#bc it's at the beginning of his story not the middle or the end of it

[dramarants]

ah they just had the fiancee cheat with arguably the slimiest character in the show to try and balance out the leads finally kissing, all of a sudden spells aren't real and the curse is entirely forgotten they're solving everything with lazy ass writing okay

[tojipie]

mma fighter toji? (im so happy tk see that you’re back btw ❤️)

i really do think this is the best ask i’ve ever gotten pls feel proud of ur brain before u go to bed tonight bc ily. wrote this on the verge of falling asleep if u see any spelling error no u did not.

mma fighter!toji x reader | 1k words

content: violence, injury, blood, reader objectified by stranger

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“you got it, you got—don’t fucking look at her, look at me fushiguro!” your boyfriend’s manager yells, holding a bucket to the younger man’s heaving chest with a sigh.

toji nods at the command, taking a swig of water and spitting into the vessel before wiping his mouth with an ungloved hand. fighters never drank in the ring, it’d only settle heavy in your stomach. make you easier to catch.

blood and saliva drip down his chin and onto the floor of the ring, bright red patters against black mesh.

you watch the veins in toji’s neck pulse underneath sweaty skin, decorated with swirls of black and grey ink. his tattoos extend down his chest and back, working to cover the mess of purple and blue bruises across his body.

on his rib lies a scrawl of your name, etched into his skin for millions to see every time he stepped into the ring.

the raven haired man says something unintelligible to his team before smacking his temple with his glove, almost as if he was trying to knock something back into place.

you cringe at the thought of a brain injury so early into his career. you’d heard stories before, world class fighters reduced to shells of themselves. shot memories, seizures, even paralysis. you try not to think too deeply about it.

the TV screens in front of you pan to across the ring to his opponent. ryomen sukuna, 2 years into his career with every title under the sun.

everything except heavyweight champion. the name belonging to the winner of this very match.

sukuna was terrifying, completely unfazed by the rivets of blood pouring from his temple and left nostril. you’d quite literally watched him pop his nose back into place during the first break after your boyfriend had dealt a serious blow to it. to say this man scared you was an understatement.

toji notices your anxiety, leaning against the mesh wall of the ring to look down at you in the front row.

“you watchin’?” he yells with a grin, barely coherent over the mixed sounds of cheers and boos.

you smile, though your boyfriend scowls at the onslaught of paparazzi trying to capture the tender moment. he spits at the see-through wall of the ring to serve as an unspoken “fuck you.” cheers ring out from the sidelines as the screens capture the interaction.

toji turns to you and pushes off of the mesh wall, throwing his hands out with a “tsk” and a shake of his head.

“you worried about me baby?” he teases, fully aware that the cameras are still on him. “you don’t gotta worry about me, right?.”

you laugh, motioning for security to shoo any onlookers off. the mix of adrenaline and attention was clearly getting to him, though you loved when he got cocky like this. he always fucked you hardest after a big win.

the two men settle back into the middle of the ring, the referee separating them with an stern arm. sukuna looks down at you with an unreadable expression, pinning you to your seat with just a glance. toji’s pink-haired opponent turns back to him with a sinister grin, taking out his mouthguard to speak clearly. you only manage to make out the end of his insult, blood running cold as his words register.

“..and after they give me that title? i might fuck that little girlfriend of yours, fushiguro.”

toji says nothing, expression blank. you begin to wonder if he even heard the other man, but the buzz signifying round 3 pulls you out of your thoughts. you brace for whatever may come next.

sukuna is a brick wall, but toji’s light on his feet, weaving in and out of punches with his gloves guarding his face.

he’s faster than usual, spurred on by adrenaline and anger.

he lands a kick to sukuna’s ribs, the sickening crunch reaching the front row right on impact. definitely two, maybe even three broke ribs you hear a fan spectate.

his opponent curses, landing two punches to his chest before knocking toji to the ground, just barely missing the raven haired man with a solid blow right as he springs upwards.

“you gonna fuck her?” toji scoffs, landing another kick to sukuna’s injured ribs. you can barely make out their conversation even with a front row seat, you doubt anyone in the stands has been able to understand them this whole time.

the pink-haired man winces on impact, his first show of weakness since the beginning of the match.

“huh? tell me.” your boyfriend muses, dodging a kick and throwing sukuna to the floor. cheers ring out in the stadium at the direct show of brutality, you cover your mouth in anticipation.

toji settles his body weight on the man below him, twisting his arm as far as it will go while keeping his face to the floor. his legs wrap around and under the second man, squeezing his injured ribs like a vice with his thighs.

sukuna lands a blow with his free arm, then another, then another. toji does nothing, holding his opponent down with a smile almost too wide, too sinister.

“fuck.. fuck!” sukuna yells, struggling under the weight of the man above him.

the crowd is in hysterics, the announcers are out of their seats. “an unprecedented burst of energy,” you hear them call it. nothing like they’d ever seen before during any of toji’s matches.

you have to fight off the ego boost it gives you, knowing he’s only fighting this hard for you. because another man dared to speak on your name in his presence.

toji takes a couple more punches with that same smile, finally grabbing his opponent’s free arm to render the other man motionless.

you stagger out of your seat, running into the isle to get a better view of the ring.

the referee crouches by the two men, waiting to call the match. sukuna shares a look with third man, groaning before tapping toji’s wrist three times.

the crowd is animalistic. screams, wails, jeers, all of it meshes together within seconds.

toji’s security forms a circle around you, leading you towards the ring as fans flood the isles in celebration.

that was it, he’d won the title. Fushiguro Toji, heavyweight champion.

sukuna is led out of the ring by his team, choosing to forego any post-match interviews. he doesn’t dare look at you as he passes you on the steps, humiliated beyond belief.

calls of your name echo out from the center of the ring, your boyfriend pushing past paparazzi to scoop you into his arms.

the heat from his torso melts into yours as he clutches you to his body. he’s sweaty, practically bleeding from every direction too. but he’s smiling.

it’s not the smile he puts on for press, a quick flash of perfect teeth to keep the morale light, keep his sponsors happy. not the sinister smile he flaunts during matches either, fueled by bloodlust and pure adrenaline.

not even the cocky smile he puts on for the crowd when the match gets tough, the one that gets his opponents mad, gets the crowd hit and bothered.

this smile is soft, private. a small show of love in a sea of flashing cameras and prying eyes. this smile says “i love you, I do this for you.”

you reach for his face, pressing a soft kiss to his temple. toji wipes the blood—his— from your lips with a calloused thumb, pulling your head to his chest with a soft murmur.

“i love you.”

[sylusjinwoon]

{ 198 }

matchmakers from hell.

sylus x fem.reader

notes: i gotta thank @nyashykyunnie for feeding me his main story bits! bc without her, i could not write this fluffy drabble at all! some details may not match with the canon story, and i hope you readers forgive me since i am unable to fully play his story due to lack of time and funds lksdjflkdsjfl.

warnings: kind of a crack fic, but i assure you, it's going to be filled with fluff!

kieran and luke could sense the shift in their boss’ demeanor ever since you came along.

it was so obvious that sylus was so into you, with how hard he tries to keep you safe and out of harm’s way. each time the twins watch their boss’ interactions with you, they could have sworn he held hearts in his eyes for you.

it was clear that something about you was different-

something about you was able to bring out a softer side to their boss, a side that the twins had never seen before.

but there was just one, tiny little problem-

sylus was far too arrogant-

far too prideful to admit that he cared about you, much less that he loved you, too.

so, the twins decided to take matters into their own hands, starting with their first plan by making the perfect dinner for their boss and his favorite lady...

as luke makes himself in charge of cooking, kieran takes this chance to sneak into boss' office, wanting to know what you were both up to before beginning their master plan.

remaining hidden behind the door, kieran remains quiet, watching as the scene unfolded before him...

you were gazing listlessly out the window, admiring the skyline while keeping sylus company. you figured you could busy yourself with some other chore, keeping out of sylus's way, but he insisted that you remain close to him just so he could 'keep an eye on you.'

you end up relenting, biting back your sigh as you kept your eyes focused on the city view. however, you couldn't quite ignore sylus's expression. while watching sylus's reflection, you saw the way mephisto remained vigilantly by his side, and each time he picked up a new weapon, assessing it before gingerly cleaning it with a velvet cloth, your eyes were glued to such pristine and precise movements.

the sight of his devastatingly handsome features was so painful for you that you felt your hands ball into fists. you distract yourself by leaning closer to the large window pane, resting your forehead against the cold glass with your eyes closed.

you hear the sound of sylus's chair shifting coupled along with heavy footsteps, stiffening when sylus comes closer to you. his hands automatically wrap around the front of your abdomen, pulling you away from the window.

"don't stand too close to the window. i don't trust you to remain safe, even if my windows are bulletproof."

you narrow your gaze at sylus, facing him with a look of annoyance, "are you hinting that i'm foolish enough to jump through bulletproof glass?"

a smirk paints his features, his large hands already enveloping around yours, tightening his hold around your wrists as he brings you closer to his chest. "not exactly; i just fear that you would be clumsy enough to trip over your own feet and somehow break through such glass."

even when sylus was mocking you, he does end up taking you even further away from the window, settling you in the middle of the room...

kieran leans even closer to the door, watching as his boss frames at your face, whispering something to you. curious as to what was being said, the young man keeps creeping closer-

unfortunately, he ends up miscalculating, landing face first against the floor as his ungraceful movements catches yours and sylus's attention. kieran hears the familiar click of his boss' tongue, feeling nervous as he quickly stands back to his full height.

"what's this?" the leader of onychinu's eyes narrow in suspicion at the sight of his loyal henchman, causing kieran to erupt in bouts of nervous laughter.

"well, you see-"

"WE JUST WANTED TO CALL YOU AND LET YOU KNOW THAT DINNER'S READY!" as if sensing the danger kieran was in, luke steps into the scene, arms comically waving around while speaking loudly, distracting you and sylus from the fact that kieran was obviously spying on the two of you.

wishing to diffuse the situation yourself, you stand next to sylus while saying, "dinner sounds amazing right about now. why don't we join kieran and luke?"

sylus lets out a grunt, the suspicion never leaving his gaze as watches the twins bounced away from them and into the dining room. with a scoff, sylus places a hand behind your back, "i suppose dinner would be a nice break from work." with a snap of his fingers, sylus calls mephisto toward his shoulders before beginning the trek to the dining room with you.

you hum in agreement, trying to maintain a calm and neutral façade while feeling sylus's hand behind your back. only when you and sylus step into the dining room did you feel your own suspicions beginning to grow.

for starters, the large dining table was now replaced with a simple table that was considerably smaller, with two chairs settled on opposite ends of the table. in the middle of the table was a single, large plate of what looked like spaghetti with meat sauce with two forks and two glasses filled with wine settled off to the side.

as you and sylus glance over at the twins, you saw them step backwards, coughing while waving at you both.

"w-well, me and kieran already had a huge lunch, so you lov- i mean, you guys enjoy!" without waiting another second, the twins disappear, their laughters heard echoing throughout the hallways.

you didn't have to face sylus to know that he had a vein popping against his temple. looking at him from your periphery, you watch him let out a sigh as he ran a hand through his perfectly styled hair. "it smells normal enough from here, let's just eat."

you nod in agreement, taking a seat across from sylus before picking up a fork. pouting a bit at how the twins didn't give you and sylus the decency of separate plates, you sigh and dig into the spaghetti noodles.

at first, nothing was out of the ordinary. this spaghetti wasn't the best you ever had, but it was good enough. as you continue to slurp up the noodle, you became increasingly aware of how much closer sylus was getting to you as well.

only when your noses were close to touching did sylus bite off the noodle with a growl, and you do the same while trying to maintain a calm expression. with your hands over your lips, you watch as sylus picks up the spaghetti noodles, finally realizing that the twins had somehow fused all the noodles together, making it into one large, never-ending noodle.

with a roar of their names, sylus stalks away from the dinner table, leaving you behind as you struggled to fight back your laughter, with mephisto cawing in response to his master's anger and annoyance.

it seems as though the twin's plans had failed...

but they would be nothing if not for their sheer tenacity.

{ ... }

you were currently in your bedroom, looking down at your jewelry box as your eyes take in the sight of the ruby necklace that lay in front of you.

"i was out running errands and saw this. i figured you'd like it." sylus's deep voice rings from within your memories as you take the necklace out of the safety of the jewelry box. as you place the the pendant on the palm of your hand, you take a moment to admire how the ruby was shaped into the perfect, crescent moon.

the brilliance and shade of the ruby was enough to remind you of sylus's eyes, making your heart begin to race in response. you had yet to put on the necklace, wishing to somehow cherish it, since it was clear that such kindness coming from sylus was as rare as a blue rose.

his grumpy face when he gifts you such a necklace (on a whim, too) was what ultimately plays over and over again in your memories. running your hand through the slender chain, you had every intention of finally donning the necklace-

"CAW CAW!"

only to let out a gasp when mephisto makes a nose dive towards your precious necklace, managing to take it away from your very grasps as you cried out to him.

"hey! stop! give that back!"

you end up chasing the crow, running all around the place as you tried to follow the crow's swift movements. mephisto ends up spitting out the necklace inside of a closet. seeing the sparkling jewelry close to your grasps, you didn't stop going after it, landing within the closet while letting out a triumphant sound-

only to feel your heart sink when the doors to the closet closes completely.

"wait, what is this?" you place both palms of your hands against the closet, but found that you were unable to open it. your mind was screaming in frustration as you peer through the slits, only to see kieran (or was it luke?) settling a chair beneath the closet's doorknob.

"no, you've got to be kidding me! this isn't funny guys!" laughter fills at the air, and you kept pounding at the closet doors while demanding that they let you out-

but to no avail.

"KIERAN, LUKE-"

"please don't start screaming, or else you'll make my headache even worse."

your eyes go wide, and you look behind you to see sylus settled near the wall. he grunts and shoves aside the clothes hanging beside him, making you visibly relax just the tiniest bit.

"you got trapped in here, too?"

sylus lets out a grunt, "indeed. it appears that we have both been duped."

"but what are they trying to do...?" sylus remains silent when you ask him that question, noticing the way you held the necklace he had gifted you in your hands.

"why is that necklace in your hand? did you plan to throw it out?" you noticed the way sylus tries to maintain his aloof attitude, but the certain edge heard in his voice made it clear that the thought of you tossing aside the necklace he had given you bothered him.

you look down at the necklace and shake your head, "no, sylus, i had no intention of throwing it out."

"i gave that to you months ago. why haven't you worn it then? what? is it not expensive enough for you?"

his biting words make your heart clench in pain for the briefest of moments, yet you knew that you had to clear up this misunderstanding by being honest with him. "no, that's not it at all. it's just... i was really happy when you gave this necklace to me. words couldn't describe how i was feeling... and i just... i wanted to just keep looking at it. to somehow burn the memory of you giving this to me into my very mind..."

sylus remains silent, but as you met his gaze, you notice how his rufescent eyes had taken on an almost softer quality. you hum and turn around so that your back was facing him, with you revealing the necklace to him. "if you don't mind, can you help me put it on?"

you couldn't see sylus, however, you could feel the necklace moving away from the palm of your hand. with sylus brushing aside your hair, he carefully places the necklace on you, with its pendant facing forward before fastening it.

when you felt him let go of the necklace, allowing it to fall against your chest, you turn around and had every intention of thanking him-

only to feel your eyes go wide the moment sylus leans down to press a searing kiss against your lips.

no words were spoken when you allowed yourself to fall into his embrace, letting out a soft moan of his name when sylus practically crushes you to his chest. he gently presses his tongue against your lips, making you automatically part them for him as he further deepened the kiss.

while you were caught up in his kiss, the entire universe seemed to melt away, leaving behind two kindred souls who have finally found each other...

{ ... }

close to an hour had passed since the twins and mephisto helped lock you in the closet with their boss, and they became filled with concern at how there wasn't a single sound heard coming from the closet.

fearing for their lives (and believing that their boss was silently seething with rage for them), they remove the chair from the closet and toss open the doors-

only to find their boss still locking lips with his lady love in a passionate kiss.

kieran and luke were left flabbergasted at the sight, with it taking them a full minute to process what was going on. slowly, they began to close the door once more, amused giggles escaping from them as they quickly tiptoed away from the room.

"it seems like operation seven minutes in heaven was a success after all."

a.n. - they are two idiots in love, your honor. also,,,, wtf why was this so much fun to write?? i had a blast writing this, and i hope that it was just as fun for you readers to read as well. currently unedited, but i'll make changes once this is posted. 🥹

all stories are written by rei; reposts, translations, and plagiarism are not allowed.

[pedroscurls]

welcome to broadway (one-shot)

summary: it's the anniversary of oklahoma! and with it being your first broadway show, hugh takes you under his wing to show you the ropes. along the way, you realize that you've developed feelings for him. pairing: hugh jackman x fem!reader word count: 5.4k warnings: dry humping, suggestive smut (sorry - didn't go explicit in this one!), light dirty talk (this also isn't proofread, so apologies for any typos!!!) a/n: to the anon and @sir-thisisadndserver who both requested a story about broadway, i hope you both enjoyed this!!! (ugh, i wish i could watch the music man in good quality bc he just looks so good in it. but also, hugh in oklahoma! has done things to me... my god, his voice, the curls, just everything.) i mean no disrespect to hugh jackman! this is purely fictional.

THE TABLE READ

You can’t believe it. Lead role of Oklahoma for their anniversary showing. Twenty five years later and while mostly everyone came back except the role of Laurey, you were the only odd one out. You knew what this play entailed, knew exactly how it would end. You also knew that you’d be playing alongside Hugh Jackman, who was reprising his role as Curly. 

You’re excited, yet nervous. Hugh Jackman not only was an amazing movie and television actor, but you’d be lying if you said you didn’t watch most (if not all) of his shows on Broadway. His sheer talent truly captivated, yet intimidated you. You don’t know how you will be able to act “normal” around him. He isn’t just talented, but he’s also incredibly attractive. Anyone with eyes would be able to see that. 

You’re the first one seated at the table and notice Hugh is set to sit next to you. You keep your eyes focused on the pages in front of you, trying to calm your nerves and get yourself ready to be in character. You can hear people come in, excitement and laughter filtering the room. You take a deep breath and stand up to introduce yourself. You’re taken aback by how welcoming everyone is and it puts you at ease, your nerves slowly beginning to die down. Everyone’s excitement is infectious, making you feel immensely thankful to be part of this cast. 

Your back is turned to the door, talking to one of the cast members that you don’t realize Hugh Jackman has finally arrived. He’s greeting everyone with a large grin and waves and you don’t notice. Not until you feel a soft touch in the middle of your back. Slowly, you turn around and look up, eyes slightly going wide as you stare up at him. 

He’s staring down at you with such a large smile that it literally makes you feel weak in the knees. Yeah, you don’t know how you’re going to get through this play without fawning over him, especially since your character – Laurey – tries to hide her feelings for Curly for the majority of the play. 

“Hello there,” he says softly, hand extending out for you to take. “I don’t think we’ve gotten the chance to meet yet. I’m Hugh.”

You bite your lower lip and extend your own hand, gently sliding it into his and shaking it slowly. “Hi,” you smile shyly and tell him your name. “It’s an honor to share the stage with you. I’ve been a huge fan.” 

Hugh chuckles, his hand soft and light with yours. He releases your hand and keeps his eyes solely focused on you. “I’m a huge fan as well,” he admits. “I’m glad you get to be my Laurey.” 

My Laurey. You feel your heart rate beat ten times faster, heat rising in your cheeks. “And you, my Curly.” 

He lets out a quiet chuckle, hands moving to his pockets. Hugh finds your energy and presence very calming and despite this being your first ever time on Broadway, he has to commend you for being professional. Though, he can see the excitement that flickers in your eyes. He knows that look, has even donned that same look every time he got on stage. “So, I hear this is your first time?” 

“On Broadway, yeah. Do I seem too nervous?” you laugh, biting your lower lip. “Because if I do, it’s because I am. I’m trying to keep it cool, but to be in a room with all of you? I just can’t believe it. I don’t want to mess up.” 

Hugh’s eyes softened. “Eh, we’re just a group of people who love to perform, including you. We’re all gonna make mistakes along the way, even on opening night, but as long as you’re having fun, that’s all that matters.”

You’ve heard stories of Hugh – how he puts people at ease, looks out for everyone in the cast and crew, and right now, you’re experiencing it firsthand. You suddenly feel your nerves disappear under his gaze and for once since finding out that you’d be playing the lead role of Laurey, you feel immense excitement. You’ve never been one to be shy on stage, but knowing that you’d be the new person in this cast instilled anxiety in you. They’ve done this before. They’ve played these same roles. And ultimately, you didn’t want to disappoint any of them.

“Thank you,” you finally reply. “I didn’t realize I needed to hear that.” 

“Well, if you never need more reassurance, I’m your man.” he winks. 

The theater director calls everyone’s attention, making a short speech at how it’s great to be back and how amazing of a show you were all going to have. You look around the room, seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces before you finally look up at Hugh. You’re surprised because he’s already looking down at you, giving you a reassuring nod as you feel his hand brush against yours. 

The subtle action grounds you, settles the nerves that begin to build in the pit of your stomach. You feel a sudden calmness wash over you as you take a deep breath, pulling your gaze away from him when you hear your name being called. 

“And we have our Laurey,” your theater director says, everyone clapping and cheering for you. “Welcome,” he says with a grin. “We’re lucky to have you.” 

You smile in his direction, nodding at everyone else in the room. “Glad to be part of this amazing cast,” you reply, everyone continuing to clap before it begins to slow down. 

“And our Curly,” the theater director continues, nodding towards the man standing next to you. “We’re all so excited that you’re here to reprise your role. It’s gonna be a great show.”

Once the theater director finishes his speech, everyone in the room takes their respective seats. Hugh pulls out your chair for you and you smile up at him, sitting down as he pushes it in for you. 

“Thank you,” you tell him.

“Anytime,” he winks. 

—

Throughout the table read, you finally feel at ease, comfortable in your element as you change your accent to reflect your character’s. Hugh changes his own and how lucky of you to get a front seat of his skill and talent. He turns to you, saying his lines at the beginning of the play. “On'y she talked so mean to me a while back, Aunt Eller, I'm a good mind not to take her.”

He’s staring at you with a charming smile, leaning back against his seat with his eyes staring into yours. 

You then say your line, rolling your eyes with your arms crossed over your chest. “Ain't said I was goin'!” 

Hugh then says his line almost immediately, “Ain't ast you!”

There’s a silence that engulfs the entire room as you two stare at each other. He’s still staring at you with a big grin and you with a frown on your face and eyes narrowed. You’re surprised at how much chemistry you already have with him, how easy it is to slip into the role of Laurey and exchange lines with him without any issue. 

As the table read continues, you can’t help but take notice of Hugh’s presence next to you. The scene where you kiss approaches and you know that it isn’t going to happen here, today, but to know that you will eventually have to kiss him makes you nervous, but also very excited. 

By the time the table read ends, a few hours have passed and everyone claps. The theater director dismisses all of you, saying that rehearsals will begin next week. You begin to pack your things before you feel Hugh gently reach a hand out to rest over your forearm. 

“You did great,” he says. “And to think you were nervous?” 

“I was,” you laugh quietly. “But I guess you helped ease my nerves.”

“I did, huh?” he smiles proudly. “Well, I suppose I should say you’re welcome.” 

You shake your head, standing up from the table and seeing him follow suit. “I was wondering–”

“Do you think we should–” 

You both say simultaneously, both letting out a quiet laugh. “You first,” you tell him, gazing up at him. 

Hugh smiles, bringing a hand to rub the back of his neck nervously. “Would you be okay with exchanging numbers? We can go over lines sometime when we’re not in rehearsal to get more practice in.”

You’re trying to contain your excitement, trying to remain calm and collected, so you give him a nod and then reach for your phone. “I was thinking the same thing. Here,” you hand him your phone and see him give you his. “Maybe we can meet up for coffee later this week?” 

Hugh smiles, typing in his number into your phone. “That’d be great. I know a perfect place.” 

You smile to yourself and type in your number before handing his phone back to him and taking your phone from him. “Perfect,” you respond, putting your phone back into your bag. “And if I get nervous at all–”

“Feel free to text me. Or call me.” Hugh finishes for you. “Like I said, I’m your man.” 

“Thanks, Curly,” you grin, changing your accent to reflect Laurey. “That’s mighty kind’a you.” 

Hugh chuckles, his eyes twinkling in the light as he smiles down at you. “Anythin’ for ya, Laurey.” 

—

REHEARSALS

The rehearsals have become more frequent as the date of opening night looms closer. You and Hugh have spent so much time together outside of rehearsals, either you coming by to his place or him coming to yours. Your relationship with him has blossomed in the span of a few months, feeling much more comfortable and confident around him. The more time you spend with him, the more you find yourself catching feelings for him. You wonder if it’s because of the nature of the role you’re playing, being the love interest of his and the fact that you both have rehearsed the kiss and dances multiple times. 

Though, you can’t help but notice the frequent texts and calls from him that have nothing to do with the play, or the way he lingers around you, some part of him always needing to touch you – on your lower back, between your shoulder blades, your hand. It all seems innocent enough, but with each touch, with each lingering gaze, you feel more and more attracted to the possibility that maybe the feelings are mutual.

Today, it’s only you and Hugh in rehearsals, practicing the dance in the dream sequence. You’ve both gone over the dance plenty of times today, both drenched in sweat. You take a short break, sitting down on the floor as your back rests against the wall. You take a long swig of water before Hugh takes a seat next to you, his side flush against yours. 

“Hey you,” he says, smiling in your direction. “You really know how to push me,” Hugh chuckles. “And I thought I was the hardest worker. You definitely make me look like I’m not doing enough,” he teases. 

You roll your eyes, gently nudging him with your shoulder. “Oh please, I’m only pushing you because you’re pushing me.” 

“What do you say?” Hugh asks. “One more rehearsal and we call it a night? Grab a bite to eat at my place?” 

“That sounds amazing,” you sigh in relief. “I’d have kept going if you hadn’t said anything.” 

Hugh chuckles, moving an arm around your shoulders as you lean into him. “You know, you can tell me to slow down. I don’t want you to overwork yourself.”

“I know,” you reply. “I just wanna prove to you and everyone else that I’m meant to be here.”

Hugh tilts his head. “You are meant to be here. You’ve got a lot of talent,” he says your name, eyes gazing into yours. “And this is just the beginning for you.” 

“Yeah, we’ll see after opening night,” you chuckle. 

“Not only are you talented,” Hugh says. “But you also love being on stage. Everyone can see it, can feel it. The audience will too. Now, get off your ass and let’s finish this dance.” He smiles, standing up and reaching out for you. 

You chuckle, taking his hands and standing up with his help. Your hands immediately dart out to rest on his shoulders, bodies flush against each other as your nose brushes against his. 

“Thank you,” you whisper. “For always reassuring me. I’m sure it’s exhausting.”

Hugh’s eyes never leave yours as one hand moves to rest on your lower back and the other takes your hand in his. “Not exhausting at all, baby,” he replies, his breath fanning over your lips. 

You clear your throat at the pet name, biting your lower lip as the music begins to play. You take a deep breath, trying to snap out of the trance that he put you in to focus on the dance sequence. Your gaze never leaves his as you both move across the dance floor. It was that specific moment where you were sure that he felt the same way. 

—

After rehearsals, you drive to Hugh’s place and see him step out of his car with a box of pizza. He leads you inside and walks into the kitchen, sitting at the table. You walk over to him and sit next to him, inhaling the aroma of food once he opens the box. 

“God, I feel like I can eat this whole thing,” you chuckle, taking a slice of pizza and lifting it to your lips. You’ve always felt comfortable around Hugh and you have to wonder if it’s because of him, how calm and grounded he makes you feel. You’re continuing to eat, eyes falling shut as you sway your body in the seat, just happy to be eating something. 

Hugh watches you with a loving gaze, eyes scanning your face as he stares at you. He certainly didn’t expect you to come into his life the way you did. It’s no secret that he gets along with everyone and has chemistry with every leading lady in his roles, but you… You’re a completely different story. He finds your passion to perform refreshing and your talent invigorating. Not only are you professional, but he appreciates your ability to put your all into each performance, even though it’s only rehearsal. It gets him excited to know that come opening night, everyone will know just how talented you are. 

He’s taken out of his thoughts when he sees you open your eyes, looking at him with a furrowed brow. 

“What? Why are you staring at me like that?” you ask.

Hugh smiles, eyes lowering to your lips as he sees pizza sauce at the corner of your lips. He also loves the fact that you’re not shy around him. He reaches up and wipes the pizza sauce from your lips with the pad of your thumb, staring into your eyes. “You’re a messy eater when you’re hungry.” 

The heat in your cheeks rises once again as you set the pizza slice down to grab a napkin, wiping your mouth. “You should have fed me during our break earlier.” 

Hugh chuckles, nodding in agreement. “Fair enough.” He doesn’t break the gaze, bringing the pad of his thumb to his lips and licking the pizza sauce from it. He sees your eyes dip down to his lips, hearing you quietly clear your throat as you bite your lower lip. 

“You’re cute, you know that?” Hugh blurts out, head tilting as he stares into your eyes. 

You roll your eyes and gently reach out to shove his shoulder. “Yeah right.”

Hugh chuckles, leaning forward in your space. “You are,” he whispers. “And there’s just something about you. I can’t put my finger on it…”

“Hmm…” you say quietly, eyes continuously darting to his lips. “Hugh…”

“Yeah, baby?” he says lowly. 

“Is this–” you whisper. “Is this appropriate?” 

Hugh then leans back, shrugging a shoulder. “Probably not,” he admits. “But I can’t be the only one who feels something between us…”

You look up at him, wanting to reach out for him, to pull him back closer, but you don’t. You’ve wanted him for months now, wanted this moment to happen for so long, but you couldn’t. You just didn’t know how things would change if you were both to cross that boundary… Even though you’ve both probably crossed so many lines already. 

“You aren’t,” you admit. “I want this just as badly as you, but–”

“Not yet,” he finishes for you. “After the play.”

You nod. “I just don’t know what’d happen if we do this while we’re still in production… I’ve waited for a few months, another few won’t hurt, right?”

Hugh bites his lower lip and shrugs. “Might hurt me,” he teases. “I mean, we’ve kissed already as Curly and Laurey. But I’d love to just kiss you as… As me.” 

“A kiss wouldn’t hurt,” you say quietly, slowly leaning into him. “But that’s all we can do.” 

Hugh nods and stands up from the chair to pull you up into him. The lights from the city reflect off his large windows as his hand rests on your lower back and the other on your cheek. Slowly, he leans in and brushes the tip of his nose against yours. 

“If we do this,” he whispers lowly. “There’s no going back.” 

“Fine with me,” you answer. “Now kiss me already.” 

Hugh grins and then presses his lips against yours, fingertips resting on the back of your neck. You’ve both kissed so many times already, but this time feels so much more different. Your lips move against his own, hands moving to grip his arms. Hugh walks you back into his window, feeling the glass press against your back as his hand moves from your lower back to your hip. Your lips part for him and he slides his tongue past your lips, hearing you whimper as a result. 

The kiss deepens as tongues get involved, lips moving with more urgency against one another. You’re about to bring your leg up to hook around his hip, but you stop yourself, moving your hands to his chest and slowly pulling him away. Breathless and panting. 

Hugh rests his forehead against yours, eyes remaining shut. “I’d say that was a great real first kiss,” he laughs quietly. 

“Waiting for a few more months might prove to be tough,” you admit, moving your hands into his hair and tangling your fingers into his locks. 

Hugh chuckles and pecks your lips softly, pulling back to look down at you. “Maybe we don’t go the full distance… yet.” 

“What do you have in mind?” you ask, biting your lower lip as you stare up at him with desire filled in your orbs. 

“Come on.” Hugh takes your hand and leads you to his couch, sitting down against it and pulling you down onto him. You straddle his hips, clearing your throat as you feel his manhood press against your core. You wrap your arms loosely around his shoulders as his hands rest on your hips, leaning his head up slightly to capture your lips once more. 

“This okay?” he mumbles against your lips.

“More than okay,” you answer, beginning to move your lips with his. Without hesitation, you roll your hips against his own. You’re wearing leggings and he’s wearing sweatpants and while the fabric isn’t as thick as jeans, it’s still too much clothing for you because you need to feel more. You need to feel all of him. 

Hugh groans against your lips, feeling his manhood begin to stir awake at the friction. His hands slowly move upwards, underneath your shirt as his fingertips dig into the flesh of your skin. He leans up to gently bite at your lower lip, your moan escaping your lips. 

You apply more pressure when your hips roll against his, his length hardening and straining against the fabric of his sweatpants. You feel a wetness pool between your legs, an anticipation settling into the pit of your stomach. You don’t know how you would wait another few months before fully feeling him inside of you since this sneak peek wasn’t helping. Instead, you’re yearning for more.

Hugh pulls away from the kiss only to place gentle kisses along your jawline, his hands continuing to move up your back, his fingertips brushing against your sports bra and back down to your lower back. The pressure in his pants tighten and he wants nothing more than to rip your leggings off your legs and slam into you, but he has to show some restraint.

You tilt your head slightly for him, exposing more of your neck as you feel his lips and his scruff brush against one of your many hot spots. You whimper, your hands gripping his shoulders. 

“Hugh,” you moan quietly. When you feel his teeth graze your skin, you have to pull back to look down at him. Your chest is heaving and you’re almost breathless. “Mmm, if we don’t stop,” you whisper. “I won’t be able to control what will happen next.” 

Hugh smirks, licking his lips slowly. “Okay,” he says. “Okay. Let me just…” Hugh gently sets you down next to him, readjusting himself in his sweatpants and the action doesn’t go unnoticed. You can see the obvious tent in his pants and his hand grasping himself to adjust his hardening length into a much more comfortable position. You can see the outline of his manhood, feeling your throat go dry at the sight. He’s long and thick and you have to peel your eyes away from him to avoid just settling yourself on your knees between his legs. 

Hugh watches you, eyes taking in your frame from top to bottom. It doesn’t help lessen the pressure in his pants because it only just makes him harder. “I’m actually going to…” he begins, pointing down to the center of his sweatpants. “I’m gonna take care of this. Will you be okay for a bit?” 

You clear your throat. The thought of being under the same roof as Hugh as he’s jerking himself off to the thought of you excites you. “Y— Yeah, I’ll be, um…” you bite your lower lip. “I’ll be here.” 

Hugh nods and then leans over to kiss your cheek, lips brushing against your ear. “If I had it my way, you’d be the one helping me take care of this.”

You shiver against his words and look up at him. “And if I had it my way, I’d drop to my knees in front of you to take care of it.”

Hugh growls, the sight of you on your knees now fully ingrained in his mind. “Great,” he chuckles. “I’m gonna keep that in mind while I…” he points towards his lower half. “While I handle this.” Hugh then stands up from the couch and excuses himself to go to the bathroom, allowing you to lie down on the couch and letting out an exasperated sigh. 

“It’s gonna be a long few months,” you mutter to yourself.

—

OPENING NIGHT

You feel the nerves begin to build as you’re all getting ready to perform for opening night. You and the rest of the cast and crew are all ready to perform, but you… You’re anxious. You’re nervous. You’re afraid that you’re going to mess up, so when Hugh rests a hand on your lower back, you look up at him with a tense look on your face. 

“You’re gonna be okay, baby,” he whispers. “Just have fun.”

You nod, feeling his hand drop from your lower back and you reach for it, giving it a tight squeeze. “Okay,” you say. “Just have fun,” you repeat. 

“Exactly. Let’s have a great show, yeah?” Hugh reassures. “And after this,” he whispers, lowering enough so that his lips hover against your ear. “We can finally go back to my place and take the next step.” 

That makes you stand straighter. You had been so focused on making sure that your performance was perfect as opening night approaches that you and Hugh hadn’t had an intense, passion-filled night since the night you had your first kiss with him. 

You feel the heat rise in your cheeks as he pulls away with a wink. “You know just the right things to say,” you chuckle. 

Hugh grins. “I knew that’d get you excited.” 

You feel your nerves begin to settle as the curtain begins to rise, knowing that Hugh’s character begins the play with a song Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin’. 

Throughout the play, you feel at ease once you step on stage, easily slipping into character. The back and forth banter between your character and Hugh’s are filled with a hidden and unspoken passion that you have for each other. Despite the roles you’re both playing, you can feel the tension and excitement bubbling within you as the play continues. 

Just another hour and then you and Hugh can finally have the moment you both were waiting for. 

Your first time on Broadway proves to be more than what you expected and you love it. Being on stage, under the bright lights, with a cast and crew that has the same excitement and passion as you makes you aware of the fact that this is truly where you’re meant to be. You couldn’t believe that you had questioned yourself at the beginning of all of this. 

After the scene where Laurey fires Jud, you know what’s coming. The kiss with Curly, followed by the marriage proposal. Once your lips touch Hugh’s, it’s filled with so much passion and relief. Part of you has to wonder if it’s because the characters, Curly and Laurey, finally admitting the love they have for each other, or if it’s because the end of the play is nearing. 

And it isn’t until you pull away that you see a fleeting familiarity flicker in Hugh’s eyes, a grin lining his lips. Throughout the next scenes, you’re both side by side, basked in the joy of being newlyweds and you know there’s a scene where Hugh is shirtless with suspenders. You are both backstage, getting ready for the next scene as you see him flex his arms subconsciously. 

You’ve seen him shirtless before, but right now, there’s something about the sight that makes an immediate wetness pool between your legs. When Hugh looks over at you, he gives you a wink, knowing exactly that you were just checking him out. 

Throughout the rest of the play, as it nears the end, you can’t help the excitement that bubbles within you. It isn’t until the end of the play that Hugh’s touch becomes more urgent, like he’s just as ready to leave with you. Each person with a pivotal role is introduced at the end as they bow towards the audience. 

However, it isn’t until your name is called that the entire audience’s cheers become much louder. You walk towards the edge of the stage and bow, smiling and waving as they give you a standing ovation. You look back at your cast, back at Hugh, who all are clapping for you. 

It was a perfect night and you know it’s only beginning. 

—

You and Hugh join the rest of the cast for a celebratory after party, having changed into much more comfortable clothing. You’re both at other ends of the room, but while you’re each in a conversation with someone else, your gaze is locked on one another. 

It isn’t a secret that you’re attracted to each other, but tonight, it’s completely obvious. Hugh’s eyes move along your frame slowly and under his gaze – even from afar – it excites you. You look at the time, knowing that it’s already so late and you’re ready to leave. With Hugh. 

You make your rounds, saying goodbye to everyone until you reach Hugh. He excuses himself from the person he was speaking to and meets you halfway, eyes filled with anticipation. 

“I’m heading out,” you say softly. 

“Meet at my place?” Hugh asks.

You bite your lower lip and nod. “I’ll see you there.”

Hugh then reaches out for his phone and sends you a text. You pull out your phone and see a four digit number, furrowing a brow in confusion. “What’s this?”

“The code to get into my place,” Hugh confirms. “If you get there before me, feel free to let yourself in.”

You smile to yourself and then reach up to wrap your arms around him in a hug. “It was a great night, Curly.” 

Hugh’s arm tightens around your frame as he shuts his eyes, whispering into your ear. “And it’s only just starting, Laurey.” He pulls back and kisses your cheek, lingering for a moment before he pulls away completely. “I’ll see you in a bit, baby.” 

You leave the party and make your way to your car, anticipation simmering in your depths. You drive to Hugh’s house, knowing that you’d get there before him. So, when you enter the four digit code the gave you, you see the gates open and you drive into his driveway, the garage opening up for you. 

Just a few minutes after you park, Hugh pulls in behind you. You step out of your car and look over at him, seeing him turn off the headlights once he puts his car in park. He climbs out and strides over to you, arms wrapping around your waist immediately. Without allowing you to speak, he dips down and presses his lips against yours, moving them eagerly against yours. 

“Mmm,” you whimper, feeling his hand move to your backside as he gently squeezes it into his hand. 

“Let’s go inside,” he mumbles, pulling back to look down at you. “I’ve been waiting for months for this,” Hugh chuckles. 

You nod and take his hand, following him inside his home. You don’t get far because you lead him to his living room where you push him back onto his couch and you straddle his hips like the first night you shared your first real kiss with him. 

He doesn’t waste any time in removing your shirt though, growling at the sight of you completely exposed for him, having decided on not wearing a bra. Hugh feels drunk off of you, his mind swirling with the immense thoughts and ideas of what he wants to do to you tonight. He knows he won’t get a chance to do them all in one night, but he just isn’t sure what to do first. He wants to taste you, wants to be head first between your legs. But he also wants to feel your walls wrapped around him, milking him to his own release. 

But your moans… your moans pull him out of his thoughts and he’s suddenly very aware of the look on your face. The heat in your cheeks. Your parted lips. Your breaths coming in short pants. You want this just as bad as he does and it only excites him further. 

“You did amazing tonight, baby,” Hugh says softly, hands coming up to brush against you. 

You whimper, looking deeply into his eyes. “Thank you,” you say quietly, eyes fluttering as his thumbs brush against your peaks. “Hugh…” you moan quietly. 

“I know, baby. I know… Let me take care of you.” 

Throughout that night, you barely got any sleep, but when you did, you were completely spent. Hugh had helped you reach your climax more times than you can count and that had never happened before. He was so generous, so considerate, but it was only because he yearned for the sounds that escaped your lips. Loved to see you squirm against his touch, enjoyed the sight of your eyes fluttering when he finally entered you. 

Hugh knew he wanted more. Needed more. He felt like a possessed man once he finally got that first taste of you. You unleashed something almost animalistic in him – the desire to see you come undone. The first time it happened that night, Hugh was in absolute awe. The way you arched your back, lips apart, body squirming against his mattress and a loud moan escaping your lips… it made Hugh want more of that. Want more of you. 

And he was certainly going to get it, that he was sure of.

[neyafromfrance95]

my thoughts on haladriel in ep8:

they chickened out a bit bc they 100% wanted to convey that sauron loves galadriel and she is the only light in his life, the light that he in fact worships, but it was maybe too subtle, too subtextual. and if this ending meant that galadriel suddenly fully overcame her darkness, well, that'd be a very rushed, weak development.

let me explain why i believe they wanted to show sauron's feelings for galadriel bordering love and obsession:

during the fight, sauron says that not all of it was an illusion. the expression on his face as he says it is genuine and melancholic. his longing is clear. and right after he says it, we see him as halbrand repeating that he felt connection with her, meaning that it was the truth.

he looks hopeful when he says that her door is still open to him and loses it when she tells him it's shut. now i don't think that it's actually shut yet as he talks to her through their mind connection as he asks for the ring (whether her fall meant shutting the door is going to be answered in s3).

"the door is still open" also suggests that his proposal is still active, and the hopeful, almost desperate look on his face as he says it, tells us a lot. it also recontextualizes what "the door" means in their relationship.

he plays with her, showing her illusions of her dark self, reminding her how alike they are. illusion!celebrimbor's line "are they not the seeds you've planted" proves that it was him who sent her those visions in the beginning. again, guilt-bonding her to himself.

"i would have placed a crown upon your head. i would never have rested until all middle-earth had been brought to its knees, to worship the light of its queen." he is earnest when he says it, and then there is this feral predatory look of want. it shows how he covets whatever he sees in her. i really loved the wording of "worship the light of its queen" as the shippers have been describing his coveting as the "worship of the light".

AGAIN, HE WANTS TO BRING ALL MIDDLE-EARTH TO ITS KNEES TO WORSHIP GALADRIEL, THEIR QUEEN EQUAL TO SAURON, AS HE WORSHIPS HER LIGHT HIMSELF. this part is essential in understanding sauron's feelings for galadriel and it's straight out of our fanons.

after she jumps, he loses it again and takes it out on his poor subordinate orc. rip. we can see him standing there and looking down while breathing heavily for longer than necessary.

yeah, he wounds her with the crown. but we don't know what he would have done with her had she given him the ring. honestly, if it was anyone else, they'd be dead the moment he saw nenya + the nine. the chickening out element plays in the way his intentions are vague, as he clearly doesn't want to hurt her and wants her to willingly give in, but ofc the evil sauron can't be too gray, he has to be dark dark.

subtextually, nenya is galadriel, him being transfixed with nenya tells us of his obsession with galadriel's light. i love when the stories employ subtext to say what the text can't eloquently, but in this case, they're employing it bc they got no guts.

his whole demeanor with her is completely different from how he presents himself with others. he plays with her as a predator with its pray, but he is being honest and raw. his anger is personal and the hints of delight when he greets her for the fist time - sincere.

the fight itself was as hot as it was violent. sorry not sorry. true dead dove enemies enjoyers still won. i stand by my opinion that this fight scene is the hottest thing in this show. when he pins her and pierces her with that crown, penetrating her flesh, and keeps pushing in as he tells her he wanted her as his queen to worship with a soft expression painted over his face, and then he looks at her as if he wants to violently devour her, eat her whole? yeah. that was er0tic.

i honestly am not sure where they will go with this. will the audience demand for more haladriel influence s3? it depends on whether the door is still open, and i think it is, and maybe sauron is going to get even more obsessed with possessing nenya(=galadriel)? i'm more worried that they will give in to the incelbro demand of watering galadriel down and simplifying her. so i hope her struggle with the darkness is not over yet. it felt like it was but if sauron starts to break into her mind more frequently, then it might not be the case. the fact that galadriel stops attacking him when he transforms into halbrand also indicates that she loves halbrand, and maybe will always love him no matter how she feels about sauron.

[lis-likes-fics]

Strung Up

Pairing(s): Eddie Munson x Reader Word Count: 32.8k words Warnings: NSFW, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat (violence), graphic descriptions of violence, graphic descriptions of death, murder, blood, gore, anxiety, panic attack, implications of stalking, frequent swearing, drug use, alcohol use, manipulation, degradation (not always in the sexy way), dubious consent, light praise kink, fingering, groping, oral sex, multiple orgasms, spanking, titty fucking, masturbation, vaguely masochistic tendencies… A/N: IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ: Not all of the warnings are listed above, but the full list of warnings is provided here. The only reason they're not all here is to avoid spoilers throughout the story, but none of the warnings unlisted here should be trigger warnings. If you're still unsure, please feel free to check the list. But if you want to go into this blind, go right ahead! A/N II: Okay so...I did finish the last two scenes at 3 o'clock in the morning last night, but hey! We finished! This is the last upload for my Kinktober 2024 event. I'm glad I was able to finish just in time, and I hope you all enjoy this just as much as I did (even though I almost gave up five different times but that's not important.) Thank you so much and Happy Halloween! A/N III: The story is too long so Tumblr won't let me post this. Because of this, I will ahve to split it into two parts (which is annoying bc it will really damage notes and stuff and it's harder to manage >:( )

"Sonova bitch!”

You resist the urge to kick your tire. It's midnight, you're practically in the middle of the woods, and you're alone. Your car broke down along the way home, and now you're worried you'll have to walk for God-only-knows how long just to get help.

You look around, trying to figure out what to do without a car or any telephone nearby. You curse under your breath, bracing your hands on the side of the car as you lean against it.

You hear tires in the distance, and perk your head up at the chance of some luck coming your way.

But the only thing coming your way is a large, almost creaky van. Upon seeing you, it begins to slow down to a creeping pace, and you wonder if you should just make a break for it.

Just your luck, too. You're stuff on the side of the road in the middle of the night with no way to communicate with a single living soul, and now there's a creepy van inching toward you like you're about to meet your end.

Your back is stiff, and your nerves are frayed. “Just a van driving toward you,”you mutter to yourself. “Nothing scary about that at all.”

As the blinding lights shine across you, you raise a hand and squint your eyes against the strain. It pulls into the side of the road, parking behind you as the lights continue to blare.

“Hey,” a guy says as he swings the door open and steps out. You give a wary smile at first, waving timidly back at him. “Something wrong?”

It's hard to see him. All you see is the outline of his figure against the lights. He's taller than you, with big bushy hair and wide shoulders. You try not to shrink away from this dark, shadowy thing of a man.

You bump the toe of your shoe against the tire, crossing your arms as your hand pulls nervously at the collar of your work shirt. “Stupid engine died on me.”

He gestures to the car, his voice is actually kind of nice, and a bit familiar… “A beauty like this?” He pats the back of it, wild hair shifting as he looks down at it. “That's surprising.”

You shrug. “Yeah, everyone thinks it's such a great car. It's actually a piece of shit.” You chuckle lightly, and he joins you. “Do you think you could help?”

He steps to the side, and some light finally shines on one side of his face. You start to piece together his features, squinting your eyes and realizing why his voice is so familiar. You're put at some ease now that you recognize him. Your shoulders fall, and the features of your face calm.

“Wait, you're that Eddie guy. At my school?”

He looks up at you, a smile tugging at his lips as he nods. “That's me. The Eddie guy.” He holds out his ringed-up hand. “Eddie Munson.”

You take it, the cold of his rings a slight surprise against the warmth of your palm. “I'm–”

“I'm well aware, sweetheart.”

You purse your lips, chuckling lightly at the way he says it. It's not mean in any way, but there's an undertone that you find slightly unsettling.

He squints the corners of his dark eyes, making a cringing face as he nods slowly. “Sorry, that sounds bad. Uhh–”

“No, all good,” you say quickly. You shuffle on your feet, chuckling lightly to try and ease the tension between you. “You're not gonna, like, kill me and stuff my corpse in the back of your van, right?”

He smiles, laughing as he shakes his head. “No, all good.” He raises his fingers in the air, one hand over his heart as he bows a little. “Scout's honor.”

You nod. “Cool.” You glance back at your car and pat the hood. “You think you could help me out, Eddie Munson? Maybe a hot wire?”

He cringes slightly, running a hand through his messy hair. His muscle tee rides up a little from the movement, revealing a slip of his tummy shone gently in his headlights. “Unfortunately, my old girl can't handle a hot wire. I love her, but she's a bit of a piece of shit, too.”

You hum, your shoulders falling slightly. “Oh, that sucks.”

“But…” He steps over to your open door, leaning inside to pop the hood before he walks past you to look at the engine. “I'll tell you what, I can tow it and get it fixed for you.” He seems pleased with this answer. He smiles like a dork. “I help out at an auto shop, they know me. And,” he rubs his hand over the side of the car, admiring the make, “I think they'd be thrilled to work on a nice thing like this.”

Sparks of hope shoot like fireworks in your eyes when you look at him. “”Really?” Then you backpedal as you second guess yourself. “I wouldn’t wanna bother.”

“Psh, no bother, at all.” He says it so casually, like the thought hadn’t even crossed his mind. The amount of work, money, time—it doesn’t seem to mean anything to him. “I’ll hook her up and take you home.”

You clasp your hands together, a wide smile falling on your face. “Thank you so much.” You start walking toward his van with him, watching as he opens your door for you like a true gentleman. “I’m so glad you’re not some sort of creep.”

As you sit down, his smile widens with his joke. “You never know.” He winks at you, and it makes you laugh. If he were some middle-aged man, you’d truly be worried. But he’s really just some really nice (and kind of hot) weirdo who goes to your school. He’s not threatening, at all.

Once Eddie’s got your car properly fastened to the back of his van, he’s driving down the lightened road with the radio gently underscoring the otherwise silent air. He taps the wheel gently, glancing over at you every now and then when you’re looking out of the window at your side.

“So,” he mutters, “why are you out here so late?”

You chuckle lightly, scratching your neck absent-mindedly. “Leaving work.” You purse your lips. “My hours are kinda ridiculous.”

His brows raise. “Damn. Sounds like you need a new job.”

You shrug a shoulder lazily. “Eh. Pays well, good boss, one shitty coworker.” You look at him and smile. “It’s nothing.”

“At least it’s not a shitty boss.”

You nod eagerly, laughing lightly in agreement. “Got that right. I got lucky.”

His eyes keep switching between you and the road. He leans his elbow on his arm rest, still steering with one hand on the wheel. “So where do you work?” he wonders curiously.

“Retail.” There’s a crack on the passenger’s side mirror, and you briefly wonder how it got there. “This semi-expensive place, like twenty minutes from my house.”

He tilts his head to the side with a hum, as if the distance is another reason to quit. “Good pay.”

Another involuntary chuckle rises from your chest. “Good pay,” you echo. “What about you?” You turn to him, your head tilted. Then your eyes close and you purse your lips, raising a hand to brush down your face. “You totally said you help out at an auto shop, didn’t you?”

He laughs heartily. “I did, but I actually work at Radio Shack.” You nod like working at Radio Shack is this super interesting thing. “Pays kinda meh, shitty boss, couple good coworkers but the others kinda hate me.”

You lean back against the seat, sighing like it's happening to you. “That sucks. I'm sorry.”

Eddie shrugs. “S’fine, I'm used to it.” He grins a little. “That's what happens when you listen to this.”

He turns the station, turning it up a little as the rambunctious sounds of metal music almost blast through the speakers.

You've never been a fan of metal, but the popular rhetoric of it being music from the devil was annoying. Music is music.

“And when you play RPGs.” He turns the music back down.

You smirk, raising a brow at him. “So you're a nerd?”

An almost startled laugh rises from his throat, it almost sounds like a snort. “Maybe a little,” he says. His smile is so big, you wonder if his cheeks hurt. Then you wonder if he's this nice to everyone.

“That’s okay. I like a good nerd.”

He glances over his shoulder teasingly. “Oh, yeah?”

You nod, chuckling to yourself with a gentle giddy. “Mhm.”

The rest of the ride is as calm and as pleasant. Eddie's good company, and you find yourself genuinely hoping that you continue to be friends after this.

Soon enough, he's pulling into your posh neighborhood. The street lamps have been on for a long time, illuminating your relatively expensive house and the large tree in front of it in a gentle golden light. The porch lights are on, so your parents must be (obviously) asleep.

Eddie jogs across the front of his van to open the door for you. “Tada!” he exclaims quietly as he gestures dramatically toward your home. As you step out, still looking at your house with a furrowed brow, your skin prickles and the back of your neck goes cold as you begin to realize something.

“I…never gave you my address.”

You turn to look at Eddie, who's smiling really widely. His dark fringe kisses his lashes, his lips are pulled taut by the stretch of his smile, which is lingering strangely on his face. A tiny huff of breath passes from his mouth.

There's a strange silence as he stares at you, looking like someone's pressed pause on him. It's just short enough that it's easy to miss.

“I've been to one of your parties before.”

Oh.

“You have?” You think quickly, trying to remember seeing his face and falling short. “I've never seen you at one.”

“Yeah…” he says. “Not really my crowd.” Eddie closes your door after you've grabbed your things. “A friend invited me, but I left quick.” He shrugs a shoulder, “Besides, atmosphere wasn't super welcoming.”

Right. He's a social outcast.

“Oh,” you mumble. It doesn't sit well with you. You wished you would have noticed him. At least then you could have tried to make it better for him. He's a really sweet guy…

“Who’s your friend? I think I heard Steve Harrington mention you before,” you wonder. Steve is a friend of yours, and he’s been to nearly all of your parties.

“Yeah, he invited me.” He shrugs. “But I went with Jonathan Byers.” You know the name, another social outcast. He and his brother are very kindly looked upon, especially after the incident where his little brother was lost in the woods. That’s the only time you ever spoke to him, to offer your sympathies. If you’re thinking correctly, he’s a pothead now.

You give him a smile. “Well, I'd like to formally invite you to my next one—whenever that is, then I can properly welcome you and your friend.”

He laughs lightly, doing a grand flourish with his hand as he bows to you. “Well, thank you very much.”

You gesture toward the back of his van. “And my car?”

He nods dutifully. “I'll get that fixed up for you in no time.” Then he thinks for a moment. “Well, a little bit of time, but not too long.”

“Oh.” You nod, smiling still. You glance off down the street like you're looking for something. “I’ll just have to figure out a ride to school then… My boyfriend kind of lives out of the way and both my parents work.”

You miss the way his shoulders sink, his smile easing just a bit. He brings a hand to scratch the back of his neck. “Well…” he speaks slowly, slower than he means to. “I can come pick you up.”

You clasp your hand again in a slightly pleading manner, but there's so much kindness in your eyes. “You're already helping out so much.”

A small sense of pride swells in his chest. “It's not a problem, really. I'm happy to.”

You set a hand on his shoulder, and you feel it tense a little through the thickness of his leather jacket. “I'd really appreciate it.” It's sincere, and you hope he knows. “Thank you.”

He puts his hand over yours. “No problem.” Then he clears his throat and lets go of your hand so you can have it back.

You start walking backwards. “Goodnight, Eddie.”

He raises an open palm, doesn't wave it or anything. “Night…”

You turn around and head inside. He watches you put the key in your door and walk inside.

Eddie stands there still, sighing gently as he wonders what he's going to do with himself. You're just so sweet and so pretty. You're perfect.

You're everything he was hoping for.

~

You've been trying to speak to him for the past ten minutes.

The lunch table isn't as full today. A couple buddies from the team are gone, their girlfriends included—which also means Brynn isn't here to resort to either.

You sigh, rolling your eyes as Jake's lips suck on your neck still. He hasn't moved from this spot unless it's to go to the other side of your neck in ten minutes. His hands are all over your waist, and when he nips at you, you huff.

“Hey, can you chill?”

He hums, not letting up as he continues to suck on you like a goddamn vampire. “What's wrong, baby?” he mumbles against your neck.

You push him off of you so that he'll look at your face. His lips are a little swollen from the attention, and his eyes are hooded like you've just been going down on him or something.

“I'm trying to talk to you, and you’re trying to fuck me in the middle of the cafeteria.

“I'm sorry,” he says, kissing your lips gently. He sighs lightly and smiles. “What were you saying?”

So he wasn't paying attention? You thought as much.

You turn to him. “I was saying that I might get fired.”

He furrows his brows. “Why?”

You brush a hand down your face to calm yourself before you yell at him for being so inattentive. You lick your lips, centering yourself with a sigh as you pull a sarcastic grin over your face.

“Because Cassidy found us making out in the storage closet during my lunch break—which you suggested after I said it was a bad idea.” There's a small grin on his face, and you have a feeling he isn't listening again.

He shrugs, “Cassidy’s a bitch who's been trying to get you fired for months. She's not doing it now.”

Your stress is getting to you now. You reach out to grab his face in the hopes that it'll make him pay a little more attention. “Except this time, she's got me for indecency in the workplace. Which could be filed under sexual harassment. That can get me fired.”

He furrows his brows a little in confusion. He grabs your wrists and pulls them off his face, down to his lap. “I think you're being ridiculous,” he shrugs a shoulder like what he's said isn't a ridiculous statement. “Aren't you training to be like…a crew lead or something?”

His hands fall to your waist, and you ignore him as he leans in again to keep sucking on your neck. He tilts your head up, holding your chin still as he has at it.

You let out a frustrated sigh. “Which is why I'm stressed out. She's going to tell my boss, and she's going to fire me.”

He pulls away from your neck. You watch his face twist in more confusion. He stares at you for a second, then glances away, and then looks back at you. “Why would you get fired?”

You stare at him with an astonished glare in your eyes. “You don't…” you huff unbelievingly and swat his hands away from you, “...fucking listen.”

You stand up and start gathering your things, wiping absent-mindedly at your neck as you throw your bag over your shoulder. He watches you, ever-confused as you storm away from him. “Where are you going?”

When you plop down next to Eddie, he seems unsurprised. He looks over at you and smiles. The rest of his table isn't fazed by your entrance—you come over a lot and you're nice, so they don't care.

“Hey! How's it goin’?” Eddie's happy to see you, and it's already making you feel better. He notices the way your face is screwed up, and he's come to know the look well by now. His face falls a little, concern lining his forehead as it does. “What's wrong?”

His warm hand comes to rest at your face, rubbing lightly between your shoulder blades. It's a soothing thing that actually helps to calm you down a bit. “Jake's pissing me off.”

“How?” He sounds almost as exasperated as you.

You sigh gently, getting ready to recount the story for a listening ear. “A couple days ago, I was on my lunch break at work and he convinced me to…” it's a little awkward telling Eddie about your semi-sexual habits, but you know he won't judge you, “...to make out with him in the storage closet, and my goddamn coworker saw us and is going to tattle.” You drop your face into your hands. “I could get fired for this.”

Eddie thinks for a moment. “This is…Cassidy, right? Cassidy Franklin?”

“Yeah.” You sit up again, probably looking as hopeless as you feel.

He brings his foot up to prop against his chair, tilting his head to one side to let his hair fall off his shoulder. “Isn't she that same girl who started the rumor about Betty Carter and Richard Vance making porn tapes for money?” He raises a brow, “And that one about Steve being in a relationship with Jonathan?”

You nod slowly. “Yeah.”

“Huh?” Jonathan asks, looking up from his food at the mention of his name. Eddie waves him off, rolling his eyes before he looks back over to you. He smiles, opening his hands. “She's a rumormonger. No one's gonna believe her. Especially not your manager. Your manager loves you and everyone hates Cassidy Franklin.”

You think about that, and it's making you feel better. You nod again. “You might be right.”

He wraps a hand around his knee, smiling to himself like he's so pleased to hear that he's right. “Besides, it'll probably end up coming back to her anyway.” He tilts his head, leaning in fondly as he flutters his lashes at you. ”People like that don't always get away with being assholes.”

“Yeah.” You chuckle, nodding. “Okay. You're right, yeah. She's a bitch.”

“Who’s a bitch?” Robin’s head pops up. She looks between the two of you, curiosity all over her face.

You shrug. “My coworker.”

She scoffs, rolling her eyes and nodding. “Yeah, my coworker’s a bitch, too.”

You chuckle lightly, glancing at Eddie. “Don’t you work with Steve?” You’ve checked out movies at Family Video from them before. They seemed to mostly be getting along.

“Yeah, why?” She smirks slyly, returning to her conversation with Argyle. You don’t know what they’re talking about, but you’re not sure it’s going to make a lot of sense with the way his eyes look right now.

Eddie’s smiling when you look back at him. “Anyway, don't sweat it. Everything's gonna be fine…’kay?” He holds out his pinky, squeezing with a funny kind of harshness when you wrap yours around it.

You nod. “Okay.” You sigh, and this time it actually feels like you're letting go of the stress. Eddie always knows how to make you feel better. “Thanks. My boyfriend's an idiot, and it feels like you're the only person who listens to me sometimes.”

He furrows his brow curiously, turning toward his bag of pretzels sitting almost forgotten on the table. He pulls a couple from the bag, picking them individually from his palm. “What about your friend? What's her name—Brooklyn?”

“Brittany.” Your smile sours. “And, yeah, Brynn spends a lot more time with her boyfriend now than she does with me, so I might have to remind her that I exist first.”

He scoffs, shaking his hand as he looks down at his pretzels. “Shitty friend,” he mumbles under his breath. He seems genuinely and deeply upset. His brow furrows maybe a little more than it should.

You look over his expression, briefly wondering why he cares so much. “Just a bit,” you mutter absent-mindedly. You look at the time. Lunch is almost over. “Anyway, thanks, Eddie.”

He seems to snap out of it then, a large grin returning to his face. “No problem.”

You set a hand on his arm, smiling hopefully. “Hey, are you free tonight?” Something glints in his eyes. “Jake's hanging out with his boys and, like I said, Brynn's with her boy. I wanted to watch that new movie.”

It's a horror movie, Annihilator. You know Eddie likes horror movies, and you don't want to watch it alone. Or, rather, you'd prefer to watch it with him.

Eddie does this weird thing sometimes where he pauses. It's like his brain suddenly freezes and he just stops moving. He stares at you. His smile intact and his face just as Eddie-ish as usual, but just a little…off.

It only ever lasts a moment though.

“Raincheck?” he asks regrettably. “I'm hanging with my uncle tonight. We've been planning it for a while now.”

“Oh, sure,” you chirp. You know how much his uncle means to him. They don't usually get time together since he always works so late. “No problem. Tomorrow night?”

He smiles that proud grin again. He does it a lot. You think it's sweet.

“Absolutely.”

“See you then.” You steal a pretzel as you move to stand.

He waves you off with wiggling fingers and a cheeky grin. “See you.” He winks on your way out.

~

Dragging yourself out of the bed the next morning was hard. You don’t know why. You just woke up and felt like maybe tonight was the type of day not to go to school.

And, technically, you could if you wanted to. Both your parents are gone on a business trip—they left before you even woke up that morning. They won’t be back for at least a week. You could ditch and the worst that would happen is a phone call that you could delete if it was really necessary enough to do so in the first place.

But anyway, you don’t. You drag yourself out of bed, get ready for school, and head downstairs for breakfast. You're stirring sugar into your tea when you turn on the TV, switching through the channels to find the cartoons.

Something catches your eyes when a news channel flashes on the screen. You flip back to it quickly, and you stop mid-stir at what you find.

“–about a gruesome murder is tearing through Hawkins like a wildfire.” You drop the spoon in your mug, turning the volume up loud. “The life of a student at Hawkins High School, known as the basketball captain Jason Carver, was taken last night by a suspect police have yet to identify. Hawkins PD is still–”

You rush to the phone, dialing Brynn’s number faster than you ever have before. It rings only a couple times before the dial tone ends. You give her no time to speak.

“Are you watching the news right now?”

“Yeah. Jason fucking Carver? Who the fuck would do this?” She sounds distraught, as distraught as you feel.

You swallow thickly, pacing as much as you can with the short cord keeping you tethered to the phone. You start to worry. What if this isn’t a one time thing? What if people are actually in danger—your boyfriend, your friends. “Don’t ask me.” You start to feel sick.

“This is insane.” She sighs heavily through the line.

“You’re telling me.”

“How’s your car?” she asks, your words running a mile a minute. “Do I need to take you to school?”

It takes you a moment to respond. Your eyes had gotten stuck to the screen. There are police lights and caution tape and people everywhere. It feels so unreal. “Uh—It’s fine.” You clear your throat, wiping a hand over your face. “Especially after Eddie worked on it.”

You can almost hear the scowl in her voice. “You still hang out with him?”

Here we go. “You don’t hang out with me.”

“He’s probably the one who killed Jason.”

Her comment is a slap in the face. You can’t describe the anger and disgust that rises in your throat at what she’d just said. It’s corrosive, and you wish you could show her how upset it actually makes you, but you can’t. So instead, you say, “Why the fuck would you say that?”

Your tone makes her back off. Not by a lot, but enough for her to second guess. “He’s like…a satanist or something.”

“Or something.” You shake your head. “He’s just a nerd, and he’s kind.” You mean it in a nice way. “He’s got nothing to do with this.”

She scoffs. “Whatever.” She takes a moment, calms down, and then says with more sincerity than annoyance. “Don’t get fucking killed.”

“You, too.”

“I’ll see you in class.”

“Bye.” You hang up. You stare at the screen again, staring for a while as you try to process this. You knew Jason. He was your friend—or, he was relatively your friend. You were dating one of the members on his team, so you’ve known him for a while. Now that he’s gone… It’s just such a bizarre concept to digest.

You don’t know what you’re supposed to do. You dial Jake’s house phone, waiting and waiting for it to pick up, only for it to flatline. With a huff, you try again. When it still doesn’t go through, you start to go for a third time when you catch the time. You’re gonna be late. You’ll see him there anyway.

You try to ignore the gnawing feeling that you might not.

~

You lean against your locker next to Eddie, holding onto your bag as your hands worry away at the strap. “I just can’t believe this happened.”

“Yeah, it’s crazy,” Eddie says. He shrugs a shoulder, “I mean, this place has been kinda cursed for a while but something like this?”

You shake your head, imagining the scenes you’ve been told by the amount of people you’ve walked past or talked to since you left the house. “It was so brutal. They said he was gutted and then hung from a fucking tree.” Your gut twists with the image. “I keep looking over my shoulder like this killer’s gonna be there.”

Eddie's hand comes to cup your elbow. He rubs it soothingly with a reassuring glint in his eyes. “Hey, don’t worry about that kinda stuff. Everything’s gonna be fine, okay?” His thumb strokes the meat of your arm. He offers you a smile.

You nod. “I hope so.” You glance behind Eddie, catching sight of Chrissy. It’s a wonder she even showed up today. She’s walking through the halls with her eyes down at the floor, moving so sluggishly that you wonder briefly if she’s really just some zombie roaming the halls. You speak quietly. “I can’t imagine how Chrissy must be feeling. She’s such a sweet person, she doesn’t deserve this kinda thing.”

Eddie’s eyes linger on her as she continues walking down the hall. He swallows thickly. “Yeah…”

His brows suddenly furrow. A crease wedges itself between them as he sees something, and he lets out a sigh as he glances away, straightening his posture as he goes. His thumb rubs your elbow one more time before letting you go. “Hey, I’ll see you later, okay?” You nod. “Stay safe.” He says it with an intensity that honestly warms your heart.

“You, too.” He gives you a quick smile and then leaves. You turn around to watch him go just as you see Jake walking toward you. That makes sense. The two eye each other as they pass, and Jake looks at you like he’s annoyed by something.

The sight of him had initially brought you some relief. You were worried that something happened to him when he didn’t answer the phone this morning. The more you look at him though, the more that feeling sours and becomes something more exasperated than anything else.

You turn around with a sigh, leaning against the locker again on your other elbow. He comes up to you, a partial scowl set upon his face. “Was that Eddie Munson?”

You hate the way he says his name. It pisses you off every time you hear it. “Yeah.”

“Why are you hanging out with him?” He looks genuinely pissed out. You roll your eyes, ready to leave this conversation because it’s such a petty thing to be arguing about right now. Someone just fucking died—one of Jake’s closest friends just fucking died—and he’s upset that you’re hanging out with some guy who plays DND? You were worried he was dead, and this is how he greets you.

“Why does everyone keep asking me that question?” You seethe the question, trying not to bring any attention to yourself as you lean in to talk to him, your own scowl set to combat his own. He huffs and shakes his head, but decides it’s probably just best to drop it.

“You didn’t call me this morning.” Your quiet anger is biting at your fingertips. You try to remind him of the situation because it doesn’t seem to be registering for him. “A student at Hawkins High was killed, and you didn’t call me this morning.”

Jake sighs, running a hand down his face as he thinks about it. You finally start to see the grief threatening to peek through as he looks away from you. “I was on the team with Jason. My parents were bitching about being safe.” His voice is quieter now, not as firm.

You start to feel bad now. You’ve been bitching about him lately about his bad behavior. You’re doing it right now, when what he really needs is your support. You sigh, looking down at your feet as you offer a truce in the way of cradling his arm in your palm. He looks at you, his eyes softening with your own. You just look at him for a moment and take a breath.

“I just don’t understand.” Your voice would be a whisper if there weren’t so many people crowding the halls. You have no doubt that every single one of them is talking about Jason Carver, former captain of the basketball team. “It’s all so surreal. This kind of thing doesn’t happen in real life.”

He lifts his hand to your cheek, offering his comfort. “Hey,” he says gently, “everything’s gonna be fine. I’ll make sure you’re good. You can stay at my place until this all clears up.” Sometimes you wonder why you’re even with him. But then he does stuff like this, and you start to feel a little better about the struggle. “We can also have Brynn and Andrew over to make it fun. How does that sound?”

Better than you thought it would. You haven’t been around them in a while. You feel like maybe you shouldn’t delay that any longer.

“Yeah.” You nod, hyping yourself up a bit as you offer a little smile. “Yeah, that’ll be nice. Thanks.”

His smile widens a bit. He leans in. “Anything for my girl.” He kisses you. It’s a gentle kiss, and it makes you feel better because it feels like he means it. His thumb strokes your cheek, and you can’t help but to smile against his lips.

~

You take a nap as soon as you get home. The whole day has been so exhausting, weighed down by all the grief and confusion. There’s a team meeting after school, so you have to wait for that to finish before Jake comes to get you.

When you wake up, it’s almost eight o’clock. It’s weird. The meeting should’ve been over by now.

It’s too quiet. The silence is making your skin crawl, and you reach for the remote in a desperate need to fix it. When it’s on, you immediately regret making that so.

“A second murder shakes the grounds of Hawkins as another student by the name of Cassidy Franklin is killed only an hour ago at–”

Your shock is interrupted by a tiny clattering sound. You nearly jump out of your skin as your gaze is immediately drawn upstairs. You feel yourself begin to shake, and you don’t think you can move after you’ve turned off the TV just as quickly as you turned it on.

Everything is so still now. Even the air refuses to move as you wait for anything—another sound, more silence. Anything.

You will yourself to move as you go to the kitchen, pulling the biggest knife from its sheath and ignoring the way it trembles with your fear. The tension is the air so palpable, you genuinely believe you could cut it with the knife you have clenched in your tight fists.

You feel dumb walking upstairs, toward the noise you just heard. You feel like you might die if you go any further, but you also feel like if the killer is actually in your house, then you’ll probably die if you stay downstairs, too.

You turn every knob like it’s searing hot. Every time a door opens, you feel like your heart has jumped out of your throat and then forced its way back down once you’ve confirmed there’s no one there (or rather, once you don’t see anyone because you refuse to investigate any further).

When you reach your bedroom, you think you might die. Maybe not from the killer, but from the heart attack you feel creeping up your chest.

On your bed is a single letter and a strange doll thing. You don’t feel like your heart is beating when you walk into the room. You almost slip multiple times over your own feet just trying to get to your bed. When you’re standing there, you’re frightened by something moving beside you, and you genuinely do jump this time.

Your window is open. The curtains swayed gently with a light gust of wind coming through.

Yes. You think you might die.

You swallow thickly, trying to keep your tears choked down as you pick up the doll. It looks handmade. The arms are thin and pillowy, so are the legs. Neither of them have hands or feet, and it has a stitch mouth and buttons for eyes. In a weird, abstract way, you think it sort of looks like you. The skin tone is the same and the buttons match your eye color, at least.

It falls from your hands more than you set it down. They’re shaking so badly, you don’t think you’d have been capable of putting it down yourself.

When you look at the letter, the paper also looks like it’s been folded and glued by hand. Your name is written across the front in handwriting you’ve never seen before. You force yourself to open it to see what’s inside.

When you pull out the note, you cover your mouth as you throw it back down, stumbling away. Tears spring to your eyes, despite your best effort to keep them away. There’s a smudge of blood on the paper. It doesn’t look old.

You squeeze your eyes shut, holding your breath like it’ll wake you up from some terrible dream. But when you open your eyes again and find yourself in the same room, you try not to choke on your tears.

As your entire body trembles, you find your way back to the bed. You pick up the note and do your best to keep your hands still (miserably) so you can read it.

I’ll pull all the loose strings for you, my little puppet. And once they’re all gone, we will be together.

A startled cry rips its way from your throat. You collapse to the floor as your chest heaves uncontrollably. This is too much stress. You can’t take all of this.

You don’t know how long you spend on the floor like this—sobbing and losing a lot of water—but once you’ve wracked up the strength, you crumple the letter into a ball and grab the doll by its torso, squeezing with all the fear and anger in your chest. You open your closet door, throwing them both at the wall with all your strength and forcing the door shut.

You calm your breath enough to stop your tears and wipe at your face, rushing down the stairs with the bag you’d already packed. You’re out of the door in barely any time, getting in the car as quickly as possible and you tear a path straight to Jake’s house.

Once you’re there, you don’t see his father’s car, so you assume he’s working overtime at the department to catch this killer. The way your fists pound on the front door is insistent. You almost sock Jake right in the face as soon as it’s open.

“Fuck,” he says quickly, his words rushing from his mouth. “I’m so sorry, babe. I lost track of time and–”

You don’t listen to him. You throw your arms around him and bury your face in his chest. He smells vaguely of your perfume. You try not to cry again. It’s not too hard, seeing as you already cried a ton of tears earlier onto your bedroom floor.

“Can I stay with you tonight?” You sound pathetic, but you don’t care enough to try to fix it.

“Yeah. Come on.” He opens the door wider, pulling his arm tightly around you as he tucks the both of you into the house. He closes the door behind you, still holding onto you as you pull him tight. He eases your face back into his chest. “What’s got you so freaked out?”

You don’t know what to tell him. You tell him the truth, he might believe you, he might not. If he does, he might decide to go on a killing spree to deal with whoever he thinks could have done it (you have a suspicious feeling that Eddie will be at the top of the list, simply because he doesn’t like him). There are just too many variables, and you’re too tired and too scared to deal with any of them.

“I…” you sigh shakily, “I’m just surprised by…Cassidy’s death.” Cassidy’s fucking dead. You almost forgot about that with all the insanity swarming through your head.

As his hand strokes down the back of your head, you feel his chest rumble against your cheek as he speaks. “You worked with her, didn’t you?” He sounds genuinely curious. He really wasn’t listening…

“Yeah.”

He shakes his head. “That’s crazy.” He sets his chin on top of your head and keeps rubbing your back.

“Jake.” You pull away from him just enough to look at his face. His hands cradle your elbows as your own clutch desperately at his sides. You need to know. “Do you love me?”

He stares at you and nods, bringing a hand to your cheek. His thumb strokes it, just like before. His hand is hot. “Yeah.”

Your tongue darts out to wet your lips, searching his eyes for something to hold onto it. “Would you…” You try to steady your breath, swallowing thickly. “Would you let anything bad happen to me?”

You don’t expect him to say yes, but you need to hear it all the same. “‘Course not,” he says. “You’re my girl.”

You lift yourself onto your toes to kiss him. He cranes his neck down to meet you, and his hands fall down to your waist. You bring your arms up to wrap around his shoulders, trying to bring him down further. You need to forget about all of this. Just for a moment. You want to forget.

“Make me feel better,” you mutter against his lips.

He smiles a little, bringing his hands down further to pick you up, wrapping your legs around his wait. “Don’t have to tell me twice.”

~

“Welcome, students.”

The gym is packed full of students. All the students and faculty are sitting in the bleachers or standing around the gym floor, watching the principal and the police officers giving an announcement front and center. You sit so close to Jake that your hips are practically glued together. Brynn’s on your other side with Andrew next to her. You keep wanting to glance over your shoulder where Eddie is sitting with his group, but you decide it’s probably best not to for the sake of not dealing with your friends and boyfriend’s bad attitudes.

“I know we are all aware of the recent losses in our community. Many of us are grieving the beloved memory of these fallen students. In an effort to avoid losing any more of them, our chief of police is going to set a few rules in place to keep our community safe from this unidentified individual.”

Principal Higgins steps back to offer Chief Hopper the floor. He steps forward, already looking tired as he directs his attention to the giant crowd staring at him.

He doesn’t bother with pleasantries. He gets straight to business. “From now on and until the killer is found, a town-wide curfew will be implemented.” People start murmuring in protest. “No one is to be out of their homes past nine o’clock. All doors will be locked and-”

Everyone is talking now. There are murmurs and shouts and boo’s and all kinds of protest as they respond frustratedly to these new rules. You personally don’t oppose them too much…

“You gotta be fucking kidding me,” Jake groans.

“This fucking sucks!” “What the hell, man?” “Seriously?” “We didn’t do anything!”

Chief Hopper isn’t having it. He cares little for the commotion, and it’s really just pissing him off.

“Hey!”

Everyone is immediately silenced. His voice is even harder now as he yells over the silence. He makes sure to enunciate every word. “All doors and windows will be locked. You are advised to come to school and then go straight home to reduce the risk of being hurt. Police will be patrolling the streets to ensure these rules are being followed. We advise you to stay in groups and be vigilant of your surroundings. Anyone caught breaking curfew will be brought in for questioning, which could lead to a possible arrest.” There’s more silence. No one wants to interrupt him again. “Am I understood?”

Everyone murmurs their reluctant agreement.

“Thank you.”

He stands back again. Principal Higgins steps forward. “Thank you, Chief Hopper.” He clasps his hands together. “Now let us all close our eyes and bow our heads for…”

You’ve tuned him out by now. You don’t have the strength to listen to him right now. You keep replaying that note in your head over and over again.

Once they’re all gone, we will be together…

“They’re calling him Ghostface,” Jake mumbles, keeping his voice low to avoid being called out. “‘Cause of the mask they found at Cassidy’s crime scene.”

You try not to flinch. “Why are we calling him anything but a murderer?”

He shrugs. “I mean, there are a lot of murderers.”

You glance at him, but you ultimately keep your gaze fixated on your hands as you rub at your palms. “I don’t think we should be villainizing him. I mean, people actually like villains.” I’ll pull all the loose strings for you, my little puppet…

He sighs lightly. “I think it’s a pretty sick name.”

“Jake.”

“Just saying.”

There’s a weird feeling burning into your back, like someone’s watching you. It spreads like a wave, and you fight the urge to shudder as you glance behind you to see what it is.

You see Eddie, and your worries are set aside. He offers a tiny grin and a thumbs up. He wants to know if you’re okay. You return the smile as best you can and give him your own thumb. You turn back around, feeling a little better about everything.

As soon as the assembly is dismissed, everyone is making their way back to class or wherever they intend to go. Jake kisses your temple and runs off with his buddies. Brynn and Andrew go with him.

Walking by yourself, you rub a hand over your arm to self-soothe. You’re at school. Nothing is going to happen while you’re at school. You go to your locker just to be there. You don’t want to go to class yet, and you don’t want to stand in the middle of the gym or the hall like some loser.

You’re there for barely a minute before someone’s standing next to you. You flinch when you realize it, quickly calming when you recognize Eddie and his sweet face. He gives you an apologetic look. “You okay? Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

You nod, grabbing his arm and sighing with a small smile. “All good.” You grab your stuff and start down the hall with him at your side. You assume he’s walking you to class because his is at the other side of the school.

“How are you…?”

Both of you pause at the sound of Eddie’s name, pausing by the hall as you hear the familiar voices of some of Jake’s team members.

“Your girlfriend hangs out with that Munson guy?”

“I keep telling her.” Jake seems as displeased as Tommy H.

“Your girl’s a fucking freak for that, man.” That’s Andrew, Brynn’s boyfriend. You’ve learned to tune him out at this point.

“Hey, cut it out, Andy.” Chance is probably the most sane of the group, but he’s still an asshole. “That’s his fucking girlfriend.”

“Keep talking shit about her, and I’ll fuckin’ kill you.”

Tommy’s voice is obnoxious. “Shouldn’t say that, or they’ll arrest you.” A round of laughter sparks among them. Jake’s is the loudest.

“Maybe they should.”

“They should just arrest Munson,” Chance deadpans. Your grasp tightens around a textbook. You’re getting sick of hearing it. “We all know it’s him.”

“Since your girl’s suckin’ face with him, maybe she’s in on it, too… But that’d make her a slut.”

Everyone laughs, even as you hear the scuffle of shoes and ruffle of clothes as some weird play fight breaks out between them. You assume it’s between Jake and Tommy.

Eddie’s hand gently grabs your arm, crowding your space to put a barrier between you and them. His gaze is schooled on your face. He seems really upset, but he hides it well so he can comfort you. You scoff, shaking your head as you stare blankly at the floor, your face set in passionate displeasure.

“I fucking hate jocks.”

“Yeah. Me, too,” he mutters, stroking your arm. Goosebumps erupt over your skin, your entire arm gets covered in them. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

You nod, looking up at him and letting the concern in his eyes ease you. “Yeah.” You readjust your grip on your book, turning the other to walk to his class instead. He lets you, because he knows you’re trying to self-soothe and he doesn’t want to interrupt that. “I’m more upset about everyone always assuming it’s you. Like they know you or something.” You mumble the last part more to yourself, but he hears it loud and clear. It’s heartwarming, your support of him.

“That’s sweet,” he says, “but I don’t really care that much.” Like he’s said before, he’s used to it. You still don’t like it, and he loves that about you. “I don’t know too many girls who take kindly to being called a slut.” He stops you so that he can properly look at you. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

You nod, giving him your best smile in an attempt to convince him. He’s so sweet. You don’t want him to worry. “I’m good,” you shrug nonchalantly. “His friends are just assholes. It’s whatever.”

He doesn’t fully believe you, but he doesn’t want to press and stress you out. So he just nods and says, “Hey, you can sit with me during lunch so you don’t have to sit with them.”

You smile, and this time he believes it. “That sounds great.”

~

You’ve rustled through your bag maybe seven times now, and you still can’t find it. The amount of distress it’s causing you is a little unnerving. One thing. You just want one thing to be simple.

“Shit.” Eddie looks over at you, watches you put your head against the lunch table with a force that concerns him. He reaches a hand out and rubs circles along your back unprompted. “I left my notebook for my next class in my car.”

He raises a brow. “Are they really important?”

You turn your head to look at him. “If I miss any of these notes, I’m not passing this test.” And your teacher is a true asshole who refuses to delay the test even a single day to give you all a break.

Eddie’s already moving to stand, offering his hand to you. “I’ll go with you. You know, to keep you safe.”

You glance over at the table where Jake sits. He keeps looking over at you. When you slip your hand into Eddie’s, you know he’s pissed. You don’t mind it too much. “Thanks, Eddie.” He gives you one of those big smiles.

You walk with Eddie out of the cafeteria. There’s a cop posted at the door who checks the both of you out before letting you leave. The sun is really bright, despite the depression inside. It’s actually a bit glaring as you shield your vision from it. Eddie’s not having much luck with it either.

Eddie walks closely by you, and you appreciate the sentiment. You don’t feel as unsafe as you should—maybe it’s because it’s daytime and there are people around you. Nothing is going to happen in broad daylight.

You should really learn not to think things like that, though.

Eddie practically jumps in front of you as the loud screeching of tires alarms everyone around you. You startle, immediately looking towards the car that’s speeding through the parking lot. It’s loud and explosive. It hurts your ears, and you look away because you don’t know if you can take all this shock. You’re going to have a heart attack in your teens.

You cover your ears when it just barely crashes against the back of a car, bouncing off of it just to catapult into a giant pole.

The front is entirely caved in. There’s steam billowing from the hood as the back tires roll. One of the doors has flung open, and you stare in shock at what’s just happened. It takes you a moment to process Eddie’s protective arm over your front. You set a hand on his shoulder, and he immediately turns to examine you. “Are you okay?” he asks quickly, frantic as he looks over every part of you like you were the thing the car hit.

You start to nod when a blood curdling scream fills the air. Your head shoots to the scene of the crash, and you’re running toward it before you can even register Eddie’s protests. He chases after you.

You don’t know what you expected, but it wasn’t this.

It’s gruesome and graphic. Your hands fly to your mouth as you fight the urge to scream at the sight of two bloodied bodies lying cold in the back seat. They’ve been completely mutilated with the amount of times they’ve been stabbed all over. If you hadn’t known them so well, you probably wouldn’t have been able to make them out with all the blood and tears spread over their faces.

Telling flesh from organs (or even clothes) proved difficult. It was a mess of fabric and tissue. Some places were so abused that you could see bone sticking out of wounds, surrounded by flesh and meat. Your gut churned and churned. You wanted to look away, you’re almost begging to look away but you can’t.

That’s two jocks now, four dead bodies. First Jason, then Cassidy…and now Tommy H and Carol Perkins.

Their wide eyes are unblinking…

You can hear your breath in your ears. Everything else is so loud and muffled—the screams, the shouts, the chatter—but the heavy gasps of your lungs is a pound in your head that you can’t tune out. Everything seems to slow as you stare at the two, their bodies unmoving and broken by glinting blades. All you do is stare.

You don’t realize Eddie’s arm wrapped around your waist until he turns your head from the scene. You try to look back, but he’s shielding your gaze with his hand so that you can only look at him. “Hey, hey, hey.” His voice, though thick with breath and something you can’t place with the way your brain rushes, is grounding. “You’re okay. Let’s go. Come on.”

You just follow him because he’s the only steady thing you can focus on. He crowds you with his body, and you let him before it gives you something to focus on. The sight of them is still in your head, stuck to your brain like a dart in a dartboard. You don’t understand. You want to understand.

You don’t notice more people bursting through the doors. You don’t notice the cops following after with their guns drawn as they scream at everyone to get out of the way. You don’t notice more screams filling the air and police sirens from the cars already in the parking lot. You focus on Eddie’s warm palm against your palm as the other holds your hand tight.

You don’t know how much time has passed before you come to. Eddie’s rubbing your back and letting you rest your head on his shoulder. Everything seems calm enough to feel real. You lift your head heavily and look at him. His gaze is distant, and you take it as shock.

You tuck your arm under his to wrap it around his back. He looks down at you, blinking a couple times before continuing to just sit next to you. Everything is fine.

It takes longer than it should for you to remember Jake. When you think you can stand, you place a hand on Eddie’s shoulder and tell him insistently, “I…I’m going to find Jake. He’s probably freaking out, and…just please be safe. Please don’t get hurt. Be safe, please.”

Eddie nods, squeezing your hand gently before letting you go. “You, too. I’ll see you later, right?”

It takes a moment to process. “Yes. Yeah, I’ll try to call you.” He nods, squeezes your hand again, and then lets you go. As you turn away toward the thick crowd, you see Jonathan Byers joining Eddie. Argyle and Robin find them a moment later. At least he’s got company.

Everyone is in the cafeteria now. There’s police at every door keeping anyone from leaving. It’s very crowded, and for a moment, you think you can’t breathe, but you need to find your boyfriend.

It takes you a long time to find him. When you do, it looks like he's just now being told what's happened by his teammates. Brynn is at his side with Andrew holding her hands, speaking slowly. You finally get to them and drop to your knees to look up at him. He sits down heavily, dropping his face in his hands. He looks really tired.

“Jake?” you whisper, brushing his hair back from his face and gently holding his face to lift it up. He sees you, and his eyes dart between your own. His expression is so far away, and you begin to worry yourself sick. You wrap your arms around him, holding him close as you wait for anyone to tell you anything about what’s going on.

They send you home in groups, canceling school for the rest of the week while they’re at it. You worry about Jake driving, but he’s assured you that you’re okay enough and traffic is slow already. He drives in front of you, and you busy yourself with reading and rereading his plate numbers a million times just to try to avoid thinking about the corpses in Tommy H’s car.

You go to your house first. You hate the thought of walking in there right now, but you need clothes and things if you’re staying at Jake’s house for the next couple of days. You reach through the window of his truck on the way in, sliding a hand down his face. “You okay?”

He nods. He looks like he’s coming back to himself, but he’s still (obviously) deeply upset. “I’m good.”

You kiss his forehead before you’re headed inside with hesitant steps. Once the door is unlocked and open, you move quickly in an effort to grab all the things you need. As you’re passing the kitchen, you notice something sitting on the table. There wasn’t anything there when you were last here.

You swallow thickly, closing your eyes and slowly turning on your heel. When you open your eyes again to see, you swallow the insistent lump in your throat and set your bag on the counter. You walk slowly into the kitchen, and your hands begin to tremble all over again.

The note is the same handmade paper as before. This time, the smudge is on the outside over your name. Your heart is pounding so fast, you can’t even fathom focusing on it right now. You reach a hand out to grab it.

You hear Jake’s shoes as he steps through the front door. You swipe up the note and hide it behind your back as his gaze finds you.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, his tone sort of lazy.

You shake your head. “Nothing. I’m just gonna get my stuff.” You start walking toward the stairs.

“I’ll come with you.”

“No,” you sound more desperate than you mean to. But he wouldn’t understand. “No, it’s fine. Please don’t.”

He stares at you for a moment before deciding it’s not that big a deal. He steps back, nodding to himself. “Okay.” He turns on his heel and walks back to his truck to wait for you.

You rush upstairs, shoving open your bedroom door and locking it behind you. You almost yelp when you turn and see a black rose sitting on your bed. You slap a hand over your mouth and close your eyes to center yourself, breathing like that will make the rose disappear—and the letter, too, for that matter.

You lean against the door, your breath shaky as you look at the envelope. You tear it open slower than you had the first, pulling out the letter inside like it will explode if you’re not careful enough.

When all our enemies are dead and buried, we will be the ones laughing together. Soon, my perfect little puppet.

Your breath shudders as memories of just earlier that day pulse in your ears, Tommy and the team laughing at you for “being a slut”. Without wasting a second, Tommy haunts you with the sight of his open eyes, wide and bloodshot—as if he’d just seen a ghost.

This letter goes with the last one. You throw it into the closet and turn to your dresser for some clothes to stuff in a bag. But the top drawer is already open. A pair of underwear is missing. The only reason you know that is because it's the only red pair you have, and it’s not glaring you down.

You shake your head, grabbing the first sets of clothes you see and stuffing them in the bag. You lock all your windows, you lock your bedroom door behind you, you run down the stairs and ignore the fact that you could trip and fall at any moment (effectively breaking your neck and ridding you of the exhaustion of the mess that is your life right now).

You keep (re-locking) every lockable door and window in your house before you finally reach the front door. Once you’re sure it’s locked tight, you rush to Jake’s car with your bag thrown over your shoulder. You toss it in the back, and Jake pulls away as soon as your seatbelt is on. You’re glad he doesn’t ask you what’s wrong, because you know you’re not subtle.

~

The night is a little better once you get to Jake’s place (at least, it is for him once he's had a few beers). Brynn is over—Andrew had to stay home, his parents were too worried to let him leave the house.

But you've got the house all to yourselves. Jake's father is working all night at the precinct. There's no way he's coming home with a killer on the loose—a killer who's already claimed two jocks so far. He's not very keen on a third, especially with such a personal risk.

There's a movie on, and it's a nice distraction for them. Your mind is a little too preoccupied with the events of today (the events of the past few days).

As you glance over at Jake, you set a hand on his knee. There was a flash of something sad in his eyes for a moment. His mood, although it has improved, is still a little sour. It isn't so low that he looks like he isn't there—no, the beer has helped with that—but there's a faintness there that concerns you.

“You okay?” It's a dumb question, but it's the only one you've got. Brynn looks over.

Jake glances at you, nodding. “Yeah,” he says. “Just can't believe he got Tommy.” He shakes his head. “It's not fucking cool, he was a good dude.”

You can admit that you never really liked him. But that wasn't a reason for him to die.

He stands, swirling his empty beer can in his hand and going to grab another. You're still sipping—you never really liked the taste of beer, and Brynn seems to be almost through with hers.

He rustles through the fridge and cracks open another can. “I don't even know why anyone would do this.” He takes a generous swig, running a hand through his hair and shutting the fridge door.

“A fucking psycho, that's who,” Brynn mutters. She drapes a hand over her face. “Who knows what else he'll do?”

Jake scoffs, rolling his eyes. “I try not to think about it.”

You swallow thickly, looking down at your hands as you twirl your thumbs around the other. Brynn glances at you when you say nothing. You're doing that thing where the crease between your brows folds and unfolds. Something’s off.

“What's wrong?” she mutters. Jake looks at you.

You don't know how to tell them. You don't even know if they'll understand. Besides, with everything going on, your problems aren't nearly as important.

You go to dismiss it, but as you glance up and see them both watching you, you realize that you cannot sit here and pretend that nothing is bothering you this time. You look away, trying to find the words and feeling like you’re grasping at straws in a simple attempt at voicing your concerns.

“I…” You take a steadying breath, remembering the notes written to you on letters stained with blood. Fear circles your throat and makes it difficult to speak. You look up at Jake and Brynn. What if saying something about this meant they would both die? What if this thing, this sick, twisted thing going on between you and the killer means that everyone you love will end up dead?

Once again, you go to deny them the truth, the ugly truth of your peril…but you’ve already made that impossible. You swallow thickly, clearing your throat and hoping it will give you some courage.

“I’ve been getting these…these letters.” You clasp your hands together in an effort to stop their trembling. Your voice is soft, so soft that you don’t think they can hear you. “I think it’s from…him.”

Jake’s hand flexes, and you think for a moment that he’ll spill beer all over the place from crushing the can in his fist. “Who?” You think it’s possession over protection.

“The killer,” you say. Then your voice gets weaker. “Ghostface.”

Brynn makes a face. One that tells you that she doesn’t quite believe you. “Why would you be getting letters from this psycho?”

They’re not understanding. They don’t hear the fear in your voice.

“I don’t know. They’re these twisted love letters. I swear to God, there was blood on one of them.” You bring your knees up to your chest, trying to find warmth where fear has made your blood cold. You don’t look at them as you shake your head. It’s an absurd thing to say, but all of what’s happening is absurd. “I think this guy is killing for me.”

Brynn shakes her head, finding logic where you’re too emotional to look. “That doesn’t make sense.”

Jake agrees, coming back to the living room to lean on the couch beside you. “It’s probably just some fuckin’ creep playing with you.” He drinks from his can.

As reasonable as they sound—at least, it’s more reasonable than the theory you have—you can’t believe it. Too much has happened, and this is all too fucked up to try to rationalize. You shake your head, turning your body to face him.

“You don’t understand. He got into my house.” Jake’s eyes aren’t clear, and he looks generally unfazed. You reach a hand out to grasp his own, squeezing it to try to get him to listen to you. “He was there today.”

He tilts his head down. The way he looks at you is nothing if not condescending, but you try not to see it that way. “Maybe you left your door unlocked.” You think, as the son of a police officer, he should be more upset about something breaking into your house. Hell, as your boyfriend, he should be more upset about a guy breaking into your house. “Ie,” he continues, “someone’s playing a trick on you.”

You tilt your head, your anxious frustration turning to something more angry. “I always lock the door. Especially when my parents aren’t home—especially when there’s a psycho killer on the loose.” He shakes his head. You take his face in your hands, making him look at you again. “Jake, Cassidy tried to get me fired. I heard Tommy talking about me today.”

“And Jason?” he nearly snaps. He steps away from you completely. “How’s he connected, huh?”

You swallow. He’s the only one who sticks out. Jason was never unkind to you—though you know he can be unkind. He was, to those that counted to him, as gentlemanly as a jock can get.

You look down. “I…” You clear your throat lightly. “I don’t know, but I know something’s wrong.”

“Yeah, four people are dead.” He almost slams his beer on the counter. His voice cracks slightly, and he runs a hand through his messy hair. He speaks quietly, though not lacking the hurt in his voice. “That’s what’s wrong.”

You know he, Jason, and Tommy were friends, you know how much they mean to him. But—damn it—you should mean just as much! He’s supposed to have your back through this, just like you’ve had his. You’ve tried to be good to him this whole time, and then when you try to tell him how afraid you are, he throws it in your face.

It’s getting to be too much. You have grown used to the flimsy support of those close to you. You parents are almost always gone, your boyfriend has his team, your best friend has her boyfriend. Things used to be so good, and they’ve just been getting so stressful. You never ask for anything from any of them, and the one time you do, you’ve served with a steaming bowl of hot shit. It’s too much.

“I feel like I’m going crazy here, and neither of you are listening to me.” You run your hands down your face, covering your eyes and trying to steady your breath, trying to ease the heat in your chest from all the anger gathering there. “I feel like-like I’m being watched all the time.”

Brynn speaks up. “You’re just paranoid.”

“He was in my house!

You couldn’t stop it once it was out. Your shout was louder than you’d anticipated, and you feel like it’s the first time your words have ever been forced straight from your chest. There’s so much there that you feel like you have to catch your breath as the silence sits thick in the space between the three of you.

You look at Brynn. She stares down at her lap, timidly picking her nails. You look at Jake. He’s got his face in his hand as he leans against the counter.

They don’t believe you.

You can’t make them.

You stand up quickly, pushing yourself off the couch so hard that you almost fall forward. “I don’t need this.” You shove past Jake on your way to the hall, “You guys are supposed to have my fucking back.” Brynn turns to Jake, her eyes unblinking. You climb the stairs and barge into his room, grabbing your bags and repacking the things you’ve set out.

Jake has followed you up the stairs. “Come on, babe. Don’t act like this.”

It makes you seethe. “I’m going home.”

“How? You live too far, and you don’t have a ride.” You glare at him. That’s his concern. “Besides, you shouldn’t be out by yourself.” He adds it on like an afterthought.

You shake your head, closing your eyes and taking a steadying breath. “Then I’ll call someone to get me.” You slam your bag shut, forcing the zipper closed with far too much strength. “I just can’t fucking look at you right now.”

Jake grabs you, stopping you from what you’re doing to make you look at him. “Hey, babe, look, I’m sorry. Okay?” He makes you face him, his hands on your elbows as he cages you in. You turn your face away. “I’m being a huge dick… I believe you, okay?”

You huff, glancing at him out of the corner of your eyes. You take in the sight of him, trying to determine if he’s lying to you. He seems upset, genuinely. It’s foolish hope, but it’s hope, and that’s all you really want right now. “Do you?” It’s more accusing than it is anything else.

His voice is low, and he cradles your face in his hand. You let yourself, reluctantly, lean into his palm. “If that’s what you want.” You don’t like his response, but you push it away. He’s never had a way with words. “I’m sorry.” He pulls you close, bringing his other hand to wrap around your waist. “Let me make it up to you.”

You sigh, allowing yourself for just a moment to think maybe…maybe he means it. His thumb brushes over your cheek, the corner of his lips curves up. He leans in.

“Are you fucking serious right now?”

You shove him hard. You clench your fists at your side and feel yourself reaching a level of anger that is generally foreign to you. You're used to pushing it away.

Jake's shock quickly turns to annoyance, which forms a deep frustration as he huffs. “I'm so fucking sorry,” he mocks. He crowds your space, his face merely inches from his own as he speaks in a low voice that feels like he's shouting. “Two of my friends are dead, and you're making it all about you.”

You want to feel bad, but you can't. You're tired of feeling bad, you're tired of letting yourself be overlooked. What kills you is that he can't even realize that you're not okay—that you're hardly ever okay.

“What the fuck is the matter with you?” You stare in shock and partially in pain, though you try to keep that hidden. It claws at your throat, and you feel like you can't speak; you push through it, despite the burning coals stuck in your throat. “I'm genuinely terrified that someone is trying to hurt me, and you're acting like this?”

He looks like he's about to rip his hair out—which is the point you're reaching as well. “Nobody is trying to hurt you! You're fucking delusional. Jesus Christ, why do you have to be such a whiny little bitch?”

A mix of emotions run through you, but all you do is stand there. You stand and you stare at him, eyes wide and welling, lips parted as your brows dip low.

It's one thing to have a stray thought that your boyfriend finds you annoying—even, perhaps, that he hates you. It's another thing entirely to have those theories confirmed, and in such a way! You look at the features of his face, all the rage and frustration peeling back into fatigue and a hint of regret. You stare even longer, longer than you were meant to, just wanting to see more regret than what he's giving.

You want him to fall to his knees and cry, to beg your forgiveness. But you know he would never beg. You know he would never fall. He never did. It was always you.

After all this time, you were always the one falling.

Ideally, you know you both need to take a step back, get some space. You need to clear your head and think about this so you can come back and figure this out. Especially with everything going on, feelings running high. You should be rational.

But you can't. 

The only thing you want to do right now is slam the door in his face, leave him standing there looking stupid. Because if you come back, if you make up and go back to normal…

You don't know how much more you can take.

Jake takes a step forward. “Babe–”

“Get the fuck away from me.”

“Babe, I'm sorry. I'm just–”

You hit his hand away when he reaches for you. “Don't fucking touch me.” You stare at him for a second longer, shaking your head before turning sharply to grab your bags. You make for the door.

“Babe–”

“Rot in Hell.”

You slam the door in his face, rushing down the stairs as quickly as you can. Brynn spots you, walking up to you quickly as she looks down at your bags. “Where are you going?”

“Fuck off.”

“You don't have your car–!” You slam the front door shut. You make sure Jake can hear it from upstairs.

No one follows you. You trek down the sidewalk, your feet heavy and your grip on your bags tight. Your heart is beating so hard, it comes with the sound of thunder in your ears. You know you're about to cry, you can feel it in the heaviness of your chest, the tightness in your throat, the hoarseness of every breath you take. You think briefly that you may die.

But the longer you walk, the longer you realize that you are outside. It's past curfew, late at night. You are alone.

And there's a killer on the loose.

It's the most inconvenient time for tears to fall. You can't see well, and you're breathing so heavily that you can't hear what's going on around you.

The streets are bare. There's no one around. The sky is drenched in darkness. Everyone is inside hiding from the killer, where they should be.

Where do you go?

You have no car. You live too far to walk. You refuse to go back and ask for a ride. You refuse to go back.

You swallow thickly, picking up the pace as you rush to the nearest payphone. There's one close by, you’ve passed by it a million times.

Once you're inside, you close the door quickly. But as soon as your hand is reaching for loose quarters in your bag, you realize they're shaking. You watch them, like leaves rattling in the window. As you bring them slowly to your face, you can't help it when your knees buckle.

You let yourself be carried to the ground, unable to hold it together long enough to find safety. It's all coming down so quickly, and you don't have the sense to allot time to cry after you've found it.

You'd hoped you were wrong, that your friends actually loved you. What a fool you were to believe such a thing. You'd grown so used to such a skewed perception of love that you don't think you'd be able to distinguish that from your twisted need to please every goddamn person you meet.

You like to believe that, at one point, it was real. It had to have been, right? It's been almost a year since you and Jake met. And Brynn has been your best friend since the beginning of high school. But that kind of distrust, those kinds of insults don't come from a place of love.

No, you don't think Jake ever truly loved you. It was simple attraction—attraction that wore off, that he probably got sick of but felt too obligated to preserve because you need someone. And there was a time for you and Brynn, but it has since passed.

You held on too tight.

It's nighttime and the sun has long since set. By the time you clear your face, you feel stupid for crying before finding safety. There are more important things than this.

You take a steadying breath. You need to be rational again.

You stuff a quarter in the slot and clear your throat as you bring the phone to your ear. It rings a few times, and you're scared he won't pick up.

“Hello?”

You recognize the voice, but it's not the one you're looking for. “Hey…” You clear your throat again. “I'm looking for Eddie? I'm one of his friends, we've actually met before.”

Eddie's Uncle Wayne pauses to think. You can imagine him scratching his head and rubbing his neck. He says your name in his low, gravelly voice.

You nod as if he can see you. “Yes, that's me.”

“Ah. Well,” he clears his own throat, “Eddie's at one of his friend's houses right now. That Harrington boy, should be. Staying in groups and all that.”

“Okay.” You hadn't anticipated that. You chew on your lip thoughtfully, trying to decide your best course of action. You know Steve, so maybe you'll be welcome. “Do you think you could give me his number?”

He makes this grunting sound, which is just the sound of him thinking. “Let's see,” he mumbles. “Should be in here somewhere.”

You've only interacted with Wayne a few times. He's very mellow, but he's kind and welcoming. And Eddie adores him.

“Harrington residence. What's up?”

“Hey. Steve? Is Eddie there?”

He says your name, double checking. It's been a little while since you've spoken, with him graduating and all.

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, he's here.”

You let out a quiet breath of relief. “Could I speak to him?”

“Yeah, hang on.”

There's a shift. Then you hear Steve shout his name.

“Hey, sweetheart.” He already sounds concerned. “What's the matter?”

You rub your face. “Got into it with…” you take a deep breath and hope you don't sound as dreadful as you felt, “with Jake and Brynn. I don't wanna be home by myself. I know it’s past curfew but…” You glance around you in the dark. “Do you think you could come get me?”

There's a pause, and you wonder if you've said something wrong. Eddie is all enthusiasm. He's loud and excited, and he's quick to respond because he's happy to respond.

The silence makes you nervous.

“Eddie?”

“Yeah!” he recovers. “Yeah, of course. Where are you right now?”

You're glad he doesn't ask how you are. “I'm on Jake's street still.”

You hear a jingle. “Stay there. I'll be there in a few minutes.” You're surprised he doesn't ask why you're outside so late, but you're grateful nonetheless.

“Thank you, Eddie,” you smile.

You can hear his own smile through the phone. He's sticky with affection, and it makes you feel safe. “No worries, sweetheart.”

Continued....

Stranger Things taglist: @activebliss @queermaxwooo @life-on-needs @killerqueen-ofwillowgreen @emmalee-01 @sw34ter-w34ther @gublur @allofmaris @redwineandnicotine @the-cryptid @katsukis1wife @chaoticcancer @papichulo120627 @emistrash @jjmaybankswifes-blog @thegr8estpuff @lover-of-books-and-tea @xxhanililoxx @quickslvxrr Eddie the Banished taglist: @iiiiluvhobie @eddiiiieeee @hb8301 @queermaxwooo @lovemegood @munsaniac @digital-charlie @eiriancrow @littleblondesoprano @alexxavicry @samz31 @sparkletash @fandomgirl17 @marjoriea13 @akiratoro420 @mewchiili @mischieftom @hiscrimsonangel

[lexirosewrites]

Ok last slick sunday ask that's been sitting in my head!! The 2 part one I did was a great exercise & helped me get some imagery thoughts processed abt things for my haunted Harrington fic 👻

A!Eddie is ofc our favorite famous rock star, an aspirational horror director/actor, fantasy nerd, who's seen w a different omega in every city @ every event

O!Steve is a historian, specifically a costume historian, he has a degree tht he has framed in a reproduction of a rococo golden frame, he has a YouTube channel, Steve's Seams, tht he started initially as a way to keep his adopted mom (B!Claudia) updated & involved w his projects, he specializes in the mid to late Victorian era but he has put in the work on other projects of different eras (high middle ages, Renaissance, regency) Steve makes an effort to make these garments using materials & tools tht r as close to historically accurate as one can get, his videos r informative & calming & his voice is soothing & his projects r creative at their core

he did an entire video series when he was invited to the Met Costumes Department just absolutely nerding out, asking questions, having bubbly conversations. It's this series tht makes his channel suddenly blow up. He's getting comments on old videos, alot of the comments abt how attractive he is, the most popular videos tend to b his videos reviewing costumes in "period piece" movies/shows, not bc he's harsh but bc he takes the time to explain/illustrate how something would've looked if it'd been made accurate to the period the media is meant to b set in

Some time later.........

Eddie & Corroded Coffin r planning a series of music videos for their upcoming album, they've got a reputation for their conceptual albums tht have powerful aesthetics, their albums till now r set in blatantly fantasy worlds following a vague middle ages aesthetic, but now they're stuck.

They've made a rock opera essentially & they know the story they're telling in the album: an alpha detective finds themselves swept up in a missing persons case turned to a murder case tht leads them into a vampiric city underground, literal blood sucking mafia essentially, where they finds the victims omega mate amongst a coven of vampires, now turned & mated to the vampire tht leads the entire underground, the victim had been abusing the omega & when they went to the vampire mafia bc they saw no other recourse, the omega was discovered to b the reincarnation of the leaders first & only love, the album/opera ends w the detective being fed to the hungry horde.

They're throwing ideas back & forth for the music videos w their ever talented manager/agent/creative coordinator A!Chrissy, they have a disappointing meeting but when they come back the next day Chrissy has pep in her step & proudly shows them a YouTube video. It's a critique of one of their music videos from their first big break album, it'd been vaguely set in the middle ages/Renaissance, except this person doesn't care abt the music instead they’re observing the costumes, explaining the time period they'd been borrowing from, how the costumes would've been constructed/actually looked during the historic period they'd presented. Then Chrissy shows them a video of this YouTube channel constructing a Victorian opera gown & opera suit. It's a eureka moment as the band realizes where she's going w this, a Victorian vampire is classic! Why not lean into the whole thing? Eddie is quiet as they discuss giving one word & noncommittal answers, bc he's stuck staring at the gorgeous omega in the paused video, then he speaks up over all the noise saying they NEED this specific historian on their creative team specifically to consult & design the costumes. Chrissy raises an eyebrow but agrees

Steve agrees, signs a rlly big NDA, & is flown out to LA so he can begin his role as a consultant/designer for the 6 music videos the band has conceptualized for the album.

Steve meets the entire team at a meeting meant to discuss & establish the various logistics needed to make the videos the quality the band wants, they've hired a famous horror cinematographer, an even more famous horror director, everyone in the meeting has a lot of experience in a big scale filming environment & Steve doesn't, but he tries to not let it get to him. He wears garments he made himself (ofc) some of them he made on the channel even. A walking skirt in a very sensible deep green & an embroidered matching walking jacket r the focus of the outfit, when he gets to the building he's met by Chrissy & she leads him to the meeting room. He meets everyone especially the band, Eddie stumbles over his words, when Steve removes his walking jacket to reveal the equally green vest Eddie chokes on his water.

Blah blah blah

They don't want any of the ppl who audition for the role of the omega, Eddie is playing the vampire boss ofc & everyone's gotten closer to Steve & tht means everyone basically loves Steve, & hey he's an omega who is more than just pretty & he'd have a rlly easy time making a costume for himself, so Steve ends up as the omega in the music videos. Steddie get closer than they should since Eddie is technically Steve's boss

by the time the albums dropped with the music videos dropping each following week they've fallen fully in love & have discussed mating & Eddie’s been seen w a mystery omega around multiple cities but what's got everyone interested is the fact tht this is clearly the same person & they've been "practicing" for trying for a pup for awhile now😏

Dustin has a full freak out abt his older brother working w his favorite band of all time, AND HE HAD TO FIND OUT THRU PAPARAZZI THT HES DATING EDDIE MUNSON, when he tries to go to Robin w his melodrama tht rlly is more boundless happiness for Steve she blinks at him & tells him she already knew, Steve had told her abt their relationship literally two minutes after a conversation tht was followed by sex tht cemented them as romantic partners, before Dustin can leave to call his mom Robin tells him she knows already as well, after all Eddie had to ask SOMEONE for their blessing to mate & marry Steve & that's how Dustin learns they're engaged 🥰

i love how Steve is just living his best life (AKA making his hyperfixation into a career) and ends up snatched up by a rockstar with big ole heart eyes!!! he deserves nothing less!!!

[wifeofsnowbaird]

can you do a Tom Blyth x reader where they are filming like a romcom or something and they fall in love over the course of filming? i was thinking fluff but i would not be upset if it somehow ended up with some smut in their trailer ;) , just follow your heart!! lots of love ❤️

ofc! I’m absolutely shitty at smut tho i might try with this one but idk so fluff it is❤️ it’s gonna have 3 parts bc it’s definitely gonna need more than a short post!

this first part isnt really when they're filming i just wanted Tom to have a slight crush after seeing ur story and wanted a small scene with Rachel and Josh!

So long I've been out in the rain and snow.

But the winter's come and gone, and a little bird told me so.

Part 1/Part 2/

(Tom Blyth x actress!reader)

summary: you and Tom meet for the first time while Josh is in the middle of the livestream. It's become the new famous ship of the internet.

You were one of the newest actresses in Hollywood and luckily you managed to grab a role with one of the most famous actors right now, Tom Blyth.

Ever since he starred in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, people have been thirsting for him like he was water.

You wouldn't lie, you were one of them, but you two were supposed to meet in a coffee shop, reciting your lines and you were late.

" Oh you're [Name] [Last name], nice to meet you! Sorry, my friends decided to follow me here. "

Tom grinned, blue eyes twinkling in the sunlight, an apology gleaming in his pupils.

"No worries, it's fine! I'm so sorry I'm late, it was just traffic!"

" Don't worry, I'm just glad you made it!"

You took in a deep breath and extended your arm for a handshake. Surprisingly, he hugged you instead. You met the two 'friends' who are actually fucking Josh Rivera and Rachel Zegler who were seemingly livestreaming on Instagram.

" And here is the new couple! Say hi, you two love birds!"

Tom rolled his eyes before letting you go to tell Josh off.

" We aren't dating, we actually just met."

Josh turned, confused for a second before gazing at Tom's phone that was left on his chair.

"Wait, seriously? Didn't you see a post of her being your new co-star in that rom-com you're doing and started bragging a lot to Rachel and me? What's it?"

He thought for a minute before his eyes lit up and he smiled brightly.

"Oh, yeah! Sweet truth, where a girl had a bunch of exes tell lies and cheat but then finds a man who tells her nothing but the truth?"

Tom hissed and shut Josh up by covering his mouth, before he noticed Rachel leaning toward confused you, beginning to tell you the whole story.

His panicked face turned red.

" So it was a couple weeks ago, we were just calmly hanging out after reshooting some Ballad scenes when Tom showed us your Insta where you were like, I don't know, talking about the movie you're gonna be in! He was literally obsessed, I am not kidding."

She shrugged as Tom glared at her for spilling his secret.

"I'm sorry, I mean you're beautiful and I-"

He cleared his throat, unable to continue because of his embarrassment.

You giggled, shrugging.

" It's cool, I mean I think you're hot-I mean handsome too."

Inside you were literally screaming at yourself for exposing the fact that he's your celebrity crush.

" Uh, guys, I hope this isn't method acting because I'd be really disappointed in you, Tom" Josh snickered, sharing a mischievous glance with Rachel.

Tom rolled his eyes, smiling at you before beckoning to the chair beside him.

" Let's, uh, practice...?"

[blyth-me]

fresh out the slammer: william h. bonney

Summary: Life on the run isn't easy when you're young and in love, but when you and Billy finally break free, it's all worth it.

Warnings: SMUT 18+, penetrative sex (p in v) unprotected sex, fluff, lots of kissing and affection, angst if you squint

SMUT 18+ MDNI! IF I CANNOT SEE YOUR AGE, DO NOT INTERACT. ALL MINORS AND AGELESS BLOGS WILL BE BLOCKED.

Word Count: 2.3k

A/N: Saw that btk is renewed for the final season and I wanted to write a happier ending to the story bc I'm in denial that billy dies at the end :) this is unedited.

masterlist // fresh out the slammer universe

You think you'd be used to it by now. The constant running, waking in the middle of the night to slip away to the next town before sunrise, returning to Lincoln County but hiding away for months on end. It should be normal, maybe even a little comforting. Tonight is no different.

Billy wakes you up with a start, shaking your shoulder until you begin blinking and groaning. He whispers quickly that tonight's the night. He says he can feel it and the both of you have to go now or else. Or else. That's usually the punchline: "Or else I'll be behind bars." "Or else they'll take me from you." "Or else they'll hang me." This time, Billy has a smile on his face.

"Or else we'll miss our chance, sweetheart."

You blink and rub your eyes, still waking up. What chance, you wonder.

"I've got a little shack set up about ten miles out of town, we can rest for a bit and keep moving until we get to Texas." He rambles, grabbing bags filled for the both of you. "We'll be safe there for a few days and then we'll start for Oklahoma and be home free."

"Slow down-" you laugh sleepily. "Why are we headed to Texas?"

Billy puts his big hands on your shoulders and smiles. He tenderly brushes your hair from your face.

"Because, honey," he gives you a quick, sloppy kiss. "we're doing the big one."

The big one. It was a plan you and Billy had joked about. Sure, you'd fleshed out what you'd do and where you'd stay if you could get away from the bounties and gazing over your shoulders. And yes, you'd even talked about starting over and settling down for good. It was only a dream of yours, too good to be true, too unrealistic and unattainable. It was never meant to come true.

"The big one?" You whisper, gently touching his cheek. "Are you sure?" You look over his face, scanning for any sign of hesitation. You find none.

"Sure as the sky is blue." Billy smiles excitedly as you blink at him. He kisses you softly again. "I love you." He breathes, your noses bumping together.

"I love you too." You whisper back, stealing another kiss.

With that, Billy helps you up out of bed and into some decent clothes. You stuff your nightgown into the suitcase and take one last look at your little space. A lump builds in your throat as you take in the small house one more time. Though you've been on the move frequently, this house holds special memories. It's the house Billy said he loved you in, the house you'd planned your futures in, and the house you'd leave to do the big one with the love of your life.

"Come on sweetheart, we gotta go." Billy chides around the corner. He grabs your hand and drags you outside, helping you mount the already packed horse. You watch as he mounts his and the two of you ride off quickly into the night.

The ride is silent, your heart pounding as you follow him closely. When you reach the little shack he mentioned, dawn begins to break on the horizon. He quickly helps you off the horse, tying up the animals to a nearby tree and moving your bags inside. You settle inside, admiring the makeshift bed in the corner.

"I'm gonna feed and water the horses," Billy murmurs. "don't go bolting on me."

You laugh and smile at him.

"I won't, I swear." You say softly as he grabs your waist and kisses you quickly. You watch as he creeps out of the shack to tend to the horses. You turn and sit on the small, lumpy mattress, not even big enough for two people. You take off your shoes and laugh quietly to yourself. It was really happening. For the last year you'd talked and dreamed and plotted with Billy about this exact moment without ever planning on it happening. Your heart swells at the thought, a blush creeping onto your cheeks at the prospect of a normal, perfect life with him. The future you always wanted for yourself is becoming reality with the man you love like he hung the moon itself.

You're combing through your hair and getting wrapped up in your thoughts when Billy comes back through the door. He's a little dirty and disheveled, looking in need of a good nap. You smile up at him in the candlelight and keep combing through your hair. Billy looks you over and smiles lazily.

"Are we really gonna do it?" You smile softly, speaking in a hushed tone.

"Yeah, I think so." He nods and kneels in front of you.

You smile at him, putting the brush down and smoothing the skirt of your dress. He follows the motion of your hands and takes them in his own. You look down at your smaller hands in his, heart pounding in your chest.

"I can't believe it's happening for real." You whisper, laughing softly and meeting his gaze.

"I would do anything for you." Billy pledges, soft and sincere. "I swear to you I will."

You feel your heart skip a beat as you smile at him again, studying his face. There's a moment of silence before he leans forward and kisses you. You return it and sigh against his lips, you hands squeezing his. Billy smiles against you and tangles his hand in your hair, tugging softly at the strands by the nape of your neck. You put your hands on the sides of his face and giggle, shivering at the soft grip he's got on you.

Billy pulls back, still kneeling before you. He runs his thumb gently over your lips and smiles.

"I love you." He says plainly, like it's the most easy thing in the world.

"I love you, too."

Billy's hand travels to caress the side of your neck, his thumb now gently stroking the front of your throat. You blink at him, dazed and a little sleepy as he moves to sit next to you on the small, makeshift bed.

"You gotta stop looking at me like that, honey." He breathes, gently guiding your face to meet his eyes. "It's gonna land me in all sorts of trouble."

You laugh softly, heart racing as he turns his attention to your lips. He kisses your cheek, then your ear before speaking.

"Are you sleepy?"

"I was." You whisper.

Billy gives you a wild grin and chuckles quietly.

"Can I show you how much I love you?" He says, twisting some of your hair between his fingers. You wordlessly nod, a blush creeping over you as he lays you down and climbs on top of you.

"I can't wait to have you someplace we don't have to hide." He whispers, kissing your jaw. "We can just live, you and me." He places wet, open mouthed kisses to the skin of your neck and shoulder. "Just like I always wanted." Another kiss. "Making love to you whenever I want." Another. "Raising a family."

Your head spins underneath him. His body on top of yours acts as a shield from the dangers outside the shack and his kisses soothe your anxieties about the journey ahead.

Billy's hands trail up your thighs, bunching up your dress at your hips. He pulls away and gives you a lopsided grin.

"You wanna help me take this off, darlin'?" He lifts you up and works at the buttons on the back of your dress. While his fingers work carefully to undress you, yours work to undress him, popping the buttons of his shirt one by one. You break your kisses only to slip your dress over your shoulders and leave it discarded somewhere on the floor of the small shack. He carefully lays you back again and kisses your throat.

"You're beautiful." He whispers against your skin. "I'm gonna give you the life you deserve."

"Billy..." You sigh, an omission of your desperation.

Billy takes your soft plea and smiles against your shoulder. His arm rests next to your head, holding himself up, while his free hand wanders between your thighs. His fingers gently graze your panties as he groans softly.

"You're all ready for me hm?" He says lowly.

"Yeah," you breathe. "I don't wanna wait, Billy."

He pauses his movements and looks at you. You pull him down for a slow kiss, tongues brushing as he presses his fingers a little firmer against you. You moan against his lips and he swallows the sound. Your nails carefully rake down his back, a giggle leaving your lips as he shivers.

"I want you." You affirm. "Forever."

Billy sits back on his haunches and slips your panties down your thighs, kissing your calf as he pulls them all the way off and leaving them to join your dress and his shirt.

"God damn, darlin'." He breathes. You watch as he fumbles with his belt. "You're sure you don't wanna wait?" He asks gently, standing up to finish undressing.

"I'm sure." You say lowly, smiling as his naked body lands back on top of yours. "I love you and I don't wanna wait tonight."

He kisses you and presses against your warm, wet core. He shifts around on the lumpy bed, trying to get comfortable.

"Are you okay?" You ask, laughing.

"I think I'm too tall for this." Billy chuckles. "Here." He taps your thigh to roll you over, sitting up and pulling you onto his lap. You both make a soft sound as your nakedness presses against each other. His arm wraps around your back and his other hand holds your hips, stroking it softly.

"Is this okay?" He whispers up to you. You nod and give him a sweet kiss, lifting your hips and taking a breath before sinking down onto him. He squeezes your body and groans against your shoulder as you tip your head back and moan. You both breathe heavily as you give yourself a moment to adjust.

"Feel good, honey?" He murmurs, kissing your ear.

"Mhm." You hum, gently beginning to rock your hips against him.

The two of you quickly become a tangled mess of limbs and mingling breaths. He whispers praises against your lips, telling you how good you feel and how precious you are to him. He chokes out promises against you skin and holds you close. Your hips bounce against him with practiced ease, breathless moans and "I love you's" falling from your lips. Your head finds its way into his shoulder, peppering kisses to wherever you can reach.

"Hold still honey." He commands gently, holding your hips steady and rutting up into you, making you cry out. "You're gorgeous. Fuck." He curses and picks up the pace slightly. "I'll never leave you. Gonna stay like this forever." The sounds of your skin meeting and his shaky breathing fills your ears.

"Don't stop." You gasp against his neck. Your nails lazily scratch the nape of his neck and cling to his bicep. "It's so good like this." You whine.

“You’re so pretty for me.” Billy moans. “So fucking pretty.” He gives you a deep, slow kiss as he pounds up into you. You nearly slump against him, taken by the way he fills you up and drags across just the right spot with every stroke.

“Gonna marry you once we’re outta here.” He breathes. “Gotta have you forever.” His words make your head spin as you moan into his shoulder.

“Billy- Billy…” You plead, trying to tell him you’re close.

“What is it darlin’?” He says against your ear, gripping your hips and guiding you up and down him again. His head tips back as he lets out a groan and you press kisses to his exposed neck.

“‘m close.” You slur, moaning softly against his ear.

"I can feel it, honey." Billy groans. "Come on sweetheart."

After a few more bounces of your hips, you're coming undone. Your legs shake and you call out his name desperately. You cling to his shoulders, whining and moaning as he keeps pumping into you, chasing his own high. He clings to you, his blunt nails digging into your skin as he finishes deep inside you.

You lazily kiss up his shoulder, neck, and cheek until you reach his lips, giving gentle pecks between smiles. He rubs your back, tracing a soothing line against your spine.

"We've gotta move again, honey." Billy mumbles against your lips. "We can't stay here much longer."

You sigh and give him one more kiss. He squeezes you close and kisses your nose before tapping your hips.

"Up you go, darlin'." He urges gently as you remove yourself from him.

The two of you quickly get dressed again. You help each other between kisses and fumbles with buttons and belts, giggling quietly as you check for everything you need. Once you're both certain you've left no traces behind, you follow Billy outside to mount your horses again. Before you get on yours, he kisses you sweetly, gently holding your face.

"I meant what I said about marrying you once we make it to Oklahoma." he whispers. "It's the first thing we're gonna do." Your face turns a deep shade of red as you look at him. His eyes are sincere and hopeful as they gaze back at yours.

"Well, we have to get there first, my love." You reply, running your thumb against his kiss-swollen lips. Billy kisses your forehead one last time before helping you onto your horse. The two of you spend the next three weeks riding away to forever. A fresh start with nothing but freedom and Billy until you can't remember anything else.

[lizardsfromspace]

The ideal form for J.J. Abrams would be a guy who just writes pilots. A TV impresario who creates shows but doesn't run them. His level of mystery-boxing is ideally suited for a first episode, to get people intrigued, in the full knowledge that the rest of the season will develop it. And it's best when he just writes one episode then bounces, leaving it to other writers to handle the actual story parts

Making him an auteur responsible for beginning, middle, and end though...no dice. He doesn't like the middle or end part enough. And the one time he did do just a straight-ahead action plot it was bc he was actively contemptuous of the material he was adapting and openly treating it as just what he was doing until he got hired on another series, which isn't ideal, I feel

[avocadoraisin]

what are your Hoffstrahm werepire! au hcs??

i hope you're ready bc im basically gonna tell you most of, if not all of the sporadic details of their "story" thats been simmering in my head. theyre subject to change on any given day because, well, this is my imagination LMAO i can take this daydream wherever i want

one day parts of it could be a fic? idk. i dont think i have enough of a beginning, middle, and end of a real cohesive "story" so it might just exist as snapshots in the form of little comics forever.

and some of this is, in fact, alluded to in that really horny heat fic i wrote akjhfjb

pre-meeting

Hoffman:

-He and his sister were both vampires and have been for a little while. not sure for how long. the details of how they turned are also hazy

-but they were alone together and moved cities often, only having each other to rely on. they had to "restart" someplace new every few years. possibly because theyve been around too long and would start to arouse suspicion from neighbors noticing them not aging in 10 years. maybe they were in danger of aggressive rival vampires competing for hunting grounds territory, or anything else making them feel unsafe

-at last they settle on Sawville which seemed to be untouched by vampire drama. (as far as they knew at the time)

-Angelina always had too big of a heart and, as a vampire herself, wanted to believe in the good in people. wanted to believe in someone's ability to change. which is what she tells herself when she falls in love w that asshole Seth

-Mark is not trusting of him at all

-Angelina trusted in Seth too much, trusting him with the information that she was a vampire

-Instead of a slit throat she gets a wooden stake to the heart

-Mark is too shell shocked to leave Saw City i guess. he already distrusted humans in general but now he knew he could never, ever trust his heart in a human. not like she was able to.

-When Seth is released Mark cooks up the pendulum and gets caught by John just like in canon

-blah blah hazy details he and Amanda and Lawrence are stuck under John's thumb. i think in the fic i made it purposefully vague if Lawrence and John are also vampires, im now leaning toward Lawrence also being a vampire (i did draw him as a bat recently after all) and John is still undecided

-He knows werewolves exist, but never met one. He's not terribly concerned with encountering one but knows there's an eternal feud between the species.

Strahm:

-his early days are also hazy to me

-he's been a werewolf since i think teenagehood and it was something he kinda grew up with and learned to somewhat tame over the years

-great idea based on this anon (and everything else in the post, verbatim) but maybe he has troubles remembering his childhood or the time around when he first changed, so really all he remembers from early on is how he trained to control the power to be productive in society

-he can change at-will whenever but on full moons it is involuntary, and hes more prone to going wild. he still doesnt trust himself, so once a month he chains himself up to pipes in the basement.

-he also knows vampires are out there, and that they're bad news. Werewolves instinctually want to kill them for a reason. They have no souls and drain people of their blood, they're vermin to be exterminated. or so he thinks. he's never met one yet.

-maybe he decided to go the FBI route growing up for whatever reasons he did in canon. maybe it was a drive to learn more about whats going on in the undergrowth out there. on the everlasting hunt to find more people like him.

-what will he do when he does find one? what if they're not what he hopes?

-with his heightened senses, he knows he has a tactical advantage at work so he flies up the ranks. he's the FBI's most effective bloodhound, and they have no idea why. they dont question it. he gets shit done and thats all they need.

-some years into their partnership, he tells Perez the truth. She's the closest someone's ever been to him in many, many lonely years, and if there's anyone he can trust with the truth, it's the person he trusts with his life

-it took a lot of prying questions but she accepts him for how he is and they are more effective as a Human and Werewolf FBI duo as ever

-and as best friends, too. a tiny pack, if you will

Meeting:

-their meeting

-Hoffman made a frustratingly good point, and Strahm cant prove anything yet. But he's also just so damn curious. because he's never actually met a vampire before, and he secretly wanted to know which rumors were true.

-they also have an incentive to not immediately just out each other's species secrets. they dont want worldwide panic. they both know trusting humans is difficult and everything about that can backfire. its best that their species drama gets resolved privately.

-They both get a lil too curious about each other

-Hoffman keeps being annoyingly flirty with him too. like "arent u a lil curious lol 🧛‍♂️🍆 you can kill me after, ok? 😘"

-they settle some curiosities one night in a sleepover of discovery lol

-they secretly catch feelings a la most fics out there where they start out with a one-night hate-sex stand

-Strahm realizes that he doesnt really care that Hoffman is the "enemy" species, he seems like a normal guy. hes not soulless at all. he also has a sadness about him, just like him. and its so amazing to meet another creature, to meet someone else that he doesnt have to hide around. someone who isn't scared of him. he's not alone in the world

-Hoffman realizing he also doesn't have to be alone again, though a part of his heart is still guarded. and hes still got the jigsaw thing going on. strahm still suspects it.

-The two of them don't really want to kill each other. Like, imagine a cartoon scene with two characters super slow-mo punching each other like "Im gonna punch you! here it comes! yep! im so.. totally.. gonna punch you!" because neither of them really want to do it. until they're collapsed in each other's arms because they realize they dont hate each other, they need each other. because. im a sap.

-over at team Jigsaw, instead of infighting and killing each other to one-up each other like in canon, the apprentices realize they're all being manipulated and start to band together. vampires together strong.

-hoffman confesses the predicament hes stuck in to Strahm. their whole world is already so insane and wrought with otherworldly violence, he knows damn well that sometimes things are more than meets the eye, so hes more willing to hear him out

-Peter more or less accepts everything. he watches from the sidelines and lends a hand if needed, having grown sympathetic to their cause and seeing that theyre all just trying to escape this cult. but its also not his fight, he stays out of it, just helps them get away with it legally.

-if John is a human, they all corner him and idk probably drink all his blood. Scar vs The Hyenas style. if John is a vampire, maybe theres an epic fight if hes like a super strong elder type who just went deranged with power over centuries, Underworld style.

Post-Jigsaw Life

-when its all over, the vampires are kind of unsure of where they belong now. they scatter a bit but still keep in touch, kind of like a weird little family now, having gone through all of that together. maybe they can kind of help each other survive too. a coven of their own.

-Hoffman still isnt sure exactly of where he and Strahm fall now, now that the reign of terror is done. hes going to need to drink blood again to survive, jigsaw violence or not. will Strahm be okay with the kind of monster he has to be to live? he doesnt drain people dry, but he hates doing it anyway. and the doctor vampire of the group can only smuggle them so much blood from the hospitals.

-they realize theyre in love and can try to make this work, hearts fully open to each other. no more secrets between them

-One day when Hoffman is really starving, in an ultimate show of trust, Strahm allows him to try to drink from him. and they learn that while it tastes bad, it works, and they could have a symbiotic relationship.

-While bearing his throat and allowing Mark to drink is the ultimate display of trust for Peter, being in his extremely vulnerable bat form is the ultimate display of trust for Mark

-They tell Perez the truth about Mark, to loop one more friend into the circle of beloved, trusted people in Peter's life who know everything. Mark also gains +1 family, in a way, in addition to his coven. big emphasis on everyone realizing you dont have to be alone

-Mark helps Peter learn to control himself on full moons so he can fully control himself around the one other person he cares about, like this

-still have a lot of learning to do about each other, navigating their relationship together despite their species differences. thats been the subject of most of my art and the fic and other discussions in my werepire au tag lmao

-sometimes a pack can be a werewolf, a human, a vampire, and the two other stray vampires he kind of picked up along the way

[naomikozura]

Loss of My Life: Final Part

Heian Era! True Form! Ryomen Sukuna x Sorcerer!Fem!Reader

A/N: I was listening to Ptolemaea by Ethel Cain and the climax of this chapter pairs up so well with the entirety of that song. You’ll see once it gets towards the middle/end of the chapter but I highly recommend listening to that song bc it’s so good and haunting.

This chapter shows INTENSE GRUESOME SCENES including torture, child death/murder (mentioned but not in detail), abuse, gore, massacre of a family, burning buildings and so much more!!! This is a DARK THEME story, it is meant as a work of FICTION and its 18+ ONLY MDNI!!!!

I am not responsible if you feel uncomfortable since you have been warned about the trigger warnings since the beginning! This is a work of FICTION so continue at your own risk!!

Warnings: INSTENSE SCENES, strong language, violence, mention of mass murder, generational trauma, complicated family dynamics, family abuse, murder, emotional turmoil and abuse, sadistic tendencies, corruption of power, dark themes, burning down villages, murder, masochistic tendencies, forced drowning, mutilated bodies, sadistic behavior, bodily harm, mentions of blood, child murder (brief), torture, psychological torture, assassination, drugging, inebriation, physical assault, gore, mentions of guts, angst no comfort,

WC: 12K

Series Masterlist

Part 3

There were many things within the realm that were believed to be for the better of the jujutsu world, many things that the Four families were able to provide for the rest of the realm. Power, protection, resources, and stability. There hadn’t been any of that before the Four became established and marked off the territories that they would reign over for the past few decades. When Sukuna had risen through the realm and word of his power spread across all territories, that promise of protection and stability slowly started to wither away. 

He’d sent his destruction into every village he burned and tortured every one who held cursed energy in order for him to absorb it and gain more power. It had given him the reputation that led to his now wicked presence, a presence so overwhelming that even the sorcerers in the Four exercised caution around him. Anything demanded by him would always be met with compliance and if anyone refused, he’d easily exterminate them and absorb his energy, growing his power and solidifying his claim further. 

So, when he asked for your hand, your father had no choice but to comply. Your marriage taking place in front of the entirety of the Four and the representatives of the realm. It was a testament of your position by his side, something he believed would ultimately give you the power and claim to keep the foolish sorcerers from threatening you. 

You had stayed under his protection, living freely in his territory and becoming one as sorcerers and as divine souls. Even his followers started to see you as the queen to his claim, the perfect position next to their king. 

Your influence shifted everything, word of your change had reached the very corners of the Four territories. You were held to a higher regard next to Sukuna than you had ever been considered within your family. Your family had also gained more power due to your marriage with the King of Curses. They were more revered, feared, respected, putting them in the ranks of power next to the Gojo’s and surpassing the Zen’in. 

The Zen’in had taken the blow significantly, their anger spiraling as they tried to regain their position in the realm. It seemed as though they were further from power than ever, and all due to the power of your influence as the realm’s Princess of Peace. Even in Sukuna’s presence, you were the embodiment of peace regardless of the dark corners you had hidden in your soul.

You were careful in your position, continuing to visit your family and meeting with the leaders of the other families to talk over political claim. The clans knew that anything against Sukuna was forbidden, but you assumed your position to keep the realm free from war. You had brought in a time of peace, leaving the villages and territories under tranquility within the Four’s territories. Even Sukuna had extended himself to go beyond the clan territory for his absorption of energy. 

The Four Families were in a moment of peace thanks to you. Sukuna passed over them in disregard as he moved through the realm to absorb energy elsewhere. 

You were with your family again today, meeting them in strategy to keep the villages safe from the imposing threat of thieves that had been spiking in numbers throughout the realm. Your father still held his reservations, but deep down you knew this was in favor of his life and your family’s more than anything. 

As the meeting concluded, you found Uraume waiting outside, smiling at her as you walked in step with her to head towards your home. She had been dedicated to your protection since Sukuna had found cursed residue in the territory near your home. He’d already put a bike over your home, hiding your energy and his but still there were remnants of cursed users near the territory where you resided. 

It wasn’t uncommon for sorcerers to go after Sukuna, but with the reports of thieves raiding nearby villages, he preferred sending Uraume with you on your runs. She was a devoted follower and when you had married Sukuna, she became devoted to you as well. She was strong and knew that fulfilling her duty of protecting you was of most importance. So when you went back home, she escorted you. When you went out to the villages who didn’t know who you were outside of the clan’s territories, she followed. 

As the both of you walked through the woods, the sound of crows above you sounded out. Your head turned towards the trees, looking at the small black birds, four of them perched perfectly on the branches as they watched you and Uraume walk through the woods. You cocked your head slightly, feeling an odd sensation that something was not quite right, but you shrugged it off and continued walking as you reached the village in the outskirts of town. It was quiet, tranquil and seemed to bustle with calmness as people walked through the small market area. 

You observed the people moving about with a calm, almost mechanical grace. Their interactions were polite but a strange feeling filled the air as you walked through the booths. The market stalls were filled with traditional items: beautifully crafted pottery, delicate silks, and intricate wooden carvings. It wasn’t often you’d come out to see these kinds of things but the rare moments would mean a lot to you. 

As you walked through, you noticed a woman at a stall selling ornate pendants. They were beautifully crafted, each adorned with symbols and designs that seemed to pulse with a strange energy. One in particular caught your eye. It was a pendant with an intricate design that seemed to shift subtly in the light, featuring a depiction of a shinigami—a dark spirit that many jujutsu sorcerers disregarded, but a shift in the color made you uneasy.

As you tried to reach for the pendant, Uraume’s urgent voice cut through your thoughts. “We need to go,” she said, her eyes observing everyone closely, the distrust obvious in her tone. 

“What’s wrong?”, you whispered, turning towards her fully as she grasped your hand gently, pulling you out of the market and back towards the woods. “Uraume”, you pressed. 

“There was undetected energy there, my job is to keep you out of harm's way and if I can’t detect the energy, I will not let us stay there any longer.”, she answered as the two of you moved through the woods. You clenched your jaw, following closely behind her as you went back home. 

The walk home was quiet, Uraume filled with a perceptiveness that left her looking over every tiny thing she felt was strange or off putting. She was tasked to protect you and she would follow Sukuna’s orders to her death, she was one of his many loyal followers, but definitely his most trusted. 

When you reached home, you met Sukuna inside, his arms wrapped around you as he stepped out with Uraume for a moment as you changed out of your clothes. 

“There was residual energy in the town we’d visited. I made sure we got out of there as fast as possible.”, she filled him in, the hum leaving his throat filled with contemplation. 

“There were residuals a few miles from here too.”, he muttered. “It’ll be in best interest to lower a shield over the home.”

Uraume nodded as she finished filling him in, Sukuna dismissing her as he went inside to be with you. He took in your form in a different pair of clothes as you walked over to him, placing your head on his chest as you breathed him in. 

“Hey.”, you whispered as you looked up at him. He leaned down, his lips capturing yours as you smiled into the kiss. “How was your patrol?”

“It was fine.”, he muttered, his hands grabbing your body gently to be flush against his. “There was something out in the woods a couple of miles outside the territory. Energy residuals.”

You scrunch your eyebrows, looking at him confused. “Energy residuals?”

“Just another lowlife sorcerer probably trying to get my attention for something.”, he muttered, his energy spiraling in annoyance. “It’ll be taken care of. I’ll put a shield over the home. They won’t come near you.”, he placed a gentle kiss on the curve of your neck. 

“You worry a lot, you know that right?”, you looked at him with worry. “You need to rest. You’re going to tire yourself out if you keep staying out all night and morning.”

“I’ll be fine.”, he whispered, his body morphing into his true form and lifting you into his arms. “So long as you’re safe.”

You ran a hand through his hair, his eyes closing to bask in your touch as he carried you to your bedroom. His body hovering over yours as he kissed your neck, your soft laughs turning into gentle moans, moving his way from your lips down to your core. There was nothing Sukuna loved more than pleasuring his wife, he could spend all day doing this. 

Indulging in you was something he’d grown addicted to, something he would never tire of. You were music to his ears and the queen of his realm. You were his everything in every way. 

He’d do anything for you, even spend all day in bed pleasing you. 

Sukuna’s night patrol had been unusually unsettling over the past few days. The residual energy he had picked up on his patrols was different from the usual lingering traces of curses. It had a peculiar, almost faintly familiar signature, and it was closer to your home than he would have liked. As he made his way back, his mind was clouded with suspicion.

He arrived home to find Uraume waiting for him, her expression unreadable but attentive. Without wasting time, Sukuna filled her in on the residual energy and his suspicion as to why it was getting closer to your territory.

“I found more,” Sukuna began, his tone serious. “It’s getting closer. I want you to keep a close eye on Y/n. Don't leave her side when I'm not here."

Uraume nodded, her eyes sharp with understanding. “Of course."

Sukuna moved through the corridors of his home, his steps echoing with a sense of urgency. He found you sitting on the floor witha bucket of water in front of you, your back turned as you scrubbed at a stubborn stain on some clothes. The sight of you, immersed in your task, brought a slight calm to his thoughts.

You looked up as Sukuna entered, his presence filling the room with that familiar warmth you loved. “Everything okay?” you asked, sensing something different in his demeanor.

Sukuna’s gaze softened as he approached you. “I need to talk to you,” he said, his voice gentle. “There's been residual energy found in the outer territories. It's been getting closer to the house.”

He flexed his jaw, contemplating the situation as he continued. "I need you to let me feel your energy anytime we aren't together. I already have Uraume on watch when I'm on patrol."

You met his eyes, understanding the gravity of his words. His concern was evident, and you could see how it weighed on him. You stepped closer, your heart aching with empathy for his worry.

“Okay, I will,” you said softly.

Without a second thought, you leaned in and pressed a tender kiss to his lips. It was a gentle, reassuring gesture, meant to soothe his concern. Sukuna’s lips responded after a brief moment, deepening the kiss, letting the contact ground him and momentarily ease his tension.

When you finally pulled back, Sukuna’s expression was softer, the lines of worry easing just a bit. He placed a hand on your cheek, his thumb brushing against your skin with a rare tenderness.

“Be careful,” he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. “I’ll be watching over you too.”

You nodded, a reassuring smile on your lips. “I know.”

Sukuna gave a small, appreciative nod before turning to leave, his mind still alert. Uraume’s watchful presence would ensure your safety, and the connection between you two was a bond that couldn’t easily be broken.

As he stepped out, a renewed sense of vigilance accompanied him. You were his priority, your safety was above all else. As he moved through the woods, the felt your energy whirl around him, the connection easing the tension in his shoulders as he continued through the night.

One Week Later

The evening was warm, filled with the sound of birds chirping outside and the evening sun setting the perfect scene for the events that your family had planned. You were in the midst of preparing for the evening when Sukuna found you in your shared bedroom. You watched him as he admired your form, his energy swirling into admiration and lust.

“My family is having dinner tonight, all of our clan will be there”, you whispered as you pinned your hair up, a soft smile aimed towards him as you used the reflection from the glass to look at your appearance. 

Sukuna stepped closer, his presence radiating a mix of curiosity and subtle tension.

“I’ve been tracking down some unusual residual energy,” he murmured, his voice soft as he placed another kiss on your shoulder. “I've followed it to a village in the outskirts of the clan lands”.

He had been out late the past week tracking down the source of the residuals in your territory, leaving you with Uraume more often than not, and him staying out late as he tried to find the source. You knew his concern was keeping you safe. You had become a target since you married him, but even with the risks, you wouldn't change your position for anything in the world.

“Is there a special occasion?”, he came up behind you, his face burying into the crook of your neck, placing a gentle kiss on the smooth skin. You loved the way he kissed you, it was gentle and full of emotion. It gave you a sense of peace. 

“The celebration of our family name. There’s usually a whole week of celebration, tonight is just dinner”, you smiled up at him, turning your head and meeting his lips in a gentle kiss. “I shouldn’t be back later than midnight” 

He trusted your word, after all, he could sense your energy anywhere but a flicker of worry still lived inside of him. With everything happening in your territories, he felt on edge. 

“I’ll be in the west,” he admitted. He’d grown more comfortable sharing his plans of stealing energy from nearby villages. You had stopped caring, you stopped caring about everything except him and your freedom. Did that make you as immoral as him? Perhaps. Did that make you an accomplice? Maybe. Did you care? No. Not anymore. 

You molded into him, your body fitting perfectly against his even if he was a couple feet taller than you. After your first night together, he’d stopped hiding his true form from you. You admired his body regardless of the state it was in, four arms and all. 

“Take Uraume with you.”, he suggested, more so saying to take her but you shook your head. He needed her more than you did, especially to keep lookout if he got distracted with his visit.

“I think it’d be better if she went with you. I’ll be with my family. You have nothing to worry about, okay?”, you smiled at him, placing a hand on his face and stroking his cheek. Your hands were small on his face but you caressed the skin gently as he leaned into your touch.

"I want her to watch over you.", he forced.

"Kuna, my entire family is made up of sorcerers. I have my technique and so does my father.", you pressed, you wanted him safe too and Uraume was good at keeping him level during his raids.

You also knew you'd be okay, your entire family was made up of sorcerers, capable and strong in their own way. Your family wasn’t massive, but 50 of you would be present tonight, there wasn’t anything for him to worry about. 

After a moment of silence, he let out a small huff of air that he held in his lungs. “If anything feels even the slightest bit off, send for me.”, he breathed as he kissed your hand and you smiled at him. You looked breathtaking. Looked like the most regal thing he’d ever laid his eyes on. His trust in you was unwavering, your soul tie with him made it easy to sense your emotion regardless of what it was or how far he was. If anything went wrong or you were in danger, his body became hyper aware and he would feel it immediately. 

“I will, Ryo.”, you nuzzled him gently, his voice groaning gently as you ran a hand through his hair. “Be careful on your errands.”

His lip twitched at your use of words, pressing his face close to yours as he leaned down to kiss the curve of your neck. “Do you want me to take you?”

“I’ll be okay, Ryo.”, you laughed slightly. “Go on your run. I’ll be here when you get back.”

He hummed slightly, placing a final kiss on your lips, breathing you in as he moved into the other room and calling for Uraume, the both of them leaving as you prepared to head back to your family home. It’d been a few months since you’d last gone home, a part of you anxious on how your family would receive you. Would they welcome you with open arms or would they cast you away in shame? They’d gained their claim thanks to Sukuna, giving them more reputation and power due to their ties with him and thanks to your claim as heir and the reason war hadn’t broken out in the realm. 

You smiled at yourself as you arrived at your home across the territories, taking in a deep breath as your family maids greeted you, welcoming you into your familial home. 

Across the realm, Sukuna and Uraume moved through the woods, crossing the territory until they reached far out of the regular borders. Uraume walked closely behind Sukuna, waiting for him to find the village he had been looking for. It was a village miles from the regular clan territories, filled with a strong amount of energy, but none that could measure up to him. He just wanted to get in, deal with the sorcerers, and absorb the energy then go home to you. The entire journey all he thought of was you.

Your lips, your touch, your skin, your laugh, the way your eyes looked at him with a deep admiration. He’d never believed in a level of admiration like the one you had for him, he didn’t know why your heart called his name but he didn’t want to question whatever being sent you to him. You were all he needed in this realm, everything else was just an afterthought. The sooner tonight was finished, the sooner he could go home to you.

As the both of them approached the edge of the forest, the looked out to see an open field, the village just below them at the bottom of the incline. His eyes narrowed, watching the small pits of fire as they lit up the homes and the walkways. He could see the people moving through the homes, his energy veiled as he kept him and Uraume hidden. He could sense immense energy down below, an energy he couldn’t wait to absorb. Perhaps this energy might be what gave him the ultimate leverage to continue to gain his claim with ease. Not that it was difficult now, he just preferred leisure when he could regardless of how much he enjoyed prolonging the torture of his vicitms. 

“Let’s go.”

“Sukuna.”, Uraume spoke softly, careful to keep within turn. He paused, humming in response as she continued. “I feel uneasy.”

“Why?”, he muttered. 

“The energy in the atmosphere is different. It has been that way since we left the clan lands.”, she pointed out, Sukuna looking from her back down to the village. 

“It will be fine.”, he pressed. “I have confidence that this will be like any other raid.”

Uraume kept her words silent, watching as the King of Curses moved through the pathway, walking down to the village below. The both of them moved in silence, the energy shifting as his presence became aware to those in the village. He had lifted the veil slightly as to intimate the villagers below. Silence filled the air, the atmosphere filled with an eeriness, the fire manipulated until it huffed out and cast the village into darkness. The voices below had scattered, winding down into nothing as the quiet cascaded through the paths of the road. The intimidating energy sending chills down the spines of every person in proximity, slowly adding to the psychological torture of knowing their impending doom would soon come for them. 

The darkness flooded every sense into overdrive, Sukuna’s presence casting a spell of despair and horror over every person he could sense as he approached the village. He was close enough to make the atmosphere feel overwhelmed with his energy, applying pressure to the sorcerers to come out and meet him face to face. The oppressive pressure intensified. It was as though the very atmosphere had become a living entity, reacting to his presence with an almost sentient fear. 

The village had a strange eeriness to it, a stillness that prickled at Sukuna’s senses. His intuition told him there was something off about the entire situation, every life force within the village that he had sensed earlier just…. Disappeared. 

Uraume stood a few paces away, also sensing the strange shift in the air. Her eyes were sharp and alert, scanning around their surroundings with growing unease. There was something hidden in the depths of the town, something she couldn’t quite place. 

Sukuna’s eyes narrowed, his energy whirling in a controlled, explosive surge of cursed energy that rippled outward, an intentional motion to flush out any hidden beings. The ground trembles under the force, the wave of energy sweeping through the village. Sukuna examined the abandoned homes, the emptiness making his observant as he narrowed his eyes. 

It was then that he felt it–a subtle shift of energy behind him, a well hidden energy that quickly appeared out of the shadows, surging a powerful hit of cursed energy towards him as the air filled with thick tension. His reflexes allowed him to spin around, blocking the brutal ambush from the sorcerer who appeared from the shadows. They were cloaked in dark robes, wielding a deadly array of cursed weapons, their energy malevolent and potent, ready to kill. They moved quick, almost like a high-speed projectile as the cursed energy swirled into a deadly manifestation and aimed directly at Sukuna. 

His response was immediate, moving out of the way with speed as he avoided the attack. The sorcerer slammed to the ground, their energy radiating off of them in waves as they stood still, focused on the monster in front of them. The energy created a violent explosion that sent pieces of the village ground flying in all directions. It just showed the level of power this sorcerer had. 

From the periphery, Sukuna watched as more sorcerers emerged, their faces hidden behind masks as they circled around him in precision and patience. They had mastered hiding their energy long enough that Sukuna couldn’t sense their presence even so close in proximity to the village. All at once, like they had prepared for this very moment, their combined cursed energy manifested into a formidable assault. Cursed spirits, grotesque and ominous, surged forward, their twisted forms manifested with the intent to kill the King of Curses.

Sukuna’s eyes narrowed, flickering to the main sorcerer who had attacked him first. They were already summoning another attack, a vortex of palpable energy that was meant to injure him to some extent. With an overwhelming surge, Sukuna unleashed a counterstrike, a power wave of cursed energy that collided with the sorcerer’s vortex, shattering it into fragments of nothing. The force sent the sorcerer flying back before Sukuna turned and exorcized the other cursed spirits and evaporated them into nothing. 

This energy felt… familiar.

The village has become a battlefield, Sukuna looking around for Uraume only to find her also under the ambush of six other sorcerers while twelve dealt with him. His jaw tightened. These damned sorcerers were relentless in their attacks. Using their curses to create more energy, alla attempting to make a hit at him. Each time he destroyed their energy, another persisted. The leader began to build another surge of energy, sending a direct hit at Sukuna, forcing him to move out of the way, forcing him to another spot where a sorcerer with a cursed weapon managed to slice his arm open.

A hiss escaped his mouth. There was something off about these sorcerers. They weren’t just attacking him; they were trying to contain him to one place, force him into a corner where they could have the best chance to make a direct hit at him. His cursed energy surged in a torrent of raw power, obliterating another shot of cursed energy with a deafening explosion. He growled in frustration, his eyes focused on getting a hold of the leader of these low life sorcerers. 

Sukuna continued to manifest his energy, a strange tug in his gut persistent as he released his energy and sent it towards the sorcerers. The village’s silence was no longer just eerie; it was a telltale sign of something more ominous. The sorcerers’ coordinated efforts and the relentless attacks were part of something bigger than what was in front of him. 

Sukuna’s focus remained sharp, pushing through the sorcerer’s defenses and pushing them back as they tried to collectively attack him once again. Tired of the back and forth, he released a cataclysmic wave of cursed energy that shattered all existing energy from the sorcerers around him, sending the sorcerers flying as they slammed into the ground. The destructive wave swept through the village leaving devastation in its wake. 

He watched the bodies of the group unconscious on the ground, some of the sorcerers still trying to move as he sliced his hand through the air, causing their heads to roll off of their bodies as he decapitated them. He saved the leader for last, walking towards him in an overwhelming surge of power, his dominance filling the air and flooding through the leader’s veins in cruel certainty. He would die. 

As Sukuna approached him, he heard a laugh escape from the leader, a grim smile spread across his features as he tried looking up at the King of Curses from his position on the ground. The leader’s laugh filled the silent air as Sukuna stared at him in a bored expression. Just then Sukuna had realized that the leader’s energy had the same residuals as the energy he’d found miles outside his home. It annoyed him to no end that some lowlife thought themselves cocky enough to try and intrude on his home. 

“You’re about to die and yet, you laugh.”, he muttered into the silent air. 

“You think… you think you’ve won, don’t you?”, the leader’s voice was shaky, his grin still wide on his face as Sukuna narrowed his eyes. “King of Curses”

Sukuna’s eyes flared with irritation as he remained focused on the leader, his senses bristling with frustration. “You bore me.”, Sukuna raised his hand to end the leader’s life, halting as his voice rang out again. 

“You see..” the leader’s smile widened, a sinister gleam in his weak eyes. “You fell for it… we knew you’d come here, we set this whole thing up to keep you occupied long enough..”

His eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened. 

“We knew we couldn’t kill you.”, the leader breathed, “We only needed you distracted long enough to ensure our true objective could be fulfilled.”

Sukuna’s annoyance and rage intensifies, his cursed energy radiating in immense waves. 

“Sukuna”, he heard Uraume speak but ignored her. 

“Speak dog.”, he ordered the leader. “I’ll make your death faster.”

“You’re naive”, the leader smirked. “This entire thing… it was all to misdirect your attention.”

“Sukuna!”, Uraume raised her voice, Sukuna still ignoring her. 

“It’s too late.”, Sukuna had had enough of his cryptic tone, slicing his hand through the air as the leader's head exploded into a pool of brain matter and carnage.

“Insolent pigs.”, he muttered. 

“Sukuna!”, Uraume forced again. Finally, he met her gaze. “What?”, he spit out, his annoyance lacing his tone. 

“Sukuna.”, she breathed. “Y/n’s energy is gone.”

Immediately, his attention snapped to focus. His chest tightened as he felt the sinking realizing sink into his bones, a cold dread gripping at him as he replayed the leader’s words. 

This entire thing… it was all to misdirect your attention.

Without a second thought, Sukuna used the energy he could to bolt himself through the woods, leaving Uraume behind as he ran the miles across the territories to make it to your Family’s home. The air in his lungs burned, the dread sinking into the pit of his stomach, the words replaying over in his head. How could he be careless, how did he release the tie to your energy so easily? Did they truly mean to distract him… to get to you?

His energy coursed through his being as his speed picked up, his legs forcing him to run faster, covering as much ground as possible. He was close, just on the other side of the woods, he’d reach your home soon. 

The outskirts leading to your home were engulfed in billowing black smoke, thick like the clouds and black like the night, only the light from the red flames that engulfed your home illuminated the night as the ground became scorched from the heat. He barely registered the destruction of L/n House before charging into the source of the fire, his body in overdrive as he pushed through the fire and smoke. 

The inferno roared with relentless fury, consuming every part of the structure. Wood crackled and collapsed under the heat, creating a terrifying symphony of destruction. Sukuna wasted no time running into the home, pulling the beams of fire out in order to search for your body. The heat was blistering, and the smoke stung his eyes, but continued his search. His cursed technique flared to life as he attempted to control the spreading flames, his energy twisting through the air in a desperate attempt to contain the fire. Despite his best efforts, the blaze had already claimed every inch of the house, leaving no ground untouched.

The sight of h/c hair caught his eye, throwing pillars across the room, lifting the beams off your body. He lifted your body from the rubble, limp in his arms as your flesh burned from the scorching flames. He pulled you out, laying you down on the ground as he felt the cold touch of your skin on his, the only warmth due to the fire. The sight of your lifeless body was a crushing blow. Desperation took hold of him as he tried to use his cursed energy to stabilize you, his attempts failing. He might’ve been the strongest being to exist in this realm, but he was not healer. He didn’t possess the energy that could help bring you to life. He lifted your body as it lay limp, all source of life having been completely evaporated from you. 

As he knelt beside you, the horrific realization sank into his bones. Your body had been stripped of your cursed energy, your body completely void of any ounce of life. 

The shock sank into his bones, the crashing realization of your lifeless body in his arms sent a jolt of grief through his core. The gravity of your lifeless body in his arms, the absence of your energy, of your presence, overwhelming him. A seething rage, raw and unrestrained, surged through him.

He brought your face into the crook of his neck, gently holding your frame as he breathed in the smell of flesh from your burned body as it was the only thing he could sense that was you. The touch was tender yet haunting, it was the last connection he had left of you. You weren’t completely burned, only a few spots of your body suffered heavy damage, not like your family who were nothing but charred corpses.

Sukuna’s grip tightened as he let the waves of grief radiate off of his body, his cursed energy flaring to life, sending bolts of energy through the realm. 

Almost instantly, through all his unrestrained emotion, he used his cursed energy to pick up the energy around him, soaking in every ounce of tortured emotion he could absorb. He held your body close to his, the only solace he had as he allowed the lingering presence of your essence to flood his being. He let the remnants of your soul show him a fragmented, haunting vision of your last moments, a tapestry of pain and despair interwoven with fleeting glimpses of comfort and warmth.

The energy he absorbed was a mix of raw, turbulent emotions—rage, sorrow, and a hint of peace. Each wave of energy, revealing the intensity of the connection you shared and the impact of your departure on his existence. His grip on your body tightened as if holding onto the very essence of who you were could somehow tether him to the lost fragments of your soul.

As the cursed energy enveloped him, he felt your presence more acutely than ever before. It was as if your soul was whispering secrets through the energy, offering him a glimpse into the unspoken truths and unfulfilled promises that had lingered between you. This communion, though bittersweet and painful, became a source of both anguish and comfort, helping him find a semblance of clarity amid the chaos of his emotions.

What was the sound?

Why did your head feel hazy? 

“This is a private dinner, please leave.”, you heard one of the maids by the front door say softly before you felt a sharp jolt of pain in your side. Why did you feel so uneasy? 

“Sir, please.”, the maid insisted, her voice growing frantic. You noticed that no one else had taken note of her fear, unsure of why. “Sir. Sir please, wait. No! Stop! STOP!”

The sound of a harsh thud made you snap towards the door. Your energy levels spiking but your head still feeling hazy. You looked down at the cup in front of you, your heart sinking as you looked up at your family, their movements becoming more sluggish. 

The movement you caught in the corner of your eye made you turn towards the entrance that led into the dining room. Tall, muscular men dressed in dark clothing entered the room, their cursed energy swirling as you stared at them in the best focus your mind could allow. They wore masks, covering their face with wooden carved masks that looked like the face of wolves. There were black markings that looked similar to those related to underground thieves that lingered in the far outskirts of the clan lands. 

You watched as one of the kids ran, trying to catch another one of the children as a string hand grabbed the neck of his neck, a loud help sounding out. Still, everyone in the room seemed to not notice, you tried moving your body but you felt locked in place, like your body had entered a type of rigamortis. The sound of a neck snapping and the child’s body being thrown onto the table sounded out, everyone finally snapping and letting the silent haunt the atmosphere. 

One of your aunts let out a shrill of horror, a scream that didn’t even reach its full potential due to the slurring of her cries. Why was everyone slurring, why was everything blurring, why was every movement slowed to a fraction of normal time? And why were these people here? 

You watched as six more men entered, each one wearing their own carved mask as the walked over to your family, kicking them down as the sounds of their please sounded out. 

“What is the meaning of this?!”, you heard your father stand, his body slowly down as he couldn’t find his footing. “Leave our home, now!”, he boomed, his voice holding less power than it normally would. 

His cursed energy was faltering. It wasn’t at the level it would normally be at, it was nowhere near what the L/n name was known for. 

The men walked to your father, meeting his gaze behind the haunting wooden mask. His head tilted sideways slowly, watching him with quiet, dead eyes. It was haunting, the silence and the sound of your aunt's cries at the sight of one of your family’s children lying limp on the table with his neck twisted in a crooked, macabre way. 

You couldn’t move, your chest feeling heavy. You watched as the men grabbed your family members, binding their hands with rope as they dragged them into the center of the room, another man grabbing the bottom of the table and flipping it over. All of the contents spill all over the priceless carpet and beautiful wood of your home. 

You watched as the man continued to hold your father’s gaze, his hand moving to his leg and unsheathing a dagger. Your eyes widened, your mouth opening to warn him before you felt a hand dig into your hair and pull you back, your eyes looking at another one of the men as his face was right next to yours. His silence gave you chills, his head shaking slowly and a finger raising to the snout of the mask in a “shh” motion. 

You looked at him through the side of your eye, the fear slowly showing through. Who are these people?! 

You watched as they grabbed your mother, her cries blurred as they kicked her in the side. You could feel the pain that coursed through her, they kicked her with brute force. Her energy was weak but still spiked in the shock. Your father was also thrown to the ground. His energy wavering finally. 

“The center”, the main man motioned. “Keep those three over there”

You watched as the rest of the children were placed in the back, your aunts and uncles in the center, and you and your parents at the front of the room facing your family. 

Two of the men circled back towards the small children, your family turning and trying to protest hurting them. They were the future of the L/n name. If they disappeared, so did your family. It seemed like the men knew that all too well as they walked over, manifesting their cursed energy and snapping their necks as the walked up to each child. The cries filled the room, your head dropping to keep from looking at the potential life as honorable sorcerers be cut short. 

The feeling of hands tangling into your hair and forcing your head up made you feel ill. The man next to you looked at you deeply. Pointing ahead. 

“Watch”, was all he said in a deep, distorted voice. At Least he sounded distorted due to your body’s senses being weakened. 

Your mother also cried, clenching her eyes shut, but one of the men forced her eyes open, digging his fingers into the skin around her eyes and peeling them apart as she struggled weakly against them. Her thrashes were slow and weak but she insisted on fighting whatever was making her inebriated. 

You wanted to throw up. Why were they doing this? 

Sukuna… 

You wanted to send a signal, wanted to reach him but he was on the complete opposite side of the woods, outside the clan’s territories. There was no way he’d be able to sense you from so far away, especially not when your energy was weak, depleted. 

“L/n”, the leader called in a deep timbre, “Let’s see how long it takes for your cunt of a wife to bleed out” 

You watched as they shoved your mother to the ground, holding her in place as her tears soaked the wood of the floor, your eyes wide and they forced you to watch by holding your head up and a dagger to your throat. 

“If you look away or close your eyes, you’ll die”, the man grabbing you whispered. 

Two other men walked up to your mother, your father yelling at them to stop. One of them pulled out a serrated knife, your gut churning as your eyes stung from the pressure and burning of the shock. No… 

You felt her screams before truly letting them sink into your bones. Her skin ripped open as the men sawed the knife back and forth from the back of her neck. The blood spilling and staining the ground as her body thrashed against their hold. Your body shook from the shock, your chest feeling like you were having a heart attack, the pain you were watching her go through ripped through you. The men only continued to slowly saw at her head, her words distorted and gargled as she choked on her blood. Her hair went from the light brown to a dark, deep maroon, soaking her kimono and drenching the fine carpets into matted fabric. Her body shook, the screams of agony dying out as her body twitched, the knife finally cutting through the bone of her spinal cord and her head falling limp on the ground. They lifted her body and her head laid like a piece of loose skin, barely hanging on by a thread and showing the bone of her spine. 

You watched as your father threw up, his body shaking at the sight of his decapitated wife. You felt yourself go numb, your mind went blank, your heart pounding like it wanted to break out of your chest and let you end the torture they were showcasing. 

You watched as they beat your aunts and uncles with switches, the rips in their skin spilling open as the blood painted their skin a deep vermillion, the agony in their slurred words made it worse. They couldn’t even beg for them to stop without sounding drugged. It made the whole thing worse. It made you feel sick at the torture they’d ensued on your family. The L/n clan was being targeted and you couldn’t even think straight enough to protect them. 

You were the heir, the inheritor of the Eye of Aurora, and you couldn’t even protect your family. How pathetic was that? 

An eternity passed, your energy faltering as you stared blankly at the bodies of your family laying in a pile of torn flesh, crimson blood, and left with no ounce of cursed energy. These men weren’t here to steal energy, you could sense it in the wicked way their souls maneuvered through the room. They were looking to kill every last one of you. 

“Y-you baa-stards”, your father slurred next to you. You tried using your energy to put a protective shield around him. Regardless of how poorly he treated you, you couldn’t take anymore of this torment. You tried using your energy to Ryomen, but the veil cast over your home prevented your energy from leaving. They had planned this attack. That much was obvious. 

“I-I wi-ll ki-kill yo-uu”, he was getting weak. You needed to preserve your energy as best as you could if you wanted to live. It was him or you. 

I’m sorry. 

You let your shield fall, having it envelop your own body as you watched as the men pushed your father to the ground. Your eyes weak, your body twitching from the adrenaline but slow because of the drug. How did they manage to drug your entire family from the inside and not even leave grace of doing so? When did they have the time? You were hyper aware of everything, the clarity in your vision due to your technique showing you just how dangerous the situation you were in was. 

The leader walked towards you, gripping your face in his hand as he pulled out the serrated dagger he used to decapitate your mother. He ran the blade over your cheek, a cut stinging as you felt the small trickle of blood run down your skin. 

“Watch”, he murmured. “Or I’ll kill you too.”

He was going to kill you anyway. You could sense it in his energy and his tone. You truly were trapped no matter what you did, not like you could do anything anyway. Your body was inebriated, everything moving in slow motion and overwhelming you. 

Two of the men held your father down, one pinning his arms and the other his legs as the leader walked over, the wolf mask adding more of a taunting aura. He pulled the knife close to your father’s neck, tracing a line that ripped through the robe, causing your father to shake in fear. You watched numbly, your eyes burning from the tears. 

No…

You flinched as the leader slammed the dagger into your fathers chest, a cough of blood spilling from your fathers mouth as he grunted in pain. The leader tilted his head slowly, using his other hand to cover his hand in blood and wipe it over his wooden mask. Slowly, he carved the knife down your fathers chest and into his abdomen, cutting him open and sticking his hand inside his stomach, pulling his intestines out and pulling back the skin to show his insides. 

You couldn’t contain the scream of horror that escaped your mouth, your eyes drenched from the tears as you struggled against the man holding you back. Your voice turned raw, your throat burning from the choked sobs and the screams of horror. 

Why? 

Why?!

“Why are you doing this?”, your voice slurred. “Why?”

The leader moved towards you, leaving your father with his guts spilled out of his body as he heaved in pain, his eyes filled with a shock and horror you’ve never seen before. God, what kind of karma was this? 

The leader lifted his hand, bringing his blade down but your body manifested enough cursed energy to block his blow, making him tilt his head in humor. He tried again and your body, although weak, held enough cursed energy to block his blows. 

The one holding you stood, trying to aim a hit at the back of your head, your shield keeping the blow from landing. They were trying to beat you to death. You couldn’t. You couldn’t let them. If you held them off long enough, Ryomen would come, he’d kill them and save you. He’d take you so far from this realm that no one would know where you went. You’d cease to exist as Y/n L/n and continue life unknown to another realm. You’d be safe from the torment you were living through. Both you and Ryomen. 

Please, Ryo. 

Where are you? 

You felt another blow hit, your body flinching. Their hits repeated, not letting up. You were vulnerable, weak, exposed. If you used the fear, you’d never run out of cursed energy. You could keep your shield up for as long as you needed. The only thing leaving you unsure was how long until you passed out? How long until the drug took its full effect? 

There was a split second where you believed this would be it for you, your body fighting in the best way that it could given the circumstance. Ryomen would have these men decapitated, gutted, tortured, flayed alive for having ever considered hurting you and yet… 

Your throat was raw, your sobs muffled as you focused on the hits the men were delivering to you repeatedly. You felt weak. How long had it been? How long had they been in your home? How long did they take to snap the necks of the children, to torture your aunts and uncles? How long did it take for your mother to die or your father to stop feeling pain?

How long before you died?

“Bride of Sukuna”

Tears flooded down your cheeks as you stared up at them, the bodies of all your family laying lifeless around you. Your mother limp with her head mere feet from her body, your father completely gutted as his insides lay in a pile next to him, the rest of the L/n clan laying in vats of their own flesh and blood. every tile was covered in the red fluid, staining the pristine floor a crimson maroon. 

“Please, let me go.”, your energy was weak. “Please”

“The Devil’s whore begging for mercy? I wonder what else I can get you to beg for.”, his wicked smile spread across his face, leaving you feeling cold inside. 

“Aren’t you tired yet? We’ve been at this for hours''. They were forcing you to use your technique. Using cursed objects against you, the only way to stop them from slicing your body was to completely manipulate and discard the cursed weapons they tried to use on you. They’d been at it for what felt like hours. 

Hours you believed would be peaceful. 

Hours you believed would be full of celebration and love. 

Hours you spent being drugged, beaten, tortured, and traumatized as you watched the men saw your mothers head off and pin your father to the ground as they cut him open alive, watching your aunts and uncles be tortured and killed, the children having their necks snapped. It was a massacre. Your entire family, every last one part of the L/n bloodline, lay lifeless in pools of blood and carnage. You were the final remaining member. 

Your body was still inebriated from the drug you took to incapacitate you, likely mixed in with the food and water to get inside everyone in your family. Your body was weak, wounded, and you were drained of energy. You didn’t have it in you to continue anymore. 

“Let’s eat that spirit of yours. We hear she’s worth a hefty price”, one of them moved towards you, a prominent tattoo in his hand as he wrapped a hand around your neck, the energy coursing through him reaching high levels of mastery. It overwhelmed you. Everything overwhelmed you at the moment. “I can see why that nasty son of a bitch chose you, you’re a pretty face to look at. I’m sure you were a better fuck than those concubines he kept around.”

“Look at me”, his hand clenched your face. “I want to see the life drain out of your eyes”, you felt a piercing hole in your heart, the agony ripping through you as you felt your soul be completely ripped out of your body. You never felt this type of pain before, it felt like a million daggers ripping through your flesh, the ripping of skin elongated as you choked on your screams. You couldn’t scream, couldn’t release the emotion while you felt the burning sensation of your technique being ripped away from you. Your eyes were forced to look into your killer's eyes, his eyes full of sadistic entertainment. He was enjoying watching the life drain from your eyes. More so, he was enjoying watching the life drain from Sukuna’s wife’s eyes, knowing he’d be the one who destroyed his chance at a lineage. 

The only thing you could think of was him at that moment. Your heart called his name, your soul yearning for a final look, a final touch. You begged whatever higher being to bring him to you and save you from this torment. You felt it in the marrow of your bones that you would die here tonight, and still you believed he would show up and save you like he’d always done in the past. The quick flash of memories burned into your brain showed themselves then, every training, every secret meeting, every gentle touch and stolen kiss, every night in his bed, every moment in his arms while he breathed in your scent, every intimate night burned into your existence. You loved him in every way that existed, in every way you knew how, with every part of your being. As your life drained completely, you begged for one more touch, one more sacred moment with him in the intimacy of your bedroom, one more glance into your future with him before your soul would be expelled from this life forever.

Your field of dreams engulfed in fire and burned into ash, the arson’s match burning your future into nothing.

Ryo…

Your once e/c eyes had faded into black hues of emptiness. 

“I’m finished. What a shame such a pretty face is being wasted on an ugly bastard like him”, the man muttered before throwing your body to the ground, your head against the ground as the red blood stained the beautiful white gown you wore, staining it and leaving it marked in warning. 

“Let’s go. We’re done here.” 

The ground trembled, the earth cracking and splitting as his anger and despair erupted. There were waves of excruciatingly powerful energy rippling off of him. The echoes of his rage-filled screams cut through the silence, a haunting sound that reverberated through the night. He consumed the energy around him, letting the cruel reality of your fate burn into his consciousness, the final thoughts of his beloved engraved into his brain like a tattoo on flesh. 

He felt his body grow heavy from what he could only place as despair, denial, and grief. 

Of all the cursed energies that existed, the demons that tried to overcome him, the possession of power, nothing left him weak like your corpse in his arms. No curse, no rival, no force in the world ever got close to bringing him to his knees like this. You, a kind hearted and gifted sorcerer, brought the King of Curses to his knees, leaving him absolutely powerless. Your lifelessness shattered the illusion of invincibility he believed he had, there was one way to destroy him and it was you. 

Your body was limp, your head rolling against his chest as he tried to get you up right. Two of his arms held you as the other lifted your head, the hollow of your irises losing him in an immense amount of grief. A part of him wanted to believe that if he held you carefully enough, he could somehow resurrect the essence that had been torn away. They’d sucked the life right out of you, ripped your soul apart all because you were his bride. His forehead rested against yours, asking for forgiveness for having cursed you. 

He held your body in his arms, holding you close to his chest as his face buried into the curve of your neck, breathing you in. His hands trembled as they held you, his energy radiating off of him in waves of despair and denial. Your delicate body, tainted by those who sought to kill him, damned by the evil in this realm. You were everything he believed and everything he breathed, your soul meant for him in every way he couldn’t understand and here your body lay in lifelessness while he remained alive. What beings damned him in such a way where his wickedness managed to live and your purity was exorcized from the world. 

Was this his punishment? 

Was this his hell for having cursed the realm? 

He knew you would be angry with him for thinking such things. If you could see him you’d probably kiss him, tell him it wasn’t his fault. his hand lashed back your hair, taking in the beautiful way you dressed for your family dinner. He memorized every piece of your body. your face, not looking into your eyes since he knew they’d haunt him for the rest of his life. 

He let immense waves of cursed energy radiate off his body, causing a ripple effect of everything getting caught on fire or exploding. He felt his body surge with insurmountable grief, his screams echoing through the woods as the ground vibrated from his despair. The sound left a haunting cast over the air, his howls of agony heard from every inch of the realm. 

Losing you was his greatest weakness, the wound that would never heal, an emptiness making his energy spiral into bigger waves of grief. His body lifted yours, his mind blank and emotionless as he let the waves of anger and denial purge the life around him. His energy made the flames that burned your home bigger, the smoke billowing into dark black clouds that tainted the air causing the surrounding wildlife to flee from the natural disaster he’d created. 

The black char that created a ring burned into the ground around your family’s territory was embedded so deep into the ground that the soil began to rot and the energy was far from being salvaged. He’d embedded his energy so far deep into the roots of the ground that even the sorcerers a millennium from now would be able to recognize the patterns scorched into the soil. 

There was nothing that tainted his soul quite as much as letting you go to your family home alone. The regret burned his flesh like a pain he couldn’t extinguish, a wound carved so far deep inside of him he’d never heal from it. His heart felt like it stopped pumping blood through his veins, the hollow of his body making him a shell filled with remorse, grief, and agony. 

The humanity in him had snapped. Just like you were stolen from him, that final shred had died with you, leaving him an empty shell of a man. What else did he have to lose? He’d spend the years wandering through the realm building his empire to do right by you. 

He’d do anything you asked of him. 

Even in death. 

Even if it meant starting with those who wronged you first. 

The smoke signals were sent as warning to the other three families, rallying them to scout the L/n territory. The radiating waves of energy had been sent so far into the territories, that all three families had gathered their men, sending a group to scout out and another group ready for any attack that might happen. The Zen’in clan was the first to arrive, looking over to see the billowing black smoke consume the night sky with its pitch darkness. 

Upon arrival to the cliff overlooking the land, every scout stood in wide eyed horror at the scene in front of them. Every inch of territory under the L/n name was scorched, leaving nothing but a massive black charred imprint in the ground. Miles and miles of forest and homes burnt to a crisp, leaving nothing behind but remnants of history burnt into the ground. The house was destroyed, the flames burning as the black char was embedded so far into the soil that not even years of caring after it would revive it to its original state. The air was thick with the acrid smell of smoke and burning wood, the intensity of the flames ravaging the land around them. The sky had gotten darker, adding to the haunting scene in front of them. Proof that L/n House had been burned into nothing.

The murmurs between the men had started to raise up during the onslaught of shock, all of them walking down to the scene to find charred bodies, skulls with burnt flesh, the air filling with the smell of burning bodies, leaving one who stood amongst them with a solid resolve. Zetsubou Zen’in turned towards the men, the Kamo and Gojo men finally arriving at the scene as they took in the scene below. He raised his voice through the night, his firm tone solidifying his words. 

“You see what happens to great names when they trust the words of a bastard? The words of a monster!”, he raised his voice. “There is no doubt Ryomen Sukuna burned the L/n to hell. Look at the damnation they brought on themselves!”

The men listened to the Zen’in heir, his words filled with hatred and dripping with venom. “Men, go back to your clans, tell them we need to exterminate him, we need men to bring Sukuna to an indefinite end.”

The men whispered amongst each other, still showing a level of uncertainty in Zetsubou’s words. The Zen’in heir needed to have the two families on his side, needed reason to go after and kill the King of Curses. Zetsubou spotted a seal on the ground, it was one with your family crest upon it. 

“What more proof do we need, men? Look at his work, he’s eradicated them!”, he forced, holding the seal towards them. “The L/n’s knew this would be their end, yet they chose hell. He killed them all, killed Y/n!”

The tension filled the air as Zetsubou said his final words. “Stand as men of power. Do not let Y/n’s death be in vain.”

The evidence was in front of them, the burning flesh, the charred forest floor, the collapsed home of one of the greatest families in the realm, there was no denying the blatant truth. Ryomen Sukuna had killed the L/n family, burning their home to a crisp and leaving nothing but burned bodies and broken debris. The Princess of Peace was torn apart and burned to nothing by the King of Curses. The men of the families murmured in agreement, solidifying their decision in taking the warning back to their individual leaders. 

In the coming hours, the leaders of the Zen’in, Gojo, and Kamo clans had called an immediate emergency council meeting, taking into account the evidence before them and trying to grasp the gravity of what had transpired. What had driven the King of Curses to kill his bride’s entire family and her in the process? What was the meaning behind such a catastrophic and gruesome display of power?

The Three Families agreed to come together in power, combining forces to set after the King of Curses and exorcize him from the realm for good. Their search for him spanned over weeks, his disappearance leaving a haunting overcast on the realm and the families as their sorcerers would set out after him, but many of them would never return back home. 

The eradication of the L/n clan led to the inevitable silence of the jujutsu world, the cloak of darkness absorbing every land in sight for centuries to come. The world felt cold, empty, and ominous. Every sorcerer felt the grief and rage burning through the ground at the ripple of sukuna’s overwhelming emotion. 

Due to his domain, he closed off the territory completely, creating a shield that would leave the remnants of the land completely closed off and cursed to anyone who wasn’t part of the L/n bloodline. It left a black border outlining the entirety of the L/n territory. The remaining three families had no choice but to erase the L/n name entirely from records, only leaving the fragmented whispers of their clan before ending it with the wrath of the King of Curses. 

The aftermath of the Burning of Aurora led to what would be considered the Dark Age of the Heian era. The once-vibrant land of the L/n clan, now a wasteland, became a haunting reminder of the King of Curses' boundless grief and rage. The relentless, all-consuming flames had not only eradicated the physical existence of the clan but also left an emotional scar that reverberated through the ages. Sukuna had gone rampant, destroying every village he encountered and completely destroying them as a way to seek revenge on those who’d killed his beloved. He tore through the lives of sorcerers across the realm with no hesitation or remorse in the cruelty he showed. He killed countless people, both sorcerers and regular people, innocent and guilty in every aspect. No amount of bloodshed would make up for the death of his beloved, nothing would be sufficient enough to heal that wound. His howls of pain echoed so far through the realm they had embedded themselves into the memory of every sorcerer, leaving a haunting sensation, knowing they would be next once he arrived at their homes. 

In the midst of his rampage, the Zen’in family had taken a direct hit to their lineage, the rightful heir being forced under the hand of the King of Curses. There was a cruel reality that was erased by the Zen’in when records of the Dark Age were scribed into the scrolls to be passed down, the reason behind Zetsubou Zen’in’s death. Sukuna had encountered the heir in a fight during one of his raids, having killed all of his men, leaving only Zetsubou standing. There was an undeniable energy that swirled between the two sorcerers, the man who tried to marry his bride standing before him in cocky confidence, his anger whirling inside of his as he continued to attack the bastard. 

Zetsubou knew he had the power to manifest the Zen’in clan’s Mahoraga with his Ten Shadows technique, but his call for the powerful spirit would never happen as Sukuna sliced his arm off his body. Zetsubou had his anger, his hatred dripping from his words as he taunted the King of Curses, damning him to hell as Sukuna stared at him with bored, soulless eyes. 

Sukuna allowed the bastard to speak, the cruel reality causing Sukuna to burn with an anger that would destroy the entirety of the realm. As Zetsubou lay bleeding out, accepting his death, his final words reached the ears of the very monster that would end his life. 

He had outsourced and hired those sorcerers to distract him, he had called the hit on L/n House, claiming it to be his way to exact his revenge for having everything stolen from him. If he couldn’t have you, the ugly bastard Sukuna wouldn’t have you either. The eradication of the L/n Clan, the blood spilled, it all painted the hands of Zetsubou Zen’in. 

This was the hidden secret of the Zen’in clan, the final undeniable truth dying when Sukuna elongated Zetsubou’s death, torturing him in his last moments as he flayed him alive, ripping his skin apart before forcing his energy to crush in his skull. There were no records of the truth, not even those within the Zen’in were aware of the cruel heir’s ploy to eradicate the L/n clan. Zetsubou had been able to place the blame on Sukuna, casting him as the stain on the realm that erased an entire family from the world of Jujutsu sorcery. The realm believed his lies due to their fear of the merciless King of Curses. 

The darkness spread throughout the realm after the revelation that had been revealed to him, casting every human being and sorcerer into darkness and leaving a stain on the jujutsu world forever. 

They say the effects of his rampage caused the death of 10% of the known jujutsu sorcerers at the time, leaving an imprint on jujutsu history as the world knows it, almost tipping the balance of power within the realm. This period was marked with an overwhelming, inhuman level of chaos, the jujutsu realm struggling to grasp the effects of Sukuna’s wrath. This gained him more power, more strength, and ended with him having no morality as his only reason for human emotion disappeared along with his bride. 

Even now the land remains cursed, encased in an impenetrable barrier of cursed energy.  leaving hope for a future holder to come through and claim the land so long as they held L/n blood. It left Sukuna a sliver of chance that one day his beloved could return, reincarnated if he searched for her soul long enough. The thought of her second bringing was a bittersweet solace, a potential chance to reunite with her soul, even if it was through the rebirth of another. 

Even if it was a millennium from now. 

In the midst of his unyielding rage, he found a moment of tenderness to spare. Sukuna buried her in the open field where they used to train together, saving what he could of her family’s ancestral crest and heirlooms ensuring her spirit could cross into the next life in peace. 

This was his last act of humanity before his soul turned completely black and disappeared from the realm. 

His last act was one of love towards his late bride, that fragment of his soul forever lost and never seen again. 

Epilogue || Present Day

“Yuji, what are you doing? Why are you crying?”

“Huh?”, Yuji snapped out of his trance, lifting a trembling hand up to his cheeks to feel the small line where the tears had fallen. “What was that?” he whispered to himself, looking out to the empty space in the woods, a black imprint in the ground that spanned for miles.The sight before him—a massive, burned imprint left by the unrelenting force of destruction—overwhelmed him. 

Sukuna did this…

“Are you okay?” Yuji felt his heart skip a beat at the sudden realization that crashed over him, suddenly becoming aware of why his body, or rather Sukuna, brought him here. Suddenly, he felt a pang of agony in his chest, an overwhelming rush of emotion as he choked on his words. The intense grief and anguish he was experiencing were not solely his own; they were a flood of emotions tied to Sukuna’s past.

Yuji stared at you in shock and at a loss for words, your bright eyes meeting him in a worried stare. Your eyes reflected the same warmth and kindness that had been present in the memories Sukuna had shown him. 

“Y/n Sensei…”, your head cocked at his sentence, wondering why his eyes were red and his cheeks were tear stained. Another flood of emotion overcame him, the thoughts of another flooding his mind as he tried to come to terms with what Sukuna showcased to him. The way he treated her… treated you. Had everything he’d been told… been a lie?

“What’s wrong Yuji?”, your voice was soft, gentle, it sounded exactly like the one in Sukuna’s memories, it was so…. familiar, it almost made Yuji’s heart ache. Your eyes looking at him the same way they had at Sukuna all those centuries ago. They held the same softness and curiosity, an empathy that could make anyone feel safe with you. The way you looked at him mirrored the way Sukuna had looked at you throughout his years in his past life: full of love and longing. 

“I .... “ he hesitated, trying to wrap his mind around the emotion whirling inside of him that didn’t belong to him. “Nothing. I was just lost in thought.”

“Well c'mon! We have to get back to Satoru before he leaves us stranded here”, you said, a bright smile on your face. You turned and walked away towards the main road, his eyes following your form as you smiled up at a small butterfly that flew close to your face. 

Yuji watched you with a mix of awe and a deep understanding. In that moment, he felt a profound sense of revival, content, and an overwhelming pull towards you. Almost like Sukuna was forcing him to reach you. 

Go Yuji Itadori. a deep voice echoed in his head. Take me to her.

A/N:

Ahhhh!! Here is the final part of Love of My Life!!

This has probably been one of my absolute favorite fanfics to write and it was nice being able to experiment with my writing a bit more with darker themes! I truly do hope you all enjoyed this and I appreciate all the love and support you guys have given this mini series.

I highly suggest listening to House in Nebraska, Ptolemaea, and Strangers by Ethel Cain, I feel like those three songs gave me so much inspiration in writing this final chapter because I feel like they set the scene so well.

This story does have a bit of an open ending, I am not saying I'll create a spin-off, but I will consider one-shots that are inspired by this series!

I do also have a Jason Todd x Reader fanfiction called Playing With Fire, so if you like DC and Jason Todd I would highly recommend!

Anyway, once again, thank you guys so much for the love and support and please leave all your comments below!

[lowkeyrobin]

hiiiiii can u pls make a tommy x fem!reader where they go on a fake date for a vlog (but its actually a secret plot by tommy or yn (u choose) to go on a date w the other bc theyve had a secret crush on thr other for a long time🤭🤭)

and then like,,,, in the middle of the date the other realizes that oh,,,, i like them

AND THEN CUE THE PANIC THAT COMES WITH REALIZING U LOVE UR BEST FRIEND IN THE MIDDLE OF A FAKE DATE AND THEN MAYBE AFTER FINISHING THE VLOG THEY LIKE REVEAL THEIR FEELINGS TO EACH OTHER AND AGREE TO GO ON A REAL DATE LATER???👁️👁️

omg yes of COURSEEEE ; also I do only do gn readers but I can 100% do the rest of this 💪💪 hope you enjoy 🫶 ; also djo is mentioned (I've been a fan since like 2020) do not start gatekeeping on me LMAO ; listening to my tommyinnit playlist while making this and 🙏🙏🙏🙏 (link can be found on my masterlist -> playlists 👍 it's a banger

TOMMYINNIT ; real date ❌️ fake date ✅️

summary ; you go on a fake date for a vlog and decide to go on a real one because the romantic tension got you both positively nauseated

warnings ; language

genre ; fluff

word count ; 1.5k

masterlist

"Y/n, you wanna go stop for food?" The blonde asks, dropping the vlog camera a bit as he hears his stomach grumble in hunger. "We can make it a date for the vlog" He suggests, praying you'd say yes.

You nod, agreeing to the bit and the food considering you were also beginning to starve. Meanwhile, he feels his intestines flip around in his torso, trying to hide a giggle of approval as you agree.

You stop at a little lunch place and dine in with some sandwiches and soup. You and Tommy sit at one of the half-booth-half-chair tables, and put the camera in front of you as you sit next to each other. You talk about and eat at the same time, basically doing a mini storytime for the vlog, considering he was trying to do a vlog challenge to upload every week and have his videos reach at least twenty minutes and you were down to help him.

Tommy tries to push off the weight off his shoulders, love pulling him down as he looks over at you, talking to the camera about a story from earlier. He feels his stomach fill with butterflies as you laugh and smile, your eyes twinkling like sun reflecting off of water.

He quickly looks back down at his food, trying to hide his longing eyes for you. His ears dust a little red, feeling flustered as you joke around with him, making little date conversation to play up the bit.

You eventually get into the joke as a whole, making fake flirty conversation, making both of you silently panic inside. It's obvious to everyone but you, his ears and cheeks dusted pink, you trying to hide your smile as your face warms up past the heat of the oven when you bake out-the-box cakes together. You have to walk out of the building because you were getting too loud with laughter and didn't want to disturb the other patrons.

You walk down the sidewalk together, talking on and on and opening up more than usual about a lot of things. Tommy shows off all the scenery as you walk, later to be edited with Empire State Of Mind in the background, considering you'd been traveling around New York together while Freddie and Jack did their own things around the city.

You take the camera after a few minutes, wanting to have some fun with it. From silly angles and .5's of your foreheads to the Empire State Building and the flashy lights and screens everywhere like Times Square, you got it all. You found it so fucking enjoyable, catching all the beauties of city life you'd never experienced before. The bustling streets and the sound of music coming from just about everywhere, it weirdly comforted you.

You hold the camera up high, zoomed all the way out to capture you and the blonde, singing along to End Of Beginning by Djo, the song playing in the earbuds you were sharing. I mean, this was the beginning of a new end, in all honesty, the tour, him, your new eras and styles of content, the new way you'd picked yourselves off the floor and made yourselves new people. You were both happy enough to be on the hectic rollercoaster of life with each other in the seat next to the other.

Tommy can't help but find your funny control over the camera and your jokes amusing, to say the least. He couldn't help but fall more head over heels than he already was. He didn't know how he didn't notice it already, but when you touched the concrete in New York City, he felt it. Something in him awakened, like he realized how amazing it was to have this tour going on, for one, two, you were there. You were always there. You were always right in fucking front of his eyes.

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

You lay face up on the bed in your hotel room, staring at the ceiling. The room is freezing considering the heater doesn't work, and you needed the window open to get some fresh air. You're wrapped in a blanket you'd brought from home for comfort, and hidden under the thick bedsheets you'd been given for the night.

The show went well as per usual, at least.

What wasn't going well was the fact you couldn't sleep.

All because of a certain blonde haired boy who was currently obsessed with sweatshirts and jeans.

His laugh was contagious, his smile shining a thousand sun's, his eyes flowing as deep as the sea you longed for back in Europe, which you frequently walked with MotherInnit. You could stare at him all day, you'd never realized how you felt about him, or the fact the way you thought about him was romantic.

You stare up at the ceiling, a boob light hanging above your feet. It was times like these where you wished you could afford a nicer hotel. The mattress itched of dirty sheets and crumbs, which were not caused by you, or maybe that was the fear of sleeping in a bed that wasn't yours... one of the two.

You wanted to stomp up to Tommy's room, a floor above you and down the hall some, to just rant about taking him on a proper date tomorrow considering how much you'd enjoyed your "date" earlier. But you didn't have the heart, you lay with your stomach twisting and turning, heart aching and burning for him by your side to warm you up.

The bustling city night life soothes you to sleep, the vehicles below on the streets all headed home or to work or around the city. The people shoulder to shoulder on the street, enjoying a peaceful walk to wherever their feet were taking them, the homeless girl you'd given a couple hundred dollars to earlier as she played her flute. A boy about her age had joined her since then, wielded with a guitar, possibly becoming friends through bonding with their interests and the fact they were both struggling.

You could hear their music even from four floors up and through the city traffic, it was beautiful. They fit together perfectly, like two neighboring pieces of a puzzle. You wished you felt that way with Tommy. You wished you could come clean to him about your feelings and how you really thought of him. Yet, tonight was not that night.

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

The panic had set in from last night now.

You were barely awake when you stared up at the ceiling, swooning over your best friend, but now you were wide awake and in total realization of your thoughts. You internally cringe every time you think about it, wanting to vanish off the face of the Earth.

Through the last day in New York, you found yourself avoiding Tommy at all costs. From wandering off with Freddie to eating by your lonesome and spending time in your hotel room to "edit videos," you'd probably only spent a half hour around him.

He was growing concerned while Jack and Freddie shared a knowing look, knowing exactly what was happening. They'd both known of his crush on you, which spanned past the past four or so months. You finally realized you liked him back and wanted to deny it.

The two wanted to intervene but decide to let fate run its course, trusting that your natural human instincts would bring you together again. You bump into the blonde in the hallway, needing to go get ice to sit in it for an hour in the bathtub as some sort of therapy, which Tommy highly always made fun of you for. You apologize, the empty bin for ice in your hands.

"Ice?" He asks, then groans with a smile, "You seriously gonna sit in ice til we have to leave for the airport tomorrow morning?"

You shrug with a light smile, feeling your heart racing. You hear your own heartbeat pounding in your ears, drowning out his beautiful voice.

"Y/n? You okay?" He speaks, snapping you back to reality.

Without any thought behind it, you shoot your shot. "Do you wanna go on an actual date sometime?" You quickly speak, stumbling over your words.

His face quickly shifts to a smile, his smile lines showing themselves off. "Yeah! Wait, no, I mean like, "Yeah, sure," not like, "I'm so desperate, yeah-"

"Cool!" You quickly rush past him, your hands sweaty, your face flushing as you dart towards the ice machine.

He turns and watches you quickly speed walk away, his cheeks burning bright as he smiles, watching you walk away.

TommyInnit ; fake and real dates with Y/n <3 ; 20:49 ; Posted 4 hours ago

Y/U/N left a comment!

Y/U/N ; youre actually a dork

TommyInnit replied to your comment!

TommyInnit ; well you couldn't pick between a fake and a real date, apparently. we had to do both

Y/U/N ; fake date ✅️ real date ❌️

TommyInnit ; people.

[throwing-in-the-towel]

SONG/SCENE BREAKDOWN - ACT ONE

TULSA ‘67

- pony starts on the tire at the front of the stage with a giant screen behind him that’s cutting the stage in half. the screen lightens to show darrel and soda behind it, darrel folding laundry + soda laying on the car (which is used as a bed as well)

- pony jumps into the crowd and sits in an audience seat when he sings “when i am looking up and newman’s on the screen…etc.” while movie footage of paul newman plays on the screen that’s on stage

- when the first “this is tulsa 1967” is sung, the screen rises and shows the socs and greasers dancing/hanging out around the stage

- when pony sings abt the socs, they’re running around the stage throwing a football, all wearing letterman jackets. bob is putting his jacket over cherry’s shoulders

- when he starts singing about the east side and greasers, they come back on stage and are hanging out by the car on stage

- johnny sings his verse sitting on the tire with pony, they then join the greasers over by the car and sing the “we’re greasers!” section all together

- to end the song, the full company comes back on stage walking around pony who rotates between standing in the middle of everyone and ends the song at the front of the stage, with the greasers to the right of him and the socs to the left

GREASE GOT A HOLD

- a lot of this is seen in the today show performance the cast did!

- some things that were cut from that performance:

- soda is shirtless for this whole song, he takes his shirt off in the lead-up scene to wipe blood off pony’s face after the socs beat him up

- when he sings “g is for getting the girls every time bc you got irresistible charm” he motions at his abs

- after soda sings “e is for catching their eye” he directs pony and johnny to look at ace and says “isn’t that right ace?” -> ace is standing on the tire and turns around, grabbing her ass and saying “you wish” to soda, and he legit looks at her longingly (i’ve seen jason react in so many different ways, but he usually will stick his tongue out or just lust fullylook at her)

- the verse between two-bit and darry’s is essentially just repeated choreo that is done throughout the song

RUNS IN THE FAMILY

- darrel slams the hood of the car down to start this song (it was open from the end of grease got a hold when dally “knights” pony)

- he sings the first verse by folding laundry at the table, then the greasers come in towards the end of that verse (soda throws his shirt in the laundry basket darry is working on)

- they all sit on the floor by the car watching a small tv on stage, pony asks darry if he can go to the drive-in with two-bit and johnny, darry asks if dally will be there to which pony says probably and darry talks about how he knows pony looks up to dally. pony essentially ignores him and asks again if he can go to the drive-in. darry says yes and tells pony to wash the grease out of his hair and gives soda the laundry basket

- song continues with darrel singing while soda kicks the greasers out and soda puts the blanket on the car to transform it into a bed for him and pony

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

- essentially the same as the performance done on the today show

- super super sweet and funny scene between soda and pony that happens right before the song begins (will prob make posts abt specific scenes if asked about!)

- song ends and a scene between johnny and dally starts

FRIDAY AT THE DRIVE-IN

- cherry and bob enter by driving the corvette on stage

- super reminiscent of “dance at the gym” from west side story. greasers and socs each take turns dancing

- ace and two-bit dance together steve has solo dance moments as well

- ends with cherry and marcia sitting down for the drive-in

I COULD TALK TO YOU ALL NIGHT

- has a great lead in scene between pony and cherry where they talk about cherry’s home life, pony’s parents dying, great expectations, etc.

- cherry and pony are sitting on the bench at the drive-in singing to each other

- they get abruptly cut off during the last “i could talk to you all night” by bob slamming a fist on the car, leads into a confrontation scene between bob, cherry, and pony is dragged into it (super great scene, can go into detail in another post if requested!)

RUNS IN THE FAMILY (REPRISE)

- just such great staging

- pony comes in late from the drive-in with johnny, darrel obviously is fed up

- pony is sitting at the dinner table and darry is just singing/yelling at him, “eat my food” lyric is actually directed at johnny

- soda stands in front of johnny to protect him from darry

- ends with darrel hitting pony, johnny grabs pony and they run away

FAR AWAY FROM TULSA

- pony and johnny are both sitting/standing on the giant metal structure that is on the side of the stage, kind of like sideways monkey bars

- soda and darrel are still on stage in the dark, soda sitting at the table and darry on the floor with his back against the table

- ends with them jumping off and deciding to leave, but the socs show up (another great scene done here with bob’s death, super unique staging and just really awesome. have a lot of things to say about that scene)

RUN RUN BROTHER

- one of the best songs/scenes in the show imo (hoping they do this at the tony’s!!!)

- pony and johnny visit dally, dally gives pony his jacket and sets them on their way

- great usage of the wooden plank props that are on the stage, simulates the train and obstacles pony and johnny are running from

- during the “sooner or later you learn” verse, on the elevated structure in the back, the socs are on one side, dally is in the middle, and soda, two-bit and darry are on the other side

- that bit ^ in particular is super reminiscent imo of “non-stop” in hamilton. darry is standing in between soda and two-bit while they both sing in his face, almost condescendingly

- the wooden planks are placed on tires to create the train pony and johnny jump off of

- act 1 ends with pony and johnny jumping off the train on the last beat of the song

[xf-cases-solved]

i am aware that this is likely not a new take at all, and i'm not like, claiming it as mine, but i never had the chance to have this opinion (or hear other ppl have this opinion) on a public forum before, so i just want to take this opportunity to say to another person, possibly for the first time with the exception of mb my mother, who is no longer here to agree with me, that "existence" came out when i was 8 years old, i watched it live, and literally the day i watched it i remember thinking to myself "why did they have a boy named william? they should have had a girl named samantha. OF COURSE they should have had a girl named samantha," like it felt so obvious to me

and tho i couldn't rly articulate it this clearly at the time, my little muddy 8 year old thought process was that the entire story of the xfiles starts with samantha, right? mulder has his beliefs bc samantha was taken; he says so in the very first episode. the whole reason he even thinks aliens are real to begin with is bc of samantha. the person he spent his whole life searching for was samantha. he MET SCULLY bc of samantha. samantha is the thread that ties the whole story together, so then how beautiful--how narratively perfect--would it have been to tie THEIR story--their love story (bc xfiles is, at the end of the day, a love story, fight me) up with a bow, where the beginning starts with samantha getting lost, and then ends with samantha there in their arms, finally found, just in a different iteration. (instead of naming the baby after mulder's dad who he doesn't even like? or scully's dad. or scully's brother. or mulder's middle name, which is after his father ik, but still, why are there so many fucking williams??)

like, imagine it. rly sit there and take a moment to imagine how the end scene in "existence" would have gone if mulder had said, "what are you going to name her," and scully had said, "samantha"

not only does it get the "ding ding ding, you're the dad!" point across, but how fucking Touched would mulder have been to have the woman he loves--the PERSON he loves--more than anything on earth honor the sister who took up so much of his soul for so long? who always will take up part of his soul, just in a healthier way. it would be scully saying, "we know she's gone from this world now, but she's not gone from our hearts" emphasis on OUR hearts, bc mulder's pain is scully's pain; mulder's quests are scully's quests. she never met her sister-in-law (they're married, fight me), and will never have the chance, but by naming their child after her, she would be saying, "i love her anyway. i love her because you love her, and because anyone you love deserves my love as well, bc we are intertwined at our core. our fundamental values, our suffering, our joy, it is felt in us both concurrently, bc i am your person, and you are mine, and together we made a whole other person who is a literal representation of our combined selves, and we are going to call her SAMANTHA, bc that little girl you watched get stolen from you however many decades ago has been the pillar that has kept us going as a team for the last eight years"

or maybe it would have been even simpler than that. maybe she would just be saying, "your sister is IMPORTANT, mulder, even in death, and her memory isn't held only by you. it is unrelenting, and preserved forever in our child"

i wanted that scene. i wanted to feel the heaviness of mulder's grief mixed with his elation and gratitude and love. i appreciate william for who he was in the scheme of things, but that moment in the bedroom, with their baby between them, shouldn't have been lessened for me bc they chose a name that made me pause and go "his dad was named william? oh yeah! forgot about that guy, it's been a few YEARS since we saw much of him, and what we did see of him wasn't like... awesome. but sure, name your baby that ig, if you must"

that scene should have hit so much harder, and if that baby had been a samantha? it could have hit like nothing ever has, and for all the mishaps that show took after that (and there were MANY), i think the thing i will always have the most resentment for is the fact that i felt robbed of something that would have meant so much to me as a viewer who had followed their journey from the start (or, well, almost start. i was born the year it came out, so i didn't start watching until 1998, when my brain came online, but i'd seen the past stuff at least)

anyway! that's all to say, 8 year old me was salty as hell about that, and ykno what? she was RIGHT and should have been able to say it. but, again, 2001, 8 years old, not old enough to participate in fandom, so that thought has just festered and rotted away in my brain like a piece of old, putrid meat. but! finally i can give my 8 year old self some catharsis by letting her bitch and bitch and bitch to her heart's content about how "existence" should have been the series finale, and how that baby should have been a girl named samantha, and how i climbed onto that hill 23 years ago, and how i will die there with my heels dug down deep

ty, internet, for coming to my extremely overdue tedtalk. somewhere in the past there is a small child (who definitely shouldn't have been allowed to watch xfiles as young as she did, but what can you do?) finally has a weight off of her chest. it's just a tv show, and in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter, but also, it's a tv show that i grew up with in my formative and unfortunately very traumatic years, and it genuinely feels like a loved one who has always been there to comfort me, and so yeah, it doesn't "matter," but the truth is, it Matters so incredibly much

that's all

-diz

[nervousmiseryy]

I need non-spanish speakers who found out about Roier through the QSMP to know about The Hotel Room Incident bc i find it so fcking funny

To give you some context: a bunch of spanish speaking streamers were all in Mexico, staying in the same hotel bc of The Eslands (an award show for streamers that was happening on the 29th of January).

And somehow, even though most streamers arrived on the 28th and were tired as fuck, a party started to from on the hotel. So throughout the night we kept getting instastories and videos of the guys saying hi to fans outside the hotel. Here are some examples: 1 (yep, that’s roier in the beginning), 2

Mind you, the event started really early the next day.

So the next morning we start getting tweets and stories from these streamers who are very obviously hungover and tired (a whole bunch of them ended up going with sunglasses to the awards lol).

And Mariana posts this story:

M: [...] The problem here is Roier, I don’t know where he is. He was supposed to stay here with me bc he did not have a room and I told him “stay with me, no problem dude” and there are his things and everything... he’s not here! and I have like 10 messages and 10 missed calls from him saying like “dude, I can’t get in!”. The dumbass is him bc I gave him a key.. no way [..]

Roier is missing

He could be sleeping in the middle of the hallway for all we know.

After like an hour or radio silence, Roier tweets this:

R: when you end up sleeping with spreen bc mariana fell asleep

S: you suck it good

R: you look really pretty sleeping

And other than this story (which is mainly Roier insulting Mariana lmao) we get no more context at all.

For like two days

Nothing will ever compare to all the communities trying to piece together what the hell happened that night through all the vague tweets, it was so fun. Istg it all felt like one of those Twitter AUs.

So, the awards happen, everyone goes back home and the fun part stars:

The streams where the streamers talk about the trip.

No one was safe (especially spreen) (it doesn’t matter to the story but you have to know everyone had a different wild ass story about him)

It turns out Mariana got so drunk that he forgot and fell asleep, and the key he gave Roier did not work, so Quackity had to use his lawyer skills to get the hotel people to let Roier in.

AND IT COULD HAVE WORKED, the hotel people opened the door, but they had to ask Mariana if Roier could enter, and he was just not waking up at all 😭, so Spreen (who had a whole afterparty forming in his room) offered his room.

And this was only one of the many things that happened during that trip (for example, at one point Mariana got them kicked out of a store bc he leaked their location and a crowd was forming 😭 ). So, what I guess I’m trying to say is that I’m really excited for when La Velada comes around and all of them can meet up again, and you should too, because these mfs cannot be normal when they get together.