#barely even posted on it and yet they lose their damn minds

[chrollohearttags]

texting me after a year of not speaking to tell me you saw my OF and b*at off to it is crazy.

#men be so damn useless #they’re all crusty unstable creatures #cause what the hell you want me to? #clutch my pearls #nigga I’m grown as hell #reason 546759 why I don’t have male friends #and I’ve known his ass for years and he comes and says this out of the blue #I think violence is okay at least once a month #cherry chats 🍒 #crazy cause they was paying me for shit I had in my phone anyways #cw sex work #barely even posted on it and yet they lose their damn minds

[eddiemunsons80sbaby]

Hard on Myself

Pairing: EddiexFemReader

Summary: This was a request

Can you make another rockstar!eddie where they just had a baby and the reader goes to one of his shows with the baby to see her daddy and she gets dressed up but reader still has a bit of post partum body and the fan girls see it and shame on her and reader declines eddies touches and works out and later eddie finds out and she breaks down and they make love? :)

18+ only

“Hey, I just got Cadence down to sleep,” Eddie murmured in your ear as he slid up behind you in the hotel room, his hands holding onto your arms. “We should take advantage of the alone time.” Those hands slid down your arms and the minute they touched your waist you shot away from him, like a firework jetting off into the sky. 

“Actually, I was going to go workout,” you offered with a strained smile. 

You had brought the baby to Eddie’s show three nights ago, wanting to surprise him. Stella, Gareth’s girlfriend, had stayed with the baby on the tour bus while you watched the concert. You didn’t want to subject your ten week old’s ears to the deafening music. You had been so excited, putting on a red dress that Eddie had always loved on you. It had been a little tighter than usual and yeah, you had a little pooch in your middle and you had to wear a good bra because breastfeeding was not doing anything great for your boobs, but you’d just had a baby. You decided to wear it anyway, wanting to look perfect for your husband. 

But then the comments began, fangirls all around noticing you, knowing exactly who you were. Considering Rolling Stone had done a feature on the band and their families, with you and Eddie right on the cover, it didn’t surprise you that they recognized you as his wife. What did surprise you was what you heard them saying. You could still hear the razor sharp digs at you now. 

“How long does she think she’s going to keep him around if she doesn’t lose that baby weight?”

“Ugh…how has he not left her yet? She’s delusional if she thinks he’s sticking around.”

“She looks like a whale in that dress. Why would she even think she should wear that?”

“Oh my god, why does she still look pregnant? Didn’t she have that baby weeks ago?”

“Ladies, we need to get backstage. If that’s what he’s coming home to, Eddie will jump at the chance to be with a girl who actually takes care of herself. He deserves so much hotter than lard-ass over there.”

“Damn, has she ever met a donut she didn’t eat?”

Tears stung your eyes but you swallowed hard, forcing them back, refusing to cry in front of Eddie. You couldn’t let him see how much those remarks had hurt. You didn’t want him to feel bad. You had signed on for this life. You had agreed to stick by him as she sought out his rockstar dreams and now that it was happening, you couldn’t do anything to ruin it for him. 

But you couldn’t help wondering if they were right. You knew you should work out, but it was so hard when you barely felt human anymore. Cadence was perfect, but you couldn’t remember the last time you’d had a solid night’s sleep. Your brain felt foggy, everything coated in a mist that made it difficult to know where you were or what you were supposed to be doing at the moment. You were exhausted all the time. You barely had the energy to shower, let alone work out. 

“Sweetheart, didn’t you already work out this morning?” asked Eddie. 

“Yeah, but I feel like getting another one in and the hotel gym is so nice. I don’t have time to do this back home when it’s just me and it feels good. I mean, Cadence is twelve weeks old. I should be getting this baby weight off. The doctor gave me the all clear.”

Eddie stepped into you, resting his hands on his hips, his eyes moving up and down your body, “I don’t see anything that needs fixing. You look perfect.” Those soft, brown eyes searched yours, as if he could see into your mind, what you were thinking. “And princess, if this matters to you, then I will support you but I’m also worried. You worked out three times yesterday and now you’re talking about a second time today. You just had a baby. Don’t overdo it.”

Sighing, you backed away from him, holding your hands in front of you, “Eddie, I’m fine. The doctor said working out was fine. It’s been twelve weeks since I had her. You’re acting like I just gave birth yesterday.”

“I’m not saying you just gave birth yesterday but you’re a brand new mom. Cut yourself some slack. It just seems like you’re suddenly a bit obsessive about working out. I don’t want to find you passed out in the hotel gym.”

“Jesus, Eddie, just let it go. I’m not going to pass out in the gym. Just watch our daughter, something you never have to do since you’re out being a rockstar. I just want a little goddamn time to myself, okay? Is that really too much to ask?”

Eddie’s head reared back in shock, those eyes flashing instantly from soft and warm to hard and disbelieving, “You signed up for this life. You told me you were okay with this when we decided to go for it. I can’t help it that we’re on tour right now. I offered to hire you a nanny to help. I planned more days off in between so I could be home. I suggested the two of you just come on the road with us because you know I hate being away from you.”

“Yeah, because that’s realistic. Let’s take a baby across the country in a bus. Come off it!” you yelled. You knew you weren’t being fair. You knew you were being a bitch but you couldn’t help it. All the hormones, the lack of sleep, the sheer exhaustion in your body, the words of those spiteful girls…it was all catching up to you and he happened to be in your line of sight. “I did sign up for this but it’s fucking hard. You’re not around and you’d think when you are, you could let me have just a little bit of me time! Is that really too much to ask?”

“Baby, I’m not saying that, but why don’t you actually take some time to relax? You could run yourself a bath or go sit by the pool and read a book? I will take care of Cadence all day if you need me to. I miss her. I would love to spend the day with her.”

“I am sure you would love it if I left you alone all day. Then you wouldn’t have to look at me and how disgusting I am now that I’ve bore your fucking child,” you snapped, hearing him yell your name as you charged out of the hotel room and down to the gym. 

____________________________________________________________

The next morning, you were making your way back to your hotel room from the gym again. You had gone twice more yesterday, ignoring Eddie in the process, not wanting to face the reality of what was happening to your marriage, the things you said. It had taken every ounce of your energy to get through your workout and you had grown irrationally angry when your legs shook so bad you couldn’t even do a squat. How out of shape were you? Your body couldn’t even handle the workouts. 

You had showered at the gym, trying to delay the inevitable, knowing Eddie would be awake when you returned. You stood in front of the mirror after your shower, scrutinizing every inch of your body, disgusted with yourself. How had you allowed yourself to get like this? Those girls were right. If Eddie saw you naked now, he’d be repulsed with you. You grabbed the rolls of skin around your middle, pinching them until it hurt, as if you could just pull them off and make them vanish. Tears of revulsion, self-loathing, and despair trailed down your cheeks as you took in the faint stretch marks around your stomach and thighs, the dark circles under your hairs, the wan appearance of the skin on your face. You hated yourself. You hated this body. You were going to lose your husband to someone thinner and prettier than you, someone who did yoga every day and spent hours primping until everything was perfect. You didn’t have time to be perfect. You were too busy trying to figure out how to keep a tiny human alive and happy.

Finally, knowing you couldn’t put it off any longer, you had decided to face the inevitable. Eddie was going to leave you. He would find a replacement for you. And could you blame him? You saw the girls who threw themselves at him night after night. Of course it was only a matter of time…how long could he resist temptation when you were what he had to come home to?

Using your keycard, you opened the hotel door, the soft sound of your husband singing greeting your ears. You dropped your workout bag and peered around the corner to find him swaying in the sitting area, singing sweetly to your daughter. You recognized it. It was ‘All My Love’ by Led Zeppelin, the first song Eddie had danced with you to, out by Lover’s Lake. Just the two of you underneath the moon, those strong arms feeling like the safest place in the world. It was in that moment that you knew he was the only thing you ever wanted in life, that you would do anything to hold onto him forever.

Your heart broke watching him. You knew he adored your daughter. Cadence was his whole world. He would call before shows and ask you to put the phone to her ear so he could talk to her, terrified she would forget the sound of her dad’s voice. Even if he left you, he would never leave her, but that didn’t make the agony any less. 

“Hey, there you are,” he whispered as he caught sight of you standing there. 

Walking over to the bassinet, he gently laid Cadence down. Moving to you, he took your hands in his, gesturing with his head to follow him into the bedroom. You swallowed the hard knot of emotion that was strangling you and followed him. Eddie sat down on the bed, patting the spot next to him. Your body tensed, everything in your wanting to run, to flee what was coming, but you fought against it, joining him, your eyes focused on the floor. 

“Princess, what is going on?” he asked, his hand covering yours, that calloused thumb gently running along your skin. In spite of yourself, your body immediately responded to his touch, your tense muscles relaxing. “You are obsessively working out and I can’t figure out if it’s because you want to or it’s a way to avoid me.”

“I’m not…” you began, but you knew it was a lie. You were avoiding him because you were terrified of what was going to happen. If you weren’t with him, he couldn’t tell you he was leaving you. “I don’t know. Maybe I am avoiding you.”

“But why?” he urged. “Sweetheart, I’ve missed you so much. I hate being away from you and Cadence. I understand your reasoning for not bringing her on tour, but if we’re only going to be able to have a few days every few weeks, then we should be making the most of our time together. All I want is to curl up with you and her and soak in every single second so it can hopefully be enough to get me to the next time. I don’t know why you don’t want that. Are you…baby, are you unhappy with me?”

“No! I love you!” you exclaimed, shaking your head. You couldn’t do it anymore. Your head dropped forward as your body shook with sobs, all of the ugly things you’d feared, you’d been told, you’d been telling yourself just crashing down on you. 

“Oh princess,” Eddie breathed, gathering you in his arms. 

He laid back, gently guiding you with him and just held onto you as your entire body released everything that you had been caging, as the dam you’d built broke and the exhaustion, grief, and fear just came flowing out in torrents of pain. You gripped his shirt in your hands, soaking the fabric with your tears, relishing the comfort only he could ever provide you. 

“Sweetheart, tell me what’s going on, please?” he implored, his fingers tenderly kneading the flesh of your back. “I hate seeing you like this. Let me help you.”

“I…I…” you gasped. Pausing, you took slow, small breaths to try to calm yourself so you could speak. “Girls at your show, they were saying stuff. How long did I think I could keep you? What was I doing wearing that dress when I looked like a whale? Why did I still look pregnant? Why wasn’t I taking care of myself? I just…”

“What?” Eddie’s head jerked back, his eyes gazing into yours with genuine shock. “Fuck those girls. Who the hell do they think they are talking about my wife, talking about anyone, that way?”

“But it’s true!” you argued, pulling out of his embrace and sitting up. “Look at me! I can’t compare to all those groupies that hang around with their toned stomachs, tight asses, and tits that actually sit where they should without a bra. I’m a goddamn mess! I wanted to work out because…I don’t know. I wanted to be good enough for you, sexy enough for you…so you wouldn’t leave me for one of them.”

“Sweetheart,” Eddie crooned, sitting up next to you. His thumb and forefinger gripped your chin, turning your face to his. “I am not going anywhere, ever. I love you. You. And yes, I think you’re beautiful and gorgeous and so damn sexy, but it’s so much bigger than that. What we have is so much deeper than that. You don’t have to do a fucking thing to be good enough for me. You’re more than enough. In fact, you’re too damn good for me. I sit back every day and wonder how I got to be the lucky bastard you chose.”

Tears pooled in your eyes again at his words as you took in this beautiful man who had your whole heart and had since junior year of high school. All these years later, and he still had the ability to take your breath away, to cause you to lose your train of thought, to completely knock you off your feet. He had no idea how goddamn perfect he was. 

“I love you, princess, just you,” he whispered, his hand cradling your cheek, his lips so close you could feel the warmth of his breath passing over your skin. “I am never going anywhere.”

Then his lips were on yours, soft and warm, sending shocks of pleasure straight through you. His tongue slid along your lips, parting them so he could explore your mouth. You released a quiet whimper, fingers tangling in his hair, your entire body recognizing him, remembering how much it enjoyed the feel of his mouth and hands. 

You gripped the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head. Your hands roamed along the familiar territory of his skin; his chest, his stomach; that little line of hair that led temptingly to what you desired most. You ran your fingers up his back, across his shoulder blades, relishing every single inch of him that you’d missed so much these last months. His fingers grabbed your shirt and shocked you back to reality. Your hands shot out, covering his and pulling them back.

“What?” he asked, pausing the kiss to look at you, concern apparent in that lovely face. “What’s wrong?”

“N…nothing,” you managed, shaking your head. 

Eddie’s head tilted slightly and you could see it in his eyes. He didn’t believe you. He stood from the bed, taking your hand and pulling you up. Those eyes bore into yours, ensuring you everything would be okay as he reached for your shirt again. You fought the urge to stop him as he slowly pulled it over your head. Turning you around, he pressed his chest to your back so you were both facing the floor to ceiling mirror in the bedroom. You cringed, closing your eyes at the sight, attempting to cover your midriff with your arms. 

“No, don’t do that,” he whispered in your ear, his hands covering yours and gently pulling them away. “Open your eyes, princess. Trust me.” Uncertainly, you obeyed, opening your eyes, but keeping them on him. “Look at yourself. You are a goddamn goddess and this stomach…” His hands splayed over your skin and you glanced at the mirror, meeting his eyes in it. “This stomach is beautiful. It grew our daughter. It nourished and protected her for nine months. It gave me Cadence. There is not a single part of you that isn’t absolutely perfect to me.”

“Eddie, but I'm not…” 

“Shh,” Eddie soothed, cutting you off. His tongue darted out, slipping along the side of your neck and you gasped, heading falling back against him. “Let me worship you like the goddess you are.”

His lips pressed against the skin of your neck, your shoulder. When his teeth joined in, nibbling the tender flesh between your neck and shoulder, you thought your legs would give out from under you. His fingers expertly released the clasp of your bra and it guided it down your arms until it fell to the floor. As his mouth continued torturing you with nips, licks, and kisses, his hands cupped your breasts, not squeezing, just holding them, being tender in knowing how sore they could be from breastfeeding. 

“You are gorgeous,” he whispered, his hand sliding down your stomach, slipping under your sweats and panties. A low groan fell from his lips when his fingers found your heat. “Fuck. You’re already so wet. I’ve missed you…I’ve missed this, so fucking much.”

He moved around to the front of you, guiding you back on the bed so your legs were dangling off the side. His hands pulled your sweats and panties off in one smooth movement and he threw them across the room. Kneeling down in front of you, he hitched your legs over his shoulders, putting you on full display for him. 

“I love you,” he growled, lips pressing along your inner thighs. “I love every goddamn inch of this body. I am going to show you just how much.”

Then his tongue ran through your folds, from your entrance to your clit and back again. You keened, back arching at the contact, the touch your body had been craving for weeks. Eddie’s hands gripped your thighs, fingers digging into the flesh as he expertly worked his tongue over you. Fuck, the things this man could do. It was like your body had forgotten, had fallen into a deep coma, and suddenly with one touch it was brought to life again. 

“Eddie…shit…” you panted, all concerns about your body and how it looked vanished from your mind as he sent you skyrocketing to the edge of oblivion. “Oh baby, yes…right there. Oh fuck, don’t stop.”

“Didn’t plan on it, princess,” he growled as you gripped his hair tightly in your fingers, grinding yourself against his face. He moaned against you and the feeling of it sent shockwaves of pleasure through you. 

Just when you thought this moment couldn’t be any better, Eddie plunged two fingers into you, adeptly twisting them so they instantly hit that pleasure button within you. Fingers grasping the sheets, you screeched, arching up off the bed. 

“Shh, sweetheart,” he chuckled, lapping circles around your clit, “don’t want to ruin our fun by waking up Cadence.”

You nodded, biting down on your bottom lip. Fuck, it was so hard to control your volume when he was so expertly sending you towards orgasm. You felt it coming as your stomach knotted, your legs quivered, muscles tensing. You tightened your thighs around his head, biting down on your knuckles as your hips rocked against him desperately. 

“That’s it sweetheart. Let it all go. You deserve this,” he urged, before sucking your clit between his lips like it was a hard candy. 

Your eyes rolled into your head as you bit down so hard on your knuckles that you broke the skin, pathetic whimpers and moans releasing from your body, sounds you couldn’t even describe if you tried. A half squeak, half shriek exploded from you as your orgasm came crashing like a tidal wave. You gripped Eddie’s hair with one hand, holding his face against you as you rode it out. 

Slowly coming down, he pressed a kiss to your center that had you whimpering before those lips began tracing along every inch of your body, not a single bit of skin left untouched. He kissed the tops of your feet, your skins, your knees, your thighs, your stomach, your breasts, your neck, before finally making his way back to your lips. You were a gasping, writhing mess beneath him, his mouth already setting a new fire ablaze in you before the first had completely extinguished.

“Goddamn, you are exquisite,” he said, running the back of his hand along your cheek. “You are so fucking perfect.” His arms wrapped around you, flipping you both so you were on top of him. “I want you to ride me, princess. I want to watch you, every single inch of you.”

“Eddie…” you began to protest but he pressed his finger against your lips, raising his eyebrows. 

“Uh-uh,” he insisted, shaking his head. “No more negative talk about yourself. No more mean thoughts about yourself. You are a knockout. You are strong. You are bad-ass. You are a mother. You are perfect and you are mine. I love every single inch of you and I want to see every single inch of you. Get out of your head and just be here with me, princess.”

You swallowed hard, nodding. You could do this. You wanted to do this. You wanted to let it all go, all the toxic shit that had been poisoning your mind and heart, and just be with him. Undoing his pants, Eddie lifted his hips, and you helped him pull them off. You placed one knee on either side of his hips as he held his cock in his hand and guided it within you. You lowered your hips until they were flush against his and you both groaned at the feel of him buried within you, something you’d both been craving for too damn long. 

“Jesus,” he hissed, his hands resting on your hips. “I’ve missed being inside you. You were fucking made for me, do you know that?”

You nodded, slowly rocking your hips forward and backward, causing him to hit that delicious spot all over again. You bit your lip, reminding yourself that you had to control your volume, something the two of you had never had to worry about before. Eddie’s hands slid up, gripping the sides of your waist and you paused, but only for a moment, before continuing to move against him. He loved you. He wanted you. You had to stop obsessing and just be in the moment with this beautiful man, this man you adored more than anything on this planet, Cadence excluded of course.

Your head fell back, hair draping down your back as you lost yourself in the sensation of the two of you becoming one, the two of you connected in a way you hadn’t been in too long. This right here, this had always been perfection with Eddie. You’d heard other girls talk about how the sex fizzled out, wasn’t as exciting, but seven years later, nothing about her desire for him had languished, it had only intensified. Seeing him as a father had just made him even more sexy. Seeing how much he loved your daughter was the greatest aphrodisiac. It had only been medical necessity and then your own insecurities that had hindered it, but right now, you were remembering all of the reasons you needed to let it go. You begin moving your hips in a circular motion and Eddie gasped at the new sensation.

“Fuck baby, that’s so good,” he murmured, eyes devouring you. One of his hands glided along your stomach, in between your breasts, resting on your throat. “You look like goddamn Sune right now, goddess of love and light…just fucking gorgeous.”

If you weren’t lost in the throes of pleasure, you would have laughed. Of course he would compare you to a DnD character. Damn, you loved that the nerd you fell in love with was still in there. He hadn’t lost himself to the fame and celebrity that came with his rockstar lifestyle. At his core, he was still just your Eddie. 

“Come here,” he urged, hands wrapping around you and pulling you down to his chest, crushing you against him as close as he could. He began to thrust his hips upward and you bit down on the flesh of his shoulder to keep from screaming in pleasure. He growled against your ear, one hand cradling your head, the other around your back. “Fuck baby, I am so close.”

“Me too…I…Eddie!” you screamed, gripping his shoulders for dear life as he plunged into you again and again, your orgasm shuddering through you. As your walls pulled tightly around him, he wasn’t long to follow, gripping you to him as he held himself within you, filling you with his release. 

You felt when his muscles relaxed, his body going slack beneath you. Eddie continued to hold you to him, moaning softly with gratification as he kissed your forehead, your nose, your lips. You looked up to see him looking at you, a sleep, satisfied smile on his lips. Your hand came up to rest on his cheek as you tucked yourself against him, burrowing into your own personal safe space.

“Jesus…” he muttered with a low chuckle. “That was goddamn amazing. I love you so fucking much.”

“I love you,” you stated, kissing his chest. “I’m so sorry I’ve been so distant during this trip. I’ve missed you so damn much and I feel like I’ve wasted our time together.”

“So, don’t go,” Eddie insisted. “What’s the rush? You can stay as long as you want.” You opened your mouth but he stopped you. “Look, I know the road is not a normal life for a baby. I’m aware of that. I get all your reasons but we’re not normal, sweetheart. We’re far from it. We have plenty of people on this tour to help. I miss you and Cadence so much. When you’re not with me, there’s just this hole…I’m not complete when you’re not here. I’m not happy. I’m not myself. Everyone notices it. Just, promise me you’ll think about it, okay?”

“There’s nothing to think about,” you said and his face fell, all hope vanishing instantly. Reaching out, you took his face in his hands, bringing his eyes back to yours. “There’s nothing to think about because I was already going to say that I think we should try it. I miss you too. I am miserable without you and Cadence needs her daddy. I knew what I was signing up for when I agreed to this and I am willing to give it a try.”

Eddie’s entire face lit up, those sweet simple appearing in his cheeks, his eyes like melted chocolate, so soft and warm as he pressed his lips to yours for a deep, gentle kiss.

“Yeah? You’re going to come on the road with me?”

“Baby, I would go anywhere with you. You’re my home, not some walls and a roof, just you,” you replied. 

“You have no idea how happy you…”

You were cut off as the sound of Cadence’s cries shattered the quiet of the hotel room. Sighing, you went to get up but Eddie stopped you, gently pushing you back to the bed.

“I’ve got her. There’s still bottles you pumped in the fridge. You get some sleep.” Leaning over, he kissed your forehead. “Let me do my job. And hey, I have to thank my daughter. At least she let her dad finish before interrupting.”

You laughed, burrowing down in the bed as you watched him pull on some sweats and head out of the room. This was going to be good. Everything was going to be okay. You knew if anyone could make this work, it was the two of you.

#eddie munson #stranger things eddie #eddie the banished #eddie munson smut #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson rockstar au #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x fem!reader smut #eddie munson x you #eddie munson rockstar #eddie munson fic #rockstar eddie munson

[mamamittens]

Oh, Sweet Child of Mine (Pt. 1)

Reader-insert & Whitebeard Pirates

Master Post for series.

Warning: (Platonic) yandere behavior, physical injury, blood, and kidnapping. If any of these make you uncomfortable (especially yandere content), you should not read this or any following parts.

Please block the tag "oh sweet child of mine" if you are uninterested in this story and "one piece yandere" if stories like this make you uncomfortable. For everyone else, please do remember that as sweet/touching as this behavior is or can be, it is deeply toxic and troubling in real life. Anyone that treats you with such disregard in terms of your boundaries or respecting your decisions should not be tolerated.

Please stay safe and have fun.

Word Count: 2,880

Devil fruits in the marines has always been handled a bit oddly. On paper, no low rank has a devil fruit. Because having a devil fruit tends to make even weak humans stronger, even if under highly specific circumstances. But you can’t just promote people because they ate something weird. They have to earn their position. This problem is handily solved by… ignoring the issue entirely.

Strong marines will, eventually, be promoted. So it stood to reason that strong marines with powerful abilities will be promoted even faster.

You were, however, of the opinion that there should be some sort of allowance made for marines that just can’t handle power without it going to their head.

Those people should scrub toilets until they learn at least a bare minimum amount of humility.

Why would you, of all people, have that opinion?

Because you got to watch, in real time, how quickly people given power without earning it lose their damn minds. It was, in fact, your own devil fruit’s power to ‘dial up’ other devil fruits. Just being near you had this effect. No, no one had any idea what your devil fruit was supposed to be called. Apparently, it was one of the few not in any encyclopedia on the subject, so you didn’t even know your own limits by proxy.

If you had the choice to go back in time you would never have eaten that weirdly flat yellow fruit. But you were stupid and hungry and here you were. Babysitting yet another ensign who simply could not handle having stronger powers with any grace.

Ensign Williams had a candle-candle fruit. Basically, a very weak version of the logia fruit flame-flame. His fire would always be weaker, smaller, and easier put out. Until you showed up, wherein he was capable of fairly impressive feats. In fact, it had been a full week and Williams went from being in awe of what he could now accomplish with you by his side to fully up his own ass with his ‘rightful power’. Unfortunately, he was your partner for the time being, so you just had to try and reign in his ass-ness before he burned the town to the ground by accident.

Mostly this involved walking away when he started being a prick to the local townsfolk to remind him that this ‘grand power’ he held was, in fact, only possible with your presence. Trying to physically stop him just got you a bloody nose. So, wounding his ego was the best you could do for everyone involved. Usually, you excused this by a sudden, burning need to pet a dog or cat or sufficiently friendly bird. They, at least, appreciated your presence and efforts.

“I’m going places, you know!” Williams declared in a huff, running up to you as you scratched a dog’s ears. Really ruffling the floppy appendages around as the dog panted and drooled in happiness. “The marines will see that I deserve a promotion soon enough with all the good work I’ve been doing!” You gave him a dry look.

“You depend on your devil fruit too much. What are you going to do when that’s not enough? I won’t always be around, you know.” You reminded him gently, feeding the mutt a milk bone from your pocket as you stood up. “This is the Grand Line. Eventually you’re going to run into a Yonko or something. What then? You think Red-Hair or Big Mom will care about a little fire?”

Williams paled at the suggestion, reality peaking in through his delusion before, with herculean effort, it was pushed back once again.

“And what about you, huh? Your devil fruit is useless for yourself! You’re a weak, useless thing on your own!” Williams sneered. You stared at him, unimpressed.

“That’s what training is for. Which is what I would be doing if I didn’t have to run around with you all the time.” You sighed. The big folks up top wanted to see just how much power you could give a weak devil fruit, likely in preparation to assign you to someone with a devil fruit user actually noteworthy. If there were side effects, they didn’t want an admiral to be the first to face it, after all. Personally, you were hoping for someone like Smoker. Reasonable, experienced, and well known for his skill outside his devil fruit.

Although, you were starting to think this delusional mindset was the side effect. Natural or induced, the people you gave boosts to often had a period of euphoria and increased aggression, narcissism, and short-sightedness. Hard to say since, so far, everyone you’ve been assigned to has been an asshole.

Possibly a marine-specific issue.

“Bring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-rin—clack!” You answered the bored snail in your pocket.

“Ensign—”

“Fire Fist Ace has been spotted in your area! You and Ensign Williams are to attempt apprehension. No other Whitebeard Pirates have been spotted but be advised there are likely more—possibly another commander. If you see them, flee on sight.” They hung up immediately before you could even respond. Sighing, you looked up at Williams.

He looked strangely pale before gathering himself, a smug smirk quickly taking over his features.

“Hah! See that? They already know I’m going to accomplish great things. This will be only the beginning of my legacy as a marine!” Williams grabbed you arm and started running down the street, looking around like a madman for ‘Fire Fist’, jostling your glasses hard. They nearly flew off when he spotted a column of fire across town and yanked you with him. “Watch as a real marine works, useless!”

Fire Fist was crouched in the middle of the street, pointing at a stand that had fallen over, his back to the both of you. Whitebeard’s Jolly Roger stark against his tan skin.

“—highway robbery prices, you’re out of your mind if you think I’d pay for something broken!” Fire Fist huffed. While it was true you couldn’t see another pirate with him, it was common knowledge that Whitebeard Pirates rarely travelled alone. Especially a commander.

“You sure you wanna do this—”

“Halt, filthy pirate! Your days of piracy are over!” Williams declared boldly. Briefly, you wondered if maybe your superiors had heard about Williams’ behavior and figured sending him after Fire Fist would be the best reprimand he could get.

Even with your help, Williams was a candle-light at the end of the day. And Fire Fist? Fire Fist was a raging wildfire. You could almost feel the heat of his devil fruit in the back of your head. A faint indication that told you just how strong the devil fruits around you are and helped inform you how much power you were giving just by being around them.

Fire Fist looked back at the two of you with a dry, grumpy expression. Curiosity flickering over his features as he took in how amped up Williams was—and how utterly done you were. Fire flickered over his shoulders as he grinned.

“And what is a couple of ensigns going to do about it?” Fire Fist crowed with a mischievous grin, tipping his gaudy, orange cowboy hat back. Williams’ fire flickered over his body, sparks flying harmlessly over you—a welcome side effect of your devil fruit boosting another thankfully—before charging forward.

Three things happened at once.

Williams charged forward to fight Fire Fist. Letting go of your wrist.

His fire flickered slightly from the loss of direct contact with you.

Fire Fist’s own fire flared up at the sudden, unavoidable boost in power.

Confusion washed over Fire Fist as he instinctively noticed the strange change before he dismissed it, charging towards Williams anyway.

You rolled your eyes, pretty sure Williams would get knocked out quickly and leave you with yet another mess to clean up.

A low wine reached your ears, drawing you gaze away from what was mostly an impressive lightshow as Williams kept throwing fire at a man made of fire.

A fat, white dog panted in the shade. Scraggly white fur otherwise clean despite laying in the dirt. A strange, immaculate crescent shaped moustache curved under his nose.

Obviously, between your partner facing a Yonko Commander and a sad dog, your choice of who deserved your attention was clear.

You kneeled down with a smile, pulling out a dog treat from your pocket.

“Hey, cutie, what are you doing? Trying to cool off a little?” You spoke softly, presenting the treat to the very interested dog. You pulled out a bottle from your other pocket and a bowl—specifically for this actually—as you poured some out for the dog. The dog rolled onto his paws and eagerly drank the water, accepting your gentle affection. “You’re definitely not a stray, but you don’t have a collar either. Where are you from, baby?”

Fire and explosions rocked the area behind you. Not that you cared since the civilians ran the minute Williams and Fire Fist lit up. You scratched the surprisingly soft fur and ran your hand down the dog’s back. They were definitely well cared for, whoever they belonged to. Once they were done drinking water they eagerly wriggled into your lap for affection, licking and nipping at your chin.

“Oof! My, what a cutie you are!” You cheered, playfully ruffling the dog’s ears and booping his wet nose as you avoided the eager kisses.

Williams definitely screamed behind you in panic.

“Help me, you useless—SHIT!”

Without looking you yelled back.

“I thought you were supposed to be a ‘real marine’?” You lowered your voice when the dog whined and kissed his nose as an apology. “Sorry, baby. He’s just been an ass all week and I think he could really learn something today. What could a ‘useless marine’ do anyway, hm? I told him he needs to watch it.” You grumbled softly. The pull of a third devil fruit registering to your senses suddenly.

Having been around Williams all week as he showed off was exhausting. Now actively pulling on your power along with Fire Fist and this new person actively made you want to take a nap.

You had yet to figure out how to lessen your own power or at least focus on only one person, so you simply had to deal with it when actively boosting someone from a distance. Part of you worried that boosting stronger devil fruits was going to be even more exhausting than the weak ones you’ve encountered so far. And you might actually be right about that.

“There you are, Stefan. Oyaji was looking for you.” Someone spoke up above you. You startled, looking up at the stranger.

Open-toed sandals and capris with an open purple shirt exposing defined abs and a purple Whitebeard Jolly Roger. The man looked down at you with amused blue eyes narrowed, blond hair poking out from the top of an extreme undercut.

Marco ‘The Phoenix’.

Welp, that’s definitely your sign to run. Casually. So, he doesn’t suspect anything.

Something told you that your bosses would be pissed if the Whitebeard Pirates got a free power boost by ransoming you. If they gave up the obvious benefits of such a prisoner to begin with.

“Oop. Time to go, baby.” You kissed Stefan’s head and darted away, running directly towards the very explosive fight between Fire Fist and Williams. Snagging the back of his collar as you kept going.

“HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, YOU USELESS—”

“The Phoenix and Fire Fist are here—we definitely can’t take them both in. Time to go!” You explained as you ran.

“No! I can do it! What do you know, you useless bitch?!” Williams flailed, breaking your grip on his shirt before slamming his fist into your face. Heat and a crunch of bones sent shockwaves of red and blood across your vision, sending you to the ground with a yelp. Your glasses bouncing off from impact and cracking.

“Fuck!” You hissed, clutching your nose as you blindly looked around, tears falling down your cheeks. You could make out an impressive explosion of fire somewhere ahead of you through your tears and poor vision. A wobbly white blob trotting up to your side with a low wine and bark. What was probably Stefan licking your arm and pawing at your side in worry.

Steady footsteps clacked along the paved street, a dark shadow falling before you as fire exploded behind the figure.

“That was quite a hit. You alright?” The Phoenix asked as he lowered down suddenly. Glass scrapped against the ground. Your glasses were gently lowered onto your face, bringing him into focus with a hairline fracture and tears obscuring your vision somewhat.

“’M fine—not the first time he’s done that--!” You gasped as his fingertips brushed over your knuckled grasp on your bloody nose. Blue fire exploded around you as the various aches and pains were swept away in an instant. Dizziness rushed to your head at the sudden relief.

You almost broke contact as The Phoenix cursed his sudden, uncontrollable fire, falling back to the ground. But his hands were faster and firmly grasped your shoulders.

After several, bizarrely euphoric moments of bathing in the healing flame, The Phoenix wrangled his powers back under control with a grimace. Blood still covered your hands and face but the injury, as well as any other injury, was gone. He looked at you in surprise and you could only gape up at him.

Having established physical contact, any boost others experienced was gone in an instant. Your ‘pseudo-immunity’ to devil fruits meant that your body essentially acted like it was your power as well. And that meant you got to enjoy a small taste in what it was like to have a devil fruit like The Phoenix’s for as long as he maintained that contact. It was weirdly heady. Sort of freeing to feel your weakness being eaten away under the healing influence of his devil fruit.

Almost to the point of forgetting that this, quite critically, meant that your under-powered partner was royally fucked.

Williams barely stood a chance if you had held his hand through the fight. Without any assistance against Fire Fist Ace, it wasn’t even a question. As much of an ass as he was, he didn’t deserve to be killed.

Worried, you tried to look around The Phoenix to see what was happening. He clicked his tongue, pulling your chin back to look at him. His eyes were narrowed and suspicious, a strange light in his eyes as he gave you a small, chilling smile.

“Now, who are you and what was that?” The Phoenix demanded. You shuddered, noticing how oddly quiet it was behind the pirate.

“M-My devil fruit! It—uhm—affects other devil fruits?” You lamely explained as Stefan tried to nose his way onto your lap. You would have preferred to look at the cute, needy dog, but The Phoenix looked like he was about to eat you. “Makes… makes them stronger around me. O-Or just… touching.”

A cold chill went up your spine as he grinned.

“And you’re not assigned to at least an admiral at all times? What a waste… I guess the marines don’t want to keep you that badly, do they?” He clicked his tongue again. “Well, you’re in good hands now, yoi. Let’s get you cleaned up. Stefan! Down!” He ordered, lifting you over his shoulder as you yelped, scrambling to hold onto your glasses. The town was wrecked behind The Phoenix, Fire Fist cheerily skipping up with Williams over his own shoulder.

“Hey, Marco! Did you see how weird that was!? What do you think his devil fruit is?” Fire Fist asked. The Phoenix turned around with a huff.

“Put the marine down. Got the source right here.” He responded.

“Oh! I take it we’re keeping them? Think Oyaji will mind?”

The Phoenix snorted.

“Oyaji will be ecstatic. Marines don’t know how to take care of people right, anyway.” You were jostled lightly as he started walking, Stefan trotting behind while panting happily up at you. You were horrified and nervous, but the addition of Stefan was helping ease your nerves. “They can boost devil fruits but wasn’t assigned to an admiral, can you believe that? Just a weakling. Imagine if it was someone else that found them, yoi?” You struggled to push yourself up, but was aware that you weren’t getting down unless The Phoenix let you.

Unlike Williams, you knew your limits.

“Hah! Wow. At least Gramps could have trained them up safely. Marines are stupid though, so I can’t say I’m too surprised.” Fire fist declared. Boots stomped on the ground as Fire Fist rounded The Phoenix, poking his head to look at you with a charming grin. “Don’t worry, you’re going to love it here! Ah… and no one will do this again.” Fire Fist grabbed your hands, inspecting the blood and what was still smeared around your nose. His eyes dark with promise as you stared in horror.

Were you being kidnapped for your power or… something else? Because to be honest, it sure didn’t sound like they were too interested in your own devil fruit ability.

#one piece yandere #platonic yandere #reader insert #oh sweet child of mine #whitebeard crew #fire first ace #marco the phoenix #yandere marco #yandere ace

[zofi-persson-quotes]

A very, very long one ahead

Your elemental power is… G R E E N (Sec): call out post for Dark

Your elemental power is… G R E E N (Sec): said he doesnt love me

Animal Whisperer (Red): excuse me

NetherwartEater69 (Blue): damn Dark looks like you're getting kicked

Music Man!! (Green): Dark you better fight me 1v1 I'll be waiting at Purple's

#1SpiderFan (Dark): I DID NOT SAY I DIDN’T LOVE YOU

#1SpiderFan (Dark): however i’m having second thoughts

Your elemental power is… G R E E N (Sec): :(

The Avatar (Chosen): Dark no

Music Man!! (Green): DARK I’M WAITING AT PURPLE'S

NetherwartEater69 (Blue): He is, by the way. We were at Purple’s anyway.

#1SpiderFan (Dark): oh don’t worry i’m on my way

Living Gun (Ballista): oh i gotta see this i’m also on my way don’t start w o me

Your elemental power is… G R E E N (Sec): U CANT FIGHT OVER ME

Your elemental power is… G R E E N (Sec): without me there

Warning Sign (Sign): I have work I can’t come

Animal Whisperer (Red): don’t worry Sign if i remember i’ll keep you updated

Warning Sign (Sign): Thanks I think

Animal Whisperer (Red): Y’ALL I LOOK OUTSIDE AND I JUST SEE SEC RACE PAST THE WINDOW

Music Man!! (Green): HOW DID HE GET HERE SO QUICK

Animal Whisperer (Red): Sec, actually SLAMMING THE DOOR INTO THE WALL: YO IS DARK HERE YET

Animal Whisperer (Red): Vic, a sensible person: NO WHAT

Your elemental power is… G R E E N (Sec): HEY I THINK I MIGHTVE BROKE THE DOOR

FlyingAway (Purple): SEC IF YOU BROKE THE DOOR I CAN AND WILL KILL YOU

Your elemental power is… G R E E N (Sec): AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

#1SpiderFan (Dark): I’M STILL ON MY WAY BUT DID HE ACTUALLY

Animal Whisperer (Red): THEY D I D

Your elemental power is… G R E E N (Sec): IM SO SORRY

FlyingAway (Purple): MY DAD IS GONNA KILL M E FORGET ME KILLING SEC

Your elemental power is… G R E E N (Sec): I CAN PAY FR IT

RedstoneGalore (Yellow): i can probably fix the door

FlyingAway (Purple): YEL IF YOU CAN FIX THE DOOR I WILL OWE YOU FOREVER

RedstoneGalore (Yellow): what did he do to it

Your elemental power is… G R E E N (Sec): I RIP[PED THE FUCKI NFDFJKSDLGSL

Your elemental power is… G R E E N (Sec): I SRDAHYKALKHSGJKD

RedstoneGalore (Yellow): ARE YOU GOOD?

Ghost Puppet (Vic): Sec is currently cry-laughing and sobbing that he can’t type.

Music Man!! (Green): HE’S TRYING TO SAY HE R I P P E D T H E H I N G E

Ghost Puppet (Vic) uploaded an image!

[A very blurry photo of Sec lying on the ground, curled up laughing. His phone is lying on the floor next to him.]

Ghost Puppet (Vic): Green is torn between being in fight mode and helping

RedstoneGalore (Yellow): I’M HERE

RedstoneGalore (Yellow): THE DOOR IS ON THE FLOOR Y’ALL

NetherwartEater69 (Blue): I’m literally going to cry

#1SpiderFan (Dark): i can hear Sec shrieking from miles away holy-

Your elemental power is… G R E E N (Sec): im hsjkldghjks

Your elemental power is… G R E E N (Sec): calmr now

RedstoneGalore (Yellow): barely

#1SpiderFan (Dark): i’m almost there

NetherwartEater69 (Blue): GODS I FORGOT WHY WE WERE HERE

Your elemental power is… G R E E N (Sec): HJKhsddkah=hsdkghajkhkajhSHGKSDJHGJKJALHLSADGSADGHKJSDG

#1SpiderFan (Dark): WHAT’S UP FUCKERS

#1SpiderFan (Dark): wow that door really is gone huh

Ghost Puppet (Vic): Dark came in and Green just yelled “FIGHT ME!”, so I think we’re off to a good start.

Your elemental power is… G R E E N (Sec): SAASSAHGJKSDGHJKSDGH D ARK

Living Gun (Ballista): HEY SIGN DARK JUS TACKLED GREEN TO THE GR OU ND

Warning Sign (Sign): WHAT

Your elemental power is… G R E E N (Sec): WE;RE WITNESSIGN A WRESLTING MATHC

Your elemental power is… G R E E N (Sec): AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

RedstoneGalore (Yellow): I rescued their phones.

Warning Sign (Sign): how are you so calm??

RedstoneGalore (Yellow): This is a normal activity for us at this point.

Warning Sign (Sign): I’m losing my MIND and I’m not even THERE

Living Gun (Ballista): I DON’T KNOW WHERE CHOSEN GOT POPCORN?? BUT I WANT SOME

The Avatar (Chosen): it’s sweet

Living Gun (Ballista): ew nevermind

Your elemental power is… G R E E N (Sec): Ballista I'M abt to fight U

Living Gun (Ballista): try me

Living Gun (Ballista): SAGH NTO LIKSE THAT

Warning Sign (Sign): What happened

Living Gun (Ballista): HHE TAKLRD ME

Warning Sign (Sign): THEY TACKLED YOU?

Living Gun (Ballista): YEAJK

RedstoneGalore (Yellow): HE JUST SAID “OK” AND HE IMMEDIATELY TACKLED BALLISTA?

Ghost Puppet (Vic): Chosen gave me some of his popcorn. We are having an amazing time.

NetherwartEater69 (Blue): i got Sec and Ballista’s phones. they are also wrestling

Ghost Puppet (Vic): This is better than WWE.

The Avatar (Chosen): Vic do you watch wwe

Ghost Puppet (Vic): Occasionally! I find it entertaining to watch how good at acting the wrestlers are.

The Avatar (Chosen): oh you’re so valid

Ghost Puppet (Vic): Thank you! :)

Warning Sign (Sign): Is everyone else still fighting? Are you guys talking about WWE while two fights go on in front of you

Ghost Puppet (Vic): Yes.

The Avatar (Chosen): yup

NetherwartEater69 (Blue): oh no

Ghost Puppet (Vic): Blue, what was on Sec’s phone?

Ghost Puppet (Vic): Ah. Oh no.

Warning Sign (Sign): What happened???

The Avatar (Chosen): Blue: Sec, you just got a text from Dad.

The Avatar (Chosen): The entire room: Silence.

Warning Sign (Sign): Oh no

#alan becker #animation vs animator #animator vs animation #I'm NOT gonna tag them sorry #Too many characters #zofi's quotes

[katyawriteswhump]

Kiss me better (Steddie holiday drabble)

Written for @steddieholidaydrabbles, day 26 prompt, ‘Who did this to you?’

For Eddie, being an immortal sex demon has its advantages, especially when your boyfriend is left for dead. Also posted on my ao3

WC: 985. Rating: M (bordering E?)

CW: Sex, possible VERY temporary character death. Tags: Whump, magic au, Incubus!Eddie, hurt Steve, fluff.

***

Eddie finds Steve near the lake, crumpled on his side. He rolls Steve over, and his own blood congeals to ice.

Shiiiiit!

Steve’s apparently senseless, his face white as the winter frost. Eddie fumbles for a pulse, finds it—sluggish, fitful—near the telltale twin puncture wounds on Steve’s throat.

Steve’s lashes flutter. “Eddie? Sssorrry I stood you up, maaan.”

You’re seriously apologising for skipping our date? “Who did this to you?”

“Haa…gr…”

Hargrove! Eddie shouldda wasted that showboating vampire long ago.

Steve’s breaths are shallow gasps. He isn’t trying to hide his terror—so yeah, it’s super-bad. There’s barely a spot of blood on him. Billy’s pretty much chugged the lot.

“Eddie?” The whites of Steve’s eyes flash up and he falls completely limp.

Shiiiiit! Plural!

Okay, you got this, Munson.

Eddie rises, cradling Steve in his arms. He unleashes his wings, flies back to the trailer, sits with Steve on his bed…

…and kisses him.

Eddie’s magic stirs, tingles from his lips into Steve.

“C’mon, Sleeping Beauty.”

Eddie despairs, tastes his own salty tears. Then… Steve’s lips warm and soften. Eddie detects the whispering ghost of a breath, and Steve tentatively kisses back. Eddie plunges his tongue deep, and it all gets yummily messy.

Drink my power, Babe, to Hell with the consequences.

When Eddie pulls away, Steve’s awake. Woozy, though: “That was tooootally hot, dude.”

He’s no longer scared or in pain—a cool bonus feature of Eddie’s glamour. His skin is waxy, though, his pulse weak, and he’s still slumped boneless against Eddie.

The kiss wasn’t enough.

“Stevie. Uh, you know I said I was into you, but not into… full-on sex. You cool with me changing my mind?”

“Suuuure. Totally love you.” Steve faintly giggles: “You’re… gonna have to do… the h-heavy lifting… for a change.” He shudders and his head lolls sideways.

“Steve? Steve!”

Eddie knows what he must do.

***

Riiiight, so me and Eddie are having sex.

Steve hasn’t a clue how he got here, should possibly be freaking out. He’s drunk or high, or… Screw it, this is mega-hot. He’s lying on his back, knees hitched up. His gorgeous boyfriend is butt naked, and taking him with slow, deep strokes, striking sweet spots Steve never knew he had.

“Uh… wow?”

Eddie stoops, captures Steve lips in a brief but searing kiss. “Love you, Babe. Couldn’t lose you.”

Huh?

Eddie laps Steve up with thirsty eyes, which seems to strip him naked, even beyond his skin. Steve gasps, squirms: “Gnnng, Eddie. Too good… gonna…” Fuck! Don’t want this over too quick.

“You’re doing great, Babe. Ride with it.”

“Damn!” Steve bites his lip.

He hasn't come yet. Wave after wave of pleasure crashes through him. Eddie’s fucking and filling him, kindling an insatiable itch that builds and builds. If he’d realised sex with a guy was gonna be this crazy-awesome, he’d have had his gay cherry popped years ago.

He reaches up, touches Eddie’s face. Eddie’s loving gaze seems to sweep him into a deep, raging whirlpool, and it’s kinda overwhelming. Steve closes his eyes, and it gets freakier. Eddie’s sexy tats rear up in the darkness—bats swirl, puppets dance, and that skull cackles, ape-shit mental.

The weird shit briefly knocks him from his ‘gonna-come-soon’ happy place. Then Eddie’s lips recapture his, and they’re totally at one. Steve comes hard, with the merest friction against his dick. Simultaneously, Eddie shoots his load, flooding Steve with a crazy, tingly warmth that somehow jets to his deepest veins.

Steve floats. Totally blissed out.

Next thing he knows, Eddie spoons him from behind, cocooning him in a warm fuzz.

“That was epic,” says Steve. “Why d’you stall so long?”

***

When Steve awakes, Eddie sits on the bed, shirtless, twisting his rings. He notices Steve stir and jumps as if slapped.

“Steve! How you doing?”

“Good. I think.” He can’t remember last night. He’s not hungover, though. “Uh, kinda sore?” Woah! He recalls the AWESOME SEX and cackles. “That’s on you, Munson.”

“Sorry,” mumbles Eddie.

“What for?” Steve raises himself on an elbow. The room spins then settles… then panic strikes. “You gonna dump my ass?”

“No! No way.” Eddie gets up, starts pacing. “Look, there’s a teeny chance you died last night. And that this morning, you’re a vampire. Sired—uh, that means sorta enslaved—to Billy Hargrove. Or a minor sex demon. Sired to me. Or perhaps still human. Jury’s out. Not sure if you actually passed, or if I snatched you back in time.”

“What?” Steve’s panic surges. “No, no, no! Last night was a bad trip. Good trip?” He scrapes his hair from his face. “I’m confused.”

“Stevie, Hargrove is a vampire. He drank from you, left you dying. I saved you by… Listen, usually I leech life-force through sex with humans—that’s why I was hesitant to jump your bones. In a fix, though, I can pass life on. Bit of a headache, my overlord’s gonna be pissed. Totally worth it.” Eddie stops pacing, raises his hands kinda defensively. “Babe, I’m an Incubus.”

“A whut?”

“Immortal sex demon?”

Eddie unleashes some feathery black wings, which brush to the cluttered walls of his room, lightly strumming his guitar strings. Steve backs into a corner, blanket hugged before him.

The wings vanish.

Eddie dumps his ass back on the bed, leans beside Steve. Steve’s trembling with shock, cold sweat beading his brow. Talk about mind boggling! “Did you fuck me back to life, dude?”

Eddie shrugs. “Possibly.”

Steve’s close to losing his shit. He should totally split; like, flee the state. Instead, he flings his arms around Eddie, smacks a kiss on his boyfriend’s angst-ridden face. 

“Chill,” says Steve. “I’m sure as heck not sired, or whatever, to Hargrove—I wanna get naked with YOU. Evidence suggests I’m still a brainless teen.”

“Babe, it’s risky—”

“Jesus! I’m fine.” Steve ignores his inner screams of terror, pushes Eddie flat against the pillows and kisses him stupid.

#steve x eddie #steddieholidaydrabbles #steddie #steve harrington x eddie munson #steve harrington whump #steddie fluff #stranger things fanfic #steve harrington hurt/comfort #steddie fic #steddie fanfic

[milkywaydrabbles]

He who was bound in chains, set free.

Cross posted on AO3, link here, mindful of the tags!

Days.

Weeks.

Months.

It felt like an eternity, day in and day out wandering the vastless land. In fear. In silence. Alone. With nothing but the clothes on your back, a worn down dagger and whatever scraps of food you’ve found stashed away within a pouch. You’ve come to lose sense of time after what seemed like the third full moon you’ve seen since escaping Gresit. Just stepping foot in front of foot for hours, not looking up, not looking ahead. Just at your feet, one after the other. Making sure you don’t trip, fall, or ensnare yourself in a beast trap lest you’d like to lose your foot. Spring was tepid, albeit rather harsh at night. Or was it the night monsters?

Those terrors.

The reason you barely slept. How could you? Your days were spent traveling alone by foot, staying away from towns as best you could and eating whatever the Earth Mother decided to give you that hadn’t rotted away yet. Your nights? Filled with painful screeches from both monster and man. You hid yourself as best you could each night. For ages you were able to keep hidden, and quiet amongst the brush, even digging holes as deep as your weak and broken hands would let you, cover your scent with mud and dead things, and do nothing but stay hidden and silently weep while you waited for daybreak. 

You’d gotten crafty with it, really. After being alone and living a merciless hell day in and day out you’ve really found how to hide yourself in the evening times. Sometimes even nodding off, if the screams weren’t so loud. Or if the exhaustion hit you like a horse. Sometimes you even thought yourself remarkable. How, a lowly peasant girl has been able to live on her own for this long, with remnants of Dracula’s army still traipsing through the lands. You’ve heard -- sometimes seen -- men thrice the size of you fall to their knees, arms ripped from shoulder, sockets filled with torn muscle and skin, blood spewing like a fountain. Seen the way soldiers have been ripped in half with ease by the demons of the night. 

And here you are.

Just a lowly peasant girl.

Alive.

It’s about all you can tell yourself to keep you from ripping at the seams. As if life hadn’t already been so god damned terrible to you. The heavens just open up and shit on your future with monsters running amok. Ah, well, you think, so bitterly to yourself. Better than what it was, I suppose. 

Some days you’re not so sure.

You’ve just about convinced yourself that life was easier this way. Not having to think much or do extra work for others, until one wrong move at night -- and so close to day break! -- had given your position away. It was as if, almost in slow motion, you saw those terrifying red eyes find you within the dirt and muck. You swore you saw the thing smile. It’s next meal, is probably what it was thinking. Shock almost entirely took over your body, wouldn’t move a single muscle, not even a twitch of a finger. Until it stepped towards you. 

A crack of a branch under its mangled limbs, and you were off deeper into the woods once more.

You couldn’t breathe, could barely hear over the ringing of your ears. But the monster was just loud enough to hear over it all, just loud enough to hear how close it was getting to you. Your lungs burned, trying so hard to escape this thing. Tears pricked at your eyes, and you blinked as aggressively as your body would let you as to not let the fear consume your sight as well. It was getting close.

Closer.

Closer.

Closer.

I’m going to die, you thought. I’m going to die and I have nothing to show for it. I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die--

It took everything you had, mind, body and strength to force your intent to something, anything, that will save you. Your eyes closed for a moment, you turned around, your body facing this thing, and you grasped as tightly as your fingers would let you to your skirt. You were going to die, with nothing to show for it. You were certain.

But then a sharp snap and a following shriek pierced your ears. You were too scared to look. Maybe the scream you heard was yourself. An out of body experience. The afterlife letting you know it’s time to come home. But it wasn’t. You stood there, waiting for something, anything, to let you know if you were alive or dead. It felt like hours, though you know better. A blurred eye was opened, and your gaze slowly moved up, until you saw...a branch? Shoved through the maw of the night monster and piercing through the skull cavity. What you can only imagine being the frontal cortex of this thing splattered across what remained of its head, and along the wood that took it out. 

You blinked.

You blinked some more.

And then you cried. 

You wept like you haven’t been able to in ages. Loud, with everything you had left, with globs of tears running down your face. Broken, and beaten, and bruised. You cried like you’ve wanted every night since you escaped from Gresit. Hell, cried like you’ve wanted to since you were still in Gresit. Your legs gave out, knees buckling until you fell, one hand supporting you so you didn’t crumble into nothing, the other covering your face as best you could. You still wanted to muffle your noises, lest you attract another one of those things. But you were so exhausted. You finally did something right. You finally were able to use it somehow. In a way for you.

Magic. 

The poor peasant girl, born a witch to religious parents. Deemed a monster, deemed a heretic. Betrayed, and sold, and used. Just for being born.

Born a witch.

You laid there out in the open until the sun’s first ray broke through. Signifying you had survived another night. And had at least one more day ahead of you. You thanked whatever gods you had previously cursed, I didn’t really mean it, honest. And begrudgingly got up, and continued on.

The way you have been for the last however long. 

---

Blurred days have passed again. And you've gotten into your routine again. A bit jittery, but routine nonetheless.You took a bite of some ...meat...you had found and cooked along the way. You want to say it was a fox, but didn’t think too much on it. You’ll lose your appetite. And you barely had one to begin with. It was something to keep your stomach settled. That’s all food was good for these days anyways. Just something to keep your stomach settled. You wandered fruitlessly until you saw a peak of, of something. In the distance. A peak of a house? Maybe... You wanted to start steering clear of it. From the very tiny thing you could see, it was obviously very tall. Which meant very big house. Which meant people you mostly definitely didn’t want to see. But you decided to rest first. You’d been on your feet all day, not a second to even sit. So you did. And then you laid. And then you slept.

Mistake. 

You woke up with all your fire alight with fear. You were out in the open, in the dark. 

It was night time. And you hadn’t protected yourself. 

Oh, shit. 

You did everything you could to scramble to your feet and try to find some form of protection, but it was really too late. The monsters in the air had already scented you out. As if once within the last few days wasn’t enough. Looks like the gods took your cursing to heart. 

You knew you could have tried what you did last time. Magic, and all that. But you were so tired. And you hadn’t been eating much of anything. And there was three of them and you didn’t have time to think and--

You ran.

You ran towards that big, tall, house. You tripped, and you fell, and got back up and ran some more towards that house. Your lungs could have collapsed, feeling like they were on fire all over again. You almost just thought of letting them kill you. You were so tired of running, and just barely surviving. But your adrenaline wouldn’t let you stop moving for even a second. Your saving grace was really the trees that hindered those things from easily snatching you up. 

That didn’t stop them from trying.

Claws jabbed at your arms when they did reach down. Taking out that rusted dagger you really only used for food, you stabbed between its toes, and hearing its cries as it ripped away, taking a bit of your skin with it. And it hurt. It hurt more than most things you reckon you’ve felt in this lifetime. And you screamed, but you continued nonetheless. A few more swipes at you, and a few more jabs at its feet, and more than a few more punctures to your arms, you saw the house in sight. And it was big. Except it was worse than you could have imagined.

It was Dracula’s bloody castle.

The gods took extra offense, it seems.

But you couldn’t stop now, could you? You could only hope and wish and pray that whatever guardian had taken hold of the castle now would give you a swift mercy killing rather than be flayed by these things. Maybe even keep you alive as a blood bank. Living in solitude as a food source sounded awful. But not as awful as living in servitude to a beast disguised as a human as a...you shook it off. It wasn’t time to think of anything right now. Nothing except survival. 

You reached the open field the castle was in, you think you were yelling for help but you couldn’t be sure. You couldn’t be sure of anything anymore. You could barely see, black dotting your vision. You couldn’t feel your legs anymore. This wasn’t how you wanted to die. Especially not after you survived against one of them. But life is cruel to witches, so it seems. You kept running until your leg crumbled beneath you, so then you crawled. You looked up to the sky, it had started to rain. You didn’t notice. How could you notice? All you were looking for were the monsters stalking you for fun now. And one was getting ready to swoop down and gather you up for dinner. A sob escaped, bubbling up from your throat. You closed your eyes and waited. Waited. Waited.

And just like the last time. Nothing came. Nothing but cracks and shrieks of pain. You opened your eyes quicker than the last, too scared to not see. The last bit you saw before the final monster laid dead on the floor was a glint of silver, flying past you towards the house. You scrambled to get up and see who or what would be in front of you.

You honestly thought you died, because the man in front of you looked so ethereal it had to be an angel. A little worse for wear, maybe a soldier, but an angel. You could laugh if you remembered how to do that.

A tall, slender man with a gnarly scar across his chest between the opening of his shirt, beautiful blonde curls framed his somehow feminine and masculine face. That scar could do nothing to deter the beauty that lay before you. 

Neither could the culled bodies on steaks that weren’t even fully decomposed yet in front of the doors, but you don’t think your tunnel vision really saw that.

You wanted to thank him, beg him for mercy. You opened your mouth,

“I’m sorry”

You started to spill nonsense.

“I’m sorry, just let me” you stumbled, trying to go towards the castle. His sword-- his magical, floating sword-- pointed towards you, his face unchanging in its stoicism. 

“Just let me lean against the stone of your home, please, just for a minute” you stumbled again, this time on your backside. You made way to get back up, but it was so hard. “I’ll leave within the hour, you’ll never see me again. I just need...I just need to rest” You pushed up with one leg, and immediately collapsed again, legs fully giving out.

“I’m sorry, thank you, just a minute..” Your vision blurred more, black taking over. The last thing you remember seeing were the boots of your savior, before you hit dirt unconscious.

#alucard (castlevania) #alucard x reader #alucard tepes x reader #alucard tepes #adrian tepes #adrian tepes x reader #castlevania #castlevania netflix #castlevania (2017) #reader insert #CHAPTER ONE IS OUT BABY

[kerubimcrepin]

Episode 51 - High-Temperature Trap (part 3)

They're insane.

Took him long enough. Also, love how Kerubim recognizes him by his evil-ass smile. Do you stare at him smiling a lot, whenever he comes to beat the shit out of you, Keke? Is this ingrained in your memory?

This, too, is doomed toxic platonic brotherly yuri.

"Not my favorite brother" I know that a lot of people interpret this line as him casually dropping the ecaflip demigod lore, because, sure, they have like, 20 brothers, but... 

But considering what we know about the Crepin family from the comic, — I like to think this is Kerubim trying to hurt Atcham by implying that he likes their dead brothers, — whom they barely remember due to those dying when they were like 7, — more than him.

This might be a reach, but it's a funny reach, okay?

It's so nice of him to correct Kerubim on the exact wording of the death threat he usually uses. 🥰

I'm insane. Just so you know. Like I have no comment, other than saying that I am insane. "My dear Kerubim," and "your beloved brother" make me lose my mind.

This is beef between two people who used to be besties. The affection they held for one another is used as a sort of sarcastic ammo. From Atcham's side, with "dear," and "beloved brother," and from Kerubim's side, with "not my favorite brother."

There's a lot to unpack here, and a lot of it was unpacked in previous posts, — but...

Atcham viewing Kerubim's situation when they were kids as better is depressing.

Despite this being a perfect plan to kill Kerubim, even the idea of besting Kerubim in the self-esteem psychic warfare makes him grin. If he can't get rid of him, he will put him in his place.

To Atcham, Kerubim is the egotistical one, obsessed with what other people think of him, — and to Kerubim, Atcham is the psychotic insane menace to society. And neither really stops to think about the fact that they hate the other for the things they do themselves

You just know Atcham is thinking about how narcissistic and mentally ill Kerubim is to be caught in a saw trap like that. Despite being the "so obsessed with Kerubim that he keeps building him saw traps" guy.

Yet again, I'd like to reiterate, that I NEED Kerubim to drop the Atcham lore.

This is what I keep saying about Atcham being edited out of Kerubim's life — and about Atcham probably building other saw traps for him.

Here, Kerubim attempts to reach out and let Indie know that, despite everything, he does like him. Indie's response is that when Kerubim dies, his body will be an awesome to display in his museum.

I already talked at length about how fucked this moment is, in the long Kerubim analysis. God.

I really do think that Kerubim had a lot of warm feelings towards Indie that may not have been entirely reciprocated, which lead to him playing up his own hatred towards Indie.

...And he had to deal with Indie saying this, while the other person he tries to hate but can't quite manage to, was present.

I would say this is worse than going to a battle too.

From Kerubim's point of view, Indie didn't lose because he might have deep, hidden feelings of camaraderie for him. He lost because he was a better person.

While Kerubim proved himself to be exactly who Atcham thinks he is: someone so egotistical that he'd rather die, than be embarrassed.

Drinking tea from a dainty little cup while his evil twin is dying. Freak.

He assumes that everyone is as obsessed with their self-esteem issues and hatred as he and Kerubim are.

Just like it didn't occur to Kerubim to stop giving a damn and prove his brother wrong for once, it didn't occur to Atcham that Indie might not hate Kerubim that much, or care about winning.

You won the war for Indie's heart, Keke, and all it took is a near-death experience and him learning even a bit about your insane familial drama. We are so back.

One of the crack theories I used to have, is that Atcham might have killed indie sometime before the movie, — however, considering he doesn't recognize Lilotte, I think he's just saying shit to be scary here, in hopes Indie changes his mind.

Very eloquent. sdfgsdfgdsfg

#ro liveblogs dofus #dofus #krosmoz #wakfu #ep51 #kerubim crepin #atcham crepin

[bengiyo]

Step By Step Ep 8 Stray Thoughts

Last week on HR Violations, Pat and Put started dating again, but immediately ran into trouble when Pat didn’t have as cute a time making ramen for Put as he did for Jeng. They wrapped up this advertisement shoot, and had Jeng crush one of the managers for being a terror on set. Put ended up feeling like he was on the outs with Pat multiple times, and is definitely aware that something is going on with Jeng and Pat. Chot was our hero as always, and kept anyone from doing anything untoward while Pat was especially drunk, but it didn’t stop Pat from flirting hard with Jeng. Jeng is barely holding on to any sense of decorum with Pat. Meanwhile, Jaab is quite upset with Jen, and has been putting distance between them.

Did Put just say “I love you” like he was activating a trap card? BRO

I think this is very adult of Pat. He knows that he can’t reunite with Put the way either of them wants, and is putting an end to it. Even here, Put is showing why it won’t work. It doesn’t matter if Pat is into someone else now. Put has no rights over that.

Even if he’s playing a difficult character here, by love for Up Poompat is unchanging.

Chot remains my favorite.

LET’S DISCUSS THIS BROWN SUIT ON JENG. This man wears suits so well. I love that the blue in his tie is lighter than his shirt.

We’re using the side couple pretty decently here. Pat and Put are handling their breakup as professionally as possible. Meanwhile, Jaab and Jen are beefing on set.

Lol, never mind about Put. He’s intentionally sowing discord between Pat and Jeng now. Threatening to out Jeng if he moves on Pat is low.

Ae is so funny. “I want my baby to look like Pat. Not you.”

I’m glad Pat’s friends made him realize he cancelled a date.

Not Jeng having a sad, drunk dinner!

No, Jeng! Don’t give up on Pat yet!

Jeng’s friend called him right out on his crush on Pat.

Oh hey we get Jeng in a towel. That’s right, sir. You better look cute for your not-date.

I’m going to need to write a whole separate post about food ordering comparing this not-date with the dinner date from La Pluie Episode 4.

My man Jeng is going to lose it.

This man had them rearrange a whole section of the damn restaurant for him!

Jeng don’t talk about work on your not-date!

If they had to have anyone crash on their not-date, they’re lucky it’s Chot.

I love Chot so much. I also get mad when these kids make me run after them.

Well if it isn’t Oishii keeping the lights on in BL once more.

Pat is going to kill this man with all of these flirty allusions. I’m gonna need Pat to give this man something else to choke on before this show ends…

I did not know I needed Jeng’s internal monologue, but this has been an absolute joy this episode.

Pat having a mini-breakdown because he saw Put’s pictures is so real.

My man Jen is imagining scenarios on his date. Valid.

Okay, Ben didn’t have to bite on that straw like that…

What is this goddamn speakeasy Jeng took him to!?!

You know Jeng must be sprung over Pat because you not getting my clumsy ass on the dance floor.

Does everyone know about this bar??

Oh, Pat. Just like a gay to be crying on the dance floor of a secret gay club.

That was such a gentle confession from Jeng, and I don't even know if Pat really processed it.

Jeng has a hot ex and he's the damn tailor from The Tuxedo!!

Not Pat and Jaab both vomiting in the bathroom.

Oh, Pat, I totally understand you, baby boy.

I totally get Pat not reading Jeng before this moment. When you're gay and have a crush on someone you know you're not supposed to, you learn to ignore the wishfulness rising in you. I'm so excited to see how he handles the reality that Jeng has been flirting with him for months.

#step by step #step by step meta #thai bl #bl series #Ben watches

[xbalayage]

Hey Michelle!

I'm slowly but surely becoming obsessed with your Silvio text posting. Lol Please don't feel pressured to answer this if you don't want to, but I was just thinking.... how would Silvio be if you were killed and he feels like he could have (or somehow should have) stopped it?

Would he be someone who just loses all motivation to do anything, or would he be hellbent on revenge, or maybe want to do what he thinks You would want him to do? I'm just curious on how you think he'd react long-term.

Silvio doesn't handle it well AT ALL and sees it as a personal attack - an act of war.

Because EVERYONE FAR AND WIDE IN THE COUNTRY OF BENITOITE knows of his obsessive fondness of you. And to take the only source of happiness from him, the only person who's ever accepted him for who he was, saw the beast in him but loved him anyways. Learned of his past, the wrongs he'd committed, the wrongs he'd done towards you to push you away from him at first but it never scared you away; you never let go of his hand.

Honestly, others could've attacked him from any angle: him personally, his wealth, his possessions, his title. He wouldn't have given a damn in the world.

And now.. now he had no charming smile to wake up to, no warmth to fill his heart and bed, no one to make the smallest things feel like the greatest adventures. Who's love soften him as the days grew of the two of you together. No one to sass him off and tell him when he's wrong or even just to playfully give him a hard time, no one to eagerly await his arrival back into town on the docks. No one to crave for him.

But the fact.. THE FUCKING FACT TO STRIP HIM RAW AND BARE, SHAVING HIM DOWN TO THE BRINE AND BONE. TO SAVAGE A MAN FROM HIS HUMANITY AND NEW FOUNDED PURPOSE in life left him seething.

A lot of anger, rage and resentment still carried with him through the years but a deep sadness festered; the mere smashing of doors, broken vases, shattered mirrors and agonizing screams wouldn't ever bring you back to him. The thirst came back - he started to aggressively drink again to numb the pain, quench the thirst that he never imagine having to go through again.

Fuck, he hasn't cried since he was a kid; before, he had to dry his tears himself, wipe his chin and stand tall, make something for himself. Yet now, he'd give anything for the touch of your love to wipe his cheeks dry, the charm in your voice that made everything feel better, the warmth in your hands that would never let him go.

Now, all he's left with is a cold tombstone. Used of the finest materials, one he has meticulously kept in pristine condition, littered about with roses and all the things you've ever cherish and loved. Any moment, any chance he had, he was there with you. Reminisce, talk about his most cherished moments and memories with you, the gift you've given him that money couldn't ever come close to - and how he feels like he failed you.

He even wanted to commemorate a statue in your honor; a symbol of love, peace and hope. Etch your name onto the side of every ship. A mural done in your memory.

But it's once he starts to finally think, actually SIT and FUCKING THINK about who could've done this to you. Who hated his bare existence so much that taking your life would've made the assailant smile, knowing damn well you were the key to his weakness.

And there was only one bastard who immediately comes to mind. Who'd pull such a dirty move, who had lingering eyes in every inch of the continent, who'd laugh in his face and feign innocent.

GILBERT VON OBSIDIAN.

"If war is what you fuckin' wanted, if a game is all but what ya wanted to play. Bring it the hell ON."

He couldn't bring you back and hell, maybe this isn't what you would've wanted him to do. But his eyes tunnel visioned, rational thought left his head a while ago. It wouldn't be a smart move to cause tensions with the Conquering Beast's nation and he knew that all to well. But with a little investigating, a little planning, a little money, and a lot of dirty playing; he'd win the war in your name.

Now, all he needed was time and the right opportunity.

#silvio #silvio ricci #ikepri silvio #ikemen prince silvio #ikepri #ikemen prince #randonauticrap #L

[sortofanobsession]

One More Diaz (911 Buddie A/B/Ω AU WIP) Part 1

Author's Note: This WIP I started in January has grown into a monster! I had to break it up for editing purposes and posting. So this is part 1. Part 2 has a bit of work still that needs to be done, but I promised to get more of it posted and it has both preview parts in it, so I just decided to post it as a large chunk.

Tag Requests and Prompts are open.

Content warning: Male Alpha/ Male Omega pairing, mpreg, angst, vomiting, morning sickness.

Alpha Buck/Omega Eddie

Word Count: 4k+ (would be longer but posts have character limits I never realized)

Part 2

Eddie is panicking. His life was just getting back on track. He was finally back in a good place. He had his job. His relationship with his parents was okay. Christopher was thriving. And after nearly having to sit there and do nothing after Buck was struck by lightning. Eddie had finally made a move on the alpha. They had been together ever since. 

The emotional aftermath of that had led to a mind-blowing three day heat for the omega. Eddie had thought they had taken the necessary precautions. But precautions sometimes fail. They failed spectacularly based on the three tests that sat on the bathroom counter. Eddie had been feeling increasingly run down and nauseous. He had hoped it was something he'd caught on a call or maybe at Christopher’s school. But nope. The only thing he caught was himself on his alpha dick while heat sick and cock stupid. And damn was he stupid. He and Buck hadn't been together all that long. They had barely discussed how to handle work and a relationship. And Christopher. What would Christopher think? Eddie shook his head and shoved all the tests to the back of a drawer. He couldn't lose it now. He didn't have time to cry. He had a shift to get ready for. 

The omega gets butterflies as he walks into the firehouse and is met with the gorgeous blue eyes and thousand watt smile of his alpha. The father of his unborn pup. And that thought has Eddie's stomach twist and bile rising in his throat. He fights it back but it must show on his face because Buck’s smile is gone. The worried alpha now headed towards the locker room, knowing that was Eddie's first stop. 

The omega tries to focus on changing into his uniform as he opens his locker. He was begging his body not to betray him. Just give him a day or two so he can figure out how to tell Buck. They weren't even bonded. Did Buck even want a-

“Hey,” Buck's voice cuts through the omega's uneasy thoughts and grounds him. The alpha always had that effect on him. Everything seemed so much more bearable when Buck was around. “Take a breath,” the alpha says. Eddie realizes that he hadn't just been stuck in his head. He had been visibly tense and just standing there, hadn't even put his uniform shirt on yet. It was clenched in his balled fist. He feels Buck’s fingers carefully remove the shirt from his hand. “Breathe, Eddie.” Eddie takes a shuddering breath. And then another, until he has cleared his mind enough that the tension in his shoulders leaves. “That's good,” the alpha says with a grin. The grin only grows as the omega doesn't fight or argue as the alpha carefully dresses him. “You good?” Buck asks once Eddie is mostly dressed. And the omega seems mostly snapped out of it. 

Eddie opens his mouth to tell the alpha that he is fine now, that he appreciated his help, but right then Ravi approached them. Ravi must have been helping Bobby make breakfast for the crew because it clings to the younger man’s form and has the omega bolting for the nearest trash can. Setting off a series of events Eddie had desperately been avoiding. 

That was how Eddie found himself sitting in Bobby's office. Door closed so it was just him and the captain, much to Buck's dismay. 

Hen had swooped in, pulled medical rank, and kicked everyone else out of the locker room. She knew. Of course she knew. Hen always knew. But Eddie had been unbelievably grateful for that. She had offered to cover for him, but she told him it wouldn't take long for everyone to figure it out. Eddie might be good at hiding a lot of things, emotions, bruises, illegal activities, not that he does any of those any more. No. But this was something he wouldn't be able to hide long. His body was already making it known. Even his scent had started to change. 

“The longer you wait, the worse it will be, those sad blue eyes were your weakness before you were carrying his kid. You're in for it now,” she had told him. And the omega knew she was right. Just a glimpse of the worry in those blue eyes he so often got lost in when he'd looked back at him before the female beta kicked everyone out made his heart hurt. He was terrible at keeping things from Buck, even before they were together. 

The omega remembers where he is when Bobby sits down behind his desk with a sigh.

“How long have you known?” The captain asks. 

“Took three tests this morning,” Eddie admits. “But it'd been putting it off for a few days, but kind of obvious now.” The omega lets out a nervous laugh. He hadn't planned on telling anyone anything yet. “Haven't even called the doctor’s office yet.”

“You should get on that,” Bobby states. And Eddie could appreciate the fact his boss wasn't using his alpha or his captain tone. It was just a suggestion but Eddie was already planning on it. So he nods. 

“I know,” the omega sighs. He can tell his boss has a million questions but isn't sure what to say. “Yes, it's Buck’s. Yes, I'm going to tell him. No, I don't plan on doing anything stupid.”

That earns an amused chuckle from the alpha. “I figured,” Bobby says. “But you know what this means right?”

“Medic duty or desk duty?” Eddie asks. 

“You’re with Hen on the rig for now,” the captain states. “No fires, no dangerous rescues, no hero stuff.”

“That's always more of Buck's thing,” Eddie smiles. Earning another laugh from the captain. 

“You both live for the daring rescues, but-”

“Oh believe me, my boots are staying on the ground for a good long while. Just the idea of that stupid ladder makes my stomach twist.” The omega wasn't lying. The sway of the ladder even with the stabilizers out would probably have him losing his lunch at this rate. Hell, he'd probably lose it just watching Buck up there, especially after what had happened. 

“Just try not to push yourself too much, the first few months are always the worst for it.”

“Oh believe me, I know,” the omega sighs. 

Buck was waiting for him outside Bobby’s office. The captain just shook his head and grinned. Heading off to make something that the omega could hopefully keep down for breakfast. 

“Are you okay?” Buck asks. And his concern is written all over his face. The omega nods as he glances around. 

“There's something I need to tell you,” Eddie says before leading somewhere more private. The silent conference room.

The silence must be gnawing at the alpha because as soon as the door to the conference room shuts he asks. “What's going on, Eddie? You're not like…”

The omega holds his breath as he lets the alpha find whatever word he is searching for. 

“Sick, right? Like sick, sick. You'd have told me right? Because-”

And Eddie thinks it's adorable how Buck rambles when he's nervous. But Eddie might as well just rip the bandaid off on this one. Half the team already knew. 

“I'm pregnant,” he tells him. The blunt nature of the statement has the normally animated alpha stilling. It's painfully quiet for a beat.

“You’re…You are…we-”

“Yes, we,” Eddie gestures between himself and the alpha. “You're the only one I've been with since-”

“Since Ana,” Buck says, cringing slightly at the memory of the omega he has been in love with longer than he'd been willing to admit was with someone else. “Right, yeah, okay. So…”

“So it's yours,” Eddie clarifies.

“Mine,” the alpha repeats. And the omega gets nervous as it gets quiet again. The only noise is the sound of Eddie's fingers tapping on the table he stands beside. 

“You don't have to-” Eddie starts but is cut off by the alpha's lips crashing against his.

“So you're not upset?”

“Upset?” The alpha laughs. “Eddie, you just told me we are going to have a kid. This is amazing. I was worried you were like dying or something. Freaked me out. The idea of losing you-” 

It's Eddie's turn to silence his alpha. He can't help it.

“I love you,” Eddie says and he is glad he did because Buck looks even happier, if that was even possible with how excited he had seemed before. The alpha is hauling him into a kiss again.

“Love you too,” Buck says against Eddie's lips. And Eddie tries to push the alpha away because he had only rinsed his mouth out after the nausea got the best of him, but Buck didn't care. Not in the slightest. He’d do a lot more than kiss the omega if he could get away with it. He wanted to show his omega how happy he had made him. How happy his inner alpha was at the idea of Eddie carrying his pup. His imagination already took the idea and ran with it and it had a growl rumbling through his chest. And the shiver that runs through the omega has the alpha pinning him to the table. Their make out session is cut short by a knock on the door before it opens. An amused Hen leans on the door frame. 

“All right, lovebirds,” she says with a grin. “Cap says food is ready.” Eddie groans. “The vent fans are on and Ravi changed his shirt, with much complaining, so you should be fine. Also, next time, close the damn blinds.”

“Thanks, Hen,” Eddie says.

“Mmhmm,” she says with a wave as she leaves. 

Buck has not moved. Eddie sighs. 

“Buck…” he starts. The alpha kisses him one last time before he pulls away and stands up. 

“You need to eat,” Buck states. He holds his hand out to the omega and hauls him up. 

“Hopefully, I can keep it down,” Eddie grumbles.

“We’ll find you something,” Buck squeezes his hand as they head to the loft. 

They tell the team during breakfast since everyone had questions as to why Eddie was being taken off rescues. Everyone was excited for them. 

Buck insists on going home with Eddie. And the omega didn't mind. But it ended up Buck following him home. And it's oddly comforting and sweet to look through his rearview mirror to see his alpha. And it has warmth spreading through his chest. 

Christopher is thrilled as he always is when Buck follows Eddie in. Carla gives Eddie a knowing look. He follows her into the kitchen. 

“You tell him?” She asks Eddie when it is clear Christopher has Buck’s attention in the living room. 

“Yeah,” Eddie admits. She had been trying to get him to test since the first time she had picked Christopher up from school and the boy complained he was nearly late that day because Eddie overslept and seemed sick. The female omega had tried to gently nudge the anxious man to confirm what she already knew. 

“So it went well?” She asks. Before Eddie could answer Buck was planting a kiss on Eddie's cheek as he moved past him to grab Christopher a drink from the fridge. And just as fast as he came in, he leaves. 

“Told you he'd be all in,” she grins. 

“I know,” Eddie sighs. “We’re going to tell Christopher.” 

“He’s going to be so happy.”

“I hope so,” the nervous omega says. 

“He will,” Carla assures him. “Right, well since you're both here, I'm going to head out.”

Eddie looks over at his stove and he doesn't have it in him to cook. He leans heavily against the counter as he tries to figure out what to do. He must have taken too long in the kitchen after Carla left because Buck came looking for him.

“You okay?” the alpha asks as he makes his way over to his omega. 

“Yeah,” The omega nods and answers. “Just tired.”

Buck runs his hands up and down his omega's arms to soothe him. “Too tired to stick to the plan or…” The alpha smiles when Eddie leans against him. 

“Nah, he deserves to know,” Eddie says. 

“Why don't you go relax, I’ll order something to eat.” Buck says, he gives into his inner alpha and kisses the omega's temple. Earning a contented hum from Eddie. The tired omega shifts and buries his face in the alpha’s shoulder. 

“Dad?” Christopher calls. 

Eddie looks up quickly to see his son in the doorway. 

“Hey bud,” Eddie says. “What's up?” His son seems to eye him skeptical. It was silent for a moment. 

“Hey superman,” Buck says. “How's pizza sound?”

Christopher nods, “Unless dad’s not feeling-”

“I'm okay, bud,” Eddie is quick to assure him. “And pizza’s fine with me.”

“Are you sure?” Christopher still sounds unconvinced.

“Want to just do it now?” Buck whispers to Eddie. It sends an involuntary shiver through the omega. “Will probably make him worry less if he knows what's going on,” the alpha adds.

Eddie nods. He takes a deep breath. The fact that his senses are filled with the alpha's scent calms his nerves just a bit. Buck was there no matter how this went. They’d figure it out as a family, a pack. He turns towards Christopher. 

“There's something important we need to talk to you about, Christopher,” Eddie starts.

“If it's that you're dating, I kind of know that already,” Christopher says. 

That gets a huff of a laugh from the alpha. “That tracks.”

Eddie grins. “I know, Carla told me you figured that out already.”

“So, what is it?”

Eddie looks back at Buck and honestly, the alpha looks so excited he might lose it. “You tell him.” And the smile that takes over the alpha's face makes the hormonal omega's heart soar. 

“You're going to be a big brother, bud,” Buck tells Christopher. And the omega holds his breath as Christopher processes that information, looking between Buck and Eddie. 

“You're having a pup?” Christopher looks over at his dad. 

Eddie nods, “Is that okay?” 

Christopher huffs. “That's a stupid question.” But the smile on his face betrays him. “It's better than okay, it's awesome.” Buck laughs. 

Eddie sighs. 

“Had us going there for a second, kid,” Buck grins. He ruffles Christopher's hair. “Now go watch TV while I order food.”

“Okay, Buck,” Christopher says. 

“Well, that was…” Buck chuckles as he goes over and pulls Eddie against him. The way the omega stays against him like a puppet that had its strings cut makes him think that maybe the kid had his own suspicions and was teasing them a bit. “That kid is too smart for his own good.”

“Or ours,” Eddie mumbles as he buries his face in Buck's neck again. 

“True, but he's going to be an amazing big brother,” the alpha assures.

“Yeah, he will,” the omega can't help but picture it. A little pack all their own. Buck, Eddie, Christopher and a tiny little pup. It’s the first time he's really let himself believe it. And it brings tears of joy to his eyes. Tears that the alpha must feel because he is pulling back just enough to look at the omega. The smile and sweet scent of his happy partner is enough to remove any worry the alpha had in the moment. 

“Go relax,” the alpha insists. “I’ll be right there.”

After Dinner Eddie falls asleep watching a movie with Christopher. Buck takes the opportunity to check his phone. There are a handful of messages from Chimney begging him to tell Maddie because if he doesn't Chim might. And the alpha chuckles to himself. He tells Chim to relax. He’s meeting her for breakfast in the morning. 

Buck smiles as he greets his sister with a hug.

“You look happy,” the female beta grins as they sit down. 

“I am,” Buck tells her. 

“How's Eddie and Christopher?” 

“Christopher is good, just dropped him at school.”

“And your omega?” She teases. 

“He's probably still in bed,” Buck says. She gives him an amused look. “Morning sickness will do that.” 

“Evan…are you telling me,” Maddie rushes to ask. “You're having a pup? Evan Buckley! How am I just learning about this?”

“I just found out yesterday, the team did too because Eddie is having a hard time keeping anything down.”

“First few months can be rough,” she says. “But I'm sure you're already all over that.” 

“Yeah, Bobby's been a big help. Moved Eddie to the rig with Hen. Working on helping him figure out what he can eat.”

“I'm so excited for you guys.” The beta female smile and scent exudes comfort and familiarity that brings so much joy to the alpha.

“I'm just shocked Chim didn't spoil the surprise,” Buck chuckles to avoid the overwhelming onset of emotions. His life had gotten so.much better in a single day. And his sister seemed so proud of him. He loved them all so much. His pack. 

“It does explain why he avoided talking about you or Eddie. I thought maybe a ring, not a pup, but I'm excited now. Evan, you are going to be an amazing dad. You already are really. Christopher adores you.”

“Well, he's the best so that's easy,” Buck nods, but he had one question he was unsure about. “How do you think mom and dad will react?” the alpha asks.

“They’ll be happy if your guys are happy. They already love Christopher.”

“You think?”

“I know.” 

“We know, mijo,” Isabel Diaz says with a grin after he tells them the news. Tia Pepa laughs at the shocked look on the omega’s face.

“You’re not very subtle, Edmundo,” his aunt states. “You might want to call your mother before one of your cousins does.” His abuela quickly agrees. “Or one of your boys lets it slip.” 

Eddie’s parents were happy for him when he told them. They promise to visit soon. 

Over the next few weeks Buck manages to make arrangements for his apartment. His landlord agrees to let him out of the lease, it was a fight at first but the alpha agrees to pay the early termination fee with little argument. Eddie thought they could have done better but Buck just wanted it done. The team and Maddie had helped him move what he needed. Eddie complains the whole time since Buck won't let him do anything but supervise. The omega ends up making sure everything is sorted and labeled probably.

Buck moving in was almost too easy. He didn't need to keep much. He didn't have a whole lot he cared about. Most of his furniture had been picked by his ex. His sentimental items would easily find a home at Eddie's or stored away for use when they needed a bigger home. An inevitability that would probably happen sooner, rather than later. 

Buck had practically lived at Eddie's long before he moved in. He spent most of his free time there even before the pair got together. So Buck had long been familiar with the Diaz family routines. He knew where everything was and the trio were shockingly good at navigating the space without frustration. The opposite really. It made Eddie unbelievably happy. The omega’s heart soared at how easily at home his alpha was in his space. How Christopher had helped find homes for the Alpha's belongings among the cupboards, shelves and drawers throughout the house. At one point during the process Buck had pulled Eddie into his arms and the omega nearly cried at how right everything felt. It was like things made more sense the way they were now that Buck's photos were added to the tables and walls. 

Buck can't believe how right it feels every time he walks in the door to what is now their home. Going home to his omega and son always had a smile forming on the alpha's face and a warm feeling in his chest. He had always believed that the most important thing he could feel as an alpha was pride. That is what his dad and his coaches always said. Pride felt good. It might be important to most alphas, but it was nothing compared to what Buck felt now. Days like this made him feel bad for those pride focused alphas. Because nothing hit Buck harder or made him feel more alive than coming home to his pack, his family. He felt so much love the alpha thinks that life can't get better. He thinks that, but every time he finds out he is wrong in the best way possible. 

It was early and the house was quiet. It had been a long shift and it was worse when they worked different shifts. He had worked at the station before Eddie had joined the team, but it was different now. The two of them were partners. Partners in anything and everything even before they got together. Not having Eddie there was like someone had taken away half of what made him good at his job. The omega would argue Buck was always good at his job. He didn't need Eddie for that. But Buck was always better when Eddie was there. Bobby had reminded him he'd have to get used to it. Eddie could take up to a year off. Even if he knew it was for the best, Buck knew he wouldn't like it. Buck’s thoughts circle back to what started his mind on this track when after checking in on a sleeping Christopher he makes his way to the room he and Eddie share. And Buck has never felt anything like the sheer amount of love he feels when he sees Eddie. Eddie looks adorable, something Eddie will never admit he is, bundled in what is basically a nest of blankets and Buck’s clothes. He knew it was a thing omegas did, especially pregnant ones, but seeing it when it's your omega? It's beautiful. The alpha moves as silently as possible. Eddie was a light sleeper usually, and sometimes just the change of having Buck's fresh scent in the air was enough to wake him on bad nights when he came in. But the omega must be exhausted, or maybe just really comfy, to sleep this deep. Buck was glad he had showered at the station before he left. He quickly gets ready and carefully moves to join his omega. Which the alpha isn't surprised finally wakes his sleeping partner. 

“Just me,” Buck assures him and the effect is instantaneous. Eddie just hums as what little tension the disturbance caused vanishes. The omega reaches out to pull the alpha towards him. Buck chuckles at the way Eddie scents him once Buck is nestled in. The barely awake omega burying his face in his lover’s neck before quickly falling back asleep. Buck has no complaints. Eddie is tucked tight against him and they would stay that way for a few more hours. Then, begrudgingly, the alpha would have to let go so Eddie could get Christopher ready for school. At least Buck would know Eddie had a partial good night's rest. 

When Buck got up it was late morning. Christopher was already at school.

“Morning,” Eddie said when Buck walked into the kitchen. “How'd the shift go?” Eddie silently waited and watched with amusement as Buck shrugged and got a cup of coffee. “One of those mornings, huh?” Eddie grinned. 

He was answered by the alpha draining half the hot drink and then making his way over to where Eddie was leaned against the counter. The alpha buried his face in the omega neck. 

“That bad?” Eddie chuckles. The omega's fingers card through the taller man’s hair. 

“Shifts are too long,” Buck says, half mumbled in Eddie's shoulder and neck. Eddie smiles and nods. He gets that. Sometimes a shift could drag on even if it had plenty of calls to deal with. It was the downtime that got you. 

“Missed you too,” Eddie says. That has the alpha pulling back so he can probably kiss him. “Hungry?” Eddie asks when they pull apart and Buck goes for the rest of his caffeine fix. Eddie laughs at the nod and mumbled “yes, please,” and “starving”, from the alpha. Eddie might not be the best cook but he had made extra pancakes from a mix he and Chris, thanks to Carla, had long ago discovered could be made during his off days. The mix could be made in pancakes and frozen or just save them having to do it every day. Because they couldn't survive off cereal alone. Not when Chris was growing like a weed and Eddie worked a physically intense job. Occasionally, they'd do waffles or something special, but today had been a pancake day. So getting the alpha's ready was easy. 

Buck watched Eddie make the one meal the omega had confidence in making. The alpha could get used to mornings like this.

#tw: vomiting #tw: mpreg #tw: angst #tw: anxiety #alpha omega pairing #buddie fic #alpha buck buckley #omega eddie diaz

[midwestmade29]

Unexpected 🩵 (Part 1)

Are you ready to melt? I certainly did as I wrote this 🥺 It’s 99% fluff except for one part at the beginning! I’ll be posting this story in multiple parts due to the length of it. Hopefully that will make it easier to read and enjoy 🙂

Word count: 1,017 Divider by: @saradika-graphics GIFs by: @allelitewrestlings

Due to the mature themes throughout, minors do not interact. if you’re under the age of 18, please KEEP SCROLLING.

Part 1 disclaimers: Cursing, unprotected sex, sickness, use of pregnancy tests, & pregnancy. Read at your own discretion.

You and Eddie Kingston are about to embark on a life changing journey together…

“Come here girl, let me look at you!” Eddie said excitedly as he sat his bags down and held his arms open for you. He had been gone for almost a month competing in a NJPW tournament and had just gotten home. “Damn, Facetime didn’t do that pretty face justice. I missed you love!” When you embraced, you noticed some of the bruises he sustained from his matches, and he grimaced when you squeezed tightly from being sore still. Thankfully that was the worst of it! “I missed you so much baby,” you whispered against his neck. You held on to Eddie for dear life, afraid that if you were to let go that he would float away, but he didn’t mind. Both of you were reveling in your embrace and savoring every second of being together again! When you kissed, a fire ignited inside each of you and there was a sense of urgency to make up for lost time. A sweet moment rapidly turned sensual and before you knew it, your moans filled the house as he buried himself deep inside of you. Both of you were so desperate to be skin on skin that you didn’t even make it to the bedroom! The kitchen table was the place of choice. Your nails dug into his back, making him hiss from the sting but he loved it. The table started to creak the harder he thrusted, his movements becoming more frantic as he chased his release. “You feel so good Y/N! So warm and tight. Ah, shit!” Eddie growled. You cried out his name while your body quaked against him as you came. “I love when my name falls from those pretty lips. Music to my ears baby,” he panted against your chest. Moments later Eddie found his release too, emptying himself inside you. Both of you were disheveled, your bodies glistening with sweat. Eddie smirked against your lips and whispered, “It’s good to be home.”

It's easy to lose track of time when you’re traveling every week with AEW! For the last month and a half, you were right by Eddie’s side on every plane, backstage with him before every match and sometimes even ringside cheering him on. On the morning of this week’s Dynamite, you woke up feeling terrible. You were exhausted, bloated and your boobs were super sore. Your stomach was a little queasy too, but you chalked that up to something you ate last night. “I’ll be fine, I promise.” You reassured a worried Eddie. “I don’t wanna leave you like this though, love. I won’t be back until late and you’re in no condition to go out on your own. What are you going to do if you need something?” he expressed his concerns as he sat down next to you on the bed. “There’s always room service. Most stores offer delivery too if I need something the hotel doesn’t have. You have a big night ahead of you baby, try not to worry about me. Off you go! Give em’ hell!” Eddie continued protesting, but eventually gave in once you agreed to keep him posted on how you were feeling and let him know if you needed him for anything. He kissed you on your forehead and he grabbed his bag before leaving. For most of the day you laid in bed sleeping on and off, hoping it would cure whatever funk you were in. You eventually ordered room service since you hadn’t eaten anything since the night before, but barely touched it when the smell made your stomach churn. You were in the middle of sending Eddie a text when a health notification went off on your phone asking you if your period had started yet. Every month you logged your periods, but you figured you had just forgotten to log your most recent one since you’ve been so busy lately. That was, until you got to thinking about it and realized you’re over a month late. You paced the hotel room trying to piece everything together and cursed under your breath as reality started settling in. There was a good chance that you could be pregnant, but you needed confirmation. You got on your phone and searched for the nearest store that would deliver to your hotel and placed an order for half a dozen pregnancy tests.

Sure enough, every single one of them came back positive! For a good 20 minutes you stood and stared at the array of tests you had sitting on the bathroom counter in disbelief. You and Eddie had talked about having kids together several times during your relationship, and they were definitely something you both wanted in the future. You both agreed that right now wasn’t the right time for them since Eddie is on the best run of his career and it was nice being able to travel and spend time with only each other. It’s amazing how two pink lines can change everything in an instant! Your emotions were all over the place, going from scared to excited, panicking to being elated and worried to happy. Overall, you were overwhelmed, and you weren’t sure how you were going to tell Eddie. You didn’t feel like he would be mad about the situation, but since neither of you had planned on this happening right now you knew he would probably be riding the same emotional roller coaster as you. You checked your phone to see what time it was and noticed that Dynamite was half over already! Eddie’s match was the main event tonight, so thankfully you didn’t miss it on tv. When Dynamite was over, you knew Eddie would be back at the hotel sooner rather than later. Even though this pregnancy was unexpected, you still wanted to tell Eddie in a special way and telling him in a random city in a hotel room just didn’t feel right. You decided to bag up the pregnancy tests and throw them away and hope that he wouldn’t see them and tell Eddie about it at a better time very soon.

Using this GIF…just because 🥰

#aew #all elite wrestling #eddie kingston #mad king #eddie kingston fanfiction #eddie kingston fic #aew fanfiction #eddie kingston x y/n #fanfiction #fanfic #fluff #eddie kingston fluff

[fancifulflora]

in the mood for angst! how would the LIs in atoc react to the crown sacrificing themselves for them (during or after ur choice!) ty! group crying session after this lol

hehehe, I've been writing a lot of fluff lately and semi angst so now it's high time I destroy people a little on the inside

also since its a sunday and i have a lot of extra time to write I'm posting this as a nice bonus on top of the 1 daily post

Azad/Ashti

Perhaps they weren't too unlike their father after all.

Both lead their country to ruin, to chaos, in one way or another.

The only problem was that the Royal Protector didn't lose their mind. Their body wasn't frail. Paranoia had not taken them the way it did their parent.

They were healthy, as healthy as one could be. Still young, strong. Capable and with agency.

Yet they were still alive. A Royal Protector now without their Crown.

A failure.

It still was fresh in their mind, a sharp ache filling up their head whenever they let their mind drift to you. The guilt robbed their lungs of air.

They think of the trust you had given them, they trust the two of you shared.

You knew full well that this was their purpose- their duty to lay their life down for your safety.

So why did you do it? Why go so far for them?

It hurts to not be able to hold you in your final moments, to be able to ask- demand to know why you were so damn selfless. Why you cared for them so. Why your eyes looked so resigned, so at peace the moment you shoved your entire body against theirs- your eyes meeting for the last time.

Your head rolling across the stones ended all hope for answers.

Leaving behind a country in chaos, a failure in desperate need of answers they'll never get.

Dara/Delal

Somehow, despite all odds, despite everything they did in their power to get stronger, to grow- they did it again.

They've killed another Crown.

It had to be a cruel trick played on them by the very Spirits themselves. Had to be. There was no way that they were deserving of such sacrifice.

No way a single, insignificant soldier was worth not one, but two Crowns.

Void take them, there was no way their life could ever be worth yours alone.

Not when they knew you, knew your character, knew your potential.

The armor they wore that day still sits in their office, the golden scales stained with a crimson that they may never wash off.

Their own hands are still stained with blood every time they dare look down at them, stained with your blood- no matter how many times they try to wash it off. Try to put it in the back of their mind.

They can't even stop to think of the consequences this will have on their family, they can barely think as is.

The only thing they can do is harden themselves and let the earth itself swallow their misery, their heart.

And their chances of redemption along with it.

Rozerîn/Rêzan

Not a soul blamed them for the Crown's passing.

A part of the sorcerer wished they would.

It's only right that they do.

Though they knew the blame would come later, when the nights of mourning- crying, ended.

It would come when the sorcerer could eat and drink once more when they could get back to brushing their long hair- leaving the darkness of their chambers.

And for once, they'd welcome it.

They'd happily take the looks from the nobles, the snide- even accusatory comments.

It wasn't like they were incorrect in their sentiment. The sorcerer did turn out to be unfit for their position. Unworthy of the faith placed in them by those around the magus.

They'd deserve no less for failing their mentor, for failing their Crown.

For failing you.

Void take them, they'd deserve more criticism if anything.

All their insecurities were brought to life that day, the same day life left yours. They still remember it now, remember the tears in your eyes as you cupped the side of their face, your weak voice telling them that it wasn't their fault. The way you clutched at their silk dress, your blood pooling on the ground.

No amount of healing magic could have healed the deep stabs you had sustained.

Spirits, to think that in your final moments, you'd be thinking of them. It ate away at the sorcerer's heart.

To think that they'd have no choice but to move on from your death - their task now set to finding the next Crown once more. To see the hard work the two of you put into Arsur washed away by time itself.

It was a weight the sorcerer wasn't sure they were worthy of taking, a burden they doubted- no, knew, they could not carry.

Not after watching their very hope fade from your eyes.

Xelara/Xelef

They had their doubts about you when they first stumbled across the long-lost Crown of Arsur.

Their own past with Crowns was a bloody one- one that had them contemplating whether or not they'd even help you in the first place when they first got a glance at your golden eyes.

They still remember holding you in your final moments, seeing the beautiful shades of the sun fade away.

Taking you with them.

Early on, they'd wonder what they might do- should do, if you turned out like Crown Piruz, whether they'd regret not being the one to run a blade through you- kill you where you stood in that clearing.

They certainly never expected to ever actually do it.

Not like this anyway.

Granted, they didn't actually kill you with their own two hands. In fact, most of the songs and tales being spun around Arsur have been about the affection they held for you.

A love that brought about their end.

All because of an arrow you had stolen from them- taking it through the heart instead of the mercenary.

No. They couldn't lie to themselves, not this time.

They knew better. Anyone would sense would.

It wasn't the arrow that killed you.

It was them.

#A Tale of Crowns #azad/ashti #xelara/xelef #dara/delal #rozerîn/rêzan #Angst #SFW #Headcanons #It's been a long while since i actually tried to go for angst lmao #i learned that the gold leaves the crown's eyes when they died and now ill never be able to not think about it #hopefully this fact will be stuck in your minds too #Also I just love how R and X's flaws are just turned up to 100 with your death- they're all destroyed but I take pride w those 2 #X loves hard and mourns harder #no amount of drinking and sex are gonna be able to distract them this time #there's also no way D can recover from their survivors guilt now lmao #not many might know about how they killed the first crown but they sure are gonna know about how you died #A most def loses their Royal Protector position after this too- so gl on their search #also its fucked that the rest see you get stabbed or take an arrow but A gets to see you get your head chopped off lmao #atoc

[zedif-y]

it's gonna hurt like hell (to become well)

The poll says people want it, so... Here you go! Cross posted on AO3 :] Enjoy!

(Part 1/5)

NOTE: This story is likely going to stay UNFINISHED, so read at your own risk!

---

Most tragic backstories start with blood. Sometimes fire, sometimes screaming. A family lost, maybe a dragon sprinkled in there, a deal with the fae gone awry…

Often, they’re heroic. They’re the birth of stronger beings. Stories of someone emerging from the calamity with a remarkable strength or power that leads them to save a village, or a kingdom, or even a world. 

Sometimes, it’s as simple as saving the people they love.

But stories aren’t created equal. Sometimes the knight falters– and sometimes the dragon wins.

They don’t tell stories about the blood, the fire and the screaming. They don’t crow about fallen legends, where things get worse instead of better. Someone loses one person, then another, and another until they’re alone, forced to find their own way through complete darkness. There’s no heroes; only victims. 

But time passes anyway, as it’s prone to do. They build themselves back up. Hope lingers, just barely enough to keep going. They’re not the same, never will be, but maybe, just maybe, things can be okay. And soon enough their guard starts to fall, old heroes turned into people just trying to move on… 

Alas, life is keen to throw surprises at anyone unprepared. 

This is how Skizz wakes, jolted by a sharp knocking at the door. 

He groans and rolls over.

Really? He thinks, eyebrows scrunched together. Business couldn’t wait a few more minutes? He needs his beauty sleep, gosh! 

A pillow mark sits on his cheek, his hair a tousled mess. Maybe they’ll go away if he doesn’t…

Skizz was so close to drifting off again when the knocking comes back, harder this time. He lets out a groan.

It didn’t feel urgent. People didn’t tend to wait for him if it was. Just some persistent messenger or something. 

At least, he tells himself that. Sleep still pulls at him, and he doesn’t really want to drag himself out of bed yet. Lucky for him, he doesn’t live alone! 

“Joker? Could you get the door?” Skizz calls, his voice rough with sleep. 

No response. He sighs. Maybe lucky for him if it were anyone else. 

“JOKER?” 

Still no answer. Before Skizz can try a third time, he finally hears, “How about YOU get your butt up and get the door? It’s gonna be for you anyway! And I always get the door!” 

Skizz huffs. Getting his butt up was exactly what he was trying to avoid— 

“THAT’S NOT TRUE! I GET THE DOOR MORE THAN YOU!” 

“GET IT NOW THEN! YOU’RE LATE, YOU NEED TO GET UP!” 

“I’m not—” Skizz freezes. He rubs at his eyes, squinting as his vision starts to clear. There sure is a lot of daylight pouring into his room, now that he thinks about it… 

Skizz balks. Crap. He overslept. 

“Yep— GETTING UP!” 

He hears muffled laughter from across the hall as he leaps out of bed—but he’s only able to focus on annoyance for a second. He flings open his wardrobe and snatches his clothes, hurriedly changing into them. He spends a few moments in the bathroom to make sure he looks a little more presentable– dude, his hair was a bird’s nest– and by the time he’s in the living room, Joker has gotten up as well. 

Joker is standing by the door, and he meets Skizz’s gaze as he walks in. “You forgot about your mail,” he says. 

So he could’ve gotten the door. “Oh, right— I don’t assume the guy is still there,” Skizz replies, making his way over. Joker shakes his head. 

“Nah, they were gone by the time I looked out. They left something for you, though.” 

Skizz hums questioningly and opens the door. A letter sits on the doormat, blue ink scribbled across the front. As he bends to pick it up, he reads, “To Skizzleman, from–”

His breath hitches, his heart leaping into his throat.

From Tango.

He chews on his lip, tears pricking his eyes. His mind reels with questions, damn near clouding his head– why now? He thinks, his hands shaking, just a little. After everything, why now?

He quickly blinks them away and shuts the door, shoving the letter in his bag on the floor. Whatever the reason is, he has to get to work, he can’t— he can’t do that right now. 

“I told you it was for you— hey, aren’t you gonna read it?” Joker asks as Skizz turns away, heading into the kitchen. 

“I have to go,” Skizz mumbles, grabbing some food from the cabinets. He stuffs some in his mouth and throws the rest in a small sack to snack on later. 

“Are you oka—” 

“Bye Joker!” Skizz cuts him off, throwing his bag over his shoulder and nearly hitting Joker with the door as he rushes out. “Love you, see you later!” 

“I— bye!” 

He’s fine, he tells himself as he makes his way down the road. The letter is probably nothing! 

But… he hasn’t seen that name in a year, and it scares him. 

Skizz does his best to shake it off. Right now, business mode. 

- - - - - -

“I don’t want none of ‘yer spell nonsense on me!” 

Skizz barely manages to uphold his polite smile. “Yes, I know, sir. You mentioned that. But I have to heal you somehow, and my magic would be the most effective way. It would only take a—” 

He’s cut off by a growl, eyes flashing purple. “Give me potions instead!” 

But those—! Skizz’s feathers twitch. Those are also made with his magic. And not just that, they’re way less efficient. He’d practically perfected ‘em, yeah, but for an Enderian? Potions? Does this guy even realize how difficult it is to make those things work on his kind?!

“I don’t recommend—”

“Potions,” he repeats. His voice is all static-y, grating on his ears. Skizz just barely suppresses a wince. “Or I go to a different cleric.”

Skizz sighs. And what, get treated with stuff that won’t even work on him?

He summons his patience, “Normal potions won’t work on you,” Skizz explains, eyeing the guy carefully. “So I’m giving you Enderian ones, yeah? But you’ll need to take more of them, ‘cuz they’re less potent. That good enough for ya?”

His patient nods. A pleased, rumbling croak, “Finally.”

As soon as the door closes, Skizz lets out a groan. Hopefully he doesn’t complain about how much longer it takes… Grumbling under his breath, Skizz moves to a cabinet above the brewer. Not many left, but he spots a few bottles with dark purple liquid. It’ll be enough to heal the guy. 

“All this for some back pain,” he mutters to himself. He gives the bottles a shake, making sure they're still good, then places them in a bag.

“Alright, here you go,” Skizz says, pushing through the door to the examination room. He hands the bag to the Enderian. “These should fix you up. Wait at least an hour in between taking them, and if you need any more, feel free to send a message.” 

“Thanks,” the enderian replies gruffly. He hops off the small cot and leaves, his payment left in a bag. Skizz practically deflates.

He returns to the room with his brewing stand, heading for his desk in the corner. It’s relatively clean, though the stack of papers on one side glares at him. He should sort them and put them away, but… Eugh. Boring on top of boring.

…Not that his current job is much more entertaining.

“Well,” he grumbles, sitting down. “Now to write a report on him.” 

The front door slams open, “Cleric, we need a cleric!”

—Or not!

“Right here!” Skizz says, shooting up from his seat. “What’s up, whaddya need?”

He takes in the guy, who’s panting a little as he catches his breath against the doorway. Skizz recognizes him, a patient from several months ago. Mumbo, his name was? Another Enderian ironically, but much more pleasant than his earlier patient; he’d badly broken his arm and come to Skizz for aid. It seems to be working fine now, a bag clutched in his claws, but his face is grimy with soot, which makes Skizz nervous. 

“You’re—” he starts, but Mumbo cuts him off.

“Several houses at the edge of the village caught fire. They’re– they’re nearly out now, but we need help, someone was badly hurt— we didn’t want to move them—” 

Skizz is grabbing his stuff before he even finishes, bandages (magic-infused as well as regular ones) and whatever else he might need and stuffing them in his pack. He nearly hauls Mumbo back outside as he says, “Well, c’mon then, let’s go, go!”

They head to the stables to pick up Skizz’s horse. He asks for the basics, how dire are the injuries, how many people to treat…

Smoke rises in the distance. Skizz steels himself, trying not to think about it, and instead listen to Mumbo. 

“There’s a lot of small burns, but only one person is seriously hurt. When one of the taller buildings went up, they had to jump out, and didn’t pick the greatest place to do so.” 

Skizz hums. He should have enough to deal with injuries, then. 

Skizz gets Gluestick, careful not to drop any of his stuff. He shifts, getting comfortable on his saddle. Then, “Alright. Lead the way, let’s roll!”

Houses and trees whir past in a blur of motion, familiar faces waving to him as he thunders past them on his horse. Bottles full of healing potions and containers of salve clink softly together in his bag. As he follows Mumbo, the wind whipping past him and ruffling his hair, he can’t help but think…

His eyes catch on a dark plume of smoke. Dread freezes his lungs cold; it must not be fully out yet.

Ah.

A part of him wondered from the moment he heard the news how he’d react to the scene— the roiling heat of a fire dying down, the sight of ash in the air as his clothes and skin turn stained black with soot. It’s not like it’s the first time he’s seen fire since, well. And it even makes sense! It’s the middle of summer, thatch roofs burned easily and set the house alight if they started. It’s just that it’s uncommon for it to be several buildings. What if it spreads—?

Skizz shakes his head, clearing his thoughts.

He’s a professional, dammit! Someone needed help, their life could be in danger; he could handle some fire. 

As they near the scene, the blackened buildings and stench of smoke make Skizz feel a bit sick. He swallows and forces himself to breathe— throwing up right now would be… a little awkward, to say the least. He scans the area. People look over at the clip clop of his horse’s hooves, but none the person he’s looking for. 

“Where’s the badly injured one?” Skizz asks. 

Mumbo gestures to a small group near one of the burnt down houses. As Skizz slips off his horse, they move away, revealing someone lying on a mess of blankets thrown on the ground. Skizz hands Gluestick’s reins to Mumbo, then kneels next to the person. 

Hold on— he recognizes him too. Martyn. No wonder Mumbo looked terrified. 

He’d felt that once, too. 

Skizz shakes that thought away. All he can do is focus on fixing him up. 

“Hey, Martyn,” he says gently. “Rough day, huh, buddy? Where are you hurt worst?” 

“I- I… I think I’ve broken something,” Martyn rasps. “My legs, they… they…” 

“Yeah, I gotcha. It’s okay,” Skizz hushes him. He digs around in his bag. Martyn’s not anything too special, certainly not Enderian, so his usual potions will work well this time. Skizz offers him one. “Here, can you drink this? It’ll help while I get your legs fixed up.” 

Skizz gets Martyn propped up just enough to drink it, and Martyn exhales as he potion takes effect, removing some of his pain. Satisfied, Skizz grabs a few more things from his bag and gets to work. 

Soon, Martyn is healed enough, and Skizz moves on to helping anyone else who’s injured. His bag steadily becomes emptier, and at one point while taking a potion out for a patient, his eyes catch on the letter from earlier. Skizz’s heart skips a beat.

Again, he brushes it aside. Later, he tells himself. Later. He still has people to heal. 

Like lingering smoke, it plagues him anyway.

- - - - - -

Despite it only being a small part of the village, it’s a while before Skizz leaves. He keeps staying longer, making sure no one else needs him, helping them find somewhere to stay until they can rebuild. He even returns the money Mumbo tries to give him; he knows, he knows how awful it is to start over, and anything helps. 

When finally he returns to his workplace and gets Gluestick comfortable in the stables, his mind is a mess. Not about his work— he did his job very well, and he feels good about that. It’s about the memories he doesn’t want to remember, about the letter that almost feels heavy in his bag, about what will happen tonight in his dreams. 

It’s late when Skizz nears home, stumbling a little on the village paths. His body feels heavy, as if weighed down by lead, the flood of memories just aching to spill. They drag him down like an anchor, his chest tight like he’s drowning. Skizz lets out a breath.

As he passes a lantern, he’s able to see himself properly. Under the warm, bright light, the grime stands out clear as day. Ash and soot mars his wings and clothes, more of it than he expected there to be. His heart stutters in his ribcage, images of ravaged town circling like a hurricane in his mind’s eye—

He picks up his pace. He needs to get inside, get cleaned, get those stupid thoughts out of his head. His breathing goes faster. The smell of smoke lingers on him like a ghost, and it makes him sick; he thought he’d gotten over it, it’s been over a year—but now he’s not so sure. 

Finally, a familiar building comes into view.

The sight of his and Joker’s place calms him somewhat. It’s familiarity—a much nicer kind—and Skizz is eager to see his housemate again. 

His heart rate is steadier as he steps inside, “Jokes, I’m home!” 

The house is dark and quiet. A worm of anxiety starts to crawl in Skizz’s mind. Where–?

Joker sits up on the couch with a grumble. Skizz lets out a breath. 

“You’re back late, man. Long day?” 

Joker stands and flicks on the light, his robe swaying as he moves. He must’ve been ready for bed a while ago, did he stay up to wait for him?

The thought makes a warmth bloom in his chest, but… he also feels guilty. Bah! He shakes his head. Business called, not his fault!

“Uh, yeah,” Skizz says. “Sorry. You didn’t have to stay up, buddeh.” 

“I know. I like to make sure you’re good. Although if you’d been another hour, I would’ve fallen asleep on ya,” Joker chuckles. His eyes flick over to Skizz and widen. “What happened?” 

Skizz goes tense. Right. He looks like he fought some coal and lost.

“There— there was a fire on the edge of town. A couple houses went up, and it took a while for them to go out. Only one person was seriously hurt, and he’s fine now, but I…” Skizz trails off, swallowing hard.

“Oh gosh.” 

Skizz tries not to think about it, but the smoke and dying flames flicker in his mind, so similar to… 

He shuts his eyes, head swimming. Joker’s hands take his and gently mess with his fingers, pulling him back.

“Okay, buddy, sit down. Let’s get you cleaned up.” 

Skizz takes a deep breath and opens his eyes. He’s gotta pull himself together, gosh! It’s fine now, he’s home.

Joker leads him to the couch, letting go as Skizz sits. “What do you wanna wear? If you can get your stuff off, I’ll get you something to change into,” he says. 

“I— of course I can. What am I, a toddler?” Skizz grumbles. “Also it doesn’t matter. Whatever’s clean.” 

Joker giggles. “Alright.” 

He disappears into another room. Skizz works on undressing, trying to ignore the stains on his clothes. The ash makes his wings itch, gritty and uncomfortable on his feathers. There’s a desperate thrum in his veins– he needs to clean them, seriously has to, get it off– 

Skizz steadies himself, eyes screwed shut. One step at a time. 

Joker returns and tosses him some clothes. Skizz looks up just in time for them to smack him in the face. 

“Hey!”

Joker just laughs. Skizz huffs, glaring at him as best as he can. 

“Sorry! I thought you’d catch them,” Joker says, a grin on his stupid smug face. “You really need to do laundry by the way.” He sits, then gestures to the floor in front of him. “Put the pants on then c’mere. I’ll get your wings.” 

“I’ve been busy!” Skizz says defensively. Joker rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah.”

Skizz tosses the shirt on the couch and plops down on the hardwood floor. A hand runs along his back as Joker inspects him, gentle despite his teasing. Skizz shivers at the touch. 

“You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?” Joker asks, his voice murmured in concentration. 

Skizz shakes his head. “I don’t think so.” 

“Okay,” Joker hums, beginning to shift feathers around and brush them off. “So, tell me about the rest of your day. What about this morning?” 

The knot loosens in Skizz’s chest. “Oh, you wanna know what happened? Absolutely nothing. It was so boring!” He complains, gesturing with his hands. “And I still didn’t get any paperwork sorted, because, y’know, I’m super smart with my time. It’s fine, I’ll get it done at some point.” 

Joker snickers, “Oh, yeah, definitely.” 

“Shut up. Oh, there was this one guy—” 

“Uh oh.” 

“—who would not let me heal him! He didn’t trust my magic or something. He only wanted potions. And not just any potions. It was an Enderian, dude, do you know how hard it is to get the right stuff to heal them with potions?” 

Joker chuckles, running his fingers through Skizz’s wing. “You’ve mentioned it once or twice. How did you heal him?” 

“I ended up giving him a few potions I had left over that would work on him. I need to make more now. I’ll have to go to the one town a day’s journey away with a guy that sells the stuff I need, which is… super,” Skizz grumbles. 

A hand soothes at his back, “Oof, man.” 

“Yeah, oof. You’d think that after being a cleric for forever, people would learn to actually trust you when you say something will work!” Skizz huffs. “Jerks.”

Joker nods, though Skizz doesn’t see it. “Jerks indeed,” he replies solemnly.

They fall silent for a while after that, Joker busy preening Skizz’s wings. As Skizz waits for him to finish, his mind wanders. Just passing thoughts at first, bouncing from one thing to the next. Then it stumbles across something that makes Skizz stiffen—another memory, just a bit more fresh than the others he’d uncovered today. A realization.

“It’s been a year,” he says quietly. Joker hums in question, and Skizz takes a breath. “It’s been a year since… since…” 

He still can’t bring himself to say it. His hand moves to trail over a scar across his abdomen. Then the couple at his side, then his arms. A myriad of markings, each with their own story to tell.

Skizz grimaces. And tomorrow, he’ll wake up with more.

Joker notices, and even in the silence, he knows. He rubs Skizz’s shoulder with a murmur, “It’s been that long, huh?” 

Skizz focuses on his breathing. In, and out.

“Yeah,” Skizz answers. “I don’t know if it feels like it or not.” 

His gaze flicks to his wrist. On it are two bracelets that he holds dear. One is more recent, a silly little thing he’d done with Joker, with threads of blue and green and purple. The other is much older; it shows some wear, threads fraying at the ends and a bit of fuzz sticking up from it. It’s blue, yellow, pink, and red, and Skizz never took it off unless he had to. 

A part of him burns at the reminder. He half-expects it to scorch his fingertips as he traces it with a hand, emotions welling in him like hot coals.

He wonders if he’ll ever let go of it.

Skizz fiddles with the bracelets, thinking. Joker taps his shoulder. 

“Your wings are all done, I think.” 

That startles him out of his reverie, “Oh, thanks.” 

Skizz stands and stretches them out. They feel lighter, nicer. Way less itchy. Folding them, he reaches for his shirt. 

“You okay?” Joker asks as he stands. 

“Yeah, I— yeah,” Skizz sighs. “It’s been a long day, but I’ll be alright after some sleep.” 

Joker nods slowly. “Have you eaten anything?” 

“Oh, I—” Skizz pauses. He’d been so busy that evening. “... I don’t think so.” 

“You—” Joker shakes his head, exasperated. “Alright, well, if you’re hungry, I made bread earlier. I’m going to bed now.” 

Skizz chuckles. “Okay. Night, buddy!” 

“Night night.” 

Skizz grabs a bite to eat from the kitchen, then heads to his room. He’s exhausted, and he wasn’t lying when he said sleep would make him feel better, easily sinking into the soft sheets. But as soon as he lays down and closes his eyes, his mind (stupid, traitorous mind that never shuts up–) starts running again.

Skizz sighs. He wasn’t gonna get as much sleep as he hoped, was he? 

At least he’d be off work tomorrow.

And then he remembers. 

The letter. 

It’s late. It’s so late, Joker’s already gone to bed, he really should save it. But… he has to know. He’s sure he’s not sleeping until he does. Tomorrow, he can discuss whatever it is with Joker, but he needs answers. 

Skizz gets up carefully and tiptoes into the living room. The letter is still in his bag, and he takes it with him back to his room, flicking on his bedside lamp as he sits down. 

He stares at the name, his jaw tense. He traces the familiar handwriting, glaring like it’ll give him the strength to open it. Tango. 

It sits there, just… mocking him.

(At the back of his mind, Skizz realizes he’s forgotten Tango’s laugh.)

What could he want? Skizz wracks his head for any clues, flipping the sealed letter over in his hands. He hadn’t tried to communicate with Skizz in ages, and there was no formal occasion. This was so out of the blue; should he be wary?

He bites his lip. Probably. But… 

Agh, screw it.

Skizz slits open the envelope. He peers into it, wary like it’s gonna explode on him. There’s something folded inside, and as he pulls it out he realizes it’s a map. 

As he studies it, he expects to recognize it, but… where was this? 

There’s a circle over a particular area. Hmm… 

A note falls into his lap as he unfolds the last bit of the map. Skizz grabs it, curious, but there’s only a few words on it. 

“‘Follow the map’?” Skizz whispers, then groans softly. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” 

This was what he was so nervous about? 

“Over a year, Tango, over a year,” Skizz mutters. Heat bubbles and simmers under his skin. “It’s been so long, and the first thing you send me, you don’t even say hi. Just give me an order. What is that?” 

No how’s life, you doing okay? Not even an apology for–

Skizz lets out a breath. He’s tired, it’s late, and there clearly isn’t anything else in the damn envelope.

Grumbling, he folds the map back up and sets everything on the bedside table. Problems for tomorrow. 

…Future Skizz has a lot to think about.

#ryan's writing #skizzleman #misterjoker #hermitcraft au #mcyt au #mcyt fanfic #mcytblr #to become well #<<tag for this fic

[the-hilda-librarians-wife]

For Every Action, A Reaction - Chapter 3 - Action and Reaction

Pairing: Raven Scientist (Victoria Van Gale/The Raven Leader)

Summary: Taking a step back from our poetry nerds, this instalment focuses on academic research projects, less than legal shenanigans, and most importantly, two coworkers who are smart enough to be geniuses in their respective areas but apparently not enough to confess.

Over the span of two decades.

Seriously.

Somebody has to do something. Before all their students lose their minds.

Complete!

Notes: HAPPY HILDA S3 TEASER EVE!!!! Posting this today instead of Thursday as usual because I Do Not want to compete with the fandom's hype tomorrow kjsdkjsdfh

Thank you to everyone that read this! If all works according to plan, this won't be the last you'll see of the Carpe Diem verse :)

Read it on ao3: (Carpe Diem verse) (previous chapter) (this chapter)

She should have studied engineering. Everyone in her family had told her that. If you’re already going to submit yourself to STEMS bullshit, better to do it in a prestigious area, at least. But no, she just had to follow her “passion” for weather sciences. Now she couldn’t even plan a sabotage smoothly. Pathetic.

Of course, she knew her ways around electronics well enough; the lab was scattered with a couple of inventions of her own that aided her in one part of the project or another. But her gadgets were always either very simple, or related to the area of study she was actually an expert on. This, though? This was neither.

The devices would have to be able to induce malfunctioning on every single voice box that the poor, desperate students working for Ahlberg’s project had built, causing enough of a ruckus to at least force them all to stop their practical work and go back to the theory, or at best signal to whoever was responsible for deciding which projects got funding and which didn’t that that was a bad idea. The ‘causing a ruckus’ part was easy enough; what was currently keeping Victoria and her student up and in the lab past hours was the ‘not harm anyone in the process’ part, which either was much more difficult or just seemed like it due to Victoria’s much bigger affinity for bringing shit down.

“You think it’ll work this time?” Raven stepped back from the round device they were working on, made of many strips of metal fused together into the ball shape, eyeing it warily. The design was supposed to help it on the ‘self-destruct’ part, in order to avoid them getting caught, but none of them had made it so far on the test runs yet.

“Only one way to know.” Victoria answered, sounding tired. She was usually excited at the lab; no matter what ridiculous situations that University threw at her, she loved her job. That day had just been so damned long that she was feeling the urge to press a self-destruct button for herself.

And, just as she was going to press on the remote that was controlling their creation in order to test it once again, they heard a knock on the door.

“What the-” Victoria whispered, tensing up as the thought of them having been caught in the act immediately came to mind.

“Here.” She threw the remote to Raven, who only barely didn’t let it drop to the floor. “If it isn’t anyone we should worry about, carry on without me. We don’t have time to waste.”

He looked at the remote as if it might explode in his hand, none too happy about the idea of running the test himself (which was fair, seeing as many of the past attempts had exploded in his vicinity), but the professor had walked away to the door before he could protest.

Knowing her messy bun must look like it was falling apart and there was nothing she could do about it to cause a better impression on whoever was on the other side, Victoria opened the door. And imagine her surprise (and utter relief) when it wasn’t another professor, or someone from the board, or even a student of hers, but rather Kaisa’s girl.

“Johanna?” She glanced at Raven inside, letting him know with a look that it was safe to proceed, and then at the clock. The only reason why students came there was to ask her about her subject or about her assignments. If Johanna decided to quiz her on some artistic bullshit, Victoria was screwed.

The second explanation for her coming here that crossed the scientist’s mind was Kaisa needing help, which immediately shook her off of her exhaustion. But Kaisa would call her herself if she needed, wouldn’t she? Unless her situation was too dire to walk or talk, which was a terrifying thought, but Johanna would hardly be standing there, looking calm albeit embarrassed, if that were the case.

“Hi, goodnight, Victoria.” Johanna shifted her weight from one foot to the other, and why did Victoria get the feeling she was about to be roped into something ridiculous? “Sorry to bother you, it’s silly, but when you have some free time, could you maybe help me with something? It won’t take much of your time.”

“I… yeah, of course.” She only hoped they didn’t need couple’s therapy or anything of the sort, because really they had come to the wrong fucking person if that was the case. “Is this about Kaisa?”

Johanna confirmed her suspicion, luckily still acting coy enough that Kaisa definitely was in no danger, and Victoria offered to give her her number so they could text. There were sheets of paper on her desk, even if most of those were discarded ideas for her ploy that she truly shouldn’t give away to just anyone, but eventually she found an old shopping list she could jot her number down on.

“Professor Van Gale, this isn’t working!” Raven screeched, making Victoria wince when she looked in his direction. There was smoke coming from the device, which was not supposed to be happening, and he was covering his mouth and nose with his lab coat.

“Ugh, just hold it for a minute, I’m coming!” She rushed to give the girl the paper and the most polite ‘good night’ she could manage, before closing the door and rushing to fix whatever nonsense life had in store for her now.

…......

Raven had to hand it to her, the professor put her money where her mouth was at. He only wished her mouth wasn’t at places that left him wondering if she was insane.

Were she any other professor trying to come out on top of a situation, he was sure he would have been left alone to do the dirty work, forced to put himself on the line because he would have been threatened with the loss of his spot on her programme if he didn’t do what she wished. Van Gale wasn’t at all that type of person, though, and maybe that was why Raven put up with everything he did. Instead, she had insisted she could do it all on her own, and he had tagged along because someone responsible had to be present. He told himself it was out of loyalty, but truly it was equally likely that he had lost his mind after so long spending his afternoons in a small lab with her. Anyone would, really.

He had been left with lookout duty, given strict orders to signal her and disappear completely if someone came, lest someone see him and put him in trouble. Raven did his job minutely, keeping his eyes and ears attuned to any odd motions, trying hard not to think about how very easily the professor had picked the lock to the facility that hosted Erik Ahlberg’s project. In the dead of night, the campus eerily quiet and foggy, he felt like he could very well be in a graveyard.

He only hoped his reputation wouldn’t lie there to die that night.

Luckily, the only sounds he heard throughout the whole thing were those of Victoria skillfully attaching their creations to the voice boxes the project worked on, and after less than an hour, she walked back over to where he was and began locking the door again, always wearing a pair of gloves and her hair tied so as not to leave any traces.

“Let’s get the hell out of here, Raven.”

Never had a sentence coming out of his tutor’s mouth left him so relieved.

He tip toed back to his shared student apartment with the hairs at the back of his neck standing on end, still observing his surroundings as if he were on the lookout. Technically, anyone was allowed to walk around campus at two in the morning, but he still might receive questions if he was caught and he didn’t think he could convince anyone about midnight jogging when he was dressed like he was going to work.

Upon arriving home unseen, Raven breathed a sigh of relief, ready to head into his room and pretend none of that had ever happened. Until, that is, he realised that the lights in the common area were on, and whoever was there must have heard him arriving. He did trust the boys he lived with, but just so he didn’t jinx it, he had preferred to keep the whole sabotage thing between him and Van Gale, and he didn’t want to be raising any suspicions when he was now so close to coming out of this story unscathed. So after a beat, Raven dragged himself to the kitchen, figuring a glass of water would do him well, anyway.

“Bit late for you to be up, isn’t it?” Tontu’s voice greeted him from where he was sitting on the couch, knitting. Raven silently thanked the stars that it was him and not Alfred; mysterious as he was, Raven knew that Tontu wouldn’t give him too much grief about whatever lie he told.

“Yeah, I had trouble sleeping and decided to go get some fresh air.”

Just as predicted, Tondu didn’t question him, only muttered something about finding arts and crafts to be very soothing. And then he said something that almost made Raven spit out the water he was sipping on.

“I had been meaning to talk to you alone, anyway. I know something you might want to about the Ahlberg guy. I remember you telling me the project you work on needed some of the grants that go to him.”

Pretending he hadn’t nearly just choked, he attempted to put his most innocent face on as he turned his falsely naive smile to his flat mate.

“Oh, truly?” God, how he hated acting. “What would that be?”

“Well, I was talking to King.”

“King?”

“Yeah, one of the janitors.” Tontu kept knitting like that should have been common knowledge. “You know, Rat King, big guy, smile’s a bit crooked when you tell them ‘good morning’, knows everybody’s business.”

Raven did not, in fact, know. He had no clue why a janitor would be in on, in Tontu’s words, ‘everybody’s business’, much less why the hell he was called ‘Rat King’, but he was almost sure he remembered a tall man who did give him a lopsided smile when he greeted him on his way to work. He wondered exactly what kind of intel the man would have, and if his silence could be bought with anything Raven or Victoria owned if it was something incriminating to them.

“Okay.” He drew on the word longer than he needed to. “What did he tell you?”

Even though Tontu’s voluminous hair covered most of his face, Raven could see the excited smile underneath, which made him shiver, if he were being honest.

“You’re in luck. There is some dirt on him that might just be enough to deal with your problem.”

…......

It was a day. Not a particularly great day, or a wonderful day, or even a good day. But it sure was a fucking day, and Edmund was trying to be more grateful lately.

He was still working on it, okay?

Most of the other students who worked on the project had already been at their testing area on the edge of campus when he arrived, right where the University’s property ended and the forest began. They were doing a general test run today, finally getting all of their voice boxes to work in sync to see if they had the desired effect; small groups of engineers and physicists worked on their devices, each group with at least one Ecology student. This had been one of the only wins Professor Bloom had achieved when the project had been approved, that it would need to have a minimum amount of her students so they could, at least, make sure that the wildlife they were dealing with weren’t being hurt by their pathetic plans.

The Ecology students in the project were, for that reason, usually referred to as “Bloom’s spies” by the other ones who were there working with them. But it was much more of a fond nickname than a jab - even Ahblerg’s students could see that this project was useless at best. They were all only there because there were many openings and it paid well, and they all knew it.

Sure, there had to be one or two engineers there who were actually interested in the inner workings of the voice boxes they had been perfecting for so long, but no one there (other than Erik Ahlberg, who barely made the effort to even show up) actually believed that what they were doing was important. Troll bugs weren’t a threat to anyone, as anyone with more than two brain cells could attest to. Sure, they tend to chomp on leftovers if you leave them out unprotected, and if one ends up biting you it will hurt like a bitch for a couple of hours; but that was it. No poison, no diseases, no imbalance in the food chain caused by them, and they will leave you alone unless you go out of your way to get close to one. Troll bugs were much more afraid of humans than humans had any right to be of them, as was usually the case for beings no bigger then two inches, much to some people’s confusion.

What was worse, they were an endemic species on its way to becoming endangered. Their habitat already occupied a small area, with the campus and new roads being built directly inside it, it had only been getting harder for them to survive. Yet some people had the nerve to complain when they were living directly inside the land where that species had lived since they evolved into existence. And some people even had the nerve to lead a research project to find ways to scare those bugs away.

Edmund, as well as everyone who had worked there long enough, was sure that had Birgitta not managed to put her own students inside the project, Ahlberg would have aimed for killing them, ecosystem be damned.

He nodded grimly to Gerda as he walked by the desk her group was at, and she answered in kind, returning the “it sure is one fucking day” sentiment. So good to be this connected to your friends.

He arrived at his station and noticed that not even the engineer and physicist he worked with seemed happy to be there. Maybe they all knew that if they accidentally harmed the creatures with their invention, Edmund would not be happy with them.

Huh. How nice to be recognized as a bug avenger. That seemed like a reputation he could get behind.

Later than all of them, Professor Ahlberg eventually arrived and gave a speech that was drawn out for way longer than it needed to be. Something about being able to live with privacy and comfort without fearing for themselves. Edmund wasn’t really listening, he had quit paying attention when he realized that the sentence but they’re just fucking bugs would be the only thing he’d manage to think during the entire time he did so. At some point he stopped talking, and led them all to activate their voice boxes at the same time.

When they did so, a loud screeching came from the boxes, which Edmund imagined would be what it would sound like if bells could be out of tune. They all pressed their hands to their ears, having forgotten the possibility of needing ear plugs; the sound frequency was supposed to be unbearable only to the bugs, they were supposed to be just fine. But if this was their ‘just fine’, Edmund thought, than the bugs must be in complete agony.

He was about to shout at them to stop, and as he looked around he saw other fellow ‘spies’ looking like they were about to do the same, when something went very wrong. The screeching began to come into a halt, the pitch becoming lower and lower as smoke began to come from the voice boxes, one at a time. All tests were immediately terminated, though the smoke didn’t cease, and a loud metallic ‘pop’ came from each of the devices. Ahlberg looked at the smoking desks scattered around the campus’ edge with complete horror as engineers unscrewed the soundboxes’ diaphragm searching for the broken component, and finding it without having to look any further.

Inside each of the boxes, there were strips of metal, still smoking and hot, that could only have been part of the machinery but which none of the engineers could remember ever having been part of their system.

Well, Edmund thought as he walked away from their testing area, trying not to look too pleased. Maybe practicing gratefulness does bring good things along.

…......

Later that same day, he walked into his professor’s office with a smug smile that was the universal code for “I have come as bearer of hot gossip”. Bloom wasn’t in as much of a slump as she had those weeks before, but she still didn’t look or sound as cheerful as her former self. Edmund could only guess what had happened, but it was enough to make him feel a little guilty for it, and he’d been trying to make it up to her since then. He had a feeling that the news of Ahlberg’s project having to be backtracked at least several months before returning to full activity would lift her mood up.

It was really getting distressing to have to keep pretending to not see the constant stiffness of her face, or to not hear her sad sighs.

“Ask me how work went today, professor.” He said after they greeted each other, sitting down on his usual chair. Birgitta lifted her gaze from her laptop, where she’d been looking for his most recent copy of his thesis work, and lifted an eyebrow. They didn’t talk a lot about his job at the project, only when it was to complain about it, so seeing him mention it while seemingly in a good mood was understandably confusing. Not to mention, she had known the first official test was coming up soon, and had been seething about it alongside Edmund for a long while.

“Well, how did work go today?”

Edmund leaned forward a bit, compensating for his lower tone of voice.

“It was disastrous.” That alone was enough to visibly capture her interest. “We went to test the machinery all at once to finally see if it would have the desired effect, but something inside every single one of them exploded and the soundboxes stopped working completely! We will all have to go back to the first stage and plan the devices out from scratch. It’ll take forever, maybe by then the board will agree to give that funding to something a bit less useless, at least.”

Birgitta blinked, something about every last soundbox malfunctioning at the exact same time not sitting well with her. It was just too perfect. The main step towards getting those inventions to actually be put to use disrupting the ecosystem getting completely thwarted like that was too good to be true. It made her wonder if she’d hired some sort of hitman to do it during her sleep walking bouts at night. That sounded exactly like the sort of thing she’d do, especially asleep when her subconscious wasn’t being filtered by any annoying morals.

“That sounds… oddly coincidental, doesn’t it?” There was a smile tugging at her lips despite the suspicious situation, strengthened by the grin her own student was giving her. “What part of the machinery exploded?”

Edmund shrugged, which made Birgitta assume that he didn’t know since he wasn’t one of the students responsible for actually building it. The response, however, threw her off.

“That’s the best part. I don't know, but nobody knows either. The physics and engineering guys are probably still there, because no one recognizes the piece that triggered the system malfunctioning. It was in every single soundbox, yet no one remembers ever having installed it, or what it was supposed to do, or can spot it in the blueprints. I’m half convinced there were some, I don’t know, bug fairies or whatever that didn’t want this to work out. We lucked out so hard.”

But Birgitta didn’t really believe in luck. In karma, maybe - heaven knew how much Ahlberg had yet to receive from it - but not luck. Good things, she believed, came from the love we spread, the people we captivate, the messages we share.

And apparently, they also come from pea-brained scientists who wouldn’t be able to distinguish a terrible idea if it kicked their door open and hit them into next week.

Because it didn’t take hours of analysing this new information and deliberating for the truth to come to Birgitta. She knew what had happened as soon as Edmund had stopped talking. There was only one person in the entire campus who had both the reasons, the means, and the absolute fucking hubris to go and sabotage the largest ongoing research project the university had.

And she was going to have to explain herself.

…......

If there was any activity more depressing than correcting exams, Victoria was unaware of it. Every year, students came excited to learn about clouds and wind and humidity and whatnot. Every year, Victoria had to disappoint them by revealing that meteorology had more to do with physics and calculus than with the “wonder of mother nature” or whatever the hell those hippies who somehow always found themselves in her classrooms had been expecting. You try studying fluid on a constantly moving platform and see how fun it is.

Technically, she could have left that task to Raven, but after having submitted him to their… extra hours last night, she had thought he deserved a day off. She supposed she could have taken a day off too, since she had no classes to lecture that day and any student who wanted to talk to her could just send her an email, but what was she supposed to do? Just stay home? She wasn’t even sure she knew how to, or what the protocol for that even was. Hell, her students might even become worried something had happened to her if she didn’t show up at campus for the first time in… well, since she began working there, truth be told. Not like she had much else to occupy her time with, after all.

She was about to start correcting another (clearly begrudgingly answered) exam when an urgent knock sounded from the door behind her. Her heart leapt to her throat as her mind immediately reminded her that she was very much guilty for something that was very much a crime, and someone in that college had to be smart enough to figure it out. It was all a matter of how lucky she would be in regards of who was the said bearer of the brain cell.

Very lucky, it seemed.

“Victoria.” She would have recognized the voice anywhere, even if she could hardly remember ever having heard it sound that angry. “You better be kidding me right now, I swear-”

Victoria’s best option was, evidently, playing dead. Some small, childish part of her wanted to see how much angrier Birgitta would get if she pretended to be a programmed recording and said that there was no one at the lab and then just not speak any further, but she valued her life a bit more than that. Just a tad bit, but she did. But if anyone deserved to hear it from her, it was Birgitta. Had she never found out, Victoria wouldn’t be able to attest to her morality going so far as to make her confess, but she would feel the need to share it with the woman who had been her close friend for so long. Since she already clearly knew, however (Victoria couldn’t think of any other recent fuck-ups from her part. Birgitta had never answered her last messages but barging on her office weeks later was hardly going to be her way to do it), it would simply be stupid to play dumb. If she at least talked it through, she would have a shot at getting her to not denounce her.

So she got up, and opened the lab’s door to a very angry Birgitta Bloom, her arms crossed on her chest and her eyes glaring at her in a way that, if looks could kill, Victoria would be dead and buried by now.

“Uh, hello!” She attempted sounding normal, even though seeing her again made her heart ache and seeing her like this made her feel like the smart choice was to jump from the window and run from the hills. “Maybe we should have this conversation inside.”

“Maybe we should.” Birgitta agreed, voice icy as she walked through the door that Victoria held open for her without as much as a glance in her direction.

“What the hell.” She wasted no time in saying as soon as they were alone in the lab. “Are you for real? Single handedly putting a halt to the only overfunded project in this university? Have you lost your mind?”

“Well, it wasn’t-” Standing by the door at a safe distance from the fuming ecologist, Victoria was going to say it hadn’t been ‘single handed’, but then realised that it would be better to keep poor Raven’s name out of this. “That big of a deal. Just a little messing with their soundboxes, you see.”

Birgitta squinted in a way that let her know she’d seen right through the slip up. “You know what I mean. It was too big of a risk. People could have gotten hurt!”

“No, they wouldn’t!” Victoria protested, hoping it was Birgitta’s anger speaking and that she didn’t actually think so low of her. I mean, it’s not like she would never hurt people, but hey! Rude! “I promise, I tested it countless times. It was projected to cause malfunction on the devices and then self destroy, but nothing more! My gadgets were the size of a fist, there wouldn’t be much harm done even if it hadn’t been inside the boxes.”

Lifting an eyebrow and looking like she was trying to scan the scientist for lies, Birgitta drew out a “Really?” while she looked around for remnants of that project. There were none. She’d made sure to do away with them all first thing in the morning - which meant she’d taken it all home, burned what could be burned, torn what could be torn, and thrown it all in a ditch in the middle of who the fuck knows where. She hoped Birgitta never found that part out. She might get mad about the littering.

“Yes, really.” Victoria lowered her gaze, feeling uncomfortable with the conversation. She supposed she deserved it, but she really liked it better when Birgitta thought she was only ‘kooky’ mad and not ‘dangerous’ mad. In some ways, it was good she had found out, though. At least maybe she’d see Victoria was not the person she thought she liked and her senseless rejection wouldn’t pain her.

And like she’d heard her thoughts, Birgitta touched that exact matter.

“Does this have anything to do with what you told me?” Victoria looked around the lab, anything but stare at Birgitta’s face as she came to all the right conclusions. “With us not keeping in touch, with you needing to do the right thing…?”

What was more disgraceful, she wondered. That she’d really given that piss poor excuse to someone she loved, or that her actions were so insane that the excuse had begun to make sense.

“It does.” She admitted with a sigh, tugging at the hem of her lab coat. “Birgitta… I don’t expect you to listen to me. I certainly don’t expect you to forgive me. But since it’s out, I have to let you know. I hated that I needed to tell you that. I was looking forward so much to getting to know you in a new way, have been for years, but… the morning after we talked, I realised that if I got caught, and we were dating, people would take you for the head of the operation. Everyone knows you rightfully hate that project, the connection would simply be too easy to make, and then I’d drag you down alongside me without you having done anything wrong!”

Victoria hugged her torso. Her voice had grown louder in her agitation, reverberating against the lab’s walls and machinery, and she noticed it and toned it down. She couldn’t see Birgitta’s face, staring at her feet as she was, but at least the woman was silent and letting her speak. She could only hope that didn’t mean she now feared her. Victoria didn’t think she could survive that.

“I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t take a chance on you taking the fall. So I decided that cutting us off before we even started would hurt less. And here we are. At least I get to tell you all of this.”

Taking the scientist completely by surprise, Birgitta scoffed.

“Maybe you should have let me make that choice, don’t you think?” She asked when Victoria snapped her gaze up to meet hers. Rubbing at the bridge of her nose, Birgitta sighed, muttering a ‘God, I can’t believe this’ under her breath. “Have you ever talked to any of the students who work there, Victoria?”

Caught off guard yet again, Victoria squinted, wondering where she was going with this. “No?”

“Well, I have. And let me tell you, they all hate it. You and I can have our ethical concerns about it, but those kids hate it with the kind of burning passion you can only feel when you spend too long around Ahlberg. Right now, they are all realising that all of their devices went down, at the same time, because of a piece no one can remember having put it there. And what do you think they will do?”

Victoria was about to answer ‘look for the culprit’, her stomach dropping, when Birgitta answered herself.

“They won’t do anything. In fact, I think your work is done forever now, because those kids will probably decide that sabotage is a great idea and try it every time a general test is upcoming. They’ll keep vandalising Ahlberg’s project and getting the money that they need, and honestly, good for them. No one will find out, Victoria, because the only people close enough to actually see how clearly set up this was could not care less.”

Relief would have flooded her. It definitely should at this news that, hooray, she was probably not going to jail! But Birgitta was deflating now, looking more exasperated (and just slightly amused), and something she’d said made her feel even more confused than she was relieved.

“‘Good for them’, really? I thought you were mad, shouldn’t you not be endorsing this?”

“What? Oh-“ Birgitta hummed, realising what this must look like from Victoria’s point of view. “Oh, no, I’m not mad about the sabotage. Ahlberg’s had it coming. What I’m mad about is you pushing me away because of it, and not even caring to explain!”

“I didn’t want to involve you in all of this!”

“Didn’t you, or didn’t you trust me to agree with you?”

The question gave Victoria pause, and she tapped her fingers against one another nervously.

“You may have a point.”

And could she be blamed, really? When the entire world agreed that left was the way to go, Birgitta would follow right if she thought that it was the kind, the thoughtful, the correct thing to do. Why should she expect her to agree to something her own student could barely get behind?

“Maybe.” Birgitta sighed. “Maybe that should have been a reason for you to rethink your plan, not to cut me off entirely.”

Not that it would have been a problem, Birgitta thought to herself, at worst I would have gotten you in contact with some students working there so you could plan it better.

Victoria at least had the sense to look properly chastened (it wouldn’t have been too surprising if she hadn’t), and Birgitta was feeling like she had run out of steam. Being angry was truly tiring, specially at someone she held so dear, and the little ‘you’re right’ that the scientist gently uttered pierced through the rest of her discontent.

It was fine. They were fine. Neither of them had done something horrible, nor had Victoria realised that she’d be miserable dating her or anything of the sort. It was just one of Victoria’s usual shenanigans, albeit admittedly bolder than she’d seen her try before. They were going to be alright.

“Were those all the reasons why you went back on our date, or is there anything else?” She asked, testing the waters. When Victoria shook her head, Birgitta lifted an eyebrow as well as the corners of her lips. “Well, then, is there anything you’d like to tell me?”

“Oh!” Victoria looked at her, blushing. “Yes. I’m sorry. Is there any chance you could forgive me?”

“There is, in fact.” She smiled. For the moment being, Birgitta thought it better to not tell her she’d practically already forgiven it. It would do no good to give her the impression she could get away so easily with that sort of thing. “And is there any chance you’d like to rethink your statement about not going out with me?”

Victoria smiled at her like she was the only sun she would ever really care to study.

And unbeknownst to them, Victoria’s cellphone laid on her desk, awaiting for the moment she’d pick it up and read the messages her student had sent her.

………

Surprising a grand total of zero people, it seemed like the way in which Erik Ahblerg had managed to get all of that funding for his project was… less than legal. According to the information Raven had shared with them (and he refused to say where he’d gotten that from, only that it was a bizarrely trustworthy source), the professor had been bribing members of the research directory and the board of directors to push his agenda forward. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise; aside from money spent on materials and employing the students, it wasn’t an awfully expensive project, and yet it received many more grants than it needed, and now they knew where that spare cash went: into Ahlberg’s and his collaborators’ pockets.

They’d had to look into it, of course. Going to the higher authorities and saying she had gossip on a coworker wasn’t exactly going to lead her anywhere useful. But what Victoria did do, alongside Birgitta and other professors who resented that misuse of the university’s money, was request a thorough investigation of the destination given to those grants. What they ended up with was a long and scandalous list of people who Ahlberg was working in concert with, all of whom were then signed up for longer investigations into the source of their money and their actions in regards to their professional life.

Victoria hadn’t been the smallest bit surprised to see the Lyman sisters’ name on that list. She’d taken great pleasure, in fact, in watching the news of their participation in the corruption spread around campus, feeling like she was Karma itself; the very night the list had first been divulged, she’d called Kaisa and as soon as her friend picked up she hit her with a joyful “Guess what, nerd, I got your revenge for you!”

She knew some part of Kaisa had had to be pleased. No one willingly stuck around Victoria for that long unless they were a little bit fucked up as well.

None of that completely solved Victoria’s underlying issue, however. Sure, Ahlberg’s project was discontinued, and the grants were redistributed around other projects on campus, but hers was still vastly underfunded. It bothered her, of course, to know how far she could go and not be able to do it. But it didn’t make her grieve as much as she once would. Because now, for the first time in years, Victoria had something other than her job to live for.

She had strolls through the campus. She had late night phone calls. She had trips to the botanical garden and to the museums in Trolberg. She had movie nights. She had gentle touches and kisses that made her believe that the world was good, after all.

So maybe she didn’t have it all; no one really did, however much they would like to pretend otherwise, did they? But she had enough to overflow the gap that she’d failed to fill during all these years trying to stuff numbers and research and projects into it.

Victoria had enough to be happy. And now that she knew what that was like, she was never going to let that go.

#fic: feaar #verse: carpe diem #my fic #raven scientist #raven scientist ship #victoria van gale fanfic

[misslisamiray]

Time for the other thing I promised (and sorry it's a day late): An update on the Rick and Morty fanfic I'm writing! With bonus pic of the pretty space-themed binder it resides in. Also, from this post on, said fic will be referred to by its actual title.

Current page count: 80!!! (Which is so much longer than I expected this fic to get, but I am not complaining.) Status: Not done yet, but I'm entering the final stretch. I've given up on setting a goal date for when it's going to be finished, but I feel like I can now safely say SOON. Also, until the full fic is up on Ao3 & ff, you'll now be getting excerpts every Thursday!

Summary: Rick has a nasty cold... which he initially tries to pass off as an alien virus that can mimic any illness. Morty does his best to take care of him, and Rick (of course) makes things so, so much more difficult for both of them than they need to be. No one is surprised.

Meanwhile, Beth and Summer are out of the house, and Jerry is searching in the attic for the 90's anime VHS he's sure will help him figure out EXACTLY what to do (keep in mind he's the only one who still believes Rick's alien virus story). 😅

And now, without further ado, excerpt & dumbass title reveal below the cut!

Excerpt from Down With the Rickness by MissLisaMiray

"That's more like it. Okay, Rick. Here you go." Morty sighed. He carefully filled the medicine's accompanying measuring cup to the top line and tried to hand it to Rick.

"I don't want it." Rick grumbled, waving it away.

"Seriously?! Why not?" Morty asked, exasperated.

"It looks gross. I'm too stuffed up to tell, but it probably smells gross, too. And I know it's gonna taste like shit. So no, I don't want it." Rick explained, stubbornly turning his head. Morty barely held back a scream.

"Are you kidding me?! I thought it was gonna be something about this stuff being inferior to anything you'd make, so you were like, insulted by it. But it's just that? Of course it's gonna taste bad. Doesn't all medicine? Just swallow it quick and get it over with." He held the cup in front of Rick, who shook his head and continued refusing to take it.

"Of course this would be the one thing in the whole damn universe you won't drink. Rick, come on! It's for your own good. Stop acting like a 4 year old and take it!" Morty argued, climbing onto the bed and shoving the small cup in front of Rick's face. Rick opened his mouth to argue further, which Morty took advantage of by quickly pouring the medicine in before the old man could react.

Furious, the second he'd swallowed it down, Rick began sputtering, "Ugh, that's even worse than I thought it would be! Cough! Cough! What the hell, Morty?! Not cool! You can't force strange liquids down people's throats like that!"

"You think I enjoyed any part of that?! And don't be so dramatic - alI I did was make you take some cold medicine. Also, there's no way that's the most disgusting thing you've ever swallowed." Morty pointed out.

"Well, if nothing else, I can't argue that part. Still, that shit is foul. Yuck." Rick complained, still looking disgusted. He grabbed his flask and took a swig to wash away the taste. Morty considered saying something about that not being a great idea, but quickly decided it was a losing battle he wasn't interested in.

#fanfiction #rick and morty fanfiction #handwritten fanfiction in the year 2024 #actually almost ready to start typing this thing out #sickfic #please let me know if you like this #today's excerpt is one of my favorite parts #rick and morty fanfic #also this is NOT r!ckorty and i want to make that abundantly clear #my first fic in this fandom! #yes i'm going with “Down With the Rickness” as the title #no the knowledge that some actual RaM episode titles are much dumber does not make me feel better about that #rick sanchez #morty smith #my fanfic #my writing

[dead-girl-prolific]

𝕰𝖄𝕰𝕾

______________________The Limbo______________________

Eyes. Thousands of tiny eyes watch me as I drift off into sleep, I see them, transparent, nonthreatening. A wooden floorboard creaks outside my room, just behind my door. A twig snaps yet I do not wake, I am used to the sounds of the night. I open my eyes to a foggy and dingy forest, and I am dreaming again. It reeks of rot and there are no stars in this place, no sun, only grays and muted color. Dark rotting woods and a smell I can only imagine is animal carcass. I pray for the night I do not wake in this world where it is so in between familiar and threatening. It feels unnatural despite the nature surrounding me.

I take a step into mushy brown rotting grass, and the sound of a muffled church bell tolls, alerting whatever creatures that dwell in this overgrown limbo, that I am here. Even though I feel like I don't belong here. I see something bolt from the side of the trees and I look, my senses heightened as I look around, my eyes trace across the trees, but I see nothing. I try to cool my nerves and collect myself, whatever is here is definitely watching me. I hear a low growl from a few trees away and I jump (almost) out of my skin. And race across the forest floor, my feet barely touching the ground as I fly through the forest of trees that towered above me. I never would have thought I would be running from an unknown creature this time but alas here I am, running for my life. I refuse to turn around, I think for a moment and curse under my breath, trying to climb up a tree would be useless, the branches are all too high.

Just when I'm about to lose hope I turn around and as soon as i do i wake up but im sure that what i saw in that forest will be engraved in my mind forever a gray creature hunched over crawling on all fours, racing after me, about a foot away ready to pounce on me at any moment, if it were standing it would be about 6 feet tall. It was unrealistically skinny, it's bones pulled at its skin at awkward angles, it's face was the most human thing about it, which is what scared me, I've heard of these creatures before, they pretend to be something they are not, tricksters of the forests they inhabit, true predators that binge eat on other innocent beings. Its teeth unnaturally sharp and stained yellow and red with blood dripping down its chin, its long talon-like fingers stained with dried entrails and flesh stuck to its palms. Its backside was shaped like a dog's hindquarters, bent awkwardly outwards. Its eyes were an inky black, like a doe, but this creature did not have antlers, or fur.

I wake in a cold sweat. I've been having the same dream for 5 days now, the same one over and over, the running, the creature, the same damn thing. Only when I started to feel like I was being watched by this thing in real life is when I felt like my life could actually be in danger somehow, the creature of dreams was not just a dream, it was real. And it was hunting ME.

figured i'd post this here, it was my first ever creepypasta short horror story, I was like 15 when I wrote it. decided to post it on quotev a long time after it was written, so yeah...

#creepypasta fandom #creepypasta #horror #short horror story #scary #the rake