#may he have an eventful upcoming seven years before… ya know

[soupdrinkinglincoln]

Waiwaiwaiwait so Scout has four children from four deadbeat mothers who all walked out on him.

He’s finally achieving his divine purpose

[averagewriter-inthedark]

Before He Cheats | Dagger Squad Imagine

Takes place after the events of TGM

TGM Masterlist

Characters & Pairings: female pilot!reader x Dagger squad (platonic), reader x ex!oc (past romance)

Content Warnings: angst, cheating, profanity, ends with sweet revenge | female!reader (she/her) | wc: 3.8k

Requested 📨 yes/no (rules for requests)

Premise: One thing about cheaters, they’re always gonna get caught. Whether right when it happens or years down the road the truth always comes out. And one thing they should realize is revenge is a dish best served cold.

Note: I finally finished my first year of grad school!!! Fucking finally people. Now I can relax and get to the drawing board. I already have visions and outlines for all current requests in my inbox and be sure to check out my April/May upcoming works and my pinned works in progress for what’s coming and posted! Thank you for your patience and to the anon who requested this I hope you liked it!

Also y’all….is there like some freaky shit going on with the universe and my works 💀 cause three days after I posted Lover inspired by Taylor swift she and her man of 8 years broke up and now I’m posting a cheater imagine (this request is from end of February) when there’s stuff going about Glen 👀 this is just freaky now

—————

Friday night at the Hard Deck consisted of a full house ready to kick off the weekend with beer and music. For a few years now Y/n had been working at the bar serving drinks and singing from 8pm to 9 as a way to make extra cash while her college sweetheart Ryan, who was a Lieutenant Junior Grade, was stationed at Miramar. Having not been married despite being a couple for so long, Y/n lived off base with some roommates while her boyfriend stayed in the dorms, however, he’d come to her place after work and stayed on weekends.

It was rare to see a military couple not be the stereotypically, “we got married right after I commissioned so my partner can be my dependent and travel with me when I get orders.” No, that wasn’t Y/n and Ryan. After Ryan’s commission Y/n stayed to finish up her Master’s at the University of Miami where they met while he was sent to Japan for two years. Then he was stationed in Virginia, followed by Lemoore, and now he was at Miramar. The longest base he’d been at. Y/n had been with him in Virginia, but didn’t move to Lemoore as she had a three-year contract with her job at the University of Virginia.

Toward the end of his two years at Lemoore, Y/n called Y/n to inform her he was being stationed at North Island and the contract was to be at least five years. Wanting to be close to him after being apart for so long and filled with hope they’d finally settle after Ryan hits ten years in the Navy, Y/n transferred to the University of California San Diego as the history of music professor. She also took on a part-time job as a bartender Friday and Saturday since she was only teaching two sections that occurred on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Plus Penny allowed her to sing Friday nights as an added bonus knowing she loved music.

Y/n settled rather quickly in North Island. With her two jobs she developed a friendly social circle consisting of the UCSD staff on campus and regulars at the Hard Deck. Several of the aviators took a liking to her. They knew Ryan and would often meet up every Friday after work to catch up on the week and watch her sing. Y/n always had their rounds ready the moment they walked in, “got ya seven cold ones.”

“Already?”

“The newbie over there didn’t read the sign. Round’s on him.”

They’d cheer Y/n on when she sang, literally the loudest bunch in the whole bar. “Sing it girl!”

“Ariana ain’t got nothing on you!

Phoenix sometimes sat at the bar when she needed to get away from the guys. “Are you working tomorrow?”

“Penny gave me the night off since I got papers to grade…but If I get done early I’ll be free.”

“Please, I am in need of a girls night. Hell I’ll even come help you grade if you tell me what to do.”

“Damn, Nat, were the guys too much this week?” She placed another beer in front of the pilot, removing the empty one to discard. “This one’s on me. You look like you need it.”

“You have no idea, Y/n. All week we’ve been training for an upcoming mission and they’ve been driving me nuts.”

Ryan had his own group of friends from the base who’d come toward the later hours of the night. They’d usually take up the space at the bar, Ryan greeting Y/n with a kiss and telling her how the day was. He’d nurse a couple beers before he and Y/n would retreat to her apartment when the place closed at eleven.

They’d been together for several years, coming up on their eighth anniversary when Y/n discovered his infidelity.

And it wasn’t just a one-and-done “I was drunk and stupid, she doesn’t mean anything,” type of deal. No, this was a long going affair lasting almost a year.

What was the kicker? The other woman was a married coworker of his.

Now Y/n may have had the reputation of being the sweet, down to earth, understanding person who would never hurt a fly. But as soon as her eyes landed on Ryan, her partner of eight years, shoving his throat down another woman’s throat while grabbing her ass like it would vanish from thin air…..she saw red. Kill Bill sirens blasting in her mind. Y/n wanted to ruin both of them seeing she wasn’t the only person betrayed. The woman’s husband was also being deceived.

And what was punishment for adultery and extramarital sexual conduct? Well, according to the Uniform Code of Military Justice those in the military who are married or have affairs with married personnel are dishonorably discharged, forfeited of all pay and confined for one whole year.

Was it harsh? Maybe some would see it that way. But cheaters need to be taught a lesson.

And Y/n was gonna make sure they got it.

For a whole week Y/n put on a brave face. Accumulating photographs and screenshots of text messages, emails, and bank statements to show proof of the affair and how long it had been going on. She secretly got in touch with the husband of the Lieutenant Ryan was sleeping with, presenting him with everything. Heartbroken and angry, he agreed to remain quiet until the meeting Y/n had set up on that following Friday with their partner's supervisor.

“I know this is a lot to ask,” she exhaled, tired from everything and having to act like she was fine. “But come Friday they’ll be faced with the consequences of their actions. I’m sorry you’re having to go through this as well.”

“It’s not your fault—you’re not the one who cheated on me. You’re the one who found out and had the decency to tell me. We both got screwed,” he rubbed his face with his hands, wedding ring flashing under the light. When it caught his eyes all he could do was glare at it. “The only thing making this somewhat bearable is the fact they’re gonna be hit with the ultimate blindside.”

Y/n nodded to his ring, “What are you gonna do?”

“I’m contacting a divorce lawyer once I leave here. Hopefully the papers will be drawn up quickly so I can bring them to the meeting. Make it a double whammy. You?”

Y/n threw back the rest of her gin & tonic, letting out another tired sign, “I booked a flight to Cabo. Spring break is next week so I’m gonna take a well needed week long vacation and then figure it out from there.” Sunny skies with margaritas and radio silence seemed to be the best therapy at the moment.

For the next three days Y/n maintained a strong façade. Whenever Ryan went to kiss her she’d kept it short or moved to where his lips hit her cheek. She continued to send screenshots to her phone and delete the conversations so he wouldn’t notice. When she surprised him at work for lunch the day before the meeting it really threw both the cheaters off.

“Y/n,” his eyes went wide, “what are you doing here?”

“Thought I’d surprise you for lunch,” she held up a bag of homemade stir fry, bidding a glance at the woman who also was white a sheet. “Hi, I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Y/n.”

“Becca.”

“Becca,” she repeated, a smile tight on her lips. While doing so she gave an obvious glance to Becca’s ring finger, finding the diamond. “Beautiful ring you’ve got there. Are you engaged?” Becca became flustered, but kept calm.

“Married.”

“Ah, your husband has a great eye for jewelry. You’re so lucky.”

Ryan was quick to cut the conversation short after the mention of Becca’s husband. Visibly uncomfortable with how Y/n was throwing their aldurty in their face despite not knowing she was aware of it.

The next day Y/n marched into their superiors office, dressed like a corporate CEO ready to fire the entire team for an unforgivable mistake, with two boxes on each arm. One filled with all the evidence of Ryan and Becca’s affair, the other containing all of Ryan’s belongings he had at Y/n’s apartment. Becca’s husband, Tim arrived a minute later with a folder of divorce papers in his hands.

They met with the supervisor first. Y/n introduced who she was and who Tim was, presenting the box of evidence and explained while the Captain shuffled through the papers. Visibly disgusted, the Captain thanked Y/n for bringing it to his attention and promised the adults he would handle the rest.

“Are you calling them in right now?” She asked.

“I was planning to this afternoon, why?”

“I’d like to be present if you don’t mind,” a hand came up to the other box she had, “These are his things and frankly, I want to see the look on his face.”

“Me too,” Tim piped up and waved the folder in his hands. “These need to be served to Becca.”

The supervisor simply shrugged and said, “if that’s what you want, fine by me.” He hit a button on his phone, “Wilkins, please inform Lieutenants Stevens and Leeds they need to report to my office immediately.”

“Yes, sir.” Though her heart was racing, Y/n remained poised and took a seat against the wall of the room. Tim sat beside her, both setting their gaze on the door to await their soon to be exes.

Roughly ten minutes later, a knock on the door sounded and the Captain gruffly said, “enter.” The door opened to reveal Ryan, whose eyes went straight to his superior before scanning the room ultimately resulting in him to freeze where he stood. Turning white as a sheet, Y/n could only imagine what was running through her ex boyfriend’s mind. There was great satisfaction seeing his eyes flicker from her to Tim to the Captain.

“Have a seat, Lieutenant,” the older gentleman's finger pointed to the seat in front of his desk. It seemed to snap Ryan from his daydream, the man stumbling into the room and unable to form words.

When he sat the first thing he tried to say was her name to which the Captain voiced, “I didn’t say you could speak, Lieutenant. Keep quiet, we’re waiting on one more before we get started.”

Becca’s reaction was pretty much the same when she arrived two minutes later. “T-tim,” she stuttered, red as a tomato and fear etched on her face.

“Rebecca,” his tone was blank, matching his expression. Just the full name combined with the parties in the room indicated to Becca she was about to have the worst day of her life.

But hey, maybe she shouldn’t have cheated then.

And Ryan? Mans was shitting bricks where he sat. Couldn’t even bring himself to look at Becca when she sat in the chair beside him. He kept trying to plead to Y/n with his eyes but she wasn’t having it.

The Captain got right to it. He laid out all the evidence on the desk for the two to see, Becca immediately breaking into tears while Ryan tried to explain. What could he explain though? How could he defend a year long affair with a married coworker in front of her husband, longtime girlfriend and superior.

When it came time for the Captain to discuss where to go from there, Y/n excused herself by dropping the box of Ryan’s things into his lap, “Here’s all your shit,” it nearly spilled onto the floor when the action surprised him. “Don’t call, text, show up at my place or at the bar tonight otherwise I’ll call the cops. I’m done with you, Ryan. Thanks for wasting eight fucking years of my life.”

“Wait, Y/n, please—,” she cut him off when he went to stand.

“You’ve not been dismissed yet,” that got him to freeze, noticing the Captain smirking in the corner of her eye. She turned to Tim, “Thanks for your help. Good luck with everything and I hope it works in your favor.” Becca gasped, realizing what the folder in Tim’s hand represented. It spurred on another wave of tears.

“Thanks,” he gave a tired smile, “And good luck to you.” With that Y/n was out the door and Ryan was out of her life. First thing she did was go home, change, and drive to the Hard Deck. Penny immediately poured a glass for her, “long day?” Y/n accepted the beer with a nod.

“Glad it's almost over.”

“What happened?”

Y/n felt the tears welling in her eyes. The emotions she had been holding the past two weeks had finally broken free. Concern formed on Penny’s face. “Ryan was cheating on me for the past year.”

“No,” the woman gasped. Never had she thought Ryan, who always came to the bar to keep Y/n company and watch her sing and her partner of almost a decade would betray her like that. “Did you just find out today?”

“Last Monday. I went to bring him his dry cleaning he left at my place and found him making out with his married coworker.” Another gasp left Penny. “I’ve been playing actor the past two weeks to make him think everything was okay while I gathered proof. Told the woman’s husband a couple days ago and we both met with their superior today. Gave him his stuff while I was at it.”

“I’m so sorry honey,” Penny reached over to pat her hand, “he’s an asshole and you’re worth so much more than him.” Y/n softly smiled at that, mumbling a thanks. Penny served her another glass, “Take the night off okay, I can call Elise to take your shift.”

If Y/n was being honest the offer sounded like a dream. She wanted to go home and cry herself into a bucket of ice cream while watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine until she passed out. But part of her also wanted to sing her pent up feelings out. “Thanks, Penny. I’d still like to sing though if you don’t mind. I could use the release.”

“Of course,” Penny waved a hand, “Whenever you feel like it I’ll have Jose set up the mic. Your guitar’s in the back where I keep the stock.”

For the next couple hours Y/n caught up on grading some papers at a booth while she waited for 8 to roll around. By 6 most of their regulars from the base arrived, signaling the end of the work day. Nat was the first to spot Y/n, strolling over and immediately noticed by the professor's body language that something was off.

“What happened?” She sat across from her.

“What makes you think something happened?”

Nat gave a look, “first, you’re not working the bar.” Y/n shrugged, trying to be nonchalant.

“Penny gave me the night off. I’m still singing though so I thought I’d hang out for the time being—catch up grading before spring break next week.”

“The tone in your voice is off.”

Y/n scoffed even though the pilot was right, “It’s not off.”

“What’s not off?” Rooster comes up, pushing Nat aside so he could slide into the booth.

“Y/n’s acting off and won’t say why.”

“I’ve been grading papers for the last two hours,” Y/n rolled her eyes, “sixty to be exact and all are six pages each. If I sound off it’s probably because I’m tired.” Again, Nat doesn’t appear convinced.

“But you’re still gonna sing even though you probably would rather be home sleeping the day away?”

“Friday nights are what I look forward to during the week,” Y/n scribbled a grade at the top of the paper in front of her, placing it on the stack, “I get to see you guys and sing whatever I want. I wouldn’t miss this.”

“Is Ryan coming?” It was an innocent question and one to expect from her friends given they had no idea of the events that’d taken place. However it didn’t stop the sharp intake of breath Y/n did.

“No, he’s not,” she quickly added before they could ask why, “he got held up at work. His supervisor needed to discuss some things with him.”

“Uh oh,” Rooster made a face, unaware of the boiling anger surfacing in Y/n. “That can’t be good.”

“Yeah,” Y/n clicked her pen, finishing up the last paper. Nat decided not to press further on what was bothering her friend. If Y/n wanted to say then that was up to her.

So to brighten her mood Nat bought her a round and challenged Y/n to a game of pool. Y/n packed up her things, placed them behind the bar and then greeted the other daggers.

“There’s our favorite singer,” Jake announced with a smile. “We were wondering where you were.” Y/n took the cue Rooster handed her.

“Just trying to get through the semester, Hangman.”

The two women played best out of three with Y/n winning the first and final game. By the time they finished it was pushing 7:50 so Y/n informed Penny she was getting her guitar. Once retrieving the instrument she returned to the floor to see Jose had set up the mic and stool for her.

Grabbing a glass of water, Y/n took the stage and set the glass beside the stool before clearing her throat, “Hey everyone.” There were a few hoots and whistles from her friends and regulars at the bar. “How’s your night going? Good?” There were some ‘yeahs’ from the crowd, people moving to get drinks and settle close to the stage. “That’s great to hear. Just sit back, relax, and feel the music.”

Y/n played several songs, all acoustic, starting with Taylor Swift’s ‘Getaway Car’ followed by ‘Back to Black’ by Amy Winehouse. She changed the tune by playing Bill Withers ‘Ain’t No Sunshine,’ but changed ‘she’ to ‘he’ that not many caught. She played ‘Norman Fucking Rockwell,’ by Lana Del Rey and ‘Somebody That I Used To Know,’ from Gotye.

Coming up to the final five minutes of the hour, Y/n gulped the remaining bit of her water and put on a brave face. “This last song,” she paused to close her eyes, “fits the theme you’ve been hearing all night, but is a little more close to the heart. It’s dedicated to someone who’s not present in the crowd which really is a good thing because he knew what was best for him,” very quickly Y/n saw the confusion appear on her friends, some whispering to each other to ask if they knew what she was talking about. “If you can relate to this song because you’ve been on the receiving end of betrayal then my heart goes out to you for I feel your pain. If you can relate because you’ve been that one to betray someone, well, I’ve got nothing to say to you.”

Letting her fingers drum against the strings, the beginning chords of ‘Before He Cheats’ by Carrie Underwood echoed through the bar.

“Right now, he’s probably slow dancin’,” her voice carried into the mic, raw with emotion. “With a bleached-blond tramp and she’s probably gettin’ frisky. Right now, he’s probably buyin’ her some fruity little drink. ‘Cause she can’t shoot whisky.”

Out in the crowd Nat cursed under her breath, anger rising at the realization, “That sly bastard.”

“What?” Mickey whispered, the guys leaning in.

“Right now, he’s probably up behind her with a pool stick. Showin’ her how to shoot a como. And he doesn’t know….”

“Don’t you see?” She gestured with a hand to Y/n, “Ryan cheated on her! That’s why he’s not here. That’s why his supervisor needed to see him. It’s why she’s dedicated this song, a song about a cheater, to him!”

All the sirens ring in their heads as Y/n belts the chorus.

“I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive. Carved my name into his leather seats. I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights, I slashed a hole in all four tires. Maybe next time he’ll think before he cheats.”

“Oh,” the word left Jake’s lips, fury in his green eyes. Y/n was his friend, and nobody hurts his friends. “Oh he’s gonna regret that.”

“You guys thinking what I’m thinking?” Rooster crossed his arms over his chest. All of them shared a look. Nat took one look at Y/n and saw how she was holding back tears.

Kill Bill sirens flooded her brain.

“Yeah, I think we are.”

Come Monday Ryan was emptying out his desk while he awaited his discharge hearing, dark circles under his eyes and in dire need of sleep. As he carried the box out to his car, it fell from his hands with horror coating his face.

Parked in the same spot his beloved red Mustang Charger was not the way he left it. The windows were shattered, tires slashed, the leather of his seats torn. His license plates were missing and the word cheater spray painted in white along the sides.

Hiding behind the building, the guys were biting back their laughter at his reaction. Bob holding the spray paint can, Mickey with the Louisville slugger and Bradley and Jake with pocket knives. Reuben had the plates behind his back and Javy kept checking the phone where he had hacked into the building's security cameras to make sure they were disconnected.

Right on time, Nat came running around the corner in her PT gear, slowing her run when she approached a visibly distraught and furious Ryan. Removing her headphones the pilot whistled, “Damn. That’s gonna be a field day to fix.”

Ryan snapped his head to her, “Do you know who did this?” His tone was accusatory and Nat couldn’t blame him. He knew she was friends with Y/n and frequented the bar every week. He wouldn’t put it past Nat being involved. “Was it you and her? Huh? Y/n had to get one last final laugh—as if she hasn’t done enough!” Nat only scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“I wouldn’t throw accusations so loosely, Ryan. I’ve had PT all morning and Y/n left for Cabo yesterday.” There was no lie in her statement. Y/n was currently sitting at the poolside of her resort with a margarita in her hand. She’d posted on her instagram stories and let Nat know when she landed. Plus the pilot did have PT and was finishing up her run before heading to the flight line.

But she was the mastermind while the boys did the dirty work.

The truth only angered Ryan more, his face turning even more red. “Then who did this?!”

“How should I know?” Nat smirked, putting her headphones in as she started to move past him. “But maybe next time you’ll think before you cheat.”

………..

TGM tag list: @avaleineandafryingpan @caitsymichelle13 @poppyalice2001 @cutelittlepotatofry @luckyladycreator2 @americaarse @elenavampire21 @back-tooo-black @wildellaa @artemissunn @pinkpantheris

[nightwitchwriter]

New Chapter

Happy Halloween! The first and second session is in honor of Samhain, aka All Hallow’s Eve, aka Halloween.

Chapter 4: Samhain

Six more days until Halloween! Woo! If you’re wondering why I’m counting down from six, well in some cultures, six cultures 6 is an unlucky number. Well, if you consider 666, that’s a unlucky number right? Anyway, once Halloween hits, there is going to be a huge party.

I open the doors to school, and take into my surroundings. Halloween decorations can be seen through the hallway and some classrooms. The school celebrates Halloween by letting the students throw a freaky Halloween party, as well as wear costumes on the date. I have no need for a costume, yet I dress for the occasion anyway.

“Really? Orange and black?”

I turned to see Nick staring at my clothes.

“What? They’re traditional Halloween colors. I like them, I wear them.”

“Well, I’m just saying, orange is one of the few bright colors you wear. Especially since…”

“Since I’m a witch? For Pete’s sake, calm down. Witches celebrate Halloween too.”

“No, because you can’t-”

Realizing what he was going to say, I quickly shut him up making the same move Yubaba did on Chihiro in Spirited Away to keep her from talking.

“Mm?!”

“Hey you swore not to say anything outside my house since you signed that contract. You really don’t want to piss me off on Halloween, do you?” I gave him a sly grin.

Shaken, but annoyed, he nodded.

“Good.” I unzipped his mouth, continuing my way as he took a breath.

“You can breathe through your nose, you know.”

“Nicky! Nicky!”

We both turned to see my sister, in her school uniform, running towards us.

“Faye? What are you doing here?” Most of the people here didn’t know I have a sister, much less any family. 

“Who’s that?” “Don’t know.” “Will seems to know her.” “Is that her sister?” “I thought she was an only child?” “She’s so cute!” “Are you sure they’re related?”

See what I mean? I groaned. Even without whispering, I could see questions written all over their faces.

Faye grinned from ear to ear, as she took out an orange envelope with black cobweb etchings, and handed it over to Nick.

“I, Faye McCalmont , dubly invites you and your sisters to our upcoming Halloween party. We’ll have tricks, treats and a super scary feat!” she announced as nobly as possible.

Aw, shit. I knew what she was planning, and I am not having this happen.

“Nope.” I stated, taking the envelope out of Nick’s hand.

“Hey!” complained the two children

“Trust me. You do not want to go to this party.”

“And why not?” questioned Nick

“Yeah, why not?” copied Faye

“Because it's not that kind of party.” I growled through my teeth.

“Then I’ll be happy to come, Faye. I’m sure my sisters will be happy too.”

I glared at him, while my sister giggled at his gentlemanly manner.

“It’ll be a pleasure seeing you there, milord.” she answered in an Irish accent.

“Leave.” I growled, pointing the way out.

“Bye-bye!” Faye ran out of the school, before any teachers appeared.

“Yoink!” Nick took the invitation from my hands.

“H-hey! Give that back!” I reached for the invite, but couldn’t grab it.

“Technically, it is mine. So no. your sister did give it to me personally, I may add.” I swear, I know he is mocking me right now. 

I reached for the invite again, but even on platform boots, I still couldn’t reach his height. Nick was like, a couple of inches taller than me, but didn’t include his long arms or the fact that he was on his tiptoes. 

I was close to grabbing it, when it was taken out of his hand. We both looked to see Heather inspecting the invite.

“Nick, don’t tell me the witch invited you to her party? Don’t you know that if you follow a witch to her home, she’ll eat you?”

Oh, for God’s sake.

“For your information, witches don’t do that anymore. That’s been illegal since the 1900s.”

“Illegal?”

“Illegal?!”

Crap. I realized my mistake, and while Heather looked annoyed and confused, Nick was shocked and scared. Good.

“The point is, that witches, rather people in general, don’t do that. Besides, everyone knows that witches throw the best Halloween parties. Not only that my sister gave him the invitation.” I stated

 The queen bee smiled. “I heard. The freak has a freak of a sister.”

I struggled to withhold my anger. My mom says that me and my sister have a fairy’s temper. 

“I guess, it could be fun.” she continued. “If you see fun as childish.”

Anger continuing to grow.

“I, however, am throwing a mature, scary Halloween party, at an old warehouse my parents managed to rent for two nights. Nick, I’m sure this one will be much more appreciative for that night.”

Oh, God. If you want to sleep with him, just do it already.

  “Actually, my mom asked me to take my sister's trick-or-treating on Halloween, since something came up for both my parents. So I’m not sure they’ll appreciate your party. Maybe later once they hit the sack?”

Eh? I looked at him, with a questioning look.

“Hm? Are you sure? Halloween is supposed to be scary once night falls.”

“Positive. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Alright.” she relented. She kissed him on the cheek before walking away. “Wait til you see my costume Nick. You're going to be howling like a werewolf once you see it.”

Ugh. She may not be a succubus, but she acts worse than one.

“Ow! What the heck?”

“Why did you have to lie to her like that?”

“I wasn’t. My mom really did ask me and I said sure. Besides, I’m sure my sisters will be happy to go to your family’s Halloween party. You really don’t want people to come to this party, do you? I bet not even Maddy has an invite.”

“She does but it's different. It’ll be the only time when my magic will be at its highest.”

“Speaking of that, did you say that witches actually used to eat people?!”

“That was a long time ago, and it depended on the culture. Nowadays people don’t do that anymore. Why? Stopped you from coming?”

“No.” he began walking away, revealing the invitation in his hands. “But, once my sisters hear about this, you try stopping them from going. See ya!”

“H-hey!”

Great. In six days and counting, Nick, his sisters and Maddy are coming to my house on Halloween night. 

Did he forget to realize that there will be actual monsters there?

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Six days hath passed… (see what I did there?)

Nick’s POV

Halloween is tomorrow, and the past few days, I’ve noticed Will and her family preparing for the event. At the cafe, their home, even Will’s locker was decorated to the extreme with various Halloween props. She even brought Halloween themed food for lunch, practically scaring the rest of the student body, along with her pranks. Though no one but me knows it her. Surprising, even myself, I smile to myself, thinking how much fun my sisters are going to have. 

“Nicholas!”

 I stopped and saw Mrs. McCalmont coming towards me, carrying a large bag.

“I wanted to give you and your sisters something for the party tomorrow. You didn’t get your costumes yet, have you?” she asked

“Not really. My sister’s are being picky, and I wasn’t planning of wearing something elaborate as a costume. Just a mask, that’s it.”

She chuckled like it was a joke. “Oh, don’t be silly, here.” She handed me the bag. “I’m sure you and your sisters will love them.”

I looked inside and saw the folded fabric. 

“You made us costumes?” I was surprised of someone being so generous. “You didn’t have to. What about Will or Faye?”

“Don’t worry. Their costumes have been done two weeks ago.” She answered

Why doesn’t that surprise me? 

 “There’s also additional items that go with the costumes.”

“Oh, thank you. I’m sure my sisters will like them.” Let’s hope anyway.

“I’ll see you on Halloween. Come at 6 o’clock!”

“We will! Thank you again!”

When I got home, I showed the costumes to my parents and sisters. I don’t know if its because she’s a witch or a mother, or something else, but she was right. My sisters love their costumes.

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Will’s POV

It was around sunset, 5:30pm to be exact, when they came. I was helping Faye finish putting on her costume, when the doorbell rang. My dad changed the bell to something similar to the bell of the Addams Family.

“I’ll get it!” she yelled, running out of the room

“Faye!” Dammit! I didn’t zip her back yet!

I chased her down the stairs to the door.

“Who is it?” Faye asked

“It’s Felicity, Samantha and Molly! And NicK!”

“That’s not what you say today! It’s Halloween! Try again!”

“Oh! Trick-or-Treat!” called all girls

I sighed in amusement and grabbed the candy bowl as Faye quickly opened the door.

The three sisters, and Nick were all wearing their costumes. Felicity wore a traditional witch costume, Samantha wore a doll costume, complete with mask, and Molly was a Dullahan. Nick wore a 19th century vampire outfit, though the clothes are actually from the 19th century.All made by my mom. Faye was dressed as Queen Titania, queen of the fairies. I was dressed in a white gothic dress from the movie, Beastly.

“Hey.” said Nick, eyes widened in amazement.

“Hey.” I replied, in equal amazement.

“Candy!” yelled Molly. She held out her bag.

“Molly! That’s not how you ask for stuff!”

“That's okay. She did say trick-or-treat.” I laughed. I like Molly’s forwardness. These girls are going to get along great with my sister.

“Here you go.” I gave each of them a handful of candy. “Sis! Get mom to zipper your back and get your candy bag! You guys can come inside. You're early.”

“Yay!” The girls rushed inside, following Faye.

“Can you help us with our make-up?” asked Felicity

“Sure. I’ll make you guys have the scariest faces.”

“Nick too!” pointed Molly

“And Nick.” I smiled

“No thanks. I’m good. Is Maddy here?” he asked as we went up the stairs.

“Yeah. Got here 15 minutes ago. And you’re putting on that make-up. Anyway, who’s the kid?”

Nick must have known what I was talking about, because he leaned closer towards me.

“You see him too?”

I sighed. “Yes, I see the ghost boy.”

The boy I’m talking about, is a cute little seven year old in a skeleton costume. Faye was already introducing herself to him.

“He’s been following us the last two blocks. I thought ghosts were supposed to be invisible. How is he here and why can my sisters see him? He’s not like Sam from that trick or treat movie is he?”

“I assure you, he’s not.” I chuckled over Nick’s panic. “He’s a Halloween spirit. They’re people and children that died and visit our realm today and the next two days.”

“So, he won’t curse, possess or hurt them, will he?”

“Dude, it's Halloween. Let go of your fears. It’s time to celebrate. Here.” I handed him a piece of red cake. “Have this.”

“Thanks.” He stuck his fork in, watched as red sauce came out of the holes, and due to me staring, took a big bite of it. He then proceeded to eat more.

“This is good. What is it?”

“Piece of flesh.”

Instantly, his eyes widen in fear and quickly spit the cake out and threw the rest into the garbage. I laughed and relished at his reaction.

“Hahahahaha! Oh, God! Your face! Haha! It was only cake!” Man, that comment of witches eating people early really got to him. “It was red velvet and cherry jelly!”

Nick glared at me like he actually wanted to set me on fire. It was hilarious.

“Okay, let me take you and your sisters to the bathroom. You are going to love the make up I put on you.”

“Hey Nick. What are you doing here?”

We turned to see Maddy, wearing an 70s costume, with the glasses I gave her. I just finished putting Nick’s make up on after doing his sisters. My mom helped to, but left to prepare for the other kids. Nick’s face was now a skeleton, with his hair slicked back.

“Woah, Maddy. Nice costume.” complimented Nick, once he saw her 70s outfit.

“Thanks. Will gave it to me. Are you suppose to be a skeleton?”

“Yeah, I guess so, but how can you tell?”

“I can see you.” she stated cheerfully.

“I thought you were blind.”

“I am. But for some strange reason, I can see. I’m not one to ask questions why, but I’ll advantage of it for the rest of the night.” She then left to go mingle.

Earlier today, I decided to tell her the same thing I told Nick, but I was actually going to tell her first, since she’s my friend. She was shocked at first, but then decided to go with it, think I was just making it up. I made those glasses to make her temporarily see. I think she believes me now. 

It was six o’clock, and the rest of Faye’s friends and classmates were here. I played another prank on Nick by turning the ice into fake eyeballs. Seeing him flinch in fear is so funny. I wonder if this is what witches in the past felt like when playing pranks on humans.

“Playing pranks already?” Mom came from the kitchen.

“It’s Halloween, mom. I’m allowed to play pranks.” I defended

She chuckled as she gave me a traveler’s skeleton key.

“Be back by before nine, if you want to see the parade.”

“Alright.” Trick or Treating from six to nine, doesn’t seem like a lot of time, but with a traveler’s skeleton key, I can go anywhere in the world. Which means time zones.

“All right you monsters!” I announced to the trick-or-treaters.” “Are you ready to eat enough candy to rot your teeth from the inside out and be scared out of your minds?”

“Yeah!!!” cheered the group of children.

“Then let’s go trick or treating!”

“Trick or Treat! Trick or Treat! Trick or Treat!” chanted the kids.

For the next three hours, which varies thanks to time zones, we trick or treated in several different states, in both Earth and Arcanos. We went to New Orleans, LA, Salem, MA, Sleepy Hollow, NY, Savannah, GA and other cities and towns known for Halloween specials. Thank you traveler’s skeleton key.

Felicity, Samantha and Molly’s eyes were bulging out of their skulls right now. I don't think they ever got this much candy before. I feel bad for their parents trying to take it from them.

It was nearly nine when we all traveled back home, when Nick decided to talk to me. Except for talking to his sisters and Maddy, he was quiet all night.

“You know, I never expected this to happen.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, believe it or not, I actually did some research on how witches celebrate Halloween and today. Aren’t you guys supposed to be worshipping spirits or something?”

Well at least he’s honest and did some research first.

“Not really. All Hallow’s Eve, or Samhain or Halloween, was more of an agricultural celebration, rather than religious or spiritual. Though there are some gods involved. Anyway, Halloween is kind of similar back then as it is today. Just not so commercialized. Halloween is the only time of year when the spirit world and Earth crosses with each other and magic power heightens at its peak.”

“That’s what you said earlier about Maddy.”

“Yeah, I used the added power boost to make those glasses so Maddy could see, though it’ll only work for tonight. You can’t use magic to someone’s blindness.”

“That sucks.”

“Uh-huh.  I was planning on telling her the truth earlier, but then you came along. At least she didn’t have a panic attack like you did.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“It's fine. Anyway, to avoid being pranked by mischievous spirits, people would disguise themselves in order to fool them. Of course, they saw through it over time, but they liked this idea. In addition to that, they left out treats for the spirit to eat.”

“Hence trick or treat?”

“Hence trick or treat. Halloween and Days of the Dead are the only time when the fantasy and spirit world connect with the earth and when normal people can see them. Though again there are a few exceptions.”

We arrived at my house in Arcanos and after thanking us, the children, including Nick’s sisters ran inside, eager to continue the party. 

“By the time we come back, it’ll look like the candy stock market hit. They’ll probably be still trading candy when we come back.”

“Trading candy? Haven’t done that since I was a kid. Maybe when come back from Heather’s party, I’ll trade in some candy myself. So, quick question, how are we going to get to the party?” Asked Nick

I smiled at him, taking out my broom.

“Ask a stupid question…”

[atc74]

Fast Cars and Freedom - Part 2

Word Count: 4087

Warnings: Fluff, slightly angsty Teen Dean, super light smut, storm warnings

A/N: Inspired by the Rascal Flats song Fast Cars and Freedom. I do have a few parts planned for this, let’s call it a mini series maybe...Thanks as always to my bestie, @just-another-busy-fangirl for her mad beta skills. Italics indicate flashbacks.

Fast Cars and Freedom series masterlist

We lay in bed, spent from worshiping each other’s bodies for hours. Our room was quiet except for the wind and rain outside and our still ragged breaths. I held my wife gently in my arms, each of us still damp with the perspiration of our efforts when a scream broke the silence.

“I’ll get him, you get some rest.” I kissed the top of her head and reluctantly slid out of our bed, throwing on a pair of lounge pants. I padded down the hall to our five year old’s room to find him cowering in the corner of his bed.

“Buddy, what’s wrong? Bad dream?” I asked, sitting on the edge of his bed and he leapt into my lap, wrapping his arms tightly around my neck; he was warm, too warm.

“Daddy, I had a nightmare; there was fire. I got scared and I had an accident. I’m sorry Daddy,” he cried into my neck.

“Hey, Will, Buddy, you don’t have to be sorry. It was an accident and I think you are coming down with something. Let’s get you cleaned up and we will go see Mom, okay?” I told him and stood, lowering him to the floor as I took off his soiled bed clothes and we walked to the bathroom. I ran a lukewarm bath and had just gotten him in the tub when Y/N walked in.

“Hi, Mama,” Will said weakly from the tub as I helped him clean himself.

“Hey, little man, what’s wrong?” She knelt down and gently kissed his forehead, then raised her eyes at me when she felt how warm he was. “I am going to get you some clean jammies, then when you are done, you can come lay with us. Does that sound good?” She was always so calm.

“Okay, Mama,” Will replied as we finished up his bath. I wrapped him a fluffy towel and got him dressed before I carried him down the hall to our room. I laid him in the bed with Y/N and she had his fever medicine and his favorite book ready. I gave them both a kiss before I headed back to Will’s room to strip his bed and get the sheets in the washer.

When I returned to our room, he was fast asleep and Y/N was running her fingers gently over his forehead; a trick she had shown me when he was only a few weeks old and fussing, but it put him out like a light. I crawled back into bed with my wife, our small son nestled between us.

“I am glad he got some sleep and didn’t wake up an hour ago.” She winked at me across his small blond head. “That would have been less than ideal.”

“Oh yeah. At least we got to finish this time! You do remember that night don’t you?” I smiled at her, her eyes shining bright through the dimly lit room.

“Remember? I have tried to block it out of mind, but I just can’t. That was the night I knew we could make it through anything,” she recalled.

“Let me take you back, kid,” I said fondly as I rewound time for her.

~*~

It had been the best summer of my life. Y/N and I spent as much as possible together when I wasn’t working. We spent lazy afternoons out by the river, sometimes letting Sam tag along. We took long drives to nowhere in particular, just to scratch the itch to drive. But as summer drew to a close and the start of our junior year crept closer, I felt myself growing distant from Y/N. I started working longer hours out in the shop, spending more time on Baby, closing myself off from everyone, even Y/N. I knew I should come clean, but I never was big on words.

School started with a rush of new schedules, making sure Sam had everything he needed and making frequent stops to get what had been forgotten. Chores were still looming over me every afternoon, along with homework. I buckled down and got it done each night, often taking a walk after dinner just to clear my head and sort out my thoughts.

I stepped foot on the porch after one of the walks, feeling slightly better than I had when I started when a voice stopped me.

“You ever going to tell me what is going on in that handsome head of yours?” Y/N asked lightly, sitting on the porch swing, her legs dangling over the edge.

“I didn’t see you there. What’re you doing out here?” I asked, trying to remain casual.

“I could ask you the same thing. You disappear every night after dinner. You stay gone for hours, then come back and repeat the process again the next day. Dean, please talk to me.” Y/N grabbed for my hand, pulling me to her. The pleading look in her eyes pulled me farther in.

“I am sorry, Y/N. I haven’t been going anywhere; just walking and thinking,” I told her.

“Dean, you can talk to me, you know. I hope you would know this by now. We have been friends for most of our lives and together for the last few months. I love you and there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you,” she promised.

“I know, I do. I just...I needed some time to myself. I have had a lot on my mind lately and needed some time to sort it all out.” I wanted to tell her more. I wanted to tell her all the things that were on my mind. “Thank you.”

“Of course, Dean. I am yours and you are mine and that is all we need right now. I know you will tell me when you are ready,” she whispered, laying her head on my shoulder and I breathed in her sweet shampoo before I placed a kiss on the top of her head.

~*~

“Hey, Y/N? You want to take a walk with me?” I asked her as soon as the dinner dishes were put away and I reached out my hand to her.

“I thought you’d never ask,” she replied sweetly, taking my hand in hers.

We walked in silence for a good distance, weaving our way through the old, broken down and rusted out junkers that littered the scrap yard behind the shop. I stopped her as we neared the edge of the yard where there was a break in the chain link fence. I held one side of the fence back for her so she could slip through before following close behind her. The river flowed swiftly ahead of us and we stepped up to the edge of the bank, dropping to the blanket I had laid out.

“So what’s on your mind, Winchester?” she asked, bumping her shoulder into mine.

“I know I have been distant the last few weeks and I am sorry. I have just been thinking about how my life was just a year ago and then in the blink of an eye, everything changed. I lost my dad and then Sammy and I had no one. I know your dad is always there and he loves us, but it just isn’t the same, ya know? Then you and me became, well, you and me, and I will forever be grateful for that dip in the river. I think I always knew I loved you, but that day you made it so clear for me. But lately I have been thinking about my dad. He has been gone almost a year now and I can’t help but think what life would be like if he were still here, and…”

“And you are wondering if you and me would still be you and me?” she finished my sentence before I could even formulate what I wanted to say.

“Yeah. If my dad were still alive, would ‘we’ have ever happened?” Dean wondered aloud.

“We would have and you know it. It just may have taken you a little longer to get on board. I told you before Dean, we are meant to be. It may have happened later, but I am glad that it didn’t. I am happy with you, now and forever.” She pulled me to her, pressing a sweet kiss to my lips.

“Me, too, kid. Me, too,” I replied, laying down and wrapping my arms around her.

“You know that you are only seven months older than me, right?” She chuckled, lightly tickling my side.

“Hey, older is older. And don’t start what you can’t finish,” I teased, both of us knowing she never wins a tickle fight.

~*~

School had been kicking my ass all winter and I wasn’t even excited to celebrate my birthday. Seventeen wasn’t a milestone year and I already had everything I wanted, except my parents. I had Sammy, Bobby and Y/N. I had enough money to take my girl on dates and keep fuel in my Baby.

I still went for walks around the yard after dinner, but most nights I took Y/N with me. We talked about our frustrations with school and the teenage hierarchy, which neither of us fit into, and the upcoming events.

“Hey, Dean?” she asked one night as we were walking, bundled up and huddled together against the wind.

“Yeah, Y/N,” I looked down to see her eyes peering up at me.

“I got you something for your birthday and I was going to wait to give it to you but I can’t wait anymore. Here!” she squealed and shoved an envelope at me.

“What is this Y/N?” I asked, a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.

“It is a birthday present, duh! Now open it!” she exclaimed.

My hands shook slightly as I opened the envelope and pulled out the heavy, hand made card it held. Y/N was an amazing artist and had drawn a portrait of me sitting on the hood of Baby, the sun setting behind me. It was beautiful. I opened the card and a piece of paper slipped out and floated to the ground. I bent to retrieve it to read the words she had written there:

You are my white knight

On a black steed

You are what I want

I am what you need

Be my date for Prom

And our fate will be sealed

Once we have done the deed

“Are you taking me to Prom just to have sex with me? Is this what this means?” I couldn’t help myself, I chuckled a bit at her ingenuity.

“Duh! I mean, have you seen you?! What girl wouldn’t want to go to Prom with you, but you are all mine Winchester and I intend to make it official at our Junior Prom.” She winked.

“You beat me to it, ya know? I was going to ask you, but you beat me to it. But you know what, this is nice; takes some of the pressure off of me. But Y/N, are you sure about the rest of it? It is a really big step. I w-want to...do that with you, God knows I do, but…” I stuttered more than I wanted to.

“Dean, how many times do I have to tell you? You are it for me. Period. Nada. No more. You are the only man I want to be with and this will only serve to seal our love and make our bond stronger than ever. So, yes, I am sure,” she assured me.

I reached for her, my hand on the side of her neck, fingers snaking through her curls, my thumb caressing the soft skin on her cheek. I looked deep into those eyes I could get lost in forever and leaned in. Our mouths met, cold with the winter air as we shared a breath, and I sealed my lips around hers. She sighed and parted for me. I took advantage of that sigh as I eased my tongue into her mouth, relishing in the taste of her, drinking her in like a man deprived of water for too long.

“I love you, Y/N,” I professed as she pulled away, the moonlight twinkling in her eyes.

“I know,” she replied.

~*~

Spring was here before I knew it and that meant Prom and the end of another year. I was nervous. The dance was only a week away. I knew we had everything ready. Y/N had her dress and shoes for months now, my tuxedo was rented and Baby had been washed and detailed every weekend for the past month, just to keep my mind off of what we had planned.

I popped the trunk to make sure the spare tire was in good shape and the emergency kit was stocked, just in case. Then something caught my eye; tucked back in the corner was a large duffle. I pulled it out and saw she had packed a blanket, a change of clothes for each of us and an entire box of condoms. There was even a bottle of mouthwash and spare toothbrushes. This girl had thought of everything, didn’t she?

~*~

I was nervously pulling at my collar, suddenly feeling like I was being choked by the shirt and tie. I knew I looked good enough, because Sammy had told me I looked like a Disney Prince, so at least I was on the right track.

I was standing at the bottom of the stairs, the clear plastic box in my hand that held her corsage. I didn’t even know color matching was a thing until she had handed me a small baby blue swatch of flimsy material and told me to bring it with me when I ordered my tux and the flowers. I guess she was right, because everyone that helped me that day knew what to do with it. Not that I had a freaking clue.

I heard a door open and heels clicking on the hardwood floor above me. I closed my eyes and counted to ten, taking deep breaths. The sound of her heels slowed down and I knew she was descending the stairs right in front of me. I opened my eyes and was now aware of how the term ‘drop dead gorgeous’ was coined. I swear my heart stopped the moment I laid eyes on her.

She looked exquisite in the baby blue ball gown. Y/N had always been beautiful, but the woman that stood before me now took my breath away. Her dress matching her eyes perfectly and I am positive that I would not be able to find my voice when she reached the bottom.

“Hi,” she whispered.

“H-hi. You look...you are absolutely stunning.” I impressed myself that I was able to find the words to articulate what I was seeing and feeling.

“Thank you, Dean. You look quite dashing yourself,” her voice barely a whisper.

“Okay, kids, let’s take some pictures and get this whole thing over with, yeah?” Bobby’s gruff voice called from the living room, where he and Sam were waiting, a camera in his hand.

“Oh, my Baby Girl. You look so beautiful. I wish your mother was here to see you,” Bobby marveled at sight of his daughter, a slight tremor in his voice. “And you clean up good, kid.”

“Ahh, thanks Bobby,” I breathed out, satisfied that he wasn’t going to kill me, yet. We took a moment for her to pin the boutonniere to my tux and I slipped the light blue corsage over her hand.

Pictures were taken of Y/N and me together and with Sam, then a couple with Bobby. I asked for a couple with just Sam and me, and then of just Bobby and me. This was going to be a special night and I wanted to have the memories in color. Soon, I pulled us toward the door and we were walking to the car, both Sam and Bobby watching us from the window.

“Your carriage awaits, milady,” I bowed, opening the door for her and holding her hand as she stepped inside.

“Why thank you, kind sir,” she blushed.

I am not really one for dances or getting all gussied up, but this is what my girl wanted and I was going to give it to her. We had reservations for a nice dinner at the steakhouse and our meal was fantastic. The dance was fairly lame, but after pictures, she managed to get me out on the dance floor for a couple of songs, but we bailed after only about ninety minutes because we both had other things on our minds.

Y/N directed me to the river bank where she first told me she loved me. It was secluded and the spring air was still warm on our skin. I had shed my jacket at the dance and my tie hung loosely around my neck as I parked. I left the headlights on, popped in a tape I had made for her birthday last year, turned up the volume and got out of the car. I walked with purpose to her door, opening it with a creak. “May I please have this dance?”

She giggled as she accepted my hand and we danced for a few songs, our hands wandering everywhere and stealing kisses as we swayed in the night.

“Dean…” her voice shot straight through me. “Get the bag.”

I grabbed the bag from the trunk and laid out the blanket in front of my car. I turned to look at her for a moment, the headlights creating a halo that made her even more beautiful. She took a step toward me and kicked off her heels. Reaching up, she removed my tie and started unbuttoning my shirt.

My arms snaked around her waist, pulling her to me as my fingers searched for the zipper of her dress. Awkwardly, I inched the zipper down, only to get her hair caught in it.

“Ow, Dean! My hair!” she yelped.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry! Here turn around,” I told her, hoping I could use the headlights and get it loose without hurting her anymore. It took longer than I thought it would, but I finally freed her hair and the zipper, letting the dress fall and pool at her feet, revealing a lace bra and panties in the same shade.

“You are so beautiful, Y/N,” I breathed out.

“Thank you, Dean. Now, come, lay with me,” she beckoned with one finger and I followed her command. She quickly undid my belt as I toed off the rented shoes and kicked them to the side. We knelt facing each other, our kisses becoming more heated as I rubbed my hands up and down her back, stopping to unclasp her bra, only to fail.

“It’s okay, Dean, let me,” she spoke so calmly, while I was a nervous wreck inside and it showed as my hands shook so bad, I could barely undo my pants, but soon, we were both down to our underwear and she kissed me again. Her hands worked their way into the back of my boxers, grabbing a handful and squeezing my ass cheeks as she pressed herself against me.

I could feel her breasts, warm against my chest; the peaks of her nipples rubbing as we moved together. I gently pulled her down with me as I removed her panties, kissing my way down her body. Sure, I have explored her body before, and she mine, but this was all new territory for both of us. I sat up to reach into the bag for a condom just as she was sitting up to kiss me and my head collided with her, both of us swearing and rubbing the sore spots, before we broke out laughing.

We composed ourselves and resumed kissing, that was familiar at least, and we were good at that. We both had ourselves so worked up and cocooned in our own little world, that we hadn’t noticed the wind pick up. By the time I finally got the condom unwrapped, it had started raining.

“Are you sure you want to do this, like this?” I asked her, not wanting to be selfish and make love to her the first time in the rain.

“We have played in the rain a million times, Dean; this will be one more of those memories for us,” she smiled up at me sweetly.

I kissed her once more as I rolled the condom over my length, now painfully hard. I gently laid my body out on top of hers, trying to keep my weight on my arms as I felt something hit my back. Then again, and again, and again. I looked around us and noticed it had begun to hail.

“I love you, but this isn’t safe, kid. Let’s pack it up and get in the car,” I told her as I stood, reaching for her hand and wrapped the blanket over her in an attempt to protect her from the projectile ice balls.

She yelped and I turned back to her from gathering the rest of our stuff, only to find she was laid out flat on the ground beside Baby. I rushed to her side to check to make sure she was okay but slipped on the wet and muddy ground, landing on my side right next to her. We were both laughing now and struggled to get up, slipping more as the skies really opened up.

We somehow made it up and inside the car, she wearing only a blanket and me just the boxers I had managed to pull on. I backed up the car and fishtailed it in the mud back to the main road and that is when we heard it; tornado sirens. We shared a momentary look of fear as I gunned the engine and made way back to the house. If we could just get to the shop and into the storm cellar and then we wouldn’t have to explain why were naked and covered in mud.

I slammed on the brakes, sliding a little as we pulled into the drive. Y//N pulled the blanket over her head and I grabbed the bag from the backseat.

“On three?” She looked at me and I nodded my reply. “One...two...three!”

We threw open Baby’s doors, slamming them behind us and ran for the shop, making it just in time as sparks erupted and rained down just outside the fenced in yard. She screamed and I pulled her inside with me, bolting the door. We quickly, but cautiously, made our way to the back and I pulled up the trap door in the floor. We fumbled down the stairs, feeling our way along the walls. I felt the familiar shape of a flashlight on the shelf to my left and turned it on. The room was dark and smelled of oil, but at least we were safe.

I handed her the bag and lit one of the kerosene lanterns Bobby kept down there so we could get changed before someone found us. There were a few bottles of water so we could clean up some. Once dressed, we huddled together on the old mattress in the corner, listening as the wind whipped and thunder cracked.

“You know, it could have been worse,” she laughed.

“How could this have been any worse?” I looked at her indignantly.

“At least we didn’t get sucked up by a tornado buck ass naked,” Y/N burst out.

“Yeah, okay, Dorothy,” I replied, tucking her into my side some more, trying to make her comfortable.

“There’s no place like home, Dean,” she sighed quietly and held me tight.

~*~

“Yeah, that was some night, but at least we did not get sucked up by the twister and it gave us time to check the weather before we tried that again. Dean?” She looked over at me.

“Yeah, kid?” I answered, a smile on my face.

“I am glad we waited because I have you and there really is no place like home,” her voice was sleepy so I leaned over and kissed her forehead before laying back down.

“As long as I am with you, I am always home,” I whispered.

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[adoranymph]

[2:05 pm-ish, April 20, 2019]

Man, there is nothing that puts me in a fouler mood than when I let my own personal procrastination demon get the better of me on a perfectly free Saturday to the point that I don’t start getting any writing done until after 2 in the afternoon. I had planned to get up early and everything, and I even did. Sort of.

I scrolled through a ton of YouTube videos first, and before I knew it, it was nearing ten in the morning and I still needed to eat something. Ugh, so I did that…and then I committed the sin of hibernating on the couch for a couple of hours to catch up on some anime-related stuff. Though it was the sort that always manages to fuel my inspiration and imagination.

[Present Day]

Okay, I know what you’re thinking: that all’s no excuse, every procrastinating writer says that as they convince themselves to turn on Netflix or Hulu to “get inspiration” instead of writing and end up marathoning that show they really just want to finish so they’re caught up with everyone else, and because they love it so much.

Just the same, it did give me what I needed to open up my laptop and start working towards my writing goal for the day working on editing and polishing my manuscript: I finally got around to watching Kara No Kyoukai: Mirai Fukuin – Recalled Out Summer and Recalled Out Summer: Extra Chorus.

Okay, now that probably doesn’t mean a whole lot just by a name-drop, but let me explain. After all, that’s the whole point of this blog post: My love letter to Type-Moon. (And yes, I realize I’m not the first person to express said love in a blog post.)

Saber from the Fate Series and Ryougi Shiki from Kara No Kyoukai: The Garden of Sinners

Type-Moon is a Japanese game company known primarily for their visual novels. Not really a thing here in the West, at least not as much if at all, but when I was first introduced to the concept of visual novels, I thought of them as choose-your-own-adventures played as an electronic game rather than read as a book. As I’ve come to better understand it, it’s kind of like that, you do make certain decisions that can lead to certain endings, but sometimes, as in the case of arguably Type-Moon’s most well-known visual novel, Fate/Stay Night, the point is to play through three different versions of the same story premise: kid gets dragged into ancient battle royale known as the Holy Grail War, and with each version of the story, or “route”, being played through, each featuring a different heroine for our protagonist, Shirou Emiya. One route builds upon the previous, and each route gets subsequently darker in terms of plot points and content.

Fate/Zero, incidentally (and my #1 favorite anime ever), is the prequel to that, and succeeds where most prequels don’t, since it’s a tragedy (I’ll go into more detail on that in my upcoming post about how Fate/Zero succeeds as a prequel). That was written as a light novel (kinda like a YA novel, or well, a shorter novel, so “light” novel) before it was adapted into an anime, and sets up the events of all three routes in Stay Night. So, it confirms that no matter what route you’re in in Stay Night, the events of Zero hold true for each of them. (Which is interesting when you consider the damage some of the characters in Stay Night have been living with since Zero, yet they may or may not come up in Stay Night depending on what route’s being played.)

Cover art for Fate/Zero blu-ray box set 

The co-founders of Type-Moon, writer Kinoko Nasu and illustrator Takashi Takeuchi, have come up with some pretty interesting and awesomely cool material in my opinion, and not only for Stay Night, which ultimately culminated in launching the Fate franchise, which has…a HUGE number of titles, and with the anime adaptations of Zero, the original of Stay Night, and the reboots of Stay Night covering the two subsequent routes that the original couldn’t really cover, a bunch more titles in the franchise have each been getting their own anime adaptations in turn, as though there was suddenly this HUGE frenzy for Fate title after Fate title to be adapted into an anime, demonstrating just how sprawling the lore and fanbase of this franchise is.

Promo art for Fate/Grand Order

And if that weren’t enough, there isn’t just Fate, there are other Type-Moon-developed visual novels whose worlds are connected to that of Fate. The only two I’m aware of for sure are Tsukihime and Kara No Kyoukai. (And then there’s Canaan, which was developed by Type-Moon too and its wonderful little 13-episode series in its own way, though I’ve been unable to verify for sure just how much if at all it’s connected with the aforementioned titles.) While I haven’t been able to get into Tsukihime much at all, since I can’t shell out to get my hands on the original visual novel, translated or not, and the anime is notorious for sucking so much that most deny it even exists, I have been able to get into Kara No Kyoukai, a series of films adapted originally from a seven-series online novel written by Nasu, and are seen by many as primers to the world of the Nasuverse (or the world of Type-Moon), which makes sense since when you see it you can recognize characters and plot points that feel like they were taken and reworked for things like Fate. Despite that though, they still do in fact exist in the same universe all as their own characters with their own stories.

Yeah it’s a lot. And the Kara No Kyoukai films cost a pretty penny, but this year I at long last got my hands on both the bluray box set of both the original seven films, as well as the additional film (Future Gospel and Recalled Out Summer: Prelude), and the extra special (Recalled Out Summer: Extra Chorus) just this year–stories that Nasu had an idea for after the original seven came out, but had not written in novel form. I’ve watched the first seven several times at least, but I was hesitant for the longest time about seeing the eighth film and the extra specials, since the first seven tied together so satisfyingly well, to put it mildly. But I finally gave in because I just love Type-Moon that much. And in the end, I was happy I got it, if only to have more Type-Moon in my life.

And that love compelled me to write out, essentially, a love letter conveying that love to Type-Moon. I’ve developed a lot of plot points for both my novel manuscript, as well as my style and voice as a writer, from the material I’ve seen from Type-Moon.

Cover art for blu ray box set of Kara No Kyoukai: The Garden of Sinners original seven-film series

Fate/Zero was my induction, the jumping off point from which I finally took the plunge (some would argue watching the 2006 adaptation of the first route of Fate/Stay Night first is more prudent, but if I’m being honest, I tried that, and just couldn’t get through it knowing something like Fate/Zero was out there–I just couldn’t wait, though eventually I did end up owning and watching the original 2006 Stay Night, mostly because I was starved for Fate material until more of the anticipated new content came out, and because I was able to get a DVD copy of the series for $10.00–more than worth it, it turned out).

Promo art for Fate/Stay Night (2006)

Anyway, Zero pulled me in not just with eye-candy, godly levels of animation quality unprecedented in an anime TV series (considering how much budgeting goes into animation on the whole in the industry), and not just with its very epic concept of the Holy Grail War and all that that entailed as well, but also with its characters.

I adored Waver Velvet, the underdog student of magecraft who, despite being in over his head as the youngest participant in the War, manages to summon the hero Alexander the Great to act as his Servant, the one who’ll fight the other Masters by proxy with Servants of their own, all of them famous figures plucked from history and legend (with some creative license, in some cases a lot). And throughout the course of the War, they form an admirable friendship.

I despaired over the fate of Kariya Matou, who was basically the character that every show like this has, the one that gets ALL THE CRAP thrown at him, and undeservedly of course, as he tried so hard to win just for the sake of saving a girl from the abuses of her adoptive family, even with the cards stacked against him.

I relished in the development of the villain Kirei Kotomine, who could’ve just come off as your typical priest-that’s-secretly-a-bad-seed, but instead is SO much more than that, and it’s awesome.

Then there’s Gilgamesh, the sort of OP, arrogant villain you love to hate, but also the kind that has the power to back up his boasting being master of the universe.

Then you’ve got Saber, i.e. King Arthur, who despite apparently really being a girl named Arturia, all this time, still lives up to the namesake of the legendary King of the Britons.

And of course, my favorite of all, Kiritsugu Emiya. The relationship he shares with his wife, Irisviel von Einzbern, and their daughter, Illya; the motivations for why he does what he does unfolding as the show progresses, culminating in him finding redemption in at least being able to save the life of his eventual-adopted son, Shirou from the War’s fiery collateral damage at its climax; the epic rivalry between him and Kirei Kotomine; the way his methods clash with Saber’s chivalric values; the fact that he gets all of the best qualities of what I love so much about Takashi Takeuchi’s character designs. (Which is another way of saying he’s drawn so appealingly to me that he’s made it to #1 on my list of husbandos. That’s right, I said it!) The whole story and arc of his character is one of the, if not the, most poignant things I have ever seen in an any form of media. Never has a character made me physically ache at the thought of everything he went through, combined with the bittersweetness of his and Irisviel’s love story, as well as that of his love for Illya.

  It’s basically everything I’ve ever wanted in a story’s emotional core or emotional foundation, and definitely served as a turning point in terms of my own writing, particularly seeing as how it’s a feels dynamic I’ve wanted to write for years. So thank you for that, Type-Moon: somehow, some way, much in the way that the universe miraculously weaves together a human being by a near infinite number of factors, you’ve managed to craft my own personal Holy Grail of an emotional story component.

Indeed, since the discovery of the Kiritsugu x Irisviel ship (an underappreciated gem depending on who you talk to), I haven’t found any ships to exceed that level of emotional perfection. I’ve found ones that come close, even ones that equal it, but thus far, in my eyes, Kiri x Iri is unrivaled, and probably never will be.

  Sadly, this scene was not in the anime. Just in the Realta Nua re-release of the Fate/Stay Night VN game for PSP. 😦

In terms of ones that have equalled it though, one of those came unsurprisingly from another Type-Moon work, the aforementioned Kara No Kyoukai, and its main romantic core of the delightfully darkly complicated relationship of Ryougi Shiki and Kokutou Mikiya. That was another pleasant surprise. I had already fallen hard for Fate/Zero and everything it had to offer, but I’d heard of Kara No Kyoukai before that. It had been on my to-watch list for a while, but I’d say that learning that it takes place in same universe as Fate, the Nasuverse that is, it sort of drove me to get my hands on it a little sooner.

Cover art for Volume IV of the box set for Kara No Kyoukai: The Garden of Sinners VII: …not nothing heart, with Shiki and Mikiya (OMG the feels)

My first copy was, admittedly, one of those many, many bootlegs floating around eBay (hem, hem), but at long last (especially since I got a bluray player (FINALLY) for this past Christmas), I was able to purchase the beautiful bluray boxset release of all seven movies, plus the special edition bluray for the Recalled Out Summer extras, because why not? Sure, again, the latter works basically as a sort of sweet but small desert to a large delicious main course, but that sweetness is worth it regardless, because it’s sweet, especially when you get treated to sweet strawberries in that sweet strawberry Hagan-Dasz ice cream of an extra story of things like seeing that (SPOILERS) Shiki and Mikiya eventually have an adorable little daughter named Mana, who for her limited screen time, does indeed seem to be the perfect blend of her parents. Plus it’s just great to see something so normal yet wondrous result from a romance that if not for a saving grace or two, probably would’ve ended in bloody tragedy.

Cover art for Recalled Out Summer box set featuring Shiki and Mikiya

Cover art for Recalled Out Summer blu ray set featuring Ryougi Mana (Shiki and Kokutou’s daughter, and Mitsuru Kamekura

  So yeah, I’ve come to learn that when it comes to Type-Moon, where romance and personal relationships come in, the writing nine times out of ten shines (with the first true failure to connect with me coming in Fate/Extra Encore, and even then, because of the production studio behind it, it at least benefited me with flashbacks triggered by similar imagery used in another one of my favorite anime, Madoka Magica).

Again, sorry I haven’t been able to get into Tsukihime, but I’m not completely blind. There’s that anime adaptation that doesn’t exist ha, ha. In all seriousness though, I’m familiar with the basic premise, and some of the plot points seem to overlap other Type-Moon works. Plus there’s Wikipedia.

And Carnival Phantasm! Which is a little series Type-Moon produced as a celebration of their ten-year anniversary, something to reward the fans for being fans, and while I was at a disadvantage where a lot of the Tsukihime material came up, I still enjoyed it well enough, going on what I knew. But seeing as how Fate is arguably the most successful Type-Moon franchise, the ratio of Fate to Tsukihime material was almost 2:1. Which was awesome, as I basically got to see Type-Moon not only poke fun at itself and parodize its own characters, but actually give a sunnier if brief existence for some of these characters (because quite a lot of Type-Moon characters’ actual lives are SUCKY to put it lightly).

Screenshot of the Carnival Phantasm OP

For as sprawling as the lore of Type-Moon’s stories have grown, particulary with their Fate/Grand Order online game which seems to explore every single available Heroic Spirit that can be summoned as a Servant for your very own Holy Grail War, and the events of which have also been getting adaptations (the most recent exploring Gilgamesh’s past, and that has me intrigued if I’m being honest), there’re so many buried gems to find in there in terms of character and ideas and thoughts on life. Kara No Kyoukai in particular tends to philosophize quite a bit and contemplate things like reality, time, identity, balance, building a foundation for the world as a whole according to the Nasuverse. A bit like comic books, Fate in particular is one of those things where it’s debatable anymore where one should start, some answers being more correct than others, but once you find a place where you dip your toe in and get accustomed to the water, it’s easy to get wrapped up in what it’s various stories centered around the Holy Grail War are concerned.

I love stuff like that, and I’ve been inspired in my own work not just by Type-Moon on its own, but studio ufotable as well, which seems to be the ultimate Fate adaptation machine. Sure other studios do some of the lesser known titles (again like Extra), but ufotable got the reboot of Fate/Stay Night‘s second route, Unlimited Bladeworks, the adaptation of Fate/Zero before that, the film trilogy adaptation of the final Fate/Stay Night route Heaven’s Feel, and even the lighthearted quasi-AU Today’s Menu for Emiya Family, which is the Stay Night story if it was taken over by a cooking show, almost like Carnival Phantasm but not a parody, and still acknowledging the darker parts of the Fate universe, if distantly. Something about the care ufotable puts into their characterizations, along with the animation and art quality and the awesome voice-acting for the seiyuu and English VAs that end up getting casted (although I’m aware where the English casts are concerned that comes from the western licensing company that picks it up and not actually studio ufotable).

And then with Kara No Kyoukai, also made by ufotable, you get an expanse on this universe and its mechanics. It’s a bit vague on how magic works in both this and Fate, but I’ve actually found the idea of basing fantastic elements in the real word fascinating, not urban fantasy but something more than that. And the concepts it brings up. Like people having these things called “origins”, a certain trait from which their soul or being originated from within the Akashic Record, or “The Route” that once “awakened” in a person causes that trait to consume them. So if a person’s origin is “to consume”, and that’s awakened in that person (this requires a mage and the consent of the person who’s origin is being awakened), then they’ll say…embrace their desire to slaughter people en masse and then literally consume them afterward. Like this guy.

Ryougi Shiki vs. Shirazumi Lio – get him, Shiki, get that crazy S.O.B.!

Yeah, that’s the other thing. Apart from the things like origins and The Root or “Akashic Record” (which from what I’ve gathered is like the source of “everything” with a capital E: life, the universe, everything, and no, it’s not the number 42), Type-Moon’s world is what I like to call “beautifully dark”. Not a particularly unique thing, but either way, Type-Moon pulls it off well. There are moments of levity, but there are also very grotesque and disturbing goings-on underneath all that beauty, and even those things are beautiful in their own way. Sure, there are things like vampires or “dead apostles” floating around, and there’s a fair bit of bloody death, but then you’ve got corrupted Heroic Spirits who steal your heart and drink the blood from it like they’re squeezing the juice from a prickly pear, eye-powers that allow for a person to twist anything they want with their mind (including living human bodies), tentacle monsters crushing small children, souls jammed inside puppet bodies that start to fall apart to reveal their meaty, gear-riddled interiors, and life-sucking, magic-giving worms that consume the bodies of their hosts from within (okay we’ll file that under “beautiful grotesque”). And then there’s the aforementioned bloodthirsty killer whose origin is to consume and thus consumes the corpses of his victims (yeah, that Shirazumi Lio guy, see above, he does that)…when he doesn’t do weird stuff like contort them and mark them with the yin-and-yang symbol.

Just to list a few.

The name for Kara No Kyoukai in English is usually The Garden of Sinners, though Kara No Kyoukai literally translated actually means “The Boundary of Emptiness”. But a garden full of sinners is apt for one of the titles in the Type-Moon universe. In some ways that and things like Fate almost transcend storytelling when adapted well, and with godly animation and music (both Fate/Zero and Kara No Kyoukai‘s OSTs were composed by the incomparable Yuki Kajiura, who’s practically the authority on darkly beautiful and epic themes) to back up the engaging storylines.

And speaking of Yuki Kajiura, I’d like to take this moment to not only give props to her work with Fate adaptations, but Hideyuki Fukusawa as well, the main OST composer for the Unlimited Bladeworks reboot, as well as Kenji Kawai, who composed the OST for the original 2006 Fate–that adaptation might have its drawbacks, but that OST does wonders and is seriously underrated, especially considering this is the guy who composed the OST for the original Ghost in the Shell film.

Nothing is perfect, but nevertheless, this is a fictional world that I have fallen irrevocably in love with, much in the same way I did with Harry Potter, though I’ve grown since then. And I just wanted to extend and express that appreciation and love to something that has inspired me and the way I approach my writing going forward so incredibly.

So, thank you, Type-Moon, for the awesomeness you offer, in all its forms. You have my most sincere and utmost praise and respect. I hope that even when the last of the Fate routes, Heaven’s Feel, has finally received its full and deserved adaptation in the trilogy of films, that this is not the last the world will see of your wonderful content. You have more than earned your loyal and adoring fan base ten times over. You are amazing! ❤

Love Letter to Type-Moon Man, there is nothing that puts me in a fouler mood than when I let my own personal procrastination demon get the better of me on a perfectly free Saturday to the point that I don't start getting any writing done until after 2 in the afternoon.