#but at the end of this run shes gonna take over the cult and do a bunch of other questionable shit.

[n1ghtwarden]

she won the idgaf war in the shadowfell

[hiding-under-the-willow]

I am being brave and wandering into your ask box so you can ramble about the ghost au. It looks neat and I'm so curious owo

YAY YEAH YIPPEE!!!

Okay I'm just gonna try and synthesize all of the random notes I've written in the last few days into something of a vaguely coherent list lol

Grian and Joel are roommates looking for a new flat when they get the call that Grian has inherited a house, they very impulsively and foolishly decide to keep the thing that is way too large and far too run down for the two of them to handle, the house is so incredibly haunted, normal bbc ghosts plot ensues

Grian is the one who almost dies and ends up being able to see ghosts. Mumbo is the one who pushes him out the window. Which is ironic bc Mumbo was very much not pro killing the new inhabitants of the house when the other ghosts were scheming ways to get rid of them.

Okay so ghost facts.

Bdubs is obviously highly based on Robin the caveman, I imagine him being slightly closer to the end of the paleolithic period than Robin. I think he may or may not have had some weird cult stuff going in. Weird cult leader caveman guy worshiping the sun and moon. Yes the cloak is real moss. There's bugs in that thing

Wels and Hels killed eachother in a duel, right on the property line, which now neither of them can cross in death. So now both of them is just stuck on either side of the fence seething about it for the rest of time. I like how ridiculous and arbitrary the ghost property line rules are in ghosts, so I find this incredibly funny. Hels is the guy Black Knight stories are based on

Ren wasn't actually a king, he was some type of noble who tried to declare himself king of a specific area, hence the beheading. Whooooooo let's go treason!!

Cleo was not doing actual witch craft at the time she was accused of it, she was however probably doing other illegal and vaguely fucked stuff. Mayhaps that's why she was accused, someone wanted her out of the way and that was an easy and surefire way to get rid of her

Keralis. My silly silly little guy. Our Kitty stand in. I just thought the idea of him dying from pufferfish poisoning was really funny considering him and XB's whole thing. I wanna have XB around, I can't decide if I want him to be a marine biologist of some kind who drowned on the next property over that keralis talks to over the fence, or if he's just like a grounds keeper who takes care of the lake next door that keralis is parasocially obsessed with lol

Beef. Beef my beloved. Period piece romance novel protagonist looking mf <3 He grew up in a family of butchers, became an impressionist painter instead of joining the family business. Focused a lot on pastoral scenes, especially stuff involving farm animals and especially cows. His family thought his career choice was kind of useless and frivolous, his artist colleagues thought his choice of painting subject was kind of frivolous. That's where he got the nickname 'Beef', now it's all anyone remembers him by, AND the fucking paints killed him 😔

Scar!!! The scammiest fucking traveling salesman on the planet. Death of a Salesman death of the American dream type vibes on that guy. He's gotta pay his medical bills somehow man, can't even really blame him for all the grifting. He probably should've been more careful with who he was scamming though, he maybe pissed off the wrong guy (do not scam mobsters! They will have someone kill you about it!)

Xisuma, given the greatest honor of being my Captian stand in. He was a sharp shooter, until his eye got fucked up and he lost his good aim. They shipped him off to the country side to work in 'intelligence', he takes his job very seriously despite this obviously just being somewhere they put him to not have to deal with him. Seriously enough in fact to discover a spy in their ranks! Just in time for that spy to kill him real bad. Damn.

Joe my absolutely beloved. Pat stand in but not quite. He was a popular radio host, he did a lot of volunteer work as a voice/performer for hire. He gets recruited to do some announcer work for a scouting event. There is, mayhaps, a much more. Uh. DIY. Scouting event happening on the next property over. There is an accident involving some homemade fireworks next door (cubfan. when I get you cubfan.), the fireworks going off scares some kid in the middle of fucking around with a bow, Joe gets shot, you can assume the rest. Cub is ghosting around next door cause of the fireworks accident if it makes you feel any better lol

Mumbo my stupid nervous guy. Ran a large tech startup in the late 90s, should not have been given that kind of power over a company. Accidentally did like. A lot of finance crime. Found out about said finance crime and immediately had a fucking heartattack and died from the panic. My cringe fail businessman I love you

Yeah yeah okay so neighbor ghosts. Cub, Hels, maybe XB, and Gem.

Etho is their weird annoying neighbor, he can also see ghosts, but it'll take awhile for everyone to figure that out.

In the same way Grian can see ghosts bc Mumbo tried to kill him, Etho can see ghosts bc Hels tried to kill him (haven't decided how exactly that went down yet)

I've been thinking about what to do with the basement ghosts and I think I want to put team zits down there.

Uh. Other human cast. Jimmy is around! He kind of fills an Obi type role, silly friend who is just kind of around a lot. I think I wanna have Lizzie as like a local barista Joel has a crush on. The ghosts get in his way every time he tries to make a move on her.

Obviously a lot of the ghosts aren't strict one to one fill ins for the original show's ghosts. Ren and Beef are both kind of drawing elements from both Thomas and Humphrey, Wels and X are both kind of drawing from Fanny and Cap, Scar and Mumbo both kind of combine to make up Julian's character. So on and so forth. All of the stuff with Etho and his property's ghosts is obviously all stuff I just did cause I thought it was fun lol

Oh yeah! Ghost powers! Okay obvious stuff, Bdubs has Robin's ability to fuck with lights, Cleo has the same burning smell as Mary, Mumbo can push stuff like Julian. Non obvious stuff. I want Joe to be able to be heard through like radios and phones and such. Hels has to have something to have almost killed Etho but I've yet to decide what that is. If Hels has something I think it would be funny to then have Wels also have the same power, but like. Weaker. So he can be pissy about it. Obviously.

Uh yeah that's all i can think of off the top of my head

Anyways, yeah!!! That's the basic constructions of this au. I had this idea like 3 days ago and have. Obviously thought about it a lot in that time lmao

You can't put two pieces of media in front of me and not expect me to go insane about it <3

[andvys]

I knew you'd linger like a tattoo kiss | Epilogue

Warnings: none. this is just pure fluff. possible allusions to steddie x reader but don't tell roe I said that

Pairings: Previous Steve Harrington x fem!reader | Eddie Munson x fem!reader

Summary: This is the end. Or the new beginning.

A/N: @hellfire--cult thank you for working on this story with me, bestie. It would have never been the same without you, you really helped me create something great. The last line? Perfection bby, thank you so much🫶🏻 i love u

series masterlist

-

2 years later

Hawkins, 1987

Sunlight peeks through the blue curtains in the large bedroom, the sound of cars driving through the streets fills the silence in the apartment, the smell of paint, fresh bed sheets and the vanilla candle that was lit for the first time last night, all mingle together. Both opened and unopened boxes are all across the room. Most of the clothes – jackets, sweaters and flannels are already in the closet. The dressers are decorated with books, pictures and a lone mug that was forgotten yesterday morning. A diary and a new lamp are decorating the bedside table. 

Silent tiptoes echo against the hardwood floor before they disappear again and reappear on his thick blanket, the faintest purr and the softness against his skin pulls him out of his deep sleep. 

A smile tugs at his lips when the little ball of fur snuggles against his bare chest. 

“Hey there… Cat,” Steve mumbles, groggily. 

The black kitten meows at him. 

“Yeah, yeah,” he murmurs, opening his tired eyes. “You’ll get a cool name soon, don’t worry, dude.”

He strokes his back, gently. Smiling when he starts to purr as he moves closer to him. 

A yawn falls from Steve’s lips, he runs his fingers through his hair, he looks over at the clock. He raises his eyebrows in surprise, it’s 6:46am. 

“Look at you, I don’t even need an alarm anymore,” he mumbles. 

Cat meows at him, standing up on all paws, he suddenly digs his nails into his chest as he stretches. 

“Ow!.. Yeah, no, we don’t do that on humans, buddy,” he mumbles as he picks him up, giving him a kiss on the head, before he puts him down on his pillow. 

Steve throws the covers off himself, stretching his arms out before he gets up and walks over to the window, he opens the curtains and takes a look outside before he walks over to the closet, picking out some clothes for the day. 

“Gonna take a shower and then make breakfast for the princess,” he says to his new buddy, as though he would answer. He looks back at him to find him staring with his head tilted. Steve chuckles, “yeah, don’t tell her I called her that, she’d probably punch me.” 

After a long shower, he makes his way into the kitchen, he feeds his cat before he gets started on the breakfast that he cooks for Robin and himself every morning. He sips on his hot coffee, bobbing his head to music that plays from the radio that he bought a few days back as he stirs the scrambled eggs. 

Robin walks out of her room moments later, with messy hair and a very tired look on her face, she makes a stop in the bathroom before she joins Steve in the kitchen. 

“Morning Dingus,” she grumbles as she pushes past him. She grabs her favorite mug from the cupboard and pours the freshly brewed coffee into it. 

“Morning, Robby,” he chuckles. “How’d you sleep?”

“Like shit,” she mumbles, walking over to the fridge, she opens it and grabs the creamer. “I need coffee so so bad.” 

Steve scrunches his face up at her, watching her pour tons and tons of creamer in.

“I don’t know how you can drink that, it’s too fucking sweet, Robin.” 

She rolls her eyes at him, taking a sip from it, she closes her eyes and nods. “No, this is exactly what I need. Flavored goodness to wake me up in the morning.” 

“Yeah, it’s the overload of sugar that wakes you up, not the coffee in there,” he chuckles as he points to her mug. “It’s bad for your teeth.”

“It’s not an overload, you’re just a grandpa.” 

“Why? Because I don’t like creamer?” 

“No, because you don’t like sweet stuff.”

“Not true, I got sugar in my coffee.”

She snorts, leaning against the counter, she holds her mug against her chest, “yeah, how much? A sprinkle?” 

He takes a sip of his coffee, shaking his head at her, “nope, two teaspoons.”

“Oh wow!” 

He rolls her eyes at her, placing his hand on his hip, he turns back to the stove. 

She chuckles at his pose, “you know, you’re like a real mom – cooking breakfast for me, telling me to be safe even though I’m dating a girl, telling me that sugary stuff is bad for my teeth.” 

He waves her off, “yeah yeah.” 

She laughs, walking over to their kitchen table, she sits down and reaches for the newspaper, “hey, where’s your little buddy?” 

Steve uses the spatula to point at the couch, “buddy is sleeping.”

Robin straightens her back, looking over to where he’s pointing, she finds the tiny kitten sleeping on the fluffy blanket she left there, last night. 

Her eyes soften and her lips pull into a pout, “he’s the cutest little thing I’ve ever seen – I’m so happy you kept him.”

“Not like I had a choice,” Steve snorts, though his eyes are soft as he looks at his little buddy. “Dustin forced me to keep him.” 

“Don’t act like it wasn’t the birthday present you ever got,” Robin says, glancing at him. 

Dustin and Max thought it was a great idea to adopt a kitten for his 21st birthday. He didn’t exactly have a choice but to keep him – besides, Steve fell in love with the cat the moment he held him in his hands. 

“Yeah, I love him. I don’t have a name for him yet though.” 

Robin shrugs, “you didn’t like any of my suggestions. I guess he will stay ��Cat’ forever.” 

“No, he won’t,” Steve shakes his head as he walks over to the table, placing both plates on the table before he walks back to the counter to get his cup of coffee. 

“That smells good,” Robin smiles at him, pulling the plate closer and reaching for the fork, “thanks mom,” she teases him. 

He flips her off as he sits down across from her, making her chuckle. 

She takes a bite of the toast and digs into the eggs, getting lost in her thoughts as she chews her breakfast. 

Steve looks at her, watching the way she raises her brows before she holds her finger up, like she does every time whenever she remembers something important. 

“Oh! I just remembered, Lizzy told me that someone’s moving in next door!” 

“Really?” He asks, furrowing his brows at her. 

“Yeah, some couple.” 

Steve frowns at her words, dropping his fork, he reaches for his mug. 

“Damn, let’s hope they’re nothing like the couple in the last apartment building,” he says in disgust. 

Robin and Steve lived across the street in the old building for almost two years and almost every night, they’d both have to wear earplugs to avoid hearing them moan and scream. 

“They were horny rabbits,” Robin laughs in amusement as she continues eating, totally unfazed by those memories. 

“Yeah, like you and Chrissy,” he mumbles, glaring at her. “I hope the walls here are thicker than in the last apartment.”

Robin blushes at his words, though she keeps the teasing smile on her lips. Excitement rushes through her when she thinks about her girlfriend, who is currently away for college. 

“You’ll find out next week.”

“She’s coming to visit?” 

“Mhmm.”

“Cool,” Steve nods, smiling at her. “Alright, I’m gonna clean up the kitchen and you should start getting ready for work or the manager will kick you out.” 

She snorts at his words, rolling her eyes at the teasing look on his face. 

“You’re the manager, Dingus.” 

“Not yet, Robs.”

“Yeah, well you’re almost the manager.” 

“Almost, yeah.”

-

It’s the beginning of September, the last days of summer are going strong. It’s not as hot as it was in July or August, but it’s still very warm. The afternoon sun shines into the store, the soft breeze from outside touching his skin as he passes by the open door.  

It’s a slow day at Family Video and Steve spent most of his time stacking up new tapes. Frowning every time he passes by Pretty in Pink, he came to hate the movie, simply because he gets asked about it at least five times a day – and because Robin and Chrissy force him to watch the movie with them, all the damn time. 

He’s organizing the shelf in the back aisle, fixing all the tapes that have been put back unevenly. 

He furrows his brows when he hears Robin’s whispers as she seemingly talks to someone at the front, though he doesn’t take a peek to look who it is, he figures that she’s using the phone to talk to Chrissy as always. Keith almost caught her during one of her phone calls – she came up with a lie and he of course had her back, Keith didn’t seem to believe that she was talking to a customer who was asking for a very specific movie, he also didn’t believe Steve when he told him that said customer calls all the time, but he brushed it off, surprisingly. He must have had a good day, otherwise he would have fired them both probably. 

He almost flinches when he feels someone tapping his shoulder – he didn’t even hear the footsteps. 

“Excuse me? – Can you help me find Pretty in Pink?”

It takes him a moment. 

He almost groans in annoyance at the mention of that movie but then his eyes widen and his heart leaps to his throat. For a second he thinks that it’s his mind playing tricks on him but when he turns around, his eyes widen even further and his lips curl into a big smile. 

The same eyes that were filled with tears after the last goodbye two years back, now stare at him with happiness and excitement in them. 

You are here. 

You came back. 

“I– Dolly?!” He gasps as he looks you up and down, like he can’t believe that you are truly here after being away for so long. 

“Hi, Stevie.” 

You’re looking at him with a smile on your face as you take in the sight of him too. 

It’s almost been two years since you had last seen each other. 

Two years since you have left Hawkins. 

You look happy, you look beautiful, even more so than before. Your hair is even longer now, styled perfectly, long bangs are framing your face. Your lips are cherry red, it suits you well. You’re wearing a short sundress, your sun kissed skin is glowing beneath the sunlight that shines into the store. He can smell your perfume, it’s a new one. 

You look amazing, healthy and at peace. 

Snapping out of it, he drops the tape he was holding, not caring where it lands. He takes a step forward, he wraps his arms around your waist and picks you up, twirling you around as he holds you tightly. 

A squeal falls from your lips before you start laughing, you wrap your arms around his neck. Hugging him back just as tightly.

“I missed you so fucking much!” He exclaims, squeezing your waist. “I’m never letting you leave again.”

“I missed you too, Steve.”

He missed your voice too – you called him on his birthday but this is different. 

You giggle, letting go of him when he puts you down again. 

He squeezes you one more time before he pulls away from the hug, still smiling for you, unable to tear his eyes away from you. 

“Hi,” he whispers. 

“Hi,” you smile, giggling again. 

You take in the sight of him. He changed, somehow he appears even taller to you than before. His shoulders are broader, his hair is longer, a light stubble on his cheeks. He looks older, in a good way. But most importantly, he looks content, he looks happy and that makes your smile even bigger. 

He blinks, he opens his mouth to speak again but he is stunned, completely caught off guard. 

He takes a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair before he puts his hand on the shelf next to him. 

“I– wow, I can’t believe you’re back,” he says, shaking his head. “And you, you look amazing.” 

You look down at the floor, smiling at his words. 

“Thank you. You do too, Steve.”

Your eyes meet his again when you look back up. 

“Thank you,” he smiles as his eyes soften.

He gets excited, too excited at the thought of seeing you around town again. Hawkins hasn’t been the same since you left. It was weird at first, places that you have always gone to, suddenly seemed so lonesome and lifeless, despite the people around them. You were just gone and he hated it. 

“W-Wait, are you back for good or are you just visiting?” 

You shake your head, “no, we’re back, for good.”

Steve can’t begin to describe how happy he feels to hear these words. He missed you, he missed his best friend. 

There are so many things he wants to ask, so many things he wants to tell you but he is just too stunned. 

He looks over your shoulder, “where’s Eddie?”

“He’s talking to Robin, wanna go say hi?” You smile. 

“Yeah, let’s go,” he nods, putting his hand on your shoulder. “So, did you guys plan to come back here or was it spontaneous.” 

“Both. We just kinda made that decision spontaneously, back in July. It’s been nice to live in a big city and travel around whenever we had the chance to but we missed everyone here,” you pause, smiling when your eyes meet Eddie’s as you and Steve make your way to the front desk. “Even Eddie, can you believe that?”

He chuckles, knowing how much Eddie always cursed about this town. 

“Do you have a place here already or are you staying with your mom?” 

You shake your head, “no, Wayne helped us find an apartment and Enzo was happy to offer Eddie a job again.” 

Steve nods, smiling. 

“And you?”

“Oh, I got an interview tomorrow at the new coffee shop here!” You explain, excitedly. “We checked it out earlier, it’s so cool! They sell books and records!”

His eyes light up, his lips curl into a smile, “it’s a good place, they make good coffee there.” 

“Do you go there often?” 

He nods, “yeah and so do Max and Lucas, they go there to study – like every afternoon,” he chuckles. 

“Really?” You ask, your eyes lighting up. 

“Yeah!”

“Cute,” you smile. “But uh, let’s not get too forward, maybe I won’t get the job.”

He pats your shoulder, giving you a soft smile, “nah, you’ll get it. You love coffee, books and music. They gotta give you the job. – But hey, if you wanna stack up VHS tapes all day, this place will look for a new employee soon, so if you’re interested,” he offers as his smile grows wider. “I’m gonna be the manager soon.” 

You both stop at the counter and Steve places his hand on his hip, smirking a little. 

Your eyes widen at his words, “no way! That’s amazing, Steve!” 

“What’s amazing?” 

At the sound of his voice, Steve tears his eyes away from you and looks over at Eddie. He takes him in just like he did with you – it’s almost odd to see him without his signature leather jacket or his vest, his skin a little less pale than usual. He notices the new tattoos on his left arm and how his hair is slightly longer than it was when you both left. Unlike the last few times they had seen each other, there’s not a single negative emotion lingering in his brown eyes – no insecurity, no jealousy, no fear. Eddie looks happy, just like you do. 

“Hey man,” Steve nods at him, not even needing to force a smile this time. 

“Hey Steve,” Eddie nods, smiling back at him and offering his hand to him. 

They shake hands, taking in the sight of each other. There’s no tension between them, not anymore. 

“Steve is gonna be the new manager here soon!” 

Eddie’s eyes widen, he chuckles at your excitement and smiles at Steve, “congrats, man! That’s nice.”

“Thanks, Eddie.” Steve smiles. 

Robin looks between them as she leans against the counter with her arms crossed over her chest, smiling at the two men. 

Eddie wraps his arm around your shoulder once he lets go of Steve’s hand. Giving you a smile when you press yourself against him. 

“Well, this is nice,” Robin snorts, clapping her hands together as she looks between both men. “You finally got a guy to hang out with, Steve,” she winks at him. 

He snorts at her, rolling his eyes. “I got a guy.” 

“Who, cat?” 

You snap your head towards Robin before your eyes lock with Steve’s, “Cat? You got a cat?” 

He chuckles at the excitement in your eyes. “Yeah, Dustin and Max got me a kitten for my birthday.”

Your eyes widen as a gasp falls from your lips, making both him and Eddie chuckle. 

“Yeah and he still doesn’t have a name!” Robin exclaims. 

“Oh my god! A kitten?” You pout as your eyes soften. 

“Yeah, he’s really cuddly too. You’re gonna fall in love with him,” Steve smiles. 

Eddie chuckles at his words, looking down at you, “she falls in love with all the cats, Steve.” 

“Yeah, that’s why she fell for you,” Robin snorts. 

Eddie furrows his brows, “what?” 

“You give off cat energy, Eddie. Always hungry, hissing at everyone and clingy with just that one person.” 

Eddie’s lips part, confusion flashes in his eyes but he’s amused by her words. He wraps his arm around you tighter and kisses your cheek in response, making you giggle. 

“See,” Robin chuckles. 

“Oh.. yeah,” Steve mumbles. “You’re onto something, totally reminds me of Cat–”

“Cat is the poor kitten he hasn’t named yet, by the way,” Robin interrupts him, glancing at the both of you.

Steve rolls his eyes but continues, “cat waggles with his tail when he hears Metallica on the radio.” 

“You got a rockstar cat!” You laugh. 

“Can we meet the little rockstar?” Eddie asks, surprising Steve. 

He was unsure of how Eddie would react if he tried to be your friend again, fearing that he would have a problem with that or try to keep you away from him out of fear that he might try to get you back. He didn’t expect Eddie to be the one to make the first move though but it puts a smile on his face. 

“Yeah, of course! You two should come over tonight so we can catch up.”

“Yes!” Robin says, excitedly. “You can tell us all about your fun adventures!” 

“That would be nice,” you smile. “I missed hanging out with you guys.” 

“Yeah, me too, surprisingly.” Eddie snorts. 

“Don’t act like you didn’t cry over us every day, Edward,” Robin teases him, looking between you two. Her eyes suddenly flash with curiosity. “Hey wait, where are you two staying?” 

You and Eddie share a look, smiling at one another before you turn back to her. 

“Wayne helped us get an apartment! We moved all the boxes in and some of the furniture from our old place earlier,” Eddie explains, moving his hand to the small of your back. “The place is just around the corner.”

“It’s cool, we love it. And the landlord is a really nice lady.”

Robin and Steve slowly turn towards one another, sharing the same look as realization dawns on them both. 

Lizzy, the really nice old lady, told Robin about the couple that was moving in next door just last night. 

Steve purses his lips, slowly looking back at you, “w-wait..”

“Umm, your landlord doesn’t happen to go by the name of Lizzy?” 

Eddie raises his brows at them both, nodding. 

“Yeah! She was sweet and she complimented me – oh! And she told me how much her husband looked like Eddie when he was young!” You giggle. 

Steve’s lips part in surprise and Eddie almost wants to laugh at his expression until Robin opens her mouth. 

“Wow, she must’ve had two husbands then because apparently Steve also looked like her husband!” She says, chuckling as she takes in the confused looks on your and Eddie’s faces. 

Steve pinches the bridge of his nose, mumbling something under his breath as his cheeks flush red at Robin’s comment. 

“W-Wait what?” Eddie stutters, tilting his head at her. “How do you – huh?”

While your boyfriend takes longer to realize what is going on, it only takes you a second to understand that your landlord is also Steve’s and Robin’s landlord. 

“So.. you are the couple who’s moving in next door?” Steve waves his finger between you and Eddie. 

“Next door?” Eddie mumbles. “Didn’t you – wait, I thought you still lived in that apartment next to Radio Shack?” 

You nod at his words, you thought the same thing. 

Steve and Robin share a look, both sighing at the mention of their old place. 

“Yeah, we moved out of that one two weeks ago, it was a shithole, honestly.” 

Robin nods with her eyes wide. Tapping her fingers against the counter, “yep.” 

You and Eddie chuckle in confusion, taking in their ‘traumatized’ faces. 

“What was wrong with that place?” 

“Oh, it’s a long story!” Steve laughs, scratching the back of his neck. “We’ll tell you all about it later.”

“Yes! We’ll order some takeout, have a couple of drinks and you two can tell us all about Chicago!” Robin smiles. 

Excitement rushes through you. You missed your friends, you missed Robin and Steve. 

Eddie squeezes your arm, he looks down at you. 

You meet your boyfriend’s loving eyes, he nods at you. 

A smile tugs at your lips, you lean your head on his shoulder and turn back to your friends. 

“We’d love to.” 

Steve’s eyes light up, he smiles at you, clapping his hands together. 

“You’ll get to meet cat!” He chuckles.

Robin chuckles at his excitement, she runs her fingers through her hair, “Steve and I are gonna order the food!”

“And we’ll get the drinks,” Eddie winks at her.

She clicks her tongue, winking back at him.

Steve chuckles at them, he looks back at you, “alright then, neighbors,” he says with a funny look on his face. “I’ll drop by your place after work, gotta see and make sure that you didn’t get the better apartment.” 

A laugh falls from your lips, “we totally did, Stevie.” 

“You wish,” he smirks. 

“The place is a mess, we gotta get some stuff done.” 

“Like what?” Steve asks, looking at Eddie. “I can help.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I got it,” Eddie smiles, though he appreciates the offer. 

“I’m off this weekend, so if you need anything, let me know.” 

You’re pleasantly surprised to see them getting along with each other. 

Time has passed, things have changed, feelings have changed. But nonetheless, you expected more tension between them – you are happy that it’s not the case. 

And as they fall into a conversation, you and Robin smile at each other, knowing that things will be different this time. 

-

Steve’s and Robin’s place is a little bigger than yours and Eddie’s. It’s colorful, not overwhelming though, it’s comforting and cozy. String lights are hanging from the ceiling, posters of Indie bands on the living room walls, pillows and blankets on the couch, you remember seeing those on Robin’s bed in her old room at her parent’s place. 

Boxes of takeouts, drinks and snacks are all across the small table. Music plays in the background. 

You’re sitting on the floor, a box of polaroids in front of you, a smile lingering on your face as you look through the pictures that were taken in the past two years. 

Robin is next to you, telling you the stories behind every picture. 

“He is such a cute little thing,” Eddie coos at the kitten in his lap, chuckling when he digs his claws into his shirt, using it to crawl up on his chest. Cat purrs as he rubs against Eddie’s face. “Damn, you’re making me want a cat too.”

Steve takes a sip from his beer, leaning back on the couch, “you should get one, they’re adorable.” 

“Can’t believe you didn’t name him yet.” 

“Yeah, everyone has been suggesting names!” Robin exclaims, looking away from the picture of her and Chrissy. “He hates every single one!” 

Steve rolls his eyes at her, “they just don’t fit, Robby!” 

“I fear he’s gonna be Cat forever,” Eddie pouts as he pets him. 

You put the last picture back in the box and stand up, smoothing down your skirt and Eddie’s shirt that you changed into after your shower earlier. You sit down next to Eddie, snuggling against his side – the moment you do so, Steve’s cat makes his way towards you, jumping into your lap and looking up at you with his green eyes. 

Your eyes light up, your heart soars in your chest as you pick him up and pull him closer, setting him down on your chest. 

“Hey there, little buddy,” you whisper, smiling as he snuggles deeper into your chest, purring as he digs his claws into your shirt. “You are such a sweet little angel.” 

Eddie chuckles, reaching his hand out to pet his head. 

“You love those boobs don’t you, Cat?” He smirks. “I do too. They’re so fun to play with.”

“Eddie!” You gasp. 

Robin laughs at his words and at the flustered look on your face. 

Steve shakes his head, snorting. 

“He is a very innocent little thing,” you coo at the kitten, scratching the spots behind his ears, he keeps purring, closing his eyes as he lays his head on your chest. “Oh my god, I love him.” 

Eddie smiles down at you as you lay your head on his shoulder, he wraps his arm around you.

Steve leans his elbow on the headrest, looking between you and Eddie, the way you are so natural and comfortable with each other – it’s nothing new to him, you have always been like that with one another, maybe slightly less touchy. 

The look in Eddie’s eyes as nothing but pure love and adoration as he laughs when Cat licks your nose. 

You giggle, scrunching up your nose and closing your eyes. 

He can’t describe the feeling in his chest at this moment, but seeing you so happy, seeing the love between you and Eddie makes him feel at peace.

Two years ago, he let go. 

A part of him will always think back to it, back to you and to what you both had. 

But he let go, and it’s good like this because he still got to keep you in his life, maybe not like before, but he is happy with what he gets to have now. 

You left and you both lived separate lives. 

But you came back and you’re here again. 

And maybe, you both can go back to how things were before you crossed the line and left behind a friendship that you both mourn. 

“Hey Dolly?” 

You turn your face towards him, looking into his warm eyes, “yes?”

“Do you have some name suggestions?” He asks. “You always named the stray cats so..” 

A smile pulls at your lip, “hmm.”

Robin reaches for the bowl of popcorn on the table, placing it on her lap, she begins snacking as she shoots you a look, “I’m warning you, he’s gonna hate all the names.”

“Shut it, Robs.” 

She flips him off, causing Eddie to chuckle at their interaction. 

You hum as you look at the black kitten on your chest, “void.” 

Eddie snorts, “that’s a good one.”

Steve sighs, shaking his head. 

“He rubbed off on you,” he mumbles, nudging Eddie’s shoulder. “What would the child, innocent and pure 10 year old Dolly name this cat?” 

You giggle at him, turning away to look back down at him. 

“Hmm… Stevie!” 

Robin and Eddie laugh at your name suggestion. 

“What?” 

You look over at Steve, who’s staring at you like he’s waiting for you to continue. 

“Not you. The cat! Call him Stevie – he gives off Stevie energy.” 

Steve scrunches his whole face up, “I am not naming the cat after me! Seriously, do you guys even try?” 

You all laugh at the disapproving look on his face. 

“Ozzy,” Eddie shrugs. 

“Huh?”

“Ozzy Osbourne,” Eddie says to Steve. “You know, from Black Sabbath?” 

Steve stares at him with furrowed brows and downturned lips. But as he watches his cat claw his way out of your lap and jumps over Eddie to get to him, he looks up at him, yawning as he settles in his lap. 

“Ozzy,” Steve murmurs, petting him. Steve smiles when he starts purring. “Yeah, I think he likes that one.” 

“Is that a yes?” 

Steve’s eyes meet Eddie’s, a smile tugs at his lips. “Yeah, shit.. you got a name, buddy,” he chuckles as he looks back down at Ozzy. 

Robin claps her hands, “finally!” She cheers. “Wow, I can’t believe you let Eddie name the cat.” 

“Does that mean you’re both his parents?” You ask, giggling. 

Eddie snorts, pulling you closer as he smirks down at you. 

“Sure, but I got full custody of my child,” Steve jokes.

Two years back, Steve would have rolled his eyes at your joke but now he just laughs and plays along. 

You have noticed how much he changed. 

Your last moments with him, before you left, weren’t the happiest. He was sad, heartbroken and lost. But now he seems content, happy. Even after his failed attempts at dating again, he doesn’t seem sad or heartbroken over it. He told you about his horrible date experiences with Heidi and Amanda – and he didn’t seem pained while he was talking about it, he was amused, that’s all. He tried dating and he gave up, not because he wasn’t ready but because he is just not looking for love or a relationship – ‘It will happen when the time is right.’ He said. 

He is more relaxed now, calm and he seems more confident with himself. You like seeing him this way, he deserves to feel comfortable with himself. 

“A cat is good training for kids someday,” Robin says, leaning back as she throws popcorn into her mouth. 

“Oh really? Do you want kids?” Eddie chuckles. 

Robin shakes her head with wide eyes, “hell no. I’m not Steve, he’s the one with a car full of kids.”

“Do I look like I have a bunch of kids?” Steve mumbles, confused. 

“Yeah.” All three of you reply in unison. 

“You have six kids already.” 

He rolls his eyes but chuckles, “they’re not even kids anymore!” 

“Maybe you can babysit their kids soon,” Robin wiggles her brows as she nudges her chin at you and Eddie. 

“Oh my god,” you groan, shaking your head at her. 

Steve suddenly frowns, blinking as he stares at you and Eddie, “wait, where’s your bedroom again?” 

“Huh?” 

“Your bedroom, what side is it on? Cause our last neighbors were fucking like rabbits!”

“Yeah it was disgusting!” Robin mumbles. 

“You’re one to talk!” Steve glares at her. “I have to wear earplugs every time Chrissy comes to visit, they’re fucking rabbits too.”

She grows red, rolling her eyes at him. 

You laugh at the flustered look on her face. 

“Yeah, I hope you still have those earplugs,” Eddie chuckles. “Our room is right over there.”

Robin groans loudly as she looks at the wall he’s pointing at. 

Steve sighs. 

“We got kicked out of our last apartment because we fu–”

“Eddie!” You punch his arm, cheeks feeling hotter than before as you shake your head at him.

Steve and Robin stare at you both in disbelief. 

“No, I swear. They kicked us out cause we were too loud,” Eddie says proudly, while you continue shaking your head. 

“And you will get kicked out a second time if you don’t keep quiet,” Robin points at him with a glare. 

Steve laughs, shaking his head as he brings up his drink to his lips. 

“Time to use the ball gag, baby,” Eddie smirks. 

Steve chokes on his beer, eyes widening at Eddie’s words. 

“Jesus fucking christ, Eddie!” You gasp, burying your face in your hands. 

Robin laughs loudly, throwing her head back. 

“God damn,” Steve coughs, furrowing his brows at you. “I thought you were a good girl, Dolly.”

Eddie snorts at that, looking over at Steve to see him smirking. 

You glare at them both, but you can’t even hide how flustered you are. 

“Robin, help me out.”

“No, I’m having too much fun here.”

Rolling your eyes, you push Eddie’s arm off and get up with a sigh, “I need another drink,” you mumbled under your breath as you leave the living room in a haste. You hear their snickers even when you enter the kitchen, you can hear Eddie saying something that makes Steve groan and Robin laugh even harder. 

You shake your head but a smile tugs at your lips. 

You reach for the handle on the fridge when your eyes fall on the picture next to the many magnets. Your smile transforms into a softer one. It’s an old picture of Steve and you. 

You remember that day, it was his birthday, his sixteenth birthday. His dad had gotten him the BMW. The moment he had gotten those keys, you grabbed your polaroid camera, you wanted to take a picture of him and his new car but Steve had pushed the camera into his mom’s hands and asked her to take a picture of the two of you in front of his new ‘baby’. 

You were still best friends at that time. Steve's arm was wrapped around your shoulder, you were wearing a cardigan that was way too big for you, it hid the pretty dress you were wearing underneath. You looked so happy in that picture and so did he. You were smiling into the camera but Steve was looking at you with a big smile on his face, eyes that were still shining with happiness and love. 

“You looked so small standing there in your cardigan.” 

You flinch, looking back in surprise. 

Steve is leaning against the doorway, looking at you. 

“You scared me,” you chuckle, putting your hand on your chest. 

“I’m sorry,” he smiles as he walks into the kitchen. “My mom gave me this picture when I moved out.”

“Oh, that’s where it was!”

He nods. 

“Yeah. I remember how excited I was to go for a drive and forced you into the passenger seat,” he says, chuckling at the memory. “She put that picture into an album.”

You smile, looking down. 

“You ever miss those days?” He asks, leaning against the kitchen counter with his arms crossed. “When we just got into high school, we'd just drive around, listen to music, go to the movies..”

“Eat junk food, gossip about the bad hair styles in the magazines,” you add, laughing. 

“Exactly,” he nods. 

“Yeah, sometimes. Cause back then things were simple and we were just teenagers who still lived in that safe little bubble.” 

“Yeah,” he sighs but he smiles at you. 

“I kinda miss talking shit about bad hairstyles,” you laugh. 

He nudges your shoulder with his, “hey, we can still do that. I mean with the addition of Eddie and Robin now,” he chuckles as his eyes soften. “Eddie is… kinda.. cool now. I think we’ll get along better now.” 

Your gaze softens, eyes shining with happiness. 

“That’s all I wanted,” you whisper. 

You wanted your best friend back in your life and you wanted your other best friend, your boyfriend to get along with him. But you knew that it might not ever be possible, because sometimes, time changes nothing – you hope that it did in this case, though. 

“You know, I’m kinda excited to have you as my neighbor.” 

Your eyes flash with surprise, your lips twitch. You weren’t sure how he would actually feel about this, having you and Eddie as his neighbors. 

“Really?”

“Yeah, I can bother you all day now,” he smirks. “And Eddie too. I’ll blast pop music every night.” 

A laugh falls from your lips, “don’t mess with Eddie, he will come over with his guitar,” you chuckle. “His electric guitar.” 

He snorts. 

“I’m not even kidding,” you giggle as you think about all the performances Eddie had given to you – sometimes wearing nothing but boxers while you laid in bed, watching him with a smile on your face. 

“I believe you,” he chuckles. “It’s Eddie we’re talking about, he always loved his dramatic performances.” He refers to all the speeches your boyfriend had held on the lunch tables in the cafeteria. 

“He really did.”

Steve watches the way your eyes glow with love as you think back to the times where you and him would watch Eddie jump around on the lunch tables. Had someone told him back then, that Eddie would end up being your boyfriend and he your ex boyfriend, he would probably have had a mental breakdown over it or maybe he would have laughed, not believing that you would end up with a metalhead instead of him. 

When you left, he spent a lot of time wondering what would have happened if he never left you. 

Would you have still met Eddie? 

Would you have been the one to leave him the way he left you for her? 

Was everything supposed to go this way because you and Eddie were always meant to be together? 

So many what if’s had haunted him for a long time after you left but not anymore. 

He made peace with everything, a long time ago. 

He loves you, he always will. 

You will always have a special place in his heart as he will have one in yours. 

And seeing you so happy and in love with Eddie, doesn’t fill him with pain anymore, it fills him with joy because this is what you deserve – to love and to be loved ten times more. 

And even if his wishes from the past didn’t come true, he is still happy because even after everything, you came back and he gets to have you in his life again. 

You still wear his locket and he still wears your wristband – you are still special to each other, you are still best friends. 

You left behind your first love but you never left your friendship behind. 

“You know, I was a little worried that you forgot about me,” you tease him. 

His eyes flash with sadness, a soft smile appears on his face as he takes your hand in his. 

“I could never forget you, Dolly,” he whispers, squeezing your hand. “You’re my best friend.” 

A breathy laugh falls from your cherry red lips, your bangs fall in front of your eyes as you look down for a moment. 

“You’re my best friend too, Stevie,” you whisper, looking back up. 

You both smile at each other, eyes filled with happiness and a love that you carried for one another as kids. 

As you stand there and look at one another, you know that everything is okay now, everything is good. 

There is no sadness between you both anymore, no tears, no pain, no heartbreak. 

You’re both okay. 

You’re both happy. 

This love will last forever. 

He lets go of your hand and brings it up to your face, pinching your cheek as 10 year old Steve would do. 

“Come on, Dolly,” he teases, laughing when you swat his hand away, just like 9 year old Dolly would do. “I’ll race you to the living room.” 

You roll your eyes at the cocky smirk on his face as he starts to walk backwards. 

“You know I’m faster than you.”

“Oh, are you?” He chuckles. 

“Yes, I am.” 

Before Steve can even react, you move past him and push him back a little before you run out of the kitchen, laughing loudly when he groans. 

He runs after you, reaching for your elbow but you push his hand off and bolt into the living room. 

“Eddie, help!” You giggle. 

Your boyfriend straightens up, watching you with an amused look on his face as you run past Robin and hide behind the lovechair. 

“No, help me! She plays dirty!” Steve exclaims.

“Is that true, sweetheart?” Eddie smirks, his brown eyes flashing with mischief as he stands up. 

You shake your head, pouting. 

Eddie chuckles at that, moving towards you, while Steve walks towards you on the other side. 

Your lips part as you watch them, eyes widening when they glance at each other with smirks on their faces. 

“You’re teaming up on me!? You’re my boyfriend, you’re supposed to protect your princess!” You giggle as you start walking backwards. Glancing at Robin who watches the three of you in amusement while Ozzy sits on her lap, looking between the three of you. 

“Are you good princess or bad princess, right now?” 

Steve furrows his brows, looking over at your boyfriend, “why do I have a feeling that this means something dirty?” 

“Because it is,” Robin gags. 

You and Eddie smirk at each other – but your smirk quickly falls when Eddie suddenly lunges forward, you turn around, trying to run but he wraps his arms around you, picking you up with ease, “got ya, baby,” he whispers in your ear and kisses your shoulder and then your neck, making you giggle softly. 

“She’s definitely bad princess, right now.” Steve snorts. 

Eddie pulls you back towards the couch, holding you tightly as his fingers dig into your waist, making you squirm beneath his touch. 

“Well, I captured the bad princess,” Eddie jokes, murmuring into your hair.

You giggle, your heart fluttering at the feeling of his hands on your skin. You place your hands over his, laughing when he pulls you down on the couch with him. 

“Hold on tight to her,” Steve chuckles, smiling at Eddie. 

Eddie tightens his grip on you in response, smiling when you turn around to face him, your smile mirroring his. His heart flutters in his chest – just the way yours does as you look into your boyfriends beautiful eyes. 

“I always will.” 

Robin looks between you and Eddie with a smile on her face. A strand of Eddie’s hair gets stuck on your eyelash, making you both laugh when he tries to pull it away. She looks up at Steve, he watches the two of you and for a moment, Robin fears that old wounds will be ripped open again, that even after two years, she will have to hold him again while he cries because he won’t ever get you back the way he had you before – but, the smile on his face isn’t faked, it’s very real and it isn’t a sad one. 

“Hey Steve?” 

Steve tears his eyes away from you and looks at Eddie. 

“Yeah?” 

“Do you wanna watch Pretty in Pink with us?” 

Robin laughs, watching Steve’s face contort into annoyance. 

“No!” 

Eddie and you giggle at the look on his face. 

“Anything but Pretty in Pink!” 

“Anything?” Eddie raises his brows. 

“Yeah.” 

“But what if I wanna watch Pretty in Pink with you, Stevie?” You pout. 

“Yeah,” Eddie chuckles, cupping your cheeks with one hand, he squishes them slightly. “Can you really say no to that cute face?” 

He sighs, tilting his head as he looks at you. 

“I can already tell, you two are gonna be menaces, even more so than Robin and Chrissy!” 

Robin scoffs, rolling her eyes at Steve. 

“Nah,” Eddie shakes his head, letting go of your cheeks, he pulls you closer. “You’re gonna love us.” 

Steve sits down on the loveseat, smiling when Ozzy jumps out of Robin’s lap and runs towards him, he leans down and picks him up when he sits down by his feet. He pulls the kitten into his lap, letting him snuggle against his chest. 

“Will I?” Steve asks, frowning playfully. 

“Oh yeah,” Eddie chuckles, kissing your cheek. 

“You definitely will, Stevie.” 

You lay your head on Eddie’s shoulder and you look around, happy to be in a room with your favorite people. Excitement lingers inside of you, to be back here with Eddie, to settle in for good this time, to see your friends again – to see Eddie and Steve getting along, to see Robin and Chrissy together again, to hang out with Heather and Argyle again. 

You place your hand over Eddie’s left hand, playing with the silver band on his finger – the one that matches your own, the one you put on each other’s fingers that one night in Vegas. 

And you look around the room again, the conversation as trivial as possible. Your boyfriend and your best friend getting along – when two years ago this would have never happened. 

It’s happiness, pure and absolute happiness and you are hoping that it will stay that way. 

“Dolly, tell Eddie that Fleetwood Mac is superior to Iron Maiden, please!” Steve says with a smile, and you can’t even answer as you feel your eyes burn slightly from the joy your heart is feeling. 

Yes.. now you are sure that this happiness will linger forever. 

Like a tattoo. 

-

@taintedcigs @mysticmunson @wroteclassicaly @trashmouth-richie @corrodedcorpses @corrodedseraphine @take-everything-you-can @munson-mjstan @sherrylyn628 @somethingvicked @nemesis729 @succubusmunson @xxhellfirebunnyxx

[bluerosefox]

Friendships Between Realms (YJ and Danny Shenanigans Being Peek Friendship)

So the 90s YJ group got into a lot of shenanigans tbh. Like a lot and mostly without their mentors knowledge. And whenever I think of YJ I think of the Core 4 (mainly cause Tim is my fav, and the Core 4 is just so amazing together) anyways I honestly wouldn't put it past them if they had accidentally summoned or were being sacrificed by some cult, or meet Danny who accidentally fell into their world via a random portal in someway. (In this DC and Phantom universes are not on the same world, fyi)

Like Danny, still new to being a hero but getting the hang of it, meets them, learns some things from them, and actually gets along with them to the point that when he has to leave Robin gives him a communication device to keep in touch (and Robin Tim would, despite being the second most paranoid of the Bats this boy lies to Batman to his face and had hidden an entire Batmoblie cost in the Batarang budget and keeps it with YJ) and Danny does.

It's nice to have hero friends who understand the struggle of balancing hero and normal lives. Don't get him wrong Danny loves Tucker, Sam and Jazz but sometimes they just don't... fully get it. The danger, the stress, the anxiety, the relief when things are solved or saved, etc etc that comes with being a hero or at least try to be one. They don't understand the urge he gets at like 3 am to go patrol Amity Park just to make sure everything is safe. YJ on the other hand does.

He talks to them about his problems and they help out and Danny in turn helps them out too when he can. Like they needed help with Secret, call up Danny see if he knows what kind of ghost she is (he turned to Clockwork and Frostbite in that case) and Danny in turn talked to them about Dan (they told him about them having to face their own future evil self to at one point). Danny talks to Conner when Dani came into the picture, he wants to make sure he doesn't screw up like Superman did towards his clone's feelings and self worth. Etc etc.

Point is, despite being dimensions and Realms apart, YJ and Phantom are friends and have been in touch. He's friends with all the YJ at the time and keeps in touch with them all but is very close with the Core 4. (Danny was the one that reassured Tim when Bruce was thought to be dead. Couldn't find his soul or ghost in the Realms and Clockwork was being 1000% more crypticd about Batman when Danny had asked if he was lost in time, Danny (or CW) couldn't do much to help due to certain rules but Danny could tell Tim "He isn't dead. Just lost. You're not insane Rob I promise."

So imagine a few years later, DCverse is under heavy near world ending supernatural danger and it gets to the point someone in JLD suggests they may have to summon the Ghost King in order to stop it (maybe its an old ancient ghost/spirit someone foolishly unleased). Of course there are some that strongly advise not to, that summoning him would spell the end of everything, but someone else points out they're already close to that edge they already got no other choice.

So they try and it fails and everyone is confused.

Bart, because of course it's gonna be Bart, returns from helping evacuations takes one look at the summoning circle and says.

"Why are you using those outdated sigals and symbols? That'd like trying to call an out of service number." Bart says before he speed texts Tim, Conner, and Cassie to come over.

Tim, RR, takes one look at the circle and asks who they were trying to summon. When told they were trying to get the Ghost King, him and the Core 4 look at each other before Tim pulls out his communicator and texts Danny.

It takes less than a few minutes before RR tells Impulse that Danny was cool with the summoning and to bring him in. Impulse nods and quickly runs around and changes the old summoning circle around with new symbols and sigals. Then RR turns to most of the JLD members and says sternly.

"You all better not memorize this, this is Phantom's personal summoning line and he only wants friends to know it. He gave us permission."

And with Superboy (Conner) and Wonder Girl agreeing with nods.

Before any of the JL or the JLD could really ask or even interrogate what that meant Impulse was done with the preparation. the Summoning circle was changed around with constellations and other signs of stars, there was a bag of fresh burgers and three milkshakes in the middle of it, and under it was a stylized symbol of a D and a P.

Its Impulse who starts the... chant and raises his hands up. (its actually the dumbest song anyone can think of. Danny wanted it to be funny and the Core 4 totally encouraged it) the candles shift from red to green fire, the star symbols start glowing before flying around on the floor in a circle like shooting stars, the area starts feeling like a cold winter wind beginning to blow, and the stylized symbol is glowing green before...

Danny pops up in his Ghost King form (flaming crown, galaxy cape, looking more ghostly than human but still a teen), finishing up the song and laughing. When he spots his friends he's grinning and waving hello to them, all of them greeting him back.

The JL are confused as heck but noticed how shell-shocked most if not all the members of JLD as their staring at what has to be the Ghost King...

Basically. I want Danny to be one of the people/things the 90s YJ did/meet during their insane shenanigans that most of their mentors most likely didn't know about. They all kept in touch and if they knew, and were later invited to the coronation, of Danny becoming the new Ghost King and later needs to bring out the big guns against a supernatural entity and stuns everyone else that they have a friend in a very high place well... yeah.

[ballad-of-the-lamb]

I've been bingeing your art in this blog for, like, the last hour. Sooo much good stuff!

Can we hear more about notable members of the Cult? Cheese Parm's s/o and such

cult info below cut b/c i'm gonna be typing a lot;

Everyone listed here are basically the main runners/cast when it comes to plot relevance in the story in itself. there are plenty of cast & characters that aren't- but they wont pop up for anything other than background characters perhaps staring on in horror at god antics or one another's antics.

we'll start from the top;

GALLOWS [ girlyed cheese ]

the most recent member of the cult to be saved specifically by the lamb themself from sacrifice within Darkwood.

a lot of cult conflict will begin with the uninitiated, the unknowing. and the influence of the twin gods will be seen on her in real time as the story progresses.

she is generally a very generic playful-but-tricky fox character, but there's a lot she hides; much like the rest of the cult members. her past is not happily talked about, or seldom is.

she was a native to Darkwood. She is chaotic because of it.

she was meant to be burned at the stake.

EKPYROSIS [ asbestos ]

This word derives from a Greek word for a great fire. It represents a belief held by some scholars of Stoicism, that says that the universe has no beginning or end, and instead is destroyed and remade in a great conflagration in a cyclic manner. Just as life & death ever are.

Her name stands out among the rest of the cult because it was the name that the Lamb bestowed upon her upon being given the title of disciple. Just as Narinder took Baal & Aym to learn from him, the Lamb took her.

Her previous name is not known to anyone mind the Lamb themself, Narinder, and cheese parm.

She is more inclined to using and being influenced by the eldritch artifacts & relics the Lamb or Narinder tend to return with.

She leaves an uneasy and terrible 'uncanny valley' feeling tenfold within her vicinity, which makes her hard to be around. It is not just being outright creepy- but it's a lot more akin to literally feeling reality dip and bow around you into something not quite right.

She does not move like a normal person. The way she walks, runs, jumps- it's all too impossible to replicate without someone shattering every bone in their body.

When she speaks, her voice is delayed from her mouth. And it doesn't always line up perfectly.

most notably; cheese parm hates her. for good reason.

OTHERA [ bong water ]

An average cult member on the surface. They are a caretaker, they are matronly, they work as the local therapist. Generally just likes taking care of people.

When the Lamb, Disciples, & Narinder aren't around to listen to confessionals in the booth they are typically who does.

It's an unspoken rule to not make them angry or let them get to '1' when they start counting down from 5.

He is typically known for the reason morale is good. A good shoulder to rely on.

He is the third oldest member of the cult, resurrected multiple times over to serve his purpose, next to cheese parm & his sister. they are also the only one that asbestos seems to actively fear besides cheese parm.

EUNOMIA [ they/theminem ]

Eunomia was a minor goddess of law and legislation, whose name means "Good Laws", and is specifically a goddess of order according to good governance.

The second disciple. Known for learning the use of the Lamb's personally created curses specifically, though does know the ones Narinder passed on. They do not deem themselves worthy enough to use those.

Generally a very angry & spiteful person for a multitude of reasons. It mostly comes down to 'bearer of the curse' and the curse being knowledge.

They are the only one really permitted to 'backtalk' due to how much they actually do know their place.

they are very heavily disciplined under the rule of self-flagellation, and know the tenants and rites better than anyone else in the cult. even the head ritualist.

as said on paper. cheese parm's s/o. the significantly scarier one. they have not had a reason to be scary in a good couple hundred years! don't make them start now.

has 2 adopted kids w/ cheese parm they raise.

PANKRATIAST [ cheese parm ]

The Pankration is a sport of unarmed combat that featured in the ancient Olympic Games in Greece. This specific association fits as he's specifically an unarmed fighter first and foremost.

While not a disciple, is considered one generally in 'importance' to the higher ups of the cult. While he is no more important than Gallows, Othera, Minced Meat, or any other average member- he has the veteran's respect.

Was given a name by the Lamb, and since he does not speak, it's not like he can correct anyone otherwise.

well. doesn't talk. only ever communicates in vague grunts and noises that voice displeasure or a neutral 'ok'

Generally considered stoic, he does not feel strongly about most things.

The village executioner. The head missionary. Bartender. Does all the jobs no one else wants to do, and even others when no one else does it.

Smells of gore & wet dog constantly.

Knows. Remembers. Knows why death is broken, knows how it broke, will not tell Lamb or Narinder. He is a Witness.

Knows all the weaponry the Lamb uses & can use it just as effectively on a physical level.

The first of the flock. Will be there even when there is no more flock to have. As it will ever be, pinkie promised back in the Silk Cradle back where he was first found.

ILONA [ taco bell qsdea ]

a specialist in alchemy, cooking, & plants. Tends to the farms, gardens, & warding stones.

The first of the cult members Narinder warmed up to directly after descension. They brought him food every day, they gave him supplies, and other than the Lamb- they were the first to not be terrified of him.

They are very blind and often need a guide when they are not allowed to use their clicks and noises to find the way.

They are immune to Gallows' tricks and run off of the 'fae logic' of most things.

Their name means 'joy'. A name they decided on after speaking to Narinder for a time.

The first cult members recruited directly after Narinder's descension.

Immune to the horrors Somehow. There is something hiding behind those big ol eyes

Can fly. They have wings attached to their arms, and for it, require special clothes.

will be involved a lot in narinder plots

MINCED MEAT [ childbirth gambino ]

head cook but kind of as a threat. the lamb put them there for a reason. they are pretty mid.

constantly paranoid and in a state of fear or unease. Does not sleep because of it, and instead compulsively cooks almost all day and night.

most random screeches or noises in the cult come from this little guy

absolutely scared shitless of the Lamb.

The first Dissenter since the Lamb's ascension. They were made an example of. Now they will never. They have seen god's wrath, and would rather die.

narinder likes to bully this thing by hissing at him in the night

attached to beansnesed'd bsbisebies hip when in the chapel or out and about.

the prime example of 'the lamb is not a good person.'

ALOPE [ deep dish pizza ]

cheese parm's little sister. and borderline clone. she copies everything he's done up until adulthood when she started to become her own person. though it's been hundreds, if not thousands of years, she's still trying to figure out who she is.

made a pinkie promise to the lamb, just like cheese parm, to always be there. and she has!

ripped as fuck. like, more than cheese parm. huge. absolute beast thing.

the lamb prevented a fated death in her, the first time he ever did so, and for it her title is technically 'Saint Alope' within the cult for being the act of a miracle.

like her brother, never speaks vocally, never shows her face. gets across feelings through vague grunts. uses sign language where cheese parm does not.

the fastest in the cult. rivals narinder in base speed without using necklaces or unnatural abilities.

uses two ritual dirks or daggers at any given point, throwing knives, things of that sort. protects the village next to cheese parm, and you'll never hear her coming. totally, absolutely silent.

[beababoobies]

I don't know if you're still taking requests, but if you are, could I request a Sal x reader where the reader has really long curly hair. Like down to her waist long, and they do little stuff like braiding her hair and decorating it with accessories. Just cute little stuff like that as Sal kinda wonders how she manages that much hair (If you dont want to write it, it's okay and have a nice day 💗🫶)

hello lovely gal! I’d love to do that for you. I am still taking requests and you’re welcome to do multiple! As a long curly haired girly meself, this was fun to write. (Unrelated, but I love your username.) Enjoy!

Roots - Sal Fisher x Fem!Reader

words: 0.6k

Sal loved your hair. Loved was perhaps an understatement. He’d play with it when you were cuddling, running his fingers through it mindlessly as you ranted about your day, school or work. He loved helping you wash it when you showered together, scrubbing your hair products from the roots into the very ends. But his absolute favourite was when you let him have fun with it, style it.

After you let him braid it for the first time, he had practically become obsessed. You brought your accessory collection over to his place whenever you were around, and would sit there talking and giggling together for hours while he did your hair up nice and pretty. You would sit in front of the TV, watching your favourite shows on rerun mindlessly and let him play with your hair.

And that’s exactly where you were today; sitting on his bed while petting a very sleepy Gizmo in your lap, belly up and purring softly at you while Sal worked on your hair, humming softly along with the music you had put on in the background. Today he had gone with two long braids, and he was spending his time clipping all your little plastic butterflies and flowers into them.

“You almost done, love?” You asked as you pet Gizmo across his tummy, another low grumbling purr emanating deep from the felines throat. Sal gave a soft hum in response, and you felt him begin to pin up the braids to your head. “Gonna make me look real pretty, hmm?” And he responds with a simple “mhm.” Gizmo gives a protesting mew when you stop petting him for a couple seconds. “Sorry.” You half-whisper with a small giggle, going back to petting him.

“How do you even manage with all this hair?” he asks softly as he starts pining up the second braid to your scalp, and you just shrug, going to scratch Gizmos chin, one hand going back to feel how he had styled your hair, running your hands along the skillfully pinned up braids. “I have this handsome man who comes in and makes it look pretty.” You hum back teasingly, and Gizmo yawns, stretching out before rolling over and landing on the floor, walking out the door to the living room

“Mm, he sounds cool. I’ll have to meet him some day.” He teases back, using your biggest butter cult clip to clip the braids together at the back of your head, leaning back and admiring his work with a smile. “It’s done, my love.” He hums out quietly, turning you over by your shoulders to the mirror. You were in absolutely awe.

He has smoothed out your curls on the top of your head, going in and braiding your hair tightly on both sides pining it up in beautiful swirls that met at the back of your head, all put together with your baby blue butterfly clips. You smiled wide and leaned back, kissing him as a small thank you.

“Thank you love, I look absolutely stunning.” You Mutter quietly, bringing your hand up to carefully run over the beautiful way your hair had been shaped. He wrapped his arms around your waist from the back, nuzzling his head in your shoulder appreciatively, before placing a soft kiss on your cheek.

“Beautiful hair for my beautiful girl.” He hummed softly before sighing contently, carefully kissing the top of your head, before looking back at your hair accessories, before looking back at you with a small smile on his face. “Is it too much to ask you to take it out already? I have more ideas.”

[no-name-blu]

A thought. John turning evil by some entity promising him a way to protect his friends and Melissa. But he’s just doing the right thing g but the wrong way

When they used to be Welcome Home OCs, that's literally John's plot in my AU, Gameshow Host! Wally XD

But it's more of a fun side plot that can be taken out/ignored. This plot shows more on what the real world is like, how the cult fans of the show are formed, and also shows what happens to the winners of the gameshow. Because according to Wally, they usually turn into a threat to Humanity.

Here's an old comic that I never finished, glad it gets to see the light of day now :D

You can get their lore explanation down here!

I figured to reveal it since they're not Welcome Home OCs anymore and I'm not gonna draw all of this

CW: VIOLENCE AND CHARACTER DEATH, A LOT OF READING

Melissa, John, Briella (My OCs) and Sunny (that bird character), are a friend group together. Briella was the very first contestant of the show and dies, making Melissa wanting to investigate it and she's been non stop working about it.

And then, maybe 3-6 months later? idk, John got picked to be the contestant and won, so he asked his prize to have the ability to help Melissa. So Home gave John this opportunity to have a tour in the studio with Wally. So the day that happened, Wally showed him around, the problem with foreign objects going to the studio, it starts to deteriorate, especially for one's sanity. John eventually runs off Wally's tour and try to find more secrets in the studio just to accidentally found the void where Home resides in. His brain did not recover from seeing Home, he doesn't remember what happens after that. But John got Home's powers now YIPEEEE

Also his mind is in shambles in a way it's like an "enlightenment" to him. He sees it like the show is actually a good thing, weeding out the evil in the world. And he wanted to help more than anything.

John finds more people to see this show the way he sees it. He somehow got Melissa convinced too (old idea was that he can do hypnotism) When he tried to convince Sunny, he disagreed, leading to John to think he's evil and such, ended up killing him. Both the idiotic and crazy couple basically going on a killing spree to form a cult fan club of the show :D Honestly, imagine JD and Veronica from Heathers, but they're both JD. They're what killed the dinosaurs, they're the asteroids that's overdue /lyr

Eventuallyyy Melissa starts to snaps out of it, telling John she doesn't want to do this anymore, noticed Home has been watching them and she wants to make a deal with him. Home says something like "make one big sacrifice, and I'll give you what you wish for" Not very helpful but still she took the deal. Then the comic above is what's next. After that, they fought.

John was about to kill her but held back and gave Melissa a chance to fight back, so she starts punching, beats him up until the marionette puppet stops being alive.

Somehow the result of this made Home gave Melissa her own powers with the glowing eyes and Home's pupils too. Basically saying, now she serves for Home and that she's also gonna go crazy, like what had happened to John.

But Melissa didn't take over the cult, that'll be someone else. What she did is help Wally find a suitable contestant for the episode.

This plot probably got some holes and not that fleshed out since I stopped writing into it. It was fun tho :D

If you wanna know the other nickel, it's their Reboot AU lore. John was also cray cray for a different reason.

[multiverse-imagines]

um… so I literally just binged read all your Vash fics. Planning on watching the anime on Saturday.

but I’m even tho I’m a newcomer……

can I get a Vash x Reader, where maybe homeboy gets her pregnant.

👉👈

he’s already taking over my life…

A/N: so I'm not typically comfortable with writing this kind of thing, but for specifically you, (and Vash) just this once, I'll indulge a pregnancy fic request. It gave me a chance to think about things I don't want to write in the future. It's my fault for not putting it in my pinned post. I will say this was one of the cutest things I've written in Vash's pov, and probably how I would react if I got told I was gonna be a dad. I do appreciate getting out of my comfort zone sometimes. ^-^

On the lighter notes, I'm so excited for you to be joining the Trigun cult we've amassed on Tumblr! Give the manga a read too if you can! Don't worry about being a newcomer. I've only been in this fandom for a year. (Where has he been all my life?) It's never too late to start a new series!!! If you want someone to gush about the series with, hit me up!

I've only had Vash for a year, and in my head we've already been married for 10. xD

Sprout

I carried a box of donuts, sandwiches, and a couple of sodas towards City Hall, where she worked. She, My Lovely Mayfly, worked there as a volunteer coordinator. I decided to surprise her with lunch. She always works herself too hard, and sometimes forgets to eat. I entered the main lobby, quickly finding the office she worked in. It was empty. I came in early enough where she wouldn't have gone to lunch with anyone else. The hairs on my neck stood on end as I thought of the worst. Making my way back to the front desk, I asked the receptionist where she was.

"Oh, She went out for a bit. She said she had a doctor's appointment. Said she'd hopefully be back by lunch." The receptionist took a sip of his coffee. A doctor's appointment? She hadn't said anything about an appointment this week. Before I could make my way back to her office to wait, a chime of the front door revealed someone entering City Hall. I turned around to see her, My Mayfly. She almost seemed troubled, looking at the ground, not quite noticing me yet.

"Hey, Mayfly!" I cheerily greeted her as always. She seemed to stiffen up, but was immediately happy to see me.

"H-hey, Angel. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I brought us some lunch! How was your appointment?" She stiffened up again at this.

"Why don't we eat lunch!" She seemed to panic as she dragged me into her office, shutting the door, almost too quickly. She leaned against the door with a sigh. She was acting strange, well, more so than usual.

"Mayfly, is something wrong?" I let my voice drop to a concerned tone. Her breath hitched, and the facade of being around other people faded. Her face was almost… scared. Vulnerable, Worry, such things I never wanted to see on her face.

"Do you remember when I said sometime last week that I was feeling kinda funny?"

"Y-yeah, I thought it was the burger from the bar."

"Well, it wasn't the burger, I guess…"

"You didn't get sick, did you? You're not dying are you?" I began to worry. Humans didn't live too long on this planet. Taking a chance with her as my partner was a struggle for me. I often distance myself from others where I can, even though it doesn't ease the pain when they die. We had spoken on this topic a few times when I tried to deny her advances, even though every fiber of my being wanted her. What if she really was dying? I couldn't take her with me as I continued to run from bounty hunters and the like.

"Vash." My name leaving her lips broke my panic, and I hadn't even noticed she had taken my hands, "I'm not dying. I…." She took a deep breath, "I'm pregnant."

"P-pregnant." I repeated back to her, "wh…what?" My face relaxed from panic to surprise as my gaze drifted to her hips, "I.. I didn't think that was even possible." A wave of emotion was flowing through me all at once. How was my DNA compatible with human DNA? How was I supposed to keep the two of them safe? Raising a child on the run? What if Knives targeted them? What if I died before I could see the kid go to school? Or get married? Oh, Rem, help me. What if they died young? What if I lost Mayfly during the birthing process? What if I lost both of them?

My body moved on its own as I leaned down to press a kiss to her lips. I rested one hand on her back, the other rested on her cheek. I allowed my mind to clear as I lost myself in her kiss.

I whispered her name when I parted from her lips. Holding her chin to keep intimate eye contact.

"I love you. Let's have a family together." I found myself laughing a little bit as a smile came across my face. The laughter spread as I pressed more little kisses to her lips, "I'm gonna be a dad." I toyed with the idea of teaching the little sprout how to color, ride a Tomas, reading them bedtime stories, falling asleep with them cradled into my chest on our ragged couch, and even teaching them good morals if I could help it.

"I'll keep you both safe. I promise."

[whumping-valentine]

🦌 Fawn and Hunter - Part 12 🦌

"Anaira and Ethel"

Content: Vampire whumpee, werewolf whumper, kidnapping, restraints, threats, supernatural shit, lady whump (even though I actually hate that term but whatever. Why are women a separate category??? Fuck you)

2400 words

Hey hey, sorry about that cliffhanger last chapter, but cliffhangers and plot twists are my specialty! It's simply not my writing without long, wordy dramatics and throwing you for a loop. Also, apologies for taking so long. I think I'm overcoming my writer's block now so hopefully it won't happen again.

This is a direct continuation of the last part, so if you need to look back and read the ending it's here!

Hope you enjoy! 🐺🦇

     Anaira didn't respond to her, simply squeezing her eyes shut as she tensed. Shit.

     “What do you think you’re doing here, huh? Feelin’ suicidal, are you?” Ethel said, nudging for an answer.

      “I’ll have you know I was trying to leave. You're the one making trouble where there's no need.” Anaira turned to her; Ethel's face was covered with her skull mask as always. She realized she was no longer wearing her own.

      “Mmhm. And what were you doing here in the first place if not causing trouble?” Ethel folded her arms, “Any other fang-toothed, sunburnt heathens out where they shouldn’t be?”

      “How am I supposed to know?”

     “They're your colony. Sounds like bad leadership to me. I know where every member of my pack is at all times.”

     “That sounds like a real cult to me. I’m trying to protect my own. You just want control.”

     “Trying to talk back to me on my own grounds, are you? Sorry, but that’s not gonna fly.” She yelled out, “Anthony! Agnes! Over here, NOW!”

     Anaira took off immediately without a second thought, leaving Fawn and Hunter behind. Ethel ran after her, while Fawn and Hunter were roughly tackled to the ground.

     “Ow, fuck!” Fawn exclaimed as they were jumped. One of them— impossible to tell who— sat on top of them. Their knees jabbed into their sides, and fingers tore into their shoulders as they were held down. “What the fuck!”

     “Sorry.” A feminine voice said, “Leader’s orders.” She looked to the other, “Ant, get the gun off them.”

     “Can’t you see I’m struggling here?!” He said, Hunter effectively fighting back against him, trying to push him off.

     “Anthony, it’s a human.”

     “A strong human! You got the weak one!”

     “Hey!” Fawn exclaimed at the insult, while Hunter chuckled. They managed to kick Anthony off of them, but before they could run, Agnes pounced them down face first into the snow, and quickly tossed their gun out of their reach. Before Hunter could even process what was happening, she slipped a pair of handcuffs around their wrists behind their back.

     Fawn tried to make a run for it, but Anthony pushed them down again. His hands firmly held down their upper back before he grabbed their wrists and wrangled them to their feet. Agnes was standing with her foot on Hunter’s back, holding a second pair of handcuffs waiting to be put on Fawn.

     Fawn struggled while Anthony held their wrists tightly behind their back, walking them over to Agnes, “H-hey! Look, we’ve- we seem to have been caught up in some wrong stuff here, we’re innocent and- we don't want any trouble! I’M innocent, actually! Take them, and not me! I didn't do anything! I swear!”

     The two ignored them, Agnes taking them off of Anthony as she cuffed them, “Oh, come on, please, I don’t wanna be double kidnapped, this isn’t fair! This is— mmhph!” They mumbled as cloth was shoved into their mouth, followed by duct tape, then a bag over their head. The same was done to Hunter, and the two were walked off to God knows where.

     Their captors' hands held tightly onto their upper arms, painfully digging their fingers into them, forcing them forward. It was hard for either of them to feel worried when the only thing they could think about were the sore pains. Their arms felt like they were actively in the process of bruising. Like their muscles were being ripped into.

     It wasn't too long before they felt themselves enter a building, the snow turning to concrete while their surroundings warmed. When they heard the doors shut behind them the harsh howling winds were replaced with pure silence. Their footsteps echoed off the seemingly large walls as they were led down a set of stairs. A metal door could be heard opening before both of them were shoved inside. The metal doors closed and the pair could be heard walking away, their footsteps fading back up the stairs until it was silent.

     Fawn struggled up onto their knees and vigorously shook their head until the bag flew off. They threw their head back to push their glasses back on their face and looked around. Hunter was sitting, and clearly angry by the situation (yeah who’s fault is that?).

     Fawn carefully stood to their feet and walked over to them, turning around to grab the bag off their head. They then walked in front of them and made a grabbing motion with their hands. Hunter leaned into them and Fawn pulled the tape from their mouth. They then walked behind them, got on the ground, and put their mouth to their hands, and Hunter did the same to them. They both spit the cloth out of their mouths and took a moment to collect themselves, sitting in silence.

     “Great going, Hunter.” Fawn said bitterly, “You just HAD to go looking for trouble, didn’t you?”

     “How the fuck was I supposed to know they were supernatural?!” 

     “Supernatural or not, you still went looking for a fucking cult. Honestly, I’m fucking embarrassed that out of everyone who could’ve kidnapped me, it was you. What the hell does that say about me? You’re fucking stupid!”

     “No, you see, my mistake was not killing you on the spot.”

     “Oh really? That was your mistake?”

     “Yeah, it was.”

     “Well MY mistake was apparently thinking going for a walk was a good idea! God, I just wanted to take a fucking nature walk! That’s all I wanted! God DAMNIT!”

     “Yeah, maybe don’t wander off the trail.”

     Fawn glared at them, “I will fucking strangle you!”

     “Good luck with that.”

     “I should’ve let you stay gagged. I didn’t have to help you, you know?”

     “Yeah and I didn’t have to help you, either.” Hunter said, “Yet we both still did.”

------

     Anaira was running as fast as her legs could carry her, fueled on pure adrenaline. She knew Ethel was faster and stronger than her. This was a hopeless chase. Though still, she persisted. If she could catch up with her colony back on the other side of the forest, they could all gang up on her. She just had to last a little while longer.

     She cursed herself in her head while she ran. It was such a risky thing to go out into Ethel’s part of the woods, and she knew that, of course she did. It just wasn’t fair what they took from them. It was originally theirs, but Ethel didn’t want them to have it. The blood rivers that ran through it were too good for them. Anaira’s colony was just so thirsty, so she risked it all. She would do anything for them. It’s not like any of them asked for this life…

     So then why was she leading danger to them?

     Anaira slowed to a jog, then a walk, then she stood, and collapsed to her knees in the snow. She hung her head low and closed her eyes.

     “Oh, so first you run away like a coward, and then you just give up?” Ethel said, “You’re such a pathetic fucking creature. Get up.” Anaira obeyed and stood to her feet.

     Ethel smirked under her mask, “Oh, what a day this is! This feels good. That’s right, get over here, you leech.” She grabbed the defeated vampire by her shoulders and roughly dragged her back to base.

     When they entered inside the building, all the other identically dressed pack members looked at Anaira, and whispers filled the quiet air. Some confused, others nervous, most excited. Anaira kept her head down in shame, while Ethel walked with hers held high in pride.

     She was led down a set of stairs into Ethel's quarters, where she was thrown onto a chair and tightly tied. Neither said a single word until Ethel tied the last knot and stepped back behind her.

     She chuckled darkly, “ So, Anaira. How's it feel?” She taunted, “To finally be caught? Oh, I always wondered how long it would take you to finally give up!” She put her hands on her shoulders, “I'm so glad today was that day.”

     Anaira took a breath and sighed to calm herself. She tried to shrug her off her shoulders, but Ethel just dug her fingers into them.

     “How do you think your colony is going to survive the apocalypse without you?”

     “There is no apocalypse.” She mumbled.

     “Do you think all of this end-of-the-word talk is nonsense?” Ethel said, “For once the conspiracy idiots are actually right. The gods are upset and it's time everyone pay.”

     “Can’t imagine why they'd be upset when some of us are raging beasts.”

     “Oh, so the bloodsucker is the one trying to take the moral high ground? If one of us is an unholy spawn against the gods, it's going to be the one who should be dead.” Ethel let go of her shoulders and walked in front of her, “We're obviously more connected to the gods than you are if we can feel it coming.”

     “I think you're crazy is what I think. There are no gods.”

    “And you wonder why they're upset.” Ethel stood with her hands folded behind her back, “How do you think it’s going to look when your colony finds out I captured their leader? Not good, is it?”

     “You don’t scare me. You think you scare me?”

     “I’m not trying to scare you. I asked you a question about your colony, I didn’t ask if you were scared.” her voice was calm and methodical, “You bats like to claim we’re nothing more than raging beasts. Which one of us seems to have better control of our emotions right now?” While her face wasn’t visible, a smirk could be heard in her tone.

     “I’d like to see you be all calm and collected if I were the one to capture and tie you up.”

     “Mm. I’m certain I would be.” She walked over to Anaira, bending over with her hands on her knees to get on her level, like she was speaking to a child, “Darling, have you forgotten all those times you’ve called me a beast?...” She lifted a hand and grabbed her chin, “Anaira, I would eat you alive during a full moon. And, if I recall correctly…” She whispered, “The next one’s tonight…”

     Bloody tears welled in Anaira’s eyes, her breathing accelerating.

     Ethel moved her gloved hand from her chin to her throat, “Or rather I should say…” She slowly squeezed, “Within the next hour…”

     “E-Ethel-” She choked. In a few quick seconds, Ethel removed her hand, pulled off her glove, and slapped her across the face. The impact echoed in the space, and left an immediate bright red mark. The impact was so harsh it disoriented her, making her dizzy.

     Red tears leaked down her cheeks as she squeezed her eyes shut, “What... what are you gonna do with me? K-kill me?” She forced herself to look at the masked woman, her unreadable features terrifying. 

     “I should.” Ethel responded. “I will. But for now, I’d like to keep you. Who knows if we'll need an offering or sacrifice during the apocalypse? You and your little friends will serve good bait if needed.”

     Anaira’s eyes widened, “You- you got Rudy?”

     “If you’re referring to one of those humans you so nobley left behind, then yes. What a good person you are, to take off without a second thought.”

     Anaira dropped her head in shame. Ethel scoffed a chuckle, “How pitiful.” She said quietly, and slowly left the room. When Anaira heard the door click shut she broke down into tears. She cried until she had nothing left in her.

     All alone in the cold, deafening silence, only hearing he own thoughts bouncing around her head. The chill ran to the bone. Her breath fogged like smoke in the air, and she shivered. Shivered from the cold, from fear, from the anger she had towards both Ethel and herself. Maybe the colony was better off without her.

     When Ethel finally returned hours later, she nearly knocked the door off of its hinges. She fell on her hands and knees and let out a crazed, wild laugh, and she said with a growl, “Guess who's turning! Oh, yes, you've never seen me turned before, have you? Oh, we're all turning tonight.” She crawled over to her, a strain in her voice, "How much damage do you think I can do with claws?"

     Anaira watched with wide eyes as Ethel started to transform right in front of her. She was growing wilder than an animal, the sounds purely unnatural. Her whole body grew, stretching out her clothes as her limbs distorted and grew fur. Her sharp claws scratched into the concrete.

     Anaira had to get out of here, and there was only one way that would be possible. Her powers were unlocked now that it was night. Though she was so low on strength… but she could do it. She could.

     She closed her eyes and focused her breath. It took so much concentration and power. She felt her weak heart beat with whatever little blood it pumped. Before Ethel could attack, she was engulfed in black smoke, turning into a bat, out of her bonds. She flapped her wings as hard as she could and flew her way through the halls while Ethel growled.

     She flew up the stairwell, and out an open window. Ethel completely knocked down the door as she ran after her on all fours. Anaira flew through the trees, disoriented from the dark, and the wind, and her low magic. She felt herself grow dizzy, and before she knew it, she briefly blacked out.

     Her frail wings gave out on her as she lost consciousness. When she came back to she was falling from the sky, and there wasn't a thing she could do about it. She collided in the snow, breaking her fall. She heard the crunch of snow and growling approach her.

     Ethel picked her up by the wings, pinching them together with her claws. She growled a laugh and held her up in front of her face, her mask perfectly fitting her muzzle. Her voice was almost an echo, an unnatural tone.

    “Oh, Anaira… when will you learn you can’t run from me?”

Hell yeah back into the whumpy shit (just with different characters lol)

I really love vampire werewolf rivalries (and rivalries in general) so this shit is so fun for me. Also I can feel my alien phase returning which is good because, uh, aliens next part? 👀

(Also whumpy-wyrms you are the reason I felt motivated to buckle down and finish this so thank you 👍)

Taglist: @parasitebunny @whumpy-wyrms @fruitypinapple00 @otterfrost

Lmk in the comments if you want added or removed !

Thanks for reading !! 💕🦌

[janeicethesiren]

Kuroshitsuji Hot Take/Headcanon: Sebastian Is Sick of Ciel and This Contract

Hey! New blog, don’t mind me. I have some thoughts that I have to spill out otherwise I literally can’t sleep so here we go! Don’t take it too seriously lol I’m just talking.

Anywho, as the title says, I really think Sebastian is sick and tired of O!Ciel, this contract, the phantomhive drama, and all of the other shenanigans going on, especially after the 2CT reveal.

Sebastian is an egomaniac who believes in his own hype. He’s selfish to his core, self-serving, arrogant, hyper-narcissistic, pedantic, and overall unpleasant unless he has to be. Yana even said she finds him unappealing (and I don’t blame her!)

I love Sebastian, I promise. But, based on how much has happened over the course of less than 4 years and how many times he’s been caught off guard lately, he seems like the type that would HATE to be in this situation.

Look at him! When he got embarrassed by Blavat and that cult, what’d he do? He went to go mingle with some prostitutes. Yeah, he got some information from them but he was DEFINITELY looking for an ego boost.

Sebastian probably has a long list of grievances. To list a few:

1. He’s gonna have to fight Undertaker again most likely (which we all know he definitely DOESN’T wanna do).

2. The reapers are constantly on his ass.

3. Having to raise a child (technically two children if you count finny), and that child being the most spoiled, whiniest, greediest brat you ever did see. (and I say this with love)

4. And having to manage and constantly clean up the messes of his incompetent (day job wise) employees???

5. And how could I forget, they barely made any moves towards revenge! (Although I think this is more of a writing thing then a Ciel and Sebastian in universe thing. Plus I’m pretty sure the Queen did it or had something to do with it anyways, so…)

Like, he’s definitely over it, lol.

Not to mention, motherfucker is STAAAAAAARRRRVIIINGGG!!!! Didn’t William say he was, “half mad with hunger,” or something similar? Could you imagine basically having to fight to the death, jump through rings of fire, literally bend over backwards without a break for years on end JUST to eat, what you hope, is a gourmet pizza??? I’d be aghast!

Sebastian is an uppity bitch that likes to put on airs about being “elegant” and “classy” and “not like those other lowly demons who just eat whatever,” but he was just like that not too long ago himself. He probably, lowkey, still is to an extent. Yana didn’t call him a beast for nothing.

What I’m saying is, yeah, he’ll do the work to upmost perfection for his own personal pride because he’s an egomaniac. And a perfectionist who’s also a callous, narcissist that can never fail and never be wrong, but that doesn’t mean he’s having fun right now lol. I personally headcanon that while he enjoys being a butler to an extent, he secretly feels like he bit off waaaaaayyyy more than he meant to chew.

In his head, I bet Sebastian’s like, “I will literally do ANYTHING to go home at this point. There isn’t a day that goes by that I haven’t wanted to push that damn brat down a flight of, AT LEAST, ten staircases. I’m tired, I’m hungry, I’ve been humiliated by these…. LESSERS….way too many times, I have to tolerate a bunch of annoying humans and reapers, and don’t even get me STARTED on this……this….CHILD! MY GOD! He can’t bath, he doesn’t want to walk, he can’t dress himself or tie his own shoes. I’m surprised I don’t have to feed him myself half the time! I’ve been run ragged way past what’s necessary and-!“

Just, constantly. Everyday.

Lol I highly doubt he’d ever wanna do this shit again. Or would at least take an extended break afterwards.

TLDR: Sebastian is a tired and hungry egoistic demon who would just unceremoniously eat the child if he weren’t so damn prideful.

[agumonger]

Yume Nikki but it's a trailer for a Hollywood live-action adaptation

[Shot of a door. Someone is knocking from the other side.] MADO: Hello? Is anyone there? I'm gonna open the door, okay?

[The door is open, and we see a girl in a pink vest, with pigtails. She seems surprised by us.] MADO: Whoa. Oh. My. God…

[Reverse, sweeping shot reveals the Nexus. Some faint ""nondescriptly-tribal-sounding"" drums can be heard. A faint, poignant, echoing note is played, and the screen cuts to black. It's the first note to the flute theme.]

IN A WORLD… [Shot of the Neon World NPCs making funny faces]

…WHERE YOUR MIND IS KING… [Shot of Madotsuki looking confused in the Wilderness, with a weirdly broad angle, making her face look strange up close] MADO: I don't know why I started dreaming.

YOUR WILDEST DREAMS… [Scene in Forest World where one of the NPCS starts drooling all over her] MADO: But one thing is for sure… I'm never leaving home!

…CAN BECOME NIGHTMARES [Flute theme ends with another echoing note, and a thud.]

[Cut to the Mall. Mado turns towards the Toriningen cashier.] TORI: annoying squawk that takes a bit too long for comfort Hi little girl! I'm Tori, but you can call me Tori. Do you need drinks, eggs, bicycles, eggs, scrambled eggs, a ticket to hell…? Why do we even have those? MADO: Um, actually, I just want to know why I'm here. TORI: Oh, of course, me too, girl! Especially with these [beep] [beep] managers! Y'ALL DON'T PAY ME SINCE LAST SUMMER, YA BUNCH OF DINGDONGS!

[Basic electronic remix of the Toriningen Party, with 8-bit-ish soundfont. A Minion is running from the Dark World Ghost] ILLUMINATION STUDIOS PRESENTS

[Mado explores the FC Caverns with a lantern, and a cheap pixelated effect on top] PONIKO: I don't think you quite understand how anything works here.

BASED ON THE CULT CLASSIC BY KIKIYAMA [Mado going up the stairs to the Garden. The lighting seems weirdly off] PONIKO: And I can excuse that…

TAYLOR SWIFT as PONYTAIL GIRL [POV shot of Poniko checking Madotsuki out inside her house] PONIKO: But what are thooose!? The knee socks. They're, like, so passayyyyy! MADO: What's that even mean?

JOSH GAD as UBOA [Shot of Uboa and Mado trying to walk through the white sludge next to Akumu] UBOA: Well, you can look at the bright side! At least we're not inside THAT guy! MADO: Wait, what? [Akumu roars and goes after them, vomiting green instead of red. They both scream]

[Record scratch, someone clearing their throat]

JACK BLACK as MASADA [Masada is doing piano improv in a white spaceship with LED mood lighting that looks like a gamer bedroom, while Mado just stares blankly] MASADA: Space… you're so cool… and- oh, never mind, someone already did that one. Darn it! MADO: Um, okay.

and JENNA ORTEGA as MADOTSUKI [Poignant cinematic rendition of the saving theme] [Sweeping match shots of Mado biking through several worlds] MADO: I'm not scared! You're scared!

[Shot of Mado handling the knife like it was a nuclear weapon, and breathing heavily] MADO: Plus…

[Shot of Big Red waking up inside the Sewers. He looks like Prismo from Adventure Time but with human teeth, and he's drooling on himself] MADO: Maybe I could get used to this.

[Music abruptly stops before the last note] [Mado approaches the Rave Box. The Aztec Rave Monkey, eyes bulging in different directions, pops out of it and screams at her until she falls on the floor.] MADO: Alright, I guess this is my life now.

[Last note plays triumphantly.] YUME NIKKI (MY DREAM DIARY): THE MOVIE

[Kyuu-kyuu-kun is rubbing the pole. Mado approaches him.] MADO: So what, are you like "stimming" or something? [Kyuu stretches himself over her with a derpy grin.] MADO: Okay, okay, I was just saying!

[Last note plays again, with a resounding thud] COMING TO DREAM THEATERS NEAR YOU JUNE 26, 2025 RATED PG

[tadpole-apocalypse]

Some spoiler musings under the cut related to Astarion’s act 3 quest

At first when I completed Astarion's act 3 quest I was a bit disappointed with how some of the loose ends were wrapped up with the choices I made, that being setting 7000 spawn loose to do whatever with his siblings agreeing very easily to just...watch over them and teach them to feed, even though none of them have fed from a humanoid themselves. It was all a little too convenient. I felt like it wasn't really treated like a big deal that Seven Thousand Vampires were just let loose on the hopes they'd just peacefully march to the Underdark.

But thinking on it more I think Larian probably wrapped it up the best way they could with the resources and time they had. Expanding on it would make the choice to free them seem like the objectively correct one, and I think I'm ok just accepting I'm neurotic about npcs acting realistically even in my power fantasy games. Though I do wish maybe there was a little something they could have put in, like finding exsanguinated bodies in the sewers a few long rests after finishing Cazador, or something.

I'm assuming Dalyria is in charge, since she's the one who seems to step up and get everyone on board with the plan to head to the Underdark. However, what we don't see is the interpersonal spawn politics, because now Leon will find out the daughter that he did all those vile things for, to keep her safe and mortal, is dead. At the hands of one of the other spawn! So there's no way Leon is on board with this, he's gone, either leaving on his own or choosing to meet the sun.

I imagine a substantial amount of the neglected spawn are just gonna take the first chance to run, probably kill at least one or several people, and probably get killed by authorities/the sun eventually. Hundreds of innocent victims probably die on the way from Baldur's gate to the Underdark. Families torn apart, lives ended and ruined. No way people wouldn't find out and track it back down to Tav's actions.

It's one of those roleplay choices I like, because I tried really hard to pick what I thought my character would do. I had decided that my character, Morgan, grew up in a cult that got raided by adventurers looking to kill her cult's leader. They came in and started swinging swords immediately, cutting down her family and friends and people she'd known her whole life. They weren't fighters or combatants, just regular people who had been taken advantage of and were trying to protect their home, and she only survived by blind luck. She couldn't bring herself to be that adventurer ending the lives of basically innocent victims for the crimes of their master and insisted they be let free to at least have a chance.

I don’t know if any of the companions actually disapprove of this choice (I only got a notification that halsin approved). But I think she probably argued long and hard with a few companions about the choice. Gale and Shadowheart have been traveling long enough with Morgan to trust her judgement, but Wyll and Jaheira would probably have some objections to it. She’s generally a very even tempered and logical person but being challenged on this issue turns her into an emotional wreck because she’s just had a very tense argument talking her vampire down from unlimited power and she doesn’t even know if he’s going to want to be with her still.

[lastofthe20thcenturygirls]

I will be ur new srk mutual 🫶 which one of his films should I watch first?

such a beautiful ask 🥺

if you're in the mood for a romance movie

1. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge: it's as old as me and still running in a theatre after all these years. it's literally that movie. the biggest reason he's called the king of romance and there wasn't even a kissing scene in this. hasn't aged. beautiful soundtrack. and the infamous mustard field

2. My Name is Khan: 14th feb 2010, 3pm show in a single screen theatre and i had the time of my life watching my first srk movie in "talkies". i was so happy i was gonna cry finally in a theatre and wept i did. he was so fucking good in this kajol's comeback directed by karan johar. lots of tears. and some more. 9/11 background but it's a love story still. he should have won the national award and that jury will end up in hell someday :)

3. Veer-Zaara: romeo and juliet's tragedy is nothing compared to veer-zaara's. the songs the music the acting the actors the director the writer everything was just so good. a lot of people don't know this but eye acting was actually invented by shah rukh khan

4. Dil to Pagal Hai: a musical about a musical the soundtrack slayyyyed then it slayyyys now. underrated on current tumblr but i think i am starting to prefer that because DTPH is mine. i never had a crush on shahrukh but if any character of his ever came close it was from this movie. one of his sexiest characters imo. did i mention the songs were way too good.

5. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham: shahrukh really cries like children do. who knew weeping can have range. great songs great cast. kajol in orange. srk in see-through shirts. it's actually a family drama but it's fun also his mother in the movie has a superpower.

6. Om Shanti Om: no bollywood movie has ever bollywooded the way OSO did. love friendship reincarnation hero heroine villain nepotism revenge action comedy great music (and one more thing but that's a huge spoiler) it really just had everything. one of the finest masala movies ever made. it's tumblr's favourite as it should be. also this movie is how i learnt san francisco rhymes with disco

if you're in the mood for thrillers

7. Baazigar: the directors were having trouble finding the lead actor because nobody wanted to take the risk then srk told the producer that nobody can play this role as good as he can and he became the first actor in the history of filmfare to win the best actor award after playing a negative role. a cult classic.

8. Darr: it's the 90s it's the hero heroine villain era when the audiences think the people who play villains are bad people irl and dislike them. sunny deol an already established "hero" is the hero of the movie and srk is the villain a scary stalker and what happened was that the audiences really loved him instead. (my sister got scared of him enough that she started crying in the theatre and my parents had to leave mid-movie a wuss). something that couldn't have been achieved by just anyone except the future king of bollywood. oh lots of switzerland. also the legendary director of the movie kinda adopted srk and started casting him in every movie of his afterwards.

9. Fan: about an obsessed fan (not me just tbc). underrated af.

about brothers and mothers

10. Karan-Arjun: family evil rich guy poor villagers a mother's wait reincarnation revenge very 90s. used to watch it every time it was on tv. also it was shot in my state 😎

11. Main Hoon Na: a cool srk entry. action comedy friendships a whole college adopting a grown up as their big bro beautiful sarees the best dressed character who then got a make-over 🥲 (the only one flaw of the movie) a villain (which was getting rare in the 2000s) the best ending credits ever and whatnot. it was farah khan's directorial debut and she brought fun back to bollywood with her bestie <3

the only coming-of-age movie he did

12. Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa: i was younger than 4 srk wasn't my favourite "hero" yet but his character from this movie was my first blorbo. my murderous rage awakened for him. the first character i ever related to was also from this movie. gangster uncle 🤜🏾🤛🏾 me. srk was so baby (he was like 28) there was also ra ra rasputin in this. srk loves this movie so do i.

[fangsandsoftgrass]

4, 8, 14 For the beloved Cirwedh 🥹

RAHHHHHH BROO

4. Does your OC have a failed friendship or relationship they still think about? What happened? Is it an unresolved regret or is there a chance for reconciliation?

Absolutely LOL. There was no regret or anything though it was mutually beneficial in the end. She was actually supposed to be married at some point before the soulburst made anchors pop up all over. (MARRIED can you believe it LMAO). Arranged marriages aren't super common among Bosmer I imagine (with one of their key values being freedom) but her parents really wanted the security of having their family tied to another since none of her siblings had married by then. She had literally just returned from her ✨11 yrs✨ of self-induced isolation and so as you can imagine being told only a year later that you're probably gonna be married soon was a shock. Cirwedh of course had every intention of going through with it because she wanted her parents to have that security as they got older. It didn't end up happening because the bride-to-be ran off with Cirwedh's sister when she left to join a Herma Mora cult in Reapers March LMAO. There are no hard feelings though, because Cirwedh didn't really want to be married anyway she was only doing it for her parents and bc her brothers wouldn't.

8. What was your OC's most embarrassing moment? Does it still bother them or are they able to shrug it off?

To be honest Cirwedh has had a lot of embarrassing moments but I can't think of any that are more than the others. Shes tripped over her own foot in front of the High King, one time she had bits of Pelidil in her teeth when she spoke to Queen Ayrenn. She lost it and had an emotional breakdown in front of Lyris and Sai during which she swallowed a fly and almost choked. She doesn't deal well with embarrassment overall either. She gets defensive and usually resorts to saying some form of "shut up" because she can't hide the fact she's embarrassed easily and she knows it. The tips of her ears get red and her leaves either get riled up or shit starts growing in her hair LMAO.

14. How important is friendship to your OC? Do they prefer to have one or two close friends or a large group of casual friends? Or do they prefer their own company over that of others?

Cirwedh likes having a few close friends and a collection of trusted acquaintances. Growing up the only friends Cirwedh had were the wild inhabitants of Valenwood like animals and the occasional Spriggan. She didn't talk to any of the other kids in both places she lived before running away because she couldn't control how her magicka reacted to her emotions and was quite volatile despite only wanting to do good and be a spinner LOL. When she got older she made a few good fighting companions in the Vinedusk (most knew of her mother's reputation and wanted to know if Cirwedh was the same) but most people found her too weird tbh LMAO I mean she's hanging off branches making animal noises and takes a giant bear everywhere she goes, and kinda smiles weird (think uncle Pedro from Beverly Hills Chihuahua) since Coldharbour though, and kinda becoming a hero, she has met plenty of people she'd be happy to call friend everywhere she goes. These are more like mutuals tbh! Her real friends though, are few. Those who she trusts wholly and can be her truest self around. Ppl like Lyris and Sai, Gwendis, Eveli, Fenn of course, and a few others (Alethia included 👀)

[beecreeper]

Briar Playlist Deepdive

Woe be upon you I wrote 1500 words yelling around music that makes me feel things

Rambling under the cut and also gonna reblog with a part two because of the audio limit

Starting with this because this is THE song that made me start compiling a playlist for her. THE Briar song of all time for me. Particularly her peak cult days. The “I want a life that will give me purpose” and “Don’t crack through my facade” lines delivered in with all the arrogant greedy rock star vibes hit especially good.

This one is very very much Briar’s pre-cult backstory. Honestly if I were to ever put the effort into a full animatic, this would be high on the list because I can see it SO WELL. The chorus “All the kids cried out ‘please stop you’re scaring me’, I can’t help this awful energy, god damn right you *should* be scared of me” is just sooooooo 🥺. I also love love love the lines “I’ve grown familiar with villains that live in my head, they beg me to write them so they'll never die when I'm dead” as alluding to Bhaal sending her the urges to continue his own power and legacy.

This one I added really early in playlist building literally just because mushrooms. BUT there are some good in character moments to chew on ESPECIALLY the ending bit which is very much a vibe for Briar just after she murders her druid circle and decides AHAHA FUCK IT NO MORE FEELINGS EVER AGAIN.

This one is less about *specific* lyrics because the verses are kinda just vague ominous occult sounding stuff but OOH MAN THE VIBES ARE OFF THE CHARTS. If you want a song that captures of the vibes of a fantasy murder cult this is it.

This one is also pretty self evident I think, especially as the plot with Gortash progresses and her motivations shift just a *bit* from “I’m gonna murder everyone” to “I’m gonna take over the world and *then* murder everyone”. I like that “I'm gonna run this nothing town” makes me think of the city of Baldur’s Gate specifically. The “Bite my tongue, bide my time” line at the very beginning also reminds me of how she’s holding back her urge and *not* murdering Gortash until he’s done being useful to her. (This could also fit well into her post-tadpole vibes also. Biding her time in Act 1, actively planning to take the brain in Act 3).

I mean. Honestly explaining myself almost feels silly. It’s RIGHT THERE. This song is definitely a mutual one with Gortash, with both of them feeling this towards each other. A particular line that hits especially good is “Smells like something I’ve forgotten, curled up died and now it’s rotten” because a) yaaaaay rot imagery and b) alludes to Briar having deliberately killed that part of herself that tries to care about people.

Another one that honestly speaks for itself and a strong contender for a possible animatic because YAY CULT LEADER BUDDIES. I also particularly like this cover because I loooove the sort of wicked relish these ladies sing with and the more sultry of the two singers is one of my headcanon voices for Briar. Favorite lines include “If they say that I’m a god, that’s what I am” (so much so that I drew a piece for it) and also “If we don’t comply [...] I could see us being sacrificed or stuffed” (which I imagine Briar saying with a huge grin on her face at the idea).

This is one that I like to sort of fill in the nuance and contrast between Briar’s view and Gortash’s. “A coronation, a beheading, From the funeral to the wedding. Do you think they care where the crown goes?” is VERY much a bhaalist talking to a banite, you know?

[mxlktxa]

Old Days

┊┊❁ཻུ۪۪♡ ͎. ｡˚ 　　°

pairing; (teen!)joel miller x (teen!)reader

summary; reminiscing and dreaming about older memories is always fun. especially when they were ones that paved the way for where someones stands. whether the memories were positive or negative. lively or miserable. as long as they held a special someome they have today.

warning; 18+/suggestive scenarios, language, mentions of abusive behaviors/acts, drug usage, self harm, use of tobacco

word count; 3,127

author note; i wanted to try a little something but im extra nervous about this one… someone pls help me better my writing, i beg

┊┊❁ཻུ۪۪♡ ͎. ｡˚ 　　°

❀ 6

Who the fuck was this child and why on God’s green Earth was he staring at me so hard? With a smile and holding a flower out to me, like a total loser. An adorable loser.

“Hi,” he giggled.

I stared him down, eyes squinted at the flower in his hand. He stepped forward and pushed it out to me, causing me to jerk back, humming softly.

“My name’s Joel and I’m six.”

Fuck you, go away.

“Y/N. I’m six too.”

“Do you want this flower? It matches your shirt.”

Why are you being so nice to me? And how did you fine a yellow flower in this almost completely bland park?

“Okay,” my little hand reached for the miniscule plant, cautiously taking it. The boy named Joel giggled at ran away from me.

“I’ll find you more!”

Why? Don’t do that. Strange boy.

“Okay,” I kinda just stood there, watching him run around the playground for his flower finding mission, “You’re weird, Joel.”

___

❀ 16

“Fuck you, y/n. You’re nothing but a washed up slut. Nobody would even think to love you.”

“He said that to you?”

“Yep. My own father. To his sixteen year old daughter. Crazy, isn’t it?”

“Y/N… We need to get you out of there.”

“Oh, please, Joel. I’ve had worse. Done worse. I’m pretty sure I can make it just a couple more years in that house.”

“Or I could just ask around for you, see if anyone is willing to let you stay with them.”

“Joel. You and Tommy need to chill out. I’m gonna be fine. Swear,” I knew I was lying to these boys. But I couldn’t show them that I was weak.

Joel couldn’t take his eyes off me, staring down at my bruised rib area and cut up legs. Huffing, I swung myself off of the table, kissing Joel’s cheek and heading toward the swingset in front of us.

“Where is Tommy Boy anyways? Home?”

“Yeah. He’s just having a tough day today but he should be fine by tomorrow. We can all go to the movies then too.”

“Oh, fuck yeah. Ugh, so excited! I wonder who’s gonna chicken out for the movie first. I bet you it’s gonna be Tommy.”

“Tommy don’t like scary movies, you know that.”

“He’s gonna have to learn to,” I laughed, running my hands along the cold metal chains that held the swing up, “Come push me, Joey. You’re always so serious.”

___

❀ 17

School. Never liked it. Not one bit. I never really had friends, wasn’t known by anybody. If anyone did know me it was because I was the kid known for skipping class to hide out and smoke in the bathrooms or an abandoned classroom, the girl that sleeps with any guy she wanted, the freak who just looked like she was in a cult so she must be. I only ever had Joel and Tommy. Even if Tommy was younger and wasn’t even on the same grounds as Joel and I.

Well they had one thing right. I skipped class to smoke, that was a fact even teachers would agree to.

“You are so high off your ass right now. Aren’t you?” Joel sounded angry at my current situation, arms crossed and eyes filled with annoyance and rage.

I looked back at the doorway from the corner I popped myself into, giggling and waving to Joel, “Don’t worry, Big J,” I cooed, taking a quick puff and exhaling, “It’s only a cigarette this time. How’d you find me, Boyo?”

Joel snarled in disgust, marching over. I quickly pulled my shades down and tugged down on my sleeves, looking back into the wall.

“I understand that this is some sort of stress reliever for you, Y/N, but do me just one favor and quit it until school ends for the day.”

I looked down at my shoes, ignoring how upset Joel seemed, though it was hard since he was right beside me, tapping his foot on the ground and burning holes into the side of my skull.

“Joel. Now isn’t a good time.”

“No? Because you were just all happy-go-lucky when I found you.”

“Because I didn’t think you’d find me anyways.”

“You choose the same three abandoned rooms, Y/N. It’s not hard,” he huffed, snagging the cigarette from me and putting it out, “Let me see em’,” Joel demanded.

Shit. I’ve known him for too long then. Way too long. Not even Tommy understands that sunglasses and baggy clothes hides the damage done from a day ago. Maybe even hours ago.

“Joel. Please.”

“Please, just let me see.”

Silence. Joe wasn’t even mad anymore just upset and heartbroken. Simply because I didn’t want to hear his quivering voice anymore, I pulled back my sleeves and lifted the sunglasses. Joel immediately huffed and his knees nearly buckled.

“Cigarette burns? More cuts? A bruised, swollen lip? Fuck, Y/N!” Joel held back his crying, gripping my arm and shaking his head.

“Joel, please,” tears pricked my eyes, falling down after I looked away from him, meeting the corners of my lips, hesitant of falling from there, “I know it’s bad, I know. But I have nowhere else to go. My grandparents on either side don’t care to even check if I’m still breathing, I have no friends but you and Tommy, and I have no money and no help to move on my own.”

“I’ll beg my mother to take you in.”

“Joel, your mother will end up in jail for a kidnapping, no.”

“There has to be something!”

“There isn’t! Joel! There’s nothing!” I broke down, shooting up from the chair and pounding on his chest.

Fuck. I’m crying and screaming at him. Maybe I’m not all that strong. Not even a good friend. Sucks to be me, I guess.

One hand landed behind my head, pulling me into his chest, the other on my back, creating small circular motions. Gradually, we ended up on our knees, Joel comforting me and kissing my forehead, plenty of times.

“Let it out, Y/N. It’s okay.”

“Fucking help me, Joel.”

“I will. Me and Tommy will do anything any everything to help you.”

“Please. I’m begging you.”

___

❀ 19

“Joel! Joel, Joel, Joel!” my feet were forcing me to charge over to Joel, jumping on his back and covering his eyes.

“Woah! Y/N, slow it down. What’s going on?” Joel chuckled, carefully pinning me between a wall and him.

“First of all, I haven’t smoked a single cigarette since graduation, so congratulate me.”

“I’m proud of you, sweetheart, good job.”

“Second, I got excepted into college, another congrats, let me hear it!”

“Wait, what? You’re serious right now?“

“Unnecessarily serious.”

“Get off me right now,” Joel got serious so suddenly, it was kinda scary. He stepped forward, letting me drop down, turning to me with a straight face. For a second, he looked at my face then chuckled and pulled me in to kiss my forehead.

I sighed in relief, holding onto his wrists and he was now aggressively smashing his lips on my forehead, eventually pushing me into the wall.

“My baby! Look at y-, you smell like weed,” Joel raised a brow and ceased the kisses, still cupping my face with both hands. I gave a nervous smile, knitting my brows.

“At least it wasn’t a cigarette?” a nervous laugh was thrown in, watching as Joel shrugged and recommenced with the kisses.

“So, does this mean you’ve a dorm now? Or do you still live with them?”

“I have a dorm, don’t worry. I just… Hope my roommate is nice.”

“Me too,” Joel grinned, resting his forehead on mine. My thumbs ran across his wrists, trying to persuade my hands to not run to his waist or ass. Very tempting, truly.

“Fuck, Joel. Maybe… You’re my lucky charm, yeah?”

“Oh, of course. Only because I’m able to help tou get back on the right track every single time,” his words felt like a warm blanket, shielding me from how cruel the world could be. But only for the short period of time.

“Mmm, let me go before I try to fuck you.”

“Yeah, no, we are very much in public and that would definitely screw us over a bit.

“Yes… Okay, let me go,” we laughed, Joel kissing me sweetly before letting me go, “I’ll come again when you get off work.”

“Promise?”

“I promise. Big ol’ baby.”

___

❀ 20

I sat in my dorm bathroom, shaking profusely and rocking back and forth, roommate crying and banging on the door like a police officer.

“Y/N, please, sweetheart, come out! Don’t let him get to you, please. We can file a police report and press charges! I’m begging you, please!” Veronika pleaded, jiggling the handle and sounding like she was close to choking on her words.

Just then, there was pounding on the front foor. Veronika’s breath hitched and her footsteps left the bathroom door. I slowly lied on the floor, ignoring the razors and blood beneath me.

“Where is she?”

Joel?

“She’s in the bathroom. Please get her to come out. I’m scared she’s done something crazy, Joel.”

Joel. God, Joel.

I curled up into myself, squeezing my eyes shut. This wasn’t happening. I didn’t deal with anything crazy today. Totally didn’t. I didn’t have another man I trusted just completely overpower me while I was vulnerable today. Take advantage of me and viciously threaten my life. No. Not at all. It was all just some sick dream my brain wanted me to dream of. Right?

“Y/N. Open the door, sweetheart. Please. It’s me, it’s Joel. Come on out.”

“She hasn’t said anything the entire time she’s been in there.”

“How long has she been trapped in there?”

“Almost three hours.”

Silence. I silently cried on the floor, scared of what was to happen next. Would they leave? Would they discuss what they think is happening? What was next to come?

That’s when there was insane kicks landing on the door. I screamed, sitting up right and staring as they just kept coming down. Eyes hurriedly scanning the small bathroom, I looked at the window and weakly stood to wobble to it.

There was… Laughing? From multiple people. I shook my head, climing over the tub and trying to open the window. This wasn’t happening. No, not again. Never again.

“Leave me alone! Go away! I just wanted help with my work!”

“Come on out, Y/N! We just wanna talk is all,” a distorted voice was cackling behind the door, multiple laughs, multiple voices.

“Come out, gorgeous!”

“Let’s have a little fun, baby!”

“Leave me alone!” my voice nearly cracked and failed to deliver the scentence, the window opening half way. I punched out the screen out, taking the opportunity to crawl out, applying pressure to the fresh slits all over my arms and legs.

“Y/N! No!”

I was yanked from the window, held in a pair of frightfully strong arms that wouldn’t budge. I clawed, kicked, screamed, squirmed, pleaded, did everything to release myself.

“Don’t touch me! Get away! Please leave me alone! Please!”

“Y/N! Hey! It’s me! It’s us!” Veronika, cooed, hands on my face, feeling wet and smelling like metal, “Look, love. It’s me and Joel.”

It took me a minute but her face was morphing, replacing from my abusers to my sweet, scared roommate. I still kept trying to escape but toned it down, keeping my eyes on her.

“Hi, sweetie. It’s okay. It’s us, mama. It’s us. You’re safe.”

I eventually gave up, being lowered to the ground and set up against the wall, still tearing up like crazy just silently.

I looked to the other person, seeing Joel absolutely distraught. My view just wouldn’t stay focused on one person for too long, constantly switching between to two safest people I had with me now.

“I just wanted help with the work. I didn’t want him to do any of it. I was scared. I couldn’t-“

“Shh, shh, shh. It’s okay. We know, baby, we know,” Joel was bawling his eyes out, his hands replacing V’s and his forehead on mine.

“Help me? Please? Can you guys help me?”

“Yes, yes. Of course, sweetheart. What do you need right now? You wanna get all cleaned up? Want some fresh clothes?”

I nodded anxiously, still glancing between the two and shaking like crazy. Veronkia gave me the okay, running to get me clothes while Joel ran the water, checking up on me every two seconds. Literally.

“I’m right here, Y/N. It’s okay.”

What the fuck. Why the fuck? It was gonna take me forever to process any of this.

___

❀ 25

“Y/N? You okay over here?” Tommy questioned, rubbing my back, “You’re staring off into space with wide eyes again.”

“Yeah, I’m cool. Just thinking about some other things right now.”

“Like?”

“Sinking my teeth into a thick ass steak or something,” I laughed, leaning on Tommy. A snort left him as he leaned his head on mine, rubbing my shoulder.

“You’re tellin’ me. I’d kill for a steak right now,” he huffed.

Tommy and I had been sitting at a bench near a park bathroom, waiting for Joel, Maria and Veronika to come back. It had been maybe ten minutes since they all left to use the bathroom.

“Hey, Y/N?”

“Hm?”

“Where do you see yourself in a few years?”

Ah. The infamous question I’ve been getting since middle school. But this time I had a not so depressing answer. My eyes met Tommy, shyly smiling.

“Uhm… Waking up to two crazy kids. Right beside Joel. Laughing and playing in bed with them. Making breakfast for my happy little family. Kissing Joel goodbye for work and taking the kids to school then going to myself.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Yes. Definitely,” I started giggling and chewing at the skin around my nails, “Why?”

“Because he said almost the same thing when I asked him what he wanted.”

Joel actually wanted to marry me? I was just letting my little brain entertain me and allow me to assume Joel still loved me. After everything we’ve been through.

“So… Joel is in love with me? Like? For real?”

“No for fake,” Tommy paused with a blank look, looking away, “Yes for real, dummy!”

I huffed, punching Tommy in his knees, crossing my arms, “You scared me!”

Not really. I just don’t wanna hear what I already thought I knew.

“Okay, sorry, sorry! Look. They’re taking a little bit and I wanna show you something cool. Do you trust me?” Tommy questioned, standing from the bench as his hand reached out to me. I took it and stood in front of him, eyes covered by his hands.

“Hey!”

“Nope! Have to have them covered. Just for a little bit. You’re safe, promise.”

I put my trust in Tommy, holding onto his forearms to keep my balance. Tommy hummed a little tune as he walked me around, carefully guiding me.

Maybe five minutes of walking and Tommy stopped, “Okay. We’re here. Ready?”

“I’m scared but yes.”

“Okay… Look!” Tommy backed away, hands removing and both Maria and Veronika throwing white confetti at me. Startled, I squealed and waved it off, earning a laugh from the three.

“You wanted to show me white confetti?” I giggled, brushing myself off.

“No, silly. We wanted to show you this though,” Maria laughed, both her and Veronika stepped aside, revealing Joel, behind the two girls and on one knee. He held a beautiful bouqet of different flowers with what looked like a box in the middle.

“Joel?”

This wasn’t happening. This was all a dream and my brain was just trying to give me a happy moment.

“I know I said I would get you similar flowers to when we first met. When we were kids. But I got you this instead. Not a single one matches your outfit right now but… It’s still just as beautiful as you.”

“Joel, are you-? You’re serious?”

“Listen, Y/N. I know we’ve had our ups and downs, you hated me plenty of times and I didn’t wanna be around you from time to time either but I’m happy we never gave up on each other.”

“Holy shit, just shut the fuck up, yes!” I giggled, holding back tears and pushing past Veronika and Maria to go kiss and hug Joel for what felt like forever.

Joel chuckled, standing up and sweeping me off the floor the second he wrapped his arms around me. We stayed like that laughing, kissing, crying, hugging, all the good stuff for what felt like an eternity.

“So Tommy was telling the truth. About what you said.”

“What does that mean? What’d I say?”

“That you also wanted me to annoy you for the rest of your life.”

“That’s not what I said.”

“It’s close enough.”

“Not even a five minute walk to being close. Now get down and let me put this damn ring on you.”

___

❀ Present, 30

“Y/N. Wake up,” Joel groaned, lightly shaking me. My eyes shot open, scanning the room and landing on Joel a few times before wandering again to confirm I was home in bed with him.

“What happened? What’s going on? Are-“

“Yes, Y/N, I’m fine. You were flailing around like crazy then you were calm a bit then just huffing. Like you were crying or something.”

“Oh, no, I’m fine. Strange dreams. You know me, Joel. Big J. Joey. J-“

“Alright, alright, I get it,” Joel lied down, pulling me on top of him. We laughed a little bit, lying together and trying to get back to sleep.

“Joel?” he hummed in response, hand meeting mine on his chest, “Thanks.”

“What? For what?”

“Not giving up on me. I don’t know where I would be or what I would be doing. If I would even be alive-“

“Hey, hey, hey.”

“Sometimes, I don’t even think this is real. Like right now. Is it?”

“Yes, baby. It’s real. It’s all real. Don’t start that crying because I can assure you this is all real, you’re right here with me. Right now. We’re happy and healthy,” Joel attempted to look at me, blowing me a kiss and smiling.

“I love you, Joel.”

“I love you too, Y/N. And I would give you the world of I could.”

How and why did I get gifted this fucking guy since I was a kid? I was just super thankful to even lay my eyes on him and spend quite literally my entire life with him. Maybe I’m not entirely upset that that child stared at me with that dumb little flower.