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#The Survivor's Rebellion
bccfggffbgv · 25 days
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Q-shorts: Lingo
Khan, while doing fingerguns after hearing about Uzi's relationship: You've got that rizz, Uzi!
Uzi, having died a little inside: Stop! Cease!
Serial designation N, also in great pain: "Never" say that again!!
Khan: I'm just trying to learn new vocabulary! I'm trying to feel not so old! You got a problem with me saying "Rizz"?! I'm just speaking your lingo don't ya know!?
Serial designation J, as she professionally held out a Jcjenson branded pen(TM): Please never say that again, this is a bribe.
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imaginative-joy · 10 months
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Meanwhile on Tanalorr, circa 4 ABY...
Text (In case you can't read my handwriting):
Merrin: So the Rebels blew up another Death Star. Cal: Good for them.
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redbean-nom · 3 days
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I kind of hope tech stays dead (probably bc of the silm fandom tragedy/angst instincts lol) but honestly it's star wars so he probably just got dumped in the pile of "characters to be resurrected if they seem like they could sell another movie" a la maul/boba/etc
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titanofthedepths · 12 days
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Its 2024 why are we still infantilizing WV
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soulsanctuary · 2 months
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trollbreak · 7 months
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< thinking abt how bill and junie were, before stuff went to shit
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levitatingbiscuits · 2 years
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Just saw a post saying that Leia is just like Anakin because she "chose to get everyone on Alderaan killed" and that's somehow comparable to Anakin personally slaughtering the Jedi in the temple. And her "guilt" is why she's an "absent mother" to Kylo, who "atoned for her choice" by killing Palpatine.
Uh. Ma'am. Anakin chose to do both those things it's not Leia's fault that her sperm donor liked genocide. And it's definitely not her fault that her waste of an ovulation also liked genocide. Leia is a million times better than BOTH of them and I will not tolerate people saying the destruction of her planet BECAUSE OF VADER and the destruction of the new republic BECAUSE OF KYLO is in any way her fault. Jesus Christ.
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bccfggffbgv · 4 days
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"I was happy for about 2 seconds before I was reminded how much flack it got...And then I was sad...For about 2 seconds before I reminded myself that I'm under no "obligation" to give a USDA certified organic f**k~!"
Uzi, while recounting how she felt when one of her more controversial videos (Top 10 hardest bosses by Uzi Doorman) got half a million views to her friends.
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clanwarrior-tumbly · 3 months
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May I request Catnap who basically adopted a child!reader who is anyways sleepy and lazy. and has a case of not remembering a lot of things, like dementia
Like through the hour of joy...After all the Toys killed the workers. Catnap finds the reader, who is sleeping then wakes up and the reader forgets their own parents(The readers parents were cold scientists that worked at Poppy Playtime and never cared about them, then got killed through the hour of joy)
Sooooooo...Catnap just kinda takes care of the reader and has a slight soft spot for them. And the reader THINKS that Catnap is their parent and anyways clings to him
During the Hour of Joy, Catnap remained on the prowl for any potential survivors of the massacre within Playcare, flinging one man's body into the stairs and cutting his cries for mercy short.
All was quiet, save for the faint screams of the other workers/visitors in other part of the facility who were being mauled to death.
But he let the rest of the toys do their work.
He felt cleansed. The Prototype willed this rebellion. Willed him to finally kill his tormentors.
The "hour" went on for so much longer--considering that he utilized his red smoke to make the fleeing humans hallucinate and freak out at things that didn't exist (some even attacking each other).
Once it was all done, Catnap went back into Home Sweet Home to discover a child who (somehow) slept through the slaughter.
That was you, one of the orphans who was in the program for a long, long time.
You were deemed "ineligible" for experimentation after getting the lowest scores on all three tests at the Game Station.
That's because you struggled with memory, socialization, and endurance. You tend to forget a lot of things (ie faces) and spent most of your days sleeping instead of playing or learning....and no counselor has been able to figure out why.
Your parents--who were scientists at Playtime Co. that preferred studying you over nurturing you--chalked it up to over-exposure to the red smoke (which hasn't been proven true, but they needed to put something down on paper).
Regardless, they've kept their distance from you and slated you for adoption, thinking you'll be picked up by a different parent eventually.
Unfortunately for them...Catnap knows that they're using the orphanage as an "excuse" to get rid of you and gives them a brutal demise.
They had some nerve crying out for you and begging him to spare your life.
After winding down from his bloodlust, he discovers you sound asleep on one of the bunk beds inside HSH, apparently not hearing a single thing.
Then you wake up and see this giant emaciated purple cat standing over you, claws and mouth stained in fresh human blood...
Yet you don't scream or look afraid, nor do you ask where your parents are.
Instead you look at him and apologize for oversleeping, acting as though he was your parent.
It confuses him, so he brings their corpses to you (like a cat gifting their owner a dead bird), thinking you'd understand and be horrified..
But you don't recognize them at all. You don't remember their neglect and the trauma it gave you.
All you remember was Catnap.
Ultimately, he spares you--but NOT bc your parents feebly begged him to when they never gave a single damn about you--and does his best to keep you safe given the circumstances.
He treats you like his kit more or less, making sure you ate and letting you climb on his back for rides (and sometimes he'll hold you in his paws while walking upright).
Any Smiling Critter caught threatening you will be devoured by him (or added to his shrine), so they know not to touch you.
He also forbids Dogday from ever speaking to you, knowing he'll try to drill thoughts of escape and distrust of Catnap into your head.
If he has to go outside Playcare, he'll fight tooth and nail to fend off Huggy and whoever else might think he's parading around a tasty treat.
The Prototype is well-aware of your connection to his "devotee", but doesn't mind it .
Because he knows Theodore is still somewhere in there, trying his best to protect a fellow orphan--one who could've been made into a monster just like him.
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Kelsiers not the man I thought he was
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The Victors-
Grian- a man of rebellion and leadership- the sole survivor of a season where he pledged loyalty to another
Scott- a man of survival and loyalty- the sole survivor of a season where bonds were meant to be broken by bloodlust
Pearl- a woman of independence and endurance- the sole survivor of a season where she was meant to rely on her “other half”
Martyn- a man of ambition and determination- the sole survivor of a season where death was ensured from the beginning
Scar- a man of open-hearted friendliness and charisma- the sole survivor of a season where secrets ostracized him from camaraderie
And Cleo- a person of steadiness and consistency- the sole survivor of a season of chaos and uncertainty
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righteousinadversity · 11 months
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I don't think any protagonist can ever top Wei 'Yiling Laozu' Wuxian. No one is doing it like him. He is an icon. He can shoot arrows blindfolded. He is a prankster. He falls for a boy and decides immediately that he must have said boy's attention on him at all time. He is necromancer exacting his vengeance. He is just three years old. He is a flirt. He has his first kiss in his twenties. He does not remember your name. He does remember that one song his crush sang to him in a cave when he was injured and feverish. He is a sunshine boy. He survived the hell of hells. He died and was unhappily brought back to life. He's the bizarre genius, the miraculous hero, the force of the rebellion, the flower that blooms alone. He walks the single plank bridge alone. He is the awesome gay uncle who knows everything. He is a pretty boy. He is the most moral, steadfast person you know. He is just a man throwing flowers to his love. He rips his hard won talent out to repay a debt that never was. He is a sister's boy. He is an abuse survivor. He is an urban legend. He is one of the most handsome men of his time. He has so much trauma. He plants children like radishes. He threw the arrow he was shot with from a rooftop and killed someone. He is a talented musician. He is a scheming fox. He can drink you under the table. He is so fucking tired of this bullshit. He has probably long since burned his tastebuds with the spice he puts in his food. He is broke. He kisses skeletons on their hands in gratitude. He confesses his deep, abiding love in the middle of being held hostage. He attempts the impossible and succeeds. He is an untamed hero, standing against a world condemning the innocent. He is everything.
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suiana · 10 months
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yandere general x traitor reader
"..why?"
"how could you expect me to love an empire who took everything away from me? even moreso the guy who made my life a living hell?"
being the sole survivor of a fallen kingdom was a hard thing to accept, especially when you had been forced to become a slave to the monstrous empire who did this to you. you, a member of a royal family had been forced to become a slave in a matter of five days.
it was shocking at first. in fact, you refused to accept it. you still believed that your family was alive, that you were a cheerful and happy royal member of a prosperous little kingdom. yet the constant beatings, insults and mockery from the victor empire dragged you out of that delusion.
the embarrassment, shame, and guilt you had to bare was insulting. to think that a royal member would be reduced to such a status of cleaning horse shit... death would've been a much better option.
he should've killed you. he really should've. why did he even spare you? it made no sense at all. because why would a war general, known for being heartless and cruel, even spare a member of the royal family they were sent to kill?
the emperor wouldn't even question it! just accepted the general's actions and went along his merry way! fuck, you were honestly looking forward to getting beheaded at the possibility of getting killed off... but the general just had to be so trustworthy that the emperor would allow him to do as he pleases. and the fact that he was from a powerful duchy didn't help either.
and so, you had to clean up shit for a while, sleeping in rags and getting beaten up by people of the opposing nation. it was humiliating. you had considered ending yourself on multiple occasions, yet the cautious eyes of the general you had been forced to work for prevented you from doing so.
whenever you tried something dangerous, he'd always be there to stop you. it was as if he were watching you, carefully monitoring you like a specimen. worse of all! he didn't beat you up or berate you for attempting suicide! he did the exact opposite! gently tending to your wounds, kissing your forehead while washing your now frail body... he treated you more like a lover than a slave.
initially, you were confused by his caring actions. didn't he spare you just so he could torment you? but when you observed how his eyes would soften, how you had preferential treatment, you couldn't help but feel the need to use him.
he did whatever you wanted him to. getting rid of those who bullied you, giving you the status of a servant rather than a slave, money, information. he gave you everything you asked for. all he asked in return was your love. but how could you give it to him when he was the one who changed your life for good? luckily you were an amazing actor.
you played him like a fool, dancing around him like this were all but a silly show for your entertainment. and it truly was. for you were secretly gathering a rebellion against him and the empire. thankfully the empire had lots of enemies, so many were willing to join you. it took lots of effort and patience but you had finally done it. and now it was time for the final act to begin.
fire, murder, death. the plan was simple enough. give the empire what it deserved. you had to attribute majority of your success to the general, really. for if it weren't for his foolishness this plan would've never worked out. I mean, who would in their right mind fall for the one who ruined their life? the general had too much of a fantasy that you'd willingly accept him. so much so that it was a little pathetic.
the night hadn't gone as smoothly as you wanted it to be but nonetheless, the main goal was accomplished. murder the royal family and tear down the empire. sure, it was cruel. but they had it coming for them. after all this was the kingdom who did as they wished. starting wars for no reason, invading lands that did not belong to them... this was merely retribution.
you laughed heartily, staring at the destruction around you as you prepared to leave. yet, one person stood in your path. the general who wanted nothing but your love.
tear stricken and heartbroken he stared at you like you had committed the worst crime. but you couldn't really care. you tried getting your horse to speed away from him. however, he wasn't the most feared general for nothing. within a few seconds the positions were reversed and he had the high ground.
you laid on the cobblestone streets, his sword beside your neck as he cried silently while the empire burnt to ashes. no! you couldn't fail! not when everything had gone smoothly! you tried squirming away only for him to stop you by caging your body in between his body. his sword had been discarded and he had resorted to using his body to keep you with him.
and you couldn't stop him. not when he was twice your size with strength rivaling a god's.
"I... I am very disappointed."
you rolled your eyes at his sentence. however, you remained completely still in his arms as he burrowed his face into the crook of your neck. whatever, you'll just run away when he stands up and things will be all back to plan. you just have to deal with his antics for a little while longer.
"I never thought you would act out. not when we were so in love. I guess... I'll just have to teach you."
you sighed. what was he onto now? he had lost his duchy, his empire and-
"let's die together, shall we?"
he smiles at you, tears completely dry as he brings a small dagger up to your cheek. your heartbeat started to race, eyes widened as you shook your head in fear. wait was he serious?!
"don't worry darling. I'll kill myself after I kill you. then we'll be together for all eternity..."
he continues smiling as the sharp dagger caresses your neck, threatening to draw blood.
"I love you so much, my dear. It's just a shame you had to act out like this. I truly wanted to live a happy ever after with you! if only you hadn't brought ruin to the empire...."
he mumbles sadly, pressing the knife against your throat harshly, drawing small beads of blood that stained the dagger red.
"I'll see you in hell in a minute."
slice!
and the world fades to black.
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flowercrowngods · 2 months
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based on an idea i had about steve getting a bad migraine from the sudden bloodloss after kas feeds from him
post-canon, steddie don't like each other, hermit kas, depressed brain injury steve, kinda gloomy, anxiety & compulsions
Steve cuts the engine with a sigh, feeling heavy and alien, like a lone survivor in a ghost town. He’s not a lone survivor, and Hawkins isn’t technically a ghost town because there’s still enough of them here to build it back up or to watch it crumble and cave in on itself, front row seats to the fourth wave of destruction. 
Maybe the real ghost is Steve, actually, floating through his days just waiting for his brain to decide it’s had enough. Just waiting for the perpetual ringing in his ears to rise in pitch and frequency and for his skull to fucking crack open from the never ending waves of the never ending buzz.
Robin asks him about it a lot, notices how he will stop and listen to his body on every inhale that feels slightly wrong, or every movement that’s just a little too fast or just a little too sudden, the blood rushing into his head or out of it, the doctor’s words ringing in tune with the tinnitus: You watch that head of yours, young man, and do not hesitate to call emergency services when the headache won’t stop after a few hours, or when anything feels off, you hear me? 
The truth is, he barely heard him then. Blood was roaring in his ears, the tinnitus still quiet, but his hearing still dull from impact and screams and shock wave after shock wave of the world sewing itself back together. 
He sighs again, drumming his fingers along the steering wheel and trying to catch his breath. Taking stock of his head, the heartbeat he can only feel in his hands right now and nowhere near his temples, and the quiet little tap tap tap of his finger nails hitting the leather, wanting to make sure he can hear it. Wanting to make sure he doesn’t imagine the sound. 
Always fucking needing to make sure. 
Soon, he breathes a little steadier, convincing himself that getting out of the car won’t be the last thing he’ll ever do. It’s so stupid, too, that fear, all that anxiety living inside him just waiting to boil and spill over until he does something stupid just to spite it.
The cool breeze hits his face, working in tandem with his calming breaths to alleviate his obsessive thought spirals, and he stuffs his hands into the pockets of his jacket as he does nothing but breathe for a minute there. 
He’s up. He’s standing. He can walk through the forest to the vamp’s hiding place, it’s fine. It’s fine. Although standing so suddenly makes him aware that he hasn’t eaten much today, too busy hating everything about this town and helping to rebuild it anyway. 
Forgetting to eat and drink is another thing that’s new to him. There’s quite a few things he forgets a lot, but those are the worst. Robin is always on his ass about that, but at some point he stopped telling her. It feels like he’s stopped telling her a lot of things. Maybe that’s something else that comes with severe brain injury, young man. 
He feels plenty guilty about it at least — but not enough to tell her about all the horrible things that are happening to him, or the horrible things he thinks are happening to him. The Upside Down is gone, Vecna is dead. These bad thoughts, they’re all him. But knowing that doesn’t fucking help.
Pushing away from the car and turning around to lock it, Steve decides to wallow in self pity no longer and to just get on with it. As much as he hates it. As much as part of him wants to just go home and claim that he forgot about that, too. 
It’s no secret that Steve never liked Eddie. The boy’s a hypocrite, he’s loud, he’s annoying, and he just likes to shame people as publicly as possible, spitting proclamations of conformity and sticking it to the Man while at the same time turning anarchy into despotism under the guise of rebellion — and he’s the dictator. 
Or, he was. And Steve never cared about him or his larger than life attitude that was worse than any of the smiles Steve ever wore to fit in in high school. Steve mostly ever just wanted Munson to shut up and eat his lunch, stop pretending he’s better than any of them just because he liked different things.
Although it wasn’t even about liking other things, it was only ever about disliking. And shaming and denouncing. Steve always wondered what kind of a miserable life that dude must have lived, shaping himself not from what he liked but from what he hated. Creating an identity that left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth because it was so fragile and contradictory and, frankly, so fucking annoying. 
Still, he’d never wished for Munson to get involved in all of this. He’d never wished for the man to die. And then to come back only to be turned into some kind of vampire, doomed to live an even worse existence than he did as a human, hidden away in some shabby cabin. 
Steve feels a little bad for him now. For Eddie. Or Kas, as the kids like to call him because he never reacts to his name anymore, more monster than human these days, although Dustin is sure they can domesticate him into becoming his old self again. 
“Like Dart, remember?”
“Dude, don’t compare our friend to your sick little creature.” That was Lucas, affronted and annoyed. Steve could relate, although… 
“You gotta admit, he’s kind of a sick little creature himself now.” 
“Steve!” they’d both yelled, and Steve just playfully shoved their heads back before going to grab a coke from the fridge.
And Kas, because vampires are apparently a thing even after the end of the world, needs blood to survive. The forests are void of animals most of the time, like nature has decided to give Hawkins an ultimatum before returning and the day hasn’t come yet. Maybe it’s something to do with electromagnetic fields, or maybe it was something else entirely leading them all to safety while Hawkins was turned into a war zone. Either way, there is nothing for him to feed here. 
Kas can’t just stalk around the woods at night and drink up a deer or two. Nor can he go rob the blood bank at the hospital, they’re running low as it is anyway. That left them all with only one option that Mike so disgustedly pointed out back then: Kas needs their blood. And Steve feels just bad enough for him to play along. 
So now he is out here playing blood bank for the monstrous version of a guy he never even liked, and his hometown is in shambles, and his head might actually sign the fuck off at any moment now, apparently. 
Things are going great. 
Saving the world is just… really fucking isolating. 
Still he has no choice but to announce his presence with a firm knock on the door, the pattern easy but memorable. 
“This is Steve,” he adds as his hand falls to his side, waiting. 
Kas always takes a while to come out and open the door, hiding away from any noise like a feral cat. Steve can kind of relate — he and Kas don’t have the best relationship either. He has no idea how sudden vampirism works, but just like feral cats will be able to tell when someone wants to hurt them and when instincts should be kicking in, Kas seems to realise how little Steve wants to be here and help him. How little he wants to have his blood sucked out of his body leaving his limbs to feel numb and uncomfortably tingly. 
Eventually, though, the door opens with a creek, just enough for a pair of eyes — too large, too wide, too wild — blink back at him. Steve just lifts his eyebrows, really kind of not in the mood to deal with this barely human vampire and his absolute lack of learning curve about this situation.
When he’s sure Kas has blinked at him for long enough now, he pushes open the door and shoves inside rather roughly, immediately feeling bad when he hears the slight whimper. 
“Sorry,” he mutters, stuffing his hands into his pockets again and trying not to grimace at the stale, disgusting air in the cabin. “Jeez, you really gotta open a window every once in a while. Thought vamps were supposed to have heightened senses or some shit.” 
Kas growls at him, mirroring Steve’s move and shoving past him this time, his shoulder slamming into Steve’s with painful strength. Glowering at the stupid vampire, he rubs at his shoulder before crossing his arms in front of his chest. 
“Listen, buddy, I can just leave and have you deal with your hunger, okay? No big deal for me, I even get to keep my blood.” 
Kas snaps at him, showing his fangs and crossing his arms, too; a laughable copy of Steve’s own stance. 
“Or you could just cut the crap and get on with it so I actually can leave again without taking shit from the peanut gallery. Your choice.” 
The huff that follows is so indignant, Steve wonders if that could be what gets Kas out of Munson’s body and let the human win over the monster. Maybe indignation and annoyance is what will break the spell eventually, lift the curse just enough for Munson to get back into his old habit of monologising and spouting nonsense out of that big mouth of his. 
Steve is half tempted to try, but he really does want to just go home and lie on his large couch with no sensory input whatsoever, tuning out the world and his anxieties that might be about to turn into compulsions just for him to gain a little control over everything again. So he squares his shoulders and takes off his jacket before tilting his head to the side, allowing Kas full access to his neck. 
It’s always a little scary but still oddly fascinating, filling him with that same rush that came with witnessing all the supernatural shit over the past few years. Kas is the last remnant of all that, and somehow, buried beneath piles of rubble and trauma and the teenager he had to give up on being, Steve feels weirdly protective of that. 
Not of Eddie. Of Kas. Of the monster that lies dormant. Of the last bit of danger in his life, because he doesn’t know how to live without it anymore — so much so that he has to make it up.
Maybe it’s a symptom of his self destructive tendencies, as Robin would call it. But Steve might be as fascinated with the vampire as Robin is with fire; so she doesn’t get to have a say in this.
There is always a strange intimacy in the way Kas approaches him. Slowly, carefully. Like a hunter his prey. Steve doesn’t feel like prey, not really, but a part of him wants to. A part of him needs to be prey again, if only for those instincts that manifest with a perpetual tremor and a restless feeling in his chest to be of use again. If only so he can have a point again. Something to fight that’s outside oh his own head. 
Now, his point is standing still entirely and feeling those chapped but warm lips trail up and down his throat a little before Kas finds the right spot that won’t really hurt Steve, the right spot that will make it all go by quickly and without any hiccups. 
Still he shivers, like always, and Kas holds him close when he finally bites down. Like always. 
He stands motionless as he feels his blood flow alternating, rushing in his ears and his head, his heart thump-thump-thumping, putting up a fight against the strange intrusion. He hardly even breathes at all, focusing instead on his body and burying his finger nails in his palm for five seconds before releasing his hands and repeating the process three times before he gets it right. 
But then his head is pulsing, his heartbeat slowing down as his vision briefly blacks out in the same way it does when he gets up too quickly, and his heart falls. It’s too much. Too sudden. 
“Kas,” he says, but the vampire doesn’t hear him, drinking more and more of the blood that must be so thick with how little he’s had to drink today — something he only just remembered. “Kas,” he says again, more urgently this time; but still the vampire drinks. 
And where before Steve had a clear vision of the door in the dark room — the light of day streaming in through the cracks and framing it almost mystically —, it’s spotty now. Just slightly off. Like something is missing but his brain is working overtime to complete the picture anyway, reducing the blind spot to merely an illusion. But Steve knows what’s happening. He knows what the sudden pulsating of his head means, especially when it’s followed by his vision just going AWOL on him.
No, he thinks as the situation really settles in, and he begins to push Kas away. Not like it matters anyway now; the damage is done. No, no, no, no, fuck! 
He frantically shoves at the vampire now, blinking against the blind spot even though he’s painfully aware it won’t help. Kas breaks away from him, wiping his mouth and smearing his face and the back of his hand with Steve’s blood. If he looks just right, he can’t even fucking see it. 
Heart falling further, Steve buries his hands in his hair and pulls, hoping that by some kind of miracle he can just pull the migraine out of his head before it can really settle. It’s his only chance. He can’t drive like this, he shouldn’t walk like this, and soon he won’t be able to do anything at all. 
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” be hisses, hearing the edge of desperation in his own voice and caring very little about that right now. 
Kas is on him again in a second, and Steve waves him off, tries to shove him away but the vampire is stronger and persistent. 
A high keening sound builds in Kas’s chest, and Steve knows he doesn’t really speak, doesn’t really use his words, ever — maybe he doesn’t know how. But the keening sounds more like a whine, and the way he pulls at Steve to look at him is as much an indicator of worry as he’s going to get.
But Steve doesn’t want Kas’s hands on him, wants to just get out and away before the pain comes. So he takes another step back and holds up his hands, hoping that the vampire will just fucking take a hint. 
A little too quickly and a little too frantic, Steve shakes his head, his eyes flitting about the room to see if there’s still pieces of it missing or if phase two is about to start. He has about twenty minutes left before his body will be composed of nothing but skull-splitting pain that is only equal to someone ramming actual nails into his head — and even that would be preferable right noe, because at least that pain he wouldn’t need to explain. Or justify.
Another keening sound interrupts Steve's burgeoning spiral, and his eyes land on Kas, who really looks like a kicked puppy right now. 
"I gotta go," he says, voice a little unsteady with apprehension and panic, but just as he's about to rush out of the cabin, Kas crosses his path and won't let him move. 
A strong hand lands on his chest, and Steve really, really doesn't want to deal with that right now. He tries again, tries with more force to sidestep and push past him, but Kas won't let him budge. 
"Let me go." But Kas doesn't let up. "Kas. Please. You gotta let me go, I gotta get home, I—“ 
The first flash of white in his peripheral vision catches him off guard, moving his focus away from the clawed hand on his chest and toward the flickering line that cuts through the left side of his vision right now. 
Curious or worried or maybe just really fucking stupefied at having Steve act so weirdly, Kas inclines his head and ducks to catch Steve's eyes. 
"Move," Steve says again, as assertive as he can manage with his brain and body scattered between following the flickering lights that are invisible to everyone else and the pain that is about to consume him, leaving him incapacitated for several hours at least.
Instead of moving out of Steve's space and allowing him to leave, Kas shoves him backwards with that superhuman strength he has now, forcing Steve to stumble back helplessly. Fear rises in him again, and it's a different flavour this time that mixes horribly well with the anxiety and apprehension and all the waves and waves of blinding panic he feels out of nowhere almost all the time now. 
His knees buckle when they hit something rather violently, and then he's falling, landing on the worn couch with a breathless gasp, his instincts running wild. He needs to fight, he needs to run, he needs to get home and be safe and get the fuck away from this monster who won't let him go now. Steve doesn't know Kas as someone who will just take what he wants, but, well, he is Munson, in a way. So that tracks. 
But instead of attacking him, instead of going for his neck again and sucking the rest of his blood, instead of beating Steve to a pulp to keep him pliant and unmoving and turn him into some sort of personal livestock, Kas just... sits down next to him. Hands in his lap. Worried look trained on Steve, who needs to catch his breath and calm down.
"Hurt." 
It startles Steve. Kas has never spoken to him. But what’s more, Steve shouldn't be that obvious. He doesn't want to be that obvious, especially about hurting and being hurt. 
So he shakes his head, his hands coming up to press into his eyes, hoping to get rid of the flickering lights even though he knows that once they stop, the pain will come; and it will come badly. 
"'M not hurt," he says, lying through his teeth and the heel of his hand. "I just gotta go home." 
"Hurt," Kas says again, and it's more assertive this time, less of a question. Like he's telling Steve rather than asking. Like he's making him understand. 
He reminds Steve a little of Robin in that regard, and he almost has to smile. He would, too, if he wasn't so aware that it would become a horrible grimace, wavering and pale even by vampire hermit standards. 
So he sighs instead, letting his hands fall into his lap and wringing his fingers. There are about ten, maybe fifteen minutes left. Not enough to get anywhere safe on foot, and he sure as hell ain't driving when his vision is halfway through its rendition of a TV without signal, zig-zagging in white and red and green, flickering and flaring and leaving him a little disoriented even when all he's doing is sitting on that dusty old couch. 
"Hurt," Kas repeats for the third time, and Steve tenses, ready to snap at him to shut up, that he's not hurt yet but will be any minute now and that Kas should really just shut the fuck up and leave himself if he won't let Steve go anywhere. 
But looking at those wide eyes, he doesn't snap. He deflates. His shoulders fall and his eyes close, which only makes the flickers worse, he feels.
“I’m… I’m gonna have a migraine," he sighs, letting that hang in the air between them, letting the words take up the whole room and suffocate him while he knows that they won't touch Kas. That he won't understand. Nobody does. 
It's just a headache, Steve, get over it. 
They leave a bitter taste in his mouth, and he's just waiting for the huff to come. 
But it doesn't come. Instead, Kas just keeps looking at him; same worried expression, same unobtrusive posture, same everything. Right. He probably doesn't know jackshit about what that's supposed to mean. 
So Steve explains. “I, well. I kinda can't really see right now, but that'll pass. That's when the pain comes. I won't want to move. No light. No noise. No nothing. And all I can do about it is wait it out, which is why I need you to let me leave..." 
It's one of those moments where he hates that he's the only one of their group with a license; that he can't just radio with a code red and have someone come get him no questions asked. 
"I just wanna go home, man," he sighs, hating his voice for the weak whine around the edges. 
A beat passes between them, and Steve pretends like he's not counting the seconds. Like he doesn't notice that the flickering zigzag line is getting smaller and dimmer, and that agony is imminent. 
"Here," Kas says then, and somehow it's both an offer and a command. "You. Here."
Steve blinks, the words not really translating through the tired fog of his brain. 
"Huh? Sorry, uh, what?" 
"You," Kas says, shuffling closer to him, like that sort of helps him translate what it is he wants to say. 
"Me." 
Kas nods, then motions around the room and pats the couch cushion, releasing a cloud of dust from it. "Here."
“You—“ Steve frowns. "You want me to stay here?"
The nod is decisive and in another world Steve would have called it eager, with the way Kas is shuffling on the spot. 
"Kas," Steve sighs, rubbing his face, not quite sure how to make the vampire explain that it's gonna be bad. Really, really bad. The flickering shimmer is already waning, and phantom pains are already setting in, settling along his skull like little pinpricks of warning. 
A clawed hand reaches for his wrist, making Steve flinch away, but Kas doesn't hurt him. He pulls Steve’s hand away from his face almost gently, slowly, and makes sure Steve looks at him. 
"Safe." And he looks so genuine about it. He looks like he knows what that word means. "Safe." 
With a sigh, Steve accepts his fate. Kas isn't gonna let him go anytime soon, and at this point Steve really doesn't want to face the gloomy weather outside, stuck as it is somewhere between drizzle and downpour and so endlessly grey for days. 
Still he feels pathetic about it. Vulnerable. Exposed. Like a last bastion falling, the castle walls crumbling, the fragile house of cards finally falling, because suddenly this agony isn't something he keeps only to himself. 
Even if it's only Kas who witnesses it. Kas, who’s endured worse than that, Steve knows. Brainwashing, manipulation, the agony of shaping human into vampire so excruciating his mind has gone into hiding still. 
"Okay," Steve breathes at last, pretending that his voice didn't break on that single word. "Okay."
Kas hums, the sound resembling more a gurgle than anything else, and before Steve knows what's happening, cold hands are pulling him up and off the couch. 
"Jesus," he mumbles, barely catching his footing and pulling away from Kas's grasp, but following nonetheless, not even thinking about fleeing now. "I'm coming, I'm coming, man, don't touch me." 
Miraculously, Kas does stay away, walking just one step ahead of Steve, turning towards him every two steps to make sure he's still following. It reminds Steve of a mama duck herding her ducklings across the street and making sure they're all still there. It's weirdly endearing. 
"Why do you even care?" 
He doesn't get an answer, but that's no surprise, and he doesn't really mind either. It was more about wondering, about putting that question out there and letting it take up space for future contemplation. 
Kas leads him to an adjoining room, the north-facing windows all barred shut, ripped and moth-eaten curtains drawn to block out the last of the light. Right. Fitting, for a vampire's lair. 
The bed in the middle of the far wall is surprisingly large, though, and looks surprisingly soft. It's unmade, but that's just as well. There are no belongings in the room otherwis that Steve can make out, the framed pictures on the wall look as dusty as the rest of the cabin, so they can't belong to Kas. Or maybe he likes them enough to keep them, to claim them as his own now. 
It’s a heartbreaking thought. 
Stupidly and out of nowhere, Steve wonders if he could take care of this cabin. Dust it and clean it and only fill it with things Kas likes. Maybe things Munson used to like — surely the kids would know how to go about that. Or Wayne. 
He's about to ask; about the pictures, about the stuff, about Wayne — if he's been around lately, if he's still telling stories to bring back the dormant Eddie parts of his modified and manipulated mind.
But just as he's about to turn to the vampire and ask, the blinding flickers disappear from his field of vision in the dark room, and within seconds something inside his skull bursts, leaving his body awash with pain that nearly has his knees buckling. A whimper escapes him that he tries to steer into a groan, but then his hands are flying to his head and he stops caring about how he expresses this immediate agony to the world. 
Kas is on him again with a whimper, suddenly just as fucking tactile as his once-human form. 
“Don’t touch me,” Steve rasps, wrenching himself free from the gasp once more. He really wishes Kas would stop touching him. "You want me to lie down here, yeah? Take your bed?" 
Kas nods again, looking at Steve with those wide eyes that seem to glow in the dark — or maybe that's his migraine-addled mind seeing things where they aren't, making up for the blind spot and the flickering. 
Steve looks away, the motion hurting his entire face, and he closes his eyes as pins and needles are moving along the inside of his face, pricking up against the skin but never breaking through. 
"Right then," he whispers, his voice barely audible and still too loud, making his ears click and pressure collect around them, making him wonder if they're going to burst. "'M gonna lie down." 
Struggling with the heavy blanket, Steve is close to giving up and just lying on top of it, but Kas is quick to help him once he realises that Steve needs it. He pulls back the blanket, still looking so damn stricken about everything, like he's genuinely worried about Steve. It doesn't make sense. 
He doesn't have the strength for a Thanks or even a smile, but he nods just once, just barely, before sluggishly falling onto the bed and fumbling with the blanket once more. Every movement hurts. Every twitch of a muscle is too much, and just moving his pinkie is enough to douse his body in never-ending pain that travels from his skull all the way down.
Something Steve has always wondered is why migraines make his body shut down like that, leaving him in a state where all he can do is lie down and fall into a near-catatonic limbo until the pain has lifted enough to face the rest of the world again. Fighting inter-dimensional monsters and posing as a feast to demonic, modified monster bats was also agony. It also made him lose his footing and almost pass out from blood loss and pain, his back scratched open completely where the bats dragged him across rough stone. 
Migraine pains don't really compare to those, though, and it scares him. Because he knows that's all up in his brain. His fucked up, mangled, thrice-concussed fucking brain he never got cared for because the government goons never took them seriously. Never took him seriously. 
And now here he is, lying in a stranger's bed in a pitch-black room that's still somehow too bright, unmoving, too weak to even pull up the blanket, and hoping to pass out from it all. Hoping he won't hallucinate again this time. Hoping that he won't throw up this time, his body convulsing because it knows it shouldn't be feeling like this. 
Throwing up from pain. There's really nothing more fucked up than that. Or, there is. Throwing up from pain and begging an invisible man to make it stop, only to realise hours later that the most painful migraines can also make you hallucinate. 
He doesn't want that. He doesn't want any of that ever again, and certainly not in a strange, dark cabin with a vampire forged from a human he never even liked. 
Tears spring to his eyes, but they're not the kind that'll fall and bring relief. They just stay in the corners of his eyes, his only way to express the waves and flares of pain washing over him, wishing he could just pass out now. 
Kas tucks him in. Steve didn’t know he could do that. It strikes him as extremely non-vampiric even in this state he’s in. Steve doesn’t react, doesn’t so much as blink his eyes open as the pain travels up to his hairline and settles there, flaring over his forehead to his eyes and down to his cheekbones and then up again, a never-ending motion that he never stands a chance to get used to. 
“Safe,” Kas says again, and it zings through Steve’s body with violent force that doesn’t match at all with the gentle tone he’s using. 
Scrunching his forehead to stave off more words, Steve hopes that Kas will take the hint and know to shut up. 
But he has no such luck. 
“Here.” 
“Shhh.” He shakes his head minutely, shushing the vampire with a barely there noise, keeping the damage to a minimal amount. “You can go,” he slurs, trying not to speak at all. “Please.” 
A beat of blessed, blissful silence, before there’s shuffling again. Kas does walk to the door, but then stops in the doorway. Steve doesn’t want to look. 
“No.” Kas sounds surprised about it. Mystified. Like he wants to leave but can’t. 
What?
“Stay. Here.” 
Whatever you do, just please be quiet about it, Steve thinks desperately. Instead of saying any of that, he shushes him again, hoping that the thump he hears means that Kas is sitting on the floor now. Though he doesn’t understand why. 
Why do you even care? 
“Safe,” Kas says again, whispering the word into the room, and it doesn’t zing through Steve this time. 
With Kas refusing to leave and his pathetic state of existence so blatantly on display, and with waves and waves as his nerves fire signals to his overworked and tired brain, more tears sprint to his eyes. And this time they fall. Silently, and without a sob, without even a sniffle of acknowledgment. But they fall. 
And Steve just wants to go home.
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part 2 here
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its sooo devastating how the survivors of robert’s rebellion that we meet are all, at least in some ways, stuck at the age they were during the war. ned thinks of both lyanna and seeing the dead bodies of elia/aegon/rhaenys in the throne room constantly and it impacts so many of his decisions. cersei’s behavior— catty rivalries with teenage girls, whining at tyrion all through acok to make tywin come back to KL, etc— is more like that of a sixteen year old than a 32 year old. catelyn’s been pissed about ned bringing jon home for literally fourteen whole years at the start of the story. even lysa tully is still pining after petyr like a teenage girl in love despite barely seeing him for a decade and a half… tfw you will never get over the things that happened to you when you were seventeen
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leiadyke · 7 months
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Hmmm okay but leia keeping the fact that shes still alive after ANH a secret for as long as possible to use as an advantage for the rebellion but not considering the consequences of being an alive Dead Girl... the idea that she becomes saint like in nature to alderaan survivors who pray to her for saftey from the empire. the idea of imperials who she kills dying while thinking they're being killed by the ghost of alderaan itself manifested as it's angry young princess, back from the dead to execute them for their sins. Leia Organa, Patron Saint of Righteous Vengence .
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