#don't worry it'll still be Garrett

[sci-fi-disney-prince]

Thinking of changing my profile pic

thoughts?

[captainlunaxmen]

The Lady and the Lord

Chapter 6

Eddie munson x fem!reader

This is a repost since the old blog doesn't work anymore. 🥰

Chapter summary: the gang, finally, has to go to Eddie and with him they go find the gate.

Chapter warnings: spoiler season 4, mention of harassment, some flirting... if you want.

We're finally heading to Eddie, to bring some food to him and... yeah, the news.

"Not to be a wimp, but can I sit in the car for this? 'Couse this is gonna total and royally suck" Robin complains from the back seat.

I'm sitting in the front with Nancy as she drives.

"It'll be fine" Nancy assures her.

"I just can't stand to see those dull eyes of Eddie's break again. I really, really can't " Robin admits.

"Yeah.. I know" I sigh.

"At least he can drink himself into feeling better" Steve states, making me roll my eyes.

"That's what my mom does" Max mutters.

"Why don't we just give it a trial?" Robin rambles. I still don't understand if Robin's rambling is cute or... concerning. I share a look with Nancy, that makes me guess we're thinking the same thing.

" 'Eddie. Uh, good news first this time. We got you some Dustin-approved junk food and that six-pack you requested. Oh yeah and we found Vecna. Only the bad news is that he's in that other darker, much scariest dimension that we told you about, and the gate's closed, so we have no way of getting to him. Like he's entirely shut off to us, so basically you're screwed. And no, no, I know you were already screwed, but now you're doubly, triply screwed"

"Wait, wait. Maybe we put it like that" Lucas stops her.

"Maybe if Y/n said it, it wouldn't hurt so much" Dustin suggests.

" 'we're one step closer to finding Vecna' that's what we say. That's what's important" Nancy proposes.

"Exactly" I agree. "There's no need for him to worry about this now."

"See, Robin? Positive spin can make all the difference." Steve teases earning an annoyed "uh-huh" from Robin.

"Oh shit"

Arriving at Reefer Rick's house we see people gathering around some reporters...and the police.

"Oh my god, they didn't find Eddie, did they?" I mutter.

We get out of the car quickly, thankfully all the people is more interested in finding out what happened than in our arrival, so we manage to sneak around the house and listen to the police chief talking to the reporters.

"... a little after midnight reporting a homicide here on the lake. Officer Callahan here and myself arrived first on the scene. We made our way to the shore of Lover's Lake about ten yards from that house you see behind me. It was there that we found the victim, an 18-year-old senior from Hawkins High, Patrick McKinney. His limbs, his body, it was disfigured. There was an eyewitness on the scene, we've also identified a person of interest. Eddie Munson. We encourage anyone with information to please..."

I turn everything off, I stop pay attention... how could they think that... on what proves?

I feel myself getting rigid and, instantly, Robin notices and grabs my hand to support.

"Dustin, can you hear me? Wheeler? Y/n..?"

Eddie.

Oh thank god.

"Eddie. Holy shit" Dustin grabs the radio and we all turn around to listen closely "are you okay?"

"Nah, man. Pretty.. pretty goddamn far from okay" Eddie says.

"Where is he?" I ask, biting my nails out of nervousness.

"Where are you?" Dustin asks him.

"Skull Rock, uh.. do you know it?"

"Yeah, that's near Cornwallis and..."

"Garrett, yeah. I know where it is" Steve cuts him off, instantly rushing to the car. I quickly follow him.

"Hold tight. We're coming. We're coming." I hear Dustin assuring Eddie.

We've been walking for hours now, following Dustin's compass through the woods. All, while constantly hearing Steve and Dustin bickering. Is it the right way? It's not. I'm telling you it is.

Ugh.. I only care about finding Eddie, I don't care who's right.

"Dude, I'm telling you, you're taking us the wrong way." Steve complains for the millionth time.

"It's north. I'm positive I checked the map." Dustin, again, defends.

"You do realise Skull Rock, it's a super popular make-out spot?" Steve asks.

"Yeah, so?"

"Yeah, well, it wasn't popular until I made it popular. All right? I practically invented it." Steve explains proudly. "We're heading in the wrong direction"

With that Steve starts to walk in a different direction, followed by a complaining Dustin and me rolling my eyes.

"Yeah.. well, that's not exactly the most romantic spot to choose and make 'popular' " I joke as we walk, so I can think of anything else for a moment.

"Correction: it's not the most romantic spot to have your first time at" he says holding up his fingers.

"Yeah, tell me about it. It was your idea, if I recall correctly" I tease back.

"What... wait... what?" Dustin asks, clearly taken aback.

"You didn't know? I thought Stevie here told you anything about him" I say with a chuckle.

"No way" he laughs.

"What's so funny, Henderson?" Steve seems offended by his laughing.

"Nothing... just... can't imagine you two.. oh god this is crazy" he says between laugher, I wrap an arm around his shoulder as we keep on walking.

"We kind of had a deal" I whisper to him and he lets out a giggle that makes Steve turn his head and glare at us, and we just laugh.

"I want to know everything" Dustin laughs.

"Oh no no no, you're not gonna know shit, Henderson" Steve warns him.

"Aaww poor Stevie." I mock him "I'll tell you about it some other time" I tell to Dustin.

"Ah ah ah, no you won't, honey" Steve says.

"You can't always be present, you're gonna turn your back one day" I jokingly tease him.

"Can't wait" Dustin says between laugher.

"I hate you both" Steve mutters.

"You love us" we say at the same time.

Finally, we arrive at Skull Rock and Steve can be all cocky and proud about being right.

"Bada bing, bada boom. There she is, Henderson. Skull Rock. In your face, man. In your stupid, cocky little face."

"Doesn't make sense" Dustin says looking down at his compass.

"What's wrong?" I ask him.

"Yeah yeah. Even with it staring you right in the face, you can't admit it. You just can't admit that you're wrong, you little butthead" Steve replies, still proud he found the place himself, I roll my eyes, ready to tell him to shut up when a big thud behind us stops me.

"I concur." Eddie stands up, in front of us. "You, Dustin Henderson, are a total butthead"

Thank god he's okay.

"Jesus, we thought you were a goner" Dustin immediately walks to hug him.

"Yeah, me too man" Eddie replies.

When his eyes meet mine, I instinctively go to hug him too.

As I wrap my arms around his neck, his are around my waist in no time.

"I'm sorry" I whisper to him.

"Don't worry about it, m'lady" he whispers back.

He just holds me to him, afraid I might disappear any moment.

" 'm just glad you're here" he adds.

We let go of each other when we hear Steve clearing his throat, loudly.

"Should we leave you two alone?" Robin winks at me and I feel my cheeks burning instantly.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Dustin asks.

As he eats the food we brought to him, he told us about Jason and the others finding him, his attempt escape on the boat and about Patrick too.

"When I got to the shore, I tried calling you guys, but, uh.. my walkie was busted, man. Drenched. So, uh, I did the thing that I do now, apparently. I ran" he lets out a chuckle, to hide something deeper, I'm afraid.

"Do you know what time this was? The attack?" Nancy asks.

"Yeah, no, I... I know exactly what time it was." He answers as he quickly takes off his watch "my walkie wasn't the only thing that got soaked."

He throw the watch at Nancy who reads "9:27"

"Same time our flashlights went kablooey" Robin adds.

"Which means what, exactly?" Steve asks.

"That surge of energy was, apparently, Vecna attacking Patrick" I tell him.

"Well, we're one step closer. We know how Vecna attacks." Robin states.

"And where he attacks from" Lucas adds.

"So we just need to sneak into his lair in the Upside Down and drive a stake through his heart" Max suggests.

"If he even has a heart" Robin comments and I nod.

"A stake? Is he like a vamp- is he a vampire?" Steve asks confused, once again.

"It was a metaphor" Max replies with a sigh.

"Bullets should work on him, right?" Eddie chimes in.

"I say we chop his head off" Lucas suggests

"I just might second you on that one" I say.

"Yeah, I'd say all of the above, but we can't do any of that-" Nancy starts.

"Unless we find a way to get in the Upside Down... yeah" I finish for her.

"We need El to get her powers back." Max says hopeful.

"Everything was, like, way easier. We had this girl. She had superpowers-" Steve starts to explain to Eddie, but he stops him.

"Superpowers. Yeah, you mentioned her." He then his eyes starts to follow Dustin, who's been walking up and down for the past minutes, mumbling to himself. "Hey, uh, Henderson's not, uh, cursed, is he?"

"Cursed? No, no, no. He's fine" Steve answers" mental? Absolutely"

"Boom!" Dustin exclaims all of a sudden, startling us all.

"Bada.. Bada.. boom" he says more quiet, pointing his finger at Steve" I was right. Skull Rock was North."

"Seriously? You're serious?" Steve asks, quiete annoyed.

"Mh-hmm" Dustin humms, sure.

"This is Skull Rock. Okay?"

Dustin just humms in response again.

"You're totally, absolutely, 100% wrong. Right now."

"Yes" Dustin says" and no"

"For fuck's sake, Dustin. What is it?" I snap.

"This worked correctly when we left the Wheeler's. It was correct when we got in the car on Curly, but it started to slip the further east we went" he explains "Now it's way off. When I was leading us here, I wasn't wrong. The compass was"

"So you're using faulty equipment. You're still wrong" Steve says exasperated.

"Except it isn't faulty. Lucas, you remember what can affect a compass?" He turns to look at Lucas.

"An electromagnetic field" Lucas answers promptly.

"Yep"

"I'm sorry, I must've skipped that class" Robin says, visibly confused.

"In the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the compass' needle will deflect towards that stronger power." I recite, and an idea pops in mind "so.. there's either a huge magnet somewhere in the woods or.."

"There's a gate" Lucas finishes for me.

"Exactly" I say.

"Wait.. why?" Robin asks, once again.

"These gates to the Upside Down, they like.. creates this electromagnetic power around them, so if the needle points in another direction, that isn't North, there's a big chance that it's a gate" I explain.

"But we're nowhere near the lab" Nancy points out.

"Maybe there's gate somewhere else... there must be" I suggest.

"Yeah, a gate that we don't know about" Dustin has clearly the same idea. "It'd have to be smaller. Way less powerful"

"Snack-size gate" Robin says and I nod with a smile.

"How? Why?" Steve, for a change, is confused.

"No idea. All I know is that something is causing this disturbance, and the last time we've seen anything like it, it was a gate. And I hope it is because then we'd have a way to Vecna. And a shot at feeing Max from this curse" Dustin explains, before starting to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Steve calls for him "Hey hey hey hey. Eddie's still a wanted man. We can't just go hike in the woods"

"This little steel capsule might be the key to saving both Max and Eddie" Dustin replies, then he refers to Eddie "what say you, Eddie the Banished?"

We all turn around to look at Eddie waiting for his answer.

"I say you're asking me to follow you into Mordor, which, if I'm totally straight with you, I think it's a really bad idea. But, uh, the Shire... the Shire is burning."

Dustin excitedly jumps on spot and Eddie stands up.

"So Mordor it is"

With that we start to follow Dustin through the woods.

"What is Mordor?" Steve asks me.

"Oh my god.. Stevie you need to read more" I laugh at his lack of fantasy knowledge. "I'll let you borrow my Lord of The Rings copy."

I pat him on the shoulder as we follow the others, Eddie turns around and slow down to catch with us.

"You read it?" He asks me, pleasantly surprised.

"Of course I did" I smile at him. "Who do you think educated those kids, uh?"

"Oh yeah? And here I thought you couldn't be more perfect" he says with a teasing tone.

"I'm... full of surprises" I say, surprised of myself.

"Oh.. oh I'm sure" he says back.

"I'll.. uh.. I'll see if Dustin needs anything" Steve jogs towards Dustin, leaving me and Eddie behind.

"So... can I ask you something?" He leans a bit closer.

"Uh.. sure."

"Do you remember the other day, when I bumped into you, at school? After you walked out of the gym" he asks.

"Uh... yeah" unfortunately I do.

"What.. happened?"

"N-nothing" I reply with a shrug, avoiding to look at his face.

"It didn't look like nothing to me" he tells me with a reassuring chuckle.

"No, uh... really nothing to worry about" I try to smile at him to convince him, but he doesn't give up on the subject.

"Those assholes bothered you, didn't they?" He guess.

"Uh... no..it's just-"

"Didn't they?" He repeats, cutting my excuse off.

"Yeah... but nothing.. too bad"

"Mmhm. You don't fool me, m'lady." He gently nudges me. "Was it Jason?"

"No.. "I sigh "Andy, I think his name is. He, uh... flirted with me... quite insistently."

"What..?" He asks, his tone irritated.

"He, uh.. he whispered some shit into my ear.. held me to him by my waist.. yeah. That's it" I tell him.

"What a prick... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up. Never thought that would be it" he apologises.

"Oh no. It's okay, really." I genuinely smile at him and he smiles back.

"That's not how one should treat someone like you" he says casually.

"Someone like me?" I ask confused.

"Someone who's... how can I say it?... someone as cool as you" I saw him winking at me when I look at him. I turn my face facing forward again, cheeks warming up quickly.

"Someone" he continues "smart... sweet... badass... beautiful"

"I... I'm not.. really" I nervously laugh at that.

I'm just a distraction, I remind myself... or convince myself.

"Oh, but you are, M'lady." he stops and I do too.

He turns to me.

He gently put a hand under my chin, making me look up to him again. His gaze falls to my lips and I feel my cheeks getting warm, instantly.

Then, he starts to lean down.

"Guys!" Steve screams snapping us out of the moment. "C'mon!"

"What a timing, Harrington" Eddie complains.

"C'mon, my lord, let's go, before mommy gets mad" I tell him as I start to walk again.

"Yeah.. let's go, m'lady" he walks beside me, cursing Steve under his breath.

We walk and walk and walk following Dustin and his compass until it gets dark.

At some point he starts to run in the direction the compass points towards and we obviously follow right behind him.

"Something's happening" he mutters.

"Yeah, could you maybe share it with us?" I say, trying to keep up with him.

"Dustin? Can you slow down? Dustin?" Eddie tries too.

"I think we're getting close" he say turning his head to us

"Careful!" I almost yell as Eddie promptly grab him by the backpack.

"Yeah, watch your step, big guy."

"Oh man" says a breathless Steve "you gotta be shitting me."

"Yeah. I thought these woods were familiar"

"Lover's Lake" me and Robin look at each other.

"This is confounding" Dustin comments.

"There's a gate in Lover's Lake?" Max asks.

"Whenever the Demogorgon attacked, it always left an opening. Maybe Vecna's the same way" Nancy suggests.

"Yeah, only one way to find out" Steve declares.

"Going in" I mutter.

Eddie goes to uncover the boat he, apparently, used to escape.

"Guess it'll do" Steve sighs.

They grab it and carefully drag it to the water.

Robin's the first one to walk in, followed by Eddie.

Nancy climbs in too.

"Wheeler" Eddie offers his help.

Then I follow.

"M'lady" Eddie gently grabs my hand to help me climb in.

"Thanks" I softly say as I sit with Robin, who gently nudges me and offers me a warm smile, to which I playfully roll my eyes.

Just as Dustin gets closer to come in too Eddie stops him.

"Hey, hey, hey, you trying to sink us? This thing holds four people tops, okay?" He tells him, Dustin just stands there with a stunned expression glaring at him.

"It's better this way, okay? You guys stay here with Max. Keep an eye out for trouble" Nancy tries to ease the situation.

"You keep an eye out" He says back, earning a glare from Nancy, I'm sure. "It's my goddamn theory"

"You heard Nance" Robin chimes in.

"Who put her in charge?" Dustin asks irritated.

"I did" she answers, calmly.

"Me too" I add. "C'mon, Dusty, give Nancy the compass. C'mon"

With a pout he reluctantly gives Nancy the compass and stands back so we can finally go.

Steve throws the backpack to Dustin and starts to push the boat in the water, taking advantage of thale moment and jumps in with us.

"You said four!" Dustin exclaims.

"Sorry" Steve fake-apologies.

"Bed time at nine, kiddos" Robin yells. "Miss you already"

"You're so mean" I tell her, giggling.

I'm about to take one oar, but Eddie beats me.

"I got this, beautiful" he winks and takes the oar.

"Think I can't do that?" I challenge.

"No" He quickly replies "no.. I.. I didn't mean it like that"

"Relax man, she's messing with you." Steve pats him on the shoulder "You'll realise she can be a real tease when she opens up" Steve tells him and I glare at him.

"That's not true" I defend.

"It's true. And don't make me start with the sexual jokes" Robin blurts out.

"Robin!" I exclaim.

"Sorry" she whispers.

I hide my face into my hands.

"No need to be embarrassed, m'lady, I don't mind" Eddie sweetly whispers.

"Yeah yeah let's focus on the task at hand, uh?" I say, seeking support from Nancy and Robin.

"She's right." Nancy says eyes fixed on the compass.

After a few minutes of rowing on the lake, Nancy stops them.

"Slow down, slow down, guys"

The compass is flickering, all crazy.

"Guys, what's going on?" Dustin asks from the radio. "C'mon guys, talk to me, what's going on?"

"Uh, Dustin" Robin grabs the radio "your compass has gone from wonky to wonky with a capital 'Aah!' "

In the meantime Steve's taking off his socks... what..

"Steve, what are you doing?" Nancy asks him.

"Somebody's gotta go down and check this out. Unless one of you four can top being a Hawkins High swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years, then.. it's gotta be me. No complaints, all right?" Steve simply states, standing up straight.

"Hey, I'm not complaining." Eddie shrugs. "I do not wanna go down there"

He take out of his pocket a plastic bag, empty the content on the boat and wrap the plastic around the torch.

As Steve takes off his shirt I notice Nancy, not so subtlety, staring at him. I look at Robin who already has a grin on her face and looks at me raising both eyebrows as to say "see that too?" And I nod.

Eddie hands the torch to Steve wishing him good luck.

"You better come back up in one piece, or I'm gonna kill you" I tell him.

"Thanks, honey, always so sweet" he says sarcastically and I glare at him.

"Steve?" Nancy says "be careful"

And finally Steve jumps into the lake.

Nancy immediately looks at her watch to time him.

I take a deep breath leaning a bit backwards, my leg starts to bounce and I fidget with my rings a lot.

He better come back up soon.

I remember visiting him while he still worked at Scoops Ahoy. He convinced me to come over as much as possible so he wouldn't feel so, as he said, miserable.

"Hi, honey" he greeted me as I come into the shop.

"Hey, Stevie" I smiled. "All good?"

"Yeah, yeah, slow day." He shrugged.

"I see" I commented looking around at the empty table "Well, how about I buy something then? So you'll earn your money honestly."

"What would I do without you?" He theatrically told me.

"Become a dickhead all over again?" I replied.

"Wait wait wait... I was never a dickhead to you" he defended.

"Oh never? Yeah.. sure, Harrington" I winked.

"Fine" he sighed " what flavours?"

"Just chocolate please, Stevie"

He prepared my cone as Robin came out from the back.

"Hey there" She smiled.

"Hi" I quietly said with a small smile.

She went to clean something on the counter as Steve handed me my cone.

"You need to stop being this nervous around people" he sweetly whispered.

"It's not that easy" I told him.

"I think you two could get along well" he told me "you both enjoy tormenting me."

"It's not that easy" I repeated.

"Okay" he came around the counter to get closer to me, wrapping an arm around me "Listen, I won't force you to talk to anyone, you know that. But I'm sorry, I just don't understand why you feel so nervous to talk to... well.. anyone. You're amazing. You're smart, you're funny, you're kind. No reason to feel insecure. Believe me"

"I do believe you, but everytime I'm in front of someone I...freeze" I explained.

"No need with Robin, at least try with her. She's actually very chill, no judgment from her" he suggested.

"Fine.. fine you win. I'll... put some effort.. tomorrow" I agreed starting to walk away.

"Oh no no, today, honey" he said moving me, with his arm still around me, towards Robin.

"Where we at, Wheeler?" Robin's voice snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Closing in on a minute" she answers, I can tell she's tense, we all are.

"C'mon, Steve" I whisper.

We all wait and wait and wait, tension getting harder to stand, the more we wait the more I want to jump in myself.

Suddenly, though, Steve emerges from the water startling us.

"Oh christ" Eddie yells.

"I found it" Steve declares.

"You found it?"

"I found it. Yeah. I found it." Steve confirmes, panting and grabbing the boat.

"Dustin, you are a goddamn Einstein. Steve found the gate"

"It's pretty wild. It's more a snack-size gate than the mama gate, but still, it's pretty damn big" he explains, but as soon as he finishes the sentence he's briefly dragged back into the water.

He emerges again, confused only to be dragged all the way back in again.

"Steve!"

We all yell.

"What the hell was that, man?" Eddie yells.

"Really, what happened?" Robin asks.

"Fuck fuck fuck" I mutter looking at Nancy staring at the water, I know exactly what she's thinking, the same thing I've been thinking all this time.

She stands up ready to jump in, but Eddie stops her.

"You're not going in there, are you?"

"Just wait here." She says "you too" she looks at me and then dives in.

"Nancy!"

"No Nancy!"

I stand up too.

"Hey hey hey, no what are you doing?"

"Don't even think about it"

Both Robin and Eddie tell me as I'm taking off my jacket and shirt, remaining in my top.

"Oh c'mon, you don't actually expect me to stay here while they're down there." I reply.

"She told you to stay here too" Eddie tries.

"Yeah? Well... I don't care" I take a deep breath and jump.

I swim following Nancy down to this red-ish light, and through the gate.

[onyxbird]

Iterative Solution

Summary: Some time after the end of Season 1, Fitz finds his dreams replaying his and Simmons' capture by Ward over and over. He has a chance to change the outcome if he can just bring himself to take it—Ward's offering him a chance to change the outcome—but none of the options sit right with Fitz. There has to be a better way. (Also on AO3.)

"If you want to change things, someone needs to die."

Ward's tone was oddly gentle. His hand was warm where it gently pressed Ward's own pistol—the real one, not a Night-Night gun—into Fitz's hand, barrel pointed at Ward's chest.

Fitz jolted awake.

…

The next night, the same dream.

"Why?" said Fitz, voice cracking. "Why can't you just let us go?"

Fitz couldn't drag his eyes away from Ward's. "If they realize I let you go, they'll interrogate me to try to figure out your next move. I know too much about the team. It'll be better for both of us if they think you just got lucky and got the drop on me. Once you pull the trigger, take Simmons and run like hell—don't look back for anything, you understand?"

Fitz's hand shook. He couldn't.

History repeated, as he had the nagging feeling it had done time and time again. Staring at Ward through the window of the medical pod, chest heaving, Simmons panicking behind him, Fitz felt paralyzed. He knew what came next.

He would still give Simmons the oxygen. He had to. But the thought of drowning again…

Another brief respite with no other Hydra agents, just him and Ward. Surely, surely, there was another way out of this.

“Can you make it float?” Ward asked urgently. His fingertips brushed the glass with a barely perceptible tremble, as if the right—or wrong—touch could either fix everything or shatter it into pieces.

“…What?”

“The pod. Is there anything you can do to make it float when it hits the water?”

Fitz shook his head helplessly and tried to tamp down the panic climbing up his esophagus. When. His brain was too full of static to think about anything, and he was pretty sure the answer was no, anyway. He and Simmons had wracked their brains when they sank, and Fitz had worried at the question obsessively as he recovered. There were ways to make future pods float, and there were ways this one probably could have been modified—from the outside and with tools and time. But when they were already locked in, in those few desperate moments of shelter before Ward dropped them? No.

Ward glanced warily over his shoulder for Hydra agents. His hand crept reluctantly towards the release button.

“Wait!” said Fitz, desperately. “Don't—! What if you don't drop us? You know what's going to happen; you know it's going to sink.”

Ward's eyes squeezed shut. “I know. I've tried that. If you stay on the plane—Garrett's just going to call someone with a blowtorch to cut it open when we land. You—You don't want that to happen. I promise, it's worse.”

Ward's head came up a fraction of a second before Fitz registered the sound he was reacting to: Three more Hydra agents coming around the corner.

Then there was nothing but the lurch of his stomach as the ground dropped out from beneath him.

Again.

He awoke in the dark with his stomach roiling, thankful not to have to relive those moments underwater.

It was early, a little past 5 am. He got up anyway, hoping a couple hours of puttering in the lab alone would help to drive the nightmare out of his head.

If only he could shake the comment that kept reverberating through his head: “I've tried that.”

…

Fitz was disappointed but not surprised to find himself back again the next night, Ward again pressing the gun on him and urging him to flee.

“How many times have you done this?”

Ward rocked back on his heels, eyes widening slightly. He didn't answer.

“You said you tried not dropping the pod.” Fitz kept his voice low, but he couldn't stop the torrent. “You've been repeating this longer than I have, haven't you? How many times? Do you know why? What have you tried? Have—”

“Fitz, if we keep talking, you're going to end up on the plane and going into the ocean. We don't have time.”

Fitz swallowed. “But it's going to loop, right? We're going to be back here again.”

“…I think so.”

“How many times?”

“I'm not sure. A lot. You've been…” Ward gestured vaguely to Simmons. “…like her up until the last few.”

Fitz glanced back as well. It was obvious what Ward meant. Simmons was there, of course, just as she had been the first time, but she was just going through the motions, like a recording, with no recognition of the fact that this wasn't happening for the first time. She displayed no comprehension, or even awareness, of Fitz and Ward's “off-script” discussion.

Fitz could hear footsteps approaching. They were out of time to talk—about to be pulled into another inexorable loop of being trapped on the Bus.

“You said to take her and run—would she go?” hissed Fitz.

Ward shrugged helplessly, a sharp contrast to the gun he was already raising towards the scientists. “I think so. When I changed stuff before, people—”

A Hydra agent appeared around the corner, eyes narrowing. Not the one whose footsteps Fitz had heard. He shouted for the others without taking his eyes off Ward, or his hand off his sidearm.

Ward had been right. Staying on the Bus was not a good option, and neither was Ward being suspected of helping them.

…

“Are you sure I have to shoot you?” Fitz's thumb wavered over the safety. “I get why we need to not end up on the Bus in the first place, but—”

“It's a distraction; it gives them a reason to be wary of you, and it keeps them from trying to get information out of me to figure out where you might go.” Ward's hand wrapped gently over the top of the barrel, aiming it and steadying it against Fitz's trembling. “It's OK. None of this is your fault.”

Fitz got the impression Ward had planned this option long before Fitz “woke up” to be convinced.

“Your hand is going to get burned.”

“If you aim where I'm telling you, it won't matter. If you miss, I'll have bigger problems.”

Fitz wished he didn't understand how true that was. Ward's crooked smile only made it worse.

“If you want to save Simmons, you need to go now.”

The race away from the scene was like a dream—more specifically, a nightmare. Dragging Simmons by the hand, shouts and gunshots ringing out behind them, heart hammering, panting for air like his chest was trapped in a vice, forcing burning legs to move while waiting for an inevitable bullet to bury itself between his shoulder blades.

All he could hear was the echos of the gunshot, the jerk of the gun in his hands, Ward collapsing like a broken puppet as the blood began to spread.

He lurched over the side of his bed, barely managing to grab his wastebasket before vomiting up everything in his stomach.

…

He didn't want to go to sleep.

The team thought he had a stomach bug. He'd spent most of the day curled up in a cocoon of blankets, rebuffing offers of company with a wan smile and trying to distract himself with books and movies and research articles.

He'd worried that Simmons would see through his excuses and demand he come clean, but she seemed distracted herself. She'd fussed over him with anti-nausea meds, lots of fluids, and bland snacks to settle his stomach, but otherwise accepted his insistence that he just wanted to rest.

Ward—dream Ward, who was surely just a figment of Fitz's imagination and trauma dreams—had been sure this was the solution. He and Jemma had gotten away clean before the dream faded, their real-life captor left dead behind them by Fitz's own hand. By the standards of all the Hollywood “Groundhog Day” loops, this should be over. It was a logical progression of the loop to a nice, tidy resolution. Justice served. Catharsis achieved. Or should have been achieved? Fitz couldn't really say he was feeling the release.

Fitz wished he was convinced.

The clock ticked towards midnight. Exhaustion dragged his eyelids down, and if he got up to try to stay awake, someone would notice and become more concerned.

They were back.

Ward looked as distraught as Fitz felt. “You didn't make it?”

“Oh, god, it really is a loop.”

They both whipped around to look at Simmons.

“It is a loop, isn't it?” she said, wide-eyed. “I had this dream last night, and you were talking like you had a plan. You shot him and we got away.”

“If it worked why are you back?”

“I don't know.”

Ward swiped a hand over his face, looking utterly exhausted. “Well,” he said, in a defeated tone, “at least we know this version works.” He unholstered his pistol, flipping it around to offer to Fitz and Simmons grip-first, as he had countless times before.

Fitz stared at it. He knew it was the only sure way to save himself and Simmons. He also knew he couldn't stomach shooting Ward again.

“Fitz…”

“Come with us,” he blurted.

“What?”

“Come with us. We'll be safer with you, and they can't interrogate you if you're not there.”

“You can't—”

“Just come! There's no time!”

“We'll sort it out later,” said Simmons. Her arms wrapped nervously around her stomach, not fully ready to trust Ward. “They're coming, aren't they? There's no time. Let's go, and we'll sort it out later.”

Fitz grabbed her hand and squeezed it in gratitude for the backup. He turned, pulling Simmons with him with one hand and reaching for Ward's sleeve with the other. “Come on. If you want to save us, you have to do it now.”

It was the first morning in more than a week that Fitz had woken up gently. Their escape had been a closer one than in Ward's plan—he'd had to drop back several times to pick off pursuing Hydra agents—but in the end they'd made it. With Ward.

They hadn't had time to really sort anything out, as Simmons had put it, but it had worked. That was the important part. If they had to keep doing this, Fitz could live with that.

When Fitz cautiously ventured out to find breakfast, Simmons had just beaten him to the kitchen. One glance at her face confirmed that it hadn't been an ordinary dream.

“Feeling better?” said Coulson, cheerfully, from behind him.

Fitz started. “Er, yeah. Feeling a lot better, actually.” He exchanged a glance with Simmons. “…But there's something I think we might need to talk to you about, sir.”

Coulson raised an eyebrow. “OK?”

Simmons broke in before Fitz could speak. “We need to talk to Ward.”

[00katrinka00]

Landcaster Legacy Gen 7 Update #69

Dear Diary, Lacy and I are back in Copperdale for Grandpa Matthew's funeral. I know he was old, but his death still doesn't feel real. I keep thinking he's about to waltz through the front door and start passing out candies like he always did. I hope he's happy in the forever save at least. -Violet

"Ethan, I really don't think I can do this today" Mads admitted. "I mean why did Ike ask me to give the eulogy?" "You were the gen 6 heir," Ethan reminded her Mads rested her head on his shoulder and let out a sob "This is all just so hard without my Dad" "I know, but we'll get through it, together"

"I know it's going to be hard, but I couldn't think of anyone else to give Matthew's eulogy," Ethan pulled Mads in for a hug. "We'll all be there for you, okay?" "Okay." "Now, we have to get the twins ready. You get Sophie, I'll get Alex?" "Sure."

"Mama, why sad?" Sophie inquired. "I just miss Grandpa Matthew is all," Mads told her. "Cause I no like when you sad. I like happy mama," an idea popped into Sophie's head. "I give you hug so you no be sad." "Aw, thank you sweetheart." "Happy now?" "Definitely."

Meanwhile, Ethan sat down with Alex. "Okay, bud, here's the deal. This is going to be a hard day for Mom, so I'm going to ask you to be on your best behavior. No making messes today, okay?" "I like messes." "I know, but it'll help Mom out if you don't make any, okay?" "Otay, fine," Alex grumbled.

"Lacy, what's the forever save like?" Violet asked. "You can party all day and never grow old or get hungry. Never have to worry about dying, ever again." "Really?" "I mean I think, I never actually made it that far. I got stuck as a ghost before a certain someone decided to resurrect me."

"You're no help with the comfort thing," Violet sighed. "I'm sorry, I've never had to deal with a big familial death like this before" "You parents?" "We weren't ever close, so it wasn't a big deal when they passed. If it makes you feel better, I'm sure Matthew is with his wife, Emily" "Elena." "OK"

Later, Ethan found Violet sitting alone in the living room. "How's everything going?" he asked. "Dad, really?" "Fine, let's talk about something else. Have you made it big in Del Sol Valley yet?" "No, I mean I've been performing at an open mic night every week for the last few months but that's it."

After everyone took their seats in the funeral hall, Mads began her eulogy. "I want to begin by thanking everyone for coming to help celebrate my father's life. He truly was such an amazing sim," Mads' voice cracked as she wiped tears from her face. "He was an excellent father and grandfather."

"I've learned so much from him over the years, and I wish I'd told him more often how big of the impact he made in my life. I can at least say I'll be at peace knowing that after all these years, he can finally be reunited with my mother who he's been waiting for a very long time to see once more."

"Mom, you did a nice job with that eulogy." "Thank you, sweetheart." "I just feel bad now." "What for?" "I wish I'd gotten to spend more time with Grandpa Matthew before he passed," Violet admitted. "I wish I'd been able to tell him how much I loved him." "Trust me, sweetheart, he knows."

Meanwhile, in the forever save, Elena and Jay found themselves on the beach needing a small reprieve from Madeline and Garrett's incessant bickering inside the house.

Ever since Jay had crossed over, he and Elena had become fast friends since they were the only two without their partners.

"I just don't understand why Isla never crossed over with me," Jay was saying. "We died at the same time." "Maybe she had some unfinished business. I've heard that's sometimes why sims get stuck in the main save," Elena explained "Then she needs to hurry up and finish that business so I can see her"

"I'm sure Isla will arrive soon," Elena encouraged Jay. As much as she missed Matthew, she knew that the longer it took for his arrival, the more life he'd gotten to live. Elena was taken from their family too soon, and she never wanted the same fate for Matthew. She'd wait however long it took.

"I've always wondered why Madeline and Garrett continue to put up with one another if they hate each other so much," Elena wondered out loud "Misery loves company, or so I've heard." "This is an awfully long time to me miserable though." Footsteps crunched in the sand behind where Jay and Elena sat.

Elena and Jay suddenly turned around to find both Isla and Matthew approaching. With a shout of happiness, they both leapt to their feet and rushed in for a long-awaited embrace.

[blizzardstarx]

”(Finally, the bells are announcing that time)

if the whole world plots to extinguish your light,

(I can feel my heart break with each passing chime.)

If they did the need to make you break and cry,

(With your eyes averted, you look to the sky.)

Don't you worry, dear, I am right by your side.

(and the blade whistles down as you call out my line)

So just smile for me; it'll be alright.”

CRYIJG. REMINDS ME OF YOUR VANESSA & CASSIDY. :(((( (but could also. Also be about Mike & Garrett tbh. The last parts)

NOOOOOOOOOO

IM SOBBING SJSJSJSHDSK CASSIDY AND VANESSA </3333

the lines up to “don’t you worry, dear, i am right by your side��� just remind me of cat!vanessa and cassidy and at the end fight of the movie just cat!cassidy watching it all go down but too much of a coward to show his face, instead telling the other kits to go on

he wants to destroy his father so badly but he cant face his sister, but hes still by her side, even though he never appears to her, only through writings of “ITS ME”

“and the blade whistles down as you call out my line” cat!vanessa shouting at her father “i wont let you hurt her too” as cassidy said that to him to protect her from him when they were kits… on her tenth birthday…

also i can see how the last few lines fit mike and garrett.. the last line sjdjdjsj

[lunamadhatter99]

The Lady and the Lord

Part 6

Ladies and gentlemen... part 6 all yours.

As always let me know what you guys think, let me know of you want to be tagged in the next part and... yeah all that😂❤️ enjoy, my loves!

Chapter summary: the gang, finally, has to go to Eddie and with him they go find the gate.

Chapter warnings: ⚠️ season 4 spoilers ⚠️ mention of harassment, some flirting.. if you want.

Tag list: @deafeningempathfishcowboy

@imangy

@dragqueen-eddie

@eddie-the-banished

@hurricane-abigail

@spaceandstars

@once-upon-an-imagine

@ruxjules

We're finally heading to Eddie, to bring some food to him and... yeah, the news.

"Not to be a wimp, but can I sit in the car for this? 'Couse this is gonna total and royally suck" Robin complains from the back seat.

I'm sitting in the front with Nancy as she drives.

"It'll be fine" Nancy assures her.

"I just can't stand to see those dull eyes of Eddie's break again. I really, really can't " Robin admits.

"Yeah.. I know" I sigh.

"At least he can drink himself into feeling better" Steve states, making me roll my eyes.

"That's what my mom does" Max mutters.

"Why don't we just give it a trial?" Robin rambles. I still don't understand if Robin's rambling is cute or... concerning. I share a look with Nancy, that makes me guess we're thinking the same thing.

" 'Eddie. Uh, good news first this time. We got you some Dustin-approved junk food and that six-pack you requested. Oh yeah and we found Vecna. Only the bad news is that he's in that other darker, much scariest dimension that we told you about, and the gate's closed, so we have no way of getting to him. Like he's entirely shut off to us, so basically you're screwed. And no, no, I know you were already screwed, but now you're doubly, triply screwed"

"Wait, wait. Maybe we put it like that" Lucas stops her.

"Maybe if Y/n said it, it wouldn't hurt so much" Dustin suggests.

" 'we're one step closer to finding Vecna' that's what we say. That's what's important" Nancy proposes.

"Exactly" I agree. "There's no need for him to worry about this now."

"See, Robin? Positive spin can make all the difference." Steve teases earning an annoyed "uh-huh" from Robin.

"Oh shit"

Arriving at Reefer Rick's house we see people gathering around some reporters...and the police.

"Oh my god, they didn't find Eddie, did they?" I mutter.

We get out of the car quickly, thankfully all the people is more interested in finding out what happened than in our arrival, so we manage to sneak around the house and listen to the police chief talking to the reporters.

"... a little after midnight reporting a homicide here on the lake. Officer Callahan here and myself arrived first on the scene. We made our way to the shore of Lover's Lake about ten yards from that house you see behind me. It was there that we found the victim, an 18-year-old senior from Hawkins High, Patrick McKinney. His limbs, his body, it was disfigured. There was an eyewitness on the scene, we've also identified a person of interest. Eddie Munson. We encourage anyone with information to please..."

I turn everything off, I stop pay attention... how could they think that... on what proves?

I feel myself getting rigid and, instantly, Robin notices and grabs my hand to support.

"Dustin, can you hear me? Wheeler? Y/n..?"

Eddie.

Oh thank god.

"Eddie. Holy shit" Dustin grabs the radio and we all turn around to listen closely "are you okay?"

"Nah, man. Pretty.. pretty goddamn far from okay" Eddie says.

"Where is he?" I ask, biting my nails out of nervousness.

"Where are you?" Dustin asks him.

"Skull Rock, uh.. do you know it?"

"Yeah, that's near Cornwallis and..."

"Garrett, yeah. I know where it is" Steve cuts him off, instantly rushing to the car. I quickly follow him.

"Hold tight. We're coming. We're coming." I hear Dustin assuring Eddie.

We've been walking for hours now, following Dustin's compass through the woods. All, while constantly hearing Steve and Dustin bickering. Is it the right way? It's not. I'm telling you it is.

Ugh.. I only care about finding Eddie, I don't care who's right.

"Dude, I'm telling you, you're taking us the wrong way." Steve complains for the millionth time.

"It's north. I'm positive I checked the map." Dustin, again, defends.

"You do realise Skull Rock, it's a super popular make-out spot?" Steve asks.

"Yeah, so?"

"Yeah, well, it wasn't popular until I made it popular. All right? I practically invented it." Steve explains proudly. "We're heading in the wrong direction"

With that Steve starts to walk in a different direction, followed by a complaining Dustin and me rolling my eyes.

"Yeah.. well, that's not exactly the most romantic spot to choose and make 'popular' " I joke as we walk, so I can think of anything else for a moment.

"Correction: it's not the most romantic spot to have your first time at" he says holding up his fingers.

"Yeah, tell me about it. It was your idea, if I recall correctly" I tease back.

"What... wait... what?" Dustin asks, clearly taken aback.

"You didn't know? I thought Stevie here told you anything about him" I say with a chuckle.

"No way" he laughs.

"What's so funny, Henderson?" Steve seems offended by his laughing.

"Nothing... just... can't imagine you two.. oh god this is crazy" he says between laugher, I wrap an arm around his shoulder as we keep on walking.

"We kind of had a deal" I whisper to him and he lets out a giggle that makes Steve turn his head and glare at us, and we just laugh.

"I want to know everything" Dustin laughs.

"Oh no no no, you're not gonna know shit, Henderson" Steve warns him.

"Aaww poor Stevie." I mock him "I'll tell you about it some other time" I tell to Dustin.

"Ah ah ah, no you won't, honey" Steve says.

"You can't always be present, you're gonna turn your back one day" I jokingly tease him.

"Can't wait" Dustin says between laugher.

"I hate you both" Steve mutters.

"You love us" we say at the same time.

Finally, we arrive at Skull Rock and Steve can be all cocky and proud about being right.

"Bada bing, bada boom. There she is, Henderson. Skull Rock. In your face, man. In your stupid, cocky little face."

"Doesn't make sense" Dustin says looking down at his compass.

"What's wrong?" I ask him.

"Yeah yeah. Even with it staring you right in the face, you can't admit it. You just can't admit that you're wrong, you little butthead" Steve replies, still proud he found the place himself, I roll my eyes, ready to tell him to shut up when a big thud behind us stops me.

"I concur." Eddie stands up, in front of us. "You, Dustin Henderson, are a total butthead"

Thank god he's okay.

"Jesus, we thought you were a goner" Dustin immediately walks to hug him.

"Yeah, me too man" Eddie replies.

When his eyes meet mine, I instinctively go to hug him too.

As I wrap my arms around his neck, his are around my waist in no time.

"I'm sorry" I whisper to him.

"Don't worry about it, m'lady" he whispers back.

He just holds me to him, afraid I might disappear any moment.

" 'm just glad you're here" he adds.

We let go of each other when we hear Steve clearing his throat, loudly.

"Should we leave you two alone?" Robin winks at me and I feel my cheeks burning instantly.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Dustin asks.

As he eats the food we brought to him, he told us about Jason and the others finding him, his attempt escape on the boat and about Patrick too.

"When I got to the shore, I tried calling you guys, but, uh.. my walkie was busted, man. Drenched. So, uh, I did the thing that I do now, apparently. I ran" he lets out a chuckle, to hide something deeper, I'm afraid.

"Do you know what time this was? The attack?" Nancy asks.

"Yeah, no, I... I know exactly what time it was." He answers as he quickly takes off his watch "my walkie wasn't the only thing that got soaked."

He throw the watch at Nancy who reads "9:27"

"Same time our flashlights went kablooey" Robin adds.

"Which means what, exactly?" Steve asks.

"That surge of energy was, apparently, Vecna attacking Patrick" I tell him.

"Well, we're one step closer. We know how Vecna attacks." Robin states.

"And where he attacks from" Lucas adds.

"So we just need to sneak into his lair in the Upside Down and drive a stake through his heart" Max suggests.

"If he even has a heart" Robin comments and I nod.

"A stake? Is he like a vamp- is he a vampire?" Steve asks confused, once again.

"It was a metaphor" Max replies with a sigh.

"Bullets should work on him, right?" Eddie chimes in.

"I say we chop his head off" Lucas suggests

"I just might second you on that one" I say.

"Yeah, I'd say all of the above, but we can't do any of that-" Nancy starts.

"Unless we find a way to get in the Upside Down... yeah" I finish for her.

"We need El to get her powers back." Max says hopeful.

"Everything was, like, way easier. We had this girl. She had superpowers-" Steve starts to explain to Eddie, but he stops him.

"Superpowers. Yeah, you mentioned her." He then his eyes starts to follow Dustin, who's been walking up and down for the past minutes, mumbling to himself. "Hey, uh, Henderson's not, uh, cursed, is he?"

"Cursed? No, no, no. He's fine" Steve answers" mental? Absolutely"

"Boom!" Dustin exclaims all of a sudden, startling us all.

"Bada.. Bada.. boom" he says more quiet, pointing his finger at Steve" I was right. Skull Rock was North."

"Seriously? You're serious?" Steve asks, quiete annoyed.

"Mh-hmm" Dustin humms, sure.

"This is Skull Rock. Okay?"

Dustin just humms in response again.

"You're totally, absolutely, 100% wrong. Right now."

"Yes" Dustin says" and no"

"For fuck's sake, Dustin. What is it?" I snap.

"This worked correctly when we left the Wheeler's. It was correct when we got in the car on Curly, but it started to slip the further east we went" he explains "Now it's way off. When I was leading us here, I wasn't wrong. The compass was"

"So you're using faulty equipment. You're still wrong" Steve says exasperated.

"Except it isn't faulty. Lucas, you remember what can affect a compass?" He turns to look at Lucas.

"An electromagnetic field" Lucas answers promptly.

"Yep"

"I'm sorry, I must've skipped that class" Robin says, visibly confused.

"In the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the compass' needle will deflect towards that stronger power." I recite, and an idea pops in mind "so.. there's either a huge magnet somewhere in the woods or.."

"There's a gate" Lucas finishes for me.

"Exactly" I say.

"Wait.. why?" Robin asks, once again.

"These gates to the Upside Down, they like.. creates this electromagnetic power around them, so if the needle points in another direction, that isn't North, there's a big chance that it's a gate" I explain.

"But we're nowhere near the lab" Nancy points out.

"Maybe there's gate somewhere else... there must be" I suggest.

"Yeah, a gate that we don't know about" Dustin has clearly the same idea. "It'd have to be smaller. Way less powerful"

"Snack-size gate" Robin says and I nod with a smile.

"How? Why?" Steve, for a change, is confused.

"No idea. All I know is that something is causing this disturbance, and the last time we've seen anything like it, it was a gate. And I hope it is because then we'd have a way to Vecna. And a shot at feeing Max from this curse" Dustin explains, before starting to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Steve calls for him "Hey hey hey hey. Eddie's still a wanted man. We can't just go hike in the woods"

"This little steel capsule might be the key to saving both Max and Eddie" Dustin replies, then he refers to Eddie "what say you, Eddie the Banished?"

We all turn around to look at Eddie waiting for his answer.

"I say you're asking me to follow you into Mordor, which, if I'm totally straight with you, I think it's a really bad idea. But, uh, the Shire... the Shire is burning."

Dustin excitedly jumps on spot and Eddie stands up.

"So Mordor it is"

With that we start to follow Dustin through the woods.

"What is Mordor?" Steve asks me.

"Oh my god.. Stevie you need to read more" I laugh at his lack of fantasy knowledge. "I'll let you borrow my Lord of The Rings copy."

I pat him on the shoulder as we follow the others, Eddie turns around and slow down to catch with us.

"You read it?" He asks me, pleasantly surprised.

"Of course I did" I smile at him. "Who do you think educated those kids, uh?"

"Oh yeah? And here I thought you couldn't be more perfect" he says with a teasing tone.

"I'm... full of surprises" I say, surprised of myself.

"Oh.. oh I'm sure" he says back.

"I'll.. uh.. I'll see if Dustin needs anything" Steve jogs towards Dustin, leaving me and Eddie behind.

"So... can I ask you something?" He leans a bit closer.

"Uh.. sure."

"Do you remember the other day, when I bumped into you, at school? After you walked out of the gym" he asks.

"Uh... yeah" unfortunately I do.

"What.. happened?"

"N-nothing" I reply with a shrug, avoiding to look at his face.

"It didn't look like nothing to me" he tells me with a reassuring chuckle.

"No, uh... really nothing to worry about" I try to smile at him to convince him, but he doesn't give up on the subject.

"Those assholes bothered you, didn't they?" He guess.

"Uh... no..it's just-"

"Didn't they?" He repeats, cutting my excuse off.

"Yeah... but nothing.. too bad"

"Mmhm. You don't fool me, m'lady." He gently nudges me. "Was it Jason?"

"No.. "I sigh "Andy, I think his name is. He, uh... flirted with me... quite insistently."

"What..?" He asks, his tone irritated.

"He, uh.. he whispered some shit into my ear.. held me to him by my waist.. yeah. That's it" I tell him.

"What a prick... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up. Never thought that would be it" he apologises.

"Oh no. It's okay, really." I genuinely smile at him and he smiles back.

"That's not how one should treat someone like you" he says casually.

"Someone like me?" I ask confused.

"Someone who's... how can I say it?... someone as cool as you" I saw him winking at me when I look at him. I turn my face facing forward again, cheeks warming up quickly.

"Someone" he continues "smart... sweet... badass... beautiful"

"I... I'm not.. really" I nervously laugh at that.

I'm just a distraction, I remind myself... or convince myself.

"Oh, but you are, M'lady." he stops and I do too.

He turns to me.

He gently put a hand under my chin, making me look up to him again. His gaze falls to my lips and I feel my cheeks getting warm, instantly.

Then, he starts to lean down.

"Guys!" Steve screams snapping us out of the moment. "C'mon!"

"What a timing, Harrington" Eddie complains.

"C'mon, my lord, let's go, before mommy gets mad" I tell him as I start to walk again.

"Yeah.. let's go, m'lady" he walks beside me, cursing Steve under his breath.

We walk and walk and walk following Dustin and his compass until it gets dark.

At some point he starts to run in the direction the compass points towards and we obviously follow right behind him.

"Something's happening" he mutters.

"Yeah, could you maybe share it with us?" I say, trying to keep up with him.

"Dustin? Can you slow down? Dustin?" Eddie tries too.

"I think we're getting close" he say turning his head to us

"Careful!" I almost yell as Eddie promptly grab him by the backpack.

"Yeah, watch your step, big guy."

"Oh man" says a breathless Steve "you gotta be shitting me."

"Yeah. I thought these woods were familiar"

"Lover's Lake" me and Robin look at each other.

"This is confounding" Dustin comments.

"There's a gate in Lover's Lake?" Max asks.

"Whenever the Demogorgon attacked, it always left an opening. Maybe Vecna's the same way" Nancy suggests.

"Yeah, only one way to find out" Steve declares.

"Going in" I mutter.

Eddie goes to uncover the boat he, apparently, used to escape.

"Guess it'll do" Steve sighs.

They grab it and carefully drag it to the water.

Robin's the first one to walk in, followed by Eddie.

Nancy climbs in too.

"Wheeler" Eddie offers his help.

Then I follow.

"M'lady" Eddie gently grabs my hand to help me climb in.

"Thanks" I softly say as I sit with Robin, who gently nudges me and offers me a warm smile, to which I playfully roll my eyes.

Just as Dustin gets closer to come in too Eddie stops him.

"Hey, hey, hey, you trying to sink us? This thing holds four people tops, okay?" He tells him, Dustin just stands there with a stunned expression glaring at him.

"It's better this way, okay? You guys stay here with Max. Keep an eye out for trouble" Nancy tries to ease the situation.

"You keep an eye out" He says back, earning a glare from Nancy, I'm sure. "It's my goddamn theory"

"You heard Nance" Robin chimes in.

"Who put her in charge?" Dustin asks irritated.

"I did" she answers, calmly.

"Me too" I add. "C'mon, Dusty, give Nancy the compass. C'mon"

With a pout he reluctantly gives Nancy the compass and stands back so we can finally go.

Steve throws the backpack to Dustin and starts to push the boat in the water, taking advantage of thale moment and jumps in with us.

"You said four!" Dustin exclaims.

"Sorry" Steve fake-apologies.

"Bed time at nine, kiddos" Robin yells. "Miss you already"

"You're so mean" I tell her, giggling.

I'm about to take one oar, but Eddie beats me.

"I got this, beautiful" he winks and takes the oar.

"Think I can't do that?" I challenge.

"No" He quickly replies "no.. I.. I didn't mean it like that"

"Relax man, she's messing with you." Steve pats him on the shoulder "You'll realise she can be a real tease when she opens up" Steve tells him and I glare at him.

"That's not true" I defend.

"It's true. And don't make me start with the sexual jokes" Robin blurts out.

"Robin!" I exclaim.

"Sorry" she whispers.

I hide my face into my hands.

"No need to be embarrassed, m'lady, I don't mind" Eddie sweetly whispers.

"Yeah yeah let's focus on the task at hand, uh?" I say, seeking support from Nancy and Robin.

"She's right." Nancy says eyes fixed on the compass.

After a few minutes of rowing on the lake, Nancy stops them.

"Slow down, slow down, guys"

The compass is flickering, all crazy.

"Guys, what's going on?" Dustin asks from the radio. "C'mon guys, talk to me, what's going on?"

"Uh, Dustin" Robin grabs the radio "your compass has gone from wonky to wonky with a capital 'Aah!' "

In the meantime Steve's taking off his socks... what..

"Steve, what are you doing?" Nancy asks him.

"Somebody's gotta go down and check this out. Unless one of you four can top being a Hawkins High swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years, then.. it's gotta be me. No complaints, all right?" Steve simply states, standing up straight.

"Hey, I'm not complaining." Eddie shrugs. "I do not wanna go down there"

He take out of his pocket a plastic bag, empty the content on the boat and wrap the plastic around the torch.

As Steve takes off his shirt I notice Nancy, not so subtlety, staring at him. I look at Robin who already has a grin on her face and looks at me raising both eyebrows as to say "see that too?" And I nod.

Eddie hands the torch to Steve wishing him good luck.

"You better come back up in one piece, or I'm gonna kill you" I tell him.

"Thanks, honey, always so sweet" he says sarcastically and I glare at him.

"Steve?" Nancy says "be careful"

And finally Steve jumps into the lake.

Nancy immediately looks at her watch to time him.

I take a deep breath leaning a bit backwards, my leg starts to bounce and I fidget with my rings a lot.

He better come back up soon.

I remember visiting him while he still worked at Scoops Ahoy. He convinced me to come over as much as possible so he wouldn't feel so, as he said, miserable.

"Hi, honey" he greeted me as I come into the shop.

"Hey, Stevie" I smiled. "All good?"

"Yeah, yeah, slow day." He shrugged.

"I see" I commented looking around at the empty table "Well, how about I buy something then? So you'll earn your money honestly."

"What would I do without you?" He theatrically told me.

"Become a dickhead all over again?" I replied.

"Wait wait wait... I was never a dickhead to you" he defended.

"Oh never? Yeah.. sure, Harrington" I winked.

"Fine" he sighed " what flavours?"

"Just chocolate please, Stevie"

He prepared my cone as Robin came out from the back.

"Hey there" She smiled.

"Hi" I quietly said with a small smile.

She went to clean something on the counter as Steve handed me my cone.

"You need to stop being this nervous around people" he sweetly whispered.

"It's not that easy" I told him.

"I think you two could get along well" he told me "you both enjoy tormenting me."

"It's not that easy" I repeated.

"Okay" he came around the counter to get closer to me, wrapping an arm around me "Listen, I won't force you to talk to anyone, you know that. But I'm sorry, I just don't understand why you feel so nervous to talk to... well.. anyone. You're amazing. You're smart, you're funny, you're kind. No reason to feel insecure. Believe me"

"I do believe you, but everytime I'm in front of someone I...freeze" I explained.

"No need with Robin, at least try with her. She's actually very chill, no judgment from her" he suggested.

"Fine.. fine you win. I'll... put some effort.. tomorrow" I agreed starting to walk away.

"Oh no no, today, honey" he said moving me, with his arm still around me, towards Robin.

"Where we at, Wheeler?" Robin's voice snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Closing in on a minute" she answers, I can tell she's tense, we all are.

"C'mon, Steve" I whisper.

We all wait and wait and wait, tension getting harder to stand, the more we wait the more I want to jump in myself.

Suddenly, though, Steve emerges from the water startling us.

"Oh christ" Eddie yells.

"I found it" Steve declares.

"You found it?"

"I found it. Yeah. I found it." Steve confirmes, panting and grabbing the boat.

"Dustin, you are a goddamn Einstein. Steve found the gate"

"It's pretty wild. It's more a snack-size gate than the mama gate, but still, it's pretty damn big" he explains, but as soon as he finishes the sentence he's briefly dragged back into the water.

He emerges again, confused only to be dragged all the way back in again.

"Steve!"

We all yell.

"What the hell was that, man?" Eddie yells.

"Really, what happened?" Robin asks.

"Fuck fuck fuck" I mutter looking at Nancy staring at the water, I know exactly what she's thinking, the same thing I've been thinking all this time.

She stands up ready to jump in, but Eddie stops her.

"You're not going in there, are you?"

"Just wait here." She says "you too" she looks at me and then dives in.

"Nancy!"

"No Nancy!"

I stand up too.

"Hey hey hey, no what are you doing?"

"Don't even think about it"

Both Robin and Eddie tell me as I'm taking off my jacket and shirt, remaining in my top.

"Oh c'mon, you don't actually expect me to stay here while they're down there." I reply.

"She told you to stay here too" Eddie tries.

"Yeah? Well... I don't care" I take a deep breath and jump.

I swim following Nancy down to this red-ish light, and through the gate.

[dreadfutures]

For the DADWC: “They say she sold her soul to a dark god.” for Ixchel and Merrill?

In celebration of the Perseids, this came to me all in a rush this evening! Thank you so much for the prompt, Contre! It's turned into not one but TWO elven fairy tales.

For @dadrunkwriting

Words: 2746

Pairing: Ixchel Lavellan & Merrill & Felassan

Rating: T

-:-:-

"We're finally on the road back to Skyhold. I thought you'd be…happier?"

Gravel scattered as Merrill approached along the lake shore. Ixchel had glanced up when she heard it but quickly returned her gaze to the sky to hide her pinched brow.

"It's your home, isn't it?" Merrill asked. She lowered herself beside Ixchel and slung her arms over her knees, leaning forward to look into Ixchel's upturned face. "Most people are excited to go home after a long journey. Garrett… Carver… Even Fenris."

"I am, Merrill," Ixchel said. "I just don't know how long it'll be home for me, now."

Merrill made a sympathetic noise. "I'm sure they'd let you stay there even if your job as Inquisitor is over! You've done so much, and it'd never be the castle it is now without you, right?"

Ixchel chuckled weakly but did not bother disabusing Merrill of her kind notion. She settled for a truth that was not quite so honest, instead. "Things will be different," she said. "As much I will no longer be Inquisitor… There will also be no more Inquisition. People will return to their homes, and I don't really want to be alone in that place. Of course, there will be places to go, friends to visit, things to see and do with my life—and I am actually looking forward to them. But things will be different, Merrill, and that change will begin the moment I return."

She shrugged one shoulder. "But I didn't come out to the lake to think about that, really. I saw a falling star at dinner and thought I might see some more out here."

"Oh!" Merrill said. "Whereabouts?"

Ixchel pointed with her right hand in the direction of the monument that looked over the Exalted Plains. The silhouette of the great wolf blotted out nearly a quarter of the sky to the northeast. "I've only seen the one, still," she admitted.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry. There should be more soon. Don't you know the story?"

That caught Ixchel's attention. She whipped her head around to look at Merrill, who grinned but looked resolutely up at the sky.

"I'd love to hear it," Ixchel said. "It's about falling stars?"

Merrill nodded. "Well, get comfortable. It's one of the ones the Keepers use to teach you a lesson, so it's a bit long."

"I'm so curious now," Ixchel said eagerly.

"It was long ago, before our people began to count the ages or pay heed to passing time. Though they themselves were immortal and unchanging, the world was not, and they knew to heed its warnings. Few were more important than those writ in the stars."

Merrill gestured at the sky.

"There was once a star for every one of our people who walked the earth, bright and eternal. Of all things in nature, they were most like us, and by studying hard enough, one could discover which exact star was yours. When that star fell from the sky, it meant that the order of the cosmos was about to change for you—an ill omen.

"Of course, some sought to change their fates by controlling the stars. The clans of the Creators and the Forgotten Ones warred with one another, and if one side were to pull a star from the sky, they might steal victory from the others—or at least, avoid their own unfortunate fates.

"Fen'Harel heard how the Creators and the Forgotten Ones searched for a means to control the stars, and he laughed. No trap had ever been enough to hold him, no chains had ever been strong enough to keep him, and no trick had ever outwitted him for long. He vowed to outwit the stars himself."

Merrill paused for a breath, and seemingly right on cue another streak of light cut across the sky. It was gone in an instant, but Ixchel gasped at it nonetheless.

"Did you see one?" Merrill asked, and Ixchel pointed to the now-dark skyline. "Where? Between the wolf's ears?"

"Yeah."

Merrill giggled. "You have no idea how hilarious that is!

"One day, the Dread Wolf saw his own star fall from the sky—and so did the Creators, and so did the Forgotten Ones. He knew he did not have much time, so he journeyed out to find his fate before the others did. The road was dangerous, but Fen'Harel was more dangerous than anything life could throw at him. His enemies were numerous, but Fen'Harel was more cunning than any of them. He survived every trial he met, and at last he found his fallen star.

"The Dread Wolf spoke to the star and tried to convince it to return to the sky. But it wouldn't go, no matter how sweetly he asked, or how sorrowfully he howled, or how viciously he threatened. The star just would not budge. At last, Fen'Harel grew so fed up, he took the star between his mighty teeth and began to run toward the horizon!"

It was Ixchel's turn to laugh, and she shook her head fondly at the thought of how Solas might react to the image.

"Fen'Harel ran and ran and ran, dragging the star along with him. He ran to the tip of the tallest mountain and kept running—right into the sky! But when the star realized that it might actually be returned to its home, it began to fight back. The star flailed, and kicked, and shoved, and punched, and used all sorts of magic to fight, but the Dread Wolf paid no heed. He ran all across the sky in search of a good place to hang the star—and where he left it is an entire other story—but eventually he found it. And the star was so tired from fighting that it hasn't moved in all the Ages since then.

"Victorious, the Dread Wolf turned around to return the way he came. Something didn't seem right as he walked along, however, and as he returned to the world he realized that as he returned his flailing star to the sky, he had knocked loose all of the others! The earth was scattered with fallen stars, and fallen elves.

"The Dread Wolf saw this, and he was sad. If all the elves left, he would have no one to play his tricks on. So he came up with a plan. He gathered up all of the stars he could, and he ran back to the sky. He had no way to know exactly which star went where, and he did not have time to make sure they were hung with care. He scattered them back into the sky as quickly as he could and returned to the land.

"Our people had indeed returned, believing their fates had changed. The Forgotten Ones and the Creators returned to their wars, since they couldn't find Fen'Harel's fallen star. And Fen'Harel returned home, thinking he had saved himself, and the People too.

"But look up, da'len," Merrill said quietly. "There is never just one falling star, is there? The Dread Wolf was so hasty in fixing the night sky that he mixed them all up, and now they don't know whose fate is whose, or when they need to fall. Some nights, one will think it's their time, and then a whole host of them follow. It may be a scary thing, that you will never know when yours will be one of the fallen. It may even seem unfair when your fate is chosen before the right time. But we take comfort knowing that one day, the Dread Wolf's will fall too."

Ixchel stared up at the sky with glassy, unseeing eyes. More stars had indeed begun to shiver and fall, though not many, and she could not make them out through her blurring vision.

"Oh," Ixchel said.

"Oh no," Merrill said. She covered her mouth. "It— I don't think it's meant to be real, right? It's not really about Solas, is it?"

"I don't know," Ixchel said huskily. "Trying to fix things but making them worse for us in the long run? I don't know."

"Come now," said a voice from the darkness. "That is neither a charitable interpretation, or an accurate story."

Ixchel looked over her shoulder at Felassan, her eyes wide and afraid of whatever corrections he might make to Merrill's tale. She was certain they would be worse, somehow.

"Of course it's not accurate," Merrill said with a shaky laugh. "Fate? And the stars? Even in Elvhenan that couldn't be…enforceable, I imagine?"

Felassan folded himself down onto the shore beside Ixchel. His warmth burned against her arm—what remained of it—even though he kept a careful distance between them.

He fixed his eyes in the direction of the wolf monument, where it seemed the stars most frequently fell from. "Something does not need to be true to be enforced by those who believe it," he said with a glib smile.

"There was a great warrior known far and wide as a protector of the People," he began. As he spoke, he shifted gravel between his fingers and shredded the little weeds he found in their mass. "Some said she had been born under a good star to have such great luck in battle. It did seem like luck, for she would often pull victory from an impossible situation. Ambushes, attacks in the night, or even in the face of hopeless odds, this warrior always prevailed."

Felassan chuckled a little. "Some said she had sold her soul to a dark god. But she always kept an eye on the stars, waiting for the day that her luck would run out."

Ixchel could not find it in herself to be amused. "Don't tell me," she said. "She really did sell her soul to a god."

"How'd you ever guess?" Felassan asked. "What else was the warrior to do? She had spent her whole life protecting the People. Mythal counted on her. Elgar'nan counted on her. Dirthamen and Falon'Din counted on her, Sylaise and June, Ghilan'nain—even Andruil had turned to her to secure slim victories against our enemies. She could not fail them now, and she could not abandon them just because a star told some priest that her time was done.

"So yes, when she saw her star tremble in the night sky, of course she went to Fen'Harel. She did not know if the Dread Wolf had the power to change the stars, but she knew that if anyone could find a way, it would be him. She told him she had sworn to protect Elvhenan forevermore, no matter the cost. To her surprise, he told her that vow was enough to win his favor. After all, dedicating her eternity to the safety of the Empire was a great sacrifice already, wasn't it?

"So the Dread Wolf waited for night to fall. When all the world was asleep, he climbed to the tallest spire in Arlathan and leaped from it into the sky. As he flew, he knocked down as many stars as he could. The fate of hundreds were decided this way, and among them was the warrior's.

"The priests took note, but they could not decide exactly whose fates had changed. They decided to treat them as a group, and to condemn them all.

"Fen'Harel argued with the priests in favor of the warrior. He said that if they could not point to the exact star which was hers, they should not risk losing her protection. What if they were wrong? The priests agreed to spare the warrior alone because of the value of her service, but all the others were simple elves: serfs, floor-scrubbers, weavers, and so on. They were replaceable.

"But the warrior was horrified. She had wanted to protect her people, not trade their lives for her own. She confronted Fen'Harel and accused him of being a liar and a cheat, and she swore vengeance upon him. But he protested. She had sworn to protect Elvhenan no matter the cost, and this was the cost. Her fate had been altered forever, and she would spend it in service to the Empire just as she had wished it."

Felassan turned to face Ixchel, whose face was flushed with unshed tears. She returned his gaze stoically, though her chin felt weak, and she felt ashamed beneath his scrutinizing gaze.

"That is the story that we told, at least," Felassan said after a moment. "We did not want the truth to get out."

"What do you mean?" Merrill asked.

He leaned back on one hand and let his head fall to the side, smiling a little around Ixchel's side at Merrill. "Fen'Harel had not picked those stars at random. In fact, we were very careful in who we chose. You see, none of the Evanuris or their lords wanted to be associated with anyone whose fate had turned foul. Their vallaslin was removed before execution, leaving them without protection and without masters. It was then that Fen'Harel intervened again.

"He argued with the priests that by the terms they had agreed to, they could not condemn any of the others whose stars lay scattered upon the fields. If the warrior's star was indistinguishable from the rest, that by definition meant that her fate was equal to them, too—and that these servants and slaves and serfs were not expendable after all. Instead, they should all become protectors of Elvhenan, and elevated to the highest ranks.

"The priests had no choice but to agree. However, they had already removed the marks of ownership and did not know who to dedicate these new warriors to."

Ixchel raised her hand to cover her eyes in disbelief. "No."

"Yes," Felassan said cheerfully. "While the priests debated and argued and tried to divide the slaves between the Evanuris evenly, all the newly-freed slaves all ran away. Fen'Harel secretly welcomed them all into his ranks. And the proud warrior? She saw that Fen'Harel truly cared for the People, and she vowed to protect Elvhenan in his service forevermore."

Merrill clapped in appreciation. "Oh, that's a much better ending! And there is still a lesson, too. Although I'm not sure what it is." She stopped clapping and frowned. "Is it that you shouldn't sacrifice a few, to protect the many? Or is it that if one person is more capable, they have a duty to preserve themselves for the future?"

Felassan shrugged. "I think the lesson is that you should be very careful about how you craft the legends that surround you," he said. "The warrior gained a reputation for ruthless dedication to the Empire above all, and it placed her in key positions throughout the Empire over time. That was useful to us."

He had never taken his eyes off of Ixchel as he spoke.

She felt her heart seize at the implications in his heavy tone.

-:-:-

They stayed out by the lake deep into the night, watching the stars. Eventually Merrill lay down along the ground, her head in Ixchel's lap. And eventually Merrill fell asleep.

Felassan never moved closer, or farther, from Ixchel. He remained a warm and comforting presence at her side, despite the unease he had sown in her with the ups and downs of his story.

She had been mulling it over and over and over again in her mind as she watched the stars streak across the sky. She knew she would continue thinking about it for days to come. How it unsettled her, both his and Merrill's tales, and how it implied how careless Solas could be with others' lives at the benefit of his own plans. She knew well how true that could be. She knew better than perhaps anyone else in the world how true it could be.

And yet Felassan's addition to the story rang true, too.

She did not know what Felassan wanted her to take away from it all.

But she did not ask. Instead, when she was certain that Merrill was asleep, Ixchel turned to Felassan. He looked down at her easily, as though he had been watching from the corner of his eye, waiting for her to address him.

"What was the warrior's name?" Ixchel asked softly.

Her question seemed to surprise him. The wry smile on his face faded, and the edge to him softened.

His violet eyes glittered in the dim starlight.

"Her name was Valor."

[bumblerhizal-art]

Okay okay okay okay how about, for the OC Codex prompts:

5. letters between two of your OC’s companions about them for Radka

12. your OC overheard while drunk for Pavle

8. your OC’s doctor/healer talking about their injuries for Novhen (am I thinking post-Archdemon? Maybe. But feel free to pick another point in time. Also ignore the quiet chanting of "angst, angst, angst!" in the background, that's nothing ^^)

Mix and match as you please, pick the ones you like, and have a lovely day! ^^

oh boy thanks for the ask! it’s not quite what you asked for, but i hope it’s good enough!

[Ask Game]

Content Warnings

All: Alcohol

Third: Blood, Vomit, Trauma, Parental Death (you wanted angst ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯)

5. letters between two of your OC’s companions about them

L,

We have arrived in Antiva safely. To think, just a year ago, our mutual friend was complaining of Ferelden's sun, but here, she's buried herself under so many veils to keep from burning that we won't even need disguises.

You need not worry in the slightest for her safety. As I'm certain she's telling you in her own letter, we're only getting moderately overzealous in our missions. I'll be sure she returns to you in one piece after we've had our fun.

As a quick aside, what types of wines do you prefer? We ask for no particular reason.

-Z

12. your OC overheard while drunk

An fragment of unaddressed letter apprehended from a servant at Vigil's Keep detailing a drunken conversation overheard from outside the Warden-Commander's quarters:

"And have you heard about that bullshit with the Hawkes?"

"At length."

"The real cherry on top is that that Garrett's a mage. They sent me to fucking Ferelden for that, but he gets to inherit the family estate? What did he even do? Take a vacation to the Deep Roads? I did all that and stopped a Blight, and I can't even return home to the Marches without getting carried off to the Gallows!"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. As I recall, while I shlepped through the actual Deep Roads, you were drinking wine with the king-to-be. Hardly the same thing."

"You owe the Diamond Quarter a visit if you think what I was doing wasn't just as dangerous. I know what I need to do. I'll write that bastard cousin a letter. Let him know that I know!"

"Yeah sure, could be funny. You can use what's on my desk. Just try to reread it sober before sending it."

––An apostate Amell among the Grey Wardens but not one himself. Potential leverage? Unclear if Hawke yet made aware.

8. your OC’s doctor/healer talking about their injuries

I do have something planned for your suggestion, but because medical information can be so tricky, I'm waiting to put it in one of my fics for the Archive (Gathering Frays, should be, i think i've shared snippets from it before). It'll be a grander execution than i can fit here. Don't worry, you'll still get your angst today though ;) It's not quite doctor's notes, but it's the closest he gets in the alienage

An entry from Valendrian's journal:

24 Kingsway, 9:25 Dragon

Finola found Novhen in an alley by the south docks half-conscious, reeking of alcohol, and covered in his own blood and vomit. He's barely responsive. We've cleaned him up as much as we could but found several bruises and a developing black eye in the process.

I gave him bread and stew, but he couldn't muster himself to eat it until long after it had gone cold. When I offered to walk him to his home for the night, he only grew more distressed.

I believe Del's family has been sharing their meals with the Tabris household this past week. Tomorrow, I will go with them and speak to Cyrion, but I'm not hopeful it will be a productive conversation. He hasn't so much as left his bed since Adaia's passing. I understand his need to grieve, but I worry for Novhen. Maker only knows how much he saw to be affected like this.

He's currently sitting by my fire. I expect he'll still be in the same spot come morning. With any luck, he will be more able to speak then.

[perfectarmony]

In the promo pics it looks like Nadia is definitely getting more of an edge - regaining control but harsher appearance (is wedding ring still on?). By contrast, Arman and Thony look so natural together (even if a bit worried) and much more authentic - great bike pic in their matching black jackets! I hope this reflects Arman's journey - everything stripped away but finding his true self with Thony by his side, wherever that goes. Curious to see if ep title Spousal Privilege has anything to do with Nadia & Arman in part. Once Fi and kids leave, I wonder where Thony will stay if in danger?!

Haaaa I love how you interpreted the pics 🤧 100% agree with you!

Putting the rest under the cut, because of speculating/spoilers on 2.07 - 2.08 and 2.09

Warning: I mostly speculate here, but I do address some scenes that will happen in 2.09 - it can be heavily spoilery, so please tread carefully if you don't want any of that.

It definitely looks like it 👀 this might be the episode where we'll get to see Nadia torn between Arman and Robert - she'll still stay loyal to Arman though but it'll be interesting to watch anyways!

Concerning JD taking Fiona and the kids away, that won't last long - Luca is back (and sick..) at Fiona's house in ep9 - which is probably the reason why they come back (despite the possible danger).

Here is a BTS pic from ep8 - I don't think I posted this one before 🤔 it now makes sense and is most likely JD's house/apartment

I see what you're getting at Anon 😅 and I would definitely love it!

Whatever happens, I'm sure Arman will keep a close eye on her to make sure that she's safe, and I'm sure we'll get stunning scenes - but I don't know if she's really in immediate danger.

If Kamdar is sending someone (or whatever may happen in ep7 - I'm just speculating here because of the promo for 2.07) to Fi's house - I guess it's more as a way to "display his power/send a warning/show how easily he could have killed Thony's entire family" if she ever betrays him...

Maya will probably take the fall for the FBI Raid (I could really see Kamdar torturing and then killing her in front of Arman oooorrr forcing Arman to kill her himself to ''prove'' that he's not involved with her/the FBI - imagine Garrett's reaction once he finds out..this probably won't happen but that's how my twisted mind works when I see those promo pics for 2.07 🙈) ⬇️

Robert will still be suspicious but I'm sure they'll come up with a plan that will make them valuable to him - so their lives shouldn't be directly threatened. They're probably just trying to protect anyone that could be used as leverage against them 🤷🏻‍♀️

But that's all just my tired brain speculating, so just ignore my rambling! 😅

Edited to add: I JUST REMEMBERED THAT SHE HAS NO CAR IN EP 8!! Fiona seems to be taking the van - so she's stuck with Arman (and his motorcycle) 🤧🥺🤧

(Sin Cara could also start to become an issue in ep8 so that adds another problem if they have to slow down with the drugs, unless they wait for ep9 (the attack on Bosco and his gang) to really address that story and having to find another access to ''pharmaceuticals'' ➡️ Thony going to Manila etc etc 👀)

Also...I'll try to post what I have on episode 10 and 11 tomorrow, but it's going to be hell to try and not say too much. Just like I refused to blatantly reveal Marco's death before the premiere aired, I'll once again avoid revealing any major plot point I stumbled upon - it will just ruin the surprise for you all. Trust me, I once again regret having seen some things, I just want to scream and cry everytime I think about it because we are NOT ready. I may guide you to your own speculation and speculate on BTS pics, which is fair game - but I'll stop there 😉

They just started filming episode 12 yesterday - I know we still have 6 episodes but I'm already saaaaaad 🤧

[superbatson]

ok i just scrolled down your blog and you seem like a chill person so im going to be honest here.

i really don't want to see austin butler in any dc or marvel related stuff bc imo he has the talent to be a movie star and instead of being known for a superhero franchise I'd love to see him getting recognation in blockbusters like elvis and indie movies.

and I'm a both marvel and dc fan but the fandoms are full of insane ppl so there's like... zero ppl i can talk abt this without them getting angry.

anyways hope you have a nice day 🌷

sorry this has been in my inbox for a while now and i never replied. (i'm kinda doing a reply catch-up across a few of my socials tonight.)

you're absolutely valid for that opinion. i think i've sorta changed my tune about austin joining dc since i first talked about it after seeing elvis. i mean, i still think it'd be cool to see him in a franchise of some sort, but maybe something new, like a book-based thing (i guess like dune, though i know that'll be a one-off for him) rather than an established comic book one. and especially now, like, dc is a mess. they're trying to save face but i don't have faith in their new leadership (safran seems fine to me, even though i've heard he's like hamada lite; it's gunn i really worry about) and the quality of their films seems to be back on a downward spiral. (i haven't seen BA yet but critical and audience response is pretty mixed, so i may wait to watch it on streaming.) i've also heard a new rumor for who might take over for ezra post-flash, and i gotta say, i don't hate it. (it's george mackay, of 1917 fame, which i haven't seen but i want to, and i think some of his other films are on my to-watch list, so it's only a matter of time before i become a fan of his officially. he's definitely got a good look for barry, i can at least say for now.)

(oh, and i know austin's name has also been suggested for green arrow, but i genuinely think now that it'll be a missed opportunity if wb doesn't get charlie hunnam. garrett hedlund is a solid backup choice, but charlie would be a perfect ollie. would be kinda fun if he got paired back up with guy ritchie for a green arrow solo film...)

i totally get you on the crazy fandoms thing, which is probably further reason why austin should avoid cbm franchises. he doesn't need to face the wrath of those fandoms, he'll probably get enough from elvis and dune fans. (i mean, those who somehow don't like his performances.) glad you find me a chill person to talk to about this sorta stuff. i do have some strong opinions, but i'm always open to hearing other people's thoughts. :)

[irepookie]

Infinity Chapter 4-

Meet The Family (PT.1)

Summary: QUEEN AU where Rog (aka Rowan Queen) is a young single dad struggling to make it into music industry.

Warnings: not really. Just fluff, sappiness and swearwords here and there

Disclaimer: I don't own the pictures. The boys are based on Queen, but Piper, Gina and Callie are mine

John: Rick Lincoln (Cause he is John Richard Deacon born on August 19th 1951™™™™™)

Brian: Terry Garrett (Cause my uncle used to have a black puddle named Terry and I had no choice)

Freddie: Len Mars (Yea I couldn't help myself)

Chapter 4- Row opens up with the boys about the raisin.

“I'm a dad”........

"Okay, let's... let's get over this again: A daughter?" Terry, the band's guitarist couldn't believe his ears.

"Yes, Terry. A daughter" Row repeated for the 19th time from the other side of the phone.

"A baby." Len said, taking another sip of his tequila.

"No, a 30 year old alpaca." Row said sarcastically. "Yes, a goddamn baby. Fucking gorgeous, just so you know"

"And you're gonna keep her." Rick, who had been quietly plunking his bass' strings, added. "Are you sure?"

"It's done. I've already kept her. And it's not like I'm rescuing a shelter dog. She's mine. Period."

"Sorry, was just trying to... Wrap my head around it"

To be honest, Row still couldn't quite believe it (that he was a father). Not even now, as he tried to convince his best friends while holding his girl with the other arm.

"And is your mom okay with it?" Terry asked

He scoffed, clutching his Lil raisin close at the thought "My mom has no say in this".

"But she knows" Rick said.

He sighed "Yes, she knows. And she was a bitch about it, okay? She can disown me for all I care". It's not like there was much to inherit, anyway.

There was a general sigh from his three best friends.

"And what are you gonna do?"

" 'bout what?"

"Um, I don't know, man. About School? Maybe about your life in general?"

"School ain't something I'm worrying about".

"What a surprise" Rick rolled his eyes.

"But you're still in the band right?" Len said

"Oh, of course. Of course. You guys are gonna be the only ones keeping me sane"

They chuckled

"But we ain't gonna babysit for you, huh?"

"As if you knew anything about babies"

"Well, the same as you." Terry said

"Just what I was saying: nothing at all" Row grinned

"Her future looks bright, then" Len half teased.

"Incandescent, in fact" Row could pretty much hear Terry's arched eyebrow.

The youngest member could only roll his eyes and try not to take it as an insult. He knew this was a lot to process all of a sudden and that in the inside, beyond the sarcasm and teasing, they were happy for him.

"Whatever, guys" he replied, as Pips began to frown. He sighed, knowing that meant smelly treat was on its way "Gotta go. By the way, she just told me she thinks you guys stink" he grinned, before hanging up.

The other three men exchanged a confused glance, and stayed in silence for a minute, until Len broke it:

"I say he'll go completely nuts in seven days".

"That long? Nah, I think less than 24 hours after they leave the hospital." Terry said

Len smirked "Bet?"

"I'm a bit tight at the moment, pal"

"Then not money. If I win, you'll be my model for the midterm design project. It's 30's fashion. For ladies, of course".

"Ok. But if I win you'll do my chores for a whole weeks."

"A whole week?!"

"Seven days, if you prefer it."

They shook hands "Deal. Rick? Join us?"

"I actually rather believe that they'll be alright" Rick got up and stretched.

"Well of course they will. Eventually. Row always figures things out." T said

"The fun part is to watch him go crazy in the meantime" Len chuckled "Like when he first moved in and left a fork in the plate when first using the microwave"

They laughed, remembering how their friend had called them at 9 PM in panic, screaming the microwave had exploded.

"Let's just hope for the best. I mean he seemed quite sure of himself this time. And who knows, maybe being a dad is the best way to grow up." Rick defended

"Yea, well a bit radical, don't you think?" Len said

"Like sock therapy. If smokers quit when diagnosed with lung cancer, maybe Row settles down now he has a baby"

"I just still don't get why he didn't just put her in adoption" T said

Rick shrugged "Would you if you were in his shoes?"

"Absolutely"

"That's exactly how Row would've answered, say, a week ago. That's what we all answer. Until it really happens. I think it's one of those situations where you can't really picture until you live it."

"But this is Rowan Queen we're talking about. Rowan <<Made out with both Jones Twins at the same party Cause I didn't remember which was which>> Queen. I mean, he does know that a kid is gonna freeze his sex life for indefinite time, right? What the hell was going through his head?" Terry said

"I can't believe you think that." Len interjected "I mean, I'm the one who's never gonna be a dad here, and the one who failed biology, but even I get it. He met her right? Before any decision was made, he met her. Once you meet your kid, you're tangled up forever. And you might think you're not but if you give them away you'll never get rid of a feeling of remorse."

"Wow, Lenny, that was deep"

"Yea, where'd you get that from?"

"Just common sense."

"Funny, considering you're the one who's started the bet" Rick grinned

"One thing doesn't prevent the other. And out of the two of us, I'm the optimistic! He gave him one day, I gave him seven! I trust him"

"Well I'm not sure if I do. I mean, I love him, he's a great guy, a great musician, and everything else, but he's not reliable. Remember his first job as a waiter? I'm still waiting for the fish and chips I ordered last April"

The other two chuckled "I once lent him a t-shirt, and I swear I saw Liz Michael's wearing it" Len said

"See what I mean?"

"Yes, well, we can't do anything about it, T. It's his life"

"But this affects us too, one way or another. This affects the band. And he didn't even consult us"

"Well what did you expect him to do? Call and go <<Hey guys, are you fine with me having a daughter? No? Okay, just checking. Bye>>?" Rick imitated a phone with his hand, doing a decent impression of their friend's high voice.

"A head's up would have been nice"

"Terry, just chill for fucks shake. I mean, this is unexpected, but Row's our best friend, our brother, and we have to support him. Because, if he's a dad, that's makes us her uncle's. And it'll be fun having a little niece we can spoil" Len smiled at the idea.

"Spoil? With what money?" Terry, always realistic, put his hands on his hips

"With the upcoming tour's, of course darlings" he twirled majestically around the room

"First, that's in four months" Rick reminded

"If it does happen at all"

They still had one last song to arrange And record. Plus, they didn't know how Row was gonna make it work now he had a baby. But nobody addressed that concern out loud.

"Oh don't be so goddamn negative, fellas! C'mon! We're uncle's! Row's made a very important, life-changing, mature decision, and we should be proud of him. So" he went to the fridge and returned with three beers "I say we toast for him and the lil Queenie"

The other two grinned and accepted the cans, opening them.

"Oh, I say we Split a fourth beer in his behalf, cause parents shouldn't drink while breastfeeding" Terry mocked, earning a laugh

"To the Queens" Rick raised his can "For our little bro to take this seriously and not fuck this kid up"

"To the Queens" Terry and Len crashed theirs as well.

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

Meanwhile, in the hospital...

"Goddamn it, raisin! How can someone so small produce so many colors of something so stinky?" Row exclaimed, holding his breath as he clipped the fresh nappy on his daughter "We only feed you milk! Like... Like white milk! How can you turn a white liquid into rainbow pudding? Holy shit" he held the dirty one at arms length and threw it in the bin "It's a damn good thing I love you, cause I won't do this for anyone else" he told her, lifting her up to his chest again before walking around the room

"You gonna be a good girl for me for the next eighteen years? Huh?" He kissed her chubby cheek "What am I saying? You're my daughter, of course you're gonna be a trouble maker. But we'll get along, you'll see. I ain't gonna be like my parents. Don't worry. I won't be a bloody pain in the ass like mom, and I will never ever do anything my old man did. That I can promise. But I gotta admit I do want you to be like Gina. Yea, she's a control freak sometimes, but let's face it: she's gotta be the strongest person I've ever met. You should've seen her kicking the bastard out the house. She took no shit."

He smiled somewhat proudly at the memory, and for a second forgot how mad he was at her for turning her back on them.

"You wanna be a badass gurl like her? Huh? Yes you do. Yes you do" he cooed, craning his neck so he could brush his nose with her little button one. Her fist chose to close around the nearest strands of blond hair on reach, which he found secretly adorable.

But a part of him did wish he had mom's support. After all, despite the rough patches through his teens, they had always had each other's back; through thick and thin. She had have to raise him all alone, and although he hadn't even begun with Pips, he already knew it hadn't been easy. She may be stern, and a bit inflexible when it came to negotiating allowance. She could come across as rude if you caught her in the wrong mood (which many neighbors had) but above all she was a good person and a good mother.

And looking back, he hadn't been such a great son. He could have been more responsible, less handful and more obedient. Less rebellious, too. He could have thanked her more often for the thousand things she did everyday. For the meals. For all the jobs she had taken to provide for the two of them. For the surprise birthday gift she had got him with the money she had been saving: a real drum kit. For helping him move out her house into that one room crappy appartement which would be Pip's home.

But still she had rejected Piper without a second thought, regardless of her anger towards him; Pips was her granddaughter, she had done nothing wrong and as her father, Row doubted he would ever forgive Gina.

He sighed, untangling the hand of his hair and bringing it to his lips "But you don't have to worry about all that. Just concentrate on staying strong and growing up. And I promise I'll focus all of me on being the best dad. That you'll never miss a mom cause you don't need one. You've got me and I swear I'll be enough. Even if I'm still young: I'll have it all more fresh won't I?" He grinned "You're the one person who's never judged me yet, and I don't wanna let you down"

That a was vow. And he was determined to keep it.

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

This one goes to my mega-paragraphist @definitely-darcy who's got my engine going through the usual inspiration blocks, and who's reviews help me improve. She's made me believe in this fic, and encouraged me to keep going despite the one digit notes.

Xx- Pookie

[ironbullisbetterthanyou]

Garrett and Marian - Legacy Banters

Marian: Well... not quite how I imagined this family reunion going. I was envisioning more hugs and maybe some wine over dinner. Not attempted assassinations

Carver: Really? You think this is so abnormal for our family?

Marian: Well you got me there

---

Bethany: What could our father have to do with this mess? The Carta have had more than enough time to try and find us

Garrett: I imagine that having two Champions of Kirkwall with the last name Hawke may have tipped them off

Bethany: But it's been three years since you and sis defeated the Arishok. Why wait that long?

Marian: Well I don't know about you, but if I was going to go after the people who killed an Arishok then I'd probably want to make a little time for planning, wouldn't you?

Carver: Do these morons strike you as the sensible type?

Marian: Two points in one day Carver? Don't tell me the Templars are actually drilling some wit into that skull of yours

Carver: *laughs* At least /my/ wit makes a point, dear sister

Bethany: Ooh, that had to hurt

Garrett: Do you need some healing for that one, Marian?

Marian: Oh shove off, all of you

---

Garrett: And we're back in the Deep Roads

Marian: Oh it's not that bad. I mean... Look at all the... Ugh, no, you're right this is terrible. Let's all promise never to go to the Deep Roads after this. Three times is enough

Garrett: Three times? When was the second?

Marian: Um... well...

Carver and Bethany: *sing song voices* Somebody's in trouble

---

Bethany: Varric wrote to me the other day

Garrett: Telling another of his stories, I bet. Was it the one about the high dragon, because that didn't really-

Bethany: No. He was giving me an update. On you, actually. I was... worried, so I wrote to him and asked

Garrett: I'm fine Beth. Really

Bethany: No you're not. Not yet. But I know you, and if anyone can get past it, you can

Garrett: Thank you

---

Carver: You might want to be watch yourself, Garrett

Garrett: How come?

Carver: Ever since you sided with Orsino the other day, there's been... Rumours. Meredith isn't happy with you, and it's only because she allows it that you're still free

Garrett: So is she going to have me dragged to the Circle, or is she getting the Brand ready now?

Fenris: Don't say that

Carver: I would never let it get that far. But I thought I'd warn you, just in case you were thinking about making her mad

Garrett: I appreciate you telling me Carver. Don't worry. I'll be careful

---

*after completing Malcolm's Will*

Marian: So... the stonework down here is... lovely, isn't it?

Carver: Not now, Mary

Marian: I was only... Alright

---

Marian: Are you okay, Gary?

Garrett: I'm fine... Just...

Marian: He loved you. And Bethany. He'd be so proud of you

Garrett: You sound so sure of that

Marian: Of course I am. Because it's true. And don't let that nasty shit in your head tell you otherwise - it's a liar, remember

Garrett: *chuckles* Alright

Bethany: Be careful sister, people might think you've got a heart after all

Marian: *dramatically* Oh no! *clutches chest* I think... I think I'm getting feelings! Quick, someone beat them out of me!

Carver: *laughs* You be careful what you wish for sister

Isabela: I'd rather ride them out of you

Garrett: Ah, and there's the dirty line. I was starting to worry something was wrong Bela

Isabela: And you're as sweet as ever, Garrett

---

Varric: Twenty silvers, that's my final offer. Take it or leave it Elf

Marian: What are you betting on, and why am I getting left out of it?

Varric: You want in? We're betting on what it'll take to get Junior and Waffles to hug

Garrett: *groans* You're not calling me 'Waffles' again, are you?

Varric: I have to. Every time I say 'Hawke' all four of you turn around. I'm being considerate

Carver: I bet there's /someone/ here who'd like to see him covered in syrup

Garrett: Carver!

Fenris: *embarrassed noises*

Isabela: Ooh, new friend-fiction idea!

Garrett: Don't you even dare!

Isabela: Too late, already dared. Can we make camp? I need to make notes

---

Varric: Hey, Rivaini, I'm expecting royalties if that friend-fiction of yours gets published

Carver: When you didn't even come up with it?

Varric: You wouldn't have brought up syrup if I didn't call him Waffles

Garrett: Maker save me...

Bethany: And me...

Marian: Usually I like dirty things... But this is too far, even for me

Isabela: Are you saying you wouldn't like it if /I/ were covered in syrup?

Marian: Oh I'm sorry. I didn't realise you were my very hairy twin brother, Bela

Isabela: Well when you put it that way...

---

Isabela: I always thought we were the loud ones, you know

Fenris: What?

Marian: I know right. Maybe they're just less shy about it now

Garrett: Do I want to know?

Isabela: You already know. Or did you deafen yourself?

Marian: To think, they don't need us shouting encouragement through the wall anymore. I'm so proud

Isabela: Our boys are growing up so fast. Maybe next they'll master foreplay

Carver: Oh Maker, I do not want to hear this

Bethany: Neither do I

Garrett: *loudly* And I would be very happy if we could stop talking about this. Right now

Isabela: Yeah, see. That kind of loud

Fenris: *deadpan* If you're so fascinated by Garrett being loud, then you must not be doing a very good job at making Marian scream, Isabela

Marian: Oooooooo

Isabela: Oh, you snarky little shit

Bethany: *loudly* If we could stop discussing my older brother's and sister's sex lives, I would appreciate it

Carver: *loudly* Oh look, more darkspawn. Let's kill them so we can stop talking about this

---

Marian: So our choices are the nice, Tainted madman, or the mage who wants to let a darkspawn magister out of his hole in the ground? Why can we never make nice decisions, like what kind of wine to have with dinner?

Fenris: I agree. It is the only decision worth making

Marian: When you're not throwing it at the walls, I assume?

Fenris: That was six years ago

Marian: And you never offered me a glass

Fenris: You are recycling jokes now? Has the great Marian Hawke's wit finally lost it's edge?

Marian: Ooh, you are just asking for it now

---

Varric: You okay Garrett? You've been a bit quiet since-

Garrett: I'm fine Varric. There's more important things to be worried about right now

Varric: It's not easy to realise that someone you looked up to wasn't quite what you imagined. You ever need to talk, you know where my suite is

---

Isabela: So... is no one going to bring up the fact that Varric called Garrett by his name earlier?

Varric: What are you talking about Rivaini? Waffles and I were just having a friendly chat

Isabela: Don't bullshit me. You called him Garrett. I heard you

Varric: That doesn't sound like me, Rivaini

Marian: He called you by your name when Velasco carted you off to Castillon

Isabela: What?! No fair, I didn't get to hear!

---

Bethany: Are you sure about this, brother?

Garrett: It has to be done

Bethany: I could do it. I am a Hawke after all, and a mage. You don't need to-

Garrett: No, Bethany

Bethany: But-!

Garrett: Bethy, if I let you use blood magic, I'd never be able to live with myself

Bethany: And if you do it, will you be able to live with it?

Garrett: I'd rather it be me than you

---

Varric: If he pulls a dragon out of his ass, I'm leaving!

Marian: Oh great, and now he's almost certain to pull a dragon out of his arse! Way to go Varric

---

Bethany: Here, you didn't get a chance to close that wound earlier

Garrett: Thank you

Fenris: I just hope it was worth it

Marian: Well we /did/ just kill a darkspawn magister. I can't wait to hear how Varric tells this one

Varric: Well I doubt I'll have to exaggerate a damn thing, considering how weird this shit is

Fenris: That isn't what I meant...

Garrett: I'd have avoided it if I could, but someone had to. And if it meant sparing my little sister from that...

Fenris: I understand. But... Please, just be more careful from now on

Garrett: I will, I promise

Isabela: You two are so sappy... It's actually rather cute