#always scary when the world moves backwards

[stunie]

SCARY BOYFRIEND EX PRIVILEGES! ❤︎ — Endo Yamato x f!reader ﾉ Sfw ﾉ Cw harassment (not from Endo) ﾉ My response to:

ANON’S ASK — Random thought but what the wind breaker boys protect you in spite of being your ex. Whether it was a mutual, [etc], uncertain, or bittersweet break up is up to you.

Other warnings: one mention of reader typically wearing makeup

As weird as it sounds, you’re not entirely sure if you and Endo have ever officially broken up. Dating through high school was one thing, but keeping the relationship strong after attending different universities was another.

At the very least, you’re 90% sure the relationship died, although you don’t remember exactly when the two of you stopped talking. After you switched your phone number following your first semester at university, you hadn’t even bothered to tell him. You don’t remember why you didn’t bother to either.

Everything is weird now.

Life has been entirely different without him. There’s one less free pocket in your bag now that you’ve started carrying pepper spray with you. You wear your headphones in one ear at a time, and your volume isn’t on full blast anymore.

You actually look where you’re going, and you pay attention to the time— take a mental note that it starts getting dark earlier at this point in the year.

Even with the precautions you’ve learned during your time at university, this type of thing would always be out of your control. How in the world did you get singled out wearing your pajamas and no makeup?

Life wasn’t being fair to you.

“What’s a pretty thing like you doing here all alone?”

“Midterms.” You narrow your eyes to the best of your ability, balling your hands into little fists to mask how they’ve started to tremble. “I’m meeting up with some friends now.”

You used to be able to just say “I have a boyfriend.”

You also used to be walked home, so this wouldn’t have happened in the first place. You’re sure that if Endo saw the way you are now, he’d be making a comment by now. Something along the lines of “gonna hurt your hands if you throw a punch with your fists like that, sweet thing.”

Nothing is fair. Why is it now that you start missing him for the first time in years? The feeling comes a little too easily for a relationship that faded into nothing, but you’re too scared to kick yourself in the shin right now.

“That so?” The man in front of you laughs when your fight or flight finally starts to kick in. You take a couple of steps backward, and your frame is suddenly a lot smaller compared to his. How easy. “Where are these friends of yours? Can’t believe you’re out here all by yourself..”

“T-they have my location, y’know.”

There’s the stutter that always gives you away.

He laughs at this, and you can feel yourself breaking into a cold sweat. Keep your words steady. Ignore the way your heart rate is spiking. Do absolutely anything to avoid letting him know that you’re scared out of your mind.

It doesn’t work at all. “They won’t know if you don’t have your phone on you, will they?”

All the words you know seem to slip out of your brain, and your face feels painfully hot. “U-um…”

“You’re exactly my type. It’s a compliment… I’m being nice, so just come with me. You won’t regret it— I’ll make it worth your time.”

It doesn’t like sound an offer, and it doesn’t sound like a suggestion either. Your body freezes against your will, and he catches onto this pretty fast. The pepper spray in your bag seems too far away for you to even consider, and you’ve never felt so helpless in your life.

“Yeah? That sound good?” He moves to close the distance between the two of you with a grin, reaching out to grab your wrist. Your eyes slam shut, lips trembling even when you try to say something to protest. “Damn… you’re so docile for such a pretty girl. Usually, they’d be a bitch, but you—”

“How mean.” Your eyes shoot open when you’re suddenly tugged backward, gasping when your back roughly collides with someone’s chest. “I was waiting all alone. What’s my girl doing over here with you?”

The tattooed arms that drape themselves over your shoulders don’t look familiar at first glance, but the muscles and his scent are. Painfully familiar, as a matter of fact. They’re the same arms you used to cling onto- and you always used to wrap your fingers around his bicep and rest your head on his shoulder.

He loved that.

It all registers in your head as soon as he puts his weight on you, head right beside yours and you feel his hair tickle your neck. He gives the man in front of you an unamused look before turning to you.

“M-me?” You want to dig a hole and stay there for eternity after hearing just how shaky your voice comes out. Endo’s so close that you could simply turn your head to the side and you’d be kissing him.

He laughs, and you feel your face heat up again. Only this time, there’s a gentle fluttering of your heart that comes with it instead. “Yeah, you. What? Did you think I was talking to the loser? I wouldn’t dream of it.”

The way you move to latch onto his arm in an instant is all he needs to confirm that your feelings haven’t changed. The man in front of you doesn’t speak— he can’t seem to move either. Your boyfriend has made quite the name for himself, but you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?

To you, he’s your bodyguard— and more, of course, but maybe you’d be honest and tell him about that another time. But to that guy, he’s pure danger. The way Endo looks over his shoulder to give him one last glance is already enough to have his knees buckling.

[vaspider]

Feisty Lady Anger and other things about me you hate

My mother prizes her anger, for all that she doesn't express it openly. I tell stories about her spiteful, steel-spined responses to people who told her, "You can't do that," and I point to them as Why I Am How I Am. Her father told her he wouldn't pay for her college because "women only go to earn the MRS degree," and she could "get married and have babies" without college. In response, Mom got her bachelor's in Mathematics in 1970 on her own dime, back in the days when in-state students didn't pay tuition at state schools (just another thing Reagan ruined). She worked and paid for her books and housing, got her degree, paid for her own wedding because he wouldn't do that either. Taught school, got her Master's, had three kids, started her Ph.D. with 3 under 6 and became a professor when the youngest was 5.

Tell me I can't, my mom told the world, and I'll show you that I can. I won't just do it, I'll become a department head and a Distinguished Professor and retire after 30 years of teaching other math teachers with a list of achievements as long as my arm.

There is an anger that runs deep in the women in my family. Tell me I can't, and I'll show you I can. Show me injustice and I'll tear at it with my teeth and hands, staring you down while I do. Backwards and in heels.

I can't tell you the moment I crossed out of Feisty Lady Anger in the eyes of the people close to me, but I can tell you the moment I noticed. Maybe it was when my voice started dropping or the growing muscles on my shoulders pulled my stance more square and upright. Maybe it was when I moved from they/them to he/they, and somehow I stepped from Diet Woman to Too Close To Man in their eyes.

It's a funny thing when all of a sudden your anger becomes real enough to be startling to people. Your anger is no longer feisty, charming, and attractive. This thing that people liked about you, that people who say they love you said they loved about you, suddenly becomes frightening, upsetting, and terrible. The way you didn't let people mow over you and fought back used to be a thing that people admired. It was actively attractive. It was one of your best qualities.

Now? It's ugly. It's disgusting. It's scary. The thing you were is gone, and now your anger is real to them.

It's in that moment that the blade cuts back towards you. You realize the reason your squared shoulders and set jaw drew people in couldn't be squared with the stubble on that jaw or the newfound strength in your arms. Feisty Lady Anger isn't real, not in the way a man's anger is real. Feisty Lady Anger is admirable, sure, but it is admirable because of its essential ineffectual nature. At most, Feisty Lady Anger fixes minor problems for the kids at school, gets the principal to back down from scolding your child when she politely asks the kid calling her a faggot on the bus if he knows what that really means, pushes a woman to achieve for her family, in appropriately neutered ways.

When you stop pretending to be a woman and become who you really are, when your anger becomes real, you realize both that the thing about you that people loved is gone and that this thing was attractive in the first place because of its ineffectiveness. Your anger wasn't scary because it wasn't real enough to be threatening.

Now you have Man Anger, and, you're told, you should apologize for that. It doesn't matter if it's the same anger you've always had, or that you're angry about the same things. It comes now in baritone, with belly hair and bellowing, and now it's both real and disgusting.

The worst part is watching it come from people you thought should know better, the people who should understand. You spent nearly 40 years being told to sit down and shut up because the men in your professional career were speaking, assured that if you just waited your turn, you'd be given a place to speak eventually, and now here you are being told within a community that claims to love and understand you, by people that claim to be in community with you and love who you are, that you actually don't have any real problems to speak about, also your Man Anger and Man Privilege (when do I get that, please?) are Scary and mean you should sit down and wait, and you'll be given a place to speak eventually.

It is the Transmasculine Catch-22: if you become Man Enough to no longer fit into Almost Lady, your anger becomes Real, which makes you realize that your anger wasn't Real before, but because it's Real now, you're not allowed to have it. And by the way, you're not allowed to be neither Man or Lady - now you're Man Enough, and that makes it all the more clear how you were simply Kirkland Signature Lady right up until the point you weren't.

There will be a few people who Fucking Get It, who don't see you as either a Failed Lady or a Broken Man, and you'll love those people all the more for their rarity. It won't take the sting out of realizing that the things people you love loved about you before now disgust and repel them, but it'll make it enough to keep going.

You couldn't stop, anyway. You've never felt more yourself, and the people who don't love you, the actual you, the real you... the loss of that hurts, but not nearly as much as the idea of pretending to be something else did.

[cvnt4him]

Ik that most of your stuff is nsfw (not complaining) but I was wondering if you could do something about an amusement park date w Izuku where the reader is kind of horrified of rides but gets on them anyway lol 💗 Love your writing SO much 🫶

I promise promise promise I write other things than just smut!! You can always go to my MHA masterlist to see ofc! Thank you so much for the love and appreciation, feel free to leave another req anytime you're always welcome<333

Writing this bc literally like 2 days ago I went to six flags n almost died.

Going on a surprise date with your boyfriend izuku midoriya was not supposed to be like this. You loved whenever he planned these, of course, but it just so happened to be the one thing in the world you were afraid of. Amusement parks.

It's not the park you were scared of, it was the rides, the rollercoasters. How high into the sky they'd get and those oh so terrifying drops. Don't even get me started on the loops they do and when they go backwards n twist n turn n shit, n how fast they go?! For fucks sake.

You were petrified. Literally shaking in your boots just staring at the entrance sign of the park, your eyes slowly moved to your boyfriends excited face the way he was blazing with excitement and happiness. You could tell he wanted this with you, to experience a traditional moment in girlfriend and boyfriend history.

Izuku was adorable by all means, and you loved him with ALL of your heart, but this was just something you weren't sure you could do. I mean, scary rides that go super duper fast and could go off the rails at any given moment whilst you're in the sky? It's a death wish waiting to happen.

“ surprise!! Are you excited? I'm so excited! I got us VIP passes so we get to skip the lines and go first! I can't wait to do this with you!!! First we'll go on the superman, then we'll go to the..-”

As he trailed off into exact details of what exactly you'd be doing suddenly you felt something swarm your tummy. It wasn't something as angelic as butterflies either...

“ grreeeeat...”

You cut izuku off mid sentence which made his eyes shoot directly to you, the way his smile dropped was fucking hilarious, but also heartbreaking at the same time. His eyes grew wide and started searching your face for any sign of discomfort or anything, he found exactly what he was looking for. He seen the way you were nervous and fiddling with the hem of your shirt, he cupped your face and pulled you closely placing a gentle kiss on the bridge of your nose.

“ hon, is everything alright?”

The worry in his eyes hurt your heart. You couldn't let his money that he spent on VIP PASSES.... Go to waste. You exhaled through your nose and sucked it up.

“ I'm fine, my love. Just hungry I guess, is there anything to eat?”

His loving smile reappeared, he patted your head gently before speaking to you in such a soft manner assuring you that not only would everything be okay, but you probably shouldn't eat first if you're going to go on fast rides.

Fuck.

The next two hours were spent on terrifying rides you tried your hardest to get through, you almost threw up a couple of times but that's not something he definitely needs to know. Your legs were wobbly and your stomach was swirling, you tried to catch your breath but your racing heart was not helping. Your hair was a mess, your cheeks were red due to the heat and worst of all you felt like the earth was spinning.

All the whole izuku was yipping and yapping ab how you should 'do it again' n how 'you should try the Texas Giant' which is known for being one of the scariest rides there. You literally started shaking at the mere mention of the ride, whimpering lowly as he grabbed your hand and dragged you to it.

Of course being the obedient partner you are, you suffered through it and had your eyes closed the entire time, you screamed loudly and held onto your boyfriend and the ride buckles for dear life terrified you were going to fall out.

After getting off you held onto the railings for dear life literally thanking everything above for not letting you die. Izuku however was more worried about your pictures that had gotten taken whilst you were on the ride.

“ wh- what..”

“ look! Look at how cute you look snuggled up close to me like that!”

You two must've been looking at two completely different pictures because the one you seen was you holding onto his shirt for dear life, screaming and pleading to not die whilst your hair was all over the place, it even looked like tears were prickling at your eyes. It was embarrassing and the fact everyone could see it made you feel even more hot.

It was burning up outside and you felt dizzy, those fast rides were NOT helping at all. You gulped down, dehydrated and terrified, wobbly legs hardly getting you to where you needed to go. You weakly call out to izuku who with a smile on his face turns back to look at you, he seen your estate and rushed to your side pulling you into the nearest shack with fans and drinks ordering you one instantly.

He watched dover you with a frown, worried he might be pushed you too far. He knew you had a fear of heights but he figured this could be fun, you two could overcome it together like those cheesy romcoms.

It broke izukus heart that this unfortunately wasn't like those stupid movies, as sad and disappointed as he was that you both had to leave due to you being terribly overheated and dizzy, he was glad you were okay.

The train ride home you look so sad, your rosey cheeks all puffed out while you looked at your shoes with a small frown. Izuku took notice and frowned alongside you, he placed one of his hands on top of tours and squeezed it lightly getting you to acknowledge him. once you look up to him a welcoming smile spreads across his freckled face, small dimples being present.

“ are you alright, hon?”

“ tsk, I'm fine. J's feelin’ bad I ruined your day.. you spent all that money on those VIP passes and I chickened out...”

That broke izukus heart knowing this was eating away at you. Izuku didn't care about money, or how much he'd spent, or how it'd "go to waste". He cared about spending time with his partner because he loves you. he squeezed your hand once more before completely embracing you in a hug. No matter how embarrassing you might've looked or how red you were due to the heat, he'd love you regardless and he was glad that despite your crippling fear of heights you went along with him.

“ y/n, don't worry about any of that. I don't care about that, so neither should you. I just wanted to spend time with you.. I'm glad you came along with me and rode the rides that you did! But I deeply apologize that you felt like you couldn't tell me no, that you didn't want to do it. I love you always, and nothing will change that.”

He was just too adorable and loving for you. Sometimes you felt as if you didn't deserve him, which is natural. He's such a great and caring and selfless guy it's normal to feel that way when you finally have something good. He was just so cute he was making you want to bite him n squeeze his stupid baby-like cheeks.

“ -and besides,.. we get to use those passes all year round. So don't worry about it, if you're ever feeling brave again we can just come back!”

Huh. Well there you go. A bright side to the dark side, he really did think this entire thing through didn't he. The perfect man that izuku was, and he was all yours. You loved him so much and you couldn't wait to show him just how much.

“ next time we go on a "surprise date" I'll let you know before hand it's not an amusement park, haha!!”

“ okay, y’dork.”

You sighed and snuggled into his chest, he chuckled at your words and held you close. Obviously due to the heat it didn't take long for you to let go of him but you held his hand regardless, no amount of sweaty palms could make you let go of him.

AN: I know people don't normally like when I write anything other than smut but since I've been away from writing anything other than little imagines n shit I enjoyed this. I hope you all do too<3

[crazyinluvfix]

PROLOGUE

FATAL ATTRACTION - a stiles stilinski story

summary: Sera Salvatore moved to Beacon Hills for a break from the supernatural. But her life was once again turned upside down when she and her two best friends get thrown head first into a world of werewolves and mystery. But it’s hard for her to protect her friends when a single werewolf bite is what could kill her for good…

WARNINGS: mentions of blood

a/n: this is just the intro ! future parts will be longer, that’s where the story really begins ;)

series masterlist

1.8k words

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Beacon Hills was supposed to be a sanctuary from all things supernatural.

After what felt like over a century (because it was), Sera Salvatore needed a break.

Which was admittedly a little hypocritical considering she herself was a vampire, but she was desperate for an escape from all the drama and chaos that her family - namely her brothers - had brought to Mystic Falls. So she decided to start afresh, again.

After only one year of living back in her hometown, she picked up and went to the furthest most point in the continental United States, which just so happened to land her here. From Georgia, all the way to sunny California. It would be a nice change.

She was fortunate enough that she could pass as quite young whenever she settled in a new place. With the help of makeup, clothing, and a healthy amount of dishonesty she managed to blend into freshman year at Beacon Hills High without anyone even batting an eye.

It was now one year ago today that she had started her first day, which turned out to be a breeze.

~

January 3rd, 2010

“You’re humiliating,” I expressed my annoyance flatly as I stood by the door, waiting for my brother to let go of my jacket that he had been straightening before I left the house.

He patted my shoulder with a motherly smile as if he was sending his child off to kindergarten, then took a step back to play the role further.

“Have you got everything?” he asked as he nodded to my bag.

I let out a breathy chuckle. I didn’t hate him as much as I let on… mostly.

“I packed you a blood bag for lunch,” he continued, that smirk of his right at home on his smug face - never a dull moment.

My hand reached for my keys on the side table as I walked backward towards the door, shaking my head to stop my lips from forming a smile of their own. “How thoughtful,” I retorted sarcastically.

But just as I was about to step outside I stopped to say one last thing, “Thanks for helping me move in and all,” my tone was much more genuine than it typically was when speaking to him, but I really was grateful.

Moving across the country would’ve been infinitely harder without his company on the road, and without being able to play the little sister card and sit back while he does the heavy lifting. But… and I would never admit it… but even now, starting a new school was just as scary as it always has been and a part of me liked that I had my big brother there to see me off.

I quickly cut our sappy little chat short with another comment, “But, I expect you to be gone when I get home.” I arched an eyebrow and pointed a finger at him.

He was definitely the fun brother, but with fun comes impulsivity - a trait that must be genetic, and must have skipped my twin - and with impulsivity comes a long string of ‘animal attacks’. And that was exactly the drama in question that I wanted to escape, so I had brought along a surplus of blood bags to hold me until I found a more permanent solution.

He held his hands up in surrender, “I’ll be out within the hour.”

“Okay. I’ll see ya,” I said finally as I stepped outside, hiding from the brisk winter cold in the confines of my leather jacket.

My words were met with another smile and a nod from my brother before he spoke again. “Tell me how it went when you’re home.” The protective mother was back. But this time, it wasn’t just a joke, he was lucky we had no witnesses since he’d hate to ruin his tough-guy persona.

I almost laughed at him again, but I didn’t. As humans me and my brothers were incredibly close, but over time that faded. Me and our other brother never really settled that, but over the past year back in Mystic Falls me and the eldest fell back into old patterns.

“I will,” I gave in with a joking eye-roll. “Bye Damon,” I waved his way.

“Bye Seffie,” he returned, getting a kick out of my suddenly sour face.

Seffie. A nickname he saddled me with at the age of 4 and has stuck with me ever since. But my real name was a mouthful, so I chose to go by Sera - a fact Damon will insist on disregarding for the rest of our eternal lives.

As I walked away my once friendly hand gesture turned into a middle finger as I heard him laugh behind me and shut the door as I made my way to my new school.

~

The moment I stepped foot in the doors I noticed some heads turn, some overheard whispers from passers-by that fuelled my ego just that bit more as I walked up to reception and signed in.

First-period English went smoothly, then it was History which ironically was focused on the confederacy (not me and my siblings' proudest fight). And it was safe to say the teacher was thoroughly impressed with my knowledge on the subject, little did he know I quite literally lived it.

But after class was when my day took a turn.

“1076, 1076,” I repeated under my breath as I went to scour the halls for my new locker, but the break rush made my search all the more difficult with what felt like a million people charging around.

But finally, I seemed to be in luck as I read the numbers to my right; 1080, 1079, 1078, 1077, and…

Crash.

I took a deep breath and a frustrated sigh at the smug-faced, blond jock who had just practically booked it into my side, knocking all of my books out of my hands, and causing me to jump at the deafening sound of them hitting the tile floor. ‘Great,’ I thought satirically. The prick didn’t even bother to look back! Let alone be kind enough to help me pick them back up again.

But someone else did. In fact, two other boys seemed to have played witness and immediately came scrambling up to my side.

“Hey, uh-” the one with darker features and a crooked jawline, giving him a somewhat goofy smile stuttered, stopping after his friend who stood politely next to him not-so-subtly jabbed him in the side with his elbow, causing him to bring a hand to it and shoot his friend a glare.

“What he meant to say was, do you want a hand with that?” The slightly taller friend with the buzzed brown hair asked after his friend's failure to do so.

I could do nothing but laugh slightly at both of their clear excitement and reply with a smile, “I’d love one.”

Picking up books was a simple task that I most definitely could’ve done myself in probably half the time, but nothing compared to watching them both drop to the floor and bat at each other's hands in a frantic competition to ‘help the most.’ My smile grew wider and I brought a hand up to rest on my forehead. This was already a refreshing change since none of the boys back home would have ever done the same.

Soon, they both stood back up in front of me, proud looks on both of their faces as they put the books in my open locker for me.

“Thank you,” I chuckled in response.

“No problem,” the more hyper one added before quickly speaking again at a constant, lightning pace. “I’m Stiles, by the way,” he gestured to himself, “and this is my buddy, Scott,” his hand moved over to pat the other boy on the shoulder.

“Nice to meet you, Stiles and Scott,” I nodded back at them, still trying to bite back an amused grin, “I’m Sera.”

“You’re new here right?” Scott spoke again with an innocent look of pure curiosity.

I put my hands together behind my back and rocked on my heels slightly, “Mhm, started this morning,” a somewhat nervous chuckle left my lips, which the one called Stiles seemed to pick up on because he quickly interjected.

“I mean, we’d be happy to show you ‘round if you wanna hang with us,” he offered, a hopeful shrug on his shoulders and a pout on his lips.

“Wouldn’t we, Scott,” he then batted the back of his hand against his friend’s arm, glaring at him to respond.

Scott quickly blinked and nodded rapidly, “Oh, yeah, of course.”

I bit my lip in contemplation, they did seem awfully nice. “I’d love to, but I’ve gotta go to the office quickly, but maybe I’ll catch up with you guys later,” my counter seemed to be accepted without a second thought as I studied their expressions.

When I stepped backward I noticed how they didn’t leave just yet, so I said, “Bye boys, I’ll see you around,” with a small wiggle of my fingers as a wave.

“See you around, Sera,” Stiles repeated as he and Scott both mimicked my step back, his hand raising up to do a little salute before we turned our backs to each other.

I could not help the quiet giggle that escaped my mouth after I was out of their eyeline, but I also could not help but hear what they were saying to each other down the hall.

“Why the fuck did you salute?” Scott whispered, hitting Stiles back in retaliation for earlier.

“I- I don’t know, okay?” Stiles replied slightly panicked.

My smile grew. What idiots.

As for the conversation with the receptionist, it went smoothly with a little help from my immaculate ‘people skills’.

“I’m sorry but we insist on transcripts. And your immunisation records seem to be missing,” the lady said, peering over her glasses as she looked through my files.

My sigh was followed by me leaning forward, looking into her eyes as I watched her pupils dilate - she just had to make this more difficult.

“Please look again, I’m sure you’ll find everything you’re looking for.” A proud smirk laced my lips as she did exactly that, nodding and sending me on my way. Too easy.

During lunch, I did end up joining the boys at their table, taking a seat next to Stiles and definitely not missing the wide-eyed look he gave to Scott, along with his stuttered breath as I leaned over him to reach my pen that had rolled across the table.

The portrayal of vampires in Twilight had always annoyed me due to its incredible inaccuracy, but it was beyond amusing how easy it was for me to read their minds, even without special powers.

~

That day had ended with new numbers in everyone’s phones and Sera scoring a new ride to school and back every day in her new friend’s beaten-up old Jeep (which she thought had enough charm to distract from the deafening sound it made when running).

And from that moment forward, the three were inseparable.

ੈ✩‧₊˚

hope you enjoyed !

this was basically to just tell you what to expect from the rest of the series. might not post it all on here unless you want me to so check out my ao3 and wattpad ( @crazyinluvfix ) like and comment x

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[colourstreakgryffin]

Can you do kyojuro, Obanai, sanemi (or mitsuri) x reader who is from the modern world and has electronics like a phone (bonus if you can add us playing a scary game with them?)

Goddamn, Kyo is just on a roll now! Isn’t he but I guess I’ll pick Sanemi for this since I can’t write anymore than three characters anymore! Ooh! This scenario is actually pretty cute

Rengoku Kyojuro

Kyojuro is very interested and shocked by your phone. What is that device?! Are you a magical being?! The way you proclaim so casually that’s it’s a phone, he is so confused but yet in awe. You’re… nothing like he has ever seen before

Kyojuro is very curious over your sense of fashion as it’s so different as compared to his. You don’t wear kimonos, your clothes are so skintight and small. There is no fabric, aren’t you cold? Kyojuro wonders everytime he sees you in your modern style

Kyojuro wants to play on your strange double-flat device and when you bring a array of horrifying scenes, he is so fascinating. How is a story inside this device? How is the picture talking to you? How does it know your name! He is a bit afraid of the game on your laptop but he feels comfortable with you

Iguro Obanai

Obanai jolts backwards defensively and demands you hand over your phone for him to take a look at. He won’t break it nor try open it but he examines it carefully. He has always been so curious over you, you’re such a different but fascinating person to him

Obanai feels as if your clothing isn’t keeping you warm nor safe. Those tiny pants, that tight-ass top, he can’t stand it and he offers you kimonos all the time. He regularly hands you his haori when he is convince your clothing choice won’t keep care for you

Obanai doesn’t understand the ‘laptop’ you present to him and when you pull up a concept of a ‘video game’ to him that consisted of horrifying images and noises, he didn’t even flinch. You suspected he would be scared but he wasn’t at all, he just noticed that the enemy characters were “ugly” and asked how it worked

Shinazugawa Sanemi

Sorry but Sanemi will destroy your phone with his katana, when you bring it out. He assumed it was some nuclear weapon and he wasn’t all for that. Even when you explain that your phone is harmless, he is lost for words and bewildered but he doesn’t really feel that bad

Sanemi doesn’t understand why you wear such small and skin-tight clothes. Those pants, those shirts, they are so thin and short. You aren’t cold? He is curious about your modern time’s concepts and he asks how each came to be, how they are work for you and your time

Sanemi isn’t afraid of anything! You offer him to play a ‘game’ on your ‘laptop’ and simply leans his chin over your shoulder as you start to play the array of horrifying pictures shown on the screen. How do they know what you’re doing? How do the tiny characters move at your will? He is so interested

[sadgirlbaby]

Can you please do our dear Jimmy Darling being insecure and so the reader gets freaky maybe sucks his fingers and tells him how much she loves him his hands and what they can do that leads into some smut? i rlly love ur style and would love to see how you play this out. ofc again its okay if not and its fine if you wanna change some things idm

thank u so much! <3

MAGIC HANDS - jimmy darling x fem!reader (smut)

CW: sex scene, explicit sexual speaking, fingering, dick riding, dirty talk, p in v penetration, cumming

STORY/PROLOGUE: you worked and lived at the freak show, in the circus. you weren’t a freak actually, you were a very great singer and used to sing with elsa at shows. when you walked into the circus for the very first time, it was love at first sight for you and jimmy. you started dating but jimmy was still very insecure about his hands.

SUMMARY: jimmy confessed you about his weaknesses and told you how much he hated having those hands. but you loved him so much and made him understand that in one of your usual ways.

“hey” you greeted your boyfriend as soon as you walked into your trailer (you and jimmy shared it).

the show was just awesome, they sold out all the tickets and you were very happy of that but your smile disappeared as soon as you noticed that jimmy was not on earth.

“hello? jimmy?? earth to jimmy!”

“oh sorry babe, when did ya come in?” he said.

“just a few seconds ago, are you doing good?” you asked while getting changed into more comfy clothes.

“yeah” he replied but you were sure that he wasn’t actually there - he was too lost in thought.

“mmh, are you tired? go to bed, come with me. it’s almost midnight” you suggested but jimmy kept being quiet which made you a bit worried.

“jimmy, what’s going on?” you sat next to him caressing his shoulder.

“it’s… nothing, love” he weakly smiled. jimmy has always been a lively guy, full of joy and good energy. he went through a lot but he never appeared vulnerable in front of you, jimmy never gave up in front of you.

“I know you well, tell me what’s going on please” you said getting your face closer to his.

“it’s just… ugh! everybody’s afraid of me! all the people make fun of me and my fucking hands! they call me the lobster boy… I’m sick of this” jimmy shouted angry, you got scared for a second but you knew that he wasn’t angry at you, he was angry at himself.

“I’m not enough… I hate my hands! I hate me!” he screamed again.

you took jimmy’s cheeks making him turning towards you, then you spoke - “you know, some people don’t appreciate the real art of the world. you are not a scary or disgusting freak! you are the best freak! the strongest, the bravest, the coolest!” you noticed jimmy raising his head and forcing himself to smile at you.

“…and the sexiest” you whispered into his ear and jimmy immediately got goosebumps. this time he smirked for real and lowered is head in embarrassment.

you softly kissed his lips, then you did it rougher, hungrier. jimmy twisted his arms around your waist and pushed you backwards making you lay on the couch. he put himself above you and continued to kiss you.

“people don’t know what your hands can do” you said sexily and grabbed his lobster hands.

"baby, what are ya doing?" he smiled.

“touch me” you said and sucked his fingers. jimmy was completely turning on. he pulled up your dress and inserted a pair of fingers inside you. you gasped and started to move your pelvis in sync with his thrusts.

“god I love you” you moaned. “and your magic hands” you continued.

jimmy pushed hard into you, until he suddenly took his fingers off and put the whole hand inside.

“oh my god!” you cried out. it was hurting a little bit but the pleasure was much more than the pain.

"jimmy! don't stop... please..." you whimpered. he kept pumping his big hand inside your vagina.

the whole trailer was full of your moans, jimmy was smirking proud of what he was making you feel.

"fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" you orgasmed and cummed onto jimmy's hands. "look how special you are" you said still catching your breath and pointing at his fingers. jimmy looked at them and put them into his mouth, sucking off all of your juices.

"I want you inside me, jimmy" you said while sitting on his lap. "baby, I just put my whole hand inside of ya" he smiled and you smiled back. "I mean, I want your dick inside me" you explained while cupping his cheeks with your soft hands.

jimmy smirked and quickly unzipped his pants, then he took his boxer off freeing his erection and you saw how fingering you made him get horny. you sat on him again and quickly inserted his hard cock into your entrace.

"babydoll you feel so good" jimmy mumbled as you started to jump violently on his dick. "fuck baby, fuck..." jimmy grabbed your hips and guided you in riding it.

"I love you much jimmy" you moaned. "you're making mommy feeling so good..." you whispered into his ear as sexiest as possible. this action made him just cum within a few seconds, filling the whole caravan with both of your moans.

"oh god baby, you're the best girlfriend in the world..." he confessed staring at the ceiling, exhausted.

you kissed him and his hands sweetly.

“I love ya” he said and kissed you again.

reminder: requests are always open and you can request about whoever you want. currently taking requests for ahs only!

taglist: @demxnicprxncess

-> click on the ask/request bottom or just comment if you want to be added in my taglist!

<3

[infinite-hearts-333]

THE BEAST.

Oura Thorn’s powers are based of a character from a movie, but unfortunately that movie is King Kong Skull Island, so expect scary thing. If your not a fan of death, cannibalism, yummy digestive facts and good scary CGI, i wouldn’t recommend reading the part called “THE INSPIRATION” and skip right to “WHAT IS THE BEAST?”.

The space rider au belongs to @onyxonline

THE INSPIRATION.

Alright! Oura Thorn’s power is based of two entities, the SkullCrawler from King Kong, for body, strength and speed, and Jörmungandr, the world serpent for purpose.

SkullCrawlers were my main source of bodily anatomy guide for the Beast. A massive, horrific bulky beast built like a tank and filled with an unstoppable desire to kill. This creature was intelligent, fast and ruthless. Not to mention metal as hell. The stomach acid in this thing was strong enough that the Skullcrawler eats someone, whole, and then regurgitates the bones thirty minutes later! That’s some strong ass acid. It is described by the Gojipedia that :

“Skullcrawlers are subterranean pack-hunting predators with insatiable appetites that are the results of their heightened metabolisms. Because of this, it is suggested that male and female Skullcrawlers will almost always devour each other after mating. They are highly aggressive, as well as incredibly persistent in pursuing their prey.”

And trust me if you haven’t see the movie, you do NOT wanna end up alone with even one of these freaks.

Jörmungandr is a creature of Norse mythology, also known as the Midgard Serpent or World serpent, and is an unfathomably large sea serpent or worm who dwells in the world sea, encircling the Earth (Midgard) and biting his own tail, an example of an ouroboros. In some scripts and stories- Jörmungandr is described as a Lindworm, which is a subspecies of dragon. Jörmungandr was the middle child of Loki, the Norse trickster god and the giant Angrboða. It was foretold that Odin took Loki’s children and removed them from Asgard. For Jörmungandr, they were tossed into the great ocean that encircles Midgard. There, in the ocean, the serpent grew so large that it could surround earth and grasp its own tail. Jörmungandr and Thor, the Norse thunder god, have a on-going feud and see each other as arch foes. During Ragnarök, Jörmungandr and Thor are foretold to fight each other to the death.

As recounted in Snorri's Gylfaginning:

“The sea will flood and the serpent will thrash onto the land. It will advance, spraying poison to fill the air and water, beside Fenrir, whose eyes and nostrils blaze with fire and whose gape touches the earth and the sky. They will join the sons of Muspell to confront the gods on the plain of Vigrid. Here is where the last meeting between the serpent and Thor is predicted to occur. He will eventually kill Jörmungandr but will fall dead after walking nine paces, having been poisoned by the serpent's deadly venom.”

It is said when Jörmungandr releases its tail is one of the signs of the beginning of Ragnarök (the final battle of the world, or the ‘end of the world as we know it’).

WHAT IS THE BEAST?

The Beast is a bipedal Lindworm with only two frontal limbs and a long thick tail for balance. It is covered in thick armoured plates, with jutting spines down the length of its neck, and the back of its head / cheeks, like Thorn does. Equiped with thick horns and a thicker skull, it can about ram down anything in its path with enough momentum. It is thin and nimble, and tanks a lot more than it looks like it can, using the large muscles in its arms and tail to be able to move fast, or catch prey. Its maw is filled with forward facing teeth, like a canine, but its throat and back of its mouth is filled with backwards facing spines, to grip prey and prevent escaping. Its tongue is long and flexible, capable of snagging someone and dragging them straight into their toothy demise.

The Beast only forces it’s presence when it senses an extreme unbalance in the world around it, forcing itself into control to eradicate any ‘pests’ or ‘weeds’ that would corrupt the survival of the world they are on. Although, just like Jörmungandr, eradicating the pest, also means the ‘end of the world’- destroying large amounts of civilisations, and killing many innocents in the process. Luckily, for Thorn, that hasn’t happened, yet. It is an animal- when it is in control there will be no reaching Oura Thorn, they are good as dead until the Beast has calmed- whether that means tearing the entire base apart to find the lack of balance or not.

However, not is all sorrow and death the minute the Beast is free. Like the World Serpent, there are times where the beast can exist and be calm. Though, usually, it will let Oura Thorn continue with their life by then, and fall back into slumber deep within them. Were a rider to disturb the beast before it slept, it would continue to exist, and often take the time to hunt, or look for a new problem for it to fix, ignoring the little critters around it. (Although, there may be a chance that though Oura Thorn, it may recognise you)

CAN IT BE STOPPED??

In terms of wounding the Beast- it’ll be hard, as a creature designed to force balance to any world.

The beast can’t swim very well, the heavily density of its muscles and bones make it sink and therefore, drowning it. Killing it would be hard in terms of combat, with its armoured scales. Its underbelly is less armoured and the skin along it’s neck where it’s spines emerge are a weak point but good luck getting close enough to touch it. And despite its brutal animalistic behaviour, this creature is smart. Tricking it with poison or having it swallow grenades ain’t gonna work here, just like with the Skullcrawlers. The best bet to killing this thing is having its arms and tail pinned, so it can no longer get away, and then hacking at it.

Keep in mind- if you’re not doing anything bad, and stay away from it, it shouldn’t actively seek out space riders to harm. If you get hurt, you’re in the way, lol.

WELL, IF SPACE RIDERS ARE GOOD, WHY DID IT APPEAR IN THE DOCKS?

Excellent question, figurative person!

Now, I’ve covered how the Beast works, if you’d like, go back to the OG post and see if you can figure out why you think Thorn lost control at the docks.

Ready? Alright. So the Beast only takes the reins when it senses ‘unbalance nature’ around it. Obviously it wasn’t the other staff, not the mail, but the cultists that were mailed to the base. But Infinite! They’re just Critters! Why would that upset the beast?

Another excellent question! The Cultist themselves, didn’t upset the Beast- but rather, the red smoke that they were breathing in.

That is the ‘unbalanced nature’ that has caused thorn to struggle to control themselves and keep the beast contained- the red smoke. And well understood with Onyx’s upload on Z’s planet- that stuff destroyed the entire world!! There is a specific reason that the red smoke is such a massive trigger for the Beast, but that would spoil a plot point I’m holding onto that I’ve been subtly hinting at. So you’ll all know laterrrr ~

WILL THORN BE EVER ABLE TO CONTROL THE BEAST?

No, unfortunately that will never be a reality for Ouřa Thorn :<

I love Thorn very much, but I find overly ‘op’ characters to be too unrealistic in my opinion. Thorn will never be able to control the Beast, or gain any other powers than that. The closest thing to ‘control’ Thorn will ever achieve is being so overwhelmed with one, or a mix of emotions, that it influences the Beast’s actions slightly. This can be seen in the dock accident, were instead of being careless and destroying everything, and probably eating the cultists, The Beast was influenced by Ouřa Thorn’s only two thoughts- to protect the other workers, and to ensure no one got hurt.

Thankfully, those two thoughts were just enough in comparison to the tiny amount of red smoke to keep a full rage at bay, keeping everyone safe.

(However! We do get to watch the Rangers + other critters do there damn best to try help Thorn tame it lol)

WHERE DID IT COME FROM??

There are records of other critters that had Oura Thorn’s power, old talismans and rock craving dating back to eons. Little is understood as to how it started, or why. Some are convinced it’s because of the prototype- the damage that he has caused with the red smoke has awoke a primal magic that is more dangerous than anyone knows.

[aloneinthehellfire]

Chapter Ten: Part Two: An Ode To The Complicated

Gates Of Hell Masterlist

Word Count: 9.6k

Warnings: swearing, mentions of death/cancer, bit of angst... okay, a lot of angst.

[A/N: So this one took me a while, as you can probably tell by the word count oops. I promise the next chapter will actually progress the story but for now, it felt fitting to develop the characters... wink, wink. enjoy]

Part Two: An Ode To The Complicated

Lights flicker out the corner of your eye, only catching your attention. The others were still deep in their exchange of scary stories, not noticing the flickering bulb locked behind a door just further down.

And then you watch as it dims completely, almost in a snap. You shouldn’t think anything of it. The world was literally ending, electricity was easily one of the first resources to go. Except… don’t these places usually run on a generator?

The light in the next room starts flickering. And when that bursts, it moves to the next, and you feel your hairs stand on end. You can see the bulb lose its spark, your breath foggy against the glass.

Since when were you this close to the door?

“Never be distracted.”

You spin around. There was nobody whispering in your ear. You were just hearing things again.

“Don’t look away.”

The voice echoes further down the hall. Your mind feels clouded, a high pitched ringing in your ear making the overhead lights unbearable. They were flickering madly, and you take a step back toward your friends.

“Run.”

Everything is bright once again, like the bulbs had never been acting up. You exhale a breath and walk back to where the others stood. Paranoia was setting in unusually often today.

It took you all of five steps to notice something was wrong. Maybe it was the silence in the room. Maybe it was the lack of movement. Whichever, you felt uneasy to see them with their backs to you, not speaking, barely breathing.

“Guys?” You frown, expecting someone to laugh. But you got no response.

You rush towards Steve, finding his face. It looked like he was mid sentence, mouth slightly open.

“Steve.” You wave a hand in front of his face. Nothing.

You tried the others, calling out, snapping your fingers.

Still nothing.

It’s like they’re stuck in time. Or you are.

This isn’t happening, you repeat over and over in your head, pacing the hallway. You were dreaming. Hallucinating. Hell, you could have been drugged for all you know. Judging by the dryness of your mouth, the rumble in your stomach, that didn’t seem to be the case. You hadn’t eaten in a while. Maybe it was hallucinations from starving yourself?

“Never be distracted.”

“Don’t look away.”

“Run.”

Letting out a cry of frustration, you turn around again to fuel your curious mind, expecting the same bare space as it always was.

Except a breath catches in the back of your throat, so quick you almost choked.

Dust.

It looked the same as that creature you had seen in the sky. The one that left you paralysed, fed you a nightmare that you couldn’t get out of your head any time you closed your eyes. Here it was, fluttering about in front of you, completely void of shape.

This is a dream, you tell yourself, tightening your grip on the shotgun, It’s just a dream.

The black dust began to trail backwards, slipping between the cracks of the double doors. You could see its shadow behind the small window of glass. It was waiting for you. Expecting you to follow.

It’s a bad idea. But you feel like this is your only escape from the time-stop around you.

You’re led back through the hallways, your footsteps rushed and sneakers squeaking against the polished floor. At least, you hoped it was polish.

It’s leading you past the security room, over the broken glass of the front door, stepping out of the lab and into a blinking state of awe.

The sun beams brightly down, the world suddenly silent. Nothing was happening. It was barely moving. Like the earth had stilled, frozen in time.

Some kind of blackbird had been flying low. Now it was just suspended in air, mid flight, making you gulp.

Of all the crazy things to happen to you lately, this one takes the cake. You couldn’t keep staring. Never be distracted.

Something flutters in the corner of your eye. The dust. It was still leading you, towards the edge of the building… where that grinning creature lay in a mess of its own brain matter.

Trying not to gag, you keep a distance, wondering what this dust was trying to tell you. Did you have any other choice, or would you have to follow it for as long as it took you? How far would you go?

It doesn’t go any further than the building. You frown. You don’t know what that means.

It takes a moment for you to realise it was hovering over the monster, settling into an airborne shape that resembled its silhouette.

Then it lowered, covering the thing completely.

The hairs on your arm start to raise, and you take slow steps back. But you couldn’t look away. Don’t look away.

It was a blur of movement, settling around the body.

And then it was stitching it back together.

You watched in horror as melted into the dead skin, the mutilated face being woven back together like nothing had ever happened.

You should have ran. You should have done anything but watch.

Terror flooded your body when the dust finally faded and its eyes snapped open, completely black. It practically jumped to its feet, rolling those scarred shoulders of it, flexing those claws in and out of a fist. Then it stills completely.

The head snaps towards you, baring its grinning teeth.

You fumble with the shotgun, checking it was loaded. Your heart was racing so much that all you could hear was the repetitive thumping against your eardrum.

As your hands shook, the thing just stands and watches, smiling and smiling and smiling.

Wind blew against your face, winding through your hair. Was it windy before?

You were too terrified to take a glance around you, but slowly you start to hear the distant chirps of small wildlife, the faint hum of the building behind you. You were no longer frozen in time.

Just as you cock the gun, the blackbird finally flaps its wings, carried by the wind…

… and snatched out of the air with a malicious grip, snapping each and every bone, ricocheting through your body.

You almost cried when it bit into the bird, the sounds enough to make you nauseous. It was still staring as it chewed. Still smiling. Even as the blood dribbled down its chin.

Holding your breath, you take aim at its head. It only stared, dropping the dead bird.

You pull the trigger, awaiting its fall into the grass, awaiting the nightmare to end. But it didn’t move. It barely flinched.

The shells had pierced skin, aimed at the neck. It acted as if nothing happened, and you couldn’t control your breathing. Scarcely five minutes ago, Steve had blasted its head into a million smithereens. It should have been impossible to get back up.

But now, as you stare at the grinning creature with deadly wounds still standing there, you realised that the impossibility was killing it for good.

That black dust had returned it to life as if it were nothing. Everything you killed before, everything you kill now, will be meaningless. It will always come back to life.

Cocking the gun again, you are determined to at least slow it down. At least enough to find safety.

But you couldn’t even shoot before it’s suddenly in front of you, gripping tightly onto the barrel and twisting it around with blood-curdling strength.

The shotgun slips from your hands and something wraps around your throat before you can even run. It squeezes hard, lifting you so you were level with its creepy face, inching closer.

Its breath was rotten. You try and claw at its hand, kicking your legs. It didn’t budge one bit.

Those black, endless eyes bore flames into your skin. Your voice cracked as you attempted to call for help. It was useless.

Your throat was surely bruised by now, but you didn’t feel like you were losing air. It was almost as if it was taking the satisfaction of having you in its grip, helpless. It wasn’t killing you, but it wasn’t ever letting you go.

With only panic driving your actions, you let go of its burned hand and reach out to its face, digging your nails into its eyes to be returned a chilling screech.

Your body hit the ground and you gasped for air, coughing against the compression you felt in your throat. You needed to run.

Run.

Stumbling to your feet, you break out into a run towards the lab, ignoring the flaming of your muscles as you thudded across the grass. You needed safety. You needed back-up.

You needed Steve.

The glass crunched beneath you, your feet almost slipping out from under you. But you keep your balance, rushed footsteps echoing down the hallway. You couldn’t remember the turns.

A broken sob leaves your lips right before something heavy barrels into you and knocks you into the wall, sending a shooting pain into your shoulder. You hit the ground hard, gasping.

Its breathing heavy, that grin plastered to its face like it had no choice. You try to scramble away from it, shoes squeaking against the red slippery surface of the floor.

You couldn’t escape.

“Y/n?”

A voice calls out to you, but your mind is still ringing from the impact.

The thing starts leaning down towards you, dripping spots of blood from its mouth onto your face and you squeeze your eyes shut. You knew you couldn’t prepare yourself for anything. You knew the pain would be excruciating as it ripped you apart with those teeth. Those razor teeth.

Some high-pitched sound travels down the corridor. It sounded like… a scream?

The creature whips its head to the noise, that grin faltering ever so slightly. But you caught it.

It wasn’t enough to grab its attention, however, as the head turns back to you slowly, that smile growing even wider than humanly possible.

You hadn’t even realised tears were streaming down your cheeks until a drop patted against your jeans. You needed a miracle.

And just like that, another scream rips out from the unknown, and that smile snaps back towards the sound. And this time, it doesn’t ignore it.

Still gripping your twisted shotgun between claws, it starts moving back down the hallway, taking a familiar left. That initial relief was shattered by a deep-seeded cove of fear.

It was heading towards your friends. And they couldn’t kill it.

Gritting your teeth, you clutch your shoulder as you try to raise yourself from the ground. The first try had you back on the floor with a thump, a sob caught in your throat. You weren’t giving up.

Bracing yourself against the wall, you groan as a burning pain shoots back to your shoulder. But you keep going, your wobbling legs barely holding your weight, but staying strong enough to keep you upright. You needed to warn them.

By the time you had made it around the different hallways, relying on muscle memory to guide you, the monster was already stood in front of double doors, the very same that granted entrance to where the others were.

There’s a twitch in its head, and it turns around to face you. The lights overhead start flickering wildly, plunging you into moments of darkness. And yet its twisted face still remained in the black, staring, grinning.

You stumble back, still clutching your shoulder. You only had one option left.

Another scream rips through the air, louder this time. It glances over its shoulder, and when it returns to your stare, something has changed in its face.

Its forehead wrinkled, like it was frowning. No. Glaring.

It looked at you like it was plotting something sinister. Another glance over its shoulder and your stomach drops.

It was going to kill them.

“No.” You whisper out, shaking your head. Its grin only grows wider, stretching until the corners met those of its eyes, and you cry out.

It spins around, and starts taking steps towards the double doors, making you scream the only thing you can think to.

“Steve!”

A yell was what it took to snap Steve out of his own torment.

Nancy cried out as Jonathan was thrown across the hallway, cricket bat tumbling out of his hand. She raises her gun, shooting the chest. It turned its grin towards Robin.

Nancy shoots another bullet, piercing its ribcage. It moves towards the panic-stricken girl.

The last bullet goes straight through its head, and this time it stumbled back, giving Steve enough time to grab Robin and pull her behind him.

The creature looked like it was wobbling, and Steve thought for sure Nancy had killed it. But she hadn’t.

It turns towards them, practically ripping its skin as it smiled from ear to ear. Nancy lowers her empty gun in horror, looking to Steve as if he could have some explanation.

It was then that Steve really looks at the monster, taking it in. The warped shotgun, the blood-stained teeth.

The shell holes ripped through its neck.

His eyes stung as it all tied together in his brain, raising his bat. He knew it wouldn’t kill it, especially not after surviving bullet wounds. He was going to make sure it felt his anger.

The lights flickered above him as he span the bat around in his hand, striking upwards and hooking it just under the monster’s chin. It had just enough force to knock it backwards, and to burn the muscles in his arm. But he wasn’t done.

Next he struck its legs, nails driving into the back that had it screeching, hitting the ground.

And then it was a massacre. Over and over, he drove the bat down. Into its chest, its face, anywhere. He kept going and going and going. And when his arms started to get tired, he forced himself to swing the bat into this monsters chest harder. A relentless battering, black blood spurting out, oozing. Steve barely saw what he was doing. He only saw red, hot, rage.

“Steve!” Somebody shouts, but he isn’t listening.

The creature isn’t moving anymore. It barely had distinguishable features left. Steve had driven the bat down so many times, he was hitting what he assumed to be bone. But it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough.

“Steve!”

A hand is on his shoulder, pulling him away. The sudden action loosens his grip and the bat becomes lodged in the monster’s chest as he stumbles back.

“What are you doing, I have to-” He begins, but then he really looks, and all that fire for revenge is lifted from his body.

Because you’re stood there, clutching your arm, bruised but very much alive. He lets out a shaky breath. But he can’t speak. And it doesn’t look like you’re going to start the conversation either. So, rather, you’re both looking at eachother, unreadable expressions for undefined feelings.

“Well, I don’t think that’s getting up any time soon.” Robin’s voice cuts through, a nervous laugh in her throat. But then she makes eye contact and tightens her lips. “I’m so glad you’re alive.”

She runs to pull you into a hug and you wince. She steps back, muttering a repeated apology as she takes in your state.

“What the hell did you get up to?” She asks, barely a whisper, like she didn’t even want to know.

“It’s a long story that… honestly… doesn’t make much sense.” You sigh, biting your lip as it threatened to wobble. The corners of your mouth would always drag your lips down into a frown when you were sad, an uncontrollable tell.

“Hey, you’re okay.” Robin shushes, and this time you let her hug you. Because how else were you meant to start dealing with everything that just happened?

“Jonathan?” Nancy taps her boyfriend’s face, crouched beside him. After a second nudge, he blinks awake, looking dazed.

“What did I miss?” He asks with a gruff voice as Nancy slowly helps him up, checking his head for any wounds.

“Uh, you got launched like five feet across the room into a wall.” Robin relays and you pull away from her frowning. “That thing wasn’t messing around.”

“Why didn’t it die?” Nancy questions as she helps Jonathan to his feet, inspecting a bruise at the back of his head. “I shot it. It should have died.”

“How do we know it’s dead now?” You wonder out loud, and your eyes wander back to the body by the door. Steve had done a number on it for sure. Even if it did get back up, it wouldn’t be moving fast.

“I can’t believe there were two of them.” Steve mutters, frowning down at the body as he wipes his bloodied hands on his jeans, “How did we miss that?”

You should have told him. You should have told all of them the truth. But you still couldn’t believe it was real. Maybe you had blacked out, made your way outside just to run into that grinning creature. A different one. It made more sense than time-stopping black dust resurrecting the dead. You’ve dealt with enough people telling you were crazy. You couldn’t go through that again.

You would get your answer when you left here. If the original body was still a disfigured mess in the grass, then you would know.

“I need to get him some ice.” Nancy announces, sending a look of apology to Jonathan as he winces. Her eyes shift to you. “And I think we should definitely get you checked out.”

“You look like hell.” Robin agrees, surrendering her hands. “Don’t get me wrong, you still look cool as fuck but you’re covered in blood and bruises right now.”

Frowning, you take a glance down at yourself for the first time. She wasn’t wrong. That slick of blood you had slipped in earlier coated your sneakers and your hands. Your neck was surely blue and purple from the monstrous grip of claws wrapped around your throat. And the pain in your shoulder was throbbing to a painful extent.

“Okay.” You sigh, feeling exhausted.

“Lead the way.” Steve clears his throat, nodding at Nancy as she wrapped an arm around Jonathan to keep him steady. He ignored how hurt that made him feel.

He stomps his foot down on the creature’s chest to heave out his bat before he left, one sharp tug to dislodge his weapon from a ribcage. At least, that what he assumed it was. He wasn’t even sure this thing had an anatomy he would recognise.

Turning, he sees Nancy and Jonathan taking lead, a chattering Robin beside them. And you, crouching down by a shotgun way beyond repair.

“I don’t think you’ll be able to shoot anything with that.” Steve comments and you stand back up, pursing your lips.

“Hopper’s gonna kill me.” You say, brows furrowed.

Steve almost laughed. You were stood here, clutching what could be a dislocated shoulder, covered in blood and scrapes from fighting off a foreign monster, and yet your biggest concern was breaking one of your dad’s many shotguns.

“I’m sure he’ll understand.” He chuckles, but you simply look up at him, biting your lip.

“Yeah.” You give a small smile before nodding to the others. “We should keep up.”

Another instance in which Steve felt like he said the wrong thing. You were walking away from him again, looking too defeated to argue. Again. But he didn’t want to let it go, or leave you alone. Three days ago he wouldn’t have given you a single thought. That was before you both survived together, he supposed.

“I know a thing or two about strict dads, you know.”

You almost jump when you see Steve suddenly beside you, lips tight as he matched your pace. This was unusual.

“Uh…” You weren’t sure how to respond. As said, this was unexpected.

“Yeah, I, um…” He looks at the back of Nancy’s head, the girl too mesmerised by your best friend’s rambling to notice, “Remember how I told you a, um, a girl when missing in my backyard?”

“Yeah, of course.” You nod. Barbara Holland. You had assumed she had ran away like everyone else claimed. Hearing the real story had your stomach churning.

“You know what I said when Nance wanted to go to the police?” He raised an eyebrow and you frown. “I was worried about my dad finding out we were drinking. A girl literally disappeared and I was terrified I was gonna get in trouble with my dad. I mean… how shitty is that?”

“Sounds like he’s an asshole.” You say before thinking. But Steve laughs, nodding his head.

“A real piece of work.” He smiles a little sadly, looking at you. “So, yeah. I get it. The whole… afraid what your dad is gonna say.”

“No, he’s not-” You start, biting your lip as you’re all directed around a corner. Steve holds the door open for you, arm stretched above so you could duck under. “It’s not like that. We’re just… complicated, I guess.”

“A ‘sometimes we fight but we’re family’ complicated or…” He leaves the sentence unfinished and you almost squirm. Now wasn’t the right time to be honest.

“Or.” You send a knowing look. The swinging bat dangling from his fingers catches your eye. “So… you really showed that thing boss, huh?”

“Hm?” Steve raises his brows before clocking his now bloody bat, some nails looser than others. “Oh, right. Yeah, I, uh… I don’t really know what happened there.”

A lie shot straight through his teeth. He had seen enough to think you were dead. That you had been taken away from him when he had his back turned again, and this time you were caught right between the teeth, defenceless. It was a flash of guilt that turned into anger. A moment of weakness he didn’t quite understand.

“Do you at least feel better?” You ask, a smirk on your lips. “Looked kinda therapeutic in, like, a really messed up way.”

He takes a moment, suppressing a laugh, before looking at you. To be honest… “Yeah. I feel a whole lot better.”

The lab wasn’t as completely clear as you thought to believe when you first arrived.

Nancy and Jonathan led you around the long way, claiming that they had to mark off doors because of a demodog infestation they were dealing with the first day. Something about a smaller gate that had opened but immediately closed.

That and the occasional screams. The scariest part was how used you became to them. Like they were a normal part of life now, a mere sound to be ignored.

“It’s just up here.” Jonathan points ahead, arm slung around Nancy’s shoulder any time he felt woozy. Concussions were no joke. You knew that. So did Steve.

“Thank god.” Robin mutters, earning a smirk from Steve. “What? My feet hurt. Sue me.”

You were too busy mentally preparing yourself for what would be behind that final door. Would he even care? Is he just going to tell you how stupid you are for getting detention in the first place? Was he going to forgive you for what you said to him?

“You okay?” Steve’s voice interrupts your smarming thoughts and you nod, smiling.

“Yeah.” You brush it off, raising your eyebrows. “I bet you’re excited to see Dustin.”

“What?” Steve scoffs, shaking his head. “Why would I care? It’s cool. It’ll be good to see him. Don’t think I’m excited.”

“Uh-huh.” You sound unconvinced and he rolls his eyes.

“Whatever.” He says, but he can’t force the smile away from taking hostage of his lips.

You notice the others have stopped suddenly and your heart pangs. Another creature? Blood? Something horrible-

The jingle of keys has you uncurling your fists as Nancy struggles to pull them out of her pocket. Steve immediately steps forward to hook his arm under Jonathan, relieving her of his weight. She sends him a gracious look, but you observe the way Steve avoids her eyes. He must be hating every second of this.

“Okay.” She breathes out, slotting the key into a metal door. “We lock the door anytime we leave, just in case. We take shifts so some of us end up sleeping between. Don’t wanna be blind-sided.”

“It’s a good idea.” You say and she smiles.

“This way.” She announces as she swings open the door.

It was like stepping into a sci-fi movie. Lab equipment everywhere, some now lifeless machines, a large glass window overlooking rows of metal staircases, cages.

And a giant gate to hell staring back at you.

You weren’t sure what to expect when Steve told you there was a portal connecting worlds, but never did it look so… real. Like it was breathing light.

“Woah.” Robin sounds beside you and you mindlessly nod.

“We’re just down here.” Nancy says from the other side of the room, nudging open another door. It opened to a deep staircase, like it was leading down to a bunker. Which, as you come to realise, was exactly the case.

There were so many twists and turns to this lab, unknown hallways, undiscovered rooms. At the end of the day, it wasn’t your average lab. It was more like a shelter. A prison that could never let anyone or any thing out.

Three taps against the final door. Nancy’s hand wavered in the air as she listens out. You can only hear your heartbeat. This is what you have been surviving for since everything was flipped to a nightmare. Was it worth it?

The door clicks open, a pair of drowsy, blinking eyes filling the small gap.

“What are you-” They squint before widening the door frame fully. A toothy grin erupts on the face of a short boy. “Oh my god!”

Dustin flies forward to Steve, grabbing him in a tight hug that send the older boy stumbling back.

“Woah, easy there tiger.” He laughs, but the joy on his face has you smiling too.

“Wait. How did you- We thought-” Dustin stumbled through sentences, taking in his face, the bat in his hand, the smear of blood on his jeans. “You survived an apocalypse. Do you know how badass that is?!”

Steve simply chuckles, ruffling his hair. He wasn’t sporting his usual cap. “Yeah, well, I wasn’t alone.”

To your surprise, his eyes drift to you. Dustin whips his head around with a frown before his eyes widen.

“No way.” He breathes and you give a small wave. Which, in return, lands you an excruciating hug. You try and bear the pain, appreciating the sentiment too much to tell him.

“Uh, maybe be a little more careful there, dude.” Steve gently pulls him away and Dustin pouts.

“Why?” He frowns, looking up at you. And then he looks at you. “You look like shit.”

“Wow, thanks, Dustin. Good to see you too.” You laugh, playfully nudging his shoulder.

“This is…” Dustin looks between you both in bewilderment, “We thought you were dead.”

Your stomach drops, a detail you wish you had forgotten. Everyone in that room thinks you’re dead. And you weren’t looking forward to the reactions of your sudden resurrection.

“We know.” Steve ruffles his hair again. “Come on, show us the way.”

“Right.” He snaps his fingers, turning around. “Oh, you’re gonna love what we’re doing. It’s like full battle mode in there-”

Dustin stops, staring up at a girl he’s never seen before. “Hi. I’m Dustin.”

“I’m Robin.” She replies with an amused smirk.

“Pleasure to meet you.” He nods.

“Likewise.” She returns with a sceptical tone.

“So… the battle mode.” You return the conversation and he smiles. You were now caught in the web of Dustin’s ramble, the boy rushing through a series of events like they were nothing while simultaneously commenting on how ‘cool’ you looked.

As he did, he led you all through another room. It was a little dark, but in the distance you heard murmured conversation. There were tables here, lined with various weapons, maps. There were notebooks too, some scribbles that looked like Hopper’s handwriting. Your wandering hand brushed over them. He had written down everything he was learning.

“Oh, and we’re having a hard time closing the gate. It’s like something is blocking El’s powers.” Dustin says, glancing behind you to where Steve was smirking with a perked brow. “You know what a gate is, right? Did Steve explain? Did he tell you about…”

“Y/n?”

You take your hand away from the table and glance up, overwhelmed by every emotion coursing through your head, your chest. It was feeling everything and nothing at all. You were frozen, waiting for something to pull you under the ice. A scowl, a yell, anything.

Instead, you end up moving closer, heart pounding.

“Dad.” You finally let out, a sad smile breaking loose as he eventually catches you in a tight hug, planting a kiss on top of your head. Your shoulder stung, but it was nothing compared to the shattering guilt you were feeling. He had already lost a daughter. You didn’t want him to ever feel that again.

“Aw.” Dustin pouts, nudging Steve’s shoulder. He looks up to see Steve looking on with a smile and Dustin can’t believe his eyes. Was the Steve Harrington actually feeling happy for Y/n Hopper?

“We should give them some privacy.” Robin suggests with a whisper and the others nod, Nancy silently leading them past the reunion and out the next door.

It took a little while for you to pull away, wiping away the quiet tears that had slipped down with hoodie sleeves.

“Hi.” You laugh and he clears his throat, hands resting gently on your upper arms.

“Where the hell have you been, kid?” He asks, but he doesn’t sound mad. If anything, it was sadness.

“It’s a really long story.” You sigh and he shakes his head, smiling.

“I’ve got time.”

You were all stood around a circular table, a large flashlight sat near an edge to illuminate the map you were staring down at. The lights overhead had been flickering on and off for too long.

“They’re scattered all over the place now. We don’t think there’s any connection.” Hopper explains, pointing to the crosses marked across the map. There were almost too many to count now.

Apparently Hopper and Joyce were keeping track of the unexpected gates to the best of their ability, mostly from Dustin’s radios picking up calls for help moments from disaster.

Joyce was in another room – behind a glass that connected it to yours – with Jonathan as Hopper explained the situation to you and Steve, applying an ice pack to her son’s head while preparing some painkiller. You had taken ibuprofen for your shoulder, using a cloth to wipe off any blood. Your throat was still as sore as ever, but it would heal.

Robin had taken your advice on getting some sleep, even after arguing that it should be you getting some rest. You didn’t feel like you could shut your eyes just yet, however. Her reluctance finally led her following after a strangely cheerful Dustin to where they kept the ‘sleeping quarters’.

The others were apparently resting too, unaware of your or Steve’s arrival. Moments prior to this meeting, you and Hopper and sat and talked. About the monsters, about survival. But neither of you have really opened up yet. There was still time.

“And El can’t close them?” Steve asks, earning a tight nod.

“She’s trying her best, but it’s not the same as last time.” Hopper replies, and you frown, tilting your head down at where one of the bigger ‘X’s was marked.

“You said it started at the high school?” You prompt, looking up at him. “What causes these gates to open?”

“That’s what we’re tryna figure out.” He admits with a deep sigh. His hand runs down his face. “El thinks she may have opened the one from the lab. Something about… her psychic connection, that Shadow Walk Dustin keeps droning on about.”

“Shadow Walk?” You frown and Steve nods.

“Hm. She can apparently find people in this weird black void thingy.” He shrugs and you bite your lip.

“So… the gates open when someone makes a connection to this… Upside Down?” You ponder and Hopper hums a response. “Is El making these connections now?”

“She’s mostly been resting. It’s taken a lot out of her. As far as I know, she’s only trying to close the gate, not communicate with whatever hell is behind it.”

“And if she’s not doing it…” You scrunch your face. You felt tired, and achy. You really weren’t sure what your brain was trying to tell you until it finally clicked, staring down at the outline of your high school building. You then follow that trail of red markings, all the way back to the lab. “It has to be someone else.”

“Huh?” Steve raises a brow and you tap the map.

“It’s random because… because someone could literally just be walking around.” You start, still staring back at confused expressions. “You said that this Upside Down was literally a flipped version of Hawkins, right? All these places that gates have been opening… we went to them. Here. The high school. Then down here, Cornwallis near Steve’s house. The trailer park, the cabin, the arcade-”

“All the places we went.” Steve realises and you nod, sharing in his look of horror. “All the places we got attacked.”

“What’re you saying?” Hopper straightens, glancing between you both. “That the gates are following you?”

“No, not necessarily.” You furrow your brows, trying to make sense of it. “I’m just saying that Steve and I were travelling around Hawkins. We didn’t have a set route, in fact we were detouring so much I started to doubt we’d ever make it here, but what I’m trying to say is that our path to the lab was random. Could someone… could someone also be walking around just as randomly in the Upside Down?”

Steve’s eyebrows raise as Hopper ponders your theory. You were notorious in high school for, well… it wasn’t for being a ‘good’ student. In fact, Steve has seen you in detention enough times to know you had been flunking classes more times than not. But you were smart, clearly smarter than you realised. And, as he looks at Hopper’s expression, he knew it too.

“You’re suggesting that someone, or, hell, something, might be responsible for these gates?” Hopper leans forward and you nod.

“I know I haven’t known about all this nearly as long as you guys have,” You start, avoiding his eyes, “But if I were to assume anything, it would make sense that there could be someone else out there just like El.”

“It’s a good theory.” Hopper approves and you smile, quickly dropping it as you notice shadows entering the room.

Four silhouettes chatting away until they clock your existence. They stop and you’re scared if you move too much, you’ll spook them.

“No way.” Lucas gapes as Will and Mike stop beside him, eyes wide. They look between you and Steve like they had seen a ghost.

“I told you.” Dustin smirks smugly, arms folded as his friends still look on in shock.

“Hi.” You give a small wave, and Will waves back silently, still wide eyed.

“You’re alive.” Mike points out, then turning to Steve. “You’re also alive.”

Steve takes a sarcastic glance down at himself. “Huh, would you look at that.”

Mike simply rolls his eyes in return and you try to smile. But Will is still staring at you. Or, more specifically, your neck. It’s probably brightly coloured right now so it made sense to draw in his eyes, however you don’t think that’s the case. He looks a little panicked, and you didn’t know why, but you felt uneasy.

“Alright, quit staring.” Hopper interjects, rubbing his face before looking back at you. “I’m gonna tell Joyce your theory. Maybe we can figure out a way to test it.”

And with that, he leaves the room to you and Steve, both feeling creeped-out by the constant stares.

“Any of you weirdos gonna say anything?” Steve finally snaps, and they all simply shake their heads in silence. He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “This. This I didn’t miss.”

He redirects his focus to you and your eyebrows raise when he says nothing, an unreadable look on his face.

“Don’t you start doing it too.” You groan, tilting your head and wincing as the side of your forehead stung. You immediately place a hand over the strips of medical tape. “Fuck.”

“What?” Steve is immediately moving towards you, an unconscious reaction.

“I think I need to change the tape.” You hiss as you feel the skin being pulled back open, using your fingers to pinch it together.

“Yeah, okay, hold on, I’ll find some.” He quickly says, heading to the door that led to where he assumed they kept the medical equipment. You watch him from behind the glass as he rifles through some things, earning a curious glance from Jonathan still holding an ice pack to his head.

When you look back at the kids, you notice they’re smirking. If you weren’t worried about ripping open your wound, you’d raise a suspicious eyebrow.

“What?” You ask hesitantly, and Lucas shrugs.

“Nothing.” He says in a sing-song manner, sharing a smile with Mike.

“What?” You repeat again, and Dustin has to cover his mouth and look away, smothering his own laugh. Will tries a smile at that, but that same haunted look was stuck to his face.

“Here.”

Steve rushes back into the room and dumps some more tape on the table, carefully replacing your hand with his as he delicately removes the ruined strips from your forehead. You try not to react, resting your hand against the table, looking anywhere but his eyes that were barely centimetres from your face. You couldn’t resist in the end, gaze travelling from where his hand acquired a strip of tape to the concentrated dimple between his brows, right down to where his lips…

Get a grip, you think, holding your breath.

“Okay.” He eventually says, assessing his handiwork. “I think you should be good.”

“Thanks.” You offer, sighing. You can hear the muffled giggles across the room but you know acknowledging it will only make it worse.

“Is everyone here?” Hopper holds open the door for Joyce and Jonathan, Nancy following closely behind with a water bottle that she hands to Mike. You suspected they were rationing it. You weren’t entirely sure how far this apocalypse had gone when it came to necessities.

“Um, Robin is sleeping, should I…” Dustin gestures behind him but Steve folds his arms.

“I wouldn’t.” He comments and you suppress a smirk.

“Where’s El?” You suddenly frown. Since you’ve arrived, she hasn’t been anywhere in sight. Which you tried to ignore, but you couldn’t help wanting to see her, hug her. She was meant to be family now, after all, even if you couldn’t seem to admit it yet.

“Uh…” Mike shares a look with Hopper, but Joyce answers you.

“The last attempt took a lot of out her.” She shares, nodding to the door that the boys had walked through. “We’re just letting her rest until she feels better.”

“So we’re just waiting for the other two.” Mike shrugs and Lucas folds his arms.

“We only need one of them.” He huffs and Mike looks sympathetic at that.

Just as you were about to ask who they were talking about, Hopper clears his throat.

“We can fill them in later, right now we need a plan.” He stands tall at the table and the kids move closer so everyone was practically shoulder to shoulder. “Y/n thinks she may have an idea on how these gates are opening. We can’t say for certain that it’s true, but it’s the closest we’ve gotten.”

You nod and the conversation continues, your worried eyes drifting to that same metal door. How long did El need to rest for? Was it serious? You had only found out she had powers three days ago, hearing that she was shutting a giant portal to another dimension, for a child to be stuck with that responsibility? It felt wrong.

“What we know right now, is that the first gate to open outside of the lab was at the high school.” Hopper states, pointing to the map with a stab of his finger. “If Y/n’s right and something else is out there opening gates, we need to find it.”

“What are you suggesting?” Nancy questions, scrunching her brows.

“This lab gate-”

“Mothergate.” Dustin corrects and Hopper takes in a deep breath.

“This mothergate won’t close until we neutralise what’s threatening to keep it open.”

“How can we do that if we can’t see it?” Lucas asks, shaking his head.

“We go to its turf.” Hopper says simply and your head shoots up, eyes wide.

“Into the Upside Down?” You exasperate, “Won’t that be dangerous?”

“Yes.” He nods, lips tightly shut. “Which is why it’ll be me going down there.”

“By yourself?!”

“What about us?”

“No way.”

A roar of outburst cut through as you were all struggling to convince him. It wasn’t a set plan, barely even one at that. And to be doing it by himself? What would that achieve?

“It’s the safest option for all of us!” His loud voice cuts through, slashing a sharp silence into the air. He sighs, clicking his jaw. “It’s not worth risking anyone else’s lives for a theory.”

“But it’s worth risking yours?” You challenge, and everyone is glancing between you both, immediately feeling the tension. You swore to yourself you weren’t going to fight with him again, but this was a serious issue. You needed to be heard. “What are the rest of us meant to do while you’re on this suicide mission, then? Just twiddle our thumbs and pray that our hero makes it back in one piece?”

“Y/n-” He warns, but you’re sick of just being ordered around.

“You’re not even going to entertain the idea that you don’t go into the mouth of hell all alone? Is your opinion really worth that much over everyone else’s?”

“Y/n.” He says again, lowering his voice with a glare. “We will talk about this privately.”

“So you can just tell me I’m being dramatic then get yourself killed?!” You try and remain calm, but your emotions are grasping hold of your voice beyond control. “And when I’m wrong about there being someone else controlling the gates and you die, how am I meant to live with that? What about El?!”

“Enough!” He shouts and you try to continue, but he’s quick. “We can’t get emotional over these decisions. I have the experience, I’ve been down there before. We’ve found a way to communicate with Dustin’s radios and El can track me if necessary. End of discussion.”

Tears prick at your eyes for a second before you’re pushing away from the table and heading towards the door that will lead you back up to the lab.

“Where are you going?” Hopper takes a few steps towards you but you hold your hand out, swiping a knife from the table of weapons.

You say nothing as you’re out the door and shutting it behind you, taking in deep breaths as you stalk down the hallway with a tight grip on the sharp object. He was still treating you like a child. And maybe your anger had gotten the better of you, but he wasn’t listening.

Hopper’s back is turned to the others, staring at the door like it would shatter. Steve could tell he was restraining from following you. He cared. He really cared. It was clear neither of you were great at explicitly stating it.

“I’ll, uh…” Steve speaks up, walking over to the table and grabbing his trusty bat. Hopper looks at him with a torn expression before letting out a sigh and turning away.

“That was intense.” He hears Dustin mutter as he exits, the only thing running through his mind being the conversation he hadn’t even prepared for.

Steve eventually finds you, your back pressed up against the wall as you fiddle with the knife between your fingers. You weren’t in a mess of tears like he had expected. Instead, your head was down with a worn expression. You were tired.

Silently, he takes the seat next to you, almost a shoulder brush away as he braces his arms on his knees, using the height to swing the bat between his legs as he searched for what to say.

“He doesn’t get it.”

You speak first, much to his surprise, eyes glued to the knife. Steve shifts to see you better, frowning.

“Get what?”

“Anything.” You laugh sadly, finally meeting his eyes. “He can’t see past his own rules he’s set for himself. Like he has to always be the one responsible, to blame.”

“Blame?” He repeats and you sigh, biting your lip.

“It’s hard to…” Your voice drifts and you’re staring back at the knife. You’re holding back from him and he knows it.

“You don’t have to tell me anything.” He says and your head whips up. “I get why. We’re not… pals.”

You let out a breathy laugh. “No. Probably not.”

You sit for a while longer in the quiet before you squeeze your eyes shut and take a deep breath.

“Do you remember that picture?” You suddenly ask. There was no going back now. “The one I picked up from the cabin?”

As Steve slowly nods, you’re reaching into your jeans and pulling out that very photo, gently unfolding it after discarding the knife with a clatter to the floor.

“I remember my mom taking this photo.” You smile sadly, observing the faces like you had forgotten them. But you never forgot. “She, uh… she got sick of him always taking photos of us with her and finally made him stop and pose. It was like he was always preserving memories for the rest of us.”

“It’s… um…” You frown, eyes focused on the little girl in blonde pigtails, smiling widely at the camera with the cutest grin. “It’s the last photo we have together.”

Steve doesn’t dare to breathe, afraid it’ll ruin the moment, ruin your chance to finally get something off your chest. So he stays as silent as can be, listening intently. And when you unexpectedly hand the photo to him, he grabs it without objection, watching as you point to the little blonde girl stood beside a younger you.

“She’s my sister.” You finally admit, barely a whisper. “Sara.”

“I didn’t know you have a sister.” Steve says, looking down at the grinning girl. He knew your mom was elsewhere, he had never assumed she would also be with a sibling. To be honest, he had never taken the time to learn much about you, not even when you weren’t ripping out eachother’s throats.

“Had.” You say softly and his heart drops, immediately looking to you. Your eyes are glued to the photo, tears pooling. “She died when I was 11.”

“I’m sorry.” He was sure you wouldn’t have heard it if you weren’t now a breath away from eachother, huddled up against a wall just ignoring the world around.

“Cancer.” You nod slowly, eyes never leaving the captured memory. “It was all so sudden. One day she was fine, we were playing with dolls or something stupid. And then the next, she was in hospital. Just like that.”

You eventually take the photo back from him, staring at it one last time before folding it back up and slipping it back into your pocket.

“Hopper blamed himself for it. Something about being exposed to something when he was in the war.” Your head lolls back to rest against the wall. “My mom blamed him too, not that she really said it out loud.”

Steve couldn’t believe how comfortable you were sharing this with him. But then again, he also couldn’t believe how happy he was that you were. Maybe neither of you would admit it but it didn’t make it less obvious; you had a bond.

“He left and I thought he didn’t care about me anymore.” You sniffle slightly, blinking back the tears teetering towards the edge. “I didn’t think he cared when I was forced to move in with him, or when he would ignore me any time I wanted to talk about Sara. He was grieving and I was a kid who didn’t understand what was happening. Or why he blamed himself.”

“It has to be hard losing someone. Especially a child.” Steve comments and you hum an agreement.

“He was scared. I know that now. And I was so…” You wave your hand, searching for the word. “Cruel. I only ever made things worse.”

“Don’t say that.” He frowns, searching your face. It looked like it was full of grief. Grief of the guilt you never let yourself feel.

“The last time I saw him, we had a fight. A huge one. It wasn’t even his fault.” You take a deep breath. “He’s always kept a part of my sister on him. One of her ‘lucky’ blue hairbands. She loved them. Refused to go outside without her hair in bunches.”

You smile at the memory before clearing your throat, finally meeting Steve’s eyes. You can do this. You can be honest.

“When El started living with us, I was scared he was trying to replace her. Maybe even a little scared he was replacing me. A new daughter. A new chance. I liked El, don’t get me wrong. She was so sweet… she was literally just a child that needed a home. So I pretended like I didn’t care.”

Shifting around, you bring your knees to your chest and relax your shoulders, mindlessly picking at the loose threads around your knees from one too many trips.

“The morning before we got detention, I, uh… I came out of my room to see El sitting there in front of the TV. She got really excited to show me something, said that Hopper gave it to her.”

You bite your bottom lip and Steve can see the way your lips are tugging down. You didn’t have to say anything, he knew exactly what you were talking about.

“I was so mad. And I was wrong. I screamed, I yelled at him. I made sure El was in a different room but she probably heard everything.” Your eyes were starting to glitter now, lowering your head. “I told him that he was a shit father, that he couldn’t just replace her like that. I… I wanted him to hurt the same way I was. I didn’t even mean any of it. And until half an hour ago, I thought that was the last thing I had said to him.”

Your head hangs lower and you struggle to keep the tears from falling. “I feel like a monster sometimes. Everyone at school hates me and- and I don’t blame them. I’m a horrible person.”

Steve was never good at wording his sympathy. Words in general would get caught in his throat, be thrown around in his head in struggle to form a coherent sentence. So, rather than blurt out a string of words that would leave you confused, he tenderly reached out to where your hand was pulling at loose threads and places his hand over it.

“No, you’re not.”

You still under his touch, surprised but… comforted. Your eyes move up to meet where his soft brown irises were already looking at you. Like really looking.

You couldn’t remember the exact moment the cosmic balance of your seething relationship had shifted. Was it this moment right here, or was it a feeling that had slipped past unnoticed before? Either way, sitting here, staring up at Steve Harrington with nothing but a sense of longing, you knew you could never hate him again. And that seemed scarier than anything you had encountered in this apocalypse.

Steve’s heart ached when you pull away, taking in a breath and retrieving the knife from the floor beside you. His hand itched to be touching yours again.

He had been dodging his feelings for so very long. You had surprised him, shown him that you were more than everyone else thought. Selfless, empathetic, complicated in the better ways. This morning, the moment you shared on the hood of his car, he regretted not taking that leap. Because he can’t avoid it any longer.

Steve liked you. A lot. Too much to just be a fleeting crush. It was time to stop pretending he didn’t.

“We should probably get back.” You nod before pushing off the floor and to your feet, wiping your eyes with the sleeves of his hoodie, ignoring that fluttering feeling in your stomach.

You couldn’t fall for Steve Harrington. You wouldn’t get hurt again. Even if that means pretending for a little longer that you didn’t care.

When you eventually make it back into the room, your heart racing from anger and embarrassment, you only find Joyce and the kids were the only ones in the room.

“He’s making preparations.” Joyce says when she sees your eyes darting across the room, offering a small smile. “And he changed his mind. He’s not going alone.”

“Really?” You ask, surprised that Hopper ever would listen to you and your concerns. Maybe it was from the collective disagreement rather than yours.

“We discussed it and thought it best that two others go with him. That way no one is alone.” She explains. It should have made you happy, but your stomach is still twisting. He was still risking his life.

“I can go with him.” You suddenly say and the hushed murmurs of the Party in the corner are cut off, eyes on you.

“No.” Steve blurts and you turn to him. “You’re- you can’t, okay?”

“Why not?” You frown and he lets out a sigh, running a hand through his hair.

“Look, I’ll go.”

“Seriously?” You raise your eyebrow and face him fully.

Steve meets your eyes and shrugs. “What?”

“You can go but I can’t?” You challenge and he lets out an exasperated sound, gesturing to you.

“I’m not the one with a broken shoulder-”

“Bruised.”

“Or two concussions!” He points out and you shut your mouth. Just when he had thought he’d won, you roll your eyes and glare at him.

“Ooh, excuse me, King Steve, I didn’t mean to interrupt your heroic declare.”

“Cry me a river.”

“How about I drown you in one?”

“Okay.” Joyce laughs nervously, intervening. “Before someone… uh, murders the other, I feel I should tell you that they’ve already decided who’s going.”

You both frown, anticipating the answer.

“Nancy decided it be best she go.” She says, almost solemnly. You supposed she’s known Nancy since she was little. It had to be hard watching kids do these things. “I would have but… one of us needs to stay here.”

In case the other doesn’t make it back. She didn’t say it, barely implied it. But it was there, lingering in the back of your mind.

“Who’s the other?” Steve prompts, assuming it would be Jonathan. But the eldest Byers kid was sat in a chair with an ice pack still pressed against the back of his head, looking a little ill. He did hit his head pretty hard.

“About that…” Dustin suddenly appears beside you, looking like he was already apologising for something, and Steve’s face drops.

“What? No. Don’t tell me they’re gonna send a kid-”

“Not me, dude.” Dustin scrunches his face, shaking his head. “Come on.”

“Then who?”

In that moment, the door to the sleeping quarters open to show Max Mayfield, her red hair a little frizzy from what you assume to be from sleep. She locks eyes with you and her expression brightens.

“They told me you weren’t dead.” She smiles and you can’t help but return it. You hadn’t expected her to be here, but you were happy she was.

“Can’t get rid of me, you know that.” You laugh.

“You two know eachother?” Steve furrows his brows in confusion. It made sense, you were both stubborn and a little intimidating. Perfect recipe for Steve’s nightmare duo.

“Yeah, I…” You begin before your voice trails off. Max avoids his eyes, wearing a suspicious expression.

Before Steve can open his mouth, the answer to his burning question walks right in like a car crash. Stood there with his hand on his hip, a familiar denim jacket hanging from his shoulders, a look of surprise that creeps into a smirk.

Steve sees your demeanour shift, standing a little straighter, like you were alert and intrigued at the same time. You wore an amused look on your face and he can’t comprehend it.

“Billy.” You state, and Max raises her hands in surrender before walking away, a soft groan of disgust echoing with her retreat.

“Hey, babe. Long time, no see.” Billy replies, and Steve’s brain explodes into a million little pieces. Babe?!

As Steve stares between you both, the door swings open again. This time, a very tired looking girl joins everyone in the room, oblivious to what was around her. Robin yawns, rubbing her eyes as she tries to focus.

“What did I miss?” She asks, noting Steve’s look of despair and her head slowly turns to the boy stood in front of you. Her face twists to an unreadable expression. “Fuck.”

The apocalypse just got a little more interesting.

Chapter Eleven: Once Bitten ->

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[hannibals-favourite-meal]

The Trouble of Love Languages

Dean Winchester x plus size reader

Dean’s love language is quality time and acts of service while the woman he loves most in this world craves physical touch, which is the one thing he can’t stand.

Warnings: angst to fluff, they’re both in a bit of the wrong here, Dean has touch aversion, arguing, Dean is definitely an asshole with lots of unresolved issues, slightly toxic relationship?, break up, reader is ever so slightly touch starved, lovers to ex’s to lovers again, drinking, crying, comfort, hopeful ending, Sam is a good wingman

WC: 4.7k

Minors DNI

Dean Winchester hated to be touched. After spending all of his life with minimal kind physical touch with the people he cared about, it was no wonder he had an aversion to it. He could put up with a hug or slap on the back to his brother and fleeting kisses to his girlfriend’s cheek or forehead but everything else was off limits.

She did her best with what she got but sometimes, she just wanted to be held against his broad chest and inhale his unique scent of cheap cologne and gunpowder with just a hint of cherry pie. She wanted to feel the warmth of his body pressed tightly to her but her love for the hunter kept those needs locked behind a steel door that she never noticed had begun to rust.

Y/N sighed, putting down the massive book on werewolves that she had been studying for the past few hours. There was a tight band around her head that was slowly drawing tighter and tighter as a killer tension headache set in. She glanced over to the other side of the library where Dean had his feet perched up on the table as he leaned back in his chair, mindlessly sucking one of the lollipops Y/N had bought for Halloween.

He was only wearing a gray henley today instead of his usual many layers of plaids and shirts so she could see, very clearly, the way his muscles moved under the fabric and the slight pudge of his belly. Those dazzling green eyes were fixed on a new edition of some car magazine he picked up on the way back from a hunt. Y/N couldn’t help it.

Slipping from her own chair, she glided over to him. “What’cha reading?” 

“Magazine.” He grunted but she knew he wasn’t being mean, sometimes Dean just didn’t want to talk. Without thinking, she laid her hands on his thick shoulder and gave them a squeeze.

Dean flinched out of her grasp, turning so quickly that Y/N had to take a step back to avoid being knocked over.  His chair clattered to the floor as the library settled into an explosive silence. Y/N knew Dean could be scary, he’s been through so much trauma, seen and experienced things twenty times over that no human should ever have to see or experience even once. He told her of his time in hell and as a demon but promised that she would never be scared of him because he would protect her.

But now, as his chest heaved with heavy breaths, he was positively terrifying. “How many times have I told you not to do that?” He didn’t wait for a reply. “You know I don’t like to be touched and yet you still continue to do it. How long is it going to take before you get it? I. Don’t. Want. To. Touch. You.” His voice was level but filled with anger, a rage she had only seen when he confronted the worst kinds of monsters imaginable.

“Dean I’m sorry I-“ 

“You know maybe we shouldn’t even be together. Time and time again, you do this and you always say you’re sorry and that you won’t do it again but then a couple days later, you do.” Y/N’s heart was breaking right in front of the hunter but he was too blind with fury he couldn’t see it. “I can’t be with someone as fucking needy as you. It’s every goddamn day! I can’t get one second of peace with you being so clingy.”

That was the last straw. Y/N pushed a finger into his chest, shoving him backwards. He knew how insecure she was about her need for affection and constant reassurance, but until now, he never made her feel like it was an inconvenience. “Then yeah we shouldn’t be together. But you’re not going to be the one to break us up, I am. You’re a selfish man Dean Winchester. I don’t ask a lot from you. I ask that you take care of yourself, that you don’t cheat on me, that you treat me with respect and maybe the occasional hug so I don’t feel like one of your one night stands when you roll off of me after sex.

“I deserve someone who wants to be near me, who tries to understand what I need instead of brushing me off because you don’t want to make the effort. I am sick of being treated like a toy you can pick up and put down whenever you want a quick fuck or comfort. So Dean, you got your wish, we’re done.” Y/N turned and stormed off, her eyes burning with tears that didn’t fall until she could no longer hear her now ex destroying the library.

It was sad how quickly her bags were packed, only a duffle bag and a backpack that housed her entire life. She paused as she lifted the flannel she often wore to bed, the red and black fabric was soaked in Dean’s scent and never failed to make her feel safe every time she wore it.

It felt like a reminder of her faults, of all the things wrong with her that he couldn’t put up with. Scoffing, she threw it onto the bed they had shared only a couple hours ago. There was a quick knock on the door jam.

Sam, the gentle giant that he was, leaned on the wood, brown eyes big with concern. “Where’s Dean?” 

“Don’t know, don’t care.” She snapped, quickly zipping up her bag and tossing it over her shoulder, barging past him.

“Hey hey, what’s going on? Did you and Dean have a fight?” He trailed after her like a puppy, sadly watching as she stomped towards the garage which notably was missing the prized Impala. A cruel part of her mind cooed that it was probably parked at some bar where he would find someone better than her. 

“If you can call it that.” She muttered, throwing open the door to her truck and shoving her stuff in. Just as she was about to climb in herself, Sam’s hand wrapped around her forearm to hold her back.

“What happened?” Tears quickly rolled down her full cheeks, wetting the shirt she was wearing as they made their way down her neck. She turned to look at the men who had become her best friend, her voice firm with a slight quiver of sadness. 

“We broke up.”

With a quick pull of her arm, Sam released her and she stepped into the cab of the truck. She rolled down the window, giving him a somber look. “Take care of him, ok. And-“ Y/N debated her next words carefully before speaking again. “Tell him I love him, even if he doesn’t believe it. He needs to know he’s loved.”

And with that, she drove off, leaving behind a very confused Sam and a life that she wished she could have kept.

——————

Another town, another hunt, another bar. That’s how it always went and for a long time, Dean was content to keep it that way. Then she blew into his life like a hurricane, knocking everything off path and forging her own. No more random hookups or drinking beer with every meal. She even made him get rid of all the guns he mounted on the wall in his room.

And now, the hurricane had passed, leaving behind destruction and a hole the shape of her in his heart. But she would not come back, he made sure of that when he called her clingy. He knew it was wrong but he couldn’t stop himself from saying it. He regretted it the moment it left his mouth and watched as the light in her eyes died.

She was gone, because of him, because of his stupidity he lost the best thing that has ever happened to him and the only thing he could do was accept it. So, he went back to his old ways, paving over the path of destruction in his soul the only way he knew how, beer, hunts, and women. 

Sam decided to stay in the motel that night, shooting his older brother a look so devastating that Dean couldn’t meet his eye for fear he would see the disappointment and pity he already felt in himself. But Dean slipped out the door anyway and headed for the closest bar, truly not giving a shit if it was any good or not.

The music was too loud, the lights too dim, the beer too stale. Dean, however, was determined to stay, trying to convince himself that he could go on without her. He downed his first drink quickly, not letting the taste hit his tongue before his glass was drained. Signaling for another one, he rested his elbow against the sticky bar counter.

It was familiar, like returning to your childhood home. But it felt wrong. The voice in the back of his mind was screaming at him to leave, to find her and crawl on his knees begging for forgiveness until she came back. That voice was silenced with another glass of cheap whiskey.

The hand planted on his chest was familiar too. A touch he could tolerate because he knew what came after, sweaty bodies rutting together until that rush of dopamine hit him and he could feel like a normal person for a while. She was pretty, young too and obviously enamoured by the sexy older man with a gruff voice that bought her drinks and made her feel special.

Another drink. She asked him to go back to hers and he agreed, following blindly after her as she led him away. He couldn’t remember the walk to the non descript apartment, only coming back to himself when she took his hand in her own, shooting him a wink that he supposed was meant to be sultry but just served to lessen the ache in his cock. 

Her slender fingers hooked into the belt loops of his jeans, tugging his thin hips into hers and pulled him into her home. The door slammed shut behind him, blindly following her. 

A grunt was knocked from his lungs as she moved him onto her bed, sinking to her knees with hooded eyes. “Lemme take care of you baby.” Her voice was grating on his ears. Dean resisted the urge to flinch when her palms were laid on his muscular thighs.

It was so wrong, a nightmare he couldn’t escape but at the same time, didn’t want to because he wanted to prove something to himself, to validate his anger and his rage at the woman that loved him so much. Dean felt her tug at his belt and was broken from his thoughts.

“Stop. Just stop.” He all but shoved the girl off of him in his haste. 

“What the hell!” She chastised, quite obviously offended at having been rejected by this man that until a few seconds ago, seemed very keen to have a night of fun with her. Dean shook his head and with a muttered ‘sorry’ left her kneeling on the bedroom floor.

“You fucking dick!” She called after him, and he couldn’t help but agree.

——————

Jody’s home was pleasant enough to live in. With home cooked meals every single night and a deluge of girl talk with not only the Sheriff but the two teens in her charge. It was a good distraction for a while, getting caught up in the usual antics of the young women that Y/N imagined Sam and Dean were like when they were younger.

But even the best distractions can only last for a little while. And each night, as she settled into the small bed graciously given to her, Y/N just felt alone. She was out of place here, a passing visitor that had overstayed her welcome long ago. No matter how much Jody may have protested the opposite and Claire and Alex insisted that they loved having her there, this wasn’t Y/N’s home.

Her home had always been Dean. His presence had soothed her soul in a way that nothing had ever done before. She lived for nights where they would drink and laugh themselves silly or when he would prepare her coffee just the way she liked it in the morning. She desperately missed how his face would break out into an uneven and frankly goofy smile when she teased Sam.

In a vain attempt to stop her mind from going down a road that she knew would make her spiral, Y/N shoved her headphones in her ears and blasted a random playlist. The soft guitar and crooning voice so similar to Dean’s had her eyes burning with tears. Her chest ached as she thought about the way he sang to her in the car, his hand on the seat beside her plump thigh, not quite touching her but close enough she knew it was there.

Tears rolled down her temples wetting the pillow beneath her head as she let herself mourn the love she had lost. Her sobs were silent, mere hiccups as she forced herself not to make any noise to alert the others. She couldn’t take anymore of their pitying looks.

She hugged herself tightly as her nails dug into her soft forearms, her chest heaving with her cries. Images of the man she considered her soulmate with another woman sent her deeper down the rabbit hole of self-despair. She could only imagine what he had gotten up to in the weeks since she left and it was driving her crazy.

The song faded out, leaving Y/N alone with her thoughts for a second too long. The brightness of the screen blinded her for just a moment before she clicked on the last text exchange in her phone.

I love you sweetheart

The low buzz of the outgoing call rumbled against her chest where she placed her phone face down. In the silence between each ring, she was doubting her decision more and more. Why should she reach out first when he was the one that broke them? 

“Hello?” His raspy voice came out crackled through her head phones, making her heart jump slightly. 

“S-sorry butt dial.” She panicked, quickly hanging up but not before hearing him call out, “Wait! Plea-“ Y/N threw her phone onto the pile of her clothes in the corner of the room, ignoring how it was now ringing again, a photo of her and Dean lighting the screen.

Sleep did not come easily that night even after her cries ceased, her eyes finally fluttering closed as the sun began to peak over the horizon, dousing the room in a soft pink.

——————

It was rare that music didn’t play in the Impala. There was almost always a constant stream of classic rock that spewed from the radio, yet the silence was more overwhelming than the usual loud songs Dean sang along to. 

Sam was deeply concerned for his older brother. He knew the break up hit him hard, no matter how hard he tried to hide it, but the younger Winchester didn’t think it was this bad. Dean reeked of the same whiskey he religiously drank after they lost Bobby. His clothes were rumpled and dirty, the Impala, his prized possession looked dull and lifeless, caked with dirt and dead bugs.

Dean hadn’t shaved in the weeks since she left so he now sported a semi-impressive beard which Sam attempted to make fun of just the same as his own facial hair had been but Dean had merely grunted and ignored him. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” He attempted to start a conversation.

“Jody’s.”

“Why?” The one word answers were nothing new, but at least he was talking. Dean’s green eyes flicked briefly over to his brother before returning to the road. 

“Hunt.” Sam sighed, slumping back against the leather bench of the car, his focus shifting to the world that was speeding past them. He was sick of this self-pitying attitude that was slowly driving the older man to madness when it could be solved so easily.

“If you pulled your head out of your ass, you could get her back.” The air in the car turned to ice. “Don’t act like I didn’t hear you frantically calling her last night.” 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He growled, knuckles turning white as his grip on the steering wheel tightened. But Sam kept pushing.

“She’s the best thing to have ever happened to you and you just let her leave. Or maybe you just never loved her since you went home with someone only a week ago, that’s why you didn’t put up a fight.” 

“Shut up Sam.” Sam, that should have made him worry. He was only called Sam when Dean was pissed and on the edge of an almost toddler-like melt down. 

“I’m just saying, if you really wanted to, and I mean really really wanted to, she would forgive you. But you don’t want to make the effort.” The tires screamed as Dean pulled off the road with a flick of his wrists. Sam was jerked sideways with the force but then was sent the other direction as Dean fisted the front of his flannel and shoved him back against the car door.

His eyes were wild with fury and his next words came out in a snarl. “I can’t get her back. Don’t you understand that. I just can’t.”

“Why not?” He pushed, desperate to get his brother to finally come to his senses. “You know she loves you and that she would do anything for you. What made this fight so terrible?”

“Because I can’t touch her!” The silence quickly returned as Sam tried to comprehend what he was just told. “I can’t touch her Sammy.” Dean was on the edge of tears. He released his shirt from his grasp like the fabric had burnt him and buried his head in his hands.

Sam had never witnessed Dean like this before, like his world was crumbling down before him and he wasn’t doing anything to stop it because he had just given up. No matter the circumstances or insurmountable odds that had faced him, he always pushed through with his can-do attitude and unwavering loyalty to those he loved. But now he was being consumed by a hopelessness so many monsters had attempted to instill in him but never could.

He was heartbroken and suffering. He lost the woman who knew his soul and yet still loved him. Sam knew what that despair felt like, to have such a great love ripped away and not giving yourself time to lament on that loss. 

“Dean.” He started but was quickly interrupted.

“I couldn’t give her what she deserved. I couldn’t be that loving boyfriend she wanted so badly. I couldn’t even fucking hug her without feeling like I wanted to push her away. And I knew it was hurting her but she was right, I am selfish. I wanted her to myself even if I could see her slowly dying inside.”

The sun was quickly setting over the brothers, the reds and purples giving way to a deep blue. They watched, for a moment, as the stars began to appear and the darkness surrounded them. “I’ve hurt so many people in my life. My hands have been stained red with blood for so long and she was the one person I couldn’t stand to hurt. Yet I hurt her so badly that she ran away from me.”

“But you do want her back don’t you?”

Tearful green eyes looked back at him. “More than anything.”

“Then we need to make a pitstop, I have an idea.”

——————

Y/N couldn’t help but notice Jody’s worried glances towards the front door as they ate dinner. “Alright Mills, that’s the eighth time you’ve looked at the door in five minutes. What’s going on? Do you have a secret lover coming over?” Claire snorted in her drink but quickly recovered as her surrogate mom shot her a glare.

“No, I do not have a secret lover. Thank you very much. I’m just waiting for a package.” Y/N raised an eyebrow at the older woman, still incredibly doubtful.

“It’s almost 10 at night, why would a package be delivered this late?” 

“Well, I-“ The doorbell rang, saving her from having to give another lame excuse. “Excuse me a moment, there’s my package.” Y/N narrowed her eyes at the Sheriff, not saying anything else.

Alex sighed, shaking her head, like she was in on some conspiracy that Jody had set up. “Have you got anything to add?” Y/N teased.

“Nope, nothing at all. Isn’t that right Claire?” Said girl, who was sitting to Y/N’s left, just huffed and took another large bite of her food.

Y/N ignored the muffled voices coming from the entryway, assuming that Jody, being her usual friendly self, was making conversation with whoever was at the door. Then, “hey girls, I need your help for a minute.” And without so much as a groan of annoyance, both teens stood and rushed from the room.

Before Y/N could follow after them, she heard the front door slam shut and the obvious sound of a car engine starting up and then driving away. “What the hell?” Just as she stood from the table to investigate, a large figure blocked the doorway.

“Dean?” 

“Hi sweetheart.” She melted at the sound of his voice clearly after so long and not through the crackly and broken version she heard through the dozens of voicemails he left her the night before. She itched to run into his strong arms but remained in place, her hand absentmindedly falling to the table, laying her palm flat against the butter knife she had been using. “I hope you’re not planning on using that on me.”

Dean gestured to her hand in a joking manner but only succeeded in making her scowl at him. “You look like shit.” He winced at her tone.

“I deserved that.”

“You deserve a lot worse. What the hell do you want Winchester?” Dean sighed. His body tilted forward, like he wanted to get closer. Running a hand through his hair, which was slightly longer than he normally kept it, his eyes dropped to the ground.

Y/N watched as he deflated, the usually stoic image of the hunter before her crumbling to dust and leaving a man that looked truly broken. “I didn’t mean to call you clingy.” Straight to business, good. She thought.

“But you did. And you did it knowing full well how I feel about that word.” Unconsciously, her voice softened as he nodded along to what she was saying.

“I know and I’m sorry about that. I’m- fuck- I’m sorry about everything.” Y/N didn’t object when he took a tentative step forward and she cursed her body for not recoiling as he drew closer. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to move away. “I wish I could be the man you want, the one you deserve, but I’m not and I don’t think I will ever be.”

“Not really selling your case here Dean.” 

“Just- just let me get to my point and then you can cuss me out. I love you and I want to change for you. I want to get better at touching you and I’ll do whatever it takes to bring you home. Besides Sammy’s been pouting a lot without you there and it’s getting really fucking annoying.” Of course the man couldn’t get through a serious discussion without being a dumbass.

Dean stood inches from her now, and Y/N could see how his hands trembled, either from anxiety or the copious amounts of alcohol she smelt from him, she didn’t know. “I don’t want you to change, Dean. I love you for who you are but you really hurt me and-“

“I know.” He cut her off. “I know and I want to make it right, if you’ll let me.” His green eyes shone with tears

“Goddamn you and your stupid puppy dog eyes.” She grumbled. Dean smirked. “Alright! Jesus, we can try again but I expect so much fucking grovelling, like ten times more than I had to do when I accidentally ate the last slice of pecan pie.”

He smiled and nodded, placing his hand on the dining room table mere millimeters from her own. “Anything you want sweetheart.” 

“And no sex for the foreseeable future, not even over the clothes stuff.” He winced at that but still, his smile did not waver.

“And, and, fuck I can’t think of anything else with you looking at me like that.” She whined and turned her head so she didn’t have to look into his eyes anymore. Y/N gasped as a finger hooked under her chin, guiding her gaze back to the man she still loved so much. His smile was even softer now, almost dopey with love.

“I’ll do whatever it takes, even if that means never getting to see you in anything less than fully clothed for the rest of my life and giving you all of my pie. I just need you, sweetheart.” His forehead dropped to her own, the tips of their noses brushing together in an act so intimate it made her chest burn with affection.

“Did you sleep with anyone else?” The question hung heavily in the air, pressing down on both of their chests like a massive weight. Dean breathed out harshly through his nose and Y/N froze, already fearing his answer, she began to pull away. But without any hesitation, his right arm wound around her thick waist and tugged her into his chest. Caught off guard, Y/N planted her hands on his chest.

She felt the way his body tensed beneath her palms, still so unused to being touched but he didn’t let her go like he would have before. “The short answer: no.”

“And the long answer?” Her throat felt like it was closing up with the onslaught of tear building behind her eyes.

“A girl brought me back to her place and tried to go down on me but I didn’t even kiss her. I left before she got my belt off.” Unable to stop herself, Y/N chuckled.

“You just left?”

Dean’s cheeks coloured with a rare flush. “Yeah, I walked out the door and she was still on her knees calling me a dick.”

“Well she was right about that.” And they stayed like that for a moment, letting themselves be reminded about how much they loved each other. Pressing a quick kiss to her forehead, Dean stepped away.

“Wait here, I have something for you.” With a few long strides, he left the room and then quickly reappeared holding a canvas bag with the phrase ‘act like a lady, think like a boss’ printed on the side in big, bold lettering. “Don’t diss the bag sweetheart.”

And before she could snark something back, he pulled a teddy bear from the bag. The bear seemed to be a regular plush at first glance, but when Dean handed it to her, Y/N couldn’t help but smile brightly. The toy easily weighed 5 pounds and suspiciously smelt of Dean’s cologne. “I thought that this could be a substitute for when you want to cuddle. But this is temporary, cause I will get better. He’s just a placeholder.”

“He?” 

“Yeah.” He sighed happily. “Little Dean Jr.” Holding the bear tighter to her chest, Y/N stood on her tiptoes and finally planted her lips on his. Her skin burned as the soft kiss quickly turned more passionate and his newly grown beard scraped against her. Fingers curled into his hair, Y/N yanked him even closer as Dean’s hands fell to her generous ass, giving her cheeks a light squeeze.

Reluctantly, she pulled away first, her lungs screaming for oxygen and her brain telling her that if she kissed him any more, she would end up in the back seat of Baby with her legs over his shoulders. “This is a start. But I will not have you talk to me like that again. If you do, I’m gone and you won’t ever see me again.”

“I promise, I’ll do better.” Content with his answer, Y/N pecked his swollen lips. 

“The bear was Sam’s idea wasn’t it?”

“But I named him!” 

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Big Bad Scary Older Brother

Thinking back on the first time you met Touya Todoroki, and now you find yourself in his bed.

Chapter One(??): Meet Cute

—-------------- 

>> a/n: Please be kind, I’ve always been a fanfic reader and NEVER thought I would ever write one, but randomly I rewatched Josie and the Pussycats over the weekend (listen, I know it’s not a great movie, but the music is bomb and it is incredibly nostalgic for me. As a millennial I need nostalgia to feel things). Listening to the song “You Don’t See Me” I had this story just stroll into my mind! If this does well I have more chapters in mind to full flesh out the relationship and the song.

>> p/n: In this world, Touya survived the accident in the forest, and let's pretend that Hawks went to UA. I like the idea that they have a tight bro relationship.

>> warning: story ends with some smut, oral f receiving, a little rough but nothing over the top. MINORS DNI 

>> pairing: Touya Todoroki x fem reader

—-------------- 

The first time you met Touya Todoroki was on the front steps of the Todoroki household. He stood in front of you, the handle of the front door in his hand. His UA uniform made him more imposing as he towered over you. Echoes of the doorbell ringing throughout the house. Surprise etched on both your faces. He must have opened the door as you rang the bell.

You stumble backwards almost falling off your step. A strong hand quickly reaches out to steady you.

“Oh um, sorry, I am here to pick up Fuyumi for school.” You mutter out quickly.

“Ah you must be Y/N.” Touya smirks in response, then suddenly lets your arm go.

Still unbalanced you start falling backwards, right into a firm wall halting your fall.

“Todoroki, dude you didn’t have to let go of her like that,” two firm hands steady your fall and move you down the steps. You see a blur of red feathers move past you. “Even if you did see me, you sadistic fuck.” But the boy was laughing as he said it. As your eyes adjust you see a pair of beautiful red wings sprout from his back.

“Keigo,” you say out loud before you can stop yourself. You’ve heard endless rants from your friend Fuyumi about how dreamy Keigo is. Listened to her giggle about the life she has planned for them, even helped her practice kissing for when she finally could get him alone. “Oh sorry, um, Fuyumi has told me a lot about you is all.” You somehow mutter out as you fix your uniform which had come out of place.

“Is that so,” he smirks, “I knew it.” he looks at Touya and winks. Touya rolls his eyes in response.

“C’mon bird brain, we’re gonna be late if we don’t leave now.” He states as he brushes past his friend down the stairs stopping in front of you. He slowly looks you up and down and says, “Nice meeting you Y/N.” Locking eyes with you he nods his head to the right, entranced you move to the side allowing him to pass, never once breaking eye contact. 

He blinked in thanks and strolled down the path with his hands in his pockets, “Let’s go birdie.” He raised one scared arm in a final goodbye wave as Keigo rushes to catch up with his friend.

“Awe man, I didn’t even get to see Fuyumi yet dude.” At that statement Touya balled his raised hand and brought it down on his friend's head.

“I told you to stop saying shit like that, it’s fucking gross,” he grabs the blondes head forcing him to walk in a bow, “I’m her older brother after all”

“Alright, alright, let me go man, I’ll stop.” responds Keigo.

You watch their figures shrink as they walk farther away, their bickering fading into the distance. You snap back to reality by your friend calling your name.

“Y/N? What happened, did Touya do something stupid? Ugh, he’s so annoying.” She says as she shuts the door behind her and skips down to where you stand.

“Oh, no, it was an accident, he didn’t really say much at all. But,” you smile at your friend, “Keigo was here.” you say in a sing song voice to her.

“What! And I missed him!” She groans and drops her bag in defeat.

“Oh I wouldn’t worry about it much if I were you,” you side eye her, “He seemed a little interested if you ask me.” with that you sway away from your friend following the path giggling to yourself at the dumbfounded look on your friends face. She quickly gathers up her bag and jogs after you, demanding to know the details of what was said while you laugh.

You relay the conversation that happened between the two older boys and yourself to Fuyumi who is over the moon giddy. All while brushing your hand over where Touya had grabbed your arm to steady you. It still felt warm and tingly. 

You had only ever seen pictures and heard Fuyumi talk about how annoying and mean Touya was. But you didn’t find him mean at all. He seemed kind, in a subdued way. And hell, his sister might poke fun at him for his scars, but something about them made him extra mysterious and maybe even sexy? Definitely more interesting than any other boy in your grade.

As you and Fuyumi strolled down the well known path to your school, her going on about her and Hawks life together. You wondered what it might be like to get to know Touya better. There was something about him that intrigued you, and you wanted to figure out what it was.

🍋

Thinking back on that day ten years later, you are in a daze as Touya’s head is between your legs. suckling on your sensitive bud as his tongue traces lazy circles around it earning him a pleasurable moan from you.

“Heh, finally back are you.” He says into your core, licking your juices as he continues. “What got you so distracted while I’m down here?” With that last statement he gives your thigh a quick slap which you respond with a little shriek of surprise.

“To be honest, I was thinking about you. About the first time we met.” You answer, allowing yourself to catch your breath.

He stills and locks eyes with you, a few seconds go by and he slowly climbs up your naked body, leaving hot kisses along his path. Never breaking the intense eye contact. When he reaches eye level with you he sits both of you up placing you on top of him. You straddle his hips and feel the tip of his cock, wet with precum, begging to enter you.

Smirking he asks, “the time you fell off the stairs overwhelmed with feelings for me?” He touches his forehead against yours eagerly awaiting your response as he moves his tip over your slick folds. 

You laugh and roll your eyes in amusement and pleasure. “Oh sure, falling right off the steps into the arms of the dreamy hero Hawks. Thank goodness he was there, who knows where I would be right now if he wasn’t.”

Touya’s eyes turn deadly for a fleeting moment, you know that look all to well. You smile in anticipation of the amount of pleasure you are about to receive from the man under you. You attempt to slide down on his cock to instigate his wild side a little more. You knew him well, only a little more pushing is all he needed.

“But you know,” you sigh into his ear as your fingers trace the edges of his scars and body jewelry. “All those silly little Hawklets who fawn after him must be so vanilla, they don’t know what they're missing.” You lean back a little to look him in the eye where you are met with an intense burning, “I mean, one look at the hero Dabi and you know you’re going to be fucked senseless.”

That did it, he thrust up into you with and intensity that sent your head falling back and your eyes squeezing shut. 

“Heh, you don’t think I know what you’re doing?” He asks as he bites down on your neck, you moan in response.

“You’re smart, I know you know what I’m doing. But what can I say, I’m a sucker for this dick.” You stammer out between hard thrusts.

He throws you down on the bed, never breaking his rhythm. He grasps your breasts with his hands and begins pulling and twisting your perk nipples.

“That’s my girl.” The last words he says to you that night, as he spends the next hour pleasuring you in ways you hardly dreamed of. 

🍋

Content, you smile as your wrap yourself around the muscular sleeping frame of your partner. He was never one for aftercare, he had the hardest time staying awake after your escapades. It’s something you got used to and accepted. He showed how much he cared with his physicality in your love making and that was enough for you.

You softly place a kiss to his forehead and move his white hair out of his eyes. Snuggling up next to him you close your eyes and drift off to sleep. Thinking of how you two ended up together after so long.

[oraclekleo]

2024 Message from Oracle Kleo

Hello and I believe all of you are in the new year 2024 by now.

2023 was tough for all of us on multiple levels. But it also brought some good memories and blessings. Like with everything in life, there are pros and cons.

You can always aspire to make the next year better and so I come with suggestions on how to make your 2024 a better year for yourself and others. They are really only suggestions so don’t take it as anything more.

Fall in Love → With Yourself

Seriously! It doesn’t matter how many imperfections you can find about yourself. This is the life you were given now and you have a choice - you can either spend the limited time you have fighting your body and mind or you can fall in love with them and start feeling good about yourself. Happiness is not something you will receive from outside, it’s a state of mind, you can choose to feel happy and content. Stop searching for validation and appreciation from others and just do it yourself. Be your own biggest fan. You will never be perfect because nobody is perfect. You should pursue your goals but you are not your goal. The journey towards your goals is often much more meaningful so enjoy it. Start positive self-talk. Start noticing what you actually like about yourself. It’s likely to be a challenge at start as we are heavily trained to only see the imperfections but once you break that spiral of doom, the outcome will be breathtaking.

Stop avoiding responsibility

You are not living in a vacuum. You are part of society and your actions and words will have an impact and you will be held accountable. Stop finding excuses and face reality. You are responsible for your life. Your mother might have brought you to this world but you are an individual person now so act like one. Ask yourself what kind of a person you want to be and what kind of life you want to have. Ask yourself how your words and actions affect people and situations around you and try to become more considerate with others. You have every right to be yourself but you also need to respect others and find the balance between where your boundaries are and where the boundaries of other people are. Nobody said this is going to be easy. It might take a while but the sooner you start, the faster you will see the results. Embracing the responsibility might look scary at first but it also brings freedom. Start learning how to be more self-sufficient even if you only make baby steps. Learn how to cook a recipe or two. Learn how to grow spring onions in a pot indoors. Learn how to effectively clean and sort your home, how to budget, how to do grocery shopping, how to sew, how to do minor repairs at home. If possible, accept responsibility for other living and feeling creatures. Adopt a pet if possible and learn how to properly take care of them based on what’s natural for them. Being responsible brings clarity into life, it helps with setting priorities and with seeing the bigger picture. Being responsible means you need to have at least some plan. It sounds like a lot but it’s actually not that hard and you can start right now by looking up how to clean the gaps in between tiles in the bathroom.

Keep learning and exploring

When you stop learning, you are not staying in one place. World around you continues developing so once you stop learning new things, you actually move backwards in life. Never stop being curious. You don’t have to be studying or attending classes. Reading books or listening to podcasts or watching instructive YouTube videos is still going to push you forward, step by step. Become interested in something new in 2024. And search for information about it or try it yourself. It doesn’t have to be anything big. You might want to learn how to grow potatoes in a container. Or maybe you would like to learn about the Ancient Roman Empire and its history, culture and mythology. Or maybe you are curious about weightlifting. It really can be anything. Small or big. Significant for your further life or really just an interesting one time experience.

Do Good → Feel Amazing

Start helping! Seriously! You will never feel bored for the rest of your life if you just start helping others. You can join a charity organisation or become a volunteer but if that’s not possible, you can do your little bits with massive impact from the comfort of your home. Most of you have a good presence on social media. Any charitable or rescue organisation will be more than happy if you endorse and promote their projects and work online. Instead of endless scrolling or binge watching, you can start following sites and profiles for a good cause and start sharing and spreading the word about them. It costs you nothing and it’s likely to help those people immensely. Are you good at photography but it’s only your hobby? Why not offer your skill to your local animal shelter and make beautiful pics of their inmates so the shelter has good promotion material? Start being mindful about your spending. Maybe you don’t have to buy yourself that coffee and you can donate the little sum to a good cause. Your one coffee can mean a supply of fresh water for a day for somebody else. Maybe you have things at home that are of no use for you but you could donate them. Maybe you can organise collecting material goods at work or school and then donate it to a food bank or animal shelter. Maybe you or someone you know works for a producer who throws any kind of goods away for various reasons but it could be donated. Your local grocery store might be throwing into trash imperfect or old vegetables and fruits while it could still be a good food for animals in your local shelter or wildlife rescue centre. There are literally millions of ways you can help and trust me that you will feel better and more connected with your community even if you devote only a little bit to a good cause.

Love over Hate

We all have things we dislike or hate. Some of them are inevitable and you have every right to complain about them but most of the time, people get engaged in hating something they are not forced to endure. Why are some people so interested in hating on things online? I will never understand it. If you see something that’s not your taste but at the same time it’s not breaking a law, why don’t you just ignore it? If you do this, even only sometimes, just think about it for a little while. The time you devote to complaining and hating can be used to actually love or appreciate something else. Why would you waste your energy and time on fights and hate? It will never benefit you nor anybody else. Filling your heart with grudge and hate will affect you the most, not the thing or person you hate. It will poison your soul, not theirs. It will ruin your mood. It will leave a bitter taste in your mouth. Why not make 2024 a year of love and appreciation? Let’s spread love and good vibes together.

We all feel small sometimes, like whatever we do can never be enough because the world is such a mess. But every little thing matters to someone. Every little act of kindness can change someone’s life for the better. So stop thinking about everything you can’t do and start thinking about the things you CAN do. This is not a Marvel movie and you’re not the superhero. You can’t save the whole world. You can choose, though. You can either do your little to make it worse or your little to make it a better place. Nobody can command you in this. Nobody can force you to be a good person. You have to make that choice. And I’m very sure there will be people who will decide to ignore this whole post completely and it’s okay. But for those who reached here and maybe even started to think about what I have written, I believe in you. Maybe you will never be Captain America but if you actually decide to take the challenge and start becoming the best version of yourself in 2024, you are a superhero for me. 

Let’s make 2024 the best we can despite the world’s effort to make it really hard for us. 

P.S. Don’t worry, this is not going to become a serious world changing blog. I firmly believe I can do good while having fun on the way so we will continue with spicy tarot readings and more games. I just needed to say this. Thank you for reading this far!

Kleo 🦄

[punkzines]

— ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ —

everlasting torment

GHIDORAH X READER

summary : Ghidorah has fun with you using his tongues, except youre really boring and kills you.

WARNINGS: this has G0r3 & Death. It’s really badly written, but still….if youre heavily sensitive to that then don’t read!

a/n: excuse my bad writing i wanted to write something scary for Ghidorah because I’m attracted to him but would be scared irl and know he would kill me… still. maybe some fun before dying. but this is so bad. I also don’t know how to characterize the heads, just take it as the reader being to disoriented to even tell anything.

word count: 2.4k

Death can manifest itself in numerous ways. Its variations are countless. One thing has remained the same, you can always recognize death when you see it. A rat would tell you that death is the cat outside its house patiently waiting for the right moment. A seal would tell you that death is the polar bear it cannot see. If they were to survive, they would be able to say, “I survived death.”

For you, death is Monster Zero. And you’re certain that you will not survive him.

It was hard to see through the rain as the only light illuminating the darkness of the night was the insistent thunder and lightning. The wind was not calm, it was as if it was trying to drag you across the world like some mindless puppet. As if the storm was alive and it was trying to kill you. It might as well be, thousands have died in the short time this beast has revealed itself. Your surroundings had come to ruin too due to the titans suddenly revolting, the buildings were nothing but mountains of rubble, you didn’t even want to begin to imagine the amount of bodies that must be under it. You did not know who survived or who died. There was a fallen helicopter near you that had been recording the whole fiasco until it had ultimately fallen, which was the same helicopter that had hit your already damaged home. You’d been left wounded, and thankfully the injuries did not kill you on spot- but, you were still bleeding and by the minute becoming more and more dizzy.

Deep cuts grazed your left arm and legs partially covered by a piece of fabric, along with smaller ones across your face and body covered in dust but the rain was making sure that was being washed out. You were no doctor but if you did not properly treat yourself soon, you would surely die from the loss of blood or an infection or hypothermia. You limped backwards, as if to get away from that monster you felt- saw coming your way. At this moment, tending your wounds was nothing but a waste of time.

You didn’t know anything of it, you’ve never seen anything like it. The first time you saw it, was when it had first appeared in reports online. Of what had happened in Antarctica. The current monsters you had very vague knowledge of, or as scientists on TV liked to call them ‘kaijus’, did not look or behave like that thing. He only brought destruction, destruction, destruction. How did it go unnoticed all this time on Earth?

You watch the sky attentively, as the storm gets much closer. It was safe to say that fear was the only thing keeping you alive. You shiver, as the air grew colder- stronger- and the sounds of wings flapping and slow breathing filled your ears.

And it was there that you caught a glimpse of him, all of him, your breath hitching as you do so. Time itself slowed down. Small pieces of debris hit your body, but that wasn’t important. His far reaching gaze pierces through you. Fear you’ve never felt before runs through your blood, your body freezes in place.

Death demanded you to stay still. If you move, he will kill you and if you don’t move, he will kill you.

You needed to run, you knew that, as fast as you could before he could get you and kill you but you also knew that was impossible. There was no way you could escape him. There’s no way. You’re going to die, I’m going to die and that was final. There was no surviving him. He was big, bigger than anything you’ve ever seen before. He looked bigger than Godzilla himself, and he was already big enough. You couldn’t find it in yourself to even scream because why would you scream? To whom? Who could help you against this evil that stood before you?

With a deafening bellow, the creature landed in front of you making its presence known to you— to the dead bodies buried deep into the amounts of destruction it had caused— the sound was beyond loud, making you shrivel down in fear, bringing you to your knees in an instant. It was like the ground under you was shaking- no, it was shaking. The ground was quaking violently. Staying steady wasn’t easy, your whole body trembled, relishing in the burning sensation of fear.

As the dragon-like monster relaxed its enormous wings, and shook himself— causing sparks of lightning to cackle around him— fortunately, not hitting you— it didn’t take long before it brought its gaze down to your frail, helpless, weak- body. And there it was, what you feared most, three massive heads loomed over you—

—you only saw pure malice in those eyes. Their eyes were locked to yours, sending a terrible feeling of dread down your spine. How this could be real, and simply not a nightmare you cannot wake up from was— laughable.

They studied you, low deep breaths emitting from each and one of them. The three heads boldly communicated in front of you with each other— each putting their own input which was hard to understand, but you’re pretty sure that the nodding and snarling means that they will now kill you because before you knew it—

—the left head grabbed you by its tongue harshly with no remorse at all. You let out a shrill full of terror at the pressure of it all, the roughness of its tongue scraping against parts of your exposed skin.

Your thoughts raced and went blank at the same time. Your body was held against your will, your hands were under the pressure of it, and no matter how much you struggled- you couldn’t set them free. You were trapped, trapped-

The left head seemed to move its tongue around showcasing it to the other heads, like you were some kind of stupid trophy. You doubt that was the value that they held for you. Then it did something else that left a bitter taste in your mouth— outweighing the taste of blood caused by the excessive biting of your lips— something you wouldn’t have caught if you hadn’t been paying attention.

He chuckled. All three of them.

It was like a- deep, croaky weird chuckle- strained- you could feel the vibrations of it running through your entire body. You had no idea a being such as this one could… laugh? It was laughing at your situation, at your fear— it was humiliating— it was terrifying. The feeling alone made you tune out everything, everything around you. You were at his mercy, ever since you were born— if something like this was hiding in earth, this was an unavoidable outcome. You were bound to die like this and there was nothing you could do about it.

The scream you let out was nowhere quiet as the head suddenly flung you up into the air, but it was drowned out by the low rumbles and went unheard in the lousy storm. The air was knocked out of you, was there any air to begin with? You closed your eyes for the painful impact.

You were caught by another head, you could immediately notice by the way the tongue felt much more- softer, though painful nonetheless as it grabbed you by your legs upside down. Which was a weird thing to notice, but right now you were just— limp. All sense of escape has vanished and the possibility of surviving is nothing but a dream that’ll never happen. Opening your eyes, to be immediately met with those same eerie eyes. The left head let out a snort and the right head surveyed you closely, with fury in its eye.

The tongue that held you seemed to have its fun playing with you- tormenting you as it swung you around- when you were hit with another swing to the air— equally as terrifying as the other time— and caught by the right head, this time you almost slipped down to the ground, but were caught at the last minute.

Why were they doing this? You tried to break the hold on your waist but scratching the tongue did nothing but result in a hiss. Why? Why? Why? WHY? Why have they not killed you? Why have they not ended your life? They were toying with you, weren’t they? They were, you knew it and they knew you knew it.

“Kill me!” You suddenly screamed out in pain, you didn’t care anymore.“Kill me now!” You punched and writhed against the tongue's hold, hoping to harm it. There were only two outcomes, one resulting in quick death and the other resulting in heavy injuries and slow death “Kill me!” But that didn’t matter because—

—death was mercy. You would have preferred dying of natural causes, a peaceful death. With a loving partner, and surrounded by family. Instead, you will die young- you already knew. At least, you will die knowing you asked for it, right? This was something you asked for. This should give you some type of- peace?Comfort? Right? Right? Acceptance?

The right head growled but instead of dropping you to the ground like the pack of meat you were— it instead turned to the other heads— a low snarl setting deep inside him. And you couldn’t help but notice how the others were now closer— lightning struck behind you, illuminating their fiery amber eyes further. They didn’t seem interested at all.

They slithered their heads until you could feel their hot breath touching your skin— you felt small beads of sweat falling from you, and you began to feel the sense of the situation, lightheadedness overtaking you. Maybe it was from the fact that the heat that they radiated made it hard to breathe or maybe it was the fact that the rags that were covering your wounds had long since fallen— something you hadn’t noticed earlier. Something you should’ve noticed earlier.

However you hadn’t, and that was a grave mistake.

Because it drew the attention of the middle and left. You knew it wasn’t genuine curiosity nor was it interest. Monster zero wasn’t interested in some human beings' cuts and bruises. No, no, no! With the way they grew closer, as the head that held you still let out quiet croaks, you could tell it wanted to do nothing more than to keep you alive just barely.

Just barely so you could feel every single bit of pain. Just barely so it could hear you scream in agony. Just barely so it can feel powerful. Just like a king would. Just like a king would display his power to a nation and show he is not to be messed with, that his dominion was absolute and challenging him was foolish. That is exactly what this beast wanted to show. Humans held no power over it.

A human could not stop the way the tongue from the middle head stalked forward and draped you with saliva. A human could not stop the way the left swooped in and forced its tongue down one of the fatal wounds on your leg, while the other down the one on your arm.A human could not resist the yelp that would exit them, which soon would turn into a gut wrenching scream. A human could not stop screaming. You could not stop screaming.

How could you? How could you stop screaming when your skin was somehow being pulled from underneath?! You sensed the way the tip of their tongues both dug deeper, while the pressure on your waist was- by each excruciating moment- increasing, leaving you gasping for air, which you found that there was none all too quick. You could feel them in your bones. And the wounds! The wound on your left leg- now reached your mid thigh- you couldn’t see it, but the pain was an instant giveaway and the one on your arm- you watch in horror as the bones begin to show. Your arm was being ripped open.

Their moves were slow, but not sloppy. Monster zero knew each angle that would cause the most pain, not that it mattered— everything was just as painful.

Between your screams of agony and tears— you swear you see light. Not the light from the skies clearing up, not light even the light from the vicious thunder, not even the light from their breath. Their eyes, monster zeros eyes soften— as if to show remorse. Something that made your heart skip a beat in the sliver chance that maybe- maybe it would let you go. As bad as you were, you’d rather your slow death be painless. Was this his way of showing mercy? To let you live your last moments in peace?

No, it wasn’t.

He did not show mercy. You should’ve known better than to let hope re-enter your system.

One of them bites your leg off and before you even begin to process it- another bite to your arm. A sickening broken scream fills the air— your scream.

Your limbs! My leg- My arm! There was nothing to think, your heart might have been ripped out your chest— boiling agony overtook your senses. You're frozen in air, you cannot move or do anything for that matter- but scream.

It tricked you! It let you believe-

Your leg and arm are tossed to the side, Monster Zero did not have any interest in swallowing anything from you. Something so weak, something so weak like you, did not deserve it. You were nothing, too insignificant- inferior. Much like a fly who buzzed too loud.

The right head, whose hold had been blurred by the overbearing pain and your slippery consciousness— tightened its grip.

It wasn’t long until you couldn’t breath, and with your left weakly flailing in a futile attempt to claw at its tongue. You weren’t sure why you weren’t sure, you weren’t thinking.

In a disoriented state, you weren’t sure why you kept resisting. There was nothing-

Another tug to your abdomen and you break in half softly with a gasp.

Fragile, like glass you were.

Your body is brought inside the right mouth as the others watch silently, and then you’re chewed. Chewed like gum, chewed like when sheep chew on grass, broken and squashed, just to be spat out like a pile of vomit, your melted body splattered on the ground.

────────────────────────

a/n: Ni: Um anybody got a toothpick??? Got some skin stuck in here.

Ichi: No sorry. Maybe Kevin has some?

Kevin: Yeah i do actually! *hands him a “toothpick”

Ni: BOY THATS A TAMPON

[bytmm]

003

Pivot.

In my favorite sport, football, a pivot is the player who is there between the defense and the midfield; the job being to distribute the ball to the midfield to whichever side (left, right or middle) they feel the opposition's defense is weak or their own team's attack is strong. The player is the initiator of the attack. Another major job for pivot is to shield the defense and stop the opposition's attacks in the midfield. In layman’s terms, they provide the balance their team needs between defense and offense.

In life, pivot, according to Merriam-Webster, is a transitive verb that means to adapt or improve by adjusting or modifying. Moving to America in August of 2001, at the time, I hated it. I was happy, comfortable and enjoying London, that's all I knew. It was the start of my pivoting. 

23 years later, I am still pivoting and finding my way. Earlier in the year, I was let go from a job; I was part of a team that shaped one of the biggest football brands in the world. It hurt badly. It still does. I am human after all. Learning everyday how to deal with it, I had to pivot. Being an immigrant and working in a country that sells the idea of the American dream is a lot tougher than you can imagine but that’s a story for another time. These experiences build a lot of character, tough skin and skills that you cannot learn in a classroom.

As my freelance contract ends, I have had to sit down with my thoughts, fears, insecurities and reality. Reentering the job market, it is scary. Going from a full time job with a semblance of security, having health and dental benefits, to freelancing, hustling, sending hundreds of job apps, texts and emails a week, it is daunting. You don’t know where the next check is coming from or where  the next opportunity will come from, it puts fear into you. Especially when you keep getting rejected for jobs, opportunities and things you believe were for you.

I have never been one to share my current state with the world, maybe it's pride or the Nigerian mentality ingrained in me. I can take on the world, I don't need help. It's why I barely use LinkedIn. However, no man is an island. We all need help, we need an olive branch. Typing this even feels uncomfortable.

But there is always beauty in the madness. I am sure there is someone reading this feeling similar, trying to find hope in a hopeless world. Hold on. Keep fighting.

If you told me at 13, I would be able to work on the brands I have worked on, with the people I have worked with, I would laugh. But that is what we call life, a journey with varying routes to a destination.

We are more than numbers, we are more than our resumes, we have our stories, our talents, our strengths balanced by our flaws, paranoias and insecurity, that is the beauty of humanity.

Progress is not linear. Rejection is not bad. Some doors are closed for reasons. That opportunity wasn’t for you. That person was there for you to grow. Sometimes you need to step backwards, sideways and not always go forward to get to where you want.

Life is about pivoting and adapting.

Here’s to finding a job/opportunity soon. 🥂

[mama-qwerty]

Weird Company

For @katlyntheartist / @anartistwhowrites

Happy (belated) birthday, Katlyn! <3 ~kisses~

~~~~~

Jojo followed along behind the group, and couldn’t help but stare.

She was looking at a real, live alien.

Well, she supposed that was a redundant thought. Her cousins were real live aliens, too. They walked ahead of her as they headed toward the gas station, the echidna leading the way, while Sonic and the other hedgehog—Silver—chatted behind him. Tails hovered close to Sonic, listening in on their conversation, nodding and adding something when he thought of it.

She loved her cousins, and was thrilled when her mother allowed her to spend a few weeks with them this summer. Her mother had a love/hate relationship with Uncle Tom, but after the ‘wedding incident’, as they’d come to call it, she’d realized she’d been too focused on her anger at Tom for ‘taking her sister away’, instead of seeing just how much Maddie loved him.

So Rachel had tried to be . . . better. They weren’t besties or anything, but at least she stopped making comments to Aunt Maddie about divorcing Tom and such. Jojo appreciated a little more calm in her little world.

She’d only arrived a few days ago, but was already loving her say with her aunt, uncle, and cousins. And she’d even met two more aliens! Another hedgehog and a . . . darkling. Whatever that was.

And she couldn’t stop staring at it.

But it looked more alien than any of the others. Reptilian with weird eyes and leathery skin and claws and sharp teeth and a long, sharp tail. She’d seen movies with aliens that look a lot like him, and they were always bad. She knew she shouldn’t judge someone just by how they looked, but he just looked so . . . scary.

Now he turned and looked at her, one eyebrow ridge cocked in annoyance.

“Why do you keep staring at me like that?”

Jojo flicked her eyes away quickly, her cheeks burning. “Sorry.”

“Well cut it out. My mom says staring is rude.”

“I said I was sorry,” she snapped, crossing her arms. “You sound pretty rude yourself.”

“He always sounds like that,” Silver said as he walked backwards to fall in line with them. “Don’t take it personally.”

“I wasn’t staring,” she said, trying desperately to shake the feeling of guilt. Why was she judging Eclipse just based on what he looked like? She wasn’t that kind of person. “I’m just . . . trying to figure out what a darkling is.”

“Black Arms,” he said, and his tone seemed a weird combination of pride and sorrow.

“What’s a Black Arms?”

Eclipse didn’t answer right away. “Conquerors. We . . . they invade planets and take all the resources before moving onto the next.”

Jojo was quiet for a moment. “That sounds . . . terrible.”

The darkling didn’t respond.

“So . . . how did you end up on Earth?”

More silence.

“He doesn’t know,” Silver said, his voice soft. “He just woke up in the woods one day. He came to our house because he was hungry and hurt and . . .” Silver pulled his lips tight when Eclipse threw him a side-eye. “It was a whole . . . thing. But Mom took him in and now he’s my brother.”

Jojo looked between the hedgehog and darkling. These two seemed so different from her cousins. She knew all of these guys had hard childhoods, but Silver and Eclipse seemed to still be dealing with the fallout from theirs. Sure, she knew Knuckles endured the terrible loss of his entire tribe, Sonic lost his guardian, and Tails was all alone, but their lives now with Tom and Maddie seemed to have helped them work through their issues regarding those traumas.

But Silver and Eclipse hadn’t been on Earth all that long, and were still struggling. And her heart went out to them.

“Well, you seemed to have ended up in the right place,” she said, trying to lighten the mood. “My mom says everything happens for a reason. Maybe Earth is where you should have been all along.”

Silence for a beat, then Eclipse spoke, his voice soft. “I was created as the greatest weapon for the Black Arms army. My only purpose was to ensure our victory over any enemy.” He paused, pulling his lips tight. “But all I did was fail.”

“No, nuh uh,” Silver said, shaking his head. “Remember what Mom says. ‘What you are is not who you are.’ C’mon, Eclipse. You’re not a weapon or whatever. You’re just a kid heading to the gas station to get more ice for the picnic back at the Wachowski’s. Lighten up.”

The darkling turned to scowl at his brother. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

“Then stop being a dork,” Silver said, sticking his tongue out.

“You’re the dork.” Eclipse’s forked tongue poked out in return.

“If you dorks are done complimenting each other back there,” Sonic called as they neared the gas station doors, “we’re here. Let’s grab what we need and get back. I needs me some chili dogs.”

~X~X~X~

The crew filed into the gas station, and Knuckles assumed the role of taskmaster. He held the short list of what they needed, while Tails held the money. The three split up and went to fetch their assigned item, while Silver and Eclipse took off in opposite directions. Silver had found a display of plushies, petting the softest of them as he browsed.

Jojo kind of didn’t know what to do with herself, so she followed Eclipse. The darkling sniffed at the beef jerky display, wrinkling his muzzle and uttering “Stale” at her questioning look. Then he flicked his claws over some keychain displays, before heading toward the slushie machine.

Eclipse came to a stop before he reached the machine, and seemed to think about something. He turned, heading to the rotating hot dogs, and flicked his tail up to snag one off the rail. In what looked to be a well practiced move, he brought his tail around and popped the meat into his mouth, tearing it to shreds with his sharp teeth.

“Uh,” Jojo started, looking back at the guy behind the counter watching all this go down. “Is he . . .?”

The attendant waved a hand. “Does it all the time. His mom has an agreement with the manager that he gets one hot dog and one five second chug from the slushie machine once a week. She foots the bill at the end of the month.”

Jojo stared at him. “He drinks directly from the machine?”

He shrugged. “As long as he doesn’t put his mouth on it, what’s the harm?”

She turned in time to see Eclipse hop up on the machine, positioning his mouth beneath the dispenser. He opened wide and pulled the handle, releasing a stream of blue syrupy ice into his awaiting gob.

The counter attendant counted down from five, and when he reached zero Eclipse obediently flicked off the stream and hopped down. He gave himself a shake—the cold probably wasn’t great for his seemingly cold blooded physiology—before walking over to join Silver at the plushie bin.

“Mom’ll flip if you come back with another one of those,” he said, flicking his eyes into the bin. “She says you have enough.”

Silver gasped in mock horror. “There’s no such thing as enough plushies!”

Jojo gave a giggle as she walked over to join them. “I’ll get the same one you do, and we’ll say they were twins and we didn’t want them to be split up. She can’t be mad at that logic.”

The hedgehog’s eyes lit up. “Good idea!”

Eclipse smirked, nodding his head. “Sneaky. I like you.”

“Thanks!”

“Okay, gang,” Sonic called as he and his brothers moved toward the door. He and Tails each carried a bag, while Knuckles had two bags of ice hefted onto his shoulders. “Ready to head back?”

“One sec,” Jojo said as she headed toward the register to pay for her plush. Silver followed, and soon the group headed back toward the Wachowski home.

“Your mom’s right, you know,” she said, looking over at Eclipse.

His brow pinched in a question. “Huh?”

“What you are is not who you are. You can’t change your species. But you can decide what kind of person you want to be. How you want to act.”

The darkling seemed to think about this for a moment, before shrugging. “I just wanna be me.”

Jojo smiled. “Then be you,” she said with a little laugh. “You’re the only one who can be. So be you. Be the most you you can. Have fun and don’t think about whatever they wanted you to be. You’re you. And that’s all that matters.”

A small smile curled Eclipse’s lips, and he nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”

“A little less you would be good some days,” Silver called, snuggling his new plush. “You can be kinda annoying sometimes.”

“At least I’m not a dork all the time like you.” The two exchanged a mocking sneer, before Silver turned back to talk to Sonic again.

Jojo snickered at this display of sibling taunting. Alien or not, they were pretty normal kids, and she was going to have a lot of fun on her visit.

[sidhewrites]

Fourteen! (forteen? 14.) I am legally required to include Ruby in every single writing project I make ever, and this is no different. I hope you like my misanthropic bibliophile :0

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It's Josie's idea to research the guy possessing my cat. She texted me a little after breakfast to meet up at the library and see if we can find any record of this Magnus guy. I would rather do literally anything else, honestly, but I'm starting to think my best bet is to just do what she says at this point, especially with how suspicious I am of my cat's every move.

I watch Renfield closely, phone in hand, ready to record any odd behavior, but he seems to be back to his normal kitty self -- for now. He waddles around, sniffing at his salmon pate before lapping it up with as many nasty slurping sounds as possible. Then he makes his way over to the litter box before finally trundling up the little ramp to his bed on the windowsill

He paused, looking at the view. For a second, I think Magnus is back. I picture Renfield's head turning around like in the exorcist, and opening his mouth to speak backwards. But nothing happens. He just adjusts his position, lays down, and starts to snore.

I shouldn't be so on edge right now. It's my cat. I've had him for five years now. I know his routine by heart. I can translate his meows to know if he wants a treat or wants pets.

With a sigh, I text Josie back. I don't want to go to the library, or research, or do any of this. I shouldn't have to do any of this. I want my cat back, but I still drag my feet on the way out the door.

Let the record show, however, that I'm not scared of the Sutton University Library. 

True, its old and creepy, and I always feel like I’m being watched the second I walk through the door, but that’s because it’s one of the oldest buildings in town. I only avoid it because I'm not the biggest fan of research, and, also, [something punchy and silly]. During Sutton’s mining boom, an old rich widow moved in with her only child and commissioned a place for her hundreds of books. For the longest time, it doubled as a school house for local kids, not that she ever taught anyone. Legend says that she was so scary that she made kids cry just by looking at them. Kids wrote in their journals that she could even turn you to stone. 

According to legend, she died when a bookcase in the basement fell over on her, and crushed her. Even if her daughter later sold the building to the municipality, legend says that the Librarian never left, and she still reshelves books in the night to this day. 

I don’t think that’s the case, honestly. Or. I didn’t. I’m starting to doubt myself which I kind of hate since being overconfident and stupid has always been my thing.

But I'm not about to start acting different just because of a little thing like my whole world view being shaken. No, I waltz right in through the old doors, pleased as punch, and look to my right. Josie, done up in all black with a spiky leather duster vest, follows in my footsteps with far less gusto. "Do you even know where you're going?"

I wish I had the right to be offended. I really wish I did. But it's not like I'm known for being bookish and worldly. "The microfiche is down in basement level two," I inform her confidently, with only the slightest hint of bitterness, and head on to the stairs. There's an elevator, but it was installed over fifty years ago, and no matter how many annual [ safety exams] it's passed, I wouldn't trust that thing with a coffee mug, much less my own life.

So we take the stairs down into the depths of the old building, past the first landing and its creepy door, and down to the second. The doors seem to close on their own, and seem determined to creak no matter how much WD40 they slather on the hinges, so we enter the basement with a low, ominous groan.

"This place is creepy," Josie says.

"Ayup."

I make myself waltz in, carefree and unbothered, because, even if ghosts are apparently now real and also have been all along, this creepy basement is neither haunted nor supernatural. It's just creepy.

[Transition]

The librarian down here is tall, and gorgeous in that way that feels dangerous. High cheekbones, piercing blue eyes, and a gaze that says she'd murder me for thinking too loud.

"You're back," she says,

[stuff]

"Uh, Kaz, who are you talking to?"

"Miss Lark. She's in charge of the historical records?" I feel like if anyone knew [the historical librarians] by name, it should have been Josie, not me.

She gives me a look.

[Rambles about the librarian] and oh my god, she's a ghost, isn't she?"

Josie purses her lips.

I look to the librarian. She's looking at me like my very presence offends her, but, to be fair, that's sort of always how she looks at me. "So..."

"Did you want something?" the librarian asks. Or, I suppose, the Librarian with a capital L.

“Uh,” I say, because I’m very cool in the face of uncertainty. “Did I ever get your name?”

The Librarian gives me a look. I kind of want to die on the spot, but I think i would only end up haunting this place with her for eternity. 

“Microfiche?” Josie whispers. 

Why couldn’t she have been the one to be able to see and talk to ghosts? I don’t want this responsibility. 

Researching is as painful as always. You'd think that trying to find the guy possessing my cat would keep

“Hey look at this one,” Josie says, and steps back to let me see the obituary of Magnus Sunthorpe, one of the earlier residents of Sutton, who funded a lot of the town’s growth. He was extremely rich, with six children. Apparently it was a freak logging accident that got him, while they were felling trees to clear space for the mine entrance. He would be dearly missed, claims the writer, but I had my doubts. 

“You think he’s our guy?” I ask. “He might not be the only Magnus who lived here.”

“No, but I think it’s worth a shot. so far he’s the only one who fits the bill. Of course, this would be much easier if we could ask someone who knows more than we do.” She gives me a pointed look. 

“What?” I ask. 

She raises her brows, then sighs and spells it out for me. “The librarian?”

“Oh. Uh.” feel the blood drain from my face at the idea. “Not another seance though, right? We’re not gonna….?” I make a few obscure gestures that hopefully get across the process of setting up candles and raising the dead. 

[Josie talks her into it]

I feel like I’m back in grade school all of a sudden, being stared down at by my evil history teacher in tenth grade. The Librarian clearly hears me approaching, since she very pointedly picks up another book and slowly puts it back on the shelf. I briefly wonder what this must look like to Josie, then wonder if ghosts have the power of murdering people based off vibes alone. 

“Um,” I say. “Uh.” My mouth is dry, and suddenly my head is too filled with thoughts that can’t quite form into words. It takes more than a little effort to clear my throat and try again. “Excuse me, ma’am?”

She stops, book in one hand, eyes still on the shelf where it belongs. 

“Hi. My name is Kaz. I think you already knew that, but, uh, you know. Thanks for all those times you helped me find the right book for my research papers.” It was part of the urban legend, I realize now. She leads you to the shelf that has the book you need, then disappears when you aren’t looking. Frankly I just thought that’s what librarians are like. She never made much sound walking, but I do my best to silence my footsteps whenever I’m down here as it is. "So, I kind of need your help now, too. We're trying to find a specific guy. See, I think my friend's cat got possessed by a ghost. Um. Spirit. Uh..." I swallow hard, and gesture awkwardly to Josie behind me.

She waves, and shoots me a look that says she's as entirely at a loss as I am.

"Jose," I whisper, as if the Librarian can't hear me. "Is it rude to call them ghosts to their faces?"

She shrugs and gesticulates in a way that really emphasizes that, yes, she is as much at a loss as I am.

Right. Cool. Cool, I'm so cool.

But by the time I turn around, the Librarian is turning into one of the poorly lit aisles, and I stumble to catch up to her. I feel like I'm losing my mind. The Librarian had helped me out a hundred times before. Her outfit was vaguely vintage, or retro, or something, but it was far from unusual in a college town like this. She never exactly walked through walls or floated a few inches off the ground.

Wait.

I glance down. No, she's indeed walking around like a normal human would, with pants and shoes and everything.

Thank god I was looking at her feet, because she makes no sound as she pulls to a stop, and I manage to just barely fall short of walking into her. Through her? Fuck, man, I don't know. She gives me a pointed look, and nods at the shelf in front of her.

"Is that the droid we're looking for?"

Her already sour expression turns angry.

"Star Wars? No?"

[Brief conversation]

"It's not that I can't speak," she says, and a cold wave of dread shoots down my spine. It's her voice that gives her away -- a strange, whispery voice that sounds as much like a woman as it does a stack of papers rustling in the wind. "I just hate people." The flickering light goes out entirely, plunging me into darkness for juts a second. When it returns, I'm alone.

The filing box falls off the shelf with a thud.

I jump back with a shriek, and a ghostly Shhhh! echoes out of the shadows.

"Kaz?" Josie rounds the corner, walking slowly. Like she's been following the whole time. "Are you okay? What happened?"

I vaguely remember that when it comes to the supernatural, time can be wonky. If that's truly the case, I'd like to throw the towel in now. That's it, universe. I'm haunted, I'm seeing ghosts, and now I entered into some weird afterlife dimension where no time passed in the real world. I'm done, and I want to go to bed. But instead of saying all that, I point to the overturned box at my feet, and say, "Ghost box."

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[thewayhavenchronicle]

53, 54, and 57 for Nell and Farah please!

53. Would they ever go skinny dipping?

"Farah!"

Nell's harsh hiss is met with nothing more than a delighted cackle as another piece of clothing hits the ground. They can feel themself flushing, fixing their eyes firmly on one of the trees nearby instead of their soon-to-be very naked girlfriend.

"What?" she laughs, and the sound of soft footsteps approaching makes Nell's jaw clench. "No one's around. Live a little."

Farah's hand tugs teasingly on the hem of Nell's sweater and they gasp, hands coming up to grab at the hem in panic -- which just makes her laugh again. They screw their eyes shut, shaking their head.

The sheer thought of someone walking up on them without any clothes on in the middle of the river is...

Nope. Nope, nope, nope.

"Suit yourself."

They aren't entirely sure whether that means she's going to put her clothes back on or not -- but the sound of a loud splash proves them wrong.

They open their eyes curiously, finding her wading into the water with a sigh. She casts a teasing glance back over her shoulder, golden eyes catching the moonlight in a way that could only ever be described as ethereal. Lifting her shoulder a little, she sinks deeper into the water with another sigh.

"The water's warm from the sun still. You should come in."

They stand there for a moment, wringing their hands. They know they're not the most exciting person in the world, and they always worry that Farah's going to get bored with them. Maybe...

Their fingers shake a little as they pull their shirt over their head -- the air is cool against their skin, sending goosebumps facing over their skin, but any chill is quickly chased away as Farah whoops with excitement. They laugh a little, delicately setting their shirt on the ground and reaching for their skirt next.

They chicken out of pulling everything off, content that their bra and underwear is already terrifying enough, but Farah seems excited that they're even willing to do that as they wade into the water after her.

She's right that the water is warm, though it's nothing compared to the heat of the way Farah seems to be drinking in the sight of all their newly revealed skin. She sinks deeper into the water, grinning wickedly as she swims backward a little -- and then she lifts her hand, crooking her finger to beckon them closer.

They feel very much like they're under her spell as they follow her deeper into the water. When they are both comfortably in the water deep enough that it reaches their shoulders, she slips her arms around their shoulders, pressing up against them and grinning at the way their breath hitches.

"...alright?" she asks, tilting her head.

Nell laughs a little, wrapping their arms around her waist and nodding. "I... yeah. Surprisingly."

She snorts. "Good."

And then she kisses them, and the combination of her lips and the slickness of their skin brushing against each other under the water makes them feel hot all over.

Maybe skinny dipping isn't as scary as it seemed like.

54. Who’s more likely to carry the other to bed?

"...what are you doing?"

Farah pauses, one arm already under her girlfriend's knees, surprised to find them already looking up at her suspiciously. They'd fallen asleep on the couch about a half hour ago and Farah, being the loving girlfriend that she is, had thought it would be cute to carry them to bed.

The look they're giving her says otherwise.

"I'm... carrying you to bed?" she says, though it comes out as a question rather than a statement.

Nell snorts, but Farah doesn't move away. Their eyes shine with uncertainty as they say, "I don't... think that's a good idea."

"Why?"

"I -- Because I'm -- I mean, look at me."

Their face is red, heart beating erratically in their chest. She doesn't understand why they look so embarrassed, nor does she really understand what the problem is.

"I am looking at you?"

"Then you should know how big I am."

"I... guess?"

They blink. "I'm fat."

Farah frowns, tilting her head. "Still not getting the issue, Nellie."

"Wha-- I don't think you can lift me. No one has been able to lift me since I was a kid."

Farah blinks -- and then snorts with laughter, tightening her grip around them. They look very adorably flustered by that, and she almost feels bad, but she's already too enamored with the idea of being the first person to carry them like the royalty they are. Fixing them with a smirk, she tightens her grip a little more and stands easily, cackling when Nell yelps, arms clutching at her shoulders like they think she's going to drop them.

"Babe," she laughs, leaning in and burying her face in their neck as she giggles. "Babe."

"...shut up."

Farah just laughs more as she turns and starts to make her way to their bedroom.

"Forgot about the super strength?"

"...yeah."

"You're so cute."

"I hate you."

Farah laughs, and they laugh with her. It's very cute, and it's even more cute the way they yell a little when she drops them on the mattress unceremoniously. They are only just settling on the bed when she hops up into the air and flops onto the bed beside them, making them both bounce as the room fills with laughter.

She loves them. So, so much.

57. Whose the serious one when grocery shopping and who likes to toss random things in the cart?

"Farah."

"Yes, babe?"

"What have you put in my cart?"

Nell had only been turned away considering a new appliance for their kitchen for a few minutes. They hadn't even pulled away from the cart, really, but...

"Please, Nell?"

A pile of DVDs from the dollar bin is the least of the things that Farah had somehow snuck into the cart. There are also game consoles, complete with a couple of video games, as well as several sets of new pajamas. Nell blinks, and then looks up at their girlfriend who is making a very convincing set of puppy-dog eyes at them.

They sigh.

"Fine," they say, placing the appliance they wanted on top of everything else. "I guess at least you aren't trying to feed me different foods out of curiosity."

"Actually..."

"What now?"

She grins sweetly. "Last time you'd had that wine you like, you smelled so good."

Oh.

"Can vampires taste it when people have been on a certain diet or if they're on drugs or something?"

That seems to take Farah by surprise, and she straightens up a little. Tilting her head, she asks, "Are you... asking me what your blood would taste like?"

They shrug. "I mean, who isn't a little curious? And it's not like I have that magic blood that Saoirse and Nori have. What's the danger, really?"

Farah's jaw drops. "I... um, yeah. You can, kinda."

"...do you want to taste mine, later?"

Farah spends the rest of the shopping trip thoroughly distracted, to the point that she wonders if they'd meant to do that. It doesn't last all that long, though...

Her girlfriend's blood is sweet, just as she'd expected.