#that is one apocalypse story if I’ve heard of one | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thatoneguydownthestreet · 5 months

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Howdy! I was wondering what the twst guys would do if apocalypse mc came to twisted wonderland with a rifle and handgun? Like rook learning they can be used for hunting or lilias reaction to the weapons of war from their world

You don’t have to write this! I’ve just been brainrotting about this 😮‍💨

Anyway thanks for your time!💕💕

I really need to add a character limit to this.

I'm doing one from the first 5 dorms and if you want more characters I'll get to them once requested open again.

FEM ALIGNED DNI

Yuu pronouns are he/him

Characters: Ace (technicallyduece too ig), ruggie, jade, kalim, and rook

Warnings: Dueces slight suicidal ideation, ruggies lowkey nihilism, you kill a monster in Jades part, slight body horror in Kalims part, not proof read

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Ace:

Ace was pissed. Why? Because he was fucking stupid.

He was stupid. Duece was stupid. And that weird kids with the weird mask and the fucking fire monster was fucking stupid.

Because someone thought it would be a great idea to run away from their clean up duty (Grim (ace quietly chose to ignore that he had tried to do the same thing first)) by hiding in a chandelier was a good idea, and someone else thought hurling him into said chandelier with questionable at best magic was an even better idea.

So now ace trappola was running for his life in a crystal mine, with only the same people who got him into this situation in the first place here with him.

These feelings only seemed to be amplified after duece decided that the crystals were worth more than his life! Also it didn't exactly help that he had seen the magicless guy almost get impaled with one of the oversized pickaxes that...that thing was swinging around.

"My....m.y..Give me back..my. STONES"

The adrenaline rushed through aces body like a wave, it's only purpose being to make sure he survives dammit! He doesn't even care if he gets expelled anymore. His brother has told him enough stories about NRC to write a novel. Ace had come here with a picture already painted in his head and this was not it.

He made a sharp turn left. They had walked down this tunnel on their way in right?

He saw a little light poke out just around the next turn.

Yeah, they had come through this way.

Ace heard a small yelp and the sound of dirt being scattered and a small thud of someone hitting the ground.

He didn't look back. He just kept running.

He kept running until he came across the small cottage that they'd gone into earlier. Duece stumbled in right after him. The masked boy and the fire cat-weasle thing on his shoulders.

The guy was covered in dirt. He's probably the one that fell.

Ace was bent over, panting like he had just ran for his life, probably because he did, but he's pretty sure he heard duece half gently set the kid, whose name he still didn't really know, down before he joined ace in his desperate attempt to catch his breath.

Ace closed his eyes. What the hell is happening right now? Why was he here? Why did he have to go tease that weird magicless freak this morning and pick a fight with their freaky cat?

You know what? Fuck this. If he gets expelled, so be it. There are plenty of other magic schools, including ones closer to home. He'll be just fine.

Duece however, didn't seem to get the memo.

"It was right there...we have to go back!", duece had so much determination in his voice...

Ace felt his eye twitch. "Like hell we do!"

Duece snapped his head towards him, and the mystery bro was still sitting on the floor, now cradling grim like he was an actual cat.

"Yeah, no. Sorry, but that crystal ain't worth it"

"So...so you're just gonna take the expulsion lying down? Just like that!? What are you, some kind of coward!?", duces voice got progressively more angry, which ace thought was bullshit.

He thought he was being perfectly reasonable with his choices, thank you very much.

"Uhhh. Yeah! Sorry not sorry, I choose life!"

I mean sure, his brother is gonna look at him all disappointed and shit, but hey, at least he'd be alive to see it.

Ace looked back at Mr. Mask-Man, who was still quietly petting grim, acting like they weren't even there.

It kind of pissed him off a little.

"Hey", he looked up, Ace count see their eyes, but somehow he knew they weren't making eye contact "do you have any better ideas? Or are you just gonna sit there the while time and not do anything?"

Was he being unfair? Probably. This guy (he should really ask for his name) wasn't even supposed the be in night Raven college, not to mention here? And he probably didn't want to be here any more than he did.

Did he care about that though? No. Not right now anyway.

Ace expected him to just put his head back down and go back to petting his freaky weasel. He expected them to just shrink up on themselves while ace went back to yelling at duece.

He did expect the guys head to perk up the smallest bit, he didn't expect the sudden feeling of very intense eye contact either.

And he definitely didn't expect him the nod and stand up so fast ace almost stumbled back.

But you know what the absolute last thing he expected from this guy? Going back to the mines.

Going back to the mines and waiting with duece for grim and the masked guy to come hauling ass back up the hill with the ...inky monster in tow. Because that's what's going to happen. Apparently.

...fuck. This guy was some type of maniac wasn't he?

Ace just glared at the ground. There wasn't anything he could do about it now, but he was still gonna be pissed if he died with a possible psychopath currently running towards him, and this blue gumball son of a bitch standing next to him.

"Bring me....my...stooones!"

He took a deep breath, possibly one of his lasts.

But I mean hey, might as well go out with a bang right?

The next few minutes all seemed to happen in slow motion, and somehow ace could already see the moment when the reality of all this would all hit him. At 3 am or something like that. Probably.

...yeah. 3 am.

"Ace watch out!", a panicked, exhausted voice called out to him. Probably duece.

His head snapped over to where his dormmate was. What's happening?

The answer seemed pretty damn obvious, when a large shadow seemed to swallow him whole, a product of the monsters looming stature.

Ace froze. Seeing his life start to flash before his eyes. Memory after memory replaying in his mind.

You never really know how little you've lived until you see it all right in front of you...

BAM.

Aces eyes shot open (when had he closed them?) To see Mr. Mask standing just roughly six meters away from him, holding a...

...uh....what the hell was that?

BAM. BAM. BAM.

The loud noises rang out one by one. One right after the other.

Ace booked it to the side, trying to catch his breath.

Only for it to get caught again once he looked up.

The creatures head, the glass ink jar, was leaking. It had six small holes in it, and cracks spiderwebbing out from said holes. As the cracks grew larger, the glass began to break off, and more and more ink began to pour out.

"Duece!"

Aces eyes snapped to their third member, who responded immediately with another cauldron.

The head finally shattered. And the monster disappeared.

Slowly, aces gaze fell on the Ramshakle resident once again. Blinking slowly as he watched the guy put the...loud..thing away, before picking up grim once again.

Ace opened his mouth, and before he could even begin to realize what he was doing, he asked, "what was that?"

You called it a gun.

Ruggie:

Listen. Ruggie wasn't new to violence. You can't live in the slums all your life and make it out completely sheltered, no matter how hard your parents try.

And sure. Ruggie wasn't exactly a saint himself, But at this point, was anyone? He certainly didn't think so.

Yeah. Almost getting killed by leona fucked him up a little. But really, it wasn't that new when he really thought about it.

And yeah, leona never really apologized to him for all that, but at times like that, in an environment like savanaclaw? He didn't need to. His actions, no matter how small they were, still spoke for themselves.

So yeah. Ruggie bucchi has a lot of experience with violence.

But if you were to ask ruggie if he's ever seen anything like this before? Yeah. He'd have to answer no.

Everything was going shit. They were following the plan, he did his part flawlessly might he add, and then Azul decided he didn't want to follow the script. So now he was surround by black ink, panicking students, and slightly less panicking... allies? Allies.

But yeah. This sucked.

And so began the fight for his life once again. Honestly, this shit was getting old.

Whipping his head in every which way to look or for flying debris and tentacles (and wasn't that a sentence), and keeping his ears open for shouted commands and warnings, his attention landed on you for half a second, before quickly turning away; In that half second he saw you pull something out from jacket pocket.

About five seconds later, he heard a loud bang.

And not like when the construction workers accidentally drop a metal beam on concrete or something. No, this was just a loud, earth shattering bang that demanded attention. And attention it got.

Several heads snapped to you, holding a...uhhh. You tilted your head to the side, either in confusion or trying to get an angle on Azul.

BANG BANG

And then there was a scream, distorted and pained, with a faint sound of gushing and sloshing, a liquid being spilled. Ink being spilled out of the overblot phantoms head.

"Huh...the other one just died immediately..", he heard you mutter.

Ruggie shot a pointed look over to leona, who just looked at him in confusion. Ok. So he didn't miss anything during his housewardens little episode. He took a quick glance at the heartslabyul duo, who looked like they understood. Well, Ace understood. Duece wasn't close enough to hear and didn't have the hearing to pick up the slack.

Ok. So maybe yuu also decided to whip the thing out when riddle when crazy? He'll ask around later. Probably.

A tentacle slammed right next to him and started writhing around with another loud scream as the phantom lost more and more ink, and Ruggie remembered where they were.

The damage you did the overbloted octopus wasn't enough to downright defeat him, but it was enough to at least make the rest of the way a hell of a lot easier. So they're odds were looking much better than they were. Small mercies.

When everything eventually came to a head and the ink was beginning to melt off of Azul and he could finally breathe, he let his mind drift back to you.

Ok. What the hell. What was that? Why did it make that noise? What did it even do? How'd it shatter thick ass, magic glass? Did it launch blades at it or something? Also, why are you pretending like this whole thing was completely normal?

You weren't freaking out about this, you honestly seemed more focused on combing the gunk out of Azuls hair with your gloved fingers while the twins tried to asses his mental state, grim flopping on the ground off to your side. Now, this is probably your third, or maybe even fourth time you've been in this situation. But perfect, you treating it like it's just another Tuesday isn't exactly. Uh. Normal?

Not that you were normal, you had just began taking regular baths, which he was immensely grateful for. Seriously, he could only hold back leonas hair as he puked so many times before it got old. But even your (lack of) personality raised a few questions. Sometimes he wondered if you where really even there half the time.

After he caught his breath, he began to walk over to where you were, Ace and duece now scolding you and jade trying to check if you were hurt or not, and holy shit that is a big ass gash.

But he was already standing right behind you, so he honestly might as well ask.

"Hey. So uh. What did you do? What made the bangs?"

Your head snapped in his direction, pausing to just stare at him for a few unnerving seconds.

And then you pulled something out and called it a gun.

Jade:

Jade didn't really question why you wanted to join his club, he was just glad someone did. Even if that someone was a fucking weirdo like yourself.

Listen, jade wasn't picky when it came to his clubmembers ok?

Plus, aside from a few conversations about a bird or plant species you liked, and many more questions about basic things that you had apparently never seen before, and him acting like he knew any better than you about it, things went smoothly.

He collected his mushrooms and occasionally stopped to do a fieldsketch and you rolled around in moss and somehow became an instant bird whisperer. It was a good system.

About as good as it could be while you were running from a big ass monster.

Ok. Listen. He knew that there were monsters on this particular mountain, and he knew that some of them were man eaters. But dammit he did the research before hand! He made sure the two of you avoided their natural habitats at all cost! But apparently, this particular one could smell human blood much better than the rest, and apparently, you thought it was a good idea to not tell him you had cut yourself on a rock and were now bleeding.

"There's a cave right there!", he saw you point to an opening in a rock wall that was most definitely the small least cave he'd ever seen "do you think we could hide in it for a minute"

"I don't know!", you didn't really have any other options, running forever until you reached the place where the mirror had dropped you both off was more than inconvenient, especially on a mountain that had more steep cliffs than average. So he quickly signaled to you and began running towards it, awkwardly running into the small hole and barely seeing you baseball slide your way into there with much more ease.

Desperately trying to catch his breath, he started to plan. You only had a few minutes at best before the monster caught up to you, so the best thing they could do with the time they had was treat your wound to the best of his ability, and hope that the smell of blood would gradually fade and the beast would be thrown off your trails.

Click

He looked to you, hunched over and sill slightly panting as you loaded small, but long pointed metal cylinders into...something?

You had stopped wearing the mask, being one of the few people you trusted enough to see your face, which was sweet if he thought about, you were even getting better to look at! Looking a lot less like you had come back from the dead after the apocalypse and more like a recovering drug addict, but hey! Progress!

But he point is, he could see your face, and the look on your eyes, and...

Ah shit.

Perfect. Listen perfect, he knows you're batshit crazy, he is too, but please, you're going to get them killed. Even with your insane amount of luck, your half baked plans only work most of the time so for the love of the sea witch please just-

"I have an idea"

...Dammit.

So that's how you both got here, kneeling just barely out of the cave opening, and him standing on the Rocky formation right above you outside the cave. Waiting for the monster, and possi ly for death. If he survives this the first things he'd doing when he gets back to his dorm room is write his will so that he can make sure his precious mushrooms aren't thrown away by his brother. Would riddle accept them?

"Jade!"

He blinked, got his magic pen ready, and you cocked your gun. Staring at the place where the sound of heavy footsteps and snarls were coming from.

You both waited with baited breath as themonsters form came running up the steep hill and charged towards the two of you.

The sensation of water and earth magics filled the air as spell after spell was released, hitting the creature a good majority of the time. Meanwhile, you were shifting slightly, getting into a position that didn't look the most comfortable, but apparently it worked for you because you quickly gave him a small warning shout.

Jade covered his ears. You had warned him about the sound guns make, and how many people went deaf fro them due to lack of proper equipment and training, you sounded like you were repeating a quote that was all but drilled into you, a saying that everyone knows but never really says out loud. Did he belive you were exaggerating? Slightly.

That went away when he heard the loud boom though, even through his covered ears. Jade grew slightly concerned at the fact that you didnt seem to be too affected by all this.

You didn't seem too surprised at the loud noise. Just angling and adjusting the gun position until you could hit your target more accurately as it moved.

He heard ten shots go off. Out of those ten, at least seven actually hit. The monster, being as huge as it was, was about to ignore the first three. The rest, however, were clearly starting to take a toll on the thing.

He saw you pull the trigger a few more times, nothing more than assumed clicks coming out. Jade couldn't be too sure, as the pained roars of the monster completely drowned out the sound. Wordlessly, he got took his hands away from his ears and readied his magic. Letting it burst all around him and borage the monster as soon as your hand shot up into the air. The signal that you needed to reload and he had to momentarily take over.

The whole event took about fifteen minutes that felt like they were stretched into hours. Ending with him feeling a bit lightheaded, and you firing three extra shots into what he was pretty sure was a monstrous corpse. "Just in case".

Wanting to sit down and take a moment to collect himself was only just outweighed by the urge to make sure you were alright. So, jade jumped down from his little rock podium; he reached the ground just as you completely crawled out of the cave entrance.

Gently, he asked, "are you alright perfect?". A perfectly appropriate question to ask after...that.

To which you, in reply, completely flop down on the rough ground and let out a loud groan, both of you pretending that there wasn't a dead, three-metter tall monster right next to you.

An equally appropriate response.

"Four magazines jade! Four! I'm going to have to make soany bullets now!", jade only nodded, like how you do when he starts ranting about his beloved mushrooms.

Oh well, he'd understand soon enough. He has plenty of questions regarding you and you gun for the walk back to the mirror location.

Kalim:

Kalim felt like was caving in on him.

This was all happening so fast, way too fast. The one person that he thought he could trust whole heartedly, the boy he saw as nothing less than a brother, had done all this.

It was a lot to take in. Everything from his supposed verdict of keeping his dorm members in school, to yuu and grims vague comments, comments that he now recognizes for the warnings they were, to the guys from octavinnle, jamil overblotting, getting flung to the dessert, and now to be back here? Fighting for not only his, but his best friends (were they though?) Life?

Kalim just wanted to cry. The drop the the floor and cry. But he'd already done that and there was no time to do it again now. Not when he could see the ink and the snakes sucking out more and more of jamils life, when he could see jamils body begin the break down and contort in ways that shouldn't be possible. Not when his eyes grew more deranged with every second.

No, Kailm couldn't cry now. Not when Jamil was dying.

Magic attacks meeting the emotions of dread and rage that jamil had kept professionally buried only served made the air more tense. Yuu occasionally shouted directions from he sidelines, directions to use fire magic instead of water, or to dodge an incoming attack that very well could have killed him if it made contact.

And that just raises the question. Did jamil..? Was it his intention to kill him? Was that his goal the entire time?

....No. No, if Jamil wanted Kailm dead, then Kailm would be dead. He didn't want Kailm gone he just wanted him to go away. And for that reason, Kailm had the hope that he needed that he could fix this. And by the seven he'll cling to it for as long as he lives if that's what it takes.

"Perfect!", Jades sharp voice took Kailm right out of his thoughts.

"Yeah? Kailm move to the right!", he moved to the right, just in time for a borage of ink and thron covered vines to come crashing into the exact spot he was standing not even five seconds prior. The vines writhing around like they were alive, and he could see the sharp, jagged edges of its thorns cut into its self with the ease of cutting through soft butter. Not that he would know. "What do you need?"

"Do you have your gun?", Jade svoice was deathly calm, which was a bit jarring all things considered.

He didn't know what a "gun" was, but he guesses floyd knew, because he groaned louder than some of his youngest siblings when they had to get up early.

From out the corner of his eye, he saw you stop for a few seconds. Then you answered.

"Yeah", something in your voice that he couldn't quite read. "Yeah, but I only have like five shots"

Both jade and azul looked less than pleased with that, and Kailm still didn't know what was going on, so he just threw more fire at his friend.

"Well then. You better make them count", azuls matter of fact voice rang out.

He didn't see if you nodded or not. And for the next minute, he didn't hear you at all. There were no more instructions being shouted or anything like that. Just the continued onslaught of four peoples magic, all trying desperately to snap Jamil out of his current state. Who was being bent into more and more inhuman shapes as the seconds passed.

His jaw was opening a little too wide as he laughed, his fingers seemed to be getting longer and more claw like, and his voice was so now so distorted that he could barely even understand what he was saying.

But what freaked him out the most what the loud cracking and crunches of bones breaking. Jamils spine now seemed too long, bent in an unnatural way, accompanied by a crack everytime he moved. He only laughed.

Kalim didn't laugh. There was ink running down his body, all from where he had been contorted. And as time crawled on, his eyes grew more and more crazed, and his distorted laughs turned more like screams.

Kalim wasn't the best at magic, he had never been the best at magic, he knew that, even before now. So when he felt himself become light headed as his energy and magic supply ran low, he started to panic.

Oh no. Oh sevens, oh no. Please no. Not now. Anytime but now. He couldn't lose now. What would happen to jamil? How would he get Jamil home after this?

How was he supposed to tell Jamils family that their son and brother was dead?

BANG

A distorted scream ran out as floyd began to cheer, and his stomach dropped.

BANG BANG BANG

More screams. Blood curdling screams that froze Kalim where he stood. Watching jamils face begin the crack, ink pouring through the cracks on his face like blood as his eyes rolled back and his entire expression turned to one of pain. A perfect mirror to the shattering phantom that loomed behind him.

"I have one shot left and I am not wasting it! Aim for the cracks! Use fire! It'll weaken the glass!", your voice rang out, carrying a determination with it, but also the reality that they were in no way out of the woods yet.

"You mean the magic glass?", azul was skeptical

"Its magic fire", Kailm could hear the shrug in your voice.

Kalim is ashamed to admit it. But he wasn't much help after this. Jamils vpice had random breaks from the distortion. So he had a perfect audio of jamil screaming his vocal cords raw in his actual voice. Something that would haunt him until the day he died.

Ink was still pouring out from his wounds. Bones were still breaking. And it almost looked like Jamils body was melting off of him in a grotesque manner.

Kalim closed his eyes and prayed.

Eventual, the distortion completely went away, so the screams and the sobs seemed less monstrous and more tortured. Jamils attacks completely stopped as well.

And with one final bang, so did yours.

When Kalim opened his eyes again, I was only after jade prayed his hands off his ears, something he doesn't even remember doing.

Azul and yuu were standing over jamils blood covered body, and for a second, he feared the worst.

It was only after you kneeled to check if he was still alive, and he saw Jamil moving did he allow himself to breathe, and to finally cry.

Through blurred vision, he saw you put the gun away. He never asked what it was. He didn't need to know. You saved Jamils life with it, and that was good enough for him.

Rook:

Rook enjoyed beanfeast. Honestly, he could say it was one of his favorite days of the year. What other time? What other opportunities would he get but this? To hunt his fellow classmates for sport like this? To see their determination wither away as they accepted their fates as his prey!

Now, normally rook would go solo on this. Others found it a bit hard to keep up with him until now. Until yuu.

Ah his dear little trickster and his admirable kill or be killed mentality that he had taken up as of late! My, when rook had looked into his eyes, he saw nothing less than the eyes of a killer! A tiger on the hunt!

Or perhaps, he mused, a lion. Because there, right underneath them, was leona kingscholar himself.

Yuu has proposed they move from above, to stay in the wooded area and maintain the high grounds. Yuu had made his way up a tree with the swiftness and elegance of a bird taking flight! Walking steadily along the branches like he was simply made for it.

Together, the two of you had taken out quite a few farmers. With rook silently stalking them and you communicating your predictions with hand signals that he could understand blind. Those predictions of what the farmers would do, or even who would be in the area were proven true to an uncanny extent.

Rook wanted to know how, but that conversation could be saved for a different day.

Rook could barely see you chest rising up and down as you breathed so slowly you might as well haven't have been. He himself was holding his breath as you both angled your bean blasters. The slightest noise could tip the beastman off, after all.

You had temporarily split off to different trees, him being about a dozen meters away from you, just to the left of Leona, while we're were to the right.

He saw you hand slowly raise up, carefully avoiding the rustling leaves as you gave another hand signal. Thos one being significantly more simple than the majority. Just three fingers raised to indicate three seconds. Three seconds and you both shoot. You closed you hand, starting the timer.

Three.

The two of you, perfectly in sync, found your final aims of the beastman.

Two.

You carefully placed your fingers on the trigger. Taking caution not to shoot too early. The last thing would want to do was ruin this seemingly special moment for the two of you.

The wind blew in you direction. Thre leaves began to rustle, and leonas head shot in your direction.

Three.

You both pulled your triggered in perfect harmony, and, like a beautiful dance coming to an end, the mighty lion had fallen. And you both ran across the tree branches, making your ways to eachother as soon as possible.

The happy, adrenaline filled giggle you let out when he finally found found you again was nothing less than precious. Not to mention it fit the moment. Oh how he wishes you would stop trying to compose yourself all the time! The world deserves to see your joy!

He let out a laugh of his own, being rewarded with a smile that you couldn't help. This imagine of you in perfect juxtaposition with how you looked upon first arrival to this world.

And, if he may, rook would like to say that your face was shaping up to be something he wouldn't mind staring at. Ah, recovery was a marvelous thing indeed! He couldn't wait to see your progress by the end if the year.

When the laughter subsided, you took you hand and laid a gentle kiss to the back of your fingers, as a small congregation and a job well done.

"Yes, very nice monsieur. That was very nice indeed", his soft voice suddenly taking on a more mischievous note to it, a not that you matched with those shinning eyes of yours. "Now, I belive we have more game to secure, yes? Let us be off, my dear trickster"

You smiled, the corners of your mouth moving into a smirk. Your eyes, however, he'll the glee of a giddy boy, finally getting to experience something he was robbed of long ago. Rook only hoped that much later in your life, when you think of how many shots you've ever fired, this day will be included.

So smile, dear trickster, that all he asks. That's all you deserve.

________________________________

YALL I AM SO SORRY."I'm working on requests" fucks off your 5 more months omg what am I on. Eat your food, yall gotta be starving rn shit I am a terrible father.

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x male reader #twisted wonderland x reader #ace trapolla x male reader #ace trapolla x reader #ruggie bucci x reader #ruggie bucchi x male reader #jade leech x reader #jade leech x male reader #kalim al asim x reader #kalim al asim x male reader #rook hunt x reader #rook hunt x male reader #rook is so sweet in this omg #ace trappola #deuce spade #jade leech #kalim al asim #rook hunt

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starry-eyes-love · 2 months

Text

Blood Within Me

Masterlist Series Masterlist

Ch. 9: Blood Within Me

Pairing | Joel Miller x F!Reader, post outbreak

Summary | You have a bad period and Joel comforts you. Can read as stand alone or as part of My Journey To You Series.

Word Count: 2.5K

Warnings | Mentions of f!reader on her period, mentions of period pain/cramps, talks of pregnancy, reference to gynecological problems, soft!Joel, Joel comforts you, terms of endearment, fluffy. Series is 18+ Minors DNI, but this chapter doesn't have that warning.

A/N: Here's for all my fellow women who have bad periods with cramps. Wrote this one while on a period from hell. Hope you find it comforting, enjoy

Dividers by @saradika-graphics

“I’m here, baby. I’ve got you,” he whispered gently into your ear. He also grabbed your one leg and placed it on top of his hip. His hand then came to your lower back where he was gently massaging the hardened muscles, while his other hand was around your shoulders and gently rubbing his hand up and down the top of your spine. He then started to gently rock you, back and forth, back and forth, to get the pain to subside.

You remember growing up hearing the older folks talk about the night. About how dangerous the night was during World War II, during Nazi Germany. Your grandmother was a child that lived in Germany, and didn't come to America until the end of World War II. You used to be fascinated by her stories, about the way the world was, so different from your own when you were younger. But now, it seemed like history repeated itself, but in a much more cruel way. Now the night, even in its peacefulness, meant death more times than not, if you weren’t careful.

You laid awake in the middle of the night, looking out the window that was in the room both you and Joel were sharing. Domestic life right now in an apocalypse had its perks, but with it came dangerous problems and concerns. Safety, usually out in nature, was something that no one took lightly. Darkness meant hidden shadows, hidden dangers, and always someone on watch. Now in this cabin, darkness meant safety, but it also meant severe complications in survival when one laid in it, awake, while experiencing pain.

You looked up at the window, at the moon’s bright glow that was casting long shadows across the silent space. The only sound you heard was the sound of Joel lying next to you, softly snoring. Life was getting harder, food was something that was becoming more difficult to find. You and Joel were taking turns walking longer distances to obtain food. Larger wildlife was harder to find recently due to the larger snowfall that had occurred, and the lack of tracks seen in the snow. Yesterday, Joel thought he hit the jackpot by killing a small doe. With proper rationing, and turning the meat into jerky, the three of you would be able to stretch the food out for a few weeks, a month if it was absolutely necessary.

As the night continued, you became more restless. You slightly kept rustling the bed sheets as you tried to find a comfortable position. After readjusting the bed sheets for the fifth time in the last ten minutes, you were unable to find a comfortable position to relax in. You laid there quietly, feeling your eyes well up with tears at the constant throbbing of your stomach. You didn’t feel good, on your period and bleeding heavily with horrible menstrual cramps. You wished for a heating pad, and medication that could work. Something that could take the pain away besides the tearing and razor cutting feeling in your lower abdomen that you have felt for most of the night.

You were frustrated, sleep not taking you and if it did, you weren’t able to stay sleeping for longer than 15 minutes. You’ve been awake most of the night, and by your guess, you believed it was around 3 am in the morning. You haven’t had more than maybe 20 to 30 minutes of sleep all night, and it was your turn to look for food again. You felt tears begin to form in your lash line. You were frustrated from the lack of sleep, pain, and exhaustion that was taking over. You didn't want to be the one to leave in the morning, and you didn't want Joel leaving either. You just wanted your pain to stop, and for you to get some sleep.

When you went to move again, you felt a hard stab of pain and discomfort hit your lower abdomen. As it hit you, you let out a high pitched whine, holding your abdomen tight, while a sob left your throat in pain. You weren’t a baby when it came to pain, you were someone that had a high pain tolerance. But right now, you felt like you couldn’t handle or deal with it anymore. You didn’t realize that with your vocal expression of pain, that the man sleeping soundly behind you heard it.

Joel had been sleeping soundly for once, something that usually wasn’t easily seen. But his eyes snapped open at the noise that you made. He thought that he heard you whine. As he slowly came to, blinking his eyes while looking up at the ceiling, he allowed his body to awaken, and his senses to take hold. Taking a deep breath he turned his head to the right to look at you. You were curled up in a ball, facing away from him. Joel thought you were sleeping yet, as you barely moved. He rubbed a hand down his face, exhaling slowly at the thought of hearing someone whine in the darkness. It must have been a dream or somethin’, he thought to himself. But then he heard it again, followed by a quiet sob that escaped your lips.

Joel propped his arm up on the bed and partially sat up. He reached for you and turned you gently on your back, so he could look at you in the face. When he saw you were awake and crying, he got concerned. Here you were, curled up on the bed, whimpering and crying. He scanned your body quickly, taking in your tear streaked face and facial expressions, trying to determine the source of your discomfort. He saw you were gripping your lower belly, not releasing your hands, even though you were now laying partially on your back.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Joel said with a deep raspy voice, one that was still laced with sleep.

“It’s…it’s my cramps, they’re really bad this month” you said, jaw clenched and a hand pressed tightly to your lower abdomen as tears kept welling up in your eyes.

“Oh c’mere baby,” Joel said, gently grabbing you and moving you to lay on your side where you were facing him. He tucked you gently into his chest, and placed his belly tight to your belly for heat. You have always told Joel that he was like a furnace anytime that you cuddled up with him. Heat just radiated off his body, something that always came in handy during the cold nights when you two would share a sleeping bag together while traveling. Now Joel was trying to do the same thing, but this time he was hoping his heat from his abdomen would warm your lower tummy to give you some pain relief.

You had buried your face into his chest, inhaling his scent that was a mixture of pine, cinnamon, sweat, and Joel as you softly wept. Joel held you, slowly reassuring you that you were “doing so good” and that the pain would eventually stop. Joel could feel how tense your body was, especially with each new wave of discomfort that you were experiencing.

"It hurts so much, Joel," you murmured, softly against his chest.

"I know, baby. I know," he said soothingly, now running a hand through your hair and gently kissing the top of your head. "You've got this darlin’, it’ll pass. Trust me, just one breath at a time baby, ok? Shhh.”

He continued to hold you as wave after wave of your period pain came and went. He had asked you if you took anything for it and when you said yes, he just held you even tighter, and got you to focus on breathing through it.

“I j-just wish I could get pr-pregnant to stop this” you said, hiccuping from sobbing so hard. Joel immediately tensed and pulled you back to look at you. When you refused to look at him in the face, he took his index finger and placed it underneath your chin. He gently tipped your chin upwards, looking at you in the face. He knew pregnancy was something that could help with bad menstrual cramps. He remembers Sarah’s mom being told by doctor’s after Sarah was about a year old that she should try for another baby to help stop the pain of her periods. Endometriosis, a condition that causes endometrium (part of the uterine lining) to get outside of the uterus, usually would cause horrible pain like this. Hormonal therapy and pregnancy, besides a hysterectomy, were the only solutions that were offered pre-outbreak.

Doctor’s at the QZ would also make this same statement. They did with Tess, and Tess had opted for a hysterectomy of her uterus instead of wanting to try to have kids with Joel. Joel didn’t know how he felt about the whole kid topic then, and he surely didn't know how he felt about it right now. Kids were a complication that he couldn't afford to have at the moment, for obvious reasons, so your comment completely surprised him.

“Darlin’, I-” Joel said, looking in your eyes with concern lacing his features.

“Joel, just forget about it. I'm sorry, I’m just being stupid,” you said, closing your eyes and tilting your head downward. You didn't want to have this conversation now with him. He sat there examining your features as another wave of pain hit, and your lower lip started to quiver slightly.

Joel noticed the movement and said, “Fuck baby, come ‘ere.” He pulled you closer to his chest, holding you for a few minutes before he spoke again.

“Baby, it’s not safe. Maybe, maybe in civilization once again, if it's safe, but not out here like this. Ok?” he said, referencing the child and pregnancy topic. He felt you stiffen and cry in his arms. Joel knew that when you got cramps bad like this that you got extremely emotional and sensitive. He knew talking about difficult topics, like children, marriage, survival, etc. was hard. He learned a long time ago that if the discussion could wait until later, then that's what he'd do. No sense in working you or him up more about something that didn't matter at the moment.

“Hey now, what's with all the tears?” Joel said gently, pulling back and looking at you. You looked at him with tired, red puffy eyes. “Yeah, you haven't slept, have ya baby?” You didn’t respond , but shook your head no. “That's what I thought, c’mere” and Joel gently tucked you back into his chest, rubbing soothing circles on your back, while starting to hum your favorite lullaby to you.

After a few minutes Joel felt you slowly start to relax. He whispered in your ear “we’ll discuss it all later, okay mama?” You gave Joel a gentle nod with your head as you took a deep breath in. Your cramps were slowly starting to dissipate, Joel's body acting like a heating pad.

“There ya go, darlin’. Doin’ so good f’me.” Joel said, as he felt you completely relax in his arms, knowing that the pain was finally subsiding for you. "You're amazing, ya know that?" Joel whispered in your ear, while slowly kissing your neck.

“How?” you asked gently, taking a deep breath and calming down as sleep slowly crept in.

“Cause despite all of this shit happening in the world and to you, ya still are standing strong, holdin’ your head up high, and fighting for life darlin’,” he said.

“How is having menstrual cramps surviving Joel?” You questioned, not understanding the connection or what he was meaning by his previous statement.

Joel, shaking his head and letting out a huff, pulled you back so you could look at him in the eyes. “Baby, the strongest muscle in the human body for a woman is her uterus. It’s the giver of life, the reason why we still have hope in this goddamn forsaken world. It’s what gave me my baby girl Sarah, and what gave me you. To bring a child into the world, honey, that is nothing short of a miracle. And the pain you experience right now just reminds us of that beautiful gift that can happen when a man and a woman-” Joel trailed off and was desperately looking into your eyes, praying that you saw and understood the amazing gift that you were carrying. The gift that gave him his baby girl, and one that gave him you and Ellie.

“I get it Joel, it is a miracle, the miracle of life. I am grateful. But if I’m being honest, this thing ain’t no miracle of life if I can’t let it do what it was created to do,” you said, hoping Joel understood where you were going.

“Baby, I-” Joel said, shaking his head gently and trying to clear the thump that was caught in his throat.

Taking in his conflicting statements and body language, you knew Joel enough to know that he was confused and having a clash between what his heart and brain felt. Not wanting to spark an argument, you just simply said, “it’s okay old man, probably wouldn’t work for ya anyways. You’re probably shootin’ blanks at your age now, ya old dinosaur,” you said, teasing him and hoping the joking would help ease any uncomfortable tension that you may have caused from your previous statement about children.

“C’mere wiseass, I ain’t shootin’ blanks, now knock it off and go back to sleep before I send ya outside with that damn old dinosaur statement.” He said, kissing the top of your forehead while turning you around and spooning you from behind. He laid his hand on your lower belly, slowly stroking it, envisioning it starting to swell from a baby he could put in there. A child he could have once again. That thought excited him and scared him all together, something to think about for a later date.

“I love you Joel” you whispered, snuggling in next to him and finally letting sleep take you. Joel laid there and listened to your breaths slowly even out, going in and out very slowly. When he knew you were asleep he leaned forward and whispered “You’re gonna kill me woman, ya know that. I promise, I’ll give ya everything that you want, even if it’s kids. But first let me find us somewhere safe.”

With that admission Joel finally was able to relax and go back to sleep. It was always in the dark that you and Joel could find strength, comfort, and peace in one another. The darkness might be something of fear for many, but it was the only place that both you and Joel could strip back your layers and be honest with each other. It allowed you both to bleed a little bit for the other person with your emotions, to share those intimate thoughts safely. It is where your unwavering promise to love each other began, and it was the one place where nothing could rip away your happiness (or so you thought).

End Story

Taglist: @punkshort @shotgun-shelby @strawbunnyx @orcasoul @pedritoferg @chiogarza @jesfreedark @untamedheart81 @rainbow12346 @nandan11 @swiftpascal @eliza-8 @joeldjarin @vickie5446 @nastiasnow @staywildflowahchild @ratoonstown @l3laze @its-always-420-on-the-moon @kirsteng42

Strikethrough names won't let me tag :(

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hellofromthehallowoods · 2 months

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I’ve been looking into more horror podcasts recently, and I’ve heard this one a lot get recommended, but I still have no idea what it’s about-

I decided to go straight to the source, what is this podcast about?

It's about an eldritch god who gives you a selection of nightmares about queer apocalypse survivors.

It's also about how dozens of threads can intersect and criss-cross with each other to form a bigger story.

It's also about coming to terms with endings and finding reasons to keep waking up in unlikely places.

It's also about the common ground between queerness and monstrosity, and embracing both.

It's also about a meeting, and a road trip, and an expedition, and... well we'll see in about two days what else.

#hfth asks #hfth #hello from the hallowoods

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typingcorgi · 1 year

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unexpected (part i of a two-part series)

rating: e (minors, please shoo. you will be blocked) word count: 1.7k+ pairing: joel miller x f!reader warnings: pre-outbreak timeline, canon divergent timeline, hint of vague age difference (if he's 36 I'm thinking like the reader is 5-10 years younger but honestly insert whatever age you want), tipsy sex, fingering, creampie, protected p in v sex (yay for responsible joel), praise kink makes brain go brrr, porn with plot, quasi-public sex, soft-ish!joel, no use of y/n story summary: a one-night stand with a handsome stranger doesn't go as planned. chapter summary: you and joel meet at a bar and fuck in the bathroom. author's notes: no apocalypse, yay! this is part one of a multi-part series. excited to get this new ball rolling. this is just going to be a fun romp away from the mushroom zombies, okay? have fun getting yours ;) and as always, please feel free to reblog or leave a comment! your feedback is so very appreciated.

“I don’t normally do this.”

You admit it through a panting breath, during the one rare moments in which this perfect stranger isn’t capturing your lips against his. In a languid motion, he turns the lock of the door behind your head, ensuring your stolen moment won’t be sorely interrupted.

You’re not so drunk that you don’t remember his name: Joel. Of course, he hadn’t shared his daughter’s name, but just hearing that he had one to take care of at home—and she seemed reasonably responsible, attesting to her father’s clear grip on parenthood—caused something to stir beneath your navel.

“That makes two of us,” he rumbles against the shell of your ear. His fingers press against the flesh of your hips, and he adjusts his stance so that one of his feet stands between either of yours. He hitches up his knee against the locked door, encouraging you to ride it if you want to.

And holy fuck, you want to.

You’d met the guy at the bar a couple of hours ago. He’d been moving past you and nearly spilled your drink right out of your hand. He apologized profusely and chalked it up to not having been thrown into Austin nightlife in a while, but then he also mentioned he got nervous around pretty women, and you were sort of a goner.

You didn’t want to show your hand so readily, though. “Uh-huh,” you nodded, arching a brow. “How many girls have you tried that line on tonight?”

“None,” he shouted over the thrumming guitar of some country band playing over the bar speakers. “Just you. I’ve been out of the game for so long, I figured I’d try my luck. How’d I do?”

He was grinning, the smile beneath an unkept and patchy beard wide and almost cheeky, meeting the edges of his tired eyes. You couldn’t fight him on his charm, but you’d challenge him on being a good conversationalist.

He bought you your next drink. He told you his name: Joel, and that damn knucklehead over there that I came with is named Tommy. Joel explained his situation: his brother tricked him into enjoying a rare guys’ night out. He worked like a dog all damn week, and the week before that, and the one before that, too. And even though his preferred Saturday nights comprised of passing out to late-night Simpsons reruns, his daughter had been babysitting a neighbor’s kid before heading off to a sleepover with her friends. It seemed as though a night out had fallen into his lap, and he wouldn’t have heard the end of it from Tommy had he passed on such a perfect opportunity.

You people watch together, guessing what conversations were shared between the obvious first-daters or commiserating coworkers. You’d started out the night as one of them: two of your friends from work joined you for dinner and drinks, but once they’d realized your attention was occupied elsewhere, they gracefully whispered their goodbyes into your ear as they headed out for the evening.

“Who’re they?” Joel asked over the edge of his Corona bottle.

“My colleagues,” you said. “Friends. We got dinner next door earlier tonight at that little Italian place.”

Joel hummed as he took a swig of his beer. “Yeah, and what is it the three of you do? You supermodels or somethin’?”

You tried not to giggle at the obvious line. “No, we’re teachers. I teach English. High school.”

Joel gave an appreciative whistle. “God bless you,” he commented, shaking his head. “Never had the patience for kids to deal with them in mass numbers. Thank god mine is a good one, otherwise, I’d be in real trouble.”

It wasn’t one singular moment that called on you to beckon Joel into the single ladies' bathroom at twelve-thirty in the morning, but instead a compilation of smaller ones. It was the way he caught eye contact with you once or twice when he thought you weren’t looking. It was the way his flirting caught you off guard, because he didn’t strike you as a player, a serial dater, but fuck, he was good at keeping your attention. It was the way he continued to ask you about your career, and if you liked it, and what you liked about it. It was the way he asked you what you did for fun, and if you ever got your thrill from kissing older guys in crowded bars. It was the way he kissed you when you said you didn’t.

“Come with me,” you cooed into his ear, tugging the shirt collar of his plaid button-down. He was helpless.

And now you’re here, beneath the dim lighting of this bar’s bathroom. Joel’s tongue sweeps against yours as you ride his thigh. You revel in the friction of your panties against your clit, the path of his free hand, sliding up the hem of your dress before kneading the meat of your ass. He moans against your lips, removing them from yours if only to catch his breath and praise you for being such a goddamn good girl.

He calls you that and you nearly melt. He calls you that and you wonder where in the hell he learned game like that, if what he says is true; he’s been out of the game for quite some time.

“Fuckin’ perfect,” he drawls. The hand massaging your ass now slides toward your front, slipping beneath your underwear. Two thick fingers tease your entrance, and while you’d normally feel a little pathetic for getting so wet for a perfect stranger so damn fast, Joel doesn’t seem to mind at all. He groans as he slips one finger in, curling and releasing it against your walls while your hips begin to buck in time with his motions.

Joel chuckles darkly at your obvious enthusiasm. “That’s right. You like that? You like ridin’ my hand underneath this pretty dress?”

You groan a yes as slips a second finger into you, and you’re damn near ready to come, but as you feel your upward crest begin to settle beneath your skin, Joel retreats.

“Wh—what are you doing?” You ask, chasing his kiss while your hand finds his wrist. “No, you need to keep going, keep go—”

“Greedy,” Joel hums, the smile on his face one of unbridled satisfaction. “Yeah, I will, but unfortunately for us, we don’t exactly have the luxury of time.”

You notice him palm the back pocket of his raw denim, pulling out a worn leather wallet. And from there, you want to laugh at him for still being the sort of man that carries condoms around in his wallet, as if sex could happen at any of life’s junctures, but instead, you silently thank god that he has one, because you don’t, and holy fucking shit, you need him to fill you up right now.

The drinks you’ve had in his presence give you an unusual sort of confidence. You normally wouldn’t be the type of woman to ask a guy to fuck you in a public bathroom, nor are you the type to get your fingers on his belt buckle and help him slide his jeans down his legs. You aren’t the type to hold onto the edge of the bathroom sink while the guy at the bar fucks you from behind, filling you up to near pain, causing tears to form along the corners of your eyes.

“Holy—holy shit, Joel,” you pant. “You’re s—so, so fucking—”

“Take it,” Joel grunts, his pace punishing, sweat forming along his furrowed brow. “I wanna see the way you look when you’re freshly fucked.”

You gasp, careful not to give away your delicate position to anyone who might be waiting outside the locked door (although the music is so damn loud, you’re fairly confident they’d be none the wiser).

He collects your hair in a gentle fist, planting a kiss against the hot skin of your neck. Your fingertips are bone-white from their grip on the edge of the sink, and Joel continues to fuck into you, steady and sure with every thrust that he makes to the hilt.

Your vision damn near blurs when your walls clench. It’s enough of a signal for Joel to move a little faster, bring you to your climax sooner because he can’t get enough of your body, and he can’t fathom you leaving this little space without you singing his name.

“J—Joel,” you stammer. “I’m gonna—”

“Me too,” he interrupts you, and you know it through the nearly pained tone that falls from his lips. His fingers on your hips draw tight, pressing each digit into your flesh as he groans into the back of your shoulder, meeting his own edge.

And then, in the midst of the comedown, in between his heavy breaths beneath his broad chest, Joel retreats from his goddamn spectacular space inside of you. Joel retreats, and turns you around, and kisses you.

“Fuck, that was hot,” he admits, clammy forehead pressed along yours. “I don’t—I don’t mean to presume or anythin’ like that, but—could I see you again? Another night?”

You’re shocked.

You’re fucking shocked.

This had all of the makings of a one-night stand: two strangers drunkenly crossing paths on a busy Saturday night, they meet, they flirt, they fuck, they go home. Why the hell would Joel want to see you again? Sex, obviously. Sure. But couldn’t he do this again with another nameless woman, another pretty face he meets in a different bar on Main Street?

Your surprise must be evident because Joel quickly backpedals. “Forget it,” he says, suddenly sheepish. “Was a risk, I know. This was probably just a one-off for you, too, I get it. I just—”

You’d interrupt him with words, but kissing him is so much hotter.

“You’re thinking too much,” you whisper with a sincere smile. It’s only then you give yourself a minute to straighten yourself up, pulling your panties back over your hipbones and turning to unzip the tote bag you’d discarded onto the tile floor earlier.

Of course you come prepared. Of course you have a pen. You grab a paper towel from the stack resting at the edge of the counter, scribbling your phone number in crisp purple ink.

“Call me the next time you’re looking for a night out,” you say, offering up the napkin to him. And holy fucking shit, you feel so fucking cool, because this doesn’t happen in real life. Women like you don’t meet hot strangers in dimly lit bars and let them fuck you in the bathroom.

Except, now you do. Joel’s smile is awkward and shy when you kiss him on the cheek right before you leave.

#this is a little slow start but it willll pick up ;) stick with it babes #heheheehe #joel miller fic #joel miller x reader #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller x female reader #joel miller x you #joel miller smut #joel miller #tlou fic #tlou fanfiction #the last of us fic #the last of us fanfiction #no y/n

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theresattrpgforthat · 1 month

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Review Two, Electric Boogaloo: Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy

This is my second review for Eureka, as the document has been majorly updated, and the designers are gearing up to fund it on Kickstarter from April 10 to May 10.

This game is an investigative game meant for mysteries that incorporate a large amount of action and horror. I’m going to break down some of the interesting things Eureka does, and talk about who I think would be a good audience for it.

Graded Success

Eureka uses 2d6 for pretty much every roll, with the possibility of ending up with a failure, a partial success, or a full success. You can add modifiers from various different places, such as your skills, your fear, and your player Truth. The breadth of this game and the game philosophy behind it means that it is not a Powered by the Apocalypse style game - Eureka is its own beast.

Investigation

There are two kinds of rolls in Eureka - investigative and non-investigative. When you are not investigating, success and failure will mostly be determined by what makes sense in the fiction. For investigative rolls, regardless of success or failure, your character will receive investigation points.

I really like this mechanic because even if you fail, your character makes progress - and in fact, since you gain more investigation points when you fail, this plays as if your character is able to use their failures to arrive at a conclusion later in the story.

This is a great time to talk about the Investigation Bar, which is the central focus of the game. When you fill the Investigation Bar, you get a Eureka! This could be a chance to get a vital piece of information, or to tip the narrative scales into your character’s favor.

Precious Information - Secretive Play

Secrets are important in Eureka. The Narrator has secrets of course - the answers to the mystery, the motives of the NPCs, the supernatural that is hiding around the corner - but the players do to. If you are a vampire, a werewolf, a psychic, etc., you are encouraged to wait until a dramatically appropriate moment in the game to reveal this information.

This presents a very specific style of play. Eureka is an ideal game for folks who want to procedurally uncover information, and game masters who like using pre-determined, pre-written mysteries, with motives, clues and events mapped out. How these mysteries are solved still depends on what happens in play, but as a GM, you’ll have plenty of sources to draw on when the characters ask questions.

Eureka also prepares players for messy relationships between their characters. If you want your characters to misunderstand each-other, compete with each-other, or even betray each-other, that is an option in this game. These complicated relationships might even give birth to a secondary plot line for the characters to follow as they try to solve the mystery, especially if they want to find the answers for different reasons. I think it has the potential to make Eureka a multi-layered storytelling experience.

Procedurals

This multi-layered experience is possible only if you have one or more members of the group who are dedicated to taking notes. Because the information being relayed to the characters is so important, it’s crucial that the players remember that information.

In some ways, this reminds me of games where players are expected to get inventive with the tools they have. Players are given pieces of information, and then asked to put the pieces together while in character. The handing out of this information is similar to what I’ve heard described in GUMSHOE - obvious clues will not require a roll - but what is done with that information is up to the players.

I think this might be why playing in longer games or campaigns might be a really good format for Eureka, because it allows characters to piece together a big mystery over a long period of time. This is a game that requires a large amount of investment from both players and game-master alike; this is procedural play in which the narrative emerges from the procedure.

Horror

Eureka thrives with horror, and while the game is meant to be compatible with adventures with various systems, that doesn’t mean that it is genre-agnostic. There are dark things in the corners of this world, whatever it may be, and those things will scare and stress out your characters. There are a number of mechanics that tie Eureka to horror really well.

First is Composure, which is a replacement for sanity mechanics of games like Call of Cthulhu. Your character can only take so much emotional stress before it starts to inhibit their ability to perform certain tasks. If you lose enough Composure, you’ll find yourself hindered in the amount of positive modifiers you can apply to any given action. I like how this replicates how stressors can inhibit it personal performance - and the fact that Composure can be regained means that you can moderate how gruelling the gameplay is.

There’s also character Truths, which aren’t necessarily horrific, but can give you a reason to take the less-than-optimal path in any given situation. Similar to Vice in World of Darkness, you can gain a modifier to a situation in which your character chooses to act in a way that is in line with their Truth, even if there is another option available. This is a mechanical reward for playing true to your character, flaws and all.

The game also asks you to personalize the fears associated with your character. These fears may trigger Composure Rolls, or apply modifiers to them to make them harder to pass. These fears may also be cues to give to your Narrator, indicating what kinds of things you want to inhibit your character, and what kinds of things you want your character to be able to face with little difficulty.

Toolbox

There are elements of Eureka that are optional, which are there to help tailor your game experience. For example, you can include a Ticking Clock to give your players a dead-line or heighten the suspense, which can focus the game and also make it feel more like a thriller.

You can also tailor the skills to make the game fit a certain setting, such as prioritizing horseback riding or driving cars - or perhaps increasing the medical skills to make this a mystery much more focused on biology and medical practises.

The game also has many nods to various forms of detective fiction, as well as supernatural mysteries, action pulp films, and film noir. You can see this primarily in character abilities, which come as a big list of things you can pick and choose and pair together for a unique character.

All in all, if you want a game where Columbo, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Indiana Jones can all be in the same adventuring party, you might want to check out Eureka.

You can find a free download version of Eureka here, and keep an eye out for the Kickstarter here!

#mint reviews #eureka #indie ttrpgs #tabletop games #dnd

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shapeshiftersvt · 26 days

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M'Mothm'n.

Here's the thing about the Mothman. Even though he scared the ever-living shit out of the people who saw him, the speculation around him has become, over the years, actually very kind. What if he's only here to help? What if he's trying to warn us about impending disaster? What if that horrible feeling you got that something wasn't right, what if that was the Mothman telling you to look out, be careful, danger is coming, doom is nigh?

It's one thing to be a harbinger of doom; there are apparitions of ghostly black dogs all over the world that will give you that, red eyes and all. It's another to have one who actually means well.

I'm going to be an Old Queer for a minute, now, and talk about gay politics in the USA as I watched it over the past thirty years. My experience is my own; my history is shared, but not universal. Sound off in a reblog if you saw it happen differently. I want your story, too.

There’s a certain line the right wing in this country likes to use against The Gays, one I’ve heard since I was a small child. It goes: queer people are threatening our way of life. Queer people are the pebbles that start the avalanche of apocalypse, the collapse of civilization as we know it. If marriage becomes something other than Man + Woman, or if Man and Woman become something other than we think they are, then we will lose everything we know and love.

The rise of the Respectable Gay in the 1990s was a pushback against this. “See,” cried Degeneres and Savage and all the rest, “see how we’re so very normal? We want to get married and buy a house and have 2.1 kids and a white picket fence. Our marriage doesn’t threaten yours. How could it? We’re just normal, ordinary, white, moderately wealthy, people. We're like you."

This move shifted the narrative across the 90s and 00s. Homosexuality was officially decriminalized in '03, and we got gay marriage in 2015, and every year in between there was another Influential Gay Person saying "I just want to get married, that's all." There were even commercials about it, remember? “Gay marriage is just like yours. Only gayer.”

But... in the mid-2010s this was already wearing thin. Transgender people, gender non-conforming people, gays who didn’t go in for two-person marriage, everyone in the greater LGBTQ+ umbrella who had thrown their support behind gay marriage and waited our turn to get our rights; we'd all been mobilizing, too. We'd been putting together our own coalitions, under the aegis of the greater umbrella or not. And, here's the crux: we were, in fact, threatening the right-wing Christian ways of life. Just by existing in public, by talking and writing and performing and living our lives during the Transgender Tipping Point, trans and non-binary people like me were challenging the foundational definitions of Man and Woman as exclusive, all-encompassing categories of humanity.

It wasn't just the right, either. Straight liberals who were totally on board with gay marriage would look at us and say, "um, wait, really? Really, like that? Do you have to?" The discomfort was palpable. This was my experience with my own family; they were fine with me dating and getting married, but a new set of pronouns was forcing something on them. It was hurting something intrinsic to their identities. It was, in a very real way, threatening them.

I'm happy and grateful to say that most of them learned to discard the parts of their own foundations that excluded me from existence. This is rarely easy for anyone. I'm honestly proud of those members of my family who have learned to look the Mothman in the eyes, so to speak, and think, "He's just here to help."

("Pop your hood up," I told this model, "and look at them. They should see their impending death in your eyes."

Layton is an incredible model, a great human, and they know and love the Mothman. They knew exactly what I meant.)

It can be awful, sometimes. When I'm unapologetically myself in public, I can walk past a line of protesters at Planned Parenthood and see the hostility rise up, the anger and revulsion and fear. And I do think it is fear, at the core of it. I think something in them knows that I'm just one of 2.6 million transgender people out here, living my life, casually being a harbinger of their doom.

Next time they come to Brattleboro, I ought to greet them with red glasses and a twelve-foot wingspan.

#mothman #cryptids #queer cryptids #the cryptid collection #the trans experience

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elsewhereuniversity · 5 months

Text

(I put in an ask aaaages ago about a running app- Zombies run! I still love thinking about people who lean in to the narrative weight at EU, and the consequences that can flow from that. So. I give you this: an alternative to the running club :D :D :D )

I want to make it very clear, though, we absolutely did not plan this. We had no idea this would happen! How would we?

Look. We just wanted to run.

We all know the track team is a joke and the actual Running Club is a trap, like, no, do not join the running club.

...I am obligated- and take that as you will- to tell you that you of course can join the running club! It meets at many different times, even at night! So convenient! You will get very good at running very fast, very quickly!

...like I said, the running club wasn’t an option for us. But EU is a beautiful campus! And we were all used to being pretty dang active, and treadmills get boring.

And then Cassie had an idea. A bad idea, to be sure, but we were dumb college kids. Bad ideas are the very best kind of ideas.

There’s this app- part podcast, part city-builder, part running app. You progress the story by going on runs, and the app keeps track of where you are and how fast you’re going, and you automatically pick up supplies while you’re out to build up your base. The story is pretty dang engaging and immersive, the voice acting is great, and it even comes with a name for you to assume when you run, purpose and identity all in one: Runner 5.

The thing is.

The thing is, is that the story is a zombie apocalypse story.

I know, I know. But like, obviously if we were going to run, things were going to chase us. We figured that this way, we got to decide what was chasing us. It felt safer, yeah? Like. We were being chased, but we could stop it anytime we wanted.

Nothing at EU would start hunting us if something else already was! That’d be rude. And like. It was true.

Nothing else bothered us. None of the fae or any of EU’s other characters hunted us.

Just the zombies.

Just the zombies that stopped being confined to our headphones.

So. Yeah. That’s how you get an accidental zombie apocalypse. And then of course it kept happening because, well, college kids are stupid, what can I say.

Fair warning, people will not believe you anymore if you say it’s an accident. That wore out after, like, the fifth one. Less accidental zombie apocalypse and more apocalypse on demand, you get me? I’ve heard some folks are planning to make a whole thing of it this spring break.

Oh! Professor Grant won’t give last minute extensions anymore unless you actually get bit, so, you know, do the math on how desperate you are yourself, but he will accept photo-essays in lieu of one assignment per semester as long as it’s not your final project. Unless your final project is documenting the Spring Break Apocalypse Fest and the inevitable fallout, but there’s already like three art students and a couple journo majors on that, so good luck getting that cleared.

#submission #zombies #the narrative force at work #running clubs #i had fun with this #runwildwithme #stories #long post #love the logic that off course if you're running something is gonna chase you. you're right

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aziraphales-library · 6 months

Note

Hello! Thank you for the countless times you've recommended my works, I appreciate it 🥹 I wondered if you have any short, fluffy oneshots with domestic husbands kissing. There can be smut, I'm indifferent. I just really want some domestic husbands kissing and being cute and adorable

Hi! We have lots of fics on our #fluff, #domestic fluff, and #kissing tags. Here are some short fics to add to the collections...

Home is just another word for you by Onomatopoetikon (G)

Crowley has never understood the human obsession with the concept of home. For millennia he has heard humans tell stories and sing songs of home – leaving it, finding it, building and returning to it – but he has never understood it. Not until he almost lost it.

The Quiet Moments by My_Dialect (G)

Aziraphale and Crowley spend a quiet afternoon together, enjoying each other's company and reflecting on their long history together.

Drunk (and not so drunk) Shenanigans by Fire_Traveller (T)

Since it's a rainy day, Aziraphale and Crowley find themselves stuck in the bookshop with nothing better to do than to get thoroughly sloshed and ramble on about nothing in particular. They will eventually sober up, though...and Aziraphale might just have another idea what to do to pass the time with each other... Things turn rather suggestive at the end, but there is no on-screen smut here - we'll leave that to the privacy of a certain angel and demon...

Baby, You Can Drive My Car by CopperBeech (T)

Avert the Apocalypse? Check. Move to the South Downs like respectable retirees? Check. Break a six-thousand-year habit of careful distancing? Not so fast. But Aziraphale does have one thing he'd like to check off. “Crowley, are you going to let me try this or not? You said you had nothing on today. We don’t live in London any more, the omnibus only runs three times a day and twice on Sundays, it’s completely unfair to expect you to ferry me everywhere. I just need to learn the basics. Once I’ve mastered them I’ll choose an automobile of my own. I wouldn’t presume to take the Bentley out any old time."

Just an ordinary day at last by 5ftjewishcactus (G)

Books, Food, and Crowley. Aziraphale's most favorite things. And he gets to spend an entire day enjoying all three. Just a normal day in a post-apocalypse world for an angel and his favorite demon.

to us, fortuni by enbymegumi (G)

Aziraphale feels himself start to sweat. He looks down at his rippling, steaming tea. “Crowley and I… we’re not actually married. We’re just friends… I think. Best friends. Partners.” There’s a long silence. It’s been a while since Aziraphale had sat through something so awkward. The last time had been when he’d dragged Crowley to see the film Sausage Party (2016) in theatres, only to find out that it was not, in fact, a deeply moving children’s cartoon about food. “Now, that can’t be true.” Madame Tracy’s voice is quiet. --- or: everything's always been so easy and comfortable between aziraphale and crowley. until aziraphale begins feeling the pressures of human standards and definitions of love... help comes from an unexpected quarter!

- Mod D

#good omens #ineffable husbands #fluff #domestic fluff #kissing #short fic #mod d

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cybrsan · 1 year

Text

Cybrsan’s ATEEZ Masterlist

Imagines

ATEEZ as Benders - ATLA Inspired

Series

Ode to ATEEZ: An anthology of standalone stories based on ATEEZ’s title tracks and singles. Each will have a different plot and pairing, ranging from one member x reader to multiple members x reader.

Together in Harmony: A collection of interconnected stories where ATEEZ are all benders. Based on the ATLA universe.

One-Shots

Light It Up! [smut]: The year is 2077, and the world is a lawless dystopia where tech giants and major corporations hold all the power. Kim Hongjoong and Park Seonghwa are an infamous criminal duo who have made names for themselves fighting against the “techno brainwashing” of society. Discovering they’re on the brink of getting caught, they decide to go out with a bang—and who better to help them than their favorite plaything?

Pirate King [smut]: You are playing a dangerous game with an even more dangerous man, and you don’t know how much longer it can go on before everything falls apart around you.

Requests

93. “Say you want me, and I’m yours.” + 123. “Fuck you.” “When?” [angst, fluff, smut]

Tarot

General Reading [July 2023]

Timestamps

12:47 AM [smut]

One-Shots

Vignette: Duty [no pairing]: Seonghwa has been working toward one goal for as long as he can remember, which is making his father proud. To do so, he needs to win the Nightingale commendation, be the best of the best. But when he falls a step behind Hongjoong, he has to reconsider what it is he truly wants.

Requests

106. “I’m going to fuck you until you forget that asshole’s name.” + 107. “Bend over the desk, love.” [smut]

Requests

1. “Come over here and make me.” + 14. “You heard me. Take. It. Off.” + 36. “You were put on this earth to give me a headache.” [angst, fluff]

106. "I'm going to fuck you until you forget that asshole's name." [smut]

125. “Here, let me help you.” + 148. “I really want to kiss you right now.” “Then do it.” [fluff]

Tarot

General Reading [Aug 2023]

One-Shots

Party of Three [smut] ft. Wooyoung: Things take an unexpected turn when Wooyoung walks in on you and San.

Roll The Dice [smut]: In the wake of his recent world tour, your boyfriend has decided to treat you to a night out in Las Vegas to commemorate his success and your upcoming anniversary. Though the city is renowned for its gambling, the two of you play a much more interesting game of chance.

Three Hearts as One [angst] ft. Wooyoung: It had been a good day. That should have been the first warning sign that something was about to go horribly wrong. After all, how much peace can you expect in an apocalypse?

Tarot

General Reading [July 2023]

Requests

10. “I’ve seen the way you look at me when you think I don’t notice.” + 67. “Uh, am I interrupting?” [smut]

Imagines

Bouncy!Wooyoung in the Mafia

One-Shots

Party of Three [smut] ft. San: Things take an unexpected turn when Wooyoung walks in on you and San.

Three Hearts as One [angst] ft. San: It had been a good day. That should have been the first warning sign that something was about to go horribly wrong. After all, how much peace can you expect in an apocalypse?

Series

Treasure [angst, fluff, smut]: Wooyoung is moon-blessed, a waterbender born under the Siren Moon that rises once every 88 years. His blessing is believed to be his unique and powerful healing abilities that he has coined “Wavesong.” However, his true gift is that of his prophetic dreams, glimpses of futures yet to unfold—and you just happen to be the subject of his recent visions.

Tarot

General Reading [July 2023]

Requests

25. “It hurts…” “What?” “Loving someone who doesn’t love you…” + 29. “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.” + 34. “Why are you so cold?” [angst]

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strangerquinns · 1 year

Text

Deadly Reunion | Chapter 6

Eddie Munson x female!reader // a stranger things apocalypse au

summary: You and Eddie have been best friends since childhood. But when the outbreak happened five years ago, you were torn from one another in the chaos. but now you’re left alone, after your group was killed by another radical crew, leaving you to seek out what was once home. // zombie apocalypse Hawkins set in 1993

warnings: angst + adult themes w/ descriptions of violence, blood, torture + other zombie apocalypse related issues

word count: 3.4k+

⪻ previous chapter | next chapter ⪼ | stranger things masterlist

March 24th, 1988 - Hawkins, Indiana

“How’s everything going out there? I haven’t heard from you in a while,” You spoke into the phone, which was pressed between your shoulder and your ear.

Your eyes looked out the window and scanned along the slightly busy streets of downtown Hawkins. It was a warmer, sunny day in the small town, the signs of spring and warmer weather showing more and more each day. But even with the town being a little busier than usual, the small bookstore that you worked at was void of any customers. Which didn’t bother you much. Gave more time to clean, read and call Sarah whenever you wanted.

“Everything is going well! Boys are always working late at the studio, so I’ve been left to my own devices on finding stuff to do around here.” Sarah giggled lightly.

“You gettin’ into trouble?” You laughed breathily as you continued to people watch.

“Maybe,” You could hear the smile in Sarah’s voice.

In the background, you could hear a few voices along with some commotion. Your heart leaped slightly as you heard a deeper, familiar voice in the background. Your body couldn’t help but react and sit up straighter. It was like it was its natural reaction.

You hadn’t talked to him since the day outside his trailer. They left the weekend after that fight and Eddie never reached back out to you. Not like you did either. You were too hurt and too scared. Eddie had never yelled at you like that, and he had a beautifully sick way of making his words cut deep when he wanted them to. So instead, you let him go. No matter how much it hurt.

Sarah seemed to pause for a moment and you were thankful. Able to hear his laugh as he joked with whomever else was there. You didn’t miss how your heart raced either.

“Boys are back from the studio,” Sarah spoke after a while.

“How is he?” You asked softly, turning your eyes away from the window. Instead facing the empty bookstore and staring off toward the dark wooden shelves.

Your hand moved up and began to fidget with the red and black pick that hung from your neck. Even after six months, you couldn’t bring yourself to take it off.

Sarah sighed deeply, “He’s…Eddie. I don’t understand why you just don’t talk to him. I can tell he misses you.”

“Yeah, well, he could call as well.”

“He’s a bit of a jackass in that department. His ego won’t let him, even when he knows that he’s wrong.” Sarah scoffed. “Just call him. Ok?”

“Yeah, yeah.” You sighed deeply and felt a heavy sadness come over you. “Be careful ok? News is getting scarier lately with those reports coming in from Russia. That…what was it? Virus?”

“Something like that. You’re sounding like my dad. We’re gonna be ok. But you stay safe too. This shit sounds serious.”

“We will. I love you, Sarah.”

“Awe, I love you too.”

The two of you hang up and you were left along with your thoughts in the silence of the store. You grabbed the remote sitting beside you and turned the TV you’d muted earlier back up. The News was playing with the same story that had been running all day.

New Virus Outbreak reporting in Russia. 2 New Cases reported in D.C.

“…reporting the spreading of the virus is unknown, but it is acting fast. The two cases reported in Washington D.C. are now in the hospital and under surveillance. Doctors are unable to find a cure at this time.”

“Jesus Christ…” You muttered, just as a customer walked through the door.

The rest of your day was uneventful if only filled with the news and sitting by as customers came in and out of the store. Once you were locked up and closed, you headed back home. The town was silent as night fell over it, the sunshine from before now replaced with darkness and chilly air. The lights of your living room were on, and the curtains opened, allowing the yellow glow to spill over into the front lawn. You saw the shape of your mother as she seemed to be pacing through the home.

When you walked into the home you could hear the sounds of the radio playing in the kitchen, from what was being said, it was a news broadcast.

“…new cases now popping up in New York, Detroit, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. Reported 1,000 reported dead nationwide and more coming in on the hour…”

“Oh, thank god, you’re home.” Your mother spoke, rushing toward you slightly with a worried and frantic look in her eyes. She was trying to cover it with a shaky smile. But it wasn’t working.

It was then you noticed the bags and suitcases piled in the doorway of the living room. Your brows pinched together in confusion as you tried to figure out what was going on.

“W-We going on a trip I forgot about?” You asked.

“Baby, I need you to go upstairs and pack essentials.” Your mother spoke frantically, the mask she tried to have on slipping quickly. “We need to get out of here.”

“Get out? Why?”

“Cause I’m not sitting here like a waiting duck for shit to hit the fan,” Your mother pushed you lightly toward the stairs as she spoke. “The hospital was a mess today with worries of this new virus spreading, and it’s only a matter of time before it hits us. We’re too close to the city for it not to. And we’re not gonna be here when it happens.” You stood there and stared at her like she was crazy, “Go! Now!”

You gasped lightly awake as you heard the door opening to the room you were being kept in. You weren’t sure how much time had passed since it was a windowless room. But with the stomach pains you were having from the lack of food, it had to have been a long time. You sprang up quickly at the sound of the door but paused only for a second when Eddie came into view.

He was cleaned up and showered it seemed from the last time you saw him. His curls appeared to be only slightly damp as they hung around his face and down along his shoulders. Stubble decorated his jawline and cheeks, something you hadn’t really seen him with before.

Eddie’s lips tugged up with a wary smile as he moved to stand in the doorway. Even in an apocalypse, it seemed Eddie was still himself. Black jeans with a chain hanging from two of the loops on his belt, black tshirt with the sleeves torn off and frayed at the edges. With the sleeves gone, you were able to see more tattoos decorating his arms, arms that were bigger. You didn’t miss the definition in his arms as he moved to cross them at his chest.

“Joyce said you were asking for me?”

You just sat there pressed against the wall of the bed with your eyes looking at him wearily. It was then that it hit you, though you knew Eddie all your life. This person in front of you was a stranger.

Eddie's brows pulled together tightly for a moment as he looked at you. Noticing how stiff you were along with the widened fear in your eyes as you looked at him. He relaxed a little more and rose his hands up so you’d be able to see, before sidestepping into the room slowly.

“I don’t have anything on me…promise,” Eddie spoke slowly as he moved toward the seat at the corner of the room. “…just wanted to come and make sure you were ok.”

“I-I’m fine…” You spoke, your eyes never leaving his. “…she tell you I’m cleared…not Flayed?”

Eddie nodded “Yeah, though I believed you when you said. Don’t think that would be something that you’d lie about.”

You nodded your head and relaxed slightly as you moved to sit on the edge of the bed. Eddie took that chance to grab the chair and move it closer to you.

“Said they were bringing me food…” You looked around for evidence of anything being brought down when you were asleep.

“And I’m sure they still are,” Eddie nodded and leaned forward on his knees. “How are you feeling?”

“I-I don’t know…I feel like I’m dreaming…didn’t think I was gonna make it back here,” You spoke “Or see you, for that matter.”

Flashes of the last words he spoke to you came through your mind. But a part of you didn’t care. Not anymore, not after all this time.

Not after so much loss.

“I didn’t think I was ever gonna see you again either, sweetheart.” Eddie chuckled, almost like he himself couldn’t believe you were sitting in front of him. “Felt like I was lookin’ at a ghost.”

A silence fell over the two of you. No one knows what to say to the other. No one wants to say the wrong thing.

But after a few long, awkward pauses, you were the first to speak.

“Is Sarah here?” You asked, Eddie’s head popping up and his dark eyes widening slightly. “I figured if you’re here, that she would’ve come back too. And Gareth? Jeff?”

“Uh…shit…” Eddie reached a hand up and rubbed his hand along his jawline. “…can’t be shocked Hopper didn’t say anything.”

A hardened sickening feeling dropped into your stomach as you watched him. A cold chill rolled through your body as your eyes watered quickly with the familiar burning in your eyes.

“…no, no…” You shook your head and dropped your face into your hands.

“Fuck…” Eddie spoke and quickly abandoned the chair he was sitting in to move toward you. His arm came around your shoulder and your body began to shake as you cried. “…she came back with us, that much is true. She…She was killed… a few weeks ago by some raiders on a run.”

Weeks. It had been weeks. It hit hard in your chest to know you’d missed seeing her within weeks. Somehow that made it worse. Like if only you had left earlier then you would’ve gotten to say goodbye. Eddie kept his arms around you as you quietly cried. You turned toward him more at one point finding comfort in him. Once the tears stopped, you pulled away and wiped at your face. You sat there for a few minutes and let this new thing add itself to the grief that was already settled in your body.

“…at least she got to come back,” You spoke after a moment, trying to find a semblance of happiness in the dark truth.

“She did. Sarah helped get this place together with her dad, make a haven for people that didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

Eddie decided to swallow down the fact that it was his fault, at least to himself, that Sarah was gone. Scared if you knew the whole story you’d only confirm his guilt more.

Also kept it down that he and Sarah were together the last few years.

“ Sadly Jeff didn’t make it out of LA. We joined a caravan group to get back to Hawkins. One night a hoard of Flayed came through, he was protecting Sarah when one got him.” Eddie frowned “She wasn’t…really the same after that.”

“Fuck,” You cursed low under your breath. “And Gareth?”

“Upstairs somewhere,” Eddie spoke with a slight smile. “He helps in the med clinic wing. Likes being able to help people. He knows you’re back and is a little anxious to see you.”

“Oh, good. Good. Fuck, thought maybe everyone…” You shook your head, “I can’t believe Sarah…goddamn it.”

“I know, sweetheart, I know.” Eddie moved and rubbed your back gently.

Eddie let you sit there in silence again for a long moment. Someone came down and slid a tray through the door for you. He had to stop himself from laughing at how fast you moved toward it. You’d snatched it off the floor and barely made it to the small table before you were shoving the food into your mouth. You’d fisted the burger between your hands and took a bite, moaning at the taste of a real meal. The sound of laughing drew your attention back to the man you’d left sitting on your bed. You glared at him as he sat there and chuckled at you.

“What are you laughing at? Hmm?” You spoke, words muffled by the half bitten food in your mouth.

“Nothing,” Eddie chuckled slightly. “Just funny…how something doesn’t change.”

You rolled your eyes and moved the chair he’d taken back toward the table. You continued to eat in silence and soon your stomach ached from too much food, not used to a full meal.

“Been a long time since I’d eaten anything outside of canned fruits and vegetables and jerky.” You sighed and reached back against the seat, pushing the tray away from you.

Eddie frowned, “How long?” You looked over at him with a slightly confused look. “How long were you on your own?”

“A while, I told you.” You spoke.

Eddie whispered your name softly, but you’d heard it. “Come on, I just…I just wanna know. I thought you were dead this entire time.”

“Did you look for me?” You asked, not able to look at him as you asked the question. “Did you care? Was I one of the first people on your mind when you crossed into town.”

Your tone is void of emotion. It was stiff and cold as you sat there with your back facing him more. Eddie hated that he couldn’t get a read on you. Moments ago, you were crying into his shoulder and now you were treating him like a stranger again. Deep down he understood why. Things weren’t the same as they used to and the last time he’d seen you weren’t a happy one. A moment that had been haunting him for the past six or so years.

“Of course, you were on my mind. The whole reason we came back was to make sure the people we loved were ok.” Eddie spoke, conveying his words with conviction in his tone. “LA was one of the first cities to go, and I knew we’d be fucked if we were there for long. It took us months to get here but you were on my mind the entire time. I couldn’t call and make sure that you were alive. And when we got here…after seeing Wayne was safe, your house was the next one after…and seeing…and…”

Eddie felt his throat tighten at the memory of coming across your house for the first time.

The streets were quiet as he traveled down the street with Gareth beside him. Most of the town had been cleared out for any of the Flayed, but that didn’t mean they weren’t vigilant. Wayne had taken them to the small camp that had formed right outside of town and that’s where they were settled after their long travel from California. But being back in Hawkins didn’t give Eddie the kind of hope and safety that he was hoping for. Not when he searched through the camp and didn’t see a sign of you.

“No one’s seen or heard from them since everything happened,” Wayne spoke with heavy sadness. “Chief and I went there, and it was crawling with some of those that fell sick. She wasn’t there, son.”

Eddie wasn’t just gonna take his Uncle’s word for it, sadly, he needed to see for himself. He and Gareth stepped over the bodies of the dead – both Flayed and Civilian. It brought sickness to his stomach, and it was never something one could get used to. Seeing the decrepit blackened bodies of those that were infected.

“Shit,” Gareth spoke as your family home finally came into view.

The front window was broken and smashed with some of the sidings starting to fall apart. It had been almost a year since the first day the virus hit the states and slowly overtook everything. It took only four days for the entire country, and the world, to fall apart. And in the year since, nature was slowly taking back what was once hers. Homes were falling apart from lack of maintenance. Lawns were overgrown with weeds and tall grass. Cracks showing more and more on the streets and sidewalks. Your family home was no different.

A hole had caved in at the roof, and part of it caved back into the home. His eyes traveled up to your bedroom window and saw as the wind caused the lace curtains through the opened window. Eddie moved quickly up the lawn no longer vigilant to any danger. He didn’t care. He needed to know if you were ok. Even though he logically knew you weren’t here.

The front door was propped open, either from looters or from when you left, he wasn’t sure. The floor creaked loudly as Eddie walked through the front doors. Since the front window was smashed in, bits of nature were slowly starting to grow into the home. Sprouts of grass, plants, and mold finding purchase in the rugs, couches, and walls.

Eddie slowly walked toward and saw that some of your family photos sat on the wall. He grabbed a small frame that held your high school graduation photo. Eddie didn’t hesitate to pocket it and toss it into one of the pockets of his bag. From behind him, Eddie heard Gareth walk in through the front door.

“Looks like they up and left,” He spoke, looking around and seeing everything was ripped apart. Drawers opened with the contents spilled out and scattered on the floor.

“Or someone came in here after a while and noticed no one was coming back.” Eddie sighed, “You know how fucking desperate people became lookin’ for supplies.”

Gareth nodded his head and sighed, “I know. I don’t think you’re gonna find what you’re lookin’ for man. She's obviously gone.”

Eddie ignored him and headed toward the stairs that would take him to the second floor. Some of the stairs were caved and broken, so he had to skip up a few to make it. When he got to the hallway, the only sign it’s been a while since anyone had been there was the dust sitting on top of tables and along the railing. Slowly, almost as if he was scared, Eddie walked toward your bedroom. The door was closed.

And as he approached the door, a part of him felt like he was invading your privacy. Like he was gonna crack open a mausoleum and disturb the dead. But after a few silent moments, his hand encased around the door knob before stepping inside. The room smelled of mold when he walked in, thanks to the open window. It looked like the first floor he’d seen. Posters still decorated the wall, though some sun damaged and ruined from the mold. It still brought a smile to his face. The bed was still made, the hamper filled with dirty clothes, and a book sat on your bedside table. He felt a hit to his chest when he saw the faded title, The Hobbit.

Eddie sat down on the bed and just sat there in silence. Needing to feel he was surrounded by you in some way. Seeing how your bedroom was left was what he needed to believe. Believe that you were gone. Believe he was most likely never seeing you again. Believe that you simply weren’t just hiding away from him. The feelings and hope he held onto to get back to Hawkins finally cracked and took over his body as it turned to an acidic sadness.

He crumbled as the tears moved down his cheeks and mourned you.

“You went to my house?” You asked, finally turning to face him. “After all everyone told you?”

“I didn’t believe them,” Eddie spoke tensely. “I also needed to see for myself…I-I couldn’t…I didn’t wanna think of the possibilities that everyone was lying.”

“Why would you think they’d lie about that?” You asked.

“Because of how we left things. I thought you hated me…I-I thought you’d never wanna see me again.”

A deep frown formed on your lips, “Guess I proved you wrong on that, huh.”

“Guess you did,” Eddie nodded.

“So now what?” You asked after another long moment.

“I don’t know. But I do know one thing, I’m not letting you out of my sight ever again.” Eddie spoke firmly.

reblog + like if you enjoyed

So, more Eddie and Reader like some of ya'll wanted. I hope you liked it! Getting more into how the outbreak happened and Eddie coming back to see Reader was gone. Please let me know your thoughts. I love the comments/replies you guys leave please keep 'em coming! They are an inspiration.

Also trying tagging again - if the list isn't there read this. It explains why.

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fic #eddie munson x best friend reader #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson angst #eddie munson fluff #stranger things x reader #stranger things x female reader #stranger things x y/n #stranger things x you #stranger things fic #stranger things au #joseph quinn x reader

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annie-creates · 23 days

Text

Just a bad memory

Pairing: Abby Anderson x reader

Genre: fluff

Words: 1800

Note: I swear I'm not doing it on puspose I'm just too invested in this story line. It's crazy how few people write actual outbreak TLOU. I hope you'll like this one. Let's celebrate Easter with this.

You stood at the edge of the harbor, looking out for any signs of a boat or a raft coming your way. It’s been a week since Abby Anderson made contact with your camp, promising to join your forces once again. It should have taken her just two days from Santa Barbra to the Catalina Island, so your team was slowly loosing hope of her arrival. You didn’t want to imagine all the things that could have happened to her on the way, convincing yourself she probably just got delayed.

You haven’t seen Abby since you were both teenagers, you being a medical student in the Salt Lake City hospital and she being your boss’ daughter. But after the tragedy of both Jerry and Marlene dying and your station disbanding, you traveled with what was left of the Fireflies from place to place and she joined other survivors with her friends. The only image of what she should look like now after years was the few photos of your former friends Leah sent you.

You arrive back at your dorm at the base, spending the evening looking through the photos of your group laughing together and reading an old book you found at one of your search missions. You didn’t have many possessions but anything of seeming unimportance you found and claimed as yours had a special little place in your heart. You didn’t have any people left to deem important so you had to cling onto things. At least loosing things didn’t hurt as much. Things can’t unexpectedly die, just get lost. They don’t suddenly stop existing.

The next morning you’re woken up by Ethan, your best student, making him the second-best doctor this place had at just seventeen years old. If you got hurt you wouldn’t hesitate to place your life in his hands. Together you make your way to breakfast, eating in the basically only communal area you had around here. The kitchen wasn’t the best, but it kept your stomach full and that’s about as much as you could have wanted in the apocalypse.

“I’ve heard there’s a big action planned for today.” He informs you munching on a makeshift burrito.

“Like what, I haven’t been told anything.” You furrow your brows, they always told you when there were bigger than usual damages expected.

“Maybe it’s just training, you know how serious they can get with it.” Ethan offers shrugging.

“Yeah, maybe.” You agree half absent, already lost in thought.

“Quick! We have arriving at the port!” one of the soldiers on duty interrupts your conversation snapping you out of thoughts.

There was already an alert blaring, so you jumped out of your seat running to the pier where you usually waited for new arrivals. Sometimes it was former Fireflies coming, sometimes new recruits joining and other times it was invaders who needed to be pacified and questioned. This time though it was just a small boat hardly showing two people in. You could tell they were exhausted and probably famished, giving the signal to bring them in so you can see them. They clearly weren’t a threat.

You looked the people over, a boy who couldn’t be older than sixteen and a young woman unnaturally skinny and littered with more wounds than you could count, who looked awfully familiar. You ordered the few soldiers to help them out and bring them to the medical wing so you can tend to them. Looking the kid over her was malnourished and sunburned but didn’t have many actual life-threatening injuries that would need to be sewn up or operated immediately.

“Get him warmed up and get some nutrition into him as best as you can.” You instructed Ethan entrusting the boy in his hands.

“I always get the least fun job.” He grumbles as a joke and gets to the case.

“Hey. Once you’re the lead doctor you can divide the work.” You nudge him and turn your attention to the girl in the next bed divided only by a thin hospital veil.

You didn’t necessarily enjoy being the most skilled medical person around here, it meant all the responsibility of keeping people alive fell on you. On the other hand, you were literally saving lives on daily basis, and that was something you wanted to do ever since before the world went to shit. It’s why you studied at St. Mary’s Hospital and it’s also why you’re here, always following the Fireflies. Ever since Mr. Anderson died you sort of lost your guidance but you always tried to follow the right path as close as possible.

As you clean the girl’s wounds, it’s hard to decide where to even start. You begin with the deep cuts scattered around her hands and a few on her stomach including a stab wound in her shoulder, as those are at the highest risk of catching infections. You make your way around them, cleaning them with warm water, disinfecting them and dressing them in a clean white gauze, sewing up the deeper ones. As she almost looks like a Halloween mummy costume you move onto her face, tending to the cuts and bruises. Some were clearly caused by a knife while others you couldn’t even specify.

“What the hell happened to you.” You mumble as you’re gently brushing her hair out of her face, and that’s when it hits you. “Oh my god!”

“What!?” Ethan runs in ready for anything that could have frightened you.

“It’s her!” Sure, she was much thinner and dirtier than when you last saw her, but her bone structure was clear as day.

“Her who?” Ethan asks with a confused look clearly not being able to follow your train of thoughts.

“Abby! Abby Anderson!” You couldn’t believe you were actually saying it. “Go tell the captain they’re here.”

As Ethan runs out to pass on your exciting discovery, already being done with his job here, you look at her in awe. You couldn’t believe you were seeing her after years of being separated. She didn’t look anything like in the grown-up pictures Leah shared with you, her hair was messily cut off short instead of the long blond braid she used to wear and her body wasn’t built like a transformer as it apparently used to be, but it was still her. Her face that lost a little if it’s round cuteness, her hands and fingers calloused from too much excessive work.

“It’s okay. You’re safe here.” You promise her in a low voice as you see her waking up.

“What… what’s going on..?” Abby slowly moves feeling every muscle in her body hurting.

“You made it to the Catalina Island. You’re at the Fireflies. I’m gonna take care of you.” You clear out pushing her gently back down. “Don’t get up, your body needs to heal.”

“But Lev…” She frantically looks around.

“The boy’s okay. He’s just next door. Malnourished but otherwise fine.” You assure her settling down her worries as you put two and two together. “I’ll get you something to eat and drink. You need to get back some strength.”

Maybe she’d protest but the exhaustion and soft bed won over her pulling her back to sleep. Meanwhile you collected water bottles and soft foods that she could eat from the kitchen bringing it in on a tray putting it down on the side table by her bed. As you sat in a chair waiting for her to wake up again but giving her the much-needed time to sleep, you browsed the old photos of your friends again. You wondered what happened to them, it wasn’t like Abby to leave her group. But then again, this wasn’t the exact same girl you used to know in Salt Lake City.

“Where did you get that?” Abby asks when she wakes up again looking at the tray stocked with food.

“The kitchen..?” you answer even when it sounds more like an uncomprehending question.

“How do you get so much food?” She specifies suspicious and sits up as well as she can.

“Well some of it we harvest, some we find and we make a few.” You shrug your shoulders fluffing up her pillow to make her more comfortable and placing the tray on her legs. “It’s usually ingredients that can’t go bad. Nothing fancy but it keeps your stomach full.”

“How’s Lev doing?” she questions with concern biting into a sadly looking sandwich.

“He’s fine. Just needs to sleep and replenish some energy. It wouldn’t hurt you either.” You smile at her.

“I’m sorry, you seem to know me and I haven’t even caught your name.” Abby questions.

“Y/n. I used to work at Saint Mary’s… with your dad.” You explain warily.

“Oh. How come I don’t remember you?” She wonders with a saddened face.

“Well, I wasn’t exactly the most popular kid back then. Plus, I looked a lot different… I’ve grown a lot.” You laugh, unlike Abby you weren’t exactly part of the elite group, just an occasional friend. “But Leah sent me some of your photos.”

“Huh? Really?” Abby asks with her mouth full of bread.

“Yeah, just a few. To know what y’all looked like grown up.” You pass her the photos you set aside earlier. “What happened to them?”

“They’re all dead.” She states with remorse in her voice looking through your photos. “Danny, Manny, Nora… Owen was the one who wanted to come here. He was having a baby with Mel, and they’re all fucking dead now.”

“How?” You ask carefully.

“That girl, the bitten one from Salt Lake City. I found the guy who saved her, the one who killed my dad. And she killed all my friends.” She angrily explains throwing the photos away. “I let her live and she killed them all.”

“I’m sorry.” You tenderly caress her shoulder and she leans her head on you. “I’m really sorry Abs. But you’re gonna be safe here. We won’t let anyone hurt you.”

“I’m just so fuckin’ tired of it. All those Jackson folks.” She complains resting her weight on you. “The Rattlers, Scars, WLF…”

“I know, I get it. We’re gonna make it alright. You just need to get your strength back now.” You gently stroke her hair. “We’ll make it just a bad memory. Everything will be okay.”

And she wanted to believe you. Abby wanted to find the hope that was long lost for her. You knew what it’s like to be left completely alone in this world, and it was a terrifying feeling. Now you could offer her care and safety, even if it doesn’t heal the empty wound gaping after her friends and family. You’re gonna be her anchor in the terrifying nightmares, the pillar under the weight of her severe hurt.

#abby anderson #abby x reader #abby anderson x reader #abby tlou #abby the last of us #tlou #tlou2 #tlou abby #abby anderson tlou2 #abby anderson x you #fanfic #fanfiction #abby anderson hurt #abby anderson fluff #abby anderson comfort #the last of us #the last of us fanfiction #the last of us part 2

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mellowcherryblossomblaze · 1 month

Text

More Than Anything (Trolls Version)

(AKA what happens when you listen to the Trolls: Band Together and Hazbin Hotel soundtracks back-to-back. Also, I recommend keeping tissues nearby and reading this in a secluded area, as chances are you WILL cry while reading this, continue at your own risk.)

(So for context, Branch and John Dory are stuck together in a cave somewhere, and Branch is on the verge of a breakdown due to the stress of his brothers returning to his life, and John Dory possibly moving to the village permanently.)

Branch: You all remember when

We tried this all before

Our mistakes were too hard to repair

And in the end

I could lose it all again

So how do I know it’s worth fighting for?

More than anything

I’m scared of being lonely more than anything…

John Dory: Branch, you don’t need to be worried anymore- -

Branch: I’m ALWAYS worried! You know why? Because at any moment, something’s gonna snap, or I’m gonna snap, and you guys will freak out and leave and I’ll never see you again! I know that’s gonna happen eventually, I just…don’t want it to be because of me this time.

John Dory: Branch…

When we were young, I didn’t really know you at all

‘Cause you were still so small

But I’d hear you singing from right down the hall

(A flashback shows a teenage John Dory working on writing a song, only to be distracted by something from outside the room. He peeked his head out and could vaguely see baby Branch in his room, singing happily while playing with his toy Croco. John Dory chuckled fondly at the scene.)

Sometimes, you tried to join the show

You danced so happily

It filled my aching heart with glee

(A different flashback showed BroZone during one of their concerts, about halfway through a song. Branch is seen eagerly watching from backstage, before sprinting out to join them, having become accustomed to most of their dance routines since his brothers rehearse in the house so often. His older brothers paused their routine in shock, including John Dory, who had been struggling to keep up his tired, fake smile throughout the song. But the smile became genuine as he hoisted his baby brother up and hugged him tightly, the others joining in soon after.)

So in the end

It’s the view I had of you

That showed me trolls could find hope anywhere

(Another flashback skipped ahead a couple of years, when John Dory had originally returned from his hike on the Neverglade Trail, only to find nothing, as the Pop Trolls had been captured by the Bergens and taken to Bergen Town. But John Dory didn’t even know the Bergens existed back then, so he was left with no clue as to any of there whereabouts, including what remained of his family. He then pulled out a photo from his hair of him and Branch, the baby grinning as John Dory put a pair of sunglasses on him. Somehow, looking at this fueled John Dory with a renewed determination, as he then adjusted his goggles before setting off into the forest to continue searching.)

More than anything

I want to help our family more than anything…

(Sadly, John Dory was never able to find the other Pop Trolls, as they wouldn’t escape and flee even further into the part of the woods that would become their new home for another year or so. But by then, John Dory had given up his search and returned to the Neverglades, never finding a trace of his youngest brothers’ survival…until he heard a story on the radio about two Pop Trolls stopping what had become known as the “Rock-Apocalypse.” John Dory knows he messed up, he knows the way he treated Branch after their first reunion was wrong, but he wants to make up for it by being there for his baby brother when he needed him the most. Thankfully, it seemed like he and Branch were getting through to each other for the first time and finally getting to know the brother they knew the least about. Ironically though, it seems that they might be the most similar ones)

John Dory: I’ve been dying to find out who you are

Branch: I’ve been waiting, wanting the same thing!

John Dory: Nice to know that branches don’t fall far

Branch: Took you a while

John Dory: I’ve missed that smile

Both: All that I’m hoping

Now that my eyes are open

Is that we can start again

Not be pulled apart again

‘Cause in the end

You’re a part of who I am

John Dory: I’ll be by your side, whatever lies in store!

Branch: And who could ask for more?

John Dory: More than anything

Branch: More than anything

John Dory: More than anything!

Branch: More than anything!

Both: I’m grateful you’re my brother more than anything!

More than anything…

#trolls #trolls band together #trolls 3 #trolls fandom #branch #john dory #brozone #hazbin hotel #more than anything

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little-reader · 1 year

Text

“The Son of A Monster” Ch.3

Masterlist

Carl grimes x Male!Reader

Warnings; Death, blood, Slow-burn Sexual tension, Gay awakening (For both), Cursing, Negan is Readers dad, Enemies to lovers story. Fighting. Zombie apocalypse

Rick wasn’t there, nor was Aaron. You found a place where Iris could stay. The woman you met last time, Olivia. She looked slightly scared again once you got into view. You left Iris alone to unpack.

You moved your bat off the couch and onto the carpet floor, sitting down as your dad was talking to Olivia. “Dad!” You said, eyes wide when you heard the words come out of his mouth. A hard smack across the face echoed throughout the room when Olivia slapped him. Your dad only flirted back. “Jesus.” You muttered.

Olivia left to make lemonade, forcibly, and you got up so you could have a “Grand House tour”. “Dad, you don't have to touch everything.” You muttered, walking around as he took off his shoes. “And that's gross.”

Carl only stayed silent and watched as Negan played around with everything. A “heater” ended up being a baby in the last room. Your dad instantly picked her up. You touched her hair as she looked at you. “Haven’t seen one since… what 2 years ago.” You said, taking your hand away. Your dad only nodded as he took the kid outside.

The sunlight flicked as the trees shook, and the breeze was light from the window in the room. You looked around the bedroom that Iris stayed in. Small, but comfortable, away from others like your dad. You laid back as you looked at the books across the room. You were mainly giving the place a nice glance over. You wanted Iris to be safe and sound, with no threats around her.

“I’m done.” She said, coming into the room with wet hair and a towel. You hummed as she closed the door and sat on the bed, drying her hair.

“What ya’ wearing?” You asked, looking at the suitcase and back. She shrugged and looked over. “You don’t know? What about ragged jeans? You know the cool hippie ones?” You joked. She slapped your knee and sighed, taking the towel off and looking through the suitcase for the “perfect outfit”. “Niceee.” You hummed. She scoffed and started changing.

Sitting up, you sighed and stood. “I’ve got to be there when Rick gets back.” kissing her head, you went to the door. “Stay in here until I tell you to come out, I don't want anyone pestering you.” She only nodded as you closed the door and left down the stairs. Your guessing you didn’t miss anything, because the trucks at the gate were still there, along with the men.

You walked past the street, into the other patch of grass where Negan stood talking to a man. A pool table on the road, and a stick in his hand. Your dad smiled, but fury set in his eyes. The small crowd around watched them talk as you got closer. Negan sat the stick down. “The guy who waited for Rick to be gone so he could sneak over and talk to me to get me to do his dirty work, so he could take Rick’s place.” A small pause, you took a second, and looked over at him, then at the man. Fuck. “So I gotta ask – If you wanna take over, why not kill Rick yourself and just take over?” He asked, now in his face as the man shuddered.

“Dad.” You said, only for him to raise his hand in your direction.

“You know what I’m thinking? Cause I got a guess.” He said, leaning back, and then getting back in his face. “It’s because you got” A small pause. “no guts.” He whispered.

“Dad!” You yelled as the man was sliced open by the stomach. The man fell to his knees, holding his organs in his hands. You stared wide-eyed at the man, taking a step forward before he pushed you back.

“Ohh, how embarrassing!” he went on. You spaced out, looking at the man, and how his blood dripped out. Not that you haven’t seen it before, but it only proved that your dad was getting worse.

Negan started waving the bat around asking if they wanted to finish the game.

A loud shot rang, then another, you were dazed, your eyes even wider than before as you looked at your father, the bullet didn’t hit him, but his bat, which was twice as worse as hitting him. You felt the blood trickle down your face, it was cut but only a small scrape. “Aw, fuck.” You muttered, touching your face. That is when he started to yell. Rosita was slammed to the ground, and a knife was pressed to her cheek.

Your dad carefully examined the bullet. It was hand-made, and not like the ones you took a few days ago.

You don't feel like being here when another person dies. “I’m gonna go… inside.” You said, tripping over your foot a bit. Negan only grabbed you, checking your face before sending you on your way. Which wasn’t far, you heard their voices as you entered the Grimes home and sat on the couch, another gunshot, You sighed and left to the bathroom to clean your wound and stitch it up.

You didn’t see Carl until the morning, very early in the morning. He was sneaking around, putting his shoes on, and leaving. You groaned as you sat up, pulling your shoes on your feet and taking a cigarette out. You grabbed your tank top and pulled it on before heading back out, slowly shutting the door without a sound. You looked back and forth. You could see him moving around the streets.

You followed him, staying out of the light, and into the other side of the town, where the solar panels sat. You looked around, but there wasn’t anything to see. He probably wandered to another place, and you didn’t exactly enjoy following him around… kind of.

You sighed, turned around, and started walking. You ended up in front of the gate. “Hey!” There was a shadow on the post, looking down at you. “You can’t go out there.” They yelled, then Shown a light in your face.

You covered your face, looking at them with one eye. “C’mon Rosita, Just a drive?” You said, waving your knife around with a grin. She only paused, then sat the light down and climbed the latter down.

“If you get bit,., I’m not letting you in, I don’t give a shit who you are.” She said, opening the gate as you walked out.

“Eh, I think I’ll be fine. Have a nice day, doll.” You said, leaving out into the street. You could barely see, but there was no noise. No shuffling of bushes, the break of a stick, or your dad scolding you.

You hummed, closing your eyes and breathing in the air. You were about half a mile out by now, and the sun was starting to rise. You could see a small clearing of the sky through the leaves of the trees. “Fuck.” You muttered, looking at the small group of ten biters down the road. You jumped the ditch and headed into the woods. You ran farther into the trees, only almost falling into more walkers before finally resting against a tree and onto the ground.

“Jesus fuck.” Your side hurt, with the cuts on your torso bursting with rage and your legs wanting to kill you right now, you decided to rest there for a bit, until you could walk forty minutes back home.

—-- Carl’s POV—--

Carl woke up early. He sat in his room staring at the ceiling for more than an hour until he got bored and got up. He grabbed his flannel and pants, before leaving downstairs. He turned on the flashlight, tip-toeing past his parent's room and towards the stairs. Shining the flashlight in the living room where You slept, he walked in, checking the time. 5 am. He looked at you. You didn’t sleep with a blanket, just a pillow and pants. Your face was covered by hair, but he could see your eyes and the way you slowly breathed. He could tell, just by looking at you, that you could be a value to someone, like a bodyguard.

He shuffled back, hitting the coffee table then looking back at you, hearing you grunt. He let out a breath before going around the couch to the door, grabbing his shoes, and setting down the flashlight. He stood on one foot, trying to balance as he put his shoe on. He heard you shuffle around on the couch before he left out the door.

Carl sighed as he walked down the stairs and turned the flashlight off. He checked his side, making sure the knife still stayed on his hip. He made his way through the solar panels and ran to the wall, climbing over it before landing on the ground, brushing off the leaves as he headed into the woods.

He didn’t know where he was going, he wasn’t even supposed to be out. But he felt. Good. Being out the walls, away from Negan and his son. He killed a few walkers on his way. The light peering in allowed him to see the ground and around the trees. He stood for a second, in and out, before walking again. It was quiet, or maybe he was out of it. Because as he walked, there was no sound whatsoever.

He was deep in the woods when he encountered a large group of walkers that he could not take alone. He felt like with every turn he took they multiplied as he ran.

“FUCK!” You yelled, getting slammed into and crashing to the ground. “What the fuck-” You looked over to see Carl trying to stand, then looked over to the large crowd. “Oh fuck.” You breathed. You grabbed Carl, pushed him to your chest, and rolled into the trench beside you, getting into the hollow part.

Your back was out and Carl was pressed against the wall of the cave, his back was covered. You put your finger up to your lips as they passed above you. “Fuck, that hurt.” You whispered

He looked confused. His bright eyes looked into yours. You examined his face. He had small freckles at the edge of his face, along with a bit of stubble on his chin. His eyes were blue as blue could be, with even darker around the edges. “You know, your nice quiet.” You whispered with a laugh.

He only rolled his eyes and looked away from you, taking his knife out of his pocket. “Shit. I need you to grab mine.” Your hand was currently occupied, one on the roof of the cave, not sure if it would stay up, the second around and under Carl’s torso.

He sat his knife on your side and reached down, feeling around your shirt. “Where is it?” He whispered back. “In the front, or on my side.” You said, looking back behind you, you groaned. “Fuck.”

“What?” He asked, pausing. You laughed, turning back to him, and you got closer to his body, pressing against him, your head close to his ear. “What are you doing-”

“One, They’ll see me if I don't get closer, 2,” You said, looking at him with one eye. “Let's just say you weren’t just grabbing my knife.” He quickly pulled his hand away with a weird look and gave you his knife.

You could feel his breath on your neck, how sometimes it would stop and pause, then continue. You could feel his chest move, and his legs shift against yours. You could tell you’d be here for a while. And hopefully, none of them will wander down here, but if you got out now, you both would be trapped with them down here.

You could feel your stomach growl and turn, “Shit, you got anything to eat?” You asked. He hummed and reached down again, digging in his pocket. He handed you a protein bar, it was already opened but barely eaten. You pushed yourself back, face to face once again. Then you broke the bar in half. “Here, eat some.”

“I’m not-” You cut him off. “It's barely been eaten, I'm sure you haven't eaten since last night.” You said he took it, taking a bite out of it. You huffed, still hearing the groans of the dead. You got in the same position as earlier. “I hope you know this is not me being nice.” You said.

“I never said it was,” Carl replied back. He shifted once again, this time his hips. His legs were now mostly between yours, his arms to his chest and head against your neck. “Don’t tell my dad either, he’ll get a person to guard the walls, not just the front.”

“Fine, don’t tell mine either, he’ll think I came out here for cigs and looking for old stashes of drugs.” You said, sighing. “It's dangerous! Y/n, what is wrong with you? Why can’t you just follow the rules?” You mocked your dad's voice. “Trust me, he can suck a slim-jim.” You muttered. ‘

You felt Carl's chest bouncing. “Are you laughing?” You asked, smirking. He coughed a bit and shook his head slightly. You hummed and closed your eyes. “You're a badass grimes.” You stated. “Shoving me off a goddamn truck, then killing a bunch of men. I liked one of them you know…”

A hand covered your mouth, hushing you. “They can hear you know?” He said sarcastically. You only nodded and took his hand off your mouth.

“I ramble on when I’m with people, I don’t do good with silence.” You whispered.

About ten minutes later, you peered behind yourself. “I’m gonna look out, I don't hear them anymore.” You said, sliding out of the shallow trench. You stood, then turned. “Shit.” You said, ducking, putting your finger to your lips and a hand out. “Shut up and stay there.”

Carl looked at you with narrowed eyes and backed into the hollow part even more. You passed his knife back to him and stood, looking above him and climbing the trench. It went quiet for a few seconds, you could hear him moving around, the leaves crunching with each step. “Please help!” You yelled, then fell to the ground, face first.

Voices soon started to come closer.

They were laughing. Two men. That's when he heard you groan.

“He’s alive? Hey pal, you good?” One of the men asked. Shuffling was heard again. “Hey, aw look at his face V.”

You smirked, and in a quick move, you stabbed the man in his neck and kicked the other down, “You little shit!” You were shoved into the trench, landing on your arm. You looked at Carl, a sarcastic wink his way and putting a finger to your lips.

The man jumped down, sliding slightly, before standing straight, “C’mere ya’ brat.” You were grabbed by the neck and thrown back down. You laughed, coughing as you did, and grabbed your knife, hitting him right in the calf and moving over. He screamed in pain and charged toward you. You swung at him, and your hand made contact with his face, but only for him to yank you by it, and moved to him.

He dug his knee into your back and threw the knife out of your reach. You struggled and he laughed. “Now look at you! Weak.” He said, punching you in the stomach, and face, and kicking you repeatedly. You groaned as he got off of you. You closed your eyes. Your whole body felt like fire, you’ve felt the pain many times before, but it Hurt.

Carl swung his knife over, hitting the man's farm but only grazing it. “That's why he did that, e was protecting you,” The man said in a baby voice. “What is he? Your brother?” He asked. Carl stayed quiet.

You opened your eyes, looking at the man. He was much larger than Carl, and Carl had a smaller knife that could barely go into a chicken bone. You slowly got up, watching them fight, and it was more in slow motion for you. As you moved more, the pain slowly decreased and you came back into reality.

You breathed in and ran for it, pulling the man down with you and turning him over, sitting on him. You threw a punch, then another, and another, and another, it felt like forever before you stopped.

Carl watched you cave the man's head in, his blood spewing everywhere, on your face, clothes, and hair. Everywhere.

You got off the man. Well, now a man with no head. You shook your hand and stepped away, turning around and examining your knuckles. You then looked up, pacing Towards Carl and grabbing him by the collar.

“I told you not to come out.” You shook him. “I told you to be quiet and stay.” You only got angrier. You threw him down.

“Fuck you too. I was helping your ass,” Carl said, pissed. You laughed and turned, grabbing your knife.

“Yeah fuck me.” You said.

It was about 7 in the morning by then. You both climbed the trench, helping each other before finding a road. When you finally reached the gate, you were met by Rick, Rosita, and Michonne. You waved and walked past them. “Scold him, not me,” You said.

“You can just wander off like that,” Rick said, taking your appearance in. “What the hell happened?” He asked, then looked at Carl.

“I saved your son's ass, your welcome.” You said. “Tell him not to sneak out.” You mumbled and left down the street and into Olivia's house, now your wife's home. You walked up the stairs and knocked on her bedroom door.

“Y/n… Jesus.” She said, looking up and down.

“Like what you see?” You laughed, she only took your hand and laid you down. “Fuck… How’s…” You paused and pointed to her stomach.

“Hm, they're fine.” She said, taking out a few things from the cabinet. “I think, though, I’m sure they miss their dad.” She laughed, and you jokingly scoffed, pulling her over. “I have to clean you up, stop.”

You hummed. “I’m so tired.” You said. “C’mon bestie, you don’t need to be so mean.” You whined as she pulled away and hit your thigh. You fell asleep as she took care of you.

Chapter 4

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