#she fucking reverse engineered everything

[saulutekaipbabasake]

I truly believe that if given enough time and not any of the "well fuck, murders are happening" Coronabeth would have had more time to convince Ianthe to eat her. She would have failed tho

genuinely it is so crazy to me that like. if none of the murders had happened and it had really actually been dulcinea and protesilaus at canaan house instead of cytherea… i truly believe that none of the other pairs would have ascended. EXCEPT for ianthe, who did it ANYWAYS. like really? truly? actually? if there had been no pressure? if the heir of each house had simply been allowed to discover the eightfold word as they pleased? who would have willfully done it? who would have taken their cavalier’s life, or their flesh? certainly not the fourth, fifth, or sixth. judith has too much of a personal attachment to marta and too much of a moral obligation to not eating her lieutenant. dulcinea wouldn’t have sacrificed protesilaus to prolong her own life. silas would have considered it an abomination at best. and gideon and harrow had already started their Character Development by the time abigail and magnus were found dead - by the time harrow had actually found the key to lyctorhood, she would have rather died than kill gideon. without direct interference, only ianthe would have ascended. only one lyctor would have been created.

in trying to stop any of them from becoming lyctors, cytherea created more of them.

[mantisgodsdomain]

i just wanna say that you're 100% right about Vi, i also wish people wouldn't just toss her aside like that, she's just as important to the team. like, she has depth dang it! she's more than just Funny Bee Who Likes Berries! also you're super right about people trying to squish Team Snakemouth into little nuclear family shaped holes. that's all, just wanted to give you a high five for complaining about stuff that also annoyed me

We've been chattering about it for... more than a year now, we think? Not necessarily via public venues, since this fandom's close-knit enough that stepping on toes is a major issue, but Team Snakemouth is a TRIO, not a duo, and trying to squish the relationship down to just "two dads and their baby kid" really just seems... reductive. Exhausting.

Vi's one of our favourite characters in the game, and it gets really tiring to see her treated as a third wheel. Even beyond the infantilization that's utterly rampant in this fandom, Vi, more than everyone else, gets things... sanded off, or just ignored. Either she's a bratty little kid who doesn't know better, or she's a background object, and that's just... taking a big chunk out of the team dynamic. She's got complexity! She's part of the team, not some random kid that Kabbu and Leif are dragging along on their adventures! She's a valuable part of the team, and she should be treated as such!

[citricacidprince]

I wanted to ask if you can make a doodle of that drifting star gravity falls au but it’s relativity falls. Stan gets sucked into the portal and Dipper has to take care of him.

Took a hot second but I finally did it!!!

This family makes me wanna lose my mind I adore them so so much <333

(Sorry it’s a bit messy and clunky, my brain is fried atm lol)

Notes under cut!

I like to think that Dipper is oh so tired and is trying so hard to find a way to kill Bill so he can get back home to his sister as fast as he possibly can that he’s sooooo willing to aim guns at people. Like sure a laser gun works fine most of the time, but it’s soooo much easier to bring lead to a knife fight, ya know?

Stanley would think Dipper is so fucking cool and Dipper has to do a double take because no one has ever called him cool and meant it

Stanley is wearing a mini version of his homeless hoodie, as a treat :]

Mabel was inconsolably crying for a hot second after this all happened and Stanford was utterly pissed and in denial, weakly kicking her and hitting her with his little baby arms to bring his brother back

Mabel manages to reverse engineer the memory gun to erase the government agents minds, but unlike Dipper, who could’ve done it in 5 minutes tops, it takes her about an hour, so she tells Stanford about her brother Dipper and everything that happened while she does so

While doing this she asked Boyish Dan to block the door and gave him permission to beat up anyone who tried to get in, something the concussed teen was very happy to hear

They manage to buy time, and thankfully Mabel already knows how to open the portal again, but it’s gonna take a week or two maximum to get it fully running again

Stanford is still very very pissed, but it’s a silent and resigned anger aimed at Mabel. She lied to them all summer, she not who she said she was, she won’t stop apologizing when she looks at him now, how could he not be mad?

Besides it’s easier to be mad when the alternative is being so sad you feel nauseous over the fact your brother is missing, you have no clue if he’s okay or even alive, and every passing moment is making you regret trying to push him away all summer because you miss his stupid jokes and laughter and antics so bad it makes you steal all the blankets off his bed and praying to something, anything, that he’s going to be okay so you can just hug him one more time.

Mabel isn’t doing very well either. She completely locked down the Shack until she can bring Stanley and Dipper home. She told Dan and Anjelita that they didn’t have to come to work, something Anjelita gladly accepted, while Dan insisted that he could help. After all you expect him to go home and be normal about this later??? He got a concussion and punched an FBI agent so hard he passed out. He’s in this for the long haul.

I don’t want Stanley and Dipper stuck in that portal for longer than a week, because even if Mabel and Ford opening that portal again would cause Weirdmageddon they don’t care in the slightest, they just want their brothers to come home

[thatmexisaurusrex]

Lol no but like what if... glances down at pitch notecards... tosses them aside and pulls out the pepe silvia board.

Okay, so picture this: Buck's looking to date. It's going to be a rebound, but he's trying to convince himself it's not a rebound. Is he still baking? Sure. But that's just - that's just his thing now, okay? He bakes. And thinks about Tommy. But he's trying not to, so he's trying to date.

And at first, he seems to have this very sweet meet-cute with a girl. She seems nice. It feels like a chance encounter. They decide to go out on a date.

But wait.

The audience knows who that woman is.

It's the serial killer.

And it starts a few months earlier with Tommy.

Tommy fucking Kinard, kidnapped by this woman, somehow fumbling his way to his phone. And he doesn't call 9-1-1. Cell service is abysmal. No, he tries to text Buck.

Evan.

He tries to tell him sorry and that he loves Evan, only for the serial killer to catch him.

And.

Gets confused by why he tried to text this Evan guy instead of calling 9-1-1.

Tommy finds himself telling the story of his entire six-month romance with one Evan "Buck" Buckley, thinking this might be the last time he'll ever be able to talk about the man he loves.

And the love. The passion. The sweetness. The domesticity. The excitement. The yearning.

It captivates the serial killer.

So much so that.

The serial killer?

She wants that for her own.

She wants that story to be hers but with a happy ending.

She falls in love with the idea of the romcom that Tommy had with this Evan Buckley guy.

And what seems to be cutesy is flipped and you get a gender swapped You scenario - this woman stalking and forcing happy accidents so that she might get to her goal of dating Buck.

There's a comedy and a horror to this woman forcing all the stars to align for her; to take all the romance that Tommy had and try to reverse engineer it into this potential relationship with Evan. It's distorted in the framework of some Crazy Ex-Girlfriend delusion.

And while she's seemingly proud of what she's doing, well, something doesn't quite feel right to Evan. They seem to have so much in common. There seem to be all these beats that make him feel cared for by her.

But.

But something feels slightly off; like someone moved everything one inch to the left. And he's not sure why it's feeling like that. And he's not sure why half the time it just feels like something he would do with Tommy.

And Buck, despite himself, can't stop goddamn baking.

Things start to unravel at the seams. And the serial killer has to get Maddie out of the way after Maddie notices something suspicious, leaving Maddie with Tommy in her secret underground cage.

Tommy and Maddie, stuck together in the cage, get to talking. Tommy basically tells Maddie that he's been in the cage since he bubbled Evan - which had been a few months ago. A little before the girl Buck is currently dating, the serial killer, started pursuing Buck... with insider knowledge unknowingly at first by Tommy.

After Maddie and Tommy debrief each other, they devise a plan to get out of the cage.

Meanwhile, the perfect romcom cutesy homemade romantic dinner date that the serial killer is trying to have with Buck is not really going as planned. She's hitting all the right beats, goddammit, it's just Buck.

Buck is not playing his part right and it's messing up the fantasy.

He's sad. He's admitting that the dinner feels a lot like these dinners he had with his ex (dinners he had with Tommy, who the serial killer got the idea from in the first place). He apologizes and starts talking about how he's really not over his ex.

Also, his sister hasn't been messaging back and he's worried that she might have run away again; might be suffering a bout of depression. Or maybe he's just been too annoying lately and she's been purposefully ignoring his texts the last day or so.

And.

All of that.

Pisses the serial killer off.

Now it's a race against time as the serial killer, disillusioned with Buck, decides he should be her next victim - she already partially drugged him with the wine.

And there's a difference between Buck actively fighting off and running from this serial killer as the drugs kick in and the serial killer still seeing the romcom delusion with a slasher twist to it - similar to Harley Quinn's visions in The Suicide Squad.

Meanwhile, Tommy and Maddie are hearing the sounds of the dinner upstairs going awry and are quickly doing their best to break out of the cage they were in - and they do!

They burst out of the basement, surprising both Buck and the serial killer as Tommy tackles her and Maddie checks if Buck is okay since he is definitely drugged.

Maddie makes a crack about how she might be 9-1-1, but they should probably call the actual 9-1-1.

The serial killer is taken into custody and Tommy, Maddie, and Buck are all sent to get checked out.

At the hospital, Buck and Maddie talk about what happened. How Buck is stunned he didn't realize he was dating a serial killer. How Maddie put some pieces together because she recognized the screen on Tommy's phone at the serial killer's house - a picture of Buck and Tommy at Billy Boils' grave. Maddie has a little heart-to-heart with Evan about what she and Tommy talked about and suggests that maybe it would be okay to at least visit Tommy.

Buck is heading to visit Tommy in his room, but Tommy actually finds Buck first. Tommy makes a crack about being in the 118 wing. Tommy talks about getting kidnapped. Thinking he was going to die. Realizing he still had his phone on him, but only wanting to text Buck that he loved Buck and that he was sorry while he still had the chance.

Because he didn't think that he could make a call from the basement to 9-1-1 with the room seemingly being a cell service dead spot. And at least if he typed out that he loved Buck and that he was sorry, that might get to Buck if his cell phone got out of the room.

That was the bubbling.

But then the serial killer caught him in the act.

And in a depression sink, thinking that there was no way out and that he was going to die, he found himself answering her question to him - why text Evan if he could have tried calling 9-1-1?

Tommy apologizes profusely. He had never expected the woman would try to use that information to date Evan. He hates that he told her his story in such a way that she wanted to basically crawl into his metaphorical skin and play tourist in the relationship Tommy realized he regretted ending because he was too scared of it hurting him. And Tommy understands if Evan never wants to see him again, but he still loves Evan and wants to make it work.

Buck confesses that his relationship with the serial killer had always felt weird and with this information, he realizes it's because it was everything he wanted except the person he wanted it to be with - Tommy. That every time he wanted to text Tommy, he would bake, and god, Buck had been baking up a storm. He had baked so much he was giving away loaves. He was still baking. He had baked earlier that day.

Buck want this. And Tommy wants this. But they both understand how hurtful the last breakup was. They acknowledge where the problems might be. They decide to not only go by Buck's pace, but by Tommy's pace too. To try to be more open about how they feel. Try to make this work.

Because they love each other. And they were always going to find each other again in the end.

[callmemaeverick]

Livin’ La Vida Loca - A. Aretas

Pairing: Armando x f!Reader Summary: Armando was doing Armando stuff, brooding and minding his own business, when someone jumped on his bike and told him to go. (This man got me writing again, but I needed to start slow. Then I saw this reverse trope thing about accidentally kidnapping a mafia boss, and well this happened)

WC: 600 TW: Gun. Senior Aretas

Armando kicked up his bikestand and revved his engine, his head in turmoil. He almost had him, the detective, but he could not bring himself to pull the trigger.

And something was not right with his mother and he was more than a little confused with her motives. She was hiding something from him and despite all that he did for her, she won't tell him everything. He had done all that she asked of him and he did it with little to no help. Sure, he had people working for him, but he hired these people not a few months before and all of them through fear and intimidation. He was alone. He had no one to trust.

He was about to take off, when all of a sudden, his bike rocked as a weight landed behind him. Hands wrapped around his middle and instantly, his gun was in his grasp.

"What the fuck?!" He exclaimed and turned as far as he could. All he saw was a pair of panicked eyes.

"Go, dammit! Go!"

One day, when he looked back on this day, he'd wonder what made him did what he did. But he was glad for it.

He holstered his weapon, shifted into gear and drove off. Within seconds he had reached a speed that was way too fast for riding by the pier, but that was not what was on his mind then. The hand around his middle clutched at his jacket, making it tighter around his torso and a glance downward showed Armando that the fingers had dug deep into the leather.

"What the fuck happened to her?" He wondered.

He drove fast, weaving between cars ad buildings until the harsh breathing behind him calmed somewhat. When he found a less busy street, he pulled over.

The weight behind him shifted and then she was beside him, trying to tame her winblown hair. But what struck him, was that she was smiling.

xxxx

"Wheew," You whooped as you got off the bike to face its rider, pushing your hair from your face. "That was fun! I don't know if I would've gotten outta there if I hadn't seen you. So, thank you. You saved my life.”

The man was looking at you through the visor of his helmet, you were sure of it. You could sense his confusion, though you could not see his face.

"Right, I guess I owe you an explanation." You felt self-conscious, and slighty embarrassed. Now that you think about it, what you did was stupid and reckless. "It was nothing bad, I swear, though with us being strangers and all, what good is my word right? I mean, for all you know I could be a criminal."

Dammit, stop rambling.

Suddenly the bike was shut off and the rider straightened before he pulled his helmet off. And you stood stunned at the beauty that graced you.

"Oh, wow, you're..." You trailed off and he quirked an eyebrow.

"Yes?" Even his voice was hot.

"Nothing," You said quickly. "As I was saying, I wasn't doing anything bad. We were just protesting peacefully, you know, for the turtles."

An incredulous smile appeared. "Las tortugas?"

"Y-yeah, the turtles. We were by the beach when these police guys came trying to break it up. So we made a break for it.”

The handsome man in front of you chuckled and shook his head. "Esta loca,"

"I am not crazy, okay," You argued back, but there was no heat in it. He was at least a little bit correct. Not that you’d admit it. Instead, you held out your hand and introduced yourself.

He looked at it for a second, the back up to your face, as if hesistating.

"What? Scared?" The challenged seemed to spur him on as the rider smirked and took your hand in his.

"Armando,"

"Alright, well, thank you for the assist, Armando. Don't be a stranger, alright?" You released his hand and walked away, feeling his eyes on you until you turned the corner.

FIN

[thebirthofvenusfly]

i like thinking about the odile loop au primarily because I like odile. but also,

i like the thought of the eldest character going through so much, trying so hard to keep her calm over the loops because the others are looking up to her, depending on her sometimes cold but analytical and precise demeanor to understand what doesn't make sense and keep their heads on. i like thinking about her initially fascinated by the opportunity to study the loops, to ask more questions about Vaugarde because she has more time, to listen to her family's banter again and again, but then she beats the king with them and everything resets anyways.

she's confused. she hates being confused. she's trying to understand WHY, trying to study, trying to hyperanalyze every variable she's fucking up here, trying to make sense of it, trying not to detach entirely because she's seen siffrin's body crushed under boulders or mirabelle have mental breakdowns to tears and wailing or protect bonnie from the sadnesses that she hates to admit did get the better of her once or twice.

she's trying to survive but she's trying to understand it all so she can reverse engineer whatever the hell is happening, whatever force has left her here to fend for herself over and over. she's screwing up her loops because she's becoming desensitized, unable to have her witty remarks and humorous banter and ruffle bonnie's hair when they say something innocently funny, or even fake a smile anymore at their snack breaks. she's lashing out at the others when they question her because she's gone too quiet because she's thinking so hard about what she's doing wrong, what must she be doing wrong to continue being stuck here, like this.

she won't admit that she was lonely. she won't admit she didn't want to leave the party and return to Ka Bue after everything. the first few days of looping, she's still got half a mind to be concerned and trying to get to the bottom of this time fuckery, but part of her is... relieved? to hear all these stories and see her loved ones smile, and still learn something new about them, just because she has a little more time? but then she learns everything she can, then she's stuck, then she's terrified and won't admit she's terrified, and then she's convinced none of them could really understand what the hell is happening to her when SHE doesn't even understand despite how hard she's trying despite the logs and journals she's burning through to track every choice she's made and every thing that's happened as a result she's trying so hard, man

[roses-for-rosalyn]

Hey sweetheart, I have this idea about cop!Ellie and cop!reader I've never shared bc I'm so shy to ask, but if you are open to write about it here it is.(sorry if something doesn't make sense inglish is not my first lenguage)

Well Ellie and reader are work partners and they don't really like each other because Ellie is kinda mean?(she is the director btw) but there's a tension between them anyways. So they have a night shift together and on the way in the car the reader begins to flirt, like touching ellie's thigh, and she stops in a field and fucks the reader brains out<33

-💌

This took forever but I hope I did your idea justice!

a/n: sorry I haven’t written anything in so long, life is crazy

Ellie x reader

Wc: 3k (roughly)

Minors dni 🔞 (I will jump through your screen and poke you in the eyes I stg)

CWs: police officer! Ellie and reader, play girl Ellie, fem reader, cop stuff idk, enemies to lovers (ish?), thigh riding, overstim, oral (r! receiving), fingering (r! receiving), multiple orgasms

—

As a small town cop things rarely became dangerous, so on the rare occasion things did go awry no one was really prepared. You got a call about a car speeding through town at about 90 miles an hour. It quickly becomes a chase with Williams at the wheel. Before she even starts catching up to the car you both begin bickering on what roads to take to catch up and who can read the license plate better. The world becomes a blur as the car picks up speed, the roaring of the engine and the sound of the sirens make it hard to hear anything.

You attempt to shout over the noise, “Williams we might be able to catch them if we take-”

“Shutthefuckup I know what I’m doing!” She yells back even louder, more irritated because you dared tell her what to do. She didn’t even let you finish and she missed the turn that would have taken you ahead of the car to block their path.

“Williams we’re gonna lose ‘em.” You couldn’t convince her, you’re not sure anyone could have. The car takes a sudden turn and she misses it, she quickly reverses and turns down the dirt road only for the car to disappear from sight. She tries to make a few turns but it’s useless, these roads went in every direction with thick woods surrounding them. Even townies got lost in there.

She slows the car down eventually coming to a stop in the middle of the road and quietly mutters “Fuck.” under her breath.

“Maybe you should have listened to the directional advice from someone who was fucking born here instead of trying to do everything yourself.” You can’t help but notice you scolded her like a primary school teacher, but she makes it so hard when she acts like this.

“Please I don’t need a fucking ‘I told you so’ talk right now.” She huffs.

“I hope you know this is completely your fault, I can’t fucking believe-”

“I swear to god if you keep talking I’m going to kick you out of this goddamn car.” She turns and looks at you straight in the eye, challenging you. Her tone is eerily calm. You narrow your gaze but say nothing, turning to look straight ahead. And with that she drives you both back to the station, defeated with only half of the criminal's license plate.

- -

Patrol partners are supposed to be friends- Or at least friend-ly. That’s what anyone would assume, you have to spend every day together, not getting along would just result in various inconvenient miscommunications and misunderstandings.

Yeah, well you weren’t that lucky. Your patrol partner is Ellie Williams aka “Williams” according to her various male coworkers. Her female coworkers tended to lean more towards nicknames like “whore” or “slut” considering she hooked up with a couple of them and then acted like she barely knew them at work the next day and did it all over again. She had to start finding hookups outside the station last month because all her go-tos had refused her unless she wanted something serious. On top of that the few that she got with turned the rest of the girls against her, all she had left was you and all the guys at the station- and you didn’t really count since you were forced to be with her. This meant recently she was particularly irritable considering she couldn’t find a lot- if any- women to relieve any of her tension, so patrolling with her for the past 30 days has been hell.

On a more positive note it made gossiping with your coworkers over coffee the best part of your day. They would talk about their hookups which would inevitably lead back to shit talking Williams- which you would enthusiastically participate in considering how she treated you on the job. However they all agreed that they tolerated it for as long as they did because the sex was good. And you believed them because they had to put up with some crazy bullshit from her. A tiny part of you yearned for them to explain just how good it was, but you’d never ever give in to that curiosity.

Williams- on the rare occasion she would say anything- was mean, she would make snide comments all the time no matter what task you were taking on. She had some sort of superiority complex because she was- admittedly- very good at her job. She had transferred from some big city to your small town station and she had much more experience. She was incredibly skilled at taking people down when she needed to. However, compared to her old job, barely anything happens here. When something did happen she would insist on taking over the task almost every single time, the only thing she couldn’t trump you in was de-escalation. She was terrible at communication and that was most of the job. Calls would mostly be noise complaints or welfare checks, so you took the lead for those and it drove her crazy. She couldn’t stand being inferior to anyone, especially on the job. So you were squabbling constantly.

And for some reason tonight she was in a particularly bad mood. You’re stationed on the side of the road, keeping watch for anyone disobeying any road safety laws and Williams is silent. Not particularly unusual, but her body language was odd, she was weirdly tense. She sat fidgeting with her hands, picking at her cuticles, occasionally glancing up if she heard a car. Nothing in you wanted to show you cared at all for her, because you didn’t, but at this point you were so bored you didn’t care if you started one of your usual squabbles.

“Something wrong Williams?” You tentatively ask.

“ ‘m fine, just tired.” she says, still not glancing up.

“You seem offly tense for a tired person.” You try to push her a bit.

She finally looks up at you, her expression remaining neutral “Considering your observations, you really think now’s a good time to test me sweetheart?” God you hated when she called you that, she refused to refer to you by your last name, always resorting to some condescending nickname.

You roll your eyes, just as you were about to respond a staticky voice interrupts, asking for anyone available for a call about a noise complaint about two minutes away. Ellie picks up the walkie and calls in saying she could take it and starts the car.

You drive there in silence and to no one’s surprise it’s Mrs. Taylor. She frequently calls at night whenever she hears her teenage neighbors so much as talk loud enough for her to hear. And every time she would make you both walk over to them and ask them to quiet down.

This time though when you got out of the car you could hear muffled music coming from the neighbor’s all the way from Mrs. Taylor’s lawn. You walk up to her door, Williams following silently, and knock gently a couple of times. You hear soft shuffling, a lock clicking and then the door opens revealing the grumpy old woman’s tired face. She’s wearing a long dusty pink robe, striped pajama pants and ratty slippers, clearly she had been recently woken up by the noise.

“Hello Mrs. Taylor.” You smile politely.

“Hello dear.” She smiles back at you, but falters for a moment when she spots your partner, refusing to acknowledge her presence. She used to babysit all the kids in the neighborhood, you were always her favorite. She treated everyone else like they were some sort of pest, especially outsiders.

“Neighbors bothering you again?” You already knew the answer, but you felt the need to be polite.

“I can’t sleep with all that ruckus, rotten children they are. Too bad too, they used to be the sweetest when they were little.” She shook her head.

“Alright we’ll get it all sorted out, you can go back to bed.” You nod your head.

The old woman smiles before reaching forward and pinching your cheek while saying “You’re so good to me dear. Come over for dinner some time so I can make it up to you.”

“Just doing my job ma'am.” You reassure her.

“Well, goodnight. Call me tomorrow morning and we’ll sort something out.” She begins shuffling backwards, and grabs the door handle.

“Good night Mrs. Taylor.” You wave at her and she closes the door.

“God you’re unbelievable.” Ellie scoffs from behind you.

“What?” you turn around to face her.

“Would it kill you to be nice to me like that once in a while?” For the life of you you could not figure out where this was coming from.

“You have to earn it.” You retort, while beginning to walk to the neighbors house. Ellie just huffs and jogs a bit to catch up to you, god forbid you get ahead of her in any way.

You make your way to the house, the bass rattling your teeth by the time you're on the front stoop. Ellie takes her usual spot behind you and you knock loudly, bashing your fist against the door. Hopefully someone hears so you don’t have to make a scene, they weren’t bad kids. Sure enough the music turns off and the door opens slowly revealing a set of scared, round eyes.

“Hey Kelly.” You knew her well from the past complaints, she was pretty polite especially for a teenager. The poor girl was practically shaking. “You probably know why we’re here.” She nods slowly. “Ok, so just do us a favor and turn your music down so we don’t get another call from Mrs. Taylor alright?” you say gently, knowing when you’re in uniform everything about you was intimidating enough without you having to yell.

“Th-that’s it?” She asks, her whole body shaking with adrenaline at this point.

“Yup, just make sure this doesn’t happen again. Shouldn’t have the volume that high anyway, it’s bad for your hearing.” You smile, “Probably don’t want to go deaf by the time you’re 20.”

Kelly just nods again “O-ok thank you. We’ll keep it down, promise.”

“Alright have a good night, stay out of trouble.” You turn away and Ellie does the same.

The walk back to the car is silent except for the steady hum of cicadas. You’re about to put your seatbelt on when Ellie says “So what do I have to do?”

You pause your movements, “What?”

“What do I have to do to earn it?” When you still look confused she elaborates “You being nice to me. What do I have to do to earn that?”

“I don’t know. With the way you treat me it’s almost like you enjoy me being mean to you.” You let out a dry laugh.

She slowly leans towards you, “Oh, I do.” She says, her tone changing completely, her voice becomes raspy and deep, almost like a whisper and a smirk tugs at her lips. “I love making you mad, but something tells me you’re even more delightful when you’re all sweet like that.”

“Williams what-” She leans even closer, inches away from your face and suddenly you forgot everything that wasn’t Ellie. You couldn’t utter a word if you tried.

“Tell me.” Her eyes flicker from yours to your lips. “What.” Her lips are so close you can almost feel her words. “To do.” You let out a sigh and give in, abandoning all logic you press your lips against hers. She stiffens but then her hands automatically move to cup your jaw so she can deepen the kiss. Her tongue swipes across your lips, inviting them to open. You can’t really move, unable to completely process what’s happening. She’s so warm and soft and everything you didn’t expect.

She starts making her way down to your neck, exploring your reactions as she kisses and sucks at the sensitive skin. A small whimper escapes from your lips, and Ellie is sure she’s never heard something more intoxicating.

“Williams-” She finds a particular spot behind your ear that causes you to let out a quiet moan, making you forget how to speak for a moment.

“W-we can’t do this here, you know that.” She stops and moves her head to meet your gaze.

“You’re right, we should probably find someplace where we don’t run the risk of teenagers or Mrs. Taylor finding us.” That wasn’t what you meant but it was probably the first time she had ever agreed with you the entire time you’ve been partners.

--

She pulls off the road into a field and as soon as she parks she immediately starts where she left off. Somehow she knew exactly how to reduce you to a whimpering mess in mere moments. In between kisses she whispers “Take off your belt.” Her tone was so sure and dominant it sent a wave of arousal straight to your center. You do as she says, you forgot you had put on your utility belt for the call, but she clearly took note. You try not to move too much as she continues marking up your skin. She stops again, “Now get in the back.” She doesn’t wait for your response before taking her own utility belt off, leaving it in the front seat and opening her door. It was a little more work in a patrol car considering there were bars separating the front and backseat, but at this point neither of you cared much.

Ellie is first to sit down in the back and shut the door behind her, you do the same and crawl over to straddle her lap. “You feelin a little eager, sweetheart?” She looks at you with that obnoxious smirk on her face, but this time it didn’t annoy you as much as it usually did. You kiss the grin off her face before moving to her neck, listening to her little sighs and moans as you press your lips to her soft skin. The noises she’s making send arousal straight to your aching center and you begin to grind down on her lap, desperate for some kind of relief. She starts taking off your belt with trembling, eager fingers and throws it off to the side. You reach for hers as she untucks your shirt and begins unbuttoning it as quickly as she could, leaving you in your tank top. Your lips meet hers and the kisses grow hungrier by the second, each of you becoming more and more eager to undress the other.

As you begin to unfasten Ellie’s shirt she sighs in frustration, “Jesus christ all these fucking layers are driving me crazy.”

You laugh and say in between kisses, “Gotta make you work for it Williams.” With that she rips off your tank top, and immediately begins groping your breasts over your bra. You moan into her mouth and begin to grind down onto her even harder. Ellie notices and spreads her legs a bit, moving your leg in between hers so you were straddling her thigh. Relief rushes through you as you lower down onto her muscular thigh and begin moving your hips back and forth. She reaches behind you to unclasp your bra leaving your top half bare for her. She can’t resist breaking the kiss to move her focus to your chest, taking your nipple in her mouth with a satisfied hum. A soft whine escapes your lips as her warm tongue circles your sensitive nipples. Her hands have a steady hold on your hips, encouraging you to move against her thigh, harder and faster. Yours have found a home in her hair, tugging harder and harder as your pleasure builds on itself causing Ellie to groan as arousal begins to pool in her boxers.

“Get up.” Ellie commands in a hoarse whisper that sends butterflies straight to your cunt. You climb off her and lean against the car door. The sight of you in the dim moonlight, topless with spread legs and unzipped pants, a fucked out expression on your face almost has Ellie coming right then and there. She unties your shoes and gently removes them, before grabbing the hem of your pants and tugging them down in one swift motion. She crawls between your legs and wraps her arms around each of your thighs, gently kissing a path to your dripping cunt. A wet spot had formed on your panties causing your face to become hot from embarrassment, but Ellie seemed to have a different reaction “God you’re so beautiful, it’s driving me crazy.” She begins teasing you over the fabric of your underwear, running her fingers up and down your slit. A whimper escapes your lips as a silent plea for more, but she continues teasing. She finally pulls the fabric of your underwear to the side and takes a moment before gently blowing on your soaked folds.

“Please-” you manage to whimper as the cool air from Ellie’s lips hits your warm center sending a pleasurable shock through you. You would expect for her to make you beg for it, but she immediately obliged, licking a line from your dripping entrance to your clit. You gasp and grip on to her hair, searching for anything to hold on to as pleasure overwhelms every one of your senses. Ellie groans at the feeling as she begins gently licking at your clit, teasing you. The sound sends vibrations through your lower body and you moan at the feeling, now losing any control you had over the volume of your voice. She begins moving her tongue in circles over your sensitive bud as she teases your entrance with a slender finger. You let out the loudest moan yet, encouraging Ellie to plunge her finger further inside you. It slides in easily, arousal practically coating your thighs at this point. Suddenly she hits the spot causing a desperate whiny “Oh fuck,” To escape from your swollen lips as you clench lightly around her finger. She adds a second, the feeling of her two fingers causes a satisfying amount of pressure to fill your cunt. She hits a spot that you swear sends white light through your closed eyes and keeps hitting it with every rough, slow thrust of her fingers. Your hips begin to move, trying to get her to fuck you harder but she only pins your down by your waist with her free hand forcing you to endure her painful pace. “Ellie,” you whine, “please- I-“ you cut yourself off with a moan.

“What do you need sweetheart?” She pauses briefly to look at your fucked out expression and your arousal has dropped all the down her chin. The very sight almost does you in.

“Please,” you beg her in hopes she’ll spare you the humiliation of asking her.

“Mm mm,” she lightly shakes her head “words baby.” That was a much better nickname, the way she said baby made your cunt flutter around her fingers

“P-please-” you sigh before finishing “-fuck me harder pleasee.” You think that’s probably the most pathetic you’ll ever sound but Ellie obeys. She sucks your puffy clit into her mouth, swirling her tongue around the hypersensitive nub before moving her fingers faster. She picks up speed until you can’t think about anything but Ellie’s mouth and fingers. The pace was practically inhuman, you tilt your head back as a silent scream rips it’s way through you before you moan “fffuuckk,” in a high pitched tone. She continues moving her hands rapidly in and out of you curling them at just the right angle. You begin to flutter around her fingers and she knew you were close.

“Almost there baby?” All you can do in response in moan, she has you practically incapacitated. She giggled a little “Good, come for me.” As her words reached your ears your pleasure finally hit it’s peak. You begin writing against Ellie’s fingers as you roughly clench down on them. Your pleasure rips through you in overwhelming waves, moans uncontrollably leaving your lips as Ellie’s fingers continue their brutal pace. She doesn’t let up though, she keeps going as your clit grows more and more sensitive. You tug at her hair but she doesn’t move, she continues as your hips begin bucking against her arm that was pinning you down.

“Ellie it’s too much I can’t-”

“You can take one more can’t you sweetheart?” She asks sweetly as she fucks your sensitive hole with no mercy. You just nod and she continues sucking and licking at your clit, occasionally moaning which only enhanced the overwhelming pleasure. This time you were more tightly wound up and faster. It didn’t take long before you approached the edge again, the feeling twice as intense. You almost worry as it begins to build and build, just as you thought you had reached your peak it kept going. You finally topple over the edge as Ellie’s teeth lightly graze your clit, the feeling sending you into overdrive. You tugs Ellie’s hair harder than you ever had before as you make a mess all over the seats and Ellie’s mouth and fingers. She laps it all up contently, actually backing down when you pushed her away this time. She leans back into her knees and tries to catch her breath.

A smirk grows on your face as you begin leaning towards her, “it’s your turn.”

—

Idrk how I feel about this but at least I finished it 😀👍

Reblogs and notes are always appreciated and encouraged 💕‼️

Hopefully I will start updating more but I can’t really promise anything lmao

[morganacorp]

There's one scene I love with Lena and Brainy (actually, there's a few, but I just saw part of it and remembered this one in particular).

He's trying to reverse engineer the code Lex planted in the Obsidian lenses (project non cherry nonsense), and Lena comes back with Myriad after leaving Supergirl in the Fortress, preparing to fight Lex.

She asked Brainy how he's doing and he tells her that 'The way Lex was able to override free will with a few keystrokes is quite terrifying.' She looks at him, vulnerable and full of regret and says 'The code was my design.'

She sees the realization in his eyes, but she doesn't let the quiet linger, doesn't open an opportunity to be judged, so she just moves on to the next question she had. What she didn't know though, was that Brainy was full of guilt too, and he wasn't judging her.

He approached her and apologized for his role in the whole thing ('I had no idea that this was Lex's plan'), shared his own regret and was open and vulnerable with her like he'd been in the past. He shared how he didn't know how and when to stop him, that he had feared he was becoming the villain... That he thought he was helping save the world but lost sight of what Lex was really doing.

Her response wasn't judgement. Her response was 'You were willing to sacrifice everything to save your friends. On the other hand I was the hypocrite who believed that she had the answers to all the world's problems. It's the closest I've ever come to seeing things through Lex's eyes. Self pity and hubris should be the Luthor family motto... So if anyone's gonna win the culpability award, I've got you by a landslide.'

But that answer wasn't based on her self pity. It wasn't to minimize his pain, it was her saying 'we both fucked up, but you did it to protect your people and I did it because I was selfish'.

Their bond was so good because they're both geniuses who don't really know how to deal with emotions, and up to a certain degree have been discovering it together by opening up like this in the past.

'What do we do now?'

'Try and cope with the mistakes of the past and appreciate that we have friends who still believe in us.'

This was growth. This was good writing. This was characters going through complex emotions and trying to cope with them as best as they can, while working together to save the world. This is what the show should've offered more of instead of giant CGI cats and dragons.

[cerismo]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

P1. P2. P3. P4.

𐙚 . . . pairing. toxic!rafe x toxic!fem kook!olivia wilson

୨ৎ . . . genre. slow burn. everyone else can see it but them (trope)

.ᐟ . . . content warnings. cussing, arguing

Rafe Cameron and Olivia Wilson were too blind to see their love for each other.

“please please please, don’t prove I’m right”

I cannot believe she had the audacity to accuse me of having this “major crush on rafe” since kindergarten…

If anything I’ve hated him since then, especially after he embarrassed me i front of our entire class. I mean come on everyone has little accidents in kindergarten right?

I mean yeah he’s like hot as hell, but he literally embarrassed me in front of everyone I still know to this day. Every now and then I still get made fun of, and it just digs the hole of my hatred for Rafe even deeper.

But I mean what can I do, he’s the prince of the kooks, which means he’s untouchable, so there’s not really much I can do or say make him back off just a little bit, so I tolerate him. Well whenever I’m on that side of the island anyway.

I’m either usually hanging out with the pouges or im catching waves. Which means I don’t have to see or deal with Rafe, unless there’s some kind of bonfire or party going on over on the look side of the island.

Right now I’m rummaging through some clothes im my closet trying to find something worth wearing at this bonfire tonight. I settle on this white sundress with little roses on it. It hugs everything in the right place. I slip on some white lacy socks along with my all white high top platform converses.

I walk out of my room and down the hall and into our kitchen where my mother stand making whatever the hell concoction she was making this week…

“And where are you going dressed like that?” my mom said she said not even taking her focus away from what she was doing.

“Relax Mom, it’s just a party down by the beach…” I said slightly rolling my eyes

“Alright but I don’t want you out too late, we’re planning on having a family dinner tonight.” she said finally looking up at me.

“Okay mom, I promise, I’ll be here” I said hesitantly, because I wasn’t so sure that I wasn’t going to get drunk tonight. I mean I always do, especially on nights like these. I mean everyone from my generation actually comes together to have some fun. No fighting, arguing, just good old fun. And then unfortunately everything resets the next day. So what was I supposed to do? Not have fun, come on.

I walk around the counter to where my mom was and give her a light kiss on the cheek and walk out of the kitchen.

“I’ll see you tonight mom!” I yelled considering how far I was from the kitchen.

“Alright love ya honey, have fun!” My mom yelled from the kitchen, since I had already made my way into the foyer. I grabbed my purse off the hook, along with my keys too. I made my way out the door, down my driveway and into my all black BMW. I pull my phone out to text my best friend Sarah

I cannot believe she just sent me $300 fucking dollars for a godamn snicker and an arizona, that’s like what $10 all together. But we have been bffs since like the beginning of time, soo it kinda makes sense.

I start the engine, and put the car in reverse as I back out of the driveway and down the main road. Sometime later I make it to the Cameron’s house. I get out of the car and make my way to the doorstep, and ring the doorbell. Who answers the door? Rafe fucking Cameron.

“Hey Sweets, how you doing?” He had that fucking smirk that I hate so much plastered on his stupid, but handsome little face.

“What did I tell you about calling me that? And I’m fine, thanks for asking.” I said through my teeth. My frustration taking over.

“Listen Sw- Liv, It’s just a nickname, you’ll be fine.” He was now standing with one arm propped up against the door frame and the other on his hip, that stupid smirk still right where I left it.

Oh how bad I wanted to slap that stupid smirk of his stupid, but handsome face. But there was something about the way he was staring at me that made my knees buckle, internally of course.

“Just a nickname? Rafe I’ve already told you a thousand times stop calling me that.” I couldn’t believe him, just a nickname, that I’ve begged you to stop calling me for years. And he won’t stop, he’s been doing it since the 6th grade. I mean It’s kinda grown on me, but I still hate it. I feel like it means he’s just trying to like call me a suburban 1950s trad wife or some shit along those lines.

I shifted my gaze behind Rafe when I heard footsteps coming from the stairs, it was just Sarah.

“You two flirting again?” She had an eyebrow raised and that stupid smirk that her brother is always doing on her face too.

“Uhm first, eugh no, second are you ready?” The annoyance and disgust could be heard in my voice.

“Uhm yeah, wait did you-“ She didn’t even have the chance to finish before I was already interrupting her, I mean she’s my best friend of course J know what she’s about to ask me.

“Yes Sar, they’re in the car…” I said with both eyebrows raised and a sort of “really” look on my face.

“YOU LEFT MY SNACKS IN YOUR HOT ASS CAR?!?” Even Rafe jumped back a little bit, at how loud she was yelling. Which was unusual since nobody and I mean nobody could scare Rafe Cameron. After spending about 5 minutes trying to calm her down, and tell her that the air conditioning was on, I noticed the sun setting.

I lifted my phone, and checked the time to see that it was almost time to get ready to leave.

“Hey Sar, we gotta go.” I said turning around to walk to my car, but J didn’t even talk a full two steps before I was being whipped around by my arm.

“Go where?” Rafe had this strong grip on my arm causing me too wince at his actions.

“First off all, let me go. And second what?” I said yanking my arm out of his grasp and rubbing over the burning sensation left behind from his big manly hands.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Now the smirk that I loved and hated was gone. He had some sort of anger to his face now. I was trying to read between the lines but I couldn’t which was unusual in our case.

“To the bonfire…why is it any of your business?” The look on my face, let me tell you it didn’t please Rafe, or make him any happier than before.

“Because Liv, you know how many guys are out there just waiting to fuck you?” He was basically yelling at me at this point.

“And why the hell is that any of your business, if I wanna fuck someone maybe I will.” I said wailing my hand around, like there was no tomorrow.

I watched as Sarah slipped passed Rafe and made her way to my car. After about 3 more minutes of unnecessary arguing I was getting fed up with Rafe, I mean who the hell does he think he is telling me I can’t go to a fucking party.

“I KNOW I HAVE GOOD JUDGEMENT, I KNOW I HAVE GOOD TASTE”

“Listen Rafe, I really don’t care I’m going whether you like it or not.” And with that I turned around and made my way to my car, casually flipping him off as I walked. I got in the drivers side and shifted to reverse as we backed out of the driveway.

“What the hell was all that about?”

MO YAPS

tagged: @venusxsturnio, @flouvela, @monroesturnns

Ok guys like that was awesome right? I had so much fun making this. Hey btw if anyone knows how to do those like gc messages please don’t be afraid to hmu bc I been struggling.

Anyway hope you guys enjoyed, lemme know what you would like to see in the comments.

[subliminalbo]

The Pleasure Method

This is a continuation of Return to Office

It was simply dumb luck that Futurum had stumbled upon their newest tech. The Conditioning Initiative was a success, but its limitations were beginning to show. If the goal was to create the perfect workplace free from distractions or inefficiencies, they needed their employees to embrace the Initiative in every phase of their lives. This was how R&D shifted to The Pleasure Method.

The Pleasure Method was reversed engineered from hardware discovered in the basement of a sorority house near the campus of Carpenter State University. The program was a sophisticated set of stimulants delivered through a pair of noise canceling headphones and a VR headset. Futurum recovered a treasure trove of hypnotic audio and video files from a hard drive in the basement, but the files themselves weren't fundamentally different from what Futurum had achieved with The Conditioning Initiative. What really fascinated researchers were the testimonies culled from members of that sorority.

The power of sexual stimulation in subverting a subject's will had been documented in the past, but Futurum's interest was in testing its absolute limits. In their deprogramming, the sorority sisters who were rescued from the Alphas house recalled being hypnotized and fucked senselessly. Deprived of sight and sound from the headphones and visor, there was nothing left to focus on but the feeling of hands on flesh, teeth grazing nipples, tongues rolling along clits, and slick, thick silicone cocks penetrating as deep as they could go. The sorority sisters were programmed to desire only this feeling, and after several hours of unceasing stimulation they would do everything in their waking minds to feel that level of pleasure again. They would even obey.

Futurum built their own program from the Alphas' testimonies. The Pleasure Method was a more sophisticated apparatus than the crude setup recovered in the Alphas basement. R&D had long rooms filled with rows of examination chairs where subjects were strapped in and treated to days—not simply hours, but days—worth of sexual stimulation. Mechanical arms loomed above every chair in these R&D rooms. The whole area was called a Pleasure Station. The arms were bolted to the ceiling and were fitted with long, motorized silicone rods for vaginal or anal penetration. Regular electric shocks were delivered through a subject's nipples to maximize the body's capacity for pleasure.

All of this was conducted under deep hypnosis. Audio files droned reinforcing messages of submission in a subject's ears while a visor lowered over the eyes ensured that the subject remained entranced with synchronized light displays. Subjects were fed intravenously so that they could remain under The Pleasure Method for days.

The end results were a monumental step forward from the simple subliminal messaging of the first phase of The Conditioning Initiative. The Pleasure Method had been one hundred percent successful in shaping Futurum employees into re-writable worker drones.

The applications were endless. The efficiency crisis that had plagued workplaces since the pandemic wouldn't just be solved, Futurum could guarantee that no energy would ever be wasted in an office or a factory or a boardroom ever again. The future of work was mental conditioning, and the key was sexual pleasure.

You would be hard pressed to find a better example of this than No. 14. Formerly known as Shelby Irving, No. 14 was a graduate student at Carpenter State University who had worked on the initial stages of The Conditioning Initiative as part of a summer job program. When No. 14 returned the following year, she dutifully submitted herself for processing at a Pleasure Station. Though technically still a student at CSU, No. 14 accepted a full time job as a researcher in Futurum R&D, assisting in the processing of new subjects. Despite balancing two full time jobs, the new perspective afforded to No. 14 by her conditioning made her exceedingly efficient and she felt no difficulty in transitioning between both worlds every day.

Sometimes No. 14's worlds would collide, like when she was tasked with processing a new recruit who studied in the same rhetoric program at the school. On Shelby's recommendation, Josie had applied for the summer work program. By the time she stood naked before a Pleasure Station, she had undergone hypnotic conditioning through Futurum's new on-boarding program. That conditioning began to slip when Josie was strapped into the chair and No. 14 inserted the IV into her arm.

"Shelby?" Josie squeaked. She awoke to the sound of a dozen subjects undergoing their own processing. The subjects' thoughtless moans filled her ears like a ghoulish chant.

It wasn't uncommon for a subject's conditioning to fail during preparation. This only proved the need for a more permanent solution to The Conditioning Initiative.

"Shelby, please!" Josie begged, but there was no recognition in No. 14's eyes. "Oh, god!" she cried as the mechanical arm dropped down from the ceiling. The longest dildo she had seen in her life was just inches from her pussy. "What is that?"

"It is advisable that you remain relaxed through the preparation process," No. 14 instructed. As her glassy eyes floated from the terrified expression on Josie's face to the mechanical arm in front of her, they lingered on Josie's soft, round tits jiggling with each sob. A subtle, nearly imperceptible twitch of No. 14's eye displayed a potential hiccup in The Pleasure Method: that subjects could be molded and trained, but an increased desire for sexual satisfaction could take them at any minute. This time, however, the desire passed, and No. 14 continued with her programmed duties.

"Subjects find the pleasure distributor to be extremely arousing," No. 14 explained. "It will be a pleasant experience for you."

"Fuck you, Shelby!" Josie cried. She pulled hard at her restraints, but she couldn't shake the straps free.

When Josie knew that she couldn't find her way out, she tried to appeal to the friend that she knew from school.

"Shelby, please," she pleaded again. "You have to fight this! Whatever they've done to you. I know you're in there. I know you're still you."

But No. 14 was unmoved by Josie's pleas. She slipped the noise cancelling headphones over her ears and lowered the visor plate over her eyes, a neon glow illuminating along the rim of the visor as the program took effect. Josie released a sharp, surprised gasp when the pleasure distributor entered her pussy. It started with slow thrusts and picked up speed as her pussy responded with more lubrication.

Josie's pleas quickly softened until there was nothing left but a hungry moan that was indistinguishable from the rest of the noise in the R&D room, Josie's voice becoming another part of the chant.

No. 14 was practically dripping as she watched Josie become No. 500. With that same little twitch of the eye, she came. It washed over her so silently that an observer would never know the level of pleasure firing off all over No. 14's body.

If No. 14 had a thought left in her head, it may have been that she fucking loved this job.

[wheels-of-despair]

The Devil's Trip Pairing: Eddie Munson x You Summary: Eddie and Evil Woman embark on an epic spring break road trip… in which everything goes wrong. Contains: Good tunes, snacks, a cooler full of drinks, the open road… also traffic, poor planning, a heroic Hopper rescue, bad food, accidental injury, blood, spring break just not going like it should. Words: 3.3k

"Music?"

"Check!" You shake the shoebox full of cassettes in your lap.

"Snacks?"

You reach back and rattle a bag full of snacks. "Check!" There's also a cooler full of soda and stuff to make sandwiches.

"Kiss?"

"Wayne's still up, you've got time to run back in if you want to."

"UGH, get out of my van," Eddie groans. You laugh and lean over for the pre-road trip kiss.

"Check," you whisper against his lips before straightening.

"Alright, let's blow this popsicle stand."

Eddie turns the key and his van roars to life, sending a few stray cats scattering in the morning sun. He reverses out of his spot in front of the trailer. When he puts the van in gear and it lurches forward, you remove the correct tape from its case. Eddie stops at the edge of the trailer park to check for traffic on the main road, and you slip Road Trip Mix #1 into the tape player.

He waits for Ozzy to shout "All aboard!" before gunning it and hitting the highway.

You're kicking off your spring break by going to a music festival in Illinois. Just you and Eddie and an epic road trip and two days of up-and-coming bands. You've got three new rolls of film and plan to fully document every memorable moment. Rest stops, cheesy roadside attractions, sleeping in the van, the concert stage. You've been planning your escape from Hawkins for weeks.

Two songs into Road Trip Mix #1 later, a look of concentration settles on Eddie's face. The "Leaving Hawkins" sign comes into view. You both wait until the exact moment you pass before yelling "FUCK YOU, HAWKINS!" The first time he did it, it scared the crap out of you. Now you yell with him.

You grin at each other and face the road… seconds later, the van shudders. Eddie's brow furrows, and his eyes dart between the needles on the dashboard.

"The fuck?" you ask.

The van shudders again, and the engine sputters and dies. Eddie curses and coasts to the side of the road. When the van comes to a stop, he sighs and turns to you slowly.

"Gas?" he asks, one eye scrunched.

"Shit."

You stare at each other for a second, and then burst into laughter.

"Well, we're off to a great start," Eddie laughs.

"How the fuck did you forget to get gas?!" you ask.

"I meant to do it last night… but someone had her hand creeping up my thigh on the way home, and it distracted me."

"That slut," you deadpan. "Tell me who she is, I'll kill her."

Eddie grins. "Uh, there's a station about a mile back, they probably have a spare gas can for emergencies such as these… rock, paper, scissors?"

You glare.

"Orrrr I could go get it and you could stay out here… by yourself… on the side of the road… all alone…" He bats his eyelashes.

"What are we waiting for?" you ask, opening your door and sliding down to the ground. You reach up to lock it, slam it, and meet Eddie at the rear doors.

You walk in silence for a few minutes, then Eddie asks, "Wanna play a game?"

"Is it called Guess Who Forgot to Get Gas?" you tease.

You take another few steps, notice he's no longer beside you, and turn back to see why. He grins and takes a leap at you, attaching himself to your back.

"Oof!" you grunt. "What are you doing, moron?"

"I'm gonna have to carry a gas can back, so you're gonna have to carry me to the gas station."

"That does not seem at all like a fair trade," you grumble, but try to keep walking. You stagger a few steps under his weight, waiting for him to take pity on you and hop off, but he does not.

Until a siren chirps.

Eddie lets you go and hops to the ground, and you both turn to see Chief Hopper leaning out of his Blazer's open window and looking unamused.

"I don't know what you're doing, I don't want to know what you're doing, I just need to know if you require my assistance in a professional capacity."

You glance toward Eddie, entirely unsure if he's going to play with Hopper or be serious for once in his life.

"Van ran out of gas, so I tried to hitch a different ride. But she ran out too." You elbow him, and he grins.

Chief Hopper sighs and hangs his head. "Get in, delinquents."

"Can I sit in the front this time?" Eddie asks excitedly.

"No!" Hopper barks.

Eddie laughs and crosses the road to open the door for you. You slide in, and Eddie slides in behind you. He laces his fingers behind his head and stretches out, making himself comfortable in Hopper's back seat.

"Where you kids headed?"

"…the gas station?" Eddie says like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Where were you going before you ran out of gas, smart-ass?"

You stifle a laugh and Eddie grins. "A music festival in Illinois."

Hopper makes eye contact with you in his rearview mirror. "Your mom know where you're going and who you're with?"

"Yes," you answer simply.

He studies you in the mirror for a second before returning his attention to the road.

"What, she says one word and you believe her?" Eddie asks incredulously. "We go way back, Hop! You grill me ALL the time!"

"She's got an honest face. You look like a gremlin."

You snort, and Eddie's jaw drops.

Before he can formulate a snappy response, Hopper pulls his Blazer into the gas station. He takes his time getting out and walking around the back to extract his gas can. Finally, he opens Eddie's door and hands it to him. Eddie hops out and takes the can to fill it, and you're left alone with the police chief.

He hovers outside the open back door, blocking your way out. You're a little nervous… until he speaks.

"He being a gentleman?"

"He tries," you smile. Hopper comes off as gruff, but you know there's kindness underneath it. Otherwise, you'd probably be writing Eddie letters in jail.

"Your mom really know where you're going?"

You nod. "She even gave me a new roll of film and told me to bring her back a souvenir."

Hopper nods his head in approval.

"I'm glad he's got somebody," he says lowly. "You're keeping him outta my hair."

"If you miss him, I can set him loose every once in a while," you grin. "I don't think he's been properly chased away from the water tower in ages."

Hopper laughs. "Nope, all yours."

Eddie announces his presence with a grunt, heaving the full gas can into the back of the Blazer.

"Filled, paid, it'll get us a ways."

"You're gonna stop and fill up before you get back to empty, right?" Hopper asks, glaring down at Eddie as he squeezes back into the truck.

"Yes, Mom," Eddie grins.

Hopper rolls his eyes and slams the door. He gets into the driver's seat and takes you back to the van quickly, but doesn't let you out right away.

"Illinois cops aren't as nice as I am, Munson."

"I knew you had a soft spot for me," Eddie grins.

"I mean it," he says, turning in his seat to face the two of you. "You screw up outside of Hawkins, and I'm not gonna be there to give you a lecture and send you home."

You look nervously between them. How much trouble has Eddie gotten into?

"We'll be fine, Hop," Eddie says boredly.

"Are there any illegal substances in your van?"

"If there were, would I tell the Chief of Police?"

Hopper growls and turns his attention to you. "You gonna keep him out of trouble?"

"It's a rough job, but somebody's gotta do it," you smile, glancing over at Eddie.

"You both realize I'm a legal adult, right?" he scoffs.

"Could've fooled me," you and Hopper say together. Eddie rolls his eyes. Hopper laughs and gets out to open the rear door. You hop out, Eddie retrieves the fuel and empties it into the van's gas tank, and hands the empty vessel to Hopper.

"Have fun, behave, watch that gas hand, do not take any illegal substances across state lines, et cetera."

Eddie puffs out his chest and salutes, and Hopper gives him a shove toward the van. You smile and wave. Hopper puts his gas can back in the truck, waits until Eddie gets the van started, and heads back toward Hawkins.

"Alright, take two!" Eddie says as he pulls back onto the road. It was a little quieter this time; you were a little paranoid about getting busted with substances that may or may not be in the van, and a little stressed from barely making it out of Hawkins before the first sign of trouble. It's only a hiccup, you told yourself, just to keep you on your toes for the rest of the trip.

You made it a few minutes down the winding road before running into a long line of stopped traffic. You couldn't see far enough ahead to figure out what was wrong, but after what felt like an hour of waiting, traffic finally began to crawl through. A car lay upside down in a ditch. Tire marks on the road. A crew sweeping up glass in the other lane.

"You okay?" Eddie asks.

"Yeah," you whisper.

"It's a bad curve," he explains. "Not the first time."

It's also not the first time you've been through here with him at breakneck speeds. He reaches over and puts a hand on your thigh as the long line of traffic slowly proceeds.

Eddie pulls off at the next gas station, to let the traffic thin out and properly fuel up the van. You take the opportunity to stretch your legs by walking through the store and looking for snacks you don't already have.

You spot a clearance rack full of off-brand chips you've never tried before, for only ten cents a bag. You grab one of each flavor and bring them to the register at the same time Eddie comes in to pay for his fuel.

Eddie pays, the cashier stuffs your chips in a plastic bag, and you head back out. The traffic is still moving slowly.

"Wanna hang here until traffic starts moving again?" he suggests.

"Sure," you smile. "We can sample our chips and see if it's worth going back in for more." Eddie moves the van from a pump to a parking spot, and comes to join you atop the rotting picnic table in the grass beside the store. He plops down two drink cans from the cooler, and you lay out your different chip options.

"Six flavors," you announce. "What do we want to sample first?"

"Hmmmmm… this one." Eddie picks up a red bag with flames coming off of the text. Of course. He rips open the top of the bag and offers it to you. You pull out one very threatening-looking red chip. Eddie extracts one too. You gently tap them together in a super classy gas station potato chip toast, and pop them in your mouths.

When the heat hits you, you spit it out. Eddie lasts a few seconds longer, but spits his out too. You both pop open your cans and guzzle, hoping the cold liquid will put the fire out and mask the awful taste.

"Okay, fuck THOSE," Eddie says, setting that bag aside. "You pick next."

You select the cheesy ones, hoping they'll be mild. You open the bag, and you each pull out a chip.

Eddie sniffs it. "This smells like feet."

"Yours, or a normal person's?"

He throws his chip at you and has to pick another.

You skip the toast, but both bite down at the same time.

Not good, but not so bad that you have to spit it out. You repeat the process with barbecue, salt and vinegar, sour cream and onion, and plain. Neither of you eats more than one chip out of each bag.

"Did all of those suck, or did the first one just burn our taste buds off?" you ask after you drain the last of your soda.

"Kinda wish it HAD burned my taste buds off," he says, looking warily at the six almost-full bags of chips. "What are we gonna do with those?"

You look disdainfully at the awful snacks. "Take 'em home and give 'em to the boys for the next movie night. Tell 'em we had to sample each bag and make sure they were suitable for nerd consumption."

Eddie laughs and shoves the chips back in the shopping bag. You tie it - because surely staleness wouldn't improve the flavor - and hold it up to give it a spin.

"There we go," you smirk. "A heartfelt gift for our dear friends." Eddie snorts.

"Looks like traffic's moving quicker," he notes. "Wanna get back to it?"

"Let's roll," you nod, rising from the picnic table with the bag full of awful chips. Eddie hops off of the table and lands with a hiss. You whip around at the sound.

He's holding his hand in a fist. You step closer and uncurl it to see what's wrong. The table gave him a splinter.

"I've got tweezers in my emergency bag, c'mon, I'll fix you up." You pick up your empty cans and toss them in a nearby trash can, crawl into the back of the van, and start digging. Eddie sits on the floor by the back door until you locate your emergency supplies.

"Damn, is there anything you're NOT prepared for?" he teases when he sees the packed box.

"Nope," you answer, dabbing alcohol on his hand. He hisses again. You make quick work of the splinter extraction and bandaging. You lean down and kiss the bandage when you're done, before he can even pout and ask you to kiss it and make it better. He smiles when you sit back up.

Three minutes later, you're on the road again, and it's time for a new tape. You pop out Road Trip Mix #1 and swap it for #2.

"Damn, we make a good mix tape," Eddie remarks.

"Mix tapes," you correct. "There are six of them."

"And each one is better than the last," he says, reaching forward to turn up the volume…

The knob comes off in his hand.

"Shit."

"Give it here," you say loudly, so he can hear you over the deafening screams of Judas Priest. You hold out your hand, and he drops the knob into it. You lean in close and try to figure out how it goes back on so you can turn it the hell down. You've nearly got it when a blinding pain shoots through your head.

"Shit, fuck, I'm sorry!"

You don't know what's going on. You're seeing spots, your head is killing you, and there's… blood? On your shirt?

Eddie's hand reaches out to grab you and keep you from lurching forward with the van when it comes to an abrupt stop on the side of the road.

"Fuck, fuck, look at me," he says hurriedly. You're still transfixed by the blood dripping on your shirt. Suddenly, everything goes quiet. You look up in surprise, but it's just because he's turned the van off and the music isn't blaring anymore. His eyes widen.

"Are you okay?"

"I… don't know?"

"A fucking cat ran out in front of me and I hit the brakes so I wouldn't hit it and you hit your face on the dash," he explains hurriedly.

You take a second to process it.

He reaches into the back and grabs a spare hoodie. "Here, he says, lifting a sleeve to dab at the blood that had spurted from your nose. You laugh at the absurdity of it all. This is the trip from Hell.

"Ow!" you screech when he touches a sensitive spot, done with your laughing.

"Sorry! Fuck, I'm so sorry."

You take the hoodie from him and mop up the rest of the blood. Good thing it's black.

"You starting to think maybe this trip is cursed?" you ask, muffled through the hoodie.

Eddie sighs.

"You wanna go home?"

You shrug. You don't want to ruin his trip. You know how much he's been looking forward to this. You'll stick it out with him.

"Let me see you," he says, reaching for the fabric hiding half of your face. He removes it, and his eyes widen. "Yeah, we're going home."

"Eddie, you don't have to--"

"Shut up," he orders, getting out of his seat to dig in the back. He comes back into view holding a cold can of soda, which he wraps in the hoodie. "For your face," he says, offering it to you.

"That bad, huh?" You smile, which is a mistake. "Ow."

"Buckle up, relax, this hell-trip will be over soon."

He searches the floorboard until he locates the volume knob, twists it back on, and immediately brings the noise down when the van starts up again.

Eddie waits for a break in traffic and turns around in the middle of the road. Once you're headed toward home again, you lean back in your seat, hold the cold can up to your face, and stare out the window over top of it.

The first sign you see is the one stating that Hawkins is six miles away. You start laughing.

"…are you okay?"

You laugh harder.

"Shit, do I need to take you to a hospital?"

"No," you wheeze, "this trip really is cursed."

He looks at you like you've grown another head.

"Think about it," you chuckle. "We made six mix tapes. We bought six awful bags of chips. And we made it a whole six miles outside of Hawkins Fucking Indiana."

As if on cue, "The Number of the Beast" starts playing. You look at each other and lose it. You cackle until your sides ache and your face aches more before.

"Ow," you whine, trying to focus on the road and stop laughing. When your body finally stops shaking, you sink into your seat and close your eyes.

"Best trip ever," you mumble.

You hear him chuckle.

"Babe?" Eddie asks after a moment of silence. You open your eyes. You're passing the Welcome to Hawkins sign. "You wanna go to my place or yours?"

"How bad do I look?" you ask, turning to face him. He grimaces. You lean your head back against the headrest and close your eyes again. "Take me wherever the adult on duty is less likely to beat your ass for doing this to me."

"…kind of a toss-up," he laughs quietly. "Which bed do you like better, mine or yours?"

"Don't care, as long as you're in it."

"You know… we've got lots of supplies… mattress in the back… we could just park in the woods by Lover's Lake for a few days."

You consider it while he drives.

"Eddie?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"I wasn't done."

"…okay?"

"I love you, but I'm not peeing in the woods for a week."

He snorts and puts on his turn signal.

Taking an epic road trip and camping out in a field in Illinois with a bunch of kick-ass bands you'd never heard before was a nice idea.

But hanging out in your basement and listening to Corroded Coffin practice the same songs as always wasn't bad either.

[syn4k]

sure yeah the mianite server is pretty self sufficient when it comes to things like food and resources but after like a month of tom and tucker very diligently (and very stubbornly) holding that this is a survival server, you work with what you have and we will NOT rely on outside sources for even the most basic of things, jordan walks up to them and gently puts one hand on each of their shoulders and goes "hey. i respect your dedication to running this shit like we're back in the middle ages. seriously i do. but for the love of ianite me and sonja have been trying to reverse engineer soap for like two weeks now and we're losing our fucking minds and it turns out that life really fucking sucks when you're intentionally depriving yourself of several things necessary to living like a reliable source of clean water and lysol all for the goddamn bit."

after a full server meeting, four days of shouting, and dec all but threatening to get both of the gods involved to settle it for ("good fucking luck with that, they haven't been listening to any of us either," sonja mutters under her breath), tom whispers something in tucker's ear and with an exhausted sigh he finally declares that fine. We can all go to Walmart and Home Depot once a week for stuff like cleaning supplies and machine-made parts that it would be a fucking nightmare to make by hand here.

everyone cheers (except for tucker) and runs off to make lists of things that they Absolutely Need To Survive.

(it takes another five hours for tucker to review those lists and tell sonja that no, she cannot get oatmeal créme pies, those are not a basic necessity for human survival. there is another huge debate over what exactly constitutes as necessary for survival. jordan indignantly pulls up the wikipedia page on the requirements for life on his phone and thats when dec finally force kicks them all off of the server to just get their fucking shopping done.)

when all's said and done they end up spending well over two thousand dollars on everything BUT it was worth it and while tucker still might not exactly be happy that it happened, in the end he did get a nice set of woodworking tools for himself and with that, the Grocery Saga is all neatly wrapped up and over

(well, at least until the wizards show up anyways.)

[justagalwhowrites]

Lavender - Ch. 29

Getting out of Boston with the Fireflies doesn't go as planned. A continuation of Lavender Ch. 1-28, found on Tumblr here.

Pairing: Joel Miller x Reader

Warnings: Canon typical violence. No use of Y/N. Minors DNI, 18+ only.

Length: 5.5k

You stuck close to Ellie as you made your way to the building Joel and Tess used to stash things for smuggling, just on the outskirts of the QZ. It was pouring rain, the chill of the coming fall already setting in. 

When the seasons changed the first time after the outbreak, it had caught you off guard. Logically, of course, you knew that the Earth was still turning, still making its annual orbit. The sun still rose and set, clouds still burst, fruit still turned rotten on the vine. But when the leaves started turning around you as you neared what would become the QZ for the first time, it was disorienting. Everything else had stopped, everything else had come to an end. Why would the seasons still change? 

It was a similar feeling now. The already shifting world made you unsteady, like things should have been frozen when Ellie showed up at your door. Her unchanging self was monumental. It felt as though things should stay the same while humanity reckoned with it. 

Tess went into the building first and jerked her head toward a corner and you grabbed Ellie, bringing her there with you while Tess and Joel checked the small building. 

“We’re clear,” Joel said before going and settling in the main room. 

“Try to stick behind me,” you whispered to Ellie. She glanced up at you. “It’ll be OK, they won’t hurt you but…” 

“How well do you know these people?” She asked, her eyebrows drawn together. 

You weren’t quite sure how to answer that. 

“We’ve saved each others’ lives more than once,” you said. She just nodded and followed you into the main room.

Your eyes automatically drifted to the place were Joel had been on the floor when you’d pushed his bones back into his body and pierced his chest so he could breathe. You stood opposite Joel and Tess, Ellie’s small body partially behind you, partially beside you. You glanced at her but she glared back. Of course she wasn’t going to listen, not fully. 

“Look kid,” Tess looked at Ellie. “I don’t have time to fucking coddle you so we’re going to talk like you’re an adult.” 

“Fuckin’ fine by me,” she snapped. You ground your teeth. 

“What the fuck do the Fireflies want with an infected girl,” Tess said, adjusting the grip on her gun. Your muscles tensed. 

“I told you,” Ellie snapped. “I got bit three weeks ago, haven’t turned. No one lasts that long.” 

“So?” Tess said, looking to you. 

“They think she’s immune,” you replied. “That’s why they’re moving her - us. They think she’s immune and with her they can can reverse engineer a cure.” 

“Can they?” Joel asked, looking at you. 

You sighed. 

It’s not like you’d gone to actual college for this. You knew how to run experiments, how to recreate work that had already been done and make adjustments to try to learn something new. You’d never formally learned how to develop a vaccine or invent a medication. If you’d been actually trained on how to do this shit, developing the treatment you had probably wouldn’t have taken you more than a decade. But then, there was a very good chance that no one who knew how to actual develop stuff like this had survived. 

“I don’t know,” you said eventually. “But having a starting point… That makes a big difference.” 

“Tommy talked about this shit for years,” Joel shook his head, looking at you. “You didn’t fuckin’ buy it then.” 

“Not sure I buy it now,” you shrugged. “This isn’t my area of expertise, Joel. If you recall, I wanted to go into pediatrics and then all my training revolved around keeping people alive. I never learned much about developing vaccines or medications before the outbreak and sure as hell didn’t have much of a chance to learn about it after.” 

“Fireflies are always on this shit,” he muttered. “Should just go back…” 

“So you’re ready to just give up on Tommy then?” Tess asked him, brows raised. “Because who gives a shit what the Fireflies believe or don’t believe, if they’re willing to give us what we need if we bring her across Boston then fuck it, let ‘em.” 

Joel looked between you and Ellie before he sighed.  

“She so much as twitches…” 

Ellie made a choking sound that made you whip your head around only to see her hand outstretched, head cocked, eyes rolled back, all exaggerated mocking. You glared at her until she stopped. 

“Alright, geez,” she put her hands up. “No one here wants to have any fun, got it…” 

You raised your eyebrows at her and she just mirrored your expression, almost a taunt. You resisted the urge to sigh. 

“We should rest,” Tess said. “Get underway first thing.” 

“I’ll keep watch,” Joel said, still looking uncertain as he went toward the front room. 

Tess just nodded before stretching out on the ground. You turned to Ellie.

“I’ll be right back,” you said. 

“But…” she frowned. 

“You’ll be OK,” you smiled a little, grabbing your bag and following Joel. 

He glanced up when you came in, already having settled on top of a box in the corner where he was well hidden from someone glancing inside the building but had a good view of the entry points. 

“Need to check your hand,” you said, nodding to his battered knuckles. 

“’S fine,” he muttered, looking away from you. 

“Joel,” you said quietly. “I know what you do to yourself when you beat someone to death. Let me take care of your hand.” 

He glared at you for a second before he sighed. 

“Fine.” 

You went and set your bag beside him before you knelt at his feet, tucking your flashlight between your cheek and your shoulder as you looked him over. His knuckles were bloody but he hadn’t broken through to the bone this time. You delicately traced the bones of hid hands, the structure of him below his skin and veins. You wrapped your smaller hands around his large one, lining your fingers up where you thought the damage might be worse. 

“Open and close your hand for me,” you said. He obeyed. You felt the fracture and nodded. 

“You’ve had worse,” you said, releasing his hand and going into the pack. “But if you’re about to head to wherever the hell it is Tommy ended up, you should probably start the trip in as close to one piece as possible.” 

You got out the medical kit, part of you uneasy about having to dip into your supplies so early. The Fireflies should have plenty of gear but it still bothered you, your stomach twisting. Like it was an omen. 

You used alcohol wipes on his cuts, followed by antibacterial ointment, looking his hand over one last time before getting out a wrap. You set the light down for this, able to do it fine by touch. 

“I wanted to apologize,” you said after working up the courage to do it. 

“For what,” he replied. Not really asking. 

“For what I said when Andrew got hurt,” you started wrapping his hand, trying not to think about the way you knew how it felt when he skimmed it over your skin, tracing your shape in the dark. “It wasn’t your fault, I know you wouldn’t have let something happen to him. He’s a grown man, he made his own choices. It’s just sometimes hard for me to remember that he’s not still the kid I picked up on my way to the QZ, that he doesn’t need me to protect him. I was just… I was so fucking scared and I took it out on you and that wasn’t fair.” 

He was quiet for a moment. 

“Did you mean it?” He asked. 

“No,” you said. You didn’t need to think about it. “At least, not all of it. Sometimes I wish you’d never called me that night. Seems like it would have been a lot easier for a lot of people if I’d never known what was going on. I would have just gone back into the house, Nan would have been there, that would have been the end of it. Simple.” 

You could feel him stiffen. 

“What about Andrew.” 

“He’s why it’s sometimes and not all the time,” you said absently, picking up the flashlight to check your work. It was oddly easy to be honest with Joel. He was just a habit you fell back into, for better or for worse. “Otherwise… no. I didn’t mean it.” 

You repacked your bag before standing up. 

“Anyway,” you shrugged. “Since I’ll probably never see you again after tomorrow I just… wanted you to know that. I’m going to go try to sleep while I can. I’m fucking exhausted, Fireflies don’t care much about rest, as it happens…” 

“Why’d you go to Marlene?” He asked. 

You frowned, tuning back to him. 

“What?” 

“Marlene,” he repeated. “Why’d you go to her. Tommy?” 

“I didn’t go to her,” your frown deepened. “I haven’t talked to Tommy in weeks and I trust Marlene about as much as I trust a snake oil salesman…” 

“How’d the Fireflies find you then?” He frowned, too. 

“Not sure,” you shrugged. “Ellie showed up at my door, I tried to take her to the clinic but we were intercepted. My guess is Marlene was following Ellie but I don’t know why. She knew about the bite and put a gun to my head…” 

“Literally?” Joel asked, on his feet, voice sharp. 

“Yeah,” you looked at him, confused. Why would he care? Why would he be surprised? “But it’s the Fireflies, that’s how they operate, isn’t it? She put me at gunpoint and leveraged Ellie to get us to go along with them…” 

“That…” he stood, tense for a moment before shaking his head and sitting down again. 

“In her defense, you did point a gun at me earlier today,” you said dryly. 

“Yeah and you knew I wasn’t going to fuckin’ use it,” he muttered. 

“Did I?” You asked. He just looked at you, face hard. You frowned. “Actually, speaking of Marlene… Earlier today, you blamed her for Tommy leaving.” 

He nodded once. 

“That’s not what you told me.” He just looked at you, as though staring you down would make you stop asking. “Joel, come on. We’ve been… whatever this is for, what, 24 years? After tomorrow, it’s over. Don’t lie to me now. What’s the point of it?” 

He looked at you for a moment before he sighed. 

“The explosion,” he said, his eyes still on you. “The one where you got hurt… I saw Tommy there. Confronted him. He helped set it, plan it. Told him he had two choices, he could either leave the fuckin’ Fireflies and turn them in or he could get the fuck away from you. Wasn’t about to let him get you killed for his stupid fuckin’ cause, knew he’d try to drag you down, too.” 

“Tommy…” you managed. Joel just nodded once, hardened look still on his face. Your stomach twisted. Part of you wanted to believe he was lying but you knew he wasn’t. You knew him too well, you couldn’t trick yourself into it. 

You just nodded once. 

“Should’ve told you,” he said, looking outside. “But you were friends… He didn’t have many of those, didn’t want to ruin it.” 

You tried to stop your hand from shaking. You swallowed the bile in your throat. 

“Since I doubt we’ll be alone together again,” you said, voice surprisingly steady even though it felt like someone had cracked open your chest and was reaching into your blood and your marrow to try to pull him out of you. It wasn’t working. It just hurt. “It’s been… good to know you. I hope you take care of yourself.” 

You didn’t wait for a response. Instead, you went to lie down on the ground near Ellie, relieved that both she and Tess seemed to be asleep so neither of them would hear you cry. 

*** 

Joel wished he could remember exactly when Boston became such a fucking shit show to maneuver through. He wasn’t sure now if it was a gradual decline - not that it had ever been an easy thing to do - or if, suddenly, the infected and the raiders became especially bad. 

Today, the issue was infected. 

There were swarms of them it seemed. The four of you had managed to stay off their radar so far but it would be a delicate balance getting you and the kid to the old statehouse without setting them off. 

He let Tess decide the route. He was too distracted, too busy thinking about your conversation with him the night before. 

He hadn’t expected an apology from you. He still wasn’t sure he deserved one, not after what he’d said and done to you over the last 15 years. Anyone watching him would have thought he was some kind of fucking sadist, that he enjoyed hurting you. The curse of you - of knowing you, loving you - was knowing exactly how to rip you open and get you to stay away from him. It took a lot to trigger your sense of self preservation. He’d finally pushed you there without intending to and he hadn’t expected you to ever forgive him for it, let alone apologize. 

And then you said you didn’t think you’d see him again and his blood went cold. It wasn’t that you hadn’t made that obvious before. You said you were leaving, that you didn’t think you were coming back to Boston. He’d understood that, superficially, but there was part of him that was so deeply in denial about what that meant he hadn’t even begun to piece it together. You would be gone. He would never hear your laugh or touch your skin or press his nose into your hair and breathe you in again. 

He knew then that he’d never really thought of things with you as over. Even as he tried to shove you as far away as he could manage, even as you railed against him, part of him held out hope that he’d find his way back to you. Once he was able to repair the broken parts of him, once he was capable of it, once he could convince you to forgive him, you would be there smelling like lavender and leaving your goddamn hair in his shower. 

That wouldn’t be possible if you were a country away. How was he supposed to just let you go a whole fucking country away?

He watched you in the morning, out of the corner of his eye. He watched you braid your hair again. You pulled ribbons out of your bag and tied them on the ends. You checked on the girl. You went into your bag and pulled out a blister pack of pills, handing them to her. 

“What’s this?” The girl frowned, turning the pack over in her fingers. 

“Birth control pills,” you replied, taking one from a blister pack of your own. “You should start taking them now. Make sure you do it daily and at the same time every day. It’s a good idea to keep them on your person so if you get separated from your stuff, you’ve still got them…” 

The girl looked at you, incredulous. 

“You think I’m looking for a fuckin’ boyfriend out here?” She held the pills back out to you. You looked down at them but you didn’t take them. 

“Look,” you glanced toward Tess and Joel and lowered your voice, Joel turning his head slightly so his good ear was closer to you. “I’ve been out here before. Sometimes it’s not up to you. I will do everything I can to keep you safe but if that happens, it’s a lot better if you don’t have to worry about pregnancy. Trust me.” 

His stomach twisted. The girl’s face turned serious. She took the pill. 

You and Tess both tried to lighten things for her after that, the two of you answering whatever questions Ellie seemed to have, you sometimes teasing her.

“Be careful you gremlin,” you said as she walked along the edge of a crater left by a bomb. “I’m not climbing in after you.”

“Psh,” she scoffed. “Yes you would.”

You just smiled a little. You didn’t deny her.

He and Tess led the four of you up to plot a route, locating the swarm of infected in town. 

“Jesus,” you breathed. Tess glanced over at you. “Sorry, haven’t been out in a while I guess.”

“Keeps getting worse,” she said before looking to Ellie. “And they’re all connected. You step on one piece of fungus in one part of the city, the whole pack of ‘em are on you.” 

The girl swallowed hard. 

“This applies to you, too,” she said. “Infected don’t just bite. They can and will rip you to pieces if they have the chance. Immune or not.” 

“Should cut through the museum,” Joel said. “We can stay up high, keep it a straighter shot.” 

No one fought him on it and, at first, it seemed like the right call. The fungus leading inside the building was dried and dead. 

“That’s a good sign,” you said, looking at Joel. “Right?” 

Tess looked at him. They both got out their guns. You followed suit. 

“Ellie,” you said quickly. “In there, you do whatever they tell you the second they tell you…” 

“Oh come on,” she rolled her eyes. 

“I mean it,” you said. “It’s life or death shit, they know what they’re doing…” 

“We’re not going to let you get hurt if we can help it, kid,” Tess said. “But you need to listen to us.” 

“Well then can I have a gun?” She asked, turning back to you. “Because if it’s that dangerous…” 

All three adults spoke in unison. 

“No.” 

“Can’t be that bad then,” she muttered, tightening her grip on her flashlight. 

Joel and Tess shared a look. 

“Stay behind us,” Joel said, looking at you and the kid. “The both of you.” 

For a minute, Joel thought they might have gotten lucky. Everything pointed to the place being abandoned by infected. The tendrils of fungus had started to rot, there were no inhuman sounds. 

Then you spotted the body. 

You let out a small gasp and tucked your gun into the waistband of your jeans, rushing to check the man’s pulse. Joel didn’t need to wait for your look of disappointment, he knew the man was dead. 

“Maybe he came in here to get away from them,” Tess whispered quickly, looking from Joel to you. “This doesn’t mean…” 

“This doesn’t mean what?” Ellie asked when Tess didn’t finish her sentence. “Was that people or infected? Guys?” 

You got back up, pulling your gun back out and standing so close to the girl that you were pressed against her back. Your eyes were wide, looking at Joel. 

He tried to set aside his fear for a moment. The clawing, vicious thought of watching you die. The knowledge of what failure now would mean. 

“From here on out, we are silent,” he whispered. “Not quiet, silent.” 

Ellie opened her mouth to argue and you clamped a hand over her mouth while Joel put a finger to his lips. He mouthed the word ‘silent’ at the girl and she nodded against your hand. 

Joel and Tess took the lead, moving slowly, silently. Ellie was in the middle and you brought up the rear. 

The clicking began when you were in one of the gallery rooms. Joel put his arm out, directing the three of you back into a nook around a display, hopefully enough to protect from the clicker’s version of vision. 

You had an arm across the girl but she was still leaning around Tess, trying to see, her eyes wide. Joel was reminded, for half a moment, of Sarah. 

Not of the violence of her death. Not even of anything sorrowful. Just of her, him and you at a museum. It had been busy that day, it was hard to get to the signs on the displays to properly read them. She kept leaning around people, trying find new vantage points, eyes wide and desperately curious. That yearning to understand why, to know things.

‘Blind,’ he mouthed at the girl, gesturing to his eyes. She nodded, leaning back into you. 

A clicker passed the door. Joel gestured quickly, sending Tess one way and you and the girl another. If one of you made a sound, at least it wouldn’t lead them to everyone. 

He kept watching you. You kept Ellie close, the gun in your hand. He could tell you were trying to force yourself not to panic, could see you counting your breaths. 

The clicking came into the room. Your eyes met his. There was desperation there but an almost quiet acceptance. As though you understood that your life was over but wanted to press on anyway. 

Joel used his flashlight to point to where to go next, guiding the four of you through the maze of exhibitions and beyond the infected. He went first, moving carefully, 

Not carefully enough. 

He felt it half a second before he heard it, the crunch of glass below his feet. 

His eyes instinctively looked to you. Your eyes had somehow gotten wider. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen you look quite so terrified. 

The clicker shrieked and knocked him prone and before he got a chance to press his weapon to its chest to fire, the sound of a gunshot split the air, blood spilling onto him. The infected on top of him shrieked and ran for you. He watched it happen almost in slow motion. The clicker moving for you, you trying to fire the gun and nothing happening, the trigger not moving. 

Your gun had jammed. 

You threw the girl away from you. 

Your eyes met his again for a split second before the clicker was on top of you, a soft yelp coming from you as you tried to hold it back. Ellie jumped on the infected, trying to hold it back from you, blocking any hope Joel had for a shot at it. 

Joel scrambled to reach you but Tess beat him to it, tackling the clicker, the three of you tangled together with the infected until he heard the clicker shriek a last, gasping shriek before falling silent, Tess’ knife in its throat. 

Two more scrambled into the room and Joel was ready for them this time, not worrying about keeping quiet. They’d been loud enough that anything in the building was already on its way there if they weren’t there already. 

It only took three shots each to fell the other two. 

The room was almost eerily quiet then. He looked to the three of you. 

“Everyone OK?” He asked, breathless. 

You shakily lifted a sleeve, testing your arm before you nodded. 

“Twisted ankle,” Tess said. “Had worse.” 

“Well shit,” Ellie muttered. He looked to her as she examined a shallow bite on her forearm. You rushed her, taking her arm in your hands as you looked her over. “It’s fine. If it had to happen to one of us…” 

You sighed. 

“Should have stayed out of that one, Gremlin,” you brushed her hair back before you looked to Tess. “When we’re in the light I can splint your ankle.” 

“Then let’s get the fuck out of here,” Tess said, limping toward the exit. 

The second all of you were outside, Joel shut the window tight and you dropped your bag down, Tess sitting down and stretching her leg out. 

“Keep going with her,” you said, getting out your medical supplies. “Rather you put some distance between her and this fucking place. We won’t be long.” 

Joel ground his teeth, not liking the idea of leaving you here. 

“Joel,” Tess said, imploring him. 

“C’mon kid,” he jerked his head toward the wood board between buildings. He pulled a scrap of fabric from his pocket and handed it to her. “Cover that, before Doc gets a chance to work on you.” 

“Thanks,” she said, looking across the board. 

“I know it’s high and looks bad…” he tried to remember how to sound reassuring. How he used to talk to… 

“Not bad,” she said, climbing on top of the plank and plowing across. Joel looked over his shoulder at you wrapping Tess’s ankle. He followed the girl. 

“So where are you going when you get the car?” She asked, her hands looped through her backpack straps. 

“None of your business,” he muttered. 

“Fine, damn,” she rolled her eyes before lowering her voice. “Long as it’s not with me and Doc…” 

“What’d you say?” He snapped. 

“Nothing,” she glared at him. 

“Sounded like somethin’.” 

“Just something that goes along with what Doc said about you earlier,” she walked ahead of him. He paused before trying to catch up with her. 

“What’d she say?” He asked. 

“That you’re an asshole,” she looked up at him, smirking. “But in a mostly harmless way.” 

He glanced back in your direction again. 

“Yeah, I don’t want to know anything about whatever that is,” she muttered. 

Joel didn’t ask what she meant by it. 

He was relieved when you and Tess caught up with them before they reached the statehouse. 

“Which of us do you think they’re least likely to shoot?” Tess muttered as the group got closer. 

“I don’t think they’ve got a reason to hate me quite yet,” you sighed. “I can do the talking at least to start. Then you can make your demands and we can be done.” 

He looked at you on instinct at the last part. 

He still wasn’t sure what he was going to do. He needed to find Tommy. Needed to make sure he was OK, that he stayed safe. He needed to protect you and know that you were safe. He needed for this to not be the last time he saw you. 

What if he forgot what you looked like? He’d left the photo he had of you in the QZ. It was the only one he had, what if he didn’t go back and you faded? Even if he made it back, that photo was black and white. What if he forgot the precise shade of your eyes? 

“Something’s wrong,” Tess frowned, running up to the truck outside the statehouse. 

“Tess,” Joel followed her quickly. 

She pulled the doors open, ducked below the truck, tore open the back. The gas tank on the truck had been shot out. 

“Where the fuck are they?” She looked to you, to the girl. You just stood there. “Where the fuck are they, Doc!” 

“Inside,” Ellie pointed to a trail of blood going up the stairs. “I think they’re inside.” 

You took the stairs two at a time and Joel ran to keep up with you. 

By the time he caught you, you were inside, down on your knee at the body closest to the door, checking for a pulse. 

“Shit,” Tess said, coming in behind him with the girl in tow. 

“He’s cold,” you said quietly. “This happened at least half a day ago, maybe longer. They may have been dead before we even left the QZ.” 

“Fuck!” Tess yelled. Joel frowned, following after her. 

“Tess,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm. 

“There must be a map or a radio or some kind of fucking plan somewhere besides one of these idiots’ heads,” she ripped papers off a table, looking for something. 

“What happened?” Ellie asked, looking up at Joel. 

He took a cursory glance. 

“Some of them got infected,” he nodded to one. “Ended up fighting the ones who weren’t. All killed each other.” 

“Fuck,” Ellie muttered. You came up behind her. 

“Doc,” Tess went to you, her eyes wide and desperate. “Marlene had to tell you something, where was she sending you…” 

“I don’t know,” you said quietly. “West, that’s all she said….” 

“Tommy?” She asked. You were quiet. “Come on, the man you were fucking didn’t tell you where the fuck he was going?” 

“Just west,” you shook your head. “We can try to go to where we last heard from him, it can’t be that far from there, see if anyone knows anything…” 

“Let’s just go home,” Joel said, an odd haze of relief passing through him at the idea. This was simple. Go home. With you. Neither of you would be across the country. He wouldn’t need to rely on his memory to keep you close, it would all be OK. 

“No,” Tess shook her head, storming to another pile of supplies in the corner. “No, we have to do this…” 

“Tess,” he said again. 

“I’m not going back there!” She yelled, panting for breath, her hands shaking, papers clutched tight. “Even if I fucking could I wouldn’t want to, I’m so fucking tired of pretending like that’s a life in there, Joel! Aren’t you?” 

“What do you mean even if you could?” He asked quietly. 

She shook her head, smiling darkly. His stomach sank. 

“It was bound to happen eventually,” she said. “The shit we do.” 

She pulled her shirt to the side, exposing her neck. The bite there was vicious, the tendrils of cordyceps already stretching and reaching up toward her brain. Joel stepped back on instinct. She laughed once. 

“Tess…” you breathed, going for her, but she held up her hand, keeping you back. 

“You have to get them there, Joel,” she said, releasing the shirt. 

“No,” he shook his head. 

“Yes,” she said. “Yes you do. They’re sitting ducks without you. Get them to Bill and Frank. They already know Doc, they’ll take them, they can figure it out from there…” 

“Tess,” he said again, his voice cracking. 

“I haven’t asked you for much Joel but I’m asking you for this,” she said. She looked to Ellie. “Show him your arm.” 

The girl looked to you for a second before obeying. Her wound was different from Tess’, less angry. As though she’d gotten a cut on the playground, not been attacked by an inhuman monster. 

“She’s real,” Tess said. “She’s real and Doc can help do something with her and you can help make this world something worth fucking living in again, Joel. Get them there.” 

Out of the corner of his eye, Joel saw something slinking across the floor. Strands of fungus, connecting to others. He looked back to Tess. She saw it too. 

He ran for the door and threw it open, a swarm of infected on the horizon. He closed it again.

“How many?” Tess asked. 

“All of ‘em,” he said. “Fuckin’ all of ‘em we’ve got a minute at best.” 

You were going for your bag. 

“I’ve got a euth kit,” your voice was wet. “I can administer it and you can go upstairs. Stay out of sight, it’ll only take a few minutes, it’ll be peaceful and easy…” 

Tess ignored you. She shoved a barrel of gasoline on its side. 

“What the fuck?” Ellie backed away from her, watching the fuel spill at her feet. 

“Won’t need the kit, Doc,” she said, going to the next barrel and knocking it over, too. “If I’m going down, I’m taking them down, too…” 

Joel swallowed back bile. Tess, why did it have to be Tess? The one fucking constant thing in his life for the past 15 years, the person who came the closest to accepting him for what he’d become without asking why. She had become family, the only person now who knew what he was and he’d failed her, too….

“Joel!” She yelled at him, snapping him out of his own mind. “You have to do this. You can do this. Save who you can save.” 

He looked at her for a moment, let himself recognize what he was about to lose, before he turned and all but ran for you and the girl. 

“NO!” Ellie shrieked as he grabbed her. “We can’t just leave her! We can’t just let her die like that!” 

He looked over his shoulder to make sure you were following as he dragged the kicking, screaming girl. You were walking backwards, looking at Tess as she looked back at you, something unspoken passing between you, like a secret you both held. 

At the last moment you turned and grabbed Ellie’s hand, pulling her along with Joel, running to put as much distance between yourselves and the building as you could. 

When the explosion shook the earth, you stopped with him, both of you looking back as the building burned, the screams of infected on the air. 

A/N: And so four becomes three and our core group are heading on their adventure. Gonna be some ANGST next chapter!

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[lonelywriter10]

REPOST - Sandy Baby

Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x Reader (Is referred to as Sandy)

Blurb- Falling for your best friend is hard, but its harder when you think you'll never have a chance with him

(GIF not mine all credits go to the owner.)

Jake Seresin had been my best friend for years, the witty Texan never failing to leave me smiling. And it had been this way for a long time, it felt comfortable, almost as if this was the way it should always be. 

I had known that I loved Jake Seresin from the summer we turned 15, the days had been hot, our time spent at the beach. I hadn’t remembered a time where we weren’t together during the holidays, we always just did. 

That summer more girls had looked his way, the 15 year old Jake Seresin had filled out quite a bit, his charm and sarcasm had expanded considerably and his gentleman-like behaviour never faltered. I remember the fluttering in my stomach as he held me by the waist as Jake threw me in the water and the sound of his laughter as I tried to pull him down with me, the soft smile Jake gave me when our faces levelled. That was the Jake Seresin I loved.

Still loved. 

I stood at the entrance of the bar, my eyes on his figure, the Military had done him a favour, his muscles more defined, his skin was sun kissed and his hair neatly done up. So the girl on his arm made a lot of sense. 

I felt my heart beat falter slightly, I choked on a breath as I backed towards the door, I caught the eyes of Bradley as they widened in realisation. 

I stepped back out into the cool salty air, my arms heavy from the cake and balloons I held, ready to surprise my best friend for his birthday. I began the walk back to my truck as I thought about what happened and what didn’t happen. I placed everything back in the back seat, looking at it all as a reminder of  a wasted idea. 

I heard heavy footsteps approach me, I turned and looked at Bradley as he offered a small smile. “Hey Brad.” I didn’t trust my voice, I didn't trust myself. 

“Hey doll, come here.” I felt the arms of Bradley wrap around me as I let out the tears I had been holding back. “I know, I know.” His voice cooed softly as he rubbed my back, Bradley knew about my love for Jake, everyone knew except for him. 

I pulled back as I wiped my eyes. “I wouldn’t have come if I had known, I told myself I wasn’t in love with him anymore, heaven knows I tried to convince myself it was true.” My voice cracked with each word. 

I chuckled and fiddled with my keys. “He’s an idiot, he loves you, I know he does.” I shook my head at Bradley’s words. “Brad, he doesn’t, Jake Seresin is not held down, no matter how much his mama asks him when he’s going to settle down, he won't.” I kiss my teeth before pulling on the door handle of my truck. “This was a mistake, this whole thing was a big fuckin mistake” I start the engine and begin reversing when I see a couple run out from behind the truck, the guy running over to my window. I groaned before looking out the window when I was met with the eyes of none other than Jake Seresin.  “Fuck.” I mutter before opening my window. “What the hell Sandy?” I rolled my eyes internally at the use of the nickname now leaving a sour taste in my mouth.

“Happy birthday Cowboy.” Sarcasm dripped off my words as I refused to look at him. I heard Jake scoff before continuing into an extensive lecture, a normal person would’ve listened and cared but the stubborn bull in me wanted to punch him and drive off. “What the hell has gotten into you Sandy? You don’t return my texts or calls, next I hear you’re in Texas? I thought we were friends?!” his tone was pleading, his eyes soft as they met mine. 

I looked and saw his date standing there waiting for him, her words soft as she pulled on his arm gently. “Jakey, it's fine, let's just go.” Jakey

I watched him take one final look at me before walking away, a single tear fell down my cheek as I reversed my truck and sped away. 

Fuck

Jake 

Seresin.

Cowboy 

I ignored the call as I had been for the last two months, since his birthday I had continued to ignore Jake in an effort to ease my broken heart. I barely heard from the dagger squad, except for Bradley who came by to check on me 

“He’s broken without you, he’s not sleeping, not eating.” Bradley’s words came across in a whisper, Jake had become a subject we tried not to discuss, no one quite understood why I didn’t want to talk to Jake. 

Not even Bradley. 

“I don’t know Brad, I’m done falling in love with a man who can’t seem to get his head on the right way.” A knock at the door pulled me away from my thoughts, the sound frantic and urgent. “I gotta go Brad, I'll talk to you later.” The line went dead as I walked over, my hand reaching to grab the doorknob when I heard a voice on the other side. “Sandy please!” The desperate pleas of Jake came from the other side. My heart pounded in my ears as I froze. “Please Sandy open the door.” 

I felt my body stiffen at the sound of his voice, was I ready for this? 

“Please, I'm sorry.” The sounds of his fist on the door had stopped, now it was only the sound of his voice.I closed my eyes and leaned against the door, listening to Jake’s voice. “I can’t Sandy, we were so close but now we barely talk, you don’t pick me up anymore, we don’t spend my Saturdays off cooking, I just miss you like hell Sandy.” I could hear his voice breaking, I placed my hand on the doorknob slowly twisting it. Call it instinct but I don’t know what possessed me to open the door, but I just did. 

I didn’t recognise Jake standing before me, his eyes red, his hair a mess and his clothes clearly not clean. My heart broke at the sight of him before me. 

“Jake..” “That’s not my name sweetheart, you know that’s not my name.” His pleads were desperate, an attempt to fix us, us. 

The barrier was still up, I wanted to trust him, but I didn't want to let Jake break my heart again, not again. 

“Please Sweetheart, don’t shut me out, don't pretend I haven’t known you since we were just lil kids.” I listened to his words, closing my eyes as I felt my chest grow heavy. “I have been an idiot, I was scared to lose you.” 

Was it shame? Was it anger? Was it relief that I felt? I genuinely didn’t know and that was what frustrated me as I looked at Jake. “To lose me? Jake I don’t think I’ve ever been with a person more than I’ve been with you, from being young children who were neighbours to now two strangers.” I struggle to stand still as his gaze pierces through my soul. “I let you break my heart over and over again and for what? For me to cry to my mama about the little blonde boy I grew up with, the one I decided I was going to marry when I was five?” I feel my bottom lip quiver as I continue speaking. “The problem is that you are the only one I would let break my heart continuously because my heart is only yours to break, there is no one else I’d love the way  I love you.” 

I wrap my arms around my body as I look at Jake, finally meeting his eyes. I took a shaky breath as I waited for him to talk, to say something, anything. 

“I didn’t know.” He croaked out. “Sandy please forgive me, please I didn’t know.” 

“Why?Why come back?” My voice was shaky, my cheeks wet from my tears. 

A heavy silence hung between us, his mouth a gape but no words were spoken. 

“You can stand at my door and say you miss me, you need me, it's not the first time.” I took a deep breath to stop the shakiness to my voice. “But I am done Jake, I am done l don’t want to cry anymore, it’s either you love me or you don't.” Jake looked at me, his eyes searching through my own. 

I waited for his response, words failed the both of us as we stood in the entrance to my apartment. 

I saw a few tears fall down Jake’s cheeks before he spoke. “I love you, I love you so much it hurts and I can't be the man you need, you deserve better than me.” His voice cracked with each word he spoke. 

“You could date Bradley, Bob, anyone but me because I am not good enough for you! And I tried, I tried to make it easier for us both, I thought if I dated other women I’d be able to push the feelings away so you could go on but I just couldn’t darlin.” 

I looked at Jake, to me he was still that sun kissed 15 year old, the one I fell helplessly in love with. 

The man before me had come back and left his heart for me. 

Did I want it?

“I can walk away, I’ll leave right now if you tell me to but don’t tell me you don't feel it too, that you don’t feel the attraction between us, to be quite honest darlin, there is no one else I’ll love quite the way I love you.” Jake stepped closer to me, the scent of his cologne filled the air surrounding us.

Us

There was only us in this moment.

“Jake I-”

His lips crashed into mine, Jake grabbed my face in his hands as he continued to kiss me. 

Pulling us closer together as he moves his hands to my waist, holding me in a way I had only imagined in my wildest dreams. 

He broke away first, pressing our foreheads together as we caught our breath. 

“Please darlin, don't make me leave.” 

“Stay then, please stay Jake.” 

“Only for you Sandy.”

[wearentdelulu]

Into you~ Chapter Eight

After Kooks says his goodbyes to Junghyun he hops in the car full of adrenaline. He was excited and nervous about seeing her but he still didn’t know how she felt about him. He pulls up the address on his phone and turns the engine on. He takes a deep breath as he reverses out of the driveway. So much could happen once he gets there and knows he needs to prepare himself for the worst. He expects her to start yelling and screaming at him for everything and he was ready for it. Obviously he didn’t want that but at least he’d get to see her, even if it’s the last time.

Twenty minutes later he notices the address gets closer and closer. He looks around and notices this side of town is so familiar to him. She lives here? As he gets closer to her street he continues to feel sense of surprise at the fact that he recognizes this area. Him and the guys would come over here to work out and there’s a nice restaurant around too. How many times has he been on this side of town and seen her without knowing who she was? The fact that he doesn’t even live less than ten minutes away from her feels him with even more nerves.

He pulls up to the apartment complex and slowly drives in searching for her apartment number. 401…….403……405……boom 407 to the right. He finds an empty parking spot, pulling in cautiously. He’s turns off the engine and silently prays that this will go well. He wanted to make sure he didn’t fuck this up and if he did he couldn’t forgive himself for it. Before he thought of different excuses to leave he gets out the car running his fingers through his hair. Come on Kook you can do it. Just don’t fuck this up. He makes his way to the stairs and takes his time going up. After everything that’s happened so far this was the scariest part. Once’s he’s face to face with the door he hovers his knuckles over it. He hesitates for a second. What if she’s sleeping? Or what if she isn’t home? He doesn’t have time to over think like this. With that he raises his arm up and then knocks on the door….

“A-Anya it’s me……Jungkook.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

“C-Come in.”

Anya steps back making more room for him to enter. Her eyes watched as his shadow grew larger and larger. She couldn’t quite see him due the darkness of the living room. Once he’s all the way inside she closes the door and faces Kook in the darkness. His back was turn, too busy admiring the room even in the darkness. He wanted to see more of everything. He turns to face her searching for her features in the dark. “Can….you turn on the lights?” He asks gently not wanting to upset her.

“I’m….scared to…” Anya admits and it was true. She looks completely horrible right now. Her hair a mess, her eyes puffy from crying, she didn’t necessarily want their first time meeting to be like this. She wanted to be on her top game and to feel it too but with the day she’d had today she knew she didn’t look appealing.

She sees his shadow moving in closer, causing her to back up against the wall. She can slightly see the reflection of his lip and eyebrow piercing glistening in the darkness. “Close your eyes.” He says softly, sending shivers down her spine. With the little distance they had between them she decided to obey and close her eyes. She still trusted him despite everything. She feels him coming closer, his right hand coming up and resting against the wall, before she could understand what was happening the lights turn on. The unexpected sensation makes her open her eyes to adjust to the bright light. As soon as she’s does she’s met with the most beautiful eyes she’s ever seen. His eyes made him look incredible innocent, but it’s not the first time she’s seen them this close. Her eyes traced over his face as if she’s trying to memorize every detail.

Kook was no better. As soon as the lights turned on he felt a huge surge of love and admiration. He wanted to map out every inch of her face. He wants to feel her skin against his. Feel the love in person but he holds back. It’s not the time or place for that right now. He could spend hours looking at her and hopefully he can. “You’re…..so beautiful.” He mumbled his eyes never leaving her face. Beautiful was an understatement she was gorgeous. Literally and utterly gorgeous. He doesn’t want to blink, he doesn’t want to miss an opportunity to see her face again. He slowly brings his hand up, hovering over her cheek. He can feel the heat radiating off her and he hasn’t even touched her yet. “Can I?”

Anya’s face flushed a light shade of red. He was so close and everything was happening in slow motion. She looks at his tattooed fingers and follows them all the way down to his arm. God he was so hot. He notices her eyes trailing down his arms and a wave of confidence washes over him. He knew he was hot but the fact that she did made him even more confident. “Are you going to keep staring Anya?”

She shakes her head, feeling a wave of embarrassment. “I-I’m sorry. I…I um.” She moves to the side needed some space to not freak out. She takes a deep breath, it didn’t make sense for someone like him to like a girl that looks like her. It didn’t seem real. Could this actually be happening? Should she bring down her walls to be happy for the first time in forever?

Kook stares at her as she continues to have her epiphany. A small smile appears on his face, she looked so fucking cute and he couldn’t look away. Although his mind was going to places he didn’t want to go right now, they still needed to talk through what happened. Kook isn’t the ‘let’s sit down and talk about our feelings’ kind of guy. He’d normally fuck someone and most likely ghost them as soon as he was finished with them. Yeah it’s fucked up but Kook never wanted to stay with a girl for any longer than he had to, but with Anya it was different. So different to the point where his emotions and feelings surpassed his desires for her. He didn’t want this to be temporary. He wanted this to last for much longer. He takes a step closer to her, watching as her eyes avoids his. “Um…..can we talk?” He asks, watching her expressions for any hint of rejection.

Anya swallows the lump in her throat. They needed to talk about everything she knows that, but it just seems so surreal. The guy she secretly had a crush on is the same guy she’s been obsessed with on stream, and worst of all he likes her. He seen her in person and he still hasn’t thrown up at the sight of her. That alone gives her hope. She nods and gestures for him to follow her on the couch. The atmosphere felt so thick with tension and it made her heart race. She sits down and he follows behind her, his knee lightly brushing against hers. A shiver ran through her spine at the contact. Maybe she was just a bit touched starved, it’s been almost two years since she’s had any physical contact with anyone and with Kook right here in front of her she felt helpless.

“So…” she hears his voice breaking the silence. She could tell he was nervous she was too. He rubs the back of his neck, sighing slightly. Kook isn’t used to this but he really wanted to try to.

“To be honest Anya……I’m not used to this. Feelings and emotions….its all new for me.” He admits. “But I want to be honest with you because you deserve it.” He shifts a little in his seat feeling his heart racing again. His tongue comes out to nervously fidget with his tongue piercing, an old habit he’s always done. “It’s obvious I like you Anya. I do I really fucking do.” He sighs. “But I don’t know how….you feel about me…..about us?”

Anya nods understanding where he’s coming from. She’s been keeping this wall built for so long and she’s terrified to let them down. Unfortunately for her she’s never really confronted her imperfection’s to anyone other than herself. What if he thinks she’s too damaged to be loved or thinks she absolutely unstable to be in a relationship with him? No matter how good things are her brain will always find ways for her to find something to be negative about. It’s just always been that way.

“I know you were hurt because of me and I’m sorry that I wasn’t more-

“No.” She cuts him off. “I shouldn’t have been eavesdropping on your conversation. I shouldn’t have blocked you without letting you explain yourself. And I’m sorry for running away.” She takes a breath preparing herself for what she’s about to say. “The truth is…….is that I’ve always had a crush on you in class. I would see you come in and you never talked to anyone but I always found myself drawn to you somehow.” Come on Anya keep going. “And your streams changed my life. I didn’t need to know what you looked like to know I had feelings for you. They were so many days where I’d come home from school and work and I just wanted to cry myself to sleep. I’d just get overwhelmed with everything, until I started watching you. And you’ve helped me in ways I can’t even describe.” She finally looks him in the eye. “I like you too Jungkook. I’m just….scared you’d get tired of me or something.”

Kook felt his heart flutter at her words. He knew she was a long time fan but he didn’t know he helped her like this. A small smile appears on his face, he’s more than glad to know that she found comfort in him before they even knew each other. It made him feel important.

Anya sighs. “Sorry I ramble a lot.”

“I know.” He chuckles. “You’re good at doing that.”

Anya feels relieved that the mood is lighter than before. He’s still here with her and she doesn’t want this to end. She’s already getting used to his scent now, something that’s now permanently ingrained into her memory. “Wait.” She sits up. “How’d you get my address anyway? And how do you know my brother?”

“Oh right. When I went to my parent’s house he was there with my brother. They’re friends and I was really desperate to talk to you so he just gave me your address.”

Anya nods. She wants to thank Aiden when she gets the chance. “Sounds like him. Always telling my business.”

Kook lays more comfortably on the couch feeling more relaxed than earlier. As if he’s been here plenty of times now. “Oh yeah he told me about your little crush on me.” He grins. “It’s cute really, I mean you have really good taste.”

Anya rolls her eyes. “As if. I don’t have a crush on you.”

“You just said you did…” Kook teases.

“I-…..Well I lied.” She looks away avoiding his eyes. “You’re too cocky for your own good.”

Kook moves closer, his body moving on its own. “I am.” When he doesn’t see her moving away he takes that as consent to continue. “Can you handle that? Can you….handle me?”

Anya felt a shiver run through her spine. The way he whispered that like it was nothing. She likes this. Likes the attention she’s getting and looks like he likes it too. She’s feels him moving in closer and she doesn’t move an inch. All she could do was nod as a response. His scent filled the air and made her body shiver.

Kooks gaze flickers to her eyes then her lips. He wanted to capture them in a heated kiss. Wanted to finally give in, but he knew it was too soon, but right now he wanted too. “I want to kiss you Anya.” He murmured, his hand cupping her cheek. “I’ve waited too long…” His body responding on its own. He could see the hesitation in her eyes but he couldn’t help himself. He didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, so he slowly removes his hand but before he could she stops him.

“Don’t…” she says quietly, placing his hand back on her cheek. They were inches apart now, the air thick with tension. Anya felt a surge of confidence wash over her. She faces him and watches as his eyes roam over her face. His tongue licking over his lip piercing sent a jolt of desire straight to her core. She looks at him meeting his gaze. There’s no going back now.

Kook looks at the want and need in her eyes and leans closer. He was so fucking nervous but he didn’t want to show it. Instead he closes the gap between them with a soft kiss. The way their lips moved felt so in sync and so right. He tilts her chin up for better access as he deepen the kiss. After all that time imagine what it would be like to kiss her……...he finally knows and he doesn’t want to stop. His tongue slipping into her mouth, seeking out hers, his touch becoming more passionate and confident with every passing moment. He slips an arm around her body, gently pulling her closer to him, wanting to feel as much of her body as possible. Needing to feel her skin under his fingers. He gently lays her down on the couch, hovering over her. He breaks away from the kiss, catching his breath. “Anya…” His voice was hoarse and needy. She looked so good lying beneath him, panting with her lips swollen. He wants to see this sight everyday of his life. He wants her. Only her. “Do you….forgive me?” He asks, his eyes soft and gentle. Silently pleading for her to say yes…

Anya’s heart could burst right now with the way she’s feeling right now. That kiss was….was everything she could ever want. Her body vibrating with need. She looks into his eyes as he asks the question. She didn’t see a hint of mischief or ill intentions in his eyes just vulnerability and love. Never in her entire life has she seen eyes so pure as his. He was being genuine about his feelings towards her. Everything he said was true, she could feel it. Maybe it was time for her to let herself be happy for once. What’s holding her back? Rejection? No. Insecurity? Maybe. Fear? Definitely. She was afraid of letting herself be happy, scared things might not work out. She wanted this to be something so good and pure. What if something happens? “W-What…..what if it doesn’t work out….between us?” She asks nervously.

Kook smiles softly, holding her cheek in his palm. “We’ll make it work. And it doesn’t hurt to try, right?”

Anya nods. He’s right she shouldn’t let herself insecurities get the best of her. She should take that leap of faith and make this happen between them. “R-Right..” she smiles back feeling a warm sensation in her chest. “I forgive you. And I’m sorry for assuming the worst about you…”

Kook shakes his head. “It’s okay. Now….unblock me or I’ll die all over again.”

Anya chuckles. “On it.”

[avionvadion]

Ignore me, just some very self indulgent OC x Lucifer doodles I did in my notebook while watching Dan and Phil play Poppy Playtime’s Chapter 3.

Basically, Eleanora ends up in Hell by complete freaking accident when a demon tries to reverse engineer a pentagram summoning circle, is attacked by said demon, but saved last second by Charlie and Vaggie as they saw a strange and very suspicious light (think a huge beam from the sky) and went to check it out.

Note: Lucifer is standing on his tiptoes.

Might start pre-Angel joining the hotel???

Charlie doesn’t know how to send El back to Earth, but makes a deal with her to protect her/give her shelter and use magic to keep her lungs working (since human medicine isn’t exactly available) if she helps out at the hotel with being a “righteous example” of how the Sinners should try and behave to redeem themselves, since she’s an awkward and very nice human being who doesn’t do drugs, lol. She’s also kind of the greeter???

Thinks Lucifer is Charlie’s brother at first because damn, but eventually ends up working with him to try and strengthen his and Charlie’s father/daughter bond.

I have this goofy scene in my head where she’s talking to him on the phone (maybe Charlie gave them each other’s numbers in case of emergency since she’s currently the only human in Hell??? I dunno) and she suggests inviting Charlie over for tea and he’s just freaking PANICKING and she’s using a soft and sweet voice to calm him and asks if he’d prefer to write a letter to Charlie asking her to come over for tea, and if he’d like her (El) to deliver said letter.

Luci just fucking kidnaps El because he doesn’t know what to write without it sounding lame or desperate or silly, and she kinda guides him through it? And at the end he’s like, “No! NO! I can deliver it!”

But he panics again so when they go back to the hotel El is awkwardly helping Luci even more awkwardly give Charlie the letter (and maybe a magic duck that spews rainbows and glitter as a gift) and so Charlie goes to have teatime and Lucifer is ecstatic and he kinda just keeps going to El for advice before the two just. Become close friends.

(Dude just starts calling her for literally anything and everything because she just listens and calms him when he starts panicking, and then kidnaps her frequently for tea so he’s not having tea parties alone with his hundreds of magic ducks that he made and so they can discuss ideas)

Lucifer doesn’t realize he’s smitten until Angel catches the two hugging (El was saying she’s glad he and Charlie are a lot closer now and Luci was super happy and thanking her for her help) and Angel makes a very Angel comment. El bickers with Angel because oh gods don’t get her killed by insinuating that, Angel, that’s the king of fucking Hell he would never, and Lucifer is like “Oh shit I do have feelings, didn’t realize I was still capable of that after the divorce” and chaos ensues.

Eventually it’s discovered that El should be able to leave if the demon who summoned her is dead (he is, he died during the recent extermination around the time Angel was recruited) and if her deal with Charlie is broken. Charlie nullifies the deal, but El is still there.

They realize she’s unknowingly entered a contract with Lucifer, buuuuut… plot twist; he’s not about to let her go.