#and I also saw vecna there???? who I could have sworn is at the end of CR campaign 1??

[sun-marie]

I don't think I there has ever been anything more confusing to me than being both a noob Critical Role fan and a noob Forgotten Realms fan and trying to disentangle their respective "Shadowfell" s 🥴💫

[americaswritings]

In the dark I will call your name | chapter 8

Warnings (for the whole series): angst, talk of depression, trauma, nightmares, violence, mentions of blood, language, lots of emotions  

Summary: You could never tell them the truth about who you were, what you had done, the demons that were haunting you. So you buried it deep inside of you, swearing to take the secret to the grave with you. Then the nightmares start, the headaches, the simple drop of red confirming your fate. Vecna knows the truth, feels you suffering. Can you escape his curse?  

Words: 2.7k

Pairing: Steve Harrington x reader

A/N: Only one week until my vacation yay ^^ Also the miniseries with Steve x Billy’s sister!reader is going very well. I am currently writing the second part (out of 3). Once I finished the whole series and read over it I am going to upload it! I hope you’re still enjoying this story! Only 2 more chapters to go :)

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Chapter 8: The world was on fire and no one could save me but you.

So this was how it would end.

But as you closed your eyes for the final time, you thought back to Steve’s words. 

“I just found you. I can’t lose you now.”

His fingers in your hair playing softly with a loose strand. His arms around your body, keeping you safe. His eyes meeting yours, pleading you to fight.

He cared.

Maybe you should have told him the truth. You trusted him, yet you had never found the courage to confess everything to him. 

Perhaps because there was no going back. No way to make the words unsaid after you had admitted them. And you were afraid he would never look at you the same way. Never see you the same way he did now.

An image of El filled your mind, but this time she wasn’t covered in blood and staring at you with an expression of betrayal. She was wearing a colourful jumpsuit, her hair pulled up with one of the scrunchies you had given her. She was standing in front of a big mirror at the mall, and you were placing a ridiculous looking hat on her head. A second later she burst out laughing and you joined in.

The image faded and you saw a flash of red hair. Max. Jumping off her skateboard she grinned at you, trying to look nonchalant, but you could see pride in her eyes. “I need you to hold my hand. I’m not kidding”, you heard your own voice, seeing your past self-climbing hesitantly onto the board. 

You practically clawed at Max hand, but she laughed about it and after a few seconds you relaxed your grip a little, casting a proud expression towards the girl. “I told you you would be a natural”, she said, and the image faded just before you had face planted with the board and sworn off Max teaching you to skate.

You opened your eyes. Vecna’s claw was only inches away from your face. You could barely see anything but him. Gazing between his fingers you tried to focus on what you could make out.

Your floating body. Your friends.

They hadn’t left your side and even though it was impossible to see their faces, you knew they were scared for you. Desperate to get you back. If you listened closely, you could still hear their distinctive yells, your name being called over and over again.

Your mind flashed back to another memory. You were draped over Nancy’s bed, your feet hovering in the air as the two of you skimmed through magazines. “I bet this would look cute on you”, she told you, pointing towards an elegant evening gown. “It looks expensive”, you murmured, and she nudged you with her shoulder. “Steve would lose his mind if he saw you in that.” She waggled her eyebrows at you as you let out a gasp. “You know, I always wanted a friend to talk about fashion and boys with.” 

It evaporated into a few other scenes, moments you spend with your friends, laughing and having fun. Being young and free. Not carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders for a while. 

You could see Robin making a sound that was a mix between a laugh and a snort as she threw popcorn at you in the cinema and got it right down your cleavage. The boys gesturing you close to present their new science project to you. 

Max and you sneaking out at night, sitting on one of the rusty swings at the trailer park, talking. The two of you getting caught in heavy rain, sprinting through it hand in hand while soaking to the bone and laughing about the absurdity of it. Braiding El’s hair. Sleepovers at Nancy’s house. Steve throwing you into his pool fully clothed. The expression on his face after your first kiss. 

You could feel Vecna’s claw tracing over your face, pulling it up so you couldn’t see the window any longer. But there was still the music in your ears, the melody that was so familiar to you because you had listened to it over and over again.

It was your favorite song. The first song Steve had played when you were in the car with him on the way to your first date. He had sung along to it, and you had looked at him, puzzled but amused. Since then you always joined in when he played it, singing your heart out and laughing at each other. 

It reminded you of good times. The beginning of a better life.

All of this for what? To die a lonely death under Vecna’s claws? Only because you had kept the secret that made your heart heavy to yourself, too afraid to open up to the people that knew you best? 

They had been there all along, ever since the day you had stumbled upon them and the secret they were sharing. That the upside down was real. That monsters existed. That kids could have superpowers and shadows could come to life. 

In a way you were all connected to each other through it. Through the shared secret. Why did you fear your own so much?

“No”, you whispered, your eyes shooting back open. There had to be a way. As if the music had brought you back to yourself, reminded you of all the good in your life, you felt your determination return. And with it a newfound strength.

If there was a window, there had to be a way to get out of here and return to the real world. You had to try.

With all of your strength you ripped apart your wrists, lashing at Vecna. He flinched, trying to grow back some of the tentacles you had destroyed, but you used the time to duck away and push past him.

You could hear a grunt, but you didn’t turn. You couldn’t look back. All you could do was run. Run even though your legs were burning, and your lungs were on fire. Run through the red mist towards the bright portal in front of you. 

You saw something rushing towards you and you looked up to see a stone falling from the sky. It hit the ground right beside your feet sending you tumbling to the ground. 

Your trousers were covered in red, blood you realized, but you got back up. With your pants now soaking it was much harder to remain on steady feet and you kept on tripping on the now slippery ground. Every few seconds you could hear an explosion, remains of the house you had seen floating in the air early now falling from the sky to your left and ride. 

You ducked, dodging the stones that threatened to hit you, your eyes focused on the portal. The silhouettes had grown sharper now and bigger, their voices and the music louder in your ears.

With a final breath you reached out towards it, closing your eyes as you felt your body being swept away.

    -

(Y/n)?” Steve leaned away, his eyes flickering over your stiff body. “(Y/n)?! Please say something! Look at me!”, he pleaded, but your eyes were unfocused, filled with white like a cloudy sky. He took another step back, dread filling him as he felt his heart speed up. 

Placing his hand on each of your shoulders he shook you, more violently with each passing second you didn’t move. “(Y/n) wake up, please!” But you showed no reaction to his words. 

Desperately he turned towards the car where he knew the kids were waiting. “Guys!”, he yelled, waving frantically at them before turning back to you. “Wake up please! Come on, wake up!”

But you were gone.

Just a moment ago you had been here, smiling at him, kissing him and now your body was only an empty shallow. “Shit, shit, shit!” Dustin had scrambled up next to him, the radio in hand. “How long has she been like this?”, he questioned, his voice high pitched. 

“Just a moment ago she was fine!” Steve ran a hand through his hair before continuing to shake you. “Wake up, (y/n)! Wake up!” But deeply inside of him he knew it was useless. “Call Nancy and Robin!”, he yelled at Dustin, gesturing towards the radio. “I tried but-” “Call again!”, he interrupted him, his tone leaving no room for arguments.

Dustin exchanged a quick look with Lucas and Max, who had joined Steve in calling your name. Pulling out the antenna Dustin took a step away from them, holding the radio close to his mouth. “Nancy, do you copy?”

Silence greeted him, but he tried again. “Robin, do you copy? It’s a code red!”

Silence.

He looked back at Steve, the panic all over his face as he shook your body, calling your name. “It’s a code red, I repeat, a code red!”

Still no answer. 

“Robin!”

“I am here!” Dustin let out a sigh of relief, tears filling his eyes. “Oh god! Please tell me you found something! And make it quick! (Y/n) is having a vision again!” Steve had turned towards him, listening intensely for answer. 

“Okay okay, we found something, but we don’t know-” He could hear mumbling in the background and car tires screeching as Robin let out a yelp. “Sorry, okay, try playing music!” 

“What?” Dustin held the radio closer to his ear, worried he had misheard her. “It would take too long to explain right now but try to play music that means something to her. It has to have a meaning for her, or it won’t work!”

He looked up to find Steve’s eyes on him. “The Walkman! It must be in her backpack. Go, get the Walkman!” Lucas had already made a run for it, nearly tripping over his own feet as he rushed to the car where they hoped to find your Walkman with all the other stuff you had packed.

It had always meant a lot to you, music offering a world you could escape into at any time. Everyone knew where you were your Walkman couldn’t be far. So the chances you had packed it into your backpack with the other things that were personal to you and didn’t want your parent to throw out seemed high.

“Come back to me, (y/n)!” Steve pleaded, scared that it might take too long. That the idea wouldn’t work. That his moment with you had been the last. He wished he would know if you could hear him, but you hadn’t mentioned it after your first vision, so he doubted it. 

“Get your ass here, Sinclair!”, he yelled over his shoulder, ignoring Dustin’s eyes on him. “I got it, I got it!” Lucas scrambled up next to them, your Walkman and a bunch of cassettes in his hands. “Which one is her favorite?” He laid them to the ground and Steve crouched down, frankly shifting through them. 

“I don’t know”, he mumbled, the letters blurring in front of his eyes. How could he have forgotten your favorite song? His hands had begun shaking as he turned the cassettes over in his hands, the words blending into a stream of uncoherent letters.

“Okay, slow down Steve!” Dustin had crouched down next to him, laying a hand on his shoulder. “You know her favorite song. Think about it!”

“I’m trying”, he shot back, running a hand over his face. He couldn’t freak out now, you were depending on him. But it was as if he was seeing the cassettes for the first time. As if he had to choose the last piece of a puzzle without being able to get a look at it. 

Impossible.

He felt Max hovering next to him. He knew she was just as terrified as the rest of them, but something about her presence seemed to ground him a little. For her age she seemed so mature, radiating a sense of calm he desperately needed to get his head straight again. He needed to think clearly.

“Are these all she brought?” Lucas nodded, impatience written on his face. “Just pick one!”, he yelled but Dustin shook his head. “It has to be the right one or it won’t work!” “Why?”, Lucas questioned, disbelief in his voice. “I don’t know! Robin never got to that part. I told her to make it quick!”

“Guys!” Max interrupted them with a glare. They definitely wouldn’t be able to focus with them bickering. Steve’s eyes flashed back to yours and suddenly an idea popped into his head. He leapt forward, sticking his hands into the pockets of your jacket. 

“What are you doing?”, he heard Dustin’s voice behind him, but he ignored him, a feeling of triumph sinking in as his hand wrapped around something hard and angular. He didn’t even need to read the title to know which song it was.

“This is the one! That’s why I couldn’t find it!” He crouched back down, inserting the cassette into the Walkman and rushing to place the headphones over your ears. “Turn it on!”

He didn’t know what he expected, perhaps a miracle, your eyes opening the moment the music started to play, but he didn’t expect nothing to happen. His face fell, his heart pounding loudly in his ears. “It didn’t work! Why didn’t it work?” He turned back to Dustin, desperate and scared.

“You have to give it time!” 

Time. They didn’t have time. You didn’t have time. 

“(Y/N)!” He went back to shaking your shoulders, not bearing to stand around and do nothing. A few moments later Dustin, Lucas and Max joined him in calling your name, your voices growing more distraught and hopeless with each call.

Suddenly your body began to move. Steve stumbled back, watching in shock as it was lifted off the ground. “NO!”

He didn’t care the whimper that escaped his mouth. Didn’t care to hold back his tears. His voice sounded raw and raspy as he screamed your name mixing with the voices of Dustin and Lucas. Max had taken a step back, her eyes wide with fear as she stared up at you.

This was how it had ended for Chrissy. Eddie had told them about it, how her body had been lifted to the ceiling and ripped apart a second later. A part of him wanted to advert his eyes, knowing he wouldn’t be able to bear the sight. But something kept him standing there, staring up at you.

Every thought seemed to have vanished, his mind blank as his emotions overwhelmed his body. He didn’t seem able to breathe, the oxygen not quite reaching his lungs and he could hear the blood rushing in his ears.

His hands came up to the back of his head as he shouted at your floating body, terrified it could begin to snap at any second. Everything in him felt wrong, as if his own body was shutting down. 

He couldn’t breathe properly. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t control his movements. A wave of sickness washed over him, but he wouldn’t throw up, didn’t dare to take his eyes off you for even a second.

His throat burned from all the shouting, but he ignored it. Even if it was pointless, he would be calling your name until the last minute, hoping wherever you were you could hear him and know you weren’t alone.

That he was here.

From one second to the next all the tension seemed to leave your body and he watched it fold in on itself as you fell to the ground. On pure instinct he rushed forward, trying to ease your fall.

You landed in a curled up position on your back, gasping for air as your head wiped around. Your eyes were wide open, but there was no trace of the white clouds anymore. “(Y/n)?!”, he breathed, reaching out towards you. 

Your head snapped towards him, a look of terror in your eyes before they settled on his. You didn’t get a word out, still panting too heavy to be able to speak, but he could see you were back.

Unharmed.

Your hands reached for his body, trying to get a hold on him and he leant forward, scooping you up into his arms. “I thought I had lost you”, he admitted, not caring about the tears that stained his cheeks.

Your grip was tight around what you could get a hold of from him, but he didn’t mind, pulling you as close into his chest as he could and trying to sooth you by running a hand over your hair.

“I’m still here”, you choked out. “I’m here.”

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[nein-pirate-lords]

20-25!!

KSJLDHF I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS -sets up podium and a small microphone and walks up with a massive pile of papers and slams them down on the podium- I’ll answer for all three because I’m self-absorbed and I love my dumb children.

The questions for reference:20. Are they religious? If so, what god or gods do they serve?21. How did they become an adventurer?22. Most amazing monster they have ever killed or helped kill?23. Thoughts on death?24. Do they have any interesting skills?25. Favorite animal?

SHADE OF THE ROWAN TREE, “SHAE,” TABAXI PALADIN(It’s okay, Devin and Britt, you can read this because there’s no real spoilers here, haha!)20. Shae isn’t so much religious so much as she is spiritual; she understands the existence of gods and goddesses and accepts them for their power, though she’s not necessarily a traditional follower. She’s sworn herself to Adeem, which is a custom god my room-mate (our DM) created. He’s god of the night, and the moon, and is seen as a protector. But she didn’t do so out of admiration for the god himself so much out of respect for her mentor.21. Shae grew up deep in the forest with her familial tribe; she left several years ago when a Tabaxi shaman from a different tribe sat down with Shae and her family. It was kind of a traditional thing their tribe did, to “check in” on the wills of spirits, etc. The shaman took Shae’s hand and told her she was destined for something beyond the forest, so a couple of weeks later, she set off on her own and ventured for the first time into civilization!22. That motherfucking chimera. I don’t remember if the fight was super bad, but the fact that it was a huge chimera was really cool and I remember all of us freaking out over it when we realized what we were hunting.23. I think Shae’s more afraid of the pain associated with dying than she is of actually dying. Having grown up where it was believed spirits could be spoken to, and living in a world where gods and goddesses and resurrections are a thing, Shae knows that all because something is dead doesn’t mean it’s gone. So she’s okay with it.24. From a storytelling standpoint, not really. Statistically, though, she has the observant feat, so I like to say that her big ears (I imagine her as an Oriental-looking Tabaxi) pick up on everything.25. UM. -sweats- Honestly I think she loves owlbears, but she’s also hunted them and they’re very tasty.

BRIENNE RAMONDO, “BRI,” HALF-ELF SORCERER(LOL, also okay for you, Devin and Britt, especially Devin, our benevolent DM.)20. Bri really isn’t religious at all. Sure, the gods exist and that’s all fine and well, but they’re not down here busting their butts, now are they? She doesn’t have any allegiance to any god in particular.21. Essentially, Bri was raised on a small farming island where it was expected that she’d either become a merchant to sell the rice they farmed, or be a rice farmer herself. Being a storm sorcerer who KNEW she had a lot of power, Bri knew that life wasn’t for her. So when her brother went out on a merchant’s vessel and that vessel never came back, Bri jumped at the chance and ran out in the middle of the night under the guise of wanting to go find her asshole of a brother.22. SHE’S FOUGHT A DRAGON! It was in an underground cavern and I think it had already been wounded and was on a rampage. That was an interesting fight too because I remember she and Mama Millie (another party member, played by my room-mate) loosely got into it afterwards because Bri hesitated in attacking it, and Millie was worried that she couldn’t trust her because of it. As far as impressiveness and development intrigue, definitely that fight.23. I think Bri does her best not to think about death. It’s a little terrifying to her, really, and I don’t think she’s ever had to really cope with it. 24. From a storytelling standpoint, again, I don’t really think so? She’s pretty knowledgeable about farming and setting things on fire. :) Statistically speaking... storm sorcerers are fucking awesome. My favorite little quirk is that when she casts any spells, she can gather crackling storm energy around her to make her fly into the air for a hot second.25. I think Bri just loves doggies of any kind. She’ll snuggle them in a heartbeat, and if wild canines like foxes or wolves would let her, I’m sure she’d pet them too.

ARIADNE BRENACIA, “ANDIE” TO FRIENDS ONLY, HALF-ELF CLERICHomebrew Tal’Dorei Campaign Character! (No huge spoilers here either, Rolf/Megan!)20. She may act irreverent and kind of dickish, but Andie is surprisingly religious and cares deeply about the gods and her own god’s opinion of her. Which, she’s a life cleric dedicated to Pellor who’s been living in Whitestone for a while now. (Guess who’s shameless Critter trash, it’s ME.)21. Technically speaking, I actually don’t know if she could be considered an adventurer yet. This campaign will be the beginning of her adventuring stories, I reckon. (It started as a one-shot that we’re turning into a full-blown story!) Before she’s been traveling between Whitestone and Zephrah (again, I went full Critter trash for this oneshot, haha), spending time as a cleric and also visiting her moms amongst the Ashari.22. Well, in the oneshot they destroyed an avatar of Vecna, so let’s go with that, ahaha! Not really a monster, but. Selfishly, my favorite moment was her attempt to banish him right then and there when she saw it, snapping her fingers while saying, “Absolutely not.” It worked except that bastard used a legendary resistance. -shakes fist-23. Even though she’s come to understand that death isn’t the end, Ariadne still has trouble coping with and processing death. She hates it, which is partially why she’s turned to being a life cleric, to push back against death however she can.24. Her skills include being a sassy, no-nonsense, stonecold badass while still maintaining some kind of employment/membership with the clerics in Whitestone, ahaha.25. I think she has a distinct love for eagles and larger birds of prey, having spent a lot of her teenage/coming-of-age years with her adopted mothers in Zephrah, and seeing them fly along the cliffs.

Thank you for coming to my unnecessarily long and selfish TED talk. :D THANK YOU FOR THE ASK SDKFJHSADKLJFH MY HEART DID A LITTLE HAPPY SKIP