#so it's gonna be your personal flashlight for a little while more

[ashlinxsloves]

-AARON HOTCHNER HEADCANONS-

The promised hcs for our favourite hot dilf Aaron Hotchner 🤭 I hope you guys like them, it's gonna be a little lengthy and I've divided them between Basic, SFW Dating and NSFW.. Minors please don't interact with the nsfw content.

–Basic–

Hotch would be the type of guy who listens to classical music around the team, but once he's alone in his personal car, he has a whole collection of CDs in his glove box of his favourite bands and albums (The Beatles, etc.)

He'd also listen to audiobooks during long drives home. The genre can vary between the classics or just a light novel.

A huge overpacker. He packs the essentials during cases, but if the trip is personal, he packs almost everything – sunscreen, mosquito repellent, a map, extra batteries, a flashlight, etc. You'll never know if it might come in handy

Dad instincts are strong af, will know something is wrong before it happens

Wakes up at the crack of dawn. Became a habit after working so long in the BAU

Hotch is overall a light sleeper. Mostly because of emergencies or sudden calls from the BAU

The king of overworking. Before Haley died, he used to work so much that he got nosebleeds. He does it less now and spends more time with Jack than with paperwork.

Likes his coffee black with two teaspoons of sugar. He doesn't like it too sweet but isn't bitter either.

He most probably had a secret rockstar phase in his teens. Crazy shoulder-length hair, studded belts, band tees and EYELINER. Stopped after he became a junior in high school though.

Used to blame himself for failing to save the victims during his early years in the field. He tries to remember every person he failed to save in the past and compensate by saving more while being calm and tactful.

Spends a lot of time with Jack during the weekends. He's trying to make up for lost time after being so busy with his job than being a father. They would go on road trips, and theme parks and would do a whole lot just to see his son smile.

Hotch would unironically start drinking apple or pineapple juice after Jack just asked him to. Just for no reason at all.

He gets horrible migraines because of staying up late and not getting enough rest.

-SFW Dating-

When the two of you just started dating, he wasn't 100% sure of it because 1. your age gap (reader would be in her mid-20s) and 2. The fraternization rule in the Bureau.

The both of you kept the whole thing a secret for about four months until the team figured it out on a random Tuesday.

"I- I mean it was pretty obvious from how Hotch was hovering over you all the time and the ways his stoic face softens when he addresses you. Not to forget the way his pupils dilate-" "That's enough Reid."

When you were gonna meet Jack for the first time, you were quite nervous about it, but Aaron reassured you that he'd love you (and the little dude did).

Hotch would try to take you on dates, but it was kind of hard with your hectic schedules.

So it would usually be movie nights at his place along with some takeout dinner after putting Jack to bed.

It took Hotch a while to open up to you, but you were there to support him and he was worth the wait.

Picks you up for work and drives you home even if you told him that it was okay and you had your own car, he insisted on driving you home and seeing you get there safely.

Brings you coffee and something sweet from the cafe. It's his way of telling you he cares about you without the team teasing you after he goes into his office.

He would start to think irrationally after finding out you got hurt during a case. He wouldn't be able to think straight on the way to the hospital and blurted a mumbled 'I love you' while putting pressure onto your wound.

When you sleep over at his place, he loves seeing you wear his old college T-shirts.

Hotch thinks about Haley a lot and feels guilty for it, but you understand that she was his first love and he peppers you with soft kisses to apologize.

"I'm sorry, Sweetheart... I know I shouldn't be thinking about what could have been and focus on what is.. I'll do better, I promise.."

Calls you to his office sternly as if you were in trouble but in reality, he just wants you for himself in the office for a little while.

His heart clenched yet light when Jack asked him if you were going to be his new mommy.

Pet names would be rare when it comes to him. What really matters is when he calls you by your name. But the occasional 'Sweetheart' and 'Darling' might slip out.

He shows you his unserious side. It was a whole 180 for you and it made you fall for him even more. He's an adorable dork.

Even if the two of you are dating, there's a fine line between being together behind closed doors and pure professionalism. Hotch is still your superior and there wouldn't be any special treatment even if you were his significant other.

But when he realizes he gets too rough with you he will apologize in private after the case.

His love language is quality time, so he tries to be around you and Jack as much as he can.

Cheesy pickup lines to try and make you laugh during a hard day. Only in private though.

Knows what to do when you're on your period. He'll bring a heating pad, warm fuzzy blankets, your favourite snacks and painkillers.

NSFW UNDER THE CUT MINORS DNI!!!

-NSFW Dating-

• The sex is incredible. Hotch knows all the right places to hit and how to give you a godly amount of orgasms.

• He starts out slow, letting you get used to the stretch and how much he's filling you up. You can practically feel his cock in your throat from how full you feel.

• Gentle feather-like kisses on your forehead, telling you how good you feel around him while starting to move his hips at a quicker pace.

• From slow, gentle thrusts, it changes into something more primal and rough. As if he were lashing out all his frustrations from work into your tight, little pussy, trying to fuck you into next week.

• And he does it well. He fucks you senseless until you're coming on his cock multiple times before he finishes and spills his cum into the condom he's wearing.

• He just loves fucking you in the missionary position, because he sees how your face contorts in pleasure.

• The first time the two of you slept together was at your place after a really stressful case and the two of you had a drink too many.

• Obviously, Hotch was still a bit sober but you were out of it. He wouldn't do anything without your consent, but you had dragged him into your bedroom and things got heated.

• Bruised your cervix one too many times. The two of you rarely have any sex but if you do, you go all out. He apologises with an amazing bath and breakfast in bed.

• Amazing aftercare. He'll take care of you after the both of you are done, even if he's tired. He'd always clean you up, get you a glass of water and press soft kisses on your shoulders. Cuddling and whispered confessions under messy sheets.

• Not a big fan of having sex in public spaces. He needs privacy when he's trying to fuck and pleasure you.

• But he does know about the dirty fantasies you have about getting fucked on his desk. He's seen the books read and articles you look up. Not like you could've hidden it from him anyway.

• He fulfills those fantasies to the best of his capabilities when no one's left in the office and it's just the two of you. He looks through the last of his files, calls you to his office and closes the door.

• His tie was loose, sleeves rolled up, revealing his forearms. His hair was slightly dishevelled as if he ran his fingers through them multiple times.

• Hotch makes you suck his cock until you're gagging, being a little rougher on you. Then he got you splayed on his desk, pushing your pencil skirt up and ripping your stockings by the crotch area.

• When he noticed how wet you got, he smirked, moving the gussets of your panties to the side. He then flicked your sensitive clit, making you whimper as slick gushed out your weeping hole.

• “You like this, don't you, sweetheart? Lying on my desk, messing up my paperwork with your slutty pussy?”

• He's not the type to degrade you, but if you really wanted to he would. But he wouldn't go too far with the insults.

• He's a switch. Since he's usually dominant in most of his everyday life, Hotch lets you take over once in a while.

• Loves going down on you. He likes loosening your tight hole with his mouth and savours the taste of your essence on his tongue.

• Hotch goes weak when you go down on him even if he doesn't ask you to. Praises and soft grunts.

• Isn't the type to be loud. Mostly pants and let's out soft groans when your pussy convulses around his shaft.

• Loves hearing you whine his name and complain how deep he is.

• Once he saw you looking at a site involving different positions, but the one that piqued his interest the most was the mating press.

• Was curious and wanted to try it with you. Hotch was too riled up to put on a condom that night and filled you up to the brim, having you pressed into the mattress, your calves over his shoulders as he buried himself deeper, hitting so many new places that it made you see white.

That's all for now, I hope you liked it 🤭🤭🤭

[holden-caulfield]

remember how i said "gNuGnUgNuH yOu sHoUld chAngE yOuR tHeMe bItCh iT hUrtS mY eyEs" actually don't do that cause i was looking for a white background to use as a flashlight and couldn't find one on my chronically dark themed phone but then i remembered your sociopathic tumblr theme and it saved me so thank you actually! u're a real one bestie 🤍

first of all, i might sound absolutely insane for this but hear me out: i've been told (and this might be fake so i don't really know) that phones nowadays have this really cool feature (again, never tried it myself so i don't know) called a flashlight???? i have no idea but it's supposed to make a light so you can see things better in the dark and not use your screen... anyway, just a tip for you bestie!

and now, i'm gonna be serious again: i might change it just out of spite. i really just might. making it absolutely pitch black. my next theme is actually gonna absorb light, it's gonna be insane.

[hmusunoo]

𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐈𝐓 𝐀 𝐒𝐏𝐀 𝐃𝐀𝐘 - 𝐒.𝐉𝐘

pairings. ᝰ.ᐟ jake x fem!reader

synopsis. ᝰ.ᐟ jake gives you a facial….hehehe

warnings. ᝰ.ᐟ SMUT. mdni, facials, oral male receiving, pure filth. Short drabble. I can’t lie; i think about this daily…

“That’s it sweetheart..” Jake sighed, trying his hardest to keep quiet in the small room you were currently in. His finger ghosted the apples of your cheeks leaving light touches as he trailed his hand down to cup your chin in his palm. He lifted your head up, cock stuffed deep into your mouth savoring every bit of him. “Can you take more baby?” He asked smiling as your eyes watered struggling to keep down the amount of him you were already enduring.

You inched your mouth forward taking more of him inch by inch suppressing the urge to gag around him. “That’s it baby” He moaned out, head tipping back, his hair clung to his forehead with sweat from the heat of the room and the moment you two were sharing. “Good fucking girl”

You sucked on him as if he were your last meal. Making sure to hollow your cheeks just enough to make his eyes roll and his gaze darken on you. It was erotic you’d say, being cramped in the small room of the spa you two were in. The thrill of the possibility of being caught coursed through your veins egging your actions on. It was exciting, exhilarating even. It was truthfully the most fun the two of you had in a while.

Jake had surprised you with a spa day after all the activities of life as of recently. Him just coming back from a mind numbing tour and you working endlessly to pass the days missing him. It felt good to spend the day together getting pampered and when the masseuse stepped out for a break the two of you took the liberations of having some fun.

The candles that surrounded the two of you as well as the scents from the essential oils and the soft music in the background had aided in your erotic actions only furthering the arousal between you both. You were excited to fall to your knees in front of him, you were acting like a bitch in heat and he loved it.

Jake’s hips snapped forward causing his tip to tap against your throat, the gag you were trying so hard to suppress broke free. Spit seeped from the sides of your mouth, it was nasty. Jake’s eyes were alight as he watched you suck him dry the sight of your head bobbing back and forth on his cock had his knees weak. He placed his hand on the bed beside him for further support.

“God you’re such a whore” Jake cursed running his hands tenderly through your hair. Gathering it up in a ponytail between his palm. He tugged harshly on your head detaching your mouth from his cock for a split second. A gasp rang free from your lips the spit strung from your mouth. “So nasty baby” He hissed.

You moved your mouth forward desperate to feel him in your throat again. You cupped his base yanking your hand up and down as you attached your lips to his tip. Your eyes were doe like as you starred up at him. His torso falling in and out as his breathing turned sharp.

“That’s hot” He rasped “So fucking hot” His whines were an indication that he was close to his finish. Spurring you on as you watched him bite his lip in an attempt to quiet down.

“You want it baby?” He asked you breathing quick. You nodded humming, quirking your pace on him.

“Good.” He moaned snapping his hips forward roughly. He grabbed onto your head using your mouth as his own personal flashlight. “I’m gonna give it to you”

You gagged as he continued his assault on your mouth, you were impossibly wet yourself and truthfully you couldn’t wait until you were home so he could make you cum properly.

“Oh f-fuck” He spurred on “taking it so good” He yanked his cock from your mouth using his hand as his stimulant.

“Your tongue baby. Let me see your tongue” You stuck your tongue out awaiting his cum like the good little whore you were. Your eyes peered at him, connecting with his darkened ones.

“I’m-“ His sentence was cut off by a moan, ropes of cumming falling from his tip and onto your tongue and face even getting into your eye. “Fucking-shit” His hand reached for the bed as his knees buckled over you.

Catching his breath he looked down at you face covered in cum.

“Jakeee” You whined reaching for the towels near you. “It’s in my eye!”

“Well you did say you wanted a facial baby”

—

taglist - @belovedhoon , @st1llm0nster , @blossommi

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Sebastian (Pressure) fluff. I need it.

"I gotta ask, do you have personal beef with those Squiddles? Because you sure like harassing them with that light of yours."

"I don't do it on purpose! If that damn Angler stopped killing the lights in every big room, maybe I could see my own hand in front of me!" You scowled up at the sea creature while standing in his humble shop.

Why was Sebastian always taunting you whenever you died to something unexpected..only to act all friendly-like in this place?

Well, you had to be grateful he was the only thing down here that wasn't trying to kill you, and that no other monsters could barge into the shop when you least expect it.

So for once, you could breathe easy..

Until he decided to remind you of those creepy squids who were somehow always in your way.

He must get a kick out of watching you perish.

"Oh of course, blame everybody except yourself." He tsked. "You have more than enough clues on how to survive each creature you encounter...but maybe they should've spoonfed all the details to you instead-"

"I don't need this from you." You huffed. "My damn hands are cramped from holding a locker shut against Pandemonium, Eyefestation gave me a killer headache, nobody bothered to tell me about the people in the walls-"

"And don't forget about those Squiddles, hehe."

Silence.

"Okay, okay. I've had my fun. I'll shut up about them now."

"Thanks. You have any medkits available?"

"Right on my tail, buddy. Hope you got enough data."

"More than enough." As your eyes surveyed the items strapped to his tail, they eventually wandered over to the desk with batteries laying out.

But it wasn't them that caught your interest, but rather the file on the table. 'How curious..is this for a monster I'm gonna meet soon?' You went over to investigate.

"Is the document for sale?"

"Wow, you might be the first to ask me about that and be able to afford it! The others before you barely had enough for a flashlight." Sebastian chuckled, clasping his hands together. "If you're interested, give me a thousand data, and I'll have it ready for you to read when you return to the surface. And don't worry, it's all there. So I won't have to kill you to to reveal any information."

You blinked, realizing what he meant by that as you read the folder's cover and why he was asking so much for it.

Sebastian's Document

Of course, you knew he'd be recognized as a specimen, too, but to be put with Pandemonium, the Anglers, and all those other monsters that tried to eat you alive?

For some reason, it made you frown a little.

"This is your file, and they let you keep it?" You turned back to him.

"...I stole it. And I'm not gonna lie...I regret reading it." He muttered, suddenly looking a bit tense..and sad, even, although he was quick to mask any signs of vulnerability when he realized you were staring. "Anyways, it's a steep price. I'm sure you'd rather spend your assets on-"

"What if I buy it and take it off your hands right now?"

For a moment, his ear fins perked up with surprise, glowing eyes widening. But he was quick to give you a suspicious gaze. "Really? You're that nosey about my lifestory? Pretty weird if you ask m-"

"It's more of a courtesy to you."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean..you look like you're carrying a heavy weight just from that folder being there. You haven't stopped looking at it since I mentioned it." You pointed out, seeing his ears twitch again. "You've always told me "out of sight, out of mind" with the Anglers. Couldn't I say the same about you and that document?"

".....using my own words against me, eh? What're you, a damn psychologist?" He teased, although his words didn't hold as much spite or sarcasm as usual. "But no, you're right. I'd rather forget about it forever. So if you want it that badly, be my guest." His third arm made a grand gesture towards the table. "Just don't get caught parading it around. And don't come crying to me when you realize you needed something else instead of-"

"I won't, trust me." You exchanged the data, taking the folder. "I'll be on my way now. I got a crystal to find."

With that, you began ducking down to renter the vent and continue your journey into the abandoned site-

"Hey."

You paused and looked back at Sebastian, tilting your head as you wondered why he seemed nervous again--wringing his hands together.

"Um..thank you, genuinely..for taking that off my hands." He cleared his throat, sweeping back his dark bangs. "I hope that whatever you find in there doesn't..get in the way of our "partnership". I'd hate to lose my number one customer."

Nodding, you gave him a reassuring smile. "You won't lose my business, Seb. That I promise."

"..now hold on we aren't THAT close to start going by nickna-" He began to snap, but you've already disappeared into the duct. "Aaaand they're gone...hmph..well..least I don't have to worry about that anymore."

Sighing, he looked around the shop, wondering what he should do now.

What you did was certainly a nice gesture.

He only hopes you'll keep your promise and not be afraid of him.

[spidernuggets]

Hi hope you’re having a good/night can you do a Jason Todd x detective fem reader. She meets Jason , but she meets him when he’s red hood at a crime scene.

Jason Todd x FemDetective!Reader

"So you're the guy that's making my paperwork pile up higher than the Empire State Building."

"Christ, another one?" One of your coworkers said as the limp, dead body was zipped up into a body, and evidence collected and put away.

You shrug a shoulder, writing down in your notepad a list of suspects and witnesses involved in this new murder, which was also linked to other recent killings.

"Adam Matthews." You state the victim's name.

"Drug dealer?" Your coworker asks, looking at the substance that Matthews had on his person being bagged for evidence.

"Mm. He was a cook for a drug dealer who tested on homeless kids or orphans. But Matthews was also known for being an accessory for other murders, kidnappings, and was guilty for sexual assaults," you state, sighing, putting your notebook away.

Your coworker fell shocked. "How the fuck is he not locked up?!" He yells.

"Links with richies," you scoff. "Well, he's dead now. His long, overdue debt it now paid." You always believed these kinds of people never deserved a second chance. All the previous murder victims were similar to Adam Matthews. So, others may call you crazy, but you were thankful for this anonymous killer going out of their way, killing scumbags like Matthews.

"I'm going to scout around the area, Parks," you told your coworker as he nodded and went to discuss with the other officers around the area.

You shone your flashlight around the narrow alleys, searching for any clues or evidence you could use to help solve the crime and catch the murderer. Or in your eyes an anti-hero.

Just as you were about to turn around and return to the scene, you heard grunts and strings of profanity coming from behind one of the dumpsters.

Your hand hovered over your gun in your hip holster, walking towards the sounds.

You swiftly turned to see the source, hand on the handle of the gun, and saw a certain, outlawed vigilante leaning on the dumpster, holding his arm, his body stained with blood.

His helmet lay in between his legs, his domino mask remaining on his face.

"What the fu- Red Hood??" You exclaim.

"You mind?" He groans, holding his hand out, trying to avoid the flash shining in his eyes.

"Shit, sorry," you reoly, turning it off and placing it on your utility belt. Your head tilted to the side, seeing that Red Hood was struggling to wrap his arm up. "It's loose," you say, referring to the bandage- or rag that he was tying around his bicep.

"Wow, really? Didn't- fuck- didn't notice," he says, cursing once more when the bandage fell down.

You roll your eyes, crouching beside his and taking the bandage from his, unwrapping his arm and rewrapping it tighter as it should be.

"So you're the guy that's making my paperwork pile up higher than the Empire State Building." You mutter, tying the bandage to stay in place.

"Sorry, little cop lady. Just doing my job." He hisses.

"It's little detrctice lady to you. And I'd appreciate it if you made your little killing sprees a little more discreet. Eventually, the actual cops are gonna catch your ass," you snicker, getting up.

"As if I let them." He bites back.

"L/n. Where are you?" Parks says through your walkie. "Did you find anything?"

Red Hood gets up, putting his helmet back on, looking down at you, waiting for your response.

You click on the button to reply. "No. Nothing here. Coming back now."

The white glowing eyes pierce through yours as Red Hood chuckles. "Hiding a criminal? Haven't taken a look through the law book in a while, but isn't that illegal?" You couldn't see it, but Red Hood grinned, amised at this new encounter.

You shrugged. "I'm only doing this because I know I can't stop you, even if I wanted to. Besides. If these ass rat criminals kept scurrying around, the papaerwork would be much more than you're making." You smirk.

He laughs. "So you're saying you don't want to stop me?" He crosses his arms.

"Have a good night, Mr. Hood." You bid him goodbye, walking back to the crime scene.

"And to you too, little detective lady," he says, quietly hoping to run into again after he puts lead into the head of his next target.

"Jeez, I thought you died or something. You were gone for a while, are you sure you didn't find anything?" Parks quickly asks you.

You quickly wipe away the blood on your palms from Red Hood's wound onto your black jeans. "Save the interrogation for the suspects, Parks. Nothing there but dead rats and graffiti."

You walk off, almost missing the shine of a red helmet running off on the roof of a building in the distance as you smirk to yourself, also secretly hoping Red Hood would cause another casualty to meet him again.

Parks was about to walk off, too, almost missing the tiniest splotch of red on your white shirt as he raised an eyebrow.

I'M SO SORRY I DIDN'T MEAN TO MAKE IT SO SHORT!!!

I didn't want to leave this ask in my inbox for too long and forget about it 😭😭

BUTTTT if you or anyone else wants!!! I can make a part 2 where Reader and Red Hood begin a constant meetup after every death Red Hood causes (only to those criminals who deserve it, obvi). And Parks becomes suspicious of Reader and threatens her or that Reader's job is put on the line!!!!

I was going to add this idea in, but I'm really bad at making long fics cuz I always wanna get it over and done with and I'm so impatient 😭

HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT ANYWAYS 🙏🙏

[bettyfrommars]

The blurb game is so fun! I love a twist of fate 🤩

I’m gonna go for E2, &, 💚

big money no whammies!

(big money is gargoyle eddie 😏)

SARAH no gargoyle for you BUT you did get a very special one and I really hope you enjoy darling

your Person is nightmare!Eddie

your Place is Dealer's Choice, so I'm giving you Abandoned Building

your Thing is a Blanket

word count: 1.2k

18+ONLY, smut, unprotected piv, oral, afab!Reader, allusions to gore and violence, zombies, terror, being on the run, a bit of hurt no comfort but you know these two always find each other. As always, this was written fast and posted without obsessing too much, so let's hope it's not too much of a mess.

pick your poison

Careful footsteps made their way along the aisles of what was once a thriving supermarket, eager hands pawing through the leftover wreckage. The shelves had been mostly emptied by scavengers months ago, yet you'd been able to find a couple cans of ravioli and one coveted can of spaghettiO's. Spotting a tin of spray cheese and a liter of warm soda put a smile on Eddie's face so bright it rivaled the sun. He was giddy, his heart was bursting, and even though the world was being overrun by flesh eating zombies, he had you and processed dairy, and that was bliss.

Weapons out, you had to make sure the area was clear and secure before you could indulge in any feasting. Paying extra caution to the backrooms and every dark corner where something worse than zombies could be hiding---other survivors who might try to slit your throats for a little Chef Boyardee.

In a small room with office supplies strewn everywhere, and a door with a lock, you hunkered down, unrolling the blankets from your knapsacks to curl up together on the carpeted floor. A nap was necessary, but you had to keep moving, to make it further south and find shelter before the winter freeze.

Eddie was between your legs then, sweaty foreheads pinned together while he sank his length in, shivering with pleasure.

"Nothing has ever felt this good," he whispered.

You sealed his mouth with yours, whimpering when he eased it deeper. You were dripping wet from the way his tongue had pulled an orgasm out of you only moments before, his chin still coated in your release.

"You make me feel real," he sat up to look down at where you were joined, wishing he could see more than what the light from two votive candles and a flashlight afforded.

You weren't paying attention to the sound of footsteps shuffling outside, you were too caught up in the emotions that welled up in his eyes. He found your hand and intertwined his fingers, lowering his chest to yours while he snapped his hips. The soft mews in his throat told you that he was already close, and you urged him on with your heels digging into his thighs.

He paused when he was as deep as he could get and kissed down your throat, breathless with desire.

"Why did you stop?" You throbbed around him, yearning for the same feverish pace.

"I don't want it to end," he hung his head in a way that felt like defeat. "I don't want to lose you."

You'd been on the road for god knows how long at that point, hot wiring cars to get you as far the gas tank would, and then finding another. The two days before the supermarket had been on foot, bathing down at the river, hiding from a horde as it stumbled gracelessly through the forest.

With your free hand, you brushed the loose hair under his bandana away from his face. "Hey, look at me. I'm not going anywhere without you, it's you and me, forever."

"Or until you decided to go all Praying Mantis on me."

"Yes, forever will end on that day."

You thought you knew the town and the state you were in, but just then it escaped you. Indiana, maybe? Kansas?

For a second, in the flickering candlelight, you swore Eddie had horns and glowing red eyes, but then he was making love to you again and you forgot to care. He babbled your name as he came, shuddering until he collapsed.

Outside, something knocked against the door, making you jump, eyes darting over his shoulder. It wasn't the knock of someone wanting in, it was more of a scratching noise, like something being dragged across it.

Reluctantly, Eddie rolled off of you, pulling his jeans up to button them as he went. "Fuck, I knew this was too good to be true," he mumbled. "I found a place that was off the grid where they wouldn't think to look, and it worked for a little while."

He kept talking, making familiar sounds, but the words made no sense, as if spoken in a foreign language. You adjusted your own clothing and reached for the handle of your machete, horrified at the sight of the doorknob twisting back and forth. Someone or something wanted in.

"Just give us a minute, okay? Jesus." Eddie got to his feet, clearly annoyed.

"Eddie, shhhh!" You backed up against the wall, heart racing. "Maybe they don't know we're in here."

The doorknob stopped moving.

You were in the middle of a long-held breath when the unplugged rotary dial phone in the middle of the room rang. Eddie swooped to pick it up before it could make the shrill noise again.

He had his back to you when he smacked the receiver to his head.

You could hear someone shouting at the other end, loud enough to blow his eardrum out, but couldn't decipher what they were saying.

"Yeah, I know," he muttered to whoever it was. "What can I tell you? I got lost. Terry's directions are shit."

Weapon in hand, you slowly got to your feet. His words maintained the form of a curious jumble while your attention locked unwavering at the door.

He bent down to click the receiver onto the cradle when he was done. "I'm sorry about this, sweetheart," he said earnestly, taking a deep breath. "I'll find you again, I promise."

That time, you understood him, but you also did not understand. Not at all.

"What are you sorry for?" Your voice wavered at the way the shadows seemed to form shapes and slink along the walls. The air was suddenly thick and stale, as if the walls were closing in.

"For this."

When he turned, he was a nightmare. Rotten flesh dripping from his bones, lips pulled back in a skeleton sneer, eyes a dead, milk white. A hungry growl escaped from deep in his chest, and he reached both hands out, gnarled fingers clawing at nothing, only a few steps away from grabbing you.

You let out a terrified scream, and Eddie hated to hear it, but it was only for a moment before the invisible hatch in the floor opened and you tumbled through the infinity hole to your bed.

Once you were gone, his shoulders slumped, and that lonely vice gripped his heart once again. He stood in the same spot for a while, staring at the nest of blankets where you had once been. "I'd choose to live in a zombie apocalypse if I knew it meant we could be together" you'd said that to him once.

He was tired of this life; he was tired of losing you. What type of fucked up universe would let the two of you find each other only to make it so that you could never really be together?

"It's so fucked up," he whispered, agreeing with himself.

From the other side of the door, a woman's voice proceeded with caution. "You alright in there, Eddie?"

"Yeah," he lied. "Tell Kevin I'm taking a vacation day tomorrow."

[hopesangelsprite]

Just A Thought

⚠️ DARK CONTENT AHEAD ⚠️

NO MINORS/AGELESS ACCOUNTS

Warnings: manipulation, fake violence, mentions of blood and murder, obsession, fake sympathy, cnc, dubcon, knifeplay, primal play (ish idk), dacryphilia, hair pulling, spanking, creampie

Thinking about going camping with friends, all of you needing a break from the hustle and bustle of daily life. So, you each pack up a few tents and duffels for week in the forest, intent on leaving the agonizing flow of scrolling and deadlines to get in touch with the earth and each other.

It doesn't take long for you to reach the edge of the city, driving past the tower buildings and stop signs. You listen to one of the friends' advice not to choose a state park. "It's not natural enough, too many influencers going out for a quick post.", he complains having grown up outside the city and its illusions. So, you drive farther and farther until the twinkle of city lights are outshined by stars. It's beautiful; beautiful enough to distract you from the sinister energy radiating off him in waves.

Tent set up takes about an hour, each one having its own hiccups along the way. By the time everything's setup and settled, it's pitch black and the temperature's steady dropping. Somehow, you and that friend from earlier are paired to go retrieve firewood.

As you venture deeper into the woods, the air between you two is comfortable. He cracks a few jokes, always one to be goofy and spontaneous. Wood gathering doesn't take long and you both return to camp with a large bounty. Soon, the fires been lit, and everyone gathers around. That one friend stands suddenly, checking his pockets frantically. He's lost his phone and wants you to follow him back through the woods and look for it.

You happily agree, taking a flashlight of your own and bidding everyone a 'Be right back!'. This is your first mistake. You travel deeper into the forest eyes and flashlight sweeping the ground. He's much quieter now but you chalk it up to him being focused. He's focused, just not on finding his phone. It's tucked away in his sleeping bag back at the camp and he knows it.

He stops without warning, almost causing you to bump into him. When you ask what's wrong he simply chuckles, admitting he remembers packing it away. You playfully scold him and turn to make your way back toward the distant flicker of campfire. Then, he grabs your arm.

"Not yet, I wanted to spend a little more time with you!", he whines; eyes bright underneath the gentle glow of the moon. You laugh a bit, flustered by the proximity and his words. You've always thought of him as good looking, his personality magnetic. You pull away and tease him about his blatant confession with a shove. He laughs and shoves you back much harder than you'd shoved him.

You two continue to horse around until he's got you pinned against a cedar, the bark digging into your back. "Remember that time I told you I'd slice you up?", he questions. His eyes are full of mischief now and something else you can't quite place. You think nothing of it, he's threatened to harm you countless time and you'd done the same. It was all in good fun you believed. "What? Gonna make good on your promise, loser?~", you tease while still fighting against him lazily.

There's a click between you two and something sharp presses against your stomach; you freeze. "Maybe... if you don't do as I say.", he explains. His eyes are still kind looking, smile still inviting, so you think he's just gotten a little carried away with his joking like he does sometimes. "C'mon, that's not funny. Put that away and let's get back to the others.", you huff and push against him. He tilts his head and laughs while pushing you deeper into the trunk of the tree. "Funny? I wasn't joking, sweetheart.", he chides and now you're really scared.

Imagining how everything becomes real much too fast for you. The bark scraping your neck and back, the blade nipping at your abdomen and drawing beads of blood, how far away you are from your friends. Your adrenaline spikes and you place your hands against his chest and push hard. To your surprise, he stumbles backward. You turn and run deeper into the trees, only thinking of putting distance between the two of you. This is your third mistake.

You've turned your flashlight off, trusting the moon to light your way to safety. Your legs burn and start to give out before you stop, finding a large tree to hide behind. It's warped, roots and trunk twisted from years of weathering. You tuck yourself in between one of those twists and steady your breathing until it's almost inaudible. The forest around is dead silent save for the creaking of old trees and the babble of a nearby brook. In the distance, a twig snaps and you freeze.

"I gotta admit... you're making me work much harder for it than I thought you would, princess.", you hear him call out. Another twig snaps much closer and your eyes begin to prickle with tears. "Still, I'm willing to play nice if you come out from wherever you're hiding. I'll make it real quick, be gentle with you, I promise.", he muses; voice light and jovial as if he's not hunting you like a fucking animal.

"And if you don't... I'll head back to camp and make sure no one lives to see the sunrise."

You jam your knuckles in between your teeth to muffle the sob at the impossible decision you've been given. You peak around the tree's trunk to see how close he is. Maybe if you make a run for camp now, you'll be able to warn everyone. This is your last mistake.

As you step from within the trunk of the tree and start running, rough hands grip your waist. You shriek as you're spun, your chest coming meeting the tree's trunk hard. You gasp as the winds knocked out of your lungs and try to call out for help. Behind you he cackles, breath cool on your heated skin. "Scream all you want, sweetheart, they can't hear you this far out.", he scolds you. Your screams eventually quiet into broken sniffles and he coos at you, blade now pressed against the nook between your collarbones.

"Aww, baby, don't cry. You're breakin' my heart.", he hums into your skin, "I promised I'd be gentle, didn't I?". Somewhere deep, deep inside of this monster has to be a sliver of your good friend; a piece of the man you respected and thought of as comfort. So, you try and appeal to that part of him. "Please- don't do this!", you plead to him, and he sighs with exasperation. " You know I don't like it when you beg, princess.", he groans while his hand tangles itself in your and pulls, "I can't stand it, makes me all weak inside.".

You yelp in pain as he tugs the both of to the ground. Now, your chest is against the forest floor. It's damp, the smell of dirt and grass filling your nostrils. He makes quick work of your shorts, pooling them around your knees. He groans as he grabs the fat of your ass, kneading it roughly before reeling his palm back and bringing it down harshly. You cry out at the sting that he soothes away with gentler kneading. Your other cheek receives the same treatment. He continues, alternating between each side until the dark brown skin is red and angry.

He whistles, fingers coming up to brush against your covered heat. You flinch away at the difference in temperatures. "Looks like those pretty eyes of yours aren't the only thing wet on you, baby.", he comments before cold metal brushes against your abused ass cheek. Your face grows hot with embarrassment, it's true that some sick part of you enjoyed being treated like this. Your shame causes you to realize his intentions much too late.

Thinking about how the point of his blade snags the delicate cotton of your panties, and you listen to them tear apart. You shiver as the cold air meets your drenched folds. Both his hands grip your cheeks before spreading them to get a better look at you. He audibly moans at the sight, and you curse yourself at how you clench around nothing.

"This is gonna sting a bit, princess.", he warns as his belt hits the ground behind you. You brace yourself as you feel just how hot and hard he is. Judging by the feeling of tip separating your lips, this won't be pleasant. He shuffles forward, tip catching on your entrance and gradually begins to push forward.

You whine at the sting of being stretched beyond your limits. You're unexperienced, never taken anything bigger than your index finger when you found yourself awake at night dreaming of him. Now, he's damn near splitting you in two. You choke back a sob as he continues, and he's not having. "Shhh shh shh, princess, I know it hurts. Just a little longer and it'll all go away.", he coaxes out in a strained voice. He's lying, he's not even halfway in and you're already so warm and tight.

He curses and reaches around to toy with your clit, fingers skilled and quick. You cry out as he snaps his hips forward, filling you fully, the head of his cock pressed against a soft spot you didn't know you had. All thoughts in your head disappear and you see white as you clench around him and cum. He's quick, setting a steady pace before you're able to come down, forcing you to continue cumming as abuses that spongey spot deep inside you.

His shaky exhales mix with your desperate cries for him to slow his pace, to grant you some relief. He can't hear you; his eyes are locked on the place you're connected and the white ring forming around the base of his shaft. The only thing on his mind is making you cum again and cumming with you this time.

So, he speeds up, the sound of his pelvis meeting your ass filling the forest. In the back of your mind, the last bit of your sanity warns that someone could be looking for you, that they'll see you enjoying him ruining you. That thought leaves as quickly as it comes when you hear him whimper your name and your eyes roll to the back of your head. "C'mon, princess, know you can do it for me. C'mon, c'mon, c'mon- please.", you hear him chant not sure whether he's talking to you or himself.

He reaches around to torture your poor bud one more time before that tightening coil in your tummy snaps. You cum with a cry of his name this time, your arousal coating his thighs. He moans whorishly as your walls spasm around him and bring him to his own orgasm. He pulls your ass flush against his hips, and you feel him paint your walls white. You two stay like that for a while, twitching as you both come down before he separates the two of you. He pulls your shorts up, careful as he redresses you and redresses himself.

He stands and helps you to your feet, making sure to kiss away your tears. "You did so well for me, baby. So glad I agreed to do this with you!", he coos and pulls you close for a sweet kiss. You giggle as you part and kiss his cheek. "Let's get back before the others start worrying too much!", you say as he wraps his jacket around you and leads you back toward camp.

This definitely wouldn't be the last time you two ran off into the forest.

HXH: LEORIO, Shalnark, CHROLLO, Hisoka, Kurapika Demon Slayer: RENGOKU, TENGEN JJK: GOJO, GETO, TOJI, Yuuta YOUR FAVE

[ryder-writes]

A Birthday Proposal- Kirishima x GN!Reader

A/n: Happy late birthday Kiri!!

CW: Nothing that I can think of!

WC: 850

"Wow, you guys! Thank you so much!" Eijiro smiled. It was his 23rd birthday, and you had invited the bakusquad to go camping. He had mentioned a few months ago how he went camping with his moms when he was younger and it was still one of his favorite memories. So you decided that it would be the perfect way to celebrate his birthday. Now, all seven of you (You, Eijiro, Bakugo, Mina, Denki, Sero, and Jiro) were all sitting on logs around a campfire, the dark orange sky emanating a nice, comfy glow. Each of you held a stick, roasting marshmallows over the fire.

"Of course, man. Happy birthday." Sero grinned, raising his stick before ripping the marshmallow off with his teeth and eating it.

"Yeah, you deserve a break dude." Jiro remarked.

"I know, I was maybe working myself a little bit too hard." Eijiro nervously scratched the back of his neck.

"A little? You were almost taking as many shifts as me."

"I hate to say it but blasty's right; that’s a lot."

"See. Even dunce face agrees." Bakugo motioned towards Denki, who was sitting across from him.

"Okay, okay." Eijiro chuckled. "I get it. But I just wanted to make sure my rank is good, y'know? It's harder for new heroes to get high rankings."

"You're number 12 are you not?"

"Well, yes, I am, but-"

"No 'buts'! You're doing fine, don’t worry about work while we're trying to celebrate your birthday." Bakugo huffed.

Eijiro sighed. "You're right. Sorry guys."

"Don’t apologize baby, just enjoy your birthday." You say as you grab onto his arm and lean into him. In response, he leans down and kisses the top of your head, causing you to giggle.

You all sit there for the next few hours, chatting and warming up by the fire. Time flies quickly, and before you know it, it's midnight.

"'m tired, I'm going to bed." Bakugo grumbles, standing up.

"Come on, blasty! Stay for a bit!" Mina grabs his arm.

He pulls his arm away. "No, I'm tired. Goodnight." Mina frowns.

You turn to Eijiro. "Hey, can I talk to you? Alone?" You could see a slight twinge of concern in Eijiro's eyes.

"Of course baby, everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine I just…" You felt him intertwine his fingers with yours.

"Hey, me and Y/n are gonna go on a walk real quick." Eijiro announces as he grabs a flashlight. "We'll be back in a little bit."

"Okay, have fun!" Mina waves as you two walk into the woods.

-

After what felt like 30 minutes of silent walking, you made your way to a field of wildflowers, their color dulled by the night. You nervously fiddled with the small box in your pocket before stopping. Eijiro notices you’ve stopped walking so he turns around to face you.

"What's on your mind, honey?" He asks. You notice how his eyes are soft and his head is slightly tilted to the side. You fondly think of how he reminds you of a dog.

"I love you so much, Eijiro." He wasn’t expecting you to say that.

"I love you more."

"I doubt that." You let go of his hand.

"And why's that?" He taunts. You take a deep breath in before pulling the box out of your pocket. You get down on one knee, opening the box to reveal a black ring with a stripe of red in the middle, outlined in silver (image here). "Baby…" He cups a hand over his mouth, shocked at what's happening.

"I love you so much, Eijiro." You start, hands trembling because of your nerves. "You have no idea how many times I would look at you from across the room; how many times I asked Mina for your number before she finally caved and gave it to me." You chuckle at the memory. "Talking to you was honestly the best decision I ever made in my life. You changed my life for the better; you made me a better person, and I wish to love you and support you the same until my last breath. You're so kind, putting everyone before yourself… you truly are the manliest person I could ever wish for as a life partner. To wake up next to you, to love you, is a gift I know I am forever grateful to have." You exhale. "Eijiro Kirishima, will you marry me?"

Eijiro immediately bends down and picks you up, spinning you around. Sniffling, he laughs, kissing your head.

"Yes! Of course I'll marry you, baby!" He puts you down and you take the ring out of the box. Grabbing his hand gently, you slide the ring onto his finger. "It fits perfectly…" He whispers. You reach out and wipe his tears before cupping his face and kissing him sweetly. He of course returns the kiss, moving his hands around your waist. You both pull away, and he leans forward and kisses away your happy tears. After a moment of comfortable silence, Eijiro starts to sway back and forth. You join in, moving slowly with him to a silent song.

You dance together, surround by the beauty of the night and your love for each other.

A/n Pt.2: Hope you enjoyed! I've only seen proposal fics where Kiri proposes so I wanted to change that lol. A lot more Kirishima content is on my Masterlist as well if you wanna check it out :] /nf

[loversberceuse]

I'm gonna ask this question because I'm suspicious, did Elias know us since before the epidemic?

Hello, anon, thank you for the ask!! :0

To answer your question, no! You did not know Elias since before the disease.

Here’s a bit more background on how you met, though….

You’re unable to sleep. It’s past midnight, and Valkryie is fast asleep on the mattress next to yours. Lune, with his chosen space a bit further, has taken up refuge in the old break room. He’s most likely asleep as well, just knowing how much he values his rest.

Though you probably should get some sleep, it seems as though it’s just not in the cards for you tonight.

After a moment of laying there and staring at the water stains on the ceiling, you decide to get up. A little night air could never hurt, and it should be relatively safe to sit by the door.

You swing your legs over the side of your bed and stand up. You kneel down for your shoes, and you struggle for a moment to get them on. The blanket on your bed is soft and inviting, and you pick it up to take it with you. It’s a Hello Kitty blanket you’d found, and it’s probably one of the softest blankets you’d ever felt. Lune has been eying it lately, though, so you’re considering giving it to him. You wrap it around your body to keep yourself warm while outside and give a quick glance at the sleeping Valkryie. Once you’re certain he’s still asleep, you tiptoe over to the door and quietly open it.

The cold night air hits your face, and you tighten the blanket around your body. The door shuts on its own behind you, and you sit on the top step of the little patio the store has. It’s silent outside, that’s to be expected at this point.

You sit for a while, and there’s eventually some rustling just at the end of the walkway to the mattress store. You squint your eyes to see what’s there, and you make out the figure of a person kneeling down by a bag. You let out a soft gasp, and the person’s head snaps up to look at you. They zip up their bag, pick it up, and start walking over to you.

Startled by this simple action, you stand up. As the figure approaches, you notice soft-looking, shiny blonde hair. A part of it seems to almost.. Bounce. Do they have it up? The person stops a couple of feet away from you, and they simply wave. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you! Is everything okay?”

You tilt your head slightly to the side and nod. “Yeah.. I’m just sitting out here for a bit.. You don’t happen to be, uh, infected.. Do you?”

He’s just close enough that you notice a smile on his face. “No, of course not. Take a look at my eyes if you’re that afraid, though.”

Is he.. Mocking you?

You shrug, grab the flashlight you keep outside, and shine it at his face. He.. Should be safe, that’s good enough. “..Okay.. What are you doing out here?”

“Oh, see, I was looking for more uninfected! I sort of hoped that we could band together or something.” He has both hands behind his back, and his posture seems relaxed.

You aren’t sure how to explain it, but something about him feels off. “…I’m uninfected, and so are my friends inside. You’re welcome to join us, just don’t do anything funny.”

“Oh, no worries! That’s really nice of you! I’d love to, if you don’t mind it.” He seems to struggle to put something into his back pocket, then he lets his hands rest at his sides. “I’m Elias, by the way! It’s nice to meet you.”

You mutter out your name and move back to open the door. “It’s nice to meet you, too.. I’ll introduce you to everyone, come on.”

He nods, that odd smile still plastered on his face.

There is most definitely something off about him, but you aren’t sure what. He seems to be good with people, so it’s not that he’s just awkward.

So, then, what’s up with this Elias guy?

[llamagoddessofficial]

For the DA AU, how are they with pregnant people? What if MC is pregnant? Maybe she announces to the staff that she had a accidental pregnancy, but decided to keep the child?

Red: With her permission, of course, he lets the kids know- he wants to make sure they understand to be gentler with her. Also, if she gets ill or tired, or doesn't show up some days, they'll understand why! He's just hoping the kids will stop asking where babies come from. That's for parents to explain. 

He always lingered around her, but he does even more- usually he drops a few terrible lines that make her go pink, but he now lurks around her well after he should, watching her go about her business and trying to help. He’s always offering to make her tea or get her a snack, eager to ensure she’s hydrated and well rested... but he’s always staring, it’s sometimes unnerving. He muses out loud about what she might name the baby... “are you gonna bring ‘em to the daycare? won’t that be fun!”

It’s sweet, at first. She likes having someone looking out for her. But... she does get a little concerned with how he starts acting with other adults. Not just staff- even parents. People come up to her and ask her innocent questions about the baby, and she can feel Red’s empty glare from across the room. If anyone ever tries to touch her belly he appears out of nowhere like a ghost, grabbing them and removing them from the room with a cheery “keep your hands to yourself inside the daycare!”

It probably doesn’t mean anything.

Sans: Being pregnant won't save her from his Mischief and Mayhem. In fact, he just seems to double down on plaguing her, stealing her keycard so often she's started carrying around a decoy card and a flashlight to beam in his face if he gets close. Her using a flashlight on him is the equivalent of using a spray bottle on an aggressive cat. It’s because he’s extra desperate for her time and focus- he loves babies, and the girl he likes is pregnant, he wants to be involved in everything she does. As soon as she’s not involving him, he acts out to get her attention again.

If she thought Red’s hovering was bad, Sans is a hundred times worse. He’ll literally hang over her shoulder like a clingy kid if she’s not looking at him, so close his eyelights light up her face- if he could breathe he’d be breathing down her neck. He’s always demanding she sits down, has a nap, eats/drinks something, stops working... he’ll steal her laptop and phone if she keeps working. 

To be honest, she kinda finds it endearing that regardless of which personality is greeting her, both daycare attendants want her to look after herself. She also finds it sweet that even though Sans is the clingiest, most annoying, and most boundary-defying robot she knows, he’ll always quietly ask permission before he touches her belly. And if she says no, he’s clearly annoyed, but he never pushes.

Skull: Skull is always listening. Red and Sans often ask her to rest because Skull is intrusive-thought-style saying it over and over again until one of them asks her. But he doesn’t make many appearances, especially if she doesn’t know him already... he doesn’t want to frighten her when she’s pregnant. That just sounds like a bad idea. But as she gets more pregnant, he can’t help himself. Even while trapped behind Red or Sans he constantly reaches out to touch her belly- luckily, she gave those two permission, so it’s not considered much of a problem. 

Something that might get him to come out is if she ever complains about her feet/back hurting. Says it’s very uncomfy where she’s sat. She makes a lighthearted complaint, and suddenly she’s picked up- she giggles, thinking Red/Sans just scooped her up as a joke...

... until she feels the second pair of arms.

“... comfy... now?” :)

[bigskyandthecoldgun]

electricity

very loosely based off that one exchange from episode 6 of the dhmis show

words: 4,444

ao3

“Closing shift again, Harrington?”

Eddie watches as Steve’s face shifts from muted disinterest to something like annoyance. “Unfortunately for both of us, yeah,” he mutters, a little red in the face as he rips that stupid little sailor hat off his head and tosses it over his shoulder into the Scoops Ahoy break room. Eddie snorts as it misses the table. Steve runs a hand through his hair and cocks a hip so that he’s leaning against the doorframe. “So, what’ve you got for me?”

Patting the massive tubs of ice cream beside him, Eddie gives Steve as wolfish of a grin as he can muster. “For your beloved freezer,” he says with a low bow, and he glances up just in time to watch Steve roll his eyes. Eddie kicks up the dolly the tubs are stacked on and nods at Steve, to the doorway behind him. “Lemme roll these in.”

“You got it?” Steve asks, stepping aside but hovering at the side of the dolly as Eddie wheels it into the back of Scoops. A couple of the tubs wobble—the ones at the top, because Eddie’s stacked it ten high. He’s not making multiple trips. Steve hisses out a curse under his breath and outstretches his hands by the ice cream, as if he’ll be able to save all of them as long as they fall in his general vicinity. “Careful, careful! Jesus, Munson, these are gonna fall on top of you if you’re not careful, ruin that fantastic hair of yours.”

Eddie huffs out a laugh at the definite sarcasm as he wheels the ice cream into the freezer and sighs contentedly at the feeling of cold air on his skin. He started working at Starcourt a little over a month ago, and the summer’s only gotten hotter. It’s ridiculously hard work, carting around shit to different stores and helping out when security’s short-staffed, and Eddie’s not exactly the most fit person around. Years of smoking and skipping gym class will do that to a guy.

But what makes it all worth it, in Eddie’s humble opinion, is that he gets to spend his summer tormenting King Steve, Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington, Steve from Scoops Ahoy. It’s a fun little dive into Eddie’s favorite pastime—enacting sweet, sweet revenge. Sure, Steve might not have done anything to him directly, more preferring to stare down his nose at people like Eddie while his lackeys—namely Hagan—did the dirty work for him. Nonetheless, Eddie hates the guy. Well, maybe hate is a bit of a strong word, but he still can’t stand Steve and his stupid hair and his dumb little sailor uniform that has shorts that are way too tight and his dashing smile and his long lashes and his sparkly laugh and—

Bottom line is that Eddie can’t stand the guy. No amount of pretty can fix past slights.

“So,” Eddie says, drawing the word out as Steve heaves the cardboard tubs onto the shelves, and he lets his eyes linger over the cord of taut muscle in Steve’s biceps. Sue him, the guy’s nice to look at. “You got any big plans tonight, Harrington?”

Steve makes a sound that’s about halfway between a scoff and a laugh, with a little bit of contrition mixed in. “Not unless you count sitting on my couch with a lukewarm beer and watching reruns of shitty sitcoms as ‘big plans,’” he says, shifting the tub in his hands to one arm so he can do some sarcastic air quotes, and Eddie blinks. Steve raises a brow at him. “Why, are you offering?”

Willing the heat that’s rushing to his cheeks to screw off, Eddie squints. “To make plans with you? Maybe when hell freezes over, Harrington,” he says, coming off a little more biting than he’d really intended, and Steve’s shoulders tense. A minute change, but a noticeable one. Eddie taps his hands on the now-empty dolly and gives Steve a shit-eating grin. “Well, see you tomorrow, sailor.”

“Can’t wait,” Steve says.

Just as Eddie turns to wheel the dolly towards the freezer door, the power goes out. Shit.

“Jesus H. Christ, can’t catch one goddamn break,” he mutters, fidgeting with the flashlight clipped to his belt until it turns on, and Steve groans beside him. Eddie waves the flashlight around the freezer until he shines it at Steve, who squints and throws his hands up in front of his face, and he snickers. “Looking good, Harrington.”

“Shut up,” Steve huffs, cheeks flushed, and he smacks Eddie’s flashlight until the beam’s directed away from his face. It’s hard to see him now that he’s not directly in the light, but Eddie can still see the way his eyes dart around the freezer, can hear the way his breathing picks up. “Shit. Shit, d’you think—it’s probably just a power outage. Right?”

Eddie snorts. “What else would it be?”

Steve levels a glare at him, and Eddie makes a face back, because he hasn’t said anything wrong, and Steve’s just being a dick. “Okay, well, let’s just…get the hell out of here so we can go home,” Steve says, and Eddie couldn’t agree more, actually. He moves past Eddie to get to the door, and Eddie half-expects him to shove past, shoulder him or something, but he doesn’t; he makes himself small, even, shrinking back and around him. Steve tugs on the handle, but the door doesn’t budge. Uh oh. Steve tugs at it some more. “Wh—oh, you gotta be shittin’ me.”

“Are we locked in here?” Eddie asks, and it comes out as an embarrassing squeak. Steve’s answering groan doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. “Why the hell didn’t you prop it open if it locks from the outside?!”

Sighing as he rattles the door some more, Steve glances back at Eddie over his shoulder. “I didn’t know the power would go out while we were in here, man,” he huffs. “Starcourt uses these fancy electronic locks for all the freezers in the building to keep the cold in them as much as possible, helps keep all the stuff in ’em from going bad, but they’re only supposed to go off after hours.”

“So we’re stuck?!” Eddie asks, and Steve gives the door one last yank before giving up.

“Just ’til the power comes back on,” he says, and Eddie can’t think of anything he’d rather avoid more than being stuck with Steve Harrington for an indeterminate amount of time.

That can’t be true. There’s gotta be a failsafe or something, right? That’s a total fire hazard if it doesn’t have one, and the mall wouldn’t cut corners, would it? Oh, who’s Eddie kidding? A corporation cutting corners is, like, a given. Shit. Shit! “For fuck’s sake,” he hisses, doing some yanking of his own on the door handle, flashlight pointed down at the floor, dangling from his belt, but it doesn’t budge. “Fuck! Shit! Son of a fuckin’ bitch, man!”

“Alright, woah,” Steve says with a nervous laugh, “calm down, man—”

“I’m not gonna calm down, we’re fuckin’ trapped!” Eddie snaps, and Steve winces.

“I mean…could be worse? We could be stuck out there, in the heat…?” he offers, and Eddie affixes him with the most supremely unamused look he can muster. “At least we’ve got each other for company, right?”

He can’t make out a lot of Steve’s face in the dark like this, but just looking in the guy’s direction is enough to annoy him. “I’d get heatstroke in a heartbeat if it meant I’d have the ability to be further than five feet from you,” Eddie tells him.

Whatever expression that garners from Steve, Eddie can’t see. “Harsh,” Steve mumbles, and Eddie barks out a laugh.

“Yeah, okay, pardon me for being pissed off that you didn’t do your job and prop the damn door open!” Eddie snaps, and Steve puts his hands up. That, Eddie can see, can make out the gestures in the way his silhouette moves.

“Dude, how was I supposed to know the power would go out?” Steve asks, clearly exasperated, and Eddie hates that that’s a fair point.

He gestures out, all flappy hands and uncoordinated limbs, and he’s pretty sure he smacks a couple of ice cream tubs in his dramatics. “Because it’s common sense! You don’t let a freezer close behind you, man, haven’t you ever worked a food service job before?!” he asks, and Steve is quiet for a while. Eddie huffs out a humorless laugh. “Of course. Of course you haven’t, because Daddy Harrington probably has enough money to—”

“I’m cut off,” Steve interrupts. “Been cut off for years. He sent me money for basic groceries when I was still in school, but he forced me to get this stupid job when I graduated. Since I didn’t get into any colleges, he wants to teach me a lesson about being too dumb for higher education or some shit. I don’t have his money.”

“Oh,” Eddie says.

“Yeah, ‘oh,’” Steve echoes. “And besides, just because I haven’t worked a job before doesn’t mean you have to be a dick about it. It’s not like the training Scoops gave me was, like, good. Even without a manager, I'm pretty sure we’re not supposed to leave the freezer open.”

That’s…pretty fair, actually. Eddie’s kinda certain he hasn’t seen a manager at Scoops Ahoy since the day the mall opened. And most of his food service job knowledge is based off of sitcoms and movies made for TV that have someone getting trapped in a freezer as a plot device anyway, so who is he to talk?

Still, though, he kind of doesn’t want to give Steve the satisfaction of being right. “Alright, there’s gotta be some way out,” he mutters, grabbing his flashlight to aim it at the doorframe, but there doesn’t seem to be anything. If there is, he certainly doesn’t know what it is. “Shit, shit!”

“Dude,” Steve says, and he sounds a little farther than he’d just been, “chill out. The power’s probably gonna come back any minute now.”

Eddie whirls around, and Steve is sitting on the floor, twirling that stupid sailor hat around his pointer finger. He squints a bit in the beam of light, and Eddie hates that it makes his nose scrunch up all cute and shit. He can’t stand the guy. “You’re infuriating,” he tells Steve, “you know that?”

Lips quirking up in what Eddie’s pretty sure is a sad little smile, Steve shrugs. “So I’ve heard,” he says, and Eddie’s eye twitches. Steve pats the empty spot next to him. “You can sit down, y’know.”

Eddie sits where he is. He doesn’t feel like getting closer to Steve Harrington than strictly necessary, thanks very much. Steve just shrugs, tossing his hat from one pointer finger to the other, and Eddie redirects his flashlight. There’s the soft thump of something hitting the ground, followed by a quiet swear. Eddie snorts. “You drop your hat?”

“Maybe,” Steve says. “You wanna lend me some light?”

“Not particularly,” Eddie says dryly.

Steve just hums. It drives Eddie a little crazy. “Wanna play twenty questions?” Steve asks him, and it’s so goddamn bizarre that Eddie busts out laughing.

“Are you—you’re not serious,” Eddie cackles. “What, like we’re at a high school party? C’mon, man, why the hell do you wanna play twenty questions with me in an ice cream freezer?”

A short pause. “To pass the time, I guess,” Steve says. “You got a better idea? ’Cuz I’m all ears, Munson, really.”

Damn.

Eddie doesn’t have a better idea.

“Okay, fine,” he sighs, “what’s your first question?”

There’s some shuffling, like Steve is sitting up properly, and it’s not endearing, it’s not. If anything, it should be pathetic that he’s so excited to play some dumb party game in the freezer of a nautical-themed ice cream parlor. “What’s your favorite hobby?” Steve asks him. “Like, not the one you do most often, or the one you’re best at, but the one you think is the most fun.”

Eddie makes a face. “You have hobbies that aren’t fun?”

He moves his flashlight over to shine at Steve, who nods. “Yeah, man. Like, I don’t hate them, but they’re not fun. Just something to do to pass the time, or something I do with my dad and his business partners, like golfing,” he says with a shrug. “Go on, answer, what’s your favorite hobby?”

Eddie’s having a hard time getting past the idea that Steve isn’t passionate about his hobbies, but only does them to have something to do for the sake of doing something. Or for the sake of someone else, someone that had apparently cut him off. “Uh,” he says eloquently, “I don’t know. I like all my hobbies.”

Steve tilts his head like a confused dog. It’s dumb. “Really? Huh. Alright, lemme change my question, then. What are your hobbies?”

“I play guitar for my band, I run Dungeons and Dragons campaigns—”

“Oh, shit, really? That’s cool, the kids I babysit play that game, too,” Steve says, and Eddie’s brain screeches to a halt. Steve’s head-tilt gets a little tiltier, and he snaps his fingers. “That’s right, you run the club at the high school, don’t you? Hotfire or something?”

“Hellfire,” Eddie corrects hollowly, and Steve winces apologetically.

“Sorry. Shit gets mixed up in my brain sometimes. Buncha concussions, you know how it is,” he dismisses, and Eddie very much does not know how it is. Steve perks up. “Your turn.”

Eddie is, admittedly, kind of dumbfounded. “Uh, what’s your dream job?”

Frowning, Steve glares down at the tile. “Hm. I don’t know.”

At that, Eddie scoffs. “Oh, c’mon, you can’t be serious,” he says. “Everybody’s got a dream job, man, even if it’s totally outlandish. I mean, I wanna be a bigshot metal guitarist for a world-famous band—preferrably mine—even though I know there’s, like, an almost-zero chance of that happening.”

Steve just shrugs. “Maybe, like, be a teacher or something? But I couldn’t get into college, so…not likely,” he says. “What’s your favorite color?”

“Yellow,” Eddie says, “yours?”

“Swear you won’t laugh,” Steve says, and Eddie blinks at him. Steve crosses his arms. “Munson, swear it.”

“Okay, okay, I promise I won’t laugh,” Eddie says. “What’s your favorite color?”

“Tiffany blue,” Steve answers finally, and, come on, Eddie can’t help it if he chuckles just a little. “You said you wouldn’t laugh!”

Eddie snickers, trying and failing to hide it behind his hand. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s just—that’s such a snooty color to pick,” he wheezes, and Steve glares at him.

He drags his hat around in circles on the ground with one finger and pointedly doesn’t look at Eddie. “Yeah, well, I like it ’cuz it’s my mom’s favorite,” Steve mumbles, brows drawn together, and now Eddie feels kinda bad for laughing. Only a tiny bit, though. Steve glances up at him. “If you had to pick a movie world to live the rest of your life in, which would it be?”

That’s…actually a pretty cool question. Not that Eddie would tell him that.

“Um…my favorite movies are horror movies, so those are a no-go,” he says, and Steve laughs. It’s good-natured and nice, stupid and sparkly. Eddie clears his throat. “But, uh, I’d probably go with Star Wars.”

“No way, me too!” Steve says, and Eddie blinks. Steve grins. “I like the one with the little teddy bear guys, you know the…”

He trails off into an impression of the ewoks, and it’s painfully charming. Annoying. Annoying, not charming. “You know those are called ewoks, not ‘little teddy bears,’ right?” Eddie asks, because he’s nothing if not a pedantic asshole, and Steve just smiles at him.

“Eh, tomato, to-mah-to,” he says. “Your turn.”

Eddie tilts his head back. “Who was your first kiss?” he asks, and Steve doesn’t answer for a while, which is weird. There’s this pained look on his face, and he won’t quite meet Eddie’s eye. “What, is it, like, someone you’ve deemed ‘embarrassing?’”

“That’s…not it,” Steve sighs. “It’s just—I don’t want you to, like, flip out and punch me or some shit, man.”

At that, Eddie laughs, but his curiosity is piqued. “Have you seen me, Harrington? I’m a total toothpick. I’m, like, pretty sure if I tried to punch you, I’d break my own arm,” he says. “Who was it, seriously? Some dorky chick you think I know? Is that why you think I’ll flip out?”

“No,” Steve tells him, “it was, um…it was at camp, summer after fifth grade.”

“I asked you who, not when or where,” Eddie says.

“And I don’t know who it was,” Steve shoots back.

Eddie makes a face. “Oh, bullshit, dude, you were at camp with this girl and you didn’t know who she was?” he scoffs. “I mean, I wouldn’t put it past you to forget, but just say you forgot her name, then.”

“I didn’t forget,” Steve tells him, “I don’t know.”

Crossing his arms, Eddie points his flashlight right at Steve’s eyes. “Be so serious. You gotta know. Why else would you think I’d flip out?”

“Because—! It doesn’t matter.”

“Just tell me! You’re not honoring the rules of the game, Harrington, you’re the one who wanted to play—”

“I keep telling you, I don’t know who it was!”

“Bullshit!”

“I never got his name!”

Record scratch.

Steve’s face goes bright red, and he ducks his head so that Eddie can’t see his expression. It’s just as well, because the flashlight clatters to the ground when Eddie drops it, and he hurries to scoop it back up, eyes as wide as humanly possible. There’s no way. There’s no way, right? He’s just doing this to fuck with Eddie, he has to be, that’s—that has to be what it is. It’s eerily silent, and Eddie shines the flashlight at Steve again, swallowing.

It’s audible. It toes the line between gross and annoying.

Eddie toes that line often.

“It was a dude?” Eddie asks, because he really needs some clarification here. “Your first kiss was with another guy?”

There must be something in his tone that he hadn’t intended to put in there, because Steve’s whole posture shifts. His shoulders square, his jaw goes tight, and he looks down his nose at Eddie, even though they’re both sitting on the ground, like it’s a challenge, like it’s a dare. “You got a problem with that, you keep it to yourself,” Steve says, voice carefully even. “We’re gonna sit here and—and we’re not gonna say anything ’til the power comes back on. Game’s over.”

He looks away again. Eddie’s flashlight flickers, and he turns it off, because it they might need it to get out of the mall once the power comes back, in case the timed lights turn off by the time it does. It’s silent for a long while, and Eddie’s kicking himself. He shouldn’t have pried. Shit, now Steve probably thinks he’s a total asshole.

“Sorry for ruining the game,” Eddie says after a while. “My bad, man, really.”

A long stretch of nothing. Eddie calls Steve’s name after another couple of minutes.

“It’s fine,” Steve says quietly. “I don’t know why I didn’t just, like, lie. I usually do, y’know, when that question comes up.”

“If it, um, makes you feel any better, I’m—I haven’t had one,” Eddie offers. “A first kiss, I mean.”

More silence.

“Are you messing with me?” Steve asks, several long moments later, and Eddie shakes his head, even though they’re bathed in darkness, and Steve can’t see him.

He scoots closer, close enough that he can feel the body heat radiating off of Steve without the two of them touching. “Nope. Cross my heart, hope to die, all that good stuff. Haven’t kissed anybody. Not for lack of trying, mind you, but, uh, pretty sure nobody’s exactly jumping at the chance to kiss the town freak, and it’s not like it’d be any good if they did, because, like I said, zero prior kisses,” Eddie rambles. “I’d probably suck at it.”

A light chuckle. Thank fuck. “Probably,” Steve agrees.

“Probably,” Eddie echoes.

They sit in silence for a while longer, though it isn’t uncomfortable this time, which Eddie supposes is a plus. The freezer is just barely less cold, which means the power’s still out, which sucks. How long are they gonna be trapped in here? It’s chilly as hell. How long is Eddie supposed to be trapped in a freezer with Steve Harrington, armed with the knowledge that he’s apparently kissed one whole boy before?

Eddie definitely isn’t straining to see the time on his watch. He definitely doesn’t watch it tick for fifteen whole fucking minutes before Steve speaks up again. “Hey, uh, what happened to your flashlight?” he asks.

“I’m saving the batteries,” Eddie tells him.

A beat. “Saving the batteries…for what?” Steve asks.

“Oh, I was planning on putting them in my Walkman, actually,” Eddie snaps, a little on the sarcastic side, because they’ve been trapped in here for a while, and the freezer is steadily dropping in temperature. Embarrassed, though, because Steve should arguably be the only really upset person in this freezer right now, Eddie barrels on. “Anyway, we may as well get used to being in the dark.”

“Yeah…” Steve murmurs, trailing off, like there’s another thought accompanying it that he just isn’t saying.

Eddie’s brows furrow. “What?”

“Well, it’s just not that great, is it?” Steve hums. “I wouldn’t mind looking at the mall again, and…maybe…looking at you.”

Eddie snorts. “Really? You like looking at me?” he scoffs.

“Uh…yeah,” Steve admits, voice soft. “I suppose I do.”

Eddie feels his face go hot. “Well, I like looking at you, too,” he confesses under the cover of darkness, because it feels a lot safer than it would if he could see the pitying wince that’s probably on Steve’s face right now.

“Oh, yeah?” Steve asks, sounding vaguely pleased, and Eddie doesn’t get him. He doesn’t understand King Steve, Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington, Steve from Scoops Ahoy, who apparently babysits D&D-playing kids and likes the ewoks in Star Wars and kissed a boy at camp. Steve’s shoulder presses against his own. “Thanks. For that.”

Eddie swallows. It’s audible again, and he really wishes he knew how to cut that shit out, because it does a hell of a job of giving him away. “Yeah, man, no—um, no problem.”

“You know,” Steve starts, “I could be your first kiss. For practice.”

“For practice,” Eddie repeats flatly.

What an asshole. He should’ve known this was some elaborate setup to get Eddie to admit that all the rumors about him are true, to humiliate him or some shit.

Steve laughs, but it isn’t cruel like Eddie’s expecting. It’s soft, almost embarrassed. “Sorry, I just—that’s how the boy at camp got me to kiss him, figured I’d try the line out,” he says. “Guess I still don’t have my game back.”

“Your game?” Eddie asks, because what the hell is happening right now?

“You know, how I, like, suck at flirting lately,” Steve says. “I mean, I’ve been flirting with you all summer, and it took us getting stuck in a freezer for you to be even a little nice to me. Well, to get you to admit you don’t hate looking at my face, but I’ll take it.”

Record scratch number two.

“I—sorry, what?” Eddie asks, eyes practically bugging out of his head, and Steve shrugs with a quiet laugh. Eddie shakes his head. “Not fucking funny, man, you can’t just—you can’t say shit like that.”

“What, I can’t be honest with you?”

“You’re not—! You aren’t being honest, you’re fucking with me!”

Another little laugh. “Well, I’d like to be, but you don’t seem to like me very much,” Steve tells him. “What’d you say again? ‘When hell freezes over?’ Robin’s gonna have a field day with that ‘You Suck’ board of hers when I tell her I got rejected again.”

Eddie rethinks his entire summer.

Come to think of it, if he doesn’t consider a lot of Steve’s comments to be sarcastic, it actually does come across as incessant flirting.

Son of a bitch.

“How—why are you—what makes you so confident I won’t be an asshole about this?” Eddie asks, utterly bewildered.

Steve tilts his head—the shadows move, he sees the silhouette of Steve’s annoyingly perfect hair sway with the movement. “I mean, considering you apologized for ruining the game after I told you my first kiss was with a dude, figured I’d have nothing to lose except for my pride, of which I have remarkably little,” he says. “I’m pretty much shameless, man. And besides, your whole thing is, like, standing on tables and shitting on everyone else for conforming to society’s expectations, so…it’d be pretty weird if you were homophobic.”

This shit just gets crazier and crazier. “You paid attention to me in high school?” Eddie asks, and his eyes are adjusting to the light now. He can make out the faint, nostalgic smile on Steve’s face.

“Oh, I had the biggest crush on you my freshman year,” Steve tells him. “But, y’know, you made it very apparent you weren’t the biggest fan of jocks, and I’d already joined, like, a bunch of different teams, so—”

Eddie cuts him off by practically smashing his mouth against Steve’s, all jittery nerves. He’s not a very good kisser, but Steve lets out a tiny, pleased hum anyway as he lifts his hands to Eddie’s waist, tugging him closer just slightly. It’s insane. It’s bizarre. By all rules of both basic logic and the Munson Doctrine, this should not be happening. Steve Harrington should not be carefully and softly moving his lips against Eddie’s, but here they are.

“I’m sorry,” Eddie breathes, pulling back, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“You’re kind of an asshole,” Steve tells him, and Eddie can’t really argue with that, “but, uh, I’m sorry, too. The whole pigtail-pulling strategy really doesn’t work with you, huh?”

The mental image of Steve tugging his hair does something to Eddie that he’s a little too ashamed to admit. “Um,” he manages, “yeah.”

“Sorry about all of high school, then,” Steve says, and he kisses Eddie again.

And just as Steve’s hand snakes underneath Eddie’s shirt, the lights in the freezer come back on, and cold air begins to blast through the vents.

Once again, son of a bitch.

[makerofmadness]

What's with Balloon Boy and the Daycare Attendant?

The Balloon World arcade machine exists, it's in the DA's room and both characters are involved in it. It's probably one of the most cryptic minigames in the FNAF series as a whole, but while we could ponder what exactly it's supposed to mean (maybe I'll do that for all the security breach minigames eventually), the main question I have is this:

WHY Balloon Boy specifically? Why is the minigame about HIM?

Is there a connection between the two characters? Or was it a completely random decision?

Out of nowhere, thinking about Balloon World, I came to a realization:

The Lights.

Balloon Boy's entire gimmick in FNAF 2 was that if he got into your office, he would disable your flashlight and vent lights (...somehow. I know we all make the jokes about him taking the batteries [and then that FNAF 57: Freddy In Space thing in FNAF World said he just straight-up steals your entire flashlight], but you never see the battery icon disappear or appear empty in FNAF 2 itself when he gets into your office. And the vent lights also stop working, so unless they also operate on batteries, then... does he actually take them from you?).

What's the one rule in the daycare?

Keep the lights on.

His mechanic is the antithesis to what Sun wants and exactly what Moon would want. Balloon Boy doesn't keep the lights on. He prevents you from turning them on at all.

(which also makes me kinda sad there wasn't a Glamrock version of BB. Then again, I don't know how exactly he would've uniquely affected like anything. Regardless I am hoping for the day someone in the fandom makes a glamrock bb who is arch-enemies with sun and gets along well with moon skseijdndndnd-)

It feels kinda obvious and I'm guessing I'm not the only person to think about this, but I have never seen anyone else bring this up. Not on YouTube, not on tumblr, nowhere. Maybe if I go looking for it I'll see, but i'm surprised I haven't bumped into anyone else saying this just naturally. I go into the BB tags a LOT, surely SOMEONE would've said something, right? I don't even see it noted in the trivia on the page for the arcade game on the fnaf wiki.

...but is this supposed to mean anything? Or is it just a cute little reference or callback? it's hard to say, especially with how ambiguous the minigame is.

Though I DID think of ONE thing... (possible minor spoilers for Ruin under the cut):

Saw this pointed out in a youtube video that the BB World screen (with Eclipse, who makes their proper debut in Ruin after effectively being foreshadowed by the minigame in SB's base game) can be seen on the ceiling in the DA's room. Which makes sense, obviously, but also take note of the pirate-themed windows in the hallway leading to it.

...now, which character do most of us tend to associate with Balloon Boy? His "tag-team partner," of sorts?

Foxy. The Pirate.

With this, I found that there's more Foxy-related stuff associated with the daycare area than I had previously realized because I had never made any connections before. I mean, Kids' Cove is directly linked to it for god's sake.

Like. I hope i haven't forgotten to mention anything (I've been writing this post over the course of hours 'Cus I had stuff to do in the middle of it all). My brain's kinda starting to fry. But basically: Was Foxy originally meant to be the Daycare Attendant, in-universe? Was there gonna be a Glamrock Balloon Boy with him, like as his first mate or something??? Were they gonna be connected to Fazbear Theater????? (Uh basically Sun/Moon to my knowledge from confirmation in the books and a lot of more subtle implications in-game mainly involving environmental pieces were originally meant to be in the Fazbear Theater as a stage animatronic but got moved to daycare duty instead and being reprogrammed. Which actually explains a lot about them when you think about it-)

Like. Ok I'm forgetting where I was going with this, I'm sorry, but I guess it's food for thought/adds to the weird connections between DA and BB, I guess. Idk. I can't focus that well right now to keep making new ideas.

felt like sharing my interpretation of the Balloon World minigame itself at least since earlier I did kinda finally get it down concretely:

I kinda developed a theory that Eclipse is Sun/Moon's "safe mode" and that rebooting DA reactivated Eclipse as a result. Like, they're their own AI that was at one point implemented. but then Vanny happened and locked them out thanks to the whole Glitchtrap virus thing (albeit it only seemed to reach Moon, while Sun remains seemingly unaffected. Guessing it's because they're different AIs [finally implied/basically confirmed by their Ruin dialogue). Eclipse has seemingly not been active for some time, or at least never post-pizzaplex closure, given how they're seemingly completely oblivious to the fact that this place is closed with no signs of opening.

So the minigame was foreshadowing Eclipse's existence and implying their "trapped" nature, which also could be seen as paralleling Vanessa's whole "Vanny" situation, especially given how iirc one of the messages related to princess quest can be found near the arcade machine.

[kawaiijohn]

Dipper accidentally summons King Phantom to Gravity Falls to help against Bill?

okay never thought i'd write anything with GF buttttt here ya go @guardianrex <3

And Happy super late tenth birthday gravity falls. Hope this rocks.

"You're just a teenager!" Dipper pointed at the lanky boy from behind the table turned cover. His finger shakes a little as he wills himself to be brave.

"You're just a teenager!" Dipper pointed at the lanky boy from behind the table-turned-cover. His finger shakes a little as he wills himself to be brave.

"And you're just a kid," said teenager yawns, rubbing sleep out of heavily bagged eyes. "Is there a reason I'm standing in my living room with some kid I don't know at ass o clock in the morning?"

Dipper swallows. He'd meant to summon the 'Infinity King', a figure Grunkle Ford had found information on during his travels. The King of All Reality was supposedly an eldritch being of unknown origin and deathless power, one that could possibly be asked to help deal with Bill and his crap.

And his research was going perfectly! The texts Ford had shown him a few weeks ago- the very same texts that Dipper had stolen while Ford was asleep, were translated quite easily (who knew Pig Latin was a viable language in some realities?) and used without his Grunkle's knowledge. Against said Grunkle's warnings.

But ignoring warnings could have gone much worse. At least the figure floating three inches off the floor looked about as human as Dipper did. He knows from personal experience (what a weird summer) it doesn't mean much, but at least the King's skin wasn't like, inside-out or something gross. He shudders at the thought of the possibility.

Although the King looks nothing more than a teenager who just woke up, Dipper could still sense something about the guy was... off.

Unnatural

Dipper realizes he's been staring for a while, and that he's being stared back at. He points more confidently at the King and swallows his fear.

"Takes one to uh... takes one to know one!"

Smooth

The Infinity King sighs and pinches his brow. "Look, kid. I don't know how you summoned me or why you summoned me, but I'm very tired. I have no money, and I would like to go back to bed before the test I have tomorrow."

"Oh man, is it not summer break for you? That stinks."

"Buddy I'm in summer school, it does stink. So I'd appreciate being able to leave. Please."

"Oh yeah let me just-" Dipper almost falls for the believable performance before catching himself. "Wait a second, that's dumb. I'm not gonna fall for that, Infinity King!"

Dipper shines his flashlight into the King's eyes and is on the receiving end of a very angry stare. "Ancients help me..." the King sighs.

"Nobody can help you! Those sigils are for trapping ghosts and spirits! So now you gotta listen to what I say."

"I really don't have a choice, huh?" The King crosses his legs and places an elbow on his knee. "Alright, shortie. What did you summon me for? Need dating advice? Video game level can't be beat? Annoying sister?"

"I'm not so dumb to summon a powerful being for petty squabbles or whatever!" Dipper grumbles. "I'm dealing with something really really bad, alright?"

He walks up to the border of the circle and shows the King the journal, specifically the pages on Bill Cipher.

"What the hell is this thing? An evil triangle?" the King asks and begins to read. "Don't like how that page gives me goosebumps."

"He's an inter dimensional demon and a jerk. He's also evil and messing with my family."

"Well, I don't know what I can do, but inter dimensional jerks happen to be what I fight most." the King sighs. "What can I do to help?"

"First you gotta make me a-a deal!" Dipper's voice squeaks, realizing what he's said aloud before looking around to make sure Bill isn't going to pop up out of nowhere.

"Kid, I don't think deals are a good choice for someone your age, nor with an inter dimensional being like me."

"Yeah, but like, your kind is kinda all about deals, right?"

"No, but I guess if it makes you feel better... how about you buy me a pizza when this is over. A pizza, and a milkshake of my choice."

"You're serious?" Dipper squints.

"Deadly." the King grins.

"Alright, deal then-"

"Okay, drop the shield and we'll shake on it."

[kiwibeanv]

Astray in the Black Water: Chapter 3

Fatal Frame 5 x Bungo Stray Dogs x fem! Reader

Prologue --- Chapter 1 --- Chapter 2

Notes: Mostly Chuuya chapter. Slightly OOC. You could read it alone. Terrorized by ghosts lol. Long chapter... Will update this chapter with post chapter content in these days.

6/4/2024: All post chapter content posted!

You managed to finish the written report in the afternoon. After collecting the photos from the printer, you compiled the papers together and went up to Kunikida.

“Kunikida-san, the paperwork is finished,” you say handing him the clipboard with the files.

He turns to you and takes the paperwork. He quickly scanned over it to ensure you filled out everything.

“Perfect. You are free to leave and thank you again for your assistance.”

You nod and turned around to the exit. Just as you were about to leave the office completely, Dazai's voice calls out to you.

"Oi, (Name)! Wait a minute!"

Dazai caught up to you with a smile. "So what kind of plans do you have? Anything tonight?"

"I will be busy. I have another request to search for someone," you replied.

"Oh... it doesn't happen to be with a certain ginger?" He stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned forward with suspicion.

"Uh... how did you know?"

Dazai pursed his lips. "Well he did approach you yesterday and asked how to get in contact with you. It's not hard to put two and two together."

You didn't think he would remember that detail. But then again, he knew Chuuya.

"If you're gonna go with him, keep your distance. He's loud, arrogant, and he's a brute! So be extra careful to protect yourself."

You blinked twice and realized how his words were much like Chuuya's. Aside from the different adjectives they used to describe each other.

"But," he leaned forward. "We might need you again."

You raised your brow. "What for?"

"Kyouka was searching for a missing girl, however with her condition she won't be able to get back to work right away. So~ I request that you search for the girl while with Chuuya."

"I can't promise I'll find her right away, but I will keep that thought in mind," you replied.

"Good! Just focus more on the girl than Chuuya!" Dazai beamed.

You sighed to yourself. "No promises," you mutter under your breath.

"Just in case you do," he pulled out a slip of paper out of his pocket, "Update me!"

He handed it to you. Inside was his phone number, the photo of the missing girl, and a little note.

Call me~ ;)

"Will do..." You say as you shoved his number in your pocket.

You managed to leave the Armed Detective Agency office and return to your district. Knowing that you had another object to repel spirits, you searched for it. That way Chuuya could have a way to push them back should the situation arise.

Later that evening, you waited in your cafe. You helped your coworkers clean and serve orders until the bell announced his presence. Chuuya walked in and looked around until his eyes landed on you.

"Oi, you ready?" He asked.

"I am," you nod.

Realizing that you forgot to mention to bring an item of the person he was looking for, you decided to ask now.

"Do you have a personal object or a photo of the person we are looking for?"

He tilts his head. "Huh, what for?"

"To have a trace. It would be easier to follow it than wander aimlessly," you replied, now feeling bad that you failed to mention it to him this morning.

"Shit, I wish you told me sooner," he sighed, rubbing his neck.

You frowned. "I apologize...I forgot."

"Do gifts count?"

You nod, since the object could have a connection.

"Got a knife she gave me, but I might need it if something happens."

"It's good enough."

He was about to turn to leave through the door when he paused and looked at you. "Just to make sure, you're fine with riding a motorcycle, right?"

You shrugged. "I'm fine with it. Let me get a few things first. I will meet you outside."

Chuuya nods, exits the cafe, and heads to his motorcycle. While he was doing that, you retrieved your camera, flashlight, and a few other items you need. Then you joined him, settling behind him, and he took off.

He drove you to Mt. Hikami. Curiosity crept in your mind. What sort of man was Chuuya? After all, he was dressed well with his suit. The cropped jacket, the long coat he wore as a cape, and the hat made him stood out more. You managed to see into Atsushi's memories, however you are aware of the possibility of seeing something more personal than you expected. This was a good opportunity to glance into his background. However, you decided against it, deeming this time to be inappropriate. After all, you barely met him.

By the time you reached to Mt. Hikami, the sunset had just begun. The red skies glowed, drawing your gaze in. The bike stopped and snapped you out of your thoughts and the two of you entered Mt. Hikami.

You held onto the knife to feel the trace. The trace was stronger with Chuuya, leading one figure to him. However, there was another figure, one of a silhouette of a woman. Her hair seemed to be in a bun and had long robes as if she wore a kimono. She walked to the path in the middle, the one that lead to the pool of purification.

You told Chuuya to follow you and you went up the path. Up the trail, you passed the waterfall. The skies were only getting darker at this point, the red hue fading into darkness. The two of you started to use flashlights. As you passed the waterfall, you heard a swoosh on your right and saw something falling. Chuuya looked over, probably seeing the same thing. Though, he saw nothing and figured it could have been a bird swooping down or a falling rock.

As you passed through the Pool of Purification and into the Unfathomable Forest, you could see more spirits wander. The infamous hanging tree showed brief flashes of those who hung themselves. There was still a lone hanging noose.

Proceeding further into the forests, you and Chuuya heard faint laughter in the distance.

Po...Po...Po....

Chuuya shined his light to find the source of the sound. It sounded like a woman's husky voice.

"What the hell?" He kept looking around and didn't see anything.

You remembered hearing that same laughter when you were fleeing with Dazai, Atsushi, and Kyouka the night prior. The pale woman in the trees that you thought you saw. Though, you don't have a clear image of her.

"I have told you before that spirits are more active at night," you remind him, turning to him. "But let's not let their presence distract us. We should keep moving."

Chuuya nods, his lips pressed tightly. You gave him an assuring nod and pulled out an adorned flashlight.

"Here, just in case," you held the fancy flashlight out to him. "Like my camera it can repel the spirits. Just press and hold that little moon button above the switch. You will know when to release when you see a blue outline."

Chuuya takes the flashlight into his hand, putting away his regular one. He studied the intricate designs. Above the switch, he saw the button you mentioned, shaped like the moon.

"So... that's all I do?" He asked, turning it on and moving the light around.

"Precisely. But only use it when a spirit attacks," you said as you led the path again. "Otherwise, you can use it as a regular flashlight."

Chuuya hummed and followed you through the forest. He felt better now that he has something to protect himself against the malevolent spirits.

The trace started to get weaker, the deeper you went into the forest. After all, the knife had a stronger connection with Chuuya. By the time you reached the Shrine of Dolls, the trace faded completely. You couldn't tell if it went further into the forest or into the shrine.

"The trace ends here," you say, turning to Chuuya and handing him his knife. "Our next best option is to see if the person dropped anything."

Chuuya took his knife and looked over at the Shrine of Dolls. He shined his light on the dolls, their dead eyes staring back at him. He can't imagine Kouyou checking out the shrine first.

"Hey, is there a map of the area?" He asked, hoping to get a reference of the mountain.

"I have one," you said as you reached for the pamphlet you brought.

He leaned close and observed it. He could see the other points of interest of the mountain. The Shrine of Ephemeral, cable car stations, and the House of Joining. He pointed at the Shrine of Dolls icon.

"So we are here. Have a feeling Kouyou--" Chuuya cut himself off when he heard distorted static.

In the trees, a tall woman in white walked out of the tree line and towards you both. She had a long dress, a hat, and a smile going from ear to ear. The closer she got, the bigger she was. The two of you had to look up and she was freakishly tall. Her arms and legs were abnormally long.

You can't escape.

The tall woman lunged and reached her arms out to grab you. As soon as she started moving, Chuuya screamed and stumbled to dash away. You take a few steps back and took your camera out. Your eyes darted between Chuuya and the woman before you looked into the camera lens to take a picture.

"What are you doing?!!" Chuuya screeched. "Fucking run!!"

You managed to take the picture before she hit you, winning a shutter chance. You took a chain of pictures, the tall woman crossing her arms over her face until you had to reload the film. Chuuya watched in awe as you managed to hold her off. He decided that this was too much and took a hold of your wrist, yanking you away to flee with him.

"Chuuya!" You gripped onto the camera and struggled to follow his pace.

But he didn't listen to you. He continued dragging you back to the base of the mountain where his motorcycle was parked. At that moment, you knew he wouldn't heed your words so you quickened your pace. You wanted to warn him that if you didn't repel a spirit, they might follow wherever you go.

Once you two were mounted on the motorcycle, he drove off. The drive calming his adrenaline down. Chuuya took you back to your cafe-residence. He cleared his throat, not wanting to meet your gaze after that incident.

"Um... You good?" He asked.

You got off the motorcycle. "Yes, but now we could be followed by that tall woman since we did not repel her."

Chuuya paled. "Oh... Do you know if... she's could follow me or you?" He asked with a shaky voice.

"Unfortunately, I do not," You shook your head with a sigh.

Chuuya considered the scenario. He came up with three possibilities. Either the tall woman haunts you and you have to fight her alone, or she haunts him but he didn't have the equipment to fight her off. Plus, he still had your flashlight but he assumed you wanted it back he goes home. The last scenario was staying with you, ensuring that the tall woman comes to you and getting the chance to take her down together.

"How about I stay the night here so you don't have to fight the woman by yourself?" Chuuya paused before adding, "You don't have to agree..."

You thought about his offer. There were more pros than cons if he were to stay the night. With that, you nodded your head.

You opened the side door that lead straight to your residence. Chuuya noticed that you set your shoes on a rack and did the same before both of you walked in. You led him to your office and turned on the computer. He raised his brow and set his coat on the couch.

"So... what's the plan?" He asked.

"We monitor the cameras and watch out for any spirits that could have followed us home. This way, we won't be surprised of any visitors," you replied as you opened the camera system application.

You and Chuuya scrolled through the cameras of your cafe-home. So far everything looked good. While nothing happened, Chuuya took a look at the bookshelf to your right. Until that faint familiar laughter came again.

Po...Po...Po...

Chuuya's gaze shot back to the computer screen. From the second floor looking down the stairs, you saw the tall woman walk down them. Both of you heard heavy footsteps hit the wooden floor. The two of you looked intently at the computer screen, waiting to see other sightings of her. You kept scrolling through the cameras and when you got to the same camera above the stairs, you were met with the pale woman's face. It was so close to the camera, her soulless eyes staring blankly at you. That same smile, from ear to ear.

I found you...Hahahaha.

Chuuya yelped and fell back onto the floor. Her face soon dissolved from the screen. He couldn't believe how pathetic he was over this ghost. Remembering the flashlight you gave him, he gripped onto it. He looked at the full moon button, remembering the directions you gave him.

"She's at the stairs... let's get her," he said as he fixed his hat.

You nod and took the camera. Chuuya opened the door, only to scream when the tall woman's face appeared in front of him. She was bending down and started to rise to her natural height. You got the camera ready. Since she was so tall, you took the bold move to step out of the office to get a good shot of the tall woman.

Chuuya wasn't going to let you take her down alone. Part of this was his fault that the tall women went after you...or him. He could see how you were suppressing your fear to take this malevolent being on. And he had to as well.

The spirit was getting more frustrated as you continued to drain her health. You were in the middle of loading new film and she took this opportunity to swipe her hand at you. Just a mere touch made you fall to your knees. It felt like your life was drained out of you, just barely holding on.

This was Chuuya's moment to take. You were struggling to get up and any moment now the tall woman could get you. He held the flashlight and pressed down on the button. It took a few seconds, the tall woman reaching to grab your arms, and the blue outline appeared. He released the button, the light harming the spirit. You managed to bring your camera up and take the final shot.

The tall woman screeched in pain. She leaned back, putting her hands on her head as she fell to her knees. You held your hand out to touch her spirit to see if she had a past, but your hand went through. No visions, no feelings, nothing... What the hell was she? She disintegrated into nothing, your home feeling warm again.

"(Name)!" Chuuya ran over to help you up. "You alright?"

You managed to get up on your feet, leaning on the wall for support. "I am...just... My energy's drained."

Chuuya took hold of your arm. "Here, let me help you lay down."

He guided you back into the office and set you on the couch. He took your camera and set it on the desk, also placing the flashlight with it. He retrieved his coat and draped it over your frame.

"Just keep it for tonight, I'll come back tomorrow," he muttered, turning and walking out the door.

Dazed, you stared at his retreating form and several seconds after he left, you blinked. I could have told him to get a blanket. Eventually, you succumbed to your slumber.

Nightmares plagued your mind for the second time. Faint voices call upon you to return to the mountain. Visions of the past.

You woke up to the sound of your alarm upstairs. The cafe needs to open. You went upstairs to turn off the alarm but you realized that you must have slept through the initial one. It has been over an hour and the cafe was supposed to be ready and open at this moment. You went down to unlock the cafe doors. You apologized and told your workers that you will have to stay inside to rest. A few customers were waiting outside too, however, you were not paying attention to their faces.

All you remember was heading back to the couch to sleep. You didn't wake up until noon and sat up on the couch.

"Oh! You're finally awake!" said a male voice.

You opened your eyes to see Dazai with a silly smile on his face. He was sitting on the chair on by the desk with the computer. He was currently scrolling through the camera footage of your residence. To the left, Atsushi sat on the floor where you had the TV stand.

"Good morning~" Dazai greets, not looking back. "You have a nice home by the way." He turns to look at you. "I see Chuuya left you a parting gift." His gaze shifted to Chuuya's coat.

"How did you get inside?" You wondered, your eyes darting from Dazai to Atsushi.

Atsushi averted his eyes, recalling the method. As soon as you opened the doors to the cafe, Dazai and Atsushi got in along with the customers. While your workers were getting the counter ready and taking orders, Dazai picked the lock of your door. Atsushi stood by him to hide his work. Really, he was dragged here by Dazai as an accomplice. Once he picked the lock, they entered and immediately found you in the office room.

"You had pretty good locks. It took me another five seconds to pick it," Dazai's smile grew.

Atsushi shook his head, sighing, "We didn't walk around your house! We found you here and... decided to wait for you to wake up."

You blinked a few times in silence, processing their words. "Please don't come in unannounced again."

"I was gonna wait in the cafe! But Dazai insisted," Atsushi raised his hands in defense.

"Hey, you wanted to see her too," Dazai pointed at him, accusingly.

You rolled your eyes and set Chuuya's coat on the side.

"So how was your little adventure with Chuuya?~" Dazai smirked. "Did you find who he was looking for?"

"Last night we made little progress..." You contemplated whether you wanted to say that Chuuya got scared. Though, considering their kind of relationship, they would probably make fun of each other. You refrained. "So tonight we are to go out again..."

Atsushi and Dazai noticed the bags under your eyes. Your eyelids covered your irises halfway.

"You must have come home late then," Atsushi adds as he got up from the floor. "We'll let you rest. Let's go Dazai."

"Huh?! But--" Dazai cut himself off with a sigh. "Fine..." He pouted.

"Kunikida will scold us again."

"I know, I know."

Dazai rubbed his neck. "I'll be seeing you later then."

You bid them goodbye and went back to rest. Hours passed, and you fixed yourself before Chuuya's arrival. Again you waited at the cafe for him. It wasn't until the evening, nearly the same hour he arrived. Dressed the same as usual, minus the coat.

You took the coat you had on the side and went up to him. Another day to search for Kouyou. This time, he brought a picture of her. The photo had a stronger trace than the knife. Chuuya brought a black car this time, as there was going to be a chance of rain at night.

The two of you returned to Mt. Hikami again. You remembered the trace ended at the Shrine of Dolls. Though, would Kouyou really end up there? You had a feeling that a woman like her could be at the Shrine of the Ephemeral. To make travel short, you suggested to take the cable car up.

Since Chuuya came earlier, there was a small grace period of less spirit activity. Once the cable car stopped at the next station, the two of you took the path to the large shrine. It was a bit of a long path, but that was the only route to take to reach the shrine.

Along the way, the sun was getting further down into the earth. Darkness laid over mountain. You started to see more spirits wander and you avoided their gaze so they do not know you can see them. As some spirits could be desperate.

Until you catch wind of a white figure in the forest. You turn and see the tall woman facing away from you. She isn't attacking, but what is she looking at? You raised your camera for a picture and heard the laugh you knew so well.

Chuuya heard it too and the hairs on the back of his neck rose. He gripped onto the flashlight you gave to him. Though, in the distance, the two of you heard a yelp. After snapping a picture, you decided to check it. There was the tall woman looking at a man in a tan coat fleeing. You heard a faint voice flirting in panic.

"Huh?... Is that Dazai?" You asked, trying to see if it was an illusion.

"Let me see!" Chuuya's eyes glimmered and took a look at the picture. He recognized the fluffy brown hair and started to snicker.

"And you caught that motherfucker on camera." Chuuya laughed aloud, easing his nerves.

You and Chuuya continued along the path. Kouyou's trace did not falter and you even caught a picture of her echo. You showed Chuuya the picture on camera.

"This is the same place where I found Kyouka," you add.

Chuuya knew that Kouyou had a soft spot for Kyouka and this was not surprising to him. It made sense.

"Then hopefully we find Kouyou here," He nods.

Her trace led the two of you down some stairs on the first floor. That part was flooded but still walkable. Her trace led you to a boat in the center of the courtyard. There stood a maiden in a white kimono and a veil over her head.

When a shrine maiden's heart is full of the pain of those she's glanced, she returns to the water.

The line echoed in your mind as you captured the photograph of the woman. She disappeared shortly after her words faded. Chuuya gave you a confused look on why you took a picture.

"Why the hell are you taking pictures?" Chuuya asked. "Was Kouyou in it?"

"Not this time. You did not see the shrine maiden on the boat?"

He shook his head. "No."

You showed him the picture on the camera. "This is what I saw."

Chuuya leaned in to see. "Huh, so you think that ghost can lead us somewhere?"

"I can't say..." You looked in the direction where the ghost was looking. "But her trace goes beyond the water... We will have to use this boat."

Chuuya raised his brow. "But isn't that a closed gate over there?" He points at said gate. "I could open it with my ability. We don't need to waste time."

"Very well," You got hold of the wooden canoe. "Let's go."

The two of you got on the boat and rowed to the gate. You felt your camera react but Chuuya moved the wood with his ability. Beyond the gate was a lake with thick fog. Chuuya trusted your abilities and soon, you arrived at the Shrine on the Water.

You and Chuuya got onto the shrine. The wooden floors creaked as you walked. Shrine maiden ghosts appeared. Two guardians and a regular. While Chuuya felt uneasy, this was not as bad as the tall woman.

"Chuuya, you take the drowned ones. I'll deal with the shrine maiden," you say, taking out your camera.

He nods at your words and took out the flashlight. He held the light and held down the button to wait for the blue outline to appear. The drowned guardian attacked and made Chuuya let go too soon. Still there was damage made since the guardians flinched.

Chuuya and you managed to take down these spirits. You decided to touch them before they completely vanish. For the guardian, you saw five maidens holding hands as they walked into the lake. Further and further, knowing that they will all die together. They looked up to the sky, darkened by a wave of black water. Swept by the tainted water, they all drowned.

The shrine maiden's memories showed her glancing into people's souls before their suicide. Taking on their pains, memories, and reading their thoughts. This one was swept away, just like the guardians.

"Black water overflowing...." You muttered, seeing the connection between the visions.

"Huh?" Chuuya narrowed his eyes.

"Something I saw in their vision... not related to the person we're looking for. Let's go."

He nods and followed you further in the shrine. You opened some doors and got inside a room. There was a black box, similar to where Kyouka was found. You opened the box and inside, you recognized the kimono and light-scarlet hair.

Chuuya's eyes widen. "Ane-san!" He grabbed her to get her out of the box.

You helped her out too and took this opportunity to peer into her memories.

I'm going to be the one to save Kyouka this time. Not Dazai.

Kouyou entered from the Mikomori Bridge and wandered the mountain. She found a few tracks of Kyouka and went through the Shrine of Dolls to the Shrine of Ephemeral. If only she knew, she was so close to finding Kyouka. Kouyou passed that door.

Spirits arose and Kouyou's first instinct was to use her ability to cut them down. The ghosts were unaffected. Startled, Kouyou did a few more attempts but more spirits emerged. One spirit engrained in her memory, a tainted bride in black. She had no choice but to run from the spirits. The front doors locked, and the last thing she remembered was the black bride catching up to her.

Kouyou's eyes fluttered opened. "Chuuya..."

The two of you managed to get her on her feet. Her eyes were foggy and there were strange, black stains on her clothes, perhaps from the black water in the box.

"Come on, we're gonna to get you home," Chuuya assured as he pulled her hand. He looked so worried, it was the softest facial expression you've seen from him.

Kouyou stayed silent and didn't move. Chuuya tugged on her hand. You noticed black hair crawling out of her sleeve. He felt the hair crept onto his hand and you two turned back to Kouyou, only to be met with her pale face. Her hair lost its vibrant color, her bun undone. Her robes became drenched, becoming very similar to another spirit you encountered with Kyouka.

"Kouyou!" Chuuya released his grip and his expression faltered. "No..."

"She spirited away. We have to repel her spirit," you urged Chuuya, taking his arm.

"No!" He yanked his arm away. His voice was shaky. "It's Kouyou... You can't do this!"

Kouyou's spirit floated in the air with a laughter that was not hers.

"Chuuya... I know it will be difficult, but we need to handle this."

The wraith charged towards the two of you. You grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the attack. Chuuya was still in a state of shock so you had to step forward.

Chuuya backed away to give you more space and into a corner, crouching down, holding his head in his hands. He refused to accept the fact that Kouyou became a phantom. But the evidence was all there in front of him. The flashes of your camera withdrew him from his mind. However, seeing you battle the specter alone, he couldn't sit on the sidelines this time.

With a new mindset he stood up, Chuuya wielded the flashlight. You saw a light shine on the ghost, and from the corner of your eye, he was holding the tool. Because your attacks combined, the spirit was swiftly defeated.

Kouyou returned to her initial form. Chuuya felt the urge to speed over and hug her, but refrained from doing so. He let out a sigh of relief.

The two of you brought Kouyou out of the storming mountain. Chuuya expressed his gratitude and took you home before departing with Kouyou.

Post Chapter Content:

-> Dazai -> Chuuya -> Atsushi

[britney-gvf]

Troubled Mind: Part One

Josh Kiszka x fem reader

18+ MINORS DNI

Warnings: Unprotected penetrative sex, male oral sex, mild teasing, mild horror

Synopsis: You and Josh spend your spare time on tour exploring old abandoned buildings. When an old church gives you more than you bargained for, you find yourself in the middle of a tale of danger and intrigue.

Troubled Mind: Part One

Josh was on his way and you still weren't ready yet. Sitting on the bed of your hotel room overlooking Charleston, you were desperately trying to achieve the perfect dutch braid, but your nervous fingers just weren't working like you wanted them to. Josh always had the abilty to make you clumsy and unsure of yourself with his presence. Not on purpose, of course, but he'd flash you a knowing, toothy grin or squeeze your arm or leg with just the right amount of pressure and it made you melt. It felt like you had been in a will he/won't he limbo for a while now and you weren't the type of girl to come forward and talk about your feeling. No way in hell.

You had just gotten your braids exactly how you wanted them when a knock startled you. You shot up like someone lit the bed on fire. As you walked to the door, you adjusted your olive green tank top that hugged you in all the right places and did a quick mirror check to pull out some baby hairs from your braid and flatten out your black linen shorts. You opened the door and he gave you the biggest, most perfect smile that made his brown eyes sparkle. "Hey, you! How's it goin?" He said excitedly. Josh was always like this. He always greeted you like you were the most important person on earth to him. It made your stomach do cartwheels, which seemed to double when he pulled you in for a tight hug.

"Oh hey! Let me get my shoes on and I'll be ready," you replied, grinning as you broke away from the hug. "Well come in, I'm not gonna make you wait in the hall." He followed you into your hotel room and sat on the office chair by the desk. As he looked around the rather nice hotel room, he remarked, "We put you up real nice, don't we?"

"Yeah, this is one of the nicer ones! They have room service!" You blushed a little after you said that. You weren't used to hotels with room service outside of touring with Greta Van Fleet. In fact, you weren't used to any of the lavish perks that came with being their makeup artist. They took a chance on you, a girl who was just dipping her feet in the entertainment industry doing hair and makeup. He gave you a knowing, kind smile and changed the subject. "So this place we're going to is pretty far out. I didn't want to go to one of the usual spots where people go to explore, ya know? Off the beaten path and all that."

"You mean you didn't want to go on a guided tour of the Old Charleston Jail? I'm SHOCKED, Joshua," you said with a laugh. You had gotten your shoes on and grabbed your flashlight by this point. "Well, I'm ready!" He stood up and let you lead the way out the door and out of the hotel.

These little adventures you went on with him started at the beginning of the tour. You both had a mutual love for Ghost Adventures and laughed about Zak Bagins' dramatic "demon attacks" often. One day, you both agreed that you wanted to try exploring abandoned building yourselves. Every time there were a couple days of break in the tour, the two of you would find a spot and explore it for an evening. There was usually nothing there but the excitement of possibility and spending one on one time with him made it all worth it.

You hopped into the truck the he rented. It smelled like him: Clean and woodsy. The drive through Charleston was filled with ethically questionable horse carriages, tourists, ghost tours, and beautiful old buildings. Despite being here several times, you were always taken with the charm of this little town. Pretty soon though, you were reminded that Charleston was, in fact, in South Carolina. Beautiful cobblestone roads were replaced by highways in disrepair and trees. So many trees.

"So, what do you think will be at this church?" you asked. Josh raised his eyebrows and turned down the music. The ride had been mostly quiet. You both were deep in thought, it seemed, and he was a little surprised at your awkward break in the silence.

"Well, uh," he chuckled a little bit. "The guy I met at the bar said it had a bit of a reputation. People usually don't last long before they hightail it outta there. Something's there, but he *said* that he doesn't know what. Speaking of which, we're almost there."

He seemed more nervous than usual. Josh was usually a chatter box but he seemed to have a lot on his mind. You did as well, as your feelings for him seem to grow with every little glance in his direction.  You pulled down the truck mirror to check your makeup. It was very light, just a little blush, concealer, lip gloss, and mascara. Of course it looked fine, but you were doing it to distract yourself from him.

The truck slowed down as he pulled onto a bumpy dirt road. There was a sign that was faded and dirty. It looked hand painted: "First Baptist Church." Josh seemed to hit every pot hole on the short road to the church. When you finally got to the building, you could feel the heaviness that surrounded it before you even got out of the truck.

It was small and dilpitated. The steeple was missing boards and the cross was barely hanging on, which felt particularly ominous. The paint was peeling off. What was once a pristine white church was now rotting and falling apart. You might've felt sad if it wasn't for the exisitental dread that was consuming you. "Fuck, thats so creepy," Josh said, barely above a whisper. You looked over and he was smiling and excited. Did he not feel the dread?

Maybe his excitement that he gets to spend time with you is stronger than that, you thought.  But that felt silly, almost egotistical, to assume that you were the reason for his happiness. You chose to say nothing and walked closer to the church, despite every fiber of your being begging you not to. Josh caught up to you and gave you hand a little squeeze.

"Are you scared? You're not saying much," he said. It was like the little bastard knew that you had such big feelings for him. You don't know if it was the stifling heat or blushing but your cheeks turned red.

"I'm fine," you lied. "You haven't been talking much either. You're usually such a chatter box."

"Oh I have things on my mind, love," he replied. "But now isn't the time to talk about them. Let's go inside."

Love? LOVE?! You almost fell to your knees. You entered the church with him, hand in hand. The inside was in slightly better shape than the outside, but it was clear that time and the elements had done their work. There were a couple of pews still there and the alter was still in tact. The floor was covered by leaves, debris, and trash from other people who used this place as a hangout. The sunlight, orange as the sun was setting, peeked through every little crack and missing board on the walls. It was haunting and beautiful. You looked over to Josh, who seemed just as taken with it as you were. You both saw the beauty in things that other people didn't and it bonded you.

You started walking toward the nearest pew, watching the ground closely for snakes. The dread and heaviness had only gotten worse since you entered the church. You were nervous and felt like you were very much not welcome here. You braced yourself on the pew to collect your thoughts. What the fuck is going on? Have you guys come to a place that's actually haunted? What happened here? What has made this place its home?

Your thoughts were interrupted by your waist being grabbed from behind. You let out a scream and turned around. Of course it was Josh, laughing at his very unfunny, shitty little prank. You must've looked as terrified as you felt because his face fell as soon as he saw yours.

"Hey, hey," his voice was low and calm. You were trying to catch your breath and you were angry at how stupid you felt and how embarassed you were. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't realize that would scare you so bad. Come here."

He beckoned you into a hug. You let him embrace you. Despite how sweaty he was, he somehow still smelled fresh and clean. You closed your eyes and let the hug take you over, feeling almost immediate comfort. Josh broke away slightly, just enough to lift your chin just enough so your eyes met.

  You knew at that moment why he'd be quiet all day, why you'd catch him looking at you, why he wanted to spend time with you. You knew for sure, in this moment, that he was just as in love with you as you were with him. His big, beautiful brown eyes told the entire story. He gave you a little questioning nod and you smiled back. He leaned in and your lips met.

  Josh's lips were soft and yet he was kissing you hard, as if he had wanted this his entire life. Your hands were exploring each others' bodies. He grabbed your ass while you entagled your fingers into his slightly damp hair, his other hand on your face and you pulled him in closer. You couldn't remember either of you shedding your clothes but soon you were both naked and you couldn't tell where his body ended and yours began.

You wanted show him exactly what he meant to you. You broke the kiss and he gave you a sad look...which turned into excitement as soon as he realized what you were doing. You kneeled down in front of him. HIs cock was perfect, just like the rest of him. His hair was perfectly groomed and his dick was just the right size. You could see the precum coming out of the tip. You lightly licked it off, causing him to let out a moan. You started to squeeze his balls as you lightly flicked your tongue up and down his shaft. Your other fingers were lightly tapping whichever part of his dick you weren't licking. He moaned and jerked, occasionally thrusting his cock like he wanted to fuck your face.

  "Baby, please. Please suck it," He said breathlessly. You gave him a coy little grin. "What? Like this?" You popped the head in your mouth, sucked it a little and pulled it out like a lollipop. He groaned. "Oh my fucking god, suck it. PLEASE." You giggled and he growled. Finally, you took his whole dick into your mouth. Oh, how amazing it was! You sucked on it with various pressure, sliding your mouth up and down the shaft. You let your tongue dance around it, paying close attention to the head. Josh was slightly fucking your face and moaning. You enjoyed giving him pleasure almost as much as he enjoyed receiving it but you wanted him inside of you desperately. You pulled him completely out of your mouth.

  He said nothing. Instead he growled. You barely stood up before his mouth was on yours and he was kissing you hard. He pushed you against the nearest wall and hiked your leg up by his hip.

"Tell me you want it," he said in a low voice. It caught you off guard. "What?"

  "Tell me you want my dick, y/n," he was smirking. You HAD control, but not anymore. It was his turn now.

"I want it," you said. He took his cock in his free hand and rubbed it over your clit several times. You whimpered a little. This fucker was paying you back. He positioned his cock at the opening of your pussy and pushed in just a little. Just enough to make you squirm. "What is it that you want, honey?"

"Your cock. I want your cock inside of me. Please, Josh. Please," And just like that he pushed all the way in and you moaned. This was pure heaven. He stayed all the way in before he started fucking you. At first it was slow and hard. He was taking you all in, staring at you with hungry eyes, grabbing your tit and rolling your nipple in his finger. You didn't know where you ended and Josh began, you just knew that this is what you always wanted. You could see sweat rolling down his face and chest. His hair, once slightly damp, was soaked now. He fucked you faster and got into a groove. He went balls deep inside of you with every thrust and it made you see stars. You were no virgin but you had never been fucked like this. He put every feeling he had been bottling up into every thrust and you knew, for the first time, a man was going to make you cum with his dick.

He kissed you hard, cupping your face with his hands. He started fucking you harder and you knew he was close and you were too. Your body began to shudder and you let out a loud scream at the same time as he let out a final moan. As he filled you up, you could feel every muscle in your body tense up, then release. Pure fucking ecstasy. He stayed in you for a few seconds and your eyes met. His dark honey eyes were soft and sweet and he was smiling like he was looking at the most beautiful person he'd ever seen. You couldn't believe that he was choosing you.

He finally broke the silence, "I've been wanting to do that for so long."

You returned the smile and gave him a deep kiss. He finally pulled out and walked over to his clothes. You didn't notice until this point that he had a small bag with him. He bent over and pulled out a few napkins and handed them to you. You gave him a look. "Did you plan this?"

He chuckled, "Like I said, I've wanted it for a while. I wanted to be prepared!" You gave him a smile. You were putting your clothes on and the feelings of heaviness and doom once again creeped in. Fucking around with Josh had been a nice distraction from it. At this point, the sun was almost completely set but it was still bright out. Of course it was a full moon. Crazy shit always seemed to happen on the full moon.

"Ah, a full moon," it was like Josh was reading your mind. "Do you think we'll find something here? The guy I talked to said strange shit always happens." "What guy?", you asked.  You hadn't thought about how Josh might've found this place.

  Josh began to tell the story of him and Jake going to this old dive bar in Charleston. A hole in the wall, so they could drink and eat oysters without anyone bothering them. They began talking to an older regular who told them all about this place and the strange encounters. Everything from people hearing whispers, to people being threatened by things they couldn't see, to people even getting shoved or scratched.

"Scratched? What the fuck?" you said. The stories made you a little more worried than you already were.

"Yeah, fucking scratched. But this church seemed so cool, I really wanted to check it out. Does make me feel a little weird-"

CRACK. You screamed as a massive beam broke from the ceiling. Josh pulled you towards him as the piece of wood crashed onto the ground below, right where you were standing. He pulled you into another hug. You were shaking. God, that thing could have killed you and he saved you. You felt tears well up in your eyes.

"Shhh, shh, now, honey. You're safe, I'm here," once again, he broke away from you, this time to wipe the tears from your eyes. You composed yourself, feeling slightly embarassed that he had to save you like a damsel in distress. "You know, anyone would be scared from that. Fuck, I'm scared, that could've been so much worse."

It was like he read your mind. He let you go and gave you a little kiss on the forehead. "We can go if you want!"

"No, no, I'm fine now," you lied. You weren't fine but you didn't want to show any more vunerabilty tonight than you already had. It was fully dark by now so Josh pulled a small lantern out of his bag. Somehow, seeing everything around you made it even creepier. It made everything look...wrong.

  Your eyes seemed to focus on one thing: the window across the church. Most of the stained glass was gone, except for the edges at the very top. It felt as if someone or something was watching you through it. Josh must've felt it as well because he was squinting at it when you looked over to him. You were still on edge from the beam falling, but you were curious as to what had its eyes on you.

At the same time, you both stepped forward to investigate. "You feel it too," he stated. "Someone is looking at us."

He grabs your hand as you both slowly continue to lessen the distance between yourselves and the window. You had been in many abandoned, haunted buildings with and without Josh but this one felt...real. Dangerous. It was as exciting as it was terrifying. As you got closer, your stomach started doing backflips. Josh squeezed your hand, giving you a small bit of comfort. At least you were not alone.

You were within a yard of the window when you started making out what was beyong it. Trees covered in Spanish moss, an old, unkempt graveyard with headstones cracked and lying on their sides. A worn statue of what looked like a little girl, which made your stomach turned. And just beyond the closest tree, someone.

  "Do you see...?" Josh trailed off. " Hiding behind that tree on the left."

"Yeah, I-" then you realized the tree you were looking at was on the right. You looked to the left. There was another person. Your stomach dropped and you stopped breathing. "Josh, there's two of them."

"If only that was the case, sweetheart," Josh said. His voice was a low whisper. He was right: everywhere you looked outside, there was a figure. They all had hoods and robes so you couldn't see their faces. None of them moved and despite not seeing their faces, you could feel all of their eyes on you.

  "We gotta get the fuck out of here," you could barely hear your voice come out of your mouth. You were frozen in fear. THUMP THUMP THUMP.  Your heart was beating so hard you were sure everything out there could hear it.

You saw one stir out of the corner of your eye but before you could process it, you were being pulled towards the door. Josh had seen it move before you did and was taking you to the truck. Your legs were involuntarily running. He opened the doors up with his body and led you through towards the truck. The slightly cooler air would've felt great in any other circumstance.

  You glanced behind you and those hooded figures were no longer stationary, they were running after you. The truck was only a few feet away but it felt like a mile. Josh unlocked the truck as you approached it. Your hands broke free of one another as he got into the driver seat and you in the passenger. The doors slammed at the same time and he locked the doors just as the first figure caught up and slammed his hand on the window. It then that you realized...

The hooded figures were not human. They had human features: skin, eyes, nose, mouth, but they weren't human.  Everything was there, but slightly...off.  Like a very realistic mask. You had never been more terrified than you were in the moment when that creepy fuck was banging its very large hand on your window. You felt the car lurch backwards and there was a thud. "SHIT! FUCK!" One of them had been hit and you could feel the wheels roll over them. Josh quickly put the truck in drive and ran it over again as he sped down the dirt road. You turned around and they had all stopped and stared at you. The one that had been run over, the one you were sure was dead, lifted itself up and stood back up. 

What. The. FUCK.

Josh pulled onto the highway so fast the tires squealed. You couldn't see the church from the highway but you could see those humanoid creatures had walked onto the highway to stare at you leaving. They weren't trying to catch up, they were just...staring.

Josh didn't let off the accelerator until the truck hit 90 and you begged him to slow down.

"What if they're following us?", his voice cracking a little. It was a little comforting to know he was as scared as you were.

  "I promise you they're not. They would've gotten us by now," you replied. He nodded and took several deep breaths. For a while you sat in silence, both trying to process the events of the night.

  After what felt like hours of silence, you pipe up. "Did you know they have alligators here?"

Josh started to laugh. His face lit up as if you'd brought him back to life. "We just ran for our lives from inhuman creatures and you bring up alligators to break the tension? You're so cute."

You blushed and held back a smile. "I just thought, you know, a fun fact would make you feel better."

"Baby, just your presence is enough for me, but thanks," you could tell he meant it. He reached over and grabbed your hand. When he stopped at the next stop sign, he leaned in and gave you a passionate kiss.

You finally arrived back in Charleston. As you pulled up to your hotel, you expected him to stop, but he drove right past it.

"Did you forget to take me back?" you asked, but you already knew what he was about to say. Your stomach was doing back flips again, but this time it was out of excitement.

"You're staying with us," he said. He seemed serious. "I don't want you to be alone. You can stay in my bedroom and I'll take the couch."

"That's absolutely not happening, Josh. You're not sleeping on the couch. Unless you just don't want to sleep with me."

  "Of course I do," he scoffed. "I was being a gentleman!"

You gave a little coy grin as he pulled into their rental house. It was exactly what you expected from a home in Charleston. An old home on a narrow lot, lawn perfectly manicured and home beautifully restored. It had a wrap around porch with a matching balcony. As you walked up the brick steps into the side door, you noticed the haint blue ceiling on the porch and brooms by every outside doorway. Those old southern tales ran deep.

The side door led right into the kitchen, which was huge and gorgeous. Equally as gorgeous were the men in the kitchen. Danny and Sam were making themselves cocktails while Jake was making a massive meal.

"HONEY I'M HOME," Josh yelled, causing all three of them to look up. Not a single one of them looked surprised.

"Well, its about time!" Sam said, almost as loudly as Josh yelled. "Dinner's almost done and you just roll on in last minute!"

Jake looked over his shoulders and gave you a smile. "Did he finally make a move?"

"I-well-"

"-you don't have to answer him, y/n," Josh said. "Sorry, you know how they can be..."

"We're just...joshing around hahaha," Sam gave Josh a nudge that earned him a dark glare. Then he made his way over to you and gave you a big hug. "How ya doin?"

"Good, good," you manage to reply. The Kiszkas were loud and joked around a lot but they were all so kind and caring towards you. Danny finished his drink and walked over, giving you a tight hug as well.

"For real, we're happy for you," he said. "Josh has been carrying a torch for you for a while."

"OKAY, well, we're going to freshen up bye now," Josh pulled you through the kitchen and up the nearest stairwell. It led up to a hallway lined with doors and he led you to the last one.

"It was my turn this time, I get the biggest room," he said. It was massive. Facing the door was a huge, brick fireplace. Across from the fireplace was what looked like the most comfortable bed you've ever seen. Then you noticed the French doors that led to the balcony.

"God, its beautful," you whispered. You had never been in a place so nice before. You crossed the room straight to the doors. You opened them up and the breeze hit your face. The night air was cool, a stark difference from the day time. You could see lights everywhere and tourists walking excitedly down the sidewalks. The steeples of churches in the Holy City were everywhere. You sat down in the nearest rocking chair. Josh sat down in the one beside it.

"Sorry about them," he said again. "Brothers, you know?"

"Oh," you laughed. You honestly expected their reactions. "I don't mind."

Josh didn't respond. You were confused because his expression was odd..melancholy, inquisitive...dark.

"What are you thinking about?" Dread filled your body because you already knew. The air seemed to get colder, the night seemed to get darker, and the only person that mattered at this moment was Josh.

"What do you think those things were?" he asked. You had spent the entire ride home thinking about the creatures. They weren't human, that was for sure, but beyond that, you only had guesses.

"Zombies?" you blurted out, knowing good and damn well they weren't. Josh shook his head. "You and I both know they weren't zombies."

You turned your attention back out to the streets. A ghost tour was walking by. The guide was carrying a lantern at eye level, leading all the tourists to their next spooky destination. You wondered how they would react to the creatures you saw at the old church. You turned again to Josh, who was deep in thought. The silence on the balcony seemed to drown out the people below, as your focus was only on him. You knew what he was going to say next and your heart sank when he finally said those five words.

"I want to go back."

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

hi it's mermay and i'm thinking about sirens. i'm gunna do some looking of my own (at seadragons, probably) but can you think of any fish that look like their tails/features would make a cool mermaid?

Hello! I've actually answered a similar question before, here is my answer to that one:

But since your question is a little different, I'll feature some unique fish species you could find inspiration from!

The rockmover wrasse! Here is an adult, the juvenile is a little wilder:

Crazy patterns! Should go to good use :)

Eels! Just any type of eel, really. They come in such varied shapes and sizes, and have various abilities too! If you're the type of person who likes to give merpeople the features of the fish they're based on, just imagine a moray eel merperson with two jaws! Or a ribbon eel merson whose tail sways like a ribbon while swimming. I'd suggest looking into eels!

Electric eels too! Despite the name, they aren't actually eels at all, so I'm mentioning their genus separately here. Long fish that sense things with electricity and can generate it, even being able to cause prey animals to stop or start swimming with careful shocks... need I say more?

Here's one that could have many ways to be interpreted as a merson. Stargazers! They're ambush predators that hide in the sand, only having their eyes and mouth showing. I'd like to see how those would be interpreted as merpeople.

Mudskippers! The semiaquatic fish that live most of their lives on land.

Another one that walks, frogfish! Many species not only have a lure, but also walk along the bottom of the seafloor. How's that for an interesting merson challenge?

I don't think I've ever seen a merson who looks like a billfish, as in like a swordfish, sailfish or a marlin. The particular fish here is a sailfish!

I don't see some reef fish often, either. How about a moorish idol?

Perhaps the similarly-shaped butterflyfish?

Oh hey, maybe mandarinfish! That's one colourful guy :)

Deep sea fish are always a treat, too. They look very otherworldly compared to the fish we see often in everyday life! My personal favourite is the barreleye, but any friend from the deep is a friend indeed. The stoplight loosejaw who has a private red flashlight, the cookiecutter shark who sneakily bites chunks off bigger animals, bristlemouths with their large jaws and tiny teeth... I recommend looking into fish that have photophores, aka light-producing organs! They're fish that glow in the dark!!! Extremely cool and mysterious...

Lanternfish are a good example of this, I think. They're thought to be the most abundant group of vertebrates, they're deep sea-living, they have photophores, they migrate vertically in humongous schools that literally look like false bottoms to sonar.

Deep sea anglerfish are a classic, old but gold. Seldom used in merfolk! I've tried tackling anglerfish merfolk myself before, I'll feature my concept sketches below for possible inspiration... though they contain artistic nudity, so I'll only feature them under the cut. Nothing major. Cartoon tits.

And there you have it! I got kinda carried away, I'm sure no one minds. Have a fun Mermay! I'm gonna draw some art for it myself, but in the meantime, have this fish ramble :)

Her first initial concept on the left and some additional ones on the right. Anglerfish of all kinds use lures to trick prey, so I wanted to mix the lure aspect with mermaids to create a siren that lures in sailors with her human half and eats them with her fish half. The human half has working eyes, vocal chords and lungs to first spot sailors, then call and sing to them, but besides that all the other organs are in the fish half. No doubt similar merple exist, but this was my take on it! It's a lot of fun to be creative, I recommend just going with the flow and doing what feels the most natural or coolest. You've got this!