#it was the same guy from the bus who thought i was dead

[starrshaddow]

I think mizu is pretty blunt and straightforward to the point it's easy to misunderstand her as being rude

If youre the kind of person that considers someone's tone and aligns it with what you think they think of you, then you'll probably think she straight up hates you the first time you met

I mean imagine being in a very social place (maybe school event.) and you know absolutely NO ONE but her. You dont know her either but you share one class with her and she seems pretty chill. You try to at least stick with someone you know in this very loud and crowded place. You strike a convo, a very casual but somewhat confident one at that.

"this much people is tiring to be around, right?"

And she just

Stares at you.

Dead faced stare, no emotion. nothing

And your heart sinks and you feel so embarrassed of yourself

You were too busy thinking about how she just ignored you that you didnt see her look away and kind of, slightly glance behind her for a sec

Turns out she thought u were talking to someone behind her 💀

mizu's def very awkward outside of conversations that can be professional, school related, or other people related (i mean if you ask her about how she knows this person, or that person)

she's not very well with small talk or talking abt herself?

"i think so."

When she spoke u feel reassured so u keep on trying to talk to her more, but the stuff she says are really limited. her voice pretty uninterested. It gave you the impression that you were bothering her. So eventually, you stop talking to her.

Then it was silent for a lil while,

"how about you?"

She spoke and you forgot what you were talking about before she spoke.

The music from the event and the group who was performing was so loud. Its hard to think

"what?"

Then she looks at you

Eyes blue and bright against the dark. Her face illuminated by the lights from the perfomance on the stage.

"why'd you come here even if you hate crowds?"

She's pretty

You will never deny that, as much as you will not say it out loud

___

I think when you left early, I think she walked with you.

You were both walking at the same path. You were both heading to the bus stop.

But when you got to the bus stop, she stops just a distance away from you.

"you ride the bus home too?"

"no." she places her hands in her trouser's pockets. "i just didnt want to stay there."

"oh."

Then its just awkward silence 😭

Istg the first to the five moments you shared with her, i believe she's super awkward. She does try to strike up a convo back but shes so bad at it that she ends up asking the most random things.

One time it was so random it made you laugh

And she thought you were mocking her and she looked kinda sad 😭 so you had to reassure her that you werent making fun of her and that her question was just super random it caught you off guard

you two meeting each other and spending time together in long period of time is rare. Even the class you shared together wasnt enough to hang out with her.

you didnt even know her name (you forgot)

"your name is mizu?" you said. The class was filled with chatter at the time since the professor wasnt there yet.

"Yours is (y/n), right?"

"yeah." then you smiled. "yours is prettier though. Suits you."

She looked confused for a sec, but nods.

She looked shy.

"thank you."

her voice was low. but she meant it.

But overtime, i think you two getting closer stemmed from when you didnt go to class for like a week?

She was wondering what happened to you. She wasnt even sure if she should check on you because, again, you guys share so little convo that she's not even sure if it was even enough to consider you as a friend and check up on you.

So i think she asked a friend of hers, probably ringo or akemi (her last resort was to ask taigen) if they knew you or share a class with you. but they all didnt.

So she waited for you to come to class.

Would glance at the door to see if you'd walk in.

you werent close to her

but despite tha she somewhat feels better when you're with her in the class, you know? You dont talk much but your presence is really comforting.

She has friends that check up on her a lot but there are times when they feel overwhelming.

Whatever awkward silence that eventually became comfortable silence between the two of you was something she missed while you were gone

And also the little convo you make. And her awkward ones (even tho being reminded of some of it make her stare at the wall and feel immense embarrassment)

It made her realize she'd actually like to get to know you more.

So when the door opened and you stepped in, dressed in that distinct fashion you usually wear, she felt relieved.

"you've been gone for a while."

you chuckled and place your stuff on the chair beside her.

"yeah. i got sick."

"do you feel better now?" she asked, genuinely concerned.

She definitely asked for your number that day. And she deeefinitely stared at your number when she got home, wondering if she should text you and ask if you got home safe.

I think mizu's wariness of trying to build/have more relationships (platonic or not) happened because of mik-(cant even type his name. He disgust me 😒). The fact she was so open to someone and shed all her walls for him just to be betrayed and forgotten like nothing transpired between them is traumatizing.

I like to think that mizu was on her maybe 1st year while he was at his fourth year. She was super naive and thought he was the nicest guy when all he did was give her the bare minimum 😔. I think she loved him enough to actually live with him (just the memory of it disgusts her). She lived far from the uni and she definitely has to commute long hours back and forth. So she thought it was a good idea to live with him (it wasnt).

Man, did that guy scar her so much she thought she wouldnt be able to finish her 1st year.

Anyways.

She did text you that day.

And she was more than surprised to see you texting her back almost immediately

I did! :D thanks for checking up on me. Hav u eaten dinner yet?

😭😭 I THINK MIZU FINDS YOU SUPER CUTE AND ENDEARING. LIKE YOU'RE A VERY SUPER WHOLESOME PERSON

You're just so?? Gentle and calm, it feels so reassuring and tranquil.

You feel like. this. Calming breeze of wind that soothes her

So she goes over her hesitancy of keeping and making relationships and starts pursuing you more, hoping to spend more time with you.

and when she did.. gosh.

You were a lot more than a gentle breeze, you were beaming with warmth as well.

She went out her way to check your schedule and compare it to hers. When she sees she have a vacant time, she goes to school to hang out with you

Say you have early classes while she doesnt even have classes that day? She'd wake up early to catch you on your morning break to eat outside with you.

It took you by surprise at first, but ofc you said yes

You just be sitting across from her, gazing out the window with her. You learned just now that Mizu likes the seats where she can see the outside. She's wearing a cozy loose sweater and her hair is tied up.

"what are the classes you're attending today?"

You see her purse her lips a bit and then she shakes her head. her little stray hair bouncing on her forehead.

"i dont have any classes."

What.

Your brain short circuited

She saw your confusion, but she looked at your hands which is now holding your burger too slanted that the ketchup is spilling on your palm.

So she gently took your hand in her own, which is much bigger than yours. She takes ahold of your hand so easy that it made your brain malfunction more.

"i said," she started as she took your burger away from your hands to wipe your palm with a tissue. "I have no classes today."

Then she held your hand, and looked you in the eyes.

"I just wanted to see you."

And so,

This was when YOU realized you were totally into her.

___

That made you so flustered that you couldnt forget it when you came home.

Your stomach feels so warm and you felt so giddy over that.

You know better not to get over yourself, but it was still something that you think about often.

After a few days, when you were on your way home after your last class

It was late at night

The moon was shining down

Then you see someone near the entrance of the building, tapping at their phone and seemingly busy.

you felt kinda scared and cautious. So you just speed walked out of there and walked even faster when you hear footsteps after you

"wait," they called after you. "(Y/n), wait!"

You stopped walking and turned to see Mizu catching up to you.

She has a small smile on her face when she finally caught up to you.

Then she laughed

She looked so carefree

"You sure do run fast even with those short legs."

she looks so nice when she smiles that it made you forget you were mad(?) at her for scaring you like that.

You frowned.

"You're just tall."

She walks up to you. Close enough that you can smell her perfume.

It's faint but strong. Of course she's the type to wear masculine perfumes.

"Hm." she said. "Can't hear you from up here."

You looked her in the eye and shuffled closer to her.

You can tell she tensed up a bit but her gaze remained on you, wondering what you will do.

You raised your hands near her face to pull her hood over her head and pull the drawstrings

"Shut up and go home. No way I'm walking with you now."

She still insisted on walking you home. Of course, you gave in.

Now you're standing and waiting for the bus.

"Won't you feel cold?" she said.

"It's not really cold out here." you said.

"I meant in the bus, on the way home. The uni is a bit far from your apartment, yeah?"

You thought for a moment, then you looked at her with a furrow in your brows.

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

Mizu didnt respond, she just has this knowing look on her face.

She shuffled a bit. You thought she was going to do something snarky, until realized she was taking off her hoodie.

She walked up to you and with her hoodie in her hands. She leaned close to fix it over your shoulder. She made sure it was hugging you snugly.

"tell me when you get home."

mizu walked you home that night and purposely wore a hoodie bcz she wanted to have a reason to have you borrow her clothes and see you in them.

She's totally showing you that she likes you but you don't realize it yet 😭😭

#mizu x reader

[sweetlyskz]

Emerald Gem||Chapter Five

Chapter one|Chapter two|Chapter three|Chapter four|Chapter five|Chapter six|Chapter seven|Chapter eight||Chapter nine|Chapter ten (finale!)|

Pairing: Hybrid!OT7 x fem!reader

Overview: Living away from society has its perks. All natural food from your thoroughly cultivated farm, no nosy neighbors, and peace and security with your animals. But sometimes you did get lonely, having no one the talk to but the pigs. However, when 7 extremely wanted hybrids stable upon your deserted farm, everything changes.

Genre: Hybrid Au, Strangers to lovers, slow burn, smut, fluff

Word count: 1.7k

Unedited

"How much longer do we have to keep walking?"

The group was extremely sick and exhausted, walking miles and miles along the forest. When Jimin had no more energy left, the youngest carried him on his back. The pack leader was fearful of the government coming to find them, so during the day they walked nonstop. And when the sun would finally rest, they would rest in the nearest cave or by the tallest tree.

"Until we make it to some water", Joon claimed, ears perked to listen for the closest stream. "I can hear it. We're almost there."

"We wouldn't have had to run, y'know..." Jimin was absentmindedly whispering his thoughts, delirious from lack of sleep.

"I miss her", Tae whined. "And I miss the food, and the comfy bed, and the little chickens..."

Namjoon ignored their complaints, keeping the same pace. He was just as sick and tired as they were, but his love for his pack kept him strong. Now matter how much they tried to convince him to stay, it didn't work. But they couldn't blame him- Namjoon has been burned before.

And he wasn't gonna let it happen again.

Justin didn't like taking the bus. The older kids always made fun of him. Plus, his school was only a couple of minutes away from home if he took the shortcut. So everyday afterschool he would hop the fence behind the school and take left and right turns through the alleyways to get home.

Until one day where he met a little wolf hybrid. Justin had stumbled upon the little guy next to a dumpster in the alley. He was frail and weak looking. His short was torn, his pants were jagged, and the soles of his feet were black.

"Hey little guy", Justin whispered, slowly walking up to the wolf as to not startle him. However it did quite the opposite.

"Please!" He screamed. "I'll go but please don't hurt me!"

With that, Justin backed away. "I'm not gonna hurt you- promise!" The hybrid stood on his feet with haste, getting ready to make a fast exit.

But Justin didn't wanna let him go.

"Are you lost? Do you need some help?" That's when he realized Justin wasn't coming for him- he probably didn't even know who he was.

"N-no. Im f-fine", he whispered, making his way to the kind human who offered to help him. "Just please don't tell anyone I'm here-please." He got down on his knees and pleaded.

"I won't, I swear. But, you can't stay here. Whoever you're hiding from will find you as easily as I did."

The hybrid thought for a second, pondering over his next moves. He's probably been on the run his whole life. His street smarts are probably beyond compare. At least, that's what Justin thought.

"I have nowhere to go..." He whispered. "My family... they're dead. They're all dead- and I'm alone."

It was like looking in a mirror. Justin had found someone just like him. Parentless, scared, afraid. He had a feeling he could help. "You can come stay with me for a while", he offered.

And just like that- he found himself stepping into Justins small apartment. It was cramped, but it's all Justin could afford so he made it work. They lived together for month before Justin finally asked what his name was.

"Namjoon", he replied. "My name is Kim Namjoon, and I'm wanted for murder."

***

Some of the food in your fridge had spoiled. Just to prevent from wasting you walked miles away to the nearest neighbor and gave them all of your leftovers. It been a couple weeks since the guys had left, and you were feeling lost-empty. You knew who they were. You knew what people called him. You knew they were wanted by the government, but it didn't stop you from taking them in.

And even though they hadn't stayed long, it was hard to imagine what life was like without them- especially when you had already imagined a life with them.

When it was time to rest your head, you would walk by their rooms and whisper goodnight. But even though no one was there, the ghost of them always replied back, "goodnight, sweet dreams."

Every now and then you swear you hear laughing downstairs, the sound of Hoseok rolling around in the grassy field, or even the sound of Taehyung flipping the page of a good book. Every now and then, while making dinner, you feel a presence creep up behind you asking "Can I just have one bite? How will I know if it's good if I don't try it?" Jungkook loved to sneak bits of supper before it was ready.

The feeling made you queasy, and it brought tears to your eyes. It made you anxious, so you watched the new every night in hopes that they hadn't been caught. Because, even though they didn't want to stay with you, you sure as hell weren't going to let the researchers have them.

You had already made that mistake once before.

Your birthday party was absolutely amazing! Your friends were there, all of your family came. Even the gifts were memorable. However, something was missing. Your nine year old self couldn't put your finger on it, but something seemed off about that day. It felt as though you were at someone else's birthday party, like the party wasn't for you.

If wasn't until you got older that you realized that it was true- it wasn't technically your birthday party. It was your birthday- that part it true. However, the party was your father's. It was your father's friends, it was their children. They were never your friends. No one would even notice if you weren't there.

So you left.

By your house was a lake, a peaceful lake where all you could hear was the wind blowing through the trees. That's where you snuck off to that night. That's where you met Mina. She was a wolf- the most beautiful wolf you might ever have seen (the only wolf at that time). Her fur was pure white with specks of gray, and her eyes shimmered in the moonlight. One might've been afraid of her, but you certainly were not. She could tell.

"You come here often, Don't you?" The wolf could speak. For some reason, that didn't scare you either. "From the trees, I notice you come hear to wipe your tears. What's bothering you?"

"I'm alone", you whispered, audibly enough for her to hear. "I don't think I'm supposed to exist. All the signs point against it." You laid in the grass, picking piece to fiddle with. Telling your secrets to a total stranger wasn't the best option. But for you, it was the only option.

"Don't speak such words", she scolded. "Close your eyes. I wanna show you a secret."

You obeyed, shutting your eyes as tight as you could. Out of nowhere, great winds blew and the ground shook.

"Now, open."

She was gone. She vanished, right in front of you. The wolf had vanished, and what replaced it was even more beautiful. Her hair was silver. Her eyes were green. She clothed her self in leaves- fitted like a dress.

"Happy birthday, pup", she smiled. Your eyes began to shed tears. She was the first person to wish you happy birthday- Not even your parents did so.

"T-thank you", you sniffled. "I'm Y/n." She patted your head, the same way your mother once did. It was comforting. Here she was, a total stranger, and she's given you more attention than your mother has in a long time. It entranced you, to the point of laying your head on her

"I know", She sighed. "The nights not going so well, is it?"

You nodded. "When does it ever? I'm nine and feel like I'm an adult- so much I haven't done with so much responsibility."

Daciana was her name, a quite beautiful name. You told her all your fears and she held you close. She comforted you when no one else would.

You will never forgive yourself for what happened to her...

***

The cave was cold, almost icy. Jin wanted to light a fire but Joon was strongly against it. "That'll make us an easy target", he scolded.

Jimin laid flat on his back, having no neck or back support. He thought of you. What are you doing right now? What may you be wearing? He dreamed of the dinner you might be cooking.

Does she even care that we're gone?

Jungkook was trying his best to keep Hobi's fever down, but it continued to rise. Taehyung was in excruciating pain. Yoongi was absolutely delirious and Joon could hardly breathe, choosing the solid ground as the best place to rest.

"Joon, we can't go on like this", Jin begged. It hurt him to see his pack in so much pain. It hurt even more to know the cause of it was his pack alpha.

He heaved, trying to get back on his two feet with no avail. "What else can we do? The minute we think we're safe, we'll will be taken. You know this! Where can we possibly go?"

"Back home", Jimin mumbled, using the last bits of his energy. "I wanna go back home, to Y/n."

"Me too", Kook whispered just audible enough to hear. The rest of the pack agreed, sharing their sentiments- everyone except Namjoon. While everyone whined and groaned, he laughed exasperatedly.

"Are you guys serious? She would've turned us over to the authors the minute she found out who we really are! How many times do I have to tell you this? You cannot trust humans."

Jin was fed up. He was sick, exhausted, and lonely. And he was done following orders.

"What do you think you're doing?" The pack watched Jin as he put Jimin on his back, heading towards the entrance of the cave.

"We're going home, Joon..." Jimin struggled to keep his eyes open, but a smile was plastered on his face. It was hard to miss his excitement, even if it was a little hard for him to express. "Anyone who wants to come can come, but I'm tired of living in fear."

He continued, pointing towards his alpha. "Let me know when you're done too. You know where to find us."

And with that, the six pack member left the dark and empty cave, leaving Namjoon alone with his thoughts.

What am I gonna do now? He thought.

-

-

Taglist!

@yoongicatcat @wifflepuff1344 @unwillingly-oblivious @shycreationdreamland @emer-syn @rinkud @amimami1991 @singukieee @nikkiordonez12 @xicanacorpse @cestlabellemort @whipwhoops @spider-thot0115 @ddaeng-angmoh @silscintilla @readerofallthingss @welcometomyworld13 @danielle143 @kookiesbunny @yoongiigolden @woozixo @anaspectoflife @blackrockshooter780 @talyaaas-blog @eashmo @jaiele @kaceypdf @reallysparklychaos @lizzymizzy-blogg @rainfprest @shycreationdreamland @belikejk

Permanent Taglist!

@famousdelusionobservation @marblemoonstones @stupendousliteraturewritingoaf @fearnotfimmie @v-love @tired7o7 @jewishmommy @ghostlyworld

#kpop #bts #bts fanfic #bts imagines #bts x reader #kpop smut #bts smut #kim seokjin #bts fanfction #jeon jungguk #park jimin #poly ot7 #poly!bts x reader #poly!bts #bts ot7 #bts hybrid au #bts fic #bts series

[cameronspecial]

Loving the Zach stuff so far!!!

Could you maybe do something where yn hates his guts, but he is like in love with her and all her sass?? Then they're forced to go on some school trip together or something, and she realizes she likes him and a cute angry love confession, perhaps???

Danke 🫶🏼💐

Thank You, History Class

Pairing: Zach MacLaren x Reader

Warnings: N/A

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 1.2K

Masterlist

Y/N and Zach have been running in the same friend group since Freshman year, but it doesn’t mean they necessarily get along. Well, it doesn’t mean that she likes him. His sarcasm and puppy dog vibe annoys her cool and distant personality. He’s always asking her how her day is going and trying to make her laugh with his stupid jokes. Zach, on the other hand, fell for her grumpy soul the moment he set eyes on her. Unlike most people, who don’t bother looking deeper into her personality, Zach could see the soft side that she held within and never let anyone see. He would always catch how she would stand up from her bus seat when she saw an elderly person. She wouldn’t let people around her know it was the reason, but she always did. He saw the little bowl of milk she left outside her house for a cat mother and her kittens. Finally, he saw how sweet she was to children whenever they were around her. 

Zach didn’t want to take a history class and he certainly didn’t feel like going on a field trip to a museum. It all felt very high school to him. The only upside about it: Y/N is also taking the same class. When he saw that he needed a history credit to graduate, he definitely didn’t go looking for what classes she was taking this semester to try and be in the same one. The cost was giving Jason access to his bathroom whenever he wanted, but it was worth it. He knows the field trip isn’t mandatory for any marks, yet he knows Y/N is going to be there. As he heads toward the Victorian house, he finds Y/N out front waiting for the professor to show up. Her clothing consists of black and brown colours as usual. Her hair was held back by a shiny black claw clip. 

“Fancy seeing you here,” he grins, coming to stand beside her. She gives him a side eye, “Could you be more cliche? Try something more original, would ya? I still can’t believe you are taking this class.” He doesn’t let her sour mood dampen his energy. “Come on, you know you like having me with you in this class. The only other people in this class are girls who have a romanticized view of the era, or guys, who have a history stick so far up their ass that they think a history degree will take them far in life,” he notes, turning to look at her. She looks him dead in the eyes, “I’m a history major. And I am neither of those things.” “I know, that’s because you are so much better than them. You are far too smart for them,” he flatters. She shakes her head, turning her attention to the professor who has just arrived, “Flattery won’t get you anywhere.” The professor leads them into the museum and begins his lecture. After ten minutes of listening to the man speak, both Y/N and Zach realized that coming was a big waste of time. He doesn’t know what he is talking about and Zach can hear Y/N constantly correcting the older man under her breath. 

He leans toward her, making sure his lips are close to her ear. “Wanna go on our own little tour? This man is getting half of this stuff wrong.” She thinks she has lost her mind because this must be the first thing Zach has said that she thought was a good idea. “That actually sounds kind of fun. They have a Victorian fashion exhibit I want to see, but I don’t think Professor Robo over there is going to take us to,” she whispers back. Her hand finds his and she hates to admit she likes the warmth of his in hers. They round the stairs to the exhibit. She looks delighted when she spots the first mannequin with clothes. Her feet find their way beside a girl about six years old, already looking at the dress. The child’s eyes find Y/N’s face and they smile at each other. “You know, this is an 1843 Evening dress. The bodice, the thing around the chest, is low off the shoulders. And they have lots of other skirts underneath to make it poofy,” Y/N softly explains to the little girl. 

They spent around thirty minutes in the small room. Y/N walks around with Willow and Zach, explaining each outfit to them. She is surprised that Zach seemed honestly engaged with what she was saying and would ask thoughtful questions. Eventually, Willow’s mother, an employee, came looking for her and took the girl to lunch. “Do you want to head to lunch?” she asks. He shakes his head, “Actually, I was hoping we could look at the Victorian sports exhibit. I brought some snacks, so if you are hungry, we can share.” He pulls out a bag of cucumbers shaped like hearts. She has to giggle at the sight because big jock Zach MacLaren likes to have his vegetable cut into shapes. 

“What?” he questions in fake offence, holding out the Ziploc to her. She shakes her head with a chuckle, “Nothing, just surprised your cucumbers look like an inaccurate depiction of a human organ.” “They make them taste better. Try,” he says with a shrug. He hands her a slice and listens to the sweet crunch of her biting into the vegetable. “Okay… I must admit it is more fun to eat it like a heart. I can pretend I’m a witch eating people’s hearts,” she agrees. He doesn’t look disturbed by her macabre comments, instead, he pretends to be ripping out his heart as he hands her another slice. She enjoys him playing with her deadly thoughts.

They spent about an hour looking at the different displays, eating his snacks and taking turns reading the display’s blurbs to each other. As they stand on the steps of the museum, Y/N towers over him from the step above. He looks up at her like she hangs the stars in the sky. “I hate to admit that you made this day pretty fun,” she confides. Her hands find their way behind her back, biting her lip as she looks into his eyes. His mouth turns into a crescent moon, “I’m really glad I did. I like spending time with you.” She takes a moment to think and moves her head away in frustration. Not at him, but at the turmoil inside her mind. Why is his charming smile suddenly getting to her? Why does she want to step into his warmth and let his arms bring her in? “Ugh, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think I’m falling for you, MacLaren. So… would you want to go to dinner? Like on a date,” she confesses with a hint of annoyance in her tone that is just normally there. She is disgusted by the excitement that crosses his face. He gets off the steps, running around the green grass in front of the building. He jumps every so often with a little whoop let out as he does so. 

He rushes back to her, grabbing her around her waist and spinning her around. She finds the sound of her giggles odd but enjoys it nonetheless. “Way to keep a poker face,” she sasses, looking down at him. He doesn’t care though all he wants is a chance to be with her.

Taglist: @winterrrnight @loves0phelia

#the other zoey #zach maclaren #zach maclaren x reader #drew starkey #drew starkey x reader #drew starkey x you #drew starkey x y/n #drew starkey x female reader #drew starkey imagine #drew starkey one shot #drew starkey fanfiction

[dontmixpaintinyourcoffee]

Some thoughts while I'm watching Nerdy Prudes Must Die for the first time:

After the Big Game, something that's been itching my brain for a while came back- Clivesdale. Hatchet Town is reinforcing this, but since Black Friday and Honey Queen the Clivesdale hate has really started to stand out to me. Yes it's a funny gag, but the Hatchetfield disdain for Clivesdale is straight-up cultish. Laura Cunningham (I think was her name?) had lived in Hatchetfield for 15 years, but was entirely excommunicated when it came out that she was from Clivesdale. Keep in mind, she was well-liked enough to be a Honey Queen candidate. Two teenagers are brutally murdered and everyone is more focused on the loss against the Chemists. Even people who hate Hatchetfield like Emma and Ziggy hate Clivesdale more. The general population of Hatchetfield is so feverish. I know that the Wiggly doll riots happened all over the world, but holy SHIT it didn't take any time at all for Hatchetfield to totally cave in on itself!

Here's the other thing that gets me- has anyone ever really left Hatchetfield? Anyone who wanted to?

•Emma Perkins has exactly one life goal- not to die in Hatchetfield. Her entire life had been, up until Jane's death, about getting away from Hatchetfield. She is officially pronounced dead after the explosion at Starlight Theatre, though she survived in Clivesdale Hospital. She only lived for a couple weeks after "dying" in Hatchetfield. She also dies almost immediately after returning to her hometown in the events of Forever and Always. She does not die after the fire at her weed farm, but she is arrested and presumably imprisoned in Hatchetfield.

•Frank Pricely is imprisoned by Sherman Young after his attempted escape.

•Alice Woodward dies in The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals before she can leave for college. In fact, she dies after skipping the bus to Clivesdale

•Lex and Hannah Foster (along with Ethan Greene) have plans to escape Hatchetfield and head to California. All of them die before they can even get past Nantucket bridge.

•Zoey Chambers wants to win Honey Queen for the funds to get out of Hatchetfield. In both Honey Queen and The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals she dies before she has the chance to leave.

•Jonathan Brisby attempts to retrieve Lucy Stockworth from Hatchetfield. Brisby dies in the woods, Lucy disappears in the same woods with the Woolyfoot.

•Jenny and Andy planned to move to Clivesdale, but Jenny dies before she can leave, and by the time Andy becomes Andrew Killgore he's back at CCRP in Hatchetfield. Obviously this is wobbly because of timeline shenanigans, but it's implied that Ted didn't actually cross timelines during the events of Time Bastard, just fucked around in his own a lot.

There's just something. There's something about Hatchetfield. It's like a black hole. If it wants you there, and it does, you always end up there, and it's not likely you'll leave a second time.

Something about the ambient affects of the town absolutely fascinates me, I've been thinking about this stuff for like 5 years and it's not gotten old to me yet

#Hatchetfield #nerdy prudes must die #the guy who didn't like musicals #Black Friday #memes #talking for too long about stuff #nightmare time #dont even get me started on the individual lords in black and my theories about them because HOLY FUCK I HAVE A LOT TO SAY #wow there was a lot of jazz hands during that murder

[thefallennightmare]

Miracle-thirteen

Pairings: Noah Sebastian x Reader

Warnings/Tropes: forced proximity, slight enemies to lovers, slow burn, smut, angst, fluff, mentions of death, and swearing.

Summary: Reader is the merch girl for Bad Omens. It wasn't what she wanted to do with her life but when her mother got sick with Alzheimer's, reader took a job where she could to help with the costs. She thought it would be a one-time gig but the longer she was on the road with them, the harder she fell for Noah Sebastian; even if he wanted nothing to do with her. She needed a miracle to save her mom and her future.

Author Note: Y'all are in for a huge mind fuck in this one.

Tags: @ada-clarence @nonamessblog @thescarlettvvitch @malice-ov-mercy @crimson-calligraphyx @theoneandonlykymberlee @yumikitten @blackveilomens @cherrymedicine13 @thebadchic @notmaddihealy @jay02bo @beaker1636 @jakekiszkasguitarpick @punk-pr1ncessxoxo @er3nslovergirl @iamdesolate @lma1986 @jessitpwk @themodern-daywednesday @writethrough @bngurngheart @dreams-that-are-anwsered @loeytuan98 @omens-in-reverse @loverofagoodbeard @jay02bo @niicoleleigh

This can't be. This is so fucked up. Did he know? Why wouldn't he say something?

My good knee bounced in agitation as I sat in the living area of the tour bus, waiting for the guys to finish up the show. With how much pain I was in any time I walked, Noah told me to rest tonight and not worry about working. I, of course, tried to fight it but when the rest of the guys sided with Noah, I retreated to the bus with a pout. I had the option to hang out on the stage to watch the show but with what I found out from my little internet search, the idea of solace was something I desperately needed. After Noah helped me get comfortable on the bus, he left me with a kiss and a promise he'll be back as soon as the show ended.

I wanted to tell him not to rush because I needed more time to think of how I was going to tell him about my mom especially after what I found out. It wasn't like I could ask my mom about it and asking my dad was obviously a dead end, pun intended.

Well, the man who I thought was my dad.

It wasn't much of an extensive search as I looked up Lincoln, whose last name ended up being Boyle since a Lincoln Keoghan didn't exist. Lincoln Boyle lived in the same state my mom did about twenty-five years ago, right before I was conceived. The internet searched gave me previous address' of his and one of them was right next door to the house I lived in the first few years of my life.

So we were neighbors. Maybe that's why my mom kept remembering him. But there wasn't a photo of him anywhere online which made me pause my research for a little while. Then the thought of who my mom thought Folio was came to mind. She thought he was Jonathan, her husband. According to her, he wasn't welcomed home anymore, and I wasn't his daughter."

I rubbed my tired eyes with a long sigh. "None of this makes sense."

Then a thought hit me like a freight train. I had brought some things from home before coming to the venue tonight, old pictures and photo books. I salvaged the ones my mom didn't destroy and fearing she would while I was gone; I brought them with me. I quickly texted Folio since he wasn't on the bus yet. I knew the show ended because there was a growing group of fans hanging around the metal barricade.

Hey, are my bags from home still in the green room?

A few minutes passed before he responded.

No, someone brought them onto the bus awhile ago. I think they're on the undercarriage.-Folio.

"Shit," I muttered.

I had help to come up the stairs of the bus and even that was difficult. How would I do it by myself?

Don't even think about grabbing them. What do you need?-Folio.

Rolling my eyes, I told him what I needed.

I'll be there in a few. Noah was on his way to you but got held up by some fans outside.-Folio.

I set my phone aside and looked out the window behind me to see Noah talking with the fans and posing for a few pictures. Even if he was smiling and nodding along, I knew he was rushing to get to the bus. He was dressed out of his stage gear to a black t-shirt and a pair of black joggers. Almost as if he felt me watching, Noah turned to the bus and gave me a small wave when he saw me. In return, I smiled before hearing Folio ascended up the stairs of the bus with three different photo albums.

"I wasn't sure which one you needed so I brought all of them," he said while handing them to me.

"Thanks," I automatically knew which one so I set the other two aside.

Folio raised a brow as he sat next to me. "What are you looking for?"

"My mom kept rambling about this guy Lincoln and- I started to explain.

"Johnathan," he cut me off. "She thought I was?"

I briefly looked at him while nodding. "My dad."

Folio let out a low whistle. "You heard what she said, right?"

I had been flipping through the pages when I stopped at his words and let out a breath. "About me not being my dads? Yeah. Trust me, my mind is completely fucked up right now especially after what I found out."

Noticing the look on his face, I filled him in on what I found during my internet research all while continuing to flip through the photo album. While I never looked through this one before, I knew it had pictures of me within my first year of life and as I was reaching the end, I almost gave up hope when my heart sank to the pits of my stomach as I froze. My eyes immediately landed on a picture of my parents and me with a man I'd never seen before. We were all sitting on the couch in our living room. I was on my moms lap, who was sitting in between my dad and the other man. The look on my dad's face showed one emotion; rage.

"Who's that?" Folio asked.

Shrugging, I pulled out the photo and turned it over, hoping they wrote something on the back. Over the years when I looked at the picture, I noticed my mom always described what was going on in the picture. I never thought much of it until recently when I realized she did it because she knew eventually, her brain would forget.

September '98. Me, Johnathan, Y/N, and Lincoln Boyle. I told Johnathan about the affair and about Y/N.

I gasped, finally having a face to the name.

"That's Lincoln," I muttered.

Folio hesitated, unsure how to tread with his question. "Do you think he's your real dad?"

Ignoring him, I placed the picture back into the book before flipping through a few more pages, the pictures only showing either me alone or with Jonathan. Until at the very last page, there was only one picture. My mom, Jonathan, and me standing in front of the house I currently live in; the one where I grew up.

October 23 '99. Y/N's birthday. Jonathan, Y/N, and I in front of our new house. I just came back to them after leaving them for Lincoln. Johnathan said he would only allow me back into Y/N's life if I leave Lincoln behind. Even though Y/N isn't his, Jonathan did a great job raising her the last year. I hope she can forgive me when she's older and knows the truth. James would love to meet her.

Forcing the picture back into the book, I slammed it shut before letting it fall to the floor. Anger radiated throughout every cell of my body as darkness took over my vision.

My own fucking mother left me behind to go be with a man she had an affair with. The same man that was my real dad?

"Y/N?" Folio's voice was soft, not knowing if I would explode any second.

I did, and it was intense.

"What kind of mother leaves their own child behind for some guy?!" I bellowed while raising to my feet. "She missed my first birthday! And who knows what else? Why did she come back? Who the fuck is James?!"

Tears burned in my eyes and I furiously wiped them away. Everything about the last twenty-four hours had been incredibly draining and mentally, I was exhausted.

Folio sat on the couch in front of me. "Didn't she say she only had a son, named James?"

I blinked slowly as his words sunk in and the ones I read on the second picture flashed in my mind like a bright neon sign.

James would love to meet her.

"You think James, if he exists, that he's my brother?" My words came out slowly, almost as if I was trying to process it.

Folio ran a hand through his hair. "According to the pictures, your mom disappeared for a year. Plenty of time to have another kid."

I looked back through the photo album to that picture and now getting a good look at it, I could faintly make out my mom's round stomach. I wasn't an expert, but I'd have to guess she had to be at least five months along in this photo.

So did she make Jonathan believe it was his until he found out the truth? Both kids in their marriage was out of wedlock.

I chuckled darkly when my heart shattered, pieces falling into my stomach. The pain was too much. Finding out the truth about my past had broken all of my trust with my mom.

"She left me behind to go have another family with Lincoln," I said sadly with my eyes cast down at the picture before slowly looking up at Folio. "Why didn't she take me with her?"

That's what hurt the most. My mom left me behind with the man who still raised me as his own after knowing the truth. But Lincoln was my actual dad; did he not want me? She left me behind for a year to start a family with someone else but why did she come crawling back?

Folio went to reach for me when he noticed I was seconds away from a breakdown but I smacked his hand away, the sound echoing throughout the bus.

I scoffed. "The worst part about this entire thing? I can't even fucking ask her about any of it because she doesn't remember a single fucking thing!"

Grabbing the rest of the photo albums, I walked over to the trash can that was hidden under the kitchen sink and tossed them inside. I was so angry that the pain in my knee was forgotten as I gritted my teeth together and stomped over to my phone. Folio must have known what I was about to do because he snatched it right before.

"Folio, give me my phone."

He shook his head. "You said it yourself, Y/N. Your mom can't remember anything. It'd be a waste to get answers from her."

A muscle in my jaw tense as I clenched it, not wanting to turn my anger onto Folio when he didn't deserve it. Suddenly, my phone rang in his hand and when he showed me the screen, Lana was calling me. It was late, almost eleven, but not uncommon for her to call me around this time. However, I was in no mood to talk. To anyone.

I ignored the call and gripped the phone tight in my hand, not missing the look on Folio's face.

"It could be about your mom," he said.

"Fuck her!" I spat; venom laced with every word. "I'm done giving a shit about her or her disease. She lied about my entire life. How do I know she's not lying about her Alzheimer's?"

Alright, I knew she was actually sick, medical proof. But that did nothing to calm the rage within my mind.

"I know you're angry-."

"Angry?!" I snapped. "I'm fucking furious, Folio! She lied to me my entire life. She had every opportunity to tell me the truth before she got sick but she probably thought she was off the hook now. You have no idea the mental load taking care of her this last year was like. When I wasn't working, I was home with her watching her like a hawk so she didn't hurt herself or wander into someone's yard. The night before I left for this tour, I found her standing outside almost naked. I had no idea how long she was out there for and I felt so guilty for letting that happen."

"I did all of that for her no questions asked and rarely complained because she was my mother. And what do I get in thanks? I find out that my dad isn't actually my dad, she left me for a fucking year to start a family with my real dad only for her to ditch him and their son together, who could very well be my brother, before crawling back to us? There's all these questions that I'll never know the answers to because my mom can't remember, Jonathan is dead, there hasn't been a trace of Lincoln anywhere and I don't know if I have the energy to look up James."

Tears were streaming down my face now and I choked out a sob. "I'm so fucking exhausted, Folio. Every time something good happens in my life, I get tossed a shit hand and I have to deal with the outcome alone."

Folio shook his head while standing to his feet. "You're not alone. You've got all of us, especially Noah."

"Noah's too good for me. He doesn't need this train wreck for a girlfriend," I cried.

"Why don't you let me decide that angel?"

Whirling around at the deep voice, I saw Noah standing at the top of the stairs that led up to the bus. His arms were crossed over his broad chest and his lips were pulled tight in a slight frown. He was clearly upset with what he heard but I wasn't sure how much he heard.

"H-ho-w long have you been standing there?" I stammered.

"Since you ignored that phone call," he nodded towards the phone clutched in my hand.

Shit. Mother fucker.

He heard everything.

My lips mimicked a fish out of water as I tried to gather words to say but nothing came out. Thankfully, Folio could feel the sudden tension and spoke for me.

"So you heard everything?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "How long have you known?"

There was a slight edge to Noah's voice, and I adverted my gaze from him, feeling guilty that my decision about whom to confide in was causing a rift between Noah and Folio. This was the last thing I wanted since they were friends long before I came into the picture.

I wasn't worth losing a good friend over.

"He's only known since last night," I spoke up finally finding my voice.

Noah's eyes snapped over to me. "Right, because you called him."

Now I was on the receiving end of his attitude and frankly, I wasn't too keen about it.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Because you didn't answer. I thought we moved past this."

"It seems like every time I find you lately, you're with him," Noah dropped his hands to his sides.

Folio went to say something, but I held up a hand to stop him. The anger that I felt about my mom was now intensifying thanks to Noah's accusatory words.

"Kind of hard not to be around Folio when I work for you guys. There's a simple fix for that; fire me," I said.

Noah's jaw ticked. "No."

I shrugged, the tears now drying to my cheeks. "It's for the best, Noah. I don't want to be the reason you two fight. Folio and I are just friends."

"Man, I'd never do that to you," Folio spoke next. "I know how crazy you are about her. You have been since that first time Davis introduced her to us."

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to be a jealous asshole but I want to be the one you come to with these things, angel," Noah reached for me.

I, however, took a step away from him with a new set of tears brimming in my eyes.

"I think it'll be best for everyone if maybe we ended things before we get too involved."

Noah's face fell. "Angel."

Another step away from him. "You heard what I'm going through. The last thing I need right now is a relationship."

"So, you're going to end this because things got too hard for you to deal with?" he snapped.

"I don't expect you to understand, Noah," my voice wavered. "I wanted this to work, believe me. But I'm not in the right headspace right now. Maybe in the future-."

"Don't fucking bother," Noah spat as he pushed passed me to the bunk area of the bus.

Sniffling, I wiped away the tears and gave a weak smile to Folio.

"For the record, I think this is a stupid idea," he pointed to where Noah was. "He'd be willing to do whatever it took to make you happy, Y/N."

"I tried to tell him that maybe down the road but he blew me off. Fuck him." I said with a bit more confidence than I was feeling.

With a defeated sigh, Folio motioned to the door of the bus.

"Come on. I'll help you grab your things. The crew bus hasn't left yet."

"Thanks Folio," I muttered.

I didn't bother to look over my shoulder but maybe if I did, I would have seen Noah go to throw something in the garbage only to end up pulling out my photo books.

#noah sebastian #noah sebastian and reader #noah sebastian x reader #noah sebastian reader insert #noah sebastian smut #forced proximity #enemies to lovers #slow burn

[thefiery-phoenix]

Read recently your post about yandere Jichang (why did he have to die 😭) so can you also do yandere Jihan Kwak ?

Sure :) And I know, I get down in the dumps every time I think about Jichang's death, WHY is the world so cruel? 😭

YANDERE KWAK JI-HAN (JIHAN KWAK) HEADCANONS

I simp for him too lol and god DAMN...I'll die from a nosebleed at some point because of how good looking so many of the Lookism characters look and cue my unholy screeching and psychotic giggling

You were visiting your grandparents for the summer vacation as you got down the bus and you sighed as you shouldered your backpack. You were too used to city life, you weren't sure how you'd fare in a quiet countryside but you did have to admit it looked peaceful. You pulled out your phone from your pocket to contact your grandparents when you realized the universe was playing a colossal joke on you since your phone battery was dead you grumbled under your breath. It's been a while since you'd visited your grandparents so you couldn't remember how their house looked like so you decided to ask someone along the way, hoping they'd know the location to their house. You were unaware of a certain pair of calculating eyes watching your every movement, surveying your features till you were approached by a guy who looked almost similar to your age and had a friendly polite smile on his face. "You seem to be lost there sweetheart...anything I can help you with?" he asked you politely as you smiled and explained your situation to him. The guy introduced himself as Jihan Kwak as the two of you headed to your grandparents house

As he kept talking to you, he couldn't help but feel more...attracted and drawn to you. You were a city dweller and yet you weren't so obnoxious and loud or had an ego complex, you had a genuine and nice personality. He kept looking at you from the corner of his eye, his cheeks heating slightly every time he saw you smile and talk about something you liked like your favorite book or your favorite movie and such, mentally noting down whatever you were telling him for future purposes when he'd meet you next time. Of course he'd be meeting you next time, and plenty more times after your first encounter, you've managed to make him intrigued and charmed him with your personality, you remind him of a fragile little doll to be honest, his savior and protector complex would get activated whenever he sees you, you're just too adorable for him, he can't take you seriously sometimes. He wonders how you've managed to survive this long but not to worry, he's here for you now

He'll pop by your grandparent's house every day and he'll have a good impression on them to get more closer to you. He usually wasn't someone who really gave love that much of a thought before he met you, he loved how soft your hands were, how kind and caring you were to those around you, how adorable you looked whenever you had that gleam of passion in your eyes when you spoke about things, how mesmerizing your eyes are and how he feels like he's getting lost in the beauty of your eyes... he loves everything about you. He isn't delusional, he knows his feelings for you are going out of control and he tries to suppress them only for something more darker, sinister and twisted to emerge as a form of love for you

He's aware his feelings for you are unnatural but he just can't help it. He just can't seem to get enough of you. He won't spill his heart out to yet since he doesn't want you to think he's weird but at the same time he doesn't have any qualms of being clingy to you and stalking you wherever you go. You're new to the countryside, you probably wouldn't be aware of the dangers but you don't need to worry, he's there for you to protect you and keep you safe. Of course, it kind of goes without saying, since he's also the brother of Jichang who's an officer, the people around would gladly keep an eye out for you to make sure you don't get yourself into any kind of trouble

His brothers would eventually find out about his immense feelings of love for you after Jichang catches his brother stalking you in the night as he simply glared at his brother which made it a bit awkward for a few seconds till they went back home and Jichang, Jibeom and Jihan sat down for a family discussion where he'll eventually be forced to spill his guts and heart regarding his feelings for you. Of course, they'd be happy for him and they don't really see anything wrong with how twisted his concept of love had become for you and Jichang would do whatever research necessary to find out more information regarding you by pulling a few strings here and there and would get rid of someone posing a threat to yours and Jihan's relationship. He wants his little brother to be happy after all, law be damned, plus they're eager to welcome you into their fold

Jihan likes being affectionate with you, deep down he's slightly insecure you might find someone else better than him which makes him even more clingier to you than usual till he starts developing the fear and paranoia of you leaving him. One day when you told him you'd be going back to your parents house since the summer vacation was over, he just looked at you in complete shock. For a moment he forgot you were on summer vacation and you were just visiting, he'll swallow the bitter lump forming in his throat as he wishes you all the very best and would invite you over for his house for dinner to which you'd agree. Then he'll formulate a plan to ensure you'd stay with him since he just can't afford to lose you, you mean so much to him. He'd feel empty without you and there needs to be someone by your side to take care of you, he's more than willing to be that man for you

Jichang would assist him in procuring some sedative to make you fall asleep after you've finished consuming the food which would make you black out in less than five seconds. Deep down Jihan feels slightly guilty he's slipping sedatives in your food but his fear of losing you overrides his sense of rationality which would compel him to slip the sedatives in your dish while telling himself that it's for your own good and he can't lose you. You're all smiles as you greet his brothers and they're really impressed with your courteous behavior and politeness. Jibeom would nudge Jihan in the chest and smirk at him and whisper what a good choice his brother made as Jihan grows slightly flustered and drinks some water. After you've finished eating your food, before you're about to bade them farewell, you lost your consciousness and you ended up blacking out in Jihan's arms as he carried you to a room and placed a blanket over you and caressed your head lovingly. You woke up after a few hours when the sedatives finally wore off as you looked around, confused as to what was going on when you were supposed to be at your grandparents house, packing for going back to your parent's house in 2 days

Jihan will enter the room and hand you a glass of water as he explains what he did and you'd stare at him in shock. He'd be hurt if you scream or insult him but he understands, he understands how you feel. It's a new concept for you and you can have all the time in the world to adjust, he doesn't mind. If you cry, he'll feel really bad and he feels an ache in his heart from seeing you cry as tears are streaming down your face. He wanted to ensure your happiness all the time, he didn't like seeing you sad so he'd just hold you in a comforting embrace and pat your head gently, telling you how much you mean to him. He isn't unreasonable, he knows you might be mad at him but deep down he'll be hurt and have the expression of a kicked puppy if you ignore him. Nonetheless he'll never raise his voice or hands at you, he can't bring himself to hurt you. That thought wouldn't occur to him even in his worst nightmare. With the kindness and love he's treating you with, you'll end up getting Stockholm Syndrome faster than Zack always screaming for Mira

You actually might have a shot at escaping from him since he does tend to take you out on dates outside to make sure you don't die from boredom from being at home all the time but if you do end up escaping, it'll be Jichang who'll find you and just bring you back to Jihan. Jihan would be worried about you and check you for injuries and then he'd tell you in a very serious tone how he'd never let you attempt something like this again since he loves you too much so now you'll have to earn his trust back before you're allowed to go out. If it's someone trying to take you from him then it's a completely different story. He might be kind and loving to you but his personality is like a snake, cunning and crafty as he analyzes how to get rid of the pest to meddle in between the both of you. Don't forget about his fighting skills, he's learnt from the very best himself and will not hesitate to snap the person's bones like a twig if he has to for your sake and the person would disappear off the face of the planet the next day who may or may not be buried 6 feet under the ground or probably fed to the wild dogs they have, but you don't need to stress your pretty head about that. Just leave all the violence and brutal things to him all right?

His love for you has no bounds which is mixed with possessiveness. Don't even try resisting his affection for you, he'll just hold you tighter to him and cuddle with you. He loves seeing you cooking, having a cute little apron on your frame as he envelopes you into a hug from the back and he kisses the nape of your neck and nuzzles your cheek with his. He truly does love you, just make him happy by being with him please, he'd be crushed if he loses you. Overall, a great yandere to have and he'd seriously be a blessing to have compared to the other messed up characters...

#yandere jihan kwak #yandere jihan kwak x reader #yandere jihan kwak scenarios #yandere jihan kwak imagines #yandere jihan kwak oneshots #yandere jihan kwak headcanons #yandere jihan kwak oneshots x reader #yandere lookism characters x reader #yandere lookism #yandere lookism characters #yandere lookism x reader #dark lookism #dark lookism characters x reader #dark lookism characters #dark lookism x reader #dark jihan kwak x reader #dark jihan #dark jihan kwak scenarios #dark jihan kwak imagines #dark jihan kwak headcanons #lookism #lookism x reader #lookism scenarios #lookism headcanons #lookism webtoon

[hbyrde36]

Life is a Game (and True Love is a Trophy)

ao3 link

Chapter 1

*Eddie  - 1986*

“That was amazing, Eddie!” Will exclaimed, with a wide smile.

They’d been playing for over 10 hours and Eddie was exhausted. He was only a few years older than the other boys, so he knew it was a poor excuse, but he was getting too old for these marathon sessions. Where he felt dead on his feet, the other boys looked like they could go for another 10 hours, no sweat.

It was well past curfew for the younger boys but since it was Saturday, and spring break, it hadn’t taken much convincing to get all the kids' parents to agree to the late session, as long as Eddie got them all home safe. 

The small group said goodnight to Mike and Mrs. Wheeler before walking Lucas next door to his house. Then, Eddie, Dustin, and Will piled into the van. Technically Dustin’s house was closer but Eddie drove Will home first. He liked to drop his cousin off last, so he could stop in and say hello to his aunt if she was home. 

Eddie was a little distracted during the drive. He’d been trying to keep busy for the last few days, anything to help him forget about the fact that it’s the anniversary of Steve Harrington’s disappearance, but today that had been impossible. How could he not think about the guy who inspired one of the main characters in a game they had just spent all day playing?

When it's finally just him and Dustin in the car, he allows some of his thoughts to spill over. 

“It’s one thing that we use ourselves in this crazy story but do you ever think it’s fucked up that we kept Steve as an NPC after his disappearance?”

Dustin shrugged. “I don’t know, I mean, I didn’t know the guy. Mike always said he was an asshole, so, who cares?”

Eddie almost slammed on the breaks, it’s only for the sake of his beloved van that he didn’t. He can’t believe the kid would say something so insensitive.

“Dude he’s like your best friend, how can you say that!?”

“In the game, Eddie. He’s my character’s best friend, in the game . You always take it too seriously.”

An uncomfortable silence fell over them when Eddie didn’t respond, too upset and lost in his thoughts to make conversation. He pulled his van into the driveway behind his Aunt Claudia’s car and shut the ignition off. 

“Mike was wrong, y’know. Steve wasn’t an asshole, not really.” Eddie said, as he followed his cousin up the path to the front porch.

Dustin stopped abruptly, turning on his heel to look at Eddie. “Wait. Did you know him? Were you friends?”

Eddie sighed. His feelings about Steve Harrington had always been…complicated.

“I knew him my whole life. We were in the same grade till I got held back, and it’s a small town. We were never friends, exactly, but I saw him almost every day in school. We talked sometimes in the halls, on the bus. Maybe he was a bit of a dick to people occasionally, but who isn’t? That’s what kids do. He was always nice to me.”

Dustin stared at Eddie like he’d never seen him before.

“I'm sorry, man.” He stuttered. “I didn't know. Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

It was Eddie’s turn to shrug. “I don’t really know. I guess I was trying to keep the real Steve and the game Steve separate in my head. I always thought he’d turn back up eventually. That maybe he’d just run away from home, and someday he would come back when he ran out of money or something.

“It could still be that. It's not like they ever found a body.” Dustin offered, not really sounding like he believed it, but wanting to be supportive.

“It’s been 2 years, almost to the day. The Harrington’s have more than enough money to hire fancy private detectives and shit. If he was alive, they’d have found him by now.”

*Steve - 1983*

Steve Harrington had just started dating Nancy Wheeler when Will Byers went missing. Later, he would be embarrassed to admit it, but at the time he was a little pissed off that she wanted to ditch their date to join in the search for the boy. The kid was probably just out playing and lost track of time or something. Everyone knew Joyce wasn’t exactly the most stable person in the world. He knew Hopper only humored her with this search to get her off his back. 

When he told Nancy as much, she called him an asshole and stormed out. After sulking about it for an hour after she left, he realized she was right. He didn’t want to be that guy. He didn’t want to turn out like his dad. So, he threw some sneakers on and set out to join the search party. 

He walked through the woods looking for Hopper, or anyone else who could assign him an area to search. It started raining before he could find anyone, and he was just getting ready to head back to his car, when he heard rustling in the bushes off to his left. He turned in the direction of the sound, squinting in the dark to try and see if someone was there. He thought he saw movement and then a twig snapped. It sounded loud in the quiet of the trees.

It was so dark out here, he wished he had a flashlight or something. 

“Will?” Steve asked, taking a tentative step forward.

The only response was a quiet gasp from the dark. There was definitely someone there.

In a stroke of pure luck, the moon chose that moment to come out from behind the clouds. Her soft light illuminated things just enough for Steve to make out the shape of a small child with a shaved head, wearing a gigantic yellow t-shirt. This was definitely not Will Byers, but the kid sure did look like she was in trouble. 

“Hey there, I'm Steve. Do you need some help?”

The girl stared up at him with wide eyes. She didn’t answer, but she hadn’t run away from him yet either.

He tried again.

“Do you want to get out of the rain? My car isn’t far from here.” He didn’t step any closer but held his hand out to her to take, or not, whatever she chose.

The girl studied him for a long time. She looked into his eyes like she was trying to read his soul. He didn’t know what she saw there, but it must have been enough to convince her that he was safe. She nodded, pushing her tiny hand into his, and the two of them walked together back to the warmth and safety of Steve’s car. 

-

It wasn’t ideal, bringing the girl back to his house, but at least his parents were out of town. Once he’d gotten her into the car he had tried to take her to the hospital, or at least the police station. She’d shaken her head slowly, ominously, and uttered the first words he’d heard her speak. 

“Bad men.”

Steve didn’t know what to do, he was in way over his head. He needed help. He needed people much smarter than him to tell him what to do. The idea occurred to him to take her to Nancy’s. She was smart, and a girl. Surely she'd be better suited for this, she’d know the best course of action to take. But, the girl refused that too. She seemed to only trust Steve.

Tired, and out of options, he went home. 

He gathered some dry clothes for her, old sweatpants and a Hawkins High swim team t-shirt from his freshman year, and sent her into one of the guestrooms to change. The clothes would be huge on her but it’s the best he could do for now. 

It was late and he kind of expected her to just go to bed once she changed. They could always figure things out in the morning. But, a few minutes later, there she was, standing in his doorway, looking around the room curiously.

“It’s okay, you can come in.” He said, as he shut the closet door. “In fact, why don’t you come sit down. I think we should talk about some things.”

She looked hesitant, but joined him, cross-legged on the floor. She still hadn’t said more than those two words to him but clearly she could speak, and she understood him fine, so he had to try. They’d start small.

“What’s your name?” He asked, voice gentle as he could make it.

She shook her head. 

Somehow he knew it wasn���t a refusal, but more like a confusion on her part. 

He pointed to himself. “Steve. People call me Steve. What do people call you?”

She pressed her lips into a thin line and held her shaking wrist out to him.

He was confused at first, until he noticed the small writing there.

011

“Eleven?” He asked.

She nodded vigorously, a hint of a smile playing on her lips.

That was, well, it was so not good. Shaved head and a number tattooed on her arm. Steve wasn’t a genius but even he knew that something was seriously messed up here. Who would do this to a little girl? Where were her parents?

“Is that what your parents call you?”

“Parents?” She sounded the word out slowly like she was saying it for the first time.

“Yea, like your mom or dad? Mama or Papa?”

“Papa" She agreed, nodding. "Bad man.”

O..k. Well that certainly answered some things.

“Is that why you were in the woods tonight? Were you running from Papa and the bad men?”

She nodded. 

That was enough for tonight, he decided. They were both tired and he really needed some time to think, to make a plan.

“I think we should get some sleep. We can talk some more in the morning. Okay?”

She blinked at him and nodded again. She definitely preferred non-verbal communication. It didn’t bother Steve, he could roll with it. 

“You can sleep in that other room, the bed in there is really comfy.” He said, rising up off the floor as she did the same.

“Where do you sleep?” She asked.

It was a little jarring, hearing her string together a full sentence like that. It was stilted, the way she spoke. Obviously talking wasn’t something she did very much.

“Here.” He answered, motioning to his bed. “This is my room. So i’ll be right across the hall if you need anything.”

She looked over her shoulder at the doorway and then back at Steve. She made no motion to leave.

“Would you rather stay here?” He guessed and there was that little smile again.

“Safer in here, with you.”

Steve’s heart broke. He kind of hadn’t thought about it until that moment, the night had been so full of weird things and it had all happened so fast, he hadn’t realized how utterly terrified Eleven was. He wanted to fold her up into his arms and squeeze her tight. Promise her that he’d keep her safe from the bad men of the world.

But he couldn't do that. He couldn't promise anything when he had no idea what was going on. He wasn’t sure if she would welcome his embrace either, so he held himself back. Instead he got into bed, scooching all the way over to the wall, and then patted the big space he’d left for her. 

She crawled onto the bed and almost immediately curled into a ball. He watched her as she settled on the pillow. She looked so small. He vowed to himself that he would do whatever he could to protect her. He’d hide her in this house forever if that’s what it took. He didn’t yet know what she’d been through, but he knew it was bad, and something no little kid should have to go through.

The rain had turned into a storm while they talked, and it raged now on the other side of his window. A loud crack of thunder startled them both. Eleven was shaking again. Steve laid his hand out, palm up, on the bed between them. An offering of comfort he thought she might accept, since she had taken his hand in the woods.

She hesitated for only a moment before placing her hand on top of his.

Chapter 2

#steddie #steddie fanfic #eddie munson #steve harrington #stranger things #ao3 #steve harrington/eddie munson #steve x eddie #fanfic #ao3 link #life is a game #Canon is just a crazy game of D&D #Eddie Munson and Dustin Henderson are cousins #Steve Harrington is missing #This idea has been simmering in my brain for months

[iciclesses]

This one is for @bjornthebearguy <33

The day had been terrible. Heaven forbid you have a day off to yourself- no kids, no work, no work kids either! And yet all three seemed to converge on your one monthly day off to make a terrible, no good combination that was the opposite of the peace you had envisioned for yourself.

The bus you took to work because your car battery was dead was just the cherry on top of your already shit day.

"Hen! Don't run off! This is a military base, not a playground!" Calling out to child number one, Henrik; young but still plenty old enough to know better than to run off from you.

"Oh!! And who is this wee li'le guy?" Work child number one, Soap; the last influence you would have wanted to meet Henrik. "You lost ma friend?"

Soap was good with kids. You didn't need to see him around kids to know he was good with them, you had seen his myriad of family pictures; the ever expanding brood returning him from every leave with more pictures of him with chubby, smiling toddlers balanced on his shoulders. Henrik was more than happy to let the soldier scoop him up and carry him back over to you.

"Mor, mor, lookie! Who's this!"

"If it's a stranger, should you be letting them pick you up?"

Meekly, "....No."

Soap could only guffaw and heft your child back down to the ground. "Yer mom's right, kiddo."

Clara, actual child number two held securely in your arms, took the moment to scream shrilly. Toddler speak for, "Hello! I'm so excited to meet you!" You'd long since lost the flinch reflex from your eardrums being assaulted by your little ones, and just took the damage head on.

"What's all the noise about!"

You turned to that sweet voice, Clara turning her head in time with you. Work child number two, Gaz. Brilliant smile flashing even brighter in the sun, walking with long strides to pull you into a side arm hug. Clara giggled and kicked her feet as she was squished between the two of you, and Henrik huffed at being ignored. Of course Gaz caught onto it quickly, popping a squat and giving the little guy a fist bump.

When he stood back up, he fixed a look at you. "What are you doing here? Isn't it your day off?"

Soap nodded in agreement, head cocked to the side.

"Yeah, but Price said he needed something urgent? Was supposed to be a spa day, but the babysitter broke her clavicle and I couldn't find anyone to take the little ones... Figured day was ruined already so I might as well not pretend I couldn't read the captain's messages."

Soap and Gaz were gentlemanly enough to walk with your little family, Gaz taking Clara from you as she slowly nodded off, drooling on his shoulder, and Henrik happily stomping along hand in hand with Soap. The two of them found their rhythm for stomping and you couldn't find it in yourself to be annoyed by it.

"Didnae realize ye had kids," Soap offered. "Where's their da?"

You laughed. "Donor bio dad, just me and the kids. I have a close friend of mine who always wanted to be a dad himself, we co-parent."

Soap shook his head as if clearing some thought bubble away from his mind's eye. "Where is he today then?"

"Honeymoon with his new husband for the weekend, goodness knows where. Lucky bastards."

Gaz hummed, his free arm pulling the door to the main building open.

Soap let go of Henrik, his smile apologetic. "This is where I leave ye, good man. Take care of yer ma for me, aye? We love her too much."

Henrik plastered himself to your side as soon as Soap disappeared behind the closing door. Gaz's boots made the most noise against the hard concrete floors, but only for a moment.

"Mor... where's the Ghost? You told me the Ghost was here." He was putting on his brave voice, you could easily tell. Of course he'd ask about work child number three. Henrik poked his head forward, getting Gaz's attention. "Mor's a liar, isn't she?"

"Hen!" You gasped out, the same second Gaz broke out into a fit of laughter.

"He's out right now, but you better watch out.... if he catches you not eating your vegetables that's when he...... GETS YOU!" Gaz reached an arm behind you and tickled at Henrick's side, making him shriek out in laughter.

The outburst woke up Clara, who started to cry because she was too upset about being woken up so suddenly.

"Oh, oh little one I'm so sorry," Gaz looked like he actually felt bad, putting the crying toddler down on her own two feet so she could stumble ahead of the group, trying to escape whatever it was upsetting her.

Of course you couldn't have that. "Clara, hey! Get back here!"

Somehow, the little thing made a beeline for Price's office, the door slightly ajar and allowing her entrance without a fight. You could hear her waddling stomps and a surprised noise from Price echo from his office, and could feel the mortification overwhelming your very soul.

Gaz took the moment to take his exit stage left, goodbye work child number two.

When you swung the door open, full of parental wrath ready to be unleashed, you were astounded by the sight before you. Price and Clara were giggling together, her sat on his desk and tugging at his beard. Henrik wrestled himself out of your grasp and ran up, feeling left out and demanding he be let in. Price only smiled good naturedly and pulled the boy up to sit next to his sister, winking at him before turning his attention to you.

"These are yours, I take it?" He blew a raspberry and Clara retracted her hand with squealing delight, and Henrik let out a sound of victory at his sister's loss.

"Captain, jeez, I'm so sorry. My car isn't turning on, the sitter canceled last minute, it was this mess or not come at all. The guards out front said it'd be fine--"

"Of course it's fine! I have some paperwork I need you to take a look at... Of course you understand that if it could have waited it would have...oh, hello, what is your name?" It was like your captain had disappeared entirely- just left a sweet middle aged man hunched over so a young boy could run his fingers gracelessly along his wrinkles.

"I'm Henrik. Mor calls me Hen. I hate it."

You held back your retort of, 'exactly why I call you that' while Price let out a big belly laugh. Henrik leaned forward with a scrutinizing eye, something that could have been intimidating if not coming from a child.

"Are you Santa Claus? Be honest. Mor says liars-"

"Fibbers, Hen," You cut in.

"Oh- yeah- Fibbers are bad people. Are you Santa Claus?"

Price only cocked his head to the side, his mustache bristling with his barely contained grin. "Does Santa have a white beard? Or a brown one?"

You scooted closer as you watched your son screw his face into one of concentration, trying to decide his answer. "Mmmm..... White!"

"What color is my beard then?"

Clara piped up, finally. "BWOWN!!"

Price pretended to startle, and laughed jovially at the sound of your daughter's voice. The entire interaction warmed your heart, watching with a smile on your face as Price nodded finally.

"There we go. Means I'm not Santa, don't you think?"

The two children exchanged a look and finally Henrik gave a little nod, his sister following suit likely just to copy her brother. The two suddenly broke out into giggles and leaned on each other, and Price looked back at you again. The warmth that saturated his eyes had your breath catching in your throat for a moment, before you suddenly caught on that Price had said something to you.

"--I left the files on your desk, I can watch the little ones if you'd like. Might make the paperwork go faster if you aren't splitting your attention."

"Do you know any fairy tales?" Henrik asked over Price's offer to you.

"I must know one or two after all these years, shouldn't I? Hmm. Would you like to hear of the princess who couldn't sleep? Or maybe the one that slept too much..." He winked at you, and made a little motion to shoo you from his office.

His voice faded out as you shut the office door behind yourself, and made your way to your office. Price hadn't been kidding, the stack was a lot bigger and more important than even he had lead you to believe- likely because he had been calling your civilian phone and couldn't trust the integrity of the lines. Well, it had to get done sooner than later. You resigned yourself to your squeaky office chair and set to work. The sooner you finished the sooner you got to get home.

When you finished you looked at the clock and felt terrible. You'd left your poor captain alone with your monster duo of children for nearly two hours. Even the strongest soldiers couldn't handle Henrik's endless tirade of questions or Clara's decibel of a speaking voice.

You rushed back to Price's office with the stack of paperwork and files in your arms, only to find your two kids soundly asleep. They were still sat upon Price's desk, but were face first in his shoulders. He was focused on his phone, his arms wrapped around the kids to keep them from falling as he squinted at the blue screen, but looked up when you came in.

"Hi," You whispered. "All done, captain. Can't thank you enough."

A puff of hair came out his nose, a soundless laugh. "It does me good to be around kids. Really reminds me what we do this kind of work for. To make the world a little cleaner for little ones like yours. They behaved themselves, they are wonderful kids, love. You're doing a good job."

You bit your tongue. You certainly wouldn't cry in front of your captain for saying something that hit you so squarely in the heart.

"Thank you, sir."

"John."

"...John." You smiled, ignored how domestic it was to be whispering with your boss while your children rested on him, their little heads rising in time with Price- John's slow, steady breaths.

"I'm nearly finished for the day. Why don't we let them sleep a little longer, and I'll drive you all home, we can catch some dinner on the way." He paused, and you swore you could see him blush a little. "If that's alright. I could also just drive you straight home-"

"John. Dinner sounds nice. How do you feel about Italian? Hen is on a pasta fix right now."

John smiled, his mustache bristling slightly. "Pasta sounds perfect."

#bjorn ily mwah #price x reader #this is digustingly fluffy and yes i used the names i wanted to have for my kids in this fic #me: doesnt want kids #also me: names my imaginary kids #noel.txt

[mercedesvince]

Hihi I’m kinda new to requesting and I didn’t know if yours was still open or not. But you are doing the people’s work cause I can’t find x male readers anywhere 😭

Can you do a Kenny x male Reader where the reader remembers Kenny’s deaths but because no one talks about it, reader doesnt say anything

Then one night, somehow Reader bumps into Mysterion (not knowing he’s kenny) and asks him to look over Kenny to keep him from dying every day?

Thank youuu 🫶

Kenny McCormick x Male Reader

“Can You Just Watch Over Him?”

Getting out of bed had never been this hard. Your alarm had gone off nearly 20 minutes ago, you knew you were gonna have to rush to get to school, but that didn’t matter right now. You couldn’t get over it. Your best friend in the whole world, Kenny McCormick, was gone. Dead. Some aliens who had also taken Kyle’s little brother had killed him.

The snow made a small crunch sound as you took steps towards your everyday bus stop. You reached your stop, only to be met with a.. pleasant surprise? “Kenny..?” you said, shock clearly evident on your face. “What’s up dude?” he muffled out. “What- Wait wait but you—“ you couldn’t even get your words out. Were you dreaming? No way Kenny’s here. He died. He literally fully died yesterday. “Hey [name] what’s up man?” Stan said. They all continued to carry out the conversation. So casually, did they not remember? No way, Stan and Kyle had to remember, no way Cartman wouldn’t bring it up. “Hey [name], are you alright dude?” Kenny asked you, with his muffled voice. Still in a phase of shock, you looked at all of them, they were all so nonchalant, so chill. “Yeah… yeah, yeah i’m fine,” you answered.

——————————————————————————

You walked your way out of the mall next to Stan, laughing at some joke he had made. You both had landed a job in retail together a few months ago, and as of recently your manager had been pairing you guys up for the closing shift.

Originally, you had asked Kenny to come into the job interview with you, not only because he was your best friend (and you may or may not have grown a thing for him in the last couple years), but because you wanted to keep a closer eye on him. You would continuously go out of your way to keep him safe, and prevent as many as his deaths as possible. He ended up turning you down though, something about how he was busy. He didn’t give too many details, but you didn’t push on it, figuring if it was something he wanted you to know he’d tell you. But Stan didn’t need to know he was your second option.

“Alright man, i’ll see you tomorrow,” “Yeah, goodnight [name], i’ll see you tomorrow.” Parting your ways with Stan, you pulled your phone out, shooting your parents a quick text that you were heading home. Putting your phone in your pockets, you kept your hands in them, making your way home.

However, your walk was interrupted when you suddenly felt a pull on your arm jerking you into a small alleyway. Immediately you felt your back slam against a wall, “Give me your wallet!” You hadn’t even processed what was happening, but in a second of your fight or flight response activating, you threw a kick at the guy in front of you. Catching him off guard you used your chance to escape and run up a fire escape a few feet away from you. you managed to run up a flight of stairs before the same man grabbed your feet, causing you to trip. In a panic you tried to wriggle your way out, ignoring the pain from falling on the stairs. You tried to kick the man with your free leg, but he just wouldn’t let go, dragging you down the stairs toward him, that is until he was suddenly pulled over the railing.

Still feeling the adrenaline and panic in your body you listened to your flight response and ran up the fire escape as quickly as possible. You only stopped to catch your breath at the very top of the building. Taking a minute to get your thoughts together you leaned on a small brick fence on the roof.

You had managed to calm down for the most part, that is until you heard a voice behind. You jolted up and immediately spun around, getting ready to make a run for it. “Hey, relax, i’m just making sure you’re okay,” You focused on the person in front of you, recognizing who it was after a second. The famous hero, Mysterion. “Oh my god,” was all you could get out. “I asked if you were okay, but looking at you know I don’t think you are”. You had heard about him on the news before, I mean which South Park resident hasn’t? “Your Mysterion,” you stated. Obviously. “You’re hurt” he responded. Adrenaline still rushing through your body, you hadn’t realized the stinging feeling on your lower face. Suddenly becoming self aware, you reached up to your face and looked at your hand, blood. “Oh my god,” You repeated. “Let me help you,” you looked up again to the hero, unable to say anything but a small ‘okay’.

——————————————————————————

The hero that saved you had gone to go get some supplies to help with a cut that had appeared on your chin. After he came back he began to clean up the wound, finally placing a small bandaid on it.

“Thanks again dude, you probably saved my life,” Mysterion looked up to meet your eyes, “It’s my job,” you thought for a second. “You mean it’s your job to keep the people of South Park safe?” the both of you just continued making eye contact.

“Yes.”

“Can I ask you a favor then?”

Mysterion looked suprised, not expecting you to ask such a question. “Go ahead”.

“I have this friend, his names Kenny McCormick,” you had turned away at this point, unable to see the uneasiness in Mysterion at the mention of the name. “He’s like, my best friend in the world, but he’s always getting himself into danger. I don’t know how he does it, but he keeps getting himself hurt, damn, even killed,” Mysterion’s eyes shot wide open. No. There’s no way you knew. How did you know? How did you remember? “but he always comes back. I try to look out for him, but it’s like the world’s against him. I know this might be weird to ask and stuff cause I don’t know you and you don’t owe me anything,” you took a pause, and turned to look at Mysterion. “but could you look out for him? You’re the town’s hero, and you protect and save people and I know you’re busy, but could you just check in on him every now and then? I mean I know he’ll be okay, he always is in the end, but know one around us ever seems to remember and seeing your friend get continuously killed over and over again, it just, I don’t know, tears you apart.” you took a small inhale. “I can’t imagine it’s not painful for him either”.

Mysterion was taken aback, because he WAS Kenny McCormick, and ironically enough, he had spent the last few weeks watching over YOU. Making sure you got from school to you job and from you job to your home safe. All because you were his best friend. All these years, since elementary, he had been watching over you as Mysterion, only to find out that you had tried to do the same thing. Except you didn’t do it with a superhero alter ego, you didn’t do it as a way to also protect the people of South Park. You did it as his best friend, simply trying to keep him from pain.

The biggest shock of all however, came from the fact that you knew, you remembered, every single one of his deaths. Why didn’t you ever say anything?

“I know it sounds crazy, but i’m not lying,” Mysterion stared at you for a second, “Well, why didn’t you ever tell him you remember?” Truth is you had thought about bringing it up to him, but what if he didn’t want you to know? What if it upset him if he knew? Would he feel guilty? Would he be mad at you for not doing anything to stop it? “I don’t know,” was the answer you chose to respond with. There was silence between you two for a minute, before Mysterion broke it. “I’ll keep an extra watch on him,” was all he said, he began to walk off. “Thank you!” you yelled. He could hear the joy in your voice. You saw Mysterion walk down the fire escape, but when you went to follow him he was no longer there, you made your way home, unaware of the fact that you were still being followed by the hero.

Kenny kept thinking about you even after he saw you enter your house. All this time you knew? How much did this affect you? Him constantly dying has bothered him so much, but to know that you might share the same pain as him? Again the thought plagued in his head, as to why you never told him. Maybe he’ll talk about it with you, as Kenny this time.

When you finally laid down in bed, you thought back to your conversation with Mysterion, but as you went over your words with him, you started thinking. Why didn’t he doubt you? How did you immediately know who Kenny was? He had asked you why you never told Kenny you knew about his deaths, but… you never mentioned that Kenny was unaware of you knowing.

#south park #south park x male reader #south park x reader #kenny mccormick #kenny x male reader #x male reader #kenny mcormick x reader #kenny mccormick x male reader

[an-au-blog]

Thought: so many merman buggy aus out there and so little merman Shanks. I get it, Buggy lends himself to being a pretty bluehaired merman and the clownfish pun is too good to ignore. But god I love the idea of kid Buggy getting thrown overboard and almost drowning until a mysterious redheaded figure saves him. Buggy waking up on shore and seeing someone sitting crosslegged with their back turned to him, stumbling to get up and drowsily walking over to said figure, who turns around towards him and Buggy’s eyes are still foggy, but those pants are extremely baggy and he tries to wrap his mind around how this guys sitting „Oh thank god you’re awake! Almost thought you wouldn’t make it.“ Buggy’s eyes focus and he takes in the young boys features. Red hair, tan skin, pretty brown eyes, not wearing a shirt. And then Buggy comes even more to himself as the boy continues babbling on „Easy! Sit down for a second. I don’t know if walking is supposed to look like this but you’re pretty wobbly.“ That kid has a really sharp set of teeth… and there seems to be something wrong with his hands, his fingers connected by a paperlike membrane up to his knuckles. And finally Buggy’s eyes fall down further and he notices the reason why he couldn’t make out how the other guy was sitting for a second. „… I can’t believe it.“ most people were lucky if they ever got a glimpse of merfolk once in their life. Now Buggy is talking to one eye to eye.

Just… let Buggy fall in love with creature!shanks for once. Let that clown be swept off his feet by a handsome merman! You could even have OG Shuggy breakup angst in there. Shanks basically becoming a member of Rogers crew right away when he brings Buggy back to ship, being an invaluable asset due to his abilities, which Buggy grows incredibly jealous of, especially since he is still cursed with his Chop Chop Abilities. And then it goes to shit after Roger’s dead because Buggy learns that Shanks wants to become HUMAN, even tough Buggy would slit a throat to be a merman like Shanks and Shanks doesn’t even want to go after the One Piece? It feels like a slap to his face. Shanks meanwhile has been wanting to become human for ages just because he feels him being a merman has kept him from his chosen family for too long. Rogers death just cemented that in his brain even more. He was never able to see the same places all of his friends did, he was the one waiting by the ship when everyone boarded land and went exploring. He was keenly aware how different him and his best friend were not just in personality, where they balanced each other out he felt, but on a fundamental level as well. That’s why he never took the initiative to take Buggy’s hand when they where both laying on the beach and talking about the future. That’s why he never asked to kiss Buggy because he feared the rejection. If he could just be human things would be easier. He could dance on the deck and drink with his best friend and he could help Roger fight and he could- well he just could have all he ever wanted! He would miss diving and the ocean and the way he could just FEEL the weather change with just a slight change in current, but even if he lost all that, it would be worth it.

And then he gets what he wants just to see his father figure get executed and watches Buggy storm away in the rain and he balls his fists at his side in despair because how was any of this fair?

Yyy i adore this! I like how it's a switch-up in the usual au standard ::D

I love the idea of having Buggy kinda swoon at first sight. Mermaids are already fabled to be these magnificent beings, rivaling the beautiful of any land dweller.

Shanks is a sight to behold. And yes, Buggy had never seen a mermaid, but even if he had, he doubts they'd like him. His charisma, his shine, his entire existence made Buggy gawk in awe.

When he became part of the crew Buggy was so happy. He couldn't even believe it! He was happy because not only does he get to see his new friend every day, but he actually gets to have one.

Slowly he realizes it's... well, to say it lightly, not as idealistic. Still, one of his favorite things was when they swam together. Whenever Buggy's feet touched the water, be could never stay truly mad at him. Shanks was an undeniably better swimmer, but he would take him to the prettiest reefs, the coolest fish, and the best views. Maybe even one time, they were under water for so long that Buggy forgot he needed air, so Shanks shared his own. He could breath under water so it was a bit like giving first aid mouth to mouth, but Buggy always liked to thunk of it as their first kiss... No one else thought of it as such. He couldn't even dream of asking but it was a delusion that kept him satiated.

He loved the ocean. And he loved Shanks. And their life was bliss at sea.

But then the unspeakable happened and he ate something he was never supposed to. No... he didn't eat it, he was forced to because of Shanks. That was something he would never forgive him. From then on seeing Shanks swim was only a painful reminder. It felt like salt in a wound.

To make it all worse, he finds out Shanks wanted to give it all away? Everything they had? Their legacy, the sea! And for what? A pair of boney legs???

On the other hand...

Shanks had felt Buggy slowly getting more and more standoffish towards him and he couldn't do anything about it. He could never be with the crew, not in any meaningful way. There were so many things he wanted to do on solid ground. And of course the crew got to do all the exciting adventuring, but all he got to do hear about it. To top it all off, even when his captain was being executed, he couldn't be there for him. He felt like a liability more than anything and he hated it.

So when Buggy came back upset, Shanks decided to tell him what he felt, open up. Let's say it went less then ideal. Buggy left for good, his father figure was dead and he couldn't even be with him in his last moments, he was cursed with this damn tale when the ones his heart went out to where on land.

... He was lost.

A decade or so, Buggy almost drowns. He fell in the water and could feel his consciousness simmer down. He was dying and must have been hallucinating, because he felt a pair of strong arms hug him from behind and then he woke up washed up on the shore.

The amount of salt water must have been inhumane because on top of that, for a second he thought he saw an adult version of the same merman who saved his life so long ago in the same manner. But he also knew it was impossible. The oceans were a vast and dangerous place. The chance of Shanks being there - same place and time as Buggy was close to none. Not to mention how festered the waters were with sea kings. No matter how fast a swimming one is, there's no way of our swimming a sea king.

Still... it was odd that there was a sudden income of driftwood with supplies. Oddly specific and useful supplies.

Buggy felt like even if there wasn't whatever he saw, there was someone... or something there. He decided, why not, and shouted a "I can see you there," (he couldn't) "you can come out now."

He didn't expect anyone to appear. And he definitely didn't expect his old cremate - Shanks. Shanks who had changed so much... he was well built, one armed, scarred and... was he... was he wearing pants?!

"Hey, Buggy... it's been a while..." Shanks smiled.

...

Okay, sorry, I have this hc that Bughy loves swimming, or I gues... used to... and I added the mouth to mouth thing because when you have a crush you read into everything too much and idk... sorry if it sounds like I'm retelling what you wrote, I love your idea <333

#shuggy #shanks x buggy #buggy x shanks #one piece shuggy #shuggy au #mermaid au #answers #op

[skylarisaverage]

Thoughts and theories on RDR1 Javier

DISCLAIMER: A lot of this is a big mix of my own theories and actual things you see in the games and my own interpretation of things, if you have anything to add or points to raise PLS do so I love talking about Javier, he's my favourite, and I love talking about him and John's dynamic.

---- I've noticed that a lot of people seem to think Javier didn't give a damn about John or anyone else but himself/was genuinely a piece of shit guy/etcetcetc because he 'lied' about Dutch's location when confronted, saying Dutch was in Colombia when we learn later on that he's in Cochinay in Tall Trees, dangerously close to John, Abigail and Jack in Beecher's Hope.

We do know that Javier helped Bill flee into Mexico after John confronts Bill for the first time and he gets placed in the protection of the Mexican army along with Javier. Javier and Bill, although their relationship rocky, were good enough friends in the events of rdr2(there's a random mission where Bill gets caught by bounty hunters and it's Javier who tracks Arthur down to save him), so of course it'd make sense for rdr1 Javier to do a solid for a friend. Also, Bill obviously has a disdain for Dutch by rdr1, saying, 'Now I'm in charge! No more Dutch, and no more you.' and It'd make sense that Javier and Bill perhaps share the same thoughts on Dutch after his mental break and the downfall of the Van Der Linde gang and they further bond over that. But then John finds him, and he panics. He says, 'I can give you Bill, and Dutch is in Colombia.' I have a theory that Javier thought that maybe John wouldn't find him, but he did, and in that moment he had to choose. Bill, or his former best friend, John? Of course he'd pick John, so he throws Bill under the bus. He knew there was no way he could attempt to reconcile with both Bill and John all together, John had already been shot and left for dead by Bill's men at one point earlier in the game.

And regarding Dutch, I have two theories; 1. He genuinely didn't know where Dutch was and just threw out the first random distant location he could think of so John would go far away and be safe from him and the Mexican army(both the Pinkertons and Mexican army wanted John at this point, dead or alive). 2. He DID know where Dutch was and wanted to get John as far away from him as possible to keep him safe because he knows what Dutch is capable of after all that's happened, and wanted to get him as far away from Beecher's Hope as possible. (Javier doesn't know the Pinkertons have Abigail and Jack, so this would have all been in vain anyway) Also. when John accuses him of leaving him for dead and Javier says 'We thought you was dead, brother. I promise. I'm telling the truth.' Honestly? I believe him. When John gets shot and falls off the train in Chapter 6, Dutch, Micah, Javier and one of Micah's goons go to get him. I have a theory(although far-fetched but LET ME HAVE THIS), that Dutch and Micah got to John's unconscious body first and pronounced him dead, and they convinced Javier that it was so and wouldn't let him near the body for his own 'mental health', and because the army patrol was quickly approaching. Perhaps Javier went into a state of shock, given that he had saved John's life before, but this time, he couldn't save him? Perhaps Dutch promises Javier that they'll go back for his body and bury him properly once the army disperses because the army is now also on their tail after the robbing of the train and they have to leave the area quickly. It is only Dutch and Micah who confidently announce that John is dead, and that the army patrol killed him.

The next time we see John is when he returns to Beaver Hollow, and Javier sees this after the confrontation has started when he runs over to alert the gang that Pinkertons are coming. He's in shock, he doesn't have time to act or think hard about the situation. After the stand-off in which he points his gun in the air, he flees with Bill. Both aren't seen pursuing Arthur and John with Dutch and the remaining members of the gang.

Back to rdr1. At the end of their 'conversation', Javier pushes crates on John and jumps out the window, yelling at him to go back to his farm. If he really wanted to kill John, he could have shot him when he pushed the crates onto him. But he didn't. Javier only starts shooting when John pursues him on horseback.

If you take him alive, that's when Javier gets angry and starts cursing and swearing at him and honestly? Fair enough. If I was in a gang with my best friend and did illegal, bad things with him and then that guy comes to find me years later to take me in for the bad guy things we did together? I'd be fucking pissed too. And heartbroken. (credit to @pinkysberg for this thought, this came from their Javier analysis on TikTok I believe? A v good point and I love it)

I will always lie awake at night wondering how the heck he ended up working for the army when he fought against them so hard he ended up having to flee to the US for his family's safety. I have a thought, maybe they took the remaining members of his family and forced him to work for them to take down the rebels he used to work with before fleeing to the US. Like a Pinkertons and John situation, but in Mexico. Idk. It just sucks. John is fueled by the rage, heartbreak and betrayal of being left for dead by Javier and the gang, but then Javier is also fueled by similar rage, heartbreak and betrayal because he still has love for him, but John won't believe him. Long story short, hurting John is the last thing Javier EVER wanted to do and although he's a bit of a shithead who ended up in the army, he is not a bad guy at heart. He was taken advantage of by Dutch and possibly the Mexican army, and probably had multiple mental breakdowns between the events of rdr2 and rdr1. He cut off his hair. He doesn't seem to have as much pride in his appearance as he used to. I can't imagine him playing much music at all. He's a shell of his former self.

ANYWAY I'm done rambling for realsies now sdjghff;ldghsdlf;

#red dead redemption 2 #red dead redemption #rdr #rdr2 #rdr1 #john marston #jovier #red dead 2 #rdr1 spoilers #javier escuella #dutch van der linde #red dead redemption 1 #skylarisaverageposting #rdr2 meta

[sl33py-day]

A good title

Tw: Stalking and talks about what to do with a dead body.

Teyvat university, a very popular college that is hard to get into. Luckily for you your aunt goes there and got you in somehow. Don’t know how but she did. You’ve been in Teyvat Uni for a week or two and noticed a few things.

The Mondstadt building was the green colored one. That was also surrounded by many flowers. But had many short people and a dorm leader who drinks……weed wine. The Liyue building was a gold like color that many others thought only the richest people could be there. But alas they had a dorm leader who doesn’t want to be dorm leader. The Inazuma building was purple but was know to be the strictest building of all the dorms. It always seems like they’re at war with the dorm leader. Sometimes people would walk in the building just to see people behind cardboard walls with nerf guns. The Sumeru one was really pretty it was green also but the only difference was the Sumeru building had more flowers then Mondstadt. They were known to have the smartest people in all of Teyvat University.

That’s what you noticed about the buildings the students however. All you can say about them is there’s a verity of different personalities. Like a short purple haired dog and a pair of twins that were separated but found each other on a bus. 

The twins were your friends along with a few others. You walked out of your dorm to see a very smiley Aether. As soon as you opened the door he jumped on you to hug you. 

“Good morning Aether. How are you doing?” You ask as he got off so you could grab you bag. He started to say how Lumine was getting on him about eating her donuts. You nodded as you walk down the dorm hallway. 

“When I told her it was probably Paimon she said Paimon doesn’t eat that kind of donuts!” He slightly yelled in annoyance about his adoptive sister paimon who’s 5 years old. You know paimon goes to the Teyvat daycare across the street and visits the twins every so often. Which is cute to you because she’s all happy when she sees you. 

As you two talked your phone went off with a loud sound. Taking the loud device out of your bag you saw that the caller ID has been the same one that has called you for sometime. You know you should’ve blocked the number but you kept forgetting. The weird thing about the calls is it happens every month.

“Hm? Who’s that?” Aether asks as he tries to see who it was. Quickly putting the phone back away so you could face Aether. You smiled softly at him which caused a small blush to appear on his face. 

“It’s nothing, just a spam call.” He just nodded. The two of you were getting close to the main building where the classes took place. While you two were walking someone called out to you. 

“Hey! Aether! Y/n!” A loud feminine voice called out causing you both to turn around. You saw your three friends. Venti, the dorm leader of Mondstadt, Kazuha, one of the people who doesn’t go to war in Inazuma, and albedo, who is another person from mondstadt. 

“Hello! You two ready for class?” You ask not noticing that Aether went deadly quiet. He stood behind you so you wouldn’t see his glare at Kazuha. After all of you were done talking it was class time. 

It was now lunch time and you had an hour to spar. Deciding that you were gonna go talk with Kazuha. Fun Fact! You had developed a crush on him. It’s a sad thing that you didn’t realize a few other peoples crush on you though. 

So you called Kazuha an told him if he wanted to hang out with you. He said yes and you were really happy. 

During the hangout with the quiet boy a few others joined in. Those being Venti, Aether, Xiao and Amber. While you were talking with the five you got a call from the same number from this morning. Suddenly you got an idea. 

“Hey guys,” you called out causing everyone to be quiet. “Do you want to traumatize a random scammer?” Everyone’s eyes sparkled with that idea but Xiao quickly asked “How are we going to do that?”

“Pretend where in a cult! The Demonic core cult! Imma call the scammer who’s been calling me while you guys pretend to have killed somebody.” After you said that they all agreed and with that you began to start the call. 

“Hello, thank you for calling the Demon core cult. Sadly you called at the wrong time.” You spoke with a gentle voice while the phone was on speaker. 

“Did you hide the body?” Aether asked Venti who was drinking some apple juice. “No, I thought Sam did.” He said while looking at Xiao. The teal haired man looked at him in shock. 

“Of course I didn’t hid the body! The corpse is still here!” Xiao yelled at Venti who shrugged in response. 

“We can ask Milly to do it.” Aether spoke up and every one looked at amber who was trying not to laugh. 

“Nah, Milly is taking a break for a while.” Venti spoke up still drink apple juice. 

“SO WHOS GONNA HIDE THE BODY! I KNEW SACRIFICING SOMEONE RIGHT NOW WAS A BAD IDEA!” Aether yelled out in fake anger. Kazuha decided to talk with a quiet voice. 

“Hey boss, what should we do with the dead body?” Kazuha asked you while everyone was screaming in the background about what to do with the fake dead body.

“Get Jermey he’s the one that does it anyways. So sorry but you called at the wrong time Good Bye!” With that you ended the call then the group became silent. Only to burst in laughter seconds later. Even Xiao was smiling a little. 

The caller though? He’s not one bit surprised he knew that would be something you would do. He’s been following you for a while now only getting the idea to call you after he got your number. 

He’s happy that you answered and not ignored the call. But very annoyed that there were other people with you and not you alone. 

Maybe he would get the courage to finally talk to you. You guys do have the same math class. 

#yandere genshin impact #genshin impact modern au #Yandere Aether #Yandere venti #Yandere Xiao #Yandere Amber #yandere kazuha #Male reader #gender neutral reader #yandere genshin x reader

[crimson-calligraphyx]

A/N: I'm so sorry for how long of a delay there was on this update, and even more sorry for the poor quality of this chapter lol. I went to 5 concerts consecutively (two of which were Bad Omens, of course) and was dead tired afterwards. Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy. Love you all 🖤 Tag List: @cheyfi @kingdomof-omens @daylightlvrs @blade-in-red @ladyveronikawrites @jay02bo @itsmrsfuentes @cncohshit

The second I unlocked the door to my home, I beelined it to my bedroom and collapsed onto my bed. I was exhausted. Though the past week was full of excitement, I just wasn't cut out for the tour life. It was fast-paced, cramped and loud, and I couldn't wait to return to my placid bakery where things made more sense.

It was still such an amazing thing to witness the guys do what they were most passionate about night after night, and I was so happy for and proud of them. But Christ, did they wipe me out.

I wasn't due back to the bakery until tomorrow morning, so I took advantage of the alone time that I had and slept. I didn't even change out of my clothes, just simply kicked my shoes off and snatched Noah's pillow, hugging it to my chest and breathing in the little aroma it still had of his cologne. I was out cold in a matter of minutes.

It took every fiber of my being that I had to not throw my phone against the wall when my alarm went off the next morning. It felt like I blinked, and it was already time to get up, when in reality I slept for about 10 hours give or take. Clearly, I needed it though—I woke up in the same position, and my neck was stiff from the way I had fallen asleep on it.

Groaning, I pushed myself into a sitting position, swinging my legs off the side of the bed, and tried to rub the knot out of my neck. I gave up with a huff when I wasn't able to alleviate it and headed straight to the bathroom to shower.

I took an unnecessarily long shower, relishing the familiar warmth and steady pressure from the spray head as the water caressed and soothed my exhausted body. I never thought I'd miss something as simple as that, but after a week of fighting for a shower that would be lukewarm at best, this was like hitting the jackpot.

Accepting the fact that I needed to stop dragging my feet and go to work, I reluctantly left the shower with a sigh. I stayed in there until my fingers were pruned, appreciating every second I had with the coconut lather of my shampoo and body wash. I dressed quickly, threw my hair into a messy bun, and made my way to the bakery where I was met with welcoming smiles from Juliana and Holly.

“Welcome back, Liv! How was your time away with the hubby?” Jules asked once I made my way around the counter. “Long,” I huffed out a tired laugh, and she furrows her brows with a timid smile grazing her lips. “It was great, but the boys are just a lot—especially when you’re stuck on a bus with them, sharing one bathroom.” She snorts and nods her head in understanding. “I can only imagine. I grew up with three older brothers; I couldn't be stuck on a bus with them for that long. I’d have killed one of them, I’m sure.”

The three of us shared a laugh as I made my way into my office, pleased to see that it was still the way I had left it, with only a few items of paperwork to file away. Logging into my computer, I saw just how well Jules held down the fort while I was away; she took care of the cash deposits, counted inventory, and even placed the order for our next delivery before I walked in this morning.

"Hey, Liv," Holly greets me as she knocks on the door frame. "There's someone in the lobby asking to see you." I finished filing away the paper I held in my hand and turned my attention to her. "Do you know who it is?" I quirked an eyebrow in curiosity, not expecting any visits from anyone, especially since I just returned home. "I'm not sure of his name, but he's here all the time," she shrugs. "Shaggy hair, always get a muffin and a dark roast coffee."

Steven.

My stomach immediately churns at the thought of him, remembering how awful that night had been the last time that I saw him. It makes me sick how easily he manipulated me into drinking, how easily he conditioned me into letting my guard down to take advantage of me... But it was my own doing.

I was so weak, so vulnerable, and it was fucking embarrassing. My behavior was embarrassing. A sloppy drunk causing a scene and stumbling outside, collapsing to the ground in hysterics and vomiting on the sidewalk as her husband held her.

The worst part about that night was how I broke Noah's heart, asking if he even loved me. The sorrow on his face was permanently burned into my mind—the pained inhale he took as his mouth dropped open, the tears that rolled down his face as he shook his head in disbelief. I could see his heart shattering, and there's a part of me that will always hate myself for causing him that pain.

I sighed harshly and stood, bracing myself for whatever bullshit Steven had to say to me. I made my way towards the front, shoulders squared in hopes of expressing that I was in no mood to take his shit.

Once I crossed into the lobby, I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw what he held in his hands, my face immediately contorting with disgust. "Steven, what are you doing?" I spit, folding my arms across my chest. "I wanted to apologize for—” I hold up a hand, cutting him off. "Don't. Get out." "Liv, please," he begs, holding out the small bouquet of flowers towards me. "I overstepped that night and I just wanted to smooth things over. Start fresh, a new clean slate."

He swallows, his Adam's apple bobbing distinctly when I let out a dry laugh, shaking my head at him. Did he think I'd just sweep everything under the rug for a bundle of cheap flowers from the corner store? This man was nothing to me; it was no sweat off my back if I never laid eyes on him again. He wasn't anything other than some change in my pocket, even more so after his actions at the bar.

"You must be joking. Right?" He fidgets, shifting his weight from one foot to the other apprehensively. "No, I really am sorry, Liv," he tries again, his eyes searching mine for forgiveness. I snorted, "That's great. And I really meant it when I said to never step foot in my bakery again." He lowers the flowers, pulling his brows together. "Over a stupid kiss, really?" His whole demeanor had changed, his voice growing strong as he scowled at me.

My blood began to simmer hearing those words come out of his mouth. "A stupid kiss?" I repeated, jerking my head back while my brows rose in astonishment. "It's not about the kiss, Steven. You crossed boundaries, you humiliated me in front of all those people!" "I humiliated you? It's not my fault you can't handle your liquor—” "Get the fuck out!" I shouted, pointing a now trembling finger at the front door. I grit my teeth when he doesn't so much as move a muscle. "I swear to God, Steven if you don't get out right this second—" "What? What are you gonna do, huh?" He opens his arms wide, taking a step towards me. "Gonna slap me and run away again?"

Rage was coursing through my veins as my hands balled into fists at my sides, my arms quivering with adrenaline. I wanted nothing more than to sock him in the face, but I couldn't do that. Not in my place of work. Instead, I clenched my teeth as we locked eyes and took a few deep breaths, hoping to suppress my anger.

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose, exhaling deeply one last time. "Please just get out. I will call the police, and have you escorted if you don't," I tell him as calmly as possible. "You're a cunt," he scoffs. "Can't even accept a simple apology without putting up a fight. No wonder your husband spends all his time on his music to get away from you." My eyes snapped open from his words just as he whipped the flowers in my direction—I barely had enough time to bat them away. "Oh, you motherfucker," I hissed, shaking my head in disbelief. "Get the fuck out!" I hollered, planting my hands on his chest and giving him a hard push towards the door.

His words lit the fire I tried so hard to snuff out. I kept shoving him, getting more aggressive with each push while tears began to burn my eyes. I kept shoving him until one of the girls wrapped her arms around my torso and pulled me back, allowing him to shoot one last profanity towards me before exiting the building. I watched him saunter away, shaking his head while he went, my chest heaving as I tried to ground myself.

"Are you okay?" I realized that it was Juliana who pulled me back. I nodded, huffing in aggravation once more before wriggling out of her grasp. "I'm okay," I assure her, wiping under my lashline to hinder the tears that were still burning my eyes from spilling. "Excuse me," I mumbled, heading back to my office. I shut the door and collapsed into the computer chair, my head hanging off the back.

No wonder your husband spends all his time on his music to get away from you.

I tried my damnedest to not let his words affect me, but they cut deep. Things had been great with Noah this past week, and I knew things were fine between us, yet I couldn't keep myself from thinking that maybe Steven was right. I had been confined in the bus with Noah for a week; he had no choice but to give me his attention—things could easily go back to the way they had been beforehand.

And that thought made my chest tight, it made my heart sink to the pit of my stomach. I did not want to go through that pain again, feeling as if I were insignificant to him. I did not want to succumb to the loneliness that I felt and slip down that rabbit hole again. I just simply couldn't.

I covered my face with my hands and let out a deep groan, scrubbing my cheeks in frustration. This was not how I intended my first day back to work to go. All I wanted to do was go home and have a drink to calm myself down or to forget what just happened—whichever came first. But I didn't. I took some deep breaths, tacked on a fake smile, and did what I had to do.

The rest of the day went by smoothly. It was slower than usual, but the customers that came in were pleasant. I was able to bake a few trays of macaron shells, ready to be finished being put together tomorrow morning.

I had just stepped through the door when my phone started to ring in my back pocket, and I knew that it was Noah. With a smile, I placed my belongings on the kitchen island and accepted the call.

"Do you have cameras on me or something?" I greet him sarcastically. "Well, hello to you, too," he chuckles on the other end. "No...but should I? Are you doing something I shouldn't see?" He muses. "No, no," I say as I cross over into our bedroom, flipping on the light. "I literally walked through the door just as you called." "Damn, for a second I thought maybe you were parading around in some new lingerie. Or, better yet, nothing at all." I can hear the smirk that I'm sure was plastered on his face.

I rolled my eyes with a small chuckle, tucking my phone between my shoulder and ear as I opened the closet and pulled out the nearly overflowing laundry basket. I cringed, regretting that I left this for when I came back instead of doing it before I left for the week.

"Anyways, how was work?" "Oh, you know, work," I sighed, putting him on speaker so that I could exchange my work clothes for sleepwear. "It was fine." "Just fine?" I shrugged as if he could see me, "Yeah. It was slow, did some baking. Nothing to write home about." "You sure about that? 'Fine' usually means it wasn't fine." He presses. I plopped down onto the bed with another sigh, bringing the phone back to my ear. "I had to kick someone out this morning, that's all." "Mmm, there's something you're not telling me." He doesn't ask; he states.

I didn't really want to get into my altercation with Steven, but I knew better than to avoid telling Noah about it. He had a sixth sense for this shit, I swear, and he wouldn't stop pestering me until I cracked. I huffed, combing my bangs back with my hand. "It was the same guy from that night." He lets out an aggravated breath. "Are you alright? He didn't try to pull some shit again, did he? I swear—" "No, Noah, relax. He just came in to apologize." "Then why did you have to kick him out?" He retorts. I rested my elbow on my knee, planting my forehead in my hand. "I got mad," I tell him simply. He scoffs, "Mad about what? That he apologized?" "No, I'm not mad that he apologized—" "Then why did you get mad?" He snips, his voice rising.

His tone was starting to aggravate me, his impatience getting under my skin. There was no reason for his hostility, especially since he wouldn't let me finish my damn story. When he finally let me get my word in to explain the exact reasoning for kicking Steven out, he asked me if I had a drink, which in of itself wasn't a big deal. It was the tone of how he asked, and the insinuation in his response when I truthfully told him that I didn't.

"What's gotten into you tonight? You don't trust me to stay sober while you're not around?" I laughed incredulously, my blood now set to a boil. "No, I just worry about you, Olivia." I rolled my eyes again—this was not the action of someone who was simply worried about me. Something was causing him to behave this way, and I'm not sure what it was, but it needed to stop.

We remained silent. I was too pissed to say anything, and I'm sure he was trying to find something to say to ease the tension. I stood to resume my task of doing laundry and picked up my bag from this past week, beginning to toss all the clothes into the hamper aggressively. When I tossed the last article of clothing into the basket, I heard something bounce and land on the floor with a soft thump.

I stared at the familiar shimmer of black titanium with uncertainty, my stomach churning. "Can I ask you something?" I broke the silence, bending down to pick up his wedding ring. "Why exactly do you wear a single glove on your left hand?" I twiddled the ring between my fingers as if to make sure that it was real and not some figment of my imagination. "I don't know," he mumbles. "Thought it was a cool look." I pursed my lips into a fine line, nodding slowly with disbelief. "Huh, okay. Not trying to hide the fact that you're not wearing your wedding ring from me, right?"

He sighs harshly, having me pull the phone away from my ear from the sudden noise. "Olivia, you're being ridiculous. Why the fuck would I do that?" "You tell me. I just found your ring in my shit while starting the laundry. Kinda convenient, don't you think? Now that I'm not there with you, you take it off," I let out a dry laugh. "What are you trying to say?" "I'm not saying anything," I shrug once again. "Just seems like you're trying to give off the impression that you're not married, is all." "I took it off so I don't lose it, Liv," he barks. "And I put it in your bag because you were going home." "Why wouldn't you just hand it to me, then?" I snapped, slamming it down on the nightstand. "Olivia, please. I can't deal with this right now. You're being fucking ridiculous." The line went dead before I could get in another word.

My heart plummets to the pit of my stomach, and tears roll down my cheeks almost instantaneously. I couldn't fucking breathe; my chest felt so tight as I tried not to break into a fit of hysterics.

Maybe I was overthinking it, maybe he really did want his ring in a safe place, but it all just seemed too convenient. And this behavior was not like him. Being assertive was one thing, but to accuse me of drinking, followed by hanging up on me because he 'can't deal with this right now' was a whole other level. Forget about being insignificant, that just made me feel unworthy.

I wasn't thinking clearly as I screamed and whipped my phone into the wall, and I most certainly wasn't thinking when I slipped on a hoodie and grabbed my keys, slamming the door behind me when I left.

|Chapter 11|

#fanfic #fan fiction #noah sebastian #fanfic writing #romance #sequel #quandary

[startrekfangirl2233-writes]

I Wanted to Be

A Ron 'Slider' Kerner Imagine

Description: Kids, family, all of those things that people always talk about as being the be-all, end-all, goal? Those things have never been on Ron Kerner's list. All he wants to do is fly. What happens when an old friend's little sister calls him for help?

Everything changes.

Warnings: Dead-beat dad, Mentioned Pregnancy, Mentioned Childbirth, Tooth Rotting Fluff

Word Count: 2939

A/N: This is another Discord fueled thought. @mayhemmanaged and I were talking about how we thought that Jake was either Ice's son or Slider's. I had a sudden urge to explore that thought and here we are!

AO3: Cross-posted Here!

My Masterlist

Texans have a saying or cautionary tale for nearly everything. Everything, it seems, except what you can tell your best friend's little sister when her no-good husband runs away from her and the baby she's carrying. When she'd called him, sobbing, he hadn't known what to do. What can you tell a twenty-five year old nine month pregnant woman you haven't seen in close to a decade? In the case of one Ron Kerner, mostly known as Slider nowadays, you don't say a word. Instead, you get emergency leave and hop onto the nearest transport home. 

The tiny town of Cistern is exactly as he remembers it, hot, dry, and dusty. The sole bus trundles through town just as he pulls into the solitary gas station and steps out. It feels weird being back here. As much as Cistern hasn't changed, he knows he has. A quick stop at the pump station for fuel that sloshes sluggishly into the near empty tank of the truck he'd rented in Austin, and he's off again. Driving west a ways and then north until the only things he sees are scrub and the odd glimpse of cattle. 

The turn-off to the Petersen ranch looks just like he remembers it, though the sign says Seresin now. Was that the name of the idiot who ran away? In all honesty, Ron can't be pressed to remember. All that matters is the girl waiting on the porch when the truck rattles to a stop. She looks the same as he remembers. Little Rebecca Petersen, not so little and decidedly not a Petersen anymore, but god does she not remind him still of the little thing that used to run around behind him and Danny, all knees, toothy grin and covered in freckles.

That grin, at least, is exactly the same. So is the teasing tone as she greets him as he walks up the front stairs. "Well, well, well, look at what the cat dragged in! If it isn't Ron Kerner, the big-shot Naval Aviator. What brings you back to sleepy old Cistern?" 

"You know what." He can't help the sober turn to his voice as he hugs her gingerly, not sure of where to put his arms, not when the bulge of her belly is in the way. God, doesn't he wish he'd never said those words as soon as they left his mouth, though. Because that smile is gone, like the sun hidden by the clouds.

"You're here because of Brian." Her voice is tired, so tired that Ron can't help trying to make the girl he promised he'd protect smile again.

"Naw, Becks. I'm here for you and this little thing. Only in part for him." 

It's words that he didn't know were true until 3 days later when he's standing in the maternity ward of the hospital and being handed a tiny squalling infant with a shock of honey hair and the tightest grip he's ever felt. The newly named Jacob Daniel Seresin seems to be just as enamored of Ron as Ron is of him. Say what you will about the little guy's deadbeat dad, but he made an awfully cute baby.

That instant shock of attachment stays with Ron for a long time afterward. He looks forward to receiving the letters Rebecca sends monthly, filled with polaroids of small Jake as he grows bigger and bigger. He can track every milestone on that little body from how he grows to the first tooth that comes painfully into that little mouth.

But he does not actually see the boy or his mama again for nearly five years. Things have changed considerably over that time. Ron's raked in another promotion, making him a full lieutenant. Ice met a girl and made her his wife, and to top it all off, they're both in Texas again. So on the first long weekend he gets, Ron hops into the old Ford truck he'd put together when he turned sixteen and drives straight up to Cistern.

This time, he drives up to the Seresin house to hear giggling and gets out of his truck just in time to catch a little boy in just a pair of shorts as he goes running past. It's the light dusting of freckles and toothy grin that he'd recognize anywhere which clues him into exactly who he's holding.

"Hey, kiddo. I'm your Uncle Ron. Dunno if you remember me." His voice is gruff as he turns the giggling brat upside down like he's looking for a way to turn a little robot off. Through giggles, he's gratified to hear the boy introduce himself as Jake. This time, the Rebecca he sees in the kitchen of the ranch house she grew up in and where she's raising her son is more like the happy teenager he'd left behind when he enlisted with her big brother. It still irks him that he couldn't protect Daniel. But he's going to protect Rebecca and Daniel's namesake as fiercely as he can.

"Hey, Becks. Y'missing something? I caught this little gremlin running around out there. Is this what you're looking for?" He can't resist tickling the bare tummy of the boy in his arms just to hear the musical giggles.

"Mama, Uncle Sly's here!" The piping voice of the little boy standing there all of two feet tall wearing just shorts is enough to crack even the crustiest aviator's stone heart. Rebecca's boy is a dusty, golden skinned marvel with his sun-bleached blonde hair and huge slightly gap-toothed grin. It feels like home, this place. That weekend, Ron spends more time out on a ranch than he has in years. Rebecca may have managed to keep the ranch going, but who's going to teach Jake everything he needs to know when his daddy isn't around? Anyways, that's Ron's rationale.

Soon after that, though, he's given orders. He's shipped all over the world, flying for the Navy. It seems like his star is on the rise, and while he's Lieutenant Commander and Captain Kerner in short order, he still stays Uncle Sly for one little boy who turns into a teenager back in Cistern seemingly overnight. Ron does his best to show up for all of the kid’s biggest milestones, but even he can’t hop onto a helo every time Jake has a baseball game or wins an award at school. Those weeks, Ron does his best to call and talk to the kid as much as he can.

He talks to Rebecca on the phone enough to know that the kid's struggling with something, something he won't talk to his Mama about. So the next time Ron's home, he heads to Cistern, as always with gifts in hand for the boy he loves like he is his own. Unlike prior snatched moments, Seresin Ranch is crackling with a tension Ron's never felt before. Jake's on the front porch, and Ron's suddenly struck by how grown up the boy seems, especially with how tall he is and the new manly breadth of his shoulders. 

"Hey, Kiddo." As he tugs the kid into a hug, Ron can feel some tension leave those still small shoulders.

"Uncle Sly." Something's not right. Jake's not smiling today, not at all.

"What is it, kid?" A sudden jolt of fear rushes through Ron. "Where's your mom, kid?'

"She's in there, Uncle Sly, in the kitchen. With a man who's claiming to be my dad." The rage that burns in his chest is unlike any other that Ron's ever felt before. Sure enough, when he stalks into the kitchen, it's to see the one man he'd never wanted to see menacing Rebecca ever again.

"Brian." That one word is all it takes for Rebecca's shoulders to relax. Fifteen years have not treated Brian Seresin well. Not at all. His hair is graying and greasy, he's got a paunch and he's obviously drunk off his feet if the way he lists back and forth is any indication. "What are you doing back in Cistern?"

Ron's quick to gather Rebecca back behind him, knowing that Brian Seresin would never be bold enough to try to get to her, not through him, anyway. Jake’s followed him in, as always his shadow

"Wanted my woman back, Kerner. And my kid." He sniffs, wiping away yellow-tinged mucus on the leg of the dirtiest jeans that Ron's ever seen. "S'not fair, y'know? That you got to keep her and the brat while I was off. D'she treat y'well? She's great in bed, ain't she?"

It takes every fiber in his being to not deck the man for what he's saying about Rebecca. Thankfully Jake's holding his ma, otherwise he'd have launched himself at the fool to get his share of the beat down. It’s at that moment that Sly is glad they’d sent lawyers after Brian Seresin after Jake was born because it means he doesn’t have a claim on Rebecca or Jake anymore. They have the denial of parental rights and a divorce agreement to prove it. It doesn't take much more than a quirked eyebrow to get the man to spill the entire sordid tale. How he'd lost a lot of money and wanted to claim what he believed he was owed from Seresin Ranch. 

"Call Sheriff Weatherby, Becks." When Ron finally speaks, the calm in his voice surprises even him. He sounds Ice-cold, which he guesses is what you get for spending the better part of a decade flying with the same person. "We've got an intruder on Seresin Ranch." 

It doesn't surprise him in the slightest that it's Jake who picks up the landline and dials up Sheriff Weatherby, not at all. It's hours later, once one Brian Seresin has been carted away and Rebecca is asleep, that Ron finds Jake again. The kid's sitting in an old tire swing Ron had set up years ago, rocking idly while staring up into the endless expanse of stars in the sky above. 

"So, that's him, huh? My pops, the man who walked out before I was even born?" He sounds so torn up about it, this gangly teen boy who loves his Mama to distraction and who would do anything to protect her. That's something they have in common.

"Yeah, kid." Ron doesn't try to hide the anger in his face, not now.

"Why did he come back? Why didn't he just stay away?" Ron's hand is gentle on the kid's back as he tries to think for a response.

"I dunno, kid. I wish he had never come back. Your Mama isn't the type to cry. But every time I've heard her cry it has been because of that man." The rage building in his chest causes a near imperceptible shake in his hands.

"Why didn't you ever marry Mama, Uncle Sly? You love her, I know you do. Then you can come home to us more often, can't you?" That one innocent observation is enough to have his entire world reeling. What would it be like? Having Becks to come home to? To have this kid, her son, as his own? Is he so easy to read that a teenager can tell what his most closely guarded secret is?

"I dunno kid. But enough about me. What's eating at you?" Ron's a little scared of the answer he's going to get.

"I want to fly, Uncle Sly. Like you do, like Uncle Daniel did." Jake's green eyes are all Rebecca's, all Daniel's and Ron can see the boy he loved like a brother in Jake's face. "D-d'you think I can do it?"

"It's dangerous, kid. But yeah. If there was anyone who could do it, it'd be you. You’ve got your mom’s determination and all of her support, too. Just don’t forget that you’ve got people who love you waiting for you, and you’ll be all set."

Those are obviously words Jake holds close to his heart. Because, before Ron's hit Vice-Admiral, Jake's already at the academy. He's taking Annapolis by storm, making his Mama and his dad, because thanks to the kid's prodding it's Ron and Rebecca Kerner now, incredibly proud. Ron's happy to find he has to wipe away tears when he sees his son, his son, get his wings a few short years later. Then there's another Kerner's star on the rise. His son’s.

He keeps a finger on the pulse of every deployment, every test, and beams with pride to see Jake graduate from Top Gun. That pride sits warm in his chest even as he gets a call from the one California number he'd memorized that he could never forget.

"Mr. Iceman! How're you doing?" The relationship between pilot and RIO hasn't changed over the past years. Neither of them flies anymore, but the bonds they built over 30 years ago haven't changed.

"It's about your kid, Sly." Ron can hear the hoarseness creeping into Ice's tone even now.

"What's going on, Tom?" After a life's service to the US Navy, Rear Admiral Ron 'Slider' Kerner isn't surprised to hear that Jake's been selected for a special detachment. The dad in him, though? He's terrified shitless. Nearly 30 years of loving that boy doesn’t feel like enough all of a sudden, not when Jake's going to be sent on a mission so dangerous that talking about it feels like a jinx. Even the heads up from the COMPACFLT doesn't help.

It's a tense few weeks in Texas. Ron terrorizes the base in Corpus Christi, his mind in Miramar with his son while his body is in Texas. Rebecca is equally distraught. Then Ron gets another call that fills him with sadness all over again. It is Sarah calling, "Hey Ron. Just wanted to tell you that he's gone. Tom's gone. The cancer. It came back with a vengeance. The doctors couldn't do anything. He passed away this morning."

During the entirety of the service, Ron can't help but feel like he would've given anything to see his best friend again one more time before he died. It's sad reconnecting with the rest of their 1986 cohort at the bar later. It’s even worse seeing his son stand somberly kitted out in his own whites across the way from him. He doesn’t, can’t go near him, mainly because nobody knows that Jake is Rear Admiral Kerner’s kid. But he can't help but feel like Tom would've wanted him to hug his boy instead. So that's what Rear Admiral Ron Kerner does. He hugs his son, tight, as many times as he can before he leaves. He watches from the docks as the carrier departs and waits with bated breath.

Rebecca channels her nerves into baking. She fills the house they rent off base with pastries, cookies, cakes and pies, most of which are Jake's favorites. Then it’s a waiting game. Ron calls in every favor he has in order to get more information on the mission Jake’s on, really for anything he can get. As it turns out, there is very little information that even an admiral can get. So all he can do is hold Rebecca close and pray. It’s frankly the longest three days of his life. He’s more tense than he was even during the Leyte Gulf incident, which feels like a world, a lifetime ago. That first call from Jake they get has his knees weak. The relief coursing through his system is too good to be true. So’s the first look he gets of his son when the carrier docks two days later.

The milling crowd of families lets out a roar of excitement when the first of the ship’s crew sets foot on shore. Ron wraps an arm around Rebecca, and keeps an eagle eye on the waves of departing sailors looking for aviator green flight suits. The crowd clears piece by piece and they still haven’t seen their boy or any of the aviators. They’re some of the only people waiting, and Ron can feel Rebecca’s tremors as she clutches at her necklace and rears up onto her tiptoes every once in a while. She sags against his chest and that’s when Ron finally sees their golden boy. He looks exhausted, but he’s safe, he’s home. Rebecca runs right for him first, and Ron can’t help his grin when he sees how tall Jake is in comparison to his Mama. The kid’s not shy about his love for Rebecca either. He introduces her to the aviators and then Ron’s being beckoned forward.

“And this is my pop, Admiral Kerner.” He’s got a shit-eating grin on his face and god if that doesn’t remind Ron of Daniel again.

“Hey, kid.” Ron can’t help the fond grin on his face or the amusement when he sees Jake’s squadron rise into salutes the minute they hear his title. There’s a face in his squadron that Ron didn’t think he’d ever see again. There’s also somebody nearby who he hasn’t seen in decades. 

“Baby Goose. Mav.” Ron’s nod is slight.

“Hey Sly. A kid huh?” Ron can’t resist smiling as he hugs the shorter man. 

“Yeah, Mav. I had to catch up.” Watching Becks fawn over Jake again is everything he’s ever wanted. 

“He’s a good one, you know, Sly?” As Ron stands shoulder to shoulder with Pete Mitchell again, watching their boys realize that they’re closer than they ever could have known, Ron knows one thing. He may have never intended to be a dad, but standing at the docks thirty years later, he knows he wouldn't have wanted to do anything else. 

Taglist:

@mayhemmanaged, @desert-fern, @cassiemitchell, @dakotakazansky, @sarahsmi13s, @roosters-girl

I DO NOT CONSENT TO HAVE MY WORK POSTED, TRANSLATED, OR PUBLISHED ON ANY SITES OTHER THAN HERE OR ON AO3 BY ME. IF YOU SEE MY WORKS ANYWHERE OTHER THAN HERE OR AO3, THEN THEY HAVE BEEN POSTED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION AND I WILL BE WORKING TO TAKE THEM DOWN.

#star writes #top gun fanfic #top gun fanfiction #ron slider kerner #ron slider kerner x oc #slider x oc #ron kerner x oc #the one where slider is jake's dad #exploring slider a bit more

[nuggsmum]

Pumpkin

Header by the ever amazing, ever lovely and sexy, ever funny and brilliant, I wish she were my wife @luna-aestas

A slightly spooky, sort of cheesy, definitely vampire kink-esque, and essentially a love story….

Author’s Note: I’m rereleasing this since Henry announced that he’s not going to Geralt anymore… and I’m sad, and I know you guys are sad. And I loved this Geralt that I wrote. So maybe this might help distract someone. Hugs, chickens 🖤 and it’s almost Halloween so. Happy Spoopy day, my loves 😘

Warnings: language (as always), blood/gore and vampire stuffs, maybe some scary shit (mostly scary how bad the writing is) and of course, smuts.

Stepping up the curb as I rushed towards the small corner store, I was praying that they still had some candy left. Of course I had left it until the last moment and was now scrambling, the last two stores I had gone to were all sold out. I noticed the tall, broad man with the stunning silver/white hair striding down the street in his odd clothes, but since it was halloween and I was in too much of a hurry, I didn’t give him a second glance.

Until he almost walked right into me.

I’d looked up at him just as he was about to slam into me, or I into him, I wasn’t sure which, though he’d been on the other side of the cobblestone sidewalk when I’d glanced at him before. Two strong hands darted out of his black cloak and gripped my arms, halting me in my spot. He looked down at me, his yellow eyes boring into mine. He inhaled angrily, his nostrils flaring.

He’s beautiful. And terrifying.

“I… I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going,” I stuttered.

I’d thought he was about to tell me off, when he narrowed his eyes at something over my shoulder, let me go, and stalked off down the sidewalk.

“Halloween brings out all the weirdo’s,” muttered an old man that had been sitting on the bench waiting for the bus. “You alright, my dear?”

He was so strong, I swear my arms will have bruises.

I gave a shaky laugh and nodded, thanking him for his concern. Then I remembered my mission and went into the store. Luckily, they had six different bags of chocolate bars left, and I grabbed them all.

Tucking my card back into my wallet, I looked up just as the man from the street entered the store. He looked at me and stalked off down an aisle, searching for something, seemingly annoyed I was in the store at the same time as he was.

Wanting to put as much distance as possible between me and the stranger who was clearly mad at me, I thanked the girl at the register and quickly walked out of the store. I cut across the town common towards the little side street my house was on. Kids were rushing home to get ready for trick or treating and I couldn’t help but smile at their happiness.

Dead leaves skittered across my path, swept away by the chilly breeze as I hurried down the sidewalk towards my house. I tried to ignore the anxious feeling that the man had given me. There was something about him that made me look over my shoulder. Of course he wasn’t there.

I was excited for tonight and I tried to focus on that instead.

It’s only Halloween. A holiday created by the candy companies for children. Not for a grown woman. Who certainly doesn’t need anymore candy.

I frowned at the voice in my head that sounded slightly like my mother.

I don’t care. It’s my favorite holiday. I’m going to give out candy and enjoy my night, maybe watch some spooky movies later. And have some candy. Lots of candy. And maybe think about tall, silver-haired strangers with strong hands...

Letting myself into the little house, I wasn’t exactly pleased to see my roommate lounging on the couch. I’d hoped she’d be out for the night. She usually used Halloween as an excuse to wear something see-through and go out drinking.

Dropping my bags on the counter, I went looking for the large plastic bowl I usually used for the candy. It wasn't in its usual spot. Digging around a bit more, I went to look in the pantry, when I saw it on the table, full of chips.

“Hey, Di? What’s with the chips?” I called.

“Oh, that? Gotta have some snacks for the party, am Iright?” she said from the doorway. “I’m having some friends over. Please don’t be weird about it.”

She said the last bit as she was looking directly at my outfit, a burnt orange sweater with an emerald brooch, the gemstone cut into the shape of a leaf and a cute little spectator hat that had a stem and some green curly ribbon.

“How would I be weird about it?”

She rolled her eyes.

“You know how you get. Listen! There’s gonna be some cute single guys that are coming! Maybe you could put on something cute and you know, talk to people. It wouldn’t hurt, I promise.”

“Yeah, well. I’m probably just going to give out the candy and call it a night,” I muttered, going upstairs to find another receptacle for the candy.

Besides, I have no intention of talking to your kind of people.

Settling on an old basket, I stopped to look at myself in the mirror. I’d thought the burnt orange of the yarn had looked lovely against my skin when I found it in the clearance bin at the craft store. Sure, it was a little more bright than something I’d normally wear, but wasn’t this a color that was supposed to be worn in autumn? And the brooch was pretty. I’d thought the little ode to pumpkin leaves was cute.

“I like it,” I said to my reflection.

Adjusting my little hat, I took my basket and went back to the kitchen. Dumping all the bags of candy into the basket, I thought it was more festive than the plastic bowl anyways. I rooted around in my craft box and found a filmy black ribbon, trying it to the handle.

I could hear Di coming down the stairs, her heels clacking on the wood.

Hmmm. I’m going to guess sexy bunny. Or maybe a sexy nurse… no, she was that last year, wasn't she? Hmm. Sexy car mechanic?

I stifled a little giggle.

She rounded the corner, deep red and black lingerie clinging to her perfect form, fishnet stocking and the highest black thigh high boots I’d ever seen. Her face had a white cast to it, her eyes covered in dark purple shadow making her sockets look deeper than normal. A small red spot of blood dripped fashionably from the corner of her mouth, looking sticky and wet.

Don’t get any chips stuck to that.

“Sexy zombie?” I asked.

Tsking at me, she took a handful of my candy.

“Vampire.” She smiled, showing ill-fitting fake teeth.

“Ahhh. How could I miss that?” I moved my basket out of her reach. “Are those comfortable?”

“No. I’ll probably take them out once Tony sees them. He’s got a vampire kink.” She grinned.

Of course he does. Or he thinks he does. He would probably piss his pants if he ever met a real vampire.

There was a loud knock on the door just as I was about to open it to go outside. Expecting trick-or-treaters, I opened the door with a large smile that slid off my face when I saw the collection of Di’s friends standing on the front steps.

“Candy for us… Pumpkin?” Tony laughed as he took a handful of the chocolate.

People filed past me into my house, some of them taking a piece or two of the candy. A man with a bad werewolf mask brought up the rear and tried to take a large handful but I swatted the candy out of his hand.

“It’s for the kids!”

“Sorry, Pumpkin.” He snickered behind his mask as he walked past me. Stopping just inside the door, he looked me up and down and leaned closer to me. “How do you feel about pumpkin cream pie?”

Those around him laughed at his crude joke, Tony giving him a high five. Rolling my eyes, I shut the door, taking my basket and sitting on the front step, waiting for the kids to start arriving as the street lights flicked on, one by one. More and more people trickled in for the party, dressed in varying degrees of costume, all but ignoring me as they went inside.

Kids started arriving on our street, going house to house to collect candy. I adored seeing the little ghosts and goblins, princesses and police officers, robots and one terrifyingly accurate depiction of a notorious politician that I gave an extra handful of candy to because the little boy had affixed a bloody axe to the side of his neck.

Loud music and raucous conversation reached me from my perch and I’d assumed all of Di’s friends had arrived until I saw him moving up the street, little kids paying him no mind as they darted around him in pursuit of sweets.

Still wearing the thick, woolen cloak from earlier, it was thrown back over his shoulders, showing that he was dressed all in black, his linen shirt sleeves rolled up his large forearms, his thick, muscular thighs showing in his tight black pants even in the dark. His face was hauntingly beautiful, as if chiseled from marble, and his silver hair almost glowed, reflecting off the light from the moon and the streetlights.

Wow, some kid is lucky to have a dad that dresses up to go out trick-or-treating with them. Maybe that’s why he was in such a rush and angry? He didn’t want to be late. He doesn’t seem to be waiting for anyone though...

He continued his path up the street, a look of slight amusement ticking at the corner of his mouth as he looked at the tiny revelers.

Oh, maybe he’s coming to the party. Oh. Then he’s friends with Di. Of course he is.

He stopped at the end of our walk, inhaling deeply. Glancing over, his yellow eyes locked mine. I couldn't help but swallow hard as he stared at me.

Shit. He’s probably wondering what the hell I’m doing here. Well. It’s my house, asshole.

“Trick or treat!” yelled a little purple dragon and a pink fairy, holding their bags open.

Tearing my eyes away from his, I looked down at the children, blinking because I couldn’t remember why they were there. When I glanced back, he was gone. Looking up and down the street, he was nowhere to be seen.

What the fuck? There's no way he could have disappeared like that. Could I have imagined that?

“Can we have some candy, please?” asked the little dragon, looking at his older sister, unsure of what to do when I didn’t hand over the sweets.

“Oh, of course! Sorry, I thought I saw... “ I paused, not wanting to freak them out by saying some strange man had been standing at the end of the walk, “I thought I saw something fly across the moon,” I said, laughing a little.

“Witches!” shrieked the fairy.

“I bet she has a black cat on her broom!” the dragon cried.

“Witches have all kinds of familiars, not just cats.” A low growling voice came from beside me.

The children froze and looked up at the stranger, their eyes wide.

“Like what?” breathed the fairy.

The man thought about it, scratching his chin.

“I once knew a witch that had a monkey. And another that had a mouse. It’s more of a personal preference.”

“A mouse?” The dragon looked unimpressed.

“What better to sneak around and find out information about your enemies than something as small as a mouse?”

“Or maybe they just make good pets?” I said weakly, not sure where he was going with this.

He thought about it.

“They do.”

I gave the kids another handful of candy and wished them a happy Halloween. They quickly retreated down the walk, the fairy casting a wary look over her shoulder at the man.

“The party is inside, you can let yourself in if you’d like.”

He didn’t move from his spot next to me. I glanced up at him.

“Why aren’t you inside?”

“I’d rather give out candy.”

He nodded as if that made sense to him.

“Listen, I’m sorry about earlier. I was preoccupied and didn’t notice that you had moved to my side of the sidewalk. I really should be more aware of my surroundings.” I shuffled the candy basket on my lap, unsure of why he was still on the porch with me.

“You should be,” he grunted, watching a group of children running up the walk. “Be more aware of your surroundings.”

I handed the children candy and complemented their costumes, feeling his eyes on me as I tried not to cry at the simple admonishment from him.

I don’t even know him, why do I care if he thinks I’m some silly woman who doesn't watch where she’s going?

“You were being followed,” he said quietly, almost kindly.

Gasping, I turned to look at him, his face looked serious. He was looking off into the neighbors back yard.

“What? By who?”

“By what.”

“What?”

“Exactly. Finish giving out your treats. It hasn’t given up, but it’s lost your scent for now.”

We sat in silence as I tried to keep my composure and hand out candy to the remaining kids that wandered up our street. After dumping the remainder of the basket in an excited little gumball machine’s treat bag, I turned to him.

“If Di put you up to this, it’s not funny.” Standing, I pushed past him into the house, the noise of the party drowning out his voice as I tried to get past people to go upstairs.

Gripping my arm, he pulled me away from the stairs and around the corner into the kitchen, his eyes darting around the room at the people gathered there.

“Who are you?” I tried to yank my arm out of his hold but it was no use.

Crowding me into a corner, his hands flat against the wall, caging me in, he leaned down and growled in my ear.

“There’s no time for that. Did you steal this?” He fingered the brooch pinned to my sweater.

“I bought it!” I breathed, offended he would think otherwise.

“Hmmm.” He looked through the doorway into the living room. “It doesn’t make sense that she would come for you then. Are you sure you didn’t steal it?”

“What are you talking about?” I cried. “I bought it from a man at the state fair last week! He had a whole table of different antique jewelry.”

I thought back to my interaction with the man. He’d pushed for me to buy the brooch, calling it a one of a kind and-

“At this price, it’s a steal,” I whispered.

“What?” he asked sharply.

“The man that sold it to me said ‘at this price it’s a steal.’ But that doesn’t count as stealing! I still gave him money for it! Besides, what does that matter? Are you going to arrest me or something? I didn’t know it was stolen. Here, you can have it back.”

His hand grabbed mine, halting my movements.

“Clever. If he knew what it was, he must have thought he could transfer the curse to you by using that phrase.” He furrowed his brow and looked down at me, his pale face concerned. “And it seems to have worked.”

“Curse?” I asked weakly, “What are you talking about? Those aren’t real… are they?”

“Have you seen a woman with deep red hair lately? Very tall and thin? Pale skin?” he asked urgently.

“I… I don’t know… I don’t think so… I just… wait. Yes. I have.” I thought back to the day of the fair.

We’d taken the train to the town where it was held, just catching the last one for the evening by running and jumping on before the doors closed.

“She tried to catch the train the day I bought it. She missed it. She was screaming and pulling at her hair.” Hugging my arms across my chest. “She wasn’t trying to catch the train, was she?”

Stiffening, he turned to look over his shoulder into the living room.

“Fuck,” he breathed. “Whatever you do, stay behind me.”

“What? Why? What is going on?” I cried.

“Just stay!” he barked, turning and pulling a long sword from behind his back in one fluid motion.

The people that still remained in the kitchen, watching our little talk in confusion, yelled and screamed, running over each other to get out of the room. Loud yells could be heard from the living room as well as a snarling, high pitched screech.

His sword held before him, he stalked into the room. I followed, unsure if he’d meant to stay behind in the kitchen or directly behind him. In the middle of the room, her long, pale hand wrapped around a man’s throat, his face bloody and unrecognizable, stood the tall, red haired woman. Her beautiful face was smeared with his blood. She spit the sticky red liquid on the floor, her dark eyes glowing, focusing on the man with the sword.

A taunting smile curved across her tainted lips.

“It’s been too long since we’ve met, Geralt. Always the protector, even after all these years?” She sneered, her lips barely moving, yet her voice high and loud, everyone frozen in their panic, watching her.

“Someone has to do it, Rusalki. You’ve evolved, so have I.”

“Yes, well. I have business to attend to, Witcher.” She dropped the man’s dead body to the floor, stalking forward.

“She didn’t steal from you.” He stood his ground.

“It’s mine and she has it. No one else needs to die tonight, Geralt. Just LET ME PAST!” she screeched, charging at him.

People ran for the door as he advanced towards her, his sword striking out at her. Her long, lithe body dodged his blade, a beautiful ballet of strikes and blows, misses and connections. She floated around him, frustrating him as he growled at her, putting more force into his swings.

She laughed at him, her eyes sparkling. She was enjoying herself.

I edged along the wall, following the crowd out the door, thinking if I could get away while she was occupied with him, I could make a run for it and hide.

She struck out at him with her long claw-like fingernails, connecting with his chest armor and slicing through it like it was made of paper. He was sent careening into the wall of bookshelves, stacks of books crashing down on him as he slid down the wall.

Oh god, she’s killed him.

Laughing, she turned to set her sights on me. Narrowing her eyes, she took a step towards me.

“I… I paid for it,” I whispered.

She shrugged.

“But I didn’t steal it…”

“It stopped being about that a long time ago, didn’t it, Rusalki?” he asked from the floor, groaning as he got to his feet and looked at the gaping wounds across his chest. “I just bought this. Do you realize how hard it is to find this kind of armor these days?”

“It’s mine,” she growled, turning her back on him.

“The people that hurt you paid their price. You made sure of that. Doesn’t the hunting get old? Aren’t you tired?” he asked, slowly picking up his sword.

She stopped, her left eye twitching a little.

“Tell me Geralt, don’t you get tired of hunting? Of course you do. Because you’re trying to be the good guy, always trying to be the good guy. BUT WHAT ABOUT WHAT I WANT?” she screamed, the glass in the windows shattering as she turned back to face me.

“What you wanted was justice in your death, you got it. Why take her life, when she’s done you no wrong?”

“It wasn’t enough that only they paid for their crimes against me. I need it to live now. It doesn’t have to be someone that stole it. She has it in her possession, wearing it, brazenly taunting me. No, Geralt. I’m hungry, and she smells delicious, so why not bend the rules a bit? Don’t tell me you aren’t tempted yourself, I know you have a discerning palate. I’ll share her with you.” She grinned.

“I’ve learned to… curb it. You can, too, with some practice.”

She looked thoughtful for a moment, looked back at me, then over her shoulder at him again.

“No. I don’t think I will.”

She darted forward towards me, reaching out her deadly talons just as he raised his sword and swung.

The sharp, hot pain of her claws dragging across my neck barely registered as I saw his blade slice through her neck, her head falling to the ground at my feet, the look of ravenous hunger still frozen on her lips.

The room started to fade, my strength running from me in rivulets of blood down my handcrafted sweater.

“This took me ages… to… make…” I murmured, looking at the blood on my hands.

He stepped over her body, kneeling before me on the floor. His nostrils flared, looking down into my eyes.

“Fuck,” he murmured as he brought a dagger to his inner forearm, dragging it across the skin. Bright red blood pooled where the sharp blade pierced him. He looked at it, then at me.

“This might hurt,” he murmured gently as he pressed his wound against the rip in my neck.

Pulling my back against his chest, he swore to himself again as the blood continued to drain from my body into his lap. Shaking his head as if steeling himself for something unpleasant, he leaned forward, his lips sealing against the unscathed part of my neck. A white hot pain ripped through my body as I felt his fangs sinking into me.

The darkness finally took me as I felt my life being drained from me.

************************

Pain. All I knew was pain. Everything hurt, and it hurt like hell. Fire ran through my veins, lead settled in my stomach. My head throbbed and my mouth felt like there were barbs set in my tongue.

But… If it hurts… I’m alive? How am I alive? I should be dead… She ripped my throat apart. He… bit me. Why the fuck did he bite me? What the hell just happened? Oh, god, don’t move me. It hurts so much.

I could feel my body being jostled and adjusted, heard him grunt, and a horse made a noise of irritation and a long sigh.

“Roach, I don’t want to talk about it.”

There was another equine huff.

“I said it couldn’t be helped. What else was I supposed to do? Leave her to die after all of that?”

A whinny.

Is… he talking to… a horse? A horse that thinks he should have left me to die, apparently. And her name is Roach.

“She’ll need help. She needs potions or she’s just going to suffer more and die. Or worse, she’ll turn. No one else will know what to do for her. Now stand still.”

My body was laid gently over the back of the horse. I could smell her scent. Earthy, leather, dust and pine. It was a calming scent. I felt Roach relax under me as he continued to speak to her.

“Thank you. Try to keep her steady as you walk. She’s in a lot of pain, and the less she moves around the better.”

She let out an offended huff, as if she couldn’t believe he would doubt she would ever do anything but walk steady and with great care as she began walking.

She’s a good horse. It still hurts everywhere but she’s keeping me as still as she can. A really good girl. Roach. What an odd name for a horse. I like it.

The feel of her coat against my face was comforting, soft and warm. It was lulling me back to sleep, or I was just in so much pain I was going to become unconscious again, I couldn’t tell which.

With one final burst of strength, I was able to open my eyes. I could see the leather saddle, the dirty saddle blanket, and her brown hair. His broad back was just to the front of us, the hilt of his sword jutting out of his pack. It was dusk, and we were in a thick wooded area.

How long have I been unconscious? He… Geralt… Where is he taking me?

Geralt was leading the horse down a narrow path, that to be honest, if he hadn’t been walking on, I wouldn’t have noticed. My eyes grew heavy again and the last thing I remembered was him turning to glance at me, and his forehead was creased with worry.

That’s probably not good.

*********

The next time I woke, it was with a horrifically rancid acid-like taste in my mouth. Sputtering and trying to spit out the offensive liquid, Geralt grabbed my jaw and held my mouth closed, softly telling me to swallow it.

“It will help with the pain and lower the fever. Swallow it. Swallow it. There. Good girl. You can sleep again after you swallow it,” he murmured. His large fingers caressed the side of my face as I swallowed the offensive medicine and fell back into the pillow, my breath escaping me as if I’d run for miles.

The pain began to subside as soon the liquid slipped down my throat. Radiating through my body, the throbbing dulled and the burning cooled. Feeling clammy and soaked in sweat, I tried to catch my breath.

“Where…”

His fingers still on my cheek, he brought one to my lips, silencing me.

“You’re safe here, rest.”

Pushing his hand away from my mouth, I tried to sit up. My body weak and my arms unable to hold my weight, I once again fell into the pillow.

“Who are you?” I whispered, wishing I could wake up from this dream, because it had to be a dream.

He sighed. Standing and stalking over to a roughly hewn log table, he picked up a bowl. Able to grasp my surroundings now that the pain had lessened a bit, I noticed that we were in what looked like a one room cabin. Walls made of giant logs with what looked to be mud filling the gaps in between surrounded us, except for one wall which was one large slab of rock with a fireplace chiseled out of it, where a fire crackled warmly. The table, the bed that I was in, a large chair in front of the fireplace, and a wash stand were the only furniture other than a kitchen counter of sorts.

“My name is Geralt. Geralt of Rivia. I’ll tell you more when you wake. Please rest. It’s the only way you’ll start to heal.” He returned with a rag covered in green mush. Seeing me eye it warily, he gave me a small smile. “A poultice. For your wound. It will help it heal, and keep the scarring to a minimum. As much as it can.”

Gingerly, I raised my hand to my throat. One side felt tight and crusted, a large scab over what had been irreversible damage. My eyes wide in fear, I turned to find him watching me with a look on his face that I couldn’t quite place. Pity? Sadness? Commiseration?

How did he get it to heal so quickly? How did he get it to heal at all?

“I know you have questions. I promise I will answer them after you rest.” Gently, he placed the cloth against my neck, a slightly pleasant cooling sensation tickling my damaged tissue.

My eyes were growing heavy as I watched him move about the small cabin, mixing a large pot that hung over the flames in the fireplace as he consulted an old book that lay on the table. I didn’t want to sleep, I wanted answers, but I was so tired.

Sensing me watching him, he spoke without turning.

“I give you my word, you’re safer here than anywhere else. Sleep.”

Closing my eyes, I drifted to sleep, the sounds of him moving about the cabin my lullaby.

******

For several days, this pattern repeated itself. Sometimes he would wake me with the rotten tasting potion, others he would be propping up my pillows to feed me some broth. Slowly, I began to feel my strength returning, the burning fever wasn’t as bad, and the pain, while still there, was manageable. He kept avoiding my questions, telling me that rest was more important, that the potions would take better if I rested. I was annoyed, but also very tired, so I took his advice and slept.

“I can probably feed myself,” I said quietly as he sat on the edge of the bed, bowl of broth and spoon in hand a few weeks later.

“Probably,” he agreed, bringing the spoon to my lips and watching as I obediently opened my mouth.

Swallowing the spoonful, I stopped his hand on it’s return to the bowl to refill.

“Please tell me.”

Sighing, he placed the spoon in the bowl, refilling it and bringing it to my mouth again.

“A long time ago, monsters used to roam the land freely.” He looked at me closely, gauging my reaction. To be honest, before all of this I would have thought he was insane, but having had my throat ripped out by one, I was partial to believing him.

“There was a guild of monster slayers, called Withcers. It was our job to hunt down and rid the world of monsters. As time went on, there were less and less witchers, and as the modern world became what it is today, monsters became less common as well. When you hear of monsters, I’m sure you think of things like werewolves and ghosts? Sometimes monsters are created from circumstances. The creature that you encountered was a result of a tragic death and a vengeful spirit. She was assaulted and murdered by a band of outlaws who stole her jewels, one of which was the pin that you were wearing that night. She became a creature that sought out revenge on those that had wronged her, and became obsessed with whoever came into possession of her jewels by nefarious means, killing and feasting on the bodies.”

I felt nauseous.

“I don’t understand, I didn’t do anything to her. I bought it, I didn’t steal it.”

“She had long since stopped caring about whether the person in possession of it actually stole it, apparently. I believe the man you bought it from had acquired it in a less than honest way, but either way, after centuries of killing for revenge, it turned into killing for pleasure. She developed a taste for it, you could say.”

“She said that I smelled delicious. But she also said…”

You have a discerning palate.

He gave me a slight smirk, watching me put two and two together.

“Are you… whatever she was?”

“No.”

“Why did you bite me?”

He grunted under his breath as he filled the spoon again, placing it at my lips. When I didn’t open my mouth, his yellow eyes flicked from my lips to my eyes, irritation and some other emotion written in them.

Pain? No. Fear. He’s scared of what I’ll think of him?

“You should finish eating and rest.”

“I know that you saved me, whatever you did. I just would like to know why. I’m so confused, and scared. I don’t know where I am, who you are, what happened, or how long I’ve been here. I don’t know anything anymore, because everything I thought was true isn’t and everything I thought was untrue isn’t,” I said quietly, leaning towards his hand which was still suspended in front of me and taking the spoon in my mouth.

Continuing to feed me, he told me his unbelievable, impossible story. Thousands of years old, he’d roamed the earth looking for and killing monsters. Keeping mankind safe, even though they’d shunned him. Eventually his kind had died out, though could they really become extinct if they were made, not born?

“Mutants. That’s what becomes of the children who train to become witchers. We become mutants. Faster, stronger, longer lives. Able to drink poison to enhance our abilities. Which is why about 1500 years ago, give or take, when I was hunting a particularly nasty vampire and he ambushed me, biting me, I was able to fight him off and not turn completely. A combination of my mutations and the potions I was able to take after the bite stopped the transformation.”

“Vampire?” I asked weakly.

He nodded.

“You’re a vampire?”

“Not in the literal sense of the word, no. I do have some of the abilities though. I can bite someone and turn them. I can also drink the blood of a human and regenerate. Though I haven’t done that in a very long time. Once I was able to control it, I haven’t done it since. Well. Until I met you.”

Oh god.

“Do not worry. I’m not going to do it again. Though I have to say I agree with Rusalki. You’re delicious.” He smiled at me, his long canine teeth catching the light from the fireplace. “But I only did that to save you. When I put my blood on your wound, I was trying to transfer some of the regenerative properties to you, but I was weak from where she had cut me. So by biting you, I regenerated and in turn that was passed onto you through the cut on my arm. The potions are the same that I took after I was bitten, just diluted, as you’re not a mutant and your body couldn’t handle the full strength.”

I sat, staring at the fire, trying to understand everything he’d just told me. A thousands of years

old mutant that had the abilities of a vampire, but was apparently somewhat of a vegetarian of sorts. And he’d saved me. From her and from death. I owed him my life.

“Geralt.” I liked the way his name felt on my tongue. “I can’t ever thank you enough for what you did for me.”

“Don’t mention it. It’s my job,” he said gruffly.

“Your job that you’ve been doing for thousands of years? Has anyone ever thanked you for it?”

“They used to. Sometimes. When they knew what a witcher was.” He stood, taking the empty bowl to the wash basin. “Get some rest. You’ve already over exerted yourself with this conversation.”

Turning to my side, I ran my fingers across the wound on my neck. The scab was gone now, replaced by a tight feeling scar. Tracing my neck with my fingertips to the otherside, I felt the two little indents from where he’d bitten me. Tears of gratitude welled in my eyes. Swiping them away with the sleeve of my borrowed shirt, I tried to rest.

Eventually, he blew out the candles and came to lay down in the small bed, carefully tucking his large body into the blankets so as not to touch me too much. I didn’t know if it was because he didn’t want to touch me, or didn’t want to be tempted.

I flattered myself that it was the latter, given how measured his breaths were and how ridgid he held himself.

At one point in the night I woke, thinking the full fever had returned. Once I realized it was just because there was a full grown Witcher sprawled across me, I allowed myself a small smile and snuggled even closer, reveling in his embrace. I drifted to sleep, my heart beat matching his.

******

When I woke the next day, he was gone. Daylight shone through the small windows, making the cabin seem more spacious than it had when I’d only seen it at night by firelight. Feeling better than I had in weeks, I sat up, swinging my legs slowly over the side of the bed. On the table next to the bed was a small vial with a handwritten note on parchment.

Drink this. Eat. I’ll be back shortly. Stay inside the cabin.

~G

Taking the little glass bottle in my hand, I drank it quickly, trying not to wretch at the taste. It hadn’t gotten less disgusting over time. Standing from the bed proved to be possible, if a little wobbly.

The first thing I wanted to do was wash. I’d woken a few times to him with a washcloth, wiping down my sweaty forehead, arms, or legs. I tried not to think too hard about how in depth he’d needed to clean me over the past few weeks. I couldn’t deny the thrill that ran through me at the thought. Monster, or mutant, or whatever he was, he was very attractive and the thought of him running his hands over me made me feel nervous in a way I’d rarely felt around human men.

Making it to the wash stand, I was disappointed to find no water in the pitcher. Searching through the cabin, I couldn’t find a tap. Glancing out the window, I saw what looked like a well, a bucket on a rope hanging from the side.

Slowly, I unlocked the door and poked my head out. The forest was fairly quiet except for normal woodland sounds, sunbeams streaking down between the gently rustling leaves. I walked the short distance to the well, pulling up a bucket of fresh, cool water.

Darting back into the house to grab a washcloth, a larger towel, and a bar of soap I’d found as well as the small wash basin, I brought it back to the well, filling the basin with the blessed water. Stripping out of his shirt, I washed myself in the clearing, reveling in the feel of the sun on my skin and the cool refreshing feel of the water cleansing me after weeks of being in the bed.

Flipping my head forward to rinse my hair, the water from the pitcher pooling at my feet, I heard an impatient huff. Freezing, my heart stopped when I heard the footsteps of a horse enter the clearing.

“Hmm. I thought I wrote to stay in the cabin,” Geralt growled.

Finishing dumping the pitcher over my hair, I groped for the towel, trying to cover myself as much as I could.

Looking up at him perched on Roach, I could tell he wasn’t pleased. Roach looked at me, annoyance in her eyes.

How can you tell if a horse is annoyed? I don’t know. But she looked annoyed. At the very least, she didn’t like me.

“I’m sorry… I needed water and I saw the well and then it was just so nice outside in the sun and…” I couldn’t keep my eyes on his face, seeing his disappointment in me clearly written there, so I looked down at my hands that were knotted in the towel as I clenched it in front of me.

“It’s not safe in these woods alone.” He glanced around, as if he hadn’t been the only one watching me from the trees. Perhaps he hadn’t been. “You might as well finish.”

He dismounted, walking Roach over to the pen he kept her in, pulling off her saddle and blanket, brushing her down. He returned to the well, filling the bucket and glancing at me as I hadn’t moved. The sun was setting and the warmth of the day was leaving with it. I felt chilled and unsure of what I should do.

Roach let out a shocked noise as something dark and growling entered the clearing, running straight at me. Before I’d even registered it, Geralt pushed me back, causing me to fall on my ass in the dirt, and was swinging his sword at the monster, slicing through it’s leg. As the creature fell to the ground, trying to rear and redirect its attack at Geralt instead of me, Geralt fell to his knees as his sword sank into its skull, pinning it to the dirt.

Breathing heavily, Geralt pushed off the ground, twisting his sword, causing the creature to gargle and then fall limp, a pile of dark, matted fur and blood in the otherwise beautiful woodland clearing.

“What the fuck what that?” I breathed, unable to take my eyes off it.

Geralt kicked the massive dog over with his boot, looking at it closely.

“Best I can tell is a barghest, but it just may be a mutated wolf or dog. Do you see now why you can’t be out here alone?” He looked at me, his face unreadable.

“I’m sorry, Geralt. I won’t ignore you again. I wasn’t thinking. I’m… I’m used to the woods just being the woods. Not some dangerous place full of monsters,” I whispered, feeling tears prick at my eyes, a sob escaping my lips. “I just… I miss my normal, boring, monsterless life and I-”

Suddenly, I was enveloped in his embrace. Picking me up off the ground and holding me tightly, he rubbed my bare back, his calloused hand leaving a trail of goosebumps. Grabbing the pitcher, he poured the water over my backside, rinsing off the mud.

“It’s alright. I told you that you’re safe here, and you are. As long as you stay inside when I’m gone. Come on, Pumpkin, let’s go inside.”

I sniffed against his shoulder.

“Pumpkin?”

“It’s what they called you at the party. Is that not your name?”

“It might as well be now.”

*****

He left me more frequently now that I was able to get about the cabin and do things on my own. I never went out without him being there again, and before he left, he made sure to fill the water pitcher and a large tin tub he’d procured for me, finding it amusing how much I enjoyed bathing.

“It’s something that we do pretty much everyday these days,” I said, trying to be nonchalant about my hint. I knew he spent most days out hunting and bathing was probably the least of his worries, but when he returned home, it was now the first thing he would do. It made sharing a bed with him more pleasant, even if I barely slept from nerves. He would snore through the night, rarely moving, but just lying next to a man like him made me nauseous and giddy at the same time.

He would bring me things when he came back, like knitting needles and yarn or a sewing kit and fabric, telling me to make myself some clothes. I made him a sweater to his amusement, and a dress for myself, as well as a lovely shawl. I was able to clean and repurpose my bloodstained orange sweater into a new saddle blanket for Roach.

Standing at the edge of her pen the next time they came home, I held it up to show her the new blanket that would replace the rough, filthy old one that she had used for god knows how long. She eyed it, ignoring me as best she could.

“I just wanted to say thank you, for carrying me the day I came here. You were so gentle and I really appreciated the care you took, because you knew how much pain I was in. Plus I thought the orange would look really pretty on you. So, thanks,” I said, laying the blanket on the fence rail and turning to go back into the cabin. I stopped when I noticed Geralt was watching me with a small smile on his face from the well where he was pulling up a bucket of water.

From behind, Roach bumped her head into my back, and nuzzled her nose into my neck. Geralt laughed.

“She says you’re welcome.”

*****

One evening I was sitting at the table, trying to work on a blanket I’d started for the bed, when I heard Roach gallop into the clearing, whinnying loudly.

Forgetting the rules, I threw open the door to find her just outside, Geralt laying prone across her saddle, blood covering his face.

“No! Are you ok?” I cried, dashing out the door. “Geralt! Please! Talk to me!”

I pulled him off the horse, an outburst issuing from him in a string of profanities that would make a sailor blush. I had to admit that it made me feel a little better since he could still talk somewhat.

Helping him inside, I couldn’t help but notice how heavily he was leaning on me. The metallic scent of blood filled my nostrils as I pushed him down onto the bed.

“Oh… no… what can I do?” I whispered when I saw his armor had been destroyed, raw flesh and organs visible through the gore. “Please, tell me what to do, Geralt.”

“My potions,” he grunted.

I ran out to where Roach still stood, grabbing his pack from the saddle bag. I shooed her to her enclosure, slamming the gate shut as I hustled back inside.

“Which one?”

“Blue with an iridescent green to it.” His face was etched with pain as he tried to shift on the bed when I handed him the potion he asked for.

“Here.” I held the bottle to his lips as he took a sip, gagging slightly.

“Yeah, your potions taste horrible,” I said, trying to keep the tears out of my voice as he began to shake. “Please, hang on. You can’t leave me…”

He shook his head, looking down at his wounds. They weren’t getting any better with the elixir.

“Geralt…” Resting my hand on the side of his face, I made sure he was looking me in the eye. “What if you… drank from me?”

“No,” he spat.

“Would it help?”

“Yes, but…” He grimaced, his body shuddering.

I tucked my hair to the side, exposing my neck to him. I could see his pupils dilate as he focused on the rapid pulse ticking at my carotid vein.

“I can’t,” he murmured. “I don’t know if I could stop.”

“I trust you,” I said, leaning forward, “please. Let me help you.”

Wrapping his hand around the back of my neck, he placed his lips to my skin, kissing me softly, murmuring against me softly.

“This might hurt.”

The searing pain I’d experienced last time didn’t come as I expected. I felt a sharp pinch and then a cool breath as my blood left my body and entered his. Lightheaded and full of love for this man, I could only feel the joy of being able to save his life in return for him saving mine.

Breaking his grip on my neck, Geralt pulled me over him on the bed, his lips crashing into mine. The frantic urgency of the kiss and the taste of my blood on his tongue made me push away from him, worried that I’d be hurting him.

“Geralt! Be careful!” I gasped at the sight of his chest.

Stunned, I ran my fingers over his torso, angry red scars where the gaping wounds had been seconds before. Taking me in his arms again, he flipped me under him on the bed.

“I could feel your love… I could taste it,” he said, his eyes searching mine, amazed. “Pumpkin, I… love you. Thank you for believing in me.”

He kissed me softly, his love for me evident in his kiss. Impatient and wanting to feel his skin against my hands, I ripped the remainder of his armor and shirt off, running my fingers over his back, feeling every scar that told the story of his life.

“I told you that I trusted you, I knew you wouldn’t hurt me,” I whispered against his neck, kissing just below his jaw. “I would give you everything if that meant keeping you alive.”

“Fuck,” he growled, grinding against me, his lips finding my neck again, kissing and licking reverently at the spot that had just saved him.

Bucking my hips against his, looking for friction, I let out a shaky sigh when his rough fingers found my core, sinking in and feeling how much I needed him.

“Geralt, please!” I whined, my fingers fumbling with the buttons at his waist.

Raising above me on his knees, he made quick work of divesting himself of his pants enough to expose his erection, settling himself back down between my legs as I pulled my dress over my head, tossing it to the floor.

Running my hand over his cock, he let out a growl that made me grin. I felt drunk on the effect I had on him. Stroking him, I guided him to my entrance.

“I need you,” I whispered.

His lips met mine as he sunk into my warmth, a swear escaping him once he was fully sheathed within me.

“You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do that,” he whispered, his lips against my forehead as he slowly began moving.

“Probably as long as I’ve wanted you to do that,” I whispered back.

Catching his rhythm, he ground into me slowly, snapping his hips back only to sink back into me with just as much measured restraint. Gripping his back, I was a whimpering mess before long, coming several times before he’d even worked up a sweat.

“Geralt, I can’t!” I cried when I came again as his hand reached between us, rubbing my overly tender bud, causing me to cry out and jump away from him, “it’s too much! Are you even close?”

Kissing my neck and cheeks, he brushed my hair back from my face, still moving within me.

“It’s alright, we can stop. It goes with the territory. Witcher’s are stronger and last longer at everything.” He kissed my nose as he tried to pull out.

I wrapped my legs around his hips, holding him in place.

“I want you to come,” I whispered, not able to meet his eye.

“It’s alright, Pumpkin. I don’t want to hurt you. We can try again later.” He gave me a lazy smile, making me clench my walls around him and eliciting a soft moan from him.

“What if…” I trailed off.

“What if what?” He looked interested to know what I was thinking.

“Promise not to get mad?”

“Hmmm. Tell me.”

“Promise first.”

“Fine. I promise.”

“You promise not to get mad.”

Annoyed, he rolled his eyes.

“I promise not to get mad.”

“What if you bit me,” I said quietly.

His eyes widened. I could tell the thought of it aroused him, his already rock hard cock getting impossibly harder inside me, throbbing with need.

“Are you trying to kill me? Or yourself?! No. Absolutely not.”

“You promised.”

“I’m not mad. Move your legs, Pumpkin.”

“No. I want you to.”

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“Just a little one. I want to feel you come!” I begged, lacing my fingers into his hair, fisting the silver strands and giving a gentle pull towards my neck, my head falling back against the pillow. “I want to make you feel as good as you made me feel.”

He slammed into me, pushing me down hard into the mattress, fucking into me mercilessly.

“Is this what you want?” he growled. “You want me to take you? Make you mine?”

“Yes!” I cried.

His nose nuzzled against my neck, his tongue laving across my pulse. Kissing me, sucking at my skin, he dragged his teeth lightly down my flesh, causing me to shiver.

“I need you to come again,” he whispered.

“I can’t,” I whimpered.

“Come.”

“Geralt, I can’t! I just want you to come!”

“I said come,” he commanded, his voice low and gravely as sunk his teeth into me.

My body convulsed against him, my core shuddering around him as he twitched and filled me. Rivulets of pleasure like I’ve never known rushed through me. The vibrations of his groan ran from his mouth and into my veins.

“Fuck,” he hissed.

Collapsing on top of me, he licked and kissed the small punctures on my neck, nuzzling behind my ear when he was satisfied they were closed.

I ran my fingers lightly over the muscles in his back, pure bliss making me feel like I was floating. My heart was racing and I could feel his heart slamming in his chest as well.

“That…” I murmured, taking a deep breath, still trying to calm my pounding heart.

“Is not happening again,” he growled in my ear.

“It’s not?” I whined slightly. “I’ve never come like that, and you can’t tell me it wasn’t good for you.”

He sighed, rolling over and pulling me with him, yanking the blanket up around us.

“Well. We’ll see.”

#henry cavill #geralt of rivia #geralt of river x reader #I’m sad #so here’s a story I wrote last year that made me happy

[harmlesspotato20]

BLLK | Nagi Seishiro - My girl.

❝┋volleyball player! kenma! fem! reader x football player! nagi seishiro

"See you later Chibi-chan!" Kuroo waved at you with a cat smile on his lips as you stared boredly at him and his rooster dark hair. You finished your volleyball practice from your high school club and was returning home when you met Kuroo.

Kuroo is your bother's bestfriend. He is the captain of his volleyball club. You were playing with your nintendo switch and had demon slayer manga pressed between your forearms. You unfortunately fell asleep on the bus back from the game.

Zelda series got you hooked on games. Your mates who see your everyday with switch and manga wonders how you have ridiculously clear skin being a gamer. Well Kenma genes run in you. You have social anxiety , never asked anyone for help.

Kuroo belived him being a kind angel , woke you up in the right stop and told you he will walk you home. But you walked towards a different street making him confused. He asked you how this is not Kenma's house once you both reached.

"It's my boyfriend's home.." you mumbled eyes on your game , your game character dodging all obstacles and moving forward. You and your boyfriend Nagi Seishiro , a football player just like you lazy and uninterested.

Maybe that's what pulled you both together. Your school Nekoma and their school's volleyball club had a match when Nekoma High went to their school. There , after you match , you had a manga on your lap while you played your game.

"Oh.. you remind me of my friend.." A manly voice said making you raise your head at the spoke voice meeting a purple haired male in his soccer fit. Your device beeped showing your character dead and points earner with a big written text that said GAME OVER and TRY AGAIN.

You just sighed and placed your headphone resting on your shoulder on your ears listening to songs to block out the voice. You had more time for break and didn't want to waste it now. "Oh come on.. don't do that." The purple haired guy pouted when someone called him out.

"Reo!" a noticeably tall teenager having have short white hair that leaves a V-shaped fringe in between his eyes called the guy who talked to you. "Nagi! look I found your soulmate!" the boy laughed calling his other friend.

The gray-colored eye boy looked at you who shrunk under your volleyball jersey , manga on your lap and switch in your hands. You both shared a solid 4 second eye contact which was broken by you. "y/n! let's go , break is over." your team called you out. 'y/n...' Nagi thought.

Nagi gulped , heart thumping. Not only he found someone who had same interests as him but also someone athletic. You muttered curses under your breath getting up and placing your things in your bag with a frown. "What's that look on your face? excited?" your friend teased.

"I don't know what you are talking about." you slumped and walked towards the court. "Say.. should we watch their game?" Reo suggested elbowing his friend with a smirk. Nagi said nothing just his eyes lingering on your for more than he intended to.

Those two watched as your team played against their school's team. The opposite team jumped and shot the ball at your team who's libero saved the ball in time. 'Why is gravity a thing in this world? gravity pisses me off' you made a annoyed face and jumped since you were a setter.

'If gravity didn't exist the ball wouldn't have fallen into out court' your grit your teeth touching the ball with your fingers and looked at the opposite team. "Man she sure seems happy to play.." Reo laughed sarcastically. Nagi's eye still at you as his mouth formed a :x shape looking at you. 

You saw the team's messed up defence and didn't set the ball to anyone but dumped into their court over the net. "A setter's dump!" player gasped seeing the ball hit the floor , your team gaining a point. Your team surprised by you , not being lazy thought you were sick.

Nagi''s and Reo's eyes widened at the stunt. "Man.. that was cool." Reo said seeing your team give you a banana which you had a grumpy face. "You must be low on carbs , eat a banana." your team captain smiled. You angrily munched on the fruit getting mad.

"Is it so weird that I worked hard for my friends!? is it that weird huh!?" you shouted , with banana still in your mouth stuffed in your cheeks looking like a cute hamster. Nagi looked away covering his face with his arms and ran away from the court.

Reo then discovered Nagi got shy and ran away flustered and teased him about that a lot. Blushing? Gross. Love? Yuck. Fortunately Reo playing a cupid , asked for your number. He discovered how you were socially anxious and didn't nag you more but said it was for his friend.

You looked at the white haired man with red face and :x expression and just gave him your number said your name. "Kenma y/n." you mumbled making him smile. "Man you have a great voice, you should talk more." he said.

And that's my friends the first meeting between two introverts. Birds of feather flock together right? Nagi took a good 2 months to gather courage and text you. Later you both became common friends by playing games.

Nagi confessed to you online when we you both were slaying ender dragon. "y/n if I kill this dragon without dying please date me!" he shouted , letting his tongue slip. He defeated the dragon but left the game too flustered and embarrassed to talk to you.

You then called him and told him you felt the same. You both went on a date in Minecraft , Nagi collected blocks for building home while you picked flowers to decorate flower. Nagi's minecraft character walked towards you and threw you a flower from his inventory. awww.

He would place his Minecraft bed next to yours. You both decided to meet offline and was too shy to talk to each other but soon got comfortable playing games , laughing and watching anime. You fell asleep on Nagi's lap that day making his heat almost burst out.

Now , presently your boyfriend and you were dating for 8 months , both in a happy healthy relationship. You walked in Nagi's house, since you had a spear key which he gave to you. His mom and dad were out for most of the time.

You looked at his pet cactus Choki and tapped on the pot twice like a greeting. Being tired and exhausted by the practice you looked at the house being lighted up meaning Nagi was home. You wanted nothing but to cuddle with him.

You removed your top left in sports bra feeling sweaty.  You placed your switch and bag on top of the table , walking towards Nagi's room holding your manga concentrated at the panels. You opened the door and looked up from the book as your eyes shot up wide and looked at your boyfriend who had shirt over his head.

"holy shit," you whispered dropping your manga and looked at Nagi's 8 packs. He's not huge, but symmetrical. Beautifully balanced. He was athletic and in proportion. Your drooled at him , Waist to hip ratio, waist to shoulder ratio, height and ring finger to index finger ratio everything.

As you look down he had boxers , above his V line flowing down. "Eh?" Nagi pulled the shirt over his head completely and looked over his shoulder too see his girlfriend standing near the door , nothing but with bra and shorts , manga on floor.

His eyes widened too, as blush forced from his neck to ears. But when he saw your red face , all his embarrassment went away as he felt more confident. "Oh hello , angel." he greeted walking towards you when you walked back. "Ack—" haired on your neck raised when he was near you.

Nagi raised his hand holding eye contact with you and pressed it against the hard door , locking it shut with you pressed against by your half naked boyfriend. "Hi Sei.." you mumbled only to be silenced by Nagi's lips pressed against yours.

He placed his hand under your head , holding you gently so you won't hit your head. Grasping your hips with his other hand, he sucked your bottom lip , you kissed him back with same pleasure. He sucked and occasionally pecked near you cupid's bow as his tubercles were on yours.  

You traced a random pattern on his chest using your finger tips. You both broke away for oxygen , both your faces red and gasping for air. He placed his head on your shoulder and mumbled in tired voice. "So.. sleepy, let's cuddle?" he asked pecking your nape.

"Yeah.." you shivered and closed your eyes , enjoying your boyfriend's warmth you both shared. Your fingers were intertwined into his long hair and clenching into a fist gently massing his scalp as he sighed in relaxation , feeling good when you did that.  

You kissed his forehead and he put you on the bed gently. You both laid on your sides. Seishiro wrapped his arm around you, providing a tight and secure embrace. He mumbled how he was exhausted practicing for nationals and both fell asleep in no time.

the end.  original source : my wattpad account. 

#nagi seishiro #bluelock #blue lock reo #reomikage #nagi x reader #kenma #kuroo tetsurō #bllk x you #bllk oneshot #ego jinpachi