#i don't really give enough attention to her ash i'm sorry

[hrtley]

ashley is so cute i'm so insane

[itsmebytch001]

Okay! So Imagine on Earth 42! Y/n is dead but Aaron is alive and when Y/n turns up in his living room not seeing that this isn't really HER house and Miles and Aaron walk in and he's like...

Aaron: "Miles...Miles I think i'm tripping" He backs away from her and grabs onto Miles's shoulder but Miles is just leaping to her and hugging her so tightly it's hurting her and Aaron's just FROZEN in the corner like wtf and while Miles is hugging her and crying Y/n and Aaron are just looking at each other likeeee almost crying...

Y/n: "...Papa?" And he's so scared that this is like a horrible punishing dream to hurt himself so he's like backing out the room just pissed he's having this dream again and is like breaking down in Y/n's room which Miles is NEVER allowed to eneter EVER only him and he sits and stares into the void and cleans it but always leaves everything EXCATLY how it was when she died

OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH I NEEEEEEEEEEED MORE ANGST GIMME

Yas I need more angst FEED MEEEEE

It takes like an hour for Aaron to accept that this isn't

A) A evil trick or

B) A bad dream / hallucination

but once he dose he fully breaks down crying and holding onto his daughter is a bear hug in a vice like grip and shes crying and E42!Miles is crying while 160!Miles is just standing in the living room like....

160!Miles: "damm what happened to ya'll?" While the family collapses in tears and 160!Miles is so taken aback by Aaron's cyring having never seen it before he's juts like...

160!Miles: "Imma just head out, be back in 20 when ya'll are done"

I think Aaron might snap a bit and not let Reader leave, like he's smart enough to make her a watch that allows her to stay, he decorates it as 'you can stay here however long you like!' but really it's more like 'you ain't leaving, not now to ever and don't try with me I will lock you in your room' and he treats her like a glass balloon not letting her do anything without him, sometimes when you stay over if he is chill (Unlikely) he just watches you from afar, if 42!Miles catches him he's like...

42!Miles: "You good Unc?"

42!Aaron: "Yeah, why?"

42!Miles: "Cuz you standing over your daughter while she sleeps like fucking Michel Myers"

...

42!Aaron: "Shut up, get back to bed"

42! Miles: "How about you bet back to bed, looking like a serial killer"

Comes visits you whenever, scares the shit out of Jeff, he also breaks down when he comes to visist, honestly he might aswell move since he's here so so so very often, back in his universe (E42!) He has a mural for you, like the one his family has for him on E160 but he dosne't visit it often as he should, E42!Miles dose like every week or so to make sure the paint dose not fade but when he dose visit he leaves incense and plays some sad music and just sits and stares into the void.

If you took him to his mural you need to keep reminding him he's dead in E160 and that he can't be drawing attention to himself so to keep a low profile, and if you have his ashes he's like...

42!Aaron: "So my whole body....is in this tiny jar?"

160!Y/n: "It's called an earn...but yes"

42!Aaron: "Don't give me lip...but are you sure? Maybe they missed a piece? How can my ENTIRE body be in this?" He waves it around.

160!Y/n: "Please...Please don't do that" You snatch it back from him and place it back on the shelf.

42!Aaron: "Right, I'm sorry it's just strange...being dead kinda"

160!Y/n: "Where's my body then? back where your from"

And suddenly it all come back and he becomes cagey and sad...poor Aaron just want's to forget but keep you forever, will come back to scare Diana as well just for laugh's ....

[writing-till-i-am-dead]

Aidlyn genderswap oneshot

Ashdyn had trouble paying attention to his own things sometimes. It was the curse of having crazy good hearing. He couldn't do his homework, or his reading, or even fidget without his mind being drawn to the annoying source of flapping mouths and obnoxious laughter. Ava was the absolute worst at this.

Despite how he is trying so hard to make Ava leave him alone, she won't stop talking.

"And you'll never guess what happened next!"

"They got the wrong pie in the end."

"Oh my gosh! Yes! How did you know? Haha!"

"Because you've told me that story before."

"Oh. Ya, I have! Haha!!" She sunk down into her bus seat, pulling at the strings of her smiley face hoodie, bopping her head as she hummed a song, only for the humming to grow louder and the head bops turned into head banging.

"Ava!" Ashdyn yelled. "Can you just.. stop? For one second?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry!"

Beth looked over at the two of them, concerned, and Ashdyn shook his head. "We're fine."

She gave a solemn nod before putting her earbuds back on, Ashdyn releasing a sigh. "Ava. You really need to learn to just.. shut up. Please."

"Geez. You're so blunt sometime, Ash. But don't you like my constant, never ending enthusiasm?" she said, flashing a smile.

"No."

"Oof! So straightforward! But that's why a like you." She leaned back into her seat and Ashdyn looked out to the red sky, hoping now he can get some nice quiet...

Then the bus seat started shaking.

"What now?" he said, exasperated, looking at the green haired girl.

She was shaking her leg, visibly struggling to stay still.

Ashdyn sighed a little and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you off your meds?"

"They don't work in the Phantom World. Also, it's rude to ask," she said with a playful huff.

Ashdyn knew he couldn't be too upset about that. Ava really couldn't help that she has ADHD any more than he can help that he has autism. Even if it did annoy him sometimes, it wasn't her fault.

"I think I grabbed your fidget cube before falling asleep," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a neon green fidget cube, buttons faded from use.

Ava let out a gasp of joy and took it from him. "It's official. You are the greatest."

Ashdyn couldn't help but snort. What? He may like silence and to be out of the spotlight, but even still, Ava could get away with that. Sometimes.

She clicked and flicked all the buttons on the cube, each noise feeling like they were louder than the next.

"Ava. Can you be just.. quieter?" Ashdyn asked, speaking through gritted teeth.

"Sorry. Ha.. you OK?"

"I.. am fine. I'm fine."

Ava gave him an unsure look before slowly setting the cube down and giving Ash a reassuring smile. "Give me a second."

She leaned into the aisle to face her cousin.

"Hey, Beth. Sorry, but could we borrow your earbuds? I promise we'll give them back."

Beth looked a little hesitant, but noticing how stressed out Ashdyn looked, she obliged, handing them to Ava. Ava wiped them off a bit before handing one end to Ash.

"Wanna listen together? I'll let you control the music. Volume and all."

Ashdyn stared at the earbud that Ava was offering to him, but loosened up a bit when she nudged his foot with her own.

"Unless music is too stimulating?"

"It's.. fine.. as long as I can control it," he said, taking the earbud.

"Yay!" Ava said, putting the other earbud in.

"Will it be stimulating enough for you?" he asked in a mildly teasing tone.

"Oh Ash.." she said, resting her chin on her palm. "I'm always happy enough when I'm with you."

Ashdyn's eyes widened and he looked down awkwardly. "And you say I'm blunt.."

divider by @cafekitsune

[coff-in]

thank you so much for doing my request!! if you’re comfy with a pt 2 I’d love to read it!! seeing reader cope with becoming a parent and how reader copes with getting raped by andrew … how the dynamic at home changes, andrew as a daddy and ashley as a aunt!! does andrew force reader to marry him? <3 if ur not comfy w doing it as a req then maybe ramble or do it in any other form like a hc! thank youuu 🥹🤍

notes from coff-in: it's past midnight right now where i am (as it it's closer to 1:00am) but i need to write. this is definitely a ramble but thank you for clarifying that i could do that! writing properly for ficlets and headcanons take a bit out of me but i want go give you guys the best that i got, you know? sorry, sorry... on to your ask!

[fem] reader-insert, [afab] reader-insert(?), NSFW, rape, talks/mentions of pregnancy and abortion, incest in the last bits but it's skippable really

the biggest thing that i wonder about is how [reader] met andrew and ashley. how long have they'd known each other? were they quarantined together (was [reader] quarantined at all)? i think i'll leave it up to the reader's interpretation/imagination but these things feel like they should impact the story, you know? um... [reader] doesn't really take to being a mother too well. she doesn't want to be a mother, so it makes sense. ashley wouldn't let her get rid of the child, either. she doesn't like [reader] all that much but she does try to recognize potential opportunities to keep andrew close in this... situation.

the last thing a parent wants to do is to make their child sad. if ashley could get close enough to andrew's child (she'd love the child ofc, it's an extension of her brother) then she could keep andrew close to her, too. any separation of them would also affect the child and until it's born who knows how that can go. ashley doesn't like [reader] all that much. she could come to like [reader], but when i was writing the original piece i sort of didn't write it with ashely in mind... so any relationship they build would be after the rape event.

andrew. andrew andrew andrew. he... he wants the child. it's possibly a new chance for him to have a new life. not necessarily an ordinary life (years of sexual tension between him and his sister build up somehow to him raping a women they sorta kidnap/escaped with from an apartment after demon summoning, murder, and cannibalism) but it could be considered close enough if you squint and tilt your head. again, when writing the original piece i didn't really write with andrew and [reader]'s deeper relationship in mind, just the surface level stuff

andrew has come to care for [reader] to some extent, and the child makes him try to enforce that bond and relationship. he would reflect on his own parents and their parenting and how he raised ashley when it comes to his baby. trying to figure what to avoid (i think putting in the effort would be way better than what his parents did, though. it's not even a battle). he gets touchy feely with [reader]; sleeping in the same bed, holding their hand or resting it on their hip, brushing her hair, etc etc some of the stiff we've seen with ashley. i think he'd also talk to the baby bump, too.

[reader] isn't expected to kill people anymore or to do excessive physical labor. i don't think she takes part in the cannibalism as much either. i'm kinda leaving her vague because i want you guys to really just imprint on [reader] i guess when it comes to this situation. andrew would be a fairly good dad though. uh... sort of dozed off a bit trying to think about him as a dad. he would be way more attentive that his own parents, that's for sure. he's the voice of reason along with [reader] (ashley is that "cool aunt" that the kid loves), but andrew is also still a bit of a doormat or pushover. he can't stay too mad at this kids.

do i think andrew would force [reader] to marry him? maybe. it would probably be good for taxes and other legal documents but i don't know if he'd put such a high value on marriage. i think he'd like the intertwining aspect of it, the legal binding it brings. i doubt ashely would enjoy this but it's also dependent on your relationship.

mixing this idea with incest ideas because i can't help myself right now, fell free to skip this: andrew and a sibling [reader]. especially a younger one. i don't know but i kind of enjoy the idea of him during quarantine (or right after) just... losing control one night. it's not violent or loud or out of hate; it's quiet and gentle and out of frustration. he takes his younger baby sibling while they're sleeping as a way to just let it all out. the tension and stress and repression of his feelings for them... he just lets them go. ashley's dead asleep and so is [reader], as ling as he's quiet there are no immediate consequences to this action. he raised [reader] since they were a fucking baby and what a wonderful adult they had turned out to be (as wonderful as a graves could be).

aaaaahhh, i'm tired. sorry for the weird sleepy rant response. i feel like i should mention again: i have never been raped nor do i know friends or people personally who have been raped. i haven't really read anything scholarly about it so take all i say with a grain of salt and an open mind. thank you for requesting, 'nonnie. i love it when people ask for expansions or explanations in previous posts (reminds me of devious anon, i miss them)

anyway my eye saight is losing focus so i'll end it here. good day/night/evening whatever you are

----

coff-in

[yumeinati]

Seeing what my sister knows about the Mechanisms - Spoilers: Not enough

I love my sister, I do. She lets me rant to her about the Mechanisms 24/7. But the real question is whether or not she pays attention to what I say. I decided to quiz her and see how much she retains from our conversations <3

DTTM Spoilers/Talk

Starting off with everyone's favorite Captain First Mate!

Name: Jonny d'Ville | Mechanism: Blood | Role: Master at Arms

"He's cool I guess"

Not really surprised by her response to him, nor am I shocked she got his Mechanism wrong since when I first asked her to do this, she was like "I only know three of them. Jonny d'Ville, Nastya Rasputina, and Jonny Sims" and I had to remind her that two of those were the same person. Speaking of Nastya Rasputina!

Name: Nastya Rasputina | Mechanism: Lungs | Role: Pilot

"My favorite" Proceeded to give a thumbs up.

As I taught her, Nastya is best girl and deserves the whole world. I am rather shocked she got her Mechanism wrong as I once word vomited to her about mercury poisoning when I was plotting for a Nastya-centric fic, but its okay. Next up is Ashes!

Name: Ashes O'Reilly | Mechanism: Eyes | Role: Quartermaster

"They're cool, I like them"

Used the wrong pronouns but immediately realized and corrected herself before I had to so that's a win that she paid attention there. (We stan an ally <3) I talk about Ashes so much so I'm surprised that she got their Mechanism wrong but its okay, I still love her. Now to an Archivist who actually knows how to do her job (this is S1 Jon Sims slander, I am not sorry, he did not know what he was doing)

Name: Ivy Alexandria | Mechanism: Brain | Role: ????

"I don't really know...Ivy I guess is cool."

I don't talk about Ivy as much as I should, which I really should change because Ivy is amazing. When asked about why she was '????' she just went "I don't know...she has those vibes." which is 100% understandable. Time for the drumbot himself!

Name: Drumbot Brian | Mechanism: All but Heart | Role: Engineer

"Cool."

How does she not have more to say about him? He's been the focus of my rants since I got home from Uni on Sunday and all she has to say is 'cool'. Engineer is at least the closest she could get to Pilot, but I'm still a bit disappointed she didn't get all the answers right. On to her...absolute favorite, TS.

Name: Toy Soldier | Mechanism: All but Voice | Role: Archivist

"The Toy Soldier is the best character and there's no doubt about that."

Her answer came so quickly after I asked her how she felt about TS, I honestly can't say I'm surprised though. She thinks it's a silly little creature. Now to the man that I'm like 100% sure she has a love/hate relationship with, Tim.

Name: Gunpowder Tim | Mechanism: Heart | Role: First Mate

"Cool."

Once again, really confused about how she doesn't have more to say about him. He's literally carrying a huge gun so like, a tad confused on my she didn't think he was Master at Arms, but its alright. Funnily enough, she got the next two completely right, starting with Marius.

Name: Marius von Raum | Mechanism: Arm | Role: Doctor

"His arm is cool."

Applause for her getting everything correct. I force her to listen to The Wassailant in the car. There is no surprise she got his stuff right because I talk about Kofi, and by default Marius, so often. And finally, last but not least, Raphaella <3

Name: Raphaella la Cognizi | Mechanism: Wings | Role: Science Officer

"Just take off the wings and she'd be cooler. Just saying."

The disappointment when she said that was at its peak. I cannot believe that she would say that about the Raphaella la Cognizi and I will be making sure she changes her ways.

I'm not too surprised with Nastya and TS being her favorites, seeing as I talked about them most when I first got into Mechs, but the Raph slander was absolutely uncalled for </3

I also asked her some lore questions.

Q: What is the ship’s name? | A: Aurora

Q: Who is dating the starship, The Aurora? | A: Jonny

Q: Which Mechanism Mechanized themself? | A: Nastya

Q: Who was the first Mechanism? | A: Jonny

Q: Who were the last two Mechanisms to join the crew? | A: Marius and Ivy

Q: Who was the first Mechanism to die/leave the crew? | A: Tim

Q: Who was the last Mechanism to die, timeline-wise? | A: Jonny

Q: Which Mechanism died by death by Octokittens? | A: Brian

Q: Which Mechanism has a morality switch? | A: Brian

Q: Who had a ‘best friend’ named Bertie? | A: Jonny

Q: Which one is an arsonist? | A: Raphaella

Q: Which one blew up the moon? | A: Tim

Q: Which one is a cannibal? | A: Marius

All in all, somewhat disappointed in my ability to get this cemented into her brain </3 Glad she at least was able to match names to faces so I'm at least showing her enough photos of them, but I will definitely start talking to her about Mechs lore more because she needs to know and understand it all.

I will still say that a success is convincing her and my mom to do matching Life360 photos with the most iconic sibling duo and their mother <3

[skyfallscotland]

Ok last Kingdom of Ash update and so, last Throne of Glass update ever! The relief is immeasurable. Let's do this!

Asterin 😭 I feel like that scene would have been so powerful if I didn’t know it was coming, but I had it spoiled for me a while ago

I did cry when Manon begged for Abraxos though 😭

Chaol and Dorian, Dorian crying 🥹🥹 the husbands are reunited!

I hate that there’s so much depression and suicidal ideation in this book but it’s never really addressed?

Aelin brought her husband with her, Chaol brought his 🥹🫡

RHYSAND hiiiiii! 👋🏼

I…kind of hate it when the woman has to give up her power to save the day, but it’s an SJM special I guess

“He adored his friend’s wife already. Likely would have married her, too, if he’d had the chance.” Look, you still can buddy, it seems like you want them both well enough 🤷🏼‍♀️

I’ll never understand the fascination SJM has with having her MC’s fucking in war tents surrounded by soldiers, honestly

She’s riding the staaaag 😭 honestly she is very thranduil coded I must say

Gavriel?! 😭 noooooo, not uncle kitty cat!

“Lorcan glanced at the castle, where he knew Elide was watching and said a silent farewell” oop, this is about to get awkward because she is sooo not being safe lmao

Elide getting stabby is very cute

Aww Dorian + Yrene getting murdery together, the throuple is thriving

What year did this come out? Because I feel like SJM might have watched Avengers: Endgame while writing the final scenes 😂

Sorry, when did they supposedly draw those? They were fighting on horseback??? I'm???

Lorcan and Elide are the cutest tbh and I’ve just realised I blanked right over the “and Lorcan did” 💀😂 I was clearly very engaged

“I hope it will wash off.” 💀

Poor Yrene, her mother in law’s asking to move in already 😂

“You could just marry each other, it would make it easier for you both, so you don’t need to pretend.” Oh yes, I do so love Yrene 😂

Look, I just feel...tired? Relieved? Let down? I don't know. I definitely think this would have been a more impactful ending had I not had the (arguably) few most major things spoiled for me. But I also feel like by 1/3 from the end I was just slogging it, waiting for it to be over. It felt like so much happened, but not much at all and I feel like having two 'big bads' kind of split the attention and made the end blow just so unsatisfying? Yay, happily ever after, but...I don't know.

I like the characters, don't get me wrong. Well, most of them (lol) but maybe that's why it's so disappointing? Because I do really like them. I think it was a bit of a case of doing so little with so much. There are so many stories being told that none of them really get the attention they could have, so many side characters that are so compelling but you don't hear much about. I don't know, it can be hard to bring all those threads together, so I think she did an ok job, it's just that in hindsight it's easy to say perhaps there were too many threads.

I also don't think she ever gives the space necessary to trauma and mental health. Like it's there, but it's never touched upon in the raw way it probably needs to be.

I don't know, I feel like I enjoyed the last couple of books more, but I'm still leaving the series feeling pretty meh about it, which is how I've felt pretty much the whole way through. Not terrible, but in no way lived up to the hype for me, personally.

[lostonehero]

What remains after eternity

Homage

They were close to their destination it would have taken a few more days to get there. However, Aurora demanded that they stop while Jonny's kids recover, the backward aging has started, and none of them are doing well. Jonny has been crawling up a wall, and neither Tim nor Bertie could get him to relax.

Brian blinks as they are being hailed as they enter the planets atmosphere. "Guys?"

Marius was resting in the bay watching this next to Lyf. Raphaella was on the other side talking to Ivy about the eggs hatching and revisiting to see what would happen. Ashes had just dragged Jonny into the area to get him to stop hovering around his kids' rooms. Tim and Bertie were in the shooting range with Valerie going head to head. Nastya was sitting right next to Brian, sharing a same look of confusion.

Brian accepts the hail. "Hello?"

A woman appears on the other side of the screen. She didn't look like anything species Brian could recognize. She was speaking broken common. "What brings you to Thanos? This solar system is avoided."

"We are merely looking for a place to land and do repairs as we head to Xeonia. We won't stay long if that is what you're worried about." Brian raised a brow as the woman scowls.

"What business do you have with Xeonia?" The woman's voice turns to anger and mistrust.

Brian motions to Marius, who wasn't paying attention. "Our crew member is from there, and we wish to know more about his planet and let him return home before we go on our next adventure."

The woman's expression flips. "You have Xeon on your ship! You have Xeon equal to you?"

Brian grimaced. He knew of the extreme racism Marius got on planets that knew of his species even though he insisted that he was the last left. He knew that wasn't true. "Of course we do!"

The woman seemed excited getting the attention of everyone. "Entry Granted! Enjoy your stay, and we will have people to help you off board and give you a place to stay. Welcome to the planet of the forgotten!"

"Forgotten?" Nastya raised a brow.

"What species was she? Wait, was that a she?" Ashes raised a brow. "Also, I've never seen anyone excited to know we have Marius, no offense."

Marius shrugs.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Lyf raised a brow. "Sure, his violin can get annoying, but that doesn't make any sense."

"That is something I won't be touching with a ten foot pole." Nastya swallows. "Sorry again, Marius."

Marius shakes his head. "You've apologized enough it's ok. I've already forgiven you." He rubs the back of his neck. "My species, Xeon, aren't excatly liked."

"Why?" Lyf still held a look of confusion as Aurora took over landing.

Jonny sighs, sitting between Marius and Lyf. "Specieism, or space racism. Marius's species isn't excatly safe, and it isn't entirely their fault. However, those who do know of their species tend to avoid or try to kill them outright."

"So what if he's poisonous and venomous? Did they cause wars or something?" Lyf crossed his arms.

Ashes continues where Jonny left. "No. However, when they look for sanctuary welllll... look, there's a reason why Janet told us most live on their ships."

"I really don't want to talk about this." Marius covers his face. "It's not really important right now. Besides look we landed, and didn't she mention people waiting for us."

"Marius I..." Lyf stops when Jonny glares at him.

"Alright, come on, memory boy." Jonny grabs Marius's hand. "Let's meet the welcoming committee."

Marius snickers. "That's the best you can come up with?"

Jonny sputters. "How about hopelessly a dumbass? You fucked doctor."

"Fine, fine." Marius holds up his robotic hand. "Let's just go."

......

"Hello!" The same woman waves from the docking station. "I am Trixie, and I welcome you."

Marius is taken aback by seeing two of his species behind her. He can't recall the last time he saw another one of his kind. He decided to speak in his native language. "Hello, I'm Marius Von Raum, and this is Jonny D"ville he's a New Texan. Can you um tell me what species you are if that isn't rude."

Trixie lights up speaking Xeon. "Of course! Oh my gosh, have you been vaccinated yet? It doesn't affect New Texans, so your friend is fine. Here here take this so you don't get sick by accident." She hands over a respirator. "Gosh, it must have been ages. You guys were traveling. Feel free to stay and explore. We only just started to slow down on getting refugees." She grabs Marius's hand and pulls him along after he puts the respirator on.

Jonny blinks. "Fucking shit." He runs after the two. "Wait what the fuck are you doing?"

Marius pauses. "Getting vaccinated?" He responds in common. "Wait, please, I would like to bring my mate with me. Our bond is still new, and I really don't want to be that far from him."

Trixie stops in her tracks. "Mate? Why didn't you say so? Is it the New Texan?"

"No." Marius crossed his arms. "He isn't a Xeon, so I really don't want him to be alone if anything happens."

The two Xeon looked like Marius hung the moon for them. "A rarity." One speaks up.

"Amazing, Trixie is a halfling, so don't worry about children." The other laughs softly.

Marius blinks as the words click. "What?"

"Guys! That's enough! Gosh, they love to brag about the others who manage to have a successful heat with a different species. Anyway, of course, but that isn't important." Trixie smiles. "Come on, this planet is a mess of species. We probably have one of whatever he is. But seriously, you will need to get vaccinated if you want to go anywhere father than here."

Marius nods. "I understand, but can I get him first."

"Of course, where are my manners? Um, " Trixie switches back to common. "Jonny, or do you prefer D'ville?"

"Jonny is fine, but what is going on?" Jonny pulled Marius closer to him.

"Oh, there was a pretty nasty bioweapon virus. It only affects Xeon, so Marius has to just get vaccinated to be safe. However, he requested we get his mate first, so that will be done first." Trixie smiles. "Sorry it's been a long while since we have had such a mixed crew of just different species. We're right by a little ripple of the universe, so we get a lot of refugees, and oh a few hundred years back a nice odd group came by and created a vaccine for the Xeon so they weren't wiped out. A lot of so-called sacrifices get thrown into what they think is a black hole, which is really our ripple and end up by here, so yeah."

"Huh." Jonny looks at Marius, who shrugs. "I will have to ask about that later, but sure, we'll bite. Come on, I'll introduce you guys to the crew of the Aurora."

........

Raphealla watched Marius get injected with a syringe. "So?"

Marius rubs his arm. "So?" He looks away, not really feeling any different. "You don't have to stare at me like that, Lyf."

Lyf quickly looks away, sipping on a drink that was handed to him. "Well, I'm allowed to worry."

Trixie pops in between startling the group. "I will have to warn you guys that there is major time dilation that comes from the ripple, so please be careful of the other species you come across. There's even a few Xeon from the original civil war around here, so please be careful."

Marius removed the respirator. "I don't like that."

"Why?" Lyf handed him his own drink.

"I could see others from before this." Marius holds up his metal arm.

Lyf pauses. "You said there were Asguardians here too."

"Oh yes, we have many different species. We even have a few humans. They are quite odd." Trixie hums.

Bertie rolls his eyes. "Rude."

"What about mine?" Brian wagged his tail excited.

"Oh, I don't actually know every species, but we do have a directory if you want to go to a certain territory." Trixie tilted her head. "Is your human with the plants ok?"

Bertie was quickly grabbed by Tim. "I will let you know?"

Jonny was following behind. "Tell me if my kids need me and I'll be over."

Ashes hums and grows a smirk. "Do you have anyone from Camelot?"

Brian shoots them a glare. "Don't you dare!"

Nastya snickers. "Can you show me the best place to get supplies for repairs?"

Trixie nods. "Now that is something I'm able to do."

Ivy grabbed Raphaella. "You are coming with me, and I am getting every book I can grab. You will fly me everywhere."

"Ooo sounds like a date." Raphaella winks as she grabs Ivy and they set off.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Laz frowns, he was kicked out of Thomas's room and now had to socialize.

Valerie grabs Laz by his ear. "Come on, we are heading to the desert part. I've got a map and I haven't been here in ages."

"You've been here?" Laz blinks.

"Darling, I've been places you could only have nightmares about." Valerie laughs and picks up Laz and heads out.

Marius finishes his drink and looks over to TS. "Aren't you going to join the others?"

TS pauses. "I Wish To Wait For Jonny's Children. They Called Me Their Favorite!"

Lyf chuckles remembering the incident where Scratch tried to help turn all of them back into children, and they attached to TS. "I'm sure they would love to hear stories you can bring back for them."

"I Also Have To Make Sure Carmillia Doesn't Bother Them." TS salutes and heads back to Aurora.

"Someone has to put a leash on that woman." Lyf sighs. "I guess it's just us to explore."

Marius smiles. "I suppose it is. And if this causes my memory to unravel again. I know my mate can keep me safe."

Lyf's face erupts in a deep blush. "I want to try some Xeon food. It will stop my cravings." He lets Marius tug him along.

.......

Jonny raised a brow at the odd town they came across, which is where Tim stopped and put Bertie down. "So where are we?"

"Oh, I didn't think they were sending anymore of yous down to help out." An older human man approached Jonny. He looked to be pulled straight from the 1930s detective comics. He snubs out his cigarette. "Anyway, I'm Charlie, and I'm helping out these folks."

Jonny raised a brow. "What do you mean to help?" He looked the man up and down. "We just landed. We ain't staying."

Charlie waves his hand. "Nah, that's my fault. There's a bunch of you New Texans here." He removes his hat to reveal golden and black mismatched eyes. "Sorry to assume."

Jonny looked away, clearly not expecting an apology. "What is this place? I don't recognize the architecture."

"Then you've never been on earth." Charlie sighs, looking over at Bertie and Tim. "Ah, not to assume time travel is weird. About three years ago, a few military vessels from Earth came over, something about a moon war. Again, the ripple in space and time doesn't work right, and you'll go mad trying to figure it out. Anyway, this area is mostly occupied by humans, so it's been a bit helping them settle." He raised a brow. "You friends ok?"

Moon War? Jonny's tail puffed out as worry seeped into his features. "I will let you know." He spins to look at Bertie and Tim.

Tim had his hands in the dirt, making an apple tree. Bertie was trying to ask what he was doing and why here, but Tim seemed happy to keep at what he was doing.

Jonny walked over to the two, and Charlie followed out of curiosity. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Apple tree!" Tim stares up at the massive apple tree with ripe, ready to pick apples. "Good dirt."

Bertie shrugs. "Don't look at me." He pauses as Tim grabs an apple and starts to eat. "Tim carried me here."

Jonny sighs. "Tim, why did you lead us here?"

Tim points to a few military uniforms hanging on a wire drying in the breeze. "Uniforms." He swallows his bite. "Familiar."

"Well, yeah, they're from the war." Jonny rolled his eyes.

Bertie stepped closer to the uniforms. "No, not just that...."

"OH BLOODY FUCK ME! BERTIE?!" A voice interrupted as a tall man in a tank top and uniform pants ran up to Bertie. His hair was short and shaggy, and he had bright blue eyes and dog tags around his neck. "When the fuck did you get here? Is little Timmy with you? You both had to enlist together."

Bertie thins his lips. "Hey Oliver, it's been ages."

Jonny raised a brow and huffs when Tim puts an apple in his mouth. He rolls his eyes as Tim smiles and begins to eat a second apple.

"Did you guys make it to the moon? Did we win? Where's your uniform?" Oliver smiles wide, and it falls just as fast as he spots Tim quietly eating an apple. "Tim?"

Tim's eyes whirl as he tilts his head. He swallows his bite. "Yes?"

Jonny hums. "Who the fuck are you?" He moves in front of Tim which doesn't do much because Tim is much taller than he is. "The fuck do you want with Tim?"

"Jonny, that's Oliver." Bertie had a strained smile. "That's Tim's brother."

Tim hands Oliver an apple as he continues forward into down.

"Fuck." Jonny pinched his brow. "For one, how was I supposed to know that? Two Tim doesn't even recognize him."

Oliver was stunned for a mere moment before he dropped the apple. "What the fuck did you do to my brother?"

Bertie looks to Jonny for help.

"For one, I didn't do shit." Jonny scowls. "Two, do you have any idea how long we've been around for? We didn't come through the ripple. Our uniforms are dust at this point."

Bertie sighs. "It's complicated. However, this does explain where the armada went."

"You two play catch up. I'm going to make sure Tim doesn't cause a panic." Jonny rushed forward.

Charlie pinched his brow. "Is that Jonny D'ville?"

"How'd you know?" Bertie raised a brow.

"The mechanisms are quite infamous before they vanished. Oliver and Bertie, how about we find a nice spot to talk, and Oliver calls your siblings." Charlie sighs.

........

Lyf started at the bright, nearly neon purple meat in front of them. Marius was already eating and purring loudly. He really didn't want to ruin the moment, but he didn't think he could stomach this.

Marius smiles. "Lyf, try it while it's still cold. I can't remember when I had this simple luxury. We didn't really have anything to keep it cold, so we had to eat it hot, which I mean is fine but less filling as it becomes sludge. Granted, it was good in soups, but well..." He rubbed his temple. "You should eat."

Lyf cannot name in his immortal life so far meat that would melt when made warm. He takes a deep breath and takes a bite. It was sweet with bitter after notes, but it did not taste like meat at all. He really didn't like it, but he finally felt not queasy. "It's different." He noticed new eyes all on him and the whispers.

Marius took a long sip of his green drink. "I can take it if you don't want it."

"I didn't say that." Lyf huffs. "Just because I don't like this doesn't mean I don't want it. I finally stopped feeling nauseous. What kind of creature has this meat anyhow?"

Marius hums, scratching his beard. "I don't think I can think of a similar creature you would know to compare to it."

"Marius...." Lyf sighs and pinches his brow. He then smacks Marius's hand away. "Fuck you I told you I'm going to finish it."

Marius laughs. "I was just going to give you some vegetables."

Lyf blushes a static. "I can get them myself." He motions to the boiling stock pot. "Just because you have a metal arm doesn't mean you have to handle the hot substances."

"I think it does." Marius smiles. "Especially to protect my mate."

Lyf groans and stuffs his face before he could stick his foot in his mouth with a response.

"Um, I'm sorry to impose, but I do have to ask. Are you a part of the Mechanisms?" A woman approached Marius, who just cleaned off his plate.

"Yes, I am." Marius raised a brow. There was probably a bounty on them here. It's not surprising, after all, since this planet is a mix of different times and species.

The woman smiles. "Fucking I told you! There is a Xeon in the crew." She shouts at the table down the way, and a different woman scoffs.

Marius blinks. "Honestly, I expect to be shot when people ask."

Lyf snickers. "To be fair, you are an awful criminal."

"And what does that make you?" Marius smirks.

"A space cop according to everyone on the crew." Lyf takes another bite. He pauses as he swallows. "Wait, why aren't you being arrested?"

Marius shrugs. "Dunno fans aren't exactly our thing."

"Don't sell yourself short. I'm your fan." Lyf hums as he cleans his plate. "I'm still conflicted, but it kind of grows on you. What about dessert?"

Marius shrugs.

"Well, we have a chance to figure it out." Lyf smiles.

"Wait!" The same woman now with her companion stops the two as they get up. "I uh.... are the others here, too? Are you guys planning a concert?"

"A show?" Marius looks to Lyf, who shrugs. "We dont have any plans, but that's normally Jonny's department."

The two women look at each other, then back to Marius.

"I could play something if you like." Marius pulls out his violin.

Lyf pinched his brow. "Show off."

The women looked excited.

Marius smiles. "What can I say it's rare I meet any kind of fan."

"Are you doing the Dr. Pilchard one?" Lyf smirks as the tune begins.

A small crowd has gathered when Marius finished. "Uh, thank you." He shifts at the applause, and Lyf grabs him, and they run out laughing.

........

Jonny found Tim in an orchard. "Tim, what are you doing? Look, I didn't expect to see anyone from back then even again."

Tim didn't seem bothered as he sat in the mud. "I don't remember them." He pats the ground next to him where Jonny sits next to him. "I am not me yet."

Jonny sighs, leaning on Tim. "Just because you aren't you doesn't mean you're not related to them."

"I suppose." Tim frowns. "I'm not me. I don't know how to be me. I don't know how I feel about this!" He tugs at the plants. "You call me Tim, but I'm not him. I don't know who I am right now."

"Well, what do you know?" Jonny laced his voice with sarcasm.

Tim paused. "You are my husband. Bertie is not dead anymore. I am a mechanism part of the starship Aurora. I was the youngest of six." He rubbed his temples. "I love you. I used to love Bertie like I love you. TS and I have tea parties. Valerie likes to test me in the range. I know I'm broken. I know the tapes don't know everything. I know I hate cake."

Jonny stops Tim. "Wait, what do you mean about the tapes?"

Tim tilted his head. "They only recorded what they thought was important, or the aftermath." He smiles. "I was there so much longer."

Jonny pushes Tim away. "Don't make that face. Also, do you want a hug?"

"Can you purr for me?" Tim pulls Jonny to his lap.

"I'm not a damn octokitten." Jonny huffs. "Don't change the subject!"

"I know I can do this." Tim grabs Jonny by the scruff, and he stops moving. "I may not know myself, but I know you are mine for eternity."

Jonny swallows, and he can feel a blush spread along his cheeks. "Are you jealous you didn't give me my kids?" He starts to purr as Tim's grip gets tighter. "Maybe one day. If you heal properly."

Tim gives a low growl a human shouldn't be able to make. "Jonny."

"Hmmm." Jonny takes the sudden loss of grip on his scruff to pin Tim to the ground, straddling his chest. "Listen here just because you're mine doesn't mean -"

"Seriously?" Ivy is dropped down gently. "You have this entire planet filled with the past and future and you're fucking around?"

Tim waves. "Hi Ivy."

"Cockblock." Jonny rolls his eyes getting up dusting his pants off. "No, I'm playing distraction."

Raphealla raised a brow. "Distraction from what?"

"My siblings are here!" Tim smiles, getting up holding onto Jonny's tail.

Raphealla makes a face of pure worry that Ivy matches. "Is... are you ok?"

"I do not remember them." Tim hums. "I know I had them, but I feel nothing."

Ivy looks at Jonny. "We will let you two get back to it." She stops. "Wait, did you encounter any weird people?"

"The fuck do you mean by weird?" Jonny raised a brow. "We aren't the definition of normal."

"Well, Lyf has put in our chat that apparently the news is spreading like wildfire that the Mechanisms are here and the people want a concert. Marius keeps getting asked to play his violin on purpose." Raphealla frowns. "We're infamous not famous."

Jonny was speechless as he stared at the two. "Excuse me?"

"It is true, apparently we are well liked here. I did not have any possible probability that could happen." Ivy rubs the back of her neck. "It is quite odd, I must admit."

"Do you know why?" Jonny crossed his arms. "We really never left a living audience, and sure, we sent out albums, but really?"

"Well, Ashes put in the chat that rumor has it. A few gods have a home here, and they adore our antics, but nothing really concrete to why." Raphaella puffs out her wings. "I'm not opposed to an impromptu concert, but I would actually feel bad not having your kids to witness. Yeah I'm not letting those fuckers leave. Fuck me Jonny why the fuck are your kids so great?"

"Because they're mine." Jonny smirks.

"You walked into that one, Raph." Ivy chuckles.

"Babies?" Tim tugs on Jonny's tail.

"No, they are healing." Jonny puffed out his cheeks. "That does sound like it could be fun. I ain't promising shit."

"Sounds like you already decided." Raphaella smirks.

"Fuck off." Jonny sighs heavily as Tim picks him up.

"Perform my song! Gonna get my guitar!" Tim runs off carrying Jonny.

Raphealla and Ivy giggle.

.......

"Jolly Good. Welcome Back!" TS salutes at Jonny and Tim. Thankfully, Tim put Jonny down as soon as they arrived back on Aurora.

Jonny sighs. "Hello TS, any updates on my kids?"

"Oh, Yes, Janet Has Snuck Out, And Mae is MIA." TS smiles. "Carmillia Has Refused To Leave The Ship. Thomas Is Drinking Coffee."

"That seems too fast." Jonny frowns.

"Oh Yes! There Was A Lot Of Screaming." TS follows Jonny to the kitchen.

Thomas was half awake, sipping on coffee, and Trevor was next to him asleep in his own mug of coffee.

"Are you two ok?" Jonny raised a brow not entirely concerned yet.

Thomas blinks. "Mmh, I can move." He sips his coffee. "Aurora won't let me get anything stronger."

"That's because you corrupted my camera feed, and I'm still trying to fix it." Auroua huffs but sounded incredibly fond and happy that they were young again.

"Right, do you guys know anything about this planet?" Jonny sat between his boys.

"Thanos?" Thomas stretches. "A bit, but we didn't really get to explore before we were wisked off to New Texas." He yawns and sips more coffee.

Trevor gasps and sits up straight. "I'm up. I'm up!" He got coffee up his nose.

"Idiot." Thomas sighs.

"Trevor, don't fall asleep in your coffee." Jonny has a small smile on his lips. "So what are your thoughts on Thanos?"

"Mmh?" Trevor chugs the rest of his coffee and wipes his face. "It's a weird place, and I think I can recall Laz refusing to leave the ship. Speaking of that, we should be close enough if they are still on Xeonia to send a message out to Hal."

"Are you guys planning on returning to your crew?" Jonny crossed his arms.

Thomas snorts. "You wish old man."

Aurora chirps. "Alex has left their room and is being carried by Tim. Shall I tell him to bring them to the mess hall?"

"Please. Alex is the worst of your brats, just waking up." Jonny smiles softly. "TS, how do you feel about a show?"

TS broke in a smile larger and creepier than Jonny thought was possible. "I Shall Get Everyone's Instruments!" It marches out with a skip in its step.

"Aurora, I'm gonna send you details, and when you're able, send a message out to Hal." Trevor gets up and types into a wall screen. "Fuck I need a bath."

"Yeah, it smells like you do." Thomas gets hit in the face with the mug Trevor was holding.

Jonny chuckles. "And what did I teach you?"

"Don't insult Trevor when he has something to throw." Thomas huffs barely bruised, and his skin wasn't even cut. Only his pride is hurt.

Tim ran in, holding Alex up and had his guitar case on his back. He gasps. "More babies!"

"Tim let them wake up." Jonny warns.

"Bury me." Alex groans.

Jonny pauses and smirks. He knew excatly how to get his kids up and ready to go. "The first one to find both of your sisters, you'll have one day to choose my activities."

Alex jolts and jumps out of Tim's arms. "Anything?"

Jonny already realized this was a bad idea. "Yes, anything."

Trevor, Thomas, and Alex exchanged glances.

"You know Ashes did mention something about a casino planet." Alex smirks.

Thomas taps the table. "I heard rumors of an entire sector called the Vegas quadrant."

Trevor is ready to bolt to his room to get dressed. "I'm sure Ashes cam tell us the perfect place."

Jonny rubs his temples. "Gambling seriously?"

"NO TAKE BACKS!" The three shout as they run to their rooms.

"Jonny, you don't gamble." Aurora sounded curious.

Jonny groans. "Just because I don't doesn't mean I don't know how to. Unfortunately, my brats know that I can."

"I can be lady luck." Tim smiles.

"Go fuck yourself Tim." Jonny huffs.

........

"Oho. Hey there, Charlie." Mae pops out from the new apple tree.

Bertie jumps, and Charlie bites back a scream.

"You're going to kill me, doll." Charlie pinched his brow.

"Wait, you know him?" Bertie furrows his brow.

"The lady and I go way back." Charlie winks.

Mae chuckled. "He's Hastur's acolyte. Laz has made it a point to avoid him along with the fledgling God and the fledgling God's acolyte. Never told us why."

"Now I don't believe that this Lazarus is even real." Charlie chuckles. "What brings you to this part of the universe? Your crew is still at Xeonia from what I hear. You've stopped short."

"Well, I wouldn't say that I can see you, golden boy." Mae smirks. "Eh, I guess Aurora demanded they stopped while we yaknow do our thing and get young again. Anyhow, traveling with the Mechs now and of course, you know that means found our dad. I was actually looking for him."

"Well, little lady, you just missed him. He was being carried off by his husband. Tim is his husband, right? I'm not misreading that." Charlie hums.

"Yeah, you're right. I wonder where they went. Care to help me detective?" Mae bats her lashes.

Charlie smirks. "For you doll, of course. Maybe we will even see this mythical Laz the acolyte of this Scratch."

Bertie sighs. "Dont set Tim off. I'm going to talk to his siblings more."

Mae rolls her eyes. "They both are real, you know."

"I'll believe it when I see it." Charlie hums. "So only talked to him briefly, but that is Jonny D'ville."

Mae nods. "Yeah, a lot of shit has happened. He's a bit more scary than I can recall, but he's still my dad."

"That's to be expected. So, really, how have ya been." Charlie grabs Mae's hand.

"Better for the most part. How's Hastur?" Mae doesn't let go.

"Oh, the same as always, but he is finally intermingling around here. He even has a proper human shell now." Charlie smiles softly. "So how about it thought about my offer?"

"One day, cassanova. I ain't the settling down type." Mae pulls Charlie closer. "That doesn't mean I ain't open to a break." A distinct golden right is on her tail. "Tell me found anyone as good as me?"

"Oh, you know I haven't." Charlie kisses Mae's cheek. "You kept my ring."

"We are married. I see it only fit to keep it. Besides, I like our open nature. I always have someone to return to. Although are you sure humans do the ring thing? It's very impractical. I still say we should if done it New Texas style." Mae chuckles as Charlie pouts.

"You wanted the shiniest ring I could find." Charlie gasps as Mae picks him up.

"Oh, but my dad is back, and we must do something proper." Mae hums softly.

"You just want me in a dress."

"You do have the legs for it."

........

Brian smiles softly. "Sorry, Ashes, no Camelot." He holds a bucket of what looks to be some sort of fried meat skins. It looked rotten, and it smelled foul, but he was eating happily. "I haven't had this stuff since I was back on my home planet."

"I get why they call your planet a nightmare...." Ashes pauses, spotting Marius and Lyf. "So what are the lovebirds up to? Enjoying fame?"

Marius waves, revealing Janet clinging to his back, who also waves. "Jonny's children have returned to young adulthood!"

Lyf sighs. "He stopped her from trying to take blood samples from halflings, who then realized what she was doing, and we were dragged into a three hour conversation. Please tell me you have done something less biology related."

"Pshhh, Marius and I had a great time." Janet hops off Marius's back. "We even wrote a bunch of notes."

"It has eased my concerns for the future, but it's normal that this will take a while, but I'm ok right now." Marius smiles softly, and it does look like a weight has been taken off his shoulders. "I'm glad to know I'm not an anomaly and that cross species mating has happened and hasn't killed the partner." He shifts, and both Brian and Ashes realize why Lyf didn't pull him away.

Ashes pats Marius's back. "Alright, well, did you at least find something editable? I'm not touching what Brian is eating with a ten foot pole."

Lyf has already headed over and is sharing the food with Brian. "I like this better than the cold meat slab."

"Raphaella must be having a field day." Brian smiles. "Uh, I do have to ask. Are you guys alright, Janet? Didn't this happen too fast?"

Janet rubs the back of her neck. "I don't really want to talk about that. It's not exactly pleasant, but you both really shouldn't eat anything a Xeon offers you here. Not because it's bad, but it will most likely kill you, and not in a fun way."

Marius nods. "She's right."

Lyf groans. "I don't want to hear another word." He sighs. "Before you even say it, just because I'm in love with Marius does not mean I have to like the changes to my body that come from being with him because of his species. Although it's more pleasant than what Yog Sogoth did."

"Disgusting." Ashes shakes their head. "Anyway, have you seen Jonny? I want to see how much weird meats I can get him to try before he vomits and or dies."

"Dunno where dad is, but I would also like to see that." Janet snickers. "Thomas is just like that. Granted, Mae likes to kill the beast. Thomas figures out how to eat." She climbs back onto Marius. "Onward to more weird shit."

Marius laughs. "Would you want to join us in our travels? We're going to head to the desert because that's where Valerie and Laz went."

"Oh, I can always do with seeing more of Miss Valerie." Ashes winks.

Brian rolls his eyes. "I guess there should be a New Texan population there as well. I've been looking over the directory, and it's quite impressive."m I am not a fan of the heat, however."

"Too bad." Ashes snickers.

"I wonder what time period they're from or how long they've been here." Janet hums.

Lyf grabs Marius's metal hand. "Well, no use in just talking about it. Let's go."

Marius nods and, with a slight blush, begins forward.

........

"Val- Will you fuck off you obnoxious brat!" A man pulls Mae off his back. He's tall, skin dark like oak. Eyes yellow with black pupils. His hair was draped across his shoulders like silk, and he was in a large yellow robe. "I told you to keep your fucking stray away from me."

Mae giggles. "Nice to see you again, Hastur!" She lands on her feet in the sand. Charlie appeared next to her.

"Why are you even here? Your crew is on Xeonia, and last I checked, annoying me wasn't a part of your schedule." Hastur has a small quirk of a smile on his lips.

"Oh, you know I'm flexible, big boy." Mae gasps pushing Hastur aside. "Grams! How did you drag Laz out here? He refused to set foot here when we originally came to Thanos."

Hastur looked to Charlie, who shrugs. He then looks back to Mae, hugging Valerie, who was chuckling. "You're a grandmother?"

"I am." Valerie ruffles Mae's hair. "And I see you've been busy. When did you sneak out of Aurora?"

"I have my secrets." Mae chuckles. "Meet my husband. It's an open marriage, so we both have fun, but I always will have him to come back to. His name is Charlie, and he's Hastur's acolyte."

"Doll, we've been acquainted. That's the god killer." Charlie had a grin in his lips like he was proud.

"Well, duh, I know that." Mae hums. "Honesty, I would expect you to freak out more." She points to Hastur while grabbing Laz in a death grip, preventing him from escaping.

"We have a civil relationship." Hastur responds dryly.

"I've fucked him." Valerie smirks.

"Nice." Mae chuckles.

Laz groans. "I don't need to hear that." He huffs. "Let me go. I have to get back to Thomas."

Charlie raised a brow. "I recognize your voice."

"No." Laz vanishes taking Mae with him.

[lexr86]

Masterlist

This is an 18+ blog! Come on back when you're old enough, kiddos.

Mostly, I write fluff and smut (and fluffy smut). Mainly fluff and smut about everyone's favourite metalhead Dungeon Master from Stranger Things. 🤤

Lately, I've started to branch into darker tales, still featuring Eddie Munson. All I can say about this is that I'm sorry. It was never meant to get this bad...

All my stories can be found my AO3 via the links below. The shorter ones are also available here via the Tumblr links. I also post some of them on FanFiction.net.

Series:

A Freak and a Weirdo (Eddie x Sam (original female character)) AO3

When you’re different, other people think you’re weird. When you’re wired differently, they think you’re the town weirdo. And if that wasn’t bad enough, then the town freak starts paying attention to you.

The one where I write a very probably autistic protagonist, who's definitely maybe me (I wish!).

You Shook Me - Eddie x Lex (original female character) AO3

Eddie Munson wasn't expecting much from his life, Hawkins, or his trip to the mall one random day in 1985. But after an unexpected encounter with a fellow Hawkins High student in the mall elevator, an encounter that quickly threatens to develop into something more serious, he starts to see a future for himself. By her side, hopefully.

The long one... I'm finished the second story in this series & I've got an idea for the third story that I'm just dying to tell!

You Shook Me (Alternative Universe) - Eddie x Lex (original female character) AO3

These are alternative universe stories where things take a dark turn for those universes' versions of Eddie and Lex. You don't have to read You Shook Me to read the AU stories in this series but they'll probably make a little more sense if you do.

The one where I'm really fucking mean to Eddie and Lex for no other reason than I can be.

Some of the stories from this series are also available here:

Little Deaths: Tumblr

Multi-chapter stories:

All I Want for Christmas - Eddie x Ash/Aisling (original female character) AO3

In which our homesick heroine visits her cousins in Hawkins after being cruelly denied the one present she really wants this year, only to discover that there may be a little bit of Christmas magic left in this small Indiana town.

The Christmas one.

Eddie the Banished (and Monstrously Sexy): Stories of Eddie in deliciously monstrous forms! Collection: AO3

Horny - Eddie x Chrissy Cunningham Tumblr AO3

Definitions of horny (adjective):

having horns or hornlike projections

sexually aroused, sexually eager or lustful (slang)

The one I totally wrote because I wanted to be able to use the tags Horny Eddie Munson, Virgin Eddie Munson and Demon Eddie Munson all in the one story. 😂

My Heart's Aflame - Eddie x You There are two versions of this story, both from Eddie's perspective because I originally wrote it from a first-person point of view and then rewrote it from a third-person point of view. But in the end, I like both of them so you get to choose which one to read as I can't! First-person POV: Tumblr / AO3 Third-person POV: Tumblr / AO3

Eddie just wants what’s best for you. Although, in hindsight, what’s best for you is probably not inviting him in wolf form into your home during a snowstorm. But now he’s here, and you’re so good and kind. And oblivious to the monster that’s lurking at the end of your bed.

The one where no good deed goes unpunished... but what a punishment!

One-shots:

I'll Let You... - Eddie x You Tumblr AO3

Eddie Munson was such a cocky little prick sometimes. Who wouldn’t want the opportunity to shock him a bit?

The one that wipes that smug look off his stupid handsome face.

Escape - Eddie x Steve x You Tumblr AO3

Steve gives Eddie a gift. You.

The one that I'm genuinely not sure about. I tend to write long descriptive pieces so this was an attempt to keep things relatively short but I worry it lost a little something because of that. Also, the "sold into marriage" trope has been done to death but I hope I managed to not make it boring.

White Hot Shame - Eddie x female Narrator Tumblr AO3

Don’t worry about it, it happens to a lot of guys…

The one where Eddie thinks he has a problem but I'm not complaining!

No Y/N for any of the xReader/You stories because I can't stand it!

For good or bad, all my works are written by me because, honestly, who would want to read something that no-one could be bothered to write?

(these adorable little badges are made by Andy Carolan)

[dangerpronebuddie]

Kiss Me Once Cause You Know I Had A Long Night 8/?

60. Mistletoe Kisses

Summary:

"What are you talking about?" Eddie sighed.

"We're talking about that." Ravi pointed above Buck's head.

Buck and Eddie looked up.

Oh no.

They somehow managed to walk right beneath the mistletoe without even realizing it.

(read below!) Muah!

For five years, Eddie had managed to avoid getting caught under the station mistletoe.

During his probie year, he happened to walk beneath a sprig with Chim. The teasing about that particular incident lasted all the way to the next Christmas. So, Eddie made a point of steering clear of the stuff.

But one morning, he and Buck were bickering about just how many presents were too many to give to Christopher; and Eddie really wasn't paying attention to his surroundings as they climbed the stairs to the loft, their shoulders brushing with every step.

"But it's educational," Buck insisted.

"Tell me how a Lego Death Star is educational," Eddie drawled.

"You said it yourself he's growing up to be an engineer," Buck grinned.

Eddie rolled his eyes as they reached the top of the stairs. "Fine, but that means we can't get-"

"Stop right where you are!"

The pair froze and looked at the source of the command. Chim sat on the couch, a shit eating grin on his face. Hen and Ravi sat on either side of him. Hen raised her eyebrows at them, biting back a smirk. Ravi simply smiled. Like he was proud, for some reason.

"Eddie, my friend, my bro, you knew it would happen eventually," Chim said, rubbing his hands together. "Your five year streak has officially ended."

"What are you talking about?" Eddie sighed.

"We're talking about that." Ravi pointed above Buck's head.

Buck and Eddie slowly looked upwards. Eddie's heart leapt into his throat.

Oh no.

They somehow managed to walk right beneath the mistletoe without even realizing it.

It wouldn't have been a problem if it was anyone else. He'd take the teasing in stride, as usual, and they'd all move on until someone else eventually got stuck beneath the parasitic greenery.

But he had to wind up under it with Buck.

Which wasn't bad.

That's why it was bad.

Eddie wanted to kiss Buck. Sometimes the want became almost too strong to ignore. Almost. The want lived in his chest constantly when he was around Buck. Sometimes, even when he wasn't.

Buck would smile, or hand Eddie exactly what he needed, or say just the right thing to get Eddie out of his own head, and the want would rise up like a phoenix from the ashes every time. But he managed to keep it back. He managed to keep the phoenix in its cage.

He had to.

If he let that want free, Buck would let him down gently, which would hurt worse than any physical injury Eddie's ever had. And then he'd distance himself from Eddie. And he'd have to explain to Chris why his Buck wasn't coming around anymore. He couldn't bear it.

But now, because the universe loved working against him, he found himself beneath the mistletoe with the love of his life.

Buck ducked his head with a bashful smile. "Sorry I'm ruining your streak," he said, looking at Eddie through his lashes.

"Oh, don't even start," Hen piped up. "You're just gonna argue til the alarm rings, thinking we'll forget about it."

Buck huffed a laugh. "Then quit interrupting, huh?" He turned to Eddie and smiled softly. "Hey," he whispered.

"Hey," Eddie replied. Buck's gaze fell to his lips. Time slowed to a hault, encircling them in a bubble. Buck cupped Eddie's cheek and slowly leaned in.

And of course, the bell rang. Groans echoed through the loft and Buck and Eddie jumped apart. They jogged downstairs and filed into the engine. Buck sat in his usual spot across from Eddie, practically in Eddie's lap. Every time Eddie looked at him, Buck would blush and smile, but he wouldn't look away. Every glance had Eddie's heart doing somersaults in his chest, like it wanted to flip out and land in Buck's palms. Eddie wouldn't object.

Calls kept them busy enough that everyone forgot about the whole thing and instead trudged straight to the bunks the minute they got back to the station.

Everyone except Eddie. He just couldn't sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about that stupid mistletoe. The soft, almost reverent way Buck cupped his cheek. The way his pupils dilated as Eddie leaned in.

Anyway.

He climbed the stairs in search of some hot cocoa and the book he and Buck had been reading on serial killers, because that would help him sleep.

He had just grabbed a mug when soft, familiar footsteps came up the stairs.

He turned and smiled softly at Buck. "Hey."

"Hey," Buck smiled, still standing near the stairs. "Uh, Eds? Can you come here a sec?"

Eddie frowned in confusion and joined him near the stairs. "What's up?"

Buck looked up. Eddie followed his gaze. The mistletoe.

Eddie looked at Buck, to find a beautiful, soft smile on his face. "We never did finish what we started."

"No, we didn't," Eddie agreed.

"Did you know people used to remove a berry after they kissed under it?" Buck asked. "When all the berries are gone, it's lost its power."

Eddie looked up again. Five berries remained on the sprig. "I don't think we're in any danger then."

"Good thing," Buck whispered. He cupped Eddie's cheek and slowly leaned in.

Eddie met him in the middle and pressed his lips to Buck's. Buck smiled into the kiss as his other hand carded through Eddie's hair. Eddie pulled him closer by his belt loops and Buck slotted their lips together.

Buck pulled away and reached up, taking a berry from the mistletoe before leaning in again.

Eddie wrapped his arms around Buck's waist, smiling into the kiss.

Buck took the second berry as Eddie kissed the hinge of his jaw. Eddie took the third after Buck kissed the tip of his nose. Buck took the fourth after Eddie kissed his palm that was still cupping his cheek. Eddie took the final berry as Buck kissed him again with a soft laugh.

Eddie maneuvered them away from the mistletoe and Buck started smiling so much it couldn't be called a kiss.

"I think we need more mistletoe," Buck said.

"I don't need that as an excuse to kiss you," Eddie said against his lips, wrapping his arms around his neck.

Eddie never tried to avoid the mistletoe again. At least, not with Buck. He did, however, make sure to let Chimney pass under it before he followed.

[sam-glade]

Find the Words Tag

Tagged by @oh-no-another-idea here and @toribookworm22 here. Thank you both💜

And passing it onto: @squarebracket-trick @writernopal @canadjester @winterandwords. Your words are: know, knock, knight, keen.

This time I'm looking in all the files with outtakes, old drafts, and self-indulgent fluff.

From @oh-no-another-idea: sun, cloud, break, wave, and swim

SUN

“It was a mutual agreement.”

“Gullin, please. Don’t embellish.” Ianim sighed. “I wasn’t expecting to be named the First Prince’s Successor. Light-of-my-Sun my Grandfather is a cosmic constant; he wasn’t supposed to step down. I wasn’t prepared. I realised that between family obligations and joining different divisions upon graduation, we wouldn’t be able to give each other enough time and attention, and it would be hard on both of us. So, I broke it off.”

CLOUD

The leaves on the trees glistened from the wetness, orange and yellow. The grass had lost its lustre, but other than that, the area looked so much better maintained. The manor was freshly plastered, and the utility buildings painted white to match. The roof was cleared off moss and smoke was rising steadily above it. It didn't look large, not with edges of it hidden behind large bushes, and the heavy clouds providing a backdrop.

BREAK (From a kulig Gullin was invited to. I should turn it into a short story)

The sun set soon, and the sleighs were lit up by shaking lanterns. At some point Gullin found himself in a completely different sleigh, with people he didn't know, but with enough tincture to break the ice.

WAVE

“A little birdie told me that you need someone to cheer you up,” Catnip said as a greeting.

“I’m pretty sure it was a squirrel,” he retorted, shaking her wrist.

She waved at him to follow her back to the city. He did. Yes, he was probably wasting precious time, but on the other hand, he was flying around the Five Princedoms, looking for dragons, and it didn’t look like he was getting any closer to finding them. Maybe, just maybe, clearing his head for one evening would help.

SWIM

“Master Claren,” Lissan interrupted him. “I can’t swim.” Claren looked at him in disbelief. “The only body of water near the house back in Aritia was a river which barely reached past my knees, and who would have taught me anyway?” Lissan explained, amused by the man’s expression.

From @toribookworm22: subdue, fate, told, believe.

SUBDUE

“What ‘other threats’ do you mean? We mustn't be involved in law enforcement.”

“Natural disasters. Fires, floods, this sort of things. Either a Sword wielding the Element may be able to subdue it, or someone with protective powers can get the people to safety.”

FATE (Gullin speaking first)

"I love you."

"I know." He was pleased. And amused. He was trying not to laugh, Gullin knew that expression all too well, the lit up eyes, the corners of his mouth twitching. Gullin glared with indignation. He wasn't supposed to laugh at a statement like this. "I'm sorry, I'm just… really happy to hear it when you're conscious."

"When I'm–"

If the Fate had a shred of mercy, she'd turn him to ash on the spot.

TOLD (also from the kulig)

And then there was another party, and he vaguely recalled Lissan sitting on a table when an irate noble attempted to flip it. Sabres were drawn, and he was about to step in, but Lissan wrapped an arm around his shoulders and told him to watch. 

"They're drunk!" Gullin objected. He marvelled at how most of these people were still upright, given the amount of strong alcohol they'd consumed.

"Yes. And also not new at this."

BELIEVE

"You still coming to the shooting ranges on Wednesday?"

"I can come," Gullin said with a shrug. "If you really don't believe my word that no, I definitely cannot intercept bullets in the air."

"I have a bet with Ritenya that you can." Nikols's tone was more guarded. Gullin frowned. Why did the name ring a bell? "What?"

"Remind me, is it your girlfriend or your buddy from the shooting competition?"

"Artillery's Second Brigadier." 

Gullin's mouth turned into a wry smile.

"Not yet the former then."

[rom-e-o]

Okay, I'm sorry but I need to know:

Adonis, Connie, Magda, and any Scroogeverse characters meeting Bea--what are the reactions? Bea is definitely going to start off schmoozy with them all, and Bess, at the very least, has told them all her mother was not... really a mother to her. They've all also seen the damage Bea has done to Bess to some sort of extent, some seeing more than others.

DO NOT APOLOGIZE, this is a golden ask. Ooooh, I loved thinking about this, hehe~

Let's go down the line:

Adonis: Icy cold.

He knows enough about how Bea treated Bess to know she's a scoundrel, and truly goes out of his way to avoid interacting with her. If they do speak, he's passive-aggressive ("Bea, shocked you could make it. Though you always did now how make an entrance, even when you weren't invited. It's a bold choice.") While he's obviously a man who believes people can redeem themselves, not only has Bea made no effort, but the ABUSE she spearheaded? If anyone can't be saved, it's people like her. He would avoid her openly. If Bea cornered him? "As if you weren't an awful enough woman for how you treated your own daughter, one of the loveliest beings to grace this planet, you have the nerve to be offended by my lack of respect to you? Ma'am, you deserve no respect, and I don't say that often. You are poisonous lye that has already been filtered through ashes too many times to be anything less than utterly poisonous. Now, please leave. Before I say something you'll regret." He's sympathetic to a degree: Jacob hurt her. But plenty of hurt people don't become monsters.

Connie: Disregards her existence.

She's used to verbal sparring from her days as a socialite, and has suffered through many long parties where she has had to play nice and fake a smile. With Bea, she's much more offensive than defensive. Connie would guard Bess and if Bea ever tried to play nice, Connie would not mince words. ("If I see you trying to suck up to Bess at ANY point, I will escort you away, personally. I will then stand there and watch as you call a cab, give them an address at least twenty miles away, and watch that that driver hauls your ass over the horizon.") If Bea and Connie were alone, she'd ignore her. And if Bea took issue with that? "You have as much of my attention as you deserve. The minimum amount. I care not for you or your deplorable attitude, or your delusional idea that you are a woman of any grandeur, least of all in the realm of personality." Connie is also somewhat sympathetic. She's been in a relationship with a terrible man, but CAN NEVER forgive Bea for how she treated Bess. Never.

Magda: Makes her life hell.

Magda spills wine on her. Trips her. Elbows her. Spits on her. "Mr. Scrooge, must we associate with her? We normally keep trash in the alleyway." Magda would make her life miserable and be outright aggressive to Bea in every way, shape or form. She's even recruit her husband Errol and her daughter in to follow her around and harass her. ("Did you know taffeta dresses are highly flammable? One wrong move, and...poof!") Magda is on Bess like white on rice. She makes sure Bea doesn't lay a hand on her, and if she does? She had been known to throw paprika in the eyes of perverted men. Let's just say Bea would be the first woman to recieve such honors. Some say they're still a little blind.

Theresea: Legitimately would hurt Bea.

A bonus, because OH BOY. Theresea's biggest philanthropic effort is construction of ethically run orphanages, shelters, and housing for less privileged individuals, including children. Theresea adopted Constance. She could biologically have children, but chose to adopt because she saw a soul who needed a loving home. To see Bea, a mother, treat her child like a burden? Upon hearing what Bea did to Bess, a woman she's come to adore like another daughter, Theresea would brandish her fan/cane and literally begin beating Bea. "How DARE you?! You bring a sweet child into this world, then punish them for being born? You hurt her, verbally abuse her, torment her like you are a righteous judge and jury? You are swine! Worse than swine! You should be the fertilizer people use on their farms, you rotten woman!"

[ghostoffuturespast]

💕 self-love time! talk about which ones of YOUR creations (edits, artworks, fanfics) you like the most then send to other creators to do the same 💕

Thanks for sending this and thanks for waiting! It's been a hella busy week.

I already talked about my long fic and some of my VP, but lemme talk about some of my other writing... specifically my CP2077 horror one-shots.

They were so much fun to write! I had an absolute blast with them and I'm still really proud of both. It was all OCs and spinoffs of things that were scattered around the game. And I've got some more ideas marinating... I might try to write more originally spooky stuff in the future too. It's such a mood. Also, short stories are the perfect medium for horror in my eyes because they're not long enough to give away the things that make horror so scary, so foreboding.

Anyway, snippets below the cut:

Tongues

“Wanna bet?”

“You’re not worth the eddies.”

“Bet neither of you would last five minutes on the other side of that fence.”  He nodded behind Greta, to the empty warehouse covered in graffiti.

She put her hands on her hips.  “We’d last longer than you would.”

“Nah.”

“Okay, fine.”  She shrugged.  “We both go in, hang out for five minutes, and then you buy Henry another headset.  A nice one.”

Henry balked, he wanted to go home and be left alone now.

Considering it, Cody’s lip curled.  “Five minutes in the warehouse and you bring some preem proof back.  And if not, you owe us five hundred eddies.  Each.”  His cronies snickered behind him.

[I don't know if anyone who read this caught on to the fact that this was a riff on the fairy tale Hansel & Gretal. But I took that and the Lillith cyberpsycho quest from the game and mashed the two together.]

Hex

Allen silently cursed the Sory, Out of Order signs, bad spelling and all as he trudged towards the stairs.  Five flights to the print division.  Couldn’t say he wasn’t getting his exercise for the day.  Having made it to his desk, Allen snubbed out his spent cigarette in the already full ash tray.  He peeled his coat off, sat down, fished out another cigarette, and rummaged in his desk drawer for the emergency flask.

“Hayashi!”

Allen mumbled on the filter.  “Shit.”

Singh barreled over, her heels clacking against the floor.  He could practically see her dark hair fraying at the ends.  “Where the hell is your last article for the month?  It was supposed to be on my desk two days ago!  We’re late getting to the printers and now I have a giant hole to fill in a screamsheet, thanks to you.”

Allen swiveled in his chair nonchalant and shrugged.  “DataTerm still hasn’t gotten back to me with that phone call they promised.  What do you want me to do?  You’d rip my head off more if I gave you only half an article.”

[This one didn't get much traction and only a handful of people have read it, but I loved doing the setup for this one and the inspiration for it was one of the TV news broadcasts. I thought it was clever. And it was a test on how many times I could fit the word "sorry" into a story without overdoing it or giving it away. If you were paying real close attention it probably wouldn't surprise you.]

Can read here and here. They're 3k and under, which is short for me lol.

[rayons1only1started]

Again, the Pain

...happened? I leave you alone with him and-...

...can't tell a thing... 

but pain... 

voices spinning around me...

eyes open... blurry... shaking me... saying... something... trenton... but I'm red... or wait... both... a figure's saying... something like... wake up... 

can't... 

pain... 

...who's he... the figure... he's screaming something... can't comprehend... 

...going black... gone...

"Trenton! Wake up! You've been out for so long!"

"...I don't think he can."

"THEN IT'S YOUR FUCKING FAULT!"

"How was I supposed to know?"

My eyes flew open. Everything was blurry... thoughts scattered... unfocused... 

"Trenton! Stay with us!" a figure said... am I... 

"Thank-goodness! The amount of painkillers you used, would've-"... the voice shut up...

...first figure sighed... "I wish I didn't have to drug him again"...

... everything faded...

..."-can't keep doing this! I'm practically insane, watching him, hoping he'd wake up ok, and when he doesn't,-  I can't keep up like this!"

The pain was back. Not all of it, not enough for me to get unfocused, but enough to be unbearable.

I opened my eyes, and saw Davis sitting next to me, looking at Tawy. "He's awake!" Tawy said excitedly, and Davis turned to look at me. His expression was a very tired one, but it softened at me.

I spoke before he even got the chance to open his mouth. "Give me a knife."

His expression changed to a shocked one, but he said "No! I can tell you are in pain, but killing yourself won't help!"

I whimpered; the pain was getting worse. The painkillers must have been wearing off.

He stood up, and walked over to me. Put a hand on my shoulder. I gasped at the contact. It didn't hurt, but I couldn't tell at this point. 

"Don't think about the memories. Think of something else. Something good. It helped last time." I couldn't focus on his voice; I only heard snaches.

"...Maybe you should give him a pain-" someone started saying, but was interrupted by Davis.

"I can't, I've given him too much already, any more would be bad for him!"

My eyes closed slowly, but I was still fully conscience. And in pain. At some point, it stopped getting worse.

"Trenton! Don't fall asleep! It'll hurt more when you wake up!", a voice said through the haze of pain. 

I slightly nodded, but didn't open my eyes.

"So... should I continue telling my story or...", another voice said.

"Just re-tell it, but without any... violence, or description of Ash."

"Got it. So, it all started with this human-", the second voice started telling me this, haven't I heard it before?

The hand on my shoulder lifted, and I could hear footsteps going away from me.

After a minute or so, the voice ended the story, and just started telling me things about a Rainbow Friend, her name being Tawny. I remember a few things, about this Tawny, but I wasn't really paying attention to the voice.

Her voice was toned out, by my thoughts, and then sleep. The pain faded.

-------------Davis POV------------

Tawy's story was pretty long, and by the end I was half-asleep. I hadn't slept in days. 

I remember being prodded awake. "Davis!". That's weird, that's not Tawy.

"Davis!"

I opened my eyes, to be greeted by Blue standing right in front of me, holding Trenton up by his lab coat. Trenton wasn't very happy about this, or rather freaked out.

"I found Red trying to hang himself. What the fuck is going on?" Blue wasn't happy.

I rubbed my eyes, to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I unfortunately wasn't.

"Sorry I didn't tell you earlier, Tawy and Trenton have been keeping me really busy lately." I said looking into Blue's eyes.

"Also you might want to put Trenton down, he's terrified of you.", I said, sighing. Why are you so suicidal?

Blue's face turned into a mask of surprise and horror. He set Trenton down, and Trenton ran over to me. 

"So... Ash kinda had Trenton go insane, and... be afraid of everyone. I helped him get better, but now all the way, then Tawy woke up, and I left for THREE FUCKING MINUTES before coming back because Tawy was calling my name; she SOMEHOW told Trenton something that made him pass out, and when he woke up he was in too much pain, and I couldn't use any more painkillers, then he woke up again and was a bit better, so I fell asleep, AND HE TRIES TO HANG HIMSELF!" That was a very rough outline.

Blue looked like I'd just told him his greatest fear, which I probably have, and said, "Oh... Uhm, want me to watch him so he won't try and... kill himself?"

"Yes, please." I exhaled.

Blue nodded, and left, still white in the face.

I turned to Trenton, who was still shaking from Blue's presence.

"I know you are in a lot of pain. But please don't kill yourself. Tawy and I, and even Blue care about you. We'll be very sad if you kill yourself, because you are our friend and creator."

Trenton just stared at me, with his huge eyes, shaking.

"You won't see Blue in here again soon, so you can stop shaking." I told Trenton, knowing he won't believe me.

He didn't. How unexpected.

"C'mon, you look like you'll collapse any moment." I said, taking his hand and leading him over to his cot. His legs gave way in a moment, and he fell face first into the cot. Unconscious. I sigh, rub my tired eyes, and sit back in my chair.

"What happened?" Tawy.

"I fell asleep, and the little ray of sunshine over there tried to hang themselves."

"Aw, you're giving your boyfriend cute nicknames." said Tawy, completely missing the part where Trenton tried to hang himself. 

I was too tired to respond.

"I'll watch him while you sleep. But you are in charge of helping him." Tawy said, as I was nodding off to sleep.

[miras-ash]

Chapter 19 of "Just as the stars love the night"

Mira's pov

The day had already started stressful because Estella started to scream in the morning without even taking a breath. No matter what Eliza had tried, it didn't work, she ate only conditionally, the diaper was clean and also any kind of attention didn't help, it was stressful. Normally it wouldn't bother me and I would immediately try to help but I had a really serious mission that day, we had located another outpost of Deimos and hoped to find him or at least important information, I had to be fit enough for that. So at four in the morning I moved into the living room to sleep on the couch, only to be woken up again shortly after because Liz came into the room with the little one to look for her pacifier which she had lost and even though I didn't want to, an annoyed remark slipped out, I was just so exhausted. Quickly and with a mumbled apology she left the living room again. Thereupon I could still sleep a little until in the morning already my alarm clock rang.

Absolutely exhausted I got ready, checked everything again and went down to the kitchen to eat something or at least drink a coffee, the main thing was that my stomach was not empty.

Even before I entered the room, the smell of fresh pancakes hit me, my mouth watered. Eliza was already sitting at the table handing Stella feeding her a bottle, she looked as tired as I felt, still I had to get out there, she would definitely find time for a break later.

"Good morning darling, sorry for this morning. I really tried everything." Ash's voice sounded troubled.

I gave her a kiss and then sat down to eat quickly, I was already pretty late when Estella started screaming like a banshee again. My nerves were already stretched to bursting which I did not leave uncommented,

"Please, what's wrong with her? It can't be that she's been screaming for hours, maybe you should take her to Doc or something."

Liz looked at me in horror, her gaze changing from anger to despair and back again every second. She got up, went into the next room and put Stella down in the crib, even now I could hear her. Like a raging rhino, Eliza re-entered the kitchen and leaned against the kitchen counter.

"Do you have any idea how hard this is for me? I've been sitting here for hours doing my best to calm her down for a few minutes. I'm devastated! I'm not doing as great myself as you think I am. And by the way, I was at Gustave's a few days ago, you'd know that if you were home too and didn't come home when everyone was asleep."

That was it, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. I had no choice but to work late into the night, she knew that. I was the one who was actively involved in keeping us safe here and eventually coming home. She seemed to have forgotten what the whole thing was about.

I stood up, took a few steps towards her and began to gesticulate wildly as I always did when I was at 180.

"You know exactly why I'm doing this! I am the one who protects us and especially you. Without me you would be back in Deimos clutches or what I know where. I put everything on one card, I sacrifice myself, so I can get some understanding or at least a little more sleep. You've forgotten what it means to give your life for something greater!"

Even as the words left my mouth, I knew I had gone too far. I didn't mean it that way, I was just exhausted and so terribly irritated and sometimes I said things I didn't mean. I really hoped Liz knew that and wouldn't take it too badly but her gaze hit me with the force of a thousand suns. Before she could say anything there was a knock and Jordan came in. He was ready to leave and here to go with me. I don't know what he had heard, but judging from his look, a lot. After all, the walls were thin and we were very loud.

Looking pityingly at us, he then said "We really need to get going, we're already late."

Apologetically, he put a hand on Ash's shoulder, lowered his head, and then waited for me in the doorway. I had no choice, I had to go. While I was leaving the room, Yumiko came into the room with Maho and Estella. I would have preferred to stay, I didn't want to leave, not after we argued.

Before the door slammed shut behind me, I could hear Eliza crying. Everything inside me was screaming to stay, to hell with the mission, but the others were already waiting for me and this was really about something bigger. I could only protect my family by leaving.

[ashton-ryder]

"The hand part is more numb, the shoulder is where it definitely still hurts though," Ash pointed up to it, sweater hiding most of the damage caused anyways so he doesn't look that bad. Ash's expression dampened at the explanation, "..vile," perhaps it was desperation, or perhaps they had some sick sense of enjoyment in the lawless world. "It depends what happened, but usually no." The military don't usually have a huge number stay posted at refugee camps either especially if they're needed elsewhere. But completely pulling out suddenly? Ash didn't want to believe that's what they'd willingly do.

He turned his attention to the fur ball when she pointed out, "is it now? Well thank you Lucky," continuing to give her the greeting pets she deserves, "sorry we didn't feed her, didn't even know she was still here, thought all the animals would've ran by now." Ran or died, but guess they're way for hardy than he gave them credit for. He sensed the somber air on that fateful decision that night, everyone had their what ifs, but she's right that there's no point harping on the past. She's back and that's something Ash could be thankful for, instead he tried a lighter tone of reply, "should've come to the more fun Wexley's party then, not that I'd know." Ashton absolutely went to back home instead without really visiting the party despite Ruth's insistence.

Ash sighed thinking back to that day when it all happened, honestly still clear as day in his mind, "it was a stupid idea that could've collapsed the entire building, but if anyone knows the building well enough to make that call, it's Mal." He probably like always would've disagreed and argued with her, but guess they were just all too busy, y'know, trying to fight and stay alive. Ash hummed and quietened down thinking about the heartbreaking state he found Ziggy in, but they were alive, and that was what mattered, "yeah they.. Zig's been through a lot too. It's really nice seeing people we know surviving." And it always brought a sense of relief and trust for who they're letting in here. "Mmhm, just helping out where I can, I'm much more useful out there anyways. We try to keep watch on the hordes movements and pretty much swept the perimeter of supplies and.. well, we try to avoid the raiders."

“Oh right how is your hand? Does it still hurt?” she knows he probably doesn't want to make a big deal out of it so she stops herself from asking more questions. They all had their fair share of dealing with the raiders; she herself has a nasty burn to remember them by. “Yeah they probably heard that the military pulled out and waited for winter to end so they can take what they can.” she wondered if they would have dared to attack had the military stayed around. “I'm guessing it’s not normal procedure to abandon a camp.” 

At the mention of luck she pointed at the cat “well you have lucky to thank for that, she had stuck around the building even though i wasn’t there to feed her” a wide grin spread on her face, she wouldn’t say it out loud but in her heart she believed lucky was a guardian angel here to protect them. It is a sacred task to feed your animals and she considered the strays of the wexley under her jurisdiction, and for that she and the wexley were rewarded. “Yeah i would have been here if i didn’t go to that halloween party with my friend…” there was a pause “i guess what’s done is done”

Hearing the story all she could think of was ‘of course it was mal’ but instead she said “yeah it was a good idea, the back door is much more defensible when it comes to the chompers” she was glad someone opened the door when she arrived but thought about the fact that security was pretty lax when it came to people. “Yeah it was so good to see a familiar face on the other side, I remember the joy i felt thinking that if he’s here and safe there must be others” it was truly the best day of the past few months as far as she can remember. “So have you been going out of the wexley often since this all started?”

[layanasstories]

Oblivion

TWENTY

We walk into our room laughing. "Why didn't you join me? The water was really nice and refreshing." I ask him as I take off my now wet clothes and walk into the bathroom. "Well first, you were so fast I didn't get a chance. And second..." he paused and sighed "I can't swim." Surprised I stick my head around the corner of the bathroom "There's something you can't do?". "Hey! Don't be mean!" he looks at me pouting. "I'm sorry. I'm going to teach you how to swim next time, okay?" I give him an air kiss and then close the bathroom door. I hear him still startled calling after me "Next time?".

Clean and satisfied of the day I lie in bed. Only I have trouble falling asleep, I keep tossing and turning. "What is it?" I hear softly next to me. I know what's up, but I don't want to admit it. "It's tomorrow isn't it?" he asks in the same soft tone. "Mhm" I answer. "You're not alone, okay. I'm with you every step of the way." I feel him move closer to me and he gives a kiss on my shoulder, he cares my arm with his fingertips. His touch relaxes me, causing me to fall asleep.

In the morning I had to look for the laundry room. I was wearing my third and final set of clean clothes today, so washing was a must. When the machine did his work, we got our breakfast. After, I got our clothes from the machine but because the motel dryer was broken, our room was now decorated with wet clothes to dry. Then we left, we got on the motorbike and drove towards the mine.

The closer we got, the tighter the knot in my stomach got. By the time he parked the bike and we got off, I wasn't sure I wanted to go. Despite those feelings I took the first few steps into the forest, towards the entrance of the mine tunnel. The traces of the fierce fire that had raged were still visible. Some bits of police tape was still hanging in the bushes or tied to trees. Charred bits of wood were still everywhere, some disintegrating from years of exposure to the weather.

We passed the hatch, now completely welded shut, through which Hannah had been led to her rescue by Alan. We walked a quite a bit further, when we arrived at the entrance of the tunnel from which I had been carried out, on a strecher. This entrance was also completely closed. Warning signs that the mine has collapsed hung around the entrance. Between the cracks of the barrier I can see the burnt girders, undisturbed ash lies on the ground.

I wipe the tears from my face with the back of my hand. I don't cry with sadness, I've already let those tears go. I cry from the raging anger inside me. I had the memories again, but hadn't paid them any attention yet. I can still hear Alan talking to Richy ... "Get out now! Stick to the plan that Michael did all this. I don't want to lose another friend because of what a stupid teenage girl did ten years ago!"... Those words make me furious, seething. How dare he, how dare he ruin my life by saving that son of a bitch. Purely out of rage I scream my lungs out. Just a cry no words. If I had to describe hate, that's how I feel for all three of them. Deep envy, disgust and loathing, in fact they don't even deserve that. They should rot in hell. No, it should be a place where hell seems like a paradise.

After calming myself down, I feel Jake wrap his arms around my waist. "Are you alright?" he asks, resting his chin on my shoulder and looking at the entrance we are in front of. "I'm going to make them pay." I say. I have never felt more assured of anything than I do now. "Good. Let me help you with that." he engourage me and gives me a kiss. We stay like this for a while before taking the forest path back to the motorbike.

I expected him to drive back to the motel, but instead he drives in the opposite direction. Despite my surprise and curiosity, I let it go. I enjoy the ride, that lasts just long enough to clear my head a bit, 'cause the ride was already coming to an end. Jake stops the motorcycle in front of a lonely building along the road. Although the building may look lonely, it was full of life, inside and out. He had parked his motorcycle next to a row of others. Several pickup trucks were parked next to the building. The grin on his face told me he had something up his sleeve. "What is it with this guy and his sleeves?" I laugh to myself in my mind. "Okay, spit it out Jake!" I command him. "I'd like to show you part of my world. This is just a small part of it." he continues to grin. I shake my head but have to laugh as I follow him up the stairs of the building.