#death cabin tales

[cat0901h3]

Cabin Tales 2.10

The Ship (Epilogue 2)

Avast traveler, ye has listened to tales about weakness, temptation, and morality.

Tales ye heard before; friendship, childhood, and guilty parties.

Even tales about destruction, adaptability, and instinctual bonds.

So here’s one more for ye, a tale for victory, for triumph…

A tale about CONQUEST!

[rhithefella]

Do you have a doodle of the sailor from cabin tales?

Not yet, but I do have one for my version of Storyteller. I totally should make one though.

That said, I do have an HC for sailor. His boat is named Charon. Because of course it is.

[rhithefella-sillytimes]

Memento Mori, Memento Vivere

A Cabin Tales Quick Fic

-----

"Alright... if I gave you all one more year, what would you do? Will you... make the most of it? Or will you just waste it like you humans always do?"

This question left the mouth of the Storyteller, as he glanced at the unfortunate lot. Its fingers tap against his arm, his cold gaze piercing into their bodies like a well-aimed bullet.

-----

Wayward 01 - Cassidy White

A young girl who ran away from home and never came back. Perhaps there were a few things she wishes to do differently if she returned?

Cassidy sniffled, wringing the tips of her hair dry. She seemed out of it, and was shivering even though she was placed close to the fireplace. She looked up at the Storyteller, before looking away again. She seemed like she was moments away from either sneezing or sobbing her eyes out.

"Well..?", the Storyteller asked. "I don't usually do this 'second chance' thing, so consider yourself lucky that I even considered this."

"I... I...", Cassidy tried to speak with a shaky breath. She was stopped by a sudden itching of the throat, and she leaned forward, coughing up water.

Begrudgingly, the Storyteller stood up from its seat, walked to Cassidy and patted her back. It waited until the spirit could be able to speak without pausing to spit lake water. To him, it felt so tedious, but he has to do this if he wants an answer from her.

After what seemed to be forever, the girl was finally ready to talk. The Storyteller moved away from her, making his way back to his chair. He peered close, locking eyes with her. She couldn't look away, or at least she felt like she couldn't. She looked hesitant, which was reasonable. After all, she was sitting face to face with Death themself.

"Go on.", the Storyteller urged her. Cassidy's mouth quivered, but she knew she had to speak now.

"Well... I... I want to go home.", she started, holding her arms close and leaning closer to the fireplace.

"I just want to see my mom again. I have... to talk to her. I just want to get back in good terms with her. Oh shit, she might hate me now. I just want to tell her that I'm so sorry...

Most importantly, I wanna actually say goodbye to her. Please, let me have this chance for once..."

-----

Wayward 02 - Eric

A boy who was the unfortunate victim of a curse that haunted the orphanage he lived in. An acquaintance tried to save him, but they failed... what would he do in this chance he may be given?

Despite the circumstance he's found himself in, Eric looked a lot more bummed out than scared. It was almost like he's been called to the principal's office instead of sitting right in front of Death.

At least, that's how he seemed outwardly. Death knew better. It knew this child was scared. Well, why wouldn't he be? Such a young soul, having faced a horrifying situation that he barely had control over. But the kid knew how to feign a lack of fear, as he had done many times before this.

The spirit just picked at his teeth with his fingernails, staring back up at the Storyteller with a bored but wide-eyed expression. He didn't even seem to react to the blood trickling down his throat as it stained the wooden floors red. Once the Storyteller said their question, Eric paused, wiping his finger against his shirt.

"Hm... Let me think.", the boy said.

Time dragged on, and Eric was still thinking. The Storyteller grew impatient, and they waved its hand in front of the boy's eyes.

"Hey.", they said. "Do you have an answer yet? I have all the time in the world, but I can't say the same about you, boy."

Eric laughed a little, some blood spraying onto the mysterious entity's clothes as he did. "I kind of forgot what you were asking. What was it again?", he replied, much to the Storyteller's annoyance.

It groaned, pinching its forehead with an annoyed sigh. "I said, if you had another year to live, what would-"

They were cut off by the orphan snapping his fingers. It gave Eric an unamused look, annoyed by the kid's audacity or ignorance.

"Oh, I remember now!", the boy says, before clearing his throat. He slightly winces from discomfort after the gesture, before continuing his response.

"There's this kid I knew. I think his name's Ethan..? He seemed like he would be cool to be around. I just... regret not talking to him.

I dunno, it didn't cross my mind. I didn't really think I'd be dead, so I always thought I'd start talking to the guy some other day. Besides, the other guys would pick on him, I could've been next if I did do that."

He shrugged, before he sighed.

"I guess I just wish I didn't have cold feet before this. Maybe if I had one more year to do things right, I could talk to the dude. We would've been great friends, I can tell."

-----

Wayward 03 - Samuel Larson-Watts

A boy who died alongside his friends, but was the deciding vote that caused his own friend to die alone. Now that he's gotten a new chance, will it make things worthwhile for his friends?

Sam looked like all the blood had drained on his body, as he sits still in front of the Storyteller. In his bloodied and slightly charred face was an expression that was equally frightened and defeated.

The Storyteller leaned forward, their head tilting slightly. "What's with the face, boy? You haven't even answered anything yet, and it already looks like you've given up on convincing me." It then chuckled snidely, their voice echoing throughout the cabin in a low rumble.

The loud voice caused Sam to partially duck his head low by instinct. He squeezed his blurry eyes shut, balling his hands into fists. He opened his mouth to apologize, stopping before the first syllable could even escape his lips. He slowly opened his unfocused eyes, trying to look up at the Storyteller with the toughest expression he can manage to make.

The Storyteller's sneering expression remained. "What? Are you gonna give up? Go ahead, you can just give up. Don't answer anything. It will be easier for the both of us."

This remark made Sam's eye twitch, and he sighs before finally talking. There was annoyance and frustration in his voice, which was almost enough to mask his defeated expression. "No I'm... I'm not giving up. I just... I'm just trying to think. If you aren't going to help me, don't talk at all, ok?"

This made the Storyteller lean back on his seat. Finally, the boy's decided to toughen up a little. It was a little worried that Sam would just give up. Despite their smugness, they wanted to see the boy struggle and fight, like he's always done in life. "Okay kid, just tell me when you're ready."

"Fine.", Sam says with a scoff. A minute passes, before the spirit lets out a sigh. He looks up at the Storyteller.

"I don't know.", he admits, looking down and letting some blood drip from his forehead to the floor.

"What do you mean 'you don't know'?", The entity asked, almost looking furious that the boy seemingly just gave up on finding an answer.

"Well...", Sam responds, still looking down but also looking to the side. "I wouldn't know what I'd do by myself. You don't just... come up with answers to this on the go. You'd need to think about them.

But... whatever it is, I don't think I could do it alone. So if you bring me back, I'd rather have this chance with my friends, please. Besides, I want to make up for them, and maybe I could if we all came back.

I've been a bad friend... and I want to do things right this time. And I promise, I will."

-----

Wayward 04 - Timothy Conroy

A kid quickly taken by forces beyond comprehension and barely even had the time to process what happened to him. I wonder, would things be different if he knew how much time he had left?

Timothy leaned back against his seat, his eyes fixated towards the fire. He then stretched his back, an audible and sickening crack heard as his bones locked in place. Even the Storyteller looked disturbed by the noises his spine and ribs made as he adjusted his back.

"Ooh... that sounded painful.", it said with an amused but surprised laugh.

"That's cuz it is.", Timothy said with a slight cough, stretching once more. "My back is... killin' me. Got any painkillers I could use there?", he says, wincing as he rubbed his presumably dislocated shoulder. "Got hit really bad 'round here."

The Storyteller can only let out another laugh of disbelief, though he felt a little bit of amusement as well."It's normal to feel like that after what happened to you. You'll get over it."

"Heh, hopefully it'll be soon, this sucks.", the spirit says, sighing. "Now back on what ya wanted to ask. It was what I'd wanna do if I lived again for a year, correct?"

The Storyteller nods, and Timothy continued. "Well, last thing I recall before things went dark was somethin' attackin' my family. If I get this extra year, maybe I'll try to get them outta there. Or y'know, fight that thing that got me."

The Storyteller shrugged. It seemed unusrprised by his answer, but almost looked unsatisfied. He then slightly changed his question, adding onto it. "Well, what else? That can't just be your goal now, can it?"

Timothy shrugged. "Well, if you want something else I guess I'll just help pa as much as I still can. Y'know, with workin' on the farm. Maybe find Bandit if he's still alive, but I doubt it."

Wayward 05 - Matthew Godrick

A young man struck down at the prime of his life by what many would say is an act of self-preservation. Does this person even have any regrets from his time on earth?

Matthew was quiet after the question was asked, busy thinking of how he'd respond to such a question. Only moments ago, he's been repeatedly apologizing to the Storyteller for bleeding all over the place. To the Storyteller, it was getting annoying so perhaps this silence was better than that.

It was still evident to Death that the poor soul was still anxious. He's slightly hunched over, his arms crossed across his body and his knees pushed against each other as he tried to prevent his visibly painful wounds from dirtying the floor even more with a dark red. Bloodstains and wood aren't a good mix. And if they looked closer to him, they could see him shudder. His mouth was slightly agape and his breath escaped in quick shaky gasps, as if his lungs were seconds away from collapsing.

The spirit's eyes weren't fixated on the Storyteller's, instead looking to the flame that refused to die despite the wood having burnt down into a pure pile of ash. He can still see its vibrant lights dance around, and to him it seemed even stronger than it did before its fuel had ran out.

The Storyteller's patience was going thin, as he wasn't fond of this silence that followed the question they asked. As much as it was used to waiting, the Storyteller didn't like this kind of wait. So they decided to say something, just to urge the conversation. But before it could even utter a word, he was interrupted by the spirit raising his hand.

"Wait!", the young man exclaimed, before looking up at the Storyteller. Almost all semblance of nervousness had disappeared on his face, replaced with a look of confidence. Or at the very least, a feigned confidence. But it was enough to fool everyone, even the spirit himself. "I just... want to see my family again. I want... to help them."

The soul clasped his hands, as if he were going to do a business proposal, before continuing. "You see, my life was taken from me at a time where I was just going to settle down with them. It was so unfair that it had to happen to me, and I want-"

He paused, trying to hold back from saying something else. He then talked again, his confident smile unbreaking but his body stiff, like a corpse.

"I want to use this extra year to spend time with my family. To help us settle down better. I didn't want to leave them alone like that, but... I never had the choice. That... man never gave me the chance. I hope you do give one to me. You're better than him, right?"

The Storyteller looked back at the spirit, before tilting his body to the side. His gaze looked up and down at him, before it looked directly at his eyes once more. Something was... off with what he said.

It leaned forward to the adult, giving him a stern look. "I know that isn't the full truth, Godrick."

"Hahah, of course. I didn't want to waste your time. You might shoot me like he did.", Matt said, his eyes glancing towards a rifle mounted on the cabin's walls.

A chuckle released from spirit's throat that just sounded painful. "Of course, of course. There's still that... bucket list I never got to finish."

"Please cut the nonsense, Mr. Godrick. I know what you've done back there.", the Storyteller says, a disappointed expression in its face.

The spirit's stiff smile finally faltered albeit slightly, and his eyes look back at the flame. "Ah, so you think I want to do bad things... is that it? You think I wanted to hurt people?"

He looked up at the Storyteller, letting out another bitter laugh. "For shame, Death. You really let that crone's lies affect you too. I thought you were better than the humans, hahah..."

He sighed, before looking up at the Storyteller. "But... you would be right for once. But only just this once."

He looked at his nails, watching the green light of the fireplace shine against them. They looked sharp, as if they hadn't been cut for months. "I did do bad things. And I did think about horrible things when you asked." His hand did a small grabbing motion, and he clenched his hand into a fist.

The spirit rested his hand on the armchair, and he sighed again, giving a sad smile to the Storyteller. Tears welled from his eyes, and he wiped them off with his bloodstained sleeve, leaving a red smear on his cheek.

"But what else would you do if you were killed the way I have? It would've been alright, if I were just dead... but that man decided to ruin me. Made up a whole web of lies just to make everyone see me as the one who started it. He even shot my wife, for crying out loud!

So... of course I'd be angry. Of course I'd want revenge. Of course I'd try to get it. That news lady got what was coming for her. I've managed to confuse her enough to not trust a single soul. But I'm not done yet."

The ghost looked back at the flames, his teeth almost grinding as he spoke in a ghastly, raspy wheeze. "If I had one more year, I would try to avenge myself. Avenge my wife. We didn't deserve this to happen to us. And he didn't deserve to get away."

-----

The Storyteller looked over at the loose pages, pieces of paper that documented the spirits' responses. They were stacked neatly on his wooden table, and each one perfectly labeled after each poor soul he interviewed. It picked them up, giving them short glances as it thought to itself. It then walked off, having made their decisions on what to do with each of them.

[doliminuz]

Samantha yelled from inside her brother's car. Sure, she was now safe from the rain, but what about him? He might not make it in time.

But he knew what was going to happen, and he knows what they have to do. So he spoke to her, and her heart sank.

"Go. Drive."

Samantha hesitates, fingers twitching against the wheel and foot hovering over the gas pedal. Maybe its stupid, no, its moronic to hesitate considering everything but God that's her brother.

And if she goes, she's leaving him to die. Yet, instead of going to get him, she whispers out a prayer, something she feels should be so much louder but she can't raise her voice even the tiniest bit. And with that she turns her key in the ignition and drives off as it begins to pour.

•

David raises his hands up to shield himself from the 'rain', its useless, he knows, but it's an instinctual response so can you blame him? He watches his sister drive off, good, she's safe now.

The 'rain' comes down harder, he stumbles and falls as something hits him. He can't tell what it is through the red in his vision, he tries to get to get to his feet but something hits him again and he yelps. A metallic taste enters his mouth and floors his lungs, the roar of the wind drowns out his desperate gasps. The ground beneath him is too wet for his feet to get any grip and he finds himself drowning on land.

But Sam's safe.

His vision blurs, from the blood or lack of oxygen he has no idea. Thrashing dies down into weak squirming until that too is drained from him. Lungs filled with blood, trapped underneath the corpses of not quite humans, David shuts his eyes.

And that's all that matters.

New ending unlocked: Brother Of All Time.

[angel-of-whump]

"Should we..?"

"..."

"Yeah, fuck it."

And with a swift motion, Kevin opened the mysterious item. He steps back, moving closer to Roderick as they both observe the item's contents.

"What the hell is that?!", he exclaims and tilts his head.

"It looks like something straight out of a fucking sci fi.", Rod groans, squinting his eyes and leaning forward.

"Ship residue?", the young man suggests.

Kevin shrugs, but suddenly tries to back off further as soon as they notice movement from the object.

"S-something's in it...", he whispers with gritted teeth.

"What is that..?", Rod asks as he tries to back off as well.

And then... the leeches leap.

There was screaming as one of them attached itself onto Roderick's face. He tried to pull it off, but their grip was like iron. The leech crawled in his hair before burrowing itself into his ear. His screams got louder as Kevin screamed louder as well. He tried to grab the leech, but he was too late as it disappeared.

"GET IT OUT!! GET IT OUT!!" Roderick screamed at the top of his lungs as he clawed at his ear, trying to dig it out.

Kevin was frozen. His friend is freaking out in front of him and there was nothing he could do to help. Why was he so helpless? "Someone! Anyone help!" He tried to scream out to the empty beach, but there was only the two of them.

The other leech crawled on his arm, attempting to dig itself into his skin. Kevin shrieked and flung it off. He stomped on it again and again, mixing its insides with the sand. Soon, it was rendered to a mangled mess. Breathing heavily, he turned to Roderick who had mysteriously stopped screaming.

"Roderick...?"

Roderick turned and Kevin flinched. His eyes... They were a different color. They looked almost... neon green. His ear was bleeding profusely from where the leech had entered. He opened his mouth.

"Help me..." It came out in a raspy whisper.

He collapsed with a heavy thud on the ground. His limbs began to jerk and contort. His body was not his own anymore.

"ROD!!" Kevin ran to his side. "Oh God, okay, umm... What did Jay tell us to do when...?" He couldn't think. He couldn't see. Nothing was making sense.

Roderick continued to convulse on the ground, foam coming out of his mouth as he started to choke. Kevin turned him on his side and thumped him on the back, hoping it would help slightly. Uselessness was all he felt. Why isn't Sam and Jay there? Granted, they would freak out too, but Jeremy would at least keep a level head in this case.

Suddenly, Roderick went still. At first, Kevin thought it was good. He didn't know how long he was seizing for, but it couldn't have been long.

As the seconds ticked, he noticed that he was still. Far too still. He hovered his hand over his mouth and gasped. He couldn't feel his breath.

Kevin pressed his ear to his chest, fearing the worst. His fears were confirmed.

Roderick's heart wasn't beating.

He screamed into the empty beach once more. "HELP!!! PLEASE, I NEED HELP!!"

[frazerbrown-producer]

PUT ON 3-D GLASSES NOW!

Amongst the recent Marvel U.K. deep dive I found these cool OVERKILL cards.

I loved these things and thought they were long gone.

Work by Bryan Hitch, Gary Frank, Gary Erskine and many more.

John Freeman of DOWN THE TUBES wrote a great article about them:

“Back in the early 1990s, some fantastic trading cards were given away in three early issues of Marvel UK’s Overkill, which I edited, featuring art by Gary Frank, some of the cards inked by Cam Smith.

These cards feature Hell’s Angel (later, Dark Angel), The Guide, Algernon Crowe, Colonel Tigon Liger, Master Key, Misha, Motormouth, Killpower, Death’s Head, Tuck, Purge and Digitek.

Many Marvel UK fans will have no doubt come across these images in various places online before, conjuring up, perhaps, fond memories of the debut of Death’s Head II in Overkill #12 – 14 in 1992, his arrival further enhanced by fantastic covers by Mark Harrison and Steve Sampson.”

You can read the full thing here: https://downthetubes.net/1990s-marvel-uk-nostalgia-the-first-overkill-trading-cards/

The 3D cards by BRYAN HITCH are particularly cool.

I got the whole lot signed at UKCAC ‘92 as wee bairn. The reason I have so many DEATH’S HEAD 2 cards is he was my favourite, plus it was a ‘hot book’ in the speculator market, so I figured I’d retire on the money made from selling these in the future. We all know how that bubble turned out.

Fun times

[writers-potion]

The Pirate's Glossary

Ahoy - an interjection used to hail a ship or a person, or to attract attention.

Arr! - an exclamation

Avast! - a command meaning stop or desist

Aye (or ay) - yes; an affirmation

Becalmed - the state of a sailing vessel which cannot move due to a lack of wind

Belay - (1) to secure or make dast by winding on a cleat or pin (2) to stop, most often used as a command

Bilged on her anchor - a ship holed or pierced by its own anchor

Bilmey! - an exclamation of surprise, short for "God blind me!"

Blow the man down - to kill someone

Boom about - when a ship turns in the wind the boom can swing violently enough to injure or kill a person on board. "Boom about" may be shouted to warn others the boom is about to move.

Bring a spring upon her cable - to come around in a different direction, oftentimes as a surprise maneuver.

Careen - to take a ship into shallower waters or out of the water altogether and remove barnacles and pests such as mollusks, shells and plant growth from the bottom.

Chase - a ship being pursued, or the act of pursuing a ship.

Code of conduct - a set of rules which govern pirates behavior on a vessel.

Come about - to bring the ship full way around in the wind. Used in general while sailing into the wind, but also used to indicate a swing back into the enemy in combat.

Crack Jenny's teacup - to spend the night in a house of ill repute.

Crimp - to procure (sailors or soldiers) by trickery or coercion, or one who crimps.

Dance the Hempen jig - to hang

Davy Jones' locker - a fictional place at the bottom of the ocean. In short, a term meaning death.

Dead men tell no tales - standard pirate excuse for leaving no survivors.

Deadlights - (1) strong shutters or plates fastened over a ship's porthole or cabin window in stormy weather. (2) Thick windows set in a ship's side or deck. (3) eyes.

Fire in the hole - a warning issued before a cannon is fired.

Furl - to roll up and secure, especially a ship’s sail.

Give no quarter - the refusal to spare lives of an opponent. Pirates raise a red flag to threaten no quarter will be given.

Handsomely - quickly or carefully; in a shipshape style.

Haul wind - to direct a ship into the wind.

Heave down - to turn a vessel on its side for cleaning.

Heave - an interjection meaning to come to a halt.

Ho - used to express surprise or joy, to attract attention to something sighted, or to urge onward.

Letter of marque - a document given to a sailor (privateer) giving him amnesty from piracy laws as long as the ships plunders are of an enemy nation.

List - to lean to one side

Long clothes - a style of clothing best suited to land. A pirate, or any sailor, doesn't have the luxury of wearing anything loose that might get in the way while climbing up riggings.

Marooned - to be stranded, particularly on a desert isle.

Me - My

No prey, no pay - a common pirate law meaning a crew received no wages, but rather shared whatever loot was taken.

Overhaul - (1) to slacken a line (2) to gain upon in a chase; to overtake

Parely - a conference or discussion between opposing sides during a dispute, especially when attempting a truce, originating from the French, "parler," meaning "to speak." The term was used in "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" as part of Pirate law.

Piracy - robbery committed at sea.

Quarter - derived from the idea of "shelter", quarter is given when mercy is offered by pirates. Quarter is often the prize given to an honorable loser in a pirate fight.

Reef sails - to shorten the sails by partially tying them up, either to slow the ship or to keep a strong wind from putting too much strain on the masts.

Run a shot across the bow - a command to fire a warning shot.

Sail ho! - an exclamation meaning another ship is in view. The sail, of course, is the first part of a ship visible over the horizon.

Scupper that! - an expression of anger or derision meaning "Throw that overboard!"

Sea legs - The ability to adjust one's balance to the motion of a ship, especially in rough seas. After walking on a ship for long periods of time, sailors became accustomed to the rocking of the ship in the water. Early in a voyage a sailor was said to be lacking his "sea legs" when the ship motion was still foreign to him. After a cruise, a sailor would often have trouble regaining his "land legs" and would swagger on land.

Shiver me timbers! - An expression of surprise or strong emotion. In stormy weather and rough seas, the support timbers of a ship would "shiver" which might startle the crew. The phrase may have been less common during the Golden Age of Piracy than it had become later in fictional works.

Show a leg! - A phrase used to wake up a sleeping pirate.

Sink me! - An expression of surprise. Many pirate exclamations used exaggerated imagery to highten a point. Ye might say the sailors were punchy or a bit melodramatic after a lengthy stay at sea.  

Smartly - quickly

Take a caulk - To take a nap. On the deck of a ship, between planks, was a thick caulk of black tar and rope to keep water from between decks. This term came about either because sailors who slept on deck ended up with black lines across their backs or simply because sailors laying down on deck were as horizontal as the caulk of the deck itself.

To go on account - A pleasant term used by pirates to describe the act of turning pirate. The basic idea was that a pirate was more "free lance" and thus was, more or less, going into business for himself.

Warp - To move (a vessel) by hauling on a line that is fastened to or around a piling, anchor, or pier.

Weigh anchor - To haul the anchor up; more generally, to leave port.

Ye - you

If you like my blog, buy me a coffee☕ and find me on instagram! 📸

Reference:

https://www.pirateglossary.com/

[felassan]

Letters from Lovers

Transcriptions of the letters from the various gear store items. under cut for length.

Isabela:

“My dear Hawke, Do you know anyone with a flock of parrots? I'm trying to cheat on a bet with Varric and the stakes are exceedingly high. If you help me, I shall take you to that breathtaking beach you so crave. Free of ancient horrors, too. I think. I'd hate to take respite from all my adventures, but there are other ways to make the heart flutter. In fact I'm already imagining a few. Aren't you? Sailing there can be fatal, but Admiral Isabela will keep you safe. Are you interested? I would love to see you again. Yours, Isabela”

Morrigan:

“My love, Now before that grin reaches your ears, perish the thought that this letter was my idea. 'Tis Kieran who would not give me peace until I wrote to ask how you are faring. Regale us, if you please, with another of your tales that I might read to him in bed. He is particularly fond of those wherein you spur mischief whilst you save the day. Thank you for your most delightful gifts. I shall make certain to wear them the next time you come home. Dream of me until then, my Hero of Ferelden, and have a care. Morrigan”

Dorian:

“My dearest Amatus, Home is ever as it was: a glittering whirl of dancing, politics, and murder. I'm used to people staring daggers at me - I quite relish it, actually - but the glares seem to possess a new intensity since my return to Tevinter. Do they disapprove of House Pavus freeing its slaves while I work in the Magisterium to end slavery across Tevinter? Perhaps they simply covet my cheekbones, and who could blame them? Real reform will take time, but we're making inroads. I miss you terribly, Amatus, perhaps almost as much as you miss me. I treasure you and your belief in my work here. Yours always, Dorian P.S. I wouldn't take it amiss if you might send me another barrel of that dreadful Fereldan beer?”

Alistair:

“My love, How are you? Is it true that you recently killed darkspawn with only a mean glare and a pointy stick? Ferelden is ablaze with this rumor! You do give people so much hope. Tales of your heroism never fail to astonish me and almost ease the pain of going to sleep without you by my side. Almost. I can't wait to be with you again. I'd bring you some roses, you could give me a tour of the keep, we'd drink with the new recruits and then cuddle in a tent. Without the new recruits! Tent time is just for the two of us. I want to make that clear. Now excuse me while I practice my death glare and rummage through the dog's stash of sticks. I love you. Yours forever, Alistair.”

The Iron Bull:

“Kadan, You won’t believe what I did today. I got a guy to flip! Twice! So yes, all is well. Except for all the demons. And this whole thing in which I’m far away from the love of my life. Really keeps me up at night. Anyway, you hearing these rumors of a dragon on the loose? Yeah! The boys and I are on its trail. Last I heard, it was flying toward the Frostback Mountains. Can you join us? I hope you’re not uh… all tied up. Don’t worry, I’m fairly certain it’s not a Ben-Hassrath trap. And if it is, you know I’m prepared. Ataash varin kata! I love you, Kadan. See you soon. The Iron Bull.”

Tali:

“By the way, I left something for you up in your cabin. Go have a look.” - Tali’Zorah  --- “Dear Shepard,   As you may remember, I presented this picture frame to you as a gift on the Normandy. It was my way of expressing my admiration for you and our bond as comrades-in-arms. On the back of the metal frame, I've emblazoned a promise that will never fade - 'Shepard, wherever you go, I'm with you.'  I know it's not much, but...this is what I look like under the mask. I'm sorry if it's not what you were expecting. I know Quarian faces can be a bit...different. Every time you look at my picture, I hope you will be reminded of our adventures on the Normandy, from our battles against the Reapers to our intimate conversations in the privacy of our quarters.    I am not one to express my emotions openly, but thank you for being my friend, my confidante, and my inspiration. I look forward to many more adventures together.  Keelah se’lai,   Tali’Zorah”

Another letter from Tali:

"Whatever the galaxy throws at us, I'll be at your side. - Tali" --- "Shepard It's been a while since I last struggled to sleep. You must be dreaming of falling through a fish tank or starring in a hanar vid? I can hear you muttering about jellyfish. It's funny. I've spent my whole life hoping for the future, but these days nothing scares me more. Keelah, why can't we stop time? Even for just a little bit? No war, no Reapers, nobody counting on us. Just you and me, as free as the dust in the solar wind. When this is all over, will you settle down on Rannoch with me? I love you. - Tali"

Bonus:

Shepard's N7 acceptance letter, from Anderson:

“N7 Congratulations on your graduation From Captain David Anderson Shepard, When I graduated from the N7 program I had the honor of meeting Admiral Grissom, the man who inspired me to pursue a career in the service, and I never thought I’d feel prouder in my life. I was mistaken. Don’t get me wrong, it was a big day. An important day. But there’s something about welcoming driven young people like yourself into the ranks that’s also pretty damn satisfying. Your distinguished service record may have gotten you into this program - but it was your courage, integrity, and tenacity that’s enabled you to join an elite few. You represent the best of humanity, and I feel certain you’ll make the galaxy a better place. And I’m not the only one who feels this way. Becoming an N7 means the entire Systems Alliance is telling you one thing - we believe in you. Let me end by saying this. Welcome to the team Shepard. We know you won’t let us down. David Anderson Systems Alliance Interplanetary Combatives Academy N7 N7 Acceptance Letter”

[magda-kb]

Character Analysis Of Luis Serra:

I just think someone needs to do this here on Tumblr so here we go…

Born in the remote and devoutly Catholic village of Valdelobos, Spain, Luis grew up in a reclusive, pre-industrial community that shunned modernity. The death of his mother during childbirth left him in the care of his grandfather (Man in the picture above together with Luis), a hunter whose wisdom and love shaped Luis’s early years.

From a young age, Luis displayed an insatiable curiosity and intelligence that set him apart. While his peers clung to the village’s traditions, Luis dreamed of the world beyond its mountains, finding solace in fairy tales and stories, particularly the adventures of Don Quixote. His grandfather recognized his potential, lamenting the limits imposed by their isolated life.

Later on his grandfather was attacked by a wolf and succumbed to a mysterious illness. Rumors of madness swirled, and fear gripped the superstitious villagers. The village’s chieftain, influenced by paranoia, ordered the family cabin to be burned to prevent the spread of the supposed "infection." According to the texts found throughout the game, the boy stood outside the house the whole time watching the flames, the next day he had disappeared from the village and nobody knew where the boy was.

In the modern world, Luis thrived, earning recognition as a prodigy in biology and securing a position at Umbrella Pharmaceuticals. Despite his remarkable achievements, including work on groundbreaking research, his tenure at Umbrella left him disillusioned. For example, we know that he was an employee of Project Nemesis (note to Racoon City - Nemesis T-Type).The corporation’s ethical compromises clashed with Luis’s growing moral awareness, leading to his resignation. This decision underscored a recurring theme in Luis’s character: the struggle between ambition and conscience.

Luis’s return to Valdelobos in 2004 placed him at the center of a nightmare. The village had fallen under the control of Los Iluminados, a cult manipulating the villagers’ religiosity to propagate a parasitic organism known as Las Plagas. Saddler, the cult’s leader, enlisted Luis for his scientific expertise, tasking him with enhancing the parasites. Initially compliant, Luis became horrified upon realizing Saddler’s true intentions. His guilt over his role in the cult’s atrocities drove him to seek redemption.

This is where Luis’s complexity truly shines. Torn between his past mistakes and a desire to atone, he takes enormous risks to undermine Saddler. Partnering with Ada Wong, Luis orchestrates plans to escape with the cult’s critical research sample, the Amber.

Here, too, I would like to emphasize a particular passage from the Separate Ways DLC that was already a bit of a foreshadowing of what his fate would be: Namely, during the scene in which other village members fell victim to the cult, Luis spoke of the fact that the next dance would be his… It should also be noted here that the already deceased was lying in exactly the same posture as Luis will later do… So it really was his “last dance”, so to speak (You can see it a little in the photo below, but it is clearly visible in the game itself)

Luis’s interactions with Leon S. Kennedy in the main game reveal yet another layer of his character. Despite their initial mistrust, Luis proves his worth as an ally, displaying a blend of wit, vulnerability, and a desperate need to make amends. His decision to assist Leon and Ashley, even at great personal risk, underscores his transformation from a man driven by self-interest to one guided by selflessness.

Ultimately, Luis’s arc concludes tragically yet heroically. Fatally wounded by Jack Krauser, Luis uses his final moments to ensure Leon and Ashley have the tools to fight back against Saddler. His death is not just a sacrifice but a culmination of his redemptive journey—a final act of defiance against all the things he did in the past. There is also the fact that Luis has doubts. Mainly about the things he himself has done in the past - And it is precisely these doubts that seem to characterize his last moment.

Something I would like to add: Krauser threw his knife directly into Luis’s spine. I mean clearly he aimed to kill. When a victim is stabbed in the area of the spinal cord, the spinal cord can be severed, sheared, torn, or otherwise damaged. This will result in a loss of function below the point of injury. That’s why it’s so impressive and powerful that Luis was able to muster up the last of his strength and force his hand to shoot at Krauser-hitting directly at his knife that could have killed Leon. That would now also explain why Luis can’t properly use his lighter and needed Leon to do it for him. Because after the lighter drops we can not see him move his body again…

Luis Serra is a character defined by contradictions: a brilliant scientist haunted by his complicity in unethical experiments, a dreamer shaped by the harsh realities of his upbringing, and a man who ultimately chooses redemption over survival. Something I would also like to point out is to link the whole story to Don Quixote. Because just like the self-proclaimed knight, he also had this urge of idealism throughout his life - which also led Don Quixote to make mistakes in the end and ultimately to his death... But in the end he became a hero and more or less passed on the title of knight to Leon...

[philipkindreddickhead]

100 Fiction Books to Read Before You Die

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

The Book of Margery Kempe by Margery Kempe

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Sparks

The Girl by Meridel Le Sueur

The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Veronica by Mary Gaitskill

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Kindred by Octavia Butler

Middlemarch by George Eliot

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Passing by Nella Larson

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather

Play it as it Lays by Joan Didion

The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende

Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

White Teeth by Zadie Smith

The Power by Naomi Alderman

The Street by Ann Petry

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskill

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

Small Island by Andrea Levy

The Idiot by Elif Batuman

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

The Price of Salt/Carol by Patricia Highsmith

Room by Emma Donoghue

The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch

Garden of Earthly Delights by Joyce Carol Oates

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

Wise Blood by Flannery O Conner

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsey

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall

House of Incest by Anaïs Nin

The Mandarins by Simone de Beauvoir

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Corregidora by Gayl Jones

Whose Names are Unknown by Sanora Babb

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

See Now Then by Jamaica Kincaid

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri

Beloved by Toni Morrison

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

My Antonia by Willa Cather

Democracy by Joan Didion

Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates

The Violent Bear it Away by Flannery O Connor

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

I Must Betray You be Ruta Sepetys

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

The Mare by Mary Gaitskill

City of Beasts by Isabel Allende

Fledgling by Octavia Butler

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin

The First Bad Man by Miranda July

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Moses, Man of the Mountain by Zora Neale Hurston

Disobedience by Naomi Alderman

Quicksand by Nella Larsen

The Narrows by Ann Petry

The Blood of Others by Simone de Beauvoir

Under the Sea by Rachel Carson

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

Under the Net by Iris Murdoch

The Birdcatcher by Gayl Jones

Desert of the Heart by Jane Rule

In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa

@gaydalf @kishipurrun @unsentimentaltranslator @algolagniaa @stariduks @hippodamoi

[cat0901h3]

Cabin Tales 1.10

The Cabin (Epilogue)

You’ve listened to all my tales, about love, denial, and regrets.

Tales about solitude, greed, and religion.

Tales about grief, friendship, and fate.

But now it’s time for one more story, one more tale…

A tale about DEATH!

[fandomtrumpshate]

Unlisted Fandoms Challenge

Welcome to the LAST update on write-in fandoms for FTH 2025 (only one day left to sign up! go Do The Thing!)!! We have a LONG list of fandoms for you - TWO HUNDRED EIGHTY ONE write-in fandoms this year. So far!

And there's been some movement near the top of the list. Jeff Satur, with 10 signups, still holds the lead, but in second place we now have a TIE. Control (Remedy Game) gained *four* new signups to match Zhen Hun / Guardian's 9 signups. Cabin Pressure has also moved up the rankings, with three new signups bringing it to a total of 7 to claim third place. Whew! Just below them we have:

a four-way tie for fourth place with 6 signups includes-

6 Alien Stage 6 Carry On 6 Dimension 20 6 Dungeon Meshi / Delicious In Dungeon

two fandoms with 5 signups each, in fifth place are-

5 BBC Ghosts 5 White Collar

which brings us to an eight-way tie for sixth place with 4 signups each-

4 Detective Conan 4 Fire Emblem Awakening 4 It - Stephen King 4 Pathologic 4 Roswell New Mexico 4 Schitt's Creek 4 The X-Files 4 Transformers 4 Voltron: Legendary Defender

and with 3 signups each, an 11-way tie for seventh place-

3 Dungeons and Daddies (Podcast) 3 Fields of Mistria 3 Fire Emblem Fates 3 Inception 3 Iron Widow 3 MotoGP RPF 3 Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint 3 Rusty Lake/Cube Escape 3 Stand By Me/The Body by Stephen King 3 The Goblin Emperor Series - Katherine Addison 3 Zhen Hun / Guardian (drama) RPF

Below the cut are 56 fandoms with 2 signups each, and 195 fandoms with a single write-in.

2 Animorphs 2 Attack on Titan 2 Avatar Legend of Korra 2 Beyond Evil 2 Biggles Series — W. E. Johns 2 Binan Koukou Chikyuu Boueibu (Cute High Earth Defense Club) franchise 2 Black Sails 2 Bridgerton (TV) 2 Britpop RPF 2 Castlevania (All Media Types) 2 Challengers 2 Cherry Magic 2 Conclave (2024) 2 Dan and Phil (rpf) 2 Dangan Ronpa 2 Dead Boy Detectives RPF 2 Digimon 2 Dishonored 2 Dr. Stone 2 Due South 2 Dune (Villeneuve) 2 Five Nights at Freddy's - All Media 2 Fruits Basket 2 Grantchester (TV) 2 Gravity Falls 2 IndyCar RPF 2 Jeeves and Wooster 2 Kingdom Hearts 2 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 2 Link Click (Shiguang Dailiren) 2 Lovecraft Mythos 2 Lucifer (tv) 2 MAS*H 2 Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury 2 Nirvana in Fire (琅琊榜) 2 Oasis 2 Princess Tutu 2 Sailor Moon 2 She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018) 2 Slow Horses 2 Sonic the Hedgehog (Games) 2 Team Fortress 2 2 The Blue Wolves of Mibu 2 The Empyrean - Rebecca Yarros 2 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (TV series) 2 The Poppy War 2 The Stanley Parable 2 Tiger & Bunny 2 Tower of God 2 Universal Century Gundam 2 Valdemar Series by Mercedes Lackey 2 What We Do In The Shadows 2 When the Third Wheel Strikes Back 2 Word of Honor 2 Yu-Gi-Oh! 2 ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 / JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken / JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

1 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) 1 A Court of Thorns and Roses 1 Akatsuki No Yona 1 Among Us 1 Ancient Greece 1 Arctic Monkeys/The Last shadow Puppets 1 Arknights 1 Around the World in 80 Days (TV 2021) 1 Babylon 5 1 Back to the Future 1 Baseball RPF 1 BBC’s Musketeers 1 Bendy and the Ink Machine 1 Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei Bu Love/Happy Kiss 1 Black Doves 1 Black Jewels 1 Bob's Burgers 1 Books of the Raksura - Martha Wells 1 Boygenius (Band)(RPF) 1 Brilliant Minds 1 Brokeback Mountain 1 Buddy Daddies 1 Bullet train 1 Canji Baojun De Zhangxin Yu Chong (The disabled tyrant's pet palm fish) 1 Cassette Beasts 1 Castle 1 Charmed (1998) 1 Countryhumans 1 Criminal Minds 1 Cyberpunk 2077 1 Danger Force (TV) 1 Dark Deception 1 Dark Rise 1 Dead by Daylight 1 Death Note 1 Descendants 1 Destiny 2 1 Dexter 1 Dexter: Original Sin 1 Divergent (Movies) 1 Dominion of the Fallen - Aliette de Bodard 1 Downton Abbey 1 Dragon Ball Z 1 Dragonball 1 Dragonlance 1 Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey 1 Emma - Jane Austen 1 Ensemble Stars! 1 Etta Invincible 1 Fairy tale 1 Fangs of Fortune 1 Farscape 1 Fear & Hunger: Termina 1 Finder no Hyouteki / Finder Series 1 Flight Rising 1 Formula 2/3 RPF 1 Frieren 1 Game Changers Universe (Rachel Reid) 1 Gangsta (Anime & Manga) 1 Generation Loss (Web Series) 1 Gilmore Girls 1 Giselle 1 Grimm 1 Hatoful Boyfriend 1 Haven (TV) 1 Helluva Boss 1 Henry Danger (TV) 1 High School Musical (Movies) 1 Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu 1 Hikaru no Go 1 HLVRAI - Half-life VR But the AI is Self-Aware 1 Holby City 1 Homer's Epics, Ancient Greece Religion and Lore, Epic The Musical 1 House MD 1 I Am Nobody (CDrama) 1 In Other Lands 1 In Stars And Time 1 Infinity Train 1 Initial D 1 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 1 Jet Lag The Game RPF 1 Jurassic Park (Extended Universe) 1 Kamen Rider Gotchard 1 Kane and Feels 1 Kuroko no Basuke / Kuroko's Basketball 1 Kushiel's Legacy 1 La Casa de Papel (Money Heist) 1 Law & Order 1 Lays of the Hearth-Fire Series - Victoria Goddard 1 Lies of P 1 Life is Strange 1 Live A Live 1 Lord Seventh/Qi Ye 1 Malory Towers 1 Mass Effect 1, 2 or 3 1 Metaphor: Refantazio 1 Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries 1 Mononoke (2007 series and 2024 movie) 1 My Time at Sandrock 1 Mystic Messenger 1 Mythology 1 Nancy Drew (TV 2019) 1 NBA RPF 1 Nerdy Prudes Must Die 1 Norah Grant Bruce's Billabong books 1 October Daye series - Seanan McGuire 1 Oh No! Here Comes Trouble 1 Once Upon A Time 1 Order of the Stick 1 Outlast games 1 Over the Garden Wall 1 Pacific Rim 1 Paradise Of Thorns 1 Peaky Blinders 1 Person of Interest 1 Persuasion - Jane Austen 1 Pirates of the Caribbean 1 Power Rangers (2017 movie) 1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 1 Prodigal Son 1 Project Sekai 1 Project Zero/Fatal Frame 1 Psych (2006) 1 Puella Magi Madoka Magica 1 Qiang Jin Jiu (Ballad of Sword and Wine) 1 Quantum Break 1 Ranma 1/2 1 Resident Alien 1 Resident Evil 1 Rise of the Guardians 1 Riyria Revelations 1 S.C.I Mystery 1 S.W.A.T. (2017 show) 1 Saint Seiya 1 Sanders Sides 1 Saw franchise 1 Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated (2010) 1 Shipwrecked Comedy 1 Skulduggery Pleasant 1 Sleeping Beauty (1959) 1 Slenderverse 1 Sonic The Hedgehog (movies) 1 South Park 1 Spinning Silver (Novik) 1 Spirited 1 Squid Game 1 Starkid Musicals (no hp) 1 Static Shock 1 Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical 1 Super Sentai 1 Tales of Arise 1 Tales of Series 1 Tatort Saarbrücken 1 That 70s Show 1 The A Team (either the 2010 movie or the 1980s series) 1 The Coffin of Andy and Leyley 1 The Devil Judge 1 The Glass Scientists 1 The Good Place 1 The Hands of the Emperor - Victoria Goddard 1 The Librarians 1 The Masquerade Series 1 The OC 1 The Pairing - Casey McQuiston 1 The Paradise of Thorns 1 The Radiant Emperor 1 The Silt Verses 1 The Umbrella Academy 1 the vampire diaries universe 1 The Venture Maidens 1 The Walking Dead 1 The West Wing 1 Thousand Autumns 1 Thunderbirds are Go 1 Tokusatsu 1 Tron 1 Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles 1 Turning 1 Under The Skin (Cdrama) 1 video games by Arkane Studios 1 Wander Over Yonder

1 Warriors / Warrior Cats 1 Watcher Entertainment/BuzzFeed Unsolved RPF 1 Weak Hero Class 1 1 Wind Breaker 1 WNBA RPF 1 Wonka 1 World Trigger 1 Xenoblade Chronicles series 1 Yellowjackets 1 Young Wizards (Diane Duane) 1 Yuwu (Remnants of Filth) 1 Zatch Bell 1 Zombieland Saga 1 บ้านหลอน ON SALE / Peaceful Property (TV)

[rhithefella-sillytimes]

Peter running Florence over

...In all honesty, it was something he's always fantasized about, a thought that had appeared one day and refused to leave, no matter how hard he tried to shake it. But despite it all, he never really imagined that he could do it. He couldn't stomach it. Well, on his own he could but...

What if you saw me do it? My love, I can't let you see me like that. I promise... I couldn't.

Nevertheless, the point is that it was something he couldn't imagine actually doing, for one reason or another.

The conception was shattered as soon as the couple had heard a hard thud on the bumper. The next thing Peter knows is him slamming his foot on the brakes, the tires screeching to a bloody halt.

Sarah simply stared, mouth open as if she was about to scream. She had no words to say, which was in a stark contrast to the slew of words that were let out from the both of them moments before the accident.

She had an idea on what just happened, and was afraid. Afraid for the both of them.

Please, please don't be the truth. We didn't just kill someone... did we?

The same couldn't be said about Peter. He looked angry and confused, simply staring at Sarah before seeing that her eyes were pointed to the new dent that had formed in the car.

"...What the FUCK was that!? Was that a fucking deer?!", Peter exclaimed, but Sarah couldn't answer clearly as she stammered something unintelligible to him. He then started rolling down the car window and peeking outside.

At first, he didn't see much. Simply just a dented bumper, and a road that was made visible by the car's headlights.

He then looked to the side, seeing the night sky. No camera was around as far as he knew. At the corner of his eye was a cliff that he was lucky to have missed in the blind argument he had with his love.

...He then looked behind him, turning around and practically leaning out the window. It took a while for him to adjust his eyes to what he's seeing, but the wind had been knocked from his chest once they've recalibrated in the dark.

Blood. He could see fresh blood, trailing slightly and coating the tires of his car.

Without a word, he opened the door and walked out, following the bloody trail. Sarah reluctantly walked behind him. Fortunately or unfortunately, the trail didn't lead too far, merely just about a meter or two away from where he'd stopped the car.

At the end of the blood trail was the crumpled body of Florence, the boss that had been tormenting Peter for months on end. She, who was usually standing with her chin on the air and danger on her stride, was now a bloody pile of broken bones. Her face had a shocked stare, her eyes twitching and her mouth struggling to breathe.

What they both saw caused completely different emotions on the couple. For Sarah, it was panic as her fears had been confirmed. They did crash onto someone, and there's no way the woman would be alive after that. Not in an empty road like this.

For Peter, it was a strange sense of... relief. For a long time, he'd always wanted her hurt, dead even. And to see it having happened in his hands... made him feel so happy. He was about to pump his fists into the air and cheer, but he saw how scared Sarah was right now and held it in. But he whispered something very slightly under his breath, hoping his darling wouldn't hear it.

"How do you like that, you fucking bitch?"

After that, silence had followed for a few seconds, neither of the couple having said anything. But then... Sarah spoke.

"We can't get caught. We have to make sure no one knows we did it. We have to."

"Yes, but how, my dear?", Peter asked, before realizing something and looking at the cliff again. Sarah followed his gaze, and she gasped.

They then look at each other, now knowing what to do. What they must do. And for the first time in almost a year, they feel like they have each other's backs. It was almost like falling in love all over again.

Peter rushes to the car, starting the engine again and driving to a place closer to the cliff. He then hops off the car, and grabbed both of their belongings, making sure they didn't leave anything in there.

When he returned, both he and Sarah picked Florence's body up. They quickly head to the driver's seat, and Peter throws the body in there. He then shuts the door, as the couple then pushed the car.

It took a few minutes, but it was all worth it once they saw the car tumbling down the cliff. They watched as it rolled down, parts getting more and more wrecked before it eventually reached the bottom.

They were about to walk off when Sarah heard an explosion. She looked down, and the car had burst up in flames. She looked at Peter, wiping off sweat from her brow. "Phew..."

Peter then reached out to her, wiping off dirt from her forehead. Sarah smiles. They then both pick up their things, walking to somewhere where they could find a cab.

Minutes later, they were riding a taxi home. Peter had decided to nap on Sarah's shoulder, snoring softly. Sarah then checked the time on her watch. 2:00 am. It was a new day, in a way. She then asked the driver something.

"Miss, what day is it again?"

The driver answered after a few seconds of thinking. "Oh, it's the 27th. As for the week, a Tuesday."

"Thanks...", Sarah said, before reminiscing. It had been a year now since this had started, and she couldn't believe it. She looked down at her sleeping partner, and a thought had crossed her mind as she watched him.

...Happy Anniversary.

[doliminuz]

Considering 1.3, I wouldn't be surprised if at least some ghosts DO have a bit of amnesia in the CTverse.

Cassidy kind of remembers her name when her mom said it, if I recall correctly.

Maybe it depends on the ghost though idk. Tommy only forgot his death, and we don't know how much the guy from 1.2 knows.

Maybe they forget more over time and depending on their death was? Basically two factors combined to trigger ghostly amnesia

[angel-of-whump]

Carol stomped the creature that laid flat on the ground. She stared at Eddie in disbelief, trying to stop the deep wound on his face from bleeding even more. "Eddie, why the fuck did you think that was a good idea?!"

The man laughed maniacally. "They're gone... the noises are gone!"

As she searched her pockets for something to help patch him up, a shocked looking Carol rushes into the room.

She looked pale, and her eyes had a look of both horror and exhilaration.

"Leia? What's... what's going on?"

"I have news. Samuel's alive."

That announcement rendered her speechless. How? He was dead, right? He was killed by the bugs that were buried in his torso. She and Eddie tried to revive him, but it didn't work. She couldn't keep going due to exhaustion, but Eddie kept going. Despite his injuries, he tried to save the captain, but in the end, it was all for nothing.

But as she heard those words, she couldn't help but stare in disbelief.

"I'm not joking! Samuel, he... He just sat up!"

"Wait, a-are you sure he-" Eddie started to say.

"Of course I'm fucking sure-" She cut herself off when she saw the state Eddie was in.

"Don't... Don't worry about me. Just check on the captain!"

"No, I'm staying here with you!"

"I told you I-"

"You took a leech out of your eye! Fuck, your eyeball's gone!"

"Eh, I'll just... get an eyepatch."

"Oh my god..." She continued to try and stop the bleeding. His blood dripped down his face and onto the floor.

Leia looked at the crushed leech on the floor. What had happened? She remembered it jumping out of Samuel's body and burrowing itself deep in his eye. But how...? How is he still alive? That thing had an iron grip. It ripped Samuel's skin off. She tried to hold back her vomit.

"Leia?"

She looked to Liam who had just woken up. "What's... going on? Is... the captain...?"

Leia slowly nodded. "Yeah. He is. And so is Eddie."

Liam lightly chuckled and tried to sit up, but gritted his teeth. He clutched at his stomach.

'Whoa hey! Don't sit up!"

"But I have to see-"

The sounds of footsteps stopped him from saying anything more. They all looked to see the now revived Samuel Keller, standing at the doorway, still bleeding from the missing patches of skin. He stared at Eddie's bleeding face, then at the crushed bug.

"...What happened?"

[ataliagold]

trouble's always gonna find you baby, but so will i

For Whumptober prompt 10, I used "blow to the head" and "slurred words." Title from Western Nights by Ethel Cain.

Also on AO3.

Pairing: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson

Rating: T

W/C: 1546

Tags: post-vecna, established steddie, whump, assault, injured steve, pistol-whipped, hospital, hurt/comfort, happy ending.

Summary: Steve's found by some men looking to pass Al Munson's drug debt on to his son.

But he'll die before he gives Eddie up.

___

“You ready to talk?”

The man’s leaning close to Steve’s ear, rancid breath filling his nostrils, his fist caked in blood.

Steve’s blood.

Steve gasps for air, bats at the man’s wrist again, kicks out futilely. He receives a boot to his leg for his efforts, the second man grunting at the force he puts behind it.

His head’s swimming. Distantly, he wonders just how many concussions a person can take before their brain just sort of…leaks out their ears.

Surely he’s almost at the brain leaking stage by now.

Blood dribbles from his mouth, sticks to his teeth.

“Where’s Eddie Munson?” The first man growls.

Steve keeps his mouth shut. He’ll never give up Eddie, certainly not to these lowlifes, these associates of Al Munson looking to pass a drug debt onto the jailed man’s son.

He’ll die first.

When he says nothing, there’s the tell-tale click of a gun being cocked.

Steve really thinks he might actually die tonight.

If no one walks past this back alley, he’s toast.

Cold metal presses against his temple. Lucidity grips him for a moment, and Steve squirms in the grip of the two men, trembling all over.

“No…no, you can’t…I don’t know where he is, I don’t.” It’s a lie. It’s a fucking lie but he can’t.

“I ain’t fucking playing,” the man spits out, pressing the handgun harder against the side of Steve’s head. “You’ve got about five seconds before I decorate these walls with your brain, pretty boy.”

Steve swallows. He tastes rust and salt, coughs as it goes down. Heart hammering, ears ringing, fingers scrabbling at the hand fisted at his collar.

He’s going to die. Here, in the pitch black, in the dankest, dirtiest alleyway in Hawkins, where Jonathan had once beat him to a pulp while his friends looked on.

His tongue darts out over his lips. The barrel of the gun’s against his head still.

He thinks of Eddie.

Of cracked lips and gentle hands, long curls and pale skin that Steve loved to touch.

He’ll die before he gives him up.

In a moment of defiance, he locks eyes with his attacker.

The man curses, raises his hand, and whips the butt of the pistol across Steve’s face.

Steve’s head is slammed to the side at the force, his cheek immediately wet with blood where the skin parts.

“Last chance.” The man spits at the ground beside him, and then the gun’s lowered in front of Steve’s face again.

The world’s a blur in front of him. Steve blinks sluggishly, listens to his pulse pounding in his ears.

Eddie would be home from work by now. He’d be at the cabin by the lake, where he and Steve had been staying after…everything. They’d just wanted some peace in the wake of Vecna, away from the prying eyes of the Hawkins townsfolk, the ones that still blamed Eddie for everything that had happened to the town.

Steve was going to cook dinner for the two of them.

He’d been halfway through when he realized they didn’t have any butter, had driven back into town to buy some. It lay beside him now with the rest of the last-minute groceries he’d grabbed scattered on the filthy concrete. Even when he’d been jumped in the empty parking lot, he’d kept hold of his bag, too shocked to drop it until they’d slammed him up against the wall in the alleyway.

Eddie would be worried, he’d be wondering where Steve was, he’d come looking…

Steve hopes someone else finds him, after. Anyone but Eddie.

“Fuck you,” Steve slurs, with the last of his strength.

The man’s expression hardens.

Steve’s eyes drift close, and he waits for death.

Instead, there’s the wailing of a siren several blocks over.

The other man, the younger one who’d been sending the other nervous looks the whole time, lets go of Steve. He slumps sideways, lacking the strength to stay sitting upright.

“We gotta go,” the younger man urges.

“Nah, he’ll break,” the elder scoffs.

“That’s the fucking police.”

“They’re still a ways off. Probably doing something else.”

“I’m out, man.” The younger one backs away, turns on his heel, and runs.

The older man swears. The siren gets louder, and Steve thinks he can see red and blue lights in the distance, but maybe it’s just his injured brain firing on all cylinders.

“We’ll be back,” he hisses at Steve, kicks him one last time for good measure, and then he’s gone.

Steve sucks in a breath. Winces as everything hurts, his ribs and his stomach and his face all on fire.

He needs to move. Needs to get out to the road where someone might see him, because there’s no way he’s going to make it back to his car.

A whimper escapes from between clenched teeth as he braces against the wall.

He thinks of Eddie.

Shoves himself to his feet, one arm looped against his stomach protectively. His ribs crunch, and he knows there’s broken bone there, cracked under the onslaught of savage kicks the men had delivered to his sides.

It starts to rain.

And that, on top of everything else, has Steve almost breaking out into hysterical laughter. Because of course it’s fucking raining, just when he’d thought his night couldn’t get any worse. Rain mixes with the blood on his face, leaving watery streaks, and Steve slips and staggers his way across the concrete, past the butter turning to a damp mess, past the carton of eggs smashed across the ground.

Several times, he ends up on his knees, everything spinning.

But slowly, every inch of him screaming in agony, he makes it to the road.

There’s a patrol car up ahead, the siren cut now but the lights still flashing on the roof, reflecting off the rain falling.

Steve’s shirt is soaked through as he hobbles towards the car.

“Help,” he tries to call out, but it comes out as a croak, blood spilling out behind it.

He stumbles again, sobs, scrabbles against the concrete with ragged nails and forces himself upright again.

There’s a familiar figure in front of him, hauling some drunk guy to his feet, waving him away from a storefront.

Hopper.

Steve’s crying in relief now.

“Hop,” he rasps.

The chief turns. His eyes go wide, and he runs to Steve, catching him before he can fall again.

“Steve? What the hell happened?”

Steve’s mumbling into Hopper’s chest, he’s trying to tell him, but his tongue’s heavy in his mouth and his words are all merging together.

“In the car, come on,” Hopper’s telling him, guiding him to the passenger seat of the patrol car and easing him in.

Steve leans against the door, shivering, distantly aware of Hopper saying something, but then his eyes are falling closed and he slips into darkness.

*****

He wakes to a steady beep.

There’s a hand on his, warm and familiar.

He’d know it anywhere.

Slowly, he cracks open one eye, then the other.

Eddie’s beside him. He’s pale, bags under his eyes, his bottom lip gnawed to shit, but he perks up now.

“Stevie? Sweetheart, can you hear me?” He squeezes Steve’s hand.

Steve goes to speak, but no sound escapes his raw throat. Instead, he nods, his head feeling heavy and stuffy.

“Steve, I’m so sorry.”

Eddie’s crying.

Steve hates that he’s crying. Hates that he’s the reason for Eddie’s tears.

“Don’t cry,” Steve whispers, his throat rattling. He feels the unmistakable tug of stitches on his cheek when his mouth moves, feels tender skin stretch and flex under bruises.

Eddie only cries harder, scootching his chair closer, forehead finding Steve’s chest and resting there lightly.

“Hopper told me, he said he could barely make out what you said but he heard men, and drugs, and you said my name…Stevie, they wanted me, didn’t they?”

“I didn’t tell them anything,” Steve slurs, “promise.”

“Baby, I don’t…I don’t care about that, I’m worried about you!” Eddie squeezes his eyes shut for a moment, swipes at the tears across his face, before taking Steve’s hand again. “You’ve got two broken ribs, a serious concussion, and two lots of stitches in your head. You…you could’ve died.”

Steve’s feeling…fuzzy. He recognizes the warm, soupy sensation of painkillers pumping steadily through his veins, knows without them he’d probably be feeling a whole lot worse than he is now.

He reaches a hand up, paws at the air a couple of times before it finally settles where he wants it, on the back of Eddie’s head, soothing over his curls.

“S’ok,” he mumbles, “I’m ok. Gonna…gonna make you dinner. When I’m outta here. Promise.”

Eddie splays a hand across Steve’s stomach, tears soaking into the crisp white sheet on the hospital bed.

“No, you’re not,” Eddie tells him softly. “When you’re out of here, I’m going to look after you. Gonna make you your favourite meals, I’ll fucking…spoon feed you, I’m not letting you out of bed until you’re completely healed.”

“Sounds fun,” Steve drawls, halfway to sleep because Eddie’s here, he’s warm and his voice is soothing and he’s safe.

“I love you,” Eddie whispers, “so fucking much.”

“Love you too,” Steve slurs out, and then he’s asleep again, secure in Eddie’s arms.

___