#and i keep adding it to all the upside down scenes now

[mrs-steve-harrington]

—Are you okay? —They took about a pound of flesh, but other than that... never better.

[wtfsteveharrington]

after midnight | carmen berzatto x reader

summary: chicago is expensive, okay? so you pick up a job outside of the restaurant which just so happens to involve your camera. everything's fine until richie stumbles upon the website and shares it with camry.

contents: perv!carmy, male & female masturbation, sex toys, dirty talk, cam sex, slight dub-con kinda if you look for it. carmy’s honestly a wreck. mentions of unprotected sex, choking, oral sex, overstimulation. please note!! no formal intercourse takes place yet but it's cuming coming but ya girl wants a slow burn

reader description: she/her pronouns, there is semi a hair scene but i use no real descriptors so still vague!

word count: basically 3.9k

author notes: first fic in a year baby and boy did i lose the plot!! filth!! also i sure love saying fuck in this so enjoy that

part two

★–————————–

Richie’s voice is annoying. It echos, ricochets off the walls, and can’t be contained by even the highest quality of sound proofing. Which is why, at 8 in the morning, Carmen’s already considering having to take Excedrin as Richie bursts through the doors. 

“Carmy, Cousin, you’re never gonna fuckin’ believe what I found last night.” He’s out of breath after running in, fumbling around with his phone in a rush to pull something up. He’d spent all night contemplating if he texted Carmen or waited to show him in person. Ultimately the urge to see his reaction won but that didn’t stop Richie from waking up before his alarm out of excitement. “Listen, we’re both grown ass men so I’m gonna say it -“ he’s glancing around to make sure they’re alone, “- So I’m laying there and jerkin’ my shit, right?” 

Carmen’s wincing, pinching the bridge of his nose and contemplating every decision that brought him back to Chicago. 

“Dude, fuck off. I don’t wanna hear -“ Richie tsks, cutting him off. 

“Nah, shut the fuck up because you wanna hear this. In fact, you’re gonna wanna fall to your knees and kiss my shoes and praise my ass as a thank you for finding this.” 

He’s holding up his phone, an iPhone 8 he refuses to upgrade, and illuminated on the screen is a video of you. You, on your knees, in lingerie. You, with your fingers dragging down your chest, across the lace that covers your breasts. Your head falls back as you run your thumbs across your nipples. A sound so angelic coming from your lips that Carmen starts to understand why people spend so much time at Church. He’s convinced you’re hand carved by God, or Buddha, or whatever might be up there. 

Carmy’s instantly feeling a rush of heat across his chest and his cheeks as he takes the sight of you in. It feels wrong but at the same time the coiling in his stomach feels so good he can’t look away quite yet. “Why the…” He’s cut off by a whine coming from Richie’s speaker as you keep teasing yourself. His brain is frying for a second as he tries to focus on finishing his sentence. “How the hell did you find this?” 

“Listen, sometimes I get bored on the same ole sites, okay? Clicked an ad to see who was live and ended up here. Now I stopped watching, obviously, out of respect but this? I’ve known you long enough to know when you gotta thing for someone and you’re not gonna act on it. Also, I caught you staring at her ass as she filled the deep freeze the other night. Kinda gave it away. So this is the way you can still get some pussy while being a fuckin’ pussy.” Richie’s punching the air, clearly proud of himself.

Carmy’s smacking him upside the head, his body now torn between lust and annoyance. “Watch your mouth, alright? That is so fucked, Richie. Put that shit anyway and I better not see you tell a single other person this exists.” 

And yeah, he took note of your screen name before he walked away. Don’t judge him. 

———★–————————–

Look - There have been a lot of times in his life where Carmen hasn’t been proud of himself. But settling back into bed, hooking his thumbs on the waistband of his boxers and pulling them down to rest under his balls? Yeah, he’s not proud to say the least. After seeing even just the glimpse of you this morning though it’s been all he could think about. The. Whole. Fucking. Day. He watched out of the corner of his eye while you bent over the line to scrub down the wall behind your station tonight. Burning to memory the way your ass just slightly jiggled from the aggressive motion of wiping down the surface. A soft grunt coming from you as you reach for something just a little too high. He finally snapped out of it when the smell of the chemicals he sprayed down on his own surface got a little too strong and refocused. 

He wasn’t proud when he ran to the restroom and contemplated just jacking off over the toilet to get some relief. You were clouding his brain, only the rush of the evening giving him some small relief. 

You seemed vocal in the small clip he saw. He’s wondering if you would have asked him to cum for you. Would you think it’s a waste that he’s cumming down the drain instead of covering your ass with it? Filling your mouth and making you swallow every drop around him? Or, Jesus Christ, would you wrap your legs around his waist and beg him not to pull out? 

So yeah. Carmy’s had quite the fucking day to say the least. 

He’s finally home and running straight to bed. His stuff dropped in a heap by the front door and was easily forgotten. Throwing himself back onto the mattress after ripping off his shirt and his pants. Left just groaning into the empty room, his cock twitching at the thought of you. Your page has been sitting on an Incognito tab all day and it’s finally, finally being loaded up. This feels like an invasion of privacy in a way but Carmen can’t quite think logically with how heavy his balls feel and how painfully hard he is. There’s not much time to spare so he clicks the first video you’ve uploaded that he can.

And there you are. 

Sitting in the middle of a big bed and rubbing your hands along your thighs, smiling at the camera. His heart is twitching, cock is twitching, everything is fucking twitching. And you’re just sitting there, licking your lips and sliding your hands under the thin material of some weird lace one piece he wants to rip off. 

“Hi there, Pretty Boy.” Your voice is music to his ears and Carmy can’t take it any longer. His fist is wrapping around his cock, a broken moan filling the room as he finally gets some relief. “I’ve been waiting for you to come home all day.”

Sue him, but he’s skipping ahead a little. There’s not much time until he cums and he needs to see you. All of you. He’s gripping his phone with one hand, bringing the other that’s around his cock up to his mouth to spit in. His thumb is haphazardly trying to keep the phone balanced while scrubbing through the video until he thinks he’s at a good spot. You’re laid back now, thighs spread for the camera and pussy on display. Carmen’s muttering to himself about how gorgeous you are, longing to tell you in person. You’re holding this royal blue dildo in your hands that’s suddenly his biggest enemy. He deserves to be there, not this stupid, useless chuck of silicone. There’s a whimper from the speaker as you take the toy and slide it along yourself, tapping it twice against your clit. “Fuck, I need you.” 

Fuckin’ hell does he needs you too. 

His fist is clamped around his dick once again, fucking his hips up into the the slick, tight grip. You’re still teasing yourself by sticking just the head of the dildo in before gasping and pulling it back out. “Please, Baby. I need you so bad, need to come for you.” His brain is breaking. An animalistic urge taking over to fuck you until you can’t move, can’t think, just a blubbering mess begging him for more. Without warning you push the dildo all the way in, throwing your head back with a pleasured scream. 

Carmy gasps, hips sputtering and losing their rhythm as he watches you fuck yourself. He’s stroking himself at the same pace you’re moving the dildo, imaging it’s you he’s fucking into. Picturing you laid under him, your breasts covered in hickies because he hates the idea of these… Perverts watching you get off. He wants to mark you, claim you as his. His balls are tightening and he can’t think of the last time he came this quick. It’s almost embarrassing - What are you doing to him? 

Your free hand comes up to shove two fingers in your mouth, lewdly sucking them for the camera. The sucking noise now accompanying the wet, addictive sounds of your pussy being fucked. Carmen whimpers, actually fucking whimpers, and twists his wrist over his cock to get a little more friction. Your voice hits him once again as you slide your wet fingers out of your mouth and down your throat. “Oh fuck I’m so close. So, so close. Are you close, Baby? Want you to come with me.” You’re lightly choking yourself, a whining mess. 

Carmy’s aware he’s talking to an empty room but he can’t stop himself. “Fuck, oh fuck. Gonna come for you.” And his stomach coils, hips sputter, the phone falling to the bed as he has to let go of it as his orgasm washes over him. He’s slack jaw, warm cum landing on his chest and the sounds of you finishing at the same time ringing out from his phone. 

Oh he’s so fucked. 

————–——★–————

Carmy slept well for once in his life. His orgasm lulling his body to sleep, dreams filled of you. How beautiful you look sucking his cock. The way you must sound while he eats you out. And he takes his time in his dream. Tongue dragging between your folds as his rough hands hold your hips in place. You’re powerless, made to lay back and let him eat you out for his own pleasure. Tongue circling around your clit but he waits until you’re close to tears to stop teasing. He’d praise you. “Look how fucking wet you are, Princess. You’re already getting the bed wet, aren’t you? Gonna have to lick you for hours to get you all cleaned up. Can you say please, huh? Ask me to suck on your clit, Baby. You know you need it.” 

He woke up hard and overstimulated, rolling over onto his stomach and pathetically dragging his hips against the warm bed to get some much needed friction along his cock. Carmy’s telling himself how pathetic this is and forcing himself to push off the bed and get into the shower before he’s late. 

Yes, he jacked off in the shower before work. 

He had to. 

Carmy can’t decide if it’s heaven or hell when he walks in to see you standing in the kitchen. 

You’re on your tiptoes, balancing haphazardly as you’re reaching up to change the light. There’s a wobbly step stool under you. Everyone keeps saying it needs to be replaced but it continues to live on. Your face is scrunching up in concentration. Carmy’s chuckling at the sight and ignoring the way he feels his balls tug at the sight of you. “What’re you doing there, Chef?” 

You huff in annoyance, finally untwisting the light cover from the ceiling. “Damn light went out right as I started veggie prep. Hate to be a bother but will you come spot me while I’m up on this thing? I’ve seen Fak bust his ass one too many times to trust it.” 

Carmy can’t verbally respond at first, instead stalking over to stand next to you. His hand comes up to cup the back of your knee and he’s lying to himself saying it’s for your own safety. To keep you balanced. “Yea well something tells me you’re less clumsy than Fak. I’ve seen that guy fall over while just standing still.” 

And you laugh. 

You laugh. At him. At his joke. He, Carmen Berzatto, made you laugh. The sound filling his ears and now his damn heart and balls are both reacting to you and what the hell is he supposed to do with all these emotions. 

“Don’t distract me up here, Chef.” He doesn’t mind taking commands from you. Silently reaching up to hold the light fixture you’re passing him as you change gears to switch out the lightbulbs now. 

And maybe his eyes are wandering around the kitchen to see who else might catch a glimpse of you two together. Everyone who’s in so far is honed in on their prep task and Carmy thanks God that Richie hasn’t shown up yet today. 

He’s become quite faithful since he started falling for you it seems. 

It happens, by chance, that you feel a little unsteady and Carmen tightens his grip on the back of your leg. Fingers digging into your soft skin. He’s looking down at the stool to make sure it’s level before looking up to take in the sight that is his hand around your leg. 

And he stops looking there. 

Okay fine that’s a fucking lie - he’s looking up. Eyes trailing up your thighs, following along the curve of your ass. When you have to lean forward just slightly to twist in the light cover he’s convinced he can see the outline of your pussy through the thin material of your leggings. He’s contemplating his options - If he could, would he lean in and lick over the outline? His warm mouth teasing you through your leggings. Through your underwear. Are you wearing underwear? He’s torn between picturing you with or without them. 

Or would he slide his hand up your leg, palming your thigh as he goes. Cupping over you and dragging his middle finger across the shape of you. Memorizing the feeling. Would you whine? Grind down against his hand? He doesn’t think you’d shoo his touch away. 

God he just knows you’re a needy little thing. 

He wonders what it would feel like for you to lick your own wetness from his jaw after he’s decided he’s done savoring you. To taste you on your own tongue when he kissed you after. You’d look so pretty with his cum dripping down your lips too. All fucked out and exhausted and full of bliss. 

“Okay, I think I got it fixed, Carmy.” God, he’s so fucked for thinking of you like this as you’re innocently changing the light. Just trying to improve the kitchen and he’s thinking about ruining you. He was so caught up in daydreaming that he didn’t even feel you take the light cover back out of his hand and screw it into place again. 

You’re beaming down at him, using his shoulders as arm rests as you bounce down from the stepping stool. His hand grazes your ass - A total accident. He swears it. You reach behind him to sit the screwdriver down, your chest firmly against his. Nothing thinking anything of the personal space violation as you’re used to it from so many slammed nights in the kitchen. 

“Thank you for helping me. Sorry it was basically just five minutes of my ass in your face.” Carmy chokes. 

His cheeks are hot. 

Fuck is he blushing? 

He’s sputtering out of his words. “It uh, it wasn’t in my face. Not that I looked, y’know. Just uh… Just - just trying to say that I’m happy to help.” He sounds like an idiot

You’re cocking an eyebrow, clearly entertained. “Holy shit, Carmy.” You pat your hands against his chest, not knowing your touch was like fire on his skin. He grabs the screwdriver and makes a beeline to the office to put it away for you. 

Sure he grabbed a rag on the way. No it’s not for him to jack off into while he thinks of you. 

Okay fine, it is. 

“Fuck me.” The only thing Carmy can risk trying to say as the door shuts heavy behind him and his pants hit the ground. 

———————–★–———

Carmen doesn’t avoid you now but he certainly makes it hard to get close to you. He’s too distracted when you’re around. Maybe there’s a bit of guilt mixed in too at his new night routine. Leave the restaurant, load your page, and wait to see what happens. New videos? New pictures? You were wormed into the back of his brain and it had to stop. 

So your station got moved further down rotation. You’re at the end of the line on the left, he’s at the start on the right. It helps clear his mind, lets him hone in on perfecting what goes to the floor. 

He’s able to move quickly, shifts blowing by as the restaurant’s rush takes all his attention. The clock clicks down two minutes till close, everyone working in silence to get the place flipped and go home. He’s wrapping up with Syd, helping her make a few adjustments to expo before grabbing a dead plate off of the end of the line and heading to the office with his food and a cup of water in hand. He needs a mental minute, a bite of food, and to let his thoughts all catch up. 

The door’s already cracked and he’s halfway through the entry way when he registers you. Sitting there. At his desk. Your legs are crossed, a cool damp towel resting over your eyes. He wants to turn on his heel and retreat but decides that he can’t treat you any differently just because he’s developed some silly little crush. Running away would be treating you different. 

“You good, Chef?” 

To which you groan. Different from the ones he’s used to - This one is guttural, pained. You press your hands flat against the rag and will the cool temperature to help the pressure in your head. “Killer migraine, that’s all. Shit was moving so fast tonight and I wacked the back of my head on something in the walk in. Sorry for being in here, Carm. Just uh, needed a second.” You should push up out of the chair, show your respect. But right now you’re half convinced that standing up would be detrimental so for now you’re cemented to the seat. 

“Heard.” Carmen nods to himself, sitting down the plate before opening up the desk drawer as quietly as possible. Your knee is pressing into the side of his thigh, grounding and warm. He fishes out a bottle of medicine, shaking out two pills. “Hold out your hand.” 

You take a second to brace yourself for movement, sitting up and moving the towel off your eyes. Letting it pile up into a clump on the desk besides you. There’s no way around it - You look pitiful. Pouting up at Carmen as he hands over two pills and his cup out water. You take the pills diligently, taking a few gulps and letting your eyes fall back closed as you will them to kick in instantly. “Can I ask a favor?” 

“Anything, Chef.” 

Slowly, so not to shake yourself up, you turn the chair until your back is to Carmen. “Will you see if I gotta bump back there? Kinda terrified I gave myself a concussion but I don’t wanna believe it was that hard.” 

He snickering, a grin pulling up the corners of his mouth as he steps closer. “Well you’d absolutely fuck me if you needed to file workmen’s comp so I’m gonna need you to be fine, ‘kay? Way too much fuckin’ paperwork to do on a Friday night.” You start to laugh but it’s quickly cut off into a small groan of appreciation as you feel warm, rough hands clasp either side of your shoulders. 

Carmen works his way up your neck and catches himself holding his breath as his fingers brush along your scalp. He’s taking his time, savoring the moment, all under the pretense of taking care of his employee. That’s all. “Think we’re both in the clear. You feeling alright besides the headache? Need me to hold up some fingers for ya to guess? Haven’t managed to cut any off so we’ve got all ten to work with.” He’s got you laughing again while rough fingers work their way back down to your neck. The feeling of the vibration of your laughter against his hands sending chills down his back. 

Wordlessly Carmen gets to work rubbing your shoulders. Tender, deep. Years of practice rolling out dough and desserts and tenderizing meat coming into play as he continues to knead away at your tense body. You let out an appreciative moan and Carmen has to start thinking of something to keep his inevitable hard on from being obvious. 

When his hands come up closer to your neck once again he’s hit with flashbacks of the first video he watched. You choking yourself — Is that something you truly liked? If his hand came around to cup your throat, palm resting on one side with his fingertips firmly against the other, and lightly squeezed would you moan? Rub your thighs together in search of some hint of relief? 

“Are you always this good with your hands, Chef? Hmm? Can’t imagine you giving Marcus this treatment.” You’re laughing and can practically hear the smirk in Carmen’s voice as he responds. “Yeah - You uh, didn’t know that? I just love you know, rubbing shoulders. It’s my thing. Kick your ass all night and then rub the stress out.” 

He’s blanching a little at his reply. Kinda obvious but okay then, Carmen. You reach up, putting your hands atop his with a little smile. “Well thank you for… Rubbing my stress out, Chef.” 

Carmen’s red. Head to toe just bright red. “Of course, Chef. Anytime.” He’s entertaining to say the least as you pat his hands before spinning around in his chair. You snag another drink of water, throwing him a wink before moving to exit the office. Your hand runs along his chest, an appreciative gesture, as you head back to the floor. 

——————————★–

Late Saturday night Carmen’s so exhausted that he barely has the energy to take his work clothes off. Falling haphazardly onto his old couch, kicking his work boots off one at a time. His eyes are heavy, body aching, and he almost falls asleep before he gets to see you. 

But he’s fishing his phone from his pocket, refreshing the all too familiar landing page to see you’re actively live. How you have the energy is beyond him. 

You’re standing there trying on clothes that someone must send in and Carmy feels a pang of jealousy. He’s watching through half hooded eyes as you slip in a pair of shorts, turning your behind towards the camera and pulling them up just slightly to put more of your ass on display. You’re chatting away about the material while slowly pulling them down to reveal just this frilly little pair of panties that was sent in as well. 

He’s propping the phone up on the armrest of the couch, laying on his side while he watches you chat away. It’s soothing. Almost like an ASMR video. 

Carmen’s not sure when he fell asleep - Somewhere in-between you trying on a third outfit and attempting to clean up your bed from all the packaging. He finds you soothing, comforting. He makes a mental note to hunt out some sort of wish list you must have for these items before passing out and, once again, dreaming of you.

[il-miele-che-scrive]

lando norris x reader

based on this request (because I take requests and I have to make it everyone's business): Hi not sure if you take requests but in case you do could you write reader x lando where y/n is a celebrity or an influencer and she drops subtle hints at who is her new bf maybe some fun facts about him like "oh he hates fish and I'm making a lot of fish for christmas" and eventually the fans are like "guys it's totally lando"

words count: 2.5k + fans' tweets at the end

author's note: my first request and it was so fun to write 🥹 also added a hospital scene from the time of Vegas GP so we could experience a bit of protective Y/n and painkillers-high Lando (I forgot about a fish scene)

edit: I've just realized I've messed up the dates so let's pretend the award thingie was in '23 instead of '22

A secret boyfriend

It was a normal Tuesday of 2023 when Y/n Y/l/n and Lando Norris met. Well, not so normal since it was the day Y/n won the first award in her musical career, and Lando had his first debut as an award presenter.

"And the winner is..." He opened the envelope and flipped it, as he held it upside down. "Y/n Y/l/n."

Y/n couldn't believe it at first. She looked at her best friend with tears in her eyes. They hugged before Y/n stood up and got on her way to the scene, still questioning if she actually heard her name or was it her mind playing tricks on her.

"Thank you," Y/n sent Lando a smile as he handed her the award, "are you sure it's for me?" She joked, trying to mask the anxiety she felt from the fact that now she had to give a speech while everyone watched.

"Absolutely, it's all yours. Well deserved." Lando said feeling a bit starstruck from being so close to one of his favorite singers.

Just this one simple interaction was enough for both Y/n's and Lando's fanbases to raise suspicions. However, what was unavailable to the fans' eyes were Y/n and Lando's interaction at the after party. Later the same evening, he approached her.

"Hey, congratulations again." He said with a grin on his face. "Your music is amazing, I couldn't imagine you not winning this award."

"Stop with the compliments, I'm gonna blush." Y/n laughed. "Nice to meet you. Lando Norris, isn't it?"

"Yeah, do you watch Formula One?"

"I'm going to be honest from the beginning and admit I did not, but I did my research and I just might start being a fan."

"If you're ever down for hearing firsthand gossip straight from the track, I'm at your service."

"I'd love to hear all the gossip over a coffe sometime."

"Let me give you my number then and I'll arrange something."

And so a few days later they had a coffee date. The date marked the beginning of a carefully hidden romance. They wanted to keep it a secret from the public eye, not wanting people prying on them, trying to estimate how long they'll last.

Keeping the relationship secret somehow came easy to them. They were seen on the coffee date indeed, however they made sure to have the next dates in private. The fans on both sides were literally clueless to the whole ongoing romance. Y/n had her tour, Lando had his races and it wasn't even a little bit suspicious how a lot concerts aligned with race weekends.

Unfortunately, one day Y/n went live on Instagram with her best friend. Unfortunately, because Y/f/n didn't know how to keep her mouth shut. Unfortunately, because Y/f/n gave away the big secret.

"You know, guys, we're gonna use lives as a way to spend time together," she joked, "I've been feeling a bit abandoned since Y/n has been spending so much time with her boyfriend. Even on tour and with his busy schedule, can you believe this?"

Y/n's eyes widened. "Y/f/n!" She scolded her friend.

"What? It's a joke, no worries, I can see you're finally happy and I'm happy for you!"

"Y/f/n! You weren't supposed to say that!"

But the damage was already done. There was nothing Y/n could say to save the situation. So instead she decided to start dropping subtle hints for the fans to guess. Maybe it was the right time to make the relationship public after five months. They couldn't hide it forever.

Y/n started the hint game when she was on Jimmy Fallon's show.

"Y/n Y/l/n, everybody!" Jimmy announced when the girl walked in and sat down on the armchair. "I haven't seen you in a year and so much happened during this time!"

"I know, I know," Y/n said with a smile. "I'm so glad I could make a quick pit stop here on my way to Montreal."

"I'm happy to have you here. You won an award, you got a boyfriend. How- how did that happen?"

Y/n chuckled at Jimmy's question, realizing it was the perfect opportunity to play the hint game. "Oh, life takes unexpected turns and sometimes you find yourself on a fast track to happiness."

Jimmy raised an eyebrow, sensing there was more to the story. "Anything you'd like to share about this mystery man?"

"You know, Jimmy, I've finally found someone who knows how to navigate the twists and turns in life."

The audience laughed and the speculations among fans skyrocketed as they tried to connect the dots from Y/n's playful hints.

The other time, Y/n was on a popular radio show. The host couldn't help but ask about the latest reveal of a big secret.

"You were left hurting really badly after your previous relationship," he spoke, "it's really good to see you finally happy."

"It was a big thing for me. Still is." The girl admitted. "My previous relationship made it hard to open up to a man like that again."

"What made you do it eventually then?"

"I decided life is too short for keeping things in the slow lane," Y/n chuckled, "and when you meet someone that can belt out a Taylor Swift song with the same passion as you, it's hard not to fall for them."

"So your mystery man is a Swiftie too? Any chance we might know him?"

"Oh, I bet many people who are listening right now would know him."

"Now you got us all intrigued, your fans wouldn't forgive me if I didn't ask for more."

Y/n grinned, "Well, he's practically flawless, except for one little detail. He's a scorpio. And let me tell you, when we're playing our silly little racing video games, his competitive scorpio side really comes out. It's all fun and games until his racing pride is at stake."

The host laughed. "I'm sure fans are already trying to guess who this mystery gamer is. And you, are you competitive?"

"Yes, totally. He's more experienced than I am, but it doesn't mean I won't try my hardest to beat him."

"Is there any trait you don't share?"

The girl nodded, "Yes, one thing I'm secretly jealous of. He's quite known for being able to fall asleep in the most uncomfortable conditions. I wish I could do that. I'm all about pillows and comfy blankets, but he can just doze off anywhere, anytime."

A few days later, in the warmth of Lando's bedroom, surrounded by the hum of city life outside the windows, Y/n brought up the topic with a playful glint in her eyes.

"You know, Lando, fans have been buzzing lately. It's quite entertaining."

"Well, you have started this yourself," Lando laughed, laying his head in his girlfriend's lap.

"Not me, it was Y/f/n. I just went with it and turned it into something fun for myself." Y/n defended herself. Her fingers started gently playing with Lando's hair.

"You do seem to be having a great time, leading your fans on and all that," he joked. "Are there chances they'll solve your mystery anytime soon?"

"I've seen a few tweets accusing you of being my secret boyfriend, but most people don't really believe that."

"What?" He sit up dramatically. He continued in a fake-offended voice. "Do they think I'm not good enough?"

Y/n giggled.

Lando's mock offense turned into a playful pout. "I can't believe they're doubting my boyfriend potential. I mean, come on, look at me!" He gestured theatrically at himself.

Y/n burst into laughter, "Maybe we should give them a little more to work with, stir the pot a bit."

Lando leaned in, placing a quick kiss on Y/n's cheek. "You're a master of turning chaos into entertainment, you know that?"

"It's quite a compliment, coming from a Formula One driver."

Lando flashed a grin. "Well, we both have our talents, don't we? Maybe we should drop some subtle hints during a race?"

And so they waited months for the Grand Prix in Vegas, because that was where they could start rumours about getting married. Sure, they could get married spontaneously anywhere, but there was no better place than Las Vegas.

Thankfully they managed to keep the relationship secret all these months, breadcrumbing Y/n's fans. After the Vegas GP, Y/n and Lando where supposed to go for an afterparty, get 'drunk' and then 'married'.

Unfortunately, they plans changed the direction a bit with Lando's crash. Y/n's heart sank as she watched the unfolding drama on the big screens. The thrill of the race was replaced with concern for Lando's well-being. Plans for the afterparty and the playful hints about a fake marriage suddenly didn't matter anymore.

Emergency crews rushed onto the track, the anxious seconds felt like an eternity as they worked to help Lando get out of his racing car. Y/n's heart pounded in her chest, the world around her blurring. The fact that he managed to walk away from the car was a small comfort.

Y/n's phone buzzed moment after Lando disappeared from her sight.

from: Lando

I'm okay, they're taking me to st vincent's hospital. Will update you soon. Love you xx

to: Lando

Be there in a second, see you soon

A shaky exhale escaped Y/n, she felt slightly relief and ran towards the exit. She was sure Lando wasn't okay, not after that crash, but at least he was conscious and walking on his own (although it could be the adrenaline). A moment later, when Y/n got into her own car, her phone buzzed again.

from: Lando

Yknow you could post a pic from the hospital, that would stir the pot

Y/n smiled at the massage. If he could think of that, he might had been better than she thought.

The neon lights of Las Vegas blurred as she drove through the city streets, trying to get to the hospital as quick as possible. Despite the speed, the journey seemed to stretch in time.

Arriving at St. Vincent's hospital, Y/n rushed through the entrance, her heart pounding. The reception area looked like a maze in her anxious state, but she managed to find a nurse.

"I'm here for Lando Norris," the girl said.

The nurse looked her up and down. "Are you his family?"

"I'm his girlfriend."

"Then, unfortunately, I cannot let you see him."

"His family is in Europe, I'm the closest to family you can get here in Vegas."

"The closest, but not family. I'll ask you nicely to wait here for further information."

Y/n nodded with an angry expression on her face. She sat down in the waiting room, pulling out her phone and dialing the number of her manager.

"Hey, Mia," the singer said. "I need you to do something." Urgency and frustration were visible in her voice.

"What's going on, Y/n? Are you okay?" Mia's concerned voice came through the line.

"It's Lando. He's been in a crash during the race in Vegas, and they've taken him to St. Vincent's Hospital. I'm here, but they won't let me in because I'm not 'family.' That's so stupid."

"I'm sorry, Y/n, but I still don't see what you want me to do."

"I want you to make a donation for the hospital from my account. Send them like $100,000. I think it'll be enough to let me in."

"Okay, I'll take care of it."

"Thanks, Mia. I appreciate it more than you know."

Y/n took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Anxiety lingered in the air. But there was no way they wouldn't let her in after that.

Y/n didn't know how much time had passed. She felt as if all she did was staring at a wall in front of her, ocassionally moving her eyes to the floor or the ceiling. She was fidgeting with her fingers as the same nurse approached her.

"Miss Y/l/n, you're allowed to see Mr Norris in the room 305."

Without a word, Y/n rushed to the room. She found Lando lying in the hospital bed, his gaze turning towards the door as she walked in.

"Lando." Y/n breathed his name, rushing to his side and taking his hand in hers. "I was so worried. And they didn't want to let me in at first."

He managed a dazed smile, his eyes slightly glazed. "Hey, you're real, right? This isn't happening in my head?"

Y/n chuckled. "Yes, I'm real. It's me."

He squinted at her. "You sure? You look like a beautiful hallucination."

"Well, if I'm a hallucination, at least a beautiful one."

"I feel like I'm floating on marshmallow clouds, but you're the most beautiful marshmallow I've ever seen."

Y/n couldn't help but laugh. "I think you might be on some strong painkillers, love."

"Ah, that explains the marshmallows. They're having a party in my head," Lando said with a dreamy expression.

Y/n burst into laughter, the tension of the earlier moments disappearing in the room.

"Did you know," Lando continued, "that racing is like trying to catch a rainbow? And if you're lucky, you might find a pot of gold at the end."

"Is there an Irish leprechaun as well?"

"I wouldn't be surprised. Maybe that's who's been guiding me all this time."

"You gotta ask him to make the rainbow less slippery next time then."

He nodded solemnly. "I'll have a serious talk with him. No more slippery rainbows, only smooth, marshmallow clouds."

As they joked around, Y/n couldn't ignore the quiet concern for Lando's well-being. She gently brushed his hair away from his forehead. "You scared me, you know? Seeing you crash like that."

"I'm sorry, love. I didn't mean to scare you. I promise I'll be more careful next time. But you have to promise me something too.""

"What is it?"

"You'll visit me in the marshmallow cloud world sometimes. It gets lonely up there."

Y/n laughed, leaning in to press a gentle kiss on his cheek. "I'll visit anytime you want."

"You know, even in the middle of all this craziness, having you here feels like finding that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow."

As the night carried on, the hospital room became a cocoon shielding them from everything that layed outside its walls. Y/n found herself falling asleep on an armchai next to Lando's bed.

In the quiet ambiance of the night, Lando's mind wandered through the whimsical landscapes of his medication-induced thoughts. He couldn't help but marvel at the coincidence that brought Y/n into his life.

It all started with handing her an award. It seemed like it happened a whole lifetime ago and now, there they were, in the middle of marshmallow clouds.

Y/n, nestled in the armchair, breathed softly in her sleep, completely unaware of Lando's reflections. Soon enough, Lando allowed himself to succumb to the gentle pull of sleep as well.

[larluce]

Have you ever thought of the episode A Servant of Two Masters with a scene like Ella Enchanted when she breaks her curse? If you don't know the scene or the movie, that's okay because I have ✨a vision✨

Like that:

Merlin inside is dying because he's trying to kill Arthur and that's his worst nightmare, but Arthur decided that needs to be open and honest to Merlin and just tries to confess. I don't know how they got there, but just imagine that Arthur is talking sweetly to Merlin, holding his face with love and going to kiss him, but Merlin is crying because he's with a knife in his hand and trying to stab Arthur in the back. He breaks the curse, but Arthur saw the knife and assumes the worst.

I did watch that film! "A Servant of Two Masters" had the pontential to be very angsty indeed. But of course they decided to make it comedy. Not that I didn't like it anyways, but a more serious take like the one you are proposing would have been GOLD.

I recently saw a post similar to this, not quite, but kind of captures the same idea: LINK

But you inspired me. So I'll add this to your vision:

Just as the movie, Agravaine orders for Merlin to be arrested before he can explain anything, proclaiming he's in alliance with Morgana. However, Arthur, though still very hurt and confused, starts to analyse the situation. Why would Merlin try to kill him now? Is not like he didn't have better chances before. Has he done something to make Merlin change his mind about him? What did Morgana offer him? And why a knife? Merlin literally serves him his food, he could have poisoned him, find a more discret way to do it, he's a physician apprentice for gods sake! Was his servant this dumb? Then he remembers, Merlin was crying through all of it, and he seemed like he was trying to tell him something but couldn't. He thought it was due his emotional confession that his servant had tears in his eyes, but now... could it be that Merlin was forced to do it? Maybe Morgana threatened someone dear to him? Like his mother or Gaius. Or maybe he just can't bare the thought of yet other person betraying him, specially if is Merlin, that now he's making excuses for him? Doesn't matter, he can't execute Merlin, even when his uncle keeps insisting on it. So he just keeps him in the dungeons ad pospones his death sentence as much as he can.

Just as Arthur gathers the caurage to go visit Merlin to ask for answers, against his uncle's wishes of course, Gaius aproaches Arthur and tells him Merlin was under the fomorroh's control giving him the burned cut head of the snake as a prove. He explains he went to visit Merlin and Merlin gave him that and told him Morgana put it in his neck to control him when he was captured, but somehow he managed to break the spell. His uncle intervenes, telling him is all lies, that Gaius just wants to save the boy because he's dear to him and accuses him right then and there of being the traitor they were looking for. For Arthur, however, there was never a doubt, his Merlin is innocent, he never wanted to betray him. He almost cries of relief and, ignoring his uncle and his physician's dicussion, he runs to see Merlin.

His smile fades once he gets there though, cause Merlin, his Merlin, is hanging from a rope. Horrified and in full panic mode, he puts him down as quickly and as carefully as he can. He yells desperately for the guards to fetch Gaius and starts making CPR, but even when Gaius later appears to help it's too late. Merlin's dead and Arthur's whole world is put upside down.

There's a note Gaius finds hidden in Merlin's clothes, it says: "I'm sorry, Gaius. I couldn't fight it much longer, I could feel it, growing back again, trying to control me and I couldn't let it, not again. I would rather cut my own arms and legs and being burn in the pyre a thousen times than hurt Arthur, much less kill him. I won't go through that nightmare again. Please tell him I love him too, that i never mean to do it. I love him more than I love myself. But if he doesn't believe you, if he hates me forever, it's alright. I don't blame him, so don't blame him either. Keep protecting him, please. Specially from Agravaine. Loves you, Merlin".

Gaius shares this letter with Arthur and of course he breaks all over again, but then he asks, "Why did Merlin told you to protect me from my uncle, Gaius?". Gaius doesn't want to answer at first, but Arthur commands him and Gaius answers carefully "he believed he was the traitor, sire". Arthur responds after a pause "And you believe that too?". There's a silence before the physician says "I gave him the pergamine and the ink, he said he wanted to write a message for you that later I would deliver. I was a fool, I should have known..." he sighs. "But I wonder... where did he get the rope?". And that's when when all clicks to Arthur. Agravaine was the one insisting on killing Merlin inmediatly amd Merlin didn't have access to any rope. He confirms it when the guards tell him Agravaine visited Merlin once, they couldn't hear what the man was telling to the boy, but it sounded like he was threatening him.

Agravaine was the traitor, Agravaine gave Merlin the rope. Agravaine is the reason his Merlin now is gone.

Arthur goes to his uncle a sword in hand and demands answer with the blade on his throat. First he dinies it, but then he laughs. "You killed my sister. You and your father" he admits. Arthur's expression remains as a stone "What did you tell him?" Arthur demands. "I just offer him a less painful way to die". Arthur kills him, but finds no satisfaction. He's dead inside. His Merlin died thinking he hated him and he let him believe that. He didn't visit him for days after all, he didn't confront him inmediatly for answers, he let his uncle cloud his mind. This was his fault.

Arthur looks at his sword and puts the point of the blade on his heart. He's about to push the blade when suddenly the doors open and the sword flies from his hand. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" a familiar panic voice shouts at him and Arthur turns. A Merlin with golden eyes is running to him and then hugs him tightly. "Are you mad?!" Merlin's still scolding him, but Arthur's just watches him in shock. "Merlin" he's only capable to mumble.

It turn's out Merlin's magic saved him somehow. It just put his body on the verge of death enough to make the fomorroh believe that the body was uninhabitable so it left his body completely. His mortal body was now too weak though, so his only vital energy left is his magic. That's why his eyes are constanly gold now. It takes a while for Arthur to understand it. Specially the magic part, but honestly, he's far too happy and relief to have Merlin back that he can't be mad about Merlin lying about his magic. In fact, if anything, he's thankful for it, since it saved Merlin's life.

"But you didn't plan that, did you? You did actually try to kill yourself" he accusses however, still heartbroken at the fact.

"It was the only way I could think of-"

"Never, Merlin" he commands him very serious. "Never do that again"

"I can't promise you that"

"Then any harm you do to yourself, I'll do it to me"

"You can't do that!" the warlock shouts horrified. "You are the king! You have a kingdom-"

"Our kingdom, Merlin! We built it together and it's nothing without you either"

"I'm just a servant, an illegal warlock now. My life doesn't matter."

"Don't ever say that again!" Arthur holds Merlin fiercely. "Didn't I tell you're the most valuable person to me? The only person I could trust with my life" tears run down his eyes.

"But.. I lied to you. I even tried to kill you"

"Lie to me then, kill me. You have my permission"

"Arthur-"

"No, I just got I glimse of what a life without you would be and I won't live it again. Not for a second. I can't lose you again".

"I can't lose you either". Merlin cries too. "My magic, everything I am, is yours. It has always been yours". Arthur caresses his cheek.

"Then let me take care of what it's mine"

Between tears, they kiss. Is not really tender or passionate, but pure necessity for the other.

"I'm sorry" Merlin snifs separating the kiss "Gods! My eyes won't stop shining" he says embarrasssed and tries to cover them.

"Don't" Arthur says while he uncovers his eyes gently. "They're beautiful" Merlin smiles but then sighs, sadly.

"The rest won't think the same"

"You don't have to worry about that"

Arthur gives Merlin a royal pardon so he's the 'only legal sorcerer' unless until he can make magic legal again completely. Gwen and the knights accept him inmediatly. The rest are wary at first but eventually they accept him too, when they realise he's the same clumsy servant they always knew. As Merlin recovers from his near death experience, his eyes glow less, but Arthur loves to see Merlin's eyes turn gold everytime.

Aaaand that's all I got. My imagination can't do much.

[aboutescapism]

enjoy the silence II | ao’nung.

ao’nung x fem!sully!reader

previous part | part two | next part

synopsis: Ao’nung’s words had hurt you, but his contradictory actions hurt you more. You realize your mistake in your idea that you’d be a good match, but it may have already cost you your life.

genre: angst.

contains: more pining from reader, mixed signals, ilu riding. mentions of near death experience, suffocation, overwhelming feelings. ao’nung literally being so confusing. requited love after all?

a/n: welcome to the second installment of enjoy the silence! the first part ended up being posted two days earlier than expected (the last time i ever schedule a post) and still needed scenes added but, i’m so happy you all loved it so much anyway! i tagged everyone who asked to be tagged. thank you guys so much for the support!

The morning after Ao’nung had said those things to you by the shore came quickly. After he had stalked off, you went back to your mauri, purposely taking the long way home to be with your thoughts for a while. Did you read his signs wrong? Was he even giving any signs to begin with? Or had you been clouded with the illusion of being a perfect pair that you hadn’t even considered how Ao’nung felt?

Your siblings could feel your slight sadness when you arrived back, but no one had questioned it much, save for a few, “Feelin’ alright?”s from your father. Moving to Awa’atlu had affected everyone, they had felt the overwhelming ache of homesickness every once in a while, they understood you were feeling down. If only they knew, your once source of happiness was now your source of distress.

Despite that, you weren’t angry with Ao’nung. Not at all. You understood where he was coming from completely. As the future Olo’eyktan, he needs to protect his people. That means protecting them from humans, and your family had brought that threat. If anything, it’s natural for him to be hostile towards you. That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. But you were resilient.

You just had to prove to him you were more than what was running in your veins. 

Today, like the past few days, was filled with training. Ao’nung was paired up with you, again. You felt uneasy at first, not wanting to make him more uncomfortable with you. He gave Tsireya a look, almost begging to switch partners. She only rolled her eyes and smiled when you reached them.

He must’ve told her how he felt about you, or maybe she had heard his harsh words to you last night. Either way, you’re sure she smacked him upside the head for upsetting you. Tsireya took a genuine liking to you, and she may or may not have been doubling her efforts in winning over the Sully family due to her liking of Lo'ak. 

Once all together in the shallow water, Ao’nung began to call to the Ilu. Almost immediately, they swam up and circled him. It was mesmerizing, watching him call them so effortlessly, how they swam up to him so fondly. 

“These are Ilu. If you want to live here, you have to ride,” he explained. You were excited, you had little trouble claiming your Ikran, surely this is no different.

Ao’nung faced you, pointing, “the demon girl will go first.” Your eyes widened, suddenly intimidated. But, you had to show him you weren’t just some forest girl with five fingers.  

You swam up to an Ilu, petting it. It clicked at you, nudging you affectionately. This creature was so gentle, so sweet to you. Your Ikran was nothing but the opposite when you claimed it; squawking loudly, attempting to throw you over the edge of the cliff. You gained some confidence from its gentle demeanor, and climbed on top. Tsireya and Ao’nung swam up beside to keep the Ilu still and allow you to make a bond. 

“Make the bond, and hold here,” Tsireya gestured to the handle. You pulled your queue from behind you, bare, pink nerves ready to make a connection. You took a deep breath and made the bond with your Ilu. Suddenly, you felt its being as whole, as a part of you. You felt its breath, its fins, how strong it is, how eager it was to swim with a new driver. 

“Breathe from here, remember. Hold your breath when you dive, the Ilu is fast. But it will know when to go back up for air. It feels you, you feel it,” Ao’nung placed his hand on your upper stomach like he had done when training your breathing. You gasped quietly, not expecting such a gentle, forward gesture from him. Especially not after last night’s exchange.

Your golden eyes made contact with his, your brows furrowed in confusion. Hadn’t he just reprimanded you for just merely existing? Now he was touching you so delicately, like you’d break from too much pressure. Had last night really just been a bit? Just a teasing joke? Maybe he didn’t hate you after all? 

His mixed signals made you feel fuzzy, your brain suddenly so confused. The Ilu felt it, too, and began to thrash around from the uncertainty you felt at Ao’nung’s touch. He removed his hand from you, much to your disappointment, to calm the Ilu back down to stillness. 

You shook the thoughts about him out of your head, you had to focus. “I’m ready, I can do this.”

“Start slow, don’t hurt yourself,” Ao’nung’s tone was firm, but worried. Perhaps he did care for you.

You took another deep breath, and went off into the water. 

You started slow, like Ao’nung instructed, getting comfortable with being pulled through the water by the Ilu. Gradually you sped up, gliding through the reef with ease.

The rush of adrenaline that flowed through you only made you more and more confident. The beautiful reef had you hypnotized, you felt so much while being wished around the glowy underwater plants and animals. The swirl of colors dizzied you in only the best way, leaving you in awe.

You reached a hand out to brush against the foliage as you flew past it. It was so soft to the touch. It only reminded you of Ao'nung's.

What he said greatly hurt you, joke or not. The contrast of his words then and now was so confounding to you. And with the thought of him back in your mind, you became tense, now losing your focus. You lost your balance on the Ilu along with your secure grip.

This thrashed you around some, but you could regain your composure. Unfortunately, it was proving difficult.

You underestimated the force of the water. Your grip on the Ilu faltered more with the ever growing speed. You couldn’t keep up, the pressure was too much. The rush of the water was now pulling you back, straining your limbs. Dreadful fear filled you when you realized, inevitably you’d be knocked off and sent into waters you weren’t familiar with at all, with animals and creatures you’d never interacted with. 

You had underestimated the difficulty of riding an Ilu, just as you had underestimated Ao’nung’s impact on you. It was all too similar.

At first, you’d been confident and blinded by excitement. Excitement of meeting your seemingly perfect match. Excitement of trying something new. You weren’t careful, not assessing the situation completely before you dived in headfirst.

You didn’t take Ao’nung himself into account, how powerful his actions, his feelings are just as the water’s force is on your body now. Oh, how your impulsivity ricocheted back to you, but ten times stronger. Whiplash from Ao’nung’s mixed signals and the rush of the current you’re trying to push through. 

You had to let go, you realized. 

You had to let go of the Ilu before you hurt yourself. You had to let go of your delusional idea of yours and Ao’nung’s relationship before it drastically hurts you. Or him. You couldn't bear the thought of hurting him, in any way.

He didn’t feel the same, he never would. Spiraling down this idea would only complicate things more. You needed to let go.

With that, you took your grip off the Ilu, ripped from the back of the creature and sent off into the water. 

Your breath had begun to ran out and you were so far down, clouded with thoughts of needing air and needing Ao'nung. Neither would come to you soon enough.

Unbeknownst to you, a pair of azure eyes caught sight of your descending figure before it was too late. He couldn't bear the thought of you being hurt. The thought alone was what was driving him to swim to you faster.

Ao'nung needed you, too.

taglist! @maxiel4life @aonungmyaddiction @awkward-halfhug @bratsukisworld @bigdikzaddy @iheartamajiki @adaiasafira @holysaladapricothero

[creedslove]

HEARTLESS 💔 - PART FIFTEEN

Agent Whiskey (Jack Daniels) x f!reader

Summary: the aftermath of Wyatt's birthday party. You and Jack end up hurting each other with your different points of view, but your love is stronger

(This is the fifth chapter of the HEARTLESS 💔 series)

• PART ONE TO FOURTEEN ON MY MASTERLIST

Warnings: angst, two idiots in love, fluff, mom!reader

A/N: besties, I love this chapter very much, I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do. Our cowboy deserves nothing but the best and I know how much you've missed him! I have missed him too! ❤️

5.6k words

You smiled at the pictures and at your son the entire time, a part of you was indeed extremely happy to be there, holding your baby boy who was now growing into a wonderful child, turning four and blowing his candles next to his daddy for the first time in his life. He looked at everyone who gathered around and sang him happy birthday with awe, never seen so many people cheering on him, gifting him presents, not to mention the other presents he got from his daddy before. Wyatt was having the best day of his little life, amongst others best days of his life, ever since his father came into the picture, he made sure to make things memorable for him.

On the other, you were feeling a hint of hurt, perhaps a melancholy even, too many emotions happening all at once: you and Jack making out constantly like horny teenagers, that felt pretty good, giving you a sense of freedom, finally expressing your feelings and your hormones, the things you'd been so desperately trying to hide from the others as well as from yourself, for a long time you carried with shame the love you felt for Jack Daniels, after what he did to you and your son. You never thought it would even be possible to express those feelings you desperately pretended to be non-existent, but again, that cowboy had his own way to make your world upside down and his gentle attitude, loving words, warm eyes and a tight, manly grip around your body had you hostage again, you simply couldn't break free from Jack Daniels, even if you tried to - and you did, for very long - he just had a way to keep you his. It felt bittersweet to know you were free to be with him, now Frankie was out of the picture, which was also partially why you felt upset. It's not a matter of breaking up with him, even if Whiskey wasn't in the picture, you and Frankie would end up splitting up sooner or later; he was just too close to his ex-wife to be over her, your relationship was just a consequence of two lonely people looking for a hook-up online. He was handsome, sweet and a good kisser, but you weren't in love with him, your heart was never open to anyone but the cowboy that both disgraced your life and also added a sense to it. It was only a matter of time until either of you would have to start the unpleasant conversation and get things done with; however, what made you upset was the way the break-up happened. Perhaps it would've been better if it didn't happen in the middle of your son's birthday party and though there wasn't a scene apart from when his daughter bit your son, it still felt odd. You were disappointed in Frankie for finding out he'd been hiding things from you, but just because of that, you didn't think it was appropriate for Jack to throw Frankie's dossier onto his lap as if they were in the middle of an interrogation. You were thankful your cowboy was protective and willing to take the risks to help and protect you, but you knew you would've handled things differently. Still, things were done and they'd remain that way, you were at least thankful you didn't have to handle things like that at all.

But Jack still pressured you and made you uncomfortable, he was already talking about marriage, kids and you weren't there yet. Of course you wanted to spend time with your cowboy, you were willing to make things right for your family, for your son and also for yourself, but you didn't want to get married and let alone have more kids. You didn't trust Jack with getting you pregnant, the trauma and the sadness you went through in a moment that was supposed to be one of the best and happiest of your life was too present, you still had nightmares about it and you were not willing to let it repeat itself, even if your cowboy got on his knees and swore to you he'd never do anything like that, you wouldn't like to figure out by yourself.

You couldn't lie to yourself if you said you hadn't let your mind wander and dared to think of an alternative scenario where you went all the way with Jack: marriage and another kid. Perhaps it could work, you had no way to guess if it would, but you decided to be safe rather than sorry and immediately draw the line. You could tell he'd become upset at your immediate refusal right under the willow tree, he was surprisingly soft when it came to family business and it wouldn't be different when you weren't interested in his future plans. Jack Daniels was a traditional man, he was one to get married and settle down, just like he'd been taught from a young age, like real men were supposed to do. He thought that now that you and him were finally on the same page about becoming a real family and giving it a shot, you would also agree with him. He thought you'd say yes to his proposal even if it wasn't official yet and also his idea to give Wyatt a baby brother or baby sister. However, you'd said no. He couldn't even blame you, no one could; even if you were the most selfish person in the world, - which you weren't, because after all the shit he'd done, he'd committed himself to worship the ground you stepped on - he knew it was understandable and expectable too. But that old broken heart was overflowing with love for you and your son, it just kept the fire of hope alive, so when you'd been nothing but clear when you stated you wouldn't get marry nor have kids, he got upset. Not only that, he felt quite rejected. Perhaps it was a product of the tension he went through with your ex earlier that day, he had hated Frankie since day one, even before finding the dirt on him, he just couldn't have sympathy for anyone who had the woman he loved; if it were up to him, he would've kicked his ass and told him to fuck off, but he couldn't do that in the middle of his son's birthday party, not when toddlers ran around and the adults enjoyed good food and drink. And then that little monster Frankie called a daughter bit his boy and Jack felt angry. He was actually pissed. Yeah, she was a child - a very spoiled, whiny and annoying one - and he knew that often happened, but he'd always hated biters, his little sister was a biter and he learned from a young age to hate this kind. There was also the fact he was actually being able to take part in his son's birthday for the first time and the need of making everything perfect and memorable for Wyatt was a bit nerve wracking, not that he would admit it, but Jack Daniels didn't lose sleep before a mission, but he did lose sleep before a four-year-old party because he wasn't sure if the inflatables and the trampolines were good enough.

At that point, Jack was just tired, too many people around his home, making too much noise and whereas his son was having the time of his life, Whiskey preferred the moments he'd spent with only you and him, where Wyatt played with his pony and you were both quiet and affectionate. However, each time Wyatt's laugh was heard all over the place, the cowboy couldn't hold back his unconscious smile, he never knew how the happiness of a child could make him feel young and good again. Like the bad, rough path in his life had never existed. When he left the willow tree with you and your son, Whiskey was silent, not getting closer, he felt the sting of rejection and even if he knew it wasn't fair and that you had all the right to want different things in life, he still pouted and put his cowboy hat on, following you down the party.

He kept his distance once everyone sang Wyatt happy birthday, he could feel the same tension you did, the way you stood all stiff next to your son, occasionally smiling at everything and everybody but avoiding his gaze, it made his heart clench, he didn't really know what else to do. He didn't want to lose you, but it seemed at times that no matter what he did, if he showered you with love or affection, he still managed to scare you off. He closed his eyes and sighed, another flash by the cameras that photographed the moment he stood next to his family. Normally Jack wouldn't be in so many pictures, but he always made exceptions for you and now your son too. The cowboy was so caught up in his feelings, he only noticed how close you were the moment you wrapped your arms around him, closing the distance between the two of you and Wyatt stood on a chair, to be at your height so you could have a beautiful picture to watch in the future. He looked at you slightly surprised, not expecting a physical touch from you, even if the warmth was so soothing and familiar, he didn't expect to have your body glued tight to his. It was some kind of hypnosis, being away from you for so long, whenever he was able to touch you, it simply didn't feel real at all. He still couldn't ignore how upset he was, but when he looked into your eyes and saw your smile, he went soft. Posing for another picture wanting that moment to be eternalized.

•••

"Cake?" You offered Jack a small plate, joining him at one of the many tables that were set through the backyard. One by one, the guests began taking off after the cake was cut and served, the party naturally coming to an end after hours of fun and adventure for the kids as well as their parents who drank, ate and danced, because if there was something Jack Daniels was good at, it was definitely throwing a ranch party. Wyatt baffled the two of you, still having the energy to bounce from inflatable to inflatable, trampoline from trampoline, so excited he completely forgot about the pile of presents exclusively for him. You were exhausted and you could tell the cowboy was just the same, taking the cake from your hand with a small thank you as he began nibbling at it.

He was upset, you could tell, because his aviators were back on, covering his eyes and even if they weren't uncovered you just knew they wouldn't carry that traditional spark. His shit-eating grin was replaced by his serious expression and you just felt so frustrated with that man. Instead of having your lips on those tempting lips of his, you had to go through that whole awkward situation with him. Why couldn't things be a lot more simple? Why couldn't you just enjoy each other's company, without making things complicated?

He didn't say anything at first, just watching as Wyatt ran from one place to the other, enjoying the toys a lot more now that he didn't actually need to share them with the other kids.

"Why don't you wanna marry me?" Jack broke the silence, not looking directly at you, he looked down instead, eager and also scared to hear your answer.

"Instead of asking me this, why don't you answer my question, Jack?! Why do you wanna marry me so bad?"

You caught that cowboy by surprise, out of all the answers in the world, the ones he could have possibly heard, that was something he didn't expect.

"I-I…" he started but bit his lips, taking his glasses off and looking at you "it doesn't feel real to me that you want to give our family a chance, the feeling I have is that one day you'll wake up and get back to your senses, that you'll remember I'm not good and shouldn't be forgiven, so I fear you will walk away from me. I figured that if we get married, not only would it assure me that wouldn't happen, but we could also pick up from where we left off" that making perfect sense in his mind.

"So you just want to trap me?"

"Sugar, don't look at things that way… I mean yeah, getting married would be a way of making sure you don't regret giving me a chance, but I would also like to continue from where we left off…"

"We will never continue from where we left off, Jack… listen, Wyatt just turned four, which means we're talking about nearly five years in the past; there's been too much between us, a horrible, traumatic, violent, break up. There was a pregnancy, also traumatic, because it was scary, painful, stressful, there was a child birth, countless nights of staying up and taking care of a baby I wasn't even sure how to do so, I'm not holding it against you, but there's no turning back, Jack. You will never be able to make up for this all because it's long gone, and I can see you want to prove yourself, have a chance so you can show me now you can handle taking care of a baby, but I'm not gonna be part of your experiment"

"I just thought we could be a family, a real, big family, I know the three of us are already one, but I wanted to have another baby, I wanted to make you my wife, have you wear a big fancy ring around your beautiful finger and go to bed and wake up every single day for the rest of my life next to you. I'm not saying that what we have now, how we are getting along and finally breaking the barrier that was keeping us apart isn't good, but I wanted more… I wanted to know for a fact one day you won't just wake up and walk away from me, sugar"

And that was exactly the kind of assurance you couldn't offer him. Yes, you were willing to be with Jack, as a couple maybe, as lovers definitely because you simply couldn't get your hands off your cowboy, but were you 100% certain you wanted to have him for the rest of your life? You didn't know.

"It seems like we want different things in life Jack… you pressure me when you talk about this, about the future, when you talk about having babies as if the whole experience with Wyatt hadn't happened"

"And you hurt me when you just discard our future without a second thought, sugar" he looked down, placing the plate on the table and sighing, getting up and taking his leather jacket off, placing it on your shoulder, surprising you at the soft touch, only then realizing you were actually shivering at the cool wind. The cowboy excused himself and walked inside.

•••

Whiskey had got inside his home, pouring himself a glass of the hardest Statesman liquor he could find and got into his bathtub. He let out a loud groan, his sore muscles finally relaxing under the warm water, but unfortunately to him, not all the relaxation in the world could soothe his heart. He wasn't even sure what that all meant. Were you and him still trying? Broken up? He didn't know and he was afraid to ask, perhaps it would be better if he left that question mark hanging for a little while. He sank his head under the water so he could be alone with his thoughts.

You called Wyatt, who finally came running to you. He was panting and his skin was sticky with sweat from how much he played even if the weather wasn't warm anymore. He smiled and gave you a big hug, snuggling you and letting out a yawn, he had never been happier, though he frowned not seeing his daddy. You explained to your son Jack had had an early night because he was tired. All of you were, but you knew Wyatt still needed a warm bath before bed.

Once your son was clean up, warm and tucked in bed, you felt kind of awkward, not sure if you should lie down or go after Jack. Things had escalated to more than tense once you two opened your hearts and though you wanted to make things right, you didn't know how to. Jack was a stubborn man, and if he had that idea in mind, you knew you wouldn't be able to go against it. However, you were also sure you wouldn't be able to simply go to bed when things were so unsolved, you couldn't say yes to his marriage proposal in one night, but you could at least make sure things were alright - or not - between the two of you.

You exited your bedroom and decided to go to Jack's, so eager to knock on his door you barely noticed him walking towards you, apparently he also had issues he had to address. You stopped just inches from bumping against him, but it didn't stop the cowboy to hold you by the hips. He smiled down at you, but it didn't meet the eyes, and you were sure he was still upset.

"Hey sugar, going somewhere in a rush?" He asked curiously at your nod but since you didn't actually reply to his question, he just cleared his throat

"I was wondering if you'd be okay with me taking Wyatt to the Statesman tomorrow morning? I gotta go there to make some payments for the service some employees did at the party and I was thinking that would be a nice opportunity for him to see his daddy's workplace"

He smirked proudly, imagining how excited Wyatt would be while running around the hallways of Statesman, seeing the cool stuff his daddy worked with. He was sure he would enjoy their time together, but the moment he noticed your sad expression, Jack frowned, concerned about you and what could've happened.

"Jack, can I ask you a question? Are you mad at me? About the fact I don't want more babies or a wedding?"

He sighed and bit his lip, carefully choosing his words, he didn't want to offend you in any way, but he wasn't great at hiding how upset that made him

"I'm not mad, it's your choice… but as I said, it made me upset, I had already made plans for us, sugar. It's nice we're getting along, but I expected more, as you already know… Would you ever marry me? Someday?"

"I-I don't know, Jack" you sighed and looked down, ashamed of your honest response, being sure it would hurt that broken heart even more.

He nodded and looked around, taking a step back from you. He thought of kissing your lips goodnight, but he didn't actually see the point in it.

•••

Jack and Wyatt had left earlier in the morning, your little boy was still very sleepy and cuddly as he first got up, climbing your lap and snuggling you, just like he did it as a small baby, though now time was flying and he was growing more and more each day. You had wrapped your arms around him and played with his soft, growing curls, listening to his calm soft breaths as he fell asleep again. You rested your chin on his head and closed your eyes, happy at the small time you had with him, you missed Wyatt terribly for the past two days, as the two of you were so busy with his party you barely spent time together. Jack walked into the living room, looking good in his clothes, aviators on and his hat in hands, going absolutely silent once he realized his son had fallen asleep.

"Do you want me to leave him here so he can sleep some more?" He suggested it, but you quickly dismissed the idea, you knew how excited Wyatt was to go out with his daddy, he just needed a few minutes to catch up on his sleep.

The cowboy joined you on the couch, his big hand stroking his son's soft curls and watching his sleep features in adoration, his son was absolutely gorgeous, he had taken a lot from you, even if he did have a lot of similarities with his daddy, Jack came to the conclusion he was all you. He smiled at that thought and sighed softly, at the same time Wyatt opened his brown eyes and giggled to see his daddy right there. Neither of you addressed the short, frustrating conversation you had in the hallway the night before, instead you both focused on serving Wyatt breakfast and you helped Jack buckle him up in his Bronco so they could have their boys adventure.

And then you were free to do whatever you wanted. It was definitely a rare moment of your post pregnancy life where you could actually do anything you wanted without having to worry about your son. Even though being a mother meant you would worry about your kid at all times, you trusted Jack knowing he'd keep your son safe. Helen didn't take long to arrive and assured you she would be supervising the cleaning team Jack hired to clean after the party, you could do that without her help, but she was just so kind to you, you thanked her by assuring the woman she could go home right afterwards, no need to cook any meals as you would take care of it.

While you were oddly free, the first thing you decided to do was take a bath. You figured Jack wouldn't mind lending you his tub; you wouldn't make a mess or snoop around his stuff, you just filled the tub, picked your favorite bath bomb and sank your entire body into the water, sounds of relief coming out of your mouth. You couldn't even remember the last time you were able to take such a relaxing bath, at any time you wanted and spending as long as you'd like. Chances were the last time you actually spent some time like that was even before getting pregnant, probably inside Jack's tub as well. You weren't sure if you just closed your eyes and relaxed or if you'd dozed off, but nearly an hour later, you were drying yourself and getting dressed, feeling so good about herself. Looking out the window, you saw that the tables that had crowded the backyard just a day before had gone, the green fields seemed spotless clean, but the inflatables were still there; of course Jack would pay extra to have them for longer so Wyatt would play.

You turned around and picked your riding boots, it was time you paid your beautiful Silver Pony a visit and took her for a ride.

The walk to the stables was fast, you were so used to going in the same direction you were able to just follow it through muscle memory; there was a time you rode horses almost every day, and that didn't necessarily make you good at it, you were decent at best, Jack always made sure to be around and take care of you, though he used to encourage you to try and do it alone, so you would always go with Silver Pony, she wasn't a racing horse, she never sped up and you just loved going out with her. You loved that horse, and she loved you too.

"Hi girl, I missed you" you said excitedly as soon as you eyed her, the horse showing the same excitement to see you, moving her body and motioning her head towards you, so you'd pet her. You chuckled at how sweet your lovely friend was and got the saddle ready, just like the cowboy had taught you to do and in no time you were riding your beloved horse again. Not without attaching your fruit basket to her saddle, an old habit of picking up fresh fruit straight from the trees.

It was a very beautiful day, sunny and warm, and you only cursed under your breath for forgetting the beautiful hat Jack had gifted you. You smiled at the idea of going horseback riding with your son and your cowboy, it would definitely be a good family date, you decided you'd bring it up later that day.

You saw the fence that indicated the end of Jack's property and since you didn't have schedules or responsibility for the day, you just decided to ride further, as you hadn't been around the neighborhood in so long.

You hadn't taken your phone nor a watch so you had no idea how long you've been riding Silver Pony, you passed by the fruit trees, the neighbors' property and you only realized you'd gone far when you saw the cemetery gate. You swallowed hard, knowing this place without ever being there, you knew how long Jack had spent visiting the grave of his late wife and unborn son. He had the habit of visiting them very often, once a week at least, bringing them flowers and spending some time there, talking to them, as it was the only thing that could give his broken heart some comfort. Then, as the years passed and the pain still lingered there, he continued his ritual, only being able to actually reduce it once he met you, then his visits stopped being weekly, but he still felt the need of seeing them. You respected and understood that, even if it seemed a little too depressing at the time, but then, standing so near and yet so far from their grave, you felt an urge to go and see them. It came out of nowhere, you hadn't even thought of Jack's late family, they hadn't crossed your mind in days, but at that very moment you decided you needed to see her grave. You had never even considered doing so, but you would. Tying Silver Pony to a tree so she could relax under the shadows, you picked some wildflowers you found on the grass, feeling weird to walk inside empty-handed.

You weren't bothered by cemeteries, you didn't see the fuss in visiting them, but you didn't avoid it when you had to, seeing it was a simple place, a lot of green fields and flowers, one could say it was even a beautiful place. You walked around paying attention to the tombstones, wanting to find hers, which didn't take very long. Amongst the other simpler ones, hers stood with fresh flowers and a beautiful but sad sculpture of a cherub angel.

Of course Jack would get his wife nothing but the best. You took a step closer and lowered yourself, placing the wildflowers next to the other ones, a little shy at how simple your last minute tribute was, but you could feel she was a kind-hearted woman and wouldn't mind it at all.

"Gabriella Daniels

Loving mother and wife.

Gone but not forgotten"

The inscriptions on her tombstone were simple but it brought you a pang of sadness, watching how beautiful she was in the picture, she should be around Jack's age by then, and yet, she looked younger than you currently were. You'd been her age, but she would never live up to turn your age. It was sad and tragic, even if the date of her passing was more than two decades, it still felt so brutal to know a love was killed at such young stage, under such a painful way. She should've been able to celebrate anniversaries, give birth, watch her baby grow up next to her husband, and yet, it was all taken away from her. From him. From them.

Poor Gabriella was doomed to become forever young in a broken man's heart and mind, turned into memories and dust, while her young husband was doomed to becoming a lonely, brokenhearted man.

You spotted another plaque smaller, but right next to hers, and it shattered your heart.

"Jack Daniels Junior

An angel sent back to heaven"

Perhaps it was because you were now a mother and you witnessed the intense love a mother felt for her son, or just because you knew Jack Daniels and you witnessed the intense love a grieving father felt for his unborn son. But you let out a small sob, the tears insistently falling from your cheeks, as you watched those two tombstones. It might've been the proximity you had with the story, without even knowing them personally, but you were nonetheless affected by it.

However, it was still a distant tragedy, like the ones you often hear about and felt upset for a while, but then you move on, but standing there, in front of their graves, you could feel how real and intense it truly was. You could only think of Jack and the gruesome pain he felt, how your own chest tightened just at the mere thought of going through something similar, about losing him and your son.

It clicked, it all made sense to why he was so desperate about assurance, about a true indicator that he wouldn't lose you or Wyatt, that happiness wouldn't run away from him, escaping through his fingers like sand. Would it be so bad to actually give him a chance? An assurance? He wasn't the monster you had unconsciously built in your nightmares, yes, there was a part of him that was that monster for a while, when he broke your heart and pushed you away, but he had got back on his tracks. You sighed, shaking your head and trying to make a sense out of your thoughts. It was all so confusing and yet, you were so sure, at the undoubtedly uncertainty of life, at the proof nothing really lasted forever and at the realization that if you had a chance to be happy today, you shouldn't waste it thinking of the future that might have not even come,you felt sure of it, of it all.

You sat on the grass more comfortably and wiped your tears softly

"H-hi… I'm sorry, it's a little weird for me to do that… but I know Jack does it and it helps him. I guess you know me and I know you too, Gabriella. I'm very sorry for what happened to you and your beautiful baby boy, your absence was so painful to Jack but we both know he's strong and well, you and your baby Jack will always have a place in his heart. Our cowboy has done some shitty things, to me, and to our son, but he's found his way back to being his old sweet self… he's still a little corny and clueless, but that's part of his charm right?" You chuckled softly "thank you for being so good to him, but now I'll take care of our cowboy…"

You dried your tears and smiled more at yourself as you felt so light, so peaceful at the end of your… conversation.

You rushed to Silver Pony, caressing her head before hopping on your girl again. She took you home at a slow pace, giving you enough time to stop at the peach tree path, so you could pick some of them and take it home. You would make a peach pie for your cowboy, knowing he loved eating it with some vanilla ice cream just like his grandma had taught him to. Just by knowing how excited he would get, it made you happy and eager to get the sweet treat started. You could tell yourself you were just excited to see Jack's reaction at the fact he would enjoy his favorite childhood recipe, but in fact your heart was tightening to see your cowboy, you needed to see him, touch him, talk to him and enjoy the fact the two of you were there alive and well, healthy and happy, with a beautiful son and a bright future ahead.

Once Silver Pony finally reached the gates to Jack's property, you could see the Bronco parked and Wyatt rushing to you, running as fast as his little legs could take him, you got off the horse and placed the basket down, opening your arms to welcome him, embracing your son into a tight hug. You were so lucky to have your son so alive and well, snuggling Wyatt and letting him giggle and tell you all about the awesome day he spent next to his daddy. You nodded and stroked his curls, letting him speak for as long as he wanted, but eventually, he blushed and looked down in shame

"Mommy we have a pwoblem… daddy bought McDonald's fow lunch and he bought nuggies fow you, but I ate them" he said a little ashamed of eating everything and not letting one single nugget left for you. You bit your lips so you wouldn't burst out laughing at how funny and cute that was. Ruffing your hair, you let your son know it was alright.

Then you picked up your basket and rushed to Jack, who gave you a shy smile, not having enough time to say anything at all, as you wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.

Whiskey didn't expect it, but as soon as your lips touched, he unconsciously glued your bodies together, not resisting you, there, so close to him. His hand gripping you at the same time you could see his confused expression, but you just shrugged.

"The answer is yes"

"What?"

"You know what question I'm talking about, cowboy, the answer is yes" you winked at him and caressed his smooth cheek.

Before Jack could add anything else, you grabbed his hat, placing it on your head and smirked

"Cowboy hat rule, Mr.Daniels"

____

A/N: I really hope you enjoy it besties, you are the whole reason why this cowboy gets so much love 🥺❤️

[robin-buckely]

Coloring Tutorial

Hello, this tutorial is for the wonderful @djoharrington​​ and those of you wondering how I colored this set. I’m going to be talking about how to color the first gif only to keep this tutorial from getting too long. The other two used the same coloring method with only minor adjustments made to keep them looking similar.

Yes, this scene really is that dark before coloring.

Quick notes on what I’m using:

mpv player for screencapping — not mentioned in tutorial

Photoshop 2021 for editing

I mention mpv player because I’m giffing 4k, and it’s one of the few players I’ve come across that take continuous caps that don’t end up looking washed out. It makes for easier coloring.

This is me coloring literally any Upside Down scene:

Step 1: brighten the hell out of this gif

You can use a throwaway layer to get you started. I used an exposure layer (which I eventually kept and adjusted during the original process of coloring this scene) with end settings of: exposure at +5.25, offset and gamma correction at default.

Now we can see all the beautiful details of Nancy’s face. Well, most of them.

Step 2: photo filter layer 1

The way I offset this horrid blue tint they use for Upside Down scenes is a photo filter layer (several for this particular scene). For now, just the one. Put this below the exposure layer!

This brings a bit of color back to Nancy’s face and warms up the blue tones that are so prevalent in Upside Down scenes.

I don’t change the blending mode, opacity, or fill, just keep as is.

Step 3: curves layer 1

I clicked around a lot with this layer. Mostly in an attempt to get rid of the blue and adding more color to Nancy’s face. Didn’t get the result I was looking for with this layer until I added other layers. But I managed to brighten the gif a little more and add some contrast.

Step 4: hue/saturation layer

Put this layer below the photo filter layer! I used this layer to balance out the colors I pulled from the curves layer. Brought back some warmth/purples by adjusting cyans and blues.

Step 5: selective color layer 1

Ended up a little more purple than I wanted with the hue/sat layer, so I used a selective color layer (set between the hue/saturation layer and the photo filter layer) to get rid of the purple by, again, adjusting cyans and blues.

Make sure to have “Absolute” marked!

This is better! There’s a lot more color that isn’t blue in Nancy’s face now that I can work with and manipulate.

Step 6: color balance layer

This one goes on top of the curves layer (should be the topmost layer at this point). Only adjusted Midtones and Shadows, adding a little more red and yellow in her hair and face.

This looks a lot more natural. Now we just have to brighten it up again.

Step 7: exposure and curves layer 2

I don’t touch the RGB mode on this curves layer. I mostly adjust the Red, Green, and Blue modes by adding a little more red and green while sliding the bottom corner on Blue to add more yellow to the shadows.

Technically, I could stop here if I wanted, but the purple is still pretty prominent in the gif, especially in Nancy’s eyes, and it’s hard to adjust that without adjusting the color of the entire canvas since there’s movement in this gif. If Nancy were more of a still subject here, then layer masks are an option. Alas…

So I adjust the colors and try to get rid of the purple. The gif as a whole kind of looks washed out as well. I want more color here.

Step 8: photo filter layer 2

I set the opacity to 55%. I want warmth, but not too much.

Step 9: selective color layer 2

This is where I end up seeing the most change. Even small adjustments go a long way here.

It’s mostly the cyans, blues, and magentas which makes sense given how overwhelmingly blue this scene was, then almost overwhelmingly purple as I started making adjustments. Red and yellows are important for anything to do with the face and hair. This is where I add a more “natural” shade to Nancy. Literally anything that isn’t fucking blue is an improvement to me at this point, given how it started out.

Blue is back in the background where it belongs and not in Nancy’s face.

I think this is where I originally stopped. Like this looks pretty good to me, but I also wanted to make sure the other two gifs could be colored similarly, and they were for the most part. But there was only so much adjusting I could do to Nancy’s face in the third gif without adjusting the entirety of the scene (and set), so I had to go back and adjust her here to get a similar coloring.

(A lot of this set was back and forth, adjusting the colorings until they matched. It took so long. Especially with the stupid Upside Down visual effects in the background. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so there were a lot of minor adjustments and a lot of nitpicking until I ended up with a result I liked.)

So last and final step.

Step 10: selective color layer 3

I ended up adding more red to the face, hair, and shadows to keep the first and third gif similar in coloring. And this is where we get our final product.

And the side-by-side comparison again.

Anyway, here you have it. This is the end of the tutorial. I can in no way guarantee that this method will work on other Upside Down scenes (trust me, I’ve tried), but hopefully you’ve learned something!

And hopefully I’ve explained myself well enough that you can apply this :)

[voxofthevoid]

Shibuya Swap Wednesday #1. Let me start by putting on my clown makeup 🤡

My plan was a few chapters of fun, filthy porn, with the dimension travel adding a particular kind of spice. One chapter each for Canon!Satoru/Alt!Yuuji, Alt!Satoru/Canon!Yuuji, Alt!Satoru/Alt/Yuuji, and Canon!Satoru/Canon!Yuuji.

I'm 6.5k in, and not only has there not been a single dick in sight, but I've also somehow outlined a scene where Nanami, Shouko, Megumi, and Nobara meet alt!Yuuji. I haven't reached that scene either.

This is going to be more than four chapters. Titled this (this is also part of the story) how the story changes, and well, the story sure is changing on me.

But I'm having fun! Click through to find around 1.6k of SFW Yuuji porn, ft. all my favorite JJK characters—Yuuji, Gojou, and Kenjaku.

“Good night, Gojou Satoru. Let us meet again in the—”

The parasite in Suguru’s body falls abruptly quiet, familiar eyes widening in an expression that should be familiar, is familiar, except Satoru’s mind keeps rejecting it, desperate to divorce everything about the creature in front of him from the long-gone reality of his best friend.

It’s distracting.

Maybe that’s why he doesn’t notice the other person until there are hands on his shoulders and legs pressed against his back, somehow evading the uncomfortably warm, fleshy grip of the cursed object restraining him to bracket him in human warmth.

“What are you doing to my cute little student, Mum?” says a semi-familiar, impossible voice. “And why are you wearing Suguru-kun?”

The parasite’s face is frozen in an expression that’s half shock, half rapture.

“Oh?” they say, little of their evident shock showing in their voice. “What is this?”

“Why is the wrong question, I guess,” the newcomer says, and it’s there again, a pervasive sense of wrongness at the sound of that familiar–unfamiliar voice. “How? When, maybe.”

The parasite’s grin widens, exposing a revolting amount of teeth. It’s an expression of pure delight, utterly deranged.

Satoru’s self-aware enough to know he shouldn’t judge, but that’s never stopped him.

“Not quite,” the parasite tells the newcomer. “When isn’t enough either. Gojou Satoru is your student, you said? That doesn’t sound right to me.”

“That so?” the newcomer says mildly, their voice still making the insides of Satoru’s skull ache. One of the hands on Satoru’s shoulder slides along the slope of it, gently skimming up the side of his neck to fist tightly in his hair. His head is yanked back, the world briefly a blur. “He has grown a bit. What have you gotten yourself into now, Satoru?”

Even upside down, the newcomer’s face is distinctive, unmistakable, even as it makes Satoru’s mind writhe with the same eerie dissonance of his voice. Pink hair, warm eyes—familiar. Scarred flesh, four eyes—unfamiliar.

“Huh,” Satoru says intelligently.

The Six Eyes are just eyes now, the blockade on Satoru’s cursed energy stripping them of their extraordinary perception, but even with this disconcertingly pared-down vision, Satoru knows what he’s looking at—who he’s looking at.

Familiar lips with an unfamiliar scar on one corner curl into a kind smile. “You still get into the worst situations, don’t you? Some things just don’t change.”

That’s unfair. Satoru hasn’t been in situations in years. He is the situation.

But all that is stuck in his throat, every second he spends looking at this person cementing the reality of him in all of Satoru’s remaining senses.

“Yuuji,” he breathes.

It is and it isn’t. This is Yuuji’s face and Yuuji’s voice and Yuuji’s smile, but the man looking down at Satoru has unfamiliar scars and four active eyes on a face as old as his own, maybe older.

Man, not boy.

Yuuji, not his Yuuji.

“Me,” Yuuji agrees calmly. He’s still smiling, and it reaches his eyes too—all four of them, all that warm brown. “Don’t look so worried, Satoru. I’m here. Everything will be alright.”

No one’s said that to Satoru in a long time. No one’s needed to.

He’s not enjoying the role reversal.

The way this drastically different Yuuji is touching him doesn’t help. The hand fisted in Satoru’s hair is still there, pulling at his scalp as it keeps his head tilted back. An experimental attempt to straighten his head yields nothing. If Yuuji notices the resistance, he doesn’t show it, continuing to hold Satoru by the hair and peer down at him with that eerily serene smile.

And his other hand has crept from Satoru’s shoulder to his face, cupping the side of it. The fingers are curled under his chin, digging delicately into the underside of his jaw. The thumb is moving, butterfly-soft strokes along Satoru’s cheekbone. There’s an unconscious ease to the motions that makes Satoru’s skin grow hot and electric under them.

It’s not a reassuring touch. It’s possessive.

It’s certainly not the way his Yuuji has ever touched him.

This one looks and acts like he’s never known anything else.

“I hate to interrupt this…moment,” the parasite says, not a hint of apology in their dry voice—Suguru’s voice, even his tone, and it strikes Satoru that their desecration of his friend’s corpse, while revolting, doesn’t make his head hurt the way this older, darker Yuuji does. “But would you terribly mind telling me precisely how you got here, Itadori Yuuji? You’re making a bit of a mess, you see.”

There’s a low thud from the side, and another voice calls out, “Getou?”

Yuuji’s eyes shift to the left, all four narrowed. “Oh. It’s still alive here.”

The patchwork curse steps into Satoru’s limited line of vision—normal enough, human enough, he’s sure, but his eyes have been more since he was born.

It says, “Hey, what’s this? Itadori—”

It dies.

One moment, it’s there, tall and manic. The next, there’s just blood splatter on the floor, unusually red for a curse.

“Now I’ve made a mess,” Yuuji says. “In my view, it’s a cleanup, but I’m pretty sure you won’t agree, Mum.”

Mum.

Yuuji called them that earlier too. Satoru didn’t not notice, but he was understandably preoccupied with cute little student and Suguru-kun and the fucking dissonant voice.

“Why are you calling them that?” Satoru asks, and the angle of his throat doesn’t allow for easy speaking, his voice coming out strained, but Yuuji makes no move to release his grip on Satoru’s hair, and another attempt to wrench free of that grasp only earns him a tighter, differently angled grip and a frown that looks more confused than anything.

“Because—”

“Years of planning,” the parasite cuts in, and their voice is quiet, even soft, but Satoru recognizes very well the way Suguru’s voice would get when he was furious. “Centuries. Do you know what you’ve done?”

Two of Yuuji’s eyes flicker up; the others stay on Satoru.

And Satoru’s eyes are immeasurably weaker in this state, but he’s dead certain he’s not imagining the flash of red in the eyes Yuuji’s trained on the parasite.

“You used to say a wrench in the plans was an opportunity,” Yuuji says, and his smile is finally gone, but the considering expression on his face is just as alien. “You can’t have changed that much. What year is it anyway?”

“Twenty-eighteen,” Satoru answers, an automatic response. It’s not even the grip on his hair that’s keeping him staring at Yuuji now; he can’t look away.

“Thank you, Satoru,” Yuuji says warmly. His voice is far less warm when he adds, “You’ve lived too long, Mum.”

“What a cruel thing to hear from one’s son.”

That’s what snaps Satoru out of it.

He wrenches his head to the side, a hell of a lot more violent than the half-hearted attempts earlier, and Yuuji’s fingers do tighten at first, sending sharp pain shuddering through Satoru’s scalp, but then he lets go, even the hand on Satoru’s face falling away. Satoru still struggles to look away, strangely mesmerized by how Yuuji’s familiar face has been shaped into alien lines by the passage of time, but he manages, glaring at Yuuji and then at the parasite.

“Either get this over with or explain yourself. I’m not in the mood for games.”

It takes the parasite a long moment to pry their eyes away from Yuuji to look at Satoru, but Satoru’s briefly disgusted by how well he understands that reluctance.

“I have no explanations for you, Gojou Satoru,” they tell him. “Why don’t you ask your student—except he’s no longer that, is he?”

“Oh.” It comes from behind Satoru. He doesn’t look up. “Is that what I am here? I never thought you’d be a teacher, Satoru.”

“I hear he’s not very good at it,” the parasite provides helpfully. The earlier anger is entirely gone from their demeanor, both their voice and expression sporting the same faux-friendliness with which they were talking to Satoru before Yuuji showed up, but Satoru’s spent a lifetime living in the details, and he doesn’t miss how the whites of their eyes show a little too much, the edges shot with thin red veins. There’s a fervid edge to the way they look at Yuuji—a fascination that borders on hunger.

It flares again, that perverse understanding.

“I’m sure he’s trying,” Yuuji says. He pats Satoru, a light touch at the top of his head like he’s a puppy. It stuns him silent. “You always work hard when it matters, don’t you, Satoru?”

“Of course I do,” Satoru says without thinking.

Yuuji fucking ruffles his hair. “I’m not sure I’d like to be your student though.”

“Hey!”

Yuuji laughs.

And that—

Satoru knows that laugh. It’s Yuuji’s laugh—loud and full-bodied and real.

It’s no revelation. Satoru has seen and accepted a myriad of miracles and horrors over the course of his life. And there have been no explanations yet, no answers, but this surreal conversation has revealed enough.

This isn’t his Yuuji, but it is Yuuji, from a world where Satoru’s the student. And it’s not jujutsu theory that flies through his head, but pure science fiction—the multiverse, mirrored souls in worlds that splinter further and further apart.

The hunger in the parasite’s eyes says they also know.

Satoru hates how they look at Yuuji.

“What did you do to him?” they ask suddenly, in the resounding silence following Yuuji’s laughter. “I can’t sense him at all, but that was his technique you used.”

The hand in Satoru’s hair flexes, nails digging into his scalp. For a moment, they feel unnaturally sharp.

“I ate him,” Yuuji murmurs, barely loud enough to be audible. “Everything he was now belongs to me.”

[duhnova]

The Kings Gambit: Bound (Teaser)

pairing: lawyer!yoon jeonghan x fem!reader

SERIES genre: smut (eventually), slow burn (incredibly slow im sorry), angst, fluff (more is on the taglist form/ will be added as i continue to write)

TEASER genre: fluff, mentions of food, mentions of a gun, humor?

word count: 911 (for the teaser), fic is looking at 40k+

synopsis: Money never came easy for Jeonghan, so when he finally built an empire that’s just his own he’ll do anything to protect it. But when you come into his life it’s like it’s all flipped upside down as he learns you’re more precious to him than the eleven digit number in his bank account.

a/n: there is no posting/completion date for this fic yet so please be patient with me - this is a labor of love (sweat, and tears LITERALLY) and i am sitting at about 21k+ words with A LOT more to go. i will be posting the fic to my ao3 as well, there it'll be one big thing versus here i will probably have to break it up into parts to keep tumblr from imploding on itself. (so if you want the full fic all at once i'd follow my ao3 but you're in no way obligated too! the full fic will be published here regardless <3). i might post more teasers and behind the scenes in the future as i write more just because of how long this fic is going to be.

collab masterlist || taglist || bound masterlist (coming soon...)

“Now I see why Joshua likes you so much.” He stepped closer, only stopping when he notices the way she shifts, like she was uncertain of him. “What’s your name?”

“Y/N,” She mumbles wearily, not to sure of Jeonghans intentions. “I’m Mr. Hongs assistant.” 

“Y/N?” He tests her name out, loving the way it tastes on his tongue and loving even more the way her jaw clenches a little. “It’s nice to meet you.” He sticks his hand out for her to shake, the coat that was resting loosely on his shoulders shifted. 

“Nice.. To meet you too.” Y/N mumbles, shaking his hand almost hesitantly. 

“So, how’d you come about working for grumpy ol Shua?” Jeonghan lets his arm fall to hide within his jacket again. 

“He uh..” She clears her throat, allowing her voice to come out stronger. “He pulled my file from the old company I was working for and decided he wanted me to work for him instead and now here I am.” She shrugs like its the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Sounds like something he would do, he hates having others come to him. He’d rather hunt on his own so he knows what he’s getting himself into y’know?” He looks down at his watch to check the time, tsking quietly. 

“Yeah I know.” She looks up at the clock to mimic Jeonghan's action. 

“Why’d you take up his offer?” His eyes went straight back to staring into hers. “I assume its cause he offered you more?”

“Partially.” Is all she gives him to work with.

“Oh?” His interest was peaked double now at her vagueness.

“I just wanted out of there, thats all. Why do you care anyways?” She gives him a suspicious look. 

“I don’t care actually, I’m just trying to kill time.” He shrugs his shoulders before checking his watch again. “Which leads me to ask, do you have any plans for lunch?” He looks at her through his eyelashes before looking at his wrist again, watching the second hand tick. 

“Excuse me?” She frowns confused.

“Well I have a reservation for two at this italian restaurant downtown and since Shua flaked on me to meet one of his girls I assume, I’m down a lunch partner now.” He tries to gauge her feelings but her face is still set in a confused downturn. 

“What, is day drinking alone at noon too taboo for you Yoon?” The way she crosses her arms and smirks playfully tells him she left all the formalities out on purpose just to tick him off. 

“It’s Mr. Yoon.. Or sir if that floats your boat more, sweetheart.” He runs his tongue along the inside of his cheek, enjoying the way she swallows before scoffing. 

“And its Y/N sir.” Jeonghan smirks, his teeth on display before hes tilting his head a little.

“Do you want to join me for lunch Y/N?”

“Something is telling me to say no but I’m starving and in desperate need of a margarita.” She lets her shoulders slump a little. “So yes, I’ll join you for lunch Mr. Yoon.”

“Whose the day drinker now huh?” He laughs a little when she shoots him a glare. 

“Do you think I’d get fired if I cut your tongue out?” Y/N finally moves away from the desk so she could walk around Jeonghan to grab her coat that she hung up when she first entered the office earlier. 

“I’m sure Shua would give you a raise, he wouldn’t have to listen to me anymore.” Jeonghan snorts as he moves to open the door for her, letting her exit the room first. 

“Thank you.” She gives him a small nod as she walks out and down the hall, barely giving him time to close the door behind himself and catch up before shes calling for an elevator. 

“So how old are you?” He tried to make small talk now that an awkward silence fell over them. 

“I’m twenty-four..” She clutches her jacket a little. “You?” 

“Twenty-eight..” He bites his tongue so he doesn’t let it slip that he still had a birthday to get to this year. The elevator dings, signaling its arrival and it causes another awkward silence to fall over the two of them as they have a straight ride down to the lobby. 

“Hey Y/N!” Hoshis voice calls from the front desk where he was sitting in for one of the receptionists while they took their break. “I tried to tell Mr. Yoon that Mr. Hong wasn’t here but he wouldn’t listen.. Sorry bout that.” He laughs sheepishly causing her to give him a gentle smile. 

“It’s quite alright, me and him are actually going to get some lunch so I’ll see you in an hour or so?” She gives him a small wave as Jeonghan ghosts his hand on her lower back, guiding her in the correct direction while shes distracted. 

“So you can smile.” He hisses a little when she jabs her elbow into his side, hissing herself when she hit something hard.

“What was that?” She huffs, rubbing her elbow a little. 

“Thats where I keep my gun.” He mumbles, side eyeing the people around them as he leads her towards the side street he had to park on since he left his pass to get into their private garage on his desk. 

“You have a gun?” Y/N gives him an incredulous look.

reblogs + feedback is greatly appreciated!

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Just because I got this scene in my head now that I've added more ships to my multishipping pile:

Eddie Munson was now cleared of all charges. It helped that Vecna's victims weren't actually dead. Their dead bodies had been nothing more than illusions while Vecna pulled them to the other side. He had used their trauma to gain more power, and in turn, they turned it around to kill him from the inside out. It seemed like that would be the craziest thing that would have happened to Eddie, but no, the craziest thing in the world was him sitting in Steve Harrington's living room.

He was still mostly healing from the bat bites, but he was eager to move around, and he quickly accepted Steve’s offer to hang out. He couldn't decide which was crazier though, befriending Steve or Chrissy sitting next to him with her arm around him as she twirled a lock of his hair. Yeah, Eddie was dating Chrissy now. Her leg was thrown over Eddie's gently while Eddie ran his nails over her leg. She wanted him. HIM!

"You know, he looks at you like you're going to float away," Steve said dryly.

"Poor thing, he still can't comprehend that we're together now," Chrissy giggled. "He'll get there eventually."

"Doubt it," Steve smirked.

Eddie opened his mouth to say something to Steve when his front door opened and Nancy came barreling into the living room. She sat down next to Steve.

"Well, I turned in my article. I really hope this changes the views that the court of public opinion have on you," Nancy said.

"I doubt it," Eddie said with a snort. "Thanks for trying, Nancy. So, I've been bedridden for a while, catch me up. I heard Hopper rose from the grave. Seems like that's a thing that's catching on."

"Yeah, he and Joyce eloped," Steve said.

"Aw, and I missed it," Eddie whined.

"Well, it was only them and their kids," Nancy said.

"Aw, well, I feel better then," Eddie grinned. "Good for them."

"Dustin and Suzie broke up," Steve said.

"Aw, seriously? The shrimp wouldn't shut up about her, I figured that would have lasted forever," Eddie said.

"Well, her dad kind of insisted on it," Nancy said with a wince.

"Aw, hell, poor kid," he said. "Anything else? Did anyone else break up? Did anyone get pregnant? Gasp! Did someone turn out to be related to someone?"

"Jesus, Eddie, I didn't take you for a gossip," Steve said.

"He's been watching nothing but soap operas," Chrissy replied.

"Only because there's nothing else on," Eddie said quickly.

"And telenovellas," she said.

"How else am I supposed to keep up with my spanish?" Eddie said. "Okay, new topic. What's going on with you two?"

Nancy and Steve shared a look with each other.

"Jonathan's going to be by in a little bit. Are you going to be able to handle that?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah, of course, why wouldn't I be?" Steve scoffed, giving her a weird look, and then she whispered in his ear. "Yeah, of course, I can keep myself together with him around."

"Oh, shit, what happened?" Eddie asked.

"Well, you know, Jonathan's been my boyfriend for a while," Nancy said. "And he wasn't exactly happy when I told him Steve told me he had feelings for me in the Upside Down."

"Oh, fuck, I think that's my fault. I told Steve to go for it. I swear, I didn't know you were still with Byers," Eddie said.

"Eddie!" Chrissy exclaimed.

The front door opened and closed. Eddie's eyes widened. Nancy quickly got up and went into the hallway to talk to Jonathan. They couldn't hear what they were saying, but their whispers were quite heated. Nancy came back into the living room, looking nervous. Jonathan came in and looked at Steve in annoyance. Steve stood up and walked over to them, placing a hand on Nancy's shoulder while Jonathan did the same.

"Harrington," Jonathan muttered bitterly.

"Byers," Steve spat.

They moved closer together, staring each other down.

"Oh, no! Please, don't fight!" Chrissy squeaked, but she didn't get up, only watched.

Eddie had moved to the edge of his seat, his eyes wide.

"Please, it doesn't have to be this way," Nancy pleaded.

"I'm afraid it does," Steve said seriously.

Eddie was ready to stand up and intervene when they moved at the same time. Jonathan and Steve wrapped their arms around each other as they pulled each other into a hard kiss.

"What the fuck?!" Eddie exclaimed as Chrissy gasped. "This is a goddamn plot twist!"

Jonathan and Steve pulled away with a grin. Nancy was smiling as they wrapped an arm around her.

"Isn't this great?" Nancy grinned.

"We don't have a problem with it," Eddie said slowly. "Do you have a problem with it?"

"Of course not," Nancy laughed.

"You really fucking had us," Eddie said.

"Well, when you revealed to us that you liked soap operas, I couldn't resist," Nancy laughed.

"Oh, so all of that was just on the spot?" Eddie asked. "Jesus, you work fast."

"That's what they said," Nancy giggled as she stared at Steve and Jonathan. "That kiss wasn't a bit. We're all together so there is no problem."

"Oh my God, this was better than General Hospital," Eddie muttered into his hands.

"What Eddie means to say is that we're happy for you," Chrissy said.

"Oh, yeah, that too," Eddie said.

Nancy laughed as she started to tell them about the night the three of them got together. Correction, this was the craziest thing to happen to Eddie.

[erin-bo-berin]

Okay, how about this? Steve and the Reader broke up but they are babysitters to the Party. The kids pick up something going on between them and don't realize it until they find a torn up picture in each of your wallets. You keep Steve's half while he keeps yours. So, the kids try to find out what happened and get you guys back together. Basically, the Party Parent Traps you. Bonus if you can include the older teens (in an AU where no one dies). Heck, throw in Murray for couples counselling!

This is going to be so chaotic I can just imagine it! I am definitely including Murray too I’m dead just imagining all this 🤣 (peep the reference to the scene with him and Jancy when he can’t remember Steve’s name)

Also I’m pretending nothing else has happened yet since Steve got pulled into the Upside Down and got stuck there with the other three. Like the other events haven’t happened/haven’t occurred yet, just for reference.

Code Red: Operation Love

Steve Harrington x Reader ft. The Party & Murray!

“Okay, why have you called us all here?” Eddie asked.

The room was packed with people.

Dustin was leading the meeting, the other younger teens sitting nearby him.

It was Mike who had called a Code Red to older sister Nancy, who gathered her boyfriend Jonathan, Robin and Eddie.

It was specifically instructed not to contact Steve or Y/N about this meeting.

“Yeah, you said it was a Code Red so I thought someone was dying or some shit,” Robin said.

“Imagine my disappointment when we arrived and everyone was okay,” Eddie quipped.

Nancy smacked his arm hard, leaving him wincing.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Yeah, we kinda figured it had to do with Steve and Y/N when you made it loud and clear not to invite them,” Jonathan said, giving his younger brother Will a pointed look.

“Hey, I just wanted to make sure you got the message,” Will said, holding his hands up in defense.

“We did,” Robin said wryly.

“ANYWAYS,” Dustin hollered over the chatter, “I called you because we have a problem.”

“A really big problem,” El nodded.

“And we need your help,” Mike said.

“So as you know,” Dustin began, “Steve met Y/N through us because they both are kinda our old babysitters although now friends.”

“Technically Y/N was the babysitter first,” Lucas added.

“Will you get to the point?” Eddie groaned.

“Okay, okay. Jeez. So demanding,” Dustin huffed.

“We think they broke up,” Max clarified.

Eyebrows raised, jaws dropped and interests were piqued.

“Shit. Really?” Eddie gasped.

“But why?” Nancy asked, just as confused.

“They were so cute together!” Robin frowned.

“Wait. How do you guys know this?” Jonathan asked, sitting forward, “What made you think they broke up?”

“Well, first, we thought they were in a fight,” Mike said.

“Because they were acting really weird,” Will added.

“Weird how?” Robin asked.

“They just seemed cold toward one another,” Max said.

“They would avoid each other too,” Dustin nodded, “Like if Steve was sitting next to someone on the couch and there was only one place left, Y/N would just stand.”

“They’ve never been like most annoyingly in love couples,” Lucas said, “Like they’re cute but they never would hang all over one another.”

“Yeah. They acted like normal, just…closer I guess?” El shrugged.

“I think what she means is that they were just really comfortable around each other,” Mike supplied and El nodded, confirming that’s what she meant.

“Now they’re like strangers,” Will frowned.

“Okay, I understand why that seems concerning,” Nancy said, “But maybe they’re just fighting? You don’t actually know that they broke up though.”

“We found this in Steve’s wallet,” Dustin said, holding up what looked to be like a Polaroid that had been torn in half.

“I can’t see that from here you butthead,” Eddie said, reaching out and grabbing it.

Only when he saw what it was did he gasp.

“Oh shit. Okay, I see what you mean.”

“What? Lemme see,” Robin said, snatching it from him.

It had clearly been a picture of both you and Steve. The jagged tear at the edge signified that it had been ripped down the middle. This half of the picture was of you, turned towards the tear in the photo, eyes bright and face caught in mid-laughter. You looked happy.

“Wait. You said you found this in Steve’s wallet?” Eddie asked.

“What were you doing in Steve’s wallet?” Nancy asked.

“Borrowing five dollars,” Dustin said plainly.

“Dumbass,” Lucas hit him upside the head, “That’s stealing not borrowing.”

“Not if I told him about it afterwards!” Dustin protested.

“Back to the matter at hand,” Max said, “We were wondering what happened to the other half.”

“The half with Steve in it?” Jonathan said.

The six younger kids nodded.

“We found this in Y/N’s wallet,” Will said, motioning to the other half of the picture that Max showed the others.

It was definitely the half of the same picture, the tears the biggest evidence. But also, Steve was looking towards the middle of the photo, where it had been split in two. The look of adoration and love in his gaze and smile was unmistakeable.

“What were you doing in Y/N’s wallet? “Borrowing” more money?” Robin smirked.

“No. This was pure detective work,” Dustin said seriously.

“So, clearly, something has happened,” Mike commented.

Eddie ran a hand over his jaw, looking over at the other three that had joined him on the couch.

“So how are we supposed to help?” he asked.

“We want to get them back together, but we’ll need your help,” Dustin said, seriously.

The four peered at each other before nodding.

“We can do that,” Nancy confirmed.

“What do you need us to do?” Robin asked.

“Well, first. We need to figure out what happened between them,” Max said.

“They won’t tell us,” El frowned.

“Believed me. We’ve tried,” Will huffed.

“They won’t say a word,” Lucas sighed.

Nancy and Jonathan exchanged wary, knowing glances, but it was Jonathan who spoke.

“We know just the person for that task.”

•

“You two are a cute couple,” the bearded man in front of you, smiled, clasping his hands in front of him.

“We’re not a couple,” you and Steve stammered hesitantly.

Steve cleared his through awkwardly.

“We uh, we actually broke up.”

“Semantics,” Murray said, waving his hand dismissively.

You were downright confused at why you were sitting here, with Steve with Murray Bauman in front of you two like some sort of love doctor.

Ah, shit. Was this some sort of intervention or counseling or something? Had the kids figured out that you two had broken up?

You and Steve hadn’t said anything in fear of upsetting them or disrupting the vibe with your petty drama.

But now, you were sitting in the Wheelers’ basement, in a chair across from Murray who was grinning at you both like a cat who’d swallowed a canary.

“So why did you break up if you’re both still crazy for one another?”

“Wha- Who said we were?” you protested, “Maybe things just fizzled out between us, you don’t know that.”

“Honey, I haven’t seen this amount of electricity between something since the last time I jump started my car,” he gave you a look.

You peered at Steve who was holding back a grin.

“So are we just in denial about this breakup or what?” Murray asked, leveling his gaze on both of you.

“No! I just-” you started.

“She’s the one who broke up with me,” Steve blurted.

You looked at him, jaw dropped.

Talk about being thrown under the bus.

“Ah. Did she now?”

Murray’s gaze was back on you.

“And why did you dump Scott?”

“Steve,” he corrected.

“Right, Steve. Why can’t I ever remember that?” he shook his head, “Anyways, why did we break up with Steve now?”

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” you scolded, folding your arms.

“Ugh, you kids exhaust me,” he rolled his eyes.

“We’re 20,” Steve said flatly.

“Exactly. You’re kids. Okay,” he sat forward, looking at both of you, “You want my advice?”

You noticed he didn’t pause long enough to give either you the opportunity to protest.

“You,” he said looking at Steve, “Need to stop giving up on what you want just because you think you don’t deserve it.”

“What? I-”

“And you,” Murray continued, as if Steve hadn’t spoken, “Need to stop running away from things that scare you.”

“How,” you laughed disbelievingly, “What makes you think I do?”

“You’re easy to read,” he deadpanned, “You’re the type when things get scary, you retreat to safety, too afraid to lose what you love, have, whatever because it’s easier to be scared.”

Ouch. He’d hit right on the dot.

“It’s a curse to see so clearly,” he sighed.

“I’m not scared,” you huffed a laugh.

Steve looked as unconvinced as Murray did.

“I’m not!” you protested, though even to your ears it sounded defensive.

“Ah, now that is a lie,” Murray pointed to you before turning to Steve.

“So why did you let her dump you?” Murray asked.

“Because I can’t change her mind,” Steve shrugged helplessly.

“Bullshit. You’re just as scared as she is.”

“No! I- she- uh we-”

“That’s what I thought,” he smiled smugly, sitting back in the chair.

“Look, if I were you two, I’d cut the bullshit and just fix whatever happened between you. Then get the fuck back together. Cause you’re just wasting time with this charade.”

He stood, grabbing the glass of whiskey he’d had but not touched the entire time, heading for the stairs.

“By the way,” he called, “I’ve been advised by the band of delinquents to lock the door behind me until you’re back together. They say to holler when you’re done. I’ll bill you for my time.”

With that, Murray was gone and the door shut behind me.

“Some therapy session,” Steve mumbled.

You chuckled.

“More like a brutally honest therapist telling you how it is with absolutely no bullshit.”

“I’ll say,” he shook his head.

You were quiet for a moment, but you were the first to speak.

“He was right, Steve. I was scared. It was a huge reason why I ended it.”

He turned in his chair, facing you.

“Scared of what, honey?”

Your heart melted at the term of endearment.

“You remember how it happened after the watergate situation and you and the others being stuck in the Upside Down?”

“Yeah,” he nodded.

“I was terrified, Steve,” you whispered, “I’m here on this side, finding out you got pulled into the Upside Down, attacked by bat creatures and then stuck there? I was an absolute mess.”

His face is grim as he takes your hands in his, thumbs stroking the backs of your hands.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about what if something happened to you. Or what if you died. When you finally made it back, instead of being the relieved girlfriend I should’ve been and supportive and comforting, I decided to end it. I was too afraid to have to go through situations like that again. So I ran.”

“Y/N,” he swallowed, “I’m so sorry. You don’t deserve to go through that.”

“But shockingly Murray’s right,” you laughed through your tears.

You had no idea when they’d started, but there they were.

“I ran away and you didn’t fight me because you believe I don’t deserve this. But we’re both wrong. We can’t fight what we feel can we?”

“I guess not,” he smiled, “Especially when we have the entire crew trying to get us back together.”

You smiled, resting your forehead against his.

“Be mine again?” you asked him softly.

He leaned forward, lips pressing to yours gently.

“Sweetheart, I’ve always been yours.”

[valentinedaughtler]

Tainted Opal (Part 2)

Kaz Brekker x fem!reader

Part 1

2 - Hand-stitched Crimson Roses

T/Ws: violence, romantic feelings, blood, mild spice scenes sometimes, fem!reader and she/her pronouns, sexual abuse/trauma (not explicit)

Synopsis: You meet up with Kaz for a meeting on the down-low at the Crow Club, but your vulnerability slips.

REQUESTS: OPEN✅

____________________________________________

As I reached the alleyway from earlier that night, my eyes fell upon a figure. They seemed to materialize from nothing.

"Hello," I greeted her with a small smile, my eyes sultry and enticing. I made note of her features, making it easier to notice her in the future. Her eyes were dark, with flecks of deep brown, like shards of tinted glass. A deep blue cloth wrapped around her head and face, but her sleek, black hair poured down her back. Her caramel skin glinted in the moonlight, but the light reflected more off of her numerous knives that were pocketed in her clothes.

"I assumed Brekker would not come himself, smart move," I added while the woman stared at me. "I have the money, darling." With a few swipes of my hands my dress's many layers warped into a large purse, strapped to my belted waist.

"You're a tailor," the woman whispered, her gaze as piercing as her knives. I handed her the embroidered purse. Mouse skeletons and crimson roses were stitched onto the fabric.

As I began to alter my dress once more, the girl vanished. I looked up in surprise, but it was quickly replaced by appreciation. I always admire a woman of her craft. My eyes dropped to the dirty stone path under me, a paper lay where the girl had stood. My joints cracked as I kneeled down to grab the note.

The Crow Club; 2 a.m. sharp

"Well, these meeting sure are getting tiresome," I mumble, making my way back to my estate. I knew I'd need to pack, assuming my deal is accepted.

I make it to the front steps of my home where large, ornate doors greet me. I've made a name for myself, it's hard to believe that three years ago I was-

"Well, a little lady is here....all alone, missy?" My thoughts are cut off by the slurred speech of a middle-aged man. He stumbles over to me, reeking of alcohol and grease. I narrow my eyes, frustrated. Saints damn it all. My eyes become inviting, my smile sweetening the deal, I look so innocent. I look my age now.

"Oh? Well I guess I am all alone," I add in an extra laugh to really tie the act together. I saunter a bit closer to the drunken man, picking up my dress to reveal my ankles. Though I really just don't want this skirt to get wet from rain-soaked pathways. Men like this will believe anything if you play the part. I get to keep some morality, even if I live in a place like Ketterdam, so I play the age old card, "Though, sir, I am only seventeen, so I should get going-"

"Little missy, that's even better, I like my women young... and unused," his grin shows his disgusting teeth, while his hands reach out to grab my wrist. I've given up trying to reason with men like this. Attempting to give them a second chance. I unsheathe my floral umbrella from my dress, as it's a gown full of surprises, and use the sharp prod to stab the man in the upper arm. My soft expression is still plastered on my face as I smack his upside the head with it.

"You bitch," he wails as blood blots his shirt sleeve. He stumbles away quickly, cursing out my existence whist doing so.

I unlocked my front door and opened with with both hands. Antique decor was scattered in an organized manner throughout the house; books spilled out of shelves, and house plants coiled around anything the could grab ahold of.

Time to get packing.

✵ ♣ ✵

The Crow Club was loud, the stretch of liquor wafted through the air, and jukebox music mixed in with the booming voices coming from all sides.

I noticed a pair of eyes on me, belonging to a young man with dark skin and buzzed hair. Two pistols were pocketed on either side of his waist and a smirk played on his lips when I looked at him. Another man to stab with an umbrella... at least he seems to be my age. I was pretty exhausted and not in the mood for this.

He made his way towards me, and his smile grew larger when he was in speaking distance from me.

"You must be Miss l/n," his voice is springy, a sense of humor bubbling in it. My left eyebrow cocks as he says this, though I guess everyone in Ketterdam knows everyone in Ketterdam. The voices carry.

"Guilty as charged," I joke with a smirk, maintaining composure. "And you are...?"

"Jesper Fahey, one million kruge was counted, so Kaz has decided to agree to your deal," he explains. "If you follow me, I will bring you to his office." Jesper turns and begins to walk towards a hall in the back of the bar.

I follow behind him but grip the weapons stashed in the layers of my dress. We walk up a stairwell towards a wooden door. Jesper knocks and enters without waiting for a response.

The room before us is a dimly lit office, a large, open window blows in cool, night air. There is a bookcase and a shelf of rum in the right corner, behind them is peeled wallpaper, which reveals knotted wood paneling. My gaze glazes past the bags of cash haphazardly spread across the floor to  Kaz, at his makeshift desk. It seems to be a door sat atop wooden crates.

The scar-faced boy looks up from his papers, he gestures for me to come sit in the chair across from his desk, while Jesper leans against the entrance door.

"Have you accepted my deal, or was Jesper just getting my hopes up?" I ask with soft curiosity in my voice. He leans against his desk, clasping his gloved hands.

"You're known for your deception, Mrs. l/n, how can we trust you?" Kaz's voice makes me shiver, but I like the feeling it brings afterwards. I'm not sure how much information I should give up to him, but my desperation clouds my better judgement.

"That's all I have left," I blurt out. I nod at the purse overflowing with kruge on the desk, "that's the rest of my money in my bank account, and my secret stash. My well-being is on the line for this deal." I wonder if I look slightly manic; if I resemble the panic I feel. Kaz eyes me, most likely analyzing my face with a blank expression. He turns to the open window, where the girl from before separates herself from the shadows. "Inej, go to Ketterdam's bank and see if her story checks out," He instructs. As soon as the girl—Inej, -was there, she was gone again, a part of the night.

After a while of silence in the dreary office, Inej returned. She gracefully hopped down from the windowsill and whispered to Kaz. He shifted his gaze to me, nodding.

"You said you have a boat?" He asked, my eyes fixated on his scarred lips as he articulated his question.

"Yes, I just need a crew," as I said such he looked confused.

"Are you implying you will be accompanying us on the heist?"

"I will. Do you have a crew?"

Kaz thought for a moment. He nodded.

"We have a skilled spy of sorts, a gunslinger, an explosions... expert, a heartrender and a former Fjerdian Drüskelle." He lists the crew members, not breaking eye contact.

"And a tailor," I hear Inej add. I nod at her comment and smile.

"We leave tomorrow morning at Sunrise," with that Kaz gets up, gesturing for Inej and Jesper to leave.

As they slip out of the room from various entry points, kaz makes his way over to a map tacked to the wall, his cane tapping against the floorboards. I follow him and watch as he draws two black dots, one over Ketterdam, the other on the Little Palace of Ravka. He turned to me, parting his lips to speak,

"Ever charted a map before?"

______________

Word Count: 1385

______________

Prepare yourself for the hell of a heist,

-Valentine

[mlchaelwheeler]

The party's dnd games as foreshadowing for S5

After seeing this post by @bylertruther yesterday, I started theorizing about possible scenarios for the end battle of S5 and how the party's dnd games throughout the seasons foreshadow what might happen.

The very first scene we see of the party in S1 is a dnd game, in which Will rolls a 7, and his character is attacked by the demogorgan. It’s quite clear throughout S1 that this move foreshadows exactly what happened to Will when he got taken to the Upside Down later that same night-- he even tells Mike right before this happens: “the demogorgan, it got me.” We’ve all been over this fact a million times and we all know how blatant the foreshadowing is, but this is important setup for the rest of this analysis, so just keep this scene in mind.

After Will gets saved and as Christmastime approaches, the party gets together for another dnd game. Mike has spent lots of time planning it, and wants it to be perfect because it’s supposedly Will’s first time playing dnd again since being in the Upside Down and being hunted by the demogorgan. The game ends in victory, with Will rolling a 14 and defeating the new enemy Mike has cooked up: the thessalhydra.

Here's where things get interesting. Even though Will defeats the thessalhydra, the party isn't happy with the outcome of the game. They question Mike about plot holes and loose threads that never got addressed (which led to lots of plot theorizing pre-S2, but even after S2 a lot of this didn't make sense-- but that's because it was meant as foreshadowing for even later). The questions asked didn't make sense back then, but they could make sense in the context of S5.

The "lost knight"? Mike is the paladin of the party: a knight in shining armor who bravely protects his friends to the death. Could this be foreshadowing to Mike becoming trapped (or lost) in the Upside Down in S5? Or is this perhaps a reference to Mike being "lost" in regards to his feelings towards Will and El and how to accept deep truths about himself?

The "proud princess"? I originally couldn't come up with anything for this one, but @bylertruther brought up the fact that Max is going to be a damsel in distress of sorts in S5, while waiting for her friends to save her from Vecna's clutches. She also has the princess imagery going while stuck in her coma-- think of Sleeping Beauty or Snow White. True love will be what saves her in the end, either romantic (Lucas) or platonic (El).

The "weird flowers in the cave"? It's pretty self-explanatory that the demogorgan's/demodog's faces are flower-shaped. As for the caves, the Upside Down as a whole has tons of cave/rocky imagery, what with the tunnels, the cliff Henry climbs after first seeing the mindflayer, and the stalactite-looking spires in the mindscape. I'm guessing that this points towards the final battle taking place not in Hawkins, but in the actual Upside Down for a change.

Let's talk about the thessalhydra itself for a second though. Because where have we seen something similar before? That's right: the three-headed dragon in Will's painting for Mike. Yes, they're not identical monsters, but there are similarities here. Will's art has been foreshadowing before (see: the entire plot of S2), so is it that much of a reach that the painting could be foreshadowing to the threat posed to the party in S5?

It's clear that there will be a monster of some sort in S5-- a monster worse than a demogorgan. In 4x08, Vecna shows Nancy the past (his past) and the future. He shows her a monster, her whole family dead, and four gates opened. This was before Max was captured and put into a coma, so Vecna was showing Nancy the true future here. Could Will have seen this same future through his connection to Vecna and subconsciously added it to his painting?

In S2, Will's connection with the mindflayer (or Vecna, as we now know) allowed him to see what the mindflayer was seeing. His "now-memories" allowed him to see somewhat into the future. Will was able to predict Hopper being in danger based on what he dreamt the night Hopper entered the tunnels. He was even able to pinpoint the exact location of Hopper's car-- just from the now-memories alone! It's completely feasible that Will would be able to also see things Vecna is seeing in S4/5.

Furthermore, Will acquired true sight from his time in the Upside Down (or possibly related to latent powers?). This is important because true sight means he can see the reality of what's occurring in the ethereal plane. He's not seeing visions of what might happen, he's seeing the truth. This is different from Vecna's visions, where he causes people to see their worst fears and trauma they haven't dealt with-- truth as a basis, but exacerbated by lies and illusions. Will is seeing the reality of the Upside Down, which can probably extend to Vecna'd mindscape as well, giving him a way to see Vecna's thoughts and what could happen in the future.

Mike said it himself in S2: Will is a super spy. Sure, the mindflayer was spying through him for a time, but Will was spying right back. Since this connection is still as strong as ever, I'm willing to bet Will may need to take on the "spy" role again in S5. Will can already feel what Vecna is feeling, and see what Vecna's seeing. I'm sure he's also privy to Vecna's motivations and tactics for choosing his victims, so this could be very valuable in the fight against Vecna in S5. If Will can sense who will be targeted and how, it could protect his friends and family from ending up like Max (for now).

So how does Will's true sight and connection to Vecna connect to the dnd games, the thessalhydra, and his painting? The second-last and final rolls are always very important in foreshadowing what will happen later in the season, and with the "every ending has a beginning" tagline for S4, it's important to first look at S1. During their dnd game, Will's role of a 7 got him taken to the Upside Down. But in the next game, he rolled a 14 and defeated the thessalhydra. I think this is pretty clear foreshadowing to the fact that Will is going to be the one to defeat Vecna/the mindflayer for good.

El's already had her chance, and did her part in S4. Yes, she got out of Vecna's clutches and hit him with her powers, but she still wasn't able to save Max. I'm guessing El's arc will be geared more towards saving Max in S5, rather that directly confronting Vecna again. She's already done that, so it would be somewhat of a waste to just do a repeat of their battle.

What would be a better alternative? Will being the one to face down (and destroy Vecna). It's Will who Vecna has been targeting since S1, Will who shares the same similarities to Henry growing up, and Will who has the seemingly unbreakable connection to the mindflayer after all these years. Remember, back in S2, the mindflayer wanted to kill everyone except Will. Why? He obviously has a special connection to him that remains to be seen until the big reveal in S5.

Whatever happens with Vecna though, I think Will's painting is clear foreshadowing that the party will be facing down a threat from the Upside Down. The Duffers said that the characters will be back in their original S1 groups in S5, and Will is going to be the main focus, so having the party together as a whole (the original four boys, since El will likely be off saving Max) would be the perfect culmination of this.

If we look at their dnd characters, Mike as the paladin is front and center, leading the attack. It's also important to note that it's his shield which has the heart on it, pointing to the fact that it's Will's love that will ultimately protect Mike. Perhaps since Will is a cleric (and has healing powers), he will have to heal Mike from a bad injury suffered during the battle.

In the dnd game in 4x01, Dustin first rolled an 11 (a miss), which failed in defeating Vecna-- clearly foreshadowing the fact that El wouldn't be able to defeat Vecna on her own. That fact was backed up by how the "final" battle went down in 4x09, when El stopped Vecna briefly (in order to somewhat save Max), but ultimately didn't defeat him-- he managed to escape, and will likely gather his strength to become stronger than ever for the next confrontation in S5.

A 20 was rolled later (by Erica), which was the final blow that defeated Vecna. It's important to note that Erica was the underdog of Hellfire-- the one who was somewhat overlooked because she wasn't originally from the club. This same concept can be applied to Will (even though he is an original member of the party): he is an underdog in the sense that he hasn't showed obvious signs of manifesting powers yet, plus, he was overlooked and forgotten by all his friends (and family) in S3/4.

It's very likely, given all this foreshadowing, that Will is going to be the lucky break that the party needs in order to defeat Vecna once and for all. Will feels different, but Mike makes him feel like it's ok to be different. Similarly, Mike feels like he has to be needed in order to be worth something, but little does he know Will needs him in the exact way he's hoping for.

Mike's love makes Will stronger, and Will's love protects Mike. Together, they have the strength and ability to defeat Vecna. It may be a cliché, but love does overpower hate and evil. Once Mike and Will realize the love they have for each other is true and pure, they'll be unstoppable in the fight against Vecna, mainly because they won't be able to befall any of his tactics of manipulation. Vecna can't hurt those who are at peace with their inner turmoil and are at the happiest moment in their life. Together, Mike and Will are a force to be reckoned with. Vecna should be scared. El's powers, he understood because he has observed them and manifested similar ones. Whatever Will has hiding away though, Vecna won't see coming, which will be the way to end him once and for all.

[five-rivers]

A Kitten in Blinds

AO3

@warvikwrites

.

“It’s not what it looks like!” Danny spoke nervously, “I can explain.”

“Mhm,” said Clockwork, dubiously.  He surveyed the scene calmly.  “I see.  What, exactly, do you imagine this looks like?”

“Um,” said Danny, because he wasn’t actually sure what it did look like from the outside.  Especially not to a being who could see the future, among other things.  

Far above, something went tock and one of the chains wrapped around Danny’s legs moved upward by about a foot, dragging him with it.  

“To me,” said Clockwork, a slight rumble in his voice, “it looks like you went exploring somewhere you didn’t have permission to go, and tangled yourself in the driving chains of Long Now’s central mechanisms.”

“O-oh.  That’s pretty accurate, then,” admitted Danny.  Something went tick and the chain principally responsible for keeping Danny immobile, the one wrapped securely around his arms and torso, dropped, leaving Danny dangling upside-down.  “Can you, um, help me out?”

“I intend to.”  He kept floating there, arms crossed.  

“But?” prompted Danny.  

“I am attempting to determine how to remove you without being forced to sever the chains.  They are not easily replaceable, and as you have no doubt discovered, phasing through them is not possible.”  He paused, growing younger, and added, “Also, out of all the things you could have stumbled upon, this is relatively benign.  Harmless, even.  You could learn a lesson from this.”  

Danny squinted at his mentor.  “You’re leaving something out.”

“Not anything terribly relevant.”

Something above moved again, leaving Danny dangling.  “But there is something else, isn’t there?”

“If you insist.  You look ridiculous.  Like a cat tangled in a set of blinds.”

Danny blushed.  Then blushed harder when one of the chains smacked him in the face.  Not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough to be a surprise.  A disgruntled and not entirely human sound rose from his chest.  

“How did you get so tangled, in any case?”

“I don’t know,” said Danny. “It was like they grabbed me or something.  

“Interesting,” said Clockwork.  He reached out and pushed Danny slightly so he swung back and forth.  “Hm.”

“That hm is because you’re figuring things out, not because you think I’m stuck-stuck, right?”

“I am simply making an assessment at this juncture.”

“Well,” said Danny, as he was pulled higher.  “That’s– I don’t want to rush you, or anything, but I also really don’t want to get pulled up into the gears and crushed to death.  You’re not going to let that happen, right?  Even to teach me a lesson or whatever?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Daniel,” said Clockwork, obviously somewhat distracted by one of the chain knots in the vicinity of Danny’s ankle.  “Going through the gears wouldn’t kill you.”

“What do you mean, it wouldn’t kill me?”

“Daniel, you are already dead,” said Clockwork, in the vaguely exasperated manner of someone reminding a child or elderly person something for the umpteenth time.  

As a point in fact, Clockwork had pointed out Danny’s life state on a number of occasions.

“Half dead.  And it’d crush me, at least.  I’d be hamburger.”

“You would be fine,” said Clockwork.  “Hamburger and other ground meats are chopped, not crushed.”

“So I’ll just be tenderized, then?”

“You might be changed,” allowed Clockwork, as the chain pulled Danny up again, “but you wouldn’t be harmed.  

Danny was skeptical of that claim.  He’d seen the gears he was being dragged up to.  Small and sharp and huge and heavy were the major features.  

“Genuinely, Daniel.  Long Now likes you.”

“Long Now is a building.”

“Long Now is a lair,” corrected Clockwork.  “You’ve been avoiding the readings Frostbite gave you about ghost culture.”

“Not avoiding them,” said Danny, as Clockwork finally started to pull at the chains.  “I just haven’t had time.”

“But you had time for this?”

“It’s a bit different,” said Danny, defending himself.  “Walking around doesn’t require that much thought.”

“Obviously.  Or else you might have thought twice.”

Danny wilted.  “Sorry.”

Clockwork clicked his tongue.  “You should be.  You’ve made a mess.”  Another loop of chain came off.  “But if you have learned not to go places I have told you not to go, I will take this as a victory and we can leave it at that.  I did not create these rules for no reason, Daniel.”

“I know,” said Danny, “but…”  He trailed off.  How could he explain how curiosity itched at him sometimes, how it pulled at him, how it haunted him?  He imagined, sometimes, that his parents must feel the same way, or else why would they have built the ghost portal in the first place.

“I am aware of your curiosity,” said Clockwork over the clinking of chains.  “But in the future, if you truly cannot contain yourself, ask.  There are many things stored here that are dangerous.  You know this.”

A certain beaten up thermos came to mind.  “Right.  But, um, speaking of that…”

“Yes?”

Danny twisted to look up into the shadowed recesses of the ceiling.  “What would happen if I got pulled into the gears?”

“You would wreak havoc with the calibration,” said Clockwork.  “Throw off all my time-viewers.  It would take quite some time to set them right.”

“I mean… how would I change, exactly?”

A loop of chain slipped from around Danny’s shoulders and hit the underside of his chin.  It didn’t quite wrap all the way around his throat, but it was a near thing.

A Kitten in Blinds

AO3

.

“It is unclear,” said Clockwork before looking Danny in the eye and raising an eyebrow.  He started to grow old.  “The exact consequences of actions are difficult to see, here, in the heart of my power, so close to myself.  To answer your question, you would have to go through with it.  Do you want to?”

“Uh, no,” said Danny.  “I don’t want to be crushed.”

“I didn’t think so,” said Clockwork, gently unwinding the chain from Danny’s neck.  “But considering the topic at hand…”

“Come on,” said Danny.  “I’m not going to get myself killed just to satisfy my curiosity.”

“Daniel.”

“What?”

“Please examine what you just said.”

The blush returned.  “I didn’t mean it like that,” he said.  “You know that.  I mean, I meant now.  Here.  Whatever.  And there were other circumstances.”

“I am aware.  

“But why are you so sure I’d be fine but changed or whatever?”

“Because of the nature of time.  It destroys, yes, but more accurately, it changes.  Besides, simply because something isn’t clear doesn’t mean it is entirely undetectable.  Can you bend your left leg?”

Danny complied.  

“Everything changes with time.  Some things are broken.  Others are healed.  And Long Now likes you.”  The last loop of chain fell away, but Clockwork grabbed Danny’s ankle before he fell.  “And Daniel?”

“Yeah?” said Danny.  

“Please read the books Frostbite has lent you.  It will make things easier in the future.”

[sserpente]

Hungry

What if Eddie, unknowingly, survived? What if he came back? And what if the Demobats’ attack had turned him into… a vampire?

Words: 5280 Warnings: fluffy angst (Note that if this isn’t a thing I just made it a thing), blood

A/N: Since I’m currently taking requests (including for Eddie and Billy), this shouldn’t be a surprise to you anymore but um, excuse me, how did Eddie sneak his way into my head? He refuses to leave! And I started watching Stranger Things like… three weeks ago. Well. Oops. So I came up with this after watching the final episode. Surely, I’m not the first one with this idea but that’s my take on it anyway! Also, I went to the Stranger Things experience in London on Sunday last week. Daaaamn, if you’re anywhere nearby, GO THERE, you will NOT regret it! Oh, and one more thing—Eddie is 21 in my Imagines. Enjoy everyone! ;-)

Depressing. Hawkins had become but one depressing shithole. You were unsure what had prompted you to stay after the Upside Down had started bleeding into your world, causing utter chaos and mayhem and bringing out the worst in people. Perhaps it was pure stupidity. Perhaps it was a slowly vanishing will to survive or perhaps… perhaps it was hope.

Dustin had told you all about Eddie’s heroic death; about the way he had distracted the swarm of bats from Nancy, Steve, and Robin, about the way he had fought them until the bitter end—and about the way he had died in his arms.

Eddie had been your first boyfriend—the first one you had been serious about, anyway. As a young man who didn’t quite fit into what society considered normal, you had been made for each other. Well, perhaps minus the drugs part. You loved him, all of his imperfections and all of his quirky traits—and now he was gone. Wiped from existence because of a living flesh ball with a god complex.

The stabbing pain in your chest never stopped. Not after you had organised a funeral with Eddie’s uncle, not after you had left flowers on his grave. Not after you had helped restore Eddie’s guitar which you knew he would have wanted you to keep safe. Instead, the grief nearly consumed you, wrapping its ice-cold hand around your throat until you struggled to breathe. You fell asleep on a wet pillow night after night, wondering what could have been done differently for him to survive.

But it was too late. Eddie was gone. Until the night he came back.

-

“Stay back, please.” Rolling your eyes, you huffed when the police officer pushed you out of the way to keep you at distance from the new gate. There were all over Hawkins now, too many to keep in check, too many for El to close without exhausting her powers too much.

As you had expected, however, you were not the only one rushing to the scene upon hearing about the gate on the news. You met Dustin, Steve, Robin, Nancy, and Mike, nodding your head to greet them quietly. Will and El were helping Joyce and Hopper with the new house but it was likely only a matter of time until they’d join you as well and Lucas was probably in the hospital to sit with Max. A plan of yours to stop this madness had long been forming but it would take time, and in the meantime, life had caught up with you. Even if it felt like the world had stopped spinning ever since Eddie’s death.

“They said something got loose,” Dustin said when you joined them.

Robin raised her eyebrows. “And what?”

“A Demogorgon?” Mike asked.

Dustin shrugged.

“Or maybe some more of those stupid bats,” Steve added. You swallowed thickly. You would only love to go on a hunt for these bloodsucking creatures and kill every single one of them until their entire species was extinct.

“Well, whatever it was, it fled into the forest. Hawkins is turning into a feast for these things at this point. Why aren’t they doing anything?”

The forest was off limits now. Demogorgons, Demodogs, and the bats quickly realised the woods were the perfect hiding spot to rest and spread. Undetected, protected by the dark and the sun. It had gotten colder too since the first cracks. Cold enough for an early autumn to dig itself deep into Hawkins.

“I don’t even know why I keep coming to these new gates anymore. Maybe because I think that… you know what, never mind.” You shook your head. “I was gonna head down to Wayne’s. He’s decided to finally clear out Eddie’s room and… he needs some help. I wouldn’t want to do that alone either.”

“We can come with!” Dustin interfered.

“Yeah,” Mike added. “Eddie was our friend too, I’m sure Mr. Munson can use some extra hands.”

You nodded, smiling weakly at them. Even Steve and Nancy came along, and for just a brief moment, it all seemed like the lot of you were on your way to visit a friend in the neighbourhood. If only that was the case. If only the lab had never opened that stupid fucking gate and taken your boyfriend’s life. You blamed them. Them, and those disgusting Demobats.

The Munson trailer was close to the forest—whoever lived there had received official notice from the police to not leave their trailers after dark, for their own safety. There had been no deaths yet… but none of you spoke out loud what you were all thinking. It was only a matter of time at this point. You swallowed thickly.

Dusk was fast approaching now that the days got shorter again. You didn’t have much time. Wayne wanted to get rid of the entire furniture. The clothes, personal items… anything that reminded him of Eddie.

Some of it would go to charity, other things he might be able to sell to find a safer place to live now that half of the Upside Down was on the loose. But that would be his decision. The only thing you’d do was snatch a shirt or two to keep—something that still smelled like him.

You blinked away the tears frantically as you walked past the fence with Mike, Dustin, Nancy, Steve, and Robin following behind you. It was then you heard it.

“Fuck…”

You stopped dead in your tracks. Either, Vecna made you hear things now too, or… that had sounded like Eddie’s voice. But that was impossible, right? He was gone.

“Did you guys hear that?”

“Hear what?”

You raised a finger so they would stay quiet, listening intently and hoping, against all odds, that you’d hear it again.

“Ugh… fuck me.” There it was again. Your heart skipped a beat, a flush of liquid fire washing over you.

“You heard that, right? It came from the woods.”

Steve was the first one to call your name when you made a run for it, slipping through one of the holes in the fence nearby. “What are you doing? This is way too dangerous! Who knows what’s lurking there!”

You didn’t need to turn around to know they were right behind you regardless—that they wouldn’t let you explore whatever you had heard on your own. But you were not going crazy, right? You were not about to be turned to mush by Vecna.

Whatever you had heard, he… or it... was way too close to the Munson trailer anyway.

“Hello? Is anybody here?” You bellowed. You refused to say his name. It was impossible. Entirely and utterly impossible. And then, the impossible whispered your name.

“Eddie?! Eddie! Eddie, where are you?” You spun around, gaping at your friends with wide eyes. “I’m not going mad, right?”

“No… no, I heard it too now.” Horrified, Dustin took a step forward and looked around, listening intently. The bushes rustled, and a sound similar to a shoe sole scraping over bark echoed through the trees. Eddie emerged like a drowning man, leaning against the trunk as if he was about to collapse. His Hellfire Club shirt was ripped and full of dried blood, his leather jacket was singed in several places and his hair had twigs and leaves stuck in it.

One heartbeat, two heartbeats, three heartbeats. And then, your heart seemed to stop altogether. One emotion after the other tumbled through you like a game of Connect Four. Grief, relief, confusion, disbelief, even anger… you swallowed thickly when you felt the first hot tears rolling down your cheeks.

“Eddie…”

Finally, your eyes met—and he had never looked so desperate before. As if in pain, he inched forward, whispering your name once again before noticing his friends behind you.

“His injuries are healed…” You whispered, if anything because you were at loss for words other than that. “Dustin, how are his injuries healed?!”

“I don’t know, okay? I don’t know!” Panicking, you all froze in place, unable to believe what was happening right before your eyes.

Eddie was here. Eddie was alive.

“It’s you… it’s really you. Are you real? Please tell me you’re real,” he whined. Your heart nearly broke all over again when you heard him whisper your name all devastated and weak for a third time.

“I’m so hungry… I don’t know what to do, I’m so hungry…”

Your lips parted. “It’s okay, Eddie, come on, let’s get you something to eat. You don’t live far from here, remember?”

“What’s wrong with him?” Steve murmured.

“He must be under shock…” Nancy replied.

“Yeah… home. Home. Let’s go… home…” Eddie stumbled into you, wrapping his arms around your waist and burying his face in your neck, breathing in deeply. You held him for a while, reciprocating the clumsy hug as tightly as you dared, even if everything inside of you screamed to squeeze him and kiss him all over, for it felt like a dream too good to be true.

“I’m just… so hungry… you have to help me,” he murmured into your hair. “Help me. Please, help me.”

Heartbroken, you pressed him closer to your body, the feeling of his warm lips against your neck calming your shattered nerves… along with a pair of sharp canines piercing your sensitive skin. You winced, more from shock than pain when Eddie’s teeth sank into your flesh.

He groaned, holding on to you even tighter. And before you even realised what he was doing, you could already feel him drinking the blood he drew from the wound he had just inflicted on you. With widened eyes, you attempted to move him away from you but even though Eddie had never been the strongest boy at school back in the day, he was definitely stronger than you and he did not budge an inch.

“Eddie… Eddie, what are you doing… Eddie… Eddie, you’re hurting me!” The pain was hardly noticeable, to be fair. What was noticeable and quite alarming, however, was that your boyfriend—your dead presumed boyfriend—was currently sucking your blood out of your veins like a vampire. Like a… your lips parted. Like one of those bats. Fuck.

“Hey! Hey, get away from her!” It was Steve who reacted first, making you realise that only a few heartbeats had passed since Eddie had quite literally fallen into your arms. He was supported by both Nancy and Robin, the three of them attempting to pull Eddie off of you with a few strained grunts. They succeeded—revealing Eddie’s face now full of blood around his mouth and pitch-black eyes.

“Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!” Dustin’s curses were but a dull background noise.

“This isn’t Eddie, right? Tell me this isn’t Eddie!”

“Well, last time I checked, Steve, Demogorgons couldn’t shapeshift!” He yelled back.

“Are you okay?” You felt Mike’s hand on your shoulder as if you were in a trance while the others continued arguing. Snapping yourself out of it, you finally became aware of the thin trickle of blood running down your neckline and staining your shirt. You ignored it. You were still too overwhelmed with the fact that Eddie was alive and drinking blood.

Robin, Nancy, and Steve kept hold of Eddie’s arms to control him. He, however, did not seem like he was about to attack any of you. In fact… you could practically feel the remorse and shock radiating from him.

“Fuck… fuck… are you okay? Shit…”

Swallowing thickly, you reached for your neck to wipe the blood away, ignoring how sticky and red your palm became in the process, and then reluctantly turned to the others.

“We need to get him somewhere safe. My place.”

“What about Mr. Munson?”

“He can’t see Eddie in this state. We don’t know what’s wrong yet. We need to help him first.” You approached Eddie again, ignoring the growing, throbbing pain caused by the bite wound.

“Be careful. Don’t hurt her, Eddie, alright? We’re your friends, remember? This is… your girlfriend.”

Eddie’s eyes locked with yours and he once again whispered your name. Stifling a sob, you reached out to cup his cheek. His eye colour had gone back to normal now.

“Let’s get you somewhere safe, Eddie, alright?” He nodded obediently, too weakened and presumably confused to protest in any way.

Never before had you been more grateful for the fact that you lived alone. You didn’t have much space but the place was all yours and that was more than you could have wished for after graduating.

“Mike, can you call El and Will? And Lucas and Erica? We need all the backup we can get. Especially El.” Leading Eddie into the living room area, you sat him down on the sofa with a shaky sigh and then headed to the kitchen on the other side of the studio to retrieve a damp cloth.

You were trembling, every inch of your body was practically on fire, your mind still struggling. Alive. Alive. Alive. Eddie was alive.

It felt surreal to find him sitting on your sofa when you returned with the cloth and a can of beer for him to drink to calm down. His orientation was finally coming back now too, so it seemed.

You sat down next to him, gently taking a hold of his chin with two fingers to clean his face from all the dirt and blood before proceeding to pick all the twigs and leaves out of his hair and dropping them to the floor. You could clean that up later. The others stood around in the living room paralysed, dreading what would happen next—and what Eddie had to say.

“Thank you, sweetheart…”

“Eddie… what happened?” Dustin asked.

“I don’t know, man. I truly don’t know.” He shook his head. His face was wet from tears too, despite the cloth. “I woke up and it was dark and cold. Dustin was gone and, and you were gone and everyone… I thought I was dead. I thought… maybe Vecna had killed me somehow.” His voice was shaking. You took his hand in his, suppressing the sigh upon feeling his rings in your palm. Fuck, you had missed him so much.

You gave Dustin a glare when he took a deep breath, possibly to explain that he had in fact died.

“I was wandering about for a while. And I got hungry. I got so fucking hungry… like I’d never been in my life. I didn’t really know where I was, I was exhausted, everything hurt… and then suddenly I found this… this bright place. A-a gate. It was a gate. Like the one in my trailer.”

So that’s what the police officers had seen. Eddie. Eddie had fled into the forest.

“It was so bright… fuck, I thought I was going into the light now but it spat me out here instead. I was trying to find my way home but the sunlight fucking burned on my skin, it was so hot. Tried to get out of the forest but I got weaker every time I stepped into the daylight.”

You nodded, trying to put together the puzzle pieces he handed you.

“Catch your breath. We’ll be in the kitchen right over there for a moment to give you some space, alright?” Eddie nodded. With a relieved sound, he reluctantly let go of your hand, reached for the can of beer you had brought him and opened it with a fizzle.

In the meantime, you gathered around the kitchen counter with concerned glances in his direction.

“Do you think…”

“He drank your blood! He literally drank your blood!” Mike objected. “Did you… how did it feel?”

“I felt a pair of sharp teeth. You all saw his eyes. That… that wasn’t… that isn’t normal, right?”

“None of what happens in Hawkins is normal anymore,” Steve muttered under his breath.

“So he is…” Mike stopped himself. You gave him a pained look.

“A vampire,” Nancy spoke what everyone was thinking.

“How is that even possible? I mean, Steve got bitten by them too and he is fine!”

You chuckled desperately. “Steve… are you experiencing an inexplicable thirst for human blood by any chance?”

“What? No!”

“There is one crucial difference between Steve and Eddie though,” Robin remarked. Everyone went silent for a moment, waiting for her to continue. “Steve survived the attack. Eddie… didn’t.”

“You think that’s what turned him into… this?”

“A vampire,” Dustin repeated. “This is crazy.”

“We don’t even know if it’s really him. What if this is a trick? What if Vecna…”

“Steve, look at him,” you interrupted. “Of course it’s him.”

“Look, I’m not saying I wanna be the one driving a wooden stake through his heart. Just… do you think we can trust him? And even if we can, what are we gonna do with him? If he really is a vampire, he’ll need food eventually.”

“He could hide at my place,” Dustin suggested.

Mike scoffed. “Huh, yeah, because that worked out so well last time you hid something from the Upside Down in your house.”

“Hey, that’s not fair! We didn’t know Dart was a Demogorgon!” He paused for a moment. “What harm will he do? Eddie’s always been fun to be around, it’ll be fine. We’ve broken into secret Russian bases before, we can steal some blood from the hospital.”

You looked over at him. Eddie put the can to his mouth and took a few big and greedy gulps—and then he spat it all out as if it had gone bad in your fridge.

Mortified, you rushed back to him. The others followed you, albeit slowly—hesitantly.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah… yeah… is this stale? It tastes stale.” Eddie wiped his mouth and put the can back on the coffee table.

“I… I bought this yesterday.” Alarmed, you shot the others a look.

“Eddie… do you know what happened to you?”

“I don’t, Henderson. If I did, everything would make a lot more fucking sense.” Eddie pulled you against him and you instantly felt yourself melting in his embrace. You had missed him so much it physically hurt.

“Do you have something to eat, sweetheart? I’m starving. I think I’m actually starving.”

Stroking the back of Eddie’s hand, you nodded. “I have some leftover pasta in the fridge, I’ll warm it up for you.”

“Nah, no need. I don’t wanna wait that long, just give it to me cold.”

“A-are you sure?”

“I’m starving,” he repeated, making you bite your lower lip. Now that he had spat out the beer, you were doubtful whether his taste buds would particularly enjoy your pasta, regardless of whether it was hot or cold. You stood once again to prepare him a plate anyway and then returned just when Dustin took a deep breath to explain your theory.

“We… um, we, uh, believe that… maybe the Demobats…”

“The Demobats,” Eddie repeated seriously.

“Yeah, the Demobats. We believe that they… maybe… like… turned you into a… vampire?” Dustin explained slowly.

Eddie stared at him. “I mean, I’d have to be dead for that, right? I feel… very alive. I’m not…” He swallowed. “Dead.”

“Eddie…” Tears were swimming in your eyes when you put the plate and a fork before him on the coffee table and sat back down. “You… you did die. You died in Dustin’s arms a-and… we had a funeral for you. And today… we were gonna head over to Wayne to help him clear out your room.”

Flabbergasted, Eddie buried his face in his hands, the pasta and his hunger momentarily forgotten.

“So what, I’m like… I’m Kas?” Your eyebrows shot up. Fuck. That about summed it up.

“Who is Kas?” Nancy whispered. Robin shrugged her shoulders.

“Kas the Bloody-Handed,” Mike explained in shock.

“Yeah, he’s a D&D character, he’s a vampire and… Vecna’s lieutenant,” Dustin added.

“He has a sword,” Eddie added bitterly.

“Well, you have a guitar,” Steve mumbled.

“Hang on, hang on, hang on.” Sitting up, you looked Dustin dead in the eye. “I know exactly what you’re implying. But Eddie doesn’t work for Vecna. Quite on the contrary, actually.”

“Well, in the game, Kas eventually betrays Vecna and then…”

“Wait, what is happening, are we seriously bringing D&D into this again?” Robin interfered, continuing to complain about how he had literally bitten you in the forest earlier. “Besides, he just spat out the beer. I mean, the beer!” She emphasised it like a movie title. “This is Eddie we’re talking about.”

Eddie scoffed. “It’s stale.”

“It’s not stale, Eddie.”

He gave you a long look and then, as if stung by an adder, he reached for the plate of pasta and shovelled the cold meal into his mouth so fast you had to ask him to slow down. He chewed eagerly—and then he gagged and spat it all out again.

“What the fuck!” He complained, wiping his mouth with his dirty sleeve. Concerned, you took the plate from him before he could start another attempt.

“El, do you copy? El? El? Will? Will, do you copy? Lucas? Erica? Anyone? Do you copy?” Mike’s voice echoed through your flat in the background. You had barely noticed him retrieving the walkie-talkie because that could only mean one thing. Eddie would need more blood to quench his thirst… or his hunger.

“I am fucking Kas, ain’t I? What the fuck do I do now?”

“You said the sunlight burned on your skin…” Nancy began carefully, her arms crossed.

“Did you catch fire?” Dustin interrupted. Spooked, he took a step forward.

“No… thank God, no. But it… burned,” he choked out. “Like a really bad sunburn.”

Steve breathed out audibly. “I’m not processing this right now…”

“Neither am I, Harrington. Neither am I.”

“Okay, Lucas, El and Will are on their way,” Mike announced eventually. He put the walkie-talkie on the table and then took a deep breath. It was then Eddie groaned in pain with a start, clenching his stomach.

“Fuck, I’m so hungry!” You swallowed thickly, chewing on your lower lip. Your heart was pounding so fast and hard you feared Eddie would be able to hear it. Your fingertips found the bite wound once more. Until you found a different solution… perhaps…

“You know what, let’s head to the bathroom to get you out of these dirty clothes and to clean you up. Will you guys wait here?”

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to be alone with him right now?” Nancy asked. Genuine concern was plastered on her pretty face.

“It’ll be fine. Wait for us here. Eddie?”

Almost apathetic all of a sudden again, he nodded and stood to follow you into your small bathroom. The bathtub took up most of the space in here but you were glad you had it now. Without any hesitation, you locked the door behind you and peeled yourself out of your ruined shirt. Well. You were an individual with a period, you knew how to deal with blood stains all too well and you’d take care of that later.

Eddie was more important right now. Only in your bra, you made him sit down on the edge of the bathtub before kneeling down to help him out of his clothes. You had never seen Eddie so vulnerable before. You knew of course that he was a lot gentler than he let on. He was sweet, caring, tender. But this was different. Surely, he’d been through hell. Eddie was downright traumatised.

Once more, his gaze found the bite wound on your neck.

“I hurt you,” he whispered once you had stripped off his shirt and tossed it into your laundry basket under the sink.

“It’s fine. You’re fine.” You helped him out of his shoes and socks next, quickly followed by his trousers and underwear. One heartbeat passed, then another. And then he was in your arms again. He winced, whimpering against your skin, when he was taken by yet another wave of pain coursing through his body, his lips ghosting over your exposed skin.

“Eddie… it’s okay. Do it.”

“What?” He leaned back with as much energy as he could conjure up, staring at you in utter disbelief. “No… I can’t do that. I’ll hurt you. Whatever the fuck is wrong with me, sweetheart, I’m not gonna do this again. I don’t want to hurt you,” he said.

“You’re not. It wasn’t so bad, I promise. Kind of like… you know how I donate blood once a year? It’s uncomfortable but it’s bearable. I might as well… Eddie, you are clearly in pain. You need to… feed.” You couldn’t quite believe what words were coming out of your mouth here and yet it was true. Eddie needed blood if you wanted to avoid him wreaking havoc across Hawkins.

Fuck. Hawkins. They still thought he was a Satanist cult leader who had killed innocent teens to sacrifice them to the devil. Whatever had happened to him, it would do him no favours. And if he lost control, if such a thing was possible… you didn’t know an awful lot about vampires and what you did know was mostly from fiction…  he hadn’t caught fire in the sun after all but just like all the other creatures from the Upside Down… he didn’t take kindly to the heat anymore.

“I should have died,” he suddenly muttered, making your lower lip tremble.

“Don’t say that. Don’t you dare say that, do you hear me?”

“What if it takes control of me? What if what happened to Will happens to me as well? What if I hurt somebody? What if I hurt you?” Eddie cupped your cheeks, causing your eyes to fall shut. You had missed his touches so much. It almost felt like that thin layer of ice around your heart was now finally melting again.

“I don’t think that’s what happened. Those Bats… they’re nothing like the Mind Flayer. They don’t… possess people.”

Eddie didn’t look convinced.

“What if I… what if I put some of my blood in the beer? Do you think you could drink it then?” You tried to change the topic—pathetically so, making him smirk.

“Seriously, I came back from the dead and I became a fucking real-life Kas and you’re worried that I can’t drink beer anymore?”

You laughed. Yeah, it was absurd. But maybe humour was the only way to cope with this insane situation. It could only get better from here… right? Your brain had still not quite processed he was actually alive, after all.

“Bite me, Eddie.”

Your boyfriend raised an eyebrow. “You’re not telling me to fuck off now, are ya?”

“I’m glad you’ve kept your humour too, Munson,” you replied with a grin. But it was then Eddie’s weak smile already faltered again.

“What if I hurt you?”

“You won’t. I trust you. I love you, Eddie. I thought I lost you. I was crying myself to sleep every goddamn night. This—everything, it feels like a fever dream. And if this is the price I need to pay to have you back, then I swear to God I will pay it.”

He closed his eyes when you leaned forward again to hug him tightly, uncaring that he was already naked.

“You know I’ve always liked vampires… never expected this even in my wildest dreams though.” You smiled against his skin, fingertips ghosting over the spot where his bat tattoo sat on his forearm blindly. You knew exactly where it was.

“Maybe you have superpowers too now.”

“So… you’re not afraid of me, are ya?” There it was. That playfulness that made Eddie… Eddie. You failed to suppress a childish giggle. The relief washing over your body almost made you gasp. He grinned then, two sharp fangs flashing in the process. Truth be told, it would take you quite a while to get used to this. But then again… it was rather hot.

“No… Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up and then you can… you know.” You stood, with Eddie not once letting go of your hands as you both climbed into the shower and he stepped even closer to you. Not even a piece of paper would have fit between you anymore.

You turned on the water and waited for it to get warm before you guided him towards the stream so it ran down his back, wetting his hair too.

You hummed when he whispered your name. “What happened to my guitar?”

You chuckled. “Kept it safe and sound for you, Munson.” But you could tell he was only trying to distract from what you had offered to him.

“Eddie… do it. You know the others won’t let me do that, that’s why I locked that fucking door. Feed on me. And then we’ll think of a different solution for the future.” The thought of him drinking from you every day, however, was strangely appealing. Strangely… arousing.

The water was running over the both of you by now, making your trousers stick to your legs and dripping from your faces, which made it harder to look at each other without blinking too much.

And then, after another moment of thoughtful hesitation, Eddie leaned forward. A moan escaped your lips when you felt his mouth on the sensitive skin of your neck again, this time on the other side. Kisses as light as the wings of butterflies tickled you before you felt the pressure of two sharp fangs pressing against your neck.

Eddie pressed you close as he bit you, moaning quietly as he drank from you. It felt different this time, not like in the woods. You hadn’t lied to him. You weren’t scared. In the woods, you had been worried about losing your mind, about going insane. Eddie… your Eddie… not dead… alive.

And just like that… the dam was finally broken. You began to sob, uncontrollably, as he held you tightly to his body, your salty tears falling into his already wet hair.

Eddie retreated immediately. “Fuck. Did I take too much?! Does it hurt?! Fuck it, sweetheart, I shouldn’t have done it!” He moved away from you as if stung by an adder, almost slipping in the process. Rather fascinated, you watched him wipe the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand all the while attempting to control your breath. The blood that lingered on your neck was washed away by the warm water coming from the showerhead almost immediately.

“No! No, you’re fine… it doesn’t hurt, I’m okay, I promise. I just… I think it’s just sinking in now that you’re still alive. I’m sorry… I’m sorry, I’m just so glad that you’re fine…” You paused. He seemed convinced.

“I’m fucking relieved too, I gotta say,” he offered almost timidly, clearly relieved that you were alright.

“Are you… do you need more? Or are you good for now?” You asked, wiping away your tears.

“I think…” Eddie licked the remaining blood from his lips. You swallowed. This wasn’t supposed to turn you on, for Fuck’s sake. “I think I’m good for now. Thank you, sweetheart.”

“You’re welcome, Kas. Now let’s get you cleaned up. We’ll figure things out after, okay?”

You were met with a sigh. “That my new nickname?”

“It has a nice ring to it, don’t ya think?”

“Yeah… yeah, I suppose it does.” It felt like your feet finally touched the ground again after you had flailed high up in the air for weeks on end, helpless, grieving and in pain, when Eddie’s lips landed on yours and you kissed, passionately—shutting the world out for just a brief, blissful moment.

[rontra]

persona enjoyer alert!!!! i’m so glad to hear that someone i already follow is also into it. i haven’t played p3 yet so this is my first go of it but i’m really enjoying it so far. what’s this game like from the perspective of someone who played one of the other versions?

HIIIII god i'm so excited for you...imagine getting to play p3 for the first time...<333

i'm so glad you're enjoying it thus far...!!! 🥰 it's my beloved game. WELL all of my thoughts on Reload are obviously extremely skewed due to my pure attachment to this game's story and characters, so i can't give a very "objective" comment on... anything... but i'm not finishing this replay of p5 any time soon to put it that wayDBHFJKM

basically what it's like is., its everything to me. heart

i'm nowhere near done with P3R yet obviously (i keep putting it down to rest my wrists or draw stuff hahsahbd) but so far it's been such a treat for me. i'm very happy 🥺

to ME, persona 3 is (and will probably always be) The Peak... nd the remaster is running more or less the same script (i think it's based on p3p's script??? i forgor 💀) just with, yknow, new graphics and voicework and stuff. so it's hard to really complain about it when it's more or less been "persona 3 running on the persona 5 engine" 😭

like that sure is My Game! with extra Unreal Engine Motion Blur (<- LOL)

it's hitting all the beats in the order it should what more can i ask for. the music has been remixed a bit (as always huh) but it's still recognizably homey to me. like even if i keep getting thrown off by changes like "new lotus juice verse about going to bed early" (Iwatodai Dorm) i'm still just vibing along lmao. i cheered out loud when i heard Deep Breath Deep Breath

SO FAR my "complaints" have been pure, yknow, "unreasonable superfan nitpicking", so they aren't actually worthy of being called reasonable critique. it's all shit like "they rearranged the order of shots when remaking this cutscene, and the original sequence was stronger...TO ME"

STUFF THAT NO NEW PLAYER WOULD BE THINKING ABOUT...

and of course neutered Tactics is a no-no. i'm gonna be huffy about that forever but c'est la vie, it's what the franchise has settled on... but as a Certified P3 Tactics Gamer i'm basically obligated to be a lil miffed about this Post-Tactics World we live in. and like cmon man you introduced baton pass but my AI teammates can't even see it...even though the "recommended move" scan logic CAN....!!!

^^^ but this one is ALSO at its core a complaint that new players won't have comparison context for (because the Tactics in P3R is not the Tactics we once had). and . also many newbies will never even rub up against it if they prefer Direct Command to begin with (which lots of people do) so like. who cares . it doesn't ruin the game for me i just dearly miss the Epic Highs And Lows Of P3 Tactics HAHBDS

on the upside, adding more content for party members who didn't have SLinks in the original is Very Good. i'm really very much enjoying those new scenes and it's needed badly. sweet treats for diesel...❤ AND TARTARUS LOOKS SO GOOD HOUAHHH

AND that UI...so shiny.... ough... no i lovie. i really do

like at the end of the day i admittedly could never love P4, and while i did really enjoy P5 (and P5R) it was always "but it's no P3". so asking me for my thoughts on P3R is mostly incoherent nodding and pointing bc its very much My Game reincarnated. i'm glad all my friends have an easier way to play it all gussied up and shiny now so i can finally foist my old rpg upon them... 🥰

peace and love on tatsumi port island.