#a gust of wind vol.2

[harrystylescherry]

tis the damn season vol. 2 SNIPPET

A/N: yes, you did in fact read that correctly. there will be a vol. 2 of tis the damn season...NOT part 2, but VOLUME 2. Meaning, this is not a continuation, or a kind of epilogue, but a whole other scenario. with a different character, in a different universe, but connected by the premise of miss swift's song...bc it is my favorite holiday tune. this will probably be posted around new years, so see you then!

read tis the damn season!

It was the Wednesday before Christmas, and the pub was empty—just how Harry liked it. This year, the holiday was on a weekend, which meant the crowd of school-days-past wouldn’t be arriving until tomorrow at the earliest, semi-finishing out their work weeks.

Harry had been in Chesire for a week already, lazy-ing around his mum’s house and patiently waiting for his sister to come from London (she’d be part of the hoard arriving tomorrow). His mum was out for the night, at a holiday party she had with her friends every year. She had invited him along, but that week, he had already crashed a lunch and a festive dinner. The idea of round three felt pathetic.

His cousins were Christmas shopping for their baby—and it’s not that Harry didn’t want to join them, he just knew that it wasn’t the kind of shopping he was into. It was mission-based. Harry preferred the kind of shopping day that took hours and ended with a nice meal—whether or not he completed his list didn’t matter. It was the spirit of it.

So, he was alone. In a pub he frequented every time he came back. They had decorated for the holiday, with the top shelf of the bar lined with stockings that had the staff’s names written on—there were a few he didn’t recognize from the year before. It sat uncomfortably on his chest. He should make more time to visit home—because that’s what it still was to him. It didn’t matter where his house was, that he had spent more months in LA and New York alone (mostly) than he did his mum’s house. They weren’t the same, devoid of that special warmth and love that hit him each time he opened the heavy, oak door.

Garland hung around the perimeter of the room, from the ceiling, and also draped beneath the bar. Poinsettias (which he hated) filled vases on shelves that usually housed more appealing faux bouquets. He did like, however, the Christmas lights strung along the ceiling and wrapped around the posts throughout the space. It made it all quite cozy.

“Thanks, Gerry,” Harry said as he took his pint from across the bar.

The pub door opened, and with it came a gust of cold hair.

“Aye, it’s the new girl,” Gerry called across the bar to the other tender, his younger brother Tommy.

Harry turned just in time to see the smirk on the face of the supposed newcomer. He wasn’t sure if the chill that moved through him was from the burst of cold or the energy that radiated from her. She was completely bundled up, from her big boots to her bright red beanie.

She plucked it off by its pom-pom and dropped it onto the bar top, only five seats down from Harry. “Not new, temporary,” she said.

“Only ‘cause we haven’t won you over yet. Just wait, you won’t dream of leavin’ by time we’re done with you.”

She rolled her eyes playfully and unwound the pink and red striped scarf from her neck. She draped it over the seat next to her, then peeled off her coat, revealing long, dark hair that had been tucked down her back.

She was pretty. Harry could tell just from her profile. From her voice. Her nose was suited for a fairy and her cheeks were round—stained pink from the wind.

“The usual?” Tommy asked.

“Please,” she said as she pulled the sleeves of her cream sweater over her hands and fought off a shiver.

“Hi.”

Harry jolted out of his trance and flushed with embarrassment at being caught staring.

“I’m Rosie.” She smiled.

“Harry.”

“I know.” The smirk was back, and he thought, seeing her face so clearly now, it made her look even more beautiful. If that was even possible.

“Right.” He looked down and spun his glass on its coaster,

He heard her thank Tommy for whatever her usual was and listened as they fell into easy, friendly conversation.

“Care to join us?”

He looked up and was met with her smile, and expectant looks from the boys who stood on the other side of the bar, their own drinks in their hands.

“Uh, yeah, why not?”

Harry moved down until they were only a seat apart.

“Rosie’s from London,” Tommy supplied. “Like you.”

“No, technically, Harry’s from here,” Gerry corrected.

“Well, yeah, but—”

“Are you visiting family?” Harry cut him off. “For Christmas?”

“Uh, no,” she said with a scrunch of her nose. Harry left her room to elaborate, but she didn’t.

“Rosie’s a writer,” Gerry offered, before taking a sip of his beer. She blushed behind the curtain of her hair.

This was how his small village operated. A new person meant new information, new stories to pass around and gossip about. It didn’t matter if that person was sitting right in front of them. It was charming, but also terrifying. Especially if the stories making the rounds about you weren’t exactly tame, or inconsequential, or PG-13.

“Is she?” He asked, his eyes looking over her.

“I write novels for young adults. Well, I wrote one novel. I’m working on the second. Supposed to be, anyway.”

“S’why she’s here.” Tommy supplied before downing the rest of his glass, just as the pub door opened again.

“Is it?” He was aware that his attempts to flirt right now were abysmal, but he didn’t know what else to say. He wanted to talk to her, not Tommy. He wanted to pry and tease and slide into the seat next to her, but he couldn’t do that with them watching so closely. The things the town would say about that...so these redundant questions were all he had.

“Sort of.” That was all she offered before taking a sip from the glass of white wine in front of her.

[satoshi-mochida]

Some games I hope get a localization announcement in 2024

Due to the new 30 image limit, I had to change the list a bit.

From previous years:

Ciel Nosurge DX /Ar Nosurge DX(Please, Koei Tecmo/Gust)

Asatsugutori

Kochira, Haha Naru Hoshi Yori

Murder Detective: Jack The Ripper

Buddy Mission: BOND

AIR for Switch

Knights in the Nightmare Remaster

Medabots Classics Plus(it seems there was a weird legal issue about a scam company using the Medarot name for NFT crap that was settled in the actual owner's favor recently)

Yoru, Tomosu

Memories Off Historia Vol. 1 and Memories Off Historia Vol. 2

Death Match Love Comedy!(set in the same world as Raging Loop)

Yokai Watch 4/4++(Level 5 seems to be hopefully getting a second wind, so maybe this will come over, too)

Dragon Quest X Offline

Blue Reflection Sun(I'm mostly interested in this just for the story details from before Blue Reflection: Second Light. I think someone on the Blue Reflection wiki might be translating/summarizing the story, though.)

Kanon for Switch

 Mizen Tantei: The Protea Cases

Gensou Shoujo Wars

Gizoku Tantei Nosuri

Kanda Alice mo Suiri Suru.

New additions.

Fitness Boxing feat. Hatsune Miku: Isshoni Exercise

Riviera: The Promised Land Remaster

Xicatrice

Murder Mystery Paradox: Fifteen Years of Summer

Yggdra Union 3-in-1 Special Edition

Natsu-Mon: 20th Century Summer Vacation

Hayarigami 1-2-3 Pack

Bar Stella Abyss

The witch of the Ihanashi

everlasting flowers

Suspects Room: Keishichou Monzen Sho Torishirabe Han

 

Bonus:

SINce Memories: Off the Starry Sky

Magatsu Barai

Amnesia World for Nintendo Switch

Heaven Burns Red

To All of Mankind(with fixed bug and DLC issues)

Exile Election

Revue Starlight visual novel

Hoping for more information on Fate/Extra Record; there hasn't been any in a while(that I'm aware of).

I put some of Nippon Ichi's VNs from a few years ago on here in the off chance that, after bringing Process of Elimination over, they'd be willing to bring more over, too.

It's nice to see a bunch that were on last year's list actually got brought over or are in the process of coming over.

...seriously, KT, please bring Ciel Nosurge DX/Ar Nosurge DX over.

[youre-ackermine]

Hi my love!! <3 <3

For Drunk Drabbles Vol. 2, I give you 23: Is this a date? Of course, give me a LeviHan story!

mwah!!

Hey Sailor my Beautiful Bestest Bestie 🥰❤️

Thank you so much for your request!!! I'm sorry I didn't reply earlier but I'm a [painfully] slow writer!

How was Seoul? You must be exhausted by the past week's work there, so I hope my little drabble will help you relax 😘

Enjoy ❤️❤️❤️

*****

English is not my usual language

*****

This drabble is linked to my previous Levihan drabble Dumbstruck.

Drabble prompt 23 "Is this a date?"

Night Out

Characters: Levi Ackerman / Hange Zoe / Moblit Berner

Wordcount: 1530 approx.

Modern AU / sfw / non-binary Hange / swearwords / mention of alcohol

She had been babbling for twenty minutes now, sipping her cocktail through a straw every once in a while. Not even bothering to reply, he was absentmindedly looking at her glass. It was still half filled with a sugary liquid of a disgusting shade of pink and he wondered how in hell people could ever order such revolting pig piss.

Levi lifted his cup with a sigh, took a sip of hot tea and checked his watch. He should have told her to shut the fuck up, but her incessant chatter distracted him from the tension that gradually built up in his stomach. The queasy feeling had subsided as soon as the young woman sitting down next to him had started a conversation, bringing him some relief.

Slightly annoyed by the high pitched tone of her voice, he shifted on his bar stool and briefly glanced at her. She stopped her tiresome babbling only to drink another sip of her candy cane martini, licking her red lips in an attempt to seduce him before smiling flirtatiously. 

Her purpose was obvious but Levi was startled nonetheless when she dared to put her slender hand on his forearm. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist, starting to lift her hand as he leaned over to reach the blonde's ear.

"Do you wanna get out of here?" he whispered in a husky voice.

She pressed her body against his, her smile widening as she cooed: "sure!"

"Good, I was saving that seat for a friend!" he deadpanned, dropping her hand on the counter as he released his grip on her wrist.

The young woman's face twisted in anger and contempt. She grabbed her purse in no time and stormed out of the bar, leaving him both guilty and relieved. The past half-hour had been such a pain in the ass, but no doubt he had crossed a line talking to her like that. What the hell was wrong with him today?

He pinched the bridge of his nose, took a deep breath and checked his watch again. Of course they would be late. How could today be different from any other day? Getting engulfed in their work was Hange's second nature and today was no exception, no matter what his invitation for a drink implied this time.

The knot in his stomach weighed heavily again. His mouth was as dry as a desert and his throat tightened so much he had trouble swallowing some imaginary saliva. The longer he waited, the more nervousness got him and he was muttering an incoherent plea for this torture to end soon when the door bell rang.

A gust of cold wind rushed through the bar as Hange abruptly pushed open the door and stormed into the lively room. Levi rolled his eyes as his friend waved to him, shouting his name over the hubbub, their usual toothy grin plastered on their face. The corners of his lips were starting to lift in a faint smile when he noticed that Hange was holding someone's hand.

Levi froze.

A heavy load seemed to fall in his guts. His lips pressed tight briefly, but quickly he regained composure and his face was soon expressionless as usual.

Fuck! Hange had dragged Moblit with them! Why were they hanging out with their assistant? Working together all day, sometimes all night as well - he gritted his teeth at the thought - wasn't that enough for them?

He crossed his arms over his chest, his silver gaze boring through the poor man as Hange pulled him roughly through the crowded bar.

"Oi Levi! Don't mind Moblit joining us, right?" Hange blurted out cheerfully. 

Moblit faintly nodded to Levi, obviously uncomfortable around him.

Levi turned away from them.

"Bold of you to assume I would say yes to begin with, Four-Eyes!" he replied with irritation. "But now you decided it all on your own, he might as well stay I guess."

"C'mon Shorty! The more the merrier, right? Do you always have to be so dramatic? Just don't make a big deal out of this, will you?" Hange said.

"I told you it's fine, which word did you not understand?"

Hange turned towards Moblit and sneered: "Mr Grumpass over here has the worst case of resting bitch face known to man, but he's a softie deep inside, right Levi?"

Rolling his eyes, he grunted and leaned to the bartender. "Two beers and…" he turned to Moblit. "What do you drink?"

The young man seemed fascinated by the tips of his shoes but mumbled a vague reply, his face blushing under Levi's look. He had been feeling the short man's unwonted hostility since his arrival.

"Two beers and a whisky neat then, please," he ordered.

Levi grabbed the bottles and Moblit his own glass and they sat at the table a group of noisy students just left. Hange took off their worn out coat, randomly threw it on their chair and headed to the bathroom.

Only swallowing sounds filled the awkward silence between both men as they took a sip of their drink. Time seemed to stretch as they waited for Hange to come back.

"You...you seem to be…in a…in a worse mood than usual today, Levi." Moblit found the courage to break the heavy atmosphere, the end of the sentence stumbling out of his mouth in a hurry. "Are you alright?"

Levi averted his gaze. "Nothing unusual, don't worry about that," he replied in a breath.

Moblit's fingers fidgeted over his glass. His eyebrows seemed to knit as he was deep in thought.

"I saw it, you know…" he said after a pause. "When we stepped in earlier."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Levi glanced nervously to the bathroom door every once in a while, his knuckles whitening as he tightened the grip on the beer bottle.

"I noticed that you almost smiled when Hange came in, but your face soured as soon as you saw me."

Moblit paused for a few seconds again, his eyes still dived into his glass.

"So I'm asking you what's wrong today, because I never ever saw you so angry with me!" he finally let out sheepishly.

Levi rubbed his face, ran his hand through his hair and let out a long, weary sigh. Leaning over the table, gesturing to get Moblit to do the same, he finally asked in an infuriated whisper: "the fuck are you doing here? Why didn't Hange come alone?"

Taken aback, Moblit gasped: "they said you planned to have drinks together tonight and they invited me. As a friend."

Anger still filled Levi's low voice.

"Why did you accept? Now you ruined it all, dumbass!"

Moblit choked on a sip of whisky and coughed.

"What do you mean, Levi? How could I refuse? I thought Erwin and Miche would be here as well but I don-"

Moblit stopped and his eyes widened comically as he came to a logical conclusion.

"Holy sh-shit... I'm sorry to ask this but…is this a date?" he squeaked.

As Levi opened his mouth to reply, Hange rushed over to them and, as graceful as a hippo, sank into their chair with a relieved sigh.

"Oi! How are you doing guys? Talking about me?" they said with a dorky grin.

"We were starting to worry, Four-Eyes!" Levi scoffed. "Man, how long of a shit were you taking anyway?"

Hange burst out laughing: "oh, long enough to get the job done, thank you for asking!"

Moblit had been stunned for years by their constant, almost always disgusting bickering, mostly based on poop jokes and mean nicknames. But today he couldn't believe this banter may have become a sick way of flirting, at least from Levi's part.

Fucking weirdos.

He finished his drink in one gulp and put his glass on the table a little too heavily. The young man suddenly cleared his throat, interrupting the stream of gross jesting flowing between the two, drawing Levi's irked attention to him.

Hange's boisterous laughter faded away as they also turned to look at him. 

"I…I have to…to go now," he uttered sheepishly.

As he got up, pushing back his chair with an unpleasant screeching, Hange grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Where do you think you're going?" they asked. "Don't leave me alone with Shortstack over here, he's literally pouring his shit-talking down on me!" They winked and grinned as Levi rolled his eyes.

Hange looked up at him with their legendary pleading puppy eyes."Stay with us Moblit, we only just got started! It'll be so much fun! Please, please, please, please!!!"

Moblit briefly glanced at Levi and a shiver of dread instantly ran down his spine as he met his sharp grey look.

"I'm…I'm…s-sorry, Hange, I…I really have to…to go now." A pearl of cold sweat made its way down his face. 

"I'm…I'm supposed to see…er… Nifa later and I…I need to take a shower first! Have fun and...and…well, see you tomorrow at the lab Hange!"

Before his friend tried to stop him from leaving again, he hurried out of the bar as Levi watched him go, a smug smirk on his face.

Hange was right: they had just got started.

*****

Thank you so much to my Darling Terra @dont-f-with-moogles for beta/proof reading 😘

[tofueggnoodles]

They’re Back! Araiso Private High School Student Council Executive Committee Vol. 2 Scene 5: Showdown! The Snow Queen

Click here to listen to the track on youtube.

Summary: In the finale of the play, Tokito rescued Kubota from the clutches of the Snow Queen.

--------

Ainoura: How many countries had he traversed? How many mountains had he crossed over? He had lost count of them all. At long last, Tokito arrived in the bitterly cold Ice Country.

Tokito (trudging through the snow): It’s so cold! But, I’ll only have to put up with it for just a bit longer. I can see a building over there – there’s no mistaking it – that must be the Ice Castle.

--------

Kubota: Mmm?

Fujiwara: What’s the matter, Kubota-san?

Kubota: I have no idea what’s going on, but it feels as if something is oozing from my heart.

Fujiwara: I can’t allow that to happen! Your heart is already frozen into ice. It’d be disastrous if it were to melt. I’ll have to increase the snowfall and lower the temperature!

--------

(The blizzard grows stronger.)

Tokito: Damn it! I won’t give in! If I clear my mind of all worldly thoughts, even fire will feel cool, you bastard!

Matsubara: That’s not the right proverb to use. The image it conveys is opposite to the situation.

(Tokito screams in determination as he rushes toward the Ice Castle.)

Tokito (enters the castle): Is he upstairs? (runs up the stairs)

--------

Kubota: Ah, he’s here.

Fujiwara: Eh?

(Tokito pushes the door open and pants heavily.)

Tokito: Hey!

Fujiwara: You? Why are you here?

Tokito: I’ve come to take you home, Kubo-chan. Let’s go.

Fujiwara: Get real! Kubota-san’s already mine!

Kubota: I’m sorry, Tokito, but it seems I can no longer go home.

Tokito (approaches Kubota): Kubo-chan... your body....

Ainoura: Completely frozen into ice and covered with frost, Kubota’s body was pure white and resembled an ice sculpture.

Kubota: I can neither touch you nor stay by your side. Therefore –

(Tokito gasps.)

Kubota: – I must already be dead.

Tokito: Damn it...! Damn it!

Fujiwara: What’s that? A sword of flame has just materialized in Tokito’s right hand?

Tokito: Is this the magic sword that granny gave me? I see.... This must be how it’s meant to be used!

Fujiwara: A flame like that – my blizzard will snuff it out in no time! (aims a gust of icy wind at Tokito)

Fujiwara: Impossible! The snow was melted by the edge of the sword?

(Tokito shouts as he brandishes his sword against the blizzard and moves forward.)

Fujiwara: Don’t come any closer!

(Tokito’s sword slashes through something.)

Kubota: Mmm?

(The children in the audience scream in horror.)

Fujiwara: Eh? Why did you go for Kubota-san’s heart instead of mine? Have you lost your mind, Tokito?

(The sword emits a loud hum, which fades into a hiss after a while.)

Tokito: I’m very much in my usual state of mind. Right, Kubo-chan?

Kubota: Yes, you are, indeed. You always know what I want you to do the most.

(The sword blazes once more with a loud hum.)

Tokito: Wait for me in the next world, Kubo-chan!

Kubota: I’ll do that at leisure.

(Tokito pushes his sword deeper into Kubota’s chest. A smash is heard, followed by a tingling sound effect.)

Tokito: E–eh?

Kubota: Hmm?

Fujiwara: What? The splinter of the mirror stuck in Kubota-san’s heart has been shattered to pieces...? How could such a miracle be possible?

(The sword of flame vanishes.)

Kubota (sneezes): Huh?

Tokito: Kubo-chan?

Kubota (sniffs): Say.... I’m feeling rather cold.

Tokito (approaches Kubota): Your hand feels warm, Kubo-chan.

Kubota: Yeah. So does yours.

Tokito: We’re alive.... we’re still alive, aren’t we?

Kubota: Better late than never, so –

Tokito: Eh?

Kubota: – Merry Christmas, Tokito.

Tokito (momentarily lost for words): .... You’re really late!

Kubota: I’ll make it up to you by treating you to a meal of roast turkey.

Tokito: I want a cake too.

Kubota: Sure.

Tokito: And not just any cake. I want the one shaped like a chopped-off tree trunk.

Kubota: Isn’t that the one called ‘bûche de Noël?’ [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule_log_(cake)]

Ainoura: Thus, having been happily reunited, Kubota and Tokito were able to return safely to the village they once lived in.

Fujiwara (wails sadly): Kubota-senpai...!

Ainoura: Meanwhile, Murota, who had resigned from his post as the commanding officer of Prince Osamu’s guards, became friends with the grandmotherly witch through his new-found hobby of gardening. In addition, a few years later, the prince ascended to the throne and was crowned king. At his sides were Shuuji the Crow and the current commanding officer of his guards, a young former bandit called Ryuunosuke. However, that is a tale for another time.

(The audience erupts into applause.)

Katsuragi: It’s over.... Ah, I’m so glad!

Murota: It’s been a long fortnight, hasn’t it?

Katsuragi: You did a good job too, Fujiwara. Much appreciated.

(Fujiwara sobs and mumbles incoherently.)

Matsubara: How wonderful! We received a standing ovation!

Katsuragi: Oh no, what are you guys doing there? It’s time to take a curtain call. Go now!

(The applause grows louder as joyful music plays.)

Ryuunosuke: Huh? Where’s Toki-yan-senpai? [Toki-yan is his nickname for Tokito.]

Shuuji: Ah, there he is!

Tokito: Just you wait, Ootsuka!

(Ootsuka screams as he runs away from Tokito.)

Tokito: How dare you! You were clearly enjoying yourself as you gave me a hard time in that scene just now!

Ootsuka: I was just giving the role my all in order to put on a lively show!

Tokito: Then, I’ll send you flying with this lively kick!

(The children in the audience laugh.)

Ainoura: Ah.... Er, now that we’ve come to the end of the show.... One, two–

The entire cast: Araiso Private High School Student Council Executive Committee thanks you for watching!

Kubota: See you.

Tokito: I’ll be back!

--------

(Round brackets): actions and sound effects. [Square brackets]: translator’s notes or clarifications. Suggestions for improvements and corrections are more than welcome.

[env0writes]

A Gust of Wind Vol.2, 8.9.22 “Picking Season“

Please do not leave me hanging In the warm August breeze and Sadly setting summer sun My dangling heart will swell, Overripe And plummet to the earth Below, with a sickening Plop! Food for fleas, ants, and other Vultures of the fallen I am not some savory fruit To peel and pass with friends So when the juices burst from me And stick to skin and soil Please taste of me just one simple Bite But not too soon, too late A gust of wind is blowing me Please! Catch me as I fall I’ll bruise unless you do

@env0writes C.Buck Ko-Fi & Venmo: @Zenv0 Support Your Local Artist!

[killerlookz]

𝐓𝐨𝐨 𝐓𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐨 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐓𝐨𝐨 𝐓𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 (Eddie Munson x Gn! Reader)

description: after coming home on break after your first semester of college, you decide to take a trip to the cemetery to try and get out all of the bottled up emotions you'd been feeling since you left.

content: essentially literally just angst, hurt/no comfort. mentions of death, mourning, depression, stranger things vol 2 spoilers.

word count: 2289

Your body trembles underneath a hard gust of November air, the abrasive wind gnawing at your reddened, aching hands. You slide the thick, knitted sleeves of your sweater further down your knuckles, hooking the material over your fingertips. Your chest burns as you inhale, a freezing breath making your lungs cold as ice, and your hazy white exhale disperses in front of your eyes. Despite the stinging cold, you press forward, your worn out boots crumbling the dead, rigid leaves below. The swirling cold makes your nose run, and you sniffle, a deep inhale of freezing air enters your nose, making your brain feel foggy for a split moment. You rub the rough denim of the jacket that covered your sweater across your already raw nose, wiping away the lingering snot.

You swallowed thickly, darting your eyes around the vast landscape, littered with dead, dirty leaves and tombstones. For awhile now you'd been trying to view your visits to the cemetery as a happy thing, as a celebration of the life of someone you love- and maybe you succeeded sometimes, but not today. Maybe it was the hazy cloudy sky, or perhaps the stinging cold, maybe it was the fact it had been your first visit to the cemetery since August- but this visit felt anything but happy.

Your entire body ached, both on a physical and mental level as you headed to a small plot in a far corner of the cemetery. A large tree sat barren next to the plot, no leaves, no signs of life- just dead wooden branches that sprawled out from the trunk, it's creeping limbs hanging ominously over the plot. You hated the way that tree looked, you hated that stupid fucking plot of land- the way it had been so far from the rest of the cemetery, the way that creepy fucking tree hung over it, making it look like something straight out of a horror movie.

You stood over the plot, staring at the small, sad gravestone that barely even poked out of the ground. You sighed, looking at the words engraved in the smooth rock, Edward "Eddie" Munson, 1966-1986. A familiar pain stabbed at your heart as your eyes grazed over the few short words, who knew a name and some numbers could hurt so bad? The stone didn't tell you anything you didn't know, it wasn't some big shock, you knew he was gone. He'd been gone for awhile now. 235 days to be exact, but, who was counting? Despite the length of time that had passed, despite how many times you'd read that stupid gravestone, or closed your eyes and remembered that dreadful day in March- it never got any easier.

You slowly lowered your knees to the ground, your jeans sinking into the damp grass below. Your eyes had already begun to water before you could even get yourself situated comfortably on the ground. The tears brimmed in the corners of your eyes, and the harsh wind against the small droplets burned. You blinked, trying to escape the uncomfortable feeling, your face chilling even more as the tears rolled down your cheeks. You placed your entire hand against your face, messily wiping the tears around your skin to dry your eyes.

"Oh, Eddie-" You whimper, placing a hand forward to graze the stone. "I-I would have brought flowers, like usual but- but the real ones are out of season right now- n-not like they'd be here long anyways." It was a pleasant surprise to see that the stone wasn't defaced, often times on your trips to the cemetery you'd have to clean the small headstone too. When he was alive, Eddie's social status never exactly gained him many friends, and the same could be said in death, still seen as some sort of demon-worshipping freak. That being said, the citizens of Hawkins weren't quite torn up about Eddie's presumed death- and the shit-for-brains jocks of Hawkins High often got their kicks out of defacing the measly plot of land Eddie's uncle was able to buy for him. They usually took to spray painting pentagrams, and profane things on the stone and the surrounding grass, leaving trash behind on the plot, sticking gum or other nasty shit on the stone, or ripping up the grass. Things that were in theory harmless, victimless acts of teenage douchebaggery- but in practice they blinded you with a confused combination of both utter rage and indescribable grief. Eddie never deserved that. Eddie never deserved any of the treatment he'd gotten while he was alive either. None of the name calling, and the endless harassment, the persecution- none of it.

It was stupid, really, you supposed maybe it was the principle of it but, it's not like they were hurting Eddie in any way shape or form- he wasn't even buried there- the plot only serving as a dedication to his memory being that his body had never been recovered. All they ever did by defacing this site was cause upset to those who loved Eddie, but, you suppose they defaced Eddie's grave for the same reason you sat down and spoke to it, it's more-so what the stone represents, than what it actually is.

"It's been so long." You choke, your mouth turning downwards as you spoke, your lip quivering. "I just finished my first semester of college. It's been nice being out of Hawkins just- away from everything. But- i-it feels so wrong with you not there." You sniffle, tears already beginning to pour down your reddened cheeks. "You were supposed to be there, Eddie." You shake your head as you look down at the plot, "We were supposed to make it out of here, together."

You huffed, all of the memories of the plans you and Eddie had made ran rampant in your brain. The late night talks with you pressed snugly to his chest and his arm wrapped tightly around you where the two of you would map out your futures. You were going to go to college, and Eddie was going to follow you, playing gigs around the state with his band- they were going to make it too.

You sniffle, your breath hitching, the cold breath getting stuck in your throat as you try extra hard to suck it down. "B-but it's just me now-just me." You stare down at the stone, reading the words over and over again, "How the hell is it just me?" Your face contorts into a pained grimace, your lips quivering, and tears falling from your eyes at an increasingly rapid pace. You place your fingers over your eyes, pressing down hard on the bridge of your nose, shaking your head hard as you cry into your shivering fingers, "I miss you so much Eddie."

Nothing had felt right since the moment the light left Eddie's pretty brown eyes. Months had passed and yet the gaping hole remained, "Everyone who told me that time heals all wounds fucking lied," You slowly lift your from your hands, "Because it's been eight fucking months and my wounds have yet to even be licked clean." You stay quiet for a moment, watching your breath occupy the air as your chest heaves, trying to calm your crying down. "I-I don't understand what's wrong with me, Eddie- I-I- we got everyone together- You know, Nancy, Steve, Robin, Dustin-everyone last night c-cause it was my first night back in town, and everyone is doing so well. Everyone seems so happy. But I'm not." You shake your head, your voice fading to a whisper, "I'm not happy." You took a sharp inhale in, and tilted your head off to the side, unable to look at the stone anymore, "I-I don't know how to move on Eddie- because sometimes, I think I'd rather be fucking miserable and thinking about you than happy and not thinking about you at all."

The idea of moving on never seemed appealing to you, wallowing in your own grief had always felt like the better option- that way, at least the memories of Eddie still lingered in your mind. The memories for now were untainted, untouched, remembered exact as they had happened- but if you were to go even a single day without replaying them over, how could you trust that they were the real thing? Only seeing glimpses of Eddie here and there in your mind seemed like hell, even if in the long run it was what was best for you to be happy. Your memory served as a shrine to the man that you loved and you could not dare to even stain it in the slightest. It felt like a crime to move on, every time you'd considered even trying, all you could think of was how much of a disservice it would be to Eddie's memory. Eddie deserved to be remembered every single day, Eddie deserved to have someone who'd be dedicated to preserving his all too short time on this Earth, and you decided that it had to be you. Eddie Munson was far too important to only be thought of in passing, to only be a distant memory that crossed people's minds on occasion. He deserved more than being the face that someone remembered and shared a quick smile in his memory before moving on with their day.

"But everyone tells me that it's okay to move on- that it's what you would have wanted, that you'd want me to be happy- and maybe that's true, but- but they don't know that for sure, and I-I don't want to risk even the possibility that you wouldn't want me to move on-" Your face is soaked in tears as you talk down at the ground, and the little droplets feel like they're freezing against your face- it stings- but you brave it, you brave the pain because you need this moment, you need to talk to your Eddie.

"I mean, it's still- most days all I want to do is just curl up in bed and imagine you're there with me. And most days that is all I do. I draw the blinds so it's real dark, then I curl up under my sheets, donning one of your old shirts, and I snuggle that cheap, ratty stuffed bear you won for me at the state fair last year- I close my eyes, and I- I just picture you there." You blink a few times, lifting your head up so you were now looking back up at the stone, "I imagine your hair tickling the back of my neck as you snuggle into me, and your warm breath against the side of my face. I remember how you'd hum in my ear, and I can still hear the low melodic rattling of your voice in my brain, so I just shut my eyes tight and pretend that you're still there to hum me to sleep." A faint smile appears on your face as you remember the countless days and nights you'd spent snuggled up with Eddie. He's always been a cuddler, always itching to have his arms around you every chance he could. Eddie had essentially been your shadow, he was all over you all of the time, and you wouldn't have had it any other way. You thought about his scent, the smell of cheap cologne, generic body wash, and cigarettes still fresh in your mind. His scent had always been intoxicating, a clear signifier of your complete and utter affections towards him. None of his old clothes smelled like him anymore, they'd all been worn to hell by you, but you could still get faint inklings of it now and again, the thought of Eddie would cross your mind and you would swear that just for a split moment the air would smell like he was still there. Like you were back in his arms, resting comfortably even in your all-too-small bed, the close quarters always made for better cuddling anyways.

"And your arms- Eddie you always held me so tight, I-I'd never felt more safe in my entire life than I did in your arms, even i-if you just had an arm slung around me while we were walking or something- you always made me feel so safe. I-I'd do anything- anything to feel them around me even just one more time." You sigh, "A-and I haven't felt safe for a single second since you've been gone. I haven't felt comfortable, there's always this nagging feeling in my body and I don't know what it is- b-but nothing feels right, a-and I can't- I don't know how to deal with it anymore Eddie." Your smile faded, as your emotions went into overdrive, your tears picking up pace in a sob, "I'm so tired Eddie, and every day I'm only getting more, and more tired. It never gets any easier without you- it's so lonely, and I just- I miss you so much."

Your sinuses are sore, and your head throbs from all your sniffling and your loss of water, but you can't stop crying, the tears won't stop pouring down your face, and you are so grateful that there is nobody else in the cemetery because you'd surely be interrupting their mourning with your loud, anguished cries and shrill heaving.

"N-nobody could ever fill the hole that your death has left in me, a-and I just- I don't know what to do. No one will ever be as sweet as you, no one will ever look at me the way that you did, or make me feel as special as you did. N-no one will ever be as just- as caring as you were, even for people who didn't deserve it- god Eddie- you cared so much- and you cared about this stupid town even though almost all of it had turned against you- you always talked so lowly of yourself, baby, a-and I could never understand why- but now- fuck you're a hero." Your hand trembles as you lift it up to your face, haphazardly wiping the tears from your cheeks. "A-and I'm just so so lucky to have gotten to love and be loved by someone like you. I love you so much Eddie, I still do, and I always will, I will never love anybody or anything as much as I love you." You lean forwards again, feeling the dips of the engraved letters under your fingertips, tracing each one softly, "You'll always be mine Eddie, forever- forever and always."

[lostgirl677]

Room of memories

Masterlist

Part 2

Part 3

Estasblished relationship

Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

TW: Stranger Things season 4 vol.2 spoilers. Death

A/N : It’s quite sad but I tried to put fluff. It’s also a bit long

You couldn’t believe that you were driving back to his place. The place where your life changed forever with no going back, shattered fates and hearts. You felt tears brimming to your eyes with all the images of your last moments together on this earth replaying in your head like a broken record, blurring the road ahead of you. But you couldn’t allow yourself to let your emotions flow that way despite the fact that everything reminded you of Eddie's presence or absence, should I say. The old mixtapes laying there, the full ashtray, the stain he made with his burger on the dashboard and even his old jacket on the backseat, it was like you were just driving him home while he’s sound asleep on the passenger seat. You could almost hear his light snores. Like the good ol’ time. You wanted to live in this kind of memory forever but every single time the image of his eyes going dull flashed in your head and struck you like lightning. You even heard his last words, ‘I love you Y/N’, countless times with every gust of wind. As if he used it to send you love words from the beyond. You always smile through your tears when it happens and whisper sweet words, hoping that he’ll receive them somehow. Every sunrise reminded you of his bright smile and every sunset, the way his brown eyes seemed to take a honey color. You always tried to remember the good moments with him and they were legion. With someone like Eddie by your side, the roughest moment always felt easier. But now you had to go through this alone or almost. That’s the precise reason you were driving. The tears made their way to your cheeks by now, making it difficult to see.

 At the simple idea of going back to the trailer, you wanted to jump off a cliff but you had to help his uncle through this. Eddie was his only family left, his ‘son’ and now he was all alone with his grief. He was practically family to you, like a second father. He was devastated and you couldn’t leave him that way. When you arrived in his driveway, you parked your car and took Eddie’s jacket on the backseat to wrap yourself in it. It still had his scent, as if he just gave it to you after wearing it all day long. It made you feel a little better. You couldn’t help but glance at the exact place where he breathed his last breath, even though it was in fact in  the Upside Down.It looked like flowers grew in the exact place you had to leave Eddie. Flowers you never saw there before. It brought a small smile on your lips. You then found the courage to walk to the trailer’s door and knock. The door creaked loudly and Eddie’s uncle appeared. When you set eyes on Wayne, you could feel all his emotions on his face. He had dark circles under his eyes, his wrinkles more pronounced than usual and his cheeks were stained with dried tears..He seemed to have lost weight too. Before any words were exchanged, he took you in his arms. You returned his hug. When you parted, he glanced at you with a small smile and said with a sob evident in his voice ‘Thank you for coming here, Y/N’. He looked like he was about to burst into tears at any moment, probably due to the jacket and its scent, but seemed to control it for both of your sakes. ‘You’re welcome, Mr Munson.’ He smiled weakly. ‘I already told you that you can call me Wayne.’ You smiled too. ‘Sorry, some habits are hard to lose.’ He  smiled again and got out of the way to invite you inside. You obliged and what you saw made your heart clench even more. It was messier than usual, the windows were closed so as to not let any ray of sunshine go through them, cans of beer scattered on the floor and cigarette’s butts everywhere. You were practically sure that there were shattered plates on the sink. He closed the door and gestured you to the couch while he took a chair. You sat and waited for him to say something. He just looked everywhere and the silence quickly became awkward. It was maybe his way to grieve, having someone with him and staying silent ? But then you saw him glancing at you hesitantly. You decided that it was time to break the silence. You cleared your throat and took all your courage to talk.

 ‘So…’ It seemed to catch his attention and he turned his head to look at you. ‘ They say that bringing good memories of Eddie can help a lot. So I thought  that maybe…’ you gently smiled at him. He smiled too. ‘It’s a good idea. I have tons of good memories with him.’ His eyes seemed to get a glassy look as unshed tears tried to escape. So you began to recount all the adventures you both had with him. ‘I remember that time when Eddie was six. He came home, all proud of himself after getting Mrs Jones’s cat, Fluffles, out of a tree. He had scratches all over his face but his missing teeth smile was priceless. And Mrs Jones gave him five dollars.’ You laughed a bit. You remembered that fat ginger cat vividly. ‘Or even the time he thought that a watermelon would grow inside his belly after swallowing the seeds’ He had this nostalgia in his eyes. ‘I also remember when he made me read The Hobbit to help him sleep. He took it everywhere with him. He even learned how to read with this book’ That made you remember something. ‘That reminds me of the time I asked my mom to sew hobbit costumes for both of us so we could go trick or treating together as Frodo and Sam.’ He softly laughed. ‘And I had to let my beard grow, take an old uniform at work and a worn out gray hat to play Gandalf.’ You could remember it as if it happened yesterday. He had the perfect hair for Frodo so you were Sam and you swore to fight by his side until the very end. And you did, goddamn you did it till the very end. Emotions threatened to overtake you so you swallowed thickly and kept going with the memories. ‘ One time when we were around seven, we played outside and we were a bit bored. So Eddie had the brilliant idea to bet that he could land on his feet after jumping from the oak tree near my house. We both know how it ended but he was really proud of his plaster cast. He really thought that it made him look badass but he never mentioned to anyone how hard he cried when the adrenaline wore off.’ You said fondly. ‘I’m pretty sure his love for tattoos is your fault with all the drawings you did on his plaster cast’ Wayne said with a light laugh. After a little silence, he said ‘ You know, my brother was sent to jail and his wife was unable to take care of Eddie. So when I had his custody, he was barely verbal due to his young age. I almost saw all his first times and one time he fell really hard on his knees and his tiny hands bled a bit with gravel on them. He cried hard and when I took him inside to clean his wounds, he called me “Dad”. I was caught off guard that I almost cried myself.’

 He then took his wallet off his pocket to open it to reveal a child’s drawing with a tall stick figure and “Wayne” with a few spelling mistakes. ‘After all these years, I still have it and I will never take it off my wallet.’ His voice shattered. You could feel his emotions. You helped Eddie on this drawing so many years ago. That’s even the way you met. ‘This drawing is the reason Eddie and I became friends. It was a project for the upcoming father’s day. He tried many things but couldn’t finish them because he was never satisfied. He wanted the perfect gift for you and since he really loved drawing, he decided to draw you something. As you know, even then, the other kids were mean to him. They wouldn’t let him approach the table with the drawing material. And I guess that he saw me all alone in a corner with a few paper sheets and pencils so he came to ask me if he could borrow some of my material. I said yes and he sat next to me. He introduced himself and then asked my opinion on the colors he should use. We talked through the whole process and discovered that we were quite similar so we decided to play at the next recess. And you know the rest of the story.’ You said, smiling. Wayne had a fond smile on his face. 

With a soft voice he said ‘ I always knew that Eddie was an artist. When he saw this guitar on the window display of the music shop, he went crazy over it. He made plans on getting a job or even helping the neighbors to obtain the money. Sadly, he already had a bad reputation in the neighborhood and nobody wanted to hire him. So I worked extra hours and ate the least possible to save this money. Of course, he found a way to get money’ you already knew how, even though his uncle seemed to ignore it. ‘ But I managed to buy it with all the extra money I got. So for his birthday, I settled everything, you probably remember how his face lit up when you handed him the guitar. I also remember the day he told me proudly that he was the dungeon master of his own club. I was lost with all the lore of Dungeon and Dragon but he seemed so happy about it that I did my best to follow through his explanations. He even made me wear a costume to get inspiration to create a character in his campaign. A magician I think.’ He said with a smile. ‘One time, he played his whole scenario in front of me, doing all the characters and their voices, even the damsel in distress.’ You said, laughing at the image of Eddie as a damsel in distress. Wayne smiled too. He then checked his watch and got up. You saw him grab a bucket, a sponge and a few chemicals from under the sink. ‘It really helped, Y/N. Thank you. I have to go but you can stay.’ You looked at him, curious. ‘Where are you going ?’ he sighed. ‘I have to go to the cemetery to watch over his grave. I saw that there was graffitis on it again.’ It felt like a punch on the guts. Eddie’s grave. Eddie’s shallow grave. And there were assholes able to do such a terrible thing to someone’s grave. For a brief instant, you almost forgot that he was dead. ‘I can go there if you want to.’ you proposed. He smiled sadly at you. ‘No it’s okay. You can stay here if you want to. Grab whatever you want in the fridge. You can even take some things in Eddie’s room. I’m sure he would be okay with this. Good evening, Y/N’. You looked at your watch and realized that the sun must have set by now. ‘Good evening Wayne.’ He smiled at you and got out.

You struggled to make your way to Eddie’s room. It was so hard but you had to do it. The moment you set foot in his room, a violent flow of memories overwhelmed you completely. Every single piece of decoration was a piece of Eddie himself. It was like nothing happened at all. His curtains were open and the darkness of the night overtook the room. You faced directly his chest of drawers with his mirror and of course, his guitar. You began to sob quietly and this simple sight but tried to regain your composure as best as you could. You began to walk around his small room. Next to his amp laid a piece of his old plaster cast with his favorite drawing of yours on it. You remembered how he begged the doctor to let him keep this part. You laughed a bit at this memory. The doctor’s incredulous look was priceless, really. You then saw a series of silly pictures of Eddie and you on the wall.

Flashback

‘Come on, Y/N ! It’ll be funny. Plus I’m sure you’ll want to remember how sexy we were before we grow old ’ Eddie said, pleading with you with his puppy eyes. He knew you couldn’t resist it and viciously used it against you to get whatever he wanted from you. ‘Fiiiine’ you said, rolling your eyes but smiling at the same time. He smiled so hard that it looked painful. He pushed you on the photo booth and took place next to you. At the moment the camera took the first picture, he sneezed super hard so it covered you with a bit of snot and his hair was everywhere. ‘Eddie ! It’s disgusting !’ you said, almost choking on your laugh ‘You have seen nothing yet !’ He said winking at you.He licked your cheek for the second picture while you laughed like a crazy girl. ‘Revenge !’ You screamed. On the third one, you messed his hair even more while he placed his ring cladded hand on your cheek to playfully push you away.’It was really low of you, Y/N ‘ he said with mock hurt. So on the last one, he took you by complete surprise and kissed you on the lips. You were sure we could even see the red on your cheeks in the pictures. It was both your first kiss. ‘Admit that you liked it as much as I did’ He said smugly with his adorable smile. ‘Shut up Munson’ you replied and kissed his cheek. When you got out, the whole mall looked at you and your disheveled appearance. He simply looked at them with a stupid grin. When you took the pictures, you both burst into laughter. ‘Black mail material much, right ?’ he said. 'Definitely. I love them ! But I think I love you more, Eds’ He blushed heavily. ‘I love you too, Y/N/N’

End of Flashback

Looking at his blurry figure in the first picture still made you laugh to this day. You had a duplicata on your wallet, you looked at them from time to time.

 You then looked at the stuffed bear behind his pillow. He made you swear that you’ll never tell a living soul about it. You still remember how you won it for him.

Flashback

‘Have you heard about the fair coming to town this week ? It looks a bit boring but you know, we could…bring a bit of animation on it. You know, you and me?’ He seemed so enthusiastic about it. ‘Are you asking me on a date, Eddie ?’ His smile began to grow bigger. ‘Is it a yes ?’ You took his hand on yours and looked him in the eyes. ‘ Maybe ?’ you added, raising an eyebrow. He dropped on his knees and dramatically said, ‘Are you trying to drive this poor man insane ? Can’t a gentleman ask the woman of his dreams without her being so cruel ? Is it what they call tough love ?’ He got up quickly and whispered in your ear. ‘If so, I’m totally into it’ You blushed. ‘Idiot.’ ‘Yes, but I'm your favorite idiot. So I’ll pick you up at 7 PM?’ You just rolled your eyes. ‘Fine’.

At the fair, it was difficult to walk without people looking weirdly at the two of you but you didn’t care. ‘Look Y/N ! A haunted house !’ he practically jumped into place. He was like a kid again. You knew he just wanted to be in the dark with you so you obliged. You entered the attraction and began to walk through it . You were both laughing, earning disapproving looks from the others. ‘Look at how fake it looks. They call that a vampire, I call that a toothless grandpa and have you seen this…. AAAAAAHHHHH’ he nearly pierced your ear drums with his blood curdling scream when the werewolf suddenly jumped from the fake bush . ‘So…It looks fake, nothing scary in here.’ you said sarcastically. ‘I just wanted to scare you with my banshee scream.’ You rolled your eyes. ‘Yeah right, but I’m scared that you managed to make me deaf above all’.You finished the attraction and decided that you wanted to win something for him. You took him to Balloon Pop and when you saw the teddy bear, you knew that was the perfect gift for him. ‘So my lady wants to win something for me ? I feel like a princess. The courtship can begin only if you fight your hardest for my hand.’ He said, presenting you his hand. Was he always this dramatic ? When you saw that he still waited in that position, you took his hand and kissed it. ‘Anything for you, princess.’ you said. He grinned and let you play. You won and asked for the bear. You turned to Eddie and said ‘For you Milady. May this humble gift signify my affection for you’ ‘Oh my knight in shining armor’ he said, throwing himself on your arms. At the end of the date, he drove you to your house and kissed you. ‘Promise me to never tell anyone about the plush.’ You seemed to think about it. ‘I can’t promise anything but be sure that you are my princess, Eds’ you said kissing him. ‘You are impossible Y/N. But I guess that’s why I love you so much’ He then drove back to his trailer.

End of Flashback

You hugged the bear really tight, holding it as if it was Eddie himself. The last time you slept with him, you saw that he clutched the bear in his sleep. Yeah, the tough metalhead was a real softie deep down. He was really chaotic. You still remember the late night call when he NEEDED to know whether the butterflies felt humans on their stomach when they were in love.

 Flashback

‘Because, goddamn, if I was a butterfly, I would feel the whole world population in my belly when you’re near me.’ ‘I don’t know if it's because it’s 2 AM or anything but it’s one of the worst and yet the most creative pick-up lines ever and I still feel flattered by it. Harrington should ask you for dating advice.’ ‘Not anybody can be the local Casanova, sweetheart.’ ‘Whatever you say Munson, now let’s get back to sleep. Goodnight, my Aragorn’ You could hear the smile in his voice ‘Goodnight, Undómiel’ you were about to hang up when you heard him ask you ‘Did you know that we had homeworks for English ?!’ You rolled your eyes. ‘Yes, but I’ll let you copy them tomorrow before class, promise. Love you.’ ‘Love you too.’

End of Flashback

As you roamed, you recognized his handmade poster for the Corroded Coffin concerts on the Hideout. He was so proud of it and even invited you for the occasion. Next to it, there were a sheet with your song on it.

Flashback

The bar was nearly empty on this Tuesday night. Some guys were already too drunk to keep their eyes open. You hung out with the owner while you waited for Eddie to appear on the stage. When he appeared in all his glory, his makeup on fleek and his hair looking really metal like he used to say. He was always so confident but here, he appeared super nervous. At the moment he took the microphone in his hands, he looked like he was about to run the hell out the bar. But then he spotted you and said ‘Good evening Lady and Gentlemen, we’re the new stars of Hawkins, Corroded Coffin and I wanted to dedicate the first song to a really special person who still stands by me and supports me after all these years. This is for you. He then began to play a special song just for you.

End of Flashback

You were so fond of all these memories. You found a paper with an A + on it. It was your science project in freshman year. Eddie was so proud that he pinned it on his wall.

You also found his D&D stuff but most importantly his Dungeon Master notebook. You grabbed it and took a look inside. There was a campaign in the making. His last campaign… He’ll never get to finish it. You prepared this one together, he told you everything about it but the last events happened before he could write it. Your tears almost leaked on the ink of the notebook. You decided to give it to Dustin so you could finish it together and play it the way Eddie wanted it. 

You continued your exploration of Eddie's room. You found the drawing of the two of you you made for him when you were eight. God it was ugly, but you made it with all your heart and he kept it. You even found your old book of exploration with secret codes to decipher, riddles, dragons you had to fight with dice, a kind of D&D of your own. And even some of your mixtapes and his hobbit costume. To your surprise, all these memories made you more happy than sad. In a way, they say ‘Don’t be sad because it’s over. Be happy because it happened’, so you tried to live by it. You were about to grab one of his Hellfire Club t-shirts when you heard a weird noise in the living room. You jumped, dropped the t-shirt and got out of the room to inspect. What you found on the floor disconcerted you. ‘What the hell ?’ you said out loud. It was a tiny piece of bloodied black fabric. No, it must be something else. You made your way to Eddie’s room again and found the window open and when you approached, you heard a twig breaking and were sure that you saw a silhouette with long crazy wavy brown hair and a bandana running under the moonlight. What if ? No, Impossible. He wasn’t alive. You were going crazy.

Timeskip

‘In honor of our late Dungeon Master, Eddie, we’re gonna play his last masterpiece’ said Dustin solemnly as you took place on Eddie’s throne. You wore one of his beloved rings and his jacket to complete the tribute. You all cheered with your cans of apple juice and began to play. You were sure that Eddie would be proud.

Once the campaign was over, you went outside to take some fresh air. It was really overwhelming to play it in his honor instead of playing with him. You heard weird noises nearby. You followed it and saw the same weird silhouette once again…

[secretfanficwrite]

With Or Without You (3/?)

Eddie Munson x Hopeless Romantic!Bestfriend!Reader

Last Part | Next Part

Word Count: 1.6k Warnings: this one is more fluffy &lt;3 Summary: A quick visit to Eddie's trailer leaves you hopeful

Author's Note: I was mid writing this when vol 2 came out...so apologize if the writing just suddenly reflects that I want to crawl into a hole.

The silence of the car was deafening as you sat there. You had been staring at Eddie's trailer for the past 15 minutes, trying to work up the courage to finally go in.

The trailer park was dark and quiet. His van was parked out front and the only light on was his bedroom. There had been minimal movement in the window. This made you somewhat hopeful he was alone.

Your hands were shaking some, playing with the hem of your shirt and inside of your cheek was beyond raw at this point.

Taking in a hard breath you finally opened the door, stepping out into the cool air. There was a soft rumble of music playing, obviously coming from the small trailer.

Your feet scraped against the dirt and rocks as you trudged up to the front door, your body feeling like it weighed a millions pounds. A sweaty, shaky hand raised and knocked lightly on the door.

You rocked in your spot as you waited, but were met with no answer. Maybe this was a sign to just leave.

No. You had to get this over with.

You stepped backwards, stumbling some as you reached the dirt once again. Your breathing became heavier as you approached the small window, afraid of what you might find on the other side.

You leaned down, picking up a small rock before tossing it at the window, a quiet tick noise sounded back.

There was a loud bang before a disheveled figure appeared, yanking the curtains back. He was shirtless and a cigarette hung from his lips carelessly. He stared at you in confusion before a wide smile broke out when he noticed it was you. He gestured towards the front door before letting the curtains fall closed once more.

You let out the breath you were holding but your heart still felt like it was going to come out of your throat. Making your way back to the door, a quick gust of wind met you as Eddie quickly swung the door open.

"I was beginning to think you weren't coming" He joked as he stepped to the side, allowing you through. You were hit with a waft of cigarettes and weed. The floor vibrated some along with the music coming from the back of the trailer.

"Yea sorry I uh....I was with Robin" You shrugged off your jacket before draping it over of the chair at the table.

he chuckled before beginning to head back towards his bedroom with you in tow. "Should I be worried she's going to replace me?"

Your eyebrows furrowed in response. The word 'replacement' left a bad taste in your mouth. The thought of the unsettling word hadn't even graced your mind until now.

"hey you good?" He interrupted your thought, leaning in front of you with a small smirk.

You stared at him with a slightly parted mouth, a shay breath falling from your lips. "yea I just....I need to talk to you about something" your gaze dropped from his and landed on your hands as you picked at your nail polish.

He turned around, lowering the music to a soft hum. He flopped onto the bed, patting the spot next to him before putting out his half smoked cigarette.

With a deep, shaky sigh you slowly lowered yourself onto the bed, ignoring his gesture and sitting rigidly at the foot. He paused, confused before the bed shook as he scooted down next to you.

"Alright your scaring me now" he teased again, with a soft chuckle.

"Eddie I....I just...." your lip began to quiver, and you clenched your jaw in response. Trying to hold back the anxious tears that threatened to brim your eyelids.

A heavy hand came up to rest on your arm. He pulled you in, resting your body against his side and your head on his shoulder.

You couldn't hold back anymore. The soft sob left your lips and both of your arms reached out, wrapping around his waist and holding on for dear life.

His skin was soft under your touch and your tears slid straight down his bare chest. You had missed him the past couple days and the contact was just enough for your barrier to break.

His other hand came up, wrapping around your head and pulled you closer, nestling against you.

You both sat like this for a moment, him letting you cry into his shoulder as he held you tightly before he spoke up. "Hey do you smell that?"

"what?" you voice was broken and muffled against his skin and between sobs.

"You don't smell that?"

You turned your head slightly to the air, breathing in softly. "I don't smell anything" your voice was hoarse and tears continued down your face.

"Take a deeper smell"

You sniffled, bringing in a large amount of air before letting it go slowly. Eddie followed in suit, matching your deep breaths and encouraging you to continue.

When you finally stopped you continued to sit there, face buried in his shoulder. Neither of you said anything as Motorhead played on the stereo softly.

His voice was soft and gentle "We can talk later if you want" You only offered a nod back against his skin. "We can get high if that'll help?"

You couldn't help but let out a laugh at the suggestion, continuing to nod as you finally pulled away.

He stared back at you with a soft smile, eyes scanning your features before a hand came up to wipe the leftover tears that stained your cheeks.

You could only admire him back for a moment before the bed shifted as he stood up to rumble through his black case for a blunt. A soft hum left his throat as he matched the music, finally drawing a smile to your face.

******

"Sooooooo?" Robin's voiced dragged out, a slightly raise of optimism.

You shifted on your feet anxiously and your face grew hot. "Well I didn't exactly...follow the plan..."

Her shoulders and face dropped in disappointment.

"BUT! we kinda..almost..you know" you quickly replied, your voice drawing quieter with each word. She gasped loudly, drawing the attention of multiple people in the video store before you shushed her.

"ew do I wanna know?!" she whispered yelled in shocked

"I mean it's not anything bad or crazy, just...." you trailed on sheepishly going into explanation about the moment that had not left your mind.

You were both high out of your minds. There was a calm atmosphere while Nightmare on Elm Street played on the tv. He was laid out on the couch on his back with you laid directly on top of him with your hands under you head and against his bare chest. Both of your legs were tangled and his hands resting on the small of your back softly.

You could feel your eyes slowly closing with every rise of his chest, the rhythm soothing you further.

"I think I figured out what we can be next Halloween by the way" You jolted suddenly, the sound of Eddie's voice startling you. He chuckled under his breath in response and his hands clutched onto the skin of your back to keep you from falling.

Your eyelids were still heavy as you lifted your head to look him in the eye and rested your chin back down on your hands.

You were meant with those stunning brown eyes, just a few inches away, closer then you've ever been before.

His mouth parted, ready to continue but no words left his lips. His breath was warm against your face and you could feel his heart picking up slightly under your hands.

His eyes scanned your face before slowly trailing down to look at your lips and snapping back up to your eyes. You could feel your body getting warmer and you swallowed hard.

His hands began to rub small patterns into your lower back, trailing up the bottom on your shirt and landing on your warm skin. You could have sworn there was a closing distance between the two of you.

"Have I ever told you that you have the most beautiful eyes" His voice was soft and his chest vibrated underneath you.

Your breath hitched as your face heated up even further. The nervousness suddenly hit you like a freight train and your gaze left his face, looking off past him. You took in a deep breath, pulling back some and sitting up.

He groaned as your weight on him shifted. You suddenly sat at the edge of the couch, the situation similar to that of a few minutes ago, but with a much foggier mind.

You gripped at the rough material of the couch, your nails bending against the fabric. "Eddie I have feel-"

The door swung open and you paused, turning to see Wayne making his way through the door. He paused, looking at you both before awkwardly before giving you a smile and stepping into the small kitchen to begin making himself a dinner after his night shift.

"There just...wasn't really another moment after that to try" you didn't dare meet Robin's gaze after you finished, knowing it would be full of further disappointment.

"I mean...it's something though yeah?" her voice raised with some optimism and uncertainty. You looked up and she offered you an uneasy smile.

"but corroded coffin are playing tomorrow night...I was hoping you'd come with me and I could see if I could try again?" You cringed slightly waiting for her response.

A loud groan met your ears as her head rolled back before she laughed softly. "fine. but you better get it done or I'll tell him for you"

Your eyes widened and any emotion on your face dropped. "you wouldn't"

"Wouldn't I?" she teased before grabbing a pile of tapes and marching off towards the back office, leaving you standing there in shock.

******

Author's Note: Alright ya'll big question, let me know! Do we want this ending to be happy or sad? Idk if people have had enough sad Eddie for now or if were ready for more?

With Or Without You Taglist-(Message me if you are interested in being added!) @multi-fandoms-stuff @mcueveryday @yourfavoritefangirll @hurricane-abigail @mess-in-side @remuslupinshotestkin @fandom-garbage @eddiemunsonsbabe @ramona-thorns @rachmari

[dialovers-translations]

DIABOLIK LOVERS Para-Selene Vol.8 Mukami Azusa [TRACK 4]

Original title: 傷つくこと

Source: Diabolik Lovers Para-Selene Vol. 8 Mukami Azusa [CD not owned by me]

Audio: Here

Seiyuu: Kishio Daisuke

Track 1 ll Track 2 ll Track 3 ll Track 4 ll Track 5

TRACK 4: TO HARM

The two of you are still making your way through the forest.

“...Ugh. Are you alright? Should we take a short break?”

You shake your head.

“But it’s still quite a long way ahead and…the path will get narrower because there’s a cliff on one side.”

You insist that you will be fine.

“Really…? In that case, let’s keep on proceeding onwards.”

The two of you continue walking.

“Once we’ve made it past this part, we’ll enter the forest once more, so let’s take a break before that. There should be a river there, so we’ll be able to drink some water.”

A strong gust of wind nearly blows you off the cliff.

*Rustle*

“...!! …Eve…!”

The ground underneath your feet crumbles. 

*Crumble crumble*

“Uwaaah…!!”

*THUD*

“Ah…!”

*Crumble crumble*

“Uu…Uu…”

*Rustle*

“Haah…Eve…Are you okay…You’re not hurt, right…?”

You seem worried about him.

“I’ll be…just fine.”

You protest.

“...Huh? You’re right…I’m bleeding…But it’s fine. I just bumped against something, that’s all…Please don’t worry about me…I’m a Vampire after all, so this is no big deal to me. Besides…I’ve always been good at enduring the pain. Fufu…”

You get upset and tell him to stop telling bad jokes. 

“It’s not a joke…Before I met you…I was kind of addicted to hurting myself. The pain gave me some kind of confirmation that I was alive…and that my existence had some kind of purpose. I couldn’t stop doing it. However, right now…I no longer feel the need to do so. When we’re together, I feel plenty alive. To protect you is my purpose in life. I now realize that…there are people who need me in my life. It’s all thanks to you. Thank you…so much…Uu…Kuh…”

You ask if he’s alright.

“Uu…How strange…It’s suddenly…going black before my eyes…Hey Eve…Could you scoot a little closer…? If not…I won’t be able to see your face…Uu…”

*Rustle*

“Haah…It should be fine like this…I can see your face clearly…Oh…Eve? You look very sad for some reason…? Please don’t make that kind of expression…Smile, please? Just like back then…When I found you inside the forest…Show me…that bright smile of yours…The one I love so much…I want to see it…just one more time…”

Azusa loses consciousness as you try to shake him awake. 

*Rustle rustle* 

*BZZZZZZZZT*

*WOOSH*

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

[thecreaturecodex]

Dragon, Yellow

“Citrine Dragon” © Robert Burke Games, by Kerem Beyit. Accessed at his deviantArt gallery here

[Commissioned by @mr-w-rambles​. Folks, this is the longest single creature entry I’ve ever written. See ya, hordlings! It’s also my first true dragon. Which, taking the Pathfinder Bestiary format, means a table and three whole stat blocks. Tumblr handles tables poorly, so I’ve put those below the cut as image files--they’re a bit jarringly large, but they’re still legible.

There have been two different versions of the yellow dragon, one from the 1990 Draconomicon, which lives in deserts, and this one, from Dragon Magazine, which is semi-aquatic. The article it comes from uses color theory to predict the breath weapons of the “missing dragons”, so it gets a bit weird. The yellow dragon itself evolved through its three iterations. The 1e version is a pretty standard dragon, the 2e version is wingless and flies magically, and the 3e version (from Dragon Compendium Vol. 1) is incredibly dexterous for a dragon. I went with the 3e concept, but toned it down (as all dragons have been toned down in the shift from 3.x to Pathfinder). This is also a dragon that might play a little weirdly. Its AC is even better than the inflated AC for dragons, but its damage dealing capabilities are pretty pathetic. It also inflicts more status conditions than usual for a dragon. The CR on this is somewhat of a stab in the dark, comparing it to core Pathfinder dragons. Let me know if you think it needs further adjustment.]

Dragon, Yellow This dragon’s long, serpentine body is covered in yellow scales, flecked with green and white. It has no wings, but moves through the air with surprising grace. Its eyes are sea green and somewhat beady, and multiple ridges run along its skull and body, giving it a streamlined appearance.

Yellow dragons live at the convergence of air, earth and water. They are found on sandy beaches, coral reefs, salt marshes and mangrove forests. The scales of a yellow dragon remain small throughout the creature’s entire life, giving them a supple skin and a glittering appearance. They can breathe a cone of pressurized brine, which deals as much damage above as below water. They are carnivores, with a taste for desiccated and heavily salted meat. They are physically weak by the standards of dragons, but are remarkably nimble, and can maneuver in three dimensions in multiple kinds of terrain. Yellow dragons prefer to make hit and run attacks, stopping to make full attacks only when opponents are blinded and agonized by salt crystals.

Yellow dragons are cruel and temperamental creatures.  They often make raids inland to attack settlements of intelligent creatures, and savor the meat of humanoids for special occasions. They may ally with sahaugin or other evil aquatic creatures, but yellow dragons feel clearly that they are the dominant party in the relationship. Yellow dragons fear bronze dragons above all others, as the bronze dragons are larger and better spellcasters besides. Almost all yellow dragons take spells that protect them from electricity once they are capable enough spellcasters. Yellow and black dragons sometimes have overlapping territories, but the two species keep a wary distance from each other.

Yellow Dragon LE dragon (air, water) Base Statistics CR 3; Size Tiny; Hit Dice 3d12 Speed 60 ft., burrow 30 ft., swim 60 ft. Natural Armor +3; Breath Weapon cone of salt, 2d4 bludgeoning and acid Str 7, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 8, Wis 11, Cha 8 Ecology Environment warm and temperate coastal and aquatic Organization solitary Treasure triple standard Special Abilities Agonizing Breath (Su) A creature that takes damage from an adult or older yellow dragon’s breath weapon must succeed a Fortitude save (same DC as the breath weapon) or be sickened for a number of rounds equal to the dragon’s age category. This is a pain effect. Blinding Breath (Su) A creature that takes damage from a young or older yellow dragon’s breath weapon must succeed a Fortitude save (same DC as the breath weapon) or be blinded for a number of rounds equal to ½ the dragon’s age category. Brine Storm (Su) An ancient or older yellow dragon can use its breath weapon to create a cloud of acid as a standard action that deals damage to any creature inside it. The cloud moves with the dragon and has a radius of 20 feet. When it's created, anyone inside this area takes an amount of acid damage equal to half the dragon's breath weapon, with a Reflex save for half damage. The number of damage dice rolled is halved each round until the result would be less than 1d4. Any creature that starts its turn inside the cloud takes damage, but can make a Reflex save for half. A strong wind, such as that created by a gust of wind, disperses the cloud in 1 round. Flight (Su) A yellow dragon’s flight is a supernatural ability. It always has good maneuverability with its flight speed, no matter its size. Graceful Attacks (Ex) An old or older yellow dragon may add its Dexterity modifier to its damage with natural weapons instead of its Strength modifier. It does not add 1.5 times its Dexterity modifier to damage bonuses to its bite or tail slap attacks. Nimble (Ex) A yellow dragon uses the following table for its Strength, Dexterity and natural armor bonuses. All of its other ability scores and qualities use the normal dragon table. In addition, it uses its Dexterity modifier to modify Swim checks.

Spell-like Abilities A yellow dragon gains the following spell-like abilities, usable at will upon reaching the listed age category. Very young—obscuring mist; Young adult—control water; Mature adult—control winds; Very old—control weather; Great wyrm—horrid wilting. Terrible Claws (Ex) A yellow dragon of young or older age does not have wing slap attacks, but its claws deal damage as if it were one size larger. Water Breathing (Ex) A yellow dragon can breathe underwater indefinitely and can freely use its breath weapon, spells and other abilities while submerged.

Young Yellow Dragon        CR 7 XP 3,200 LE Medium dragon (air, water) Init +5; Senses blindsense 60 ft., darkvision 120 ft., dragon senses, Perception +10 Defense AC 22, touch 16, flat-footed 16 (+5 Dex, +1 dodge, +6 natural) hp 66 (7d12+21) Fort +8, Ref +10, Will +6 Immune acid, paralysis, sleep Offense Speed 60 feet, burrow 30 ft., swim 60 ft., fly 150 ft. (good) Melee bite +12 (1d8), 2 claws +12 (1d8) Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with bite) Special Attacks blinding breath (Fort DC 16, 1 round), breath weapon (60 ft. cone, 1d4 rounds, Ref DC 16, 6d4 acid and bludgeoning) Spell-like Abilities CL 7th, concentration +7 At will—obscuring mist Statistics Str 11, Dex 20, Con 17, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 10 Base Atk +7; CMB +7; CMD 23 (27 vs. trip) Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Mobility, Weapon Finesse Skills Appraise +9, Bluff +9, Fly +18, Perception +10, Sense Motive +10, Stealth +14, Survival +10, Swim +13; Racial Modifiers uses Dex to Swim Languages Draconic SQ flight. nimble, terrible claws, water breathing

Adult Yellow Dragon          CR 11 XP 12,800 LE Large dragon (air, water) Init +8; Senses blindsense 60 ft., darkvision 120 ft., dragon senses, Perception +14 Aura frightful presence (180 ft., Will DC 18) Defense AC 30, touch 18, flat-footed 21 (-1 size, +8 Dex, +1 dodge, +12 natural) hp 138 (12d10+60) Fort +13, Ref +16, Will +11 DR 5/magic; Immune acid, paralysis, sleep; SR 21 Offense Speed 60 feet, burrow 30 ft., swim 60 ft., fly 200 ft. (good) Melee bite +19 (2d6+1), 2 claws +19 (2d6+1), tail slap +14 (1d8+1) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. (15 ft. with bite) Special Attacks agonizing breath (Fort DC 21, 6 rounds), blinding breath (Fort DC 21, 3 rounds), breath weapon (80 ft. cone, 1d4 rounds, Ref DC 21, 12d4 acid and bludgeoning) Spell-like Abilities CL 12th, concentration +14 At will—control water, obscuring mist Spells CL 3rd, concentration +5 1st (6/day)—alarm, protection from good (DC 13), ray of enfeeblement (DC 13) 0th—arcane mark, detect magic, detect poison, mage hand, message Statistics Str 13, Dex 26, Con 21, Int 14, Wis 17, Cha 14 Base Atk +12; CMB +14; CMD 33 (37 vs. trip) Feats Blind-fight, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Flyby Attack, Mobility, Weapon Finesse Skills Appraise +13, Bluff +13, Fly +21, Intimidate +13, Knowledge (arcana, nature) +13, Perception +14, Sense Motive +14, Spellcraft +13, Stealth +17, Survival +14, Swim +21; Racial Modifiers uses Dex to Swim Languages Aquan, Common, Draconic SQ flight. nimble, terrible claws, water breathing

Ancient Yellow Dragon     CR 16 XP 76,800 LE Huge dragon (air, water) Init +11; Senses blindsense 60 ft., darkvision 120 ft., dragon senses, Perception +25 Aura frightful presence (300 ft., Will DC 24) Defense AC 40, touch 20, flat-footed 28 (-2 size, +11 Dex, +1 dodge, +20 natural) hp 283 (21d12+147) Fort +17, Ref +23, Will +17 DR 15/magic; Immune acid, paralysis, sleep; SR 26 Offense Speed 60 feet, burrow 30 ft., swim 60 ft., fly 250 ft. (good) Melee bite +30 (2d8+11), 2 claws +30 (2d8+11/19-20), tail slap +25 (2d6+11) Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft. (20 ft. with bite) Special Abilities agonizing breath (Fort DC 27, 10 rounds), blinding breath (Fort DC 27, 5 rounds), breath weapon (100 ft. cone, 1d4 rounds, 20d4 acid and bludgeoning, Ref DC 27), brine storm (10d4 acid, Ref DC 27), crush (2d8+6, Ref DC 27), graceful attacks Spell-like Abilities CL 21st, concentration +25 (+29 casting defensively) At will—control water, control weather, control winds, obscuring mist Spells CL 11th, concentration +15 (+19 casting defensively) 5th (5/day)—cone of cold (DC 19), polymorph 4th (7/day)—dimensional anchor, enervation, fire shield, resilient sphere (DC 18) 3rd (7/day)—dispel magic, haste, heroism, protection from energy 2nd (7/day)—bear’s endurance, invisibility, mirror image, scorching ray, see invisibility 1st (7/day)—alarm, comprehend languages, mage armor, protection from good (DC 15), ray of enfeeblement (DC 15) 0th—arcane mark, detect magic, detect poison, light, mage hand, message, prestidigitation, ray of frost, read magic Statistics Str 19, Dex 32, Con 25, Int 18, Wis 21, Cha 18 Base Atk +21; CMB +33; CMD 48 (52 vs. trip) Feats Agile Manuevers, Blind-fight, Combat Casting, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Flyby Attack, Improved Critical (claw), Iron Will, Mobility, Stand Still, Weapon Finesse Skills Appraise +25, Bluff +25, Fly +31, Intimidate +25, Knowledge (arcana, nature) +25, Perception +25, Sense Motive +25, Spellcraft +25, Stealth +23, Survival +26, Swim +31; Racial Modifiers uses Dex to Swim Languages Aquan, Auran, Common, Draconic, Giant SQ flight. nimble, terrible claws, water breathing

[nickelkeep]

Sometimes You’re the Sea

Pairing: Dean/Cas, background Sam/Jess Rating: Mature Word Count: 10.2k Warnings: No Major Archive Warnings Written For: nickel’s story time vol. 2 On Ao3

Summary: When a freak storm overtakes the Lebanon, and Dean is knocked overboard, he's considered lost at sea. That is, until Dean wakes up onshore, with the bluest eyes he had ever seen watching over him.

In a matter of days, Dean's world is turned upside down. He's falling in love with the man who saved him. A stranger appears, demanding his hand in marriage.

And Dean's pretty sure that bird just called him a Dumbass. Preview:

"I really don't like the look of those clouds."

Dean raised his eyebrow at his brother's declaration. "Sam, we've sailed in worse. We're not far from port, and all we have to do is report to Dad."

"Yeah, Dean, but storms don't move that fast." Sam pointed up at the sky, and Dean followed the gesture with his eyes. "That's coming up fast."

"Okay, I'll give you that, but I still say that doesn't look like something the Lebanon can't handle." Dean pushed up from the railing. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted up to the crow's nest. "Charlie! What's your call on the clouds?"

"I'm thinking we need to bust our asses back to port!" The fiery redhead shouted back

"Alright, you win, Sam." Dean crossed over to the bell and rang it loudly before yelling out to his crew. "BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES! FULL SAILS! LET'S BEAT THIS STORM BACK TO PORT!" He took a step back to watch his crew before looking back over to Sam. "You got the wheel?"

Sam smirked as he nodded. "Going to go get in the way and pretend to help?"

"I know what I'm doing." Dean flipped his brother off before turning to hustle down the stairs. As he reached the main deck, Charlie finished climbing down from the Crow's Nest. "Dean, I'm not liking the look of that storm. I was figuring out the klicks, and I don't think we can outrun this."

"Hence the orders to prep the ship for a little rain. I swear, you and Sam fret worse than mother hens." Dean clapped her shoulder and walked over to help another sailor lash down their cannons.

After about ten minutes, Dean noticed that the sky had grown darker, and the waves of the sea had built up significantly higher. What should have only been a quick trip from home - Antigua - to Barbuda and back, was turning into a nightmare. There had been no warning of a storm.

A shout from the other side of the ship drew his attention, and Dean looked up. The rigging had failed, and the shroud was pulled loose from the boat. He looked at the sailor he was assisting, who nodded silently in response. Dean ran over to the other side and tried to grab the shroud. The wind was lashing it around, and more than once, the wind caused it to whip and hit Dean and the other sailors painfully. The level of difficulty wasn't helped by the sky ripping open and pouring rain down on crew.

In a last-ditch effort, Dean carefully watched the shroud, leaping and grabbing it. He had thought that his weight would be enough to pull it down. However, catching Dean by surprise, the rope continued to whip. It was all Dean could do to hold on. He tried to reach for several crew members, but before any of them could aid and assist him, another gust of wind and a massive wave combined, crashing Dean into the mizzenmast. The last thing he remembered before the world went dark was his brother and Charlie crying out louder than the storm could thunder.

Read the rest on Ao3

[fundgruber]

" Since you refer to my nails several times, let me tell you what they are all about. People can always say that my mother used to cut them and this is linked to the Oedipal complex and castration (a grotesque interpretation but psychoanalytical). They can also notice, if they have a look at my fingertips, that, being deprived of normal protective fingerprints, I cannot touch an object, especially a piece of cloth, with the pads of my fingers without a nervous twinge, which requires me to resort to the protection offered by long nails (a teratological and selectionist interpretation). They can also say, and it is true, that I dream not of being invisible, but imperceptible and that I compensate for this dream by having nails that I can tuck into my pocket, so much so that nothing seems more shocking to me than someone who looks at them (a psycho·sociological interpretation). Finally they can say: "You shouldn't bite your nails because they are yours; if you love nails, eat someone else's, provided that is what you want, and if you can (a political interpretation, Darien)2 . But you had to choose the most degrading interpre· tation: he wants to distinguish , himself, to act his Greta Garbo part. Anyway, isn't it strange that none of my friends ever noticed my nails, finding them completely natural, planted there by chance as if they had been sowed by a gust of wind, which no one would bother to talk about? “

Gilles Deleuze - I have nothing to admit. Semiotexte  Vol II Nr 3,1977

Text is a translation of "Lettre à Michel Cressole", published as an appendice to Cressole's, Deleuze, "Psychothèque". Editions Universitaires, 1973.

How did Deleuze write?

[fymangareviews]

The Demon Prince of Momochi House Vol. 1

Welcome to Volume 1 - review, I have scanned some pages from personal manga so please enjoy :)!

The opening page, is ominous as main protagonist Himari is allured by Aoi, the mysterious boy that is squatting in her home, in the midst of it all, he lifts his slender fingers over his lips mouthing “shh”, but really saying “You mustn’t look at me.” And before we know it, we are introduced to the Nue, a Yokai whose form resembles a Kitsune.

Sixteen orphaned Himari Momochi is given a letter, containing her parents last wishes (will), indicating that at the proper age, Himari would inherit a home, the mansion of Momochi house (now left abandoned). It then follows a content Himari, who’s traveling deep into the forest, where her so called “inheritance,” lays. As she’s struggling to navigate her way through the rural area, a man appears and advises Himari to turn back now, for ahead lies a cursed house. Before Himari could respond, she watches as the old man walks away, hinting already the disturbances up ahead.

Upon seeing the residence face to face, Himari is ecstatic about her new beginning, a place to finally call him, though she still considers the orphanage her home. Just as she’s about to walk in, a gust of smoke/wind rushes past her, breaking down one of the walls, giving us a better look into the abandoned property, that has been left in shambles. As the smoke lets up, the shadowy silhouette is starting to emerge, load and behold, we are introduced to a naked young man. Flustered by his nude appearance, two other boys (fully clothed), come to the young man’s aide. While everybody gets adjusted into what is presumably the main room, Himari slams the Will down, letting the three boys know that she’s the rightful owner, and they’re trespassing. Avoiding the contents, we are then introduced to Aoi Nanamori, Ise, and Yukari. This meeting becomes a disaster, as Ise questions the authenticity of the Will, rubbing a sore spot inside Himari, as the contents of the will is the only real connection she has to her family.

The next day, Himari is determined to run the squatters out by getting straight to organizing the shambled home, only to be interrupted by Ise, who burst through one of Himari’s recent patch ups in the wall. In comes half-asleep Aoi, who has a gentler approach for human communication. Before anything else can be said between them, Yukari appears out of the blue with Aoi’s breakfast, Himari who had a hard time navigating the distraught kitchen, is shook by the sudden gesture.

This part has to be my favorite, as Himari is investigating the boys from behind the scenes, she notices a few things, they’re unemployed, not going to school, and they’re awkwardly too close. While Himari is hunting down to find some type of electricity or generator to use, Aoi becomes curious by Himari’s smartphone, as soon as he picks it up, the poor soul is electrocuted. This part highlights already the mysterious aurora that follows him, what kind of human can possibly get electrocuted by picking a phone up?

After recovering form his near death expierence, Aoi follows Himari around the house, as he sincerely apologizes for breaking Himari’s phone, but though he’s gentle, he becomes concered over Himari’s well-being in the house, Aoi get’s straight to the point and lets her know she isn’t welcomed. Himari hits back that the stories of the house being haunted won’t drive her way, and she will continue to live in the house. Later that night, Himari is attacked by Ayakashi, who’re working to get rid of Himari form the house and disturbing the peace. Fighting back, Himari ends up scaring the poor Ayakashi instead. Aoi confronts Himari once more, and let’s her know she must leave, as Himari becomes overwhelmed with feelings, she runs off only to be attacked by smokey figure, that is trying to consume Himari. 

As the smoke forces itself inside of Himari’s mouth, Aoi runs to the rescue and to save Himari from any percussions, Aoi kisses her, himself indulging the smoke entirely. The battle doesn’t end there, as Aoi is forced to use his Ayakashi form, Nue. Nue an Ayakashi (Yokai), the form of a Kitsune (Fox-Demon), he exorcises the demon, and tells Aoi that he is the rightful owner, and the protector, therefore he may not leave the residence.

After the ordeal, Aoi explains how he became the Nue of the house, its short and brief his background. Several years ago Aoi accidently stumbled into the house breaking the seal, and by doing so, the house choose Aoi as the Omamori-sama (Nue). Here Yukari breaks it to Himari, that the will was a gimmick to lure Himari to house, so she could be the Nue, but since the letter wasn’t received earlier, Aoi ended up becoming the Nue. This break’s Himari’s heart into two, and she can’t help but faint. Aoi rushes to her side, showing the most concern, even repeating, “If I cant save her... There’s no reason for me to keep living!” (hurts my heart). Aoi continues to be by her side the whole night, after she wakes up, Aoi and her agree that they would challenge everything together head on, pretty cheesy but its cute. 

Aoi ends up having this habit of sleeping by Himari, which really seems he’s been craving human connection for so long. Himari is the only human-like connection he has, and it seems he’s far more attached than most. 

As a few more days pass, Himari is becoming more and more attached to the residents of the household, Ise (shikigami) give Himari the most attitude, eventually when Himari gets fed up with his antics, she yells “get out,” turns out the house follows her commands, and let’s say Ise and some fellow Ayakashi get thrown out a couple of times, which is quite funny. Things go down hill, as Himari is determined to protect Aoi at all cost, when suddenly a lesser Ayakashi seeks for Himari’s help, for some odd reason he’s looking for his treasure to give to Himari, as payment for letting him live there.

 Obviously this is trick, and Himari is once again pinned by demon, Aoi rushes to her defense and feels beyond worthless watching the four men defending her, and Aoi tells Himari she possess some conviction as well to ward off the bad spirits of the household. Aoi becomes restless as he continues to put barriers stronger ones, consuming his human-energy, trying to protect Himari from the Yokai world. While hyping herself to do better and take some stress off Aoi, Himari is tempted by a demon who grants her the power to protect those she cherishes the most, this demon of cherry blossoms, ends up being exorcises by the squatters, and Aoi tells Himari he will do everything in his power to protect her, regardless, all he ask in return is her beautiful smile. 

In the last pages breaks my heart, as Aoi and Himari are outside exploring, as Himari wants Aoi to see the outside wall, you can guess what happens....

Aoi confesses he can’t leave with her, and volume 1 ends. Will Himari really accept Aoi as he is, can Aoi really protect her? What does the future hold for the two, though come from similar backgrounds but different realms, can they reign over it all? 

This volume was packed with enough romance, and comedy to convince me to continue reading it. I hope you all enjoyed the jist of volume 1 and join me for volume 2 :)

[lesmisscraper]

Brick... with animation!

50. A Boy in the Elephant

We say monument, although it was only a rough model. But this model itself, a marvellous sketch, the grandiose skeleton of an idea of Napoleon's, which successive gusts of wind have carried away and thrown, on each occasion, still further from us, had become historical and had acquired a certain definiteness which contrasted with its provisional aspect. It was an elephant forty feet high, constructed of timber and masonry, bearing on its back a tower which resembled a house, formerly painted green by some dauber, and now painted black by heaven, the wind, and time. In this deserted and unprotected corner of the place, the broad brow of the colossus, his trunk, his tusks, his tower, his enormous crupper, his four feet, like columns produced, at night, under the starry heavens, a surprising and terrible form. It was a sort of symbol of popular force. It was sombre, mysterious, and immense. It was some mighty, visible phantom, one knew not what, standing erect beside the invisible spectre of the Bastille. Vol 4, book 6, chapter 2

Note: There were several chapters Gavroche appeared in the brick, but since it was hard to find the usable scenes, the story about him starts from this post. So, this post slightly have Vol 3's part.

While Cosette met Marius once again, the back streets of Paris were filled with children living on the streets.

And one of them was Gavroche. He was the third child of Thenardiers, but he was not welcomed by them, and he only sometimes visited their home in Gorbeau house before they caught, not living with them.

Living with them instead, he lived inside of a statue of elephant in Place de la Bastille. His home was there.

He lived by pickpocketing or begging. Although he might be a rude child in other people's eyes, he was not that a bad person like their parents.

Once, he tried to pick an apple in Mabeuf's garden, but he overheard they were very poor to have food, he changed his mind.

Just then, he saw Montparnasse trying to pickpocket an old man, but he counterattacked by that strong old man(you probably know who that man was.). Montparnasse was scolded by that man and even given the wallet from him. That was the time. Since he was very startled with that situation, Gavroche snatched the wallet easily from him and threw it over the hedge of Mabeuf's house. Gavroche was a boy like this.

His next target was a soap on a barbershop.

[consecotaleo]

Boku No Hero Academia Light Novel Vol. 3 -- Unofficial English Translation -- Chapter 2: “Dramatic Makeover”

T/N: Here’s a Chinese > English translation for the second chapter of BNHA Light Novel Vol.3. I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t a lot of banter, honestly. I really enjoyed the teachers’ interactions in the first chapter.

I’m hoping to see a proper Japanese > English translation at some point, especially to see Chapter 1 fully fleshed-out.  At least for this chapter, the Chinese translator expressed that they like Todoroki a lot and paraphrased less on his parts.

Disclaimers

Some parts were paraphrased by the Chinese translator. // ‘Quirk’ and ‘personality’ are the same, so there might be mix-ups. // It’s difficult to handle verb tense in Chinese. Hopefully I didn’t mess up the order of events too much. / Names. Honorifics don’t translate well. The Chinese characters were weird. “why is he talking about rice fields” “nvm that’s Iida”

BNHA Light Novel Vol.3 Translations

Complete list here

Chapter 1: “Cheers!” – After UA home visits, the teachers go out for drinks. Focuses on All Might and Aizawa.

***Chapter 2: “Dramatic Makeover” – Class 1-A moves into the Heights Alliance dorms. Todoroki-centric, interspersed with scenes from the other students.

Chapter 3: “Crisis”: An unexpected visitor comes to the 1-A dorms. Part One, Part Two

Fantasy AU, translated by aitaikimochi: Set in the alternate universe from the anime S2 ED

Manga References. 

You should reread Chapters 98-99.

The Hideout Raid arc or wiki page

Chapter 98 or wiki page – moving into the new dorms

Chapter 99 or wiki page – best dorm room competition

Chapters 53 & 68 or wiki page on Todoroki’s mother.

(The students are about to move into dorms.)

Chapter 2: Dramatic Makeover

Yaoyorozu, who’d grown up utterly pampered in a palace-like home, was now packing for life in the dorms.

 Her mother eyes the ten packing boxes with some trepidation. “Are you sure you’ve packed enough?” she hedges. “Did you bring a proper tea set? Make sure you have enough to serve the entire class – it’d be terribly awkward if you ran out of cups.” Then, “You did bring some formal attire, I suppose?”

 None of this was necessary for learning at school, so Yaoyorozu obviously had not. “Better safe than sorry!” her mother insists. The house servant agrees, suggesting a few more packing boxes to fill with various luxury items.

 Yaoyorozu contemplates it for a while, but eventually refuses, thanking her mother for her consideration.

 “My daughter is growing up,” cries her mother.

 Yaoyorozu is plied with a dozen boxes of fancy books and bookshelves, a gift from her father. Books are her absolute favorite. Yaoyorozu brushes away the tears that well up. It was time to move forwards to dorm life.

 In mid-August, the students of Class 1-A assemble in front of their brand new home.

The atmosphere is heavy as they file into the dormitory, Aizawa-sensei’s lecture weighing on everyone’s minds**.

 ** See chapter 98 or wiki page for context

Once Aizawa-sensei has finished the building tour and everyone’s received their room assignments, it’s time for the students to unpack and decorate their new rooms. But as Yaoyorozu waits at the elevators with everyone, Aizawa-sensei calls out to her. “Oi, these rooms are too small to fit more than five or six boxes of stuff. Pick out what’s most important and send the rest back.”

 “Eh, really?” Yaoyorozu flounders.

 Meanwhile, the elevator dings at the 5th floor. Todoroki emerges and advances to his new room – only to halt. A small “ah” escapes him, then silence. Finally, in barely a whisper, “No… no tatami?”

Todoroki had already seen from the earlier tour that the rooms were Western in style. But having been raised in a traditional Japanese house, he couldn’t shake the feeling that his living quarters should be the same. Since students weren’t required to use the standard dorm furniture, Todoroki had brought his own.

 “…” After rearranging his furniture for a while, Todoroki peers around the room with a grimace. No matter how he looks at it, the Western room and Japanese furnishings clash horribly. And the veranda… Sure, he’d gotten used to the verandas at school, but to have one in his own room seems terribly wrong. The cloth curtains (in lieu of shoji screens) also make him a bit uneasy.

Todoroki quickly finishes unpacking his sparse belongings. With nothing left to do, he flops onto the (strange Western) bed. He just can’t get used to any of this.

 “From now on, I’ll be falling asleep and waking up here,” Todoroki declares to the room.

 He’d been waiting to escape the ‘care’ of his damned father for years, but hadn’t expected the day to come so soon. The thought of his father brings a stormy expression to Todoroki’s face. He sits up on the bed, shaking his head as if he can forcefully eject his negative thoughts.

 To try to alleviate his sore mood with a bit of fresh air, he opens the window and takes a deep breath. A vast forest stretches out beyond his vision, interspersed with the occasional UA building. But even the magnificent view from the top floor can’t dispel Todoroki’s unhappiness. He turns back to his new room and retrieves a dusty photo album. He tugs out a single faded photograph – his mother, beaming at the unmarred baby Shouto cradled in her arms.

 Before, when Todoroki looked at this photo, he’d be hit with a wave of regret and fear that his mother would never smile the same way again. But no more. Now he knows that his mother is still full of laughter**. The picture soothes his troubled heart.

 ** See wiki page on Todoroki’s mother

 Todoroki is beginning to feel much better when a gust of wind snatches the photo from his hands. The photo drifts out into the forest.

 He rushes out of the dorm. How will he find a single photo in such a huge forest? He scours the ground, the trees, the UA buildings. “Where the hell did it go,” he mutters, a frown etching itself back onto his face. In the distance, he suddenly hears a mechanical clanging.

 “?!” Out of nowhere, a small object comes hurtling into Todoroki’s (hastily-raised) wall of ice and falls to the ground with a thunk. It appears to be a large fist-sized gadget of sorts. “The hell is this?”

 “That’s my baby!” a feminine voice retorts back. Ah, it’s the inventor girl from the Department of Support. Her performance in the UA Sports Festival had certainly been something. Not wanting to face the same fate as Iida, he offers the handful of machinery back to her.  

 **bold = originally in English

** See wiki page for Hatsume Mei

 Hatsume thanks him with a brilliant smile. She’s about to go off on one of her advertising spiels when one of her inventions zips by. A few others zigzag about in the distance.

 “My baby! Wait up!” In the blink of an eye, Hatsume vanishes from view to chase down her precious machines.

 “Hold up, there’s one over there too,” Todoroki points out. It’s finally dawned on him that she’s referring to her inventions.

 “Help me catch it!” Hatsume yells over her shoulder.

 “… Hah? Oi!” But his cries are lost to the wind. Todoroki flounders a bit, stunned.

 Your machinery may be very important to you, but I’m also looking for something precious to me, Todoroki gripes. An especially strong gust sends a flurry of leaves up. His anxiety spirals up as well. In the time he’d wasted just now, the photo could have flown off even further.

 He sends a wall of ice in the direction of the machines to freeze them in place. That settles that. He heads off to resume looking for the photo.

 But more clanging and whirring reaches his ears. Are there more gadgets out there? Todoroki is at a loss.

Suddenly, Todoroki recalls Iida’s response to the Bakugou Rescue Squad. Though Iida hadn’t agreed with the group’s reasoning, he’d joined to make sure he could watch over and protect everyone.**

 ** See Hideout Raid arc – Summary – Infiltration Preparation

 Iida is a serious student and responsible class president. Had Iida been placed in this position, he wouldn’t hesitate to lend a helping hand. And as a prospective hero, Todoroki obviously can’t turn down a person in need. He turns back towards the machine whirring. Though the lost photo is dear to him, he take the time to freeze the other gadgets.

 (Oblivious to the events outside, Iida is in his room, organizing his book collection.)

  Finally, Todoroki captures the last gadget. Some belated introductions are exchanged. Hatsume sheepishly admits that she’d tripped and triggered the power switch for the gadgets earlier, when she’d been unpacking her own room.

 “Did you really make all of these?” Todoroki is rather awed. “Amazing!”

 Fluffed up with pride, Hatsume restarts her earlier spiel on her inventions.

 Todoroki listens with half an ear. “Is this all of the machines?” he suddenly interrupts.

 It turns out they’re missing one. This particular invention is barely the size of a prune, but weighs a ton. It’s designed to latch onto villains so they can’t escape under the added weight, Hatsume explains.

 “Well, if it’s that heavy it can’t have gone far, right?” Todoroki offers hopefully.

 “I’ll look around, then!” Hatsume agrees. “My quirk is ‘Zoom’, so I can see objects up to 5 kilometers away!”

 “I’ll check any blind spots,” Todoroki decides. He heads off. Then he backtracks. “Hey, if you see a photograph with that ‘Zoom’ of yours, can you let me know?”

 “A photo? Ah,” Hatsume’s eyes light up in understanding. “So you were looking for something! Sure!”

 A voice suddenly cuts into their conversation. “Hey, what are you youngsters doing out here? Shouldn’t you be unpacking right now?” It’s Recovery Girl, who’s out for a stroll.

 Hatsume explains the situation, and Recovery Girl offers to look over Hatsume’s blind spots with Todoroki. But after they peer into the nearby nooks and crannies and decide to move on, Recovery Girl trips over some tree roots. Todoroki rushes to catch her, but she rights herself.

 Noticing Todoroki’s outstretched arms, she smiles warmly at him. “You wanted to help me? Thank you, young man!” She adds, good-naturedly, “I trip rather often anyways though, since I’m getting old.”

 Recovery Girl considers Todoroki for a moment. “Really, Endeavor’s son is already this grown up!”

 “Ah…” Todoroki scowls at the mention of his father’s name. This goes unnoticed by Recovery Girl, who begins rambling about the Endeavor as a student, and his aspirations to be the greatest hero.

 But all Todoroki could hear was that terrible, hated rumbling voice, “In my place, to fulfill my dreams, you will surpass All Might to become the greatest hero.”

 “I don’t want to hear about that guy,” Todoroki cuts in. Recovery Girl is immediately apologetic.

  An alarm goes off, coming from the direction of the road. Recovery Girl heads over to assess the situation, while Todoroki heads deeper into the forest.

 He stumbles over something. It’s a prune-sized machine. Todoroki gives it a tentative tug. It’s quite heavy. Well, this is definitely the right one.

 Todoroki yells out that he’s found the gadget. The sound is buried under a sudden cacophony of mechanical clanging.

 It appears that one of the gadgets has captured Recovery Girl in some steel rope. Hatsume speculates that some of the circuitry must have been damaged when the gadget fell, and it mistakenly set Recovery Girl as a target.

 Recovery Girl had tried to evade the machine earlier, but she’d tripped again, allowing the rope to snag her.

 Todoroki valiantly attempts to free her. Unfortunately, he gets tied up as well. Now dangling together with Recovery Girl, escape attempt thoroughly botched, he apologizes profusely.

  (read Aitai’s Japanese > English translation of the following scene here and here)

 Kirishima Eijiro. Todoroki hadn’t ever really spoken to the boy before they’d teamed up to save Bakugou. But they’d shared the frustration of having the League of Villains snatch away Bakugou in front of their noses. For Kirishima to have his dear friend whisked away, without getting the chance to do anything about it – well, Todoroki could certainly empathize. This frustration was what drove the students to form the Bakugou Rescue Squad, anyways.

 In the current situation? Kirishima would probably act according to instinct, complete with a ‘manly’ desire to help others…

 As it turns out, Kirishima is presently on the 4th floor, helping his next-door-neighbor Bakugou unpack. One of Bakugou’s boxes had gotten mixed in with Kirishima’s luggage earlier. When Kirishima dropped off the box, he’d decided he might as well help out.

 “Hey Bakugou, what’s this stick?” Kirishima inquires. “Some weapon?”

 “That’s for mountain climbing, dumbass.” Bakugou snaps. “Why are you such a pain in the ass? Go the hell back to your own room.”

 At Bakugou’s scrunched-up scowl, Kirishima just laughs, unfazed. “Hey now. Two is better than one, right? When we’re done with your room, let’s head over to sort out my room too!”

  “I bet, you lazy ass! You’re just slowing me down!” Bakugou doesn’t put any real weight behind his harsh words.

 Rescuer and the rescued. The breeze drifting in through their new home scatters the vestiges of unfamiliarity between the two.

   Todoroki attempts to break the ropes. Unfortunately, the more he struggles against the unyielding steel, the higher he and Recovery Girl get hoisted up by the ropes. Hatsume’s remote control isn’t working either.

 “Damn… in a time like this… if only Yaoyorozu was around!”

 Like Iida, Yaoyorozu had also disapproved of the Bakugou Rescue Squad, but had joined them to make sure no one would engage in combat.

 With her ability to stay cool-headed in any situation and her superior knowledge and strategizing – if it was Yaoyorozu, she’d definitely be able to come up with a solution!

  Meanwhile, Yaoyorozu is still on the 1st floor trying to cut down on her luggage.

 “Silverware… it can go.”

“For paintings, just one will suffice.”

“Shoes… three pairs is enough, right? Ah, but I really need a pair of heels. There’s just no room! I’ll just have to go with the bare minimum for everything. Screw it, one pair of shoes it is.”

  Todoroki racks his brain for ideas. He could possibly use either side of his quirk to deal with the rope, but Recovery Girl could get seriously hurt in the crossfire.

 “Well, I guess I’ll just have to dismantle the machine,” Hatsume finally says, defeated. “I’ll go fetch some tools from the workshop!” But as she turns to leave, the two captured begin flailing about violently.

 The offending machine – unwilling passengers and all – begins to roll away, along the road. Hatsume makes to send her other gadgets after it, which is totally ineffective and nearly gets her caught as well.

 “Oi, don’t mess around,” warns Todoroki.

 “Go call a teacher,” Recovery Girl decides. Meanwhile, Todoroki’s getting swung about. He eyes something ahead with trepidation. The gadget is approaching a large, deep pit, one that was used by the second-years for practice. And now they’re on track to go tumbling into a bottomless chasm. If they fall in with the huge machine, it can only end in tragedy.

 Todoroki can no longer conceal his anxiety. The machine is still making for the pit with speed. There’s no time to call for help. Should he take a chance with his quirk? No, but… What to do?

 As he becomes increasingly panicked, the face of his friend comes to mind. Even in a life-or-death situation like this, Midoriya would never give up! Todoroki recalls when they’d tried to save Bakugou while All Might and All for One were fighting.  Though there had seemed to be no way to get to Bakugou, Midoriya had come up with a way to succeed.

 Todoroki regrets that his own deep-seated, long-standing hatred against his father had caused him to lash out at Midoriya, his friend.

  On the 2nd floor, Midoriya is quite upset. Over what? The order of his All Might figurines, of course. Disregarding daily necessities, All Might paraphernalia had taken up a good half of Izuku’s luggage. Position, order, and angle all must be considered…

  Todoroki is still desperately trying to figure out what Midoriya would do in this situation. Finally, he comes up with something. He yells out to Hatsume, “Toss the heavy prune gadget to me!”

 “Hah?” Though confused, Hatsume retrieves the small gadget. “Wait! Do you really want me to throw this over?!”

 “Yes,” Todoroki confirms. “Aim for my mouth!”

 Using ‘Zoom’, Hatsume lines up and (nervously) sends the gadget sailing over.

 Todoroki catches it with his teeth and swings his body to the side. The altered center of gravity makes one end of the machine lift up. The machine attempts to advance with a single set of wheels and eventually topples over, precariously close to the edge of the pit. Todoroki dives under Recovery Girl to cushion her fall onto the road.

 “Whew, that was close!”

 Todoroki just winces at the weight in his mouth, still pinned under Recovery Girl.

 The runaway machine finally shuts down after some loud clattering and Hatsume rushes over to check over the finally freed hostages. Todoroki finally spits out the small gadget and confirms that he’s fine.

 “I’m okay as well,” Recovery Girl concedes.

 “Great!” Hatsume beams. “And using the weight of the heavy prune gadget to unbalance the runaway machine was brilliant! What valuable data!”

 “Can we get these ropes off first?” Todoroki asks dryly.

 So Hatsume runs off to the workshop to fetch some tools, returning with Power Loader. Finally, they sever the steel ropes and free Todoroki and Recovery Girl. Power Loader immediately begins chastising Hatsume.

 ** See wiki page on Power Loader

 “Oh right!” Hatsume, who had been quietly been nodding along to Power Loader’s berating, suddenly reaches into her pocket. “I found this in a tree on my way back. Is this what you were looking for?”

 It’s the photograph of Todoroki and his mother. A brilliant smile stretches across his face, and he thanks Hatsume profusely. She rummages in her pile of machinery until she emerges, triumphant.

 She offers a strangely familiar basketball-sized barrel as a gift to Todoroki. “Let me know what you think after you’ve played with your friends!” Hatsume and Power Loader then start on the task of moving away all the machinery.

 Recovery Girl is about to address Todoroki when she notices a gash on his cheek. When Todoroki had dived under Recovery Girl to cushion her fall, he’d ended up scraping his face on the ground.

 She fixes him up with her quirk and pulls out some candy. “Here’s some soft candy, eat up! Thank you for saving me. Hard-working children get more rewards!”

 “It’s nothing.” Todoroki ducks his head, accepting the considerable pile of candy. “Any of my friends would have done the same.”

 Todoroki startles a bit. Just a while ago, these sorts of thoughts would have never entered his mind. But he acknowledges and accepts the changes to his mindset as personal growth.

 Coming to UA had been really good for him.

 At Todoroki’s gentle expression, Recovery Girl cheerfully responds, “True, true. You and all your classmates are working hard. It’s true now, and it was true in the past. Not a single person is slacking off. But to occasionally recognize and applaud your own efforts? That’s perfectly okay!”

“Okay.” Todoroki puts a piece of the candy into his mouth. … Did my father also work hard at UA? He shakes his head to banish the thought.

 Recovery Girl asks how moving into the dorms is going. Todoroki recalls his strange new room. He just can’t seem to get used to it.

 Upon hearing this, Recovery Girl drags him off to the off-campus junkyard. “I think I have just the thing for you!”

 When they get there, Todoroki’s eyes light up. In the corner are some apparently brand-new tatami mats, shoji, and traditional furniture!

 “Even though these were used for a class, no one will mind if you take them. I’ll contact the teacher to let them know,” Recovery Girl reassures.

 “You have my heartfelt thanks.” Todoroki bows and sees Recovery Girl off, then returns to the dorms. What a day. He lets a deep sigh of relief escape him.

 He’s opening the brand new doors to his dorm room – in a brand new chapter of his life. Though there are some things he won’t be used to, Todoroki is certain it’ll be okay if it’s at UA.

 Now, time to start remodeling! He rolls up his sleeves.

.

–– End of Chapter 2 ––

Chapter 3, Part One

tl;dr   “Yes,” Todoroki confirms. “Aim for my mouth!”

[env0writes]

A Gust of Wind Vol.2, 8.30.22 “Dislodged”

All of life Is a series of pops! In,    and out Shatter out of place, places, and placement Out,     and in Plops! That fall too flat For our life

@env0writes C.Buck Ko-Fi & Venmo: @Zenv0 Support Your Local Artist!