#and yeah he has no head. just a black void where his head should be

[zelda-without-a-licence-plate]

redraw of my old Skullkid art from like almost two years ago... i love my best friend noheadboy. he's harmless i swear!!!!!!

[lufyuu]

''River's Quest..?,,

Protagonist Oc [River!] x Bottom male Reader

Part 2! Part 1

Tw/s: overstimulation, rough rough sex, face fucking, dacryphilia, hair grabbing/pulling, jealous River, public sex, almost caught, a bit of degration, a bit of praising, a bit of edging.

[Loading...]

[System]

—Quest started—

`Click here for details`

Recently, you've made a new friend and River's been pouty about it even if you dont know the reason behind his poutiness. Not only that, he had become even more clingy than before, where ever you went, he was always not too far behind, making you feel a bit suffocated. It all started not too long ago. How you met your new friend, that is.

˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

"Hey can we be partners?", a feathery voice asked as a finger tapped your shoulder. This is the first time anyone has asked you to be their partner in a project, ever since that incident. Everyone's been too nervous to partner up with you seeing as River is always around you. Well, almost anyway. Today was different, River had a very important project to attend to, leaving you all alone in class. The moment the guy had asked you to partner up, it was immediately followed by the other classmates surrounding you with the same question, shoving the shy classmate aside. "Can we be partners!?", they all giddily said, making you feel overwhelmed at the sudden focus. You knew it was all because they wanted to get in River's good graces seeing as you're the closest person to him at the moment. Even closer than Aria, his very own 'girlfriend.' With the whole classroom being filled with the cacophony of voices, everyone wanting you to partner up with them, the teacher had no choice but to slam the board to get everyone's attention. "Everyone calm down, you're all being way too loud for anyone's liking, especially [Name]'s, how on earth will he be able to choose with you all talking on top of each other?" Thankfully, they all stayed quiet for a moment, looking at you with anticipation.

You decided to go with the guy who didn't try to make you go deaf, the one who had the guts to ask you in the first place before the domino effect took place. In all honesty, you should have paid more attention to the way his eyes scanned you up and down before sitting next to you.

"Thanks", he says, looking into your eyes for no reason in particular. You nod and begin to workout the project, pulling out your notes and laptop. "Let's start it right now since the deadline's pretty tight." Without your knowledge, he continues to stare at you even though you aren't looking directly at him. He eventually does snap out of it after you look at him, confused on why he's staring. Directing his focus on the task at hand. "Yeah..definitely", his voice sounded like a kid who was caught with his hand inside a cookie jar.

Reviewing over the material together, the two of you eventually map out the entire project, splitting the material between the both of you. You had the task of making the presentation while he had the task of condensing the material to make it easier to digest. You press on the power button on your laptop, expecting it to boot up immediately. Only to be greeted with a black screen. "Huh? I could've sworn I charged it last night", you scratch your head, confusion plastered on your face. "What's wrong?", he asked, despite his words, you felt it was void of any worry. You shake your head, "it's nothing, I'll just make the presentation at my dorm and send it to you afterwards", you begin to put back your notes and laptop into your bag. Coincidentally, the bell suddenly rings, indicating the end of class and school altogether. Though, before you could get up from your chair, you felt a tight grip on your wrist, stopping you. "Can I come over? It'll be much more efficient and effective", he smiles, expecting you to agree, "I don't know about that...", you hesitate since nobody from campus has ever been in your house, apart from your close friends that is. But, no harm would be done right? It's just a simple presentation.

Click! the lock clicked open as you turned the key. You grab the handle and pull it, opening the door to your dorm. Peaceful and quiet. Those are the words not a lot of students who live in dorms can use to describe their place due to having a messy roommate or what not. Fortunately for you, your roommate had moved out not long ago, leaving the whole dorm to yourself. "No roommate?" "nope", you answer simply, getting the point across quickly. "Take a seat on the sofa, I'm just going to put my things down, and we can get started", you grab your laptop out of your bag before placing it near your bed. The laptop is placed on your desk, you plug it in and make sure that this time it's on. The last thing you want now is to prolong the guy's stay. You sit down next to him, notes in hand. "Oh right, I never got your name", he perks up at this, "it's Trav!", "nice to meet you, Trav, I'm–", "[Name], yes I know", he cuts you off almost excitedly. He really is unpredictable. Partly because of this, the atmosphere becomes awkward, the two of you not having any topics to bring up.

"Well...Do you want a drink? I can make us some hot chocolate or tea if you prefer that", you try to break the awkward silence with a question, "some hot chocolate sounds nice", he nods as he says this. You get up to boil some water as you get two cups and two packets of hot chocolate mix. "Hope you don't mind instant hot chocolate", you chuckle, "of course not", you could hear him laugh a bit aswell. At least you managed to break the awkwardness for just a moment. The whole time you were making the hot chocolate, you felt him starin at you but whenever you turned around, he wouldn't be looking at you at all. This whole thing was kinda creeping you out but what could you do? You were the one who picked him to be your partner in the first place.

With two cups of hot chocolate in your hands, you head back to the couch and hand him a cup. He thanks you and takes a sip of the drink, "delicious!", he says while looking at you, not paying attention to the cup as some of the liquid spills onto your shirt, "ow shit!", you wince, feeling the hot chocolate on your skin. Seeing this, Trav remains calm, reaching over to grab a few tissues and wiping your shirt a bit, "I think you should take this off", you nod, you'll just change to another shirt, no big deal. You tug your shirt over your head, your hair being ruffled a bit and you get up to toss it in the laundry basket. Trav stared at your half naked body, oogling at your frame before you finally find a sweater to put on, ending his wandering eyes from looking even more.

It's been a month since your first meeting with Trav. You noticed his shy persona going away little by little. Now he's definitely more confident. At least he has the confidence to be 'jokingly flirtatious' with you. Not to mention you surprisingly haven't gotten a love quest ever since you started hanging out with Trav more than River. River took notice of this quickly. He was only gone for a day, and you already made yourself a friend? A friend who dares to flirt with you no less. Do you not know who you are? You ought to be more careful.

Due to this, River has been even more protective of you. He even holds your hand tightly in class under the table. And at this moment, he'd doing exactly that. His fingers intertwined with yours, unwilling to let go even if your hand's sweating. "Let go of my hand—", "no", he answers firmly, not even looking at you as though it was an obvious answer. You huff, you've tried to pull away but his grip's too strong. It just ends up with him pulling the "puppy" eyes on you, making you sigh in defeat almost everytime. "That's all for today's material, please don't forget to turn in your work tomorrow morning on my desk", the teacher says as she walks out the door with the class finally over. You thought you'd be free from River's grip, but no, he was still holding your hand when you got up. "Where are you going?", he asked, looking up at you to which you reply, "none of your business", if this was a cartoon, an irk mark would have appeared on your forehead. You've barely had enough time to yourself, let alone with friends after getting into River's sight. "Let go", your tone somewhat frustrated, hoping he'd let go. This of course, doesn't work, "I'll go with you—", "hey River, can you help me with this?", a random classmate comes up to his desk, handing him a big stack of paper, he reaches for the papers with both hands, letting go of yours in the process and leaving an opening for you to finally sprint out of class to hang out with your friend.

You thought River would follow you but when you look back, he's nowhere to be seen, making you let out a sigh of relief rather than defeat. Looking around, you find yourself at the end of a hallway connecting to a garden. You check your phone to see it's 3:10PM. Trav had promised to meet you here so the two of you could walk home together after he showed you something in the garden. But it seems like he's running a bit late considering it's been 10 minutes since the promised time. You were late too but considering he hasn't even arrived yet, you were quite early. You decide to give him a call. *ring* *ring*, but no answer. "Did his teacher hold him back?", you wonder as you stand there waiting for him to show up.

After a couple more minutes, you felt a pair of hands covering your eyes, covering your sight. "Trav?", you guess only to hear a very pouty, "Trav!?" Turning around, you were met face to face with River, "you thought I was Trav?", his expression turns gloom, disappointed and blue. Seeing this, you roll your eyes, he's probably pretending like he always is to get your sympathy, "I was expecting Trav to show up, he's running a bit late", you explain the situation with a tired look, "kindly fuck off", you smile with a hint of anger. It's been ages since you walked home with a friend, he should at least let you breathe once in a while. Just as you say that, he grabs your wrist, pulling you to the storage room, which is conveniently placed within that hallway, not letting you slip away.

He closes the door with one hand, the other still gripping your hand just as hard. "[Name], you have no idea what Trav will end up doing. You do know who you are, don't you?", he asks as if it's the mosy obvious question in the world. You squint your eyes in confusion, "what do you mean?", he opens his mouth to say something but stops to rub his forehead a bit, "have you not checked the system window?", this made you even more confused, what reason would you have to check it? You shake your head. He stays silent for a bit, his face looks as if he's finally put one and one together. A sigh is let out before he speaks, "so that's why you've been so idiotic and oblivious", you're clearly offended by this statement, no, this lie. "Excuse you."

"You've made me upset, [Name]", he pouts once more, "you know, I was actually starting to think you liked him", he says with another sigh, a sigh of relief this time, "who?", you ask, confused still, "Trav!", he says in a slightly louder voice, your hand free of his grasp by now. You couldn't help but laugh at his admittion, "so..Let me get this straight, you were being an annoying bastard just because you got jealous of Trav?", you couldn't stop laughing. The mere thought of a protagonist getting jealous of an unimportant role was just hilarious. This comment made him frown, his emotions are not to be taken lightly. He'll definitely show you.

[System]

—River's Quest—

Accept the punishment given

"The what quest?", you raise an eyebrow at the title. On the other hand, River had a knowing smirk plastered on his face, the frown long gone. "I guess the system's on my side huh?", you look up at him, no longer distracted by the window as it closes by itself as always. You stare at him with a 'on your side? Please' look. "[Name], get on your knees", you chuckle, "you think I'd just do that? That's ridiculous—", just as you say those words, your knees give out on you, making you get on your knees infront of River with your phone being dropped on the floor next to you. Infront of his crotch. "You're such a good boy", he smiles with his eyes closed, happy at your obedience, "what just...", "what just happened? My dear angel, have you forgotten I'm the protagonist?", his hand extends to grab a handful of your hair, bending down a bit to meet eye to eye. His eyes intimidating like a predator's. Like someone who already knows the outcome. He stares at your eyes. You feel as if he's staring into your soul, you're terrified of this feeling, of him, of what he's able to do.

"Let go..", you manage to mumble out despite your fear. He tilts his head a bit in satisfaction hearing your weak voice. "Alright then", he lets go of your hair, you look down, trying to calm down from the fear you just experienced when, zippp, you hear a zipping sound coming nor too far from your face. Looking up, you see River already taking his hard-on out. You're once again face to face with his girthy cock. "Angel..Suck it", his eyes full of lust, you could have sworn there were hearts in them. You instinctively reach out for his cock, wrapping your hands around it before letting your lips wrap around his tip, earning a very satisfied huff, "that's it...go down on my cock", he encourages you to shove his dick deeper in your mouth, down your throat. You slowly but surely take more and more of him in your mouth, trying your best to not accidentally choke in the process which grows increasingly hard after a few seconds, you forgot how long he actually is. You look up to see his hand hovering over his mouth incase he accidentally moans too loud. Even if classes have ended for the day, it doesn't mean there aren't students still lurking around. "You can do better than that", he says as you've taken about half of his cock in your mouth. You wanted to throw a snarky comment at him but with your mouth full, you couldn't utter a single word, so you opted to glare at him instead. "A glare won't stop me from doing this", he says as you feel him grab another handful of your hair and making you take all of him in your throat. You choke, whine, and even shed a few tears due to the unexpected choking sensation. You could hear River let out a loud moan. Just you were adjusting, you felt River's grip tighten as he pulls you back until your lips were only touching the tip before pushing you back down, "what a shame Trav isn't here to see you choking on my cock", he smirks before repeating the move over and over again for a few seconds.

"[Name]?", speak of the devil, Trav is finally here. He calls out your name in the hallway. You can hear him so close to you, hindered by a single brick wall. You hear your phone buzzing on the floor, "what a bother..", River sighs, grabbing your phone and turning on do not disturb mode, putting it in his pocket to ensure it stays that way. "He isn't even answering the phone", Trav sighs as his footsteps get closer and closer to the storage room. River only tells you to "keep sucking." Those words alone were enough to make you keep sucking his cock even without him face fucking you. The door to the storage room slowly opens, "oh, River, have you seen [Name]?", the confused man asks, thank God you and River are behind stacks of boxes, Trav is unable to see the way you're sucking River so good. "[Name]? I haven't seen him since class ended, why?", River answers calmly as Trav scratches his head, "really? I could have sworn I heard his phone buzzing around here", he thinks to himself for a moment while River tries to hold in his groans and moans. "What are you doing here anyways?", Trav asks, taking a step into the room which makes you panic a bit hearing his voice get closer. River chuckles at your panicked expression, he then grips your hair to make sure your head stays in place, with all of his length in your mouth, doen your throat. "Please refrain from stepping any closer, I'm tidying up and wouldn't want any dust coming off of you", he smiles softly, admittingly a fake smile, at Trav, causing him to back away. "Oh alright then, don't let me disturb you", he says as he finally walks away, closing the door on his way out.

River turns his attention to you, eyes filled with tears, mouth filled with his cock, you could even taste his precum. You feel a tug at your hair, signaling for you to continue. You try your best to satisfy him, licking and sucking his cock so good. When you look up at him, you see his bored expression, "how do you expect me to cum when you're sucking like that?", he asks, expecting more from you. In order to satisfy himself, he starts to face fuck you, thrusting into your mouth once more, harder and faster this time to chase his climax. You could feel tears rolling down your cheeks, why is he so rough. "Now this...agh..is how to please me", he says in-between moans and breaths. You had a hard time breathing but it'd all be over soon as you could hear River say he's about to cum. "Don't swallow it yet", is what he says before cumming in your mouth, pulling out to see his thick cum overflowing your mouth, spilling a bit on the floor, "open your mouth", he demands which you obey. "Good", your mouth filled with cum, not being able to swallow due to his orders. "You took me so well, you can swallow now", he has a mischievous look on his face, fantasizing about all the things he can and will do to you in this very storage room.

"I've really been holding this in, won't you do more for me? You've been neglecting me these past few days and giving your attention to that pesky man", he refuses to say his name at this very moment in order to not ruin his own mood. Truth be told, Trav got under his skin simply for being around you. "[Name], stand up", your body moves by itself, letting you stand up on both your legs whjch were previously weak beyond belief. With his rough hands, River bends you over on one of the boxes, fortunately, it's stable enough to withstand the force. "You're so pretty, it's no wonder he'd want you", he scans your features and your clothed body, "but you're mine", he proceeds to grab your clothes and rip it into two. You cover yourself with your hands, "what was that for!", he doesn't answer, he only trails his hands down your chest, groping and squeezing your nipples to try and get a reaction out of you, which it does. "Ah..!", you moan out a bit, the sensation painful yet you feel pleasure at the same time. "I'm glad you're still as sensitive as last time we fucked", he turns his attention to your pants which without any hesitation, he pulls down with your boxers along with it leaving you naked. "R-River! We're still in school, what if someone sees, the door can't be locked you know!", you try to salvage what was left of your shirt but River beats you to it and throws them on the ground where you can't reach the pieces. "That's precisely why I want to fuck and mess you up here, angel", he pauses and then continues, "if anyone were to walk in here, they'd know you're fully mine, nobody else's."

With that reminder, he lifts up one of your legs and places it over his shoulder, that way, you cant close your legs even if you wanted to, giving him an easy access to your hole. "We haven't done it in a while, will you even be able to take it all the way in?", his teasing reminds you of all the times the two of you did this sort of act in class without anyone noticing due to whatever magic the system performed. "Damnit, if you're going to fuck me, stop talking and do it already!", you cover your face due to how red it is by now.

River doesn't say a single word. Instead, he uses two fingers to stretch you out, taking you by surprise once more as you moan loudly. God you hope nobody's near this specific hallway, if there is someone, both you and River would be found out. "You like that don't you? To have something of mine in you, you love it. Just wait for my cock to be inside of you", he can't stop the dirty talk when it comes to you.

You can feel his fingers stretching you out, moving around. His fingers are long and knows how to turn you on even more than you already are. You let out a string of moans, the pleasure being unreal. Even after a few minutes, you still writhed in pleasure from his fingers alone.

Your hole suddenly felt weirdly empty, you look at him to see him retracting his fingers. You look on, knowing his cock was going to enter you soon. He guides your hands to wrap around his neck, he positions his cock to be at your entrance and grabs your waist, "I'm not going to go easy on you angel", you swore his pupils were hearts for a second, his lust filled eyes looked into yours. In just a second and without any sort of warning, he thrusts all the way into you, you let out a mixture of a moan and a scream, the pain and pleasure mixing together until you can't form thoughts, all you can do is spill out even more tears. "Hah...all in one go, you're amazing angel", his praises go unnoticed by you due to how your eyes are rolling back from pleasure. Your hands which were once around his neck, scratched his back a bit. Fortunately for River, it did not tear skin. "Be careful there, I'll be leaving campus with blood all over my back if you keep doing that", he joked. Even you knew that he wouldnt mind that kind of thing. Infact, he'd probably love your scratches on him, it's as if you're 'marking' him in some way.

Once you clamed down from the initial shock, he wasted no time and started to thurst in and out of you. Hitting your spots just right as you moan out of pleasure from your academic rival. "Moan out my name angel, I want to hear it", even though you're a mess at this moment, you manage to say his name, "Ri-Riv...ahh...River!", with your shaky voice saying his name, he lets out a very satisfied hum and continues to pound your little hole, abusing it all while you're too weak to do anything about it. You could feel yourself getting closer and closer to your climax. River certainly noticed this. In order to stop you from cumming so fast, he places his thumb over your cock head, you look at him, almost terrified at what he's doing. "You're not going to cum unless I let you, got it?", he's getting back at you for all those times you ditched him for Trav. "We're going to have a long, long day ahead of us."

˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

Seven.

River has been abusing your hole with his cock for seven rounds. The only reason you know is because River himself kept count. He made sure to count every single round. It doesn't seem like he'll stop either. Both your bodies sweating, dripping with sweat by now. The room became humid, it felt as if the whole world stopped for just the two of you. You lost track of time, your perception of time ruined by how rough River has been fucking you. A minute feels like an hour because of him not letting you rest for even a second. You thought you'd die from pleasure if that was even a possible cause of death. Too much sex? That's one way to die.

With this being the eigth round, colors began to mix together, you lost focus a few rounds ago, only being able to see River's face, feeling the rhythm of his cock going and out of you. "N-no...more...", you somehow manage to mumble out."One more time..Angel", he responds as he's panting heavily, hands still gripping your waist like steel. With one final deep thrust to your prostate, you shiver as your cock releases more cum on your stomach along with River's cum which spilled into your hole once more, you could see a pool of cum on the floor and boxes. "Atta boy..", was all you heard before passing out right then and there.

˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

When you did awake, you were in River's arms. You look at him and blink a couple of times, covering your mouth as you yawn a bit. "Huh..?", you stare at River's resting face. He looks so peaceful, unlike the River who basically teases the shit out of you for a living. Thinking of it alone made you pissed so you let go of the thought to savor this very moment. You reach out one hand to stroke his hair a few times, his soft fluffy brown hair felt like a cloud. He opened his eyes and smiled at you, "enjoying the view, [Name]?", there he goes going back to his teasing self. You instantly retract your hand, "no", you simply answered and closed your eyes once more. He wouldn't let you avoid him that easily though. "Heyyy look at mee", he pouts, trying to get you to open your eyes with a few soft nudges. You eventually caved in and the two of you met eye to eye. "Angel, you're gorgeous", he says out of the blue, "where did that even come from", you giggle a bit from the sudden compliment, "can't I compliment my boyfriend!?", "boyfriend? We're not even dating yet", you say that but you definitely saw the appeal in it. "Cmonn, admit it, you like me dontcha [Name]?", he has a cheeky smile, he knows he's hard to resist, almost impossible to resist to be very honest. "Is this your way of asking me to be your boyfriend?", "maybeeeee what do you say?", he gets up, using his palm to rest his head as he looks at you, "do you want to be?", you pretend to think about it, "hm, after you've fucked me over 10 times? I don't know..", you respond sarcastically before eventually laughing at your own words, "I assume that's a yes", he laughs too before tackling you and getting on top of you. He leans for a kiss but you suddenly remember something.

"River, why was Trav able to see you..? Plus why was the quest even named after you???", you ask, usually the love quests would make the both of you invisible to others, why was it different that time? And especially the sudden title change??"I'm the protagonist silly, I can do whatever I want with the system— oops, cat's out of the bag", he says nonchalantly, "you WHAT!?", you yell in shock, turns out the rumour is real afterall, "ah ah, don't go around telling people this, it wouldn't be as fun if everyone knew", he sighs a bit but you could tell it wasn't all that serious to him.

[System]

Welcome, [Name] [L. Name], after completing the quest, you have been registered as The Protagonist's other half

With the window basically in your face, you read it out loud and get shocked once more, causing you to get up and suddenly lose all feeling in your two legs. Fortunately for you, River caught you in time. "I fucked you real good huh?", he chuckles while you're in his arms basically processing information and the fact you'd probably not be able to go to classes for 3 days because of how rough River fucked you. "River you damn horny bastard!"

Needless to say, River had to carry you around for about 3 days. He doesn't regret it one bit as this showed everyone the two of you are a thing now. Eventually even Trav stayed away from you due to the glares River would throw his way everytime he got close. Whenever someone got close enough to ask what had happened, River would answer in the most brutally honest way he could.

"I fucked him too hard"

══════════════════════════════

And it's finally out yall the wait is over😘‼️ its currently 5AM and I'm posting this lmao

×For a bit of context, reader had always had the role of being River's love interest ever since he slept with River, he only never bothered to check the system roles, however, River and Trav do know that reader's their goal/possible love interest which is why theyre kinda all over reader. Trav is River's love rival which is why he hates it whenever Trav breathes, he wishes he would js drop dead.

[sunlitpearl]

You… are waiting for the train.

It's not a weird occurrence— You have to get to work somehow, after all. (Do you work? Well, of course you do. Why would you be here otherwise?)

The subway is packed at this hour. As the world wakes up and gets ready for the day, many a person needs to be somewhere else; their job, their school, their parent's house. They come into the subway in droves, pushing and pulling each way like a pack of sheep. To the side of the cacophony this comes with, muffled conversations and the of locomotives becoming ambient sounds, you sit on a bench towards the wall.

A kid approaches you. It catches your eye, because even in the mass of rushing people, he manages to make a bee-line for you. He has black hair, tousled messily one way or another on his head, and very big eyes. The light of the subway hits them in a way that you can't help but compare them to a galaxy. You've never been the poetic sort, but his eyes are as dark as void, and that's exactly why they reflect every thing he sets his eyes on with accurate detail. As if they're trying to soak in all aspects of life, so that he may use them later.

He looks like you, a little, though that's dumb because you don't have black hair or eyes, and you weren't that small when you were his age. (Or were you? You feel like you should look at yourself again.)

"You're the one that made this, right?" He says, turning his phone around to show you an image of what is unmistakably your art style. (But you blink, and it's not a drawing anymore— it's a piece of writing, the one you posted the other day on your personal blog. The one with three notes.)

Regardless, what he's showing you is yours. "Yeah."

"I really liked it." He smiles, and for a moment you are alone with him in a sea of people and all that matters is that this child you don't know is happy. "I didn't know other people liked this book. It's my favourite."

Oh, the book. The one your art-writing was about. "It's my favourite too."

Is it? It's a novel you read a few years ago, one that changed your life and impacted more than half of your daily thoughts. Even now, it sticks with you. But… No, no, you haven't even finished it yet. It's a novel you picked up because a friend recommended it to you- you're still trying to see where it goes, but you think you like it so far.

No, but, still. That doesn't sound right. What was the name of it, again?

"Really?" His eyes are sparkling in a way they weren't when he first approached you and you're, again, surprised by how dark they are. You smile.

A new train arrives. It's noisy.

He leans in a little closer so that you can hear him. "Oh, um. That's all I wanted to say. Just, thank you."

The kid turns his head around, searching the crowd until he finds what he needs. "I should… get going, I think. That one over there is mine."

And just like that, you wave him off as his small body disappears amongst the many passengers of the 8:10 train. As the doors close, you think you see him wave back.

Leaning your back against the wall, you let the murmurs of conversations that don't quite reach your ears lull your brain into quietness.

…Do you have a picture of yourself, in your blog?

[evilminji]

Back on my DpxNaruto ideas cause there's room for SHENANIGANS~!

You ever go on a BIT of a road trip? To a Really Good Restaurant you've heard exsists waaaaay that away? And it's far... but not Unreasonably Far(TM)? You could make it a day trip! Maybe check out the surrounding area! Buy some other stuff or see the sights.

You got a long weekend.

And you heard it's REAL good.

Imagine~! If you will! Broke ass, scruffy, Built Like His Father, Feral Like His Mother, "just here for the snacks, man" type College Student type Danny! A GIANT. Perpetually reeks of engineering oils and the unplace-able yet universally familiar scent of Ectoplasm. And? Probably whatever high-end self care products Sam's mom sends her, since Tucker can't use um.

He eats like a bottomless VOID because somehow he's STILL growing. Will be for centuries. Long after his HUMAN half stops? His ghost half is gonna keep going.

Sucks, man. :/

He hungy.

But he already SPENT his monthly budget on that part he desperately needed. And cheap ramen sucks after the fifth meal in a row. And it's not like he can go fishing or anything. So what to do???

Visit... lunch lady? Maybe? He considers?

He figures "Why Not?". Makes a portal and lazily floats towards the Box-Lady Lair. But? So deep in though is he? He doesn't look where he's GOING and *gentle bonk* oop! Oh man! He's so sorry!

Some giant dude in armor with a HUGE mane of hair. The guy just laughs good naturedly, says it's fine. And turns out? They're going the same way! He's part of Lunch Lady's Cooking Club. Oh, sweet! Danny's heard she started one of those...

But wait! If he's heading over? Is the club NOW?

No, no! He's assured. The guy also watchs Lunch Box for them. He's good with kids, comes with being part of a big clan.

They get talking. Danny fascinated. Ninjas, huh? Cool. And that's when? The guy drops, with no small amount of pride, the little tidbit.... that oh by the way~ no big DEAL~☆

But WE produced some of the BEST cooks in the ENTIRE known world.

:O

Okay now he HAS to try this food. This guy is waxing poetic about it. Descriptions that make him actively drool. Mentioning how this aunt ran THIS stall and that nephew was learning at THAT restaurant. And Danny just? W... Where did you say this was?

Hell yeah! Direction? Achieved!

Danny gonna get him some FANCY BBQ! \( ^ - ^ )/

Smash cut to him making a day of it. Finding the right area. Asking around. Trading some stuff from the Speeder to a dude for not only the location body but permission to take his wallet. Guy says he can have it in return for a travel chess set and a proper grave. Nice!

So he locks up the Speeder, squeezes past the weird "Summon Realms" bubbles, dodges the SUPER cranky Shinigami, aaaaand? We're in! BBQ here we come! It's takes like? Basically nothing to find the guy's body. He's supposed to burn it, put it in an urn, and deliver it to one of some Deer clan near the BBQ shop. Along with his stuff.

Hope they don't mind ice urns.

Just? Imagine A Void. Like Vanta Black. A hole in the world in the shape of where a man SHOULD be. Where ANYTHING should be. You can see through it, the color of simple existence fighting to make your eyes overlook What Is Not. Were it 2D, you know you would be able to see it clearly, but in the presence of a third dimension?

It's Not There.

You are LOOKING at it... and everything it is, is Empty. Void. A perfect Nothing.

Not hot or cold, neither light nor dark, just... Not There. With Chakra being present in all life. Air, the soil beneath you, all of it. This is? A perfect shadow upon the world. No suppressed Chakra, no hidden bloodline trick.

It's like the Patron Spirit(s) of the Ino-Shika-Cho decided to come and visit.

Or, more accurately, the SON of one such spirit decided to sneak off and visit. He has the height, the hunger, and the gregarious nature. The perfect shadow, the black hair, and the incredible intelligence. And those blue eyes? The ability to dive into bodies and take them over? (He wanted to see if he could do it WHILE his "new friend" was doing it to someone)

Most terrifying, though? APPARENTLY his mother? Was some Uzumaki Spirit. Red hair, purple eyes, his dad fell in love with her at first ass-kicking defeat. Terrifying women and Nara's, man. Good to know it even transcends biology. Even their GAURDIAN SPIRITS fall to it.

Now the question?

What sort is THIS one? And can they, POLITELY, make it leave?

@babbling-babull @lolottes @ailithnight @nerdpoe @hdgnj @hypewinter @mutable-manifestation @the-witchhunter

[hxnbi]

「 CURSED 」

synopsis: love is a beautiful thing, but so too can it bring indescribable pain

��� pairings: fushiguro megumi x gn reader

— disclaimers: profanity, angst, death, no comfort, gn reader

— word count: 2.9k

gojo version | masterlist

Megumi knew that his life was at risk each and every second he was out on the field. He knew what he was doing would potentially kill him one day. He was a jujutsu sorcerer. This was what he signed up for the moment he agreed to that idiot Gojo's offer.

But he didn't think that you would be involved as well…

"Huh?"

There was no way he heard correctly.

That's right, this must all just be one sick joke.

"...C-Cursed?" Megumi repeated.

No… he had to make sure. His ears were just fooling him, right? Right?

Ichiji nodded. "I-It appears so…"

Hah. Of course not. Life was never on his side. It may as well just be mocking him at that point.

Yuji, seeing Megumi's unusual silence, decided to chime in. "Is it the same one from Yasohachi Bridge? In that case, we can just go, find the source, and then do the same with the one from the bridge, right?"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," Ijichi interjected in his typical fragile tone of voice. "Unlike with your sister Tsumiki, we don't know what exactly Ms. [L/n] is cursed with…"

"Hah?" Megumi scrunched his eyes. "You're telling me that even the school doesn't have a single fucking clue about what happened?!"

"Fushiguro," Nobara reprimanded, her arms crossed over each other. "Calm down. We’re in a public place here"

"Tch… How exactly can I calm down when [Y/n] is at risk of dying?! Huh?! Has that thought crossed any of your minds!? You're telling me that I should just stay here and do nothing and wait for… for whatever fucking thing to take them away from me!?!"

Ijichi, Nobara, and Yuji all exchanged silent looks. They had never seen Megumi like this—not even during the exchange event—with that level of pure anger and rage.

When it came to you, nothing was "too much."

You were everything to him—his other half.

So, to have that other half practically ripped away from him… was unbearable. The void that would be left by your absence seemed almost insurmountable. That thought alone was enough to swallow him whole.

“F-Fushiguro,” Yuji scampered. "[Y/n] might be able to hear you.” 

Your hospital room wasn't far from where the four were discussing—or arguing, by that point.

"I don't fucking care. I'll do what I want—"

"Fushiguro," Nobara snapped, interrupting with more force, making even Megumi stumble backward. "You stay with them and protect them. That's… all we can do right now. For their sake," she said in a softer tone.

"....."

"Tch."

He walked away, bumping shoulders with the poor, confused Yuji.

"Fushiguro! Wai—"

"Itadori, let him be. He needs some time to himself to think," Nobara interjected, making Yuji stop in his tracks. "This kind of news can be hard for anybody to accept. What we can do for him right now is give him space."

Yuji solemnly nodded his head. "I hope he'll be okay…"

This time, Nobara was the one who agreed. "Yeah," allowing their gazes to rest on where Megumi had just stormed off.

Everything felt muted outside the hospital rooms in the dimly lit hallways. It was painfully silent, broken only by the faint murmur of distant voices and the soft shuffle of footsteps. Megumi angrily slammed his arm against the wall, almost certainly bruising his hand, but he didn't care. 

You were dying—you could be killed at any time, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. A sense of helplessness like never before, all too familiar. Why were people leaving him again, one by one?

…Does no one want him to be happy? 

Was he just doomed to live in a world of black?

What would it take until he was finally free from the shackles of faith? Was he just condemned to wander through life, forever haunted by the ghosts of loss?

Only when he inhaled a breath did Megumi's gaze finally fall on his arm, and the crimson stain blossomed on his sleeve. You wouldn't want to see him like this. So he wasn't going to allow you to, and instead, he pulled up his sleeve, concealing the evidence of his pain beneath the fabric.

He needed to see you again, to be by your side while he still had the chance...

With each step back towards your hospital room, his heart hammered in his chest. What if you were gone? What if it already took you? What if—

"Megumi?" you asked in your sweet tone, but it was weaker, much weaker, barely more than a whisper.

His breath caught in his throat.

Megumi's heart couldn't take this. It hurt. It pained him to see you like this, so frail and fragile, robbed of the life that once defined you. His heart clenched in anguish.

You weren't a jujutsu sorcerer. Hell, you didn't even have the ability to see what cursed spirits were. But you accepted every part of him—his flaws, quirks, and demons. But all that love you had for him would be for naught, and here you were, cursed with the exact type of curse, except no one had a clue what was the cause of it or who was the one who never did it. You weren't able to handle the curse as well as Tsumiki could.

Even still, you would put up with it "for him," as you would tell him, reminding him and yourself as well... 

"Megumi," you said, resting on your hospital bed, your voice hardly audible from all the machinery attached to you. It was disgusting—all this to supposedly "save you." A fever dream. 

"Can you come closer for a second? I want to see you."

But without hesitation, he answered your call without a second thought. You cupped his cheek, your eyes locking onto his.

"Look at you… You look horrible."

Indeed, he did look awful. He hadn't slept in days, nor did he get many chances to eat or drink. The toll of sleepless nights and neglected meals etched shadows beneath his eyes, starkly contrasting the rigid routine he would follow before your curse. Each passing day seemed to weigh heavier on him, dragging him further into the dark, empty chasm of exhaustion and despair.

You gripped at your covers, feeling the weight of your words, and Megumi's anguish settled heavily on you. "I know that I'm not going to live…"

"Don't say that!" Megumi interrupted, his voice fraught with emotion as he sank back, his eyes reflecting that of desperation and fear. "I'm sorry… I don't like it when you say shit like that."

"Fushiguro Megumi," you whispered, reaching out a hand towards him and feeling a deep ache right in your chest.

All this was so unlike the stern, aloof, almost borderline arrogant boy you have grown to love. So seeing that facade shatter, all because of you… felt awful.

He avoided your gaze, his fingers tracing invisible patterns on the hospital bedsheet. "I can't lose you, too," he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.

There was then silence, interrupted only by the noises of the medical equipment on your bedsheet.

You mustered up all the strength you had left, and with a smile, "I'm still here, Gumi," you said softly, your voice barely audible over the beeping monitors. "And I'm not giving up without a fight."

Megumi finally met your gaze. "I know," he whispered hoarsely. "But… I can't lose you. I won't…"

"....."

You squeezed his hand, a silent promise passing between you.

"You… should go home."

"But—!"

"I'll be fine, 'gumi. Don't worry about me."

"..."

He could never find it in himself to argue with you. So he did what you asked and walked home by himself in the dark.

Alone in your shared home, the emptiness in the walls, the decor, and all the photos of you and Megumi reminded him every day of the future—and once you did pass, so too would the void also be stretched—left in your forever absence.

He dreaded every bit of this moment—every aspect of this fact. Because every moment that you weren't here confirmed an even bigger reality. That, someday, this will be the new norm. 

His home… not, your home, never felt so lonely. 

Only when he was watching you would he actually put something in his mouth after you told him off and heard the silent insistence of your gaze.

"You have to eat something," you scolded before coughing once again, the pain lingering without a moment of respite. 

'Hah…'

Even in your own sorry state, you were worrying about someone else… 

Megumi knew what he was doing was unhealthy, borderline self-destructive even, but that was of little concern when you were slowly losing your own life.

And you saw that. You saw that he was neglecting himself, and you would scold him for it. 

"I'll be okay, Megumi. You know that."

'No…' he thought. 'I don't.'

You always said that. 

Days passed, and all Megumi wanted to do was stay with you. Nobara, Yuji, and Gojo even visited you more times than once, and you all ate hotpot together. Yuji even brought a plate of his famous meatball recipe that you asked him to make "before you die," which made Megumi crook a smile the best he could. 

It terrified him that you would even joke about a topic like that, but it was your own way of coping—he knew just from the fragile facade you would put up.

These small things kept both you and Megumi's minds off things.

…And perhaps a little too much.

"Gumi… I can get it myself."

You tried standing up, only for your legs to give and collapse right into Megumi's arms, which he held out in case such a scenario happened.

"Please… [Y/n], I'll get it for you. Please just rest."

It wasn't just Megumi anymore, but you had gotten much weaker, both physically and mentally.

The toll of your curse had left its mark, etching lines of exhaustion and pain upon your once vibrant pupils. Your once lively spirit now seemed dimmed, overshadowed by the weight of whatever was breaking you apart, one day at a time…

You found yourself unable to walk or to properly eat. It was almost like you were beseeching for all this pain to end. And it hurt him more than you could ever think—that his selfishness to keep you alive and just hold on was keeping you in despair.

Together in the hospital room, Megumi was brewing the tea you always drank alongside the so-called medications the hospital would provide.

That is, until Megumi eyed something on the countertop. A glass bottle collected dust with all the other useless medications that the hospital provided. 'What was that?' He didn't remember that bottle being there the last time he came—

No.

"...[Y/n]?"

Nothing.

"[Y/n]?" he tried again. And once again, no response.

'No…'

Turning around, he confronted the harsh reality of the circumstances. The air seemed to thicken around him as he dropped the plate to the ground, the clatter of ceramic shattering the oppressive silence. He dropped the plate to the ground. 

It couldn't have been today, right? He immediately rushed to your bedside, your eyes now closed shut. His trembling hand sought out your pulse, but it came as nothing but a futile attempt to deny the truth. 

'"No…"

The word escaped his lips in a whispered plea.

This couldn't be real… But it was. This was it. Today was the day.

But why was he so shocked? Didn't he prepare for this moment? He had known this day would come and had braced himself for the inevitable farewell, and yet… even he was unprepared for the magnitude of his grief.

Several hospital personnel burst into the room, only to be met with a sea of red, their faces contorted in horror.

It was a sight akin to a scene in a tragic drama, but this was no drama, nor was it a fantasy. This was no scripted fantasy—it was a stark, harrowing reality.

The sight of your lifeless corpse lay before them.

There was only the raw, unfiltered agony of loss, embodied in the form of your lifeless body cradled in Megumi's trembling arms, his cries echoing through the sterile walls of the hospital room. Megumi held you deathly close to his chest and his arms. 

He didn't want to admit it, but he was horrified. That if he let go, that final fire of warmth in your body would disappear forever.

"S-Sir," one hospital personnel tried reaching his arm. "They're—"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

This was where you belonged. Yes. Right in his arms. With your head on his lap and his hand over your cold hand. You already looked to be deathly and inhumanly cold.

Despite everything happening around him, Megumi's focus remained solely on you, his grip tightening on your hand as if trying to defy the inevitable.

The hospital personnel persisted in their attempts to pry you away, but Megumi's resistance only grew stronger, his voice echoing through the sterile walls of the hospital room for them to leave.

Blaring lights and noises came from all directions, but Megumi couldn't hear them anymore nor see the person he cherished and loved with all his heart in front of him. Several figures were all crowded around, ripping him away from your corpse.

"Sir, please!" the staff tried again, this time with more force. "You need to calm down…"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

His voice broke. "How can I calm down?! You’re taking them away from me! They're…" He choked back a sob, hiding away how he really felt—pure desperation. 

His arms ever so tightened on you as the hospital staff all exchanged looks; the question of whether they should intervene or give him a moment of privacy lingered in the air.

Because you were everything to him…

"We understand, sir, but we need to first—”

Megumi's protests grow louder, bordering on hysteria. "You don't fucking understand! How can you possibly understand?! She's…" Again, his voice broke. His mind raced, overwhelmed with grief and disbelief.

But how could he calm down when the very essence of his world was being torn away from him? How could anyone expect him to just stand there when the love of his life was lying there, cold and lifeless? How could he remain composed when his heart was shattering into a million irreparable pieces? How could he ever even begin to forgive himself if he were to just stand here and watch them take you away?!

But that was the inevitable, and it was all happening in front of his very eyes. 

Megumi's heart sank as he saw you being pulled away from him by the hospital employees. His hands clenched into fists.

His words broke up, and all he could say were stuttering sounds. Hot tears streamed down his face, and he squeezed his eyelids shut in the hope his tears would stop. His choppy breathing and watery eyes remained unmoving for quite some time, and he stood there.

He had time. All the time in the world to take it in…

At that moment, a flurry of footsteps came from outside, in the hallways. Yuji, Nobara, and Nitta rushed in. 

"Fushiguro! We heard what happened! Is it true that—"

Yuji didn't finish that sentence. Oh. 

Their voices trailed off as they noticed Megumi with no expression, his gaze fixed ahead as he walked out of the hospital room.

“...Fushiguro?”

Nothing.

With his usual stoic facade, the boy continued to walk out of the hospital room without a word, leaving his friends bewildered.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Yuji called out, his voice tinged with urgency.

"Away from here," Megumi responded curtly, his tone brooking no argument.

Only then did either of them truly get a look at Megumi's face. He looked close to tears, if not already.

Yuji physically stepped back. “...U-Uh.”

"....." Silence fell over the room as they watched him leave, his figure disappearing into the bustling hospital corridor.

But the second he was alone, without a soul in sight, he broke down. Every ounce of pent-up emotion surged forth, manifesting in sobs that wracked his body uncontrollably. 

Once that first tear broke free, the rest followed in an unbroken stream. Megumi bent forward as he stood against the hospital walls. Pressing his fist against the solid white wall, he began to tense. Just the pure and utter weight of everything—the loss, the emptiness, that final look in your eyes—all of it crashed down on him like a relentless tidal wave, leaving him shattered and raw, like a corpse with no spirit.

He couldn't cry again. You would never like that…

Whether he liked it or not, time would continue its march forward. It didn't stop—it never could—nor could it go back into the past—as much as Megumi wished it could...

Time after time, the people he loved would disappear. Always.

His parents, Tsumiki being cursed, and now, you. His one and eternal love. And no one could ever replace you—and definitely not that hole now in his heart, left by the loss of you.

Megumi clenched his fists tightly, the pressure enough to draw blood.

"I'm sorry."

But all the apologies in the world could do jackshit. It would never bring you back.

Megumi would never know what kind of being snuffed out your life…. It could've been a cursed spirit whose identity was never found by Jujutsu Tech.

And that angered him to no end. To be so useless, to never find out what creature poisoned and took away the only thing he ever wanted and needed in his life.

He had you, but there was no longer a spark, no sign of that vibrant life you once possessed.

For you were long gone—your body beyond cold.

©hxnbi. please do not modify, edit, copy or reproduce any of my works.

[1eonsk]

I don’t have a cool title for this, but I listened to this playlist on spotify while writing this! I’m also not usually a bottom Leon stan but it just felt right. I’m not confident in my smut writing so fr give me feedback pls. Enjoy!!

(if we want more parts lmk)

((sorry for any typos i wrote this at work))

Leon x Reader x Ada btw

“Am I gonna have to catch you here again yln?” Leon says, annoyance on his boyish face.

Officer Leon Kennedy has been in the force for about six months, you and an ally being his case for about four of those months. He always seemed to be right on your toes. Finding you in robberies, car jacking, unregistered firearms, you name it, he’s caught you.

And somehow, someway, you always found your way out. Leon can never find out why, the sheriff started to get on his ass for just how many times you haven’t been charged. The saw it to be fishy, interrogating Leon more times than you’ve been in cuffs.

You sit in the interrogation room, hair pulled back blowing your baby hairs out of your face. A small smirk on your face, Leon sighs. You know damn well Ada should be here by now, although seeing the blue-eyed police officer was the highlight of your day. His stare meets you head on, face void of emotion, minus a slight pink hue on his cheeks.

“I dunno Mr. Kennedy, don’t you have fun with our little chases? Cat and mouse play is not what I thought you were into.”

His pink cheeks become warmer, a small giggle leaving your lips as he scoffs, “Keep it clean yn.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Ada’s voice rings through the intercom. Your smile turns into a grin, while Leon’s face pales. He quickly turns to see the door opening.

Ada’s black body-con dress hugs her curves, her face softening making eye contact with you. Leon stands quickly, pulling his gun out and aiming directly at Ada. She smiles, placing her hands up in a surrendering motion.

“There’s no need Kennedy, we’ll just be on our way out.”

“Like hell you will!” He says, face hard.

“Oh c’mon Kennedy!” You whine, pouting. “Just let me go this once? I’ll be a good girl from here on out! I swear it!”

Leon’s face darkens with pink yet again, this guy can never catch a break from your flirting can he? Your smile turns into a smirk when he shakes his head, pointing his gun at you next.

“yn, this is the last time you’ll see her outside of prison bars. You’ve done way worse things than robbing a bank, and yet, thats why you’ll finally be put away. For good.”

Suddenly, Ada lunges at Leon. As they fight over the gun you easily make your way out of the cuffs. The bobby-pin in your pocket becoming a normal occurrence. Leon is pinned face down on the table, Ada close to his face. Your stomach warms, seeing him pinned down like this feels way more criminal than anything you’ve ever done.

“Don’t worry Leon, I’ll keep our baby out of trouble. Be a good boy and give us a head start at least, yeah?” Her voice low, making your stomach churn with lust.

“You go first babe!” You say happily, moving to hold Leon down. You press a kiss on Ada’s lips, making sure Leon sees.

His eyes burn with desire, whether or not he says it out loud it’s not hard for everyone to see. He attempts to wiggle out of your grasp.

“See you at home, behave this time. No more stolen cars.” She pushes hair out of your face.

“But-”

“No. Stolen. Cars.” Her voice is firm, eyebrow raised. You nod, pouting.

As she sways out of the room, Leon begins to struggle harder. He grunts as you push down harder. You lean close to his ear, hearing the subtle change in his breathing. Your stomach churns again. Desire fills your every thought.

“Please be good, I swear I can make it worth your while.” Leon stiffens, hitting his forehead against the table.

“My job is to catch criminals, not make deals with them.” He says through gritted teeth.

You smile softly, moving your forehead to rest against his shoulder. He stiffens more (if possible at this point.) Your hand grips his wrists harder, letting out a loud sigh.

“If you would give us one night, all of this could go away.”

You let go quickly, sprinting out of the door. Moving quickly out the door Ada left open, you hear Leon shouting something. He’s too close.

You make it out on the street, navigating quickly and smoothly through the traffic and people walking. You hear Leon shout your name, turning to face him.

His face is overcome with a glare, bright red cheeks. Your smile turning into a grin, pulling your hair down from your pony tail you bow dramatically and begin sprinting. You move through a familiar alley, hearing Leon close by. You hide in a doorway, waiting for his footsteps.

“Shit! What the fuck!” He shouts, covering his face with his hands. He reaches for his radio, but isn’t able to send out his message before you dive at him. Tackling him to the ground.

“Gotcha!” You move to pin his hands behind his back again, sitting on his back.

“See! Isn’t this fun?” You say cheerfully. His grunts become louder, more frustrated. “I’m sorry, for what I’m about to do. This is the only way I can get you to cooperate with me.”

You knock him out, his grunts and curses end abruptly. Ada appears from seemingly no where. Her face grim, she leans down and pushes hair out of Leon’s face. Staring you down with an angry look.

“What? This really is the only way we could do this and you know that.” You frown, she presses a kiss to your forehead.

“Let’s move quickly then yn, get him into the car.” She stands as you move to lift him. “Maybe this time, he’ll listen.

Leon wakes to an unfamiliar room. His hands are cuffed to the bed frame, mouth gagged with a cloth. You sit at the edge of the bed, staring off with tears in your eyes. He grunts as he tries to pull his hands away from the bed frame. Your head snaps to him, tears falling from your eyes. You move quickly to the side of the bed, petting his hair and removing the cloth.

“I’m sorry, please don’t be upset. You wouldn’t listen to us, please just give me a moment.”

He looks down at his chest and his heart drops at the sight of no clothing, just his underwear. He whips his head to you, growling.

“What did you do-?”

“No-no-no! Wait, we didn’t touch you! We don’t have air conditioning and it’s hot so- I took them off- you were sweating a lot!” You say, panicked.

“What am I doing here? Who the fuck is we?” He says, anger on his face. He’s breathing fast, Leon looks around attempting to gather his surroundings.

“It’s just us Leon.” Ada says. You stare at her with more tears falling out of your eyes. “She just thought it would be better for you, after I specifically told her it was a bad idea-”

“I just thought.. it-” you say, more tears welling in your eyes.

“Getting me naked was not the move yn.” Leon says. He doesn’t know why, but he feels inclined to cheer you up. He meets your eyes, his gaze dropping to your lips for a moment before looking into your eyes again. He hates that you’ve engrained a soft spot in his heart, although he’s never going to admit to that. You sniffle, moving to sit in front of Ada, your body facing Leon.

“It’s okay sweetheart,” Ada says, petting your hair. Her fingernails scratch softly at your scalp, you shiver.“Talk to him, this is what he’s here for.”

Leon watches closely and she drags a finger nail down your cheek, to your neck, then to your chest finally meeting your-

“Officer Kennedy,” You say, interrupting his thoughts he definitely shouldn’t be having. “I want you, we both do.”

Silence fills the air, he tilts his head in confusion.

“Uh-Okay? So why am I tied up? I still don’t get why I’m even here. What’s going on?”

Ada’s hand stops groping your breast, you both freeze. A good minute of silence later she snorts pulling her hands to her face. You blink rapidly, shaking your head. No, no way. He has to get it right? Is he fucking with the two of you?

“Kennedy, babe,” Ada speaks, her smile apparent in her voice. “She wants you to join us.”

“I’ll never become a criminal. Especially not at this rate.” He says without missing a beat.

Ada snorts again, your mouth drops open. Leon’s cheeks become a bright red. His head tilting again, still confused. You turn around to Ada, a question in your expression. Leon takes the both of you in as you talk quietly.

You have nothing but a tank top and underwear on, Ada is still fully covered in her dress from earlier. The soft candlelight makes it hard to see the two of you very well, but he can spot makeup on the both of you. There’s faux fur on the cuffs, and a vibrator on the bed-

“Oh.” Leon says suddenly, his face darkening with even more color.

You and Ada turn quickly to face him, a blush on your cheeks as well. Leon looks embarrassed, he feels stupid. His head drops and he sighs. When he regains his composer, he meets your eyes, rolling his in annoyance.

“All you had to do was quit fucking up my city’s crime rate and ask yn.”

Your face morphs to shock, even darker can be seen even in the subtle lighting. His eyes drift to your legs, you shift uncomfortably. Ada places a hand on your shoulder and you stop. His eyes meet Ada’s gaze.

“Are you in charge Ada?” He says, his voice an octave lower. Your stomach churns.

She places her hands on your shoulders. Pushing the thin straps down, slowly. Her hands are soft, she smells like vanilla. You whine when she removes her hands just shy of touching your breasts. She kneels next to your ear and whispers something Leon can’t hear. You begin to crawl towards him, settling on his lap. His breath hitches as you lean forward, pressing your lips to his softly.

This kiss feels too intimate, soft and unsure. He pushes forward, his hands grip the cuffs. You can feel him hardening beneath you. You press harder, and the kiss quickly becomes hungry. You pull back, placing your hands on his chest to keep him still.

“If I take off the cuffs, you won’t run?” You say, your face serious. You still sound unsure, still torn up by having to know the poor kid out to get him here.

He’s taken aback by the question, his hard on should’ve been enough proof he wouldn’t. He looks deep into your eyes. Not able to sense any sort of malice.

I guess they both really do just wanna do this.

He nods, eyes on yours. He shifts, a small noise leaving his lips. You smile happily, going to remove the cuffs. He sees Ada moving quickly behind you. Her hand covers yours, staring directly in Leon’s eyes.

“Not yet, keep going.” She says, her voice firm. Your head whips to her, a pout on your lips. She stares into your eyes, shaking her head. You frown harder and remove your hands.

You both lean towards him, your lips on his while Ada begins to suck on his neck. He lets out a breath. Leon gasps when you push your tongue into his mouth, at the same time Ada uses her teeth on his neck.

Your hands move to his underwear, running a finger down his member. He shivers and you pull away. Moving quickly to remove your shirt, his underwear quickly following. You sit on his thighs, using your hand to stroke him slowly.

“Is this okay Officer?” You say, looking at him through your eyelashes.

He moans softly, nodding quickly and bucking his hips. Just how wrong is this?

He pulls at the handcuffs again. Ada stops covering his neck with hickeys, and moves to slowly remove the cuffs. Leon pulls her into a heated kiss, you moan around his cock and Ada pulls away. Leon whines but moves to grope your breasts, another moan leaving the both of you. Ada hums, moving to sit with Leon between her legs. Her dress is hiked up past her thighs, Leon shivers at her warmth.

“Isn’t she gorgeous?” She says into his ear, a whine leaving your lips. Leon nods quickly. She pulls his hands away, the both of them watching you move quickly around him.

You move faster around his cock, Leon whimpers loudly. As you take him, Ada smiles kissing his neck again, she moves to push his hand into your hair. He grips hard, you move quickly up and down his cock, your head bobbing and tongue moving like clock-work.

“That’s my girl yn, just like that.” She says, both you and Leon whining.

“We practiced this,” she says, her voice level. “We used our toys and all she talked about was how much she wanted you. We loved teasing you Kennedy, it made her so wet.”

Leon gasps loudly, throwing his head back. He moans, before attempting to push you off. Your head rises with a pop.

“Please- I want- can I-”

“You wanna fuck her Kennedy?” Ada interrupts, her nails lightly scratching his stomach. He nods quickly.

“Yes- please? I’ll be so good please!” He begs, he almost sounds like he could cry. You’re breathing quickly, shifting your legs. Leon feels Ada nodding at you, and he moves to push you under him.

“C’mon baby, give him what he wants, you’re both being so good for me.”

You lay down, your head on Ada’s thighs. She runs her fingers through your hair. Leon kneels at your cunt, positioning his cock at your hole. You whine, feeling him press forward.

“I’ll go slow.” He says, eyes staring at himself entering you.

“No, she can take it. The whole thing, now.” Ada says, her voice commanding.

You whine as he presses all of himself into you. You moan and the same time, Leon’s infinitely louder. He’s breathing fast, head bowed, eyes closes. He looks at Ada before thrusting carefully, before speeding up.

“There you go,” She says, “Take him, you’re doing so good. My pretty babies.”

Your gasps, Leon’s moans, the slapping of skin fills the room. It’s music to Ada’s ears, motions for Leon to slow down. As you being to whine she removes herself to sit in the corner of the bed, vibrator in hand. She removes her clothing, you and Leon both watch her intently. His thrusts remain slow, the both of you still breathing erratically.

She places a hand on her breast, toying at her nipple. You whine, looking at her desperately. She nods at you letting out a breath. You follow her movement, moaning at your own hand on your nipple. The vibrator buzzes to life, and she places it on her clit. She nods, not looking away from Leon’s cock in your cunt.

His thrusts grow aggressive quickly, your head falling back on the bed. Ada moans, the buzzing making your whole clench. Leon gasps, his thrusts growing erratic.

“So fucking wet.” He says, voice sounding so whiny. So good.

“So good Leon.” You say, looking into his eyes. “Making me feel so good.”

You pull at your nipple harder, wrapping your legs around Leon’s waist. He moves even faster, crying out when you rub at your clit.

“‘M- I’m gonna-” His voice breaks into a whine, leaning forward to take your other nipple into his mouth. You moan loudly, your other hand moving faster, rubbing at your clit.

“Cum for me, both of you.” Ada says, sounding desperate herself.

“C’mon Leon, fill me up. I want it. Please? I’ve been so good.”

The thrusts grow sloppy, his hands gripping your waist hard enough to bruise. Leon finishes first, shooting himself into your hole. As you feel yourself being filled, you clench around his cock. Ada is the last to finish, moaning loudly, her legs twitching and her head falling back.

Ada is the first to move, cleaning the cum from your cunt. A soft smile on her lips as Leon falls next to you, pulling you into his arms. Ada lays on your other side, wrapping her arms around your waist. She kisses your shoulder, all three of your legs tangled in blankets.

Leon voice breaks the silence, “So… Does this mean you two will stop doing illegal shit?”

“I’ll think about it.” You say, giggling when he groans.

[alpydk]

🌿 🌸

Good morning anon. Thanks for the ask, talking about fics I love! I did a huge post the other day so quickly going to add them in here as well. - Recommend only one hahahahahaahahahahahaahaha.

🌿Rec someone else’s BG3 fic and tell us what you like about it!

The 5 from the other day (Find the post here to see why)

Alchemy 410 Broken Horizons Weave me the Sunshine Professor Dekarios Twin Compasses

And now some more that I didn't link Weave and Woods - @weaveandwood - Honestly I just love the pairing. Auroria is such a good character who I genuinly see ending up with Gale. And it's not been all that eay relationship where they fall in love and are happy. They have their challanges. I most of all love seeing her learn new spells because that doesn't really happen in fics and its great to see. (Especially how proud she is with it.) "The second, third, fifth, ninth tries were similar. On the tenth try, she thought she saw a few sparks of electricity surrounding the arrow, sending a surge of pride through her. She was close, she could feel it. " - Come on Ori, you can do it!

---

Strange Highways - I have been on about this fic since chapter one. No fic has caught be like this. It's like it calls to my chaotic nature and I will keep screaming it into the Tumblr void like some insane looney fan. Just me alone with my billboard - READ THIS FIC. It's Cazador in a rock group in the 80's. It's funny, has amazing music referances but most of all it's just so fucking good to read.

The words spoke to his soul, into the very depths of it. He felt them with every cell of his body. This was not like the weak melodies bards played back in Faerûn. This music had authority. It had power.

Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings

Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams

Blinded by me, you can't see a thing

Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream

It was perfect. He imagined saying the words, making them his own. This was a supreme incantation, it had to be. This one would make people obey. Just Fuck Yeah!

--- Paperback Writer - (Short 600 words) - Haarlep edits Raphael's novel. It's fucking funny and I love it. Simple as. "Quivering, the hero took my hand I’m pretty sure Tav told you not to touch them, and it made you pout for a week."

And now the non Bg3 ones... because oops...

RE: Umbrella Asylum (Resident Evil) - @judasiskariot - It's got that lab, depressing, in your head build up mood. You know the one, everything is clinical but there is evil shit going on. The descriptions are fucking beautiful and I love it. "Icy blue eyes that were at least as cold as the black lenses of the glasses." - Just that about Wesker. I still think of it even now. ---- La Petite Mort - One of the most beautifully written crackfics I've ever read. Barbie/Dracula. - Just try it and love it. He should have gotten rid of her by now. Made a meal out of her, at least, even if only the once: her blood will surely be sweet, so sweet, heady and deep and dark when he drinks from her.

But he keeps finding excuses.

Not yet. If I'm honest my reading of fics has been limited recently. I have a few too many that just seem to have been abandoned and I'm becoming hesitant to start up reading newer chapter fics. I'm also a little put off when I see things at chapter 54 and then find its over 200k worth of words to catch up on. Yeah, I need to have people recommend fics to me so if people want to send me asks with their recs go ahead.

🌸Rec one of your fics and tell us what you like about it! Only one.... But I'm so good. (They say, going through the 40 fics knowing they really could be better.) I'm my own worst critic. Fuck it, you get more than one. This is my answer!

Cabinet of Oddities - It's Nana's story. What started all this chaos. It is love and adventure and mental illness and healing all rolled into one big Galemancer sized ball. 56k words of just me. I may also be writing the sequel/prequel right now... “A kiss does not necessarily have to mean love though, just as a hug certainly does not. Is that what you were expecting to feel?” He looked into her eyes. He had always been that of the hopeless romantic. As much as he wanted to believe his own words, he knew he was not the type to kiss without love, or at least potential love.

She gazed back at him. “I’m not sure. I wasn’t expecting to feel fear though.”

“And, do you fear me?” He hoped that she would say no. That maybe this feeling could blossom, that all their unspoken feelings could be revealed and yet he was also nervous of her answer. That if she said no, it would be something else holding him to this mortal coil, someone else who would eventually realise he was not good enough.  Just look how fucking good that is. (I'm not allowed to be down on myself so the other end of the spectrum it is)

--- Tattered Souls - RuganxGale (Also writing the sequel right now) - This is my ZhentWeave baby. This is all for me. I love it and that's all that matters. Honestly writing something like has been extremely liberating and I recommend everyone write something like this at some point. “Just get out of here...” Rugan’s voice was weak, his gravely tones quiet, and he tried to lift himself from the ground.

Gale spoke calmly, keeping his eyes on the mercenaries in front of him. “Not without you.” He could unleash the lightning bolt and possibly fire a magic missile before being hit if he moved quick enough.

“This isn’t your fight.” A hacking cough brought up small amounts of blood, which were spat onto the ground. “Just leave.”

An arrow flew from a trigger-happy archer whistling past Gale’s ear and he almost unleashed the lightning bolt in reaction, stopping only as he saw Rugan stand before him in defence of the female Zhentarim.

“Gale, not your fight...” Love me some cliches and tropes. Love them.

--- Okay, last rec. Not that anyone will read all of this, anyway. You're all looking for your own fics after all (I do that then get quietly depressed when my name isn't on the list... But we all do that, right? Right???)

Where is that child now, I wonder? - Gale past short (500 words). I keep thinking of this one a lot recently. Of young Gale and his relationship with his father. This is probably more a head cannon than an actual fic but it's stuck with me. - I recommend a read if you're looking for ideas. "No! I won't let my son read poetry and become like a delicate flowered prick of an elf. Weak, pathetic! No, he will do as I say and do it when I tell him to!" 

Again, thanks for the ask. I do love talking about recommendations and I have a number of Chase whump fics on the bookmarks list, as well as a few quick one shots I've enjoyed. Would love recs from others as said - The more angst the better. :)

[justrandomfanfictionskh]

Dp x Gravity Falls One Shot

(Ford has travelled across multiple dimensions. He has met many beings of various origins and powers. What happens when one of them decides to visit?) ao3

It was just a normal day at the Mystery Shack, where everything was sure to go horribly wrong. The sun was shining. The birds were chirping. Waddles was eating the carpet. Stan was committing tax fraud. Mabel was pouring glitter on her eggs. Dipper was mindlessly shoveling food into his mouth while reading. And Ford was breaking something in the secret basement. All was right in the world, as the family blissfully ignored the looming threat of Bill for the thirty minutes it would take them to eat, trash the kitchen, and start an argument between one of the two pairs of twins. Of course their unique form of domesticity had to be interrupted by a swirling green portal of doom suddenly appearing about the kitchen table, causing frost and wind to send the entire kitchen into chaos. 

"It's Bill!" Dipper shouted. "Gruncle Ford! Bill is attacking!"

"Just try it you yellow floating freak!" Stan yelled as he pulled out a gun from behind the fridge, "Soos protect the merchandise!"

"Yes sir!" Soos shouted as he ran to the gift shop.

"Not today Satan!" Mabel shouted whipping out her crossbow, "Waddles get behind me!"

The pig looked up from the carpet and then returned to his meal. Maniacal laughter poured from the black and green void, as the Pines readied them selves for battle. Ford burst through the door shouting, "Bill! Where? I thought...Oh no!"

"Gruncle Ford! What do we do?! We're not ready!" Dipper cried. 

"Oh Dipper," Ford said somberly, "I'm afraid, that this was caused by something far worse than Bill."

"What?!" the three other Pines screamed. 

"Yes! Something far, far worse. I didn't think he'd ever be able to find me! Not in this dimension! I was a fool! I should have known, that he'd never just leave me alone!"

"Who Gruncle Ford? Who?" Mable pleaded, as the wind picked up and the laughter grew.

"My greatest tormentor! The Ruler of the Infinite Realms! The Ghost King!...Danny Phantom!"

A great flash of light blinded everyone in the kitchen, and there was silence. Slowly, the Pines' recovered their vision, and blinked at their new enemy. It was...a boy. A young down no older than sixteen, or fifteen floating lazily above the table without a care in the world. He was clearly not human with his misty white hair and glowing green eyes, so none of them lowered their weapons. And yet...he seemed so young. His bright smile showed too sharp teeth, but it was full of laughter as he surveyed the kitchen. And in his back and white jumpsuit with the stylized D emblem, he almost looked like a super hero. But what confused the family the most was when, upon seeing Ford, the glowing ghost teen threw up his arms and cried,

"Fordy! How you doin' old buddy old pal! I haven't seen you in ages! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be running from a chaos demon or two?"

"Phantom," Ford said gruffly, as the ghost kid circled his head at a dizzying pace, "Good to see you again. Shouldn't you be running an interdimensional kingdom of infinite proportions?"

If this "Danny" heard the growing aggravation in Ford's voice, he obviously didn't care as he slowed lounge in the air in front of the disgruntled scientist and casually said, "Yeah, well I'm taking a break! Fright Knight can handle things while I'm gone, besides I wanted to catch up on all my old friends. See how their doing! Make sure their not all dead, and such! By the way why are there two of you? Haaaaahh! Did some one clone you against you're well, cause buddy I've been there!"

Stan and the twins exchanged confused looks and then turned to Ford as they all slowly lowered their weapons. Finally Ford sighed and said, "No, Phantom, I was not cloned. This is my twin brother, Stanley. You can call him Stan. And these are my great niece and nephew, Dipper and Mabel. Stan, Dipper, Mabel, this is Danny Phantom. He's...a...friend." 

It was clear that the word was dragged from Ford's lips as if they'd been pulling teeth. But that didn't stop his family from gasping in shock and wonder, at the absolute miracle before them. Ford had a friend, who...wasn't evil! It was incredible! It took a moment for the rest of the family to comprehend the news before Mabel began to squeal like a tea kettle coming to boil. A sound which was quickly followed by her jumping and shouting,

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Hi! I'm Mabel! It rhymes with table! And you are sooo cool! Are you really a ghost? Are you going to kill us? Can we hang out? Do you have a girl friend? I can't believe Gruncle Ford has a friend! Oh my gosh!" 

Danny grinned at the sparkily girl before floating down to he eye level saying, "Hi Mabel, rhymes with table. Yes, I am cool! Yes, I'm a ghost. No I'm not going to kill you. Of course we can hang out! But I do have a girl friend, her name is Sam, and she's the best! And of course I'm Fordy's friend! What else would I be? His enemy?" Phantom let out a roaring laugh at that last comment, but the rest of the family only chuckled nervously as Ford mumbled in annoyance. 

Dipper decided to end the awkwardness by stepping forward while clearing his throat. "Ahem...uh, hi! Mr. Phantom, you're majesty. Um...I'm sorry but do you have time to answer one or two thousand questions about yourself, kingdom, and the multiverse please?" He said eagerly sheepish, as he flipped through his journal and began clicking his pen rapidly. 

"Wow!" Danny said, "Mini Ford, what do you know! and sure kid I can answer a few questions! But now one or two thousand...how about, you think of three questions for each topic. I'll answer them. And then when I come back, you can ask three more! Sound good, kid?" 

"Uh yeah, ok great!" Dipper said, now barley restraining himself from bouncing alongside his sister. 

"Wait!" Ford shouted suddenly desperate, "You're planning on visiting? More than once?!"

"Well, yeah dude!" Danny said as he drifted around the kitchen ceiling in lazy circles. "Like I said you're my friend. And I like to make sure my friends are, you know---not dead! Besides, dude! You're like super old! And I mean like really, really, super duper old! I'm surprised you haven't just keeled over by now, I mean seriously dude! How are you even still alive?" 

Ford groaned as he rubbed his temples, "Phantom how old do you think I am?"

"I don't know!" Danny said with a smirk, "Like thirty?"

Ford growled, but Stan held him back, clearly trying not to laugh. "Oh, come one now poindexter! Lay off the kid, he's just having a laugh!" 

"Stanley," Ford muttered, "Phantom is over four thousand years old! He is the absolute ruler of the afterlife, all after lives! He is the embodiment of balance between life and death! His 'girl friend' is the guardian of nature, meaning that she is technically Mother Nature for the entirety of the multiverse! And this is how he behaves!" 

The brothers looked to where Danny holding Dipper's hat just out of reach while the twins laughed, trying to jump for it. Stan just shrugged his shoulders with a roll of his eyes and said, "A kids and kid, poindexter, no matter what crazy, magical, hoody haw is going on! Besides he seems harmless!"

CRASH!!! Everyone jumped and stared at the broken chandelier lying in the center of a shattered table. Perceiving the adults watching them, all three of the kids shouted,

"Dipper did it!"

"Danny did it!"

"Mabel did it!"

Ford facepalmed with a load smack, as Ford grinned and saying, "Oh this is going to be fun!"

However, before anyone could do anything else, Soos ran in with a broom screaming, "Begone foul daemon! Stay away from my dudes! Dude! In the name of the all powerful spirit of Azerath! begone! Now get! Get! Get!" All while trying to swat Danny with the broom as if her were a spider on the ceiling. 

"Hey!" Danny shouted, "Not cool man! I'm not a daemon! Leave me alone!" 

Stan bellowed in laughter, as the twins tried to get Soos to stop. Which was interrupted by Danny freezing Soos to the floor. Now the three kids, were trying to unfreeze the human gopher, as Stan continued to laugh, and Ford groaned into his hands. "Where's Bill when you need him?" He muttered as he attempted to disappear into the basement. It was going to be a long day. Or week, depending on how long Phantom decided to stay.  

[itsybiggy]

Stuck With Me: Peter Parker x OC

Cute Peter Parker slow burn, less spiderman action more just good ol awkward Parker.

Peter has been in a bad mood all month, but with soon to be divorced parents, trying to figure out what's wrong with him is the last thing Lani needs. Thankfully summer break is here. Lani, Ned, Peter, and MJ set off on the summer vacation road trip to California. Drama ensues

🕸️Chapter 2🕸️

Chapter 1

Master list

•🕷️🕷️🕷️•

He left me on read. He never does that, like ever. My thoughts begin to wander to attempt to make evenly winged eyeliner.

So much for keeping it positive.

Intrusive thoughts pile up in my mind. I'm not dumb enough to really believe that Peter now hates the mere thought of me; but the little "read" under my text makes me anxious all the same.

I being wracking my brain. Thinking of everything I have said to him in the past weeks. I mean maybe I said something to make him upset or did something and just not realize it. But honestly, it only makes me smile as I recall the jokes we cracked and fun we all  have had. Nothing bad is really coming to mind.

My screen is still void of any text notifications.

I check my refection in the mirror, smiling. I usually try to stay positive when it comes to my appearance. And I definitely can't complain of how my butt looks my black maxi skirt. I adjusted my white crop top, making sure the tiny cross stitched spider was visible. After a quick click of my off brand Dock Martins I decided humidity was a virtue and mirror time was over.

It was already 5:15, I didn't feel quiet ready but Ned would be waiting.

~15 minutes later~

"GET IN LOSER WE ARE GOING SHOPPING!" I yell as Ned walks down the apartment stairs.

He gets in the car "Hey."

"Hey." My smile drops and I hope it's subtle. The tone of his voice worried me. Silence between us is uncommon. I squirm a bit in my seat.

Seeing as he isn't going to make conversation, I speak up.

"Did you get the texts from me and Michelle?" I say.

"Yeah, I have no idea what's wrong with him. Maybe we will figure out tonight" he says quickly, shrugs and looks out the window. Silence fills the car again.

I know you can't sound like anything over text, but Ned sounded a lot peppier when we were messaging. What was going on with my friends?

"We should go see a movie after."  I make a lame attempt to kindle a conversation.

Ned seems to perk up a bit at this.

"Yes! The Joker is out!"

I laugh at this, I'd never been much for DC superhero comics. Especially when they are made up. It didn't really make a lot of sense why someone would make up a superhero and a supervillain when there are plenty to choose from that are real. Movie production companies have tried to profit off of rising superhero stars. The movies are never as good as the up close and real action.

I shrug "I'll see whatever you want bubby."

He winces at 'bubby' and goes back to looking out the window.

I feel my face getting hot. Ok mental note, after being called bubby for 3 years Ned now doesn't like it.

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH MY FRIENDS! Blasts in my mind. My only hope now was that Michelle was normal.

___

To my relief she was. We got to the diner at 6:04, Michelle sitting down at our usual table in the back. We try to sit in the back as to not disturb other customers. Our laughs are usually boisterous and frequent not to mention the cheeky jokes. And all being on the decathlon team, heated arguments or "debates" on some old dudes theories or such tend to heated. But we are high tipping customers so we don't worry about it too much.

"Hey guys surprised to see you have made it here alive." She jokes.

"I don't know where you got that I was a bad driver!" I motion for Ned to take a seat before I slide in next to him.

"Oh I think you know." She winks.

"what?" I look at her, perplexed before she shakes her head.

"Speak of the devil" she said just as Peter walks through the door.

The little bell at the top of the door gives a joyful ring. Peter flinches but his body quickly moved back into its slightly hunched position with a frown on his face. Oh great.

"Hey Peter!" I say as he sits down next to Michelle.

He looks into my eyes and gives a slight smile. But says nothing.

A waiter soon comes around with menus "Can I get you started off with anything to drink?"

"I will have a coke." Michelle starts.

"Same." Peter mumbles.

"Sprite." Says Ned cheerfully.

"Tea for me please and thank you." I say brightly, I had to stay positive. I am with my friends to get away from negativity, not have more of it.

Once the waiter left we all began talking. Peter slowly starts engaging more, and it seems to feel right again. Something about him is definitely off; though that does make me very worried about him, I know now was not the time to ask. I will just do my best to cheer my moody friend up.

I smile, mentally stepping back from the conversation, contentment filled my heart. There is nowhere I would rather be and no group of people I would rather be with. I mean they are the only friends I have...

Good Eats has become a favorite of ours. We started eating here for dinner or after school almost every weekend, for about 3 years now. It was cheap for the quality of simple yet delicious diner food. But it's usually pretty quiet in the evenings— (we learned the hard way to avoid it during the mornings where the line is out the door.) —a steady stream of customers usually taking things to-go. Which I don't get, a big part of this place being great is the aesthetic. It reminds me of a 70s diner and most likely opened then. Yellow booths, a jute box always playing great oldies music, kinda ugly wallpaper, and warm lighting. And the store owner is a really nice guy. He usually brings his grandkids. It's always funny when you get rung up by a 10-year-old or have your water refilled by a 7-year-old. Since we have been coming for so long so often, the owner has a special discount for us "I've got to treat my best customers right!"  he always says I'm pretty sure it's just a %10 student discount. We usually tip as much much as we can.

I snapped back into reality when I heard my name. I didn't really know who it came from.

"What?" I said shacking my head out of the clouds.

"We were asking about the van. Summer break is almost here, when is Caroline gonna be ready?" Ned asks

"Oh right, I would say just in time for school to let out." I say.

We have been planning our summer break since school started this year. It will be our last summer vacation ever, so it had to be epic. I always get excited butterflies from it, but it is usually mixed with dread too. Dread because I know when I get home my parents will be officially divorced. Not that I haven't known this was coming or that it needs to happen. It definitely does, I have a cup bruise on the side of my head to prove it.

No, nope stop! I feel my eyes watering. Internally I let out a big sigh. This summer vacation has to be perfect. I don't know what I will do if it's not.

"Alright let's go over the plans one last time," Peter says.

I smile reaching into my purse, and pull out a small, light pink, piece of paper. 1-10 lists of things we need to do while we are in California. We had decided a beach trip is definitely what we need.

I clear my throat and begin to read.

1. start off at Stark Tower to go over things with Tony such as Hotels, food reservations, and tickets

Did I mention all of this was Peter's early birthday gift from TS himself. We are all pretty jazzed. And by that I mean we about shit our pants when Peter told us.

2. head out across the country stopping at the finest Tony Stark hotels (hotels with penthouse suites that Tony has frequent so much he just straight up bought the hotels.)

3  get to LA and check out our crib

4. beach

5. Disney Land

6. More beach

7. eat at a super fancy restaurant

8. ruins of Mr. Stark's Malibu mansion

9. Santa Monica Pier

10. hike to the Hollywood sign

It was a packed summer for sure, but it had to be the best, it just had to be. My last slice of happiness before I move away with my mom, before I move from Queens to which ever relative my mom decides to move close to. Away from all of my friends, who are more of a family then my real ones. Who have gotten me through so much, stuck by my side through it all. And even feeling upset makes me feel like I'm a monster. I want to support my mom, but I don't want this! I don't want to be away from them. Away...I hate that word.

"You ok La?" Ned asks  his hand rests on my back, lightly rubbing it.

My cheeks grow warm with embarrassment- I was crying. And of course Ned's kind questioning made more tears flow. I quickly wipe my eyes with my sleeve, and give a quick fake smile to my friends. They look concerned, except Peter. He looks almost angry, this made me cry more. Amazing.

"Yeah I'm fine. I-uh-i yawned." I stammer, I yawned wtf, who would believe that?!

"What the hell Lani?! No one's yawns make them cry that much." Michelle said, her voice rose she was almost laughing at the dumb lie that came out of my mouth. But I knew she was just concerned.

Ned quickly drops his hand from my back, my head instinctively turning towards him. He's looking at Peter.

"I'm fine I, I-just." I paused. I had told them about my parents getting a divorce, but not much. More importantly, I hadn't told them I was moving, and I wasn't planning on it till the trip is over. If they knew it would just ruin the whole trip for me. Not to mention I was so scared to even say it out loud, it would just make it seem more real. I tried my hardest to not think about it ever. Yea I know it's is unhealthy, but it's how I'm coping now. Might as well let future Lani deal with it.

"It's just my parents divorce, it's getting close to the last of all the court stuff. I just, can't stop thinking about it." My face continued the hot embarrassed sensation. I felt my under arms tingle and I could feel their eyes in me. My eyes stayed glued on my hands like my left depended on it.

There was a small pause. Oh gosh this is embarrassing.

"Lani, no madder what, you will always have us. We love you." Michelle finally said. Her tender words caught me off guard.

I looked back at her, giving a genuine smile "Thanks, that means a lot."

But the little voice in the back of my mind kept screaming Except they won't always be there for you.

"Are you guys ready to order?" We all jumped a bit as the waiter had finally returned to serve us. She placed each of our drinks in front of us.

After we ordered I had asked if we could just forget I said anything, what I needed was a fun night with my friends. They all agreed and once Ned had brought up The Joker, a new conversation sprung. I was just happy to not discuss anything family related.

___

Once we had all gotten and eaten our food, we decided to head to the movie theater to watch The Joker.

"Ok how about Peter pays for drink, Ned pays for Popcorn, and Lani pays for the tickets?" Michelle suggests as we walk into the theater.

"Um, that's convenient, seeing as you pay for nothing." Said Peter, slightly annoyed "and we should all pay for our own tickets, they are too expensive for Lani to pay for alone."

Michelle give a little snicker before we all decide it was every man for himself/herself.

I walk up to the counter, and smile brightly at the young man at the register. "Four tickets for The Joker, please and thank you."

"Sorry The Joker is sold out." He replies in a monotone voice.

"What?!" Ned exclaimed "but- I just checked online like 5 hours ago."

"Sorry The Joker is sold out" he repeats in the same voice. I don't blame him, he has probably had to say this so many people tonight.

"Hey, guys it's fine we can just pick another movie!" I say trying to lift their spirits.

"It 2 is out." Michelle offers.

Oh no

"Yeah I'm down" says Ned.

Oh no

"Yeah me too" says Peter.

Shit

Three pairs of eyes look at me. I give a sheepish smile. I get scared very easily, they know this, but I'm willing to take one for the team... even if it means I won't sleep for a few da-weeks. "Yes, let's go see It 2" I say in a fake enthusiastic tone.

I turn back to the man at the register "um, four for... It 2 please."

___

The theater is completely empty, which makes it about 1099999373783298xs more scary. It's a pretty popular movie so the rows of seats absent of people makes it feel like the twilight zone. We look around, deciding to sit in the far back.

I see Peter hanging back, walking slowly behind us. Strategically, I begin to slow my pace; slipping behind MJ to sit beside Peter. If there is anything that will distract me from the killer clown, it's Peter. We enter the row and settled in. And Peter grabs my hand.

[woodenplank-gt]

The Ceremony

I’m soooo excited and nervous to post this story on here! Comments and questions are more than welcomed! I hope you enjoy!

3K words

Next Chapter

"SAGE! SAGE WHERE ARE YOU!" Her father's panicked voice pierced through the air, Sage could barely hear him over the screams and crackling of fire. She desperately tried to call out to him but only managed a weak cough as the smoke stole her breath. The rubble pinning her down was becoming heavier with each passing moment, the little girl knew it will crush her to death if the fire didn't reach her first. She hopelessly stared ahead to the scene in front of her; fairies frantically flying around, moms' carrying crying children, men dragging bodies away from the burning homes. And. So. Much. Fire. The flames completely engulfed the place that used to be her village, her home, carrying an unbearable heat that scorched the girl's skin. Then, her sight was interrupted by a darkness creeping over her eyes, she welcomed it and fell into the black void.

The young woman woke up in a cold sweat gasping for air, her heart pounding against her chest. She frantically glanced over her surroundings for any sign of destruction, but just saw her sad excuse of a room. She let out a sigh of relief as she sunk back down into the warm comfort of her bed, why the hell am I getting these nightmares, I should be over it by now Sage thought. But before she could think of any answers for herself, she heard a loud knock on her door.

"Sage, you better be up and ready right now!" The voice of a man shouted through the door.

Despite the stern tone, Sage couldn't help but chuckle,"I don't know, I'm pretty comfortable right now. How about you come back later." She called back, settling back down into her bed.

A loud, irritated sigh could be heard through the wooden door, "Please tell me you are just pulling my leg and didn't forget what today is."

She stared at the door for a moment, searching her memories for anything she could have forgotten, then the realization hit her like she just flew headfirst into a tree. "Oh gods! Why didn't you just tell me!" Sage immediately jumped out of bed and sprinted to the wardrobe that sat at the corner of the room, pulling out her black jumpsuit.

"I did like five times!" The man outside her door yelled,"I shouldn't even have to, you're old enough to wake yourself up!"

She knew he was right, but she didn't have enough time to come up with a retort, so she just shot an evil glare towards the door hoping he could feel it burning into him. Sage quickly slid on her set of light blue armored shoulder, elbow, and knee pads over her black jumpsuit. She hurriedly put on her matching breastplate while trying not to get her wings caught in it, that was the last thing she needed right now. Finally, she put on a white, sleeveless duster coat with little gold designs covering it. She slid her wings through the hole cut in the back of the jacket.

Then she made her way to the mirror. Her light brown hair was a tangled mess and her pale, freckled face had red marks all over it from what she guessed was her pillow after the rough night. She looked terrible. Sage quickly grabbed her brush and started painfully yanking out all of the knots. Once she felt that most were gone, she braided her long hair and flung it over her right shoulder.

"Are you almost done? We gotta get going!" The voice from beyond the door called out, sounding even more irritated.

"Yeah, I'm heading out now!" She called back as she put on her blue belt and armored boots. She reached out and grabbed her silver sword that rested by the door and sheathed it in the holder on her belt before opening the door.

She was immediately greeted by her good friend, Rod, who was standing outside of the door with his arms crossed. The two have been best friends since they were kids, so she never took him very seriously. He has a lean but muscular body that towered over the people around him, his brown skin gleamed from the yellow artificial light illuminating the hallway. His face sported a scar that traveled down his left cheek to his jawbone from an encounter with a group of sprites.

Rod wore identical armor to hers except his was green since he was part of the Ground Force and had to blend into the undergrowth, while she was in the Air Force and spent most of her days up towards the blue sky. His matching white and gold duster coat hung from his broad shoulders loosely over his body down to his shins. A required piece of clothing to show their higher authority.

Both Sage and Rod had been the military commanders of their kingdom, The Hollow, for two years. Rod commanded the entire Ground Force while Sage was in charge of the Air Force. Being the only fairy in the kingdom had its advantages when it came to impressing the royals and getting promotions. Since the rest of the Air Force had to fly using domesticated humming birds, they weren't nearly as agile when it came to aerial combat. The two commanders reported to the King who was the general of the military (despite never have been in combat before). He mostly listened to them anyways, so she supposed it didn't matter.

She gave Rod a confident smile,"See, there was nothing to stress over," she proudly put her gloved hands on her hips.

Rod only rolled his eyes, "Right, are you sure you got everything?" When Sage didn't pick up on his hint, he pointed to his head at his green helmet that had a small golden semicircle attached to the front. She held up her finger before sprinting into her room and grabbing the matching blue helmet she left in her wardrobe along with her goggles made of leather and acorn shells. As she ran back out of her room, she placed her helmet on her head and put her goggles over her helmet for easy access.

Rod nodded,"Now you're ready" he said with an amused smile.

Sage immediately ran around her friend so she wouldn't be as late to the ceremony meeting, but he quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "What are you doing?" She complained,"We're late enough as it is!" His grip only tightened on her arm when she tried to yank herself free, and he used his free hand to cover her mouth.

"Shhhhh! Do you want to wake up the whole barracks!" Rod whispered yelled as he let go of Sage.

Confusion covered her face as she looked up at her friend,"What do you mean? Isn't everyone already outsi-" Then it hit her. Rod, her apparent "best friend," tricked her into waking up early. He only smiled as she stood silently staring into his purple eyes, resisting the urge to punch him right in the face. She let in a deep breath and put on a smile of her own, though it wasn't a friendly one,"You better have a good reason for waking me up early." She crossed her arms, daring him to come up with a lame excuse as to why he forced her out of bed in a panic.

She could tell Rod was fighting his inner demons to hold in his laughter,"Actually, I do for once," he lightly patted her arm and the two started walking down the long wooden hallway lined with doors on the right side that opened to different barracks. On their left was a shabby little fence that apparently protected the troops from falling off the walkway to their deaths. Sage peeked over the fence and saw the giant pit that seemed to stretch down forever, she could barely make out the bottom of the hollowed out tree that held the soldiers living quarters.

The duo made their way to one of the elevators located at the end of the quiet hallway, they stepped on the platform and flicked the lever that activated the pulley system. This was a new invention created to help the nymphs since they kept complaining about climbing up and down all of the stairs, though Sage never had a problem since she can fly. The elevator made loud creaking noises threatening to break at any given moment, she couldn't understand how the nymphs thought this death trap was better than stairs.

Rod began talking as the unstable elevator made its way down,"the King requested we come in early to go over details for the ceremony."

Sage crossed her arms,"he never told me that."

"He probably figured you would be asleep anyways," Rod teased.

Sage chose not to retort back. They've been having the same argument for years and it always just went around in circles. It wasn't her fault she liked to sleep!

Rod then glanced off the elevator, smiling to himself. "Look at us. Casually going to the castle to speak to the King and Queen. I sometimes still can't believe we actually made it." He turned his whole body so he was facing Sage, leaning back against the feeble railing,"If I told myself years ago that the two of us would become commanders of the military, I would have thought I hit my head and became crazy!" He laughed, shaking his head.

Sage laughed along,"it really is crazy," she agreed. Considering she became a refugee with no family or home when she was young, she never thought she would make any impact in life. Especially during a time when the fae were hunted and taken by humans for reasons unknown to Sage. But the late king had given her a chance and allowed her to stay in The Hollow. Sage worked hard to ensure that trust didn't go to waste.

The struggling elevator reached the ground level with a loud thud, and the two friends silently stepped off. They weaved their way through the crowd of soldiers getting ready for the morning patrols, who saluted the commanders as they walked by. They returned their salutes with curt nods as they quickly made their way to the tree's exit. The exit was just a simple hole in the bark covered by the tree's roots and tall grass, making it a perfect hiding place from giant animals and sprites.

As they walked through, Sage was immediately greeted by the freezing winter wind and shivered. The rising sun was barely visible behind the dark grey clouds that covered the sky as they made their way along the path to the center of The Hollow, snow crunching under their feet with every step. She could see banners blowing in the wind as they hung from the homes made out of rocks and mud. The kingdom of The Hollow was surrounded by big, reinforced walls of rock, mud, and bark that housed a number of guard posts in order to keep one of the biggest nymph civilizations safe from the unforgiving world. Beyond that was a wall of large bushes that kept the kingdom hidden from any outsiders.

Although it was early in the cold morning, the kingdom was already bustling with excitement. Delicious, warm smells wafted through the air from the hundreds of street venders, making Sage's mouth water. Blue and pink streamers flew in the sky, a sharp contrast to the white snow that covered everything like a blanket. Huddled by small fires, she saw families and friends excitedly talking amongst themselves, filling the air with laughter.

Sage smiled at the sight knowing everyone came together to celebrate this very special day. For today, the King and Queen were revealing their newborn baby to the people of The Hollow. No one knew the name of the newborn royal or their gender, so it was a huge guessing game for the citizens.

Unfortunately, that meant the newborn royal would be exposed to the world. No one wanted to risk the life of the baby, especially with the increasing tension with the neighboring sprites. Therefore the commanders were forced to prepare for any given scenario instead of joining the festivities like everyone else.

A big group of younglings bundled up in fluffy fur coats ran over to Sage and Rod,"Can you guys play web catch with us again?" The kids jumped around as they surrounded the two, holding them captive in their circle while they waited for a response.

Sage chuckled as a little girl started pulling on her arm towards the court,"I'm sorry kiddos, Rod and I are really busy today because of the celebration." She felt a little pinch of guilt as the children collectively "awwed" at her response.

Her tall friend got down on one knee so he can be at somewhat eye level with the kids,"We'll play web catch with you guys all day tomorrow. How does that sound?" The group of children cheered wildly at his words, making Sage feel like the villain for delivering the bad news.

As the group began to run towards the court (avoiding the forming patches of ice), Sage fanned out her wings, purposefully smacking Rod in the face for making her look like the bad guy. She stifled a laugh at the abashed look on his face and he quickly rose to his feet to avoid anymore hits.

They exchange a 'this isn't over look' and turned towards the looming castle in the distance that housed the royal family. As they walked, citizens greeted them with smiles and asked what gender they thought the newborn was or if they were going to be at the ceremony.

Rod was the one who answered all the questions while Sage just smiled and listened. It wasn't like she didn't enjoy talking to people, she actually loved interacting with civilians, but small talk was not part of her skill set. Thankfully, citizens understood not to take her silence personally and were happy to talk to Rod. Much to Rod's dismay, they had to quickly end the conversations and made their way through the crowds.

Sage and Rod finally reached the castle to go over last minute details with the King and Queen regarding security measures. Despite meeting at the castle every day, it was still a breathtaking sight. The white marble structure towered over every building as it sat towards the back of the kingdom. It looked too good to be lived in, too perfect. As Sage stared at the golden doors in front of her, she failed to notice the ice under her foot and yelped as she landed smack down on her butt.

She rolled onto her side holding her now bruised buttocks,"You got to be kidding me right now," she groaned.

Rod stumbled around as he held his stomach laughing at his friend's mishap. He tried to help her up but only burst out laughing every time he looked at her. Sage cursed under her breath as she shakily rose to her feet, agitatedly flicking her wings.

To her dismay, she noticed a soldier briskly walking towards them. He looked fresh out of the academy, his orange curls fell over his eyes from under his green helmet, and his nose and cheeks were bright pink from the bitter wind. Sage desperately hoped that he didn't see one of his superiors losing a fight to a small patch of ice.

"Good morning Commander Miller," he saluted towards Rod who was now breathing heavily as he recovered from his laughing fit, then he turned to Sage,"Good morning Commander Burton." The two simply nodded to the young soldier before he continued,"The King and Queen are expecting you. Please head inside."

-----

Their footsteps echoed through the exquisite white halls lined with paintings and pale gray statues on each wall. They passed by servants dressed in black carrying fancy appetizers through a door, causing Sage's stomach to rumbled and she made a mental note to steal some on her way out.

When they entered the large throne room, she immediately spotted the King and Queen sitting stiffly on their purple and gold thrones, whispering quietly to each other. They stopped as the commanders walked into the room, giving them a polite smile.

Sage was disappointed to find no sign of the baby. She was secretly hoping she would find out who the firstborn child was before everyone else.

"Greetings your majesties," Rod and Sage said in unison as they removed their helmets. They knelt down on one knee and bowed.

King Ronin fixed his golden crown decorated with green and blue jewels on his head as he rose from his seat,"Good morning commanders, I hope you're ready for today." He said as he adjusted the green cape around his shoulders decorated with intricate gold markings.

The duo stood back to their feet before Rod spoke,"Yes my lord, we have made all of the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of your family and the citizens of The Hollow. I assure you, sir, there will be no issues today." He said with full confidence.

"Good, good," the King rubbed his brown beard turning his full attention to Rod,"Where are the ground patrols stationed?"

Rod stiffened a bit more under the gaze, his smiling face becoming emotionless,"There are troops positioned on top of the walls and some are patrolling a few feet beyond the walls. Some units are stationed inside the Kingdom, sir."

"How about you Commander Burton?"

Now it was Sage's turn to stiffen up,"The air units are positioned on top of the trees and castle. There are patrols flying above the Kingdom, throughout the forest, and the borders shared with the sprites, sir."

"However, your majesty," she added, exchanging a glance with Rod. "Miller and I believe it will be best to postpone the celebration. There is a storm coming in and we think citizens should be preparing themselves and the tunnels rather than getting caught outside."

The King pondered to himself, scrunching up his brows as he seemed to debate something in his head. He glanced back at the Queen sitting quietly on her throne, who returned his gaze with calm green eyes. Queen Claire looked stunning as usual. Her dark tan skin had a healthy glow and her black hair was put up in an elegant bun. Her stunning green dress sparkled every time she moved. Everything about her proclaimed royalty. She only held her husband's gaze, letting her eyes do the talking.

King Ronin stroked his beard as he looked back at his commanders,"I want the ceremony to continue as planned. The people have been looking forward to this celebration for months. I can't cancel it now."

Sage's eyes widened. They weren't expecting the King to dismiss their concerns about the storm. Even as they nodded in agreement, Sage was already making plans on how to safely get everyone into the tunnels in a short amount of time.

But her planning halted when King Ronin met her eyes again."although I still don't know if we feel safe revealing our firstborn to the public with the growing tensions with the sprites," he admitted with a frown. "I think it'll be best if Commander Burton checked the borders herself to make sure everything is okay."

Sage was all for this plan. As a commander and the only fairy in a kingdom of nymphs, she felt she had to prove herself constantly to assure everyone that she had their best interests at heart. The last thing she wanted was a bunch of sprites sneaking across the border and hurting the people she sworn to protect.

Rod, however, didn't like this new proposal and spoke up before Sage could voice her agreement. "Respectfully sir, I don't see how sending one person to check the borders, especially a commander, benefits anyone." His voice was calm but stern as he continued,"What would she be able to see that all of the other patrolmen can't? It's better to have her stay at The Hollow where she can command the Air Force if something happens."

The King seemed unbothered by Rod's protest,"Commander Burton is a fairy, one of a kind. She is faster than all of the hummingbirds combined and can check the borders in an instant," The King slowly walked towards the pair, his black boots thumping against the marble floor,"She has proven herself more than capable to handle this assignment. And if anything were to happen, we have the best patrolmen in the forest led by a reliable commander to help her." He gave Rod a knowing look,"I understand your concerns, but you need to trust me as much as I trust you." King Ronin said with full confidence.

Sage spoke up before Rod said anything he may regret,"I understand your reasoning, sir," She could feel Rod's eyes piercing through her armor as she continued,"I will leave immediately and come back by noon for the celebration."

King Ronin's eyes wrinkled at the corners as he smiled,"I knew I could count on you Burton." He clapped his hands together, "Alright then, we have no time to waste! You two are dismissed!" He declared with a wave of his hand.

-----

Sage briskly walked back out into the cold morning air, trying to take off before Rod attempted to change her mind. She was too slow. "Sage this really isn't a good idea." He said as he tightly gripped her shoulder and turned her around. He looked up at the sky,"A storm is coming in and I don't want you stuck out there by yourself. Especially with the sprites getting bolder."

"Rod." She calmly looked into his purple eyes full of concern,"I'm not some helpless youngling. I've earned my title as commander. I can handle whatever comes my way," she gently brushed his cold cheek with her hand and smiled,"I'll be back before you know it."

Her friend loosened his grip on her shoulder,"If you don't come back by nightfall, I'm going out there myself," He sternly stated, leaving no doubts in Sage's mind that he would do it.

Sage wiggled out of the loose grip on her shoulder and gave him her most confident smile,"Just worry about setting up for the ceremony, I'll be fine," she patted the green armor covering his arm,"You can trust me big guy."

Rod nodded without saying a word, the concern in his eyes begging her not to go. Sage could only give him a little wave before she put on her goggles, fluttered her white wings and took off into the sky, disappearing over the wall.

[chrysalizzm]

ttdtn blurb: execution

“Do you know what Stockholm Syndrome is, Sam?”

warnings: references to abuse, abusive relationship, references to torture, c!sam neg, vague body horror, death

for @lookinghalfacorpse's phenomenal fic the trees deny themselves nothing, which has been living in my head for the past month.

People always forget that Phil is millenniums old. That he’s put on every face there is. That he’s spoken every tongue that’s lived and died. He can clean any wound and ease any illness, and when the bombing was over and the dust had settled he’d limped through the crowd and offered potions and poultices, and consolation if they’d take it, so: of course they think he’s a senile old man who only knows pain and death. Of course.

But Sam, all of king and court magician, redstone genius and pickpocketing slummer, should know better.

And he does seem to remember, judging by the full-body flinch he greets Phil with at the door to his old workshop. All his fur roils on end, a forest of green, as he says, “Philza.”

“Hi, mate.” Phil folds his wings back demurely, watching Sam’s eyes follow the Void-black sheen of them. He steps over the threshold without waiting for an invitation to do so, steering Sam back towards his workbench with a thump on the back. He kicks the door closed behind him, and it creaks laboriously shut with a protesting groan. Sam’s gaze flickers to the door. Back to Phil’s wings. The fine, faint feathers dusting Phil’s cheeks prick up.

“Nice space you got here,” he says, real friendly-like, parking Sam’s ass in one of the only chairs that doesn’t have a chunk taken out of it for tinkering. “Gloomy and shit. Perfect for you. Is this body going blind yet?”

Sam straightens. “No,” he says mechanically. “My eyesight is perfect, thank you. I’ve improved both foveal acuity and the range of peripheral vision in my left eye. I could track in the dark.”

“Like you couldn’t before,” Phil teases. “Creeper vision and all, yeah? Though the wider periphery is nice. Bet you can see anything getting away.”

Sam’s voice comes out so stiff and starched Phil could probably make a sheaf of paper out of it. “In theory, yes.” 

Phil draws his gaze away from Sam—who knows better than to run from the mythical angel that haunts every page of every history book—to observe the rows and rows of tinkertoys, the delicate baubles, the shiny trinkets. He can practically hear his feathers puffing up in glee. It’s really a shame he knows that Sam’s hands shaped them; all he wants to do is pulverize them into pretty glittering grime.

“Is there anything specific you needed, Phil?” Sam asks, apparently having regained enough of his wits to brave impatience. “I’m busy. I just got an important commission and I really need to get to it.”

“You’ll sit right there until I say you can leave or I will sprout wings of flame and turn your bones into glass,” says Phil mildly. “Is that clear?”

Silence rings out into the workshop. A leaky faucet somewhere drip-drip-drips into the hollow quiet. Sam shifts. 

“...Crystal.”

“Perfect. Glad to see we’re on the same page.” Phil’s eyes flicker briefly to the ceiling, where Sam has, perhaps for posterity, installed a flimsy skylight. A crow—soon to be a whole murder of ‘em—pokes its inquisitive little head in, and Phil stifles a smile. Turning to face Sam, he tucks the smile behind the fan of his clawed fingers and asks, “Why did you lie to me?”

Sam jerks. “What?”

“You lied to me. You claimed you had no underhanded intentions with Dream, yet you took his leg and left him for dead. You claimed you were keeping no secrets, only to lie, repeatedly, to my face. You claimed you would do everything in your power to rectify your mistake, but you’ve instead made a bigger one.” Phil folds his hands over Benihime’s hilt, feeling her purr under his palm. “Do you understand what I’m saying, Sam?”

Sam, clearly not understanding what Phil’s saying, scoffs. “I never lied to you once,” he says matter-of-factly. “I adhered completely to my code of ethics as both an engineer and the Warden, and acted upon the best interests of everyone on this Server.”

“Taking out a perceived threat,” Phil agrees cheerfully. Sam stumbles over his words, caught off-guard by Phil’s concurrence, and it gives Phil the room to continue, “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about what you said over and over for the past three days, mate. Had a lot of time to sorta mull things over, as like.” A minute tense of the knuckles; in the back of his head, Benihime hisses. “But that’s not all that I’m here for.”

Sam lifts his head, shucking off his redstone-stained goggles. His eyes are round: comically surprised. “It’s not?” he says.

Phil smiles with all his teeth. His wings sharpen against the air. The shadows at his feet stretch and seethe. Sam recoils. 

“It’s not. I’m here not only because of those things, but also because you used Dream.” Phil’s voice unspools in a low croon. Quietly, quietly, so not even the crows overhead can hear and whisk the sacred words back to his wife. “Before the Old World fell, they had a name for what you’re doing to Dream. They called it Stockholm Syndrome. Do you know what Stockholm Syndrome is, Sam?”

Sam, his green pelt gone over gray like the gunpowder he’ll fade into if Phil takes a knife to his skull, shakes his head. Ever an eager student, quick to confess to his ignorance. Between becoming empress of a kingdom and a girl in the wilds running with the wolves, Phil had spent a stint as a young king’s tutor, pleased by how quickly the cunning kid caught on. One of many regrets, in the end.

“It means Dream knows how you think about him. He understands. He empathizes. He knows what you think he is, and he agrees. He might like you, Sam. He might even like you a lot, so much that he will ignore anyone trying to save him because you have convinced him he should not be saved. Maybe even that he does not deserve to be saved.” Techno had told him about the incident in the barn, and they both have eyes; you don’t survive centuries amongst the Servers without developing a sixth sense for interpersonal relations. Besides, Phil came before Techno. Much, much before, when there were names for these things, and people knew that you could look at your captor like a lover. Times have changed. People, it seems, have not.

“I don’t know all the details of what you and Quackity did to him in that prison. Frankly, I don’t give a shit. But I care that somehow, while doing what you fucks did, you convinced him that he is not a person, and that he does not deserve love, and that he doesn’t get to live.” The lurid, limpid fury that Phil had carefully banked before leaving burns back to life in his chest now, saying what he knows to be true out loud. “And he believes those things in part because he thinks he loves you.”

Phil didn’t tell Techno—he would have had a fit, and maybe snapped Sam’s neck, not that Phil would’ve been too pressed to stop him—but he’d walked in on an entirely different thing just a day or two after Dream’s first steps. He’d closed the door the moment he realized what was going on, but skin on skin, Sam holding Dream like a worshiper at the feet of an idol: Sam is fooling himself too. “And I think you might have used him. Just a thought.”

The air of the workshop is cold in Phil’s lungs as he draws in a careful breath. He’s always wary of losing his temper. It’s one thing to do it in front of Techno, who’s plenty immortal himself and could probably withstand an accidental eyeful; it’s another thing entirely to do it in a place not specially warded and enchanted and lined brick to brick with sigils to keep the eldritch from spilling everywhere. Once it gets out, there’s no getting it back in, so: deep breaths. Bit by bit, the inferno simmers low. His feathers ease back down. Benihime’s howls fade away.

Sam swallows hard, his throat bobbing in the dark. His new eye throws off bits of light when he blinks. He stands, and he smooths off his pants, and there are a thousand, a million words caught in Phil’s throat, held fast only by the pacts of gods, as the measly little mongrel of a creeper before him says, “I only do what he lets happen to him.”

Dream’s earnest face, his faint smile, drift in a golden-brown smudge across Phil’s eyes. “He only does what I let him do to me.” 

Philza remembers a time before the gods walked the earth. A time before monsters and a time before the Builders. He even remembers a time before the Servers, though that’s a secret sealed in blood and ichor he’ll only divulge if he wishes to die. He remembers floods and famines and foul, fetid plagues. He remembers every bone broken, every life lost. He remembers the Nether before it was a ruin of hellfire. He remembers the End before the night swallowed it whole. He remembers the Ancient Cities when they were not so ancient, before the sculk sprayed its spores, before the Warden—the real one, not a plaything for a pathetic, mewling nuisance to emulate—came through the Builders’ doorway.

Phil has been empresses, wild children, healers, teachers, gods in human skin. Phil is the oldest thing he knows.

He feels every inch his age and horror and terrible, untethered knowledge as he sheds his skin into tongues of flame.

His limbs are End in their own way, cold Void, but that’s just because of his ill-advised dealings with the Ender King. The rest of him is Blaze Empress to the bone, blessed by Hell, kissed by Death. What manner of creature could stand against his full glory, the sheer brutality of his rage? Certainly not a silly little wannabe immortal with wide, stupefied eyes and a dumb, slack mouth. Certainly not a pitiful sack of meat and bone that whirls to pick up a golden trident and is struck down between the shoulder blades with the tip of a blade whittled so finely it winnows the ligaments of his vertebrae and sticks him to the wall opposite, where he screams and curses and makes all manner of noise.

Phil chuckles, amused. It’s a sound that no mortal was meant to hear. Quite possibly it ruptures one or both of Sam’s cochleae, because the man’s ears start to bleed as he shrieks. It’s a shame. Phil had a whole spiel ready to go.

Glossy black bodies wobble across the skylight, squawk in alarm; as one, the murder takes off to tattle to his wife. Phil throws his head back, all glorious mane of sun and storm, and cackles. Benihime has already pierced Sam’s heart, is poisoning him from the inside, a slow death by unstoppable self-mutilation: informing Death would be a mercy. 

Phil folds himself back demurely into his facsimile of a body. In this way, he and Sam share something. He smooths his hair back under his hat, ducks under the doorframe, and gives the workshop a fond little pat on the wall. He’s about ten paces away when the whole thing, outbuildings and all, burst into flame. He’s twenty when he starts to laugh.

He’s forty when he starts to cry.

[eriquin]

Cat's in the Cradle, part 10

This is the thing that won my poll about what to work on next, so it's getting more words now.

To recap: After dying in the Upside Down, Eddie's secret powers activated and he changed into a younger version of himself. He climbed out, found his uncle, and told him what happened. Uncle Wayne has seen it before. Now, he's trying to convince Dustin, Steve, and Robin that he is who he says he is. And who he says he is, is another kid who escaped from the lab.

(master post)

Eddie continued to hide behind Steve. It was cowardly, but he had picked up on the older-brother vibes that Steve got around the kids and he was going to take advantage of it. A glance at Wayne’s watch told him that his uncle wouldn’t be looking for him for another hour. He hoped that he passed whatever test Eleven had for him, because he didn’t know what he’d do if he couldn’t convince his friends that he was still himself. Maybe they’d let him go and he’d climb in Wayne’s truck and run away again. He just wasn’t sure if he’d be able to live with himself if he did that. 

He didn’t remember Eleven. The only kids he remembered at all had numbers lower than his own. He had been thinking it over a lot since Nancy had come out of her trance and explained who Vecna was, and he didn’t think he’d ever met the man. And when they’d let on where their friend with superpowers had come from, he’d done the math. She would have been little more than a toddler when his family had gotten him out of the lab. He didn’t remember any little kids being there at all. Maybe Wayne would know. 

The truth was that most of his time in the lab was a cloudy blur. He didn’t know what they thought he’d be able to do, but every time they gave him a test, they were disappointed. He’d avoided thinking about it for close to a decade now, because he got a headache every time he did.

There was a humming noise from somewhere on the other side of the room. It wasn’t the walkie, which Dustin was now using to snipe at Mike. He knew that Mike and Dustin liked to argue over things, but he thought that they’d be working together with all the things that were going on. This sounded like an emotionally charged argument with no good resolution. 

Robin was joining in on the walkie argument. The humming noise got louder, drowning out their voices. Eddie pressed his hands to his ears and shut his eyes. It didn’t block out the humming noise, but just as it got loud enough to start causing him pain, it stopped. He opened his eyes and saw nothing but blackness. He was sitting in a cold, empty space. The ground was covered in an inch or so of water, but he didn’t feel wet. He stood up and spun around.

There was a girl standing in front of him. She had a buzzcut, wore a floral shirt and white pants, and looked surprised to see him. He fidgeted with the ends of his sleeves. “Are you Eleven?” he asked. 

She nodded. “You can see me?” 

He hugged himself. “Well, yeah.” He looked around again. “Where are we?” 

“The void,” she said. “Are you Eddie?” 

He nodded. “Yeah.” 

“You look strange. Not like before, when you were all together and planning to fight.”

“I look like a kid now, right?” 

El shook her head. “No. You’re not solid. You keep shifting.” 

Eddie froze. “What? Sorry. I’ll try to stay still.”

“Not moving. You are both young and old. It’s hard to look at.” She blinked a few times. “Were you Seven? Is that why Dustin asked about him?” 

Eddie nodded. “I was, a long time ago. I changed after I got out, got younger. And then, a few years later, I got older again. Now I’m...” He held his hands out to his sides. 

She squinted at him, reached out, and put her hand on his shoulder. “Oh, I see you now.” She smoothed his hair back. “I like your hair.” 

The humming noise was coming back. “I liked it better when it was long,” he said. The noise got louder faster, and he looked to the side. “What is that?” 

She looked around. “I don’t know,” she said. “But I think it means I should go. I will tell Dustin who you are. Be careful, Eddie.” She let go of him, turned around, and started to walk away.

Eddie took a step towards her, but the humming noise echoed all around him. His head started to pound. He covered his ears, shut his eyes, and fell to his knees. He didn’t hit the ground, but just kept falling. 

He didn’t remember landing but when he opened his eyes, he was flat on his back and laying on something soft. The ceiling above him was spinning in a circle and he felt like he had a bad hangover. He lifted up his hand to touch his hair. It was still short. 

“Oh my god, Eddie. You’re awake,” Dustin said. “Guys, he’s awake.” 

Dustin’s face came into view. It was also spinning. Eddie groaned and shut his eyes again. “Don’t wanna be,” he said. His voice was still high pitched. He sniffled and wiped his nose on his sleeve.

“Gah, don’t do that! We just got it to stop,” Robin said. She grabbed his hand and held it away from his face. “And he’s bleeding again.” 

“Guys, move,” Steve said. Eddie felt a tissue pressed against his nose and a hand behind his head. “Come on, sit up a bit. It’ll be easier to get the bleeding to stop.”

“Dizzy,” Eddie said. “Gonna puke.”

“Gross,” Robin said. He heard her retreat. 

There was some rapid shuffling next to him and the echo of a plastic container next to his head. “We gotcha. Come on.” Steve gently rolled him onto his side. He opened his eyes to see a little trash can, complete with plastic bag liner, right in front of his face. He pushed himself up onto his elbows and emptied the contents of his stomach into it. 

When he was done, he felt a warm hand on his back, patting him gently. It was Dustin, who had sat down on the couch next to him. “You okay there, buddy?” he asked. “Feel any better?”

“Bleh,” Eddie said, spitting into the can. His head didn’t hurt as much and he wasn’t so dizzy, so he supposed he did feel better. But his mouth tasted awful and his nose was still bleeding. “What happened?”

Steve crouched down in front of him. “You done?” he asked. Eddie nodded. He held out a glass of water. “Rinse your mouth out, then we’ll take care of your nosebleed.” 

“We thought you’d been cursed,” Dustin explained as Eddie took the glass from Steve. “El said she was looking for you. Then you got up and your eyes went blank. She said she found you, and then she was talking to you and your nose was bleeding, and then you collapsed.” 

“Great,” he said. He picked his head up and looked around the room. It wasn’t spinning anymore and the lights were low, which helped with his headache. Steve had taken the trash can away and he could hear him talking to Robin in the kitchen. “Did I pass her test? Do you believe me now?” 

Dustin’s chin quivered and he threw his arms around Eddie, pulling him close. “I’m sorry,” he sobbed. “I just... You died! In my arms! And it’s only been two days and I have not been dealing with it well.” 

“Yeah, I get that,” Eddie said, trying to turn from where he was pinned in place. “Dude, I’m gonna bleed on you.” 

“You already did, asshole,” Dustin said. He squeezed Eddie tight once more before letting him go and wiping the tears from his face. Then he smacked Eddie on the arm, hard. “Don’t you ever do that shit again.” 

“Ow, fuck,” Eddie said, rubbing his arm. “You beating up children now, Henderson?” 

“You’re not really a child.” 

“I’m fragile,” Eddie said, letting a little quiver creep into his voice. Steve came back with a wet washcloth and a box of tissues. “Also I’m a crybaby now so you have to be nice to me.” 

“Or we just make fun of you until you grow out of it,” Steve said, grabbing a tissue and dabbing at Eddie’s bloody nose. “I assume that’s what happened the first time.” 

“Of course you would think like that,” Eddie said. He sat still and let Steve clean up his face. “You were a bully.” 

“He still is,” Dustin said. “He bullies me all the time. Tells me to shut up, calls me a butthead.” 

“That’s ‘cause you’re a butthead, butthead,” Steve said. He leaned over and flicked his fingers at Dustin’s face, just short of where it would have hit his nose. Dustin didn’t even blink. “Hm, you’ve learned not to flinch though. Good job.” 

Eddie held a tissue to his nose and saw that it wasn’t bleeding anymore. “How long ago did I pass out?��� He checked his wrist, but Wayne’s watch had fallen off. He leaned over the edge of the couch to look on the floor for it, and the blood rushed to his head and made him dizzy again. He swore and slowly tried to lay back down on the couch. 

“What are you doing?” Steve asked. “Do you need to throw up again?” 

Eddie shook his head. “My head hurts,” he said. “And I keep getting dizzy.” 

“Psychic stuff probably has some after effects on you,” Dustin said. “That sucks.”

“I’ll check the medicine cabinet for some painkillers,” Steve said. “Does the light hurt? Maybe we should just let you sleep.” 

“What time is it?” Eddie asked. “Did you guys take my watch? It’s my uncle’s. I’m supposed to meet him at eight.” 

“I got it,” Steve said. “It fell off when we were moving you.” 

“Also, it’s quarter past,” Dustin said. 

“Shit,” Eddie said. He tried to get up again, but Steve put his hand on his chest and pushed him back down. He started to whine, “But he’s gonna worry!”

“I’ll go find him,” Steve said. “Where were you gonna meet?” 

“He’ll be parked on the corner,” Eddie said. “He’s got a pickup. It’s gray and—”

“Yeah, there’s not a lot of people hanging out in their cars right now,” Steve said. He pulled a scarf off the coat rack and wrapped it around his face. “I’m pretty sure I can find him.”

“Take a flashlight,” Robin said from the doorway. She was holding a plate and eating dinner. “And a weapon.” 

“Got it,” Steve said, grabbing his flashlight. “I’ll grab the bat from the car.” 

After he left, Eddie rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling until he was sure it wasn’t spinning. “He keeps a bat in his beamer?” 

“The nail bat,” Dustin said. “He used it against demodogs in ‘84.” 

“Nail bat?” Eddie muttered. “You didn’t tell me that. That’s...”

“Pretty metal, right?” 

“Fuck yeah, it is.” 

Robin had disappeared and came back with a bottle of pills that she shook at them. “Hey, Mini-Munson. You want some?” 

“Yes, please,” Eddie said. He tried to sit up again and managed it when moving slowly. “How’s my face?”

“Babyish,” Robin said. 

Eddie stuck out his tongue. “I meant, am I still bloody?” 

“No, you’re good.” She sat down next to him on the couch and handed him a couple of pills. Dustin had the water glass again. “Did you want some dinner, or is that gonna make you hork again?” 

Eddie took the pills one at a time. “Let me see if I can keep this down first.”

[inner-visionz]

Sherbert (2d x autistic transboy reader)

Warning: drug use, drug addiction, blood, drug mention. Plz don't read if your under 16/17

Chapter 1

I must be the master of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. I just moved here not that long ago and this is the second time I've seen a car crash right in front of me. I just want to see my dealer so I can get a few joints and go home, but I see a blue haired boy fly out of the wind shield and smack his head on the curb with a disturbing thud. I hear glass cracking underneath my boots as I run towards him. I don't know what I'm gonna do when I get to him, I'm not in the medical field but my body just instantly reacted. 

I kneel down by his head while trying to avoid shards of glass to study his injuries. It doesn't take me long to notice that he's the same boy I saw in the first crash when they put him in an ambulance. His face has bruises and cuts in a few spots and blood is flowing from his closed eyes. I hear a soft groan come from him so I put his head in my lap to give him a bit of comfort. I'm sure his head is splitting right now. I can't believe I've watched this man completely eat shit twice. He has his lips slightly parted so I can see that he's missing two front teeth. Poor man has been through hell. 

I gently put my hand on his cheek and rub his face with my thumb. He softly groans then slowly starts to open his eyes. My eyes widen in horror as I see two black voids staring up at me. 

"Wow", he mutters with a small smile.

"Dude, are you okay?" I ask in a panicked voice. 

He winces in pain as he wakes up more and starts to feel the effects of going face first into a curb. "Me head hurts..a lot, but your hands and thighs makes it feel better". 

IS THIS DENSE MOTHER FUCKER TRYING TO FLIRT WITH ME AFTER BENG THROWN OUT OF A CAR? 

I roll my eyes. "Maybe I should've just kept walking..anyway let's clean you up a bit yeah? Ya boats a mess". I don't know where the accent or slang came from. All I hear is the accent all day and I do tend to copy unintentionally. I take off my coffin shaped backpack and pull out some wet wipes then start to wipe the blood off his face. 

He tries to chuckle at my horrible accent. "Hey I was being sincere OUCH". He flinches in pain. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to", I apologize. I finish up wiping his face and my hand that I had cupped on his cheek. "Can you stand up? You need to go to the hospital". 

He relaxes a bit and slowly nods. The black eyed man tries to find his feet and stands up slowly. I put everything back in my bag and put it on my back. I stand up and look over him again. I realize I come up to his forehead in my platform boots but without them I'd probably come up to his chin. He stumbles a bit so I hold onto him as support. 

"YOU TWO ARE PERFECT!" I hear an excited and raspy voice call out to us. I look in the direction it came from and see an excited green man jump out of the wrecked car. I immediately take notice of his messed up nose and the upside down cross necklace that bounces around his neck as he comes towards us. I recognize him as the other person involved in the first crash. "Two tall and edgy people as my lead singers? Not to mention a black eyed God, the girls are gonna go crazy for him, ah your name should be 2D because you've got two dents in your head, much better than Stuart". He continues to ramble. 

The busted up man starts to stumble more against me so I sit him back down and turn my attention towards the other one. "You fucking idiot, you put this man through two serious car accidents and look at his face! What the hell are you going on about a band? He needs to see a doctor!". 

He scoffs, "Oh he's fine, look at him!" He motions towards Stuart who's wobbling even though he's sitting down cradling his head in his hands. 

I grab the man by his shirt collar and pull him to me. "Listen here you blithering cunt, you're taking him to the hospital NOW!" I yell. 

"Oi are you single by chance?" He gives me a gross chuckle, but I ignore his question. 

"NOW!"

He holds his hands up to surrender. "Fine, fine! Whatever you say". He rolls his eyes and pulls out his phone to call an ambulance. I let him go and let out an angry sigh as I walk over to Stuart. 

I kneel down in front of him and place my hand on his knee. "Hey we have an ambulance coming for you soon okay?" I say gently. 

He looks up at me with pain written all over his face. "Are..you coming with me?" He asks rather pathetically. In fact it's so pathetic I can't say no.

"Yeah, I'll come with you, my name is y/n by the way". 

"Mine is Stuart, but 2D sounds really cool too". 

—-------

At the hospital I found out the green man's name is Murdoc. He kept trying to convince me to join his band but I always protested. 

"Come on lass! Who doesn't want to be in a band?" He pleads.

"I'm not a lass", I inform him and cross my arms. 

Murdoc eyes me up and down with a questioning look, but he lets it go. "Whatever, who am I to judge, but that wasn't a no". 

I sigh in defeat. "Look I'll think about it, will that get you off my ass?" 

Murdoc beams with happiness. "I'll take it!" 

I scoff and go in to check on Stuart. The doctor said he looks okay but they wanted to keep him a bit longer to be sure. They said his eyes will stay that way forever and they gave him some pain meds for his head. Upon entering the room I notice a girl sitting beside him with choppy dark brown hair, thin eyebrows, and red lipstick on. I must have missed her when I was bickering with Murdoc. She notices me and gives me a 'what the hell are you doing here' look. I immediately know from this look that she's the girlfriend. Whatever, I'm not exactly interested in dating at the moment. 

I walk over to stand beside Stuart's bed.  "You feeling any better now?" I ask. 

"Yeah they gave me some painkillers so I'm feeling great now", he smiles at me. "Oh! Paula this is y/n she's the one that helped take care of me when we crashed". 

"He. I'm a boy", I say bluntly as I wait anxiously for their reaction. 

"Oh, you don't look like a-"

"I'm trans let's move on", I cut him off. 

He scratches his head in confusion. "Right, uh he's the one that took care of me". I'm pleasantly surprised at his quick fix to my pronouns. Both of the boys had a better reaction than I expected. They both get an extra 20 points for not being bigots in my book. 

Paula rolls her eyes. "Well whatever you call yourself, I'm his girlfriend so you can leave him to me now". 

I frown a bit in confusion at the sudden rudeness, but I'm not about to argue so I just step out and join Murdoc in the waiting room. He's the last person I want company with but I want to stick around until Stuart gets discharged. Although his girlfriend is here so I guess I could just leave him to grab my stuff and go home. I mentally sigh remembering that he asked me to come with him so no I can't just leave, but I could step out and come back. 

"Hey, I'm gonna step out for a bit. Can I see your phone so I can give you my number?" I ask Murdoc. 

"Of course I'd love to have your number", he winks at me then hands me his phone. I take his phone and put in my number then set my name as 'y/n (back up singer). I send myself a text so I'd have his number then toss his phone back. 

"Text me updates on Stuart and if he asks for me tell him I'll be back", I say as I turn my back to leave. 

"Hey wait does this mean you're in?!" He asks when he takes notice of my name in his phone. 

"Maybe" I say on my way out the door. 

—-----

I make it back to the hospital an hour and a half later after visiting my dealer. I always shove my joints or bag in a zipper pocket I made on the inside of my boots. It's a decent hiding place. 

I waltz back to the waiting room and sit beside Murdoc. "Hey, 'ow's Stuart doing?" Damn the accent came out again. Murdoc looks at me funny then gets really close to my face. Crap he knows and I can't keep a straight face when I'm buzzed. He stares intensely at me which makes me give a big goofy grin. 

He smirks. "Oh you're completely mullered aren't you?" He whispers. 

"Not completely just wee bit buzzed". 

"At least you know how to party, also your accent was terrible". He chuckles. 

"I know..it happens unintentionally, I swear I don't mean to". I ramble. 

Murdoc laughs and ruffles up my hair. "Don't get your knickers in a twist luv, it's alright". I flinch at his touch and move his hand off my head before I got used to the feeling. "Oh? Not a touchy person?" 

"No I am, it's just I'm not used to getting physical affection anymore". I look at the ground awkwardly. "Anyway, is Paula still here? I'd like to check on Stuart". 

"No, she left a bit before you came back", He answers. I nod then walk to Stuart's. I lean against the door frame as I watch him hold a hand held mirror to inspect his new facial features.

"Yeah, they're a bit off putting aren't they?" I state. 

He jumps so bad he almost drops the mirror then snaps his head towards me. "Oh, it's you," he chuckles nervously, "I think they're cool looking, and sorry about Paula earlier". 

I shrug. "It's fine, I don't care that much. She was probably just stressed because her boyfriend is in the hospital, I'd be snappy too", I reassure him with a smile. 

He smiles back at me slightly showing off his two missing teeth. It was cute in a dorky way. "Yeah probably, so Murdoc told me he convinced you to join the band?" 

"He was very convincing when it's all he'd talk about for an hour straight, besides I guess it could be fun". 

—------

About an hour later Stuart got discharged and I invited them to my flat because it wasn't far from the hospital. Stuart looked exhausted and I didn't trust that Murdoc would have a decent place for him to sleep. 

I bring them both inside then show Stuart to my bedroom. I flick on my black light to illuminate my room so Stuart could see where he's walking. My posters and my neon worm on a string wall decorations light up immediately, giving more color to the room. He takes notice of my bed half full of stuffed animals. 

"Never thought you'd have so many cute things based on how dark you dress". He states. 

"Can't be a hard ass all the time", I say as I go over to the bed and move an old, but well taken care of, light multicolored bunny stuffy from the empty side of the bed. I put it on the other side with the rest of the stuffies while making sure it was in a comfortable position. Stuart sits on the other side of the bed once the bunny is moved. I see him give me a gentle smile from the corner of my eye. He reaches out to touch it but I stop him. 

"Please don't touch him", I mumble. 

"I wasn't gonna move..him..I just wanted to see how it felt"

"I get it but please don't, look I'm autistic and that's my comfort item which means nobody is allowed to touch it", I say. 

He gives me a very confused look. "Man you got a shit pick of the draw didn't you? With you being trans and autistic I'd imagine you don't have too many friends". 

My face drops and I look away from him as I awkwardly rub my arm. 

He notices my changed mood and quickly tries to explain himself. "Oh no I just meant that people around here can be dicks. I'm sorry. Um hey my hair grows out blue and now I have no eyeballs or two front teeth so I guess I also got the shit pick so maybe we could be friends?" He rambles. 

I chuckle at his awkward attempt at making me feel better. "Yeah I'd like to be friends...you can feel his ear if you want to". 

"Are you sure?" 

I nod. "You didn't bat an eye when I said I was trans or autistic and you listened when I said dont touch him, so I think I can trust you". 

He smiles then gently puts a long floppy ear between his fingers and rubs the fabric. "He's very soft. I can see why he's comforting, does he have a name?" He asks. The fact that he calls the bunny 'he' and not 'it' makes me a bit more fond of him.

"Sherbert", I mumble a bit embarrassed. 

Stuart chuckles, "That's cute, so you mentioned that I listened to you and that's why you trust me, did other people not listen?" 

"Yeah, I've had three people over and they all purposely picked him up and moved him or pushed him on the floor. They wanted to get a reaction out of me and well they did but it wasn't what they wanted. I busted their faces then dragged them out of my flat, THEN I cried". 

He half smiles at me,"I promise I'd never be mean to Sherbert", he says softly like he's trying to comfort me. 

"Stuart I can't tell if you're being genuine or if you're secretly making fun of me" I say bluntly. 

"I don't want to break your trust luv, it's genuine and if I break that promise you can make me eat a curb again". 

I can't help but laugh. "I'll hold you to it, well I should let you get some sleep, I'll turn off the light so it doesn’t mess with your head". 

He takes one last look around and smiles warmly. "Yeah, thank you for everything today," 

"No problem, goodnight Stuart", I turn off the light and close the door behind me. I go to the living room and find Murdoc examining all of my bat and coffin decor. I take off my boots and get the joints out then I stand on the arm of my couch so I can reach the top of my bookshelf. 

"Ah so you dabble a bit too huh?" I turn my head to see Murdoc talking about my altar that has crystals, candles, a couple crystal pendulums, my tarot deck and a Loki statue. 

"Oh yeah I do some witchcraft", I say as I grab my little metal tin and put all of the joints but one in then put it back. I take off my backpack to grab my red Nokia and cigarettes then place them with the joint on the bay window. 

"Who's the statue of?" He asks. 

"That's Loki he's the god I work with slash worship", I inform him as I open up the side window and sit on the bay window. I light a cigarette and blow the smoke out. "Speaking of which, can you light his candle for me? It's the red one right in front of the statue, there's a lighter right beside it too". 

Murdoc scans my altar real quick before he finds the lighter and tries to light it. He tries to light it a few times but all that comes out is sparks. 

He starts to get frustrated, "Oi I think your lighter is dead". He says. 

I take a drag of my cigarette and shake my head as I go to him. "No that's not the problem," I put the cigarette in my mouth then take the lighter from Murdoc and light it with ease. I light the candle then smirk. "I'm so sorry I dared have someone else light your candle you fussy thing". I watch the flame get bigger and wiggle around then smile. 

"Let me see that lighter again".

I hand it to him and he lights it on the first try. "This is shit".

I chuckle and go back to where I was sitting. "He didn't want you to light his candle, I bought that lighter yesterday so I knew what the issue was", I say as I grab my phone and add Murdoc to my contacts. 

He rolls his eyes. "I guess he is a fussy thing", he mumbles then comes to me and pulls out his own pack of cigarettes, "Care if I join you?". 

I shake my head as I take a drag. "Open the other corner window and take a seat, blow your smoke out the window though. I don't want my place smelling like smoke".  

He nods and opens the window then takes a seat opposite of me. He puts a cigarette in his mouth and tries to light it but his lighter won't light. "You gotta be fucking me UGH". 

I laugh. "I guess Loki didn't like it when you called him fussy". 

"YOU called him fussy!" 

"I'm allowed to, that's how we joke", I chuckle. "Here use mine". I slide my lighter to him.

"Thanks", he says in an aggravated tone and finally lights his cigarette. "You better not make freaky shit happen when I get the band all put together", he slides my lighter back to me and takes a hit. 

"Don't fuck with me and it shouldn't be a problem", I chuckle. 

"Right", he says. 

We sit there in silence as we finish our cigarettes. 

"I was going to offer you a smoke with me after I got done smoking but I'm tired", I say as I put my cigarette out in the ashtray. 

Murdoc does the same. "Yeah I'm pretty tired myself. I'm gonna grab 2D and we'll be out", he says as he stands up and closes the window. 

"He's okay you can leave him", I say as I close mine then put away the joint I left out with the others. 

"Are you sure you're comfortable with that?"

"Yeah I trust him". 

"But you don't trust me to spend the night?" Murdoc asks.

I narrow my eyebrows at him. "I want you to look at Stuart's non-existent eyes and ask me that again". 

He scoffs. "I'm never gonna hear the end of this". He says as he makes his way out the door. 

I sigh in relief to finally have some alone time. However, I decide to enjoy it by falling asleep on the couch. 

[strangeharpy]

So earlier this morning, my friend MK sent me this fic, which hurt me deeply in all the best ways. However, since I have Renchanting/Treebark brainrot, I ended up being inspired to write something similar to answer the question "but what if Ren were there?"

So here it is, 1150 words of Martyn angst involving Ren and the end of Limited Life. Written in a mild fugue state, no betas, no nothing. Not STRICTLY Treebark but can easily be read that way. Too short for me to feel comfortable putting on AO3, but maybe I'll expand it into something fuller. Who knows?

*

"You did it, my dude!"

Martyn's head whips around to find the source of the voice. The last two other people on this void-forsaken server had just died by his hand—hell, Impulse's blood is still fresh on his blade. The only thing that should be left to congratulate him is the whistling of the wind through the blasted remains of the forest around him.

And yet there he is.

A few steps behind and to the right of Martyn is someone Martyn knows well. He hasn't seen him since the Double Life game; didn't get to see him enough, even then. Though Martyn knows he owns more than one set of clothes, he's dressed in what Martyn first met him in: a red shirt, blue jeans, black suspenders, dark shades. His brown ears are pricked forward in keen interest, and his tail swishes lazily behind him. He's grinning from ear to ear, and though Martyn can't see his blue eyes, he knows the smile reaches them.

"What?" Martyn manages to choke out. His throat has gone impossibly dry.

Ren spreads his arms in an expansive gesture, still grinning. "You did it! You won!"

A trickle of sweat winds its way down Martyn's neck and under his collar. In the distance, a bird chirps. His stomach churns. "That's not… you're not…"

"Not what?" Ren asks, tail pausing in its back-and-forth path.

"That's not how this works," Martyn says. "I get that, now. You don't win this. You're just—you're just the last to lose."

"That's not what you thought back in Third Life," Ren points out, gently.

"Yeah," Martyn scoffs. "And look where that got us. And even if we'd won, it would've just been us at each other's throats."

"It could've been honorable."

Martyn's eyes burn, and he blinks twice to try to get them to stop. They don't. "Didn't you see what just happened? I killed Scott before he even had a chance! There's no honor in any of this, don't you get it?"

Ren's expression turns melancholy: his grin fades and his ears and tail droop. "You don't believe that."

"The best of us always dies with you," Martyn spits. "And you weren't even here this time."

"I'm sorry, dude." Ren's apology barely rises above a whisper. "I wish I could've been there for you."

"I would've killed you." The words tumble out of Martyn's mouth before he can stop them. "I killed Scott like it was nothing. I would've killed you, too."

"I know," Ren says after a moment. "I knew from the beginning. If it came down to the two of us, I knew you wouldn't just let it be at that." He pauses, tilts his head a little as he appraises Martyn. "I think we both know I would've let you win."

Martyn scoffs again and he scrubs at his eyes with the heel of his palm. He's so tired. "Fat lot of good that would've done either of us."

"I'm sorry," Ren repeats. He reaches out, and Martyn recoils.

"You're not real. You can't be."

This statement, one that Martyn is sure will break the spell, barely seems to register. Ren merely shrugs. "I'm as real as you need me to be, dude."

"You should've been here!" Martyn finally shouts. He casts his bloodied sword aside as he takes a shaking step towards the image of Ren. "You should've been here, we should've made jokes about wet dog smell, you could've made a stupid coral crown, we could've all gone to war under the same banner!"

"I'm here now," Ren says, his words very tender. "Can't declare war on anyone, but you've still got some time left. We could watch the sunset together. Just like old times." He extends a hand.

Martyn stares at Ren's fingers; they look just as callosed as he remembers them. He can easily imagine what it would feel like to take that hand and use it to pull Ren closer. But giving into that desire would be just that little bit too far. Instead, he just lets out a breath. "Okay. Alright. I've got an hour and a half left. Might as well do something with it, and watching the sunset with a figment of my imagination is as good as anything else I can think of."

Ren's tail starts swishing again. Not as excitedly as it had been before, but it's no longer still. "Great! Where's the best place to watch on this server?"

"Most everywhere's been blown to bits," Martyn says, "but maybe we can still see something nice from the Clockers' tower."

When Ren doesn't object or supply an alternative, Martyn leads him in that direction. They make it to the top with no incident—if Scar had trapped it, the trap had worked in typical Scar fashion. The view is… not the best. The landscape is pock-marked by explosions and toppled structures, and the sky is criss-crossed by bridges and platforms used to enact the destruction.

If Ren minds, he doesn't say as such. Instead, he stares off into the distance. "Guess I missed a lot, huh?"

"You could say that." Martyn keeps his face forward, but he studies Ren's profile out of the corner of his eye. "Why are you here, anyway?"

Ren's focus on the distant landscape doesn't waver as he says, "Because you won."

"So… what, the game just pulls up a hallucination of the person I've been wanting to see this whole time just because I'm the last to lose?"

"I'm as real as you need me to be," Ren states again, this time turning to face Martyn. "Maybe I'm a figment of your imagination, or maybe I'm here because there wasn't any other way for us to see each other. What's it matter? I'm here now, and the sun's about to go down."

He's right, of course. The sun is slipping close to the horizon, casting long shadows over everything. The day is almost done, and so is Martyn's tenure as the game's 'winner.'

"You're right," Martyn sighs. "Let's just… enjoy what time we've got."

The minutes tick by. The sun creeps ever lower. Martyn's timer grows closer to the end. Finally, when the moon has risen, Ren turns to look at him.

"I'll see you again. You know that, right?"

Martyn breathes in a trembling breath. "That's what you said last time, and look where it got us."

"I'm here now, aren't I?"

"I guess so," Martyn says. "So, now what?"

"Now we wait. It won't be long now."

Martyn checks his timer. It won't be. There's only a few handfuls of seconds to spare. He could spend that time looking out at the carnage that the game had wrought on the world around them, or he could spend that time looking at Ren.

He makes his choice and he does not regret it.

His timer runs out.

[shmorp-mcdurgen]

Mandela Prophet AU: Buried Memories

Adam has another nightmare. A nightmare about events he wished he had forgotten about.

TW: Body horror mentions, blood/gore, death implied

Notes: Around 1300 words, so. pretty damn short compared to my other fics. Got this idea randomly and thought it would be funny to write a little something so. yeah! this thing!!!

-----

 5:23 AM

           Adam was lying on his side, his body barely covered by the blankets draped over him as he was spread across his twin bed. He silently slept, his eyelids twitching slightly as his body shifted around on the mattress. He could barely get comfortable; despite how many times he fluffed his pillows or put more blankets on, he felt uncomfortable in his own skin on a good day and feeling like everything hurt at worse. However, the discomfort was minimal, meaning that when Adam heard his bedroom door creak open, his attention would snap to it instead of the internal unrest he felt.

           Adam’s eyelids flicked open, glancing around the dark bedroom before he looked towards the door, seeing a figure duck out of the way, into the hallway. Adam’s breath hitched as he sat up in bed, throwing the blankets off of him and staring into the oddly pitch black hallway. He swallowed hard, his clammy hand grasping the front of his white T-shirt as if it would give him any comfort. He shifted, planting his bare feet onto the carpet before standing up, his eyes staring into the inky blackness in complete silence. Maybe it was Sarah; getting a midnight snack or something, and Adam was getting restless for nothing. Either way, Adam found himself approaching the door slowly, noticing that the parasite in his chest was oddly calm despite his increasing heart rate.

           Adam walked out into the hallway, looking to his right to see Sarah’s bedroom door, noticing that it was closed. He could hear faint snoring from the other side of the wood, his brows furrowing when he realized Sarah was still asleep.

           “Adam.”

           Adam felt a chill run up his spine as he turned towards the other side of the hallway, two white dots where his pupils were reflecting through the darkness. He saw a figure quickly disappear into the darkness, with no light coming into the hallway aside from the moonlight from Adam’s bedroom, as if the hallway went on forever into the blackness of the void. Adam glanced back at Sarah’s bedroom door all before turning back and taking in a deep breath, walking into the darkness, after the voice he heard just out of sight.

           “Adam.”

           The hallway went on longer than Adam knew it should have. Every time he thought he reached the end, it only stretched further and further. The carpet beneath his feet turned into cold concrete, with a thin layer of water on top of it. The temperature dropped with every step forward, soon feeling as if Adam would freeze within a matter of seconds. Adam could see his lukewarm breath cloud in front of his face, though despite the cool air, he didn’t shiver or even acknowledge it. He was too focused on the voices he heard in the distance.

           “But Adam, if you walk down those stairs, you’d be joining her…” A familiar voice spoke, making Adam’s heart sink. Adam wanted to speak back, but his words were stuck in his throat, unable to be choked out. Adam shook his head, turning back to retreat into his bedroom before he was stopped. He looked forward, his breath becoming heavier when all he saw was a wall in front of him.

           “And if by some miracle you come back out, I don’t think you’d be yourself.”

           Adam turned back around towards the voice to see a door, stained near the bottom with a red substance Adam didn’t even want to think about. Adam’s mind was going too fast for him to even start to question what was going on before he reached towards the doorknob, jerking his hand back as soon as he felt the ice cold metal on his fingertips. He took in a shaky breath before grasping the handle and pushing the door open.

           Cold winter air and snowflakes hit his face as soon as the door opened fully, Adam’s tired eyes widening at the sight in front of him. He stepped outside, his bare feet hitting the snow cloaking the ground of the field, leaving footprints behind. Adam looked around, seeing that the doorway led into the field in between Bythorne and Mandela, seemingly attached to no building or hall. Adam’s heart filled with dread as he walked forward, seeing all too familiar sights.

Adam’s eyes fixated on the car sitting on the side of the road, its doors open and the right blinker flicking on and off. He looked into the vehicle, seeing blood staining the dashboard and splattered against the windshield. He turned towards the road in front of the car, seeing the puddle of blood freezing onto the asphalt. He stared at it, feeling a slight twitch come from his chest before he heard the voice again.

“Adam.”

Adam walked around the car, staring into the field before freezing, though not due to the cold. His arms dropped to his sides as he stared into the dark field, his eyes dilating to see further. Standing in the middle of the field was a man, standing with his arms straight down, his pose stiff and odd, like a mannequin. He was wearing a white sweatshirt underneath a black leather jacket, along with blue jeans and snow-covered red high-tops. However, through his teary eyes, Adam could see that his clothes were covered in snow, freezing the blood running down from the stump where his head would have been.

“Jonah?” Adam choked, feeling a pressure in his chest, not from the parasite that called his body its home, but the overwhelming dread building within his very soul. Jonah didn’t respond, standing as still as a statue, thick coagulated blood dripping onto the pure white snow below his feet. Adam stumbled backwards, tripping over his feet before swinging his body towards the doorway, only to see that it was no longer there. Adam’s breathing picked up speed as he looked back at the car, letting out a yelp when he saw Jonah’s headless body standing in the beams of the headlights. Adam couldn’t look away from Jonah’s body before he glanced towards the other side of the field, eyes widening when he saw a bird-shaped shadow rapidly flying across the ground. Adam shook his head, ignoring the tears streaming down his face as he turned the other way and ran.

           He sprinted into the forest by the field, ignoring the intense feeling that something was directly behind him. He felt a pressure building in his chest as he ran, ignoring the burning he felt inside and the inhuman laughing he heard from above the trees. The branches of the trees bent like arms, creaking and cracking on both sides as Adam ran through the thick forest. He kept stumbling over his feet, pressing his arm against his stomach and grimacing as he felt the shifting of half-formed limbs inside of him. He was sobbing; all before he fell to his knees, unable to keep moving as the pain inside of him became unbearable.

           He turned onto his back, staring up into the inky blackness of the night sky before he saw something come into view; Jonah, staring down at him as his cold blood dripped onto Adam’s chest. Adam’s mouth hung open, feeling mandibles scratching at his inner cheeks as he spoke. “I-I’m sorry.” He squeaked through the tears, the pain, and the overbearing guilt. “Jonah…I’m s-sorry.” Adam’s bloodshot eyes gazed at Jonah as his body shook, all before he shut his eyes tight, hoping it would all end.

           Until he found himself on the living room floor.

           Adam awoke drenched in sweat, no longer feeling the bitter cold of winter nor the cold blood dripping on his chest. He felt the burning in his chest continue and the parasite press against his back as he laid on the floor hyperventilating. Adam could feel it; it was wanting out at that very moment, skipping over the five minutes of agony and getting to the point. As his ribs shifted and the parasite clawed at his back, he turned onto his stomach, sobbing as he realized he had no time to warn Sarah.

He just hoped him screaming in agony would be enough of a warning for her.

[see-arcane]

Exactly, Del Toro didn't call his movie The Creature Of The Black Lagoon nor claimed it'll be so much better or that it's for the first time the Real Story. He named it The Shape of Water, with original characters, even if it's based on the classic.

Even with Pinocchio he didn't make Geppetto an evil father or the fairy a twist villain or try to subvert everything about it. He respected the characters and gave the story a different dimension, and while it's darker it's not edgier.

^^^

Guillermo del Toro is someone you can trust on both sides of the public domain line. He can lift up the original without gutting and destroying the point of the story or bastardizing the characters. He can also recognize when an opposing story has more potential than an outright adaptation, and so invents a new background and new characters to illustrate it rather than obliterating the story that inspired him.

That's the key word I think a lot of the adapting/bastardizing writers are missing in their vocabulary.

Inspiration.

Dracula and other classic gothic literature have inspired tons of new works. Some that are outright spectacular! Some are so close a loving mimic to the originals that they might pass as an adaptation themselves, ala Nosferatu. But others do go absolutely hog wild with their own cast and backdrop, though the skeleton of the story format remains the same.

And that is where the folks who stuff the Count's carcass with their personal fantasy roleplay go so wrong.

Either they've deemed past poor adaptations good enough fodder or they just really like the easy cheat of waving a famous public domain name around as a hook for the audience, but they simply refuse to just let their OCs be OCs.

Dracula inspires you? Dracula's adaptations and spinoffs inspire you? Great! But if they're inspiring you to make a story in which none of the characters, the plot points, or, you know, anything from Bram Stoker's novel Dracula has even a scrap of reference beyond 'there's vampires and we kept the names' then do not call that an adaptation! Do not call it a spinoff!

Make! Your! Own! Shit! Stop trying to peddle your version as some enlightened and Subversive (a word that should be taken away entirely from these guys) take that is almost always ten steps backward compared to the shockingly progressive elements Stoker planted in the book! In 1897!

Anyway.

Yeah, Guillermo del Toro good. Bastardizing faux-adapters crap. Head hurt. Going to go scream into the void now.