#that's a whole can of worms we'll open at another time.

[bl0rbohandbag]

– some vampire the masquerade x changeling the lost concepts that will not leave me alone.

"but vtm and ctl are from different settings–" shhhhhh :)

before i begin: i have been dabbling in vampire the masquerade and changeling the lost content for a while, i am not a fan of changeling the dreaming and vampire the requiem is unfamiliar to me. anyway! buckle up, enjoy the ride, this is kind of long.

trigger warning for abuse/unhealthy parental relationships because vamps i guess.

first of all: i recently read vtm: bloodstained love. while it focus on the more romantic and sexual aspects of kindred relationships with a lot of references to obsessive/posessive behavior and grotesque acts of love, it also made me wonder how those would translate to platonic or familial relationships. add some changeling shenanigans to that and we have some interesting concepts to play with! and with that being said...

– you're a changeling. kidnapped into arcadia and trapped there for who knows how long. in your durance, you dream of going back home, of reuniting with your friends and family, escaping your keeper to finally, finally enjoy freedom in the world you were born in.

– and one day, you do escape. back into your world, never feeling completely safe with your keeper looking to get you back and huntsmen being a very real threat, but you're ready to rebuild your life and enjoy your newfound freedom.

– there are various mentions throughout the ctl books on how unsuspecting or heedless changelings might have their freedom stolen again, this time by kindred. so, as it turns out, you'll have to deal with creatures other than the true fae who are more than willing to keep you caged!

the angst potential in a changeling reuniting with ther parent(s) only to find out they've become something inhuman, and not all that different from their keeper is unmatched.

maybe you watch them from a distance first. maybe you excitedly seek them out. maybe you just randomly bump into your parent by complete chance, after presuming them dead or deciding to abandon your old life. maybe they find you.

but the point is: they're kindred. so different from when you last saw them, as a teenager, as a child, before you were taken. as if having huntsmen and your keeper after you wasn't trying enough, a vampire parent comes (back) into your life to make it even more complicated.

a ventrue dad will make his ghouls your bodyguards, following you day and night. it makes you insanely uncomfortable, as you liken them to changelings serving true fae back in arcadia. he says it's because of his own dangerous kindred affairs that might affect you, but after an unplesant encounter with the huntsmen he might just decide you shouldn't be out and about at all.

your parent is either a neonate or an ancilla by the time your return from arcadia. your fetch is dead for whatever reason, expired, after living a life in your stead, automatically making the vampire believe their child is dead– now imagine their surprise and confusion when they see you– real you, living and breathing. and maybe you're distraught, too, seeing that they haven't aged a day or should, depeding on how long you've been gone, be most definetly dead.

(this is absolutely NOT going to send the vampire parent into a mental breakdown and spiral into obsession upon discovering the child they have lost and buried was literally a soulless copy of their real child who got kidnapped by faeries. a clone made out of twigs and a cat's eyes that stole their child's place and they never noticed. everything is just fine. it does not them affect them mentally at all :3)

(bonus points if the fetch was killed by the vampire parent's enemies after being entagled in their mess. they feel like they are getting a second chance and will absolutely not screw it up! cue you, poor changeling, being locked away or put under heavy surveillance.)

on the other hand, a kindred parent who currently has a living fetch of their child just being EXTREMELY distraught when they keep spotting someone who looks exactly like their kid at random places they definetly shouldn't be at is very funny and kind of unsettling!

(a vampire mom just feeding on mortals at the club, socializing with other kindred, perhaps dealing with some unresolved issues with her sire, etc. Then she spots you, her real kid, unbeknownst to her, just chilling, among all those dangerous vampires, when you're supposed to be in your dorm room at least a thousand miles from there. she calls the fetch's phone, expecting you to pick up and start explaining yourself. your fetch answers the phone, talks to her, sleep-drunk and confused as to why she's calling so late, but the person she's looking at has made no motion at all. they're not talking. they have not picked up the phone. but that's her kid's face, she's sure. what the fuck?)

for low-humanity ancillae/elder kindred, having their child back might bring about long-forgotten mortal feelings of genuine parental love, although they might express in the very unorthodox way kindred would. they simply do not understand why their child does not want to be around them. they just want to bond with you and keep you safe where kindred and fae can't get to you, make up for lost time. what do you mean they're "just like your keeeper"?

i think a lot of kindred parents will leave you be, mostly brujah or gangrel, knowing you'll be safer if they keep you away from their world. provided there was no fetch to replace you, they think it's amazing enough you were found alive and well after years of being a missing person. you don't like talking about what happened in your... "durance"... fine, they'll keep the investigators off your back, too. they might not even know you're no longer human. but they are going to check on you once in a while, or keep tabs on you, or even have some of their people watch you from a distance. just to make sure.

(just don't let them catch wind of all the changeling shenanigans or huntsmen attacks on your person. that might just change their mind...)

kindred parents might believe you're safer away from their world, yes, but they can just as easily bring you into the mess of kindred society without a second thought.

not very fun being a fairest when your toreador mother insists you show your mien to impress her fellow clan mates and other kindred with your overwhelming beauty. she's always been a pageant mom, so this shouldn't surprise you. there's several layers of wrongness to this, from having your changeling identity exposed to multiple vampires to further your mother's social status to this very situation bringing back so many unpleasant memories from your durance, and it's bound to end badly.

(the toreador pageant mom could very easily be a nosferatu pageant mom, a cleopatra now living vicariously through your fae-given beauty.)

(she will realize how terrible a mistake that was when vampires start really paying attention to you. or not. who knows.)

(gifts that could easily have come from a true fae lord start pouring in. letters written in excessive passion, bouquets of bloody roses, dresses made out of human skin, all delivered by equally dazed-looking ghouls. perhaps your mother will know, then, she fucked up severely. or maybe she'll just tell you to be grateful for those wonderful gifts.)

on another hand, a nosferatu parent taking one look at their fairest child's mien and deciding "oh. no kindred can see you like. ever. stay away from toreador specifically". you don't know what a toreador is, but you'll try to heed the advice.

your ancilla mother meets your motley and proceeds to show them baby pictures of you, taken in the 1870s shortly before your abduction to Faerie. they are very well preserved and you look most proper in your little sailor outfit.

you have a beast/ogre seeming and your gangrel parent thinks you're pretty rad :) you go hunting together.

your tzimisce dad has living furniture made out of human skin, but it's nothing you haven't seen in arcadia before. he's a little disappointed by your lack of enthusiasm, and very offended when you tell him your keeper had better taste in couches. trying to evade a tzimisce dad after he's been made aware of your existence is a difficult task, and you will get caught and held captive at one point (for your safety, of course!). if there is a fetch currently living your life, they will be immediately killed or horribly tortured (read: vicissitude) for the crime of decieving the tzimisce and impersonating you, regardless of you already having decided to leave said fetch alone.

(tzimisce dad thinks you should be thankful. he dealt with the imposter. shouldn't you be happy?)

(if he’s got cash and has some land within his domain to spare, he might let you build a little home not too far from his own to give you a semblance of independence to try and settle you down. might.)

(on the other hand, you have the chance to become a really good escape artist. take your time in captivity with your tzimisce dad to practice your escaping and running away skills, after all, every good changeling needs it! you also get the bonus of reliving your childhood/teenagehood with all the sneaking out.)

(quick intermission: all of these concepts might result in low-clarity for the changeling?? i'm not too sure how clarity damage works yet.

update: it absolutely might!)

your malkavian mother thinks she's plagued with visions of her missing child, glimpses of what they might look nowadays, wherever they are. this is actually you, visiting her in her dreams through oneiromancy.

(everyone thought, back then, that it was just a scare. you wandered into the forest and for ten hours people searched for you, only to find you safe and sound, without a scratch in your body or a speck of dirt in your shoes hours later. but she knew better. she knew that wasn't really you. it haunted her for the rest of her life, and it haunts her unlife even now. she never made it to the hedge.)

you can't take your tremere parent ANYWHERE. you give in after endless nagging and take them to a goblin market, but their arrogance will get them roped into terrible deals if you don't keep your eyes on them full time. you do take this as an opportunity to show off your changeling capabilities. you're in your element.

(you also drop life-altering bits of Faerie lore at random or inappropriate times. it sends them spiraling. you just hope they won't share it with anyone...)

darkling changeling just chilling with their nosferatu dad in the sewers, sharing rats.

and that's all for today, folks.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

I don’t think we’ll hear a whole lot about TCP this year for the Sussex. In part because I agree with you that he’s super salty no one from his family showed up to support IG, but the secondary issue, is that I don’t think the UK govt would be down for that after this trip to Nigeria.

I think that leak about Charles being angry is accurate. I think he went a ruffled some feathers in the Uk gov/military. The leaks are already starting to happen about the real people they met, the house of cards on this “successful” trip is falling faster than ever.

The lines been drawn, I suspect that Charles offered royal housing as a trade for not meeting him in person. Sort like sorry I won’t be in town but you can stay at APT 1 if you’d like!

What’s more interesting, is Meghan’s basically abandoning ARO, and pushing more the political angle since they got back.

I think you're right - had it just been a "regular" visit and not had a military honor guard/inspection or a performance of the national anthem, no one would care and the Sussexes would be free to grift on another day.

But having the military honor guard/inspection and the national anthem/quasi-official dinner opened a whole can of worms because it implies a diplomatic mission in which they acted as a head of state. Which, after the British ambassador to Nigeria said their office wasn't involved, crossed the line. More than crossed the line; they were so far over the line they need a passport to come back.

And I think they know they fucked up because Charles left the bait dangling - "the whole family will be at Trooping" and they didn't even poke it. But there's still time so we'll see what they do about it.

I wouldn't read too much into Meghan moving on from ARO to politics. She does this all the time; as soon as something loses steam, she switches to the next concept and runs with that till it loses traction, then picks up another concept, and so on.

[ahoyimlosingmymind]

What's your take on a Fitz-Marella friendship/how would they become friends?

i've honestly never really thought about this hmmm

okay- you can interpret this as totally platonic or romantic, doesn't really matter, because it's funny either way (she did have a crush on him historically so do with that what you will.)

I can see them having a stupidly unserious flirty friendship. It starts with her trying to catch him off guard with random compliments in the middle of serious conversations, and it totally works. He gets all flustered and loses his train of thought and she just doesn't stop.

"Yeah, so the Neverseen-"

"Mhm. Has anyone ever told you you're really pretty?"

"I- what?"

it gets to the point where she's doing it in front of strangers and their friends. She's bolder than him, and sometimes the jokes are super unhinged "You're so sexy when you get all emotional about justice." (People's jaws are dropped)(Fitz is floundering) and other times she sounds sincere but she's got an ornery grin the whole time.

*He's baking*

"What's cooking good looking?"

"Nothing. I'm baking."

"For me? You shouldn't have <3"

Most people can't tell if she's joking or not except for Fitz, Linh and Biana.

One day, he answers back, completely deadpan without thinking.

They're preparing for battle or smth, Keefe and Sophie kiss beforehand, Marella turns to Fitz

"What? and I don't get one? I thought we had something."

"Come back alive and we'll see about it."

This is all surface level banter. They still aren't very close. Until one day, she's like "You're so hot- who wouldn't want you?" (He's just made cookies or something and offered her one.)

and if that doesn't open up a can of worms. They end up bonding about how lovable they are on a surface level, but how they have to keep so many parts of them hidden to be truly loved and accepted. Him, having to hide his imperfections. And her having to hide that she's a pyrokinetic.

The compliments are still jokes fairly often, but they make sure to sprinkle in some real praises for one another.

idk.

[narastories]

Hi Nara, I hope you had a good day!

For Fanfic Writer Friday, do you want to tell me what you're working on (if you are on something currently)?

And if you've got time, I'd love to hear your opinion about the use of the past or present tense in fanfic, because it always gives me so much trouble. I don't really have a logic for using one or the other, so I'd like to know yours.

Thank you <3

Hi! Yes, thank you, I had a great day <3

Ooh, these are two very interesting questions.

1.

I'm sort of working on something... By working, I mean writing notes in my notebook and trying to figure out how to tackle this idea ^^" I really want to write a Dresden Files/FPA crossover! (Let's see if by announcing it publicly I can successfully shame me into going through with it... I doubt it, but we'll try it...)

I've never actually written a crossover, so that's already a bit daunting. Having to juggle twice as many characters/ships as I would normally is also a challenge... Currently, I'm trying to decide what POV/s to use, and how not to make this too long. But I think it would be fun to draw some parallels between the characters, and it would also be fun to bring two of the fandoms I like together like this.

Another, perhaps silly consideration is that I now have 99 fics on AO3... To make the 100th one a little bit special would be cool. (Okay, that might not happen because I have already uploaded my Yuletide fic, and I'm not actually sure where AO3 will put it in the order of fics once the authors are revealed on Jan 1st...)

Anyway, wish me luck, I can tell you that Philes would very much be on the menu ;) 2.

You're asking me this because of the tags on my last fic, right? xD

Oh dear, where do I even start? I actually wouldn't say I have a well-developed opinion on this. And I think maybe it's better if we split it into two categories: what I think of past/present tense, and how I would decide what to use.

Just from vibes alone, I would say past tense is very comfy. It sort of "disappears" because we're so used to it. No one will be turned off by you using the past tense. You can do anything with it.

Present tense, on the other hand, feels a bit more intimate to me. It can work well for a more poetic tone. It has an urgency to it like you don't know what's going to happen. But it will also very much turn some people off ^^"

I will also add that if I'm talking about multiple layers of past events, the English past tenses can give me a bit of a hard time, so using the present tense can gloriously simplify that lol

I do like reading either btw, but how do I decide what to use when writing?

I use past tense 99% of the time. (I mean, literally. I think I have 98 fics written in the past tense, wrote one in present, and I'm pretty sure the next one will be in the past tense as well lol) So I’m no expert here, although I do have some WIPs where I also used present tense and I would totally consider experimenting with it more.

To be honest, there is only one scenario where I would opt for the present tense always, and it’s the 2nd person "you" fics... Dare I say: *whispers* reader-insert. Which is a whole different can of worms altogether that we are now opening.

Personally, in my opinion, if you think old forum role playing was cool but you think self-insert fic is cringe, that’s a *skill issue*. Luckily, I have mastered my destiny and overcame feelings of cringe lmao (I'm joking, you only read what you want, of course.)

What I mean is, I find it very charming how self-insert or reader-insert fic specifically about RPG games kind of circles back around to the roots of the “role-playing” in RPG. I might not read certain types of reader-insert fics, but I think they have their rightful place in fandom.

Now, getting back to the topic of present tense lol To me, sometimes certain things will just fit better for a fic. For example, when I started writing my first Dresden Files fic, I started writing it in 3rd person, because 1st person felt intimidating. But the canon is in 1st person, and something in me knew that it just had to be done that way for the right tone, you know? (It doesn’t mean you have to stick to the way canon is written, of course. It’s more about what fits better with the mood you are going for and what effect you want to achieve.)

Same thing with my last fic: the fandom I wrote it for uses present tense and uses 2nd person for the main character. Yeah, sure you can write an OC and write 3rd person, but the right vibe I was going for was begging me to use the present tense. So yeah, in a sense it was me wanting to stick more with the canon vibe, even if that challenged me. Which is interesting because usually it’s the other way around, no?

That is a really long way of saying I tend to stick to what is closes to canon. But I think you should always listen to your gut and just write how you like it better.

Thank you for the thought-provoking questions and sorry for the long ramble.

[shifuto]

some closing thoughts after a little over 1 month of revisiting Yugioh Vrains

Vrains is a trainwreck in the most endearing and wonderful way

I love this show so dearly and feel like this time I finally managed to appreciate it in the way it's supposed to - problems and all. I feel like I was finally able to understand a lot of the peculiarities and subtexts that, before, I didn't have enough emotional maturity for, and it helped knowing generally what was going on because watching this show for the first time was.. not great (for reasons I talked about already in other posts from this marathon)

going through that grueling filler-plagued beginning was hell, and one of the reasons I was dreading going through this show again - it even got me questioning why I put Vrains so high on my ranking of favorite YGOs (because my memory is bad and I didn't see any reason for Vrains to be that high), but once it starts going.. oh boy it doesn't stop, this is why I finished it so fast LOL

Vrains's story is very compelling and the minimal cast helps to keep everything close-knitted (I highly prefer fewer characters like this). Not all of these are interesting, but the ones who are do make up for it. I have found love in characters I didn't pay much mind before; loved the ones I already did even more; and went batshit insane over my favorites; Spectre

I don't think we'll ever have a plot like this in the franchise and it's such a shame. Vrains portrays trauma, pain and loss without romanticizing it. The main character has PTSD and he's not magically cured after everything - none of them are, except Jin (and this is another whole can of worms I'm not sure if I want to get into....) - Vrains is not a happy show or a happy story, and this is what makes it so wonderful in my eyes. Tragedy is what kickstarts this story, and tragedy is the one thing that is consistently happening throughout it

before, I guess I didn't really like the ending very much because the story was cut short and everything was rushed and too vague? But now (and understanding why it was cut short), I can find some silver linings, for example: that open ending feels good. It's nice to have stories such as this (and also in Zexal) with a lot of openings, and holes and things to be filled with theories and ideas: if the canon doesn't provide, the fanom might as well do it

I have so many favorites and so many ships for this show now 🤣 I think I had like 2 max the other time O: surprisingly, Yusaku and Ai went kind of in the background? I wonder why..

I knew I would get obsessed with Akira even though I paid no mind to him before 🤣 what can I say, he's just my type hahahahahaha. I was already obsessed with Kengo before and it got much, much worse so congratulations me for the renewed and augmented Blood Shpeherd brainrot 🥺💜 I have always loved Shoichi and he'll remain as one of my favorite characters ever as well so it was a delight to watch this and have so many episodes and scenes with him, my heart is so fulfilled 🥺🥺🥺 I love Jin and also Lightning for all the wrong reasons (don't ask about it 🤣), and so many other characters too but lets focus on who is really important (and was very surprising): Spectre

I honestly do not know what happened that I got this much into Spectre? He was also one of those I didn't really pay much attention before, and he became.. my favorite character in this I guess???? Well one of them, but you get what I mean 😆 the long story short is probably me omega projecting on him, and his relationships with Ryoken. Let me dream, alright?

I don't know if I have the energy to talk about my ships but just know that I have a copious amount of them. It's a lot

all in all, Vrains is amazing and it would probably be my favorite YGO if not for all the production issues, really. There's several things I'd change and try to fix, but overall, it's fine and enjoyable as it is, thankfully

I don't know, I'm sad it ended and I wanna watch again right away LOL

[doodlesbf]

(OH shit!!! & why now?!?! Imagine)

Sia in her monstrous beast body walk through the dark path as hyrule and four are holding onto sia fur/feathers til they end up in another path but is lit up with glow worms so the two boys can now see and get off sia so she can return to her hyrulian body.

Four: glow worms..that means a water is nearby and lead back to the surface.

Hyrule: yes but which way?-

Sia hum looking around herself and lightly touch the glow worms to feel if any of them is wet or dry to figure out the correct way but she felt pain around her lower back and her belly but need to focus on which way first that her-

Hyrule suddenly felt a magic change and he close his eyes for a moment to feel around him on were this magic is coming from yet its familiar like.....sia-

Hyrule open his eyes and look to sia as she say which direction as hyrule sweat up realize sia's situation.

Hyrule: sia....are you in labor?

Four eyes widen but the sia was going to speak but the three hear something clicked and they look behind them to see lizafos and hyrule grab sia arm and four to ran with them to the direction were sia point out as the lizafos hisses and chase after the three down the lit path their in, sia pain get worse by the second and she knows her contractions and that their being chase but she can hear the water ahead and she raise her other arm to slam it hard to the rock wall to make the path wall break and block the lizafos from chasing after them but as a result four,hyrule and sia didn't see that the path ahead is gone so the three fall off and they land in the water . Hyrule and four break the surface first with a gasp then a few coughs here or there.

Four look around to see huge water and how clear it is too and he see a spot in the middle of the water a good side land and he tell hyrule as sia surface the water but back in her monstrous beast body again but the two can tell that she's in much pain.

Hyrule: sia!

Four: go to the the spot there, we'll figure out on how to get out of this.

Hyrule and four grab sia wings as she swim to the spot of dry land but she keep her lower half in the water as hyrule felt tingly of the magic coming off of sia since she literally in labor so he's on edge and excited but look up to see a hole that leads to the surface land and he shake four shoulder then point up as four look up and see but the distance is far so that means they have to fly up but.....

Meanwhile

Wild and the rest of the chain are worry for hyrule, four and sia since the ground separate them from the group and they walking for the whole time looking for them til twilight pick up the scent of sia and is glad since it's a good sign but smell blood too and his blood go cold remember that she's pregnant and close to birth wild children.

Twilight: guys! This way!

Twilight yell out as he ran and wild,chain follow ran after Twilight to follow him to were the three is at but Twilight stop for some reason and wild didn't have much time to slow down and ran pass Twilight to see why he stop.

There was a hole in the ground that show a giant pond of water and wild fallen down and some the chain couldn't stop so end up join wild in land in the water below but twilight and time,warrior are safe and look down to see the few chain in the water and the three as well but they also noticed sia in her monstrous beast body and knew she in labor...

Warrior: holy shit!!

Time: wars, this is natural stop being dramatic.

Warrior : I'm a uncle today!!

Twilight wants to slap warrior but the same time he's going to be a godfather today of wild,sia children......Twilight wonders if he looks okay?

[drbatsponge]

Batgirls #14 review...

Disclaimer: this is basically a review I did on dead app (Amino) for Batgirls #14 because yes I have an audience there surprisingly, but I'm copy and pasting it here to see if people like my reviews idk.

...

Hey hey everyone, so as you know it's Cassandra's birthday, and what better to do than review a rather recent comic that came out that's all about her?

I will start this by preferencing that I haven't gotten through all of my Batgirls reviews on here yet, you all know I've really only given you my reviews of the first two issues.

It's safe to say that the book has had its fair share of controversy from time to time, as you all know from my previous blog on my problems with the series:

Though I will say that the recent issues of it have been pretty decent all around.

Not that I hated the first few issues (aside from 7 and 8, but that's a whole other can of worms to open), but I have a feeling that the book has finally found its footing as of late and is actually doing more of what I had expected from it.

And issue #14 has to be a pretty exceptional issue in my personal opinion, this issue is definitely the best one in the series so far and is probably one of the best Cass stories I have ever read. (Or seen? Idk, it's a silent issue for the most part, lol.)

And that's certainly saying something.

Now this is a silent issue, so it has no dialogue (at least not until the end but you'll see what that's all about...), meaning that the visuals are what make the issue, and well it's safe to say they got that right.

The main artist they got for this particular issue is Jonathan Case and his art is just really spectacular.

A problem with Batgirls is it does have a hard time tying down an artist, at least ever since Jorge Corona left the series, but I've never had a problem with the other artists on the series, though they had slight imperfections that would bug me even if nitpicky.

Like Neil Googe draws Cass and Steph a little bit younger than they're supposed to be and Robbi Rodriguez's movements for the characters are often too stiff for my liking.

But Case gets everything right.

Cass is drawn looking her age and the actions she takes are conveyed perfectly.

I mean what can I say the art is just gorgeous throughout the entire issue, I really hope Jonathan Case comes back to do another issue of Batgirls after this because they're just great.

Now the plot of the issue is pretty easy to explain, Cassandra is basically looking for Steph who had been kidnapped by her father in the prior issues of the series.

(This entire issue reminded me a LOT of Cassandra's stories that happened during the War Games saga, I actually plan on writing another review today on a particular comic that came out during that time.)

Cass at a point opens the letter that Steph leaves her to either see if it has a clue, or because at that point she thinks it's too late, but the letter contains a rather shocking confession

You are reading that right, Stephanie Brown quite literally admitted she has feelings for Cass.

And seeing how Cass reacted, it's possible she might return those feelings back.

Now I'm not sure if this confirms StephCass, we'll have to wait and see what happens in the upcoming issues, but yeah I hope this means what I think it means.

Now, of course I can't close out this review without mentioning the special appearance from Cassandra's dear mommy.

Yeah you had to see the full sequence because it's just 😍.

(Tumblr's image limit unfortunately prevented me from actually showing the full thing. 😭)

But yeah, all in all this is a REALLY good issue of Batgirls and I definitely recommend people pick it up even if you've had problems with the series.

It's just a passionate love letter to the character of Cassandra imo, and tbh I think this story will be remembered as one of her best for quite some time.

So, an obvious 10/10 from me. :)

Well, I hope you all enjoyed this review of Batgirls #14 from me!

As always stay tuned! Same bat-time, same bat-channel!

You can find the Amino version of this review here:

[harmcityherald]

I started roast beef sliders a little bit late in the evening, but I nodded off and went to sleep. So I woke up at 2:00 a.m. and all the things and the ingredients were still out and ready to be made so I went ahead and made them 231 a.m. and they are finished and boy let me tell you they are something good. Fried onions and mushrooms the rolls are potato rolls I made a beef stock to go along with it to dip it in. They had two kinds of cheeses yellow American cheese on each and then sprinkled all over with mozzarella on the inside on top of each slider I placed a sprig of rosemary not so much to be eaten but to allow the butter to cook the Rosemary into the sandwich itself. I also Incorporated some fresh oregano. The buns are toasted just to perfection. I have a whole another pack I can make I can make ham sliders plus I could make another round of roast beef sliders as well I'll do that tomorrow I think but the younger ones will appreciate the ham more than the roast beef. So we have ourselves here some late night cooking with the cowboy cookers. Luckily for me Artemisia covered everything over and let it wait for me to wake up she knows me well. I woke up at 2:00 a.m. thinking oh my God my sliders LOL. But now they're done and I've eaten one for the midnight snack and let me tell you they are pretty divine. So bones Apple teeth and have a good evening wherever you may be. Hot food is served. The only one around to appreciate it are the turtles and they don't get none of this, not out of any kind of malice but just because I am working very hard to get their diet correct. The colorings of their shells have come out so much in the last week or two just from the change of diet that is actually amazing. The pyramid will be permanent there's nothing I can do about that but at least I arrested it before it got any worse. Of course we've got some aggressive behavior from pancake but we'll be keeping an eye on her she maybe the one who ends up separated. That all depends on her. She's biting at the other turtle's heads mostly when I'm feeding their live worms to them they get a little bit of a ferocious frenzy going on but I've also seen her do it with no food present at all just swim up and bite the opposing turtle in the head. Now pancake bit me yesterday but the bite was so inconsequential these red sliders they just had no teeth and no power behind their bite whatsoever it was like being bitten by a week clothes pin. But I do have to keep an open eye on them to make sure that they do not injure each other the minute that starts to happen we're going to have to move and separate her and start another tank. I believe that they're fighting over Zippy he is the little male. And you would think for being in love with him they might make sure that he eats a little bit but they rather than at least steal them food right out of his mouth as well and pancake is no stranger to just swimming up to him and biting him in the head. Poor little guy. I try to make sure he gets special attention. So it's just me my turtles and my sliders. Sounds like it's time to smoke a bowl.

All quiet and all is well at the Western Front.

[nakachuchu]

Love is in the Air or Not | Kuroo Tetsuro + Yaku Morisuke

SYNOPSIS: Harry Potter AU - Two boys are pining for you.

READER: female

WORDS: 2093

WRITTEN: 03/17/2021

NOTES: I rewrote this a lot of times and I read it so many times that I started hating it, so I'm not sure if anyone will actually enjoy it but I spent too much time on it.

You were one of the rare girls who didn't give into Kuroo. He was known at Hogwarts for being a player and being absolutely wicked at sex. It was why girls always crawled to him—but not you.

He wanted to know why it was so easy for you to resist his charms. He thought he was quite attractive, and for you to not agree was an insult.

Kuroo approached you while you were talking to a friend. You slowly turned around and looked up at the tall man as your friend shuffled away.

He grinned at you. "Go out with me."

You laughed with a smile as you reached up to fix his tie. "You're crazy."

The corner of his mouth twitched. "Is that a no?"

"It's a big no."

"Why not? I'm a catch," he said.

"Because it's obvious you just want to fuck me," you retorted.

"Aren't you even a bit curious?" he asked.

"No, but I am hungry," you said as you walked away from him to grab a muffin.

You didn't care for relationships or boys, so Kuroo was a no-go for you. You cared more about your friends and getting good grades.

The next day, Kuroo approached you once more in the common room. It was times like this where you wished you were sorted into a different House.

"Go out with me?" Kuroo asked with a flower bouquet in his hand.

The flowers looked as if he pulled them out of the dirt from the courtyard, and you wouldn't be surprised if he did.

You shook your head. "I'm not taking these."

Kuroo's arm swung back to his side. "Why not? Girls like flowers."

You fought back the urge to snatch those flowers and smack him on the head with it. "Not all girls like flowers and not all of them want to have sex with you," you retorted.

You left the common room without taking the flowers. Yaku walked in the room with a muffin in his hand and a book wedged in his armpit.

"Feels bad, doesn't it?" Yaku asked.

Kuroo's eye twitched. "Mouthy already, huh?"

"You tell me."

"Smartass," Kuroo commented with a snort.

"I don't know. Why don't you ask my ass? Here, it's been really calm today."

Yaku turned around and stuck his butt out. Kuroo rolled his eyes and shoved his back before smacking him with the flowers. Yaku turned back and whacked him in the face with his book.

"Dick," Kuroo muttered.

"Asshole," Yaku retorted. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe Y/N doesn't like you?"

"Every girl likes me. They just want to be fucked."

Yaku rolled his eyes. "I'm going to the library. You're annoying the fuck out of me."

"Please do, midget."

Yaku ignored him and walked toward the library with his school bag. He didn't expect to see you there, standing by a bookcase though. He approached you hesitantly and you smiled faintly once you saw him.

"Hey, Yaku," you greeted.

"Hey, Y/N. How's your day so far?" he asked.

"Kuroo hasn't stopped bothering me. It's a miracle he's not here right now. You didn't shrink him and hide him in your robes, did you?"

Yaku smiled as he stuck his hand in his robes and patted his body.

"I don't think he's in there, but if he is, then I probably squished him by then."

You chuckled. "With that ego of his, there's no way we'll be able to shrink him."

He snorted. "You can say that again. I could power a whole town with that ego."

"Try the whole world," you retorted.

The two of you paused before bursting out in laughter. Students nearby curiously looked at you and the librarian shushed you. The two of you zipped your mouths and did your best to not laugh.

You never failed to make him laugh. It was why he liked spending time with you.

The two of you met in your first year and it wasn't difficult to become friends with him. He was a bit shy at first, but eventually came out of his shell when you started smiling and telling jokes to him during class.

"What are you studying for?" you asked.

"Charms," he answered. "You?"

"Potions."

Yaku nodded. "My best subject is Potions."

"And my best subject is Charms," you replied.

"Wanna be study partners?" he asked as he nervously scratched the back of his neck.

"It would be an honor."

The librarian shushed you again.

The two of you looked at each other before forcing down your laughter.

You enjoyed spending time with Yaku. He was humble, smart, and had a wicked sense of humor.

"Y/N, another Outstanding for you!" the professor said as he passed back your test.

You smiled gratefully. Charms always came naturally to you.

"Kuroo, Poor. Was this lesson too difficult for you? You usually do so well."

"Ah, well, I've been a bit under the weather. Maybe Y/N could tutor me since she's so smart," said Kuroo lazily.

"That sounds wonderful!" the professor exclaimed.

You froze and dropped the book you were holding onto the desk. "Please repeat that, Professor. I'm afraid my hearing is a bit wonky these days."

"You should tutor Kuroo!" he repeated. "Lunch is about to start, so everyone may leave. Y/N, I expect you to help Kuroo raise his grades."

You and Kuroo left the room, side-by-side.

"There's no way you purposely failed that test to get me to tutor you, did you?" you asked.

"Who knows?" he questioned with a smirk.

Truth was, he did fail on purpose to get time with you. But it wasn't because he had a crush on you.

He didn't do crushes. It was difficult for him to get attached to someone because no one was worth his time.

"Your technique is all wrong," you critiqued. "Why do you move your arm around like a dead worm?"

After class, you immediately dragged him to a corner of the library to coach him.

Kuroo rolled his eyes. "You're meaner than you look," he said. "Everyone thinks you're this saint, but you're really not."

You raised an eyebrow. "I think I'm pretty nice."

"If you're nice, then go out with me," he countered.

"I'm not that nice."

"Are you sure? I'm pretty cute," he said.

"That's a good joke," you retorted.

He rolled his eyes. "Okay, but I actually do have a good joke. Why did the ketchup blush?"

"I don't know. I don't like ketchup."

"He saw the salad dressing."

You blinked. "That's...horrible. Are you a dad? You're making dad jokes!"

"Hey, they're good! Look, look, I have another one, okay? What's the difference between a G-spot and a golf ball? A man will actually search for a golf ball."

You snorted. "Okay, that's actually—" You started laughing. "That's actually pretty funny."

Kuroo never noticed how cute your laugh and snort was. He liked it when you loosened up around him, so he continued to tell bad jokes.

"Stop making me laugh!" you scolded. "I'm supposed to be tutoring you!"

Kuroo laughed in return. "Think of this as a break!"

"We've had a ten-minute break with me laughing and you telling jokes!"

Other students in the library were starting to get annoyed with the two. At first, they were intrigued by you spending time with Kuroo, but they started to get annoyed with how loud you were.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Kuroo responded.

"Maybe. Unless you're actually failing Charms."

"I'm not. I'm actually smart, you know."

You hummed. "No, I don't think I know."

"Will you go out with me?" he asked again.

It was so sudden, that you didn't know what to say. And when you looked at how serious he was, you nearly agreed.

But you had never dated someone before, and Kuroo was known for being a player.

"No," you said softly. "But for good reason. Maybe you should ask out someone else? Like you said, you're a catch."

He nodded. His mouth felt a bit dry and there was a bad taste in his mouth. He felt a bit uncomfortable but understood what you meant.

The two of you met in your first year, but you only knew him through Yaku. Their families knew each other, so they grew up together.

You and Kuroo weren't close to each other, but if you were around Yaku, Kuroo would normally appear to tease him.

Along the way, he got intrigued by how you never gave him the time of day.

The Winter Ball was coming up. Students were asking each other out left and a right. Everywhere you turned, a student would be asking another student to attend the ball with them.

"Are you going to ask anyone to the ball, Yaku?" you asked as you sat down next to him in the library.

He suddenly seemed frigid. "No!" he exclaimed.

"Shh!" the librarian angrily shushed.

"You seem very eager about that. It's all right. You don't have to tell me anything."

He fidgeted with the ends of his robes. "Y/N, do you want to go to the ball with me?"

Yaku liked you. It wasn't hard to tell, and while you could picture a relationship with him, you weren't ready for one.

You froze, the book in your hand balancing on the spine. "I wasn't planning on going to the dance. I don't like loud, crowded places," you explained. "Sorry. It's definitely not you. Um—let's just study, okay?"

He felt dejected, but it was better than you rejecting him for another person. He nodded and opened his book.

Kuroo looked up from the couch in the common room once he heard the door open. You casually walked in, waving to others with a book wedged into your armpit.

He got up from the couch and walked over to you. You paused as he stood in front of you with his signature smirk.

"Do you want to go to the Winter Ball with me?" he asked.

"Yaku didn't put you up to this, right?" you asked.

"No. Did he do something?"

"He asked me to the dance, like, an hour ago. I'm going to tell you what I told him. I'm not planning on going," you said. "Dances aren't my thing. I'll just be in the common room."

You turned around and headed up to your dorm.

Dances weren't Kuroo's scene, either, but he asked because he wanted to get to know you better. But, he didn't mind the idea of spending time with you alone while the others were at a dance.

Kuroo left the common room to find Yaku to get some answers. Because Kuroo wasn't stupid—regardless of how people thought—he knew Yaku would be in the library.

"Do you like Y/N?" Kuroo asked as he approached him.

Yaku nodded, looking up from his seated position. "Yeah, I do. Do you?"

Kuroo scoffed. "I don't know. She's pretty cool though."

"Who knows? Maybe she'll actually end up liking you—when pigs fly," Yaku added.

Kuroo scoffed. "She'd definitely pick me."

The boys stared each other down silently.

On the day of the dance, you were left alone in the common room. The fire was going and you had a book on your lap.

It was quiet and peaceful, and you liked it. Until two bumbling idiots ran down the stairs while arguing with each other.

You looked up from your book. "Really, boys? You couldn't have gone to the dance like the others?"

"Well, the girl we asked didn't want to go," Kuroo retorted as he jumped over the couch and sat next to you.

Yaku quietly sat on your other side. You closed your book and placed it on the table in front of you.

"Fair point," you said as you waved your wand to turn on the radio.

You leaned your head back and closed your eyes.

"What are you doing?" Yaku asked.

"Taking a nap. We're not going anywhere," you retorted.

The two boys looked at each other as you drifted off to sleep. You didn't mind their company as long as neither of them bothered you—mainly Kuroo.

"She'll never date you," Yaku said.

"How do you know that? I'm a catch. I bet she'll date me."

"I doubt that. I have a better chance than you," Yaku retorted.

Kuroo rolled his eyes. "A midget like you would never win."

The two began to quietly bicker with each other. They were rivals, after all, and this was only the beginning.

[tyunniverse]

TXT x DISNEY Halloween Shorts 🎃 (2/5)

pairing: ot5 x reader

genre: fluff, crack, college au

warnings: light swearing

synopsis: there's a halloween event at your uni and a few students are in the mood for misfit.

yeonjun | soobin | beomgyu | taehyun | hueningkai

SOOBIN | Snow White (1.5k)

The streets of the university were busier than usual, with various departments and classes loitering around the campus holding their own events for the Halloween festivities tonight. Your class decided to keep things simple, stating that you're already working hard enough with your studies so why not use this time to relax and well, not do much despite still participating. Yeah, that's it. You couldn't agree more.

So the entire class opted to hand out free candied apples to those that can recite the names of all seven dwarves in Snow White. It was that or going out dressed as said dwarves while aggressively singing the Heigh Ho song as you went around the campus. Although, you did spot a few classmates of yours earlier wearing dwarf costumes but then again you could've just been seeing things. Too much candied apples, you think.

“Y/N, let's head over there. A lot of people are gathering.” Your classmate, Soojin, tells you and the two of you follow your other classmates towards the crowd.

Soojin takes out a sign printed on paper that read: Free Candied Apples. It didn't even say anything about the condition in order to earn them, and lacked any indication that this was for a Halloween event. Perhaps your classmates took the “Let's take it easy.” advice too seriously. You ponder whether or not people would actually accept your sweet treats.

“Free food?” A guy with pink hair, carrying a huge duffel bag walks by and takes a look at the sign before eyeing the tray of candied apples in your hands. “Looks good. Don't mind if I do then.” He grins and was about to take one of the apples when Soojin grabs his hand.

“You get one if you can recite the names of all the seven dwarves in Snow White.” Soojin deadpans.

The guy retracts his hand. “The only dwarf I know is that Duck guy but oh well.” He sighs. One last look at the apples and the guy was scurrying away.

You look at Soojin and giggle. “I'm pretty sure he meant Doc.”

“He didn't even try.”

You tell Soojin that you'll roam around for a while to hopefully find more people who're interested for a quick bite. “Free Candied Apples if you can name all seven dwarves in Snow White!” You announce, repeating it twice for good measure.

From the corner of your eye, you spot a guy with blue hair fast approaching. You pretend not to see him until he called out.

“Hey!” The guy greets, now grinning in front of you. “These candied apples are free, right?”

You give him a look over and notice that he was already carrying around a bunch of goodies that you assume were also from other classes that were handing out free stuff. This guy was on a roll.

“Yup. If you can tell me the names of all seven dwarves then you get a free apple.” You smile back at him.

“That's easy.” The guy's smile grows wider with confidence. He must be the first person you've encountered tonight who looked so prepared to answer.

Soojin quickly calls your attention from afar, waving her hands frantically before pointing at the folder sticking out of the paper bag you'd brought along. “Oh!” You put the tray down on the bench and take out the folder, opening it. You look back at the guy with yet another smile. “Since you look like you can actually win this, I'm gonna have to write your name here on our customers list. Can you tell me your first name and department?”

“Soobin, Nursing Department.”

“Alright, thank you.” You say, writing his name before putting the folder back in the bag. “Okay, Soobin.”

The guy, Soobin, perks up after hearing his name. His eyes flutter towards the tray of candied apples that you were now holding.

“A dree apple in exchange for the seven dwa—.”

“Bashful, Doc, Grumpy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Happy, and Dopy.”

“...” A laugh escapes you when he started enumerating. You thought it was cute how he was too excited to even let you finish. “Impressive.” You tell him.

Soobin smirks, feeling pretty proud himself. “I memorized their names today in the shower. You never know when you're gonna need it during events like this, right?” He winks and you can't help but notice the dimple on his cheek. That just made him ten times cuter than he already was. You doubt he actually memorized their names in the shower though. From the looks of it, he might've been a Disney fan since he was a kid.

“Go ahead, pick one. You deserve it.” You raise the tray higher and Soobin happily takes the one in the middle.

He was about to say something as he took the apple when the two of you hear a faint chanting in the distance that got louder and louder as the seconds pass.

“You think there's some sort of performance going on?” Soobin asks but you couldn't quite hear him over the chanting.

“What?” You lean in closer and so does he.

“Is there a performance going on?” He asks, his voice a bit louder than before.

“I—”

Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho

Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho

Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho

It's home from work we go

In an instant, you were surrounded by a group of seven dwarves whose faces looked far too familiar for you not to notice. They're circling around you and Soobin, continuously chanting the song lyrics aggressively.

Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho

It's home from work we go

It didn't take a few seconds for you to piece together that these were your classmates who'd suggested the whole dwarf idea in the class meeting. Looks like they really wanted to do the thing afterall. But they weren't the only ones who'd gone against the class agreement tonight.

A mischievous grin creeps up your lips as you eye Soobin, naïvely chuckling at your classmates' buffoonery. Poor guy just had to pick the one in the middle, you thought.

There was a reason why you'd separated from Soojin earlier. And it was to switch one of the candied apples with one you'd personally tampered with. You'd gone through numerous trials and errors this morning but you'd finally succeeded in hiding a gummy worm inside an apple, and now that apple was in Soobin's hands. It was Halloween afterall, a little scare prank should be okay, right?

You eagerly watch as Soobin takes a bite, his attention still on your classmates, not noticing the gummy worm that had sprung out.

“Soobin!” You call out to him, hoping he'd hear you despite of your classmates' loud chants.

Soobin turns to face you and smiles, still chewing on the piece he just bit off. “Yes?”

“How does it taste?” You ask, trying your best not to sound too obvious.

Soobin continues to chew on the apple, thinking that the texture felt a little odd. As if something unfamiliar was mixed along the snack. “It tastes great.” He says despite the odd feeling in his mouth. “I'm a huge fan of caramel.”

He wished caramel and apple were the only things he tasted in his mouth right now but there was something else. A taste that he couldn't quite describe.

“That's good to hear. We put in a lot of effort in making them tonight.” Well, you put a lot of effort in inserting the gummy worm but he'll find out about that soon. “We especially wanted it to look right.”

“Looks and tastes pretty good to me.” Soobin says, looking down at the treat in his hand. His eyes widen when he spots something small in the middle, moving around in a swaying motion. The weird texture in his mouth, the unfamiliar taste mixed in with the caramel, and now this thing inside the apple— this thing that had its head bitten off of it's body— Soobin was quite sure of it. He had eaten a worm.

A worm.

Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho

It's home from work we go

“Soobin, is something wrong?” You couldn't hold back the grin in your face.

Soobin looks at you and then back at the apple. “I think I'm gonna—”

He wasn't able to finish his sentence the apple falls from his hand and onto the ground, his body soon following after. One of your classmates manages to catch him and you put the tray down and hurry to his side.

“Oh shit. I think he fainted.” Your classmate tells you and you gulp. “We'll get him to the infirmary.”

In a split second, all seven dwarves were huddled around Soobin, hoisting him up and quickly maneuvering their way towards the infirmary. You were about to run after them when Soojin approaches you, Soobin's candied apple in her hand.

“Care to explain?” She dangles the piece of fruit in front of you and you frown.

Perhaps putting gummy worms in apples was a bad idea after all.

Soobin furrows his brows, feeling quite uncomfortable with the amount of arms holding his body up while taking him towards who knows where. He makes a mental note to himself: stop playing fainting pranks on people.

[pleasancies]

Tragedy At Brineward

content : team whump, self-sacrifice, collapse, bleeding, vomiting

wordcount : 2.2k+

This one needs a lot of setup before getting into the meat of things, a lot of action scenes, I'm actually a bit worried if this counts as whump. Anyway, this is set in Heretics series. The events in this happens before First Shot. Tagging : @summer-of-whump

***

Brineward Research Facility loomed in the distance. The moon basked upon the roofs, creating a bright silhouette as Avis watched from afar. Its walls enshrined with greenery. Stone constructs overgrown with mold and moss. It spread several meters outside of the gate, a contrast with miles of dead plants around it. Hiding so far up from the institute, it doesn't took a binocular to make out the soldiers standing guard and the occasional Professors passing to and fro.

Someone tapped on her shoulder. Avis turned around, seeing a fully equipped James, with Sherman standing behind him. It wasn't a uniform by any measure, but it's something that can protect. He hold a gas mask for her. Nancy kneeled beside them, tying her shoes. Emmet sat behind Nancy, his expression deep in thought as he shuffled a deck of cards.

"Isn't it a little too early to wear your entire gear? They might spot us from here."

"Change of plans. Mary's group arrives half an hour from now."

Avis took the mask and wore it over her face. "Is it bad?" She asked.

James shrugged. "Nah. They didn't say much. How's the lab going?"

"Some of them have been working all night. I saw one going back and forth between buildings."

"They received another Wreckage?" Nancy asked.

"Not sure. Ask Sherman. He's on watch duty this afternoon."

Sherman, who sat back in front of Emmet between the stack of cards said, "If I saw a package coming I would have said it already."

"Ominous," Nancy noted.

Emmet perked up, "Anyone guessing they're reanimating the Pilots or is it just me?"

Avis chuckled, "They might as well reconstruct the entire spaceship. Flesh and all."

"Even the—"

Everyone raised their voice, voicing variations of horrified expressions to them. Nancy let out a nervous laugh. Emmet smiled and throw a card on the ground. Sherman groaned. James walked over them, lightly poking Emmet and Sherman's back with his foot.

"Come on, put your mask back on. We're going in a few minutes."

The youngest member of the team huffed a yes before shoving the cards into his pockets. The conversation goes on, plans, strategy, teasing. They traced their way back, retreating from a small corner at the top of a cliff. Along the homogenous forest and down until they arrived at a set of boulders in a hidden corner of the hill. Avis could only see the front side of Brineward now, but it's not the building they have to watch.

James leaned the radio to his ears. It buzzed. An uncomprehensible scramble.

"We're just waiting for Mary to enter the driveway now."

The Motorwagen arrives. It was a behemoth. A train of repurposed shipping containers with a chamber for the driver at the front. For something so big, it barely made a noise. It halted at the checkpoint. This is it. Everything hinges on whether Mary could sell the act. The security guard gets out of his booth. Everyone draw their breath in. A hand stretched out of the vehicle window. It gave him a paper. Avis gripped her gun. James brings out his binoculars, trying to gauge the man's expression. The fifteen seconds of him reading was unbearable. It was too long.

He let her in. Mary drives inside, but there's no collective sigh of relief to be heard. Only footsteps slowly marching to Brineward.

The plan was simple. Mary's group enter at the front. Cause a ruckus while they sneak in by crawling at the stony fence. Once they notice Mary's a distraction, they will be too busy fighting while James and his teammates navigated the path Mary had prepared for them

They were quiet, save from a few confirmations between Sherman and Nancy. A strong breeze passed through the forest, leaving a loud shrill in its wake. Minutes passed. Then a bright flash of white.

Glass shattered. Smoke billowed. Avis felt the ground shake before hearing anything. It was on left wing. Second floor, in seventh window from the right. Another bang followed, on the opposite side. Outside, close to the hybrid garden.

It's time.

James group approached the outer walls. They hold their breath as their clothes hugged the toxic mold. It crawled to their improvised plastic suits, blades of grass writhing like worms.

Nancy keep her head up, observing the windows. Her hands frantically scribbling at her notebook as the others take care of the two guards advancing at them. She was almost done when someone snatched her hand. Emmett muttered a curse and landed a kick. It wasn't enough to bring the guard to the ground, but the man was off-balance enough for Nancy to stab him in the leg. He fell, and James helped her strip him off of any communication device.

"Sector 5-6-B. All clear," James lied.

That done, they went inside the building. They've memorized the blueprints, and Mary provided them an easy entrance. They crossed path with a researcher, and he backs off as far away as possible when his eyes saw their green stained plastic apron.

"This way guys," Nancy pointed. Avis and Emmet go first, gun in hand. She hope it was unnecessary. Most people would run seeing the mold, outer guards excepted. They had their own military grade cloak to protect themself for long term exposure. The plastic cover does not compare. Their paths were cleared first so they don't run out of time.

It was a desperate plan. Research facilities had a reputation for being impossible to infiltrate. Their fences are poisonous, and their gates will always catch someone that doesn't belong.

They ventured down the hallway. It smelled of burnt cables and gunpowder. A scream erupts from the distance. Avis checked at the corners of the ceiling. Broken cameras riddled with holes. Mary's work. She shot the ones still functioning. At a hidden corner of the far end of the floor, they found a set of stairs. The bottom was relatively clean than the chaos upstairs. They're on their own for now.

Emmet went first, and he was greeted with an identical corridor of the above. Slightly darker, with thick metal doors. It was quiet sans the buzzing fluorescent lights and the drumming of their heartbeats.

"There's cameras. Should I shoot it?"

Sherman shook his head. "They'll know we're here."

"But they already watched the cameras. It's better to make them react instead of us fighting off a coordinated strike," Avis said.

"Alright, but don't waste your bullets."

A muffled shriek followed the loud bang of their pistols. Avis heard pounding from one of the doors.

"Don't do anything rash. We're covered head to toe with mold and we will not hesitate to smear it on your face," James walked around the hall, adressing the hiding researchers as if they are lined up in front of him. He couldn't mimic the slight hysterical tilt in Avis voice, but his threat are bold enough to keep the reputation of Heretics as a mad terrorist group.

Nancy chimed in, friendlier "This will be over soon if you cooperate."

Sherman reached a door on the far end of the complex. A solid block of metal work with a narrow hole to pass paperwork. His fist rapped at the door. He heard footsteps, someone rummaging.

"Open up, we know you're in here."

"No!" The person shouted. "You're all empty threats. As long as I'm here I'm safe and the soldiers are slowly making their way to you."

James mouthed a word. Hurry.

Sherman took off his cover. He crumpled it into a ball and slipped it to the door slot. It wasn't halfway in when the scientist flung his door open. He trembled in the corner of the lab. The man barely struggled as Sherman drag him by the arms.

It was worrying. Avis glanced at the other labs. That man must not be the only one. How many of them are sitting patiently with help on the way? The ceiling vibrated. A deep thunderous stampede of safeguards and panic.

"Hey, I think we should wrap this guy's head with your coat. Get it over with. He did said he called for help," Avis said, slightly louder than she should.

"Please, no! I lied, I didn't get the chance."

"Right, right. Well, you shouldn't lie to us this time. This next part is important. You're going to lead us into your special storage section, and we'll activate the traps if you try to screw us over."

Avis smiled. It was never pretty. A little too big, coupled with asymmetrical rows of teeth. The man nodded. Sherman held him as he shakily press the code for the final basement's door. They walked down a stairwell, past a lab, a warehouse, and an office. The room was small. Three set of cubicles and rows of metal racks and glass cases. They set to work. Nancy and James head to the cabinets. Emmet and Avis searched the cases. Sherman guarding their hostage.

They came here for data. Every file regarding Brineward's experiments with The Ship, barring the most sensitive. Blueprints of cutting edge technology on the shelves are a bonus.

Avis grinned. Her heart thudded with her whole body. She was jittery. They're almost done. And yet, a nagging sense of dread crept up to her senses. The room shook. Loud footsteps marching. A small buzz of the radio were barely heard. James understand either way. His face fell.

"Run! Forget about the blueprints, we got what we need!"

The Thing found them halfway near the stairs leading to the ground floor. It pounced behind them. Emmet barely escaped. His gun fell from his grasp. He practically skidded on the floor. His back hits the wall, hard.

They all turned to look. They only glimpsed at the creature, but its form burned into their minds. A man, kneeling. His thighs and arms swollen with muscle. Sharp, gigantic teeth forcing his mouth to a permanent scowl. He had a wolf-like snout. Mostly humanoid, except for the peculiar haunted look in his face. Driven by adrenaline, Sherman shot him. It wake Nancy out of her stupor to run for Emmet.

"Come on, run! Don't pass out on me."

His shoulders hissed in pain as he tried to stand. Emmet staggered, one good push away from collapsing. The Thing gets up again, chunks of flesh missing from his face.

No time to waste. Avis threw a grenade. Nancy and Sherman had to practically hauled Emmet to the top of the stairs. They covered their ears and eyes as they run. The blast rippled through the basement.

A rap of frantic footsteps closing in on them. The Thing lets out a primal scream. An angry, deep red husk of a person.

A rain of bullets hit him. Wasn't an accurate shot, but it slowed him down. The group went outside, climbing and walking in detours and unlikely places to distract it. The Thing found them nevertheless. Again and again. James threw his last hand bomb. They slipped in an alleyway between two buildings.

"What the fuck is that and how did it find us so quickly?" Nancy shrieked between gasps of breath.

"I think it's the smell. It had a dog's nose. We can't hide as long as it knows our scent," James said.

"B-but we burned him twice! It must be dead by now."

"I'm not sure. The thing barely looked like it was in pain," Emmett leaned against the wall. His dark hair slick with blood. It flowed throughout one side of his face. His eyes are wide, terror transfixed to his expression. Avis could see the slight tremor running through his body. It made him look small. A young boy realizing his mortality for the first time.

The exit is still a long way to go, possibly guarded. They wasted most of their bullets.

Avis spoke up, "We should split up. James, you took Emmet. Nancy you're with Sherman."

"No, never!" James raised his voice. "I'm not letting you run alone. This thing could kill you."

"This is our best chance. I could be bait, while you and Nancy grab your files and scram. It can't chase us all. The worst outcome would be two of us coming back with fifty-percent of the data."

"This isn't about the mission. It's about you! The mission doesn't matter if one of us bite it in the end."

"I'm not letting the four of you die for me! Face it, one of us had to go."

"Then it has to be me." James said. His voice thick with emotion, "I'm the leader. I brought you all into this."

Avis hitched her breath. Her thoughts ran into a thousand directions. Words spilled from her mouth. "No. You-you're useful. You had a wife and kids. Emmett's still young. Nancy is smart, she's valuable asset. Sherman have to take care of his mother alone."

"What?"

"I said what I said. You're all more valuable and important."

Nancy pushed Avis to the wall, hoisting her up by the collar, "Since when did you have the right to judge how valuable our life is?!"

She didn't wait for a reply. "You matter. Just as much as me. You have a mother just like Sherman. What about her, huh? I don't care about the mission anymore. Don't do this."

"My mother's fine. She had my siblings. Heretic will go on without me. I'm-I'm not needed." Avis voice were hollow. Nancy dropped her to the ground, too stunned to process.

James turned to look at Sherman. His brows furrowed. He saw a pale face, sweat beaded on Sherman's forehead.

"You've been quiet. Are you—"

Sherman collapsed. His eyes rolled back, knees buckling. James caught him in a hug. Vomit splattered on the pavement. A slurry of blood red, yellow bile, and mossy green. The rampaging monster's roar could be heard from a distance.

"Please, keep them safe." Avis said. None of them stopped her as she charged her way further and further from the exit.

Next Chapter

[billhaderlovebot]

beep beep (5) - richie tozier.

@ceruleanrainblues @the-star-above-you @a-second-hand-sorrow @shockwavee @socially-unaccepptable-dameron

the usual sexy stuff and swearing and weed. y'all know the drill.

"i've never been... uh... good at the whole, um, serious thing. but, this is us. this is... our wedding. and i put real effort into this shit. so, get ready, fuckers, because this is a real tearjerker. um, yeah. okay..."

you honestly hadn't trusted richie to write his own vows, but neither of you had wanted them to feel... artificial. you wanted them to be your own. and now he was standing before you, holding your hands in his and tearing up already. big softie.

he had also teared up as you walked down the aisle on wobbly legs, mike on your arm.

"we were... we were owed more time, i think." richie lamented. "we should have done this years ago. i should have married you years ago."

---

richie had known, for a long time, that you were the one he would marry.

it was 1993, and the sun was setting over sleepy little derry, giving the quarry an orange-pink glow and bathing you all in its warmth.

you were all pruning up a little, and it wasn't as warm as it was when you'd come down a few hours previously, but summer was coming to an end, and you wanted to make the most of your last couple weeks of freedom with your favourite people in the world.

richie watched as you sat in the shallows, taking a hit of the sizeable joint between your fingers. you exhaled loudly, leaning your head back toward the watercolour sky.

shades of blush pink and peach and apricot illuminated your skin, the low sun setting a warm glow across the water, and oh, god, he was in love.

you laughed, loud and beautifully obnoxious, at something stan had said, passing him the joint and wiggling your legs in the water. your laugh just so happened to be the losers' favourite sound in the whole world, as it was one of those wonderfully infectious laughs you can't help but laugh along with.

richie had always tried to make you laugh in the hopes that you'd like him, but when you did laugh, he found himself falling in love.

eddie watched on in disapproval, sitting cross legged on the bank behind you.

"when you get lung cancer i will laugh and i will spit on your grave." he grumbled, but took the joint anyway when it was passed back around to him, just as enthusiastically as the rest of you. perhaps he was trying to protest in hopes that it would lessen the guilt he would feel later as he frantically sprayed himself with deodorant to get the smell out, and applied the emergency eyedrops he had bought.

ben, bev, bill and mike were in the middle of a very intense game of chicken. beverly had toppled off of mike's shoulders at least twice, but she had pushed bill back into the water more than four times, shrieking with laughter as, arms flailing, he disappeared under the surface of the lake.

"rich! c'mere." you had caught sight of him and held out your arms in his direction, making cute little grabby hand motions toward him. the look of utter joy on your face warmed him from head to toe, and he smiled as he swam over, dodging bill, who had once again been knocked into the lake by bev. ("stop being such a little bitch, billy.")

you came to meet richie halfway, leaving stan and eds to finish the joint and sinking into the water up to your neck. you immediately attached your lips to his, running both of your hands through his hair because you were stoned and everything felt better under your fingertips.

kissing him was like... a whole other plane of existence. you were joined at the lips, joined at the heart. the sun was going down and it was getting cold, and you were both shaking, and he noted the way you tasted of smoke as he kissed the life from you, the water rippling against his chin. you groaned quietly, and richie smiled into the kiss, ignoring everyone else's exasperated groans because ugh they're making out again ew look at them they're so disgustingly in love.

"you're both whores!" stan all but screamed, and you flipped him off, kissing richie all the more enthusiastically.

and richie broke away just to look at you.

the sun, now casting a deep orange-red light behind you, was almost set, and you were beautiful.

the quiet "hi, babe." that tumbled from your lips made him feel as if everything was right with the world, and, then, staring at you, drinking you in, in all your red-eyed, swollen-lipped, soft-grinning glory, like he was seeing colour for the first time, he knew that if he didn't marry you he would probably die.

---

"but now we're here."

richie cleared his throat, his eyes darting around because if he looked directly you he had no chance of keeping it together. "and i have you for the rest of my life. it took a lot for us to get here, too. god knows how we managed to plan all this. thanks, bevvy."

---

eddie was your best man.

obviously.

eddie was your best everything, to be honest, so it was an easy choice while wedding planning. eddie had been the essential third to your group of three ever since you were kids, and he meant so much to richie, and so much to you that you hadn't even had to think about it.

eddie was going to be the best man. that choice was a no-brainer.

all of the other choices, however, were not.

richie and yourself, apparently, were completely incompetent at any sort of planning whatsoever.

you tried, though, you really did.

you got out the big notebook and a pen and richie pulled up pinterest and you had some serious talks about colour schemes and flower arrangements and the like.

well, sort of.

("can we have, like, yknow, like, those worms..."

"worms?"

"like those worms on strings... yeah, those."

"the googly eyes?"

"the eyes.... yeah, and just..."

"hang them?"

"from the ceiling... yeah. "

"richie?"

"yes?"

"i think that's the best idea you've had since i met you.")

but after consuming copious amounts of alcohol, and only having made one useful decision, the two of you decided that you were not in any state to plan your fucking wedding.

("so... s-so if we get- richard, stop trying to take my clothes off- if we get the worms, do you want the pink- rich, i swear- do you want the pink ones or the blue ones...?")

turning off whatever true crime show was playing in the background, you stumbled, leaning against one another, to the bedroom.

"sex?"

"that's the plan."

but any attempt to undress each other only got half way before you were both asleep atop the bedsheets, snoring lightly, an intoxicated tangle of limbs.

the planner notebook you had been using to write down the essentials lay open and abandoned on the coffee table, the only thing in it being one line of richie's chickenscratch handwriting.

it read: set a place for stanley.

---

richie was really, properly crying now, and the only think keeping him from losing his shit was eddie's hand on his shoulder, and your thumb running across his knuckles.

everyone else was crying, too. not a dry eye in the room.

"almost losing you again... so soon after we had found each other... really put shit into perspective for me, yknow? hospitals, um, suck. and i was so pissed... because... fuck, sorry, fuck... i was, uh, pissed, because all i could think was that we were losing time again."

---

(before the sewer fight)

"kiss me." richie's quiet, shaky voice came from behind you, and you whirled around from the suitcase from which you were trying to put together an outfit more suitable for clown killing.

he took you in his arms almost immediately, bending down to kiss you, but the kiss almost scared you.

it was too tense.

there was too strong an edge to the way he held you close, kissing you as if it were the last time.

"what's wrong?" you murmured, centimetres from his lips, your breath ghosting across them.

"i... i don't know if we'll both come out of this." he admitted in hushed agony, kissing you again, slower. "i won't be able to live with myself if something happens to you." richie kissed you again and again, such raw emotion behind each soft crush of lips that he had to swallow the quiet, broken gasps that spilled from you.

"whatever happens," you breathed, running your thumbs along his cheekbones. "i love you."

"show me." he pleaded, red rimmed eyes locking onto yours with such intent that you almost fell over. "please, just-"

"we have to be quick." you said, and he nodded, pulling you into another long, searing kiss. there was a sort of burning desperation to the way his lips moved, now.

richie shifted your shorts down and slid his hands under your thighs, whispering a low "jump" in your ear. your legs wrapped around his waist, and you gasped as your back hit the wall.

"fuck, rich, hurry the fuck up." you mumbled, tilting your head so as to give him better access to the skin of your neck, to which he was already leaving marks.

"okay, baby." and then he was all but tearing off your shirt, immediately exploring the newly exposed skin with his mouth, teeth included. fuck.

"you're such a prick." you hissed.

"and you might just be the most beautiful thing ever to have existed, sweets." said richie, pushing his glasses up his nose and looking at you with dark, dilated, sex-me-up eyes.

"do something about it then." you challenged.

"anything for you, doll."

richie was pushing you so hard against the wall, that you were surprised you didn't go right through the drywall and topple into eddie's room.

you ran your tongue along his bottom lip and he groaned so fucking loud.

"i love you." you whispered the sentiment against his lips, fumbling at his belt buckle.

"i love you more."

---

richie took a moment to compose himself, allowing you to do the same. your eyes drifted about the room. the absence of both yours and richie's families bothered neither of you.

at the front row, the losers and stanley's empty chair, reminded you that they were the only family you'd ever need.

---

"you fucking what?"

"it was an accident!" richie held his hands up in defense, slumping down next to you on the couch.

"richie, do you ever imagine what it would be like if you'd have gotten enough fucking oxygen at birth?" you snapped, raking your hands across your scalp.

"watch it, or no sex." he said.

"i will never have sex with you ever as long as i live unless you uninvite my mother right the fuck now."

"i couldn't say no!" richie was now flapping his hands about in frustration, looking a little like a cartoon character. "she called me up yelling about the divorce and then i told her about the wedding--"

"my life would be so much easier if your dad had just pulled out." you deadpanned.

"--and i didn't know how to tell her she couldn't come--

"we have to change the venue. she's not coming."

"but that's the beach grease was filmed on, babe, there's no way i--"

"richie, if you don't change the venue, i will fucking castrate you in your fucking sleep."

---

it was raining that day, anyway, so a beach wedding wouldn't have been possible. it was okay, though. richie quite liked the little chapel you had picked out, and the coloured light that filtered through the stained glass windows danced across your skin in a way that reminded him so much of quarry sunsets. it was perfect, really.

"we could have had... so much more, yknow? a normal life. but, instead, we grew up in fucking derry... like idiots from some dumb horror book." you laughed at that. so did the losers. you were the only ones who knew what it really meant. "i promise... i'm going to, um, spend every moment of the rest of my life, the rest of however long we have, showing you how much i love you. and i do... love you, that is. every moment of the rest of fucking time, baby, because god knows we've lost enough."

and you kissed him before the priest even said the words, knocking him backwards into eddie.

your first dance was unconventional.

of course.

richie was nervous. he had practiced this dance so many times, with beverly, with eddie, with fucking bill. (that particular endeavour had been a tough nut to crack.) and you pretended you didn't know, for his sake, because he had tried so hard.

his hands shook as he positioned them on your waist where beverly had taught him.

"i can't dance, babe." he snorted.

"i know you can't." you giggled, kissing his cheek.

you held him close to you, blinking back tears as the first chords of billy joel's vienna drifted quietly from the speakers in the corner.

richie lay his head on your shoulder, murmuring the words softly in your ear and pressing light kisses to the soft skin under it.

about halfway through the song, you realised you didn't actually know how to dance either, which was a relief to him. whatever you ended up doing had to have been acceptable, because, once again, everyone was sobbing.

bev cried, mike cried, ben cried, bill cried. eddie shoved almost his entire hand into his mouth to stifle his tears, because there was no way in fuck richie was seeing him cry.

richie would sooner find himself down in the sewers again than admit it, but he could carry a damn tune.

when the song faded to its soft end, the two of you didn't move for several more seconds, eyes gently closed, foreheads together. (admittedly, richie was quite a bit taller than you, and to lean down a fraction.) it seemed almost wrong to open your eyes and join the rest of the world, but the losers' over-enthusistic applause and cheering pulled you both from the trance as they drowned out everyone else.

"you're beautiful." richie whispered, and your eyes snapped open. you had a feeling he wasn't just talking about your dress. eddie, of all people, had helped you pick it out, following you around the wedding dress outlet centres, hissing profanity at the disheveled women who got in his way and muttering furiously about how he'd sterilise the fuck out of whatever you chose to buy.

"you're beautiful." you sniffed, wiping your watery eyes and pulling him down to kiss you softly.

"why are you two like that?" eddie whined when you sat down at the table you'd put them all on. he was only half joking.

"it is their wedding day, eds." bev shrugged, remembering how gross her and ben had been at their own wedding a few months previously.

"what can i say?" you arranged the skirt of your dress comfortably around you before slinging your legs over richie's. "richie's a whore."

the rest of the party was... eventful.

most notably, the losers club's exclusive, very enthusiastic (and frankly quite dangerous) group dance to uptown girl in which your shoe ended up across the room in the wine cooler on the table you dubbed "friends from work" and bill and mike accidentally threw eddie half way across the room at the final chorus.

there was also the matter of richie and yourself insisting on recreating the "come on eileen" dance from the perks of being a wallflower, but then not remembering any of the moves. losers club exclusive group dance part 2 ensued.

eddie's best man speech was a wreck, mainly because he was absolutely bladdered.

("trash-mouth... trash-mouth fuckin tozier got the girl. nobody thought it would ever happen, i mean ever-")

---

(6 months after the wedding.)

"are we gonna pretend we have kids?" you pondered, crumpling the empty juice pouch in your hands and tossing it onto the steady-growing pile in the corner of the living room. "or are we just going to have to own up to the fact we drank twelve boxes of capri suns between us this week?"

a quiet slurping noise came from beside you as richie drained his own capri-sun, throwing it onto the pile with a flourish of his arms.

"i think that they've come to expect this of us." he said, shifting your legs out of his lap and standing up to answer the door.

"alright!" you heard him call down the hallway, as who you assumed was bev began pounding the doorbell aggressively.

and then the door swung open, and you heard a chorus of cheerful greetings and borderline yelling. ah, your best friends.

the losers came over to the tozier residence almost weekly for drunken antics and the spilling of long overdue tea.

"MRS TOZIER!" mike hollered jovially, bill in tow. they'd been seeing more of each other recently. none of you were able to miss how mike looked at bill when bill wasn't looking. it was how beverly and ben looked at one another, and how you looked at richie every morning you woke up to his face, and all throughout the day when he wasn't looking, and even when he was looking.

"MIKEY!" you yelled back with equally as much gusto, stretching your arms out for a hug, which he gladly returned.

"novelty not wore off, yet?" mike asked, gratefully taking the capri sun you offered to him as he settled next to you on the couch. "you've been married long enough, realised you don't love him yet?"

"oh yeah, no, this is purely a marriage of convenience. he's not that ugly, and i get laid like every day, and all i have to do is pick up his socks and share a bed with him."

richie wasn't impressed, storming back into the room in front of bev, ben and eddie.

"hey, um, ok, well, i actually am having a passionate affair with ben, and, ben's fucking hung. so, there."

richie slumped on the other side of you, grabbing you and blowing a raspberry on the side of your neck.

"seriously, bitch?" you whined, but you wrapped your arms around him all the same.

eddie bustled over to the towering pile of capri-sun packets, a plastic refuse bag in hand that you assumed he'd just pulled from his fanny pack.

"you guys are disgusting." he shoved the packets into the bag with unnecessary force. "you fucking deserve each other."

"tell them why we got kicked out of the drive-in theatre last week, rich." you smirked, leaning into your husband's side. he cleared his throat.

"i, uh..."

"tell them." you pressed.

"we saw titanic-" richie started, quietly, keeping his eyes fixed on the wall in front of him.

"oh, god." eddie groaned, storming out of the room in search of a recycling bin.

"-and i, uh... was yelling diving scores as they, uh, jumped off the boat."

"for fucks sake, richie." ben sighed. beverly was borderline cackling. mike and bill just looked disappointed.

"it's not my fault!" richie whined. "my beautiful wife was the one who insisted we recreate the sex scenes as they happened. hand on the window and everything."

"the toziers, everyone." eddie came back into the room, sitting on the ground on a beanbag near the coffee table. "you two should never have been allowed near each other."

"ah, but we were." you chimed in. grabbing richie's face and kissing him obnoxiously. "what say we get piss-drunk and, like, play dumb drinking games. for old times sake?" you suggested when you tore yourself from him, your lips separating with a wet pop. "it's been a while."

---

1993

"what's up, fuckers." you threw up a casual peace sign as you descended into bill's smoke-shrouded basement, stumbling slightly down the stairs and sitting between richie and stanley in the circle that the losers had formed.

richie immediately attached his lips to your neck, pulling you into his side.

"hello to you too, trash-mouth." you grinned. richie looked fucking good.

he'd only gone and got his septum pierced the day before, and you were wary at first, but the little silver horseshoe ring that hung between his nostrils now looked amazing, glinting in the low basement lights. richie wore a deep red, oversized, cable-knit sweater that you could have sworn was yours but you'd smoked a huge joint on the way here and weren't too sure. a black beanie sat on his head, a few errant curls poking out by his forehead and around his ears.

"you're hot." you mumbled.

"you're hot." he grinned against your neck, and lifted his head to kiss your lips, his glasses bumping against your nose.

"yo, whores, truth or dare." beverly said, throwing back about half of the bottle in her hand, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"i fucking hate this game." richie hissed, leaning against your shoulder, sulking.

"truth." you said.

"what's richie's biggest kink?" she leaned forward in the circle, her tongue poking out from between her teeth.

"beverly!" richie was not amused.

"he's really into hair pulling." you sniffed, taking a blunt from between stan's fingers.

"babe!" richie exclaimed. you exhaled in his face.

"is he loud?" bev asked, leaning to take the joint from you.

"BEVERLY!" richie was shouting, now, throwing his hands up in frustration.

"oh, yes. he is." you nodded, grinning from ear to ear.

"FUCK!"

"a bit like that, actually."

"this is actual abuse." richie put his head in his hands, edging away from you.

"i love you." you tried, tugging on his sweater and leaning against him.

he had crawled into stanley's lap at this point, curling up like a baby.

"i fucking hate truth or dare." richie sat up and reached for another bottle, allowing you to wrap your arms around him.

---

most of the losers were asleep, curled up in various, not so comfortable looking positions on your couch and beanbags and weird hanging egg chair thingy that you'd insisted on buying.

"where did you come from, babe?" richie sighed, snaking his arms around your waist from behind as you brushed your teeth. "you're fuckin'... perfect."

one thing richie had always remembered, if a little vaguely, was your smell. the smell of sleep and fabric softener and your shampoo. his memory hadn't done it justice, he decided. when he took you in his arms in the chinese restaurant and inhaled deeply as if it were his last breath, filling his lungs with the smell of you and trying to sear into his brain the memory of how you felt inside his arms. because he would forget again, surely.

he hated himself for forgetting you.

"we're married, rich." you pointed out, rinsing your toothbrush and dropping it into the holder. "you're not too bad, yourself."

"i mean it, though." he muttered, pressing the softest of kisses to your jaw. "you're so fuckin'... doll, i, fuck-"

"don't go all shy on me, babe." you teased. "come to bed, yeah? im cold."

he watched as you shuffled off to your shared bedroom, doing that thing you always did when you stretched, making an unnecessary amount of noise. he smiled. that's my baby.

"hey, rich." another voice came from behind him. at the door of the bathroom, small and tentative.

"oh, hey, eds." richie smiled, taking his own toothbrush from the one next to yours, continuing the conversation through the mirror. but there was a somewhat uncomfortable silence in the small room, made worse by the hollow rattling of the toothbrushes.

"i, uh..." eddie shifted his weight, leaning against the doorframe. "i, uh... gotta tell you something, rich."

"knock yourself out, eddie spaghetti."

"im getting a divorce."

"oh, yeah? good, she was a fucking-"

"im with someone. a guy."

"a guy?"

"yeah. his name is, uh, richie, as it happens. well, richard, but, yknow."

"eds-"

"i loved you." eddie blurted. quiet. barely there. "for, uh... so long."

"you-"

"when we were kids. and, and i... you were never out of my head. not for one fucking second. and my mom... god, my fucking mom, she knew. i think she knew. every time you came round she made sure to scrub me a little harder. the soap burned. fuckin, i don't even know, some carbolic shit, or something. but... it was always her, wasn't it? you and her, um, you loved her and you continued to love her for... for fucking ever. and i wanted it to be me, rich."

richie was almost choking on his heart.

"eds, you know i-"

"no, actually, i don't."

"well i-"

"im not... bitter. if that's what you think. because i think the world of her. she's... my best friend, i would do anything for her, rich. and it wouldn't have made sense for you to end up with anyone else.

and im not... pining anymore? this was uh, what i needed. and im with someone, and he loves me, and i love him. so much, i do. and i love... you... and her... "

"eddie, i loved you too, yknow."  richie muttered. the words hung in the air between them like the sword of fuckin' damocles.

"you did?"

"yeah. course i did."

"well, fuck."

"yeah. fuck."

"can i-" eddie held out his arms.

"yeah.",

richie was so used to hugging smaller people that it was natural to rest his chin on eddie's head, enveloping him almost completely. he noted how eddie gripped his shirt a little tighter than was probably necessary.

"you gotta let me meet this guy, yeah?" said richie, muffled against eddie's hair. "you're, like, small and shit. so i gotta make sure he won't break you or something."

"okay, rich." eddie laughed quietly.

when they broke apart, something had changed. there was closure. eddie could go back to his loving boyfriend and richie could go back to his wonderful wife and it was okay. all of it was okay.

it was okay.

---

"g'morning, doll." you had woken up to richie going to town between your legs. which was, um, always a good time.

after he had finished, wiping his lips, wiping you from his lips, he mumbled the term of endearment lowly into your ear, kissing the spot just underneath it, and you almost grabbed his head and pushed him back down there. however, it was cold, and he was warm, so you melted against him, pulling his arm over you.

"hey, baby." you weren't sure if the words had come from you, because you were floating. and half asleep. but they must have done, because richie kissed the back of your neck and pulled you closer to him, if that was possible. "what time is it." you continued, yawning.

"uhh, like, nine." he yawned back.

"ew."

"i know."

"why did you- and not that i'm complaining, because that was great- why did you wake me up, you fucking insane person."

"because they all left, and woke me to tell me they were leaving, and then i was awake, and you weren't, and i was bored, and i wanted to wake you nicely."

"mission fucking accomplished." you sighed, a sleepy grin spreading across your face. "but can we go back to sleep, now?"

"yeah."

"love you, stinky." you mumbled.

"love you more."

[winterisfinallyhere]

Last episode...

Probably last ever Game of Thrones episode will begin with Dany’s trope marching into the city - the Unsullied lining up, etc. Her coming out to name herself Queen.

Possibly we then move onto Tyrion's trial. This was leaked a long time ago and I have a hard time believing word about Tyrion having let Jamie go (even if he & Cersei died in the end) won't reach Dany's ears quite quickly even in the chaos.

Imagine her first act as Queen being burning Tyrion. I don’t like him but I’d still hate for him to go out burning. 

Maybe that's even the reaction shot we get of Arya, looking up in disgust/ anger at something from the promo. Or maybe that's "only" of Dany declaring herself Queen. Or her looking at Drogon. 

But maybe there won't be a Tyrion trial until later (or at all if some leaks are to be believed, I firmly feel he needs to pay for enabling Dany for so long + betraying the Starks + Shae) BUT maybe he'll have a chance to do something about not siding with Varys (and Jon) earlier and somehow help Jon before being put on trial. They were friends of sorts once and that would be a bit of a call back to season 1. It’s clear we’ll be getting some of his POV as he walks through the city and realizes his mistake, in the promo. Maybe he’ll tell Jon to ride north before Dany decides to execute them both.

I wish I could predict Jon will have had some sense and taken his remaining men north but I’m not sure. He’s not in the trailer so it’s possible. But unlikely. But he's at least figured out he can't just sit back and let Dany be Queen. Not when she’s just gotten done killing thousands of civilians, in a city that had surrendered to her. I mean he has to have realized this! He just can’t keep walking around with his head in the sand.

But maybe we will get him killing Dany and going to the wall like some leaks suggested? I’d hate it but it’s a possibility. Especially if he’s staying in the city. But if they do that who is going to rule? Who is qualified? Is there anyone left (but Sansa, who has no claim). Would they really attempt the whole Bran & remaining folks rule together as a council? I feel like Bran as king would be the biggest let down ever. 

IDK, depends on the timeline. If after Dany’s initial “I’m the Queen bow down to me” as she takes control of King’s Land we get a time skip? Then things could be very different. If she calls all remaining lords to KL, including Bran and Sansa, and we get some politics...IDK. Then maybe a council of some sort could be believed.

But it doesn’t seem likely, does it? 

Besides, we don't have any conflict BUT Dany/ Jon left, all the other baddies are dead. Cersei, Euron, Golden Company. And Dany has won. She’s claimed the throne. She still has one dragon. All the dragon killing balistas are gone. She’s gonna be hard to beat. Especially in one ep.

I guess the real question is, what will she do now. How will she rule? 

What is her first course of action? Execute Tyrion? All remaining Lannister soldiers? Attempt to kill Jon? Exile him? We don’t know at this point, all we know is that she is officially the Queen of Ashes. We know she doesn't like mercy so she’s hardly going to pardon anyone, now is she?

My favorite theory (that I’m hopeful for and would enjoy would be) Arya killing Dany. That would mean she gets to kill the most bad guys (with her taking down Walder Frey and the Night King in the last few seasons) out of everyone which would be cool! Or even more interesting and useful would be Arya killing Drogon. Then Dany would execute her, or try to, making the Starks truly and fully her enemies. And the horse does foreshadow her going after DT, both with Dany’s own white horse, back in season 1 and the whole horsemen of the apocalypse and the Prince Charming on a white horse off to slay the dragon motif.

Behold a pale horse and he that sat upon him, his name was Death.

Arya taking down Dany or Drogon makes sense and would be satisfying. She’s seen the horror of what Dany and her dragon did up and close. This would also mean Jon would not have to kill Dany, which I’d prefer. We have enough of men killing women they’ve slept with/ “love”. I like this idea more and more and it feels in character and like it makes sense with what happened during episode 5. I don’t feel like this would be Arya backsliding into vengeance like some have mentioned. She decided to live when she talked to the hound but she also wants to live free. Killing Dany is not a personal vengeance it is justice and something that will contribute to a better future.

Arya taking out Dany or Drogon while Jon goes north, might also fit in with the Riverland clash we saw in the first trailer with the fire and ice meet in the middle of Westeros. Sansa could meet Jon halfway, having gathered the remaining men / the ones that have healed up enough to reinforce Jon’s army? Because Bran saw it in his visions or Vary’s little birds got word of things and decided they would prefer Jon.

Who else forgot all about this trailer? It still might have some foreshadowing...

If Jon doesn't go North and all we get is a cluster fuck in KL. Well, maybe once word that Dany is dead (maybe Arya kills her) reach them, the Northen Lords just decided to name Sansa Queen. Because f*ck those Targaryan bastards, Jon did side with D, gave up his crown and fought by her side in King’s Landing. They might not want him for King and who’d blame them at this point?

So we might simply get Queen Sansa in the north. I wouldn’t love this, but at this point, I’ll take anything I could get. But really Jonsa makes a lot more sense and is basically the only way for the story to have a tiny bit of a positive end. 

So let’s say Jon do go north, possibly to Riverrun and met up with Sansa and the remaining lords (are there any?), the north/whole of Westeros would be all “we don’t want a Targaryan ruler because they’re clearly into burning shit” and Sansa would be all “What about a Stark?” and a Jonsa political wedding could go down.

Jon would be re-named king (in the north or all of Westeros)? after this, with Sansa as his Queen (because if she’s not going to be Queen, what was the point of Sansa’s arch really? We need also succession and she is the only one that makes sense.)

 Dany targeting Sansa and Jon stepping in somehow would also be fun and could happen instead of a wedding but feels unlikely with how he’s been for the past two seasons. But maybe the reveal is in this ep.

Then maybe just as they have the wedding sorted out, news that Arya killed Drogon reach them (or she killed Dany herself, maybe she’ll wear Grey Worm’s face doing it? Feel like he’s the only character actually fully on D’s team left.) Dany and her remaining soldiers against Jon’s remaining ones? I don’t think we’ll get another big battle so not sure. Maybe Arya kills Dany and Drogon just flies off? Or goes crazy so the Unsuild have to kill him or something? 

Both Dany and Drogon should be dead by the end at least. Else they’re doing some good old dystopian shit. A terrible, history repeats itself and you can’t escape it. The big superpowers will always have the weapons of mass destruction and people in power will always be able to do what they want with the small people thing.

I do believe we will get dead Dany and Drogon and that the last scene is something reminiscent of Winterfell’s opening with the kids shooting arrows or Samwell Tarly reading to/telling the story of the Song of Ice and Fire the next generation.

Only how do they make even half of this happen in 80 minutes? Maybe they can, but really, I'm preparing for a very depressing ending. Something fitting with the whole "you can't escape your destiny" vibe that seems to be happening this season. Still, I have a little bit of hope we'll get some sort of "sweet" ending since 1/2 million people dying (or whatever the population of King’s Landing was) feels like enough bitterness.