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queen-of-deans-booty · 7 months

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Raging Storm

Pairing: Dean Winchester x 18!Fem!Reader

Word Count: ~1.8k

Warnings: angst, being bullied, harsh insults, being called freak and worthless, someone wanting you to kill yourself, heartbreak

Request by anon: Hey can i request a one shot where the Winchester brothers and Castiel find out that before Michael and Lucifer go to hell they pregnant a woman that died giving birth to the reader (yn) that is the most powerful being in the existence and she is the first hybrid of all species, she is also the embodiment karma and the void, the princess of heaven and hell, the antichrist, Dean Winchester soulmate, the niece of angels and demons, descendant of the pagan gods and four horsemen of apocalypse, and more things and they need to find her because she is so powerful and she can destroy everything but in the end she is super innocent and shy girl???. with fluffy ending.

Summary: You've always been different than everyone else around you but you have no idea why. Things happen around you that you can't control or have no understanding of, but then Dean Winchester comes into your life promising to help make sense of it all.

Square Filled: window for @spnonewordbingo (deleted bingo)

Author’s Note: any and all comments are appreciated <3

This is the third week this month that the sky has been cloudy and gray. It’s fitting since it matches your mood. All you want to do is get through today and go home where you feel the safest. You hate it here. You’re about to graduate but it needs to come faster. You want to get out of this hellhole and away from these hellish people.

You look up and see your school in the distance with people shuffling into the building. God, I hate everyone here. You’re not even sure how it started but you walked into school one day and everyone hated you. The internet talks about bullying and how much it can ruin a person’s life, but you never knew it could get this bad.

You’re not sure why you’re getting bullied. Sure, you’re very timid and shy but you’re one of the nicest people there is. You’re sweet and friendly to everyone, but that doesn’t seem to matter to some people.

You keep your head down even when you get to school, ignoring the stares you get from some people. The first class of the day is science, which you love, but there are three people in that class that make those fifty minutes feel like hell. You take your seat in the very back by the windows when one of the most popular girls in school comes in. She is followed by her two friends who are basically puppies looking for attention.

“Look girls, the neighborhood freak is here.”

Your heart hurts at her words. You’ve always been bullied by her ever since you could remember. You two attended the same elementary school, the same middle school and junior high, and now the same high school. She’s been tormenting you ever since she knew she gained power by her words.

Maybe she senses you’re a bit different than everyone else. You certainly feel that way. Why do you feel different than everyone here? What makes you not the same as everyone else? That’s the reason why you get bullied because you don’t fit in. You don’t dress weird, have a pimply face, or are into weird things. Stacy took one look at you one day and decided you were going to be her target for as long as you let her be in power.

You haven’t found it in yourself to take that from her.

“What, have nothing to say?” she smirks and looks at her friends. “I hear her Daddy hits her while at home. Her whole family is a bunch of freaks.”

That’s not true. Your father loves you dearly. She’s just looking to stir up some drama, and the only way it’ll get worse is if you antagonize her.

“I heard takes poor defenseless animals and cuts them up,” one of Stacy’s friends says.

“You hear that, Freak? Better not get caught or else I might sic Darren and his friends on you. You wouldn’t want to end up like those animals, now would you?”

You put your head down and drown out her words with the beat of your own heart. The cloudy sky hasn’t gone away, in fact, it has gotten much darker since you’ve arrived at school. Stacy and her friends sit down next to you and gossip loud enough for you to hear every word they say.

Freak. Useless. Ugly. Burden. Waste of space. Freak. Freak. Freak. Freak. Freak. It got so much that you let your emotions get the better of you. Tears would stream down your face if you weren't in front of a bunch of people. Your heart jumps out of your chest just as all the windows in the classroom shatter around you, causing everyone to scream and back away from it. You stay seated, unsure if you did this or if something outside had caused this.

The storm clouds roll in quicker than anyone expects, and a light rain starts falling from the sky. Some of that rain comes inside but you barely feel the water on your skin. You look around at every person who seems scared of you. Maybe she’s right. Maybe you are a useless waste of space freak.

School is shut down for the day while authorities figure out what the hell happened. The rain comes down a tad harder than before but if you can get home, you can curl up in bed and pretend the world doesn’t exist.

As you’re walking, someone bumps hard enough into you that you almost go crashing to the ground.

“What did I tell you girls? She’s a super freak. Did you see what she did to those windows? How did you do that?” Stacy asks.

“Please, I just want to go home.”

“Are you a witch? A freak and a witch. God, why don’t you just go kill yourself? The world will be better off without you in it.”

“Please, just let me go home,” you beg.

“I like it when you beg,” she smirks. “Come on, bitch, beg to me like a dog.”

You’re not sure how this happened but you thought of her getting hit by lightning and then she suddenly was. She falls back in a fit of screams while everyone else but you jump out of the way to avoid getting hit. One of her friends ends up calling 911 but you’re already running away from the scene.

The rain pours down harder and lightning strikes near you to reflect how heartbroken you are. It seems like the weather follows exactly how you feel, and right now, you just want the world to swallow you whole. You don’t bother going home in fear you’ll hurt your parents. Instead, you run to the one place you feel safe outside of your own home.

“Alright, I have storms hitting New York and New Jersey, but I don’t think it’s what we’re looking for,” Sam says as he browses his laptop.

“I got a small tornado in Louisana.”

“Anything else?” Sam asks Cas.

“No.”

“Check this out,” Dean says before the group gives up hope. He turns the laptop so that the other two men can see the page he’s on. “There is a small town in Nebraska that is having rolling blackout storms like the city has never seen before, and the windows of the local high school had been shattered without anyone or anything touching it.”

“Do you think that’s her?” Sam asks.

“Gotta be. She’d be in high school by now.”

“There’s only one way to find out.”

The trio gathers everything they can before setting out to Nebraska. They’ve been tracking you ever since you were born because you’re one of the most, if not the most, powerful beings in the universe. You’re the offspring of Lucifer AND Michael when they decided to both have sex with a human woman at the same time. They manipulated their power to create one big super sperm (as Dean likes to put it) in order to create you.

You’re the Princess of Heaven and Hell, the antichrist, and the embodiment of Karma and the Void. If Dean had to guess, you don’t know just how powerful you are, and you don’t. They have to find you before you do something bad like level an entire town because you got upset over something. Your mother died by giving birth to you and your fathers went to Hell after being imprisoned in the Cage yet again.

Your foster family took you in, adopted you, and loved you with everything they got. There’s a reason why you felt so different than everyone else. You’re not human. You’re not like anyone else. You just don’t know why because you were never told what you are or taught how to be what you are.

Sam, Dean, and Castiel try to traverse the storm when they get into town. It’s gotten a lot worse and has residents fleeing from the city to seek shelter elsewhere. No one knows where this storm came from but they are preparing for the worst. The heart of the storm is where you’re at and gets lighter the further out it goes.

They track you to an abandoned farm you often go to when you want to be alone. You found this place while taking a shortcut home and made it comfortable enough for you to spend hours there. Now, you can’t find a big of comfort anywhere here.

The trio gets out of Baby and sees you outside the barn huddled on the ground. The rain is coming down in buckets but that won’t stop the Winchesters and Castiel from talking to you.

“Maybe I should go. You know, angel to half-angel,” Castiel offers.

“No, let me,” Dean says before he can stop himself. “You two stay here.”

“What? Are you crazy?!” Sam gasps.

“Sammy, I got this.” He leaves their side and approaches you slowly and carefully. You look up and see the three strange men which causes you to scoot away from them in fear. “Y/N, you’re okay!”

“Go away! I don’t know you!”

Lightning strikes the ground where Dean is, and he jumps back before he is struck. Sam wants to join his brother’s side but he knows Dean can handle this one alone. Plus, he’ll jump in if it looks like Dean is in trouble.

“Y/N, my name is Dean Winchester. I want to explain what is happening to you.”

“I don’t even know who I am!” you sob. “Go away before I hurt you!” Dean walks closer to you but you feel a sense of warmth coming from him. You can feel that he is a safe person to talk to which is why you allow him to come closer to you. “I don’t know what’s happening to me. I feel so lost. I don’t belong here. I don’t fit in!”

“Believe me, I get it. I understand how you feel.” He kneels next to you so you can see him without the rush of rain between you two. “I know what it’s like to feel alone in a room full of people. I didn't think I belonged for a long time. Sometimes, I still feel that way.”

“What’s wrong with me?”

“Nothing is wrong with you.” You fall into Dean’s arms and just cry, and he smooths down your drenched hair as a means to comfort you. “There is nothing wrong with you.”

“All I want is to be normal. I didn’t ask to be this way.”

“I know. You’re not alone, Y/N. My brother and I can help you. Castiel over there can help you. We can help you control this.” You sob into his neck uncontrollably. “You’re going to be okay.”

For some reason, you believe him, and the storm calms down just a bit both in your head and outside.

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

#dean winchester #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester fic #dean winchester fanfiction #dean winchester fanfic #dean winchester angst #dean winchester fiction #dean winchester fan fiction #dean winchester fan fic #supernatural #supernatural fic #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural fanfic #supernatural angst #spn #spn fic #spn fanfiction #spn fanfic #spn angst

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briebysabs · 1 year

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Since I am such a normal individual I’ve decided to attempt breaking down vanoé’s character song “Le Formidable”. I don’t hear much talk about it but the lyrics are just as cryptic and wild as the OP/ED.

Before we get into it, in terms of translation, I could only find one on YouTube that thankfully color-coded the lyrics so I could decipher who sings what. If anyone has any other translations, I’d love to know please. So a bunch of the lines you can kinda figure out who’s singing but here’s how it’s gonna be:

Vanitas =💙

Noé =💜

Vanoe= 💙💜

Simple enough let’s get into it :)

💜: /I want to stay in bed feeling the warmth of the sun and drift in and out of this sweet dream/

Already we’ve mentioned dreaming, a running theme in this song. There is the well-known line Teacher says in chapter 55...

Sleeping, specifically in regards to Noé, is something mochijun makes the audience take note. He can’t sleep without holding something. When he can’t fall asleep, it is highlighted like the night Vanitas rejected Noé drinking his blood. He doesn’t want Vanitas to disappear and I personally like how in the recent chapter, Vanitas stays by his side for a while. Almost like callback to that moment on the train but I’m getting carried away. You get the correlation I’m making, it’ll get very important later on.

We also have those warmth and sun connections to Noé, a large part of his character and Vanitas’ gravitation towards him.

💙: /With this grey weather today, this day will go by without any harmony/

We see Vanitas’ pessimistic outlook on life; grey, cloudy, devoid of color. Devoid of comfort and obviously these two contrasting people will clash but mix together throughout the song.

💜: /Tarte Tatin, Altus Paris! Endless interesting things!/

💙: /It’s always like this! Here and there, endlessly losing sight./

This seems pretty straightforward, Noé is getting distracted by all the wonderful things as usual and Vanitas chastises him. But let’s frame this another way, Noé is choosing to not focus. It’s simpler that way. He’s turning his focus elsewhere to better things, more pleasant things. And Vanitas is trying to wake him up. I’ll explain more in my theory soon.

💜: /What to look for today from this city/

💙: /Ah with all these things/

💙💜: /There is no time to rest/

Simple lyrics here. No comment.

💙💜: /Le formidable! Le formidable! It’s really easy. Just colliding, rolling down, and repeating again/

Here we are entering the chorus. There’s a common thread of repetition in every OP and ED in VnC. Like clockwork, these two have fallen into this pattern.

Colliding- Vanoé meeting, two worlds learning how to come together, joining as one

Rolling down- their downfall, incoming despair and tragedy

Repeating again- they find themselves back where they started, fated to be born and to die

Let me say the first part of my theory and keep this in the back of your head while remembering the lyrics: VnC is not a time loop in the traditional sense but rather a loop of memories. Also keep in mind the first ED Zero: “Now I remember, oh I have never lived a day without you. Untie the layer of memories...”

💙: /This worthless-/

💜: /wonderful-/

💙💜: /world we are walking on. Even not knowing is sometimes nice, right?/

Again, vanoé with different outlooks on life meet each other. But more importantly, we see the display of ignorance or blissful unawareness. We the audience have a vague idea on how this story ends and in a way, so do they. Vanitas knows very well he is doomed and has already entrusted Noé to end his life if it comes to it. But we also don’t know the specifics of their downfall and neither do they.

So this line has a double meaning that refers to the characters and the reader. As yeah it is nice to read vnc and enjoy the happy moments without knowing the painful details of what’s to come.

💜: /Over there something is flapping their wings/

💙: /And these uncountable days pass by. It’s not worth worrying about. So many unknown things, without meaning/

💜: /Escalier! I want to see the bright colors beyond!/

Noé, again giving his attention to supposedly insignificant things as Vanitas tends to see the larger picture, not caring for the mundane. Uncountable days can be matched with the grey weather mentioned earlier. But that also means things are murky, blur together, cloudy. They don’t make sense to Vanitas (such as love, his self-worth, the nature within people) while Noé wants to experience all the brightness of the world.

💙: /I told you to be quiet today, yet here we are!/

💜: /Now you loud person!/

💙💜: /I told you I hardly have time to breathe/

So, hypothetical scenario if we take this song literal: Vanoé is exploring the city because Noe wanted to Vanitas couldn’t say no. Vanitas is fed up and Noé thinks his complaints are aggravating. But this part shows a lack of understanding. They’re yelling about their own hardships but don’t see the other’s perspective.

💙💜: /Le formidable! Le formidable! It’s a simple thing. It’s just finding, losing sight and repeating again/

💜: /I want to dream/

💙: /It’s just a dream/

💙💜: /The world keep walking while not knowing the truth at this point/

Ok there’s a lot to dig our teeth in here. First of all, the finding, losing sight, repeating is another way of describing the colliding and rolling down said prior. Vanoe find each other, they lose each other, it’s fated to happen all over again. Now the big piece here, I want to dream/It’s just a dream. Surface-level interpretation > another instance of their differences. Noé wants be surrounded by dreams and wonder. While Vanitas looks at that beauty and scoff at it, since it isn’t real therefore not worth caring for. But if we read into this carefully, Noé wants to dream. He wants to stay in these memories, he doesn’t want to live in a world without Vanitas.

Let’s go back to OP 1: “I love this world and the light only you give me.”

We know OP 1 is Noe’s POV so let’s ask ourselves why would the Noé we are seeing, the one smiling at all the colors of the world say Vanitas is the only light he has (emphasis on “only”). Because the Noé singing the first OP is operating with far more knowledge and despair. We don’t know the truth at this point. “This world” is not real.

Allow me to offer what I think is happening. Noé and Vanitas meet, they go on this journey of understanding, trust, and love, Vanitas reaches his end and is killed by Noé. Noé lives on. We can tell the Noé writing this story is full of regret and sadness. But why is he writing this all down? He’s retelling the memories, putting them down physically on paper. Two things happened:

a) He exchanged his name with Naenia, wishing to remain in a world with Vanitas in it. Because that wish is still very present, Naenia has great interest in Noé. She mentions seeing him before in Louis but it could be a classic mochijun misdirect and it’s actually from receiving his name in a different iteration. There is that official art with Noé wearing Vanitas’ coat with that goat entity he saw in Gevaudan, pinned to his vest.

However this can only work if Naenia is still around and isn’t resolved/defeated in the memoirs.

b) This is more likely in my opinion. Noé uses the Books and the memoirs act as a catalyst for him to have the world become his memories or for him to live in them. I know only those with blue blood or something can use the books.

Which is why Dr. Moreau had those experiments with Vanitas and Misha. Don’t worry, I already have a theory that Archivistes are some form of blue moon vampires but that is a whole other discussion. Point is, I think the Books of Vanitas are like an Elliot sword situation. Yes, Elliot owns the Nightray sword and carries it around but you don’t know its true purpose in the story until Leo wields it.

Noé causes these memories to replay, perhaps to save Vanitas or simply to dream again. Go back to when he was last happy. But here’s the thing, the Noé in this memory is unaware or ignorant of this, sees his present world as the real one and undergoes the events of the series. Vanitas dies, he lives on, and creates a memory world for himself. Rinse, recycle, repeat. Essentially, the first ED gave it away. The entirety of VnC is a layer of memories. Even the narrator Noé we are hearing is a memory that is trying to manifest a world of his own.

Reality and dreams are all intertwined now and Noé got lost in it. There are leaks in the cracks, for example when Vanitas cries and tells Luna his mother died at childbirth why would he call to her. Initially, you can read this as he’s just missing what he never had. But what if Vanitas’ mother was present in his life 9 memory loops ago but because these memories get further from the truth the more it happens, Noé simply forgot that detail when making the memoirs at some point in time. So now, in the memory layer #52 Vanitas has no mother.

💜: /We will see what we “cannot see”/

💙: /We will know what we “don’t know”/

💙💜: /The final stop of this world that seems to be changing, seems only further ahead/

Noe’s line possibly goes into his Archiviste nature and how he experiences reading memories. It can as well build back into the dream/memory loop thing, he’s seeing things he can no longer “see.”

Vanitas’ line can be drawn to what Noé said during their fight.

Vanitas acts like he has the final word and has a full grasp of how this world/himself works. But he really doesn’t and Noé is living proof of that, proving him wrong on several occasions that there’s still hope, they can’t give up yet, he won’t leave him etc. The final stop of this world is changing, but it’s further ahead. This is a story, a preserved section of time from the past. We gotta ask ourselves... why would the last stop be changing? Again, Vanitas’ death is the final stop but it’s changing, perhaps from the countless iterations we’ve gone through Noé writes the memoirs in a way that delays the ending. So he could remain just a little longer…

💙💜: /Le formidable! Le formidable! Everything is fine. While forgetting, hiding, and repeating it/

💙: /This worthless/

💜: /wonderful/

💙💜: /world we are walking on/

💙: /I don’t know but even so/

💜: /If it can make you smile.../

After this, it ends the song by repeating the first chorus with the colliding-rolling down part so I’ll make this the cutting point. The “everything is fine” totally doesn’t stick out in a story where we know everything will not be fine. The forgetting and hiding goes back to my dream-memory theory, Noé is hiding from the truth in these stacks upon stacks of memories and is possibly forgetting things as they really happened as a result. We already know he isn’t the most reliable narrator. But Noé wants to see Vanitas’ smile.

If it can make you smile again, if it can replay your laughter, why would I ever leave this wonderful lie? In OP 1: “Your laughing was reflected by a daydream”.

I’ll conclude this by saying two things. If you want to get even deeper, you can interpret Vanitas in this song as the voice in the back of Noé’s head. Its just a dream, this world is actually worthless, and Noé is trying to drown out those thoughts. Because yeah they sing lines together but the only time they’re directly speaking to each other is when Vanitas scolds Noé and Noé shouts back, calling him loud. Finally, I could be wrong in all this. I am aware how crazy I may look and I'm so thankful if you read this far.

But yeah if this is anywhere near canon, mochijun must be the most unhinged, absolutely cracked author I’ve ever seen. We’re going into Pandora Hearts levels of intricacy here. I hope you enjoyed my insanity 👍🏼

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earthearthearththearth · 1 year

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Third date head canons! Like when you know it’s ‘for sure’

When The Mercs Know It's For Sure(TF2)

Includes: The Mercs, Miss Pauling notes:Yes, squeet is a kurtis conner reference

🛠Engineer- Bringing out all those nicknames. Darling, sweetheart, love, honey. Yeah. He likes to be sure of his feelings before getting with someone and honey, he is SURE. I think that for a third date, like most of them it would be very casual. Sometimes he likes to sing some songs for the mercs, mostly just pyro, heavy, and demo because the rest ‘got better things to do’. He specifically tells you about it this time. Usually if you show up it’s because you over hear. He’d sing a few ditties, but since is he corny-comes from being a country guy, zing, he sings a song you can’t quite ping as a love song. If you do manage to pick up on that, who knows if it’s to you. But you know for sure when he ends up asking you to be official a little while later when it’s just you two

🔥Pyro-I don’t imagine Pyro to take you out on “real” dates. He asks you to come along with him on missions and just anything he decides to do. Or he asks(or doesn’t) to follow you around. So the ‘third date’ is just normal to you. He looks at you a lot. Just sits and stares. At first it scares you a little. Just big..black..voids..staring…into..your…soul. You ask him what the deal is sometimes and he just laughs or shakes his head like you wouldn’t get it. You like Pyro, but these signs you’re getting could literally mean anything. So you ask the one person who can understand him, Engie, who says Pyro’s just head over heels for you. You ask Pyro if this is true, who is a bit flustered that you told someone about it, even if Engie already knew. I think Pyro signs sometimes, so you two have a little conversationa and whabam. Yall get together

⚾Scout-So he’s like…quieter and somehow more talkative? A lot of “Uh Yeah, that’s stupid”s. You tell him you’re listening, but it’s a lost cause. When he’s not packing his little knapsack and walking away sadly, he calls you “toots”. Lots of that. Still lots of flexing both his skills at picking things up or his little noodly arms. The date isn’t a prom this time, but very reminiscent of Spy’s teachings since there aren’t any giant bread monsters to save you from. Unless…no. Too risky. The date is literally just a set up to ask you out.

“Sure are a lot of stars out tonight.”

“Kinda cloudy..”

“Nah, look, there’s one!”

“Scout, that’s a plane.”

“Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky-”

Turns out the plane is an enemy plane about to bomb the base. You both die immediantly.

Kidding, he just is kinda like “So…I’m kinda into you?” So of course you tell him you know, and end up asking him out instead.

🦅Soldier- A date for him is breaking the necks of anyone who dare disrespect america. Kilometer? He only knows squeet. But if you don’t feel like breaking the neck of your local Australian, then there’s other fun activities to do. Like fighting bears or getting naked and covering yourself with honey. Or perhaps you want to go break open a beehive to get said honey. No? Jesus, lot of fun you are. The date is just a plan then. Get out the blueprint, plan for the next mission, which will probably be one of the previously mentioned activities. Since you’re helping the planning stage, it’ll probably be easier to convince him to let you stay out of all that. I don’t know how he’d ask you out. He’d probably just announce that he has an s/o now and you’re like “this is news”. But since you’re here, you’re probably cool with it.

🗡Spy-Yes his dates are elaborate and fun and fancy, however him asking you to be official is not as much. When he realizes he knows that you and him are For Sure, he is flustered by you. Spy may be suave and French, but he is very easily flustered if you can outdo him with words, and do not let him forget it. Not that you could. The third date is set up by him. He makes a little spot in his smoking room for you two and cooks up something you probably can’t pronounce. You find the intimacy a little strange, and before now you couldn’t tell if he actually liked you or was just playing around. But now, with this whole set-up made by him, you knew. He gives you a little necklace, something simple but clearly expensive. With that, he finally pops the not-marriage question, but gosh does it feel like it.

💉Medic-So he gives you the Blu medic’s heart. It’s in a nice little box, and the next time you visit his office he hands it to you. This is because it’s the closest he can get to his own heart. He tried. Unfortunately during this he almost died, so the Blu heart is the closest you get. His plan was to have you guys dig it out together, but he is very particular. He can’t have his love get in the way of science. Hopefully you appreciate it because you are very special to him! Maybe he’ll let you dissect it for fun and definitely because he doesn’t have some strange feelings about seeing you covered in blood commiting atrocious acts.

💣Demoman-So the first few dates were not getting shitfaced, but now that it’s the third, he’s gonna take you to where he spends a fair majority of his time. Having a teleporter makes traveling real easy, but he figures it’s a bit more romantic to drive. So he takes you with him to drive to a little hole-in-the-wall bar, the only one around. It starts out rather calm, but eventually he gets shitfaced and real clingy. You drink some, but yall need a designated driver that can at least see straight. You guys probably fall asleep in the car in the parking lot, but you know. Sometimes it’s like that. When you guys finally wake up and discuss what you can remember, he says he loves you. Aw.

🦘Sniper-Everyone on this list is a little weirdo and he is no exception. The date isn’t a date. He’s not a date guy. Maybe he picks you up a flower or rock he sees poking out of the desert, but that’s it. It’s the thought that counts. So the ‘third date’ is probably really early in the morning when you two cross paths. He says something like, “I was thinking you and I could get together for a while.” And you ask how long a while is, which results in “I dunno, I just like you”. Sweet. Yeah he’s uh. Not the most romantic guy around, but he tries.

🐻Heavy-A bit more romantic. The third date is just the two of you. He asks if you’d like to cook together which you accept, knowing he won’t blow the kitchen up. It’s calm and quiet. Until Pyro decides he wants to use the oven and yall gotta practically shoo him out with a broom. What’s cookin is good lookin’. It is looking good. You guys win! I think you’d end up asking Heavy out because he is very patient and doesn’t want to put pressure on you since it is a war that you two are in still.

👓Miss Pauling-The same as the first. If she’s going out with you on one date, then she’s probably into you a lot. One day off a year, you know? So you two would just hang out. She’d be like really nervous for some reason-you had noticed it before but she seems kind of stand-offish. You ask her what’s up, prompting her to tell you a jumble of sort-of words that you finally make out to be a confession.

#team fortress 2 #tf2 #headcanons #tf2 x reader #x reader #tf2 demoman #tf2 scout #tf2 sniper #tf2 engineer #miss pauling #tf2 miss pauling #pyro tf2 #tf2 pyro #tf2 spy #tf2 medic #tf2 soldier #tf2 headcanons #tf2 heavy

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panthera-tigris-venenata · 2 months

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What happens in the Apothecary... doesn’t stay in the Apothecary.

When the Core 4 return on the Isle, Harry is just finishing his shopping in Maddy’s Apothecary. It is only natural he decides to steal their bikes and run. It is... probably less natural that Maddy decides to join him and Gil on the ride.

I borrowed Malvina from @tiredflowercrown cos I’ve got plans for this and I think Audrey and Chad would have absolutely marvelous time babysitting Malvina Mim.

Harry stalks through the hovering shelves of Maddy’s Apothecary, idly pushing the odd item just slightly out of its proper place, and only raising the corners of his mouth in a parody of smile when darling Maddy hisses at him.

Gil sighs as Maddy’s hisses slip into ancient curses – probably – and Harry doesn’t know what’s the fuss about, really.

He’s gonna pay.

Eventually.

Probably. Maybe.

But even so: Uma is not there to see. Uma is not there, and so Harry hardly finds it in himself to care.

He blinks away the memory of her and sweeps away a little package of poisonously coloured candy; it lands with a dull thud. (It doesn’t break and shatter, scatter all around. He isn’t suicidal enough for that, is he?)

„Oops,“ he says with approximately no regret in his voice as he grins at Maddy.

Fine, so maybe he was lying earlier, but can you blame him? There’s no one to hold him accountable for his lies. No Captain to answer to.

For that thought, another package joins the first one on the floor, and a phial disappears into his pocket. He doesn’t bother reading the label.

Gil says something that must be an apology to Maddy, who in turn points to the rules scrawled violently vivid over the grim wall.

We do not give first aid.

We do not give refunds.

Do not ask about correct doses, do not ask about opening hours.

Keep your relationship problems outside.

Harry giggles: As if Maddy would actually throw him out, what with all the profit he’s been making her lately. She’s a bitch, alright, but she does have a mind for business, that she does.

She screeches something that sounds suspiciously like „Go have your existential crisis somewhere else and stop sulking about your non-existing love-life in my shop,“ and Harry slips another vial into his pocket.

And he won’t be paying – that’s just what she gets for the love life comment.

Cold-hearted bitch.

Harry gives it a moment of consideration and sneaks another – different – package into his pocket. Maybe if he mixes all this stuff together, it’ll be worth a damn. Worst case scenario, it kills him, and considering his current predicament, Harry figures there are worse things.

He figures not to push his rotten luck any more and disappear the english way before Maddy notices the disappeared proviant; he turns to Gil to tell him so.

„We’re–“ he says before he notices unusual movement outside. It’s barely recognisable through the cloudy, scratched window, but Harry knows a traitor when he sees him. Not that he could mistake the red-black-white of the youngest deVil anyway, no one’s clothes shine like that on the Isle.

Disgusting, if he can say so.

He twists his features into a smirk as he finishes a different sentence than he started: „– going on a field trip!“

A heartbeat of silence, and then: „Maddy, darling, you should join us.“

„And why the fuck would I do that?“

„Also, where are we going?“ adds Gil.

Well, Harry is only too happy to explain: „Oh, why. The traitors are back. They just run by on bikes – we’re gonna nick them and we’re gonna be out in a nick of time, we’re gonna find Uma!“

„Amazing,“ deadpans Maddy, insultingly unimpressed, „Go do that and get the fuck out of my shop.“

Harry blinks as the possible scenarios shift through his mind and no, no, he can’t just jump out there and expect his Captain to do all the work. He ought to figure out some means to find her; he zeroes on Maddy.

She’s magical, innit, she could find Uma–

She could find Uma, and therefore she must go. He tuts in response to her crude comment and raises on hand: „Oh, sunshine. We can get out. Out is Mal. And magic,“ he raises both of his hands, as if weighting the words, „Mal. Magic. Perfect revenge.“

„…I’m listening,“ allows Maddy reluctantly.

„Amazing,“ Harry states with such amount of poison it rivals some of Maddy’s substances, „Now lets hitch a ride and get the fuck out of there.“

He stalks to the exit, Gil half-a-step behind, but Maddy’s voice stops him.

„Wait.“

Great, what the fuck does that harpy want now?

„Malvina!“ she screams at the top of her lungs, „Move your bones and get up there this instant.“

A scrawny figure scurries just barely into sight and Maddy pulls her into a ray of light. The child blinks in confusion as Maddy says „We’re going out,“ with a decidedly nasty smirk.

Ah, that’s terrific. That little bloodsucker is coming along for the ride – Harry glares at the Mims and mutters curses in a language he thinks the kid doesn’t understand yet though Maddy does, and he makes sure she hears, too.

She only smirks more as she says: „And if you complain, Hook, I’ll curse your mouth shut so bad not even your beloved Uma will be able to fix it.“

Harry sneers at her. He‘s sure Uma could fix it. She might just decide to wait for that a little bit.

And either way: „Let’s go, there’s no time to loose.“

„No time to die like today.“

„Cheers.“

#disney descendants #harry hook #uma descendants #gil descendants #mad maddy #tw substance abuse

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oathbips · 1 year

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Keep Up

summary: stuck at school after forgetting to bring your umbrella, you meet the ace soccer player everyone has been raving about and he offers to help you get home

word count: 1.6k

content: gn!reader x chigiri hyoma, fluff, bookworm reader, running is not for the weak, a hint of comedy if you squint

author's note: I said I wasn't going to write another one for a while cause of school but this idea suddenly popped up in my head and I ended up writing it in one sitting when I had some free time last night.

You didn’t expect it to be raining this hard right now. The weather app you checked earlier today said it would be cloudy at most, so you didn’t bring an umbrella. You’re currently standing behind the school’s door, taking cover.

You stayed back today for some additional studying for one of your classes. When you got done and were making your way to the school's front gate, it started pouring hard, leaving you with no choice but to run back into the school’s building.

“It’s really pouring down. It doesn’t look like it’ll stop anytime soon either.” You thought. This starts making you feel a little stressed. You had to be home before 7 to help your parents with some errands and this rain is going to delay you for possibly who knows how long. Pacing back and forth the door, you start brainstorming on ways you can make it back on time with this storm. However, no solutions were coming to your mind. You didn’t have an umbrella, you only had this thin school uniform cardigan, and your backpack was too heavy to be carried above your head. You start thinking of just making a run for it but your house is like 15 minutes away by walk.

“Ughh, seriously.” You grumbled and that’s when you saw another person walk up to the door and peek out the windows. If it wasn’t for how famous he was around the school, one could mistake him for a girl at first. The long, silky red hair was styled up with a braid on one side. He had long lashes and marbled red eyes. Of course, only those pretty features could belong to none other than Chigiri Hyoma, the ace soccer player. You never got the chance to talk to him around school due to the fact that he was always busy with soccer or was too into his own thing for anyone to interrupt him. That didn’t stop others from trying to befriend him though. There was always someone wanting to create that special friendship with him. He was kind you guessed. Or should one say, he was indifferent? Yes, he was kind in regards to the way he responded to people and helped out whenever he needed but you’ll never catch him being the first to reach out to anybody. He talked but kept his distance.

“Hm, I didn’t bring my umbrella today.” He said as you see him digging into his bag.

“I forgot to bring mine too.” You said, striking a convo.

You’d be lying if you said you never wanted to talk to Chigiri Hyoma. There’s this enchanting aura around him that one just can’t help but be drawn into. However, you never wanted to disturb his peace. To you, it felt like the two of you were in different leagues. There wasn’t really a need to talk to him even though you wanted to. You figured there just wasn’t anything you both had in common. You two were too different.

“Really? I guess we’re stuck here for a while.” He replied and sat down on the floor near the door. He then proceeded to take out a book and read. You gasp at the sight because he’s reading one of your favorite books.

“You know that book?” You eagerly asked with fleeting hints of excitement.

“Yeah, I take it that you do too?”

“It’s one of my favorite books! And the author is one of my favorite authors.”

“Oh? This is my first novel from this author. It’s really good so far. Can you give me recommendations for their other work?”

“Of course!” You exclaimed and gave him a list of all the books you enjoyed by that author.

“Thank you. I’ll get to these soon after I finish this one first.”

“I didn’t know you enjoy reading novels, Chigiri.”

His eyes widen at this and his expression starts turning bashful. “Sorry, this is really embarrassing on my part. I apologize but… Have we met before?”

That’s when you realized, you had just addressed him by his name already when you both haven’t even introduced yourselves yet. Embarrassed, you try to find a good explanation so you don’t look like some weird stalker or fangirl to him.

“No, sorry! We haven’t met before! I’m sorry for addressing your name right off the bat like that when we haven’t even introduced ourselves. I’m not a stalker I swear! It’s just…. hard not to know who you are when everybody around me talks about you… I’m sorry again.”

“Ah, I see. No worries, there’s no need to apologize. It’s nice to meet you, uhm…?”

“Y/n! I’m L/n Y/n.”

You joined and sat in front of him and the two of you began to chat a bit more, mostly about the novels you both have read and you were surprised to learn that Chigiri and you actually share something in common. He didn’t seem like the type to be into reading. You always thought soccer was all he ever thought about.

Getting carried away by the unexpected conversation with the red-haired boy, you started to lose track of time until a notification from your phone reminded you of the time.

“Ah! The errands!” You yelped and quickly got up.

“So sorry, Chigiri. I gotta run some important errands for my parents at home.”

“But it’s still raining hard outside.”’

“I know but it’s really urgent. I guess I just have to walk home in the rain.”

“You’ll catch a cold like that.”

“Yeah, but still-“

“I have an idea.”

“Oh?”

“Are you up for some running?”

Silence immediately fell after he asked that. Is he serious? Running? With him? That’s like the Tortoise and the Hare except the tortoise actually doesn't win the race this time.

You blinked at him, baffled. “… Don’t tell me you want me to run with you. You are aware of your capabilities compared to others right?”

He laughs at this. “I know. Don’t worry, I won’t run too fast. I’ll match your speed.”

“Then that’s a walk, Chigiri.”

To that, he gave a belly laugh which made you blush a little because even his laugh was pretty too.

“I know you can run, Y/n. Here’s the plan, we’ll run and take cover at any nearest cover we find and continue to the next cover we find. That way, we won’t get as wet. Just be careful because the roads can be slippery.”

“That sounds like a good plan. Okay, fine. I’ll run.”

You two open the school’s door and scan around the area. The school gates were up ahead and near the school gate was a bus stop shelter. You pointed at it and said, “There. That can be our first cover.”

“Good, let’s go,” Chigiri said and on a count of 3, you both started running towards it. He said he was going to match your speed. He probably is trying to match your speed but without even applying any effort into his running, he still runs abnormally fast. It’s more like he has to put in effort if he wants to match your speed instead. You weren’t a slow runner, more average you would say but compared to someone like Chigiri, it’s beyond slow.

To no one’s surprise, he made it to the cover first and you soon followed, 4-5 seconds behind.

“What a way to match my speed, Chigiri.”

He sheepishly rubs the back of his neck before saying, “Sorry, I tried.” And you couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“It’s fine. It was expected anyway. Let’s find our next cover.”

“That one over there.” He pointed at a shop nearby with an awning cover.

“Okay. Ready, one, two, three!” You both start to sprint again but before you have the chance to run, Chigiri reaches over to your hand and grabs it, pulling you along with him as he runs. Your head does a hard whiplash at the sudden jolt of speed and you nearly yelp at how fast you suddenly had to run.

“Chigiri! Ahh!” You yelled out.

He managed to successfully drag you to the shop faster than you can ever imagine. You were panting at this point after having to match his speed. He releases his grip and lets you crotch down for some rest.

“If I can’t match your speed, you’ll have to match mine.”

“That’s not how it works?! I’m human!”

“… I am too, Y/n.”

“This was a mistake. I knew it was a bad idea as soon as you brought up running.” You said through pants. Man, were you tired but you have to admit, this was really fun. It’s just something about running around in the rain with someone that gives you that giddy feeling. It’s so cliché but it’s so fun. You let out a laugh at this thought.

“Finally rested up? I found our next cover.”

“Heh. Chigiri, Thank you. This is really fun. We should do this again sometimes.” You suggested. You wanted to do something like this again with him. You felt happy. Happy that you finally got to talk to the Chigiri Hyoma that everyone always raves about. Happy that you two actually have something in common and learning he was much more than just soccer. Happy that he genuinely seemed like he enjoyed your conversations and that it wasn’t forced upon him.

“We can’t be doing this every day now. I’ll catch a cold and that’s not good for a soccer player… But I don’t mind doing something like this again. Without the rain.”

You look up at him after he said that and chuckle. He looks down at you and cracks a smile.

“Ready now? I’m not slowing down for you this time.”

“Bring it on, princess.”

#blue lock #blue lock headcanons #blue lock scenarios #blue lock x reader #chigiri hyoma #chigiri x reader #bllk chigiri #blue lock chigiri #bllk #blue lock oneshots #hyoma chigiri #scenarios #oneshot #chigiri hyoma scenarios #chigiri hyoma fluff #chigiri hyoma one shot #fluff #fanfic

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goth-pod · 8 months

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Goth-Pod Ep 5: Gotham Troubles

Welcome Back! Listening to you send ins, Juda Boone talks about things by Gothamites, for Gothamites!

[goth-pod is a fictional in-universe podcast based on the DC comics universe. Juda Boone is an original fictional character, not based on any real person or known comic book character.]

Transcript under the cut

Hello everyone and welcome to Goth-Pods special trials and troubles episode! I’m an indie theater’s take on the ghost of Christmas Present- and your host, Juda Boone.

We're looking at your submitted trademark Gotham problems. So without my usual ramblings, lets get to business

—

For our first submission username Trekkle brought up a good debate: Subway vs Bus: The Subway is safer, since buses can get hit during rogue attacks, but if you're stuck underground there's a chance of a killer croc attack and also the birds ride the roof.

Fantastic points, Trekkle! Thank you for writing in. I don't know exactly what you mean by the birds riding the roof, though. Do you mean Robin? Because I have been on the tram while a fight was happening between Robin and The Penguin on top. Of course, I missed most of it because I had my headphones in. Noise cancellation has its pros and cons in Gotham.

There’s no set answer on this one, I don’t think. You kind of have to pay attention to what Rouges are active the way you pay attention to the weather. Cloudy with a 70% chance of a Riddler scheme? Maybe take the Buses, since they’re not connected to a maze-like system like the subways are. But maybe it's sweater weather with a possible freeze-over because Victor Fries broke out two nights ago and is due for a showy return. Then an underground bunker with cushy seats doesn’t sound too bad.

—

From Clexx we have: I'm new to Gotham (full ride scholarship, thank you Mr. Wayne): Why does everyone hate Superman? I tried to get answers from a friend and they called Superman a Homewrecker. Is there an infidelity scandal around Superman I don’t know about??

Oh wow. First of all, congratulations on the scholarship! I'm assuming you're attending Gotham U? Just be sure you get a proper Rogue-proof gas mask. Yes there is a difference. It’ll probably be covered in your Orientation though, so onto the main question.

To the Homewrecker comment.. oh I didn’t think it’d come to this. Okay, there's this thing in Gotham. Clexx, have you ever heard of Bruceman? Ask your friend about it, they’ll probably love to explain more. Basically it is a Real-Person based Ship on Gotham’s two protectors, Bruce Wayne and Batman. One watching over the day, the other the night.

This is another Topic that might take all episodes to explain, so to keep it short: People see Superman and Batman’s relationship- professional, platonic, romantic, or however they define it- as a threat to Bruceman, the number one Gotham Ship. Godspeed if you get between our beloved prettyboy himbo and our odd night-stalking cryptid.

—

From Allison: My cousin is visiting and I want to show them why I stay in Gotham. Where can we go for 1) a low level rogue attack (for Bat sighting), and 2) where can we go for a Wayne sighting. (They think Dick Grayson is hotter then Brucie [eye-rolling emoji])

For the first one, I think any part of our public transport system will do, as we discussed before. The tricky part is knowing when it’s going to be low-level or if your cousin will be joining you in a shelter-in-place lockdown.

For a Wayne sighting, unfortunately it’s harder to say these days. Bruce Wayne has made several statements on how he’s spending less time at the company in order to focus on bonding with his new son, Jason. I hate to disappoint, but right now might not be the time for celebrity sight-seeing. Maybe take a day trip to Bludhaven! Your cousin might enjoy the chance to convince you instead.

Thank you all for writing in and for joining us on this special episode! If we didn’t get to your submission, head over to our socials to see if we replied there. I’m Juda, you’re listening to Goth-Pod

Until then, Newcomers, visiting cousins, locals on the bus, Stay safe, Gotham.

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kheprriverse · 2 months

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So Ko'jin is worshipped as a moon god, right?

What kind of stories do people come up with? Like do they say the craters are his beds? Do they say his power is weaker on the new moon? That he can't protect you on cloudy night (because he can't see you)?

My brain is craving mythology and the blorbos. I must know!

(if this makes no sense, please be aware I'm half asleep typing this)

Ty for the ask! I will do my best to answer this but it’ll probably only be like… half answering your questions here and mostly me yapping about Ko’jin’s overall role.

Ko’jin’s whole gist as a deity is protection of spirits and Termina as a whole more than anything. Often times if you hear stories of Ko’jin, you’re only really hearing about the Moon Serpent. It’s the most common form the people of Termina ever see of him. Rarely do they ever see the actual deity.

Most people who tend to openly talk about the serpent and spread stories are soldiers (in and out of Termina). While he protects Termina, its widely believed he primarily protects spirits or is at least a guide for them. So many soldiers often give him offerings when/after they’re drafted in hopes that, if they do die on the field, then the serpent will guide them to a good afterlife.

(His deal with spirits is one half of his “judgement” title, the other being his role of a bounty hunter of sorts.)

Stories that are usually given to children or general public are usually legends of his grand battles with other deities done in the protection of Termina. Or stories to explain meteor showers. This also relates to Moon’s Tears which is often believed to be from the serpent falling. So the stone itself is highly sought after because its often thought it would protect them. (It wouldn’t be completely wrong to assume this either since he does technically have an odd effect on those rocks and they have a strong magic.)

Also I wanted to poke the “power is weaker on new moons” thing because its mostly true. His followers mostly give him offerings/pray to him at shrines and whatnot during full moons (the festival dedicated to his return is usually on a super moon, which happens over termina yearly). The fuller the moon the more he’s able to channel his powers and the faster he can regenerate magic, which is why the Moon Serpent primarily appears on full moons (and why it’s a common belief that he’s weaker on new moons).

Also his “job” that he has regarding spirits and protecting or guiding them. After his return he has a lot of catching up to do, like a lot. He travels the world in the form of the Moon Serpent to collect spirits (and poes) and bring safely them to an “afterlife”. I really want to get into this bit more eventually as it plays into the rest of the au a lot and how it works. But I’m unsure if I should atm. Ig that’d depend if anyone wants to hear me yap about that too.

^ basically theres no way any of his followers would even know whats actually happening outside of speculation. They take what they do see (the serpent guiding spirits, the serpent protecting termina, the serpent descending from the full moon) and base their stories and faith off that (as well as any historical records and artifacts, which I think a lot of legends would have come from).

#loz au #Ko’jin (Kheprriverse)#Moon Serpent (Kheprriverse)#yapping #kheprri ask #taddy-cat #long post #i slept in late so probably no art today. unless i feel like showing yall a wip later in the evening #coz i have cute stuff in the works

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munson-blurbs · 2 years

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Chapter 3: All This Time Goes By, Still No Reason Why

Collaboration with my Eddie Munson sister wife, @corroded-hellfire 💚

Series Summary: Based on the Jonas Brothers song of the same name. You and Eddie share a hospital room in the wake of Hawkins' turmoil, striking up an unlikely friendship that could lead to much more.

Chapter Summary: With the help of Robin and Nancy, you and Eddie realize how much you mean to each other, but a medical emergency may prevent either of you from admitting your true feelings.

Warnings: eventual smut (18+ only, minors DNI!), Eddie survives the Upside Down, hospital, mentions of surgery, description of Eddie's scars, controlled use of pain medication, angst

WC: 5.2k

Divider credit to @firefly-graphics

“It’s time to play the Family Feud!”

Click.

“Today on Sally–”

Click.

“There’s nothing good on,” you bemoan, flicking through the channels absentmindedly. Just as you’re about to give up on finding something to watch, a familiar dramatic voice rings out from the tinny TV speaker.

“It’s twins, and the two of you are the father of one each.”

Your fingers falter on the remote as you hear the events play out. Shelby’s sitting in a hospital bed, not unlike your own, one baby in each arm. The plot is so ridiculous, yet you can’t help but be drawn in. The only thing missing is a bucket of popcorn for you to chow down on.

And Eddie, you think miserably, swallowing the thought like it’s a dry pill. He would sit slack-jawed as the two lovers argued over which baby belonged to which man, making comments like, “did you see that?!” when he knows good and well that you’re sitting two feet from him and did, in fact, see it.

Dr. Drake Ramoray is about to announce the paternity test results when there’s a soft knock on your door.

“Can, um, can we come in?” You turn your head to see Mandy standing in the doorway, pushing a redheaded girl in a wheelchair. “This is Maxine. She’ll be your new roommate,” she explains.

“Yup, finally busted out of intensive care,” the girl deadpans, tilting her head to better hear the TV. “Is that Days of Our Lives?”

You give an embarrassed giggle, muting the show. “Yeah, sorry. Guilty pleasure.”

Maxine shakes her head. “No, put it back on! I love that shit. I didn’t have a TV in ICU, so I had to listen to my boyfriend read to me.” A blush creeps across her cheeks at the mention of her boyfriend, and she leans on Mandy as the nurse helps her into the bed. “He has a nice voice, though. So it wasn’t all bad. Better than listening to him argue with his friends about D&D.” Mandy laughs at that before excusing herself from the room.

The mention of the fantasy game is like a knife slice through your heart, but you shake off the thought. “That’s sweet of him.”

“Yeah,” Maxine nods. “Read all my favorites. Guess that’s how it’ll be for a while, until I learn Braille.” That’s when you notice that her eyes are cloudy, the blue irises not focusing in a particular direction.

You’re rendered speechless for a moment, unsure how to respond to what she’s said. “I’m sorry,” you finally manage to choke out, wincing at how dumb you sound.

Maxine doesn’t seem to care or pick up on your embarrassment. “It sucks,” she says, “but I’ve got a good support system, y’know? And with the way everything in this town’s gone to shit, being blind doesn’t seem like too big of a deal.”

You assume she’s talking about the earthquake essentially splitting Hawkins into quadrants, destroying homes, businesses, and leaving far too many people injured or dead. You start to nod before remembering that she can’t see you. “I get it, but it doesn’t mean it’s not a big deal to you.”

She pauses before responding, contemplating what you’ve just said. “Guess so,” she mumbles. “I just feel guilty worrying about myself when other people are suffering even worse.”

“I’ll drink to that.” You raise your glass of water to your lips, feeling the lukewarm liquid slip down your throat. “Have they told you how much time you'll be stuck here?”

She chuckles tersely. “Nope. They all keep saying, ‘a little bit longer, and you’ll be back home.’ But I don’t even know if I’ll have a home to go back to.”

“Where do you–did you live?” You shake your head. “That might be too personal, sorry. I’m just excited to have someone to talk to.” And it’s true. Ever since Eddie left a few days ago, you’d been alone with your thoughts. Never a good thing, especially when you’re feeling this sad and helpless, and the mundaneness of the hospital certainly doesn’t help.

“It’s cool. I lived over on Porter Street for a year or so before my mom and I moved into Forest Hills Trailer Park.” She gnaws on her lower lip as though waiting for your judgment. “But before we came to Hawkins, I lived in California.”

“Oh.” California. Where you and Eddie had made plans to run away to–though the sincerity of those plans were apparently up for debate. You want to ask her about it; if she’s ever been to Los Angeles, if she wants to go back, but the knot in your stomach urges you to shift the topic. “Your trailer–was it destroyed in the earthquake?”

“Not sure,” she answers honestly. “No one’s said anything to me, but that could just be to keep me from getting upset. But my boyfriend’s idiot friend–one of them, anyway–let it slip that my neighbor’s trailer got, like, split in half.”

“Oh, shit,” you breathe out. “Is your neighbor okay?”

“Uh, I think so,” Maxine says. “I haven’t talked to him but my boyfriend said he was released from the hospital.”

“That’s good,” you say. “I mean, not that he was in here, but that he was okay to leave.”

“Eddie—that’s my neighbor—is staying with some friends, I think. Or friends of his uncle or something.”

The way your head snaps so quickly in the redhead’s direction makes such a loud crack that even she hears it, wincing at the pop. “Eddie” is a common enough name, but you can’t think of another Eddie other than your Eddie—or, Eddie Munson, that is—in all of Hawkins.

“Wait. Is your neighbor Eddie Munson?” you ask, voice quivering despite your attempt to sound casual.

Her eyebrows pinch together and her head tilts in your direction. “How do you—oh shit! You’re Sunshine, aren’t you?”

Your face heats up at hearing Eddie’s nickname for you. How did Maxine know about that? She’s already said that she hasn’t talked to him. Which only means she heard it from someone else. But who? Between the days dragging into one another and the cocktail medley of medications you’ve been on, you’re not sure if Eddie called you that in front of his friends or not. But either way, somehow it was going around in his friend group that he’d met you and coined that nickname for you.

“I, uh, yeah, I guess that’s me,” you say.

“Dustin was telling me about you,” she answers your unasked question. “He said you’re pretty cool and you and Eddie got along really well.”

“Yeah,” you say, heaving a sigh. “I guess we did.”

“Did?” Maxine asks, picking up on your tone. “Something happen?”

“We had a fight,” you admit. “We both said some pretty nasty shit to one another. Then he left without saying goodbye, and I haven’t heard from him since.”

“Eddie’s never been known for his impulse control,” Max notes wryly, but anything else she’s about to add is cut off by the sound of more voices at the door.

“Max!” It’s Robin, and she has a girl by her side. “Hey, it’s me and Nancy. Sorry we’re late; no one told us that you moved rooms–oh, it’s Sunshine!”

You blush at the second mention of your nickname. “Hi, guys,’ you say, giving a little wave. “How’ve you been?”

“Can’t complain,” Robin puts her hands in her pockets. “But, really, we should be asking how you’re doing.” She glances over to her right side. “Oh, this is our friend, Nancy Wheeler.” Nancy gives you a soft smile, and you try to muster up one back.

“I’m okay.” you shrug. I had my first surgery yesterday, so I’m sore. Kinda nauseous from the pain meds. But other than that, I’m fine.”

“She and Eddie got into a fight,” Maxine–Max–pipes up from the bed next to you. “He didn’t even say goodbye to her. Just…poof! Vanished.” She makes a little explosion gesture with her hands to emphasize her point.

Nancy presses her lips into a thin line. “Yeah, we heard,” she admits. “Eddie told us the other day. He, uh, he’s not very good at handling conflict.”

“You can say that again,” you mumble, trying to hide your bitterness.

“He’s been different ever since he came home from the hospital,” Robin says. She pushes the curtain between the two beds as open as it would go and puts two chairs in between you and Max. She takes the chair closer to you and Nancy takes the one closer to Max.

“What do you mean?” you ask.

“He’s been acting weird,” Robin says.

“How can you tell?” Max asks, a smirk on her lips as she gazes unseeingly at the ceiling.

“Weird for him. He’s all broody and sulking. I mean, I get that the guy almost died, but he was in a much better mood when he was in here.”

All eyes—even Max’s—turn to you laying in your bed. It’s hard not to shrink under their gaze. You tuck your blanket up higher in an attempt to comfort yourself.

“Do you want to talk to him?” Nancy asks, leaning forward to see you around Robin.

“Yes,” you admit. “I thought we could clear the air before he left, but clearly that didn’t happen. Then I was hoping the phone would ring. Or maybe he’d just show up. Every time I was taken out of my room for tests or something, I’d always ask my nurse Mandy to watch in case he stopped by. This whole thing’s honestly just got me going crazy. I just want a chance to apologize and explain.”

“What happened?” Robin asks, but after a stern look from Nancy adds, “If you don’t mind talking about it, that is.”

You take a deep breath and nod your head. The pain meds are still circulating through your system so you find yourself more willing to spill your guts to these girls you hardly knew.

“You know how he called me Sunshine? Well, that ended up being a shit load of pressure. I mean, he didn’t really put it on me—I-I guess I did. But if I brought happiness to his day then I didn’t want to bring him down by telling him the news on my leg wasn’t good. This can be a pretty shitty place to spend day after day so I didn’t want to make it worse on him.

But it’s not like he ever gave me a chance to explain any of this. Just assumed I was lying to him for my own sick enjoyment. Kept going on and on about how I was just like everyone else who ever made fun of him. And that really fuckin’ hurt. Then he called me—among other things—a bitch and I was seething. I was seeing red, spitting mad. So, I…well, fuck, I said something I really didn’t mean. It went too far and I regretted it the moment it came out of my mouth. I tried…I tried to tell him that. But he wouldn’t listen. Not that I entirely blame him. So, I told myself, I’d talk to him in the morning before he left. Then everything would be-be good.”

You didn’t expect to start crying while talking about this—about Eddie, but your cheeks are covered in the wet proof that you did. You’re so flustered that you don’t even register Robin taking your hand in hers.

“Let it out,” she reassures you. “You never told Eddie about any of this?”

You shake your head. “Everyone kept saying how happy I made him. I didn’t wanna be the reason why he’s sad.”

“I don’t think he would’ve been sad,” Nancy tells you. “Concerned, yes. But, I also understand you wanting to shield him from that.”

“He misses you. It’s plain as day,” Robin says, and her words make you start crying even harder. She scoots her chair closer to you so that she can rub your shoulder consolingly. “It’s going to be okay. And I’m not the type of person who is just going to say that to make you feel better. Actually, I tend to say the wrong thing when I’m trying to make someone feel better. But I genuinely believe this is just a misunderstanding you guys are gonna get through.”

“Yeah, if he ever talks to me again,” you say with a sniffle.

“He will,” Nancy says and she sounds resolutely sure in her answer.

Robin and Nancy stay for a little over an hour, talking about people that you don’t know and places that you haven’t been, but you somehow still feel part of the whole conversation with them. It might be the medicine coursing its way through your body, but you feel a little emotional being in a group of girls like this. You hadn’t made a solid group of girl friends away at college, so you’ve been missing this kind of connection.

Once Robin and Nancy leave, they’re not out the door for thirty seconds before Max pounces.

“You love him.”

“What?” You’re so taken aback by her statement that you can’t come up with anything else to say. No point in asking who she’s talking about, since the only guy you knew in their whole conversation was Eddie—and Steve and Dustin a little. But you’d never even thought those words to yourself about Eddie before. Obviously, you found him attractive. Very attractive. And he’s so kind and funny. It’s addictive spending time with him; you always want more. Your stomach flip flops as you come to the realization.

Holy shit. Max is right.

“I know I’m right,” Max says.

Color draining from your face, you turn in her direction. “What?”

She chuckles and shrugs her shoulders. “Knew you were thinking about how right I am. I’m right about most things. Just ask my boyfriend.”

A frantic knock on the door has Eddie hoisting himself up from where he’s slumped down on Gareth’s couch, which is now his makeshift bed. Since he’d been discharged from the hospital, he and Wayne have been crashing there. It’s a nice place; much fancier than the trailer, but it’s not his home. The steaming cup of cocoa that Gareth’s mom made for him reminds him of the shelf of mugs in his own home, now utterly destroyed.

Bet Sunshine could make tonight better, he thinks glumly. She made everything better. The knocking gets louder, snapping him from his pity party. “Coming, coming!” Eddie grumbles, tossing aside the quilt and padding towards the door.

He’s nearly bowled over by Robin and Nancy, who eagerly push their way into the living room. “Um, come on in, I guess?”

“Cool, thanks,” Robin says, plopping down in an armchair. “We need to talk to you, like, now.”

Nancy rolls her eyes. “Jesus, Robs. You make it sound like an emergency.”

“It is an emergency,” Robin protests. “A love emergency!”

“Lucy, Ethel!” Eddie interrupts. “Can you get to the point, please?”

Nancy grins as she delivers the news. “We saw Sunshine today,” she says, watching as Eddie’s eyes widen in surprise. “Max is her new roommate.”

“She misses you, and she is so, so sorry,” Robin jumps in. “She told us that she was going to talk to you the morning after your argument, but you’d already left.” She frowns. “Did you really leave without saying goodbye?”

Eddie buries his face in his hands. “I fucked up. Bad.” He stands up, pacing the room. “But so did she! She—she threw the murder charges in my face! Like it was nothing.”

“She knows,” Nancy says. “And she feels awful about it.”

“And she lied to me,” Eddie adds. “I mean, Buckley, you were there when Harrington said there was a spark. How could there be a spark if she’d just been lying to me?”

Robin breathes out, sharing a knowing look with Nancy. “Eddie,” she starts, “she felt a lot of pressure to keep up this happy, optimistic façade for you. She thought that if she told you what was going on, you’d worry about her.”

Eddie barks out an incredulous laugh. “Of course I’d worry about her! When the people you lo—care about are going through shit, you worry about them!”

“Well, did you tell her about the Upside Down?” Nancy presses, leaning her chin on her palm.

“No.”

“And why not?”

“Because it’s crazy, and unbelievable, and pretty fuckin’ scary!”

“Yeah, well, the stuff she’s going through is pretty fuckin’ scary for her, too,” Robin explains. “And just like you wanted to protect her, she wanted to protect you.”

“Jesus.” Eddie breathes out a long sigh. “What can I—how can I fix this?” A misty film coats his eyes. “I never meant to make her feel like she couldn’t talk to me about her problems.”

Nancy puts a polished hand on Eddie’s shoulder. “I think you should be telling her this,” she says kindly. “Maybe bring her some flowers?”

Eddie perks up a bit at the thought. “Yeah! Yeah, I can do that. Maybe I can go next week, when I’m cleared for longer car rides.” The trip home from the hospital was painful enough; each bump in the road sent shockwaves through his scars.

Robin smiles. “I think she’ll love that.”

“Never thought I’d be taking love life advice from Lady Wheeler and Video Girl,” he muses.

Robin shrugs, clearly not offended. “Better than from Steve,” she says simply.

It’s only been about two weeks since Eddie’s been in these halls, but being able to walk them of his own free will and knowing he can turn around and leave at any time he likes certainly makes it better. Making the familiar walk to his old room, Eddie wrinkles his nose at the scent of antiseptic and whatever disinfectant they use to clean the floors. How did he ever sleep in this place? Bells and alarms are going off every other minute. Eddie feels like he’s going crazy and he’s only been in the hospital for three minutes.

Small bouquet of Sunflowers in his hand, Eddie takes the elevator to the correct floor, then turns right down two hallways, and he’s finally at the room. Before raising his fist to knock, Eddie takes a deep breath to compose himself. He wasn’t sure how he’d be feeling seeing his Sunshine again after their fight, but the correct answer to that would be anxious. He gently knocks on the door frame and pokes his head into the room.

“Who is it?” Max asks, talking to you, Eddie presumes. Or maybe to him, wanting him to announce himself.

“It’s, uh, me,” Eddie says, taking a step into the room. “Um, Eddie.” He glances over at your bed, hoping one quick look would steel his nerves to look at you head on. But he does a double take when you’re not in the bed.

“Hey, Eddie,” Max says. She breaks him out of his confused haze and he steps around the curtain to see her. Considering all that the girl had gone through, she doesn’t look too bad. Casts are still covering the multiple bones that had been broken, but her unseeing eyes were by far the most unsettling. It caused a pit in Eddie’s stomach to know all that she had endured and all she had tried to shield her friends from had landed her here like this.

“How’re you feeling, Red?” Eddie takes a seat next to her bed, your flowers still clutched in his grip.

“So bored,” she says with a sigh. “There’s shit to do around here. I have to listen to everything. Can’t watch anything, obviously. Can’t touch anything ‘cause of these damn broken arms. Only other senses I get to use are my sense of smell to inhale the lovely aroma of body odor and hospital chemicals, and my sense of taste when I have to literally be spoon fed because my body doesn’t work.”

“Jesus,” Eddie says. “I’m thinking I’m lucky now that all I have are some chunks of skin missing from my one man show for some fucked up demonic bats.”

“I’m sorry,” Max says with a sigh. “I didn’t mean to unload on you like that. Just been stuck in my head today.”

“No, no, I get it. But, uh…couldn’t you have talked to… I mean, where is, um,” Eddie stutters out.

“Your Sunshine?” Max asks, a mocking cheesy smile on her face. “Came to see your girl?”

“Yeah,” Eddie says with a sigh. A faint blush comes to his cheeks at Max referring to you in that way. “Where is she?”

“Her second surgery is today,” Max tells him. “They came and took her early this morning and I’m not sure when she’ll be back because they’ll take her to recovery first.”

Eddie’s grip tightens on the flowers in his hands and he makes a conscious effort to take it easy so the stems aren’t snapped off when you get to see them. There’s a queasiness in his stomach as he thinks about you being in surgery right now. Unconscious, doctors working on you, scalpels cutting open portions of your skin. It gives him a full body chill.

“Her mom is here somewhere. In the surgery center’s waiting room, I’d guess,” Max tells him.

“Oh,” Eddie says, suddenly becoming fidgety in his seat. He wants to go out there and find your mom, who will hopefully have an update on you. But he doesn’t want to leave Max all alone again.

“Go,” Max says, as if reading his mind. “Just make sure you switch the television to something else before you leave. If I hear the news cycle one more time I’m going to claw my way out of these casts just so I can turn the channel myself.”

Eddie stands and flips through the channels until he settles on Wheel of Fortune. “How’s that?”

“Kinda hard to play along without seeing the puzzle, but whatever, it’s better than the news. Oh, uh, Eddie? Before you go, can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” he says, slipping his free hand into the pocket of his jeans.

“No one will give me a straight answer. Maybe they don’t know or just don’t want to tell me, but I know you’ll have seen it. Is my home okay? I know my mom’s still staying there, but I want to know she’s safe.”

Eddie frowns and takes a few steps forward to gently place his hand on your shoulder. “Your trailer looks fine. Or, well, I guess I should say it looks the same. None of the trailers in Forest Hills have ever looked ‘fine.’ But yeah, your mom is safe there. No damage or anything like that.”

“Thank you,” Max says, releasing a sigh that’s probably weighed heavily on her for a while.

“Sure thing. Hey, I brought some flowers. I’m gonna put them on Sunshine’s bedside table, okay?” He takes one of the sunflowers out of the bunch and snaps off the branch so he can stick it into one of Max’s twin braids. “Now you look like a real flower child.”

“Can’t hold my fingers up in a peace sign, but okay. Yeah, I’ll tell her the flowers are from you if she comes back in here after you’ve left. Glad to know there’s actually flowers in here though, because I smelled them and thought it was some new cleaning product they were trying.”

“Thanks, Red. I’ll see you soon, yeah?” Eddie asks as he sets your flowers down.

“Wish I could say the same,” Max says and Eddie winces at his phrasing. “I’m messing around. Go find your Sunshine, lover boy.”

“Ugh, don’t call me that,” Eddie whines.

“Fine. Romeo? Lovebug? Casanova?”

“Jesus, just call me Eddie,” he says with an eye roll. He shouts a goodbye over his shoulder as he heads out of the room.

Eddie makes his way to the waiting room, rubber soles of his worn Keds squeaking on the linoleum floor. He recognizes your mom from their brief encounter the day before he left, and he gives her a tight grin.

“Um, hi,” he says. She gives him a confused look, and he realizes how different he must look, freshly shaved and in his normal clothes. “I’m Eddie. Sunshine’s old roommate? And, uh, the one who called her Sunshine, I guess.” He ducks his head bashfully.

Your mom’s expression softens as she recognizes the boy. “Of course! Sorry, it feels like my head is spinning, waiting for the doctor to come out with an update.”

“How long has it been?” Eddie asks, taking a seat next to her.

“Too damn long,” She chuckles lightly as she glances at her wristwatch, letting out an exasperated sigh. “About four hours now. They said it shouldn’t take too much longer than that…”

As if on cue, Dr. Sanoj hurries into the waiting room, fingers clasped together. A knot forms in Eddie’s stomach; whatever’s going on can’t be good.

“I have an update on your daughter,” he says to your mom. “We could speak somewhere private, if you’d like.” His gaze briefly shifts to Eddie, who shoves his hands in his pockets shyly.

But your mom is firm when she shakes her head and says, “no, he can hear this.”

“Okay,” the doctor begins. “The surgery was successful, and didn’t take too long at all. There are some complications, however; possibly due to having two procedures done so close together.”

“What’s going on?” Eddie interrupts.

“We’re having some difficulty waking her from the anesthesia, and she’s spiked a small fever,” Dr. Sanoj admits. “There’s no real cause for concern yet. We’re just going to have the nurses continue to take her vitals.”

Eddie feels your mom’s fingernails dig into his wrist, but he doesn’t complain. It feels good, in a way, to know that he can be there for someone in their time of need. “Can we see her?” she asks the doctor.

He nods. “Yes, of course. You can follow me into the recovery room.” They’re both right on his heels as they make their way down the white corridor. Neither of them say a word, but the fear is palpable.

“You can go in first,” your mom offers. “I need to make some phone calls to relatives and friends. Just let me know if she wakes up, please.” Her tone is hopeful, but Eddie can still sense the anxiety beneath it.

Seeing you in such a vulnerable state twists Eddie’s heart. He doesn’t even realize he’s crying until he feels the tears on his cheeks. Pulling up a chair to your bedside, he takes your hand and brings it to his lips, kissing it gently.

“Sunshine, can you hear me? If you can hear me, please wake up.” He leans over, placing the back of his free hand on your forehead. “Shit, you’re burnin’ up. Small fever, my ass,” he grumbles. He’s always been suspicious of doctors, and he doesn’t trust that this isn’t more serious than the surgeon let on.

“Listen, Sunshine,” he starts. He’s not sure if you can even hear him, but it’s worth a shot. “I’m really sorry that I made you feel like you had to pretend to be happy all the time. That’s never what I wanted. I guess…I guess I figured you’d tell me if something was wrong. Sounds kinda dumb now that I’m saying it out loud.” He gives a small laugh. “And when I found out that you’d been keeping your surgeries a secret, I thought it was just you pushin�� me away. But now I know it’s because you were just tryin’ to protect me.

“And, look, I get it if you don’t want anything to do with me anymore. I’m loud, and impulsive, and I couldn’t pass geometry if my life depended on it. I have no idea what I’m doing after high school, and I wish I could blame the earthquake for that, but it’s all me. Also, in the spirit of honesty or whatever, remind me to tell you the truth about that earthquake thing,” he adds, bringing his thumbnail to his mouth and chewing on it anxiously.

“Sunshine, you’re, like, this beautiful ballerina with these big plans and a heart of fuckin’ gold. And if–when–you wake up, if you decide to never speak to me again, I’ll understand. I mean, I’ll be devastated because, y’know, you’re kinda my favorite person in the whole world, but I’ll get out of your way. But, please, please wake up. I can’t have you dying before you even get a chance to live out your dreams.”

Eddie stops, cocking his head slightly to watch your chest move up and down with each shallow breath. You start to sputter, and his heart lurches at the prospect of you hearing his words and waking up to them.

But the sputtering gets more violent, and one of the many machines connected to you starts to beep loudly. A swarm of nurses infiltrates the room, nudging Eddie out of the way.

“We need all visitors to leave,” one of them tells him, even though he’s clearly the only other person there.

“Is she gonna be okay?” Eddie calls out as he’s being guided out of the door. “Is something wrong?” He watches as they pull out a defibrillator, attaching the adhesives to your chest before starting it up. He wants to stay and be there for you, even if you aren’t aware of it, but the door is closed behind him.

“You can pull through, Sunshine,” he whispers. “You’ve gotta pull through.” Not many sounds reach him on the other side of the door, and Eddie isn’t sure how he feels about that as he paces back and forth. He’s hardly keeping together when he hears footsteps coming down the hall.

“Eddie?”

He lifts his head to see your mom walking towards him, a confused frown pinched on her face as she approaches. It’s the sight of her that has the impending tears welling up in his eyes.

“Eddie, what’s going on? Why’s the door closed?”

Wringing his hands in front of him, Eddie halts his pacing. His mouth opens but nothing comes out. The longer his silence drags on, the more concerned your mother looks.

“I’m not sure, really,” Eddie says. “I was in there with her then machines started beeping and they kicked me out. They brought some other machine over to her but then I couldn’t see anymore because they closed the door.”

“W-What?” Your mom looks around, seeing if there are any doctors or nurses around that can explain what’s happening to you. She almost bangs on the door but she doesn’t want to interrupt whatever they’re doing in there to help you. “What’s happening to my baby girl?”

Eddie’s eyes were misting over before, but at the heartbreaking tone of your mom, tears start to trickle down his face. He doesn’t know what to do or say. What would you do in this situation? Taking a wild guess, Eddie opens his arms to your mom, who instantly takes him up on the hug. Her head rests on his shoulder and it’s not long before he can feel her tears soaking into his shirt. “She’ll be okay,” Eddie says. “She has to be.”

taglist: @thebrookemunson, @mystars123, @h-ness1944, @hazydespair, @ajkamins, @aysheashea, @jasminelafleur, @brittney69, @arsonfrogger, @brassreign, @lunarzstarz, @aftermidnightwriting, @justtryingtobecreative, @micheledawn1975, @kailynn-exe @afunkyfreshblog @fangirling-4-ever @crimsonsabbath @babyexpertlampskeleton @whenshelanded @ches-86 @acmbooksfilmtelevisionandreads

#albl #eddie munson fluff #eddie x reader #eddie x you #eddie munson #eddie stranger things #eddie munson smut #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson angst #eddie munson fanfic #stranger things fanfic #fanfic #eddie munson stranger things #stranger things

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gaybananabread · 1 year

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TickleTober Day 1 - Anticipation

Welcome to October! I’m really excited to have these posting, and I’m hyped to see how everyone that requested likes their fics! They’ll be posting day-by-day, so if you requested #29, it’ll be posted on October 29th! Figured I’d start out with something i haven’t done yet, so here’s some Steven Universe Future! (definitely not projecting on steven whaaaat) I hope you all have an amazing spooky season, Enjoy!!

Lee: Future!Steven

Ler: Amethyst

Summary: Steven hasn’t been doing the best mentally, especially on the bad days. Amethyst has the perfect way to help, but being herself, adds a playful edge to it.

Warnings: Possible SUF spoilers maybe? A spot angsty at the start. This is a tickle fic, so if you don’t like that, scroll away!

The past few months had been…they’d been interesting. Steven finally started getting the help he needed, and the gems had been supporting him however they could. The therapist was nice, she helped him through some of his most traumatic moments. Topics on his mom…they were still touchy, but he was getting there. He had a name for one of his problems now. “Abandonment Issues…”

There’s still days where he feels lousy. He couldn’t remember the official term, but he liked to call them “spew days.” Days where his emotions just got the better of him. Days like today.

Steven was sprawled out on the couch, staring blankly up at the ceiling. He…he felt like poop. Not as bad as he did with Connie’s “not yet,” but definitely crummy. The teen didn’t even notice when Amethyst came through the door until she flopped down next to him.

“Hey dude! Oh…Steven, what’s wrong?” He grunted, shrugging. It wasn’t a lie either, at least not completely. A combination of things was wrong, though he couldn’t pinpoint what they all were. He just…wasn’t okay.

“Steven, c’mon. Remember the whole “we talk about our feelings” deal we made?” The purple-hued gem’s expression softened, giving him a little nudge. They had all agreed that whenever something was wrong, they would do their best to communicate the problem. Steven sighed, knowing it would probably help.

“I just…feel crummy. It’s a bunch of things. Sorry…” Amethyst immediately shut that down. “Hey, hey. No. You’ve got nothing to be sorry about. Your feelings are valid, no matter how confusing they are. If you can’t say it, that’s okay.” Gosh, why are his friends so awesome? He held out his arms, silently asking for a hug. His friend was more than happy to oblige.

“C’mere bud.” She wrapped her arms around the 16 year old, hugging him tight. He felt a bit of the gross feeling go away, melting into the touch. He needed this. Ever since the monster incident…hugs have been his everything. “Thanks Amethyst…”

His voice was a bit too deep and airy for her liking. He needed a cheer up session, pronto. Lucky for him, she had the perfect idea. “Ya know Steven… you could use some fun. How about we play some Steven Tag, with a twist?”

A twist? Why was she smiling like tha-…oh. Oh. He pulled away from the hug, a smile tugging at his lips. “Amehe- Amethyst no!” The purple gem crossed her arms, smirking. Amethyst shifted into the present version of Steven, snickering. “You got ten seconds. You get tagged, you get tickled…better run.”

Crap…crap! He got up off the couch, backing away from his friend. She couldn’t be serious, right? “Amethyst, c’mon! You- you’re joking right? Right?” She just smirked, holding up ten fingers. She was not joking. She slowly lowered one finger, then another, then another, dragging out each word with a teasing tone. “Ten, nine, eight…”

Time to run! He took off in the opposite direction, running into the warp area. The door opened for him, his pink and cloudy room offering a nice place to hide. Steven zipped inside, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach. The room, sensing his needs, quickly made a few hiding spaces. Cabinets, closets, doors, tables with cloths, a bunch of hiding spot’s any kid would think of. All of which are horrible for actual hiding. It would have to do… He ducked into the most boring closet he saw, finding a pile of blankets inside. He burrowed under them, tried his best to make sure nothing was poking out, and hid.

Amethyst finished her countdown, chuckling as she walked over to the door. It opened to her room, but that was just a minor inconvenience. She knew her way around those rooms like the back of her gem. Running over to her stack of couch cushions and rubber ducks, she shoved them out of the way, revealing the secret path to Steven’s room. Can never be too prepared for mischief. She jumped through the hole, feeling gravity shift as she landed on the soft, pillowy clouds of Steven’s room. Time for some fun…

“Oh Steven~! Where are ya, bud? I just wanna play~!” When she saw the silly hiding spots, she snickered. Just like old times… Amethyst began opening the cabinets, trying to find the teen. “You know you can’t hide from me, man. I’m gonna find ya, and when I do, you’re gonna get it~”

Steven clamped a hand over his mouth, trying to muffle his anticipatory giggles. He had forgotten how evil Amethyst was when it came to these games… The butterflies in his stomach were going wild, swarming and sending a blush to his cheeks. He hadn’t been tickled in a good while. That somehow made the fluttery, bubbling feeling worse.

Turns out he sucked at being quiet. Amethyst easily heard his poorly muffled giggles, the cloudy walls of the closet almost paper-thin. Guess some things never change. “Steven, Steven, Steven. Still a gigglebug through and through.”

She slowly walked towards the closet, stomping her feet to make as much noise as possible. She wanted him to know how screwed he was. Knowing he was already caught, he removed his hand from his mouth, letting the giggles fly free as he leaned against the door. No way was he gonna go down without a small fight.

Amethyst jiggled the doorknob, pushing against it. You’d think that it would be easy, it being made of clouds and all. But no. The manifestations were linked to Steven’s conscious and subconscious thoughts, and right then, they wanted that door solid and stable. He only forgot one thing; a towel for under the door. Shape-shifting to an ant, the crystal gem easily slipped under the door. She scurried behind Steven before shifting back, growing to a purple-hued version of him. “Peek-a-boo~”

Now, he handled his surprise very maturely. He definitely didn’t shriek and run into the door. Definitely not. His best friend snorted, snatching him up in her arms. “Tag! Ya know what that means…” Shifting back to her regular form, the gem wiggled her fingers into his sides, not releasing him from the reverse hug. He yelped, squirming around and digging his heels into the carpeted floor.

“Amehethyst! Qu-quihihihit it!” Even though he was currently taller than the other gem, he couldn’t escape the ticklish hold. The closet was small, not allowing much room for squirming or thrashing. Lucky for him, Steven’s subconscious threw him a bone. The closet poofed out of existence, momentarily startling Amethyst. She pulled him closer, hugging him tightly before she realized what happened.

“Ooooh, I get it. Someone’s a bit too ticklish for their own good, huh?” The wiggling fingers quickly resumed their tickly pattern on his sides, pulling sweet giggles from the teen. He gripped her wrists, trying to pry her hands off. That did next to nothing; the crystal gem was having way too much fun. She had completely forgotten about her Steven Tag excuse, just wanting to tickle her friend. He needed a good laugh anyways.

She knew exactly where to go to get him really laughing, his younger years giving her plenty of time to learn his best spots. Amethyst moved her tickling to his belly, slowly getting closer to his gem. Steven knew what she was doing; it was the same pattern as when he was young. Sides, belly, gem, and if he was still breathing, underarms. Normally, he’d be embarrassed of the tickling. But right now? It was actually a fun distraction from his thoughts. “Nohoho! Dohon’t you dahare!”

A little teasing wouldn’t hurt. She slowly circled her fingers around the edge of his gem, sending ticklish little shocks to his belly. Frantic giggles bubble out of him, his anticipation building as she toyed with the edge of his gem. “A-Ahamethyst! Thihis is mehehean!”

“Uh, no duy. That’s why I’m doin’ it!” She chuckled and scritched a little faster, trying to get a squeak or two out of him. And, as expected, his giggles turned squeakier than a rusty door hinge. The feeling of her fingers so close to his worst spot was killer. No amount of squirming or wiggling was helping, the butterflies in his stomach going nuts.

He caved within thirty seconds, patting her arm and speaking with a whiny tone. “Ahamethyhyst! Juhust- just dohoho ihit ahahalreheady!” That almost got her. Almost. Rolling her eyes, the teasing ended, making way for the main event.

Following her pattern, Amethyst’s playful scribbling moved to his gem, sending the crazy ticklish sensations across his whole midsection. He was constantly changing and growing, but his sensitivity didn’t seem to get the message. He squealed, kicking as his knees gave out. “COHOHOME OHON! NOHOT FAHAIR, LEHEMME GOHOHO!”

It was kinda adorable, in a dorky way. Steven had always liked being tickled, even if he never voiced that opinion. It was pretty obvious when he was younger. Recently, however, he had been drifting away, closing up, avoiding anything “childish” or “immature” to him. They now knew why, and were working towards improving his self-image and communication skills. Still, progress was slow. Seeing him laugh again…it was nice.

Amethyst was so engrossed in her thoughts that she barely noticed when Steven was tiring out. He hadn’t had much energy to start the day, and quickly wore out from the tickling. He slumped against his best friend, leaning into her as the tickling wore him down.

“AHAHA-AHAHAMETHYHYST! IHIHI- AHAHAHA!” Her smile softened when she regained focus. The scribbles on his gem slowly came to an end, her hands switching to rub the ticklish areas. He practically melted into her touch. The soft happiness from the tickling paired with her gentle attention had him on cloud nine. “Thahahanks…”

Okay, that warmed her gem. She shifted to a bear, carrying him up to his bed. It wasn’t the first time she’d done it, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. The contented drowsiness was a major improvement from his earlier gloom. Lumbering up the stairs, she laid him down, shifting back to her regular form. It wasn’t late, but one little nap wouldn't hurt his sleep schedule. Right as she turned to leave, a soft hand tugged her back. “Hey…stay?”

The warm smile on her face somehow got even softer, pitchy chuckles shaking her shoulders. “‘Course, bud. Gimme a sec.” She shifted shape once again, now a fluffy, lavender cat. Pawing at the blankets, she curled up beside Steven, pressing her soft fur against the star on his shirt. The bouncy-haired teen draped an arm over his now-feline friend. He was completely spent and ready for a nap.

A low purr rumbled in her chest at the soft gesture. Steven always found new ways to surprise them, either with kindness or some new ideal. The other gems would have likely been home soon, but she didn’t really care. Garnet and Pearl could tease all they want if it meant she could spend some quality time with Steven.

Amethyst didn’t need sleep, but it was always nice to get some; especially in moments like those. The teen was out in seconds, his friend soon joining. The day had taken a turn for the better, all thanks to a bit of playful mischief and care. Moments like those are what makes being a crystal gem all the more worth it…

#suf tickle #augtickletober2023 #lee!steven #ticklish!steven #ler!amethyst #sfw tickling community #tickle fic #tickle #steven universe future tickle #steven universe tickle #lee!future steven #ticklish!future steven #su tickle #steven universe tickling #tickletober 2023 #tickletober

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wildsupernova · 2 months

Text

summer nights

part 2 of “summer, sun, and a smoking engine”.

summary: after steve came to your rescue when your car broke down, he offers to take you out to dinner and show you around hawkins. you decide to take a chance, in the hope it could lead to something more.

pairing: steve harrington x fem!reader

word count: 2.5k

warnings: no use of y/n, fluff and awkward conversation i guess?

a/n: i know it’s been a while since i posted anything (like over a month but we’re gonna ignore that) but i’ve been super busy working practically every day and i have been insanely exhausted but i had a burst of inspiration the other night and finally got something ready to be posted. this is part two to my last little fic so if you haven’t read that and want the context, i’ll have it linked below. there may be a part 3 to this if i can get the motivation to do it so be on the lookout for that as well. like, comment, reblog (any little bit helps) and i hope you enjoy! :)

part 1 | masterlist | prompts list

“You mean to tell me you’re going on a date with a guy you just met? You? The girl who wouldn’t even go on a date with the guy she had a crush on since 8th grade?”

“It’s not a date.” You wrung out the rest of the water in your hair into the scratchy motel towel, phone pressed between your shoulder and your ear. Your best friend scoffed on the other end of the phone, prompting you to roll your eyes. “He’s just showing me around the city.”

“Yeah, okay. You don’t just show someone around the city at 7:00 pm when they’ll only be sticking around until morning.”

“Okay, so maybe it's a date.” Your friend chuckled on the other line, and you shifted the phone to your other shoulder while you searched through your bags to find something to wear. “It’s one date, not like it’ll go anywhere. I mean, when am I ever gonna be back in Hawkins, Indiana besides when I’m driving through to visit you?”

“You don’t have to be in the city to date someone, you know.” You could hear her rustling along on the other side, the sound of a duvet crinkling as if she were rolling over in her bed. “Long distance is a thing.”

“Yeah, I tried that, remember? He cheated on me within a week of being gone.” You pulled a dress from out of one of your bags, holding it up to your body as you looked in the cloudy motel mirror.

“At least give it a thought. You always say that love will come along at the right time, maybe this is it.” You stayed silent for a moment, soaking in her advice. It was true, you did say that it was only a matter of time, but it was more a self soothing mantra to make you feel better about your shitty dating life. You never really meant it as anything more than that.

“Yeah, yeah. Look, I gotta go, okay? I’ll call you when I’m back on the road tomorrow morning.”

“You better call with good news, okay?” You could hear her laugh on the other end of the line when you let out a groan. “Have fun, love you.”

“Love you, too.”

You put the phone back down on the hook with a click, staring down at the mess of clothes now thrown across the small motel bed. Every combination you’d held to your body in the mirror just hadn’t looked right, making you run your hand through your still damp hair. Never once had you worried this much about what to wear, especially for some guy. Now here you were, worried about if you were dressing too casual or too fancy or too colorful. You took in a deep breath and dug to the bottom of your suitcase, pulling out a simple black skirt and plain lavender top, not too flashy and not too simple, either. Deciding it best to just settle for what you had in your hands and not overthink it, you shoved all the other clothes back into the suitcase and zipped it shut.

Next thing you knew it was 30 minutes later and you were rushing to finish putting yourself together, your hair never quite falling right and your makeup always seeming to be smudged no matter how much you tried to fix it. The knocking on your motel room door had your heart lurching in your chest, swiping on a quick stripe of lip gloss before you took a deep breath and opened the door.

Steve was standing on the other side with his hands in the pocket of his jeans, an untucked polo with the first few buttons undone wrapped tight around his chest. Somewhere in the last hour he had taken great care to get his hair styled, and the expensive smelling cologne he wore wafted towards you when a warm summer breeze blew in from behind him. He smiled when he saw you open the door, shoulders relaxing as if he had been nervous that you wouldn’t answer.

“Hey.” His smile seemed genuine, not like the fake charming ones you usually got from the few guys you tried to date back at school.

“Hi.” There was a moment of silence where neither of you knew what to say until Steve cleared his throat.

“Come on. I know a good diner that’s open late where we can grab something to eat.” He nodded his head towards the parking lot, taking a step back as you stepped out of the room and shut the door behind you. He walked with you down to his car while trying to make awkward small talk, opening the passenger side door for you and shutting it gently once you’d gotten settled in the seat. He climbed in himself and started up the car, engine humming as he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road.

The silence in the car was cut up by the occasional short conversation and the sounds of music softly playing through the radio, street lights illuminating the sharpness of Steve’s face as the car traveled down the road. After about 10 minutes, maybe less, you arrived at the diner, a slightly run down building lined in neon lights with three cars already in the parking lot. After pulling into a parking space right by the door, Steve turned the car off and ran over to your side of the car quickly, opening the door for you before you even had a chance to reach for the handle. You were thankful that the lights above you weren’t quite enough for him to see the blush forming over your cheeks.

Inside the diner, the pair of you picked a booth over in the corner, far away from the other couples and families who had also decided to get a late dinner here. The waitress, a kind older woman with bright red lipstick and heavy blue eyeshadow, took your orders and left, leaving the two of you alone to sit in a lingering, slightly awkward silence.

Each of you tried to start a conversation, but it felt as if you had no idea what to say, eventually sharing a choked laugh to fill the silence. Apologies naturally turned into conversation, and before you knew it, you were already halfway through your plate of burger and fries.

“So, you said you go to school in-state?” You nodded, swallowing the fries you had been chewing.

“Mhmm. There were no good options back home, and I’ve got friends in Indiana so I figured it’d be a good choice.”

“What are you studying?”

“Chemistry.” Steve’s eyes widened for a moment and he let out a small laugh. “What?”

“You are way smarter than me to be studying something like that. I barely passed chemistry in high school.”

“I don’t know, you seem like a pretty smart guy to me.” He scoffed. “I’m serious! Maybe you just haven’t found what you’re good at yet.”

“Well, I’m glad you have so much faith in me.” You laughed, and another silence fell over the table.

“So, your boyfriend gonna be mad that I took you out tonight?” You choked a bit on your drink and gave Steve a small smile, eyebrow raised at his bluntness. He cringed at himself a bit, failing quite miserably at his attempt to subtly feel out whether you were single or not.

“He might be, if I had one.” Steve’s head perked up a bit. “Fortunately, my dating life is quite abysmal.”

“Really? Girl like you and no boyfriend?” Steve’s voice had a bit of a teasing lilt to it, lips upturning at the sides in a charming smirk. You felt your face heat up at the way his eyes scanned over your features, lingering a bit longer in some spots..

“Guys don’t really ask me out much, and as you can probably tell, I don’t really go around asking guys on dates much, either.”

“Well, what changed this time?” He leaned his elbows on the table, resting his chin in his hand. “I mean, you just met me and you let me take you out.”

“Well you never said it would be a date.”

“Would it have changed your mind if I told you it was?” You stayed silent for a moment, giving him a smile of your own as you sipped your drink.

“No.” Steve’s smile grew wider at that.

“Good.” Steve fished his wallet out of his pocket and pulled out several bills, placing some atop the bill the waitress left at your table and throwing a few more in the middle of the table as a tip. He stood from the booth, reaching his hand out towards you. “Come on, I’ve got somewhere else I want to show you.”

You raised an eyebrow at him and sent him a curious smile, taking his hand in yours and letting him lead you back to his car.

The drive was probably 15 minutes, although it felt much shorter with the small talk that kept the two of you entertained the whole drive. You found out that he’d been working at the Family Video you met him in for a few years, he still lived with his parents even though they weren’t around much, and he spent a good chunk of his time looking out for a group of kids a few years younger than him. He was humble every time he was talking about himself but bragged on and on about his friends, and every time you asked him a question about his high school years he seemed to cringe and change the subject.

You let out an airy laugh as he turned down onto a dark dirt road, ending abruptly a few feet into the woods surrounding it.

“You know, if you were anyone else, I’d think you were a serial killer taking me out to the middle of the woods like this.” Steve kissed his teeth and his face flushed red.

“Yeah, I really didn’t think about how that would seem when I thought about bringing you out here.” He turned off the car and undid his seatbelt, giving you a slightly apologetic look. “I swear, I did not bring you out here to kill you.”

“It’s okay, I trust you.” He gave you a smile before hopping out of the car, once again running over to your side to open the door for you. He held out his hand to you again and you took it, gripping it tightly as he helped guide you down a worn down path that snaked through the trees.

His pace slowed as you came up to a small clearing, a collection of large rocks the main feature in the center of it. A warm wind rustled the leaves in the trees, and you gripped Steve’s hand a bit tighter when you heard some animal running across the leaves behind you.

“So, this where you take all of your girls on the first date?”

“No, not anymore.” You wondered what he meant by that, but decided not to question it. “Just figured you’re a girl who likes to look at the stars.” You let out another laugh, probably your hundredth of the night.

“You’re pretty good at making assumptions about people, I’ll say that much.” You leaned against one of the rocks and turned your head up to the sky, looking up at the stars that dotted it and connecting the constellations with your finger. “They’re so clear here, nothing like Indianapolis.”

You heard the leaves crunch under Steve’s feet as he came to stand next to you, barely a shoulder apart.

“You can see them even better at Lover’s Lake, but I figured it might be too soon for that.”

“Well, I guess you’ll have to take me some other time then.” You turned your head to face him, surprised at just how close he was to you.

“Yeah? You’d like that?”

“Yeah. I think I would.”

You felt crazy. You never went on dates, never asked a guy out, never even sent a slightly romantic glance towards a guy, and here you were, flirting with someone you just met today, who you may never see again, and blushing when he gave you those stupid soft eyes and that charming smile. You told yourself that dating was this long, drawn out process and that you would never date someone who you weren’t friends with first, but yet right now, staring at Steve and practically melting with the way he was looking at you, you were filled with this overwhelming urge to just grab him by the shirt collar and kiss him until you couldn’t breathe. It didn’t make sense, how you could go from being so scared of relationships one minute, to imagining what it would be like if you never met your friend in Indianapolis and just stayed here for the rest of the summer. It had your mind running through a thousand different questions all at once, the loudest of them being ‘do I kiss him?’

Nature made up your mind for you as a loud crack of thunder sounded overhead, breaking the staring contest the two of you had been having for the past minute. Steve muttered something under his breath and grabbed your hand again, pulling you behind him quickly in an effort to beat the rain that was sure to fall soon.

You were able to make it back to the car before the first drops started to fall, but the drive back to the motel was filled with a tense silence accompanied by the sounds of heavy raindrops hitting the car from all angles. When Steve finally pulled the car into the same parking spot he placed it in when he picked you up, he broke the silence.

“If you want, I can take you down to Eddie’s garage in the morning to check on your car. He rarely ever sleeps, so I bet he’s gonna be up all night working on it.” You gave him a tight lipped, unsure smile.

“That’d be nice, thanks.” He gave you a nod and a tight smile back, staring at his hands as you got out of the car and walked up the stairs to your motel room. Your key was halfway in the door when you stopped, hair and clothes dripping as you got more and more soaked with rain water the longer you stayed outside.

You couldn’t let this chance go to waste. You just couldn’t.

Without enough time to stop yourself, you ran back down to Steve’s car, yanking open the passenger side door and leaning your top half inside.

“Hey, did you forget someth-” You grabbed him by the shoulders and cut his words off with a kiss, a bit sloppy and unsure, but he didn’t seem to mind. After a few seconds, one of his hands came up to meet your cheek, and you found it hard to pull yourself away.

“Goodnight, Steve.” He floundered for the words he wanted to say, smiling lips moving like a fish out of water when he couldn’t form the words. With one last laugh, you closed the car door and ran back up to your room, sliding the key the rest of the way in and taking refuge from the rain.

Clothes still dripping and hair still soaked, you leaned against the door to collect yourself, then rushed over to the phone with a squeal.

Your best friend was probably asleep, but she wouldn’t mind being woken up to hear about this.

< part 3 coming soon >

#steve harrington #stranger things #fanfic #steve harrington angst #steve x reader #stranger things angst #women writers #stranger things fluff #fluff #short fanfic #steve harrington fluff #romance #summer

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changingplumbob · 5 months

Text

Chopra Household: Chapter 6, Part 13

In this final part we rap up the Chopra's for this rotation.

If Viola is attempting to say something it will be in brackets Mercedes has a speech delay and may get words wrong, correct wording will be in brackets if that is the case Savannah aka Honeybee Mercedes aka Little Ladybug Viola aka Green Bean

At the Rec centre Cassandra sets herself up to stream her guitar practice and hopes some locals may tip her some coins. Rahul meanwhile focuses on getting Viola talking. I would say, easier said than done but the whole point is it’s not easily said.

Rahul: Let’s do words. I know you know some, can you tell me?

Viola: Papa… Mama… lo ee (Love me)

Rahul: Lo ee isn’t quite a word but good job trying. How about we try one together? Me and you? Say after me, me…

Viola: Dee *twirls braids*

Rahul: Me…

Viola: Gre *dances in place*

Rahul: You…

Viola: Poo *flaps arms*

Rahul: Poo is a word! Not the one we were trying but I’ll take it. Poo is what you do in the potty

Viola: Papa?

Rahul: Yes green bean

Viola: I no no (I don’t need words)

Rahul: You don’t want to practice words right now?

Viola shakes her head to hammer home the point.

Rahul: What do you want to do then Viola

Viola: *hums* papa pa mi ah ah (Papa play with me, up up) *waves arms*

Rahul: Alright, you win. We’ll play for now

Viola jumps up and down in delight making joyous noises. Over the other side of the garden Cassandra has amassed a small crowd of sims but smiles to see Viola happy.

Rahul: Play time, up we go

Viola: Ah… up up

Rahul: Hey you got it green bean. Hold on tight, we’re going to fly

Viola giggles and shrieks as Rahul spins her around every which way. It can’t last forever though as the twins are due home soon.

Age up day means new photo time! Even if it is cloudy. One picture in everyday and one in hot weather as it’s getting quite hot and muggy. Unfortunately, we discover Viola hates being carried so she’s very glad when it’s over. Cassandra is desperate for the bathroom so heads inside while Rahul introduces the girls to bikes.

Rahul: They’ll allow you to see how beautiful all of Henford is. Now do you need help, I can help teach you

Mercedes: No papa, I got it

Savannah: Maybe… My motor skill…

Rahul: How about I give you some guidance and you can send me off whenever you like honeybee

Savannah nods happily and Rahul carries her down the steps to her bike. Mercedes is already tying to move around, helpfully wearing the ladybug helmet as the twins hair matches even more with helmets on. One particularly enthusiastic movement send her head into the handlebars though and she rubs her sore eye.

On the deck Viola is doing her best to stack blocks. There’s still the temptation to just put them in her mouth and chew. Inside Cassandra decides to take a pregnancy test since she’s had to pee more than normal today. What do you know, it’s positive! Next pregnancy has begun (and will have to be paused between households). Cassandra is delighted but she still feels sicker than she usually does when pregnant (probably all the mods).

Rahul is trying his best to provide guidance but the girls are still getting used to the bikes, walking on them in tippy toes on the front walkway and around the gates.

Snuggles: *clucks* what are you doing

Seven: *bleats* investigating. What are those things

Snuggles: *clucks* who cares? Just stay away from them or we’ll end up 2D

Cassandra comes outside and walking gingerly down the steps calls Rahul over while the kids are busy.

Rahul: Hey, you okay my darling

Cassandra: I’m not great but I am happy. Big guy… we’re pregnant again

Rahul: We are? Oh that’s amazing

Cassandra: I can’t promise it’ll be a boy

Rahul: I know from my biology degree, that y chromosome is down to me. Come here my darling. Boy or girl, I love them already

Cassandra: I just feel a bit groggy with it all. And I don’t know how the girls will react

Rahul: The twins are older now, they might be more understanding. And I’m sure Viola will love a playmate eventually

Cassandra: You get Viola in and I’ll talk to the girls

Rahul: As you wish my darling

Cassandra moves over to the danger zone that’s full of wobbling bikes and calls for Mercedes to come see her, she is the more sensitive of the two.

Cassandra: Little ladybug, you know how me and papa had Viola

Mercedes: *smiles* You’re sending her back?

Cassandra: No. We’re actually having another one. You’ll be a big sister again

Mercedes pouts in annoyance so Cassandra sweeps her into a hug.

Cassandra: Listen to me. No matter how many kids me and papa have, we will always, always, love you. Do you understand little ladybug?

Eventually Mercedes stops squirming and hugs her back tightly. She whispers that she loves her mama and Cassandra relaxes.

Savannah: What are we hugging about

Mercedes: Bad news! Another baby is coming

Savannah: I don’t know, another one could be good. It could keep Viola busy so we don’t have to talk to her. Are you and papa really having a baby mama

Cassandra: Really really. Are you okay with it Honeybee

Savannah: Sure. I can always just ignore it

Rahul: Do you understand green bean? Mama is making a baby so you’ll have a younger sibling

Viola: Mama av ab? I no ab (Mama is having a baby? I don’t know what a baby is)

Rahul: They’ll be small but they’ll get bigger then you can play with them

At this explanation Violas eyes light up. She may not understand what a baby is but something to play with sounds like fun. Her older sisters never seem to want to play with her.

Cassandra: Applesauce. Eat up Viola, you need to grow big and healthy

Savannah: Can I name the baby

Mercedes: No fair, I want to name the baby

Savannah: But I'm oldest

Cassandra: Me and papa have to talk about it first but I guess we can talk about it together afterwards

Rahul pulls a face at this idea but doesn’t let the girls see, he doubts they'll offer any ides beyond Twerp or Nincompoop.

After dinner Cassandra plays some My Sims Racing with the twins. Savannah being a geek is only to happy to “work” on her fine motor skills by playing.

Mercedes: Be quiet Viola, I’m focus (concentrating)

Viola keeps banging away at the xylophone, giggling and laughing despite her sisters protests. It’s a tight game with no clear winner but the twins are happy they get to spend time with their mama.

Cassandra: Good game my darlings, bedtime now

Savannah: Viola’s not going to bed

Cassandra: Your papa will get her now come on, we can start the new book

Mercedes: YES

The girls get in their pyjamas and climb into bed. Cassandra begins to read but they’re both asleep before the first chapter ends. Smiling she tucks Mercedes in and reaches up to stroke down Savannah’s hair.

Walking into the nursery Cassandra finds a sleepwear wearing Viola clinging to Rahul’s leg while he does his best to encourage her to let go.

Cassandra: Are we not asleep yet

Rahul: She seemed to be waiting for you

Viola detaches herself from Rahul’s leg and toddles up to Cassandra, hugging her leg tight in the same way she was holding onto Rahul.

Cassandra: Oh hey, I love you *kisses forehead* Shall we have a story green bean

Viola nods happily, climbs onto bed and tucks herself under the covers. While Rahul works on cleaning up her latest potty accident Cassandra reads to Viola. Cassandra isn’t sure how much Viola understands but she seems to enjoy it right up until she falls asleep.

With that we’ve reached the end of the Chopra household for this rotation. Next time we’ll get to visit the obstetrician and find out if Cassandra has just one baby on board this time.

Previous ... Next (Romero)

#sims 4 #the sims #the sims 4 #simblr #my sims #ChangingPlumbobStorytime #R0902 #RahulChopra #ViolaChopra #CassandraChopra #SavannahChopra #MercedesChopra

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spicykaraage · 2 months

Text

A Drop of Rain Shining Through the Clouds - Story Translation

[Prologue]

Ryoga: Ah, of course it’s raining.

Omagari: It’s been going since this morning, y’know?

Ryoga: No, it stopped before lunch. I was hoping it’d clear up afterward.

Ochi: The forecast says it’s going to rain all afternoon again today.

Mouri: Augh~, the sky’s so dark. I probably should’ve stopped those middle schoolers.

Kimijima: Stopped them?

Mouri: Some middle schoolers decided to go out running after lunch.

Ochi: And I had told you it was going to rain again.

Byoudouin: This amount of rain is nothing to cry over.

Ryoga: It could be pouring buckets and I don’t think that would faze you.

Omagari: With all this rain we’ve been having, they’re probably sick and tired of training indoors.

Ryoga: Plus us First Stringers have priority over the facilities here.

Byoudouin: You say that like it’s a bad thing.

Ryoga: I was just stating a fact. Like what is this camp, some kinda hierarchy?

Omagari: So you were saying it like it’s a bad thing.

Ryoga: Well I overheard the middle schoolers talking about how they’re off their game ‘cause of all the rain.

Ochi: …Whether they’ve been sufficiently practicing or not is definitely a big concern.

Mouri: I wouldn’t mind giving up my training spot a little.

Byoudouin: Location isn’t a factor when it comes to building up strength. Just let them figure it out.

Kimijima: A very strict mentality. You are correct, but…

Ryoga: Y’know what, let’s have a joint practice! With the First Stringers and middle schoolers.

Byoudouin: Huh? Why would we do that.

Ryoga: Don’t sweat the details. It’ll be good to help raise the bar for the Japanese national team too.

Omagari: Well, he’s strangely optimistic, isn’t he?

Ochi: There’s probably more to it than meets the eye.

Ryoga: No, there really isn’t. We just need to have each other’s backs in times like this.

Ryoga: And the middle schoolers aren’t the only ones who want a change of pace from all this rain, are they?

Omagari: …Yeah, true. It should be interesting to play with them.

Kimijima: In that case, I will go negotiate with the coaches.

Ryoga: Alright, it’s settled!

Byoudouin: …Christ, you’re so soft.

[Episode 1]

Atobe: Tch… It rained more than I expected.

Yuushi: Yeah, there was a moment of sun… and then it went right back to being cloudy.

Yagyuu: I had planned to keep running if the rain stayed light, but then it came down harder…

Inui: According to the forecast, the probability of it raining last hour was 50%.

Inui: Although I did see it coming, it feels as if my predictions failed.

Kaidoh: Wonder when we’ll be able to play tennis outside again…

Kirihara: Ughhh, jeez! I don’t even care if it’s raining, I still wanna play tennis outside!

Kaidoh: Not happening.

Kirihara: I know, I was just saying.

Atobe: The camp should invest in putting roofing over the outdoor courts for something like this.

Yagyuu: I think that would defeat the purpose of it being an outdoor court, though…

Kaidoh: Could they even do that to begin with?

Atobe: I was joking.

Yuushi: It didn’t sound like a joke to me, Atobe.

Kirihara: Oh…

Yuushi: Hm?

Kirihara: Nothing, it’s just rare to see you without your glasses on, Oshitari-san.

Yuushi: No, I take them off when I take a bath too. It’s not rare.

Yuushi: …Can you not stare at me like that. It’s awkward.

Atobe: Why don’t you just keep them off while it’s raining? They’re non-prescription, anyway.

Yuushi: You wouldn’t know who I was if not for my trademark glasses, now would you?

Atobe: Are you serious?

Yuushi: I’m joking, I’m joking.

Yagyuu: But it certainly is difficult to maintain your glasses during this season.

Yagyuu: Rain is one thing, but the high humidity is constantly fogging up my glasses.

Inui: I understand. And when I try wiping it away, it becomes even more clouded.

Yuushi: There’s not much else you can do over that.

Kaidoh: …I’m gonna go do some practice swings. My jersey’s almost dry now.

Kirihara: Oh okay, then I’ll—

???: “Ahem-hem. Hey middle schoolers, can you hear me?”

???: “Anyone who wants to play with the First Stringers, head to the indoor courts right now! ‘That will be all!’ or whatever.”

Yuushi: Was that a First Stringer…?

Atobe: Heh… I don’t know what’s going on, but it sounds interesting.

[Episode 2]

Ryoga: Whoa, there’s a whole crowd of middle schoolers now. Looks like my announcement worked.

Omagari: Well, they were wasting away ‘cause of the rain, and then you threw out some good-looking bait for them and they took it.

Ryoga: Haha, true. This is exciting.

Omagari: It hasn’t even started yet.

Atobe: Huh, from what I can see, all the middle schoolers are here aren’t they?

Yuushi: We were all tired of doing the same training regimen over and over again.

Kurobane: It looks like the whole First String’s here too.

Amane: Wonder what they plan on “playing” with us.

Amane: It’ll be hard to play tag or hide-and-seek with this amount of space and people.

Kurobane: Uh, you know they didn’t actually mean playing like that, right…?

Ryoga: ‘Kay guys, you all got your rackets? Alright then, let’s begin!

Ryoga: For starters, I want y’all to spread out onto the courts. And no need to stress, just do your own thing.

Atobe: Hm? It’s strange seeing him take charge.

Yuushi: Right. He usually just goes off and does his own thing.

Omagari: …Hey, did you hear that.

Ryoga: Kakaka! They know me pretty well, don’t they?

Omagari: So you’re aware that you do that…

Kurobane: I know you said spread out, but how exactly?

Amane: And you said “do your own thing”, but I think pairing up would be better.

Amane: Maybe you could have us play against the person we pair up with, like those pair matches we did…

Kurobane: Or have the groups in each court go up against other courts.

Atobe: You’re overstepping your bounds. He hasn’t even said if we’ll be playing matches or not.

Atobe: But, I’ll admit that would be interesting.

Yuushi: Regardless of what we think, our job right now is to do as we’re told.

Ryoga: Yup, right on.

Ryoga: Okay, those of you who are left-handed: come on over to this court!

Atobe & Yuushi: …?

[Episode 3]

Yuushi: Hah…!

Yagyuu: Huh…!

—

Omagari: Each of you are gonna take turns hitting two of our shots. Once you’re done, go to the back of the line.

Tohno: Hyaahyaahyaa! And make it snappy, or I’ll execute you!

Tohno: Heehaah!

Jackal: Hah…!

—

Jackal: Phew… I was wondering what they’d do when they said there’d be two of them hitting the ball…

Yagyuu: It’s not just about returning the first shot, you have to be smart on how to return the second.

Yuushi: Right. They make it to where you can barely return at the second shot.

Jackal: That’s the First String for you, aiming for our weak spots.

Yagyuu: Perhaps the reason for separating the left and right-handed people is because the course of the shots are affected.

Jackal: Oh, that makes sense. Your weaknesses can be different depending on your dominant arm.

Yuushi: I was hoping I could catch my breath while waiting in line, but that’s not gonna happen.

Yagyuu: Right, it’ll be your turn again soon—

Yuushi: Oh, right as you said that, it’s my turn.

—

Tohno: …Tch. Those middle school brats still have time to chitchat.

Omagari: See, this is why I said in the beginning that there’d need to be three of us.

Tanegashima: Or maybe it’s ‘cause your guys’ shots aren’t that good?

Omagari: Shut up. Now hurry up and get into position already.

Tanegashima: Alright, alright.

Tanegashima: Hoi! From now on, you guys will be done after three shots!

Jackal: Wha, so there’s gonna be three of you hitting the ball now!?

Yagyuu: The two shots we had were basically back-to-back.

Yuushi: It looks like the other courts are doing three on one too, so…

Yuushi: Hm? What’s he doing over in that court…?

[Episode 4]

Ryoga: Here I go, Chibisuke! There.

Ryoma: Huh…!

Ryoga: That last return was weak! You gotta do better, Chibisuke!

—

Ryoma: He’s so annoying… Just “Chibisuke” this, “Chibisuke” that…

Tezuka: Calm down, Echizen. Don’t let him provoke you.

Atobe: I’d say he really dotes on you, Echizen.

Kite: Yes, it appears that you’re the only one receiving special treatment, Echizen-kun.

Ryoma: Please… You guys think this is funny, don’t you.

Shiraishi: Well, I’d say he dotes on all of us equally.

Shiraishi: Orrr playing around with us would be a better way to put it.

Kite: Having three members of the First String practice with us does feel like a luxury, however.

Tezuka: Yes. Just the thought of the First String coaching us themselves is enough to put more effort into returning their shots.

Ryoma: But it’s kinda funny seeing the captains going around in circles on the court.

Kite: The captains going around in circles?

Ryoma: Well with them gathering all the left-handed people, there’s a lot of captains here.

Ryoma: And it’s hit, then back in line, hit, then back in line… We’re all just going around in a circle, aren’t we.

Atobe: You do make a good point— …Oh, it’s my turn now.

Tezuka: …Wait, Atobe isn’t left-handed, so why is he here at this court?

Shiraishi: He’s hitting with his right. Literally as we speak.

Atobe: Heh… I was wanting to experience the difference in response according to the dominant arm.

Atobe: And as soon as I hit my first shot, they immediately had it handled. As expected of the First String, being able to instantly identify an opponent’s dominant arm right after their first return.

Tezuka: Do not disturb the upperclassmen, Atobe. Return to your court.

Atobe: Right, I got what I came for. See you.

Shiraishi: That was surprisingly carefree of him.

Kite: I don’t consider it surprising.

Tezuka: Honestly, what on earth was he thinking…

Ryoma: Maybe Atobe-san just wanted to go around in circles with us?

Ryoga: Heyy, Chibisuke! I’m about to hit it, Chibisuke!

Ryoma: You little, you just keep it going…!

Tezuka: …Speaking of carefree, I’d say that First Stringer is too.

Shiraishi: Haha…

[Episode 5]

Kamio: *huff*, *huff*… F-Finally, a break…

Ibu: *sigh*… Only five minutes though.

Tachibana: You guys better stay hydrated. You’re sweating a lot.

Ibu: Yes, Tachibana-san.

Yagyuu: Once they changed it to three on one, there’s been no time to catch our breath.

Yukimura: They set this rotation up to be fast-paced, from having us run back and forth to return their shots then rushing in and out of line.

Omagari: Hey, you guys. Pick up the balls while you rest.

Yukimura & Yagyuu: Huh?

Omagari: You can see the court can’t you, there’s balls scattered everywhere.

Omagari: Rehydrate, then get to it. See ya.

Ibu: Is he serious… It’s not resting if we have to pick up the balls…

Kamio: But someone does have to do it. There’s no staff here right now.

Tachibana: And the First String was kind enough to instruct us, so the least we can do is pick up the balls.

Yagyuu: We were told we could take a five minute break but in reality, the only break we’ll be having is just a moment to rehydrate…

Yukimura: Yeah. Let’s start by piling up the balls on one side of the court.

Tachibana: Sure, that would be faster than putting them in the basket one by one.

Yagyuu: Right. Well then…

Yagyuu: Hah! Let’s pick up the pace.

Kamio: Oh, the way you threw that looks familiar.

Yagyuu: Huh?

Kamio: You know how in professional matches there’s guys who wait on the side to get the ball?

Ibu: A ball boy?

Kamio: Yeah, those!

Yukimura: Were you doing that on purpose, Yagyuu?

Yagyuu: …Heh. Yes, a little I’ll admit.

Yagyuu: There’s stories of ball boys who were only children but played important roles in the events they took part in.

Tachibana: I see. And back then, tennis used to be considered a sport for the upper class.

Yukimura: Fufu… as expected of the gentleman. Very cultured of you.

Yagyuu: Thank you very much.

Omagari: You guys, the five minutes are almost up!

Yagyuu: ! I apologize, I’ll pick up these balls at once.

Omagari: There’s still plenty of room for improvement for them…

[Episode 6]

One hour later—

Yuushi: *sigh*… It feels like we’re just gonna keep hitting balls for the rest of our lives.

Atobe: Huhh? What’s this, you’re complaining?

Yuushi: Well this is tough, plain and simple. We’ve been returning these fast balls for a while now.

Yagyuu: It’s a cycle of hitting the balls for five minutes, then taking a break for five minutes. I wonder how many shots they’ve made at this point.

Kirihara: Well plus, the fact that the breaks are only five minutes doesn’t really feel like a break at all.

Yanagi: Having to take so many short breaks in between is likely one of the reasons why it feels so tiring.

Yanagi: An hour of staying on your toes is completely different than an hour of loosening and retightening.

Yuushi: Not to mention it takes a lot of energy to tighten back up…

Atobe: It’s the same difference between running on a road that goes up and down versus a flat road.

Kirihara: I dunno what you guys are talking about but yeah, overall this is just hard.

Yagyuu: In the simplest of terms, yes…

Yanagi: And not knowing when this practice will end is going to wear us out mentally as well.

Atobe: Heh, that’s great.

Atobe: Just another way to improve my skills. I’ll keep going no matter how long it takes.

Yuushi: You sure are tough. Are you enjoying this?

Atobe: If anyone’s tough, it’s the First String you know? The accuracy of their shots hasn’t decreased not one bit.

Yagyuu: On the contrary, it feels like the rotation speed is getting faster…

Ryoga: It probably feels that way since you’re tired. We haven’t changed our pace that much.

Kirihara: Ack, a First Stringer… Is our break over already?

Ryoga: Haha, oh, no. I came over ‘cause I have a treat for you guys.

Yagyuu: A treat, you say?

Ryoga: Yup, I’m sure this is just what you guys need right now.

[Episode 7]

Ryoga: There’s plenty to go around. Go ahead and dig in!

Kawamura: Boxes full of oranges… Man, there’s so many.

Sanada: I’ve heard that oranges are good for relieving fatigue. I will happily partake in them.

Omagari: Supposedly he had them order these oranges all the way from California.

Tanegashima: Wow, they look so good. I’ll have one too.

Tanegashima: Hm? The skin’s pretty tough.

Kawamura: Should we go get a knife from the kitchen?

Akutsu: …Tch. Gimme one.

Kawamura: Oh, Akutsu.

Akutsu: It’s fine as long as they’re edible. Just crush it and turn it into juice.

Sanada: What, you can do that?

Tanegashima: …

Omagari: Don’t even try it. It’ll be a pain if it splatters everywhere.

Kawamura: Haha… I was able to peel mine by hand, see.

Ryoga: Kakaka! They’re good no matter which way you eat ‘em.

Ryoga: Alrighty. Once you’re done recharging with the oranges, we’ll move onto the next exercise.

Akutsu: Hmph. Finally done just returning balls.

Ryoga: Wrong, sorry, but we’re still gonna be doing that.

Ryoga: But this time it’ll just be one vs. one. Once you return the shots, it’s back in line.

Sanada: So just returning a normal shot, I take it.

Tanegashima: It’ll be less people, but more balls. We’ll hit five shots, and you gotta return them all.

Sanada: Five shots…

Kawamura: So it’s gonna be even more intense now…

Omagari: Exactly. Alright, let’s begin!

Middle Schoolers: Right!

[Episode 8]

Atobe: Hah!

Hiyoshi: Hm…!

Marui: There!

—

Yagyuu: Ugh…

Ryoga: Whoa, you scared me.

Ryoga: I didn’t see you laying there and almost stepped on you. You’ve got your arms and legs out too…

Yagyuu: Oh, I apologize. It’s just that the floor is nice and cold…

Ryoga: Yeah, I getcha… Just be careful not to get stepped on, okay?

Marui: You good? It’s rare to see you all tired, Yagyuu.

Yagyuu: It pains me to admit, but the heat, humidity and now this hard practice has taken a bit of a toll on me…

Yuushi: The AC should be working, but it doesn’t seem to be keeping up.

Hiyoshi: It’s really hot and humid this time of year. I can’t stop sweating…

Atobe: That just means you don’t exercise enough.

Atobe: …Mm? I see some sunlight.

Yagyuu: Oh, it must finally be clearing up.

Hiyoshi: No, it’s still raining. It’s a sunshower.

Marui: Maybe a fox is having a wedding in the mountains nearby?

[“Sunshower” in Japanese is 狐の嫁入り which literally translates to “fox’s wedding.”]

Yuushi: By the way Atobe, it looks like there’s a spotlight on you.

Atobe: Heh, that’s right. It appears the sun is shining for me today too.

Hiyoshi: If that’s the case, then please tell the sun to clear up the rain, Captain Atobe.

Yuushi: I think the rain’s actually gonna stop. Look, it’s getting brighter.

Ryoga: Alright, back to practice! We’re gonna pick up the pace even more.

Ryoga: This’ll be a good competition, we can see if heaven shines down first or if you guys get sent to heaven first.

Marui: So meaning this’ll be over once it clears up.

Yagyuu: But there’s also a possibility that it may still rain.

Hiyoshi: It’ll be a good chance to improve our skills if we keep practicing, though.

Yuushi: A certain someone said the same thing earlier.

Atobe: Heh. Now, let’s resume practice!

[Episode 9]

Ryoma: Hah!

Kintarou: Hoh!

—

Kintarou: Five balls is nothin’! Let’s start doing six or seven balls!

Ryoma: I’m fine with doing ten.

Kintarou: Okay, then I’ll do twenty!

Ryoma: By the way Kintarou, this isn’t your court. Why don’t you go back to the right-handed court?

Kintarou: My court’s taking a break right now.

Ryoga: Oh, come on, and who do you think is gonna have to serve those ten or twenty balls?

Ryoga: Most people take a break to take a break.

—

Omagari: Good grief. They’re causing trouble over at the next court.

Atobe: You can increase the number of balls to ten or twenty here too if you want.

Tohno: Like he said, who do you think will have to serve all those?

Omagari: …Oh, it’s gotten bright outside now.

Atobe: So it has. The rain has finally cl—

Ryoga: Finally clear!!

Ryoma & Kintarou: !?

Ryoga: Look, the rain has stopped! Joint practice is over~!

Kintarou: Huh, it’s over already?

Ryoma: He just ran outside… What.

Tohno: …The hell. And here I thought I’d be able to torture these guys even more.

Omagari: Well, at least it was good practice for us too.

Atobe: Right, and now that you’ve said that…

Atobe: This really was just practice for the First String, not you instructing us.

Tohno: Huhh? We never said a word about instructing you guys.

Tohno: You guys were just helping me practice while I mindlessly hit all my shots.

Omagari: And like we said before, no matter how you wanna spin it, it took a lot more on our part to dish out all those shots for you guys.

Atobe: I’m sure. But it was good practice for us too.

Omagari: Heh, right.

Omagari: Well now that the sun’s out, there’s no point in staying indoors. Go out and do whatever you want.

Atobe: Right. Thank you very much.

[Episode 10]

Yuushi: Let’s continue our afternoon run, shall we? It doesn’t look like we can use the courts yet.

Yagyuu: Indeed. Surely by the time we return the courts will be ready to use, right?

Atobe: Even though the rain’s stopped, it’s still really muddy and wet.

Yuushi: There’s a lot of puddles too. Nothing we can really do to prevent getting dirty.

Yagyuu: Look over there. The hydrangeas in that puddle are beautiful.

Atobe: In the puddle?

Yagyuu: Look, from over here, you can see the blue sky with the hydrangeas.

Yuushi: You’re right. I’ll take a picture.

Atobe: Keep dawdling and it may start to rain again.

Yuushi: I’ve already taken it. Alright, let’s go.

—

Ryoga: …

Omagari: What’s with you, you were the first one to leave but you’re still here.

Tanegashima: Whatcha looking at?

Ryoga: Well, there’s just this one leaf here that’s moving all weird.

Omagari: Huh? It’s probably the wind or something.

Tanegashima: But the hydrangeas are in full bloom, aren’t they? This is the best time to see them.

Omagari: I usually don’t pay attention to them when I pass by.

Omagari: Ah, there’s a snail under the leaf. That’s why it was shaking.

Tanegashima: Ryuji, if you keep glaring at the snail it’s gonna get scared☆

Omagari: I’m not glaring. I’m admiring it.

Omagari: …Hey, where’d he go?

Tanegashima: Huh? He was literally right by us a minute ago…

Omagari: …He suddenly comes up with this joint practice session, then ditches it and vanishes like that.

Omagari: Man, you never know what goes on in his head.

—

Ryoga: Oh, who knew there was a path like this in the area?

Ryoga: Maybe the atmosphere’s different than normal since the flowers are in full bloom. There’s so many of them too.

Ryoga: Mmnnnh!

Ryoga: …Looking at the flowers is nice, but now that it’s sunny outside, I’m gonna get a nap in first.

Ryoga: Work hard, play hard as they say.

Ryoga: (Well, and as for those middle schoolers… It wasn’t a bad idea to practice with Chibisuke and them.)

Ryoga: (If it ends up raining again, maybe we can give it another shot.)

[Epilogue]

Later that day—

Yagyuu: Good grief… It rained more than I expected.

Niou: It was only sprinkling when we first started, it even looked like it was about to clear up.

Atobe: Right, it was even sunny for a moment.

Yuushi: Okay, it feels like I’m in a time loop here.

Ryoga: Haha! You’re all soaking wet.

Omagari: They never learn, do they. Here.

Yuushi: Towels… Thank you, appreciate it.

Atobe: Did you have them ready and waiting for us?

Omagari: It’s only ‘cause he said he saw you guys out in it.

Ryoga: Yep. I saw you running in that rain with my own two eyes, you guys sure are brave.

Omagari: You should’ve stopped them. You saw this coming, didn’t you?

Ryoga: Well maybe it would’ve cleared up if they powered through it or something?

Omagari: That doesn’t even make any sense…

Yagyuu: I am sorry to have caused any sort of trouble for you.

Ryoga: Nah, I get you. I’d be running outside right now too, if I could.

Ryoga: I know, why don’t we do joint practice again?

Omagari: That’s not something we can just add to the schedule.

Atobe: And on the topic of joint practice, I thought all the middle schoolers had attended…

Atobe: But I don’t recall seeing you there, Niou.

Niou: Oh, I was there alright. A certain someone almost stepped on me too.

Ryoga: Mm? Ah…

Ryoga: So wait, you were the guy in the glasses? The one who was lying on the floor all spread out?

Yagyuu: Huh, glasses?

Yagyuu: Niou-kun, I can’t believe you, you were doing it again…!

Niou: Puri.

Yuushi & Atobe: ?

Ryoga: It’s alright, it’s alright. Look, it’s getting sunny out again.

Omagari: …It’s still raining. Doesn’t look like it’s gonna stop anytime soon with the way it’s coming down.

Ryoga: Gah-lee. Wonder when I’ll be able to take another nap outside…

Omagari: You should be saying that about tennis, not napping.

Ryoga: Oh yeah, that’s what I meant. Kakaka!

[STORY END]

#tenirabi #tenipuri #my post

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abhainnwhump · 8 months

Text

IMYM: Chapter 18 Guardian of Nothing: Ribbon

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It wasn’t Nightmare’s fault Ribbon suffered from graphic dreams that night. It was his aura and Ribbon’s over-creative imagination.

Ribbon wandered by himself in the castle gardens. The sky was cloudy and stormy, but that didn’t bother him. It was always gloomy in Nightmare’s AUs. The farther he walked, the more the flowers wilted. He wanted to turn back, but something kept pushing him forward. Everything was fine until he closed his eye sockets.

A hand shot out and covered his mouth with a chloroform rag. He struggled and screamed which only made him breathe more of the poison. Ribbon cried out. Whoever grabbed him had a rough grip and a strong smell of butterscotch. The doll couldn’t process it as he passed out.

Again, Ribbon blinked, and the next thing he knew he was in a bedroom. Wait, this place looked familiar . . . The Star Sanses’ Clubhouse, oh. He was in the guest room, which was one of the most boring rooms. The walls didn’t have any color but beige. The only furniture was a queen-sized bed, a nightstand, a mirror, and a lamp. Ribbon stretched and got off the bed. The poison in his lungs made it hard to breathe.

Ribbon walked through the familiar hallways. Something was different, but he couldn’t tell what. His memory of the full clubhouse was fuzzy, it’s been a long time since he was here. It was hard to explain, but despite that, something was off.

“We have no other options but this. What else is there to do? Wipe his memories and retrain him to be a hero? That doesn’t excuse what he’s done. We have to send him away. It’s the only way we’ll be safe. Ink deserves it for his betrayal.”

Ribbon froze when he heard Core Frisk’s voice. He peeked around the corner at them, Blue, and Dream. Dream had his face in his hands. Blue kept his hand close to him, but he looked away from him.

Blue spoke. “They’re right, Dream. We can’t trust Ink anymore. He’s not our friend, he’s a monster, I don’t care what he says. He worked for Nightmare! He murdered people! He left us for him! He abandoned his job! And he’s so dependent on Nightmare that he can’t even take care of himself!”

Dream moved his fingers aside so his left eye light was exposed. “Is that the plan? Leave him alone in the void to die? That would be torture!”

“I know, but we have to! What if Ink is spying for Nightmare? It’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone.”

Core put a hand on Dream’s shoulder. “Ink is dead, Dream. The person in the guest room is someone else. Someone evil. Someone who doesn’t deserve a second chance.”

Dream looked up at them. His eye lights flickered from upset to angry. It was too quick for him, or was Dream always like that? Ribbon couldn’t remember well. “Fine, if that’s what’s best for him . . . fine. I’ll tell him tonight and we can take him-”

Ribbon let a whimper slip, though he didn’t remember opening his mouth. The three turned in his direction. They looked angrier than he’s ever seen. Especially Dream, whose sympathetic gaze turned to fury.

“You were eavesdropping, weren’t you?” Dream stood up. “WEREN’T YOU?”

“I-I didn’t mean to . . .” Ribbon’s voice broke as Dream towered over him. He was taller than Ribbon remembered. “I’m sorry. Please don’t punish me.”

Dream raised a hand and Ribbon ducked. He would never even think about running from Nightmare, but Dream was different. At least Nightmare’s punishments were done out of love. Ribbon slipped beneath his arm and ran down the hall.

“Ink! Come back! That’s an order!” Blue shouted.

He didn’t listen and kept running. He made it to the entryway and pulled on the door. It was locked. Ribbon tugged on it until Dream, Blue, and Core showed up. Oh stars, what did he do? Maybe he could smash through a window?

Ribbon tried to break the window only for his left arm to nearly get yanked from its socket. Core and Blue grabbed them and kicked his legs so he kneeled. He fought to break himself free, but they wouldn’t budge. Blue crushed his left foot under his boot with a sickening crack. Ribbon bit his cheekbone to keep from crying. It hurt, it hurt, it HURT-

Dream stomped up to him and punched him in the jaw. Ribbon’s vision blurred as he struggled to stay quiet. His limbs tingled. He wasn’t sure if Dream liked begging the way Nightmare did and didn’t plan to risk it.

“We’re going to lock you away and there’s nothing you can say or do about it. You betrayed the entire Doodlesphere for a crush, my brother of all people!” Dream wiped his eye sockets. “I can’t believe you, Ink! Why would you do this? You were the good guy! And now you’re no better than Nightmare and his team.”

Ribbon cringed away. Don’t yell at me. Please stop yelling at me.

Blue summoned a bone attack and shoved it through his arm. Ribbon yipped and tears ran down his face. Why did he ever think they were his friends? Tsk, who was he kidding? A dumb toy wasn’t worth that kind of kindness.

Core twisted his wrist. The hurt was weird and distant, but he still felt some kind of white-hot pain. Ribbon looked over and nearly screamed. His hand, oh stars where was his hand? On the floor. Of course it was.

Ribbon couldn’t hold it in anymore and cried. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! Please give me one more chance! I’ll be a good doll! I’ll do whatever you want! Please let me go! Don’t send me away!”

“You don’t get a second chance, traitor!” Dream cursed. He punched Ribbon in the jaw again. “If you can’t even think of an excuse as to why you turned your back on everyone, then you don’t get . Oh, stop crying! You’re faking it!”

“I’m not! Please stop-stop!”

Another punch. Ribbon’s mouth filled with metallic-tasting blood. He “Dolls don’t say stop. You out of all people should know this,” Dream said.

Blue rolled his eye lights. “Ribbon’s not a person. Ribbon’s a toy. An it.”

“You out of all toys should know this. There. Is that better?”

“Yep!” Blue smiled innocently.

Core tied his wrists together with scratchy rope. Ribbon cried out when they tightened it; he couldn’t feel his remaining hand. He wasn’t a huge fan of Nightmare restraining him, but at least he did it with soft ribbons or his tendrils. “Everyone is going be better off without you. Even Nightmare doesn’t love you, he’s just using you.

“That’s not true! NIGHTMARE! NIGHTMARE HELP!” Ribbon screamed. He wanted his boyfriend so badly. Where was he? Why wasn’t he rescuing him? Were they right? Did he abandon him?

“See? You still choose him over us!” Blue said. He crushed his other foot. Ribbon bit his tongue. He didn’t have the energy to struggle. Everything burned. He couldn’t take this cruelty much longer. This stupid dream wouldn’t let him pass out.

Core stood taller and forced Ribbon to stand on his broken feet. He sobbed. “Okay, we’ve tortured it long enough. Let’s drop it in the void and we can start rewriting history and pretend it never existed! Everyone will forget it in a few years.”

That last sentence stung worse than his broken feet. No one would remember him? No! He didn’t want to be forgotten! Ribbon cried harder.

“Alright, let’s go!” Blue said. He sounded waytoo cheery for someone about to commit murder.

Ribbon, Core, and the Stars teleported to the Garden of Doors. They were all there at first, but after a blink, they disappeared. Only one door remained, the one that led into the void.

Not wanting to be shattered across time and space, Ribbon couldn’t help but try begging one more time. “W-wait! I can be good! You can train me to obey your orders, give me a new personality, rename me, and I’ll even let you treat me like an animal! Just don’t do this! Spare me! Please!”

They threw him into the void. The last thing he saw was Blue’s glassy, hate-filled eye lights.

“No! Come back! I’m sorry!” Ribbon called as they shut the door. He half-swam half-squirmed to it, but it was gone. All alone in the void. Again.

Ribbon’s hands began to crack as his emotions drained. How did he run out of emotions already? And it never hurt this much before. It felt like he had a vacuum on his chest, sucking out his bones and shattering them in the process. If he could, Ribbon would’ve screamed. Half of his ribcage was gone. His legs were ripped apart by an invisible force and crumbled to dust. His pelvis followed, and then his spine. It felt like he was being burned and frozen at the same time.

The doll screamed. “Someone! Anyone! Help me! I’m scared!”

Ribbon snapped awake, his body sweating. He was still in Nightmare’s bed. He turned to see him, but he wasn’t there. He panicked and shot up, only to realize he had a hand on his face. Nightmare was sitting up and studying him. He had to have heard his crying or felt his kicking. But why didn’t he wake him up?

Nightmare’s thumb stroked his cheekbone. “Are you okay, Ribbon?” he whispered. “It’s two in the morning and your aura is negative enough to give me an adrenaline rush. You were screaming my name and begging for mercy, and you’re still trembling.”

Ribbon hugged him as tight as he could. He wanted to make sure he was there and he wasn’t still dreaming. Nightmare held him, rubbing his skull and making shushing noises. The touch didn’t feel fake in the distance like with the Stars. Ribbon took a deep breath. “It was a really bad dream, but I’m a bit better now, thanks,” he said. The repeated motion was soothing.

“Would you like to tell me what it was about?”

Ribbon shuddered. “. . . I got kidnapped by the Stars. They took me from you, beat me up, told me no one loved or remembered me, and threw me into the void. I lost all my emotions and . . . and . . . I died alone. They hurt me!”

Nightmare didn’t stop petting him. Ribbon leaned into the touches, confused when he did stop and lay his hand over his foreskull. "I see. Your mind might be giving you a warning. Guardians can have dreams that predict the future. And if yours affected you this badly, well . . ."

Ribbon thought about it. He knew about the dreams thing already but . . . He looked at Nightmare's face, which was a weird mix of worry and something else. "They're actually going to hurt me?"

"That's right." He muttered something under his breath and a faint glow came from his hand. Ribbon shuddered as he felt a million cold needles in his skull. A glowing teal light shivered down Nightmare’s arm as he absorbed his emotions. He removed his hand. “There. As a thank you for the negative energy, you won’t have any more dreams for the rest of the night. Sleep well, I need you rested.”

Ribbon shifted and looked Nightmare directly in his pretty eye light. “Nightmare, do you get nightmares?”

“Constantly. But I’m used to them. Now no more speaking, go to sleep.” He brought them both down on the bed. Nightmare wrapped his tendrils around his body like an apple-scented cocoon. Ribbon buried his face in his chest, listening to the soft sound of his breathing. He felt a lot safer. Even though Nightmare sometimes hurt him, he would rather cuddle with him than be all alone.

==============================================================================

Like Nightmare said, he didn’t get any more dreams, which relieved him. But Ribbon couldn’t stop thinking about the one he had. In his head, it made perfect sense. Dream, Blue, and Core were all peace protectors. Ribbon worked with the biggest evil team in the multiverse. Maybe they’d been wanting to beat and banish him all along, but it was easier now that he was softer.

No wonder Nightmare wouldn’t let him leave the castle without him. The world outside was so scary, how did he never see it before?

But that was all a week ago, he was fine now. Ribbon stayed inside, busying himself with chores as he was told. He dusted off the fireplace and living room. When he was with the Star Sanses, he hated chores. He used to do them as fast as he could and called it a day. But this was soothing. Maybe that came along with embracing this new lifestyle.

He wished he could do more for Nightmare. He wanted to make up for his kindness. He was so good to him, much better than he should’ve been to a dumb little doll. Well, he did have another training session today, he could do a great job at that. Ribbon looked at the grandfather clock in the room. He had ten minutes to finish his chores since Nightmare wanted him in there at exactly one o’clock. Sharp. He wouldn't like it if he wasn't there.

And before he knew it, the time flew by and Ribbon was back in that training room. Nightmare held a thin flashlight up to his eyes lights, like a cat laser. They were working on his stillness again. Specifically on mastering a permanent slow blink and his head tilts. Etiquette lessons could actually be fun when he wasn’t messing up and needing punishment.

“Slower, slower, too slow. Try to put two seconds between opening and closing. That’s it. Good . . .” Nightmare said as flickered the laser between his eye lights.

An itch inside Ribbon’s head didn’t like this. He wanted to kick his feet or mess with his hands but he knew better. Good dolls didn't do either, they didn't even think about doing either! He had to fix that about himself. Ribbon kept his breathing slow the way Nightmare liked. The blinking was tricky, his eye sockets didn't want to comply and blinked on their own, but he got the hang of it.

“You have been doing so much better, my little lamb. I’ve been taking notes of your progress and your last month's record is so much worse than now. You used to never be able to sit still. In fact, you’re being so good, you're ready for a little test I had planned.”

Ribbon tilted his head and looked up at Nightmare. “A little test?”

Nightmare nodded. “Yes, you've proven you won't run away from me, so the next logical step is to see what you can do without my guidance."

"You're going to leave me?” Ribbon breathing caught as panic built up in his chest. What did he do wrong? He must have done something wrong!But he couldn't think of anything he did wrong.He squeezed his upper arms. “Why- why aren't you going with me? I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave me on my own, I won't last without-”

“Shh, did I say anything about this being permanent? No.” Nightmare tilted his chin up, covering up his neck charm so Ribbon wouldn't pull it again. “You're overreacting, it will be for no longer than a few hours. I have an assignment set up for Killer, Horror, and Dust and you will be going with them. You’re getting supplies because we're running low on medicine, then you're coming back home to me.”

Ribbon took a deep breath. Nightmare rubbed his cheek with his tendril and Ribbon leaned into it. He loved how cold it was, it was like one of those cooling packs wrapped in a soft blanket.

Once Nightmare saw he wasn't freaking out anymore, he continued to explain. “Three nights from now, you’re going to help them in a supply run. I have work to do, so I unfortunately can’t go along. It’s a simple enough task for you. You shouldn’t need to commit any violence unless someone attacks you first. But you must still bring your parasol. There won’t be an issue, will there?”

Ribbon shook his head. “No, there won’t be an issue at all. I’ll be good and listen to them, I promise.”

“There’s my good little doll. Oh, you still have your paints to take, don't you?” Nightmare pat his head. Ribbon nuzzled his head into his hand. Nightmare stood up and walked over to his vials. He took a glass and mixed all the colors together. He even added extra yellow as a treat. Nightmare came back and pushed the glass up to Ribbon’s mouth. “Open up.”

=================================

Ribbon waited on the castle step for the other three to take him. He adjusted his pink beret and drew pictures with Blossom on the ground, he decided that as the name of his parasol. He didn’t want to leave without Nightmare. All the other times, except the once when he was disobedient, Nightmare was with him. He never left on his own since then. He liked the MTT, but it wasn't the same as-

A loud boom snapped him out of his thoughts and he screamed. Ribbon ducked and hid his face in his parasol, peeking from the side. Killer held a red popped balloon in one hand and his knife in his other.

Killer stared at him in surprise, blinking his wide eye sockets. "Holy shit, he wasn't kidding. You are really easy to scare now." His shock turned into a weird laugh. Ribbon smiled and pulled his string to giggle with him. It had to be a little funny if Killer thought so. He was still shaken up, but he pushed the thoughts away.

Dust and Horror teleported behind him. Horror stared at the balloon in Killer’s hand and ripped it out. “Boss isn’t . . . going to like that . . . you did that.”

Killer mumbled something under his breath that Ribbon couldn't hear. Dust sighed at whatever it was he said and walked away.

Dust held something in his hand. It was a bottle with black liquid inside. Oh, Nightmare’s magic! Of course! He didn’t know he could do that, but Nightmare was really powerful. Ribbon wondered what else he didn’t know about his boyfriend.

“Boss gave us just enough of his magic to get us to Fellswap and back. We can’t waste anything.” Dust half-muttered half-told the group. Ribbon nodded, even if he didn’t like the idea of Dust being the one with the portals. He didn’t want to be anywhere he was when he was holding scary things. The vial looked too much like a syringe for his liking. Hopefully, Horror and Killer would keep him far away from him.

Dust measured out the vial with his finger and poured half of it onto the ground. The liquid churned until a darker swirling gap appeared inside the liquid. Ribbon looked back at the castle as Killer leaped in first. Horror was next. Ribbon looked into the portal and gulped. He hesitated. His team was safe, his team was good, nothing-

“Get in.” Dust said with a firm expression. Ribbon jumped in. He landed in Fellswap’s Snowdin. The cold snow soaked through his shoes and socks. Ew . . . .Ribbon jumped onto a rock to keep himself dry.

Killer and Horror brushed themselves off. Horror passed Killer an envelope. The murderer snatched it and opened it up to a list. Ribbon peeked over at it, but he couldn't read anything on it. A lot of the stuff looked fancy and specific too. Killer cocked his head.

“That’s how . . . Boss gave it to me. Don’t know, he’s fancy like . . . that.” Ribbon nodded in agreement to Horror’s words. But it did make him miss Nightmare already, even if they just left. He stared at the portal.

Dust jumped through the void and landed on the edge. He kicked snow and dirt over the portal until it faded away. He stared at it for a long time until he sighed and looked at the team.

“Come on, let’s make this quick.” Dust said. Killer summoned one of his red knives as defense and Ribbon messed with Blossom. The four began to walk through Fellswap's Snowdin. It looked almost exactly like Undertale, but in shades of gold and red. There weren't many citizens in the town-- most of them didn't like each other --but the ones that were there made Ribbon scared. They all wore leather jackets, spiked collars, and chains. Some of them glared and growled at the team, while others whispered and ran.

Horror held the blade of his axe on Ribbon’s side and nudged him away from the monsters. He was wandering too far off. That included Killer and Dust.

The shop was tucked behind most of the other ones. It was a run-down black building with almost no decorations, nothing but a scary sign with the word SHOP on it. He wouldn't be surprised if sharp claws scraped out the sign, or a rusty knife.

Ribbon pulled his string to talk, and his first sound was a small cry. "Is- is this the right place? It doesn't look right . . ."

Killer nodded. "Yep. Relax, it's not as bad on the inside! You're going to be fine."

It smelt like cigarette smoke on the inside. Ribbon stood out with his bright pink colors in the musty gold and black shop. Food and healing items covered an entire wall. Bottles of liquid lined the walls and weapons scattered across the ground and on hooks. Ribbon moved not to step on a spear tip. The entire building only had two lightbulbs and no windows. He wanted Nightmare more than ever. A single monster worked in the shop. Their entire body was covered by a cloak with only a scorpion tail and claws for hands. Ribbon stepped back.

"Different guy than normal . . . eh, it's fine." Killer walked straight up to the counter and slapped the list down. The clerk turned around and tensed up. Killer didn't budge and unfolded the paper. "Hello. I got a little order from Lord Nightmare Joku, ASAP."

Dust held his gun up to the store clerk’s head as he hesitated. “And don’t even think about screamin’ for anyone to intervene. The only reason we’re payin' instead of robbin' is because Boss insisted us to.”

The clerk went pale and he took the list from Killer’s hand. He looked over it and skitted around the store, gathering things.

Dust turned from the clerk to Ribbon. He lowered the gun because he was getting what he wanted. He pointed toward the door. “Ribbon, go watch over the spot we came in through the portal so no one touches it. The magic works better when we're close to the original summonin' spot, it's sorcery memory."

Ribbon lit up at the order and nodded, anything to get out of this creepy place. He ran out the door and back to the spot. He made it there without trouble, and luckily without running into anyone. But that was probably because he spent the time sneaking through the shadows and alleys. He sat down on the same large rock as before, waiting for the MTT to finish the supply run.

As he sat, Ribbon spotted a movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked down. It was a stray piece of magic left over from the first portal. It must've escaped Dust, poor little guy. Ribbon crouched down and poked at it. It was the closest thing to Nightmare and the closest thing back home, so it made him happy.

His fingertips went cold with magic. Against his will, paint shot from out of his fingers and mixed with the goop on the ground. The two powers mixed until a small portal formed, which grew bigger until it was the perfect size for Ribbon. He jumped back and stared at his hand in confusion. Did he . . . influence the portal magic? How? And where? Ribbon had so many questions, but the biggest one was where the portal went.

Ribbon gently reached for the doorway and touched it. The colors got clearer and opened to a strange AU. The doll hesitated, but he stepped outside; his curiosity was too strong. He crawled through and looked around. Unlike Fellswap, this AU had a lot of colors, rainbow splatters covered the walls. The entire floor drowned in a layer of paper packets. Ribbon's eye lights immediately went to the shiny glowing ball in the center of the room. It was so pretty, but he could've sworn he heard whispering. It must have been the wind.

“What . . . what is this place? Why . . . no, it’s okay, it’s okay, it's alright. I’m okay. Someone will come for me.” Ribbon looked around. He was sure he could figure this out. It kept tugging at a spot in his memory, but he couldn't think of what. It was so close too . . .

He walked around the rainbow place. It was small, too small, and too colorful. The messy rainbows hurt his eye lights. Whoever lived here had terrible taste in colors. Wait, that was too judgemental. Ribbon didn't know who was here before. He touched the beanbag with his gloved fingertips.

Then there was the pile of papers for AUs, even though he wasn't sure how he figured it out that quickly. It overflowed and spilled onto the ground. Ribbon picked one of them up and flipped through the pages of drawings. Characters, designs, worlds they were pretty, but how was he supposed to bring them to life? He knew he needed Broomie, but Broomie was gone. Some even had notes scrawled on them such as 'Where are you? It's been 3 weeks and you haven't made a single new universe!'

That's when he remembered. This place was his doodle AU he made new AUs in! He used to spend so much time in here. He hadn't done this job for so long that he forgot how to do it. It was back when . . . oh. No, bad thoughts.

He kept searching the room until he stumbled across a massive pile of pictures. He picked up the top one off. It was of a skeleton who looked exactly like him. Ink flashed a peace sign in front of Horror, who was beaten up on the ground. Ribbon pressed his teeth together. He would never do that. Why was Ink so rude? Ribbon pushed past more pictures until he gasped at one. It was a drawing, a battle plan, and it was a plan to take advantage of Nightmare's sludge and freeze him alive. And Nightmare was . . . hurting. That had to be it.

This wasn't him. Ribbon had some of the memories, but they weren't his own. He wasn't part of the Star Sanses. He was on Nightmare's team! He was Nightmare's lover! Why was Nightmare the bad guy in all of these? Was he- no, no. It was a lie, a trap. The kidnapping was out of love, the pain was out of love. Nightmare made a terrible mistake by thinking he could be on his own. Ribbon couldn't, he couldn't, he

Ribbon shook, panicked, and tore the picture up, throwing the shreds on the floor. He grabbed another one of the AUs and ripped it too. It felt like the only way he could calm down and make it stop. He destroyed another, another, and another. The nasty feeling in his chest only got worse.

He wasn't Ink.

He was not INK!

Ribbon's attention went toward the magic glowing sphere in the center of the room. He could feel the power from here and it was calling out to him, wanting him to become a protector again. He couldn't, he wouldn't, he wouldn't be bad. It was all a trap. He was in trouble-

Ribbon screamed and stabbed the magic sphere with his parasol. “Come on, die, die, die! Stop it! Stop telling me what to do! Stop making AUs! I can’t help, just stop!”

With a loud crack, the sphere shook. Then it shattered into shiny translucent pieces across the floor. A shudder ran through Ribbon’s spine. The lights in the place began to flicker. He looked around. It was over. Ribbon shivered and closed his parasol up. Before he could process what he did (and the ramifications of it), the doll ran back through the portal. he landed back in Fellswap's snow. And right in front of the MTT. Dust was working on resummoning the portal and Horror held a massive sack bag. They all looked nervous.

Killer was the only one with his hands open so he grabbed Ribbon by the shoulders. “Ribbon! Where the hell have you been? We leave you alone for two minutes and you go missing! I thought boss was going to have our heads!”

Ribbon looked up at Killer and hid back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. Something happened and . . . " He looked behind himself. Something kept him from telling the truth. "I'm really sorry, but I'm okay. Can we go home . . . pretty please?"

==============================================================================

Later that evening, as Ribbon took off his beret by one of the castle balconies, then he paused. A sudden wave of weakness took him over. It wasn't sleepiness, no. It reminded him of his nightmare when he had that vacuum feeling, sucking his magic dry. His chest ached and he leaned against the wall. He saw two different archways swirling around.

Ribbon took a heavy breath of air. He tried to pull his string to ask for help, but he couldn’t. His nonexistent ears rang and he raised his shoulders to cover them.

"Ribbon, is- Ribbon!' Nightmare sensed the negativity and caught him before he collapsed. He had been walking down the hall before seeing him fall over. Ribbon shivered and clung to his suit. He coughed and shivered, having no energy to stand up. He was freezing cold too. Did he get sick? Poisoned? Cursed? How? Could he fix it? He had to know something.

"What's the matter with you?" Nightmare set his hand on his head and felt around. “You don't have a fever." He adjusted Ribbon and held him in a comfy bridal carry. Ribbon held onto Nightmare tightly. Nightmare didn’t even look down at him as he sighed.

Ribbon closed his eye sockets as Nightmare carried him. Having him around was enough to make him feel better. He tried to sit up and got dizzy again. Nightmare’s tendril nudged him back down. The doll didn’t fight.

Nightmare opened the door to Ribbon’s room Ribbon caught his reflection in his vanity mirror. He wasn’t as pretty as he was supposed to be. His pink eyes lights were dim, his breathing was labored, and his face was pale. The blush on his cheek bones stood out more.

Nightmare lay hum in his soft bed. He covered him up and Ribbon clung to the teddy bear Nightmare gave him. It was white and little with big black eyes. Ribbon coughed. It sounded too scratchy and raspy for a doll. He wasn’t even coughing right!

Nightmare looked around Ribbon’s walls as he put him in bed. His tendril touched the baby pink walls and the blue, purple, and yellow flowers Ribbon painted on. He wasn’t all done, but he had his entire front wall covered in flowers. All the side walls had were sketches, sketches of fuzzy animals, and more flowers. Ribbon still couldn’t decide what he wanted the back wall to be yet. But it already felt better than the boring and dark walls the room used to have.

“Do- do you like it? Is it pretty?”

Nightmare looked closer at the walls before focusing his attention on Ribbon. He traced his fingers along his chest and lay his palm down. “It is pretty. I enjoy this new side of you. Keep drawing like this. Now be quiet so I can find out what happened to you.”

Ribbon went silent. He even muffled his coughs. Nightmare summoned a bit of teal magic and held it in on his chest, close to where his soul would be. After a while, he hummed. Nightmare set his hand on his forehead, then on his cheek. “Oh, oh well that’s fascinating . . .”

"What is?" Ribbon took deep breaths and tried to stop his spinning head. “Am- am I going to be okay? What’s wrong with me?

“Your magic . . . it’s fading,” Nightmare said. His calm expression began to twitch. “Well, let me correct myself, your guardianship is fading. Your symptoms are similar to a normal monster's magic loss, but I never thought it could happen to you. I don't even understand why it happened now. Your team replaced you, Ribbon.”

Ribbon gulped, which turned into a cough. He groaned and leaned into his pillow. He hadn't seen the multiverse since the mission, was it really that bad? He hasn't told Nightmare about what happened in Ink's doodle AU, he was too scared to. "Am . . . am I going to be okay?"

“Oh, don’t fuss too much. It’s just like losing blood. If you lose too much, you’ll get sick and need rest. Most of your magic came from being the Guardian of Creativity. Without that . . . you may only be half as strong as you once were.” Nightmare looked away from him at that.

Ribbon’s eyes widened and he bit his lower jaw. He squeezed his bear tighter. “How . . . how bad is that? Can it be fixed? Am I broken?”

“Your guardianship? No, only if whoever they gave your powers away perishes or gives them back. I doubt either will happen. I once tried to do it with Dream, but I’ve never seen this happen before.” He looked down at Ribbon and sighed. “Yes, it can be fixed. I will give you a small transfer until you start healing yourself.”

Nightmare took a deep breath, held his hand to his chest, and rested it on top of Ribbon. Ribbon felt the tingling almost immediately, and it was good! Even better than good! His breathing steadied and he leaned into Nightmare’s hand. He rubbed his face in it, adoring his kindness.

With a sigh, Nightmare pulled his hand back. Ribbon could breathe easier thanks to the transfer. His head felt less cottony. He looked up at Nightmare. His eye darkened and he took heavy breaths to recover.

Nightmare saw him staring and sighed. “Rest. I’ll bring you water. You must stay hydrated, I can’t have you lose any more magic.” Nightmare covered him up with his blankets to make sure he wasn’t cold. “Don’t stand up, keep your movement to a minimum, and sleep. That's non-negotiable. ”

After giving him a little kiss on the head, Nightmare left the room. Ribbon lay back in his bed. He didn’t even try to stand up, instead cuddling with his teddy bear. He had his doubts, but Ribbon knew he made the right choice. Nightmare had been so much kinder since he had no reason to punish his dollie anymore. And Ribbon didn’t want to change a thing.

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hapan-in-exile · 10 months

Text

Volume 3 - Post #6: You can find me in the Club

Another installment in this ongoing serialized fanfic

Genre: Mandalorian x Fem! Reader

Total word count: 3.5K (of 45K total in Volume 3)

Rating: Explicit - smut, language, +18 *NSFW*

__________________________________________

VI. Gwellis Bagnoro is waiting for you near the front of the club and waves you over. Neon Dreams. Good name for a nightclub in Daiyu City.

It’s a clusterfuck inside. This dark, cavernous warehouse that looks like it might have been some kind of industrial factory in a previous life.

Despite the crush, everyone steps aside to give Mando a path without looking up from their drinks.

Must be nice.

You, on the other hand, have to quickstep to follow in his wake before the press of bodies can drag you away like a riptide into this sea of black silhouettes and glitter.

“Gwellis,” is the extent of the Mandalorian’s greeting. He tosses the cloak over his shoulder so his holster remains within reach before sliding into the booth and making sure he had a clear line of sight toward the entrance.

Once again, there’s only one way in or out of this establishment. Why did no one in this godsforsaken town worry about safe and unobstructed exit routes?

A server soon arrives with a bottle of cloudy liquor and three glasses. He gives the Mandalorian a sly wink before heading back to the bar. Because no one in this galaxy is immune to a six-foot-three hunk of muscle in shining Beskar armor, ladies and gentlemen.

Gwellis uses a vocoder, so you’ll actually be able to keep up with this conversation. If you don’t go deaf from the throbbing bass coming through the club’s sound system. It’s clear why this place is popular with folks engaged in the...clandestine economy. Unlike the cosmopolitan nightclubs of the Inner Rim, there are no elevated lounges or platforms for elite clientele to preen and exhibit. Visibility is terrible, and you can’t hear a fucking thing.

“Mandalorian, I am glad we can do business.”

Gwellis helps himself to the liquor and pours you a drink. A thoughtful gesture considering the Onodone immediately pulls his trunk up from his lap and drops it down the neck of the bottle to suck up the remaining liquid inside. You’re kind of a lightweight, so you decide to sip yours. And, of course, Mando’s glass goes untouched.

Having sucked the bottle dry, Gwellis gets down to business. From beneath his robes, he pulls out a data-pad and scrolls over the screen. “I was surprised to receive this commission. Disguise is not the way of a Mandalorian.”

“It’s not for a job,” he says, tilting his head toward you. “My friend, she needs some new identification. ID, chaincode, and an implant.”

Gwellis studies you and taps something into the data-pad. “A war orphan from Saleucami, I think. Gone missing amidst the rubble from the siege.”

Fuck. Tragic but very plausible. You nod.

“Can you pass for human?”

When you nod again, Mando fixes his view plate on you. It was a subtle turn of his head, and someone who didn’t know him well wouldn’t have caught the shift in his attention. But you do.

“Good. Human will be easier.”

Gwellis regards you for a moment before launching into an incomprehensible stream of noises. The vocoder stays silent, so the high-pitched clicks and whistles are for the Mandalorian’s ears only.

“He says it’ll cost you fifty thousand credits.”

Shit! With Vos’ reward, you can afford it, sure, but that’s a lot of fucking money. And the fact that it’s exactly the same amount you just received from Vos feels like a weird fucking coincidence.

Dammit, you had planned to save at least ten thousand of that for jewelry. Why must all your victories be so fleeting?

“Arrive at my ship on the twenty-seventh hour.”

You finish your drink in one gulp as you watch the Onodone disappear back into the crowd.

“I told you it wasn’t going to be cheap,” Mando says evenly.

“You didn’t kick him under the table, so I’m sure it’s a fair price.”

“We’ll use funds for the job to cover it.”

“No, that’s okay. I know Nito needs money to buy some gear, and we should probably save the rest for Ubaa’s crew and payoffs.” You take a deep sigh. “Plus, it’s a good investment for me now anyway.”

The Mandalorian pauses to take in your expression. Which must be challenging given how little of your face is visible with the hood and visor on.

“Don’t think it’ll withstand a serious background check, but you could probably get a straight job after this.”

After this? Working with Mando, life had been unfolding one day at a time. You hadn’t put much thought into the future. Yet here he was, anticipating the day you’d finally ‘come to your senses’ and choose safe, civilian life. It’s hard to believe that could be a possibility.

“I already have a job,” you say wryly.

Whatever he might think, right now, you’re not ready to imagine a life without him.

“But, thank you. I’m relieved to have this kind of cover. I didn’t know anyone who could do this for me when I went underground. I mean…I knew that I must have ended up in some database…But, kriffing hell, it took months to coordinate our clinic deliveries. And yet the New Republic can just drop whatever they’re doing to run a cross-check?”

“Are you just now realizing how they hold this galaxy together?” He scoffed. “Surveillance and security is what they’ve got to offer.”

“Mando…that’s a shockingly pointed bit of social criticism. I didn’t take you for a revolutionary.”

“I’m not. But I’m also not blind to how this all works.” There’s a subtle switch in mood before he rests an elbow on the table. “Can I ask you something?”

“Um, sure. Yeah. I’d like to resume normal adult conversation.”

He sighs roughly and tosses his head.

“You know you’re not getting the deposit back for that room, Mando.”

You catch him mumbling something about cheap drywall and try not to snicker. While it’s absolutely ridiculous behavior for a grown man to punch holes in the wall…you can understand that Mandalorian warrior culture probably doesn’t impart a lot of wisdom about dealing with complex emotions like guilt and shame.

And hell, this is coming from a woman whose coping response was to cry and masturbate in the shower, so who are you to judge?

You lean in over the table to hear him better, “What did you want to ask me?”

“How are you planning to pass for human?”

You try not to blush when he leans closer, too, and you sit huddled together with your knees touching under the table.

“If I remove the reflective tissue from my eyes…that’s really the only visible difference.”

“Remove? How?”

“Do you want me to go into detail? Most people get the heebie-jeebies thinking about cutting—”

“Alright, fine.” He holds up a hand to stop you. “If it’s that simple, why didn’t…sorry, maybe that’s not something you want to talk about.”

“No, no! I’m never going discourage you from taking an interest in me,” you grin. Then, sigh. It’s a deeply personal topic to get into while trying to shout over a bass system. “I’ve probably been holding onto this delusion that someday I’d get to go back home. But there’s…not really anything to go back to…”

“What about your family? Your brother?”

That’s another topic you’re not prepared to get into at Neon Dreams, so you just shake your head no.

“There’s nobody waiting for me—well, no one who’s waiting to welcome me back.”

“Could you…reverse it?” Mando asks in a surprisingly gentle voice. “Make the tissue regrow?”

“Maybe,” you smile at him sheepishly.

“I’m sorry you have to do this, Thuli, and that it feels like you’re losing a part of yourself,” he places a gloved hand over yours to stop you from twisting your fingers into knots. “But, it’s the right choice. The smart choice.”

Is this what Mando told himself when he swore the Creed? He took so much pride in being Mandalorian…had it been an easy decision for him to leave the life and dreams of that little boy behind. Your heart clenches in your chest, overwhelmed with this realization of your shared loss.

Is that why you don’t want to give up on him? Because you’re hoping that mending his heart will somehow make yours whole again? Wouldn’t that be nice…

“Didn’t think this would be your scene, Mando.” You attempt a coy tone to lighten the mood and change the subject. Not too coy, though. You’re afraid to flirt with him that openly after all your talk about respecting boundaries. “Are we about to embark on a wild night of partying without the kids?”

Even though he hasn’t had anything to drink, Mando does seem more relaxed despite the chaotic surroundings. He extends an arm across the back of the booth and stretches his legs out under the table, crossing them at the ankle. Of course, he’s even sexier in this casual, languid pose.

“We have three hours to kill. I’m getting comfortable.” He nods behind you towards the back of the club, where the pulsing vibrations emanate. “Knock yourself out.”

You look over at the dance floor, where shimmering neon incandescence rains down on the revelers below. It looks fun, actually. Like the kind of place you’d go to on leave with some of your fellow medics. Get drunk, dance, sing badly, find someone to bring home for the night, and forget the brutality and brushes with death for a night.

“Do you like dancing?” You ask on a whim. “Or, do Mandalorians not dance?”

“After game hunting, there is usually a…ceremony.”

“Ah, so liturgical dance!” Your eyes go wide. “Hmmmm, I don’t think the DJ plays Mandalorian chants. Guess I’m on my own.”

“You like this kinda of place?” He asks, sounding almost disdainful. Good. It’s easier to maintain the distance between you when you’re reminded that despite some shared trauma, your personalities are still galaxies apart.

“Yeah,” you grin defiantly. “You don’t have to be some club kid to enjoy the distraction of getting drunk and rubbing up against beautiful strangers. It's a good way to wash the taste of war out of your mouth.”

“I can understand that,” he says earnestly.

And you begin to wonder what, exactly, does a Mandalorian do to decompress?

You’ve known some elite soldiers, and their work always burned holes into them—which needed to be filled. Sometimes, they’d filled those holes in their hearts with you. But that wasn’t the case for Mando. Ditto on drinking, drugs, and dancing, apparently.

“So you don’t go clubbing. What’s something you do do for fun?

“Fun?”

“Yes. There’s a word for it in Mando’a. Nuhur? Good times? So I know Mandalorians are familiar with the concept.” He sighs as though you’ve asked him to perform long division. “You love throwing knives, isn’t that a Mandalorian game?”

He laughs—an actual, audible laugh. “When did you learn Mando’a?”

“We spend literally days at a time in hyperspace.”

“And this is what you do when you aren’t playing cards with Nito?”

“Yes. I read. I learn things.” Lately, you’ve become particularly interested in researching Mandalorian mating customs. “Don’t you want the kid to know your culture?”

“He’s a foundling, and I’m in his debt for saving me from the Mudhorn. My duty, by Creed, is to protect him. But this is no life for a child. Once it’s safe, I’ll find a real home for him.”

“Home is who you make it with, not where.” Whether he admits it or not, Mando loves that kid like a father, and you’re not going to let him just dismiss the depth of that relationship. “You seem pretty real to me.”

“What made you leave?”

“Huh?”

“What made you leave Hapes?”

Dammit, he’s too good at catching you off guard with these probing questions. You reach for an easy answer, but when you begin to respond, he cuts you off with a raised hand. “I know you ran away to join the Rebellion. That’s not the whole story. Not with the home you left behind.”

“Everyone expects life inside a royal palace to be so glamorous, but it is, above all else, exceedingly tedious.”

“Getting attacked by lions is tedious?”

Wow. You hadn’t expected him to acknowledge that conversation at all, given what happened afterward.

“Can I ask you about one of your scars?” You look up at him timidly. “Like how you got that one on your calf?”

It was a jagged white thunderbolt running from his heel to the back of his knee.

“I killed an Altagak. At the time, our Covert was located on Altora. They can consume entire herds—and villages. The locals asked us to rid them of the beast. The scar running along my calf is from its tusk.”

“How old were you?”

“I was fourteen. It was…an important trial for me.”

“I imagine it's hard?” You grimace, “to kill an Altagak? It’s an apex predator.”

“With tusks,” Mando nods. Which surprises you to a huff of laughter. He’s getting better at making jokes.

“You’re lucky it didn’t cripple you.”

“Lucky I wasn’t gored. Not everyone survived.”

You raise your glass and arch an eyebrow, “Thank the gods for skilled healers.”

“Hmmmm,” his exhalation hums through the modulator. “It’s always impressive how effortlessly you manage to avoid answering my questions.”

Mando’s tone starts off playful when suddenly, out of the corner of your eye, you see his body retract sharply. His elbows come to rest on his knees as though he’s poised to launch himself out of the booth.

You look around to see a tall, stormy blue Twi’lek approaching your table, a gigantic grin spread across his face. The Mandalorian is a formidable warrior, but this guy could give him a run for his money—he’s big and broad, his tattoed arms clearly toned with use.

“Mando,” the Twi’lek places a hand on the Mandalorian’s shoulder. “It is you!”

“Bril,” Mando sighs in exasperation but extends himself to clasp the man’s outstretched forearm in the most congenial gesture you’ve ever witnessed from the bounty hunter. “It’s been a while.”

You can’t be sure if they’re friends, but Bril is at least confident he’s not about to be stabbed because he slides amicably into the booth next to Mando.

“Your new business partner?” He winks at you, and before you can stop yourself, you smile back.

“Something like that,” the Mandalorian mutters.

“You did always have a thing for the bad girls, Mando.”

Behind Bril is his female Twi’lek companion. She is stunningly beautiful.

Literally, you feel your breath catch in your throat when your eyes meet. Her skin is the color of sea coral, and she had adorned her lekku in gold thread, woven with gemstones, beads, and pearls, all braided through her golden headband. She takes a seat on the stool next to Bril, directly across the table from you, and you try your best not to gawk.

Bril waves over a droid with another bottle of liquor. You probably shouldn’t look wasted in the photos for your forged identification, so you’re taking it slow. But whatever this beverage is, it’s pretty strong, and you definitely feel its effects.

“Thought you left all this behind, Mando? Working for the Guild. Keeping your hands clean,” the Twi’lek says conversationally, placing a hand on his companion’s thigh. “But, I still hear things.”

While the Mandalorian doesn’t elaborate, Bril’s good spirit remains undeterred. You get the sense that they might, in fact, be friends. At least this is the first person you’ve met who wasn’t harboring some underlying hostility towards him.

It’s a tantalizing prospect. Maybe you’ll get to learn a little bit more about Mand—

“Like that shit with Ranzar. Handing your ex over to the feds, Mando? That’s cold even for you.”

Wait, what?

That, right there, how you nearly snap your neck from the speed with which you turn to look at Mando, is proof enough that you’ll never be able to play it cool with him.

“I did what I had to,” the Mandalorian says smoothly without looking at you—or he could be staring you full in the face. How the fuck would you even know?

“Don’t you always,” Bril laughs and shakes his head. “Did you buy the fancy armor with Xi’an’s bounty? Didn’t think she’d fetch that much.”

“It wasn’t like that.”

You down your drink in one gulp and pour another in the hopes that you’ll be less visibly tense over this discovery if you’re drunk. For fucksake you are nearly trembling with shock. Breathe. You gotta slow your breathing.

Ugh, you might throw up.

Please, please, dear goddess, have mercy on me and prevent me from dissolving into a panic attack in front of all these people! Okay, you’re tearing up a little bit, but no one can see behind your visor.

Every muscle in your body is rigid. You can sense Bril’s companion watching you with concern.

“I didn’t think Mandalorians coupled,” she purrs in a low voice.

Yeah, neither did you.

What is this bizarre weight settling onto your chest? The crush of rejection. And betrayal.

As though he’s deceived you somehow? Because all this time, you’ve been telling yourself that this barrier between you is because the Mandalorian can’t be intimate—with anyone. That it's forbidden. And now you know that isn’t true. He just doesn’t want to be intimate with you.

You always did like the bad girls, Mando.

Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck. All your smirks and winks and stupid flirting…and all he wanted was some stone-cold bitch. Like Morrigan.

That figures. Ironic. Just the completely exact opposite personality traits, contrary to the foundational core of your being. You couldn't even be her if you tried.

Gods, you are such an idiot. Throwing yourself at him. You fucking climbed on top of him! Ugh, the shame is so intense you can taste the bile roiling up your throat.

Bril guffaws, and you're shocked to see him actually nudge the bounty hunter with his elbow. “Your armor doesn’t include a codpiece, does it, Mando?”

It’s an objectively funny joke, and you’d love to smile away the devastation that’s probably written all over your face, but you refrain from laughing out of misplaced loyalty.

“I’m here running Spice, of course.” Bril stops howling long enough to resume polite conversation. “You looking for work? I can always stand to elevate my game with a warrior of your caliber, Mando.”

He'd said, "It wasn't just you" out of...pity? Did he feel sorry for you pathetically thirsting after him?

Aaaaaaaaah, that means you've been this creeper, sexually harassing him for the past how many months now?!

While you desperately search your brain to determine the exact moment in time when you started brazenly flirting with the Mandalorian, Bril’s companion moves around the table to crouch down next to you.

“Hey,” she looks up at you through her long, dark lashes. “Do you like MARTINE?”

“W-w-what?!” You stutter, surprised out of your shame spiral by the unexpected question. “Um, yeah. Of course. I lost my virginity listening to their second album.”

Fuck...you are such a stupid idiot. You really convinced yourself that Mando was a virgin.

“They're here–in the VIP lounge.”

“Seriously?! Like…performing?”

“Yeah, I guess it’s their cousin’s birthday party or something.”

You crane your neck to see if you can spot a VIP section.

“Let’s leave the boys to catch up,” she says, slipping her hand into yours.

“Okay,” you whisper, and without a single glance at Mando, you slip off your jacket and let her pull you away from the table.

“This is such a sleazy ploy, but if we cause a stir, I think we can get the bouncer to let us in. Are you up for for it?”

Leading you across the room and past the bar, you're pulled underneath the showering lights of the dance floor. She moves with the artful grace of a trained professional, and from the way she looks in her catsuit, she just might be.

Everybody’s watching her dance, but she only has eyes for you.

It’s suddenly very important that she knows how amazing your hair is, so you release it from your hood and run your fingers through its length to shake it out until it cascades in pearlescent sheets around your hips.

You still can’t hear a fucking thing, but you read her lips, exclaiming how much she loves it. She catches a strand in her outstretched fingers to trace its length. Her hand comes up again to tuck it behind your ear before tilting her head and leaning in slowly. Fixing you with her aquamarine eyes, she places a gentle kiss on your lips.

“Wait. This isn’t just to get Bril gassed up, right?”

“What? Fuck, Bril. He’s not gonna get us past that bouncer.”

As you both continue dancing, intertwined, her hands trace over your waist and around the edges of your ribcage before grabbing the full swell of your breasts and squeezing. You gasp, but she catches it from your mouth with slow, languorous kisses. Her lips are full and soft.

You realize that even if this is some elaborate performance for Bril, you don’t care. A deeply lonely place in your heart needs this kind of tenderness and attention. It feels good to be desired after the sting of...whatever it is you’re feeling about Mando.

You wrap your arms around the small of her back and lean into her kisses. The drumbeat picks up, and your knees and hips begin to bob in time with the music. You jump and swivel, swinging your hips and pumping your arms until you're gasping. It felt so ecstatic to release this toxic energy from your body with each breath and drop of sweat.

Both of you keep moving through this endless cycle of dancing, laughter, and kisses while the crowd around you sways and rocks.

“Do you want to try to sneak in?” She asks with an excited gleam in her eye.

**************************

Continue reading, Volume 3 - Post #7: Counteroffer

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