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slashersteve · 2 years

Text

Next Best Thing to An Angel

requested by anonymous

pairing: Steve Harrington/Henderson!Female Reader

summary: Reader has been cursed by Vecna, and the group has to work fast in order to find a way to rid her of it. There's too many close calls, and just when they thought they had it figured out...it just might be too late.

warnings/extra tags: cursing, mentions of blood, violence due to fucked up visions brought to you by Vecna, near death experiences, >>>ST4 V1 SPOILERS<<<, this is beta read by the bestie @dearneverlander so it should be ~crisp~

note: There's references to the 1984 movie Streets of Fire aka one of my fave 80s Rock and Roll Fables. You don't need to know the exact plot, but just know it's an important movie and soundtrack to the reader <3 This took me a bit to write because I wanted it to be hella good. Thank you for the request and I hope you enjoy!

✧ ✧ ✧

It started just a day after your cheer teammate and one of your closest friends, Chrissy Cunningham, told you she was having problems. You were perhaps one of the only people who was aware of what she was going through, not even her boyfriend knew about her horrible headaches or the growing nightmares.

When she told you, she seemed so scared. It was so unlike her that it scared you to see her act in such a way, so much that you thought you scared yourself into experiencing the same things or that maybe she caught an illness and gave it to you.

The first thing that happened was a nosebleed. You were at the Hawkins Family Video Store, waiting for your boyfriend Steve to finish renting out a video to a customer so you can help him pick out a movie to put on.

You were reading the back of a tape that Robin had handed you prior, since she was trying to broaden yours and Steve's movie horizons because according to her you both were ‘hopeless’ when it came to your movie knowledge.

"I don't know about this one Robin," You called to her.

"What? God, you're so lame, you and Steve are probably just going to put on Streets of Fire again,” she replied from somewhere behind you.

You chuckled to yourself, "Not exactly a bad idea."

"Did you say Streets of Fire?" Steve questioned after the customer had left, leaving just you three and a handful of patrons who were still trying to find movies to watch, "I love that movie. It's pretty damn romantic."

You laughed and agreed while Robin scoffed and pushed the video cart aside.

"Excuse me? Did you say romantic? He punches her in the face," Robin reminded you both. You cringed.

"Okay, not that part, but even then it's taken out of context- just- whatever, it's a good movie," you tried to defend it, "Plus, the soundtrack is pretty killer."

"I’m still not over you both thinking it’s romantic. Context considered and all, but they don't even end up together in the end," Robin replied, you sighed.

"It's about the closure, Robin, he just left her without a word, and after he saves her from Raven, they finally get it, it is romantic in it's own way," you set the other tape down, ready to put it on the video store's TV out of spite.

"Right. Well, at least Diane Lane is hot in it...and yeah, I'll give you the soundtrack, it is pretty good."

Steve laughed to himself, enjoying how much you loved and defended the movie because he knew why you liked it so much. It was the movie you and him watched on your very first date two years ago at a drive-in. Since then, it has been your favorite movie of all time.

"I think you secretly like the movie, Robin, and since it's my turn to pick a movie," Steve had grabbed it from where it sat conveniently under the counter and handed it to you, "Go ahead and put it on." You hopped off of the counter with a satisfied grin while Robin sighed dramatically and crossed her arms.

You removed the tape from its case, and leaned up, ready to insert it into the player when your mind suddenly became foggy. It felt odd, like an invisible force had violently washed over you and caused a pulsing pain in your head that almost mirrored a migraine.

The tape slipped from your grasp, crashing onto the ground as you brought your hand to your forehead. The clatter of the tape hitting the ground was what had brought you back to reality after a few seconds, and Steve was beside you.

"Woah, are you okay-” he stopped when his brown eyes fell to the bottom part of your face. You blinked, still a little disoriented from the random headache.

“Oh shit, Henderson, your nose,” Robin said what Steve didn’t, her eyes on the same place Steve’s were. You lifted your hand to below your nose, instantly feeling something wet and sticky.

When you looked at your fingers, you saw it was blood.

It didn't scare you more than it had confused you. You hadn't gotten one in so long, and the last time your nose did bleed was when a sophomore girl trying out for the cheer team kicked you in the nose by accident.

After this incident, the days following felt almost like hell. You'd wake up in a cold sweat from nightmares, all of them about either losing Steve or your little brother Dustin, and you were taking Tylenol more frequently for these massive headaches that never seemed to go away.

You could only think of Chrissy, and what she had told you, and wonder if she passed you some kind of illness. You tried talking to her again during practice or in the halls, but she seemed keen on continuing to pretend that she was alright, and maybe she was because she still cheered and ruled the school with a smile on her face.

You thought if she could do it, then so could you. Unlike her though, you had a boyfriend who could see right through the facade and had a brother who could relay to him how weird you've been acting when Steve asked. He had told Steve the nights you’ve canceled on dates or meet-ups with him and Robin in the past few days you were actually locked away in your room. It was very uncharacteristic of you, considering you were out almost every other day, either with your friends or with Steve.

When Steve insisted you let him drop you off at Hawkins High and asked you what had been going on when Robin left first, you didn’t really understand why your first instinct was to withhold the truth.

"I just haven't been feeling well," you told him, while pretending you were fixing your lipstick, "I think I...caught something.”

"Something how?" Steve asked, concern etched all over his features, “It must be bad because you look like you haven’t been sleeping either.”

You pressed your lips together because you were positive you packed on enough make-up to hide those dark circles that had started form.

You didn't want to tell him about your nightmares, not wanting to worry him for what you thought were just dreams. It made you feel bad because you've never shied away from telling Steve anything, but you were scared if you said anything whatever it was would get him too. Your dreams were too...vivid and real.

It was always about the day you both were interrogated by the Russian Guards, and every time you didn't answer they hurt him and not you. They made you believe they had killed him, that you were the reason he was dead. And there was that…room.

"Just headaches, mostly," you said quietly, shutting the mirror and resting your hands above your Hawkins cheer skirt.

Steve had looked suspicious, and he said, “Should you do the pep rally then? Or the game tonight? I know it’s the championship but…” You had forced a sweet smile his way and leaned toward him.

"I'll be okay, I promise," you tried to assure him with a peck on his cheek, leaving the pink residue of your lipstick there, “I love it when you care so much.” You were gone and out of the car before Steve could say anything more.

Steve had noticed since that day you were different, it almost felt like you were pulling away from him emotionally in a way. For almost two years you've been in this relationship, and when you've gotten sick in the past, you never had done this.

Something else was wrong, but neither of you would find out until after Chrissy Cunningham's death.

✧ ✧ ✧

"The curse of Vecna," Dustin Henderson and Eddie Munson had both said at the same time.

"The curse of who?" Steve asked. You had scrunched your face up with confusion.

"Are you two talking about that wizard from Dungeons and Dragons?" you asked, knowing this information because Dustin always bothered you by explaining all of the campaigns he did to you during dinner mostly.

"Not just a wizard, a dark wizard," Dustin told you, "He uses a magic spell on the players called Vecna's curse."

"Do you really think that's what it is?" Max had asked from beside Robin, "I mean…”

"Only one way to find out. What else have you experienced?" Dustin's question was toward you now, and you uncomfortably crossed your arms over your chest, not sure what to say.

Eddie blinked a few times as he looked between Dustin and you before he asked, "Wait, why are you asking her?"

Steve's hand rested on the small of your back, and you exhaled shakenly, "Because about a week ago, Chrissy confided in me about these...nightmares and headaches she'd been getting. And about a day after that...I started to get the same kind of symptoms and now Chrissy is dead and I-" you closed your lips and shook your head.

Eddie stared at you, "Oh shit."

Steve rubbed your back affectionately, "Okay, so now that we think we know what it is, how it works...is there any way to stop it?"

"Okay, okay, first up, didn't you say something about a nosebleed?" Dustin's question was directed at you again. You looked at your little brother and nodded.

"Yeah, about 6 days ago at the video store...Steve and Robin were there."

Nobody noticed how Max shifted uncomfortably in her spot upon hearing your words.

Robin nodded, "Yeah I remember that...god this is insane. I mean, last time it was insane too, but this is just...yikes."

As they continued to discuss possible ways to stop this curse they believe you had, you started to feel very uneasy. Chills had crawled their way up your back, making you tense up and bite your lip to stop it from quivering.

Eddie had said what happened to Chrissy, how she was in this sort of trance before her body was lifted into the air and...how her bones cracked and how her eyes...how her fucking eyes were sucked back into her skull.

You thought about how it was after Chrissy told you about her problems, you instantly got them too. And you looked at everyone around you, your little brother, Robin, Max, even Eddie, and especially Steve. You didn't know how this thing spread, if this Vecna character had chosen you simply because you interacted with Chrissy, like she passed some curse onto you.

And if any of them were next it would be because you were an idiot and told them too.

The thought made you physically ill and you were leaving before anyone could stop you, ignoring Steve calling after you. You left the boat house with a hand over your mouth to try and keep the rising bile in your throat down.

When you were finally near the trees, you doubled over and threw up all over the grass. You fell to your hands and knees after you emptied out your already empty stomach, panting and spitting onto the floor to get the horrid taste of the stomach bile and acid out of your mouth.

Running out into the darkness was not a smart idea, you knew that, especially now you learned you were probably cursed, but you just needed to run. You needed to get out, you needed to just get away from them.

Then, you heard Steve calling your name. You were shaking and shouted, "I’m okay- just leave me alone right now- please-"

Your name was called again, but this time...it wasn't Steve. In fact, it wasn't any of them inside that boat house.

This voice caused a violent wave of fear to crash through you, making your body go still. Whatever had called your name was right behind you. You turned your head slowly, and saw that your surroundings were different now.

Different, but very familiar too. Blood stained the floor tiled floor and walls, torture weapons scattered among them. The stench of blood was strong, just as it was the day you remember being locked in there when you were captured in the Russian Facility.

It was the room they said they had killed Steve in.

Your hands moved to cover your nose and mouth, panic rising in you that you were somehow here again reliving the worst day of your life.

The loud chime of what sounded like a large clock echoed from behind you, causing you to yelp out a short scream and twist your body around to see the source of the sound.

Engraved in the wall, your eyes fell upon an ominous grandfather clock. It chimed, echoing in your ears and mind, and it ticked almost like a threat.

And it certainly was.Your name was called again, but this time it felt like it was all around you.

“The time to end your suffering is coming soon,” the voice told you, “Join me and I will spare your friends. If you refuse, I will take them all.”

The clock chimed again and ticked, louder than the thumping of your chest and louder than the voice itself. The lights of the torture room you were in flickered, and you caught a glimpse of…something or somebody.

It was enough to make you scream.

You were gasping suddenly. And then, you heard Steve’s voice shouting your name.

Steve’s hands were grasped tightly over your shoulders, as he was shaking you in an attempt to get you to wake up.

Your eyes shot around your surroundings, not looking at Steve at first as you took in that you were where you found yourself before. By the trees just outside of Reefer Rick’s boathouse, and in the grass you’d just vomited in.

“Hey! Hey!” Steve called to you, “Look at me, I’m right here, what happened? Are you okay? Talk to me!” You finally looked at Steve, and in an instant you remembered what that being had told you.

“If you refuse, I will take them all.”

You shook your head frantically, and said in a broken voice, “No, no I won’t let him.”

Steve furrowed his eyebrows at you, and tilted his head and he asked you what you were talking about. That was when you moved away from him, from all of them, even your own little brother who was knelt beside you.

Like Steve, his eyebrows were drawn together, and he said, “Wait- wait what are you talking about?”

You kept your eyes down, being sure not to look at any of them who you realized were surrounding you too. Eddie had his hands in his hair, Robin had a hand over her mouth and Max’s expression was simply unreadable. Nobody spoke for a few seconds, probably because they were waiting for you to speak.

Steve reached out to you, gently grabbing your trembling hand when you didn’t, “Hey, it’s us, okay? What happened?”

To Steve’s surprise, you pulled away from him the moment his hand touched yours and started to shake your head again, muttering a quiet I can’t underneath your breath.

His heart dropped when you had done so and he only felt more of this fearful feeling since he came out here and found you. After you had left the boat house, Steve was the first to run after you, then it was Dustin and the rest. He found you on your hands and knees, just staring forward with your eyes clear and blinking.

You were unresponsive, no matter how much he called your name, not even when all of them called your name. It was like you weren’t even there.

It was when Eddie came out and saw the state you were in, things became much more real.

“That’s exactly what happened to fucking Chrissy!” Eddie had said, his hands moving to his ears as he stared with a terrified expression, as if he expected you to start levitating like she did at any second.

It was one thing to hear about it, but another to see what Eddie was talking about in person, especially to someone you care and desperately love. It felt like someone had thrown ice cold water on Steve, and he felt completely helpless as nothing he did brought you back from wherever you were.

And now, you were awake and you were…terrified.

“I…I have to get out of here,” you suddenly said in a shaking voice as you moved to stand, “Because of me he’s going to get you- he’s going to get all of you.”

The words hit them like a freight train, but you were already walking away. Steve tried to catch you, but you were already out of his reach.

“Who? Vecna? You saw Vecna? Did he tell you that? ” Dustin was standing and following after you, “Shit! Tell us what you saw! Then maybe-”

“No!” you shouted at your brother, “No! I can’t- I-I have to go-”

Steve remained still for a moment, wondering why you would say such a thing. Because of me he’s going to get all of you.

What the hell does that mean?

✧ ✧ ✧

“Here’s what we know, my sister said because of me he’s going to get all of you,” Dustin stated as they sat in the trailer park benches, “And she said she interacted with Chrissy before that. So maybe, just maybe there’s some kind of a connection there, right? Like it’s a curse that spreads like some kind of…virus?”

Everyone was there, and so were you, but you were sitting at the playground. They were sure to always look over at you.

You hadn’t talked much since your experience last night, and it was a choice on your part. If they weren’t going to leave you alone, then you wouldn’t tell them anything, hoping that perhaps that would keep this Vecna away from them too.

“I mean…maybe?” Nancy had spoken, having joined them after the death of her co-editor Fred. He was killed the exact same way Chrissy had been, and when you heard that, you were shaking with terror because you knew you were next.

“What do you mean maybe?” Dustin asked Nancy.

“It’s just…Fred’s never had any interaction with Chrissy or your sister, he’s been at my side for at least…89% of the school year,” Nancy said then glanced over at you, “Has she said anything yet?”

All eyes moved to you and then to Steve, and his eyes dropped down.

“She’s…fucking terrified guys,” Steve said, lifting his gaze on you now. You were digging your feet into the dirt beneath you, “And I am too. She hasn’t said a word since last night.”

He was still haunted by that image of you, your eyes nearly rolled to the back of your skull and nonreactive to anything he or the others had tried. He couldn’t get even a wink of sleep last night because he couldn’t get the image out of his mind.

“Well, we should try again,” Nancy urged, then started to stand, “I’ll go talk to her-”

“No, no I’ll talk to her,” Steve said as he stood up faster than her. They all looked at him again, and he raised his hand slightly, “I got this, she’s my girlfriend, did everyone forget that or something?”

He didn’t wait for any response from them, especially Dustin, and jogged toward where you sat. You heard someone coming, something you were actually anticipating. When you looked up, you saw Steve, and as your heart always did when you saw him, it leaped, making you for a moment feel…normal and safe again.

“Hey,” Steve said, and you would’ve smiled had your heart not felt cold again after being warm for the first few seconds you saw him. He leaned on the spot next to you. You stood up and moved away from him, making him frown deeper.

You never did this, shut yourself off from him and your friends before. Even with your little brother. And it broke Steve to see you like this, broke him that you didn’t want to tell him anything even if it could help them help you.

Right now, it just seemed like you’d given up and Steve didn’t like that because you never gave up.

Steve walked after you, and captured your wrist before you could get away. Your face hardened, and tried to pull away, but Steve kept his grasp firm.

“Stop doing that,” Steve told you, “Please. We want to help, I want to help, don’t let this creep Vecna guy just…torment you and take you away so easily.”

You shook your head, “Steve, it’s too dangerous, I’m next I know it, I know it.”

Steve exhaled sharply, hating that you’ve already actively accepted your fate rather than fighting and trying to find out with the rest of them on how to stop him.

“Don’t talk like that,” he said, “We’re going to figure this out, okay? We’ve figured everything out in the past and this time is going to be no different.”

“What’s different is that I’m a target this time, and it’s already been a day since Chrissy, and now Fred- I’m next and then it’ll be one of you and it’ll be because of me.”

“You don’t know that!” Steve said, his voice getting a little harder, “We don’t even know why or how this wizard guy targets his victims-”

“I was around Chrissy, Steve! She told me about her nightmares and her- her headaches, and now she’s dead and now someone else is dead and-”

“Hey!” Steve was pulling you toward him now, making you face him completely, “This isn’t helping anybody, especially yourself. You know more than us, probably something that we are missing. You have to trust us, trust me- because I am not going to let some…creepy weird dark wizard fucker take the girl that I love away from me.”

You stared at Steve in silence, his words striking you right in the chest.

“And they won’t either,” he gestured back to them, “No fucking way. No fucking way.”

Steve was mad, not at you, but at Vecna, and you felt almost a wave of calm coming over you for the first time since that nosebleed of yours. You’d forgotten in your mute state that they were your friends, that they cared about you, Steve cared about you. They only wanted to help. You were going to speak, going to tell Steve that you were sorry, that you would help…

But then, a cold air hit you, and the sky above you was covered in gray clouds, submerging you in a gloomy, stormy kind of atmosphere. You didn’t understand at first, eyes flickering upward until you suddenly heard the familiar chime of the clock.

Your heart dropped, and you looked back at Steve. Except it wasn’t Steve anymore, but this…monster.

You shrieked at the sight of this thing, this unimaginable horror that looked like it was covered with burnmarks and the vines of the Upside Down you remembered seeing in the underground tunnels you helped the kids set fire to.

“You’re going to get them killed,” the monster of your waking nightmares told you, “They’re going to die because of you.”

You stumbled backward and away from him, dry heaves coming out of your lips as you tried to form any kind of words. Instead, you placed your hand over your ears and closed your eyes again, a new habit of yours you didn’t know you had in the face of true terror.

He was chuckling, clearly entertained by the torment he was causing you.

As fast as it came, it had passed and the world around you was bright and warm again, Vecna’s laughter fading away from you, and your face was being held by Steve’s hands. He was panting, eyes flickering all over your features.

He looked distraught, his lips lightly quivering as he had to watch you go into yet another trance. The others were already running toward you, calling your name as well and asking what happened.

“What is he doing to you? Please tell me, so I can help you-” Steve practically begged you, but you were pulling away from him then and started to run. You didn’t know where you were running, or how far you’d get before them catching you, but it was all you could think of to do again. Just run, you thought, run as far away from them as possible. You run away and you keep them safe. You keep Dustin safe, you keep Steve safe, you keep them all safe.

They were all calling after you, their voices desperate and scared.

You thought you could still hear the chimes and the ticking, echoing all around you as you ran as fast as you could.

✧ ✧ ✧

Steve was trying to hold himself together, but the truth was he didn’t know what the hell to do. None of you really did. They of course had caught up to you after you ran, finding you sitting at the edge of the road.

When they found you, you had said it would be any moment now, any second, and that if they didn’t want to see what happened to Chrissy and Fred happen to you, they should leave now.

None of them did, and after many attempts, they finally got you to get into the car.

You were under a strict watch now, whether you had liked it or not. Both Steve and Dustin had to be firm with you.

You were lucky to have a genius for a little brother, sure he got on both yours and Steve’s nerves on occasion, but his mind was working quickly, and he was somehow able to keep moving forward in finding out more about Vecna and a possible cure for this curse of his.

He was doing more than Steve, and he felt useless because you were the love of his life and felt that he should be able to do more than just helplessly watch you suffer.

It was nighttime, and Steve had taken both you and Dustin to his place for the night. His parents were gone, per usual, and Dustin was sure to keep his radio on in case they needed the others for an emergency.

Neither of them wanted to say what this code red could be, deciding to keep that to themselves.

Steve didn’t want to think about what this emergency could be. They were in his bedroom, you were in the bathroom, unlocked of course and being timed, and Dustin was going over the new information they had learned.

“Think about it, they all went through the same thing, right? Nosebleeds, headaches, nightmares, everything, and everyone has had these…problems,” Dustin re-explained everything they had discovered together when they broke into Ms. Kelley’s office to Steve as he paced back and forth, eyes moving to the bathroom door every once in a while, “Chrissy, Fred…and…”

Steve said your name, and Dustin nodded.

“Yeah…there’s got to be something she’s not telling us, before all of this, maybe if she just told someone, anyone then we could at least weaken the curse, and then if this works than we can help Max too,” Dustin theorized as he made his way to the other side of the room again, and was sure to say her name a little quieter so you wouldn’t hear.

They had opted to not tell you about Max’s vision because you seemed dead bent on it being your fault somehow, and the last thing you needed was more on your conscience.

“So, is there anything she’s been weird about?” Dustin asked Steve now. He looked away in thought for a moment, but nothing fast was coming to mind.

“I…I don’t know,” Steve admitted, and Dustin scowled at him.

“Jesus Christ Steve, she’s your girlfriend,” Dustin sneered, Steve’s face scrunched up and he replied, “You’re her brother. And how am I supposed to know something that she didn’t tell me? I can’t read minds, man. That’s…Vecma’s job apparently.”

“Vecna,” Dustin corrected and Steve rolled his eyes because he’d been doing it all day, “I think it’s worth a try. I don’t think we have a lot of time here…” he closed his mouth, not wanting to think about how his sister could have the same fate as Chrissy and Fred.

Steve sympathized with him greatly, because if he was scared then so was Dustin. He was just ironically very collected about it, nevermind the pacing of the room or how he was speaking all in one breath.

“Okay, so…we talk to her then,” Steve repeated and Dustin nodded.

“If we can get her to, which is why I’m asking you to get her to talk,” Dustin pointed at Steve after stopping in the middle of the room, “You said she almost talked to you right? Before she went under his spell.”

Steve nodded, “Yeah, there was something different in her eyes, and she was about to speak, but then…she was just gone.”

Dustin snapped his fingers, “I think that proves my theory then! She was going to talk to you, open up to you, probably, and Vecna can’t have that…he can’t have her running back to us or letting us help her or else his spell gets weaker!”

Steve crossed one arm and rested the other under his chin as he thought. It sounded incredibly plausible, and he met Dustin’s gaze once again, “I…I think it’s definitely worth a shot.”

The door to the bathroom had opened then, and you emerged in one of Steve’s long sleeves, looking at both of them with suspicious eyes, especially when they both went quiet.

“Okay well, Steve is going to be on the first watch, I’m going to go downstairs and find some food,” Dustin stated quickly to you. You didn’t say anything, and Dustin gave you and Steve a thumbs up before leaving.

It was all up to Steve now, and he wasn’t going to let you keep quiet until Vecna got you. It wasn’t going to happen.

✧ ✧ ✧

You were sitting on his bed, your back resting against the bedrest when Steve finally sat down in front of you. You didn’t look at him when he did, keeping your eyes to the wall opposite of you. It looked like you were probably admiring his trophies, but Steve knew better. You were a million miles away, but not in Vecna’s spell at least.

He didn’t know how to start it, how to even ask you, but he knew he had to. Something had happened, and he needed to make you tell him.

“Did something happen…before all this that you never told me about?” Steve was asking you, you still didn’t look at him. Steve reached over and grabbed your hand gently, “I was talking to Dustin, and he thinks that it’s possible that Vecna targets those with some kind of…trauma, I guess?”

You shifted only slightly, and Steve rubbed his thumb on your knuckles, “Don’t tell him this because it’ll just rub his already big ego,” he rolled his eyes jokingly, for his new attempt to get you to talk was to be humorous, it always worked on you, but you didn’t smile or react at all, “…but he’s usually right about most things.”

Steve honestly didn’t doubt it. The girl you became since you were first cursed was somebody completely different, somebody who was broken and afraid, so whatever this Vecna was using to manipulate and change you into this person must’ve been pretty horrific.

But you wouldn’t talk to him, and he now knew Vecna wasn’t letting you because of what happened in the trailer park. Like he relayed to Dustin, you were going to talk to him, going to tell him at least something, and immediately you were put into that trance.

It pissed him off because he was keeping you away from him, and everyone else. He was isolating you, and it was working. You refused to speak, hell you even physically ran away.

“Whatever he is telling you, it isn’t true,” Steve had tried to say these words as firmly as he could, but his voice had cracked instantly when he continued, “There’s a reason this sadistic asshole is convincing you to run away from us, to keep quiet- and I’m sick of it. Talk to me, please, tell me what it is, just please try.”

Tears slipped from his eyes then, ones that he didn’t notice at first.

You finally looked at him again, realizing then that Steve was crying. He hardly ever cried, but when he did, it always made you instantly upset too. The last time you’d seen him shed such tears like this was when he learned he didn’t get into any colleges and his dad practically called him stupid and almost disowned him.

Knowing that it was you Steve was crying over, that it was you causing such emotions made you feel shameful. You reached out suddenly, resting your hand over his. Steve was right, you knew he was, and it was time to stop letting Vecna scare you. You had to say something.

“It…it happened when we were taken by the Russian guards under Starcourt,” you suddenly said, making Steve’s eyes lift up at you. They were wet with tears, “Remember how you were marked up but me and Robin weren’t?”

He nodded once at you, and sucked in a shaky breath before saying, “It was because they were using you against us, specifically me. If I didn’t speak, they’d beat you more, torture you…and I…I didn’t say anything even though I wanted to so bad just to stop hearing them hurt you.”

Your own eyes were welling up with tears now too at the horrid memory, “I wasn’t going to give away Dustin or Erica, or anyone, and they knew that, so they had taken it a step forward and-”

Your voice was quivering again, but you knew you had to tell him.

“They made it seem like they killed you,” you eyes flashed with the memory of the room they forced you into, claiming it was the room Steve had been kept in, the room that Vecna forced you to step into again in your first vision, “I don’t know whose blood it was, it probably wasn’t even human, but I…I thought you were dead because of me.”

Tears slipped from your eyes as you finally told him what he wanted to know, “I know they lied, but in the hour they left me in there, it wasn’t a lie. It was real, and I-”

Steve was pulling you into his arms before you knew it.

You started to cry too, letting apologies slip from your lips for not telling him and letting Vecna use it against you. You felt weak and pitiful, and he knew how to make that feeling worse until you were too scared to be around everyone.

“I’m okay,” he reassured you, “And I’m going to be okay, nobody can take me away from you so easily- I would fight till the ends of the earth to get back to you…I love you way too much.”

You were nodding, understanding that now because the past week Vecna had taken that understanding from you. You sniffled and told him that you loved him too.

You and Steve stayed in each other’s arms for a while until he moved away from you and said, “Can I give you something?”

You looked up at him, blinking away a few years and asked, “What…what is it?”

“It’s an early anniversary gift,” Steve said as he dug through his drawer. You found yourself smiling at the idea of him hiding it, especially when it was about 2 months before your actual anniversary of being together for two years, “I think…I don’t know maybe it will help…show you how much I love you…”

“Steve, I don’t go into your drawers, you didn’t have to hide it like that,” you said, but still peaked over as far as you could to see what it was as you wiped away your tears. Honestly, you thought maybe it was some piece of jewelry because a sock drawer is usually where those are hidden.

“It’s exactly why I put it here,” he said following a sniffle before he snapped his fingers and said, “Here it is!” He held up a mixtape, and you tilted your head curiously at it.

“You made a mixtape?” you asked, a smile growing on your lips once again. Steve nodded, then cringed.

“Honestly, Dustin had to help out…you can imagine how that went,” he said as he shook his head at the memory.

“Oh god, the story of my life. You ask him one simple question and he does everything but call you stupid to your face. Sometimes he does.”

“Oh my god, yeah, your brother’s a good kid, but wow,” Steve agreed. This time, you laughed, and at the sound of your laughter Steve’s features grew soft and warm. Your laugh was definitely something you both needed to hear, “Want to listen?”

“Yes,” you said, “Put it on!”

Steve practically pranced to his stereo as he said, “They’re all your favorite songs, some songs that make me think about you, and some I think you’ll just like.” You hugged your knees to your chest, smiling warmly at Steve.

At the moment, it felt like Vecna was far behind you and after having talked to Steve and shed tears with him, it felt like this massive weight had come off your shoulders. It was possible that talking was the key to ridding yourself of his curse, or at least making Vecna’s hold on you and his other victims weaker like Dustin thought.

For the first time in a long time, you felt calm, you felt more alive. And it was very obvious, especially to Steve.

It was why you both had let your guard down, even if just for tonight. He inserted the tape, and adjusted the volume.

Music began to blast through the speakers, and Steve nodded with content. He had listened to it over and over again, knowing the exact order each song was in. He stood up straight now, and turned to look at you.

You were staring right at him, your lips in that wide smile despite the tears that stained both of your faces. He was going to walk over to you, but you were already moving to stand. You walked over to him, and wrapped your arms around him in a warm and tender embrace.

Steve pulled you toward him tightly, resting his chin on the top of your head.

“We’re going to figure this out.”

He seemed to be saying this more and more often, but after talking to him and seeing how life seemed to return to you, he was sure he was right now and that you had a chance of surviving Vecna. If they can save you, then they can also save Max and find Vecna and destroy him like they’ve defeated so many things in the past.

“I love you,” he said again breathlessly, “And I won’t let anything happen to you.”

It was everything he needed you to hear and more, but…you were gone before he even uttered those words to you.

The music that played had suddenly begun to cut out, going in and out of silence in short cracks of electricity. Steve turned from you to look at it, eyes narrowing curiously for his stereo hardly did that.

Then, the lights began to flicker as well. He looked up at the flickering light, eyes squinting as it disoriented him for a second.

Realization dawned on him a few seconds too late, and he noticed you were no longer hugging him and instead had gone rigid in his arms. His eyes snapped back to you, and he let out a panicked breath as he saw your expression for the third time in only a day. His heart sank.

His hands moved to your shoulders, shouting your name even though he knew it was futile. You were in Vecna’s trance again, talking didn’t work.

“Steve! Steve, where did you go!”

Your words were echoing in your own ears. You were in the room alone now, Steve nowhere in sight. You ran toward the door, grasping the doorknob and trying to pull it open. It wouldn’t budge, as if someone was holding it on the other side, keeping you from leaving the room.

“Steve!” you shouted again, now grasping the doorknob with both hands and beginning to shake and pull at it. Panic rose in your chest and bubbled up your throat the longer it didn’t budge, “Help! Steve! Help!”

You were shouting at the top of your lungs, now letting go of it and banging aggressively on the wooden door, and throwing your body against it in an attempt to break it down.

Back in reality, Steve was desperately shaking you, the tears he had shed coming back full force. Dustin was bursting through the door a few seconds later.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit-” Dustin was saying over and over again when he saw your rigid body in Steve’s arms, “It didn’t work?! It didn’t fucking work!? Steve!?”

Steve was shaking his head, “I thought- fuck! She was better, she was-” His voice cracked from the tight knot in his throat. Dustin put his hands on his head, entering a full panic as he thought about anything else, literally anything else to save his older sister.

“Help! Please! Somebody!” you slammed your body against the door one again, and this time it had opened. You fell through it, and fell to the cold, tiled ground. There was also something wet staining your hands and your knees. You couldn’t see though in the darkness, but you could smell.

It was a strong metallic, coppery smell…a scent you could never forget.

“No…” you stated as you realized what was happening and made yourself stand. Vecna had put you in that god forsaken room again.

The clock chimed, sending you into nothing but defeat and dread once you heard it. Like Dustin and Steve had thought…it didn’t work. You were here still, you were still in Vecna’s grasp. Fresh tears spilled from your eyes, and mewls slipped past your lips.

“Did you think it would be that easy?” Vecna’s deep tremble of his voice shook through you, “I wouldn’t let you escape so easily, not when your time was so near.”

The lights flickered on joining with a dramatic buzzing noise, and your worst fears were proven and more. Your hands were covered in blood that was not yours and when you looked down and past your hands, you saw something that wasn’t in the room before.

It was Steve. His head was turned to the side and his eyes were open and unblinking. You couldn’t even scream, only releasing panicked, dry breaths as you were sent into a full blown panic attack. Your bloody hands shook, and your skin suddenly became below freezing.

You reached out to touch Steve, beginning to shake your head. It wasn’t possible, this never happened. You escaped Starcourt with him, with Robin, Dustin, and Erica. This never happened. Steve was alive, dammit, he was alive.

“This-this isn’t real! This didn’t happen!” You shouted into the lights above you, “This isn’t real-”

“Oh, but it will happen.”

“What do you want!” you screamed at him into the darkness, angry and afraid. The lights flickered again, and you now found yourself in a long hallway, similar to the one you and the Scoops Troop had to walk down in the Russian Facility. Blood still stained the walls, and Steve’s body was gone. In the distance the lights were flickering off as Vecna was stalking toward you with darkness following behind him. The claws of his left hand twitching and moving with every step.

“I want you to join me.”

You shot up and stepped backwards until your back pressed against a hard wall as you let out quiet whimpers.

“What do we do!” Steve called to Dustin, his hands now touching your face.

“I’m thinking!” Dustin shouted back, trying not to cry himself. His eyes moved around the room frantically until his eyes fell upon the stereo that was still cutting in and out of music. His eyes widened as he got an idea, “Will! Will! Do you remember when he was possessed by the Mind Flayer and they- shit nevermind- do you have a battery operated stereo or something?”

Steve yelled at him that it was in his closet. Dustin ran over to it while he yelled, “We have to talk to her, maybe it can get her out- that’s how they communicated with Will and playing that song he likes-”

Dustin was in Steve’s closet now, eyes searching for the boombox. Steve heard Dustin and remembered exactly what he was talking about. His eyes flashed to his stereo, knowing that they’d need the mixtape that was still in it.

“The tape we made Dustin, the tape! It’s in there!” Steve said, looking back at you, “Track 3, track 3 !”

Dustin had found it on one the top shelves, tossing boxes of shoes out of the way and grabbing it. He shouted at Steve that he needed to start talking to you, that he needed to tell you fond memories or something like that because it just might get through to you.

And Steve did, his voice breathless and panicked as he started to tell you about the first time he saw you at Hawkins High. He didn’t know how he never noticed you before because he knew all of the cheerleaders of Hawkins pretty well, but you- you were new. He told you about how he asked everyone about you, learning your name, anything that could get him closer to you.

Seemingly unstoppable tears flowed from your eyes as Vecna got closer and closer to you. You pressed yourself further into the wall, and wanted to turn your head but found that you couldn’t.

“Don’t cry for them,” Vecna told you, now only a few feet from reaching you, “They will be joining you and the others very soon, starting with the boy you love.”

You were trembling in your spot, Vecna now standing before you. You were trying to speak, but no words were coming out, especially when he lifted his left hand up, those sharp, long claws bigger than your own face.

You stared up at Vecna, and whimpered slowly when he began to move his hand closer to you, “It is time.”

It was like he was grasping your mind, an intense wave of pain and fear washing over you like the waves of the ocean during a storm. You couldn’t move. There was no escape, this time Vecna wasn’t going to let you go. It was time for you to join him.

“Dustin! Hurry up-” Steve's words were cut off when he felt you move in arms. His eyes flashed back toward you, and he watched as your body began to levitate into the air.

“SHIT,” Dustin shouted as he finally inserted the mixtape into the boombox and began to move it to track 3 like Steve said. The song that began to play made Dustin pause momentarily, and even he knew how much you liked this song.

‘I’ve got a dream about an angel on the beach…and the perfect waves are starting to come…

…his hair is flying out in ribbons of gold and his touch has got the power to stun…’

The tips of Vecna’s claws were almost touching your face, but he had suddenly stopped when the lyrics of the song echoed behind him.

The grip Vecna had on your mind faltered as you recognized the Fire Inc. song Ellen Aim performs at the end of Streets of Fire. Your eyes moved past Vecna toward the source of the song, and fell onto what looked like a tear in this world Vecna had created in your head.

You saw yourself in Steve’s room, your body levitating into the air, and Steve and Dustin. Steve was saying something to you. Your eyes narrowed slightly, trying to listen to what he was saying over the music.

‘But I don’t see any Angels in the city, I don’t hear any holy choirs sing… And if I can't get an Angel. I can still get a boy. And the boy will be the next best thing, the next best thing to an Angel.’

Steve’s voice began to break through as well. It was faint, but you could still hear and understand what he was saying. He was talking to you about your first date, and how you went to the drive-in to watch a whole other movie, but ended up watching this one. You didn’t even remember what the first movie was.

Memories flooded through you, flashing through your mind quickly. You saw Steve on this first date, felt his hand take yours, and felt his lips meet yours for the first time. You never kissed on the first date, and he was the first and only exception.

You saw Steve’s flushed face when he had climbed out of the pool following a swim race, and his eyes had lit up when he saw you there in your cheer uniform and pom poms cheering his name. You were the only cheerleader there. He had laughed and winked at you while you had blown a kiss.

“They can’t help you,” Vecna told you, making your eyes shift back to him, “You belong here, with me, with Chrissy…”

His hands began to inch closer, the tips of his claws barely touching your skin.

Steve helplessly watched as your body slammed flat against the ceiling, and his first move was to grab Dustin and pull him against him, making him face away from the sight. Because of what Eddie had said about what happened to Chrissy, they knew what was going to happen next.

“Her bones- they just snapped, and her eyes…it was like something was inside and-” Eddie had said in that boathouse the day before when you got your first vision.

He didn’t want Dustin to see that, especially not when it was his older sister. If he couldn’t protect you, he could at least shield Dustin and protect him.

‘I’ve got a dream when the darkness is over….We’ll be lying in the rays of the sun.’

Ellen aim’s lyrics got to you again and you heard Dustin’s sobbing, your eyes moved past Vecna’s again to see your little brother in Steve’s arms, Steve shielding him from your body that was now pressed against the ceiling.

More memories flashed in your mind. You saw the kids throwing popcorn at you and Steve at the movie theater during a matinee reshowing of Jaws, and heard Dustin say, “Are you seriously sucking face when someone is getting killed by a shark?”

You could hear their giggling from behind you, and a couple of gags that made you throw the popcorn back at them, but missing.

‘But it’s only a dream and tonight is for real, you’ll never know what it means, but you'll know how it feels.’

You saw Robin forcing you to watch movies you never thought of watching before, you saw her laughing, and saw both her and Stevea arguing in their ridiculous Scoops Ahoy uniforms.

You saw Steve running toward you after Starcourt, his face bruised up, yet he was still smiling and kissing you, happy that you were okay and you were alive.

‘It’s gonna be over before you know it’s begun, it’s all we really got tonight…’

“N-No,” you said to Vecna suddenly, he stopped before he could sink his claws into the skin of your face, “No!” You found the strength to reach up with both hands and grasp the wet, sticky vines that collected around his collarbone and neck. You grasped and pulled, the tendrils squishing between your nails and fingers before you screamed and pulled it off with incredible strength.

Vecna released you with a groan of pain, and you ducked underneath him, and raced toward them. You were a long way from running away from them at the trailer park, now running as fast as you could toward the end of this hall, back to your reality, back to your life, back to Dustin and back to Steve.

You didn’t look back, Ellen Aim’s singing and Steve and Dustin’s calls to you blasting your ears, drowning out Vecna calling your name.

‘Say a prayer in the darkness for the magic to come’

Ellen Aim sang as you inched closer and closer to your world.

‘No matter what it seems tonight is what it means to be young…’

Your feet echoed with every step you took, your heart beating out of your chest as you ran and you ran and you ran, toward the music, toward your home.

“We have to help her, Steve, we can’t let him take her,” Dustin was crying, his words muffled against Steve’s shirt. Steve was shaking, and didn’t know what to say, and even if he did he couldn’t speak anyways.

He was too distraught, shedding more tears than he’s ever shed before. He was going to lose you, he failed you, Vecna got to you before any of them could figure out how to stop him. He held Dustin against him tighter, and shut his eyes.

“Just don’t look, Dustin, don’t look,” Steve even tried to cover his ears with his arms, hellbent on making sure Dustin doesn’t see or hear anything, “I’m sorry, I’m so fucking sorry we couldn’t save you…”

He clenched his teeth, the thought of Vecna being responsible sending a rage throughout him. His eyes were forced open, and profanities were falling from his lips all targeted toward Vecna. He didn’t know if he could hear him, but he wanted him to know that they were going to fuck him up for what he’s done, for who he’s done it to.

That was when you came back.

Your eyes were suddenly back to normal, and Steve caught it the exact moment because a loud gasp for air escaped from you. Steve moved Dustin aside, practically throwing him on his bed, and stepping under you just as you became unstuck from the ceiling and fell.

Steve fell on the floor with you right on top of him, hyperventilating and gasping for air as you felt like you ran miles and miles to get back here. Your eyes frantically looked around you, becoming hyper aware of everything around you, but knowing that you were back here, you escaped.

It didn’t seem real at first, Steve’s soft calling of your name that wasn’t echoing and rather in real time.

Your fists closed around Steve’s shirt as you met his gaze, they were puffy and red and full of the greatest relief in the world. You pressed your forehead against his, and whispered to him that you were okay.

“I heard you, I heard you both and the song,” you said between your fast breaths, your voice trembling and still cracking, “I saw-” Your words were becoming less coherent as you broke down in Steve’s arms.

Steve sat you up then, keeping you in his lap and holding you against him.

“It’s okay, you’re back, you don’t have to talk, not right now,” he told you quietly, his own voice matching yours.

Dustin had watched in disbelief that you were okay, thinking that maybe it wasn’t even real, but when he heard you speak and Steve respond, he was off of the bed and on the floor next to you Steve. Tears of relief spilled from his eyes, and he wrapped his arms around you as well.

Steve would ask you how you exactly got out, about what you had seen, about everything, but right now, he was beyond relieved that you were back, that you didn’t end up like Chrissy or Fred, that you finally fought back.

#this is a long one #over 9k words!#please enjoy <3 #it took me a while to write but I'm actually quite happy with it #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington #stranger things #stranger things imagines #stranger things 4 #stranger things 4 spoilers #lys writes again #Spotify #requests #fic request

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ninjastormhawkkat · 5 months

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Questions plagued Carl's mind. Was Matthew going to be okay? Were they going to stop Atomic in time? What if they didn't? Was Atomic connected to the B.E.A.W Labs? "It'll be okay." Carl was brought out of his anxiety filled thoughts. Constance was looking at him with a sympathetic look. "It'll be alright Woody. Look. He's like a cockroach." Carl narrowed his eyes at her. She placed her hands up. "I'm not trying to insult him. This time. I'm just saying that he's like a cockroach because he's so damn hard to get rid of." She didn't like seeing him like this. Especially knowing exactly what he's been through. "He's so extremely difficult to get rid of. He's resilient. Though he did allow himself to be taken away. I don't think he'd be easy to get rid of. Besides. You shouldn't be underestimating that woman and your kids. They'll get to him in time. Have trust in them Woody." Carl sighed. "I suppose you're right but it's hard not to worry. He almost died once before. His life is at risk once again. I can't help it." Tears began to well up. Constance frowned at that. "Hey. It'll be alright. I promise. Besides, I don't think the kid would have it in him if they don't arrive in time." Carl was silent for a moment. "I can't help help. I'm scared Constance. Losing him. The thought tore my heart out. I know I shouldn't feel this way but I can't help it. I-" He was interrupted by her. "Hey now. It's okay. You don't need a reason to justify how you feel. You just feel the way you feel. That's all to it. " Carl was surprised at her words. Constance rolled her eyes. "You don't need to look so surprised. I can be wise and knowledgeable too." That earned a genuine laugh out of him. That was better. She didn't want to leave him in his anxiety ridden thoughts. Seeing him like that hurt. "If he does get roughed up. You can be his nurse. I'd be he'd love that. You tending to his wounds." Carl went tomato red. Sputtering her name. "Constance! You're terrible!" She cackled at his reaction. The ride to Dr.Two-Brains wad quiet. Until Maddrix spoke up, he didn't care that it was tense. He needed to speak his mind before they continued. "Atomic. I don't think he is behind anything with the B.E.A.W. Labs." Dr.Two-Brains looked at him. Raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean Matthew?" Margret wanted to make a wisecrack but remained silent. Looking at him as well. "He only went after me. If he was truly with them, he would've took Becky and I back. He would've killed you and the others. But he just wanted to go after me." Margret blinked. "Go on." Matthew was surprised they were willing to hear him out but he continued. "He didn't want to hurt anyone but me. Those who stood in the way. He may have forcefully put them out of the way but his intent with them wasn't malicious. It was personal he went after me. I don't think he knows much about the ray he had." Margret was about to put in her opinion and thoughts about it but they had already arrived at Dr.Two-Brains house. Alex landed next to them. Matthew attempted to walk into the house but he didn't make it far so Alex had to carry him in. Becky was happy to see him. Chirping happily. "Hey Becky. I'm sorry about scaring you earlier." He apologized but she had pong forgiven the man. Only caring if he was okay. Carl got up immediately and ran over to Matthew. Looking up at him with tear filled eyes. Without much thought, Carl placed his hands to Matthew's face and pulled him down into a deep kiss. Allowing it to linger for a moment before pulling away. Leaving Matthew breathless and flushed red. "Oh thank goodness! I was so scared! Don't you ever scare me like that again! I thought you were...I thought you were..."

Noticing how distressed Carl was acting, Matthew snapped into focus and cupped Carl's face. He gently brushed away the man's tears. "I know love. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that." Matthew spoke in a gentle tone, interrupting Carl's ramblings. Carl just sighed and stared back at Matthew with intense eyes. "I know you believe you deserve death and suffering after what happened all those years ago," Carl began to speak as tears filled his eyes. "But please! Please don't ever sacrificed your life like that ever again! Don't let yourself be taken or defeated so easily like that ever again! Seeing you dragged away without a fight..it was terrifying and painful to see you give up so easily like that. You may not believe it anymore, but you aren't capable of never being loved again. The thought of losing you again brought me more pain and suffering than what you did nearly 20 years ago. You are not a monster Matthew! Monsters don't feel regret, they don't apologize or feel remorse for their actions. You did that." Matthew stared silently at Carl. Neither man said nothing as they gently placed their foreheads against each other. Tears streaming from both of their eyes now. "I'm...sorry. I'm so sorry. Carl I..." Matthew tried to speak through his tears. "I know. I know." Carl only replied. Matthew didn't have to say anything. He knew what he was thinking. The others remained silent as they watched. None of them really saying anything and giving these two a moment, but also none of them having any negative reactions towards Matthew. Alex looked towards Victor and Two Brains. Both of them were having solemn but also bittersweet reactions. Alex wasn't sure what Victor was thinking, but he highly suspected what Two Brains was. Alex always figured, deep down, Two Brains could never fully hate his father. Whenever he was mentioned before, Two Brains would always have a solemn look, but never a hateful one. Alex figured Two Brains still loved the father that raised and cared for him and his siblings so well, he just hated the killer the man had become. Alex didn't hold it against him. He knew that if his parents and Rebecca were still alive, they wouldn't hold it against him either. Everyone was soon startled by Becky suddenly growling even as Tristan held her. They turned around and saw Atomic was beginning to wake up from the back of Victor's car. Carl, Tristan, Constance, the Chaotic four, Joe, Alan, Agent AA, and the Henchmen begin to tense up. Some of them were looking ready for an attack. Dr. Two Brains raised up his hands to halt them. "Hang on a second everyone. Atomic may be conscious but trust me. He doesn't have access to his powers right now." Dr. Two Brains tried reassuring them. Victor then spoke up. "He's right. Two Brains took his powers. He is out of the game but only temporarily." Atomic began to become lucid and tried to get out of the car. "How did you do that?" Jenkins asked as he still took on a defensive stance. Dr. Two Brains shrugged. "I went Professor Terror on him and shot him with a device from my staff that not only inhibited his powers, but also knocked him out pretty good. I originally designed the device in case Miss Power ever came back but I figured this was still a good time to use it." Two Brains casually explained. As Atomic got to his feet and his mind became more clear, his eyes soon landed on the group. His expression instantly morphed from puzzlement to fury when he spotted Maddrix standing near them still alive. "YOU ARE DEAD MADDRIX!" Atomic yelled before jumping into the air...and later falling back down flat on his face. It was a comedic sight. "Hey Matthew is stubbornness reacting out of emotion an inherited trait from your side of the family?" Two Brains asked in a sarcastic tone as he stared at the fallen Atomic with an annoyed deadpan expression. Matthew shrugged. "Um' shouldn't we still tie him up even though he doesn't have any powers?" Sunshine suggested. "I got this. Fluffy please wrap up the crazy hero." Archie requested his pet spider. @dualnaturedscientist

#wordgirl #wordgirl au #fair city vs the facility #part 4 #erraticeris #answered ask #maddrix the malicious

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thiccpersonality · 3 months

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Damian (Gremlin) Wayne...and his even more gremlin-esque family

A newly introduced Damian sits in Bruce's Bat-chair, observing his new "siblings" with judgmental eyes. His emerald green ones rolling into the back of his head at the ex-carny babying him: "Look you fool, I shall let you know right now that your efforts to entertain me like I'm some child will prove fruitless. Whatever I have done to make you think I'm approachable, forgive me, because I already hate you."

Richard's smile slowly fades and he clears his throat. His medium blue eyes narrowing into a suspicious glare, his lips forming a tight lipped smile: "Right down to business I see? I'll have you know that you may be the baby, but I was Bruce's first one. Whatever title you held before doesn't matter now...in fact, I would suggest you get rid of it before someone helps you get rid of it."

Damian scoffs and picks at his nails, swiveling side to side in HIS father's chair: "Worried about the competition already? As expected from a weak-willed and spineless peasant such as yourself. I suggest whatever title you held before-" his green eyes rake up and down Richard's lithe form like a predator with it's prey-"Which from your disposition I would say you are the favorite-ah! Or I should say EX favorite."

Jason grunts from where he's punching at a dummy: "Look you little shit. All we did was exist-"

Damian: "Then stop."

Jason: *stops punching to glare at the small fry* "Ex-fucking-cuse me? I already un-existed before, I am NOT doing that again. And drop the attitude before I drop kick you back to your mother."

Damian: "How cute. It's like a puppy learning to bark for the first time. I can already tell you are desperate for my father's attention like a dehydrated ma-"

Jason: *cocks his gun and points it at Damian* "Did no one tell you along the way here that I don't mind killing for Bruce? Would've tried to get rid of Bozo the Clown over there if I knew I could get away with it. And then I'd shoot Bruce myself."

Tim looks up from his tablet with a sigh: "Trying to kill another bird I see? I guess I wasn't enough for you?"

Jason: "That was due to my pit induced rage. I had no control over that-" gestures towards Damian-"But this overly confident little bitch is a choice."

Tim raises his hands in defeat: "Just saying that you shouldn't threaten the new one so soon. Plus...I'm the smart one, Bruce needs me more than all of you combined. And I know everyone's weaknesses well, do you really want to test me?"

Damian sighs and finally hops down from the chair: "Childs play. My mother has made sure I knew everything from acrobatics to knowledge of cultures, religions, languages, books and other things you plebeians would surely combust from the brains it takes to memorize such things. She made sure I had it all so I can replace all of you. And father will be mine and mine alone."

Richard plasters a friendly smile back on his face: "Seems like the one spot she missed was etiquette. Don't worry kid, I'll be happy to show you the way things work around here."

Before the argument can get further out of hand, a clearing of the throat stops the four boys. They quickly turn to see Alfred standing at the bottom of the cave steps with a tray full of cookies.

Polished shoes click across the cave floors unhurriedly, the older gentleman quietly serving the boys their cookies and turning to leave. Not before clearing his throat once again and turning to give the four boys stern looks.

Alfred: "All this bickering is pointless. You all are now family and I hope you lot will act like it. Master Bruce is already making arrangements for your schooling young master Damian, and he expects a somewhat peaceful dinner tonight."

The older man can't help the small smirk he gives, one that is confident and self-assured. "Plus, as long as I am here, there is NOT much competition. You may be his first child master Richard, but I am his first partner in anything he's done. I do hope from here on out you ALL will remember your places. Good day."

The four boys frown at the authority radiating from the usually calm butler.

Damian clicks his tongue and slinks into the shadows while silently plotting his new victims demise.

(Hello everyone! I write fics on AO3 by the same name, Thicc_Personality. I'm sorry this is my first post and it's nothing but chaos, threats and crack...they truly (do) care for each other, they just don't know it atm XD. But I am a sucker for gremlin bat family and an oblivious Bruce to the very obvious competition. That or he lets it slide so easily (especially for Damian) cause he thinks his baby son is the cutest thing ever. If anyone manages to see this...well, I hope there was some enjoyment found here xD. Stay safe, happy, healthy and of course lovely as always. 💜)

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clangenrising · 2 months

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Month 12 - Leafbare

Time was hard to hold onto these days. Scorch blinked and suddenly spring had arrived, cautiously thawing out the gardens and poking its flowers up through the soil. If she thought back, she could remember that she had spent the time studying to become an interpreter in between visits from Razor but the actual experiences of those moments tended to feel fuzzy and loose. She was grateful that she somehow managed to hold onto the knowledge of interpreting.

The act fascinated her. Each Name Charm was marked with symbols that the Folk used to convey meaning and slowly, she was learning to interpret it. Confined in her house as she was, Portia wasn’t able to do much teaching so she had put a young molly named Marmalade in charge of teaching Scorch how to understand the symbols.

Marmalade took Scorch through the neighborhood, usually with another cat along to ‘escort’, and showed her the symbols in different places. Now that they were pointed out to her, Scorch couldn’t stop seeing them. They were on the corner poles and the fronts of houses and the sides of cars and nearly every wall in the downtown area had some cluster of them somewhere. Marmalade would teach her what they said and then teach her how each symbol made up a piece of the meaning. She learned how to recognize the individual symbols wherever they appeared in the clusters and how there were two versions of each symbol for some reason.

It was honestly exciting. She couldn’t believe that all her life there had been meaning spread across the surface of the world and she hadn’t even known. When she was at home, when time was the most solid, she would wander around, discovering all of the different symbols in her home and trying to interpret them. They were everywhere, on the food boxes and her dish and flashing across the magic window that her Folk would watch and the pages in the kits’ rooms and the warm thing the adult human pawed at on her lap and even though Scorch didn’t know what some of the words meant, she knew their pieces and that felt like power.

It wasn’t power that helped her much, though. Being an Interpreter did come with a certain amount of prestige. She and Marmalade were sometimes sent to deliver blessings from the Folk. They would go to cats who were ill in their homes or to new mothers and their kittens and bestow gifts upon them. Cats always thanked them and looked up at them with worshipful gazes. They parted to allow them through. Chaff asked them for blessings as they passed and thanked them profusely when Marmalade bid them “be well.” Yes, there was definitely power there, but it never did anything to get rid of the babysitters that followed her everywhere she went.

And it never stopped Razor from calling on her.

Today, after an Interpreters’ meeting in Portia’s garden, he had arrived to collect her, all toothy smiles and pet names and suffocating touches. She purred and fell in beside him and let go of her grasp on time. He’d invited her to accompany him to another meeting, this one about the warfront, and she had agreed.

Now she found herself draped against his side as he lounged in the grass of his own backyard. Several toms sat around in a circle, discussing strategy. All of them, except for Ghost, were Exalted.

“Hunting operations are continuing as planned,” Oreo was saying. “We’ll have to increase our presence, though, if we want to account for spring prey numbers.”

“Do you think we’ll still be able to starve them out?” Razor asked thoughtfully.

“I do,” Oreo nodded. “The Chaff are hungry enough, the only problem is the risk of getting attacked by wild cats. We need to find a way to make it seem like the threat is minimal if we want them hunting in droves.”

Ghost cleared his throat and said, “From what my cats have been saying, most encounters can end without bloodshed as long as we don’t antagonize the Clans. If a cat apologizes and leaves they’ll get a torn ear at most. If you’d like, I can spread the word about-”

“No,” Razor rumbled darkly and Scorch felt her throat tighten. “No, we’re not going to teach the Chaff that they should run from these savages. We won’t show weakness like that when that territory is our right.”

“But, sir,” Ghost shifted uncomfortably, “most of my cats aren’t fighters.”

“Then pair them with fighters,” Razor said as if it were obvious. “If they need protection, give it to them.”

Ghost’s throat labored for a moment before he said, “Yes, sir.”

“I think it might also be a good idea to take a more proactive approach,” said Sardine, a younger tom who had only recently been allowed into these kinds of meetings. “You know what they say: the best defense is a good offense.”

Razor smiled and nodded in his direction. “I’m listening.” Scorch listened too, with bated breath.

Sardine continued. “Part of the reason the Slaughter of Sycamore was such a decisive loss was because our position wasn’t easily defensible. The wild cats had the home turf advantage and, given their surprisingly large numbers, I reason they must have had somewhere to organize themselves before the attack. If we could take that location for ourselves, we would have a much stronger foothold from which to orchestrate our campaign. We could even move a number of chaff to the front full time.”

Scorch repressed a shiver as the image of Razor and his followers carving their way through RisingClan’s camp flashed through her mind. The calm, detached manner in which Sardine said it rubbed her fur the wrong way. It was almost like he didn’t care that he was toying with the lives of cats on both sides.

“And how would you propose we do that?” frowned Tiger, his muscles rippling under his pelt as he shifted forward. “We have no idea how far that location might be and clearly inching our way bit by bit doesn’t work.”

“It could,” Oreo countered. “Another big reason we lost that battle was because of the snow storm and we’ll have all summer to retake that ground.”

“We’ll still be out in the open,” Tiger growled. “I don’t like it.”

“Please,” Razor said, his chest rumbling smoothly against Scorch’s side, “I’m sure Sardine has a plan. Don’t you?” He tilted his head to regard the young cat and Scorch heard the familiar undertone in his voice that said ‘this is a test.’

Sardine smiled and said, “I do. I propose we form strike teams of three to six cats and wait for the ‘border patrols’ to come by then kill as many cats as we can.” Scorch swallowed. “Soon enough, their numbers will weaken and falter and we will be able to find and clear out one of their bases and take it for our own, thus acquiring a proper encampment from which to stage our own assault.”

“Not a bad strategy,” Razor complimented and one of Sardine’s ears twitched in satisfaction. “What do we think, boys?” He looked around the circle, one brow raised. Scorch did likewise, trying to keep her expression passive as she judged their reactions.

“It could work…” Oreo hummed skeptically.

Ghost shifted, a grimace on his face, and said, “This all assumes that they have a fortified location we could use. There’s no way to know if that's the case. They could live in scattered nests or isolated burrows.”

“Who cares,” Tiger brushed him off. “Even if there isn’t some central location we can take over, I think the effort put into the strike teams would be worth it.” He smirked and looked at Razor. “I wouldn’t mind the opportunity for a bit of extermination.” Scorch’s blood ran cold. Tiger seemed to notice and his eyes twitched over to meet hers. She quickly ducked her gaze and leaned away to nestle her cheek into Razor’s fur demurely.

“We would need to be careful,” Ghost said. “The wild cats are a lot stronger than we first thought. I’m not sure many of my cats could go blow for blow with them for long.”

“They don’t need to,” Oreo said simply. “If we get enough of them in a group they’ll be able to wear the wild cats down even if they take losses.” Scorch spared a glance at Ghost to see his jaw working. He was furious. Still, he was hiding it well, she thought. It was only her experience with him that let her recognize the subtle tensing of the muscles in his neck and the way his tail tip was poised to start twitching if he let it.

Razor seemed to notice too and said, “True, but there’s no need to be so wasteful if we can afford not to be. It’s our job to look out for the Chaff, is it not?”

Oreo’s whiskers twitched and he looked down. Tiger huffed softly through his nose.

Sardine nodded and said, “Indeed. Perhaps combat training could be provided?”

Razor smiled. “Good idea,” he said. “Why don’t you and Ghost organize training for the most promising candidates. Once you both feel satisfied with their progress, we can start implementing these strike teams, yeah?”

“Sounds good,” Sardine said, glancing at Ghost. Ghost grunted affirmatively, his jaw still clenched.

“Good,” Razor said, moving to stand. Scorch stood as well, pressing close to him and keeping her head low to avoid too much attention. “Is there anything else we needed to discuss?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Oreo said, standing as well. Tiger and Ghost both shook their heads.

Sardine took a step forward. “Actually, Razor, I was wondering if I could have a private word?”

“Of course,” Razor said, jerking his head towards the rose bush in the corner of the yard. Tail brushing across Scorch’s belly, he leaned into her ear and said, “Wait here for me, would you, dear?”

Scorch chuckled to hide the shudder of disgust that went through her. “Always.” His smile widened and he ran his tongue over her cheek and up her brow before gesturing to Sardine and padding off to the rose bush. She was tempted to try and eavesdrop but knew that she wouldn’t be able to get close enough without being seen.

In addition, she had a more important task to see to. She looked over at the others. Oreo and Tiger had started off across the lawn together, talking amongst themselves. Ghost sat still, his eyes closed as he breathed slowly in and out. Scorch cast one glance over her shoulder to make sure Razor was occupied then slipped over to stand next to Ghost. His whiskers twitched as she drew near and he opened his newly scarred eye to look at her.

“What do you want?” he grumbled. His eyes also darted over her shoulder to where Razor and Sardine were talking.

“I wanted to apologize,” she said softly, offering a smile. “I was under quite a lot of stress last time we talked and I did a lot of things that I am not proud of.” She held her breath, hoping he bought it. This part was integral if she was going to accomplish what she needed to.

He scowled at her. “You nearly got me in serious trouble, you know that?”

“I do,” she winced, hoping she looked sufficiently remorseful. “I’m sorry, Ghost. Really.” He stared at her for another long moment before sighing, his gaze softening a touch.

“I appreciate it,” he said, looking her over. She smiled and sat down. Good. He had never been able to stay mad at her for long.

“I did mean what I said about looking out for Smokyrose,” she whispered. “If you helped me escape, I could bring them a warning.”

Ghost shook his head. “And then what? My cats get killed instead? No, I can’t do that.” Scorch felt anger rising in her again. There was always an excuse with him, wasn’t there, some reason why he couldn’t do what she needed him to. She focused on keeping calm, though. Trying to threaten him hadn’t worked at all. She needed to use a softer touch.

She shifted closer, her eyes big and sincere, and said, “Then I’ll tell the Clans not to kill the Chaff. Goldenstar would listen. She took in Scrap despite my warnings. If she can spare a life, she will, I promise.”

“So Scrap is safe then,” he said as if he’d caught her in a lie. Scorch tried not to let her irritation get the better of her. Like he cared about Scrap at all.

“Yes,” she said, smiling. “And I can make sure that she stays that way. Both her and Smokyrose.” Instinctively, she brushed her tail tenderly over his, satisfied by the way he tensed and then relaxed under her touch. “Please, Ghost. Won’t you help me?” She tried to make her eyes water as she held his gaze. Hopefully he would prove as predictable as always and be unable to resist the pleadings of a woman who needed him.

She watched him thinking. His eyes darted down to her paws like he wanted to place one of his own on top of them. He leaned forward almost imperceptibly, their whiskers almost close enough to touch. His mouth opened, a hesitant word on his tongue, and she felt her spirits soar. Yes! She had won! She had-

His eyes flickered over her shoulder and a scowl returned. “Razor is watching,” he said. Bile swelled to overtake her lifted spirits and drag them back down to the pit of her stomach. She knew better than to look over her shoulder or quickly fix her posture. She licked her lips and very carefully sat back.

“Think about it,” she said. “You know where to find me.” At this point, she could hear Razor coming her way. She let one ear twitch back, then stood and turned to face him, hiding all evidence that she had been touching Ghost. She smiled fondly at Razor and moved to meet him, butting her head against his chest.

“Ghost,” Sardine said, a dubious tilt to his voice, “Shall we talk logistics?”

Ghost cleared his throat and nodded, standing. “Yes. Let’s.” Stiffly, he turned and followed the younger tom and Scorch cursed him in her head. He was being too obvious!

Razor curled around her, his brows furrowed, and asked, “What was that all about?” As he did, he nosed the fur on the back of her neck and she went rigid at the touch, heart suddenly hammering.

“I was urging Ghost to have faith in your leadership,” she lied, trying to turn her head to look at him, but he opened his mouth and gently placed his teeth against her scruff and she immediately froze again. A purr rumbled through him and he removed his teeth. This time, she stayed exactly where she was.

“Is that all?” he murmured warmly against her skin. “It seemed like there was more to it than that.” He padded slowly around her, always keeping some part of him in contact with her.

Scorch fixed her eyes on the rose bush as she spoke. “Maybe for him,” she said. “You know he never really got over me.”

“Mm,” Razor hummed, unsatisfied.

Scorch swallowed. “But I promise, things were strictly professional. I have no interest in any other kind of relationship with someone like him.”

Razor came back around to look at her face again and she dared to turn her head to meet his gaze. “Not even a little?” he asked, “for old times’ sake?”

“No, of course not!” She promised with a worried expression. “Razor, I’m yours now. That’s all I could ever want.”

Razor looked her over and then sighed with a dejected glance downward. “I know. I just… after you went missing and everything…” He shifted his weight and sat down. “It feels like you sometimes don’t think about how your actions affect me. I do so much to make sure you’re taken care of and it’s like you don’t even care.”

“No, Razor,” she swallowed and stepped in to wrap herself around him instead, “of course I care! I’m so sorry I’ve made you feel that way.” She knew his game. This trick was the oldest in the book. But she had no choice but to play along. “How can I prove how much I love you, honey?”

Razor leaned into her touch with another sigh. “Just… promise you won’t talk to Ghost anymore?” he asked tiredly. “It would make me feel so much better if I didn’t have to worry about him and you.”

“Of course,” Scorch promised, pressing her forehead against his. “If that’s what you want, I’ll try and avoid him.”

“It is,” he purred. “Thank you, Gingersnap.”

“Anything for you,” she swallowed.

“Why don’t I walk you home,” he offered, pulling back to meet her gaze again.

“Oh, that’s alright,” she shook her head. “I can get back just fine on my own.”

“No, no, I insist,” he said, standing up. “I’ll feel a lot better if I know you got home safe.”

Scorch sighed. It had been worth a try. Smiling, she tried to play her reaction off as fondness and said, “Alright then. Whatever you want, dear.”

#clan gen #clangen #warrior cats #warriors #warrior cats oc #warriors oc #clangen oc #clan gen oc #Scorchplume #Razor #Ghost #Oreo #Tiger #Sardine #Marmalade #Leafbare #clangenrising

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may-lutlone · 3 months

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So, while I was playing Reload (great game 10/10), I was brainstorming about using the android that kills Shadows in P5. So, I came up with an AU where Akechi is an Anti-Shadow weapon. Well he is inspired by one.

Of course, there are fanarts (better than mine) or fics where he is that Anti-Shadow weapon, but I have never really seen anything dwelling into lore that much? I just saw the concept being thrown around or Phantom Thieves just being a part of Shadow Ops (feel free to correct me, I haven't been everywhere in Persona fandom ehsjskks) So here's my take, which contains spoilers for Persona 5 (obvs) and some angsty themes:

Spoilers obvs!!!!!!!!

-Wakaba killed Akechi during one of Metaverse's experiments (oops),

-she felt so guilty about it that she secretly retrieved his consciousness from there,

-using plans for an Anti-Shadow weapon

by the Kirijo Group that she somehow got hold of (maybe she stole it, maybe she just got it idc), she rebuilt him as an android and put his consciousness there (although it exists with the programming, because she wasn't that knowledgeable about robotics - she was a cognitive psicentist at heart, after all),

-was it a good decision? idk but Wakaba kinda strike me as a scientist who would think that was an excellent idea,

-Akechi disagrees, he hates her for that because now he is forever stuck as a thing that is forced to listen to orders (being forever stuck in one body also doesn't feel right I suppose),

-but they have a neutral and professional relationship that revolves around exploring the Metaverse (Akechi can still use Loki, just like Aigis can use Palladion),

-Conspiracy, learning about this, hacks Akechi-android to use him as a weapon in the Metaverse (so he still is a Black Mask, although everything is done completely without his input),

-Akechi then kills Wakaba, which she anticipated and before that she had given Futaba a copy of her research and Akechi’s plans - although she said to never use them without a really serious reasoning,

-yada, yada, yada we're in original game timeline,

-Akechi as a Detective Prince doesn't exist,

-but he does exist like a obstacle in Palaces/Mementos that hunts down the Thieves,

-let’s just say they would be able to fight him back around the time their lvl in Okumura's Palace,

-Morgana doesn't know wtf Akechi is,

-Joker has some suspicion that Akechi isn't just a machine, but he doesn't really voice it at that point,

-when they are in Futaba's palace, on one of the wall arts (the one where Wakaba works on something and Futaba is begging for her attention) they notice that Wakaba was working on one of Akechi's parts (probably his arm idk),

-so they ask Futaba (post-change of heart) what’s going on, but she has to do research,

-when Futaba joins the team, Akechi always targets her (due to his resent to Wakaba),

-they finally learn what Akechi is and that he is malfunctioning (y'know being a serial killer weapon) due to being hacked, so they decide to help him (bonus point if they can get him on their team),

-so in Okumura palace arc they set on changing the CEO heart and capturing Akechi (who is also there, because he has to get rid of Okumura),

-during the fight in that Palace, Futaba manages to free him from Conspiracy’s control (bonus point if he awakes to Robin Hood),

-when they get him back to Leblanc's attic, Futaba repairs him (because I feel like she would be into robotics just like her mom) and they learn that even if he is on their side now, he doesn't remember who he really was (even first his name, only Akechi).

So, my AU would revolve around Akechi re-learning about his past (he can bond over his amnesia with Morgana) and being as human as possible.

I have a few ideas that I probably will draw (or write, who knows), but that's all for now. Thanks for coming for my ted talk.

Bonus comic - very messy, sorry:

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tenko-thinks · 9 months

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Can I request the same prompt you did of pregnant reader with Douma, but with Gyutaro and/or the Hantengu clones please? 👀

grasps you firmly yes absolutely you can. But bc these can get pretty long feel free to send in the clones in another rq ! Separately or together ill figure it out ♡ also the og rq specified twins but I'll keep it to one unless specified otherwise hehe

Gyutaro with a pregnant s/o + fathering headcanons

Tags : pregnancy, labor and childbirth ( nondescript ), referenced abortion, insecurities, referenced s/h , Gyutaro needs a hug and I'm gonna deliver

To say Gyutaro had never expected to be a father is an understatement.

He had never expected to find someone that would tolerate looking at him. Let alone willingly father his child.

When you told him you were expecting? His first thought was that he had truly ruined you. Tainted you and not quite in the way that made him giddy.

He had anticipated you to tell him you already took the concoction to get rid of it. Or eaten wisteria to induce it. But when you had smiled at him so fondly. He didn't know what to do.

Often asks what you're going to do with a demon child. To which your answer is always the same. Raise it with him and Ume. Or on your own if he refuses to raise it.

The insinuation that he wouldn't want to care for the kid makes him irritated but he hears Ume in his head. Telling him about how mean he's been to you. Of course you'd think he doesn't want the thing.

Which couldn't be further from the truth. Sort of.

He's petrified for the outcome. What if you die? Of course he raised a kid before but could he even bond with it if you weren't there? The selfish side of him wants the kid gone so he can make sure you don't die on him. But he knows you'd probably hate him if you found out.

He knows how pregnancy works in theory. Watching courtesans deal with it in yoshiwara. But he's a bit clumsy when it comes to helping in any way that doesn't involve him helping you move around. It stresses him out to no end. His habit of self mutilation is at its worst when he can't help you when you start crying over seeing a cute design.

Cravings? He doesn't know what to do. He has to rely on Ume because like hell he's going to go out and purchase a can of sardines or several kinds of weird mochi he's never heard of.

Ume is elated the entire time however, more than happy to demand another room beside her own in the kyogoku house. While in the night Gyutaro pilfers baby items he's able to find in nearby towns that become dormant at night. The room quickly becomes a nursery, suited not only to your own but Ume's tastes.

Ume is more knowledgeable than her brother on the complicated parts of pregnancy such as hormones and sensitivity. When you begin crying over one of Gyutaro's usually lighthearted remarks he panics. But ume is there to placate you. And give her brother a very, very dirty look.

As your stomach grows Gyutaro finds an odd fascination with it. Since his own body refuses to change in a similar way. His hands always rest on your bump when able. Absolutely refusing to leave until he has to.

When the baby begins to kick? Local Man in shambles. He mutters to your stomach a lot. Things you can't quite make out. But don't press, he'll probably get too embarrassed to do it. Gyutaro quietly mumbles all of his worries to the baby. And hopes that they'll be okay with him as their good for nothing father.

He loves to help you when it comes to carrying you around. Or assisting you with putting on shoes because you can no longer bend over in the same way. It makes him feel as though he's actually capable of this whole thing.

But when you go into labor? He is in shambles. It's only you, ume and himself. Since a midwife would have to see him otherwise. The entire time he's sweating buckets while you scream.

The sound of that very first cry ? Breaks him out of that fear induced state and he's fighting the urge to hound ume to see the child. She needs to wash the newborn first, after all. And he needs to be there for you as you struggle to regain your breath and composure.

When the newborn is placed on your chest and you can finally hold the little loaf you created Gyutaro is in shock. He can't cry. Can't even smile he's just. Frozen. Until you take his hand and lead it over, placing it on the peach fuzz of your- his child's head. Barely grazing it. Smiling at him.

It takes a few days for it to finally sink in for Gyu. While you and ume have almost immediately adjusted , he's stuck. Only able to just stare at the thing in the cradle he had built for it.

A little boy. One that took after you, only marred by beauty spots littering his face. Completely unlike his own. Small and daintily painted on by the gods while his were clumsy and unattractive. If he didn't know any better he'd be jealous of his own infant son's luck.

As a father, Gyutaro is actually quite skilled. He did raise his sister after all. However when it comes to teaching morals and rules, it falls to you. After all, he never wanted to repeat what happened in the past just because he taught wrong.

Gyutaro takes to his son very well, and knows that as a human. You rely on him when you're asleep. Keeping your shared bundle content is easy work when he doesn't have the need to sleep.

It makes him swell with pride , how much you and the child rely on him. Such small and fragile little things.

He has to get stronger to properly protect the both of you. As well as teaching your son how to fight when he comes of age.

Still doesn't leave often, but he allows you to be accompanied by his sister to enjoy nights with the baby as he grows. Deserving to see the world and enjoy being a child.

So long as you always come home before sunrise.

#demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #kny #demon slayer x reader #gyutaro x reader #kimetsu no yaiba x reader #kny gyutaro #kny x reader #gyutaro

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ultimatemissadhd · 2 months

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You guys want complex characters but you couldn't even understand Kyoko Kirigiri - Kyoko defending post.

So today I'm gonna talk about Kyoko framing Makoto because you guys only foucs on Makoto in here which drives me insane.

Yes, it was unfair that Makoto got framed. But don't forget that Kyoko was getting framed too, it's not like Kyoko framed Makoto for a murder she committed. The dead body belonged to Mukuro who died chapters ago.

Of course, Kyoko could have pulled out an inspirational speech and sacrifice herself for Naegi but there was no place for that bullshit.

Haven't you seen the bad ending? If Kyoko dies, they never get out of the killing game, the tradegy goes on forever and they don't even know.

And Kyoko knows that. Kyoko knows she's the only person who can end the killing game with all the information and evidence she got. As much as, some of these were in her room, that still wouldn't be enough for others. Plus they would probably have no reason to go there after she dies, I also wouldn't be surprised if Junko got rid of the evidence in Kyoko's room after she died.

The whole reason why the trail was in the first place was because Junko wanted to stop Kyoko from destroying her killing game. Kyoko knows that.

Now, Kyoko finds herself in a situation where she's about to get executed and the "if you vote the wrong person then you all die" rule is not going to help her anymore since the whole thing is rigged and she's being framed by the mastermind. She knows that if she dies the killing game will never and go on forever AND SHE'S RIGHT. She's nervous, she's scared, she's in a point of no escape.

She has to choices:

1. Die and lnever defeat the mastermind and have everyone locked in there forever, mastermind wins, all the deaths meant nothing.

2. Frame someone else, live and defeat the mastermind and then avenge the deaths of everyone including the person who got framed.

There's no place for sacrifice bullshit here.

Kyoko choses to save herself, not because she's selfish or arrogant but because she believes in her abilities and the knowledge she has.

Makoto ends up being the person who gets executed instead and that's s pretty much a random thing because it really could have been anyone. Yes, she feels guilty and yes, she knows it's unfair. But it was the only thing to do so she can end the killing game.

Makoto survives and she goes to look for him and saves him and she does it pretty quickly. She goes there, brings him food and water, then helps him get back to the building. If she didn't care about him, she wouldn't think about what happened to him.

The fact that she was the only one to do so, maybe because she detailed map of the school that she got from some secret room, however the fact that she threw herself down the trash to save Makoto shows that she cares. But I think it's safe to say that if she didn't go down there, there's a huge chance that no one would.

In conclusion, chapter 5 is not all about Makoto. I hate when people make it all about him and how it was unfair for him and JUST for him. Because if you think about it, it wasn't fair for anyone and Kyoko had no choice, just like everyone else. They couldn't just not vote, they had to vote for someone.

Kyoko is an interesting character because like I mentioned before, what you'd except from a Danganronpa female support character would be inspirational sacrifice to let the protagonist solve everything by themselves and "I believe in you" and blah blah.

That scenario just doesn't work here because Makoto alone doesn't have enough information and knowledge to defeat the mastermind by himself.

Another thing is that Kyoko apologies and explains everything as soon as she sees Makoto.

Makoto forgives her not because he is a loser people pleaser although he is but not here but because he knows Kyoko and trusts her and he knows that she has those information that could help save the killing game, he knows that without her they wouldn't defeat the mastermind.

Kyoko Kirigiri is a character with her own morals, brain, way of thinking and mind. She is a deep powerful character who was one of the main reasons Junko was defeated. Yet, she gets very little credit. This would bring us to talking about the anime but that's a topic for another day and another rant.

#kyoko kirigiri #danganronpa #danganronpa trigger happy havoc #danganronpa spoilers #Danganronpa chapter 5 #rant

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so-long-soldier-writes · 1 year

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When a Good Plan Backfires

kol mikealson x reader

summary: elena had it planned to a T. she was going to lure kol to her house where jeremy would be stationed to kill him, not only ridding him from their lives, but also completing the hunter's mark. most everyone was in on the plan, too, and had their own roles. well, everyone, except for you. she had left you out on purpose, fearing you'd interfere to protect the original. what she didn't know, though, was that not warning you would make her whole plan backfire miserably.

tags: major character death, angst, no happy ending, secret relationship, sire bond, TVD s04e12

word count: ~1.9k

Stefan revs his motorcycle before asking Elena to repeat herself. He’s almost in disbelief at her plan. “What did you say?”

“I want Jeremy to kill Kol. He just attacked Bonnie at the school, but now the three of us are planning this out. Bonnie can hold him down, and she can distract Klaus, too. We just need you to dagger Rebekah so she doesn’t come after us.”

“You want to kill an original?”

“I think Jeremy can. Plus, it’s the fastest way to grow this mark so we can find the cure. Just… tell me you’ll handle Rebekah?”

“I can’t dagger her, Elena.”

“Well, why not?”

Stefan doesn’t answer her question.

“Just distract her somehow, please.”

“I’ll try. Hey, does Y/N know about this plan?”

Elena sighs, “we haven’t told her.”

“You really should. Not that I care about Kol, but we all care about her. I think she deserves a warning, at least.”

“I know,” the girl bites her lip, “but I don’t want her to sabotage this to save him.”

“I’m not going to interfere with your plan. If you want to kill Kol and not tell Y/N, fine, but know she might never talk to you again.”

“I don’t want her to hate me, but… he’s going to kill Jeremy, and will try to kill Bonnie again if we don’t do this. And killing him would break Damon’s compulsion, too. Plus… we all know she’ll be better without him in the long run. He’s not a good influence on her; she’s only going to get hurt. This is better for everyone.”

“I agree with that part, I’m just worried about her heart. I’d hate to break it by killing her best friend, especially without her knowledge. She’s still human, it’s not like she’d be able to turn off her humanity to deal with it.”

“Maybe that’s for the better, too. The less bloodthirsty vampires around here, the better. Which is why this needs to happen. Damon needs to be free, Rebekah needs to be handled, and Kol needs to be gone. I’m going to call Matt next and have him try to keep Y/N at The Grill tonight past closing. We can reveal everything afterwards.”

Stefan takes a deep breath, “alright.”

When Matt gets the call, he understands Elena’s point of view. He’s never liked how close you’ve gotten with Kol, and shares the same fears that he’ll hurt you eventually and you, who always loves so deeply, wouldn’t be able to survive it. That, or worse, Kol would snap one day and kill you. So when the girl begs him not to tell you, he agrees with the plan.

“We’ll all ask for forgiveness after,” he tells her. Elena likes this thought, then hangs up the phone.

“Hey, Y/N, can you help me a little later tonight? I want to make sure everything is cleaned and stocked well for the morning. I was a little slow by myself last night.”

“Of course! I don’t mind,” you smile, eyes sparkling. You usually get off at eight, but with the plan in effect, Matt wants to keep you at least an extra hour.

“Cool, thanks!”

◇◇◇◇

Despite agreeing with Elena, working with you that night and knowing what’s about to happen is killing him. The fact that your best friend is about to die - not only just daggered - and you can’t say goodbye to him feels so wrong. He takes a deep breath every time you smile at him, trying not to break.

Though at nine-thirty, he starts to crack.

“Hey, Y/N?”

“Mhm?” You turn to face him, dish in hand.

“Are you and Kol still… friends?”

You smile at the mention of his name, and Matt feels a pang of regret. “Yeah, why?”

“No reason, just curious.”

A giggle escapes your lips, “I actually was with him this morning. He came by early and we made pancakes.” Matt doesn’t answer, though you continue. “I know he’s been a little shit lately, going after Jeremy, but I just… I know how badly everyone wants the cure, but if Silas is as bad as Kol says he is, I don’t blame him for wanting to prevent them from finding it. And I know going after everyone who threatens to raise Silas is wrong of him, but he’s really scared and doesn’t know how else to deal with it. You know how dysfunctional that whole family is; they’re like the vampiric version of mine,” you joke.

“You really think he’s being honest about how bad Silas is?”

“I do. Especially considering that the dude’s been cemented for so long, he’ll probably go on a killing spree just to feel alive.”

Matt shifts uncomfortably. “Y/N… I have to tell you something.”

“What?”

“Elena-”

He’s cut off by a series of coughs from you, “sorry. I think I might’ve inhaled some pepper,” you mutter, hitting your chest for relief.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” you clear your throat. It helps a little, but there’s still a bothersome tickle. “You were saying?”

“Elena and Bonnie are-”

There’s a loud crash as you drop the plate you were holding. It shatters into pieces on the ground. You’re not far behind, falling to the floor, but you catch yourself on the counter with a weak grip.

“Y/N?!” Matt rushes to your side, “are you okay? What’s happening?”

“I don’t know,” you cough some more, “I feel dizzy. Everything’s blurry. I,” a third series of coughs take over. They strain your body, making it harder to stand. Matt panics when you lose your grip and fall to the floor. Your body starts to shake, almost like a seizure. “What’s wrong with me?! Oh my god, help!”

“Stay right there! Let me call for help.” He grabs his phone, “shit! I’m calling 911!”

“No, please! Call Kol. Matt, I need him. He can help me.”

“Y/N, I can’t.”

“Why? His number’s 70-”

His lip trembles, “I can’t, I’m sorry.”

“A doctor can’t help me, please, you need to call him! Matt, I’m… he…”

“I’m going to call Elena, okay?”

“Why? What’s going on? Why can’t I see Kol?” More coughing stops your questioning.

“Elena?”

You hear her voice over the phone, “it’s over, Matt, K-”

The blond cuts her off, “Elena, wait! Stop! I need help, Y/N’s coughing and shaking. She just collapsed on the floor, I don’t know what to do!”

“Call 911, get her to the hospital!”

“She’s asking for Kol, Elena. She’s saying a doctor won’t help. I… I don’t know. I think-”

“Oh god,” she whispers. “Um, shit… bring her here.”

“But if he’s still-”

“Matt, just bring her here. Please.”

“I’ll get there fast.”

As soon as he hangs up, Matt carries your limp body into his truck and speeds off to the Gilberts’ house. You’re too weak to ask questions, and he’s too afraid, making for a silent trip, aside from your coughing. Your limbs are still shaking, jittery, as if you’ve had too much coffee. Though something tells him coffee’s definitely not the problem. When he pulls into their driveway, he turns to you.

“Y/N?”

“Yes?” Your voice is fragile. It honestly sounds like you’re dying.

“Close your eyes for me, please? You’ll be okay. I’ll guide you.”

“Okay.”

He helps you walk, calling for Elena as he nears the doorway. She opens it right as you reach the threshold. Immediately, your state pales her, “oh my god! What’s wrong with her?!”

“I don’t know! She said not to call the police, and she’s been coughing the whole way here.”

“Bring her inside, let’s-” Elena drops her sentence as she watches the scene before her. Matt had tried to bring you into the house, but an invisible barrier is keeping you out. “Y/N?”

“I’m sorry,” you mutter. “I…”

Matt tries again, but the doorway refuses your entry.

“Y/N,” Elena clears her throat, “please come in.”

This time, when Matt takes a step, you’re able to follow.

“No,” the girl is hit with a sudden, horrible realization. “No, no, no, no… it can’t. You can’t.”

“Elena, I’m sorry.”

“When?”

You take a deep breath, “this morning.”

Matt, Elena, and Jeremy all stare in shocked silence.

“Who turned you?” Jeremy finally asks. Matt already knows; tears fall from his eyes. “Matt?” The boy questions his friend.

Before you can answer, a voice from behind interrupts, “love?”

Your heart jumps when you hear your nickname. Unfortunately, though, the sudden change in your heartbeat makes you even weaker. “Kol? Are you here?” Against Matt’s wishes, you open your eyes.

“Love, I’m here. I’m sorry.”

“Oh my god!” You use the last bit of your energy to make it to his side. He’s on the floor, shallow breaths keeping him alive. You can tell, though, that he’s nearing his last. “Baby, what happened? What’s-” you look around for answers, but receive none. In a last ditch effort, you put your wrist to his lips, “come on, feed. Please.”

“It won’t work, sweetheart. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have…” he tries to take a deep breath, “shouldn’t have been selfish. Should’ve left you alone. Human.”

“No, no, no… Kol, I wanted it. Wanted you. I still do, and I always will. You can’t die on me. Please.” You bite your wrist anyway and let a few drops fall, “come on, please! You can’t die, and I don’t want to die, either.” Panic is taking over your body; tears fall faster, coughs are more frequent, hands shake violently.

Elena’s the first to intervene after the three piece the puzzle together. She rushes over to you, grabbing your shoulder, and biting her wrist. “Y/N, drink.”

“If it won’t work for me, it won’t work for her,” Kol mutters.

“Y/N, I’m sorry,” the girl pleads. “We didn’t know. I’m so sorry. Somebody call Stefan, now!”

Matt starts to fumble with his phone again, while Jeremy mutters that he’s going to call Bonnie.

You don’t answer either of them. Instead, you cup your best friend’s cheeks and lean down to kiss his lips. “I need you, Kol. I love you.” He kisses back, but he’s so weak that it’s as if he’s a ghost. “I’ve had this fantasy, I’ve wanted to share with you… us leaving together. Let everyone here find their stupid cure, raise Silas, whatever, because we’d be thousands of miles away. We could keep each other safe, and we wouldn’t have to deal with all the drama here anymore. I wouldn’t have to live in fear of losing you, and we could just be happy.”

“Love…” he blinks back a tear, “look at me.” You do, and he continues, “take a deep breath. Relax.” Immediately, you calm down until you’re content and listening to him. “I love you so much. I promise I’ll find you wherever we end up. If there’s any afterlife at all, I won’t stop searching until we’re together. But for now, I want you to be at peace, just until your spirit can move on. Let it rest, love. We’ll be okay.”

You nod, all panic eased, and lay down beside him. “I love you,” you repeat.

“There you go. I love you, too. We’ll find each other again.” He kisses your hand, and then his chest rises and falls one last time.

“Kol?” You know he’s gone, but can’t help but ask anyway. The silence tears your heart in two, but you don’t cry. You don’t cry, you don’t yell, you don’t even move. You just stare, stone cold on the outside, yet with a heart full of emotion.

“Y/N?” Elena gets your attention, “are you alright?”

“I’ll be okay.” You smile up at her, then look back down at Kol. “We’ll be okay.” A second later, you too, draw your last breath.

#kol mikaelson #kol mikaelson x reader #major character death #tvd fanfiction #tvd 04x12

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thexgrayxlady · 5 months

Text

I think I like the idea of Murtagh and Thorn handling side quest type things for a while once they make it out to Mt Angor. As annoyed as Murtagh is that his already abbreviated training keeps getting interrupted, Thorn's the only mature dragon who isn't tied down to one location.

The first time, they're sent up to the north of the spine, near Carvahall. The longer they're up there, the more Murtagh suspects that the villagers did not need the help of a dragon rider to get rid of a particularly vicious cave bear, but he's already here and it's nice to feel useful and wanted and once he gets over himself, he gets to meet Roran. Reuniting with his brother wasn't nearly as horrible as he thought it would be. Adding a cousin to the mix shouldn't be that bad. Once the initial awkwardness is past, they get along like a house on fire. Even so, he tries to leave quietly once the bear's been tracked and dispatched.

Roran's having none of it. He and Thorn are family, even if he is a prickly grouch. They're at least staying for dinner. Thorn will not let him say no. Ismira is delighted by her uncle and his dragon friend. Dinner turns into a few extra days of helping around Carvahall and spending time with his family. By the time he actually leaves, he, Thorn, Katrina, and Roran are plotting to kidnap Eragon and bring him out here for Ismira's birthday.

Then they spend a few weeks in Illeria, trying to help Nasuada negotiate with the mages because the system, as it's currently set up, is a powder keg. They're happy to see Alin settling in nicely and that she's genuinely enjoying the outside world. Murtagh gets to be a fancy boy who knows politics at galas. He's having the time of his life dragging an ambassador for being a bad dancer. The four of them get involved in so many spy thriller shenanigans because Murtagh cannot go five minutes without kicking some kind of hornets nest.

They go north and fight a sea serpent alongside Uvek. Murtagh can only watch with horror while Thorn plunges into the icy abyss to stop it from dragging their boat under. Then lines on their harpoons go slack and come up cut. He's about to dive in after him when Thorn's head breaches the waves.

"She will not trouble your tribes anymore," Thorn says, dragging himself, panting, onto the pack ice, and adds softly, "I could not bear to destroy something with such a beautiful song."

They find more leads on the Draumar, only now they have enough experience to follow them safely.

Of course, half the time they either create or stumble into far more problems than they wanted. Murtagh can escalate taking care of some small time bandits into a narrowly averted major diplomatic incident between the Broddring Empire and Surda in under three minutes. At one point, they go to take care of some minor smuggling and somehow, wind up leading a heist in Ellesmera and both refuse to elaborate on how those two things are connected.

Eragon looses count of the number of times they come back far later than anticipated, and when questioned about it, Murtagh's first answer is just, "Fucking Durza!"

Thorn continues his side quest to get Murtagh laid, only now he's armed with the knowledge of romantic ballads. His arranged meet-cutes with any of the men or women he deems acceptable are met with a resounding lack of success.

Thorn builds his confidence up with bandits and wild animals and more of the little surprises Durza left around the continent. He learns drinking songs and ballads in taverns and from harvest festivals and on the road and eventually starts to share his own work. He watches people change from approaching him with fear, to caution, to acceptance, and eventually to joy.

And slowly, but surely the people of Alagaësia stop feeling dread at the sight of the red dragon and his rider and instead, feel safe.

#Murtagh #Eragon #Look I just want Thorn and Murtagh to have good things happen to them #Is Eragon deliberately sending them to do things to build up their reputation and have positive experiences with other people? Absolutely.#And look I love the idea of Durza just being a fucked up little freak causing problems on purpose #Murtagh develops Personal Beef with a dead shade #This is messy and got way longer than i meant for it to be

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dmwrites · 1 year

Text

impulsesv whispered to you: hey Katherine

You whispered to impulsesv: hiii

impulsesv whispered to you: do you think we could hold a battle buddies meeting? Like, tonight? I have some information that the group needs to investigate asap

You whispered to impulsesv: ofc! I’ll text Pearl and Cub!

impulsesv whispered to you: wait wist wait dont invire Cub

impulsesv whispered to you: I’ll explain when we meet tonight

Katherine paused, humming uneasily to herself, looking down at Impulse’s messages. The whole point of battle buddies was that they all get together and slay monsters. Friendship is just as important as getting rid of the baddies, after all.

impulsesv whispered to you: trust me

Katherine sighed.

You whispered to impulsesv: okay. I’ll text Pearl.

impulsesv whispered to you: already did. See you tonight.

Katherine felt for her axe in her inventory. It was probably nothing. Probably. Impulse was rarely serious, even while killing mobs he’d had a big smile on his face. He’d sounded so serious over text. But that was text, it could be happy things. A surprise party for Cub? A prank? On Cub? It was probably nothing. And yet, Katherine couldn’t help but worry.

——

As the exact second that the clock on Katherine’s wall struck sundown, there was a knock at her door. She opened it, chuckling.

“You two do know that you can be here, like, before nightfall, right? I’m not timing you.”

“Punctuality is like half of Impulse’s personality.” Pearl said, skipping into the building.

Impulse just gave Katherine half a smile, closing the door behind him and locking it. “Sorry for the last minute meeting, Katherine.”

“It’s fine, but what’s going on, Impulse?” Katherine asked, passing around a tray of monster shaped cookies she had made. “What’s with not inviting Cub?”

Impulse sighed. “Something’s wrong with Cub.”

“Like, we should ask him about his feelings, or more… sinister?” Pearl asked.

“Well, let’s put it this way.” Impulse said. “The last time I saw Cub, he was covered in sculk, and the look he gave me when I made a noise turned my blood cold. Guys, I don’t think that Cub is really… Cub anymore. Something happened to him.”

“And we’re sure he’s not just high, right?” Pearl asked.

“He’s not.” Impulse said knowledgeably, failing to elaborate.

“Hmm, that would explain all the sculk I’ve seen in Hermittopia recently.” Pearl murmured. “He’s been, what, trying to spread it around?”

“I think so. Keeps going up to people and asking if they’d like to hear the good word on sculk. It’s totally freaking the hermits out, and I’m sure the empires peeps have caught wind of it too.” Impulse said.

“So what are you saying we should do?” Katherine asked. “Why are you telling us this?”

“Well, that’s up for you to decide, Katherine. You’re the leader here. I just brought the information to the table.” Impulse replied. He looked troubled, and frankly, scared.

“If what you’re saying is true, then Cub has become a monster. By definition.” Katherine said slowly. “Which means we have to… kill him.”

The weight of those words hung over the room like a dark rain cloud. There was no surprise at this, no confusion. Just an unfortunate acceptance. This is what they did, after all.

There was a low chuckle from outside the door. “Y’all talking about me? All good things, I hope.” Cub knocked on the door once. A small sliver of blue and black appeared on the wood. Katherine looked to Impulse and Pearl, who looked back at her in terror. “Oh, now that I’m here, y’all stop talking?” Cub continued. “Go on, I wanna hear exactly how you plan on killing me. I’m sure it’ll work great.” With every sentence, Cub hit the door, harder and harder. And with every strike, the sculk spread across the door.

Katherine stood up, heart pounding, and pulled her axe from her inventory. Impulse and Pearl stood too, and they moved to stand in a group.

“I know you’re in there.” Cub said, and it was unnerving just how calm he sounded. He was still hitting the door, now with such force that it bowed in with every hit. It was only a matter of time before it corrupted completely and fell apart. “I can hear you skittering around like little rats. I can taste your fear. I can smell you.”

Katherine looked to the other two and mouthed “ready up” to them. Pearl pulled out a diamond hoe, and for a weird, dizzying moment, Katherine could have sworn she’d seen this before. The thought vanished as Impulse took a step forward, axe raised.

“It doesn’t have to be this way, Cub.” He said, voice wavering.

The knocking stopped. “Oh, you already made your bed on this one, friends. Time to fucking lie in it.” Cub laughed, and it was a hollow, dead-sounding noise. Cub sighed, there was an awful moment of silence, and then the door shattered. Cub stood before them, black and blue and glittering. Things were growing off of him, and he looked at the three of them like they were a meal. “Have y’all heard about the greatness of the sculk? No? How ‘bout I tell y’all all about it then.” Cub grinned, and leapt at them.

#November 19 2022 #fic #hc x empires #impulsesv #pearlescentmoon #cubfan135 #katherine elizabeth #long post

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acourtofthought · 5 days

Note

Somewhere SJM claimed that Lucien and Dorian would be friends if they knew each other and that’s always kept me hopeful. Dorian is one of the most interesting characters in TOG for me and he is also surprisingly slow to find love, even though he’s a rake and he enjoys the company of women. His experience with Sorscha is the same as Lucien and Jesminda (losing their loved one and witnessing their brutal deaths at the hands of their fathers). Both characters are fair and good despite everything else going on around them, they enjoy reading and knowledge, they are ready to sacrifice themselves, they are both excellent candidates to lead due to their innate sense of goodness and fairness. And even their cheeky personality is similar in many ways. Dorian’s access to his own powers was manifesting slowly in TOG and it kept trickling in with each book and I feel like we’re going down that path with Lucien too. We learned in ACOWAR that he sees magical work with his golden eye, we learned that he can track this magic very well. We also learned about his spell cleaving abilities that even he seemingly didn’t know (or hid from others) and we know from his time in autumn that his brothers felt threatened by the power they could sense in him from the beginning. I think Lucien might go through a similar arc to Dorian as he comes into his full powers and that really makes me think about how he actually might become high king. I love Rhys but Rhys is first and foremost for his own people and he is so attached to just the Night Court that I don’t think he would do well with representing everyone. Lucien is essentially homeless in Prythian, he belongs to so many courts and has connection to so many that I can see him do well with such a big title.

Add Elain to this mix. Her powers could be very useful for someone in her position if she ends up high queen with Lucien. They are basically an unstoppable safety net for each court. Elain might see visions of conflict and trouble coming their way, she could aid in decisions about anything, especially if she masters her powers and could look into the future for various outcomes. Her love of nature and travel would definitely come in handy. She would want to protect those courts. Not to mention her love for social events and her ability to charm people. Could you imagine her helping smooth things over between high lords just with her wit and charms? I know a lot of people think she’s going to become a spy but for me she is always more of a politician/courtier and her qualities would shine in such a situation.

I agree and it gives me hope too. Not only did she say Dorian and Lucien would be good friends but Lucien would be someone she could see herself co-writing a book with because of his cleverness. Dorian would be someone she could see herself going to the opera with, who wouldn't mind if she took a long time to get ready (and we know Lucien takes care in how he dresses). Dorian was a human with unknown powers and he ended up having unlimited raw magic that could be shaped in whatever way he wanted. She's also set up Lucien to be someone with unknown powers, a future HL as Dorian was King. I do think there are differences between Lucien and Dorian but those seemed to come into focus after he finally was rid of his valg collar. I think a little bit of that darkness seeped into him and he became well matched for Manon whereas Lucien and Elain both individually and as a pairing embody light. My vision of Elain matches yours as well, where Elain will make a difference, not sneaking around in the shadows spying in the quiet but out in the open, influencing others with her loving, kind and wise personality.

#elucien

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corviiids · 5 days

Note

(inspired by your earlier post about if L accused Sayu of being Kira) How do you think an au where Sayu got the death note would play out?

amazing question. i wrote so much more than i thought i was going to im so sorry. tl;dr i don't think the ultimate plot would change much but the beginning would sure be interesting.

i think if sayu found the death note, she would tell light before anyone else. he's clearly her most trusted confidant. light would tell her not to worry because it's clearly some chain letter shit but because she's clearly frightened of it he'd offer to hold it for her and get rid of it so she doesn't have to think about it.

now whether ownership officially passes to light at this point might depend on the specific wording they use. if light says 'hold onto it for you' or something to that effect it would likely just be sublet to light (wording from rule 13) - for our purposes im inclined to go with this version of events but i note the rules are really ambiguous on what the specific requirements and conditions are regarding ownership.

(i keep wanting to go through and do a full review of all the manga rules from like. almost like a statutory interpretation kind of lens but that's a stupid project i need to convince myself out of lmfao jesus)

hey this got really long and complicated. i thought it was going to be simple but now im going through branching possibilities literally for the sole purpose of analysing the rules so let's put the rest under the cut. click for me citing specific death note rules in the middle of my work day i guess GOD. you can also scroll to the bottom if you want to skip me talking about death note rules and just see my projected course of events

the issue of ownership actually doesn't matter that much at this point for reasons we will see but might change things a little bit down the road (see below re: ryuk and discussion of rule 47). let's go with the sublet thing for now and assume sayu is still the owner of the notebook but light is holding it.

light keeps the book, sayu tries not to think about it and fails. light can't resist testing it without sayu's knowledge. light meets ryuk. i note rule 13 states the death god will stay with the owner of the note. since light and sayu are in the same household (ie geographic distance is not an issue) and ryuk would find light more interesting, it's a coin flip which person he'd show up to (probably depends on the degree to which shinigami are bound by their rules which i don't have access to and can't review lol). let's assume for now that ryuk meets light first just for ease, but i will come back to this later because i actually prefer him showing up to sayu first while light is holding the notebook.

in the version where light meets ryuk first, then depending how forthcoming ryuk is with information, either sayu sees ryuk before light realises that's a risk or light realises sayu will see ryuk before she actually does. im leaning towards the latter because in canon light finds out in this order:

people who don't have the note can't see ryuk (when his mother comes into the room during their first meeting)

people who have touched the note CAN see ryuk (when sayu comes into the room asking for help with homework some days later)

so in this au, between events 1 and 2, light would realise that since sayu has touched and owns the note, she'll be able to see ryuk. i think light at this point would ask ryuk if there's any way to undo that effect at which point ryuk should inform light that forfeiting the note will allow sayu to stop seeing ryuk.

ok, now let's backtrack to before and say instead of light, ryuk shows up to sayu first. ryuk appears, sayu screams, ryuk informs sayu that light has used the note. light comes running because sayu screamed. light again in this timeline immediately demands to know how to get sayu out of this situation, partially because she's freaking out and partially because he's already pondering the possibilities and absolutely needs sayu not to know about any of this. she is already hysterical because hey, did this monster just say that her big brother killed someone?

ok here's where i got into a rabbithole digging through the rules for a loophole because i found a problem. (it's ok, i found one.)

we know a death note can pass from person to person because it happens in canon multiple times. we also know that losing the death note will erase your memory of the note (rule 22). where it gets interesting is that rule 47 provides that you will only lose your memories of the death note if you actually used it:

[...] You will not lose memory of the Death Note, for example, if you merely owned it and had not written anyone's name. [...]

you won't be able to see the shinigami anymore, but you'll still remember the notebook. not good enough for light - he needs sayu to forget completely or she'll be traumatised and he'll be compromised, especially because now she knows he used the notebook which makes her a liability. light now has two thoughts

he could ask sayu to kill one person using the notebook and then forfeit it so she doesn't remember the crime and can be free of the notebook forever, or

see if the shinigami can offer any other options.

1 is an interesting place for light's mind to go, but he goes with option 2 first because sayu looks like she's going to have a panic attack. luckily, there is another option, and we know ryuk is aware of it because of the events of the a-Kira story - this is lucky because even if a rule existed there's no guarantee that the shinigami know about it as ryuk demonstrates multiple times. (they also don't need to tell their human any of the rules at all - rule 4.) lmao. anyway im talking about rule 67:

Regarding the memories mentioned in Rule XLVII, the owner can have their memories of the Death Note erased if they so desire.

(well, it's more like 67.1, because there are three completely unrelated sub-rules in this rule. kind of justified because we know rule 67 was a last-minute amendment but seriously who fucking drafted these rules in the shinigami world i'd like a word)

under rule 67, sayu could forfeit the death note and willingly have her memories erased without needing to kill anyone. light asks sayu to do this and promises he won't kill anyone else with the book and that he'll burn it as soon as she's forfeited her memories.

sayu trusts light so much that she does not ask why he doesn't just burn it now. she forfeits the book and forgets the death note ever existed.

i think from that point everything else goes the same way it does in canon.

tl;dr, again - my projected course of events, preferencing the branches i personally find most likely:

sayu finds the death note

sayu tells light about it

sayu sublets the death note to light, remaining the note's official owner

light tests the death note without sayu's knowledge

ryuk shows up to sayu and informs her that light has used the death note

light joins the conversation and demands to know whether sayu can be rid of the notebook

ryuk informs them sayu can forfeit the notebook and will no longer see ryuk, then states anyone who's killed with the notebook would lose all memory of it once they had done so

light correctly infers that by default, your memory will remain unless you have killed with the notebook.

light realises he needs sayu to lose ALL her memories of the notebook, both for her mental health and because she knows he's killed someone with the notebook and is a liability

light briefly considers asking sayu to use the notebook once before forfeiting it

light dismisses this as an option

light asks ryuk if there are any other options

ryuk reluctantly informs light that yes he can erase sayu's memories of the notebook if she willingly chooses it

light convinces sayu to give up her memories and the notebook and promises he will destroy it

sayu trusts light and doesn't push him to destroy the book in front of her

sayu gives up the notebook and her memories

light becomes owner of the death note

story proceeds per canon

#jesus christ im so sorry this got really long #asks #rookposting #death note #thanks for asking! this was really fun to get into.#death note the series really presented me with like a long ass list of provisions to operate around #which is like. a candy store to me #long post #also note this is not nearly all the possibilities. this could have gone a few other ways as well but we've all been here long enough

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kanansdume · 7 months

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I wish we'd gotten a more Rebels-accurate Sabine because THAT Sabine interacting with Huyang could've been so absolutely heart-wrenching.

Because Sabine generally understood the cost of the Empire, obviously, she was in the Academy, she knew Kanan and would've seen the grief and trauma he carried with him, etc. But Mandalore was still standing. Most of its people were still around. It wasn't quite the same experience for her as it would've been for Kanan.

And Ahsoka seems to be fairly removed from that at this point, it doesn't impact her much. Either she's chosen to "just move on" or she's intentionally repressing how upset and grief-stricken she STILL IS over it, and either way is not treating Huyang well. She clings to Huyang because he's a last remnant of this thing that she lost but she dismisses him and disregards everything he says because she's so messed up still that she can't help but make him the recipient of all of her frustrations.

But Sabine has now lost her planet. Mandalore was glassed. And you can even keep in that her family were very unluckily ON Mandalore when that happened instead of on Krownest and are now all dead as a result. She's lost her home and her family in one fell swoop and can't really ever get that back.

And before, she just sort-of stayed out of Huyang and Ahsoka's relationship. She didn't know Huyang before and he never seems all that upset about how Ahsoka treats him, so it's not really her business to butt in even though sometimes it makes her uncomfortable because, well, sometimes Huyang is RIGHT. But now, she looks at Ahsoka and Huyang and refuses to treat Huyang like his wealth of knowledge and his desire to stick to his programming don't matter. She stands up for Huyang more, she asks him to tell stories about the Jedi, she asks him about all of the younglings he taught, she asks him about the lightsabers he's watched Jedi make and what the differences are. She knows Ahsoka is suffering under her own grief, but that doesn't mean it's okay to treat another survivor like shit just because they're coping differently.

And so we get a comparison between how Ahsoka and Sabine treat Huyang and the difficulties Ahsoka still has with the personal impact of Anakin's betrayal, her feelings about the Jedi from her experiences as a teenager, and the loss of the Jedi as the loss of the only home and family she'd have ever known. She can never settle anywhere because the last time she settled somewhere, she lost it. It's safer not to. Sabine disagrees. Mandalore may be gone and Clan Wren along with it, but she still has Lothal and she still has the rest of the Ghost crew. Her losses are massive, but that doesn't mean it isn't still worth it to look at what you still DO have and recognize its worth.

Sabine treats Huyang well because she GETS IT now. She gets what it's like to lose everything and have what little you still have left mean all that much more in comparison. All Huyang has now is this ship, the information stored in it, the lightsaber parts he's kept safe for so long, and his memories and protocols and programming. Losing the programming and the Jedi protocols just means losing even MORE of the culture he'd been a part of for so long, why would he ever want to get rid of it or change it? Why SHOULD he? It's important to him and it's all he has left, what kind of monster would condemn him for that and ask him to give it up just because it's convenient?

#star wars #sabine wren #ahsoka tano #huyang #professor huyang #jedi #mandalore #pro jedi #ahsoka show #ahsoka spoilers

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iguana-eyanna · 1 year

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Enigma

Pairing: Sherlock Holmes x poc reader

Summary: When Sherlock comes at your door seeking help, you two realize you can't deny the pull you have on each other

Warning: mentions of character death, poison consumption

Sherlock Holmes had always been an enigma to you, with his sharp mind and keen sense of observation. You were fascinated by him, drawn to him like a moth to a flame. And yet, you'd never expected to fall in love with him.

It all started when you were called to assist with a case that Sherlock was working on. There was a string of strange deaths occurring in London, and Sherlock had been hired to investigate. Enola told her brother that he should hire you. You were a skilled herbalist, and your knowledge of plants and poisons proved invaluable in helping Sherlock solve the case.

As you worked together, you saw a different side of Sherlock. You knew he had a distaste for you. You often corrected him when he tried to deduct what traces of plants were left in the crime scene.

But then, you saw his vulnerability, his fear for his sister Enola. It was clear that Sherlock cared deeply for his younger sister, and the thought of losing her had him on edge.

That lead you to the very night when you heard aggressive knocking on your door. You woke abruptly, and you ran carefully to your door, opening it to see Sherlock in tears as he held an unconscious Enola who looked pale.

"I had nowhere else to go..." Sherlock said with a slight waver in his voice.

You wasted no time as you let Sherlock in as he placed Enola down on your bed. You lit a couple of candles and grabbed a box of herbals, hurriedly getting out a couple of vials.

"What did she consume?" You ask out loud.

Sherlock couldn't muster a sentence as all he could see was his sister who was unresponsive. You go up to him, grabbing the sides of his arms.

"Sherlock, I can't help her unless I know what she took!" You raised your voice.

Sherlock broke out of his trance and looked at you.

"We were at dinner. She took a drink that was meant for me." He said, grabbing a teacup in his pocket and giving it to you. You looked at the bottom of the cup, observing the tiny petals that were left. But what scared you most was how pigmented it looked, leaving a shade of purple.

"Wolfsbane..." You muttered, before throwing yourself in your box.

"There's no cure for it." Sherlock says almost hauntingly.

"Yet." You remarked, mixing a bunch of leaves together and poured a few liquids. You turn to him, holding the bowl.

"I need you to hold her up." He rushed towards his sister and held her up. You parted her shut lips as you poured down the mixture.

You silently prayed, hoping that there be a sign that it worked. Finally, she began to stir and slightly coughed.

She fluttered her eyes as she looked up to you two towering over her.

"Took me to almost die to have you two stop fighting."

You two couldn't help but chuckle.

"Apparently, we couldn't get rid of your sense of humor." Sherlock replied.

He was visibly relieved, and you saw a side of him that you had never seen before. He was vulnerable, emotional, and realized that he was just as human as anyone else.

As Enola recovered, you spent more and more time with Sherlock. You had work on this case together, discussing theories and brainstorming ideas. And yet, there was always an unspoken tension between them.

Finally, you and Sherlock were sitting in silence by the fire as Enola slept in your bed.

"I don't share gratitude often, but thank you... for saving my sister."

"Of course... I know it took a lot out of you to admit it. I can just see it in your eyes."

Sherlock knits his eyebrows.

"Oh?" He asks. Never has his emotions become transparent.

"Have you not heard the expression 'The eyes are the windows to the soul'?" You question, getting up from your seat.

"What do you see in my eyes?" He asks, trying to mock you.

You turn your head, looking at him sharply. You know he can plow his top like a kettle, but you wanted to see how he'd react.

"Loneliness."

Sherlock is a bit taken back from your words.

"Your deduction is quite wrong," He says, his voice bitter.

"I beg to differ. Your eyes don't shine bright. A pity since they're very pleasing to get lost into."

Sherlock scoffs as he got up too.

"I don't need companionship to get along with life, nor your sarcasm." He replied.

"Fine. Do you have anyone in your life? A wife or a child to come home to?"

"I don't need that, it's a distraction."

"Since when does love become a distraction?"

"Because I loved the wrong person and paid the price!" he spat.

You paused as he sat down.

"You knew Wolfsbane had no cure." You said. Sherlock averted his eyes to the fire, remembering.

"There was a woman who was spying on me. She challenged me in ways others cannot. When I finally caught her, she had this... hold on me. It was like I was stuck in her spell. Then when we got too close... she died in my arms."

"What was her name?"

"Irene."

"It's a fine name." You said, sitting next to him.

"A name I still wish to forget." He says.

You hold on to his hand as you two made eye contact with each other.

"You need to allow yourself to love again. I know it's as ridiculous as it sounds, but it's true. You are deserving of it, Sherlock."

A beat skips and Sherlock leans and kisses you.

Your eyes widen at the moment, but you sink into his kiss as you hold onto his face.

Soon, Sherlock realized what he was doing and pulled away. He looked, scared, almost like he was staring at a ghost.

"I'm- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." he tried finishing his sentence, but was still overwhelmed.

"No, no, no. Don't be. I'll just- watch over Enola." You stammered as you went upstairs to check on her. Out of eyesight, you lean on the wall as you felt a tear roll down your cheek.

'He can't love you...' your conscience said in your head. You took a deep breath and moved on, knowing that the Holmes boy is still in pain and is not ready to make any type of commitment.

Sherlock held a carriage bright in the day as you helped Enola down the stairs.

"Promise me you'll take things one day at a time? I hate for you to return with worse symptoms."

Enola smiles as she hugs you.

"I will, thank you so much." she says.

You arrived outside as Sherlock helped her settle in her seat and he looks back at you.

"About last night, I apologize for my behavior." He said softly.

"Don't be, it was an innocent spur of the moment." You replied, trying to settle his worries.

"We'll make our way, I'll make sure to send a letter of her improvement." He said, taking out his hand.

You give him a small smile and you shaked his hand.

"I hope to see you again, Mr. Holmes." You said.

He gives you a courteous nod and turns around, afraid a second longer he'd succumb in your touch. He flexes the hand which shook yours, as his blood was rushing in his veins. He sat in the carriage and alerted the rider to begin their journey.

He looks out in the distance, seeing the buildings and the busy people pass by.

Enola looks at her older brother, squinting her eyes as she studied him like an artist studied a still butterfly.

"Oh my goodness, you kissed her!" She yelled out.

Sherlock turned his head abruptly to Enola, almost getting whiplash.

"That is absurd!" He acclaimed.

"It's obvious! Your eyes say it all. Not to mention the clenched jaw and how you're still flexing the hand that held hers."

He tried to deny the facts, but he knew he couldn't hide it any longer.

"It was just a kiss, it didn't matter." He says, sitting more in his seat that was now consuming him.

"It did to you, and maybe even to her."

Sherlock turns away as he perched his elbow on the window.

"Enola, we both know that I'm not capable to love someone."

"But don't you think that she could be the one?"

"And what makes you say that?" He asks.

"Because she's running towards the carriage." She said.

Sherlock was confused until he turned towards the back and sees you running in the middle of the street.

"Sherlock!" You screamed out loud.

Sherlock turns back and uses his cane, knocking to the roof.

"Stop the carriage!" He yells out.

The rider stops and Sherlock jumps out of the carriage, racing towards you.

Shortly, you two stop in the middle of the road as you catch your breath. Sherlock stood there, looking tall and stoic.

"I don't know why I'm here. I just- I just knew that if I didn't see you again that I wouldn't have seen you at all. I should have thought it out, it was a bit hard to run in these shoes and my corset-"

"Let me kiss you." Sherlock said.

"Pardon?" She asks.

"I said," He took a step closer so no space was in between you.

"Let me kiss you."

You were taken aback. You had never expected Sherlock to be so open with his emotions. And yet, you knew that you loved him too.

You two kissed in the middle of the road.

Enola was happy for her brother as she looked back at the scene.

"Miss, shall we wait for Mr. Holmes?" the rider asks.

"No, he'd be able to find his way home." She said as she closed the door.

As you parted away, Sherlock looks down at you.

"Thank you, for showing me that I can love again."

You smiled as you two connected your foreheads together as you feel his racing heart.

"It was always in you, Sherlock."

You then took his hand as you two made your way to your apartment holding onto Sherlock.

Sherlock, indeed, found his way home.

#sherlock holmes #sherlock holmes enola holmes #sherlock holmes henry cavill #sherlock holmes fic #sherlock x reader #sherlock holmes x reader #henry cavill x reader #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill

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dumbkiri · 5 months

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𝕆𝕌ℝ 𝕎𝔸ℝ 『4』

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜰᴏᴜʀ: ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀᴅꜱ ꜱᴀɪᴅ

[Name] should have kept her mouth shut. Now she lost an important person figuratively speaking. Everything was moving too fast and she was left behind with the mission to protect her brother and the Eldians. She's never drinking again.

[Name] released Levi and slumped back into the cushion of the booth. Her eyes skimmed over her drink which only had one sip left inside of it. She grabbed the mug and allowed herself to indulge in that small amount of liquid.

She swallowed thickly and said, “I hold power of one of the nine titans. It can make structures and weapons with the hardening ability.” [Name] looked at Levi and hummed, “Right, hardening is like armor or crystallization. It’s much stronger than the Armored Titan’s ability though. So I’m basically impenetrable.”

“Stop talking,” Levi whispered to warn her.

[Name] sighed and put the mug back on the table, “Do you believe me or not?”

“I’m not sure if I want to believe you. I’m not sure what to do with the information right now.” Levi gave her a side glance and watched her hands rub together. The woman shrugged her shoulders and pressed her lips into a thin line. She was thinking and Levi didn’t like that she was.

A drunk [Name] leads to very bad-

“I’ll just show you a small party trick for you to believe me,” Her hands pulled apart, but as the space between them gradually got bigger something was being materialized. His eyes widened a fraction before he grabbed her hands and forced them under the table. His face was dangerously close to her as he harshly whispered, “Do you have any idea of what you’re doing?”

[Name] looked at him dumbly and looked down at her hands, one of which held a dagger made of crystallization. “Well, yeah, “She responded nonchalantly, “I just made a dagger with my titan ability. Here, you can examine it.”

“Stop messing around, [Name],” Levi gripped her wrist tighter and looked down at the entirely white dagger. He glared at her and the weapon demanding her, “Get rid of it.”

[Name] looked at him with annoyance and scoffed, “Are you listening, Levi? This is important information. This - this!” She waved the dagger in front of his face, “is made with my hardening ability. If I’m impenetrable because of the hardening ability, it means that this dagger cannot be destroyed. At least, to my knowledge.”

“Is this all a joke to you?” Levi was not in a mood to fool around with a drunk woman declaring that she’s some kind of titan shifter. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with her right now. She was being a reckless idiot.

“Not at all, I only want you to understand my ability. I want you to know that I can shift into a titan.” She admitted truthfully with her full attention to him. “I can’t do this alone, I need someone to help me get through the plan.”

“What plan?” He questioned.

“The plan to save humanity as we know it.”

“Why did you tell me? Erwin…even shitty glasses would be more helpful than I ever can be. One knows about titans more than a normal human being would and the other is driven by curiosity. I’m a fighter, [Name]. I’m the one that kills titans, I don’t help them.”

The words left his mouth so quickly, his brain didn’t register what he said until his eyes landed on a very troubled [Name]. Her breath hitched in her throat and she looked away from him quickly. She knew she was drunk, she could feel the fuzziness all over her body. Yet, the quickest way to sober her up was Levi’s blunt way of saying, I can’t help you. I’m the one they call to kill you.

She looked over at her sleeping siblings and the instinct to protect them washed over her. If Levi was going to betray her, now was the time. Her siblings were vulnerable as well as herself. Her most trusted comrade, the one she started to develop feelings for, was…was not a helper. He was a killer.

“And welcome to our seventh round of the most amazing beer we ever had!” Hanji slammed two overfilled mugs on the table with a giant grin on her face.

Levi watched [Name] slip the dagger up her sleeve and greet Hanji and Erwin with the fakest smile he’s ever seen. “Geez, guys! You took forever! I was starting to get really thirsty! Anyways, let’s get this round over!” [Name] jumped on the table and raised her glass high in the air.

She called for everyone’s attention and they all cheered her name out loud when they saw the happy energy radiating off of her. “I believe it’s time for a song! Let’s sing out loud for those we have lost! Whether they were lost in sickness, in expeditions, in patrols, or most recently during the Fall of Shiganshina! I raise my cup for my mother! For all the citizens I couldn’t save!”

She takes three huge gulps of the liquid and hands the mug to Hanji who sets the half filled mug on another table. She wiped her mouth with her arm and she cleared her throat.

“I raise my cup for my brother!”

“I raise my cup for my comrades!”

“We raise our cups for the citizens of Shiganshina!”

“For your mother!”

Random people in the crowd shouted together and [Name] softly smiled at them. This time, Levi noted, this one was genuine. “Alright now, I’m going to end the night for myself with a song. Annnnd~” [Name] began searching in the crowd for her singing partner, Kaiser.

“Over here, [N.Name]!” A voice shouted and [Name] pointed at the man that jumped on another table with a musical instrument in his arms, the amazing banjo. He was a few tables away with a happy grin on his face. [Name] took time to remember what was created in Marley and introduced amazing recipes and instruments to Paradis.

“Ah, my loyal Kaiser! Alright, where is Faith and Donny? I need drums and violin for this song!” She shouted and she heard a squeal of laughter come from Faith as she was lifted in the air by her partner. He set her on the table and she stood up with a blush on her face taking her violin and bow from her partner. She was a shy one, but she could play the violin like a professional. Then Donny banged on his basic drums by the bar announcing his presence.

“Now that my crew is ready, I want you all to sing with me! It’s a very well known song! Let’s do it, let’s sing Bitter Water!”

The crowd cheered and [Name] took the extra banjo from a helpful customer. She put the strap around her and began plucking the notes, Kaiser joining her. Bitter Water was an appreciated song by the pub’s visitors. Everyone sang with her and Kaiser and the crew played their hearts out with smiles on their faces.

[Name] let Faith take over the singing with Kaiser then she hopped off the table giving the banjo back to the person that gave it to her earlier. She moved past Levi silently and woke up Eren and Mikasa telling them that it was time to leave. She put Eren on her back as he examined the crowd singing loudly, Bitter Water was on repeat now. The night was going to be long for these people.

The melody and lyrics were stuck in Eren’s head as he laid it on [Name]’s shoulders. Then Mikasa was carried in [Name]’s arms, the little girl resting her head on the unoccupied shoulder. The song was bittersweet for the little girl and her eyes scanned the joyful, tired eyes belonging to Eren.

“We can help you, [Name]!” Hanji shouted over the music and singing.

[Name] shook her head and began walking through the crowd with her siblings holding onto her tightly. “It’s okay, I’ll see you guys after I get everything situated! Don’t miss me too much!” She glanced at Levi one last time and gave him a sorrowful smile. She didn’t know if this was goodbye or not. She hadn’t decided what to do and it scared her. But she also knew that Levi hadn’t decided his course of action either.

They were both lost.

Levi looked away from her gaze and when a few seconds went by, he looked back to see drunk people singing and spilling their drinks everywhere in her place.

“I know I shouldn’t love you, but I do!” Hanji’s out of tune voice sang with the crowd bringing Levi back to reality. He had to inform Erwin and Hanji about [Name]’s ability to shift. They needed to talk to her about what she knows. It was important that her secret came to light now. If it didn’t and she transforms without notifying the higher ups, she could be as good as dead.

…

Meanwhile with [Name], her siblings insisted that they could walk home with her. The stars and moon illuminated their path and the atmosphere was warm. Mikasa was lightly humming the melody from the pub while Eren sang the song from time to time.

“You’ll bury me beneath the tree I climbed when I was a child.”

The woman looked down at her brother and he was currently bobbing his head to the melody Mikasa hummed. She stopped walking and they stopped with her and she gestured to the two story home she was standing in front of. “Welcome to your new home, Eren and Mikasa. I’ll make sure to look for Armin and his grandfather tomorrow, okay?”

“Can we come with you?” Eren asked.

[Name] shook her head and said, “No, it’ll be a quick trip. I don’t want you two getting lost. I promise I will get them back here. Now please, let’s go inside.” She walked ahead of them and unlocked the front door with a bronze key. She opened the door for them and Eren was the first to walk in followed by Mikasa.

The house was huge in Eren’s eyes and he was amazed by how much she had achieved. She grabbed their hands gently and began leading them into a room, their new room. Their room had two small twin beds parallel from each other.

“I knew that at some point you two would visit me when I had the time so I made a room for you both. However, when Armin comes, Mikasa will move into a different room. I will be working hard to make it, so don’t worry.” She gave Mikasa’s head a teasing pat because the little girl was blushing lightly.

Then she watched the two kids walk to their respective beds. Eren took the right one and Mikasa laid in the left one. She kissed Mikasa’s forehead and whispered sweet words towards her. Then [Name] made her way to Eren’s side and gave him the same affection.

“That song was cliche, you know?” Eren told her directly and [Name] couldn’t help, but laugh at his statement. The boy climbed into the bed with the sheets going over his body.

“May have been cliche because it’s kind of a love song, Eren. You’ll understand when you get older, it was made for-” [Name] straightened out her back and hummed. “It was made for someone, I don’t know. A lot of the people ask me to write songs for their loved ones, friends, enemies. I don’t remember who asked me to sing Bitter Water.”

Eren gave her a skeptical look and said, “People get you to sing songs for them? That’s even more cliche.”

“Eren, weren’t you singing the song when we were walking home?” Mikasa interjected, her eyes directed at the ceiling.

The flustered boy sat up in his bed and pointed at Mikasa accusingly, “That’s because you were humming the melody! And it got stuck in my head!”

“It’s not bad to request a song, Eren, or to get it stuck in your head. I wrote a song based on our father’s feelings once and well, of course I gave the lyrics for my friend Kaiser to sing it. It comes better out of a man's mouth to convey a man’s feelings.” She laughed at Eren’s baffled expression and began to walk towards the door.

“When can we hear that song? I want to know!” Eren shouted and she only shook her head.

[Name] stopped at the door and turned around, “Eren, you let me know when you want to go back to the pub to listen to that song. I will get Kaiser to sing it, okay? But right now, let’s all rest. I’m so tired.”

Eren looked at her body then to her [e.color] eyes which usually had golden freckles, but they were so dull now. He nodded his head and she closed the door to their room leaving him with Mikasa. He laid down on the bed, his head resting onto the pillow. “Hey, Mikasa.” Eren called out to the girl, “did you see the look in [Name]’s eyes? I think something is wrong.”

Mikasa responded, turning her body towards him, “She blames herself for not saving your mother. She was accused by military officials of abandonment. She was put on trial and it all happened in two days. I think that in her eyes, everything is falling apart. Everything is wrong.”

The little girl’s eyes were getting heavier. Her body was exhausted emotionally and somewhat physically. Like her older sister figure, all Mikasa wanted to do was sleep. She barely got enough at the pub. Unlike Eren, she couldn’t exactly sleep with all that noise.

Also, Mikasa may have pretended to sleep as [Name] told Levi an important secret. This little girl was smart enough not to blab it out to other people though. She wouldn’t want [Name] to be in any danger.

Eren turned away from Mikasa’s attracting gaze and sighed. An image flashed of his mother being grabbed by the smiling titan and [Name] walking away with a tearful expression on her face. The way she clenched her hands and that gaze of sadness turned into a scornful one. Eren could feel her anger and it was passed on to him. He wanted to kill all titans.

“Yeah, you’re right. Everything is wrong.”

……

“Everything is wrong.”

[Name] told herself as she gripped her head in between her hands.

“Why did you tell him? He won’t help you, he can’t.” She groaned and smacked her forehead on her desk. She finally let the tears fall onto her lap as she cried for everything that had happened. “You’re alone in all of this.”

Sobs broke out as she used the sleeves of her jacket to wipe at them furiously. [Name] needed to come up with a new plan. Her father must have heard the news, he must have known that the Warriors have infiltrated Paradis. She had to think of a new plan because he was going to be gone soon.

She needed to-

Bap! Tap! Tap!

[Name] jumped up from her seat and looked out her window where the noise came from. She looked down to see a disheveled man in her small backyard. She squinted some more then she immediately ran out of her office. She swiftly made her way downstairs and passed the kids room to make way to the backyard door.

She opened it up and saw the man at her door with a fearful look in his eyes.

[Name] invited the man in, his titan scars beneath his eyes had her confused. She had so many questions, but he was the first to speak again. “Where are Carla, Eren and Mikasa?”

“Dad, you need to calm down. Eren and Mikasa are sleeping right now. I put them to bed 20 minutes ago.” She pointed over to the closed bedroom door where the children were indeed sleeping. Then she looked at the floor, “Carla was eaten by a titan during the fall.” She was definitely going to hold back what- no, who ate her. Her father was fragile and it looked like he just went through hell.

“I need to pass down the Attack Titan tonight. You need to hand over Eren,” Grisha demanded and [Name] was having none of it.

“Are you serious? You can’t do that to Eren. We agreed that I would inherit the Attack Titan.” She pushed Grisha away from the path to the door. His eyes were frantic and he shook his head, “You cannot inherit the Attack Titan anymore. You just can’t.”

He walked past her and she quickly grabbed his wrist to stop him. A flash of memories infiltrated her mind and she immediately let him go. She blinked a few times and shook her head, “You defeated the Founder, you ate the Founder? But why? How could you do that?”

Grisha looked at his only daughter and tears pricked his eyes, “He forced me. He forced me to kill all of The Reiss family and claim the Founder. I had no choice!” He whispered with a scared expression. “We don’t have time, [Name]. I need Eren to inherit the power. And I need you to watch over him. Can you do that?”

[Name] stared at her father dumbfounded before slowly nodding her head. “I understand, I just…I’m going to be all alone now. I was hoping to look to you for guidance, but now you’re-”

Grisha ran into her and hugged her body tightly. “I love you, [Name].” He told her. His hand holding the back of her head. “You have always been so strong and I’m sorry that I separated you from Zeke. I’m sorry we made you inherit the War Hammer Titan. I want to explain everything to you, but I do not have time. Will you please forgive me?”

He looked down at her, still holding onto her. The golden flecks in her [e.color] eyes flickered with the tears covering them. He watched her blink them away and she returned the hug back, “Of course, I forgive you. I’ll watch over him, I promise.”

The events that transpired went by in a blur. A sleeping Eren was carried out of her house by their father. Shadis accompanied Grisha into a carriage waiting outside and she waved them goodbye. She waited for two hours for Shadis to deliver Eren back to her. Then she laid the sleeping boy back into his bed.

[Name] didn’t sleep a wink. She couldn’t find a peace of mind to do so. When it was dawn, she dressed up in a white blouse, light beige pants and a white cardigan. Then she walked into the kitchen to prepare herself a cup of tea to wake her up. She sat by the kitchen sink looking out to her backyard watching the leaves of her apple tree sway in the gentle breeze.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

[Name] set her cup down and walked over to the front door being greeted by Hanji and surprisingly Levi. “Good morning, songbird! Where are the kiddos?” Hanji shouted and looked into the house, seeing it pretty empty.

[Name] pushed their head out the door and said, “They are still sleeping. Mikasa will wake up soon, although I think Eren will be out for a while.” Assuming that he wakes up groggily like she did when she inherited the War Hammer Titan.

“Levi, are you babysitting with Hanji too?” [Name] asked the soldier with one raised brow.

Levi rolled his eyes and bit back, “Since when do I babysit? I’m not here for them, I’m here for you.”

“Oh,” [Name] said and looked at Hanji who was grinning, “what is it?”

“Ah, he was so worried about you! We all know I don’t wake up early and he never sleeps, so he caught me sneaking out of the base asking me where I was going. I told him that I was helping you by watching over Eren and Miaksa while you looked for their friend! He wants to join you!”

[Name] shook her head and said, “I don’t need help with that. I only needed someone to watch over-”

“Just get in the carriage, [Name].” Levi ordered and walked towards the transportation means.

[Name] sighed defeatedly and opened the door wider for Hanji to come through. The mad scientist walked in and she had to ask her friend what happened between her and Levi. “So what was said when Erwin and I went to get more drinks?”

“Huh?” [Name] looked away from the polished floor to her unusually concerned friend.

Hanji shrugged her shoulders and said, “You and Levi, it’s pretty tense between you guys.”

“Oh…that,” [Name] hummed and waved her hand, “I may have confessed to Levi and well, he doesn’t feel the same way.”

“You what? He what?” Hanji loudly whispered and grabbed [Name] by the shoulders, “How did you confess? Why wouldn’t he accept your feelings? You’re like the prettiest scout and the strongest! Everyone loves you! You can sing, play the piano, you’re fun!”

[Name]’s expression changed into a bittersweet one and said, “Sometimes the truth is hard to handle. I don’t think Levi can handle my…charm.” [Name] put that lightly. Turning into a titan wasn’t a charming trait. Now she knows that for future references.

“Pah! Whatever! You know, Kaiser is still single and-”

“I don’t have all day,” Levi’s voice came from the open front door, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes set into a glare of annoyance.

Hanji let go of [Name] and pretended like they weren’t talking behind his back.

“Please take care of them, Hanji. They are all I have left,” [Name] said sadly.

Hanji noticed her look and the woman pointed at her and Levi, “You have us too, okay? No matter what.”

No matter what…[Name] internally scoffed at Hanji’s kind statement. If only that were true. She thought Levi would be on her side. But he proved her wrong by saying he kills titans. ”Right,” [Name] nodded her head at Hanji to give her friend a peace of mind.

She knows this ride with Levi was going to be a very awkward one. And he didn’t care for atmospheres like it. He was a blunt and honest man. Something she had no problem with until now.

>>>>>>>

Little notes: - Drunk [Name] recognizes that she screwed up telling the truth about her ability. - [Name] fears that Levi will betray her now. - Levi did not mean to tell [Name] that he would kill her. That was bad on his part. - Yes, this story will have moments of "what the hell did I just read?". - Lowkey didn't want [Name] to confess, then I remembered how Reiner straight up told Eren the truth on the wall. And yeah, I want that honesty lmao - Yes, Levi will be OOC, I'm sorry for that. He's very difficult to write for. - Bitter Water is a song by The Oh Hellos. I do not take credit for that. - Also the song for Grisha is inspired by Just a Man by the EPIC Troy Saga - Y'all notice the lyrics Eren sang while walking home? That hurt my soul. - Yes, Mikasa knows [Name] is a titan shifter, but she's no snitch. > Thank you for the likes and reblogs!

#x reader #anime imagine #manga imagine #x female reader #levi ackerman x reader #levi ackerman imagine #levi ackerman #hanji zoe #eren yeager #mikasa ackerman

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