#i think ‘what if’ would be far more painful than whatever is gonna actually happen

[nothingweirdhere]

“i don’t want you to catch feelings, i don’t want you to get hurt” says guy (deeply afraid of commitment) that i’ve been crushing on for over a month

i told him that was a risk i was willing to take... i did not tell him it was already too late 🙃

[delzinrowe]

Love Letter - TAKUMA INO

WORD COUNT: ~5.1K WARNINGS: None. F!Reader SUMMARY: Y/N receives a love letter, sadly the sender wasn't very specific when he signed it. A/N: Silly little brainrot I had months ago. Took me ages to actually finish this. Feedback is always appreciated!! Let me know if you wanna be tagged. TAGGING @just-jordie-things CAUSE I GOT BACK INTO WRITING BECAUSE OF HER, SHE'S AMAZING ♡♡♡

Another day filled with lessons of an unusual kind passed by. Gojo-Sensei was a good and devoted teacher, but everyone agreed that his teaching methods sometimes were a little… unorthodox, for lack of a better word. He tends to throw students into dangerous situations to fend for themselves instead of preparing them for it beforehand.

Y/N was just happy that she had her student days behind her. Now she was a semi-grade 1 sorcerer. After graduating from Jujutsu High she slowly but surely worked her way up the ranks and earned the respect of her fellow sorcerers, one of which was Ino Takuma, who seemed to be just as impressed by her as he was by his mentor Nanami Kento.

Whenever she wasn’t on a mission Y/N used the time to train, either by herself, with Takuma or with some of the younger students. Which was exactly what happened right now. For the past hours she had exchanged blows with each of them, successfully winning every fight. Until Maki decided to challenge her. Without any ounce of cursed energy she was supposed to be an easy target, but exactly this made her all the more dangerous in close range.

She stood opposite of Maki, wearing a smile on her lips and chuckling a little. Even after losing their training fight there was not an ounce of bitterness within her. Maki was an astonishing fighter, she was more skilled and talented in hand-to-hand combat than any of the other students.

Due to her lack of cursed energy she focused entirely on close range combat, allowing her to win the fight swiftly. No doubt that Yuji would still smoke her in terms of raw strength, but Maki was no way inferior to any of them.

“You’re gonna raise hell some day, Maki.” Y/N never made a secret out of her adoration and pride for the young ostracized Zenin. If it had been anyone else Maki would have rolled her eyes and shrugged off the praising compliment, but Y/N was one of the few people she held in high regards, therefore her words meant a lot to the second year student.

Knowing that someone as strong as Y/N acknowledged her strength and even believed in her so strongly meant a lot to her, even if she would rather die a gruesome death than ever admit this to anyone.

“I’m working on it.”

Maki’s witty comeback earned another chuckle from Y/N. Truth be told, she was immensely proud of the young student. When she herself enrolled into Jujutsu High she was surrounded by all these amazing young sorcerers and even her teachers were fascinatingly strong. It often caused her to feel left out, as if she was merely a candle in the wind with everyone around her being raging wildfires, rapidly increasing with each passing day.

Back then Takuma was the only person who showed her acknowledgement, who openly told her that he believed she’d be destined for amazing and great things. Thinking back on it now, it might have been this exact moment her crush developed. She wanted to prove him right, that she was capable of whatever life as sorcerer threw at her.

Ultimately, she knew the pain of being left out, of not being believed in, of feeling far too weak. She wouldn’t allow anyone to feel like that, especially not someone like Maki, who was so willing and determined to prove herself.

Y/N only responded with a nod and a smile before turning around to gather her things. All too suddenly she halted her movements, her eyes squinting at the piece of white paper she spotted on the dark piece of clothing.

Right there, at the edge of the training grounds, in her lazily discarded jacket, stuck a letter, folded into a tiny rectangle. It certainly wasn’t there before. She would have remembered anyone messing with her clothes during the training. Whoever it was must have used the chance to leave the paper when she had her back turned. Or maybe when Maki successfully threw her onto her back…

However, that didn’t matter now, what mattered most to Y/N in this instant was the tiny rectangle. 

Curiously, and with careful touches, she reached for the paper and slowly unfolded it. Her eyes scanned over the lines written on it. The first thing she noticed was the handwriting itself. It wasn’t neat, but it was far from messy. It seemed almost as if someone tried to conceal their handwriting. Something else she noticed was that it was a blank paper, no lines or squares, yet the short sentences made it seem as if there had been invisible lines.

Whoever wrote this note went through the trouble of using an undersheet to keep the perfect lines intact. The level of detail for one simple note was astonishing. 

It took Y/N a few good moments of skimping over the words before she even realized what the letter said.

It was… a love letter.

Never in her life did Y/N think she’d receive one of those, let alone an anonymous one, only signed with initials, but there’s got to be a first time for everything, right?

Her gaze was fixated on the paper, as if it put a spell on her. The few lines were filled with sweet adoration, even bringing a smile to her lips until her eyes found the initials T.I..

Y/N still stood in the middle of the training grounds but she suddenly didn’t notice anything around her anymore. Her thoughts were now fully engulfed by the two letters that sent her mind into a haze. Who the hell was T.I.?

Bombs and missiles could have detonated right in front of her, nonetheless, nothing would have managed to tear her attention away from her thoughts going on a rampage.

Seconds passed, turning into minutes as Y/N kept on thinking about the initials but she couldn’t come up with anything. Even if she turned the letters around no one came to her mind. No one seemed to fit, until a certain image popped up in her thoughts. And suddenly the need for a written letter made much more sense to her.

<--With a suspicion now in mind, she set out to find her best friend, hoping to get a different perspective on the entire matter. Maybe he’d even have some advice ready for her to handle this entire situation. It surely would help her to at least get a male opinion on this. That is… if her best friend Takuma would even have an opinion on it at all. -->

“Do you have any idea who T.I. could be?” 

Immediately after finding Takuma she spilled everything about the letter she received. It took him a good few minutes to get her to slow down but once he realized what she was on about his lips curled into a little smile, not too big to get caught but just enough to seem like his usual self. Even if he was a nervous bundle of anxiety inside.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it, ‘Kuma?” This was it. The moment he was waiting for.

He was the one who left the letter in her jacket during training. She’d confront him and after hearing his cheesy confession she’d admit to always having had a crush on him as well, and the two would kiss and be the dream couple everyone would envy.

…At least that’s how he pictured it in his head.

“It must be Toge Inumaki. I can’t think of anyone else, to be honest.” Y/N crossed her arms in front of her chest, the letter still clutched in between her thumb and her fingers, as she gave an expectant look towards her friend, not knowing that his heart secretly deflated at her words.

Takuma tried his hardest not to show his thoughts all too clearly on his face. Usually, he was the personification of bubbly, open and unfiltered, blurting out the first things on his mind without really thinking of his words first. But this time he had to bite his own tongue to stop himself from speaking too quickly. 

Why did she not realize that it was him who wrote that note? Then again, why did he have to sign it with his initials only? Was he really that stupid? Of course, there were other people with the same initials as him, he should have thought of this beforehand.

Or perhaps the fact that she instantly assumed it to be someone else meant that maybe she wanted it to be someone else? Did she believe Toge wrote the note because she wished that it was from him? Had her heart already been snatched by someone?

The possibility of it felt like a gut punch to Takuma. A few minutes ago he felt happy, expecting this moment to turn into the sweetest one of his life. However, by now his chest felt tightened, as if someone had reached down his throat and crushed his heart with bare hands, while simultaneously smacking the air out of his lungs.

This had got to be one of the worst moments of his life. He got rejected, indirectly at least, and in one of the worst ways too.

“If you think it’s him, then ask him about it.” The words were followed by a shrug of his shoulders, he tried so desperately to seem indifferent enough towards this. Of course, he didn’t want her to think that this entire topic didn’t matter to him, it did. More than she even knew. But she was smart and if he acted out of character now then she’d be onto him instantly. 

Y/N let out a deep sigh, uncrossing her arms and letting them drop to her sides. As calm as she seemed, her mind was a mess. Why did she have to receive a letter like this? Anonymous with only initials to make her guess.

“Yeah sure, and what do I even say to him?” She asked with a hint of hopelessness, shrugging her shoulders lightly.

“That depends on whether you like him or not.” Takuma kept his posture, speaking in a tone that was usual for him. Or wasn’t it? He tried way too hard to appear like his normal self that he started to overthink his actions, words and even the tone he used. Did he talk like this any other day?

“I guess so.” Her response, paired with the deep sigh she let out and her sinking shoulders were a clear sign of defeat. She didn’t seem suspicious of him. Good, he had played his role well. Now he just needed to keep it up a little longer.

Eventually Y/N’s chat with her best friend offered no real help or conclusion, besides the obvious ‘talk to him directly. It was a piece of advice she didn’t need, considering it was apparent inside her own mind ever since she successfully deciphered the sender of the note.

She dreaded the encounter with Toge. She didn’t want to break the young student’s heart. Why did it have to be so uncomfortable and painful when friends caught feelings? How she wished for the ground to simply swallow her whole right at this moment.

Alas, there was no way around it. No matter how much Y/N tried to think of a different solution, she had to be direct and honest with Toge. He deserved that much.

Seconds passed and neither Takuma nor Y/N said anything. For Takuma the heavy tension in the air seemed almost unbearable. His heart threatened to burst out of his chest, wanting so desperately to confess to being the real author of the note. But he figuratively bit his own tongue to stay silent. It felt obvious enough to him that she wasn’t reciprocating his feelings.

On the other hand, Y/N felt a thick tension for different reasons. She dreaded the encounter with Toge, no matter how much she knew that it was necessary to clear the air. A feeling of unease and anxiety spread through her stomach and she took a few deep breaths, releasing the last one as a deep sigh.

“I should talk to him right now.” For a moment she glanced at Takuma before her gaze shifted towards the letter she still held tightly. There was nothing else to say or do, anything she’d come up with now would only prolong the much needed conversation.

“Good luck.” Takuma’s short nod was met with a grimace from Y/N, followed by quiet short noise that could only be described as a whine.

Just for a fraction of a moment he forgot the aching pain in his chest. Goddamn, why did she look so cute right now? It took all his willpower to keep his mouth shut when inside him everything was screaming at him to just be honest.

“Thanks.”

Without any further ado she turned on her heel. Even if she didn’t know where to find Toge, she was sure that eventually she’d run into him. Maybe she could think of the right things to say until then.

Takuma’s gaze followed her until she was out of sight. The second grace sorcerer wasn’t a coward or shy by any means, he was brave and courageous. So why couldn’t he just walk up to her and confess, like he had thought about so many times? Why did he settle to write a letter and leave it in her jacket like some clumsy lovesick teenager?

In an instant he froze in place, his eyes wide in shock as the realization hit him like a jolt of electricity. As soon as Y/N confronted Toge she’d find out that the letter wasn’t actually  from him. His heart had started pounding and he felt paralyzed when he realized the extensive consequences of her finding out. Their entire friendship would shift and become awkward. In the worst case it might even end he’d lose his best friend.

He had to follow Y/N and ‘accidentally’ interrupt her encounter with Toge before the blonde student could expose his secret crush on his best friend.

For an experienced high grade sorcerer Y/N was far too immersed in her thoughts to realize that for the past half hour she had been followed by Takuma. He didn’t even have to use any cursed energy to be as stealthy as possible. She was too occupied with her search for the blonde student to notice him either way.

Well, she didn’t actively search for Toge, no. She dreaded this upcoming conversation more than anything else. Instead, she simply wandered around the school grounds as casually as she could. Eventually she’d find him, wouldn’t she?

She had already given up on thinking of what to say, nothing seemed good or fitting. With a nervous feeling in her gut she decided to just wing it and come up with anything she’d say on the spot.

Just when Y/N was about to call it quits and chicken out of this entire situation she saw Toge walking a little bit further away from her current position. After suppressing another unmotivated whine she took deep breaths to calm her nerves before approaching him.

“Hey, Toge!” She tried not to sound too loud with her yell as she ran up to the blonde student, who turned around towards her and greeted her with a hand sign, as per usual paired with a quiet: “Kelp.”

“I wanted to talk to you about something.” Y/N’s head was tilted a little and a somewhat awkward smile appeared on her face. Damnit. She tried so hard to act normal but she had only ever been in this situation two or three times before. Rejecting someone was hard on its own, but even worse when it was a good friend. How would she even start?

Instead of saying any of his safe words Toge opted to not say anything as he only raised his eyebrows. A silent sign that she had his attention and a gesture for her to keep talking.

“The letter you sent me… it was really nice, but…” As much as Y/N tried to find the right words, it resulted in her sounding uncertain. Hopefully this wouldn’t cause their friendship to get awkward.

The more she tried to construct a coherent sentence, the less she was actually able to speak properly. The nervousness that surged through her body felt almost paralyzing, even more so than the uncomfortable silence that hung between them. But she had to say something. She couldn’t give Toge any false hope. He didn’t deserve that.

“I don’t like you like that, I’m sorry.”

If Y/N had the courage to look up right now she would have seen the confused expression on Toge’s face as he tried desperately to make sense of this whole situation. However, her gaze was just about anywhere else, focusing on invisible dots, as to not look at him directly.

He wasn’t entirely sure what she meant, but with the limited vocabulary available to him he decided to simply agree with it and call it a day. Whatever this was about would surely resolve on its own. For him there was no need to stress about something he didn’t fully grasp either way.

“Salmon.” With that Toge nodded his head, conveying his understanding, even if it was merely an act.

“I don’t wanna hurt you, and I hope we can stay friends.” Even though Y/N harbored no romantic feelings for the short blonde student, rejecting a friend was always a gut-wrenching experience. It was something she hated, even if it had thankfully only happened very few times. The anguish of having to turn down someone she was close with always hung above the friendship, similar to the damning dropping chandelier in Phantom of the Opera. At one point it might crash and reduce the remaining friendship to rubble and dust.

Although this didn’t seem to be the case with Toge, he took the rejection like a champ. If Y/N hadn’t been too overwhelmed by this situation she might have realized that Toge even seemed a little too chill about getting rejected. But her mind was elsewhere, involuntarily drifting to the young sorcerer who was now hiding behind a wall, listening in on their conversation.

Toge hadn’t exposed him, he took the rejection and went with it. Yet, for some reason it caused Takuma to feel twisted. Y/N didn’t even think of him when she received the letter, and now she had officially rejected ‘T.I.’, which made it practically impossible to send her another note. He should have just gathered his courage and confessed when he had the chance.

“Salmon Roe.” Two words was enough to pull Y/N and Takuma out of their thoughts and bring them back to the present. She only nodded in an effort to ease the awkward tension between them, even if she was the only one that felt it.

Toge pointed towards his dorm rooms, not even attempting to say anything else before lifting his hand in the air to wave goodbye as he left Y/N on her own. Her thoughts were racing and her heart pounded in her chest. The conversation had gone smooth (more or less) and Toge took the rejection well. Hopefully this wouldn’t have any awkward consequences in their friendship. 

Meanwhile Takuma leaned against the wall he was hiding behind, nervousness filling his stomach. He should get out of here, leave before she noticed that he had followed her.

His palms were sweaty, his heart beating so fast and hard that it threatened to burst out of his chest. His head leaned against the surface of the concrete as his eyes were closed. If he already felt like this when he was just hiding behind a wall then how was he ever gonna face her and confess? He, the usually cool, calm and collected auspicious beasts’ user, was undoubtedly a coward. 

“‘Kuma?” Y/N’s voice rang in his ears, instantly his eyes widened. Instantly he cursed himself for not disappearing sooner. Now it was too late for that, if he attempted to leave now she’d just follow and question him.

“What are you doing here?” Her voice was, understandably, laced with confusion. Had he listened to the entire conversation she had with Toge? Why would he even care about it?

“Hey.” It was the most awkward and stupidest he had ever sounded as he dragged out the one word greeting. He wanted to disappear right now, vanish into thin air never to be seen again.

When he didn’t say anything she lifted her head forward just a bit and raised her eyebrows expectantly, urging him to continue with her sharp gaze. Oh, how he scolded himself internally at this very moment.

“I’m just here for emotional support…” The way the words came out of his mouth seemed more like a question instead of an answer to her initial inquiry.  If there was ever an award for the worst lie, Takuma would receive it without any close competition. Even without this dead giveaway Y/N would have known that something was foul.

“Would you just spit it out?” Gone was the nervousness she felt just moments ago during her conversation with Toge. Now she was aggravated and irritated at his unusual behavior. It must have been connected to the love note, but she couldn’t come up with any reason why.

As Y/N was still waiting for his response, Takuma felt the sinking realization that he wouldn’t be able to get out of this situation without coming clean about the love letter. The weight on his chest grew heavier, his heart pounded louder, the beating rang in his ears. He wiped his hands on his pants, rather pathetically as they kept on sweating. Had he ever been this fucking nervous prior to this moment? He couldn’t remember.

Even after facing curse users, as well as encountering and successfully exorcizing countless curses, and finding himself in the most dangerous situations, he couldn’t remember ever feeling this uneasy in his entire life.

The silence between them remained for what felt like an eternity, but actually had only been about two minutes. Y/N knew that he heard her question loud and clear, there was no need to repeat it. Especially considering how nervous he appeared. Something was definitely wrong, but no matter how irritated or aggravated she was with him, she’d never pressure him. That simply wasn’t how their friendship worked.

Seconds felt like hours for Takuma but he knew he had to say something, and eventually, after taking multiple deep breaths, he finally overcame his uneasiness and forced himself to speak up.

“I’m T.I.”, as little as his words seemed, it had taken him immense courage to say them out loud.

“The letter… it’s from me.”

Y/N simply stared at him as he dropped this bomb of information on her. The thought of “T.I.” actually standing for Takuma Ino had never seriously crossed her mind. Even if for a split second she might have hoped for it, she had immediately dismissed it.

For as long as she had been friends with him he was never the type to write letters, especially love letters. She had known him long enough to learn his character inside out. He was blunt, but not brutal, open and unfiltered but never hostile. In short; he wasn’t someone who would hide behind an anonymous letter.

Or so she thought at least, which caused her thoughts to go into overdrive.

“You wrote that? Why? Did you think it’d be a funny joke? Is that why you didn’t say anything before and just let me make a fool out of myself in front of Toge?” Y/N asked suddenly, completely overwhelmed with this situation and clearly overthinking it.

Takuma knew that tone all too well, he was the one to calm her down more than just a few times, and while he was still nervous about this whole ordeal, he couldn’t watch how she doubted herself so much that she didn’t take his love letter seriously.

“No, it wasn’t a joke. Listen…”, for a moment he paused, his might searching for words as she took a step forward to her. He let out a deep sigh before he spoke up once more.

“I like you. Like… a whole lot. I’ve pretty much had a crush on you since forever. I don’t know what made me write a damn letter. I guess I was too much of a coward to tell you face to face.” Even though he had taken a step forward, he couldn’t look into her eyes. His averted gaze focused on an invisible point a few feet away.

“It’s not a joke, alright? I’m serious.” His heart hammered against his ribcage. This was the moment he didn’t want to experience.

Y/N was far too shocked to construct a proper sentence, the confession had taken her by full surprise. Neither of them dared to say anything but as the moments passed her lips curled into a smile that she tried to suppress. It was slowly setting in that this wasn’t a joke or a prank. Takuma seemed to be genuinely nervous, even anxious. Something she wasn’t used to seeing.

Furthermore, she had known him for quite some time and while he was a bit of a goof who liked to pull pranks, he never would have gone for something that could end up emotionally scarring someone.

Her heart went from racing twice as fast to skipping a beat all the way to pounding heavily inside her chest. It felt as if a fuzzy blanket was wrapped around her, the realization that the boy she had a crush on liked her back.

“And you’re really really serious?” She questioned quietly, her voice now lacking the previous panicky tone.

“More than anything.”

When he finally lifted his head again Takuma saw the smile on her lips. It was like a drug to him, instantly he returned it with a smile on his own, the uneasiness fading away and being replaced by a warm feeling that spread through his limbs.

“Good, cause I like you too.”

“You really do?” His mind struggled to believe that it was real, but the way she smiled shyly with this faint blush on her cheeks was all the proof he needed. And suddenly he’s floating from happiness.

Suddenly the anxiety he felt died down, and all the uneasiness disappeared from his body.

Y/N had no time to brace herself when all of a sudden his arms wrapped tightly around her frame, pulling her right into his warm chest. The closeness, paired with his familiar scent, felt like a dream to her.

Takuma didn’t need to say it, it was obvious that he was happier than ever about this development, but so was Y/N.

The two of them didn’t know how much time passed, could have been an hour, could have been an eternity. In reality it was closer to a few minutes, when he eventually loosened his hold and leaned back just enough to look at her. 

Y/N could have sworn she just fell much deeper for him when she saw his unusually flushed face. A sign so beautiful and handsome that she never wanted to look away. It was a sight she didn’t expect, and certainly something she never knew she needed to see until now.

“So… Can I kiss you?” Takuma asked, and Y/N swore he was still nervous, which caused her chest to feel even warmer. It was unlike him to not ooze confidence with every fiber of his being, however, knowing that she had this effect on him, even after both of them confessing, filled her with pride.

“I don’t know if you can, but you should.” She responded with a smirk, albeit with her cheeks so heated that she felt like a radiator. The chuckle that followed her words was cut short when his lips captured her own. Her giggle died down when she practically melted into the kiss.

It was a little messy and chaotic, but eventually they fell into a rhythm that felt just right in every way.

Her hands, which were still wrapped around his torso from their hug, grabbed his sweater tightly. Meanwhile her thoughts dissipated, leaving nothing else but the blissful happiness, and the fluttering butterflies in her stomach.

Everything was drowned out until a few seconds later when Takuma pulled away. As if she was magnetized by him she tried to follow his lips, leaning further into him just a few inches before regaining her composure. She opened her eyes but didn’t look at him right away. It was such a silly thing that she felt embarrassed for not wanting the kiss to end but at the same time she knew that from now on she could have kisses anytime she asked.

Her hands slowly let go of his sweater. A wave of uncertainty hit her but it was gone as quick as it arrived once she felt him reach for her wrist.

His hand found hers, and their fingers interlaced. Y/N couldn’t help but notice how natural and easy everything felt with him. Her heart might have raced like a sports car and rang in her ears like church bells but being with Takuma like this felt more natural and comfortable than she had ever imagined.

For a while it was quiet as the two of them simply started strolling around aimlessly on the school grounds. But there was one thing Y/N still wanted to address…

“You couldn’t come up with a better way to sign it then T.I.?”

“To be fair I didn’t think your first thought would be Riceball Guy.” He mumbled back and rolled his eyes, listening as her giggles turned into a short but warm laugh.

His eyes were glued to her, the corners of his lips subconsciously curling into the happiest grin he could possibly create.

They had no label yet but she was his girl, there was no doubt in his mind about it. She was hers even before he had even known it. And there was no way in hell that he’d ever let go of her.

[boonsmoon]

Would you do a Mu Qing from TCGF fluff request Xie Lian (and by extension San Lang) attempt to play matchmaker between Mu Qing and his god/dess crush (cause Mu Qing refuses to admit liking them despite them being the person he’s closest to since meeting each other)?

I fell in love with this idea instantly A Christmas special for the lovelies Btw for creativity purposes, you can be the goddess of literally whatever

Request Masterlist Mu Qing x f!reader Genres:🎉🌸💞🧪

Kiss of Winter

To the untrained eye you would seem like a subordinate or nuisance to the cold-hearted god; however, this couldn't be further from the truth. You would considered yourself a close friend to Mu Qing, you have known each other for hundreds of years after all.

Though when asked, Mu Qing would refer to you as "a valuable acquaintance," and boy did it hurt to say this. Luckily, there was a very observant god who decided he had watched you two dance around each other long enough.

The holidays were approaching and Xie Lian thought this would be a great time to force persuade both of you to be in each other's company more often. So, with some hard thought planning and input from San Lang, the boys decided on a special celebration for the gods.

Now considering all these higher beings actually have standards, lots of works will have to be put into this. And who better to ask than someone that'll be excited to attend?

"I can't think of anyone more fitting for this job than you," Xie Lian praised, hoping to get you on the project. Everything has to be perfect if he's gonna get you and Mu Qing together.

You hesitated for a moment, "I've been getting many more prayers recently, though I suppose those can be put on hold..." There was a look of pondering on your face, weighing the pros and cons of what this could do to your status among deities and humans.

"Don't you have subordinates? If anything important happens they'll surely yap to you about it," you tensed at San Lang's words. Subordinates yes, deserving of disrespect no.

Unfortunately though, you must admit he was right. Your subordinates were always more alert than you, even when it came to your own temples. You sighed, "fine, I will help you prepare for this celebration."

After tireless days? Weeks? Of work, you all finally finished the super secret super awesome holiday party. Now you may be wondering would Mu Qing even come to the celebration? The answer is yes, but only if you invite him.

And let's be honest, most of the Heaven Official's don't like Xie Lian and San Lang very much, so making you the messenger was common sense from the beginning. So after running around and inviting everyone you saw, it finally came to the one and only.

"It is a holiday that comes each year, what makes this one special?" So far, so bad, he doesn't seem very keen on attending your greatest achievement yet.

"Becauseee we put effort into enjoying it this year. It'll be fun, I promise!" You pleaded with Mu Qing, hoping he'd say yes. "I worked on it the most anyways, so you don't have to worry about Xie Lian's 'bad taste.'"

He crossed his arms, contemplating if that was really a good enough reason to attend. "And when did I say you have good taste? It is likely just as bad considering you dare interact with him." OW OKAY THEN.

You folded your hands and begged, "if it's not I swear to never invite you again! Just please come this once..." This is what convinced him, the pain that in the future deities will get to enjoy your hard-work and he'll be left out. No one could ever appreciate your efforts like he can.

"Fine! I will agree this once..." That was a lie, he will make sure to agree in the future, even if it means forcing himself to attend a celebration that involved Xie Lian and San Lang.

The day of the celebration was fantastic, several deities appeared, many complimenting you on your efforts. You most oversaw everything that was happening, what you didn't see; however, was Xie Lian spying on you and Mu Qing while talking.

He took this as his chance to put the real plan into action. After getting a signal from San Lang that the mistletoe was hanging up a few feet from you two, Xie Lian basically sprinted into the both of you, pushing you under the plant.

Mu Qing turned around, visibly angry at Xie Lian, "would it hurt to watch where you move?!" This caused Xie Lian to put his hands up in defeat and shuffle away.

While rubbing your head to try and soothe the pain, you noticed something bright above you. Realizing it was mistletoe your face got darker. This caused Mu Qing to seem slightly concerned, questioning what was the problem. You only pointed up, and when he took notice his face also darkened.

"We can simply move and ignore this tradition, it's not that important anyways-" He was interrupted by you however, "rules are rules, Mu Qing, we can't ignore them. Plus, I kinda like this tradition."

He tried to get over the initial embarrassment and decided it would be easier to dive into the kiss. What would've been a fleeting moment to others felt like an eternity to you both.

Pulling away you could both tell by the look in each other's eyes that the feeling was mutual. And hidden somewhere else was a very proud and excited Xie Lian.

this was a very beefy fic

not that i'm complaining i liked it

anyways, happy holidays everyone! may all be well for the new year

[offical-ouroboros]

Someone pointed out the pure ease there is in yandere unknown and I absolutely approve of that oh my god

(Mostly rambling, what I feel a romantic relationship with it would be like at the bottom)

~☆

Between all the calm, normal interactions suggesting its stalked it's victims, or maybe can have more human looking forms to blend in

"Why so nervous tonight?" UGHHH THE GROWL AT THE ENDDDD 😻😻🤤🤤

"I lived in dungeons long forgotten." Could lead to it easily becoming very clingy and possessive over an interest

"I will not be denied my happiness." MORE EVIDENCE THAT THIS THING COULD 100% BECOME FERAL AND OBSESSED

He's got me wondering if he's actually fully sentient COMMUNICATION WISE

Like how with SCP-939, it's up for debate if they KNOW what they're saying if they mimic voices, or if they just do it, but what they repeat is somewhat relevant to what's happening.

>calling out while in a search

>getting aggressive/defensive when alerted

>screaming when chasing

It seems like the Unknown is somewhat similar, specifically so far with mori lines referencing to pain or the one that tells you to just die.

When it's walking around, it engages like an actual human (kinda), asking questions and such to start a convo/lure people in closer to it

There's also this freaky kinda effect that goes on when you Dispel its hallucinations where it kinda brings your FOV in and the audio gets a bit. Adore that. Watching your character just like... Reach a hand out to its chest... Before the hallucination disappears.

You already KNOW I'm doing more than dispelling his form 🙏

♡~

Can just imagine this thing curling up around you with its contortionist body just doing its best to mock affection it might've seen or heard before.

Arms and legs wrapped around your body, nuzzling you, making weird off-putting purring sounds and, if you're a freak like me, maybe even trying to kiss you, but it's not really... Good at it... So it just kinda presses its face to yours.

I like the idea of it taking on forms of people or things it's killed, so go on! Pick your favorite survivor! He'll kill them and steal their appearance for you!

Hearing little distorted "Love... You."s is also so freaking cute, just having him pick up various nicknames or phrases for an interest

Ofc this is mostly romantic, but could just as easily be platonic. I'm just sick of seeing monsters not get romantic love.

Do I think that he could actually love someone?

Ye-no.

If it happens, there's 2 ways I see it going.

option a. You engage first. For whatever ungodly reason, you decide you like this thing. You like how it acts, its voice, just think he's hot.

At first it... Would most definitely reciprocate. As best it can. You get shocked, or don't react and pursue more- Doesn't matter. It doesn't actually like you back. It just wants you dead. Needs to fill that 'insatiable hunger' it has.

But... Hm. Now it feels... Mean. Why did you act like that?

Huh? You like it? You LOVE it? You don't even know it!!

... Well, maybe it can give this affection thing a try.

Next time you see it, it goes easy on you. Awkwardly watches. Waits. If you don't do anything, or just ignore it, he goes back to hunting down and tormenting other survivors. But you still linger in the trial...

If you seem scared of it now, it comforts you. Tries to.

Things go better if you're the freeze type of scared and not the fight or flight type.

Though, it's not against chasing you down, incapacitating you, and then just holding as it struggles to say things to soothe it.

It just wants you to know it's friendly! Despite... You... Bleeding to death.

But!

Again, it feels kinda bad about how the last time it saw you went, so this time it doesn't hurt you!

if you're still lovey after the betrayal, things go great! Mostly.

Everyone else is incredibly fucked though. He's gonna mori the hell out of them. Just for you!!!

Wait. Just for you?

Huh. It... Feels good about that.

You should thank it! Right? Everyone else is gone- Now the two of you can spend time together!

You still like it right.

option b. Youuu... Are normal. You're so totally normal. You don't engage first, you play how you're supposed to, you hopefully get out with maybe a few major injuries but so do most people.

Eventually, for some reason, it's not yet crippling but still horrible loneliness catches up, and it chooses you as it's interest.

Maybe you were nice. Maybe you looked cute. Maybe it enjoyed killing you before. Maybe you were just slightly better to it than anyone else in the games it was in, and it appreciated

Well, now you're screwed.

Everyone else is getting killed. You're getting trapped in an embrace. It's probably going to let the entity kill you as the game times or, or he's going to get impatient enough with you struggling to just mori you.

In either scenario, it gets addicted. Giving it affection, struggling- It doesn't really matter. Being near you makes it happy. It likes how you feel, smell, look, everything about you- Even your imperfections. I mean, look at it. Is that an ideal human? No!

Hey, stop fighting. Stop struggling- Did you just try to bite it?

Just calm down.

Don't make it hurt you again. It didn't like how that made it feel.

So to him, you're probably divine.

Empty husks for eyes just looklooklooklooklooking at you.

Craving your attention.

Hold it. Coddle it. Pet it. Kiss it. Love it. Hate it. Hurt it. Say whatever you want. Do anything you want.

Just stay with it. Feed it's unyielding hunger.

It's not like he's letting you escape now.

Not after being alone for so long.

[or0ch1maru]

I don't know if you're still doing requests but ahhhh

Could you maybe do one with the Akatsuki where y/n and a member are having play banter/teasing eachother for a bit but then one says something too far/or mentioned something their sensitive about and it hurts the others feelings? .3.

I love your writing:3 especially Kisame stuff *giggles*

Here’s a big smooch *MWAHH😘*thank you so much love😩 I love kisa so much and I feel like he’s SUPER underrated.

Here’s a gift from me to you as I write about our big teddy bear🧸

•you’ve been with the akatsuki for about two years now, and they’ve become more than just comrades. They’re family

•and with family comes some hardships, arguing about something like bills, or missions

•then there are the times people bicker between each other like siblings; some that you’ve heard or been apart of that consisted of “move your fat ass Tobi, I wanna sit down” said by Deidara when he wanted a spot on the couch. Then there was the one time someone ate your Onigiri, you questioned everybody and couldn’t find out who the culprit was

•but for the other 95% of the time, you guys love each other and get along as best friends

•today is like any other day

•you find yourself looking for a snack in the kitchen

• “whatcha lookin’ for short stop?” Asks Kisame when he enters, watching you rummage around for something that catches your interest

•everybody, except for Kakuzu is short compared to Kisa, you just happened to be the shortest. Which of course Kisame finds hilarious, but also really adorable.

• “I need sustenance” you comment back lightly, pushing boxes of pancake mix out of the way in the closet to see what’s behind them

•you take a step back, your body hitting Kisame’s torso, you tilt your head, craning to look up at him as he starts shifting things around on the higher shelves. Helping you out

• “we’ve got chicken noodle soup, clam chowder. I’ll actually take that. We also have a few boxes of noodles up here with sauce if you don’t mind waiting a bit.” He lists off

• “hand me a box of noodles, don’t care which, we got pesto up there?” You ask, trying to see if there’s a jar of the green sauce. “Hm” Kisame hums out as he searches. “Ah, here we are. He grabs a container and brings it down to you. You take the jar of pesto and the noodles from him and slip out of the pantry

•as you put a pot of water on to boil you hear the snap of the can opening behind you. You watch as Kisame grabs a clean spoon from a drawer and digs into his soup

•you roll your eyes playfully, “do you not want to heat that up? Or at least put it in a bowl or something?” You ask. Most of the time when out on missions, all you guys bring are canned food, or things that are premade. Not really having much time for anything else.

•you’d think at home, most of your comrades would put a little more time into what they eat

•he shrugs, finishing up the last of the chowder by drinking it out of the can, tossing the spoon into the sink.

• “so uncivilized” you mutter playfully as you dump the noodles into the water. You put another pot on the stove, this one much smaller as you dump the pesto in it. Keeping it on Low so it can be nice and warm

• “I am civilized” Kisame responded, his tone cheerful as it is most of the time, especially when around you

• “hm, whatever you say” you joke, now stirring your pasta to keep the noodles from sticking to the bottom

• “list five times where I came off uncivilized” Kisa says from behind you, leaning up against the counters on the opposite side of the kitchen

• “I’m not gonna go into full detail but you remember that one time Pain decided to treat us to a nice dinner in that village nearby?” You start, holding back giggles when you remember how bad that dinner ended up

• “oh fuck” Kisame replies, trying and failing at holding in his laugh. “It wasn’t my fault their chairs weren’t up to the task of holding me. I didn’t mean to crash into the waiter!” He exclaims, holding his sides as he defends himself.

• as the two of you calm down from laughing , you dump the noodles into the strainer.

• “but but-..” Kisame starts, clearly getting ready to burst into laughter with whatever he’s going to say next. “You remember when we were visiting the Hidden Leaf and you snapped at the waitress because she spilled hot tea in your lap? She looked so embarrassed. Think it musta been her first day or something”

•you shake your head, “yea yea, get it oughta your system. I apologized to her” you mutter as you scoop noodles into a bowl and cover them evenly with your sauce. You mimic Kisame’s earlier movements and grab a fork from the same drawer before haphazardly blowing on a mouthful of noodles

•you shove the still hot food into your mouth, puffing your cheeks out as it burns your tongue. You turn away and swallow, not wanting Kisa to see how ridiculous you just looked as you burned your mouth

• “then remeber when we had that one mission where it was you, Konan, me, and Itachi?” He asks, small giggles slipping between his lips

• “you and Konan were both irritable as fuck because of your periods syncing up or some shit like that?” You freeze, you tried pushing that out of your head. Mid travel, Kisame had noticed that you got blood on your cloak, and he thought it was from the enemy you had taken out an hour prior. He even tried using an old rag to scrub it out for you

•it wasn’t until he saw the look of horror and embarrassment on your face that he knew he was missing out on something

• “I can still remember the face you made. Oh my fuck, it was so funny” Kisame blurbs out, and your face heats up with embarrassment. You and Konan sent Itachi and Kisame off ahead of you two while Konan gave you a spare tampon since you had bled through the one you were wearing.

•it definitely wasn’t one of your proudest moments but you gotta do what you gotta do

•luckily your back is still turned towards your large comrade, giving you a chance to blink away the tears that are now burning your eyes, threatening to fall

•you sniffle, bringing your sleeve up to wipe them away quickly. Acting like you got food on your face. But even you know, the effort is futile

•Kisame is always able to pick up on mood swings(before they even happen), can hear when one’s heart rate changes, and you’re pretty sure he knows whenever you or Konan are ovulating(only because he’s always distant during that time)

• “ah shit…” you hear Kisame mutter quietly. You go to turn, ready to act like you’re fine, putting on a brave face when you’re met with Kisame’s torso right in front of you

• “I realize now what happened. I’m sorry” Kisa says from above you. Your cheeks flush and you cock your head to the side, trying to hide your slight embarrassment

•you feel two large hands on your back, pulling you towards him until your face is buried in his chest. The scent of his cologne filling your nose. Something about that and being wrapped up in his arms is soothing.

• “it’s ’Kay” you mutter into his chest, your words coming out muffled.

•something about how you sounded causes both you and Kisame to burst out into another laughing fit.

•Kisame bends down to hug you tighter, causing your giggles to hitch, and come out sounding broken, which in turn, make you two laugh even harder. Your sides hurt, and you know his must too

• “if you-ever-bring that story up again, I will kill you” you threaten playfully from his chest.

• “I’ll hold you to that short stop”

(Guys guys! Who here would like a Kisame x ovulating reader blurb?!?! Because it came to me when I was writing this and omg)

[three--rings]

okay so i’m gonna talk about the build thing. 

I’m not going to get into the whole thing and what I think tho.  Like, I have a lot of thoughts.  But the thing is that I don’t KNOW anything.  I don’t know these people.  I can’t speak to them in any way. 

We have literally ZERO facts.  There is not a single fact that we, the public, have received that has any evidence behind it.  We have a bunch of one-sided claims and... some messages?  And some faked photo “evidence” from pinterest.

We don’t have any basis for making a judgement on anything solid whatsoever.  The only people who can do that are first of all police and legal proceedings, which I very much doubt are going to actually come to pass, and if they did would take absolutely forever to shuffle out.

And secondly BOC as an employer.  Which is where we can expect some kind of eventual decision, whatever it may be.

But what has truly upset me since this broke, besides just the natural grief of the situation, is the fandom response.  It’s been truly horrendous. 

The reaction which I expect from a fandom to this kind of news is shock, upset, grief, confusion, bargaining, etc.  And support of each other as we wait for the full fallout.

Instead I’ve seen celebration, I-told-you-so’s, endless attacks on people who refuse to immediately renounce their support of build, or who are at all measured or hesitant in their response.  Calls to reject not only the actor but the ship, the fandom, the production company.  Comparisons to other actors to highlight how their fave could never.  Finger pointing in every possible direction.

In other words, the fandom eating itself alive.  And is it maybe a small minority of people being toxic and most people being silent?  Yeah, it always is.  But it’s so fucking painful to me and to the fandom as a whole. 

Callout culture has reached a point where when anything happens the only performatively pure action to take is to immediately and loudly cut yourself off publicly from anyone at all likely to be tainted in accusation.  Which is exactly why people with bad motives can use accusations to inflict harm on people they want to hurt. 

I’ve seen over and over people being angry and upset that things aren’t moving faster with this situation, that there hasn’t been more statements and official shit done and like, it’s been less than two days?  On a weekend?  Do you really want the official procedures of ANY employer to work so fast that someone is fired within hours of anyone saying something bad about them, because that’s what people are literally calling for. 

I know it sounds like I’m taking one side here, but honestly I’m not.  No I don’t want the accusations to be true, because NO ONE should want them to be true.  But I can’t speak to their truth at all, because I have no basis to do so.  Except that what has been produced so far has been show NOT to be true (the photographs).  But there’s plenty of toxicity to go around in this situation.

What I want is for the actual truth to be known and acted on appropriately.  That doesn’t need to involve dragging facts out onto twitter or into the public eye, either.  The fandom isn’t judge and jury.  Victims shouldn’t be paraded through the virtual town square to be ripped apart. 

People are mourning right now.  What I’m mourning is the loss of a fandom that wasn’t as divisive and at each other’s throats as my last two.  Where I could just go to enjoy stuff without constant infighting.  Well, guess that’s fucking over. 

People are reliving their own abuse.  I know I am. 

STOP ATTACKING FELLOW FANS.  STOP ATTACKING PEOPLE MOURNING.

How individual fans respond to this isn’t any of your fucking business.  People are allowed to wait to see what happens before making judgments.  People are allowed time and space to process.  Shut the fuck up already.

[steddieas-shegoes]

it led me to you

chapter 5: vecna also on AO3

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4

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

When Steve woke up eight hours later, he was in pain, and he didn’t remember anything that happened the first time he woke up.

Wayne watched them as Eddie tried to ask him some basic questions and got no answers, and Eddie tried so hard not to be disappointed.

Steve asked about Robin, mentioned that she had been there when he got injured and probably could tell everyone what happened better than he could, refusing to answer any question about the injuries.

When Wayne asked the nurse if they knew anything more, they said that he’d been unable to tell them and no one else who was there was talking about anything except the actual fire.

Wayne was a relatively distrustful person, especially when it came to things like this, things that seemed much bigger than just a mall fire. He got even more suspicious when he saw a few people in suits arrive and go into a room down the hall later that first day.

He was quickly distracted by Robin showing back up, though.

She ran into the room, practically face planting into Steve’s bed as she grabbed his other hand, ignored his wince in pain, and started rambling.

“You absolute dingus! I cannot believe you tried to hide a severe concussion for so long that you blacked out! I asked you how many times if you were okay? And you said ‘oh, I’m fine! I feel great! I could fly a plane right now!”

“You said what?” Eddie snorted, trying his best not to let the fact that she was holding his best friend’s hand make him jealous. He failed.

“I don’t think I said that,” Steve said, though he seemed unsure.

“You did. You said ‘planes are big and I am, like, so good at driving, so I could probably drive it if someone got it off the ground and then put it back on the ground when I was done.’ Which is truly something a gorilla could do, Steve. Like, not to be rude, but you saying you can do the easiest part of flying an airplane is not as comforting as you think it is, and I have been stuck on that for almost 16 hours now. How is that supposed to be reassuring?” She continued, waving her unoccupied hand so much, she almost hit herself and then Wayne when he came up next to her. “And then I started thinking about how maybe you genuinely thought that flying the plane in the air is the hard part. Like being okay is relative isn’t it? To you, maybe you’re okay, but to me, you’re so far from okay. And I think I’m pretty far from okay, but I don’t look nearly as bad as you so maybe I am okay and just being ridiculous ya know? And-“

Wayne placed his hand on her shoulder, effectively stopping her from continuing.

She took in a deep breath, and let out a sob.

Steve let go of Eddie’s hand to try to pull her into a hug.

Eddie didn’t mind so much, at least not right now. Robin seemed to need it, and Steve seemed to need to provide it.

He could let go of his stupid jealousy for this.

He could.

He felt Wayne’s eyes on him, but ignored the way they burned into his profile, ignored the words he knew Wayne was silently saying to him.

“I’m gonna go grab some food. Anyone want anything?”

Everyone shook their head, but otherwise ignored Wayne’s question, and he ultimately seemed fine with that.

Eddie kind of figured he just wanted to be out of the room, didn’t want to feel the tension anymore.

Couldn’t blame him with the way Robin and Steve were whispering to each other, looking at each other like they were saying more with their eyes than their mouths.

Eddie sat back in his chair, closed his eyes, and somehow managed to drift into an unfit sleep.

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

When he woke, he was alone with Steve, who was sitting in bed with his eyes closed, but he wasn’t asleep.

Eddie could tell because he just…knew every way that Steve held himself. He knew that when he was asleep, his mouth would often slip open just the tiniest bit, his hands curled into fists, holding whatever was closest in them (a sheet, Eddie’s shirt, sometimes his own shirt).

He was tense though, probably in a decent amount of pain still considering they’d slowly been taking him off the pain meds.

Eddie took in his injuries again, the way the swelling had started going down slightly, but the bruising hadn’t faded at all. He noted the way the bruising on his arms and neck and chest all seemed reminiscent of fingerprints, of someone holding him down, choking him.

Someone did this to him.

Fires don’t cause bruises.

People cause bruises.

He let him pretend for another minute, mentally filing away every scratch on his skin, every discoloration that meant someone had touched him to hurt him.

“Stevie? You need anything?”

Steve opened his eyes, groaning at the light.

“Will you hold my hand again?”

Eddie would jump out of the hospital window if Steve asked. Holding his hand was a small favor in comparison.

“Wanna tell me more about your dreams of being a pilot?” Eddie asked with a smirk.

“Oh my God, you two will never let this go, will you?” Steve rolled his eyes, but smiled.

“I’m just curious why you never mentioned it before. I’m sure we could look into you getting your license now that you’ve graduated.”

“I was just high when I said it, Eds,” Steve said, as if that made any sense.

He was at work, he shouldn’t have been high. He didn’t even like getting high, not even with Eddie, so why was he high at work with Robin?

“High?”

Steve suddenly looked like he regretted saying it, like he wasn’t supposed to tell him that and somehow letting it slip was a big deal.

He knew Eddie wasn’t judging him for being high, not even on the clock, so why was he suddenly acting like he shouldn’t have said it?

“What happened?” Eddie figured this was the best question to ask.

Even if he didn’t get all the details, he could maybe piece most of the night together, find out how he got beat to shit.

“It’s a long story. I don’t know what I’m allowed to say,” he started, still so hesitant, still acting like he had to hide.

“Allowed?”

“Yeah.”

“Who wouldn’t allow you?”

“I dunno. Dustin just told me not to say anything yet.”

Eddie was even more confused now.

“Dustin? Was Dustin at the mall when the fire happened?”

“Um.”

“Steve, why the hell was Dustin there?”

Eddie felt his brain trying to piece things together without even knowing half of the story. Dustin was a child. He shouldn’t have even been at the mall that late to begin with, let alone anywhere near whatever happened to Steve.

He hadn’t met Dustin yet, but he felt this overwhelming urge to protect him just based off of how much Steve loved him.

“He was visiting me at work when everything started.”

“Everything being…?”

“Eds, I-“

“Alright, Steve! Looks like you’re going home today, so let’s go ahead and do one last check on everything!”

The nurse walking in the room caused them both to jump, Eddie realizing almost too late how close he had gotten to Steve.

It wouldn’t look very good for someone who wasn’t Wayne to walk in on that.

Thankfully, she didn’t seem to notice, too busy focusing on the clipboard in front of her as she spoke.

“Your injuries are all surface wounds so they’ll just need to be maintained with regular cleaning and wrapping on the worse ones. Your eye may still need a cold compress occasionally while the swelling continues to go down. I’d recommend every four to six hours if you can. Do you have someone to help you for the next 24-48 hours?”

She finally looked up, seemingly noticing that Eddie was there for the first time.

“Oh! Hello! My apologies, I’ve been so busy tonight, my head is all over the place. Steve, is it okay to discuss things with him here?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna be staying with him and his uncle while I get better.”

“Great! They’ll bring some more instructions in a couple hours, but for now, do you have any concerns before you go?”

Eddie had a lot of fucking concerns. Like, more concerns than he had even just ten minutes ago.

But he couldn’t ask the nurse about these concerns.

No, Steve was the only one who could properly answer these questions, and he intended on making sure he got the answers he needed.

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

He lasted less than 12 hours before he was begging for answers.

Wayne showed up shortly after the nurse did, helped Steve sit up and walk around a bit, get ready for the doctor to release him.

They made it home only a couple hours later, Eddie setting Steve up in his bed while Wayne grabbed them some pizza in town.

It was the perfect opportunity to get some answers, but Steve finally looked like he was comfortable, relaxed. Eddie couldn’t interrupt that by asking him to relive whatever trauma happened the night before.

When Wayne got home, Steve was asleep.

Eddie sat with Wayne at the table, taking a slice and silently chewing as he thought through the events of the night and day so far.

“You call Robin?”

Eddie shook his head. He hadn’t thought to, even though her number was written on a piece of paper in his pocket.

He’d barely thought about much other than piecing together what happened to Steve.

But Robin probably knew.

“I’m gonna do that now!” He was maybe too excited, and Wayne’s eye roll told him that he probably realized he was calling for more selfish reasons than to let her know that Steve was home and mostly okay.

He knew Wayne would hear the entire conversation, but he didn’t really care. He just needed to understand what was happening with Steve.

Robin answered on the second ring.

“Is this a Munson? It better be.”

“No, this is Mrs. Hampton from the laundromat calling to remind you to pick up your delicates,” Eddie said in a high-pitched voice that sounded nothing like Mrs. Hampton.

“Well, either you’re preparing me for bad news with a sad attempt at humor or Steve’s fine,” she said, voice still laced with worry.

“Yeah, he’s alright. I mean, as alright as someone who looks like they’ve been put in the middle of a pro wrestling ring with no experience can. Wanna tell me more about that?”

“I don’t know if I can.”

He tried not to be mad, or jealous, or any other emotion that would be embarrassing later.

There was a reason for the secrecy, and as frustrating as it was for him, he knew they would be more honest about it if they could be.

“I’m Steve’s best friend. I promise I won’t say anything.”

“I just…I’m new to this. I don’t-“

“New to what?”

What the hell did that even mean? New to what? Robin had lived in Hawkins her whole life as far as Eddie knew. She wasn’t exactly new to working a job, having been a babysitter since she was 13 and working at the grocery store every summer since she was 14. She wasn’t new to Steve, or at least not that new: they’d been working together all summer.

“The weird stuff.”

“Weird what?”

But Eddie thought about what Steve said about Dustin and his friends. Thought about how they seemed too mature for their age in some ways, and not in others. How government officials in suits showed up when something weird happened, barely gave any explanation, and left again.

“I just think you should ask Steve. He’ll tell you,” she sighed.

“He might not want to.”

“He will if you ask. He’d tell you anything. He lo-“ Robin cleared her throat. “I should probably go in case my parents call. They found out about everything this morning and have been calling every hour to check in.”

“Tell her she’s welcome over anytime!” Wayne said from the table.

“You can come over anytime. But Steve’s asleep right now so maybe wait a few hours.”

“Yeah, thanks. Probably can’t until my parents get back and actually see with their own eyes that I’m not speaking to them as a ghost on the phone.” Robin laughed. “You know my mom genuinely asked me if I was someone pretending to be me. As if someone would admit that!”

“Wait, are you impersonating Robin?”

He was met with silence.

“Oh my god, you deserve each other. Goodbye, Edward.”

She hung up before he could ask what the hell that meant.

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

When Steve woke up, he was in pain, but it was manageable.

Eddie took advantage of his still-relaxed mind to start asking questions.

“So you were just working like normal and then the place blew up?”

“Not…exactly,” Steve said as he took some pain meds and chugged some water.

“What happened?”

“Um.”

“Stevie, please. You can’t even open one of your eyes. You’ve got bruises on your neck! Your skin is rubbed raw on your wrists like someone had you tied up. I don’t know what happened, but I know it wasn’t just an explosion. Please,” Eddie begged, tears filling his eyes despite his best effort not to cry.

“Eds,” Steve started, reaching his hand out to comfort, but Eddie stood up. He folded his hands in his lap, trying to cover up the marks Eddie was talking about. “I want to tell you, I just-“

“Then tell me! It doesn’t have to leave this room, I won’t even tell Wayne! I just need to know what happened to you, I need to know how to help you. Please.”

Eddie knew what his face was doing, what his eyes were saying.

He knew it wasn’t fair to put that on Steve right now, or ever, but he couldn’t pretend that this didn’t bother him.

He couldn’t pretend that he believed the mall just exploded.

“Alright. Okay. Just. Just sit down.”

Steve’s voice was trembling, his hands were trembling, his entire body was trembling.

“No one can know any of this. I’m not supposed to know any of it, but I was forced into knowing. It’s dangerous to know, and I don’t think it’s fair to put it on you, but if you’re insisting then-“

“Steve.”

“Okay! Okay.” He took a deep breath. “Hawkins Lab wasn’t just a regular lab; they were doing human experiments. This girl, El, she has like, superpowers. And I guess a lot of the weird stuff that happens around here can be traced back to them and their experiments. There’s a whole alternate dimension, Dustin called it the Upside Down, and there’s-“

“Wait. Sorry. Dustin?”

“Oh! Yes, Dustin. He’s apparently been involved with this stuff since Will, you know Will? Since he went missing. Which I guess when he was missing, he was stuck in the Upside Down, and like, almost got eaten by all these weird creatures that they named after D&D things? None of them fit though, and I told them that, but they kept saying it’s just what worked and-“

“Stevie. Please.”

Steve kept getting distracted, which was normal for him when he was rambling about things, but Eddie’s patience was thin right now.

"Right. So last night. I guess it started yesterday though. Dustin came to see me at work and said he needed help with something and I assumed it was something from camp maybe? I dunno, but then Robin got involved because she knows Russian and I guess under the mall there’s tunnels to a secret Russian bunker, which is crazy, right? Feels like I made that up, but I didn’t because Robin was there and then Dustin and Erica. And I had to protect them all because they could have died or gotten hurt and I kept telling the Russians that like, Robin and I just scoop ice cream! We don’t know anything! They didn’t believe me, and then Robin kept trying to get them to stop hurting me, and they almost killed me I think, but Dustin managed to get us out. Some other stuff happened that I don’t really know the details for because I was unconscious, but it wasn’t good. Billy, you remember him? He died. I was awake long enough to hear Lucas trying to calm Max down about it. And then I woke up in the hospital and I started to remember some of the stuff they did to me and I don’t really want to.”

Eddie was finding it hard to keep up, hard to breathe, hard to remember that Steve was okay.

He made it out.

This sounded like something out of a conspiracy book, and maybe if Eddie didn’t know Steve so well, he would assume he was making it all up, but he knew he wasn’t.

He couldn’t.

He wouldn’t.

“You were tortured by Russians under the mall.”

It wasn’t a question, but Steve nodded like he was answering it anyway.

“What the fuck.”

“They also gave me some kind of drugs, Robin too, but I think they messed up my dose because it lasted longer for me. I think it was like a truth serum, but I dunno. I don’t remember a lot still,” Steve sighed.

A truth serum.

He was probably still on it in the hospital. Which meant maybe-

“I’m supposed to let Dustin know when I’m awake so he can visit. He apparently called the hospital about 100 times to talk to me, but couldn’t. Can I call him?”

“Yeah, ‘course. You don’t have to ask permission, Stevie.”

Eddie felt like he was on the outside looking in, like he couldn’t quite grasp everything Steve was saying. He’d missed a connection somewhere maybe, or maybe there was no connection to miss and it was just this fucking weird.

He helped Steve stand and get to the phone, and then left him to talk to Dustin.

Maybe things would get clearer soon.

- - - - - - - - - -

Things did not get clearer soon, or at all.

The rest of the summer was a blur of Steve getting better, Robin becoming a fixture at the trailer, Dustin inviting himself over to hang out with both of them, and Steve and Robin trying to find a new job.

Apparently, they were trauma bonded or something and couldn’t work separately.

Eddie thought about trying to find a part time job that would work when he was back in school, but Wayne shut it down.

“Just need you to focus on graduating. You’ll have plenty of time to work yourself to the bone when you’re done in school.”

Eddie knew there was no point in arguing, so he didn’t.

But he did get lonely.

Steve and Robin managed to find jobs at Family Video about two weeks into the school year.

Robin could only work closing shifts on Fridays and whatever was available on the weekends, but Steve worked all the time.

All the time.

Eddie focused in school this time. He had to. He couldn’t do this again.

And it was working mostly. He was definitely passing everything, and Hellfire was great with the addition of Dustin and his crew, even though they were certainly an odd bunch.

Dustin knew that he knew, but the rest of them didn’t, and they both preferred it that way.

The less Eddie had to be involved in whatever the hell was happening in this town, the better.

Life moved on, slowly.

Until Eddie broke a promise.

- - - - - - - - -

He was going to graduate.

He made it to the pre-spring break deadline with all passing grades. As long as he didn’t fail any tests, he was walking that stage.

Finally.

It helped that Steve had Nancy meet with him every Monday afternoon to schedule out his assignments for the week and help with anything he didn’t understand.

It helped a lot.

But Wayne was working so much, and Steve was working so much, and Robin really only hung out with him if Steve was around, and he definitely didn’t wanna hang out with the kids outside of Hellfire.

He just needed a purpose.

And if Chrissy Cunningham needed some relief from whatever stress she was facing in the form of the leftover drugs he had in his trailer, then he could find a small purpose there.

He wasn’t even gonna sell them to her; her stress was almost a physical presence when she met up with him in the woods after school. She clearly needed something that she couldn’t find anywhere else.

He recognized the way she held herself, the way she was silently begging for anything to help.

He drove her to the trailer after Hellfire that night, after her cheer practice and extra coaching.

She was quiet, kept looking out the window or behind her like she was worried they were being followed.

“Um, should I be worried about something? Is someone following us?” He finally asked, his own anxiety spiking.

“Huh? No. Sorry, just, it’s late and I usually don’t lie to my mom about where I am,” she said.

Eddie believed her, knew she was a great student, great person, probably a great daughter. The opposite of Eddie in just about every way as far as he could tell, and yet here she was begging for illegal substances.

He wasn’t judging, definitely wouldn’t pretend to know what she had going on that was so bad she needed to get high to feel better.

But he was curious, extremely so.

“Is there anything you wanna talk about? Maybe talking would help a little?”

“I talk to the guidance counselor at school. It doesn’t help. Thanks though. That’s really sweet of you to offer,” Chrissy said, turning to give him a sweet, but fake, smile.

“Yeah, anytime. Seriously, I know we don’t know each other well, but. I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret just because you’re stressed.”

They settled into silence, Eddie kind of hoping she would change her mind and he could just drive her home.

He did not have a good feeling about this.

Steve was closing tonight and opening tomorrow, so he was staying at his house for the first time in a while, mostly because it was closer to Family Video, but also because he had to have his own space sometimes.

That’s what Wayne said, anyway.

Wayne was working. Wayne was always working. Doing his best to pay bills, picking up the extra hours as much as he could physically handle so that he had some savings “just in case.”

“Are your parents home?” Chrissy suddenly asked as they pulled into the trailer park.

“Oh. Uh, no. I don’t live with my parents. I live with my uncle. He’s at work though.”

“Oh.”

“I can just run in if you’re not comfortable-“

“No! I-no. I can come in,” she rushed out, already unbuckling her seatbelt before he even put the van in park.

He should have called it.

He should have read her energy, the nervousness in the way she was trying to rush and also take her time and said that he had to take her home.

Maybe he could say he lost the drugs.

Or that they went bad.

She wouldn’t know.

But he didn’t do any of that.

He brought her into the trailer, told her to wait by the couch.

He scurried to his room, sorting through his drawers where he usually kept his personal stash, hoping it was there.

His next best bet was the bathroom under the sink, but he remembered as he was rummaging that Wayne made him clean it all out a few months back to make room for new towels and Steve’s hair things.

The closet in the hall definitely didn’t have anything except everything that didn’t fit in the rest of the house and cobwebs.

“Everything alright?” Chrissy called to him as he went back into his room to think about where it could be.

“Yep! Just checking for something!” He called back. “Shit, shit, shit,” he said under his breath. “What am I doing?”

He heard a yelp from the other room and stood up.

“Chrissy? You okay?”

The trailer was small, and while it wasn’t messy, it was a bit cluttered just because they didn’t have space for everything. People who weren’t familiar with the layout and organization could easily bump into something.

There was no answer.

He ran out of his room, freezing for a moment when he saw the way Chrissy was staring off into space.

She looked like she was already high, but that was impossible. He hadn’t found any of his stash and it takes way longer for any of what he has to kick in.

He also doesn’t think she would have taken anything without checking with him first, she seemed too nervous to take such a serious risk.

“Chrissy?” He asked again, voice wobbling.

She didn’t answer, her eyes glazing over, turning a milky white.

He didn’t understand. Was she prone to seizures? What did it look like when someone had an aneurysm? Shit, was there even anything he could do other than call 911 for that? Then everyone would know she was here, and they’d assume it was for drugs or for him to take advantage of her, and he couldn’t just say he was gay, that would probably be worse.

She started rising off the floor, floating. It looked like someone was pulling her up on an invisible string.

“That’s not an aneurysm,” Eddie said to himself, eyes widening.

Despite his inner voice telling him to just fucking run, he closed the distance between them and started tugging on her legs to get her back down.

But it was impossible, she wasn’t even moving as he used all of his strength to bring her back down.

“This is some bullshit! If there’s any damn Russians or demodogs or what the hell else, now’s your chance I guess!” He was already out of breath trying to pull her down as he yelled.

The front door opened with a bang, and the thought ran through his mind that he was an idiot for asking for something else to happen.

His neighbor and one of Steve’s kids, Max, was suddenly next to him, radio in hand, saying something he couldn’t focus on as she also tried to help him tug Chrissy down.

“How long has she been like this?” Max asked.

“I dunno! In the air for maybe 15 seconds, but before that she was zoned out for maybe a minute. Do you know what’s going on? Please tell me you do, Red.”

“Does Eddie know her favorite song?” Dustin’s voice rang out. “Over.”

“I barely know her at all!”

“Why is she in your house then?” Max said with a brow raised, as if this was somehow more important than the fact that she was floating in the air.

“Take a guess! She needs music!” Dustin said when no one answered him.

Eddie stopped trying to pull her down, knew he wouldn’t be successful, and ran to his room to find something in his stack of tapes that Chrissy Cunningham would like.

And then it hit him.

Steve.

Steve listened to everything.

He probably had something in his stack on the other side of the room.

Eddie didn’t know what Chrissy would like, but made some assumptions and hoped that maybe stereotypes would be right just this one time.

He shoved the first Blondie tape he found in his boombox (which he would definitely be making fun of Steve for when there wasn’t a girl floating in his living room), turning the volume all the way up.

It was much too loud, and the neighbors would absolutely complain, but he just needed it to work. He’d deal with everything else later.

He ran back out of the room and saw Chrissy’s body flinching, her eyes starting to lose the milky whiteness, and he sighed with relief.

“Is it working?” Dustin’s crackling voice came through.

“Yes!” Max answered before turning to Eddie. “Be ready to catch her.”

“What?” He asked before her words caught up to him and he was scrambling to try to break Chrissy’s fall as her body fell from the ceiling.

She was nearly hyperventilating, tears falling from her eyes, and Max was in front of her in a heartbeat, checking her over for injuries.

“How long have you been having them?” Max asked.

“Having what?” Eddie asked, confusion only building further.

“I guess a week or so. But they got really bad yesterday and I couldn’t sleep and now I think I’m just sleep deprived,” she said quietly, voice shaking.

“Mine started yesterday. We’re gonna help you, okay?”

“Would someone like to fill me in on what the fuck just happened?” Eddie felt like he was losing his mind.

They were acting like this wasn’t a big deal, or at least that they could just brush it off.

“Yes, but do you have a walkman she can use for tonight? I only have mine and I need it so I don’t end up floating, too.”

He got his walkman from the bedroom, tuning out the voices of Chrissy and Max whispering to each other.

“You can drive us to Steve’s house, right?”

“Steve’s at work for another hour.”

“Yeah, and he told us all to meet there, so…”

Max stared at him, waving her arm impatiently.

“Okay, sure. Steve’s house. This is a totally normal thing and totally normal outcome to this evening.”

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

“You’re kidding me.”

Eddie stared in disbelief at the kids surrounding the table, at Robin and Steve who were still in their work uniforms.

They all stared back at him, not exactly calm, but as if this wasn’t the craziest thing that’s happened.

And from what he knew of Hawkins from this group, maybe that was true.

“And you named him Vecna.”

Everyone still just stared back at him, making sure he processed everything.

“You know, I don’t like how calm you all are about this. Two of you are basically possessed and could die whenever this Vecna guy feels like it, and you’re just casually talking about how to burn his body and mind,” he said, his volume rising as he spoke.

“Eds, it’s just. Kind of par for the course at this point for them, and I guess this isn’t really that bad in comparison to the Russians and everything,” Steve said as he came up to him, smiling sadly and touching his arm.

Eddie ignored the sparks shooting between them, ignored it because if he didn’t, he would lean in and kiss Steve in front of all of these people, and they didn’t have time for it.

Especially not with how carried away Eddie knew he wanted to get.

“You guys are super chill about an evil wizard man getting inside your minds and killing you.”

Chrissy and Max were sitting on the couch with headphones over their ears, listening to the songs that saved them.

“So, we have to go to the Creel house?” he finally asked, realizing he was just gonna have to get on board.

“Some of us will have to do it here, while the rest of us do it in the Upside Down version,” Lucas said, sighing. “Splitting up always ends bad for us, but I don’t think we have a choice here.”

“No, but we can split the adults up with the kids so that it’s safer,” Robin suggested.

“Okay, Eddie and me will go down there with Dustin and Max. Chrissy and Lucas will go with you and Nancy here,” Steve said.

“I wanna stay with Max,” Lucas argued.

“I need you to stay with the girls, though,” Steve replied.

“You mean Nancy, who has a better shot that Hopper? And Chrissy, who beat half the basketball team in an arm wrestling competition earlier this year? And…Robin?”

Robin smacked his arm, but nodded.

“He’s right, we don’t really need him. He can keep an eye on Max while the rest of you focus on Vecna down there,” Robin supported him.

“Fine, but that means he’s our communicator. He has to be the middle man between the groups in an emergency,” Steve added.

They all agreed, and Eddie watched as they all started preparing.

The kids were professionals at this point, and Steve and Robin hadn’t had quite the same preparation, but enough to know what was waiting for them.

Eddie and Chrissy were new to this, new to this whole other world that caused more mayhem than Hawkins, Indiana deserved.

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

It wasn’t the best plan, but it was their best shot, and that had to be enough.

It started fine; Steve and Eddie leading Dustin, Max, and Lucas into the Upside Down.

It even seemed to go okay when they got to the Creel house.

Nothing major happened, and they were able to find a way to communicate with the crew on the other side.

But as anyone who has ever tried to plan something knows, plans go to shit quick.

Vecna’s physical body being in regular old Hawkins was supposed to make things easier, but they forgot to take into account the fact that he was in Max’s mind, he was in Chrissy’s mind.

They thought he could only see where they were and what they were doing during possessions, but that was clearly wrong.

He knew they were coming.

He prepared everywhere.

And they couldn’t fight preparation like that.

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

It was a blur of just trying to survive.

Vecna sent demobats after the crew in the Upside Down, huge creatures that were all easily the size of Dustin or bigger, all hungry.

They had to run from the Creel house, most of the roof destroyed as the crew in Hawkins continued their attempts at destroying Vecna in any way they could.

Outrunning the bats wasn’t going to work, they all knew it.

But they didn’t have many options down here.

Steve led them into the forest down the road, managed to find a large area of fallen trees that made a sad excuse of a cave.

It was enough, though, for now.

Enough to keep the bats away and to keep themselves out of view from any other creatures that may be lurking around.

“This isn’t going well,” Eddie said, breathless from the run. He was a bit out of shape, and even short distances were hard, as his gym teacher could attest to.

“Could be going better,” Lucas nodded, not quite as out of breath, but definitely sweating from the effort it took to run half a mile, half supporting Max.

Max, who had started to be possessed again while in the house, was still shaken up, nursing a broken arm and blurry vision.

Dustin was mumbling to himself, and to Steve, but Steve was just watching outside their makeshift shelter, probably making sure nothing followed them too closely.

He was sweaty, dirty from falling on his way into the shelter, and had scratches covering most of his arms and neck from where he’d had to pull Max out of the attic in the Creel house as it started to collapse.

“We have to get back,” he finally said, looking back at Eddie with wide eyes.

No one else would see it, but Eddie did. He saw the fear in his eyes, the trembling of his hands as they settled on his own knees, trying to gain the courage he needed to be a leader for them.

Eddie loved him.

And suddenly he didn’t know why he waited years to tell him.

He didn’t know why he was so worried about his reaction, or why he thought Steve would treat him differently.

Because even if Steve didn’t feel the same, even if he didn’t love Eddie the way Eddie had loved him for years, he would never treat Eddie as anything less than his best friend.

And now, with the fear of something else going wrong in the back of his mind, he felt like he needed to tell him.

He needed to tell him right now, regardless of who else was around.

“Steve, I-“

A screeching sound filled their ears, filled the shelter, the woods around them.

It was loud enough for all of them to immediately cover their ears, looking at each other in a panic.

“What the hell was that?” Dustin asked.

“You’d know better than any of the rest of us, dude,” Steve answered.

Then there was silence.

Eerie silence.

They could count each others’ heartbeats in this silence.

Eddie felt the unease grow.

It went from chaos to silence too quickly; something had to be wrong.

Even more wrong than what it had been before.

“I’m going to check.”

“What?” Eddie grabbed Steve’s arm before he could go. “You can’t go alone, Stevie. Let’s wait another minute first. It could be a trap.”

“We have to get out of here, Eds. I’m just gonna peek first, then do a walk around.”

Eddie knew the kids were about to argue, but he also knew that Steve’s top priority right now was keeping them all safe, and sitting here waiting for something to happen was just going to increase their chances of someone ending up hurt or worse.

He knew no matter what they said, Steve was going to do what it took to protect them.

He’d lost his bat somewhere during Max’s rescue, and they didn’t have time to try to find it, so he was weaponless.

Eddie tried to hand over what was left of his shield, hoped it would be enough to at least be a comfort to all of them, but he refused it.

Steve looked out of the shelter, slowly, carefully.

He gave them a thumbs up before slowly stepping out, being careful not to slip on the dead leaves that were covering the ground of the entrance.

His footsteps were light as he walked away.

A minute felt like an hour.

Two minutes felt like a lifetime.

“He’s taking a long time,” Lucas whispered, scared to break the silence.

“I’m gonna go check,” Eddie said, sick of waiting.

“Wait! You can’t leave us. We should just all go,” Dustin said as he slowly moved closer to the entrance.

“Steve would kill me if I let you all come with me before checking on him.”

“And what if something got to him and it gets you too? Then what?”

“Then we’re all dead anyway.”

That was a harrowing thought, but a true one.

If something managed to get Steve without making a sound, it could easily get all of them, one at a time, or maybe even in a group if it was big enough.

“Alright, fine,” Eddie touched Max’s shoulder. “Dustin behind me, Max behind him, Lucas behind her. We get out, then we form more of a circle around Max since she’s injured. Steve couldn’t have gone too far, shouldn’t have, so it won’t take long to get to him and then get the hell out of here.”

“What if something comes?”

“Then we skip everything except the running the hell out of here part.”

Max snorted, and Eddie couldn’t help smiling a bit.

Any light in this shitstorm was welcome at this point.

Just as Eddie stepped out, he heard another terrible screech, not as loud as the one before, but closer.

He looked at the kids, looked out the door, and ran.

The kids were following, their plan gone to shit. Again.

As much as Eddie wanted to yell for Steve, he knew it would just draw attention to them and he had to keep the kids safe.

They had to get home.

He looked around; They weren’t far from the gate.

He could send the kids through, could try to find Steve while they got more help, more weapons.

Maybe some fucking water so he could rinse his mouth out from the dust in the air.

And then he saw it.

He didn’t think, he just ran, distance and exhaustion barely a problem.

Steve’s legs stuck out from behind a tree, pants visibly torn, even from a distance, even in the dark.

He hoped the kids were watching out for themselves, because all he could think right now was Steve, Steve, Steve.

Steve had definitely been attacked by one of the creatures, though it was hard to tell what, so much blood hiding where the true injuries were, hiding what they were.

His eyes were closed, his chest barely rising and falling.

“Steve. God, Stevie, please,” Eddie knelt by his side, touching his cheek and then doing a quick inventory of what he could see of his injuries.

His clothes were torn almost entirely, and he was actively bleeding from multiple spots on his chest and stomach, and definitely at least one leg had an open wound.

It didn’t look good, and if he’d already been bleeding like this for more than a minute, he could have already lost too much blood.

“Eddie!” Dustin called from only a few feet away.

God, he couldn’t see Steve like this. None of them could.

“Go through the gate! Get Nancy or Robin quick!”

He hoped his voice held together enough to get the point across without giving away how scared he was.

“But-“

“Dustin, not now! Go!”

That time even he could hear his fear.

He heard the kids talking to themselves as they walked just a bit further into the woods where the gate was.

“Stevie, sweetheart, hey. Can you open those beautiful eyes for me?” Eddie didn’t know what he was saying, didn’t think he could control a single word at this point as he tried to get Steve to open his eyes.

He was pulling off his shirt, ripping it in half to try to create a tourniquet to stop the bleeding on his leg, use the other one to apply pressure to the worst wound on his stomach.

Eddie didn’t know much first aid; He could patch up a cut, knew to put ice on injuries that might swell, knew how to pull a splinter out.

But he knew enough to know that if he didn’t stop the bleeding, Steve would die right here in this shittier version of Hawkins.

He started singing as he worked, though he couldn’t tell you what. His only active thoughts were figuring out how to get Steve out of there.

When he looked up at Steve’s face, his eyes were open.

They were glassy, unfocused, but open.

“Stevie! Hey!” Eddie leaned in closer, tried to get him to focus on his face.

“Mm.”

“Hey, whatcha lookin’ at?” Eddie was worried he hit his head, maybe got a concussion on top of everything else.

“You. Always lookin’ atcha,” Steve mumbled, barely audible.

“Sweetheart, what got you? Did you see?”

“Like that.”

“What?”

“Swee’hear’.”

Steve’s eyes were blinking slowly, his lids drooping more with each blink.

He was going to pass out again.

“You gotta keep those eyes open, then, sweetheart. Just a bit longer, okay? Robin’s comin’ for us. And we’re gonna get you to the hospital so they can get you stitched up,” he kept talking, hoping that it would keep Steve focused on something, keep him awake.

“Need a…nap.”

“No, no, Stevie, not yet! Just a bit longer, okay? Just stay awake for me,” Eddie begged as he put pressure on two different wounds, one with his bare hand, just hoping to keep things contained long enough to get real help.

“Dunno if…I c’n do…that.”

His breaths were getting more ragged, more wet.

That meant he was bleeding inside. Too much.

Eddie ignored the tears falling from his own eyes, tried to listen for any voices coming through the gate or any monsters who could smell the blood.

All was quiet.

Eddie had always hated the quiet.

He felt Steve’s hand on his own covering the wound on his chest, and Eddie let out a sob.

“Love you…got me?” Steve got out, his hand briefly squeezing Eddie’s, like he was using every ounce of energy he had to do it.

Eddie leaned his head down, rested his forehead against Steve’s.

“I love you so much, sweetheart. So much. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner how fucking in love with you I am. It’s been you since the beginning, it’s you now, it’s you forever, and that means this isn’t it right? You’re gonna make it out of here and then I’m gonna tell you I love you every single day for the rest of our lives,” Eddie cried.

He hoped if a monster came for them, it would end everything quickly.

“Eddie! Steve!”

Nancy.

“Over here!” Eddie called back, watching as Steve’s eyes closed, as his small, pained smile started to fade.

He was so pale, even in the darkness surrounding them, Eddie could see his usual flush and glow was gone.

Nancy dropped to her knees next to him, her voice sounding distant as he realized that Steve wouldn’t survive this.

No one could.

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

Hospitals were the bane of his existence.

Not just because someone he loved was in it, toeing the line between alive and dead.

It just reeked of pain, physical and emotional, the halls haunted with a misery that no joy could ever truly wash away.

The kids were all huddled up on the two couches in the corner with Robin, Chrissy, and Nancy, unable to sleep, but lacking the energy to pace like Eddie was.

He wouldn’t rest until he knew that Steve was okay.

He felt hands on his shoulders, stopping him in his tracks.

“C’mere, kid.”

Wayne’s voice was like a shock to the system, but he felt some of the tension he’d been holding for 12 hours now leave his body.

He turned and collapsed against Wayne, a loud sob leaving his throat.

He could feel eyes on him, but he didn’t care.

Wayne would keep him safe, keep the others from asking questions or trying to comfort him before he was ready.

Wayne managed to get them in the chairs closest to where they were standing, letting Eddie hide his face against his shoulder and rubbing his arm and back as he let out his emotions.

Nurses and doctors came and went, patients and families came and went, but their group stayed.

Everyone loved Steve too much to leave.

But the kids did eventually have to leave, their parents showing up one by one to pick them up, faces frowning with concern, but not asking questions.

They all stopped to give Eddie a hug on the way out, asked him to keep them updated when he heard news.

He nodded, but he knew that Wayne would probably be the one giving updates, especially if it-

No. Nope. He wasn’t thinking of things going wrong.

Steve would be fine.

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

Another four hours passed before a doctor walked out into the waiting room calling for Wayne Munson.

Eddie shot up, running to the doctor, who looked exhausted, beaten down.

Wayne was right behind him, hand already settling on his arm to keep him from being a little too much for the doctor.

“You’re Steve Harrington’s medical proxy?”

“I am. Is he okay?”

“He’s alive. He lost a lot of blood so we had to give him two transfusions during surgery, and he’s receiving another one now in recovery. He’ll be moved to a room when that’s done and you can see him, but I have to warn you, he’s most likely going to be unconscious for a couple days as his body recovers. He’s lucky to be alive. I don’t know what attacked him, but whatever it was did a lot of permanent damage. He has extensive scarring on his torso and leg, and from a scan of his brain, we can tell he had some fluid buildup that could be due to head trauma. Do you know if he hit his head?”

“He’s had a history of concussions, so any bump could have done somethin’,” Wayne told him.

“We’ll keep an eye on it. If you guys wanna have a seat, a nurse will get you when he’s settled in his room.”

But Eddie couldn’t possibly settle anywhere now, not now that he knew Steve was alive, that he’d be okay even if he was covered in scars.

“You heard the man,” Wayne said as he sat back down in the chair he was in before.

“Can’t.”

“Ed-“

“Nope. Just can’t. Not yet.”

Wayne sighed, but didn’t argue further, knew better than to try when Eddie was set on something.

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

Like clockwork, a nurse came out to get them an hour later.

Wayne had called Robin, then Dustin, told them what he knew and to have them spread the word. He told them not to come by for a bit since Steve would be asleep, but Eddie knew it was because he wanted Eddie to have a little privacy first.

The nurse walked them down the long hall behind the doors, took a left turn, and continued down another hall for a minute before stopping outside of a door.

It was quiet in this hall, only the occasional beeps coming from rooms and a nurse silently passing by, heading towards the nurse’s station.

“You’re welcome to stay the night tonight since it’s late, but only one person can usually stay after visiting hours. There’s a cot in the room for you. He’s pretty heavily sedated so he won’t wake up anytime soon, but if for some reason he does, please let us know. I’m Faye, and the RN on duty is Caroline. We just ask you limit movement in the halls at night so other patients aren’t bothered.”

They both nodded, just wanting to get in the room and see Steve.

She opened the door for them, holding it while they walked in, and closing it behind them.

Eddie didn’t look at first, just walked to the bed with his face bent to the floor, unable to face Steve.

But Wayne was suddenly there, holding Steve’s hand, and Eddie had to look up, had to see for himself that it was his Stevie.

It was a version of Steve that Eddie loved more than the last, felt pangs in his chest at the sight of the heavily bandaged and bruised man in front of him.

He was beautiful, always beautiful.

Even like this.

“You take the cot, Ed. I won’t sleep for a while anyway,” Wayne offered quietly.

“I…” Eddie looked at the cot set up across the room, then back at Steve. “I need to be here.”

“You need sleep, son. Steve would want you to rest, too.”

Wayne was right, of course he was. But he couldn’t be that far from Steve right now.

Anything farther than touching distance was too far.

“I’ll sleep in the chair. I promise. I just need to hold his hand,” Eddie whispered.

Wayne seemed to think about it for a moment before finally sighing and nodding.

“Fine, but if you end up with back main, that’s your problem.:

Wayne leaned down to kiss an unbandaged part of Steve’s head and then made his way over to the cot, slipping his boots and jacket off before settling into it.

Eddie sat down in the chair by the hospital bed, gently holding Steve’s hand in his, making sure nothing could possibly hurt or pull on any of the wires hanging off of him.

He let his head rest on the bed next to their joined hands, his eyes closing as he watched Steve’s slow, steady breathing.

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

A thumb was tracing the back of his hand.

He smiled as he tried to sink further into the dream.

“He’s a sleepyhead.”

Eddie’s eyes shot open at the sound of Steve’s voice.

It was raspy, softer than usual, and slightly pained, but it was Steve.

“Stevie?”

“Mhm. Hey, Eds.”

Steve was awake, alive, here.

Eddie lifted his head and looked him over, noticing more of the bandages going across his chest.

“You almost died sweetheart.”

Steve blushed.

He blushed. He could do that again.

“I know.”

“You-“

“I didn’t.”

“But-“

“Eds.” Steve’s eyes bore into his own. “I didn’t.”

“Right. You didn’t,” Eddie said, looking at him in awe.

“And I’m sweetheart now, so that’s worth it.”

Now it was Eddie’s turn to blush, suddenly turning to see if Wayne was watching.

“Wayne ran home to grab some stuff for both of you and me.”

“You reading my mind?” Eddie laughed.

“No, unfortunately, all I got from the bats was some cool scars. No psychic mind powers. Hoping you might just answer a question though.”

“What’s that?”

“Did you mean it?”

Eddie’s heart dropped to his stomach, his stomach dropped to the floor.

“Mean what?”

“Eddie,” Steve rolled his eyes. “You said you loved me. Do you?”

“How do you remember that?”

“Been waiting for that for years. Hard to forget.”

“Years?” Eddie suddenly felt like an idiot, as he should.

He waited years to say what Steve waited years to hear. They wasted years.

“Years.”

“Don’t have to wait any more. If you don’t want to, I mean.”

Steve looked at him through glassy eyes, the pain medication still cycling through him.

But Eddie knew he was coherent, knew he was saying exactly what he meant.

“I love you, Eddie. Don’t wanna wait another minute, mkay?”

Eddie bit back tears, let himself feel Steve’s love.

It was warm, circled around him, settled in his chest next to the love he had for Steve.

“I love you, too, sweetheart.”

“Wanna kiss you,” Steve whined, though it was halfhearted, his eyes closed as he was getting closer to falling back asleep.

“When you wake up again, I’m gonna kiss you so hard, it’ll send you into a coma,” Eddie laughed, mostly to himself.

“Mhm, soun’s good.”

Steve’s eyes were closed, his mouth falling open as he fell asleep.

Eddie watched, knew the look on his face was ridiculous, lovestruck.

That’s how Wayne found them, and even though he could have poked fun, he didn’t.

He’d watched them be idiots for years, he could hold back on the teasing for a little bit longer.

TAG LIST: @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @renaissan-vvitch @estrellami-1 @sofadofax @mightbeasleep

[every-dayiwakeup]

Autopilot

For @billyhargrovebingo CW: Character gets drugged. Word count: 702

Fighting with Billy Hargrove in the Byers’ house is not how Steve imagined his night playing out. Of course, he’d once pictured a white picket fence life with Nancy, and that blew up in his face. Fuck, his face fucking hurts. All of him aches. In all honesty, calling this a fight is generous. Steve knows how to take a punch, but to be fair, Billy’s fists are a great deal meatier than Jonathan Byers’. They just keep coming. Steve’s eyes haven’t swollen shut yet. He has nowhere to look but Billy’s face.

The first thing to come to mind is a rabid pit bull. Steve’s cheeks are damp from tears, and he knows they aren’t leaking out of his eyes. Which only means… Billy Hargrove, a boy, is crying as he pounds Steve’s face in. 

What the fuck is he crying for? Why does he look more in pain than I feel? 

Billy’s a good fighter. He has the bite to back up his bark. Shouldn’t he be sweating arrogance and pride? Remind Steve of how far he’s fallen? 

“Max, what are you doing? Stay away from them!” Lucas yells at the red-headed girl. 

She has a syringe in her hand, and she’s- oh shit, she’s actually going to drug Billy. 

Before Steve can think about what he’s doing, he flips Billy over on his back so the needle gets him instead. 

The effect of whatever he’s just been attacked with is instantaneous; his body stills as the world begins to spin. He doesn’t feel any pain. Or anything for that matter. Only his mouth seems to be working fine. “Fuck me… fuck… what the fuck.” 

He’s on top of Billy, who hasn’t pushed him off yet. The blond is stiff under him. His arms fall to his sides as if he too has been drugged. “Harrington? Harrington? Oh my god, is he dead?”

“Do you… ever… stop talking?” 

“If he were dead, he wouldn’t be telling you to shut up,” Max snaps, her hands resting on her knees. 

“Were you really gonna do that to me?” Billy hisses. 

“I don’t know. I don’t know what came over me.”

“You don’t think I was actually gonna kill anyone, did you? Jesus, Maxine-” 

“Heh… Blurry,” Steve slurs. 

“You’re… blurry. Blurry Hargrove.” 

“Eh?” 

“If I could… I wouldn’t… be using you… as a…  mattress. Although I… gotta… say… you’re pretty… pretty comfortable.”

“Can you stand, Harrington?”

“Billy, your face is red,” Max gleefully points out. 

“I think he’s blushing.” Lucas. 

“Why would he be blushing?” Mike? Or is that Dustin? 

“Shut up!” 

“Shut up… all… of you,” Steve groans. 

*****

They keep talking as he’s picked up with a grunt and positioned in the front passenger seat. 

“All your weight training has clearly prepared you for this moment.” 

Billy yelps for some reason. 

“You little shit-”

Steve shushes them and attempts to move his right hand. It jerks a little upward, hitting something soft. 

What did I touch?

“I didn’t take you for an ass man.” 

Oh no. 

Billy chuckles awkwardly. “Your folks’ll be in for a shock when we drop you at home. Since you didn’t wanna go to the hospital.” 

When’d I say that? 

“Since you’re carrying him, does that mean I get to-” 

“Maxine, the day you’re gonna drive my car is the day hell freezes over and it starts raining shit.” 

How did I end up here? 

“Gross! And don’t call me Maxine. It’s Max.”

“Whatever, Maxine.”

“Do any of you fuckwads know where he lives?”

“

“Everyone knows.”

“I obviously don’t, Henderson, otherwise I wouldn’t have asked.” 

“Steve and Billy, sitting in a tree.” 

“I will turn this car around and leave your asses in the middle of nowhere.” 

“I think your driving will kill us sooner than any Demogorgon.” 

“Mike!” 

“What do you mean “Mike”?” 

“The fuck is a Demogorgon? Also, fuck you, Wheeler, I happen to be a great driver.”

“You ran two red lights.”

“If the cops aren’t around, then red means green. Green means go. Everyone knows that.” 

“We’re gonna die in his stinky car.”

“He can hear you.” 

Sometime after the second horn honking, Steve passes the fuck out. 

[mewo-cressei]

Welp, I dug my own grave, I suppose.

@julieisasimp @the-arcade-doctor @a-moths-privacy

uhhh idk who else to tag

Note's:

Y/N is a freak. Think what you will.

and stutters, but not in a "i-i-i-im so sorry! I-i-i-i-it won't happen again!" type of way but more of a "i-im sorry! It w-wont happen again!" Type of way.

JOTA is more flirtatious. NOT IN A "you're so cute i could eat you up" type of way but more like "you're mine. Got it?~" type of way (I'M SORRY IM UNSURE HOW TO WRITE HIM I'VE NEVER WRITTEN BEFORE WAAAA-)

(Also this is very suggestive 😳)

The arcade doctor x abused run away reader

TW's: abusive parents, running away from home

Your mother had yelled at you, once again.

She never heard what you had to say, never even turned her head when you told her that your brother snuck out again.

she always favored him over you, making you clean dishes, cook dinner and have the highest grades.

Even if you got a mere A- she'd yell at you. Yet, your brother, who never got a grade above C-, never got punished in his life.

So, you decided to run away.

You've been planning this for weeks.

Your plan was to leave to go "hang out with friends" because she'd let you if you did everything she asked you to, on top of getting an A+ on every assignment you had that week.

You only took your water bottle and phone, seeing as she would yell at you if she noticed your backpack looked "stuffed full of condoms/alcohol/cigarettes". you never understood her logic.

You approach the exit, before telling her:

"mom! I'm gonna go hang out with my friends!"

You then hear your chainsmoker-mother's hoarse voice yell back:

"you actually have friends?!"

She laughed.

"Alright, fine, but only today. No more going out for the rest of the month, got it?! And be back BEFORE 5."

But you knew you wouldn't be back. You yell back, making sure not to be too loud, as she'd take it as 'disrespectful':

"alright, bye, mom"

And then you leave.

And you ran. And ran. You ran for so long, you had no idea where you were. Your mom never let you go so far away from the house, and yet...

This place felt more like home than anywhere else.

And then...

You fell... Through the ground?

This can't be right, can it?

You felt... Pixel-y? Glitchy? You felt... Unnatural.

EVERYTHING felt unnatural.

...and then you saw.. violet skies?

'What is this place?'

You thought to yourself.

Then, the violet ended.

You saw many places flash before your eyes, as well as your life, you saw a pumpkin patch, a graveyard, a circus tent, (continue) ... and then everything got so blurry you couldn't even make out colors.

you felt like you were falling for eternity, and then..

you fell right onto your back.

Your entire body had no sensation for a few moments, possibly from the adrenaline rush, and when you did get it back, everything hurt.

It was dull, not sharp at all, But it hurt like hell.

Your mind was foggy from all of the pain.

But you could conjure up one thought as you were recovering:

'Good thing I'm used to it, since I was beat by my mother. At least that's an up side.'

You knew it wasn't a good thing at all, but you had to view things in a positive light, considering your circumstances.

You didn't know how you were still even alive, but thanked whatever deity or guardian angel saved you.

After what felt like hours, the pain was finally gone.

You tried to get up, and it worked! You once again thanked whatever deity or guardian angel saved you from breaking all your bones.

Your entire body hurt though.

It was less then before, but it still lingered.

You then looked around, and to your right you saw...

'An... Arcade? Here?!'

You thought to yourself, not believing you eyes, rubbing them.

You read the sign above the door...

'JOTAS ARCADE where fun spreads like the plague'

'...what a strange name for someone...'

You thought

'Surely it's just a mascot, and isn't real... right?'

The slogan seemed fitting, though, seeing as the mascot looks like a plague doctor.

You decide to come inside...

The first thing you notice is....

Everything is an eye-gouging neon green. Your head hurt from it.

You close your eyes in a desperate attempt to stop the pain, putting your hands over them.

You then hear a voice..

"[ J:\\ WELCOME TO JOTA'S ARCADE, WHERE FUN SPREADS LIKE THE PLAGUE! ...CAN I HELP YOU? ]"

You're surprised that there's anyone even here, from the glimpses you could catch of the place, it looked run down, wires hanging from the ceiling, something goo-like on the walls, arcade cabinets with no buttons...

"[ J:\\ EXCUSE ME? ARE YOU JUST GONNA STAND THERE? ]

you then reply with:

"J-just give me a second.. my head hurts..."

You make sure the last part is silent, stumbling over your words a little from the confusion.

You then notice you've finally acclimated to the neon greens of the arcade, realizing only after opening your eyes and not feeling any pain.

You take away your hands from your eyes, looking around, noticing the voice you had heard came from a plague doctor behind the prize counter, he looked just like who you had seen on the sign, assuming that was 'JOTA'

He was a green so neon, he was almost glowing... Wait, was he?

'...it could be weirder. at least I'm okay...'

You think, thankful you're even alive.

You see the plague doctor was now speaking to a hooded figure...

You decide to not think about that, and investigate the arcade cabinet which you had seen, walking over to it.

'surely I'm just seeing things, right?'

You think to yourself.

After You had come over to the arcade cabinet, you then see your eyes hadn't deceived you, it really had no buttons.

'thats... Why would an arcade not have any buttons? How would you even play...'

You cut yourself off, trying to stop yourself from panicking.

'...this isn't the weirdest thing I had seen, it could be worse.'

You look back, seeing the plague doctor was still speaking to the hooded figure, you now notice that the figure had eyes nearly glowing green, though, you wouldn't be surprised if they really did.

and then, you finally noticed.. the plague doctor.. his right arm seemed... Off.

It was.. corrupted? You just decided to ignore it, this was already more abnormal than you'd like it to be, so it's probably better to just ignore it.

You decided to walk around, look for any sign of someone else who understood what's happening..

yet all you found were corpses.

Your mom had forced you to witness horrible things in movies, so you were mostly unbothered.

But still afraid of the idea of someone being able to hurt you.

After you had seen that nobody, well, living was here, except for that hooded figure and the plague doctor, you decide to ask one of them.

You look back, noticing the hooded figure walk away.

You decide to ask the plague doctor what was happening.

'his name was JOTA, right?'

You were quite forgetful, so you weren't sure of yourself.

You walked over to the prize counter, repeating what you going to say over and over in your head, not wanting to mess up.

Once you get there, you had finally conjured up the courage to speak.

"u-um excuse me, your n-name is 'JOTA' right?"

"[ J:\\ THE ONE AND ONLY! ]"

"I uhm.. w-where exactly a-am I? I-I mean I know I'm in your arcade! I'm just... Lost.."

"[ J:\\ LOST? SO, YOU MEAN TO SAY YOU GOT HERE ON ACCIDENT? ]"

"Y-yes.."

"[ J:\\ WELL, YOU'RE OUT OF LUCK. ]"

"w-..what?!"

"[ J:\\ THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO, KID! I'D RECOMMEND GETTING USED TO SEEING GREEN! ]"

You sigh, and start walking away, thinking.

'at least it's better than before..'

"[ J:\\ HOLD ON. ]"

you stop dead in your tracks, turning around, and walking back to the prize counter.

"[ J:\\ HOW ABOUT A DEAL? YOU HELP ME AROUND THE ARCADE, AND I KEEP YOU ALIVE. ]"

He reaches out his right hand, seemingly grinning, though you couldn't tell if he was actually grinning, because of the mask, you could hear it in his voice.

"[ J:\\ WHAT DO YOU SAY, KID? ]"

You hesitate, knowing you might be making a bad decision, but you've seen the corpses, and have no other choices.

You shake his hand.

"d-deal.."

You say, hesitantly.

"[ J:\\ JEHEHE! ANOTHER ONE TO THE SLAUGHTER~ ]"

You shudder. It was frightening, but the way he said that last part made you a little giddy.

He let's go, you immediately retract your hand.

"[ J:\\ SO, WHAT'S YOUR NAME? ]"

"m-my name is Y/N.."

"[ J:\\ WHAT A GREAT NAME FOR MY NEW LITTLE PUPPET~ ]"

You blushed.

He left the prize counter, walking over to you... But he didn't stop once he was in front of you. You walked backwards, him backing you into a wall. He pinned you against it.

You were afraid, but very flustered.

"[ J:\\ WELL, AREN'T YOU CUTE FOR A TOY~ ]"

He said, cupping your chin with his clawed hand, inspecting his new doll.

He then let go, running his claws against your neck roughly. It hadn't drawn blood, it just hurt. but.. it felt good. It made you let out a breathy sigh.

"[ J:\\ JEHE~ SUCH A SUBMISSIVE LITTLE PLAYTHING~ ]"

He said, a flirtatious lace in his voice.

[ J:\\ NOW, HOW ABOUT WE RAISE THE STAKES A BIT, DEAR?~ YOU COULD EITHER PUT ON A "SHOW" FOR ME HERE AND NOW, OOOR YOU COME BACK TO MY OFFICE, AT THE COST OF YOU WALKING PROPERLY FOR A FEW WEEKS~ ]

He said, making sure you heard the last part.

You were sure that you would've blushed harder by now, if you could.

"I-I uh pick the latter"

You said, unable to stop yourself from saying that.

"[ J:\\ GOOD~ ]"

He said, before picking you up and carrying you to his office. You were a flustered mess.

Once you two were in his office, he set you down onto his desk, putting his hands on either side of you, pinning you against it.

Then... I'll leave it up to your imagination -v•

(basically, I CANT WRITE EROTICA YOU DO IT)

[miela]

Shattered Memories • Chapter X: The Return of a Hero • {Peter Parker x Stark!Reader}

Chapter Genre: Heartfelt Angst, F L O O F Y Fluff Chapter Warnings: back to a regular-sized chapters lmao Extra: next chapter is gonna be smut and it might be posted before the next update. Word Count: 3.4k

Masterlist | Playlist | Pin Board

↪ divider by firefly-graphics

It’s been no more than fifteen minutes since Peter left and you were in the conference room holding the Helmet of the Iron Suit of your late father. You were sitting on the table again as you looked out the window at the New York City skyline in contemplation as the ghosts of Peter’s words echoed and danced around your head. 

Me, a hero, you thought. 

You knew that you used to be an Avenger. You used to be a damn good one actually, but that didn’t mean that you were a good hero. Anyone can save a life but not everyone can truly be a hero. And now that you think about it, you don’t think you ever saw yourself as a true hero. 

You didn’t see yourself like how you saw Steve.

You didn’t see yourself like how you saw Nat.

You didn’t see yourself like you saw your dad.

And you certainly didn’t see yourself like how you saw Peter. 

You were meant to be a legacy, not a hero. You were meant to change the world through business and philanthropy. That was your place. 

You were Corporate America, not Captain America.

If Peter really knew what happened five years ago, he would understand why you couldn't see yourself as a hero. If he knew how you're responsible for the pain and loss and downfall of many people because of your selfishness, he would understand why you tucked your suit in a far corner. You were doing a favor by staying in your place as an American Sweetheart and not an American Hero. 

Then…if that’s the case why do you feel this yearning? Like you're supposed to be out there doing more? 

You sighed and looked down at the helmet that your father once wore. Inside of it was a message that he left for you years ago that you refused to look at because you knew that it was his farewell message to you and that meant that it was final and that he wasn't coming back. 

You felt that now was the time to see it. 

You activated the system in the helm as a hologram came up through the eyes of the mask. You clicked around until you found the file that read "FOR ELDEST LITTLE ME" which brought a smile to your face.

You took a deep breath and pressed play. A life-sized hologram of your dad came up. 

Hey Daughter number one, I hope you never have to see this message. But it’s like you say many times “shit happens, and it’s our responsibility to be prepared for it.” So I’m taking a page out of your book and doing just that. Preparing for the shit that may or may not happen. 

If you’re seeing this message that means I’m dead. Or I lived and you got nosey and I forgot to delete this. Whatever. If I’m alive, delete this right now or I’ll hide all your guitars in some off-shore estate of ours. Including the one on your bedroom wall. If I’m dead then…well, stay tuned. 

I’m going to cut right to the chase. Don’t blame yourself for my death. None of this is on you. There was nothing you could have done to save me and I mean nothing. Things played out exactly how they were supposed to. You did everything you were supposed to and I’m so proud of you. 

I want you to live your life and I want you to be happy. I know you’re gonna love Morgan and I know that you and Pepper will take care of each other. You’re gonna grow to be this powerful person in the world just like you always wanted to be. This world will try and knock you down because you are different and you constantly break the status quo, even if I specifically told you not to. Keep being a swiftie, keep playing guitar, keep dancing, keep creating things, and keep being a little smart ass too. I don’t want you to blame yourself for something that you had no control over. 

You will make mistakes, some probably as big as mine and I’m sorry that you have to be left with the mess I made in my lifetime. People will try to knock you down because of me. People will try to discourage you because of me. People will try to destroy you because of me. You will have enemies everywhere and at some point it will probably cause you to be your own worst enemy. So here’s a word of advice from your dear ol’ dad:

“Don’t give up before you can see what happens when you persevere.” 

Yes, I came up with that quote because I am a freaking genius.

Remember what I always told you. “Behind that heart of iron, there is gold.” You are headstrong, stubborn and so damn rebellious but it’s because you care about others, you care about making this world a better place, and you care about saving the earth that we all live on. 

And for that, you are a hero, whether you believe it or not. 

I love you, 3000, (Y/N). When the time comes, I'll see you on the flipside.

By the time the message ended, you were crying. You picked up the Iron mask and leaned your forehead against it. You let out a sob as a wave of emotions washed over you. 

“Thank you, dad…” you whisper to the mask. “I love you, 3000.”

You sat there and cried for a good twenty minutes before you calmed down. You took a deep breath, got up, and walked into the office of the penthouse, a place you avoided like the plague because of all the memories of Tony Stark living in it. 

You were unlocking all types of bravery today.

When you stepped inside you walked over to the desk and set down the mask right in the center of it before patting it softly two times. You walked around the office and looked around at the different decor and pictures that were placed nicely on shelves and the desk. There was a picture of you, Pepper and Tony and another one with Morgan, Pepper and Tony. They made you smile as you looked over and noticed another two pictures. 

One was of you and Peter. 

You both were hugging each other cheek to cheek with big smiles on your faces. You noted how young you both looked and how happy you both were with youthful twinkles in your eyes and baby faces much like how you were in the scrapbook pictures. The other picture was of you, Peter, and Harley all making funny faces and wearing Stark Internship tee shirts as a joke (and as proof for Aunt May and Harley's mom that they're doing something other than Avenger's Hero work). You giggled to yourself.

"All the clues I needed, right in here in the only place I didn't look," you smile to yourself. "Figures."

You set the photo back down as a notification popped up on your stark specs.

"A message from Spiderman," FRIDAY chimed. "Or better yet, your boyfriend."

You hummed in amusement with a smile. "Open it please."

"Certainly."

Through the specs, you could see a picture of the Avengers Tower in the distance and a red webbed hand doing a finger heart at it. The caption was a red heart. Your smile widened as you faced the window, did a finger heart at it, and sent him a picture of it with a heart caption back. 

You wanted to ask him how patrolling was going, but your mind decided on other things. You made your way to your room down the hall and made a beeline to the walk-in closet filled with your business clothing that you would rather keep there than at home. You walked inside and made your way to the very back and stopped at the long mirror that stood in front of you. You sighed and put your hand on the hidden scanner on the side of the mirror. A blue light Illuminated around your hand. 

"Welcome back, Silk," the system said as the mirror turned around and revealed your spider suit. "It's been a long time."

You looked at the white, black, and red one-piece with minimal gold details and minimal blue LED lights. You had almost forgotten what it looked like and you were about to remember what it felt like.

You smiled. "Yeah, it has."

Next thing you know you were in the suit, with your full white mask on and your white hood up. It was just as comfortable as you remembered. It felt liberating, freeing and right wearing the suit and now you were going to put it to the test. You strapped on your web shooters and tested them to make sure that they still work. Then you made your way to the platform outside. 

"Shall I notify, Peter?" FRIDAY asked through your mask.

"No," you replied with excitement and nervousness flowing through your body. "I'll surprise him."

You took a deep breath that came out more shaky than you would’ve liked. You haven't done this in so long and you honestly felt like you were going to run into a building or something. And although you can make webs from your fingertips, you haven’t really haven’t used your webs in a while either, so you opted for the web shooters that you also used in combat before.

Oh god, what if the fluid is no good anymore? You thought.

"You're afraid,” FRIDAY stated.

"Is it obvious?” You asked as you took the web fluid container to check it from the web shooter. “I haven't done this in five years."

"Just like your first time, it’s a leap of faith."

“FRI, that leap of faith could have me seeing my father on the flipside much sooner than planned.”

“You could summon an iron suit for emergency purposes.”

"You're right." You took a deep breath and put the container back in the slot of the web shooter. "Here goes faith."

And with that, you ran across the platform and dove off. The fall was terrifying but invigorating. The wind was harsh and cold but in an instant reaction, your suit auto-warmed you. You shot a web from the shooter as it attached to a building and you swung across the veins of the city. Once you got the hang of it from your muscle memory, you flung yourself high up in the sky over some of the buildings and did a flip. You could hear people from down below pointing you out and you waved as you passed by them. You smiled from behind your mask as you swung and ran on the side of buildings, careful to not hit windows. You landed on top of a building and laughed happily to yourself as your heart raced in your chest.

You almost couldn’t believe you gave this up. Almost.

"Man, I missed this."

"Spiderman detected nearby. About five blocks over." FRIDAY stated as she showed you his location.

"Thanks, FRI."

You swung and leaped from building to building until you felt your senses tingle. You land on the building where he was at. He was spider-squatting (as you two called it)  on the edge and looking down at the street. You began walking quietly over to him.

"Friend detected," FRIDAY chimed. "Hello Karen."

"Hello FRIDAY," Karen chimed back.

You lay your hands on his shoulders softly and his body instantly relaxed at your touch. You sensed a form of happiness from him. 

"You came," you could hear the smile in his voice.

You leaned against him, wrapped your arms around his waist, and hugged him from behind. He turned his head towards you as you rested your chin on his shoulder. He kisses your cheek through his mask as heart emotes pop up on the screen through your mask lenses. Your face burned. 

"I did."

"What changed your mind?"

"I wanted to see your ass in the suit again."

Peter laughed in response. “Is that why you made the suit so form-fitting?”

“No,” you replied with a giggle. “But I’m certainly not complaining.”

“I’m not complaining about yours either,” he said lowly in your ear which caused your face to burn even more.

He smirked under his mask knowing what your silence meant.

"How long have you been staking out here?"

"Since I sensed you like three minutes ago," he explained. 

You smiled and then moved to sit next to him. "I decided to try the hero thing again. If I'm gonna do it with anyone, I'm glad it's you." 

He was looking at you when you looked back at him. He then moved his covered hand to cradle your masked face gently and you leaned into it as your mask showed you closing your eyes. His thumb caressed the apple of your cheek gently and you let out a soft breath at the sweetness of it all. 

"Are you okay?" He asked softly with obvious worry in his voice. "I sensed your sadness earlier."

You look up at him with a covered smile. "I'm okay. I just found a message from my dad and it just kinda got to me," you explained and put your hand over his. "But I'm okay." 

"You sure?" 

You nodded and then stood up. 

“Let’s go protect the little guy,” you held your hand. “Together.”

He took your hand and stood up. “I’m really glad you’re here.”

You nodded. “Me too.”

Both of you swung through the streets of New York City. You stopped several things from happening including petty thefts, muggings, car accidents, and children from getting themselves into danger unintentionally. You mostly assisted more than anything, which neither of you minded since it’s been a while since you’ve done any heroic justice work. 

After a while, you guys stopped and got some food to replenish the energy you used. Peter settled with a sandwich while you got a wrap and you guys split your food in half and gave it to one another. You both sat on the edge of the roof of a lower-rise building scanning the streets for any suspicious activity.

"You got one thing wrong earlier," you started. "In your big ass rom-com speech."

"Oh?" Peter looked at you. "Enlighten me."

"Draco Malfoy and Aaron Warner aren't my book boyfriends anymore," you smirked. "I've moved on from them."

"Oh really?" Peter mused. "Care to share with the class?"

"Why? So you can feel some type of way about him too? Nah I'm good."

"Oh, come on!" 

You giggled and took another bite of your wrap. "I'll tell you once he's ready to meet you."

He scoffed and shook his head with a playful smile. "I'll just ask Morgan."

You snorted. "She probably does know. Speaking of, she told me you helped her out yesterday. Thank you for that."

"Don't mention it," he smiled and took the last bite of his sandwich.

You looked out into the skyline of the city and scanned over its beauty before letting out a sigh. You felt the happy chemicals working through your body over time and smiled to yourself as you finished your food. 

"So," you began. "I know this question is annoying as hell but what do you plan on doing after college?"

"I have a few options," Peter started. "But the two that resonate with me most are working in a lab or being an educator."

You look at him. "You wanna become a teacher?"

Peter nodded. "I love science as you know and I have a passion for it. I know it's not for everyone and some kids struggle with it y'know? so I would love to share my passion with them and show them that even though they're not good at the subject they can still get some sort of fulfillment from trying. Like the scientific method. Also, some kids need someone who they can turn to when bullies happen and when they're struggling. I'm no counselor but I could help them connect to one."

Your heart swelled. He is just so pure and too good for this world. You couldn't understand why the universe would ever want to do any harm to him when he's such an angel. All he wanted to do was make this world a better place in the best way he could. 

You pouted.

"You're such a sweetheart," you pecked his lips. "My sweet boy."

He blushed. "I-I-It's nothing, really."

"To some kid out there, one day, it'll be everything."

He looked at you again and he could tell that had a loving look in your eye. You both leaned in and kissed each other softly. Kissing Peter had become one of your favorite things in less than twenty-four hours. And if you said it out loud, Peter would agree with you.

"Oh my god!" You heard a shriek from below and both of you reacted by whipping your heads around and pulling down your mask.

There was a group of three girls at the bottom of the building gawking up at the both of you. 

"Silk! Is that you?!" The girl who shrieked before asked. She had long braided locs that were tied up in pigtails, dark skin, and big brown eyes that sparkled at the sight of you both. She wore a black long-sleeved turtle neck and a black pleated skirt under a hot pink corset. She has fishnets on her legs and demonias on her feet and several spikes accessories to top the outfit. 

She reminded you of Draculaura from Monster High.

You smiled and waved down at them. "Hello," you sang, putting on your best Brooklyn accent.

"You came back!" The girl chimed excitedly. "Everyone thought you were dead!"

"No, they didn't," a girl next to her corrected. She had long wavy brown hair and she wore an oversized maroon sweater that looked nice against her tan skin, with a white flowy skirt, Doc Martens, a denim jacket full of embroideries and patches, and a white beanie on her head. "Spidey said on many occasions that she was taking a break due to unknown reasons."

You looked at Peter who shrugged. 

"I didn't know what else to say," he whispered so only you two could hear.

"Are you two dating?" The other girl who was with them asked curiously. She had short blonde hair and wore a green crew neck sweater over a white turtleneck and a pair of loose mom jeans with Doc Martens. 

"Uh, duh? Why wouldn't they be?" The Draculaura girl said with a smile. "They're, like, perfect for each other! He picked up the slack so she could take a break! That's sooooo sweet! Iron Spider Duo is the OTP!"

You couldn't help but giggle like an idiot with your hand over the area where your mouth would be as you crossed a leg over the other.

God, she's so cute, Peter thought as he blushed under his mask. 

"Where are you girls headed?" You asked. "You shouldn't be walking by yourselves at this hour."

"Oh, we ubered here to this cafe," White beanie replied. "And we should get inside so we can meet up with everyone else!" She urged the other two to go inside. 

"Wait, can we get a picture with you?" The blonde asked.

You and Peter exchanged looks and shrugged in a why not manner before jumping down and posing with them. After that, you saluted them a goodnight as they hurried inside to meet up with whoever they were supposed to meet up with.

"We do make a good pair don't we?" You smiled and nudged his arm playfully.

"We sure do," Peter nudged back.

After that, you patrolled some more before calling it a night. When you two finally got back to the tower, it was one in the morning. Nothing big as an Avengers-level threat happened on patrols and so you both still had some energy. But that could also be your senses being happy.

You missed this. You were all smiles and adrenaline high when you walked back in.

"I'll take a shower in the locker room," Peter smiled and before he could turn and walk away you grabbed his arm. He looked at you wondrously in response.

"Why waste water?" You smiled softly looking at him with a longing in your eyes. 

Peter's eyes widened slightly as he looked at you. His wild eyes betrayed him as they traced over your body and just as you do a lot of justice in that suit, that suit was doing you a lot of justice. 

He pressed his lips together and licked them as he nodded at you. You smiled, taking his hands and walking him towards your bedroom.

~

Tags:

@chrisevans-realwife @riordanness @peterdarlingg @thecrystalclarity @brckenmemories @paleprincesssxo @blackcanary130 @kindlover @i-have-no-life-charlie @melodicheauxxlovesfood

[shankschewtoy]

Hi!! Came across your profile❤️ Love your writing! Would it be ok for me to request Law, Ace, Smoker, or Zoro with a masc/gn partner whose terminally ill? If you don’t feel comfortable writing for this prompt, I totally respect it! Feel free to ignore ❤️

a/n - ooo I always love these requests bec I really relate to them a lot- I’m not terminally ill but I’m chronically ill, so it’s nice to imagine these things. Tysm anon for the request :D

Warnings ⚠️ - g/n reader, mentions of vomiting, illnesses (if you’re not comfortable then don’t go past the cut!)

Smoker

- He really cares about you, and when he received the news of your terminal illness, he silently broke down

- He didn’t want to seem depressed or stressed in front of you, the last thing he wanted was for you to worry about him

- He smoked a lot more, mostly out of stress and anxiety for your well-being

- You might have to reassure him a lot that you’re still the same person!

- He’ll do anything for you!

- Tie your hair back when you’re throwing up? Mhm he’ll for sure do that

- He’ll carry you if you get too tired!

- He’s always on calling your doctor if you don’t feel good or feel differently than usual

- he makes sure you always drink enough water and eat enough

- He doesn’t care if you throw up, he’ll clean it up so don’t worry :)

- All he wants is for you to feel.. Healthy and happy :D

- It makes him god so happy when you smile or laugh

- It literally makes his whole heart melt

- He won’t smoke inside, he’ll make sure you don’t breathe it in, he read that it was unhealthy (yea he didn’t follow that advice himself tho)

- the same thought haunts him, someday you’re going to die, and it’s going to be too early

- He never admits that to you, he wants you to focus on being as happy as you can

- He’ll cuddle you whenever you ask, please ask!

- it makes him feel better that he’s doing something that makes you feel comfortable or happy :)

- he loves you SO SO SO much it almost hurts him lmao

- It pains him to see that you’re sick, and it hurts him even more that it’s incurable

- He’ll be there for your last days, holding your hand, holding you in his arms, caressing your shoulders as he leans into the crook of your neck

- When you pass, Smoker really didn’t know what to do anymore

- you were really his purpose of living, more so than the marines

- He’d cry, and everytime he saw a picture of you, he’d put it to his forehead, imagining that it was still you, nuzzling your head with his

- those many moments you and him had before made him feel better in these times

- He knows that you’re with him, all the time, forever more <3

Ace

- Ace is by far not even close to being a medical professional

- but he knows what terminally ill means

- those two words made his whole world start crashing down

- His precious y/n… is sick

- this can’t be happening right?

- it takes him a long time to actually believe those words were real

- why did it have to be you?

- He begged the gods above to let him take your place

- the last thing he wanted was for you to be in pain

- Whatever you ask for, you name it, he’s gonna do it for you

- he doesn’t care if it’s embarrassing, gross, weird, or whatever

- he’ll do it

- bring you some candy? Hell yeah he’ll bring you some

- Cuddles? Oh he’s totally up for that!

- Kisses? You don’t even have to ask >:)

- he makes sure to take you to Marco everyday to make sure you’re feeling alright

- Ace knows that someday, sometime soon you’re going to leave, and he’s never going to be ready

- he tried his best to never even think of it, all he wanted was to focus on having you with him now

- he’ll give you a piggyback ride if you’re ever feeling dizzy, tired, or just kind of lazy, no hesitation there! He’s gonna carry you like there’s no tomorrow

- he also tries to make you laugh by making the goofiest faces and telling the most lame ass jokes ever 😭

- when you laugh, he laughs, when you smile, he smiles

- he loves seeing you happy! That’s what he lives for :D

- when you passed, Ace was shocked even though he knew it would happen

- How could they take you away like that?

- Ace couldn’t even move from that same spot where he watched you leave him for a couple hours

- he was just staring at your corpse in front of him, tears falling down his cheeks

- His life was empty, what would he do without you??

- Marco tried his best to cheer him up to no avail. You were Ace’s reason to live, the love of his life, there was no one who could replace you or even think to be like you.

- That’s what made him so depressed, that no one, no one, could ever be you. Only you could make him as happy as he was before

Law

- He’s a doctor, so he’s the one that announced you were terminally ill

- Even he was shocked even though he was the one that came to that conclusion

- Law didn’t know what to say, he needed a couple hours to register what he had just said

- you’re.. dying? No that can’t be right!

- He refused to believe it, he didn’t want to realize that you were going to die soon

- you tried cheering him up, saying that it was ok, and he decided that he would try his best to make your last days your best ones

- He took a break from work, always checking on you, seeing how you’re feeling

- He’s a bit less romantic than Ace, but his actions and his intentions are the same!

- He loves you to the moon and back, and would do anything to help cure you

- Over the weeks, he struggled and struggled, trying to find something that may prevent your passing

- But he couldn’t figure it out

- Whenever he saw you smile, he thought, “I might never see that again”

- He was there in your final moments, caressing your knuckles with his thumbs, gently rubbing soothing circles on your hands

- the flatline of the monitor made him lose it

- He put your cold hand to his forehead, struggling not to cry, the tears flooding his eyes

- Why would he feel your warmth anymore?

- your soothing touch that always made him soft and happy?

- where did you go?

- Law couldn’t handle it, he just lost the one person that made him feel like maybe the world wasn’t so bad after all

- But now? The world was complete dog shit, why did it take you away from him?

Zoro

- Zoro couldn’t believe it

- he didn’t know if he couldn’t fathom how you were dying, or if he didn’t want to believe it

- You were his one and only, the one who always made him feel at home, loved

- he did everything with you now

- He trained with you in the room, napped close to you, checked on you, brought you food and water

- He did everything without even asking

- he made sure that chopper was nearby in case anything happened to you

- he loves holding you in front of him, with you leaning back against his chest as he wraps his arms around your torso, leaning into your hair, the scent of your shampoo always making him calm

- That lingering thought, “someday, I won’t ever be able to hug y/n like this..” was always present, he just shoved it away in a box like he usually did

- he’ll even help you take showers! (Be proud of him he only bathes like once a week 💀)

- the way he scrubs your back and washes your hair is literally heavenly

- He’s always so gentle with you, making sure nothing he does could possibly hurt you in any way

- he doesn’t care if he’s being extra cautious, he’ll do it for you

- He was there in your final days, holding your hands with his, calloused fingers gently rubbing over each of your knuckles

- once he felt your hand slowly start to completely lean into his, his heart stopped

- you were gone.. weren’t you?

- he didn’t move from that spot for a while, and it made the entire crew worry

- They knew just how much Zoro cared about you, he loved you to the ends of time

- he couldn’t help but feel frustrated, why did you die first? It’s unfair..

a/n - well now this was angsty :/ I was sad while writing this 😭

[greyfacade]

Ask game questions! 5, 7, 8, and 23 for spamton bc I'm legally obligated to ask about him. You don't have to do all of them tho if you don't want!

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

I'm Gonna Win - Rob Cantor

First song I thought of, though I'm sure there are other more suitable songs I could come up with. But honestly, due to my illness I don't get to listen to music often. I'm sensitive to sound.

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

There's been some really nice fanart, and I love the fake ad ones people make, and the pinups. I love buying merch from people.

Its also nice when people treat their plushes nicely, or actually see him as more than just the "funny salesman." Don't get me wrong, Spamton's is an awesome a salesman and all, but that's not all he is.

Oh, my fave part though, is how everyone celebrates his fan birthday. Thats super sweet. I love seeing people make fanart for that.

23. Favorite picture of this character?

Hm.. there's lot of great fanart of him, and you can see what I post already.

But I guess his shop sprite. It's fun to talk to him.

I do wonder what he would be like in person though.

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

Haha... heh.... well, this will get long... (Sorry.)

Mostly just the fact that the fandom is made up of a LOT of hateful people, who hatepost about Spamton because he's "popular," or because their fans of Swatch/Queen/Addisons and are in denial about what those guys did to him so they try to pin it on Spamton by saying "he deserved it" or saying it never happened.

Which is REALLY ironic in a way. But wait, we got more!

(_WARNING: RANT INCOMING!_ You dont have to read this.)

Many people can't get past the "funny salesman" trope. They think the salesman pitch Spamton puts on is literally all he is, that he really is this guy who is silly, obsessed with money, and batshit crazy. Does no one know how entertainment works!? Has no one ever followed a YouTuber or Twitch streamer, or gone to the circus or seen a live show? That how people act in front of a camera, isnt how they act all the time!? Spamton doesn't actually care about money, he said it himself; he does all he does because he's an entertainer trying to survive! The Spamton Sweepstakes, the Fangamer ads, the Twitter replies... while they contain truths and genuine things about him, for much of it, he's playing everyone like fiddles! He's saying whatever the hell he can to make you buy his shit, because funny thing, its his job! And the things is, it WORKS. Everyone totally buys in to it! But while I'm sure he does find joy in what he does, it can also be kind of painful that everyone actually thinks that's all he is in a way... they infantilize him, they treat him like he's crazy/stupid, they stereotype him, they make fun of him, they talk about wanting to hurt him... and they think its okay, because "he's in on the joke." Yeah? You really think anyone would find joy in seeing you make art of them getting abused/hurt/killed? REALLY? Ever thought that maybe... its not actually okay....

I guess I feel bothered by it. Sure Spamton chooses to play up all the stereotypes about him so that people will buy his stuff, and its cool that he can still joke about things like that. But... I wish people saw more of the real him sometimes, and realized he deserves kindness and respect like anyone else.

But I think Spamton is a good example of how people go too far, how they'll greedily take everything from someone, even their dignity, if it means feeding their own happiness. How they can't separate entertainment from reality (... yeah yeah, some irony there as I'm talking about a fictional character...)

In a way, the Spamton fandom, often represents to me, much of the things I hate about the entertainment industry, hell even fandom. I'm glad people love him and buy his stuff, but I also wish they liked him for kinder reasons. I hope that if he continues to be in entertainment, he gets to make something he loves, that allows him to be who he wants to be. Because like many of us, he sometimes gets trapped in a role, determined by other people. And while some of it is true, like he is funny and has a dark sense of humor, and I'm sure he does enjoy many of the things he does... but some of it, I think is sort of forced on him. It's like if you don't act the way everyone wants, they'll get angry or abandon you. And that, thats awful.

(And Im not saying don't enjoy his salesman persona, just that, I wish people saw the rest of him too. Because he's a kind, caring and brave guy, and I really wish him the best ya know?)

.... of course, I admit this might be some of my own self-projection too, but lets not unpack THAT.

...

......

You made it this far, wow... uh... *gives you a gold star saying "I just wasted several minutes of my life to an insane fan rant." except all the words don't fit on the star, so it just says "I just wasted."*

... *runs away while you ponder the star*

[arcplaysgames]

I don't remember this at all so I don't even know if its part of The Lotus Tree or not, lmao, sorry Kasumi you are so boring up until, uuuuuuuuuuh about 40 minutes from now actually

So Reverie wakes up, happy new year, time to head downstairs to

no no no no no non on onojnkofidflasjk NO

NOOOOO

no!

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

no

inhales

okay.

I, in real life, staring at my Odin, literally out loud said, "Oh fuck ALL the way off."

Anyway, we meet up at the shrine by luck, hahhaaha what a crazy random happenstance.

Also: HARU! MY GOD! WHAT A KNOCKOUT! I feel like her kimono might cost more than my fucking car.

But there is already a very weird tension in the air when the group gets together. They all meet up at a shrine that has no visitors because it seems like no one in the world is wishing for anything because their lives are so perfect, so the crew is like "well! this was nice. uh see ya!" and the vibes are so bad. Immediately everything feels like a world encased in glass, like a pinned insect that just got a shot of euthanasia and is starting to lock into place.

It is fucking EERIE as shit.

oh my god I'm gonna sharpen an axe and cut down your Lotus Tree, Maruki, I swear to god

"Would you join the Phantom Thieves" as an indicator that all is perfect and no one needs to do anything is sure Something.

Somehow, just watch me, I will find a way to blame this all on Mishima again. I'm already trying to calculate the trajectory.

SPITTAKE

I FUCKIGN HOLLARED OH MY GOD

I don't want to sound like the average Atlus developer right now, Morgana, but I think you may have gained some weight.

Also, sidebar: COWARDS for changing Morgana's voice actor for this. COWARDS!!!!! Cassandra Lee Morris has been doing fucking WORK with this character, I literally would rather her continue voicing him with a pitch modulation effect than swapping the VA, /HISSES ANGRILY

Anyway. Reverie and I are both in complete unity at the moment because all of this is Fucked.

Again, me, IRL, shouting "NO" at my Odin.

oh i feel ill from this, this is horrendous. Maruki, you got a fucking storm coming, and i have a fusioned Izanagi-no-Okami with your name on it.

LOOK AT REVERIE HERE. So like I've ranted about how the P4MC was such a non-character while Reverie is so so much more. I can feel how freaked out he is even while he's still a mostly silent protagonist. The fear he feels as he tries to make sense of this situation and starts to wonder how far it spreads is fucking radiating from his posture and how he's watching everyone from over his popped collar and event he way he hasn't turned the chair around to face them, he is cheated away from everyone.

God, it's amazing. I have a lot of issues with P5R but the protagonist is a triumph.

Oh, immediately before he said a single fucking thing. He knows. He knows. He walks in and takes one look around and he knows.

Which in of itself is fascinating and I wanna sink my teeth into what that means.

Everyone in this world is getting their desires. No! No that's incorrect. What they are getting is their pain taken away. I remember Maruki's absolutely batshit closing speech as he left the school in November.

Everyone is getting a life where the biggest traumatic moments did not happen. Futaba never lost her mother and thus Sojiro never lost his best friend. Morgana gets to be human because he admires humans so much. Ryuji was never kicked off the track team. Haru never had the falling out that lead to her father's death.

But Reverie? I don't know what he gets. Before the switch flipped on the Lotus Tree, Sae revealed that the woman who was involved in Reverie's false assault accusation might testify, so his record might even be overturned.

So we have Reverie, and we have Akechi. The two Wild Cards who were puppets of a bored god (who, uh, since Philemon isn't actually involved in this I don't really know anymore what Yaldabaoth's whole deal was but whatever, lean with it rock with it).

I don't know if you can undo the trauma of being Goro Akechi.

... I'm thinking about Reverie, and about the constant drumbeat of his connection to Akechi. Wanting to keep a promise.

I just had a really horrible thought but also it's so gay that I dunno if Atlus would Go There. We'll see.

I know I have never been happier to see you. Been a while, Beige Boy. Love the outfit, actually, you look great in actual colors.

/points directly at this

Did Akechi survive or did Maruki being him back because Reverie had unfinished business with him.

That is my question.

Don't answer it, anyone, but what I am thinking is either Akechi will reveal how he survived the Palace (unlikely) or it turns out he fucking didn't and this was the start of the Lotus Tree.

Anyway, Akechi reveals that he was being questioned for the Shido stuff and then they just.... let him go. No charges. He's free. Which is impossible, obviously. And now Wakaba Isshiki is walking around alive.

that lil pose is so gay. i wonder if Akechi is meant to be Actually Gay. serious question. like, we got Actually Queer characters in P4 so we know the people at Atlus know gay people exist, but this game has been scrubbed clear of any queerness.

except Akechi has such intense gay vibes and, sure I'll say it, mannerisms that I wonder if he is subtextually meant to be gay. especially since to my recollection, every male character in this game has been mentioned to be attracted to women except him. like, I did notice that, thank you.

((ALSO, SIDEBAR: YOU KNOW WHAT I MISS FROM P3 AND P4? THE GIRLS HAVING CRUSHES ON EACH OTHER. I miss the casual flirtation and interest all the girls had together. That's also been stripped out of P5 and it sucks.))

anyway what the fuck was I saying. Akechi gay, he and Reverie need to investigate.

And then Kasumi calls to be like "heeeeeeeeeeey so sorry to bother you buuuuuut that palace we ran into at the stadium is back????? is that okay?"

Okay another thing, sorry that this post is like All About Akechi but

lmao Akechi without his mask is a delight. this man is a bitch and he does not give a fuck and nothing in this world or the next impresses him. it is for real so fun how his cadence and register have subtly changed, he doesn't soften his syllables as much anymore, and he is direct as a gunshot.

Between him and Maruki, this whole segment of the game is like Freaks Only, Normies GTFO and I am thrilled. I am a freak, it's me. This is for me.

[theemporium]

[1.1k] snowy mornings, sleepy-heads and a sweet pure moment shared by two young lovers who have been through so much. 

.

You had expected your life to change when you moved to Beacon Hills in your sophomore year. 

Tall, impressive skyscrapers became cute, homely buildings. Bustling streets and zooming cars became quiet cul de sacs and handfuls of minivans. The city life you had become so used to for the last sixteen years of your life was long gone when woodland areas made up most of your new, small town home. 

But your life also changed in ways you never thought it would.

You never thought one late-night thought to drive through your new town would change so much. You never thought you would see a massive creature rushing out the woods and crashing straight into your car. You never thought you’d be lying there, in and out of consciousness, as a voice whispered “it’s gonna be okay, I’m so sorry” over and over again as a piercing pain could be felt on your arm, a power and feeling so indescribable erupting through your body.

You never thought the supernatural would become such a big part of your life, but here you were over a year later, as a fucking werewolf. 

Over the course of the last few years, you had seen many things that would seem inconceivable to anybody else. Supernatural amazements, crazy abnormalities and so much more. 

And the most unbelievable part of it all was that somehow you had managed to fall in love during all of this.

“Baby, wake up.” 

A low grumble could be heard from beside you. 

“Stiles, look!” 

A muffled response could be heard. 

“Stiles!” 

“What?” The boy finally lifted his head, blinking away the heavy sleep that was still clearly hanging over his head. “What happened? Who died?” 

“I–” you paused for a moment, your gaze shifting down to the sleepy boy beside you rather than the window you had been staring out of moments ago. “No one died. Why would you think someone has died?” 

“I don’t know,” he huffed out as he slumped back onto the bed, nuzzling his face against his pillow again. “‘s what always happens in this town.” 

“That…is actually pretty fair,” you muttered to yourself before reaching over, slapping his arm so he wouldn’t fall asleep again. “But no! So get up!” 

“Why?” he whined out like a child, sleep hazed eyes staring over at you. 

“Stiles, it’s snowing!” 

His eyebrows furrowed together like it took your words a moment to process in his brain and then he shot up. “What? But it never snows in Beacon Hills—” 

You grinned. “It does now!”

Stiles Stilinski couldn’t remember the last time it snowed in Beacon Hills. He must have been young: small, young and more thoroughly focused on hospital visits and sterile patient rooms than whatever was happening outside. He was more preoccupied on clutching his mother’s hand, resting against his father’s tired body as they waited for the doctor’s updates. 

After that, Stiles only remembered winters in the small town being cold and bitter and unforgiving, but it never snowed. It reached cold enough temperatures for them to have ice, maybe even cool temperatures where they could have nothing but slush. 

But never something like this—never a perfect, white winter. 

He could barely believe his eyes as he stared out the window, mind racing with a million different thoughts that he barely got a chance to even take in the picturesque image before a lump of fabric was thrown at his head. 

“Ow! What the hell was that for?!” 

“Get up! We are going out!” 

“But–But it’s snowing!” 

“Exactly, Stiles!” 

And despite his huffs and his eye rolls and his snide little comments about the good dream he was having, there was very little in this world Stiles could deny you. Having spent years infatuated with a girl who could never love him as much back, it felt odd to know that he had you—to know that young Stiles would have lost his fucking mind knowing he had a girlfriend as thoughtful and pretty and who loved him far more than he deserved. 

So yeah, he was still a bit pissy as he shrugged on his boots and zipped up his coat, but there was a smile growing on his lips as you pecked his cheek and quickly rushed out the house, calling his name. 

He watched the scene in wonder as you stood amongst the snow, face raised to the sky as you watched in awe as the small snowflakes fell to the ground. The way the nipping wind was undoubtedly colder than either of you expected, but you didn’t let it bother you as you took in the white wonderland around you. 

Stiles was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn’t even have time to barge the snowball that was heading straight for his face. 

“Shit!” 

“Ha!” 

He shook his head, small clumps of snow clinging onto his eyelashes but all he cared about was the mischievous gleam in your eyes. 

“Oh, you’re fucking on!” 

It must have been a sight to see: two teens acting like young children as they screamed and squealed and yelled at each other, as they pelted each other with snowballs and laughed as the other hit the ground. It was almost like they were normal, like they weren’t two kids lost to the supernatural world of Beacon Hills. 

“You’re cheating!” he claimed with an accusatory finger pointed in your direction. 

You gasped. “I am not!” 

“You’re using your werewolf-y powers, that’s cheating!” Stiles only continued, eyes narrowed at just how fast you had been moving, how quickly you had been making the snowballs and dodging his, as well as how you were able to throw them with some force.

“You have a lacrosse advantage!” you countered, watching as the boy stopped in his tracks and gave you an amused look. 

“Hilarious, babe,” he deadpanned. “I’m rolling in laughter.” 

“You know I love making you laugh,” you said and flashed him an innocent smile. 

His eyes narrowed. “You’re cheating.” 

“And what proof do you have, Stilinski?” 

“I don’t need proof, I know you!” Stiles scoffed, almost offended by the comment. “I know my girlfriend just as well as I know werewolves. You can’t trick me.” 

“That doesn’t seem like cold, hard evidence, Stiles,” you said to him, your eyes flashing a bright, glow stick yellow but it was enough to have the boy sputtering in his spot. “Sounds like someone is a sore loser.” 

“But you just—” 

“Loser has to make hot chocolate!” 

“I just saw you–” 

“Close your mouth, Stilinski, or you’ll start catching flies!” 

“I knew it!” 

Yeah, maybe you were cheating, but you couldn’t deny that you loved seeing the angry little pout on his face when Stiles got riled up.

.

[kitkatopinions]

ALrighty!

Spoilers for RWBY ep.... 8 I think? Below the keep reading as well as criticism:

So I was wrong about the Cat. I wish it had turned out to be a morally dubious good guy, but whatever, guess the writers wanted yet another 'the person guiding you is actually not trustworthy' plot.

Here's what I'm gonna say - Neo got fucking taken over and possessed the moment that she actually started getting a spotlight as a villain? HATE that shit. I want Neo, not just some conglomerate taken over by the cat? And I don't like that she talked at all. It should've just been the cat's voice.

Idk if Little is dead or not, but I really don't care about or like Little, so if they are dead, okay??? Better than having to see them again tbh.

Seeing people 'resurrected' but all wrong was kind of dissatisfying? Torchwick was the only one of them who was actually used well (because rwby is going through plotpoints at the speed of light in fourteen to sixteen minute eps so of course we can't sit with things,) but his voice acting was off and so it messed with the immersion some. I don't blame them for not being able to get an exact copycat and I don't think they tried very hard since they didn't need Roman for long, but still, I wish his voice actor had done better. The animation of him was pretty good though.

Ruby ascended? Fuck that shit! I have hope that we're actually going to get 'Ruby down in the tree realizing what 'ascension' actually is, but first off, I wanted Ruby to have a breakdown and struggle, not to be full on suicidal and decide to basically kill herself. Second of all, if this means 'no more Ruby' I am going to be so pissed off. This is Ruby's show, right? Or it's supposed to be! Even if this means that we don't get much Ruby for the next two episodes, I'm still gonna be mad. The 'development' we've gotten so far is just Ruby being in pain, and then seemingly dying? I'm trying not to count my chickens before they hatch or whatever, but this could be worst case scenario, people.

The moment where Ruby was getting attacked by everyone who was dead was... Well, first off, it was weird. Because A. Why would Neo bring in Clover, Leo, and Ozpin? Was she just bringing in everyone she thinks that Ruby may have sort of known who died? Second off, why does Neo think Penny cared about Ruby most in the world? When did she have access to that information? How did she know to use Penny that way? Third off, I liked the 'Ruby strikes out at Ozpin, only for Neo to replace him with Oscar' thing in theory but I would be wrong if I didn't point out that once again the only member of Team RWBYJNOR with dark skin gets the most violent things happening, which is a bad pattern. I get that it may be because Oscar is actually more like Ruby's friend than the rest of her team atm (which is sad,) but I just think the writers should be aware that this is a thing they do that they maybe should correct. Maybe they could've had it be Weiss or Yang that Ruby 'accidentally killed' in these visions? Just a thought. Fourth off! I liked how Neo transformed people into Ruby's alive friends and family, judging her for the 'murder.' Fifth off, I just gotta say the combat was not good for me once again. Neo literally has several people there fighting for her, and they all shot like stormtroopers? Ruby's discombobulated and depressed, so her going down without much fight isn't the problem, the problem is that Neo alone by herself should have been able to easily bring her down, let alone with her clones there to help her. Maybe she only knew Roman well enough to really replicate his style, but Neo and Roman? Tag team of the century!

On to... Team WBYJ. I'm not even gonna get into the fact that Blake and Weiss were more sympathetic to Ruby's struggles than Yang was (I am really frustrated with Yang this season,) but they all just stand there and do nothing while Ruby drinks down poison? What the hell? That is not a freaking good look, guys.

Anyway... I don't know how to feel about this episode, but I'm mostly frustrated and disappointed. And on the other hand, I guess we got good pics of Roman and Neo? I'm gonna have to wait to form a concrete opinions on this ep until we can confirm what the frick actually happened next ep, but for now, it's looking like another 3/10. I got some enjoyment, but overall a bad experience once again.

[whumpcloud]

Hi im like about to fall asleep but i had an idea that i had to do to one of the numerous suffering pathetic vampire men on my dash so slight emeto tw incoming bc i keep seeing kind and loving anons feeding the moist paper towel when he should not experience kindness ever its against the law

I give him blood. I give him blood. I give him blood. I give him blood.

He's full? Can't drink anymore? He kindly begs me to stop making him feed and is very uncertain about asking for less food after all the starvation?

I give him blood. I give him blood. He will drink it all. I force him to consume more.

He feels ill? He is suffering the consequences of my actions? He is gonna throw up? He is terrified of that happening? It happens anyway? Now that's just terribly rude. Imagine thinking you can say no to food after begging for it for so long, going as far to spit out the gift you just received.

Punishment time. Probably very harsh as he definitely has energy to keep healing and enduring now, what with all that blood he just got. Never another drop of blood after this either. Shouldn't have been so disrespectful and stupid, now he's going back to starving forever.

(i am willfully ignoring the fact that that much blood would probably give him enough strength to escape or something bc thats just spoiling the fun now isn't it, make it like pig's blood or something so he still feels blessed but doesn't actually gain anything from it besides sadness. as he should)

Vincent is desperately grateful at first. Of course he is. You just keep feeding him, he shouldn't turn that down, he doesn't know when he'll be fed again.

"I..." Vincent shakes a little. He can already tell it's some sort of trick by the fifth bag. "I- I don't... thank you for your kindness, but I don't think I can drink anymore."

You insist. Vincent's eyes flicker up to you. What's the game?

"I really can't," he whispers. "Please, I'm so grateful to be fed, but-"

No buts. You dangle it in front of his face and tell him to drink.

The tone of warning is enough to make him take it with trembling hands. A little of his strength has returned, but he isn't completely stupid. This is not human blood. Even if it was... why should he try to escape this? Whatever is going to happen cannot be worse than the punishment for escaping.

Vincent's vision swims. He swallows down another mouthful. He stopped begging a few minutes ago. This isn't going to stop.

His chest lurches a little. No, no, he can't throw it up! His eyes widen. Was this it? You just want to create a situation to hurt him, is that it?

He shakes his head to himself. No, of course not. How could he think that? You're being so kind just to feed him. He's just being ungrateful. If you hurt him even without the kindness, it would be no less than he deserves.

He physically can't swallow anymore - there's no place for it to go, no vein that needs filled - and chokes, gagging it back up onto the floor. Blood drips down his chin. Your tongue clicks in disappointment.

Whatever you wanted out of him, you get it. He screams, cries, begs, feels the blood he was only just given let loose from his body as you slice it open and mangle his skin into nothing but a vessel for cuts and bruises.

"N-No, stop, please, I didn't--!" Vincent curls up and shields his face. "I didn't mean to, please, you gave me t-too much, a-and I couldn't--!"

You sigh, and remind him that he was the one who threw up. You didn't make that happen.

"I..." Vincent can't fault the logic, even though he really should be able to. "I'm sorry. I sh-shouldn't... you're right. I'm sorry, this w-was my fault. I know that."

You smile, and tell him that if he's going to be so disgustingly disrespectful, there's no reason he should ever be fed again.

"N-NO!" Vincent, despite the pain, scrambles to his knees, presses his forehead against the floor, desperate to beg however you'd like him to. "Please, please, I'll d-do whatever else you want, please don't starve me again! A-Anything else, please!"

You tell him he should've thought of that before he spat out his gift.

Vincent lets out a harsh whimper. "I'm s-sorry. I know. I was d-disrespectful. I u-understand. Thank you for t-teaching me a lesson..."

You tell him to stay exactly how he is. You can add more creativity to this punishment.

Vincent understands now. He'll never be fed again, but he'll never, ever refuse a gift like that again.

It doesn't matter if it wasn't his choice. That idea doesn't even come to his mind anymore. There's always a choice, and he always makes the wrong one.

He keeps begging - you seem to like it - but he doesn't beg for it to stop. He knows it shouldn't.