes, I'm Y/N." You answer, not really sure what else to say.

"Y/N? That's a pretty name, and you're real easy on the eyes, too. You sure know how to pick 'em, Edward." Again, the man's words come out in a way that reads all wrong. Is he trying to be nice? Or is he insulting you? You've never had such trouble knowing if you should trust an individual than you do right now. You decide to take anything he says with a grain of salt, and keep your distance at Correctional Officer Hill's behest.

"Thanks." You say hesitantly, returning your attention to Eddie. "You feeling a little better?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay. I don't think I'll be needing this." He replies, setting the trashcan on the floor. He gulps down the rest of his water, finding every last drop to be the most refreshing thing he's ever drunk. Gina takes the cup for him, and he stands to face his father again. "Hi." He addresses the bedridden man, a lot less scared than he was before.

"It's been ten years, and that's all ya got? 'Hi'?" Wilfred asks, his eyes narrowing slightly at his son.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Let me try again." Eddie scoffs, clearing his throat into his fist. He puts on an exaggerated expression of sadness, before speaking in a sarcastic tone. "Hey dad, I've missed you so much. It's been so long since you tried to kill me. I'm sorry that you're dying. I haven't thought about the years of abuse you've put me through AT ALL! Is that better?" He ends flatly, crossing his arms as he drops the act. You and Wayne just look at him in shock. You definitely didn't expect him to behave like this. You don't necessarily find it wrong, Wilfred clearly didn't think Eddie's initial greeting was enough. You suspect a genuinely emotional and sincere one wouldn't satisfy the man, either.

"Jesus, Ed." Wayne shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Wil." He apologizes to his brother for Eddie's outburst.

"No, no. It's alright, ‘spose I earned that one." Wilfred sighs, backing down. Eddie's eyes widen at his surrender, that's never happened before. He doesn't know how to react, so he just keeps quiet. "C'mon now, we don't have much time. Please, sit with me." Wilfred asks politely, addressing all three of you now. Wayne takes the chair back over to the place it had been originally at the side of the bed. He sits closest to his brother, leaving the other seats open for you and Eddie.

"C'mon, Eds. It's okay." You pat his hand, pulling him along to sit in the chair on the end. You figure Eddie doesn't want to be very close to his dad, though he'd never admit it.

"So, what have ya been up to, kid? You stayin' outta trouble?" Wilfred asks, coughing loudly afterwards. Gina instinctively gets up to grab him some water, setting the cup on his lap table with a straw. "Thank you, Gina." He smiles at her, which she kindly returns. He sits up as far as he can, which is only about two inches, even with his bed raised upright. He takes a small sip from his cup, swallowing thickly.

"I've, uh...been alright. I work at a movie theater in Hawkins, and I've been dating Y/N for three and a half months." Eddie replies softly, fumbling over his words. His eyes flick rapidly between Wilfred and the floor. This whole interaction is so surreal. It's taken ten whole years and a lethal dose of cancer for his dad to actually give a shit about his life and well-being.

"Wow, that long already? When's the wedding?" Wilfred jokes, letting out a hoarse laugh.

"A bit early for that. Don't ya think, Wil?" Wayne pipes up, attempting to mediate and prevent any arguments.

"Not if he knocks her up, Wayne." The sick man replies, his eyes shifting to you again. It's like he's waiting for you to respond to that statement, looking for a particular reaction. Is he really spending the last visit he'll ever have with his family to grill you about dating his son?

"I can assure you I'm not going to end up pregnant, Mr. Munson. I know how to take care of myself." You say as nicely as you can, holding back the immense impulse to rip him a new one for being so crude.

"My, she sure talks real sweet, huh? I see why you like her, Edward. Mr. Munson, so polite. What are you wastin' your time on a kid like Eddie for? You could have any young man you want." Dying or not, Wilfred is seriously getting on your nerves. He simultaneously talks about you like you're not here, and then asks you insulting questions.

You cross your arms, taking on a more pissed-off stance. "I don't think I'm wasting my time at all. Eddie is sweet, and kind, and everything I want in a partner. I love him, and I don't think we need your input on our relationship." You speak firmly, allowing a bit of anger to slip into your tone. Wilfred snorts, finding your attitude quite entertaining. Ugh, seriously? Fuck this guy.

"Ouch, pussycat's got claws! Looks like someone hasn't been put in her place yet." The old man chuckles, which just makes you seethe with rage. Eddie was right, this was a stupid idea. This man hasn't changed, and you've just provided him with a new target.

"That's enough, dad. Leave Y/N alone. She only came here to support me, but you don't need to say another goddamn word to her." Eddie says angrily. He's allowed you to hold your own for a moment, partially because he's still adjusting to this situation. He knows you aren't afraid of his father, you have no reason to be. But he refuses to hear anymore of this. He won't let anyone talk to you in such a disrespectful way.

"Gee, and I was worried she's the one wearing the pants in this relationship." Wilfred retorts, still spitting his insolent bile.

"Wil, please. This ain't what we're here for." Wayne interjects as he tries to control the situation.

"He started it!" Wilfred scoffs, pointing a finger in Eddie's direction. Like a child caught fighting with their sibling.

"He was just bein' honest, Wil. You damn well know that. You said you wanted to apologize to him before you kick the bucket, and that's the only reason we're here. Not to listen to your insults, or to start new fights. So, say your goddamn piece, and we'll get the fuck outta here." Wayne stands his ground, more furious than you've ever seen him. He's spent too many years, too many late nights, trying to help Eddie deal with the after-effects of the awful abuse he suffered at the hands of his parents. He's not gonna let his brother reopen all those old wounds, shoving more pain and poison inside them to hurt Eddie even further. And he certainly doesn't need to hear him say rude things to you, as you haven't done a damn thing to this man.

"Alright, alright. Shit, I didn't realize you'd gotten so soft, Wayne. I take it all those years in the Army didn't stick." Wilfred sighs, crossing his arms. Does he seriously think that last sentence was called for? That it wasn't  meant to be hurtful? Or does he just not give a shit? You've genuinely never seen a man, a parent, act in such a way to his own family. He's quick with the jabs, going for the jugular like it means absolutely nothing. What a piece of work.

You look at Wayne, who's got his head bowed slightly as his face burns red. His fists ball at his sides, it's taking everything in him to not blow up on his brother. Eddie, on the other hand, wastes no time in coming to his uncle's defense. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Eddie shouts, standing up out of his seat. The plastic chair flips over onto the floor, clattering loudly.

"Eddie一" You try to grab his arm, to stop him from doing something he'll regret. But he just looks at you with furious eyes, the same eyes he gave you when Wayne first asked for this favor. You let him go, nodding your head slowly. You know he has to do this, to let everything out in the open so he can move on. He walks closer to the bedside, leaning over the old man slightly. Wilfred's eyes widen at Eddie's rage, he's never seen his son so willing to stand up to him. Eddie breathes heavily in his face, keeping his hands down to avoid hitting his father.

"You're such a fucking asshole, you know that? You drank through most of my childhood, and you dragged Mom down with you. You beat the shit outta me, starved me, locked me in my room for days on end. Then you got yourself locked up in here by lying, and stealing, and killing." Eddie practically spits the words down onto his dad, holding back the intense urge to vomit all the while. He can't take this abuse anymore, but he's still shaking like a leaf on the inside.

You watch on wordlessly as your boyfriend shouts the dying man down, like he's a boogeyman who's powers don't work anymore. Your eyes meet Wayne's for a moment, who looks just as surprised as you. You knew this day wouldn't be easy, far from it. But you certainly didn't expect this. Eddie continues, his volume raising as he goes on. He gestures behind him at his uncle as he speaks. "And Wayne is the only person that would take me in. He stepped up when he didn't have to. He took me to school, and fed me, and made sure I had clean clothes and a roof over my head. He's supported my hobbies, and my relationships. He's been more of a father to me than you'll ever be!" Eddie brings his arm back to point a finger in Wilfred’s face. "And I'm not gonna sit here while you shit on the people I love! You can be the same miserable bastard all you want, your time is up pretty fuckin' soon anyway. But I'm done being afraid of you. I'm done playing into your games. I'M DONE being unhappy because of your bullshit!" He screams in his dad's face, causing the old man to flinch. Wilfred's boney hands come up defensively, shielding his chest from any potential blows.

"Alright, I think that's enough." Gina cuts in, walking over to move Eddie away from the bed. She puts a hand on his arm, which he quickly whips away.

"Don't fuckin' touch me!” Eddie yells, making Gina recoil from him. “We were just leaving." He says, backing away from the bed a couple steps. He looks down at Wilfred again, who's still cowering from his outburst. "Who's gone soft now, Wilfred?" He asks snarkily, before turning away.

"I just hope you won't regret speaking to me this way, Edward. I'm still your father, whether you like it or not." Wilfred says softly, a last-ditch effort at a guilt trip.

Eddie slowly turns his head to look back at his withering father. "I won't lose any sleep over it. I'd say we're just about even, don't you think?" A satisfied smile spreads across his lips, the relief he's been waiting for all these years washing over him. He turns away for the final time, walking to you to take your hand. You stand to meet him, ready to get the hell out of here. "C'mon, angel. Let's go home." He says sweetly to you, and you nod in reply. Wayne follows close behind, and you leave the infirmary without another word.

CO Hill leads you back to the entrance, once again past all those rowdy inmates. But you can't even hear them now, you feel a massive amount of inner strength radiating between your little group. The issue of Wilfred is finally put to rest. The old man hasn't changed, and never will. Eddie got to let the anger and resentment go once and for all. And now you all have a chance to move forward, putting your worries behind you. You walk outside, and Eddie suddenly drops your hand. You look up to see why, and he's currently running to the trash can beside the doors to throw up. He grips the sides of the can, and his stomach empties into it violently. 

You quickly go to him to make sure he's alright. "You okay, Eds?" You ask, putting your hand on his back. He nods through his retching, and you just stand here with him until he's done. He spits into the can, wiping his mouth. "Better?" You question, swiping away the sweat on his forehead with your hand.

"Fuck yeah, you have no idea." He lets out a sigh of relief, smiling happily when the decades-old weight falls from his shoulders. He doesn't have to worry about his dad anymore. Soon, the bastard will be dead. And even more than that, he's no longer the scary monster he once was.

"Good." You mirror his sunshiney expression, giving him a warm kiss.

"Let's get a move on, kids. I dunno 'bout you, but I need a drink." Wayne calls from the other side of the lot, already standing outside his pickup truck.

"Yes, please!" You exclaim, pulling Eddie along to get in the truck. You all buckle your seatbelts, and set on a quest to find the nearest bar.

Part 20.2: Hooked On A Feeling

Wayne drives the three of you around, looking for a local watering hole to toss back a couple drinks in after your ordeal. He makes a few turns, and you keep your eyes peeled for any bar or pub you can find. "How about this one? Looks like they serve food, too." You point out a shabby little building at the end of the block you've been riding down. A faded sign sits on the side facing you, '4-Stop Bar & Grill' in bold letters with a crumbling picture of a burger next to it. It doesn't look like much, but you'll take anything you can get at this point.

"Good enough for me." Wayne smiles, pulling over to park parallel to the building. Brown-painted wood paneling goes halfway up the boxy structure, the other half covered with cracked plastic siding. The front door has three little square windows on the top, middle, and bottom of it, giving you ample glimpses of the activities inside. There's quite a few people in there, some playing pool, others leaning on the bartop, and a rather wasted couple making out against the jukebox. The age range is a bit on the older side, and nearly everyone has a cigarette in their hand. This will be the first time you've actually gone to a bar, you haven't been 'legal' all that long and you've never been one to want to go out drinking. But this afternoon certainly calls for it, requires it, even.

You hop out of the truck, walking with the two men to go up the short steps and enter the bar. You're immediately hit with a thick blanket of smoke, and the stench of beer and whiskey. The jukebox blares Def Leppard into your ears, and you get a few odd looks from the locals. Eddie finds a small table in the corner, just big enough for the three of you. "What do you want to drink, sweetheart?" He asks as you sit down, gesturing at the bar.

"Um...I'm not really sure. I've never really done this before." You say bashfully, feeling a few pairs of judging eyes on you from the other patrons.

"That's okay, I'll bring you something good." He gives you a kind smile, trying to assure you that you don't need to be self-conscious. "Wayne?" He looks to his uncle.

"Beer, please. I don't care what kind, s'long as it's in a bottle." Wayne replies, and Eddie nods and heads over to the counter. "You holdin' up alright? Things got pretty intense back there." Wayne speaks to you, shouting over the music.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was more worried about you and Eddie. Are you alright? I’m sure that wasn't easy for you." You reply, resting your hands on the sticky table nervously. You hope Wayne isn't upset with Eddie, or Wilfred. The whole thing was kind of a mess, and you're sure he wanted to have a real goodbye.

"Well, it went 'bout as good as I thought it would. I wish it went better, of course. But at least it's clear to us all now that Wilfred ain't worth the last bit of breath he has. Not much to be done about it now, 'cept wait for his ashes to come in the mail." Wayne replies calmly, if not with a tinge of regret. He supposes he could've saved everyone the trouble and told his brother to go fuck himself. But the man sounded so sad on the phone, like he was genuinely sorry for the pain he had caused. Wilfred played him like a fiddle, and Wayne will never forgive him for that.

"I guess. I'm still sorry that he lied to get you both here. That was a nasty thing to do." You place your hand over his, hoping to provide some comfort to the man. He nods in acknowledgement of your words, just as Eddie returns with the drinks.

"Beer for you, Wayne." Eddie places the glass bottle in front of his uncle. "And I got us each a Jack and Coke. I hope that's okay." He looks to you, handing you your glass.

"Sounds great, love." You take a sip from the thin straw poking out the top of the drink, slurping down a decent mouthful of the brown liquid. It's sweet, and fizzy, and just strong enough to wash away the stress of today. "It's perfect, Eds. Thank you." You give him a light kiss after he sits down.

"You're welcome, princess." He reciprocates your affection, having already taken a big swig from his own drink on the way over here. It's swirling around his head already, given that his stomach was previously emptied after the visit. He attempts to deepen the kiss, but you show restraint as you are far from alone right now. You gently push on his chest, and he takes the hint.

"Slow down, baby. We'll have time for that later." You say lowly, running your hand up Eddie's thigh to tease him. You certainly want to enjoy your time here, the place is decent enough to hang out in for a while. But you'd be lying if you said you didn't want to sneak off to the undoubtedly filthy bathroom in the back of the bar and fuck him silly.

"Mm, what if I don't wanna wait?" He chuckles darkly, his eyes glazing over with lust while your hand continues to travel towards his crotch. You hold intense eye contact with one another, totally ignoring your surroundings. Luckily, Wayne has wandered off to put a couple coins into the jukebox to play something he'd like.

"Well, the way I see it, you have two options. One, you be a good boy for me and be patient. And in return, you'll get anything you want. Two, you disobey me, and you'll get nothing. Your choice, Eds. I just hope you'll make the right one." You speak seductively, squeezing his erection through his jeans.

"Fuck, you're killin' me, baby." Eddie says through a quiet moan. "But I'll be patient. I need you so bad, I'm not gonna risk getting nothing at all." You love just how much he craves you, the desperation in his voice causing arousal to spread between your legs.

"Mhm, good boy." You reward his obedience with a flaming kiss on his throat, his eyes falling closed at the contact on his sweet spot. You let out a light laugh when you pull away, feeling insanely satisfied with yourself. Eddie's putty in your hands at this point, eager and willing to do anything you say.

"You two done necking yet?" Wayne asks when he returns to the table. He had thankfully walked away when he noticed you two heating up again. He doesn't blame you one bit, he used to be exactly the same when he was your age. He just really doesn't want to see it, it's highly uncomfortable for him.

"Yeah. Sorry." Eddie exhales heavily, failing to fight the crimson blush overtaking his cheeks. A tinge of pink colors your own, but you feel far less ashamed than he does. It's probably the booze, one sip is all it takes for your inhibitions to fly out the window.

"Don't worry 'bout it. I used to be like that with Madeline back in the day." Wayne replies with an understanding smile.

"Who's Madeline?" You ask, never having heard the name before.

"She was a very special woman, Y/N. I'd met her back in my school days, ya know, the time of the dinosaurs." Wayne jokes, making you and Eddie laugh. "We got engaged right out of high school, got a little place to start a family. We were happy." His face falls a little as he pauses, as does Eddie's. He's heard this story many times, but it never gets easier to listen. "But, uh...I got drafted into the war just after she fell pregnant. She wrote me lots of letters, and I wrote even more back to her. The war was awful, I'm sure you know that from your schoolin'. Horrors and atrocities I'm not gonna get into now, or maybe ever. But the thing is, I was busy fightin' for my life when Madeline went into labor." He pauses again, his eyes tearing up a little as his voice begins to break.

"You don't have to do this now, Wayne. It's been a long day." Eddie tries to stop him, this story always makes his uncle so sad. Even decades afterwards, Wayne's heart only beats for Madeline.

"No, it's alright. Y/N asked, so I'm gonna tell her. I didn't find out 'til almost a month later, that she'd died when givin' birth to our son. The baby was...stillborn, too. Her parents tried to reach me, but it was damn near impossible at the time. I missed the funeral, I didn't even get to go home and say good-bye." He lets out a choked sob, taking a swig of his beer afterwards. "I finished out my time, and was sent home with a couple decorations. I sure as shit didn't feel like I earned 'em. I went back to our little place, and broke down when I saw the crib we'd picked out just before I left." He tries to continue, but he can't. It's still too much, even after all these years.

"Wayne, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked." You apologize profusely, feeling terrible for asking about his lost love at all.

"No, no. Don't apologize, darlin'. I brought her up. Seein' you two together just reminds me of her so much, and what we could've had." Wayne wipes his eyes, taking a deep breath with a loud exhale. He lifts his bottle to take another gulp, only to find it empty. "Shit, I need another drink. You two want anything? Burger, or somethin'?"

"Burgers would be wonderful. Thank you." You reply politely, looking at him with sympathy. He nods, heading on his way to put the order in.

"Don't beat yourself up about it, Y/N. He insisted on telling his story." Eddie puts a hand on your back, noticing your sullen expression.

"I'm trying not to. I just can't imagine how heartbroken and lonely he must be. Has he...dated at all? Even when you were younger?" You can't help being a little curious. Over twenty years is a long time to be on your own like that, without any companionship.

"Not really. There were a couple women every now and then, but they never stayed around long. Whenever I asked why the 'nice lady' wouldn't be coming around anymore, he always said 'There's only one woman for me, Ed. And she's waitin' for me when the time is right for us to be together again.' He definitely buys into that whole 'heaven' thing, and for his sake, I hope he's right." Eddie downs the rest of his drink, hissing slightly after he swallows. The bartender was a little heavy-handed with the whiskey.

"Well, it's very sweet, for what it's worth." You say simply, ready to change the subject. Eddie leaves for a refill, coming back shortly with a second drink for you as well. "Jeez, Eds. Are you trying to get me drunk?"

"More like I'm trying to get me drunk. Well...buzzed, at least." He smirks, taking another large sip.

"Alright, just don't get sloppy, baby. I need you in peak form tonight." You say as you bite your lip suggestively.

"Anything for you, my sexy girl." He gives you another kiss, and this time you can't help leaning into it. Wayne's still waiting at the counter for your burgers, and he's chatting up a couple guys wearing Vietnam veteran hats. Eddie's hand cradles the back of your head, and he slips his tongue into your mouth. The taste of cola and whiskey travels between you in varying degrees of aroma, your heads turning every so often to change up the angle.

"Mmm." You hum into the kiss. You're definitely feeling the booze big-time, you've gotta pace yourself if you want things to go according to plan. You pull away again, licking the stinging sweetness from your lips. "Naughty boy, I ought to punish you for that." You playfully swat his thigh, just a couple inches away from where he wants you most right now.

"Sorry, darling. It won't happen again." He says without a hint of remorse in his voice.

"Yeah, right! You know you can't resist me. I bet you're thinking of all the filthy things you wanna do to me right now." You can't stop toying with him, it's just too damn easy to rile him up.

"Like what?" Eddie asks, wanting to hear you verbalize all the dirty thoughts currently swimming around inside his mind.

"Okay, I'll tell you. But we gotta be quiet, I think Wayne will be back soon." You speak lowly, beckoning him closer with your finger so you can talk into his ear. He does as you ask without thinking. "You wanna touch me, baby?"

"Uh-huh." He says breathily, wanting you to continue.

"You want to kiss every inch of me? Put your fingers inside my pussy? I'm already so wet for you, Eddie." You can't believe how dirty you're being in such a busy place, but you definitely don't want to stop. Eddie mumbles an affirmative reply, his cock straining in his pants at your every word. "I bet you wanna taste me so bad right now, huh? Dive headfirst between my thighs? Make me scream your name? Fuck, your tongue is almost magic sometimes." You notice you're breathing heavier than usual, this plan of yours to make him lose control is backfiring. You just want to knock him over in his chair and ride him right now.

"I want it all, princess. Tell me more." He pleads, his mouth sitting agape as you delight him with your salacious phrases.

"You want me to suck your cock, take you deep in my throat like a good little slut?" You take his earlobe between your teeth for a moment, but pull away when a wrinkly woman a couple tables down from you glares in your direction. You clear your throat, the reality of where you are coming back into focus. You finish your first drink, and take a couple gulps of your second.

"Pace yourself, sweetheart. Because there's no way I'm not fucking your brains out tonight after all that." He chuckles darkly, planting an innocent kiss on your cheek as Wayne returns with the burgers. He sets the little plastic baskets in front of you, and you waste no time digging into the greasy food within.

"Damn, you two are hungrier than I thought!" Wayne laughs, picking up his own sandwich. You both just nod, munching down bite after bite and shoving fries in your face. Neither of you can help yourselves, all your teasing has made you unbearably ravenous. You're just hoping that the food will satisfy you long enough to make it back to the hotel.

Once you've gobbled up every last bite, and finished your second drink, you and Eddie head over to the pool table to play a few games to pass the time. You take a couple pool cues from the rack on the wall, and Eddie sets the balls up. "You know how to play, sweetheart?" He asks while rolling the stripes and solids in the triangular rack to align them.

"Yeah, I used to have a friend that owned a table. Well, her parents did, anyway. But we played all the time at sleepovers. And that's how I know I'm gonna kick your ass at this game." You can't hide the shit-eating grin that spreads across your lips.

"Someone's feelin' cocky today." Eddie scoffs, lifting the rack away from the balls as they're formed in a perfect inverted pyramid.

"No, just confident, baby." You retort. "You wanna go first? Give you a little head start before I wipe the floor with you?" Your competitive side is coming out to play, and Eddie has no idea what he's gotten himself into.

"Alright, I will. I'm afraid that means you won't get a turn at all. You're not the only one that kicks ass at this game." Eddie joins in on your light trash-talk, he's never one to back down from a challenge.

"We'll see about that." You reply, moving over to let him take the first shot. He pulls the cue back in his grip, hitting the white ball expertly. It rolls to make contact with the others, and sends them shooting in all directions. He pockets one of the stripes, already off to a good start. He goes on to sink three more before he misses a shot, which makes you a bit nervous.

"You're up, sweetheart." Eddie smirks, standing out of your way.

"What was that again about me 'not getting a turn'?" You tease, getting into position. He watches you lean over the table, unable to resist looking at your ass. You aim for a pocket in the corner with two solid balls just waiting to be sunk at the same time. You take the shot, and sure enough, you make both of them fall into the little round hole. One by one, you sink every last ball while Eddie watches on wordlessly. He's never seen someone be so good at this game, making flawless shots every single time. Other patrons of the bar have been watching you as well, their eyes widening as you effortlessly put down every ball you aim at. You're down to the eight now, calling the center-left pocket. Just like every other ball, you sink it like it means absolutely nothing.

"Damn, angel! How'd you do that?" Eddie asks, walking over to wrap his hands around your waist.

You shrug, wearing a smug smile. "It's just simple physics, Eds."

"Is that so? Is a certain sexy bookworm using her education to her advantage?" He chuckles darkly, setting your cues on the table and pulling you into him.

"You know what they say, baby, knowledge is power." You put your hands on his shoulders as you lean in to give him a kiss.

While you've been playing, Wayne's kept himself occupied by talking to his fellow veterans again. They've taken up the empty seats at your table now, holding ice cold beers in their fists, filterless smokes perched on their lower lips. You're glad he's had some people more in his age range to talk to, you doubt he enjoys conversing with twenty-somethings very much. "That was pretty impressive, Y/N. Never seen anyone play like that before." You hear Wayne's voice behind you, he'd left the table to check on you both.

You pull away from Eddie's plush lips, turning your head to look at his uncle. "Thank you, I've had lots of practice."

"You trying to get outta here, Wayne?" Eddie asks. He doesn't necessarily want to leave yet, this place actually isn't half-bad. But today has been a lot for his uncle, and it would be perfectly reasonable if he wanted to go back to the hotel and rest.

"No, no." Wayne shakes his head. "I've got one more drink in me, and I know you're havin' a good time. I'll wait around, I've found a way to entertain myself. Just come find me when you wanna leave." He smiles at you, turning to go back to his temporary new group of friends.

"Will do." Eddie replies, watching with concerned eyes as his uncle works his way back to the vets at the table. He looks at you again, smiling. "So, how 'bout a rematch?"

"You got it, love. You wanna get us another round?" You're still riding the gentle wave of whiskey currently running through your veins. But you know just one more drink will put you at the exact level of intoxication to make your little dip in the hotel pool all the more fun.

"Anything for you, babydoll. I'll be right back." He squeezes your hips, before stepping past you to go to the bar. You turn and watch him walk over, your eyes glued to his perfect ass. The bandana in his pocket sways as he walks, his footfalls purposeful and confident. You lean back against the pool table, fully intending to enjoy the view. His hand raises to get the bartender's attention, his rings glinting in the yellowed light. The burly man behind the bar nods in his direction, and Eddie leans on his elbows while he waits.

He senses your eyes burning into the back of his head, peeking behind to meet your lustful stare. His breath catches at your shameless ogling, and he can't help biting on his lip at what must be going through your head right now. Fuck, she's gonna make me lose it if she keeps staring like that. My sexy girl, already makin' a meal out of me. Eddie turns back around as he smirks, getting lost in his own thoughts for a moment. His heart is racing again, but this time it's for a much more pleasant reason. He can't wait to get you back to the hotel, and have you in every way you'll let him. The bartender hands off his drinks, and he returns to you while you continue to watch his every move. "Here ya go, princess." He says sweetly as he hands you your glass.

"Thanks, love." You take a large sip, before setting the glass on the ledge of the table. His drink joins yours a second later. Eddie puts his hands on either side of your butt, resting against the hard plastic. His body moves between your legs, and he leans in real close to say something undoubtedly filthy to you.

"Drink up, sweetheart. 'Cuz I need to get you alone as soon as possible." He says lowly, giving you that infamously mischievous smile.

"And why is that?" You ask slyly, meeting him in the middle. Your lips are only an inch or so from his, just waiting for a burning kiss.

"So I can absolutely ruin you." The dark tone in his voice sends a flare of arousal through you, radiating from between your thighs. His lips press into yours, slow like molasses. He's biding his time, wanting to drive you wild with the simplest of touches. He kisses you just long enough to steal your breath away, leaving you wanting more. "I'll rack up the balls, angel. And I have a feeling I'm gonna win this time." He goes to set up the next game, and you continue sitting here, absolutely speechless. You need a minute to regain your composure, as your only current impulse is to latch onto Eddie and never let go.

"Fuck." You mutter under your breath. You pick up your drink, knocking back the rest of it in one gulp. You inhale sharply at the sting of the alcohol rushing down your throat, wiping away a stray drop that's run down your chin.

"You alright there, Y/N?" You hear Eddie chuckle behind you, he knows exactly what he's doing. He's trying to make you crazy, sure. You've been doing the same thing to him all day. But he's also trying to trip you up in your next round of pool. And you can't have that. You fix your face, plastering on the most confident smile you can muster. You'll gladly let Eddie win when it comes to dominating you in bed, but right now, you are the master.

"All good, Eds. Ready to lose again?" You turn to face him, appearing completely unphased. You pick up your cue, giving him no indication of how hot and bothered you truly are.

"Pretty sure I win either way, princess. But by all means, I'll happily watch you beat me a second time. You're very sexy when you get competitive." He replies with a satisfied smirk. You've got a pretty good poker face, but he still sees right through you. He removes the rack from the balls, and takes his place to go first again. He doesn't pot anything, which leaves you wide open to choose any shot you like. "Damn." He mumbles, moving out of your way.

"You sure you aren't letting me win? I'd be very insulted if you were." You question, quirking an eyebrow in his direction. Despite his misstep after his fourth shot in the last game, he's still a solid player. You can't help wondering if he purposely left the table wide open for you.

"I would never be so patronizing. Just a bit of bad luck." Eddie shrugs, though he understands your doubts. He's sure you've had other guys insult your intelligence by pulling such a low tactic. Little did they know, you're way too smart to fall for it.

"Okay, good. Now I'll be able to enjoy it when I totally cream you." You giggle, getting into position for your first shot.

"Last I checked, I'm the one who does the creaming." Eddie quips.

"Eddie!" You gasp before laughing with him.

"What? It's true!" He chuckles, knowing damn well you love it when he says things like that.

"I know, but did you have to say it so loud?" You ask. You're trying so hard to get it together, you notice a few people around the bar looking at you both in distaste. Nevermind the couple still heavily necking and groping against the jukebox. You assume crude comments are where the local barflies draw the line.

"Aw, is someone getting embarrassed, baby?" He teases, his tongue playing at the corner of his mouth. God, you love it when he does that. You swear his tongue spends half of its existence stuck out in some way, it's a wonder it never dries out.

"No, but I need to concentrate. I have a feeling we're hogging the table." You reply, turning your attention to the task at hand, royally beating Eddie's ass. He looks around the room, noticing some other patrons looking a bit anxious to have a turn. They're big, burly men with long beards. Confederate flags adorn their shirts and ball caps, and one of them cracks their knuckles while peering at Eddie menacingly.

"Yeah, I'd say so. Better get to it, sweetheart." He chuckles nervously, swallowing hard. Without another word, you take the shot to pot two balls at once again. Solids. You meticulously move around the perimeter of the table and proceed to sink every last ball expertly, along with the eight. 

You notice the men who have been waiting for their turn encroaching on your space. You stand upright, giving them an unbothered once-over. You smile kindly at them, before speaking. "Table's all yours, boys. Sorry for the hold-up." You set your cue on the table, picking up your empty glass to head back to Wayne. Eddie follows close behind, not saying a word as the men still stare him down aggressively.

"Shit, Y/N. How'd you manage to stay so cool?" Eddie asks when you're out of earshot of the rednecks.

"Oh, please. Those guys aren't that scary. One, their narrow-minded worldview would never allow them to hit a girl. Two, a simple apology with no indication of insult goes a long way." You explain simply as you reach Wayne once more.

"They seemed pretty scary to me." He grumbles. Eddie supposes you don't see it, but people like him are heavily looked down upon by men like that. Being a metalhead with long hair, among other things, they see it as a threat to their way of life. He knows you understand it to a certain extent, you've come to his defense on numerous occasions. But you haven't lived it, and he hopes you never have to.

"You kids ready to go?" Wayne asks when he sees you approach him.

"Yeah. We just finished our last game." You reply, leaning into Eddie a little as you wait for his uncle to get up.

"I take it you won again?" Wayne questions with a smile.

"You're damn right!" You reply, making the three of you laugh lightly. You look over at the two men who have been sitting with him in your absence, who return your gaze with somewhat odd looks.

"Oh, uh. Gentlemen, this is my nephew I was tellin' you about, Eddie. And his girlfriend, Y/N." Wayne introduces you both to the men, who adopt small smiles of their own.

"Nice to meet ya, I'm Vic." One of the old men says. He looks very similar to Wayne.

"And I'm Carl." The other says, who is much larger than Vic.

"It's nice to meet you, too. And thank you for your service." You say politely, you've always heard veterans appreciate such a sentiment.

"My, that's very sweet of you, darlin'. We appreciate that." Carl replies, tipping his hat to you. Vic nods in agreement, and Wayne's smile grows larger at your kind words. Eddie's been quiet for a moment, and you take a quick glance at him. You can see he's a little uncomfortable, but it's understandable. The rednecks at the pool table were actively intimidating him, and now he's forced into an interaction with strangers. You won't lie, it's awkward for you, too. You just know how to hide it better, put on a brave face. You've had years of practice, it comes pretty naturally now.

"She sure is a keeper." Eddie pipes up, putting an arm around your shoulder as he slaps on a smile. His hand squeezes your arm lightly, clueing you in that he wants to leave as soon as possible.

"Well, we've had a pretty long day. We should head back to our hotel, but it was very nice meeting you." You say, forming an easy escape plan for your unnerved boyfriend. There's been a lot of you taking the reins today. You certainly don't mind, it's Eddie's time of need. You'll do anything for him to feel happy, safe, and comfortable.

"The pleasure is all ours." Vic says, and Wayne shakes his and Carl's hands before joining you to leave. It's dark when you step outside, time seems to have flown by inside the 4-Stop.

"Well, shit. We spent more time in there than I thought." Wayne observes, leading the way back to the truck.

"Yeah, it was a pretty good time." Eddie replies, leaning over to kiss the top of your head. You giggle at his affection. He's so damn sweet on you, you can barely believe it sometimes.

"It sure was." You add. You all hop in for the last time today, and Wayne drives you all back to the hotel.

"Can I look now?" Eddie asks, his back turned to you as you've been changing together in the bathroom to go swimming. He's got his eyes trained at the tile wall, resisting the urge to peek at the mirror to his left to see you. He's already got his solid black trunks on, which you find to be very cute on him.

"I told you, you gotta wait til we get to the pool. It's a surprise." You reply firmly, wrapping a towel around your body to hide your red string bikini from his view. It's not super revealing, but it definitely compliments your body in all the right places. You can't wait for him to see it, you don't wear red very often. But it's Eddie's favorite color, besides black, obviously.

"Ugh, fiiiine." He lets out an exaggerated whine, crossing his arms. His hip cocks to the side slightly as he does, making you giggle. Eddie's attitude knows no bounds.

"Okay, you can turn around now." He spins around the second you give him the go-ahead, his eyes immediately sweeping over your body.

"Damn, sweetheart. Even in a frumpy hotel towel, you are sex on legs." He reels you into him, slipping his arms around your waist. You put yours on his shoulders, following his lead.

"Hmm, maybe I'll just stay covered all night, then." You tease.

"Absolutely not. Not when I know there's somethin' even more beautiful underneath it." He looks deep into your eyes, and you find a heated tenderness swirling within his amber pupils.

"You know, for someone so desperate to see me in my bikini, you sure do like to stall." You tease, running your hands up and down his chest. His skin is soft and warm beneath your palms, and you can feel how fast his heart beats for you.

"Pardon me for wanting to admire you every chance I get, love." He smirks, giving you a gentle kiss. "C'mon, let's go get you wet, baby." He jokes, taking you by the hand to head to the pool. You step out of the restroom, finding Wayne passed out in his bed. You tiptoe to the night table to take the room key with you, and quietly open and shut the door. You creep down the hall, noticing it's pretty quiet. You hope the pool isn't closed already. You reach the frosted glass door to the swimming area, and sure enough, the door is locked.

"Shit." You sigh as you pull on the door and it doesn't give way. "Looks like our night swim is a bust." Disappointment laces your tone, you've been looking forward to having a passionate night with Eddie after such a taxing day. You're about to give up and turn back, when he pulls a bobby pin and a small nail file from his pocket. He kneels down to shove the items into the lock, and your eyes widen. "Eddie! What are you doing?" You ask a little too loud.

"Shh, keep it down! I know this isn't the most ethical solution. But there's no way in hell I'm giving up on the one thing we've needed all damn day." He replies, laser-focused on his task. He twists the metal items about inside the lock, his tongue sticking out in concentration. You’re aware you could get into trouble if you get caught, but you'd be lying if Eddie expertly picking a lock wasn't just a little bit sexy.

"Okay, just don't break anything." You reply, looking behind you down the hall to see if anyone's coming. The coast is clear at the moment, so you try not to worry.

A moment later, the lock clicks, and Eddie stands to open the door. "After you, princess." He gestures for you to go in first, and you're smacked in the face by the scent of chlorine. The room is pretty large, and the windows are made of the same frosted glass as the door. Perfect for privacy. The pool is quite large, the lights within giving the room a aqua-tinged hue. Plastic lounge chairs line the sides of the pool, with sets of tables and chairs on the far ends. There's also a large shelf full of fresh towels against the far wall. A round hot tub bubbles in the corner, but you've never really liked those. Eddie turns the lock from the inside after he shuts the door, and he wraps his arms around you from behind. "There. Now I finally get you all to myself." He presses a kiss to your neck.

"That you do, Eds. You wanna get in the pool? Then I can finally show you what's under here." You say seductively, pressing your ass back against his crotch. He lets out a small groan, and you can feel him getting hard inside his trunks.

"Fuck, please." He smiles against your skin, giving you a little nip before leaving you altogether. He goes to the steps, slowly walking into the water. "Water's nice and warm, too." He states aloud, diving under the surface to swim to the other end. He pops back up at the six foot mark, shaking his hair like a dog. You walk to the end where he is, coming a foot or so away from the edge of the water. Eddie meets you there, resting his arms over the side.

"You ready?" You ask, biting your lip at the excitement.

"I was born ready, Y/N. Now, c'mon, you're killin' me here." He says, pouting his lower lip and flashing you puppy eyes.

"Anything for you, love." You reach for the edge of your towel, untucking the woven material and letting it fall into a pile at your feet. Eddie's eyes widen as your rockin' body is revealed to him.

"Wow." He murmurs, feeling himself immediately become hard as stone inside his shorts. You're so damn beautiful, a true vision in cherry red lycra. "You’re gorgeous, baby. And so fuckin' sexy." You bend down to sit at the edge, your legs dipping into the water.  He's right, the pool is set to the perfect temperature. You continue to join him, hopping down off the ledge and sinking beneath the surface for a moment. You spring back up a second later, running your hands over your face and hair. "Hey there, babydoll." Eddie says quietly, bringing you into his hold again. You're both kicking your feet a little at this depth, he maneuvers you backwards to stand flat.

"Hello, handsome." You reply, stroking his damp face with your hand. You brush away a strand of hair clinging to his chin. He's very gorgeous himself tonight, being soaking wet really suits him. He looks kinda like a merman, with the long hair and his gorgeous eyes. Hypnotizing, deep pools of murky brown that you could get lost in forever. "I'm very proud of you, by the way." You say softly.

"For what? Breaking and entering?" He jokes.

"No, for standing up to your dad. I know you were really scared, but you did it anyway."

"I wouldn't have been able to do it without you, Y/N." He says earnestly. You roll your eyes in doubt, and he shakes his head. "I'm serious. Without you, I never would've gotten in the truck with Wayne this morning. I would've run away and hid somewhere until it was over. But I'm really glad I didn't do that. Thank you for being here for me today, angel. It means more than you know." He cups your cheek, making your heart swell with every word that leaves his lips.

"It's the least I can do, Eds. I'm glad I had the chance to be here and support you. Fuck knows you've done it so many times for me." You speak just as sweetly, putting your hands on the back of his head to pull him into a kiss. You melt against one another, quickly deepening the embrace. He brings you up against the side of the pool, your shoulder blades touching the ledge. His hands grab at your ass, squeezing the flesh roughly. You moan against him, lowering your hand between your bodies to palm him through his trunks.

"Y/N." He groans, frantically moving on to kiss your neck. You continue to grope him and let out muted whimpers at his touch. Eddie lets go of your ass, reaching up to undo the knot resting behind your neck. He pulls the end of the string, and your top falls limp into the water, still attached around your chest. You undo the other knot yourself, and the slip of fabric floats away from you. He brings you further toward the shallow end, stopping at around four and a half feet. The rounds of your tits sit on the surface of the water, your nipples pebbled in arousal. "You're so beautiful, baby." Eddie says, lowering his head to take one of the buds into his mouth. He massages your other breast in his hand, playfully tweaking your nipple.

"Eddie." You gasp, your free hand reaching up to tangle in his hair. You tug on his locks harshly, making him groan. You slip inside his trunks, fully taking hold of his stiff cock.

"Feelin' needy, sweetheart?" Eddie asks, his breath hitching at you stroking him nice and slow.

"Is that a serious question?" You chuckle breathlessly.

"There's no need to be so bratty. Maybe I should teach you a lesson, slut." He bites down on your breast, making you squeal.

"Don't you think waiting all day has been punishment enough? For both of us?" You ask, bringing his head up to be level with yours.

Eddie rolls his eyes, letting out a petulant whine. He hates to admit it, but you're absolutely right. Today has been ample torture for either of you. "I suppose I'll let you off easy. This time." He ends on a smirk, squeezing the rounds of your ass to punctuate his words.

"Mmm, good boy." You praise. You give him a tantalizing kiss, poking your tongue out to lick his lips as you pull away. "Now, how 'bout you lose the trunks? I believe I was promised some well-earned ruining tonight." You speak in a sultry tone, pulling your hand out of Eddie's shorts so he can take them off. He sighs at the loss of your touch, but plunging into your tight pussy will feel so much better.

"You got it, baby." He lets you out of his grip, and pulls off his swimsuit. It floats away slowly, joining your bikini top on the surface of the pool. You take off your own bottoms, leaving both of you completely naked in the water. Eddie brings himself closer to you, slipping his hand between your legs to stroke your cunt. He can't quite tell how wet you are, the surrounding waters make it difficult to make out. You emit a breathy moan, spreading your thighs apart slightly. He easily slips his fingers inside you, curling them just so to hit your sweet spot.

"Eddie." You moan again, taking hold of his length. He groans quietly, pulling his hand away to grab your thighs. He lifts your legs up, letting you guide his dick to your entrance. His tip presses against your hole, and he looks at you for permission to enter. "Go ahead, love. Be a good boy for me." You say through a whine, the feeling of him waiting to push into you is almost too much. He gives you a nod, breathing heavily as he finally takes what he wants. His cock shoves forward roughly, slamming into your g-spot. "Fuck!" You cry out, wrapping your arms around his shoulders to hang on tight. Eddie stills for a moment, his mouth fallen open in shock at how fucking amazing you feel inside. The wetness of the pool along with your slippery walls is driving him crazy. "I need more, Eds. Fuck me, please. I can't wait anymore." You whine, digging your nails into what you can reach of his back.

"God, I love it when you beg, princess." He says darkly, setting a desperate pace. He pounds into you over and over, hitting the special spot inside you to make your mind turn to liquid. The feeling of him filling you up just right, mixed with a tiny bit of pain is exactly what you've been needing. Water splashes all around you as he moves, and it's very difficult to hang on as he fucks you senseless.

"Feels so good, baby. Such a good boy for me, taking my pussy so well." You speak through your moans, saying every filthy thing that comes to mind. It's a struggle, to be sure. But you want him to hear every last word. Eddie grips you as tightly as he can, rutting into you as you're pressed against the tiles on the side of the pool.

"Damn, you're dirtier than usual today, sweetheart. I fuckin' love it." Eddie replies as his chest heaves. The resistance of the water working against his hips is making this harder than he originally anticipated. But he refuses to stop, this moment is what he's been craving all day. And nothing is going to get in the way of him enjoying every last second of it.

"I love you, Eddie. I love having you inside me. It's all I can think about sometimes. I wanted so badly to fuck you in the bathroom at the bar, or even ride you on the pool table for everyone to see." You allow lustful admissions to fall from your lips one after the other, your tone twisting with intense desire as you call them out to him. Immense pleasure bubbles within you, gradually growing higher and higher, threatening to boil over very soon.

"I love you too, Y/N. Shit, it's like you're reading my goddamn mind." He groans, smashing his mouth on yours as he continues to thrust as hard as he can. Your lips move with his aggressively, a gnashing mess of teeth and tongues.

Neither of you can stop grunting and whimpering, breathing so damn hard that your lungs begin to burn. Your nails claw at his flesh, scratching him in deep, long stinging lines of red. You're both caught in the middle of the primal flame, one set alight by the trying day you've had. You two have combined to become one savage beast now. Relentlessly fighting through any stress and frustration and anger you've been holding onto, releasing it into the ether through your animalistic writhing. To any outsider, this display could appear to be graphically violent. But for you both, at this moment, all it is...is complete and total release.

"Fuck一 I'm getting so close, baby. Don't stop, you feel so good. Make me cum, want you to feel it, want you to know what a good boy you are." You whine helplessly through your panting. You just can't help yourself, he has to hear every vulgar thing inside your head if it's the last thing you do. You notice you've been dropping the phrase 'good boy' a lot this time around, even though Eddie is clearly the one taking charge. But it just feels...right, and you know he loves it when you call him that. It drives him wild every single time.

"I'm tryin', angel. Shit, I'm almost there, too. Try to hold it for me, we can cum together." He exhales the words in shaky spurts, struggling to keep a hold of himself. You're something else tonight, holding nothing back whatsoever. And he can't get enough of it. His calves and thighs are on fire, this is proving to be quite the workout for him. His thrusts are becoming sloppy, unfocused. Eddie senses his high quickly approaching, and he's looking forward to filling you up with his sticky load.

Your walls begin to flutter around his dick, squeezing him tighter and tighter as you near the finish line. You can feel the pleasure starting to spill over, sending shocks through your entire body. "Oh, Eddie! I'm so close, baby. Claim me as yours, cum with me." You frantically kiss him as you beg, peppering his sweat-slicked face with smacking pecks. You're trying to wait for him, keeping a stranglehold of the floodgates. But the pressure has built up beyond your strength, and you've got nothing left to stop it from bursting forth. "Fuck, I'm gonna cum!" You practically scream as your orgasm overtakes you. Your head falls forward, your mouth falling wide open as your legs begin to shake. Your eyes snap shut, and all you can see is exploding stars.

"That's a good girl, so pretty when you cum for me." Eddie praises, grunting as his own release sneaks up on him. His stomach tenses, and his hips buck even harder against you while his load fills your pussy in thick ropes of white. Your movements still, as do his. He lifts your chin with his thumb and forefinger, allowing you both to look at one another as you catch your breath. You don't say anything for a moment, only the sound of ripples in the water and your sticky panting fill the room. Your eyes are blown out wide with ecstasy, mirroring the man before you. You can feel him softening inside you, though he's still gripping your thighs to keep you close.

"That was fantastic." You exhale roughly, a satisfied smile curling across your lips.

"Easily one of our best." He gives you a tender kiss, slowly maneuvering to pull out. He sets your legs down, which miraculously don't feel entirely boneless. "Remind me to let you do the talking more often, that was really hot." He adds, swimming across the pool to gather your discarded garments. You watch his gorgeous form glide through the water, the muscles in his back, shoulders, and legs flexing as he moves. Damn, he's so fuckin' beautiful sometimes.

"I'll keep that in mind, Eds. I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I did." You reply, taking your bikini from him once he swims back to hand it to you. You put the thin pieces of fabric back on, and he slips back into his trunks. "So, you wanna go dry off and cuddle in bed? I hear the hotel's got cable TV." You ask, inspecting your fingers to find they've pruned over quite a bit.

"Once again, you've read my mind, sweetheart." Eddie smirks, taking your hand as you work your way out of the pool together.

To be continued…

[a-green-wolf]

Updates and Cool Stuff (Meditation, Curing Aphantasia, Web of Skills)

Alright, it's been awhile since we've updated this blog, and I'd like to talk about a few interesting things we've come across. As well as talk about one part of my plan to change our plural experience for the better.

MEDITATION

First things first, we've been meditating every day for an hour, but we've pumped it up to two hours a day since 2/10. It'll go to three hours starting on MAR10 DAY, then so on until we get to 6 hours a day. I'm not sure what we'll do at that point, the amount of progress this has the potential to yield is motivating. Dullness is something to take into account, fortunately there's four different meditation types we can do (Fire Kasina, Normal Kasina, TMI, using the Kasina Mind Machine we got in 2019...), so it shouldn't be too bad. Plus, we're going for longer on the weekends. Yesterday we went for THREE HOURS STRAIGHT. That was an accomplishment for someone who couldn't do even 30 minutes last September. We've moved from Fire Kasina as the main method to non-fire. It's better for prophantasaia/imposition training because you're relying more on the mind rather than a burned in afterimage. And what better object to use as a kasina than our fronting indicators. They have personal meaning, and they're simple: just a solid colored wristband. Maybe I should use the plural rings as another object... Anyways, we've also decided to limit substance use for awhile as well. Cannabis and shrooms aren't as dangerous as some of the other things we take, but they need to be limited as well. I'll still microdose and use kratom since those have pretty big utility, but only for meditation purposes. All cannabis, DXM (probably forever), and large dose shroom trips are over and done with for the time being.

CURING APHANTASIA

I've noticed a substantial amount of plurals have aphantasia. The system I work with at my job also has this. Now, this isn't something everyone would want, but I wanted to talk about a hidden gem on reddit we've found called r/CureAphantasia. These people have, you guessed it, not only "cured" their aphantasia, but are also running a pretty active and informative discord helping others with the condition visualize consistently! There's even other systems in there (though when I introduced myself, they casted skepticism about it, so possible tw for fakeclaiming I guess?) Now, I have hyperphantasia, so I can't speak from a perspective of someone who's aphantasiac, but the exercises they have still strengthened my abilities. One of their methods that really caught my eye was Autogogia. This is boiled down to the ability to lucid dream while fully awake. I can see this method having connections to going to mindscape or reality shifting. I'm not in the shifting community, but it seems like they use the same concepts that we're trying to reproduce. I'll post a link to the mod of the discord's documentation on how they cured their aphantasia below:

WEB OF SKILLS

This is something that we came up with a while ago to help us change our life for the better. It's basically a plan to master many different skills and hobbies, which will improve quality of life for us drastically. Yeah, this isn't a new concept, but it's something I came up with. I took a skill I really want to learn, and tried to find other skills and hobbies that would compliment the main skill. At the center of our web is Prophantasia, with the other skills surrounding it being:

Weightlifting (exercise and bulking up will be good for life in general, as well as helping with mindset.)

Headmate Separation (building dissociative barriers, full switching, concealing thoughts we don't want out)

Art and Animation (I've been wanting to draw ourselves and our mindscape for so long now... I dream of someday making animations of our adventures in there. It's such a beautiful place. There's not enough art of wonderlands out there!!! It'll definitely help with visualization development. The thing is, we have almost ZERO experience with drawing, so it'll be a journey...)

Story writing (helps with generating scenarios in mindscape)

Lucid Dreaming (this is a big one. If we were to start lucid dreaming every night... the possibilities are endless. We've been trying to learn on and off for the past 10 years now. But what's different this time is the meditation compounding efforts, as well as being CONSISTENT. Doing it on and off is not the way to go.)

Nutrition (helps out weightlifting and is a great life skill to learn)

I'll be honest, we started working on a lot of this when Trump took office. That really lit a fire under my ass. This bullshit, fuckass administration is hellbent on not only destroying our rights and America as a whole, but also the world. What they're doing will have serious, serious repercussions for world peace. I can already see China and Russia doing some stupid shit in the coming years. So we decided that it's now or never to proceed with all of this. This whole journey is a marathon, not a sprint, but with every passing day and every new news article, it feels more like a sprint. Hopefully this all makes sense. Until next time, goodbye!

[majorproblems77]

Sacred realm, Sacred realm, Sacred realm!!!!!

OH BOY, I AM EXCITED ABOUT THIS ONE

Prepare yourself for the most excited screaming you've ever heard because this update is wonderful and I love it and I'm so excited about it that I'm writing this instead of sleeping and it will be worth it.

Set the clock its 12.45am lets see if I can do this before I have to go to bed for the morning shift.

Alright, now for the important stuff! Sacred realm belongs to @zelda-the-sacred-realm, and all art from the comics belongs to the comic artist. I've got their permission to do these!

Link to the comic can be found here! :D

Now, get some popcorn and if your like me probably an energy drink too and lets goooooo!

Firstly...

HI

HELLO THERE

OH MY

Big evil big bad. Who's hair is stunning i could never ngl.

(Investigates)

It's awesome to see the black knight like this. (I believe that's right? Correct me if I'm wrong.)

Though im trying to figure out what he found unexpected? Is it Sky? Is Sky the unexpected thing? Good, No body expects the blorbo to come out of the medallion and whoop ass.

Self-sacrificing boy please you are in pain

Cinnamon roll link please i know you're not used to this, but he's got this

He's so damn pretty dammit, pretty boy right here. Hylia chose him for his looks first, 10/10.

Yesssssssssss

GET THEM! GET IT!

THE FACT THAT THEY JUMP IN FRONT OF HIM IS GIVING ME SO MUCH LIFE THEY ARE LIKE PROTECTIVE UNCLES OF THE SMALL CINAMON ROLL.

Like low key look how Sky is moving he's pushing towards time but moving more to the right to do so then time is. Which would indicate that he's moved rather quickly to get in front of this thing.

They have to protect the small hero and it gives me life.

Okay, this all but confirms this isn't the first time they've done this.

Oh and it has to be said

BY THE POWER OF STUBBORN FRIENDSHIP!

That's a practised spell

(using a few panels from this update here) Chapter 4 - part 1

So, I think that the last time the spirits gathered was sometime around when Twilight was still alive, we know that Time had direct contact with Twilight because of the comic panels in the last update.

We also know that Time recognised Sky when he first appeared in the last update.

So there one of two explanations

The medallion or something akin to it has been used in a previous hero's journey. And so some of the spirit already know each other

Or being a spirit grants them foresight that they can just fight with each other like this.

Im more inclined to lean towards the first one at this stage because of that recognition from time but to be honest I think we need to meet Twilight first before we get any answers about that.

I am also going to assume the element that time yields is Electricity (Or time haha.)

It looks like lightning, but we've also seen him use a time spell so I'm not entirely sure at this stage.

Gonna lean towards lighting tho, it suits him

YEAH GET HIM!

He looks so tired, and the lines against him have been growing longer. I assume its more and more of the barrier sucking his energy away.

Pretty boy alert

i am once again an advocate for the Sky is the Best Bean Club he just needs a nap he's going to be fine

Also, Medalion jails for Sky because he's eepy.

I assume this is how we are going to keep Sky out of this arch, he is too tired and is resting from doing this now. I hope we see you soon blorbo!

HA

This made me chuckle, Time just grabbing him by the waist like the child he is brings me joy (Im aware Link isn't a child but he is in the cinnamon roll outfit right now so he is a child)

And time is older than him and is at current the only one who can help with the current predicament.

We interupt the end of this post for a Sky appreciation segment because he is the best bean and is my blorbo and got a bunch of great panels this update

He

Being the hero

Jumping into harm's way

The face of determination

He

Sleepy

Sleepy boy we got sleepy sky and I love him

Okay im done, We shall get back to the end now.

That's everything from me! :D

I hope you enjoyed my rambling please do let me know if you spotted anything I didn't! Thanks for hanging out with me and for uhh, also hanging out as I yell excitedly about my blorbo because, to be honest, I love him and it wouldn't be something from me if I didn't soooo....

Yeah!

Thanks again to the artist for letting me do this! I really appreciate it!

Have a great night!

[not-quite-there-myself]

EVEN LORDS DO HOUSEWORK

For someone who arrogantly believes he's better than everyone, it comes as a surprise to you when you find Goose Barnacle doing housework.

A/N: This fic was long overdue, originally requested by someone on Discord! To the original asker, I'm so sorry this took so long. Please enjoy!

Reblogs are greatly appreciated!

You were particularly exhausted today. The restaurant was packed with people—some you recognized but most you did not. There had been a festival today, people coming and going, trying food and having fun on the streets. There not only were the heavy orders you and your Food Souls had to take care of but the mess people left behind. It took everything you had to try to manage it all day.

When the crowd died down and it was finally time to close up shop, you heaved the biggest sigh of relief and walked to the washroom to clean yourself up; you rarely caught a break at all so you really took advantage of this moment. Unfortunately, your job wasn't over just yet.

The restaurant floor needed to be sweeped and mopped, dishes and cutlery waited in the sink to be washed, and there was also trash to be taken out. You mentally prepared yourself to face it all alone. You'd told your Food Souls not to worry about after hours and to take a rest in the meantime. Most of them were happy to get a break, but others were hesitant about leaving you to work all by yourself. With some convincing and a promise that you will also be taking a break before getting back to work, the hesitant Food Souls yielded and left you alone.

Exiting the washroom, you headed to the closet with all the cleaning supplies. You grabbed the broom and left the mop and bucket outside the closet—you'd pick those up later. From there, the hallway leading to the restaurant was so quiet it surprised you when a gruff voice piped up behind you.

“Hey, Attendant, shouldn't you be taking a break right now?”

You nearly dropped the broom in your hands. You spun around and were met with red eyes, dark blue hair, and... a laundry basket?

“Goose Barnacle! What are you doing here?” You asked. He stood there with a hand on his hip. His other hand carried a laundry basket.

“I asked that first, so you should answer first.” He retorted.

You conceded. “Alright alright. I'm done having my break, truly! It was just a short one.”

Goose Barnacle looked like he didn't believe you but failed to comment further. Instead he took the broom from your hands and turned away.

“Hey-!” You started reaching for the broom, but Goose Barnacle kept it out of your grasp. “Quit messing around, Goose. I still need to sweep the floor.”

He shook his head. “No need, Attendant. You don't have to clean the floor twice.”

You frowned. “What? But I didn't even clean it once!”

Goose Barnacle glanced back at you, a hand still carrying the laundry basket you wondered about at his hip. “You didn't, but I did.”

You stopped. “Huh?”

The two of you were in the cleaning closet now. Goose Barnacle abruptly handed the laundry basket to you and was putting your broom, mop, and bucket away. You looked at him, then looked at the restaurant. Goose Barnacles then took the basket from your hands and said nothing. He watched as you moved to turn on the restaurant lights—they were off before—and scanned the room, wide-eyed in pleasant surprise. The restaurant chairs were propped up on the tables, the floor practically shone like new, and there wasn't a piece of trash or excess food in sight.

“Did you do all this?” You asked. Goose Barnacle answered without delay.

“Yes, why? Oi, what kind of a look is that…?” He scowled at your expression. Did you not think he could do something as simple as cleaning?

“So does this mean you…” You trailed off. Surely he didn't clean everything while you were in the washroom, did he?

He seemed to read your thoughts, because he huffed and turned away. “I cleaned everything. Even the kitchen. You can see it for yourself if you don't believe me.” You didn't have to—because you definitely believed him—but that didn't stop you from going in. It was satisfying, seeing the countertops so clean. No dishes in the sink, and all the trash cans were emptied. It was then you realized that the laundry basket Goose Barnacle had been holding this whole time had aprons in it. They looked clean, too.

You huffed, crossing your arms. “Don't tell me you did everything by yourself!” You weren't disappointed, it's just that you didn't want any Food Souls to overwork themselves. It didn't come to your mind at all that maybe you'd been overworking yourself. “Let me at least put those aprons away.”

Before you could take the laundry basket away from the Food Soul, he raised it above your head.

“Why must you be so insistent on doing everything yourself?” He questioned. “This kind of work? It's nothing! And you… you're already tired as it is.” He sensed your urge to argue, so instead he continued, “Don't try to lie to me, Attendant. If you're worried about making me tired, you got a lot of nerve to think something like this could exhaust me so easily!”

You bit your tongue at that. It was true, your energy levels were terrible. If anyone needed to stop and sit for a while, it was you, not him. You sighed, relenting. “Okay, maybe you are right. But still, I… I didn't ask you to do this, you know? You didn't have to.”

Goose Barnacle clicked his tongue. It looked like he took offence to that. “You… you think you need to order me to do things like this?" His mouth became a thin line. “You just… Right now, you're looking rather weak, that's all. Someone like you shouldn't be pushing yourself so hard in a state like that. And… you didn't need to say anything.”

You peered at him. “It sounds like you're making excuses for me.”

He hesitated before shooting back, “What? You got a problem with that, Attendant? I do what I want to. So what if what I want to do is clean for y-... y-your restaurant. Yes, so what?”

Was he going to say “you”? The thought made your heart swell. You smiled then—you couldn't help yourself—which seemed to animate a response out of him.

“Tsk…! Wipe that smug look on your face, Attendant! It's not like I'm doing this for you! It's getting late, you better go to sleep. And I still have work to do, so you'd get in the way.”

You chuckled and raised both hands as if you were the one at a loss. “Okay, okay! Whatever you say, Goose.”

Goose Barnacle only grunted, “Hmph.”

You turned to walk away from him, giving a slight wave as you escaped to your room to rest. Unbeknownst to you, his expression softened once he was sure you were gone.

“...Good night, Attendant.”

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Please do not copy, repost, or translate, thank you !