#eye bags babey

[snacobie]

Rough day, commander?

[killuaisaprincess]

💛💜🖤🤍🖤💜💛

[fairymint]

Wistfully: "One of these days, I'll eat that orange."

"An orange? a nice big, juicy orange??? But you neeeeeds it. Fruit goes bad..." Fidgeting, anxious, and definitely a problem that he's had before. Nevermind that he's neutral towards oranges himself, but a mild hope of casting some desire towards it...

"Is the middle of summer anyway, and so small...you should eats it next time you need a drink, or for cooking..." If he's around at that time, be sure that he's going to marvel at the most mundane shit like eating with sparkly eyes- that's just what being handsome and admired does for a guy...

[seiwas]

₊˚⊹｡ 7:17 a.m. | kirishima eijirou

wc: 741

summary: when it gets too much, you’re met with the man you love.  

contains: written with f!reader in mind (but no pronouns mentioned), comfort fic, mentions of anxiety/overwhelming feelings, kiri is the best to ever

a/n: inspired by a prompt from @/nightprompts: “there it is, there’s that smile!”. willow this is for you and the immeasurable way we love this babey buff boy

reposted to appear in tags.

You don’t know how Kirishima does it, being all… him all the time. 

A part of you always thinks you don’t deserve it—how he meets you with tender understanding when you can’t even muster a smile. 

You should be dealing with this on your own. 

By yourself. 

Not with him having to stay home a while longer instead of starting his morning in the gym, where he can enjoy the rare time he has to himself. 

You feel terrible. 

“Sorry, it’s nothing, just—” you sigh, pressing your palms to your eyes. Your hands are still damp from washing the dishes. 

Kirishima’s presence has always been hard to miss—big, bright, and entirely all-comforting. He crosses the kitchen island to get to you now, hand reaching for the back of your head as he pushes you gently towards his chest.

It’s that familiar presence that makes you feel like crying right now. 

“Hey, hey,” he shushes, his other hand rubbing up and down your lower back, “it’s okay.”  

He’d already gotten ready for the gym when he heard the clatter, rushing out to the kitchen with his protein shaker in one hand and gym bag over his shoulder. You’d toppled over the dish soap and groaned out in frustration, watching the liquid ooze down the drain along with every bit of your self-composure. 

It was one of those things; one of those days—that feeling you’ve been having lately triggered by the simplest, most unrelated occurrence. 

Kirishima doesn’t say anything, just lets his heartbeat do the talking. Steady, grounding, like a weighted blanket wrapping itself around you. 

He’s not going to be able to squeeze in a gym session before work if he stays with you any longer like this. 

“You should go soon,” you mumble, voice muffled against his chest, the dri-fit material of his muscle tank cool against your forehead. 

“In a bit,” he whispers, only holding you closer. 

There are days when words are never enough. How can you possibly explain the thoughts bouncing within the walls of your mind? How do you describe a feeling that spirals into layers upon layers of them? 

You don’t tell him of your anxieties often because you think he has enough to worry about. His job, on the day-to-day, is all about that: concerning himself with others so they don’t have to worry as much.

But you know the man you love. 

The one who watches how you make your coffee so he can leave a cup for you right before he crashes to bed from evening patrol the night before. The one who always listens, smiles as he sneaks glances to look at you sharing work-gossip while passing him the colored clothes for laundry day. 

Even without you saying anything, you know he can tell it’s been tough lately. 

Your eyes don’t shine the same and you’ve been quieter—the smile you have around him is more subdued, sometimes even forced just to make it seem like everything’s okay. 

There’s a slight sway to the way he’s holding you, a subtle lulling that he’s picked up from the times you’ve saved him from his demons too. 

You sink deeper into his chest. 

“”M sorry,” you murmur.

“For what?” his cheek rests atop your head, moving as he speaks. 

“Your gym time…” you trail off, lowering your hands to grip at his sides. 

He scoffs, “Just realized it's a rest day anyway.”

You both know he isn’t fooling anyone with it. 

“Nothing to be sorry about,” he reassures you, kissing the top of your head before adjusting his embrace. He hunches lower to nuzzle your neck. 

The contemplative hum that escapes you tells him you still feel bad about it, so he gently squeezes your waist, a playful effort to ease you up. 

“Ei…” you whine. He knows you’re ticklish there. 

“Seriously, hugging you’s way better than gym time anyway.” 

You know the man you love, the one who’ll say anything to make you feel better. He feels the corners of your lips curl up against his chest, and thinks it’s just a little bit more until he gets what he wants from you. 

So he slowly inches his lips right below your ear and blows a raspberry to get you to laugh, the way he always does when he’s cuddling you. You swat at his chest almost immediately, squirming in his hold, but you’re laughing, and he hears it, then he thinks: there it is, there’s that smile. 

The one he loves putting on you.

comments, tags, and reblogs are greatly appreciated ♡

[wulfhalls]

i can't believe i built up the answer to stewy's what's in it for me question in my head like yeah actually can't wait to see ken bullshit his way through this one and then it's just him batthing his pretty eyes at stewy and going well you're my bestie. and IT FUCKING WORKS.... stewy stand the fuck up man

ken licherally was giving nothing he was just standing there looking like the saddest wettest paper towel going :/ and stewy immediately went hihihaha kenny babey no problem I got u I have u ur my main man u know that kenny <3333 lets get u that promo babe no problem 😊 and then he power walks into the inner circle jerk meeting lounges luxuriously around says words throws looks and secures the bag! ken is never beating the trophy husband allegations and he's like hes not even a trophy he's licherally just some guy he's not even some guy he's just like there.a guy that's there and he still got stewy in the trenches doing all of that after fucking him over 34 separate times in the last year like. stewy. brother. ur on the floor uve been there so long u dont even realise ur down. u need to get UP.

[sansaorgana]

headcanons for aegon x bimbo!reader please😭

Modern!Aegon Targaryen x Bimbo!Reader Headcanons:

🎀 you love to whine all the time just to get his attention

🎀 you sit on his lap while he plays his video games because you're an attention whore

🎀 you take him shopping with you and he's carrying your bags and watches you try all the clothes on. he's bored as fuck but he keeps complimenting you

🎀 you ask him to help you to apply/re-apply your lisptick/lip balm

🎀 you always call him some cringey nicknames he is embarrassed of when you do that in front of his friends

🎀 "honey bear", "babey", "daddy"

🎀 you let him touch your boobs and thighs all the time when you wear more slutty outfits

🎀 sloppy make out sessions in public because why not

🎀 he never lets you drive his car but he's often drunk and you pick him up from the club. that's the main reason why his car looks like a mess now

🎀 alicent used to dislike you at first but after some time she got used to you and she even started to find you cute as she grows more and more maternal towards you. she totally accepted you at this point

🎀 helaena was scared of you at first because you seem to be so cool and she is just a weirdo but you actually spend time with her and listen to her and ask her questions about the bugs. you don't like bugs but you're fascinated as you make wide eyes, listening to her theories

🎀 you're an astrology hoe. you make astrology charts of you and aegon and talk to him all the time about it. he's kinda sick of that but he wouldn't tell you

🎀 you ask him the dumbest questions all serious and he's frustrated by that sometimes but not in an angry way, just... he's so #done

🎀 he's a college dropout but you hype him up all the time, saying he can take over his father's business one day. when he says it's impossible because his father actually finished university degree to manage it, you don't get it. aegon could get a degree any day, right?

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

preemptively sorry for how fucking long this is it is YOUR FAULTT THOUGH!!!! large bowl of seeds for u. it is almost 2am sorry.

SO. there are. two ways to assign the prime defenders powers etc. the first way is just, like, categorize their existing powersets within the prt framework, & the second is to give them entirely new abilities based on the way worm works. delightfully, all the powers they Do have work really well for the most part, so even that doesn't require a ton of shuffling.

categorizing their pre-existing powers:

wiwi-- breaker w/ a shaker subclass. neither of them rated very high, but that's already a rare and versatile enough combination!!

dakota-- brute babeeeey!!! brute/mover its so straightforward. hell yeah babey. i don't know what he'll end up looking like post-heart removal & stuff but my guess is that'll end up looking more like a mover/striker.

vyncent-- now THIS one gave me trouble. i... hm. to say this without talking about stuff that i don't think has come up much already, (hey!! you're at that clockblocker pov! directly related to what flechette says!) i'd call him a grab-bag cape, irt the greats at least. post-greats-- again, i don't know what his powerset will look like after this arc! but if he's going all in w/ the fire magic, that would for sure be some striker shit! :]]]

giving them new powers... man i'm reining myself in so hard from five more paragraphs on Why exactly i'm saying all this.

wiwi still breaker for sure, maybe breaker-master, maybe master-stranger. yknow. powers are fluid, the prt categories are pretty rigid. i... don't know. enough about his situation yet to be clearer than that vague idea yet-- i really like the idea of him just. ditching his body & using a noncorporeal form but he still has to keep an eye on his body i think that's great. the noncorporeal form would b able to change its visibility but still b limited by proximity to the body. & fluctuating energy shit powered by fluctuating amounts of recent-death in the area, maybe probably also limited in that it's only accessible in his breaker form.... also i think u will appreciate this style note from the [UNNAMED PARAHUMANS TTRPG] i'm referencing a lot here.

dakota--in this situation he probably would not. have that mechanical heart and shit. he' would still be a mover/thinker-- thinker rating is for faster mental processing + senses imminent pain for the people in his immediate vicinity. not danger, just pain; it immediately registers ambiently & can be generally traced back to whoever it is. no he can't turn it off ever, it manifests as feeling a similar level of pain, yes it works on himself. + mover-- he can fucking fly. no super strength, just very fast flight & the general "won't splat himself flying into something" capabilities, which meshes well w/ the faster processing & reflexes. i'm split on how exactly this would work mechanically but i will NOT go into that now. i am also not going into the 15k discussion in my brain on why dakota 'notoriously bad at thinking about things' cole would be a thinker but u gotta trust the process ok??

vyncent-- trump!!!! somehow this is the only straightforward one to me? he can copy powers at the full strength or ability level of the original for an unspecified amount of time that's usually 1-30 minutes by touching the cape. crucially, he doesn't have any edge on how to use these powers + can easily misuse or become extremely overwhelmed by them. he's easily the most powerful out of the three of them <33

ashe-- ashe is NOT HERE currently and also it's 1:30 am so i gotta go fucking sleep soon BUT they would be a master. easy. :o) they can make some lil guys n do stuff with them!!!!

in general these are pretty fucking cracked abilities, all of them would b oosely above a seven or so in a number rating once they're really settled in their powers-- this is mostly because i'm assuming that they would still be heirs-apparent to the prime force equivalent, which would b the triumvirate :]] anyway. good lord. this is like the cliff notes edition of what i've been thinking and scribbling in the notes app for the past several hours. sorry if it's fucking incomprehensible. gn!!! <333

AAAAAH FUCK YESSSSSS OKAY OKAY OKAY my response is probably going to be equally as long. so it's fine. oooouh buddy.

I KNOW WHAT BREAKER MEANS NOW !!! I dontttt think ive learned shaker yet. breaker is like.... breaking the laws of physics/shifting planes or whatever. PERFECT for william hell yes. for putting them actually in worm world ... ughhhh breaker/master william is REALLY cool. I havwnt learned stranger yet but i think he would develop a complex over being classified as stranger <3 (like how weld doesn't like that he's classified as a brute even though that's not exactly what it means, he just doesn't like the word) . GODDDD just thinking abt putting pd boys in worm is fucking me up haven't they been through enough. I want to see them all in a fit of despair. william ditching his body is SO good I miss when he would do that, also the powers being limited by how far away he is AND THE AMOUNT OF RECENT DEATH IN THE AREA. holy shit. that's so fucking good . im sure he would not overthink at all the fact that he is stronger when more people around him have died . I'm sure he'd do awesome in the leviathan fight for sure for sure .

DAKOTA BRUTE <3 DAKOTA BRUTE/MOVER I LOVE THIS A LOTTTTTT hellbyes. awesome. it's so perfect for him <3 worm world I'm SURPRISED u didn't stick with brute for him. eyes emoji. I trust your judgement but now i am Thinking... Hmm..... YOU BRING INTO QUESTION something I have been thinking about. and I'm going to probably get derailed a little here but stay with me. how the way powers manifest directly relate to the trigger event. because for a WHILE before we learned taylors I was like "OH i bet the powers are going to be directly related to what traumatic thing happened to them" and then we learn about taylor and grue and a couple more and I kind of lost that theory because while you can. technically draw relations between their powers and their events it seemed like too much of a stretch to do . HOWEVER now my thinking has changed AGAIN and I think the powers ARE related to specific trigger events but it's not as straightforward as "oh something scary happened to you with bugs so now you have bug powers" I think it's gonna be more complicated than that. WHICH. THE WAY THIS RELATES. BACK ON TOPIC NOW. to DAKOTA . assuming his trigger event is still he and katori falling off the building I think it's AWESOME that his powers would manifest as FLIGHT for one. and the fucking. pain sense thing. fuck me up. dakota extreme hero complex cole would be so fucked up by a power where he ambiently senses pain from the people around him at all times and cannot turn it off. I'm sure he would feel so normal about being around william chronic pain wisp 24/7. also I can SO CLEARLY imagine how this power specifically would lead to him getting super overwhelmed in chaotic situations like he does in canon. and just fucking. bolt out of there because it's too much. again. he'd have such a wonderful time in the leviathan fight

I AM AT CLOCKBLOCKER POV !!!! actually technically I'm on kid win pov now but I haven't finished his chapter yet. vyncent grab bag cape..... yeah... I think it would be EXTREMELY funny imagining the PRT in pd world trying 2 classify vyncent like. what the fuck does this kid do . what do we do with him. hes got other guys in his head that give him powers. is he a master??? no he can't fucking control them. is he a striker??? only SOMETIMES. is he a blaster?? AGAIN ONLY SOMETIMES. cannot classify him bitch!!!!!!!! giving him worm powers though.. UGH. being able to touch someone and COMPLETELY copy their powers but only for a short period of time???? I fucking love that a lot. he WOULD be the most powerful out of them!!! I can hear taylors inner analysis dialogue about him now and it's very similar to the clockblocker "DONT LET HIM.TOUCH YOU" panic. loooove imagining this playing off of the rest of pd,,, i know there was AT LEAST one time where he had william sort of transfer some of his ghost powers for a minute? I think it was during the lich fight in the theatre but i just remember vycnent floating and going intangible and NOT KNOWING how to control it or anything. loveeee that. in world dynamics I feel like vyncent would be a late addition to their team (instead of coming from another world maybe he just. had his trigger event happen way later than the other two..or something.) and not trusting them as much at first/being REALLY shaky using either of their powers but after a while being really comfortable in a fight with using either Williams or dakotas powers in a fight. Just like. imagining the fluidity of how they'd work together in a tense situation assuming they're not being complete dumbasses <3333 UGH it's really good

AAAASHE ASHE ASHE IM SOOO SO GLAD YOU INCLUDED ASHE IN THIS I miss him.so much every day. from what I know so far master involves having/making/controlling some sort of minion (cannot think of a better word than that rn) AND I THINK THATS REALLYYYY perfect for ashe. i assume he would actually work pretty closely to canon in that his limitation would be the book? or if he doesn't have the book maybe his limitation would be a) having only a few different types of things he could summon (the big hand, the water fairy, duck etc) and/or b) only being able to control them.for a short amount of time after they're summoned so he has to be quick about dismissing them. can't keep the demon hand around for too long or it might start picking things up and throwing them at random. putting teammates in danger bc he can't control it anymore etc etc. alsooooooo in clockblocker pov they VERY briefly mentioned the possibility of having secondary trigger events (?!!!!?!?!) and you know I locked onto that SO FUCKING HARD. ashe being born with powers and then his secondary trigger event being his mom's death <3 im.NOT even going to attempt to talk about how the trickster would work in worm world/if it would even exist in this setting bc i don't know enough about the types of powers and things yet..but just know. I am keeping this in the back of my mind "this is a fun surprise tool that will help us later" style

[yakuzacanons]

I loved the Minecraft and Roblox headcanons!! They got me thinking how the boys would react to playing something on the VR! Like, full headset on and stuff!!

(imma be back with another request because I just love putting the blorbos in scenarios like these sksksks)

SKSKSKSK lol yeth also sorry for the late reply, inbox v full and me v busy. Headcanons below day cut, babey!

Kazuma Kiryu

Thinks the idea of VR is cool but the second he has the headset on, he is VERY confused. He's super worried abbout hitting someone or something so his movements end up being so small that it doesn't really register. Honestly would get motion sick.

Majima Goro

Fascinated by the idea and thinks it's super fun. However, he has zero idea what his range of motion is and swings around a lot so stand far away. Totally trips over furniture like he's in a Looney Tunes cartoon.

Akiyama Shun

Scared and confused. Type of guy to see stuff moving at him in VR and think it's coming at him for real. He gets used to it eventually. Type of guy to accicentally fall asleep with the headset on.

Saejima Taiga

The poor man has a giant head and most headsets don't fit him or at the least are very tight on his head so he gets headaches and can't play for long. Gets more into it than he predicted though. Particularly interested in first person shooters in VR.

Tanimura Masayoshi

Probably the only one out of all the boys who already knows what VR is and wants to get his own headset someday. Likes to test out different brands if he gets the opportunity to see which fits and feels best while playing. Might be the only one of the boys to even consider doing that, honestly. Seems like the type of guy to be into beatsaber in VR.

Ryuji Goda

Easily frustrated by VR. Also part of the head-too-big-for-most-headsets team. Asks a lot of silly questions like "How do they get all the stuff inside this thing?!". Once he gets a hang of it though he feels like he's on top of the world. Has totally knocked over a chair during a VR session.

Nishikiyama Akira

Likely the only one of the boys to already own a VR headset. Seems like the type of guy to like farming sims or rhythm games specifically. Doesn't get as much time to play as he'd like. Still always impressed at how cool things look in VR and says "Wow" a lot.

Daigo Dojima

Clueless as all hell. He understands what VR does but doesn't quite have a hold on the physical movements. The hand to eye coordination will take a while. You might have to demonstrate the moves to him to which he will mimic you best as he can and say "Like this? Or... like THIS?" while waving his arms around.

Mine Yoshitaka

Won't really care here nor there about VR until he realizes he can play fighting games. Virtual punching bag sounds fun as hell to him and it's an outlet for him. Hasn't ever done VR before but learns the fastest out of everyone.

Tatsuo Shinada

Crying and sobbing because he wants to try VR but is broke as hell. Even when he gets the chance to play, he just mostly looks around and is like "Wow, games can look THIS good?". Very impressed by graphics. Doesn't like combat heavy games as he will just let out a funny scared noise when something comes at him and just drop the controllers.

[sloaaaa]

MY POKEMON BRAINCELLS HAVE BEEN REACTIVATED!!!!!! i kinda wanna open trainersona + pokemon team comms but i still gotta finish my current queue shjkdfg n i would be posting this on my art acc but i made the draft in my main so :((

also watch me ramble about my dream team under the cut

alRIGHT YOU CLICKED THE READ MORE AND YOU’RE IN FOR A WORLD OF WORDS BABEY!!! let’s start w my trainer sona yeah? :]

enterr Sploo from Petalburg city! :D he/they. our trainer starts out in petalburg city of hoenn where his pokemon adventure begins! since the professor’s lab is just a few town away it doesn’t take much for them to get his hands on his starter pokemon treecko! the babey boy ;; he catches lotsa pokemon to fill out the dex, sometimes keeping them on his team, and other times letting them go. he doesn’t like having the pokemon all crammed in the pc boxes :( some pokemon stay for a few battles and others maybe a few days, but things change after defeating his first gym. he meets an electrike at route 110 under the seaside cycling road, she’s just a lil puppyyy a lil babeeeyyy ;;;; super fun playful lil guys sticks around the team! -w- after his fourth gym badge his parents give him a gift pokemon for making it halfway through the gym challenge! a klefki! :3 a tame n helpful lil guys who just enjoys holding keys -w- sploo then continues on to complete two more gyms before his family moves to alola.

now on the boat to alola with grovyle, manectric and klefki sploo kinda just stays by the side of the boat watching the waves go by -w- also trying not to get too seasick shjkdfgl a lone shiny fletchling perches by them and he tries real hard to keep the excitement in and offers the fletchling some sunflower seeds! and asks if the fletchling would like the join their team! i mean who wouldn’t wanna pass up the opportunity of having a shiny pokemon on their team? after docking at akala island sploo travels around and catches some more pokemon to register to the dex, releasing them after as usual. then upon exploring diglett’s tunnel he finds a cover fossil! after cleaning up the rocks and dirt off the fossil spectrobes origins wii style he brings it to the fossil restoration center just along the route and meets the fifth member of his team :] and finally the sixth member of the team! a jangmo-o found in poni canyon, sploo came across the jangmo-o with its head scale stuck in the branches of a fallen tree. he freed the jangmo-o and excpected it to run back to its herd but it kept challenging them for a battle. after a long fight the jangmo-o is worn out, and sploo helps it back up on its feet with some potions and a plate of oran berries. sploo sets up a little picnic in the canyon! :3 helping nurse the jangmo-o back to health -w- the lil dragon sneaks into sploo’s bag and brings out a pokeball in its maw, determination in its eyes. and that’s how the team get together! :D but if u think i am done u are soo wrong sjhkjdfgd now i’m gonna go more in depth with each team member >:]

let’s start with mister! the sceptile -w- he is a grass/dragon type even without the mega evolution bc we were robbed and it’s not fair that swampert and blaziken get double typings while sceptile stays just grass >:[ chill and laid back, my baby boy ;; starter pokemon! he has a sceptilite in the friendship bracelet sploo made for him! :3 when walking through forests and jungles and very tree dense areas he’s always out of his pokeball darting around through the trees while sploo walks through -w- sometimes sploo stops for a lil break so sceptile can take care of sick trees in the forets! when having picnics out in the wild he can be found sitting and photosynthesizing when not playing around the trees. and since sceptiles are cold blooded mister stays in his pokeball when travelling through colder icy areas and he also enjoys having flynt resting atop his head or nesting in his tail leaves -w-

next up is storm! the manectric! a playful steadfast and loyal companion -w- she likes being out of her pokeball a lot and walks with sploo through towns n stuff. she has the manectite embeded in her collar :3 and also sploo charges his phone, pokedex and pokenav+ by just stuffing the charger cable in her mane jshkdfg sploo keeps a pair of sturdy rubber gloves in his bag bc of her :P

steele! the klefki. a very mild mannered pokemon -w- the one who’s always out of its pokeball! other than holding sploo’s house keys it also holds his multitools! since they’re also made of metal and has more mass than keys it has more metal ions for klefki to feed on -w- sometimes sploo will punch holes in bottlecaps of drinks so steele can have more metal to feed on and to enhance its threatening jingle :] steele enjoys playing around with flynt a lot! flynt n steele ;-; they fly around a lot but don’t stray too far from sploo -w- steele does not participate in battles unless it’s to use fairy lock on a wild pokemon that sploo wants to catch

then there’s flynt! :D my shiny!!! >< flynt perches on sploo’s shoulder when travelling through frigid area to keep him warm ;-; also flynt uses fly to deliver handwritten letters to sploo’s friends! :D it lets flynt fly free and enjoy the wind when the pokeball starts feeling cramped -w- flynt finds an everstone as a fletchinder and starts sitting on it like an egg and gets really attached (like that eagle that’s sitting on a rock jshkdfg) so she just holds the everstone now :P

koopa! the tirtouga -w- a bit hard headed, koopa needs a while to warm up to new trainers. he was a bit hard headed to train but after a while things went more smoothly :] koopa loooves the beachside! :D he knows dive and surff and helps sploo travel through water terrain! it’s a lot like how koopa shells worked in super mario galaxy where you hold on to a shell and it propels you through the water :3 stays in his pokeball most of the time unless it’s by the beachside or lake or any body of water

and last but not least rookie! the jangmo-o, a trusty and honorable battler! >:D much like ash's riolu from pokemon journeys! it takes a bit for the rookie to get used to the feeling of the chip in his head scale. but sooner or later rookie gets the hang of it -w- rookie loves getting to battle, but since sploo is a casual trainer and more focused on completing the dex and dragon types need more battling than usual to evolve dragon types rookie just stays as a jangmo-o :c not that he minds but yeagh

mister, storm, and rookie are the ones usually out for battles, flynt and koopa sometimes come out for battle too either when they get the urge or when they’re needed for certain type matchups! okay thank you for reading about my silly little guys they mean a lot to me and means a lot that you’d wanna read about them ;-;

[peppermintsparker]

this kiss [ E.MUNSON ]

SUMMARY -- you've been in love with your best friend for a while now. it takes almost losing him to confess your love. WARNINGS -- kind of angsty, literally tooth-rotting fluff, first kiss but kind of badly written because i don't know how to write them, explicit language AUTHORS NOTE -- first eddie fic babey!!!! dedicated to my fellow twisted sister (who somehow puts up with my chaos) @starbxcks

It had been Dustin to tell you what happened. You had already known all about the towns supposed curse, and you knew what happened to Chrissy Cunningham, but what you didn't know was that Eddie and the others were going to the Upside Down to stop Vecna.

In all honesty, you're pretty pissed that he didn't tell you before he went.

"Y/n." Steve stopped you before you entered the room they had put Eddie in to recover. He could see just how worried and angry you were, and he knew it could be detrimental to Eddie's recovery if he let you in like this.

"Don't try to fucking stop me, Harrington" you snarled. You were not in the mood for games, or talk to anyone that wasn't Eddie. But the anger came second place to the worry that threatened to completely destroy you. "Just let me go and see him. I need to see he's okay."

It was a thirty second stare down before Steve relented and moved his arm from blocking the door. He catches you by the wrist as you're about to walk through it, "just be prepared okay Y/n? It looks bad."

You thank him, taking a deep breath in and out before you walk in. Eddie's laying in bed, eyes closed with his wounds cared for. At first glance, you'd assume he was asleep but you knew him too well. "Oh Eds." You whisper, sitting on the chair next to his bed and carefully holding one of his hands.

"Hey, sunshine." Eddie whispered, gently squeezing your hand before he opened his eyes. He tries to smile, but you don't miss the wince as he does, nor can you stop yourself from crying. "Hey, it's okay. I'm okay. Just a little banged up, see."

With your spare hand, you wipe your tears away before smiling at him. "You idiot, moonlight." Your voice is thick, and you're in disbelief that he survived. Especially if the attack was as bad as Dustin described to you. "I thought I'd lost you. What Dustin had said. Please, just tell me before you decide to do anything like that again."

Eddie just about garners the energy to nod, and you can tell he's worn out, "Go to sleep. I'll still be here when you wake up, I promise."

It's five hours before Eddie wakes up again, you had dozed off in the chair. Head lolling backwards, mouth open with a tiny slither of drool at the side, but Eddie swears you're still the most beautiful girl in the world. "Hey, sleepyhead." He squeezes your hand again, hard enough to wake you but not hard enough to hurt you.

"You feeling a bit better now?" You ask, Eddie nodding earnestly in response. He looks better, you admit, less exhausted and more alert. It's the sleep, and the IV rehydrating him, which does it you suppose, but Eddie knows that it's your presence making him feel better. Not that he'll tell you anytime soon.

"They're saying they might discharge me soon. They want to do one more wound check, make sure there's no infection, and they want to administer more antibiotics but then I should be good to go." Eddie tells you, a hopeful smile on his face.

You know what that smile means, "good." You express your pure relief at the news, "I hope you don't mind me staying. Because I'm not leaving your side until you're recovered."

Eddie doesn't say it, but he doesn't mind at all. He'd do anything to keep you by his side forever.

It's a long one and a half weeks before the discharge papers are signed. Whilst he's being instructed on wound care, you pack up everything that the two of you had to keep you going during the stay. "Come on, let's go home." You sling the bag onto your shoulder, car keys in one hand and Eddie's hand in the other.

Part of you knows you should take him back to the trailer, but luckily for you, Wayne already knew Eddie would be staying with you for the foreseeable future. "This isn't the way to the trailer park?" Eddie reminds you, evidently confused as you drive in the wrong direction.

You don't say anything as you drive home. The surroundings became slightly more obvious to Eddie, and he doesn't miss the way your breath hitches slightly. It's another fifteen minutes before you reach home. Turning the engine off, you grab the bag from the back seat before helping the man beside you out the car.

"I thought you lived with your parents?" Eddie questions, as you take him on a general tour of the small one bedroom house. He knew he might have missed some things whilst he was hiding out, and then in the Upside down, but he also knew you'd have told him if something happened.

"They kicked me out. But aunt Marjorie left me this house in her will anyway, so I would have left sooner or later." You shrugged, kicking your shoes off before flopping backwards onto your bed. Eddie removes his shoes and joins you, letting out a sigh of relief to be laying on something other than an uncomfortable hospital bed.

Eddie hums in acknowledgement, before trying to conceal a very obvious yawn. The unspoken suggestion of a nap was thick and heavy in the air between you, but neither one of you were weirded out owing to the countless nap dates you'd had before.

Eddie's quick to shed his jacket, t-shirt and jeans before climbing into bed and you join him once you're in more cosy attire. Both exhausted from a weeks worth of lost sleep, you're out like a light in seconds.

"Y/n!"

It's the yell of your name which wakes you up thirty minutes later, and you're confused before you feel Eddie thrashing about. "Y/n. No please. Don't leave, Y/n! Wake up!" Eddie yells again, face screwed up in his nightmare state. Fear wraps its cold, clammy fingers around your heart, and you shake him in a desperate attempt to wake him up.

Eddie wakes with a start, eyes darting around the room until they settle on you. It's easy to see that he is so clearly afraid of something, and it hurts to see him like this. "I'm safe, moonlight." You soothe him, the two of you now sat up. Eddie's not shy about placing his hand on your fabric covered chest, feeling your heartbeat to convince himself.

"I thought Vecna had got to you and I was too late to save you. I can't bear the thought of ever losing you, it'd be like losing half of my heart." He admits, and you can see it now. Eddie's so in love with you.

You don't say much, just adjust yourself so that you can rest your forehead on his with ease. Eddie's in love with you, and you're in love with him. And even though it feels like the wrong time and place, you ask the question anyway. Because you nearly lost him, and it felt like losing half of your heart.

"Can I kiss you?"

But Eddie doesn't answer. Instead, he cups your face in his hands and you could have sworn your heart was beating so fast it felt like it would explode. Eddie's breath feels warm, and if you were living in a cartoon you're almost positive sparks would be shooting off the two of you. And then finally, not a moment too soon, Eddie's lips meet yours.

You had plenty of first kisses with boys over the years, but none had made you feel as safe and loved as this kiss.

[nopointic]

Why YOU (yes YOU!) should purchase a READING from the ever so lovely @ancientgoddessofegypt.

super duper extra cool! how cool?

ICE COLD! cool!

my readings? i buy them and then wait and when they arrive i'm like LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo and i'm getting out the good ink pens (pink and purple of course) and writing things DOWN and nodding like i am on front row at fashion week reporting for a fashion magazine that's ECO FRIENDLY aka it's A BLOG (why am i not in the back designing i dunno, must be a glitch but let's go with that THAT)

i read my cards, i ponder, my goddesses watch me ponder, and then i go I HAVE AN IDEA. i want a second opinion. TEAM WORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK BABEY!

fast fast fast GOOD VIBES readings like i literally feel BAD i am asking her for help but my cards and everyone is telling me GIRL ASK FOR HELP YOU DESERVE THAT and i went you know what... a little scrolling will do.

I scrolled and then went WHERE IS MY CASH APP LOGIN

i asked if i could get a reading and she said YES!

i went woah this is happening i am in the presence of PINK SPARKLY HEART EMOJI AURANESS RIGHT NOW I CAN NOT DROP THE BATON RIGHT NOW

i send in my lil ponderings and end up spilling more to her than my therapist and went ok, i gotta get back into THERAPY PRONTO and PICK MYSELF

and i have.

and it's hard.

i am the girl who will pack several umbrellas in several colors to coordinate with your outfit and then say don't worry about me, it's wash day. (it's always wash day in my hair world i really do side eye my ancestry results and go, well well well look what i found HERE)

i have been throwing Maury dna results at family members for weeks now but i'm gonna be aight i did not watch Maury all them years and learn nothing. i went hmmmm THE LIE DETECTOR SAID ACCORDING TO MY RESULTS AND THESE PICTURES I FOUND!

and then i broke out into a stress rash and ate rice

my cat purred extra hard but the point is

GLASSES UP (mine has lavender green tea y'all can have some if you want in spirit i am NOT stingy cos i love dunking a tea bag and thinking i am helping i do enjoy that activity ngl) to @ancientgoddessofegypt

anyways i love you more than the hours Usher was talking about when he was begging for forgiveness and sliding around on his knees like you know damn well we were not allowed to slide around in our good jeans like that so i knew he really meant he was sorry when he did that but that has nothing to do with this i s2g it doesn't, i just wanted to give my takes on him doing THAT while saying that number.

i really do bring up fiddy leven bajillion hours umteem minutes etc when saying love.

anyways this gif of mariah carey with champagne is the energy that @ancientgoddessofegypt has like she just GETS it.

[fastcardotmp3]

🌻wip wednesday🌻

tagged by @fragilecapric0rnn & @hellsfireclub my beloveds my adoreds! do I probably have some of these in my inbox from the last time I did this? sure! but here's to starting fresh babey!!

rules

Post up to five (5) filenames of your WIPs; not titles, file names.

Post a snippet from one of them. Snippet must be words you wrote in the last 7 days. We’re posting progress here. If you haven’t made any, go make some and come back to post.

After you’ve posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. You must then write 3 sentences in that file.

That’s it! You can invite others to join in or just post.

wips

bear au (part: eddie)

kas!chrissy au

max pov ronance

snippet from kas!chrissy 💜

There isn’t a lot of privacy at the end of the world.  Most of them aren’t just sharing rooms at this point, but beds. Air mattresses and pull-out couches and sleeping bags.  It’s more important, after all, that they’re all close to one another than that they have any sort of alone time or private spaces.  Nancy hasn’t minded it up until this point, finding comfort in being able to have eyes on anyone she may be worried about at any given moment should she choose, because she only took her eyes off of Barb for an hour and— She hasn’t minded it, is the point. It settles some ache in her to know that no one goes out alone. Sure, she spent weeks doing just that but it’s not like she isn’t facing the consequences of it now, no longer trusted to leave the Harrington home that she’s been relegated to because Steve and Jonathan conspired against her dodging their knowing and protective watches.  It’s nice, she thinks, to be worried about.  It’s a huge fucking nuisance what with the new developments in her life.  There’s something happening to her, not just emotionally although that is certainly something all-consuming all its own, but physically. It’s like now that she’s had Chrissy’s teeth in her flesh there’s this itch, this urge, and as much as Nancy tries to behave normally about it all, it’s a fucking hollowness that she can’t do anything but try to fill.  It’s especially difficult without any goddamn privacy.  Chrissy is there, Chrissy is around with her soft, cool skin and her lithe fingers and the poke of her forked tongue at her lips every time she smiles and Nancy wants, wants, wants to just reach out and touch. To hold and grab and grind—

tagging! @cheatghost @gothbat99 @hellsfireclub @fragilecapric0rnn @kkpwnall @figthefruitfaeth @gideoncharov @judasofsuburbia @sharpbutsoft @seths-rogens @thefreakandthehair

[momobani]

ABOUT TIME 

If Your Winter Is Hard - Chapter 8 - 9.6k

medium!minghao x exorcist!reader

SERIES MASTERLIST

Warnings: exorcism(duh!); discussion of ghosts + death, reference to death of family members, light violence/ fighting, mention of guns, discussion of grief, A N G S T, depiction of murder!! [not very explicit], mention of illness  

Sum: it’s true when they say that if you love someone, you should let them go.

Song rec: Letting Go - Vancouver Sleep Clinic  

TAGLIST: @sleeplessdawn  @aceofvernons  @lilactangerine  @kyeomsworld  

A/N: Guess who’s crying in the club again? You and me, babey! Sorry for the long wait again, I had a lot on with uni, but for the moment I have a little time here and there for now. We’re back to YN’s point of view after the last chapter, so yeah, enjoy <333 Happy holidays y’all!!!  

“Hao, do you know where I left the incense?” You call over your shoulder as you grapple with preparing your exorcism bag.

“Well, I don’t think it sprouted legs and ran away from where you left it five minutes ago.” He replies sarcastically, walking past the desk in your office, plucking up the item, and holding it out to you. You purse your lips at how silly you seemed; it was two feet away from you the whole time.

“Thanks.” You say sheepishly and pack the box into your bag. It was half past two in the afternoon and you were running a little late since you’d had lunch with Jeonghan after he begged you to try this restaurant that almost closed a few years ago. You told him you were busy and so was he, but eventually you caved not long after because truthfully, you wanted to try it too.

It had been worth the drive across town and back, seeing how happy Jeonghan was picking out and grilling the meat, even though it put you a few minutes behind schedule for your next exorcism.

“You know, I don’t know why you couldn’t just pass this case on to someone else, maybe even Seungkwan and Vernon, it’s not like we have time for it.” Minghao grumbles as he puts on his long coat and wraps his thick scarf around his neck.

“Will you stop complaining? We had this case on backlog for ages, we need to get it done anyway.” You reply, shoving the salt dispenser into the front pocket harder than you meant to.

You were getting really annoyed for some reason, getting lip service and from Minghao of all people. You weren’t used to it. He’d been grouchy all morning too, clearly something was bothering him but he wouldn’t tell you.

This was possibly the first real disagreement or conflict the two of you had had, the acknowledgement of that fact taking you by surprise. Usually you just focused on the task at hand and got it done quickly and smoothly. Well, relatively of course; there was the time you bonked heads at the museum, the time you almost got caught at the apartment block and oh, how could you forget that time you almost died on the train tracks.

Fine, you got things done more quickly than smoothly but whatever. The point was that you and Minghao worked in harmony.

“I wasn’t complaining, YN, I’m just saying, there was probably an alternative here, so we could focus on the paperwork for the cemetery spirits. That basement ghost can wait.” He continues. You zip the bag and drop your hands on top of it with a thud. You turn your head and zero in on Minghao, who notices the change in air.

“Do you just not want to do the exorcism or something?” You demand, trying not to raise your voice. “Are you overworked or too tired, because if you are, then just say so. That’s fine, I can finish it without you.” You say heatedly. You hadn’t used that tone with him before but it came spilling out from you before you could stop it. Minghao looks back at you just as intensely and you see the hardness in his eyes.

Just as he’s about to say something, Hoshi walks in with a pile of folders, clearly making a trip from the conference room to the storage area in your office. He, Jeonghan, and Seokmin were taking the first shift of the day on analysing the files and trying to narrow down the search for identifying the spirits.

“Hey, gu-”

“See! I can just take Hoshi instead.” You don’t let him finish. Hoshi shudders, eyes wide and startled by the exclamation. Minghao frowns but doesn’t say anything. “Do you want to come do the exorcism, Hosh? It’s been a while.”

For a moment, Hoshi is stuck looking between the two of you, feeling out the tension and trying to gauge what it’s about, a little like kid looking at its parents arguing.

“Um…” He hesitates. “Sure.” He perks up, deciding it would be more dangerous if he refuses.

“Great! Any objections, Hao?” You raise your eyebrows at him, daring him to protest. You think it’s best that you split up for a while before you say anything you don’t mean and later regret.

“None, you guys have fun in that old lady’s basement.” Minghao doesn’t even grace you with another look before unwrapping the scarf and leaving for the conference room.

“Hosh, get your coat, we’re leaving.” You say as you stare at Minghao’s back as he walks away. Was that your first fight? You knew it was normal for friends to fight but could you even call it a fight? For the most part, you felt that you needed to cool down because your frustration was mounting; he didn’t have to take out his grouchiness on you but he’d been annoying all morning, giving you sarcastic reply after sarcastic reply. Most of all you were frustrated that he wouldn’t tell you what was bothering him.  

You decided to put your situation with Minghao on the back burner and focus on what you were doing. You’re exiting the office and Hoshi runs ahead of you.

“I call shotgun!” He shouted as he zoomed towards the passenger side of your car. You got in the car, your eyebrows knitted in dubiety.

“Hoshi, there’s no one else in the car.” You pointed out the obvious. He nodded dismissively as he slung on his seatbelt.

“Yeah, but you’ve only been letting Minghao ride shotgun lately so I wanted to stake my claim. I used to ride up front all the time before.” He explains and you almost miss the tiny pout that appears on his lips. “Like I get it if you like him, it’s just that I like sitting in the front too.”

You almost reverse into your trash cans at Hoshi’s words.

“What the hell are you talking about? Don’t be ridiculous, I don’t like Minghao like that, he’s just a friend and co-worker.” You rattle off, unamused by the mere suggestion that you would be unprofessional and spend your time crushing on a colleague than do your job. Hoshi smiles in the periphery of your vision as you drive out on to the main road.

“Hm, alright.” He chimes. You feel the lighthearted teasing in his tone but you clench your jaw; if you get emotional, you lose.

You don’t bother trying to prove your point and drive in silence. You needed to think about what you were going to do for the exorcism since this was one highly likely to be a difficult ghost; you were dealing with a murder victim that hadn’t left the house in at least fifty years. A young woman, who had been the previous tenant in the house before the old lady and her family moved in all those years ago, had been killed by a boyfriend and hidden in the basement. The body hadn’t been discovered for weeks since her housemates were away.

You’d dealt with several murder cases in the past, as well as studied them when your sister was working, but it had been a while since you’d done one. The closest you came to it was the vengeful spirit at the train station and you knew what a disaster that had almost become. To say the least, you felt a little nervous.

The scenery around you changed to the suburbs in no time and you found yourselves just outside of town, barely even on the outskirts of the metropolitan area. It wasn’t a long drive to your client’s house as the afternoon sky started to darken.

The old lady’s house was situated in the middle of a hill, the rising mass of houses looming ahead as you left the car at the bottom of the street and started to hike up the footpath. There was no road leading to it from either side since the residential area was built on a slope over a hundred years ago when parking space wasn’t a concern.  

Initially the climb up the hill isn’t so bad, however an unexpected gust of wind sends you reeling backwards, its sheer force knocking you off kilter. You practically have to start running to resist the wind, exerting more energy than you wished to admit so that you don’t get swept away.

When you finally make it to the house’s outside gate, it’s a relief to enter and be sheltered from the wind by the giant oak tree growing in the garden, its browning leaves still intact and rustling above you. You knock on the door and your client, a sweet, demure elderly lady, ushers you in.

“Do you kids want some tea?” She asks immediately, fussing over how cold you and Hoshi both look. “It’s quite horrible outside, we should warm you up.”

“That would be great, thank you.” You tell her, not because you actually feel the need to defrost yourselves, but because she looks like she won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Besides, during the exorcism, your body temperature especially will, as usual, drop significantly.  

You sit on the fluffy carpet around the coffee table, a low wooden square that exhibited the tribulations of time - scratches, discolouring, and chips evident when you looked closer. The rest of the living room reminded you of your own house, the ancient furniture resembling your living room as per your grandparents’ vision when they first bought the house almost sixty years ago. You felt right at home.

Hoshi drinks his tea in two gulps, licking his lips with a satisfying smack and grinning widely. Your client smiles back in delight, clearly enamoured by Hoshi’s cuteness and you have a feeling that she’s adopt him as her grandson in a few minutes if you didn’t get moving on the exorcism.

You thank the lady and excuse yourselves to get to work, yanking Hoshi up subtly by the collar, telling her it might be best to go to her neighbour’s house while you worked for her own safety. You had briefly mentioned it to her before but you suspected she might have forgotten about it. She surprises you by telling you that she’d specifically made plans to watch tonight’s drama episode there just to give you guys space.

You smile gratefully and send Hoshi to walk her down the hill while you set up downstairs.

It’s hard to tell whether it’s because you’re alone, but as soon as you open the door to the basement, your skin erupts in goosebumps and a chill runs through your body, pitting conclusively deep in your belly. The cold hits you immediately, whether it’s the lack of insulation on the single window or just how the cold seeps into the room from the outside.

You snap on the light switch to your left and a single tiny bulb in the middle of the staircase turns on, but barely. It’s enough for now, you decide. You descend the wooden steps carefully, watching your feet and keeping an eye out at the shadows cast across the room. The creak of the steps underfoot makes a sound that fills the basement obnoxiously loudly and you scurry down the last few stairs.

In the basement there is a film of dust covering everything; even in the relative darkness you can see the grey covering over each surface as your eyes adjust. There’s a wooden table, the type that’s a slab hanging off the wall with chains, lined with a few abandoned items; a pair of gardening gloves, some plant cutting shears, a wrench or two, which you discern must have come from the toolbox that lays just underneath the table next to a thick pile of old newspapers.

There are a few more tools but hanging up on some hooks stuck to the wall above the table. As far as anything else goes, there’s hardly anything else in the basement except for a small ladder, folded up neatly and laying on its side out of the way. You could imagine that most of these items had been lying there for a long time because the woman living here didn’t seem like the type to do much gardening.

You try not to breathe too much because of the dust, and get to work.  

From your backpack, you take out the salt dispenser, the incense pot and strap your gun to one leg and your exorcist blade to the other. Next, you start to draw the salt cage. You were going to keep it as wide as possible and try to seal the whole basement if possible, just so that the spirit would be contained.

You hear the wind howling outside, whistling at you as the last shred of sun dissipates from the sky, the darkness flooding the basement through the window and casting more eerie shadows. You hear a creak of the steps and put an instinctive hand on your gun as you snap towards the noise. Of course, you know it’s Hoshi making his way down the stairs.

“Took you long enough.” You mutter in his general direction. You were almost finished with the salt cage.

“Sorry, Boss. That hill is gnarly.” He explains and shrugs. You nod dismissively from your position hunching over the salt dispenser as the thick streak of powder spills out from the opening.

“We should get started with the incense. Set it up, will you.” You instruct as you seal off the cage, the both of you standing within its parameters.

“Yessir.” Hoshi says with a salute and walks jauntily over to where you’d left the pot. You can’t hold the scoff at ridiculousness that bubbles up in your throat. Hoshi’s inescapable charm was energising whatever he was doing and whoever he was with, and you realised that you’d definitely missed having his silly butt along on exorcisms. Maybe now that he’d recovered, you could really give Minghao some time off and balance the work between your two mediums.

You felt yourself frown at the thought of Minghao. You were still a little mad at how snippy he’d been, yet you were already starting to cool off and question what even that whole thing was about. Had you done something wrong? Sure you’d been snippy back to him before you left, but that was the only thing, right?

You shook your head, trying not to get bogged down in distractions because you were about to get to the really delicate part of today’s job.

Hoshi lit the incense then handed your lighter back as the frail wisp of smoke started to rise from the pot. Almost immediately did you feel the sudden drop in temperature, the small exhale leaving your mouth, frosting in front of your face. Your skin started to prickle at the deep sensation of dread that spread through your core, its grip unbearably strong from the get go.

This felt like a vengeful spirit.

And yet, you looked around for any other tell-tale signs of a vengeful spirit but you spotted none - there was no fog signalling the presence of a ghost, only an increased tension in the air, its energy diffusing throughout the space of the basement.

You grabbed your gun, shooting two consecutive shots to seal off the door and far wall around the staircase. Then you waited because you couldn’t actually see the ghost yet. This was pretty rare. If the spirit was this elusive from the start then you might be in trouble.

An invisible enemy is considerably harder to defeat.

“Should I take my talisman off?” Hoshi whispers from a few feet away.

“Not yet,” You whisper back to him. “I have a bad feeling-” You barely finish your sentence when you hear the rattle of a chain echo across the room. Your eyes land on the slab of wood against the wall and you see the chains in question had moved gently. It must be the work of the spirit.

You watch carefully, not only the table but scanning the room for any other signs of movement, the silence stifling. You see the chain move before you hear it clink again, this time followed by the shake of the tools hanging above the table. You zero in on the movement, straining your eyes in the semi-darkness, trying to spot if the ghost is anywhere nearby.

Instead what you notice is how the tools start to vibrate and you think you’re going crazy until a wrench snaps off and flies off in your direction. You have a split second to react and you do-

“Duck!” You yell and dive toward Hoshi in an attempt to do just that in case his reflexes are slow. He does hear you but it’s a good thing you manage to affectively bring him down with you; down to the dusty and dirt littered floor. Your fall makes a loud thump and causes a tornado of dust to fly up and swirl around you, falling back down like snow.

The wrench had flown across the room and smacked heavily against the nearest wall, sailing through the air at probably several miles an hour. Or at least enough that if it had hit you, you’d have been injured. The two of you inevitable start coughing up a lung as several more instrumentals fly off and follow the first.  

“Shit, what was that?” Hoshi splutters, the fear in his voice evident.

“A vengeful spirit.” You reply, sure now that the powerful energies of your current target were within the spectrum of vengeful ghosts; souls of those wronged lingering with exceptionally strong presence. You knew that not all vengeful spirits were accompanied by things like the thick grey fog - there was too much variation in the sorts of signs that counted as evidence of that type of ghost.

“Oh man, I shouldn’t have come with.” Hoshi whines. You’re already up on your feet and you offer him a hand and pull him up off the ground.

“Too late for regret, tiger.” You say. You take a good look around and spot a shadow in one corner of the room, its figure just out of the path of light coming from the window and away from the lightbulb. There’s your ghost.

You were going to have to do this the quickest way possible.

“Take it off, now.” You say, reaching for your blade. You were calculating the possible time it might take for the ghost to possess Hoshi, mind running a million miles per hour, but just as you blinked the shadow disappeared.

Shit.

Unfortunately Hoshi had already processed what you’d asked and his fingers were pulling on the bracelet, tugging it down his wrist and onto the ground. In a moment, you whipped around, looking for the ghost, but it was too late-

You didn’t see it, but you felt the wave of polar energy zip through your body and you gasped out loud at the sensation, your breath coming out like smoke; it was like being thrown into Antarctic waters, the ice flowing into your bloodstream suddenly. The ghost passed through you and slammed into Hoshi’s body, knocking him back down to the ground. You dropped to your knees, the breath literally knocked out of you too.

White noise filled your head, vision blurring for a split second. You felt like you might seize up.

Your brain was still functioning however, even if your body was struggling to move. You knew you had to stab the blade down before the ghost started to move. The time it took to possess a medium was usually around two seconds, so in those two seconds, you willed yourself to move forward, your body falling heavily on the ground next to Hoshi. You threw a leg over him with all your might, your body shivering with stinging cold and looked at his eyes, looking for the silver light that indicated the spiritual presence.

It appeared, its glow unmistakeable in the dark and you dragged the hand holding the blade to Hoshi’s chest and barely stabbed down, your body slack.

“Go peacefully.” You mumbled, voice frail and cracking. Your eyes were too heavy but you fought to keep them at least half-opened as you watched the blade start to incinerate itself. The world was fading away from you fast, but even so, the ghost’s memory ran into you, its force numbing you as you half-rolled, half-fell on your back on the musty floor of the basement.

You were hyperaware of your own body suddenly, aware of how you lay on your back, rigid, but in your mind’s eye, you weren’t in the cold, dark basement, you were upstairs, the smooth wooden floor under you, in the exact same position. There was a warm glow of light above you, its source hidden by the figure that sat on your chest, immobilising you. You knew it wasn’t you, of course not, it was the spirit’s memory you were living through, yet it felt paralysingly real. Every fibre of your body was on high alert but you couldn’t move. The person on top of you moved into your line of sight and you saw his face, a stranger whose hand moved to curl around your neck and hold in place while the glint of a knife shone in his other.

You hear a distant blood curdling screech, its piercing decibels probably coming from your own mouth in the basement but in the vision, it sounded so far away.  

You blacked out before you saw what happened next, but you knew deep down what had transpired. You were catapulted back into reality and found yourself still in the basement, frost permeating every part of your being, your throat feelings particularly raw.

Hoshi was coming to, his movements sluggish. He saw you in an instant.

“YN! What happened? Are you okay?” He squeaked in panic. You didn’t have the energy to say anything but you attempted to move your lips.

“Cold…” you mumbled, but your mouth was almost sealed shut so it just sounded like ‘co…’.

And then your eye lids became too heavy to keep open and the world disappeared.

*  

Your consciousness breaks through your sleep and you feel yourself start to wake up.

The first thing you feel is that you’re smothered by something; a warm weight on top of you and you sense there are about ten blankets that are cocooning you into your bed, wound so tightly around you that you feel yourself unable to move.

With all the little energy remaining in your limbs, you struggle to wriggle around and make some room for yourself inside your fluffy prison. There’s a dead weight to every part of your body and you feel like you’ve been hit by a bus or something. You open your eyes and find yourself in semi-darkness in your own room at home. Your head starts to pound immediately in response.  

How did you get there?

The shuffling seems to alert of your stirring awake and you see a dark mess of hair bob to your left.

Minghao startles and whips around, searching for movement. From what you saw, he’d been sitting on the floor beside your bed and leaning back on the frame with a book that clutters to the floor.

“YN?” He rasps, his eyes wide, weary, and worried. He appears to be a little wild to you, like he hasn’t slept for a long time and you wonder how long you must have been out.

“I’m okay.” You manage, your voice raw. It feels like the sound get stuck in your throat, where there’s an unexplained ache. Your words seem to reassure Minghao at least a bit and he nods before getting up.

“I’ll get Jeonghan.” He says quietly and strides across the room. You wriggle some more and manage to break one arm out of your cocoon but instead of feeling like a beautiful butterfly, you feel more like a fluffy moth. It takes a lot of effort but you finally get into a semi sitting position and notice the army of heaters that is assembled around your bed like a moat, the only empty spot where Minghao was leaning against the side.

You were lucky you were in this condition. You knew that.  

It was kind of rare for ghosts to pass through exorcists but when it happened, it was pretty severe for them. The only time you’d ever seen it happen was to your aunt years ago when you were a kid. You barely remembered the ordeal, having been far too young, but you knew that she’d been quite sick.

“Occupational hazard, huh.” You sigh to yourself. “Could be worse.”

You hear footsteps approaching your room and then Jeonghan marches through the door, Minghao trailing on his tail. Jeonghan practically runs to you, speed walking and dropping down on the outer side of the bed to fuss over you.

“Yah, are you okay? How do you feel?” He asks, his hands smooshing your cheeks as he inspects your face for any signs of illness. You want to reply but it’s kind of difficult with the death grip he has on you.

“Jeonghan?” You quack, the shape of your lips caricatured by his hands. He hums in response. “Need to breath, please.” You finish, words coming out a little strangled. He lets you go immediately with a quiet ‘sorry’. You take a deep, appreciative breath. “I think I’m okay. How long was I unconscious?” You ask tentatively.

Jeonghan thinks for a minute, tilting his head. “Two days?” He says.

“What?” You croak, body bouncing up and down with the exclamation. “No way! Just from the ghost passing through me?” You say.

“You remember that?” Minghao asks. He’d been standing inconspicuously behind Jeonghan, observing the two of you with careful eyes.

“Obviously.” You shrug. It’d be very hard to forget. “It’s the last thing that I do remember though. Fill me in on what’s going with the group exorcism.”

“Oh my god.” Minghao swivels away. He seems ready to pace around, looking up and around the room in disbelief. “You’re really something, YN.” He mutters to himself.

“What was that?” You call over, addressing him. You think he might ignore you and pretend you didn’t ask. Instead, he turns back to you and you find the exasperation on his face.

“You just wake up from a two day coma and two seconds later you’re asking about work?” His eyebrows are raised as close to his hairline as physically possible and you’d find it funny if he wasn’t almost raising his voice at you.

“Yes, Hao. Because that’s my job!” You declare. “In case you forgot.” You add, starting to remember that the two of you had had a bit of a squabble before you and Hoshi had gone to the site of the exorcism.

“Um, I’m going to get you some tea and meds, kiddo. Wait here.” Jeonghan’s eyes travel from you to Minghao and back. You forget that Jeonghan doesn’t like to be in the midst of chaos, unless of course he’s the one who created it.

“Not like I’m going anywhere.” You mutter with a nod to the blanket prison you sit in. Jeonghan weasels out of the room noiselessly, leaving you with a stroppy Minghao. “So it’s been two days; are you ready to tell me who spat in your cereal?” You inquire.

“No one.” He huffs but it’s obvious that the answer should have been a clear and resounding ‘you’.

“Y’know, whatever it is, if you don’t tell me, we can’t resolve it.” You counter immediately. You hated confrontations like this, especially with someone that you always managed to get along with. You supposed there was a silver lining to this because you felt your blood pressure raise and body get heated, which was good if you were going to combat the remaining frost in your system, so there’s that.

“Do you think I haven’t thought about resolving it?” Minghao asks. You’re surprised by the response, suddenly more alert than before. It’s your turn to look at him inquisitively.

“What’s that supposed to mean? If you have a problem with me, just say it.” You challenge. You feel all clammy inside and you’re not sure it’s just the blanket sweat finally getting to you.

“I don’t have a problem with you.” Minghao says. You sigh, frustrated with his stubbornness.

“Then what do you have a problem with?” You snap. Minghao pauses to look at you, assessing just how far you want to take this.  

“What do I have a problem with?” He echos. “You’re working so fucking much that you collapsed into a coma! Is that not a problem?” He blurts out. You scoff at the ridiculousness of the statement. Did you hear him correctly? What was he talking about?

“That happened because of a ghost, you drama queen!” You retort.

“Oh, did it?” He quips back sarcastically. He doesn’t let you reply. “Jeonghan said that when that happens, you’ll get a cold or hypothermia worst case scenario. But you were so weak from overworking that you almost died!”

You’re struck silent, processing the sound waves that travelled through the air and to your ears. But he’s not done yet.

“We literally had to keep you on an IV drip for two days. We had to call Jihoon and ask for a doctor to check you up and he even estimated your chances of survival.” He lists desperately. And this time you see just how shaken Minghao really is; there are dark circles under his eyes, he’s extremely pale and his mouth looks too dry.

You feel a wave of guilt breaking over you. Clearly, he’d been incredibly stressed and tired over the last couple of days and you wake up and start berating him. You shrink back a little, recognising how serious the situation must have been. You don’t say anything for a moment.

Minghao sighs and his shoulders slump visibly. He takes a few cautious steps and perches on the edge of the bed, looking down at the wall of heaters around you. Most of them were actually turned off at the moment, you notice.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to get so grouchy with you.” He says, softening his voice. “It’s just- ugh - did you never hear me when I say take a break? Or leave it to someone else because you haven’t slept?” He asks.

And the thing is that you know what he’s talking about.

You’d become immune to comments like that over the past few weeks, knowing that you had a burning project to get done and no time to waste. You’d been getting a little control freaky about working on your case but against your better judgment, you’d ignored the way you were treating yourself, like those crazy workaholics that you thought only existed on TV.

“Does that just go in one ear and out the other?” He pauses to search your face. You don’t know what the look on your face must be, but it must be telling. “It seems it does. It’s just so frustrating to see you work yourself like a dog.”

“Do you know how much more frustrating it is to feel like you’re arguing with someone when you’re trying to do that work?” You finally reply.

“We’re not arguing.” He says firmly. As if he believed that.

“You’re right, we’re bickering like children.” You point out.

“I won’t bicker if you just agree to take breaks.”

“Hao, you know how difficult this is.” You meet his eyes and hold them.

“Then ask for help, YN.” He pleads gently. “You have so many people around you, you don’t have to do every single thing. Just promise me you’ll give yourself time to rest.” You don’t know if what he’s saying is taking effect or if it’s just the way he’s looking at you right now, but you don’t even think about fighting back this time. He disarms you completely with the look in his eyes and it strikes you somewhere deep inside. Suddenly you hate yourself for making him worry like that.  

“Okay, fine.” You promise. “I’ll be careful, stop nagging, jeez.” You add playfully, the corners of  your mouth turning up. It’s contagious and Minghao does the same, succumbing to your tone.  

“Alright, but I better see you doing it.” Minghao says, matching your sentiment.

“Pfft, who made you the boss? As far as I know, I’m in charge.” You’d cross your arms, but you were still cocooned in the blanket for the most part.

“Never said you weren’t.” He shrugs.

“Hmm, good. Now get this off me, I gotta go to the bathroom.” You start to struggle against the fluffy fabric of the blankets again and Minghao hurries to help you out.

When you see yourself in the mirror, you almost jump back in horror. You didn’t realise that if you spent so much time with ghosts, you’d start looking like one too. You were so disheveled and your mouth felt awfully stale and your hair was a rat’s nest. (You didn’t know rats could have nests, but if they did, it would definitely be the state of your hair specifically).

Speaking of your hair, the more you tried to brush it out and give it some kind of order, you noticed something strange. There was a number of strands of grey hair that shone in the light of your bathroom. You  fought the urge to scream. Those most certainly hadn’t been there before. It wasn’t an alarming amount since you could probably count them on your hands, but it was still startling. It was possible it was your condition after the ghost pass through that had caused it. You just hoped that you wouldn’t get any more of whatever this was.

Maybe Minghao was right; you needed to take it easier and redistribute your work load. You absolutely did not want to see another grey hair, not for at least another ten years.  

*

You have to fight yourself a little bit the next few days because you want to do work but you feel like you need to take several naps a day to feel human. All you end up doing is trying to sneak into the office and Minghao creeps up behind you with a timer and tells you that that’s all you’re allowed to do for now, urging you to take the documents and read them in bed.

The guys make plenty of progress in the mean time, somehow managing to narrow down the number of records significantly and matching five out of the thirteen ghosts to their identities. To the outsider, it might seem like a massive game of Cluedo or something, but the reality was that exorcists very often had to do some detective work in order to be able to do their actual job, which was tending to the dead.

By the end of the next week, after 3 all nighters (though you were forced into a Minghao-mandated 8 hours of sleep unlike everyone else), 20 take-outs, and 50 cups of coffee, you have ten out of thirteen ghosts and over a week until the winter solstice. So you tell everyone to go and take a couple days off. You lose track of time for the most part but you can’t escape the date today.

It’s the third anniversary of your sister’s death.

You wake up and lie in your bed, staring at the ceiling. How did three years go by so quickly and yet it felt like a whole life time ago? You had no idea.

You take your time getting ready today, moving slowly and sluggishly, getting breakfast (more like lunch at this time) and then putting on your coat. You weren’t leaving yet but you still felt waves of cold every once in a while and if you put on your fluffy bathrobe, then you’d never feel like leaving the house. You didn’t have a bathrobe before, but one had mysteriously appeared in your bedroom after you gained consciousness last week and you didn’t have to be a genius to be able to work out that Minghao had got it for you.

You dig out your grandmother’s hairpin and add it to your hair. You wear your earrings and your sister’s ring, and the set would be completed by your aunt’s necklace. Like the rest of your protective talismans, it has a carnelian crystal as the main part of the piece, as all the women in your family wore carnelian and the men wore onyx, which is why your grandfather’s ring was made of that. Minghao wore it now and it occurred to you that you never ended up getting him another talisman. Maybe you should get him something obsidian like Jeonghan wore.

You pack a few things to take with you and call out to see if Minghao is ready. Yesterday you’d told him where you were going to go and he’d insisted he’d come with you so wouldn’t have to worry about driving. You knew he was just saying that and the real reason was so that you wouldn’t be alone. You and Jeonghan had agreed to go separately, mostly because you weren’t sure you could handle being there together, although you suspected he just didn’t want you to see him like that.

Like what? Like you? Distraught and crazy, crying and shaking? Perhaps.

Even though the two of you had made up now and were bonding a little here and there, you still felt like you weren’t back to how you were years ago - that would take time. And grief was an extremely personal thing, and you knew that Jeonghan needed his own time so you didn’t press the matter at all.  

Minghao comes out of his room, matching your all black attire, a turtle neck peaking out of his long coat. He walks up to you and pulls a scarf around you wordlessly, adjusting it around your own turtle neck. You hadn’t seen he was carrying one so it surprises you for a split second. You look at him up close, your eyes wandering over his face. You can smell the freshness of his aftershave vaguely, but he steps away just as quickly as he stepped closely.

“Thanks.” You say. He’s not listening though, already walking toward the front door of the basement. You follow him to the car and he’s already in the driver’s seat. For a few weeks now, you’d started keeping the car keys in the living room since you weren’t the only one using it any more. It was too cold for Minghao to ride his motorcycle these days and dangerous with all the frost on the roads.

“Do you know the way?” You ask, after pulling on your seatbelt and clicking it into place.

“Yes.” He says curtly.

“Okay.” You purse your lips, eyes travelling over to the mirrors to watch as Minghao turns your car around, looking carefully behind. He manoeuvres the vehicle smoothly, one hand on the back of your seat’s headrest and the other draped over the wheel. Your eyes land on the black band over his middle finger, its surface smooth despite the years of use.

It fit perfectly against his skin and you’d feel it a shame if you got him a talisman that wasn’t comfortable or as suitable for him as that one. It was then that you officially decided to let Minghao keep it; it was something you’d already thought about doing before but hadn’t voiced to yourself, so now it was settled in your mind.

The car ride was silent and somber and you realised that maybe it was out of politeness that Minghao wasn’t saying anything and giving you space to think to yourself. You appreciated it even though your brain was relatively empty for the moment. Empty may not be the right word; numb might be a better way to describe it.

You arrive at the cemetery after a long drive out of the city and to the outskirts of town. It had stopped raining for now but the sky didn’t look too promising and according to the forecast from yesterday, it’ll probably start up again so you better hurry.

Minghao parks in the lot near the entrance and where there were a few tiny flower shops. You open the glove box in front of you in search of something and Minghao notices.

“We used it up.” He says.

“Huh?” You’re not sure what he’s talking about. You were in search of a tiny flask containing some alcohol (not a safe item to have in your car) however it was an essential in an exorcist’s inventory because it could serve as a heater if what happened to you happens- “Oh, right.”

“Jeonghan told Hoshi what to do over the phone and he knew you had that in your car.” He explains.

“Right, remind me to refill it just in case. Let’s go.” You say. You hop out of the car and shiver from the cold air that hits you right in the face, your cheeks starting to rosey up immediately. “I’ll buy some flowers.” You tell Minghao and he nods.

“Okay, I’ll wait for you over there.” He says. You’d pointed out the path you had to take to your family’s grave as you’d come in, driving past the row, so you knew he’d find it.

Inside the shop it’s warm and lovely and you almost start sweating as you pay for a modest bunch of white chrysanthemums. The lady of the shop smiles softly at you and you return it as you thank her before leaving.

You trudge up the gentle slope leading towards the million rows of graves, all different shapes and sizes. And you spot Minghao from a long distance away. But he’s not at your sister’s grave, he’s further away. You stop. The image somehow burns itself into your eyelids.

You wonder who it is that he’s visiting. He didn’t tell you anything so you guessed he didn’t want to. Maybe he’d thought you’d take longer picking out flowers, which in his defence you had taken like a minute to buy them. You find yourself wanting to wait just a few more moments. Minghao doesn’t seem to see you since he’s so far away but after a minute he turns and walks toward where you’d told him he’d find the grave. You follow suit.  

“You got them?” He asks when he hears you approaching, your footsteps moderately quiet.

“Yeah, did you find it easily?” You reply. “The grave I mean. I was pretty vague.”

“Yes, no problem at all.” He says. You watch him, almost wanting him to elaborate and tell you what he’d seen but you feel that he won’t. Minghao was a pretty private person and you don’t want to pry, but it occurs to you that Minghao never mentioned any relatives to you before or anything about his family. You decide not to push it today; he’ll tell you when he’s ready if there’s anything to tell.

You place the flowers on top of the grey marble where a bunch of white lilies lay and you figure that Jeonghan must have stopped by already. You pull a key out of your pocket. The family grave is something like shelves with a closed door and a plaque on top with the names of all the people buried there. You unlock the cabinet and inside there are several white urns, each of them with neat black writing, carrying the ashes of those gone.

You’d packed a few candles and you pull them out of your bag, setting them next to the flowers. You light them and leave the lighter lying beside them. You just wanted to light them as a sign of mourning and respect because you had no intention of attempting to exorcise your sister’s spirit anymore; you’d given up after everything.

The blade with her name on it was inside the cabinet, placed beside her urn and you decided to just keep it there for now. Who knew what her ghost would do today? She probably wouldn’t even show up-

“Um, YN?” You hear Minghao say as you’re busy untying the string around the bunch of flowers.

“Yeah?” You reply, not taking your eyes off the task in your hands.

“Over there.” He nods his head to the right. It’s a minuscule gesture in your periphery but you look up. Your eyes widen at the sight.

She did come.

“That was quick.” You mumble. Minghao clears his throat, pausing.

“YN.” He gets your attention. You turn to face him, thinking he’s about to say something. “Maybe we should try to set her free.” You see he’s trying to be gentle but he’s still very serious.

“There’s no point, Hao. She won’t go.” You shrug, going back to what you were doing. “She’s never possessed anyone.”

Minghao’s hands come to rest on your shoulders before you can turn and he holds you in place. “Let me do this for you.” He pleads. “It won’t hurt to try one more time.”

Deep down, you know he’s right. But you’d been trying for years, since the first time you’d found her as a ghost. You thought you had to let her move on as quickly as possible but she never made the same attempt as you. The seasons changed and you lost hope that she would ever leave and all you could do was wonder why.

You sigh, knowing that if you didn’t try now, you’d regret it. “Fine, let’s do that.”

“Okay.” Minghao takes a good look around but there’s no one within eyesight, just masses of graves. You worry that there might be a stray ghost that would attempt to possess Minghao, which would lead to a disaster but you know that you had your gun in the bottom of your bag; you’d be able to scare it off with salt. You were too cautious to go to a cemetery without any protection.

Your sister’s spirit still hovers a few feet away, just watching you.

Minghao carefully takes the ring off and sets it down next to the candles. You’re holding your breath but for a moment nothing happens. You’re ready to be disappointed again however you see the slow movement of her ghost inching forward and toward Minghao.

You stare in awe, unsure what would happen, the blade in your hand.

The spirit gradually fades, becoming more transparent the closer she got. You can’t see her very well any more and you just have to wait a few seconds. Minghao gasps suddenly, sucking in a great big breath. You turn your head with lightning speed, completely incredulous, as you search for the sign of possession.

Right on cue, his eyes start to shine with the silver light and you take an involuntary step back, hitting the cabinet door.

“Hi.” Minghao says quietly, but his voice doesn’t sound like him. That’s not how he talks.

No way. No freaking way.

Not only had she voluntarily possessed Minghao but somehow mustered enough energy to speak through him.

“Oh my god.” You have no words suddenly, your eyes filling with tears.

Minghao, well, your sister through him, stretches for a second, tilting her head side to side, flexing Minghao’s long neck.

“Gah, why is he so stiff?” She complains. That was definitely the sort of thing your sister would do, you think immediately. She sighs and looks around, eyes landing on the grave. “These are nice, kiddo.” She comments, lifting one hand and undoing the rest of the string holding the stalks together. Before she pulls her hand away she seems to notice the lighter and picks it up. “Give this back to Hannie. It’s his.”

“Huh?” You feel like you’re floating, not really understanding what you’re looking at. You snap back to reality. And in reality your sister was possessing Minghao and talking to you so you’d better pay attention. You were trying to but you were just in too much shock.

“Right, yeah.” You say. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you’re sure Jeonghan had asked you about the lighter but you couldn’t find the memory. You find the words, finally. “How are you doing this?”

Minghao gives you a half smile. “Hannie came earlier. I thought I was losing energy but I ended up gaining some because of it. But it won’t be for long.”

And it hits you; this is the last time you’ll ever see her and talk to her. Actually the last. For three years you lived with no closure, mourning her in whatever way you could, but saying goodbye had never been an option.

Your throat closes up and you know you’re about to burst into tears.

“I have to go, my dear.” Minghao says sadly, his own eyes welling up. “I wanted to say goodbye if I could.”

You sniffle as a single tear escapes your eye, rolling down your cold cheek. “I know.” You close your eyes, willing yourself to stop crying. You didn’t want that to be the last image your sister saw.  

“I wanted to tell you I’m sorry. I really am. I wasn’t careful enough and now you have to struggle because of what I did.” You feel a warm thumb on your cheek, Minghao’s hand cradling your face and wiping it away.

Your own hands tighten into fists, words bubbling up in your throat. The words you’d carried inside for three years but couldn’t say.

“Why did you do this?” You ask, opening your eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me about it?”

Minghao’s hand drops from your cheek to your shoulder. “I thought I was protecting you if you didn’t get involved with demons the way that Jeonghan and I were. I didn’t want you to be in danger because you wanted to help out.” She explains.

“I wish you hadn’t done that.” You whisper. “I wish I’d known, that way I wouldn’t have blamed Jeonghan so much.” You say, breathing out shakily.

“I realised it too late. It’s why I didn’t want to leave - I wanted you to know the truth and for you and Jeonghan to be friends again.”

“So that’s why you didn’t leave?” It suddenly makes sense. You’d thought maybe you were holding on to her too much, holding on to the loss of her and trapping her spirit here, but it turns out it was her will keeping her here.

“Yes, but now I can be free. I know you’ll be okay. I need you to know that too. Alright, kiddo?” She asks pointedly. “You will be okay and Jeonghan too. I feel free knowing that. You can let me go too now.”

Your vision is blurring through the tears. “But I can’t let you go. I miss you too much.” You let out a quiet sob, giving into the way your body needs to release the tension in your throat.

“I know, honey, me too. But you have to go on. I told Hannie too, you have to go live and carry on like you’ve been doing.” Minghao’s other hand swipes away another tear and then tucks a loose piece of hair behind your ear. Despite the winter cold, his hand is warm. “Promise me you’ll try.”

“I-I promise.” You manage, struggling to keep it together. You knew you didn’t have a lot of time anyway. “I love you.”

Your sister smiled through Minghao. “I love you too, kiddo.” She paused. “I have to go now, I have no energy left to be in this body. One last thing: go visit Mom and Dad, okay? Take Jeonghan and Minghao too, they’ll like him for sure.” You nod, unblinking. “Goodbye, my dear.”

Minghao takes your hand, the one clutching the blade and helps you stab down to his chest. You feel a soft kiss placed on your forehead.

“Go peacefully.” You whisper, then you let the floodgates open. You were the type of person who would cry a lot if at all, which is why you tried not to but you couldn’t stop it.

The blade started to burn up in your hand, Minghao’s on top of yours but going slack until you were just holding it to his chest. You waited for a memory to light up in your mind but found yourself waiting in vain as it never came. You didn’t think about it too much while you cried.  

You felt like you lost her all over again for the first time, every fibre of your being shaking with the grief that you thought you buried those years ago, yet it all comes spilling out, like fresh blood erupting from a raw wound. The world around you fades until it’s just the lack of air in your lungs, the hot salty tears running over your cool skin, the wind blowing loudly in your ears as you shook like a leaf, shivering with renewed loss.

Minghao eventually comes back to himself and tucks your head into the crook of his neck, trying his best to keep you steady and warm as you cried your lungs out. There’s a lot of tears streaming down your face but you start to feel drops on top of your head too and you step back and look up.

You expect to see rain, but instead you’re met with snow.

It’s the first snow of this winter.

Precious, tiny snowflakes fall gently from the sky and you hold you hand facing up, trying to catch some. You didn’t know it would snow today, but as it does, you take comfort in the way the each piece of fluff cascades down to the ground. You look at Minghao, a series of snowflakes caught in his hair already, melting slowly.

“Let’s go home.” You say, eyes softening.

*

You lie on the couch under a blanket, no particular thoughts in your head. It’s getting late but you’re not sure you can sleep what with everything that happened today. Minghao is tinkering away in the kitchen to make you some tea, the possibly tenth cup since you came back from the cemetery. He maintains that you have to keep warm, especially since you were out in the cold for a while today.

You let him convince you to bundle up in warm clothes, big, cozy jumpers and fluffy socks and the blanket on top. Your heating is turned up on high and you were actually warming up for the first time in a couple of weeks.

“Here we go.” Minghao says as he places two cups of tea on the coffee table. You raise your head slightly, enough so that he can slot himself onto the couch too, so you rest your head on his lap and his hand naturally rests on your head, stroking your hair softly. You were grateful that you had Minghao around. He was being a good friend, just staying by your side quietly and patiently as you processed everything. You felt as if you were swaying like a willow in the wind and aimlessly floating down a river.  

“Thanks.” You mumble, not reaching for it. You were too comfortable to shift. There’s a sudden thought in your head. “Do we have any ice cream?” You ask without hesitation. Minghao’s fingers pause in your hair.

“Ice cream?” He repeats. “Why?”

“I haven’t had any in a long time.” You sigh. “I haven’t had any since that summer. It was one of me and my sister’s favourites and I didn’t feel like eating any without her.” You explain. You liked it more in all honesty but she ate it with you for your sake and gradually liked it too.

“Ah, I see.” He says. “We don’t have any, but I’ll buy you some tomorrow. Okay?” He pats your head gently and you nod. The gesture is small but it’s kind and it moves you for some reason and you feel tears prickling in your eyes again. You close them, thinking you don’t want to shed any more tears for today but it’s worse when you close your eyes.

Minghao notices your scrunched up face and seems to worry. “Yah, what is it?” He asks quietly. “Does something hurt?”

You sniffle, then exhale. You pause. The image behind your eyes is too vivid. “I see her face when I close my eyes sometimes, Hao.” You sigh; admitting it out loud took some weight off your chest. “I thought I could do this, y’know?” You say. “But I’m not so sure.” Your throat is closing up again.

“Hey, you can do this, okay? I know you can. The pain will lessen with time.” Minghao says, thumb stroking your arm. “You can’t forget her and you won’t, but you’ll learn to live with the memory of her. That’s all you can do. You’re only human after all. Be kind to yourself because it will take time.”

He spoke as if he knew what he was talking about, but it never occurred to you in that moment to wonder or to ask. “Until then, lean on me. Don’t keep that pain to yourself.” He said gently. You felt yourself relax a little under his warm touch, a wave of fatigue washing over you suddenly.

“Okay…” You mumbled as you felt yourself drift off, finally warm enough.    

*

A/N: thanks for reading!! feedback is always appreciated <3  I’m kind of excited to be in the really last home stretch of the fic, it’s been a long time since i started it, i’m just happy with how far it’s come. stay tuned for the last 3 chapters. there’s a chapter 8a that won’t be relevant to the plot but the 9 and 10 will wrap everything up yayyy!! see you later <3

*copyright 2021- © momobani

[neos-ultra]

FROM THE HEART BABEY

neos ultra: "i... i don't need a reason to help people." you put the orb down and grab your sword with both hands, "but if you want one? fine. how about this?!" as XCITE-BALL launches an attack you hit it with the sword like a baseball bat! "i'm gonna help you..."

neos ultra: "BECAUSE MY HEART IS BURNING WITH AN AWESOME POWER!!!" you complete the slash and send XCITE-BALL rocketing towards the big white sky-square in every cyberspace, "AND THIS BURNING FLAME TELLS ME TO SAVE YOU! SO TAKE THIS!"

-you leap grab the orb and leak into the air, tossing the orb out so it enters the real world while you ready an attack for XCITE-BALL,

neos ultra: "BLAAAADE-STOOORRRM!!!" you unleash an impossibly fast barrage of slashes! each one shooting out an energy wave that goes straight for your enemy!

XCITE-BALL: "WAAAAAAWWAWAWAWAWAWAAWAW-" the EVN is diced up into perfect cubes! they all float in the air for a second before it logs out, returning to netzy's terminal.

-as you fall to the ground, you feel the fatigue of one of those super moves set in...

-but you're not done yet!

neos ultra: "LOG OUT!" you exit the machine and look around, netzy's made a run for it but sho-co has the orb secured! she gives a thumbs up as you hear someone running up stairs, it's gotta be netzy!

-you chase after and go back to ultra-style, going up all the stairs until you reach the roof, and find them waiting. leaning on the safety rails and looking out over the concert hall.

netzy: "i know she's a monster. she's killed people for god sake i KNOW i should never trust her but... who the hell else can i turn to? YOU? you're just some EVN. you don't even have a heart to-" they turn around. and see you.

geo: "my name is geo solar." the real you. " and... my parents are dead too... my mom died when i was born and my dad, he supported me so much when he was alive. everything i chose to do, what i really needed to be, he was there for me. i know what pain you're going through,"

-you hold out a hand. bags under your eyes, a shakey smile, messy hair, sickly pale skin, your whole body shaking with fear and anxiety so visible it hurts.

-and you still hold out that hand.

geo: "let's face that pain... together!" they stare at you for a second, with tears in their eyes and a look of utter shock... before they take your hand.

-and pull you into a kiss right on the lips. it soon breaks and they wipe away the tears and smile.

netzy: "i... thank you. i don't even know if you can help but just... thank you geo." they walk back to the stairs... while you are stunned, blushing so hard you're whole body is red as a tomato...

-after a while, someone taps your shoulder.

sho-co: "hey nerd. you good? you alive?" you're still stunned... "i found the contract that's keeping netzy here so if we blow up up theeeeen" THAT snaps you out!

neos ultra: "OKAY THANK YOU AWESOME LETS GO!!!" you don't even notice yourself transform as you pick up sho-co and she points the way to the manager's office as you sprint through the halls, knocking over several people and objects on the way.

-breaking down the door you spot the manager in his room counting his zennys,

manager: "EY WHO THE F- WHAT DO YOU WANT? you want a contract? i can get you movie deals and-" you jump into his desk and send his money flying everywhere,

sho-co: "yeah i'm his uh. manager. i'm gonna let him do the talking."

neos ultra: "LET NETZY LEAVE AND BREAK YOUR CONTRACT. NOW."

manager: "HAH! and why would i go'n do that huh?"

what do you do?

-attack him

-attack his money

[laulauccfinds]

Very Berry Generation 1 - CC LIST

POPPY AND TOFFEE’S CC LIST

SKIN DETAILS

Skin Tone: https://chimaerae.tumblr.com/post/187039824329/eezo-shot-skintones-palette-eezo-shot

Skin Overlay: https://inspiredmoodlet.tumblr.com/post/158330639003/someday-skinblend-i-updated-my-skinblend

Skin Redness: https://imadako.tumblr.com/post/117255677276/skindetailfacemask-01downloadmediafire-for-all

Nose Mask: https://pyxiidis.tumblr.com/post/171138927821/to-the-bone-nosemasks-by-pyxis-because-everyone

Hairline: https://anastacialove.tumblr.com/post/175649448764/organic-hairline-by-pixelore-i-couldnt-for-the

Eye Bags: https://tamosim.blogspot.com/2015/10/ts4-basic-10-eye-bags-set-for-all.html

Tattoos: https://simmingmango.tumblr.com/post/163757372950/dainty-tattoo-set-i-felt-like-theres-not-enough

Eye Sparkle: https://sim-4-cc.tumblr.com/post/176038540642/plasmafruit-tree-so-ridgeport-wanted-some-more

Aveira Eyes: https://aveirasims.tumblr.com/post/158107357256/rachirdsims-eyes-15-recolor-today-i-bring-you

HAIR

Brows WMS Recolors: http://wildlyminiaturesandwich.blogspot.com/2018/05/brow-recolours.html

Ruby Hair: https://helasims.tumblr.com/post/180760780964/stephanine-sims-ruby-hair-comes-in-all-3-wms

Ombre Overlay: https://noodlescc.tumblr.com/post/180083843724/seasons-long-wavy-hair-ombre-overlay-accessory-i

MAKEUP + ACC

Eyelashes: http://kijiko-catfood.com/3d-lashes-version2/

Eyeshadow: https://meemayplays.tumblr.com/post/120168321791/tear-line-glow-eyeshadow-i-wanted-something-to

Eyeliner: https://twinksimstress.tumblr.com/post/152660693241/the-yai-liner-because-yai-not-a-collection-of-10#notes

LaulauPlays Blush: https://simfil.es/1881575

Gloss: https://dangerouslyfreejellyfish.tumblr.com/post/165585227501/lustrous-lipgloss-teen-elder-male-female

Real Lips Revisited: https://pictureamoebae.tumblr.com/post/147259113679/real-lips-revisited-release

Skin Details: https://pyxiidis.tumblr.com/post/171902140901/about-face-skin-details-by-pyxis-a-set-of-subtle

Nails: https://laulauccfinds.tumblr.com/post/166988446352/down-in-simsland-thrift-shopping-tons-of

Rainbow Nails: https://simlaughlove.tumblr.com/post/163327412088/sll-rainbownails

Beret: https://sims4marigold.blogspot.com/2015/12/beretunisex.html

Rain Hat: https://toxicfruit.tumblr.com/post/175242389027/flw-pwr-hat-its-one-of-the-hats-that-came-with

Accessories Tops: http://wildlyminiaturesandwich.blogspot.com/2017/03/accessory-tops.html

CLOTHES + SHOES

Arcade Skirt: https://simfileshare.net/download/674077/

Mei Overalls: https://foursimscc.blogspot.com/2019/01/mei-overalls-recolor.html

Anacletus Top: https://tiptoptab.tumblr.com/post/181747252425/anacletus-top-tiptoptab-i-recently-bought-a

Baggy Sweatpants: http://puresims-blog.blogspot.com/2018/03/baggy-sweats.html

Babey Tee: https://plumbino.tumblr.com/post/182409307609/babey-tee-hello-2019-i-thought-the-baby

Bella Cardigan Accessory: https://maxiematch.tumblr.com/post/181620793671/twikkii-island-recolour-21-colours-white-mesh

Pajama Pants: https://quiddity-jones.tumblr.com/post/168905440052/fleece-your-heart-out-new-tank-top-mesh-and-pyjama

Liney Shorts: https://plumbella.tumblr.com/post/175610648711/irisensatah-liney-shorts-huge-thanks-to

Ombre Sequined Gown: https://rusty-cc.tumblr.com/post/182399244087/ombr%C3%A9-sequined-gown-by-marchesa-notte-5-color

Bobby Socks: https://imadako.tumblr.com/post/156530303831/girls-school-uniform-setdownloadmediafire

All star Shoes: https://sssvitlans.tumblr.com/post/159295739339/heypixels-low-top-all-star-conversion-by

Converse Shoes: https://love4sims4.tumblr.com/post/145096549908/pxelbox-converse-by-pxelbox-some-simple

TOFFEE

Cats and Dogs Eyes: https://noodlescc.tumblr.com/post/167593794944/glossy-eyes-for-cats-and-dogs-my-glossy-eyes-made

Skinny Cat Whiskers: http://www.pickypikachu.com/2017/11/skinny-cat-whiskers-and-brows-non.html

TART’S FAMILY CC LIST

SKIN DETAILS

Noodles Skin Tone: https://noodlescc.tumblr.com/post/157420201179/noodles-berry-skin-colors-here-is-my-set-of-berry

Skin Tone: https://chimaerae.tumblr.com/post/187039824329/eezo-shot-skintones-palette-eezo-shot

Skin Overlay: https://inspiredmoodlet.tumblr.com/post/158330639003/someday-skinblend-i-updated-my-skinblend

Male Skin Overlay: https://inspiredmoodlet.tumblr.com/post/141124469713/folie-a-deux-a-skinblend-i-made-a-skinblend

Heihu Skin Overlays: https://heihu.tumblr.com/post/168522486651/i-did-a-little-spring-cleaning-of-my-blog-and

Skin Redness: https://imadako.tumblr.com/post/117255677276/skindetailfacemask-01downloadmediafire-for-all

Eye Bags: https://tamosim.blogspot.com/2015/10/ts4-basic-10-eye-bags-set-for-all.html

Nose Mask: https://pyxiidis.tumblr.com/post/171138927821/to-the-bone-nosemasks-by-pyxis-because-everyone

Skin Shine: https://dangerouslyfreejellyfish.tumblr.com/post/165104610246/3k-followers-set-heres-a-few-items-ive-been

Hairline: https://anastacialove.tumblr.com/post/175649448764/organic-hairline-by-pixelore-i-couldnt-for-the

Tattoos: https://simmingmango.tumblr.com/post/163757372950/dainty-tattoo-set-i-felt-like-theres-not-enough

Eye Sparkle: https://sim-4-cc.tumblr.com/post/176038540642/plasmafruit-tree-so-ridgeport-wanted-some-more

Aveira Eyes: https://aveirasims.tumblr.com/post/158107357256/rachirdsims-eyes-15-recolor-today-i-bring-you

Aveira Eyes Heterochromia: https://rachirdsims.tumblr.com/post/158043689473/eyes-15-recolor-today-i-bring-you-a-recolor-of

Body Hair: https://luumiasims.com/post/160374208324/body-hair-v5-body-hair-is-back-and-even-more

HAIR

Brows WMS Recolors: http://wildlyminiaturesandwich.blogspot.com/2018/05/brow-recolours.html

Berry Brows: https://noodlescc.tumblr.com/post/169791566849/adult-eyebrow-recolors-frost-rainbowcy

Berry Facial Hair: https://noodlescc.tumblr.com/post/182986799224/base-game-facial-hair-sorbets-and-elderberries

Elle Hair: https://greenllamas.tumblr.com/post/184483916429/elle-hair-greenllamas-an-old-wip-that-has

Elias Hair: https://vevesims.tumblr.com/post/186049778634/elias-hair-full-18-ea-swatches-custom-thumbnail

Island Living Berry Hair: https://noodlescc.tumblr.com/post/185806446464/island-living-ep-hair-recolors-sorbets-and

Andre Hair: https://clumsyalienn.tumblr.com/post/619439974502268928/andre-x-wilfred-hair-commissions-these-two

Katheryn Hair: https://simstrouble.tumblr.com/post/189124618780/katheryn-by-simstrouble-a-simple-edit-mesh-from

Tiny Living Berry Hair: https://noodlescc.tumblr.com/post/611134159300214784/tiny-living-hair-recolors-sorbets-and

Lyla Hair: https://dogsill.tumblr.com/post/619561503690031104/lyla-hairs-these-hairs-are-named-after-lyla-from

MAKEUP + ACC

Eyelashes: http://kijiko-catfood.com/3d-lashes-version2/

EA Eyelash Remover (scroll down to find the mod): http://kijiko-catfood.com/3d-lashes-version2/

Eyeshadow: https://meemayplays.tumblr.com/post/120168321791/tear-line-glow-eyeshadow-i-wanted-something-to

Smokeshow Eyeshadow: https://newcresting.tumblr.com/post/190260602297/smokeshow-a-soft-smokey-and-winged-out

Savvy Eyeshadow and Eyeliner: https://grimcookies.com/post/618986221656588288/savvy-x-grimsavvysweet-and-myself-are-so-happy-to

Eyeliner: https://twinksimstress.tumblr.com/post/152660693241/the-yai-liner-because-yai-not-a-collection-of-10#notes

Bye Liner: https://twinksimstress.tumblr.com/post/612145980759998464/twinksimstress-the-bye-liner-by-twinksimstress#notes

LaulauPlays Blush: https://simfil.es/2023896

Dirk’s Blush: https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-makeup-female-blush/title/s-club-wm-ts4-blush-09/id/1337237/

Real Lips Revisited: https://pictureamoebae.tumblr.com/post/147259113679/real-lips-revisited-release

Mate Lip: https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-makeup-female-lipstick/title/%5B-powdered-sugar-%5D--matte-lip-colour/id/1357016/

Gloss: https://dangerouslyfreejellyfish.tumblr.com/post/165585227501/lustrous-lipgloss-teen-elder-male-female

Gloss Lip Set: https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-makeup-female-lipstick/title/lipsset23/id/1325006/

Butter Lip Colour: https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-makeup-female-lipstick/title/%5B-honey-butter-%5D--lip-colour/id/1326338/

Skin Details: https://pyxiidis.tumblr.com/post/171902140901/about-face-skin-details-by-pyxis-a-set-of-subtle

Nails: https://laulauccfinds.tumblr.com/post/166988446352/down-in-simsland-thrift-shopping-tons-of

Rainbow Nails: https://simlaughlove.tumblr.com/post/163327412088/sll-rainbownails

Broken Heart Earrings: https://vibrantpixels.tumblr.com/post/187223305382/broken-heart-earrings-i-spent-all-of-today-in

Rainbow Earrings: https://ridgeport.tumblr.com/post/614632757490024448/thefreckledhoneys-earrings-bronte-dress

Piercing Set: https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-accessories-female-earrings/title/piercing-set-n16/id/1382712/

Accessories Tops: http://wildlyminiaturesandwich.blogspot.com/2017/03/accessory-tops.html

Waitress Apron: https://srslysims.tumblr.com/post/146340377877/srslys-accessory-waitress-waiter-aprons-i

Beret: https://sims4marigold.blogspot.com/2015/12/beretunisex.html

Beret Hat: https://casteru.tumblr.com/post/189149555297/backwards-beret-cap-tou-reference-in

CLOTHES + SHOES

Cropped Top: https://maxismatchccworld.tumblr.com/post/183524112570/foursims-grace-top-more-frankenmeshing

Phlox Trousers: https://artupr.tumblr.com/post/185256479230/ridgeports-phlox-trousers-recolor-finally-i

Aphrodite Top PJ: https://joliebean.tumblr.com/post/182787987096/st-valentines-day-gift-a-set-of-clothes

Strawberry Dress: https://joliebean.tumblr.com/post/626451696451715072/strawberry-dress-by-joliebean-mm-version-of-the

Knotted Top: https://viiavi.tumblr.com/post/183155834908/wilder-flora-separated-wildflower-dress-2-tops

Breezer Hoodie: https://blewis50.tumblr.com/post/186796536262/emmibouquet-breezer-hoodie-accessory-top

Cropped Tank Top: https://viiavi.tumblr.com/post/183642969283/papaver-version-two-cropped-tank-top-an-anon

Splattered Bowling Shorts: https://storylegacysims.tumblr.com/post/161461789484/bowling-shorts-everyones-favorite-shorts-from

Vintage Bikini: https://bramblefinch.tumblr.com/post/185347902476/berryconfetti-bramblefinchs-swimsuit-pack-in

Kevin Top: https://aharris00britney.tumblr.com/post/187194346870/axa-2019-official-release

Jumpsuit: https://simsontherope.tumblr.com/post/152474619481/jumpsuit-for-the-sims-4-this-was-ready-for-some

Valentine Tees: https://mousysims.tumblr.com/post/182712684887/bgc-custom-thumbnail-disabled-for-random-18

Sean Sweater: https://aharris00britney.tumblr.com/post/190968756593/axa-springset-2020

Anacletus Top: https://tiptoptab.tumblr.com/post/181747252425/anacletus-top-tiptoptab-i-recently-bought-a

Babey Tee: https://plumbino.tumblr.com/post/182409307609/babey-tee-hello-2019-i-thought-the-baby

Cody Pants: https://aharris00britney.tumblr.com/post/187194346870/axa-2019-official-release

Plain Old Tee: https://love4sims4.tumblr.com/post/184687576553/captainmrbored-plain-old-tee-dyoreos-this-one

Teresa Blouse: https://clumsyalienn.tumblr.com/post/190344642990/rushed-lovers-cc-pack-bgc-all-lods-shadow-maps

Baseball Tee: https://peacemaker-ic.tumblr.com/post/176369563948/baseball-vs-short-%C2%BE-and-long-sleeve-tees-one

Sweatshirt: https://lilisimmer.tumblr.com/post/182825608894/saartje77-sorry-it-took-so-long/amp

Male Sweatpants: https://tukete.blogspot.com/2018/01/male-sweatpants-recolors.html

Pride and Joy Shorts: https://maxismatchccworld.tumblr.com/post/185409613405/simstrouble-pride-joy-shorts-by

Fallon Skirt: https://clumsyalienn.tumblr.com/post/181245667075/christmas-pack-by-amelylina-and-clumsyalienn-you

T-Shirt: https://lilsimsiecc.tumblr.com/post/163258255880/rusty-sims-shorter-t-shirt-25-color-%EB%AC%B4%EB%8B%A8%EC%88%98%EC%A0%952%EC%B0%A8%EB%B0%B0%ED%8F%AC

Liney Shorts: https://plumbella.tumblr.com/post/175610648711/irisensatah-liney-shorts-huge-thanks-to

Chloris Dress: https://ridgeport.tumblr.com/post/171151147007/chloris-a-random-dress-i-made-on-an-impulse-today

Lucas Top: https://aharris00britney.tumblr.com/post/187194346870/axa-2019-official-release

Jacob Jeans: https://aharris00britney.tumblr.com/post/190968756593/axa-springset-2020

Latata Shorts: https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-clothing-female-teenadultelder-everyday/title/trillyke-latata-shorts/id/1419659/

Winter Jacket: https://ivkasims.tumblr.com/post/175379640037/so-i-really-hate-the-jackets-for-adult-females-in

Unholy Jeans: https://mysteriousdane.tumblr.com/post/187641614058/unholy-jeans-i-absolutely-adore-the-new-skiny

Simple Tee: https://ridgeport.tumblr.com/post/183660259057/simple

PJ Bottoms: https://simmiesgalore.tumblr.com/post/182140697672/who-doesnt-love-comfy-pjs-12-color-variations

Cropped Roll-Up Jeans: https://love4sims4.tumblr.com/post/163010549193/rusty-sims-cropped-roll-up-jeans-f-18-color

Danielle Jeans: https://aharris00britney.tumblr.com/post/190968756593/axa-springset-2020

Matt Trucks: https://aharris00britney.tumblr.com/post/187194346870/axa-2019-official-release

Baggy Sweatpants: http://puresims-blog.blogspot.com/2018/03/baggy-sweats.html

Bobby Socks: https://imadako.tumblr.com/post/156530303831/girls-school-uniform-setdownloadmediafire

Anisah Shoes: https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-shoes-female-teenadultelder/title/madlen-anisah-shoes/id/1410315/

Converse Shoes: https://love4sims4.tumblr.com/post/145096549908/pxelbox-converse-by-pxelbox-some-simple

Elelyn Boots: https://aharris00britney.tumblr.com/post/188520988266/simblreen-2019

Cork Slides: https://gladlypants.tumblr.com/post/186643983606/i-put-a-cute-little-cork-texture-on-the-soles-of

Hike Boots: https://nolan-sims.tumblr.com/post/183341235753/nolan-sims-here-long-time-no-see-its-been-ages

Slippers: http://wildlyminiaturesandwich.blogspot.com/2017/10/tartan-jammies-simblreen-2017-treat.html

CATS AND DOGS

Cats and Dogs Eyes: https://noodlescc.tumblr.com/post/167593794944/glossy-eyes-for-cats-and-dogs-my-glossy-eyes-made

Skinny Cat Whiskers: http://www.pickypikachu.com/2017/11/skinny-cat-whiskers-and-brows-non.html

[queenaeducan]

tagged by @kittynomsdeplume​!! tysm!

this is the first pass at a conversation with solas and thora from my deep roads field trip fanfic. it’s dwarf-elf solidarity time babey

Making camp is less of a production so long as it is just the two of them. A humble fire marks the centre, small enough to reach across without the flames licking his wrist. Thora labours beside it, carving deep mushrooms with a fine knife. Every so often her foot sweeps out, drawing away the shavings that fall too close to the flame.

As she toils over the fire, he sets wards around the perimeter. The rock here does not resist his magic as it did nearer the Titan. It sinks into the stone, the outline glowing a molten gold before fading slowly. Each lie differently in the earth, unique to the square inch it occupies. Should anything approach, he will know from which direction.

“This must bring back memories, huh?” Thora asks from across the camp. “I’m guessing you used to do this thing all the time when you travelled alone.”

“I relied upon them whenever I could not trust the ground I slept on.” Solas stands to admire his work, joints cracking with effort. As he casts his gaze about their surroundings he catches a glint of magic where his wards were set, fleeting as light off fish scales. Thora’s eyes wait for his, glowing with a light of their own. “It took time before I could sleep in Inquisition camps without their presence.

“You set them around our camps?”

“Discreetly. Before it was certain it was safe.” In those early months his sleep came by him slowly, jumping in his bedroll when someone strayed too close to his tent canvas. “It all felt… precarious, and I, a mage with no Chantry ties… you understand.”

She grimaces. “Yeah. I get it.” Thora sits with the thought a moment, then pats the spot beside her in invitation.

Solas doesn’t need to be invited twice. He joins her by the fire, warming his hands by its light. His magic has been all but burned from its heart, but what little remains leans over to greet him, bathing his fingers in a cadmium glow.

“What made you decide to stop using them?”

“I never intended to. Each night I used them and woke up unscatched was proof of their efficacy. Yet I recall, once, as we sheltered from a storm, resting my head against my bag. Just for a moment. I lay listening to raindrops ricocheting off the cliff face and soft conversation, barely mumbled above the sound of the sky falling around us. As the subject turned to Kirkwall the words grew distant, but even half-veiled in dreams I could not mistake the voice of a homesick man. When I awoke in one piece, with your vigil my only shield, it wore a hole in my own defenses. The precautions I took grew more difficult to justify, at least so long as I travelled in good company.”

A little smile just barely touches her lips. Yet he sees a thought stick in her head, stubborn as the flecks of mushroom that cling to the cheek of her blade. She taps them off into the pot, polishing off her knife with the cloth draped over her knee.

“You know,” she says, turning the mushrooms about in the pot until they’re coated with a film of oil, “I don’t hear you talk about ‘home’ too often.”

“There’s little to say. When my heart yearns from home, it does not turn to a singular place, per se.” He draws his hands back from the flame, cradling them against his ribcage. They glow with a pink heat beside his heart. “There is a phrase in Elvhen: lathbora viran. Do you know what it means?”

“Lath-bo-ra vir-an, lathbora viran…” Thora speaks the word as though she’s tasting wine. “The path of lost love?”

“Close. But remember our lessons: there is meaning to be parsed beyond the initial meaning of each word. What you intend to say matters more than what was actually said.”

“Lathbora viran.” She goes quiet, eyes shut as she listens. To his perspective the only sound is the echo of the phrase bouncing around the walls and the low sizzle of dinner over the fire, but the Well speaks in whispers too low for his waking mind. “It’s talking about Elvhenan, isn’t it?”

“In part. It is the memory of a place we will never know, which has been forever lost to us, and yet we long to return to. Though we may strive to remember, remember is all we will ever do.”

tagging: @mercenarysexuality, @rosella-writes, @dreadfutures, @mxkelsifer, @gaysolavellan, @fiadhaisteach, @bluewren, @darethshirl, @inquisimer, @effelants, @theshirallen​

anyone who wants to share a wip (of any kind!) feel free to tag me tho