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lixzey · 4 months

Text

sincerely yours

luke castellan x athena!reader

word count: 3.7k

warnings: none, i guess? just some good old fashioned capture the flag shit

a/n: i'm so sorry this took so long! yeah, i know i promised i'd post this yesterday, but my daughter is sick. we just got back from the ER a little over an hour ago bcs she was vomiting like crazy. so, i do hope y'all understand that i have a child to tend to, even though i already finished school.

anyway, this shall be my official early apology for lovelorn part two, which is titled “you're losing me,”

i'm gonna try my best to get that out as soon as i can, but please, do not rush me! thank you!

special thanks to my girl @jennapancake my wonderful bestie @lilmaymayy

ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE

“There was something 'bout you that now I can't remember, it's the same damn thing that made my heart surrender,”

Dear Luke,

I bumped into you today. Gods, you looked so majestic from my point of view. I got lost in your eyes, again. Pretty sure if I stared just a little bit longer in your beautiful eyes, all the molecules in my body would combust.

There was something 'bout you that now I can't remember, it’s the same damn thing that made my heart surrender.

“For the love of Ares, write your damn letter after we get the flag!” Clarisse groaned, her electric spear sparking slightly, snapping you out of your lovesick daze.

“Why not? It’s not like the other team’s here,” You shrugged, crossing your legs over the other. “I have plenty of time to write.”

“It’s not like the other team’s here,” Clarisse mimicked the tone of your voice, rolling her dark eyes. “We are at battle, Y/n! Write the damn letter after we win!”

“Let the girl write, Clarisse,” Silena chuckled, sitting beside you with a soft smile. “She’s just so in love with pretty boy, Luke.”

“Silena!” You shushed, craning your neck to glance around if someone was nearby. “Someone could’ve heard you! He could’ve heard you!”

“Relax, lover girl,” Silena smirked, flicking her long dark hair over her shoulder. “No one’s here, no one would dare to approach this side as long as Clar is here.”

Clarissed bobbed her head to the side. “What she said.”

“Shut up,” You grumbled, folding the paper and stuffing inside the back pocket of your shorts along with your pen. “Someone from our team still could’ve passed by.” you huffed, folding your arms over your chest.

“Yeah, so shut up about your pretty boy.” Clarisse rolled her eyes. “Not everyone wants to hear how beautiful his eyes are.”

“Can’t blame her, though,” Silena shrugged her tan shoulders. “He’s so pretty, a sight for sore eyes.”

“He’s a sight for my sore eyes,” You sighed dreamily, resting your chin on your hands.

“Ugh,” Clarisse scrunched her nose. “Are you sure you’re not a daughter of Aphrodite wrongly claimed by Athena? Or at least a legacy of the love goddess?”

“If she was a daughter of love, I would know.” Silena answered, picking up a pebble and throwing it gracefully into the creek right in front of the three of you. “She's definitely not a legacy either. Just an Athena kid in love with a son of Hermes, stupidly in love with said son of Hermes.”

“Hey! I am not stupidly in love-”

“You aren’t?” Clarisse raised a brow. “You were literally just babbling about bumping into him ten minutes ago.”

“Yeah, but-”

“And, you were blushing when you found us.” Silena added, smirking. “Oh, Sil, Clar, I bumped into Lukey! He smells so good, oh gods I love him so bad!”

A blush crept onto your cheeks, the shade of strawberries down at the patch invading your face despite trying against it.

“Aw, you look like a strawberry,” Silena giggled, pinching one of your cheeks.

Before you could utter a word, you heard the sound of rustling leaves and branches snapping to your left.

Clarisse’s head whipped to the side, most likely hearing the intruding sounds. “Get ready,” she muttered, lifting her spear in fight mode.

You nodded, quickly rising up to your feet, grabbing your shield that was sitting unused on the forest floor as well as your celestial bronze sword at the ready. Silena stood beside you, red and pink armor shining in the sun as she held her sword in one hand and shield in the other. She looked so effortlessly beautiful, making you slightly jealous.

Silena was your best friend, and has been since you first arrived at camp. But you couldn’t help but wish you were as pretty as her. She had long gorgeous hair, striking eyes, and angelic features, the look you wish you had. Maybe, if you were as pretty as her, Luke would give you his full attention like how boys did with Silena or any daughter of Aphrodite.

“Oh, hey guys,” A voice you knew oh so well brought you back to reality. Your eyes snapped upward, meeting the eyes of Luke Castellan.

Shit.

You look at Silena and she’s already grinning at you. Clarisse, matching Silena’s with crossed arms.

“Hi, Luke,” Silena greets him with a smile, a slight teasing tone in her voice directed at you.

“What’cha girls up to?” Luke asks, leaning against a tree. Even when he’s sweaty, gods, he’s handsome.

“Nothing!” You quickly answer, averting your gaze away from him, the blush you had earlier still not leaving.

“Where’s the flag?” Clarisse asked, peeking behind the counselor of cabin eleven.

“It’s with Annabeth, don’t worry,” Luke assured with a chuckle. “She isn’t letting the flag out of her sight, won’t even let me touch it.”

“The other team’s flag?” Clarisse raised a brow expectantly.

“The Stolls are on it, Chris too.” Luke answers, running a hand over his chocolate curls, making you gulp. Fuck, he’s too damn hot.

Silena cleared her throat, noticing how nervous you are. “Hey, Clar? Let’s help the boys.”

Clarisse looks at her incredulously, but Silena raises a brow at her. “Okay, fine. Let’s go.”

Your eyes widened. “Wait, what?”

“Luke, you okay with keeping Y/n company for a bit?” Silena asks with a smirk, fixing up her armor.

“Yeah, sure, no problem.” Luke smiles, oblivious to the fact that you are blushing like a ripe red fruit in season.

Shit, shit, shit. You thought, watching the teasing looks of your friends as you stood there obviously frazzled. “No, no, I’m uh, coming with you!” You stammered, nearly stumbling forward. “I’m gonna help!” your voice sounded a little squeaky, making you visibly cringe.

Clarisse snorted, slamming the end of her spear onto the forest floor, the tip sparking like fireworks on the fourth of July. “You stay here, smartass,” she says with a teasing grin. “He's got you covered, right Castellan?”

Luke nodded, a lopsided grin on his handsome face. “I got ‘er, don’t worry,” he chuckles, walking towards you, slinging his muscular arm around your shoulders, pulling you slightly closer to his armored chest. “Wouldn’t want to get maimed by three cabin heads.”

“You’ve got Annabeth, Clarisse, and me to deal with if she gets hurt.” Silena says, pink glossed lips curling into a smirk.

You scowl, folding your arms over your chest. “I can fend for myself, thank you very much.”

“You wouldn’t mind if Lukey here protects you?” Silena chuckled, flicking her long hair over her shoulder, her eyes changing to the shade of Luke’s—chocolate brown, amber in the sunlight.

You crossed your arms over your chest, glaring at your best friends. “I’m perfectly fine without a man,” you grumbled, trying your best to sound nonchalant.

“Uh huh,” Clarisse smirks at you. “Say, Luke, you wouldn’t mind saving our smart ass friend, would you?”

“Not at all,” Luke replies, his lips mirroring Clarisse’s. “What’dya say pretty girl? Y’ mind if I save you?” he continues, nudging you slightly with the arm along your shoulders.

Silena and Clarisse snort at Luke Castellan calling you pretty girl. You were a hundred percent sure that Silena would be teasing you relentlessly after the match because of it.

You narrow your eyes at your ridiculously annoying friends, before slowly averting your gaze towards Luke. Good lord, does this light do him good. “N-No, I don’t mind…” You trail off, your face becoming a little too hot as Luke's perfectly handsome face just inches away.

You feel your heart beating loudly in your chest, making you wonder if the decibels of said beating were audible enough for the boy who’s causing your heart to beat so rapidly.

“That settles it!” Silena clapped her hands together, snapping you back to reality. You quickly push Luke’s arm off of your shoulder, taking a step back away from him as if he had some sort of deadly disease.

I can’t risk him knowing I have a crush on him!

“See you later, pretty girl!” Silena chuckles before grabbing Clarisse’s arm, pulling the daughter of Ares along with her.

As soon as your friends faded from your view, you immediately scramble towards the log you had been sitting on a while ago. You were desperate to hide the fact that you had feelings for the boy standing just meters away. You had to act all tough and calculating, just like your little sister.

“You know,” Luke started, walking in your direction, sheathing his sword in its holster. “From this angle, you look like Annabeth.”

You look up at him, raising a brow, hoping you looked at least intimidating. “How so?”

Luke hummed, taking a seat beside you, placing his shield down on the forest floor. “You had your lower lip out in a pout, just like Annabeth when she’s in deep thought.”

“Who says I’m in deep thought?”

Luke smiles, shaking his head with a chuckle. “I just assumed, since Annabeth is my sister-” he cuts himself off momentarily, looking at you like he had offended you. “I mean, she’s your sister, not mine, you know? Godly parent wise.”

“It’s fine, Luke,” You laugh, giving him an assuring smile. “You have been Annabeth’s family since she was seven. We all know that no one, and I mean no one, can ever replace you as Annie’s big brother.”

Luke sighed a breath of relief. “For a minute there I thought you were going to get mad at me.”

“I mean, there is nothing to be mad about.” You smile, before suddenly remembering the unfinished letter you had sitting in your back pocket.

Shit.

You quickly whipped your head around to see if the letter had fallen out of your pocket, before reaching in your back pocket to check. Thank gods, it’s still here. You push it down deeper in your pocket, if that was still even possible. It's better to be safe rather than sorry.

“You know, you and Annabeth have a lot in common.” Luke says, leaning slightly to the side, looking you up and down, causing you to feel a little shy.

“Yeah?” You squeak out, your eyes visibly widening like stormy gray drachmas before quickly clearing your throat like nothing happened despite the pink tint on your cheeks. “What makes Annabeth and I so similar?”

“Well, for starters, you’re both smart and wise. I mean, yeah, it’s already given because your mom is Athena.”

You playfully raise a brow at him. “What else?” you ask, the corner of your lips twitching into a small smile.

If you were being honest, you were liking this. Just you and Luke, alone—well, not technically—in the woods just chatting about the similarities between you and your younger sister. Personally, you’d prefer something else as a topic. Although, Luke pointing out the similarities between you and Annabeth would mean that he looks at you like you do with him.

It wouldn’t be wrong to assume, would it? Since he had just implied that you and Annabeth had a lot in common. Perhaps even in ways you don’t even notice.

Does this make you delusional? Maybe. But there’s no wrong with that, right?

“You both zone out,” Luke chuckles, wiping off the sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand. “Usually, during mornings. Annabeth, she says that it’s because of lack of sleep from reading all night.”

You stifle a laugh, fully knowing that Annabeth spends a lot of time reading during the night. She says that it’s the only time she has during her day, since she prefers getting all of her chores done before getting into leisure activities. You often wonder how on earth does she manage to function with only three to five hours of sleep, when a child her age is supposed to have more than eight hours of rest.

“Well, that’s an acceptable reason to zone out.” You chuckle, pushing back strands of your hair behind your ear, simultaneously wiping off sweat on your brow bone. “I stay up most of the time too, but I don’t overdo it like our little sister. Quite frankly, I do get cranky if I get little to no sleep.”

“I’ve noticed,” Luke snorts, giving you a teasing smile. “You won’t talk to anyone until you’ve gotten your morning tea. A cup of hot peppermint tea with two slices of lemon, a drizzle of honey, and sometimes you add sprigs of mint you ask Katie to grow for you.”

“You know how I take my tea?” You ask, confusion in your features. “I mean, why do you know how I take my tea?”

“It’s kinda hard not to memorize your tea preference when I hear it every time I pick up Annabeth for training.” Luke answers, causing heat to rise up to your cheeks which you hoped that Luke would not notice.

“Oh,” you mumble, realization kicking in. “That makes a lot of sense, actually.”

“Also, you don’t drink it right away. You wait at least two to three minutes—at least from what I see from my table—before taking a sip.”

You suddenly feel butterflies inside your stomach, your cheeks felt like they were getting hotter by the second. You hoped so badly that Luke wouldn’t notice how you were blushing profusely like a teenager in love—which you are, obviously, unless Luke was utterly oblivious to see right through your facade.

Before you could answer, you hear leaves rustling along with heavy footsteps heading towards you and Luke. You quickly rise to your feet, grabbing your sword at shield in defense.

“Enemy team, nine o’clock,” You simply say, the gears in your head moving around to come up with proper battle strategies.

Luke laughs at you as he stands up. He had his sword still in its holster. “Let me guess,” he chuckles, placing his hands on his waist. Gods, he is so fucking slutty. “Calculating ways to beat their asses?”

You roll your eyes at him. “Obviously.” Luke Castellan was the love of your life, but you were not going to lose a game of capture the flag because of him. “Why aren’t you in position?”

“Relax, pretty girl,” Luke waves a hand dismissively as he smirks at you. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

You glare at him, a scowl on your lips. “I can protect myself, thank you very much.”

“Eh, humor me,” Luke nudges your shoulder, a lopsided grin on stupidly handsome face. “It’ll be fun.”

“If you weren’t-” you tried to retort, only to be cut off by Lee Fletcher’s voice.

“Where’s the flag, Castellan?” Lee demands, moving closer towards you and Luke, his siblings following closely behind, ready for a fight.

You wanted to laugh so badly. It was like they were still new to the game. It made you wonder whether they were purposely forgetting the fact that Luke Castellan is the best swordsman camp has seen in the past three hundred years or they’ve never learned their lessons.

“You’re not getting it, Lee. You’d have to get through me first. If you happen to get through me, which I highly doubt, then you’d have to get through Luke—which I can guarantee will not be good.” You taunted, sword at the ready. You then turned to Luke, who was smiling at you. “What?”

“Didn’t know you think so highly of me,” Luke grinned, pulling his sword out of its holster. “Careful, that might get to my head.”

“Whatever,” You roll your eyes at him, trying your hardest not to blush and fall in love with him even more—if that was even possible at this point. You then turn your attention back to the enemy team. “Let’s get this done and over with.”

“Done flirting?” Michael Yew teases from behind Lee, a smirk plastered on his lips.

You scowled, heat rising to your cheeks for the nth time this day. “We weren’t flirting.”

“Eh, looks like it,” Lee snorts, causing his siblings to erupt in laughter.

You glared at Lee, but before you could say anything, Luke charged at Lee—instantly disarming him without even breaking a sweat, the tip of his sword just below the son of Apollo’s chin and his sword in Luke’s hand.

“What she said,” Luke growled, glaring at him as he pushed his sword forward, grazing Lee’s neck.

Lee whimpered at Luke’s mercy, his eyes closed shut as his siblings stood behind him like scared little kids—well, most of them were.

“Luke, stop,” You gently placed your hand on his shoulder, feeling a thousand sparks coursing through your veins. When he didn’t budge, you sighed. “Come on, Luke, he’s not worth it.”

It took a minute, but Luke moved his sword away from Lee, though he was still glaring at the son of Apollo. “Get out of my face before I-”

“Luke,” You sighed, grabbing his arm and pulling him to the side before casting a glance at the son of Apollo. “Go, if you know what’s good for you—all of you—go.”

You then turned your full attention back to Luke, his eyes meeting yours with just a few inches separating your faces from another. You felt his breath hot on your skin, sending shivers down your spine. Oh gods, help me.

“No can do,” Lee mutters under his breath, pulling his sword out from its holster. “Attack!” he yelled, charging towards you and Luke.

Acting on your instincts, you immediately grabbed your sword, blocking Lee’s attack, maneuvering your sword, putting your whole weight into a downward thrust. Lee’s sword rattled against the stones, the tip of your sword poking his armor. You then pushed him back with the flat of your blade, causing him to stumble back over a rock, falling on his ass.

You whipped your head around to find Luke disarming Michael Yew with ease, he then grabbed the son of Apollo’s arm, twisting it before shoving him to the side. “You should’ve used arrows.” he taunted the younger boy, a smirk on his lips.

To the side, you saw another child of Apollo—Dawn, you think her name was—sneaking up on Luke, aiming her sword just above his jugular vein.

You quickly ran towards Luke, sliding under his legs, causing Dawn to trip and land face first in a pile of leaves—well, you hoped it was more than just leaves.

“Wrong move,” you laughed deviously, blowing strands of your hair away from your face.

“Thanks,” Luke chuckled, helping you back on your feet. He then rolled his eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh, before jerking his head behind you, only to find Lee charging towards you.

Luke immediately passed you a shield, which you quickly slid on the ground in Lee’s way, causing him to trip and his sword to fly out his hand and fall just below your feet.

You quickly knelt down, picking the sword up and passing it to Luke with a grin. “Nice save, Luke.”

“You flatter me too much.” Luke chuckled, tilting his head to the side. “I should be flattering you! By the gods, you looked like a warrior princess!”

“I did not,” You laugh nervously, feeling your cheeks heat up again. “I simply did what I was trained to do.”

“Yeah, well- stay down!” Luke pointed his sword at Lee, causing the boy to sigh heavily.

“Fine, we surrender!”

Luke turned his attention back to you, giving you a lopsided grin. “Where was I?”

Before you could utter a reply, loud cheers and laughter rang out from the distance, making its way closer to where you and Luke were standing. You see the Stoll brothers along with Chris Rodriguez waving the enemy team’s flag in the air as Clarisse waved your team’s flag in victory.

“We won!” Clarisse laughed heartily, smiling victoriously as she slung her arm around Chris’ shoulders. “Wave it in their faces, Rodriguez!”

“We won!” You squealed, looking at Luke, your hair bouncing in the air as you jumped up and down. “We won! We actually won!”

All of a sudden, Luke picked you up by the waist, twirling you around like a princess in those movies you watched as a child.

“We won!” Luke laughed as he spun you around like you didn’t weigh anything, causing you to erupt in a fit of giggles. “I knew we’d win this!”

“Victory!” You laughed as Luke stopped twirling you, your stormy eyes meeting his chocolate ones as you felt the world pause around you, their cheers fading as Luke smiled at you—that annoyingly handsome smile you’ve come to love—as you felt your heart beat like a bass drum.

You sighed contentedly, yours and Luke’s faces just a few inches away from each other. “We won,”

“Yeah, pretty girl, we did,” Luke grinned, you could’ve sworn you felt his hold on you tighten as if he was bringing you in closer, but you didn’t want to be delusional so you just laughed it off.

“You guys done flirting?” Clarisse’s voice snapped you and Luke out of your little world. Your eyes widened drastically, your cheeks reddening like a tomato as Luke placed you back down on your feet. You then quickly scrambled towards Silena, Annabeth, and Clarisse, looking embarrassed as ever.

“We..we weren’t flirting!” You quickly told your friends and younger sister, as you reached into your back pockets for some extra hair ties you kept to tie your hair up.

“Uh huh,” Silena teased, smirking at the way your cheeks reddened up. “Whatever you say, pretty girl,”

“Shut up,” You grumbled, tying your hair up when the realization settled in.

The letter was gone.

Oh fuck.

“Oh shit, fuck, god damnit!” You immediately started looking around for the crumpled paper hoping no one had noticed it yet, unfortunately there were still a lot of campers around, and one must have seen it already.

“What is it?” Annabeth asked, raising a brow at you as she slipped her dagger in its holster. “You okay?”

“Yeah, fuckin’ fantastic!” You say frantically, still scanning the area for any sign of your unfinished letter. You mentally pleaded to your mother to help you find the letter, desperate measures require desperate solutions. Hell, you even started praying to the goddess Aphrodite for help.

Mom, come on, if you love me, help me find my love letter!

Aphrodite, oh goddess, help me in the name of love!

“Oh fuck, you have got to be fucking kidding me.” You say, finally spotting the letter.

In Luke Castellan’s hands.

“Motherfu-”

taglist: @ma1dita @m00ng4z3r @woodlandwrites @sflame15-blog @the-sylver-dragon @ceruleansx @evsolostheuniverse @patitotodd @emryb @onecojg @caramelandvenus @yourfavoritereader @fennecswife @lynbubble @scarletsapphic @lvrgirl6999 @harrysnovia @nyxikae @mxtokko @sc4rl3ttdafoxx

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ellieslob · 7 months

Text

★ obsessed

+tags: reader x ellie!, exes, reader is dina’s ex, jealous ellie for the wrong reasons, dom ellie, dom reader?, sub reader, kinda enemies to lovers, dina x ellie but in the wrong way, inspired in obsessed by olivia rodrigo but with a twist

+warnings: this is not a romantic ellie x dina !!!, cheater ellie, dina n ellie are a couple, smut, red flags, jealousy, ellie is a little insecure, you flirt with dina to make her mad

ways to help palestine!!!

REBLOG!

when dina’s ex came back from the city ellie went completely crazy.

the way dina looked at you when she saw you arrived? stunned, she had no words, was almost drooling, like come on, her drink literally fell out of her hand and she spit out the rest. like, yeah you were kinda attractive, like model attractive but like, you definitely didn't look like dina’s type.

dina practically ran directly to you and hugged you hard, you did nothing but correspond, holding her and responde with your stupid and perfect fucking smile. she could lift dina like that, actually she could do it better, you were kind of weak.

ok, she could be exaggerated and possessive you guys were just talking… talking while you touched her leg n looked at her with those dumb pretty eyes? ok, that was enough. “dina, who is she?”

her girlfriend was surprised with how fast ellie appeared and how tight her grip was on her hip “oh ellie, this is umm, i guess she’s my ex-

“girlfriend” you interrupted dina looking ellie directly in her eyes, giving her a cocky smile, leaning to her, almost looking down on her, up and down and then smiling again “and who are you, little one?”

“oh just her actual girlfriend” she tried to make it sound like a joke, but she put dina behind her, while getting closer to you, she could win in a fight, easy, you didn’t seem much athletic, your body was toned but not exactly muscular, shit, was that what dina actually liked? model type boddies? she was fucked, to be so fucking honest, sure, she could win if you two got in a messy fight but come on.

ellie knew sometimes she could look like a fucking mess, not that she cared a lot, like, it was shitty times, she tought everybody looked the same but damn, you were… you were straight up beautiful. she didn’t want to be side by side with you anymore, what if dina started comparing.

you were taller than her, your face was prettier and fucking shiny, you looked way more femenine, your hair was long and seemed like you had a routine for it and shit, god your body looked like the ones that appeard on those old magazines that she found with joel, but only fucking better and right in front of her.

dina kept talking to you but ellie wasn’t looking at her, and she could see that you weren’t really paying attention to her either. you were both looking at each other, defensive, dominant, neither of you wanting to even blink, scared you might lose the battle and appear weak in front of the oher, appear submissive.

you smiled again, and stroked dina’s leg a little, looking directly at ellie, giving her that innocent and provocative gaze, while caressing her girlfriend’s tight, you motherfucker, innocent her ass. she couldn’t wait to fuck you up and beat the shit out you.

“ellie?” but they were no longer at the bar, she was no longer in front of her girlfriend's sexy, pretty and perfect ex, she was in her bed, with dina.

“s-sorry i was thinking” she tried to refocus her total interest in dina, looking directly at her, her girlfriend, that was the only thing that mattered. she didn’t need to be thinking about some girl.

but maybe just a little bit more…

“so… about y-your ex” ellie sat on the bed, taking the strains of hair out of her face, trying to act cool, like she didn’t care, didn’t want to look too obsessed ‘bout the topic, but god she couldn’t plug you stupid grin out of her head.

“mm what about her?” so dina didn’t seem to care a lot, that was good, maybe.

“i don’t know, i- just, you know, you never talked about her”

“ellie i-i really don’t wanna talk about her, i got excited because she was my friend too, and i hadn’t seen her in a while, can we just go to sleep?”

bullshit.

“yeah, yeah, of course” dina finally got into bed, ellie hugged her when she got close to her, making dina the little spoon, did you hold her like this? fuck, she really couldn’t get you out of her head, ellie tried to change the position, uncomfortable with the image of you with her gilfriend in the same bed, she grabbed dina’s hips to help her move better, accidentally stimulating dina.

the little moan made ellie concentrate in the present, but it didn’t really last long, in minutes she was pounding into her gilfriend, grabbing her hair and pulling it, watching how her cunt clench around her hand, completely fucking wet, her loud moans told her she was liking it, were you this good in bed? were you better? worse?

“ellie! yes! just like that” did dina ever think about you when they were like this? did you fuck her like that? or..

did dina fucked you like this?

“ellie!” your voice replaced dina’s, with her eyes closed a glimpse of your body and facial expressions splashed in ellie’s mind, how would you look taking her fingers, crying like a bitch while your ego falls and breaks?

“god! ellie yesyes f-fuck!” dina was a fuckin’ mess, crying, her hips and whole body moving like crazy, would you react like this? if she fucked you like this, would you drool and scream her name over and over? that little cocky attitude, will it disappear? bet she’ll make it disappear.

pulling your hair while she fucked you with her strap, making you scream her name, so that everybody could her you two, so that they knew who was making you squirm and beg.

her movements got rougher, she wanted to fuck you dumb, to make you a fucking submissive wet and horny pile of mumbles and moans, repeating only her name while your pretty face gets all wet by the tears, the swear, the drool…

fuck, she could come just by that image in her head.

the screams under her got her back to reality, what the hell was she doing? she needed it to stop, that was so incredibly wrong, shit, that was so fuckep up, swiftly she tried to stop but dina didn’t let her, she was close, ellie was thinking about her ex, and she wasn’t going to stop her climax on top of that? the girl wasn’t a goddamn monster.

when dina came, she fell hard in the bed, exhausted, sweating and her face was so red, she had cried, cum, drool, everything. “w-what the fuck was that ellie?”

“i-im so sorry dina i-

“i came so hard, god, that was so… it was fucking good, i knew you were jealous but god i didn’t knew that it would make you this hot” ellie, was silent, still judging if she should speak about it or let it go “you know i never felt like this with her”

hours ago, that comment would’ve helped ellie a lot, would’ve solved all of her problems, but right now? she kept imagining you being in that same bed, taking dina’s place, and the worst part was that she knew.

she is stubborn.

possessive.

controlling.

you weren’t just a slipped thought on her head, this was just begging and she couldn’t help but to get completely lost in you.

when dina’s ex came back from the city ellie went completely crazy.

REBLOG!

#ellie williams headcanons #ellie williams #ellie x you #ellie x y/n #ellie x fem reader #ellie x reader #ellie smut #ellie the last of us #ellie tlou #the last of us #tlou #tlou2 #wlw ns/fw

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jackiepackiee · 6 months

Note

How bout 16!stormbringer chuuya x reader where reader is one of the targets that veralines tryna kill and him and adam have to save them but their in school so adam and chuuya have to like follow them around all day and make sure nothing happens.

𝟣𝟨!𝒞𝒽𝓊𝓊𝓎𝒶 𝓍 𝐻𝓊𝓃𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝑅𝑒𝒶𝒹𝑒𝓇

𝒲𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 - 𝒱𝑒𝓇𝓁𝒶𝒾𝓃𝑒, 𝒜𝓈𝓈𝒶𝓈𝓈𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃

𝒯𝓎𝓅𝑒 - 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝒹𝒸𝒶𝓃𝑜𝓃𝓈 / 𝒹𝒾𝒶𝓁𝑜𝑔𝓊𝑒

Will DIE so he doesn’t lose you

Wanted to state that first, I mean he’d go full corruption on the city and have his power overwhelm him if it means you’re safe

Especially now, since your death would be caused by him (not his fault, but would think it was)

Things also depend on if he’s already lost the flags or not

If he hasn’t?

Well he isn’t fully aware of the threat

He also isn’t aware of the pain

But if they’ve passed…

He knows how quickly the king of assassins will strike

And with the pain of losing his only friends all at once, he’s like a guard dog.

And if Verlaine is a bitch and sends his own spies or small assassins?

Chuuya will OBLITERATE them

He can’t very well kill Verlaine that quickly

But, he can fight him off

And keep him off your trail

Originally found out by a threat by Verlaine

Some cryptic letter in French left on your pillow

(He broke into your house, left a note, and left, all undetected. What’s scarier?)

You couldn’t read it, so you skipped on up to your favorite person, Chuuya, and asked him to translate it (even if you can read French, the letter made absolutely no sense. Riddles and mentions of names you don’t know)

His eyes stilled, no longer moving left to right as they had when he was engaged by the writing. Their usual light tone when he was with you had disappeared.

“Chuu? What’s wrong, you look…”

“Nothing, it’s nothing. You know what, I probably left this at your house last weekend… Don’t you have school? How about I walk you?”

He loved walking with you, a great start to his day. But today’s motives were different. He needed to make sure you were safe.

“Okay! Wait… who is that?!”

It’s… well it’s Adam. Maybe he could get some practice in on explaining confusing situations with you now?

“Hello, I’m Adam. I’m for Europole-“

“Shut up!.. Sorry bout him… let’s get you to school.”

Every time you questioned who the man with you was, Chuuya changed the topic

You knew Chuuya was a mafioso, but knowing Adam would make you ask too many questions

When you finally got to school, he was annoyed

He hadn’t planned this far and didn’t know what to do for your safety

Human version of “fuck it, we ball” and goes inside the school

“Yes, I’m a new student. Chuuya… And this is my dad, Adam.”

Gets let it?!? You don’t mind, of course

“What the fuck is trigonometry?”

“You ask like I know…”

“You’re the actual student.”

“You’re the one who chose to be here.”

Adam buts in. “Trigonometry is the study of-“

When you get to science class, it’s your lucky day that you have physics

He is amazed by gravity, seeing how his ability works in a scientific way

Definitely shows off, making the whiteboard marker fly across the room

“So that’s why I can lift heavy stuff? I wonder…”

Also definitely got yelled at cause the teacher thought he threw it

Chuuya definitely tells Adam to shut up at least every other minute

When you get to literature class, hope you aren’t reading a book on the human condition

Or anything with relationships of the family kind

Quickly gets reminded of Verlaine, and remembers why he is there

Holds you hand tight

“It’s not weird, I just… my hands are cold, that’s all” “Most teenagers who hold hands are involved in romantic-“ “Shut up Adam!”

It’s finally your last class and he’s nervous

On one side, he doesn’t have to worry about you surrounded by so many others

On the other side, it’s gonna be more difficult to protect you when he just has you and Adam without the cover of a whole student body

So, he takes you to his apartment

It’s… dull

He makes Adam watch the door, and you to his bedroom

Helps with your homework to try and ease any creeping ideas in your mind that this is all suspicious

Even if he isn’t any help, like at all

Sleepover!

Overall, you’re surviving

No fucking way that he’s losing you

Not you, never you

#chuuya nakahara x reader #bsd x reader #chuuya x reader #bsd chuuya #bsd fanfic #chuuya x fem!reader #chuuya stormbringer #chuuya x y/n #chuuya x you #chuuya nakahara

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yelena-bellova · 9 months

Text

Heartfirst: A Ted Lasso Story - Chapter Twenty One

Chapter Twenty One: Coming Home

Plot: Loose ends are tied up and big changes come after Richmond’s victory.

Word Count: 4.2k

Warnings: language, mention of parental neglect/abuse, mention of alcohol, one suggestive line

A/N: Well, we have arrived at the end! I definitely intended to be done a long time ago, but life had other plans lol. Thanks to everyone who came along on this ride I had no intention of taking. I hope you enjoyed it!! MERRY CHRISTMAS AND GO RICHMOND!!! 💙❤️💛🎄❄️🎅🏻

————

In the afterglow of Richmond’s big win, there was a sadness that couldn’t be ignored, and it came in the form of a Boeing 747.

The day of his and Beard’s departure, Ted exited his apartment for the last time. He took a reflective breath and knocked his knuckles against the wood before turning away. As always, his assistant coach was waiting for him nearby.

The two men walked through Richmond for the last time, a few locals wishing them well as they left. When they made it to the curb, they spotted a familiar face.

“What’re you doin’ here?” Ted smiled.

Y/n shrugged from her place on the bench. “I figured you’ve done so many coffee runs at the office,” she held up two cups, “I’d return the favor.”

Ted and Beard moseyed over, Y/n stood and handed them the cups.

“And maybe I wanted to say goodbye,” Y/n smiled, “Just one more time.”

“Well, I won’t say no to that,” Ted replied, waiting for Y/n to retrieve her own cup so the three could toast. When he took a sip, he coughed. “What exactly is this?”

“An Americano,” Y/n answered.

Ted cleared his throat of the strong taste before he paused, realizing the joke. “The three Americanos.”

Y/n smiled, “Bingo.”

“Aw, hell, that’s too good,” Ted said proudly, “I’ll push through.”

Beard touched his chest. “You’ve come so far.”

“Well,” Y/n sighed, “If you guys have to go, I’m making sure it’s on a high note.”

“That’s right,” Ted smiled, “You and Jamie got any plans for the break?”

“Yeah, actually, Nike wants him to do this shoot in Brazil,” Y/n answered, Jamie’d only sprung the news on her last night, “We’ve gotta get down in a few weeks.”

Ted and Beard both let out suggestive ‘oohs’ that gave Y/n a laugh.

“Watch you back, Dave and Posh,” Ted teased, “There’s a new power couple on the pitch.”

As much as she wanted to deny it, there was something in Y/n’s gut that told her Ted wasn’t wrong. Since their kiss after Richmond’s win, Jamie and Y/n had been flooded by requests for interviews. Paparazzi and fan sightings were abundant. Even then, at the buttcrack of morning, Y/n spotted two teen girls whispering and pointing in her direction, no doubt debating if that really was Jamie Tartt’s girlfriend. It was new territory, but they were rising to the occasion. The footballer and the PR girl.

“Just promise us good seats at the wedding,” Ted continued, “Don’t be bumpin’ us just ‘cause Ronaldo and Messi show us.”

“How ‘bout we hug?” Y/n quickly changed the subject. Baby steps was the key to her staying happy with Jamie. “Let’s hug.”

Ted and Beard laughed before they all piled in a group embrace. The three of them had become a team of sorts, being the only Americans, and it was a bond Y/n was sad to see go. The only thing that comforted her was that Ted and Beard meant so much to Richmond, it certainly wouldn’t be the last they saw of one another.

“Alright,” Y/n said when she felt the tears begin to form, “You two get out of here. The plane’s not gonna wait for two dumb Americans.”

Ted laughed, patted Y/n on the back and pulled back to look proudly at her. “You take care, Y/n.”

Y/n’s smile was watery and full of unspoken gratitude, “You too.”

Beard spotted Y/n one more hug, seemingly needing it more than she did. “Bye, Y/n.”

“Bye, Beard.”

Finally, the three of them separated and Ted and Beard flagged down a coming cab. When they had loaded their luggage, Ted turned back one last time and gave Y/n a wave. She returned it, finally letting the tears fall down her contradicting smile.

Ted had done more for Richmond than anyone ever had. But more importantly, he had changed the people that made the Greyhounds who they were. No one would ever be the same after Ted Lasso’s reign. And that, Y/n concluded as the cab drove off, was a beautiful thing.

—————————

Post-victory, Richmond was still residing in its usual chaos.

When Y/n came into the office, taking care of a few post-season items with Higgins and Rebecca, and saw Beard in the hall, she was surprised but ecstatic. It was good for both of them to have some semblance of home.

Then came the announcement that Roy would be promoted to head coach, with Beard and Nate as the assistants. It seemed only natural for him to take over. Everyone was glad they didn’t have to adjust to someone new. And it was good territory for Roy to step into a leadership role. He was coming into his own in this new stage of life.

KJPR became KBPR as Keeley and Barbara officially went into business with one another. At first, Keeley had worried that Y/n may feel slighted. After all, she had done so much to help when Keeley was still getting her bearings. It ended up being quite the opposite. With Barbara as partner, Y/n could return back to Richmond, something she was thrilled about. The three women continued to work in total harmony.

Rebecca had even made some changes in her life. Under circumstances Y/n and Keeley were promised to hear about eventually, she had run into her mystery Dutchman and the two had started going out. It did everyone good to see Rebecca so happy. She deserved it.

Y/n and Jamie weren’t the only couple having the handle a mess of PR after the match. Colin had unofficially come out after kissing his boyfriend, Michael, on the pitch. Journalists, both honest and sleazy, were hounding the both of them. The day it stopped was the day they got cocky enough to trespass on Colin’s property. They were unaware that his publicist was present, and Y/n took a great deal of joy in coming around the side of the house with the gardening hose and spraying them all away. Needless to say, Colin felt extremely protected with her as his first line of defense.

Jamie and Y/n stayed the same, sickeningly in love with one another and growing more so by the day. Just after Roy was announced as head coach, they were booked to fly out to Brazil. Somehow Roy and Keeley, separately, had roped themselves in to coming as well.

“Our first trip away together,” Jamie lamented as they were packing at Y/n’s apartment, “And the old fart latches on.”

Y/n was across the room, grabbing a stack of t-shirts from her dresser. “That’s a horrible thing to call Keeley.” She laughed as Jamie flashed her a glare, “I can’t wait till you stop acting like you’re mad about this.”

“I am mad about this,” Jamie insisted.

“And the minute we’re all there, you two’ll be inseparable,” Y/n crossed the space to the bed, where Jamie and his suitcase sat, and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll be lucky if I get two minutes with you.”

Jamie scoffed, even though he knew there was truth to it. He could no longer deny him and Roy hated one another. Instead, he put his energy into rifling through his girlfriend’s suitcase.

“Jamie, I just got that organized,” Y/n whined, “What are you doing?”

“I’m thinning it out,” he answered, throwing item after item out onto the bedspread, “You don’t need half of this.”

Once he was done, Y/n looked into the square, there was very little. “Three bathing suits and underwear?”

“Yeah,” Jamie said deadpan before smirking, “All you need.”

Jamie pressed a kiss behind Y/n’s ear and wandered out of the bedroom. She was left laughing and undoing his handiwork. She was in the middle of repacking her pajamas when her cell phone rang from her nightstand.

“Jamie,” she called out, “Could you grab my phone?”

“Hang on,” Jamie yelled from the living room, “Phone’s ringing.”

Y/n sighed and went to collect her mobile herself. She glanced at the caller ID.

Dad

Time itself seemed to stop and Y/n was immobilized. It had been a month since Manchester when she’d been brave and called her parents. Not a word from either of them. It had been so easy to have courage in her rush of adrenaline, consumed by confidence and prepared to knock any obstacle down to get back to Richmond.

Now…she didn’t know what to do.

The little voice in her head that sounded much like the her in Manchester said to pick up.

Just before the last ring sounded, Y/n swiped across her screen and started the call.

“Hello?”

“Hi, uh…” Y/n’s dad stammered, “Hi, honey.”

“Hi,” she repeated.

“Hi.”

The two fell silent.

“Um…how-how are you?” Y/n was the first to ask.

“Oh, fine. Fine…yeah, we’re uh, we’re okay. How are you?”

Y/n wiped her hand across her jeans, beginning to wander the room like a Roomba. “Uh, I’m good. Decent. I, uh, I’m packing right now.”

“Oh, are you moving?”

“No, no. I’m, uh, I’m going on a trip with some friends and my uh…my boyfriend.”

Her dad didn’t seem to be phased. “Yeah, I heard something about that. I mean, I read it. You’re making headlines over here.”

Y/n stopped, “I am?”

“Well, it’s not front page or anything,” he corrected himself, “But there’s a few. That Tartt fellow seems like a hell of a player.”

“He is,” Y/n smiled, “He’s a great guy.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” her dad finished before another pause hit them. “Listen, I, uh, I wanted to call…well, I wanted to call sooner but…I wasn’t quite sure what to say.”

Disappointment began to settle in Y/n’s gut. It felt like there was some lame excuse coming. “Yeah, well…I didn’t exactly send a Hallmark greeting.”

“No, you didn’t do anything,” her dad quick addended, “I just wasn’t sure how to…how to speak to what you said because…it was so true.”

Suddenly everything became shaky, including her original message. “It was?”

“Of course. It was…painfully true. And I didn’t know what the right thing to say was and then when I felt like I did I was still worried it would be the wrong one and so…”

Another pause.

“Your mom and I, we, uh, we got into therapy,” Y/n’s dad continued.

Now that surprised her. “Oh, really?”

“Yeah, there were a lot of reasons. Nothing we did to one another, just…things from before you and Caylee were born. But mostly we, uh…we talked about how we raised you girls and all the areas we…could have done better.”

Y/n stayed silent, shocked into submission.

“And it’s been really helpful…and very….difficult.”

Y/n sighed, slightly annnoyed, feeling like her father was about to make the conversation about himself. “Yeah, well, I’ve heard therapy’s hard.”

“Not in the way you’d think,” her dad continued, “It’s been hard to…come to terms with what me and your mother did to you and Caylee.”

Now this was an entirely different kind of surprise. Y/n sunk onto her bed.

“Yeah?”

“Yes. We…I…I don’t even know where to start, but we’ve…we were a mess. A complete mess and we took it out on you girls.”

“I think…” Y/n drew a breath, “Taking it out on us would have been preferable.”

Her dad drew the same breath. “We ignored you girls. We left you to your own devices. We didn’t…we didn’t bond with you or support you in any way. Not the ways you needed at least. I think we thought if we were keeping a roof over your heads and keeping you alive, we were doing something right, but…that was nothing compared to what we didn’t do for you. What we kept from you.”

On opposite sides of the world, on different continents, separated by a great big ocean, father and daughter both began to shed tears.

“And I’m so sorry, honey,” Y/n’s dad’s voice wavered. “I’m so sorry.”

Y/n’s breath trembled, these were the words she’d longed to hear since she could recognize the problems in her family.

“Your phone call…it woke me and your mom up to a lot of things I think we’d known for years,” he went on, his voice a bit stronger now. “That we had the greatest girls given to us…and we didn’t care for you the way we should have.”

“Nothing you said was untrue, honey. And I’m glad you said it. You needed it and we needed to hear it. We needed to be woken up.”

Y/n sniffled trying to hold in the sobs she wanted to let go.

“And I can’t tell you how proud I am of you,” he audibly smiled through the phone, “Of the woman you’ve grown up to be and the life you’ve built for yourself. I think despite all the odds, you became the best version of yourself you could be.”

Y/n chuckled, a fresh batch of tears falling. “I love it.”

“I’ll bet you do,” her dad laughed, “I watched Richmond’s last game. It was a corker. And then to see you on the field…”

The two laughed in unison.

“That would be how I ended up in the headlines,” Y/n wiped her eyes.

“Mmm, I don’t think love’s a bad way to make headlines.”

Y/n had yet to say anything about loving Jamie, and yet her father already knew. Their moment on the pitch spoke for itself.

“So…you’re the only one that feels guilty?” Y/n finally asked.

“No,” her dad switched gears, “No, she’s actually at a session right now. I think she’s still a little nervous about making a call, but she wants to…she’s just trying to figure out what to say.”

“Tell her just to get really sad and really in love and pick up the phone,” Y/n suggested her method, “It’s easy.”

Her father laughed heartily, a sound Y/n was never really privy to as a child. It was so joyous, so full and round, it made her laugh as well.

“I hope it’s not too late to say it, but…” Y/n’s dad paused, “I really do love you, honey. And I’m sorry I didn’t do a better job of it.”

Y/n smiled, her eyes glazing oer with tears.

“And if you’ll let me and your mom…we’ll spend the rest of our lives trying to make up for all those years we were selfish.”

If she were a more vindictive person, Y/n would clutch the grudge in her palms and reject the offer. She’d tell her dad to go fuck himself and that no amount of time would ever make up for what was lost. But Richmond had softened her edges and rounded her out to be a more forgiving person. She’d learned from Ted and all his little life lessons on kindness he dropped. She’d learned from Rebecca, moving on and becoming the bigger person in the aftermath of her divorce. She’d learned from Jamie, who had done a complete 180 in his life and become one of the best people she knew. If he could forgive her for everything she’d put him through, how could she not pass it on to someone else?

“Yeah,” she answered, “Yeah, I’d really like that.”

Her dad took a quivering breath, full of emotion.

“But mom’s gonna have to do some groveling too,” Y/n joked.

“Oh, she’ll do it,” her dad agreed, “Probably even more than me. But she’ll do it as many times as necessary.”

The two of them stopped again, unsure of where to go from where they were.

“If you’re okay with it, eventually…we’d love to come out and see you. See this great big beautiful life you’ve built for yourself.”

It was an offer/request beyond what Y/n thought she’d ever get from her dad. Beyond what she ever thought possible for their family.

“Or maybe you could come home,” her dad suggested, just in case he’d pushed her forgiveness too far. “For a long weekend or something. Maybe in between games. Caylee came out last week.”

Her sister had failed to mention that piece of information. “She did?”

“Yeah.”

“She didn’t tell me.”

“Well, we kind of had the same talk. I think you and your sister share the same set of balls. She read us the riot act too.”

Caylee had never shied away from.…anything. She was the first of the sisters to put their upbringing behind them, to carve out a new life for themselves. It wasn’t surprising at all that she’d beaten Y/n to the punch of their parents.

“I think she wanted to wait to see how our talk went before she talked to you,” Y/n’s dad added.

“How’d that go?”

“Good,” her dad smiled, “Really well. Horrible, and then really great.”

Y/n smiled, looking down at her lap. “Yeah, I think I’d like both those things. Maybe I could bring you guys to a game.”

“Oh, we’d love that. We’d really love that. Is that American guy still coaching?”

“No, he left a few weeks ago,” Y/n answered.

“Huh, that’s a shame. Maybe I could jump in, give the guys some pointers.”

Y/n chuckled, “Oh, they’d love that.”

“Listen, I don’t wanna push my luck, so I’ll let you get back to packing,” her dad began to close the conversation, “Maybe we can talk more after you get back from your trip.”

He was right, it was a good place to stop. “Yeah, I’d like that. And if Mom calls, I promise I’ll let her grovel.”

“Attagirl,” her dad chuckled, “I love you, honey.”

Y/n smiled tearfully, the words she’d longed to hear all her life. Suddenly, it seemed so wasy to return them.

“I love you too, Dad.”

“Talk soon.”

“Bye.”

And with one click of a button, it was over.

Y/n felt stuck to her bed, nailed to it more like. All her life, she’d imagined screaming and yelling at her parents and it ending with them in tears as well, apologizing in spades to her and asking for them to forgive her. Her daydream had come true, though nothing like she’d thought it would. She was still, she was silent, and her father was more eloquent and composed. But both were filled to the brim with emotion. Somehow, it had all worked out better than she’d wanted.

Her family was coming back to her. The whole dang thing.

Y/n sprang to her feet, needing to word vomit the news onto someone. Jamie was closest. He was a good choice.

“Jamie,” she called, “Jamie.”

As she enterd into the living room. Jamie sported the same stunned expression she did. Had he heard the call?

They met in the middle of the room, each holding their own space. Each holding their cell phones.

“Who was that?” Y/n asked.

The words floated out of Jamie’s mouth slowly. “That was me dad.”

Y/n’s eyebrows dropped, along with her jaw. “Your dad?”

“Yeah,” Jamie breathed, his eyes flicking to Y/n’s phone, “Who was that?”

“That was my dad,” Y/n answered.

“Your dad?” Jamie echoed.

“Yeah.”

“What’d he say?”

“He wants to come see me. Him and my mom.”

“They do?”

“Yeah.”

Jamie’s face soured somewhat with apprehension. “And…what do you think?”

There was so much news to process. Still, Y/n’s purest emotions won out. Her lips quirked upwards, “I think I feel good. Really good.”

Jamie managed a distracted smile, “Good.”

Y/n shifted focus away from her. “What did your dad say?”

“He, uh,” Jamie breathed, “He’s in rehab, I guess. Wanted to call and congratulate me on the win. Wants me to come and see him.”

Y/n’s eyebrows shot up, “Whoa.”

“Yeah,” Jamie said.

“How do you feel about that?”

He blew out a huff of air. Jamie had just as many complicated feelings on his dad, if not more, than Y/n. And yet this time, there was some sort of peace that told Jamie this was alright.

“I think I feel good.”

“That’s good,” Y/n exhaled, “Do you want me to come with?”

“No,” Jamie quickly said, “I don’t want you near him till I…till I make sure it’s real this time.”

Y/n wasn’t about to start arguing with him. “Okay.”

The two of them finally looked at one another, well and truly, and saw each other transformed. If Richmond was one piece of what Y/n and Jamie were made up of, their relationship the other, their jobs the third, there’d been a missing fourth piece, empty and void of any love, for years. Suddenly, with but a drop filling it, there was new life in both of them. They stood a chance at becoming complete.

They fell into one another’s arms, wrapping around one another in hopes they could hold each other together. This was the beginning of something truly beautiful for both of them.

In the weeks and months that followed, after the trip to Brazil, things began to bloom. Jamie did go and visit his father, coming back with a genuine smile on his face. Y/n didn’t push, but Jamie felt confident that his father was making progress and that maybe, just maybe…they could form a relationship.

Y/n’s mom did indeed call, groveling and weeping over how poorly she’d treated her daughter. Y/n was there to accept every apology and cry with her. It was the best conversation they’d had in years. Her parents and Caylee jumped on for their first three-way call ever. Y/n made plans to come back home for Thanksgiving, and her parents and Caylee promised to fly to London for Christmas. It was the first holiday season they’d be spending together since high school. They were all counting the days down.

A few months after the season started for Richmond, Beard and his very pregnant girlfriend, Jane, announced they were getting married. The whole Richmond clan gathered together at Stonehenge for the event. It was strange, in keeping with their relationship, but full of love.

Eventually, Keeley came to Y/n with a business proposal. She had an inkling of an idea that she wantd to bring to Rebecca. But she wanted to give Y/n the opportunity to help her with it. The second she read the idea, Y/n was floored, and immediately onboard. Together, the two of them proposed a Richmond women’s league to their boss. It was an unflinching yes.

“But I have a condition,” Rebecca said before pointing to Y/n, “I want you to oversee it.”

Y/n blinked, “What?”

“I think you have a great deal of untapped potential,” Rebecca smiled, “And I think you’d make an incredible football club owner.”

“I-I…there’s no way. Unless you’re selling the team and I-“

“Nonsense,” Rebecca shrugged, “You bought a share, didn’t you?”

Rebecca had decided against selling the team off entirely, instead giving Richmond fans the opportunity to buy shares of the club.

“Well, yeah, I own like…half of a half of a percent.”

“Consider that your purchase,” Rebecca looked to Keeley, “What do you say? Is it okay if I poach one of your employees?”

Keeley was beaming from beside Y/n, “I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.”

Y/n wasn’t sure what was happening or how it was happening so fast. It felt eerily similar to a year prior in a London restaurant.

“What do you say?” Rebecca smiled, “Do you want to run a football club?”

Despite her shock, it was one of the easiest yesses she’d ever given.

Jamie had been thrilled, obviously, spinning Y/n around his house when she’d told him the news. One of Jamie’s biggest fears was losing all the good things in his life. Even though he knew him and Y/n were solid, a job like that was guarantee that neither of them would be leaving Richmond for a very long time.

All was well, no, all was better than well, for the Greyhounds. Sam’s restaurant flourished, Nate brought his girlfriend round finally to be introduced to his work family, Keeley and Roy began skirting the borders of exploring the possibility of maybe getting back together…all was as it should be.

Y/n was nearly in tears contemplating the beauty that was her life one night as Jamie drove them back to her place. Higgins’ and his family hosted the team barbecue that month at their home and the whole staff had shown up. Keeley, Roy, Jamie and Y/n had stayed in a huddle most of the night, laughing and talking as if they’d been family all their lives, which it was starting to feel like. Everything, from the smallest detail to the biggest, felt perfect.

“Hey, babe, what’s on the schedule for Friday night?” Jamie asked as they climbed the stairs into Y/n’s home. He was a few steps behind her. “Colin and Mike want to do a double date. I didn’t know if-“

He was rudely interrupted by Y/n smashing her lips against his. Jamie adjusted quickly and sunk into the kiss with her.

After Y/n pulled back, Jamie admired her. “What was that for?”

There were ten different answers she could have given him. For knocking into her that first day of work. For sitting down with her that night at the pub. For being the steadiest presence in her life. For forgiving her when she broke his heart. For supporting her and supporting her and supporting her. For adding to her happiness in a way nobody else could.

But instead, she shrugged and smiled. “No reason at all.”

And for the first time in her life, Y/n was truly, wholly happy.

———————

Heartfirst Taglist: @lalla-04p @optimisticsandwichgladiator @makingmunson94 @taytaylala12 @storysimp @sokkigarden @lightninginab0ttle @poohkie90 @alipap3 @verra-nerevarine @shineforever19 @spaceagechimera @burnafter-reading @qardasngan @cyberpvnk-enthusiast @sogoodtoheritsvicious @buckybarnex @angelsunflxwer @blueanfield @thewildestwonderland @sablecities @oxxolovemelikeyoudooxxo @strawberryacethingz @mentalistfan @tortilla-maria1 @katdahlali @for-fuck-sake-im-alive @glitterquadricorn @jamieolivia27 @imvibin69 @katlizada @lil-tracys @fanaticalfantasist @heyitz-julia @cactajuice @peachyy-tea @notalxx @rockchickrebel @anxiety-prime-max @loveforaugust @jellycolors @actuallybarb @heletsmelovehim @lovinnscarletknight @imfalling-inlove @leslieiscrying @meg-ro @littlemisssunshine192 @beboldbebravethings @maydayfigment @spencerreidsbookclub @dream-alittlebiggerdarling @lemoonandlestars @im-a-weirdo-for-life @mindless-rock (tags cont. in comments ❤️)

#ted lasso fanfic #ted lasso fanfiction #ted lasso imagine #ted lasso fic #jamie tartt x reader #jamie tartt imagine #ted lasso x reader #rebecca welton x reader #keeley jones x reader #heartfirst

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elsweetheart · 1 year

Note

More of coworker!Ellie please! I am a waitress and costumers can be so rude sometimes… that one you just posted literally made me cry, wishing I had an Ellie to defend me and cheer me up :(

If you don’t want to it’s fine tho, don’t worry <3

nooo don’t cry!!!!!!!! i used to be a waitress n i know the struggles trust me !!! (lovingly throws these coworker!ellie hcs your way)

• so you’re a waitress, and ellie is a host and occasionally a bartender. those are her paid jobs. however, she ends up somehow being a security guard every single time a rude customer shows up. okay, maybe just your own personal security guard.

• the other waitresses can handle their business, and of course you can too — but she can see how frightened and upset you get every time a customer raises their voice at you and she cannot just stand there. instantly, she’s sliding infront of your body with a glare, flagging down security with her free hand. “out. this isn’t the kinda place you can direspect the waitresses, so respectfully— uh, bye.” she nods to the exit.

• she wants to tell them to get the fuck out. wants to tell them that if they ever raise their voice at you again it’ll be the last time they ever speak. but, she likes her job. she likes being able to keep an eye on you and protect you.

• if it’s not clear, she’s like — in love with you.

• always getting distracted by how pretty you look flouncing around, smiling at your usuals. she even thinks you look adorable when the place gets busy and you get that little stressed pout on your face, running back and fourth to the kitchen with your little notepad.

• purposely takes her breaks at the same time as you so the two of you can hang out, gossiping about customers (and your other coworkers tbh cos working at a restaurant there’s always gonna be drama.)

• like i mentioned before, always bringing u to the back room when she sees u get upset because of a customer / your mean boss and calms u down. “hey, hey, hey. eyes on me, babe. you’re doing good out there, okay? i know it’s hard. you’re doing so good. don’t let ‘em see you cry, yeah? those assholes don’t deserve to know that they got to you.” whilst she’s holding your face keeping ur big teary eyes on hers :(

• she knows ur rota off by heart bc she schedules to work on all the days u do 🤭 and if u don’t show up to ur shift or take a sick day or something she’s instantly texting u like ‘Where are you????’ and she’s just like ughhhhh bc working shifts without u is soooo long and boring !!!!

• always dropping by u and making u laugh if she can see u getting a little stressed. you’d be wiping up a table and she’d just walk behind you and quietly go “hey. table 53 looks like mr incredible. bye.” and walk away leaving u giggling 😭

• if it’s busy, and hard to get around eachother around the restaurant floor, she’ll do that thing where she has to get past behind u and will put her hands on your hips / waist and basically press herself against u like “‘scuse me.” in her low drawl and she doesn’t know what she’s doing when she does it, she’s just used to doing it to make sure u don’t back into her but it always makes ur heart beat reaaal fast :))))

• loads of ur co workers already think you’re dating, or secretly dating, or whatever. they see right through the whole ‘just friends’ thing, constantly trying to encourage the other one to ask eachother out !!!!!

• doing a closing shift with her on a pretty empty night, her shift ended a few hours ago but she stays with u, sitting at a table as u chat to her, sweeping up around u and occasionally tending to the few random lone tables of people having a late night meal. she loves to just sit n watch u :(

• sometimes she even offers to drive u to work / pick u up. “ellie are you sure? that seems like a lot of effort…”

“nah, don’t even worry ‘bout it. it’s on the way, so i might aswell, ya know?”

• it’s definitely not on the way during her route, but she’ll take the extra ten minute detour anyday just to see you smiling n looking pretty in her passenger seat <333

#coworker!ellie #ellie williams x reader #ellie williams au

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sonadowkismesis · 8 months

Text

Shadow is aplatonic: an argument.

"Friends? I'm only temporarily working with you to achieve a goal. Don't get the wrong idea."

from Puyo Puyo Quest's 25th Anniversary event

@apl-swag-bracket

What is aplatonicism?

Here is a quick definition to catch you up.

The aplatonic spectrum, otherwise known as the aplatonic umbrella, is a group of platonic orientations that fall under the umbrella term of aplatonic. Those on the aplatonic spectrum may lack platonic attraction or feel it so little that they relate more to aplatonic experiences. The common link between those on the aplatonic spectrum is that they do not feel the "standard" amount of platonic attraction or they don't feel it in the "standard" way, that alloplatonic individuals do.

Here is some more reading you can do on the topic.

Resources about aplatonicism are scarce and anyway, this is meant to focus on character analysis first and foremost, so forgive me if I cut this section short. Anyway, I believe I have given enough context, so let's get into the meat of this post.

Is Shadow aplatonic?

As stated outright in the Sonic Ultimate Character Guide, Shadow is a loner who relies on himself first and foremost.

from Sonic Ultimate Character Guide (2016)

He is extremely individualistic and doesn't compromise for the sake of others. He prefers to act alone rather than as a team, believing the latter to be futile, and will even choose violence over cooperation to get his way.

from "Team Sonic Racing Racers!" Interview (2019), IDW Sonic the Hedgehog (issue #09), Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) and Sonic Rivals 2 (2007) respectively

If he teams up with others with cooperation in mind, it's always in the interest of a higher purpose. He'll actively ditch crowds and avoid gatherings once the action is over.

from IDW Sonic the Hedgehog (issue #11 and #31 respectively)

Most of his interactions with the rest of the cast follow this pattern, however there is some nuance to be considered when looking at his dynamic with a select few characters.

Rouge and E123 Omega are two characters Shadow has often been partnered with. Although the word "allies" would be more appropriate to describe their relationship, they're easily the ones Shadow is closest to out of everyone else. In the case of Omega, Shadow even displays bouts of camaraderie, likely due to the fact they share a similar mindset.

from Sonic Heroes (2003)

from Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (2008)

from "Team Sonic Racing Racers!" Interview (2019)

Another notable dynamic that stands out is that between Shadow and Sonic. Shadow's attitude towards him could be much the same as with everyone else if it weren't for their rivalry. Although Shadow is always focused on his goals above all else, Sonic's presence brings out a competitive side that distracts him and pushes him to act recklessly.

from "Team Sonic Racing Racers!" Interview (2019)

from Team Sonic Racing (2019)

Shadow doesn't see Sonic as his friend, but considers him an important part of his life despite himself.

and lastly,

from Sonic Channel's Shadow character bio

Conclusion

Shadow doesn't feel the need for companionship and doesn't seek to bond with others if he doesn't have an ulterior motive. He's a loner and a misanthropic, and would rather work alone to achieve his goals in the most efficient way. Because of his standoffish personality, the few close/intense relationships he has are with people who are "like" him in some way, given the impression of an unconventional connection in a very tangible and grounded manner, and not so much driven by feelings of affection or love. Hence why I think Shadow is aplatonic or is on the aplatonic spectrum... I rest my case.

(I would have liked to give more examples, but the 10 image limit makes this very difficult haha)

Here's where you can read the translated version of the TSR Interview (which I referenced a few times) in its entirety.

Here is Shadow's official character bio.

#this was very difficult to do bc of the image limit forcing me to cram everything together #but i hope the alt text is readable #anyways i want to spread apl shadow.... i want us to learn bc i care #shadow the hedgehog #shadow #sth #sonic the hedgehog #blingee.txt #also don't be fooled by the language i use #not speaking from a place of authority im just sharing my vision bahhh #aplatonic #aplatonicism #i would have also liked to talk about maria but once again the image limit would have made it impossible... maybe another time

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reveluving · 4 months

Note

Ohhhhhh you got me going!!! I know you’ve written for reader to be married to Rick instead of Ben but how ‘bout the reverse??? Rick is jealous that she’s married to Ben and tries to pull rank but Ben is a Delta boy so he doesn’t give two shits about rank??!! 🤣

a/n: again, an ancient ask, tad shorter than usual too, but you know I could never say no to these two (love you, aria)!!

warnings: petty Benny vs pettier(?) Rick

j.k. m.list (series under 'rick flag vs the triple frontier boys'), or check out my full m.list!

Let’s face it—whether you’re married to Rick or Benny, our beloved Miller is not going to give a damn about his and Rick’s rank differences.

So, when hears Rick say it for the first time, and Benny’s like “??? My guy, who gives a shit, I'm just trying to get some veggies, what does your rank have to do anything with her?” 🤨

He will definitely not say that if you were with him at the time, mainly because he knows you’d want him and Rick to get along, so Benny did the best thing he could do, and that was giving Rick the most crooked, most unsure smile like that one ‘hide the pain Harold’ picture and say “cool, man. real cool.”

Rick’s not exactly proud of his past, so when he’s comparing ranks, it isn’t necessarily him boasting, but more so having fun, considering he’s heard plenty of stories about your knucklehead of a husband. Plus, it may or may not be tactic to see if Benny would break over something petty—just so he’ll know that you’re in good hands.

And in a way, Rick at least has to give it to him for maintaining his composure. Admittedly, he had his doubts about Benny at first, the man sounded like a handful for an angel like you.

˚ · . f i n . · ˚

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ohtobeleah · 2 years

Note

I’m not prepared to see how things transpire when Fe and Rooster go back to work. Especially if Jaidyn is gonna be there.

But you're gonna have to deal with it bestie. Because it’s gonna have to happen sooner or later. And we know shits gonna blow up. As always though here’s the Terms of Endearment Masterlist.

Warnings: Mentions of domestic violence.

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

SunnySide daycare centre was a diamond in disguise. At first when you had been looking for a place to enrol Odette into when you realised you were going to be sticking around longer than intended it hadnt even fallen onto the short list of daycares you were reading into. It had been with Penny Benjamin's recommendation that you actually decided to go forward with the application process. A good friend of Penny’s had worked there ever since she could remember.

“Tooster!” Dot giggled and squealed as Braldey held her up over his head, roaring like what he thought a dinosaur would sound like. Whatever sound left his ajar mouth was definitely not a dinosaur sound, but it made you laugh nevertheless. “Tooster! Dop! Dop!” Dot tried to plead with Rooster through her bout of giggles.

“Hi Miss Y/L/N, just dropping Odette off are we?” One of the ladies at the reception desk asked as Bradley placed her down on the counter, letting her back lean against his shoulder as one of her purple backpack staples nearly cut his circulation off.

“Yes please, and I also wanted to speak to someone about confirming the list of people permitted to drop off and pick up?” It was your first day back at work after the small Christmas and new year break you all got. The third of January saw SunnySide back up and running and in full swing again as most of its enrolled were military children.

“Sure, not a problem at all Felix.” Bradley crooned his head your way to plant a gentle kiss against your temple, he could see the vein popping from a mile away. “Okay so i've got yourself listed as the primary caregiver and emergency contact, i've got a Jake Seresin listed too as a primary pick up and secondary emergency contact if we can't reach you and a Bradley Bradshaw was just recently added as a primary pick up and drop off and third emergency contact if yourself of Jake are not reachable.” The receptionist explained as she turned her head up from her computer screen to look at you. “Does that all sound good Fe?”

“Yeah, all good.” You sighed out a breath of relief. “Um, I was also wondering if I could red flag someone?” Bradley knew it was hard for you to even ask, but you needed to make sure that Odette was going to be safe in the care of the child workers you trusted her to. He’d been the one to remind you that it was probably a good idea to get ahead of the game and expect Jaidyn to try something. “Dots dad has recently moved to town and I just want to make sure if he ever tries to collect her or comes to try and see her or something that someone will notify me?”

“Sure thing sugar, I just need a name and I can make sure that if that were to ever happen we’d notify you, but please remember unless someones been specifically nominated as a trusted adult, we wouldn't let just anyone claiming to be here for Dot pick her up Felix, She's safe here.” It was nice to be reassured.

“Thankyou.” You smiled softly as you nuzzled your daughter, kissing her cheeks until she was smiling. Bradley had tried his best to do her hair this morning, you had to redo it but let him redeem his self esteem when he placed the purple bows against her pigtails. “Uh, his name is Jaidyn Dolan.”

“Great, I'll make sure if he ever comes snooping around that you're informed immediately.”

“Alright squirt, time to go.” Bradley roared again as he scooped Odette up, placing her down on the ground as he opened his arms wide for her to smoosh herself against him, encapsulating the almost three year old he’d give his life for. “You have a good day alright? and I want at least two new drawings, got some new picture frames to fill.”

“You know you can't just keep using her for cheap artwork Bradshaw.” You were quick to laugh as you came to crouch beside him, Dot moving from his warm strong embrace to your loving, protective hug. “Love you Lieutenant Polkadot, see this afternoon baby.”

“I'm gonna stockpile them so when she actually does grow up to become the next Picasso, i'll be making bank.” Rooster quipped as he stood with you, watching as one of the early childhood educators took Dot by the hand and walked her inside the daycare. “Come on Mamma, we better get to base.”

You weren't going to lie, you were utterly terrified of what going back to work would bring. Nothing had changed really, but so much had also changed at the same time. Before the break, you and Bradley weren't exactly sure what the two of you were. Now? You’d gone ahead and made it official, Bradley Bradshaw was your boyfriend and you were his girlfriend.

God, you had a child, you were a fully grown woman and even just the idea of introducing Bradley as your boyfriend to anyone made you feel like a prepubescent adolescent. You asked if you could refer to him as your partner if anyone were to ask, Rooster said you could call him anything under the sun so long as he was yours and you were his. He didn't care that much for labels, he just wanted you and your daughter for the rest of his life.

“If he comes near you Bradley I swear–” Holding the passenger side door of the Bronco open.

“I can hold my own, don't you spend a second worrying about me Fe.” Penny had offered to lend you her car for a little bit while you looked on marketplace for anyone going for a good price. Jake was still waiting on his insurance claim to finish processing so he could cash in for a new Ford. You had politely accepted knowing Jake needed it more than you did. “Besides, I think the more important matter at hand here is making sure you remember to grab the keys to your new house before you leave this afternoon.”

“True, true, still can't believe I actually got approved.” As it turns out, one of the main reasons it had taken you so long to be approved for staff accommodation was that one of the admin workers knew of you and your beautiful daughter and wanted to find you something you could truly make a home. There was a new opening on the outskirts of the bass housing, a modest two story house with a garden and white picket fence. Three bedroom, two bathroom, two car garage. It had all the fixings and once you'd seen the letter and photos attached you couldn't contain your excitement. “I think Jakes almost a little too excited to see the back of me.” When you had told Jake that you'd been approved for your own place, he was beyond excited for you, told you that he was delighted to finally see that day, that he thought you were gonna be living rent free under his roof for eternity.

Although he teased and pushed your buttons, never once did Jake insist eternity was a bad thing. He had sent Bradley a text soon after telling him to meet him at the hardware store that afternoon so they could split a pretty penny on a solid security system they could both remotely access.

“He’s gonna remember just how quiet his home was before you showed up, trust me.” Bradley smirked as he started up the Bronco, strapping himself in and before he even thought about shifting into first gear–he made sure you were buckled in too. “You still wanna go look at furniture on the weekend?”

“Absolutely, there's this lounge that is apparently stain proof at fantastic furniture I wanna have a look at.” You reached down for the catalogue you had thrown into your bag this morning, Bradley laughed when he quickly glanced over to see you had circled some items in red marker. “Wonder if I can get something that looks similar at the op shop.”

“You dont wanna buy it new?” Bradley wasn't against second hand, he loved a good thrifted piece as much as the next guy. His favourite bomber jacket was actually found at an old overcrowded second hand store he went to once with a few buddies who were in search of some clothes of a themed Sunday Funday back in his TopGun days. But he thought if you were starting a fresh, new life, new house, new people around you who loved you for you, that you’d want some new furniture, owned just by you. No string or memories of any kind attached, owned by you and only you to create only the best of memories on and around.

“Rooster, I don't think I’ve ever had a piece of furniture that's brand new.” You sighed. “I think the bunk bed I shared with my sisters was so old that every time something broke or snapped my brothers would just nail a piece of wood to the frame to keep it from falling apart on us in the middle of the night.” It was becoming abundantly clear that you and Bradley came from two very different backgrounds. “Roo—“ you reached over to place your hand on Roosters thigh. “My mum's bipolar, Frank? Well—he’s an alcoholic and an addict.” You explained with a solemn tone. “I did whatever I could to help raise my siblings and I wish to this day I could have done more than I did before they cut me out.” You never explained why you didn’t talk to your siblings anymore, Bradley had asked Jake one night over a few beers and the only explanation he gave was that you wanted a better life for yourself. “Everything I do, all the money I earn? Is so that Odette can have a better life, I wanna be able to give her everything because she’s a great little girl and she deserves a hell of a lot more than I’ve given her so far.”

Rooster didn’t argue, he understood where you were coming from. Reaching up to grab the hand you’d placed on his thigh to bring it up to his lips, he pressed a gentle kiss to your palm. It made your heart do backflips the way Bradley didn't try and argue, didn't try and change your ways or your views. It made you feel loved for who you were–and there wasn't a single fibre of Bradley Bradsahw who wanted to change a single part of who you were.

“So we make a day of it? I’ll rent a trailer and we can op shop the shit out of this house mamma.”

***~***~***~***~***~***~

The locker room was crowded with naval aviators returning to work after having been off for the last week or so. Bob Floyd was the first one to notice the new face amongst the sea of all too familiar faces he’d grown to know over the last year or so being stationed in North Island.

“Take a picture, it'll last longer.” Jaidyn smeared as Bob found himself staring at the man he didn't know, turning his head sharply to anywhere else in the room but the man's line of sight when he’d been sprung. “Im just fucking with you man” Jaidyn smirked as he reached out to shake Bob’s hand. “Names Jaidyn, Zeus.”

“For the love of god Bob don't touch him, I don't know where he’s been.” Jake hissed as he stepped in between the two aviators, puffing his chest and flaring his nostrils as he clenched his jaw.

“Jake–” Jaidyn eyed off his former best friend like he’d seen someone come back from the dead. “It's good to see you bro, how's things? How's my missus?” Jaidyn was only beginning to test the waters to see how far he could push Jake Seresin in a public forum before he snapped. The locker room had never felt so silent before with so many people in it. “Heard she's been crashing at your place ever since she took off.”

“Judging by the swelling under your right eye I trust Bradshaw already told you to stay clear away from her and we won't have any issues.” It was a nod to the bruised knuckles Rooster was still carrying the weight of after having busted his fist against Jaidyns face. “I wanna make one thing abundantly clear though–” Jake hissed through gritted teeth as he got up in Jaidyn’s face enough to have the slightly taller, brunette man stumble back a step or two. “You fucking go anywhere near her and I find out about it ill kill you, and thats a promise.”

“What lies had she spun to you Seresin.” Jaidyn chuckled as Jake turned on his heels, heading back in the direction of his locker after having shook his head Bob's way, gesturing for the backseater not to go near him. “ I never took you for a bitch.”

“Yeah well, I'd rather be known as a bitch than as the guy who beats up women.” Jake didn't even have to turn around to know Jaidyn had gone the darkest shade of red known to man. “Because I never took you as the kinda guy who would do that shit for fun.” There was something Jake's fellow aviators were missing in the confrontation going down in the locker room because in all the time they'd known Jake Seresin he had never once mentioned his former best friend or the girl he saw as a sister until you showed up at his front doorstep. “You damn near killed her and you know it.” It was what Jaidyn was smearing next that had Jake seeing red, that had him racing across the locker room at full speed, pushing past everyone and anyone who got in his way, just as you and Rooster were walking in hand in hand laughing at something stupidly corning he’d said just to make you smile.

“Yeah well, it's damn near addicting when she makes such pretty noises.”

“YOU SON OF A BITCH!” Bradley was off in an instant, leaving you at the threshold of the locker room as he raced over to break up the conflict unfolding. “ILL FUCKING KILL YOU YOU PIECE OF SHIT!” Jake had his hands on Jaidyn in three point five seconds, shoving his chest as hard as he could before he tried to throw a punch that would have knocked the slightly taller, brunette with the wicked and maniacal laugh out cold.

“Jake!” Rooster stepped between the two men who were about to throw punches. “He's not worth it man, it's want he wants, don't give it to him.” On the way over, Rooster had passed the Admiral making his way over, it was only a matter of time.

“What the hell is going on?” Mickey asked as you stepped into the locker room looking all kinds of meek and to blame for the events transpiring. “Who the hell's this guy?”

“Dots father–” Is all you said and suddenly all eyes are on you. The squad who had become like a family to you all looked at you as if you were suddenly so much shorter, so much more vulnerable and so much more broken than you really were. “Jaidyn is Odette's dad, he uh, he followed me here.”

“Fe–” Phoenix was the first person to speak as you never took your eyes off Bradley as he tried his best to deescalate the situation. Throwing himself between Jake and Jaidyn like he didn't care for his own wellbeing, just those around him.

“I'm fine Nix, really, I’ll uh–I'll be in the hangar if anyone needs me.” You held back tears as you faked a smile so painful it damn near pulled on all the strings in Phoenix's heart. “Fanboy please don't forget that the strap on your hemet still needs to be fixed before you go up today, come see me whenever you can, the new part I ordered came in over the break.” You thought maybe throwing yourself into your work would keep you sane enough to get through at least the first day back. But when you made eye contact with Jaidyn for a brief moment, the way he smiled at you like he knew he won made you want to throw up.

“Neither of you two know what shes really like, shes got you fucking played boys.” Jaidyn scoffed as he broke himself away from Braldey and Jake who stood side by side, the rest of the team behind them looking over their respective shoulders. “We’re engaged, she loves me and it'll only be a matter of time before she comes crawling back, begging for forgiveness after she took our daughter and ran.” In retrospect, Rooster knew he he maybe shouldn’t have said it—but his words were escaping far too quickly for him to stop himself.

“You mean the same daughter who calls me daddy now while I tuck her into bed every night?” Bradley knew what his taunt would cost him, he was prepared to cop it too. Dot had never called him dad before and he surely never expected her to. But as Jaidyn swung a powerful right hook against Roosters cheek just as Admiral Beau and Pete Mitchell were stepping into the locker room to see what all the fuss had been about, it was worth it.

“Lieutenant Dolan, my office now!” Admiral Beau shouted as he watched Rooster go down, Jake just barely caught his head before he cracked it on the side of the bench. There were a few seconds there where Bradley Bradshaw swore he could smell colours and hear shapes but it was so worth it as the taste of iron coated his taste buds.

“Bradshaw you alright?’ Jake asked as he watched Bradley fight off unconsciousness, he could have sworn if this had been a cartoon he’d have stars flying around his head like in that one movie Dot was scared shitless of. Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He didn’t blame the two year old though, that ending kinda fucked him up too. “Rooster? You there.”

“Oi be careful, he can actually throw a solid punch.” Bradley chuckled, showing Jake his blooded teeth as he sat up slowly. “Admiral Beau didn't seem too happy though, which is good.”

“All you did was by yourself a little more time Rooster, I don't think this solves anything, if i'm being perfectly honest I think this might have made things worse.” Bob interrupted as he sat down next to Rooster on the ground with the locker room medical kit, assessing the damage. “Far out I don't know how your nose isn't broken.”

“Where Fe?” It was his first question. “She didn't see, did she?” If there was only one thing Bradley Bradshaw was worried about it wasnt if his nose was broken or if he’d actually hit his head or not. It was if you’d seen him take a hit for a lie he told just to get Jaidyn to play his own game. You hadnt, you were half way back to your hanger by the time Rooster had hit the deck and Jaidyn was being escorted to the admirals office for disciplinary action.

“Nah, she left before you turned yourself into a human punching bag.” Fanboy was the one who gave Rooster the answer he’d been hoping for. ”But hey, why do they call him Zeus for?”

“Stands for Zero Effort Unless Supervised.” Jake replied as he stood with a groan, letting Bob take over as nurse's aid. “Im sure you’ll find out just how he got that callsign in the first place, hes a fucking terrible wingman.”

***~***~***~***~***~***~

“Lifestyles——of the rich and the famous—.” You muttered along to yourself as you hung halfway into the engine bay of your latest victim. An old Tomcat that the admirals had asked you to bring back from the dead as a side job amongst all the services and everyday tasks you kept ahead of to make sure the Dagger Squad were as well oiled as they could be. “They’re always complaining—always complaining.” Good Charlotte’s The Young and the Hopeless album had been blasting through your speakers for about four or five songs now—filling the silence with the early two thousands music was enough to keep your mind on the task ahead instead of wandering off somewhere else.

“Don’t change career paths Felix, you sound like a broken record.” Jake chuckled as he stood looking up at you from the ground below. You stood atop the ladder, looking down at Jake. “Can we talk for a minute?”

“Only if you grab me a redbull from the mini?” You replied as you started making your way down. Being careful to take one ladder step at a time. Jake did as you asked and made his way over to where your mini fridge sat, filled with copious amounts of caffeinated beverages ranging from redbulls to massive cans of Bang energy.

“Here.” Jake handed you your beverage of choice as he stole a five hour energy, he didn't need to ask, so he didn't. “So we found out who Zeus is gonna be flying with–” Jake wasn't even trying to beat around the bush as he took the five hour energy down the hatch. You had your mechanic suit undone and tied around your waist, leaving you exposed to your black stand issue T-shirt.

“Don't say Bradley.” You groaned as you cracked open the can. Taking a sip as Jake looked at you as if he wished he wasn't about to say Roosters name. “Jake I swear–”

“Okay so I won't tell you Jaidyn is Roosters wingman now.”

“Oh well you just did! Didnt you?” You sighed in defeat as you made your way over to the small lounges you’d thrifted for the workshop, more often than not the Daggers would spend their lunch breaks and down time in your hanger turned workshop. “God, that's not gonna go well.”

“You’re telling me, Roosters already got a black eye and it's only day one.” Okay, Jake really had dropped the ball on that one. He knew you were going to find out sooner or later and he thought it was best if you found out sooner, but still, the way you looked at him like he’d just punched you in the face was not a good experience. “He’s fine, Bradshaw was just taking the piss and took a fist to the jaw, he's fine Y/n, lover boys still walkin and talkin.” Jake explained as he sat across from you in one of the old rocking chairs that needed new upholstery. “Thats not what I came here to talk to you about, fuck Rooster, hes fine.”

“Jake–”

“We wanna put some security cameras up in your new place.”

“You wanna do what now?” Your eyes bugged out of your head a little as you choked on the carbonation of your red bull. “I feel like that's a little bit–”

“Necessary Y/n, it's necessary because I wanna keep you safe.” You didn't reply for a moment, you just sat across from Jake smirking as you mulled over your next statement. Sinking a little lower as you placed your legs up onto the coffee table that was covered in polaroid of you and respective members of the dagger squad– all slid underneath the glass slab.

“You’re gonna miss me, admit it.” You chuckled, biting your bottom lip because you knew even if he wasn't going to admit it that you were right. Jake Seresin had gotten used to having you living in his spare room and he was in fact going to miss the chaos you so effortlessly brought back into his life. From the way you never replaced the toilet paper roll after a roll was finished to the way you would put a movie on full ball and still manage to fall asleep half way through.

“Fuck off Fe.” Jake scoffed as he turned his head away from your eyeline. “I just think since you’re gonna be on your own a lot more often, if you had cameras, we could check in on you without physically having to check in on you.”

“No common areas and I wanna know where every single fucking one is.” Pointing at Jake, you agreed to the cameras, understanding that it was probably a good idea even if you just had a few around the place. “And so help me god if you so much as stick your nose into my private life with bradley il–”

“I don't wanna know what you and Bradshaw get up to behind closed doors.” Jake shivered at the thought. “I'm still scared from the display I walked in on at the dining table.”

“Maybe nows not such a good time to tell you we fucked on your kitchen countertop too.”

“You’re fucking gross you know that?”

“Eat me Seresin, I'm a grown up. I can do whatever and whoever the hell I want.” The two of you just sat there for a while listening to the same Good Charlotte album you would listen to when you were getting high together at the back of the yards. Jake's mum would kill him to this day if she knew her baby boy had been exposed to such a thing.

“I don't care how old we get, you're still gonna be a little shit of a sister.” Jake broke the silence first as he leaned across, his elbows digging into his knees. “You’re a pain in the ass, but you're my pain in the ass and this shit you've got going on with Jaidyn is all of our problem alright?” Jake frowned as he watched you shrug like you didn't think you were worth the extra effort. “I think you should tell the rest of the guys how serious things really are so they can help too.”

“I aint required reading Hangman.” You groaned as you let your head fall back against the chair. “But if we can drop the subject for now, i'll think about it, alright?”

“Okay.” Was all Jake said as he pressed his lips together and nodded, standing as he came over the tussle with your hair. “I'll see you at home, don't forget to pick up your keys.”

“Rooster already reminded me, but thanks.” You watched from the couch as Jake made his way out of the hangar. “Hey Jake?” You called out after him, watching as he paused in his tracks to turn his head back to where you sat. “I don't say it enough and I really should.” You cooed. “I love you.” Jake just smiled, he knew you did and he loved you back, so much. He’d known you his entire life and he still knew there was so much more to you than everyone saw. Perhaps Bradley would be the person to get to know you just a little better than Jake thought he did.

“I love you too.”

***~***~***~***~***~***~

“Talk out of your ass like that again and I'll be the one who smacks you upside the head you got it Bradshaw?” You growled as Bradley made his way over to you, dragging his feet along the bitchament from a long day. The side of his face knocked up and surely bruising. “Jake told me what you said.” Bradley had been avoiding coming past the hanger all day so you couldn't castrate him for being an idiot.

“Hangman needs to learn to keep his mouth shut.” Dropping his bag, Bradley took you into an embrace he;d been wanting to give you all day, the smell of your shampoo always brought him solace. Kissing the top of your head a few times as he kept you close against his chest. Pressing your back into the side of the Bronco you had been waiting beside. “But I know, I know, I shouldn't have said it.”

“You can't be doing that shit, he's dangerous and I don't wanna lose you.”

“Oh trust me mamma it’ll take alot more than a single right hook to take me down.” You loved the term of endearment Rooster had chosen for you. Mamma. It made you ache for his touch.

“Really? Cause from the eye witness account Fanboy told me about when he came to pick up his helmet, apparently you hitting the deck like a sack of shit.” You taunted Rooster as he saw Jaidyn making his way over to his own car out of the corner of his eyes. Far too close to you than he was comfortable with.

“Love makes a man do crazy things.” Rooster was serious when he tilted your chin to look at him. Holding your chin between his thumb and index. “I love you Y/n, and you don't have to say it back, but I do love you–so much baby.” So caught up in the way Bradley was looking at you like you hung all the stars in the night sky just for him and him alone, you hadnt even noticed Jaidyn near his car, parted only one space across from Roosters Bronco.

“I love you too.” It was one of the first times you'd ever said that with genuine intent. You told Jake you loved him, but this was a different kind of love then the one you had for Jake. Jakes was unconditional sibling love. The love you felt for Bradley bradshaw you'd never experienced before. You really did love Bradley, so much it hurt. “Now how about we go check out my new crib huh? Ten bridge street is officially all mine.”

“Ten Bridge street huh?” Jaidyn eaves dropped as he slammed his car room after having thrown his duffel into the back seat, leaning on the side of his car with his arms crossed over his chest.

“I'm nine Bridge street honey, looks like we’re neighbours.”

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~**

Tags: @a-serene-place-to-be @lilyevanswhore @thescarletknight2014 @blindedbythelightt t @averyhotchner @emma8895eb @blairfox04 @caitsymichelle13 @oxxolovemelikeyoudooxxo @teacupsandtopgun @aemondssiut @feltonswifesworld87 @akalei349 @notjustsomeblonde @americaarse

#terms of endearment// bradley bradshaw #terms of endearment// jake seresin #bradley bradshaw imagine #bradley bradshaw x y/n #bradley bradshaw x jake seresin #bradley bradshaw x female reader #bradley 'rooster' bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x reader #rooster bradshaw #rooster fluff #rooster angst #Tooster x Dot

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withlovewriting · 1 year

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All I Ever Knew, Only You 1: Bye Bye, Benny

Chapter One.

You were riding your bike to the sound of ‘It’s No Big Deal’, And you’re trying to lift off the ground on those old two wheels, Nothing ‘bout the way that you were treated ever seemed especially alarming till now, So you tie up your hair and you smile like it’s no big deal.

Summary: Hawkins was your typical quaint, mid-western town where nothing ever happened. People were born here, lived their entire lives within the town limits and eventually died here, peacefully in their sleep. But one cold November evening in 1983 would change everything.

Despite a child with psychokinetic abilities, and ravenous monsters that lacked faces, stranger things had definitely happened in the small town in Indiana. One of them being your reluctant and slightly imposed friendship with Hawkins High’s own King Bee, Steve Harrington.

Characters: Steve Harrington x Non-descriptive F!Reader (eventual)

Words: 4,983

Chapter Warnings: Strong language, alcohol abuse, child abuse, mentions of possible mental health disorders, typical season 1 mean-girl Steve and his little gang of assholes. An offensive term to specific religion, i guess. Also apologies, first chapters are awkward and just plot building but there ya go.

Series Warnings: Strong language, mentions of underage drinking, mentions of drug use, canon-typical violence, mentions of alcohol abuse, mentions of possible mental health disorders, child abuse, slow burn, kinda enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, I like to call it ‘two idiots who begrudgingly befriend each other only to realize... ‘wait a damn minute...’, eventual sexual content, canon-typical time-period bullshit. 18+. Minors DNI.

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Chapter One: Bye Bye, Benny.

Your legs moved faster than ever before, calves crying out in pain as your lungs burned, feeling like you hadn’t taken a proper breath in forever. But you still continued to push forward, dodging the oncoming vehicle and pedestrians as best you could. A car slammed on their breaks, horn blaring through the bustling streets during the late evening causing you to wobble slightly, hands gripping the handle bars of your bike so tightly you were sure you’d be able to pull them off completely.

Once you had regained your balance, you held up a hand, a silent sorry to the passing car as the driver shouted obscenities that you didn’t have time to be offended by. Just as you passed the coroners office, a loud whoop, whoop sounded behind you, the red and blue lights lighting up the ever darkening evening.

Shit, you mumbled to yourself, head darting around to watch as the officer stuck his hand out of the window, flagging you down. Well, you were definitely going to be late now.

Stopping alongside the side walk, one dirty converse perched on the curb to balance yourself, you waited as he slowly approached you, taking his sweet time. Of course, it wouldn’t be Callahan, the man gullible enough that you could easily spin a tale and get yourself out of this quickly, or even officer Powell, the man much more commanding than the former yet still not as assertive — or nosy — as the man in the unsightly beige uniform that was walking towards you.

“Kid, do you know how recklessly you were riding?”

Tilting your head backwards, face scrunched up slightly, you tried to suppress the annoyance that was bound to seep through your voice, “Hop, listen-”

“You almost caused two separate road traffic accidents, and don’t even think I didn’t see you almost wipe out Mrs. Lloyd.”

“Hopper, I-”

“I should take this damn thing off you, throw it in the junk yard where it belongs. Looks like this piece of shit is falling apart.”

“Are you gonna give me a ticket? Because if you are, can we speed this thing along and maybe save the whole responsibility talk for next time.”

Raising a brow, Jim sent you an incredulous look, “Next time?”

Rolling your eyes, you finally released the pent up, frustrated sigh, “ You know what I mean.”

Mumbling under his breath, Jim took off his slightly off-color hat before gripping his leather belt, hands firm on his hips, “Look, kid. You’re on a bike, which means you’re not gonna win any fight you decide to pick that day with a car. You might not give a shit, but I could really do without the extra paperwork. So stop riding like you’ve just robbed a bank.”

Nodding along with the man, you hoped your silent agreement would make this exchange go by at least a little quicker.

“I’m giving you a verbal warning, alright? If I have even one more complaint about a delinquent teenage cyclist bowling over old ladies in the street, I’ll personally arrest you myself and make you fill out the complaints paperwork. Got it?”

“Got it, chief.”

You couldn’t help but imagine how boring his job must be — especially since moving back from New York — to even bother with a cycling non-incident.

“Now, grab you bike and throw it in the back, if you’re in such a rush my car will get you there a lot quicker than that rusted piece of junk.”

Doing as he said, you then joined him in the car, the man glaring at you until you remembered to buckle your seat belt. Eventually, he pulled away, and you directed him towards Oak street.

“So, hows your Mom doing?”

His comment was meant to come off as flippant, uninterested in your actual answer and just trying to fill the silence. But you’d had your fair share of interactions with Jim Hopper since he crawled back to Hawkins in 1979, as had your mother.

He’d vehemently deny it if he was ever asked, but Jim Hopper — in all of his gruff, cynical glory — had a soft underbelly. He didn’t care about much any more. Not his job, not himself, nor any family, but in the few months he’d had some kind of relationship with your mother, he had unwittingly taken on a role in your life that had been missing for so, so long. So, what did it matter if he checked in every now and then?

Shuffling uncomfortably, you peered out of the passenger window, hoping he wouldn’t push too hard, “She’s fine. Got a cold, at the moment, so…Can’t exactly make it into work right now.”

“You’re covering for her again? You really shouldn’t be out late, and especially not on a school night-”

“She’s not well, Hop. A lecture won’t pay the bills.”

Despite reading between the lines, Hopper shut his mouth, even for just a moment before changing the subject, “No car tonight?”

“Mom forgot to get gas after work last night.”

“I thought she was too ill to work.”

Squeezing your eyes shut, you couldn’t have been more happy to see the shitty, run down bar you’d be spending the next couple of hours. Barely letting the man come to a full stop, you hopped out of the car before struggling to pull your bike out of the trunk without scuffing the police vehicle,

“Thanks for the ride, Hop.”

As if it took him a moment to realize you’d even exited the car, he quickly rolled down his window, “You’re not even old enough to be in there-”

It was safe to say your ride home from covering your mother’s shift wasn’t as fast paced, or exciting, as your previous journey.

You felt exhausted after a long day working at the arcade, revising for a stupid chemistry test that Mr. Kaminsky seemed determined to make half of the class fail, and then rushing like a mad man toward The Hideout, a long 6 hour shift bussing tables for old men who seemingly had boundary issues when it came to teenage girls. If it wasn’t for Thomas, the owner, you might’ve had another run in with the chief, certain you’d of stuck a fork through one of Mr Hanson’s wandering hands.

Turning down Morehead Street, you were almost relieved to be home. Almost.

All you wanted to do was shower off the smell of stale beer and greasy burgers and flop into bed. This wasn’t exactly how you’d wanted to spend your Sunday.

Your heart pounded in your chest, the lurking feeling of uneasiness crawled up your throat, the familiar, yet uncertain apprehension causing you to slow to a stop outside of the large, blue house that sat at the other end of your street. Hauntingly intimidating, the formidable house had sat abandoned since before you were even born. Children would often dare each other to play ding-dong-ditch, especially around Halloween, but nobody to your knowledge had actually made it much further than the path that led toward the rotten porch stairs. It had been boarded up since before you could remember, and nobody seemed all that bothered to disrupt it, the memories of what happened there more than two decades ago settled like the dust that was sure to line the floorboards inside.

Despite the desolate appearance in the daytime, the house only looked even more daunting in the shadows that lingered in the night, crawling their way over the house to leave it in almost total darkness.

Swallowing down the lump of uneasiness, you placed your foot back onto the pedal, ready to push off when you heard something. Your head swiveled back toward the large house, eyes wide and inquisitive, certain you’d heard voices.

Maybe the teenagers of Hawkins had finally become brave enough to step forth into the house, or maybe it was the ghosts of the slain family. Either way, you weren’t hanging around to find out, cycling home a little faster than before as you willed yourself to not peer back at the house for one last look, too worried about what, or who, you might find staring back.

Leaving your bike in the front yard — it was Hawkins, after all and the only thing more boring than the teenagers in this town, was the workload, or lack thereof, for the police — you quietly made your way up the creaky, half-rotten porch steps, all too aware of the television blaring so loudly from the living room that you could hear it from outside.

After taking a moment to prepare yourself, you finally pushed the door open, silently grumbling about how your mother always left it unlocked, regardless the time of day. Creeping toward the archway leading to the living room, you caught sight of your mother slumped on the sofa, eyes heavy from more than just sleep, but somehow still conscious. Stepping into the room, you called out for her, hoping she’d hear you over the loud laughter from whatever bullshit show she was half-watching.

“Mom?”

Her head turned, eyebrows raised as if she was surprised anyone had entered the house at all, before her glossed over eyes narrowed, pointing the empty bottle in her hand in your direction, “Where the hell have you been?”

It took everything in you not to release a frustrated sigh, telling her that you had in fact been covering her shift in order to guarantee you’d be able to keep the heating on this month. Winter in Indiana was a bitch and you were certain neither of you would survive another year without at least a mildly-warm house.

“I was working, Mom. C’mon, lets get you to bed-”

“Were you late? Cause you know they dock my wage by a whole hour if you’re even a fuckin’ minute late.”

Swallowing the lump in your throat, you shook your head, avoiding her eyes, “No, Mom. I wasn’t late. I-”

“Fuckin’ liar!” Standing, your mother wobbled on uncertain legs much like a newborn foal as she stumbled toward the telephone, where the answering machine blinked a devious, betraying red. Your mother almost looked too happy that she’d caught you in a lie as her clumsy pointer finger pushed hard at the button, playing the message out loud,

‘Rebecca, this is Thomas. You’re late for your shift, again. You better be on your way, I swear to god, this is the last fucking time. And you better not send your kid, again. I’m sick of it, Bec. So unless your face-down in your own vomit somewhere, you better be in work within the next 10 minutes, or- Oh, hey sweetheart-’

Bottle still in hand, your mother floundered toward you, nose scrunched in annoyance and distrust, as if you’d lied to her about something so much worse, like smashing up the car, or god forbid, pouring one of her beloved bottles down the kitchen sink.

Thankfully, by the time she reached you, she’d not only half forgotten what she was mad about, but wouldn’t be able to work out which one of you she saw to swing at. So instead, you took her gently by the shoulders, ushering her toward her bedroom. She collapsed onto her bed face-first and rather ungraciously her fingertips still gripping the empty bottle as if her life depended on it, and by the time you’d placed a throw blanket over her body, soft snores were already escaping her.

Despite your mother now being out cold, you still closed your bedroom door as quietly as possible, the fear that you’d manage to wake her up too ingrained in you to do anything but.

Keeping the light off, you sprawled out onto your own bed, deciding to forgo the shower and overflowing laundry basket that had been calling out to you most of the week.

Deciding to shower when you awoke in the morning, you didn’t have a choice but to drive your mother’s old Fiat Brava to school, knowing you’d be late otherwise.

Grumbling at yourself for not finding time to do the laundry, you dug deep into your drawers, trying to find something both suitable for school, knowing half of the clothes were creeping up on being too small for you. But money was sparse in your household, and an oversized jacket that you were yet to grow into had sufficed so far.

Pulling out a blue blouse that you absolutely knew was too small, meaning you would be pulling down the sleeves all day in an attempt to stop them ending up halfway up your forearm, you knew it would have to do.

Leaving with barely enough time to fill up the coffee pot in hopes your mother would be drawn to the bitter smell rather than the temptation of the alcohol cupboard, you remained just under the speed limit, gnawing at your lip for the entirety of the drive.

School was dragging by, every minute feeling like an hour, and you knew clock-watching wouldn’t help, the gentle tick, tick, tick lulling you into a drowsy mess as you tried your best to keep your attention on your school work.

Making your way toward your locker, ready to dump half of your books out and enjoy your free period sleeping in the library, you saw Barb staring off down the hallway, her eyebrows pulled together as she watched Nancy turn the corner in a hurry.

“Everything OK?” You asked, causing her to jump slightly, head whipping toward you.

Relaxing as she realized it was you, she released an annoyed sigh, “It’s like he calls and she goes running. Literally.”

“You mean Harrington?”

“She’s still denying they’re even a thing.”

Your eyes remained in the direction of where Nancy had disappeared to, the hallways clearing out as people prepared for their next lesson, “Nancy’s a smart girl. She knows what he’s like.”

“That’s what I’m worried about,” Barb sighed, pushing her glasses to sit a little higher on the bridge of her nose, “He’s gonna use her, and dump her, and she’ll end up hurt. Just like every other girl he’s dated.”

“Dated is a very loose term,” you joked, Converse heel digging into the hard floor when Barb didn’t quite appreciate the joke, “He’ll get bored eventually, alright? He always does. But Nancy’s not an idiot. I highly doubt she really thinks he’s gonna be the love of her life, or even her date to prom if his reputation is anything to go by.”

When Barb remained silent, her top teeth worrying at her bottom lip you sighed, “Hey, if he hurts her, we can always key his car. Or set his hair on fire. God knows it’s got enough product in it to go up like a bonfire.”

That, at least, caused a smile to pull at Barb’s lips. Feeling satisfied that you’d at least kind of cheered the girl up, you left your friend with a reassuring pat on the shoulder before making your way down the long hallway.

Pushing the bathroom door open, you came to a halt almost right away, body colliding with the same person you’d just been shit talking for the last five minutes.

“Watch where you’re going-”

Scoffing at the boy, you pushed him away slightly, “This is the girl’s restroom, nimrod. You watch where you’re going.”

Rolling his eyes, Steve lent back against the wall slightly, hands grasped at his hips, “Nice shirt, but I think you’re shopping in the wrong age department of the Goodwill.”

“Says the person wearing a polo. Mommy pick it out at the GAP?”

Your stand off would’ve continued for much longer, had the second bell not have rung. Grabbing his yellow gym bag from the floor, he brushed past you with an annoyed glare, “It’s a vintage H R Robinson’s.”

God, he was such an ass.

Word about Will Byers’ disappearance had spread around town quicker than the time Mrs. Hunt’s husband had been caught balls deep in his receptionist at the local car dealership.

After returning home, your mother was nowhere to be found and to say you spent your night pacing around and doing absolutely anything to take your mind off the fact she was gone, was an understatement.

Your laundry was washed, dried and shoved back into your drawers, homework finished in record time and by 9pm you were certain you were a chemistry master. At least, you would’ve been, had any of the information stuck in your brain, instead using your notes as nothing more than a distraction.

So when the sound of shoes kicking up rocks and unsettling the gravel on your driveway roused you from your light sleep, you felt your heart finally settle back down to a normal speed as your mother carelessly stumbled down the path, slamming the front door shut behind her — still not learning to lock it — before making her way to her own bedroom.

Peering at your clock, the illuminating numbers spelled out 4am, causing you to release a long sigh before rolling over, hoping that you wouldn’t sleep through your alarm, less so for the fear of being late to school, and more-so for the fear of your mother’s hungover wrath if it woke her up instead.

Shoving a few books into your locker, you felt too mentally drained to even bother with the chemistry test, and if it didn’t count for half of your grade that semester, then you probably would’ve skipped.

The doors at the end of the corridor opened, the cool November wind slipping in behind a head of brown, scraggly hair, and you felt your heart plummet. Closing your locker, you heaved your half-empty messenger bag over your body and made your way towards the boy,

“Hey, Jonathan.”

The boy peered back at you, a strained smile on his face as he struggled holding everything in his hands and attempting to pin one of the papers to the board, “Oh, hey.”

Taking the papers from under his arm, you tried to send him a reassuring smile, “I, uh… I heard about Will. He’s a smart kid… He’ll be back soon, he’s probably just… hiding out, you know.”

Jonathan’s smile grew meeker, “Yeah… Yeah, I’m sure he will. It’s just not like him, you know? He’s not the kind of kid to just run off.”

“Yeah,” you nodded, eyes peering down at one of the many sheets you held for him, the boy’s smile wide and genuine. You didn’t know, though. You felt like you barely knew Jonathan, let alone Will. The eldest of the siblings, you’d met during your quick stint working at the cinema down town. You had similar music taste, bonding over your disdain for the popular kids in school, and he’d even taught you how to properly change the pump for the buttered popcorn. Your job there had only lasted a few months, but your friendship with Jonathan had lasted a lot longer. But it wasn’t like you two sat around braiding each others hair.

He was quiet and meek, whilst you were indifferent and aberrant. At least, that’s what your mother had always called you. You had perfected the art of acting like you didn’t care, and Jonathan seemed to not care at all. He kept to himself, and that’s how he liked it. You had bulldozed your way into his life, pouring flat half-cups of Coca-Cola and stale barely buttered popcorn and given him no real chance but to accept your sudden appearance. He took it in his stride, at least. But he remained quiet and shy, nonetheless.

“Hey,” a small, familiar voice called from behind you. Turning, you both send Nancy a small smile. Handing the papers back to the boy, you gave them space to talk, ready to make your way towards Kaminsky’s classroom in hopes of looking over your notes one last time.

Barb, however, had another idea, her arm halting you mid-stride before you could pass, “How is he?”

Before you could answer, you could hear the snickering of the three people to your left, “Yeah, hows he doing? Heard guilt can really tear a person down from the inside, out.”

Watching as Tommy’s face broke out into a large grin, the boy finding himself all too funny, your eyebrows pulled together in confusion, “What the hell are you talking about, Hagan?”

“He’s talking about the rumor that your boyfriend over there had something to do with his brother’s disappearance,” Steve explained, his eyes still set on his girlfriend, “Might wanna be careful. I wouldn’t be in any rooms alone with him.”

Scoffing, you crossed your arms over your chest, eyes darting toward Jonathan, Nancy, their eyes soft and sweet, and then back to Steve, an insolent smile tugging at the corners of your mouth, “I think if anyone needs to be worried, it’s you, Harrington.”

Steve’s dark eyes darted toward you, and you made a point of looking back at his girlfriend, eyebrows raised as the smile broke onto your face. Deciding you’d had enough, you strolled down the hallway, ignoring Steve’s confused calls of your name.

“Absolutely not,” you shook your head, sucking in a deep inhale of smoke, trying your best to aim it away from your friend as you blew it out, “The last thing I intend to do tonight is go to a lame-ass party at Harrington’s house. I’d rather fry my own eyeballs.”

Barb pouted, her eyes widening as they silently pleaded with you, causing you to turn your attention to the cigarette between your fingers,

“You have to come, please. I really, really don’t want to the the 3rd wheel tonight.”

Rolling your eyes at the girl’s dramatics, you sucked in another deep breath, the smoke burning your lungs slightly, “You won’t be a 3rd anything, Carol and Tommy will be there, too.”

“Ugh, 5th wheel, then. Please? I really don’t want to spend my entire evening there alone.”

“And I don’t want to spend even a second of my time there, at all. Why don’t you just tell Nancy no, for once? Put your foot down? I mean, she’ll be swapping spit with Harrington all night either way.”

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Barb send you an exasperated sigh, “You know I can’t do that.”

Your hand halted mid-way to your mouth, cigarette burning right down to the end, leaving you only faintly aware of the slight pain, but your eyes were focused on Barb. Of course, you knew Barb couldn’t — and wouldn’t — let Nancy go to this party alone. And you knew why, too. But that didn’t mean you had to be dragged along too, did it?

Dropping the butt of your cigarette onto the floor and crushing it with your worn sneaker, you frowned, forehead creasing as you sighed, staring off into the distance, “Oh my god, fine. I’ll go. But only for an hour, and then I’m out.”

Barb had never looked more grateful, pulling you into a strong hug and thanking you a million times.

Unable to not smile back at the girl, you shook your head, “Who even has a party on a Tuesday night?”

The plan was for Barb to pick you up at 8pm, along with Nancy. The girls had told their parents that you would all be studying at the library before sleeping over Nancy’s house. It was only a half-truth at best, and one that needn’t be repeated for your own mother.

Around 5pm you drove out towards Randolph lane, deciding to grab some burgers for yourself and your mother, hoping that it would at least sober her up whenever she wandered in that evening. Grumbling, you realized you still hadn’t topped up on gas, and decided that after you’d hit the gas station before heading home, hoping you still had some change in the car.

Pulling into the parking lot, a frown pulled at your features, dipping your brows towards each other. The lights were shut off, and as you approached the door, you almost bounced right off it, realizing a little too late that it was locked. Jiggling the door handle a few times, you knocked on the glass. Sure, Benny could’ve closed up early… But Benny never closed up early. Not even on week nights. He was always open for the evening rush normally fueled by hungry teens and loitering pre-teens.

“Benny? You in there?” Rasping your knuckles against the door one last time, you huffed, annoyed that your plan of an easy dinner and been thwarted. Before you turned to return to your car, something through the darkened window caught your eye.

It was definitely a figure at the table, but not quiet sat… More-so slumped. Backing away from the window a little too quickly, you stumbled off the deep curb, falling backwards onto the concrete. Eyes wide as you pushed yourself back, you managed to heave yourself up before taking off across the road, heading into the gas station.

The bell rang as the door bounced off the wall, hinges squeaking as the owner, Earl, turned his annoyed glare in your direction, “Careful with the damn door-”

Upon seeing your panicked face, Earl quickly made his way around the counter, brows pulled together in a frown as he held his hands out, “What’s wrong? What’s happened?”

“I think… I think something’s wrong with Benny-”

“Benny? Benny Hammond? I saw him yesterday, he’s fine-”

Shaking your head, your eyes whipped back toward the diner, “No, I… I don’t know. I came to get dinner, but it’s closed, so I looked through the window and I think… I think I can see him.”

Earl’s eyes darted between yourself and the diner, concern and skepticism evident on his features, “Right. I’m gonna go check it out, you get on the phone to the Sheriff. But I swear to God kid, if this is some stupid teenage prank-”

Perched on the wall just outside the diner, your leg bounced erratically as you waited for Hopper to return from inside. He’d arrived within 30 minutes, Powell to his left and Callahan to his right, and a face stormier than a rain cloud.

It didn’t take 10 minutes after his arrival for the fire department and ambulance to turn up, backdoor open as they carried out a stretcher.

“What happened, kid?” Hopper’s once dour expression had melted away, smoothing out into something slightly softer, though his frown remained. Maybe, after so many years, his face was stuck like that, you wondered.

Shrugging, your teeth worried at your bottom lip for a moment, “I came to get dinner. The door was locked and… Benny never shuts this early.”

Nodding, Hopper scribbled something down on his notepad before turning his attention back to you, swallowing uncomfortably at your tremulous voice, “Then what?”

“I thought it was weird… Knocked on the door a few times, but I didn’t get a response. So I looked through the gap in the curtains and… I don’t know. I saw someone leaning over a table. I didn’t know what was going on so I went and got Earl. He said to call you guys.”

“Alright. Look, I’ll have to take an official statement, but that can wait until tomorrow. Why don’t you-”

Before Hopper could finish his sentence, your attention was pulled away by the door opening, the familiar bell above it ringing like it always did. Two paramedics rolled out the stretcher, a large white sheet stretched across a white, zipped bag. A body bag.

Feeling your stomach lurch half-way up your throat whilst your heart dropped the other way, you couldn’t help the sharp intake of breath, body all but toppling off the wall and thankfully into the arms of Hopper.

Sure, he’d seen a lot of shit during his time in New York, but they had all been strangers and that seemed much easier to disassociate from and get the job done. But Benny… Well, they went way back. They were friends.

Despite Hop’s insistence to not look, you couldn’t help but turn your head, watching as they loaded the stretcher into the ambulance and carted off toward the morgue.

The last suicide in Hawkins had been in October of 1961, and despite not even being born then, you knew all too well about it. It had been your Grandmother, after all.

Crazy old Colette, the town had so lovingly referred to her as. Lost her husband in the war as well as her mind and never got either back. And, of course, instead of helping, the town simply ignored and gossiped, watching as she wandered around town at all hours, jittery and talking to herself, shouting that the ‘end was nigh’.

What was strange, however, was your family weren’t particularly religious. Your mother only worshiped the God she found at the bottom of a bottle, and you couldn’t even guess the last time you’d stepped inside the town’s chapel. Sure, Hawkins had it’s fair share of bible bashers — typically the overprotective PTA moms and their husbands who would frequently break their marriage vows whenever they headed out of town — but your family weren’t exactly known for their love of Jesus Christ. Or any other higher being, for that matter.

You had frequently wondered if that was the start of your mother’s downward spiral, the loss of her father and consequently her mother too, her drinking only exacerbated when your father headed out for a pack of Embassy Gold cigarettes one evening and apparently got lost on his way home, ending up in Georgia, or Colorado, or wherever the hell he was now.

Worse than that, however, was the torment that maybe whatever had caused your Grandmother to lose herself was hereditary, trickling down through the generations of your family right to the very bottom.

To you.

#steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington fanfiction #steve harrington fic #stranger things fic #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fanfiction #steve harrington smut

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alex-rambles · 1 year

Note

When you were writing, how did you manage to make the characters be like so in character? Especially Bill since he’s such a complex and chaotic character and yet you still managed to write him as in character as possible. I want to write one shots and fanfics and what not but I’m always afraid the characters I write about won’t be really them if that makes sense.

Oh damn you think Bill's in character? Thank you! I've never had other writers ask me for advice (that I can remember)

Well, the simple answer? Write. Immerse yourself in the character in question. It is far easier for me because I spent two years hyperfixated on him, and only spent around the last year publishing anything to do with him.

For things Bill-specific, some general things I keep in mind are the many, many analyses of Bill by @eldragon-x, as well as my own headcanons, and things displayed in the show. In general, Bill is most definitely a "not like other girls" type with an eccentric personality. He's a self-centered man child. He adores the odd, the unusual. And yet despite how much he claims to adore sheer chaos, he plans intricately, and gets mad when his chess pieces aren't where he wants them. Combined with his obvious sadistic streak, this results in him doing bizarre things to distress others ("how 'bout instead I shuffle the functions of every hole in your face?").

Bill wants all his boundaries respected, but everyone else's can just cease to exist for all he cares. "Rules for thee but not for me." He is a hypocrite.

I consider him to be am extremely empathetic individual- who simply prefers to either shove it down, or use his ability for his nefarious purposes. A "dark empath," if you will.

So, if Bill were to fall in love, by extension, although he's still a little freak who likes removing deer teeth, he uses his empathy in a better way- for you. He actually puts effort into working on himself- for you.

Falling in love would be one of the best things to happen to him, because it'd give Bill a real shot at redemption and allow him to become more self aware, and less of a man-child.

Of course yan Bill is completely different. Doesn't try to change. You'll love him in time. Doesn't work on himself, you'll learn to appreciate his red flags flaws. Becomes even worse of a man child, because you're not listening!

But really, find what works for you. As I've said, I went through a phase where I could endlessly consume Bill content, and watch Gravity Falls over and over. I know him like the back of my hand at this point because of how long I would spend researching him, and then writing him.

So write! Write, even if you don't publish it. Write! Go write! Do it!

Anyways, I hope this helps! I'm always open to writing tips, even if I'm not accepting headcanon requests! Always happy to help my fellow writers.

#alex writes #kind of #billposting #bill cipher x reader #gravity falls x reader #yandere gravity falls x reader #yandere bill cipher x reader #idk I shoved some headcanons in here so I'll put it on the writing tags

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travoltacustom-translates · 1 year

Text

TOKYO GANG SURVIVAL

Want to read along, but don’t have the game? Here’s a link to the event recorded!:

youtube

Event Period: 15 of May - 29 of May 2023

FEATURED CHARACTERS

Featured cards: Keisuke Baji / Ken Ryuguji

Event box: Kazutora Hanemiya

Event pass: Chifuyu Matsuno

CLICK READ MORE TO VIEW THE EVENT STORY or

CLICK THIS LINK TO VIEW THE EVENT STORY on Google Docs.

STORY TRANSLATION

EVENT - PART 1

DRAKEN

これで全員揃ったか

We’re all here now.

BAJI

思ったより人数集まらなかったな

We didn’t get as many people as I thought we would.

KAZUTORA

場地とドラケンの人望が足りねぇんじゃね？

Maybe Baji and Draken aren’t popular enough?

CHIFUYU

オレ、今からもっと集めてきます！！

I’ll go get more people now!

BAJI

別にいーよ。4人でも出来ねぇことはないだろ

Don’t worry ‘bout it. We can still do somethin’ with the 4 we have now.

KAZUTORA

急だったよな～。いきなりサバゲ―するから集まれってさ。4人集まっただけでもすげーよ

It was pretty sudden though~. It’s amazing that we even got us 4 together.

CHIFUYU

なんでサバゲ―だったんすか？

Why’d you guys wanna do a survival game?

BAJI

あー。ドラケンがどうしてもやりたいって言うからよー

Ah. Cause Draken said he really wanted to play one.

DRAKEN

それはオマエだろーが

That was you who said that.

BAJI

まぁ、ただのノリだ！2チームに分かれて勝負すっからグッパーやんぞ

Well, it’s whatever. We’ll do rock, paper to decide the teams.

。。。

BAJI

決まったな

ドラケンと一虎のチームRED！

オレと千冬のチームBLUEだ！

Then it’s decided.

Draken and Kazutora will be Team RED.

Then Chifuyu and I will be Team BLUE.

DRAKEN

今回は4人しかいねぇし。特殊ルールでいくぞ。

弾に当たっても1回は無効相手の陣地にある「フラッグ」を先に奪ったチームが勝だ

There are only four of us, so we should play by special rules.

The first team to take the flag that the opponents have set up wins, even if they get hit.

CHIFUYU

へー。面白そうっすね！

Hehh. Sounds cool!

KAZUTORA

なーなー。勝ったチームに優勝賞品とかあんの？

Hey, hey! Is there a prize for the winning team?

DRAKEN

賞品・・・特に考えてなかったな

Prize… Didn’t really think about that.

BAJI

じゃあ、こういうのはどうだ？勝ったチームは負けたチームへ１つなんでも命令できる

Then, how about this? The winning team can give an order to the losing team and make them do whatever they want.

KAZUTORA

いーじゃん！！！めっちゃやる気出てきた！！絶対勝つぜ、ドラケン！！

Sounds good!!! I’m totally pumped!! Let’s win this, Draken!!

DRAKEN

おぉ

Yeah.

CHIFUYU

いやいや。勝つのはオレらですよね、場地さん！！！

Nah, nah. We’re gonna be the winners, right Baji-san!!!

BAJI

あぁ、全力でいくぜ。ついてこい、千冬。

Yeah. We’re goin’ all out. Follow me, Chifuyu.

CHIFUYU

はい！！！

YES SIR!!!

_ _ _ _ _

AROUND MAP

KAZUTORA

ぜってーオレらREDが勝つぜ！

RED’s definitely gonna win!

_ _ _ _ _

BEFORE BATTLE

[ BAJI and CHIFUYU strategise via their comms ]

CHIFUYU

こちらスノー、ブラックキャット、応答せよ

This is Snow. Black Cat, come in.

BAJI (COMMS)

こちらブラックキャット、スノーどうぞ

This is Black Cat, go ahead, Snow.

CHIFUYU

敵アジト付近まで潜入完了周りにチームREDはいません

このままフラッグ前まで進行予定、どうぞ

I’ve infiltrated the enemy hideout, and Team RED isn’t on the perimeter.

Heading over to the flag. Over.

BAJI (COMMS)

OK. BLUEアジトの守りはオレに任せろ

ぜってぇ、REDのフラッグ持って帰って来いよスノー

OK. Watching over BLUE Hideout.

You better bring back RED’s flag, Snow!

CHIFUYU

はい！任せてくださいば・・・ブラックキャット！

RIGHT! Leave it to me, Ba-... Black Cat!

BAJI (COMMS)

検討を祈る

Good luck.

CHIFUYU

うっし！場所さんの期待に応えるためにもぜってぇフラッグを奪ってみせる！！

Right! I’m gonna get that flag and live up to Baji-san’s expectations!!

KAZUTORA

気合十分なのは分かったけど声、でかすぎじゃね？

I know you’re all hyped up, but ain’t you too loud?

CHIFUYU

っ！！！

Gh!!!

[ KAZUTORA fires at CHIFUYU ]

KAZUTORA

お、避けた！反射神経やべー

Woah, you dodged! Nice reflexes!

[ CHIFUYU fires back at KAZUTORA ]

KAZUTORA

うおっと！避けながら撃つ！？

Yikes! You’re shooting back while dodging!?

CHIFUYU

そっちも油断しすぎねぇほうがいいんじゃね？

Shouldn’t you be more careful, too?

KAZUTORA

ハハ！たしかに。じゃぁ、こっからは本気でいこうか

Haha! You’re right. Well then, I’m gonna get serious from now on.

CHIFUYU

望むところだ！

You better!

_ _ _ _ _

AFTER BATTLE

KAZUTORA

はぁ・・・はぁ・・・まじか・・・

Hah… Hah… Seriously?...

CHIFUYU

はぁ・・・はぁ・・・

Hah… Hah…

BAJI (COMMS)

こちらブラックキャット。スノー、応答せよ。

This is Black Cat. Snow, come in.

CHIFUYU

こちら、スノー。ブラックキャットどうぞ

This is… Snow. Black Cat, come in.

BAJI (COMMS)

どうした？何かあったのか？

What’s up? Did something happen?

CHIFUYU

チームREDの一虎くんと遭遇してやりあってました

I encountered and fought Team Red’s Kazutora-kun.

BAJI (COMMS)

一虎と！？やったのか？

Kazutora? Did you get him?

CHIFUYU

はい、2回ヒットさせて。戦闘不能にしました

Yeah, got two hits in. He’s downed.

BAJI (COMMS)

よくやった！！！これで2対１、かなり有利だぞ

Good job!!! A 2 to 1 advantage is great.

CHIFUYU

はぁ・・・っ・・・すみません！

Hah…gh… I’m sorry!

BAJI (COMMS)

どうした？

What’s up?

CHIFUYU

相打ちだったんです。オレも2回ヒットしました

It was a draw. I got hit as well.

BAJI (COMMS)

そうか・・・それでも一虎を止めたんだ。十分な活躍だ

オレがドラケンを仕留めればオレらの勝ちだ！

I see… You still stopped Kazutora. That’s good enough.

If I can finish off Draken, we win this thing.

[ Gunshots are heard over the comms ]

BAJI (COMMS)

っ！！！！

GH!!!!

CHIFUYU

場地さん！！！！大丈夫ですか！？！？

BAJI-SAN!!!! ARE YOU OKAY!?!?

BAJI (COMMS)

あぁ、でも話してる場合じゃねぇようだ。また後でな！

Yeah, but I guess this ain’t the place to talk. See you later!

CHIFUYU

ウッス！

Right!

KAZUTORA

ドラケンがアジトに到着したんかな？様子見に行こうぜ

Wonder if Draken’s gotten to your Hideout? Let’s check it out!

CHIFUYU

あぁ、もう何もできないけど、せめて遠くから応援だけでも・・・！

Yeah. I can’t do anything more from here, but at least I can cheer him on from afar…!

KAZUTORA

おぉ・・・そうだな

A-Ah… Right.

_ _ _ _ _

EVENT - PART 2

DRAKEN

守りは一虎に任せてきたが・・・やっぱり逆にすべきだったか？あいつぜってぇ守り向いてねぇよな

・・・今さらか、オレが秒で向こうのフラッグ奪えばすむ話だ

I’ve left the defense to Kazutora but… shouldn’t this be the other way around?

…But I’ll be taking their flag in a second.

KAZUTORA

なにブツブツ言ってんだよ

The hell you mumbling about?

DRAKEN

あ？なんでもねぇーよ。それよりちゃんとふらっぐ守ってんだろうな

オマエ！馬鹿か！フラッグから離れんなって言ってだろうが

Huh? It’s nothing. Hope you’re guarding the flag properly.

You! Are you stupid?! I told you to stay close to the flag.

KAZUTORA

でも、千冬発見したぜ？たぶんオレらのフラッグ奪いに来たんだ

ちょっとぶっ殺してくるわ！じゃあな！

But I spotted Chifuyu? Think he’s here to take our flag.

I’m gonna go kill him. See ya later!

DRAKEN

唐突に話しかけてきて唐突に終わりやがった

ま、アイツなら心配はねぇか

千冬があっちに行ってんならBLUEアジトに居るのは場地ってことか

・・・面白れぇ

He comes talkin’ outta nowhere, then he ends it outta nowhere.

Well, guess I don’t gotta worry about him.

If Chifuyu’s over there, then that means Baji’s at the BLUE hideout.

…This’ll be fun.

_ _ _ _ _

AROUND MAP

BAJI

千冬と一虎が相打ち残りはドラケンか・・・面白れぇ

Chifuyu and Kazutora are going head to head, which means I’m up against Draken… This’ll be fun.

_ _ _ _ _

BEFORE BATTLE

BAJI

・・・

DRAKEN

場地発見・・・千冬と話してんのか？

Baji spotted… is he talking to Chifuyu?

BAJI

オレがドラケンを仕留めればオレらの勝ちだ！

If I can finish off Draken, we win this thing!

DRAKEN

言ってくれんじゃねぇか

What are you talkin’ about?

[ DRAKEN fires at BAJI ]

BAJI

っ！！！！

Gh!!!!

DRAKEN

よぉー場地

戦場でくっちゃべってるなんて。えらく余裕じゃねぇーか

Yo, Baji.

Yappin’ away on the battlefield. You got a lotta time on your hands, don’t ya?

CHIFUYU (COMMS)

場地さん！！！！大丈夫ですか！？！？

BAJI-SAN!!!! ARE YOU OKAY!?!?

BAJI

あぁ、でも話してる場合じゃねぇようだ。また後でな！

Yeah, but I guess this ain’t the place to talk. See you later!

CHIFUYU (COMMS)

ウッス！

Right!

BAJI

・・・待たせたな、ドラケン

…Sorry to keep ya waiting, Draken.

DRAKEN

こうやってオマエとタイマンはるの久しぶりだよな

Been a long time since we’ve been in a fight like this.

BAJI

そうだったか？オレとやりあうのにビビってたのかよ？

That right? You scared to go up against me?

DRAKEN

バカ言え

こんなワクワクするタイマンそうそうねーよ

Quit playing.

There ain’t many exciting fights like this.

BAJI

だよな。ボッコボコにしてやるよ！！！

Right? I’m gonna beat the shit outta you!!!

DRAKEN

上等だコラ！！！！

BRING IT ON!!!!

_ _ _ _ _

AFTER BATTLE

[ GUN SHOTS FIRE ]

KAZUTORA

おぉーめっちゃ白熱してんな！

Woah! It’s getting heated!

CHIFUYU

場地さん！！！くそっ、コイツに負けてさえいなきゃ加勢できんのに！！！

Baji-san!!! Shit. If only I hadn’t lost to this guy, I could’ve supported him!

KAZUTORA

野暮なこと言ってんじゃねぇーよ。二人の顔見て見ろよ

Don’t say such things. Just take a look at their faces.

DRAKEN

そろそろきついんじゃねぇーか！？降参してもいいんだぜ！？

Shouldn’t you throw in the towel? Why don’t you give it up!?

BAJI

はっ！寝言は寝て言えよ！！！！

Hah! In your dreams!!!!

CHIFUYU

二人とも、すっげー楽しそうだ

Those two… they’re having a blast!

KAZUTORA

オレも戦いたくて体ウズウズするけど、ここは大人しく応援しとこうぜ！

ドラケンには勝ってもらわねぇとオマエらの命令に従うなんて死んでも嫌だからな！

I’m itching to get in there too, but let’s just pipe down and cheer ‘em on!

Draken’s gotta win this cause I’d rather die than follow one of your orders!

CHIFUYU

それはこっちのセリフだ！アンタ、ロクなこと言わねぇだろ

That’s my line! You don’t get to say that to me.

KAZUTORA

ニシシ。それはどうでしょう？

Nishishi. And what of it?

CHIFUYU

場地さん！！！！絶対勝ってください！！！

BAJI-SAN!!!! YOU’VE GOT THIS!!!

KAZUTORA

ドラケンなにやってんだよ！！さっさと終わらせろよー！！！

DRAKEN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!! JUST FINISH THIS ALREADY!!!

DRAKEN

うるせーな。いいから黙ってみてろや！！

SHUT IT! ZIP YOUR MOUTH AND JUST WATCH!!

BAJI

今すぐ終わらせてやるからよ！！！

I’M GONNA END THIS RIGHT NOW!!!

DRAKEN / BAJI

勝つのはオレだ！！

THIS IS MY WIN!!

BONUS LINES

1ST TIME

BAJI

まだまだこんなもんじゃねぇだろ？

This ain’t all you got, is it?

2ND TIME

BAJI

肩慣らしはこんなもんだろ。次からパワー上げていくぜ！

I’m just getting warmed up. I’m gonna put on some pressure!

3RD TIME

BAJI

そうこなくっちゃな！お互い本気でいこうぜ

This is how it should be! Let’s get serious with each other.

[ EVENT END ]

_ _ _ _ _

You can view all my translations for Tokyo Revengers: Puzzle Revengers & Hypnosis Mic: Alternative Rap Battle in my discord: HERE.

#tokyo revengers #keisuke baji #ken ryuguji #kazutora hanemiya #chifuyu matsuno #travoltacustom-translates #puzzle revengers

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timetravelingsherlockian · 1 year

Text

A System (TM): The non-definitive guide for dealing with dysphoria regardless of medical choices

Someone asked how one deals with dysphoria. The comment was too long for the reply box.

Long comment incoming...I have some gender fluidity going on, so I get buffeted from both sides (likely I tend towards masc, so it doesn't hit too hard).

I...uh...perform a good bit of mental jujitsu on the thoughts. It's gotta get through multiple layers of pre-prepared lifestyle choices, cognitive-behavioral thinking, mindfulness, rationalization, cultivating patience, disassociation, and spite before it really hits me.

Lifestyle Choices:

I'm out everywhere. If someone calls me something else or treats me in another way, they're either misinformed or being dicks about it. If they're the former, I either correct or move on with my day. If the latter, not worth my time. Any hurt I instill in myself from their dickishness is me brandishing their weapon against myself. Moving on.

Keep your friends supportive and your family as supportive as possible. If they can't be supportive, they don't get to know your business.

Don't explain shit.

I don't wear anything that makes me uncomfortable, and I wear the things I wish I wore when I was younger. All the dresses are out of my closet. None of the pants are too tight, and I have a few cut in a masc style, when I feel like it. My clothes don't cling in ways I'm not happy with. I have the good ol' standby dysphoria sweatshirt.

I get any aids I need to for myself. I go to a barber shop for my hair, and I make sure to get it cut when it's long. I've got a binder if I need it, packers, mascara in my cabinet drawer for facial hair. Pronoun pins (that I never wear, but it's nice to have them in my pocket to touch). I carry a knife like a lot of guys where I'm from do.

I try to keep everything else in my life in-shape. Think about dysphoria like a bad knee. If you don't get enough sleep, or you're eating garbage, or you're overtaxing yourself -- that knee's gonna hurt first, before anything else, because it's sensitive. If I'm getting a really bad bout, I check in with everything else first.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy:

I check disturbing thoughts against questions like, "if a friend told me this, what would I say to them?" "is the thought reasonable?"

If I spot words like "always" or "never", I flag them & try to re-word them in a less-extreme way, and I bring up counter-examples. E.g. "You'll never pass." becomes "are you sure, never*? That seems a bit harsh.* [check the facts] Even cisgender people get mistaken for the other gender, so even random chance says it'll happen at least once." >> "I'll almost-never pass." >> "Are you sure? Because the guy at the coffee shop says 'hey man!' every time you walk in. He's either clocked you (thus, you're being encouraged & accepted) or he genuinely thinks there's a man in there, somewhere." >> etc.

I think back to other times I've had the thought/experience and survived it. E.g. "What if I'm not really trans?" >> "...dude. You've been asking yourself that for around 3 years. You asked yourself that, then some cashier called you 'sir' and you clung to that in your little heart for most of the morning like a starving man with bread. That is not very cisgender behavior. Don't you think it would've worn off by now?"

I seek out others' diverse experiences. E.g. I feel embarrassed sometimes about sewing, but I know a guy whose literal degree is in costuming. I ain't calling him less of a man for that. Why am I bringing that on myself?

How is this thought functioning in my head? E.g. If I call myself pathetic, do I really think I'm pathetic, or do I want to curl up and sleep and "pathetic" is the quickest way to demotivate me to my bed? Why not not call myself "pathetic", and just treat myself nice and rest instead?

Mindfulness:

"It's just a thought." "It's just a sensation." "This is a sensation [reflect back the sensation to the spot of the sensation, so it knows you heard it]." Know that a thought or sensation is independent of a gender. (Gender is like "the flame unbound.")

Watch the sensation, feel the way your body reacts to it, and don't feed the beast. Just watch. Imagine yourself in a zoo, with a nice big trench between you and the animals. The flesh and thoughts will do their own thing, but you're safely protected from them.

Reality is reality is reality. As Galileo said, when the church insisted their doctrine otherwise, "and yet, it moves." You can think whatever thoughts you have. Other people can say any words they can form their mouths around. Your body can shiver and throb and become nauseated and ache -- None of these change what your gender is. Your gender is the vessel (which sometimes may change itself), and the experiences flow through it.

Rationalization:

"This is dysphoria. This is just what happens when you're brain's expecting one thing and your body's expecting something else."

"It sucks, but you're going to have to deal with it for X long, so you might as well try not to suffer twice by feeding into it."

"Yeah, sometimes it's gonna hurt and/or feel humiliating. Oh well. That's not gonna change your gender; you have other things to worry about."

"My gender can take care of itself right now."

Cultivating Patience:

This is going to take X number of years, or I'm going to have to live with a certain thing for t long. That's just the way things work.

No body is stagnant and without change. No perception is stagnant and without change. Ergo, this feeling of dysphoria, as are all things, is temporary.

See how you feel in 10 minutes/30 minutes/the afternoon/tomorrow. And then you can use an additional coping skill. (My genderfluidity makes this one even more flexible, but thoughts and feelings are themselves mercurial.)

Disassociation:

Read a book.

Scroll through social media (generally not trans content, because that can feed it, but sometimes trans content).

Write.

Walk outside.

Do some laundry.

Vacuum (I hate the vacuum noise, but now I'm bitching about that instead).

Deal with the other aforementioned life tasks that have you stuck here.

Sleep.

Give yourself some time to laze around in bed and just drift.

Go find some friends or call your most-talkative friend with a bunch of petty problems (when you're around other people, you can focus on them and not your gender).

Spite:

I know that there are trans people who've lost years of their lives because of the pain their dysphoria has caused them. I've lost evenings/afternoons/experiences from it too. I have no idea what my middleschool and highschool life would've been if I'd just known, or not had to deal with it. That being said, I'll be damned if it keeps me in bed and losing my life.Sometimes that means showering with my eyes open and the lights on when I don't want to (sometimes, what I see isn't that bad, and it's my head that was worse). Sometimes that means forcing myself out of bed and stumbling around in my comfort hoodie and sweats with my head down -- but at least I'm getting groceries or something.

People who hate trans people getting healthcare generally want to see us go away/disappear/not exist -- some folks by any means necessary. Them holding up care is to make our lives harder and for us to go away. Fuck them. Fuck the state systems. I'm not spending 2+ years bemoaning not looking or sounding like I want to stay home and not do something, just because I'm going to have to wait.

This is a system I've built up over a number of years, listening to bunches of trans peoples' experiences, and going to school for actual psychology. But it works pretty well, and I started at a low-dysphoria place to begin with, so I've been able to tackle symptoms as they've arisen, largely.

(I just realized this is the meme where the ADHD person says they don't have trouble with losing things because they have A System, and the neurotypical person has no idea what A System is...and the A System is itself a signal the person has ADHD. So. I don't have dysphoria. I have A System.)

I will say the dysphoria I deal with now isn't from the same sources I've dealt with in the past, largely. A number of sources I didn't realize made me dysphoric until they went away (or I'd quietly phased them out of my life without realizing it). I also like what Abigail Thorn says about dysphoria: It doesn't exist. Not that the sensations or dissatisfaction isn't there, but that the gap between who one imagines themself to be and who one is is a gap all people have to deal with, not just trans people. Cis people feel the same sort of self-consciousness when a cis woman grows hair on her face as a trans woman. You are not alone, and the systems and circumstances of history have merely added different labels to the universal struggles.

And then I like to pay attention to what does make me happy.

#trans #queer #nonbinary #my writing #dysphoria #dysphoria tips #I have A System (TM)

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inairbinad · 1 year

Text

Heaven, Indiana (2/3)

7k | T | also on ao3 | Part One | Part Three

A re-imagining of season 3, where Eddie and Robin are already looped in on the Upside Down madness, and Eddie joins Scoops Troop. Part of my Barb Lives AU from the Petals Verse, where everyone lives and the timeline gets wonky as a result. @steddie-week day 5 prompts: Together / Hold the Line cw: typical trapped in the bunker blood and stuff

Eddie regretted ever agreeing to anything Dustin Henderson suggested.

“I’m never going along with another one of your harebrained schemes again, Henderson!” Eddie screeched as they found themselves rapidly descending in a secret elevator towards the bunker from hell. He wished he’d learned his lesson the last time.

He hated everything about this. He hated Robin for being genius enough to crack that goddamn code, he hated Dustin for hearing it in the first place, he hated himself for not listening to his intuition several red flags ago, and pulling the plug on this idiotic vendetta the minute Erica crawled into a fucking air vent.

The only thing he didn’t hate, in the end, was how Steve latched on to his hand in a vice grip as they plummeted towards their inevitable death.

Even though the elevator didn’t end up killing them, being trapped in it probably would. Following Erica’s suggestion to drink the green stuff almost definitely would. And if all else failed, Dustin repeatedly suggesting that Steve ask Robin out would certainly do Eddie in.

“How about we let the man make his own romantic choices, hm?” Eddie grumbled, already weirded out by the triple-piss break the three of them were embarking upon together on top of the elevator.

“Ohhhhhh,” Dustin exclaimed like he was doing his best Velma impression and solving a mystery. “Do you like Robin, Eddie?”

Steve let out a hysterical shriek of a laugh, and Eddie sent daggers flinging in his direction by way of his glare alone.

“Sorry,” Steve coughed. Dustin looked between the two of them like he realized he was out of the loop on something, now.

Despite feeling completely unspooled in that instant, Eddie was damn sure about one thing; this would not be how he came out to Dustin, if he ever got the chance at all.

“What did I miss while I was at camp?” Dustin asked.

Eddie never thought he’d be so happy to be interrupted by Soviet henchmen.

———

By the time Robin was trying to use stilted Russian to confuse some communications officer into not shooting them, and Eddie and Steve had to take turns trying to knock him out until Steve proved he would use anything as a weapon (a phone, this time), Eddie was ready to go home. He was desperately wishing for another sexually confusing bout of wrestling on the floor with one of his best friends, whom he also happened to be in love with, a joint, about sixteen beers, and as many bags of Wayne’s chips as he could stomach.

Instead, Robin had to wander off and find the big fucking super gun that was actively working on opening up a portal to hell.

“The gate,” Steve and Dustin said in unison, immediately recognizing it for what it was. Eddie had flashbacks to slimy, tooth-riddled monsters getting tossed around by El in her bitchin’ outfit, and was instantly ready to nope right the fuck out of there.

“Jesus tap-dancing Christ,” Eddie breathed, peeking over Steve’s shoulder at the monstrous contraption hidden underneath a mall, of all places. He thought there was a metaphor for the seedy underbelly of American consumerism in there, somewhere, but he was too wired to examine it. He had to clench his fists just to stay present, to not find himself back in the tunnels with the slippery skin of a thousand monsters rushing past him. He sucked in a breath and asked, “Why would you want to reopen that shit?”

“Call it the new space race,” Robin said, her face white as a sheet as she also looked on in terror.

Steve leaned back into Eddie’s chest, ever so slightly, and Eddie was happy to give him the added support. He wasn’t sure how long his own legs would hold either one of them up, though.

Erica was just staring at the lot of them like they were insane. “You all know what that is?”

“I’ll explain later,” Dustin offered, then started shooing everyone back down the stairs to the comms room.

“Uh, Steve?” Erica asked in a skeptical tone that Eddie thought she should probably have patented, at this point. “Where’s your Russian friend?”

Apparently knocking someone out with a phone didn’t have the best staying power. The officer was gone.

Alarms started blaring all around them, and before Eddie had a chance to blink, Steve was grabbing his hand and pulling, dragging him and the rest of their ragtag group along for a chase through a goddamn secret Soviet bunker. Eddie didn’t know how long they ran for, only that he clung to Steve with one hand and Dustin with the other, a train of slick palms grappling onto each other as they dodged and weaved through the corridors for any way to escape.

“I’ve fucking failed Phys. Ed before, Harrington!” Eddie shouted at the back of Steve’s head as he trailed behind him, his legs already feeling like jello from his poorly treated lungs failing to properly oxygenate the rest of his body.

Somehow that was the revelation that made Steve laugh, a contradictory and beautiful sound in that it was both gleeful and utterly dripping with stress. Before Eddie knew it Steve was flinging the kids, Eddie, and Robin behind a door, and leaning up against it with the strength of ten men. Eddie thrust his shoulder into it, too, doing his best to plant his feet and stave off the brigade of soldiers with guns pounding on the other side.

Dustin and Erica quickly found an escape hatch of sorts, and were urging the older three to follow. Eddie took in the distance between them and the kids, then the storm of hostiles ready to pounce the second he and Steve let go, and already knew there was no way they could make it. Not without getting caught.

Robin could, though. She stood there, obviously torn and on the verge of tears, staring Steve and Eddie down like she couldn’t bear to leave them.

“Go,” Steve urged her. “Get them out of here and find help.”

“Steve,” Robin’s voice creaked with strain, her eyes never leaving Steve’s face as the door jostled behind him and Eddie. Robin’s feet, at least, seemed to know better than her heart. They were already carrying her back towards where Dustin was waiting for her, despite the obvious hesitation on her face.

“Go, Birdie,” Eddie assured her, heart wrenching in his chest as Robin’s eyes cut to his next. “I’ve got him.”

Robin bit her lip, and something solidified in her gaze before she turned tail and ran.

It didn’t take long after that for the door to give.

———

They left Eddie alone in a locked room and made him listen over an intercom as they tried to beat the truth out of Steve.

It was unknowably excruciating, the love and rage and desperation to fix this that were all warring in Eddie’s chest, and he was helpless to do anything about it. Listening to Steve whimper in pain, begging them to stop, hurt more than any beating they could have given Eddie. He’d been punched and kicked and elbowed plenty in his relatively short life, but this was the worst torture he’d ever been made to endure.

They hadn’t left Eddie completely unscathed, of course. As the soldiers wrestled him into submission, he’d taken a hell of a backhand across the cheek that left him seeing spots—one even his dear old dad would have been proud of. Then when they’d tossed him in this hellish entrapment of a room, he’d landed on his left elbow, and still couldn’t quite feel the bottom half of his arm beyond the stinging of pins and needles, and the throbbing that came if he moved it too much.

But that was nothing compared to what they were doing to Steve.

Over and over, they screamed, “Who do you work for?”

Over and over, Steve would tell the truth and get punished for it.

With each blow he heard land, and every subsequent cry out of Steve, Eddie’s very skin prickled with the desire to crawl outside of himself, to scale the walls, to burn the world to make it stop. He wanted to beg them to beat him instead, knock him senseless until he forgot who he was.

If only they’d let Steve go.

But he knew that’s what these assholes were gunning for. They apparently had calculated that Eddie was the one more likely to cave, if they forced him to listen to his friend get battered half to hell. They thought if they left him in here long enough, stewing in the abject terror of his powerlessness, Eddie would offer up whatever intel he and Steve were supposed to have.

As if they weren’t just a couple of teenagers who worked in a mall.

They think you’re the soft one, Eddie’s father’s voice rang through his ears, completely unwelcome. It’s no wonder, in that thing you call a uniform.

“Shut up,” Eddie groaned a loud, desperate to think up a miracle solution out of this. He hoped Robin and the kids had gotten out, were already on their way back with help, but Eddie knew that was unlikely. They’d walked through that goddamn tunnel for miles just to get here. It would take hours for anyone to find them again.

He needed to come up with something on his own, he knew. He needed to make them leave Steve alone.

Desperately wracking his brain for a solution that would get them out of this—from wrestling a gun off of somebody, to pledging himself to the Soviet Union in perpetuity, to managing to make a run for it and jumping through that goddamn gate and into the Upside Down itself—Eddie wasn’t coming up with anything concrete.

He had pulled his hair half to hell, though, by the time he heard the unmistakable sound of laughter coming from the room next door.

Eddie wasn’t sure if Steve was delirious from taking so many blows to the head, or if he actually thought that bribing Russian spies with ice cream would work, but Eddie heard that hilarity for what it was—dangerous.

“No, no, no, no, no, no—” Steve cried next, and Eddie’s whole body flinched as he heard the sickening crunch of another punch landing.

Eddie didn’t have a plan, exactly, but he couldn’t sit there any longer.

Eddie pounded on the door until his fists ached, and his left arm went completely numb.

He’d make up a story if he had to.

———

Eddie wasn’t sure if he’d been begging for their captors’ attention for a hour or a minute, when the door finally opened and they tossed Steve’s limp, unconscious body on the floor.

At least Eddie hoped he was only unconscious.

He dropped to his knees in an instant, his desperate and shaking hands fumbling for Steve’s neck, looking for a pulse. For years, after, Eddie wouldn’t be able to properly express the relief that coursed through him in that moment, when he felt the steady thud of Steve’s heart against his fingertips.

He didn’t get to relish it for long, though, before the goons (who Eddie thought might deserve to be the lunch of a demogorgon) grabbed him under the armpits and hauled him up into a steel chair. Eddie managed to get a good kick in on one of their kneecaps, but it didn’t do much to deter anybody. Then they did the same to Steve, and roughly tied them together, back to back.

Eddie felt Steve’s head loll backwards onto his shoulder and turn ever so slightly, until he could feel each little puff of breath that Steve expelled against the back of his neck.

It was strange, finding anything to feel grateful for in this predicament. But Eddie was thankful for every confirmation that Steve was still breathing.

It meant there was still something to fight for.

So caught up in the fact that Steve was back within his reach, even if from an awkward angle, Eddie almost forgot about the fact that a few soldiers were still in the room. That was until they started to leave, at least.

“Hey, where the fuck are you going?” Eddie demanded, as if he was in any position of power. The soldiers ignored him completely, slamming the door shut behind them. “Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.”

“Eds?” Steve’s voice was so tiny and weak that Eddie didn’t think he would have heard it if he hadn’t literally felt it tickle his neck.

“Stevie?” Eddie responded, instantly snapped out of his mini-meltdown. He twisted as much as he could, until the ropes around him burned from how tightly they were lashed together. “You okay back there?”

“Been--” Steve paused, wheezed and coughed a little, then whimpered again before finishing, “—better.”

“Don’t talk,” Eddie said in a middling imitation of a soothing voice, since nothing about him felt soothed in the least. “Sounds like you might have a broken rib or two.”

“I’d be surprised if any weren’t broken,” Steve said, somehow managing to laugh. Eddie heard Steve’s sharp intake of breath follow quickly, though, and fondly shook his head at Steve’s inability to listen.

“Can you reach my hand?” Eddie asked as he flailed his right hand around, trapped halfway behind him. He hoped Steve’s left was close. Sure enough, Eddie felt Steve’s fingers wrap around his own. Eddie gave them a little wriggle, then smiled, hoping Steve would be able to hear it in his voice. “We’re gonna get out of here. Promise.”

“I know,” Steve said, and Eddie wished he felt as confident as Steve sounded. “Are you hurt?”

“Not much,” Eddie replied, and felt a little huff of relief from Steve against his neck. “Nothing like you, my guy.”

“Good—” Steve started to say, but he was interrupted by the return of two hulking soldiers and some other important looking asshole. Eddie assumed he was in charge here, because he had a little hat and some extra insignia to complete his outfit.

“Gentleman,” the man said with an eerie smile. He had a stereotypically villainous accent that Eddie thought was unfair to all of the Russians in the world who weren’t trying to kill him in that moment. “Are we ready to talk?”

Eddie still hadn’t really come up with a story he thought would get them out of this mess, but he did have an idea about something that might buy them some time. It might have been a shot in the dark, and a long one at that, but it was a shot.

“You seem convinced we’re spies of some kind, yeah? Undercover in our funny little sailor outfits?” Eddie asked the interrogator man with his special hat. He only tilted his head at Eddie in response. “So what makes you think we’ll talk just because you beat the shit out of us? You think we’re not trained for this? That we don’t have backup on its way to us right now because we haven’t checked in as expected? Is that how you run things around here?”

A flicker of annoyance crossed the man’s face, and Eddie knew he’d hit a nerve. So he dug in.

“I didn’t think you’d be such amateurs, comrade.”

Eddie wished he could say the next blow to his face was surprising, but he’d been expecting that reaction, if not searching for it. He just hoped the assertion that maybe they were backed up by some authority, other than that of Scoops Ahoy, was enough to put some fear in these dipshits. It seemed only fair.

And if not that, maybe they’d at least see Eddie as a better punching bag moving forward.

The expense was getting thwacked in the mouth to the point where Eddie felt his lip split in an instant. Then, again, when the force of the next blow sliced the inside of his cheek against his tooth, and his mouth filled with blood.

The pain was a stark relief, Eddie realized, just from knowing he was the one who had to take that blow instead of Steve. He tasted the iron in his teeth as he smiled up at his interrogator.

Of course Steve had to go and ruin it, though.

“Woah, woah, woah,” he interrupted, thrashing and half-screaming, before anyone else could move. “Don’t listen to him. He’s—new, and just trying to prove himself, and is full of shit, okay? I’ll talk.”

“Steve—” Eddie jerked in the chair, trying to squeeze his fingers in a silent plea to shut up. But he felt Steve stubbornly shake his head against the back of his own. A cold dread pooled in Eddie’s stomach as the interrogator slowly crept around their chairs to look Steve in the face. Maybe Steve had his own ideas of how to talk them out of this, but Eddie was desperate for him to stay quiet and not get any more attention from Russian fists.

“Brenner sent us,” Steve said over Eddie’s protests. Eddie froze in place, trying to gauge the way the guy in charge was reacting to that information with his neck craned halfway around like a goddamn owl. His face seemed impassive, and Steve kept talking. “Okay? They got some weird readings on their science-y shit that I don’t understand, so don’t ask me to explain it, and sent us looking for a gate. Long story short, you find two dudes in dumb outfits wandering around, pretending to be teenagers from the mall who got lost.”

Eddie thought it was pretty shitty, as far as lies went, but he hadn’t been able to come up with anything better. And at least Steve had a real name to drop, even if Brenner was dead. Eddie actually thought that much was pretty clever, considering it saved them from having to use the name of a living person for leverage.

Except for when Eddie realized it wasn’t clever at all.

His whole body froze in fear as the interrogator unholstered his gun. He knew they were done for, and that he was about to watch the only boy he’d ever loved—the only one he had a chance to—die, with Eddie unable to do anything to stop it. Steve’s fingers twitched in Eddie’s grasp, just the tiniest expression of fear, and Eddie felt it viscerally.

He’d never bought into that whole ‘life-flashing-before-your-eyes’ business, but time did seem to slow in that instant. But instead of his whole life, Eddie’s mind was flooded with images of Steve. Steve with Dustin, showing him how to style his hair; Steve’s soft smile sent in Eddie’s direction when he pretended to be a pirate with spoons for hands; Steve hovering over Eddie on the floor of the trailer and licking his lips. Every moment that Eddie had looked at Steve Harrington and known, without a doubt, that he was in love with his best friend ran rampant in Eddie’s mind.

And he’d never said it. Eddie felt so incredibly stupid for never saying it.

I love you, Stevie, hovered on Eddie’s tongue like a prayer. He could hardly think of any better last words.

But he wasn’t quick enough.

Eddie couldn’t see it straight on, but he heard the crack of the butt of the pistol as it met the side of Steve’s face. The blow came down so hard that reverberated through Steve and Eddie both, sending Steve’s head knocking into Eddie’s. Steve barely made a sound, just a low, garbled grunt around what sounded like more blood in his mouth. Then Eddie felt the absence of Steve’s head resting against his own, twisting around again to see that Steve had lolled forward from the force of it.

“Dr. Brenner is dead,” the interrogator said without an ounce of emotion in his voice. “Try again.”

Eddie began to jerk within the restraints in earnest then, his growing rage burning through his veins like wildfire. No one even paid him any mind, though, as another man entered the room, dressed up in a lab coat and apron like some kind of mad scientist. The look of him sent a bone-deep chill through Eddie.

Their interrogator went over to talk to the new guy in hushed tones, but it wouldn’t have mattered if they were screaming. They were speaking Russian, and Eddie wasn’t a good enough fake spy to know what the hell they were saying.

He could only guess it was nothing good.

“Hey, fuckface,” Eddie shouted, drawing the attention back to himself. He was entirely giving in to impulse now, but at least it stopped the two of them plotting whatever was coming next, even if only for a moment. Slowly, the interrogator came back to hover over him, then leaned down into Eddie’s space like he owned it.

“You’ll tell me the truth,” he smiled thinly, pressing his nose entirely too close to Eddie’s. “I can see it in your eyes.”

Eddie waited for another punch to the face, for them to threaten him with ripping out his fingernails or his teeth, whatever his next punishment might be. He didn’t care anymore. The anger was seething through him to the point where he wanted to burn this place right there in the ground it was tunneled into. Eddie wanted to watch each and every one of them suffer, and he wished his hands were free enough to let him act on the desire.

So the damage he could cause with his mouth would have to do.

“If you say so,” Eddie said, before spitting blood in the face of the asshole who had just dared to pistol-whip Steve Harrington in Eddie’s presence. Eddie grinned wildly back up at him, leaning into the satisfaction of watching his blood and spit creep down the man’s cheek.

He scoffed in distaste before moving to wipe his face with his sleeve. There was a contempt in his eyes, but his voice was nothing but calm when he simply answered, “I do.”

Then he nodded at the creep in the mad scientist getup in the corner, who came forward with two needles that rivaled the one in Seattle in size. Eddie felt himself inadvertently squeeze Steve’s hand as he tensed again.

“What—” Steve slurred, but before he could finish his question he must have seen what Eddie had been reacting to. “Fuck’s that?”

“Something to help loosen your tongues,” the interrogator answered. He turned on his heel and left just as Eddie felt the pinch of a needle sliding in his neck.

———

At first Eddie didn’t feel any different, and he wondered if maybe he’d built up enough of a tolerance to whatever the Russians had drugged them with by frequently getting high off his own supply. He also considered that maybe the heightened adrenaline that was carrying him through this otherworldly situation might have been staving off the effect for now.

Either way, his focus was less on however he’d been poisoned, and more on keeping Steve talking. He’d been slurring his words and complaining about the room spinning ever since he’d taken that last blow to the head, and even if that was partly the drugs talking, Eddie was also pretty certain he had a concussion. Again.

Even though the two of them had managed to fend off Billy pretty well, last fall, Steve had still come away with a pretty impressive head injury to show for it.

“Come on Stevie,” Eddie kept saying every time Steve lulled off into silence. “Keep talking to me. Stay awake.”

“Whaddya wanna talk about?” Steve asked, then started laughing to himself. “Your crush on Birdie?”

“Oh, god,” Eddie groaned, unwilling to rehash Dustin’s wildly inaccurate hypotheses about his love life at the moment. “Please, no.”

“But you lurve her,” Steve crooned, sounding very high indeed. “And apparently so do I, and we’re gonna have to fight over her if we want to stay manly men.”

“I think we all know Chris is gonna beat us both there,” Eddie said, trying to keep Chrissy’s name vague enough so that no one would go looking for her, if they were listening in now.

Eddie also didn’t bother to pretend he couldn’t parse Steve’s ramblings. Even high and concussed, he made perfect sense to Eddie.

Eddie wasn’t sure what that said, really.

Steve laughed, surprisingly full of joy considering the situation. He didn’t stop, either. Eddie felt Steve lean forward with it, tumbling into more giggles as he probably imagined Chrissy Cunningham slaying them both like dragons for Robin’s hand. Or, at least, that’s what Eddie was picturing.

No sooner than he’d had that thought, a wave of hilarity hit him. He wasn’t sure if it was just the contagion of Steve’s laughter, or the drugs finally kicking in, or both, but pretty soon they were both giggling ferociously at the thought of either one of them being in love with Robin Buckley.

Eddie wasn’t quite prepared for the wave of sadness that hit him when he wondered if he’d ever get to see her again.

“Fuck,” Eddie winced, all of a sudden on the verge of tears. This was not a good high at all. It was too much of a rollercoaster, heightening every emotion well past the point of discomfort. “I miss her.”

“Me, too,” Steve said, sounding forlorn now as well.

“Maybe we should talk about how we’re gonna get out of here, instead,” Eddie suggested.

“Oh,” Steve sighed, dropping his head back to Eddie’s shoulder again. Eddie could just barely make out the top of Steve’s head in his peripheral. It looked swollen and lumpy already. “I don’t have a plan for that, actually. D’you?”

“Maybe,” Eddie hedged, glancing over to the table of instruments the mad scientist had left in the corner. He’d been staring at it for what felt like hours, now, even though it had probably only been minutes. “It’s a little harebrained, though. Like, Dustin would be proud.”

“Lay it on me, Munson.”

Eddie, by some ungodly willpower, managed to avoid making a dirty joke. He did snort, though, and heard Steve scoff in response.

“They left scissors in here,” Eddie powered through, nodding his head over in the direction of the table. “We could try to, I don’t know, scooch our chairs over towards them?”

Steve was already flopping around before Eddie finished talking, scraping the legs of his chair against the concrete floor as he did.

“Woah, slow down, Stevie,” Eddie cut in. “We’ve gotta move together. Alright?”

“Yeah, okay,” Steve agreed, then waited for Eddie to count to three before they both moved in sync towards the table. They’d only managed to move a few inches, but it was enough to give Eddie a surge of hope. They tried again, and again, until they moved slightly off kilter and both went tumbling down to the floor in a heap.

Eddie landed on the same bad elbow again and, through the haze of pain shooting up and down his arm, rather nonsensically wondered if this might fuck up his ability to keep playing guitar. As if he’d ever hold a guitar again, now that his best plan had gone splat on the floor. Much like his elbow.

“Fuuuuck,” Steve groaned, and Eddie snapped back to what was important in an instant.

“Did you hit your head?” he asked, worried he’d just made things worse than just being trapped and tied up, but now also on the floor.

“No,” Steve answered. “That still felt shitty, though.”

“Here, here,” Eddie agreed, and then they both burst into laughter again.

They laid there snickering for a while, and Eddie wondered if these drugs were designed not to be doing anything for the pain in his arm. Probably, knowing these sadistic bastards.

He got distracted from ruminating on how the drugs were supposed to work when Steve started humming to himself.

“Are you singing Toto?” Eddie asked, baffled.

“Mhmm,” Steve answered without really stopping his little tune. “It’s been stuck in my head for a while now.”

“Why?” Eddie urged.

“Because when we were holding the door shut, we were holding the line,” Steve said like that much should have been obvious. The sad thing was, that made perfect sense to Eddie.

It was also kind of hilarious.

“Jesus,” Eddie breathed, still feeling some giggles bubbling up out of his throat an unable to stop them. He really couldn’t believe this was actually happening. From the torture to the Toto. “Is this how you thought us working together would go?”

“No,” Steve snorted, still laughing too. “I thought us working together would just be us flirting and annoying Robin all day.”

Eddie wasn’t sure why that struck him like an admission, of sorts. It wasn’t like he didn’t know they were flirting, literally all the time. The only real question Eddie ever had about it was if it was serious flirting, or the type you did to pass the time with one of your best friends while you were bored and didn’t have anything better to do.

At this point Eddie didn’t even really remember what flirting without feelings felt like, but that didn’t mean Steve was in the same boat. Eddie snorted at the nautical pun in his own inner monologue, and Steve jostled behind him.

“What’s funny?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Eddie deflected. “I can’t believe you tried to convince them we’re real spies.”

“You started it!” Steve protested, sounding affronted but amused.

“I was just trying to buy time to make them chase their tails and stop hitting you!” Eddie said.

“So they hit you instead,” Steve pointed out in a deeply unimpressed tone.

“I’m not the one who’s probably double concussed.”

“I’m fine,” Steve muttered, then went quiet. He did sound more alert than he had before, so Eddie opted to let the silence linger for a while.

He started contemplating if they were going to die like this, tied together and hanging on to each other for dear life.

This really isn’t how I ever imagined tying you up, Stevie, Eddie thought with a wry smile. Or you tying me up.

“Think about that a lot, do you?” Steve asked, and Eddie was pretty sure the whole world stopped turning. He stayed silent for a beat, but being tied to the object of his desire, he couldn’t exactly run away and dodge the question.

“Did I say that out loud?” he finally asked, dreading the answer.

“Yes,” Steve laughed, and Eddie winced until he felt the split in his lip open back up. “I don’t mind being tied to you. But it’d be more fun if at least one of us had our hands free, though.”

“Damn it, Stevie,” Eddie grumbled, finding his encouragement entirely unhelpful. “We can’t flirt now. We’ve got bigger problems.”

“Eh,” Steve said, and Eddie felt a stilted attempt at a shrug behind him. “If we’re gonna die we might as well flirt.”

Eddie thought if they really were going to die, maybe he should tell Steve about his feelings beyond how he wanted to tie Steve up. Or vice versa.

“I think maybe if we’re gonna die, I’ve got more important things to say.” He knew it was partly the drugs talking, but he also could create an itemized and detailed list of all the times he’d wanted to tell Steve while he was completely sober, too.

Steve didn’t say anything for a beat, so Eddie started to panic that he’d passed out again.

“Stevie?” Eddie asked. “Stay with me, okay?”

“I’m not going anywhere, Eds,” Steve said softly. “I was just thinking.”

“About?”

“I have stuff to say, too. But you first, ‘cause I’m a gentleman.”

“Could’ve fooled me—”

“Eddie,” Steve cut him off.

“Right, sorry.” Eddie sighed, wishing he could rub his eyes and clear some of the fog from his head. “I guess…I just want to say that you’re one of the most important people in my life, Stevie. My best friend, even—don’t tell Jeff I said that—and even if I’m not yours. And even though this whole thing is unbelievably shitty, I’m glad we’re together. If I had to pick someone to get stuck in a secret Russian bunker with, it’d be you ten times outta ten, Stevie. Except I’d avoid the you getting tortured part, because I’ve never been more scared or desperate to make something stop in my life.”

“Really?” Steve asked, somehow sounding like he could hardly believe his ears.

“Stevie, I can’t bear to see you hurt.” Eddie said with the utmost sincerity. “You have to know that.”

“I guess I do now,” Steve murmured.

“I’d do just about anything to fix it,” Eddie said. “I swear to god, Steve.”

“You could always kiss it better,” Steve said, a teasing lilt to his tone. But Eddie was too far down the rabbit hole of being earnest with feelings.

“Done,” he said without hesitating. Steve didn’t respond other than to let out a surprised sounding little laugh, so Eddie kept talking. “I never thought we’d even talk to each other, let alone be friends, you know’? But I’m so glad I accidentally stumbled on you and Dustin looking for Dart last year. Because you made my second go-around at being a senior fun, and you even make working a shitty mall job bearable. So even if we die down here, I just want you to know that I’ve been so glad to know you, Steve Harrington. The real you. Because you’re beautiful, to me.”

Steve stayed quiet for a long while, probably trying to let his truth-serum addled and re-traumatized brain absorb everything Eddie had just said. But it was so deathly silent in that room—so far underground and reinforced with enough heavy metal to make even Eddie shy away—that he thought maybe his own heart had finally caved in and stopped under the sheer weight of what he felt for Steve.

“I feel the same, Eds,” Steve finally replied, gently but surefire.

“Yeah?” Eddie heard the wobble in his voice.

“Of course,” Steve insisted. “You’re my best friend, too, though.”

“Um,” Eddie huffed out a laugh, realizing Steve might be too high to function. “What about Robin?”

“That’s different,” Steve said immediately, but didn’t elaborate as to why. “Plus, you can have more than one, dumbass.”

“You’re calling me a dumbass?” Eddie scoffed, incredulous. “That’s your response to my heartfelt confession?”

“You didn’t confess anything!” Steve argued back. “You just basically said you’re surprised you don’t hate me!”

“I did not!” Eddie tried to defend himself, but in all honestly he couldn’t remember exactly what he’d said already. He thought it was a lot deeper than that, though. “I said—”

Eddie’s attempt to explain himself was interrupted by the sound of Dustin Henderson barging into the room, waving around one of those long ass shocky-stick-things that the Russians carried around, and bellowing out his best war cry. Eddie was both astonished and impressed.

Once Dustin realized there was no one to electrocute, or even at his eye level, he glanced down to find Eddie and Steve on the floor.

“How’d you two end up down there?” he asked.

“Russian soldiers are kinky,” Steve answered, and Eddie couldn’t help the hysterical cascade of laughter that billowed out of him. He could barely believe whatever conversation he and Steve had just been having, let alone the fact that Henderson was here, already going for the aforementioned scissors and trying to set them free.

Dustin still scrunched up his beautiful little face in confusion at the way Eddie and Steve were giggling like a couple of sailors on drugs.

“What the hell happened to you?” He asked as the ropes around Eddie’s arms finally loosened. Eddie felt the blood flow return to his uninjured arm much quicker than the other, but that didn’t stop him from helping Dustin undo the ropes around their feet.

“Long story, Dust,” Eddie said, giving the top of his head an affectionate pat before twisting around to help Steve up.

When Eddie finally got another look at Steve’s face, he was horrified to see what they’d done to him. His left eye was a mottled mess of bruises, and almost swollen shut. The other eye was turning black, too, but not nearly as badly. His nose was bloody and swollen, but by some miracle it didn’t actually look broken. He had a deep cut on his chin that Eddie thought would probably scar, but that was nothing compared to the laceration left behind by the pistol. It was still bleeding, leaving a trail of dried and sticky blood alike down the side of Steve’s face and down his neck.

Somehow, Steve was still the most beautiful thing Eddie’d ever seen.

Steve smiled at him dopily, looking about as high as Eddie felt, but Eddie didn’t have the time to bask in it before more alarms started blaring.

“That’s our cue,” Dustin said, before grabbing at Steve and Eddie both and shoving them ahead of him towards the door. Eddie wrapped one of Steve’s arms around his neck, ready to haul him out if need be, and let Dustin’s momentum push them towards the doorway.

Until the shooting started, at least.

It all happened too fast for Eddie to even blink. He’d just poked his head through the door and into the corridor outside when the pop of a pistol sounded. In such close quarters, it loudly echoed through the halls of the bunker until Eddie’s ears were practically screaming. Distantly he saw the same officer Steve had clocked with the phone standing twenty feet or so down the hall, but the sight of him didn’t have time to register before Steve was shoving himself in front of Eddie, until Eddie went tumbling out of the line of fire and back into the interrogation room.

As he tumbled backwards into Dustin, all Eddie knew for sure was that Steve cried out in pain again. Then there was a big crash outside, accompanied a loud squeaking sound, like sneakers on a basketball court.

Eddie didn’t care how many times he’d get shot, as soon as he had his bearings again he scrambled back to Steve’s side. He frantically checked Steve over for whatever had hurt him, until he landed on a new patch of blood seeping through the ripped fabric of Steve’s sleeve.

“Fuck,” Steve hissed, looking down at where the bullet had grazed his bicep.

Eddie was speechless, unable to do anything more than take Steve’s arm as gently as he could into his hands and stare at the wound, looking for any sign of more damage.

Steve had just thrown himself in front of a fucking bullet for Eddie, literally. He wasn’t nearly sober enough or high enough to properly process that information.

“Hey, dipshits, let’s go!” Robin shouted from down the hall, and Eddie had the wherewithal to look up for the first time. She was sitting at the wheel of one of the bright red carts the soldiers used to drive around down here, with Erica in the front seat and an unconscious Russian soldier splayed out in front of it. His gun had been knocked out of his hand, and skidded halfway down the hall when Robin had apparently run him over.

Between a phone to the face and a cart to the whole damn body, this guy was having a bad day of getting knocked around by the dynamic duo of Steve and Robin.

Eddie thought that made Steve sound like Batman, a little, but he managed to suppress the thought into a snicker and move towards getting the fuck out of there.

Eddie tugged Steve along with him, despite his whines of protest, with Dustin quick on their heels. Then Dustin put two insistent little hands on Eddie and Steve’s backs and shoved them into the back of the cart, then crawled in behind them.

“Aren’t you glad you still haven’t taught me to drive?” Robin shouted over her shoulder, presumably at Steve, as she maneuvered the cart around the the once more unconscious soldier. Then they took off speeding down the hall.

“Are you okay?” Eddie asked Dustin first, though he was pretty certain of the answer. Dustin nodded frantically, though he did look a little pale now, and Eddie gave him a hopefully reassuring pat on the head before he turned back to Steve’s bleeding bicep. Not knowing what else to do, Eddie tugged the dumbass little ascot free of his own uniform, then used it as a bandage to tie around Steve’s arm. Steve hissed again at the contact, but Eddie merely shushed him.

Eddie still couldn’t actually fathom that Steve had just taken a bullet for him, so he decided to voice his disbelief. “What’d you do that for? The fuck is wrong with you?”

“Well I’ve been shot, for one!” Steve answered, incredulous.

“What?!” Robin cried, twisting around in her seat while she was still pushing the cart to the maximum speed it was capable of. Everyone, but no one louder than Erica, screeched at her to put her eyes back on the corridor in front of them as the cart jerked to the right. Robin faced forward again, but she called back over her shoulder in a shaky voice, “Are you okay, Steve?”

“It’s just a graze,” Eddie replied as his trembling, still half-numb hands finally managed to tie the makeshift bandage into a knot. Then he looked Steve in the eye, or at least the one that wasn’t nearly swollen shut, and felt all the fight drain out of his body. He gave Steve as grateful a smile as he could manage and said, “You’re gonna be fine.”

“I know,” Steve murmured, then tentatively touched two fingers to the cut on Eddie’s bottom lip. “You’re bleeding.”

“I’m gonna be fine, too,” Eddie promised. He felt Dustin’s eyes on them, but couldn’t be bothered not to take Steve’s hand in his own as they sped back towards the elevator.

[PART THREE]

#steddieweek2023 #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #stranger things #fanfic #dani's drafts #petals!verse

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