#but i haven’t been able to tackle that monster

[bisexualalienss]

no seriously i can’t imagine living alone. my dad did all my depression laundry last night when i was at work (i’m not joking it was like 5 months worth of laundry) because i think my parents finally realized just how miserable i have been lately. how would i survive if i didn’t have other people helping me out with basic tasks lol

[justmeinadaze]

Little Girl Gone Part 6 (Steddie X You)

A/N: Ok, I forgoed the heavy cliffhanger I wanted to end it on but still have one none the less so don't get too cocky! Lol <3.

Warnings: Dom Officer Harrington/Gangster Munson & Sub Doctor Fem Reader, no smut today, lads!

Lots of angst! Eddie was arrested and Y/N gets interrogated. Mentions of deaths involving gunshots, child abuse from Eddie's father mentioned, Eddie hurt pretty bad in this (black eye, bruises, and burns) but not mentioned in in-depth detail. Reader is attacked by someone in her apartment but is rescued.

Word Count: 4271

Series here/ Donate to my Ko-Fi

Falling out the side building, Steve looked around jumping to the ground and reached up for you to do the same. Taking your hand, you both ran to your car and he opened the door for you ushering you in. 

After speeding away, he paused on the side of the road to catch his bearings and check his phone. 

“Shit. They called me like 10 times. FUCK!”, he growls as he slams his hands on the steering wheel. “I could have warned him. I could’ve—”

“Steve, this isn’t your fault; it’s Gabe’s.”, you try to soothe as you rub his back. 

“I need to see what they know and where they are putting him for the time being. Just go home and wait there, ok?”

“What if the cops come?”

The officer sighs as he intertwines his fingers with yours. 

“If they do, just remember what we taught you.” As you nod, he hastily leans down and kisses your lips. “Everything will be ok, honey.”

***

Two hours later, the cops did come for you insisting it was just to talk; not even putting handcuffs on you as you rode in the police cruiser to the station. Leading you to an integration room, you waited another thirty minutes before Steve and the detective you had seen him with before open the door. 

“Hey Y/N. It’s good to see you again. I’m not sure if you remember me. I’m—”

“Detective Hopper…and this is Officer Harrington. I remember you two.”

“Good. Very good.”, he grins warmly. “Is there anything you need before we begin?”

“Begin what exactly? I was told I’m not under arrest so what AM I here for?”

“Huh. So you haven’t heard Eddie Munson was arrested this morning?”

“What? No, I hadn’t. You people woke me up to come here! Why did you arrest him?! He hasn’t done anything wrong!” Your eyes narrowed as you faked shock. 

“Calm down, Miss Y/L/N. We’re just asking questions, ok?”, Steve sighed your way with annoyance laced in his tone. “You are dating a gangster.”

“I’m dating a businessman. He’s not the monster you people make him out to be. And it’s DOCTOR Y/L/N, asshole.”

“Well, if I may doctor, do you know this man here?”

Detective Hopper slides an image of your ex across the table towards you. 

“Yeah, I mean that’s my ex from college Gabriel Wiley but I haven’t seen him sense he went in almost three years ago. Why and what does this have to do with Eddie?”

“It seems he had some information in regard to your boyfriend that could put him away for a long time.”

“I hope you didn’t take him seriously because Gabe was a notorious liar.”

“Hm, well unfortunately we’ll never find that out from him or anything else he wanted to tell us.” 

While waiting for him to continue your eyes flick towards Steve whose features seem to paint more than just worry along his face. He knows something but he hasn’t been able to tell you or Eddie yet. Sliding another picture your way, your eyes widen as you gasp. 

“He was murdered sometime last night.”

A commotion suddenly erupts outside with officers shouting for backup. The door to your room flies open as the gangster quickly slides to your side and grabs your hand. 

“Listen to me, Y/N. Don’t listen to a thing they say, alright? I didn’t kill him. I swear on my mother, sweetheart. I’d never hurt you like that!” As Eddie’s pleas tumble out, policemen tackle him and force the cuffs onto him again as they begin to drag him back out into the lobby. “I didn’t kill him, Y/N! Please! Believe me! I didn’t do this!”

Glancing towards Steve again, you notice he’s wearing that sarcastic smirk you had seen many times but it didn’t match the frightened look that reflected back in his own eyes. It was taking everything in him to be calm and appear unphased as his world fell apart. 

“Don’t tell me you really think he killed Gabe?  Edward Munson isn’t capable of murder.”, you growled. “Plus, we were together last night.”

“Doing what?”

“Take a guess.”, you spit.

“Control your tone, little girl.”, Steve sasses making the other officer roll his eyes. 

“Harrington, calm down. Miss—Dr. Y/L/N—we’re still doing an autopsy to find out when Mr. Wiley was murdered but at this time we have to ask, you don’t think he’d kill him out of jealousy? I mean this is your ex threatening to expose him. Of course, he’d—”

“Of course…because he comes from a crime ridden family my boyfriend would HAVE to have it in him to hurt someone like that, right? Eddie isn’t like his father. Plus, something like this doesn’t reflect a crime of passion.”

“What do you mean?”

Again, your eyes shift towards Steve who now genuinely seems to be interested in your theory. 

“Gabe was shot in the head from what I see here. It’s too clean…as if someone wanted to just do this job quick and get it over with. If this WAS jealousy there would be more signs of trauma or he would have used a weapon more personal like a knife.”

“So, who else would want Mr. Wiley dead then?”

“You said he was going to sell out Eddie and you believe Eddie took over his father’s empire…” Steve stands up straighter at your implicated as the detective seems more confused making you huff. “Jesus and you’re a detective? It has to be someone who was trying to protect Allen.”

“Someone in his gang you think?”

“Well…only officers knew Gabe was going to make a statement right?”

Hopper’s eyes darken as he glares in your equally angry irises.

“That’s a big leap you’re making, Y/N.”

“Is it, Jim?”, you ask sarcastically squaring your shoulders. “I want Eddie out of here now.”

“Once we can confirm your alibi for him with the time of death and we finish searching his building he’s all yours. You may leave now.”

Gathering your things, you fume as you stomp out of the interrogation room and head for your car. Purposely leaving something behind, you wait in your vehicle until Steve finally runs out with your phone in his hand. 

“You did so fucking good, honey. Are you ok? I’m sorry. They just told me about Gabe before we walked into the room.”

“I know. I know. I trust you. We need to get Eddie out of there, Steve. He’s not safe.”

“I’m doing everything I can to hurry these results. Thankfully, he was able to get a message to Jeff and the guys were able to hide all the supplies so they haven’t found anything nor will they.”

“Do you have any idea who would kill Gabe to silence him?”

“No and I feel like a fucking idiot for not thinking of that. I can’t be the only dirty cop right?”

“Sweetheart, you protect him and me, not every criminal in Hawkins.”, you try to sooth as you lightly touch his hand that was resting on your car. 

“I’m going to focus on getting him out. Go back to your apartment and hopefully the next time I see you…he’ll be with me.”

##############

18 hours. 

18 long arduous hours past and you still hadn’t heard anything. You called into work siting illness and left one of your nurses in charge. You barely sat down for a moment, refusing to sleep as you paced. 

When someone knocked on your door, you didn’t even hesitate as you ran to open it. 

“Oh. Hi. Um, can I help you?”, you asked to the stranger in front of you. 

“Yes, are you Y/N? Steve said I should wait here.”

“May I ask who you are?”

“I’m Wayne, Eddie’s uncle.”, he announced as he walked past you and took a seat on your sofa. “Fucking Allen. I tried to go to the police station to raise hell but they wouldn’t let my nephew go. I went to the prison to try and talk to him but his father spoke to me instead. Said that Eddie was ‘indisposed’.” At his words, your eyes widened in fear as you ran towards your phone. “Steve said the results came in so he’s bringing him here soon.”

“O-Ok.”, you stutter as you sit beside him before immediately rising to your feet again. “W-Would you like anything? Any coffee or?”

“No, sweetheart, I’m fine. Thank you. It’s nice to finally meet you. He talks about you and Steve all the time. He calls you two his Paladin and his Princess.”, he chuckles making you smile. “I’m glad he’s happy. After everything that boy has been through he deserves it.”

Your front door abruptly opens with Jeff and Steve carrying an unconscious Eddie over each of their shoulders with Gareth trailing behind. Your doctor mode promptly kicked in as they placed him on your bed and you checked him over. 

“He passed out in the car. I’m surprised he was able to even fucking walk out of the station.”, the officer relayed with a shake in his tone. “I don’t know what they did to him but…”

“I imagine it was Allen. If your theory about an officer is correct, that same officer could have told him that he hadn’t followed through with killing the ex. This would be punishment.”, Wayne responded as he watched you work. 

“It’s Eddie’s gang. He can do what he wants.”, Garth growled. 

“Not to Allen, son.”

“Eddie, baby. Can you open your eyes and look at me?”, you asked in a stern but comforting voice as you caressed his cheek. He was littered in bruises especially along his stomach and face. His eye was beginning to swell and his nose had dried blood underneath it staining his skin. What killed you the most where what looked like cigarette burns on his arms. “Jeff, in my kitchen under the cabinet I have a first aid kit with some burn cream and bandages meant for burns. Can you bring that to me?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I brought this from my apartment. I didn’t know if…” Steve hands you the medicine you prescribed him for his own bruises making you smile up at him as you kiss his hand. 

“I don’t think anything’s broken but—”

“Can you boys go back to his building and assess what the police did? If anything is out of place or missing let Steve or myself know. Please be careful. If this is a cops doing…” Both men nod as they run off to do what Wayne commanded. Pulling the officer aside, they whisper to each other as you focus. “What did you find out?”

“Gabe reached out to the station from a hotel outside of town. One officer answered and two others went to pick him up. They were the ones who reported his body. Eddie’s guy dropped him off at 1am, he texted her at 3am… his time of death was estimated between 3 and 3:30.” As he said his last sentence, Steve’s eyes locked with your own. 

You ex most likely texted you believing that someone was there to protect him before being murdered. You were the last person to hear from him. At the time they knew you wouldn’t but Eddie had offered to drive you to where he was. If for some reason you said you wanted to be with Gabe instead of them, you would most likely be dead to.

“I’m so sorry, honey.”

You nod as you turn away and place an ice pack on the gangsters abs. 

“I’m going to do some research on those cops. When did they report the ex’s body?”

“Around 5. They left the station around 4.”

“Ok…I’ll still do a check but…I’ll be back. Keep me updated, Steven.”

The officer nodded after him as Wayne left the apartment and grabbed one of your dining room chairs so he could sit near you both but not be in the way. 

“What does he do; Eddie’s uncle?”, you mumble. 

“He used to be a manager at one of the plants over here. Did that till Ed graduated. After, he got into private eye work helping families reconnect and shit like that. He’s actually really good at it.”, he smirks as his sad eyes watch you finish taping his partner’s arm. “Is he gonna be ok?”

“I think so. It seems like his dad…wanted to torture him…more than kill him.” As you begin to sob, Steve collects you in his arms and places you on his lap. “I don’t understand how a parent could do something like this.”

“Because Allen isn’t a parent; never fucking was. The Munson’s in those early years were extremely ruthless and vindictive. He killed for pleasure and ran his side of town like a fucking dictator. He was the same way with Eddie. From what he told me anyway. Abandoning him with Wayne was the best thing that asshole ever did for him.”

While Steve passed out beside him holding the gangster’s hand, you stayed awake constantly checking on his progress and making sure he was still breathing. Not being able to keep your eyes open any longer, you fell asleep in the chair beside him with your head against the mattress. 

***

Waking up with a start, you gasped before calming yourself when you realized everything was alright, it had just begun to lightly rain outside. Steve was gone but left a note by your hand saying he left to go meet Wayne and get some more details but he’d be back in a few hours. 

After quickly checking over Eddie, you headed down your hall towards your kitchen to get some water but as soon as you crossed the threshold of the hallway something hard collided with your face. Falling to the floor, you try to collect yourself but whoever hit you was faster, pinning you to the ground and wrapping their hands around your neck.

You tried to scream but you couldn’t breathe as you slowly began losing air. The world around you began to go dark and you knew soon you’d be gone. 

The person above you abruptly howled in pain, falling to his side as you rolled over and coughed trying to collect as much oxygen as you could. You heard the struggle behind you before silence suddenly fell over the room. When a bloody hand touched your hip, you begin to limply fight back.

“It’s me. It’s me, sweetheart. It’s me. Are you ok?”, Eddie asked as crawled closer to you. 

A broken cry escaped you as you circled your arms around his neck and he clung you tightly to his chest. The door to your apartment quietly opened but as the officer came around the corner he was anything but.

“Jesus Christ! What the fuck happened? Are you two alright?!”, Steve asked as he skidded to his knees and Wayne turned on the lights. 

When he tried to touch you to check on you, you didn’t even look his way as you held on to the gangster tighter and buried your face in the nook of his neck. Eddie could feel your hands and body still shaking and it killed him. 

“It looks like we were right, Steven.”, Eddie’s uncle sighs as he pulls his nephew’s knife out of the other officer’s back. “Officer Douglas…I guess he came here to finish Gabe’s job. He’s still alive. Was there anything else you wanted to get out of him or can we do this quickly and cleanly?”

“Leave him there.”, Eddie answered for him flatly as he placed his palm against the back of your head, petting your hair tenderly.”

“Edward, this is a cop. Are you sure you want to—”

“LEAVE HIM THERE!” Steve jumped at his loud growl, never hearing this particular tone before from the man he loved.

Giving him a final nod, Wayne patted the other man’s shoulder comfortingly before heading out the door and leaving you three alone. Unsure of what to do next, Steve kicked into the only other gear he knew, grabbing another one of your chairs from the dining room and dragging the knocked-out officer to it before tying his hands behind his back.

“Look at me, baby. Let me see you.”, Eddie cooed as his hands cupped your face and tilted your head back. You had a cut above your eye that was beginning to swell and purple bruises were starting to form around your neck from where the man had choked you. “Do you think can stand so we can sit on the couch?”, he whispered.

Without waiting for an answer, Steve bent down and lifted you into his arms, placing you on the sofa before coming back to take Eddie’s hand and guiding him to sit beside you. You both listened as he headed towards your room and came back with the first aid materials he saw you use on his partner. 

While you watched the officer fumble with getting everything together, the gangster kept his eyes you, taking note of your silent but seemingly calm demeanor. Sitting on your coffee table, Steve cleaned your wound carefully trying not to cause you anymore pain. As he started tearing open the bandage, you reached out to stop him, lightly tapping his hand and pointing towards the gauze squares. 

When he finishes his task, he glances over at Eddie, silently asking if he needs any first aid but the man shakes his head. 

“I’ll keep an eye on him. You two go lay down.”

After rising to your feet, you took the gangster’s hand and slung his arm behind your neck as you guided him back your bedroom. As you curled up in his side, his fingers absently played with your hair as he glared up at the ceiling. Not being able to control it, you began to cry again as he held you tighter to his body. 

“Whenever my dad would scream and yell at men in our house, my mom used to hold me by her side just like this.  After she died, he started screaming at me.  I could never do anything right and he accused me constantly of being weak like her.” 

You didn’t move or acknowledge you were listening but he knew you were, turning his head till his check rested on your forehead.

“That last year was the worst… he needed to get through to me, he said. He hired some of his goons to jump me when I was walking home from school to beat the shit out of me. When I was 12, Wayne said he wouldn’t tolerate this anymore. ‘Give me Eddie and I’ll take care of him.’ My dad dropped me off three hours later… I told myself when I took over that I would never treat any of my men the way he treated me and I don’t. He still has people though that are loyal to the ‘original true Munson’. They helped him carry out this particular punishment.”

As he murmured his last couple of words, you pushed up on your elbow to look at his face and his sad, heavy eyes met yours. 

“I think it’s my turn to punish Allen… starting with that fucker out there…”

There was a darkness that clouded his eyes then. Something you had never seen before, rattling you slightly as you blinked and laid your head back down against his chest. 

###############

That morning when you woke up, you were alone but you could hear their voices as they spoke in your living room. 

“How many more cops work for Allen?”, Steve asked angerly to the man tied to the chair. 

“You know, Harrington, I never would have taken you for dirty. You could have been making way more money if you picked the right Munson.”

Ringed fingers grabbed the other officer’s throat violently as Eddie pressed his nose to his own. 

“You attacked and almost killed someone important to us. No matter what you aren’t going to leave this building alive but you’re the one that gets to choose if it’s quick or a slow, agonizing, painful death. Be lucky you’re getting the fucking option.”, he spat he let the man go and punched him hard in the stomach. 

“What does it…matter…freak?”, Officer Douglas coughed. “Your father has allies everywhere. That bitch was marked for death and it will happen. Wait until he finds out you’re fucking a cop to. He’ll probably follow through with finally killing your ass!”

“Did you kill Gabe?”, you asked as all heads shift your way.

“Fuck you.”, he cursed causing Steve to punch his face, spraying blood on the floor.

“She asked you something. Fucking answer.”

The other man chuckled as he threw his head back to glare your way. 

“Yeah, I killed him. I’d like to tell you he went out like a man but little shit cried begging, fucking BEGGING, for us to spare you. ‘Please! Please! She’s a good woman! Leave her be! Wa-wa.’”

You have no idea what came over you but you flew towards him, swiftly taking Eddie’s knife in your hand, and pointing it at the man’s throat. 

“You won’t do it, little girl.”

“Oh yeah? You killed someone I cared about, tried to kill me, and then you and your little fake gang of nostalgic assholes hurt one of the men I love. Why shouldn’t I?”

“Because you’re weak. Just. Like. Them.”, he grumbled sassily.

Who you were and you were becoming began fighting within your brain as the knife began to quiver in your grasp. You wanted nothing more than to hurt this man like he had you but you were scared. A steady breath warmed the back of your neck as Eddie’s palm slid down your arm and he wrapped his own hand around yours holding the weapon. 

“Don’t think about it. If you think about it, you’ll talk yourself out of it.”, he whispered. 

“Eddie—”

“Shut the fuck up Steve.”, the gangster growled as his other arm wrapped around your stomach and pressed your back against him. “You can do it, pretty girl. You aren’t weak are you?”

“No.”

“Louder.”

“No, sir. I’m NOT weak.”

“Then do it, princess. Do you think he was going to show you any mercy when he had his hands around your throat? No. He was going to fucking kill you. Return the favor.”

Before you could do anything, a loud bang from Steve’s gun filled your ears as they began to ring and Eddie lightly pushed you away from him, taking his knife from your grasp. 

“I know you’re hurting and these last few days have been rough but that does not give you license to play with her like that.”, Steve sneered in anger towards his partner. “If she wants to kill someone, that’s up to her. If she wanted to kill him, I would have let her but what you just did…trying to force her…”

“I wasn’t forcing her. I was encouraging.”

“Bullshit.”

“She needs to become stronger for what’s in store, Steven. More people are going to come after her until it gets through to Allen that I’M in charge. I know the line has been blurred because of our relationship but let me remind me of something, babe. I’m the gangster and I run a business. Jason was smart enough to back away but my father isn’t and it’s my turn to teach him a lesson. ANYONE who is loyal to that man will be put down. I’m done playing nice guy.”

“Edward Munson—”

“What, Steven Harrington? Are you going to throw me in jail and turn yourself in? Yeah, now we know what your police force does with people like that so give it a go.” The officer cocks his gun again and points the barrel towards his boyfriend’s head. “What are you going to do, sweetheart, huh? You’re gonna kill me?”

Tears stung Steve’s eyes as his hand began to shake.

“Please, honey, don’t do this. If you do, I’m going to lose you anyway because Allen will kill you.”

Standing up straighter, Eddie, pressed his forehead further into the weapon as if to challenge him. 

“So be it.”

Another gun cocking echoed through the apartment as you held it up towards the officer in front of you.

“Drop it, Steve.”

“I can’t do that, Y/N.”

“Now, Steven, or I swear to God…”

Feeling defeated, the officer lowered his weapon and tucked it back into his holster as you turned your own on the gangster himself.

“I understand why you feel like you need to this and I’m not going to try to stop you but you need to heal and you need to be smart about this.”

“I don’t need to be anything, little girl. I already told you that neither of you have a say in what I do and this will not stand.”

Growling low in your throat, you place the gun on the counter.

“And I already told you that I’m involved whether you like it or not. Someone just tried to kill me again but this time they almost succeeded. Now, you will get back in bed and rest while Steve cleans up the mess here. Do I make myself clear, little boy?”

Steve’s eyebrow quirks as Eddie’s eyes darken further.

“The fuck did you just say to me?”

“You heard me.” Matching his stance, your chest comes level with his as your glare up at him. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

###############

@5tud10-54r4h @munsonzgf @eddiesguitarskills @supraveng

@lilaclazer @ima1986 @micheledawn1975 @foreverminliv @corkadymu

@lemme-slytherin-that-dick @joannamuns9n @dashingdeb16 @sashaphantomhive @corrodedcoffincumslut @aactuaaltraash @nailbatanddungeon 

[heyyallitsbethfanfic]

The Home We Built

It was unusual to log back into Sword Art Origins after all this time. 

“I suppose it had only been a few days in the real world, but it was 2 years for me… this is gonna be tough…”. Kazuto hefted the AmuSphere over his head. He desperately missed his family and friends back here, but the feeling was off. The idea of being in a “home” without Ronye or Tiese or Alice or Liena… or Eugeo…

Alice had been able to receive a physical body, the rest were still waiting for them as suspended data. She was still at her home in the facility, visiting Kazuto and Sugu frequently, mainly for Kazuto, he was her anchor in this world after all. But Kazuto was still anxious to be alone again. He was used to the feeling of someone else beside him throughout everything.

He hadn’t slept alone in 2 years.

Regardless, Kikuoka had granted permission for the Artificial Fluctlights to join Kirito in other virtual worlds, and Kazuto had promised Eugeo to show him Aincrad. The place ‘Kirito’ was truly born. It was time to log in.

…

Kirito woke up in bed back on Floor 22, in him and Asuna’s bed. The rest of the party was most likely in Agil’s Bar or out questing on higher floors if they were playing. He needed to return to The Town of Beginnings to meet Eugeo. He trailed the quilt of the bed he laid in. A sigh met his lips. He wasn’t sure what exactly he had been feeling, but he knew guilt was the prevalent emotion. He had left behind his wife and daughters for 2 years. Tears met the corners of his eyes. 

“How many times did Eugeo hold me when I thought of them- Asuna, Yui, Strea…”

He slowly got out of bed and patted the space where Asuna usually slept. He walked out of the house and grabbed a crystal to return to Floor 1.

…

“C-cor? I- I’m sorry I don’t know much about this world- I’m supposed to be meeting a friend here…”

Eugeo had barely taken a step in town when he was being accosted by someone in a large cloak.

“Oh? Need some info on ya buddy? I got all the info ya need if ya got the Cor-”

A devilish smirk met the woman’s face as she stared up at Eugeo.

“I-I think I will be fine. It is typical for Kirito to be slightly behind schedule…”

He turned to walk away from the girl, but she snatched his arm back and pulled him into facing her.

“WAIT- You said you know Kii-boy?”

Eugeo looked flustered.

“Ki-Kiiboy? Is that what the people of this world call Kirito?”

“Nyah. Here Kirito is Kirito. To some, he’s tha Black Swordsman. To others tha Beata. To me he’s jus Kii-boy. We were eachothas first friends here.”

She flashed a toothy smile to Eugeo, almost startled by the girl’s grin, looking more like some monster than a girl.

“Buuuuuuut- I’m surprised ya know Kii-boy. He’s neva been around guys much. And I dont rememba ya from seein him in real life.”

“O-oh. Me and Kirito grew up together in Rulid Village. He lost his memories and said that he had lived here…”

“Interestin’- well, he aint lyin. Kii-boy lived here for 2 years, and then he was able to kill the bastad that trapped us all in this castle. Butttttt we come back since it’s hard to let go of those memories. I know I dont wanna forget ‘em after all.”

The girl looked down, clearly reminiscing. Eugeo could see a streak of blonde hair tickle her face as she smiled fondly.

“My name’s Argo, I’ll give ya that info for free, since ya took care of my Kii-boy. Butcha can just call me The Rat”

“Oh! My name is Eugeo.”

“Nice meetin ya! A friend of Kii-boy is a frienda mine.”

Argo’s toothy smile still startled Eugeo as she beamed up at him.

“YO! Argo, Eugeo!”

A blur of black came in and tackled the cloaked girl and blonde boy in a hug.

“Ey- Kii-boy- Nyeheh- You’re not so affectionate usually- what’s gotten into dat airhead of yours?”

“Haven’t seen you in years. Hug now.”

Both Eugeo and Argo laughed at the boy’s brief explanation, still holding them tight to him. It took several moments before he pulled away, blushing.

“S-sorry about that…”

“It’s okay Kii-boy- butcha gotta pay me to not tell A-chan about dat hug with me-”

Kirito sighed and shook his head.

“You never change Argo…”

Eugeo looked between the two with confusion.

“A-chan? Whose that? And does Kirito not usually hug people?...”

“Jeez blondie, wait til we meet the whole gang here before ya go askin too many questions. They’re all at Agil’s. I’ll be ya guide.”

…

Argo practically bounced into the bar, giggling like a maniac. The rest of the crew looked on at her with exasperated confusion. She pounced into a seat beside Asuna.

“A-Chan! Ya got some competition! Kii-boy’s got a new blonde cutie friend-”

“Argo- I know you like teasing Kirito- I’m used to it now.”

“Nononono! Not me this time! They’re new-”

The girls at the table winced at the thought. Oh god- another girl to compete with. Agil just smirked as Klein beamed.

“Sweet! Another cute chick for the party!”

“Oh you’ll love ‘em Klein. Just ya type.”

Argo cackled in place as Asuna shook her head.

The group sat with baited breath as Kirito walked in with his new friend.

Who shockingly to the group- was not a girl.

…

Kirito and Eugeo walked hand-in-hand into Agil’s Bar, Eugeo doing his best to not simply cling to Kirito as he guided him in. Everyone did their best to pick their jaws up from the floor as Kirito waved to the rest of the group with his free hand.

“Hey guys! Sorry it’s been a minute…”

“Ki-ri-TO! You were almost killed and you had us worried sick! And you’re worried about being LATE?”

Liz shook herself out of her shock and ran over to yell at the boy.

“Heh. Nice to see you again Liz-”

Kirito broke his grip on Eugeo’s hand and embraced Liz and pet her head. The group looked on in a shock as Kirito hugged everyone at the table, Asuna, then Sinon, Leafa, Silica, Philia, even Klein and Agil. 

“Awwww nothin for ya favorite Rat?”

Argo mock pouted at the boy.

“I hugged you when I logged in, don’t be greedy!”

The group was all blushing red, and Leafa shook her head wildly to try to rid her mind of all the thoughts that just came rushing in.

“I-I’m just not used to Kirito being that… Touchy…”

“Yeah seriously, Kirito seems to hate physical affection.”

Philia nodded along to Leafa’s assessment.

“R-Really? In my memory, Kirito has always been like this, even since we were kids…” Eugeo cocked his head to the side confused.

“Ah right! Everyone, this is my friend Eugeo. Eugeo, this is Asuna, Silica, Leafa, Sinon, Lisbeth, Klein, Agil, and Philia.”

Eugeo shyly waved.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all-”

Kirito dragged Eugeo into a seat, sliding next to Asuna so that Kirito was flanked by her and Eugeo.

“Wait- what do you mean since you were kids?”

Sinon placed her drink down and sat her head in her hands.

“Me and Kirito grew up in Rulid Village together. One day he disappeared though, I only met him again two years ago now, but he seems to have lost his memory.”

“Wait. Two years ago Kirito would’ve still been trapped in Sword Art Online!-”

Liz pounded on the table, shaking everyone’s tea, threatening to break the cups.

“What? No, Kirito and I spent over two years travelling from Rulid to the capitol to train at the SwordCraft Academy.”

“I think we’re skipping over something here- Kirito wasn’t born in Rulid- I should know, as his sister and all-”

“I don’t remember Kirito having a sister- although I suppose after he left most of my memories of him faded away…”

Kirito cleared his throat.

“Hem- Sorry. Long story short, to make it simple for everyone. I was born in Rulid and knew Eugeo when we were very young. Some things happened, me and Leafa moved in together. Then I got trapped in Aincrad, and then after an accident found my way back to Eugeo.”

“I’m still unsure what you mean by spending two years with Eugeo-”

“Yeah, you were in the hospital for like a week, what happened?”

“Um. Basically, the machine I was in was a device designed to help rebuild my mental functions. In that time, I was in a place called Underworld where I met Eugeo again. That is about as much as I can tell you without issues from Kikuoka.”

“Alright since we’re not gonna get answers from you-”

Sinon looked towards Eugeo.

“What do you mean Kirito was ‘always like that’?”

“Oh! Kirito always hugged his friends in Underworld. Ronye, Tiese, Liena, he practically held onto me for dear life as he slept.”

Eugeo laughed, but Kirito’s eyes widened momentarily, before shooting daggers at the boy, not noticing Kirito’s mental attack.

“Wait, you slept together?”

Lisbeth dropped her teacup, with it shattering into glitter.

“Yes. During our trip from Rulid to the capital it was cheaper to rent rooms with one bed. And our room was small in the academy as we were not nobles.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Eugeo caught Kirito almost vibrating from shaking, now with a red flush to his face.

“Mmhmm- And who were these ‘Ronye, Tiese and Liena’ you mentioned?”

Asuna had a vicegrip on Kirito’s hand.

“Ah! Ronye and Tiese were Kirito and I’s pupils. We taught them how to sword fight. Kirito also was my teacher on the road prior to our time at the academy haha.”

Eugeo fondly recalled the memories and Kirito tried to maintain composure and add to the conversation.

“Yes, Ronye was my pupil and Tiese was Eugeo’s, although we mostly trained in a group of four. I’d say Eugeo was the better teacher though.”

“Kirito was quite soft as a teacher. I don’t believe he ever scolded any of us, and brought us all lunch.”

“Oh that’s quite sweet of you Kirito.”

Asuna released the grip on Kirito’s hand and gently pat it as an apology.

“And Liena?”

“Oh that was Kirito’s senpai- Kirito was her pupil, although they seemed to teach eachother a lot. Kirito already knew a lot of swordcraft, although different from what was traditional.”

“Yeah that sounds like Kirito. He fight’s as if every fight is his last, and he wants to put on a damn show.”

Sinon shook her head laughing.

“Hmm. I’m not sure. Practicing with Kirito- His swordmanship and battle is more elegant. Almost like a dance more than a brawl.”

“Interesting. I suppose he took more lessons from Asuna and Leafa.”

…

“Daddy! You’re back!”

A small girl clad in a white dress practically flung herself down the stairs of the Bar’s Inn and into Kirito’s arms. Kirito shot up out of his seat to catch her and spin her around in his arms.

“Yui!!!!! I missed you so much!”

Kirito embraced Yui into a tight hug, her feet dangling off the ground as he pulled her into his chest. Yui giggled. Another set of arms draped themselves around the pair.

“Hey Dad- Missed you too. Glad you’re doing okay.” “Strea! I missed you too!”

Kirito couldn’t hug the girl back, as he was pinned in her arms, but attempted to lean his head against hers.

“Um- Kirito who are these-”

Eugeo looked incredibly concerned at the display of affection.

“Oh! Right…”

Kirito bit his tongue, knowing this would be a rough conversation.

“These are Yui and Strea, they’re my daughters-”

“D-DAUGHTERS- But that- that means-”

“Adopted”

Strea added, saving Kirito the mental anguish. The cuddle pile broke apart.

“O-oh. I see. Is this why you were so sweet to Ronye and Tiese?” “Eh- Kinda? It helps to have some experience with that sort of relationship. Also I think I accidentally called Ronye Yui like a dozen times.”

“And I believe you once called Tiese Asuna.”

“You look at Asuna and tell me that they don’t look similar.”

“Hmmmm… You’re right- they could be sisters for sure.”

“Sooooooo- you Dad’s new boyfriend?”

Strea teased, flashing Kirito a smile of “Can’t save you every time”

“Yes” “NO!”

Eugeo and Kirito answered simultaneously.

“Kirito? Are we not friends?” “Nononononononono, Eugeo we are friends. Strea means boyfriend as in, like, romantic partner.”

“Oh-”

Eugeo flashed a bright red.

“Then also yes.”

Eugeo beamed out a pure smile, stunning everyone in the room.

[luimagines]

Trapped in a Tunnel (800 follower Raffle)

Here we have the first place prize! They wished to not be tagged. :D

They asked for something Legend and Four centric and I was happy to oblige.

Content under the cut!

“Are we ever going to get out of here?” A groan breaks the otherwise silent dungeon. “This place never seems to end. It seems easier to just turn back around and go around the whole thing.”

“The others are still in here though.” A voice replies. “How are we ever going to group if we give up now?”

Legend bites his tongue, holding back a scathing remark. The other hero had done nothing to deserve his irritation. If anything, he was glad that he was here with the other blacksmith. Had Legend been paired up with any one of the others, with the exception of Sky, Time and Hyrule, it would have been an explosion of angry sentiments. Granted, Twilight had been wiggling his way past his defenses as of late, but he was still set to annoy Legend on the default level.

Four lifted his lantern higher and looked around. He had taken the lead with his sword ready in his hand. He took Legend’s attitude in stride. He too was getting annoyed by their lack of results, but unlike the young man beside him he wasn’t going to just throw in the towel and give up after all the work they’ve put into it. Maybe it was foolish on his part, but something told him that they were close to something substantial.

Legend huffed for the umpteenth time, throwing his hair out his face. “At least give up a change in direction to head it. It feels like we've been going straight for hours now!”

“I’m counting our blessings.” Four replied. “We haven’t seen a single monster once. Not to mention we both have potions, fairies, food and water and our weapons are in top notch condition.”

“Can we say the same about the others?”

“Admittedly, I don’t want to think about that.”

Legend hums, although he’s inclined to agree. He crosses his arms, not wanting to speak too much at the end of the day. He knew the other wouldn’t mind. He gathered quickly that Link’s weren’t overly fond of using their voices.

They walked in silence for another moment longer. Four had to refuel his lantern twice before Legend took over with his own. The trade off happened before either of them had realized it. With his arm stretched out to light the way and his sword in his free hand, Legend kept an open eye for any corridors or monsters that could attack from any angle.

Unfortunately, given Legend’s desire for a change in pace, there was nothing worth noting. Just a long and dark hallway with dirt walls and a single direction.

Neither of the two boys were sure just how much time had passed since they entered the strange area. It was theorized to be a normal dungeon, but then the floor began to shake and the ceiling began to fall and the group scattered. If it hadn’t been for Legend tackling Four out of the way, the other would have been crushed by the debris and they would have been traveling alone.

They had no idea where the rest of the group was or how they were faring. There was no way of knowing if the others were injured or worse. 

Left to their own thoughts, they kept walking forward. That’s all they could do.

“I have a question.” Four breaks the silence once more. “You’ve been to a lot of places and you’ve seen a lot of things. If there was one place that you’d like to go back to, where would it be and why?”

The question takes Legend by surprise. It’s even more surprising to him that he instantly knows the answer.

“Koholint.”

Four furrows his eyebrows. “Never heard of it.”

And he’s not sure why he would recognize the names of the places he’s been to at all. From what they’ve been able to gather, he’s before many of the heroes of the group. With the exception of Sky, who appears to be before them all.

“I believe you.” Legend says softly, no longer focusing on the spots where he places his feet. “Because I destroyed it.”

The honest answer causes Four to trip over his own feet. Blinking owlishly, he has to force himself to keep up with the suddenly longer and faster strides of his traveling companion. Legend doesn’t seem to realize that he’s picked up speed as he walks. He’s not necessarily power walking, but he changed gears subconsciously. Four thinks it’s because it’s an attempt to run away from the thoughts that follow the very name of that place.

“Why?” Four presses his luck.

Something passes over Legend. A dark thought perhaps? Guilt? Recognition?

“I didn’t know it would happen.” Legend whispers. It sounds like a gunshot. “I was told. But I refused to believe. I didn’t know what it meant.”

Four nods, although he’s not entirely sure how to go about this conversation. How could Legend, of all people, destroy an entire place? It didn’t seem possible. Ignoring that Legend did it, how does one even go about destroying something of that scale?

“Why go back then?” Four prods. “If you could, I mean.”

“I met the love of my life there.” Legend looks to the ground below him. “But she’s gone, just like everyone else.”

Four has to properly jog to keep up with the speed at which Legend is traveling. It must be hard on him, Four muses. He can’t imagine what it must feel like. He doubts it’s anything light and airy. Guilt can be heavy and crushing, enough to kill the person who holds it. Another hum leaves him. “Is that why you went into blacksmithing?”

Legend trips, landing harshly on his knee. 

Four jumps forward, grabbing the lantern before it can shatter against the hastily paved ground beneath them. Legend doesn’t move for a breath, then another, before he snaps his head up. His face is bewildered and confused. He must think Four is an idiot.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Legend all but snaps.

“Do fix what’s been broken. To create after there has been destruction.” Four answers simply. He knows the ins and out of the job. He knows it’s physically taxing and can be mentally straining if you’re not prepared for the job ahead. 

Not to say that’s why he asked. It just happened to be poetically fitting. In reality, Four felt incredibly unequipped to deal with the topic at hand and wished to change the subject. He had no idea that his otherwise innocent question would reveal something so heavy and mind numbingly bizarre. It’s best to stick to the topics he knows he can talk about.

“No.” Legend continues to stare at him like he’s grown a second head. “That’s not why.”

“Then why take it up?” Four holds his hand out for Legend to take. Legend takes it but he keeps his incredulous look on his face.

“Because I didn’t have a lot of potions after my uncle died.”

Four flinches, nearly biting his tongue in the process. What on earth has this guy been through? Is there anything they can talk about that doesn’t have to be heavy with guilt and loss? “...My condolences… I didn’t know.”

“I don’t go around announcing it to the world.” Legend shrugs, taking his hand back as he returns to his feet. 

Four swallows and begins to follow him through the tunnel once more. Well he told me, Four looks to the side, fixing his grip on his sword. His mouth feels dry and his palms feel sweaty. What now?

“What about you?” Legend dips his head. “I never asked. What got you into blacksmithing?”

“Oh.” Four perks up. He can talk about that. That’s easy. Safe. On his side anyway. “My grandpa. When I was younger I wanted to be in the knight’s academy like my father but with time…” Meaning, his adventures. “...I didn’t think it was going to work out. But I had worked in the forge in the past with my grandpa and after a while I asked if I could help him full time. It’s been nice. I love it.”

Four smiles as the memories come back one by one. The disappointment in the knights still stung to this day but there was very little he could do about it. At least if he was in the forge there was something he could do with his time that felt like he was accomplishing something. It took time and patience, yes, and his height made a few things more complicated than he knew it should be, but seeing the faces of those who pay him is enough to keep going.

Each new project was better than the last. Every new order was more ambitious than those before him. And every success made his family proud. He’s already been doing commissions for high officials of the castle and his work is spreading his name more than his heroic deeds ever did. It’s nice to be recognized for his choices and progress.

He doubts the knights would have given him that same opportunity.

Four looks up to see Legend watching him. His face alights with a mild blush at having been caught daydreaming. “As you can imagine, I need to make some accommodations for the forge but it’s nothing too complicated at the end of the day. Besides, there’s been a blacksmith in my family for as long as anyone can remember and my grandpa isn’t getting any younger.”

Legend hums and nods along. “Must be nice to have that kind of legacy… Family too..”

Four nods back, suddenly warry once more about the conversation at hand. Granted, he knows he stated this but he’s not in a place to deal with more bomb drops from The Veteran.

Legend looks back to the front of the tunnel, letting the conversation die down. He thinks back to the island from the dream and what it would mean for him if he was trapped there just as well. He would be dead by now, he knows that. Either he would die in the dream or drown out at sea. Either way, he wishes to see their faces just one last time.

If only to apologize.

He envies Four more now than ever, but he would never wish ill will to the hero of the Four Sword. They’ve simply lived very different lives even if they brought them both to the same place.

His emotions begin to get the better of him. Legend can feel the way his chest clenches in an attempt to push them back down and his eyes sting with the startling familiarity of salt water. Legend puts out the lantern with a single breath, shrouding the two of them in darkness.

“Uh..” Four cuts in. “Legend… why did you do that?”

“I see the exit.” Legend explains reaching behind him to take Four’s hand. “And I’m bored of this place. Let’s go. “

He takes off running with Four in tow, not caring if he’s having trouble keeping up in the darkness. Sure enough, although there were very little hints of light up ahead, the closer they get to it the more they’re able to see in front of their own faces once more and find themselves on fresh grass soon after.

The sun is bright and blinding, but they’re out and alive and unharmed. But still alone.

“The others?” Four asks, trying to see past his need to squint and block out the excess light. “Do you see them?”

“I do not.” Legend rubs his eyes, hiding the tears behind the cover of nature. “But we were already faring better than them anyway. We should set up camp and maybe eat. We’ll have to wait for them regardless. I refuse to go back there.”

Four looks behind him.

Nothing seems to be any different than before.

Four sighs, waking forward and pulling Legend to the grass with him. He sits and flops over the young man. “Agreed.”

“Smithy..” Legend groans. ”Why?”

“You won’t do anything about it.”

Legend shoves him off.

“I did it.”

A snort and Four rolls over again. “Dibs on not cooking lunch.”

Legend sends him a sour look.

“Hey, I can take the heat but I never said I was good in the kitchen.”

Legend keeps his glare for a moment before he rolls over and begins to look through his supplies. “Hold on, I might have something.”

“Yes!”

[mango-bango-bby]

May I request the prompt 🍩 with Sugawara, with a darling that tried to run away, while there was a thunderstorm outside and she got sick

♡ Thunderstorm ♡

(A/N: It’s been a while since I’ve done a prompt and a haikyuu fic so I’m very excited to be back to it!! I think this was really interesting, I honestly like writing for Suga a lot 💖💞)

Content Warning ⚠️: Yandere, angst lots of angst, escape attempts, bathing together, being sick, handcuffs, mentions of punishments

Summary: You try to escape but get sick after doing so (Yan!Sugawara x GN!reader)

Masterlist ➸ ♡

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

You should’ve known that Koshi would’ve caught you. You tried to escape, although it was only a while before you were tackled to the ground by Koshi.

There was practically fire in his eyes when he brought you down. He would rather die than not be able to have you in his arms. So even the thought that you could possibly try to run away made him so upset.

You had escaped during the missed of a thunderstorm, the cold and rain getting you sick. As much as Koshi wanted to punish you for your escape attempt, he decided to wait until you felt better. He wasn’t a monster. At least he didn’t think he was.

Koshi stops and held onto your shoulder as a warning to not keep moving around in the bath. Because you had gotten sick, he didn’t let you do anything on your own, instead doing everything for you and only wanting to take care of you.

“Please, stop fussing. I’m just trying to give you a bath” Koshi says, bringing the water to your hair to wash out the shampoo he had put in it.

You stop moving a bit, your hands still handcuffed even as you were in the bath. He’s absolutely refused to let you out of the handcuffs ever since taking you back home.

You try to cover yourself up as much as you can, while being completely nude in the bath. “I’m fine” you mumble, wanting to just be able to bathe by yourself. He seems to hear you but he also seems to ignore you. He doesn’t think you can take care of yourself.

You tried to escape from him, even though he loves you and takes care of you. Clearly you don’t know how to take care of yourself! You need him to care for you, because you don’t know what’s good for you.

“No, you’re not. You’re sick because you made a stupid decision. You are lucky I haven’t punished you” Koshi says watching you shrink into yourself a bit at is words.

“I know, I’m sorry” you mumble, telling him what he wanted to hear. You always tend to tell him what he wants to hear, even if you don’t mean it. You just want your old life back, not to be stuck in this gilded cage. You apologize once again, not noticing the few tears that fall down your face and into the tub.

“Aww, sweetheart, I know” Koshi says softly, his entire attitude seemingly shifting. “Don’t cry, honey” he says, lifting your chin so he can give you a kiss. You don’t fight back, simply letting him. You couldn’t run away.  Koshi would rather die than not have you with him.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Thank you for reading, darling!!

[petpluto]

Jumping off of this post, I think removing the sleeper agent aspect of Spike’s character would have made his interactions with Robin Wood more interesting, and maybe allowed the series to tell a different story than they had before.

Because Robin clearly says, “No, I don't wanna kill you, Spike. I wanna kill the monster who took my mother away from me.”

The implication is that Robin knows Souled!Spike isn’t the same person who killed Nikki. That Robin brought forth this monster within the way he knew how to met out Justice (or vengeance, depending on your viewpoint). But if Robin doesn’t have that easy access to the monster, if he has to confront the man, imperfect as he is, that creates a different interaction and a vastly different dynamic.

Because the Buffyverse at large has already tackled vengeance with Holt and the Kalderash clan, and the horrors brought forth when the intent is punishing a perpetrator no longer present. And the Buffyverse also examines, a bit, the opposite - the acceptance of who this perpetrator has become - in Buffy herself, with Angel both before and after Angelus, and Spike, and with Jenny Calendar’s truncated arc with Angel(us). But we haven’t really delved into it, someone devastated by the vampire, and, in hunting them, finding no one to hold accountable.

Robin could have been a good vehicle for that - for what happens to justice interrupted. What happens when you have to look into the face of your mother’s killer, and know that being is no longer in control. And it could have been not only a fun growth moment for Spike - the realization that other slayers had loved ones who mourned them, that the ‘game’ wasn’t one to those people, or the slayers he’d killed - but a sympathetic examination of what slayers endure. Spike says, “I don't give a piss about your mum. She was a slayer. I was a vampire. That's the way the game is played… …She knew what she was signing up for”. And this is, honestly, the moment I hate Spike, because no it isn’t and no she didn’t, and at least in Seeing Red the narrative acknowledges the Problem with Spike’s thought process and actions. Here, Spike’s pronouncement that Robin’s mother didn’t love him *enough* is given textual force by Buffy’s pronouncement (echoing Nikki’s) that the mission is what matters.

But what if that were stripped away? What if Spike actually had to wrestle with the knowledge that slayers other than Buffy had loved ones waiting? That this wasn’t something they sought or signed up for, or something that they deserved. What if Spike actually had to acknowledge that his fixation on slayers took away someone’s daughter (Xin Rong), someone’s mother (Nikki Wood)? What if Spike hadn’t been able to rationalize their murders, and this son hadn’t been shut down when he addressed his loss?

The show had the chance to explore this space, where the Spike that killed Nikki was no longer in control but the hurt he created was still ever present, and had that messiness tackled in a way where neither Robin nor Souled!Spike was the villain of the piece. A mirror image of Holt, where Justice denied didn’t create a monster, but a man grappling with what was left, and how best to serve his mother’s memory and legacy.

And all of that was destroyed with Spike having a trigger and his assertion that his mother loved him more.

[yletylyf]

Rules: list eight TV shows for your followers to get to know you better!

Thank you for the tag @jhalya <3

Tagging @cindle-writes, @atomic-space-babe, @heavy-metal-dick, @ashesandhackles, @givereadersahug, @phantomato

I think I’ll list the shows I’ve watched recently, no clue how I would tackle an all-time favorite list.

1. Shadow and Bone

I never got around to watching season 1 before season 2 came out, so I’ve been binging all the episodes over the past week or so. I did not particularly like reading these books, and I do not particularly like the show. It’s a good production - it’s pretty and I like the actors, who do a great job.

My problem with this verse is that I loathe the main character, books and show alike. I am only in this fandom because I like villains and my friends keep trying to convince me the Darkling is the best villain. And he is a great villain! I’m desperate, however, for content about him that is neither canon nor his popular fandom ship. I’m reading some promising Nikolai/Darkling fics, and slowly trying to finish season 2 of the show.

2. The Mandalorian

I am an extremely casual, not-really-a-fan SW fan. I have like, seen all the movies and the live-action TV shows, and even some of the really bad cartoon, but find most of the content entirely forgettable. So, here I am, dutifully watching the latest in my very casual way. The negative is that I don’t care about the plot of this show (is there a plot in this season?) Positive points in season 3: Elia Kane was smoking hot and also a villain. Wooow! Plus, Bo-Katan is growing on me. Oh yeah, and baby Yoda is the best SW character.

3. House of the Dragon

I thought I would hate this show because I really, really hated Game of Thrones. And there was plenty I did hate about HotD - fuck every single one of those graphic childbirth/dying in childbirth/miscarriage scenes, why do the writers have such a hard-on for women suffering in ways unique to the female anatomy? Fuck off and die. 

I like dragons! I like Rhae and Ali (preferably shipped together)! I loooove Daemon. The settings are so pretty and the action is great and the unhinged villainy and incest is glorious. I kind of hate every single one of the younger characters though and because of it, haven’t really been able to get into the fandom or most ship fic.

4. Rings of Power

LOVE LOVE LOVE. Oh my god! It awoke my teenage love for LotR (I used to be obsessed) and increased it a hundred fold. A delightful and complicated villain-centric story with a smoking hot actor and all the chemistry with the other leads, in a beloved childhood canon? Holy shit, yes please.

5. Wheel of Time

I mean... I watched it. I think these books are terribly written and can’t stand them, but fine, I’ll watch a TV show about a fantasy canon. Loved the big, central role given to Moraine and loved the Moraine/Siuan. The settings and costumes are pretty. I don’t care about this canon at all. I have tried reading fic as encouragement and just cannot muster any caring about these characters.

6. Ted Lasso

Love it! Haven’t started watching season 3 yet, but I loved seasons 1 and 2. I didn’t expect to like it? Happy optimism, relentlessly feel-good, upbeat characters in a modern setting? Not really my thing. (I mean, does it sound like any other show I’ve listed here?) But it was so charming! The writing so funny and the actors so good. Keeley/Rebecca are a fantastic f/f ship and Ted/Trent are a fantastic m/m ship in fandom. I’m very into it.

7. The Witcher

Hmm. I like dark characters and themes but I don’t like jump-scare, horror/tension stuff. So the Witcher was sort of hard for me to watch. I think it’s better on a re-watch when I know what’s coming. Geralt is gorgeous eye candy for sure. The women are annoying (I don’t like children characters much and I hate plots that are like “all I want is a baby” for women, hate hate hate them, please die, Yennifer’s entire storyline). I love the fun monster-hunt plots and Jaskier!

8. Obi-Wan Kenobi

I wish I liked this. I wish I liked Anakin in particular. I ought to; he fits the character archetypes I love most. His relationship with Obi-Wan should be fascinating???? But I don’t care. I honestly can’t remember what happened in this show.

[crissiebaby]

DiapOut: Chapter 32

DISCLAIMER: This series contains diaper usage, public humiliation, masturbation, hypermessing, sissification, WAM, mental regression, and other ABDL themes. If you haven’t read the first chapter and want to catch up, be sure to check out the link in the description. I hope you enjoy!

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

“Look out! Waddles is coming through!” said Ayaya sarcastically as Mia slowly made her way back to their team’s spot on the board carrying a very soggy pamper between her legs. Shaking her head, she had a feeling Mia would be stupid enough to give herself the challenge instead of targeting the opposing team. She gritted her teeth as her eyes bounced between Mia’s watery grave, Lelaya’s straight jacket, and the increasingly docile and vacant expression that was painted on Misa’s face, “Seriously, do you three even want to fucking win?”

Throwing her arms in the air, Mia had been over Ayaya’s shitty attitude for a while now. However, whether it was the weight of the ten-gallon diaper she had on or merely that she’d finally hit her breaking point, she no longer found herself able to contain her very apparent annoyance. “What the hell did you expect?! You put me on the spot to pick the guy who less than thirty minutes ago couldn’t walk on his own. Not all of us are as heartless as you,” she said, holding nothing back after having already been through several heated arguments with Misa. Looking Ayaya up and down, she scoffed, “And you don’t have any room to talk. What exactly have you done for the team besides slip on a staircase and shit your brains out?”

Fuming from Mia’s comments, Ayaya stepped in close and got up in her teammate’s face. As the tallest member of the team, she wasn’t afraid to flaunt it when needed. She didn’t need to say anything. Her hostile body language did all the talking. It only took a few seconds to make Mia’s confidence buckle, forcing her to step back while avoiding direct eye contact. “That’s what I thought,” she said before rotating back toward CassiRole and the audience.

“That’s our Baby New Year! Give her a hand for tackling the challenge herself!” said Cassi, carrying on with the show now that all the contestants were back in place, “Let’s roll on, shall we? Kyoko! You may roll your die when ready.”

Holding the fist-sized dice in her hands, Kyoko wasted no time launching the dice forward. Having already counted the spaces ahead of her long before Mia’s challenge had been established, she crossed her fingers and hoped to hit one of the two blue spaces, which could be achieved by rolling a two or a five. Sadly, her hopes were quickly quelled as the lone die landed on the number three. She didn’t have to look to know what this meant. It was a one-in-six chance but she somehow managed to beat the odds and hit the only red punishment square within her radius.

“Oh no! Bad luck, Kyoko! Looks like it's time for punishment number two!” said Cassi, posing like she had to poop as she emphasized saying “number two.” A few begrudging chuckles emerged from the audience. Not that Cassi minded the lukewarm reception, “Oh, everyone’s a critic! My puns are top-tier!”

Turning to face the big screen for a fourth time, Kyoko held her breath as she waited to see what punishment would befall her. Regardless of what the outcome was, she knew she couldn’t use the veto that was in her back pocket as she was planning to save it for Rupert when needed.

The Potty Monster Strikes Back.

Instantly, Kyoko’s eyes shifted to the Soiled Swamp area of the map, where a pop-up image of a muck monster remained idle inside his prop toilet. Remembering that Cassi had previously referred to the gross-looking creature as the Potty Monster, she had a bad feeling that whatever her punishment was gonna be had something to do with the devious-looking monstrosity.

“Oh, boy! Unfortunately, Kyoko, there are some special challenges and punishments allocated to specific areas of the board. And since you and your team are currently standing on a space in the Soiled Swamp, that means you get to have a face-off with the Potty Monster!” shouted Cassi, riling up her audience while also filling the Messer’s lone female contestant with copious amounts of dread. Taking Kyoko by the hand, she walked across the stage, eagerly approaching the large, prop toilet in the center of a dirty diaper bog, “As we all know, Little’s who think they’re big enough for the potty wind up in the clutches of the Potty Monster. So, for your punishment, you’re going to hop up on the toilet here and let the Potty Monster pull you into his sloppy cell, where you will remain until your next turn! Just like the last punishment, this punishment is worth ten points.”

Nodding her head, Kyoko didn’t wait for Cassi to ask her if she accepted her punishment, stating proudly in spite of her faux lisp, “I’m weady.” Without any prompt, she ran up to the tall set piece and planted her hands on its base before hoisting herself up, unaware of how much she was putting her diaper on display as she did so. As she settled into her spot on the toilet seat, she was able to gaze at the wide-mouthed slide that was waiting below the spot where she was supposed to sit. The tube itself was coated in something brown and wet that she could only hope was leftover pudding from Round One.

“WHAT’S THIS?! SOME LITTLE BRAT THINKS SHE’S BIG ENOUGH TO SIT ON MY THRONE?!” Suddenly, everyone went silent as a deep, booming voice echoed across the studio from a pair of speakers that were secretly built into the toilet prop. The voice needed no introduction. “DON’T YOU KNOW THE POTTY MONSTER EATS LITTLES LIKE YOU FOR BREAKFAST, LUNCH, AND DINNER?! AND YOU LOOK YUMMY ENOUGH FOR DESSERT!!!” said the voice, coinciding with the toilet seat that Kyoko was sitting on caving inward as if someone had just hit the plunger on a dunk tank.

With no time to react, Kyoko’s arms flew into the air as she slid down into the mouth of the toilet butt first. It was a frightening drop but thankfully the slide wasn’t long and the landing was soft. Unfortunately, that soft landing was comprised of a padded mat with several gallons of chocolate pudding dumped on top of it.

*SPLAT!*

Sinking into the chocolate mess, Kyoko scrambled to breach the surface of the knee-high pudding, slipping and falling multiple times in her attempt to stabilize herself. All the while, members of the audience went bananas, laughing at Kyoko as her exploits were displayed on the big monitor for all to see.

“Here, you might need this!” yelled Cassi, cupping her hand around the side of her mouth as she shouted at the toilet. Grabbing a roll of toilet paper that had been stashed next to the set piece, she promptly tossed it in, stifling some laughter of her own as the roll bonked Kyoko on the head, “Well, now that we’ve learned precisely why potty training is a bad idea, let’s move on to the next-

*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!*

Before she could finish her intro for the next player, an alarm began to sound off, with its speaker perched atop the glass cylinder that Zeke was inside of. All eyes fell on him as he slumped over in the Walker Pro, his muscles giving out after holding a strained position for too long. His spine arched back as the base of his diaper mashed into the seat of the walker and, subsequently, the vibrator that was housed underneath. 

Sadly, Zeke wasn’t even allowed to enjoy the full force of the vibrator for longer than a few seconds before Nanny Iris plucked him out of the Walker Pro. “Naughty baby! You should know better than to play during naptime,” she said, rolling toward the glass door and exiting the cylinder with Zeke cradled in her arms.

Looking back and forth between the cooing audience and his disgruntled teammates, a massive amount of guilt now rested firmly on Zeke’s shoulders. His overconfidence had cost his team a massive chunk of the points they’d earned up to this point. If his team had any chance at winning, then he’d need to step it up big time once his turn came around again.

“I guess Buggy Baby’s Nighttime Ride was a bit too much for poor Zeke! Sorry Messers, you just lost 25 points,” said Cassi, her wide smile and cheery tone both in stark contrast to the news she was delivering. Up on the board, Cade and Rupert sighed as they watched 25 of their hard-earned points disappear in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, Kyoko’s reaction was nowhere near as subdued as she slammed her fist against the surface of the chocolate pudding. “Goddess-damn it Zeke! You had one fucking job,” she grumbled to herself, wishing she was still with her team so she could give Zeke a stern talking-to after his loss. Knowing she needed to cool herself down, she leaned back and took in as big of a breath as she could, practically tasting the chocolate aroma that permeated around her. She should’ve known better than to trust her team to pull their weight. If they were gonna win this, then it was all going to be on her shoulders as usual.

“Okay! We had a brief detour to the loser’s circle but now I can say with certainty that we are ready for our next player to roll the dice!” stated Kyoko, getting the show back on track as she turned to view the Wetters. She cocked her head to the side playfully as someone on their team was clearly not visible, “Oh, Misa! Come out, come out wherever you are!”

Looking back and forth confused for a moment, Ayaya rolled her eyes when she spotted Misa crouched down behind the rest of the group as if by doing so, their illustrious host and the rest of production would forget about her turn. Ayaya stepped to the side, causing Mia and Lelaya to do the same and leaving Misa exposed for all to see.

“Oh, there you are! You were so Little that we couldn’t see you, pumpkin!” said Cassi, milking Misa’s blushy complexion for all it was worth, “Go ahead and roll your dice, baby girl! I’m sure you’re as excited as everyone else to see what happens next.”

Wetters: 156.1 (+/-10) points Messers: 136.7 points

TO BE CONTINUED…

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Edited by AllySmolShork

[andfasterthings]

Do NOT say the words "werewolf au" in my presence or I will lose all my remaining sanity and experience a category 5 monster fucker moment 🔪🔪🔪

listen…….. it’s the last au that i haven’t really been able to tackle and i Want to so bad

[pleb-the-original]

Day 16: The Known Ones (I've been on a bit of a creative binge so I was able to redirect my juices to another entry. I knew immediately who to write about since this guy was always my favorite of the Eden demon designs being the first one and the one most evocative of the concept. I did create some stuff on the fly but he was always meant to be a fighter. The best part is that I even had time to draw him. Important thing to note is that he can actually switch which side of his body the head is at.

Really? You want to interview me? Well, okay. Name’s Osciphela but most people just call me Ossy. I’m an Oscaecilia ochrocephala Eden demon. Yeah, they haven’t come with a street name for my kind yet. Molded by the Lord Taxternal himself. But again, why would you want to interview me? I’m just shopping. Wait, are you certified to talk about that? Huh, you actually managed to get a certification of approval. It’d take a lot of memory dredging for me to even find the last time I’ve seen one of these. So anyways, what do you wanna know about the Ring? How am I affiliated? Buddy, I’ve been the champion for 67 years. My faces have glued to that wall of fame. How’d I discover it? Well I don’t know how similar my story is, but one time I was doing my normal browsing here in the Dark Market when I noticed a little imp trying to steal my goods. So I tackled that bastard and we landed in between these stalls. Then after brushing myself off, the imp grew 20 extra feet! It turned into this hulking monstrosity that still had all the stuff I got, taunting me to grab it. Things got kinda hazy after that since all I saw was red but next thing I knew I had my stuff back and there was a crater in the ground. That’s when the monster congratulated me and introduced himself. His name was Cross and he was a major player in the Court of Wrath. Apparently he decided to start up a fighting ring just for the hell of it and wanted good contenders for his starting lineup. I still don’t know why he singled me out. I only have Wrath as a secondary sin, but he saw something I didn’t in that haze of anger. Turns out I managed to organically obtain an inner wrath spirit, which is apparently more of an older generation ability. So I’ve been headlining ever since. I’ve taken down oni, dragons, there was even that one time in the challenge round that I actually wrested myself off a kelpie. Oh no, the Ring is open for anyone who finds it and feels they got a good chance against any of us. Heck, if you managed to get in with Cross I feel you might have a chance in there too. That’s ok, considering who you’re working for I think you’d rather wrestle with a theorem than an opponent. It was nice talking to you anyways. Here, have some tickets. Maybe you could come by and watch. Next week, I’m gonna be going up against a yeti! Well, see you later.

(Report: Ossy was considerably cordial which did not align with my expectations. The Ring also proves to be a phenomena with a greater level of reach than I predicted as well. I believed it was merely centered in the Court of Wrath’s inner circle. I am in definite need to schedule an interview with this Cross character. Would it be possible to arrange that? We could even make it an event and use the tickets I was given. We could use the break. But I feel this testimony will be a worthwhile entry for the Catalog.

حريق -

)

[suna-reversed]

JJK reactions || doing their makeup

yuuji, megumi, nanami, gojo, choso, naoya, toji + extra

a/n: sorry for going a little overboard with toji, don’t know if you’ve noticed it yet, but i sorta like him or whatever🙄

not proofread because i haven’t slept in 24 hours 😀

Yuuji: he wants to make the best of his time with you so he’s always up for trying new things. sweet boy has done so much more with you before but still becomes a blabbering flustered mess by how close your face is as you gently apply all the products. you’ll have to tell him to breathe in between every now and then because of hard he’s trying to be still. “can we do this again tomorrow?” he’s looking past at you through the mirror, the blush spreading across his cheeks as he gives you a wide grin, “I wanna show it to megumi too!”

Megumi: reluctantly gives in to it after hours of you pouting and pretending to be upset. has such a deadpan face, please it’s gonna be so hard to contour his cheekbone because dude just won’t suck his face in!! however, his eyes immediately turn soft as he observes your face; brows furrowed in concentration, tongue poking out the side of your mouth as you do his liner, he can barely conceal his smile even as you scold him for not keeping his face still when he has to. he honestly comes out looking so stunning though, you don’t think you can ever pull that same look off on yourself ever again😐

Nanami: has a night spa routine with you every friday night anyways, so he doesn’t mind doing this if it satiates your boredom and brings you happiness. is so patient and serious about it, even as he teases you a little by sliding his hands up the back of your shirt, massaging your back as you try to keep your hands steady. he genuinely asks questions about what you’re doing because he’s seen you struggle with maintaining your time in the morning and hopes to be able to do this one thing for you someday.

Gojo: this would truly be a test of your patience. “I know I have 6 eyes but that doesn’t mean you’re allowed to blind me.” “well, maybe if you’d stop blinking so much-” You can try grabbing his jaw or face to hold him still but he would keep making “sexy faces” at you (yes, so many variations of the lip-bite face!). May also keep singing random songs in between as a way to annoy you more. “I don’t need this, I’m already perfect.” “Have you ever even washed your face, your pores go deeper than your trauma-” “...I’m gonna trap you in my void😐”

Choso: is so focused!! Let’s you do as you please with barely any complaints or protests, in reality, it’s honestly really calming for him. “can we do this tomorrow too?” His eyes are closed, a small peaceful smile etched onto his face. It’s clear it’s the affection he appreciates more than the process itself; the way you sit on his lap, handling his face with a gentleness that he’s not quite familiar with, giggling every now and then as he scrunches his nose. “sure, we can do this everyday.”

Naoya: “No.” “At least try it-” “do you think this is a joke y/n? How dare you suggest covering my face in such ‘female attributed’ products? If I allow this, what’s next? You might as well be cutting off my virile macho testosterone filled testicles.” 😐😐 “damn okay, I wasn’t gonna be able to do much over that clown face anyways.”

Toji: come on now, he’s been raised in the zenin clan AND has trust issues. he’s never ever gonna agree to it. Only way you’re getting it done with it is if you end up doing it while he’s passed out drunk or really tired, even then you’ll have to be so careful because he’s cautious even when unconscious. “Why are you looking at me like that?” He groggily asks, opening his eyes to be met with your cheeky grin, giving you an eye roll and flicking your forehead as he gets up to go to the bathroom. Please go hide somewhere asap, he’ll literally tackle you as soon as he sees it. “Oh, you think you can just get away with this huh? How about I leave some marks on you next?”

Toji (extra below because I’m a whore for this man and I have a headcanon that breaks my heart):

Even though he’ll never admit it, Toji at the start of your relationship, was very opposed to you even getting anywhere close to his scar. But now he’s actually committed to you and he’s convinced himself that you’re disgusted by it as you still intentionally make sure you keep away from that area around his mouth (whereas you just think it’s a vulnerable spot for him due to his initial reluctance, and don’t want to cross any boundaries).

So just imagine him coming across your makeup after that day when he’s home alone, literally walking out before he frustratedly comes back, letting himself pick up the concealer. he stares at it for a while before hesitantly dabbing some of it onto the scar to cover it. and as he stares at himself in the mirror, all he can think to himself is that it doesn’t matter if the scar’s there or not, you’ll still always see him as a monster.

[love-and-monsters]

Nuclear Spring pt. 2

GN reader X F harpy X M sea monster, 7,230 words

Trigger warning: depictions of post-traumatic stress, war, and bombings. 

A continuation of Nuclear Spring- after falling into a fantasy land after your world is destroyed in a nuclear war, you’re still struggling to adjust to the new realm, and to deal with the memories of your home. Read part one here.

When you dream, you dream of fire and disease and death. Even when you wake, you can still feel the smog in your lungs and the radiation poisoning your body. Clouds passing over the sun still make your knees weak, and even Seersha slamming a door to loudly has you cowering on the ground, trying to keep your head covered. The wounds on your body are mostly healed, and despite your weakness, you feel better physically than you have in a long time. Mentally, though, you feel inches from falling apart.

Generally, it’s not convincing anyone you’re good to go for a months-long trip.

“We would need to disguise you,” Seersha says. “I mean, with bulky enough clothes, you can pass for a wingless harpy, I guess.” She’s looking at you skeptically, arranging different pieces of clothing that might hide your humanity. You pass a hand over your face and nod absently. Sleep has been difficult to come by and you’re not feeling your best.

“That’s all right,” you say. “I can wear heavy clothes. I just need to-” You cut yourself off with a massive yawn. Seersha puts her hands on her hips.

“Are you sure you want to come? You look like shit.”

You run your hands over the top of your head. Your hair had pretty much all fallen out by the time you came here, and sores prevented it from growing back for a bit. Now you’ve finally got some stubble there. Aether keeps touching it with an absolutely baffled look on his face and grinning.

“I want to come,” you insist. There is a part of you that thinks it’s a bad idea, but the idea of needing to stay in this house any longer is making you go stir-crazy. And you do want to know more about this world.

“We’re not going to be able to be around you all the time,” Seersha says. “We’ll have diplomatic meetings to attend. You’re going to be left in the hotel room pretty often.”

“If they want to come, they should come,” Aether says. He’s sprawled across a couch, hand resting over his face. “You’re fussing too much.”

“Forgive me for not wanting our very sick friend to collapse in the middle of a massive diplomatic mission,” Seersha says.

“I’m not very sick,” you protest. “I was a lot worse before.”

“You haven’t slept more than three hours in the past four days,” she rebuts.

You sputter. “Were you paying attention that closely?”

Before she can answer, Aether jerks into a sitting position. “Is that true?” His eyes are big and worried, like a sad puppy. You bite your lip. It is very hard to lie and look him in the face at the same time.

“It’s not not true,” you finally say. Seersha looks triumphant.

“You’re still recovering,” she says. “And you haven’t been doing the best lately. Dondii still hasn’t given you a clean bill of health, and you’re barely sleeping or eating anything. If you’re still sick, it’s not a good idea to stress you further.”

“Staying here isn’t going to help me either!” Frustration explodes out of your chest, spilling sharp and bitter from your lips. Both of them stare at you, but you’re unable to stop. “I can’t just sit here and keep thinking about- about what happened! All I have to do all day is lie here and sleep and think about everything that happened to me! I can’t take it anymore, and if you two leave, then it’s just going to be me thinking about it all the time.”

The words have no sooner left your mouth than you’re tackled in a hug by Seersha. Her wings come around you along with her arms and you’re in a feather cocoon. She smells nice, a sort of sweet soap scent along with something that you think is just the smell of feathers. Aether creeps closer and tentatively leans against you. His shoulder presses against yours.

It’s a few minutes before Seersha releases you, though she’s still holding onto your arms. Aether keeps leaning on your shoulder. “Are you really sure you’re up for this?” she asks. Her voice is soft. “I’m just worried you’re pushing yourself too hard.”

“I’m okay,” you say. “I just… can’t sit in one place anymore.”

“I’ll ask Dondii to make sure you’re good for it, but you can come,” she says. “But I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”

Planning for the trip goes steadily. As it turns out, preparing yourself specifically for going is a little more work than you were expecting. Trest puts you on a training regimen and all but force feeds you a small mountain of pills every morning.

“You’re mineral and vitamin deficient, which is slowing down your recovery,” they tell you. “And you’ll need to build some muscle back up. I won’t have you traveling half the country before you can walk across a room without gasping for air.”

Seersha is no gentler. Her style of preparing you is drilling about half of the country’s particular cultures and customs, from the typical styles of dress to the various socio-political complications between the regions. They’re in the middle of an extended, relative peace, which is about the only thing you can really absorb. Most of the cultural stuff is all over your head anyway. The main positive in the lessons is that Aether is there and at least marginally better at this than you are. He re-explains stuff later, and that helps. Sort of.

It’s a week before you’re going to leave when Seersha’s mom comes back home.

Apparently, she’s some sort of semi-retired security consultant or something for royal or upper class families. Her job means she sometimes needs to stay away for an extended period of time, in order to make sure all systems are installed and functioning correctly. It’s easy to tell that Seersha misses her- on the day she’s set to return, Seersha wheels around the sky for hours, barely even bothering with the usual lessons.

Her approach is heralded by the sound of enormous wings. You barely have time to look up before a shadow slides over the sun and a wind buffets your back.

You don’t even think. Suddenly, you’re just on the ground again, hands over your head, trembling like a leaf. The panic is sharp and grating on your chest as your breath comes raking through your lungs. Every atom of your body is screaming at you to run, but all your limbs have locked and you can’t do anything except tremble on the ground, waiting for the blast to hit and everything to be gone-

“Are you okay?” Over the sound of your frantic breathing, there’s a voice. Fingertips brush against the small of your back, then withdraw. “Hey. It’s all right. Nothing’s going to hurt you.”

When you inhale this time, you’re aware of grass tickling against your face. You can smell it, smell the dirt and that fresh, light smell from the grass crushed under your bodyweight. It’s been almost a minute since you dropped to the ground, you realize. The shadow over the sun is gone. The sun is warm against your back, and not growing more uncomfortably warm by the second. Slowly, with extreme hesitance, you remove your arms from your head and sit up.

Aether is in front of you, one of his hands half-extended, like he wants to touch you but he’s not sure where or how. When he sees you looking, he retracts the hand. “Are you all right?” his voice is soft, almost a whisper.

You swallow a few times before there’s enough saliva in your mouth to speak. “Yeah?” It comes out weird, though, and Aether looks unconvinced. You sit up fully and glance around. Seersha is standing a few feet away with a woman who’s about an inch taller than her, with similar wings sprouting from her shoulders. They appear to be having some sort of hushed conversation.

As if she senses you watching, Seersha turns around. She waves a hand at the woman, who you can only assume is her mother, then jogs the few feet over to you.

“What happened?” she asks. Aether gives her a look, but she waves him off. “Are you okay?”

You give an embarrassed nod. “Uh, yeah. I’m okay. I just…” You swallow hard. “The- right before all the bombs fell and everything went to shit, you couldn’t see the sun.”

Aether looks like he’s going to start crying and hugging you at any minute. Seersha just looks unsettled. “Oh,” she says. “Are you okay now?”

“Yeah. Fine.” Your smile is weak and you can feel how unconvincing it is. Seersha presses her lips together while Aether just looks more worried. “So, uh, that’s your mom?” You gesture over to the woman, who looks like she’s trying not to look like she’s watching.

Seersha glances over her shoulder. “Yes,” she finally says.

“Can I meet her?”

That earns you a suspicious look from Seersha, but you just look back at her. She seems to decide to indulge your distraction and waves to her mom.

Seersha’s mom has skin a few shades darker than her daughter, close-cropped hair, and a brilliant smile. “You’re the one Trest told me about,” she says. Her voice is quieter than you were expecting. You extend a hand. She gives it a sort of bewildered look. “They told me you’re a human?” she adds after an awkward moment.

“Yeah.” You lower your hand. “Uh. I’m sorry for kind of crashing here, I just-”

She bursts out laughing. “No wonder you and Aether get along! Don’t apologize. You were in rough shape when you got here, weren’t you?” She looks you over. “Still in pretty rough shape from the looks of it. You’re welcome to stay for as long as you need.”

You shuffle your feet a little. As you’ve gotten more capable of getting out of bed, you’ve started trying to help out more around the house. There isn’t a lot you can do, and everyone is always insisting that you don’t need to do anything at all, but you feel obligated. They’re feeding you and caring for you, after all.

“Name’s Paloma, by the way,” she says as she turns back toward the house. “I’m going to talk to my spouse. Feel free to keep playing outside, kids.”

“We haven’t been kids in years,” Seersha says as Paloma walks into the house.

“I don’t mind it,” Aether says with a shrug. He looks at you. “Do you need a break?”

For a second, you think your vision is vibrating, somehow, but you quickly realize that no, you’re just trembling. You take a deep breath. “I’m okay. Uh. Your mom’s nice.”

“My mom’s great,” Seersha says. There’s a long pause. “Is that the reason you really only go out when it’s sunny?”

“What?”

“The thing with the sun being covered. You stay indoors more often when we’ve got rain scheduled.” You stare at Seersha, a little stupefied. You hadn’t realized she’d been paying attention to that. She and Aether were usually outside on cloudy days, leaving you to meander around the house.

“Yeah. It’s just unsettling to me now,” you say. Seersha’s brows pull together like she’s thinking deeply about something. Aether scoots a little closer to you as you yawn.

“Take a break,” he says.

“I still need to study,” you mutter.

“We can study together after you take a nap. Here, I’ll stay with you.” He tugs you toward the pile of pillows and lies down. Seersha hesitates, but eventually walks over and sits on your other side. Aether hums something low in his throat. It only takes a couple seconds for your eyes to close and once they do, they don’t open again for several hours.

Once Paloma returned, the preparations for the trip seemed to rush by. Within a week, you’ve gotten everything pulled together for the trip, including a carriage pulled by a couple of creatures that look like horses, except they’re covered in scales and their manes seem to be made out of seaweed.

“One of the perks of having a sibling running the show,” Seersha says. “You’ve got a great ride.”

You’re not sure if Seersha and Aether actually informed anyone that you were coming, because the carriage you’ve got (more like a caravan or covered wagon, really) doesn’t seem to have quite the amount of space you’d expect for three people. The back of the caravan is separated from the front with a heavy curtain, presumably to give Aether some privacy, but he tears it down almost instantly to add to the communal blanket pile in the center. Apparently, he and Seersha have traveled together a few times before, so they’ve got a system down. You feel a little like you’re intruding, but they’re at least acting like they’re happy to have you along, so you set your anxieties aside for the time being.

Seersha goes for a quick flight before you leave, while Trest pushes medicine into your arms. “Take these twice a day- they’ll help you absorb nutrients from what you eat. And take these to give yourself a little extra energy. And this.” They loop a leather band around your neck twice and secure it in place. There’s a cool piece of metal dangling from it, settling right in the hollow of your throat. “That is for emergencies. It’s a bracer. Using it will temporarily enhance your physical abilities.” They lock eyes with you, expression stern. “It’s only temporary, and it will hurt when it wears off. Emergencies only.”

You nod a few times before Trest leans back. The metal stays cold at your neck, even though it should be heating up with the skin contact.

There’s magic in this world. Obviously. There are things here that just don’t work with the laws of physics as you know them. Neither Seersha nor Paloma should be able to fly, not with their wings sized the way they are, Aether keeps mentioning ‘spell matrixes’ that manage the city, and you’re pretty sure the fire Trest keeps burning in the hearth should need wood added a lot more often than it seems to. But you’ve never been able to get a clear handle on what it does or how it works. The explanations you’ve gotten are sort of confusing. You’re not sure if it’s because magic doesn’t make sense to you or because you’re getting the same sort of explanation you would give someone if they asked you to explain physics to them.

Regardless, this is the first piece of magic you’ve actually had on you. You’re so fascinated by it that it isn’t until after Trest has walked away that you realize you’ve forgotten to ask how it works. You suppose you’ll have to ask Seersha later.

Speaking of Seersha, she lands just as you’re thinking about her. It’s a small thing, but you’ve noticed that she always comes from the opposite direction of the sun, so her shadow is behind her and away from you. It must make landing more difficult, because the sun’s in her eyes, and you appreciate the effort.

“We’re good to head out,” she says. “Ready to go?”

Aether looks at you and you nod. “Ready.”

Seersha hug her parents goodbye while you and Aether board the carriage. It’s surprisingly cozy, despite there being barely enough room to lie down without being pressed against his side. Aether promptly buries beneath the blanket pile, vanishing from sight.

A moment later, Seersha clambers aboard. “We’re all ready to go,” she says and puts her fingers to her mouth. She gives the most piercing whistle you’ve ever heard and the carriage sets off with a jolt.

As Seersha settles down next to you, something registers in your mind. “Don’t we need a driver?”

“We’ve got drivers. The kelpie.” She nods toward the front of the carriage. You look, but there are just the strange sea-horses. Seersha gives you an odd look. “You don’t know kelpie?”

“Uh.” The name sounds familiar, but all you can think of is a swimming horse with sharp teeth that lures humans to their death. You’re hoping they’re not those.

“They’re one of the groups that makes up Aether’s homeland. They can go back and forth, from horse to standard form. If you can afford them, they’re the best drivers around. Most people can’t afford them, though.”

She slumps back onto the pile of blankets. “It’ll be a few hours until we hit the first stopping point. Relax.” Slowly, you sag back onto the blankets. There’s nowhere to go without snuggling up to Seersha and Aether, but you mind it very little.

The first few hours go smoothly- you stop at a small town and eat lunch at a tavern together. Aether eats only a few bites before going to lie down. “He gets carriage sick,” Seersha explains. “That’s why he was hiding under the blankets. He was trying to sleep.”

“That’ll make it worse,” you say. Seersha gives you a slightly confused look. “You need to look at the horizon, because that’s what tells your brain you’re moving.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” she says. “We should get going again. I want to make it to the city before nighttime.”

Aether groans and complains about being dragged back to the carriage and complains even more when you don’t let him crawl back into his nest. After about thirty minutes of staring out the window, though, he seems to relax.

“It’s better, a little,” he says.

“It’ll be okay. Only a few hours,” you say. Aether groans and tries to bury his face in your shoulder until you shift his head so he’s looking out the window again. You’ve been taken care of by others for so long, it feels nice to care for someone else.

It’s an hour before you’ve made it to the city proper when you notice dark clouds gathering in the sky. It’s an abrupt transition. There’s no clouds in the sky and then suddenly you’re in the middle of a thunderstorm. You hunker back in the carriage. Storms are still unsettling for you.

“What the fuck?” Seersha curses. She rummages for one of the folders she’s brought with her. “There’s not supposed to be rain here.”

“Sometimes forecasts are wrong,” you suggest. Seersha gives you a look like you’ve said something incomprehensible.

There’s a noise like someone clearing their throat from the front of the carriage. When you look, one of the kelpies has turned their head back to look at you.

“It is possible there was a miscommunication with the weather schedule. If rain was accidentally delayed, then the storm may be necessary to make up for it.” The kelpie’s voice is deep and resonant. It almost makes you sleepy to listen to it. You retreat a little further into the carriage.

“Stupid bureaucracy,” Seersha mutters, stretching her wings. “Weather management in big cities has so many problems- it’s what happens when you have to alter the schedule every five minutes because some noble has a garden party that they don’t want storm clouds hanging over. Smug assholes.” She glances at Aether. “No offense.”

“None taken. I think it’s stupid too.” He crept forward so he could peer up at the sky. “We can probably still make it to the city with little trouble.”

“Unless the storm is strong enough to make the path muddy. We don’t want to get stuck,” Seersha says. “Ugh. Give me a minute. I’ll see what I can do.”

The carriage rocks a little as she jumps up, wings spread, and swoops into the sky. You watch her go higher and higher until she vanishes into the cloud cover.

“Is that safe?” you ask. Planes don’t fly in storms, and Seersha seems much more fragile than a giant metal tube.

“She’ll be fine,” Aether says. “She’s good at defensive flying and she’s got a certificate for weather management. She and her parents are kind of far from any town or farm or anything, so she takes over the weather stuff when her mom’s away.”

You frowned. How exactly did one manage weather anyway? “What does she do? Like, record weather patterns and stuff?”

“I don’t know too much about it, but I think that’s part of it,” he says. “Mostly I think she makes sure their plants get enough water and the seasons get changed on time.”

“The seasons what?”

“Change? On time?” Aether says. “I think we’d both prefer if it was spring all year round, but we’re still affected by the seasonal changes everywhere, and it takes a lot of skilled weather management to maintain a seasonal bubble when everyone else is changing their weather. Seersha’s not good enough with air current manipulation to do it, and Trest doesn’t want to hire someone to do it because it’s expensive and unnecessary, so…” He trails off. “You’re looking at me weird.”

“Uh.” The way he’s talking about weather is just strange. There’s an inkling of an idea forming in your brain, but it sounds so strange you almost don’t want to say it out loud.

Your thoughts are interrupted by Seersha landing neatly back onto the carriage. “I gave us a bit of a path, at least until we get off the less-paved roads.”

You lean forward and tilt your head so you can look up at the sky. There are still thick, gray storm clouds blocking out most of it, but right down the middle, there’s a clear, blue path. One that follows the exact same shape of the trail you’re on.

It’s a stupid thing to break you, but it does. You slump back onto the blankets, giggling to yourself. Seersha and Aether stare at you. “Are you all right?” Aether asks, prodding your shoulder.

“You drew a path in the clouds!” you say. Given that you’ve seen magic do the impossible before, it shouldn’t be as startling as it is. But for some reason, this strikes you as the strangest thing you’ve seen so far. They can control the weather.

“Get the first aid kit,” Seersha mutters to Aether. She leans over you. “Hey. Are you okay? I think you might be delirious- I can get you some medicine if-”

“I’m not,” you say, struggling to keep your voice steady. “I’m- I’ve never seen anyone control the weather before. It doesn’t happen where I come from. You can’t do that.”

Seersha blanches. “Really? How do you stop storms, then?”

“We don’t stop them- you just kind of let them hit you and clean up when they’re done.” Aether, having located the first-aid kit, looks horrified.

“That’s terrible!” He gives you a sort of pained, pitying look. “It must have been so awful...”

“I mean, it was just a part of life. We built things that could withstand the storms most of the time, and then when they didn’t, we built them back better.” You shrug. “Probably would have made things better if we had that ability. Maybe things would have been better.” Matybe you coud have cleared the smog from the sky. Maybe you could have stopped climate change. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

Your chest feels tight. “I’m going to lie down for a little bit,” you say. Seersha nods absently. Her expression is neutral, but her wings shiver and twitch in the way they do when she’s anxious. Weather manipulation. Something so incredible to you is so mundane to them that it’s horrifying to think of a world without it. Aether creeps close enough that you’re just barely touching. As the carriage starts up again, you hear the distant rumbling of thunder.

There had been no storms since you came to this world, though for the first time, you’re finally recognizing it as purposeful rather than a happy coincidence. It doesn’t take long for the weather to become unsettling. Thunder rumbles every now and then, and even though rain doesn’t fall directly on your path, you can hear it pouring down around you. It reminds you of the rains that came after the bombs fell. Dirty, foul rain that sickened you if you drank it. You squeeze your eyes closed and try to sleep.

“It’s okay,” Aether murmurs. He strokes the top of your head, ruffling the little hair that has grown there. “It’s just rain.” He tilts your head so it’s resting on his shoulder. On your other side, Seersha shifts closer to you. Her hand touches your shoulder a for a moment, squeezing gently.

You cry. It’s quiet enough that even you can’t hear it over the gentle sound of the rain. But you think they both know, because they shift a little closer, offering you their warmth and support. That, in and of itself, makes your chest tremble. The rain will end and they will still be with you and you will be safe. It’s something that still feels novel after all this time.

In the end, you do manage to fall asleep. When you wake up, the rain has stopped and Seersha is nudging you.

“Sorry to wake you up,” she says. “But I thought you might want to sleep in an actual building.”

What you would actually like is to be able to sleep, regardless of location, but you stagger upright, gather your bags, and follow Seersha into the building you’re parked in front of.

It’s a short building clearly only meant for temporary stays. It has the sort of staged, too-clean look of a house showing or a furniture photo shoot. Everything is sort of pale and beach-looking, with a few kind of tacky shell decorations on the walls. You’re so sleepy that you don’t realize exactly how beach-like the house is until you nearly step into it.

The house is half-flooded. For a moment, you’re convinced that something has gone horribly wrong, but as you blink more sleep out of your eyes, you realize that it’s intentional. It looks like someone took an indoor pool and fused it with a house. The floor slopes gently until you’re not stepping on tiles anymore, but into cold water.

Just as you’re starting to wonder if you are still asleep and dreaming, the water ripples and Aether emerges from it, shaking water from his hair. He’s not naked, but he’s no longer wearing his outer robes and the sheer material underneath is not leaving a lot to the imagination. Seersha seems unbothered, but you find that you’re having a hard time looking him in the eyes.

“Landfolk always overdo this stuff,” he says, hiding a yawn behind his hand. “They do know we don’t have lamps made out of seashells, right?”

“Considering that the city is landlocked, probably not,” Seersha says. “How’s the water?”

“Fine. They’ve got nooks, which is nice.” He shakes his entire body like a wet dog, and you throw up your hands instinctively. There’s no water spray, though, and when you lower your hands again, Aether’s just as dry as if he’d never been in the water at all. Huh. Magic. “I’d rather sleep up here, though.”

“We’ve only got two beds, so you’re going to have to share,” Seersha says. Given how blasé she seems about it, this must be something they do commonly. “We can eat something and then we’ll head to bed. Tomorrow we can walk around the city, have some meetings, all that stuff.”

You yawn abruptly, so wide that you can feel your jaw cracking with the effort. “Go to bed,” Seersha adds, waving a hand at you. “We’ll wake you up when dinner is ready.”

“I can help,” you insist. “I’ve been sleeping all day. I can at least do something. I don’t want to be just dead weight.”

“You’re not dead weight,” Aether says, almost tripping over his words in his haste to get them out. “You’re sick. You’ve-”

“I’m not sick anymore, and I don’t want to just sit around and not do anything. I should at least help.” You realize you’ve been digging your nails into your palms. You haven’t cut them since you’ve gotten here. “I asked you to bring me along, but I‘m not being helpful at all.”

“You’re not here to be helpful,” Seersha says. She’s giving you a look that you can’t quite read. It might be caution, but it might also be sympathy. “You’re here to learn about our world. No one’s going to throw you out if you don’t do enough.”

You slump a little bit. “But I want to do stuff for you. You’ve been helpful to me. I just want to be able to do something back.”

“Awww!” Aether slams into you before you even process that he’s moving. He smells like the ocean, salty and strangely pleasant. “You’re so sweet!”

“I’m also being strangled,” you mumble. His collarbone is being forced against your throat.

“Oh. Sorry.” He releases you, though he’s still holding your shoulders. You’re close enough to see all the little crinkles around his eyes when he smiles. “You can help, if you want. You just don’t have to.”

“And if you get tired, you need to go lie down,” Seersha says. “Don’t push yourself.”

In the end, you all compromise by having you sit at the counter and chop vegetables and meat while Seersha and Aether take care of the moving around and cooking things. Seersha is clearly the more experienced cook; several times, Aether has to pause and ask her what temperature to cook something at or to check that something is done. They’re quite sweet together in the kitchen, often lingering close together. At one point, Seersha gently takes Aether’s chin in her hand to hold him still so she can feed him a spoonful of broth. Something in your chest clenches in an indefinable way. All you know is that you can’t bring yourself to look away. You are fortunate that you don’t slice your fingers open.

Dinner is quiet, but pleasant. Aether tells a story about some long-ago gathering of upper nobility where he got food poisoning and had to spend the entire night pretending he wasn’t two seconds from being violently sick. Seersha talks about some of her adventures in guard training, and, at your questioning, some of the finer details of weather management. You’re clearly a lot more interested in it than anyone else has been in a long time, so she goes into some fairly intensive detail. Admittedly, you feel like you’re not understanding all the details, but it’s so wild that she’s telling you how they systematically break up thunderstorms that you don’t really care.

And then, finally, you tell Seersha and Aether about your home. Often, you have to pause and explain concepts they don’t understand- they grasp what cars are easily enough, once you explain them as ‘self-propelled carriages.’ They grasp electricity easily enough as well- it’s known here, but not utilized so much, considering that magic is more easily and cleanly acceptable. Attempting to explain how electricity is produced, however, is a bit of a sticking point.

“How does burning rocks make lights go on?” Aether asks. You’ve moved to the bedroom and the three of you are sprawled across the bed. Seersha is lying across both of your laps, sipping from a small bottle of wine.

“Er. The burning is fuel, and then that fuel is used by machines to produce electricity, which is then carried to the places it needs to go.” Your explanation is hampered by the fact that you don’t really know how it works either. You think maybe you went over it in school, once, but that was a long time ago. “Anyway, those aren’t the only kind. You can get energy from the sun or wind or a nuclear power plant-” Your throat contracts oddly around the word, making a strangled sort of gulping noise.

Aether doesn’t seem to notice, though Seersha shifts a little on your lap. “What is a nuclear?” he asks.

“Nuclear power? It’s, uh.” Again, with your inability to remember exact details. “It’s like. Radiation? I don’t really know how to explain it. It’s like this substance that can make you sick just by being near it.”

“That’s what made you sick, isn’t it?” Seersha asks, lifting her head. Her gaze is sharp, but cautious. You nod apprehensively.

“Yeah, pretty much. That wasn’t nuclear power, that was a nuclear bomb. Kind of a similar principle, but it was weaponized. It can be used for energy if you use it right, but that much power also makes good weaponry.”

“And the bomb makes people sick?” Aether asks.

“Kind of. They’re mostly supposed to destroy things- they’ve got a huge blast radius, they can basically dissolve people if they’re close enough to the drop site. The sickness is more like a side effect.” You feel vaguely weird, like you’re not totally in control of your own body. You’re speaking, but it feels a little like you’re just spewing out everything that comes to your mind. In your head, all you can see is the fire and the rain of debris and you can feel your body decaying. “It’s like poison. It kills everything, everything in the environment- it can kill plants and animals and people and-”

There’s a sharp pinch on your side and you flinch, stumbling off. One of Aether’s hands is on your shoulder- you didn’t even feel it. What you do feel is Seersha pinching your side. Her gaze is steady, assessing. “Are you okay?”

“Um.” Your surroundings come back to you slowly, filtering in. You’re safe, sitting with Seersha and Aether. They’re concerned about you. “I’m fine, yeah.”

“You’re shaking,” Aether notes with a hint of disapproval. You look down at your hands. Sure enough, your fingers are trembling, even where they’re clenched in the bedsheets.

“It’s fine,” you say, brushing it off as quickly as possible. “I just- talking about it is hard.”

“We’ll still listen,” Seersha says. Her voice is quiet, but firm. “If you need it, we’re here for you.” Aether bobs his head up and down in furious agreement.

Your eyes sting a little, but you shake your head. “It’s fine. Really. I don’t think I want to talk about it anymore.” You stand, making Seersha tumble from your lap. “Shit- I’m sorry, I’m tired, I just want to go to bed.”

“Okay,” Aether says. He pats your leg and gives Seersha a warning look when she starts to fluff up her wings. “You can get some rest.”

You gather your nightclothes to change in the next room. Through the doorway, you can hear hurried whispering that quickly go silent whenever you step too close to the door. They’re probably talking about you, though you’re not sure what exactly they’re saying. After a moment of consideration, you shrug it off. Whatever. They can say whatever they want. You’re fine and you’re not going to talk about it.

When you return, they’ve stopped talking, and Aether eventually leaves to get ready for bed himself. Seersha goes over to her own bed and sits down, writing in her journal and checking your progress against her schedule. You sit down on your own bed and shuffle under the covers. Usually, you’re quick to fall asleep. But either because of the strange environment or because of spending so much time sleeping during the day, or maybe just because you’re agitated, you find it hard to settle down.

Aether eventually comes in and lies down next to Seersha. Right. Two beds. You gaze at them for a few minutes. They’re obviously close, and they’ve mentioned sharing beds before. But it’s interesting to see it. Your beds are only a few feet apart, but they feel further.

You roll onto your side so your back is to them and close your eyes.

There’s something sticking up into your face. You swat at it and it pricks your hand. Your entire body feels heavy, sore. Did you sleep weird? It feels like exhaustion has reached straight into your bones.

Then your eyes open and you realize exactly where you are.

The world around you is shadowy as night, but you can make out the faint illumination in the sky that means it’s day- if it was night, you wouldn’t be able to see at all. There are shadowy trees around you, most of them bare of leaves. Every time you inhale, your throat burns with smoke. You’re sore, you realize. Every inch of your body hurts. There’s a dull emptiness in your stomach, a leaden ache in your limbs, sharper pains from where sores have opened up on your body.

When you go to stand, your limbs skid underneath you. You can’t stand. You can barely move. Worse than the physical feeling, though, is the terrible certainty sinking into your guts.

You’re back here. On your dying planet. Where you’re dying.

The disappointment is worse than the physical pain. It feels like someone wrenched your heart out of your chest. This isn’t fair. Your brain has betrayed you. Isn’t this worse? Dying after having that hope?

Something bright, like a shooting star, drops from the sky. You realize what it is only a few seconds before it hits the ground.

The mushroom cloud erupts. You can see it filling the sky, a blaze of light against the darkness. It takes several seconds for the sound to reach your ears, the loudest noise you have ever heard. It echoes in your head, makes your very bones rattle. You can see the shockwave coming, a wave of destruction rolling on the horizon. The ground shudders under you. Half of a tree skids across the ground a few feet from you, propelled by the blast.

You can’t move and you couldn’t outrun the blast if you could. You just watch the destruction coming, kicking up dust and debris in a massive wave. Despite the advancing wave of death, you feel strangely peaceful. Maybe you’ll see Seersha and Aether again once it hits you. You close your eyes as it crosses the last few feet to you.

“Wake up!”

Your eyes snap open. You can feel how ragged your breathing is in your chest- it actually hurts to inhale. Your face is wet, and even with your eyes open, everything is blurred. Further blinking forces tears down your cheeks.

“It’s okay, you’re all right.” The voice above you is strained and shaky. “Seersha, the first aid kit- do we need it?”

“Maybe.” You try to move, but your arms are restrained. “It’s all right, stay still. Can you breathe slowly?”

No. You can’t breathe slowly. You’re barely breathing at all. You’re straining to get the air into your lungs and no matter how much you get in, it doesn’t seem to be enough. Everything spins.

“We need to stop the hyperventilating.” Seersha’s voice is closer and her face appears over yours. “I need you to listen to me. Breathe in, okay? Slowly. One. Two. Three…”

It’s so hard to calm your breathing. It doesn’t feel like you’re getting enough air, and all you want to do is struggle and scream until your body gives out underneath you. But Seersha’s voice is soothing. Aether puts your hand to his chest and the feeling helps regulate your own breathing.

Eventually, your breathing slows. Your head still spins and your entire body is giving convulsive shudders, but you’re no longer struggling to get air. Aether pats compulsively at your head, trying to soothe you. Seersha is still straddling your chest, and you’ve recovered enough mental capacity to be embarrassed about that.

“I’m sorry.” Your voice comes out in a rush. “I’m- I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry-”

“It’s okay!” Aether curls closer to you, his tail lying across your legs. The weight is soothing. “Don’t apologize, you’re safe. We’re here. You’re okay.”

Seersha eases herself off you. “Keep breathing. I’ll be back in a second.” She scrambles off the bed and hurries out the door. Your eyes remain on her back and fixed on the doorway even after she vanishes.

“It’s okay,” Aether says, drawing your attention back to him. His face is slightly blotchy and his eyes are bloodshot- has he been crying? “You’re okay.” One of his hands cups your face, stroking along your cheekbone. The touch is so gentle it hurts.

Seersha returns. “Drink,” she says, thrusting a glass of water to your lips. You sip at it, letting the cold, clean water refresh you. Aether brushes at your forehead with a cloth she hands him, swiping away the sweat.

“It’s okay,” you mumble as soon as you’re dine with the water. “I’m okay. I don’t- I’m fine."

Aether snorts and Seersha gives you an unconvinced look. “You were practically convulsing.”

“Oh.” You stare up at the ceiling. The shadows across it look like shifting stormclouds. Every time they move, you expect the room to dissolve back into the wasteland of your home. “It was a nightmare.”

“You haven’t had one like that before,” Seersha says. You shake your head a little.

“No. It might have been the storm. Just… set something off.” You sit up, feeling a little steadier. Aether and Seersha are touching you and their presence is grounding.

“We can go back home,” Aether says after a moment. You stare at him. “I- it’s- I don’t want you to feel this again. It you need to go back, we can.”

“No,” you said. “I’m not going back. I just- I need to get through this. I can’t heal by sitting in a safe little room for the rest of my life.”

Seersha is silent for a few moments. “There’s no need to push yourself.”

“I’m not pushing myself. I’m okay,” you insist. “I can’t…” You hesitate for a moment, then shove through your embarrassment. “It’s better when I’m with you. I feel safe.”

There’s a moment of silence. You don’t look at them. Your gaze is firmly on the covers.

“We’ll stay with you, then,” Aether says. His hand brushes across your head once more.

“Right here,” Seersha agrees. She leans back in bed next to you and lets an arm rest around your shoulders. You’re practically snuggled into her chest. Abruptly, it’s hard to think about your nightmare. Aether settles in on your other side and you feel your brain short circuit. Maybe this is how you’re going to die. More pleasant than a nuclear bomb, anyway.

As it turns out, you get very little sleep, despite your nightmare having been thoroughly banished.

Both of them stick close to your side when you get ready to head out in the morning. If Seersha’s not right next to you, Aether is, and vice versa. It’s comforting, to have them nearby. They keep you from dwelling too much. Aether prods you into quizzing him on the leadership of the city- you’re pretty sure he’s getting them wrong on purpose, to make you laugh- and Seersha speaks about anything from weather management to the particular historical importance of the city.

“We should get going,” Seersha eventually sighs, looking at the clock. “Get dressed.”

You blink at her. “I’m dressed.”

“Put on the formal overclothes,” Seersha says.

You continue staring. “Why?”

“You’re coming with us,” Aether says.

“Wh- but I thought I wasn’t supposed to go with you for the diplomatic stuff,” you protest. Seersha shrugs.

“It’ll be a good learning experience,” she says. “Here, put these on.”

With some tugging and fussing from both her and Aether, you manage to get your formal wear on with little difficulty. Aether moves to the door while Seersha guides you into position, behind him and next to her.

“Ready?” she asks. One of her hands is on yours, and she squeezes a little. You squeeze back.

“Ready.”

[inkandpen22]

Dazed and Confused (S1: 1/?)

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Female!Reader 

Warnings: mild langage and violence 

Word Count: 3.8k 

Part Summary: A year after the original Demogorgon attacks, Y/N struggles in secret to cope and remain to be the popular cheerleader she once was. Her growing feelings for Steve, her best friend Nancy’s boyfriend, is another secret she’s keeping. 

Masterlist

The sweet sound of Def Leppard can’t even make this early Thursday morning any less dreadful. Most days I wonder why I continue pretending as if everything’s just peachy when things haven’t been normal in this depressing town in over a year! Everyone, the kids, Steve, Nancy, Jonathan, Hopper, even Joyce is acting as if nothing happened! Her own son was possessed by an alien monster but apparently, everyone’s forgotten! 

I stare in my rearview mirror, out the outside I appear almost identical to how I did last fall. This isn’t me. I haven’t been to me in a while. A piece of me died when that monster tackled me to the Byers’s floor and left this horrendous scar on my forearm. Yet, I can’t act broken. I’m Y/N Goodwin. I’m supposed to be the perfect little head cheerleader who has everything put together. For a while, I truly did. Now, I pretend. 

Walking into school with fake confidence, I’m greeted with smiles and cheerful ‘hellos’ by various people. My Walkman drowns out my taunting thoughts. On the outside, my life must seem so simple, at least it’s predictable each day. 

I suddenly feel a tug on my arm. Nancy appears beside me with a mischievous smirk, which is never good. 

I remove my headphones with a giggle. “Oh no, you’re up to no good,” I tease my best friend. 

“Kind of, you know the party, Tina’s?” 

I snicker, “who doesn’t? Personally, I can’t wait!” 

She interlocks our arms as we shuffle through the crowded halls toward our lockers. “What do you think of going as?” She asks, yet again, because I haven’t been able to decide. 

Despite the horrors of my real life, Halloween remains my favorite holiday. I take my costume very seriously. It takes a lot of consideration. 

“It’s a surprise,” I tell her, much to her dismay. 

Upon arriving at our lockers, only two apart, Nancy continues her spiel about the costume plans she made with Steve. She goes on about how all of our friends will be there and how much fun it will be. It’s true, everyone will be at this party. It’s been the talk of the school for weeks. I could really use a good party. To have a night where we can act like reckless teenagers again will be nice. 

“Morning ladies,” Steve greets with his usual charming grin as he pops up behind Nancy. 

The cute couple exchange whispers, likely gushy compliments. Anything and everything that’s fluffier than a Care Bear. It’s hard to believe they just saw each other last night. One would think they haven’t seen one another in centuries. Appears I have to remind Romeo and Juliet that other humans exist. 

“Morning Harrington,” I smirk as I gather my things from my locker. 

The two lovebirds part upon hearing me. Nancy bashfully collects her notebooks for our first few classes but Steve wears a proud grin. 

“And how are you today, Miss Goodwin?” He questions in an attempt to wiggle his way back into my good graces after last fall. 

He doesn’t have to try, he already is. 

“Fine, and yourself?” 

“Excellent now that I’m with you two,” he winks. 

Always the flirt, even with his girlfriend right beside him. 

“We were talking about Tina’s party,” Nancy fills him in. “Y/N here, won’t tell me what she’s going as.” 

Way to throw me under the bus Nance. 

Steve narrows his eyes at me with curiosity. “Anything I would recognize?” 

“Likely,” I answer vaguely. 

“Do you need a ride? We can pick you up on the way,” he offers kindly. 

As much as I would love to sit in the backseat while Steve and Nancy gawk at one another. I sadly have already made arrangements. 

“Actually I’m going with Tommy and-” my eyes travel past Steve for a moment and I thank the heavens for it. My attention is locked on the stud who graces this otherwise depressing hallway. Tall, lean, and utterly glorious. His hair reminds me of Jon Bon Jovi's and he wears an earring. I'm so fucked. “Who… is… that?” I mutter in a whisper to my friends. 

Nance and Steve follow my line of vision behind them. Soon, they spot him as well. I’ve never seen tighter jeans on a guy and I’m all for it. 

“Who cares?” Steve dismisses the stranger without a second thought. 

I, for one, care. I would gladly show him around if he needs it. I’ve been known to be welcoming and very friendly. 

“Y/N?” Steve tries to snap me out of this daze. 

I hum absentmindedly, too enthralled by this new entity. As my focus remains on the boy, out of the corner of my eye, I see Steve swift his gaze between me and the handsome stranger. That’s when Mr. New Guy meets my stare. His eyes pierce my soul. They’re crystal blue but their pupils are nearly nonexistent. A sudden chill courses over my skin. 

“Y/N!” Steve grips my shoulder. 

I finally return to Earth and meet Steve’s gaze as he leans down to my level. He expresses this discouraged look as if I've just stolen something from him. 

Suddenly, the warning bell rings and it allows me to dodge any questions from him or Nance. 

“What? He’s hot!” I justify, shutting my locker. 

Steve releases a soft chuckle and shakes his head in disapproval. He knows I can’t help it. Besides, we’re equally flirtatious, it’s in our DNA. 

It’s electric, the interaction I had with the new kid. He’s drop-dead gorgeous, there’s no doubt about it. What’s strange is the way Steve looked at me while I was admiring the new Greek god. He appeared almost disappointed. It’s peculiar, I can’t get the image of it out of my head. 

As Steve and Nancy talk about whatever, the stranger passes us by and I catch a glimpse of the back of him. I’m not disappointed. 

“Him!” I blurt out to my friends, capturing their attention. “I’m showing up to the party with Tommy and them but I’m leaving with the new kid.” 

Nancy laughs, “you’re impossible.” 

“I’m determined,” I correct her as I walk that glorious bodywork. 

I have officially found a way to fill my time and distract my racing mind. It just so happens to be one of my favorite kinds of pass time, boys. 

_______________________________________

After school, my duties as captain of the cheerleading squad keep me occupied. We practice in the gym with the basketball team. One, because it’s too cold out now that it’s October. Two, it means I can sit on the bleachers. Three, I can get to gossip with Nancy as we both watch Steve and now Billy practice. Yes, I found out the name of Mr. New Kid and any possible details I could manage. In fact, I figured out his name during homeroom. He’s all anyone is talking about. The girls love him and the boys envy him. 

After I change into my practice uniform, I exit the locker room, heading into the gym to join my team. 

Oddly, Nancy hasn’t shown yet. Usually, she beats me to the bleachers. 

As my girls slip in and start to warm up, I watch the boys prep for practice. On the bench, tying his shoes, Steve seems rather off. He has all day. He’s not his usual happy-go-lucky, wild, and energetic self. 

“And who might you be, Baby?” A husky voice says behind me. 

I stop to turn around and I come face to face with none other than Billy himself. 

Tilting my head to the side ever so slightly, I can’t help but gaze at his perfect features. “Y/N,” I inform him confidently with a curved grin. 

He glides closer effortlessly and without shame, leaving very little space between us. “Pretty name,” he compliments, obviously glancing down at my lips. “Name’s Billy,” he tells me what I already know. Unexpectedly, he gathers a strand of my hair and tucks it behind my ear. Boy, he’s good. It’s annoying how good he is. This is going to be easy. “You have the most beautiful gray eyes…” he compliments quietly between us. “Has anyone ever told you that?”

“Yes, actually.” Steve suddenly interrupts, stepping between us protectively. “And they’re not gray, idiot. They’re Y/E/C, They just look darker indoors."  

Steve’s interjection frustrates me but his analysis has me taken aback. How does he know my eyes so well? I mean, they’re obviously not gray but he’s awfully specific. 

“There’s also mixed with a little gray,” Steve elaborates. “Well… depends on which one you’re talking about. They change all the time depending on the lighting… but then again the right one has this strip of just gray and-” 

“Whatever Harrington,” Billy cuts him off with a wicked chuckle as he gets in his face. “Just know I’m going to steal your girl here just like I’m going to steal your spot on this team.” Billy shoves Steve in the chest like a petty child. 

"Hey! Relax!" I’m starting to question my fondness of him. I scoff, “not his girl by the way.” 

“Just friends,” Steve adds under his breath. 

Billy grins and eyes me up and down, “perfect.” 

I scoff in disgust at his obvious action. 

He jogs off across the court to join the other boys, leaving Steve and me alone. 

Surprisingly, Steve stands quietly with his back still to me. After that whole thing and he has nothing to say about it? He described every little detail about my eyes so nonchalantly as if just anyone would know them as well. 

I lean against the wall next to him. “Are my eyes that interesting?” I joke in an attempt to break the ice. 

He runs his hand across the back of his neck and stammers nervously. It’s a rarity to see Steve Harrington so fidgety. “Eh, I see you every day. It helps that they're pretty, makes them easy to remember. Don’t feel bad if you don’t know mine,” he assures me over his shoulder before jogging off. 

Hazel.

There’s the Harrington I know, dismissing everything and playing it down. He acts too cool for school. Yet, the last bit rubs me the wrong way. The self-consciousness of it isn’t him. 

“You think mine are pretty?” I shout, before he gets too far to not hear me.  

He pauses, glancing over his shoulder with a smirk. "Beautiful.” 

There he is back to himself. The relentlessly flirtatious part of him that makes me grin ear to ear like a kid in a candy store. There’s my friend. 

Before turning over his shoulder he sends me a cheeky wink, causing me to snicker. Always the charmer, Harrington. 

I return my focus back to my team, only to find them chit-chatting like this is Social Hour! 

“That’s it! We’re running drills!” I shout at them. 

Each of the girls groan and I think some of the freshmen are going to cry. Clearly, they don’t understand how serious I am about being the best team in our conference. I’m borderline dictator but I prefer the word perfectionist. 

_______

“Yeah, no probs! Catch ya later,” I hang up the phone. 

Nance called me hysterical after dinner with Barb’s parents. I suppose I just shut off the memories. I’ve tucked away any reminisce of Barb from my life in hopes that it would help me move on. The nightmares are haunting enough. 

If this torment consumes my days as it already does my nights, then, what’s the point of trying to act normal anymore? I already feel insane. I put on a brave face for everyone else. I act as if I’m the same person I was a year ago. Though, in truth, it’s all a facade, a coping strategy for the fact that I have no idea who I am anymore. 

Now settled in my pajamas, I turn up the volume of my Walkman as I try to distract myself before going to bed. I lay on my stomach on my bed as I skim through Teen Beat and drown out my thoughts with Queen. I’ve found that if I listen to uplifting music and catch up on some gossip magazines then the nightmares are not as intense and realistic. If I’m lucky, I wake up the next day not remembering them but that’s rare. 

My peace is disturbed when I feel something grab my ankle. Startled, to say the least, I flip over and scoot back to get away from the entity. Relief rushes over me as I realize it’s Steve. He towers over my bed with his hands up in surrender. My heart pounds rapidly as I struggle to slow my breathing. I yank my headphones off. 

“The hell Harrington! You gave me a heart attack!” I whisper yell, making sure not to wake my family. 

He sighs, turning around to shut my window that I assume he climbed in through. “Sorry,” he apologizes as he settles onto my bed with his head on my pillow. “I’m having a rough night and I didn’t want to go home quite yet.” 

Seeing the defeat expression on his face, I start to let go of my frustration to be here for my friend. It doesn’t take a genius to guess this is likely about Nancy and the dinner. Steve cares a lot about Nace, and I mean a lot, so whatever she feels so does he. He lays with his hands interlocked over his stomach and I sit up criss-cross beside him. It seems to me he is in need of one of our infamous heart-to-hearts. 

“Is it Nancy?” I mutter, afraid it may upset him further. 

He snickers, “that obvious, huh?” He stares up at the ceiling, avoiding meeting my eye. 

I shrug, “not terribly, she called earlier...” 

“Oh,” he nods and meets my gaze, “so you know…” 

“Only her side. Yours may be different.”

“I don’t know,” he exhales defeatedly. “We just haven’t been the same lately… She’s… She’s different. I’m different. Ever since…” he hesitates, likely for my sake. 

“Ever since last year,” I finish, swallowing hard. 

“Yeah…” 

There’s a silence that falls between us. Neither of us particularly enjoy speaking of last November. 

“How are you holding up?” He checks in. “With everything, I mean…” 

“Fine,” I hurry out, playing down the situation. “Really good, actually. As well as anyone could be in this situation. And you, how are you? Really.” 

“Handling it… for Nancy’s sake," he shrugs, focusing on his fingers as he picks at them. "I have to be strong for her so she feels like she doesn’t have to be.” He tells me what I already know. His face and actions tell everyone he’s perfectly alright but in his eyes, it’s evident there’s something wrong. 

I sigh, “But Steve, that’s no way to cope with it all. You’re only human. You can’t be perfect all the time.” 

“Well I don’t see you-” he pauses and raises a brow, meeting my gaze. "Wait, you think I’m perfect?” 

I roll my eyes and nudge him on the shoulder, “that’s beside the point!” 

He chuckles. 

I shake my head disapprovingly but can’t suppress my laughter. “What I mean is, it’s okay to be kinda traumatized,” I assure him. “We did experience something horrid and alarming.” 

“You speak very poshly, you know that? Sound very adult.” He points out playfully. 

“You’ve told me before,” I remind him with a bashful smile as I peer down at my hands, playing with my scrunchy in my lap. 

He places a gentle hand on my knee. “You can talk to me, Y/N. You know that right?” 

I nod, unable to answer verbally without breaking my tough persona. If I look him in the eye and say in the slightest that I’m terrified every day then the rest will pour out of me. 

Steve is my best friend, other than Nancy of course. We hated one another when we first met. Everything changed last fall when he came to my door, terrified because he couldn’t find Nancy. We went to search for her together and ended up at Jonathan Byer's house. It was all very weird. I would've never thought I’d ever step foot in that house. That’s when we stumbled into an attack from the Demogorgon. I got tackled by that alien monster and Steve whacked it in the face with that nail bat of his. I hadn’t even noticed it clawed my arm, I was so in shock. Steve freaked out when he spotted the gash while we were watching the kids. He immediately took me into the bathroom and bandaged me up. Since that night, we haven’t gone a day without talking. It’s funny how some friendships begin. 

“Eh, enough of this pity party!” Steve perks up as he climbs off of my bed. “How about we watch a movie? I’ll even settle with The Blue Lagoon this one time because I know it’s one of your favorites!” 

“Aw, you know me so well!” I giggle, he's not wrong. 

He walks over to the light switch by my door and turns off the lights. If I were alone, the night light would be plugged in. I used to hardly be afraid of anything. Now, I’m afraid of basically everything, including the dark, except when I’m with someone else, especially Steve. It’s comforting being with someone because I feel protected. Frankly, I despise being alone. 

Having been in my room hundreds of times, Steve knows exactly where I keep the VHSs on my bookshelf. I get settled under the covers as he pops in the movie. He keeps the volume low to avoid waking my parents. Honestly, he could mute the movie and I would still know word for word what they’re saying. 

Steve kicks off his shoes and takes off his jacket before climbing in next to me. He gets settled, fluffy up the pillows behind him to rest against my headboard. He tucks one arm behind his head as I flip onto my side, propping my head in my hand. 

We’ve had plenty of movie nights. Over the summer, we were obsessed with The Karate Kid. We may have seen it over a dozen times. We would quote it nonstop! For those few weeks, we felt normal again. We were staying out late doing teenager things. Our minds were at ease. 

“So cheesy!” He groans quietly about the movie knowing it’ll get to me. 

“It’s romantic!” I playfully argue. 

“I’ll give it to you, Brooke Shields is hot but that’s about the only good thing I can say about this chick-flick.” 

I gasp and peer up at him. He wears a pleased grin and I can’t help but laugh. “Chick-flick? It’s so not a-” 

He raises his eyebrows, signaling for me to rethink my statement before I say it. 

I give in, “okay yeah it’s a chick-flick.” 

“Thank you, I told you so,” he mocks, rather pleased with his win. 

I roll my eyes jokingly, refusing to add to his well-off ego. 

As the movie goes on, my head falls back onto the pillows, I start to get sleepy. Thankfully, tomorrow is Friday which means the weekend and Tina’s party. Perhaps, if we’re lucky, we’ll feel like normal teenagers again. 

I shut my eyes for a second, feeling safe and secure with Steve next to me. His warmth and presence ease my mind immensely. For the first time in what feels like forever, I feel at peace. 

I can’t believe I got dragged here with no other than Steve Harrington, the biggest self-centered jerk of all time! Nonetheless, I have to get my best friend and his beloved girlfriend out of this shit hole. 

“What the hell are you doing here Nance? Let’s go!” I try to reason with her. 

“Get out of here!” She yells, “Y/N, just go!” 

Okay, um, bitch! I didn’t miss The Facts of Life for this bullshit! 

I cross my arms over my chest and grant her the death glare. “You don’t want to leave? Fine by me! Steve, let’s go!” I spin on my heels and head toward the door. 

The idiotic Christmas lights scattered all over the shack of a house start to flicker which makes Jonathan and Nancy lose their shit. 

“He’s back!” She screams. 

“Everyone get together!” Jonathan demands. 

“What? Why? What’s going on?” Steve actually listens to them. 

As if I’m going to listen to that freak! It’s going to happen! I’m going home! I have practice tomorrow and I can’t be late! 

“Y/N! Get over here!” Jonathan orders. 

He has the audacity to command me? He’s about to have a rude awakening here in a minute. 

I whip around to address the asshole. “Watch it, Byers! I’m in no mood to-” 

There’s a loud bang behind me then a severe, piercing, pain strikes my spine. I fly forward onto the carpet with a grunt. A force flips me over onto my back and I’m faced with a mouth full over razor-sharp teeth. I scream at the top of my lungs and attempt to scoot out from underneath it. 

Its large claws clench my arm, pinning me to the floor. 

The pain is so sharp it makes every ounce of breath leave my lungs. For a moment, my body is stiff and my eyes begin to well up.

Suddenly, the monster disappears from above me. The vision of the Byers's cream ceiling comes into view.

"Take that, asshole!" Steve grunts, knocking the Demogorgon again, this time into the hallway.

Endless gunshots and shouting fill the air. All three of them disappear from my immediate sight. Their voices are muffled around the corner and all I can do is stare up at the damaged ceiling with blurry vision. Slowly, my head inches to the side to catch a glimpse of the stinging I feel. All I see is red on what was once a yellow-like carpet.

“No! Stop!” I fly up from the bed panting, gasping for air. 

“Hey, hey, hey!” A voice shouts. 

My room is pitch black and I can't see a thing. I begin to panic. I can't see! It's here! It's here! 

Arms fling around my body, enclosing me. I fight them off, terrified that it's the Demogorgon. 

“Y/N! Y/N!" Steve cups my face, making me look at him. "You're okay!"  

He guides my head to my chest, pulling me into a hug. 

I grip the fabric of his shirt in my fist, sobbing into his neck. “I can’t do this anymore!” I cry, finally breaking down after a year of keeping it together. 

He brushes his hand down my hair and shifts closer to me. “You’re safe. You’re okay. I’m here. I’ve got you," he whispers. 

__________________________

Masterlist

[thelazyhermits]

Gonna ramble about TW underneath the cut.

Okay, so now that I’ve finished Book 3, I’d like to talk about what I haven’t already mentioned regarding the prologue/first three books. I’ll stick with just the prologue and Book 1 for this post and cover Books 2-3 in a separate one.

Overall, the prologue isn’t really all that different. I will say that Yuu is better at keeping an eye on Grim and keeping him from running off/shirking his duties since she’s just has those keen mom instincts that let her know when a kid’s about to do something they shouldn’t lol 😂

(Yuu is good at handling Grim since she’s good at balancing doting on him and being stern when necessary. She can’t always keep him out of trouble, but I’d say she does a really good job of reeling him in, so he doesn’t cause nearly as much trouble as he does in canon.)

Regrettably, the charred statue incident still happens since Ace/Grim wouldn’t listen to her warnings about how dangerous it could be to mix air and fire attacks together.

In regards to the chandelier incident, it still happens like in canon, because, just after Yuu had swooped Grim up into her arms to prevent him from running off and leaving the window cleaning to her and Ace, her Quirk activated, showing her a vision about the chandelier falling.

Because she’s unresponsive when she’s having a vision and has all her senses directed to what’s going on in the vision, Yuu is unable to stop Grim who takes advantage of this opportunity to escape her hold and run off. 

Rather than bother with Yuu, Ace pursues Grim and drags a protesting Deuce along for the ride. Once her vision ends, Yuu runs after the guys, hoping she can catch up with them in time to prevent them from breaking the chandelier.

Unfortunately, Yuu gets to the cafeteria just in time to see Deuce fling Ace in the air, so she’s unable to stop the events from her vision from happening, much to her great distress.

Which is why she later finds herself in the Seven Dwarf’s Mine looking for a magic stone to replace the one that got broken.

Everything from then on happens like in canon, one little difference being that Yuu is nervous about entering the mine since it’s got haunted vibes and she’s right since there are ghosts there lol

Thankfully, despite her fear of horror, Yuu is able to persevere since the ghosts look more like cartoons than what you’d see in a horror movie. However, she does get scared of the Overblot creature in the mine since it does look like a monster out of a horror movie.

However, despite her fear, when Deuce is being reckless and tries to get the magic stone, Yuu runs toward the Overblot creature and tackles Deuce out of the way of the Overblot creature’s attack, which results in her back getting grazed by its pickaxe. 

Thankfully, Yuu’s injury isn’t serious and will just result in a big bruise. Fortunately, by this point, Yuu has already met Leona/Ruggie and gotten a potion to heal her injuries that she had when she arrived in TW, so this new injury is the only one she has to currently worry about.

After Yuu drags Deuce out of the mine and orders Ace/Grim to follow her, Deuce apologizes to Yuu for his recklessness resulting in her getting hurt, which leads to her making him promise not to do something like that again.

After assuring Deuce that she doesn’t intend to give up on getting the stone, Yuu comes up with the plan of them all working together like what was done in canon, and the plan works just as it did in canon.

During this time, Yuu never once uses her Quirk, even though she had been tempted to, because this is a secret she wants to refrain from revealing unless absolutely necessary since she knows her power is abnormal in the world of TW, which might result in some problems for her if she’s not careful.

So, she contributes by coming up with the plan and guiding the guys’ movements and making suggestions for what they can do when they’re battling the Overblot monster.

It’s after the magic stone is retrieved and the Overblot monster has been defeated that the guys finally learn that Yuu is a girl because one of the guys makes a comment that makes Yuu believe they think she’s a guy, which leads to her asking if they know she’s actually a girl.

(Grim doesn’t know the truth either since he was fast asleep when Yuu got the chance to bathe and change into a nightgown she found. She also woke up before he did since she’s an early riser, so he’s just used to seeing her in the baggy clothes she came in which hide her figure.)

All of the guys are very shocked by this information. Deuce nearly passes out because he’s been talking to a girl all this time, not only that a girl that got hurt because of him. He’s considering summoning a caldron to throw onto himself 😂

Meanwhile, Yuu’s just like, “Damn. I knew I wasn’t very feminine, but I didn’t realize I looked that much like a guy.” lol

She doesn’t really mind, though. It’s just kind of a surprise for her since she’s used to guys leering at her and making perverted comments. Since that happened often in the underworld back home, she just assumed that she was feminine enough that anyone could tell she was a girl.

(And the truth is she is. She has a girlish face/voice. NRC guys are just used to seeing guys like that in Pomefiore. That’s why so many guys initially assume that Yuu is a boy. Plus, they just can’t fathom why a girl would be in what’s considered an all boys’ school lol)

Once Yuu convinces Deuce not to throw a caldron at himself, Deuce just starts bowing repeatedly and apologizing profusely since he caused her so much trouble.

Eventually, Deuce lets up when Ace makes a comment about Yuu being seemingly flat-chested, which is why he thought she was a girl. Immediately, Deuce tries to throttle Ace for being so rude, which leads to him gaining some points in Yuu’s book haha

(If Deuce hadn’t reacted before she did, Yuu would’ve gone after Ace instead, but she would’ve just started with a warning since Ace wasn’t really trying to be perverted. He was just making an observation about her chest.)

Once Deuce has calmed down, the group finally returns to NRC to deliver the magic stone to Crowley. During the walk back to NRC, a very flustered Deuce had tried to convince Yuu to allow him to carry her on his back to make amends for her injury, but she assured him that she could still walk, which the guys found impressive.

However, Deuce does insist that Yuu gets taken to the infirmary. This is how Crowley finds out that Yuu is a girl and that she got injured since Deuce immediately starts bringing up her need to go to the infirmary as soon as they return to the Mirror Chamber.

Crowley is just as surprised as the guys were about Yuu being a girl and starts lamenting over how he left a defenseless/innocent girl in that dump of a dorm.

To make amends, Crowley promises to have some renovations done to ensure Ramshackle Dorm is safe to live in. Basically, he just fixes the floor so she won’t fall through it and makes sure the plumbing, lighting, etc. works so he doesn’t really do as much as he should lol

(This all surprises Yuu since she wasn’t expecting people’s treatment of her to suddenly change upon realizing she’s a girl. TW really is different from the world she came from.)

Aside from the infirmary visit, everything goes according to canon, so Yuu ends up becoming a two-in-one student with Grim, which is not an outcome she was expecting. However, she won’t complain since being a student beats being a janitor, although she was willing to do the latter if it meant getting a roof over her head and not getting sent back to her world.

By the end of the prologue, Yuu has gotten a little attached to Ace/Deuce/Grim, Grim especially, so she finds herself hoping that she can become friends with them since she has always wanted a friend.

Which is why she is open to helping Ace out when he gets into trouble with Riddle in Book 1, so things happen like in canon when he comes over and asks to stay the night at Ramshackle. 

In regards to the sleeping arrangements, Yuu wasn’t really opposed to sharing a bed with Ace since that kind of thing doesn’t embarrass her, and she didn’t think Ace would pull anything. Even if he did, she was confident that she could take him out lol

However, despite his teasing, Ace couldn’t follow through with the idea cause he got embarrassed, so he chose to sleep on the couch, which Yuu kindly helped clean up for him.

(Deuce takes the other couch when he stays over to keep an eye on Ace later on to make sure Ace doesn’t cause Yuu any trouble. Yuu had offered her and Grim’s bed to him too, and he about near passed out from how hard he blushed when he panickily refused her offer lol 😂)

(Unlike Ace, Deuce is also kind enough to offer to help Yuu clean up the dorm when he stays the night, which leads to Ace eventually grudgingly helping as well. The ghosts also pitch in, so with everyone’s help, they’re able to get rid of all the grim/dust/cobwebs during Book 1.)

(Yuu is big on cleaning and hates leaving things untidy, so one of the first things she asked Crowley for upon moving into Ramshackle was cleaning supplies so she could work on the dorm lol)

Anyway, Yuu agrees to go with Ace to his dorm to apologize to Riddle the next day, and things turn out like in canon with her helping with the rose painting via doing it by hand, which she’s somewhat decent at doing haha

One thing I’ll add is that the whole time Cater keeps eyeing Yuu every so often, looking at her like she’s a puzzle he’s trying to solve.

When she finally questions him about it, Cater tells her not to be offended before asking if she’s a girl. He knows that there are some guys with girlish faces, but no matter how he looks at it, even with Yuu wearing her baggy clothes (since she hasn’t gotten a uniform yet), Cater’s intuition is telling him that she’s a girl, even though it seems impossible for one to be at NRC.

Yuu, of course, tells him that he’s right since she’s not trying to hide her gender. Crowley told her that it’s fine for her to reveal this information since, while it’s been populated by boys all this time, NRC is technically open to female students if they meet the requirements of this school, so there’s no rule saying she can’t be here since she’s a two-in-one student with Grim who’s providing the magical power requirement.

Cater is both relieved that he didn’t offend her and also dumbfounded that there really is a girl attending NRC lol But once he gets over that initial surprise, he’s extra friendly with her since he always like that with girls and he wants his cute new underclassman to rely on him, which just makes Ace suspicious of him/call him out for being a flirt haha

Cater still throws everyone out once he hears that Ace didn’t bring an apology tart for Riddle like in canon, but Yuu gets special treatment since he doesn’t wanna be rough with a girl. So he just politely leads Yuu out of the dorm since she doesn’t put up any resistance cause she understands where he’s coming from, although she is a little exasperated by how he tricked all of them into helping him paint the roses.

She’s exasperated and also impressed since he did it so smoothly. She didn’t realize what he was doing until he already got away with it.

When it comes time to make the marron tart, Yuu pitches in, mostly because she loves baking and has never gotten the opportunity to bake with someone else before. Helping Ace out is like a bonus lol 

(For those of y’all who are familiar with my BNHA stories, you’ll notice the way Yuu acts is slightly different from Fortune. That’s because she has the type of personality that’s affected by her surroundings/people she’s with.

Her core character hasn’t changed. However, a big difference is that she isn’t dealing with amnesia and hasn’t surrounded herself with heroes like in TABF.

Yuu is used to dealing with villainous people thanks to her time in the underworld and because of NRC’s current student body. As a result, she has adjusted herself accordingly in order to adapt and survive.

She’s still kindhearted, but she won’t allow herself to get taken advantage of. She’s willing to lend a hand, but if there are times when she can get something in exchange, she will, because being too nice will only get you killed/make you suffer.

Overall, however, I’d still say she comes across as a goody-two-shoes to most NRC students since she’s a lot nicer than the majority of them lol 

I will add that they also think she can be just as much of a villain as them when she wants to be because she does have that potential. After all, she is the one who came up with the plan that resulted in Azul’s contracts getting destroyed.)

Because she’s got a lot of baking experience, Yuu is a big help with the baking, and Trey commends her on her skills, remarking that he can tell she has done this for a while like him.

Because of her experience, Yuu doesn’t fall for Trey’s oyster sauce joke, but that was the only reason she didn’t fall for it, because she couldn’t tell that he was lying, which caught her off guard because she’s normally really good at telling when someone is lying.

For that reason, Yuu decides that Trey is someone she shouldn’t underestimate. Just because he seems friendly doesn’t mean she can let her guard down around him.

(Also, for the record, Trey & Riddle find out that Yuu is a girl from Cater. They were just as surprised as you’d expect lol But they don’t really treat her any differently because they know the truth.)

The grocery shopping scene with Deuce is also like canon. However, Deuce is a lot more awkward around Yuu here since he never knows what to say around girls.

This would be one of the underlying “conflicts” in Book 1: Deuce not knowing how to act around Yuu while Yuu just wishes he’d treat her like he did before he found out she was a girl.

(As I mentioned in a previous post, despite his awkwardness, Deuce still willingly hangs around Yuu because he wants to make sure Ace doesn’t trouble her. Plus, he does want to get along with her, even if it seems impossible because of how awkward he is around her.)

Things start to improve between them following the incident with the upperclassmen that caused the eggs Deuce/Yuu bought to break. 

In addition to assuring Deuce that even model students can get angry and that he can still become a model student despite his delinquent behavior, Yuu expresses sympathy since she too has a past that she wants to forget/move on from.

Since Deuce confided in her, Yuu wants to do the same but without telling him everything about her past since she’s afraid he’ll look at her with pity/treat her differently which she wants to avoid.

As a result, while she refrains from mentioning her years spent as a cage fighter, she admits that she’s also used to fighting people since she’s had people pick fights with her in the past in hopes of defeating her, which isn’t technically a lie, but fighting isn’t something she enjoys so she’s hoping she can finally move past that life at NRC.

This leads to Deuce coming to the conclusion that Yuu was once a delinquent like him, much to Yuu’s silent distress. However, she doesn’t correct him since she’d rather that misunderstanding than him know the truth.

Upon learning this new information about Yuu, Deuce feels a level of kinship with her since they have similar backgrounds. He also feels encouraged since, unlike him, Yuu actually acts like a model student so it gives him hope that if she can do it so can he. 

After that, Deuce has an easier time talking to Yuu. He’ll still get flustered by certain things like if they’re sitting close together or if she grabs his hand to gain his attention/lead him somewhere, but he’s at least able to hold a proper conversation with her, much to her relief.

(Since I haven’t really said much about him, I’ll throw in the Ace & Yuu dynamic here so he gets some attention.

Their relationship is pretty much like how it’s shown in canon. Ace doesn’t really treat Yuu any differently for being a girl since he knows she doesn’t expect special treatment and he doesn’t see the need for it, especially when Deuce has that already covered.

Ace really enjoys messing with her/teasing her and likes to find new ways to rile her up just to see how she’ll react. Most of her expressions are just various forms of tired exasperation since she has the patience of a saint lol

However, Ace does back off when she’s genuinely irritated because he finds an angry Yuu to be just as frightening as an angry Riddle 😂

Like in canon, despite all his teasing, Ace is loyal/protective, so if anyone other than him is messing with Yuu, he will get involved if he deems it necessary. Not just anyone can mess with her and get away with it on his watch.)

(The Yuu/Ace/Deuce relationship really is amusing since one minute the boys are causing enough mayhem to make her wanna pull her hair out, like a pair of overgrown toddlers, and in the next, they’re ready to beat up some guys just because they made some inappropriate comments about Yuu lol)

Now that that’s been addressed, I wanna mention that, after seeing it done in a fanfic, I really like the idea of Yuu having dreams related to the Disney movies and also the Overblot guys’ memories since I just really like that twist.

Ergo, in Book 1, Yuu is having dreams about scenes from Alice in Wonderland, and she’s also seeing little snippets of Riddle’s past, allowing her to see what he went through because of his mother.

(For the record, Yuu watched a lot of Disney movies growing up since she often watched TV/movies during the free time she had as a child, so she is very much familiar with the Seven Greats, and finds the fact that this world sees those “villains” as heroes very surreal lol

She keeps this info to herself, though, since she figures no one would believe her if she told them.)

Because of this, Yuu has a hard time being mad at Riddle during the unbirthday party when he gets upset about Ace breaking a rule by bringing a marron tart to the party.

Yes, she’s upset about him caring more about the rules than anything else and how he treats her friends, but at the same time, when she looks at him, all she can see is the crying boy from her last dream, which tugs at her heart since she’s so weak when it comes to children.

The main difference from canon in that scene is that, before Trey and Cater can force her and Ace/Deuce/Grim out of the party, Yuu gets involved and tells them that they don’t need an escort. They’ll leave on their own power.

So, after leveling a sharp, disappointed look at Riddle/Cater/Trey, she makes Ace/Deuce/Grim leave with her, and they reluctantly oblige since she’s wearing a face that they don’t wanna argue with lol

(She’s disappointed because her first unbirthday party, which she was kinda excited about, especially after getting such a cool suit from Cater to wear (he had asked if she wanted a dress beforehand but she said a suit was fine), was ruined, and because of how Riddle/Cater/Trey were acting.)

Later on, when her group confronts Trey, things go like they do in canon. However, there is a point where, before she parts ways with Trey, Yuu asks him if he really is okay with Riddle being as he is right now.

Does he really think Riddle is happy? Does he think Riddle will find the kind of future he wants and deserves if he continues down the path he’s currently on?

Yuu asks several questions like that before leaving Trey to think about them since right now she thinks he just needs to take a minute to really think about Riddle’s situation, what is best for Riddle, and what Trey, as Riddle’s friend, should do for Riddle. 

Yuu can’t help but meddle in this matter since she’s nosy and because she hates the thought of someone like Riddle not getting the kind of bright future he deserves after going through so much to get to where he is now. 

There’s nothing she hates more than futures getting cut short and futures that don’t reach their full potential.

The next change from canon happens that night when, in addition to seeing more about Alice in Wonderland and Riddle’s memories, Yuu’s Quirk activates and shows her a vison of Riddle Overblotting.

(Yuu occasionally has visions when she’s sleeping, which basically play out like a dream would, so sometimes she’ll have trouble figuring out if the vision was actually just a dream or a future event that’s supposed to happen.)

Because she’s been having weird dreams as of late, Yuu just chalks up what she saw as a dream rather than a vision, which she later regrets when Riddle Overblots.

The next day, Ace/Deuce challenge Riddle, and everything happens just as it does in canon.

One slight difference I would point out is that, when Riddle is later criticizing Yuu, in addition to what he says in canon, he says that it’d be useless to allow her to attend a school like NRC since there’s no way she’d be able to survive/keep up with her subpar education/upbringing.

While Yuu doesn’t really get affected by his taunts about her education/upbringing, she does involuntarily flinch at the use of the word “useless” since that’s what Mumei often used to describe her, to the point she began to believe he was right.

Thankfully, before she can get lost in her memories, she gets distracted by Ace who proceeds to punch Riddle and Deuce who grabs Yuu’s shoulders so he can position himself in between her and Riddle.

At this point, Grim’s on Yuu’s shoulder, cheering Ace on and baring his teeth at Riddle. 

Yuu is caught off guard once she realizes that the guys came to her defense. They actually got mad on her behalf, a concept that she is very unfamiliar with.

It makes her happier than words can describe since, at that moment, she really gets to experience what having friends, people who are willing to defend her, is like.

From there on, things happen like in canon, which results in Riddle’s Overblot. 

(Yuu had tried to get Ace to stop since he really didn’t need to push Riddle as far as he did, but he didn’t listen to her, much to her exasperation.)

(She also tried to run toward Ace when Riddle tried to attack him with the rose bushes, but Deuce held her back to keep her out of harm’s way.)

Thus, Yuu learns that what she saw last night was a vision rather than a dream and finds herself wishing she had given it more attention rather than immediately write it off.

Upon learning that Riddle could die if he isn’t stopped, Yuu becomes determined to save him since she can’t allow another child to lose their life. She’s seen too many kids lose their lives during her time in the underworld, and she refuses to allow it to happen again when there’s a chance she can stop it.

Fortunately, because she always clearly remembers her visions, Yuu recalls seeing part of the Riddle Overblot battle and how the key is to attack the blot creature behind him, so she knows what needs to be done.

Regrettably, only magic can defeat the creature, so Yuu can’t do anything on that end. That means all she can do is act as a decoy and use her Quirk to predict Riddle and the creature’s movements while guiding those who can fight with magic.

Originally, Yuu had planned to never use her Quirk for combat again, but she realizes it can’t be avoided, not if she wants to save Riddle.

Thankfully, Ace/Deuce/Grim are willing to fight Riddle for their own reasons, like in canon, so Yuu asks them to follow her lead. 

Upon seeing what the first years intend to do, Trey/Cater also decide to join the battle since they can’t just stand back and do nothing, and Trey wants to do whatever he can to save Riddle.

In the end, they’re divided into two teams. Ace/Deuce/Grim are the offensive team that goes after the blot creature while Yuu guides them using her Quirk and Trey and Cater help her keep Riddle distracted and watch over her in case any magic attacks happen to reach her and she’s unable to dodge in time.

The third years also try to attack the blot creature whenever they get the opportunity to do so.

Thanks to Yuu, Riddle and the blot creature’s attacks are perfectly mapped out, so it doesn’t take too long to subdue the creature and get Riddle back to normal.

(In regards to the reactions to Yuu’s power of foresight, it’s not revealed until the battle starts, so everyone is very surprised by how she’s able to completely predict Riddle and the blot creature’s movements. They definitely intend to ask lots of questions after the battle lol)

Near the end of the battle, Yuu comes up with a strategy that will allow her to get close to Riddle to deal the final blow. Since she doesn’t want Riddle to catch on, she just tells the others that, just as the guys are putting their trust in her, she’s gonna do the same with them and says Trey’s and Ace’s names specifically, which catches them by surprise.

Yuu proceeds to rush straight toward Riddle who tries to attack her with a tree. Trey immediately uses his UM to turn the tree into cards like what he did to save Ace, and Ace, upon realizing what Yuu is trying to do, quickly uses his wind magic to create a vortex of playing cards to surround Riddle with, successfully hindering his vision. 

While Riddle’s guard is down, Yuu sneaks up on him and grabs him, so she can proceed to body slam him into the ground, much to everyone’s great surprise lol

Around that same time, Ace and the others land the final blow on the blot monster, so with that, the battle finally draws to a close. 

Fortunately, because the battle doesn’t last for an extended period of time, thanks to Yuu’s foresight and Trey’s UM, the drawbacks of Yuu’s Quirk aren’t too severe. 

She ends up with a nosebleed, light sensitivity, a headache, and slight fever, but it doesn’t really affect her much cause she’s had it much worse thanks to longer fights she’s gone through. 

Once the battle is over, Yuu pulls Riddle into a bridal carry so he can be taken to the infirmary.

(Which leads to the scene I mentioned in my Riddle post where she freaks out about how light he is lol 😂)

While she’s interrogating Trey about Riddle’s eating habits, her nose starts bleeding thanks to her drawback, and Trey immediately gets into big brother mode and uses his handkerchief to stem the blood flow and has her tilt her head back.

This leads to Yuu wincing cause now she’s looking straight up toward the sun which is killing her light sensitive eyes. Noticing this, Trey questions her about it, and she explains her drawbacks to him, which makes him decide that she needs to go to the infirmary just as much as Riddle does.

After taking Riddle from Yuu and instructing her to keep his handkerchief around her nose, Trey tells Ace/Deuce/Grim to walk with Yuu since he wants her to keep her eyes closed.

After telling Cater to look after things at the dorm, the rest of the group, including Crowley, who has finished evacuating the students, head for the infirmary to get an unconscious Riddle and Yuu looked over.

Around the time they reach the infirmary, Riddle wakes up and acts similar to how he did in canon. 

The only thing different is that Yuu moves to hug him while he’s crying since she’s really weak to tears, especially when they’re on young, cute faces.

Ace complains about her coddling Riddle, and she promptly throws her shoe at his face to shut him up, making Deuce/Grim laugh at his expense.

Riddle is very surprised by the hugging and also embarrassed, but at the same time, he can’t say he hates it since her embrace feels very comforting. Plus, I imagine it’s the type of hug he always wished he could receive during his childhood.

When everyone later says their piece to Riddle, Yuu’s message is more of an  encouragement since everyone else had the reprimanding taken care of lol

She tells Riddle that his life is his to control - that what he does is up to him, not his mother. He shouldn’t base everything he does on rules. If he does, then he’ll never achieve real happiness; he’ll just end up living a life full of regrets and actions he can’t take back.

Yuu mentions that she didn’t have a lot of freedom when she was a child either, so she plans on taking full advantage of her time at NRC to live life to the fullest and she hopes that Riddle can learn to do the same since she wants him to have the kind of bright future that he deserves.

When Riddle asks her why she helped save him, Yuu tells him that, thanks to her Quirk, she always gets invested in people’s futures, and nothing makes her more sad than seeing one cut short or unfulfilled. 

She can tell that Riddle has a lot of potential, and she hates the thought of that potential going to waste. That’s why she wants him to find the best possible future for himself.

Naturally, this leads to Yuu finally revealing that she came from a different world and how she has what they would all consider to be a superpower. 

Everyone is very surprised by this and find it slightly hard to believe, but they know she’s not lying since there’s no other way to explain what she pulled off during the battle.

So, in the end, they all just accept it as the truth, and then, Ace/Deuce/Grim start pestering Yuu for more details since her world sounds really cool and they wanna know more about her and all the other superpowers she knows about.

Meanwhile, Riddle and Trey are more interested in learning about her drawbacks since they find those concerning.

And of course, Crowley just leaves once he’s sure that Riddle & Yuu are alright after they get examined since he’s just glad that everything has been peacefully resolved and he was able to avoid being majorly inconvenienced. 

Once she has gotten looked over in the infirmary and taken something to help with her headache, Yuu gets to leave the infirmary, wearing a pair of sunglasses that Deuce kindly went to Sam’s store to buy for her.

Sam, being Sam, knows who the sunglasses are for and gives them to Deuce without making Deuce pay since he intends to make Crowley pay for him cause it’s the least he could do. Sam also throws in some other items that he thinks will be useful to Yuu, all of which will be paid for by Crowley lol

Even though Trey told her to take it easy, Yuu goes back to her dorm and resumes cleaning up the place, picking up where she and the boys left off last night, since she just can’t leave it be.

Ace & Deuce saw this coming, so they went to Ramshackle with her and helped her out because Deuce wanted to lessen her load so she could rest. Ace helps because he wants them all to do something fun and the only way to do that is by hurrying up the cleaning process by helping out.

Book 1 wraps up with an unbirthday party where Riddle makes a tart for everyone like he promised which is super salty because he didn’t realize Trey was joking about the oyster sauce.

Yuu’s the type who doesn’t waste food, so she eats the tart and doesn’t complain like Ace does. Instead, she just focuses on how much more fun this party is compared to the last one.

She can only hope that any future parties she gets invited to will be just as fun.

[cinnamon-roll-seth]

Meant To Be (Part Two) || Nick Goode

- Part One

Request- Can you write an imagine of Nick Goode from 1978 where y/n is a redhead and is the sister of Ziggy and Cindy. Her and Nick were dating before y/n left camp and Nick dumped her. After a year she comes back with her sisters and they meet again and y/n tries to talk to him but he doesn't want to. And there is a fight like Deena and Sam at the beginning of the movie because Nick was also mad at her because she was kissing a boy and he squeezed her ass and he knows she didn't feel comfortable with it just like Sam and Deena’s fight. And after the fight he ignores her, still loving her, and always thinking about her after years. And then after years they reconcile and stay together for years, until death do them part. (there is no curse in the imagine)

“No, no, no.” You groaned, looking in your rearview mirror as a pair of red and blue lights flashed behind you.

You pulled over and sighed, running a hand through your hair while mumbling out a few curses. Cindy was going to kill you.

You reluctantly rolled your window down as the officer approached your car and bent down, “Ma’am did you know- Y/N?”

Of course it would be Nick Goode, of all people, to have pulled you over.

It had been 7 years since that night at camp where the two of you had fought. After that you avoided him at all cost and only spoke to him when necessary.

As the years went by and you’d grown and matured your negative feelings toward Nick had disappeared. You no longer held any hatred for the man. He was simply an old fling to you now, a silly teenage relationship that didn’t work out.

That still didn’t make him pulling you over any less embarrassing.

“Um, hey Nick. Look I’m sorry if I was speeding, I didn’t even realize. I’m late for my nephews birthday party and if I’m any later my sister is going to literally kill me.” You ramble, reaching into your wallet for your license to give to him.

“You weren’t speeding Y/N. I pulled you over to ask if you knew you had a taillight out.” He reassures you awkwardly.

“Really? The left one? Damn I just replaced that one a few weeks ago.” You mutter, “I guess you have to give me a ticket now, huh? Alright, get it over with.”

“Well technically I don’t have to give you a ticket. I’ll settle for your number instead?” He answers smoothly causing your cheeks to heat up.

“Oh..uh-“

Nick cuts off your stuttering, “Look Y/N. I’m going to go out on a limb here and tell you the truth. These past few years I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. About what it would be like if we’d stayed together. You were one of the best things that has ever happened to me and I was a dumbass and went and fucked it up and I’ve never been able to forgive myself for hurting you. Even if you don’t feel the same way please just give me the chance to properly apologize. The way we left things just doesn’t sit right with me.”

You weren’t sure what to say. You’d be lying if you hadn’t also caught yourself often thinking about what would’ve happened if you and Nick were together still. Would you be married and have kids of your own? Would you have that dog the two of you always talked about?

Yes the two of you had left off on bad terms but that was years ago. You were both older now, more mature. Maybe if you gave Nick another chance things would go different this time. Or maybe you’d get the chance to put the past behind you and be at least friends.

Finally you reached over into the passenger seat into your purse for the pen and notepad you kept inside.

You scribbled your phone number down and ripped the piece of paper off before handing it to Nick, “Call me tonight and we can talk.”

He nodded and smiled before thanking you and sending you on your way. You hoped you wouldn’t regret this.

And you didn’t.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Your family and friends cheered and clapped their hands as Nick gently placed his hands on either side of your face and brought you in for a kiss.

“Ladies and gentlemen I introduce to you: Mr. and Mrs. Goode!”

You’d dreamed about this day that summer at camp when the two of you were together. After your breakup you’d thought bitterly about how this day would never happen. And now the day had arrived after all and it was even more perfect then your sixteen-year-old self could’ve ever imagined.

You were finally married to the love of your life. You were Nick Goode’s wife. All because of an out taillight two years ago.

5 Years Later

“Lunch is done!” You called out to your husband and children from the your back porch.

“Mommy come see our leaf pile!” Your daughter yells excitedly. You make your way down the steps and across the yard to where your husband, daughter, and twin sons are standing around a large pile of leaves.

“Wow that is a big leaf pile,” You tell her enthusiastically.

“Daddy was throwing us in it,” She beams happily.

“Guys I think Mommy wants to play in our leaf pile too, what do you think?” Nick asks mischievously.

“Yeah!” All three of your children reply excitedly.

“Let’s all tackle Mommy on the count of three,” Your husband tells them.

“You better not,” You fake warn them.

“1…2….3! Get her!” The four of them come running at you and tackle you down into the pile of leaves.

The five of you all fall into the leaf pile giggling and laughing.

“You little devils! I’ll get you for this!” You yell playfully, grabbing one of your sons and tickling him while he shrieks and tries to wiggle away.

Finally the little one escapes and the three kids jump up and run into the house to escape your playful vengeance.

You turn to your husband and grin, putting a hand on his chest, “We’d better go before those little monsters destroy the kitchen.”

You go to get up but Nick pulls you back down and you let out a surprised gasp as you fall back into his chest.

“Let’s just stay here for a minute,” He mumbles, before pulling your lips into his.

You gladly kiss him back, putting your hand on his chest as he has his on your face.

“EWW!” You hear a chorus of little voices, breaking your kiss as you turn and see all three of your kids on the porch staring at the two of you.

“Alright now you’re gonna get it,” Your husband jumps up and runs after the kids, who run into the house yelling and giggling as their father chases them.

You laugh to yourself and stand up, walking towards the house while yelling out, “Let’s go Maisie!”

The german shepherd stops sniffing the bush she was inspecting and chases after you into the house.

You’d finally gotten your happy ever after with Nick and you couldn’t be happier. The two of you truly were meant to be.

[itsthewritergal]

I’m not scared - D.M. x Weasley!Reader (ODD ONE OUT)

This part is a little bit of filler, you guys are going to LOVEEEE the next part!! 

part 1 

part 2 

part 3 

part 4 

part 5 

part 6 

“Y/N” Pansy called as Y/N emerged from out of her dorm room

“Hey Pansy” She said gently, following her friends through the Common Room. Y/N barely slowed down as Pansy struggled to keep up with her

“Are you heading to the train?”

“Yeah, me and Taylor want to get a compartment to ourselves” She said simply

“You’re not going to be sitting with us?” She asked

“Not this time” Y/N said knowing that Pansy would be sitting with Draco and she just couldn’t quite bare that, especially not since she hadn’t even spoken to Draco since the Buckbeak incident

“We all miss you” Pansy said quietly “Draco mostly”

“Look I really don’t have the time for this” Y/N said turning her back on Pansy as she jogged to catch up with her friends.

Taylor turned to her with sad eyes

“You haven’t spoken to any of them have you?” She asked

“Not since it all happened” Y/N replied quietly

“Perhaps that’s for the best?” Taylor asked

“For the moment it is” Y/N said “Can you guys go ahead, I need to speak to Professor Lupin before we leave” She said

“Of course! We’ll save you a seat” Taylor said

— — — — —

“Professor? Are you in here?” Y/N knocked on the door to Lupin’s office,

“Yes yes I am!” He said tiredly, Y/N pushed the door open and was greeted by Lupin packing up his things “It must be the day for all my favourite students, after all Harry just left” He chuckled

“You’re leaving aren’t you?” She said sitting herself down on one of the armchairs

“I am” He nodded

“Do you have to?” She asked, as Lupin sat opposite her, his case packed neatly in the corner

“It seems someone else found out about my condition” he paused “and no doubt the owls will come by the morning with concerns from parents”

“That isn’t fair” she said firmly, concern passing across her face. Lupin let a solemn smile grace his lips

“It seems you’re become quite the crusader for justice” He chuckled

“It’s a shame I haven’t been able to save anything” She said

“You didn’t hear?”

“Hear what?” Y/N asked desperately hoping for some good news

“Buckbeak, he made it out alive. It seems he escaped before the executioner could get to him” Lupin said

“Really? He didn’t die?”

“No, and you didn’t hear this from me but he’s gone with a good man. He will be well looked after” Lupin promised

“Can I ask you something?” Y/N said after a moment of silence

“Of course”

“You’re friend, the one who was in Gryffindor when his family were in Slytherin” She started, Lupin nodded gently coaxing her to continue “Does he think all Slytherins are bad?” Lupin let out a sad chuckle

“You know Y/N” Lupin started “It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks, saying all Slytherins are bad is like saying all Werewolves are monsters”

“But—”

“I know how hard it must be for you, and after seeing your Boggart I understand the stress being put on you right now but you need to understand that there is too much good in you for you to turn to the dark side. When I look at you I see a bright and happy future so promise me that you’ll hold on to that” Lupin said

Y/N nodded slightly “I’ll miss you” She said quietly. The words danced on the air before disappearing

“I’m only ever an owl away” He said “Now you ought to go before you miss the train”

— — — — —

The train platform was packed, students hurrying to get onto the train. Y/N spotted Draco’s blond hair above the crowd, he stood looking at all the first years who rushed around him. He looked sad, deflated even; Pnasy said something to him which drew his eyes to Y/N who quickly looked away. She turned and bumped head first into Cedric

“Little Weasley!” He grinned looping his arm around her shoulders

“Hey Cedric” She smiled, they had grown close after spending hours in the library together most Friday nights when the common rooms were filled with drunk students

“Malfoy’s looking at me with daggers is something going on between you two?” He asked as he navigated them through the crowd and towards one of the open doors on the train

“We aren’t talking at the moment”

“This about the whole Buckbeak thing?” Cedric asked as Y/N stepped onto the train

“Yeah, I told him that I hated him because he wanted to watch the execution” She said

“How are you doing?” He asked genuinely

“I don’t know right now” Y/N answered she paused and looked up at him “Draco’s alway been there and now I’ve  seen a side to him that I don’t like, I don’t even know where we stand right now” She said

“Maybe the summer will be the best thing for the two of you? Some space?” He said hopefully “I hope so” Y/N said “Anyway, I want you hear about you and Cho!” she said changing the subject.

——————

Kings Cross was packed, Y/N hauled her case onto a trolly and begun craning her neck around to try and spot a flash of red hair. It was times like this when she cursed being the short one in the family. First Years ran past her tackling their parents into long embraces, Y/N felt her heart squeeze, Draco would usually be by her side mocking the younger students but not this time. She heard Lucius Malfoy’s voice over the crowd, and she turned her head to spot him along with Draco and Narcissa walking towards the exit of the platform.

“Miss Weasley” Lucius said viciously

“Mr Malfoy” She said through gritted teeth

“I hope you’ve calmed down from our last meeting”

“I wouldn’t count on it, you still tried to take an innocent life” She snapped “But it seems you failed, perhaps you’re not as important as you pretend to be” She smirked as Lucius’s frown deepened

“Watch you’re mouth”

“I’m not scared of you” She seethed “You might be able to fool everyone into thinking you’re terrifying but not me. I see right through your little act” Draco stifled a laugh “Have a nice day” she said turning around and pushing her trolly in a direction, she still hadn’t spotted her family she just needed to get away from the Malfoy’s

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