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steddiealltheway · 11 months ago

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It's Cass Day!!!! Happy happy happy happy birthday @henderdads. i love you so so much, and I'm so thankful that you let me plot all my fics and ficlets (including this one ha!) in your dms. (and of course, I'm thankful for you forever and always for everything). I hope you enjoy and have a wonderful birthday :))))

Wednesday afternoons are Steve’s favorite afternoon out of the whole week.

There’s something about pushing a squeaky cart around the local grocery store and making small talk with the Wednesday regulars - a gossipy book club of moms who do their shopping at the same time so they have more time to complain about their husbands - that really fills Steve heart. (Or maybe it’s just the slight bitchy side of him that loves to rag on Elizabeth’s husband Tom who really needs to get his head out of his ass and appreciate the beauty in front of him, and of course he can’t forget Charles, Lisa’s dick of a husband who apparently doesn’t know what a date night is, oh! And Margaret’s husband Al… and really, he could go on about these husbands for hours without getting tired of it)

Really, he loves the routine of it all. And the way the women dote on him for being so kind to his girlfriend back home - which he constantly reminds them is not his girlfriend. But he sometimes wishes the groceries in his cart and the scribbled list in his hand was for someone he could go back home to greet with a kiss. (After giving Robin a hug of course, because in any fantasy, some of those things on that list and in the cart are always going to be for Robin).

But really, it would be nice to have someone to brag about to the group. Maybe bring up their spirits that love is not lost and-

Steve stops in his tracks, all thoughts gone from his head as he does a double take at the magazine rack near the checkout. And yeah, he knows that Corroded Coffin is popular. Hell, he’s seen Eddie’s face on the same rack at least five times before. But never like this.

The picture on the front page is taken at a lower angle, with Eddie clad in leather pants and a tight mesh black shirt that might be a crop top, but Steve can’t tell with the way Eddie’s guitar is covering his midriff, hands flying over the frets, showing off silver rings glimmering under the stage lights including the one that Steve helped Dustin pick out for him as a celebratory gift. But as Steve’s eyes trace over Eddie’s bare arms and the stark black tattoos, he’s led to wild curls perfectly framing Eddie’s face which stares down at the cords, mouth parted in an ‘o’ shape and eyebrows knitted together in concentration in a way that makes Steve feel weak in the knees.

And Steve’s suddenly hit with the question: Why didn’t anyone tell him that Eddie was hot???

He snatches the magazine off the rack before he can even really think about it, and tries not to think of what the moms will say about him when he leaves.

Maybe they’ll stop assuming he has a girlfriend at home at least.

During his drive home, he can’t help but think about the magazine laying between the loaf of bread and carton of ice cream that were packed together by the newest bag boy - which the ladies have a lot to say about, but Steve can’t think of anything besides that damn picture.

Once he’s back at the apartment, he puts the groceries away at an alarmingly fast rate, before making his way to the couch and laying back with the magazine in his hands.

It’s nice to see Eddie on the front cover of a magazine without it being attached to some weird scandal that Eddie had nothing to do with. Usually it’s an ill timed photo because he always happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But this time…

Steve let’s out a deep breath and flips through the magazine, hoping that there’s some type of interview with more pictures that he can secretly stare at and panic about later.

There’s a bunch of boring looking articles and ads until he spots a page with bright red lettering and a number of pictures. Steve can’t help but wet his lips when he opens the page to find a picture of Eddie smiling at something off camera, looking totally different from the front cover. He just looks like… Eddie.

Yet, Steve finds his heart racing even harder at this picture, missing those dimples and that glimmer of mischief in Eddie’s eyes that’s usually directed at him. And Steve suddenly wonders what or who Eddie's looking at, feeling a bloom of jealousy in his chest.

He glances away from the picture and scans the page for another one. He smiles when he sees Eddie with the rest of his band mates, leaning heavily on Jeff while pulling his signature expression, nearly elbowing Jeff in the ribs to do his devil horns.

Steve laughs at Jeff’s face scowling down at him while Gareth and Frank cackle beside them. He wonders when they’ll be back in town.

Wait.

Steve dog ears the page before running up to his calendar where Robin had written “Dustin’s favorite day ever” on the upcoming Friday.

“Oh no,” Steve mutters to himself. That’s way too damn soon for Eddie to come home after Steve’s realization. He needs to give him at least two weeks to panic and process.

Okay, if Eddie was there with him, the panicking and processing would probably happen in two hours- no, minutes- maybe even seconds. But giving Steve two days is not the right amount of time. That’s just enough time for Steve to really start and settle into the panic. But hey, maybe he can dedicate the next twenty-four hours to panicking and the twenty-four hours after that to processing. Right?

Absolutely. He can do this.

-:-:-:-:-:-

"Robin, I can't do this."

Robin rolls her eyes at him. "I can't believe one picture wrecked you."

"It's not my fault! It's the damn photographer and whoever put that picture on the front cover," Steve complains, running a hand through his hair. "They're the ones who made me think of him like that."

"Uh huh."

Steve glances over at Robin who looks completely engrossed in painting her nails a deep purple color that looks black from where Steve is standing. He glances at himself in the mirror, nervously styling his hair before picking up the magazine from where it has made a permanent home on the coffee table. He flops down on the couch next to Robin who yelps and groans, "You made me smudge my nail polish!"

"We have more important things to worry about than the state of your nail polish."

Robin carefully cleans around the edge of her nail, stained with the dark color before turning to Steve. "Yes, the sudden realization that Eddie is hot is very important to me."

"You know what I mean," Steve sighs, leaning back against the couch as he opens the magazine to his favorite picture of Eddie in this edition. He looks at it for a moment, immediately closing it when he realizes he's smiling.

Robin blows on her nails and frowns before glancing back at Steve. "Okay. He's going to be here in less than an hour. How can I help you? Although, I really don't think you'll need my help at all."

"What do you mean?" Steve asks, a pinch forming between his brows.

Robin gives him a look. "You're going to act weird around him. He's going to eventually pick up on it. And then you're going to confess all these feelings you're having and then..." Robin has a sudden look of realization and immediate disappointment. "Then, I'm going to have to find somewhere else to stay tonight since you told Eddie he could stay here on the couch, which is not going to happen after your little confession."

"He's going to leave?" Steve asks quickly in confusion and slight panic.

Robin huffs, "No, he's going to be staying in your bed. And I really do not want to hear that."

Steve frowns. "You don't even know if he thinks I'm hot."

A look passes over Robin's face, first humor, then a bit of confusion, disbelief, and, once again, disappointment. "Steve," she asks, grabbing his hand, eyes staring hard into his. "This whole time you've had the magazine, you never read the interview?" Robin asks as if it's the most important question she's ever asked him.

"Why would I read it?" Steve asks with a shake of his head. When Robin's jaw drops, he gets the sudden message that he is definitely missing something. He snatches up the magazine and flips it open, somehow not getting to the interview right away although he was sure that he opened it to that page so much that it permanently creased the spine.

Just as he gets to it. There's a loud, persistent knock on the door.

Steve's and Robin's eyes meet in a panic. "Hide the magazine," Robin all but hisses as she makes it to the door raising her voice to say, "We have neighbors! Keep it down, dingus!"

Steve looks around, wondering if he can shove the magazine under the couch, but he knows Eddie would somehow see it in his antics. When he spots the stack of magazines on their side table, he rushes to put the magazine right in the middle of them. Hiding in plain sight. Perfect.

He stands up as soon as the door swings open, trying not to look guilty and failing miserably, only to breathe a sigh of relief when he realizes it's only Dustin. "Henderson," he says with a goofy smile launching into their handshake and ending it with a quick laugh, knocking off Dustin's hat to ruffle his hair.

When Dustin starts complaining about his hat being on the floor, Steve bends down to pick it up, only for a pale, ring-clad hand to grab onto it at the same time Steve does.

Steve glances up and locks eyes with Eddie. His heart starts to pound at an alarming rate as he takes in the familiar deep brown irises, moving on to take in the slight blush on Eddie's cheeks alongside a wide smile. "Steeeve Harrington," Eddie drawls out, the way he does when he hasn't seen him in a while.

"Munson," Steve says with a nod, a wide smile tugging at his lips that he tries to push down, as he always does when it comes to Eddie as if pretending not to care. The same way he does when he's trying to get someone to like him...

Oh.

Shit, he doesn't just think he's hot. He likes him. Hell, he's liked him for a long time even. And now he has even less time to panic about that.

Steve glances up, finding that Eddie has stood up, hat still between their hands as he stares down confusedly at Steve. He offers a hand, and Steve takes it, easily being pulled up into his space. He lingers close to Eddie, eyes dipping down to his lips, realizing how much he wants- needs this.

He glances up at Eddie, finding his pupils blown wide and his brow furrowed. And Steve finally feels that electricity that he's been searching months- no, years for.

"Am I getting my hat back?" Dustin asks, clearly annoyed.

Steve and Eddie both shove the hat over at the same time, eyes reluctantly leaving each other, only for Steve to see Robin giving him an unimpressed look. He can practically see her trying to figure out who she's going to call to spend the night with.

Steve glances back at Eddie and rushes out, "It's- uh, good to see you again."

Eddie grabs a strand of hair and pulls it in front of his face, kicking nothing as he says, "You miss me, Steve?"

Steve shakes his head automatically, "No." He turns to Dustin and asks him when the others are getting there, but his question is answered when the door opens behind them again.

"Do you guys knock?" Robin asks, stealing the words out of Steve's mouth.

"Do you guys lock your door?" Mike snarks back.

Steve sighs and moves to Robin's side, watching as the kids all greet Eddie excitedly. "Why don't they greet us like that?" Steve quietly bitches.

"Because we're not famous and gone all the time," Robin answers with a frown. "By the way, tonight is going totally as I planned."

Steve rolls his eyes. "No, it is not. I have been acting completely normally around him."

"Yeah, because you two have the tendency to eye fuck each other for an uncomfortable amount of time." Robin pauses and considers what she said. "Actually, I take that back. You two are acting completely normal."

"Since when do we-"

"Hey," Eddie says, successfully cutting Steve off, "When the pizzas get here, I'm paying."

Robin nudges Steve in the side after a few seconds pass, and Steve can't help but stare at the man instead of processing anything he said. "Hmm?"

"I'm paying for the pizza you all ordered," Eddie says, brows still furrowed. "Are you okay?"

Steve nods and crosses his arms. "Yes, it's just that we didn't order any pizza."

"But Dustin said..." Eddie trails off and glances at the kids. "Those little shits."

"Someone needs to give them a stern talking to."

Eddie raises his brows. "Are you shirking your co-parenting duties while I'm away?"

Steve huffs out a laugh. "Don't worry, I'm keeping your sheep in line."

Eddie offers him a big smile and leans in to say, "Sorry, I can't be here often, sweetheart."

Steve shoves him away with a roll of his eyes, ignoring the way his heart flutters at the nickname. "Go do your part and entertain them."

"And pay for the food!" Eddie reminds him yet again, walking toward the group, eyes not leaving Steve.

"My hero," Steve says, taking a page from Eddie's book of dramatics by crossing his hands over his heart and fluttering his lashes.

Eddie stops in his tracks, looking over him before shaking his head and going to the table where everyone is setting up.

"That was painful to witness," Robin says, scaring the shit out of Steve. She crosses her arms. "Did you really forget I was here?" When Steve doesn't respond, she walks away, muttering, "Unbelievable."

Steve runs a hand through his hair, willing his heart to slow down before he has to sit through this long-ass campaign - that he secretly really enjoys, but no one except Robin will ever know.

-:-:-:-:-:-

A few hours later, Steve finds himself giving the kids hugs as they rush out his door, nearly missing their curfew. When they make their way to Eddie, he whispers to Robin, "See, the night didn't go as planned at all."

Robin raises her eyebrows at him and whispers back, "Yeah, you're not going to act weird at all when you two are alone."

Steve gives her a panicked look. "What do you mean- you're not leaving are you?"

Robin throws her hands up in a shrug as she backs up into her room, leaving the door open as she very obviously packs an overnight bag. Steve wonders if there is any way to stop her without alerting Eddie.

"What's Buckley doing?" Eddie asks, startling Steve. Eddie reaches out and lays a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay? You've been on edge all night."

Steve nods automatically. "Yeah, I'm fine." And yeah, he is fine. And he has not been on edge at all because that would mean that Robin is right.

Speak of the devil... "I'm heading out tonight! You two have fun," Robin says with a salute. "I'll see you tomorrow." Before Steve or Eddie can stop her, she's already out the door, leaving them entirely alone. Steve doesn't even remember when the kids all left.

"I'm guessing you know what that's about," Eddie says, eyebrows disappearing under his bangs as he stares at the door.

"No idea," Steve replies, making his way back to the dining area to clean up the remaining mess the teens made, and really he was going to have to give them another lecture about cleaning up after themselves.

"Steve," Eddie says softly.

Steve hums in response but doesn't dare to look his way as he stacks up various empty plastic cups.

"Steve," Eddie tries again.

And Steve knows that tone. Knows that if he fully engages, Eddie will want to have a serious conversation which is not something they often do. So he just keeps cleaning until there's nothing left to do except brush imaginary crumbs off the table.

"Steve," Eddie says, voice impossibly close to him.

Steve takes a deep breath and turns to him, heart skipping a beat when he finds Eddie hovering in his space.

"What's going on?" Eddie asks gently.

Steve shakes his head and runs a hand through his hair. "Nothing." He quickly moves away from Eddie, grabbing a napkin off one of the kitchen counters and tossing it into the trash on his way to the living room.

"Why are you acting weird?"

"I'm not," Steve says, resting his hands on his hips in the same way he does when the kids start to annoy him.

Eddie raises his eyebrows and crosses his arms, staring but not saying anything.

Steve stares back, jutting his hip out in a show of how adamant he is about his answer.

After a few tense seconds pass by, Eddie slowly walks closer to him, and Steve fights for his eyes to not flicker down to his lips. When Eddie is within arms reach, he leans forward. "Steve, what is wrong?"

Steve shrugs nonchalantly, but his eyes betray him and flicker to the stack of magazines beside the couch. He tries to keep his features carefully blank, but he sees the moment Eddie realizes there is something significant about that glance.

Before Steve can stop him, Eddie is diving down to the magazines, snatching up the whole stack in his arms. Steve moves forward to grab them, only to realize his error when Eddie scoots back and smiles wildly. "This is it, isn't it? What, did you hide a filthy magazine inside here or something?"

"Eddie..." Steve warns, standing above him, hands still on his hips.

Eddie smiles before turning his eyes to the stack and leafing through them. Steve moves down quickly, knocking the magazines out of his hands as he practically straddles Eddie. He stares down at him, eyes wide, about to move back when he notices Eddie's eyes resting on his stomach.

Steve glances down between them only to see the image of Eddie on the front cover staring back at him.

"Shit, I didn't know they released that yet," Eddie says, laying fully back, hands dragging over his face. He lets them rest there before spreading his fingers to ask, "You read the interview, didn't you?"

"No," Steve says honestly.

Eddie frowns and props himself up on his elbows. "When did you get this?"

"Wednesday." And curse his damn mouth for rambling without his permission.

"You got this two days ago but haven't read the interview?" Eddie's expression shifts from fearful to cocky. "Steve Harrington, did you buy this just to stare at me?"

"No," Steve says, crossing his arms.

Eddie sits up fully, and Steve becomes very aware of the way he's still sitting on top of Eddie's thighs. "Did you get all flustered about this?" Eddie asks, holding up the magazine teasingly.

Steve's eyes flicker to the front cover again, and his lips suddenly feel very dry. His tongue darts out to wet his lips. He glances back at Eddie and shrugs. "You look fine."

"Has anyone ever told you you're a bad liar?"

"Has anyone ever told you you need to get your ego in check?"

Eddie smirks at him. "Why would I need to do that when I know Steeeeve Harrington bought the magazine with my face on it?"

"Stop saying my name like that," Steve says, leaning forward trying to be menacing, but only satisfying Eddie by getting closer to him.

"Why? Steeev-" Eddie's cut off when Steve suddenly moves forward and kisses him, hands flying up into his curls to pull him closer.

Steve stills before pulling back, searching Eddie's eyes.

"You...?" Eddie asks before raking a hand through his hair. "You actually bought it to stare at me?"

Steve rolls his eyes. "You already knew that since I'm 'such a bad liar,'" Steve says adding air quotes.

"I was hoping you were. Christ, Steve, this?" Eddie asks, holding up the magazine.

Steve runs a hand through his hair. "You look hot!"

"Christ," Eddie says again, this time dropping the magazine to pull Steve into another kiss. He breaks it to mumble, "I can't believe you haven't read the damn interview." His hands run through Steve's hair messing up the strands before he pulls back suddenly. "Wait."

"Yeah?" Steve asks as Eddie's eyes practically glaze over in panic.

Eddie's chest heaves for a second before he says, "Fuck, you bought it because you thought I'm hot not because... fuck." He looks away from Steve and stares down at the magazine as if it personally offended him.

"Huh?" Steve asks, knees starting to ache on the hardwood floor. He climbs off of Eddie with a groan, but Eddie must take it wrong because he almost immediately stands up.

"Sorry, it's stupid," Eddie says with a humorless laugh. "Hey, do you think Buckley will be upset if I take her bed for the night? It's been a long day, and I'm about ready to clonk out."

Steve can feel his face morph into an expression of bewilderment. "Eddie, what?"

Eddie shakes his head. "Yeah, you're right. Dumb idea. Robin would kill me. I'll take the couch like usual."

Steve carefully stands and steps into Eddie's space, but Eddie sidesteps him easily. He watches as he flops down on the couch, refusing to look at him.

Steve's eyes settle back on the magazine, reaching down to grab it to find whatever the hell is in that interview.

"Steve, please don't."

Steve ignores Eddie the same way he ignored him, opening the magazine to the same page his eyes have landed on several times before. His eyes settle on the image of Eddie before moving to the words, skimming before he finds his own name staring back at him. He backtracks, looking at the question and answer.

Do you guys have any sources of inspiration?

Jeff: Oh, Eddie sure does.

Frank: He has what you might call a muse back at home.

Eddie: Please shut up.

Gareth: A beautiful muse with the most beautiful hair you've ever seen.

Eddie: Please stop talking about Stevie.

Jeff: He's just shy when it comes to his little crush.

Eddie: Next question, please.

Steve glances up at Eddie who sits red-faced on the couch. He clears his throat. "They told me they would cut it out entirely, but then they reached out later saying it was too good not to publish, but they did me the favor of changing your name to something more feminine so they didn't out me. Still fucked though. I'm sorry you got pulled into this mess."

Steve looks back at the magazine and then at Eddie. "Is it true?"

Eddie groans and lays back on the couch dramatically. "Please don't make me answer that. I've gotten enough shit from the guys, and I know you don't feel that way about me. It's okay that you only find me hot, I'll take what I can."

It hits Steve all at once what Eddie's sudden dramatics are about. "Oh my god. Eddie, I like you, too!"

Eddie's head pops up. "What?"

Steve turns the magazine to him and points at the picture of Eddie laughing. "This is what I've been so flustered and weird about. Yes, the front cover made me realize that, hey, I find you really attractive. But I've been staring at this picture for way longer, and I didn't know why until you got here tonight. And it hit me that I like you. I think I have for a long time, but I just didn't connect the dots before."

"You like me?" Eddie echos, dumbfounded.

Steve laughs. "Yes, I wouldn't have kissed you if I didn't have feelings for you."

"That's a fucking relief," Eddie says, scrambling off the couch and racing to pull Steve into another kiss.

Steve smiles into the kiss, pulling Eddie as close to him as possible as Eddie attempts to do the same.

"I'm going to give that photographer the biggest tip ever," Eddie says breaking the kiss for a moment only to kiss him again.

Steve smiles so wide that he can barely kiss Eddie back. When they break away, Steve says, "I'm going to have to buy another."

"Why?"

"I have to get the front picture and the interview framed," Steve says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Of course," Eddie says with a laugh before wrapping his arms around Steve and pulling him in close. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too," Steve replies.

They hold each other for a while, not willing to break the moment until a sudden thought has Steve groaning.

"What?" Eddie asks, pulling back to look at him.

"Robin was right."

Eddie smiles. "When is she not?"

"Never," Steve answers simply.

They stand in each other's arms just happy to be so close, taking each other in as if it's for the first time. Steve wonders what to tell the Wednesday regulars and how they'd respond if he introduced Eddie to them. He thinks back to Lisa's comments about how the group should just date each other and how Sarah had responded with a little too much enthusiasm, and Steve thinks things will be just fine.

"What are you thinking about?"

Steve shakes his head with a smile. "What are you doing this Wednesday?" he asks, making a mental note to add two frames, another magazine, and Robin's favorite ice cream to the list.

"Anything you want," Eddie replies easily.

And with that, Steve finds himself looking forward to his Wednesday afternoon even more than usual.

#steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #stranger things #steddie ficlet #steddie fic #robin buckley

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thirteenthdoor · 20 days ago

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Okay, so that's the keys and their locks sorted, but what about the doors themselves?

This is another place where the designers obviously put so much time and effort into design and creation of actual physical props, and the final product often never makes it fully into a single shot. So here with go, with the aid of some helpful screenshots!

The first door that appears to Lin Qiushi on the street is the Illusory Life door. We'll (sort of) see that one again.

The Snow Village door is an appropriately rustic wood door. The dark of the tunnel means there's never a good clear shot of it; the best light comes from the second between when Lin Qiushi starts to open it and when the bright light behind it washes it out. The twisted metal that looks like tree branches reminds me of the barbed wire around the family photo.

The Fitcher's Bird door is another door that never gets a full, good, well-lit shot. I love the contrast between this angry metal door and its cute little heart lock.

These first two door world doors are push doors -- by which I mean, you unlock them and then push them into the brightly lit void. Most of the other doors open when pulled, but these first two have to be pushed.

By contrast to how badly lit and framed the previous two doors are, we get a real good look at the Sister Drum door from several angles, including watching it emerge, semi-vaginally, from the drum and seeing its inside -- which looks just like the outside. I'd almost think they just flipped the door and used the outside as the inside, but no! You can see the bolts where they affixed the handle! So some clever craftsperson bothered to decorate both sides of this lovely metal-looking pull door in a mirror image.

There's a small interlude here for Tan Zaozao's wooden door that we don't get to see them escort her through. This is another pull door that looks the same on both sides.

Somebody must have loved the silver Sako door a whole lot, because that's the central door in the first shot of the show's opening credits. It's another pull door mirrored inside and out, complete with a handle on the outer side of the door. It's not the only one with a handle on the outside, either, which raises some interesting questions.

There is just no good shot of the metal Waverly Hills door. It's all but completely shadowed and appears onscreen for a whole five seconds (not an exaggeration). However, we know what the design is, because it's the Art-Deco-looking door all the way to the right in that initial door lineup. It's also one of the few push doors!

The wooden Woman in the Rain door is a pull door, enough so that we actually get a better look at it from the inside than from the outside. It's also the only world that has substantial shots framed through the other side of the door, which I guess makes sense, considering how small and ill-lit the actual landing is. It has a little brass lion head handle on both sides.

Also, I know it's hard to tell from the shots I have here, but this is another case where both sides of the door are mirrored, down to the part where, from inside the door, only the top left side has a little ornamental scroll on it -- and it's reversed when opened. That's quite an attention to detail.

The wooden River God door is another mirrored pull door, and another one where the design is clearest when the door is opened. I'm glad that we get a good shot of it, because it's so pretty.

The Sunny Doll door is almost disappointingly boring. Its design so closely matches the design on all the other doors in the building that I have to assume this was just the actual door that was there in the wall when they arrived to start filming, so they went with it instead of building a new one. While most of the doors match the general aesthetic of the rest of their worlds, nothing else matches like that.

There's a cool tree-themed door in Cheng Yixie's unspecified door world in episode 31. Hard to say which way it opens, as we don't actually see him go through it. I don't see any hinges, though, so I guess we push!

The spiral-painted Hako Onna door is unique for a number of reasons. For starters, it's the only door we see at the start of the world, as Lin Qiushi enters. Everywhere else, our players just sort of appear from nowhere, but here, he's got an actual starting point. And I'd say this does kind of answer my unstated questions about having handles on both sides of the door, except ... no, it doesn't! Both ways it gets entered here, the person entering has to pull to open it! Okay, I'm still confused.

Along with the Sister Drum door, it's the one of the few doors that gets a big CG appearance on the way out. The chests in the center fountain fade away, revealing it in a suitably flashy manner. It's also the only door we see from from the back side as people are going through it.

And finally, in tandem, the Illusory Life and Authentic Death doors, helpfully labeled presumably because coder bros are sometimes not good at picking up literary metaphors. Both of them are pull doors.

What's wild to me is that that is not the Illusory Life door from the first episode. It's not even just that they're different colors -- you could explain that away with lighting and color grading. They are actually different doors. They obviously were built according to the same basic design, but the sticks and leaves are placed differently enough that it's clear they don't match.

Now, given a) how the door in the gaming cafe is a pull door, but the frame makes the door on the street (which we never see open) look like a push door, and b) the pattern we have established of doors being decorated on both sides, it is 100% possible that these are the same physical object, but two different sides of it. That's an explanation from a production standpoint, though. Whatever tinfoil hattery you want to get up to with this information, you go for it.

Bonus! In the last episode, when we're pulling the whole Wizard of Oz ending of things, Wu Qi shows the version of the Spirealm he's familiar with -- which features adorable little drawings of Lin Qiushi, Ruan Nanzhu (with his hair parted on the wrong side), Toast, Chestnut, and the Snow Village door! Friends on an adventure!

#the spirealm #致命游戏 #i made this

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leahnardo-da-veggie · 8 months ago

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Snippets- Bad End

So i wrote an epilogue for Mind of a Mercenary, but the story's gone a different direction. But have this! It's set 50 years after the novel, when Luna's released from her indenture!

Gods, I was an old woman. My hair had gone silver, the springy curls mellowing to scraggly clumps. Lines marked me until I was more wrinkle and blemish than face. But I was free, and that was what mattered.

I had lied, straightfaced and most extravagantly, to the interviewers. I said I regretted my past actions, and my stint as a mercenary showed me the importance of the magical world being policed, and that I was going to dedicate the remainder of my life to following the lessons I had learnt from my indenturement. (That last bit was not a lie. I had a great deal of lessons I was going to follow; they just weren't the right ones.)

Honestly, the way they gobbled up my bald-faced falsehoods made me rather sad. I had a great deal of affection for the Mages' Union, and to see them be so pitifully easy to manipulate hurt my heart. Thankfully, I didn't have enough of a heart to tell them so.

They released me with a clap on the back, a medal for defending Nyctomachia (as if I had a choice), and a generous pension. I had no use for any of it. After all, I was going right back to my old ways. The world needed more psychotic hive-mind cults, and I was more than willing to provide.

I breezed out the door (actually, more hobbled, for my legs had long since lost their ability to breeze), stopping only long enough to laugh at Chris and Merida for still being stuck in there. Then I was free. Well, mostly free. I had one final loose end to tie up.

I shuffled into the hospital, leaning just a bit too much on my cane. The receptionist, bored and beautiful, looked up. “Visiting hours are over,” she told me. “Go home.”

I smiled and snuck a tendril of magic into her. _Obey,_ I commanded. _Let me through. I am an old lady visiting her deathly ill spouse. When people ask, say you had a crisis of conscience and had to let me see him._ “I need to see my husband,” I quavered in my best ‘helpless old lady' tones.

The woman nodded slowly. “Of course,” she said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “What's his name?”

I didn't bother responding, simply taking control of her body. Her fingers clacked on the keyboards, and I found my destination quickly. The geriatric ward, room 11D.

I crafted myself a quick disguise, so that anyone who passed would see a tall, redheaded beauty in doctor's scrubs. This time, I didn't allow technology to get the better of me. No, my time in the Mages' Union had taught me better. I took control of a security guard and made him destroy every CCTV in my vicinity, then erase the recordings. Sure, he would lose his job, but I had plans and they would not be interrupted by pesky technology.

I swung open the door to room 11D. A wrinkled, shrivelled old man lay in the bed, eyes closed. He had to be over a hundred by now, I thought. The years had worn on him, and even the finest chronomancy could not de-age someone. He opened his rheumy eyes as I approached. “Miss Delacroix,” he croaked.

“Pullman,” I said, smirking. “I do believe I made you a promise.”

There was no fear in him when I said that, though I knew he remembered the incident. “Yes. I take it you…” He took a deep breath, as though the interaction was taxing him. “You have not changed.”

“Nope,” I said cheerfully. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat.” I meant it, of course. A lifetime of doing good and catching baddies had done nothing to improve my intrinsic moral compass. I had simply bided my time, making note of every error my victims (I enjoyed thinking of them as victims) made that got them caught. I knew enough about the inner workings of Nyctomachia to write a book about it.

He saw it in my eyes and my smile, and sighed. “A leopard never sheds its spots. I had rooted for you, you know. It was I who said you ought to be indentured. The others wanted you dead. I thought… I thought you were a victim of bad circumstances, that the world had forced you into a life of crime. I see now that I was wrong.”

I smoothed back the hair on his head. “You were,” I assured him. “You were oh so very wrong. It's a shame I had to wait so long to have you in my grasp. But I'll make your last moments count. Any last words?”

He looked at me. It was a Look, fully deserving of its own capitalisation. He Looked into my eyes soulfully, and I saw, with my mind-gaze, the way he saw me. He pitied me, even in the face of certain agony. He had wanted to make a difference at any cost, and he knew he had gone too far sometimes, and he knew he had hurt innocents with his hard-handedness, but he knew that at least he had not been me.

And that stung, more than the insults or indignities or hatred I'd ever faced. It stung to look into his soul and know that in the end, he was more worthy than I. He would go to the grave broken, but he would hold that knowledge to his heart until the very end. And I would hold that knowledge until my end too. “I'm sorry,” he whispered hoarsely. “I'm sorry I couldn't save you.”

I felt my shrivelled, half-dead soul crumple in my hands. But I'd had a lifetime of pushing my conscience away, and I did so now. “The gods will condemn me for this, I know. They will cast me into the deepest, darkest hells to suffer for all eternity,” I told him, shaking my head. For a brief moment I thought of letting him go.

“But there is no-one to judge me, for the gods are dead. I made sure of that myself.”

#Hehehehe she's peak evil here #novel writing #writeblr #writing #my writing #creative writing #writerscommunity #writing community #fantasy #short story #snippet of my novel #writing a novel #Novel epilogue

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urlocalnonbinarybastardwrites · 5 months ago

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hiii so i put in a request for the matching thing but you didn’t respond to it so im guessing i didn’t put enough info which i completey understand!!! very sorry about that, i hope ur still doing these requests if not i deeply apologize. anyway pls take ur time so so sorry!!

i’d also like to be matched with someone in pjo pls!

personal info ? 15 yrs old, i’m a girl, she/her(truly idc), bisexual, half mexican (white dad…)

physical: i have medium length wavy brown hair with grown out bangs, im 5’4 average weight, pretty tan, brown eyes, silver circle glasses, i wear smudgy eyeliner w/mascara, i either wear tank tops with big pants or big t shirt with shorts

personality: i’m honestly very weird with the people im close with, like very. i have brainrot humor so im always saying weird ass shit acting like it’s normal. i’m also very sarcastic and if im not very close with someone i give them like 0 reaction i guess? idk ppl tell me im nonchalant but that sounds rlly corny 😬 anyway im very embarrassing in public when im with my friends and they hate it but i think its funny idc!! im also pretty moody but im just a teenage girl!!!!!!! i dont get mad that easily tho like i can take a joke i just get ANNOYED easily but then ill be fine in a few minutes. also ppl tell me im very funny so 😇 meat riding myself YES IM A NO SABO KID I AM TRYING TO LEARN SOANISH.

hobbies/intrests: love love love listening to music, love tv girl, tyler, mitski, arctic monkeys, the smiths, depeche mode, the cure, lana, tame impala, beabadoobee and so many other generes and artists but i only know like 2 songs 😬

i also had a severe fnaf phase, avatar the last airbender, spiderverse, saiki, and obvi percy jackson

currently OBSESSED with slushy noobz they are my whole personality they are how i act. along with avascreams on tiktok ive literally had 6 different ppl tell me “you know that one girl on tiktok?? you act just like her” IM TRILY NOT EVEN TRYING TO ACT LIKE HER I SWEAR. also love sam and colby i full heartedly believe in ghosts just watch ima become a ghost hunter 😊😊

as of right now my hobbies are playing stardew valley and never getting my homework done, i also love to draw but im not very good at it. i also love painting but i haven’t done it in a while bc of school :(( i take piano lessons as well but again, not very good even after 5 years. i rlly like reading too but again bc of school i haven’t read as much lately, love playing with my pets (dog and cat) they’re so cute i love animals so so much i want more but yknow im busy, ive also gotten into working out bc im tryna lose this face fat🫥

likes: love carnival rides!!!! they’re so fun i love the fair SO MUCH. beautiful atmosphere truly. the zipper is so fun don’t let anyone lie to you. nature, i love going on walks in the woods but i can’t bc i don’t live near any😔 food i love food, korean, mexican, american, japanese, i love it all. english class! teacher is so sweet i love her and its also easy and boring so

dislikes: six flags. i hate roller coasters. annoying ppl like bruh stfu up OH MY GOD. when my mom asks me about college, leave me alone pls!

okay i truly don’t know what else to put i hope this was enough 😓😓

-faith 👐

Hey Faith, I am so so sorry that this took incredibly long to complete. I’ve been insanely busy these few months and lots of personal stuff going on so I really hope that this does it justice! And also also don’t be sorry I’m really sorry that this took so long

Your PJO ship: Leo Valdez 🔥🔥🔥 (man I’m jealous)

Explanation: honestly the best way I can explain this is that you’re crazy totally matches his crazy. Your freak matches his freak. is somebody gonna match my freak? Yes, someone will match your freak and that person is Leo. Starting off with your physical appearance, I think that he would be very attracted to you and I think you give a vague match of his mom like I feel like you look like his mom a little little bit, which is what kind of drew him to you in the first place I feel like he probably saw you in a crowd and his jaw dropped. He just thought that you were your clothing style. He also liked your eyeliner which he had you do on him whenever you guys got comfortable enough in the relationship he was like hey can I please have your make up routine done on me? He looked rlly hot but anyway- you guys are just so chaotic together with your personality like you match him so well I feel like Leo in order to make a relationship work with him. He needs to have someone that’s either vastly different than him or the same because I mean, I just see you guys as Deadpool and Vanessa, you guys so chaotic in public you guys would do so much embarrassing shit together and social anxiety would be afraid of both of you combined, a deadly duo. Whenever you were first getting to know each other, and you were more relaxed and chill around him less if you’re crazy with showing, that’s what kind of Drew him like he thought that your dynamic could be that you would kind of be more opposites, but then he slowly realize that you were just as fucking goofy and silly as him, and he would have a blast with you as you guys got further on into your even like just friendship that eventually turn into romance. You guys always have the funniest times together like I’m not joking. You guys would be the couple to go out with if you wanted a good time because you guys just yeah you’re chaotic and glorious and also really freaking funny and I mean yeah. (I would also like to let you know to do a deeper dive into your personality. I did research some of the people you mentioned that you were compared to and watched some of their videos and subjected myself to the painful amount of puns and batshit crazy, honestly I’m pretty impressed if people are comparing you) as for your hobbies, he would love playing Stardew Valley and I feel like he would romance. Sebastian don’t ask me why, but I just feel like he would. He would totally want Sebastian as I don’t know why OK I really don’t. I really don’t but anyway that’s just my personal theory. But he would love playing Stardew with you. He’s also a procrastinator when it comes to homework and work and taking things seriously in general so you guys would be quite the interesting duo and I feel like U2 would just end up making out during study date so if you want someone to study with? He’s probably not the best person. Also, I think that he would love your art and would be absolutely obsessed. If you ever did any artwork of him or just inspired by him like he would love that he would frame that shit he would brag to everyone about how good you are and same goes with piano he’s obsessed even if you think you weren’t very good after five years of playing he thinks you’re magnificent. It took everything in him to not compare you to Apollo because he knew that that would probably get you like blasted into the sky or something, but he just thinks anything that comes from you is good basically. That’s Leo Math.

You + Anything= Good.

He can never read very much because of his ADHD. I just feel like he would lose interest in books really easily unless they’re really exciting or exactly what he’s being into at this point, so I feel like he would get the being too busy to read. He also loves animals. He would absolutely snuggle all the pets in the world. I feel like he just loves animals. I feel like he especially loves dogs because they match his energy and he’s definitely like a golden retriever guy or maybe a Chihuahua guy one of them anyway dogs are very Leo core. Also, he thinks your chubby face is cute, and while he promotes working out for the healthiness of it, he thinks you have the wrong motivation if you want to get rid of that cute squeezable cheeks. (Multiple cheeks if ykwim) he also loves carnival rides and he’s a huge foodie so if you ever went out to him, you guys would end up eating more than your stomachs and belts can handle I mean yeah you guys would just be done if you ever went out to eat because he would order so much food and then I feel like because of his ADHD he’d be midway eating through another thing and then see other stand and be like babe. We gotta go there next. basically you guys would be extremely full. He also likes nature walks. I think that he kind of just likes the dirt of it because he’s definitely not afraid to get dirty and he loves just poking around nature I mean, I honestly that’s how I see him going on hikes like he’d pick up slugs, he do all kinds of like gross stuff. People normally wouldn’t do like I don’t know, letting a worm crawl on his arm or something. anyway you guys totally match each other crazy and match each other’s freak yes just like the song, and I really ship it 💕💓💗💞💗💞

#leo valdez x reader #Leo Valdez #leo valdez x you #hoo #hoo pjo toa #hoo Leo #Leo hoo

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fictionfixations · 8 months ago

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saving for general lilia

Spoilers for book 5. i talk about it

was reading the remaining vignettes i have that i never got to to earn as many gems for lilia's banner (im assuming it'll be at least after or on the 6th? cause that's epel's birthday iirc and based on how it was ordered in the 'whats happening in may' thing, that means he and the book 7 update are probably after epel. either after epel or at the same time as epel.)

i dont have that many vignettes so ill probably end up using the few thaumarks i have (i keep running out of thaumarks sob. i have the thing that gives EXP and the vignette exp in dozens but thaumarks are just like 'nahh') to get a bunch of characters' vignette levels up so i can read their vignettes too

and probably do the remaining twistunes i havent. which i havent really done the white rabbit fest twistunes so thats that

and then figuring out which study partner is the closest to finishing all tasks so i can get those gems too

oh and missions too ig which i know theres one for leveling characters to [] and groovifying. because thats what i did when i was trying to get another card. which i regret because it. wasnt even a favorite. but id already committed because i wasnt gonna get those pulls back so i just. kept going.

id probably have so many more pulls if i just. didnt do that.

fhsudifhs

so anyway

(Floyd Labwear) look at him he looks so cute all happy like that

(Silver Labwear) Kalim??? this is not to say that i think kalim has something that makes him sleepy like silver. but i like to be a believer that kalims smarter than he appears to be (but he also has a certain worldview that makes him seem oblivious or dumb. he likes to see the silver lining. but he was also the one in book five to notice vil was going to do something (aka poison neige), because he 'saw a look on vil's face that reminded him of jamil back when...' and im running with that). and ive seen a headcanon of Kalim having dyslexia but nobody really noticed so he always just kinda felt like he was dumb for not getting it when it wasnt his fault. which. i am also running with that. i mean it could totally be because its just this huge block of text thats boring just trying to read it. but still.

oh silver... (dont think about it. they literally thought epel was a spoiled rich boy in like his own labwear vignette i think, just because of how he looks. i wouldnt put much stock in peoples opinions.)

i kind of wonder how silver became a guard or whatever (or will be one. cant remember which it was) for malleus if they can hit at any time. but also malleus doesnt actually need to be protected, so like...

noo precious :(((( (silver. i have something to tell you. doctors can be wrong. and there can also be things that doctors have never discovered.)

his eyes are so prettyyy

anyway im not having high hopes of getting him. (im also gonna get like the key from the. the. the. shop. i dont remember which shop it was but im getting the points to also get that. so thats 40 pulls. and then. then then. i f orgot what a one pull is. uh its 30 i think. so so 48 pulls. ...thats not too many. and im going to pray i get lucky. and if i dont, well tough luck theres no way im gonna muster up 52 pulls out of thin air.)

#lilia vanrouge #twst silver #silver twst #twst vignettes #twst #twisted wonderland #thoughts #twst wonderland

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fireblcded · 8 months ago

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𓏲ּ ֶָ 𝑤𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑠𝒕𝒗 ⁝ milly alcock, 25, cis woman, she&her. announcing the arrival of VISERRA of house TARGARYEN, the PRINCESS of WESTEROS. whispers among the court name them to be both SPIRITED and IMPULSIVE in disposition, and those closest to them speak to their interests in dancing. if we bards could compose a song for them, it might tell stories of whispers and laughter across the hall, sparks from a fire dancing in the air, messy braids coming undone, the chaos of a lively city, secrets held close to one's heart. the seven whisper to their most devout queen as she sleeps, making her question where their loyalties truly lie. are they right to whisper? for their loyalties truly lie with THE TARGARYENS.

I . DOSSIER

full name : viserra targaryen .

nicknames: serra, vi .

date of birth: seventh day of the sixth month .

languages spoken: high valyrian, common tongue .

place of birth: dragonstone, westeros .

sexuality: bisexual .

II . FAMILY BASICS

parents: queen rhaena targaryen, 65 & king consort leyton hightower, 68

siblings: prince rhaeys targaryen ( 37, older brother ), prince auron targaryen ( 32, older brother ), prince-septon aemon targaryen ( 31, older brother ), princess daenaera targaryen ( 28, older sister ), prince calyx targaryen ( 27, older brother )

III . APPEARANCE & PERSONALITY

height: 5'4 / 162cm .

hair & eye color: silver-gold & dark violet .

mbti: esfp .

astrology: gemini sun, sagittarius moon, aries rising .

IV . NARRATIVE

the youngest of queen rhaena's children and one of her most difficult pregnancies, viserra was the seventh child, born on the seventh day of the month, the event drenched in religious symbolism. some of viserra's first memories are in the sept of baelor or at the red keep, with the septa doting over her, making her recite the same passage from the seven-pointed star over and over again until she had memorized it. oh, how she hated it. viserra would learn the importance of putting up a good front when her septa caught her burning one of the pages of the books and reported it to the queen. something had changed that day, and although queen rhaena never said it out loud, she never quite looked at youngest daughter the same. there is something deeply wrong with you.

the worst thing princess viserra can be, in her own opinion, is bored. life is one big feast for her and she always seeking stimulation and the next best thing to keep her attention. she holds little interest in politics and her days of serving as a cupbearer for the small council were always dreadful. affable and gregarious, she is easy to get along with, but it is not easy to keep her attention or get her to consider your feelings or well-being, for she is selfish at her core, even if it is unintenionally at times. most of the time she has no ill intentions.

V . WANTED CONNECTIONS

childhood friends: people she's known her entire life or met when she was a kid, what she'd call her best friends, the people who know her best.

friends : wide variety of people she's befriended.

enemies: queen of unintentionally making enemies bc she's inconsiderate af towards others

partner in crime

</3 : that one first love that ended up badly / very messily and they now hate each other

#westeros.intro

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lotuslol · 2 years ago

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Mental illness from a Christian prespetive (I have been through some things...)

I am returning from the hellhole called "pure-OCD"... again, which I never imagined I would fall into again but I tripped into a side road I never discovered in it (I was so surprised this could ever happen...) so I will give my 2 cents to all the opinions that I decided to listen to out of "giving the benefit of the doubt", to people who obviously didn't go through my experiences and claim silly things about mental illness:

Mental illness isn't humbling, it's dehumaizing, there is a huge difference between choosing to be humble and view all humans as equals and being reduced to pieces of yourself so bad you biggest dream is to just return back human.

I have had my worst impulse control under this last episode more than anytime of my life, so mental illness doesn't get you to heaven, it just makes it harder

Anyone of you fellow Christians suffering from mental illness? I assure you that seasoned monks and nuns can't bear a week of what you are bearning, and I have 2 funny stories to tell about it but that's not the aim of that post.

"God allows bad things so we can grow" whoever said these words probably had an abusive parent figure who justified every harsh action to be for the good of their kids. Listen, we live in existence, which means we will go through pain. It is inevidable, and God didn't beat around the bush or promise us no pain, God pomised us power despite the pain. But to justify the existence of pain as a lesson giver and a purifier is a philosophy as old as the "let them bleed so they heal from illness" medicine, and as useful as it.

From my short experiences in life I can assure anyone that pain never purified anything or anyone, the true purifier is love. We live in a world heavy with pain, why it never purified? Because it severely lacks in love!

What painful experiences give us is just that, experience. If your heart is in the right place and full of love, with this experience you can be a wonder-worker to other people and a kind soothing presence to their pains. If yout heart is in the wrong place or lacks in love, this experience can be severely deadly no matter how many sermons swear by purifying sliver. Silver purified to make a fancy knife to kill people is not ideal use of purified silver.

Love can turn worlds upside down, love can change hearts to their best of selves. True wise love can get the best out of you and make it shine to everyone. Love makes you heal faster and patient through hell and back as you heal. Heck, GOD IS LOVE for God's sake! Then the only truly Godly thing is love, not pain!

People glorify the Cross in the salvation plan, but had there been neither resseruction nor love behind bearing the pain, it would have just been another page in history's painful events.

Cross bearing...where do I even start. Some people have this twisted idea about cross bearing that glorifies pain. A woman bearing her husband's beating out of love is not cross-bearing, it's a woman stuck in a domestic violence situation she can't avoid so she found solace in the crumbs of existence. Heck, a renown saint (an old lady who served the poor) in my country had an interview where, when she remembered her abuse days, she became remorseful under her breath and fell silent. When people talk about her life they glorify how much she prayed and bore her husband's beatings while praying for him, but none saw her drop silent when she remembered her abuse.

We live in a society that turns noses as a young lady wearing red lipstick, but can't utter a word at a beating husband. They can form masses at a righteous rebel to be silent but kiss the feet of the president (that's a figure of speech) despite his obvious mockery. Which shows how much our society feels so helpless they take their frustration on the weak, or worse as my brother says, they benefit from the system so they don't oppose it. This same society can stand between a lady and her sexual harasser saying "leave him, he is crazy!" while she is crying hysterically wanting to show him justice (and she did, she and her friends and a stranger woman who decided to help took him to the nearest police station and justice was served!). In short, the pain glorification and victiom blaming are symptoms of a society that feels helpless about pain.

Sadly, I am a wall-flower and recovering from my mental illness episode, so I neither have the spirit nor the energy to face people in real life with all this so I keep silent and judge in secret (or be forced to write in tumblr despite usually being a silent lurker but augh times change)

Well, these were 10 cents not 2 but thanks for coming to my tedtalk!

Bye!

#mental health #mental illness #pure ocd #christian #God #godislove #god is love

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b-afterhours · 1 year ago

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Avenue of Sins: Neon

A sequel to Avenue of Sins

SUMMARY: ‘90s. It’s the aftermath. Jaded, Bill and Alma navigate their new lives as they try to drag themselves out of the dark debaucherous trenches they had once ensnared themselves in. It’s easy to forget their evils when a silver lining introduces itself into their lives but can they create a less hedonistic life that would be just as satisfying?

WARNINGS: adult content, mature readers only.

The completed first series can be read and found here.

Chapter Eight

February 1993

Bill looked around the small apartment filled with a dozen rose bouquets he had delivered to her home for Valentine's Day a few days prior. He had worked on Valentine's as it was a popular and busy night at the club but he had left earlier than usual to watch Simion’s boxing match. While Alma still held onto him she looked up and by the look on his face, he seemed fatigued from the travel. Being tall he could see above the couch's backrest and saw Echo napping hard and splayed out with her arms above her head.

The juxtaposition between his penthouse and Alma’s apartment always rattled him every time he visited. Together they lived in nice apartments in NYC but never stayed long enough to personalize it. Alma’s apartment wasn’t a terrible place to live by any means, it was perfect for herself and Echo. Though besides the couches and everything in Echo’s nursery, almost everything looked second hand and they most likely were. He had access to one of two of her bank accounts and noticed her monthly statements were average, maybe even less than that sometimes. She probably only used it for groceries and bills. The only big purchase he ever noticed was when she bought her used Jeep. The other bank account she had she most likely used whenever she needed things for Echo to keep him in the dark until she was ready. She never seemed to touch their joint offshore accounts even though she could access them without a hassle or permission.

He just found it odd sometimes but he understood that a seemingly single mother working at a record shop shouldn’t live beyond the means of that metric. Compared to Strathburg living she was doing very well in the facade she had built for herself in Seattle. The life Bill had built in New York was simply unfathomable to those back home though. Besides that, he liked where she lived, the sleepy neighborhood looked good and boring and all her neighbors were old and retired women. The landlady lived just on the other side of the wall in the four-apartment building and while she liked to lease to retirees she took a chance on a young mother and her infant child. He knew she lived in a studio before finding this place and he always wondered what that was like.

“Why didn’t you call? I was going to pick you up?” Alma said to him.

“I know… I just didn’t feel like waiting around anymore after that bullshit delay,” he said, turning to pick up his duffle bag he had dropped by the door.

“You only brought one bag?”

“My luggage is in the trunk of the rental. I’ll get it later,” he took her hand and walked around the couch to admire his sleeping daughter. She looked like she had gotten so much bigger in the weeks he hadn’t seen her. “Is she feeling better?” He asked leaning down to touch a short lock of her golden hair.

Echo had a bad cold the week prior that Alma suspected she had gotten from another child from their library visits. She hardly slept to ensure that her daughter wasn’t stuffed up with snot, which hindered her breathing in her slumber.

“A lot better,” she assured him. “But she’s still a little foggy, she’s been sleeping hard still like she is right now,” Alma remembered telling him she wasn’t well over the phone and he sounded a bit mad about it. Not at Alma but at the germ that even dared to make his child ill. “You’re here though she’ll be back to her normal self,” she smiled.

She let Bill help himself to her shower and bedroom while she stayed in the living room with their daughter to give him some space. He always felt dirty and dehydrated after flying and a scalding shower was one of the first things he wanted when he arrived at his destination.

Bill left the shower holding onto a towel around his waist and went down the hall where Alma would lay her head. He dug through his duffle bag for a pair of boxers and deodorant to put on and then sat down next to it on the bed before pushing it off. He laid back on the queen-sized bed and sighed loudly as his muscles eased after having been cramped in a plane seat. While her bed was smaller compared to his king-sized one, it definitely felt cozier. It was plush with more pillows than just one person would need. The quilt bedding and frilly pillow shams were all lilac. Much more girly and even more inviting compared to the sleek silk bedding situation he had going on. Even the scent in the room was lovely like lavender and vanilla and a hint of rose from the bouquets permeating the living area. Luckily, he could feel his headache melting away as he finally felt he could relax.

As he dressed himself, he noticed her nightstand which was by her usual side of the bed when he visited. On top of it were her glasses, several black hair ties, a banana clip, and a framed photo of them standing before Bianca’s Christmas tree prom posing. He sat down on the bed after pulling on his sweatpants and picked it up to look at it closely. He always liked how they looked together but more so how he looked and felt with her. He found her to be so much more pleasing to look at than he felt about himself sometimes. Gently, he set the photo down and on impulse quickly pulled open her nightstand drawer. Inside, were lotions and night creams, nail files and nail polishes, and forgotten receipts. He picked up a round light blue plastic case the size of a powder compact and opened it, it was Alma’s birth control pills and he saw that day's pill had been taken. He set it back down when he noticed in the very back of the drawer was a short pink device about the width of a finger and grabbed it. He knew exactly what it was and he smirked. On accident he turned the vibrator bullet on, startling himself, and with fumbling hands he hastily turned it off and quickly placed it back where it belonged.

Alma could hear him coming back to the living room after some time to himself. He was wearing a gray hoodie and matching sweatpants. Even Alma noticed that now when he visited Seattle, he dressed down more than he did in New York. He would bring a nice outfit or two in case but he quickly picked up that wearing designer just signaled to the locals that he wasn’t one of them or worse, that he was a yuppie.

Echo was finally awake sitting on Alma’s lap and babbling a mashed-up version of the alphabet with her back facing him, completely unaware of her father's presence. Alma looked up at him and noticed he looked a bit more refreshed as he approached and he quickly put his finger to his lips. With sock-covered feet, he tried his best to walk softly but even with Alma trying to distract Echo she turned her head in his direction. Before she could react he quickly scooped her up in his arms and she laughed when he kept peppering kisses on her cheek. He sat down next to Alma with Echo’s arms slung around his neck.

“You missed me, baby?” He said holding on to her. “I missed you.”

Echo stood on his lap and then pointed towards the phone that sat on a side table on the other side of Alma. “Papa phone?”

“Hmm?”

“Papa phone.” She pointed again.

“Papa is here, E’,” Alma lightly laughed. “She knows when you call and-”

“She’s associating me with the phone,” Bill raised an eyebrow at her as she scratched her head nervously.

Echo would clamor up her lap whenever she was on the phone, thinking it could be her father on the end of the line. Bill called once in the morning and once in the evening typically. Though the past couple of days before his arrival their conversations were fairly short so that they would have something to talk about when together.

“It’s alright,” Bill said, kissing Echo’s hand to get her to stop pointing at the telephone.

Alma was a bit relieved when he said that she didn’t want him to make it a thing when it wasn’t she was just a baby making associations. Bill helped Echo sit on his lap and then pulled Alma closer to himself wrapping an arm around her. He kissed the top of her head.

“I missed you too,” he said into her hair.

The family stayed in for the rest of the day. Bill decompressed further and even managed to fall asleep on the couch while Alma prepared guacamole for their nacho dinner. She was happy he did because it meant that he was comfortable enough there to do so. Echo was playing on the floor next to him before she began to stack toys and roses along his body making him look like some kind of ritualistic offering which amused her mother.

It was after dinner that they all took a short walk to a convenience store that stood next to a laundromat close by and they spent time choosing snacks and drinks. Bill allowed Echo to run up and down the candy aisle and let her choose whatever caught her eye. Though at the register he told Alma it was for himself and even though she knew it was a white lie she found it endearing. For them, they left with some chips and a case of Rainier beer.

When they came back home Alma took the phone off the hook deciding she wasn’t taking any calls for the rest of that weekend should they come. As night came Bill put Echo to bed himself. He rocked her a bit as he paced the nursery to soothe her enough to lay her down while she had her little hand up to rub the stubble under his jaw. In her room, she also had framed photos hung on her walls, some of herself but also ones of him and her together. One was of them in front of the Washington Square Arch and another of them on Christmas in front of the tree in his penthouse. Being able to see them that way made his heart swell as if he could finally see the way he looked as a father in a still photo. That it didn’t look awkward or strange like he sometimes felt it did. Right next to that photo was the one he took of Alma and her at the Ritz in black and white. Even though he knew the fact, suddenly it hit him that they were really parents to an actual child they created together. He noticed Echo’s hand stilled and looked down at her fast asleep in his long arms. Before laying her down he just stood there for a moment to admire her. His little baby.

When he joined Alma again she had just finished cleaning the kitchen and was shuffling some of her accounting homework she had on her small dining table into a neat pile. He stopped next to her, picking up a thick textbook that was on top of a children's coloring activity book, and flicked through it quickly. To him, it all looked painfully boring.

“You want to learn something or do you want a beer?” Alma said, looking up at him.

“A beer,” he said, giving her a dimpled smirk and handing her textbook back. “Is school still going alright?”

“I have the whiskey you like to drink too by the way,” she said, reaching into the fridge. “But yeah, it’s not so bad. The teacher tries to make it somewhat fun with his little corny jokes,” she shrugged, handing him a beer.

Together they sat on the couch and Alma turned the TV on to a music channel for background noise. Alma was explaining how her classes went and spoke about her classmates with him and learned she was one out of three other girls in her class.

“Last week right before Echo got sick I stayed behind cause I had some questions about an assignment. Mr. Miller helped but then he started telling me that most of the shit we’re even doing can basically all be done by computers these days and then he pulled out this Macintosh Powerbook. Have you seen those?” Bill shook his head and took a sip of his beer. “Well, he showed me this program on there that basically does most of the work for him.”

“You should get a computer then?” He said resting his elbow on the backrest as he spoke to her.

Alma looked around her place for a second and looked back at him. “I don’t even know where the hell to put something like that here,” she laughed. “What do you do on yours anyway?”

“Eh, not much. I only bought it because I wanted to and I was bored mostly,” he reached over to check how much beer she had and quickly went to the kitchen for another round plus some just to have a few waiting on them on the coffee table instead. “So you stay after class to talk to Mr. Miller now?” He said popping the beer tab open and handing her the beer.

Alma rolled her eyes. “Yeah because math just turns me on so bad I stay after class to talk to my nerdy 50-something-year-old teacher?”

“Just wondering,” he said playfully, which earned an annoyed look from Alma. “I do have a question though,” he said looking a bit more serious now.

“What,” Alma asked pensively as she put her drink down.

“Is, um,” he said, straightening up which was making Alma nervous. “Is that vibrator in your nightstand better than me?” He laughed.

“What fuck you went through my drawer?” She said, pinching him under his arm. He winced as he pulled his arm away and pulled her onto his lap which made her giggle.

“I didn’t mean to,” he said, kissing her cheek.

“What do you mean you didn’t mean to?”

His only response was to kiss her on the lips because he had no excuse for his impulsive snooping.

“Why do you always like to tease me about stuff,” she pouted while he trailed kisses down her neck to her collarbone.

“Mm,” he paused his lips but his hands snuck inside her shirt. “I’m sorry. I just get jealous when people get your time and I don’t. Especially that little friend you have in the nightstand.”

“It isn’t better than you but it’s helpful,” she giggled, pecking his lips. “We can even use it together?” She said standing up to kick off her leggings but before she could straddle his waist he leaned forward. With his large hands on her waist, he pushed her oversized flannel up and kissed her belly down to the waistband of her panties, and pulled them down to kiss her pussy mound with adoration.

His other hand ran up her inner thigh and quickly he pulled her panties to the side. A finger ran through her wet slit and he groaned under his breath as he bit his lip.

“You’re so fucking wet,” he questioned as he put his middle finger in his mouth to taste her. He leaned back and adjusted himself when he felt himself starting to grow in his boxers.

Alma chuckled under her breath as she straddled his lap finally. “I’ve been thinking about fucking you all day.” She admitted as she kissed him along his stubbly jaw.

“Fuck me too,” he said in earnest. If it was up to him he would have taken her there on the floor when he first walked into her apartment.

As they were feverishly kissing, their tongues collided with each other. Alma could feel his erection straining against his sweatpants and she moaned against his lips. He could feel her cold hands sneak into his hoodie and meet his warm skin. It made him jump a bit but the change of temperature felt tantalizing. They broke away for a moment so that he could help her take his hoodie off but as he tried to meet her lips again he paused. Alma's brows were furrowed with a bewildered look in her eyes as she ran a hand over his much more prominent abs. He had always had them but now they looked closer to chiseled marble.

“What the hell have you been doing?” She asked looking back at him.

“Eh,” he scratched the back of his neck feeling slightly self-conscious. “You know I’ve worked out a few times with Simion.”

“A few times?” She asked skeptically, grabbing his much more developed biceps as these weren’t the results you’d get from only a few casual visits to the boxing gym.

Bill held on to her tightly and swiftly got up with her legs still wrapped around his waist making her yelp. He didn’t want her to get ahead of herself when he finally had her where he wanted her.

“Shh. Remember we can’t be too loud here,” he reminded her walking them to the bedroom as she kissed along his neck.

He kissed her and then he practically tossed her on the bed which made her laugh. She hurried towards the side of the bed where he stood and reached for the waistband of his sweatpants eager to free his erection but he intercepted her and reached for her shirt to pull off instead. He was pleased that she wasn’t wearing a bra, he noticed that all day especially because she purposely had a few top buttons of the oversized flannel open. He pushed her back on the bed and instructed her to scoot backward a bit and she happily obliged. He hooked one hand around her knee and the other ran along her panty-clad pussy. As his finger pressed along her slit he could feel her wetness soak through prompting him to lean down. Replacing his hand, he teasingly ran his tongue along the cotton fabric making her whimper in anticipation. The warmth of his tongue and the taunting pressure of the fabric against her clit made her hips buck for more.

“Take them off for me,” he demanded as he righted himself to quickly do away with his boxers and sweatpants. He even plucked off his socks because Alma once told him he was weird for leaving them on if he was fully naked.

Alma reached down to her waist and took off her cheeky black panties and playfully tossed them at his chest. He smiled as he crawled on top of the bed with her now. Taking her knees he pushed them together and then against her chest causing her hips to rise a bit from the mattress and on perfect display for him. Without a warning he took two long fingers and pushed them inside her, making her gasp. Bill swallowed hard as her slickness coated his curled fingers and he had to keep himself from just burying himself deep inside her instead. He had gone so long without her he ached. The panties she had hidden for him to find and he would wrap around his hard cock and the occasional phone sex just could never compare. He wanted to savor this break from a dry spell but his throbbing cock was wanting to already feel her warmth and tightness around it.

He continued working his fingers as he reintroduced his swirling tongue to her bare clit reaching a rhythm. Alma’s hand clasped around her mouth to stifle the moans that erupted out of her. When his lips wrapped around her clit and she could feel the reverberations of his grunt, her head fell back on the mattress as her eyes rolled and the tension melted from her body as she came. He could feel her squirming from the sensitivity so slowly he stopped his movements while she caught her breath. He leaned back on his knees and spat her arousal in his hand and wrapped it around his erection to coat his cock in her slick. He started to position himself between her legs but she gently stopped him.

“Do you want to use the vibrator?” She asked.

“No,” he shook his head. “I want to be the reason you’re coming.”

Alma could see his eyes darken and looked at her hungrily. She turned around then and positioned herself on her hands and knees. The sight of her plump ass perked up in the air excited him like no other. To him, it indicated that she didn’t want it so sweet.

He crawled off the bed to stand right at the edge of it and then reached forward gripping her hips to pull her back towards him so that their bodies aligned better. Alma looked back at him in anticipation and their eyes met. He had a devious look in his eyes as he leaned down to kiss her ass cheek and then brought his hand down hard to smack it. Alma wailed briefly before it turned into a loud moan as she felt the sting of it tickle up her spine. He ran his hand from her lower back up to the middle of her shoulder blades prompting her to lay her chest to the mattress and his hand ran back up caressing the perfect slope of her back. Lining himself at her entrance he pushed in and his eyes fluttered closed as her warmth enveloped him so completely. Moans from deep in their chest escaped their lips.

Thrusting deeply inside her tight cunt his mind was stuck on the feeling and sounds of their bodies pleasuring each other and the moans and pants filling the room. His hands took a possessive grip of her hips tightly pulling her own body into his thrusts with the strength of his new bulging muscles.

“Shhh,” he said as a reminder as she struggled to stifle her moans.

She caught her breath in her throat while she pressed her face into the mattress to muffle her moans but it didn’t help much. As the friction of their bodies continued she could feel the crescendo just around the corner. He was so mercilessly deep inside her that it was making her a blubbering mess. Then the new rhythm he created made her body respond favorably and he knew by how she began to pulse around him. He looked down at her, her face was crushed in the mattress as she bit onto her knuckle to keep from sounding out her pleasure. Quickly he reached for a pillow and tossed it by her head.

“Here. Fucking scream into that.” He said through deep pants.

She reached up for it and once she had her face in the pillow he smacked her ass again and hearing her muffled holler sent him over the edge especially how she continued tightening around him.

“Ah fuck you feel so good… come with me,” his jaw fell, feeling her body intensely respond to his. “Give it to me,” he said, listening to her muffled screams.

He couldn’t hold off any longer as the shockwave of pleasure enraptured him. He snapped his hips with each spurt of cum that was now pooling inside her. He gave her a few languorous thrusts before collapsing on her. He could feel her body shuttering and gently he removed the pillow away from her face. Just as his lips parted to say something he paused and noticed that she was crying. She tried to quickly wipe them away, feeling silly for them.

“Alma?” He said concerned as he slowly pulled out of her causing her to whimper from the disconnect.

He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her towards him to face him. His hand cupped her chin and she began to giggle under her breath a bit as she sniffled. He didn’t know quite what to make of it.

“Did I do something? What’s wrong?” His heart pounded against his chest with worry.

Alma took a deep shuddering breath and put her hand to his cheek to kiss him passionately. That somewhat eased his worrying heart. While still kissing she got him to follow her full lips into a more comfortable lying position right beside her.

“I’m fine. I don’t know… you make me feel so good. I fucking missed you,” she said cuddling into his side.

“Are you sure,” he said, putting a finger under her chin and tilting it up so that he could search her eyes. They were still heavy with lust and satisfaction.

“Yes,” she assured him. “I feel so much better,” she sighed wistfully. “Don’t you?”

“Mhm,” he nodded. “I think I need a damn cigarette,” he said laughing.

After lying while caressing their tender bodies and kissing each other Bill got up from the bed to wash up in the bathroom and brought back a damp warm washcloth to help her clean up. When he came back from tossing it in the bathroom hamper he saw Alma up from the bed in a short black silk kimono she didn’t bother tying closed. She was on her tiptoes reaching for the top shelf in her small closet and grabbing a small wooden box.

“Shut the door,” she told him.

While he closed it she walked around her room, her kimono blowing away from her naked body as she opened the windows as wide as they would go which let the cool breeze waft in the scent of rain and mud into the room. Bill pulled his boxers back on and sat against the headboard when she joined him.

“Do you want a cig’ or do you want a joint?” She asked him as she opened the box producing a lighter and pre-rolled joint from it.

“You smokin’ all the time now?” He asked her, grabbing the box to look inside it himself. It was empty now and speckled with bits of bud and ash. He closed it, settling it on the bed.

“Eh not really,” she said, putting the joint between her lips and lighting it. “I’ve just been saving this for a rainy day,” she said, winking at him. “But really no, it makes me fucking lazy when I’m by myself. The last time I smoked here I just fell asleep.” She took a deep drag and then passed it to him.

They only smoked it down halfway just enough for them to feel nice. At one point Bill held the smoke in his lungs to grab Alma’s face with one hand and blew the smoke into her parted lips as she inhaled it. The first time he had ever done that was in high school and it wasn’t the smoke making her dizzy then but how his full rosy lips hovered above hers. Alma put the box away in her closet again and then lit a warm vanilla incense stick to help usher the weed smell out the open windows.

“Did you ever get that package I mailed out last week?” She asked him, crawling back up on the bed and between his legs to cuddle with him.

“No,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. “What was it?”

“It was your Valentine's gift,” she groaned. “You’ll see when you get back home then. You’ll like it.” She said looking up at him with a cheeky smile.

“Panties?” He guessed.

“I think you have enough of them don’t you think?” She laughed.

“Well,” he playfully shrugged.

“How was Simion’s Valentine's fight?”

“Yeah… that’s a long story.”

“Bad?”

“Eh, no not exactly.” He said rubbing the silk fabric of her kimono between his fingers.

“I know you told me you took Payday to it. So are they like… together together now?”

Bill nodded his head in response and then straightened up. They both got into a more comfortable position. This time Bill laid his head on Alma’s chest who played with his hair as he began to tell her about his Valentine's Day.

#my bill writings #bill skarsgard #avenue of sins #aos neon

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richardsgraysons · 1 year ago

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not sure if ure still doing the match thing but heres mine!

- i'm asian, about 5'3, dark eyes but my hair is usually coloured? so far i've done purple and silver highlights

- i have quite a few piercings on my ears and i'm looking to get more, as well as tattoos. i usually accessorize a lot

- i play and train in badminton, and people usually expect me to be an athlete but i was a band kid LMAO i only got into sports in my recent years

- i'm infj-t if that helps w anything. i recently started coming out of my shell a little bc of school, i'm usually friendlier towards girls than i am towards guys. i can keep convos going but i have a really short-lived social batt. i've been told i have a strong RBF

- i only have a few people in my circle i let myself be comfortable with (it takes a damn long time to get there). with them i'm honest (ill tell them when theyre the problem), playful, dish out advice if they want it, fiercely protective, empathetic but my patience can wear thin sometimes esp if i'm in a bad mood or they do smth stupid repeatedly in which i turn very sarcastic

- i insult my loved ones a lot but i make it clear its a joke, i just find it hard to say lovey dovey stuff like that but i do when the occasion needs it

- also i have a really bad dating history so i can be pretty damn avoidant when it comes to romance. also i've never dated a man before (only dated girls), they never made it past the talking stage so do w that what u will

DAMIAN WAYNE

you and damian are so similar in the way that you aren't very showing of your love. this man is also hella avoidant of romance so you best believe that you're gonna have a looongg slowburn before anything actually happens

damian would not be scared of your RBF, no matter how terrifying you look. this man was an assassin at like age 5, nothing except dick being sad scares him anymore

he'd also want someone more active, so he'd def appreciate you being more athletic than most. but we all know. he likes a well-rounded individual so being a bandkid def helps

TATTOOOS <33 op you're living my dream. damian would take his time to memorize each one. when he's bored, he'd just train the outline of his favorite tattoo so much that it's ingrained in his memory

honesty is always.the best policy for damian. in my personal opinion, out of all the batboys, damian appreciates honesty the most as his mommy did manipulate him for the first like eight years of his life

short social batt? no problem! so does damian. still working on his people skills, so it'll always be relaxing just to hang out with you at the end of every day

also damian does not do stupid shit so you'd best believe that you'll hardly get pissed at him (unless he does something stupid as the bat, and then then he'll need a verbal slap on the face)

#damian wayne #dc comics #damian al ghul

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nightingaelic · 2 years ago

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How about fallout 4 companions reacting to sole who is a young teen but they never knew until they took off their mask?

The metropolitan ruins of the Commonwealth had one advantage that the wider wasteland didn't have - plenty of places to hide. It was sometimes safer for travelers to duck between the urban canyons of the bygone world, pick their way through its shadowy rubble on the way to caps or glory, squeeze between crumbling walls when danger pursued them. It was commonplace to say "the ruins swallowed them" when someone on a trip went missing, and "Boston spat them out again" if and when they finally emerged.

The sole survivor was damn good at this. In fact, they were nearly as much of a phantom as the Silver Shroud, appearing at the strangest times in the most unlikely places, and disappearing again just as fast. Some Goodneighbor ghouls even took to calling them the Shroud, whenever they stalked into town like a feral cat. It didn't do them any favors that they always wore a hood over a gas mask, jumped at sudden noises and refused to let anyone close to them. It earned them odd looks, and glances of curiosity, exasperation, and sympathy for those they shared their road with.

Their companion had assumed some of this was normal vault dweller behavior, as many vault dwellers were ill at ease without a roof over their heads, but things fell into place one hot day in the summer. The shoreline was sweltering under the sun, stinking of algae and flotsam, and finally even the sole survivor had had enough. They threw their hood back, unbuckled their gas mask, and emerged the picture of tragic youth: Tired eyes in a full face, blinking in the unfamiliar harshness of the light.

They caught sight of their companion's realization and lifted their chin up. "Don't start," they said.

Cait: "Oh, hell." Cait sucked a breath in through her teeth. "You'd better start explaining some things fast, little chicken."

"No idea what you're talking about, Cait."

They tried to keep walking, but Cait grabbed their shoulder and spun them around. "You waltzed into the Combat Zone all by yourself? Took on my contract, thought you'd just tell a grown woman what to do with her time?"

"I did in all the raiders, didn't I?" The sole survivor shook her off. "And taking on your contract wasn't my idea. Tommy couldn't wait to get rid of you."

"Why, you little..." Cait balled her hands into fists. "Don't make this about me. You think you're a big shot, walking around the Commonwealth like you own the place? I'm taking you back to Goodneighbor, and then you and I are through."

"And you'll go back to the Combat Zone? Please." The sole survivor put their hands on their hips. "You'll get bored, and then you'll come looking for me again. I guarantee it."

Codsworth: Codsworth tapped his claw and flamer arms together anxiously. "Are you sure it's safe? I know this beach looks deserted, but you never know just who might turn up."

"Relax, Codsworth," the sole survivor replied. "I'll put it back on if we see anyone. It's just too hot to keep it on for the whole day."

"I shall keep an eye out." Codsworth rotated two of his eye stalks around to cover all directions. "Do you recognize this beach? I believe we visited it before the bombs fell, once or twice."

"It's changed." The sole survivor stooped down to pick up an empty mussel shell. "More junk, obviously, but it's wilder than it used to be. Like the ocean's reclaiming it. I wonder if anything valuable ever washes up."

"Perhaps we can ask Sturges to build you a metal detector," Codsworth suggested.

"Maybe." The sole survivor smiled at the bot. "Or maybe he can show me how to build one, myself."

"A fine idea."

Curie: Curie gasped. "Quoi!? You never said you were so young."

"On purpose," the sole survivor grumbled.

"This is nothing to conceal." Curie took their face in their hands. "I... I suppose I can understand why you have done this, but you shouldn't hide such things from me. I thought we took care of each other."

"We do!" The sole survivor gently pried themselves away. "That wasn't what I was worried might change. It was the how of it. People... people get protective of me, and they don't need to be."

"Mon chou." Curie smiled down at them. "Of course they are. You are still small, and in this world, this is a rare thing."

"Well, that doesn't matter." The sole survivor unshouldered their pack and sank down to sit in the sand. "Everything that happened to me in the vault still happened."

Curie sat down next to them. "Yes. Je suis - I am sorry. What you have been through is too much."

Paladin Danse: "How-" Danse shook his head. "You... impossible."

"No, it's really me." The sole survivor sighed. "Here we go."

Danse started in. "Why didn't you disclose this at our first encounter? Why were you drawn into a fight with ferals in the first place? How did you manage to conceal this from Scribe Haylen, when she checked you over?"

"I didn't know who you were, I was hoping to get some supplies out of the ordeal, and I told her I had stunted growth thanks to being frozen and malnourished," the sole survivor counted off on their fingers. "What else?"

Danse's eyes blazed. "Was any of it true? The vault, the Minutemen, your search for the Institute?"

"Yep, all of that's true." They met his gaze and frowned. "Unfortunately."

The Paladin's anger and suspicion abated somewhat. "I... that's... my apologies. I thought you and I had an understanding, when it came to being forthcoming. I was honest with you."

"You were, and we do." The sole survivor tapped their fingers once more before letting their hands fall to their sides. "I thought you might refuse to talk to me again, if you ever found out. So I didn't say anything."

The answer caught Danse by surprise, and he chuckled. "Why would you ever think that, soldier?"

Deacon: Deacon shut his gaping mouth and pressed his lips together tightly.

"That's right," the sole survivor said, their voice smug.

They continued down the beach a ways together, and pretty soon Deacon's silence began to bother the sole survivor. They kept glancing over at him, like they expected him to start spouting his opinions at any second. Finally, they drew up short by a rickety dock and got directly in his way. "Say something," they demanded.

"There is literally nothing I can say that will top you revealing yourself as a teenager," Deacon replied. "Seriously, my hat's off to you. I wish I'd thought of that, first."

Dogmeat: Dogmeat gave them a hesitant whine, so the sole survivor stuck their hand out. The German shepherd sniffed it over carefully before deciding they were still the person he had attached himself to at the Red Rocket Station, and he came away with his tongue lolling.

"Good dog," the sole survivor praised. "I know I never take it off, but I think we're safe here. Let's keep going."

Mayor John Hancock: Hancock blinked, and then kept blinking. "Did I get a bad batch?" he muttered, partially to himself. "You look like you're aging backwards."

"I promise I'm aging in the same direction as everyone else," the sole survivor assured him. "And technically I'm 220-some years old, so I've got you beat for sure."

"Oh, that can't be right." Hancock squinted and walked a little circle around them. "You're just a kid. Huh."

"Problem?"

"No. Maybe." Hancock sighed and took his hat off to scratch his head. "We get younger than you out and about on their lonesome in Goodneighbor sometimes, but that doesn't mean the wasteland's a kind place to them. My miscreant half is telling me you'll be fine, but my responsible mayoral half is saying we should go back."

The sole survivor crossed their arms. "And what about your fun half?"

Hancock grinned and plopped his hat on their head. "That half's just impressed. You're a real survivor, kid."

Robert Joseph MacCready: "Oh, I'm gonna start." MacCready tipped his hat back and rubbed his face. "You can't be older than what, 12? 13? What are you doing running around without someone to keep an eye on you?"

"You're here, aren't you?"

"You hired me." MacCready felt around his pockets for his caps. "You hired... how the hell did you scrape together 250 caps?"

"Does it matter? I paid your fee, you're here now." The sole survivor scowled. "The job doesn't change just because I'm younger than you thought I was."

"Yes it does," MacCready argued. "Not only are you a vault dweller, you're a kid who doesn't know what they're doing even without factoring in everything that's trying to kill you on the road. Trust me, I grew up in that life. And don't even get me started about how stubborn kids are in thinking they know everything."

"I know I don't know everything, that's why I hired you!" The sole survivor threw their hands up in exasperation. "It was either keep wandering around alone, or hire someone who knows how this world works. Why are you acting like I'm crazy?"

"You're 13. Every 13-year-old is a little crazy." MacCready pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can't believe this. Hancock and Daisy are never gonna let me live this one down."

Nick Valentine: "Aw, kid." Nick's eyes dimmed slightly, his telltale sign of mournful contemplation. "You're the saddest thing I've ever seen."

"That's a huge compliment coming from you," the sole survivor retorted, smirking halfheartedly. "Gonna try to take me back to the office?"

Nick surveyed the beach. "Eventually, maybe. Right now we're okay. If a mirelurk queen pops up though, you and I are gone."

"Well that's a given." The sole survivor's smile widened a little. "You never realized?"

"You spun me quite the story when you came asking for help," Nick replied. "Masterful misdirection. Now that I think of it though, Ellie mentioned something about how you seemed more naive than the average vault dweller. I really should give her a raise."

"You should." The sole survivor sighed. "Come on. I'll tell you the whole story while we're waiting for that mirelurk queen to notice us, if you want to hear it."

Nick offered them his hand. The sole survivor studied the detective for a moment before taking it. "Well hop to it," the old synth said with a smile. "I'm on tenterhooks."

Piper Wright: "You can't be any older than Nat," Piper breathed. "How did... never mind. We're heading back to Diamond City, now."

"No we are not." The sole survivor planted their feet in the sand. "I have things to do up the coast, and I'm not going back until they're done. You can go if you want, but I won't be going with you."

"Oh yes you will be." Piper seized their wrist and held it up. "I'm already responsible for one preteen, and the only way I get any sleep is if I know she's safe inside the Wall. I don't need your sudden death to mirelurks on my conscience, Blue."

The sole survivor twisted their arm loose and took a few steps back. "So don't let the mirelurks get me."

Piper lunged to grab them, but they darted around her arms and took off down the beach. "Get back here!" the reporter yelled, taking off after them.

Preston Garvey: Preston's eyes had gone as wide as the brim of his hat. "I made you the general," he blurted out.

"You did." The sole survivor shook their head. "I told you not to."

"But you didn't tell me why!" Preston put his hands up, overwhelmed. He turned back and forth on the sand, unsure of where to start. "The Abernathy farm, Tenpines, the Corvega factory... Christ, the deathclaw at the museum... how?!?"

The sole survivor looked just as bewildered as him. "Luck?"

"This can't be happening." Preston ran a hand over his face. "I've got... I've got to tell... wait, does Sturges know? Does anyone - does Mama Murphy know? Because if they knew and didn't tell me, we're gonna have a big problem."

"Breathe," the sole survivor advised him. "Are you mad at me?"

"No - yes - I don't know!" Preston hit the sand with a thump and wracked his brains. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well at first I was scared." The sole survivor sat down next to him. "And then I worried it would send you into a crisis, like the one you're in the middle of. But this had to happen at some point."

Strong: Strong snorted. "Puny human."

"Hey." The sole survivor pointed up at him with a stern look. "I said don't start, and I meant it."

"Tiny!" Strong roared with laughter, holding his belly. "Too little. Need to drink milk."

The sole survivor rolled their eyes. "Yeah, that's what Preston said, too. Good for my bones, or something."

X6-88: "You appear to be of an insufficient age to be traveling the wasteland alone," X6-88 replied.

"But I'm not traveling alone, I'm with you."

"I am a relatively recent addition." X6-88 placed a hand on their shoulder. "Standby for relay."

"No!" The sole survivor ducked out of his grip and stood their ground breathlessly. "You have to do what I tell you to, right? Don't take me back down there. Something's off about that place."

"My mission is to protect you," X6-88 said. "Institute protocol states that children are not permitted to leave the facility until they are of a certain age. You do not appear to meet the requirements, and therefore my mission necessitates our return."

The sole survivor took off running, meandering a bit in the wet sand. X6-88 gave pursuit, easily outpacing them despite the heat. He locked an arm around their waist and ignored their struggling while he tried to call in the relay request again.

"Stop!" the sole survivor shrieked. "I'm not safe down there, X6-88!"

The Courser paused his communication attempt. "Explain."

BONUS!

Ada: "I was just thinking it was a wise decision to cover your face," Ada replied. "Not everyone you meet in the wasteland can be trusted."

"R... right." The sole survivor hung the gas mask from their belt and nodded. "You live and die by first impressions, out here. Especially if you're my age."

"May I ask why you concealed your age from me?" Ada inquired. "We are relatively recent partners, but our mission to find the Mechanist and help the Commonwealth is still the same."

"I don't know. Adults get weird around me." The sole survivor shrugged. "I guess I view you as an adult, thanks to your voice module. How old are you, Ada?"

"That question does not have a simple answer." Ada indicated her frame's various parts. "My components are largely from pre-war robots, but the fastenings and hardware holding me together are varied. I was assembled in my current form about seven years ago, but I have gone through a few upgrades since."

The sole survivor giggled. "So in one way, you're as old as me, maybe even older, but in another, I'm older than you. I like that."

Porter Gage: Gage swallowed his surprise and raised an eyebrow at them. "Didn't say nothing, Overboss."

"But you're thinking it." The sole survivor rounded on him. "I'm small, but I'm dangerous. The gangs all know it. You know it."

"Sure," Gage agreed. Internally, his mind raced. Did any of the gang leaders know? Had Colter known? How the hell was he going to salvage this?

"There it is." The sole survivor shoved their weapon up against his chest. "Second thoughts, Gage?"

"Well can you blame me?" Gage shot back. "Here I am, thinking I've finally got someone with their head on straight who's still scary enough to keep Nuka-World in line, and you're not even tall enough to ride some of the rollercoasters in the park. What do you want me to think, huh?"

The sole survivor pushed him back a step. "I survived the Gauntlet, the Galactic Zone, and the fucking Safari Adventure. Think about that before you start panicking, bloodworm."

Old Longfellow: "Frolicking fog crawlers." Longfellow spat out the drink of water he'd just taken and re-screwed the top on his canteen. "You're just a kid."

"And?" The sole survivor crossed their arms. "I can still out-shoot you, grandpa."

"Cannot. Look, you've got arms skinnier than bloodbug's."

They stuck their tongue out at him. "At least I don't need to be half a bottle deep in bourbon just to get out of bed in the fucking morning."

"You watch your mouth," Longfellow warned them, wagging his finger. "Didn't anyone teach you to respect your elders?"

"Sure, but you need to be respectable, first."

Longfellow roared with laughter and clapped them on the shoulder. "Not bad, kid. Not bad. You're alright. Course, we can't go looking for Shipbreaker until you grow another foot or two. Come on, let's go."

The sole survivor ducked out of his grasp and shook their head. "Uh-uh. You promised me shrimp for dinner, and I'm not going back to Far Harbor without one."

Elder Arthur Maxson: Maxson stared at them, dismay and fury building in his chest. They had deceived him, deceived Paladin Danse, deceived all of the officers and put themselves and his soldiers in harm's way. Brotherhood law dictated that a betrayal of this magnitude warranted punishment. At the very least, a stripping of rank and removal of duties.

The sole survivor stared back at him, defiant. "Well?"

Suddenly, Maxson was looking at himself. A child thrust into an unwanted role, set upon enemy troops and deathclaws and super mutants well before they were ready to do so. He loosened his fists, took a few deep breaths, and wondered if Elder Owyn Lyons or his daughter Sarah had looked at him in the same way.

"At ease," he murmured, taking a step back. "It appears... we have things to discuss, Knight."

Desdemona: Desdemona looked them over with the air of a disappointed manager. "I didn't say anything."

"You're going to." The sole survivor put their hood back up and scowled. "Something about not accepting agents unless they're at least 16."

"At least 17."

"Whatever." The sole survivor dug their boot into the sand and unearthed a piece of driftwood. "What does it matter? We have the same enemies. I'm going after them whether I'm in the Railroad or not."

Desdemona said nothing. She didn't doubt their words - plenty of people sought revenge on the Institute without the Railroad's help - but she couldn't help but recall the laundry list of missions she'd sent them on since they had tracked her down. Raider dens, known synth reconnaissance locations, even a deathclaw nest. Something in her chest clenched tight, and she closed her eyes.

"Tell me the truth," she said, trying to shut out the sound of the ocean surf so she could focus on them. "If you take away the years in cryo, how old are you?"

The answer took a few moments. "I'm 15," the sole survivor insisted. "Almost. In about a month."

Desdemona frowned, then shook her head. "We're going back to HQ. You can make your case to the rest of the agents there."

"Make my-?"

"You're too young to be working with us at all, but you know too much now not to be involved." Desdemona turned away. "I can't make this kind of decision by myself. Let's go."

#fallout #fallout 4 #fo4 #companions react #12 days of ficmas

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realmsalot · 2 years ago

Text

Cousins (Homographs AU Fic)

Wordcount: 1,628 words

Read undercut or on AO3.

A/N: Just a heads up, suicide has a very brief mention near the end. It's only like half of a sentence, so I didn't feel the need to tag it, but yeah. OKAY HAVE FUN!

--------

"Why does he have the same name as me?"

Hamato Yoshi looks down at his baby cousin. The baby slept peacefully in his crib at the moment. You almost couldn't tell that he just spent the last few hours whaling his lungs out.

"Cause Yoshi's such a boring name they forgot it was taken already," Oroku Saki snarked. Yoshi rolls his eyes at his brother but otherwise ignores the comment.

His aunt comes next to him and bends down to gently rub the baby's cheek. "Yoshi is a good name. You should feel honored to share such a name."

Well, he sure doesn't feel honored. He thinks it's just confusing. But he knows the side of his family his cousin comes from travels a lot. They rarely stay with the rest of the clan. As soon as they're able, they'll be traveling again; and he will no longer worry about sharing a name.

---------

Years pass, and the next time Yoshi sees his cousin, it's for a funeral. His aunt's funeral.

His 5-year-old cousin was predictably crying throughout the whole ceremony. The sky never once showed an ounce of sympathy for the crying child. Not a single cloud passed through the blue sky, to show that it too was sad about her passing.

It's after the ceremony now, and the child is sitting with his grandfather. His cries were reduced to mere whimpers.

Yoshi stands awkwardly, watching them. He wants to walk over there and comfort him, but he does not know what to say. He hasn't experienced a loss, so great. Any words he can think of he just knows will fall flat.

His brother comes up to him and like he can read his mind, says, "maybe he doesn't need comfort. Maybe he needs something else."

"Like what," Yoshi asks.

Saki smiles and turns to where their cousin is sitting. "Hey, Yoshi! What to play ball," he yells.

This gets their cousin's attention as he looks toward them. He seems interested but hesitant. So Saki continues to speak.

"Come on! Don't you wanna play with the big kids!"

The 5-year-old looks to his grandfather for permission before getting a nod. He then gets up and starts racing over to them.

At the time, Yoshi could not understand what his brother was thinking. He still went along with it, of course, and the three of them played together until the end of the day. But it isn't until years later does Yoshi understand Saki's train of thought.

Their cousin did not need to linger on the death of his mother anymore that day. No, what he needed was to get his mind off that and be reminded that there is still joy in the world. Like the joy of playing a good ball game with the family, you have left.

------

Yoshi wonders why his late aunt ever gave his cousin the name Yoshi.

It's not even curiosity as to why they must share a name anymore. It's more the question of why she gave him such an ill-fitting name. Yoshi is a name meaning good, and respectful. And from what he can see, his cousin, who is now a movie star, is anything but.

He can't believe that his cousin is out there using his training to completely disrespect the art of ninjitsu. All to chase fame and glory through the silver screen.

At least his cousin had the sense of taking on a stage name so this mockery would not be associated with the Hamato Clan.

Breath out. Clear your mind. Meditate.

He's not angry at his cousin, at least not like Saki is. Saki thinks that the films are nothing but dishonorable. That there is nothing but disrespect in them. But Yoshi does see some merit in them.

Lou Jitsu, as his cousin is known in the films, always had perfect form in them, only occasionally putting some flourish in for the camera. Most of the moves shown were actual ninjitsu moves that had a long history behind them. Any that were new were clearly made by someone who was very advance in the art and knew the history. Honestly, Yoshi wouldn't be surprised to find out that his cousin created them himself.

Meditate. Clear your mind. Breath in.

Knock, knock. "You in there, Yoshi?"

With a sigh, Yoshi loses his posture and opens his eyes. "Yes, brother. What do you need?"

Saki slides the door open. "Nothing, but look! Our big-shot cousin decided to pay us a visit." And true to his word, their cousin was here following Saki in.

"Ah, cousin Yoshi. Or should I call you Lou Jitsu? What do you grace our presence for?" Their cousin rolls his eyes at Yoshi's theatrics.

"Yoshi works just fine," Lou says. He nervously plays with the paper in his hands. "I'm here to ask a favor -"

"It's money for drugs, isn't it," Saki interrupts, "I've heard that Hollywood stars do drugs."

"What? No! It's not for drugs! It's for -"

"Wait, it's my turn to guess." Yoshi interrupts this time. He can hear his cousin's protests about how this isn't a guessing game as he thinks.

"You want me... to act in your next movie," Yoshi guesses. Lou gives him a look of confusion as Saki lets out a snort. "You drive a hard bargain, but I accept! Now, who do I need to play? The villain? Oh, is he your secret evil cousin?" Yoshi teases.

Lou seems to finally pick up on the joking and joins in. "Oh yeah, that's exactly it. And guess what? His name is also Lou Jitsu."

"What? But we already share a name?"

"Exactly," Lou smiles," you're already used to it." Saki lets out a laugh at this. The other two soon join in.

They quickly collect themselves. "But really, I need to ask you something," Lou says, and his demeanor changes back to what it was before.

"I'm getting my own dojo in New York! And I'm trying to write out the lessons for it but... I don't know what to do. Just because I can do ninjutsu doesn't mean I know how to teach it. So, I thought I should ask you to help me, please?" Lou explains with an excited look in his eyes.

"Why me? Why not your grandfather, Sho," Yoshi asks.

"You're already a master, and I hear that you volunteer to teach some of the younger kids." Lou looks away. "Also, Sho and I aren't really on speaking terms right now." He looks ashamed of it.

Yoshi slowly puts an arm on his cousin's shoulder. Slow as to give Lou time to see and prepare for the touch. He never liked sudden touches outside training.

Yoshi doesn't really like the path in life his cousin has chosen. But even still, whether it be in his movies or right here in front of him, Yoshi can see that Lou truly loves ninjutsu, and he wants to do right by it.

"I'll help."

------

The last time Yoshi saw his cousin in person, he was dropping off a VHS tape of a movie of his that had yet to be released.

That was years ago.

Yoshi remembers asking for the tape. Tang Shen loves his cousin's films, and Yoshi wanted to impress her by getting the new movie early.

He's watching the same VHS tape now at Shen's place. It's dark outside, with the only light coming from the tv. Shen sits next to him. She's leaning against his arm and is resting her own arm atop her pregnant belly. His eyes are pinned to the tv.

He remembers that Lou didn't even tease him about needing to impress a girl he's already dating. Not like Yoshi expected him to. Instead, Lou just gushed about his newest girlfriend.

"She's the one, I know it," he had said. "She's nothing like the others."

A fight scene starts on the small screen. The sounds of Lou's punches and kicks, paired with the bad guys' exaggerated grunts, filled his ears.

"Ooo, I think Miwa likes this part," Shen says, drawing Yoshi's attention.

"Oh really?"

Miwa gives a hearty kick. "Yes, really." Shen rubs the sore spot on her stomach. A moment of silence passes.

Yoshi remembers the last time Lou called. Him proudly announcing that he's gonna do it. He's going to propose. His cousin had about ten seconds of false confidence and bravo before losing it all. The rest of the call consisted of Lou practically begging for advice, and Yoshi happily giving it to him.

A week later, Lou Jitsu was declared missing.

That was a month ago.

"Any new news," Shen asks.

Yoshi shakes his head. "No. They still can't find anything." He looks at the image of his cousin on television. He acts so differently there than he did in real life. He can't help but think that the world was looking for Lou Jitsu, not his little cousin.

"I tried convincing father to send a team to look for him," he mentions.

"And what did he say?"

"Ninjas go missing all the time; it would be no use to send anyone." His breath hitches before recalling the next part. "And if he is gone because he is an Hamato, he would be dead by now. By either the enemy's or his own hand, as is his duty."

Silence.

"I'm sure Yoshi will turn up eventually, honey," Tang Shen reassures. "He's always been tough, right?"

He nods in response, but his mind is far off. He almost forgot they share a name. Yoshi has been Lou Jitsu for so long that's all he will be remembered for.

He wonders how odd it would be to see, "Hamato Yoshi Missing," as the headline instead of Lou Jitsu.

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bastart13 · 4 years ago

Photo

Unfortunately I couldn’t help but think through a few ironic implications of Portia’s Reversed ending

Fic below the cut

[1.5k words, tw character dying, set in Portia’s Reversed ending so spoilers]

A decade or so after their story ended

Isha let their head fall back with a rattling, haggard sigh. They closed their eyes, letting the gentle rocking of the docked ship lull their heart into a calm pace. It was almost enough for them to forget their troubles if it wasn’t for the sharp aches in their hip or the sheer effort it took to take a breath.

They’d never been good at listening to their own discomfort. They’d lived with discomfort all the life they remembered, whether it be from minor inconveniences with their arm, or the ever-present fatigue since magic left their world. But now, their body screamed at them everything they’d been trying to ignore. Everything they’d kept from Portia.

A chipper, rhythmic knocking on the door took them out of their thoughts. Despite everything, Isha couldn’t help but smile.

“Welcome back,” they called.

The door swung open with no hesitation as their wife bound into the room. Her sunny smile lit up the room, emphasising the wrinkles around her mouth and eyes. A true smile, reserved for Isha and their children alone. She kicked off her worn boots, shutting the door behind her as she waltzed over to the bed.

“I’ve been missing you,” she teased, leaning in for a quick kiss. “We should be ready to undock soon. Jasna’s grown up to be a fine bosun. I swear, soon they’ll be rigging the boat with their hands tied behind their back just for the challenge. Right after we—”

Portia’s eyes locked onto their bedside table. A half-finished tankard of beer sat over an unfamiliar note filled edge-to-edge with scrawling ink. Her eyebrows tensed, frowning.

“Was Ilya here?”

“Yes, he just left,” Isha said. “He was sorry he couldn’t stay to see you, but he needed to get back to his partner before dark.”

“Did he at least squeeze in a ‘hello’ to his nieces and nephews?” she asked, her voice lightening to a dangerous cheer. Isha shook their head, looking back to the note.

“No…”

They needed to tell her.

He’d written everything she’d need to know but she didn’t deserve to hear it from Julian’s letter.

Portia stroked through their dull curls, pushing them away from their face before gently cupping their cheek.

“Are you feeling better from this morning?” she asked.

Isha took a short, weary breath.

“I’m not well, Portia,” they said softly. “I went outside for some fresh air this afternoon, when I ran into Julian and I had one of those attacks. He helped me back to see what was wrong and it’s getting worse.”

Hurt flickered across her expression before she slapped on a determined smile.

“But he told you how to treat it, right? That’s what the note is. I know we’re charted to sail down the Strait of Seals but if we don’t have what you need or the cold would be too much, we can change course,” she reassured, picking up a pace with no intention of stopping. “And look on the bright side! Now Ilya’s seen you, we might be able to get you back on your feet. You’ve been feeling low for a while now, think of all the places we can visit once you’re better. You can get back off the ship and travel inland. I’ve heard it’s really settled down in the north and I’d love it if we could visit Sun lake again—”

“There’s nothing to treat it,” Isha asserted, but Portia barrelled past.

“—And if we’re passing through Galbrada we can meet back up with Lavi. In his last letters, he was so excited about his travels—”

“I’m dying.”

Portia’s voice cut out.

The ship creaked and drummed with the distant movement of the crew above deck but to them, the quiet hung in the air like a dense fog.

“You’re not dying,” she insisted, the shine in her eyes fracturing. “You’re not dying, you’ll be okay,” she repeated. “I’m the Ambassador of Vesuvia! Along with Prakra, we’re one of the most powerful cities in the land and I have ships in every port in the five seas, loaded with imports. Ilya just must not know what we have access to. Even if—if you’re as ill as he says, we can find a cure. He could look again o-or we could go to Nazali. I know they’re older now, but they’ve trained so many medics, and if that doesn’t work, I know the leader of Urdangabil. They’re one of the leading pioneers of new medicine and if I look through my silvered book, I’m sure I can find something to get her to—”

“No.” Isha gripped Portia’s hand, staring deep into her eyes. Their gaze softened, their care hurting her more than any blade. “I’m dying, Portia

She frantically shook her head, her lip quivering.

“Don’t say that.”

“I’ve been dying ever since the magic left.”

“You’re not going to die! You’re going to be okay…”

“I was never going to live that long. It was borrowed time.”

“You told me you were okay!” Portia sobbed. There was nothing else she could say. She broke.

Pearly tears streamed down her cheeks and she collapsed into Isha’s embrace. She gripped their nightdress, holding onto them like a drowning woman to driftwood. Helpless sobs wracked through her body and Isha held onto their wife in return, gently rubbing her shoulder with their stump. It felt unfair. They were still so warm. Their heart beat the same reassuring patter as whenever Portia curled up against their chest. How could they… How…

But she knew how. She knew why and the thought only made her choking cries harsher.

“I’m sorry…” Isha said softly. “You deserved to know sooner… I wasn’t okay.”

Their chest grew wet from Portia’s tears and they only held her closer.

“It’s… gotten worse over the years,” they explained. “The first few were just this tiredness, but then my headaches came back. Tiredness became exhaustion. I felt… hollow. Like I was using myself up from the inside with every breath and step. It wasn’t until Julian saw me that I recognised it… You know me; I’m useless at asking for help.” They tried for a smile, even if Portia couldn’t see it. “I’m thankful every day I didn’t put that promise in my vows.”

Her crying hitched with a hysterical laugh before slamming her fist against their chest.

“STOP IT!” she yelled, her voice cracking. “J-Just stop it… Stop being s-so stupidly calm! How can y-you just—just accept this?! We’ve done so much… so much… All together. How could I have missed it? I have secrets on every city’s leader. I have ears and eyes everywhere. How—How didn’t even know my own spouse was d-dying!”

“I didn’t know,” Isha whispered, “and I didn’t tell you. It’s not your fault.”

“But it is! You know it is more than anyone. I was the one who chose to kill Aunt Tasya! I could have talked to her. I could have done anything to convince her, I could have…" She stilled under Isha’s arm. Tears dripped from her wide, unfocused eyes.

Moving like a stiff puppet, she fell out of their embrace.

“...The Arcana,” she whispered, the words barely leaving her lips. “I know Asra looked into it and found nothing… but that was just the first year. We have access to so much more… That’s it. I… I could try and call on them. On the other world. Even on—”

Portia jolted out of her daze with Isha’s iron clasp around her wrist and their amber eyes boring into her with a fire she hadn’t seen in years.

“You can’t,” they ordered. “Whatever happens, you can’t repeat Tasya’s mistakes. When we killed her, we accepted the consequences, and I don’t regret it. I can’t let you fall down that path. No matter what happens to me, you need to remember that. I’m not saying you can’t grieve, but you have to let me go.”

More tears welled up and rolled down her cheeks. Isha let go of her wrist, reach up to hold her face and brush them away with their thumb.

“You’ve done everything you can for me and more,” they said. “You’ve given me a goal, friends, a family. It means more than I could ever say, and I’m glad I’ve had this time with you, but it was always a half-filled hourglass.” They inhaled sharply, their chest suddenly feeling too empty until they breathed through the pain. Their eyes fell closed as they rested their forehead against Portia’s. “I’ve died once before. I don’t remember anything about the life I had before it, but as hard as it is, I know it’s different this time. I don’t want to die. I’m scared. I hate upsetting you. I want to see our children grow up and know the lives they’ll lead. But I’ve accepted it. I can’t ignore it or put it off.”

They pulled back with burning eyes and a tight throat.

“You’ve made my life worth more than I ever thought it could be. I love you, my light. Thank you for loving me.”

#the arcana #the arcana game #portia devorak #the arcana spoilers #portia x apprentice #isha the apprentice #fanfiction #art #tw character death #or discussions of death #a decade is both an entire lifetime and far too short

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leossmoonn · 3 years ago

Note

can i request a fic with stefan where the reader loses her memories (like stefan did in s5) so stefan takes her out to all the places that are special to their relationship and he tells her all about how they used to date and how she loved him and all and then at the end she kisses him ❤️

if not that's okay! have a good day and make sure to drink some water ❤️❤️

okay ill be honest i dont remember anything of tvd from season 4 and on bc it was just so boring to me but YES I CAN DK THIS. and thank you! i hope you have a good day, and hydrate too <33 mwah!

masterlist

warnings / includes - mild language, crying, sad stefan, kissing, eating and food, talk about sex. oh and youre a vampire and grew up w stefan and damon :)) and you’ve been dating stefan ever since you two turned into vampires and you two have been married for 50 years! (yay) . not really edited

————

“can’t you just do your voodoo magic and fix her?”

“that’s not how it works, damon.”

“well, it works whenever elena needs it. just admit it, you don’t like y/n.”

“i do! this is just more complicated -”

“bullshit! i know you don’t know her very well, but we’ve known her since she was born. she’s my best friend and the love of my brother’s life, who, by the way, is about to go into a frenzy if you don’t fix her!”

“i’m trying! but whatever those traveler’s did, i don’t think i can reverse it.”

“argh!” damon growled, putting his hands under a table and ripping it up.

“okay, you need to calm down,” bonnie said. “throwing a fit won’t help.”

“well, i can’t just stand here and watch her die!”

“she’s not dying, she’s just asleep. the doctor said she will wake up soon.”

“oh, as if the doctor knows anything,” damon muttered.

“she actually knows a lot, and we’ll give her the treatments the doctor recommends before we try any magic.”

damon sighed, running his hands over his face. he looked over to you, tears prickling at the corner of his eyes. he walked over to you, holding your hand in his.

“please wake up, y/n. please.”

it seemed as damon’s wishes were granted. your eyes fluttered open, a soft groan filled your throat as you tried to move your head back and forth. you peered at bonnie and damon, brows furrowing.

“who are you? and why-why are you holding my hand? get away from me!” you hissed, barring your fangs.

“well, she definitely knows she a vampire,” damon muttered.

bonnie ignored him, coming over to you tentatively. “hey, y/n. do you know who i am?”

“no. i-i want to go home. where am i? why-why does this look so strange? hospitals at home don’t look like this,” you gasped as you looked around your room.

“is she still stuck in the 1800s?” bonnie asked.

“let’s see. uh, y/n, what’s the date?” damon asked.

“1866, right?” you guessed.

“oh, shit,” damon muttered.

“what’s wrong?” you frowned. “y/n, you’re in the 21st century. it’s 2013,” bonnie explained.

your eyes bugged out of your head. “what? how-how can this be? you’re lying! you’re some witch! katherine warned me that you would try to trick me. who are you with? wha-what do you want from me?!”

“okay, crazy pants,” damon sighed. “do you know who i am?” he asked.

you took a good, hard look. “you look familiar… like you’re from a dream.”

“good, good, but do you know my name?”

your brain scrambled for the answer, but it all came up was blank.

“no, i’m sorry.”

“well, crap,” damon muttered. “what if we get stefan? he’s been her boyfriend for like, a hundred and fifty years. plus, they’ve been married for 50. she’s got to remember him,” bonnie suggested.

“yeah, okay,” damon nodded. “go and get him. i’ll stay with her.”

“why don’t i stay with her, and you go get stefan. you might irritate her enough to make her snap your neck,” bonnie snorted.

“fine. i’ll be back in a second. try to use your powers on her,” damon asked.

“no. now go,” bonnie shooed away damon.

he left, zooming through the halls to go and find his brother. meanwhile, bonnie went to sit next to you, taking your hand in hers.

“what are you doing. i said don’t touch me,” you hissed.

“what is your name?” bonnie asked.

“y/n,” you said. “what’s your full name?” she asked.

“y/n l/n,” you answered. “why are you asking me this? do you think i do not know my name?”

“no, no. i just…” bonnie sighed. “what’s your mother’s name?”

“louise,” you said. “and your father’s?” bonnie asked.

“martin. and before you ask, my sister and brother’s names are anna and christopher. are you studying me or something? oh, my… i-i swear i’m not dangerous. i don’t feed on people. not usually, anyways. please, spare me. if you want a real vampire, catch katherine pierce. her real name is katerina petrova. or klaus mikaelson, his whole family needs to be killed. please, i -”

“i’m not going to kill you. no one is going to kill you. and katherine is already dead,” bonnie explained.

“oh, really? well, then ignore what i said about her."

bonnie smiled a little. “it’s alright. do you remember anything that’s happened in the last 24 hours?”

“no, i’m sorry. i must ask again, where am i?” you questioned.

“well, you’re in 2013. about one hundred and forty-nine years from when you were turned into a vampire. that man who was here is damon salvatore. he’s been your best friend ever since you were born. you grew up together, and he turned you into a vampire. i’m bonnie bennett. i am… i have a sort of friendship with damon. i’m a witch from the bennett line. i am here to help you. we’re friends, too, actually.”

“oh,” you pursed your lips. “i’m sorry i don’t remember you. i think i remember one of your family members, though… emma, ella, em-”

“emily, yeah,” bonnie smiled. “well, it’s good to know i’m in good company,” you sighed.

“yes, you are. oh, and there’s one more person i forgot to mention. he’s damon’s brother, stefan. he’s your -”

“y/n!”

your head snapped to the door. a handsome young man stepped into the room, worrying filing his features.

“hello?” you frowned.

“it’s me, stefan. you’re husband,” the man said.

your eyes widened. “i-i- excuse me? my husband? i didn’t know i was-” your breath hitched as you saw the ring on your finger. it was a beautiful silver ring with a blue jewel in the middle, stefan and your name carved in the middle of it.

“oh,” you gasped.

“do you remember me?” he asked, coming closer to you.

you looked back up at him, furrowing your brows as you tried to remember. you shook your head in disappointment. “no, i’m sorry. i wish i could. what happened to me that i can’t remember my own husband?"

“travelers took your memory,” bonnie answered. “travelers? l-like the evil witches?” you guessed.

“yes, precisely,” bonnie nodded.

“well, can you get back my memories? you’re a witch, right?” you asked her.

“exactly! that’s what i was saying. i’m so glad someone gets it!” damon exclaimed.

“i-i’m sorry, who are you again?” you frowned. “damon. i’m damon salvatore. the best salvatore, and your best friend,” he grinned.

“oh, right - damon. and you’re uh, you’re bonnie, correct?” you turned to the brunette.

“i am,” bonnie nodded.

“and you’re…“ you turned to stefan.

hope was shining in his dazzling green eyes. his lips were pulled into a frown, his brows furrowed as tears clouded his eyes.

“you’re stefan! my, uh, my husband whom i can’t remember. i’m so sorry, again.”

“it’s okay,” he sighed. “you just woke up. you’ll probably remember later.”

“yes,” you nodded, “that’s probably it.”

just then, the doctor came in. she checked you out, telling you that you had to stay in the hospital one more night before you could be discharged. after she left, damon, bonnie, and stefan made up a plan.

“i can’t just put her memories back. i don’t have any access to them,” bonnie said.

“can’t you just pull them out of the air or something?” damon asked.

“magic doesn’t work like that, damon,” bonnie glared.

“what if we take her to all her favorite places? places she’s been to lots of times,” stefan suggested.

“yes! that is a great idea, except for the fact that she thinks she’s in the 1800s and most things that were there have been torn down or rebuilt!” damon seethed.

“well, then what else are we supposed to do, damon! we can’t just sit here and hope that her memories will come back. what if they never do!” stefan yelled.

“shut up you two! you’re scaring her!” bonnie hit both of them, then pointing to you.

both of the salvatore’s face softened as they saw your eyes wide with fear.

“look, she doesn’t know you two yet. she doesn’t trust you two. she literally thought we were going to capture her for being a vampire. we need to just take it easy and gain her trust, which won’t be hard, i hope. but i think that stefan’s idea is great. and stefan, you should be the one to do it. you deserve to build the strongest bond with her and to spend the most time with her,” bonnie explained.

stefan smiled at her gratefully. “thank you, bonnie.”

“of course, stefan,” she smiled back at him.

“what about me! i was her friend before you were even born!” damon poked stefan.

“she was literally a baby, damon. she didn’t even know who you were,” stefan scoffed.

“oh, she did. and she loved playing peek-a-boo with me,” damon huffed.

“well, i’ve been her actual best friend just a few months after she was born. you’ve been like the brother she’s never had,” stefan stated.

“same difference.” damon rolled his eyes.

“b-bonnie?” you stammered.

“yeah, what do you need?” bonnie came over to you immediately.

“um, i need to use the bathroom.” you whispered.

“oh, yeah, of course. gentlemen, please exit the room.” bonnie said to the two men.

“alright. hey, y/n, you hungry? we can get you something to eat,” damon asked.

“yes. i’m famished, honestly. um, can i have some meatloaf, please? with some wine?” you requested.

“um, y/n, i’m afraid to inform you that -” damon started, but stefan cut him off.

“we’ll see what we can find,” stefan said.

“thank you… stefan, was it?” you guessed.

“yeah. it’s stefan,” he smiled. “okay, c’mon, lover boy. the lady needs to use the restroom,” damon grabbed stefan, dragging him out of your room and shutting the door.

bonnie then helped you out of the bed and into the restroom, waiting behind the door until you called for help.

“thank you so much. your kindness is very much appreciated.” you smiled at her as she helped you back to bed.

“it’s not a problem.” bonnie sighed with a smile.

“will you be able to get my memories back?” you asked.

“um… no. not right now, i’m sorry,” bonnie frowned.

“oh, well, it’s alright. maybe it’s for the better. i can’t imagine all the horrible things i must have done to you and your friends,” you laughed sourly.

“what do you mean?” bonnie asked.

“well, i… i overheard you a little when i was waking up. damon said that you didn’t like me much. i don’t blame you, i mean, i can be crass and judgmental, but i’ve changed over the years. i-i think, at least. otherwise i suppose i would be dead from those travelers now. no one wants to help a horrible person,” you explained.

“well, you’re not horrible, at all. for someone who has been with damon for like, almost two hundred years, you’re very kind. you’re also very funny and you try to help people the best you can.”

“oh, thank you,” you smiled shyly. “um… what do you mean about being with damon?”

“oh, he’s just um… not my favorite person to be around is all. you’ll see,” bonnie chuckled.

“i think i have, a little,” you giggled. “but he seems to care a lot about me. i suppose he’s known me since i’ve been born.”

“no, he does. honestly, like stefan said earlier, damon is the older brother you never bad.”

“and stefan, he is supposed to be my best friend and lover?”

bonnie smiled, “yes.”

“can you tell me about stefan? do-do you know him well?” you asked.

“i do, actually. he’s so kind, always wanting to help people and be the best. i swear, he works himself to death trying to be the hero. he’s very level-headed and extremely smart. he’s more mellow than damon, definitely, but he has his funny, savage moments. he’s dealt with a lot of pain in his years, and you’ve been there to experience it all. in fact, he always tells us how you are his light. it’s really sweet. i wish someone talked about me like that.”

heat crept up your neck and you couldn’t help but smile. “well, i understand why i fell in love with him, then.”

bonnie chuckled, “yeah, he’s a great guy. he’s probably more rough around the edges now than he used to be, though.”

“well, that’s what happens when you’ve lived for so long,” you chuckled. “i personally think i’ve softened over the years. i remember when i was a little girl, i used to be so quick and temperamental. my mother always tried to reprimand me, but i had a mind of my own, i guess. or that’s what my father used to say. now that i think about it, i think stefan is the reason why i have changed. he’s seemed to rub off on me.”

“wait, are you starting to get your memory back?” bonnie asked, getting excited.

“no, i’m afraid not. well, not of current things. i just am remembering things about myself. i still don’t remember damon or stefan,” you frowned

“oh, well, it’s okay. you only woke up an hour ago. we’ll give it time.” bonnie patted your arm.

“thank you. you must forgive me, i’ve always had a horrible memory. and now with mine taken away, i probably will be a burden.”

“no, no,” bonnie shook her head. “please, you’re our friend. i’m sorry if damon made it seem like i don’t like you, but i do. we just don’t spend time with each other that much, but we definitely will now.”

“i hope you don’t mind it, then.”

“i definitely don’t, don’t worry.”

you two sat in a comfortable silence, stefan and damon coming back only a few minutes later.

“so, you can’t have any wine, so we got you the next best thing: grape juice. and we also didn’t find any meatloaf, but we did find some spaghetti and meatballs,” damon said, setting it all down on the table.

“oh, thank you two so much.” you smiled. you began to get up, your feet slipping suddenly.

stefan rushed to catch you, his hands going under your arms. your eyes met his immediately, your breath getting caught in your lungs. you fell into a sort of a daze as he lifted you back up on your feet.

“my, you’re handsome,” you muttered.

“thank you. you’re beautiful,” stefan smiled.

your jaw fell open, your eyes widening. “o-oh. did i say that out loud? i am so sorry -”

“no, it’s okay. it was really nice to hear that,” he assured you.

“alright, thank you,” you smiled. “of course. my pleasure.” he let go of you, pulling out a chair.

“so, i say we compel the doctor to let you go home now so we can get this show on the road!” damon announced.

“no, they need to monitor her-”

“she’s a freaking vampire, bonnie!” damon exclaimed in a hushed whisper. he then turned to you. “you feel fine, right?”

“yes. a lot better now that i’ve eaten,” you answered.

damon grinned, clapping his hands. “see? she’s fine. i say we get her into her room and let her sleep in her bed.”

“damon, that’s not-”

“excuse me,” you interrupted stefan, peering at him through your eyes. “if you don’t mind me interjecting, i’d quite like to go home. and damon is right, i am a vampire so besides my memories, my body has healed me completely.”

stefan looked at you for a few moments, sighing before talking again. “yeah, that makes sense. are you sure you’re okay to go home? i mean, you almost slipped -”

“i am okay, stefan,” you smiled. “these floors are quite slippery with these socks on.” you moved your feet to show them.

“right,” he nodded. “okay, well, damon? i assume i can trust you to compel the doctors?”

“on it!” damon grinned, rushing out the door.

“is he always this eager to help?” you asked. “only when it comes to you,” stefan chuckled.

“well, i suppose that’s okay, for now,” you hummed.

“yes. you are our first priority,” stefan smiled.

“oh, please don’t let me ruin your daily routine. like you said, damon likes helping me. he seems to not have anything important to do, anyways, no offense.” you lowered your head sheepishly. “but he can help me while you two go to school and such. do you go to high school still?”

“no, we don’t. well, stefan doesn’t, anyways,” bonnie chuckled. “i’m going to college in the fall.”

“oh, that’s wonderful! i see the women have made lots of improvements. what are you going to study?” you asked.

“research and analysis. it’s not really a study, but that’s what i’m majoring in.”

“wow, you must be so smart, then. good for you. i wish i went to college,” you frowned slightly. “

“you did,” stefan spoke up. “oh? what did i study?” you perked up.

“literature. you went around the world teaching english and literature. part of it was to fit in as a human, but another part was because you always had a passion for it.”

“sounds like me,” you smiled. “i loved reading so much. i remember my mother had to hide my books for when we ate dinner.”

“woah, you’re remembering things now?” damon walked into the toom

“not really. i’m only remembering things about myself and my family.”

“damn,” damon muttered. “it’s alright,” stefan said. “anyways, we good to go?”

“indeed we are. let’s roll,” damon said.

stefan helped you out of your seat. you took out your IV, damon rushing you to his car.

“wow. this is beautiful,” you admired his chevy.

“i know! she’s my pride and joy.” damon sighed happily as he opened the door for you.

“thank you,” you smiled at him. he returned the smile, getting into the passenger seat.

“i’ll drive her home, i-”

“actually, can stefan drive me? i’d like to get to know him more. he is my husband, after all,” you said.

stefan’s chest swelled with happiness, his lips upturning into a bright smile.

“i suppose. don’t total my car,” damon warned stefan.

“no promises,” stefan smirked, getting in the driver’s seat. “you know i’m kidding, right? i won’t crash the car.”

“i know, don’t worry,” you smiled. “great,” stefan breathed out as he started the car.

“this is amazing technology. so much faster than the horses.”

“yep. it’s amazing how far we’ve come.”

you nodded, turning your head to look at him. you looked down at his left hand, smiling a little as you saw a silver wedding band.

“how long have we been married for?” you asked.

“50 years. 51 this summer,” he answered. “how long did we date for?” you asked.

“well, we actually didn’t date until we turned vampires. as you probably know, your emotions are heightened once you turn. and our crushes on each other were just too much to ignore, we started dating. we helped each other out a lot, you helped more than me. i mean, i-i was a wreck. with katherine turning us into vampires and all, me killing my dad, damon abandoning me. you were the only person who stuck by me. you know, you were, and still are, my light,” he explained.

you grinned, “bonnie told me that that’s what you call me.”

“ah, she’s told you about me, then. what did she say?” he asked.

“well, she said that you’re very kind and are always wanting to help people. she also said that you are smart and serious, but that you have your breaking moments. she also said that you have experienced a lot of pain. i am sorry to hear that,” you frowned.

“bonnie is very kind. too kind, actually.”

“oh, don’t say that. i happen to think it’s all true. just from what i’ve seen today.”

“thank you. i’m glad i’ve made a good impression.”

“well, you are my husband, so i would think that what bonnie said is true.”

“makes sense,” he nodded. “so, where do i live? with you, i presume?” you questioned.

“yes, and with damon. we live in the salvatore boarding house. it was built for uh, well, boarding in mystic falls.”

“do we have separate rooms?” you asked.

“u-um, no. but, if you’re not comfortable with that, there are plenty of spare rooms-"

"no," you said quickly.

stefan glanced at you, eyes wide in surprise. you chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of your neck.

"u-um, what i mean is that it is okay. i'll get to know your quicker if we share a room. just um, let me have my privacy?" you requested.

"of course, of course," he nodded. "lovely," you exhaled deeply.

you looked out of your window, observing all the people walking around town square.

"so much has changed," you said, a little nostalgic.

"i know, it's crazy," stefan laughed. "but, i'll take you to all the old places we used to go, and the new ones you have gown accustomed to."

"sounds like a deal. you know, i'm excited. is that um… strange that i am so lively after having just woken up from my memories being taken away?" you chuckled a little.

"no, no, not at all. you were always really happy and upbeat, even on the darkest days. that's one of the reasons why i fell in love with you. you may not believe this, but, i'm kind of a debby-downer. you keep it light and fun, much like damon, actually. seems as though all that time you spent with him, as young as you were, you developed someone his behaviour."

"is that a bad thing? bonnie insinuated that damon isn't a good guy," you frowned.

"no, no. you're different. you pick and choose when to be a little um… eccentric. damon just says whatever comes out of his mouth, no matter what the situation is."

"i suppose that's another reason why you love me?" you grinned. "yes, you suppose right," he nodded.

"is this the boarding house?" you pointed to the mansion stefan was pulling in to.

"yes, it is. and, you can call it your home. that's what it is," stefan said.

"alright. it's beautiful." you admired the front.

"it's even better inside. especially our bedroom. you really know how to decorate." he got out of the car, opening the door for you.

"you're very chivalrous. i like it," you giggled. "well, anything for my girl," he flashed a warm smile.

your stomach flipped suddenly, a similar feeling to your heart hammering in your chest awakened. if your heart was still alive, then you it would be palpitating and ramming into your ribcage. you smiled back at him, getting out of the car.

you two walked together to the front, stefan opening the door without unlocking it.

"do we always keep the door unlocked?" you asked. "yeah. you know, the only people we are really worried about are vampires and well, you can't get in unless you invite them in," he answered.

"oh, right. well, that's nice. we don't have to worry so much about security," you said as you stepped inside.

he nodded in agreement, closing the door behind him once you two went inside.

"wow. you're right, it is better inside," you gasped. "mmhm. so, let me show you around. this is the grand study. it was mostly used by our nephew zach, but damon killed him as soon as he got here," stefan sighed.

"o-oh. and damon is supposed to be my best friend?"

"he's better than that, don't worry. you'll see, you'll remember," stefan patted your back.

"alright," you nodded. "anyways, right here is the library's and just out here is the grand hall. here is the dining room and the living room. back there is the kitchen, and next to it is the hearth room." stefan walked you around the house.

"it's amazing. wow, and to think this is my home," you laughed. "yep, all yours," stefan smiled as he heard your laugh.

he admired you as you walked through the living room, feeling around the bookshelves and the furniture. he missed this, seeing you back at home. before you woke up in the hospital, you had been kidnapped and tortured for two weeks before the travelers dumped you in the backyard of your house. after that, stefan rushed you to the hospital and about a day later you were awake. and now here you were, making yourself at home again. you looked so pretty in the setting sunlight. stefan almost wanted to cry at the relief of finally having you home.

"show me the upstairs?" your voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"yeah, yeah, of course," he nodded. he reached his hand out to you, you taking it graciously.

you both smiled at each other, stefan leading you up the stairs.

"so, up here is damon's room. that's where elena, his girlfriend, and him usually are. they have so much sex, you won't be able to get much rest here," stefan snorted.

"i'll make sure to wear my earplugs," you giggled.

stefan smiled at you, walking you to the next rooms. "these are the baths. and right here is our room. every other room up here is a guest room, but uh, this is the main event, i suppose." he opened the bedroom door, letting you peer inside of it.

he was right, you were a great decorator.

the room had green walls, bookshelves on the walls, and a few plants here and there. there was a big bed in the middle with gray sheets, pictures of the two of you hanging above the bed frame. there was a desk and chair in the middle of the room, books and papers strewn all over the desk top. there were picture of you two all over the walls, making you smile whilst also crying.

"what's wrong?" stefan rushed to you.

"oh, it's nothing. i just…" you sighed, turning to him. "these pictures are so lovely. i-i wish i could remember these events."

stefan took your hand in his, giving you a small smile. "don't worry about it. it's not your fault that you can remember.”

"right," you nodded, still disappointed in yourself.

"why don't we go and walk around town? maybe that'll help get your memories back," stefan suggested.

"that sounds fun, but i don't think walking around will reverse dark magic," you joked.

stefan chuckled, nodding in agreement. "you're right, but, you're starting to remember your own childhood. we don't know what the travelers took from you, so maybe they didn't take the memories of you and i. you might just have amnesia."

"i'd love to do anything to try and remember," you said. "me, too. before we go, do you want to change clothes? you've had these clothes on for two weeks," stefan gestured to your ripped shirt and dirty jeans.

"oh, yes. i didn't even realise i was wearing these." you looked down at your legs, eyes widening at the fact you were wearing pants. "when did they invent these?"

"1873, but women still couldn't wear them until the 19th century. and even then, women didn't wear them as regular clothing until the mid-20th century," he explained.

“well, i’m glad that i’ve stayed alive this long to be able to wear these. what are they called again?” you asked.

“jeans,” stefan answered. he walked over to your closet, opening it and presenting all your clothes. “and you have lots of jeans. so, go ahead and get changed into whatever. if you want to shower then go ahead, the bathroom is to the right.”

you nodded, “thank you. i’ll be done in a few minutes.”

“no problem. take your time,” he smiled.

you returned the expression, watching him as he left the room, shutting the door behind him.

you went to your closet, running your hands over your clothes. you had lots of grey, purple, and blue shirts. you saw lots of ripped jeans, some were their regular blue and others were white or black. you chose a light purple, short- sleeved shirt and a pair of dark-wash jeans. you found a pair of black panties and a black bra to match.

you went into the bathroom, turning the shower on and undressing. you put your dirty clothes in a near pile on the floor as you didn’t know where the hamper was. you set your clean clothes onto the bathroom sink, jumping into the shower.

the hot water felt so good, it was hard to get out, but you didn’t want to keep stefan waiting too long. you dried off quickly, looking at yourself in the mirror after you got dressed. you didn’t realize, but you were very dirty and tired-looking before showering. you looked better now. more awake, clean, and pretty.

you didn’t bother putting on makeup, not even knowing where you kept it. you went downstairs, finding stefan in the living room reading a book.

“i am ready,” you announced.

stefan looked up, jaw dropping as he looked over you.

“you look gorgeous,” he spoke.

you smiled shyly, lowering your head in bashfulness. “thank you. it’s not much, just a comfortable outfit.”

“doesn’t matter. you look amazing,” he shrugged.

“thank you, again.”

“of course,” he smiled. “let’s go ahead and go, yeah?”

you nodded, slipping on your shoes as you followed him out to the garage. you got into stefan’s car, driving back to town square.

“a lot of places have been built or torn down. i’m going to take you to the places we used to go to in this century, then go to the places from long ago that have been torn down,” he explained.

“sounds good,” you nodded.

he parked next to the strip mall, getting out and opening the door for you.

“are men still as chivalrous as you?” you jumped out of the car.

“no, not at all, but i like to be known as a gentleman. it sets a good first impression,” he answered.

“that’s sad,” you frowned. “it is. honestly, most guys nowadays are jerks and are selfish. no one teaches kindness anymore,” he sighed.

“well, i’m thankful i chose a man who still cares about those things. it really reflects on what kind of man you are.”

“i agree,” stefan nodded.

you two walked onto the side walk, stefan lacing your fingers together and guiding you into a store.

“this is your favorite store in the whole

town square. you always rave about the good deals and i’ve bought you lots of jewelry here,” he explained.

you hummed in reply, looking over the store. “it’s quaint. i see how it would appeal to me.”

“yeah, this store is the most popular one here, i’m pretty sure.”

“the owner must be rich, then.”

“probably is,” stefan nodded.

he then led you out of the store, explaining all the other stores and restaurants in the town square before stopping and showing you a specific place you liked.

“this is the grill, the most popular restaurant here. you and caroline, who you have yet to meet, love to sing karaoke here. you and bonnie and elena, who again, you have yet to meet, play pool here and get tipsy on the weekend.”

“what is karaoke and pool?” you questioned.

“karaoke is when you pick a song you like, and you sing it with a friend, or sometimes yourself. a lot of bars have karaoke, and some restaurants do, like this one. it’s just a fun activity for drunk people, honestly. and pool

is this game over there. you see those people

shooting the balls with the sticks?” he pointed across the room.

you studied them, seeing as they would curse in disappeared, or jump and clap in happiness.

“yes, it looks fun.”

“it is, and you’re quite good at it. maybe tomorrow you can meet everyone else and i’ll teach you how to play,” he suggested.

“i would like that very much,” you smiled.

“me, too,” he smiled back. “are you hungry? we can take a break from walking and get something to eat.”

“my stomach does ache a little. what kind of food do they have here?”

“burgers, fries, salad. classic american stuff, basically. i can order what you usually do.”

“sure, but i’m afraid to tell you that i have no money,” you sighed.

“it’s not a problem. this is my treat. plus, we have a joint bank account so, it doesn’t really matter who pays.””

“wow, that’s nice.”

“it definitely is.”

stefan then led you to a small booth, ordering immediately once the waiter came.

“tell me more about yourself,” you prompted.

stefan stared at you, not expecting you to want to know about him. it wasn’t completely surprising, but you just seemed a lot more interested in the town than him. he was happy that you asked, though. it reassured him that you two had a chance, even if you two had to rebuilt your relationship.

“okay, well, my birthday is november 1st, 1846. my favorite color is blue, my favorite type of alcohol is bourbon, but i do like a glass of whiskey every once in a while. one of my best friends was lexi branson. she was also your friend, too, but damon killed her for absolutely no reason.”

“oh, my - i am so sorry, stefan,” you gasped. “oh, it’s alright. damon has uh, since proved himself to be better… unfortunately,” stefan sighed.

you put your hand on his, looking him in the eyes.

“it’s not alright, stefan. i know you say damon is a lot better than people say, and that he has proven himself better, but that doesn’t justify what he did. i’m so sorry you lost lexi. i understand what it is it like to lose someone so close to you. i’m sure you remember, but i lost christopher only a few years after we became vampires. i don’t remember all of it, but i do remember terrorizing a whole village because of the anger and depression i felt. i’m sure lexi was an amazing young woman. one day, i would love it if you told me more about her.”

stefan smiled at you gratefully, eyes prickling with tears. “thank you, y/n. it means a lot to me. and yes, i’d love to tell you about her.”

“fantastic.” you squeezed his hand for support, the gesture warming his chest. “anyways, go on,” you said, keeping your hand on his.

“alright. well, i love i love lucy, which is a ‘50s sitcom that, funnily enough, you hated,” he chuckled.

“what is a sitcom and why did i hate it?” your brows knitted together in confusion.

“well, a sitcom is a comedy tv show. and a tv show is content that is broadcasted onto something that is called a television, which was the big black screen in the living room of our house. sitcom is a type of tv show. there are sitcoms, dramas, romance, horror, and lots of others. a lot of these genres bleed together, much like books. and as for why you hated the show, you just thought it was annoying because i would watch it all the time.”

“well, i do have a short temperament, so that explains it, i suppose. that tv show thing is a little confusing. can you show me how it works when we get home?”

“yes, of course. i can show you your favorite tv shows and movies,” he nodded eagerly.

“lovely,” you smiled at his enthusiasm. “so, what else do you like?”

“well, i am a fan of scorcese, who is a famous tv director. he directed taxi driver, which is a film i am a fan of. i love to cook, and i’m quite good at it, if i do say so myself. um, let’s see… what else is there…” he trailed off, looking at the table as he thought. “i am a bit or a hoarder, as you probably could see in our room. i enjoy any and all types of music, i have a rose tattoo on my right shoulder, and i am a scorpio, if that means anything to do.”

he looked back up at you, the tips of his ears turning pink as he realized you were staring and smiling at him the whole time.

“why’re you looking at me like that?” he asked.

“it’s just nice hearing all these things about you. i can piece together who you are, who the man i am married to is. it’s obvious you don’t open up to people a lot, and i appreciate you doing that with me,” you explained.

“oh, well, it’s no problem. you’ll remember all these things, anyways. but this is just surface level stuff, nothing special.”

“i think it is special and important. now that i know you a little better, i’m able to talk to you more and be more comfortable.”

“mm, that’s true,” he nodded.

you gave him a small smile, your food then arriving.

“wow, this is a lot,” you chuckled, looking at the cheeseburger and fries.

“it’s really good, too,” stefan said.

“how do i eat this?” you asked. “pick it up in your hands and take a bite, like this.” stefan took a bite of his burger and fries.

you followed in suit, groaning in pleasure.

“my, they never had this food at home. this is delicious.”

“i know, right? so glad america stopped the wine and beef soup at dinner.”

you giggled, nodding in agreement. you two ate in silence, stefan paying before you two left.

“do you want to continue going around town, or are you tired?” stefan asked.

“i want to continue,” you stated.

“alright. time to go to all the torn down places now,” he sighed, walking you back to his car.

you two drove a little ways away from town square, finding yourselves at the cemetery.

“are anna, christoper, and my mother buried here?” you asked.

“yes, they are. do you want to see their graves?” stefan asked.

you sat in the car for a few moments, holding your seatbelt in thought. you shook your head as an answer.

“no, i would hate to put a damper on this lovely evening.”

“oh, well, it’s okay. you always manage to make things bright and happy, even when we’re visiting the cemetery, but if you really don’t want to, then i’ll take you to the salvatore estate, and where your house was located.”

“mm, i am sure. we can visit some other time,” you smiled.

he returned the expression. “alright.” he got out, going to open the door for you, but you had already jumped out.

“sorry, i um, wanted to see how the door works,” you admitted sheepishly.

stefan grinned, finding your curiosity adorable. “no worries. ready to go?”

“indeed i am,” you nodded.

you took the initiative and laced your fingers with his. stefan glanced at you, his chest swelling with joy. it was almost like old times.

“so, where is the salvatore estate?” you asked.

“it’s just a mile into the woods. there’s only a singular pillar there because it got torn down, but the pillar marks the spot where the house stood.”

“why did it get torn down? it was such a beautiful home. surely someone from these days would want to live in it,” you frowned.

“you’d think that, but i guess folks these days want something more modern. but, wait, do you remember my house?” hope filled his eyes, carrying all the way through his voice.

“i think i do. it seems… familiar in my mind. i remember the front of the house, the beautiful entrance and the pretty rose bushes, the steps that led up to the door. i remember a room… it was of medium size. there was a big bed in the middle, a deep-sea blue carpet under it. there was a bug mirror across from the bed, a painting or two hung up on the walls. there was a small desk in the corner next to the closet. the room is very empty, but it brings back feelings of warmth and calmness.”

“yeah, that was my room. you spent most of your summer’s in there with me.”

“oh,” your eyes lit up. “you said that we didn’t officially get together until after we were vampires, but i remember being in the bed in lots of white, button-up shirts. did we-?” you looked to him, eyes wide and hoping he would say yes.

his cheeks were tainted pink as he nodded. “yes, we had lots of fun nights, but not all of them consisted of sex.”

“i see,” you nodded, a little smile on your face. “what else did we do besides sleep together, then?”

“well, most times we just laid there in each other’s arms. sometimes i would read to you and you would fall asleep in my arms. other times we danced, sang, talked about the future together. and let me tell you, we definitely did not imagine an eternity together, but i’m really glad it turned out that way. despite all the pain we suffered.”

your chest warmed as you imagine you two in the 1800s, doing more and being more than just friends with intimate relations.

“does damon know of this?” you questioned.

“he does, but no one else doesn’t. to make things easier, we just told everyone that we started dating after we became vampires, and that we got married in 1963, which we did.”

“and how was the wedding?” you asked.

“the best night of my life,” he grinned. “we have lots of pictures of that night in the living room and our room, which i will show you when we get back.”

“i can’t wait,” you smiled giddily.

you squeezed stefan’s hand, the gesture making both of your body’s shiver.

“here it is,” he said, taking you closer to the singular pillar.

you let go of his hand slowly, walking around the property. you closed your eyes, feeling the cool breeze fan your face. you stood in the middle, right where the living room be. lots of memories then flooded back to you, making you snap your eyes open.

“your father didn’t like us together,” you stated.

stefan furrowed his brows. “yes, how-how do you know that?”

you didn’t answer him, continuing to reminisce.

“i was meant to wed damon, yet, i fell in love with you. your mother would let us play together, knowing that the fate your father decided wasn’t going to happen. she accepted us. she actually liked us better together than damon and i. she thought damon was too wild, too untamed to settle down so young. he was like her, in that way. but you, once you saw me at our first ball at age 14, you knew i was the one. i remember you telling me this one night on my sixteenth birthday. you had taken me up to your room, sneaking up extra cake for me, and we laid together on your bed. that was both of our first time that night - it was amazing. you told me before we went to bed about your growing feelings for me. that night we both said ‘i love you’ for the first time.”

stefan stared at you, mouth agape and tears welling in his eyes.

“you-you really remember that?”

“i do,” you smiled slowly at him. “i remember the marks you left on my skin, the joy i felt as you held my hand, the way i cried when you told me that you loved me. i-i’m afraid that this is all i remember, but -“

“no, no, it’s enough. it’s more than enough,” he sniffled, coming closer to you. he slipped his hand into yours, his other hand wrapping around your waist.

you smiled, putting your free hand on his cheek, rubbing your thumb up and down on his cheekbones. you looked into his eyes, studying his face as your hand went up and ran itself through his hair. you brought your hand back down to cup his cheek, your fingers dancing along his jawline.

“i also remember skipping school, playing football in the backyard, me wearing your shirt for the first time and it leading to us sleeping together again,” you giggled.

“how do you remember all of this?” he asked.

“the travelers must’ve just took all the important information about us, which we can deal with later. i want to enjoy this moment now,” you breathed out.

“thank god that they took that important stuff. it’s not that important once you think about it,” he nodded.

“i agree. i bet damon wouldn’t agree about that, though,” you joked.

“well, damon has never been madly in love until the last couple of years. but, me? i’m been in love with you forever.”

your lips spread widely and you looked deeply into his eyes, feeling yourself falling for him again.

“i love you,” you exhaled. stefan grinned, “i love you more.”

“nu-uh,” you shook your head. “mmhm,” he smirked.

you moved in closer, your nose bumping his softly. your eyes flickered down from his eyes to his lips multiple times before closing the gap. your lips met his in slow motion, immediately moving with his. his lips were soft and kissed you well, like he had done this a million times before, and couldn’t wait to do it again. he held you close against him, breathing in deeply at the taste of your lips. he felt at peace once again, whole and complete. and as for you, you felt alive.

every atom in your body was humming in pleasure. the feeling of his hands in your body, fitting right in with your curves, were like finally finishing a puzzle. it gave you butterflies, the way he tasted and smelled. the way he kissed you was delicious. it was gentle, but passionate. his lips worked against yours quickly, his tongue sliding against yours, eliciting a small moan from your throat. your teeth bumped each other gently, causing the kiss to then become fast, needy, hot.

you pulled away before anything else could commence, your chest heaving up and down. a line of spit broke off from your lips, breaking off as the breeze ran through it.

“remember anything else now?” stefan breathed out.

“just how much i’ve missed you,” you stated.

“i’ve missed you, too, baby. wanna go and see where old home was now?”

“yes, i’d love that,” you nodded. “great. come and follow me, then we can go home and i’ll make you your favorite meal, okay?” he suggested.

“that sounds amazing.”

“i’m so glad to have you back, y/n,” he squeezed your hand.

“i’m glad to be back.”

————

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