#but thankfully I can now try to get back in the groove of things and post more stuff other than the occasional reblog and rant

[abysswalkersknight]

Here's a practise paint for Malleus!

my aim was to practise lighting and try to get that nice eerie look. Hope I captured some semblance of it.

Also don't ask about scales I cannot do that for the life of me but I love the tail.

[stevebabey]

uhm shyly comes into your inbox to give a steve idea :’)

finding him so so so pretty in that stupid dark blue polo, not being able to really look at him properly. it’s tight against his chest and stomach which makes him look delicious, wanting to be devoured really. he’s simply so pretty. worst thing is: he fucking knows it. so he’s cocky about it and teasing, it’s never relenting. he loves it and honestly so do you.

(feel free to ignore!)

trying to get my steve groove back on!!! thank u for sending something nonnie!! a lil bit of shy!reader <3 just a blurb too

Steve doesn’t know it’s a favourite of yours.

One of his polos fits his chest pretty perfectly if anyone asks your opinion. It’s that nice navy colour that looks good against his tan skin, with a bold stripe of white through the middle. A little plain but classic.

It hugs his biceps snugly and stretches ever so slightly over his chest. At the right angle, you can see the definition of his pecs and it’s awfully good at reminding you of what they look like with no shirt on at all.

The thought makes you fluster a bit.

He’s got plenty of polos but this one— this is your favourite. And he’s wearing it tonight, on Valentine’s day, and now you’re not quite sure you’ve been as slick with your wandering eyes as you hoped.

Across the booth, Steve smiles at you, his lashes kissing in the corner. He reaches up to scratch at the back of his neck and your eyes zero in on the bulge of his bicep instantly.

Steve’s smiles melts into a grin, a tad wicked.

Yeah, okay, maybe he does know it’s your favourite.

You fluster again. Something nudges at your foot under the table, right as Steve says, “What?”

He’s teasing. He definitely knows what.

“Stop,” you murmur, on the side of embarrassed. “You know what.”

Steve smiles again and drops his arm, thankfully, only to fold them and lean forward on the table. It does wonders for his arms, especially in that shirt. Damn that shirt. Damn him. He’s evil.

“Do I know what?” He pretends to muse thoughtfully.

He tilts his pretty head to the side just an inch. His eyes stay locked on you, drinking up every second your flustered reaction. You’re beautiful, even more so when you get all embarrassed about liking him.

“Steve.”

“What?”

“I will not be responsible for any further inflation of your ego, thank you very much.” You mumble it as you take a sip of your soda, eyes on the table. Why is it so terrible to have him know you were leering at him?

Steve laughs loudly. He finally slides his arms back and off the table, giving you a temporary relief.

“You’re the only one who can inflate my ego, actually.” Steve counters, his brows raising. He steals a fry off your plate and chews it slowly.

You eye him over your cup, skeptical.

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” He shrugs, swallowing his food. He takes a sip of his own milkshake, oh-so casual when he says, “Your opinion is the only one that really matters to me anyways.”

He grins across the table at you, a more mischievous shine in his eyes.

“Why do you think I picked this shirt?”

You’re equal parts mortified and enthralled at what he’s said. In your surprise, you accidentally inhale a bit of your soda and it burns as it goes down the wrong way— you cough awkwardly to clear it. Okay, less equal, more mortified now.

It’s your turn to ask. “What?”

Steve nudges your foot under the table again, teasing and flirting all in one. His pink lips curve into that grin that makes your heart flip flop— and there’s even a slight pink tinge to his cheeks. As though he’s also endeared but embarrassed by your attention.

“It’s your favourite.”

“It’s—” You splutter and for some reason, decide to lie. “No, it’s not!”

“Yes, it is!”

“No, it’s—” You pivot mid-sentence. “Who told you?”

Steve laughs again, that big loud belly-laugh where his cheeks get all chipmunk-y cos he’s grinning so hard. When he stops laughing enough to talk, he’s reaching across the table. You’re not quick enough to pretend to avoid his hand as he snags it with his own.

“Baby,” he says. “Nobody had to tell me. I could just tell.”

Somehow when he says it like that, when he calls you baby in a voice all sticky with fondness, it doesn’t seem like such a bad thing at all.

You nudge him back under the table and sip your sofa again to try think of something to say. He knows what you look like when you love something. How terrifying. How intimate.

Another sip of soda. Steve rubs his thumb over the back of your hand, content to gaze you. His view is sweet enough he must have cartoon hearts circling above his head.

You can’t think of anything to say in the end, so you just squeeze his hand and nudge his foot again — and trust that he’ll just be able to tell what you mean.

[runninriot]

written for today's @steddieholidaydrabbles pop-up event ☀️

Heat of the Moment

prompt: summer | wc: 1000 | rated: T | no cw | tags: Eddie has a crush on Steve, pining, Steve's 'stupid tiny swim shorts' deserve their own tag, (implied) friends to lovers

Eddie wipes a hand over the back of his neck, regrets it instantly when his palm comes back wet.

    Gross.

His hair is sticking to his forehead and no matter how little he moves, his body betrays him, wants to drown him in sweat.

It’s too fucking hot.

And Steve isn’t helping. He’s the reason for a different kind of heat wave just by lying there in these stupid tiny swim shorts, no shirt. Unfairly fucking beautiful, even in this unbearable heat, just blissfully existing.

Eddie is going to melt into a puddle on the floor if he doesn’t stop staring at him. If he doesn’t stop following the droplets running down his neck. He’d lick them right off, if he could. Would follow their trail down to where they collect in Steve’s glorious chest hair. Would swipe his tongue through the little rivulet that has formed in the groove between his abs, wouldn’t stop there.

    God.

It’s really not fair. How can someone look so good in this heat?

Steve always looks good. That’s why Eddie loves him. Or it’s one of the reasons. He has a thing for pretty boys, sue him! He wished it was different, too, but oh well.

The real tragedy is that Steve doesn’t know because he wouldn’t care – or worse. And Eddie really should stop staring if he wants to keep his little secret.

Steve is side-eyeing him when he stands up from where he was lying on his deck chair, his bronze skin covered in a sheer layer of sweat, glistening in the golden afternoon sun.

   “You good, Munson?”

Eddie swallows thickly, nods.

   “Want a beer?”

Another nod because Eddie doesn’t trust himself not to let out an embarrassing whimper if he dares to open his mouth.

Those shorts should be illegal.

It takes everything for Eddie to hold Steve’s gaze, to give him a polite smile in thanks for his offer, when his eyes are begging to drop down to where clingy fabric does shit all to hide Steve’s... form.

Steve thankfully seems unfazed by Eddie’s sudden inability to talk, just shrugs and walks inside, which – to Eddie’s blessing and misery – offers a whole other view that would send Eddie over the edge if he hadn’t at least one tiny bit of dignity left in him.

That. Ass.

    Jesus.

How is Eddie even allowed to exist in the same sphere as this perfection of a man?

And how is he supposed to ever get over his goddamn crush if Steve keeps inviting him over to spend time together, just the two of them, alone in this big ass house with no one around to save Eddie from his own dangerous mind, no one to keep him in check?

Had anyone told him he’d be spending the summer hanging around in Steve’s backyard, being served beer by the man himself, who’s walking around in these godforsaken shorts – Eddie would’ve laughed.

But now that it’s reality, all he can do is gawk and wonder and try not to lose his mind when Steve walks back out, two beers in one hand, the other outstretched to where Eddie is sitting.

   “Let’s sit by the pool, cool down a bit. Your face is so red, I don’t want you to have a heat stroke.”

    Oh god.

Eddie hesitantly takes Steve’s hand, lets himself be pulled up, hopes Steve doesn’t mind how sweaty his palm is. Hopes he doesn’t notice his staggered breathing, his trembling knees.

Maybe he does have a heat stroke? Maybe that’s the reason why he’s feeling a little dizzy right now.

Or maybe it’s the fact that Steve still hasn’t let go of his hand as he leads him to the pool.

Maybe, the fact that Steve is smiling at him brighter than the sun herself, is what’s making it harder to breathe.

They sit down on the edge of the pool, feet dangling in the refreshingly cool water. The bottle in his hand is cold, a stark contrast to the warmth of Steve’s hand he instantly misses, now that it’s gone.

   “Wanna go for a swim?”

The water is nice, perfect to cool down his overheated skin and mind.

Steve is just chilling there, both arms splayed out over the edge, his head tilted back, eyes closed; soaking his body in the water while enjoying the sun on his face. Just minding his own business, not even batting an eye at Eddie who’s awkwardly splashing around, watching the beautiful man from a safe distance.

A distance that’s keeping him from mindlessly swimming over to him, to cage him against the tiles with his arms on either side, one leg slotted between Steve’s, pressing his own wanting body up against the other man’s.

He wants to kiss him so bad.

It’s not the first time that thought hits him but it’s painful every time.

    Fucking hell.

Eddie closes his eyes, groans in frustration over his stupid heart’s stupid fluttering. What a waste of time and energy to pine after someone so far out of reach.

Eddie takes a deep breath before he dives down. Lets his body sink deeper into the pool until his toes reach the ground before he resurfaces with a loud gasp.

When he opens his eyes again, Steve is suddenly right there, right in front of him, smiling his pretty smile.

And then he reaches out, fingers playing with a rogue curl before tugging it back behind his ear.

Eddie feels like the water around him is boiling, feels too hot again now that Steve is so close.

So close, Eddie could easily reach out to pull him in and-

   “I want to kiss you.”

It is Steve who reveals Eddie’s secret back to him. It’s not a question; he’s stating a fact – unashamed and clear. No talking around it, no shy blush painting his cheeks.

Eddie feels brave, carried away by the heat of the moment.

   “Then what are you waiting for?”

[dreamingofep]

Sinned Awakening pt. 30 🩸

An AU Elvis fic

(Vampire!Elvis/ Vampire Austin! Elvis x reader)

Fandom: Elvis - Elvis (2022)

Prompt: Getting promoted to be Elvis full time housekeeper, you realize the man holds secrets beyond belief and your undeniable attraction makes you tear the unknown. [Fem!Reader]

TW: Cussing, tension, mentions of killing, ANGST, mentions of blood/ gore!!!

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 7.7k

A/N: 😮‍💨 Well, we're almost to the end! One last chapter for these two. My heart is so attached to these two, I'll never not love this story🥺 I hope you enjoy this part too! It was a monster to write and hope it was well worth the wait!🩸

If you'd like to start from the beginning, start here or Ao3! hope you enjoy and message and comment what you think.

A reminder, this is Vampire!Elvis so there is going to be mentions of blood/gore from here on out. If that's not your thing, sorry but it's needed for the story. 🩸

You didn’t leave the bedroom for the rest of the night. Raphael didn’t bother you thankfully and you focused on calming yourself down. You took a long bath and you couldn’t help but stare at your scars. They were blistering and gruesome. You run your fingertips along them, feeling each bump and groove. You wish they would go away already.

Your heart couldn’t help but ache for Elvis. You didn’t even get to say goodbye. That human part of you felt sorry for him and how he hasn’t had it easy in his life. And now, it got even harder for him with you leaving him suddenly. You had to stay strong and not go back to him. That pain in your heart only grew when you thought of him. Like something was ripped out of you when you decided to leave Elvis. 

The longer you sat here, the longer you felt the pain. If you took your mind off of it, it was less excruciating but it still lingered. You didn’t understand why there was this phantom pain inside. You’ve never heard of anything like this and you wondered if Raphael would know what would cause such a feeling. 

It wasn’t until mid-afternoon the next day did you decided to emerge from your bedroom. Raphael was downstairs at the dining room table, reading a newspaper with a smug look on his face and sipping out of a coffee mug. He hears you walk in and smiles at you.

“Hi sweetheart, how are we doing today?” He asks, gesturing to sit next to him. 

“I’m fine,” you say shortly, not liking the pet name. It felt gross coming from him. 

“You must be starved, let me get you something to drink.” He says with a snap of his fingers. One of his housekeepers scrambles to his side with a cup in her hand. She exposes her wrist to him and holds it out in front of her. 

You exchange a nervous glance at her and look back at Raphael. 

“Did you want to drink from her or did you want to have it in a cup?” He asks deviously. 

You were nervous. The idea of biting another human to feed scared you and you weren't sure how to do that without hurting her. 

“Just in the cup is fine,” you say softly. 

“Fine, as you wish,” he says grabbing her wrist quickly. His fangs descend and he bites her on the inside of her wrist. She gasps out in pain, trying to stay as quiet as possible. 

He takes his fangs out and holds her wrist over the cup, letting her blood seep out into it. The smell of her blood was appeasing and you watched as every drop fell into the cup. It dawns on you that you really were hungry but were too busy to focus on such matters. He licks at her wound and hands you the cup. 

“That’ll be all, you can go,” he directs the housekeeper. 

She holds her wrist as she walks away to the other side of the house. 

You look inside the mug and inhale the delicious scent. 

You glance over at Raphael watching you intently. 

“Go ahead, drink,” he tells you.  

You raise the cup to your lips and drink slowly. The taste of her blood was satisfying. Your fangs descended the more you drank and your thirst began to rise. You gulp at the last few drops in it and lick your lips at the last remnants of blood. 

You look back at Raphael and he watches you, inspecting your face closely. 

“Was that good enough for you darling?” He asks. 

You stay quiet and nod your head. There was so much awkward tension in the room you didn’t exactly know what to do or say. This was the same man who abducted you and tried to turn you. He needed to earn your trust. It wasn’t going to be easy. He quickly finishes what’s in his cup and sets it down. 

“We can have some more later. Don’t want you starving,” he chuckles. “I’m happy you’re here. You are just what I needed in my life,” he tells you. “We should go out, just the two of us.” His eyes trail down your body, taking his sweet time then darting his focus back to your face. 

Everything about his gaze makes you feel on edge. Not in a good way. You wanted to flee but it wasn’t time yet. You didn’t want to get on his bad side. 

“Why don’t we throw a party? I’ve always loved parties. And in a house like this? It would be absolutely amazing,” you relish in the idea. 

He contemplates the idea a bit, “That could be lovely. I could have some people come in a decorate,” he adds. “Who do you want to invite?” 

“No one in particular. There’s already a lot of us in this house. Just have everyone take the night off, and celebrate your new life,” you try to encourage. 

He grins and nods his head in agreement, “I think they would love that. And so would I. How are you so,” he pauses to find the right word, “virtuous.”

“No, no. I am just trying to be kind. A thank you for letting me stay here while I figure out things,” you tell him. 

“Wonderful. I’ll have people start working on this. I’m sure they were busy planning our other venture,” he snickers. You don’t know what he’s referencing and look at him a bit confused. 

“What was the other venture?” You ask carefully. 

“We planned to go to Elvis, attack him, and deal with our unfinished business, then figure out what to do with you,” he says coldly. “But we don’t need to do that anymore. You’re here now. He doesn’t love you.”

Rip. Another tear. 

You both sit there in uncomfortable silence, not exactly sure what to say to all that. He was going to try and attack Elvis. Very soon it seems. Maybe you saved him in a way with how you decided to leave. Maybe he can have a happy life still. Even if that meant you weren’t in his life. 

You watch as Raphael adjusts his silk scarf around his neck and you see the scarring on it. It had gruesome black and red scars. It looked like it was sloppily stitched up and not healing well. 

You reach out to move his scarf up higher, inspecting the wound further. 

“How did they… how did they fix you?” You ask gently. You move his scarf back gently to where it was and wait for his response patiently. 

“It wasn’t easy,” he chuckles amused, “it took a lot of people to save me and a lot of blood. That bastard cut my head right off. But he doesn’t know how to finish the job.” He grumbles. 

“They did some surgery, trying to piece me back together. Then they had IVs of blood in me, trying to revitalize me. It took a while but it finally worked. Do you know what brought me back though? What made me the strongest?” He asks slyly. 

“No, I don’t,” you say softly. 

“You, you brought me back,” he grins. 

“I don’t understand,” you say a bit confused. 

“That night I bit you and caused more trouble than you should have, you bled a lot. I’m shocked you survived it all. The floor was covered in your blood. That sweet, decadent blood of yours. One of my men gathered some of it off the floor and fed it to me. That’s what made me feel the strongest,” he explains. 

A chill runs through you and you feel your heart gallop. You don’t say anything, not sure how to respond to something like that. It terrified you that you were the one who brought him back after all of that. 

“Oh, I see.” You squeak out nervously.

“You don’t need to feel sorry for me, I’ve never felt better now. I just need more blood than normal. I need to stay strong,” he explains.

You lower your gaze and try not to get too nervous. He looked at you with a hunger in his eye. You knew what he was going to ask and it scared you. You were at this exact seat when he asked you to let him feed from you. You weren’t sure if it would hurt as much as it did last time but you didn’t want to find out.

He gently grabs your wrist and inspects the scar on it. His thumb rubs it and you want to recoil from him, too afraid he’s going to inflict more pain on you.

“Can I feed from you again?” He asks darkly. Your heart flutters uncontrollably, not wanting to give in to him.

No, no, no, your brain screams.

“I- umm, I don’t want to be in pain,” you say weakly.

“It shouldn’t hurt anymore, you’re a vampire. Elvis never fed from you once you were turned?” He asks confused.

Your brain scrambles to remember if Elvis wanted to feed from you. Everything was so murky. All you can remember is his hungry eyes when he looked at you. You assumed he wanted to feed from you but never asked.

“Oh, no, he never did. He never asked, not once I was turned,” you explain.

“Hmm… that’s a shame, honey, He has no idea what he’s missing out on,” he says slyly. “So… may I take a bite?” He asks again.

Fear paralyzes you and you can’t move. Your eyes pleaded for him to show you mercy but you can tell he isn’t paying attention to you. He has one focus and it's to have your blood.

“Please be gentle,” you say weakly.

He pulls your wrist closer to his mouth and sinks his teeth into you. It wasn’t as painful as you last remembered but it was still uncomfortable. You assumed it was because he was biting directly on the scar he left behind. He contently drinks your blood, breathing in slowly, taking in your scent with each swallow. 

The longer he had his fangs in you, the more your body felt sick. Like it was rejecting him being this close to you. You start to panic a little with this feeling starting to overwhelm you. You push his head away from you and grab your wrist away from him.

“Stop, you’re hurting me,” you cry.

He looks at you wide-eyed, not exactly sure what you’re talking about. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and looks at you trembling there.

“Hmm, strange… you taste very different. I wonder why that is…” he trails off.

You stand up quickly, needing to get away from him. “Can I please be excused,” you say abruptly. 

“Yes, that’s fine. I have to go and take care of some things at the club anyway. Are you going to stay here or do you want to come with me?” He asks shortly.

You nod your head no and keep holding your wrist. 

“No that’s alright, I’ll stay here,” you tell him with a weak smile. He buys it as a genuine gesture and smiles at you too. 

“I’ll see you later if things don’t get too busy,” he says before walking away. 

You look over at the clock on the wall and see it is almost three. You didn’t have the faintest idea how long he’d be at the club so you had to wait and see when he’d come back. 

Before leaving the dining room, your eye sees the headline of today’s newspaper Raphael was reading. 

Elvis Surprise Concert at Sahara Tahoe Hotel

Something about it makes your heart sink. He didn’t care you were gone. He wasn’t looking for you. He just went back to his usual concert routine. You wished you could explain to him how you felt, and give yourself some closure. As much as you knew you needed to be here, everything inside of you was calling out to be with Elvis. You don’t exactly understand why the pull is so strong to him but it always was. From your first day on the job, you were unnaturally attracted to him, wanting all of his attention on you and only you. 

You try to snap yourself out of the fairytale. It's not going to happen. You can’t be with Elvis anymore. You have to let that part of your life go and start a new one.

*

Raphael stayed out later and left you in this huge house by yourself. You didn’t confine yourself to your bedroom like last night, you wanted to see what else this house has in it. 

There has to be at least fifteen bedrooms which you found a bit comical for a vampire to have since you don’t sleep. Each bedroom had a different theme. Not one looked alike and you found it very odd. You remembered the room you stayed in last time. You don’t go in there, too many bad memories were in that bedroom. 

As you keep walking through the house, you stumble upon a study. It made you stop in your tracks because there were books from floor to ceiling. You found it incredible. You tread quietly into the room. It shouldn’t be a problem if you were in there, the door was left wide open. 

You start scanning through each shelf, finding the classics and ones you’ve never heard of. This was heaven to you. Books have always been your favorite escape. But with how busy your life had gotten, you didn’t have much time to read or go to a bookstore looking for something new to read. 

Now your life looked very different and you never slept, making you restless with your wandering thoughts. You walk in further into the room and pause at the large oak desk. There were newspaper clippings spread out all over the desk, all with very random stories from different newspaper organizations. You sift through the clipping and realize they all have one thing in common. 

Elvis. 

Each and every article talked about something Elvis did. A record he broke or some gossip that was spreading about him with some girl. Raphael saved every mention of him like he was gathering evidence for his crimes. All of this made you feel so uneasy. He hated Elvis on an unprecedented scale so much that he was archiving every last thing he did. Whether it was good or bad, Raphael kept those clippings. Your stomach drops when you see another article on the table. 

It was a picture of you and Elvis leaving the courthouse after getting married. There in red ink, he crossed out both of your faces in the picture and wrote ‘mine’ next to your face. You quickly cover up the photo with other clippings and back away from the desk. You shouldn’t be here, Raphael cannot be trusted. He wanted to sabotage everything you had. 

But you try to think logically for a second, trying to calm yourself down. If that’s how Raphael felt about you now, he wouldn’t have let you stay in his house right? This newspaper article was from weeks ago when you two first got married. A lot had changed in the next few weeks following that day. You barely remember Elvis biting you, and then everything else in between was a blur until you got here. Maybe since Raphael found out that Elvis’ feelings toward you have changed, he feels different about you too? That the hatred he had for Elvis dissipated since you no longer associated yourself with him? That’s the scenario you were hoping for. If not, you were going to have a bigger issue on your hands. 

“Look what the cat dragged in,” a male’s voice suddenly says by the doorway. You snap your head in that direction and freeze. 

Daniel stares at you with cold, dark eyes. He was the last person you wanted to see. Especially after what he did to you that horrific night. 

“What do you want,” you hiss. 

He takes slow, heavy steps walking into the room, looking at you with a curiosity. 

“Is it true? Did Elvis turn you?” He says coldly. 

“Yes, he did,” you say shortly. 

“And where is he now?” He chuckles. 

Your patience was running thin. You were not expecting to see him ever again. He looked gaunt and sickly, worse than the last time you saw him. His eyes were this deep red color and the veins underneath his eyes were prominent. 

“I don’t know. I left him. It’s better that way,” you tell him. 

“Such a shame. I was really hoping you both would make it. Since you were ‘Chosen’ and everything,” he jests.

Another stab to the heart. 

You were so sure you and Elvis were meant for each other. It felt like you were dying when you thought about the happy life you could have had with him. You both were so sure that you were meant for each other. 

You press your lips together and try not to lash out at him. That’s what he wants, a reaction from you. 

“Sometimes things don’t work out,” you snap. He takes another step closer to you, furrowing his eyebrows as he looks at your face. 

“What happened to you? You look so… different. Your whole energy is different than before,” he says. 

You don’t understand what he’s getting at and don’t want to be in his presence any longer. 

“Just stay away from me,” you say walking out. 

“I’m surprised Raphael is even allowing you to stay here. Especially after Elvis tried to kill him and you stabbed him in the neck,” he says snarkily. 

“Yeah and it seems Elvis missed giving you a piece of his mind when he was here last,” you snap. 

He chuckles to himself and ignores your spiteful words. 

“I’d be careful if I were you. You get on Raphael’s bad side, that’s it for you,” he tells you. 

“Yes I know, I saw the newspaper with my picture surrounded by red ink,” you hiss.

“I guess he’s throwing a party for you too? What did you have to do to get on his good side so soon? Oh wait, I forgot, you like to be on your back,” he snickers. 

You snap and lunge at him, going directly for his throat. Your hand wraps around his neck and you throw him to the ground. Your fangs descend and an immense amount of anger flows out of you. 

“Say that one more time! I fucking dare you!” You hiss in his face. His eyes are blown wide, terrified by your presence. He gasps for air and claws at your wrist. 

“Y-you-… your eyes-,” he gasps. 

You don’t understand what he’s talking about and want him out of your sight now. 

“If you ever think of saying such things to me again, I will have no problem ending you,” you growl. 

You let go of him and back away, the anger radiating off of you in waves. He scrambles to get up and rubs his neck where there is a red imprint of your hand. There is real fear in his eyes when he looks at you. For the first time, you feel like you have the upper hand in a situation with vampires. Maybe you are stronger than you realize…

You smirk at him, trembling like a child when he looks at you. 

“Get out of my face,” you hiss. He doesn’t need to be told twice. He quickly rushes out and you can hear him run down the stairs. 

You couldn’t be in this room anymore and needed to be alone. You quickly rush to the other side of the house and lock the bedroom door. God, Daniel got under your skin more than you thought. He’s turned into more of a heartless idiot than before. Becoming a vampire has only made him a lonely, hollow shell of a man. It was such a low comment he made and it pissed you off he had the gall to make it in the first place. 

The comment he made about your eyes was strange to you. The fear he had when he looked at you… you’ve never seen anyone give you a look like that. You walk over to the bathroom and just about jump out of your skin when you see your eyes in the mirror. 

Bright golden eyes stare back at you. 

They were brilliant and captivating. There was a glow to you when your eyes were like this. Soft and effortless. But if you were upset like you just were, you could see how they could look terrifying. Like you were on fire from within. 

*

You didn’t leave the bedroom for the rest of the night. You couldn’t stand the idea of running into Daniel again. It still ticked you off that he could be so awful to you. You watched the sun come up through the curtains and let the light come into the room. You didn’t care how it stung your skin, you just wanted to see how the sun rays shone so beautifully in the room. A distraction. Anything to keep you from thinking about Elvis or Daniel or Raphael or any other man who has brought an unlimited amount of sorrow into your life.

Evening fell and there was a lot of commotion downstairs. Probably people coming in to decorate and set up for the party. You were not in the mood for a party anymore. With more solidifying evidence, you didn’t want to be around Raphael knowing he thought about killing you not too long ago. The idea of being near Daniel again might just make you snap into a fit of rage making it ugly for everyone near. 

A quiet knock at the door snaps you out of your dark thoughts. You go to answer the door and one of his men is standing there with boxes in his hand. He doesn’t look at you, he has his head bowed and with white boxes out in from of him. The boxes were wrapped with red bows with a smaller one on top of the longer box underneath. 

“The party starts in two hours. Raphael wants you to wear something nice,” he says handing you the boxes. He leaves without saying anything else to you. 

You close the door again and set the boxes on the bed. You unfurl the intricate bows and open them to see what’s inside. The large box had a black, satin dress with a low v-neck cut. There was lace trim on the bottom as well as the v-neck trim. The smaller box was a pair of black heels much too tall for your liking. 

This party was a bad idea. Everything about it made you feel on edge. The least you could do was show up though. You didn’t need to stay down there all night. 

You get ready slowly, finding some makeup in the bathroom and a curling iron in the bathroom drawers. You didn’t plan on wowing anyone, you just wanted to feel a bit normal. 

As more time went on, the house was starting to become more lively. The hum of people from downstairs was ringing in your ears and you tried to block it out. It was so hard to focus and down out the noise. Before you get dressed, you glance at your golden eyes again. A bit of panic sets in. You don’t want Raphael to see them like this. You don’t know what the slightest thing could tick him off. 

You do everything in your power to make them go back to your normal eye color. You close your eyes, breathing deeply and focusing on how you want them to look. It was so hard to do with how loud the house was and how your nerves were getting the best of you. 

Opening your eyes again, you glance at yourself in the mirror and thankfully see your normal, human-like eye color. You let out a sigh of relief. One less question to be asked if Daniel decided to tell him about what he saw. 

You go to put your dress on, some sheer thigh-high stockings, followed by the heels and you take a look at yourself in the full-length mirror. Your reflection makes you freeze. The dress was scandalous and revealing. The v cut freely showed your bite marks so openly. The one on your neck and the other one on your breast. You hated to see your skin like this. The dress was simple with its form-fitting design at your torso and more loose and flowy starting at your hips and working its way down to your ankles. You put your hair on the left side of your neck, hoping to conceal most of the scars. 

You look over at the clock and know you need to get downstairs sooner rather than later. You know Raphael will send someone up here to come and get you. The amount of voices you heard downstairs made you incredibly nervous. You assumed they were mostly vampires… dangerous ones most likely…

You go to the bed and lift the mattress, uncovering the dagger you hid there. You feel like you should have this tonight, just to be safe. Being in a house full of vampires that you don’t know could be perilous. The new information you found out about Raphael’s previous intentions with you also made you nervous. You were scared he was going to snap back to that type of thinking. You lift up your dress on your left side and place the dagger in the elastic of your stocking. The wood burned your skin a bit but you had to suck it up for a while. You couldn’t be unprotected here. 

You summon up the courage to head downstairs. Clinging to the handrail, you hope to God you don’t fall down the stairs walking in these heels. You stand on the first landing of the stairs, thankful you’ve almost made it, then look up becoming paralyzed with fear. 

Dozens of people had their eyes on you and the entire house becomes as silent as a tomb. Every single person’s eyes were red when they looked at you. Starving and dying. 

You couldn't be here much longer. The longer you stayed, the more Raphael would just use you for his enjoyment. 

“Why don’t you come down here darling,” Raphael’s voice booms over the sea of people. 

You tread carefully, taking each step carefully, and look at these terrifying vampires. They start to part the crowd for you, making a clear path for you to walk in. The click of your heels is the only sound that you can hear. Everyone is standing perfectly still, watching your every move. You almost reach the living room when you stop again. 

Raphael was sitting in a chair by the fireplace, feeding off a girl that was sitting on his lap. She was struggling in pain, clinging onto him for dear life. His eyes flash up at you, red and dangerous. He takes his teeth out of her and pulls her off of him. One of the men next to him grabs her and takes her away. 

Raphael motions for you to come closer. Everything inside you told you to keep your distance, but his terrifying eyes are making you do the opposite. 

You stand in front of him as he looks at you, inspecting every last detail of your outfit. 

“Just stunning,” he mumbles. He stands up from the chair and slyly smiles. 

“Why don’t you show everyone the whole dress though,” he taunts. You don’t understand what he’s talking about as he brushes back your hair off your chest and shoulder. You instantly shudder, watching how he looks at your gruesome scars. He quickly turns you around to the sea of people behind you. 

You hear a few gasps and watch how most of the people look away from you. You wanted to die right here and now. You understand now why he chose this dress for you; it was to put you on display. To show everyone what he had done to you. 

“What is wrong with her?”

“Why does she look like that?”

“Disgusting.”

All these murmuring voices were blaring like sirens in your ears. You shrug Raphael’s hands off of you and turn back around. 

“I am not going to stand here and be gawked at,” you snap. 

“Oh, please they’re not that bad,” he huffs.

“Do you forget I can hear every single word they’re saying!” you say raising your voice a bit. 

“Don’t be upset. You’re being ridiculous,” he sighs. 

You grumble quietly to yourself and quickly get away from him before smacking him in the face. You make a beeline for the back door and need to breathe. Being in that house made you have cabin fever and a breath of fresh air is exactly what you needed. 

You go out the back door and are taken aback by how beautiful the backyard is. There were so many flowers and rose bushes spanning acres. It looked like a botanical garden rather than a backyard. Dark red roses were everywhere and their scent filled your senses. It was intoxicating. 

You go deeper into the garden, finding a bench through the arches of ivy. The air was so quiet, just the sound of the wind ruffling the leaves. You could barely hear the roar of the party inside. You see Raphael coming toward you, taking his time to get to you. 

He sits on the bench next to you, not saying anything right away. You cover your neck and chest with your hair again, not wanting another unwanted gaze. 

“You look so beautiful,” he says low. 

You don’t react, not wanting his praise. 

“Why won’t you look at me?!” He snaps, grabbing your face in his hand. 

“Because I have nothing to say to you! Not when you treat me like some prize!” You scowl. 

“Was this to make me look like a fool?! Invite all these people to show me off like a circus animal?” You hiss. 

“No, not exactly. I threw a party like you said you wanted!” He says shortly. 

“And you had to dress me like this? To show me off like this??” You say through your teeth, motioning to your exposed scars. 

He stays silent and gets up, putting his hands on his hips as he walks a few feet away. 

“Tell me something. Were you this difficult when you were with Elvis?” He grumbles. 

“Yep. Sure was,” you spat. 

“Well, that won’t work with me. So you better fix your attitude before I make you,” he growls. Too much anger flooded your senses to care about his threat. For the first time being here, you weren’t scared of him. You had a feeling you had the upper hand here. 

He continues, “I heard you had a little run-in with Daniel yesterday?” He says. 

“Yeah, you can call it that,” you say annoyed. 

He hums to himself, gathering his thoughts, “he said you pinned him to the ground and… that your eyes… your eyes were golden?” He says accusingly. “Is that true?”

You scoff at him, “No of course not. I don’t know what he was saying. You really should teach him to feed properly or he might not be able to function much longer,” you snicker. 

“I’ve never heard of anyone’s eyes turning that color… that’s something out of legends…” he says quietly. 

“Daniel is a damn liar and you know that, so I don’t know why you are believing anything he’s saying,” you snap. 

He doesn’t say anything, just inspects you like a two-headed animal. You can feel where his focus is. He won’t stop looking at the scars he made. You feel disgusted and want him to stop. 

“Why did you bite me like this? What gave you the right?” You scowl.

He chuckles to himself and shakes his head. 

“Because I could.” He says shortly. 

“No, what was the reason! I want to hear it come from your mouth,” you hiss. 

“Because I wanted to take you away from Elvis. I didn’t want him to have you. And I knew if he saw my bite on your body, he would absolutely hate it and not want you anymore,” he says coldly. 

“You’re fucking cruel. Why would do something like that to him! Most importantly, me? Elvis never did anything to you,” you say weakly. 

“He is ungrateful! I gave him the best gift on this planet and he never once thanked me for it! I sent him a letter once he got back to the States and he never bothered to contact me. I had to watch him cause havoc everywhere he went. Making a spectacle of himself all because he’s Elvis Presley.”

“And then he comes into my city, causing chaos every time he’s here. Drinking the blood banks dry and not being considerate of the rest of us. When I turned him, I didn’t expect him to come back to the States and still be so popular. And each year that passes, he only gets more attention and more popular. It had to stop. As I suspected, he got lonely and depressed being on top all of the time with no one to love. No one could satisfy him. ”

He turns around to face you again, anger creeping in his eyes, “then you came around. You ruined it all. You made him whole again.”

He sits back down next to you, grabbing your shoulders, “What did he see in you?” He says, compelling you for the truth. 

You wanted to resist him, he didn’t deserve to hear any of it but you can’t hold back from speaking the truth. 

“I-I- I don’t know. I don’t know what he saw. I truly don’t know what it was,” you try to get out. 

“I don’t believe you,” he growls, “what did you do to make him look at you differently?” He compels. 

“Nothing! I don’t do anything to him. It was just-,” You stop in your tracks. You couldn’t get it out. The words you wanted to say shouldn’t be muttered. 

“Tell me!” he snaps. 

You feel tears well in your eyes, anger and frustration fuel you and you can’t even look at him. The power he has over you is willing you to tell him the truth whether you want to or not. 

“I wanted him! I was so attracted to him the first time I saw him! I couldn’t denounce the attraction. We were like two magnets. We couldn’t help it. It was a force of nature pulling us together. It was something bigger than us that made us be together,” you confess. 

He looks at you disgusted and gets up once again, turning your back to you. 

“Unbelievable…” he sighs.

You tremble with anger, your breathing ragged and shallow when you look at Raphael. 

Your ears faintly hear some commotion happen inside the house. Loud footsteps were stomping throughout the house like people were running away from something. You look back at Raphael and he doesn’t seem to pay attention to any of it. He’s too distracted with you. 

With his back turned, you scrunch up your dress on your left side, slowly pulling the dagger out from your stocking. Holding it behind your back, you wait for the right moment. 

You try to draw him near again, “So you bit me like this for revenge?! You had to do it so viciously!? Why not just kill me? You could have saved yourself all this trouble!” You yell standing up, gripping onto the dagger tighter. You conceal it in the material of your dress, making it unseen to him. 

He turns back to look at you, a dark look clouding his eyes as he goes to stand closer to you. “That would be too easy. I wanted to leave my mark on you for life. No human or vampire would want you with those scars,” he snickers, pulling you in by the neck, “except me. You’re mine. I will never let you go,” he growls. 

His fangs are inches away from your face and you start to boil over with anger. 

You push at his chest as hard as you can, making him falter. “You damned me,” you say through your teeth. “You ruined my life. You took Elvis away from me! That man loved me I know it! My heart aches for him still! It feels like I'm dying when I think of him!” You scream in his face. 

He freezes and backs up a bit to look at you. Horror washes over his face and he looks more pale than before. 

“Your-, oh my God your eyes,” he stutters. You could feel how they shifted, how the golden hue was burning into his dead eyes. “You were right… you both were Chosen for one another… That's why you taste so different...”

Elvis.

Oh God, you needed him. 

Your heart felt so weak without him

You didn’t care if he didn’t love you. You just wanted to be next to him.

To look at those beautiful eyes.

To tell him you wanted him again.

The pull to be with Elvis was excruciating, you couldn’t stand to be around Raphael another second. 

“You took away the other half of my soul! How fucking dare you!” You scream. 

He pauses suddenly, smirking at you and chuckling to himself softly. 

“Hmm, is it true? That you both were connected? You feel each other's pain, and if you die, he does too?” He asks darkly. 

You freeze, you don’t know the answer to that and you sure as hell don’t want to find out. 

“I-I don’t know…” you tremble.

“Well, I’m going to find out.” He growls. 

He smirks and grabs you suddenly, holding a fist full of your hair, and exposes your neck to him. You yell out in pain as you feel his teeth sink into your flesh. He was vicious and cruel with how he was biting you. How he dragged his teeth along your neck, raking his sharp fangs down before he fully bites down. 

He greedily drank your blood, holding you as close as he could to try to restrain you. Your mind is terrified of what will happen if he doesn’t stop. It’s time. You have to end this right here and now. You claw at his bicep and muster all the strength you have to move out of his grasp.

You take the dagger and plunge it into his back, piercing it through his heart. He groans in agony, staring at you wide-eyed. You let go of the handle and look down to see the tip of the dagger coming out of his chest, inches away from yours. 

He gasps for breath, “No… no… what have you done,” he cries.

“Finishing what I started,” you growl.

“You… you fucking bitch,” he wheezes, “you’re done.”

He groans loudly and puts his hands on your arms, pulling you in swiftly and piercing the rest of the dagger into the right side of your ribs. You let out a scream, the wood burning like a hot branding iron. You gasp for breath too as you feel blood start to trickle out of you. 

You put your hand back on the dagger’s handle and pull it out of you both with a grunt. You both fall to the ground, groaning in agony. You roll to your side, clutching your wounded ribs. Your fingertips graze the wound and you cry out. You haven’t felt such pain before. It only grew with every little movement you made. Each breath felt agonizing too. Each one was harder to do and you started to cough up blood.

Shit. This isn’t good. He stabbed my lung…

You look over to see Raphael wallowing on the floor, clutching to his chest.

“Y/n!” A voice calls out for you. A dark shadow comes running to you. Your vision is blurry and each blink only makes it worse. The shadow finally gets close to you and your nose picks up his scent.

Oh, you could have recognized that beautiful scent anywhere.

Elvis, your love.

He lays you down on your back, fear encapsulating his eyes as he looks over your trembling body.

“Baby, oh baby. Please, look at me,” he cries. You look into those beautiful eyes, the ones that can make you melt without even trying.

“Elvis,” you whimper, clutching onto his arm.

Raphael groans loudly and grabs at Elvis’ ankle tightly, the sound of his bone-crunching underneath his grasp. Elvis hisses and breaks free from his grasp. He pins Raphael back to the ground and punches him in the face. 

“Did you think you were going to win? Did you think she was yours?!” Elvis growls in his face.

All Raphael could do was groan and gasp for breath. He puts his hand around Elvis’ throat and starts to squeeze it tightly. Elvis grunts in frustration and tries to break free. Raphael was still a lot stronger than he anticipated. 

You had to finish this, you had to help Elvis end this all.

You cry out in pain and summon all the strength you have left, holding onto the dagger tightly and weakly standing up. Your feet stumble each step and you struggle for breath. You get right next to Raphael and kneel down, lifting the dagger and plunging it into his heart. He cries out in pain, letting go of Elvis, and coughs up blood.

You drag the dagger downwards, cutting out his heart with the only strength you had left. Your head throbs with pain and you can’t hold onto the dagger anymore. Elvis takes the dagger from you and finishes the job. Your body gives out, too weak to even kneel here. You collapse on the ground, unable to hold on any longer.

You feel Elvis hold your body in his arms, trembling as he looks over your weak state.

“No, no honey, please. You’re okay, it's going to be okay,” he says panicked, caressing your face tenderly.

You try to speak but it hurts so much, that each breath becomes harder to do. You just clutch onto his arms tighter, needing to keep yourself tied to him. Your eyes look up to the sky and see a blanket of stars. Being so far away from the city, they lit up the night sky so vividly. They shone so bright and twinkled each time you blinked. You wished you could dance among them, fly as high as you can, and dance around them. You’d take Elvis with you, of course, you couldn’t imagine going anywhere without him. You needed him forever.

“Baby,” Elvis says frantically, snapping you out of your daydream. You look back at him, his cheeks full of tears rolling down them.

“Honey I need to bite you. I need to heal you,” he trembles.

Oh, does he love me enough to save me? Oh…

You nod yes and roll your head to the side to expose your neck. You can feel his hands shake when he glides them up your body and places one on the back of your head and one underneath your back. He pulls you in close, placing a kiss on your neck before taking a bite. You gasp out, the pain of the bite all too much. He clutches onto your body tight, trying to soothe you through this. You can’t keep your eyes open very much, all you can hear is Elvis’ content sighs as he drinks your blood.

He drinks from you for some time but then that’s when you feel it; his venom entering your bloodstream. You groan in agony, feeling it burn like wildfire inside you. He finally takes his fangs out of you, gasping for breath. Your eyes flutter to try to look at him.

“Honey, h-honey, I-I-I need you to bite me now. Come on you can do it,” he encourages. His voice was beyond scared, it was terrified. You don’t respond to his plea, you are too weak to move or even try to have your fangs descend. Your breathing felt shallow and your body trembled. You open your eyes to see Elvis again. That beautiful face looked down on you. You will never forget that perfect face for as long as you live. Or maybe even beyond that.

He lightly shakes you, pleading for you to respond to him.

“Baby, please,” he cries, “I need you. I need you so much. I can’t lose you.” He begs.

He bites the inside of his wrist and brings it to your mouth.

“Drink honey,” he pleads.

His scent hits you like a freight train and a frenzy forms inside you. Your hunger grows and lick at his wrist. The most heavenly taste coats your tongue and you swallow it contently. You want more and bite at his wrist, sucking more of his blood. Your strength began to rise, and the pain from the bites were slowly going away. 

You take your mouth off his wrist and groan, your head pounding away.

“Oh honey, you did so good. You’re going to be okay. You’re okay,” he reassures over and over.

He kisses your forehead, holding you to his chest. You felt warm, comforted, and safe. A sharp pain spreads through your neck and makes you gasp. You curl your body into a ball and try to get closer to him. You squeeze your eyes shut, trying to block out the pain. You see twinkling stars behind your eyelids, making you feel weightless. Pure joy and peace are felt when you see these stars and feel the warmth of Elvis’ body against yours. 

You let the stars dance around you, taking your pain away, and feel nothing.

*

*

*

Tagging:

@burninlovebutler

@neptuneismysister @velvetelvis @ccab @presleyenterprise @theresalwaysep

@prompted-wordsmith @sillybookmarks @dkayfixates @ellie-24 @rktismylife-blog

@myradiaz @tacozebra051

@thatbanditqueen

@18|kpeters @flwrs4aust @emma181873

@austinswhitewolf @eliseinmemphis

@everythingelvispresley @chasingwildflowers @idontwanttoputanything. @ohjustpeachy_

@elvisalltheway101 @austinsmutler @kingdomforapony.

@generoustreemystic @claire-elvisgirl

@ashtag6887 @burnthheparaphilia @richardslady121

@jaqueline19997

@returntopresley. @iloveelvis @rimartin11@that-hotdog.

@louisejoy86 @misspresley @cattcb @annapresley8

@arrolyn1114 @raginginkedslut @epthedream69

@mh777ep1938

@50sexyshadesfashionista

@oldhOllywOod @hooked-on-elvis @livelovedilfs @sloppiest-of-jos

[midnightshard06]

STH Rarepair Week Day 3: Hurt / Comfort

You can check it out on ao3 here if you prefer.

Summary: Sonic stumbles across a heavily damaged Metal Sonic and does the only thing he can think to do, take him back to Tails to see if his brother can fix him. It ends up being a rough day for everyone involved, especially Sonic.

Pairing: Sonic/Metal Sonic

Warnings: Mild violence, nothing graphic

Word Count: ~3000 words

AN: Still feeling these two's dynamic out so apologies if anything seems weird lol.

"You can fix him… right?" Sonic glanced nervously at Tails. 

His brother twitched his tails nervously. "I'll do my best… Metal's in really rough shape."

Sonic couldn't help but pace as Tails got to work on Metal Sonic. What had even happened? Sonic had just found his robotic doppelganger abandoned and in more pieces than he cared to count. It had hit him hard, hard enough to almost panic at the sight of it. The only thing that held him together was his drive to collect the pieces so the robot could be fixed. 

That had been a whole process in itself. Between having to find every little piece and periodically needing to stop and shake loose unwanted images of an actual mangled corpse from his mind. It was a constant battle to remind himself that for how alive Metal acted he was still a robot. A robot who could actually come back from something like this. Hopefully.

At some point Tails shooed him outside, but honestly he barely noticed. His mind just continued to go over questions he didn’t have answers too. Normally he’d go on a run to clear his head but it felt like if he left something awful would happen.  No. He needed to stay here until Tails was done. He needed to see that Metal was going to be ok with his own eyes.

He glanced back at the closed door to Tails’s workshop in concern. Why hadn’t Eggman come to try and collect Metal? Why leave him out there… in that condition? Sonic shuddered and quickly banished the memory of how Metal had looked from his mind. Remembering that right now wasn’t going to help him. Maybe after he knew Metal was going to be ok he’d go find Eggman, see if he couldn’t figure out what had happened. Yeah. That felt like a decent course of action.

Hours passed, or at least it felt like it. Everything felt agonizingly slow as Sonic paced. He idly noted he’d worn a shallow groove into the ground, something he’d need to fix later. At some point during the agonizing wait, Amy showed up. Whatever she was saying didn’t register in his mind but she gently guided him down to the ground to sit. Not like he had the energy to resist right now anyway.

Having someone else there was probably good. At least he shouldn’t make the groove any worse than it already was now. As they sat there she talked. About what, he didn’t know. Her words washed over him as he was unable to make them out properly. It didn’t matter though, he was pretty sure they both knew that. Whatever she was talking about didn’t matter. What did matter was that she was there at all, helping ground him. He was glad he had such good friends.

By the time Tails came out to get him the sun was setting. Amy thankfully stayed by his side as the trio went inside. He felt a spark of hope pierce the haze that had settled over his mind as he saw Metal completely reassembled on one of Tails’ work tables. Wires coming from the back of his head were still connected to the Miles Electric, but besides that he looked good as new. “Is he..?” Sonic looked over at his brother.

Tails nervously wrung his hands. “I was able to put him back together fine. There were a lot of pieces but as far as I could tell you managed to get them all. Though due to the heavy damage he sustained I’m… not sure if any of his core programs were damaged. I tried to run a diagnostic but I couldn’t for some reason. It just… wasn’t working.”

“And that’s not a great sign I assume?” Amy asked, frowning.

“Unfortunately.” Tails nodded, looking away from Sonic. “It might not mean much but… I’m just worried.”

Sonic took a deep breath and did his best to push aside his own worry for now. “Boot him up.”

“Are you sure?” Tails looked up at him, worried.

“We won’t know what’s going on until he’s up and running right?” Sonic did his best to give his brother a reassuring smile, though he wasn’t sure if it was effective for either of them. “No use in dragging it out.”

“As long as you’re ok with it.” Amy put a hand on his shoulder. Sonic took a far shakier breath and nodded.

Tails nodded back and went over to where he’d left the Miles Electric on a table. “Turning him back online in three, two, one…”

Sonic held his breath as Metal’s red optics flared to life. The robot looked around sort of peacefully for a bit after sitting up. Although he looked at all three of them his gaze lingered the longest on Sonic. The eye contact was a little unnerving but he didn’t have much time to think about it before Metal was launching himself at Sonic. For an incredibly brief moment he thought that might have been a positive thing but that was quickly shattered as Metal kept going and caused the two to crash through a wall.

Sonic managed to separate from Metal once they were outside. He winced at the hole they made as he shook off debris that tried to stick to him. That would have to be fixed later. Right now he had a rogue robot to take down, even if it hurt to do so right after Tails had fixed him. “C’mon Metal. We don’t have to do this right now!” Sonic tried, but he was met with nothing but Metal charging at him again. 

He dropped into a spin dash to dodge out of the way, and as much as he didn’t want to he turned to crash into Metal’s back. He pulled out of the spin dash and kicked off the robot’s back, sending him crashing into the ground. The sound of metal scraping against the hard ground had Sonic pinning his ears to his head. Could he really do this right now? As Metal got up engine whirring, it was clear he wasn’t going to have a choice.

Before Metal could charge at him again Tails and Amy were there. “I think he might have gotten reset.” Tails sounded a mix between nervous and upset. “He might have just reverted to his base programming.”

That one stung. If Metal really had gone back to just his base programming that meant that all the time Sonic had spent slowly broadening his counterpart’s horizons was wasted, gone just like that. That also meant he wouldn’t remember the quiet times when the two had really gotten to know each other; the times the two talked about their respective siblings and whatever they’d gotten up to. The races which were only for the pure enjoyment of testing each other. Pushing each other. Metal and everything he had slowly been becoming, gone. 

Sonic clenched his fists and he could feel tears start to gather in his eyes. He didn’t let them fall though, he couldn’t. Regardless of his own feelings, Metal needed to be stopped before he hurt one of them. If either of his friends tried to stop him as he rushed forward he didn’t hear them. It was hard to hear much over his own racing thoughts. 

He threw himself into the fight with Metal not caring if he got hurt. As long as this could be over quicker it didn’t matter. He’d walk it off anyway. Plus the pain was a wonderful distraction from the hollow feeling that had settled in his chest. With each clash Sonic dared to feel the tiniest bit of hope that Metal would come to his senses, only to have it dashed each time. Metal was seemingly back to the same robot he’d met on Little Planet all that time ago. At some point he stopped hoping to see something different.

Eventually while catching his breath he found himself restrained from behind. He struggled of course but stopped as soon as he recognized it was Amy who was holding him back. His legs felt like they couldn’t support his weight any more once he saw Tails jump onto Metal and shut him down. With no more immediate distraction he let himself fall limp, confident that Amy could handle his weight. His eyes trailed to the ground and he suddenly felt oh so tired.

Amy and Tails were possibly talking about something but he couldn’t find it in himself to care to listen. Honestly he did his best to just let his mind go blank. That was much more preferable to confronting the reality of the situation, and just how much it hurt. At some point Amy was trying to lead him back to Tails’ workshop, he did at least cooperate. It would be pretty rude of him to force her to drag him around, no matter how terrible he felt.

Sonic was led into the living area Tails had attached to his lab. Amy got him to sit down on a couch, before walking off for a moment and returning with a blanket to wrap around his shoulders. He pulled the blanket tightly around himself and stared at the floor. It was hard not to think about what was happening but focusing on the pain from his still untreated injuries helped. A cushion next to him dipped. It was probably Amy sitting next to him.

“How are you holding up?” Amy asked, voice tentative. Sonic just folded his ears against his head. “Right, bad question. Sorry.” She took a breath. "We'll figure this out. For now will you let me take a look at your injuries?" Sonic nodded, not trusting his voice right now. Even though he didn't want to, he released his tight grip on the blanket. 

He finally lifted his gaze from the floor to watch Amy start to treat his injuries. They were worse than he typically got fighting Metal. That didn't make him feel any better. The whole time he couldn't bring himself to look at Amy, but he was silently grateful. He really did have good friends.

"Can I see him?" Sonic barely heard himself.

"... are you sure that's what you want?" Amy made what she thought very clear in her tone. It was a bad idea.

While he didn't really think it would help, he felt like it would be worse to sit here. "Yeah." Sonic nodded.

Amy hesitated before gently guiding him towards Tails’ workshop. Finally he looked up all the way, if only just to be able to see where he was going. His brother looked up from the Miles Electric as the two of them entered the workshop. He frowned, but didn’t say anything. It was clear the fox knew why they were there.

Sonic silently watched Tails work for… well he wasn’t sure how long. Honestly he didn’t even know what his brother was doing, but it felt like all he could do was watch. Amy made sure to periodically come in and make sure the two of them were taking care of themselves, though she paid extra attention to Sonic. Probably because he hadn’t made any moves to even attempt taking care of himself since finding a place to sit.

At some point Amy pulled Tails away from his work to send him to bed. It was probably well into the night at that point. When she tried to do the same for Sonic he waved her off. While she tried to be persistent she crumbled when Sonic finally turned to look at her. Based on her reaction he really didn’t want to know how he looked right now. She did at least bring out some pillows and extra blankets for him, so he had the option to make himself a bit more comfortable. Not that he remembered doing it but he did try to arrange them so things were a bit better.

For a while he just stared at the table Metal was once again laid out on. There were a few new dents and scratches but at least he was intact. Well physically anyway. Sonic pulled the blanket around his shoulders tighter, ignoring how it aggravated some of his injuries. “Well…” Sonic said quietly into the now dark workshop. Amy had shut off the lights when she’d left, probably trying to encourage Sonic to sleep. “I guess we’ll have to start over again huh? Cause I know I can’t resist trying. You mean too much.” He sighed and watched Metal’s unmoving body for a while. There wasn’t much point in saying anything else when no one would hear it.

His eyelids started to grow heavy, and he mentally prepared himself for a night of little to no sleep. He’d barely let his eyes slip closed when he heard a noise. It was hard, but he managed to crack his eyes back open only to see Metal now sitting up. The robot was experimentally opening and closing his hands. Sonic tensed, ready for another potential fight. Metal turned to him and the gaze felt much less unsettling than it did earlier. ‘Sonic?’ Metal signed, tilting his head.

Sonic sucked in a sharp breath. Well he was certainly awake now. “Mets? Are you… you?” He was on his feet, blanket falling from his shoulders.

‘I am back to typical running capacity after critical systems failure. The automatic reboot and restoration of my system was a success.’ Metal stood up and moved towards Sonic.

“So… that means you’re ok then.” Sonic felt hope bloom in his chest as he rushed to his feet.

‘I am fine now yes.’ Metal gave him a once over. ‘The same cannot be said for you. Your face is leaking.

Oh. He was crying huh? At least now it was for a good reason. With the ease of practice though he managed to cut off his tears. “Nah. I’m good now Mets. I’m… good now.”’

Metal watched him for a moment. ‘You were the one to find me.’ It didn’t look like a question, but Sonic nodded anyway. He wanted to ask what happened but he also didn’t want to force Metal to think about it so soon. ‘I apologize.’ He looked down briefly, fists clenching. ‘I should have been stronger I-’

Sonic closed the gap between them and wrapped Metal in a hug, effectively cutting him off. Of course Metal wasn’t the nicest to hug, and the rigidness of his body was digging into Sonic uncomfortably in several places, but right now he needed it. Apparently both of them did. After a moment Metal carefully returned the hug. It was familiar enough, even if the two didn’t do it often. “Doesn’t matter.” Sonic was quiet, but he knew Metal would have no problem hearing him. “You’re ok now, that’s what matters.”

Metal tapped his back and pulled away. ‘I suppose.’ His robotic counterpart seemed to be taking in Sonic’s injuries now. ‘What happened?’ He tilted his head before looking Sonic in the eyes.

“We… booted you up before you were done doing your own stuff.” Sonic attempted to shrug casually. It felt stiff. “We fought a bit cause you weren’t really there. Not a big deal.”

Sonic got the impression that Metal would be frowning if he could. ‘We fight all the time. You do not typically receive injuries like this.’

“I… might have been a bit reckless because I was upset.” Sonic chuckled nervously. “I’m fine though, honest.”

Metal didn’t seem like he was convinced. ‘Fine.’ He conceded. Sonic grinned before yawning. The brief shot of adrenaline from Metal waking up was starting to wear off already. ‘You need rest.’ Metal glanced down at the mess of blankets and pillows Sonic had set up for himself. ‘This is not a proper place to do it.’

“Eh, I’ve slept in worse.” Sonic shrugged. 

Metal shot him his best attempt at an unamused look before noticing the hole in the wall. Without any warning Metal scooped Sonic up and walked towards the hole and outside. Sonic was honestly so surprised he just let it happen. He barely even noticed Metal had snagged a blanket as well. They didn’t go far, just far enough to have grass under them. Once they stopped Metal carefully put Sonic down and spread the blanket on the ground. ‘You often say being outside calms you down. I thought this would be better than remaining inside.’

Sonic grinned before sprawling out on the blanket. It took Metal a moment, and Sonic patting the blanket in invitation, but he did join Sonic on the blanket. Well Metal was right about this one, he felt a lot calmer being outside having a wonderful view of the stars. Most calming though was Metal’s silent presence next to him. It almost felt silly how he felt earlier, but part of him couldn’t help but wonder if Metal would feel similarly if Sonic somehow forgot him.

Much to Sonic’s surprise, Metal reached for his hand. It wasn’t often Metal initiated anything physical. Since the robot got less out of physical affection than Sonic did, it was often up to him to initiate. After the day he’d had though it was very welcome.”I really am glad you’re ok Metal.” Sonic kept his gaze trained at the sky. Metal squeezed his hand since he couldn’t really communicate any other way right now. It was plenty for Sonic though.

It felt good to finally let the tension leave his body, but at the same time now that he didn’t have a distraction anymore he really could feel his injuries. Though thankfully he wouldn’t have to focus on that for long as Metal unthreaded their hands and started to gently work through Sonic’s quills. If it wasn’t clear before it certainly was now that Metal knew he’d been upset. The robot only did this to help calm Sonic down, even if Sonic assured him he didn’t mind Metal doing it whenever. He’d always get a retort along the lines of ‘if I do it too often you’ll become desensitized to it and it will become less effective’. He didn’t believe that in the slightest but he wasn’t about to fight Metal on it for now.

Right now he enjoyed the even strokes of clawed hands through messy quills. There under the stars, with his other half returned to him he finally allowed himself to sleep.

[clumsiestgiantess]

Chapter 24 of The Other-world Universe; at long last we’ve weaponized the tiny! Let’s see what she can do.

all chapters listed here

[Round Three: Rematch]

Thankfully, we moved on from the subject of my old atrocities.  One moment later and we were in the other-world again, at the same spot where I'd practiced with my weapon.  Weirdly enough, the sun was already starting to set there, though it was mid-afternoon when we’d left my world.  "What's going on?" Erica asked, confusedly scanning the sky, "Why is it already getting dark?"  

"There's a slight time difference between my world and yours,” I explained, “They used to be in sync, but I threw them off balance after staying here for so long."  "Huh," Erica mumbled in an impressed tone.  I placed her in the field and knelt down beside her.  "Here it is," I announced, again offering her the piece.  However, since we'd traveled worlds, the plastic piece became a crystalline diamond-shaped stone.  She took it from me, momentarily distracted by its reflective sheen.  "So, I just.. put it in the back of my neck?  Like yours?"  "Actually, I made it so that it sets into the middle of your spine.  I thought that would be easier for your weapon's design."  In a flash, Erica slid the gemstone into place beneath her shirt.  "Wow!  I really can't feel a thing!" she exclaimed, twisting around to feel for it.  "I kinda expected it to be all rough because it's a stone."  I nodded, "That's all part of the design."

Erica excitedly drew both hands behind her back, similar to how I drew one hand behind my neck to grab my gun.  They emerged gripping the handles of two large sword-like devices, connected by thin cords to her back and the gemstone.  Each one was identical — lightweight metal sheets sharpened to a point on one end and a round grooved handle on the other.  The edges were almost impossibly thin and deadly sharp, specially made to be able to cut through anything with ease and precision.  Two-thirds up the weapons’ sheer sharpness was a curved hook that jutted out of the blade to latch onto foes.

I'd upped my game with this new weapon.  Along with the lightweight swords, the gem also gave the wearer superhuman abilities.  While it seemed I couldn’t give myself extra powers besides the ones I arrived with, I could give other-worlders them instead.  Erica could now jump an impressively long distance, and had what was basically super speed.  She could also land a fall from hundreds of feet in the air perfectly balanced and completely unscathed — superhuman durability — which is important when you can jump that high and also not break every bone in your body after coming back down.

At one point I realized that meant I could make Erica my own size instead of trying to shrink myself.  I’d asked her about it while we were weapon planning.  She was originally thrilled by the notion of being a similar height to me, but had later told me in reflective honesty that it was a bad idea.  As much as she wanted to see how it felt to be a giant, Erica told me she would be ‘too tempted to do things she’d regret’.  I wasn’t sure I understood what she meant, but it was her choice, so I scrapped the idea.  Erica seemed perfectly happy with what she had in both weapon and looks.  I had to agree.

In the empty field, I stood up and stepped back a bit, motioning for Erica to try out her new weapon, but she shook her head.  "I saw how badly you screwed up when you were working with yours, and that was after you'd practiced with it for a while.  Can you maybe save me some embarrassment and come back a bit later?  The town's probably worried about you, you know."  I wanted to stay and get her back for laughing at me the first time I'd practiced with my weapon, but Erica was right.  Everyone probably thought I'd run away.  Technically, I did try, but I was back, hopefully with a plan that would work.  

By the time I actually got to the valley, the sky had grown to a vibrant purple, quickly fading to black.  Maybe I should just leave a note or something.  Everyone’s already gone inside by now.  I knew all I had to do was call and someone would come running, but.. I didn’t feel like talking to the founders right then.  Guilt gnawed at me as I briefly vanished into my own world to write my excuse for bailing on everyone earlier.  If I’d had my way, I would’ve been abandoning everyone there to some awful fate.  My explanation devolved into one long apology the longer I wrote it.

Eventually, I stopped myself at a whole page and left the corner of it pinned under a rock near the town.  I did a quick walk-around of the mountains — scouting for trouble.  Surprisingly, there was nothing amiss.  The town was fine, the barrier was intact, and there were no portal people in sight.

Anxious at finding everything normal, I did another sweep.  Still finding nothing wrong, I returned to the spot where I'd left Erica.  However, when I got there she was nowhere to be seen, and all the natural landmarks like rocks and trees were missing.  Well, they were technically there, just in diced pieces.

"Erica?  Where did you go?" I called nervously into the darkening landscape.  Something shot out from the shadows of the forest nearby, zooming directly at my head.  I yelped in a panic and covered my face instinctively, shielding it from an attack.  Nervous laughter filled the space to my right.  "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, Alexis.  I didn't mean to scare you, I promise."  I cautiously lowered my arms and turned in the direction of Erica’s voice, finding her sitting comfortably on my shoulder.  "Did you just super speed jump at me?" I asked.  "Yeah.. I'm sorry."  "No, don't be sorry," I chuckled, making my way back to my living space.  "This is good!  Do that on the battlefield tomorrow and you'll scare those awful people right back through the portal they came from."  

Erica was uncharacteristically silent the rest of the way back, leaving my thoughts to fall to worries.  Is she ready to take on people my size?  Not even I was.  "That is.. if you're ready to fight tomorrow,” I added more seriously.  She scoffed, "Oh, I was born ready.  It's just..  You've never seen me fight anyone before, have you?"  I slowed to a stop, processing her question.  "No, I don't think so.  Why?  Are you any good at it?  Because I'm not.  I don't even want to fight!  I'm tired of beating on other people," I laughed.

This time, there was an even longer pause.  Clearly my jokes weren’t helping the mood any.  Usually Erica loves responding to them with another joke or something snide.  I glanced at my shoulder to try and see her better.  "Are you any good at it," Erica repeated quietly, "Yeah, I am.  I just.. I don't want you to look at me differently when you see me fighting tomorrow.  I did tell you I can protect myself, but you've never seen me kick the shit out of someone before."  "Did you.. do that often?" I questioned, slightly confused.  I was a bit shocked to see her expression darken.

"Erica, you don't have to worry about what I might think of you," I told her as I sat down on my other-world 'bed'.  Reaching up to my shoulder, I carefully pulled her in front of me in cupped hands.  "I'll still love you, regardless of what happens."  She smiled, cheeks warming slightly.  "Did you actually want to sleep right now?" I asked, gesturing at the blanket beneath me, "It's a little early for us.  We haven't even eaten dinner because of the time difference."  "Let's have dinner then," Erica suggested, “Then we should at least try to get some rest.”

The food box was sitting right beside my 'bed' where it always was.  I let Erica off and made us some ribs and mac-and-cheese for dinner — one of Erica’s favorite meals the box could make.  Eating from the food box was actually better than eating at home.  With it, I could make virtually any food I wanted, and perfectly.  

Over the course of my meal, I couldn't help but wonder what Erica meant when she confessed she was scared of letting me see her fight.  I guess I can imagine her being fairly ruthless when it comes to that sort of thing, especially after they kicked me down and hurt me during that last struggle.  Now Erica had a score to settle for both her own kind and for me.  

Admittedly, I was also not really the fighting type.  Before that fight yesterday I’d never actually had to physically defend myself from someone before.  The only reason I gave myself a weapon at all was to have a backup plan.  Its purpose was to protect the town and potential others with barriers.  The gun function was only made with the intention of trying to scare the scientists off.  Now that I knew we were on the brink of war, that would all have to change.

When I'd finished eating, I sat awake for a while, not quite tired, but needing sleep all the same.  I'd need all the rest I could get to heal up before I went back to fighting again.  Just because Erica will be with me doesn't mean I get to take a break. I know she wants to fight, and I really don’t know what she’s capable of, but I can’t imagine she can take on a small army without me there to back her up.  

Late into the night, I finally lay down to get some rest.  I thought Erica was already asleep; she was lying on her side, facing the empty woods, but when I lay down, she sat up.  I shifted sideways so we were facing eachother — my mouth opening and closing a few times before I found what I wanted to say.  

"Erica, I have an important question for you," I stated, inhaling softly.  She stood, looking over at me nervously.  "What is it?"  "Today I gave you something that's highly dangerous — made specifically to kill giants.  I- I inadvertently gave you abilities that can overpower me at any given moment.  So.. I'm just asking.. for peace of mind, really…"  I cleared my throat, anxiously meeting her gaze.  "Can I trust you with them?"

My question lingered in the air for a moment as Erica's eyes widened in shock.  With careful steps, she moved closer, brushing my cheek with her hand.  A small smile spread across her lips as she looked me over lovingly.  "I'd like you to," Erica responded gently.  At once I was back on the cliffside, leaning against it as Erica stood on the mansion's balcony.  After I offered to make up for everything I’d done, she asked me one simple question: Can I trust you?  The memory replayed in my head the moment Erica answered me — a familiar yet previously forgotten echo of the past.  Her answer.. that’s what I replied, isn’t it?

Erica’s hand dwindled on the surface of my cheek for a while.  She stood in front of me, trying to read my questioning expression.  A small kiss lightly pecked the tip of my nose, and I smiled, pulling her close.  Erica giggled as my lips brushed against her body.  “I knew I could trust you,” I whispered, mouth barely an inch from her.  “Just making sure.”  My fingers laced around her tiny form and I held her close to my chest.  I could feel her miniscule hands pull my shirt aside, snuggling into the warmth of my skin.  I fell asleep shortly afterwards, feeling ready for the trials of the next day.

The following morning, we were both up and ready rather early.  I made my way to the Cavern Town with Erica on my shoulder.  Both founders were outside when I arrived, standing by my letter.  It looked like they were arguing.  Another pang of guilt dashed through my chest, but I shoved it down.  I knelt in front of the two as they stepped away from my towering form.

"Finally!" Mr. Stoll cried, "Where the hell have you been!?  The giants are threatening to destroy our town!  They're all coming down from the camp and-"  Ms. Ashford put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back slightly.  She whispered something harshly to him, but I couldn't hear anything.  I glanced at Erica, but she shook her head.  They were too far away for either of us to hear them.  It looked as if they were arguing again.  I waited patiently for them to address me, but their fight had only grown more heated.  "I'm sorry," I interrupted, "but did you say the giants are on their way here?"  "Yes," Ms. Ashford answered me, "But we won't ask you to fight them because you're inexperienced and can't handle the stress of fighting off an army."  Many of her words had pointed edges to them, directed at Mr. Stoll who stood defiantly with his arms crossed.

"She won't fight them!" Erica called, "At least not alone!  I'll fight them off for the safety of the town and for Alexis' safety too!"  I smiled gratefully at Erica, feeling a bit better about my whole awful predicament.  "Ha!  You fight them?" Mr. Stoll scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous!  You're just going to get yourself killed!  I'm surprised your giant friend hasn't talked you out of it yet!"  A wrathful glare distorted Erica's features.  "I will fight them, and I'll win!  You’ll see!  Come on, Alexis, let's get out of here."  

She tugged on my shirt to get me to stand back up.  Knowing this argument would only get worse the longer I stayed, I followed her command and left the valley after giving quick instructions to the founders.  “Keep everyone inside the barrier no matter what.  This scare will hopefully be over soon.”  

Erica growled under her breath the moment I left the exit to the valley.  "That old bastard, I'll show him!  You don't even need to fight, Alexis; I'll deal with them."  "Erica, don't go in over your head on this," I warned.  "What, you don't think I can do this either?" she quipped, voiced edged in malice.  "No..  I do, I do."  My voice tapered off in an almost worried uptone.

We silently waited at the foothills of the valley.  Some time later, the air buzzed with anxious electricity, like the moments before a storm.  Just up ahead, a cloud of dust spread out over the horizon.  The silhouette of a small army marched its way towards the mountains where we stood — about twenty people, maybe a few more.  I reached behind my back and pulled out my gun, anxiously switching it to multi-shot mode.  "Alright, get ready.  Here they come."  Erica grabbed her shining weapons and hunched down on the very edge of my shoulder.

When they got close enough, I unleashed a line of glowing bullets spiraling in the portal-worlders’ direction, and charged.  Closer to the front line, I generated a shield for myself and Erica zoomed away off my shoulder, rocketing through the air towards her first target.  We were both so pumped with stress and adrenaline that we were almost eager to fight.  However, as Erica came within an arm's reach of the first 'giant', they swung their rifle-esqe gun through the air.  It made contact with a sickening crack and swept her out of the way in an instant.  The attack was so sudden and so swift; my throat dropped into my stomach.  "ERICA!"  I skidded to a halt, too shocked to move, and was immediately tackled to the ground.

No no no, please!  It's only her first fight!  She can't be dead!  But from the awful noise and the force of that blow… there really weren't many alternatives.  "ERICA!" I screamed again.  These people came here to collect me.  They could care less about some other-world person like Erica getting in their way.  That woman smacked her out of the air as if she were nothing more than an annoying bug!  I thrashed out of someone's grip, blasting the group backwards with a shot of my gun.  On my hands and knees, I scrambled away from them to collect Erica and dodge back home.  Just let her be alive!

Before I could find her, I was dragged back to the group.  One of the 'giants' had grabbed my ankle.  He pinned my arm down so I couldn't shoot anything, and called the others over to subdue me.  I desperately tried everything I could think of.  Turning invisible helped some — they couldn't quite see where I was to hold me down — but it was pointless with the crowd of people encircling me.  Again and again I tried to lift my arm out of the person's grasp.  I just wasn't strong enough.  Deadpan faces surrounded me; my hands were forced behind my back.  One moment a man stood menacingly over me, weapon raised to strike, the next moment he'd gone slack.  A smiling red line oozed along his neck.

I watched in wide-eyed terror as the people around me fell to the ground.  Blurs of motion zig-zagged around them, followed by wide red gashes and deep bubbling stab wounds.  I sat up warily, watching the chaos unfold around me.  People fired randomly into the air while an inescapable weapon struck their chest and left them with two large gashes that punctured their lungs and heart.  I flinched slightly every time someone cried out in agony and stumbled to the earth, clutching their neck or chest.  One by one, angry red wounds appeared on each of the 'giants', and they began to topple over, gasping for air and coughing up reddened bile before collapsing.

The last few ran for it, and I shakily stood to watch them.  They held up their shields in desperate defense, but it was no use.  I could only stare numbly as they hit the ground.  It happened so fast I could've sworn they'd tripped and fell.  No, they weren't getting up.  Pools of blood seeped into the dirt beneath them, staining the grass a glossy dark red.  Within the span of five minutes, all twenty or so people were lying dead with their vital organs and veins shredded or stabbed through.

My legs buckled and gave out beneath me.  I closed my eyes tightly, breathing heavily as I tried to keep myself from shaking.  The deep breathing only made things worse, however; the strong smell of blood stung my nostrils.  Despite the fact that every one of those people wanted to hurt me and those I cared about, it was mortifying to see them all killed so violently in such quick succession.  

It seemed like I'd been in a trance forever, but in a few moments, I was woken.  "Alexis!"  Something too quick for my brain to comprehend raced through the air in front of me.  I yelped as its blurred form struck towards me, scrambling backwards instinctively.  My pulse thrummed in my neck — eyes widening in fear as I tumbled over the body of someone who’d died.  Blood oozed out of their chest and smeared across my back, sticking my shirt to my skin.

The weapon, which I only then processed was Erica, landed a few feet away, standing openly in the now corpse-littered field.  "...Alexis?"  It took me a moment to come to my senses.  Every time I tried to focus, my head spun dizzily.  When I finally got my emotions in check, I slowly crawled forward.  Erica’s sentiment from the night before dashed through my head — ‘I don't want you to look at me differently when you see me fighting tomorrow.’

When I was close enough to read her expression, my heartstrings tore apart.  Erica stared down at her reflection in the bloodstained blades she held limply at her sides.  Her face and body was spattered with droplets of crimson, and her mouth was open in silent shock, as though she didn't recognize the person staring back at her.  For a moment, I hadn’t either.

Slowly, she lifted her head to look up at me.  “It’s.. it’s not…”  Erica stammered on her words, glancing out over all the people she’d so ruthlessly killed, then back to my face.  My expression must’ve looked horrified.

"I'm not like you," she whispered, "I didn't have the privilege of a family that cares.  I never felt 'safe'.  At home or anywhere else."  I sat stunned, waiting patiently for her to continue.  Erica shuddered, holding up one of her bloody, sword-like weapons.  "If you call yourself a monster for killing people you didn't think were alive to begin with…"  She paused, fighting not to start crying in the middle of her sentence.  Struggling to hold back tears, she changed it again.

"This is why I didn't want you to see me fight.  I- I don't want you to see what kind of person I really am.  I've done so many things you don't know about…  Now you're scared of me!"  She cried out suddenly, gesturing to how I'd pulled away from her, "Alexis, please don't run!  I need you!  I promise I would never hurt you!"  Her voice tapered off into tears, and she fell to the ground, weapons disappearing into the crystal in her back.

Awful doesn't even begin to describe how I felt.  I hadn’t meant to back away from her, but I had to admit, her angered rampage was nothing short of terrifying.  "Erica, I'm right here," I reassured her gently, coming closer.  "You didn't scare me off.  I'm not going anywhere."  "But.. You- You don't even know me!" she sobbed, "I- I realized last night- you don't know who I am!  You don't kn-"  "Then tell me." 

Erica stared up at me from the ground.  She tried to stand, but her legs gave out — dropping her down to the grass below.  It was as if even her own body abandoned her.  I cautiously held out a few fingers for Erica to lean on, and she gripped them fiercely.

"If you're worried I might not want to stay with you, then let me know why.  If you truly believe I don't know you, could you tell me who you are?"  Erica tried to speak, but gritted her teeth tightly as tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.  Shakily, she pulled herself into my hand and tucked her knees tightly against her chest.  I gently folded my fingers around her tucked-up form and brought her to a smaller area of rock away from the aftermath of her anger — somewhere where we could see eye to eye.

Erica slowly made her way onto the ledge beside me.  Once she managed to sit herself down, I put my hands around her in a light grasp to keep her still, delicately wiping the tears and blood from her face.  She quieted — breath hitching for a moment as she stared up at me wide-eyed while I did my work.

"There you are," I stated softly, swiping away the last splotches of red.  "It's alright, Erica.  Just take a deep breath; it's ok."  I waited as she took a few long inhales of the crisp air around us, letting out a shuddering sigh after calming down a bit.  She was silent for a while.  Erica sat soaking in the warmth and safety of my hands, eyes closed tightly.

"Are you really sure you want me to tell you?" she finally asked, peering uncertainly up at me.  Nodding, I sat back and let my arms rest beneath my chin as I settled down to listen.  "Go ahead, I won't say a word until you're done."  "Ok..."  Erica settled down too, keeping herself even with my height by sitting on the highest point on the rock.  It was a dangerous spot, but with her new weapon, she was practically immune to getting hurt from a fall.  Apparently that gave her immunity from being struck out of the air, too.

After clearing her throat a few times to stall as she thought, Erica finally ventured into her past.  "I guess I should start with my family…  Mama and my father were both really young when she had me.  I was, as my father always reminded me, an accident.  He never liked me much, and as I grew up, he really started to hate me.  I think he blamed me for everything he didn't like about his life.  Both my parents had hidden from their lives to hide the truth of my.. coming into the world.  We were always struggling for money, and almost every dollar was put towards me.  My mom loved me wholly, no matter what.  But my father only saw me as something that was dragging him down, wasting his time and his money.  No matter what the cause of his anger was, he would take it out on me.  Occasionally Mama, but mostly me.”  

“When I was young, it was just a lot of yelling; I learned not to let words affect me.  I got older, and his 'lectures' started taking less and less effect."  Erica stopped, glanced up at me, then turned away.  "The verbal abuse became physical abuse.  Mama didn't want to make him madder than he already was, so she never bothered to try and get him to stop.  I think she might have tried the first few times it happened, but then she started ending up at the end of his punches instead, so she left me to deal with it."

She gasped in a slight sob, looking to the sky as if asking someone above to help her speak.  After a brief pause, she continued.  "By 15 I was working two jobs in between school — one before and one after.  I told myself it was so I could afford the things I needed, because my parents refused to care about me or my problems, but I just wanted to stay out of the house.”

“For my 16th birthday, I bought myself a pocketknife.  Guys started to prowl after me on the streets.  I knew I needed some way to protect myself.  The first time I used it, it wasn't even on one of those creeps.  It was my father.  He'd lost his job while I was at school.  When I got home, Mama was lying on the ground and I could've sworn he'd killed her.  I tried to run, but he managed to pull me back inside with a hand over my mouth.  I thought he was going to kill me too; I thought he'd finally lost it.  So I stabbed him until he let me go, and ran."

Erica turned back to me now.  My mouth had dropped open in shock, and my hands had already inched forwards to hold her, but she wasn't done.  "I lived in various places for a few weeks.  Mostly an abandoned factory.  It became my new home until the cops found me.  They-  They tried to take me home.. but I thought they were lying.  I thought they were coming for me because I’d killed my father.  I was scared.  I…”  

Her arms drifted around herself as she began shaking.  “I lost it.  I attacked them and tried to run but they just cornered me and pinned me down.  M-My knife caught one of them in the face.  I ended up in jail that night, but eventually I was dragged back to my house where I found Mama wasn't actually dead, she was only unconscious when I saw her.  Unfortunately, neither was my father.  He left once I came back home.  He tried to hurt me one more time — for causing so much trouble with the cops — but I bought a better knife that same day I was brought back home after sneaking out that night.  I nearly did kill him, then.  He didn’t even realize he had it coming.  By then I was really getting sick of feeling scared."

"So he ran, and the day I turned 18, I left too.  Mama was barely around because of work, but she'd told me that she was sorry for everything after my father left.  That she regretted not doing something more to stop him.  We grew slightly closer, but I never forgave her for letting that happen to me.  The moment I could, I left and I never looked back.  That's my childhood," she ended coldly.

Erica purposefully kept her gaze off mine — the same kind of move I'd pull in school so the professor wouldn't call on me for an answer.  "That's..  I don't think there's a word for how horrible that is…” I said quietly.  Gently, I reached towards Erica, but she shifted away from my grasp.  “I’m not done.  There’s still John.”  “If you don’t want to, Erica, you don’t have to tell me anything else-”  "No, no, I'm getting to him," she sighed, wiping away tears.  "That's the part you really should know.  Because you're kinda involved in it."

Erica took a few more shaky breaths, and I moved my hand near her side to show her I was right with her.  She glanced back at me briefly, teary-eyed.  Shakily, Erica reached out and put a hand over my finger.

"So," she continued, "John.  Now that I was out of both home and school, I worked full time and got about five hours of sleep each day between jobs to cover my expenses since I was living entirely on my own.  Despite working constantly, I just couldn't scrounge up enough money to survive.  My problems were drowned away by shots of alcohol.  Another wonderful gift from my father: alcoholism.  I wasn't even old enough to drink, but it helped.  Kind of…  It helped me mentally.  Physically, it got me fired.  And broke.  I was at the club one night — thinking about possibly living out of my car — when I met John, my 'knight in shining armor'."  

Erica glared wrathfully at a rock nearby.  "I wasn't very drunk yet, but we hit it off.  Soon we were in his car slowly casting off layers of clothing until we had nothing left.  Like I said, I wasnt that drunk yet, so soon enough I came to my senses and ran off — scared that I’d lost control of myself like that.  I struggled trying to find a new job and still keep my secondary one, but it was like everything was caving in around me."

"Flash forward to a week and a half later.  I'm completely and utterly wasted in the same club, and John finds me.  I'm too far gone to really know what the hell I'm doing, and the next thing I know, he has me in a back room pinned naked beneath him."  Erica could probably see me tense up at that point, because she paused to glance knowingly at me.  "I only have snippets of what happened the rest of the night, but I met him for the first time completely sober a day later.  It was at the store I worked at.  I don't know how he figured out where I worked, but he also knew I needed money, badly.  I tried to slip out the back door, but he caught up to me and quickly threw out a deal: a paycheck triple what I made working both my jobs.  'All I had to do', he said, 'is earn it.'  I could have the financial security I desperately dreamed of, if I could just come by and.. well.. please him."

I pulled backwards off the rock, appalled.  "I know," Erica agreed, "I felt that way too, and at first I turned him down rather forcefully.  But in the end.. I- I needed that money.  I did what he asked, we went clubbing, got drunk, got laid, then did it all over again.  Same time next week.  Over months of this, he'd forced me into someone else.  He made me depend on him for.. everything.  John brainwashed me to abandon my more aggressive tactics.  He called it 'taming' me.  To cope, I convinced myself we were in some kind of twisted relationship."

"Months blurred together and all of it happened so often it became normal.  For both me, who should’ve ran long ago, and John, who was getting bored.  On one of my off days, I found him with someone else — another poor soul who'd been suckered into his schemes.  In my twisted fantasy, I saw that as cheating.  I dumped his ass in a blind rage, not realizing that I had no other way to make money."  Erica turned back to me and smiled ever so slightly as she gazed into my worried eyes.  "The night you found me was the same night I ‘dumped’ him.  You gave me all that cash because you knew I needed it.  But you never knew why I needed it."

"I- I just thought you'd, like, lost your job or something…" I stammered.  "I mean, technically I quit."  I stared at her, piecing together the jigsaw puzzle of what I'd known about her and what I hadn't.  "Well, at least now I know the truth."  "Not all of it," Erica amended, "Stuff happened during the four years you were gone."  I shuddered, “Oh god, Erica you really don’t have to-!”  “It’s ok.  I think…  I think I want to.  I want you to know.”

She waited as I settled back down.  "Once you left, I had about a year and a half of complete freedom before the invasion of giants.  I was devastated that you actually, permanently, left, but there wasn’t anything I could do; I had no way to reach you.”

“I had everything I needed thanks to the box of never–ending money, but then the giants arrived.  At first I thought you had brought them here — to- to get back at me somehow — but I never felt our connection.  My house, along with thousands of others, was destroyed.  Thankfully, I lived on that cliff.  I hid in the mountains for safety, but a lot of people weren't as lucky, and got abducted.  I waited for you.  I thought you might know something about it because it was your kind that was attacking.”

“After a day or two of hiding, I couldn't keep waiting.  I didn't have any food or water left.  There were plenty of abandoned cars in the wreckage of the neighborhood below, so I took one into the city to see if anyone was there.  I saw John and his gang when I drove in.  They hadn't spotted me, but.. I don't know.. the sight of any familiar face was enough to make me overjoyed.  His men almost shot me, I raced at them so quickly.  He held them back, though.  He said he'd take me in with open arms.  I didn't know what that entailed until it was too late."  Erica had to close her eyes for a moment.  Again I placed a few fingers by her side to reassure her that I was there, and nothing awful would happen.

"I- I was locked up when I got back to their base.  Things had taken an awful turn during the several days of uncontrolled apocalypse, and I learned about what was actually happening.  Each of the men that worked for John had taken girls off him in the years prior.  He'd lure them in, then convince them to go with someone else, and they were never seen again.  I'd been the lucky one.  I was John's 'little girl'.  God, I hated it when they called me that.”

“The young woman I saw him 'cheating' with was another mark.  She was there, too.  There were eight of us, including me.  The gang members did with us what they pleased.  Sometimes we were even traded off for the night.  I got special treatment, though, because I was with John.  I stayed in his room and got the same privileges he had, minus my freedom.”

“One by one, the others started dying off.  Starvation and dehydration took half of them.  It’s the apocalypse; there wasn't much food to go around, and they were already being fed last.  One of them escaped.  I really don't know how she managed that.  The other two committed suicide.  I also don't know how they managed that either.  The men were really strict about not letting either of those things happen.  We were drugged a lot of the time so we couldn't escape or die.  But just like the food, the drugs started running out, and they made their move.  A few months before you showed up, I became the sole survivor.  I tried to escape like that one woman did.  I think her name was Marley, but we rarely got called by our actual names.  They usually had a plethora of pet names for us."

"Anyway.. I tried escaping, but I got caught.  The punishment for escape is torture.  Not death, oh no, we were too valuable to be expendable."  An icy, sarcastic tone crossed through her voice, and I shivered.  "John didn't want them to punish me.  He knew the rest of the men were jealous that I was still there.  If he let them punish me, I wouldn't make it out alive.  John devised a plan; he would make a spectacle of torturing me himself.”

“At that point, I was desperately fighting for my freedom.  I'd been so close to escaping.  I didn't stick to the plan, as I'm fairly sure you saw.  I attacked him when he tried to hurt me, and the moment I did, the other men were absolutely going to kill me for it.  You stepped in before they could do anything — murdering everyone I'd daydreamed about murdering myself in one fell swoop.  I was back on drugs because they didn't want me escaping while I was being ‘punished’, so I wasn't even sure if what I saw was real.  When I woke up back at my destroyed house I hadn't seen in years, I thought I was dreaming.  Then I saw you."  Erica slid off her perch at the edge of the rock and came a bit closer, running a hand down mine as she walked.

"You were older, and you were really pretty.  If I'd seen you on the street under more normal circumstances, I'd have been tempted to make a move."  "But.." I interrupted, "Sorry, it's just…  Weren't you.. you know, into.. guys?"  Erica chuckled slightly, shaking her head.  "What part of my story made you believe that?  The part where a guy payed me to fuck him, or the part where a group of guys kidnapped me and chained me up to do that?"  

I flinched, "I- I just thought.. because of the time you and John.. the first night.. in the car…"  My voice faltered as I tried, and failed, to get my point across.  "Alexis, I never liked guys.  The only times I did were when I was drunk, drugged, or forced to feel that way."  She stepped up to me and took my pointer finger into her hands — hugging it to her chest.  "That's my story," she finished, "You were there for the rest, so now you know my whole life, basically, from start to right now."  I sat there for ages, processing the last of the puzzle pieces.  All the mysterious gaps that hindered my view of her suddenly filled in.  "H- How do you feel?" Erica asked me.  "That…  Explains a lot," I noted.  Sitting back to take everything in.

“See?” she asked me quietly, “I’m an awful person, aren’t I?”  I whipped around to face her in such sudden shock she bolted upright.  “No!  No, you aren’t!  Not at all!  Erica, you are none the worse in my eyes than you were yesterday, or the day before.  If anything, you've gotten better because I finally understand.  You have every right to be as angry and dangerous as you are.”

Erica stared at me for a long time.  I could feel her gaze boring into me as she searched over my expression.  It was silent for a long moment, broken by Erica's voice, softened with uncharacteristic hesitation. "Can you hold me?"  My eyes widened in soft surprise.  Erica stood on the rocks beside me, having just confessed the entirety of the horrible details of her life.  She craned her neck almost all the way back to look at me — tears glistening in her eyes.  "Please?"

"I-  Yes, of course," I nodded, knowing it must've been awfully hard for her to tell me everything.  I suspected something strange was going on since the day I returned — sooner than that, actually — but I never would've guessed anything as wild or as horrible as what she'd confessed.

Erica gasped a quiet whimper as I carefully laced my fingers over her body, bringing her to the edge of the rocks.  Shifting forward, I placed a delicate kiss on her neck and jaw.  She sobbed softly, pressing desperate kisses against my lips over and over again through quiet tears.  I could taste the salt of them against my lips.  “Shhh,” I whispered softly, reaching up to stroke her head.  “You’re ok; it’s all ok, Erica.  I’ve got you.  You’re safe.”  “Do y-  Do you still t-trust me?”  Again, I kissed her — lowering myself to press my lips to her stomach and letting her head rest against me.  “Of course I still trust you.”

Carefully curling my fingers around Erica's torso, I paused to let her raise her arms just slightly so they wouldn't be pinned to her sides.  My heart skipped a beat as I tightened my grip, lifting her off the ground.  I always knew she was small, but holding her this way, I became incredibly aware of how fragile she was.  It had always been at the forefront of my mind whenever we got close.  I’d gotten used to it, but now it was suddenly as if I were holding her for the first time.  At any moment, I could easily hurt her, and that scared me.  Any accidental movement I made could bruise her perfect hazel skin, or even worse, snap the tiny bones in her little body.  

Each of my fingers twitched slightly; stuck battling between tightening my grip so Erica wouldn't fall, or loosening it so she wouldn't be crushed.  Once I decided on an even mixture of the two, I couldn't help but lightly gasp in awe.  I could feel Erica’s miniscule heartbeat pounding away beneath my thumb.  Her lungs expanded just slightly, pressing into the pads of my fingers every time she drew another breath.

With her lifted to my face, I realized Erica seemed to be just as fascinated as I was.  She hung in my grasp, legs dangling below my palm, with her hands placed gently on my thumb in front of her.  I could see her expression shifting slightly in a myriad of ways, staring wide-eyed at the massive digit before her.  As if on its own, my other hand reached for her — flattening out beneath her so she wouldn’t be hanging in the air.  Erica's tiny heartbeat skittered beneath the pad of my thumb while she eased herself into my palm.  

Only after I was certain she’d sat down did I gently release her.  However, Before I could move my hand away, Erica reached out and grabbed it — watching, transfixed, as her whole hand fit nicely onto the pad of my single finger.  With one of her own miniscule digits, she lightly traced the outline of my fingerprint and I fought the instinctive urge to shudder at her feather-light touch.  

Finally, she locked eyes with me.  Erica's loving expression shifted to a muted worry.  "You're just.. so much," she whispered, "And I love it, I really do.  It's just..  Sometimes I wonder why you'd love someone like me."  Erica's gaze flitted away, "Wouldn't you be happier with someone who doesn't fit in the palm of your hand?  Someone who isn't.. three and a half inches tall?"  I smiled slightly at the irony of the situation.  Up until the day Erica kissed me the first time, I'd been asking myself similar questions: Why would she care about someone like me?  Wouldn't she be happier with someone her own size?  It was so obvious now.

I placed my thumb lightly over her hand, still grasping the pad of my pointer finger.  "Erica," I began earnestly, "You mean more to me than everyone from every world.  I would tear down mountains for you — you know I have.  The four years I lived without you were painstakingly, agonizingly, awful.  As long as I searched and as hard as I tried to forget, nothing ever quite filled the hole you left in me."  

I smiled sadly, remembering the endless days filled with yearning as I desperately tried to forget what happened — how I convinced myself it was all some elaborate fantasy just to force myself away.  I was miserable, confused.  I hadn't understood why it hurt so badly to lose her trust.  Multiple failed relationships only further proved what I hadn't recognized.  

"How could I ever be with someone like myself if the love of my life is literally sitting in the palm of my hand?"  Erica blushed furiously, smiling that wonderful smile I'd fallen for, long before I'd realized I'd fallen for her.  "You're beautiful, strong," I continued, "You haven’t given up on me even when I gave up on me.  I love you Erica.  No matter how unlovable you tell yourself you are, I will always love you.  Never doubt that."  

Erica's eyes watered, her gaze one again fixed on mine.  I gently slid her hand out from my fingers and cautiously brushed the pad of my pointer finger across her cheek, swiping away the tears that coasted silently down their plush surface.  Just above the digit, I could see the jagged line of Erica’s scar — a little mark against her that would likely always serve as a reminder of her past.  I just hoped she could see it as I did: the reason I’d stayed to protect her; the reason I stayed long enough to love her.

I curled my fingers around Erica in a smaller version of a hug — bringing her against me.  Her subtle smile brightened as she leaned against my chest, rubbing the rest of the tears from her eyes off against my shirt.  "Thank you," she whispered, her voice choked with emotion.  "I just can't quite get over how lucky I am to have you, Alexis. You mean everything to me.  I honestly don't know where I'd be without you."

My smile stretched to a grin as I stared lovingly down at Erica's tiny form cupped in my hand.  "One day," I stated with unquestionable certainty.  "One day I'll find a way to make myself your size, I promise.  We can live together here, once everything’s over."  She looked up at me, hope gleaming in her glassy green eyes.  "Can you do that?  Can I have you at my own height instead of.. me at yours?"  My hand subconsciously rose to my gemstone weapon, tucked into the back of my neck.  "I've tried many, many times."  I surprised myself at how tired my voice sounded in that last sentence.  I wasn't exactly desperate to find a solution — most of my attempts had happened years ago when we were only friends — but I longed for one.  "So far nothing's worked, but I'll keep trying.  There has to be a way."

"Don't beat yourself up over it," Erica reassured me, "I still love you regardless.  After all, this is what I fell in love with," she added with a smile, gesturing at my height.  I chuckled lightly, but the longing was still there nonetheless.  It certainly wasn't as painful as the years I'd left — she was right there with me.  However, I so badly wanted us, together, the same size.  I wanted to sit by her side, both of us leaning lovingly against one another.  I wanted all the small, intimate things everyone but us could do.  I yearned for the day when Erica could hold me for a change.

I leaned back on the rock Erica had been sitting on.  The frightening scatter of corpses again filled my vision.  "Thank you for saving me, Erica."  I gestured to the pile of soldiers that had been surrounding me earlier.  "I don't want to hurt any more people, but I think I might have to."  She sighed, looking solemnly at her massacre.  "I don't want you to do this either," she confessed, "I feel like such a horrible influence, or a hypocrite."  Erica chuckled half-heartedly, "I've tried to get you to stop hurting my people, only to turn around and kill a bunch of yours."  I grumbled slightly, "Everyone needs to quit calling them 'my people'.  They aren't anything like me; they're not even from my world!  They just happen to be my size."  

A tiny hand patted one of my fingers to calm me.  "Ok, I'm sorry.  Look, if we can just use this fight to scare the rest of the giants away, everything will go back to being kinda normal, right?"  I shrugged, jostling Erica slightly in my cupped hands.  "I have no idea.  If I were them, I'd just move to another area that I know isn't protected by a rogue superpowered person and her tiny killing machine."

At this, Erica laughed nervously.  "Was I really that scary?"  "Well.." I stammered, "Yeah, but it was also pretty badass."  Her laugh grew more genuine before abruptly cutting off with a cry of pain.  My fingers retracted in an instant, and I brought her worriedly to my face.  Erica flinched confusedly, and glanced downward at her side.  Hesitantly, she pulled up her shirt slightly so she could look at herself.  The skin on her left side bloomed with gigantic purple bruises that stretched across her whole body.  "Erica!" I gasped in concern, "That was where I got hit by that gun," she realized quietly.  

"Erica, we need to get you to a hospital right now!  I heard bones crack when that woman hit you!  I- I thought you'd died!"  Immediately, I was on my feet.  Stepping over the bodies of fallen soldiers, I hurried back towards the Cavern Town as quickly as I dared.  "No, it's.. I'm fine!"  However, the moment she spoke, she started coughing violently.  Minuscule red droplets spattered my palm.

Back within the valley, I found a few people waiting just inside the barrier.  Isabel and Marcus were there, as well as Ivan and a few others I didn't recognize.  I rushed over to them and knelt in a hurry.  "Erica's hurt!" I called, "She got hit badly during the fight!  I think something's broken, but I don't know…"  Ivan dashed off down the tunnel, yelling for help, while Marcus glanced fearfully past me.  "What about the giants?  Are they coming, or did you fight them off?"

At first, I was furious that Marcus had ignored Erica's desperate situation, but I soon realized that a hoard of angry giants was something you'd want to be warned about sooner rather than later.  I shook my head, "Erica got rid of them.  No one's following me here; you're all safe."  He gave a sigh of relief just as Ivan returned with a few people and a stretcher in tow.  I held out my hand with Erica in it.  She was still conscious, but had doubled over in pain — face contorted in agony.  All I could do was watch in silent fear as they took her away into the depths of the city.

Marcus tried to ask me more questions, but Isabel dragged him off, scolding him about being more considerate.  I sat devastated, unsure what to do.  I wanted to be with Erica for whatever happened, but I couldn't get inside the city at my height.  

The only person still there, Ivan, glanced back and forth between the other end of the tunnel and mine — torn between following her or staying to calm me down. He stepped hesitantly out of the barrier and put his hand over mine.  "She'll be fine," he reassured me, "The doctors here know what they're doing.  They've dealt with injuries way worse than hers."  "Since when have they ever dealt with battle wounds?" I spat, a bit harsher than I meant to.  Ivan pulled his hand back, but stayed where he was.  "They haven't dealt with battle wounds," he replied calmly, "I said they've dealt with worse.  They’ve had to save people pulled from the wreckage the giants leave in their wake — half-dead people that fall from the giant's grasp and then get left behind.”

My anger sobered slightly at Ivan's descriptions.  Admittedly, they did sound a lot worse than Erica.  I took a shaking breath and stared longingly at the faint glimpse of the Cavern Town, now Cavern City, beneath my protective shield.  There were so many more people now that the other town I’d saved had moved in as well.  "Do you mind staying here with me?" I asked Ivan, "You don't have to, but-"  "Of course." We sat outside for a while.  I got up to get the food box so I could eat, then came right back.  I didn’t even end up eating anything. In the middle of all this, I started tearing up.  Intrusive thoughts bombarded my brain with images of Erica on her deathbed, and I was unable to be there to comfort her.  Again, Ivan stepped up to my hand, but his tiny finger hug wasn't enough to console me.  I shifted away from him and hugged my legs tightly against myself, fighting desperately not to start bawling so that the whole place could hear me. 

Eventually, the sun started to set and I grew even more anxious.  "I need to go see if I can find out anything about Erica," Ivan told me gently, "I'll be back in a little bit, alright?"  I nodded numbly and he left, leaving me alone in the valley as the sky grew darker and darker.  The sun sunk beneath the horizon, taking the light along with it.

[mochiimadness]

The couch cushions felt amazing against the sore muscles of your body.

Everything felt as if it had taken years to finish, yet seemed as if it had happened within the blink of an eye. The krang invasion had only taken a little less than a day, but the damage left behind would take so long to fix. Thankfully, buildings could be fixed with ease. People though?

People couldn’t heal so easily.

The sigh you let out felt like it pulled every last breath from your body. Turning over on your side, you tucked your legs in closer to your chest and closed your eyes, focusing on the plushness of the cushions cradling your battered body. You counted three seconds as you breathed in, held your breath for one before breathing out again slowly and repeating.

1, 2, 3.

Hold.

1, 2, 3,

release

Slowly, you opened your eyes again to gaze out into the dark living room of the lair. Thankful for the blanket Raph has given you, as much as you loved the place- it could get pretty cold down here. Given the life and death battle that had just played out, no one really objected to you staying in the lair for the night. Though staying here made you feel safer than you did at home, you weren’t exactly just here for yourself.

As if on cue, the color blue slowly appeared in your peripheral vision. Turning your head, you spotted the very turtle you had decided to spend the night over for. Leo stood, clad in his favorite pajamas, by the foot of the couch, arms wrapped around himself as he looked down at the ground.

You had a feeling this would happen.

“Leo…?” You murmured softly, pushing yourself into a sitting position, blanket slipping slightly. The cuts littered across your arms burned slightly as you did so, but it was thankfully manageable.

Leo was visibly shaking, refusing to tear his gaze from the ground. After a moment, he let out a sigh so shaken, you could feel it rattle your own bones. Finally managing to tear his gaze from the ground to meet yours, he spoke in a whisper.

“I…I couldn’t sleep.” He admitted, the lack of humor from him was enough to make your heart sink. Usually, he tried to joke about what he was feeling, or try to play it off as less serious than it actually was- usually.

But this wasn’t like those other times before.

Pursing your lips together, you lifted the blanket and laid with your back down on the cushions with your arms spread out- an unspoken invitation. Leo gladly took it, carefully settling himself down on top of your injured body- wary of his own injuries as well. After a few moments of shuffling, and more than a few winces from the both of you, he buried his face into the crook of your neck. Finally, you allowed the blanket to draped over the two of you.

“…every time I’m about to fall asleep- I hear him.” He whispered softly, voice tight. The pain in his voice was enough to make your throat feel tight. He’s so close, you can feel his eyelids squeezing shut against your neck as he poured out his fears. “It’s like no matter how much I remind myself we won, I just keep thinking I’ll wake up back there. Like maybe this is all just- just be a dream and the second I open my eyes, it’ll all be over.”

You can feel your chest tighten at that, and quietly sucked in a deep breath. Wrapping your arms tighter around him, you pulled him further into your embrace. The grooves of his shell felt smooth underneath your palms as your hands slipped under his pajama shirt- until the slight scruff of the bandages wrapped around his middle caught on your fingers. A reminder of that the krang leader had done to him while he was trapped in the prison dimension.

“Leo, you’re safe now. Your brothers got you out of there, Mikey closed off the portal and trapped it there, and we will never ever let you go back there again.” Your voice came out harder than you expected, tears pricking the corners of your eyes at the thought of Leo being trapped in that dimension with that thing again.

“We’ll always come back for you.” You added, “And until you always know you’re here with us, we’ll keep holding onto you- you’re not alone. I promise.”

Leo lifted his head up to look at you properly, eyes flicking between yours as if he’s trying to tell whether or not you’re lying- or if you’re even real. Squeezing him again gently seemed to confirm that you were indeed real, and you meant every word. Leo closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh, smiling softly as a thought came to mind.

“Gee, you’re almost as bad as Raph with speeches.”

You scoffed softly at that and rolled your eyes, a bright smile spreading across your face. “Whatever, you know you loved it.”

Leo hummed and lifted one bandaged hand to cup your cheek softly. “I did- but there’s one thing I love more than super mushy speeches.”

Your gaze softened at his words. “Oh? And what’s that?” You asked, fingers tracing the grooves of his shell once more.

Leo leaned in closely, the tip of his beak brushing against your nose gently, and let out a dreamy sigh- “Pizza.”

“Leonardo!”

“Okay okay, sorry- it was getting too mushy!” Leo whined defensively, before leaning in to press a soft kiss against your lips. “I love you,” He murmured, pulling back enough meet your gaze. “and I always will.”

You hummed softly, and moved both of your hands from his shell to cup either side of his face gently, thumbs tracing his red stripes. “I love you too, Leon.” You smiled, pressing your lips against his tenderly. “I always will.”

Pulling back, you pressed a final kiss to the top of his head before laying your head back against the pillow you had been provided. “Wanna give sleeping another go?” You asked, arms moving to embrace him once more. As your fingers slipped under his pajama shirt and began to run over the grooves of his shell, you could feel the tension slowly seep out of his body. “…I promise I’ll be with here with you all night.”

Leo smiled softly at that, and moved to bury his face into the crook of your neck once more. “Alright, but you better keep your promise.” He murmured, eyelids fluttering close as his breathing slowed down. His body sagged comfortably against you.

“I will.”

You’d stay like this with him forever if that’s what it took to help him feel safe again.

It’s nearly midnight ;-;

Very self indulgent but I hoped you enjoyed!

Reblogs appreciated!

[snek-panini]

Book time! This is On the Subject of Nests and Happiness by Nonesensed. I don't typically go for nesting fics, they tend to get a little silly for my taste, but this one is an old favorite. They put some very nice worldbuilding into it and I really liked their OCs, which is kinda unusual in fandom, at least for me. So I wanted to give it the book treatment, and it turned out really well! The cover is cardstock, with book cloth on the spine, neither of which were actually bought for this project but they looked so good together that I couldn't resist. The title is HTV and it was an absolute nightmare to get all those tiny letters to stick properly. Worth it, though. More pics under the cut!

Endpapers are scrapbook paper, also not bought for this book, but just. Look at them. They look so good. I had actually intended to make my own end bands on this project, but they fought me so hard that I gave up. And I already had these black-and-white checkered ones that matched, so it's not so bad. You can kinda notice my tendency to make covers too deep in this shot. I used to think that was a flaw but as I go on I'm kinda liking it. I get more wiggle room when casing in, and they feel nice when I read the books. View from the top shows how thick this one is. It's the longest word count I've done at this size and I want to do more like this. The textures and proportions make it very pleasant to hold.

Have some interior shots:

Title page, first page of first chapter with summary, and first page of actual chapter text. All the images came from rawpixel with minimal manipulation on my part to make the one in the third photo. I don't like working with images, I've never been that kind of artist, but I do very much like how things turned out. It's got three chapters and they all have a first page with the wreath image and short summary, then the actual text of the chapter starts on the following page.

This fic has so many footnotes. More than any other fic I've set type for so far, and some of them are very long. I discovered in the process of formatting them that footnotes are a pain in the ass to typeset. Again, though: totally worth it, they look so good even if they do make the line spacing a little weird. I think a lot of my frustration with them comes from trying to make Word do things it was not intended to do. It won't stop me doing more footnote-heavy fics in the future, but at least now I have a better idea of what I'm getting into when I do them.

Fun thing about this: I waxed and burnished the cardstock before I attached the cover, and the last thing I did after casing in was the title. I have a cricut mini press, which is shaped like a tiny iron, and when I was pressing the HTV it left an iron-shaped dark patch on the front cover. Cue panic. It looked so stupid, and it was already cased in so I was stuck with it. I think what happened had to do with the wax coating? Thankfully, pressing it again all over (instead of just where the title is) covered up the dark patch, but the result is that the front is a slightly different color than the back. Whoops. I may go back later and press the back too, to get the color even, but for the moment I actually kinda like it? Shows me what I'm learning. Another fun fact, thankfully less visible than the last one: while I was making the cover, I gave myself the worst papercut ever while working with the cardstock. There was actual blood, and right on the tip of a finger on my dominant hand. I had a mark there for weeks.

I'm very proud of this one. That's probably why the post got so long and ramble-y, but I just keep coming back to it. Colors, textures, size, nice sharp groove where the spine connects to the front. I'm just really proud of it.

[autumnscribbles]

friends | b.s

Summary: Y/n and Brad get into a fight, leading Brad to find support from his best friends and band mates.

Word count: 900 ish, a bit on the short side!!

a/n: hello friends!!! back with another brad imagine😎 i’ve been back into the groove lately (sort of) and i’m happy to have another imagine out! feel free to check out my recent conrad fisher one too!! anyway love y’all hope you like it❤️

Boop

“I-I think you should go,” you whispered, the now silent room chilled you. You stared at him, across the room, his eyebrows slightly frowning as he gazed at you.

“Y/n,” he sighed. “It’s fine we just need to sleep and we’ll be alright in the morning.”

“Brad I really don’t want to this time,” you replied. “I think maybe you should stay with one of the boys tonight and we can talk in the morning, okay?”

“If that’s really what you want,” he answered, nodding his head.

He didn’t want to go, it was the last thing he wanted. He ached at the idea of walking out that door. He knew it was what you needed, but he couldn’t shake the fear that you would never let him back in.

The back of his throat stung as he held back his words, wanting to beg you. He knew there was no point. When you made up your mind, you stuck to it. If you needed space, you were going to get it.

“Okay,” he choked out finally. “I’ll go.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” you asked.

“Yeah,” he said, a slight curve to the corners of his mouth. It comforted him in a way, knowing you wanted him back.

She just needs space. He told himself. That was all. It wasn’t over, it couldn’t be.

He walked out to his car, the sound of his feet on the pavement echoing in the late night air. The world felt still, asleep. He almost laughed at the irony. Everything being so calm while he felt destroyed.

He let out a heavy sigh as he sat behind the wheel, pulling his phone out as he decided what to text the boys.

Hey lads. Need a place to stay tonight if any of you are available. I’ll explain later x

The rest of the boys answered almost immediately, offering up their places to Brad.

Let’s all meet at Cons! Tristan texted.

Brad nodded to himself, thankfully Connor was the closest to his and your flat. The faster he could get there, the better. He drove in silence, nothing but the hum of the wheels to distract his mind.

He got to Connor’s, seeing everyone else had already arrived as well. Brad couldn’t help but feel a tenderness for his best friends in that moment.

He walked in, knowing Connor’s door would be open, and was greeted by the concerned looks of his friends. They didn’t bombard him with questions, but the questions were swirling in their minds. Tristan passed Brad a glass of red wine, giving him a friendly wink as he raised his own glass.

“We figured you’d need a drink,” he laughed.

“Definitely can’t hurt,” Brad chuckled, taking a small sip as they went to go sit down.

He sat on the couch, letting his tense muscles relax briefly as he leaned back. He shut his eyes, trying to find a way to tell the boys what happened. They all waited patiently, not pushing him.

He loved that about them. Even if he didn’t want to talk about something, they were there for him. Whether he needed to rant or just sit in comfortable silence, they never let him down.

“Y/n and I got into this huge fight,” he finally said. “She asked me to leave for the night. Said she wanted space. I don’t know if that means she’s gonna end things or not.”

“I’m sorry mate,” James muttered, placing a gentle hand on Brad’s shoulder. “Is it a fight you can come back from?”

“I don’t know,” he sighed. “I said some really horrible things, I wish I could take it all back. She probably doesn’t want me anymore.”

“You and Y/n are meant for each other,” Connor added. “I’ve never seen two people more meant for each other probably. We all know her, I don’t think she’d give up on you that easy.”

“You should have seen the way she looked at me when she told me to leave,” Brad said, the back of his throat stinging with the tears threatening to spill. “I don’t know how to forgive myself.”

“Mate we’ve all made mistakes, we’ve all gotten into bad fights with girlfriends,” James comforted. “You guys can and will get through this. I know she loves you, and she probably just wanted to sleep on it, let things cool off.”

“Maybe,” Brad shrugged. “Thanks guys.”

“We’re here for you,” Tris smiled. “I agree with James, I think you guys will work it out once you’re both fresh tomorrow.”

“I really hope so,” Brad sighed. “I can’t lose her.”

“Y/n is a smart girl,” Connor added. “She wouldn’t let you go that easily.”

The boys drank wine and chatted what felt like all night, until eventually their eyes became heavy. Connor set up the guest bedroom for Brad before turning in for the night.

Brad lay on the bed, emptiness lingering beside him. He wished he was in bed with you, where he was supposed to be. He went over everything the boys said; how you were meant to be, how she wouldn’t leave you this way, that she needed space.

He hoped they were right. Even if they weren’t, they still comforted him and made him feel like there was hope.

Hope that he’d walk through that door tomorrow, and you’d be standing there with open arms.

Sometimes all you needed to see it, were your friends.

[michelle-is-writing]

Nerve, Roger Taylor

Word Count: 1.6k~

I have never minded going to any of the band’s recordings. I actually enjoy going to them. Watching as all the boys go back and forth over their music is something I marvel at. I can't help but stare at each of them in awe as I watch the pure creativity and passion flow through them. Both Deaky and Brian are masters at their guitars, and Freddie’s voice alone could probably bring a whole crowd to tears. However, Roger’s drumming is probably what I tune into most. How could I not? He’s the man I love that also happens to be insanely hot when he’s slamming his fists down on the drums.

The only complaint I have is over the weather currently. Christmas is in three weeks, so the weather in England consists of rain one day and snow the next and vice versa. Knowing this, it absolutely baffles me how I managed to forget a heavy coat when we left this morning and instead grabbed a light sweater. Walking into the recording studio was enough for me to shiver, but now that I’m sitting in a building with a heater that shuts on and off every five minutes, my hands are almost numb and my teeth can’t stay apart for five seconds.

“You alright, darling?” Roger’s voice pipes up as he walks over from his drum set. “You a bit cold?” He further asks, sitting beside me as I uncurl myself from the side of the couch and into his open arms. I have been waiting for this moment for the past hour.

“The heater doesn’t work; I can hear it switch on and off every now and then,” I explain, nuzzling my cold face into Roger’s neck. He doesn’t pull away when I do this, and instead, pulls me closer as he moves his head to rest atop mine. Another thing I love about going to the rehearsals with Roger is when he gets a few minutes to relax, but in place of doing just that, he holds me close and doesn’t let go until he has to do so. Perhaps this is his way of relaxing.

Hearing Roger give a small hum, I turn my head up at him and look at him curiously. “Will my jumper be okay for now?” Roger asks, pulling away to look back at me.

Frowning, I shake my head at him. “No,” I tell him, “Then you’ll get cold, and I don’t want that to happen.”

Roger smiles. “No, I won’t,” He assures me, taking his jumper off to reveal his bright orange button-up underneath it. Of course, the first three buttons are undone and the majority of his upper chest is exposed, but thankfully, there isn’t anybody here that’ll stare at the sight before me. “I’ll be fine, love,” Roger states, slipping the abstract-pattern covered sweater over my head and onto my arms. His actions make me smile, and upon taking my eyes off his hands and back onto his face, I see him staring back at me with his caring smile. “I just want to make sure you’re warm.”

His words alone make me feel warm within my chest as they show the true gentle Roger I know and love. The boys don’t get to see this side too much as he rarely ever reveals this side of him outside of just our company. Yes, they see him caring for me and the band in general, but if any of the guys forgot their coat and got cold, he’d laugh and call them some name that relates to stupidity.

Just as we both lean into each other once more and press our lips together, Freddie shouts from the recording booth. “Rog, get in here! And stop trying to ruin our couch!” He yells, making me laugh as Roger looks over at Freddie through the glass with a seemingly mad face. “You too, (Y/n)!”

Now it’s both me and Roger looking at Freddie with furrowed eyebrows and straight lips. The boys only laugh at this before Roger gets back up and heads into the booth, but not before leaning down and giving me a quick kiss on my forehead. It’s something he knows I love, just like I know he likes his neck being kissed.

It only takes mere seconds for everyone to get into their groove before playing one of their songs. Freddie sings to the angels while Deaky and Brian play their instruments like they’ve been doing such a thing ever since they were brought into the world. Like before, Roger plays the drums with the beat flowing through him and onto the drums before him with his arms slamming down on them in an almost graceful manner. Once again, I can’t take my eyes off of him.

However, at the same time, it only takes a few seconds for me to realize Roger giving me his sweater might not have been the best idea. With every movement of his arms and chest, the already tight shirt hugs him even more with the buttons struggling against the holes they’re in. Not to mention the top three buttons of the shirt are already undone, therefore putting his upper chest on display as well. I don’t know if I should give his sweater back and deprive myself of this view, or if I should keep the sweater and keep watching the scene before me.

The boys play for only a few seconds before the lights flicker and all of the power goes out, which ultimately makes the faulty heater stop working completely. Followed by the sound of their instruments growing lower are the boys’ groans of frustration in response to this. They need to get the album done by next week, and they’ve been recording for only a few hours now. Needless to say, it’s very frustrating for everyone.

“It always does this during snow storms,” the recording manager states with a small sigh. “I’ll go check the breakers,” He adds, standing from his chair and leaving the room. Once he’s gone, the boys leave the booth and head into the room with me.

“This is a bunch of bullocks,” Brian groans, sitting down at the sound bar as he pinches the bridge of his nose. Deacy agrees and sits next to him with a small sigh leaving his lips. Meanwhile, Freddie continues on with a smile and resumes practicing his vocals as he walks to the nearby piano.

On the other hand, Roger doesn’t have a chance to say anything when he sits next to me as I’m quickly yanking his jumper off and handing it to him. As soon as he sees me take it off, he gives me a weird and confused look. Even as I hold it out to him, he doesn’t take it.

“Here, baby, take your sweater back,” I murmur, looking away from his chest and up to his bewildered face. After a few moments, he speaks up, almost concerned.

“Why? Does it smell?” He asks, taking the sweater from my hands and up to his nose. “I didn’t think it smelled that much. I barely even broke a sweat during the first few songs,” Roger continues, still not grasping the fact that that’s not my current issue right now.

“No, it doesn’t stink, love,” I assure him, flashing him a smile before leaning my head up toward him. My cheeks slowly turn pink as I contemplate my next words. “It’s just… seeing you in that tight shirt makes me want to jump you right here in front of everyone,” I explain, taking a daring move by hiding in his hair all while pressing soft kisses to the skin of his neck.

Roger doesn’t stop me in my actions, and instead, he moves to hide me a bit more all while holding me even closer to him. “Babe, the guys are here,” he murmurs, but it’s clear that even he isn’t wanting me to stop going by the smirk evident in his voice.

“But I need you,” I tell him, leaning away from his neck and up to his ear. Sliding my hands to the tight shirt he wears, my fingers glide against the silk-like material as I move to face him. “You can’t tease me like this with your tight-as-hell shirt,” at my comment, Roger smirks, showing me he knows exactly what he’s doing. “Imagine if I wore that tight black dress of mine and didn’t allow you to touch me. How would you feel?”

A few seconds pass before his hands tighten around my waist, a now less-cocky look filling Roger's face. “I guess that means I need to take care of my girl, then, huh?” Roger teases, causing my breath to get caught in my throat.

Staring at Roger in front of me, a giddy feeling washes over me in response to his words, reminding me of my teenage years when particular mundane things seemed so exciting. With a small nod, I stand up after him and head to the door, his arm quickly wrapping itself around me as soon as I’m within reach. Walking past the guys, I pray that they don’t catch onto what we’re doing, but our hurried pace and almost excited expressions kind of give it away.

“Don’t be too loud!” Freddie yells as soon as we reach the door, making my already red cheeks somehow darken, but Roger isn’t bothered by his words at all.

“No one’s ever told you to be quiet, Freddie!” Roger shouts to Freddie one last time before opening the door for me and following me into the hall. At this point, I'm certain the guys are used to things like this... unfortunately.

[draftmare]

We had bit drama this year with the whole USDF baucher thing, but we also had girth drama this year, ugh.

It started early this year when I FINALLY got my hands on a County dressage saddle that fits both Sydney and I perfectly. The problem was that my girth from my previous County was oddly too long. Granted, the old County was on a WXW tree and Sydney really only needs a W tree, so I don’t know if that was the difference, or if it was the fact that the old County was a 2009 and this County is/was a 2021 that was being passed around as a demo. Anyway, long story short, I bought a new girth. I treated myself to a girth I had been wanting for a while, a Lemieux Gel-Tek, which is modeled after the ProLite and Fairfax girths (LeMieux is actually rather notorious for knocking off famous brands for cheaper). I had had one in brown for my string of ill fated and ill fitting brown dressage saddles, and had really liked it. This one, however, appeared to be a dud. Every time I used it, it dyed Sydney black. I reached out to the company and they told me to just condition it, and that it would eventually stop. Well, I didn’t want to wait for to eventually stop, not when it was leaching who knows what kind of chemicals on to my horse’s skin on an almost daily basis, and she already has a type of cancer and a couple of sarcoids to boot.

I bought a Professional Choice Ventech girth, but this time with fleece, I say this time with fleece because the girth I used for my old County was the exact same girth, just a 32 inch, and with neoprene. Something about it being shorter just made it not sit right on her though, but I held on to it because I knew in my head that we had been using this brand and style of YEARS without issue. We will come back to this thought in a minute.

Next up on the try list was a WOW brand H-girth. I did some pretty extensive research about these girths, and how they were well suited to horses with Sydney’s conformation: big belly, forward girth groove, saddle needs to be kept back despite gravity saying it should go forward. The only thing I kept seeing was that these girths were more meant for the WOW saddles, which all come equipped with a point billet, which I mean, makes sense considering they are made by WOW. My saddle does not have a point billet, both billets come straight down off the tree, which works much better for Sydney because the saddle isn’t being pulled forward into her shoulder. One of the other riders at the barn has one of these girths, so I got to try it for a couple of rides, and then further internet sleuthing assured me that there are people that use them on saddles without a point billet.

Did it work? Sorta… Was it ideal? Not really. The straps kind of angled back towards each other because of how my billets are. Even though WOW says these can be used on saddles without a point billet, the spacing makes it really hard. We used this most of the summer until I started to notice that she was getting some rubs between the straps as her winter coat was coming in. This to me indicated that she was likely getting rubbed all the time, it was just now her coat was long enough to make it obvious.

So, I swapped her to the Professional Choice Ventech girth, and she promptly got a girth gall. I was MORTIFIED. I have never felt so horrible. Thankfully, I wasn’t on some 5 hour long trail ride, or anything like that. She got a week off for it to heal, then swapped back to the WOW girth while trainer and I pondered what to do. We didn’t really come up with any solutions other than to keep riding in the WOW girth for the time being while I scoured the internet for information.

This past week the saddle fitter came out, and I grilled her for solutions. Side note, OMG did getting my saddle flocked make a huge difference. I could feel it sitting differently with more wool in there. I wish I had been a little more insistent on her coming out sooner. I can also now toss the fluffy half pad and go back to my ProLite half pad, which feels so much nicer under my butt.

Fitters suggestion was the Total Saddle Fit StretchTec girth. It’s an interesting design, meant to be anatomical as well as move with the horse as their body expands and contracts during different points of a ride. I didn’t really want to spend full price on yet ANOTHER girth this year (are we keeping count?), but thankfully there are a ton of these available used (which may or may not be concerning), it was just a matter of finding the right size and color at a price I was willing to pay. This ended up giving me my first experience with buying from the TackTack app. Everything went smoothly, and I ended up with a basically new girth for a song.

I had my first ride in it today, and so far it seems to tick all of the boxes. No rubs, allows the billets to hang straight down, and fits her well. Time will tell if this ends up being our ultimate winner. I am crossing my fingers because I have no idea where I would go next.

[nerdacious]

So now that the fic has been finished for a bit I have some questions about the making of Partners and Paper Trails. I'm just curious about what it was like to write it (and wondering whether my experiences writing for this fandom are universal). No pressure to answer!

Generally speaking, did you find Harry's chapters or Kim's chapters harder/easier to write?

Which parts of the fic (either POV) were your favorite to write? Alternatively, which parts were unexpectedly frustrating?

From what I understand, you wrote the entire fic ahead of time and then edited it as you went along, but didn't start publishing it until the first draft was entirely finished. Do you have any advice for someone who's attempting to write a long fic following a similar process?

(as a secret fourth question, if there's any hidden lore/details that people didn't seem to pick up on/something else fic related you want to share and haven't had the opportunity to, I'm all ears. love me some secret lore 👀)

Sorry it took me so long to respond, I was working on my response instead of working and then I was like crap, I should probably do work, and then I actually went out and did stuff with people irl for once lol. So now I'm back home and can answer this!

Generally speaking, did you find Harry's chapters or Kim's chapters harder/easier to write?

There were aspects of both that were difficult. I spent a whole other fic in Kim's head so I had more practice with him, but I think Harry ended up being a little easier or at least more fun. I could break up reactions and thoughts into each of his aspects vs the solid paragraphs of Kim's chapters. You also can just do more wacky stuff with Harry and his skills. However, it was hard to remember all of the skills. Like, I did Encyclopedia so dirty. After a point I kind of just forgot about him or didn't feel like thinking up facts for him to chime in about lol

Which parts of the fic (either POV) were your favorite to write? Alternatively, which parts were unexpectedly frustrating?

My favorite thing to write is dialogue, especially when Kim and Harry are really getting into the groove of the case and when they get their little banters going. I also really like competence porn so Harry wasn't nearly as much of a mess as he could be in game. It was a bit of a wish fulfillment fic in that I wanted to see Harry doing better for himself and not just for Kim. I think directly after Martinaise he probably was doing worse than the point he's at in the start of the fic.

The hardest part was writing the case and trying not to make it too obvious (but it definitely was so I had to hope people enjoyed it regardless haha). I'd never done a mystery before so coming up with what happened and how/what they discovered was challenging. So I guess that's not really unexpectedly difficult. Writing the actual porn was unexpectedly frustrating! A majority of what I write is smut so it was like "why is this so difficult???". I had to get that last chapter perfect (I still don't think it is, but what writer ever does) because I dragged it out long enough and I didn't want to let anyone down. It's very different from what I originally had. I also had never written d/s before, thankfully my editor has experience in that realm so he had really good pointers even though it's really light in the fic lol. I still don't know how successful I was with the smut for this one.

From what I understand, you wrote the entire fic ahead of time and then edited it as you went along, but didn't start publishing it until the first draft was entirely finished. Do you have any advice for someone who's attempting to write a long fic following a similar process?

Some people can just write and post as they go, but I have way too much anxiety to start posting something that isn't finished. I also have way too much ADHD to trust that once I started something I actually would finish it. I've also seen too many fics that don't know or don't want to quit so they just keep going past the point where it would have been a good/interesting ending (not really in this fandom, I just mean in general). So, yes, I finished it, had my editor do an initial read, made some general edits based on his feedback, and then he did a more in-depth edit of the first few chapters and then I started posting them. Some chapters I added a lot more to them during this stage and some chapters stayed pretty much the same. There are a few chapters that haven't been edited because he was unexpectedly unavailable for an extended period of time and I didn't want to stop the momentum. I didn't really have a beta reader for this one, but I asked a few people to beta specific chapters. It's not something I typically would want, I'd have preferred to have a beta for all of it, but it is what it is (or was rather). So all of that is to say, you don't have to do it that way lol, but I would at least have an outline and stopping point and stick to it. And if you want a beta reader, find someone who's opinion you trust and who you can trust will be honest with you. Also don't get rid of anything entirely. If you like something, but it doesn't work, cut it and paste it in a separate document because you might find a way to bring it back or parts of it back in other places. Also make copies for version control. Once I finished it, I made a copy so if I changed something too much in the final version but didn't like it, I could either refer back to or restore parts from the original.

As for secret lore/things no one mentioned:

In the first chapter, when Mollins first flips the siren on, Harry has an adverse reaction to the sound because of his encounter with The Pigs. Then there's an Esprit De Corps check about her listening to her police shows. (Hilarious fact: I couldn't remember her real name correctly at first and before I double checked the wiki I thought it was Marine Le Pen loool)

This goes back to the first fic, but Kim bought a book on how to support someone in addiction recovery and the receipt shows he bought it when he first started as a detective with Eyes. If you take the radiation drug in the game, there's mention of Kim possibly having had a partner with addiction. Also based on his many comments on seeing officers in much worse condition and having only one partner, I'm guessing he's talking about Eyes so I went with that. I still have no idea what exactly happened with Eyes in my story, though.

Shivers helps Kim open the door to the Linnea.

The reason Johnny's body was dropped off in the Harbor is because there had been a bank robbery in Jamrock at the time and there were cops everywhere looking for anything suspicious. That's a tidbit that didn't make it into the text.

The people in Harry's Shivers check in the first part of his final POV chapter are the people that would have been targeted next.

Thanks for asking these questions, they were fun to answer!

[1000roughdrafts]

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hi everyone :) I have missed you all so much! I have been kicking myself these last two years for being gone for so long. Not only did I feel like I was letting y'all down, I felt like I was letting myself down. Writing is my biggest passion, and I felt like I abandoned it, and you. For context, before I left, I had Covid pretty bad, and am now suffering from long-term effects with my health because of it (that are thankfully more under control now). After having Covid I left a toxic relationship to unwittingly enter another, even more toxic and controlling relationship (whew is that a story!) and I learned that I have ADHD! (How fun is that!)

Anyway, to everyone that's still following me,

No seriously, thank you for sticking around!!

I have been working on some stuff for the last few months that I am so excited to share with y'all!

A few hours after this post will be a little Valentine's Day fluff fic to come out. Then in the coming weeks, I have a song inspired DeanxReader fic to be coming out labeled If You're Gonna Lie, and the following requests (under the read more with snippets of the fic) ready right now, to be queued. The requests will be coming out first, and then my own idea fics.

If you're interested in updating the tag list (whether that is adding your url, removing it or checking for accuracy) click here :) Next fic to be posted February 28th so if you want to update the tag list, be sure to do so before then :)

"Yes! Why does everyone keep asking me if I'm okay!" she growls, "first my dad, then John, now you!" She throws her hand onto her stomach to try to push away the pain. Sam is taken aback by this, and that's when he notices that her hand is held tightly on her stomach. Suddenly, it all makes sense. Sam is confident that this isn't Y/N, that Y/N is in there somewhere, fighting to be free from whatever demon is possessing her.

I hear my name in Dean's voice from a distance, but I'm surrounded by total darkness. I try so hard with all of my might to tell him I'm here, that it's okay, but the words don't come. Just as it takes all of my strength to open my eyes, but they burn. Everything burns. I don't even try to suppress the scream that bellows out of me. Taking as deep of a breath as I can, I'm scared for myself when it sounds and feels like I'm breathing a water and air mixture. "What's happening?" I manage to say, but Dean puts a finger to my lips. "No, no," he soothes, "no, just don't talk. It's okay," he says so gently, and as he maneuvers me into his lap I cry out in agonizing pain. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he says, then his voice switches into a shaky, fear filled yell for Castiel that hurts my heart almost as much as my wound hurts.

Y/N always felt like she had big shoes to fill, being third born after two boys. She never really formed a bond with John like the eldest Winchester had, despite her best efforts to impress the man. Her next role model was Dean, who became more of a father to her than John ever could be.  Up until her eleventh birthday Dean did her hair into pigtails, partly because he didn’t know how to do any other hair style, but mostly because he thought it was the cutest on her. He’d pack her and Sam’s lunch with snacks he’d bought from vending machines and even pretend to take her on hunts because he knew how eager she was to be just like him.  When she wasn’t learning about monsters and guns with Dean, she was spending her time with Sam. He’d help her with her homework, or play board and card games. They had as much in common as Y/N and Dean, neither Sam nor Y/N got along with John, and neither really knew their mothers. 

Speaking of requests, I'll leave them open for now but I can't promise all will be fulfilled as I try to get my groove. My schedule as I get back into things, I think, will be one fic every other week.

I also updated my master lists and will be posting them later today, to then put them all in one master master list lol

Thank you all for still being here and I hope you like what will be coming out soon :)

Current PermaTags @waywardblueshun @81mysteriouslyme @drakelover78 @soab1967 @shutupandfeedmethings @pollywantacracker666 @sonnierae26 @obsessed5sosfreak @tlovescoffee @hobby27 @cluz1babe @emptycanvasposts @suckmyapplejacks @sigrunsavestheday @flamencodiva

Dean @akshi8278 @squirrelnotsam @laxe-from-outer-space @ellewritesfix05 @cluz1babe @lyarr24 @mrspeacem1nusone @idksupernaturl @fandom-princess-forevermore @stoneyygirl

Sam @fangirlxwritesx67 @tlovescoffee @immafangirlmess @sizekinkshawty

[mymuseagustd]

#1 Playback

Something small to get started. I’m writing after a long time so, I’m hoping it’ll only take me a couple to get into the groove of things. 

Pairing: Yoongi x F!reader

Genre: Fluff, Non-idol AU

Warnings: a kiss towards the end...

---x---

There are particular moments in life which take you back to a strong memory. It feels like that moment when it happened happens again in front of you, like a performance, like you’re there again, and like you are right there next to me. 

This moment as I choose a book for my bag to go to the gym takes me back to….

“Why is your little bag so heavy?” He asks, taking it from me as I try to balance in my heels. 

“My bag? It’s not,” I say mindlessly as I climb down the stairs in my newly bought 6-inch stilettos, which were mysteriously very comfortable in the shop but are playing out to be true betrayers. 

“Are you sure you want to wear those? It’s just a party for Dae-Jung’s new job. It’s not a big deal,” he says, wearing my little bag on his shoulders and putting his hands out so I can balance with him, not the railing. 

“I want my legs to look hot,” I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t look the hottest even. I’m going to my boyfriend’s ex’s new boyfriend’s party, who happened to be childhood buddies with my boyfriend, and as his new girlfriend, I had to look hot. He rolls his eyes as I give him my explanation. 

“And, am I to carry this little heavy bag because I don’t see you balancing your legs and this bag on these,” he smirks, pointing to my heels, as I try to slide into the car seat. “And it doesn’t go with my outfit.” 

“I will manage, thank you. All you have to do is stand strong like a pillar next to me so I can lean on you and my bag, and I will be fine!” I snatch my bag from him. 

“What will you do if I need to use the washroom?” He laughs. 

“You’ll be so jealous when another man comes in and offers to be the pillar and hold my bag. I’m going to be such a charmer at this party, and your ex will want to date me!” I hit his arm as he backed out of the parking spot and started driving. 

“I think she will date you even if you are boring,” he puts his hand on the back of my neck and my face closer to his. “These legs look so hot.” He whispers, kissing my cheek. “Now, when it comes to carrying this bag, though….”

“It’s not heavy! It just has my mobile, keys, wallet and two books, and it’s really not -….” 

“Two books!” The car halts, and thankfully it’s a red light. “Why the hell are you carrying two books? Wait, how is this bag fitting two books!” He takes it from me. 

“I always carry a book. I can read it when -“

“When you’re being charming? We are going to a party! You have Homo Deus here. This is not a thin book that you can sneak in, and why do you have this-?” he takes out the book he has been reading since this morning. 

“What if we get bored? I’m prepared, Yoongi,” I shrug, stuffing them back into my bag. 

“You’re insane, and I don’t know how I love you,” He shakes his head as he starts driving again, and he does not realise what he has just confessed or how my cheeks have turned red. His phone rings, and he tells his friend he is on his way with me, and I make sure I never forget to carry a book. 

This moment as I pick a packet of green chillies takes me back to…

“This is not spicy,” Yoongi is red. The deep-red tablecloth on the restaurant table matches his face as he vehemently tries to tell me, “I don’t know why you think it is because it isn’t.”

I don’t say anything as I take another bite. 

“I mean, I can argue that there are other things the chef could have done to add flavour to this dish. But, he chose to add long-ass green chillies, so maybe we won’t come here again, but I don’t think we should send this back because it’s not bad.” He has started sweating, and I can see he is trying to sound angry to hide this.

“It’s not spicy, I know,” I say. 

“Yeah, it’s not.” He waves his hand for more water. 

“I just don’t like the taste. So, I’m going to order the chicken instead, which, see, only has two chillies next to it vs the five in your pick so that I can taste something else,” I order the dish before Yoongi can argue, which he can’t cause he is gulping down the water before the waiter could finish pouring it. “You don’t have to eat it, but look at me,” I quickly snap a picture. 

He does eat it. He eats my whole dish, and I pick up his chicken because it actually isn’t that spicy, but Yoongi’s not good when it comes to green chillies. I show him the picture with his face matching the tablecloth, “I hate you.” He says, taking my hand into his.

This moment as I take the wine bottles to the bin, takes me back to…

Yoongi’s hands find my face before his lips do. Cold lips and then his tongue make it down my neck as I try to squeeze his shoulders and biceps, slowly trailing my hands down to his ass so I can pull him closer to me. There is a lot of confidence in my system tonight, and this confidence has brought the man I’ve been crushing on for weeks to my bedroom. 

“We can take it slow,” He says as he pulls off my bra. 

“We really shouldn’t,” I protest a bit too fast as I try to pull his sweater off his body. I look back into his eyes, only to see him looking at me with fondness and a soft smile. “This is not how you should be looking at me right now.” 

Yoongi laughs, wrapping his hands around my waist, making our bodies press against each other, “You’re cute, but we have time,” I know he is trying to give me space. We, technically, were only on our second date. 

“What would you do if we had no time?” I tried to bat my eyelashes and give my best innocently inquisitive look. Yoongi’s lips are on mine again before I can see his response. I feel his hand on my stomach as he slightly pushes me back, making me fall onto my bed. 

“My head is doing that dizzy thing right now,” I gasp as he lays my head on the pillow, and hovers over my body, staring right down at my breasts.  

“That’s what three bottles of wine would do to you,” he laughs, his hands coming up to cup my cheek. 

“And you,”

“And me.” 

I like these moments that pull you back to these memories so that you can live again. 

@mymuseagustd@2023

[thunderxleafart]

Hey y'all!  You'll never guess who got sick immediately after getting over being sick before!

That's right, this gal! xD Though thankfully it came and went quickly so I'm feeling better now!

All joking aside though, September has gone exactly like August did. And unfortunately I've just really not had the motivation for art. I've been in a depressive slump as of late, not just with art but in general, so I apologize for being so inactive. :( Though I have been able to doodle a few things here and there, I'm not ready to post any of that yet, if ever lol. It's mostly just comfort doodles and experimental stuff to try and get my groove back.

But I do still wanna at least try to keep this account alive, so I dug up this piece for y'all!

I actually drew this a good while ago now, I just didn't feel confident in posting it. But I was pretty happy with it, and still am, so you know what? Screw my anxiety, I'm gonna post it anyway! xD 

Ever since I was little, I've always had a soft spot for Shadow and Silver. And I really like them as a duo! Their dynamic has a lot of potential. Especially since they've honestly both lost so, so much, and both of them absolutely need a hug because of it. So why not let 'em hug each other? :D

So here they are! ^^

I wanna thank y'all for sticking around while I try to work through personal stuff, I really do appreciate it. ;; And here's to hoping I can get back into the swing of things soon and get back to posting my silly lil blorbos! xD

But that's all for now! And as always, thanks for looking everybody!~ ^w^

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Shadow & Silver (c) SEGA Art (c) Me! <3

[ask-the-friendly-ink-demon]

Some Big Changes Are In Order.

howdy. been a long time since i talked on here hasn't it? im still alive! still kicking, but sadly an majorty of my muse of Bendy has been well. diminished over the years, and i hate that, cause i still remember all the fun times i had on here, all the people i met and made friends with, friends i still talk to this very day, and the character growth we built upon. and seeing how it's a new year now, well. despite my current fixations being on other stuff, i do still think about this place daily because (heavy personal stuff inbound) well. being on tumblr during the bendy phase of 2018 and onwards... helped me. it helped me get through some bad times, bad shit. and overall made me improve a lot better, it was a lot more Positive than DA that was for sure. i still miss some of the people i used to talk to, like Dani, Oreo's Mun, Avi, those kinds of people, but i feel like mostly it's on me being as active as a cryptid LOL, but those people along with a lot of others have genuinely helped me indirectly become a better person. and for that i thank them, and all of you for still sticking around, waiting for when things can continue, they will! no doubt about that, it's just... gonna take a bit before well. i get back into the groove my friend Doodlez has been slowly unintentionally getting me back into the Bendy Muse because i genuinely do enjoy talking about my AU, like writing stuff out, talking about the events, changing up old ideas to make way for new ones, and despite how grounded im trying to make this AU feel, i'll never get rid of the whackiness feel it has to it because one, these are toons, and two, demons LOL but yeah, seeing people genuinely listen to me ramble on and on about my Bendy AU, even if it's just the backstory to some of the characters, it's made me feel well. happy. to finally talk about this project that has made me somewhat famous on here lol (i mean i hope so anyways. i know im not on that big big famous kind of level but, i would assume im well known.) so yeah! uhm, some big changes are in order! i am going to pretty much, try to focus back on this! as much as i can anyways i can't promise that i'll be active 24/7 like i used to be cause im more active on a lot of other platforms and working on other projects but, i can promise that i'll be more semi-active instead of being like an cryptid being spotted once every blue moon. i will be changing up the story an big, mostly the stories that lead up to the current events. try to make them more grounded and i would also like to revisit some old stuff that happened and try to make them fit more into what i now envision into my AU, while i do miss the friends prowler has made, the friends I have made, i thankfully do still talk to their creators like maxx, Luna, TK, Doodlez, that sort of thing, and im glad to still be in contact with them. but yeah, some big changes are once again in order, stay tune and keep an eye out! who knows, you may see something that will catch you eye! that's all, let's hope that this year is well. a lot more kind, and to those who took the time to read this, thanks for tuning in but now i gotta head off, stay cool guys.