#but at the end laurie got her happy ending

[streets-in-paradise]

From time to time my mind returns to this parallel

[jamdoughnutmagician]

Not whilst Teddie's around (18+)

Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Warnings:Fluff, Smut (but like the softest sweetest mushy-gushy kind) cock-waming, kissing, cuddling, horror movie mentions

Word count:1,705

writing this fic was an UPHILL BATTLE, so I'm sorry for the questionable quality, but it's finished at least.

Eddie Muson Masterlist // Main Masterlist

divider by @strangergraphics

“Dude, I’m telling you, horror movies get chicks wetter than you can even imagine. Trust me.” Gareth swears downing the last few sips of his beer.

“Yeah right, like any girl in her right mind would let you come within a ten-foot radius of her, let alone get close enough to get all up in her ‘sex-o-sphere’” Jeff laughs incredulously at his friend.

It was the way that all Corroded Coffin jam sessions ended, with a few beers and typical guy talk.

“You know Cindy Nolan? Works down at the roller-rink? We’ve been hanging out, and I rented Friday The 13th the other night, let me tell you that that girl couldn’t get any closer to me if she tried.”

“Yeah right, you’re full of shit Emerson.” Brandon said, shoving his friend with a nudge of his elbow.

“No, no, come on now, let’s hear him out. Maybe you two girlfriend-less losers could learn a thing or two from him.” Eddie says, shushing Jeff and Brandon’s guffawing. Truthfully, Eddie himself was eager to hear what Gareth had to say. Not that he thought he needed any help with his love-life, far from it, actually. His relationship with you was perfect in his eyes, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t learn a thing or two.

“So we're watching the movie right? and it gets to the real scary bit, the music's all tense and shit, and she's pressed up against me, tucking her face into my shirt, and that's when I make my move.” Gareth says, throwing up finger guns.

“Your move?” Eddie asks with a raised brow.

“Yeah, the ol’ ‘yawn-and-stretch’, I fake a yawn and then I stretch my arm around her shoulder. Then to really sell it, I hit her with the ‘don't worry, I'll protect you from the scary serial killer.’ spiel. From then on, she's practically eating out the palm of my hands. Horror movies, I'm telling you guys, are the way to go.”

Both Jeff and Brandon hold their hands up in defeat.

And all that was on Eddie’s mind was that he was definitely going to have to swing by Family video to check out their selection of horror movies.

You rounded your way into the living room with the freshly popped bowl of popcorn getting ready to settle next to Eddie under the throw blankets on the couch.

“So what movie did you pick up for tonight?” you asked, reaching for a handful of popcorn.

He flashes you the vhs cover, a jack-o-latern pumpkin with a knife. He gives you a wide and boyish smile as his deep brown eyes sparkle with a cheeky glint. Tonight was the night that he was going to put Gareth’s claim to the test. He had swung by Family Video right after band practice and slapped Halloween tape down on the counter, causing Steve to roll his eyes and let out an annoyed huff. Oh yeah, Eddie had his plan all figured out.

“Jamie Lee Curtis is an absolute force to be reckoned with in the movie.” he says, reaching over to steal a few pieces of popcorn out of your hand.

This is where your tastes in movies differed from Eddie’s. You were more John Hughes, where the laughs were aplenty and the guy got the girl, whilst Eddie was much more John Carpenter, where the screams were aplenty and the killer got their victim.

But despite horror movies not being totally your thing, you were willing to sit and watch if it made Eddie happy.

Snuggled up to Eddie, with the soft blankets keeping you both cosy, he pressed play on the movie.

You wish you could say that you weren't scared, but then you would be lying. Laurie Strode was certainly a much braver woman than you could ever be, because the very idea that Michael Myers was still on the loose sent a shiver down your spine in the worst way. It didn't matter how much you tried to reason with yourself that it was just a film, and that it wasn't real, the scared and uneasy feeling had your heart pounding against your chest as you tucked your face into Eddie's shirt. Hoping that hiding away in the familiar comfort of your boyfriend would go someway to quell the racing of your heart.

Eddie felt terrible. Scratch that, he felt worse than terrible. He felt like the worst boyfriend in the world. As the tense music in the movie swelled, more and more he felt you shrink into yourself and tuck yourself away into his chest. You were scared and it was his fault. 

Flicking the remote at the tv to pause the film Eddie softly turns his attention to you.

“Hey, you know we don’t have to watch this if you don’t like it.” he says, brushing a stray hair from your face.

“But I know you like this film, so I thought we could watch it together.”

“Sweetheart, you've had your face hidden in my shirt for almost the past hour, it's okay if you're scared, I'm not going to be mad at you.” 

“I'm sorry Teddie, I just really don't like scary films.”

“Come on, nothing’s going to hurt you, not whilst Teddie’s around.” Eddie says, flicking the tv off and throwing the blankets off your bodies before taking your hand in his. “How about we head off to bed, where we can snuggled up and I can keep you safe in my arms.”

Cuddled into Eddie’s chest, his arms wrapping around you protectively, you feel his lips softly kiss the crown of your head. It’s safe, it’s comforting, it’s everything that you need right now, but somehow it still doesn’t feel like enough. 

Eddie feels you squirming in his hold and so he rubs his hand up and down your back in his best attempt to ease you.

“What’s going on with you, huh? You’re still scared about that movie?”

Wordlessly you nod your head, feeling so stupid for letting a fictional murderer frighten you like this.

“You know I’m not going to let anything happen to you right? I’d fight Michael Myers a hundred times over if it meant keeping you safe.”

“Just want to be close to you tonight.” you say softly, as you looked up at him from underneath your eyelashes.

“Yeah? You mean close to you like this?” he says softly as his hands began to wander underneath your oversized sleep-shirt. Underneath your shirt where your skin is soft to his touch. Soft and warm, and the sweet scent of your coconut body wash still lingers on your skin. 

“Wanna feel you, please..” You plead, your eyes almost sparkled in the cosily-lit bedroom. 

As if he could ever say no to you.

Reaching down between your closely pressed bodies he stroked a hand over himself, already half-hard, because truly it didn't take much to get him excited. Everything about you drove him wild, and just the intimacy of getting hold you close in his arms stirred a growing heat in the pit of his stomach. 

He works on taking his boxers off, whilst you work on sliding your panties down your legs and once there is nothing separating you from him he slides himself into you. Filling you slowly to just let you feel every inch of him. Eddie knew that you loved feeling him like this, loved the feel of him inside you. Two bodies moving together as one. Your leg hitched up around Eddie’s slim hips, with your heel pressing into his backside, urging him closer and closer to you. 

“This what you wanted, Sweetheart?” Eddie’s voice rasps out as his lips kiss just below your ear, finding that steadily racing pulse point in your neck.  “Just wanted to be close to me, isn’t that right?”

You nod against Eddie’s chest, moaning softly when he shifted his hips ever so slightly.

Eddie manoeuvred around with you in his arms laying you down on the bed, caged safely underneath him. 

“You're so beautiful.” He smiles, brushing a stray hair from your face, his deep brown eyes so entirely focused on you. You're the centre of his universe, there's not a moment that he's not thinking about you. And there's no place he'd rather be than right here with you.

Slowly he rolls his hips into you with deep, steady strokes. Drawing back just enough until his tip remains, before sliding himself home into your heat.

Your breath is stolen from your lungs every time Eddie fills you. Playing your body in the perfectly precise way that only he knew how. 

Your nails leave little red half-moon crescents in the pale skin of his shoulders as you hold him close, for fear that if you didn’t you might float off into a universe. The calming warmth of Eddie’s skin on yours is the thing that always grounds you to reality. His touch feels like home.

His skilled fingers reach down between your closely pressed bodies to rub eager circles around your clit.

“Just want you to feel good, pretty girl.” his praises rumbled from the back of his throat, heavy with adoring desire.

 Your quiet whines turn into breathy moans with every roll of his hips, whilst his deep groans of pleasure are muffled into kisses pressed to the column of your throat.

“I’m close, Teddie..” you manage to get out between unsteady breaths.

“I know, pretty girl, I got you.” he kisses your lips sweetly. 

With a few more well-precisioned thrusts he takes you over the edge of pleasure, guiding you through your shuddering high.

And with you looking every inch the goddess of his dreams splayed out underneath him, squeezing him through your orgasm it didn’t take very much before Eddie was stilling his movements, spilling his release into you with a shuddering moan of his own.

He held himself on his forearms above you to brush a thumb over your flushed skin.

“I told you, I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I’m going to keep you safe. Always.”

And you believed him. Because if it was one thing you knew with certainty, it was that Eddie Munson was a man of his word.

@penguinsandpotterheads @sweetdreamjellybean

@mrsjellymunson @eddiesxangel

@userchai @aphrogeneias @sidereustales

[will80sbyers]

Mileven is endgame, proof (let's see if you dare to respond):

1- Mike was scared of losing Eleven, that's why he made that face at the end of s3, he is so in love he cant even handle it!

2- Mike tried to help el when she got bullied and went looking for her, until you know who decided to make that moment about him. When El hit Angela, he was in shock, but the next day he tried to apologize empatizing with her and forgave he for lying inmediatly

I do think Mike likes Will, but he is in love with Eleven and that is a fact

Be honest are you a Byler pretending to be a mileven?

Because even for a mlvn there's no coherent train of thought here in any way so I hope it's someone saying random shit lol it's actually a trainwreck of "logic" from start to finish to the point that it's funny

Baby, if Mike "likes Will" then byler is endgame 100% because writers don't write bisexual characters or make a character like another if they don't intend to do anything with it, if you think in any capacity that Mike is bisexual then mileven is done lol

1) You're right, Mike is scared of losing El from his life, that's why he's still clinging to her even if the relationship is not good for them anymore... and I don't think he has realized his feelings for Will consciously yet, he's still trying to repress them, in the season 3 finale the reason he makes that face after the kiss is because he's shocked and they wanted to replicate the kiss in the IT saga between Bill and Beverly, note that they have also made a OBVIOUS parallel between byler and benverly...which will both be endgame 🌈❤️🤗

If you were talking about this shot right here

this is because he also has feelings for Will and it's directly connected to Will because that's his house and we had another shot before of Mike looking at the cars go away so they didn't need to repeat a shot of Mike like that, it wouldn't make sense if it was for Eleven, it's pretty obvious Byler is being constructed and mileven is being destroyed and it's been a few seasons of this...

They even made him find her choice of breakfast weird for literally no reason at all except focusing on how much they aren't really that much compatible as a couple

+ not liking her milkshake, not liking skating, not liking the pizza with pineapple, dressing up in a completely different style only because he feels so insecure with her that he feels like he needs to pretend to be cooler than who he really is and being with her makes him feel like he has to be in the "boyfriend role" instead of being just Mike... like El feels like she had to lie for months about her whole life just because she felt like Mike wouldn't love her if she wasn't normal enough... They don't understand each other fundamentally anymore and it's okay, you grow and you change and relationships stop working sometimes!

2) At rink o mania MIKE is the one that starts their argument taking away the focus from finding Eleven... just because he's pissed that Will wasn't acting happy that he was there being a 3rd wheel for their date... And Will clocked that and asked him to explain himself lmfao

Mike doesn't know what true love is yet... exactly like Laurie from Little Women didn't know shit about true love and was idealizing Jo

Mike is doing the same to El because he's a 14yo kid... He'll understand as he grows up 😚

[diejager]

OMG FINALLY!! *muach muach* oh my actually I'm a bit nervous and excited now lolol. Uhm—well since your request is open can I have Pyra head and Michael Myers (separately) chasing survivor!reader in trial but they just ignore the other survivors, solely chasing reader till the end of game. Something dark and lustful lingers around those two killers and you just don't know why! By the end of the game, the other survivors manage to escape to the campfire safely, however reader got stuck alone with the killer. When they finally catch you, oh shall you know all your hopes may shatter to pieces. You think this is the end, in the hands of ruthless killer chosen by Entity. But why their face (in pyra head's case it's his helmet) getting closer to your face and what make it's more confusing something comes out of that mask (i.e. a long tendril similar to tongue). Breath kink but instead of hand choking or strangulation, you choked on their tongue 👅

Feel free to ignore this if you still don't open req for dbd fandom

☀️

You are feeding me ambrosia with this sunnie!!! I have a weak spot for both of them, but-but- the Unknown??? Any thoughts????

Cw: DARKFIC?(it’s dbd, what do you expect??), DUB-CON/NON-CON, predator/prey, implied death, obsessive behaviour, choking?, super long tongue??, size kink/difference, tell me if I missed any. Wc: 1.5k

You were… unlucky. The Entity seemed to rejoiced in your pain more than any other survivor, feeding on your dashed hope for an escape from the perpetual cycle death and sacrifice, the painful sting on being slashed, the horrifying fate of being killed by the killer’s weapon of choice or the terrifying agony of being hooked. It was a painful affair, being the subject of her perverse protection, locked away in her universe to feed and be fed, blood for blood —quid pro quo.

But at times, your moments in her dark world was warm and charming like the people who gathered at the campfire, sharing their skills and abilities to keep the others alive throughout the…trials. The small moments stolen within the fog to keep yourself up and going, and happy, little smiles and bubbly laughs. It made trials easier, to know that the people who were screaming and working had your back in and out of them, to know what they would do made working in teams better and reassuring. 

And yet- and yet it was all for nought, the killer had eyes for you only, stalking and following you with his arm raised despite the others coming between you two to stop him from maiming you. Unfortunately, The Shape - Micheal Myers - in all his ghostly glory and dirty suit, was a creature of obsession, of predatory possession that gave him a one track mind, tunnelling the person who he chose as his obsession; and you happened to be his choice of madness these last round, even when Laurie was with you. 

There were some pros and cons with his constant stalking, the quiet steps echoing not so far behind you while they worked on the generators, unbothered and safe fro Myers, but you were stuck kitting him, running away from him by jumping over windows and dropping palettes wherever you could stun him to give you just a few more seconds of distance. He grew so, so close on multiple occasions, you felt his breath and his dark and imposing figure behind you, but he never once struck you down with his big knife. 

It wasn’t so bad as long as he didn’t hit you, letting you run around and avoid the other three until they finished all five generators and opened the gates, the bell ringing loudly over your head, and even then, he ignored everyone for you. He, somehow, managed to corner you, to far from both gates and your teammates who you - in a desperate plea for a win - had yelled out to leave and let you find the hatch or run to a gate if things got didn’t worsen. Which had left you alone, ears ringing and head beating against your cage, cornered and afraid of the giant who stared you down with a red gleam in the dark pits of his eyes.

Every step he took backed you up further against the rugged wall of a house - his childhood home - and pressed himself against you, the rough texture of his suit irritating your skin as he dropped the knife to touch you, running over his course fingers down your shoulders. Myers was scarily touchy, pads digging into the fat of your hips, groaning and grunting as he ground against you, drinking in your whimpers and hisses, fists hitting his chest without any result. Was it so surprising? He was a monster, a devil’s spawn, who had you in hands, a uselessly struggling victim that was too weak to stop him. 

His game of cat and mouse came to an end, where you forgot what you were initially doing, choking around his thick fingers, the filthy taste hitting you harshly as his jabs. He pressed his fingers down the back of your throat, panting loudly at your gags and rutting his fattening cock on your navel. You shuddered at the feel of it, the thick bulge threatening to pop a button off his jumpsuit, and you feared, you were terrified at your wandering thoughts, the implication of it when faced with a beast like Myers. 

Ding

Then the final call rang, a long and echoing sound that called the end of the trial. It was quiet for a few seconds, and all you felt was pain, agony ripping through you as The Entity swallowed you up with her many arms. The last thing you saw was Myers bulge, pushed to your bloodied lips and filling your dying nose with a thick and heady musk, a metallic and dusty smell that would linger on your tongue. 

You had hoped that she would give you a second, let you bask in the worry and affection the other survivors gave you, her whispers summoning you elsewhere in a drowning cloud of black fog and sent into your next match, placed somewhere in Midwich Elementary School. The many winding halls and rusted metal worked to confuse the survivors and killers alike, leaving only a selected few who were familiar with this realm. You crossed path with James a few times, but you knew he wouldn’t have given an offering for this, it was a sore memory for him, a reminder of his sins and regrets. So that left a single open left: Pyramid Head, the wandering executioner in the halls of Midwich, sentient and brutal in his ways.

He was a monster everyone feared, something created from the mind of a tortured man rather than a human turned monster, he was born a nightmare and would perish as one. That’s why you hid whenever you heard the telltale sound of his rusted great sword drag across the floor, knowing he had chosen you as his obsession and was actively turning a blind eye to the other survivors. You heard a few screams here and there, but he hadn’t downed anyone, seemingly to prefer leaving them half dead and limping to the next generator or survivor to heal.

You were doing well, working with Jane on the third machine, smiling to each other and sending encouraging glances while you looked over your shoulders from time to time, but your luck had run out. Pyramid Head stumbled your way, his head bobbing over the thick cords of his shoulders and chest, sinewy muscles bulging with every move. You both ran, Jane up the stairs and you down the hall, and he followed you. It was a familiar feeling, being the chased obsession of a killer, singled out by him to be the victim of his choosing.

Unfortunately, The Executioner never truly relished in the hunt, prowling fast and hard, ready to kill whoever he crossed, yet, strangely, he hadn’t raised his great sword, chasing you down a hall and into a dead end. You were fucked. Oh so terribly fucked if your assumptions were right. You turned to face Pyramid Head, fearfully glaring at him, eyes scouring the open space around him for a small point to slip away. You felt your small star of hope extinguish when he suddenly appeared before you, moving faster than he usually would, blocking your way with his body. 

He was hard and warm under your palms, his laboured breathing resting on your shoulder in his dazed wandering, his ripped and bloody and filthy arms brushing against yours and feeling you up. You closed your eyes in terror, trying your best to snuff out your thoughts and the feeling of his touches, his fingers pinching and kneading the skin of your hips and thighs, slipping behind to occasionally feel your ass bend under his strong hands. You whimpered, raking your nails down his arms, trying and failing to stop him from going forward with his wants, turning your head away from him. 

It seemed like he didn’t like that, forcing a gasp out of you when a wet appendage lapped at your cheek, leaving a slimy trail of drool until you reacted to him, gaping and hissing at him; and he took your shock and disgust to his advantage, slipping his tongue into your mouth. You retched, throat closing around his tongue, thrusting slowly to the back of your throat and up to spread over your palate. He lathered your mouth in his drool, willing your smaller and less nimble tongue to push at him, choking down any cries or gags from the sheer disgust that filled your guts (despite the small spike of arousal in your guts). 

You wanted to scream about your situation, this fucked up situation you keep finding yourself with monsters like The Shape and The Executioner. Why you? Why you out of everyone else? You weren’t as significant or strong and determined as other survivors, so it confused and worried you, if they would force themselves onto you again and again until they either broke you or moved onto another poor survivor. But perhaps- just perhaps you could make something of it, seeing the thick pole that poked at your stomach, poking from under his loose loincloth and wetting it with a dark spot at the tip.

You loathed The Entity and her plans. 

[tonixe]

"Oh Micheal..."

notes: I'm back and for real this time, school kicked my ass and I'll going to try to answer all the requests and publish all of them, sorry guys for not uploading xx.

PTS: HAPPY HALLOWEEN, MIGHT BE LATE OR EARLY.

warning: smut, p in the v, creampie, readers a virgin, non-con to semi-con, penetration, and BJ.

pairing: micheal myers x fem!reader

word counter: 2.2k

The old rusty clock, the arms of the clock moving to what you think is taking its sweet time. Laying down your head on your desk, looking at your friend who was sitting to the right of you, Laurie Strode. You guys knew it each other since middle school, and your moms are parents too which put some relations between you guys.

Finally, the bell rang as you got up took your books, and walked to Laurie who was just packing up like you, "Laurie, what are you doing on Halloween night?" I asked, putting my back on the side of my shoulder, and leaning down on her desk. "Im going to babysit Tommy today, he's my neighboorhood' kid, and they're going to be busy this Halloween," Laurie muttered before you guys started walking out of the classroom to the the hallway. It was usually loud during between periods, but it was the end of the day. -And it was Halloween, "So, what are you going to do this Halloween?" I heard Laurie mention, turning my head towards her realizing I virtually didn't have any plans this year, I was too old for trick or treating and I wasn't going to some dumb Halloween party being hosted.

"Hm, never thought about it before.." I said, looking down the hallway, it was pretty packed with people getting their stuff out of their locker. "Maybe I'll just hang out with you while you babysit, don't wanna be alone on Halloween" I exclaimed, "So.. you're just going to watch some Halloween movie with the kid and give him snacks and shit like that," I asked.

"Probably" She giggled, "maybe some jack o' lanterns if he's lucky," she said, we walked out of the school building, hearing Lynda screaming out names, as she got to us. She was heaving, leaning back, "Where the hell were you guys going?" She exclaimed, "Home" I looked at Laurie and we laughed together, "Come on guys" She groaned, and we walked down the pavement, to the street crossing to our high school.

Haddonfield was a quiet place until 1963, with a kid named Micheal who murdered his own sister, i heard of it everywhere. Different stories and various, it was cruel. I learned from it with my dad's old newspapers, with the letter bold of what the young elementary kid did. "HEY," We heard some yelling again, before Lynda lit her cigarette, smoking it. She turned her head, "It's Annie" She said, "You guys didn't wait for me at all" She yelled, "We did, like 15 minutes and you totally did show" Before we started walking again, Lynda and Annie sharing a cigarettes, as she shared what happen.

"Paul really dragged you to the locker room" I giggled, "Yeah, and he got grounded so he won't be coming over to mine tonight" She blew out the smoke from her lips. "Laurie whatcha thinking about?" I asked, "I forgot my chemistry book!" she groaned, rubbing her head. "So what! I forgot all my books, like my math book, chemistry, English, and more" Lynda started ranting, "Even my French book" She giggled. Before a car started driving across the road, grabbing Laurie's attention, I noticed looking at the direction she was looking at, "Isn't that Van Grahm?" Lynda said, "I don't think so.." Laurie whispered.

"I think he's cute" She smiled out, as we all watched the car drive before Annie said something, "Hey jerk! Speed kills!" She yelled before we noticed the car stopping in its tracks. My heart was beating fast against my chest, waiting for something to happen before it started driving.

"Phew" I muttered, "Sometimes Annie you're going to get us in some deep trouble," Laurie said.

"Totally," Lynda said. Before we all started walking down the pavement.

I was at Laurie's house sitting down on the couch, she was babysitting a kid named Tommy Doyle, and he was glued to the TV screen watching some kid Halloween movie, i was bored so I watched some of it.

I heard the doorbell ringing as I got up from the couch walking to the door, "I'll get it, Laurie!" Looking into the peephole, it was Annie and her little sister. I opened the door, "It's Annie and her sister" I yelled out, "I didn't know you were going to be here Annie" I said, "Yeah, just need my sister to be here, so I can go to Paul's place" She said, "I thought he was grounded?" I questioned, "he is but his parents are going to be out" She gave me a sneaky smile.

I and Annie were in the middle of a conversation after that Annie left to go back to her house, I put on some different Halloween movies as I walked to the kitchen with Laurie preparing the jack o' lanterns, "Those are so good jack o' later" I pointed at the pumpkins, "Thanks" she said, "Could you make some popcorn for Tommy and Lindsay?" She asked, "Sure" I took some of the microwave popcorn popping it into the microwave setting the timer, before leaning back on the counter.

"So this is how you're going to spend your whole Halloween" I asked, "Yeah, but it's a little fun" She confessed, "How is taking care of two brats fun?"

"I don't know maybe because I have something to do" She shrugged

We spoke until we heard yelling from Tommy, Me and Laurie ran to the living room, "Boogeyman!" He screamed before he grabbed our attention, I rushed to him, "Where?" I said, looking at the window he was pointing to, "Y/N, did you add anything?" she asked, as she held Lindsay, "Nope, nothing there Tommy" I said, "Oh, stop Tommy stop that, there no one there" Laurie said,

"Nobody believes me" Tommy muttered, "I do Tommy," Lindsay said, as they sat down on the couch. Some part of me believed what Tommy said, especially with all the mysterious things that were happening around Haddonfield, "Is there a boogeyman" I whispered looking through the blinds, before I stepped back and sat down on the sofa. A few minutes passed and I got stuck watching some random movie with the kids. The phone started ringing and Laurie got up to answer it, "Are you fooling around again?" she put her hand on her hips before her eye faltered, "I'll kill if this is a joke" I turned my head, "Annie" she repeated to the phone before she quickly put the phone back on the charge.

"Who called?" I asked, "Annie" she said, looking at the window before trying to call her again. "Hold on, could you watch them for me?"

"Sure," I said. A few minutes passed before I looked at the time, "Okay, guys it's time to go to bed" I said, "But it's so early" Tommy groaned, "Well, you guys should be up to date, now bed, now" I watched them as they got up the stairs going to a room, "Now, where the hell is Laurie" I whispered.

I watched some TV, waiting for her, almost falling asleep, I heard banging from the door, and Laurie screaming from behind, I quickly opened it as she shut the door behind her locking it and turning off the lights. Running the phone, putting in the policy number. Her clothes were ripped and she was scared, "Laurie, what happened?" I asked worriedly. She put down the phone, becoming more frantic. "Where's Tommy and Lindsay?"

"There sleeping, right now" I said, stretching my arms, "Laurie what the hell to you?" I pointed to her clothing. "Tommy was right, something is outside" she heaved pushing me down as she was down hiding behind the couch, before she saw a figure. There were armed with a bloody knife, I screamed, backing up before Laurie stabbed the intruder with a large crochet needle. "What the fuck" my eye widen, my heart pounding.

"Come" Laurie grabbed my hand, and we ran some else to the house, hiding from the intruder, "W-what is going on.." I whispered, "Be quiet" she whispered back. Hearing footsteps creeping, the hit didn't affect him. "I'll going to be right back," she said, quietly getting away from where you were, I was scared my heart to my chest.

I held my breath as he got closer, before I saw his knife beside me, I screamed before running up the stairs, my legs had never gone that fast before, I ran upstairs locking the door behind me, before I leaned back, a knife was inserted. As I screamed, crawling back further down. The shadow broke the door as I saw up and personal, he had a white mask with hair and was in a coverall.

"Please," I said, feeling tears on my cheeks, as I crawled back, "please, I won't tell anyone," I said, as he got closer to me his knife in hand, before stopping. I looked up at him, I couldn't see anything but the window did something showing his big shadow.

I felt my body trembling, as I breathed in. I didn't know what to do, looking at him. "What do you want.." I yelled, he didn't respond to me, blankly staring at me.

An idea came into my head and made me feel shameful for doing it but I crawled towards him and looked at him, he didn't lower his knife it seemed like he was frozen in the same position he had before.

My hands were on the waist part of his pants before I felt his hand grabbing mine, I was scared but he released them. Maybe what I had in my head was right, pulling his pants fully down. There was an evident bulge poking out. I held my breath, my thighs rubbing against each other, it was huge.

I had second thoughts of doing it but it looked like he wanted it.

Taking off his boxer revealing his cock sprang out, and the tip was red. I bit my lip, looking up at him, there wasn't a response just silence. Licked the pre-cum oozing out, looking up, he was just staring at me. I started taking him into my mouth, my jaw got tired, felt it hitting the back of my mouth, and it wasn't fully in. Tears on my waterline, before I felt some hands on the back of my head, shoving his dick into my mouth.

Some saliva dripped out of my mouth, breathing through my mouth. I heard his groans, as he kept face fucking me. I put my hands on his thighs, trying to stabilize before I felt hot loads going down my throat before he released his hands over me. I gasped, breathing. My salvia connects to the pink tip of his dick.

Rubbing my legs, feeling my cunt getting wetter, looking up at the intruder. It felt shameless that I was getting horny off of this, rubbing myself. Feeling his hands on me, he forcefully took off my panties underneath my skirt, flipping my skirt up and revealing my cunt. The cold air hitting it made me feel tense. I propped my elbows on the floor, "Wait, please!" I cried out, feeling a sharp pain inside of me, making my body jolt up.

I whimpered out in pain, feeling his large hands on my hips. Thrusting up into my g-stop, making me moan, turning my head. My walls spasming around his cock, his hips smacking into my pelvis, making my moans tremor. "F-fuck" I groaned.

My body jolted with every rhythmic smack to my pelvis. I didn't know why I enjoyed it, I should be in fear by now, but I'm just savoring every moment. Feeling a hot sensation in my lower core, feeling his cock hitting my stop, making me bend my back.

Before I saw a white flash in my eyes, a loud moan ripped out of my throat, I gripped the sheets beneath me. "P-please" I whispered, my eyes feeling heavy. He didn't stop, thrusting into me, making me bend in a sort of way. My skin felt sticky with sweat on my body, I breathed out and in. His rhythm getting sloppier, feeling his hand on my legs.

Lifting them, as he plunges into me, his groans getting louder. feeling him inside of me in parts I didn't know existed. Bending over in ecstasy. Before I felt hot loads inside of me, making me hot.

My chest rose slowly, my eyes looking at him lazily. "Please.." I whispered, his grip still on me. I felt his dick soften inside of me.

Feeling his grasp coming off me, I put my head down. My body feeling tired, and before I felt myself closing my eyes. The last thing I saw was the intruder leaving, I tried to get him but he disappeared.

the only thing I saw when I woke up was Laurie, she had a towel wrapped around my body, the police checking the house and a doctor, I think his name was Mr. Loomis was with us.

"What did he do to you" I heard Laurie whisper to me, I didn't say anything just look at the house, which soon filled with police officers. I felt something dripping down my leg, squeezing my leg. I remember the shameful thing I did with him, biting my lip.

[lovebugism]

❛ i’m telling you all of a sudden, but it isn’t new to me. i love you. ❜ with our boy Steve Harrington please?

i wrote this after watching little women, so this is like that one laurie and amy scene but stranger things coded <3 hope you like it!! (this is 5k words btw and barely proofread 🫣)

The R.V. smells like coopery blood, alternate dimension muck, and nine teenagers who haven’t showered in three days. But despite all that, Steve Harrington is next to you, smiling. 

As if there’s anything worth being happy about now. 

He tells you about a dream with a hopeful gleam in his honey eyes, like he believes it’ll all come true — like death is staring him in the face. “I know it’s silly, but I… I always dreamed I’d have this really, really big family. I’m talking like, uh— a full brood of Harrington’s. I don’t know, five… Maybe six kids?”

“Six?” you repeat with an incredulous laugh. You turn your body in the passenger seat to face him more, shoulder pressing into the worn pleather. You’ve got your brows raised to your hairline in shock at his admission and a beam on your face you don’t realize is there.

“Uh-huh. Six little nuggets. Three girls, three boys,” he says with an assured nod. There’s a distant smile hinting at the edges of his lips, and he looks at you with it for a moment before turning back to the road again. 

“And every summer, I figured all of us Harrington’s, we’d pack into something like this, and… just see the country. You know, the Rockies, the Grand Canyon, maybe Yellowstone. We’d end up in some beachside town in California and spend a week parked in the sand, maybe learn how to surf or something.”

You can picture the dream so effortlessly, almost like it’s one you’ve had yourself. 

In some ways, you did.

Steve Harrington was the kind of boy that filled you with butterflies and childlike daydreams. It was more innocent than lusting, more significant than a teenage crush. There was a time you’d wanted to be with him so badly that you could barely breathe. It kept you up at night, fantasizing about a future with a boy that didn’t want you. It haunted your dreams just as often.

You were, perhaps a bit begrudgingly, a part of that stereotype — a girl who wanted all of the things adults thought girls wanted. You longed for a pretty white dress and a husband that cried when you walked down the aisle. You wanted a small house with a white picket fence, a home that’s always loud with laughing children and barking dogs and loving parents.

It was a future you only wanted with Steve.

But he didn’t love you. Not the way he loved Nancy.

Not the way he still loves Nancy.

It’s not a crime he needs to confess to for you to know he’s guilty of it. You can see it written all over his face, in the way he talks about his future family and flits his gaze from the winding backroad up to the rearview mirror to look at her. He’s picturing her in his head the way you picture him in yours.

Knowing someone else is a part of this dreamt-up family and not you is a bitter pill to swallow.

It has you looking back too, at the gang of ragtag soldiers you’re about to save the world with. You glance over your shoulder at all of them, finding them dozing or outright sleeping in the back of the R.V. 

You don’t blame them. The past few days have been hell.

You’re just glad Max has finally found a moment of peace. The redhead lazes between Lucas and Dustin on the couch in the very back. She rests her head on the former boy’s soldier, but you can’t tell if she’s sleeping or not. Lucas has his eyes closed but a smile on his face as he lays his cheek on the crown of her head.

Dustin, on the other hand, looks dreadfully out of place among the two lovebirds. His head is tilted back and his mouth is wide open. Soft snores spill from his throat.

Erica, Robin, and Nancy all sit at the tiny table beside the tinier kitchen. Their heads are either resting on their folded arms or pressing against the window.

The small cushion adjacent to the couch is taken up wholly by Eddie. 

Your Eddie.

His long legs are spread and his back is slouched against the side of the R.V. He’s taking up every bit of room the thing has to offer, which wasn’t very much to begin with. His pink lips are parted and slightly chapped. He blows soft exhales from them that make his chest rise and fall with even breaths. 

Your hands begin to ache with the want to run them through his wild strands of hair, to ease his head to your chest and let the sound of your heartbeat chase away the nightmares that threaten to plague him.

You want so badly to sleep alongside him, but you know that slumber won’t come as easily to you.

Despite the exhaustion that weighs down your tired bones, whenever you close your eyes, you can only see Chrissy’s mangled body on the ceiling of Eddie’s trailer. The image of broken bones and sucked-out eye sockets is stained on the back of your mind.

It’s something you’ll never forget. Not in a billion, trillion lifetimes.

You’re scared you won’t ever sleep peacefully again.

But you’re glad Eddie’s finally resting. Even if you can’t. 

And maybe that’s what love is.

…Love.

You almost can’t believe you’re calling it that. It’s not like you’ve told him as much or anything. You haven’t been together very long, only a few months, but you’re not sure what else to call this feeling. Is it normal for you to want to fight the most powerful dark wizard known to man with your bare hands as long as it means keeping Eddie safe?

The realization that you’re actually moving on from Steve is perhaps more shocking. You were starting to think you’d be fawning over him for the rest of your life, destined to be alone forever while he got married and had kids. But then Eddie came out of nowhere. He swept you off your feet without even trying.

You’d spent so much of your life in love with Steve that you’d forgotten how it felt to be loved. But Eddie reminded you, most ardently so, and you’ve never been happier.

And Steve can see all that.

He can see how you’ve gone to hell and back — quite literally — to keep Eddie safe. He can see how Eddie still manages to make you laugh so hard your stomach hurts, even though death looms overhead like a big, gray storm cloud. It almost makes him angry. Not at Eddie, exactly. And certainly not at you. He’s more so mad at himself for waiting until you were out of his grip entirely to need you like air.

Steve wasn’t an idiot; he knew how you felt about him. He’s known for years. But Nancy was the only girl in his purview for… an embarrassingly long amount of time. Maybe that’s because she didn’t want a single damn thing to do with him at first, and it wasn’t like Steve to back down from a challenge.

But you? You were easy. You were always going to be there. Your love was the only constant thing in his life.

And then it just… wasn’t.

It was like his center of gravity had suddenly shifted or his feet had been knocked out from under him. The loss of you, of something that was never his to begin with, jarred him like he’d been awake with most vigor. Now, he finds himself living in a nightmare — forced to watch you fall in love with someone else while he ebbs slowly from your mind.

You sit with him now — with Eddie — while he and Dustin fuck around with the shields they’d crafted out of tin garbage can lids. You watch them with a smile on your face even though you’re shaking your head at them and telling them something that Steve can’t hear. 

You’ve got a sword in your hand, and you sharpen its steel with a rock. The too expensive thing had been hanging on the wall at The War Zone, and you told Eddie you just had to have it. 

“I’ll just… take up extra shifts at Wayne’s shop,” you reason with a shrug, gaze never leaving the bladed weapon.

“Do whatever you want,” the brunette boy responded nonchalantly as he dropped four cases of ammunition into the red basket in your hand. He smiled down at you. “That just means I’ll get to see you more.”

It hurts Steve for you to be so far away from him. 

You’re just across the small clearing. All he’d have to do is walk over to you, really, but it’s more than just the distance. No matter how close he gets to you, or how far you get from Eddie, your soul’s always going to be with him. 

Steve will never have you like that, and that’s what hurts the most.

He thinks he’s doing a pretty good job of keeping a stiff upper lip about it. He thinks he’s keeping some deep, dark secret, having no idea that he’s all but spilling his guts to Robin. Honestly, he’s just trying to make conversations while they make homemade bombs out of gasoline and glass bottles, but he’s more than obvious. As per usual.

“How long do you think they’ve got?” Steve asks her out of the blue while he pours the chemicals through the funnel and into the flask Robin holds out for him. He doesn’t wait for an answer. 

“Because I thought they’d be over forever ago, you know? I mean… it’s Eddie. She’s, like, totally out of his league, right? But I’m pretty sure they just had an anniversary or something because I saw him buying flowers at Bradley’s Big Buy the other day…”

Robin opens her mouth to get a word in, but Steve just keeps on going going going.

“Unless you think they were for someone else? But let’s be serious, right? He’s a freak, but he’d never do that to her. I don’t know… Maybe he’s just the sorta guy that gets her flower for no reason, and it hasn’t been as long as it feels.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure they—”

“Let’s face it, if he’s doing that for her, they’re probably gonna make it, right?” the boy laughs bitterly to himself. He stuffs a rag into the neck of the bottle. “God, I’m such an idiot… Maybe if I’d done those things, I’d still—”

“I swear to god, if you say you’d still be with Nancy, I’m gonna punch you in the forehead,” Robin snapped suddenly. She’s got a foreign sternness to her tone and a glacial hardness in her blue eyes. She glares at him with it. “You don’t love Nancy, Steve. And she doesn’t love you. So stop going for the easiest thing when you know it’s not what you want.”

He sighs. He knows she’s right. “I just—”

“I get it. It sucks being lonely. I’m pretty sure I’m destined to spend the rest of my life alone, so join the club,” Robin smiles, a tad bit cynically, at him. “It sucks being in love with someone you can’t have. Trust me, I get it. But you need to move on.”

Steve swallows. He almost winces at the thought of that — of never having you. He shakes his head as though to get rid of the idea entirely. “I can’t… I can’t do that, Rob.”

“Then what are you gonna do, Steve?” she asks him with a mirthless, but not unkind laugh. 

She nods her head over to you. You laugh as Eddie spins you in his arms, both of you marveling at how you’ve just nailed a tree on the far edge of the clearing with the knives you’d thrown at it. Steve can hear the sound of your bubbly laughter from where he sits. Its brightness rivals that of the setting sun. 

“Look at her. She’s happy. Finally. So… Just let her be happy,” Robin advises with a shrug. She sets the glass bottle in the box with the rest of them. “I mean, we’re about to stop a dark wizard from ending the world, you know? Some of us probably won’t make it out—”

“Don’t say that,” Steve scolds.

“Some of us probably won’t make it,” she repeats, firmer this time, like it’s something he really needs to hear. “Something could happen to Eddie. Something could happen to her. Do you really want to be the selfish asshole that ruins what could very well be everyone’s last moments together just because you’ve got a bleeding heart?”

She’s being harsh. He knows it deserves it. Now is virtually the worst time to tell you everything on his mind — just when you’re starting to really settle down with Eddie and about to fight some wizard in an alternate dimension.

Something could happen to her. Those words left Robin’s mouth and stabbed him in the heart like a thousand unforgiving knives. Steve can’t fathom anything ever happening to you. Even with the end of the world, with all of you about to fight a war, it never crossed his mind. He can’t picture his life without you in it.

He can’t lose you without telling you how he feels — that he loves you, that he’s always loved you, and that he’s an oblivious idiot who learned that too late.

He can’t lose you at all.

So, against his better judgment and Robin’s sound advice, Steve abandons his work with her and hikes the relatively short distance over to you.

Eddie hasn’t yet let go of you. He keeps his arms tight around your waist and hugs you from behind, pressing the back of you to his chest while his chin sits along your shoulder. His chocolate eyes are stuck on the bullseye you’d carved into the bark of the tree on the far side of the clearing. The four knives you’d thrown, now stuck at the very center of the target, stare back at him.

“This is probably a bad time to be turned on, huh?” he half-jokes, chin bobbing against your shoulder with every word.

“Eddie!” you scold as you wrench yourself out of his grip.

Dustin’s face screws up from where he lounges on the grass beside the both of you. “Gross…” 

You walk away from the two boys to collect your knives from the poor oak tree. Eddie whistles lowly at you while you go — as though he’s never seen you in a pair of jeans before. You throw your middle finger over your shoulder at him in response.

That’s when Steve catches you, when you’re finally alone, and with a tiny white lie of needing to go back to the R.V. for more gasoline. You offer to walk with him, just like he figured you might, because none of you wants anyone to go off alone. Not with Vecna potentially watching you.

You walk alongside him through the thick wood, dodging low-hanging branches and uplifted roots. Steve notices the distant smile dancing on the corners of your lips — a beautiful stain Eddie’s left there.

“What are you gonna do?” he asks you suddenly. “You know, when this is all over?”

Your brows raise at his question, mouth falling softly agape and eyes widening with a far-off look. You look stumped by the simple inquiry, like it’s something you hadn’t thought of yet — of any of this being over.

“I don’t know…” you murmur. “Go back to work, I guess.”

Steve laughs. “We’re gonna save the world tonight, and you’re gonna be back in the office on Monday?”

“Who knows? Maybe I’ll take a sick day,” you joke, just to hear him laugh again.

He lifts a splintered tree limb to get it out of the way for you, then ushers you to walk ahead of him. You mutter a low and shy “thank you” as you walk beneath it. He lets the branch fall again as he follows behind you.

“What about you, then?” you retort. “What are you gonna do after? Since going back to a nine-to-five is so unreasonable.”

“Actually, I was thinking about writing an opera,” Steve quips with a straight face. “I would be the main character, of course—”

“You’re such an idiot,” you giggle with the shake of your head. The airy, sunshine sound makes him smile down at you. His honey-tined gaze swims with longing. You don’t catch it because you’re not looking back at him.

“What do you want me to do, then?”

You tilt your head to catch his stare. Your eyes sparkle and your brows arch with a look both soft and stern. “Honest answer?”

“Of course.”

“I think you should go work for your dad. Try and… I don’t know… make something for yourself—”

“Alright, that’s not…”

“—Because you can’t work at Family Video forever, Steve!”

“You’re not playing fair,” he concedes quietly, laughing under his breath and shaking his head.

He shouldn’t have expected anything less — you did preface an honest answer, after all. It doesn’t make him feel any less bad about it, though.

You’d supported Steve through a lot of shit. Every mindless fight with his parents, every breakup that had him swearing he would never love again, every aspect of his douchebag phase that almost ruined your friendship. You were always soft with him, but never dishonest.

So when he told you that his dad offered him a well-paying job in Indianapolis, it didn’t surprise him when you told him to take it. Despite all the other shit (his broken relationship with his father and his incessant daydreaming of settling down with Nancy, namely), you knew he wasn’t happy in Hawkins.

“Fuck your dad, Steve. This isn’t about him,” you’d said. “You should take it! Starting building your life in the city! And when you’re finally making more money than your stupid dad, you can rub it in everyone’s stupid faces.”

Steve, of course, ended up turning it down.

The salary was high — too high for a boy just out of high school — but he figured no amount of money was worth a wounded pride. 

Steve was scared that it was all a ploy, another thing his dad could hold over his head, another accomplishment that wasn’t really his. And, truth be told, he was less enthusiastic about leaving Hawkins without you. He isn’t quite sure where he’d be in life without you guiding him through a significant portion of it. It made it nearly impossible to picture a life that didn’t have you at the very center of it.

He happily took to be Robin Buckley’s schmuck at Scoops Ahoy (and then again at Family Video) and Dustin Henderson’s unofficial chauffeur instead. He didn’t mind being a casualty of rattrap small town as long as it meant he didn’t have to stray too far from you.

But here you were now, right next to him in this lonesome forest, and still so far away.

You meet his boyishly forlorn expression with a sincere, tight-lipped smile. “You know that I’m right.”

“Yeah, I do,” he scoffs in response. “That’s the problem.”

“When we kill Vecna and save Hawkins for the… thousandth time… You should take that job. I mean, screw your dad, you deserve a life outside of all this shit—”

“So do you,” he argues.

“I’ll make it without you, Harrington. I’ll try to, anyway,” you quip, turning your gaze up to the family of birds sitting high in an oak tree and wishing you were one of them. You shrug to yourself. “I’ll keep on being a secretary at the car shop… Maybe settle down with Eddie.”

That makes Steve stop dead in his tracks. He laughs bitterly to himself, a quiet and venom-coated scoff. “Right. Because living with his uncle in a one-bedroom trailer is such a dream.”

It makes you stop, too, and turn on your heel to face him. You’re surprised to find him so many paces back. Steve sees a flash of hurt strike like lightning across your features, but he’s too hurt to apologize.

“I get it,” you concede with a small, cynical smile. “You don’t like him. You never have. But… He’s a good guy, Steve. If you just got to know him—”

“It’s not that,” he mumbles, cutting you off before he has to suffer through a list of reasons why Eddie’s so much better than he is. The boy’s gaze falls to the forest floor. He kicks a bunch of green pine needles with the toe of his sneaker rather than meet your prying gaze.

“Then what is it?” you retort. “Because I was just trying to help you. I didn’t say to, like, hurt your feelings or whatever. I just know that you want a life in the city, with a big house and a whole bunch of kids—” A laugh spills from your lips as you remember the dream he was telling you about. “You want that picture-perfect life, right? Now you can have it!”

“You don’t know what I want,” he counters quietly.

“Oh, please. I know you better than you know yourself, Steve Harrington—”

“Break up with him,” he blurts.

Your playful smile fades almost instantly. Your eyes search his face for any hint that he might be joking, but all you find is a deeply heartbroken boy. His bushy brows are scrunched together, his eyes glimmering with unshed tears, a puppy-like hurt painting each of his features.

You match his expression of grief with your own. Your face scrunches with a mixture of confusion and sorrow. “Wh… What?” you manage to stutter after realizing you’d been holding your breath.

“I don’t want you to settle down with Eddie,” Steve confesses. A secret he thought he’d take to his grave before ever telling you.

You’re quiet. For several long moments, you’re eerily silent. Even the forest hangs on bated breath. Birds stop chirping, the wind stops blowing, leaves stop rustling. It’s just you and him and a great big world waiting on the both of you.

A frown pulls down the very corners of your mouth. Your eyes go glassy and wide, like a heartbroken baby, and your head jerks back softly, still defensive and unsure.

“Why?” you force through a tightening throat.

“Why?” Steve repeats, finding it somehow within himself to laugh. He takes several short strides to stand with you again. With him closer now, you can see the sadness in his smile and the flush that blotches his cheeks. “You know why…”

You only shake your head in response. The words are far harder to get out. “No…”

“I just… I know it feels like I’m saying it all of a sudden, but it’s… It’s not new to me, you know?” Steve tries his best to explain to you why he’s choosing now, of all moments, to pour his heart out to you. His eyes are as wide and hopeful as the palms he waves out in front of him. “I don’t wanna go into this without you knowing how I feel about you—” 

“Steve,” you agonize in hopes of ending his rambling. “Don’t.”

“—And I just want you to know, in case something happens, that I love you.”

“No,” you say with the defiant shake of your head, your chin quivering and your gaze ice-cold.

“Yes,” he replies, just as stubborn.

“Steve…” you choke out when the name gets hung in your throat. 

A warm tear falls from your lashes and onto the very apple of your cheek. You wipe it away with the back of your hand and use your free one to bat Steve away when he tries to reach out for you. You stumble back from him, heading back the way you came — back to Eddie.

“Don’t, Steve. Just stop it.”

“Why?” he grieves in the softest voice he can muster, wet and warm with his hurt.

“You’re being mean,” you scold.

“I’m being mean?” he echoes with a sad sort of laugh.

“When it comes to you… I have always been second to Nancy. Always. And I won’t be the person you settle for just because she doesn’t want you, Steve,” you rant, voice fragile like glass or flower petals. 

He wants to tell you that he doesn’t want Nancy — that being with the person he loves won’t be settling — but you continue in your lament, and he misses the chance.

“I can’t… I won’t do it, okay? Not after I’ve spent my entire life loving you,” you confess to him, face scrunched in anger. It’s a subtle sort of rage, pointed both at him and yourself.

He watches, feeling totally helpless, while you wipe bitterly at your damp cheeks. Steve’s seen a lot of assholes make you cry. He never dreamed he’d be one of them. 

Robin was right. He’d ruined everything. It seems to be the only thing he’s good at these days.

“I’m sorry,” he calls to you as you walk away. “I wasn’t… I didn’t say it to make you sad.”

“You shouldn’t have said it at all!” you shout back, angrier than you’ve ever been with him. You take in a stuttering breath and exhale a shakier sigh, trying to calm yourself down again. “I just don’t get why you waited so long…” you agonize, words wet with tears. “Why did you wait until I was happy? Eddie… Eddie’s so nice to me, Steve. And you just… You just throw this shit at me right before we... That’s not fair.”

“I know…” he murmurs. “I know…”

The world starts turning again. 

Birds sing their songs, sounding somehow sadder than before, as though in lament for the brokenhearted boy. The wind begins to whistle as it brushes through the trees. It’s only half successful in breathing air back into your lungs.

A rustling of the brush gains both of your attention’s. It sounds like something is slithering somewhere in the thick laurel — a rabbit, a snake, a dark wizard out to kill a bunch of sad teenagers. 

You and Steve are alone, heartbroken, and clear targets for a monster who feeds on traumatized kids.

Though it’s entirely unlikely that Vecna has crawled out from the depths of the Upside Down and into these woods, you and Steve reach for your respective weapons anyway — him for the axe strapped to his back and you for the knives hanging on your belt. You’re ready to protect each other despite your distant anger.

But instead of some shriveled skin creep, you find freaks of a different kind.

The pale human faces of Dustin and Eddie peek out from the brush with curious smiles. They maneuver through the thicket and try to avoid the thorns. “What’s going on over here, huh?” the oldest boy wonders with his signature sparkling grin.

It’s almost scary how you so easily contort your features full of grief into a sickly sweet, artificial smile. You swipe the back of your hand over your face again to clear the tears clinging to your lashes, though it looks like you’re only wiping away sweat.

“Nothing,” you answer quickly with the innocent shake of your head. “Steve was just being an idiot—”

“Imagine that,” Dustin scoffs.

“—And saying stuff he doesn’t mean.”

“That’s not true,” Steve mutters, then clears his throat when the words come out more choked than expected.

“Just wanted to make sure you weren’t out here making moves on my girl, Harrington,” Eddie lilts with a playful smile. He reaches you and wraps a heavy arm over your shoulder to tuck you into his side. 

His sudden touches stopped surprising you a long time ago. You realized early on in your relationship that he can’t go without touching you for very long.

Eddie squints teasingly at Steve. “Go get your own.”

The boy doesn’t have a comeback at the ready. He isn’t sure of what to say, anyway. Eddie’s jokes aren’t as funny when they aren’t jokesanymore. He was just sort of professing his love to you and getting his heart stomped on in the process. He should probably be used to the feeling by now, but it stings like it’s brand new.

You’re grateful for Eddie’s appearance and the bickering that seems to follow him wherever he goes. It’s easy to get lost in his words, let all the sarcasm run over you, and forget the bullshit that came before it.

“We should head back before the others think we got abducted by Vecna or something,” you urge, desperate to get away from these woods and from this moment.

Dustin listens to you without question because he always listens to you. And Steve listens because he wants an escape just as much as you do. He’d rather go back to Robin and all her “I told you so”’s than keep watching Eddie hold you like he is now.

“What do ya say we skip this joint and have our own fun out here?” the wild-haired boy jokes, already leaning down to press a kiss to your mouth.

“Eddie, don’t—” you huff, but otherwise don’t fight him. It’s only an innocent peck, a loud smack upon your lips, that makes Dustin mutter “gross…” under his breath as he walks away. 

And if he heard it, that means Steve heard it.

You keep your eyes open all the while. You feel a bit numb, actually. A little like you’ve just kissed a ghost. You feel as cold as one, as distant and not all there. Eddie holds your hand the entire walk back to the clearing, but you have a hard time feeling it.

You feel a bit like woods surrounding you. You’re all crowded and heavy with sadness. You can’t tell if your grief is your own or if you’re feeling Steve’s too, because you can’t seem to take your eyes off him.

There’s an entire forest within you, you find, and Steve’s carved his initials into every tree.

[moonlightazriel]

The family we choose /// Azriel X F!Reader

Summary: It has always been Azriel and Aiden against the world, but what will happen when the new school years begin and his son talks about this amazing teacher every day?

Warnings: None, just fluff cuz why not?

Word Count: 3,1K

Notes: Fucking finally, this has been sitting on my drafts for a while and i love this idea.

Main Masterlist

“DADDY!” Aiden yelled, raising from his spot beside Feyre and rushing to get to him, he lowered to his level and waited for the little boy, he threw himself into his father’s arms, and Azriel wrapped his arms around him, giving him a tight squeeze. 

“Hey, buddy! How was school?” His son rushed back to the table, Feyre, Nyx, and a lot of art supplies were waiting for him, he grabbed a piece of paper and ran back to him to show him the drawing.

“Miss Y/L asked us to draw our family.” Azriel looked closely at the figures, the 6-year-old had done a great job, he could see himself, Cassian, Nesta with a huge pregnant belly, Rhys, Feyre, Nyx, Mor, Emerie, Gwyn, Elain, and Lucien.  

“That’s a beautiful drawing, you have a lot of talent.” He complimented.

“Aunt Feyre helped me make this drawing so I could give it to Miss Y/L, I really hope she likes it.” The flower bouquet was painted on a piece of parchment paper, Feyre had done the drawing but Aiden had painted it. 

“She’s going to love it Den, but why don’t you and Nyx play in the garden while the adults talk?” Feyre suggested as she started to gather the supplies from the table, Aiden looked at Azriel and he nodded, the two boys happily smiled and started to rush outside. “He really loves this teacher.” She said and Azriel got to her side, helping her clean. 

“Did he start with the never-ending rant about how amazing and beautiful she is?” She nodded. “You don’t think he’s projecting the feeling he had for his mother on her, do you?”

“Well, I can’t say for sure Az, Nyx likes her too, a lot, sometimes feels like he likes her more than me.” She giggled, rolling her eyes. “Maybe she’s just a really good teacher and there’s nothing to do with his mom.” Azriel nodded.

He had met Laurie in an Illyrian camp 10 years ago, and it was love at first sight, they lived like a happy couple until she met her mate, and decided that it was a good idea to leave Azriel with their 1-year-old son. 3 years ago, the news of her death reached him in Velaris, it was a tough blow that he wasn’t expecting but he slowly got over it, he had to, for his son. Ever since he does everything he can to make sure that his son is happy, and focused his life on him, even if his family tried to tell him that he should live his life too.

“She’s all he talks about ever since they started the school year, you have no idea how many times he asked if he could pick “Aunt Elain’s beautiful flowers”  to give them to her.” Feyre looked at him and smiled. 

“Let him be Az, it’s probably just a phase.” He nodded.

“Thanks for everything Fey, you’re amazing.” He said giving her a quick hug and kissing her temple.

“Get your hands off my High Lady.” Rhysand spoke with a smile on his face from the doorway. Azriel stepped back with his hands in the air. 

“I’m already on my way, don’t need to get all overprotective.” Rhys playfully slapped his back while he walked outside to get Aiden. 

⋆˙⟡☾𖤓☽ ⟡˙⋆

“Do you want to eat something?” Azriel asked his son as they walked around Velaris.

“My belly is full Daddy, Miss Y/L brought us the best cookies in the world, she made them.” The toddler happily spoke. “She said that she will teach us how to make them, she’s so nice, I really like her.”

“That’s awesome buddy, you just have to be careful around the fire.” He warned his son.

“Yes Daddy, cuz the fire hurts if we get too close.” He repeated the words Azriel had told him ever since Aiden started to crawl, his son was perfect, and he didn’t want him to be marked like he was, he didn’t need any scars on his perfect brown skin.

Aiden was a copy of him, with the same eyes, the same hair color, the same skin tone, and huge wings behind his back, and even if he could understand his father’s shadows just as perfectly as Azriel did, he had none, at least not yet. 

The two kept walking until they reached the townhouse, Rhys knew how Azriel loved that house and decided to give it to him as a gift, it was good enough for him and Aiden and he was happy that his brother made him the owner, he took good care of that house. 

⋆˙⟡☾𖤓☽ ⟡˙⋆

Azriel brushed his wet hair, spraying some perfume on his neck and chest as he got ready for the school meeting, the teachers requested to talk about the student's progress and how the parents could help with their learning. Aiden was already ready, playing in the living room as he readied himself, a simple black shirt, pants, boots, and truth-teller strapped on his thigh, his siphons glowed as he looked at himself in the mirror once again. 

His son was really excited for him to meet his teacher finally, and even Azriel was curious, Aiden had practically dragged him across the street towards the school, the little boy was rambling all the way, and when he saw his cousin, he left Azriel behind to go play with Nyx.

“Someone is super happy.” Rhys said as Az approached him, the two kids were running around now.

“You have no idea.” He replied looking around, the kids were running and most parents just waited for the reunion, Azriel tried to spot who he thought was Miss Y/L, in his mind, he was looking for an old, kind fae, with white hair and granny coats, weren’t all teachers like that after all?

Faes started to come to the parents to lead them to the classrooms, they followed a male as he guided the way, the classroom was decorated with flowers, and kids' drawings, books, and toys were all over the place, and in the corner, in the front part of the classroom a female stood, she was beautiful, her hair was in a braid behind her back, she was wearing a long dress, and she had the prettiest smile in the world, she looked at Azriel and he swore he could see the world shining brighter as she looked at him, she couldn’t be…..

“Miss Y/L!” Aiden yelled, running past them and jumping in the female's arms, she lifted him from the ground, laughing with him.

“Hi Den, did you bring your daddy as I asked?” She spoke, her voice was calm and airy, and hearing her talk made Azriel feel like he was walking on clouds.

“Yup!” The toddler proudly nodded and pointed at Azriel who still stood in the doorway. “Daddy, this is Miss Y/L.” He happily said as the female walked closer to him. 

Of course, everyone in Velaris knew who the Spymaster was, but it was something entirely different seeing him in person for the first time, the tall male was absolutely breathtaking, he was wearing the simplest clothes on earth and yet he looked perfect, the cobalt gems adorning his body, to contain his powers, glowed as he looked her up and down. 

Y/N felt her cheeks getting hot as she approached the male, his eyes still glued to hers, she could feel the sparks of electricity as she held his gaze, extending a hand in his direction.

“I’m Y/N.” She managed to say, her voice more steady than she expected, good!

“Azriel. I’ve heard a lot about you.” The male chuckled and Y/N felt her knees go weak at the sound.

“Oh, i could say the same about you, little Aiden here loves his father more than anything else.” The little boy held his father’s hand while he blushed. “What about you take your Daddy to your seat and we’ll talk more later?” She lowered to Den’s level and he nodded, pulling his father to the empty seat in front of her desk. She went to greet other parents that arrived in the classroom. 

“I wasn’t expecting that AT ALL.” Rhysand spoke as Azriel approached him, Nyx and Aiden sat side by side in class, he smiled at that, loving how close the cousins were like they saw each other as brothers the same way their parents did.

“What?” Rhys gave him a knowing look and he rolled his eyes.

“That she would be this pretty, guess I was expecting an old lady.” Azriel scoffed.

“Don’t let Feyre hear you, or you might sleep on the couch tonight.” Rhysand laughed and the two males looked at her while she spoke about the class progress. One by one, the parents approached her to speak about their children, they were the last ones in the classroom when she came to speak with them.

“High Lord!” She bowed a little. “Thank you two for coming in today. The boys are absolutely wonderful, they’re the top ones in class, but I’m afraid that they have some trouble with maths, I’ve been giving them extra exercises but maybe you two could keep an eye on that, and see why they’re struggling with that.” 

“Of course, do you teach privately?” Rhysand asked, saying that she could teach a thing or two to Azriel in his mind, Azriel slightly shoved the High Lord and Rhysand suppressed a laugh.

“I do! If you need me just contact the school and they will let me know.” She smiled at them, and Azriel felt his chest fill with warmth with that.

“Thanks, Y/N.” He said, and the two said their goodbyes leaving her behind.

⋆˙⟡☾𖤓☽ ⟡˙⋆

Azriel rushed through the school corridors, opening the door to the nurse’s office, he almost fell to his knees as he spotted Y/N sitting in the corner, Aiden was in her lap, he was holding his little arm, and his cheeks were red from crying, his head was resting against her chest and she had her cheek pressed against his forehead, whispering a song to calm him down. The way his son grabbed her like she was the only person that could keep him safe, made Azriel’s heart bleed, the two turned their head to him.

“He fell while playing in the garden, the healer said that his arm just hurts cuz he fell on top of it, it’s not broken, and he’ll be okay. He’s just scared.” Azriel kneeled in front of them, and Den’s puffy red eyes locked with his, he grabbed his son, cradling him to his chest, kissing the top of his head. She still looked worried, like she was about to cry, the only people that worried that much about his son, were his family. 

“Thank you so much for always taking care of him.” His voice was shaken, and the shadows around him still moved frantically, assessing Aiden for any injuries she could not be aware of.

“There’s nothing to thank me for, Aiden is a special boy, it’s my pleasure to take care of him.” She said gently, rubbing the toddler's back, Aiden was already sleeping in his father’s arms.

“No modesty please, let me pay you a coffee, I insist.” Azriel didn’t know why, but he wanted her to understand how much he appreciated her for all her care for his son. He could see that she was inclined to accept, so he talked again. “Meet me tomorrow morning at the Oak Alcove, by the Rainbow. At 9!” He said, thanking her once more, grabbing his son’s backpack, and leaving without waiting for an answer, he just hoped she would show up. 

⋆˙⟡☾𖤓☽ ⟡˙⋆

Y/N walked between the tables trying to spot the Shadowsinger, she was wearing a simple dress, and she rubbed her sweaty hands in the soft fabric for the third time, she gave another look around before she saw a hand raised in the air, Azriel was wearing leather clothes, the breath got caught in her throat as she looked at him, absolutely beautiful.

“You came.” He smiled at her, getting up to pull the chair for her, she sat, thanking him. She didn’t know if it was just a coincidence, but the Oak Alcove was her favorite coffee shop in Velaris, the soft breeze from the Sidra, the smell of flowers, the soft music, it was a magical place. 

“I did.” She laughed. “ It’s not often that I get to go to my favorite coffee shop for free.” She joked. 

“And here was i, thinking we would split the bill.” He rested a hand on his heart, pretending to be hurt and she liked that, everyone just saw him as a serious and stoic male, which was intimidating, but the way he smiled, a sight that she was sure wasn’t often people saw, made her heart melt. 

Azriel was a pleasant male, the way he softly spoke, his wide knowledge of everything, his passion for literature, he was really much more than the eyes could see. The time flew as they got to know each other better, now she understood why Aiden loved him so much, the Shadowsinger was sweet, gentle, wonderful, her heart skipped a beat every 5 seconds, and she tried to stop blushing like a little girl every time he smiled in her direction.

“This was fun.” She said after he stated that he should leave, he had plans with his son. 

“It was.” He got closer to her as they walked away. He walked her to her house, not far away from the coffee shop. “I was hoping we could do it again if it’s okay for you.” Her heart came to a stop in her chest.

“I would love to, Azriel. See you around.” The way she spoke his name, it was a sweet melody.

⋆˙⟡☾𖤓☽ ⟡˙⋆

“She’s wonderful.” He said, stretching his wings, the glass of liquor dancing in between his fingers, Rhysand smiled and Cassian entered the office. 

“What’s happening?” Rhys served him a glass as well.

“Azzie here is in love with Den’s teacher.” Cassian whispered a “NO WAY!” shuffling his onyx hair, making Azriel growl at him.

“I’m not in love with her.” He sipped on his drink. “Yet!” The trio laughed. 

⋆˙⟡☾𖤓☽ ⟡˙⋆

Azriel knew he was wrapped around her fingers when he kept going to the school every day, just to see her smile, just like his son, he would bring her flowers, he would take her out, after suffering because of Laurie, he was ready to open his heart again, especially for someone like her, she was perfect for him and he was ready to take their relationship to the next level. 

“Where are you going daddy?” Aiden asked as Azriel fixed his tie in the mirror.

“I’m going out with Mrs.Y/L, you like her, right?” He pulled his son closer.

“Yes, she’s amazing.”

“Would you like it if she was Daddy’s girlfriend?” His little eyebrows furred and he looked confused.

“Will she be my mommy?” The words shattered his heart and he swallowed the lump in his throat, feeling his eyes burn, he knew Aiden probably missed his mother, he noticed how he would look to Feyre when Nyx called her mommy, Azriel knew he wanted, craved that too, and broke his heart not be able to give that to his son.

“Maybe in the future buddy, if she wants to.” His son nodded and Azriel fixed his hair, he dropped Den in the River House before meeting Y/N for dinner, the bouquet Elain prepared for him was almost slipping from his shaking fingers, Y/n was already there waiting for him, she smiled, getting up to greet him with a quick kiss, they shared their first kiss after their fifth date, and he couldn’t keep his hands to himself ever since, her lips were sweet and she fitted so perfectly against him, she was made for him. 

“I want to ask you something.” Azriel had been building up the courage all night, Y/N dropped her spoon, her lips smudged with chocolate and he smiled at her, she was beautiful. “Will you be my girlfriend?” She almost jumped from her seat as she shook her head agreeing, he took her home that night, where they made love until sunrise. 

⋆˙⟡☾𖤓☽ ⟡˙⋆

“Mrs. Mommy I need help.” Aiden’s voice sounded from somewhere behind her and she immediately turned around, seeing him shaking the glitter off his tiny fingers. Az had mentioned what happened between him and Den’s mom, and how he knew his son wanted a  mother, she just didn’t expect that.

“Hi Den, what do you need?” He showed her his fingers glued together.

“My fingers are sticky.” She guided him to the sink.

“Let’s wash it then.” She said, then releasing the kids to their break. Azriel showed up like he did almost every day, he was holding a cup of coffee and some cookies for her.

“Hey love, what’s wrong?” He kissed her cheek and closed the door.

“Aiden called me mommy today. Mrs.Mommy to be precise.” She giggled a little.

“Shit.” Azriel didn’t want to pressure her to assume a motherly role to Den, but he also couldn’t exactly control these kinds of things. “I can talk to him if you want, tell him that you’re not his mom. He’ll understand.”

“I just don’t want him to be confused, I don’t know.” He hugged her. “I love him, just as much as I love you. Maybe tell him not to do it at school? Cuz the principal is already fuming that we’re dating.” He smiled.

“Maybe she’s jealous.” He joked and she laughed, she loved them really much. And her heart clenched hearing Den call her mommy. Maybe they could make this whole thing work.

⋆˙⟡☾𖤓☽ ⟡˙⋆

“You can’t catch me.” Aiden smirked, as Cassian chased him and Nyx, they were at a picnic with the inner circle, and Y/N was more than welcomed among them, they really liked her, she was getting really close to Feyre, the two were watching as the general pretended to be slower than the children. Den rushed to her, jumping on her lap and hiding from Cassian, while Azriel watched from afar. She looked at him, and it was like the whole world had come to a stop, she was the only thing holding him on earth, he had always assumed he was just lucky to have found someone so similar to him, and now he understood that it wasn’t luck, she was perfect for him because she was made for him, his mate, his equal, the love of his life. 

She blinked too overwhelmed as she explored the newly found bond between them, she had suspected for a while that he might be her mate, she had hoped and she had prayed to the Mother that she was right, and there it was, glowing like a thousand suns, the mating bond tying them to each other for the eternity, finally everything was complete for them. 

[sjsmith56]

Setback

Summary: The rescue of some hostages is complicated by the fact that one of them is the husband of Bucky’s ex-girlfriend; a woman he still hasn’t fully let go of.

Length: 4.5 K

Characters: Bucky, Sam, Fury, Thor, Peter Parker, named OFC, named OMC.

Warnings: Bucky’s PTSD, self-blame, memories of sad times.

Author notes: Not a Bucky happy ever after ending but he does experience some personal growth.

The video that Friday showed on the view screens had been verified as real; a school bus full of children on an outing with their teacher and the principal of their school had been hijacked. Although no one had yet claimed responsibility and there was no ransom demand, the perpetrators had sent it to a local TV station with the ominous message that the lives of everyone on that bus was in jeopardy unless the soon to be released demands were met.

“27 children were on that bus,” said Fury. “Their teacher and their principal were the only adults going with them. It was a field trip to an environmental centre where they were to spend the day learning about pond biology.”

“Has their location been determined?” asked Bucky.

Fury shook his head. “Friday is still working on that. The GPS unit on the school bus was ripped out at the point of interception and left on the side of the road. Overflights of the area have not picked up any sign of them and it is believed the bus may either be indoors or underground. Still, I would like everyone on this mission to be ready to go at a moment’s notice. I will keep you updated as we learn more.”

Everyone stood up and began to file out of the briefing room then Bucky was asked to stay behind. He nodded to Sam and approached Fury who sat on the edge of a table at the front of the room.

“Am I on this mission?” he asked.

“You are,” replied Fury, “but there is something you should know first.” He used a remote control to bring up a yearbook picture of the teacher, Travis Dean, an ordinary looking man wearing glasses. “You know this man?”

“No, should I?”

“He’s the husband of Laurie Black.”

Immediately, Bucky’s memories were taken back to two years ago when his relationship with Laurie ended. It hadn’t been anything she did; it was all Bucky who was behind the breakup. During a low point in his emotions, he had convinced himself that she deserved better and proceeded to treat her cruelly, convincing her that he didn’t love her, didn’t need her love or even her friendship. In previous occurrences she had persevered with him, helping him through the destructive emotions but this time he really went overboard. This time, she got the hint and within hours left him for good. As bad as his emotions had been, when he realized she wasn’t coming back he sank even deeper into a depression, immersing himself into weeks of isolation and moping.

“Is she aware of the hijacking?” he asked.

“She is,” answered Fury. “She’s on her way here and wants to see you.”

As much as he didn’t want to, Bucky knew that Fury only told him as a courtesy. She was a private citizen with a stake in the mission. To not see her wasn’t an option.

“Let me know when she arrives,” said Bucky. “I’m going to get ready.”

Sam glanced at Bucky when he entered the locker room, wanting to ask why Fury wanted to speak with the man, but his friend beat him to it.

“The teacher is married to Laurie Black,” he said, in a low voice. “She’s on her way here before we head out.”

“What do you think she wants?” asked Sam.

Bucky didn’t answer because he honestly didn’t know. Their relationship had been good when he was in a good frame of mind. They supported each other, laughed, loved, and enjoyed being together. It was when he was in low spirits that the problems occurred. Laurie was always supportive, giving him space but also encouraging him to fight the demons still within him. Until the last time, when Bucky went too far. He winced as he remembered the last words he said to her.

“Could you stop smothering me for one goddamn minute? Why do you always think I need to be fixed, huh? Why don’t you stick to fixing yourself and leave me alone?”

The look on her face would always stay with him, as her eyes welled up with tears, then she turned away from him and left. Sam had given him a look that said he should go after Laurie but in the mood he was in, Bucky wasn’t about to admit he had gone too far. Instead, he left for the roof, wanting to get away from everyone. When he finally came back down several hours later the others were in the common area. He walked in and no one would make eye contact with him, except Sam.

“Where’s Laurie?” asked Bucky.

“Gone.”

“What do you mean gone?” He began to panic. “Where is she?”

“She packed her bags, dropped off her resignation, ID, and Avengers issued phone and left.” Sam gave him an envelope. “This is for you.”

He looked at the letter in his hand, then returned to his quarters, finding nothing of her was left behind. Gingerly opening the letter, he read the brief message, then crumpled the paper in one hand before punching a hole in the wall.

That had sent him into a deep spiral of blaming himself for pushing her too far. He found Thor’s stash of Asgardian mead, becoming so drunk that Bruce had to knock him out with a drug cocktail that would take down an elephant. It took weeks before he was declared fit for duty.

“Do you want me there?” asked Sam.

Bucky shook his head. “No, I gotta do this alone.”

He went to the armoury and picked out his weapons, loading them into his locker on the quinjet. It was another hour before Laurie arrived, and Bucky was summoned to Fury’s office. He could see her head as she sat with her back to the glass wall. Fury watched him impassively as Bucky approached then stood up before he got to the door, meeting Bucky outside his office.

“You can speak inside. She just wants to see you then she’s leaving.”

With those words, Fury left, and Bucky entered, taking a chair near her. He noticed right away that she was quite pregnant; a development that made him take his breath in sharply.

“Hello Bucky,” said Laurie, not looking at him yet. “I guess this is a surprise to you.”

“When are you due?” he asked.

“Two months,” she answered, looking down at her hands as she crossed them on the mound of her stomach. “I wanted to apologize to you.”

“Laurie, no.” He shook his head and shifted his chair, so he was closer. “You have nothing to apologize for. I was wrong to expect you to take my shit like that. I was cruel to you, and I knew it. You were right to leave and right to call me out on my behaviour.”

She looked at him, taking in the familiar face; the thick dark hair framing his forehead, with that crease between his eyes. His lashes were still dark, his eyes still that beautiful blue grey shade that made her feel all sorts of things. The sharp cheekbones and defined jaw, with the chin dimple below his soft lips and white teeth were still attractive. The only change in him was the hint of grey in his chin stubble and the underlying sadness in his eyes.

“It just got to be too much,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper. “I couldn’t handle it anymore, Bucky. It hurt too much to hear you say those things to me.”

“I know and I’m so sorry I took my anger with myself out on you. It took a while before I felt up to it, but I did go for more therapy. I’m still in it.”

She nodded, then swallowed. “That’s good. I’m glad for you. I met Travis about a month after I left you. I was still a mess, still very lost and depressed. He was my friend for a long time before we realized that we had become more.” She patted her belly. “I got pregnant two months after we got married. We’re both excited for this baby so I want you to promise me that you’ll do all you can to bring Travis back to me.” Her voice caught as she pleaded with him. “I can’t … I can’t raise this baby by myself, Bucky. I need him. I need you to save him.”

It didn’t escape him that it could have been him who fathered Laurie’s baby. They had talked about it occasionally, as something to aim for in the future. He knew she wanted a family someday and the thoughts of them married, with her pregnant like this, of being present as his child entered the world, of growing old together with a family had been something to dream about.

That it would be another man making that dream a reality for Laurie would always be something he regretted. The thought of not doing all he could to save her husband never occurred to him. For a moment, he felt insulted that she needed to voice this then he watched as she roughly wiped her tears from her cheeks with her hands. Her eyes were reddened and swollen, making him recognize how afraid she actually was for Travis. She wasn’t insulting Bucky; rather she was asking for his help, as an Avenger, as her former lover, and as a man.

“I’ll bring him home to you,” he murmured. “I promise.”

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I know you’ll do your best.”

“Do you have somewhere to stay?” he asked, unsure of where she lived.

Laurie shook her head. “I took the train here, but I was just going to find a motel and wait there. I couldn’t wait at home.”

“Stay here,” he suggested. “You won’t be alone.” He looked up then and saw Fury outside the office. “Excuse me for a moment.”

Leaving, he closed the door behind him and stood in front of the director.

“We’ve got a location,” said Fury. “Wheel’s up in 5 minutes. Are you two alright?”

Bucky nodded. “Yeah. She’s afraid for him and wanted my promise to save him. I said she could wait here. Will you watch out for her?”

“Of course. You better get going.”

Quickly, Bucky returned to her and informed her they were ready to go. The only touch between them was him placing his hand on her shoulder and squeezing it. With that as his goodbye, he hurried to the launch pad to board the quinjet. Sam was already in the pilot’s seat with Yelena as copilot. Everyone there nodded to him as he strode up the ramp, taking his place in one of the seats.

By the time they arrived, there had been some developments. The kidnappers had identified themselves and made their demands known. A domestic terrorist group, they wanted some of their own who had been arrested to be released by a certain time. They also demanded $10,000,000 in ransom, payable in Bitcoin, also by a certain time. The hostages would be released only when the payment had been verified. The final part of the demands was displayed, and a collective groan was heard on the quinjet. For every 10 minutes that went past the deadline, a child would be shot in front of their classmates, on a live video broadcast on the internet. The final victims would be the teacher and the principal, forced to watch the slaughter of the innocent lives placed in their care.

When they exited the quinjet the Avengers were met with a contingent of several different agencies; local police, FBI, and military. They wanted to attack the location as a combined force.

“You’ll force their hand,” said Sam. “They’ll start executing some of those kids right away. Are you willing to take that chance? Let us infiltrate the premises. We know what we’re doing.”

They were given one hour to accomplish the task before the highest-ranking officer on site took command. Sam did his best to get more time, but the message was clear. The Avengers would get their shot, then it would be everyone else’s turn. He could hear Fury’s voice in his comms piece to take the offer. As he and Joaquin took up their aerial positions and scanned the interior of the building with their specialized infra-red capabilities, Bucky led the others inside. Splitting up into two groups they followed directions given them by either of the two flyers.

“Hold on,” said Sam, suddenly, at the 15-minute mark. “Something’s going on. One of the adults fought back and ran in the opposite direction.  With the distraction, the other is leading most of the kids down an alternative route and they’re not being followed.  Joaquin, blow a hole in that side of the building and give them an exit route. Team Bravo, follow his directions to support them on their six.”

“How many kids are left, Sam?” asked Bucky, leading Team Alpha.

“Three, straight ahead at the end of the corridor you’re in,” he stated. “You need to hurry. They caught him and are laying a beating on the guy while keeping their guns on the kids.”

With Sam’s description of where the gunmen were located, Bucky sent Scott and Hope into the ventilation system, waiting for their signal that they were in the room. Their task was to protect the kids, enlarging their bodies enough to shield them from any firing. Bucky, Yelena, and Shaun positioned themselves at the door then Sam sent a small rocket into the corner of the roof away from the kids to distract the terrorists. Kicking the door down, the three of them made quick work of the five men inside.

“Hostages secure,” said Bucky as he approached the man on the ground who had been beaten. He wasn’t a big man or terribly muscular, but he had impressed Bucky with his bravery. “Need a medic, ASAP.”

Kneeling, he touched the man’s neck to confirm he was still alive. His eyes opened but he couldn’t focus, and he blinked his eyes several times. Even without his glasses, Bucky recognized him.

“The kids are safe?” he croaked.

“Yeah, they’re okay,” said Bucky, then he gently put his hand on him when the man tried to get up. “Don’t move. Let the medics check you out first. What’s your name?”

“Travis,” he murmured. “They took my glasses. Can’t see too well without them.”

This was the man who helped Laurie after Bucky chased her away and he had just saved most of the kids by putting up a fight. Bucky swallowed then patted him on the chest.

“You did good, Travis,” said Bucky. “You put yourself on the line for those kids. They’re alive because of you.”

The medics arrived and took over from Bucky, assessing Travis’ injuries. Several FBI agents came with them, taking the other children out. The other Avengers entered the space, confirming that all the other hostages were safe and being readied for evacuation.

“We’re just waiting on the teacher’s status,” said Sam, to their inquiries. “Then we’ll help him out to be evacuated.”

“No, he comes back with us,” interrupted Bucky. “His wife is waiting at the compound for him. They took his glasses. Can we find them for him?”

Sam looked at his partner, suddenly understanding who the beaten man was. “Yeah, we can go looking for them.”

He herded everyone out then followed them, leaving Bucky and the medics there. The latter seemed satisfied that Travis hadn’t sustained any serious injuries and gave their okay for him to sit up and stand. Bucky assured the medics the man was in safe hands, and they left. Pulling two chairs over, Bucky offered one to Travis then sat in the other.

“You’re an Avenger?” asked the other man. “What’s your name?”

“Bucky Barnes,” he replied, noticing Travis’ reaction. “You’re Laurie’s husband.”

“Yeah.” There was a long pause. “She came to see you, didn’t she?”

Bucky nodded, then remembered Travis couldn’t see much without his glasses. “Yeah, she did. She asked me to make sure you made it back safely. I promised her.”

Neither spoke for some time then Travis swallowed. “She was really hurting when I met her. By what she told me I figured it was a severe PTSD episode that made you say what you did to her. It took her a long time to get over it and forgive you. Are you better?”

“I am, thank you.” Bucky sighed. “She always came back when I did that to her. Guess I took it for granted that she would that time as well. When she didn’t come back, I didn’t handle it well and it took me a while to accept that I sent away the only woman who had put up with my shit. I’m glad she found you. She loves you very much. It was obvious.”

“She loved you, too. That’s why it took her so long to get over you.”

“Found them,” said Peter, as he walked in the door. “One lens is cracked but you should ….” He noticed the look each man gave him and wondered if he had interrupted something important. “Here, Mr. Dean. The kids all asked if you were okay. They said you and the principal tried your best to protect them.”

“Thanks,” said Travis, as he put his glasses on and noticed it was Spider-Man who handed them to him. “I’m surprised they didn’t keep you with them. They’re big fans of yours.”

Peter, whose mask was off, blushed. “I promised to come to your school one day. If that’s okay.”

“That’s great, thank you,” said Travis, standing up. He moved then held his side. “That hurts.”

“Take your time,” said Bucky. “We’ll get you to Laurie.”

With a nod, Travis began walking to the exit, followed by the two Avengers. Before he exited the building, Peter put his mask back on, still reluctant to show his face in public, even though they knew who he was. Together they came out to an onslaught of media people, shouting out Travis’ name. The principal and kids had already told them of how he fought against the terrorists, giving them the opportunity to get most of them away from harm, calling him a hero. He was reluctant to accept that title, gesturing to the others as the real heroes.

Bucky waited patiently, then Sam intervened saying that Travis’ wife was waiting at their compound for her husband, and they wanted to reunite the couple. Only then did they manage to pull away from the almost overwhelming attention. In the quinjet, Travis looked at everyone with a little bit of awe until Thor, who had led team Bravo looked right back at him.

“What is it you see when you look at us, Mr. Dean?”

“Heroes,” replied Travis. “All of you do this all the time, without hesitation.”

“You are also a hero,” said Thor. “You teach but, on this trip, you accepted the necessity of putting yourself in danger so that the children would be safe. There was no preparation or hesitation, it was instinctual, which means that you are as heroic as the world sees us.”

As he looked at the others, he saw the same sentiment expressed on their faces. When he looked at Bucky the latter bowed his head briefly to him then smiled.

“Thank you,” said Travis.

He said nothing after that, just sat with his hands clasped together as he leaned over and rested his arms on his knees. The others went back to talking amongst themselves, but Bucky watched the teacher, as the enormity of what happened to him began to manifest itself. It was a delayed reaction, and he noticed that Travis bit his lip and swallowed noticeably several times. The man was struggling. Bucky stood up, put his hand on Travis’ shoulder and gestured towards the back, where the cargo hold was. The other man looked fearfully at him for a moment, but the super soldier looked kindly at him.

“You can have some privacy back there,” he murmured, adjusting his voice so that only Travis heard him.

A look of relief crossed the man’s features, and he stood up, following Bucky. Sam watched, grimly smiling, knowing that Bucky was well tuned to when someone was on the edge. As the two men entered the tight space, Bucky gestured to a crate. He leaned against the wall.

“Even now, there are times I come back here to deal with the terror I still feel in my gut,” he said to the teacher.

“But, you do this all the time,” replied Travis, sitting. “Aren’t you used to it?”

The dark-haired super soldier shook his head. “No, I’ve never become used to it. It’s what I know and with my abilities, this job is what I’m good at, but I’m not used to it. It eats away at me and builds up to a point where I can lash out at people, like I did to Laurie. I was too macho then to talk to a professional or allow myself to cry the fear out. In my mind, suffering was normal until I lost the one person who I envisioned having a future with.”

“Laurie,” stated Travis. He gave out a tortured breath. “I’m feeling overwhelmed right now. What the hell was I thinking? I mean, look at me. I’m not special like the rest of you but all I felt was the need to do something, anything, to get those kids out. When they started beating me, I thought I was going to die, and that I would never see Laurie again, or see our son grow up. I was so stupid.”

“Not stupid. Protective, and that’s something you’re going to need when that little boy is born. He’s going to need a father he can look up to, and trust to protect him and his mom. You’ve proven that today. But you are feeling the terror right now, aren’t you?” Travis nodded. “One of my coping strategies these days is to come back here and let it all out. I cry like a baby and let all that negative emotion flow out of me like a river. I leave it behind. That’s what you have to do right now. When you get back, talk to a professional and don’t hold back. They’re trained to deal with it objectively.” He looked at his watch. “We have about an hour before we land. Use it.”

He turned to leave.

“Bucky?” The super soldier looked at Travis. “Why are you doing this for me?”

“Because you love her and make her happy in a way I couldn’t. She deserves happy.”

With a quick nod of his head, Bucky left the man to deal with the emotions he knew all too well. Travis came out of the cargo hold shortly before they landed, his eyes red but seeming calmer. As the ramp lowered, they could all see Laurie waiting with Fury for Travis to exit, so they let him off first, smiling as he wrapped his arms around his wife. He winced at her hugs but accepted her quick assessment of his health before they went up to the medical centre for a more intensive examination. Bucky hung back, standing next to Fury, as the others dispersed to drop off their weapons, shower, and change. They would have a debrief in a few hours.

“You, okay?” asked Fury.

“No.” Bucky’s answer was terse, and his look was anything but relaxed.

“Go see Dr. Hoyle,” suggested Fury, referring to their onsite psychologist, knowing that Bucky needed to speak to someone about this mission. “Just get the edge off.”

“Is that an order?”

“No, but I expect you to do it. She’s already waiting for you.”

With a sigh Bucky went straight there. The suggestion from Fury was more of an attempt to stave off an outburst or even a meltdown. Dr. Hoyle was in her outer office, speaking with the receptionist when Bucky arrived, still in his tactical suit. Leading him into her office, she sat in her chair, gesturing to him to sit. She didn’t say anything, waiting for him to initiate the conversation, finding it was better that way. After a good ten minutes of silence, Bucky leaned forward and rubbed his face.

“I have to amend my goals,” he said, quietly.

“Okay, which part?” she asked.

“Getting Laurie back is off the table. She moved on, got married, and is expecting her first child. Her husband is a good man. I might be many things, but I don’t interfere in someone’s marriage.”

“How do you feel about coming to that decision?”

He sat back, looking out the window at nothing in particular. Then he breathed out heavily through his nose.

“Like I’m back at square one.” He looked at her. “It’s hard. I first came to you because I wanted to be good enough for her but that’s not how it works, does it?” Hoyle’s face remained impassive. “I have to do it for myself, first.” He rubbed his face with his hands. “I just wish that it felt like I was making progress.”

“You think this is a setback?”

“Yeah, isn’t it?” She didn’t answer and he sighed, as she was obviously expecting him to figure it out on his own. “I guess part of me thought if I didn’t get her back then I deserved to be alone. By focusing on her I shut myself off to other possibilities, didn’t I?” Hoyle smiled kindly. “By letting her go I can finally move on and maybe make real progress. It still hurts.”

“Yeah, that’s the lousy part,” she smiled. Bucky’s cell phone beeped. “You can check that if you want.”

He looked at it. “She wants to say goodbye to me. That’s part of closure, isn’t it?” Hoyle nodded. “Are you alright if I go?”

“Sure,” she said. “I’ll see you for your regular session, alright?”

He nodded, leaving through the exit door. As he approached the lobby area, and the small crowd that had gathered to say goodbye to Laurie and Travis, he noticed how they held hands with each other. They were happy together, and for that he was glad. She noticed him first, smiling warmly at him. He shook hands with Travis, then looked fondly at Laurie.

“Take care of yourself and your family,” he said, sincerely. “I wish only the best for you.”

“Thank you, for everything,” she replied. “I hope you find happiness someday. You are a good man, Bucky. You deserve it.”

Their driver opened the back door of the vehicle, and the couple moved towards it. They both raised their hands in farewell then got inside. The others returned to the building as the vehicle drove away, but Bucky watched until he couldn’t see it anymore.

“Goodbye,” he whispered.

One Shots Masterlist

Please support the author by reblogging.

[book--brackets]

Summaries under the cut

The Cat Ate My Gymsuit by Paula Danzinger

Marcy Lewis is bored by school, she knows she's never going to be thin, and she is dead sure she'll never have a date. Life at home isn't great either, since her father bosses her and her mother around. Then along comes Ms. Finney, an English teacher who'll try anything in the classroom and actually treats kids like human beings. Now that she's found a teacher who sees Marcy as more than a name on an attendance sheet, Marcy realizes her life could mean something. When Ms. Finney is suspended, Marcy knows she's got to take a stand. But is this new independence worth the price she'll pay at school and at home?

Magic Shop by Bruce Coville

Russell Crannaker, a rather timid boy who is eager to frighten the school bully on Halloween night, acquires a magic ring and the power to change himself into a hideous monster.

Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright

When Garnet finds a silver thimble in the sand by the river, she is sure it’s magical. But is it magical enough to help her pig, Timmy, win a blue ribbon on Fair Day?

The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart

Fourteen-year-old Quint Verginix is the only remaining son of famous sky-pirate Wind Jackal. He and his father have journeyed to the city of Sanctaphrax – a great floating rock, bound to the ground below by a chain, its inhabitants living with their heads literally in the clouds.

But the city hides a dangerous secret: deep inside the great rock, something horrible lurks. With his father away, Quint may be the only one who can save Sanctaphrax from the dreaded curse of the gloamglozer . . .

School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari

Everyone is afraid of something...

Madeleine Masterson is deathly afraid of bugs, especially spiders.

Theodore Bartholomew is petrified of dying.

Lulu Punchalower is scared of confined spaces.

Garrison Feldman is terrified of deep water.

With very few options left, the parents of these four twelve year-olds send them to the highly elusive and exclusive School of Fear to help them overcome their phobias. But when their peculiar teacher, Mrs. Wellington, and her unconventional teaching methods turn out to be more frightening than even their fears, the foursome realize that this just may be the scariest summer of their lives.

Pillage by Obert Skye

Upon his mother's death, fifteen-year-old Beck Phillips is sent to live with an eccentric uncle he had never met in a remote manor house, where he learns that his family suffers from a curse that allows him to make plants grow on command and dragon eggs hatch.

The Blackwell Pages by K. L. Armstrong

In Viking times, Norse myths predicted the end of the world, an event called Ragnarok, that only the gods can stop. When this apocalypse happens, the gods must battle the monsters--wolves the size of the sun, serpents that span the seabeds, all bent on destroying the world.

The gods died a long time ago.

Matt Thorsen knows every Norse myth, saga, and god as if it was family history--because it is family history. Most people in the modern-day town of Blackwell, South Dakota, in fact, are direct descendants of either Thor or Loki, including Matt's classmates Fen and Laurie Brekke.

However, knowing the legends and completely believing them are two different things. When the rune readers reveal that Ragnarok is coming and kids--led by Matt--will stand in for the gods in the final battle, he can hardly believe it. Matt, Laurie, and Fen's lives will never be the same as they race to put together an unstoppable team to prevent the end of the world.

The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson

Annika is happy living in the servants' quarters of a house owned by three eccentric professors. She adores Ellie and Sigrid, the cook and housemaid who found her as a baby, abandoned on a church doorstep. In the eleven years since, they have taught her how to bake and clean to perfection. Then one day a glamorous stranger arrives, claiming to be Annika's mother. Annika is no servant, she learns, but an aristocrat whose true home is an ancient castle. But at crumbling Spittal, Annika discovers that all is not as it seems in the lives of her newfound family. . .

The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit

Jerry, Jimmy, and Cathy stumble upon a mysterious castle with a beautiful princess asleep in the garden. The princess is really Mabel, the housekeeper's niece, who is only pretending to be royalty. But when she shows them a secret room filled with treasure where they discover a magical ring, enchantment becomes a reality.

Fairy Oak by Elizabetta Gnone

Fairy Oak is the name of a village that grew up in the shade of a talking oak tree, an imaginary place, lost in the mists of time immemorial, overlooking a stormy sea, next to uplands covered in snow in winter, surrounded by enchanted woods, vast meadows, crystal clear rivers and lakes. A healthy and uncontaminated nature, which dominates and envelops the worlds in which the stories unfold. Within the walls of the old village there lives an equally old community, a mixed bag of funny characters, with the rituals, customs, habits and familiarity of a serene, cheerful, lively people. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent twins Vanilla and Lavender. To save their people, menaced by a cruel enemy, they go on a long journey deep into the labyrinths of their powers. Since the girls are very young, at first lots of things go wrong. Some are frightening. In short, it’s not going to be easy at all! But someone and something will help them.

[welcometowhore-rrorville]

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒩𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉

Featuring: Michael Myers 

Word Count: 5.6k

Warnings: canon-typical violence, thriller and violent themes throughout, nsfw near the end, smut, everyone is 18+, attempted murder, the usual slasher stuff, questionable consent (both parties into it but also you probably shouldn’t be getting it on with a killer), swearing, probably ooc but I tried, proof-read and edited but I make mistakes so lmk 

-

You hated to be out by yourself this late at night, but you supposed it wasn’t all bad. Despite the chill in the air, the weather was nice, and the stars against the black sky illuminated your view as your shoes clicked on the sidewalk. You promised your friend Laurie you’d swing by during her babysitting tonight to keep her company, and so that’s where you headed.

You glanced down at your outfit, pulling on the black dress to cover more of your thighs, black tights doing next to doing to keep out the wind. You weren’t cold as much as you felt exposed, and you wished you’d been smart enough to stop by your house after the Halloween party to change. It was too late for that now, you thought, scratching behind your ear where the cat ear headband dug into your head. 

You grabbed your satchel which hung at your side, strap thrown around your shoulder. It held nothing more than a few snacks and your favorite board game, but you figured it would be enough to entertain the two of you until the child’s parents got back home. 

Despite being older than her—about to graduate in the spring, you two grew up together, and you weren’t about to leave your friend to suffer through a boring babysitting job alone. Sure, one of Laurie’s friend’s was a few houses down, but you doubted she would be coming over when she had other plans that night. 

You rolled your eyes thinking about it, and scoffed. She was a pretty shitty babysitter, in all honesty, but you supposed it wasn’t your kids. 

You continued down the darkened path forward, occasionally stopping in the glow of a streetlight. Being Halloween, you expected the odd-ball teenager running around to get a kick out of scaring people, and so kept a close watch on your surroundings. You didn’t want to deal with anything tonight except maybe losing at checkers, but that was far better than getting spooked by some freak. 

At that thought, you rummaged around in your bag, opening it just enough to peer at the small switchblade nestled in the inside pocket. It wasn’t much, but you didn’t expect to use it in the first place. 

You laughed at your own paranoia, instead picking up your pace. You could see your destination, and it didn’t take long before you lingered outside the door. 

You glanced behind you, spotting the house Annie was supposed to be babysitting in. You didn’t see any lights on, which you thought was odd, but figured she might’ve turned in for the night. You also took note of the van parked in the front. You vaguely recognized it, but you didn’t dwell on it, instead turning to where Laurie now stood, door open as she welcomed you inside.

“Happy Halloween,” you half-joked, pulling her into a half hug as you stepped inside. You spotted two kids sitting on the couch just inside the living room, a movie lighting up their faces as they watched. “I thought there was only one?”

“There was,” Laurie replied, shutting the door behind the two of you. “Then Annie happened.”

You scoffed, unsurprised.

Walking into the living room, you waved at the two children, grabbing a bag of chocolate from your bag before tossing it to the pair. The boy caught it excitedly. “Happy Halloween, kiddos.”

“They’ve already had too much popcorn,” Laurie commented, but you shrugged.

“Never such a thing as too many treats this time of year. Here—” you threw her favorite candy at her before setting your bag down on the coffee table. “Don’t think I forgot about you.”

Laurie smiled softly. You knew she’d been spooked all day today, which is part of the reason you forced yourself to come over despite your aching feet. Speaking of which, you slipped out of your heels, setting them back in the entry-way before following Laurie to the kitchen. “Don’t steal my stash while I’m gone, ya?” you said, gesturing to the bag as you left. The kids looked at each other before looking at your satchel. You had a feeling it would be empty come time to leave. Still, you didn’t care too much, watching as Laurie stopped at the kitchen island. 

She set her bag of candy on the counter, next to which sat a half-carved pumpkin.

“They abandon you?” you questioned, poking your finger through the jack-o-lantern’s singular eye hole. “Or were you going for something abstract?”

“We’ve been trying to carve it off-and-on all night,” she replied, picking up the knife which resided half-way inside the pumpkin and giving the orange squash another stab. “But the kids keep getting spooked.”

“Seems like that’s contagious,” you said, popping open the fridge to grab a soda. “Ever get over your boogie-man scare from earlier?”

“I really did see someone,” she replied, gesturing at you with the knife before making the final cut on the second eye. “It was creepy. He wore a white mask and a jumpsuit and just. . . stared at me.”

“It’s Halloween, Laurie.” you ruffled her hair gently. “Know how many people that fit that description I’ve seen today? Too many to count. I’m not saying you didn’t see someone, but it was probably some dick trying to get a scare. And it looks like it worked.”

She sighed, fixing her hair with one hand as she set the knife down on the counter with the other. “I know. I’m being stupid, aren’t I?”

You pulled her into another side hug, giving her newly fixed hair another pat. You knew she got annoyed whenever you acted like a big sister, but couldn’t hold back a snort as she shot you a half-hearted glare. You leaned against the doorway, sipping on your soda. “You know I’ll be here if something does happen. I packed a switchblade and everything.”

“You’re a life-saver,” Laurie mused, laughing. “If they need to open a tin can we’ll be all set.” 

“Whatever, just go sit down and take a break. I’ll finish carving this thing for you.” You set the soda on the counter, replacing it with the knife as you sliced through the pumpkin. Laurie looked too tired to argue, grabbing her candy and heading back into the living room.

“Don’t do anything scary, okay? It may be Halloween but it’s for the kids.”

You waved her comment off, already jabbing back and forth, trying to shape a pair of fangs and a large open mouth.

That’s how the house stayed for the next few minutes, you in the kitchen getting pumpkin guts and juice on your dress as they continued watching t.v. It wasn’t until one of the kids spoke up that you paused your actions, raising a brow at his comment.

“Laurie, I saw someone outside.”

You still held the knife, letting it hang in your hand as you ventured into the living space. “Was it this boogie-man you all keep talking about?”

The boy nodded.

You let out a sigh. “Alright. That’s it. You all stay here. I’ll go check it out.”

“What? Alone?” Laurie asked, standing from the couch. You slid your shoes on, knife now clutched solidly in your hand as you headed to the door.

“I’ll be fine. I’m a big girl. Besides, you have to baby-sit. I’ll just go yell at whoever douche is doing this and get this whole thing done-and-over-with.”

Laurie sighed but knew better to argue, instead following you to the door as you stepped outside. “I’ll lock it behind you. Be safe, okay?”

You smirked, rolling your eyes. With that, you stepped off the porch, eyes adjusting to the dark neighborhood. You didn’t immediately see anyone, and so continued walking, heading into the street, nimble on your feet—well, as nimble as you could be in your kitten heels. It might’ve been better to go out bare-foot, but it was too late now. 

You scanned the darkness, examining every hedge and tree in an attempt to spot someone behind it. You had no luck, and so decided to cross the street completely, now closing in on Annie’s location.

You thought about knocking to see if anyone was still up, but decided against it. You didn’t want to know what they were doing if they were still up, and especially didn’t want to interrupt it. 

The barely audible crunch of a leaf brought your attention to your right, and you stared intently at a particularly large tree looming in a nearby yard. Already sick of whoever this was, you called out to them.

“Hey. I know you’re there. Can you just—leave me and my friend alone, hmm? I get it’s Halloween and all, but it’s too late for tricks.”

There was no response, nor any movement.

You pursed your lips. “Okay, then,” you mused, heels crunching on the grass as you headed to the tree. “I’ll come get you myself.”

As you walked closer, you still spotted nobody. You gripped the knife, making sure it was poised and ready in your hand. You had no intention of stabbing anyone tonight, but a little scare should give them the picture to leave. 

You finally stopped arms-length away from the massive oak. You gave a knock on the thick trunk. No reaction.

You clenched your jaw, knees bent as you prepared to race around to catch the stranger by surprise. Just before you moved, however, footsteps sounded behind you, and you whirled around and jumped back just in time to avoid a knife to the back. 

Your eyes widened. It was just as Laurie described, a tall man, definitely built enough to do some damage, wearing a stained black jumpsuit. A white mask covered his face, revealing nothing but eye holes. You stared at the molded rubber costume, peering into the two black voids, the kitchen knife squeezed so tight in your hand your knuckles hurt. You saw no reflection of eyes, nor skin, just darkness.

Strangely, he made no move to strike again, just staring, well, you assumed he was staring, directly at you. His stance was eerily calm and collected for someone who just tried to kill you. It was like he was waiting for you to make the first move.

Your heart hammered in your chest, and three decisions flashed in your mind. Fight. Flight. Freeze. You were already frozen, but so was he. Flight? You had no idea how fast he could run, or where you would go. You weren’t about to lead a mad-man back to Laurie and the kids. That left only one option.

You weren’t the most athletic, nor the fastest, but left with no option, you made your decision. 

Taking in one last breath, you darted to the side, using the tree trunk for cover and narrowly avoiding another attempted stabbing.

You raced around the tree, popping out where the man once stood with your knife above you, elbow bent and prepared to lunge.

He had vanished from his spot, and you quickly darted away from the tree entirely, wanting to have a clear view of all of your surroundings. The closest cover he could’ve taken was inside the house Annie resided in, and judging by the now-open door, you were correct in your guess.

You grit your teeth. Now was your chance to flee and get help, but you had a sinking feeling the police wouldn’t get here in time to be of any real help. 

Suddenly spurred forward by your own urge to confront the man trying to kill you, you walked towards the open door.

Your knife never left your vision, and you held it just far enough away to deal a strike without having it ripped from your grasp. 

The door swayed gently in the breeze, knocking against the doorway. You stepped inside quickly, shutting the door behind you. 

The inside was dark, as you gathered from looking at the outside of the house, and you struggled to maintain your senses. Still, you knew idling for too long meant death, and so crept forward as quietly as possible despite your unreasonable shoes.

The house was quiet enough to tell you one thing—either Annie and her friends were all fast asleep, or. . .

You took extra caution coming to a doorway, and decided to swing first and ask questions later, but your knife hit nothing, and so you stepped forward. There was nothing but an empty kitchen.

You found the same for the entire downstairs, and so decided there was only one other option.

You made your way to the staircase, gripping the railing. Slowly, you stepped upwards one stair at a time. This house was a stranger’s, and you had no idea what the lay out was. Still, you knew one thing. Your boogie-man was upstairs, and you were going to confront him there.

You took a deep breath, steadying your shaking body once you made it just below the second floor landing. 

You quieted yourself, trying desperately to listen for some sort of clue to unravel his location. You heard nothing, and figured he’d hidden away in some corner just waiting for you to come out.

Having no choice, you stepped upwards, swiveling to take in your surroundings. You started with the door closest to you, and used the tip of the knife to slowly push it open. You spotted nothing, but the room was dark. There was no way to tell if he was inside without going in.

You glanced back down the stairs. Should you retreat? It wasn’t too late to scramble out the door and scream for help. You clenched your fists.

A feeling deep inside your stomach wouldn’t let you, and so you pushed into the room. You squinted your eyes. It was a bathroom by the looks of it, and the only light was coming from the window clear across the hallway. 

Stepping a foot into the small room, you swiveled your head around, making sure there was nowhere to hide.

Everything was clear, save for the shower. The curtain was pulled fully closed. You grit your teeth so hard your temples burned. Your feet slid cautiously, and the tip of your knife blade tapped the edge of the curtain. With a harsh push, you slammed the curtain open.

Nobody.

You let out a sigh.

You swiveled back on your heels, only to let out a breathless gasp. He had you cornered, tall frame blocking your only way out of the bathroom. You had to think fast, and so did the only thing that came to mind.

You lunged to the side, grabbing a towel hanging on a hook before tossing it towards him. Not wasting a second, you charged forward, knife cradled against your chest to prevent stabbing yourself. Your body collided harshly with his, and you heard the clatter of metal on tile as you both fell to the ground, towel lodged between your bodies.

You landed on top, but before you had the chance to raise your knife, the towel was thrust back in your face, and you stumbled to the side, leaving him to get the upper hand. 

Your body was pressed harshly into the floor, and the knife you had was ripped out of your grasp and thrown, landing with a thump a few feet away. 

You breathed heavily, the weight of him straddling your hips taking the breath out of you. His hands wasted no time wrapping around your neck, cutting off your airway.

You wheezed and gasped, bucking around and clawing at the large hands which choked you, but you knew he had you beat. There was no use trying to wrangle his hands away, so you needed a different plan, and fast.

You looked anxiously around, eyes flittering around the darkened hallway. Both knives were too far away to reach, and you had nothing else to defend yourself with. You tried to maneuver out from under him, but he had his full weight atop you, staring at you from behind his white mask.

Your lungs were burning, and you were running out of energy to struggle. Your gaze met his, and the window behind you let in just enough light to highlight the eyes behind the lifeless facade. You stared, hands still clawing at his own, becoming more and more panicked as black spots clouded your vision.

Desperately, you moved from grabbing your neck to his, and slid your fingers underneath the mask, ripping it upwards and off. 

Seemingly panicked, he released his grip, reaching hurriedly to return his mask back on his head, though you had already thrown it to the side, leaving it in a heap a few steps down the staircase. 

You couldn’t find the energy to move, and so only stared, taking in his face as he stood from your wheezing body. With a speed you hadn’t seen him move with, he crouched over and grabbed his mask, fitting it back onto his head before turning around.

You had only seen his face for a second, but what you saw surprised you. It was a man—a young one at that, with sharp features and curly brown hair that fell over his forehead slightly. You expected the face of a seasoned killer, not someone who could’ve been in college. 

Still, you had no time to dwell, as he was already stepping back towards your fallen body. Taking in a deep breath as air once again filled your lungs, you scrambled to your hands and knees, racing forward to grab the blade which glistened under the moonlight. You gripped it firmly, and rolled onto your back just as he struck with his own weapon picked up from the bathroom floor.

It dug into the floor just beside you, and you hurled yourself up and onto your feet, scrambling back down the stairs before he could strike again.

Half-running-half-falling, you made it down the stairs, rushing to head into the kitchen. You breathed heavily, your whole body aching as you leaned against the kitchen counter. You saw a door leading to the back, and began slowly moving towards it, all the while keeping your eyes glued to the entrance. He would come, and when he did. . .

You had no idea. You had no clue what you would do once you ran out the door. You didn’t know what you could do or how it would end. Something in you shattered at that. Why were you fighting something so hard when you knew there was only one fate in store for you this evening? 

You released the death-grip on the kitchen blade, letting it fall onto the counter. With a sigh, you bent over, taking your shoes off as you relished in the feeling of your heels flat on the floor. You reached up, finally taking off your headband, and placed that beside the discarded weapon.

You then walked over to the fridge, popping it open to see just what you were looking for—your favorite soda.

You popped it open, taking a long sip as the carbonated liquid cooled your dry and hoarse throat. 

Deciding that you couldn’t bear to stand any longer, you popped onto the counter, legs dangling as you sat against the upper cabinets. 

You continued sipping on your drink, eyes on the entryway. It felt like hours before you finally saw him appear, knife in hand as he stared from in the doorway. You gave a sarcastic smile, waving. You held out your arm. “Care for a drink before you kill me?” 

He did nothing. You weren’t surprised. “Not a talker, huh?” You shrugged. “Guess it doesn’t really matter.” You finished off your drink, setting it on the counter with a clank. “Too late to call it a draw?”

Still no response.

You frowned, crossing your legs. “Well, I suppose you should get this whole thing over with. That’s what you want right, to kill me? Well, do it already. Unless you want to wait for me to finish another soda.” 

At your words, he stepped forwards, but still not close enough to reach you. He seemed. . . confused at your sudden personality shift. You were confused too, but you supposed shock did crazy things to people. Your heart still beat wildly, and your hands shook, but there was an acceptance that buried itself in you that you couldn’t get rid of. You were going to die, you decided, and that’s just how it had to be.

You let out a sigh, hopping off the counter daintily. Your bare feet hit the floor, and in a few steps you stood directly in front of him. You looked at the knife in his hand, still hanging at his side, before staring at him. “I didn’t think I’d go out this way,” you confessed. “It’s a shame, really. Though I guess it’s not so bad. . . at least you’re handsome. Takes a whole new meaning to to-die-for, huh?” 

The slightest tilt of his head betrayed his emotion. He didn’t. . . understand you. One minute you were just like all the others, but now? 

He raised the knife slowly, so slowly that you could stare at your own reflection in it, watching yourself blink as sweat dripped down your face. You thought about closing your eyes, but decided against it. 

You watched as the blade tip tapped just barely against your sternum, dragging down almost teasingly. Still, you made no move to run. No move to scream or rip his mask off again. You just. . . stared. 

The blade pressed harder against your skin, and you winced when it finally broke the skin, but not anywhere near enough to kill you—hell, not enough to even hurt you. The blood dropped slowly down from your upper chest, rivulets of the dark substance nestling between your breasts, just below your dress’s neckline. The knife began to move once more, lifting up from your skin only to nestle just below your chin, pressing against your neck. 

You made no move to stop him, still looking into his own black gaze. Again, he pressed his blade in, but only enough to tilt your head up, leaving you to stare at the ceiling. Did he. . . not like you looking at him? Was he, your killer, seriously uncomfortable with you looking at him as he killed you?

You grit your teeth, and despite the pain, brought your chin down again to watch him. You heard a low exhale behind the mask. 

The blade slid from your neck, trailing along your collar-bone before it hit the spaghetti strap of your dress and bra. You felt a pull as the blade slipped beneath the strips of fabric, pulling them upwards until they sliced apart. Your shoulder was left bare, and soon the same could be said for your other one. 

You didn’t speak—couldn’t speak. Any words lodged themselves in your throat, unable to come out. You felt choked again, but this time by your own will.

Your hands begane to fiddle with the bottom of your dress, picking it up and down as you messed with the fabric. He took note of this action, knife trailing back over your sternum before slowly, agonizingly slowly, tracing down your middle. The blade tip was cool against your flushed skin, sliding between the curves of your breasts and right over your navel. It stopped just below your dress line.

You continued your eye contact with the man, though it was a struggle as the blade began to cut through the thin fabric of your tights. You bit the inside of your cheek, feeling as the sharp edge crept further upwards, slicing the black mesh as it did so. As he cut, the blunt top edge of the knife raised your dress, and he didn’t cease until it was up to your hip and your underwear, only now half covered by tights, was on display. 

Your mind was racing—was this all part of his m.o.? Teasing before murder? No. He had just tried to kill you multiple times brutally and quickly, so what was this? It must’ve been unplanned. New. Just as foreign to him as it was to you. You weren’t sure if being a guinea pig to his fantasies was better or worse than choking to death. You supposed you were going to find out. 

The blade skirted across your hips, leaving a stinging sensation as it went. He continued until reaching your other side, then you noticed his other hand begin to move. A large hand rested on your hip, slowly trailing upwards, past your heaving chest, until it stopped at your bare shoulder. Gripping it tightly, he turned you to face away from him, and at last you broke eye contact.

You held your breath as all touch on your body was lost, and you remained stiff and quiet, tattered clothes revealing the goosebumps lining your skin. Was this it? Was it time?

From your peripheral you saw a hand come into view, knife shining in his grip. You bit your lip hard enough to draw blood when the tip came to rest just above your navel, pushing in harder and harder until you were forced to stumble backwards. 

Your back hit his chest, and you didn’t have time to regain your balance before his other hand wrapped around your throat. His muffled breath was at your ear, and you could spot his mask just barely in your view, hovering above your shoulder. 

HIs fingers began to squeeze, but not hard enough to kill, only enough to have you wheezing and gasping for a full breath. You had no choice but to writhe against his solid frame, the knife in front of you still taunting you. 

Tears pricked at your eyes, upping your panic. Your hands finally unfroze, leaving you to reach up and try to pry his fingers from your throat. At your action, the knife in front of you pressed against your stomach harshly, and you let out a weak moan as your skin sliced open. Blood stained your dress, quickly seeping below the fabric to drip down your exposed pelvis. 

Sensing his anger at your attempt to free yourself, your hands dropped back down, balling into fists.

The grip loosened slightly, and though still confining, you were able to take a solid breath, letting the air fill your lungs as your chest rose and fell.

You were stuck, pinned against him as a knife toyed with your stomach and hands clenched and unclenched against your aching neck.

“Please. . .” you whimpered, exhausted. You didn’t care what he did, as long as he got it over with. 

Your body slumped against his, head resting against his upper chest. His hand still around your throat prevented you from leaning fully, but your form was like a rag doll in his grasp. 

“Do whatever you want. . .” you continued, trailing off. Your hands moved to your stomach, clutching your wound. You noticed the knife had retreated back behind you. Did this mean he had his fun? It was done? Hardly.

You heard the clatter of the blade on the nearby countertop as he pushed you roughly forwards, not stopping until you were pinned against the countertop, your wound pressed deeply against the sharp edge. You whimpered at the feeling, hands coming out on either side of you to press yourself backwards, but he had already taken his place directly behind you, locking you in place.

You could only listen, heavy breathing coming from behind you as his body pressed against yours. 

In any other situation, the feeling of a solid chest pressing into your back paired with hands now curiously trailing over your body would have you begging for more, but in this situation. . . ? You weren’t sure. . .

Was he trying to get at something? Get at you? Get with you?

Your stomach clenched. 

Despite everything he’d done to you, your mind wandered back to his face behind the mask, his stature, his strong build and large hands. . .

No. No. No. No. No.

You resisted the urge to shake your head.

You might’ve had an odd taste in men, but this? THIS?

Still, you pressed your thighs tightly against each other, knees suddenly weak. Blood loss. It must’ve been blood loss that had your mind acting like this. There was no other explanation for the warmth pooling in your abdomen. 

You weren’t getting hot and bothered by the man that had just tried to kill you. . . it wasn’t like his hands, both of which were now wedging themselves under your dress, were impacting you at all. . . right?

You let out a hiss of surprise when a knee shoved your legs apart, the solid mass preventing your bashfulness. Your breath hitched as he brought his leg upwards, leaving you to struggle on your toe tips to prevent the rough cloth from brushing against your sex. 

Seemingly noticing your sudden change of breathing, he moved a hand to your navel, sliding his long digits downwards until he found the band of your tights and underwear. 

Your eyes widened when he continued downwards, wiggling underneath your bottoms to ghost against your pubic bone.

It was obvious this whole experience was exciting him, judging by his heavy breathing and the newfound object poking against your backside. 

Still, you couldn’t talk, being that your panties were considerably wetter than they were a few minutes ago. It was laughable—what kind of enemies-to-lovers story was this? But, you supposed you enjoyed this more than the other option. A lot more, you corrected yourself as a finger brushed against your clit.

You let out a breath. You didn’t have to say anything. It was obvious he’d found something you enjoyed.

A rough pad swirled against your sensitive clit, the sensation choking a near silent moan from your lips. You couldn’t believe yourself, repulsed at what you found yourself doing, and yet had no intention of doing anything besides leaning further into his touch.

Your hands rested firmly against the countertops now, abdomen bent forward—leaving you to stare at your distorted reflection on the surface of an abandoned tea kettle. Your face was covered in tears, sweat, and stains of blood splattered your body. Your eyes moved from staring at yourself to the masked killer behind you. He was bent over you, still trailing up and down your folds and rubbing your clit with large yet nimble fingers. His other hand was now on your chest, diving beneath your falling neckline to grope your breasts—still stained with your blood. 

You shivered when the touch of his mask hit the side of your neck. It was like he wanted to kiss you, mark you, something, but the rubber prevented it. 

Still, the point was made, and you tilted your neck to the side, allowing greater access.

His fingers toying with your cunt built a knot in your stomach, and you knew you were close, panting as that familiar sensation filled you. Like you were on the precipice of a cliff, you waited with baited breath, your hips grinding as best as you could to finally push you over. 

A digit found your entrance, and pushed in harshly, quick enough to jerk you upwards. A surprised cry left your lips, only to be cut off as your breath hitched. Vigorously, rhythmically, like a machine, his finger pumped in and out of you, quickly being joined by another.

You clenched your mouth shut, knowing the lewd noises you would make otherwise. Seemingly taking note of how quiet you’d gotten, he gripped your breast tightly, nails digging into your skin. Giving up on your short vow of silence, you let another groan leave you, your hands reaching behind your head to push his neck further against your skin. You wanted more. You needed more. You were so close. . . so fucking close. . . 

All movement was ceased. A figure stood in the doorway of the kitchen. You didn’t recognize the man, at least from what you could see in your tea kettle mirror, but you noted the way the killer turned to stare at the older man. 

“Michael,” the intruder gasped, clutching a small handgun. “Let the woman go.”

The two stared at each other, and you could feel the tension pulsing from underneath the slasher’s jumpsuit. Obviously, they knew each other, and obviously, your late night lover had a bone to pick with him.

His fingers were still inside you, the other hand clawed around your breast. You let out a whimper, your hands wrapping around your exposed midsection. 

“Myers,” the stranger spoke again. “Leave this place. You’ve done enough for tonight.”

Slowly, painfully slowly, his touch receded from your skin. Michael, you learned your culprit’s name was, returned to his full height, turning to face the older man menacingly. With agitated steps, he walked forwards, grabbing the abandoned knife off the counter. The man stepped back a few paces, placing his gun back in his jacket pocket before quickly rushing to your side as soon as Michael was far enough away. 

You blocked out the man’s words of reassurance, only staring at the pale masked man, his own eyes staring back for just a moment, before he turned and walked back into the darkened house. You heard the opening of a door, and just like that, he was gone.

“Michael Myers let you live,” whispered the man. He stood, staring at the empty doorway. “I fear for what his plans with you are, dear.”

You swallowed harshly. Whatever they were, you were sure you’d be seeing him again soon. You had a feeling he was far from done with you. Your stomach clenched, and you gently pulled your dress back down to your thighs. A part of you couldn’t wait until that day came. 

[theroyalthrones]

BEHIND THE SCENES | Chantilly, Picardy, Lavande

beginning | previous | next

"Aubrey Faye Stuart grew up in a tiny world, in an even tinier town. Her parents, as normal as you can get, adhered to the ideology of staying within one's means. This upbringing left Aubrey with a small perspective, limited dreams, and a repressed personality. All of these qualities were perfect for a guy like Laurie — a man who didn’t really need the girl, just the face. From the outside, no one knew what Laurie could want in such a plain girl; his motives were never clear. The two didn’t fit very well on paper but got along fairly well. And to Aubrey, what others might perceive as just 'okay,' she regarded as exceptional. In her eyes, Laurie was the love of her life, and she his."

transcript below↓↓

Laurie] Mother’s given her permission. ...you’re to attend engagements with me, be seen with me offically.

AUBREY lifts her head, offended.

Aubrey]sarcarstically How generous.

Laurie] annoyed You're the only one benefiting from this.

Aubrey] scoffs

Laurie] I’m just saying, it wouldn’t hurt to actually be thankful.

Aubrey] of course I’m grateful…

Laurie] Don’t be mad, maybe I can take you shopping.

Aubrey]…

Laurie] contemplative Black hair… and more eye makeup, It’ll make your eyes stand out more.

AUBREY touches her hair; confused, a bit sad.

Aubrey] My hair?

AUBREY in the shower, a shot of her feet in a puddle of black water (hair die)

AUBREY getting her makeup done

AUBREY putting shoes on

AUBREY in a chair, with people fussing over her. A shot from the back.

Laurie and Aubrey walking out of some establishment. Completely decked out in their new looks. He has even changed a bit, they are getting photographed from every direction

As the light bleeds into her sight, her unease slight loosens. To be on the other side of the Cameras is something that she never would have imagined for herself. People call his name, People call her name. She might be happy she thinks. How could she not? She looks beautiful, a concept she never thought she could grasp, and maybe never again. For once she likes all eyes on her.

Now she’s a room, a very pretty one. She’s on the phone with her mother. Aubrey is a commoner from Caledonia. She’s a long way from home.

THE SHOT comes in. Her face isnt shown until the end possibly. She’s on the floor painting her toenails while on the phone. Very girly I’d say.

Mom] Are you okay?

Aubrey]… Did you see me on tv?

Mom] You loved your hair, sweetpea.

Aubrey] I know…

Mom] You know you can come home?

Why you? You’re not made for this.

Aubrey] …He’s not like you imagine, mom.

They’ve finally make their relation public. And life is supposed the be good. But they aren’t really.

EXT. Toussaint Estate - Afternoon

A very idillic afternoon at the toussaint estate. The party is happening around the pool. People are swimming, people are having fun. [Aubrey Caroline ~~~~is capturing this on her old camera, the images look as if they are shot on film. She films Laurie and Giselle getting risky, and also Aubrey laying alone, with Az approaching her. And also a shot of her fiance in the pov of the camera. He’s close, moving the camera away laughing.]

Laurie and Giselle are being a fit to friendly, they are roughhousing around. And laurie films her with his camera. While laurie is almost shameless with his advances, it is Giselle who is trying to hold it out. She is visibly uncomfortable, trying (not extremely hard) not to get caught.

As they so shameless project their feelings, Aubrey watches it all from the vantage point of her pool chair.

She already does not feel in her element, dressing in something way more revealing than she would have worn herself. Laurie has been dressing her as of late. She can’t say they’re ugly outfits, just not hers.

As she watches her boyfriend play with another girl (she doesn’t really know what to make of it, she’s got nothing to say),

Someone comes up behind her. It’s Azriel, a person she met a while ago, known to her as a best friend of Laurie.

Azriel] whispers So you’re not blind.

She looks over to him, a bit dumbfounded and suprised.

Aubrey] cautious I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Azriel] “Poor Aubrey…” That’s what they call you. You don’t know how to play the game, you’ll get eaten alive. you’ll get eaten alive here, if you don’t learn to play along.

Aubrey]…

Azriel] Do you love him?

Aubrey] offended Of course I love him! Az] chuckles Your first mistake.

Aubrey] He woul- He’d never betray me.

Azriel] You can’t even convince yourself. laughs mockingly.

He walks away, leaving her with more questions that she isn’t willing to have answered.

[lola-andheruniverse]

Anon who asked me about "sides" in the caryl fandom and which one I place myself on because you believe I "switched sides"/changed my opinions:

I'm not posting your ask because you named people and that's not something I do on my blog or generally agree with. The only instance you'll find me naming or tagging people is in fic recs posts, so that caryl authors who are on Tumblr can read them and be found by readers who'd like to reach out.

If you have a problem with the opinions, feelings and/or behaviors of a particular individual/blog, I ask you to 1) please reach out to them directly so you can express your disagreement or 2) use your block button, so you no longer see content you don't like. I believe that our fandom is big enough to hold every single caryler out there who wants to join in, regardless of their opinions, posts or feelings. People should feel free and safe to post whatever they want, either 'positive' or 'negative'. I have no problem with anyone in the fandom and I respect everyone's opinions, even when I disagree with some stuff I read.

Please, I ask you to not use my ask box to indirectly badmouth, bully or attack any caryler.

That said, the answer to your question is after the cut.

I'm not on either "side" and never have been. I'm just another enthusiastic fan that loves Carol and Daryl. Since joining the Tumblr fandom just before the pandemic (I was a lurker for many years), I've been using my own critical thinking skills and knowledge of AMC's shenanigans to form my own opinions.

I'm confident in TBOC because I believe there are concrete reasons that support how I'm feeling, from Melissa's return, to filming spoilers and rumors, to Tribeca and SDCC. You're free to agree or disagree with my interpretation of these facts, and to feel positive or negative about it.

I also continue to believe that AMC/Gimple hijacked the original caryl spinoff to highlight the richonne spinoff because it follows similar decisions made before to give Rick more screen time at the expense of all the other TWD characters. I believe Melissa had no choice but to opt out of the original spin-off and negotiate new terms to ensure that Carol's (and therefore Caryl's) story was respected and told with integrity. To me, that's why there were things to be sorted out, as she said, and why she lengthily discussed Carol with Zabel and co. even before scripts for the France spinoff were written. She was involved since the beginning, yes, but she only signed on when she got what she wanted. There is no greater supporter of Carol than Melissa and we have known this for years. I'm glad she's back in her own terms. I believe it was a pretty difficult time for her, as she expressed it by basically refusing to promote 11C or the series finale, and by not saying anything about the whole mess on SM, while other cast members/friends such as Laurie Holden and Khary Payton spoke out in her behalf.

I believe AMC tried to make money off just Daryl because he's their original character and it backfired in their faces. They also made a mistake using Norman to save face as he should have been protected from the SM backlash. Norman has never been a reliable narrator and I always take every thing he says with a grain of salt, but I don't think he's intentionally malicious. I appreciate how much he loves Daryl and is considerate of his fans, even when I don't approve of his behavior. I just wish he would keep his frustrating mouth shut. I believe Norman had lots of input in S1 and that he initially thought he could pull it off without Melissa. But there's no Daryl without Carol and no Carol without Daryl. It's crystal clear how much Norman's happy for having Melissa by his side, and how much they love each other and are excited for S2. I'm glad they are reunited, both for them and for us, but I believe everything worked out in the end because Melissa didn't give up on getting what she wanted. I believe she had lots of inputs in S2 and is satisfied and happy with the final result.

So, that's how I believe things have gone these last two years. Again, feel free to agree or disagree with my interpretation of facts. None of us will ever know exactly what happened, but each of us can decide what to believe based on our own judgment of the facts. That's what I do and will continue to do.

In the end, for me, the important thing is that Melissa and Norman are happy and that Carol and Daryl get their hard-earned happy ending. It's everything I ever wanted and I'm going to enjoy it. I hope you enjoy it too.

That's it. Caryl on!

[dhvlee]

okay hear me out, yn and chenle are bsfs so they joke around a lot, until chenle realizes his feelings for yn and can't act normal around her cuz he gets easily flustered

hidden feelings, endless laughter ↠ chenle

i’m not sure if that’s what you wanted but i hope you like it anyway<3

masterlist

pairing: chenle x fem!reader

genre: fluff

warning: best friends to lovers

“i really think jo and laurie are better as platonic soulmates than as romantic soulmates so i’m kinda happy she rejected him,” you said when you and chenle finished watching little women. “and you? what do you think?”

“hate to say it but i have to agree with you. laurie and amy are better in my opinion.”

chenle invited you to his home right after his promotions for nct dream’s newest album istj for today ended. you happily agreed to it because it's been a while since you saw him and you missed your best friend.

“and what about us? do you think we’re better as platonic or romantic soulmates?”

hearing your words chenle choked on the water he was drinking. “what? y/n, what are you talking about right now?”

you laughed at his reaction as chenle looked at you confused. “chill dude, i was just kidding. there’s no reason to choke on water and die because of something like that. woah, what would i say to your boyfriends?”

“my boyfriends?” he repeated, holding his hand to his throat, which now ached a little.

“yeah,” you reached for the chips that were on the table. “your members, they’d get so mad at me if you died because of me.”

“yo chenle, focus!” mark said as chenle got the choreography steps wrong again. “you okay? even though you're here with us, it doesn't look like that.”

the truth is that for some reason chenle couldn't get your question out of his head. he kept thinking back to last night when you asked him jokingly if you two would be better as platonic or romantic soulmates.

“i’m sorry.”

“what’s on your mind?” haechan asked as he reached for his bottle of water.

“i don’t know, i’m just so confused,” he sat down, leaning against the mirror.

“why?” jisung sat next to him.

“i don’t know. i mean, i was hanging out with y/n last night and we were watching a movie and at some point she jokingly asked me if we would be better as platonic or romantic soulmates and for some reason i can’t stop thinking about it and i really don’t know why, it’s just stuck in my head.”

“oh you’re dumb,” jeno said, taking a bite of his dark chocolate.

“what? why?”

“because it’s obvious you like her but you’re too dumb to realize it,” chenle gave renjun a look as he was called stupid again. “oh don’t look at me like that. i’m hungry, let’s go eat something downstairs.”

all the boys agreed, but chenle preferred to stay in the practice room. he started to think about what renjun had told him.

he began to remember every moment he spent with you and how sometimes you made his heart beat faster. he remembered every time he'd been jealous because you and hyuck had flirted with each other for fun. he also remembered how much he loved your laugh and how sometimes he could look at the pictures you sent him for a long time. he also remembered how angry he was at your ex when he broke your heart and you cried in his arms for hours, wetting his sweatshirt with your tears.

and these thoughts made him sick.

“now, why are you avoiding me?” you said as you were standing in the dreamies living room after you asked renjun where chenle was and why he was avoiding you.

“i’m definitely not avoiding you.”

“oh, you’re not? then why are you leaving me on seen and hang up when i call you? oh and yesterday you literally ran away when you saw me in the grocery shop! so in your opinion you’re not avoiding me?”

“yeah, i’m not,” he said, nervously avoiding eye contact with you.

“you can’t even look into my eyes, you’re avoiding eye contact with me. did i do something wrong?”

“what?” he quickly looked at you. “of course you didn’t do anything wrong, why do you think so?”

“huh? why do i think so? are you actually dumb?” you asked in disbelief. literally a few seconds ago you gave him a few reasons why you have the right to think that.

“he is dumb, you’re right!” jaemin, who was sitting on the couch playing games on his phone, looked up from the screen and looked at you and chenle. “we’ve already told him twice that he is.”

“look, i’m sorry,” chenle said after he sent jaemin a death stare. “well i can tell you what’s going on but i don’t wanna do it here when jaemin is clearly listening.”

“go to my room then, i’m not leaving that comfortable couch.”

chenle rolled his eyes and got up from his chair. he grabbed your hand and quickly led you to the older boy's room, then closed the door behind him.

you sat on jaemin's bed and waited for what your best friend would say about why he had been avoiding you for the past few days.

“look,” he sighed. “i know avoiding and ignoring you wasn't a good idea, so i’m sorry. but a few days ago I realized something and I never in my life thought something like this would happen to me so I thought if I avoided you it would make everything disappear. but-” chenle sighed again and sat down next to you. “but i was wrong, nothing disappeared and i probably disappointed you and made you feel bad, so i’m really sorry.”

“okay, i still don’t know what the hell you’re talking about but i promise you that you didn’t disappoint me. yeah, i didn’t feel great when you avoided me but that’s okay. but please, tell me what you’re talking about because i’m really confused,” you looked into his eyes and saw him biting his lip. he was clearly nervous.

“i- well, do you remember when we watched little women?” you nodded so he continued. “okay so after it ended you asked me jokingly if we’d be better as platonic or romantic soulmates and i really kept thinking about it the next day and i couldn’t understand why. so i told the boys about it and they told me something. and then i remembered some things and that made me realized one thing and these thoughts really made me feel sick.”

“so, what did you realize? i’m sorry, i’m really trying to understand you but i’m confused.” you said feeling a little bad because you could see that chenle had trouble expressing his feelings at that moment.

“you don’t need to apologize. well, the thing i realized… i’m genuinely so sorry if because of that you wouldn’t want to be my friend but i also understand it. but the thing i realized was that i fell in love with you. i know that it’s stupid and i understand if you don’t feel the same so i’m so-” you silenced him with a kiss, which definitely surprised him as he didn't move for a few seconds. however, he quickly pulled himself together and returned your kiss, placing his hand on your cheek.

after a few moments, you pulled away from each other and you both laughed as you saw the blush on each other's faces.

“chenle, i also like you,” he smiled softly and this time he leaned in to kiss you.

[yesterdaysnewts]

so i just finished the first season of house md and let me say

your attachment to wilson is understandable, that man has the biggest brownest eyes ive ever seen

house on the other hand has the scariest blue eyes known to man pls buy her brown contact lenses

i actually like cameron x house i would potentially like to see more of that she is a very nice contrast to house and i rlly want to see that dynamic explored even though the season 1 finale did make it pretty clear that hes still in love with stacey

speaking of which im looking forward to seeing how her presence in the hospital shakes things up

im very glad they got rid of vogler or whatever his name was i had vivid hallucinations of punching him in the face repeatedly everytime he was on screen

i want to find out what the deal with foreman is. he has matching shows with house. he hates homeless people. he committed a crime at 16. he broke into a patients house to figure out how to comfort her while she died. literally who is this man i need to knowwwww

that brings me to chase. i cant figure him out either, first hes a brown nose to house, then hes snitching on him every chance he gets, he doesnt need to money but he wants his job, he is somehow to coolest person in this show and the lamest, he wears a leather jecket and looks like he belongs in a pantene commerical. hes my favourite

also i want it to be actually brought up that house plays piano? like in the first season there are 4 seperate times he plays piano (tho he only mimes playing it one time so technically only three)

GOD this show i cant believe i didnt watch it sooner

wilson really does have the most wettest biggest brownest eyes i have ever seen and it makes him so scrunkly i need to put him in a bag and bash that bag into a brick wall

and yea houses eyes are fucking terrifying and the worse thing is that someone on a discord server once edited him to have brown eyes and somehow it was scarier

also you are like the first person ive seen express a like for cameron x house so honestly god speed for that but you do bring up some banging fucking points

live laugh love stacey that is really all i have to say to that her and house have such a good juicy relationship

fun fact vogler only exists because fox wanted someone to like oppose house and that so the writers threw him in and in process made chase a dickhead (still bbg tho)

also FOREMAN, god i love him so much like mans presents himself as like 'oh smart doctor, id want this man to be my doctor' but then as the show progresses you just end up looking at him like 'what happened here'. in s3 you do properly start to see how he parallels house and it is scrumptious top tier telly and, like chase, he is a fucking dickhead. and the car thing as well cos like he goes on about how he pulled himself out of that but then you watch and he clings to normalcy and making something of himself its brilliant

and the shit himself chase. i find it so fucking funny how his first name is robert like he does not fucking look like a robert. and his relationship with house like fucking hell, you can tell chase is desperately trying to separate himself from his actual dad and by doing that he clung onto his work and especially house in an attempt to do that.

also 'he wears a leather jacket and looks like he belongs in a pantene commercial. he is my favourite' speaks for itself cause yeag.

unfortunately i don't actually think its bought up that house can play piano later on but you do get to see him play other instruments which is fun cause hugh laurie is a really good musician and im so happy they gave house interests outside of just medicine

happy watching the show is gonna make you go just a bit insane

[aondaneedles]

Ah, the Fosters. What a beautiful mess they are...

As you can see, Zelda never married but eventually had a son with her teenage sweetheart (and long-time lover) Marcus Irving. Laurie (Romance/ Knowledge) decided to follow in his father's footsteps and become a musician himself. He eventually fell in love with a fellow romance sim, Hattie Kicklighter and even wanted to marry her. She left him at the altar, though, and he ended up marrying one of his other loves, Anita, a popularity sim, on a rebound. Nevertheless, they've been rather happy, eventually having a son named Bruno.

Maisie married Luis Carver and had two sons with him. The eldest, Hamish (Popularity/ Family), also decided to follow in his father's footsteps and recently took over his businesses after he passed. He married Cleo Irving (Fortune/ Popularity) and had two daughters with her, Catriona and Isobel. He has recently caught Cleo cheating with Johnny Youngblood and they got divorced. However, there might be a reunion in the works.

Hamish's younger brother Fergus lives on a farm across the road from the Foster Family Farm. Hamish and his family lived with him but after Fergus' wife had the twins, I made the executive decision to move them out and back into the main household. Fergus (Fortune/ Family, just like his mother!) met Rosemary at Agave Bar and they have been besotted with each other ever since. She's a family sim as well (primary, though) and so they had a lot of children to no one's surprise. Rosamund and Hadley are already well into their teenage years, while twins Brandon and Florence were a bit of a surprise to everyone, but they are about to grow up soon as well, hopefully giving everyone on the farm time to... actually work the farm.

All three boys of generation two actually grew up together as Zelda and Maisie decided to share the farm rather than one of them moving out. They are also quite close in age since Zelda had Laurie late in life. Imagine my surprise when Bruno and Isobel had two bolts (they're second cousins on both sides... yay). It's a weird situation and I'm interested to see how it'll play out. They were each other's first kisses and I was horrified.

[cas-fandoms]

The Real Last Goodbye

The following is a fanfiction that me and my buddy currated. The possibilities of these characters ever meeting is low and most likely won't happen. The names unfamiliar to you will be Ocs. I'm ver happy with this, and I hope you will be too. If it is wanted, more lore on my Ocs will be provided. Thank you so much, enjoy ***

Damien could feel the power of the crystal surging through his veins as he lay his final punch, his final strike to end it all. It was like a butterfly softly landing onto a flower, the silent growing of a ripple.

It finally seemed as if Damien’s world was quiet again. Mark’s red-clothed body broke into shards, shooting out in every direction like an after shock, sparkling and fluttering in the darkness of the void. From below their fight afloat, Georgia watched, tears flowing down her face, her glasses lay shattered next to her as she sat on the voids dark ground, or so, one that had been manifested. Wilford stood beside her, pumping his fists in the air in joyous triumph. Chloe exclaimed victoriously, laughing, twirling in a circle. “Damn right, Damien! You got ‘em babe!”

Wilford turned back to look at Georgia, and found her crying, her face so full of astonishment and shock, he was sure that she wasn’t thinking at all or had millions of thoughts stirring in her head. He leapt to her, his voice jittery with excitement.

“L-Look Georgia! We-We saved you!” He exclaimed, bending over and grabbing her hands to pull her up, but she only greeted him with a distant gaze.

“Wilford…?” She said, staring at him as if she were blind.

“Hey, look! The awful man is all gone.” Wilford assured her, holding her face. “He won’t be hurting you again.”

“Wil, what’s happening…?” What was happening, indeed. Georgia held her hands out in front of her, watching as her fingers and arms started to flake and twirl away, fading into the dark air. She looked at Wilford with confused eyes, but when he saw more than just her arms fading away, he jumped to hold her, clinging to her. “Hey, Georgia, it’s okay, you’re not going anywhere, dear, you’re staying here! With me!” He said, seeming to say it to assure himself more than her.

Chloe watched as Wilford held her, watching Georgia fade away. She knew something was wrong, and she knew it was bad. ***

Terri looked around the Theater in horror, watching every chair, wall, and curtain turn to dust, floating like a satanic dance in the air. She reached up to her head and pulled her ball cap off, her eyes wide open, astonished.

“Illinois!” She watched as Dawn exclaimed Illinois’ name as ran to his arms, his very skin turning to the same ash that twisted around them. She watched as Noir held Laury close to him as the last bits of her body disappeared, comforting her to the end. “Don’t worry my darling, I’ve got you, I’m here.” She watched as everything was crumbling before her.

“Terri!” She heard Yancy call, and it was like she had been snapped out of a trance. “Yancy!!” She screamed, running in every which direction. “Terri!” She heard him yell from behind her. She turned around, taking in a terrified breath. Yancy was fading away too. Terri lost her mind.

“YANCY!!” She shrieked, launching herself at him, or, what was left of him. Terri felt Yancy’s strong arms wrapped around her, grabbing her hair, holding onto her clothes as she too, started to fade away. “It’s okay, baby girl, I’ve got youse. Everything is gon’ be okay,” Terri started to cry, fearful of the end. Illinois, Dawn, Noir and Laury were gone already, and she had no idea if Georgia was okay. She prayed that Wilford was keeping her safe.

Terri buried her face into Yancy’s chest as the feeling in her limbs left her, and soon the feeling of Yancy’s shirt on her cheek leaving her as well. The cop and the convict were gone. ***

Wilford fell to his knees, processing, still denying the fact of death’s existence. He stared, unsure if he wanted to cry, unsure if he had any reason.

The tap of Damien’s dress shoes echoed in the deep nothing as he walked to his friend. When Wil felt a hand on his shoulder, he dropped his face into his hands. “Sh-she’s not r-really gone…right Damien…?” Damien felt an ache in his chest ricochet. “…I… I don’t know I…” He didn’t know what else to say.

Chloe stood close behind Damien, feeling herself sadden to see their friend in pain. But she was also angry. This was all to save Georgia, to make sure that Mark couldn’t hurt anyone else, and now she was gone. Suddenly, it struck her: What was going on back at the Theater? Was everyone okay? She didn’t know, but she didn’t want to find out quite yet. They were stuck in the void for now, and she had a feeling they would be here for a while.

Chloe watched Wilford as he trembled, following Damien with her eyes as he stood up from Wil’s side. This was all so confusing, discerning. She didn’t know why this was the outcome, Georgia wasn’t supposed to have disappeared. Chloe came up closer to Damien, reaching up and resting a hand on his shoulder to grab his attention. “What the hell happened, I thought you just killed Mark?” Damien turned his head, an expression on his face e that Chloe had never, ever, seen before. He opened his mouth to speak, but he hesitated. “I don’t know.” He said, and those three words felt like the weight of the world was slammed onto their shoulders. “I thought it would just be him…”

In the silence of the void, echoed a dry chuckle, growing and growing to manic laughing to angered screaming. Wilford stood up and turned around with a snap. Within seconds, he was in Damien’s face, shouting, boiling tears running down his face. “What the hell did you do?!” He screamed. “You did this! We did all of this to protect Georgia and now she’s GONE!!” Wil grabbed the knot of Damien’s tie, dragging him down to his level, fuming and red-faced, the anger contagious. Damien’s eyes lit aflame, and he only matched Wil’s anger. “You think I did this?!” He shouted. “You think I planned on killing GeGe?! She was my FRIEND!! You really think that I would’ve done this in the first place IF NOT FOR HER?!” With every word, Damien’s voice became more distorted, his monochrome splitting further out on either side of him.

Chloe stood there in shock, removing her hand from his shoulder and stepping back. She hadn’t seen Damien like this for a while, and it truly worried her. She just watched as the two argued, saying things in the heat of the situation that they otherwise wouldn’t have said. She could tell that Damien’s anger was going to get to his head and he was going to do something he was going to regret if he wasn’t kept it check. “Damien-“

“Butt out, Chloe!” Wilford shouted, brows furrowed. “This doesn’t involve you.” With that, Damien’s shoulders tensed, “Don’t speak to her that way!” He shouted, his voice doubling and distorted to the point where Chloe thought that she might pass out from how dizzy it was making her. “Why?! Your little FIANCÉE can’t handle a little stern talk?”

“Well Georgia couldn’t!”

It was silent again.

Wilford’s angry expression faulted, and all that was left were tears. He turned his head down, and for the first time since the party all those years ago, he broke down. Wilford held his face in his hands, his frantic sobs reverberating through the void. Damien’s eyes flickered, and his monochrome retreated back to the sides of his body. His anger left him just as soon as it came. Damien’s shoulders dropped and he sighed, wrapping his arms around Wilford’s hunched over buddy, holding him. “I’m sorry old friend…This wasn’t supposed to happen…I never intended for her to get caught in the crossfire…” He told him softly, and the sight struck a chord in Chloe.

She stepped forward from where she stood and was quick to hold the two in her own embrace. This was hard, for the both of them, and she knew it. She knew it all to well. Chloe rubbed her hands down their backs, shushing them, which was the only way she knew of comforting someone. “It’s gonna be okay…” She murmured. “We’ll figure this out, we always do.” That was the last thing said for a while. The three basked in each other’s arms, trying to bear this weight together, but they would never know how this all came to be. And it would become infuriating in the near future.

From what the three could tell, this - losing Georgia - was the last goodbye…But what they would find when they left the void, that the crumbling worlds that surrounded them would be The REAL Last Goodbye.