#Kathleen Dare

[justdealingwithsomeissues]

What a just.. depressing end for Kathleen... she tried to kill Tony, but when it comes around that what she did actually did lead to his death, and with how no one will forgive her... it is too much and she takes her own life... and Jim can not help but feel like he helped push her to this... also he is starting to see ghosts as well it would seem...

#Marvel #Iron Man #James Rhodes ~ Iron Man #Kathleen Dare #Erica Sondheim #Abraham Zimmer

[triviareads]

There's historical romance with he bent her over the desk and ducks her from behind?

There are lots! Generally what I've found is, you'll get the good stuff if you venture outside Julia Quinn's body of work because her heroes tend to have an ingrained madonna-whore complex that prevents them from doing any bending-over to the *ladies*. Also just to note, this is strictly "bending over desk" moments, which does not include any other kind of desk sex or any furniture that is not a desk (...for the most part).

The Duke Who Knew Too Much by Grace Callaway: Alaric's solution to Emma dictating far too many terms of their engagement in his opinion is to bend her over, toss her skirts up, and finger her while(?) she gives him a handjob. Winners.

Always Be My Duchess by Amalie Howard: This one is actually so hot because of how desperate they were; Montcroix is so taken with Neve's ballet performance that he drags her backstage in a public theater and bends her over a random desk before going for it.

The Truth About Cads and Dukes by Elisa Braden: Harrison and Jane do have sex earlier in the book with her on a desk, but later on, there's a very emotional "make-or-break-our-marriage" sex scene with her bent over a desk and going like "you're going to say I love you by the time this is over" and he's like "noooo" but by the time he's climaxing he's practically chanting it.

Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare: A classic; he bends her over and tries to make recite all his courtesy titles (marquess of this, earl of that, etc.) in order while fucking her but she fails so he does it and he ends it with "and your SLAVE" which was the hottest part imo

The Rogue of Fifth Avenue by Joanna Shupe: Mamie waltzes into Frank's office and taunts him until he cracks, bends her over, and goes to town. This is basically in line with their overall dynamic.

The Design of Dukes by Kathleen Ayers: Okay so he bent her over a sewing table but to be fair, it is where she works so it's kind of her desk(?). But I'm including it because it's so so hot as this man's sternness on full display and he very calmly tells her he's going to fix himself and their engagement while railing her from behind. AND it doubles as a mirror scene.

If you count "table in library" as a desk, then The Education of Ivy Leavold by Sierra Simone fits the bill.

#book recs #historical romance #grace callaway #amalie howard #elisa braden #tessa dare #joanna shupe #kathleen ayers #ask

[poprocklyrics]

Time to make his stomach burn

Double Dare Ya, Bikini Kill

#bikini kill #kathleen hanna #double dare ya #revolution girl style now! #90s #1990s #90s music #music #lyrics #alternative #indie #rock #grunge

[rebel-girl-queen-of-my-world]

“You all came on Easter! …Yeah, whatever with Easter. ….(dramatic voice) ‘And the rock moved away - and Bikini Kill finally stepped forth!’”

#bikini kill #kathleen hanna #tobi vail #kathi wilcox #riot grrrl #double dare ya #feminist punk #punk #punk concert #punk music #live music #feminist #90s music #90s bands

[x-ladydisdain-x]

I need to get off the internet I hate everyone here

#shut the fuck up please #Kathleen Hanna said dyke 😨😨😨😨😨 #how dare she ?? #shut uppp #I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you #sometimes opal says stuff

[going-to-ikea-for-the-fries]

Ayo can we get a hot ass "keep my wife's name out your goddamn mouth" Kathy x John

Kathy does routine physical exams obviously and in the showers Price overhears some locker room talking about his wife, how they'd like those hands to go further, like how she bosses them around etc.

Cue him rounding the corner to give them a solid punch and "Don't you dare utter my wife's name again"

Up to you if she rewards him ☺️

yes you fucking can!!!!

That's My Wife!

pairing: F!OC: Kathleen "Brass" Moore x John Price words: 1.5K~ cw: jealousy, protectiveness, arguments, violence, injuries (mentioned), misogyny, sexually-charged comments, "locker room talk", smutless smut.

The worst time of the year for the army medical staff at Tidworth is September. Oh, how the nurses and doctors hate the month of September during which, for two weeks straight, they see nothing but soldier after soldier for health checks and physical exams to confirm that they’re fit for service.

It’s, unfortunately, repetitive, mind-numbing and time-consuming. It’s also, unfortunately, a whole hands on deck situation. So, everyone who’s not actively doing something else, gets called in to help process the soldiers.

That’s how Kathleen ends up, every year, in the clinic, helping physicians assess the soldiers. Her jobs tend to be easy. More of the same that she tends to already do: measuring heights and weights, calculating their BMI and body fat percentages, using the stethoscope to listen to their heartbeat and breathing, manning the blood pressure gauge…

And, of course, the most interesting stuff. Conducting stress tests and having to strap all sorts of machines and sensors to the soldiers and monitor how they perform as they run on a treadmill, as well as doing physical checks on old injuries, scars…

In short, she spends a long time in front of shirtless men… and even longer touching their chests, arms, backs, and sometimes their legs, to check for injuries, which often ends with her crouching or kneeling at their feet.

And, of course, the stupid soldiers can’t keep their mouths shut. More often than not they make a few remarks about taking her out later, about coming to see her more often, of being lucky they get her for their checks…

It’s a nightmare. Kathleen hates it. In fact, she wishes she wasn’t tasked with that every year… But the choice is her or risking one of the pretty new interns having to do it, girls who haven’t yet developed the thick skin she has, and would likely giggle and get flustered at the lads behaviour… instead of calling them out on it or just downright ignoring them.

September, as it turns out, is also a nightmare for John. But he only figured that out today.

After his Bravo team finished training for the morning, John allowed them to hit the showers and he stayed behind to finish some work and talk with Soap.

As they enter the locker room, the rest of Bravo team is already in the communal showers, talking loudly amidst themselves and laughing, their voices echoing amidst the spraying of the showers over them.

John pops open his locker and starts shedding his workout kit, tossing it into his bag on the shelf. Soap isn’t far from him, a few lockers up, in the adjacent wall, his locker door having his name ‘MACTAVISH’ inside the clear plastic name tag holder, with a post-it naming him ‘F.N.G’ scotch taped below it.

John doesn’t need to pay much attention to know they’re talking about women, especially, the nurses from the nearby Tidworth base. All of them had gone through their check-ups in the last couple of days and, as is typical, they couldn’t keep their traps shut about the pretty women with soft hands doting all over them.

“Oh, mine bent over and pushed those tits of hers right up to my knee.” One of them said.

“Lucky bastard. I got a bloke.” Another replied.

Oh, how many times John had told them to be quiet and keep those sorts of talks to themselves when they were at the barracks, and not in public… But did those knobheads listen? No, never.

John grabbed his towel and 2-in-1 shampoo and bodywash and headed into the showers, taking up one of the vacant spots and drawing the curtain after hanging the curtain just outside his stall.

“I swear she was giving me the look… Definitely wants a piece of me.”

“No bird would want a piece of yer ugly mug.”

The lads continued talking as he let the water run over his body and began quickly lathering himself up with his 2-in-1, washing his hair and face aggressively before running his head under the falling shower water.

“I’m not devout, but this new batch’a nurses they got this year makes me a believer.”

“That’s right, brother.”

One-by-one they started vacating their stalls, still chatting loudly about their check-ups and the young women that treated them, lounging about the locker room and making each other laugh.

“But that arse of hers… I just know she’d bounce so well on my cock-”

“Oh that’s nothing. You didn’t see her last year before they changed the colour of the scrubs… That blue colour just… mmmmm…”

John finishes his shower not long after, wrapping his grey towel around his hip and tying it up to stay still. Then, he collects his 2-in-1 bottle from its perch atop the metal piping of the shower and starts making his way back.

That’s when he hears it:

“It’s no wonder the Captain’s peacockin’ himself around like that… I mean have you seen the size of her tits?”

John’s blood runs cold. They wouldn’t fucking dare. They wouldn’t talk about Kathleen. 

No. 

Not they. 

Him.

Sergeant Ellis Evans. 

One he’s always had problems reining in.

“Captain’s lucky is all I’ll say… Body like hers… Hell, even I’d forgive that bloody attitude of hers.”

The others laughed as Evans continued.

“I mean, I’m sure Kathleen’s mouth’s good for more than just talking… Gotta be good on her knees.. They call her ‘Brass’ for a reason, right? Bet she leaves ‘em with a nice polish and shine once she’s done.” 

That did it.

John rounded the corner into the locker room and, abruptly, the room fell into silence, breaths hitching and the temperature dropping into an uncomfortable ice.

But John didn’t stop walking at the doorway… In fact, he beelined right for Evans.

“Captain, I-” Evans immediately tried backtracking. “We were just joking, we were just-”

“Keep my wife’s name out your bloody mouth.” John grits at him through clenched teeth before he throws a right cross to Evans’ face.

-

It’s just past 7P.M. when Kathleen comes in through the front door. John has made dinner for them and little Charlotte is already asleep in her crib by the time she does.

She sets her bag down in the entrance, takes off her shoes, and pads over to the kitchen in search of John.

“Hi…” She greets him softly as she approaches the table, causing him to swivel on his chair to greet her, wrapping his arms around her waist. 

She presses a kiss to his mouth, which he returns. “Hi, Da’lin’.” He murmurs to her once they separate.

“Is she down?” She asks in a soft tone as she looks at him.

“Mhm… Full belly and empty diaper.” He tells her, which makes her smile softly, seeming relieved.

Kathleen feels exhausted, as usual, still not used to the work-life balance that comes from having a 4-month-old baby who doesn’t like to sleep + and a physically demanding job that runs on a 12-hour-shift schedule. 

John swivels back to his previous position, nursing a glass of whiskey with his left hand, the right one resting on the table, the knuckles covered by a blue gel ice pack.

“So that’s what happened...” Kathleen muses as she glances at his iced hand, before backing away to grab herself a plate of food from the cupboard.

“What is?” John murmurs as he glances at her, watching her serve herself of some frozen lasagna and salad.

“One of your lads ended up in my emergency room after some ‘roughhousing gone wrong in the locker room’... I was musing about what he did all afternoon.” She quips as she pads over to the table again again.

“Hm.” John mutters quietly, seemingly a mix of embarassed and annoyed at that fact.

“So what did he do?” She asks as she takes a seat on his lap, perched on his lap, as she pops a cherry tomato in her mouth.

“Talked about you.” John murmurs, wrapping his free arm around her waist. “Only I get to say debauching things about My Wife.” He grumbles as he looks up into her eyes.

Kathleen rolls her eyes at him and shakes her head, but she can’t help the smirk that takes over her rudy lips as he calls her ‘his wife’. “My, Mr. Price, defending my honour, huh?” She jokes as she pops a bit of lettuce in her mouth.

“Defending my honour… and yours by proxy. Just an unforeseen consequence of it.” He tells her, trying to act nonchalant about the fact he broke a man’s nose, eyesocket and three of his ribs, for demeaning his wife.

“Right… Of course… How stupid of me…” Kathleen teases as she leans toward him, pressing a soft kiss to his lips, which makes his blue eyes close, a smile taking over his features. 

“As opposed to… what exactly? There isn’t much up there other than thoughts of my cock, da’lin’.” John remarks, causing her to roll her eyes, annoyed, and flick his head away from her by pushing his cheek, annoyed.

“I can very well just stop thinking about it all together… And I’m sure you wouldn’t want that when I was just about to reward you for defending me…” Kathleen teases as she pops another cherry tomato in her mouth, eyes locked on John and the way his pupils dilated, his cock already stirring awake in his joggers against her ass in her green scrubs.

#ikea writes 💚 #tw violence #tw misogyny #tw injury #cod x reader #cod fanfic #masterlist #call of duty #cod fandom #cod oc #oc: kathleen “brass” price #price x kathleen #john price x oc

[lennadanvers]

Pure Imagination

If you want to view paradise

Simply look around and view it

(...)

There is no life I know

To compare with pure imagination

- "Pure Imagination", Kathleen

Eddie Munson is three things: a coward, a loser and imaginative.

Since he's a coward, he never dared ask you out- or get close to you, for that matter. He just pined after you, happy that he had the chance to share the same air as you while at Hawkins High, and to know of your existence now that he's finally graduated.

Since he's such a loser, life didn't get that much better after he got out of school. He's still getting side looks from most of the people in town, and he hasn't become a famous musician just yet.

But, since he's imaginative, he has a way to cope: you. Not the real you, of course, he's sure you'd never look at him twice. But his active imagination keeps him afloat. Eddie pictures you everywhere, anytime, always by his side. It makes life easier. Bearable.

Some of the things Eddie pictures you doing are:

- Wearing Corroded Coffin's t-shirt

- Sleeping in his bed

- Going to parties with him

- Braiding his hair

- Going to the thrift store

Since you guys seemed to like the idea, I'm starting this series! I have a pretty long list of ideas, but I'll add to the masterlist only the parts already posted + the title of the one I'll post next. Hope you enjoy it!

#eddie munson #fanfiction #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x reader #eddie x reader #stranger things #pure imagination #lenna writes

[bikinikillarchives]

KATHLEEN HANNA ANNOUNCES MEMOIR, REBEL GIRL: MY LIFE AS A FEMINIST PUNK

7/13/23: Kathleen Hanna has announced that she’s releasing a memoir in May of next year: Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk is out Tuesday, May 14, 2024, via Ecco (a HarperCollins imprint). The book will follow Hanna’s story from childhood to her college years in Olympia, Washington.

Kathleen Hanna's rallying cry to feminists echoed far and wide through the punk scene of the 90s and beyond. Her band, Bikini Kill, embodies this iconic time, and today her personal yet feminist lyrics on anthems like "Rebel Girl" and "Double Dare Ya" are more powerful than ever. But where did this transformative voice come from? In Rebel Girl, Hanna's raw and insightful new memoir, she takes us from her tumultuous childhood home to her formative college years in Olympia, Washington, and on to her first years on tour, fighting hard for gigs and for her band. As Hanna makes clear, being in a "girl band," especially a punk girl band, in those years was not a simple or safe prospect. Male violence and antagonism threatened at every turn, and surviving as a singer who was a lightening rod for controversy took limitless amounts of determination. But the relationships she developed during those years buoyed her--including with her bandmates, Tobi Vail, Kathi Wilcox, and Johanna Fateman; her friendships with Kurt Cobain and Ian MacKaye; and her introduction to Joan Jett-- were all a testament to how the punk world could nurture and care for its own. Hanna opens up about falling in love with Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys and her debilitating battle with Lyme disease, and she brings us behind the scenes of her musical growth in her bands, Le Tigre and The Julie Ruin. She also writes candidly about the Riot Grrrl movement, documenting with love its grassroots origins but critiquing its later exclusivity. In an uncut voice all her own, Hanna reveals the hardest times along with the most joyful--and how it continues to fuel her revolutionary art and music.

you can pre-order Rebel Girl now though bookshop.org!

#EEEK #kathleen hanna #bikini kill #2023

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Old Habits, New Faces

Epilogue for Sweet Treats AU: by character | chronological | epilogues

Warnings: these drabbles will include dark elements such as noncon, control, intimidation, and other stuff that may not be specified. Take this as you chance to scroll by.

Note: Hope you don't mind...

Please let me know what you think <3

🍒🍒🍒

“Here you are, sir,” you approach the table, trading the contents of your tray, a plate of apple crisp and an American, for the slender metal centerpiece that holds the table number, “nice and warm from the oven.”

“Mm,” he grumbles without looking up from his phone, a stitch between his brows. You hold onto the metal card holder and try not to stare. You lean back on your heel, you should leave him alone.

He sighs and puts his phone down. He stares at the empty seat across from him. A line forms across his forehead as he scowls.

“Thanks.” He balls his gloved fist on the table top. His left hand. Not very subtle when you know who he is.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but are you the Bucky Barnes?”

“If you don’t want to, why–” He begins sharply. You flinch as he looks at you, a glare that softens at once. He cringes and corrects himself, forcing a smile that sets a handsome dimple in his cheek. “Sorry, long day. Yes, I am the Bucky Barnes.”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have… I’ll get back to the counter.”

You turn on the ball of your foot and scurry away, embarrassed. You knew better and you did it anyway. You just can’t believe it’s really him. Here of all places. This deadbeat town in the middle of nowhere. Wait! Is he on a mission?

You stand behind the till, fighting not to look over at him. Another customer enters. Kathleen. You have a tray of cupcakes waiting for her. You slide the box across to her as she pays on the machine. You wish her a good day and you’re left once more to languish in the tension.

You can’t just stand there. You know it’s probably a bit creepy to just stare out the window. Or him. Don’t look!

You go to the shelves and start your inventory. You should wait until a bit later but it’ll keep you busy. You slide some loaves over and rearrange the display case. 

His chair scrapes and his treads scuff. You don’t dare peek up as you wait for him to leave. Then you can wallow in your embarrassment alone. He clears his throat loudly and you pop your head up.

“Oh, hi again,” you close the display and sidle over with your best customer service.

“You have any of that left?” He asks, his voice gristles like gravel. He looks tired. Bags under his eyes and a pallid hue to his skin.

“Um?”

“The crisp? It’s my favourite.”

“Oh, uh, yeah, lots actually.” You try not to show how nervous you are. If he knew you had him as your phone wallpaper, oh gawd. “I could get you another piece. On the house. As an apology.”

“Apology?” He shakes his head.

“I really shouldn’t have asked earlier. I didn’t mean to be nosy.”

“It’s fine,” he says gently, “Didn’t mean to scare ya. I’m sure you folks don’t get many newcomers around here… do you?”

“No, not really. There was a group that passed through a few weeks ago. They stayed at Margot’s. She runs the B&B around here– um, that doesn’t matter, I guess. But, yeah, no, pretty tame her. Bodunk, if you will.”

He scoffs and nods, his expression eases up and his blues eyes consider you.

“Not to stroke my own ego, but are you a fan?”

“Er, a little,” you confess. “I mean, you and Cap. That’s big time compared to anything around her. But Bill Foster, he’s a volunteer firefighter, he got a cat out of a tree the other day… I’m rambling again.”

His lips curl at the edges, almost indiscernible. He rests his hand on the counter and his fingertips tap as his gaze clings to you. You squirm and wipe your sweaty palms on your apron.

“So uh, how about that crisp?”

“Think it’d be better with company,” he intones.

“Hm?”

He reaches in his pocket and takes out his wallet. He slides out a bill and lays it down. 

“On me. You been working hard. I’d love to treat ya.”

“I… can’t, Mr. Barnes, I have to…” you look around desperately. Still empty.

“You got a few minutes,” he insists, “don’t you, doll? Kinda dull ‘round here, ya know?”

“Ya, I know,” you look down at the twenty. “I guess I could sit down for a few minutes.”

“Oh, and it’s Bucky,” he corrects you as a full blown smile blooms across his face, “could I also ask for a name with my crisp?”

#bucky barnes #dark bucky barnes #dark!bucky barnes #bucky barnes x cherry #drabble #drabble series #sweet treats #au #mcu #marvel #captain america #winter soldier #avengers #bucky barnes x reader #dark!fic

[kiss-like-a-bruise]

for @wincestwednesdays september 2023 flash challenge

Lost:

pretend cousins and empty goodbyes - nowhere_blake

Summary: Oh, she believes they grew up together, no problem. She even believes the fire. But she'll be damned if those two are actually related. Deputy Kathleen Hudak is not blind, thank you very much.

Coda to 01x15 The Benders.

they were each other's toxic cure called codependency - nowhere_blake

Summary: Mary’s back, Dean is gone and Sam stops sleeping. She thought she understood how deep her boys' relationship goes, but when Michael takes over and Dean disappears, she needs to reevaluate just exactly how scarily codependent the two of them are.

Coda to 14x01 Stranger in a Strange Land.

Begging:

Unanswered Prayers - writinginthesecrettrees

Summary: John drops to his knees and prays to every god he’s ever heard of that Dean will somehow not notice the heavy lidded looks sent through the rearview mirror.

They're All They've Ever Had - heart_attackles

Summary: Letter from John to Bobby describing his feelings about Sam and Dean's relationship.

Rec notes: John begs Bobby to try and understand the boys.

Radio:

Old Roads and Rolling Stones - brokenlittleboy

Summary: Sam and Dean decide to take a break and go on a road trip, during which they fall in love and listen to classic rock.

Radio Song - azephirin

Summary: I meant to turn it off, to say goodbye, to leave in quiet….

Rec notes: Sam has a time slot on college radio.

Buried:

Permission - Lochinvar

Summary: Sam figures out what he wants. Takes Dean 20 years to say yes.

Rec notes: Snowed into the Bunker.

Day Seven: Stuck Someplace Together in Winter - Noname109

Summary: Dean and Sam are driving to get to a hunt through . . . which state again? The snow starts to pile up, but they don't think anything of it until they're buried under four feet of it. Sitting pressed up against each other isn't doing the trick of warming their bodies. Dean lets a secret slip.

Withdrawal:

Do You Approve? - orphan_account

Summary: Sam and Dean have been trying to hide their relationship from Mary since she arrived back in their lives. But there's only so long they can stay away from each other. What will happen when she finds out?

Rec notes: Sam withdraws from Dean after Mary finds out about them.

No one dared - sparklingice Summary: Sam tells Dean he's going to Stanford and thinks that will soothe the pain he feels, but it just deepens the wound and makes it bleed.

"Sam tells him in the driest dirthole of their freakshow of a summer, Gila Bend, AZ. "Where solar panels outnumber people." Freakin’ hilarious. It’s 105° and sunny, clashing with Sam’s general idea of a werewolf case so hard he just wants to let the fucker stay out here if it so wishes, let it burn down to embers under this goddamn desert fireball."

Rec notes: Sam and Dean struggle with the pain of separating after Sam's decision to leave for Stanford.

#wincest wednesday #wincest #wincest fic recs #fic recs #september 2023 #prompt: lost #prompt: begging #prompt: radio #prompt: buried #prompt: withdrawal #bruise recs

[bookofbonbon]

The irony of Kathleen's words to Henry.

"Did you stop to think that maybe he was supposed to die?... Well, kids die, Henry. They die all the time."

She's so blinded by her own selfish need for revenge to hear the hypocrisy of her own words. As if the same logic couldn't be applied to the death of her brother, Michael. People die all the time. Perhaps, Michael was supposed to die. After all, Perry says Michael was a great man but, he didn't change anything.

"You think the whole world revolves around him? That he's worth everything?"

Kathleen then goes onto say, as she stands there with an entire army behind her, using the people who look to her for leadership to exact her own sense of justice because Henry dared to put his brother's life above her brother's life. The same brother who Kathleen admits wanted her to forgive Henry.

Kathleen was right. Michael was beautiful and she wasn't. She was ugly on the inside and her ugliness cost her her own life and the lives of all those people who put their faith and trust in her.

#the last of us hbo #tlou hbo #the last of us hbo spoilers #tlou hbo spoilers #Henry and Sam #kathleen tlou #tlou meta

[justdealingwithsomeissues]

It is VERY wild that they let Dare show up to Tony's funeral... and man... I just don't know how I feel about that interaction with Jim... on one hand... yeah... it is very much her fault it all came to this... but also the guts it takes to show up at an event like this, to ask forgiveness when you KNOW you won't get it...

Also interesting back and forth between Abe and Erica... showing us that while they said Stark was cremated that was very much not the case, it all being a sham... but they also don't know if this cryo thing is gonna work so this might be as good as a real funeral Tony ever gets...

#Marvel #Iron Man #James Rhodes ~ Iron Man #Kathleen Dare #Erica Sondheim #Abraham Zimmer #Bambi Arbogast #Felix Alvarez

[steddielicious]

Fall 1986 and El is making sure that no one is lying during Truth or Dare. If anyone doesn’t want to answer, they can excuse themself from the game, but since friends don’t lie, no one has done so. 

And then Max asks who everyone’s first kiss was. Mike and El and Max and Lucas all say each other. Dustin says Suzie and Jonathan, Nancy. Will and Robin haven’t kissed anyone before and Argyle looks dreamy as he tells everyone about Madeleine. Nancy’s was Matthew Roberts and Eddie’s was Kathleen O’Hannigan. And Steve ends with Carol Perkins. Until - 

“Lie.” 

El’s proclamation cuts through the Peter Gabriel that’s softly playing across Steve’s living room. 

“What?!” Eddie interjects incredulously. “Who could be worse than Perky Perkins?”

Steve is frozen, a light blush playing across his cheeks. “I’m not lying. Carol was the first girl I kissed.” 

“Truth.”

The room erupts in shouts, disbelieving that Steve had confused El. Jonathan makes sympathetic eye contact with him across the circle and comes to his rescue. 

“Robin! Truth or Dare?”

And as Robin licks Argyle’s left armpit, everyone’s attention moves on. 

Except Eddie, whose head is tilted as he watches Steve. 

Huh.

Part 3/ ∞ of Truth or Steddare

#steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things #steddie #truth or steddare #steddielicious writes #pre s4

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: Blueberry Critical

Stephen King: submitted for the- JK Rowling: hello children Rowling: I’d like to introduce you all to my favorite terf deatheater Rowling: Kathleen ssssstock Clive Barker: why Poe: clive that’s- Poe: actually yeah why

JK Rowling: I just thought sssshe had ssssome interessssting thoughtsss to share Barker: literally why would you think that Barker: why would you ever think that Barker: why are you even here Rowling: tell them what you told me about the blueberriessss Barker: Barker: what about the blueberries Roald Dahl: blueberries you say??????

Kathleen Stock: I can’t believe people would dare criticize me online Stock: holding my own words against me… Stock: that’s EXACTLY what the naughty kids in Charlie and the chocolate factory would do Dahl: Stock: I mean Stock: just think about it Dahl: Dahl: ok sure why not

Stock: god, all those trans people Stock: I’d like to see THEM get blueberrified Dahl: ee hee hee Stock: just completely filled up with juice Dahl: ee hee heeeee Stock: just burstingly, sloshingly full of juice Dahl: eeeee heee heeeee

Stock: god I’d like to see them just inflate with juice until they’re SO stretched and tight, their skin tingling with exquisite fullness Dahl: eeeee heeee heeeee JK Rowling: well they’re really getting along, I’ll jusssst leave you lot to it Poe: wait no- Poe: oh son of a bitch

Stock: I’m so mad at trans people, I just wish I could blueberrify every single one Stock: not as a sexual thing tho, I just think it would be interesting Dahl: oh yeah yeah definitely just interesting Dahl: and funny Dahl: I just think it would be SO funny Stock: oh yes funny

Dahl: what’s your deviantart handle Stock: [eyes shifting] why would you think I’m on deviantart Dahl: I’m xxxeverblastingcumpopperxxx24_7 Stock: Stock: [quietly] adult_female_juiceblimp85

#midnight pals #the midnight society #midnight society #jk rowling #kathleen stock #clive barker #stephen king #edgar allan poe #roald dahl

[penvisions]

return the favor {chapter 13}

Pairing: Joel Miller x Reader

Summary: The end of the tunnels brings a short-lived moment of relief, but all of that quickly changes as a sniper awaits on the edge of the city limits.

Word Count: 9k

Warnings: canon typical violence, canon typical gore, panic, fighting, gunfire, ambush, active shooter scenario, active fight scene, threats, casual talk of killing, graphic descriptions of injuries 

Notes: i've had the ending to this chapter written for the longest time and i am so excited to finally share it with you all. i like to think i find good ways to end chapters but this one, whew, it's a doozy and i am HERE for it haha

can't thank y'all enough for checking out my story, for all the attention on ao3 and on here as well! all if it makes me so happy and grateful to be a part of this fandom ♡

ao3 link || series masterlist || main masterlist 

A shuffling sound from above had you ducking without a thought, hand going to the colt in its holster at your hip. You aimed it and your flashlight up, everyone freezing around you as they dared to look up. It was hard to see in the small tunnel, the ceiling still lower than it had been when there were still hatches and pipes lining the walls of the entrance that you had taken down here. There was a rather large crack that stretched out ahead of you, some rubble falling from it as the shuffling sounded again. Joel urged everyone back, tone sharp. There was an even louder scrabbling sound as a result of his order. It sounded like something was moving around above the ceiling.

There was a sickening crack that had you shoving Ellie and Sam ahead of you, trying to quickly get them to further down the tunnel. The ground was quaking underneath your feet, the entire tunnel shaking as you tried to close the distance between the kids and the bits of concrete that were beginning to crumble from the ceiling.

“It’s gonna collapse!”

Henry shouted, trying to move right behind them as larger rocks and pieces of the tunnel started to rain down, using his body to try and shield them from getting hit. As you pushed him forward you felt something too close to you. You felt large hands shove you to the side as something fell among the debris, sending you crashing into the wall, the last thing you saw was Ellie’s panicked face as she shouted out for you and Joel through the cascade of debris before the tunnel went completely dark.

You gasped, trying desperately to pull air into your lungs but dust was heavy in the air. You started coughing, the sound harsh even to your ringing ears. It was pitch black all around you, your flashlight having flown from your hands along with your colt. The sounds of debris settling around you had you flying up from your spot, thankfully not having been crushed by anything large enough to do any lasting damage. You were half leaning against what remained of the side of the tunnel. You crawled away as another large chunk of concrete came tumbling down, hands and knees scraping along the ground.

“Joel!” You called into the darkness, breath shuddering as you were met silence. You were sure he had been behind you, or at least close to you before you had tumbled into the wall. You worried he had gotten caught underneath the concrete, your mind racing as coughs racked your body, gasping as you tried to clear your lungs of dust. It was too heavy in the air.

Heaving, you pulled your pack from your back once you felt safe enough, digging blindly into the ground around you in a desperate attempt to find the colt. It hadn’t been yours; it had been his and it was one of the last things you had after fifteen years. When you couldn’t find it in the space around you, you felt tears sting in your eyes. Completely overwhelmed by the prospect of having lost a part of him, not being able to get a response from Joel, the cave in separating you from Ellie and potentially trapping you within the city, having to backtrack alone and find another way out from under Kathleen’s militia. You didn’t have another second to think before there was a clicking sound followed by a sudden gasp from beneath the rubble.

“Joel!” You shouted again, reaching for the smaller flashlight in the pocket hugging your thigh. You clicked it on in time to see a twisted body crawling from underneath the rubble, twisting its head in an unnatural display. You tried not to breathe too loudly, but it wouldn’t have mattered as you did. You spied a smudge of brown that was moving about among the white dust that covered everything, it had to be Joel. When he started coughing harshly, you felt relief flood your veins but only for a moment. Your heart leapt into your throat as you saw the clicker amble out of where it had been buried and made its way toward him, leaving your precious pack behind on the ground without a thought.

“Hey!” You shouted, pushing yourself up, grit underneath your boots making you trip. Your shoulder hit a large chunk of concrete jutting up, but you just pushed off it and scrambled over to where Joel was stuck in the debris. He was groaning, coming to, making far too much noise as he did so. You felt your foot get caught as you rushed, heart thudding hard as you tried to keep your flashlight on the clicker moving around, it wasn’t as fast as it could’ve been, one of its arms was nearly torn from the shoulder socket, cordyceps slowly reaching out from it and making your stomach lurch.

You heard your name, Joel suddenly shooting up from his spot in a slight crevice as he regained his awareness. He groaned, his back hurt like hell where the large sheet that had been about to fall directly on you had grazed him when he threw himself at you to get you out of the way. You had been too focused on the kids getting to safety you hadn’t seen it. He tried to sit up but was quickly leaning back against the rubble around him, a strangled sound getting stuck in his throat. His noise spurred the clicker on, it picked up speed, the inhuman shrieking filling the collapsed tunnel, and you managed to get your foot out from where it was stuck in time to throw your body over Joel.

He shouted your name, the flashlight having landed to shine the beam up at the ceiling from somewhere in the rubble, lighting up the whole space enough to see. The site of a clicker hurdling right toward him had him scrambling but your figure flashed before him, blocking his view completely. His hands had come up to catch you, to help you, to shove you, whatever he could’ve managed to do in that spare second. You felt the clicker reach out for you as you hovered over Joel, its good hand reaching to claw at the front of your jacket, its teeth snapping harshly as it tried to crane its neck and get a hold on you. You grunted with the effort it took to fight off its hand, kicking out your legs at its body despite the bad footing you had. It managed to get some footing itself among the debris, and it lunged.

You screamed as its wide mouth appeared right in front of your face, hands coming up in a last-ditch effort to keep it away. There was a loud squelching sound followed by the thing screeching so loud you went to cover your ears, Joel doing the same below you. Yours and Joel’s harsh breathing sounded in the air, though everything was still for a second. You pried your eyes open, not realizing you had shut them as the clicker had lunged. It was scrabbling to reach for you still, though it’s good hand couldn’t quite reach you. You looked up to see it had been impaled on a piece of rebar sticking up over where Joel had been trapped. It was struggling to free itself, the ugly sound of its old flesh ripping as it thrashed about.

Joel shoved at you, urging you to move to the side and give him some space to stand. He pushed to sit up despite the stab of pain in his back and the tug of his ankle freed it from where it had been lodged, twinging as he did so. He stumbled as he tried to gain some footing and raised the knife he had freed from his belt. He grunted with each harsh stab he made to silence the clicker once and for all. His shoulders heaving underneath his jacket.

“You’re so goddamn stupid!” He shouted as he rounded on you, scrambling back over to you, your name falling from him in a biting tone. His hands were trembling as he brought them up to cradle your dusty face, fingers tangling in your hair. It hurt when his chest collided with yours and he knocked his head into yours in a searing kiss. “Don’t you ever think of jumping in front of me again! You hear me?”

“I wasn’t about to let that thing tear into you!” You shouted back, pulling him to you as his arms came around you in a crushing embrace. You dug your own shaking fingers into his shoulders, lips bruising against his. Nose throbbing as his own nudged as yours. The flashlight flickered, the space pitch black once again, and the sound of the rubble shifting had you both twisting to see a large chunk tumble down from where it had nearly been touching what was once the ceiling. Muffled shouts of yours and Joel’s names squeezed through the opening that had cropped up.

The flashlight flickered off completely, the thing too worn down to keep operating as more debris shifted toward the top of the collapse.

-

After what seemed like hours of working in the limited light from two flashlights, there was finally enough of the debris cleared to crawl through. Joel had insisted you move through as soon as it had been large enough for you to safely fit, but you argued you weren’t moving until he could follow after you. He was frustrated, still, that you had thrown yourself in front of him. But he knew he was nothing but a hypocrite because he would’ve done the same.

He was frustrated further when you were insistent that your pack was the first thing to make the move through the opening.

You had won the minor argument of there being enough supplies, minus food, for the three of them on the other side to survive off of for days should the rubble give way and you two were caught. You and Joel could handle yourselves, you had pointed out, could find and fight for survival and supplies. While Henry would need all the help he could get if he were left to watch over Sam and Ellie alone. Joel had shut up at your words, a mix of emotions swirling in his mind, but knowing that you were ultimately making the most sensible call.

The second you were through the questionable opening and on your feet, something slammed into you hard enough to make you stumble back. Dust flew to the air at the contact.

“All we heard was the clicker and you screaming, we thought it got you.” Ellie’s voice was muffled where her face was buried in your chest. Her hands were tight around your ribs, squeezing the air out of your lungs. She pushed from you as quickly as she had launched herself at you. Joel let out a loud ‘oof’ as she had moved to do the same to him, her arms not quite going around his form but still squeezing him tight around his middle. “We didn’t hear anything from you until you started hollerin’ at her. I thought you got crushed.”

He hesitantly brought his arms down to loosely return the embrace, his face a weird mix of emotions you couldn’t quite make out. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to. They were blocked from view when Sam suddenly stepped up to you and curled his arms around your waist, looking up at you with tears in his eyes. You felt your heart melt, kneeling down to bring him into a proper embrace. He was shaking, his small form quaking as he tried to sign something to you but couldn’t quite make it out with the proximity. You pulled away a little to see better, he was gushing that he was glad you were okay. Over his shoulder, Henry nodded at you, reaching over to place a hand on your shoulder.

“This was on our side.” Ellie spoke up, having let go of Joel as quickly as she had done with you. The man was standing with a hand on his hip, turned away with a slightly pinched look about him. She was holding out her hand, but you couldn’t see what was in it over Sam’s shoulder. The young boy released himself from you with a shy smile and went back to Henry’s side.

The gleam of silver in her hands caught the ray of Joel’s flashlight and you felt a shuddering breath fall from your lips. The detailed inlay along the handle had you surging forward and bringing Ellie into a tight embrace. She yelped at the sudden move, not having expected you to crush her to your body. Shaking hands came up to cradle her head, the gun wedged between your bodies a comforting sensation.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” You let her go to take the missing colt from her hands when you realized your own were shaking. The gun rattled in your grip; it was scuffed from sliding along the concrete, but it was still in one piece.

“I see the way you clean it whenever we have a moment of peace. Figured it was important.” She offered you a lopsided smile, a blush on her cheeks as she realized she liked the feeling of hugging you, of hugging Joel. It felt like something she had only ever had with one other person, it was comfort. She wanted more of it with you both, but she knew that was a dangerous thought. Attachment always ended in being hurt, either due to unspoken expectations or when it was taken forcefully from you without a moment's notice. Joel’s eyes were on you both, a question in his mind that he didn’t dare ask. He glanced down at the broken watch on his wrist before urging everyone into motion once again.

-

The night air was cool on your heated skin as you emerged from the depths of the tunnel. The door that you had entered led into the lower levels of a building had indicated that you could go through one more into the building itself or the one that led out into a parking garage. The stagnant air of the building was marginally better than that of the tunnel, but the cool air of the outside as you walked into the open level of the structure was heavenly. The brisk fall air settling around you and you breathed deep despite the sting to your broken nose.

You had not been a fan of the tunnels, traveling so far underground in such a cramped space. You closed your eyes and took a moment, the rest of the group walking past you and into the open space. You could feel eyes on you, but they didn’t linger. You brought up your hands to wipe at the sweat on your forehead, being mindful not to graze the scab there.

“Do you know where we are?”

“Yep. On the other side.” Henry's words weren't clipped, but they were did have a weird tone. You chocked it up to the way things were progressing, surely he was experiencing an overwhelming amalgamation of emotions with leaving the city he had once called home. Being chased from his home for just trying to protect his brother the only way he knew how. You couldn't fathom what he was going through. While not being one yourself, you could understand how people ended up in positions that demanded they be collaborators. Thankfully, you hadn't been cornered or targeted in such a way, FEDRA needing proper medical knowledge but your QZ not being so far gone as to test the murky waters with demanding too much of you. They had paid you well in vouchers and supplies, certain soldiers looking the other way when you went beyond the walls to retrieve more. It hadn't been for you, none of it had been for you, it had always been about helping people as best you could with what you knew. But you were aware that no everyone was so lucky.

The mood was somber as the group walked through the parking garage, through the last bit of the main city. The streets you were now making your way through were lined with houses, abandoned vehicles parked in both normal spots as if someone had just come home from work and had walked into their home for dinner as well as haphazardly left in the middle of the street in a rush. It was another mark of a panicked time when the world had fallen so swiftly, so suddenly. You were grateful to be away from the denseness of the city, it had been suffocating the second it had turned into more than a simple drive through.

Joel led the way, Ellie following closely behind him. Henry and Sam were a few steps behind her, and you were still on alert behind them. There was enough moonlight to guide the way, flashlights would only draw attention in the open environment, should someone be waiting or watching. A sure-fire way to gather attention you really didn’t want. Feeling the same way about gunfire, you paused and holstered your gun. You kneeled into a crouch as you removed your pack from your shoulders. You felt a twinge in them as you did so, the harness helping to alleviate some of it but not all.

A few strides ahead of you, Joel stopped when he heard the hush of your pack zipper. He watched as you carefully pulled the machete he hadn’t known was in there until he had been looking for medicine earlier in the day. It gleamed dully in the moonlight cascading down, the silver of it clean and polished, well taken care of. He was curious as to how that had come to be your choice of backup weapon, but as you stood and slipped your pack back on his eyes took in the way you twirled it in your right hand. You had a good sense of the weapon, balancing it perfectly with your fluid movements as if stretching an old muscle seemed unnervingly natural. He wouldn't want to end up in a close quarter scuffle with you, you were no doubt faster than it would take to aim and fire a gun.  

The slight muscle tone to your arms made a lot more sense, he mused as he turned back around. The phantom feel of your hands on him, your arms around his shoulders sparking something in him that he quickly tried to shake off. His steps hadn’t faltered but Ellie had noticed his attention on you and looked back herself. She took in the way you were maneuvering the machete easily, as if it were nearly a broadsword one of her favorite comic book characters wielded and she couldn’t help the excited smile that broke out on her lips. She was so going to ask you to show her how to use that.

A patting noise pulled her attention from you and toward the two boys beside her. You, too, had come up to make a line behind Joel. It was Ellie, Henry, Sam, and you. The younger of the boys was signing, trying to quell his curiosity of what happened next.

‘Why can’t we use our lights?’

‘He says so we don’t draw attention.’

‘But no one’s out here?’

‘Someone could be on patrol out here,’ You signed, mouthing the words as well in case your hands weren’t precise enough in your lack of efficiency with the language. You smiled down at the boy, hoping he felt safe being outside the city, despite it being a new experience for him. ‘Just to be extra safe.’

“No. No one is here.” Henry spoke as he signed, a bit of his frustration at still being talked at and told what to do seeping through. You had trusted him enough to shove both Sam and Ellie at him when the tunnel collapsed but Joel was still holding them at a safe distance. He felt like you and him had come to an understanding, the children come first, they are the most important thing. But Joel was still hard to read, indecipherable in how he felt about everything and how to move forward from here. “No one’s gonna be here because my plan worked.”

“So much god damn talkin’.” Joel’s voice didn’t hold any contempt or malice, just mild annoyance. And while you and Henry had come to an agreement with each other, an understanding, that didn’t negate the fact that he needed to learn to be more careful. He still had that air about him that if something small worked out, everything would follow. You had too much experience in this world that contested that type of thinking, though you had always been overtly cautious of things even Before.

“I’m just saying,” Henry pointed ahead to his right. I delivered. Make this right, go down the street, embankment behind the last house and we’re out.”

Joel pivoted in the direction the younger man was pointing to, head on a swivel. You were doing the same, there was a gnawing feeling in your gut, telling you something was off about the stillness and the quiet air about the neighborhood. It almost felt like you were being watched, eyes following your movements through the streets causing your back muscles to twitch and goosebumps to raise up on your arms underneath your jacket.

“So we cross the river and then what?” Ellie spoke up, a cautious almost hopeful tone to her voice that had you looking toward her. You had promised Henry you would help him to keep Sam safe, but she couldn’t have overhead that while loudly playing tag earlier. Joel too, hadn’t quite heard everything, but had to have a hunch as to your thoughts on the matter. You wanted to keep that promise, Sam was too young to be out here in the expanse of wasteland. And while you were sure Henry would do what was needed to provide for and protect him, he was young as well. He had a lot to learn and learn quickly in order to not get taken advantage of or trapped, killed. “Where you gonna go?”

“Don’t know yet.” He cut his eyes toward you, taking in the way you were watching the back of Joel’s head as he led the way.

“Well, we’re goin’ to Wyoming.” Joel’s head turned so fast it was a wonder his neck hadn’t popped. He was training a warning look at Ellie, his eyes shifted to you. You raised an eyebrow, a silent argument that he felt was already futile. Ellie was hard enough to deter, and she had made a friend, a connection that seemed to excite her and make her feel a little more like the child that she was. And if you were to back her up in your sensible, matter-of-fact manner, he was sure he would crumble. Ellie dug her feet in and began the first stages that would eventually break him down into agreeing it was the best move for everyone. “What? It’s a huge state. It can fit two more people.”

“Yeah…” Henry looked to you, wanting to believe that you would hold true to your promise. But he was unsure now, in the open air outside the city. Joel, again, would be the one to make the final call and he couldn’t see you splitting off from him in order to uphold it. The looks you two shared, whether it be to communicate thoughts you didn't say aloud or when the one didn't think the other was looking, and the comfortability between you two was obvious to him and he had only just met you. The way that is was obvious you would both do whatever it took to keep the other safe, to keep Ellie safe. “Maybe we just call this one a success and say our fond farewells.”

“No, he’ll change his mind. Trust me.” Ellie nodded over to you, a cheeky smile pulling at her lips. She put on a deep voice in an imitation of Joel’s timbre, an over exaggerated twang in an effort to capture his accent. “This is how it goes. He like, ‘No, Ellie. Never, ever happening.’”

You stifled a bark of laughter at the absurd expression she made in order to do so, tucking her chin in and scrunching up her face. You could practically feel him roll his eyes as he glanced back at her, not amused in the slightest by her breakdown of how she thought decisions were made within your little trio.

“And then I’m like, ‘I’m gonna ask you a million more times.’ And then she’s gonna point out all the reasons why it would be better to travel-“

Sudden gunshots had you all ducking, Ellie shouting out in surprise.

“Move, move!” Joel’s hands were on Ellie in a second, guiding her by her shoulder to seek shelter behind the car just a few paces in front of her. It was one of the cars that was in the middle of the road, you watched as the rest of your group crouched down underneath the already shattered windows. You hadn’t had time to follow after them after making sure Henry had a good hold on Sam before a second shot buzzed past your head and you had skidded to your knees behind another vehicle. You could see them, but you were on the other side of the street, the cars perpendicular to the lanes that made it up.

“Ellie?” You called, not able to see her. She peeked out from where she was practically tucked into Joel’s right side. She was nestled with Sam between the two men, where the body of the car was largest, to provide them with more protection. She shakily called out that she was okay and let out the breath you had been holding. You had seen Joel reach for her but in the haste to get yourself safely out of sight you hadn’t seen them hunker down together.

A third shot rang out, shattering the taillight of the car that Joel had ushered everyone behind.

“Where the fuck is that comin’ from?”

“Shut up.” Joel immediately demanded. He looked across the street to you, seeing the way that you were reaching up to touch a tentative hand to your left ear. The bullet hadn’t grazed you, but it had been too close for comfort. He turned to raise his head over the trunk of the car, just barely getting his eyes over the top of it to survey the street. As he did so another shot fired straight from the higher story of a house facing down the street. Henry dared to look through the driver’s side window, prompting another loud shot to hit the broken window and shattering what was left of it.

“Fuck. Let’s move. Let’s go.”

Before you could even begin to argue, mouth pursed to open, Henry was gripping Sam by the hand and shoulder, ushering him away from the relative safety of the car.

“What’re you doin’?” Joel’s shout was edging on frustrated, truly not understanding the younger man’s train of thought. The lack of preservation even in the face of what’s he’s already done to ensure the safety of his brother.

“Henry, wait!” You moved to stand but at a harsh glare and click of Joel’s tongue you lowered yourself back down. Ellie watching everything with a pinched expression.

“Getting’ the fuck outta here!” They barely made it a few yards before a shot landed on the car they were running past. You could only watch as they stumbled and skidded, nearly falling on their backs as they tried to avoid another should it follow. Frantically turning back and rushing toward where they had just been crouched beside Joel and Ellie. Sam was tucked under him where he kneeled, the boy curling his face into his brother’s shoulder. Finally registering the severity of the situation, Henry looked over at you and then trained his gaze on Joel, who was leaning his back against the trunk. He peered over the top of it again only to duck back down as a shot landed unnervingly close to where he had just been.

He shifted to lean more of his weight back on the car, lifting his hips to holster his gun. He muttered something to himself that was lost in the tense air.

“Stay here.” It was quiet, like he wasn’t sure it was the right move, or he was worried about how you were going to react. He had just told you to not dive headfirst into danger to save him not even two hours ago, and here he was doing exactly that.

“What?” Ellie’s response was quiet, unbelieving. Joel shifted on his feet, facing away from you and toward Ellie, giving her his full attention. Urging her to listen to his words. He could feel your eyes heavy on his back, knowing you weren’t going to be fond of this plan in the slightest.

“If you don’t move, he’s not gonna hit you. I’m gonna go around, try to get in the house through the back, and then I’ll take him out.”

“But if you go out there, he’s gonna kill you.” Ellie maintained eye contact with him, her face open and earnest, pleading with him. Her tone as firm as his was.

“It’s dark and he has shit aim. Nobody’s gonna kill me.” Joel raised his voice above a whisper, urging her to hear him, to hear what he was really saying. That he’d be damned if someone was going to hurt either of you. Hurt any of you as long as you were with him.

“Then he’s gonna kill us.”

Joel furrowed his brow, knocking his head down to stare at her, eyes glinting with something behind the serious tone he was exhibiting.

“Do you trust me?”

She reeled back at the question, tears shining in her eyes as she came to a startling realization. That for the way that this had started, the gruffness, the snarky comments about his hearing and the way his knees popped, the way he insisted she wasn’t family, knowing that he had other things – other people in his life, she unequivocally did trust him. She nodded. She trusted him to do everything in his power to keep her safe. He looked away, not able to handle how vulnerable she looked, how raw he felt with the exchange. He was a swirl of emotions, some he hadn’t even known were stored deep in who he was, who he had become. But he knew he wouldn’t be able to handle seeing another child being taken out by a gun if there was something he could’ve done to prevent it.

"You good with that?"

He turned to you, wanting to close the gap or to usher you over to where they were. But he didn’t. He took in the way you were leaning your head back against the metal of the vehicle you were hiding behind. Your knees up to your chest as you crouched to make yourself as small as possible. Machete gripped tight in your hands and ready for whatever may come next. Your eyes were closed, mouth open as you pulled in air to even out the heaving of your chest. He knows you heard him, heard his plan to try and take out the person targeting them. When you opened your eyes and turned to look at him, you nodded, letting him know you were going to follow his lead.

"Copy that."

Joel moved to the front of the car and with a final pat on each of their arms, he made a mad dash across the street and toward the house. You watched him as he went, worry settling into your chest. As soon as he was up, you were standing with a shout, machete shielding your head as you hoped to distract the shooter. It seemed to work for a second, a shot buzzing past you before they caught sight of Joel beyond a fence line and adjusted their aim to him.

You bobbed on your feet for a second of thought before you made a dash to cross the distance between the cars, Ellie’s hands grasping at your sleeve the second you were couched beside her. You reached out to offer a hand to Henry and Sam, both of them gripping your other arm as you nestled in between them and Ellie.

“We’re gonna be okay, I promise.”

Shots bounced around you. Loud in the night air. Hitting the vehicle you had just been using as a shield, hitting the one you were all behind. But when one flew through the window and landed too close for comfort in the dirt at your feet, you were pushing yourself up, lips set into a firm line. You felt Ellie’s grip on your arm, her feet skidding on the ground as she tried to pull you back down. You did so, right hand tucking the machete close to you and the left coming up to cradle her face.

“I’m gonna draw his attention away, you’ll be safe, I swear it. Just stay, like Joel said, okay?” It was different than with Joel, the reassurance. You weren’t asking her to trust you, you were asking her to be brave, to hold her own ground while you lead the way. No less important as she grasped that you were willing to do whatever it would take to keep her safe just as he would. She was nodding her head, her fingers loosening their grip on your arm.

You made a run for the vehicle just ahead, a shot going over your head just as you ducked behind it. You hoped it had been enough time for Joel to get up to that higher level in the house. Enough time to sneak up on the shooter, to convince them to stop this madness. Another shot ringing out and then abrupt, heavy silence was your only answer. You glanced over the top of the car, still cautious. Just in case…

You spied a single figure in the dark window, but no shots came after you. You sighed in relief, hoping there hadn’t been a struggle. Joel raised his hand to you in the window, knowing you would only be able to see his outline or shadow but at the way your shoulders relaxed he felt a bit of relief as well. You brought up a hand as well and he let out a chuckle at the triviality of it. The others were looking to you across the distance of the street and you nodded as you spoke to them. You were about to stand at full height when the sound of a roaring engine had your heart beating hard in your chest and fear welling up in your stomach. You weren’t fond of loud sounds, especially when they announced that you were about to be ambushed.

“Run!” Joel’s loud shout was muffled due to the distance, but you still heard the urgency in his voice. He kept shouting twice, three, four more times. The desperation in his voice became more apparent as bright lights flashed from down the street where you had been traveling from. You were the closest, having backtracked in an attempt to get the gunfire to rain down further away from the kids. Engines growled loudly in the night air as a group of them could be seen moving right toward you.

The suddenness of a giant tank of a vehicle with a dozer on the front of it speeding down the street toward you had pushing off the vehicle you were still behind. Spurred into motion by the bight spotlights casting blinding rays across the street and surrounding area. Henry was quick to usher the kids in front of him, spurred into action just as quickly as you. The crash of metal as the dozer forced is way down the street was loud, every thud of a car being hit reverberating in your chest.

Ellie fired a shot behind her with her handgun as Joel did the same from his perch in the house. She was up ahead of you, Henry and Sam ahead of her by a few paces. Frantic, weaving desperately through the littered street.

“Veer off!” You shouted, sweeping your arm to indicate what you meant despite your body tensing as the vehicle was only a few cars behind you. Just as a shot landed to crack the windshield of the impending vehicle, you heard Ellie’s gun click to signal that she was out of ammo. You weren’t sure if it was one of her hits or Joel’s from the house at the head of the street, but she went tumbling down just a few paces further. Picking up speed despite the burn in your legs you jutted the handle of the machete into your belt, the blade facing down and away from you, the length of it lining up with your left leg. You reached down and pulled Ellie up by her bag, but the vehicle skidding around as it lost speed had her crawling away.

Without thinking you folded your body over her to shield her.

There was a loud splintering of wood and metal as the vehicle veered off the road completely and into one of the abandoned houses. Trucks and jeeps were quickly filled up the street in its absence to make a barricade, the blinding lights on top of them making it hard for you to see straight. The spots of light decorating your vision even as you diverted your gaze. You were pulling Ellie up, ushering her to move but she was nearly frozen in fear and panic. Your hands were rough on her as you dragged her a few steps before lifting her in your arms completely. She wasn’t much smaller than you so it was a struggle, her body held tight to you as you tried to move as quickly as possible from the people emerging from the vehicles.

The sounds of the doors slamming shut behind them and the crunch of their feet on the ground seemed to shake her out of her stupor. She stumbled as she regained feeling in her legs and tried to get a foot down on the ground, her hands gripping your arms and back tightly as you had to cradle her nearly bridal style in your arms. You tried to help her right herself but kept moving at the same time and she tripped, sending you both tumbling to the ground.

“Shit! I’m so sorry!” She cried out. You both gripped each other as you managed to get back up on your feet, you pulled her along, letting her know it was okay. She was okay, she was going to be okay. A few more paces was all the distance you managed before an explosion lit up the street. The sound of it deafening, the brightness of yellow and orange blinding as it reached high into the sky where the large vehicle with the dozer had settled halfway into a house. You threw yourself over Ellie again, both of you hitting the ground on pure instinct. Pieces of debris rained down all around you, some of it still on fire. Smoke billowed up and filled the air.

You coughed as you lifted off her a bit, getting onto your hands and knees to hover over her where she began to shift. She was sucking in air, having been winded from the fall. Everything was still as a fire raged far too close for comfort. The street was littered with smaller fires, mostly debris but some bushes were going up in flames as well, adding more smoke to the air.

Footsteps were approaching you, some from up ahead and some from where the vehicles had come to a screeching halt just a few yards behind you. Hands were suddenly on you, but they were accompanied by a friendly voice.

“You guys okay?” Henry was kneeling down, hands checking you both for any injuries.

“Yeah.” Was all Ellie managed before you were hauling her up again and shoving her at Henry, the two stumbled at your rough treatment and were about to ask what was wrong when they looked up to see your back to them and your machete raised. The gleam of it was threatening in the light of the fire all around.

“Get her the fuck out of here.” Your voice was low, tempered into a warning. But it wasn’t aimed at them. You didn’t glance back at them as they noticed the three figures ahead of you and retreated.

As soon as one of the figures moved to go after them, a shot ringing through the air from their handgun, you lunged. You didn’t think twice before bringing your blade down on their arm, severing it at the elbow and quickly silencing their screams with a second swipe to their chest. The other two figures fanned out and tried to surround you, but the part of the street you were on was too crowded with cars and flaming debris.

You shifted on your feet, turning the blades handle in your hand in anticipation. They were afraid to fire on you as if they were low on ammo and needed to be more cautious about its usage. Something you were going to use to your advantage. You took a measured step toward them, both of them stepping back to keep the same distance.

“You don’t even know me.”

“We know you killed our people.”

“Your people attacked mine. We were just trying to pass through.”

“This is our city.”

“Your city is shit, wouldn’t recommend it.” They closed in on you at once, one on your right side and one on your front. They both fired but you were more suited for close range and ducked. Surging forward you moved in a wide sweep, blade aimed down toward their legs, shouts falling from them as slices blossomed on their skin. It was a blurring of gunfire and metallic tashikaze that sounded in the air before the two figures dropped to the ground. Not wasting another second, you took off down the street and ducked behind a vehicle, skidding to a halt on your knees in your haste.

“He’s up there.” The shadow of a large man spoke, seeming to be the lead of the second wave of people that emerged from the line of vehicles and began to advance down the street. You looked up over the hood of the car you were behind, spying on Henry peeking over the trunk of one on the other side of the street. You didn’t like being so far from them, but it was good you weren’t all grouped together. It meant that at least some of you would be able to get out of this. It was not a good situation, they knew where Joel was, by himself up in that house. They knew where you had scurried too, surely the general vicinity, through the smoke. But they hadn’t seen where Henry had retrieved too with the kids.

“Two and two! Around the back, take him out!”

“Dead end, Henry.” A high-pitched voice announced, so confident in their observation. “Gonna step on out? Save us some time?”

You could hear as well as see the shadows of people advancing down the street, the group led by the large figure’s orders having dipped around off the street toward Joel. Now it was a woman who led a smattering of people, her frame getting closer and closer. Her voice was in a pitch that grated on your ears, too sweet for the words and venom she was spitting out. You could only assume it was Kathleen.

You lowered yourself to the ground in a crouch, peering underneath the car to get a look at the situation. Kathleen was standing in the middle of the street, gun in her hand but down by her hip, not up and ready to fire. She was an average looking woman, probably close to your age, stockier than her voice sweet voice alluded to. She was in a pair of loose jeans and a zipped-up jacket that you would bet was concealing a bullet proof vest. Her dark hair was pulled back in a braided updo that trailed between her shoulders. The large figure from earlier was beside her. He was a tall man, sturdy looking with his wide chest and thick legs covered in protective gear. His silver white hair was straight as it fell to his shoulders, his full beard much the same color. He was on guard with a rifle pulled up to rest on one shoulder, ready to shoot anyone who came close to Kathleen.

“That’s alright. Doesn’t matter.”

“I’ll come out.” Henry’s voice was loud, though you could hear a slight waver to it even across the street from where he was tucked. You straightened up at his words, no longer crouching low but ready to reveal yourself to give him the opportunity to take the kids and run. “Just let the kids go!”

“No. Sorry. The girl is with the couple who killed Bryan. And Sam…” Kathleen came to a stop in the middle of the street, just in front of your hiding spot. You tried to keep your breathing even so as to not give it away, but there was still a lot of smoke in the air that was making it hard to temper. You heard the crunch of steps followed by the hush of grass against fabric. “Well, Sam’s with you.”

“You don’t understand!”

“But I do.” She sounded as if she was merely having a discussion, not actively hunting down and cornering people to execute them in revenge. “I know why you did what you did. But did you ever stop to think that maybe he was supposed to die?”

“He’s just a fucking kid!” Henry was no doubt seething, you certainly were. How could this woman stand here after managing to successfully free her city and immediately put it all on the line for revenge? You were so caught up in your thoughts and trying to figure out the best way to give Henry a chance to get away when you heard a boot scuff behind you.

“Well, kids die, Henry. They die all the time. You think the world revolves around him? That he’s worth…everything? Well, this is what happens when you fuck with fate.”

You could barely make out what she was saying as the butt of a rifle came down hard between your shoulders. You spun around, standing quickly despite the pain fanning out along your back and prickling in your shoulders. Machete coming up and out to catch the man’s forearm where his shirt sleeve was rolled up. He hissed at the sting as blood dripped down to the ground before swinging the rifle out and knocking the blade from your hand.

As soon as it was flying through the air you reached for the colt safely tucked into its holster and aimed at the man’s leg, hoping to down him. When it jammed, you swore. He descended on you, the rifle was slung over his shoulder, and he was hauling you up by your hair. His large hands were rough as he gripped your loose hair tight in his fist, the other coming to wrangle the colt out of your own.

“Nice try, sweetheart, but we got you outnumbered.” His voice was smooth as he had you standing, your legs kicking out at him in an attempt to free yourself.

“Get your fuckin’ hands off me!” Your shout was loud even from behind the car, cutting off the conversation between Kathleen and Henry.

Joel dared to take his eyes off Ellie to search for your figure, the desperation in your voice enough to make his entire body go numb. He had lost you in the haze of smoke, in the frantic aftermath of you taking out that trio of people. He had seen you run closer to where he was but had lost track when you had ducked behind a car. His eyes found you again, gripped tight in the hold of a tall man. He was dragging you by your hair from around where you had been seeking safety, arms up to encompass his to try and loosen his grip, legs kicking up dust as you struggled to try and get footing on the ground. He was easily more than a foot taller than you and about a hundred pounds heavier. There was no way you could get free with just your bare hands, especially with the way he dragged you behind him as he walked briskly back to Kathleen’s side. He felt himself tense, a feeling of dread settling heavy in his middle, as he noticed there was no gun in your holster and the machete was nowhere to be seen.

“If we hurt her, it’ll draw the man out. Then we can end some of this.” Kathleen’s sickly-sweet voice sounded close to you, the gun she aimed at you not stopping you from continuing to try and fight out of the grip on you. You were confident that you could tackle her and take her out just before a bullet would find it's home in your skin. Joel felt his grip tighten on the rifle he held, daring to move in front of the window. He wouldn’t be able to land a hit without putting you at risk, the man was so close to you, and you were thrashing about too frantically. It was too risky, even if all he wanted to do was shoot the motherfucker dead. “Perry, restrain her.”

You tried to fight against the strong arms that came around you. Perry was crouching down, his grip still tight in your hair and forced you on your back. The force of you hitting the ground hurt, but you continued to struggle, not liking the how easily the man was throttling you about. He released the grip on your hair to pull both your hands in front of you, holding them steady while he patted you down for weapons. Some of the people gathered around her started to share looks with each other, unsure if they agreed once you had started shouting. You hadn’t personally done anything to them. It was one thing to go after the man who sold out her brother.

“No, no, no!” The man’s hands were rough on you. Your voice angry at being handled, Joel felt his knuckles crack around the rifle as he could do nothing but watch from above. Perry was hauling you up a bit to reach into the holster and make sure it was empty, his hands coming up to your chest and feeling around for where the harness was concealing your second gun. When his hand brushed underneath your chest, the callouses of his fingertips finding it, the fabric of his gloves rubbed the buttons open on your Henley. At the feeling of cold air on the exposed skin of your chest you sucked in a breath to scream but a hand clamped down over your mouth. Perry found your eyes and shook his head, but you couldn’t see the expression on his face through the blur your vision had taken on.

Once he had relieved you of all your weapons, he hauled you back up on your feet. His arms were tight around you, keeping your arms pinned to your sides as he pulled your hands behind your back with one of his own. He pulled your back to his front to try and keep his grip on your frame, but you continued to fight against him, your heart hammering in your chest and your head throbbing.

With all your thrashing, Perry’s hold tightened impossibly on you, the movement causing the back of one of his hands to brush against the waistband of your pants. The clinking sound of your belt buckle against his watch made you go stock still, tears filling your eyes and speeding down your face. The sound of it triggering something ugly and terrified in you. You quickly tried to shake the fear from clouding your mind, body humming but you couldn’t.

“Don’t! Don’t touch me, you motherfucker!” Your voice was trembling despite the volume, the fear all too real and you knocked your head back hard and made contact with his face. The crunch of his nose didn’t affect the hold he had on you, save for causing him to stumble a bit. His foot caught a piece of debris and you both crashed to the ground. The shriek you let out was so loud people flinched. Up in the attic of the house, Joel was sure his heart had stopped for a beat at the sound tearing through your throat.

Perry’s body was heavy on top of yours, but even if he hadn’t fallen on top of you, you wouldn’t have been able to move. There was a sharp pain shooting through your left arm, the sickening feeling of a broken bone churning your stomach. You dry heaved, nothing in your stomach to throw up after having given all your food to Sam earlier in the day. Perry was quick to scramble up on his knees, though he kept you pinned down to the ground, straddling your thighs between them and holding your shoulders down with his hands. His eyes were wide as he took in the damage the fall had caused. You were panting beneath him, chest heaving as pain seared in your body and sweat began to pill along your skin.

The scrape on your forehead had opened up, blood spotting along the deeper parts of it. Your nose, similarly, had begun to throb as the already broken cartilage had been jostled, blood trickling down over your lips. But your arm…your left arm lay still at your side. There was the bright white of bone where it ripped through the flesh on the outside of your forearm. You could feel the tight pull of it on your skin, causing more blood to gush from the wound. Your vision swam as tears stuck to your lashes and pain overwhelmed your nerves.

“Ah, fuck! Oh no. No, no, no, no, no!” Your desperate pleas turned into snarls, trying to move about but being unable to. You glanced down at where you couldn’t feel your arm, the sight making your anxiety spike. You thrashed your head about, seeking out Perry above you. Seeking out Kathleen’s figure still standing close but now over you both, her gun aimed should she need to stop you from getting up and away. “You did not just break my fucking arm!”

“Maybe if you had just come willingly with us, it wouldn’t have happen-“

“Shut the fuck up, you self-righteous bitch!” You growled out, anger taking over any fear that had been in your body. You brought a thigh up hard, using your heel to get momentum behind it and connected It with Perry’s groin, your other knee hitting him low on the back too. The man’s grip left you and you scrambled out from underneath him. You took the gun in the holster on his hip, cocked it, and brough it up to aim right at her, her own having been lowered at the sheer volume of your voice and the vehemence of your words. You put your foot down on the man’s neck, forcing him to the ground. You ground your boot into him until he raised his hands out and placed them atop his head in surrender, a choking sound coming from him.

Your hair was loose and wild about you, but the strands didn’t hide the rage in your eyes, the tear stains that broke up the grime and dirt on your face. Your broken arm was tucked close to your chest, shoulder tense with the effort it took to hold it there and not just let it dangle at your side. You were overtly aware that you were surrounded, that Henry had the kids hiding behind a car far too close, that Joel was up in that house with limited ammo, that you were all so thoroughly fucked.

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[storyofmychoices]

Blades 2 Inside Choices Blog: Blades of Light and Shadow 2

We’re so happy to be back in action with the gang we know and love! Where does Blades of Light and Shadow 2 pick up after the first book’s ending?

Emi: I will say that we don't pick up where you're expecting. 

Kathleen: Unless you were expecting to get hucked out the back of the plot truck and onto the action highway at 80mph. (Fury Road theme plays)

Lil: (is overtaken by the Two Towers theme)

Emi: But rest assured, our original four love interests are back and dealing with their own challenges. 

Lil: And they’re definitely going to need help with those challenges whether you’re romancing them or not. Though we support all variations of ‘mancers here. Mono-, multi-, and necro- . 

Emi: Also they get some new looks that can best be described as "sleeves are B.S."

Jay: Don’t forget “badass pirate coat important”.

What kind of new main characters will we meet in the sequel? Or perhaps, any new love interests?

Jay: There is a strange but familiar hooded figure…whose hotness level was of great discussion.

Lil: He’s very constructive with his feedback. And a monster from Book 1 returns, but not in a way you expect. 

Emi: I think we all know I'm obsessed with Valax. I mean, she's a badass purple lady who only has one sleeve. Obviously that makes her my wife.

Tom: EMI YOU HAVE TOO MANY WIVES!!!

Kathleen: Idk I'm still mad that hot scorpion lady didn't win the monster contest.

Lil: Sky whale supremacy how dare. 

Kathleen: Okay I am excited about the dwarves and goblins though. New dwarf friend is just A+ chaos babe and I love her.

Emi: Honestly though, my fave character is the one who's "head empty, no thoughts, falls over a lot."

Making this sequel has been a labor of love. Does the book team have any must-tell stories/bloopers during production?

Jay: There was an accidental floating dwarf? And too many battles with code. Writers, please don’t do it to me again. I cannot take it. The while loop will win.

Kathleen: During one of my editorial passes I had to give Emi a note like "Okay when we first meet the Big Bad maybe we should use that moment to establish that she's really imposing/scary instead of just going off about how hot she is."

Emi: I may have made too many Aerin memes that are now weekly traditions for our team.

Danielle: I was instructed to design a character with “Vision as a hotness bar” as a guide, I ignored them and used Jeff Bridges instead 😏. 

Jay: Danielle also came up with some incredible filenames, my favorite being “tentacle_monster_buff”.

Danielle: It’s accurate, is it not?

Are there any elements that you are particularly proud of?

Tom: The Shadow Realm was fun to make! Think the Upside Down, but more purple. And to make all the awesome new weapons and armor work with the outfits took 150 unique assets! You’re welcome.

Danielle: My first full book!

Lil: The lore guide for Blades was 60 single-spaced pages before we started adding things that came up during active production. I’m really pleased with how much actually ended up being discoverable in the book itself, so be sure to explore every nook and cranny of Morella and beyond! Because they are filled with beauty and chaos. 

Emi: I cannot tell you how many spreadsheets we made to keep track of things. I mean, the outline alone was 100 pages!

Jay: My code built 😭. And that my production planning got it to you a little earlier than y’all had anticipated hehe.

At the end of the first book, we seemed to have wiped out the forces of evil for at least a day or so. What kind of dangers will we face in the second edition?

Lil: Evil never sleeps y’all. It gets its coffee from Aerin. 

Kathleen: (Aerin, walking up to the counter): "I have a large non-fat birthday cake latte with caramel drizzle and four shots of espresso for (squints at label) ...Emile?"

Lil: In all seriousness, you’re really getting it from all sides in this book. There’s rival factions, shifting leadership, societal upheaval, and monsters. So. Many. Monsters. (Thank you for giving us the Shadestalker, by the way. Can’t wait for you to meet the beefy boy.) 

Kathleen: One cool scary thing about book 2 is that THIS TIME, IT'S PERSONAL (like instead of you and your buds racing against bad guys to collect the magic things, you've now got a villain single-mindedly hunting you down so she can steal your <REDACTED> for use in her evil plans).

Emi: Kathleen may have called me out for it but our Big Bad is hot! Both literally and figuratively!

How much do you love QA?

Lil: SO MUCH.

Emi: Pour one out for our poor QA folks who have had to test what is the most complex book we have ever done! You are the real heroes!

Jay: QA peeps are my saviors!! Their work alone cures my anxiety.

Kathleen: Gawd I would be lost without QA my grammar is a disaster

Erin: Everyone on the Blades team is so wonderful to work with. I also tested Book 1, and to be able to contribute to Book 2 means everything to me. It’s absolutely a labor of love.

We know that years of hard work and passion went into this book. What would the Blades team like the readers to take away from this sequel?

Emi: So Kathleen and I actually helped to brainstorm the entire Blades world back when it first came into being, so it felt like coming full circle to be back and expanding it in new and fun ways. I was already in love with all of these characters and they're even closer to my heart now. I can't wait for you all to see what we've come up with!

Jay: Y’all better like it! This book has taken years off my life. *lies down on floor* (But seriously, we’re as excited about Blades 2 as all of you and hope that it brings as much joy to you as it did for us to make. I think the best word to describe the team as we wait for September 1st is giddy.)

Danielle: I hope you like our art :).

Tom: If you don’t, please keep it to yourself, artists are fragile :’} 

Lil: I was one of the few people who was new at Choices when I began working on this book, and it was truly an honor to see this thing come together. These are the minds that brought you The Crown & the Flame, The Cursed Heart, Wake the Dead, and the first Blades. It was amazing to go from watching them work as a fan to taking this epic journey together. 

Kathleen: THE REAL VILLAIN WAS THE IMPERIALISM WE MADE ALONG THE WAY

Lastly, how much does the team love Aerin?

Kathleen: I DON'T love Aerin he KIDNAPPED my WIFE.

Danielle: Which one…

Emi: Aerin is my sweet baby boi with a little dose of evil. He should be protected at all costs but also really needs to go to therapy. I live for the angst of him and Raine though. It's so juicy.

Danielle: Aerin has caused me, personally, a lot of pain.

Lil: Really, one of the fun things about the book is you can decide how much pain Aerin causes you. Unlike us.

Jay: He haunts my dreams and my Wednesdays.

Danielle: Livid and sad and livid and sad

Thank you team for taking us through the fantastical production journey of the Blades of Light and Shadow 2! We can’t wait to dive in and meet up with the gang. Launch day is so close!! 

Thank you, readers, for supporting us and our book teams!

<3 The Choices Community Team

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