#how dare you hide the bug game

[a-dargon]

why is the onceler all over my dash

get out of here. you're blocking the hollow knight

[muntitled]

Boa

Pairings: Geum Seongje x Fem!Reader

Summary: You're just a kid, caught in a gangster’s crosshairs. What happens when you don’t deliver like you should…

Warnings: Language, Dom!Seongje, Gangsterism, Bullied!Reader, Coercion, Bullying, Extortion, Mentions of Rape, Smut +18 (mdni), Dark fic, Dubious consent, Public Sex, Exhibitionism, Desperate Sex, Humiliation, Degradation

A/N: I'm not responsible for the media you consume. I wrote this for me so...

Ever since you've started working for him, you've learned to get extremely acquainted with the floor.

"I'm sorry, Sir…” your voice is brittle as you try to make yourself heard in the suffocating internet cafe, “I'm short on delivery today..."

Hardwood. Tile. Linoleum. It's become all too familiar to you. The floor is all you see in his presence.

You never looked Seongje in the eyes unless he addresses you first. He likes that, you suspect.

It's kept you alive this long so you must be doing something right.

"I got assigned a kid to tutor and..." you clear your throat, not daring to make direct eye contact, choosing instead, to keep your eyes trained on the dirty, cold floor.

The internet cafe is the very last place you'd want to be on a Friday evening. You were caught right in between two challenging essay due dates- one for English and one for AP English. Both hung gravley over your head, threatening to set off your sympathetic nervous system and have you fainting from academic stress. Seeing him was the very last thing you needed.

"That tutoring time fucked with my system and-" despite all your achievements, despite the academic prestige and the boundless knowledge… in Seongje's presence you feel insignificant.

A bug he's letting scurry around for no other reason except his enjoyment. You didn't want to get stomped on. You saw what happened to the other kids under his thumb and it kept you up at night. All that blood. All the merciless sadism.

You aren't dumb enough to hope an exception would be made for you.

"I'm sorry,” you conclude, and for a second, you get no response. He plays his game. His friends remain silent.

That's all until he pushes the bridge of his glasses up further against his nose. A calm, quiet sigh leaves his lips.

“Before you started working for me, do you know what you were?" Seongje doesn't take his eyes off the screen. His fingers run deftly over the keys as he speaks to you without ever really acknowledging you, "You were in an alleyway, about to get raped by Eunjang scum."

"Yes, Seongje, I know-"

"And in return for my kindness, what did I ask of you?"

"FUCK- COVER ME BRO!" Your eye snaps up to the source of the loud and sudden burst of energy. Your frightened and pitiful eyes find a boy seated adjacent to Seongje and his goons. He's bent over his screen, clearly not a part of the group. Clearly far too young.

Your heart sinks when you realize Seongje's eyes are trained on the boy too.

"Ya…” Seongje raises his voice a decimal above the cacophony yet it has you flinching. “Too loud,” he says to the boy, “Didn’t anyone teach you shut up when adults are talking?” he asks monotonously to the boy- a child really- still mourning the loss of his avatar on the screen. He doesn't pay Seongje any mind.

Of course he doesn't. He's a kid.

How could he have known?

He came to an internet cafe to play a game with his friends.

It's the boy's innocence that hurts the most.

He doesn't know that the monsters under his bed are very real.

They walk where he walks.

They don't hide.

They move about freely.

Your heart makes like the titanic and sinks.

"Excuse me for a second." Seongje addresses you politely, finally giving you a fleeting glance before pushing himself out of his gamer chair. You see his entire row of friends (if that's what one could even refer to them as) remain unfazed as Seongje rounds the table to stand directly behind the young boy.

He’s bigger, far bigger as he pushes the rims of his glasses up, staring directly at you

"I know you're smart so you're probably aware that your fuck-up won't be tolerated-” he says to you, despite slithering his arm around the boys neck like a boa as he squeezes. Everyone keeps their eyes trained to their computers. Your fist curls at your side. You want to look away but you can't because you're speaking to Seongje. You wouldn't want to aggravate him further by showing him his mindlessly violence bothers you. So you try not to flinch.

You try not to let the casual violence scare you. How nonchalantly he speaks while an elementary school boy flails in his arms, begging to be released from the headlock making his lips turn blue

“You knew there'd be a punishment,” Seongje is still speaking to you. You hold your breathe in solidarity with the boy choking in his arms, “-for fucking up your delivery-” crimson blossoms onto the little boys face but Seongje keeps his eyes on you, appearing unfazed by the boy flailing like an animal in arms, "And yet you came anyway. That's the kinda work ethic, I like-” he smiles, “I like it alot-"

Eventually, after what feels like forever, he lets go of the boy. You finally breathe as well, watching as the kid slumps forward ingesting the air in horrid gasps.

Seongje bends forward, patting the boy on the back.

"No more interrupting when I speak, yeah?" Whether the boy was new to this particular internet cafe, it was unclear, but you hoped to whatever divine being that he wouldn't dare come back.

"So I'll let it slide-" He turns his attention back to you and you watch, still shaken up as Seongje leaves the little boy to make his way back to his side of the table. When he breezes past you he smells like nothing. Like his eyes, everything about him is empty.

"Thank you, Seongje-"

He nods before adding, "After you get on your knees." The goon sitting nearest to you, all the way at the end of the table, his fingers hover over the keys, and just like before, the room is rid of all air.

"Excuse me?”

He pulls out his chair for you, like some mimic of a perfect gentleman he opens his arm, gesturing you in.

"I want you on your knees, under the desk.” His words hang above you all. It has tears threatening to spill. Bile rising.

“What’s with the face? Its not like I’m asking you to suck my dick,”

"Seongje, I need to get home-"

"If you can't do it yourself I'm more than happy to help."

That has your legs moving into action. In your periphery, it feels as though everyone's watching you. A thing in psychology called the imaginary audience. When you're so self-conscious you concoct this idea of being the center of attention… only this time, it's real. You know they're all watching you. You know no one will do anything about it.

"Under the desk you go," he chuckles before sitting down and pushing his chair back in. You back away, creating intense distance between you. Your back hits dirty wires and your knees press hesitantly down onto the grime just to achieve a more comfortable position. Everything you see is his legs, his friends legs and you're suddenly hit with the overwhelming urge to cry.

You want to scream at him to let you go. He's hijacked you from your endless pile of homework and yet the very thought of standing up for yourself causes a sea of nausea.

So you sit there in the dark, not knowing when this punishment would conclude. When would he let you go home? That sends you into another spiral. You've heard Seongje could game for 24 hours straight. Maybe more if he was in close vicinity to food and a bathroom. You knew this internet cafe would close eventually, that gives you the smallest sliver of hope and so you do your time.

Never once does he acknowledge you- the girl under his desk. Unbeknownst to Seongje, you catch one of his fellow gang members sneak multiple glances at you under the table. They all do. Like they enjoy seeing you under here. As time passes, and you slip further and further away from the stress, you realize that down here, on the floor, under his desk, the world is small. It's quite comforting actually and that wasn't the trauma talking.

You've always liked small spaces.

It definitely beat dealing with whatever he had going on up there half the time.

Slowly, your body begins to shut down. Your energy plummets from all the stress and all the thoughts. This is the first time you've been forced into a spot for too long doing nothing. No essays. No tutoring.

Due to tendencies from your childhood that you should've gotten rid of, you find yourself curling up against his leg. He stiffens and you snap out of the exhaustion long enough to reel back. Especially when you see his hand reach under the table. Your heart hammers in your chest, not a single word spoken as his hand searches for something. You move a bit closer until his hand catches on your hair. You wince as he drags you closer, pushing your head against his leg as you had done.

He leaves you there. You try to regulate your breathing as you feel him adjust in his seat above you.

You shift as well. Not your head. He clearly wants you there. But your legs are uncomfortable. You try to kneel and it's ridiculous because your head never leaves his leg.

No position seems comfortable enough until he stretches his leg out, right in between yours and you're made to straddle it. Above you, his fingers are still hitting the keys and you try to disassociate from the fact that his leg is pushing against your cunt. You try to sneak a peek at the surface, his glasses are trained on the screen. Not knowing whether it's your exhaustion making a reappearance but you could've sworn you hear the words, "good girl," release from him in a low drawl.

Something in his tone has you shifting over his leg. Your cunt warms against his leg and you fight the urge to buck against him. All you had to do was remember who it is that you're currently touching. That conscious reminder has you once again hellbent on doing your time with concrete resolve.

That resolve breaks.

It shatters when he eases his back against the chair, enough to once again slither his hand down towards you.

He curls his fist into your hair and tugs.

He pushes you down and lifts you up and you mindlessly follow his movements until you realize he's coaxed you into riding his leg.

He lets go of your hair, satisfied when your hips move out of their own accord.

You hate how good it feels to quite literally be beneath him. You look up and you whimper oh so quietly when you see that small smile play on his lips while his eye remains on the screen.

He's given you new instructions now and so you don't dare to stop moving your hips against him. Despite the damp spot forming on the seat of your underwear. You're not sure what it is that allows you to lose yourself so easily. Perhaps it's all the expectations that melt away when you're doing something so pitiful. You're breaking for him and he's letting you. You're not in control of anything and there's freedom in that.

“F-Fuck-” you didnt mean for the words to slip. There are still other people here but you also couldn't help the wave of pleasure that pushed up so suddenly. Your clit is moving against the fabric of his pants just right and your eyes threaten to roll to the back of your head.

The second that whimper escapes your mouth, he stiffens again.

You watch as he leans back again, this time his hand isn't reaching out for you. It's to ghost over the bulge forming in his pants. Somehow that spurs you on more.

You grind against him desperately and before he can take his hand away, this time you reach up for him.

You watch him closely. The glare from the screen reflects on his glasses. His jaw, tight.

He controls the game easily with one hand, while you bring the other into your mouth.

You're not sure where this other side of you came from. This vixen who rolls her tongue out and forces his index and ring finger into her warm mouth.

He becomes more and more restless… His breath hitching. Seongje's fingers hit the keys more aggressively, while his right hand forces his fingers further down your throat. His hips buck upwards and you can see the damp spot forming where his cock is straining against his pants. He's about to cum in his pants and you're about to cum on his leg and it's far too much for you.

You know his friends are about. You try to preserve even a sliver of dignity but it all goes out the window.

“Fuck-” he spits out, slamming his fist on the table before abandoning the game. There's a fire in his eyes as he sits back to watch you peer up at him with complete and utter desperation.

“What a fucking slut-” he snarled, cleaely audible enough for not only him but his friends too. It has your mouth snapping open. Your back arches as you try to watch him watching you cum on his leg.

You've never held his attention for this long and it sends you off the edge.

“S-Seongje-” you barely squeak out as your cunt spasms against his leg. You rut uncontrollably, spurred on by the name That fell from your lips as if your body needed a reminder of just who it was making you cum. Your tormentor.

It has you seeing stars.

For all of 11 seconds.

Until it comes crashing down on you. Your pitiful act has you reeling. Mind spinning.

You don't want to look up at him but you have nowhere else to look. Your heart sinks when you see a smile form slowly across his lips… Somehow you knew you'd never be rid of him.

[toxycodone]

Chimera!Falin x Reader

an. separated w/ general sfw and nsfw hcs. reader is an adventurer who happens to catch the Red Dragon’s interest….

tw. monster fucking, predator/prey dynamics

sfw.

Now…being a lone adventurer is difficult. Especially in your case. Not only are you prey to almost anything in the dungeon, but you’ve found yourself prey to its most apex predator—The Red Dragon.

Well, at least you think? Oddly enough…for a dragon, it’s very pretty. You don’t remember hearing about it having a human head and torso. With pretty blonde hair and golden eyes…Gods, she’s beautiful…

That’s what you’re thinking in the back of the mind while the Dragon pins you down with one hefty paw. It’s insane how large it is compared to you. One look to the side and you can see the large claw is longer than the length of your head. However, despite this position…it doesn’t hurt, per se. She has enough weigh on you to make you hesitant to breathe too deeply, but, she isn’t killing you….which is odd.

When you finally look to the dragon, you’re shocked to see her so close to your face.

“Not Delgal…” She whispers in a hoarse voice. You don’t know who that is, or why the Dragon or all creatures is looking for this person but…okay. As you brace yourself for what’s next, the Dragon grasps your face in her human ones. They’re soft and plush.

She brings her face to yours and licks a long stipe up it with her forked tongue, cleaning off some semi-dried blood of your companions. Her breath smells slightly coppery as she does so.

“Still good.” She nuzzles into your face, her feathers tickling your skin.

It's fucking weird. And you're not sure if you hate it or you love it. But hey...at least you're alive?

Since then, you've basically become the Dragon's little pet. She doesn't speak much, and you figure it must have something to do with her being some sort of chimera monstrosity, but she at least has the decency to introduce herself to you as Falin.

You also get confronted by Thistle...you thought the elf might help you. But no. He just sighs when he sees Falin drag you along with her. If it makes her happy, he's not arguing against it. Sorry. You're trapped.

But at least Falin is a good caretaker. She watches over you like a hawk. A big, scary, red dragony hawk. Even if you're just sitting around, enjoying the scenery...she just stares. with that disgustingly cute little smile of hers.

When the two of you travel together, she likes it when you ride on her back, but she also stores you in her thick plumage on the front of her body too. Her favorite is to carry you in her own human arms and walk around with you like you're some sort of stuffed animal. It's...kinda adorable. Maybe more cute if you weren't lowkey kidnapped.

If any adventurers dare harm you...it's over for them. You learned quickly to either look away or hide somewhere, because Falgon shows no mercy. As cute and sweet as she can be, she's equally deadly.

And you don't hide very far away...escaping is futile. Plus it becomes a fun game for her. It's literal cat and mouse. She can smell you. Sense you. It doesn't matter. She'll crush walls and buildings to get to you.

And if you run, it makes it worse. She'll catch you like a bug, her scaly front feet cage you in as she pounces on you. Then she just...dangles you and plays with you like a mouse.

She feels bad afterwards. It's hard for Falin to know her own strength in this form. She often accidentally scratches or bruises you. To make up for it, she'll sing a little lullaby and use her healing magic on you. It always lulls you into the most restful slumber you've had, no matter how much pain you're in or how scared you are.

After a little time, things do become oddly? Domestic?

Falin bathes you as often as possible. She likes to help get you clean as a bonding activity. She's really gentle and calm in these moments--the two of you just bathing in a nice dungeon waterfall or somewhere in the golden kingdom.

In return, you help her preen! You gently pick out pin feathers and brush off feather dust while she trills in happiness and coos at you. It's probably one of your favorite things to do as she just hums sweetly and lets you do it. She also likes it when you do her hair (adventurers are definitely left wondering why the Red Dragon has braids or double buns)

She also forages and hunts for you. Little berries? Snack for you! Is there a nice fruit tree on the floor you're exploring? She's hopping up there and picking you enough to eat all day.

Falin also uh. will hunt. After you scold her for dropping a giant monster carcass on you she learns not to do it again but hey? it was kinda funny. From then on she only brings you things she knows you can cook

And as typical...she has a nest. It's not anything crazy, but it's a cozy little thing made of foilage, her feathers, and other soft materials she found in the dungeon. When it's time to go to bed, she lets you lay down first and cuddles around you like a cat. Or she'll let you lay on her and cozy into her feathers. Her soft down feels like a cloud and you just sink in <3 it's adorable.

nsfw.

I'M ON TEAM FALIN CHIMERA DICK.

Since you're her prized treasure...her everything...naturally she views you as her mate.

That means, she gets into ruts. It's only natural for her to want to breed with you, right? Plus, she likes to make you feel good.

However...she is WAY too big to even begin to think to fit inside you. You could probably fucking grapple her if you wanted to. So sex between the two of you is pretty...interesting.

When she trills, the vibrations are intense. If you're sitting on her front and preening her, it's extremely difficult for you to keep your composure while you're doing this. She knows it, and does it on purpose. The vibrations run from her chest, to your thighs and up your spine. Eventually, a simple preening turns to you desperately humping her chest while she just smiles and watches you.

One of her favorite things to do though is hold you in one paw and give you oral. You're distended in the air, held tight by her claws. Then you feel her soft, warm human hands spread your thighs open and lap at you. It's enthralling to knows this creature that could easily snap you in half could just. Do that. And she makes the sweetest little moans and hums while she tastes you. You almost forget she's a chimera with the soul of a literal dragon.

You can fuck yourself on one of her claws or the tip of her tail. She'll round out a claw (just in case, Falin doesn't wanna hurt you) so you can ride it like a dildo and see how much you can take. Same with the tip of her tail. Falin just lays down and moves it in and out, slowly but surely stretching you out while you cry out. Her face is almost as red as her body while she watches you do this with hungry eyes.

Even though it's impossible to fit her cock inside you, goddamnit, you try. You can barely even get 3/4 of the head in, but it's cute to watch your tiny body give it an attempt. Awww, you're that desperate for her? Cute. When she gets too pent up from all the teasing, though, Falin just grasps you with her claws and slides you up and down her length. Grinding against her is heavenly. It coats your body in slick and your own cum and eventually....hers. She cums enough that you need a bath afterwards. But if you don't have time, she'll happily lick you clean. (And spend extra time between your thighs, making you cum again on her face)

And she is...a biter. She can't help it. You're her mate. Falin sinks her teeth into the soft flesh of your thighs, your ass, and your shoulders the most. She loves the taste of your blood, the primal part of her desires it, and she likes seeing the marks on you. It's insanely sexy for her to know SHE did that. And its a sign that she owns you. <3

[chris-hallelujah]

Oh My My My... | m.s.

Summary: This is the story of your relationship with your childhood best friend, Matt, progressing through your lives.

Warnings: none ! lots of fluff, slight angst

Word Count: 1.2k

My Master List 

Be added to my tag list

A/N: The lack of motivation to write is REAL y'all. All I want to do is play dti lmao. But I have been wanting to do this story for a while. I am sure that someone in the fandom has done this before, but I have not seen it. With that being said, all ideas are my own and I do not give consent for them to be reposted, rewritten, or shared on this platform or any other.

<3 - Billie

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seven and nine

It was the summer before second grade for you, fourth grade for the triplets. The four of you had been inseparable since you were toddlers as your parents were all close friends. There was something special between you and Matt that was different than how things were with Nick and Chris. You followed Matt everywhere. You looked at him like he had strung the stars, in your childhood mind, he did. At this point, Matt saw you as his shadow.

"Quit followin' me! I'm gonna beat ya up, kid," Matt teased sticking his tongue out. This elicited a squeal and a trail of giggles to leave your mouth as he chased you around the backyard. You knew he'd never actually hurt you, but you were happy to have him giving you some sort of attention.

"I have a feeling we're gonna have trouble keeping them two apart 'for too long," Your dad chuckled sipping his beer which caused Matt's dad to laugh and nod.

twelve and fourteen

Many of your summer days were spent with the triplets in between your neighboring backyards. The four of you played endless games of pretend or hide and seek. Finally, your dads thought it was about time you all had somewhere to play and they built you all a tree house in the tree between your houses.

The four of you sat in the treehouse playing truth or dare. As you both grew, you only became more inseparable. "Chris, truth or dare," you spoke above the pop music playing from the stereo in the corner.

"Dare," Chris said with a grin.

"I dare you to eat that grasshopper!" Nick yelled pointing at a bug on the wall. While this wasn't Chris' finest moments, he would never turn down a dare...

After you all had settled back down, Chris turned to Matt, "Matt, truth or dare."

"Dare, obviously," Matt scoffed, a slight lisp from his braces.

"I dare you to kiss y/n," Chris smirked causing Nick to bust out laughing. Matt looked at you, both of your faces the color of cherries.

"You'll have to catch me first!" you exclaimed quickly climbing out of the treehouse. Matt followed fast behind you as he chased you around the house. He caught up to you along the side of the house, now out of view of the boys in the treehouse. You were both out of breath from nerves and the chase. Matt's bright blue eyes met yours as your faces grew closer. Little did you know then, he would be your first and only kiss.

sixteen and eighteen

Matt had spent most of the summer busy working. You honestly had not seen him the whole two and a half months. Chris and Nick worked less so you still saw them often. The four of you reunited the group the night before school started with a bonfire in the boys' backyard. You made your way over wrapped in a blanket to protect you from the chilly night air. Matt stopped in his tracks. How could someone change so much in just a few months? Your hair was long and flowing, your acne had cleared, and you were no longer an awkwardly lanky preteen. It was as if he was seeing you in a whole new light.

"Hi Matt!" you smiled, thrilled to see him after all this time. He was still stunned as he pulled you into a hug. The night flew by as he continued to stare at you, barely contributing to the conversation, he took it all in.

As many predicted, the two of you got together the beginning of your sophomore, his senior, year of high school. It was a beautiful relationship built on friendship, trust, and love. If people thought you were inseparable before you started dating, they should see you now. Matt was the one who taught you to drive and was there when you took the ACT for the first time. You helped him sort through college acceptance letters and even visited some schools with him.

Then came the first fight, who knows what it had started from, all you knew was now you were yelling at each other in your childhood bedroom. "I can't stand you, Matt!" you yelled. With a huff he walked out slamming your bedroom door behind him. A puddle of tears, you collapsed onto your bed as you hugged your pillow wishing it was him.

Matt sat in his bedroom at the house next door. He paced around his room trying to send you texts and calls, all which were left unanswered. He made his way to your porch and texted you, "Im outside." Hoping beyond hope that you would come down and let him in. Before he knew it, his eyes were fluttering open and greeted with bright sunlight and your mom's empathetic face.

"You sweet boy, get in here," she said wrapping him in a throw blanket. He gave her a small smile and fell back asleep in the hallway outside your bedroom. He gave you your space, but was ready to be there when you were.

twenty one and twenty three

The two of you sat up in the treehouse, surprised it was still standing. You had just graduated college and couldn't be more excited to start your new job. The stereo in the corner played soft music as you and Matt danced around slowly, just happy to be in each other's presence. He spun you around and when you turned back to him, he was on one knee. A gasp left your lips as you bent down to meet him at his level. Nodding your head, he slipped the ring onto your finger and stood up to kiss you.

twenty two and twenty four

Church bells rang as your eyes met Matt's. You floated down the aisle to him and connected your hands. It was a small intimate wedding of your closest family and friends, but none of that mattered. All you saw was Matt in that moment. Everyone cheered as you said your 'I dos' and sealed it with a kiss. He carried you back down the aisle as you saw your moms dabbing their eyes.

The reception was the event of the year. So many old and new friends getting together. You all danced the night away until you and Matt disappeared to the honeymoon suite at a nice hotel downtown.

twenty five and twenty seven

You walked carefully as you carried a pink bundle in your arms, following Matt who had your toddler on his hip. It was the first time you were bringing your daughter home to the house you and Matt had bought from your parents. Chris and his wife (a/n its me) bought Matt's parents' old house. Nick and his husband lived in the house across the street. It was like some things had never changed. The two of you sat on the porch swing watching your son play in the yard while you held your daughter. "Can you believe this is where it all started?" you smiled up at your husband, who you'd love since you were a child.

eighty seven and eighty nine

That house was where the two of you had stayed. It earned some renovations but so much of your relationship was intertwined in its bones, you could never leave. Matt sat next to you on that same porch swing holding your hand as you both watched the stars. You looked at him as if he had strung them, because in your mind, he had.

[stevie-petey]

episode eight: the upside down

You know you shouldn’t, but you laugh. Honestly, after everything you’ve been through tonight with Steve, how can he possibly think the two of you aren’t friends? “Why are you laughing?” Steve mumbles, confused.  “Sorry,” you wheeze out, still uncontrollably laughing. “It’s just–I mean, dude! We almost died together, of course we’re friends now!” “We are?” He looks like a little kid on Christmas day being given the gift he’s always wanted. Your heart warms. “Yes, idiot.”

Summary: drinking game time ! take a shot every time jonathan tries ditching you or every time you almost die at the byers house, you find out that steve really is an athlete and tbh it's hot, but you know what's even hotter ? saving hawkins and reaching a tentative compromise with steve after he loans you $5 for snacks. after, jonathan makes a promise you really hope he can keep.

Rating: general, cursing and slight scary violence

Warnings: violence, use of fire and weapons, guns, use of fem!reader and use of y/n, slight mentions of blood and death

Words: 13.7k

Before you swing in: the final chapter ,,, my heart </3 please enjoy my child, i put so much into this chapter. action scenes scare me, they're hard and i'm weak, so i hope this lives up to everything you guys wanted n more ;) i cannot believe we're at the end (but i do have another chapter planned that's set in season 1, so shhhh). thank you so so so much for all your support. i never thought this silly lil fic would get that much attention, but i'm insanely flattered and grateful for each and every one of y'all. i'm so proud of what i've created and you guys are my beloveds ,,, anyways, enjoy !!!

-

You almost miss Jonathan and Nancy sneaking off. 

You had been explaining a comic book that had been in your bag to El when you noticed a shift in your periphery. Turning your head, you see Jonathan stand, offer Nancy his hand to help her up, and then walk towards the main doors together. 

What the fuck. 

“They wouldn’t dare…” You excuse yourself and run out the gym and into the hallway to follow them, absolutely furious. You’re so sick of their bullshit, of Jonathan’s bullshit and putting Nancy first. This isn’t even a petty jealousy thing, this is about the years of friendship between the two of you that has just suddenly disappeared within a damn week all due to circumstances completely out of your control. 

The slam of the main door is the only warning Jonathan gets before you’re yanking him by his coat and flinging him back, forcing him to look at you. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”

You’ve never, ever yelled at him like this before. Not even earlier this week when he’d given you that bullshit apology after screaming at you for being in his room, for saying the two of you weren’t family. You didn’t yell at him for hiding Nancy’s pictures from you, for going off without you to find the monster. Despite everything, you’ve never been this cruel to him, even if he may have deserved it at times.

Jonathan’s wide eyes stare down at your hand that’s still clutched around his coat, frightened. “Bug, we were just–”

“Just what? Sneaking off without me?”

“It’s not like that, Y/N.” Nancy now steps in, her hands held up as if you’re some rabid dog she wants to calm down. “We just figured we’d help Joyce and Hopper.”

“‘We’? Are you fucking kidding me? You two talked about this, had an entire conversation, and still somehow came to the conclusion that ditching me was a great fucking idea?” You scoff, deeply hurt by the fact that the two of them had an entire conversation without thinking to include you in it. 

“Bug, can we talk about this one on one?” Jonathan asks, his voice lowered. You can see the genuine upset in his eyes and for a moment your grip on him lessens, but then you see Nancy behind him and your anger only returns. 

“No, we can discuss this right here.” 

He sighs and tries to grab the hand not clutching his coat, but you slap it away. “Bug–”

“You’ve lost that privilege.” 

“Bug–I mean, Y/N,” His voice falters. “Look, my mom and Hopper are out there right now trying to find Will while that monster is still out. Nance and I… We want to finish what we started.” 

“Without me?” You don’t mean for it to happen, but your voice catches at the end.

Jonathan’s gaze softens and this time he succeeds in grabbing your hand. You let go of him and allow him to pull you in, weak against him as always. “I’m doing this to protect them, to protect you, Y/N. I’m always trying to protect you. You know that, right?”

You used to think that you did, but now? You’re not so sure, and it terrifies you. 

Nancy has stepped away from the conversation, now kicking at rocks while you’re with Jonathan, and you can’t help but think about how wrong all of this feels. 

Throughout this entire week it’s felt like someone has given you a photo of Jonathan, smeared its lines and edges, removed his moles and his crooked smile and made it neater, altered so that if you squint you can see the boy you grew up with underneath it all… But it’s fuzzy, almost too unclear to really see. 

Now he’s standing in front of you, his smile once more crooked and cunning and his moles faded underneath the moonlight and for a second you can see him. There he is, clear and untouched and him in a way that’s never quite been yours.

“I know,” you tell him. “But how many more times do you expect me to forgive you for lying and ditching me? If you want to protect me, you need to talk to me.”

Jonathan winces. “I know, I know it sounds stupid and I know I’ve fucked up more than enough this week, I just get caught up in wanting to make sure you’re safe. It’d kill me if I let anything happen to you… I just, I can’t lose you, bug.”

“So pushing me away is your grand plan of keeping me?”

“I’ve always been an idiot.” He manages a smile, and you can’t help but laugh. 

“That’s true, but if you attempt to ditch me one more time I swear to god I’ll pour tar all over your car.”

The boy laughs and for a brief moment everything feels okay again, but it doesn’t last very long. “In our defense, we figured you’d be better off with the kids since you’re not really a fighter, ya know?” 

You drop his hand. “Excuse me?” 

Jonathan’s smile is gone. “What?”

“I’m not really a fighter? You’re kidding, right?”

“Hey, no I didn’t mean it like that–” Jonathan fumbles over his words, clearly taken aback by your sudden mood change. 

You step away from him. “How many times did I defend you against Lonnie? Better yet, remind me how we became friends in the first place. Wasn’t it because I threw milk at a bunch of idiots bullying you? Huh?”

“Y/N–”

“God, I can’t believe I almost let you get away with it again! I mean, do you even hear the bullshit that comes out of your mouth?” You deepen your voice, now doing a poor impersonation of him. “‘Hey, bug! You know I love you, right? Cool! Now, I’m gonna go do fuck all and ignore you and ditch you and then somehow turn it into me being a good guy because duh! I can never do any wrong!’”

“Please, just–”

“Did I get it right? It was a pretty good impersonation in my opinion. I mean, I am the one who has had to deal with this shit all fucking week. I think I'm an expert on this topic now.” 

Jonathan looks pained but you don’t fucking care anymore. You’ve reached your limit, you’re sick and tired of being treated like some delicate creature that’s incapable of taking care of itself. You literally slapped Tommy Hagan this afternoon in order to help Jonathan, yet here he is basically calling you weak. 

And yet Nancy is the fighter. She’s the one who gets to go along on the adventure while you’re sidelined because for some damn reason you’re always the second option. Never taking matters into your own hands, always the one left behind to clean up the mess and take care of those also discarded. 

You’re sick of it. 

You step closer to Jonathan again, so that you’re nose to nose, and whisper, “I’m tired of never being good enough.” 

And with that, you reach into his coat and snatch up his keys, a game you’ve always played with him but now has turned into a bitter taste in your mouth, and run back into the gym. Someone has to inform the kids of the plan, make sure they’ll be okay on their own. 

Dustin sees you approach and smiles, but when he notices the angry pace in your steps, he frowns. “Uh oh.”

“Yeah, uh oh.” 

“Jonathan again?”

You nod, still too angry to trust your words. “Yeah.” 

He notices the keys in your hand. “Where are you going?”

Mike and Lucas look over now, curious as to what’s happening. 

You sigh. “I’m going with Nancy and Jonathan to the Byers house, we’re going to kill the monster.” 

“Why the hell are you going?” Dustin exclaims while Mike shouts “sick!” and Lucas mumbles “great, alone again”. El remains quiet, still resting. 

You flick your brother’s hat. “I have to, Dustin.”

“For Jonathan?” He shakes his head. “I like him, but aren’t you mad at him right now?”

“Is it just me, or is she always mad at him these days?” Mike whispers over to Lucas, who simply shrugs. 

“Girls, man.” 

You ignore them and focus on Dustin. “It doesn’t matter. He needs my help, and no one in the party gets left behind. Remember?”

“Y/N–”

“I love you,” you kiss the top of his head. “I promise I’ll be safe, just be careful, okay? I’m putting you in charge, so don’t let me down. If everything goes according to plan, I’ll see you in a few hours tops!”

Dustin tries to argue some more, but you quickly run back outside before he can get another word in. You feel horrible leaving him behind, but you know this is the right decision. If you can kill the monster, there’s less of a chance of the kids or Joyce and Hopper getting hurt. Jonathan and Nancy may be fine on their own, but there’s always power in numbers and they’ll need all the help they can get. 

You just… you have to help. You know this is what you’re supposed to be doing, even if it pains you to do so. Dustin and the kids are smart; as long as they stay at the school, they’ll be fine. 

In theory, that is.

Nancy and Jonathan are waiting for you outside. You push past them and march towards Jonathan’s care; they awkwardly follow after you. You unlock it, throw yourself into the backseat, and promptly dig through your backpack to make sure you have everything. 

The two teens get in a few minutes after you. Not one word is spoken as Jonathan starts the car and the three of you drive off, leaving Hawkins Middle behind. 

– 

You thought the car ride with Nancy and Jonathan from the funeral home had been tense, but this one? Downright painful. 

Jonathan has a tight grip on the steering wheel and keeps trying to catch your eye through the rearview mirror but you avoid his gaze. You’ve spent the last five minutes arranging and rearranging your backpack to give you something to do while Nancy has tried three times to make conversation to make this car ride bearable. 

“El seems nice.” 

“You said four words to her, Nancy.” You retort, switching open your switchblade once more to watch the moonlight dance off of its blades. 

“Right.” 

Nancy shifts uncomfortably in the passenger seat. You know she realizes she’s once again upset the balance in your relationship with Jonathan. It was only an hour ago that she tried getting you to admit your feelings for him before convincing the boy to up and leave you. Sure, Jonathan made his own decision in the end, but damn. She could’ve at least pretended to want you around. 

She notices your knives and tries to spark conversation again. “I love the color of the handle, it’s beautiful.” 

“Thanks,” you switch the blades closed and sit up in your seat. “Anyways, you geniuses have a plan or were you just counting on ditching me and winging it from there?”

“Y/N–”

“No, Nancy. I insist, let’s talk about a plan. We’re here to kill a monster, right?”

She closes her mouth and frowns, turning to Jonathan for help, but he’s no use. He’s busy tapping his fingers against the wheel and praying that the world will just swallow him up whole. Too bad for him you’re a stubborn pain in the ass and would simply pluck him back up so you can torture him some more. 

Nancy sighs. “Well, Jonathan and I were thinking we use the supplies we got earlier and lure the monster to his place, then we kill it.” 

“Awesome plan, guys!” You say, your voice dripping with sickly sweetness that leaves them both feeling even more uncomfortable. “But may I suggest some actual details or shall we just bank off of this wonderfully dull and vague plan?” 

“Sure, Y/N. Tell us what you had in mind.” Nancy rubs her face tiredly, knowing she deserves this. 

“Great! I’m assuming we’re luring the monster with blood?” They nod at you, so you continue. “Okay, so before we lure it I think we should completely booby-trap Jonathan’s house. Nail the bear trap down onto the floor, make sure the floor is cleared of anything that could trip us up. Then, once we’ve got the house secured, we knick ourselves to draw some blood and pray to whatever god is up there that we can kill the thing.” 

You pause for a moment, remembering how all the Christmas lights had been unscrewed by Joyce earlier. “The lights, we need to fix them. The monster communicates through the lights so if we have them, then we can track it.”

“That all sounds great, bug.” Jonathan finally speaks up, ass kissing. 

“Thanks, pal. Still don’t have the bug privilege back, but I’m sure you simply forgot.” 

He gulps, once more going back to being silent as he drives you and Nancy to his house. 

Nancy again tries to diffuse the tension. “How do we even kill the monster though? I mean, will my bullets be enough?”

“I have this idea, but it’s… well, it’s out there.” You bite your lip, now feeling your cocky demeanor slipping. “If we can safely set fire to it, I think that’s our best bet.”

“Fire?” Jonathan exclaims, but Nancy shushes him. 

“I think you’re right.” 

“Y/N, I know you’re mad at me but do we really have to set fire to my house–”

Now it’s your turn to shush Jonathan. “This isn’t about that. I wouldn’t burn your house down, I already told you I’d just pour tar on your car whenever I get the chance. For now, I really do think the best thing to do is burn the monster alive. In every horror movie and book, fire always gets the job done.” 

Despite herself, Nancy lets out a soft chuckle as Jonathan parks the car, now at his house. “She’s right, Jonathan. And who burns down houses these days? Tar really is the best form of revenge.” 

“I’m flattered, Wheeler. At the rate you’re going, you’ll be off my shitlist in no time.” You tell her, patting her on the shoulder before getting out of the car. You quickly open up the trunk and gather the monster hunting supplies while Jonathan and Nancy take their time getting out. 

You let yourself into the Byers home using your own key to the place. It’s been nestled in between the key to your house and the spare key to Jonathan’s car on your keychain for a few years now. 

The first thing you get started on are the lights. There’s hundreds of them to get through, but you drop your supplies and begin screwing them in one by one. Nancy and Jonathan come in soon after and silently begin to help. 

No conversation is made besides the necessary comments about the prep work. You’re all too focused on the possibility of what could happen next; the danger of the situation has finally set in. After the lights have all been fixed, you instruct Jonathan to begin nailing the bear trap down while you and Nancy discuss where to pour the gasoline. You both agree to make a path from the living room to Will’s room. 

As Nancy pours the gasoline, you follow behind her and pick up any flammables. You weren't lying to Jonathan earlier, you really don’t want to burn his house down. While the house is wrecked, it’s still a home despite everything that’s happened in it. You practically grew up within its walls, you’d do anything to keep it as protected as possible. 

When you’re done, you watch Nancy load her gun. A shiver runs down our spine; she looks at ease with it, which you figure should be reassuring, but the gravity of everything leaves you feeling on edge. You leave her alone and walk into the kitchen where Jonathan is, now hammering a ton of nails into his bat. 

You begin to sharpen your blades next to him, still finding that you only feel secure by his side. The rhythmic sound of his hammering calms you, in a sense. It serves as a distraction. You know you insisted on coming, you don’t regret it and you know you’re stronger than everyone seems to give you credit for, but you’re also terrified. This isn’t just some adventure in the woods; this could kill the ones you love dearly. 

Once you’re both done preparing your weapons, the two of you walk to Will’s room and rig up a simple snare. Jonathan grabs a yo-yo and you pull up a chair to set it on. The idea is that when the string gets pulled, it’ll alert you that the monster has sprung the bear trap. It’s not the most efficient warning system, but it’ll have to do. 

The last thing to do is set the bear trap, which takes all three of you to achieve. Jonathan and Nancy hold down the edges with their body weight and you very carefully set the trap with your hand. You shake a bit as you do so, but you force your nerves down. You remind yourself that Jonathan thinks you’re too weak, too cowardly, you have to prove him wrong. 

When the bear trap clicks into place, you let out a harsh exhale and sink against the wall, your heart still pounding. Jonathan and Nancy copy you and the three of you sit in silence. You’re still shaking a bit, and Jonathan is next to you just as tense, but for the first time since you’ve met him you can’t reach out to grab his hand to steady yourself. He’s too far, both literally and figuratively. Even with him next to you, you couldn’t be more far apart. 

In the back of your mind, you hope the kids are alright. Hopefully they’re having a better night than you currently are. 

“C’mon,” you say after a few minutes, getting up to walk over to the living room. “We’ve done all we can, now we just have to draw some blood and be the prettiest bait in Hawkins.”

– 

Nancy and Jonathan decide to cut the palm of their hands, but you respectfully would rather die than have a matching scar with them. The idea makes you so uncomfortable you visibly cringe when Jonathan tells you the idea. “Yeah, no thanks. I think I’ll find somewhere else to cut.” 

He looks hurt by what you’ve said but doesn’t voice it. Instead, the three of you stand in the living room in a triangle facing each other and he begins reciting the plan. “Remember…”

Nancy goes first. “Straight into Will’s room and–” 

“Don’t step on the trap.” You finish.

Jonathan nods. “And then?”

“Wait for the yo-yo to move.” The girl says. 

“Then…” Jonathan flicks the lighter on.

You whistle low. “Let there be light…” 

“Right. Light.” The boy nods again. “Alright, we ready?”

“Ready.”

“Scar time.” 

Jonathan and Nancy bring their hands up and place their knives flat against their palms. You roll up your sleeve and place your own knife against the upper part of your arm, just below your shoulder, and take a deep breath. 

“On three,” Jonathan says. He begins counting and you all can’t seem to stop shaking. He senses your unease and looks up at you and Nancy. “You guys don’t have to do this.”

Nancy glares at him, her own voice shaky. “Jonathan, stop talking.”

You nod. “Yeah, what she said.”

Jonathan tries to argue, but Nancy squeezes her eyes shut and yells, “Three!”

You close your own eyes and slice at your arm, the pain immediate. You gasp out, never having been good with pain, but you know you have to do this for Will. The blood trails down your arm, dripping from your elbow onto the ground, and you watch as blood from Jonathan’s and Nancy’s own cuts falls onto the ground too. 

Well, at least it’ll be an easy scar to hide compared to theirs. 

“Fuck, that stings.” You say to break the silence, and Nancy nods her head in agreement. 

“Not the most pleasant feeling.” 

Jonathan guides the two of you over to the couch and grabs the first aid kit that you had prepared on the coffee table. He sits in the middle, leaving room for both you and Nancy on each side of him, but you’re still pissed at him and opt to sit on the floor in front of the couch.

Nancy begins to patch up his wound, and it takes everything within you not to reach over and help him yourself. It feels unnatural to watch someone else taking care of him, but the space between you still feels too vast to cross. 

You patch up your own cut while the two of them talk quietly. You wind a bandage tight around your arm, ensuring you won’t bleed through, and Jonathan watches above you with guilt in his eyes. Nancy is trying to reassure him that everything will be okay, but as he watches you struggle to tie the bandage he wonders if he’s fucked up more than just your friendship.

“Bug, let me help with that.” He leans down and ties your bandage before you can stop him. 

You glare at him, still having not said anything to Jonathan besides what was needed for preparation. Nancy distracts herself by cleaning up around his cut and your stomach twists into knots. This is all so miserable. 

“Y/N, I know you’re upset with me and you can go whenever. I won’t blame you, you’ve done enough for me.” Jonathan says, trying to catch your eye. 

You turn away and inspect your bandage, still reeling over the fact that he tied it for you. “I’m here for Will, and only Will.”

“Y/N…” There’s a hurt in his voice that almost makes you turn around to throw your arms around his neck and whisper a million apologies to him. To tell him everything, that you love him and that you’d do anything for him and that’s why you’re so terrified of how you feel. You know you’d burn yourself up if it meant he’d be taken care of, if it meant he was safe and happy and far away from anything that could harm him. You know you’d use up everything within you to love him. 

Instead, you remain silent.

After getting no response from you, Jonathan clears his throat and begins to say something about how the lights will serve as an alarm for the monster, trying to pretend that everything is okay, but he’s cut off by a sudden pounding on the door.

You all jump and your fingers tighten around your switchblade, ready to open it. As your heart pounds you think of all the possible ways the plan could go wrong. When you’re on possibility number twelve, a voice calls through the door. 

“Jonathan?”

“Is that… Steve?” You say out loud, in complete disbelief. 

Steve continues to pound on the door. “Are you there, man? It’s… It’s Steve! Listen, I just wanna talk!”

You’re the first to react, standing up to run over to the door. You fling it open and step outside, making sure Steve won’t be able to see inside the house. When he sees you, he stumbles back a bit. “Henderson?”

His face is still bleeding from earlier and his hair is a mess, and yet there’s a softness to him that you haven’t seen before with him. “Steve, now isn’t really a good time.”

“Can I just talk to Jonathan real quick? I just… I want to apologize about what happened earlier, see if we can maybe–” His eyes land on your bandaged arm. You curse and roll down your sleeve, feeling like an idiot for forgetting to hide the wound before going outside. 

Steve reaches out to touch it, a hint of worry on his face and his voice is now full of concern. “Hey, are you okay?”

You shiver at his touch, it’s gentle as he skims along the bandage and inspects it for any other problems. You pull away, now hiding the wound. “It’s nothing, but you should really go.”

“I want to help you, Y/N. Do you need me to get you anything?” His face is so full of worry for you that it makes you ache. Then a thought occurs to him. “Wait, where’s Byers? Why isn’t he here to help you?”

You’re about to make up a lie, but Nancy flings the door open. “Steve, listen to me.”

He looks between the two of you in complete shock. “Okay, what–”

“You need to leave.” Nancy orders.

Steve looks at you. “I’m not trying to start anything, okay?”

“I know, but–” You get cut off by Nancy.

“I don’t care about that. You need to leave.”

Steve begins to plead with the girl and you step away a bit, not wanting to intrude. You feel bad for him, he looks so beat down by what’s happened today and you suppose that you can’t really blame him. After spending maybe a total of ten hours with Nancy and Jonathan, you also have come close to losing your mind. 

If you were with Jonathan, if you truly had him, you’d react the same as Steve. Begging for the girl he loves to listen to him, to give him another chance with the promise of him changing. 

“I just want to make things right.” Steve says, impressing you with his vulnerability. He’s openly admitting to his mistakes and taking accountability mere hours after the situation has occurred, leaving you both in awe of him and also saddened for him. He loves Nancy more than anything, you can hear it in his voice. 

He deserves better. 

As you’re thinking this, you see his eyes flicker down towards Nancy’s bandaged hand and his brows furrow. “What happened to your hand? Is that blood?” His eyes now flicker over to you again. “Why are you both hurt?”

“We’re clumsy?” You say as Nancy yanks her hand away from Steve.

“It was an accident.” She agrees. 

Steve looks between the two of you, now sensing that something else is wrong. “What’s going on?” 

“Nothing!” Nancy insists, but something in Steve’s demeanor shifts. 

“Wait a second, did he do this to you? To Y/N?” His once soft voice is now filled with anger and you step in front of him. 

“Steve, it wasn’t Jonathan. You need to go, I promise I’ll explain everything later–” 

He grabs you by your side and gently moves you so that he can get past and shove through the door. Nancy yells at him to stop and tries to push him out, but she’s useless against his strength. When he manages to break in, he stumbles inside and scans over the house. 

“Shit!” You follow after him, your brain running a million miles a second trying to figure out how to explain everything to him. 

“What the fuck?” Steve mumbles, eyeing the bat with nails in it. “Y/N, what’s going on here?”

He’s looking to you for reassurance and you guess he assumes that the two of you are allies in this Jonathan and Nancy situation. You really wish you could explain, but Jonathan has grabbed him by the shoulders and is trying to push him outside. The two stumble around for a few seconds and you just helplessly watch. 

“Steve, there’s no time to explain, please just listen to Jonathan and get out of here!” You’re helping Jonathan now, trying to get Steve out the door and away from harm’s reach, but he’s still fighting back confused and lost as ever and you pity him. 

You hear a click and turn around, gasping when you see Nancy holding her gun up to Steve. “Woah, what the fuck Nancy?”

“What! What is going on?” Steve yells, now more panicked than anything else. 

While Jonathan has stepped away, you find yourself standing in front of Steve as if to somehow block the bullet. You can’t let him get hurt, he doesn’t have any part of this, he can still have a normal and happy life if he just leaves now. “Nancy, put the fucking gun down, this isn’t helping!”

Steve pleads with her as well and the two of you scream at the girl to just listen and not swing around loaded weapons, but Nancy remains firm in her stance. “You have five seconds to get out of here. I’m doing this for you.”

“Because holding a gun to his head is any better than telling him the truth?” You exclaim, entirely over the situation. 

As the four of you are arguing, the lights begin to flicker. Steve and Nancy don’t seem to notice, but you do. You look at Jonathan and say your first real words to him in hours. “Jonathan…”

He hears you and he runs over to your side, grabbing your hand as the two of you stand shoulder to shoulder. You feel your heartbeat race and you can feel him shaking beside you. He’s terrified, so are you, but his hand around yours manages to steady you. 

“Nancy!” Jonathan tries to get the girl’s attention, but she’s too busy counting down to hear him. 

He shouts at her again and the lights start to flicker more wildly and you draw your switchblade out, adrenaline coursing through you. It’s time. 

Jonathan yells once more and finally catches Nancy’s attention. “The lights!”

She whips her head around and curses, Jonathan, still tightly holding your hand, tugs you along so that you follow him as he secures his weapons and grabs the bat. “It’s here.”

“What’s here?” Steve is flailing around, utterly lost.

You all ignore him and now stand back to back in a triangle. Nancy holds up her gun, Jonathan wields his bat, and you flick your wrist to bring out your knives. “Where is it?”

“I don’t know!” 

The lights flicker rapidly and you feel overwhelmed. They were supposed to serve as a guide towards the monster, but there's no possible way to see which direction it’ll come from and for a fleeting moment you think you’ve made a huge mistake. 

Steve is still screaming, demanding answers, but you’re too busy scanning your surroundings to offer him some information. “Hello? Will someone please explain to me what the hell is going–”

The roof opens up, cutting Steve off, and you scream as the monster attempts to come down right above you. Jonathan shields you from the fallen debris and you cling onto him in utter fear. This isn’t real. This cannot be happening. 

Nancy begins to shoot at the thing while Jonathan guides you to safety. He brings you to the edge of the living room and holds your face in his hands, forcing you to really look at him for the first time all night. “Listen to me, stay here while I get Nancy.”

He kisses your forehead and then leaves, rushing over to Nancy to pull her away and guide her towards Will’s room. Steve stands next to you, frozen, and it forces you back to reality. The plan, you have to stick to the plan. 

You grab Steve’s hand and yank him so that he follows. The monster has dropped down now, a horrible creature on all fours that opens its gaping mouth to let out a horrible screech that you feel deep within your bones. This is what killed Barb. 

The four of you run to Will’s room and you only just barely have enough time to warn Steve about the bear trap. You look over your shoulder and shout, “Jump!” right as your ankle catches on its chains. 

You fall. Hard. 

Pain sears through your ankle and you try to get up, but any pressure on it sends flames through your entire body and you let out another scream. The monster catches up, looming over you, and you brace for your death. There’s no fucking way you’re getting out of this. 

You squeeze your eyes as the monster stalks close to you, its ugly mouth open and ready to kill you. Jonathan is screaming at you to get up, but Nancy is holding him back from helping. You’re relieved by this, knowing that someone has to be there for Will once this is all done. He’ll need his brother, and Nancy seems to understand this. You catch her eye and nod at her, sending a silent thank you. 

“Bug! No, let go of me! I have to help her, Nancy!” Jonathan’s voice becomes hoarse by how loud he screams, his voice breaking with fear and desperation. 

Then, right before the monster lunges at you, you feel a familiar pair of arms slide underneath your legs and pick you up. “What–”

Steve Harrington has swooped in to save you, picking you up as if you weigh nothing, ever the athlete, and swiftly jumps over the bear trap while screaming his head off. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!”

You’re so delirious from the pain in your ankle and the adrenaline pumping through your veins that you can’t help but let a laugh escape you. No fucking way is any of this real. Steve Harrington is carrying you bridal style into Will’s bedroom with Jonathan and Nancy as witnesses. 

What a life. 

Once you’re both secured in the room, Steve sets you down gently right as Nancy yells at him to shut up. As soon as Steve lets go of you, Jonathan is at your side and pulls you into a crushing hug. 

“Bug.” He breathes out against your ear, relief heavy. 

“I’m okay.” You tell him, threading your fingers through his hair. He’s shaking harder than ever, and holding onto you as if he’s scared he’ll lose you again. “I’m okay, bee.” 

He pulls away and his hands are all over you, checking everywhere for any other injuries. “Did it hurt you, are you bleeding? There should be a first aid kit–”

You grab his hands and kiss his knuckles, which seems to calm him down a bit. “I’m fine, just twisted my ankle. If you help me up, I’m sure I’ll be able to stand again.” 

Jonathan quickly helps you to your feet and you lean against him for the extra support. While you put on a brave face for Jonathan, you’re terrified out of your fucking mind. You almost died. Jonathan is still holding your hand and he’s looking at you as if seeing you for the first time and you force yourself to look away. It’s the same look from the field days ago, when you thought he’d kiss you. 

You have to focus on what’s at stake.

How the hell are you guys supposed to kill this thing?

The monster screeches, breaking the moment between you and Jonathan, and he flicks his lighter on and forces you to stand behind him. Nancy holds up her gun and you bring your knives closer to your face, Steve standing weaponless behind you. 

You all wait, tense, for the monster. It stalks closer to the room, its awful growls alerting you of its proximity, but it doesn’t appear. 

“What’s it doing?” Nancy asks, frustrated. 

“I don’t know.” You respond, equally as frustrated and scared. 

Another few agonizing seconds pass, and you stare at the yo-yo and hope that it remains still. Then, the lights stop flickering and it becomes quiet. All you can hear is your blood roaring in your ears. 

Nancy looks around. “Do you hear anything?”

“No,” Jonathan shakes his head, inching closer to the door. 

“Wait!” You tug at your still interlocked hands. You pick up his bat that had been thrown on the ground and hand it to him. “Be careful. Please.”

He gives your hand one last squeeze before letting go, accepting the bat.

As Jonathan pokes his head out to see if the monster is outside, Steve bends his head down and whispers in your ear, “Romantic.”

“Shut. Up.” You hit him in the chest, fearfully watching your best friend to make sure he doesn't die. When he motions an all clear, Nancy follows him outside, then you, then Steve. 

The house is silent and your heart sinks when you see that the bear trap has been left untouched. You realize with a horrible gut wrench that the monster is smarter than the three of you had anticipated. 

So much for your plan, then.

“It’s smarter than we thought.” 

“Yeah,” Jonathan agrees with dismay. 

He stalks against the wall towards the living room and you all follow in a single file line. You do your best to stick close to the wall but you limp with every step. Your ankle is definitely out of commission for now. Great. 

All of you are on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop. It couldn’t have been that easy, there’s no possible way that the monster simply up and left. You enter the living room, which has gotten even more wrecked due the monster. The wallpaper has been torn off of some parts of the wall and you see papers scattered everywhere. 

“Shit…” you mumble, kicking at a shredded wallpaper strip. 

In the corner, Steve has started to hyperventilate and mumble to himself. “This is crazy, this is so crazy, this is fucking crazy.” 

You limp over to him and grab his shoulders, making him face you. “Steve, hey. It’s okay, I’m here.”

“Y/N, what the hell just happened?” 

“It’s… complicated. For now, can you trust me that everything will be okay?” 

“Of course I trust you, it’s just…” He nods, his eyes softening. You lessen your hold on him and give him a smile, he seems to be calming down. Then, he looks around the room and seemingly remembers where he is. “This is crazy!” 

Steve lunges for the phone on the wall and tries to call for help. 

You stumble after him, the pain in your ankle slowing you down. “Steve, wait–”

Nancy gets to him first, grabbing the phone out of his hand and throwing it across the room. He looks at her, shocked. “What are you doing? Are you insane?”

“It’s going to come back!” Nancy yells at him, and you wince at the way she treats him. You know Steve will only listen to her, but she could at least be nicer about the whole situation. The three of you have had some time to process everything happening, Steve was thrown into the deep end. 

“You could be a little nicer,” you mumble, and Nancy sends you a glare. You raise your hands up in surrender. “Sorry.” 

“Steve, you need to leave. Right now.”

He looks so overwhelmed and you give him a pitying look. He stares at you, reminiscent of the way he looked at you earlier in the alley, silently begging you to say something, anything, but again you can only shake your head at him. You won’t force him to stay, it wouldn’t be fair.

“Y/N, please…” He tries one more time to get you on his side, but you can’t. Frustrated by your lack of response, Steve groans. “Fuck it!” 

He runs out the door. 

You’ll admit that you’re a bit disappointed, but you also understand. Who in their right mind would stay? 

You and Nancy share a look before the lights begin to flicker again. Dread fills you. “Fuck…”

Jonathan is back by your side and he and Nancy again form a triangle with you, all your backs pressed together as you desperately try to locate the monster. You all stumble in a circle, searching for any sign of the thing, but there’s nothing. 

“Where is it?” Nancy gasps out.

“Just fucking show yourself!” You shout, just wanting this all to be over with. Your body is drained from living in a state of fear for so long. 

“Come on you son of a bitch!” Jonathan echoes your taunts. 

Suddenly the lights turn off and you’re left alone in complete darkness. Faintly you can hear the monster’s familiar growl approaching from behind you. The hair on the back of your neck stands up, the air stands still. It’s back. Before you can react, it pounces on Jonathan. 

“Jonathan!” You scream alongside Nancy. Desperation takes over you and before you can even process what’s happening, you ignore the pain in your ankle and jump onto its back, stabbing repeatedly at it. 

Your blades only bounce off of its thick skin and the monster struggles to get you off. You hold on as tight as you can, shouting and kicking at it so that it can’t hurt him, but then it opens its mouth and for a horrifying moment you’re afraid that Jonathan will die.

“No!” You scream even louder than before and double down on your effort, stabbing and slashing as much as you possibly can to try and create some damage, but your arms are starting to ache and your ankle now feels like it’s on fire. 

“Nancy, its skin is too thick!” You sob out, nearing complete exhaustion. Then, just as you’re about to collapse from exhaustion, gunshots fill the room. 

Nancy begins to shoot at the monster and with the help of your blades, the two of you manage to pierce its skin, but even then the damage is minimal. It’s not enough, it won’t be enough. Tears stream down your face and the monster only gets closer to Jonathan, so you do the only thing you can think of: you crawl onto the top of its body and stab at its mouth. 

The monster lets out a blood curdling scream and flings you off of its back. You go flying across the room and land against the wall with a groan. All the air has been knocked out of you and your ribs are definitely going to be bruised tomorrow. Every part of you aches, but you manage to lift your head up and blearily process the monster now approaching Nancy as she continues to shoot at it, but it remains unphased. 

You crawl over to Jonathan, who is still laying on the ground. He’s motionless, and you fight everything within you not to break down and sob. You have to keep going, he has to be alive. As you reach Jonathan and frantically check for a pulse, the monster has now cornered Nancy and her gun seems to be out of bullets.

It’s over. You know it is. 

Right as you’ve accepted your fate, a screaming Steve Harrington wielding Jonathan’s bat once again manages to save the day. 

He hits the monster with the bat, effectively saving Nancy and you’re so impressed with his batting skills that you almost find him attractive with how easily he hits and dodges the monster. However, you file those thoughts away for later and finally manage to wake Jonathan up. He startles with a gasp and you check over his chest, scared he may have gotten pierced by the monster’s claws. 

“I’m fine, we need to help.”

You help each other up and you have to lean heavily against him due to your ankle. You bull riding the monster has only made the sprain worse; you’re too afraid to look down and see the damage that’s been done. 

As the two of you hobble over to Nancy, Jonathan looks at you. “Is Harrington really here right now?”

“Yes.”

“Lovely.”

Steve manages to lure the monster closer and closer to the bear trap and you watch him in awe. He’s quick footed and so sure of himself, the complete opposite of the boy from only ten minutes ago who had run out of the house screaming his head off. Now, Steve is swift with his hits and even twirls the bat in his hand to show off. The small act causes you to smile despite the horrible circumstances. 

By the time you and Jonathan are up and recovered, Steve has successfully led the monster straight into the trap. It clamps around the monster’s foot and it screeches, flailing around in the trap. Steve still has his bat held up, now frantically looking over to everyone else. “He’s in the trap! He’s stuck!”

“Jonathan, now!” Nancy screams, motioning over at him to use his lighter. 

Jonathan listens, using his free hand to flick the lighter on and then drops it onto the ground, right into the trail of gasoline. Immediately the monster goes up in flames, letting out horrible noises. You all shield your faces from the flames and Jonathan pulls you closer into him, still having yet to let go of you; you feel yourself sink into his side as you watch the monster wither away.

“Bug, I have to get the fire extinguisher, do you think you can stand on your own?” Jonathan asks you, his voice soft but urgent. 

You quickly nod and brace yourself for his departure. “Yeah, go.” 

He lets go of you as gently as possible before running to grab the extinguisher. When he has it, he orders everyone to get back and then smothers the flames. It takes a couple seconds, but eventually the fire gets put out, leaving behind an awful stench that makes everyone cough and gag. 

“Holy fuck,” you wheeze out, hunched over. “Burnt monster smells horrible.” 

“Yeah, no kidding.” Steve coughs out. 

Nancy covers her face with her jacket. “Where did it go?”

“It has to be dead.” Jonathan pants against the wall, looking like he’s three seconds away from passing out. “It has to be.”

“It fucking better be dead.” You mumble, hobbling closer to see what exactly was left behind. When you get closer and see the giant lump of melted skin all over the bear trap, you gag. “Oh god. Yeah, okay. It’s dead.”

Everyone sighs with relief. 

Then, you notice a Christmas light above you flicker on. Your heart stops, terrified that the monster has somehow survived, but then a second one turns on, then a third, until a path seems to be guiding you towards the living room. 

You all follow, cautious but curious, but these lights don’t feel threatening. There’s an energy to them, a comforting one that leaves you breathless. When you get to the living room, tears form in your eyes, now understanding what this all is. You look at Jonathan, who also seems to be thinking what you are. 

It’s Joyce, you know it is. 

“Mom,” he breathes out. 

You limp over to him and grab his hand. He turns to you, his eyes shining with an appreciation that he only ever has for you. He seems to be drinking you in, as if now realizing just how close the two of you came to dying tonight. You’re doing the same, thankful that he’s alive and standing next to you despite everything. There’s so much the two of you want to say, but as always the words aren’t needed. You understand each other perfectly, the balance between you centered once more. 

You put your head on Jonathan’s shoulder and he brings his hand to your hair to softly stroke it. The two of you stand like that for a second, breathing each other in and enjoying the tenderness after such a miserable day, before you slowly break apart and follow the lights going outside. 

The porch light flickers and Nancy stands next to you, watching it with uncertainty. “Where’s it going?”

“I don’t think it’s the monster.” Jonathan tells her. 

“It’s Will.” You don’t know how you know this, or what makes you feel so certain that you’re right, but somehow you know that you are. Somewhere deep within you, you feel the faint outline of hope flicker. 

A new silence surrounds the four of you at your words, and for once there’s hope between you all. Then, after a minute or so of silence, everyone begins to head back inside. Steve first, then Nancy, and finally Jonathan, leaving you alone with the crisp early winter air.

You take a deep breath, the cold air serving as a reminder that you’re alive. You let it fill your lungs until you can’t breathe in anymore, then you release the air through an exhale and feel your body settle into its exhaustion. This is the first time you’ve had a moment to yourself, so you let the exhaustion weigh upon you like a warm blanket. 

Will is safe, you can feel it. Despite everything, he’s safe and alive. Jonathan is too, still your best friend regardless of all the unspoken words between the two of you. Dustin is at the school with the kids, away from danger. Everything is okay, it’ll be okay. 

You let the moment wash over you, incredibly grateful to be lucky enough to have survived it all. Everyone you love and hold close to you is safe. You didn’t fuck up this time. God, you did it. 

Jonathan comes running out after a while, his face alight with joy and he crashes into you and picks you up to twirl you around. You laugh, loud and freely, and bury your face in his hair as he continues. “Bee, stop! Put me down, you dummy!” 

He does as he’s told, but doesn’t let go of you once your feet are on the ground. “My mom just called, they saved Will. He–he’s in the hospital, he’s okay.” 

You squeal and throw your arms around Jonathan again, squeezing him so hard that you’re afraid you'll hurt him, but he simply laughs and squeezes you just as tight. Tears come again, but this time they’re happy ones, and if it weren’t for your ankle you’d be jumping up and down right now. 

Jonathan’s laughter dies down and he cups your chin around his fingers so that you look up at him. “You did it.” 

“We did it, bug.” You softly push against him. You can’t take all the credit. 

His eyes are shining again, you haven’t seen him this happy in so long, you get lost in it. His face is lit up and his smile is back and you’re so in love with him that it claws against your throat and threatens to spill out in excess.

A beat of silence passes and Jonathan just soaks your presence in. You can’t quite read his face, but for once this doesn’t frighten you. You enjoy it, you relish in the fact that he’s still yours yet now forming into someone new and lovely and wonderful. 

“You never gave up.” He whispers at last, adoration in his voice. 

“Never.” 

“You never left me.” 

“Never.” You breathe out, the word so simple with such heavy weight behind it. 

The moment is so raw, so tender, and Jonathan is giving you that look again, the one that leaves you feeling like the sun itself has settled upon you and kissed your cheek. His eyes flick down to your lips and you smile, taunting him to lean in. He seems to understand, giving you his own teasing smile before leaning in. You lean in as well, every part of you buzzing, and right before your lips touch his, Steve bursts through the door.

“Jonathan, dude, do you have like, any food in the house?” He asks, completely oblivious to what he’s just interrupted. 

You and Jonathan break apart, laughing the tension away. He ducks his head down, clears his throat, and turns to Steve. “Sorry, man. Been a little busy this week for grocery shopping.”

Steve’s eyes bulge out of his head. “Oh shit, right. Sorry, okay. Uh… Well, I’ll be inside, I guess.” 

“We’ll be in shortly.” You tell Steve. You want to be frustrated by his timing, but something tells you that you’ll have all the time in the world to tell Jonathan how you feel. Now just isn’t the time. 

– 

The moment you arrive at the hospital, Jonathan sprints out of the car and straight towards the front desk to find out where Will is. You and Nancy follow behind, figuring you won’t be able to see Will for a while since you’re not blood related, so the two of you wish Jonathan goodbye and head towards the waiting room. 

Steve lags behind, obviously unsure where to go. Nancy immediately walks inside, but you notice his hesitation and nudge his shoulder. “I’m sure that the cut on your eyebrow needs to be looked out. Let’s go sit, okay?”

He sighs deeply. “Yeah, sure. Totally. Let’s go sit in a room full of people who probably hate me. No biggie.”

“Either come or don’t.” You shrug. “But the way I see it, you can start mending some metaphorical wounds while you wait in there.”

You don’t wait for Steve to figure out what to do, you know that Dustin is somewhere inside the waiting room and you’re buzzing to see him and the rest of the kids. You hobble inside, still very much in pain due to your injuries, but the moment you see your brother it all fades away. 

He runs into your arms and almost knocks you down with the force. Dustin clings onto you, mumbling over and over again how sorry he is. 

“Hey, wait a second,” you pull him away and crouch down, groaning a bit at the pain. “What are you sorry about? What happened?”

You look around the room and see everyone there. Nancy, Hopper, the kids, Steve, even Nancy’s parents, but there’s someone missing…

“El,” you breathe out. 

Dustin’s lip trembles and he begins to cry. You soothe him, grabbing his hand to bring him over to the seats and sit between him and Mike. Lucas is to the left of Dustin and you can’t help but notice how all the boys have dried tears in their eyes. 

When they’re ready, you have the kids explain what happened, and the more they tell you, the more guilty you feel. You should’ve been there for them, you left them all alone with that monster. You got Will back, and yet you’ve lost El as a result. It seems that no matter what you do, it’ll never quite be enough in the end. 

“It’s not your fault.” You tell Dustin, who still keeps apologizing. It was you who had left him in charge, you’re why El ended up vanquished by the monster. “You did everything you could. I shouldn’t have left you guys all alone, but I’m proud that you all took care of one another, okay?”

He sniffs and nods his head, but you know he doesn’t believe you. All the boys are somber; you know it’ll take time for them to recover. So, you do what you do best, you console them. You hold their hands and rub their backs and offer your spare comics in your bag. You do whatever you can to comfort them, to reassure them that they’re safe now and that no one will hurt them, but the light in their eyes has dimmed. 

They’ll never be the same again. 

And El… she had been so young, you don’t think you’ll ever not feel the heavy weight of guilt whenever you think of her. She had been so sweet and had trusted you. 

You should’ve been there, you wish you could’ve saved her.

Steve watches from his seat across from you. He listens in as you comfort the boys, taking care of them in such a natural way. He admires this softer side of you, one he hasn’t quite seen before. Sure, you’ve always been gentle and sincere, but watching you with the kids is something special in itself. You manage to get them to laugh, you offer them your shoulder to cry or sleep on, and you read aloud to them stories from your comics and Steve finds himself drawn towards your interactions with the kids. 

It’s sweet, something delicate and lovely, and Steve admires everything that you are. When he sees you awkwardly stand up and stumble over to the vending machines in the hall, Steve finds himself following after you. 

-

“Bitch!” You slam the palm of your hand against the vending machine in vain. The bag of chips hangs by the little spiral, taunting you. 

“That’s not a very nice word, Henderson.” 

You turn and see Steve, leaning against the wall with a fond expression. “You stalking me?”

“Nah, just wanted to watch you fight against a vending machine.”

“Ha,” you snort, turning back to the machine. “Unless you can help me get this last chip bag, you’re free to go sit back down.”

You mean it to be a joke, not expecting Steve to actually listen, but he’s at your side within a second. “Step back, let Steve handle her.” 

“What–”

Steve motions for you to move, so you reluctantly do as you’re told. Once you’re out of the way, Steve claps his hands, stretches out his neck, and then begins to aggressively shake the vending machine. 

“That is so not what you’re supposed to do–”

Suddenly the bag drops down from the hook and into the retrieval slot. Steve reaches inside, grabs the bag, and then dangles it in the air. “Tada!” 

You laugh and grab the bag from him. “Okay, I’ll admit, that was impressive.” 

“What can I say? I’m charming like that.” 

“Sure,” you smile at him, neither of you have moved yet. He’s still standing in front of you with that cocky smile on his face that’s slowly started to warm on you. You truly do understand why so many girls have fallen for him. If you ever saw Steve on the street, a stranger passing by, you’d fall a little bit in love with him yourself.

The thought startles you. “Well, uh…”

“Yes?” Steve raises his eyebrows at you, smiling. 

“Thank you for the chips. The kids haven’t eaten anything in hours, so…” You wave the three bags in your arms. “Gotta keep 'em fed.”

“Wait a second, there’s only three bags there. Aren’t you going to eat anything?”

“I only had enough money for the boy’s chips.” You say, feeling suddenly sheepish. “It’s fine, though. I’ll just eat a few pieces from them and wait until we get home.”

Steve scoffs. “Yeah, no.”

You frown at him, confused as he rustles through his jean pocket and pulls out his wallet. “I don’t want your money–”

He doesn’t listen and simply puts the cash into the vending machine and punches in a few numbers. Slowly, one by one, multiple different bags of sweets and chips come falling down within the machine. Once the last one has dropped, Steve bends down and offers the huge stash to you. 

“A feast, on me.” He winks at you and you can’t help but blush. 

“T–thanks, I guess.” You now carefully balance the rest of the snacks in your arms, the mound almost blocking your view. You’re not sure how much Steve just paid, but with all these snacks you and the kids will surely be well fed. 

Steve shrugs, and if you weren’t so tired you’d think the blush on his face was a real one. “It’s the least I can do, all things considered.”

His words give you pause. You know he’s referencing earlier today, back in the alley where fists slammed against skin and he had dragged you away from your best friend, but the memory feels like years ago. So much has happened since then, Steve has saved your life since then. 

“Steve…” Your ankle is starting to sting again from standing for so long, so you adjust your footing and try to figure out what you want to say. “I never got to thank you back at Jonathan’s.”

“Thank me?” His face scrunches in confusion in a sickeningly cute way that it almost distracts you.

“Yes. You saved my life tonight, Steve. I won’t ever forget that.” 

“Oh…There’s no need to thank me. I mean, what are friends for?” Steve freezes and clears his throat. “I mean, shit. We aren’t friends, you keep saying that. Sorry. You know what I mean.”

You know you shouldn’t, but you laugh. Honestly, after everything you’ve been through tonight with Steve, how can he possibly think the two of you aren’t friends?

“Why are you laughing?” Steve mumbles, confused. 

“Sorry,” you wheeze out, still uncontrollably laughing. “It’s just–I mean, dude! We almost died together, of course we’re friends now!”

“We are?” He looks like a little kid on Christmas day being given the gift he’s always wanted.

Your heart warms. “Yes, idiot.”

Steve starts moving around in what you can only guess is a happy dance. “Sweet! Does this mean I get a cool nickname, too?”

“A nickname?” A bag of chips threatens to fall from your arms, but Steve catches it before it can land on the ground and takes a few more snacks off of your hands. 

He readjusts the snacks he now has so that he can carry them easier. “Yeah, I mean. Byers has one, why can’t I?”

You don’t think you’ll ever stop feeling so thrown every time Steve mentions a small detail about you that he’s somehow come to notice. He has a habit of doing that, surprising you by how much he seems to pay attention to you. You thought that no one ever had before, but Steve continues to prove you wrong. 

“I’ll tell ya what,” you begin to walk back towards the waiting room, careful to step carefully to not drop anything or upset your ankle. “Let’s see how this ‘friends’ thing works out, then I’ll decide what nickname fits you best. Deal?”

Steve thinks for a moment and follows. “Hmm. I don’t know, I think I’ll need some type of precaution to make sure you give me a nickname in the end. I want one, Y/N. I’m so serious right now.”

You laugh at his pleading tone. “I can add you to my baking list. Whatever I bake, you’ll get a piece of it. Is that better?”

“God, yes!” Steve punches the air and cheers. 

You’re smiling so much that your face aches. You haven’t felt this light and carefree in so long, you’d almost forgotten what it’s like. The two of you don’t say anything else as you walk back to the waiting room, though Steve seems to slow down so that you don’t hurt your ankle keeping up, though you still let out a few winces and groans.

When you’ve arrived back at your seat, Steve sets down the snacks and runs off without another word. You’re confused by his sudden departure but don’t think much of it. Instead, you wake the boys up and show them your array of snacks, which wakes them up immediately. 

You’re mediating a fight between Mike and Lucas over who gets the bag of Chips Ahoy when a nurse interrupts. “Excuse me, ma’am. This young man over here told me I should come over and check out your ankle?”

The woman smiles and you look past her and see Steve sheepishly waving from his seat across from you. You’re stunned. Had he really gone out of his way to ensure your ankle gets treated?

You shake the thoughts out of your head and inform the woman all she needs to know. You tell her how you’d fallen and what type of pain you feel when you stand up. She inspects the ankle, her fingers cold but kind, and within a few minutes has diagnosed you with a sprained ankle. 

“All you can really do is stay off of it for a few weeks while it heals. I can go and get you some crutches, if you’d like?” She asks, rolling her gloves off and tucking them back into her pocket.

You nod. “If you wouldn’t mind, that’d be great.”

The nurse leaves with the promise of being back soon. In the meantime she instructs you to keep your ankle elevated, so you prop it against the coffee table and wait. You’re annoyed that you even have to have crutches, but then you think of Barb, of El. You’re luckier than you should be. 

– 

After an hour or so, Jonathan opens the door to the waiting room. He spots you and Mike talking softly with each other and whistles over to catch your attention. When Mike looks up, Jonathan nods at him and the boy scrambles out of his seat. 

“Guys! Guys! He’s up, Will is up!” Mike shakes awake Lucas and Dustin, who had been cuddling on the seats fast asleep. “Will’s up!”

Once they’re awake, they quickly follow after Mike and the three boys are gone in an instant, sprinting down the hall towards Will’s room. Clearly they’re eager to see their friend. 

You do your best to get up as fast as possible, but your new crutches serve more as a nuisance rather than an aid. As you struggle to get up, somehow knocking over the mountain of snacks, Steve rushes over. 

He grabs the crutches and offers you his hand. “Here, careful.”

“Thanks,” you awkwardly accept his hand and get up. Jonathan watches from the doorway, a curious look on his face. Nancy does the same from her seat, not saying a word as she watches Steve gently help you navigate the waiting room with your injury. 

Jonathan holds the door open for you and takes over once you’re out the door. He grabs the crutches from Steve and is now the one to hold your hand, balancing you. “I can take it from here, Harrington.”

“Right, yeah.” Steve scratches the back of his head and coughs. “I’ll just… yeah.” 

He heads back inside and you and Jonathan watch as he leaves. As soon as he’s out of earshot, Jonathan turns to you. “Are you two friends now or something?”

“We almost died tonight, bee. I think it’s safe to call Steve a friend now.”

Jonathan bites his lip, though there’s a far off look in his eye that leaves you feeling like you’ve missed something in the conversation. “Guess that’s true. Anyways, let’s get you to Will.”

By the time you make it to the room, the boys have swarmed around Will and are telling him everything he’s missed this week. He’s listening eagerly as they’re telling him about El, but when he sees you enter the room, his eyes light up and he tries to sit up. 

“Y/N!” Will calls out, pure excitement in his voice. 

You practically fall over in your haste to get to him. The second you’re close enough, you collapse onto his bed and give him the tightest hug you possibly can without hurting him. He feels so small against you, smaller than he’s ever felt before, and his sunken eyes and pale skin make you want to cry. 

But he’s alive and here and in your arms once again, happy and wonderful and safe. 

“Little bee,” you try not to cry, but tears are thick in your voice. “I missed you.”

Will manages a weak smile and shrugs, trying to play off the gravity of the situation. “Took a little detour home.” 

You laugh and ruffle his hair. “At least you came home, that’s all that matters.”

“Ahem,” Mike obnoxiously clears his throat, effectively ending your moment with Will. “You’re hogging Will, move over.” 

You laugh again and move away, allowing the boys to resume their millions of updates. You maneuver your crutches and walk over to Jonathan, who is standing by the door. He’s looking at the boys and Will with a soft smile on his face and you join him, standing side by side as you watch your boys finally come together again. 

Then, you feel a pair of eyes on you and you turn around. Nancy is leaning against the doorway behind you; she looks frail and distraught. There’s a sadness in her eyes as she watches the kids. You know that watching the boys reunite with their friend must remind her of Barb. She never got her happy reunion. 

You feel awful for the girl, so when her bittersweet smile drops and she turns to leave the room, you nudge Jonathan to make him aware of the situation. He sees her fleeing and begins to follow after her, but he stops. 

“What are you waiting for? Go.” You tell him, knowing it’s for the best. 

He shifts his weight, uncertain. “Are you sure?”

You’re not sure how to decipher the hidden meanings underneath those three words, but you find that you’re exhausted trying to keep reading between the lines. The feelings you’ve kept buried bubble to the surface, but you remind yourself that he loves Nancy, despite your weird moments of almost with him. There’s something there between you and Jonathan, you both can feel it, but it feels too raw and fragile to bring into the light. 

Without having to ask, you know that Jonathan will choose her. 

It breaks your heart, but you look over at Dustin and Will, who are laughing about some joke while Joyce gazes at them fondly, and you know that you can’t lose this. Maybe Jonathan knows this, too. The small family you’ve built together, it’s too precious to ruin. 

Joyce and your boys, you can’t lose them. They’re yours, and Jonathan is yours in a way that you can’t quite keep to yourself forever, but for now it’s enough. You approach Joyce, grab her hand and give her a tired smile, and the smile she returns to you reminds you that this is more than enough for you. 

You turn to Jonathan, pushing down your feelings once more in favor of appreciating the fact that Will is looking at you again, alive. “Go, bee.” 

Jonathan gives you one last look. You study his face for a moment, watching as it shifts from confusion, to hurt, then finally into acceptance. You’ll never be sure of what exactly he’d been thinking in that moment, but it seemed to have been enough for him, too.

He smiles, lets out a deep breath, and then leaves.

The door closes softly behind him. 

– 

A month later you find yourself in the passenger seat of Jonathan's car, tired from your shift at Bookstrordinary but excited to pick up your brothers. Somehow, even after missing three consecutive shifts last month, Mrs. Waters refused to fire you. 

But Jonathan? He hadn’t been so lucky. His boss fired him from the Hawk, but he hadn’t been too upset. He still drives you to and from work, so you suppose things could be worse. 

It’s late, but the two of you take your time driving to the Wheeler’s. Nothing much has changed between you two following Will’s reappearance. Sure, maybe you’re at his house more just to make sure Will is adapting well, but besides that everything seemed to go back to normal. 

Well, almost normal. 

Steve appeared at your job a few days after your conversation in the hospital. He had surprised you when you walked in, and when you asked what he was doing in a bookstore, Steve simply shrugged and said, “You can’t figure out my nickname if we don’t hang out, right? So, I’m here.”

He had become a regular at the store, stopping by whenever he could, and slowly the two of you became good friends. You’ve come to enjoy Steve’s presence, something that you never thought would ever happen. But he keeps you company as you work, he wanders around and explores the comics and books you recommend to him, and it’s nice having someone to goof off with. 

Plus, you did promise to add him to your baking list, so he’s also become your taste tester who happily eats any creation you bring in for him.

As for Nancy…

That was more of a sore subject for Jonathan. 

There was a few weeks following Will’s reappearance that you thought Jonathan and Nancy would get together, but it never happened. You’re not quite sure why, maybe it had something to do with Jonathan’s hesitation of approaching her, but it had crushed him when you and he saw Nancy and Steve making out in the hall as if nothing bad had ever happened. 

The way Jonathan’s face crumbled when he saw the couple only solidified that he’d never be yours, but you comforted him anyways. You told him he deserved better and then dragged him away. It’d taken him a few days, but eventually Jonathan was able to fake a smile again. 

You haven’t spoken about it since that day, but you leave your window open most nights for him to crawl in. The nightmares from that night fighting the monster plague you both, and the loneliness feels a little heavier than usual, but at least you have each other. 

“Jonathan! Y/N! Come in, the boys are downstairs.” Mrs. Wheeler answers the door, letting the two of you in. “And Y/N, I love that sweater on you.”

You thank the woman. “It was a gift from my mom. She claims I need to up my wardrobe, whatever that means.”

“Well, I think she has lovely taste.” 

“I’ll let you know you think so!” You open the basement door and motion for Jonathan to go down first. 

When he reaches the bottom of the steps, Jonathan makes a face. “Woah, what’s that smell? Have you guys been playing games all day, or just farting?”

“My vote is farting.” You say, hopping down the last step. Your ankle has mostly healed by now, but sometimes if you land on it wrong it makes a weird clicking noise followed by some pain, but you choose to pretend that it’s normal. 

The boys laugh and Lucas points at your brother. “Oh, that’s just Dustin. He farted.”

He begins making fart noises with his mouth and you and Dustin share a look. “Very mature, Lucas.”

The boy continues to sing and make fart noises and you can’t believe that this is your life. You’re standing in a smelly basement while picking up your stubborn brother all while simultaneously enjoying the fact that you get to call this your life. 

Jonathan calls over to Will to grab his things, so you follow suit and gently berate Lucas. “Alright, that’s enough. I gotta get Dustin home.”

“What, I thought I got to stay–”

“Jonathan is our ride and I made cookies, so let’s go.”

The moment the word “cookies” leaves your mouth, Dustin hops up and collects his things without any further argument. 

Once he’s ready, he and Lucas play wrestle as they say goodbye. While they’re distracted, you walk over to Mike and discreetly hand him a container full of double fudge brownies. You’d specifically made them for him, knowing they were his favorite, because you noticed how hard it’s been for him to adjust to El being gone. He really cared about her, anyone could see that. 

Mike’s eyes widen and he throws his arms around you. “Thanks, Y/N.”

You pat his back. “Anytime, Wheeler.”

Dustin breaks away from Lucas and runs up the stairs, so you take that as your cue to leave. 

Upstairs, Jonathan and Will are talking to Mrs. Wheeler. When they see you enter, the woman turns to you and asks if you’ll be bringing over your usual round of holiday treats. “Of course, I’ll get started on them tomorrow. You guys still like the sugar cookies?”

“If you make them, I think I’ll die of happiness.” Mrs. Wheeler informs you, and you laugh and tell her that you’ll have them ready as soon as possible. 

You bid her goodbye, Dustin now by your side, and you follow Jonathan and Will to the front door. Right before you open the door, Nancy calls Jonathan’s name from the top of the stairs. 

“Hey, Jonathan, wait up!” 

You, Dustin, and Will stand awkwardly in the back while Nancy hands Jonathan a wrapped gift and wishes him a merry Christmas. They share an awkward exchange since Jonathan hadn’t gotten her anything, but Nancy assures him that it’s fine. The interaction is painful to watch as Nancy doesn’t spare you a single glance. Dustin and Will look at you uncertainly when she kisses Jonathan’s cheek, but you ignore them and pretend to be interested in a Christmas decoration on the table.

This will never get any easier. 

“You ready?” Jonathan turns back to you guys, a blush on his face, and all you can do is silently nod. 

In the car you sit in the back with Dustin, who squeezes your arm in reassurance. He’s come to understand your complex feelings for Jonathan and has pieced together Nancy’s involvement. While he’s never outright consoled you, he’s shown his support in other small and wonderful ways. 

“Thanks,” you whisper, and Dustin smiles. 

“We all buckled up?” Jonathan asks as he starts up the car. 

“Yes, captain.” You mock salute. 

Will giggles at you before he sees the gift and looks up at Jonathan. “Can I open it?”

“Yeah, sure.” 

You and Dustin lean forward so you can see what’s in the box. When Will unwraps a beautiful, and no doubt expensive, camera, you gasp. The bitterness and hurt from moments ago vanishes. This gift is from Steve, you know it is, and something warm settles deep within your bones. 

You think about last month, how you’d told him not everyone can just afford a camera. 

Seems like Steve listened. 

Maybe he isn’t so bad after all. 

– 

A week later you knock on the Byers’ door, a giant container of your annual holiday cookies in your arms. 

“Bug!” Jonathan answers the door with an excited smile on his face. His new camera is in his hands and before you can even process what’s happening, he’s already taken a photo of you with your crooked earmuffs and oversized box of cookies.

He’s been using the camera ever since he got it. There’s now multiple pictures of you, always unaware or caught off guard, now hanging in the kitchen. It makes you blush to think about. 

“You didn’t even give me a chance to smile.” You complain, shoving your way inside. It’s snowing and you’re freezing. 

Joyce grabs the container to help you as soon as she sees you. “Here, honey. I’ve got it.”

You thank her and walk over to Will, who is drawing at the kitchen table. “Hey little bee. Whatcha drawing?”

“Hi, Y/N.” He slides over his picture and you’re shown a quick sketch of you and the party, this time fighting what appears to be a misshapen dog. “It’s a Dire Wolf, we’re fighting it in our latest campaign.”

“Ah, I see. Looks fluffy, though. Can’t possibly be a dangerous creature.”

Will rolls his eyes at you. “This is why you don’t play with us.”

“Careful, you’re sassing the girl who has just bravely ridden her bike through the snow to deliver her famous Christmas cookies.”

Will is out of his seat in an instant, running over to his mom, who has just placed the container on the counter. “Did you make the oatmeal raisin cookies?”

“Duh,” you snort. 

“And the chocolate chip?”

“I sure did.” You stand next to him and point at a new cookie you’re trying out this year. “This batch is a caramel banana one. Steve seemed to like it and I think it’s pretty good, so I hope you do too.”

Jonathan swoops over and kisses your head. “Of course we’ll like it, bug.”

“He’s right, you know. We always love whatever you make us, honey.” Joyce informs you, her mouth now full of cookies. 

“I’d hope so, this is like my fifth year making these for you guys. It’d be awkward if you hated my baking.” You say, now securing your earmuffs back on your head. “Anyways, I should get going. It’s Christmas, my mom won’t want me out too long.” 

Joyce looks out the window and frowns. “Did you really bike here in this weather?”

“It wasn’t too bad, I’ll be fine–”

“No. Jonathan, grab your keys and drive Y/N home.” She stares you down, daring you to argue with her, but you don’t. You know better than to argue with Joyce Byers. 

Once Jonathan has his keys, you say goodbye to everyone and wish them a merry Christmas. Jonathan throws your bike in his trunk and soon you’re off on the road. The drive is quiet but cozy. The snowflakes fall in a pretty spiral and there’s a soft song playing on the radio. 

Sometimes, if you close your eyes, you can pretend that the events from last month never happened. Will never disappeared. You never discovered that you love Jonathan. Nancy Wheeler never became friends with Jonathan, possibly something more had there been more time. When you close your eyes and sit still, you can imagine that your brother never has nightmares that wake him up screaming. That your heart doesn’t hurt when you make your best friend laugh. 

For a moment, you can forget. 

“Can we always stay like this?” You ask Jonathan softly, almost as if you’ll disturb the peace that winter has brought with its quiet snow. 

“Like what?”

You’re not sure how to express what you’re feeling. “This, us. Together.”

“Of course we’ll always stay like this.” He grabs your hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss it. He says this like it’s a fact, the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Pinky promise me.” You hold your pinky up. You know it’s silly, but you need him to hear you, to understand what you’re saying.

Jonathan looks over at you. “Y/N–”

“Please, promise me, bee.”

He’s silent for a moment, seeming to understand the weight of everything between, around, and within the two of you. Then, he extends his pinky finger and wraps it around yours. “I promise, bug.” 

And you believe him.

[END OF SEASON ONE]

-

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[jksarchives]

THE LOVE BUG (AND A SPIDER)

Jungkook is well aware of your extreme fear of spiders for as long as he could remember you. You never fail to remind him of your Sunday chores together of sweeping every corner of the house to look out for the creepy crawlers that could be hiding anywhere.

➪ PAIRING; Jungkook x reader

➪ GENRE; humour, fluff, established relationship

➪ TAGS/WARNINGS; drabble, humour, established relationship, reader is really scared of spiders, jk is annoying but a cutie, brief tears and comfort

➪ WORDCOUNT; 1.3k

𐚁₊⊹

▎13 AUGUST 2023 — [10:35 a.m.]

Sunday mornings in your apartment always had the same chaotic rhythm: music blaring from the bluetooth speaker, laundry in a haphazard pile on the sofa, and a thin layer of dust your husband had been promising to clean “next week” for the past month.

For you and Jungkook, it was your ritual. Sunday’s always been your house-cleaning day, and while you approached it like a military operation, Jungkook treated it like an improv show. Although it was a shared act of love, it was mainly irritation wrapped in Clorox wipes and mismatched socks.

Jungkook was assigned the bathroom which he approached with theatrical groans of suffering, while you tackled the living room with a feather duster.

“Jungkook, how does toothpaste even get on the ceiling? Are you conducting some sort of experiments in there?” you hollered over the music.

“I told you, babe, it's a science thing. You wouldn't understand,” he called back, voice muffled under running water. You rolled your eyes but couldn't hide the smile tugging at your lips.

“You're the only guy I know who thinks 'science' involves a toothbrush trebuchet” you scoffed.

“I accept that as a compliment,” Jungkook shouted proudly.

The two of you continued to clean while Jungkook continued to complain about how he should’ve been hanging out with his boys for yet another dangerous round of skateboarding at the skatepark. The man was pushing the age of thirty yet his body was as solid as he was back in high school.

“You missed a spot,” Jungkook said, leaning against the doorway, grinning. And you, crouched by the coffee table with a rag in hand, glared up at him.

“Do you want to help, or do you just want to supervise?” you asked.

“Oh, l'm a phenomenal supervisor” he said

“You're also fired” he then added.

Jungkook laughed as he strolled into the kitchen to take care of the ‘dishes’ portion of your cleaning routine, though his version of ‘taking care’ usually involved stacking dirty mugs like a game of jenga and then wandering off.

You rolled your eyes but couldn't suppress the fond smile tugging at your lips. Living with Jungkook was like sharing a home with a hyperactive puppy. It was exhausting, but impossible not to love.

Half an hour later, you were in the bedroom dusting under the bed with your trusty duster wand, when your hand froze.

Something moved.

You tilted your head, peering closer.

A spider.

No, not a spider. A nightmare with eight legs.

Your stomach flipped. Your throat tightened, and a strangled yelp escaped before you stumbled backward, your hand slapping over your mouth.

The spider didn't care. It sat there, unmoving, a sinister blot against the hardwood floor.

“J-JUNGKOOK!” you shrieked as your voice cracked with panic.

“Yeah?” came his distant reply, muffled by the sound of running water.

“Jungkook! Get in here now!” you screamed.

Something in your tone must've conveyed the urgency because seconds later, Jungkook appeared in the doorway, his hands dripping with soap suds.

“What's —oh”

He spotted the spider immediately. You were already on the bed, knees pulled to your chest, arms wrapped around yourself like you were holding yourself together.

“Get rid of it!” you demanded, scared for your life.

Jungkook’s mouth twitched, and your eyes narrowed.

“Don't you dare laugh,” you warned, your voice shaking.

“Babe,” he said, holding up a hand like he was trying to be serious.

“It's just a spider” he tried to reassure you, which did absolutely nothing to calm you down. Instead it irritated you.

“It's not ‘just a spider’, it's-it's—” you gestured wildly towards the creature, your words dissolving into an unintelligible squeak.

“Look at it!” you pointed.

Jungkook crouched for a closer inspection, his head tilting thoughtfully. “Yeah, okay, that's a big one. I think I saw it carrying a briefcase” he commented.

“Jungkook!”

“Sorry! Sorry!” he stood, rubbing the back of his neck.

You sniffled, and his teasing grin faltered as his head turned to you.

“Are you...crying?” he asked.

“I hate them,” you whispered, your voice breaking.

“I hate them, Jungkook. Just-please get rid of it” you told him desperately.

Jungkook’s playfulness evaporated instantly. He crossed the room in two strides and reached for you, his hands warm and steady as they found your shoulders.

“Hey, hey, it's okay. I'll take care of it, I promise. Don't cry baby” he comforted.

You nodded, hiccupping as you buried your face against his chest. For a moment, Jungkook just held you, one hand smoothing over your hair while the other rubbed slow circles on your back. He could feel how tense you were because your whole body was vibrating with barely contained panic.

“Alright,” he said gently, pulling back.

“Here's the plan. You stay up here on your throne-”

“It's not a throne, it's a bed” you corrected him

“Same thing. And I'll deal with Lord Arachnid over there” he replied.

“Just kill it” you mumbled.

“No way” Jungkook straightened, grabbing an empty cereal box from the dresser.

“We're doing a catch-and-release operation. This guy's going back into the wild where he belongs” he said. You opened your mouth to argue, but Jungkook had already sprung into action.

He approached the spider with exaggerated stealth and crouched low like a big-game hunter.

“Okay, pal, this is your eviction notice” he murmured, and the spider twitched.

Jungkook froze, “whoa. He's fast” he let out a tiny gasp.

“Don't say that!” you groaned, clutching a pillow to your chest like it was a lifeline.

With careful precision, Jungkook lowered the cereal box over the spider, trapping it with a triumphant flourish.

“Gotcha!”

He slipped a piece of paper under the box to seal it off, then straightened, holding it aloft like a trophy.

“Mission accomplished. I am the spider whisperer” he said.

“Just take it outside!” you wailed, your knuckles white where they gripped the pillow.

Jungkook chuckled but obeyed, striding toward the balcony. He slid open the door, stepped out, and released the spider into the flowerbed below.

“Be free, little dude,” he said, watching it skitter away.

When he came back inside, you were still perched on the bed as your shoulders sagged in relief.

“All clear,” your husband said, grinning. You stared at him for a long moment, then burst into tears.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Jungkook crossed the room, his smile vanishing as he climbed onto the bed beside you.

“What's wrong? It's gone, I swear!” he tried to reassure you.

“I know,” you sniffled, wiping at her eyes.

“I just.. I can't help it. They scare me so much, and I feel so stupid-” but you were cut off.

“Hey” he cupped your face in his hands, his thumbs brushing away your tears.

“You're not stupid, okay? You're brave as hell. That thing was terrifying” he said, trying to be honest.

“You laughed,” you mumbled.

“I wasn't laughing at you,” he said softly.

“I just…I didn't realise how upset you were. I'm sorry, baby” he pouted. You leaned into his touch as your breathing finally started to steady.

“You're annoying, you know that?” you told him.

“Yeah, but you love me anyway” he chuckled.

“Unfortunately” you sighed.

Jungkook smirked, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

“You're lucky I love you enough to battle giant spiders for you” he said and you snorted, half-laughing, half-crying.

“Giant spiders, huh?”

“Absolutely. That thing could've been in the Olympics” he answered.

“Shut up,” you told him, but you were smiling now as the tension eased from your body.

Jungkook pulled you into his arms and cradled you against his chest. You both stayed like that for a while as the world outside faded into the background as he held you close.

“I don't know what I'd do without you,” you murmured eventually.

“You'd probably have to move,” Jungkook said, grinning against your hair.

“Probably” you hummed.

“Good thing you're stuck with me, then”

You tilted your head to look at him, your eyes still red but full of warmth.

“Yeah,” you said softly, “good thing”.

[itstheendofthegoddamnworld]

Swallowed Whole by The Flame (Messmer the Impaler x Tarnished! Reader) 18

MASTERLIST

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Summary: The Tarnished takes a perilous journey. Messmer broods in his fortified Keep.

A/N: This chapter will pretty much be the route to Enir-Ilim, as I'm too lazy to write word for word, I'm keeping the details simple, lol. Some things also don't follow in the game, but I think we all know that by now.

Happy reading, folks! This one is long.

A03 link

Chapter 18: Deliverance

As you storm out of Messmer's halls, anger boils within you, telling yourself not to turn back. Your dress is a whirl of crimson and fury, dancing around you the faster you walk, and you're more intent on ripping it to ribbons as you go.

You wish to make a statement to Messmer and the anger he's caused, how he didn't listen for the sake of being stubborn, but most of all, he didn't listen to you, someone you had thought he may have grown affections for. 

You could only laugh bitterly: your attempts for love, for friendship, to be one in someone's arms, thrown back in your face. Over and over again. If it told you anything, Messmer was one to keep his feelings close and danced around who he liked and disliked, including you.

Tears gleamed in your vision, blurring your sight, but you still managed to find your way, tearing at your sleeves as you ascended the lift alone, wiping your eyes, knowing you had no one to console you.

You felt like some love-sick girl for falling to like Messmer, for putting your emotions over your mission. He was a demi-god after all, born from Marika's craft. You wiped your eyes, but despite it, the tears kept coming. You wanted to curse out Messmer, his men, the cause you tried to stop, but most of all, you could only curse the one who started it all.

Screw Marika, her golden Order, and her torment from beyond whatever state she now existed in.

The lift groaned to a halt as you sped-walked up to your apartments, ripping your remaining garments off as you dressed simply in trousers, riding boots and a shirt. You could claim your items and armour when you found a site of Grace, but for now, you needed to leave as quickly as possible, without stirring further chaos.

As quick as you are in the room, you are out, wearing your helm that you've long forgotten wearing to shield your face, to hide your tired and worn eyes from his soldiers and Messmer, if you saw him. You do not need to feel those sudden emotions again if you ran into him, for him to see how upset he made you.

No, you would wear your armour with pride, it is a Tarnished's way after all.

Your heart clenches at the coldness when he called you just by Tarnished, nothing else.

Did he only take me to his bed for the thrill of it all? You dismiss it as quickly as you can, running until you find the courtyard.

You dare not even look over your surroundings, summoning Torrent with a whistle from your ring, you climb on and bring him to a full sprint out before he has fully materialised into existence. You cannot make yourself look back, for the tears flow heavily, and you do not wish for any to see you weep.

I am a Tarnished, always and forever. You tell yourself, the heavy gate is opened for you as if it was expected all this time, you head west, only west. 

As your figure retreats out of the keep, Messmer watches on from his balcony, his face is guarded by his red flaming hair, but his fist is clenched, scratching into the stone.

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

It feels like an eternity until you feel as if Messmer or his men will not follow you; that is when your mind does not feel so conflicted. 

You continue west until you come across the ancient ruins of Rauh. Opening the doors, you hop back onto Torrent, striding through and not stopping until you've made it out. The dark, wet abyss is one you're disgusted by, bugs are the next, but you bypass them to continue onwards, until you find the outside world greets you. The fresh air hits you, heavy with moss and decay. You follow your map, heading east for a time until you spot the golden glint of something in the middle of the path.

The cross stands in splendid glory, one for his followers to be in awe of. You, instead, begrudgingly hop off Torrent and approach it. You can feel the pull, a sweet lull of pretend fulfilment that awaits, but instead, you reach past it, plucking from it the Scadutree fragment and trudging over to the site of Grace.

You receive your armour once as you turn your fragments to strength, to help you endure what awaits before you continue onwards, over the long bridge as you traverse across on Torrent. It is not difficult to spot the Giant Fire Golem that travels, and even though it has spotted you, it does not attempt to attack you.

Messmer's doing, I wonder. You scoff as you continue, thinking to yourself if Messmer does have eyes on you.

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

You find the ruins past a ridge, another site of Grace, sitting there for some time until day turns to night, and you rest up, eating simply at some dried liver that does not calm your nerves. You pass the time by not sleeping and giving some sweets to Torrent. Your companion is sweet in allowing you to rest your back against his side, talking to him throughout the night, knowing he will not tire himself.

By the site of grace, there's another fragment, one of Miquella's and your stomach clenches in dread. You continue onwards, despite your body wishing to rest until the night's sky turns into brighter colours. You greet the dawn as you pass through the upcoming ruins until the smell of moss and the outside turns to something much too foul that you turn your nose at.

Rot, but not any type of rot, you recognise the red hue and don't dare touch it, its foulness is wretched beyond anything you've seen before in the Lands Between. You've seen it in Caelid, in rivers that ran red, and in Miquella's twin, Malenia, and what it rendered her.

You don't want to imagine what awaits you in this place you're about to walk through: you've only heard the rumours through the wars that Messmer participated in.

You brace yourself for the worst as you had for the elevator, riding it up as you find the final site of Grace awaiting you before you head through the entrance way. 

The Church of the Bud, as the map has it named, is what you expect from a place surrounded by rot, but it is indeed a ruin. You step forth, clutching your Nagakiba tightly as you enter, rot and flowers hit you with great nausea. The great columns of the church have been destroyed, its roof a heap and open to the elements; it is clear something or someone had brought it to its knees in ash and brimstone. 

The walls are blackened beyond what they once were; what thing had to lurk in these walls to bring this place to such ruin? 

Your question was answered by the slick, sickening sound, the scraping of natural hardened armour brought your attention to move out of the way, to witness a horrid blackened scorpion's tail slam into the ground. You rolled, dreading what it would feel like if that went through your armour and into your skin. You didn't think much of it, dodging again to avoid its stinger and the rot that you're being encircled by.

You look up, seeing not just a scorpion's tail, but attached to a centipede, a woman whose body it is combined with. She is both horrifying and beautiful, despite the scarlet rot she's afflicted with, charging towards you, tails sharp and ready to pierce you.

Somberly, you charge forth for the first time, Messmer's flame, a burning bright flame that does not scorch you, but the sight is something that brings the ground to shake and shudder beneath you suddenly. The insectoid lady rears back in horror, halting her approach, a screech coming from her mouth, tails curled up as if you were Messmer's mini version.

"Foul, impure," she hisses, spinning around you, curled like a viper, her body is already lunging at you, "I'll be rid of thee."

You can only sigh, hoping the splitting headache you carry will diminish.

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

Cleansing your blade, the nagakiba takes off the rot with ease, scrubbing with some muttered prayers in hopes that the remnants have gone. You don't wish to stay longer in the Church opening, not with rot making you feel so queasy. Despite defeating who you know now was Romina, Saint of the Bud, the reminder of her still lingers, from the soft pink glowing hues to the pink butterflies that still float around you. 

The guilt hit you hard when you realised she had been a victim of Messmer's crusade, of his Mother's doing, you remind yourself. He was simply a soldier in her war, and despite telling yourself you're still angry at him, there is a loneliness that has hit you now that you're alone with your thoughts.

You miss his eccentricities, his mannerisms and aloof wit, but he was one you kept coming to, yearning to know more of him, regardless of how much or little he gave to you. You missed the warmth he provided, the serpents that showed what their master was really feeling, wrapping around you in the cold of night. 

Cleaning yourself finally of rot on your clothing, you sigh dejectedly, knowing that on the map awaits what is the tree that cuts you from where Miquella is, and most of all, Leda.

"May this drama cease?" You ask into the open air, the stress on your mind has taken a toll on your body, the scrapes and aches in your bones are leaving you wishing you could turn back around, back to the Keep, and back into Messmer's arms. But you didn't want to give him that vindication, that satisfaction from him to tell you, 'I told thee so' in that archaic tone.

No, no matter what, you wouldn't do that, you came so far, you can dread him when this is all over.

𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕷𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖔𝖋 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕾𝖍𝖆𝖉𝖔𝖜 𝕶𝖊𝖊𝖕

The rain slashed across his window, a hideous howl slicing through the air. Claps of thunder shake the ground, yet Messmer watches on from the comforts of his war room. He stalks like a gargoyle, ever vigilant of everything and the ins and outs of his Keep. He manages everything accordingly to strict procedure, knowing of the ongoing change of guards, the patrols across the courtyard, the supply runs, and even those relaying information from neighbouring camps.

His soldiers know all; they're his eyes, the ones to tell him of all, not just of Miquella, not of the sightings of his followers, but to keep an eye out for the Tarnished.

He tries to push himself away from this, to keep his mind occupied with his intel, but it's some morbid, curious part of him, silently begging to ask the question when he knows he will always get an answer. He knows where you are, he knows when you take rest and for how long. Last his men heard of you, you had just entered the Church of the Bud, and Messmer recognises the name, his attention has piqued.

The church is at least two days away by riding, and he's silently impressed that you got there so quickly. It would've taken a small band of his men a week's worth of marching to reach there. 

He remembers the church well, the stench of the putrefy, the death that could not even be extinguished with his flame. Everything had to die - his mother told him once - it was lightless, unclean, even that Saint-

-"My Lord," the voice beside him was soft, so soft that he hadn't even heard who had entered. The rainfall had drowned out both his thoughts and the outside world, now, he drowned in being alone.

He turned, his healer and friend, Aldwin, had entered with a guard at the door to let him in, shutting it immediately. "My friend." Messmer greets him in hushed tones, resuming to stare out the window.

Aldwin moves slowly, his body is dwarfed in comparison to the jaws of the Keep and of the Lord, but the Nightfolk does not cower in front of Messmer, instead, he stands with knowing he's his equal. "The rain has not ceased all day. They say it will be another night before we see the end of it."

"How doth thee knoweth this?"

"I feel it in my bones." Aldwin gives a wry smile, crooked but reaching his milky eyes. "T'is a gift old age has given me."

Messmer chuffs softly, hiding his amusement, "Thy age hast not dull'd thy wits." 

"I dread for that day," Aldwin answers, and though Messmer's attention is drawn to the window, he is aware that Aldwin is here not just to discuss the weather. "What hath brought thee here?"

"My Lord, forgive me for my brazenness, but it has been some time since you last called for me to aid you." The Nightfolk is candid yet straightforward with his wording, but Messmer understands what he means. The dull aches he feels in his muscles, the serpent within... It's dormant, was, before you left.

Now, it gnaws at him like a starved dog with a bone, whispering to him in the back of his mind, cackling like a wight until he feels as if he's losing it. He hears it now stronger than it ever was before, once when he could ignore it, when he was with you-

"Aye," the redhead lies, "T's nothing more than a nuisance to me."

Aldwin is a man who wears his emotions clearly, showing concern for the demigod, "My Lord, your pain ails me, it is my role as your healer to aid you-"

"I am fine," he snaps, but stops himself from truly cracking, recoiling back to softer tones. He finds any excuse quickly. "Forgive me, my friend. The nights grow long, and I findeth I can in nay manner slumber."

"Shall I provide you with a stronger wine, my Lord?"

"I cannot standeth the bitter taste."

"What... what could I provide for you in aid?"

The Tarnished. He wants to say. He wants someone to pluck her out of her silly mission, to bring her back to be in his arms. How foolish he was to let her go so easily. Upon thinking what their master thinks, Eos and Fos release themselves from the confines beneath Messmer's cloak, whispering their words of encouragement to him in his mind. 

He almost scoffs when they both suggest going out and finding her.

Sensing his healing aid is not needed, Aldwin slowly shuffles away to the doors. "If you need me, Lord Mes-"

"-Didst I maketh a misprision in letting her go, Aldwin?"

The Nightfolk halts, turning slowly as he had heard the Golden Prince Godwyn had returned from the dead. "Pardon?"

"Thou art mine own oldest friend besides Gaius. I wouldst ask him myself if he were not out patrolling." Messmer turns slowly, thoughtfully, resting against the chair but not sitting. His golden eye peers across to milky coloured ones. "Answer me truthfully."

"My friend, I have known you for a very long time." Aldwin speaks slowly, trying to find the right words, "I am aware, you and the Tarnished had grown... fond of one another. Enjoying each other's presence. Perhaps she has grown in time to regret her decision."

She heads for Enir-Ilim. The next timeth I shall hear from her is if 't be true she cometh to me whole or just her head. He dreads.

He thinks what she could be thinking whilst she is with her thoughts, if she dares, dwells on knowing she misses him just as he does. There is one thing on his mind and it has not left his mind, the very image of her is burnt into his soreseal, and he wishes to be with her once more. For now, he can only hope he gathers the strength, both within himself and for his soldiers and keep.

"Very well." Messmer tries not to show his emotions, but it reads in the way he strokes the coiled side of one of his winged serpents. Aldwin turns to leave before hearing a final request. "The stout wine shalt aid me just fine."

𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕿𝖆𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖉

Morning comes when you feel something kick your boot. Alert yet dazed, you flick the rusty dagger you had gripped in your hand all night towards your supposed attacker, your guard relaxing upon seeing the sight of a familiar face. "You scared the crap out of me." 

"Keep your wits about, Lady Tarnished." Ansbach coolly replies, stepping over you, reaching through his belongings idly as you watch quietly. You want to ignore the dream you had been having before you had been harshly awoken: in the silken sheets in the Lord of the Shadow Keep's chambers, snuggly embraced by him. You wanted to dismiss the way his arms felt so real around you, that you had silently hoped it had been real.

Sadly, you had come to remember your whereabouts, sitting just outside the Church of the Bud, steps away from the entrance to Enir-Ilim. You gathered your things, walking side by side with Ansbach as you took in the fortified and imposing sight. It had been something from dreams of another distant land, floating in the air in mightiness, you could not help but marvel.

Between you, hooded, shadowed figures knelt, and when you slowly approached one of them, you could hear the silent yet persistent mutterings that took some time to understand:

ᴏ ᴛᴏᴡᴇʀ ᴏꜰ ᴏᴜʀꜱ, ʜɪᴅᴅᴇɴ ɪɴ ꜱʜᴀᴅᴏᴡ. ᴏ ʟᴏꜰᴛʏ ꜱᴘɪʀᴀʟ ᴘɪᴇʀᴄɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴇᴀᴠᴇɴꜱ. ʟᴇᴀᴅ ʜɪᴍ ꜱᴀꜰᴇʟʏ ᴜɴᴛᴏ ɢʀᴇᴀᴛᴇʀ ɢᴏᴅʜᴏᴏᴅ. ᴀɴᴅ ɪɴ ᴅɪᴠɪɴɪᴛʏ ɢʀᴀɴᴛ ᴏᴜʀ ꜱᴀʟᴠᴀᴛɪᴏɴ.

"Let us be on our way." Ansbach brought your attention back to what was guarding those out: the blackened, twisted vines, almost as thick as rope.

You stared at it a second longer before realising what you must do, clutching your palms outwards, you uttered. "Here goes nothing." 

The flames reached out, reddened flames clutched to the bark that it caught aflame quickly, burning like cloth to the ground in front of you. It didn't take long for the path to be cleared, and when you turned to Ansbach expectantly, he too looked in silent awe.

"Let us go." You spoke first, stepping forth with Ansbach behind. On you both went, knowing it led towards certain doom.

𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕷𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖔𝖋 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕾𝖍𝖆𝖉𝖔𝖜 𝕶𝖊𝖊𝖕

The heavy gates groan with life as they lifted open. Rain continues to pour and slash, darkening Messmer's hair and clothing, but he remains somber as he walks solemnly out of his hiding.

His skin had turned frail, the bags under his eyes heavier, but the feeling in his chest had not once settled. Not when he guilt-tripped himself into telling himself his mother wouldn't want it, how Marika would disapprove, for showing weakness for another-- but where was she now but trapped?

In all his years, he wrote to her in correspondence, begging for her return, those centuries passed, and he had heard nought. 

No more. He told himself. No more would he sit and wait, waiting for her word.

He had sat and waited, witnessed and watched, but he would finally be a participant.

"My Lord," A voice calls for him, but he chooses to ignore it. The mount brought forth to him is large and formidable, one he used in his conquests many times before; now, he would call upon it again. "My lord, where are you going?" Messmer turns to look down upon his closest ally, Gaius, emerging to stand beside him.

"Shalt I prepare mounts, Lord Messmer?"

"Nay," Messmer answers coolly, " The keep is under thy gaze whilst I am gone." 

"My Lord?-"

"I am a fool for letting her go, but I knoweth I cannot keep her to mine own side," he continues, swinging his long leg effortlessly over the beast, a crack of thunder illuminates across the cobbled ground, enlarging his silhouette. He feels giant, a feeling of triumph erupts through his chest, "Mine own purpose hast not been broken, and I has't a tarnished I wilt findeth."

-

A/N: Knew I had to include my gal Romina in this, but I didn't want to include a fight scene. This is a conflict between Messmer and the Tarnished; both are trying to live and do their missions without the other and are failing miserably. Tarnished realises she has to allow people to come and go in her life, whilst Messmer needs to allow people to have input, not just his mother.

But yay, now he's coming for her, but is it to help or to drag her by her ear?

[thequietkid-moonie]

Horror fan S/O likes scaring others

[ HEADCANONS ] [ Anzu, Junta, Tsukasa, Hijiri ]

[ Romantic Killer ]

I may or may not was inspired by Horrorpedia to write this-- and a little for Hu Tao... ANYWAYS! I had fun doing this, idk it was silly and cute and fun! Well, I hope you like it as much as I did <3

Anzu Hoshino

Despite not being too interested in romance Anzu's feelings for you are sincere, she wouldn't dare to play with your feelings so at the end you two just grow to have a comfortable relationship between both, being not only partners but also best friends!

Anzu is completely obsessed over videogames and even cats and she doesn't even try to hide it, so for you two to be together you have to accept her just the way she is just like she will do it for you too. The fact that you like so much horror doesn’t bother her in the slighest, she respects if and support you on what you like!

Anzu isn't specially interested in horror but will not mind hearing you rant about it or even heard some spooky stories you know, even if she feels slighly nervous and even afraid she will simply laugh at it and playfuly complain about how you just wanted to scare her in purpose, but she doesn't really mind much since for being in a relasionship there is some level of comfort in your presence so she knows that is all innocent fun

Anzu wants to show her support to you she not only heard your stories but also offer to make you company and even play horror games with you, thats way she would convine something you like with something she likes, its a win win! However she gets nervous and scared when playing, being a little messy during the gameplay but at least both have fun

Aside from that Anzu doesn't really like much when you try to scare her because most of the time is effective, she doesn't have a big reaction (unless it has to be with bugs) but still, if is only a story she may be willing to hear it but she doesn't like getting too invested or even be pranked so she just end up asking you yo stop and suggest doing other things that won't scare her as much

Even so, she is actually supportive when you want to scare others, she can see how happy it makes you and as long as you don't go as far as actually bother others and ignore the other's limits and bounduries she sees it as pure fun, she even end up seeing the fun on doing it!

She isn't embarrassed about your tendency to scare others in the slighest so she is openly telling others whenever they ask that if they want to heard a good horror story you know quite some! Also, she may don't remember everything you told her about the stuff you like but some times there are things that it remind her of the stories you have told her or even she finds things that you may like and she always makes sure to take picture and text you about it

Junta Hayami

Despite being quite shy Junta is really loving, he loves seeing you happy and will love to be the one who brings a smile to your lips! He isn't someone who judge, he used to be made fun of for who he was so he would never dare to do something like that to anyone else, let alone the person he loves!

Junta doesn't love horror and scary stuff as much as you do but he is supportive over you! If thats what you like who is he to tell you to don't be yourself? (besides, he is too weak to your smile to tell you no on anything)

If you usually have anything related to creppy stuff or even your favorite stories in your clothes or even accesories he doesn't really mind it much, he won't be ashame or embarrassed if you use it when going out, he actually he things you look adorable wearing anything related to what you like

Junta isn't a big fan of horror but since he knows you like it he started to put more attention to it, if somehow he finds anything that you could like while being outside or even heard about any new story, movie or even a videogames he will take a mental note to be able to tell you once you two see each other again (he doesn't normally remember all the details because he doesn't like when it is too grotesque but he tries)

Also, as much as Junta doesn't like the stories he actually puts a lot of attention to them, even when that end up making him even more scared, it never goes to the point of bringing him nightmares but it does make him a little anxious whenever he finds something that reminds him to one of the latest stories you told him

Junta isn't exactly easy to scare but he can get really scared by certain things or even get so invested in a story that he start to feel chills down his spine, he doesn't get into scary stuff on his own but he is unable to say not to you so most of the time he end up falling right into your pranks or easily get invested in the stories you like to tell, no matter how much he expressed to dislike being scared or how he every time ask you to please don't do it again he always falls in it all over again, but at the end he is just happy to see you happy, as long as you laugh with him and not at him then is fine and it makes being scare all worthy

Junta is stuck between wanting to stop you and wanting to see you having so much fun, he just can't stop you so at the end he just stand up for you whenever you end up scaring others, ofering an apology in your behalf and sometimes even helps you make it up when the other person doesn't react in a good way

As long as you don't truly hurt anyone and mean to have fun with others instead of just causing pain Junta will totally support you and just endure the scary stuff you like so much

Tsukasa Kazuki

Tsukasa has a lot of troubles to let his guard down around anyone, making it incredibly dificult for him to be in a relationship but not imposible, and when he does he slowly grows more comfortable and more affectionate, but from most part he prefers to show love and care indoors, still too anxious outside

Tsukasa isn't really going to judge you for something like your likings, he loves you for who you are so complaining for something like something you like wouldn't be fair, even if he doesn't really get whats the fun on something that is suppoused to make you feel fear he simply let you be and most of the time don't say anything

Since he isn't too interested on it he just doesn't ask you anything about it but will end up accepting to make you company if you want to watch a movie or play a horror videogame, or even to heard any story you will want to tell him but he does it after some insistance and will be quite uncomfortable during it, Tsukasa isn't easy to scare but for the theme of the horror stories there is a chance that he end up getting triggered about his traumatic past experience (wich is what he wants to avoid)

Thats the same reason why he hates whenever you try to scare him, there are things that can trigger him and lead him to have a panic attack and he doesn't not only to avoid that yo happen but also doesn't want you to look at him in that state, he doesn't know if he is ready to talk about it after all, but if you pick the hints (or even after he finally told you about it) you purposely decide to avoid talking or giving deeper details about things that could make him uncomfortable then he would be more at easy and let you give a try to scare him (wich almost never happen but he is happy that you are being considerate with him)

Just as he doesn't really get why you like so much stuff that are suppoused cause you fear and anxiety he doesn't get why you like so much scaring others, he have thought for a while about it but he simply doesn’t get it, even so isn't going to stop you unless you are going too far, as long as is simple and innofensive fun like telling scary stories or small pranks to others is fine (and he simply either look at you from afar or hear your ranting about how much fun you had), but he definetly will call you out if you are stepping on others limits and even starting to be more offensive or even to the point of harrasment, he will not let you just make others uncomfortable for the sake of your joy and will have a serious talk with you

Overall he doesn't understand your liking but it is supportive over it! Tsukasa doesn't enjoy it much but just let you be and, honestly, deep down he is so happy to seeing you so being freely happy and enjoy what you want

Hijiri Koganei

Loving someone with sincerity is quite new for Hijiri and he doesn't really know how to not be blunt, if there is something in his mind he just say it without much care (as long as it isn't embarrasing), and thats also expressed in his way to express love

When he got to know how much you love horror and scary stuff he imediatly calls you childish and weird for liking that stuff but thats just his first impression and don't even thought much in his words before saying it, at the end he will be supportive no matter what but will show it in a not so indirectly way

Hijiri doesn’t understand why you like so much this weird stuff and constantly say it but no matter what he says he is always there hearing your ranting and even buying you stuff that you like (he doesn't really understand much but he tries to remember what you like to find gifts for you, but he will not admit it)

You have to even beg if you want him to company to anything slighly scary, no matter if is only you telling him a story, a movie or even a haunted house it will take too much insistance and making him run out of patience for you to finally convince him because he doesn't really like any of that stuff, he will never accept it but he is easy to scare, although he isn't too obvious with it

Hijiri easily feels anxious and uncomfortable with the suspense and specially with grotesque visuals and yet to keep his reactions at the minimum, shifting his position a little, making a face or even clearing his throat, he is too prideful to admit it and when he find out how much you like scaring others he tries even harder to hide his reactions, he is not going to let you have the satisfaction of his reaction, and if you push enough to try to get a reaction he will get at the defensive and even become angry (wich never last too long but always demands an apology from your part)

When it comes to others he doesn't care much, if you end up scaring the others he would just be relief that you aren't trying to scare him anymore and, at first, he didn't cared at all but with time he would grow a little curious for two reasons, one is that you are having a lot of fun and the second is that this little hobby of yours is taking your attention away from him, wich he doesn't like much, will just lead him to pay a little more attention to your pranks and story tellings

With time Hijiri will start to see how funny it actually is scaring others, he wouldn't do it himself but he is more willing to see you try to scare them or simply heard you talk about your latests pranks (besides, seeing you so happy makes it all worthy). He isn't going to make you apologize to others but if it end up bringing you troubles he will actually step in and try to help you solve the problem, but still without actually offering an apology

[min-mrv]

GIGGLY BUG (pt2)

pt.1 | pt.3 | pt.4

lee: gi-hun, in-ho

ler: dae-ho, jung-bae

(A/N): hi guys!! today i made pt2 ANNDDD hopes that my english got better!! hope youll enjoyy!! so sorry if its short!! a little fun fact abt in-ho's irl actor: he squeezes his eyes alot when he laughs, which is mentioned in this fanifiction. how cute right??

-----------------------------------------------

As the morning light broke, a new day emerged, leaving behind the remnants of the one that had just passed..

In-ho woke up. the day before...felt like a dream. He experienced a sensation he hadn't felt in a long time- a sense of freedom mixed with a wave of nostalgia. It just felt weird. In-ho looked around rubing his eyes. seems like he overslept.

- 10 minutes earlier..

"gi-hun! tell me about last night! what exactly happened?? i heard you guys and you both were talking about serios things! CMON tell me please!"

"dont be so loud, you're attracting everbodies attention."

it was Jung-bae and Gi-hun. The best friend of 456 was curious if Gi-hun had any secrets to share about In-ho. Jung-bae found this guy really mysterious. He noticed them talking last night but couldn't quite catch what they were discussing before he fell asleep.

"don't you trust me??"

Gi-hun didnt know if In-ho would be mad. Sharing someones most emberassing weakness could not end good. What should he say without sounding naive?

"..." Gi-hun looked down. "he just wanted to-...pffft-! hahaha!"

"don't you dare to lie!"

Jung-bae grabbed at Gi-huns sides, all 10 fingers digging into his friends. Gi-hun forgot that he was ticklish too.

"wahihihit! dohohont!"

Seems like Jung-bae was REALLY intrested about In-ho's little secret.

"ah-ah, your still this ticklish huh?" he teased, poking at gi-huns sides playfully. "coochie coo!! hehe look at that smile, how adorable!"

gi-hun broke into rich cackles, even more cackling at jung-bae's teasing. "tell me, or yknow what will happen."

"OHOHOKAY, ehahaha! i gihihive! i gihihive!"

Jung-bae let his hands go, patting at Gi-huns back. 456 rubed at his sides, wanting the ghost tickles go away, still giggling like a 5year old.

"tell me" he said, looking directly into his eyes.

"there should be something REALLY rare if you're hiding it like this..."

Gi-hun felt nervous, trying not to think about the possible downsides of the situation.

he sighed.

"In-ho is ticklish."

..And thats where the story really began.

Jung-bae and Dae-ho were hiding under the bed, waiting for In-ho to arrive. Their objective was to create a special surprise for number 001.

"hey jung-bae..are you sure that we are gonna do this? In-ho is kinda a rough man, what if the rumor ain't true?"

"psshh, be quiet! i was as suprised as you when i heard this coming out from Gi-hun! think positive, nothing bad will happen. we have nothing else to do, why not popping things up a little then? cmon, its gonna be fun, trust me!" jung-bae told him with a little excitement.

"a little bit of laughter in this empty room would sure cheer up other people..laughter is affective, they say." he thought.

Dae-ho was a little bit worried. he wasnt in the ler mood, it was the opposite. what if he would be the next victim? as if he made this plan! "think postive! its 2 against 1! nothing bad will happen!..yes. nothing bad will happen!"

In the frontman's mind, he was searching for his new friends. He could have sworn they were sitting together and talking about various topics not a long time ago. Where could they be now?

oh, nevermind. In-ho couldn't help but let out a little chuckle. "are they hiding from me or..?" The frontman noticed them both hiding under the bed, giggling like children, believing he couldn't see them. "alright, let's play hide and seek then, I guess.."

"oh-uh he's coming towards us! it's now or never!" Dae-ho quickly alerted to his friend. "alright then..on the count of three, we will jump out and tickle him to pieces!"

"guys...is this some sort of game you are playing on me?.." In-ho said, trying to get them out of their hiding spot.

"are you ready?" jung-bae double checked. "Sir yes sir!" dae-ho said, felt like his life based on this surprise, his self-assurd rising up a little more. will this actually work?..

In-ho slowly approached the bed, where Jung-bae and Dae-ho were hiding. "what are you guys up to..?"

Without any second thought of guilt, they both slowly counted to 3.

"1."

"2."

"3...!"

Right before In-ho could get any closer, Jung-bae and Dae-ho jumped right infront of him, causing them all to fall down on the floor.

"oh-, alright the fun is done, you guys got- mEhehEhe-?!"

Just when he tought it was over, the frontman started to feel a funny sensation going trough his body,..again.

"whahahat thehehe?! nahahaha!"

"oho, you were right Jung-bae! he is ticklish!"

"told you~" he said, looking at in-ho who was laughing uncontrollably now.

"gi-hun, i swear when i catch you.." In-ho was cursing in his mind, it was morning, it aint the right time! he had to think about something else and not in the situation he is right now!..

"wahihihit! 2 agahihinst onehehe isnt fair! QUIHIHIT IT, ahahaha!"

He closed his mouth with one hand, and with the other one trying to get away with all this..tickling.

"ah-ah, where do you think you're going? nothing's gonna save you now!" jung-bae teased with a evil smirk, pulling him back again. in-ho lost it.

"i think he's about to explode..look how red he is! ah, i know! these fingers are just too much aint they??" dae-ho added.

the frontman is blushing? yh no way.

"STAHAHAP! i cahahant!..!" in-ho squeezed his eyes, his laughter going mute.

"wait, i just wanna test out one more thing..." dae-ho sounded mischievous..this wont end good.

"what if... i tickle you here?" he scribbled his fingers around in-ho's stomach. dae-ho could feel in-ho's legs kicking a little behind him, now being in a giggly mess.

"PLEHEHEASE!"

"begging already?? how naive.." jung-bae chuckled, knowing he would beg right away in the first place.

"and..what about here?" dae-ho's cold hands touched number 001's neck, scribbling softly than anything else. there was the point where in-ho screamed with laughter. He scrunched up like a turtle, squeezing his eyes more, hoping that no guard can see him right now..

"wohoo! jackpot! he got all shy!"

in-ho hasnt laughed like this for ages. since when was he this sensetive??

this will not end easy. he should think of a plan..

"HeheEHEY juhuhung-baehehe! ihihif you hehehelp me getting thihihis back on dae-hoho, ihihi will maybehehe foRGIHIHIVE yohohou! ahahaha! beHehe fast wihihith yohour thohoughts!"

oh-uh.. this is not good for dae-ho...lets wish him good luck, shall we?

thanks for reading! •u•

[universallydestinytaco]

The lack of Charpim in the tags during Pride of all months is just embarrassing from this fandom, so I have to step in and fix that, so here are some messy/chaotic Charpim HCs.

During a date night-in, Charlie and Pim dared each other to a Mr. Frog drinking game where for everytime Mr. Frog ate the bug, they’d both drink straight from a bottle of extra-volume vodka containing twenty ghost peppers soaking at the bottom of the bottle…the next day both of them where strung up a tree and they woke up to Alan bitching at them about the fact that they where so late for work and that he had to take over for them in their absence.

Charlie surprising Pim on Valentine’s Day by inviting him to a rented hot tub, and Pim surprising Charlie back by wearing a bikini custom-printed with little grinning Charlie heads. “That’s uh…one way to tell someone you love them.”

Pim will affectionately squeeze Charlie’s nose, making a comedic “honk” sound, and Charlie will hide his face with his hoodie while grumbling with a muffled, bashful tone.

Charlie invites Pim to a romantic gondola ride…but the thing is Charlie doesn’t know how to steer a boat so Pim had to demonstrate how to use paddles…aaand then Pim freakin’ lost both of the paddles somehow. They took this convenient-inconvenience as an excuse to cuddle and make out until help came (and when we say “help”, we mean a bashful Mr. Boss who was called in earlier but when he arrived, he wondered if it was bad timing on his end).

Charlie makes an elaborate pile of deluxe grilled-cheese sandwiches with all the fixings and Pim made an elaborate deep-dish dessert from scratch. Since both parties refused to wash all the dishes they both made, they made a bet who could stuff their face with the most grub with the loser having to wash everything. It was a tie but neither of them felt like getting up to clean anything so they settled it by agreeing they’d wash the dishes together in the morning….yeah, like those two dumbasses should have already decided upon in the first place!

In regards to the Charzoey/Charpim contrast, Zoey is definitely the “Betty” to Pim’s “Veronica” and Charlie’s “Archie”. Zoey is pretty sensible and easy-going as she often brings Charlie back down to earth when he’s on another one of his adrenaline rushes and willing to call him out when he’s being too aloof. Pim, on the other hand will happily egg-on the hijinks by encouraging Charlie to go on an after-work adventure with him and is a little too good at fulfilling the role of the “Clingy Jealous Guy” (in a cute and somewhat-harmless while shamelessly petty way).

Feel free to use these as prompts, no need to ask just credit me!

[forestclan-clangen]

I have a few for the ask game!!!

🌱 for Cloudthunder!

☘️ for shiverkit, windfur and clover!

And 😻 for you!! I’m curious if there are any or if they’re all too busy being scared to think about it at all

(These don’t all have to be answered at the same time)

For Cloudthunder: What's your favorite location of the territory?/What's your favorite hobby?

"Oh, I love exploring our home!" Cloudthunder purrs. She licks her paw and grooms her ear as she continues to answer casually. "I know that Redstar's worrying can make it seem like our home is terrifying - but it isn't always like that. It's why it's worth fighting for."

She takes a break from her grooming and looks up with wide, amused eyes as she's asked what her favorite part of the territory is. "How dare you limit me to just one? My favorite place changes all the time!" She taps her tail pensively, staring up at the sky in thought. She starts thinking out loud. "Oh...maybe Red Rock Slope...? Oh, but the view of the mountain by the Pine Gap trail is so beautiful..."

After a moment longer, she gasps. "Oh, wait! Greenleaf has lovely vernal pools that appear with the rain. There's a large one that appears down south, a bit close to our border - but the Twolegs must love them too, because there's this lovely bridge they made to travel across it! The view of the bulrushes and dragonflies in the summer...it's truly beautiful! And the best part: I've never seen a Woodcrawler den or Nature's Mockery there. And good riddance for that! I'd be pretty upset if I couldn't visit again."

For Shiverkit, Windfur and Olive: What is a secret they're hiding?

Shiverkit looks up with big eyes. "Um...a secret? I dunno...momma told me not to keep secrets. I, um...ate a bug when I was told not to once!" Shiverkit pauses, then grumbles and stares at the floor. "Windfur was right, it didn't taste very good..." Windfur stares past the scenery, avoiding direct eye contact. "...Some days I wish I joined my father in becoming a kittypet. I...I promised Chicoryglint I'd stay. But...I just..." Windfur trails off and says no more.

Olive stares at the wall as she lies in her bed. She blinks, and her breath trembles. "I want these kits I'm bearing. But I'm scared. I want them to live." Her voice wavers. "I'm so afraid of having hope."

To the author: What's your favorite ship?

The world for ForestClan is dark, but not grimdark! It's still a world that the cats want to fight for, and live in. They believe it's their home, not the home of the Woodcrawlers! So they DO still live their lives, and celebrate, and fall in love! This may be a bit of a spoiler, but so far in my Clan, my favorite couple is Hopechase x Iciclepool! They become the lesbian married couple of the clan in the future, and I love them for it <3 Some other couples are with characters that aren't introduced yet! Barleywave gets a silly mutual "commitment-shy but slow tumble into love" with another character, and Morningpaw when she's an adult gets into a really cute "cheery/grumpy" dynamic with another character. That's all you're getting out of me for now, though!

[books-and-dragons]

I'm so sorry, I'm kinda drunk and dropping another idea, do with it whatever ye will.

Yknow how in the beginning of the game, Sojiro tells Ren he won't take care of him when he gets sick?

Consider: he's not used to city germs/being that closely shoved against other people on the train. He DOES start to get sick around Kamoshida's Palace, powers through it, and then is SUPER sick just after it's over.

He plans on sucking it up and hiding it, but Futaba hears his hacking coughs over her bug even when he's upstairs, followed by wheezing, maybe even a little weeping. He's constantly in and out of the bathroom, and he's starting to run out of tissues.

Futaba nervously texts Sojiro that the kid they took in sounds awful. Sojiro is gruff at first and says he's not a baby, he can take care of himself. She responds by sending him the audio and suddenly Dad Instincts kick in

y/n

obviously it's a YES, our brainrots continue because early-game ren and sojiro dynamics break my heart every time how dare you get me so invested in this idea, this post got too long so it's going under a read more

listen listen look i love sojiro and the coffee family okay, but early-game?? sojiro could catch these hands

ren has already been though so much by the time he arrives in tokyo, to then be put into a dusty old attic like a spare part would absolutely fit in with ren's own perception of himself at that stage. it would be almost too easy for him to put his own health on the backburner kinda like he's already used to it

very used to not taking up space, 'not being a bother', and then sojiro really reinforces this message when ren first gets to leblanc- so when ren inevitably gets ill a month into his probation, it's already doomed for maladaption

tokyo would be such a breeding ground for sickness compared to the countryside, and ren just doesn't have the consitution to deal with it. the dusty attic and poor eating habits don't help matters, and then we have the stress of kamoshida and the metaverse?? ren is not having a Good Time™

at first it's something he thinks he can shrug off, and is adamant that ignoring it is the way to go. a cold, it's nothing, he can handle this alone, no need to bother anyone else with it.

inevitably, he gets worse, because that's what happens when you don't rest and let yourself recover. a tickly cough becomes a tightness in his chest, mild congestion shifts into an attack on his senses and blurriness- but maybe that's the dizziness. he's not really sleeping, either.

it's something that's becoming increasingly difficult to brush off and hide, he even relented to finally getting some medicine (nothing as strong as he needs by this point, that would eat too much into his limited funds, but some painkillers to take the edge off). once or twice he's tempted to stay off school, at morgana's insistence, or a too close call where he definitely blacked out for a minute, but then sojiro's voice will ring in his head 'i won't be the one looking after you if you get sick', 'your parents got rid of you for being a pain in the ass', and all his worst insecurities come rushing back and he's resolved to deal with it on his own

meanwhile, futaba's been making use of her hidden audio bugs- normally they're a comfort for her in the daytime, but since the new kid- ren- has been staying at the cafe (part-timer her ass, how gullible does sojiro think she is?!), she's been listening more frequently. when ren gets sick, she figures it out quickly.

time goes on, he's not getting better- he's actually getting worse- and futaba starts to wonder if she's the only one who knows

(there's something in his sharp contrasts- the quiet kid who shuffles through the cafe and takes sojiro's scolding, to the coughing kid who cries into the silence of night when he thinks there's nobody there to see it- that stabs through her numbness. it feels like a companion to her own ghost)

one night she swears the kid gets up to be sick, and there's hardly any sound heard from the attic all night. if nobody's gonna help ren, then she will (futaba used to like helping, once upon a time).

she texts sojiro the next day, when ren doesn't say anything again, and goes off to school with what she bets is a fake assurance on his face

and you're so right, sojiro dismisses her concern really easily, claims the kid can 'take care of himself' and he won't 'baby' the part-timer. insists ren needs to learn some disipline, then maybe he'll stay out of trouble

frustration wells in futaba- if she was less fixated on what was going on with ren, she'd register it's one of the first changes of mood she's had for months- and she responds with nothing but an audio clip, an attached explanation that this is just from the past few days- it's been going on for weeks, then she waits, and hears the distant sound of her compilation through one of the bugs, a hitched breath from sojiro, curse words under his breath-

for all his earlier postulating about not helping ren if he gets sick, sojiro is immeditely struck with a pang of concern- it sounded bad, and if futaba's words were anything to go by, this had been going on for a while. the kid's at school now (at school, being as ill as that and he was still going to class-), so sojiro will talk to him when he gets back. there's a chance he goes a bit too over the top, between the variation of medicines he purchases, supplies he grabbed from home- if you accused him for over-compensating after maybe being too harsh on the kid in the beginning, you'd be right

and you just know ren would be so resistent at first to help, or even just the offer of staying off school. in his sickness-induced fugue, ren's filter-less in rattling off how he can't stay off, what will the students and teachers think, and he has work that afternoon, and a test soon, and he doesn't want to get in the way-

sojiro's heart just shatters

this kid, whose been silently carring the weight of the world and has apparently been falling to pieces for weeks now and sojiro didn't even notice?

(a part of it reminds him too much of the other kid he's got at home, the countless ways he's already failed futaba, and now ren too? he feels useless)

sojiro focuses on what he can do, and that's making the kid rest. work will understand, school can wait, ren isn't an inconvenience, he guides the kid to bed, calls takemi immediately (who rushes over, despite the fact she's technically closed at this hour, and refuses to take any payment),

even still, there's this stilted awkwardness between them when the quiet pushes on too long- they hardly know each other, afterall. sojiro is still figuring out the 'caring for kids' thing, and ren isn't familiar with any kind of parental affection, so some of sojiro's care veers a bit too close to clinical or mechanic, and ren still struggles to communicate what kind of help he needs, but it's enough for now.

for now, sojiro is there. he's trying, and at least ren's getting some colour back on his skin. for now, ren's willing to take a few days off and have some medicine, but he's over-apologetic and definitely tries to make up for his sickness once he's healed. it's gonna take them both a while yet, but luckily there's always their guardian hacker, ready and able to call them out when needed (and maybe some day she'll be able to keep an eye on ren and sojiro in person)

[nalascat]

WIP List tag game where @classicbarbie and @cak31ssuperi04 challenged me to post my ENTIRE wip list and its gonna be an incredibly long scroll for whoever DARES to click the readmore button

rules: make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs

I am not tagging 100+ people

Click if you dare ->

I have finally organized all of my fic wips into folders based upon their fandoms!! Yippee!! So, for this, it's all sorted by fandom! Some of these wips are over 4 years old and some I worked on today!! Either way, there's a ton and it's bound to be fun!!

Feel free to ask about ANY of these!!! Maybe it'll get me to write them haha

Spider-Man

Aunt May

Gwen

labyrinth

Ghost

Urusq

True loves kiss

Trilogy harry

Tom n Gwen

strawberries

Speeding

Slow burn parksborn

Raimi hehe

Parksborn wedding

Mob boss

3 brothers

ggghost

Goblin 2???

Raimi againnnnnn

Parksborn mermaid

Country club

Black Cat

He almost died

Gala

Cats

bro

Star Trek

Demora annie

demora

Mcspirk cuts

Shore Leave

Soulmate

Cat meow

Dragon

janice/kevin

Sulu's Garden

David

music man

Janice & Sulu soulmates

Snow trek

annie

Aaaaaa sulu

bones

Kirk is jealoussss

Chulu

Barbie

vegas

Tshort

Mariposa

Cat

rockers prompt 28

Luciana

Jealous

Nail salon

Timeloop

The page

TOMMY

Sis chose

Julian/Dominick bc l'm weaj

Louis part 3

Erika

Friendship bracelets

Board

A pauper ig

Nicktoons

soulmarks

I wrote this in the wrong fic moment

Soulmate s

jim

spider timy

tigerghost engage

dibjim engange

tiger family

dib loop

Vampireeeee

Start wreck

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Factory kids

Ethel/Olge

yeessss

Unrequited Augustuca

tiny

Ticket

Spider catcf

Ring

Post tour gus n mike

mike

Ghosts

Hair

Parents

norman

Mike

MAGIC

Fluf

Fake Engaged

ethel/Molly

Mike again

Code

Ethel n Molly

ballet

Ace

Magic Au

Catcf labyrinth

Christmas Market

Ninjago

Superstar Jaybird

Echo n Chad

greencheer

TWOMA REDO

Plasma ebgaged

Techno

Hanahaki kai

Abberation

scars

Twoma

ninjago is an illusion

old ninjago stuff ?

Ninjago Concept

Spy Kids

Juni spider

leeke leeke

spy kid forest

Soulmatr

Rex

oop

juni loses

gary is an idiot

found fam :))))))

Freeverse

Arnold

Dreams (sharkboy and lavagirl)

Carm

Starlight Express

why haven't you kissed me yet

propose

GreaseDinah

I thought you didn't want me Dustin/Ashley

Don't hide your tears

Dinah

Crash

Control intro

control

Cb :)

Cats (Musical)

Victoria

Plato

5+1 Misto

Muppets

Wooter 14

RESTAURANT

Skeeter

Muppet starlight

heehee

club wooter

The Legend of Zelda

Ravs

lorule!!!

Raviolink

ravio

Trolls

Trolls Trek

jd evill

Barbbbb

broppyyyyyy

Jd iawl

Crossovers

Harry Spy Kids (TASM2/Spy Kids)

Dp/ninjago (Danny Phantom/Ninjago)

Tasm trek (TASM2/Star Trek)

warrior (Cats Musical/Warrior Cats)

spy catcf (Spy Kids/Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)

Silence (Teen Titans/Danny Phantom)

Rob (Teen Titans/Danny Phantom)

read (The Legend of Zelda/Kid Icarus)

Choccy spy (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory/Spy Kids)

Miscellaneous Fandoms

Tin petals (Tintin)

Rufio (Hook)

Petal Dance (Descendants)

Neverending Story (Neverending Story)

Lukas (Minecraft Story Mode)

Louis (Ghostbusters)

Jaylos meet (Descendants)

Herbie (The Love Bug)

Coffeeshop Tintin (Tintin)

Beacontown Station (Minecraft Story Mode)

Chronicle (Chronicle)

[11queensupreme11]

Don't know if tumbler ate this or not. If it didn't im sorry for bugging!

How would the yans react to Chase actually raising their kids and raising them well? Like percy gave birth there, and Athonius ended up raising the babies well. Like the kids consider him, their father and the babies act like humans? They know he's not their actual dad but they don't care lol.

it didn't, i just have a lot of asks dw 💀

i love how you guys want anthonius dead SO BAD omfg 😭 this poor boy

(first off, let's pretend that zeus wouldn't try to kill the kids for being 75% god and being... well, percy's)

anyway, anthonius would be SUCH A GOOD DAD. i bet you he would study the myths centered around the kids' father so he would be prepared for anything, like what powers to expect, etc

the kid would grow up to love his parents and they would have a normal life in the human world. they'd go to school, make friends, go to camp, etc. they would also be a good person due to who their parents are; anthonius and percy would definitely tell them to kind to others, never to hurt mortals, always stand up for themselves and others, it's no surprise this kid turns out to be so good and so unlike their actual father 🥹🥹

but then shit hits the fan when the yanderes finally manage to get into her universe 💀

poseidon would absolutely be furious at the thought of being replaced by a mortal son of athena. he wouldn't see anthonius as a good father, he'd only focus on the flaws (and he sees a lot). percy and his kid might as well be living in poverty (they're not), how dare anthonius have them live in some crummy house amongst humans? his kid is attending school with inferior beings??? he sees those inferior beings as EQUAL??? anthonius is a dead man

hades would straight up ignore anthonius. it's like the dude's not even there. he'd be so proud of how good his kid is, he'd tell percy "you did such a great job at raising our child" as if anthonius didn't also help out. "but it's okay, i'm here now. you must've been so lonely hmm? 😊". he'll spare anthonius unless the blonde tries to fight, but he'd at least kill him quickly as a thanks for keeping percy and his kid safe

apollo would just straight up kidnap them both, doesn't even bother to kill anthonius, he's just snatching his loved ones up and bringing them back to their REAL home 💀💀 if anthonius is around and tries to stop him, apollo's gonna kill him, but if he's not around, anthonius gets to live but apollo would DEFINITELY curse him with some incurable painful disease

loki's going to be sooo pissed, but he'll play the long game. he'll change his appearance and actually pretend to be their neighbor and his kid's new school teacher,, etc. he is gonna plant himself into their lives and seduce percy and try to gain his kid's favor. afterwards, he'll purposely leave anonymous gifts to percy that rattles her because she would KNOW who they come from, but it can't be, right??? loki can't be here!!! when all's said and done, after he manages to seduce her from her husband, he'll reveal himself, kill anthonius, and take her and the kid back home

beelzebub would be like loki but less up-front. rather than disguising himself he would hide from her but find ways to ruin their peaceful life as a form of punishing her. anthonius will suddenly find himself out of a job and practically blacklisted from ever working again. lots of men are suddenly attacking percy in the streets, beel's way of showing her how much she needs him and how useless anthonius is because where is he? why isn't he protecting her? their kid is being kicked out of schools and blamed for stuff he didn't do. when she's finally at her lowest, he'll reveal himself to her, kill anthonius, and take her and their kid back. might wipe their memory too.

[fizzingwizard]

Five: the one you've been waiting for, about Moomintroll!!

It is so much fun to go on a rescue mission to find Moomintroll. The bittersweet beginning, with Moomintroll sad as Snufkin leaves for the winter, and Snufkin's dread when he returns in spring to havoc and no Moomintroll... mwah. Love it

Goodness Snufkin chill out would ya

Snufkin might love you, Moomin, but that doesn't mean pics of your body gone splat in the mud isn't absolutely getting posted on his Instagram

So in this game Moomintroll is pretty angelic. He doesn't have a bad word to say about anyone. It's nitpicking of me, but yeah, that take isn't for me. I like my hospitable, awkward, endlessly tolerant Moomins with a pinch of spice. Actually it's rather funny because so much of the game characterization seems to pick off the cartoon, but Snufkin and Moomintroll themselves are just so nicey-nice...? At least we spend enough time with Snufkin to hear him take a few digs at the other colorful characters lol.

I MISSED TAKING A CAP OF SNUFKIN FALLING ON HIS ASS that would have been perfect revenge too ugghh

BUT THE PIGGYBAAAACK

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH

[fizz.exe has stopped working]

Can't get over how cuuuute this is. If the whole game sucked, it would still have been worth it just for this ending haha. Btw I will definitely have a piggyback in a fic some day and this is the inspiration xP

I love how Snufkin's flower-covered hat blends right in with the flower bed when they're hiding teehee

So theme again. When Snufkin hurts his foot, he encourages Moomintroll to go on without him. But Moomintroll says no, we'll go together, hence piggyback. This is my favorite way the theme comes out, and not just because it's cute, but because it involves Moomintroll overtly offering to help and then really helping. Not needing to be coaxed and indulged or endured first. Yes, in the real world there are all types and we all need to get along. But Snufkin accepts nearly all help, talks to everyone kindly (much more kindly than they are to him!), and isn't even wrong when he tells Moomintroll to go on without him - neither does he make a fuss about going together anyway.

So what growth is he supposed to have here? He doesn't decide to not leave in winter anymore (and I certainly wouldn't want him to). The story is like "Snufkin learned something" and it's... that he should keep being friends with the people he's already friends with? Even though he never said he planned on doing otherwise...? Or are we just punishing him for daring to go on loner adventures period? Maybe a cut scene showing him running away from the Fillyjonk or avoiding parties or something would have helped frame things better, but as it is - I fully understand what the story wants to say, I just don't believe it actually says it.

Take this scene. In essence, I don't have a problem with it. But, since when does Snufkin kick people out of Moominvalley? More likely he's the one skedaddling... "But it's the Park Keeper!" So? In Moominsummer Madness he destroys the park but the Park Keeper still is the one with authority, so it's Snufkin who tries to leave. That's minor, though, what bugs me more is this "Moomins tolerate everyone!" bit. Of course it's not bad...! But Moomins definitely do not tolerate everyone and go to lengths to drive certain types away... Including potential romantic threats haha. This isn't a complaint, the game just goes in a different direction than what I prefer when it comes to Moomins. But Moomintroll is a little over the top, that's all I'm saying...

"He just dammed the river without asking and imprisoned all the animals and caused a forest fire... But I'm sure deep down he's a nice guy"

psst fizz it's a game for kids...!

yeah i know it's my blog and I'll bitch if I want to bitch if I want to bitch if I want to

I digress. The point is how cute these two obviously are. Gaaah. The piggyback 💕💕💕 Also Snufkin's little (>m<) face!

[amazingmsme]

Yooo good food good food!!

May I add to this God tickle agenda? These are a lot of my own headcanons since I'm working on a Ler! Hermes fic that I'm about 2k into because Dangerous wouldn't leave my head for a straight week and the animatics made me see Ler potential 🫣

The main ones are that the Gods can gain energy from Human emotions suited to their paths- hence why Athena and Odysseus clicked so well given his cleverness and strategic mind. Hermes prefers those who are easily flustered and prone to fun emotions like embarrassment and enjoyment. The Gods can also give some of their energy to their disciples in exchange to heal/comfort them, but a Human may pick up some of their core traits into their personality for a while (like a disciple of Hermes being more daring, for example); a symbiotic relationship.

The other is his Godly power is just being able to use his mischievous essence to make people/Gods feel sensations. So anything from scaring someone by making them feel like a bug is crawling on them, they're being watched or anything like that, to being tickled, however he feels like or whatever is most effective. Still brainstorming a name for it 😅

Hope that makes sense; it's much better explained in the fic I promise-

Anyway! ❤️

Hermes is an absolute MENACE

He's constantly starting tickle fights with the others and is the one who knows the others spots.

If someone annoys him enough; he'll get them in their dreams but if someone actually pisses him off- he'll embarrass them at a God meeting, dinner, in front of a Human disciple of theirs etc. He'll do so regularly till he feels like they've learned their lesson and play dumb if anyone above him comes to him about it.

Every God has their own way of keeping their disciples in line and Hermes just immediately will tickle his disciples if they do something that'll come back to bite him- since he's responsible for them.

The other Gods tend to let things build up- but Hermes thinks that's a surefire way to disaster. He of course makes note of how many times his Human is causing trouble, and his tickle punishments may get meaner the more they build up but it's super rare to see him actually mad.

The big Gods he's too scared to mess with but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't working his way up to getting Hades one day. He just wants to know!

As for who he messes with as far as the other Gods?

Athena and Apollo probably get it a lot. I think with Athena he'd love to see her put-together persona crack- much like how Odysseus and Polites are with Eurylochus. They'll be sparring the usual way, and Hermes will flick his fingers if she gets too cocky about beating him, or just because it's funny. He tends to let up pretty quickly though. He doesn't want to make her too mad and end up getting wrecked himself. She kind of scares him deep down; not that he'd ever admit as much.

Apollo though? He gets no such mercy. He adores messing with his half-brother at every opportunity and he's cripplingly ticklish, unfortunately for him. Hermes always jokes about his laughter and squeals being his best piece yet, and how he should share it with others.

I feel like he'd tickle Calypso too, when he stops by if she seems lonely. He imagines she must be touch-starved and tries to make her feel at least a little better.

Circe is fun to mess with- though I think eventually she grows wise and may start trying to look at ways to get him back or numb her own ticklishness.

Hermes is actually quite ticklish himself; but you'll have to catch him first and good luck with that given how quick he is. He only lets others have the opportunity if he feels it’s earned by truly upsetting someone. Every now and then he actually quite enjoys a good old-fashioned tickle fight or other tickle game like tickle hide and seek; typically with Apollo or his disciples!

THIS IS AMAZING OMGGGG I CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF IT! Hermes is literally so ler coded &

I got carried away with this, but you brought up such good points!

I’ve gotta stop looking at the actors because every time I just fall head over heels in love wtf they’re all SO HOT! Thank you so much for this, there’s a huge lack of love for Hermes & he is such a mischievous lil shit, & he’s just so FUN! I can’t wait for your fic.

You’d think by how giggly he is he’d be more lee, but this man lives for drama & causing trouble. & yeah he laughs all the time but have you fucking heard it? That’s a shitty, up to no good kinda laugh, that’s a laugh you don’t trust, sorry not sorry

But I’m fucking OBSESSED with the thought of him going around bothering the other gods for sport, & he gets sooo cocky about it, going from spot to spot before flying out of reach. Sometimes he’s a little too full of himself & ends up getting caught & they teach him a lesson he won’t soon forget (he just doesn’t care about the consequences, he’ll make sure to be faster next time)

He loves to mess with Athena because to him she’s good practice for when he’s ready to go bother the big 3. But she’s also just soooo fun to piss off. & I had no idea Apollo was his half brother, that makes everything so much more fun for him! & he uses it as an excuse to hang out with him, like he just wants some bro time & next thing Apollo knows is he’s laughing his ass off

Ok but back to Athena, she probably said some bitchy snide remark at the last god meetup & it embarrassed him & hurt his feewings so he decides to embarrass her in front of her pet human. So he just kinda secretly hangs out until she decides to show up again, whether to train him or talk strategy, & all of a sudden she’s all confused like “can I help you?” & Odysseus turns around thinking someone walked into his cabin but lo & behold it’s fucking Hermes floating in his room! & suddenly he’s feeling very uncomfy thinking there’s about to be some god fight in his room that he’s in the middle of & he’s like “uh I feel like I should go” inching closer to the door but Hermes blocks his way with a chuckle like “& miss all the fun? No, I want you to see this” & so he’s just standing there like 🧍‍♂️& Athena demands to know what it’s about

& Hermes is like “I’m SO GLAD you asked! Remember what you said about me?” & it’s honestly pretty insignificant to her so no, she really doesn’t & that just pisses him off so he doesn’t wait around to knock her down a few pegs. & all the while he’s casually talking with Odysseus & commenting on all her worst spots. Meanwhile Odysseus is barely able to hide his amused grin behind his hand but he can barely even speak because he keeps thinking what the hell is happening right now?

After he’s had his fun he helps her up & she slugs him in the arm & yeah, rightfully so. But he turns to her & goes “I hope we’ve learned to hold our tongue the next time we think about insulting someone” & now that I’m thinking about it, it probably wasn’t even that bad. Something like “you gotta wonder how he ties his sandals” in reference to the ankle wings & he was looking for any excuse to do this. & as fast as he appeared he’s gone & neither of them really know what to say. But Odysseus smirks & goes “so that was… something” & she’s like don’t

& of course he’s like “uh you’re never gonna believe what just happened” but Polites cuts him off like “oh we know” & he’s like “you know?” Because wtf how? Apparently when a goddess laughs it’s loud enough to be heard across the ship & Eurylochus just thought Odysseus was getting Polites, but then he walks right by him & makes him do a double take because if that’s not Polites, then who the hell is that? No one else on the ship really sounds like that so he went down to see just what the hell their captain was doing & he opened the door & immediately closed it. Looked through the keyhole to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating & immediately went looking for Polites

Ok but when Odysseus brought it up Eurylochus is like oh yeah why were you just standing there watching??? & he’s like “Hermes wouldn’t let me leave, he said something about wanting me to watch? I don’t know, it was some revenge thing” & Polites giggles because how else are you supposed to react & goes “the gods are weird”

“Funny, we say the same about you” & Hermes is floating behind them & they all scream & he’s fucking gone again. Literally just did that to jump scare them

But I’m circling back to what you said about how he’d visit someone in their dreams & proceed to wreck their shit. Because omg that is so damn funny & downright mean to do, like that’s the most flustering thing ever! Cause then they’re left thinking they’re own subconscious came up with that & wondering why it came up with that & basically send them into a downward spiral

But one day while he was crossing over the ship on his way to deliver a message, he caught sight of Eurylochus & Polites tickling their captain & he stuck around for the show before continuing on his merry way, tucking that information in his back pocket to use for a rainy day

He’s impatient tho so he only waits a few days before he decides to pay him a visit. Odysseus rarely gets good enough sleep to dream, so the fact he is dreaming is already a lil sus. But that’s what it is, it’s just a dream, right? Maybe he’s lost in a forest, or walking through the clouds in his dream but either way he’s lost & disoriented until he stumbles in Hermes who has fun toying with him, making him more lost until the real fun begins. & Hermes pulls some magic shit so Odysseus can’t wake up until he’s done with him, but once he leaves Odysseus jolts awake with a laugh. He’s in a cold sweat & he was literally blushing in his sleep, his heart is racing & his mind is still trying to catch up with itself. He tries to go back to sleep, but he can’t stop thinking about it & he’s only able to get to that fitful half asleep half awake state

The next day he’s all flustered & jumpy & his friends definitely pick up on it but don’t want to pry. Polites asks if he’s ok tho & he says he’s fine, it was just a weird dream, & now they’re a little curious. He tries to describe it in the vaguest of terms “Hermes showed up & made me get lost in a cloud maze” ok but why’re you so weird about it? Like it’s so obvious he’s omitting stuff & then a voice from above laughs & goes “too embarrassed to tell them what really happened, are we?” & it dawns on him that it actually was Hermes in his dream & now he’s even more embarrassed. But yeah, Hermes goes ahead & tells all about how he tickled Odysseus to pieces & how he couldn’t do anything about it & how cute & helpless their captain is. I’m telling you, Hermes may not be the most powerful, & yes he’s one of the more friendly gods, but he is literally the woooooorst

Sneasler rant voice: that’s not like, a thing that gods do. Circe didn’t tickle me. Poseidon didn’t fuckin’ tickle me. But this bitch, this B-I-T-C-H tickled meeee

Idk what it is about him, but Hermes reminds me a lot of Michael Distortion from tma & therefore he’s a bit of a bully & uses magic to his advantage to fuck with mortals for his own amusement & that’s 100% my type

Ok I’m done for now