#i think maybe more of a horror/terror would have worked

[clonehub]

Finished into the dark! Unfortunately I didn't really like it. The characters themselves were more interesting than the plot, which I felt like wasn't utilized to its full potential. An abandoned space station with idols that are literally a lock and key on a super deep dark side of the Force that the Jedi accidentally release could have been more. Idk. Suspenseful? Scary? But the Drengir are just Plant People who can't really die.

#ch posts #i think maybe more of a horror/terror would have worked #i took me a while to resd this for various reasons #so maybe im not remembering quite correctly #but im not sure the Jedi themselves really felt that scared of the Drengir? #they faced it with the same resolve that they have lesser problems in other media #despite constantly interacting with something very deep in the dark side of the Force #also orla got her leg hurt but was still jumping around iirc

[thewriterwithnoplan]

Ferrari's Fairytale (1/3)

Summary: World Championships are the most important part of any Formula One team's history. Except perhaps, Ferrari's. Known for their rabid fans, filthy-rich investors, and pretty boy drivers it shouldn't be a surprise that the team has brought together Soulmates from across the globe. And fate, it seems, is working awfully hard to put all the pieces into place for Ferrari's perfect fairytale - one that's been in the works for decades now.

[Part 1 of Pretty Girls and Ferrari Boys]

Soulmate AU: Soulmates share injuries and pain.

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x Reader (Eventual)

Word Count: 1650

Warnings: Swearing, no Charles in this first part sorry it's his epic love story and those take time ;)

Masterlist

There was something wrong with your soulmate.

Really there had been something wrong with them since you were eight years old. But right now, there was something particularly wrong with them.

“Just some bruising over the ribcage, but no actual damage internally.” The medic presses a latex covered hand gently against your ribs.

“They feel broken.” You suck in a pained breath and glare over her shoulder, at the little framed picture of her cat, Terror, on her desk. “You’re sure I’m not about to sneeze and puncture a lung?”

“Funny.” Though the look she gives you as she pulls off her gloves is less than amused. “Which one of us went to medical school again?”

“My best friend. You might know her. She’s stunning, generous, gives me free check-ups, did I say stunning? Goes by Sunny.”

“It’s Doctor Sunny to you.” She slingshots one of the gloves at you. “But it’s good to know you only keep me around for the free check-ups.”

“My soulmate would bankrupt me without you.”

Sunny taps at her computer, “The fee isn’t that high.”

“Sure,” You shrug. “If you aren’t in here every other week.”

“Have we ruled out hitman as their profession?”

“Since we were eight?”

“I don’t know much about hitmen, maybe they start them young.”

You lower yourself carefully from the observation table and move stiffly toward her desk. “Give it to me straight Doc. How much longer have I got?”

“I’m afraid you’ll live, ma’am.” Sunny doesn’t even look up. “A tragedy for all, I know. I can give you a moment if you need time to process– Ow! Bitch.”

She rubs at her shoulder and huffs.

“I’m going to have to log that in the database, you know.” She says.

“Good, maybe we can both find our soulmates and be done with it all.”

“Real romantic, dude.”

“Your soulmate hasn’t been terrorising you since you were a kid.”

“I had my fair share of scraped knees,” Sunny wrinkles her nose when you stick your tongue out. “You do know it won’t stop after the two of you meet, right? That’s a schoolyard myth.”

“After the talking to I’m going to give him, you bet your perky ass it’s going to stop.”

“That’s the second instance of workplace harassment I’ve coped from you in the last minute.”

“Fine. Your ass is not perky.”

“Mature.” She hums, “What time did you say the pain started?”

“Ten-thirty-ish?”

“All good then.” Sunny makes a few more clicks before powering down her computer. “Your chest and my arm, all nice and logged.”

“You know, sometimes I think you became a Match Medic specifically so you could put every little thing into the database to make it easier to find your soulmate.”

“Perks of the job.” She scoops up her handbag. “Come on, let’s bounce before the front desk starts scheduling over my lunch break.”

“You remember how I said you were stunning and generous and stunning?”

“I’m not buying you lunch.”

“Could this week get any worse?” You throw your head back dramatically.

Sunny cracks a smile at your antics, “Only a few more hours and we’re free for the weekend.”

“Are we still on for pamper-night tonight?”

“Always. Mine or yours?”

You end up spending the night in Sunny’s apartment, covered in different rejuvenating oils and masks until you look like low-budget horror movie villains. In your fluffy robes with The Princess Bride on in the background Sunny tries to teach you how to make Hainanese Chicken the way her mother did. Terror cries at your feet when you tell him he can’t have raw chicken. Sunny pops a bottle of cheap champagne that makes you both grimace and promise one another that you would find an excuse to get a nicer bottle soon. You take turns washing the excess from the face, foot, and hair masks off. Then curl up together on the couch, sipping broth, digging into rice and slathering chicken in Sunny’s family’s super-secret chilli sauce. You both fall asleep at a very respectable eleven o’clock.

So, it’s fucking strange when you wake up feeling like you had spent the night inside a paint mixer.

“Are you okay?” Sunny frowns as she stands over a pan of eggs. “You look ill.”

You squint over your coffee cup, “Soulmate is playing up.”

She plates the eggs next to a small stack of bacon before turning to put a hand to your forehead. “They shouldn’t be making you feel sick, illness doesn’t transfer like that. Are you sure it’s coming from them? Could you just be hung over?”

“It’s definitely him, third weekend in a row, like clockwork.” You take your plate gratefully, “It’s like I always tell you. It’s not nausea. It’s more like…”

“Impossible to explain for you and every medical practitioner you’ve ever seen?”

You groan, “It’s like my brain spent the night trying to escape my skull and the muscles in my neck were in on it.”

“It’s not unheard of for soulmates to feel the repercussions of an intense work out. There was this study from four years ago on high performance athletes and their partners that–”

You groan again, “Oh god and now there’s a nerd in my ear!”  

She tosses a gelatinous bit of egg onto your plate. It lands with a splat that makes you fake gag. “Oh, grow up.”

“You should be nice to me,” You lament, “I’m wounded!”

“Your soulmate is wounded.”

“And I’m sure their best friend is taking very good care of them!”

She pulls a face at you but still takes your plate to the dishwasher for you. As she’s rinsing them, she asks, “What’s on for the rest of your weekend?”

“I got a call from my parents on Thursday and guess what?” You sipped at the cold dregs of your coffee, “The dentist finally figured out which one of them the toothache is coming from!”

“That’s great,” Sunny’s smile was genuine. “They’re going in to get it fixed?”

“Tomorrow morning, both going under local anaesthesia.”

You hip checked her lightly out of the way to rinse both your cups. “You want another coffee?”

Sunny propped herself up on the counter, “My caffeine addiction is rubbing off on you I fear.”

“Listen, we have to get through the day somehow.” You coaxed the machine back to life before leaning against the counter to look at Sunny. “Anyway, my parents were supposed to go to this race tomorrow. Dad is particularly devastated and has practically ordered me to represent the family ‘at our home race.’ It’s been tradition for him and mum since they got married. It’s kind of a big deal for him. The man is obsessive.”

“My parents had something similar to say about our family legacy and studying medicine.”

“Speaking of… You remember all the times I sat up with you studying, or brought you food when you forgot to eat, or ran errands for you, or made sure you took breaks, or–”

“Fine, I get it, I’ll go to the stupid race.”

“Oh, how kind of you to offer.” You passed her one of the cups. “It won’t be that bad. Motorsports are supposed to be fun live, right?”

Sunny snorted, “Thank God. Motorsports? I thought you meant like a horse race or a marathon. I was getting war-flashbacks to track-and-field.”

You put a hand to your heart, “You were willing to relive cross country for me?”

“I was willing to ogle fit, sweaty men for you, definitely.”

“Alright, first of all – fuck you. But also same,” You clinked mugs and nodded solemnly at one another, “Maybe we can find some fit, sweaty drivers to ogle instead.”

Sunny hummed, “What do I wear? Is it like sprint cars or more like V8s – ooh is it an illegal drag race?”

“Girl, no.” You swatted at her thigh, “It’s Formula 1, which is perfectly legal and safe and much faster than any of those options.”

“Alright, Miss Daddy’s-Girl, go off.”

“Shut up, I’ve had to hear him go on and on about it my whole life.” You pulled a face at your coffee. “The man has had a hard-on for Ferrari since before he met my mother, and then he met her in the Ferrari hospitality at an F1 race, and he’s fucking worshipped them ever since.”

“Oh my god, why am I only just hearing about this?” She grabbed your face, squishing your cheeks and cooing. “You’re a little Ferrari baby.”

You blew a rather unladylike raspberry at her and knocked her hand away, “Because it’s embarrassing! Dad was only there because he and his friend won tickets. So, when Ferrari marketing caught wind that soulmates had met in their pavilion, they practically fell over themselves.”

“Holy shit!” Sunny practically howled in delight, “Is that where all those baby pictures of you in little Ferrari onesies came from?”

“Ferrari’s own little fairytale, Mr-won-his-way-in and Miss-heir-to-a-real-estate-monopoly. It's like Romeo and Juliet; if Romeo and Juliet survived, had a kid and decided to make it the poster child of their love story.”

“Don’t sound so disgusted, that’s cute as fuck.” Sunny snatches up your empty cup and stacks it next to hers in the dishwasher.

You frown, “Not everything has to be a love story.”

“I don’t know, girl, I’m pretty sure you just asked me to play out your parents first meeting with you tomorrow.” She winks at you over her shoulder as she heads toward her room.

“Oh, fuck off, Sunny.”

“I think this calls for new outfits!” She emerges from her room, towel over one shoulder. “What was your Mum wearing when she met your dad?”

“We are not reenacting my parents meet-cute.”

“Who knows, maybe you’ll have your own meet-cute with a certain pain-prone soulmate, hm?” In the moment it takes you to reorientate yourself after her comment, she’s breezing past you with a bright, “I’m having first shower!”

You squark in indignation. Like hell, you’ll let either of those things happen to you this weekend.

(Part 2 : Ferrari's Prince - 03.05.24)

#charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc #f1 fanfic #f1 x reader #formula 1 imagine #formula 1 #formula one #f1 #formula 1 x reader #formula one fanfiction

[unbidden-yidden]

You know when this all started coming to light, I fully expected that leftists would try to downplay the horrific violence by acknowledging that it was "bad and our hearts go out to the victims and their families, but......" or by making a sharp distinction between civilians and soldiers (or even like, minors and adults), but the thing that's fucked me up is that nope! We sailed right past any attempt to even pretend at human decency and cut straight to "they deserved it."

Even the kids?? Yep, even the kids.

Like Jesus H. Christ y'all.

I'm used to people feeling like they need to at least gesture vaguely in the direction of giving a shit about Jewish lives and not justifying actual terror tactics and war crimes on civilians (you'd think for consistency's sake they might care about looking like they care for the credibility but..) even if we both know they really don't actually care about antisemitism in a meaningful way. We both know that they won't be there when it actually counts, and they sure as fuck aren't going to interrogate their own personal or group's antisemitism. But usually there's a fig leaf. There's at least a baseline assumption that they should care about antisemitism and Jewish people staying alive, even if they don't actually, so they'll say the minimum amount of correct sounding words and then quickly skedaddle onto whatever it is they actually care about.

And like, is that good? No, it's not. It's not good enough. I'm sick and fucking tired of people doing juuuuuust enough to pretend to care without ever addressing the real underlying issues.

But this? This totally floored me. This drops that baseline assumption that antisemitism and murdered Jews is a bad thing entirely and blatantly sides with literal actual terrorists committing unspeakable horrors while holding it up as "liberation."

And what's worse? Most of those were the further out fringe types (although there were a horrifying amount more than I expected) right? Most everyone else wasn't spouting off about how happy they were that vive la révolucion, right? You know what was really deafening?

The silence from everyone else.

Literally everyone except for maybe one or two gentiles I remember seeing kept their mouths shut. Everyone else? Not a goddamn word about how fucked up it was that people were crowing over our people's fresh corpses. The bodies hadn't even cooled yet and we had jackasses on here publicly celebrating with memes and gore videos, and not a word from 99.9% of you.

The people who did speak up? You have no idea how much it means, and I'm grateful. Truly.

Everyone else who was too gutless, spineless, or oblivious to realize how critical a moment this was for support and/or was more interested in protecting your image or whatever?

Let's just say: duly noted.

I may continue to work alongside you (what choice do I have?) but the trust is gone.

We're clearly on our own, with rare exception.

(This is a vent post I will not be adding any caveats to it and I will be blocking anyone who tries to be an asshole. I will lock reblogs if there's any discourse. Our lives are not up for debate you sick fucks.)

#gearing up for the ''k*ke kys'' asks in my inbox #but like #I already got some wild shit when posting my actual measured and serious posts instead of just venting #so idgaf #do your worst so I can report it and be done lmao

[d0youc0py]

Can I you do the 141+Konig (or whoever you’d like) realizing that reader feels safe with them?

Love your work!!!!

To outside eyes it was something so simple- but to him it was the highest form of a compliment.

The group was sprawled out all over the living room preparing for the weekly movie night and somewhere between Gaz and Soap arguing who’s turn it was to pick the movie- you had fallen asleep.

Not just that- you had fallen asleep on him. His arm had been draped over the back of the couch and when you could no longer fight back sleep, his side was the perfect pillow. He knew you probably didn’t mean too, but just the fact your bodies natural instinct was to fall in his direction was enough to send a warm buzz through his body.

Sleep had always been a touchy subject for Ghost and Simon. He was lucky if he slept more than four hours a night. Being a light sleeper and falling victim of night terrors made nighttime his least favorite time. He disliked the vulnerability of it.

So the fact that you trusted him in your most vulnerable state was rather precious.

And a mission he wouldn’t take lightly.

Your skin had been crawling for the last fifteen minutes. You’d hope that by ignoring his unspoken advancements he would take a hint, but you were wrong. You peaked at him from the corner of your eyes. He wasn’t unattractive. He had nice features- chiseled but still approachable. Yet something about him just twisted your stomach. Maybe it was the way his eyes were glued to your ass.

Could you handle it yourself- absolutely. Did you feel like having to prove yourself in a bar full of people that you could take care of it yourself- not really. Especially not when you had a Big Bad Captain who could handle it with just a glare. You quickly excused yourself from the rest of the 141, heading over to where Captain Price and Laswell were gossiping.

“Sorry if this is confidential, but a guy over there is giving me the creeps.” You explained.

“The one in the blue jacket?” Price smirked. You went wide eyed and nodded your head wondering how he knew. “Been eyeing you since we walked in. I’ve been keeping an eye on him.” He held out his arm for you and you quickly linked arms with him. The simple action was enough to cause the man to sneer and grumble something to himself. You shot Price a smile and he shot you back a wink.

“That’s why I come to you when I’m scared.” You complimented. You didn’t know it but that comment was the ego boost of a lifetime for him.

Your vision was starting to turn foggy. Buildings became less sharp, people became blurry figures and the ground was looking mighty comfortable. You hands gripped your abdomen the other pressed against the wall.

Your eyes scanned the area, hoping to come across a familiar mohawk. You thought the best route would be to follow the sound of explosions, but that was just bringing you closer to the action.

“Y/N?!” Johnny boomed from behind you. You sighed in relief your back hitting the wall. He caught you before you could sink down completely. “Steamin Jesus.” He grumbled. He worked quick, tearing off a piece of his sleeve and holding it tightly against you wound. He called for an evac. “Why didn’t you call for help?” He scolded. You rested your forehead against his.

“I wanted you.” You mumbled. His hardened face softened- a smile almost ghosting his features. You were sure if you weren’t bleeding out he would’ve made some snarky comment, but neither of you had the energy.

“I’ve got you.” He whispered, letting you rest against him.

You don’t know why you agreed to this. Well technically you all voted and you lost but you probably could’ve put up a bigger fight. You hated horror movies. You’d think they wouldn’t bother you given your line of work but you were wrong. You had your sweater pulled up to your forehead trying to block out the urge to take a peak at the TV.

You eventually caved and peaked just in time for a jump scare. You heard a stifled chuckle come from the couch across from you. Kyle was biting back a smile, mouthing a ‘you good.’ You nodded feeling determined to not let the movie get the best of you. That plan was sort lived as a scene so brutal even Ghost had to look away, crossed the screen.

“Don’t be babies!” Soap yelled. You had had enough. While the others were engrossed in the movie you quietly crept over to Kyle’s side of the couch.

“Can I sit with you?” You mumbled. He quickly nodded his head expecting you to sit near him- not press yourself against his side. He chuckled softly, removing his arm from the back of the couch resting it around you.

“You know, performing an exorcism has always been on my bucket list. You’d be in good hands.” He’s always so cheeky.

“Not nice.” You grumbled, sending him a glare. He put his feet up on the coffee table and relaxed against the couch. The calmness in his body started to spread to yours, and pretty soon you had fallen asleep. He was absolutely going to tease you about this later- but for now he was enjoying the prideful bubble in his chest. You had chosen him.

Price tried to take a picture of you two but his flash went off causing everyone to scream.

“Colonel.” You hummed, knocking at the door. His eyes shot it away from his IPad trying to adjust to the darkness of the room.

“What’s wrong?” He questioned, beginning to stand up. You shook your hands.

“Nothing.” You lied. You had a nightmare. One so bad your body was still trembling.

“It’s three in the morning. What’s wrong?” He pressed. He stood up, cracking his back. His eyes had finally adjusted enough to see your tear stained face and shaking shoulders. Suddenly he realized. He had woken up enough times like that himself. He walked around his desk and grabbed a spare blanket from underneath the couch. “Come here.”

You did as you were told, smiling softly as he wrapped the fluffy blanket around your body. “You can sleep in here. I have to pull an all-nighter anyways.” He grumbled that last part to himself.

“I won’t bother you?”

“No.” He assured, grabbing a pillow from under the couch. “You’re not the only one who could benefit from some company right now.” You could hear the smile in his voice. You snuggled into the couch and he trudged back over to his desk.

“Thanks Konig.” You mumbled before you finally fell back asleep. He took a moment to stare at your sleeping form. There had been many times he wished someone was there for him in moments of weakness. He was honored you had chosen him to be that person for you.

Thank you for your kind words!

#d0youc0py #doyoucopy #cod #cod men #cod mw2 #cod mwf2 #cod x reader #fluff #sfw #simon ghost riley #simon riley #ghost x reader #soap mctavish #soap x reader #johnny soap mactavish #captain price #captain john price #captain price x reader #gaz call of duty #gaz x reader #kyle gaz garrick #Konig #konig x y/n #Konig x reader #Konig cod #gender neutral

[mossbone]

The recent Dracula Daily updates are interesting to me. This book is infamous for being about the vampiric Horrors, as defined by their sexual immorality and hedonism; unlike our Heroes who are proper and British and christian. And yet...here we see the horrors being compounded and enabled by the rigid social structures emphasizing morality. And for all Bram Stoker's biases, I think that was intentional.

Firstly, the horror is compounded by the Need for Propriety. Lucy is sleepwalking, in nothing but her nightgown! How awful! So awful it is unthinkable as an option to Mina until she sees undeniable proof Lucy left the house. When that is proven true, "ever growing fear chilling my heart" Mina feels turns to "a vague, overmastering fear obscured all details." She then runs through the streets and finally turns to the cliffs, not fearing like Lucy's mother, to see her in danger of falling of the cliffs, but simply fearing to see her safe in their favorite seat—exposed to all the town.

She in fact sees in shadowy detail, an unidentified man leaning over Lucy. Yet..the whole update is strewn with Mina's massive and unfortunately justified fear for her friend's reputation, maybe more than her safety. Did someone take advantage of Lucy, enact some violence or violation of her while she was sleepwalking? Irrelevant, compared to the question: will anyone see them and assume they were up to some promiscuity? After all, she can't help but be "thinking how the story would become distorted—nay, infallibly would—in case it should leak out." There is the psychological horror on top of the nights events, which were traumatic enough.

An indictment of the present state of late Victorian values and their strict judgments already. But then. The consequence of our young heroines being unable to share their story is that Dracula continues to work unnoticed. He will get more victims, he will continue to grow in power and terrorize Lucy and whomever else he wants. Just like Jonathan being trapped in an increasingly abusive work contract because he feels he must stay to the strict matters of politeness [an imbalance of power that work relationships had then and continue to fucking have], here Lucy and Mina are trapped in very clear physical danger because they cannot share the predator hunting them without surely being accused of being a liar and a whore.

Of course, the loved ones of our protagonists are not of that malicious nature at all. If only they could talk to each other freely, Jonathan and Arthur and Lucy's other suitors would obviously not blame her. And Mina, or likely anyone, would help Jonathan recognize the red flags as what they were. But such close communication is impossible given the heavy expectations of the day.

Social standards were very bad and restrictive in 1897, and I think Bram Stoker consistently criticizes how they are with his novel, even while it serves as a cautionary tale against immorality. The solution to sexual abuse and immorality, in his words, is not punishing people for suffering from them or talking about them. I think he is saying this masterfully, as well, by allowing the audience to feel the visceral fear and helplessness through the perspective of the narrators so closely. Unlike many novels of the time which had people near the protagonist serve as cautionary tales and indictments of society, he forces the reader into those shoes through intimate first person narration.

Anyway. Good chapters, huh. Sadly still relevant.

#dracula daily #dracula spoilers #dracula #jonathan harker #mina murray #lucy westenra #dracula daily spoilers

[earthstellar]

Warlord Ratchet: A Fascinating Concept 

“And to think, the Doctor of Doom’s mad quest for power continues...! His marauders pursued us to this planet’s orbit.” 

What gets me about Megatron telling Orion Pax that the current dilapidated condition of Cybertron was brought about by the Warlord Ratchet, Doctor of Doom (aside from the concept in and of itself) is that he also states that Ratchet has a legion of marauders who carry out his bidding 

and because marauders are raiders, and Megatron states they were “pursued by marauders” to Earth, the implication is that Ratchet is not on Earth himself--

-- which is smart on Megatron’s behalf, because this would deter Orion from potentially attempting to leave in order to confront Ratchet and instils a concern that perhaps marauders may appear at any time (at this point, Orion Pax does not yet realise that he is armed and is operating under the belief that he is still an Archivist and therefore not Warrior Class) 

but also, this gives us the incredible mental image of Ratchet milling around in some kind of rusted fortress made from the remains of several different Cybertronian buildings, quite possibly the remnants of Iacon -- maybe even the central hospital there, converted into a hive of terror 

still living on an otherwise uninhabited planet, with a loyal band of raiding troops who scavenge the remains of their world and possibly other planets as well (as we know these marauders supposedly have space capable vessels), quite possibly doing so in order to source spare parts and other various salvage -- Ratchet is a medic, who knows how he’s been having to piece together his army, repairing them from the remains of random citizens? 

and he supposedly, presumably either from his makeshift base in the shadows of Cybertron or from a war ship of some kind, commanded an army of raiders to chase Megatron and his followers as far away as Earth 

“I cannot imagine Ratchet capable of such horrors!” 

I can only guess at what Orion Pax was thinking in this moment, aside from his immediately stated disbelief: What drove Ratchet to such lengths? What happened to turn his compassionate, caring friend into a warlord capable of carrying out inconceivable destruction? How could such a thing occur, especially at the hands of a respected medic, someone he thought he knew so well? 

Would Orion Pax start to blame himself, for what was clearly the brutal decline of one of his greatest friends? I can imagine him starting to wonder if there was anything he could do, any signs of discontent, any indication that Ratchet was headed down a violent, dark path. 

And I’m sure he would be concerned about Ratchet himself, as well. How is Ratchet faring, nearly entirely alone on their planet save for his loyal bandits, as aged and worn as he ever has been, possibly accepting a lonely inevitable death on an already dead world? 

Or does Warlord Ratchet have yet more plans in store, his instruments of destruction poised to afflict themselves upon other worlds as well? 

The Doctor of Doom: How Could This Happen? 

It’s somewhat easy to dismiss the idea of Ratchet being this “Doctor of Doom”, because it so wildly opposes what we know of the character and what we know actually occurred with the war. 

But when you think about it for a little bit, an unhinged Ratchet would very much be a formidable opponent, especially with his social position in pre-war Cybertron giving him more immediate access to higher class/caste areas than many others would have been able to reach... 

...Perhaps this Warlord Ratchet was able to work his way into the Council’s good graces, possibly after attending to one of them after an injury and restoring them to health, gradually manipulating the Senate from the inside in order to secure more power, resources, allies, and ultimately the whole of Cybertron for himself-- Leading to a violent conflict which resulted in the destruction of their world? 

With his medical knowledge, even if he started out with a fairly small number of followers and whatever troops he could finesse away from the Council, he may very well have “built” some himself-- We do see in TFP that protoforms may be possible to manipulate into certain frame types, or some types of “cloning” may be possible. 

Any version of Ratchet without morals (or at the very least without any medical ethics) is a very dangerous Ratchet. 

Repairing the injured via patching them together with the remains of fallen comrades, creating a “zombie” army. Ghoulish, lumbering soldiers, marauders held together with armour designed for other frame types. Instructing his former colleagues (who would likely have at least started out with some inclination to follow him) to carry out “repairs” in such a way. 

Warlord Ratchet himself may have chosen to ingest dark energon much like Megatron actually did, perhaps out of a desire to create a new fuel source once Cybertron began to go dark and natural fuel sources began to dwindle. We already know that our actual Ratchet wasn’t afraid to test synthetic energon on himself, with similar motivations. 

His base of operations would quite possibly be Iacon’s medical centre, turned into a horrific hive-like structure, some wards actively still in use for repairs (at least for his own followers) and other areas dedicated to terrifying research, with supply basements full of experimental tech and defensive weaponry. 

Ratchet’s more support class (as opposed to warrior class) approach to things may well carry over to Warlord Ratchet’s approach to war-- An emphasis on intelligence ops, R&D, indirect and direct manipulation, initial political manoeuvring from within the existing system, and defensive systems to counter any munitions etc. that may come his way from opposing forces. 

His initial goals may well have genuinely been intended to improve Cybertron, to help people. Much like Megatron, back when he was Megatronus and wanted a more egalitarian, fair society. 

After working on lower class/caste bots who were nearly offlined from a lack of maintenance, poor to no access to healthcare prior to being dragged to him, etc. it may have been the catalyst for his decision to start using his upper class social contacts in an effort to change things from the inside out. 

Unfortunately, in this universe in which Warlord Ratchet rose to power, things may have derailed just as severely as they did with Megatronus and his initially well-intentioned efforts. 

The longer you think about it, the more plausible it could be. 

It would be easy for Megatron to build further upon this idea to manipulate Orion Pax, that Ratchet truly could have done this. 

I’m sure Orion Pax did not recharge well, his first night on the Nemesis. 

Where did things go wrong? What happened to his friend? How could he do this to their world, a world that Ratchet loved so much? 

--

IDK I just think “Warlord Ratchet” is an incredible idea, and I would have been totally fine if they did a whole season of TFP with the Orion Pax concept lmao 

also holy shit Ratchet in a built up fortress of a former hospital with a band of marauders under his command is such a powerful mental image 

[Screenshot: TFP Episode - Orion Pax, Part One] 

#tfp #transformers prime #megatronus #megatron #tfp megatron #tfp orion pax #orion pax #tf ratchet #tfp ratchet #maccadam #maccadams #warlord ratchet #me thinkin out loud again #long post

[coryothesub]

I need a Coryo smut where the reader finds him smelling her panties while masturbating.

Take example from this lovely anon and send more asks because interaction gives me dopamine

I took the liberty of making this a peacekeeper Coryo thing, because that sounds just like something a peacekeeper Coryo would do.

nsfw / mdni / pk!sub!coryo / district!dom!reader

You returned home after a long day of hard work and to your great dismay your front door was open.

Had you forgotten to lock it or someone had broken into your house to look for food or your non-existent valuables? Or maybe those were the goddamn peacekeepers again? In District 12 you just never knew.

You grabbed a knife from the kitchen and started inspecting your shack not sure whether the possible intruder was still there. 

Then you were caught off guard by soft moans and whimpers coming from the bedroom. You actually thought you recognized this voice from before.

You put the knife down and peeked through the crack in the door just to discover that your suspicions were right. It was Private Coriolanus Snow laying in your small bed, resting his back against the pillows. 

He was fully dressed except for his cock outside his uniform pants, his hand wrapped around it as he was pumping it at a rapid pace. You bit your lip realizing he was a well-endowed young man, well above the average. 

He didn't notice you as his eyes were closed and his face was buried in your panties that you had forgotten to throw in the laundry basket after changing before work.

He let out a series of sweet moans as he breathed in your scent coming from the tiny piece of fabric and his cock jerked in his hand. Such a naughty little pervert.

The sight of the handsome uniformed man pleasuring himself was undeniably arousing. You didn’t even notice at which moment you brought your hand down to your most heated area and let it dive under the waistband of your panties. You felt a pool of treacherous wetness on the tips of your fingers as soon as you reached your clit. Your mind wasn't sure how you felt about this but your body was ready to go with it.

You bit your lip to avoid moaning in unison with the indecent young man occupying your bed.

He groaned deeply, sinking his nose deeper into the white fabric of your panties. It felt like he was about to cum soon and that certainly wasn’t something to be allowed. You walked into the room and cleared your throat loudly.

Coryo sat up quickly tossing away your underwear and trying to cover his exposed manhood with your pillow. His eyes widened in terror and his already flushed cheeks tinted red as you walked over to the bed and your eyes met his with a furious look.

“Private Snow, what the hell are you doing here?” you spoke to him in a stern voice before ripping the pillow away from him and uncovering his painfully hard cock.

“I-I was just sent out on patrol a-and…” he tried to think of an excuse but no sensible words were coming out of his mouth.

“Maybe I should take you to your commander and inquire about the details of this weird little mission if yours. Pretty sure it didn't include patrolling in my bed with your dick out and your face buried in my panties, huh?”

Coryo looked at you in horror, wide-eyed and gaping. He felt his eyes welling up with tears of shame just at the thought of his higher ups finding out. There was no other option but to beg pathetically.

“Please,” he spoke with clenched teeth trying to prevent those pathetic tears from running down his face.

“Please what?” your tone grew even harsher as you felt your cunt getting impossibly wet from him being absolutely helpless at your mercy.

“Please don't go to my commander!” Coryo pleaded, his voice teary and frightened.

“You will have to behave then.” 

“Yes, I will do anything, I swear!” he quickly stood on his knees, grabbing at the hem of your dress.

“Okay then,” you sounded just a bit more admissive. “You’ll have to obey everything I say. One wrong move and all your peacekeeper friends will find out what a filthy little pervert you are.”

Coryo nodded quickly.

“Lay back!”

The blonde boy assumed his previous position, resting his upper body against the pillows.

You pulled down your panties and waved them in front of his face mockingly before tossing them aside and crawling into the bed across from him. After finding a more comfortable position you parted your legs causing Coryo to let out a soft gasp at the sight of your pretty pussy.

You started rubbing yourself lazily and noticed his hand reaching for his stiffened member.

“Nuh-uh!” you shook your head in disapproval. “Naughty little perverts like you don't get to touch themselves.”

Coryo put his hand away quickly. It took a whole lot of focusing to control himself while you were playing with your cunt so deliciously. 

“Feels so good,” you moaned softly and threw your head back as you felt the warm feeling of pleasure washing over your body.

Coryo flared his nostrils watching you with the most pleading look you had ever seen. His cock was literally aching for touch and he needed you so badly.

You watched his despair with a shit eating grin and released yourself from the rest of your clothes making his situation even more unbearable.

You crawled over to him and straddled his hips, your pussy lingering just above his aching member.

“Here, have a taste!” you pushed your fingers between his lips and he started sucking around them hungrily trying to savor every last drop of your juices.

“So hungry…” you teased before pulling your fingers out of his mouth and grabbing his throbbing cock causing him to let out a soft whimper.

He quickly realized the torture wasn't nearly over when you pressed the tip of his dick to your puffy folds and started rubbing against it feeling his velvety skin brushing against your sensitive spot.

Coryo's breath hitched, feeling the long awaited friction. He needed to be inside you so badly.

“Please,” he begged, voice whiny and broken. He looked so adorably pathetic. “Please, I need you, just let me…” 

“Oh look at you, peacekeeper boy,” you kept teasing, rubbing his tip against your clit. “Such a slut for me. So damn pathetic.”

You felt Coryo's dick twitch in your hand just as you said those words.

“Please,” he mouthed, completely dazed from your relentless teasing. “Can you say that again? That word…”

“Oh,” you felt slightly surprised. “You love it don't you, slut boy!”

Coryo's eyes fluttered as he let out a sigh of contentment. As pathetic as it sounded, being called a slut by a district girl while he was still dressed in his full peacekeeper uniform felt strangely arousing.

“Slut!” you repeated, slapping his cheek just as you dove down on his cock, burying it in your dripping wet count.

Coryo's brain shut down completely and he let out a desperate groan. He’d almost thought this would never happen.

You wrapped your hand around his neck feeling his pulse wild and restless under your touch  as you started riding his cock.

“Oh, fuck, Coriolanus!” you moaned out his name feeling his massive dick stretching out your tight walls. Edging him had made you quite desperate for your own release and you knew for sure that none of you would last much longer.

“P-please! Keep going…” Coryo begged unthinkingly although you had no intention of stopping.

You leaned closer to him as your pussy was still bouncing up and down his shaft and locked your lips with his. The boy tried to meet your kiss hungrily but the pressure of your hand against his throat made him gasp for air. 

You kept lingering above his lovely pink lips enjoying his absolute helplessness under your firm grip. His adorable gasps and whimpers combined with his wonderful cock hitting against your sweet spot brought you over the edge and you climaxed, cumming all over his rock hard member.

You kept riding Coryo through your orgasm feeling his breath speeding up under your fingers. His pale blue eyes widened and his cock twitched against your walls just before bucking his hips up and releasing his load deep inside your tight pussy.

You climbed off him and sank in the sheets powerlessly.

“S-so… Is this gonna stay a secret? You know, between me and you?” Coryo asked anxiously post orgasm shakiness still present in his voice as he was zipping up his uniform pants.

“I'm gonna let you off with a warning this time. You're truly lucky that your dick is so good.”

“Thank you!” the boy blushed, secretly basking in your little praise.

You picked up your panties from the floor and put them in his hand.

“Here have these! Maybe having a pair with you will finally make you stop breaking into my house.”

#thank you for the ask and thank you for your patience i've been a bit busy but i sacrificed a few hours of sleep to write this #just got carried away by the idea #coriolanus snow #young coriolanus snow #peacekeeper coriolanus snow #coriolanus snow x reader #coriolanus snow x you #coriolanus x reader #coriolanus x you #thg #the hunger games #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #tbosas #thg tbosas #oneshot #cts ask

[mushroommanstan]

Shigaraki was hit with an aphrodisiac quirk and you help him out

Tw: Blackmail, noncon

You rubbed where your ass hit the hard dust covered floor, wincing in pain. Why kurogiri couldn’t have warped you onto the mattress a few feet away you’ll never know.

Oh wait, you will and do know. Because one quick glance showed you that it was currently occupied by a blood covered Shigaraki, groaning in pain with his back turned to you.

You needed a second to process where you were, having fell through a roof portal only seconds ago unexpectedly, but once you got a good look of your surroundings you were met with a wave of terror.

This is your boss’s room. He never lets anyone into his room. Never. And there he was, in the bed only like a foot away! In a moment he could see you and kill you for trespassing! Why would Kurogiri warp you here? Was he trying to get you killed?

You staggered onto your feet, ready to make a break for the door, but as soon as you took one step a familiar dark fog rose to block your path. Shit, so now you were trapped. With him.

Kurogiri saw your heavy breathing as you began to succumb to a panic attack. You didn’t want to die. Not now. Not here. It’s not even your fault. You just got warped here at random.

In a frenzy you made scripts of pleas and apologies in your head for when Shigaraki will eventually wake up, your heart skipping a beat whenever he shifted uncomfortably.

“Miss y/n please calm down.” Kurogiri tried to reason. “I need you to be calm so you can help him.”

“Why the hell should I be calm?” You whisper yelled. “I mean I’ve barely met this guy and now I’m in his room and soon he’s gonna-…wait…did you say help?”

Kurogiri nodded, turning Shigaraki over so that he laid on his back, his chest rising and falling quickly as he panted. He groaned again, his head rolling onto his shoulder as his knees lifted off of the bed in stress.

“I’m sorry I warped you on such short notice, but this is an emergency that only you can resolve. I know you’re in shock but I need you to help before he takes a turn for the worst.”

You tried to wrap your head around this information, mind spinning from all the new feelings and responsibilities flooding your brain. He had barely given you enough time to think and now you had to help with some emergency.

You took deep breaths, steeling your nerves as much as you could before shakily replying. “Ok…ok…just-what do you need help with?”

Kurogiri took the blanket covering Shigarakis lower half and pulled it down to his knees. There, pressed against his zipper, was the largest erection you’ve ever seen in your life.

A scream got caught in your throat as you looked up and kurogiri in horror at what he was about to propose you do. Instead you let out a small squeak of terror as it twitched when he groaned once more.

Sure, Shigaraki was attractive. But you never thought of him this way. Never thought of doing this, to that, ever. So being maybe a foot away from his rock hard boner was really causing you quite a bit of stress.

He hand even told you what you needed to do but you already had your answer. “No. NO! Absolutely not.” You yelled, wanting to run to the bathroom to pour bleach in your eyes but being once again blocked by his devilish guardian angel.

“Miss y/n please calm down! I would not ask this of you in any other circumstance but this is an emergency, which, if not acted on soon, could be fatal. I’ll explain in detail what happened as soon as you begin pumping him.”

“P-pumping him?! You want me to-“ you couldn’t even finish your sentence. “No. I don’t care just let me out!!!”

Suddenly Kurogiris voice took on a sinister tone. One you’ve never heard before.

“Miss y/n. When you joined the league you made a verbal contract never to purposefully sabotage the league, Shigaraki, or any missions provided to you. Right now you are disobeying all three, and will leave me no choice but to terminate you if you do not reconsider.”

You gulped. “Fine, fire me. Like I’d rather work for a perverted freak.”

“You misunderstood.”

Misunderstood? You mulled his words over in your head before realizing just what he’ll be terminating. Oh.

“S-s-so if I don’t jerk him off… you’ll kill me?” You asked, meekly.

“Correct.”

The same scream once again lumped in your throat, and you gulped down the bile tickling your esophagus before reaching a shaking hand over.

Reluctantly, you smoothed your hand over his clothed package, applying just a whisper of pressure as you groped him lightly. He let out a soft moan, shifting a bit as you attempted to stroke him off through his pants.

“Skin to skin contact, y/n.”

Shit. Ok. Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.

You quickly pulled the zipper down and undressed his crotch unceremoniously, not wanting to idle. His erection sprung from his black jeans, slapping against the back of your hand and making you flinch away.

Just as the size of his tent implied, he was big. Hairy too. It reminded you of a big ol’ sausage standing upright atop a light blue hedgehog. It bounced a little when he twitched, visibly pulsing. Even in shock you were able to admire his length, being much prettier than you expected.

You held your breath, why you weren’t sure, before wrapping your fingers around it. It was surprisingly warm and slick, being coated in his pre which acted as a lube as you slowly glided your hand up and down his shaft. He moaned again, this time a little louder, and curled his fingers into a loose fist as you continued.

Every time you jerked him your hand bounced a little from his fluffy little landing pad. It was a little greasy, sure, but it was surprisingly soft, and the fuzzy feeling actually helped you forget the situation you were currently in, if not for a little while.

“A little faster please, y/n.”

The deep monotone voice of his brought you back. Oh, right. You fasted your pace, your hand now jerking him at an even pace, making his hips jump in surprise. He groaned once more, but did little else.

“So… why again am I doing this? You said it was… an emergency?”

He cleared his throat, staring off into the corner, obviously wanting to avoid having to look at his god-sons dick.

“Yes. You see, Shigaraki had already gained many deep wounds in battle, and has lost large quantities of blood. This was bad enough already, however, he had also been his with an aphrodisiac quirk with an unknown duration.

“This caused the majority of the remaining blood he has to travel to his… nether regions, instead of his head, causing him to fall unconscious. As you can see, he still hasn’t woken up, and it is suspected he still won’t until enough blood is returned to his-“

You unintentionally started to tune him out, more focused on the faces Shigaraki made whenever you squeezed gently at his tip, than his important monotone blabbering.

As grossed out as you were having to do this, you had to admit his mewls were becoming music to your ears. The way his blush covered his face in lustful red was transforming into a delicate piece of art before you. One you want to hide away from everyone else so you can have it all to yourself. It’s adorable. But, you know, you still wouldn’t be doing this if you had a choice. Obviously. Definitely.

Kurogiri noticed you stopped listening, his voice trailing off awkwardly as you both let the wet slaps of Shigarakis dick in your hand and his unconscious moans fill the room.

Clearing his throat, kurogiri summarized. “Essentially, the aphrodisiac quirk in addition to his now small quantity of blood has made him unconscious. So it is your job to make him cum so that he can begin the recovery process in peace before his brain starts to shut down from lack of oxygen. By whatever means necessary.”

You nodded, before his last words fully kicked in causing your eyes to widen and your hand to falter.

“Y-you mean… I might have to…?”

Kurogiri cleared his throat again. “No. You will have to, judging by the fact that you’ve been jerking him for what, 10 minutes? And he hasn’t even come close. This is life or death y/n, you must speed up the process.”

Reminded of the dire situation, and the dire consequences of your potential failure, without thinking you swiftly leaned down and wrapped your lips around his tip, sucking harshly enough that your cheeks hollowed.

His hips jumped right off the bed in surprise, and he let out load groan that gradually turned into a whimper that reverberated around the room. He twisted and moaned as you sunk your vacuum of a mouth further down his shaft.

You bobbed your head, taking your mouth off of him for a sec to get some air only to shove him down your gullet once more. You sucked and licked with all your might, doubling over him like a wild animal.

You were ashamed of how hesitant you were before. The seriousness of the situation had finally kicked in for you, and you scolded yourself for lolly gagging instead of gagging on his lolly for so long. You just hoped you weren’t already too late.

No, no you’re sure if you just stimulate him as much as possible right now you’ll be able to make him cum before his brain shuts down. You just need to focus on the now, and doing all you can for the near future.

You almost smiled when you felt him pulse and his legs tense. Finally, he’s close. You suck with all the strength you have left, going up and down on his cock swiftly as you beg him to finish with your mouth.

His whole body shook in your grasp as he exploded in your mouth. Instantly you were struck with the harsh bitterness his cum had, tasting like battery acid. Dude needs to work on his diet. And even so, despite your nose crinkling and your eyebrows furrowing at the taste, for whatever reason you could not bring yourself to pull away. In the moment you were sure it was out of adoration, but in reality it was from the anxiety of earning another strike from Kurogiri.

Finally he stilled, his hips falling back into the scrappy mattress as he let out a hearty sigh. You released his cock from your plump lips with an audible *pop* and peered up at him to see if he had regained consciousness in that whole ordeal. He had not. How? You’ll never know.

Still, your work here was done, and without a word you rushed out of his room once kurogiri gave access to the door. You were a flustered mess, cheeks red as you sped off to your quarters and buried your face into your pillow. You can not believe you just did that. You can not believe you just did that.

Back in Shigarakis room, his eyes fluttered open immediately once he heard the door slam. He smirked, wiping the “blood” off of his forehead with his finger and putting it in his mouth. Ketchup.

He cackled, tucking himself in and zipping his pants before turning to Kurogiri.

“So, did ya get it?”

A misty black appendage emerged from under the black mist, taking with it Shigarkis cellphone.

“Yes, I did.”

The gotten thing in question was explicit videos and pictures of you doubled over his lap like an animal, all taken discreetly under a thin cloak of mist.

Why did he order Kurogiri to get these? Well, it all started the other night in the bar. Him and Dabi had gotten quite tipsy, and somehow the conversation had gone to you. You were the hot new recruit that was ignoring all advances made by Dabi, pissing him off royally.

Shigaraki mocked him, of course, to which Dabi replied that if he couldn’t get a blowjob from you, there was no way in hell Shigaraki could get one. Not seconds later, the bet was made.

If Shigaraki could get a video of you sucking his cock, Dabi swore on his mothers life that he’d wear one of Togas school girl outfits with pigtails for a day. No rules as to how or when, just that your lips had to touch his cock. And now, his efforts have paid off and then some.

Truthfully, he probably didn’t have to make up such a complex story for his condition, but he’s nothing but thorough, and admittedly had some fun coming up with the ruse.

He yanked his phone back, checking the footage and smiling deviously as it came back clear and focused, before sending it to dabi along with a cocky text.

“Pay up, bitch.”

Dabi had had a shit day, exhausted and numb with sleep as he finally settled down into the shitty mattress he called his bed, only to be woken up by his phone buzzing.

He grumbled in annoyance as he picked up his phone to check, ready to send a harshly worded message to anyone crazy enough to text him at like 3 in the morning. When he saw what it was, his eyes widened and he felt all tiredness leave him and be replaced by dread.

No fucking way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BONUS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What do you think boss? Pink or blue?” Toga chittered, holding up some hair bands.

“Blue, definitely. It’ll match the skirt-t-t-t hahahahaha”Shigaraki couldn’t help cracking up at the end, not being able to keep a straight face due to Dabis contempt expression. He said nothing, only letting out annoyed grunts and growls when Toga tugged at his hair. His eyes, however, told a story of regret.

Toga giggled, yanking Dabis hair harshly, making him hiss, before bunching it into a messy pigtail. She did it again on the other side, and once she was finished she walked to Shigarakis side and marveled at the finished product. Dabis limbs hung limp in shame, legs kicked out in front of him as he resigned to his fate. He looked like a doll.

Pictures, of course, were taken. But honestly, it was a price Dabi was willing to pay to get those videos of you. No matter how humiliated he felt then, it was nothing in comparison to how you felt when he sent those pictures to you. How your eyes widened and tears gathered in your eyes. How you desperately tried to explain yourself but obviously realized how unbelievable your situation was.

How you begged him not to show anyone, most of all Shigaraki so he didn’t think you willingly molested him in his sleep or something. How you didn’t even wonder how he got those photos in the first place.

How you succumbed to Dabis blackmail and finally, finally agreed to recreate that scandalous video with him in order to keep him from ruining your reputation.

Now that was priceless.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I know I say this a lot but I’m really sorry this took so long. I had a hard time writing this tbh, getting writers block near the middle and having trouble coming back to it. But, it’s finished, and like usual it might not be exactly what you asked for (I had a little fun with it). Hope you enjoy!

#shigaraki tenko #my hero academia #shigaraki fanfiction #my hero academia shigaraki #shigaraki x reader #shigaraki x y/n #boku no hero academia tomura #shigaraki tomura #shigaraki smut

[consistencynevermether]

Breaking down walls- Astarion x reader

Astarion x "uses humor to cope" reader, second person POV, 1.4k words, gn reader

tw- Mentions of Cazador, nothing else really?

a/n- ive been so obsessed with this little dude i love him sm. this is my first time writing fanfic online so any advice is welcome :)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You had never been good at genuine emotions. It was always so much easier to joke about such things, as a way to make people feel less shitty about their situation than to actually talk about the reality of things.

It’s what you had done with Karlach, making up all sorts of outrageous stories about the fun you and your best friend could get into once she was free from the furnace that burned inside of her. Even though deep down you had no idea how to free her from the flames. 

You had done it with Gale, making up jokes about his stereotypical “wizards tower” whenever he was feeling down about Mystra. Even though deep down you had no idea how he was supposed to cope with what she demanded of him. 

It was easy to joke. To make people feel good and laugh for a short amount of time. That’s what you told yourself. 

But the truth was, the alternative was hard. Feelings, reality, genuine bonds, they all meant you had to put down your walls. And the other person had to do the same. And deep down, you feared letting down your walls for someone, only for them to keep theirs up. 

It was probably why you liked Astarion so much. While you put up a front of jokes, he puts up a front of flirty advances. Both of you knew you were putting on an act, yet neither minded. Neither dared try to climb the other's wall. 

And so the two of you formed a bit of a routine, he would flirt, and you would tease. Both of you dancing around how you really felt like leaves fluttering in the wind. A subtle glance there and a stray brush of the fingers here made you think, or maybe hope, that he really felt something for you. Just a little. Or maybe that was wishful thinking on your part. 

But he’d never seen the sadness in your eyes when he would say those sweet words to you, both knowing he didn’t mean them. And if you had any say in it, he never would. It was better that way. Easier. Safer. And you’d be damned if you ruined the current relationship you had with him. Because at least you got to be close. A few genuine words among a sea of deception was far better than him shutting you out completely. Better savor what little you can have than lose it all right? 

That had been your mantra, right up until that night. 

You had had a bout of insomnia the night before, and so you had offered to take the first watch tonight. You'd hoped staying up extra late meant that after your watch you would instantly crash and hopefully fix your sleep schedule a little. 

It had started a little before midnight, you had heard Astarion mumbling something under his breath, tossing and turning. You had heard somewhere that elves only sleep for about 4 hours, so you figured it was best to leave him be. He’d be up soon anyway. 

And that plan worked fabulously. For about 5 minutes until the mumbles became more like cries for help. You knew what, or rather who he was dreaming about, and it hurt to see him in so much pain. 

Lifting yourself up from the rock you were seated on, you made your way to shake him awake, only for Astarion to shoot upright as you were about to grab his shoulder. 

Your eyes met, only inches apart, your face filled with mild shock and his with horror. 

Quickly recovering, you took a step back, giving him proper space so as to not add to his obvious terror. Unfortunately for you, trying to get away meant stumbling over your own crouched form and landing on your rear with a yelp. 

For a second you both sat there, you not daring to even breathe too loudly. while he looked at you in slight confusion, though that was mostly covered by the blinding terror still on his face.

You sat there in silence for a few more moments, before your brain finally kicked in and you realized you needed to say something, now. Preferably without sounding like a complete lunatic, freak, or wackjob.

“I-“ 

you open your mouth to speak, but Astarion beats you to it, his velvety voice cutting through your uncertain, cracking tone. 

“You know, you’re not the first person I’ve left speechless, although normally it’s for quite a different reason.” 

Astarion's tone was playful, but the slight shake in his voice was obvious. Once again, you couldn’t see beyond the walls he had built.

“Anyways love, sorry for disturbing your watch. Feel free to go b-“

“I was thinking of what to say.”

Your sudden interruption earned an eyebrow raise from the pale elf. 

“That hard for you darling? Maybe because you’re stunned by how beautiful I look when asleep?” 

He was giving you a way out. A way to laugh this all off and pretend like it never even happened the next morning. If it were any other time you might have taken it. If you didn’t see the fear in his eyes. If you didn’t see the way his hands were still shaking. If deep down, you didn’t want to break down your walls for him. 

Before you could think better of it, you opened your mouth. 

“I could say that Cazador can’t hurt you anymore. That you're safe here. But you're clearly hurting, so that isn’t true.” 

Now it was Astarion’s turn to look shocked. He hadn’t mentioned the dream was about Cazador but he didn’t have to. You knew all the same. He looked like he wanted to say something, to object maybe, but if you didn’t say what you wanted to say now you may never do it again. So you spoke again before he could.

“I could say that I’m going to rip that bastard limb from limb for you, but-“

You shrug and gesture vaguely to the camp around you. The supplies you all had managed to scrounge together, and your weary companions sleeping silently nearby 

“We don’t exactly have a plan now, do we? Hells we can’t even figure out how to be rid of this damn tadpole. So saying that’s definitely out, nobody wants to hear empty promises” 

A dry bark of laughter escaped Astarion,s lips, probably out of shock from your brutal honesty, but you weren’t done yet.

You opened your mouth one more time, voice shaky but eyes locked onto his all the same.

“I could-

I could tell you that I don’t know everything about your past. About what all he did to you. But I do know that whatever your future holds, I will be there. I will stand beside you and I will not leave. No matter what you choose I will support you. I will stay. And you will not go back Astarion. You will never go back under him. Not while I breathe. Not when you can still fight. You won’t do this alone, I swear that to you.”

And just like that you had broken down your walls. There were no jokes, no double meanings, no way out of it. Because despite the fear, you wanted to be seen. And you wanted to see him too. Not the act that he put up, but the real genuine version of him, scars and all. 

Astarion looked at you in silence, it was his turn to be rendered speechless. Despite all your bravado before, this was terrifying. Honestly, jumping into a pit of hungry manticores seemed more appealing than this current conversation. You looked down at the ground, unable to hold his gaze any longer. A million thoughts ran through your mind, but no matter what you wouldn’t take it back. You couldn’t go back to stealing glances at him and smiling at his honeyed words, secretly wishing he’d meant them. Not again, you just ca-

A cool hand against yours stopped your train of thought right in its tracks. 

Long, slender, Pale fingers wrapped around yours. And your mind went silent.

You whipped your head up to Astarion, but he wasn’t looking your way. His eyes were focused on the horizon, not even stealing a glimpse in your direction. But he gently weaved your fingers together more. His grasp was firm, yet still slightly shaking. 

A crack in his wall. A start. A glimpse at the real Astarion you so desperately wished to see. 

You sat together in silence. Your hands never left each other's grasp, not until you were eventually overtaken by sleep.

#baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate astarion #astarion x reader #astarion romance #astarion x tav #astarion x you #astarion x mc #bg3 astarion #bg3 spoilers #baldurs gate 3 astarion #astarion fic

[7-wonders]

‘laying wide awake at night after watching a horror movie that left them unnerved’

could you do that prompt with the reader being the one who can’t sleep and Adrian comforting them and promising he’ll keep them safe?

I had two people request this prompt, thank you! Man I've MISSED writing for Adrian, this was so fun.

You've made a lot of dumb decisions in your life, though that's not specific to you. No, being human is about making dumb decisions. What is life if not a string of dumb decisions, one after the other?

Still, letting Harcourt and Economos pick The Exorcist: Believer for a team movie night instead of fighting harder for your and Peacemaker's choice, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, probably ranks up towards the top of your list of dumb decisions.

It probably wouldn't have even been that scary of a movie if you weren't watching it in the movie theater! Yes, The Exorcist scares you (you don't know a person who isn't scared by that movie), but it doesn't terrify you—there is a distinct difference between the two. Watching it in a darkened room, in surround sound, with 100+ other people just as scared as you are? That's terror at its finest.

After the movie was over, every member of The 11th Street Kids excitedly talked about how good it was, how scared they remained. Yet none of them looked affected or like they actually were still scared, so you pushed down your own fear and laughed it off as well. You went out for a couple of after-movie drinks, kissed Adrian goodbye as he went on patrol with Chris, and went home.

Now you're here, lying paralyzed under the covers and staring through the dark room intently as you try to discern if you're actually seeing something lurking in the inky blackness. Are those the yellow eyes of one of the possessed little girls, glowing dimly in the dark? If you strain your ears enough, can you hear the Latin of the exorcism? Your body begins to shake in fear, and you slowly draw the covers up over your head.

So wrapped up in your own mind are you that you miss the quiet sound of the door slowly opening. After having worked at A.R.G.U.S for a few years, it should be second nature to catch on to the feeling of the air shifting outside of your safe haven. But fear is a very powerful thing.

When something grabs the blanket and tugs it down, you scream.

The lights flick on as you do so, blinding you momentarily. When you blink the brightness out of your eyes, you come face-to-face with Adrian, your boyfriend. He's still in his Vigilante costume, which means he's just come back from patrolling. His mask is pulled off, and he's staring at you in bewilderment.

"Hey, I didn't mean to wake you up!" Adrian apologizes profusely.

"You didn't," you assure him, even as you try to get your heart to stop beating in your throat. "I wasn't able to fall asleep."

"Really? That's weird, you're always asleep by the time I come home." He hits the screen of your phone, lying on the nightstand, to check the time. "Do you know that it's three thirty right now? You're supposed to have a full eight hours of sleep to function healthily, and you're not gonna be able to get that."

Your lips twitch up in a smile. "I know."

"Then why aren't you asleep?"

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"I promise!" His face is so earnest, and you wonder why anybody would think that your open book of a boyfriend didn't have emotions.

"It's because of that stupid fucking movie."

"Which stupid fucking movie?" he asks cluelessly.

"The one that we saw only a few hours ago?"

Clarity dawns on him. "Oh, that stupid fucking movie! I didn't know it scared you that bad, pumpkin!"

You appreciate the seasonal term of endearment, probably one of the more tame ones that he's come up with. "You mean it didn't scare you?"

"It was a little scary, I guess. Maybe I'm just built different."

"You almost cried when we went on 'It's a Small World,'" you remind him, referencing your trip to Disney World.

"Hey, those dolls are fucking scary and definitely have the souls of children trapped in them!" Adrian defends. He must see something in your face that betrays just how scared you've been since you arrived home, because his own softens. "Man, that movie really scared you, huh?"

You nod, and he nods back.

"Alright, then." He sits on the bed abruptly, pulling you into his arms and laying down on the mattress with you.

"What—Adrian, you're all sweaty! You need to go shower!"

"Not until you fall asleep. I'm gonna stay right here and keep you safe."

"You know that I know the movie's not real, right?"

"I know. But your fear is. So I'm gonna make sure that you fall asleep, and then I'll fight off any nightmares if they try to come knocking."

He's so sweet sometimes that it makes your teeth ache. "What about your eight hours of sleep?"

"Screw that, I can catch some zzz's at the office tomorrow."

You laugh. "When you're supposed to be doing the mission paperwork that you've been putting off for over a week now?"

"Pssh, paperwork, shmaperwork."

Your conversation dies down, and Adrian reaches a long arm over to turn the lights off. Despite your best efforts, your eyes close from the heaviness of sleep calling to you, Adrian's humming and his hand rubbing your back helping to get you there. The memory of fear zings through your brain, however, and you jolt with a sharp gasp, feeling like you do when you're about to sleep and have the sensation of falling.

Adrian's immediately holding you tighter, making sure that you feel him with you. "Don't worry, I'm right here."

You nod and settle back into him. "Love you."

"I love you more...my moonlit lake." You chuckle, and that's the last thing you remember before finally falling asleep.

True to his word, Adrian makes sure that no nightmares bother you tonight.

7-wonders Halloween Spooktacular

#7-wonders halloween spooktacular #adrian chase #adrian chase x reader #vigilante #vigilante x reader #peacemaker #peacemaker imagine #adrian chase imagine #vigilante imagine

[mmkin]

get you some arlong

Snippet from the Arlong x Reader fic I am working on rn. (Still working on the title... or maybe I should just call it 'get you some arlong' lol) Enjoy this little treat, fellow Arlong and OP fans. You gulp down the rest of your drink, feeling the burn as it slides down your throat and tasting the notes of coconut and tangerine. For a moment, you look down at the glass, seeing the light reflected through its various facets, a touch of light brown at the bottom from the last drops of rum. Such a mundane thing to notice when there are far more pertinent matters that come to mind.

“More?” Arlong asked, lifting the bottle. You look up at him, at that row of shark teeth ensconced firmly behind the impressive sawnose that is but one of the many things that add to this pirate’s fearsome reputation. You remember the first time you laid eyes upon him in person. He was not the tallest fishman you’d ever seen, but by god, he was the most impressive. All muscles and angles and points in what seems like a perfect combination, seated in a bulk that most anyone would have good reason to be cautious around.

Despite being conscious of all that, you had also become keenly aware of your attraction to him. What might his body feel like, pressed against your own? These big, strong arms wrapped around you? Would he let you run your finger lightly along the serrated edge of his nose?

“Y/n, do you want more?” he asks in a slightly louder tone, thinking you did not hear him above the music. Your gaze fixes upon his.

“What I want is you,” you say quietly, the words sliding past your tongue. The hand holding the bottle goes still, as does the rest of him, for a moment. You fear that you have made a gross miscalculation, that his stillness is one of horror or disgust. Already, your mind is formulating apologies, finding a way to try to backpedal and try to salvage whatever respect this sawnose shark fishman had for you. One did not earn his respect so easily, and it honestly grieves you to think you might have lost that.

His lips pull back to reveal the rows of teeth that bring terror to many. There is a glint in his pale blue eyes as he leans forward, his face drawing close to yours, though the tip of his nose is still a few inches away. Your gaze darts down its length before looking back in his eyes. The chatter of fishmen talking or splashing around, the music, the waves all seem to fade away in the background.

His tongue slides past the serrated teeth, running slowly along his upper lip as the corners of his mouth curl up into what is unmistakably a hungry grin. (Edit - the rest of the story is now available for your reading pleasure on my AO3 here...)

#arlong #one piece #opla #arlong x reader #arlong pirates #villain gets the girl #fanfiction #writing #arlong the saw #arlong/reader #one piece x reader #sharks are sexy #home from the sea #get you some arlong

[be-dazzled]

All Treats, No Tricks

Gray Fullbuster, Juvia Lockser October 31, 2023 Posted: Decemebr 26, 2023

Writer’s Corner: Months too late but I think the timing worked for me. The ending sounds and feels more wintery/christmas-y, isn't it? I don't feel like this one's good enough as compared to my Juvia Day entry so your honest feedback is very much welcomed. Help me improve!

All rights reserve to Hiro Mashima, original creator.

Masterlist

...

The cold season rolled in and seeped throughout the grounds of Magnolia. Its silent breeze knocked puny, tree branches against locked windows. It howled through the night, prowling the silent grounds of sleeping citizens. For those who made the mistake of forgetting to lock their windows, the October breeze pried into their room and wreaked havoc on all that it could carry. Easily targeted all that weighed close to none. Especially ripping off the pages on the wall calendar and revealing today’s date – October 31, Halloween.

After the fiasco that was the Fairy Tail Horror House of X791, that type of event was forever banned in the town of Magnolia. In its wake a new tradition was born where families were invited to decorate their homes to win lovely prizes, even encouraging them to hand out candies to children going around house to house, mage guilds included.

Rather than eerily quiet, Halloween in Fairy Tail was fun and lively.

The troublemakers – Natsu and Happy – had a good idea of wearing costumes to scare off the children who, in the words of Natsu the Demon King, “dared to enter my house of terror,” punctuating it with a high-pitched maniacal laugh that did not, at all, scare a living soul. But he was enjoying chasing after children who somehow believed Demon Kings existed and that they were ridiculously funny. Erza, wearing the shortest (skimpiest but no one dared to say it) witch costume, took up her sword and pretended to battle the Demon King. She was acting, she claimed but Lucy, the only writer in the room argued that it was an inaccurate depiction and didn’t make any sense plot-wise. Why would a witch have a sword when she had magic powers? But who would take a Leopard Girl seriously? Donned in a tight-fitting onesie that hugged her body like a second skin and accentuated all her dips and curves, Lucy the Sexy Leopard lost all credibility.

A certain ice-make mage, on the other hand, found it all juvenile. Yet, Gray was pursuing kids around the guild, the end of his tape costume riding the wind as he did. He wasn’t a scary mummy, he deduced, since instead of screams of terrors, the guild was filled with children’s ecstatic cheers and giggles. Well, half giggles and half scandalous because the end of Gray’s mummy tape got stuck on some pillar and pulled, making him a half-naked, pervert who happened to wear pants made of strip linen.

Erza smacked him on the back of the head.

So inappropriate.

But not as inappropriate as the thing that he was about to witness.

Juvia, Fairy Tail’s resident water-mage, wasn’t too comfortable with her assigned costume so she kept herself hidden backstage. She watched in the shadows as her comrades showed off their costumes, parading around the Fairy Tail building, welcoming their guests with booze (for the adults), colorful drinks (for the kids) and some imaginative snacks. She wondered how come the only thing that connected her decorated brassiere and the underwear that covered her nether region was just strings snaked around her torso. She asked Erza about it but the only answer she got was the mesh material on her head, some sort of see-through veil, its length reaching her waist but covered nothing. Plus, the heavy and expensive accessories around her neck, arms and wrists made the look less racy than it actually was. They lent her some air of distinct. She did a once-over in front of the mirror, twirling around to inspect herself and couldn’t help but think she might be missing a piece on her costume. Maybe a skirt to cover her lower body? Because she swore her bottom was hanging out.

Erza said the long veil on top of her head covered it enough and that she should stop worrying about it.

She really should worry about it.

Even if Mira and the already drunk Cana assured her that she would be the envy of the room and would surely get Gray the Half-Naked Mummy’s attention. The latter was enough encouragement though, which emboldened Juvia to come out of her hiding. That and finding her self-declared love rival enjoying her time with Mummy Gray, her beloved. She charged towards the two, about to bring hell to the Leopard Girl, when a soft breeze touched her exposed skin and Juvia had another think coming. But it was too late. She was out in the open now and everyone was hollering and whistling at her ensemble. As she watched her comrades strut around in their own Halloween costumes though – the moon princess Mira-chan; vampire Lisanna; Elfman and Evergreen in a couple’s costume ala Adam and Eve; the Thunder Legion Tribe in what appeared to be some sort of forest creatures (were they supposed to be Pokémon and was someone supposed to collect ‘em all?); and archery goddess Wendy – Juvia felt like she pulled the short end of the stick.

Because what the hell was she wearing?

It was a fucked-up gypsy dancer costume if you asked Gray. Beautiful, he’d go as far as saying it was nose-bleed-inducing, but definitely fucked-up. He wasn’t too happy about that.

Even Cana was modestly covered in her own fucked-up priestess costume.

People – ugly men, irritating old geezers, boys that weren’t Gray-sama – started coming up to Juvia with Macao and Wakaba in the lead. She made it obvious she wasn’t comfortable with their attention but the crowd had already gathered around her. She searched for the black spiky hair in it but found her precious Gray-sama still standing beside Leopard Girl. Summoning all her magic power, Juvia immediately fell into her fighting stance, about to tsunami all those perverts out of the way when her vision turned pitch-black.

“Eh?”

She extended her arm to feel for anything, anything at all, that could explain why she was instantly blinded, only to feel strong fingers grab her wrist and whiz her away from the complaining crowd.

“Eh!”

“I guess this is safe for now.”

She didn’t need her eyes to know who it was. Juvia could recognize that voice anywhere, even when it was broken by huffs.

“Gray-sama…”

“Oh, that’s right.”

He swiftly released his grip on her hand and Juvia pouted at the loss of contact. A sudden chill replaced the warmth that encircled her wrist. She didn’t like it.

“Sorry about that.”

“No!” Juvia cleared up, in case he might take it the wrong way, “Gray-sama shouldn’t apologize.”

The water mage wasn’t sure where they went or how far they had come from the guild. But wherever Gray was, she was always safe with him.

“You saved Juvia from the commotion.”

A commotion caused by her inappropriate appearance, Gray ought to say but decided not to. Instead, he said a terse ‘It was nothing’.

Her ears might have deceived her but Juvia could place a grin on his voice. She could imagine that small curve of his lips, wanting to see it with her own eyes but something was still blocking her view. Something soft and rather silky, heavy on her crown too. It covered her from head to toe. She clutched the unidentified veil in her fist and realized it was the same fabric as the covering of the long table back at the guild. Juvia tried to pull on the cloth, trying to get rid of the covering when Gray started speaking again.

“…something like that.”

The covering muffled Gray’s words. As she was trying desperately to uncover herself, Juvia only caught the tail end of what he was saying. She stopped for a moment, tipped her head to the side, deciding whether to ask him to repeat what he said, which would give Gray the impression that she wasn’t listening to him, or just pretend as if she heard him.

Sensing her confusion despite the wall of fabric between them, Gray repeated his words, this time a bit louder and very much clearer than earlier.

“Don’t wear something like that.”

It took her a moment to realize but Juvia caught on to what the ice-make mage meant. It was her scant costume. Remembering how some cloth and some strings strategically covered those areas, Juvia internally agreed with Gray. She shouldn’t be wearing something like that again, nodding her head furiously that she might just break her own neck.

“In public.”

He added before clearing his throat and inviting Juvia to walk around the neighborhood, not giving her an opening to say anything back about his last comment. Juvia had the tendency to twist his words, or rather, which was always the case, point out what exactly he wanted to say but couldn’t.

Don’t wear something like that in public.

He meant only to wear it for him in private, right?

Gray started toward the direction of the crowd, where most people were scattered in small groups. He was saying something Juvia was not able to hear through that thick white covering hanging over her. She followed where she assumed Gray was headed, straining her ears to listen to his footsteps whilst she blindly soldiered on through the veil-made darkness. The water mage was starting to get frustrated with the covering she’d been trying to get out of since earlier. Despite her efforts, she couldn’t find the beginning or end of that long, thick fabric weighing down on her with a smooth but consistent fall, much like her magic – a curtain of water.

Ironic.

And why was Gray not helping her at all? It wasn’t like he was busy keeping quiet since he had all the time in the world to run his mouth about god knows what. His talking was like a soft buzz in Juvia’s ears – a distant noise that didn’t make sense.

Despite the cold breeze and the fact that she was practically naked inside, her body was starting to feel hot. A sheen of perspiration started to form over her skin. The heavy covering not only successfully blocked her view but also any air in and out of her fabric jail.

“G-Gray-sama…” She called out but the thick veil separating them blacked the words out, “…help Juvia~”

Gray hadn’t paid her any attention (deliberately ignoring her or unintentionally forgetting, Juvia wasn’t sure) until the poor water mage kicked on an uneven terrain and tripped. She braced herself for impact, throwing her hands in front of her as she was about to fall on the pavement, face-first. But the impact never came. Instead, Juvia’s body was pressed against something hard. Not as hard as she remembered pavement should be though. Curiosity spurred Juvia to explore this not-a-pavement surface, flattening her palms on what turned out to be Gray’s firm pecs, the slightest bump giving her the idea that she might just be… touching on Gray’s...

She rubbed them just to make sure.

“Uhn… Ju-Juvia…”

And kneaded for better measure.

“T-that’s… he-hey…”

She was definitely right.

Gods do exist!

Juvia could hear the strain in his voice. And something else. Something she wasn’t familiar with. But worry bumped curiosity off first place. Gray sounded like he might be in pain and the idea horrified Juvia that she might be the reason for it. He did break her fall and she was comfortably using her as a human cushion. So, she slid her open palms lower, eliciting more low and strange noises from the man beneath her. She ignored the noise in favor of resting her hands over what she assumed was Gray’s abdomen, intent on pushing herself off him to free her poor savior from his distress. She was a little bit sorry that she had to use his body to do so. Which, unbeknownst to Juvia, was stirring something in Gray that should not be stirred. Not when they were in public like this.

Oh, if Juvia could see the ice-make mage’s reaction now – gritting his teeth and clenching his jaw.

She successfully leaned away, readying to pull her knees so she could prop herself up and fully get off of poor Gray when a cold breeze whizzed past them, magically finding the end of the frustrating veil and blew the hem of the fabric covering her body. Gray was a hero the second time when he slapped that cloth back to its rightful place. Saving the water mage from the embarrassment of public indecent exposure.

“Eeep!”

But bumping her to another level of embarrassment.

Gray only realized where his hands were touching when Juvia’s body wiggled and twisted above him. The force of his ‘heroic act’ slammed Juvia flatly on top of him again.

“G-Gray-sama felt Ju-Ju-Juvia’s bottom!”

She muttered, fidgeting at the heat that spread over both cheeks, either because Gray’s hands were still cupping her ass or the mere force of his slap, or both.

“So, G-Gray-sama was into this kind of… s-s-stuff?” She whispered to herself.

But that wasn’t a whisper. It was more of a loud musing because that one Gray heard through the fabric barrier between them.

“No!” He strongly denied it. “That’s… I’m not… hey!”

For a good minute, they were a tangled mess – him trying to, but very much cautiously, push her off of him, slipping on the fabric when he tried to stand up with Juvia still on top of him, and her trying to pull herself away from him, which proved to be a struggle since Gray just couldn’t stay still. It didn’t help that the thick cloth separating them from each other was too silky and slippery to the touch.

Gray could only cry how that freaking veil was the devil. The devil! And he quickly regretted whisking the long mantle off the table to cover Juvia with, until they finally detached themselves from each other. Both were breathless from the endeavor.

Passersby threw them ugly looks, which made Gray realize that covering Juvia with the table mantle was not one of his brightest ideas. He tried to rearrange the cloth, so that Juvia was still fully covered (her fucked-up costume hidden), but made it so that her head was popping out of the makeshift ghost costume so at least she could see where they were going and avoid another mishap. The water mage, thank goodness, stood still and quiet, as Gray secured the long textile around her neck with a knot made of his mummy tape. He smirked at his creation, proud of his quick thinking. Then broke into cackles he tried to suppress but couldn’t, scrutinizing her attire – a Juvia floating head. Now, that’s a true Halloween costume.

“Gray-sama shouldn’t be laughing at Juvia.” She bemoaned. “Not when he’s looking like that.”

Gray followed her eyes down his lower body to realize he was stripped down to his G x J boxers, using up what remained of his mummy tape costume on Juvia.

“Whoa!”

It was Juvia’s turn to laugh at him. But Gray took no offense to it and joined in, the both of them laughing together and at each other in their poor state. They were so stuck in their own world that Gray belatedly noticed the scandalized glare thrown at both of them – mostly on him – especially by children who were often told to wear something in public.

Gray scooped Juvia off the ground (which was totally unnecessary by everyone’s account) and whisked the water mage, a second time, away from the crime scene.

Young couples are too bold nowadays.

It’s probably because of the full moon.

...

Gray hid them at some back alley. He surreptitiously peeked through the corner, with an unusually quiet water mage still carried in both arms. Only after making sure no one was following after them, not the police or an angry mob, that Gray could finally puff a relief. He settled Juvia on the ground as gently as he could. And wondered why she was running out of breath when Gray did all the running.

“Are you alright, Juvia?”

“Y-y-yes.”

She stuttered. Round blue eyes were spinning like wheels on the run.

“Erm… are you sure?”

She sure didn’t look okay.

Gray was so accustomed to Juvia that he could read her like a book. Every word and every sentence he could easily interpret. And this reaction from her was probably caused by him bolting her away. He should have thought of his actions thoroughly because who knows what Juvia’s creative imagination must have conjured of him holding her in a bridal carry.

Gray and Juvia’s wedding? Them on their honeymoon, crossing the threshold into their master bedroom? Probably, both.

He settled a hand on her shoulders. The thick eyebrows on his forehead were knitted – quite bothered by the possibility that she could still slip into her imaginary land when she had the real thing right in front of her now. Unlike before, Gray had become more receptive to her feelings. And unlike before, he made conscious actions to show that he returned those very feelings. Had he not made it clear to her?

“Juvia…”

His coaxing willed Juvia back to reality, to where she and Gray were in a back alley hiding.

“Juvia is okay, Gray-sama.”

Her blue eyes returned to normal and Gray could slip a sigh of relief. Without a need to worry now, Gray retrieved his hand and suggested they come back to the guild when Juvia’s made-shift cloak started to come undone. Her Halloween costume – the brassiere connected with some barely-there knots – peeked through the opening and threatened to reveal itself in its full glory. Which was bad for Gray for the following reasons: a) Juvia was still half-lying on the ground; b) they were in some dark, back-alley; and c) they were alone in that dark alley.

And d) he was still just wearing his boxers.

“Ju-Juvia!”

But it was Gray’s fingers that yanked the edges of the loosening drape and clasped them together against her chest. Another bad idea of Gray’s now that his fists were pressed down against her breasts. Soft and quite big. Not that it surprised him. He was very much familiar with how Juvia’s breasts felt to the touch. Not that he openly touched them either. Opportunities just happened to present themselves to him. Oh how tortured and conflicted he was. That stirring inside his stomach earlier was rapidly brewing into something that shouldn’t be brewing.

“Uhn…”

What a cute voice!

Damn, it was like the universe was trying to tell him something.

Gray yanked his evil hands and put them back to his side. Away from Juvia’s soft mounds.

“S-s-sorry.”

But that lecherous costume was taunting him again, the deep valley of her breasts peering through the slightest opening. He ordered himself to look away but his sinful eyes did not stray even just a little. So, he chose to just fight the rising heat that burned his cheeks. If she asked, he could blame that one on the weather.

Gray cleared his throat. Thinking that by doing so, Juvia might not notice him ogling. He reached out his hands and started to tighten the mummy tape again around her neck. There was a crisp silence between them, which Gray appreciated. Juvia’s focused gaze at his hands was reason enough for him to struggle to steady his fingers as he looped the tape. But in the end, he was able to fix it.

“All done.”

She thanked him with a lovely smile – the kind that always followed him in his dreams. The warm smile that kept him company when he was alone. The low howl of the October breeze made him aware that they were in a dark alley where people scarcely passed through. It had a wicked way of conjuring today’s moments that the courteous Gray would rather tuck safely into the back of his memory – when Juvia stepped out of hiding in her inappropriate costume; when he unintentionally spanked and cupped her butt-cheeks; when Juvia rubbed her palms over his breasts; and when he fastened the ends of the cloth and accidentally pressed on her soft mounds. These memories he’d rather bury in the depths of his consciousness and only unearth them when he was alone.

Right now, he wasn’t alone. He was with Juvia, the star of those evoking memories, in a place where there was little to no chance of anyone walking in on them if Gray allowed some of his dreams to come alive. Clandestine. He stopped that thought and suggested they walk back to the guild. He needed the exercise.

Juvia pointed out to him his current state and Gray miraculously found some cloak flapping with the wind, hanging outside somebody’s window. It was black, a total contrast to Juvia’s white ones. He figured no one was going to miss that drabby old cloak.

As they took the route to the guild, Gray considered walking Juvia to Fairy Hills instead. But remembered he was barred from showing even just his shadow there. His ban has yet to run its course so the guild – the very place they left earlier – was the sensible place to go, especially since he and Juvia were just wearing make-shift coverings that could unravel anytime. They had to avoid crowds.

Gray was deep in thought when a flash of blue caught his eyes. He snapped his head in its direction, eyes widening in awe at what his vision revealed.

“Look Juvia!” He pointed the all-smiling, happily distracted Juvia to a decorated house where three or four children were walking up to its stoop. “It’s you.”

Juvia followed the direction of Gray’s pointing and scanned the surroundings for anything that resembled herself or whatever it was that reminded her beloved of the water-mage. Surely, it must not have been the waving tube decoration, flapping around something that, when you squint your eyes at the right angle, resembled arms. Or the scary-looking life-sized doll made of blue hay, wearing what appeared to be a blow-up replica of Juvia’s hat. That must not be how he saw Juvia, right?

Without receiving an answer to these questions, Juvia was suddenly yanked against Gray’s side. One arm hung over her shoulder; the weight pulled them both down to a crouch like they were hiding. Their cheeks were close, sharing a border, but not touching, not yet at least. They were just close enough for Juvia to feel his breath on her now-flushed cheek when he covertly spoke to her.

“That one. She looks exactly like you.”

Juvia caught herself gawking at him, at Gray’s face which was fully and resolutely turned to the direction where he was pointing her to. She felt slightly guilty about that because one, that wasn’t even the first physical touch they’d shared just counting the ones they had tonight (not the most daring one either); and two, Gray was heartily showing her something. So, Juvia summoned her focus and followed his direction – towards the girl who was giddily jumping at receiving tons of candies into her basket, the kid version of Phantom Lord Juvia. She was donned in Juvia’s blue winter coat, a teru-teru bozu hanging by the clasp of her collar, and a cute Juvia hat merchandise sitting neatly atop her little head.

Juvia felt a pang in her heart. It was her in the rolled hairstyle the water mage got rid of to forget about that version of her. As the little girl skipped down back to the main road, Juvia felt sorry for the little girl. No child should model after her. Back then, she wasn’t her best self. She was strong yet lonely. Isolated by her own rain. Physically attractive yet gloomy that warmth and fun were foreign concepts to her. A smile, a true warm smile, had never even touched her lips. Simply, ugly. If she could only keep that image to herself and tuck it away where no one else could find it, she would have done so.

The Juvia of the present, the Juvia after joining Fairy Tail, after finally being accepted and loved for who she was and who she was not, was unquestionably the best version of herself yet.

But that twinge was pushed away by the slight curve of Gray’s lips. Warm. Affectionate. Proud. He was still looking at that little girl, at kid Phantom Lord Juvia, with eyes full of interest. Never left her figure as she turned around and hollered at the other two girls on the walkway. Her other two friends looked like shrunken versions of other Fairy Tail members, slowed down by their argument about who collected more candies between them.

“There’s Erza and Mira-chan too.” Gray chuckled. “Brings me back.”

Juvia forgot all about her own thinking, dumbfounded by the look on Gray’s face. Even when the curve on his lips was subtle it was also telling. Because Gray could picture so clearly how the actual Erza and Mira-chan, when they were at the same age as those kids, would squabble over the smallest and silliest things. Much like the kids rounding up their group of three with Juvia-chan. His mind flew to that rare moment when all the kids in the guild were huddled up together in an unusually peaceful group waiting out the night. Simply remembering pulled the corners of his mouth into a small smile – not wistful, not longing, just… content.

Before he even thought of it, Gray was already starting on his feet, with Juvia following closely behind and then, naturally, fell beside him. Stepping into the same stride, the same pace as his. Juvia had caught up to him again, naturally. It had been like that between them for years now. Words have become so moot and inadequate. It was as if they were operating on feelings alone. Like it was the only way they could clearly and completely convey their inner thoughts. And so, with no invitation required, Gray and Juvia explored the neighborhood, feasting their eyes at the sight of scattered children in all sorts, shapes and colors of costumes.

The children walked up to houses. Their eyes shone at the treats dropped inside their baskets. Some ran out screaming in terror, receiving childish and mean scares instead of sweet treats. Others gleefully skipped along the side of the road while peeking inside each other’s loots. The two Fairy Tail mages, however, glowed in pride at the insinuation that the kids put Fairy Tail in such high regard to dress up like them, as members of the strongest guild in the whole of Fiore.

Wasn’t it that imitation was the highest form of flattery?

Out of nowhere, Gray and Juvia started a contest of whoever could spot and recognize Fairy Tail look-alikes more. They discreetly point the children to each other – finding a little Lucy with a mermaid Aquarius who can walk on foot in this version, or the entire Lightning God Tribe whose version of Laxus put on some balloons in place of the original’s muscles.

They spotted another Juvia, this one much younger than the first one they saw earlier, around five or six years old maybe, donning polka-dotted leggings. She had a long-haired older boy in her tail, who she addressed as onii-san, carrying her basket for her. It was quite a picture for Gray, the little girl scolding the older kid, who both Gray and Juvia agreed resembled an Iron Dragon Slayer. At least, even in make-belief, Gray got to see Gajeel being ordered around.

They strolled deeper into the neighborhood and found out that the wizard costumes were not limited to Fairy Tail mages. Gray even flinched at a spitting image of a young but much more handsome (in Gray’s biased opinion) Lyon Vastia. But Juvia noted his mood became even livelier when they met the Lyon impersonator, despite Gray-sama’s act and words of displeasure. At that, Juvia hid a chuckle behind her hand, which Gray noticed.

They hadn't walked that far from where they met and were greeted by a polite version of the fire dragon slayer, when Juvia noticed Gray’s mood turn sullen, even if he tried to hide it with a small but dry grin. She ha dan inkling why. They must have seen ten or twenty versions of Natsu but not a single one of the ice-make mage.

Even Juvia wasn’t happy about that.

“Gray-sama…”

“You want to go back?” He jumped in, not liking the way she looked and sounded worried.

Gray already knew what she was about to say. But it seemed he’d rather not talk about it. Respecting his feelings, the water-mage simply returned his smile, hers understanding and much more genuine than his forced one.

“If Gray-sama prefers.”

“Alright then.”

They turned around, about to take the path back to where they started when something round and hard hit Gray right at the stomach.

“Sorry, Oji-san!”

A small boy bumped into him with a force enough to sway Gray but not to make him lose his balance. He first checked that his basket of candies was intact before the little boy with messy black hair beamed up at him, his smile was pulled so wide that his eyes were almost shut. Cheeks all puffed and flushed and chubby and cute.

He probably got away with anything armed with that smile.

“Greige?!”

But like the other kids his age, the boy quickly abandoned the stranger he bumped into and caught up with his friends.

“Wait for me!”

Gray quickly spun around. A seed of hope sprouted within him, urging his feet to move. He wanted to follow the kid and confirm his suspicion but his own logic stopped him, rooting him in his spot. That would have been impossible. How would Greige cross over Earthland? That boy might have been wearing a zipped-up coat with fluffy collar, the same one Gray remembered Greige of Edolas was wearing, but how could he cross over to their world? Impossible.

Hope had sprouted into longing.

“Greige?”

Juvia’s confusion and Gray’s sudden realization that Juvia was still completely unaware of their child’s existence in another world, pulled him out of his reverie.

“Um… I said ‘engage’.” He quickly lied, feeling warmth rise to his cheeks despite the cold October breeze blowing at them. “I thought he was an enemy or somethin’.” Yet even to him, he wasn’t that convincing.

But how was he supposed to tell Juvia he saw a kid who could pass as a doppelganger of the son they would have in the future but who was already existing as the child of Gray Surge and Juvia, a version of them who were already married and lived and breathed in Edolas?

If Juvia knew about their Edolas counterparts, she would sulk all week and demand that they too get married and make a baby. They weren’t at that point in their relationship yet. They haven’t even kissed! Through no fault of Juvia, of course. Even though she had given her consent to it in no limited terms, Gray just didn’t… he just wasn’t… confident enough.

“Let’s go back, Juvia.”

“Oh, okay.”

He wounded a firm arm around Juvia’s shoulder and secured her at his side to stop the water-mage from looking back at the boy who reminded Gray of his future son. He chanced a last glance at him though and decided his hair was too spiky and a shade lighter than the boy in his memory. He was too tall and too animated to be his prim and proper little Greige.

His mind was probably playing tricks on him.

“Greige.” Juvia tested the name on her tongue. She liked the sound of it, she told Gray, making the man sweat a little.

“H-h-hey Juvia, I told you that’s not what I said.”

“He looked a little bit like Gray-sama, didn’t he?”

Gray couldn’t seem to understand, or rather that he couldn’t believe how Juvia’s soft eyes, that loving gaze that seemed to be only directed at him, had always been a source of comfort. He couldn’t at all wrap his head around the phenomenon of her smile shining so bright to the point that it was blinding, yet he was incapable of looking away.

“You think so?”

She just made a sound, a cute little hmm, eyes now glistening with that gentle mix of pride and joy. Gray couldn’t even fathom how Juvia could grow even more beautiful each day.

Gray glanced back at the boy reuniting with his friends, looking for his own qualities in him. Maybe his dark, unruly hair could be attributed to the ice-mage but the little boy was wrapped in a winter coat, and Gray was known for unwrapping himself from any clothing.

No harm in imaging it though, that maybe the little stranger was copying Gray.

He wasn’t.

Gray wasn’t imagining it when the boy with unruly hair pulled his elbows back to form some sort of hand stance. He definitely did not need to humor himself when he heard the kid say “ice-make…” and pretended like magic power was coming out of his open palms and attacked his friends.

Maybe if Gray got over himself…

“Juvia… are you cold?”

“Hmm?”

And step out of that darkness that was holding him back.

“My place…”

Then maybe…

“… is nearby.”

He didn’t need to imagine anything anymore.

“Yes, Gray-sama.”

#gray x juvia #gruvia #gray fullbuster #juvia lockser #gruvia fanfiction #fairytail #fairytail fanfiction #be-dazzled #gruvia halloween

[hellowhisperingstars]

I See you

Summary: Maisie has a bad day at daycare and you talk to Steve and Robin about your worries.

Pairing:  Ghost!Eddie Munson x Mommy!Reader x Psychic!Daughter

Words: 5K

Warnings: 18+, no y/n used, fluff, angst, ghosts, cussing, bullying, mentions of things from S4. Let me know if I missed anything.

A/N: Part two! This one is still sad, so I apologize for that! Let me know what you think and please let me know if you have any requests! My inbox is open!

You can find more of my stories on my Stranger Things Masterlist!

You can also read this series on AO3!

Previous - Masterlist - Forward

That night you had a long conversation with Maisie about her dad and how he passed in an accident. You never want your little girl to know the terrors of the Upside Down so you danced around the subject. When she’s older… way older… like fifty, maybe then you’ll tell her. 

You also asked her to not let anyone else know that Eddie was still around and to be extra careful about talking to him in public. The town didn’t need to know that she was special. You didn’t want anyone to look at her the way they looked at Eddie. Plus, you were already a social pariah because you had a child out of wedlock in a small town. Not to mention she was the child of the so-called “cult leader” who everyone believes destroyed the lives of half the town. You knew he wasn't, his friends and family knew he wasn't but you still explained to Maisie that people will say mean things about her daddy but she shouldn't listen to them. They didn’t know him. 

But her dad was a hero. 

It's been at least a week since she dropped the 'your late boyfriend was haunting your house and he wants his Garfield mug' bomb and to say you were on edge was a little too on the nose.

You didn't know what to do. You had never raised a child before and for that kid to be a psychic, well that was just the tip of the iceberg. Both of you were learning how to walk down this path you were on, you just hoped the ground didn't fall out from under you as you went. 

It took a bit of fighting with yourself but you were finally able to muster up the courage to talk to Steve and Robin about this while Maisie was in daycare. Pushing the door open you looked around the Family Video for your two friends, usually one of them was at the front. Over the years they had been promoted to Manager and Assistant Manager so they ran the place now that Keith was gone. “Hello? Guys?”

The sound of crashing tapes caught your attention, a quiet “Oh shit..” was heard as Steve muttered to himself. Your head snapped to the right as you slowly started to move around the rental counter towards the horror section. 

“Welcome to Family Vide- oh! Hey!” He smiled as he walked out of the aisle and over to you engulfing you in a hug before he stepped back to look at you. When he noticed your pensive look his smile fell and he got worried. “What happened? Why aren't you at work? Is Maisie okay?”

“Maisie's fine.” You say holding your hand up. “I took the day off. But there is something about her I need your help with... Where is Robin?” 

Looking at his watch Steve frowned. “She’s on her break. Went to grab some coffee. Should be back soon.” 

“Cool,” You said, with a nod. Moving towards the counter you leaned against it. 

“What’s wrong?” Steve asked as he went around the counter to lean on it next to you. 

“It’ll be easier if I tell you both at the same time.” You mumbled turning when the bell above the door rang. Hoping it was Robin you looked over your shoulder only to come face to face with Mrs. Cunningham who was sneering at you. Slowly you stood up and moved away from the counter so she could return her videos, licking your lips you wandered over to the kids section looking for anything Maisie would be interested in watching. She really liked The Little Mermaid.

Maisie sat alone on the swing set of her daycare, her little Mary Janes kicking the sand below her to make a small pile. She didn't like daycare. She was alone a lot and none of the other kids wanted to be her friend. Plus the old lady inside was mean. Looking up she glanced at the window of the building to see the stern looking old woman staring back at her. Maisie didn’t understand why she didn’t like her, she always left some of her lunch and her afternoon snack for her when the other kids didn’t, always made space for her at the table so she could join them when they colored. All the other kids didn’t seem to even notice her which confused Maisie since the lady was always there. She asked Miss Britney about her once but she told her that there was no lady.

Maisie looked over her shoulder when she felt a cold set of hands on her back giving her a gentle push on the swing. 

“Hey kiddo,” Eddie said as he smiled down at her.

“Hi. Mommy said I can’t talk to you outside of the house.” She muttered as she looked at the ground again kicking her legs out as he pushed her back again so she could go higher.

“Yeah, your moms smart like that.” He said as he pushed her once more. Looking over his shoulder at the other kids making sandcastles in the sandbox he turned back to her. “Why aren’t you playing with the other kids?”

“They don’t like me.” She shrugged with a sad pout. “They say mean things.”

“Well don’t listen to them okay,” He said as he moved to lean on the pole of the set as she swung back and forth. “You’re worth a hundred of them.”

“Mommy said you were my daddy.” 

“Well, your mom doesn't lie.”

“Why can't she see you?” Maisie asked as she looked up at him as she continued to kick her legs back and forth. Going higher and higher.

“I don't know, bug.” Eddie shrugged as he watched her. “Don’t go too high. I can’t catch you if you fall out here.”

Or maybe he could…Nah, better not test it, it took a lot of energy just to push her on the swing. 

Giving a quiet okay she let her legs dangle as she started to slow down. The two of them sat in silence for a while, Eddie watching her from his spot leaning against the swing set. It was strange to know that he had a daughter, that she was sitting on this swing. He was so proud of you for bringing this little girl into the world, but he was also incredibly sad he couldn’t be here to help you raise her like he wanted too. Glancing up at the school he narrowed his eyes at the old lady in the window for a moment as she glared at Maisie, you would think she would be more polite to the only living person that could see her. He watched her for a few more minutes until the daycare attendant walked from the building as she looked at her watch. 

“Time to come inside!” Miss Britney called as all the other kids started running to her. Giving a quick headcount she looked up and waved her hand giving the little girl a smile. “Maisie! Come on!” 

“Watch this daddy!” She said as she jumped from the slow moving swing landing in the sand about a foot in front of where she was before.

“Woah!” Eddie laughed as he followed her towards the house. “You're cooler than I am. You know that?”

Maisie giggled as she ran to the group and walked into the house. Turning she smiled at Eddie as he followed them inside. 

The old lady glared at him. “You're not supposed to be here. You take that devil child and get.” 

He narrowed his eyes at her his protective side coming out. No one was going to pick on her when he was around. Alive or dead. "Don't you dare call her that. She's just a kid, my kid. So if you have anything nasty to say you say, you say it to me, got it you old hag?”

The woman huffed in indignation before she disappeared. She'd be back. She was the old owner of this home before it was turned into the daycare, not like she could go anywhere. Eddie knew it was rude but he didn’t like the lady. Turning he gave Maisie a little wink as she sat down to color and he sauntered over to the long bench of cubies to perch on top of it. He'd be right here in case she needed him.

Once Mrs. Cunningham left you peaked around the shelf to see Steve glaring at her back as she walked to her car. 

“Why don't you ever stick up for yourself?” Steve asked, looking over at you. “What happened to Chrissy wasn't yours or Eddie's fault. It was Vecna.”

“Do you really think anyone would believe me? Trust me if I had the money I would just leave this place and never come back. But I don't want to leave you guys or take Maisie away from Wayne. She's all he's got.” 

Sighing, Steve gave you that look that said you were being stubborn. 

“No need to rock the boat when the boat's already capsized. I'm just the girl who dated the devil, remember?” 

The bell rang again and Robin walked in. “They didn't have any mocha so I got you vanill- hey!”

“Hey Robs.” You waved with a small smile. 

“I just saw Mrs. Cunningham walk out… you okay?” She asked as she handed Steve his coffee and leaned on the same side of the counter as you.

“Yeah. She just glared.” You wave it away. No point in being upset about it. 

“Great, now that Robins here you can tell us what's up with Maisie.” Steve said as he took a sip of his too hot coffee. He made a face when he burnt his tongue. 

“Is she okay? Is she hurt? Sick? I can run to the store to get her medicine if you need me too.” Robin asked quickly. Maisie was the first baby of the group and the need to protect her was strong in everyone. This little girl sure did have a lot of loving Aunts and Uncles. It made your heart swell. 

“She's fine.” You soothed, taking a breath you looked at them both. “But I think Maisie's a psychic.”

“She's what?” Steve blinked, rolling his sore tongue on the roof of his mouth to try and get the pain to stop. It didn't help.

“Psychic.”

Steve gave you a confused face as he looked between you and Robin. “You think she's… crazy?”

“That's psycho dingus.” Robin said, rolling her eyes at him. “Mai is like El or something.” 

“So she has powers?” 

You shrugged a little bit. “Well, she doesn’t have telepathy or anything like that. She's a medium. She can see and talk to ghosts.”

“But, I mean she's four… it could just be her imagination. Like an imaginary friend.” Steve said, taking another drink of his coffee.

“An imaginary friend who is named Eddie and looks just like her dead dad?” You argued as you looked up at him.

Steve choked on his coffee. You watched him sputter as he tried to breathe. “E-eddie?”

“That's what she said.” Wiping at your tired eyes you looked sadly at them. “She knew things that I never told her. Like that I called him Teddy. The jerk even opened every cabinet and drawer in my kitchen because he wanted that damn Garfield mug at his Uncle's. Twice now.”

“Did you or Wayne ever say anything about him in passing?” Robin asked as she fiddled with her coffee lid. “Maybe she picked up on something, you know? Or seen a photo?”

You shook your head. “No, we are very careful about what we say right now. She's already getting hate for being his kid. We don't want her being a bigger target for the town to go after cause she won't stop talking about him. I only told her that his name was Eddie after she mentioned he said she could call him Teddy. I have one photo in my room of him but it's at the top of a shelf that she can’t see."

“Can you… see him?” Steve asked quietly. Weirder things have happened here in Hawkins. “Eddie… I mean?”

You shook your head and looked down at the counter pushing a box of Mike and Ike’s across the counter. You would give anything to see him again. “No. Just Maisie. She described him perfectly, you guys. She told me about his hair and that damn green vest he was wearing when he died. Is this my fault? I didn’t know I was pregnant when we went into the Upside Down. Do you think the spores we were breathing did this?” 

Robin and Steve looked at each other before they both sorta shrugged. Steve crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned on the counter closer to you. “I don’t know. But I know it’s not your fault. This might not have anything to do with the Upside Down, it might just be a Maisie thing.”

Nodding you sighed leaning your forehead against the counter top. A Maisie thing… 

After your talk with Steve and Robin you tried to go about your day like normal, grabbed some groceries, a coffee, and when the time came you picked up Maisie from her daycare. 

She wasn't her normal bouncy self when she ran over to you. Her arms going around your neck as you pulled her into a hug. “Hi baby. Have a good day?”

Shaking her head she shoved her face into your neck as you held her close. 

“What's wrong? What happened?” Looking up at Britney as she walked over to you both. “What happened?”

“We had a little incident today.” Britney said as she gave you a sad smile. “I walked away to change one of the smaller kids and one of the boys called Maisie something mean and they got into a fight. Maisie has a few scratches but she gave that boy a black eye.” 

“What did he say?” You asked, trying to keep in your anger as you pulled Maisie away from your neck to check on her. She was a little banged up, nothing that wouldn't heal in a day or two. Her eyes were a little red around the edges from her crying.

Britney hesitated a bit before she took a deep breath. “He said his dad told him that her dad was a murder and that you were a witch... He also said that she was a freak, and his dad said he should stay away from her.”

Anger boiled hotter under your skin as you looked around for a kid with a black eye so you could give his parents a matching set. “Where are they? I would like to talk to them.”

“They're already gone.” She said holding her hands out to soothe you. “I told them that since he started the fight that he wasn't allowed back for the rest of the week. He needs to learn that he can't speak to someone that way. But in turn… Maisie is also suspended for the rest of the week since she hit him.”

“Shit…” You mutter, pulling her close to you again. You have to go back to work tomorrow. Would Hopper mind if she came with? You could have her color at your desk... or one of the teens could watch her… “Okay. I’ll.. I'll figure it out.”

“I’m sorry.” Britney frowned. “She can come back next week.”

“See you next week..” Sighing, you picked Maisie up and started towards your car. Maybe Wayne could take her since he has days off… no he needs to sleep since he hasn’t been able to switch to the day shift yet. Once at your car you helped Maisie into her seat you crouched down next to the car so you could be almost eye to eye with her. “Are you okay baby?”

Sniffling Maisie nodded her head as she looked down at her hands. 

Nodding, you brushed your hand over her head and gave her a quick kiss to the forehead before you closed her door and got into the driver's seat. Pulling away from the old house you turned on her favorite cassette and made your way through town towards home. It didn’t take you long to get back to Forest Hills and as you pulled into a spot by your house you looked back at Maisie through the rearview mirror to see her looking out her window, her breathing a little fast. “You see something?” 

She nodded her head and looked away from whatever she saw, “She has a scary face.”

“It’s okay,” You soothed as you unbuckle your belt. You were trying really hard not to freak out so you didn't panic her. Sometimes her sight scares you. “Just close your eyes and I’ll let you know when it’s okay to open them. Okay?”

You watched her nod again and shut her eyes tightly in that kid way like when they faked being asleep and you quickly grabbed your keys from the ignition and threw your purse over your shoulder as you got out of the car. Looking around you tried to see something, anything, that could be what your daughter saw but as usual there was nothing. Taking a deep breath you moved to her door and went through the paces of getting her out of her carseat before you lifted her into your arms, closing the door behind you and walking up the steps to your home. Unlocking it you moved to the side so the door could swing open and you closed it behind you, quickly you moved to the couch and set her down. “Okay, there we go safe inside. No more scary lady.”

Maisie slowly let one eye open as she looked around the living room, seeing it was safe, you saw her relax. 

“I still need to get the groceries from the car,” You said, helping her out of her jacket. “Why don’t you get comfy and then you can help me make dinner. That sound good?”

“Yeah!” She smiled, completely forgetting about the ghost outside the house, as she bounced off the couch and then down the hall to her room to change out of her day clothes. Maisie loved helping you make dinner. 

Smiling after her you left the trailer for just a few minutes to grab the bags from the trunk and locked up your car for the night and moved up the small steps to the front door. Turning you give one more sweep around the empty area, your eyes narrowed, and you square your shoulders. “I don’t care who you are or what you want but you leave my baby alone. You’re not welcome in this house.”

Turning you enter your home, closing the door behind you just in time for Maisie to run from her room in her home clothes. It was just a little dress that you made from an old set of curtains and a sewing machine from the goodwill but she loved it. “What’s dinner?”

“I was thinking of grilled cheese and tomato soup.” You said as you put the bag of food on the counter and started pulling out the cans of soup. “That sound good?”

“Yeah!” She smiled as she ran into the kitchen to pull the step stool out of the corner and up to her usual spot at the counter. She was a good little helper and you let her butter the bread as you started on the soup. The knife she used was a kids learner one so there was nothing sharp to hurt herself with. You smiled at her as you handed over four single wrapped things of cheese to open. 

Grabbing a pan from under the counter, you cleared your throat and started a second burner. “You wanna tell me what happened at daycare today?” 

 Maisie stopped peeling the plastic from the cheese to look up at you. “Tony was being mean about daddy and me. He was saying mean things that his daddy told him. I didn’t like it. I told him to stop but he didn’t.” 

You listened as you stirred the soup. Letting her tell you in her own time, you had learned from being around Eddie as long as you had that sometimes pushing for an answer would just make the other person feel cornered so you nodded your head giving a little ‘mhm’ as a cue to continue.

“I told him I would tell Miss Britney,” She said as started to open the cheese again. “But he pushed me and called me a tattle tale and a fr-freak. So I got up and I hit him.”

“Gave him a black eye.” You said, looking over your shoulder at her. “Who taught you how to punch huh?” 

“Uncle Steve.” She shrugged as she handed over the pieces of buttered bread now that you turned the burner for the soup off to cool. 

“Okay,” You’d have to talk to Steve about that. He taught a four year old to punch when he could barely win a fight? “How’d you get those scratches?”

“He put his hands on my face and he scratched me.” She pouted.

“While I’m proud of you for standing up for yourself and your daddy, you can’t hit people, baby.” 

“I know,” She sighed as felt a zing up her spine and she looked around the kitchen to see Eddie standing at the kitchen door staring at you sadly. “Hi daddy.”

“Hi sweetpea,” Eddie smiled at her before he looked back up at you. Five years older but still just as beautiful as the last time he saw you. 

Your back went ramrod straight as you looked over to where she was looking and just saw the empty doorway. “He’s… um… here?”

Maisie nodded and pointed her little hand to where he was standing. “Right there.”

Your eyes moved around the empty space before you gave him a little smile. “Hi babe.”

He smiled as he took a step towards you. “Hi pretty girl.”

Maisie giggled behind her hand as she looked up at you. “He said you were pretty.”

“As he should!” You said smiling back at her before you finished making your dinner. 

The two of you sat at the table and ate your dinner chatting lightly about what's going to happen the rest of the week. You'd have to call Hopper later tonight and see if you can bring her down to the station. She had plenty of books she can read, pages to color, little toys she can play with. She'll be fine. You stared at her in awe as she told you about the rest of her day. You had to remind yourself that she was four, but she spoke so well for her age, guess that comes with having no one but adults for friends. She picks up on words and habits like a sponge. 

After dinner you set her up with The Little Mermaid and a puzzle as you washed the dishes. After a while you caught yourself staring at your daughter as she sang along with the movie a puzzle piece in her little hand as she watched Ariel sing “Part of Your World” and you wished you could be like her. Seeing so many scary things, dealing with people being rude for the hell of it, and taking it all in stride with only a few bad patches here and there. Really you wished you could see what she sees. Help her learn how to shut the bad things out. How were you supposed to protect her from the things you can't see? You could barely protect her from the things you could. 

So lost in your thoughts you jumped as you felt a cold spot grow on the small of your back. Like someone had placed their hand there. It was comforting. Eddie. It was like he was saying that everything would be okay. Looking over your shoulder you watched as a small puff of air left your lips in a little cloud like it did when it was winter. "Eddie, that had better be you or I swear to God…" You mutter trying not to get Maisie's attention. 

The feeling left a few seconds later, but that spot stayed cool for a while after that. You finished the dishes quickly and moved to your room to change into your pj's. Looking up at the photo you had of Eddie in your room you smiled sadly. You loved that photo. Eddie was sitting on his Dungeon Master throne in the drama room of Hawkins High, his arms wrapped around your waist as you sat on his lap, his nose was buried in your hair as you laughed at something he said. Pulling on one of Eddie's old band shirts that Wayne gave you after Eddie died you left your room and got comfy on the couch to finish the movie with your little girl as she pointed out things you never noticed before. 

You watched her yawn as the movie came to a close and you looked up at the clock to see it was time for her bath and then bed. Together you moved into the bathroom so you could give her her bath, the tub filled to the brim with bubbles as she played with her toys. Once you had scrubbed your girl clean, you wrapped her in a fluffy towel, and dried her off as you got her ready for bed. Tucking her into her little pink princess bed you kissed her forehead as you sat on the bed next to her. “Goodnight baby. I'll see you bright and early in the morning. Do you need anything before you're off to slumberland?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Do you remember what you say if you see something scary?”

“You’re not welcomed here. Get out!”

“Atta girl!” You smiled as you pushed her curls from her forehead. 

“Night mommy. I love you.”

“I love you too.” You smiled as she got comfy in the bed, making sure to grab her stuffed bear, Mr. Noodles, that Joyce bought her when she was born, before you stood up and left the bed leaning down to switch on her nightlight before you moved to the door turning off the overhead room light. You stood in the doorway for a moment watching her in the dim purple light of her little nightlight before you left the room leaving the door open just a crack in case she needed you. 

You took a few minutes to turn off the TV and clean up her puzzle pieces making sure not to lose any so she can continue it later. Moving into your kitchen you grab the phone off the wall and by heart you hit the buttons for Hopper and Joyce's home. You listened as the phone rang and rang before Jonathon answered. 

“Hello?” He said into the phone. 

“Jon!” You smiled as you leaned on the wall. “How are you?! Back from college already?”

“Hey!” You heard him smile as he said your name. “Yeah, got in this afternoon. How are you? How's Maisie?” 

You caught up with Jonathon for a couple of minutes before you got the courage to ask for Hopper.

“Everything okay?” Jonathan asked.

“Maisie got into a fight at her daycare and now she's not allowed back until next week. I just needed to ask Hop if I could bring her with me to work.” 

“Bring her here. I'll watch her.” Jonathan said as he pulled the phone away for a moment to say something to his mom about watching Maisie at their house. 

Joyce jumped at the chance to see the little girl and through the receiver you could hear her say “Of course! She's always welcomed here, you know that!”

Your eyes stung with tears as you laughed a little. The love you felt for your found family was otherworldly. “Jon, are you sure? I don't want to mess up any plans you have with Nancy.”

"Yeah!" He said, "Yeah it's fine. Nancy has to work tomorrow so it'll be okay. Plus I'm sure she'd love to see her."

“Thank you guys. I'll bring her by on my way to work. Is eight o'clock okay?”

“That’s perfect!”

Letting out a sigh of relief you thanked him again before you let him go for the night and grabbed your book from the counter. You liked to use the time that Maisie slept to read uninterrupted. Moving back into the living room you got comfy on the couch and opened the book to your saved spot. You had just started to get into the story when the lights started to flicker. Looking at the lamp next to you your heart started to race. Eddie said that the lights flickered when Chrissy was killed by Vecna. It couldn’t be… 

Slowly getting off the couch you dropped your book as you stared at the lamp as it continued to flicker randomly before you realized… It was morse' code. S.O.S. Eddie. Looking around the room you jumped letting out a little scream before you clamped your hand over your mouth to keep from waking Maisie as your TV turned on by itself. The static white noise was all you heard before you looked around for the remote that seemed to be missing. You needed to turn it off by hand. Slowly you moved towards it and got down on your knees so you could turn it off. The powering down sounds happened and you breathed a sigh of relief when the world went quiet again. Looking up at the TV your eyes went wide as in the reflection of the screen was Eddie. Sitting behind you so close you could feel the cold. You had been so preoccupied by the lights and the TV you didn't even notice the drop in temperature. Tears collected on your lower lashes as you looked over your shoulder at your empty living room and then back into the TV. "Eddie…"

He smiled at you. Looking as handsome as he was before the demobats attacked him. He looked healthy and whole. You couldn't hear him but you saw his lips move. "Hi baby."

"How…" Shaking your head you smiled at him with a watery laugh, you didn't care. Your daughter wasn't crazy and Eddie was here watching over you both.

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie x reader #eddie munson fanfic #ghost!eddie munson #daddy!eddie munson #stranger things #stranger things 4 #stranger things fanfiction #st s4 #echoes of you series

[the-modern-typewriter]

Could you write a piece where the villain (who has a very destructive power) somehow trades powers with the hero? I can think of it going two ways: either the villain is frustrated at their inability to harm the hero, or the villain is taunting a reluctant hero about using a power that can only cause harm, with the hero being reluctant to do so. I love your work ❤❤

“No - no why would you trade powers with me - you don’t -” 

The villain broke through the hero’s stammering with laughter. 

The hero’s mouth clicked shut, matching their eyes that were squeezed shut, holding back the searing lasers that they couldn’t control. Their hands curled into violently trembling fists, glowing with power. 

The realisation of what the villain had done quickly chased the heels of the horror of it. Because the villain, now that they had the hero’s regenerative powers, was the only person immune to the destruction struggling to explode beneath the hero’s skin. 

“No,” the hero whispered, quieter, all of their dizzying advantage turned to rot and ruin. 

“Yes.” The villain fell to their knees before the hero, cupping their hero’s jaw. They stroked the pads of their thumbs through the power burning, bleeding down the hero’s cheeks in streaks of tears. “You think me a monster, a creature of nothing but pain and death and terror. How are you coping with being me?” 

The hero had never realised, before, the phenomenal amount of self-control it took the villain with every breath of every day not to detonate. To feel like there was something monstrous, something world-ending, fizzing beneath their skin trying to force its way out. 

The villain, in the time the hero had known them, always made it look so easy. It felt the hero had seen but the awful tip of the iceberg, and now the rest had been shoved through a pit in their stomach. It hurt. 

They gritted their teeth as more power swelled in their throat, ready to take out an entire building block with a howl, but some of the magic still spilled down past their lips to the floor. It peppered the pavement beneath them like bullets. The hero could smell something scorched. Hear it sizzling.

The hero made a desperate, wordless sound. The villain had held that power all of their life. The hero could do it too. They could learn to do it too, and the villain would never be able to use it again, only heal, and wouldn’t that be karma, but...

Every gulp of power they swallowed down wanted to find some way out, refusing to settle quiet, not while the hero’s heart was racing, adrenaline spiking, fear sour and explosive. 

Another inch of power leaked out around their shaking hands, and they heard someone scream, heard the sound of a bang and their eyes flew open on terrible instinct and -

The villain’s palm pressed swiftly against their face, like the hero had done to them to block their powers before. The laser couldn’t get through, fizzling against the villain’s skin.

"You think you’re so much better than me.” The villain’s voice was cold venom. “But it’s so much easier being the hero when you were born for it, huh? When you have to work so hard to cause pain instead of healing it? I should let you slaughter hundreds and see how you feel about it then. Watch every person you touch wither.”

Maybe the hero would learn to control it, but who knew how long that would take, who knew how many well-meaning people would get hurt in the process.

“I’m sorry.” The hero held perfectly still, petrified of the damage any one wrong move would make. “I didn’t know, I’m sorry.” 

“My demands do not seem so unreasonable now, do they?”

“Please don’t let me hurt them. Please.” 

“Do they?” 

The hero shook their head, the smallest fraction, breathing ragged. No. They didn’t, not if this was the effort their nightmare of a villain went to every day to avoid an apocalypse. If what the hero felt was true, the villain did far more to save civilians from themselves than the hero ever did fighting them, not that they hadn’t saved people, but...

“I’m sorry,” the hero said again, barely able to think through the roaring in their head. “It hurts, I’m sorry.”

“Take some deep breaths,” the villain ordered. “Calm your mind. Focus on my hands, god knows it’s more than I ever got.” 

The hero sucked in deep, desperate breaths. The power didn’t sink right back into their skin, it seemed to catch on every bone in their ribs, aching like a dozen punches. It still scorched behind the hero’s closed eyes, still rolled down their cheeks towards the ruined floor beneath them. But it eased away from their hands, stopped being a ready curse on their lips, in every exhale of air. 

They sagged against the villain’s grip, curled in on themselves. 

“Now. Loud and clear for our witnesses, hero. Would you like me to trade our powers back again?”

The hero said yes.

#villains and heroes #heroes and villains #writing #story #fic #ficlet #fiction #creative writing #villains #heroes

[broodingheroine]

tmagp 5 thoughts

colin has locks on his office door and won't go near cameras. okay. paranoia. okay.

"its important we don't keep secrets here" WHATTTTTTTT?????

RESPONSE DEPARTMENT MENTION.

.....don't fill it in are you insane

SEVEN ADDRESSES?

horror dumpster dive. us.

"one man's trash is another man's terror" ayo mag5 reference?

a flim called voyeur. a guy who wants to watch people's fear (even if it's fictional) being recommended a film called voyeur.

ah private screening.

GETTING BABADOOK'D HA

"scratch the itch" he DESIRES the watching experience

the going back and forth between text to speech voice and more human voice is insane

please stop reminding me that alice has a little brother she's close to that is going to end miserably

klaus IT guy!!!! .......KLAUS IT GUY???

okay so I'm starting to lean into the theory that the fears are now more like desires in this universe. this guy wanted to Watch. and he got to.

also??? guy in the corner???? possible tmagp jonah mention? or an archivist equivalent? something new that's specific to tmagp? or was it the person who originally made the comment about voyeur. maybe it's a cycle of watching others watch their own lives and then THEY become part of voyeur and watch others?

so we know of three IT managers. klaus, then amelia, then colin.

presumably lena pipe murdered klaus, but that might not be the case. we know that amelia complained about klaus's work. perhaps its a gertrude sabotaging the eye situation where klaus was intentionally screwing with the system?

also, amelia being the older employee that alice saw go weird maybe? klaus was apparently gone before alice came around so.....

also ofc chester read the case file about watching and being watched

okay I think that's everything? God this episode was a trip

edit: I just now realized me live blogging thoughts while listening to this episode is very...... I would definitely have shown up to this private screening lmao

#tmagp #the magnus protocol #the magnus protocol spoilers #tmagp spoilers #tmagp5 #i love eps like this #forum/blog posts might be my favorite case files we hear

[rhoorl]

Halloween Horror Nights

So, last night I attended my first Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) event. I've lived in Orlando for years, but have never gone because I'm a wimp and get scared easily. But The Last of Us got me for this year, how could I not go see Joel and Ellie fight off some clickers in real life, right?

I'll save TLOU to the end if you want to skip to that (or don't want to get spoiled).

Mr rhoorl and I had a plan that was basically to do all of the TLOU stuff this visit. We have a pass so we're going to be able to go a few more times, which is nice because I didn't feel pressured to do it all in one night.

We ended up getting to do all five scare zones throughout the park. While they all had distinct themes, they were all connected via the event icon (the master of ceremonies, if you will), Dr. Oddfellow. There's some HHN lore around this character, which I still need to read about for my return trips but think of him like a crazed circus entrepreneur.

I only got photos during the first scare zone because it was still light out. I had a friend tell me that the performers target you if you're on your phone, so I put it away. I then made very aggressive eye contact at the performers basically to say I see you and you see me so don't scare me... but that approach didn't work. 🤣 HHN uses fog effects to it's advantage, there were times I was walking and could not see in front of me and someone would pop out. Eek!

New this year, the Death Eaters descended upon Diagon Alley in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter section of the park. This was so cool and they were so intimidating and scary! Some people brought their wands and tried to duel with them which was fun to watch. They also sought out anyone who had a tattoo of the dark mark.

There was a show called Nightmare Fuel Revenge Dream that was pretty cool. Lots of dancers and aerial performers doing their thing to metal and electronica. We got very lucky because we were amongst the last people to get in for our performance before it reached capacity and because they were running out of space, we got to sit in a reserved section that was empty - so we got really good seats. Yay! Unfortunately, they didn't allow photos during the performance.

Ok now to the TLOU stuff!

My husband and I made a beeline to the TLOU house first thing. We were so pumped, especially after seeing on Instagram that Neil Druckmann had been at Universal earlier in the week to see the final product. It made me feel like if he’s signing off on this, then it must be good. For those who have played the game, the house is set in the Pittsburgh level of the game.

We waited about an hour and then made our way inside. I’ll be honest with you, with this being my very HHN and my first haunted house since I was in high school (a long time ago), I’m probably not the most reliable narrator for this house but I can tell you I had a lot of fun. I noticed Joel in the very first room we were in and I immediately shot my shot at him and said “I love you Joel, protect us!” Like, I had to. He was wearing the green flannel shirt, like COME ON.

There were several clickers and runners throughout the first few rooms that would pop out. While I knew that the performers could not touch you, I was surprised by how close they got when they popped out. The good news about that was I was able to see the masks pretty close up haha. The bloater they had in the house (I think there were at least two, maybe a third but I may have had my eyes closed), it looked freaking awesome! 

At one point we see Ellie, ushering us along to safety - the performer looked great and was so convincing. We then spotted Joel up on the second floor of a house protecting us because that’s what Joel does. Again, I yelled my appreciation. My thirst reigned supreme over my terror. There were a few more scares on the way out but we made it to safety! 

It was all a blur but I had a blast going through the house and can’t wait to go back. Now that I’ve gone through it once, I know what to expect. My wedding anniversary is in October and our gift to each other this year is going to be a behind-the-scenes tour where you can walk through the houses with the lights on. TLOU is one of the houses on the list and I’m so excited to do that because I know that Universal and Naughty Dog have put so many Easter eggs in there. A friend of ours said that at one point you could see Joel’s backpack and watch, but I was too overwhelmed to notice on my first walk-through!

There were two food booths with TLOU-themed food and drinks (there was definitely a mushroom theme with the savory items). You could sit and eat in a FEDRA-themed area which was cool. There were Firefly symbols and “look for the light” written everywhere. I stood in a super long line, but I got the “Left Behind Ravioli” which came in a food ration can that you can keep. It was cheese ravioli in a truffle cream with tempura Enoki mushrooms. It was actually pretty tasty and filling. We also got the Fedra Ration Bar which is essentially a scotcheroo but the coolest part is that it came wrapped in a ration card (which I also kept). The final food item we got was the Cordyceps Corndog which was a Korean cheese dog with truffle cream and sprouts. Theme park food booths can sometimes be hit or miss, but I loved all three of these items. 

The decorations were on point. I really loved all of the details that went into this sign where you can see the evolution of the infected. I’ll try and get a photo of this in the daytime sometime.

There wasn’t a ton of TLOU merch compared to some of the other IP-related houses like Stranger Things or Chucky. But, I managed to get a shirt and a coaster along with an event t-shirt I can wear when I come back on my next visit.

I’m looking forward to checking out more of the event in my subsequent visits and catching more of the hidden details in the TLOU house as I get used to wear the scares are. 

If you made it this far, thanks for reading my rambling and happy spooky season to you all!

#jess visits hhn for the first time #hhn32 #the last of us #i was scared but joel still looked fine