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yellowjestertfs · 23 days ago

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Altered State: Part Two

This is the next part of the saga. Part One is available to read here. Part Three should be posted in a week. I love reading the comments so feel free to post any feedback or predictions.

Leon felt as if his flesh was melting. Furiously he scrolled through his notifications trying to determine the source of the intense pain wracking his body.

There was the normal notification about stats that Leon expected at this point.

“You have reached level five. You receive attribute points based on your class: +3 Strength, +1 Charisma, +0.3 Intelligence.”

Leon imagined if he wasn’t in so much pain he would feel the typical shifts in his body as his strength increased.

There was another notification, a new one although not one that explained the pain either.

“Juggernaut is an embodied class, as such at level five you gain a class ability.”

“Inner strength: At will, once every 115 seconds you can tap into your inner strength to gain a brief burst of, power, reflex, and athletic ability. Note: the cooldown of the ability equals 120 minus class level. Note: the potency of this ability scales with strength.”

The ability seemed amazing though Leon hardly had the mental facilities to think about the potential, or what exactly a embodied class was. Finally, the last notification explained the source of the all-consuming ache in his body.

“You have gained a class perk.”

“Metabolizer: your metabolisms is heightened to superhuman levels. Calories will no longer be stored as fat but instead burned for super-kinetic energy.”

Tentatively Leon lifted his shirt. His mouth dropped open as he physically saw the flab on his stomach move and shift, slowly shrinking to reveal his abs. His body was eating its own fat stores like a yeast colony to sugar. His arms, his neck, his butt, he felt every part of his body acutely as the fat he had carried for so long was stripped away.

He pulled up his stats screen and watched his weight number slowly fall, past the 200-pound mark, past 190, then 180, then 170 until Leon’s weight came to rest at a puny 160 pounds, all in a matter of minutes.

Leon sat there dazed not sure what to feel about the rapid reformation of his body. Once the pain was gone he tentatively left the stall and approached the mirror above the sink. He had to do a double-take to make sure it was really him. He looked different, gaunt, like a bean pole. Veins were visible on his forearms, and the small abs and pecs he had built from his five levels of strength stood in stark relief on his fat-free torso. He flexed his arm and watched the bicep rise. He looked sort of like Cal, like he could be a runner or a skinny swimmer. The only indications that he had never been fat were the stretch marks and loose skin that dangled from various parts of his body.

Leon brought his face close to the mirror to examine it fully. It was amazing how much fat obscured his features. Without it his face seemed solid, almost handsome, his jaw had a somewhat square cast to it, and his cheekbones were arched and pronounced. He wondered if the four points added to his charisma could have anything to do with the altered appearance of his face as well.

Leon let himself smile and admired the deep dimples that formed. Let Hunter try to call him a fatty now that his body fat percentage was probably lower than that frat douchbag’s.

Ding

For a moment Leon looked around for the notification on his display, and then he realized the sound had come from a text on his phone.

“DID YOU TOUCH MY FUCKING PLAYDIA?” Avlis texted Edward and Leon in their roommate text threat.

“Get a life looser” Leon texted back. He imagined Alvis’ face when he saw the hunk Leon was becoming. That red-faced creep was going to explode.

A second later Edward texted back “No need to get upset. We can discuss it tonight.” Leon found the response strangely diplomatic for his famously awkward friend. He wondered how Edward was doing if he was undergoing as rapid changes as Leon was. Thinking of his friend made him think of their contest and how little he wanted to lose. He turned his mind back to the new quests that had appeared with the next level, feeling fresh and energized thanks to his high metabolism and animal endurance.

“Run a mile.”

The task proved easier than he thought. As a fat kid, the mile had been hell on earth for Leon, he regularly finished last with times in the late teen early twenty-minute mark. Without the fat and with his added strength, however, Leon felt like he was running on air. Without pushing himself he ran the mile on the attached track in 7:00 minutes and hardly even felt winded in the end. On his last lap, Leon tried activating his new ability “inner strength”. All he had to do was think about it and suddenly the ability activated. All at once his body was flushed with strength. His steps became powerful bounds and he flew through the air at outrageous speeds for a moment before the ability ended and Leon not so gracefully stumbled back to his regular pace. A timer of 115 seconds appeared in the corner of his vision, counting down the seconds until he could use the ability again.

The completion of the quest got Leon a little over a fourth of the way to level six.

“Play a sport with others”

Was the next quest he selected to do. Leon wondered around his school's massive gymnasium looking for a pick-up basketball game he could join or a tennis player looking for a doubles partner. Instead, as he looked out the window at the grassy field below he saw a different sort of athletic endeavor.

Students wielding foam swords, shields, axes, and even bows charged at each other. As Leon left the health center and approached he could hear war cries and calls of who was out from various participants. It ended within a minute as a girl with short hair blocked a sword thrust from her opponent with her shield and then slashed at his legs with her own foam weapon. A winner was declared and the participants helped each other to their feet from where they had “died” and rearmed themselves to go again.

The girl who had won saw Leon watching and approached. “Want to join” she asked somewhat skeptically. While his height and build made him look like a jock his Superman shirt seemed to communicate that Leon was one of them. In truth, Leon would normally scoff at the idea of role-playing, especially in such a public area, but his new penchant for athletics plus his need to complete the quest made him amicable to her offer.

The girl who introduced herself as Ruth and the sport as Dagorhir. She showed him the various foam weapons that he could choose from, though Leon ended up sticking with the same foam sword and shield she used. She told him because he was new he would be on her team and that he should stick with her and just try to stay alive.

He did what she said at first, staying back and only blocking with his shield when a stray attacker came at him. He was amazed by how quickly he could move, how fast his reflexes were becoming. He blocked another thrust then retaliated with his sword down onto the guy's back, reveling in the way his perfect form perk allowed him to effortlessly perform the precise motions. Behind him, Ruth went down to a foam-tipped arrow shot by an archer who Leon sprinted over to and tagged with a thrust, killing him. Leon was surprised to find he was the only one left from his team facing down two attackers, one wielding two swords with the other a ball of spiky foam tied to a rope he swung about to attack.

Leon knew he had only one chance to win. Activating his inner strength ability he flew through the air, feet clearing the low sweep of his opponent's flail. As he came back down, he brought his sword down hard onto the other opponent who blocked with both his swords. They cracked like twigs under the force of his slam.

Even Leon was surprised by his own strength. He felt instantly grateful the guy had blocked his attack, or else it may have been his arms instead of his swords that broke like glass. While both his opponents were stunned by Leon's maneuver Leon swept low with his sword taking both out and winning the game. His team rushed around him all shouting his praise.

“How the fuck did you do that,” Ruth asked amazed! The feeling of admiration, of victory on the basis of his athletic ability was so foreign to Leon that he wasn’t sure what to do, especially when they started chanting his name. Leon glanced to see his progress bar was almost full thanks to the physical exertion of the activity and the completion of the quest.

“Play again,” Ruth asked.

“Maybe later, I really have to go, but I had fun,” Leon said smiling. He wasn’t lying, despite his misgivings about the lameness of the sport he really had enjoyed it. He gave her his number and she promised to update him on when the club met.

Leon felt on top of the world especially because his next quest to “consume an exercise supplement” would be a piece of cake. He jogged back to the athletic center, using his inner strength ability whenever it came off cooldown to increase his pace and to try to get used to the burst of supernatural athleticism it gave him. He really needed to understand the limits of his ability before someone got hurt.

As soon as Leon entered the gym he felt a wave of comfort wash over him, a sense of belonging. He walked confidently into the small store attached to the gym and perused the various protein supplements, pre-workout powders, and energy drinks.

“Need help finding anything” The young athlete behind the counter asked.

“Just something for the gains” Leon joked, though with his new body the joke was lost on the cashier who thought he was serious. Leon supposed he sort of was. The cashier pointed out a few pre and post-workout supplements to Leon and feeling reckless Leon bought them all along with a water bottle.

Leon realized he hadn’t drank water or eaten anything in hours yet he didn't feel hungry or thirsty. He wasn’t sure if that was a perk of his Animal Endurance or had something to do with the “super kinetic energy” he now supposedly burned his fat into. Either way, he supposed it would still would be good for him to get some protein and liquids into his system. He scooped the proper amount of each supplement into the bottle before shaking it well.

“Ding”

Leon reached level six right as he finished the bottle. He let out a sigh and felt his body expand.

“You have reached level six. You receive attribute points based on your class: +3 Strength, +1 Charisma +0.3 Intelligence.”

Leon felt the familiar telltale signs of the boost to his strength, his muscles swelled, his pecs became more pronounced, thighs beefed up. The network of veins on his skinny forearms became even more pronounced and the loose skin from his rapid weight gain refilled now with muscle instead of fat, becoming less noticeable as Leon’s body became more buff.

This level-up felt different from the others though. Leon felt himself continue to grow, his shoulders widening even more, and his arms bulging. He wondered at the reason until he saw his latest perk.

“You have gained a class perk.”

“Rapid Returns: The effects of any workout or body-enhancing substance are applied immediately, and to the fullest.”

This had to be one of the best perks yet. No more would he have to wait weeks to see gains, instead he would experience them instantly. The added growth he reasoned was the retroactive payments of the exercise he had already completed that day plus the supplements he had just drank.

Leon wasn’t one for patience so he was more than glad for the instant gratification, plus with his perfect form perk, he could be sure that any exercise he did would be rewarded fully and instantly.

Three more quests appeared.

Leon's smile disappeared, replaced by a scoff when he saw what they were. These had to be jokes, no way in hell was he going to be caught dead doing something like that. Who the fuck did this game think he was?

Edward let out a cry of pain as he stumbled back, face and body on fire. Thankfully the golden lines that had materialized around quickly faded but his yelp still caught the attention of a few groups of students who all looked in his direction with concern. “Hey, you ok” a guy asked getting up from the grass to walk towards him.

Edward put both hands over his face, which felt as if it was being ripped apart, and backed away from the approaching student.

“I’m fine” he managed through the pain. He brushed past the guy, body hunched forward unable to stand straight. The students looked at each other confused but let him pass. Edward stumbled blindly into an ally between two buildings that were normally filled with smoking students but was thankfully empty.

Edward sunk down to the ground wrapping his arms around his knees tightly as the pain continued. It felt as if his bones were made of clay that some invisible, and not too gentle, hand was sculpting. After a minute the pain began to lessen and Edward could think again. He couldn’t tell exactly what had happened but he suspected the answer lay somewhere in the notifications he had just received.

“You have reached level five. You receive attribute points based on your class: +3 Charisma, +1 Intelligence, +0.3 Strength.”

“You have gained a class perk.”

“Golden Ratio: You are a dream of any Renaissance artist. Along with being perfectly symmetrical your face and body ascribe exactly to the golden ratio. You are now 1.618 down to your DNA.”

The Golden Ratio perk explained the pain. Edward recognized the phrase from the art history class he had taken freshman year. It had something to do with proportions and beauty. He got out his phone to look it up but stopped when he saw his reflection on the darkened screen. He sat there staring at his reflection, startled every time that it blinked when he did.

Beauty wasn’t an objective thing, Edward knew that. But he had been ugly, the type of ugly only a mother could love, and even she is on the fence about. It wasn’t just his bad skin, or thin hair, or beady eyes, or misshapen nose, though none of those helped, it was in the fundamental construction of his features. Unsymmetrical ill-proportioned, and downright unpleasant to look at. Now that had all changed.

Edward wouldn’t call his reflection sexy or hot, rather he was more striking. His face was masculine but not overly so. His features all looked as if they were pieces in part of the same puzzle, each perfectly proportioned and symmetrical, fitting on his face as if they were sculpted by the hand of an angle or the brain of an artistic AI. His eyes were flawlessly spaced, in exact harmony with his forehead. His lips sat perfectly under his nose which had been resized and reshaped to the exact dimensions to flatter his face. His entire head had taken on a different shape, elongating and narrowing and contouring. He was in a word beautiful.

Under his sweater, Edward could see his body had shifted as well. He hadn’t gained or lost mass but rather his proportions had changed, shoulder broadening, waste slimming, hands and feet growing bigger. Edward couldn’t check in public but he also had felt some pain in his groin. He was pretty sure his dick and balls had been growing a bit with every level but he suspected the latest perk had done made some big shifts to the region. In someone as insecure and unattractive as Edward having a small penis had only been the cherry on top of his ugly sundae. Edward had assumed no one would ever see under his pants and he had spent much more time wishing for a pretty face or clear skin then a big dick. Now however it seemed plausible almost even likely Edward would get laid eventually and he was glad he was gaining a proper dick to do it with. It all felt so exhilarating and made Edward not a small bit horny.

Edward finally composed himself enough to do some rudimentary research on the golden ratio he was now supposedly modeled off. As the perk suggested the golden ratio was all about 1.618. It seemed this was a number that appeared in nearly all beautiful things in nature and was used by artists in their work, especially in the Renaissance, to replicate the scale of that natural beauty that is so pleasing to the human eye. According to the articles Edward quickly skimmed those faces deemed most attractive were in proportion with this ratio. There was a complex set of formulas involved, face height should be 1.618 times longer than width, brows should be 1.618 longer then the distance between the eyes, etc. Edward didn't have a ruler but he bet if he measured if face it would be in line with that down to the millimeter.

Despite the radical change his features were still his own, only shifted and resized. The pig-like upward slant of his nose had been somewhat corrected by the previous bumps to charisma but it was still noticeable, same with his chin which still had a ways to go before it became anything resembling desirable. Still, the changes were radical, to the point that Edward had a hard time recognizing himself. He wondered if Leon would recognize him, and how in the hell he was going to explain this to his family.

Edward was so distracted by the latest perk that he didn’t even fully read the other notifications that had come with level five.

“The Snake Charmer class is a conduit class. As such at level five you gain access to energy points. These can be used in various techniques. Your pool of energy points is equal to your intelligence. The rate of regeneration is tied primarily to your charisma but also scales to a lesser degree on intelligence.”

“At level five the Snake Charmer class gains a technique”

“Silver Tongue: Your innate charm allows you to channel energy into your words, imbuing them with power that can bend all who hear them to your will. Note: This ability costs five energy per word. Note: the maximum number of words that can be imbued increases by one every ten points of charisma: current max 2. Note: This technique may be less effective or wholly resisted by targets with higher charisma. Note: This ability is considered a charm and therefor can be resisted or negated by items, consumables, aura, technique or abilities with anti-charm properties. Note: The duration of this technique may differ based on the degree of differences in the charisma score of the caster and the target. Note: This technique is 92.22% more effective on people with a penis.”

Edward blinked at the wall of text before him. Edward wasn’t dumb, he had an intelligence of 13 and a 4.0 GPA but he was really struggling to deciphering the massive amount of information the game had just given him. He decided to take it part by part.

First, there were the energy points. Those he was able to deduce were like mana points in an RPG game, the resource he used to cast spells, or in Altered State’s case techniques. Edward focused on the note about the regeneration and a formula popped up going into more detail.

“Regeneration per hour = # EP (Energy points) * (Charisma * 0.01)”

His current energy point pool, now indicated by a new full yellow bar on the right side of his vision, was 13. His charisma also coincidentally was also 13 at level five although with the gains he got each level he knew it would quickly out-scale his intelligence. At his current level his rate of regeneration was 1.69 energy points per hour, pretty abysmal. That meant it would take him more than seven hours to regain all his energy.

Edward flipped to the calculator app on his phone. He felt like Alvis doing math for a video game but he also knew it was important to understand this new system. At level 10 when his intelligence would be 18 and his charisma 28 his rate of regeneration would be 5.04 per hour and when he reached level 20 and had a pool of 28 energy points his rate of regeneration would be 16.24 energy points per hour which felt much more reasonable. By level 34 he would be capable of regretting all his energy at that level within an hour.

Edward started to understand what exactly the game had in store for him. Intelligence-focused classes were meant to be mages, the type with a large energy pool but slow regeneration. He would be the opposite, lacking a large resource bank but able to recover his expended energy much faster and get back to doing. It matched exactly the way Edward liked to play video games which was somewhat concerning.

As for the technique Edward had unlocked, he was unsure exactly what to make of it. Silver Tongue seemed extremely powerful, almost overly so. There were however that list of notes at the end providing a caveat to the power. First off it seemed that the ability wouldn’t be very useful on those with higher charisma then his own and that there were additionally a host of other game provided way to protect one’s self from charm techniques. Edward didn't really think he would have to worry about that though, as far as he knew he and Leon were the only ones with access to the game and he had no intention of using his ability against his best friend. Still he thought having checks to an technique like his was ultimately a good thing. Edward could think of far too many ways “bending someone to your will” could be used for ill. It also had that stipulation of being much more effective on men like most of Edwards other rewards which he found perplexing.

Edward decided he wouldn’t use this new power unless it was really necessary, which his two new quests seemed unlikely.

“Get new clothes” and “Get a haircut” seemed like some not-so-subtle hints that Altered State thought it was time for him to have a makeover. Edward’s appearance had already changed so much, he was trepidatious about changing himself further. Still, the latest batch of rewards he received for leveling up were the best ones yet. Edward would be lying if the intoxication of power wasn’t driving him forward, that and the bet he still had with Leon.

Normally Edward would just go to the budget haircut place in town, no need to spend a lot of money when his appearance was already unsalvageable. Now though Edward didn't feel so lackadaisical about his looks. There was a real nice barber shop he knew only a few blocks from campus which he decided to go to.

Edward left the ally and walked across the green out of campus. As he went Edward was amazed by all the looks he got. Not the looks of pity or disgust he was used to. Instead, people smiled and waved at him as if they knew him. It was bizarre in the extreme. A group of girls walking by whispered something to each other and giggled as they passed, and a tall handsome guy gave him a wink. At first, the attention bothered Edward but as he walked he gained confidence. He stood straight, puffed out his still slim chest, and smiled back at the people he passed. Both the more confident walk and the friendly expression on his face felt right on the new construction of his body.

“One haircut please,” Edward said as he entered the barber shop. It was an awkward line but his high charisma, People Person perk, and Social Sync perk all saved him from being turned away.

The barber, a tallish middle-aged guy with a slight Italian accent and a short beard greeted him like an old friend. “What can I get ya today.” He asked as he sprayed Edward's curls down with water.

Somewhere along the way, Edward’s stringy dirty blond hair had become a thick golden mane with a slight wave in it, a far cry from the straight thin straw his hair had been before.

“I don’t know Alexi, what do you think would look good?” Edward asked reading the man's name off his name tag. Through his Sage perk he could feel that the barbers had a genuine love for his craft and that his goal was to make Edward look as good as possible.

The barber clucked his tongue examining Edward's face and running a comb through his damp hair which instantly sprung back into place. “You have such beautiful hair, it feels like such a shame to cut it off. How about I just shape it up so you can show off that handsome face of yours.”

Edward blushed but gave his approval. He watched memorized as Alexi slowly removed the hair from around his newly sized down ears and forehead. Staring in the mirror Edward couldn’t believe the adonis staring back was himself.

He was snapped out of his revelry by the ding. For a second he thought he had leveled up again but it turned out to just be his phone.

“DID YOU TOUCH MY FUCKING PLAYDIA?” Avlis had texted him and Leon in their roommate group chat in obnoxious all caps.

A few seconds later Leon responded with his typical brashness: “Get a life looser”.

Edward sighed and typed out a diplomatic response, “No need to get upset. We can discuss it tonight” he sent. He would try to calm Alvis down in person but if their creepy roommate got really upset Edward could always use him as the first test subject for his new technique.

Edward and Alexi made small talk as he the haircut, Edward was amazed at how easily the conversation flowed, and how at ease he felt talking to a stranger. When it came time to pay he suspected Alexi gave him a substantial discount. Edward reviled his first experience of pretty privilege. At the same time, he felt kind of bad, like he had scammed the guy just by nature of being charming. Edward left a large tip and thanked him profusely promising to recommend all his friends, as if he had any other than Leon.

With the first of two quests completed and the progress bar to level six halfway full Edward made his way to the mall a few blocks away, his new haircut only intensified the stares he got.

Normally Edward wasn’t confident enough to wear anything other than the most basic of clothes, neutral colors, and a size too big. Now however Edward felt empowered. He walked into the most trendy shop in the mall and was instantly beset by an eager saleswoman. Within minutes she had picked out for Edward more clothes than he could carry before escorting him to a dressing room. His sage perk, which was significantly weaker on her than on Alexi, let him know she worked on commission and that she suspected he was a rich pretty boy willing to spend.

Edward locked the door and tried on the first item of clothing, a red and brown sweater vest that was a bit too big. As soon as Edward put the vest on he heard a ding and reached level six. It really was strange how lenient the game was with some quests and how strict it was with others.

To Edward’s relief, none of the level six features caused excruciating pain this time, although he did feel a slight discomfort as the usual three points of charisma altered his face further, skin smoothing, features adjusting, Adam’s apple bulging slightly as his voice grew a bit deeper and smoother. His newly cut hair on his head along with the little body hair he had grew even more silky and soft and golden blond. Plus Edward was sure he could feel his penis grow as well, only about a sixth of an inch but still noticeable and exhilarating.

“You have reached level six. You receive attribute points based on your class: +3 Charisma, +1 Intelligence, +0.3 Strength.”

“You have gained a class perk.”

“Gold Star Killer: Your charm is strong enough to go ignore biological and social boundaries. Anyone with a penis will now be equally likely to find you attractive no matter their usual sexual orientation.”

Edward gasped slightly when he saw the perk. He knew it was a dream of a lot of gay guys to have sex with straight guys, and he would be lying if he said the fantasy wasn’t there for him as well, but he found the idea of bending sexualities concerning. He currently wouldn’t want to be made attracted to a woman. Plus he hoped there was some sort of exemption he could make for his friends and family. He laughed to himself at the idea of boob-loving Leon suddenly having eyes for his dick.

Edward sifted through the rest of the clothes. Most were either too expensive or too gaudy to be considered, but in the pile, Edward found a fair number of shirts and pants he might actually wear. With his now 16 charisma every piece of clothing just seemed to fit right on him, like he could wear a garbage bag and still walk the red carpet, he really just was that damn pretty.

Edward had just tried on a thick wool-striped short-sleeved shirt when he heard a noise from outside. “What's the point in wearing that if I can’t see your tits,” a loud obnoxious male voice said. Out of curiosity Edward stuck his head out of the changing room and saw two people arguing in front of the mirror a few feet down the hallway.

“You sound like a douchebag when you say things like that Hunter,” a blond woman said as she adjusted a floral long-sleeve blouse on her athletic frame.

The man who Edward presumed to be Hunter scoffed. “Cassy you look like a lesbo librarian. Can’t we go to Victoria's Secret or something?”

“You're being a jerk. Is this just because you think I was flirting with that guy at the gym? How many times do I have to tell you he's just in one of my classes.”

“I don’t give a shit about that fattie,” Hunter said in a way that made it obvious he very much did, “I just don’t want people thinking your even more of a skank than they already do.”

The blond woman reeled back. Despite the distance and not having a penis Cassy strong emotion triggered Edward’s Sage skill and he instantly knew that her foremost desire at that moment was to hit the Hunter in the face. She opened her mouth to tell him off but Edward beat her to it. Stepping out of the dressing room he instinctively activated his Silver Tongue ability. “Hey man be nice,” he said, the last two words coming out in a much louder and deeper voice that echoed through the hallway, as if a proclamation from god.

Hunter froze in place for a moment then his face contorted into an unnaturally friendly expression and in a forced cheery voice he said “I’m sorry for saying that Cassie. No one thinks that you are a skank. You are a very beautiful intelligent women who I am often intimidated by, and who I take out my insecurities on.”

Cassie looked around as if looking for the hidden cameras to emerge and tell her this was a prank. Hunter turned towards Edward. “I must say you are very attractive. I would normally never admit this but I really want to have sex with you.” Even through the compulsion of Edward's technique, it was obvious that Hunter was horrified by what he was saying, although with his Gold Star Killer perk it was also likely true.

Hunter turned back to Cassie “Let me buy you these clothes to make up for my rude comments, then I want to finally hear about that book you have been reading.” He proceeded to gather all of Cassie’s clothing in his arms and walk to the checkout counter, his girlfriend wordlessly following behind him, too shocked to speak.

Edward looked around to see if anyone else had witnessed the effect of his ability but the dressing room was empty. Awkwardly he made his way back to his room to try on the rest of the clothes, still amazed by the power of his new technique. He wondered how long the effect would last on that jerk. It would probably be too much to wish it would be permanent, but he hoped for Cassie’s sake it was long enough for him to buy her clothes. He also noticed Cassie seemed not to be affected by his words. He wasn’t sure if that was because she didn't have a penis or if it was because he intended his words only for Hunter.

Edward glanced at his energy bar. The yellow bar was a little less then a third of the way full, Edward just having spent 10 energy, 5 on each word. It would be a few hours till he could regenerate all the expended points again, though Edward didn't regret it. Especially when he noticed the level progress bar which was right under the energy bar was already halfway to level seven. Edward realized that he had inadvertently just completed one of his new quests without realizing it, “resolve an altercation with only your words” was now marked as complete. His other assigned quest “post on social media” seemed like it could be equally as easy to complete.

Edward put on his favorite of the newest clothes, a white sweater and a pair of blue jeans, and pulled up the latest trending song. Then he set up his phone on the fitting room bench and started filming. Edward didn't do much, he moved his hips slightly, ran his fingers through his hair, and even bit his lip at one point. Watching it back Edward looked like a total fuck boy, but damn was he pretty. He posted the video publicly, and though he didn’t have any followers except for Leon and his mom he was pretty confident the video would get some views.

Sure enough, Edward heard two simultaneous dings as he both leveled up and received his first like on the video.

“You have reached level seven. You receive attribute points based on your class: +3 Charisma, +1 Intelligence, +0.3 Strength.”

“You have gained a class perk.”

“Social gravity: Your charisma is like a magnet. You emit an aura that makes attracting attention to yourself effortless and becoming the center of attention nearly inevitable. Note: This effect is 92.22% more effective on people with a penis. Note: This is an aura effect. Individuals can only be effected by one charisma based aura at a time. Your aura may overcome other charisma-based aura in its range if your charisma is higher, or be suppressed by another aura if the less charismatic of the two. Note: you will receive upgrades to this aura ability at levels 14, 21, 29, etc.”

Edward had mixed feelings about this latest perk. As someone ignored and shunned all his life Edward felt the draw to the spotlight, to finally being seen by his peers. Still, there was something nice about anonymity, about being an invisible face in the crowd. If he was reading this perk right his days of nameless NPC were over, main character only from here on out. Plus there was that thing about blocking other auras. This was the second indication that he might be encountering other people with classes and abilities like his own. Edward supposed there could be others out there, Leon had been rather vague about who had given him the game and upon reflection is seemed rather obvious that “buff guy” must have also had a class. Edward thought about that disk still sitting in Alvis’ machine. Once he reached level ten he and Leon would have to lock up that disk in a safe, or maybe destroy it, anything to keep the likes of Hunter from getting their hands on that type of power.

Edward left the changing room, still wearing the favorite of his new clothes, and paid for the half dozen items clothing items he had decided on. These were unfortunately not discounted like his haircut though Edward had some money from his birthday saved up.

Edward’s next quest seemed deceptively easy. “Attend a party” was the only item listed in his quest menu. The rave Trent and Tag were going to tonight might count but that wasn’t for another few hours and Edward wanted to give the two some space. Even though classes were out for the day Edward knew it was likely too early for any parties to be happening in the dorms or in any of the houses on fratrow.

Edward decided to wonder around the mall. If he had gotten stared before it was nothing compared to now. His social gravity perk and the last two levels of charisma made him an undeniably attention-grabbing figure. He passed a kid's birthday party happening in an arcade but decided against crashing that to complete his quest.

Edward wandered out of the mall and down the street to one of the nicer parts of town, to a row of expensive restaurants and luxury apartment buildings. Edward's ears pricked up as he heard the sounds of chatting voices and light laughter.

He quickly found the source of the chatter. Middle-aged men and women in formal attire holding glasses of wine milled about an art gallery pointing at the black and white works on the wall and chatting in groups of twos and threes. The name of the gallery on the glass read “l’art” in big cursive letters.

Edward supposed this would count as a party. With a confidence Edward would never once have possessed, he walked into the gallery. Immediately every head inside turned to face him. On his display, the quest “attend a party” didn’t mark as complete as he had expected. Instead, it expanded like a scroll being unfurled. The words “event quest” appeared with a progress bar, along with a new open-ended task list. The quest renamed itself and Edward internally groaned. “The party don’t start till you walk in” the quest now read. A timer began to count down.

“Do a shirtless workout”

“Flex in a public place”

“Get three complements on your body”

These couldn’t be serious. For the first time, Leon considered what exactly the Juggernaut class was. So far the quests had driven him to become a paragon of athleticism, but these quests seemed to want him to be some preening peacock. Leon briefly thought about those viral internet challenges that went around when he was in middle school, the ones that supposedly started simply and ended with you jumping off the roof or something. He was pretty sure those were actually moral panics. Still he couldn’t help wondering if this might be the same, if the game was lulling him in with simple quests before making him perform this strange humiliation ritual.

Leon weighed his options. He could ignore the quests, and try to get to level seven by only using the experience he gained from working out, though judging by the increased amount of experence each level was requiring that could take days if not weeks. No, the quests were too valuable to ignore. He would have to suck up his pride and become what he had once scorned.

Tentatively Leon made his way to the massive workout area of the gym. By now it was late afternoon and the post-class rush had filled the gym to almost its capacity. There were a few other guys without shirts on, walking with their chests puffed out like monkeys and leaving sweaty imprints behind on their stations.

Leon let out an audible sigh and looked down at his XL Superman tee. It still hung loose on his frame thanks to his rapid metabolism but he suspected his arms and pecs were only a few levels of strength away from filling it to bursting once again. Slowly he stripped it off, the shirt slightly damp from the sweat he had accumulated over the hours of exercise. Leon still couldn’t believe the body underneath was his. He was now undeniably big, fit, and muscled. He looked like he could be a personal trainer or a fitness model. He had a six-pack, not even the skinny kind, but the strong ones in which each abs were visible. His pecs pushed out visibly. He tried to bounce them and found with his perfect form perk he was able to make them dance precisely. His tan skin from his half-French, half-Mexican heritage didn't hang as loose around his muscles as before.

Now shirtless Leon did a few bicep curls. “Nice guns,” a guy walking past said and Leon gave him a polite smile. The “get a complement on your body” quest marked itself as 1/3. After a few more curls and an overhead press with the dumbbells his “do a shirtless workout” also completed and Leon was thrust 1/3 of the way to level seven. Leon decided to stay shirtless for a few more exercises in hopes of getting two more compliments on his body, and because some small quiet part of him secretly loved the feeling of showing off his gains.

He continued to the next exercise doing squats, then lateral raises, then shoulder presses. Though totally imperceptible Leon convinced himself he could feel each exercise permanently pump up each of his muscles slightly larger as their effects were instantly expressed by his “Rapid Rewards” perk. Leon kept forgetting his torso was bare until he would spot an occasional annoyed or lustful look from a fellow gymgoer. He wasn’t sure if it was his utmost confidence he had in the space from the Gym Rat perk or if it was a newly discovered exhibitionist streak but he found himself not minding the attention. He tried to catch a few women's eyes but all of them seemed to avoid him purposefully which he couldn’t much blame them for.

Leon did a set of 20 pull-ups without much effort then wandered over to a wall of mirrors by the weights. Leon still couldn’t believe the tan muscular figure was him. Tentatively he flexed a bicep, overjoyed with the feeling of the substantial muscle bunching up. He flexed the other arm, snapping exactly into position for a textbook double bicep flex thanks to his Perfect Form perk. He looked around to see if anyone was watching him then flexed his abs, contorting them into different positions easily as if choosing from a preset in a video game. Leon flexed his legs, then popped his pecs before turning around and flaring out his lats in a pose that he assumed made his back look great. The quest “flex in a public place” was marked as completed and Leon was boosted 2/3 of the way to level seven. He just needed two more complements to complete his last quest, and judging by the lackluster reaction to his flexing he wasn’t going to get it here.

Leon wondered what his next perk would be. He hoped it would be something to stop him from sweating like a pig. By now he was fully drenched, his hair stuck unflatteringly to his forehead and a distinct oder surrounded him. Leon concluded that if he was going to get two more complements he needed to look a bit more presentable.

Though he had never been to the gym before Leon was able to navigate to the far end where the public men's locker room was located. Inside college guys and a few professors of various class years and body types milled around, changing into sports uniforms or back into streetwear after having done a late afternoon session after their class.

As Leon stepped through the door he felt his confidence leave him all in a rush. Suddenly he realized the “gym rat” perk that made him so able to strut around like a meathead jock didn't apply to the locker room. The air now felt cold against his exposed nipples and Leon crossed his beefy arms over them and sucked in, lifelong habits built from being a fat kid suddenly returning. He felt like an imposter with a body he hadn’t earned. He suddenly wished Edward were here. Edward never let him get too down on himself when it came to his appearance. He knew his friend would have given him the last two complements without him even having to ask.

Leon saw a few guys with towels wrapped around their waists head further into the locker room. He reasoned that must be the direction of the shower and followed them, grabbing a towel from the stack at the door. Thankfully his school was modern enough that the showers were not communal kind but instead with small individual stalls.

Leon claimed a shower stall then got naked in it putting his shorts, shirt, underwear, and socks in a bin outside the stall so he could change back into them when he was done. Leon wasn’t happy about changing back into his sweaty clothes but he didn't have another set of clothes with him and he didn't intend to go home until he was at least level ten and had won the bet with Edward.

The hot water felt great on Leon’s skin. He wasn’t sore, that wasn’t possible with his “Animal Endurance" perk and his “Rapid Rewards” perks but his body still felt tense from hours of continual activity. He took his time scrubbing away the sweat from his body, admiring the new crevices the removal of his fat and the growth of his muscles had created. He had been so busy with the events set off by “Altered State” that he hadn’t really had time to feel horny, but as he played with his dick that was undeniably bigger, if only by half an inch or so, he felt his hormones rush in. It took all his self-control not to jerk off right there in the shower stall. He wanted to save his first orgasm in this new body for a hot babe who could maybe give him the last two complements he needed. There were quite a few attractive women he had seen in the gym he would have never dreamed of scoring before who now seemed in his league if he could only keep himself from saying something stupid.

Leon shut the water off and reached a hand out to grab the towel he had stashed outside. His hand only met empty air. He flailed at the empty hook before peaking his head out to check what was going on. His heart dropped when he saw his towel and all his clothes were gone. His face went red and his blood cold. From the changing area, he could hear a group of men snickering with one another. Leon was tired of this shit. When he was fat he took it because there was no other option but now he was going to stand up for himself. Leon walked out of the shower, not caring if he was soaking wet or that his penis swung openly between his legs. “Nice dick” a guy yelled to him as he passed, Leon ignored him but his quest updated its progress to 2/3.

He shouldn’t have been surprised to see Hunter standing there holding his clothes. He was dressed in a different outfit from when Leon had seen him last. The frat guy didn't immediately see him as he chatted animatedly with his friends. “It was humiliating bro, all of a sudden I’m complementing Cassy and saying all this gay shit to that blond freak. I swear bro I’m going to beat his ass next time I see him, I swear it.”

He turned to see a naked Leon coming towards him and seemed momentarily confused. “I think those are mine,” Leon said pointing to the clothes in Hunter's hand. Hunter looked up and down at Leon's tall naked buff body and his angry face.

“Sorry bro, I thought these belonged to someone else.” He said obviously not recognizing Leon. It was funny how much more respect this guy gave him now that he had muscles and wasn’t fat.

“Oh did you think they belonged to that fatty from earlier?” Leon asked using Hunter's words from before. Hunter and his four fellow frat bros laughed awkwardly thinking Leon was making a fat joke, though Leon kept a serious face, “Cause you're right that's me.”

Hunter’s face took on a look of confusion. “Bro that's not possible, your buff and stuff.”

Leon heard a ding as he received the last compliment and was boosted to level seven. He’d take the compliment where he could get it.

“You have reached level seven. You receive attribute points based on your class: +3 Strength, +1 Charisma, +0.3 Intelligence.”

“You have gained a class perk.”

“Naked Confidence: you and others feel completely comfortable with your body, be it in a tuxedo or in your birthday suit.

He didn't have time to think much about the notifications as he rapidly dismissed them. Still, Leon couldn’t help but feel his body grow wider and taller as new strength pumped up all his muscles. His body was going from athletic into the territory of seriously fit.

What's more, Leon felt a wave of confidence overcome him, his nipples suddenly felt less exposed and he no longer felt any care at all about having his dick out so publicly. In fact, it felt almost natural. Around him, he saw people shift their gaze away from his bare crotch and to the confrontation occurring as if his nakedness was no longer of interest.

“You really don’t miss much do you,” Leon said taking a step forward.

Hunter's face hardened. He may not understand exactly what was going on but he knew enough to know he had just been insulted. For a second Leon glanced at the two new quests that had popped up with the new level and a plan started to take shape.

Leon took another step forward so that he was in Hunter's face, the two men now even in height thanks to the latest boost from level seven. “If you wanted to see me naked so bad all you had to do was ask. I’m happy to show you what a real man looks like.”

Hunter's face became a mask of rage, exactly as Leon intended. “Your fucking dead you F—“ he said and swung an up arm towards Leon's face in a brutal swing. Leon activated his inner strength ability and felt the world slow for a moment. With the second of strength the ability lent him he deflected the punch with one hand and shoved the other into Hunter's chest with the other. The frat bro’s eyes went wide as he sailed ten feet across the room, landing on the floor and sliding until his back came to rest against a row of lockers with a loud metal jingle. The cheering crowd of Hunter's cronies and regular gym attendees let out a shriek of surprise. For a moment Leon worried he might have overdone it, then Hunter slowly got to his feet, muscular chest moving up and down as he let out deep rageful breaths.

“Race ya looser” Leon called out and ran for the door. Hunters bellow behind him and the sound of multiple pairs of running feet indicated the frat guys had taken the bait.

Leon seriously hoped this mad chase would count as fulfilling one of the two quests he had just been assigned, “win a contest of speed” Otherwise he was risking his life for nothing. He supposed there might have been easier ways to fulfill the quest but he would have to take shortcuts to level ten if he hoped to beat Edward.

Without his inner strength power, Leon was quickly realizing he lacked an edge. These guys knew this building far better than Leon did, plus had had their powerful long legs and athletic bodies for their whole lives as opposed to Leon’s few hours, meaning they knew much better how to control them. The sounds of footfalls and angry threats of what Hunter was going to do to him once he caught up with him got louder behind him and Leon rounded a corner then hurried up a set of stairs.

Five sets of footsteps thundered after him up the stairs, only a few paces away. Leon saw an exit and bolted to it with all his might. His inner strength ability, the only edge he had over Hunter, still had more than a minute left on its cooldown.

Leon slammed the door open and ran out of the gymnasium, into the cold sunny fall day. He saw the same group of LARPers still performing mock battles on the grass and made a beelined straight for them. He imagined he made a strange sight, naked with his penis flailing every which way, sprinting full speed forward with five very angry frat guys chasing after him, gaining on him with every step.

Hunter saw Leon was headed to the group of students with foam weapons and ran faster than before until he was only a step behind Leon. He tried to grab Leon but Leon was able to duck out of the way. The two were only ten feet from the group. Hunter tried again to stop Leon this time with a full-body tackle. Just before Hunter brought Leon down two things happened, the quest demanding he “win a contest of speed” was completed and Ruth, the girl who had shown him how to play before, threw him a shield like a frisbee which Leon caught and used to block a series of blows which Hunter rained down onto him as the two tumbled in the grass.

The two struggled in the grass, Leon’s shield protecting his torso and head but not preventing Hunter from savaging his arms and legs with painful punches. Leon wrapped his naked legs around Hunter and with effort flipped the heavier man over so that he was on top. His inner strength power still had fifteen seconds left on its cooldown.

Without it, Hunter was able to flip Leon back over and pin his arms and legs to the grass. The latest level of strength had made Leon nearly Hunters equal in size but the large man still had the advantage. Leon struggled violently against the frat guy to little effect. Hunter loomed over him, breath coming in heavy gasps and eyes filled with murder. “I’m going to drag your asshole out your mouth.”

Using one hand to subdue both of Leon’s hands Hunter placed a hand around Leon’s neck and started to choke him, hard. Leon’s inner strength ability still had ten seconds left on cooldown. Without it, Leon didn't have the strength to break Hunter's grip.

Above him, he saw Ruth mercilessly bring her foam sword down onto Hunter's back. The man didn't flinch but one of his friends grabbed Ruth from behind.

Leon's vision started to blur as his windpipe was constricted. He gasped helplessly and tried to roll his naked body out from Hunter's pin, but the frat guy's body was too heavy and his grip too strong. Leon found his thoughts going to Edward, his best friend. He wondered how his friend's “Altered State” journey was going, it couldn’t possibly be any worse than his.

#male tf #male transformation #musclegrowth #tf #reality change #ai image

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crow-cello · 4 days ago

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Soo I was inspired by this idea said by @fuckinglovelyhoe because Adam is Princess Daphne from Dragon's Lair to the core and their post has been itching on my mind for weeks! He's more than capable of saving himself, but let's be honest which princess doesn't want to be rescued instead? (Definitely Adam here!)

Princess Adam with a dash of Adamsapple and Guitarhero to make it feel like a video game, and also because I love both ships (Adam can't pick so he can have both)

Wanted to go for a Viktor from Arcane meets Edward Scissorhands vibe for Archangel Michael but I couldn't nail the exact look I wanted, so let's say this is fanart for @twost3ps Michael because his design is simply handsome! Please check out their amazing guitarhero art, you are missing a part of heaven if you haven't yet.

Also, this is all based off in Eden when Lucifer had just committed his sin against Heaven so he's a freshly fallen angel.

Adam used to have long glorious hair when he and Lilith were created as equal beings, so their physiques were also no different. Eden was far better back then when their first two creations were made just as beautiful, so gender roles had not been even a concept yet to Sera and the early angels. They just knew they loosely wanted a man and woman, but their concepts of a 'man' was this babygirl Adam we have here (going to be making a backstory for him eventually because this explanation probably makes no sense. This is also just my headcanons fyi)

Adam is not particularly genderbend in this piece, but if you wish to see it that way that's a-okay. I use femme pronouns loosely because it's just cute to call every babygirl as such ♡

Anywho, Adam being such a big tease because he's not really in danger, he just wanted the attention of his dashing heroes. Skipped over the dragon fighting scene cause nobody has time to draw that!

Alsooo sorry that I couldn't draw the final kiss scene for these two ships as my art energy only allowed me for these few panels :_; Please enjoy if you've made it this far!

#hazbin hotel #dragon's lair #adam #michael #lucifer #adamsapple #guitarhero #my art #hazbin hotel adam #hazbin hotel michael #hazbin hotel lucifer

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ltwilliammowett · 4 months ago

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Memorial Brooch to Rear Admiral McKerlie, Died 12th Septr 1848. Aged 74 years, 1848

Rear Admiral John McKerlie (1774-1848) entered the Royal Navy as a volunteer in April 1794 having been at sea in the Atlantic and Baltic merchant service from a young age. Rated Able Seaman, he was sent from the receiving ship Royal William to join the elite frigate force based at Falmouth that cruised the Channel countering the activities of French commerce raiders. McKerlie was assigned to the frigate Arethusa (38) commanded by one of the most successful frigate captains of the day, Captain Sir Edward Pellew.

In early 1795 McKerlie followed Pellew into the 44-gun heavy frigate Indefatigable with the rate of Quarter-Gunner. Owing to a sound Scottish education and his knowledge of the sea McKerlie was soon acting as Indefatigable’s schoolmaster instructing the other eighteen ‘young gentleman’ of the gunroom in the specifics of their profession, having himself been appointed a midshipman. Throughout 1795 and 1796 he participated in the capture of the numerous French prizes which brought further fame and glory to Sir Edward Pellew. It was however early the next year that Indefatigable fought what is generally regarded as one of the boldest frigate actions of the French Revolutionary War.

On the dark and stormy night of 13 January 1797 the French 74 Droits de l’Homme was sighted off the Brittany coast. Pellew, recognizing that he was heavily outclassed, saw that the waves prevented his opponent from opening the lower gun ports and that the severe weather had caused the loss of the enemy’s topmasts. Seizing the initiative, Indefatigable closed followed by the frigate Amazon and raked the French ship of the line at every opportunity. The enemy replied with 4,000 canon balls over the next few hours until finally driven in to Audierne Bay irreparably damaged by British gunfire and the unabated gale. The sight of distant breakers however threatened the destruction of all three ships. Indefatigable, though with masts damaged and with four feet of water in her hold, alone just had time to alter course and escape.

For Pellew the action was a triumph, Lord Spencer at the Admiralty acknowledging that for two frigates to destroy a ship of the line was ‘an exploit which has not I believe ever before graced our naval Annals’. For McKerlie the action was a trauma, costing him his right arm and a severe wound to the thigh. McKerlie's sacrifice was deeply felt Sir Edward Pellew whom he followed to his subsequent command, the mutinous ship of the line Impetueux. While serving aboard the Impetueux, McKerlie participated in numerous boat actions during the Quiberon expedition in 1800, and was present during the planning of a proposed attack on Belleisle. Marshall’s Royal Naval Biography relates how McKerlie ‘…not having heard how he was to be employed, went up to Sir Edward, interrupted him in a conversation with Major-General Maitland, and asking what part he was to act in the event of a debarkation taking place? The answer was “McKerlie you have lost one hand already, and if you loose the other you will not have anything to wipe your backside with; you will remain on board with the first lieutenant and fight the ship as she is to engage an 8-gun battery.”’

The loss of an arm did little to impede McKerlie’s career. He was regarded as a talented surveyor and draftsman, working at onetime with the celebrated civil engineer Thomas Telford. He was also considered a first class shot. He received his lieutenant’s commission in 1804 and served in H.M.S. Spartiate at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. He was present in the capture of Flushing and the Walcheren expedition, and commanded a squadron of ships stationed off Heligoland; oversaw the defence and retreat from Cuxhaven; and was responsible for destroying enemy shipping on the Braak.

Unable to get a command after 1813, McKerlie returned to his native Galloway where he married, Harriet, daughter of James Stewart of Cairnsmuir, had one daughter, Lillias (1821-1915), to either or both of whom the present brooch no doubt belonged. In a post service career McKerlie served as a local magistrate and operated commercial vessels from the port of Garlieston. After almost twenty years ashore, he made an unlikely returned to the Royal Navy as captain of the experimental frigate Vernon between 1834 and 1837. He was awarded a Pension for Wounds on 8 May 1816.

Despite the ever growing kudos that was accorded to Trafalgar veterans in the early Victorian age, it is perhaps with greater pride that Admiral McKerlie recalled his service under Pellew (or Lord Exmouth, as he became); and in 1847 was one of only eight surviving veterans who had lived long enough to apply for the Naval General Service Medal with a clasp for the Droits de L’Homme engagement. The following year, in 1848, he died at Corvisel House, Newton Stewart, at the age of seventy-three.

#naval history #naval artifacts #memorial brooch #18th century #19th century #age of sail #rear admiral mckerlie #trafalgar veteran

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flippinpancakes64 · 6 months ago

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Day at the pool with the Cullens

I love pools and I love swimming so here we are

All additional photos I found on Pinterest

Edward:

Volleyball expert

Loves having competitions to see who can "hold" their breath the longest

(There's never an actual winner, it's just who gets bored first)

Loves to tackle you in the water

Can and will sneak up on you to pull you under

Roughhousing x100

Will think you're boring if you just sit on the side of the pool

He wants to play, dammit

Wears a nose plug unfortunately

He doesn't like the feel of the water in his nose

Can and will stay there all day

He doesn't go out of his way to go to the pool, but when he does he never wants to leave

I imagine he'd like swim shorts with a pattern

He doesn't want to wear something boring

Alice:

Diving board queen

She could go to the Olympic level if she wanted to

Definitely an attacker

Will sneak up behind people just to scare them

Does that freaky thing where they go underwater to swim through people's legs when they don't expect it

Loves seeing how fast she can lap the pool

Loves getting on Emmett's shoulders and wrestling people

Splashes people

Not too fond of the beach balls or volleyballs but she will play

She wears something intricate and definitely uncomfortable looking

Stylish tho

Jasper:

Not really interested

He came along because everyone else went

He prefers baseball

He's in the water though

He might join in on volleyball or diving, but I think he'd prefer to just chill out on a raft or a tube

He just wants to enjoy all of the positive emotions around him

He might swim around with you though if you ask him

He's not opposed to doing anything

Would really enjoy a lazy river though

He just wants to veg out and I love that for him

Just lets Alice choose whatever she wants him to wear

Has absolutely no preference at all

Rosalie:

You're lucky if she touches the water at all

Prefers to lay by the poolside and "tan"

She really just enjoys the heat from the sun

Like a lizard under a heat lamp

Might dip her toes in

If you beg her to get in she might go to the shallow end and stand there for a little bit

If you splash her it's over for you

So best just to leave her alone :')

Will throw the diving toys though

Like those girls on tiktok who are tanning and throwing the toys for their boyfriends like they're dogs

That's her

She thinks it's funny

MIGHT get up to retrieve the ball if you guys throw it out on accident

Heavy on the might tho

She'd wear something cute with a pretty pattern

Emmett:

King of the Pool

Roughhousing final boss

Will start actually wrestling with people

He brought the water guns

Shows absolutely no mercy

His favorite game is water chicken

Always the base guy

Even though he's not supposed to be fighting, he still does

Is the one mostly diving for the toys Rosalie throws

Wears goggles just because they look funny

Has broken the bottom of the pool before

Would do it again too

Likes to pick people up and throw them as far as he can

Jumped off the diving board and did a cannonball once

That's how he broke the pool floor

Wears the most idiotic trunks he can find

Since it's only their family at the pool, Alice can't use the whole "keeping good appearances" thing as a reason why he should wear what she picks

Carlisle:

Likes to let loose a little bit

He has to act old to keep appearances, so everyone forgets he's physically only about 25

Like Alice I think he'd enjoy the diving board

Would love to unwind on an inner tube as well

He likes to swim to the bottom of the deep end and just sit there

He finds it peaceful

Won't join in with the fighting though

He's here to relax and have a good time

Keeps it simple and classy as far as suits go

For the longest time he wore a speedo though...

Alice quickly put an end to that

Esme:

A less grouchy Rosalie

She's here to enjoy the sun and the warmth

She would also enjoy sitting on a raft and floating though

Lazy. River.

She would enjoy watching more than anything

Would keep score and help be a referee

Would also throw the diving toys

I feel like she would enjoy just wading around though

Making laps or just floating slowly

This is her big relaxation day

I think she would enjoy suits with a bit more coverage

And she would love flowy skirts or shawls

It makes her feel elegant <3

Vampire! Bella:

Another roughhouser here folks

She went her whole human life being a walking accident, of course she's going to make the most of actually having reflexes

Loves to do just about anything

Volleyball, basketball, diving, chicken, wrestling, water gun fight

Literally anything

Is usually Edward's partner for chicken

Loves to do things that humans absolutely cannot do

She's still getting used to it and everything

One time she stayed underwater for a full 5 hours

Just to see if she could

Will ask you to time her laps around the pool

She goes for a more practical suit

Something similar to what she had when she was human

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orphicdreamers-wp · 1 year ago

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Crowded Room — Ethan Edwards

Summary; In which Ethan never thought of you like that until he saw you show up to a party with a football player

Content Warning: 18+ Content, Smut, oral sex(f receiving), p in v sex, filth, slight degradation, hair pulling, choking, used of ‘sir’ ‘whore’ ‘slut’, mirror sex, unprotected sex(don’t be silly y’all), creampie (🫣), breeding kink, mentions of birth control, religious mentions(really quickly), JJ McCarthy getting caught in the crossfire, possessive JJ, cheating(? not really, reader and jj have gone on like 2 dates) loosely based on Lovin On Me By Jack Harlow

Pairing; Ethan Edwards & Fem Reader

You were tucked beneath JJ’s broad shoulder as you entered the fraternity house. You guys were immediately greeted with the smell of alcohol and marijuana. JJ’s grip on your hip tightened as he pulled you closer to his body. You two mingled with various athletes and a few of your sorority sisters as you made your way into the kitchen. You smiled softly at Ethan as you saw him pouring some concoction into a plastic cup as your voice came out softly, “Hey Eth.”

Ethan had been in your Ethics in sports class since freshman year and for some reason your professor always paired you two up for partner work. You would be lying in you said that you didn’t notice how attractive the hockey player was. He had the biggest and softest brown eyes you’d seen. He always had on that stupid hat and his beautiful dark hair sticking out. Anyone with eyes could see that Ethan Edwards was an attractive guy.

Ethan had never seen you as anything more than a friend. You were kind, funny and the first sorority girl he’d met that truly understood the concept of hockey. You had always been a friend to the brown haired hockey player. But you stood a mere five feet away from him, clad in a low cut cropped cheetah print top that accentuated your breasts perfectly, like the shirt was molded around your body. A fair amount of your stomach was out until it met the short leather skirt that had Ethan’s pants constricting his lower hips.

Ethan had never thought about it before but in that moment all he was thinking about was bending you over the counter and fucking the shit out of you, without a care in the world that JJ McCarthy seemed to be staking his claim on you in the kitchen. The way you said his name made him feel ridiculous for never thinking about you in this capacity. But surely you’d never thought of him that way right?

Ethan raised an eyebrow ever so slightly as he saw the grip JJ held on your hip. He could see the intensity of the hold by the skin visible between the hem of your top and the your skirt. He also noticed how JJ’s eyes were glued to him as you watched him intently. Ethan pressed the cup to his lips, “Hey Y/N, McCarthy. Didn’t know y’all were a thing.” You went to open your mouth to say that you weren’t, that tonight was your like 3rd date, when JJ spoke, “It’s new, right babe?” Your heart was beating up into your throat as you nodded, “Yep, good seeing you Eth. I have to use the ladies room.”

You looked up into JJ’s piercing blue eyes and unglued yourself from his side. You slipped out of the kitchen, feeling overwhelmed by JJ’s sudden influx of testosterone he’d felt the urge to show. You walked down the seemingly never ending hallway. You entered the bathroom and went to shut the door only for a hand to stop you. You looked up, taken aback as Ethan stood in the doorway, “Are you okay?” You felt your throat clam up, “‘M all good Eth.” Ethan shut and locked the door to the bathroom behind him as he leaned against it while you stood in front of the mirror, “Your a shitty liar Y/N. What’s going on in your pretty little head?”

You let out a nervous laugh, “I don’t even know. I’m not dating JJ by the way.” Ethan laughed heartily, “I gathered, you looked like you just shit your pants when he called you babe. Most girls don’t have that reaction.” You laughed, “Can I be honest for a minute?” Ethan grinned, “I’ve never known you to not be honest. What’s up?” You giggled nervously, partially tipsy from the bottle of Pink Whitney you had pregamed with at your sorority before leaving the house for this party.

“I’m kinda nervous being alone with you right now.” Ethan frowned, immediately feeling bad, initially believing he’d made you uncomfortable, “I’m sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable. I can go.” You shook your head, “No it’s not you. Well not like that.” Ethan raised an eyebrow as he walked across the room and stopped next to you, “What’s wrong then?” You laughed slightly, “Being alone with you makes me nervous because your hot and I’m tipsy but I’m pretty sure this is how a handful of my wet dreams have started.”

Ethan laughed breathily, “So I make you nervous with my fleeting sex appeal? Good to know.” You rolled your eyes, “See this is why I should have kept my mouth shut. You never take anything seriously.” Ethan stood in front of you, keeping you from moving away from the counter. He placed a hand on your bare skin, “Trust me pretty, I’m taking this very seriously. Hop up on the counter for me.” You pressed your back against the mirror as Ethan dropped to his knees.

Your breath hitched as his warm breath traveled up your legs as he pressed soft wet kisses up your legs. By the time he reached your knees, you legs spread further giving Ethan easier access to your thighs and soaking core. An pornographic groan left Ethan’s mouth as his lips neared your burning core. He looked up at with his beautiful brown eyes lit up by desire, “Is this okay?” You groaned at his question, “God yes, please.” Ethan pushed your skirt up further as he pulled your panties down in one swift motion.

Your hand’s immediately flew to Ethan’s head, removing his hat and setting it near the sink as your fingers threaded through his hair as his tongue met the bundle of nerves that had a coil forming in your stomach. Ethan hummed as he pulled away, “So wet for me. Such a whore, letting me take you in a bathroom.” You felt yourself clench around the air as Ethan’s fingers slid inside of your dripping cunt. You felt a unrecognizable moan leave your lips as you clamped your legs around Ethan’s head as he began to lap up your juices as you came down from your high.

You breathed heavily as you leaned your head against the mirror and panted, “Holy shit. I can’t believe I just did that.” Ethan laughed, “Don’t worry it’s hot.” You rolled your eyes, “I cannot believe I did that. Oh god, I’m like a total whore.” Ethan pressed a kiss against your lips, “Sorry I just really wanted you to stop talking.” You groaned as you pulled him into a passionate kiss, your core clenching as you shamelessly grinded against him. Ethan pressed his hands on your hips, “Are you sure?” You reached down to unzip your skirt letting it fall to the ground as you pulled Ethan into you, “I’ve never been more sure of something.”

Ethan groaned as he pulled his shorts down and kicked them to the side. You hummed to yourself as Ethan rummaged through the drawers in search of a condom, only to come up empty handed. You groaned as you pulled him by his shirt to you, “I have an IUD, please just fuck me Eth. I need you inside me so badly.”

Ethan practically groaned at your words, “Such a desperate little slut for me. Just begging for me to fuck you raw in a random party bathroom. Didn’t peg you for a freak.” You groaned as you clenched your thighs together, “Damn it would you just fuck me already or do I need to have JJ come do that?” Ethan scoffed as he turned you to face the mirror as he adjusted himself behind you.

You felt a sharp breath leave your mouth as Ethan slid into you. Your chest tightening as he bottomed out inside you. Ethan’s hands found their way to your hips, fingers digging into your skin, harshly enough to leave bruises. A groan leaving his mouth, “You feel so good. Clenching around me, such a little slut.” You felt your eyes roll into the back of your head as Ethan’s hips began to move rhythmically. As sharp gasp left your lips as Ethan pulled at your hair, bringing your back pressed against his chest. A soft groan emitted from Ethan’s lips into your ear. You smirked pridefully, “Did I just hear Mr Ethan Edwards who has a reputation for never moaning during sex, moan?” Ethan rolled his eyes, “Shut up before I pull out.” You whines lightly at his words, “Please, alright fine sir. Just don’t stop.”

You felt Ethan tighten his grip on your hair, “Call me that again, please.” You grinned, learning Ethan’s soft spot in bed. A soft moan leaving your lips as your eyes screwed shut as you fell into the bathroom counter, “Oh god right there. Don’t stop please sir.” Ethan’s hand found it’s way around your throat, holding just tight enough to make you feel pressure but loose enough your air supply wasn’t compromised. You clenched around Ethan’s cock as he pounded up into your pussy.

You let out a pornographic moan, “Shit, I’m so close. Don’t stop.” Ethan groaned as he breathed heavily, “I’m there too. I wanna cum inside you so bad.” You groaned at his words, previously believing it was impossible to become more wet, “Cum in me Eth, I need it. Need to feel you inside me.” Ethan groaned, “I could get your pregnant right now given the chance.” You let out another moan as you felt the coil building in your stomach burst as you clenched around his cock. Your orgasm triggering Ethan’s as he came following you.

You leaned against the counter, ass bare in the air as Ethan’s cum dropped down your thighs. You finally caught your breath and grinned as Ethan got a few square of paper towel and began to wipe his cum off of your legs and helped you back into your skirt and panties. You sighed as you two made your way out of the bathroom. A sinking feeling built in your stomach as it hit you, you’d have to explain to JJ where you’d gone off to for nearly an hour.

The sinking feeling dissipated when you found JJ sprawled across the couch with a redhead perched on his lap making out. You let out a sigh of relief as Ethan draped his arm on your shoulder, “Back to another crowded room we go.” You had expected him to enter the room and abandon you to go back to his teammates and brag over the easy lay he got, but he intertwined his fingers with yours and led you over to his friends. A small smile forming on your face as he sat down and pulled you into his lap as he watched some of his teammates play beer pong.

#hockey player x reader #fanfic #hockey #umich blurbs #umich imagine #umich hockey #umich boys #ethan edwards hockey #ethan edwards #ethan edwards smut #jj mccarthy

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theficpusher · 3 months ago

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Chasing Feelings by Neondiamond | M | 20029 When homicide detective Louis Tomlinson first gets assigned to work with detective Harry Styles, the newest addition to the Doncaster police station, on the biggest case of his career, he’s less than enthused about it. There’s a serial killer on the loose, and Louis has no time to waste working with a newbie, despite how attracted his inner Alpha may be to Harry’s sweet scent. Along the way, he finds he may have been too quick to judge the Omega.

Into This Mess by crimsontheory | E | 20561 The first day of Louis’ promotion is going well, far better than he expected. That is until his new partner shows up, who just so happens to be the guy who stumbled half-dressed out of his flat that same morning. Or the enemies to lovers detective AU.

a long way down (to the bottom of the river) by MediaWhore | M | 24184 “Most people would call Harry silly for believing in curses. Childish would also be a probable insult thrown his way. In their little town full of little people, Harry’s whimsical nature and beliefs mean that he’s subjected to frequent judgemental looks and whispers. It doesn’t usually bother him. Most people don’t know about the magic thrumming through his veins or about how powerful words can truly be. Most people don’t carry around their ancestors grief like a burden. They don’t have to pay for deeds hundreds of years old like Harry and his family have. They get to love freely without fear. Harry and his kin aren’t so lucky.” a practical magic au in which Harry and his sister accidentally kill her abusive boyfriend with magic and Louis is the D.I working the case.

A Study in Love by Rearviewdreamer | M | 24307 Louis knows everything about everyone which has put him at a great and weird advantage over nearly all of them since the very beginning. He can solve any puzzle before most people know where to begin. He is rarely perplexed, mistaken, or wrong, and obviously, Louis is never ever surprised. And yet, his new flatmate after a very long string of failed ones has Louis questioning how he ever did any of it without him.

Catching a Partner by berzerkshires | M | 24936 This documentary follows the story of two people who fell in love in the last place you'd expect. Louis is a detective at the Boston Police Department investigating a trail of recent murders. Harry is the latest victim who survived an attempted murder and is sent to live at a safe house with Detective Tomlinson as the killer is still at large. This is their story.

i've heard it both ways by vintagehistories | E | 26331 “I, uh.” Harry is scrambling, trying to think of something believable on the spot. He remembers the woman from reception and her phone call and says the only thing he can think of. “I’m a psychic.” Everyone stills. Zayn laughs, Detective Edwards looks confused, and the officer holding the door open looks mildly frightened. “A psychic?” Zayn gets out between his laughs. “I’ve heard it all. You’re definitely spending the night in the holding cell now. You’re wasting all of our time here.” an au based on the tv show psych where harry is shawn, louis is jules, liam is gus, niall is mcnabb, and zayn is lassie.

When Darkness Strikes by he_wants_to_write | E | 58766 Private Investigator Harry Styles is called to help solve a brutal homicide case in a small town by the North of England. There, he stumbles upon Detective Louis Tomlinson, and although their personalities crash and dark mysteries haunt their circumstances, the pair does have one thing in common; the will to catch the responsible behind the murder. Or, the suspenseful, thrilling Enemies to Lovers that evolves more than romance and slow burn.

technicolor by creamcoffeelou | E | 81386 When the small town of Twin Lakes begins experiencing a string of serial murders, a team of detectives is called in to help. Louis is the head of the team and meets a hard-headed psychic who everyone else seems to believe is the one who will solve the case. Louis isn't so sure. OR The slow-burn, hate-to-love, crime au where Harry is a psychic, Louis is a detective, and the world is against them.

Where you'd rather be by Itsmotivatingcara | M | 103456 Louis runs the best Canine Search and Rescue school in Augusta, Maine, one that trains dogs to track missing persons. He lives an idyllic life on Togus Pond where he's built his career from the ground up. He has everything he could ever want, a beautiful home, friends he adores and a dog that aids his students in their training. Romantic entanglements have never been high up on his list of priorities. That is, until he stumbles across a body in the woods. A woman was brutally murdered and dumped on his doorstep. It doesn't help that the Detective on the case happens to be devilishly handsome and just the right amount of broody. Detective Harry styles has a murder to solve, he's just gotten out of a long-term relationship and he's certainly not looking for another. Regardless of whether the man who run's the SAR unit's blue eyes sparkle with promise and a sense of belonging. Something he may or may not have been searching for all his life. Or Detective - Search and Rescue AU

#detectives #Chasing Feelings #Neondiamond #Into This Mess #crimsontheory #a long way down (to the bottom of the river)#MediaWhore #A Study in Love #Rearviewdreamer #Catching a Partner #berzerkshires #i've heard it both ways #vintagehistories #When Darkness Strikes #he_wants_to_write #technicolor #creamcoffeelou #Where you'd rather be #Itsmotivatingcara

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absolutelyhugh3s · 1 year ago

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michigan maize | ee73

ethan edwards x reader!

more loosely based song fics!! this one is tennessee orange by megan moroney

thank you guys so so much for all the love and support on forever and ever!!! y’all seriously don’t understand how much it means to me!! i love every single one of you <33

word count: 1.13k (not my gif!)

“hi munchkin! how are you doing?” my mothers honey-like voice filled my ears as she answered my call.

oh god, i'm really doing this.

“hi mama” i smiled even though she couldn’t see me “im good”

“i've got some news” i said nervously, clenching the comforter of my bed in my fist.

“oh honey is everything alright?” her slight chicago accent peaking through.

“dont worry im doing okay, just please dont tell dad?” i pleaded with my mother.

“y/n did something happen?” she asked worriedly.

“yes mama. he’ll blow a fuse if he found out” my father wasn’t big on me going to the umich. being the coach of msu hockey, he wanted me to go there.

but when i received an amazing scholarship to play lacrosse, i had to take it.

the first thing he told me when i left for school was “don't run off with any of those hockey boys y/n, they are very bad news.”

well, he’s clearly never met ethan.

“i know you raised me to know right from wrong, but god he makes it so hard” i chuckle “he?” my mother questions.

“i met somebody mama, hes brunette, and he's got these big brown eyes, and he opens the door for me everywhere i go!”

ethan and y/n go on small date’s every wednesday night. its an awkward time for some, but for them, its the only time in their busy schedules that they can be together.

today, their date night was dressing up super fancy (as barbie and ken of course) seeing the barbie movie, and eating at a small diner a few blocks from the movie theater.

ethan had planned out the entire thing and the couple had a blast. once ethan had driven her back to her on campus apartment, she thanked the older boy, kissed him goodbye and began to exit the car.

“WAIT” ethan yelled. he jumped up out of the drivers seat, exiting the car and running around to open his girlfriend’s car door. “ok now you can go” he smiled

the small action made the girl melt like a snowman in summer. the defenseman than sprinted to the main door of her apartment complex, opening that for her as well.

“m’lady” he held out a hand as y/n walked through the door a blushing mess. he than took her hand in his, interlocking their fingers, leading her up to her apartment.

though the action was so little, it made her fall in love with him more and more every day.

“he just makes me so happy! hes like perfectly perfect! god! i've never felt this way mama!” i ramble.

“hun” my mother chuckles. “whats his name?” i then realize i left out the most important part “ethan! ethan edwards! mama you would love him” i smiled.

“but back home id be sinning” the smile fades slightly from my face. “why is that dear?” it seems as though she could hear what was going though my mind.

“mama, hes got me wearing maize and blue for him” i sarcastically laughed.

“you should come to my game tomorrow” ethan said, running his hands through the ends of the y/h/c girls hair.

“the boys would love to see you, plus i get to have my own little good luck charm in the stands” the boy smiled like a small child at the girl laying on his chest.

“really?” she looked up at the brown haired boy with big doe eyes. “yes really” he grinned.

“here” he moved the smaller girl off of his chest to stand up from his bed.

he rummages through his closet, looking for a specific item of clothing.

suddenly a large yellow piece of fabric is thrown at her “you can even wear my jersey” he smiles.

the girl holds it up a large ‘edwards 73’ stares at her. “you know what e? i think i will”

“oh hes an athlete?” my mom says, surprised.

“yeah hekindasortamaybeplayshockey” i rush out, nervous of what my mother would say.

“im gonna need you to slow down y/n/n” she chuckles

“he plays hockey mama. he had me wearing his jersey at a msu game! of course i want the spartans to win but still! his smile! oh his smile! it makes me forget i look better in green!” i gush about my boyfriend.

“so thats why you didnt want your father to know” my mom teases, clearly finding enjoyment in this entire situation.

“oh please forgive me mama, i like him a lot” i beg “oh i think its a lot more than like sweetheart” my mom says. “what?”

“oh honey you are head over heels for ethan” she laughs “i've known for ten minutes and i can tell”

“oh god im in love with a wolverine!” i exclaim.

“babygirl its ok! the worlds not gonna end! growing up in chicago i said i would never date a red wings fan, guess what? i married one!” she laughs.

“so you’re not mad?” i asked hesitantly.

“of course not y/n! its my job as your mother to always be supportive of you” i could tell she was smiling though the phone.

i talked with my mother for a while longer about random stuff for about another half hour. “mama i have to go, ethan should be here in a few minutes” i say.

“alright sweetie, invite him home would ya?” my mother asks. “of course mama, i love you” “i love you too sweet girl, bye bye”

i clean things up for about ten minutes when i hear a knock at my apartment door.

“you can come in e!” i shout. “ok!” he shouts back before walking in.

i put the last few dishes in the cabinet when i feel two muscular arms snake around my waist and a face bury into the crook of my neck.

“hi baby” he mumbles, tightening his hold on my waist.

“hi e” i giggled. “guess what i did today” i added.

“hmm climbed mount everest?” “nope” “slayed a dragon?” “nope” “killed someone?” “god no!”

“i told my mom about us” i smiled. ethans parents have known for a few weeks now about us, but he didnt wanna push me to tell mine. he wanted me to be comfortable with doing it myself.

ethan spins me around, his hands steading my hips. “you did?” he smiles.

“i did” i mirror his smile. the much larger boy then pulls me into the tightest hug possible.

“im so proud of you baby” he says, kissing the crown of my head.

“i have a question though” i place my chin on his sternum so im looking up at ethan. “whats up love?”

“what are you doing for spring break?”

#ethan edwards x reader #umich imagine #ethan edwards #ethan edwards imagine #ethan edwards x y/n #umich hockey

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acapelladitty · 4 months ago

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Consumption (Scriddler Fic)

Summary - Tired of fantasy, Jonathan finally decides that it is time to taste Edward.

Based loosely on this stunning piece of artwork from @skxtchyghost

Ghosting his lips across the swell of Edward's neck, Jonathan inhaled the scent of his sweat-slicked skin like it were a fine bouquet. The sweat was fresh, a single bead rolling down towards the fabric of his shirt, but it held an acrid quality that Jonathan instantly recognised as fear.

"Scared, Edward?" Jonathan allowed his mouth to hover as he muttered the purred words into Edward's skin, admiring the gooseflesh which rose across the area and disappeared down his chest. "Hmm?"

"Not scared." Edward denied breathily, his throat visibly hitching as he lied. "But I cannot think of a man who would not be apprehensive having a wolf so close to his most vulnerable flesh."

"A wolf?" The slight modulation of Jonathan's voice was as unsettling as ever, more so due to the predatory delight Edward could hear wrapped around the comparison. "Well, if you wish me a wolf..."

A sharp gasp quickly rising into a squeal, Edward flinched in position - unable to pull away due to the inhumane grip with Jonathan maintained on his upper body - as Jonathan's sharp teeth breached the sensitive skin of his throat, white hot pain blossoming in the area as he felt the skin tear free. Moaning as he thrashed, the tickle of warm liquid trickling down his collarbone told Edward everything he needed to know about how deeply the wound lay.

"Jon-Jonathan!" He groaned out, voice stuttering over the simple name as adrenaline made his head swim dangerously for a moment as the scent of copper swirled against his nose. "What the fu-"

"Not Jonathan," Jonathan snapped, any trace of teasing having plummeted from his tone. "Say my name."

Fingers itching to press against the throbbing wound as it continued to bleed out, the droplets only paused by Jonathan's lips as they once again wrapped around the afflicted area, Edward felt almost delirious as his mind fought to find the answer Jonathan was looking for.

It struck him in a moment, the same moment that Jonathan's thin tongue slipped out to probe at the torn skin - igniting fresh heat in his abused neck and he whined out the correct response.

"Scarecrow."

#Jonathan crane #scarecrow #riddler #edward nygma #edward nigma #scriddler #riddlecrow

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aurora-313 · 7 months ago

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I never understood why there had to be such a massive conspiracy around Masaki. It detracts from the tragedy of Memories In The Rain and Ichigo's character as a whole that she was a Quincy.

Look at that flashback objectively if Masaki were a powerless human:

It's bucketing down rain, a deluge in the middle of monsoon season. You're eager to get your son home from his karate practice. Conditions are dreadful but as long as you're on concrete, you're both okay. Then your son suddenly stops. Something only he claims he can see catches his attention. You've indulged his talk about ghosts because he's a boy, he's allowed to have an imaginary friend and its never harmed anyone. But suddenly, your son's shouting. Launching into a full sprint down that steep slippery hill, at the base of which is a dangerous rushing river. Or potentially slip on a loose bit of stone or root, and break his neck. You can't see what he sees. As far as you're aware, your son's taken absolute leave of his senses and is charging headlong into a certainly fatal situation. Naturally, your response would be to freak out and throw yourself after your son, hoping to catch him before he could jump into the water, very probably drowning. Then CHOMP. Hollow chow.

Revealing Masaki was a Quincy is irreparably cheapening her death.

Let's pretend for a second Grand Fisher wasn't there. And the same thought process outlined above occurs.

In an attempt to stop Ichigo running down the hill, Masaki could've slipped, fallen and broke her neck instead. Or took a bad tumble, ending with a fatal blow to the head. The effect on Ichigo would've been the same. He would've developed a massive guilt complex because his tragedy of impulse caused his mother's death.

That is the whole crux of Ichigo's guilt. His actions caused this outcome. And it was the hardest lesson he had to learn.

Grand Fisher or no, if Ichigo hadn't acted the way he did, if he hadn't tried to save the 'girl' from falling into the river, then his mother wouldn't have died in the first place.

Revealing Masaki as a Quincy, and that her powers were """conveniently""" stolen at exactly the time she needed them most, completely invalidates the human randomness, tragedy and relatability of that death.

It invalidates the guilt that drives 99% of Ichigo's character and actions. That same guilt, now predicated on false pretenses, fueled his desire to protect, to suffer through hell if it meant he could protect the people he cared about (at times to their detriments). Especially since that desire can rage dangerously out of control, and at one point literally got Ichigo killed and reanimated as a monstrous hollow hellbent on destroying everything around it, muttering 'protect, protect, protect' like a zombie.

It's a flaw Ichigo had to overcome by coming to terms with it and using it to as motivation in a healthier manner. Not be absolved of.

A prime example of a character carrying their guilt and growing past it done well is Edward Elric from Full Metal Alchemist/Brotherhood.

Edward and Alphonse never got over Nina and Alexander. They were never absolved of their guilt. Its a mark permanently etched in their collective psyches and reconciling with the fact alchemy could be used in such vile ways drove a huge part of their early characters.

What they did was learn to grieve and cope and move on with it as motivation. They vowed never to allow that kind of monstrosity to happen again. Even when Ed's about to give up his alchemy forever, he declares 'I'm just a simple human who couldn't save a little girl. Not even with alchemy.'

Rather than have Ichigo go through a journey like this, EBTR removes the burden of guilt from Ichigo's shoulders completely when Isshin tells him "No, it wasn't your iconic recklessness that got your mother killed. It was an ancient prophecy and you never should've felt guilty in the first place."

Isshin may as well have said "Everything you believed about yourself since the moment you were born is a lie. The foundation of your personality since you were 9 is a lie. Have fun finding a therapist to deal with the crippling psychological ramifications of that bombshell, but do it after you win another war for us."

It irreparably damages Masaki, and by extension Ichigo's and Isshin's, characters that she had powers.

If Masaki was a Quincy from the jump. Cool, why didn't she teach Ichigo basic control of his reiryoku? Or how to tell the living from the dead - something Ichigo canonically struggled with for as long as he could remember? Basic safety measures that would've avoided those kinds of situations in the first place.

You don't wait until a toddler get splattered by cars before telling them not to play in a busy road, or not to stick a fork in a power point after they've been electrocuted and rushed to the hospital. You teach them rules and install safety measures to prevent those situations in the first place.

There's four main interpretations I take from Masaki's decision to willfully neglect Ichigo's education in the spirit arts:

Well-meaning but naïve and frankly reckless desire to preserve Ichigo's innocence for as long as possible. Fair and the most benign explanation.

Threatened into maintaining her silence by either Kisuke or Isshin (or both depending how generous I feel), lest the seal on her hollowfication "mysteriously" weaken.

Realizing she was a dead woman walking since been bitten by White, Masaki partook in the conspiracy to turn Ichigo into a living weapon and purposefully martyred herself to make it happen.

Masaki having powers is the cosmic retcon of retcons and Kubo didn't think about the implications of his own writing...

If Masaki absolutely HAD to be a Quincy for the sake of turning Ichigo into Aizen's gary stu project, then fine.Yhwach's influence should've been kept far FAR away from it.

Maybe Masaki couldn't use her powers because if she tried, it would've destroyed the seal keeping the hollowfication in check. When Grand Fisher emerged, she baited it to kill her instead.

"Oh, but we need to explain why Ichigo's so powerful."

Ichigo's sperm donor is an ex-Captain and member of one of the royal families, who are noted to have above average base stats. His powers took a hollow aspect thanks to the encroachment temporarily transforming him into a hollow at the base of shattered shaft. Hollowfied Shinigami are naturally stronger (on paper) than their non-hybrid counterparts.

"Why does he two spirits?" The awakening of his power was so fractious it literally splintered into its component pieces. The hollow is the repressed parts of Ichigo's, so its a psychopathic reflection of himself. The old man is the other half of his soul realising the best way to get through to Ichigo is by giving him actual fucking parent.

Sometimes Occam's Razor is the best solution.

#reposting because I made updates #bleach #ichigo kurosaki #masaki kurosaki #isshin kurosaki #isshin shiba #seriously #fuck TYBW and fuck EBTR #Isshin and Masaki were already questionable parents #but EBTR made it so soooooooo much worse #character rant #anti tybw #anti bleach ending

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amuseoffyre · 1 year ago

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I was reading the interview with Jes Tom about the trans allegory of Ed dropping his leathers overboard and my brain latched onto it and started gnawing :D

It got me thinking that this definitely vibes with feelings I had back in 1x10 with Izzy keeping this emotionally vulnerable version of Blackbeard safely hidden from public view ("you will not speak of what you see on pain of death"), Lucius encouraging Ed to express himself and the whole "this… whatever it is that you have become" scene.

Ed says it there himself "I am still Blackbeard" and Izzy flat-out tells him he's not unless he presents himself a specific way, dresses and acts a specific way ('this is Blackbeard'.) Simply being "Edward" and expressing himself and his emotions means that Ed faces hostility, derision, implicit threat and "I should have let the English kill you".

Ed pulls on his leathers again again because he's been threatened by someone close to him, but this time it's different - the intent is different. No more "I am still Blackbeard" because apparently his version of Blackbeard isn't enough (and this is already on the back of Stede saying "you can't be Blackbeard without your black beard"). Now it's "the kraken" or "the fucking devil".

More importantly, when he puts the clothes back on, he does it based on one of the propaganda pictures distributed by the English. This isn't his choice of presentation anymore. I find it fascinating that his look at the beginning of S2 is some kind of hybrid of the Mad Devile Pyrate Blackbeard and the image that Izzy shoved in his face in 1x10. (Also love the detail that Izzy's image has elements that appear in Black Pete's fantasy of Blackbeard, to confirm that this image isn't accurate either)

It's a defensive pushback, escalating to the 'viking vampire clown' aesthetic, because if he's being threatened by someone he trusted and he's had past experience of people being nice to him then turning on him ('it's a fickle crowd'), he'll have to go to another extreme to make sure no one will get close enough to hurt him or threaten him again.

The clothing is only a surface element. It's part of an armour to protect himself with his presentation. Stede's line in 1x03 explains it in a nutshell - "It's a power move - make people feel underdressed and suddenly, you're the one in charge". People don't know him/aren't afraid of him when they see him without it (the party ship - "do you know who I am?") and this carries over into S2 as well (the people at the fish shack).

It only hit me now that every scene where he expresses his emotions when he's in his leathers includes some kind of hiding - his hair loose around his face, hiding under a robe in Stede's bath tub, standing at the back of the ship where no one can see his face, closing himself away to cry in an empty room, hiding under a blanket at Mary and Anne's. He's been forced to hide his vulnerabilities when he's in his armour for decades.

Even when he's talking to Stede (and others), he doesn't express his real intentions. It's all skirting around what he actual wants and feels. The "run me through", the "next adventure" - Ed doesn't feel he can express what he wants directly, because he always has to keep his guard up.

The beginning of 2x07 is Ed wanting to shed the need for that surface armour, that visible shield for Edward. He drops them overboard and immediately goes and talks to Stede about his emotions and his feelings for the first time.

The fact that Izzy saw the leather-drop and this time says "maybe you should listen to it" instead of tearing him down shows how far they've come. Ed feels safe with Stede and wants to just be himself, but when faced with the idea of staying in the world where that armour - that presentation and the expectations that come with it - is necessary again, he panics and runs.

Then their entire world is burning and as far as he knows, Stede is injured or dead.

Once again, the leathers come back, but this time, Ed is the one who chooses to put them on. He's taking this piece of himself that he has hated for years and turns it back into the armour that has protected him for this long to get back to Stede. Him having that choice, making that choice, is key.

I think the biggest thing is him realising he can be Blackbeard and Ed and whoever he wants to be without cutting off pieces of himself. So much of the Blackbeard presentation has been code-switching and hiding his real self. This time, he doesn't hide. He finds a letter and has a cry over it and the instant he's back at Stede's side, he drops his weapon and, for the first time, kisses Stede out in the open in front of people and tells him he loves him.

Ed is no longer afraid to be seen and expressing himself. He's letting himself - all aspects of himself - be seen. The clothes aren't him. They just happen to be there while he is himself.

My expectation is that S3 will see him finally being able to leave that armour behind for good and I can't wait for it.

#ofmd #ofmd meta #ofmd thinkie thoughts

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qoqurt · 6 months ago

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✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ MIDNIGHT FICTION

summary a late night spent between daisy and her lovers. ( wc : 1.5k )

cw for brief mentions of insomnia and homesickness

pairing ethan edwards + luke hughes x fem!oc daisy ahn

this one shot is very loosely based on ‘midnight fiction’ by illit, so please give it a listen while you read!

au masterlist | about daisy | about daisy + her lovers

october 23rd, 2022

daisy was restless. any attempt at sleep seemed to be futile, as she grabbed her phone and read the time as 1:29am. laying flat on her back against the mattress, daisy stared up at the ceiling upon the multitude of glow in the dark stars plastered on it — courtesy of david and yujin. she turns her head to the side, taking notice of the way her lovers are fast asleep next to her.

while she usually takes the centre of their snuggle, it’s luke who’s in the middle this time; as a result of feeling drained from a long day. she can’t blame him either — midterms are just around the corner — and that coupled with arduous practice days makes for an exhausted pair of boyfriends. ethan’s arm is draped over luke’s stomach as he sleeps on his back, the pair of them breathing in tandem as soft snores escape their lips. she’s not sure why it is she can’t fall asleep. when the boys are over, she’s usually one of the first to clock out, but it seems that it’s just one of those nights.

sleepless nights weren’t uncommon for daisy — her insomnia at an all time high since she’s been in michigan — but she’s been getting better at dealing with homesickness despite it. it’s gotten easier with luke and ethan around.

without waking her lovers up, daisy slips out of the covers; feeling fortunate she decided to let ethan have the wall side of her bed. she looks over her shoulder once as she quietly pads towards the door, ensuring the guys are still fast asleep before she slips out the door of her bedroom, quietly shutting it behind her.

as she stands in the hybrid between a kitchen and living room, she weighs her options out. she could finish up the physiology work she had due on monday, but she didn’t think her brain was cognitive enough to focus on schoolwork at this hour. she’d thought about calling sunghoon, but knew he was busy with work. yujin would definitely pick up if she called, but ultimately daisy discarded the idea of phoning someone at all — not really in the mood to talk over the phone at one in the morning.

realistically, the play is to attempt to go back to bed, but she’s already committed herself to finding methods to do that. she’d run out of melatonin and forgot to grab more, so that was out of the question.

which is what led to where daisy was now; sporting luke’s michigan hoodie as she hunched over the microwave, milk in her favourite mug spinning inside. warm milk and honey — or fairy milk, as her mother called it — was daisy’s go to sleep remedy back home, her mother making it on nights like these.

though, as she’s watching the mug spin, the soft hum of the microwave seems to distract her from the sound of her bedroom door opening again and footfall approaching her. she only snapped out of her stupor as she felt a pair of arms circle around her middle, pulling her into the broad chest of her perpetrator. it startled her briefly, but she seemed to calm after hearing luke’s drowsy voice.

“woke up ‘cause you weren’t in bed. can’t sleep?” despite the grogginess in his voice, his tone isn’t accusatory nor jaded. he’s simply making a statement. daisy melts into his hold, his warm body comforting as it encircles her and consumes her entirely. luke was no stranger to daisy’s sleeping problems; having known her for nearly a decade and then some. to him, loving daisy was as easy as breathing, and with ethan in the mix, he found that the three of them came naturally.

daisy could only nod, not trusting her voice as she turned to face him. “mm. yeah, ‘m sorry lukey, didn’t mean to wake you.” she murmurs, as luke cranes his head down to press a feather light kiss to the crown of daisy’s head, the hairs in that area becoming a little more disheveled than they already were. even if daisy wasn’t the most affectionate between the three of them, she always relished in the touch of her partners. “don’t sweat it, daf. only noticed when i woke up to get the water on your bedside table. what’re you making?” he asks.

“fairy milk.” she answered, as luke hums in understanding. pulling away for a brief moment, he lets daisy take the now steaming mug out of the microwave, watching with endearment as she uses the sleeves of his sweater to shield her hands away from the biting heat of the porcelain mug, placing it on the counter as she adds the honey and vanilla into it. the pair of them move to the kitchen table, sitting across from one another whilst daisy mixes her concoction. she watches as luke sits in front of her, her brows furrowing as he watches her sip from her mug.

“what?” he pipes up, resting his head against his forearms on the surface of the table.

daisy puts her mug down on the coaster, her expression carrying hesitation as she picks her next words. “you don’t have to stay up with me, luke. i feel bad. you’re tired.” she points out, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. she’s expecting him to nod in agreement and head back to bed, but she’s almost surprised to see him shrug in reply. “so? you didn’t think i was gonna leave you here to wallow in your lonesome, did you?” he teases, and daisy’s astonished that her boyfriend can be so sassy even when he’s half asleep.

she’s about to make a snarky retort, but the sound of ethan’s sleepy voice carries through the apartment, temporarily stopping any train of thought daisy once had. “why’d you guys leave?” he whines out, taking the seat next to daisy, leaning his head against her shoulder as her head instinctively moves to rest against his for a brief moment in acknowledgement. she sits up again as she takes a sip of her milk. “daffy couldn’t sleep. was just keeping her company.” he says, reaching over to take her hand across the table, wanting to feel her touch as well in the same way ethan’s cuddled up to her.

“i didn’t wanna wake either of you.” daisy quips back, squinting at the pair of them. “don’t wanna bother you guys when you’re both exhausted.”

“counter argument,” ethan begins, sounding a little more awake now. “you should wake us up when you’re feeling restless.” luke simply nods in agreement.

“me personally, as much as i love my sleep, i’d rather know when you’re not able to sleep. plus, it’s our free day tomorrow. meaning, we can sleep in.” luke adds on, the prospect of being able to sleep in well into the afternoon sounding nothing but enticing to all three of them. even if they’re all early birds. daisy wants to protest, but she can’t find it in her to do so; only making a sound of fulmination as ethan and luke both take turns sipping from her mug. “parasites, the both of you.” she chides, taking her mug out of ethan’s grasp, the latter smacking a kiss to her cheek.

“yeah, but you love us.” ethan points out, using his free hand to poke daisy in the cheek. while she lets out an indignant huff, she doesn’t disagree with him either. it’s true, after all. loving luke and ethan was second nature to daisy, and even if she didn’t admit it often, she was wrapped around their fingers. they’d somehow managed to worm their way into her glass heart, even going as far as creating a protective layer over it. she always wondered what she’d done to deserve love like theirs, but learned to accept it in time (with the help of luke and ethan’s eager words of encouragement.)

the next hour is filled with lulled conversation, the trio having migrated to the couch sometime during it. they’re watching cartoons on the tv, and as luke is about to ask for daisy’s opinion on his and ethan’s most recent debate, he’s met with the sight of his girlfriend dozing off, her eyelids droopy as she fights the drowsiness. it makes the pair of them feel incredibly warm and awfully fond as ethan scoops her into his arms in one fell swoop, carrying her back to her bedroom as luke follows behind, shutting the door on their way in.

with familiarity, ethan gently deposits daisy in the middle now, taking his original spot by the wall as luke takes daisy’s original position. the pair of them circle around her as she relishes in their warmth, savouring their gentle goodnight kisses. “thanks for staying up with me.” she mumbles, the exhaustion sinking deeper into her bones as it becomes harder and harder for daisy to stay up. as she drifts off, she can faintly hear them whisper their ‘goodnights’ and ‘i love yous’.

super fun fact daisy keeps a nightlight on her bedside table — it’s miffy shaped!

note from mei i hope you guys liked that!! this is probably my first proper one shot here and i’m happy it gets to be about these three. i also take requests for x reader one shots, so please feel free to send in asks and requests!

pookie tags : @wintfleur @iceflwers @winterbarnesblog @lovings4turn

#ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅ arts + crafts #₊˚⊹ ᰔ daisy #nhl oc #ethan edwards x oc #nhl au #luke hughes x oc #nhl x reader #luke hughes x reader #luke hughes x y/n #ethan edwards imagine #ethan edwards x reader #‹𝟹 : michigan's finest #umich hockey x reader #new jersey devils x reader

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shoulderscars · 3 months ago

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Why I love Midnight Sun

ok I know this might be a hot take, but I actually love Midnight Sun. It's my favorite Twilight Saga book. And here's why [Spoiler Alert Affective from here!]

The Making of the Cullen Family (and their respective backstory's): I love that we get to know all the little details, like how Alive waited for the perfect moment to join the group and how she literally hugs Edward the moment they meet for the first time, and how they have a mutual understanding before saying a word in conversation.

Carlisle. (Simple, refined, respectable, perfect): It's not like we didnt know the before Midnight Sun, but I think Edwards insight on his brain is just...amazing. We can really see all of Carlisle's selflessness and how he is a simple man who wants the best for his children. Also, we get an insight on Carlisle and Esme's love with is so refined but perfect.

Emmett. (The best Cullen after Carlisle?): The whole book is actually giving Emmett's character depth. In the beginning of the book, Emmett's internal thoughts seem to be the same as he is perceived in the rest of the books from Bella's perspective, but as the book progresses, we see Emmett being amazing, and how much of a loving and simply perfect person (loose definition) he is.

Edward & Rose (good God they could be toddlers but really cute nevertheless): The scene where Edward remembers the day that he and Rose became brother and sister is actually a gorgeous scene. Lives in my head rent free. Also I love how the come to a consensus that Rose won't play nice but she will tolerate, and then they both keep snapping silently at each other. BUT when Alice mentions Charlie and the red head on the phone (while getting Bella to the hospital), Rose is honest to God ready to kill for him. BRO.

Jasper's Powers (wait he's actually OP?): Jasper's general character depth isn't explored much in the book, but his powers that he displays in the field is actually on a whole different level. No explanation needed

Alice's Powers (it's a work of ART.): In the scene where they are transporting Bella from the dance studio to the hospital, we take a dive into how Alice uses her abilities and how she perfects the future. The whole scene is flawless and actually clears up a lot about her "physic" ability based on decision making. The whole section just flowed so well, and I love it so much.

BONUS POINTS: Emmett getting repeatedly annoyed at the silent conversations that Alice and Edward have. IM SORRY I LOVE IT SO MUCH, and I love how EVEN AFTER 70ISH YEARS OF LIVING WITH BOTH OF THEM, IT STILL ANNOYS HIM HAHA

Didn't think I was gonna write an essay tonight but here I am 😭😭

I do genuinely love the Twilight Universe (the book version y'all with only visual inspiration for imagination hehe) and this book....ah I love how it helps build the vampire side of the lore. It makes me so happy lol

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super-cosmic-library · 2 years ago

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loosely based on this post

tw: mentions of blood

Look, everyone had gone through a vampire phase. One Mrs. Stephanie Meyer had a heavy hand in that. And even if one had somehow managed to skirt the whole Twilight saga, there were a litany of other vampire books/tv shows/movies that came in its wake. Almost everyone in the 2010s wanted a vampire boyfriend. Even Robin, whose taste veered toward the more extraterrestrial side of paranormal fiction, had confided in Steve that she wouldn’t mind having an undead, blood sucking vampire girlfriend.

All in all, Steve didn’t get it. Why did nearly all of the girls in his grade fawn over the idea of getting with someone older than their great grandfathers? It was gross. Not to mention the fact that vampires didn’t have blood, so how would they even be able to get it up in the bedroom?

The whole mess baffled him to no end, and he was grateful when its popularity died down. He didn’t know if he would be able to take listening to Max and El giggling over Edward What’s-his-face.

His relief, however, was short lived. Just as the kids he baby sat started to enter high school, the Twilight saga had a resurgence of popularity all thanks to TikTok. Only this time, he didn’t just have to hear it from the girls. Max and El had gotten Lucas and Will to watch the movies with them, which led to them reading the girls’ copies of the books. And, look, Lucas he understood. When Steve was in high school, he would have done anything to please Nancy. (Luckily, she had been more interested in the rising popularity of the dystopian genre. He had thoroughly enjoyed listening to the Hunger Games series on audiobook.) But Will? Even if he was just doing it to bond with his sister, Steve thought the boy had more taste than that.

And when Lucas and Will became obsessed with it, so did Mike and Dustin. Again, Steve understood Mike, even though unlike Lucas, he was totally oblivious to his crush on Will. But Dustin? As far as Steve was aware, Suzie wasn’t allowed to read the series, even though the creator was also Mormon.

At least Erica was still at the age where she turned her nose up at any hint of romance.

But, you know, it wouldn’t be such a big deal if the kids obsession with vampires contained itself to the fictional world. He could deal with it better if it did. If then, they might be able to talk about other topics of interest. Hell, Steve would give anything to listen to the boys ramble all day long about their Dungeons and Dorks game. But Steve wasn’t so lucky.

Because while he loved the kids’ strong, creative imaginations, it meant that sometimes their fictional obsessions would spill over into the real world. And that. That was what he was really fed up with.

“I swear, it’s him,” Dustin nearly shouted over the other boys. “Same name. Same exact hair. He’s a vampire.”

Steve restrained a groan as he looked up from the dishes to see Dustin, Lucas, Will, and Mike at the dining table crowded around what appeared to be a high school yearbook.

“He can’t be!” Thank god, Mike was being the voice of reason. (Something Steve never thought he would be.) “I’ve seen him walk to his van in the sun, and he was totally fine. Also, on spaghetti day in the cafeteria, he ate, like, three slices of garlic bread!”

Steve had thought too soon.

“Then how do you explain this?” Dustin asked, gesturing to the page.

“Maybe it’s someone he’s related to?” Will offered.

“I don’t know,” Lucas said. “The resemblance is uncanny.”

Curiosity got the best of Steve. What could he say? Even if he hated this whole vampire thing, he enjoyed the weird little adventures his kids went on. Steve didn’t have many friends growing up. Hell, aside from Robin, he didn’t have many friends now. At least, friends his own age. It made his heart warm, seeing all of them getting to be a bunch of idiot children together.

But they didn’t need to know that.

“What are you little shits looking at?” He slung the dish towel he had been using to dry the flatware with over his shoulder, and made his way over to the table.

“Steve, we think our new DM is a vampire!” Dustin announced excitedly.

Steve put his hands on his hips (his signature mom pose, according to the kids), and rolled his eyes. “Vampires aren’t real.”

He didn’t say it to dull the kid’s enthusiasm. If anything, antagonization was their form of love language. Plus, Dustin always took the discouragement as a challenge to double down on whatever stance he took. Steve had to admire the kid for his confidence in himself. He knew first hand how easily that could be stripped away.

“Then how do you explain this?” Dustin slid the yearbook over for him to look at, pointing at the man in question. “He’s been in high school for years.”

Steve glanced down at the page. “Oh, Eddie Munson? He was in some of my classes last year. He was held back twice; though, that may have been because he almost never showed up to class. But that doesn’t mean he’s a vampire.”

“This is an old yearbook, though,” Lucas countered.

“If last year is old, then how ancient do you think I am?” Steve snipped. He pointed to the class picture that captured his likeness. “Look, there’s me. Does that mean I’m a vampire?”

“Steve, this isn’t your yearbook.” Dustin held the cover of the book up for Steve to read. There on the cover, in green and gold, were the words “Class of 1985.”

“What?” He snatched the yearbook from him, and flipped back to the page they had been studying. “No, that’s . . .”

He trailed off. Yes, that picture had captured his likeness; however, it was his father’s name that was written underneath. His father, who he was apparently the spitting image of.

“Maybe it’s his dad,” Steve tried, flipping through the pages. “Or his uncle. Doesn’t he live with his uncle?”

“We already checked the rest of it.” Mike snatched the book away from him. “He’s the only Munson in there.”

“His dad and his uncle could have not been in high school together,” Will countered.

“Thank you for being the only reasonable person here.”

Will blushed at Steve’s praise.

“I am telling you,” Dustin trudged on. “Eddie Munson is a vampire. And we’re going to prove it.”

~~~

Proving it ended up being more challenging than the boys had thought. As Mike had already proved, Eddie had no aversion to garlic or the sun. Crosses, Lucas pointed out, had no affect on him either, seeing as he wore one on his ring. So there went that theory. Dustin had even followed him into the bathroom one day to see if Eddie had a reflection in the mirror. He ended up having two Eddies stare at him like he was a creep.

Either none of the stereotypes were true, or--and Dustin was loathe to admit it--Steve was right.

There was still one more thing they could try.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Lucas said.

Dustin huffed. “Well, do you have any better plans? Because the only thing we haven’t tried yet is a stake to the heart, which is a dumb thing to begin with because that could kill anyone.”

“What about holy water?”

“And how are you going to get a priest to agree to bless a bottle of water?” Mike asked.

“My pastor might do it,” Lucas said.

“Let’s just try this first,” Dustin said. “And if it doesn’t work, you can call your pastor.”

The plan was simple, really. While they were playing DnD that afternoon, Dustin was going to “accidently” get a paper cut. Eddie’s reaction to the fresh blood would determine whether or not he was a vampire. It was fool proof.

Unfortunately, it seemed like Dustin was a fool. Who could blame him, though? Eddie was an amazing Dungeon Master. He knew just how to craft a story to suck just about anyone in. It wasn’t until they were packing up at the end of the session that Dustin remembered the plan. That probably explained the looks the other boys had been shooting him the entire time.

Dustin was just about to drag the edge of a piece of paper across this hand, when the drama room door banged open.

“Alright, you little shits. Get in the car. I’m already having a bad day, and I don’t need your moms blowing up my phone asking where you are.”

“Steve, why do you have a tampon in your nose?” Will asked.

Dustin glanced up at Steve, only to find that the man indeed had a bloody tampon in his nose.

“I had a nose bleed, and didn’t have any Kleenex in my car. It’s the only thing Robin or I had. And it works, so I don’t want to hear anything more about it.”

Blood.

Dustin nearly gave himself whiplash turning his head to look at Eddie. Eddie, who was staring at Steve with eyes that could only be described as ravenous.

“King Steve,” Eddie drew out as he approached Steve.

“Munson.”

“Now why’s a pretty jock like you carting around a bunch of nerdy freshmen?”

“I baby sit them.”

Eddie chuckled. “Yes, they are a bunch of babies.”

That was met with a round of protests from the kids.

“How hard was your nose bleeding? Aren’t tampons supposed to be super absorbent?”

Lucas was right. There was a ring of blood leaking down the tampon.

“Are you okay?” Will asked.

Eddie, however, did not look okay. Dustin had never seen him so focused on one thing as he was with Steve’s nose. And that included DnD.

“Yeah, it just happens sometimes. I’ll be fine. Now come on, or Robin’s going to start honking.”

They were being corralled out of the building before Dustin could come to any concrete conclusions, but judging from the way Eddie had stared at Steve’s nose, he was sure their hunch was correct.

Now they just had to prove it.

~~~

Turned out, the best way to prove their DM was a vampire was to show up at his trailer unannounced. Catch him off guard while he was at his most comfortable. In fact, the hardest part about the whole thing had been trying to convince Steve to drive them over to the trailer park. In the end, he was a push over as always.

Dustin bounded up the steps to the trailer, the other boys close behind. He pounded on the door. “Eddie!”

A crash came from inside, followed by a grumbled “shit.” A few moments later, Eddie swung open the door.

“Couldn’t have given me a heads up?”

“We have some urgent DnD questions. Couldn’t’ve waited for you to respond.” Dustin and the rest of the boys pushed passed him into the trailer. Only Will hesitated, sheepish look on his face.

“Hey, wait, what are you doing!” Eddie called after them.

“Oh my god, have some manners,” Steve slammed his car door closed.

“Steve,” Eddie began. “They roped you into this?”

“They threatened to walk otherwise. Couldn’t let them get hit by a car or kidnapped.”

The four boys searched around the tidy trailer, not even trying to appear like they weren’t.

“What are you knuckleheads doing?” Eddie asked.

Steve, who they had not informed what they were doing, seemed to have caught on to their plan. “Not this again.”

“You know what they’re doing?”

“Guys, look!” Mike, staring in the fridge, exclaimed. The boys ran over to him.

“Hey, you guys, get out of there!” Eddie exclaimed.

“Yeah, knock it off. Let the man live in piece.”

Dustin, Lucas, and Will gasped when they saw the contents of the fridge. Yes, there was normal people food in the fridge--nothing to write home about. But stacked on the top shelf was the motherload: bags and bags of blood.

Mike grabbed one and held it out for Steve to see. “We fucking told you!”

“Eddie’s a vampire,” Dustin vibrated with excitement. “Eddie, you’re a vampire.”

“Eddie’s not . . . there’s gotta be . . .Eddie?” Steve looked to Eddie as if asking him to deny the kid’s claims.

Eddie crossed his arms over his chest and heaved out an exasperated sigh. “Looks like you caught me.”

“I fucking told you!” Dustin shouted at Steve.

“Language.” Steve snapped. “Eddie, come on. Be serious. Vampires don’t exist.”

“Telling the truth, Harrington.” Eddie flashed them his fangs. “I am a vampire.”

“You’re teeth aren’t normally that sharp,” Will said.

“I can control when my fangs come out,” Eddie said with a shrug. Then, to demonstrate, he retraced his fangs, so his teeth looked human again. “It’s been handy in hiding from mortals. In fact, you guys are the first to figure it out. Surprised it took this long for anyone to notice, honestly.”

“So you’ve been able to hide in plan sight for, like, hundreds of years?” Dustin asked.

Eddie slouched down onto the couch, understanding that he was about to be pelted with about a million questions. “More like forty.”

“Forty?” Will asked.

“I was turned in the ‘80s. ‘86, I think. I don’t know, the years start to blur together.”

“So, you’re just as old as our parents?” Mike scoffed. “Lame.”

“But I look much better than them.”

The boys took his nonchalance as permission to start their rain of questions.

“So do you have vampire powers?”

“How can you eat garlic?”

“Does the sun not burn your skin?”

“Do you have to get permission to enter new places?”

And on and on they went, only briefly pausing for Eddie to get a sufficient answer out. Meanwhile, Steve just stood by the door. Dustin could tell he was trying to process the fact that he had almost graduated with a vampire. Dustin could understand. Had he not already been convinced himself, the information would have taken a bit to accept.

When Steve finally came back around, he joined the group surrounding Eddie.

“Why are you still at Hawkins High?” Steve asked. “You were in class with my parents. Couldn’t have you gotten out and gone someplace people won’t recognize you?”

Eddie paused, actually giving that question some thought. The other boys let him think it through instead of feeding him more questions. They wanted to know the answer too.

“Well, I tried to once, but then Wayne started having health problems, and I didn’t want to leave him alone. When I realized that I had stopped aging, I decided to stay with him even after he recovered. Realized that if I don’t grow old, I’m going to outlive him. I’d rather spend the rest of his life with him, than in hiding and regretting it when he’s gone. As for people recognizing me: you’d be surprised how little attention the freaks of Hawkins get.”

The group sat in silence for a moment, letting his words sink in. Dustin supposed that if he were turned into a vampire, he would stick around to spend as much time with his mom as he could.

“Speaking of, where is your uncle?” Lucas asked.

Eddie smiled to himself. “Technically, he’s my little brother. We started doing the whole uncle/nephew thing when he got too old to believably be my brother. And he should be finishing up his shift at the hospital. Decided to become a nurse after finishing chemo. He has always been the smart one. Besides, it helps with procuring my stash of blood.”

Mike perked up at that. “So you do drink blood?”

“Yes.”

“But we’ve seen you eat real food.”

“You’re point?”

Mike huffed. “So do you need blood to live, or is it just a craving--like wanting a Coke?”

“I can eat real food, but it doesn’t fully satisfy my hunger. Only drinking blood does that.”

“Have you ever?” Steve gulped. “Have you ever drank blood from a person.”

“You offering?” Eddie smirked.

Steve flushed.

Weird.

As his friends continued to talk, Dustin’s mind wandered. It was no secret that Steve found men attractive. He was the biggest slut in Hawkins, after all. And Dustin had only ever seen him nervous around men who he thought were really hot.

Oh, Dustin could have fun with this. After all, didn’t everyone want a vampire boyfriend?

okay, well this completely got away from me. will I make this a series? mayhaps.

#steddie #vampire eddie munson #steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things #Eddie Munson the boomer vampire

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