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candycandy00 · 2 months

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The Doll House - A Choso x Reader Fanfic Part 1

When your younger sister is tricked into selling herself to the Doll House, you rush there to help her, only to find her being led away by her trainer, Choso. Moved by your desire to save your sister, he convinces the owner to let you take her place.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Read Geto’s Part Here!

Read Toji’s Part Here!

Read Nanami’s Part Here!

Read Sukuna’s Part Here!

Read Gojo’s Part Here!

Note: Please remember that these stories don’t take place at the same time, or even one after the other! Consider each one its own timeline. So if you see Geto and Toji with other dolls, don’t be alarmed lol. I had to do it this way because if I don’t, by the time I get to the last trainer, there won’t be any other trainers left to interact with!

On the outskirts of town, there stands a particular shop called the “Doll House”. Inside its walls you can find a “doll” to match any taste you might have. All your desires will be fulfilled, no matter how depraved. Satisfaction is guaranteed! The dolls are exceptionally high quality, thanks to the skillful trainers who work with them twenty-four hours a day, molding them into perfect toys for your enjoyment.

Each trainer has a specialty that they focus on, and they all take great pride in their work. Their methods differ greatly, their approaches vary, but they all follow one rule: never get attached to a doll. After the training is complete, they hand the dolls over to their new owners, and never see them again. However, just once over the course of their careers, trainers are allowed to pick a doll they’ve personally trained and keep her as their own.

AU! Each trainer will get their own story! This is Choso’s. I’m keeping the tag list from previous parts. If you’d like to be tagged in future parts, let me know! You must be an adult to be tagged! Any feedback whatsoever is adored!

Smut. 18+. Fem Reader. FemDom. Sub Choso. Oral sex. Foot kissing. Divider by @benkeibear!

Your phone won’t stop buzzing. Even with the sound turned off, it’s making a racket in your bag, disturbing the important meeting you’re in. With a sigh, you slip it out to look at the Lock Screen. Your younger sister has sent you several messages. Wondering what kind of trouble she’s gotten herself into this time, you tap the latest message to open all of them.

“Sis, I need your help! It’s an emergency!!!!”

“Yosaku is in trouble with his dad. He needs money right now or the old man’s gonna kill him!!”

“We’re at the Doll House. Yosaku says he’ll win big at the next race and buy out my contract.”

“Guess I’m a doll now! Why won’t you answer me?! This is important!!!”

“The owner went to find a trainer for me. God, I hope I don’t get the BDSM guy!”

“Sis, I’m scared!!! Yosaku left and I don’t think he’s coming back!”

You clench the phone in your hand so hard, you almost break it.

“Fucking Yosaku!” you shout, then notice the dozen pairs of eyes that all immediately shift to you. You’re so enraged that you forgot you’re in a meeting. You apologize and excuse yourself, quickly leaving the office building where you work and heading toward the Doll House.

Your sister has been dating the son of a small time Yakuza boss for a little over six months now, and the two bit wannabe gangster has already ruined her life.

Before meeting Yosaku, your sister was always so sweet and never got into trouble. Despite only being four years older than her, you practically raised her. She’s the only family you have, and as such, you’re fiercely protective of her.

So when she introduced you to Yosaku, six years her senior, good looking in a “bad boy” sort of way, and with a terrible personality, you knew he was bad news. The fact that they started dating almost immediately after she turned eighteen was a big red flag. It’s like he was waiting for her, like a vulture.

She started getting into trouble within two weeks of meeting him. She got caught shoplifting items he instructed her to take (and he of course fled the scene when she was spotted). He got mad and ditched her in a dangerous part of town one night. He talked her into gambling away all her money. And a whole list of other things. Each time, you had to go and rescue her. And each time, you begged her to dump him before he got her into real, serious trouble.

Now she’s at the Doll House? Unbelievable! How could he convince her to give up ten years of her life for him?! You can only hope you make it there in time to stop the sale.

When you barge in the front door, past a front desk with a startled receptionist, and into a large circular room, you find your sister. She’s being led away by a pale man with a strange hairstyle, and she looks like a deer in the headlights.

“Stop!” you scream, rushing forward and ripping your sister’s arm out of the man’s hand. “Don’t touch my sister, you pervert!”

You don’t know a whole lot about the Doll system or the Doll House, but everyone knows the basics. The men here train women to be sex toys, usually with some bizarre fetish. A friend once told you a guy here makes his dolls crawl on the ground like a dog while wearing a butt plug. Unimaginable!

The man looks at you, seeming confused. “Oh, don’t worry. I’m not anyone suspicious. I’m just her trainer.”

You place yourself in front of your sister, blocking his view of her. “You think I’m gonna let you train her to do depraved… sex stuff? I won’t let you hurt her!”

“I’m not going to hurt her,” he says, looking a little hurt himself that you would suggest such a thing. “My job is to prepare her to be a doll. I’m helping her.”

He seems so honest, but you can’t let yourself be fooled. “I don’t care what your job is. You can’t have my sister! Look at her, she’s just eighteen! She’s practically a baby! She’s still a virgin! You can’t turn her into-“

“Actually, sis, I’m not a virgin,” you hear your sister say behind you, making you wince. You assumed so, but it sucks to have it confirmed. Fucking Yosaku.

You look at her over your shoulder. “That’s not important right now.” Then you turn back to the man. “Please, don’t take her. She’s the only family I have. She has her whole life ahead of her.”

The trainer’s face softens slightly, as if he feels bad for you. “I’m sorry,” he says, “but she already signed the contract. There’s nothing I can do.”

“But there has to be some way out of this! Her lowlife boyfriend coerced her!”

“What’s going on in here?” a voice asks.

All of you look over to see a silver haired woman standing just inside the room. She’s holding a silk fan in one hand, the breathless receptionist standing beside her.

“Who are you?” you ask her.

She flips a long braid over her shoulder. “I’m the owner of this establishment. And if you’re here to stop a sale, you’re too late. Unless you want to pay some rather punishing fees for breaking the contract.”

You narrow your eyes. “Just how much are these fees?”

The owner snaps her fingers, and the receptionist scurries to grab a pen and paper. The owner writes something on it and the receptionist presents it to you. She wasn’t kidding when she said they were punishing! You’d never be able to pay this back! Even with your pretty good job. Your sister’s credit would be ruined forever. And you’d have to work yourself to the bone and you’d probably still lose everything.

Your mind races. Think! Think! There has to be a way out of this! An idea pops into your mind. A terrible one, but it’s the only one you have at the moment.

“What if I take her place?” you ask.

Your sister steps out from behind you to look you in the face. “Sis, no, this is my-“

“Just be quiet,” you hiss, using the sort of tone you took while caring for her as a child. The “angry mother” tone, she called it. She falls silent.

The owner looks you up and down. “I don’t know… We’ve never done something like that before.”

You get down on your knees, looking up at the owner with a pleading expression. “Please! My sister is young and naive. She can’t handle life as a doll. But I can! As the older sister, it’s my responsibility to protect her!”

Beside the owner, the trainer’s eyes widen. Then, suddenly, he moves over and gets down to his knees right next to you, bowing his head low.

“I’m asking as well,” he says to the owner, shocking you. “Out of respect for her wanting to protect her sister, could you let them trade places? The older sister would be more suited to my training anyway.”

The owner looks slightly flustered to be met with such old fashioned, formal pleas. But she sighs and says, “Alright, I’ll go get the paperwork fixed up.”

As she walks away, the trainer stands up, then offers you his hand. Still somewhat in shock, you take it and let him help you up.

“Thanks,” you tell him. “But why did you help me?”

He gives you a subtle smile. “I understand wanting to protect a younger sibling. I have a little brother I would do anything for.”

Wow, he’s actually pretty cute… for a sex crazed pervert. It just now occurs to you that he’s going to be your trainer now. This cute guy is going to be doing all sorts of depraved things to you!

Your sister hugs you suddenly, her face wet with tears. “You didn’t have to do that! This was my problem!”

You pull away from her and stroke her hair. “Yes, I did have to do this. Just promise me one thing: that you’ll stay away from Yosaku. He’s dangerous! The next time he gets you into trouble, I won’t be there to help. Don’t make what I’m doing be for nothing.”

Your sister nods. “I promise! I’m all done with him!”

After reading over and signing all the paperwork, you and your sister say your goodbyes. Then you turn to your trainer and say. “Well, I’m all yours.”

He reaches out and gently takes your hand, then leads you down a hallway. He actually seems… sweet? You can’t imagine him doing perverted things to you. But he is a trainer here. Sooner or later, this man is going to have sex with you. You’re not some blushing virgin, but the thought still makes you a little embarrassed.

Once inside his room, he shuts the door behind the two of you. His room looks surprisingly neat, clean, and comfortable. No crazy props or weird toys hanging on the walls. Thank goodness.

“Feel free to sit down,” he says, gesturing toward a pair of chairs on either side of a small table.

You walk over and take a seat, watching him a bit warily. You still don’t know what kind of fetish he specializes in.

“I’ll tell you about my training,” he says, as if he can read your mind. You sit up straight in the chair to listen as he goes on. “I train women to be Doms. Dominant. I will call you Mistress. My name is Choso but you can call me whatever you like. I will do anything you tell me to. For the next six weeks, I belong to you. Oh, before you ask, I can’t get you out of the contract. That’s up to the owner, not me.”

Wait. What? He’s training you to be a Dom? You’ve heard the term before, but it conjures up an image of a woman in a black leather corset, cracking a whip. You’re supposed to do that stuff with him?

“So, you’ll do anything I ask?”

He nods. “As long as it doesn’t violate any of the house rules, and is within my power.”

That doesn’t sound so bad. But you’re not naive. You know this is supposed to lead to things of a sexual nature. This is the Doll House after all. But at least you’ll probably get to do things at your own pace. You feel yourself relaxing slightly.

“Can you get me a cup of coffee?” you ask, curious to see how he responds.

“Of course, Mistress. How would you like it?”

“Hot. Heavy on the cream, no sugar.”

He gives you a small bow of his head. “Right away, Mistress.”

You watch him leave the room, then exhale deeply. Why does any doll trained by him ever do any of the sex stuff? Why not just make him rub your feet and bring you snacks for six weeks? You suppose that would defeat the purpose of being trained. What was it he called it? Preparing you to be a doll? Whoever your owner ends up being, he’s definitely going to expect some sex stuff.

But do you have to initiate it? Command Choso to sleep with you? You can’t imagine doing that.

He walks back in with a steaming cup and reaches it to you as if he’s a butler. You glance up at him, and you think he’d look really good in a butler uniform.

You noticed it before, but he’s really cute. He’s like a quiet goth guy without the piercings. His hair is styled into two short ponytails, one on either side of his head. It’s not a style you’ve seen before, but it looks good on him. His clothes are a bit baggy, making you curious about what’s under them.

The coffee is delicious, and Choso watches you drink it silently. After you sit the cup down, he asks, “Is there anything else you’d like me to do?”

You think for a moment. “You’ll do anything? Even if it’s something embarrassing or demeaning?”

“Of course, Mistress.”

You frown. “I don’t know. It seems wrong to force you to do things.”

A gentle smile appears on his face. “If you’re concerned about consent, please don’t worry. I work here voluntarily because I like doing stuff like this. I’m happy to do anything you want. No matter what it is.”

There’s an eagerness in his voice that makes your heart beat fast. You take a deep breath and say, “Kiss my foot!”

You really just want to test whether he’ll actually do anything you say or not, and this seems like a relatively tame command. Actually it’s not sexual at all.

Or so you think, until Choso gracefully drops to his knees in front of you and, oh so gently, removes your high heeled shoe from your right foot. Then his hands move to your thigh, sliding just under your skirt. You start to yell at him, but then you realize he’s pulling your stocking down, slowly sliding it down your leg and off your foot.

His eyes lock onto yours as he carefully lifts your foot up in his hand, holding it up close to his face. He licks his lips, then presses them softly to the top of your foot as his hand caresses your ankle.

Oh wow. Okay, you kind of get how this all turns sexual. Choso on his knees in front of you, so eager to please, is doing things to you.

He stands back up, the tiniest hint of a grin on his pale face. He knows what he’s doing. He wouldn’t be a very good trainer if he didn’t. “Is there anything else you’d like me to do, Mistress?”

Your heart is racing. You feel your face heating up. Fuck, did he just seduce you with a single kiss to your foot? You cough awkwardly and look away from his pretty face.

“I’m not sure what else to make you do,” you say, then quickly add, “What would you do if I told you to strip?”

He instantly begins pulling his loose fitting shirt over his head.

“Wait! I wasn’t serious! I was just messing around!” you yell, but his shirt is already off, dangling from his hand. Your eyes drink in his well defined torso, surprised by how toned he is. A cute face and a hot body? Plus he’s sweet and gentle? Is this guy the total package or what?

You shake your head. You can’t let yourself fall for him. He’s your trainer. He’s done this same stuff, and much more, with lots of other women. And besides, in six weeks you’ll belong to someone else. You just hope whoever that is has half of Choso’s charm.

“I’m sorry, Mistress, I thought you wanted me to undress,” he says, pulling his shirt back on. Why does he sound a little disappointed?

Now you really want to see what he’s packing beneath those baggy pants, but you can’t bring yourself to command him to show you. Not so soon after meeting him anyway.

“It’s my fault,” you tell him. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

He smiles at you. It’s a very warm expression. “Please don’t worry about it, Mistress. I’m here to please you.”

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

Choso watches his new doll as she stands up and looks around the room. This will be her room for the next six weeks, so it’s good for her to familiarize herself with it.

“Can I go get some of my things from home?” she asks.

“Yes. You can leave the house so long as you come back by nightfall. That’s one of the house rules. If you go out at night, I have to go with you.”

She looks at her watch. “I guess I’ll just go tomorrow,” she says. “So what do we do for dinner?”

“There’s a dining hall where we all usually eat our meals,” he tells her, then goes on to explain what times meals are served and tells her about the small shared kitchen. He goes over some more house rules and also warns her that the other trainers all have their own styles, so she shouldn’t be surprised to see naked dolls or dolls in strange outfits.

She seems to be taking it all in fairly well.

For dinner, she opts to stay in his room while he fetches plates, saying she isn’t quite ready to meet everyone else. She also tells him to eat at the small table in his room with her. Some dolls, perhaps angry about being dolls in the first place, order him to sit on the floor and eat. It doesn’t bother Choso, but he does think his new doll seems nice so far.

“So you have a little brother?” she asks over dinner.

He looks up from his plate, somewhat surprised. Some dolls ask a few basic questions at first, just to get to know him a little, but this one managed to get straight to his favorite topic. He smiles and says, “Yes. His name is Yuji.”

Her face looks kind, pretty, as she asks, “How old is he?”

“Nine,” he answers. “He’s a very energetic child, but he’s very sweet.”

She’s smiling, perhaps thinking of her sister. “He sounds adorable. Do you get to spend much time with him?”

Choso lowers his eyes to his food. “Not as much as I like. We only share one parent, and both of his have died. He lives with his grandfather now. I visit him as much as I can, and he visits me here occasionally. Oh, don’t worry, he doesn’t understand what I do here.”

They talk for a while longer, Choso eventually getting his phone and showing her pictures of Yuji. And he almost forgets, for a few moments, that she’s a doll and he’s her trainer. For those few moments, they’re just two older siblings smiling and talking.

When night falls, Choso goes to take a shower. When he steps out, dressed in cozy sweats with his wet hair grazing his shoulders, his doll looks at him strangely.

“Is something wrong?” he asks her, drying his hair with a towel.

She blinks then averts her eyes. “No, nothing’s wrong,” she says, looking a little embarrassed before adding, “You look nice with your hair down.”

His doll decides to sleep in her clothes tonight, refusing his offer to wear something of his. And when it’s time to go to bed, he asks, “Where would you like me to sleep, Mistress?”

She wears a puzzled expression. “Uh, the bed?”

“Most dolls tell me not to sleep in the bed with them on the first night. I suppose they’re nervous, me being a stranger to them.”

She shrugs. “It’s your bed. It wouldn’t be right to force you out of it. Just don’t touch me and it’ll be fine.”

He stares at her. “You trust me already?”

She smiles as she climbs into his bed, staying on one side. “I think anyone who loves his little brother as much as you love Yuji can’t be a bad person.”

Choso feels his heart skip a beat, but he keeps his face neutral as he gets into bed, keeping a respectful distance from his doll.

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

Two days later, you find yourself sitting in a chair in Choso’s room. He’s standing nearby, waiting for you to tell him to do something. These past couple of days, you’ve had him give you foot rubs, massage your shoulders, and brush your hair. All things pointedly not sexual. But in every case, Choso has made innocent actions seem incredibly sensual.

The way his hands touch you, the way his eyes look at you with desire, they make you want to order him to fuck you right now. But you can’t do that. You’ve been trying to think of a way to make the orders you give him more sexy, but it’s difficult for you to just tell a man you barely know to start doing sexy things to you.

You thought he was supposed to teach you how to be a Dom, but when you said that, he replied with, “It’s much better to just learn by experiencing things. So please tell me what you want me to do.”

Which was no help at all. You’re starting to think Choso isn’t a very good teacher.

If he would just tell you what he wants, what he’d like for you to order him to do, this would be far less awkward!

Wait. That might work!

“Choso,” you say, and he seems to perk up a bit at the sound of his name. “If you could pick one thing for me to tell you to do, what would it be?”

He smiles mildly. “I’d love to do anything you tell me to do, Mistress.”

“No. Give me a real, honest answer. This is an order from your Mistress. What would you most want to be ordered to do right now?”

He looks at you for a moment, then his eyes seem to get darker, a very slight pink flush to his cheeks. “What I’d most like to be ordered to do,” he says, keeping eye contact with you, “is to pleasure you with my mouth. To get on my knees in front of you while you spread your legs and stand over me, to taste you, to use my tongue to make you cum, over and over, until your legs give out.”

Oh shit. Are you seriously already wet just from hearing him talk about eating you out? There’s a hunger in his eyes, and you feel heat creeping across your face, your breaths quickening. Just imagining his pretty face buried between your thighs is making you horny as hell.

“Okay then,” you say, standing up and trying to keep your voice steady, trying to sound confident and in charge even though you feel like you’re about to melt into a puddle of goo, “do it. Pleasure me… with your mouth.”

The way his cute, pale face lights up! He drops to his knees on the spot, and slowly crawls over to you. When he reaches you, he puts his hands on your thighs and carefully slides your skirt down, looking you in the eyes as he does it.

“Mistress, may I please remove your panties?” he asks.

You feel like you can barely breathe as you nod and say, “Yes, you may.”

His gentle hands rub upwards, until they reach the top of your lace panties, and then he eases them down your legs, helping you to step out of them once they reach the floor. This leaves you standing in his room, naked from the waist down, while he kneels in front of you.

“Mistress, can you spread your legs?”

You feel your face burning as you move your feet further apart, giving him an eye full of your dripping pussy. He looks at it, then at your face, then licks his lips as if he’s about to dig into a tasty meal.

And boy does he dig in! He runs his tongue up your slit, collecting any juices he can, then uses his fingers to open your folds. He takes a moment to look at your most private place, then says, “You’re beautiful, Mistress,” before slowly licking your pussy. His tongue circles your clit, then his lips wrap around it, and you can almost hear him slurping at your wetness.

You look down at his face, only the top half visible, and his eyes shift up to yours. They’re half lidded, looking at you through his long eyelashes.

As he makes out with your pussy, licking and kissing it so sweetly, taking his time, your legs begin to tremble. The pleasure is simply too much. You’ve been eaten out before, but never like this, never as if your clit is the most delicious thing on earth.

“Ahh… Choso… I can’t…”

He pauses and glances up. “Are you alright, Mistress?”

“Y-yes, just… don’t stop, even if I tell you to. Not until I collapse,” you say, feeling slightly delirious. Did you really just say that?

“Of course, Mistress,” he says, then returns to devouring you.

Your hands move to his head, and you find yourself pulling the ponytails free and letting his hair loose. Then you’re gripping it, hopefully not hard enough to hurt. You hear him utter a quiet moan, and the vibration of his voice against your clit as his lips suckle it gently sends you over the edge.

You cry out, your hands tightening in his hair, your legs shaking and nearly giving way right then and there. His hands move around to your thighs and ass, holding you steady while his tongue laps up any fluids that leak out. You’re quivering, your clit extra sensitive and swollen after your orgasm, and that’s when his wet tongue glides over it again, pushing the hood even further back.

“W-wait! Oh God… oh fuck!”

Your body jerks, your legs turning into spaghetti as another orgasm hits you within minutes of the first. Choso’s grip on your body is firm, keeping you from crumbling. His lips and tongue are still working at your clit, moving at a faster pace now, making you shudder and moan.

“Choso… I can’t stand it… feels too good… I can’t…. I can’t…”

His mouth is relentless, pushing you right back to the edge. You know you must be pulling his hair too hard, but you have to grip something or you’ll fall apart. Then, you feel his teeth lightly scrape over your sensitive, overstimulated bud, and you inhale sharply, nearly choking on the air as you cum for the third time.

It feels like your body is dissolving as all strength leaves you. Choso catches you in his arms and eases you down to the carpeted floor, cradling you.

“Are you alright, Mistress?” he asks, his lips glistening with your juices.

You’re still twitching, clutching his arms as you ride out the aftershocks of the three most intense orgasms of your life. You can’t speak, so you just nod to answer him.

He holds you until you’re able to stand up with his help, then he helps you clean up before tucking you into bed.

“I’m going to take a shower,” he says, and you nod as he goes into the bathroom. You didn’t mention it, but when he was holding you on the floor, your upper half in his lap, you felt a rather impressive erection through his loose pants. You thought about doing something about it, but your mind was a little too hazy at that point. Oh well, you’re certain you’ll get plenty of chances to pleasure him as well.

You never imagined being a doll before all this, and you’re still angry that things turned out this way, but at least you have Choso as your trainer. You don’t know how things will turn out, who will end up owning you, but at least for now, the situation isn’t too bad. So you fall asleep to the sound of the water running in the shower, knowing Choso will be sleeping beside you again tonight.

Tag List:

@suguguro @kaedear @onyxsphynx @poopoobuttsy @butterskyy @collectionofdolls @akaotv @witchbybirth @bloofinntoona @wasurenagusaa @tclbts @tojirin @lucyrocks86 @badbyeyoongi @97britt @aydene @lzaj19 @lyn-lotte @missthatgirl @peachedtv @ladytamayolover @nanam1nx @deegausserr @voids-universe @hinata7346 @maflorex @issracollen @xkittiecatx @ryumurin @emrys3456 @mysecretesc8pe @typicalloser3 @gabriiiiiiii @fvsm4x @tyunhyukamyloves @rottmntrulesall

#choso x reader #choso smut #choso #choso kamo #jjk x reader #jjk smut #choso x you #x reader

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bluegalaxygirl · 7 months

Text

Full Moon (Zosan X reader) P5

Plot: While out taking photo's Sanji and reader get attacked by a strange creature. While the crew decide to hunt it down to save the village Sanji starts acting strange.

Warning: Violence, blood, bad language, injuries,

Sanji X Zoro X Reader, poly relationship, established relationship, Reader is GN. Reader is the photographer of the crew always carrying around a camera they made (Polaroid) that doesn't include a snail.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

Making it back to the village with the full moon still high in the sky you look around from the tree line. No one is around but you keep looking a little longer in case you missed something. You wanted to make sure no villagers were around, trying to keep Sanji safe. Luffy kept walking though strolling out of the forest with a slight whistle making you sign and give up walking out behind him, Zoro following with Sanji keeping low between you two and Franky bringing up the rear. Making your way through the village you keep looking around Sanji nudging your hand a little to get to calm down but you didn't want to make any chances. It wasn't long until you all made it to the town center, rounding the corner you met with Nami, Usopp and Brook sitting around with a mob of men on the ground passed out. "Oooh, i'm in trouble" you whisper to yourself as Zoro and Sanji look at you confused. As if the navigator could hear you from a mile away, Nami's head shoots up your eyes locking with hers as she stands pointing at you with an angry look "I'm going to kill you" she yelled making Sanji growl and you giggle patting him on the head "It's ok, she's just mad i left her to deal with this mess" you explain walking over to the angry navigator, your boys following you while Luffy runs over to Usopp asking what happened. Nami walked up to you and bonked you on the head with her fist "You start a fight and then run off?" she asks as you rub your head "Sorry but i knew you could handle it, i mean your the strongest girl i know... don't tell Robin" you wink causing the girl to sigh and bring you in for a hug "I still hate you" she pouts before noticing the wolf behind you. She gulps and pulls away form you "is that?" she asks not really wanting to finish her sentence "Yes that's sanji. We killed the main werewolf, but he's still like this" you sign looking down at your wolf boyfriend.

Usopp soon notices after telling Luffy everything and sneaks over hiding behind you as he looks over your shoulder at the wolf. Sanji notices and looks up at sniper only for him to fully hide behind you earning a slap on the back from Luffy "Its just sanji" the captain laughs while the sniper rubs his back form the pain. "Yohohoho, look at you." Brook walks over laughing bending down to the wolf. "Guy's" Choppers voice yells out as he runs over to your group with Robin strolling behind him skidding to a stop next to Nami spotting the large wolf. The doctor tried to hide behind nami but ends up doing it the other way around, none of you correct him though just hold in your laughter as Sanji and Chopper stare at each other. Sanji huffs out startling Chopper whose eyes widen more "SANJI?" he yells out before you and Zoro can stop him, Sanji shakes his head stepping back a bit but managing to control himself. Noticing his voice hurt Sanji, Chopper covers his mouth and whispers a sorry. "Chopper did you find anything?" you ask making the doctor look up at you and nod with a smile "Yea i did. With the help Robin i think i found a way to cure this." he says holding up a bottle with some strange blue and purple liquid. "Lets get you back to the ship and give you this" Chopper smiles beckoning Sanji to follow. The others nod and walk after the doctor but large wolf only moves when you and Zoro wanting to be close with you two.

With the sunny setting out to sea almost everyone went to bed while you and Zoro waited in chairs inside the med bay as the large wolf lays in the bed finally asleep after taking the medication. You had given the bottle you found to Chopper who was studying it and taking samples at his desk behind you two. Zoro leaned back in his chair holding your hand and rubbing your knuckles with his thumb as you curl up in the chair next to him a blanket over your lap watching the wolf sleep. You both worried that it wouldn't work and Zoro couldn't take his eyes off the window, The full moon still in the sky. After a short while you notice a faint blue light that seems to peel away the wolves fur, face and skin. "Zoro" you call squeezing the mans hand making him look at the bed watching the wolf disappears in a light blue and dark purple haze leaving your Sanji behind. Sanji groans a little and opens his eyes making you smile seeing their back to normal. As he sits up and runs a hand through his messy hair you can't help but get up and hold him close Zoro smiling and pulling the cook in close. Chopper smiles form the side happy his concoction worked watching You and Zoro holding the cook tight. "I'm glad your back" you cried a little into Sanji's bare shoulder as Zoro places his hand on Sanji's cheek pulling him in for a kiss. Sanji gladly leaned into it one arm around you both holding you close to him. Placing your hand on his bare chest you realized he was naked except for the blanket that laid over his lap and hips. "Urm, Chopper could you get Sanji some clothes please" you ask the doctor who nods jumping out of his chair and leaving the room.

Sanji pulls away form the kiss feeling a little breathless as you pull away to grab the blanket you were using and wrap it around the cooks shoulders. "I'm glad to be back, i never want to be like that again" he smiles pulling you in closer "You remember it all?" you ask stopping him form kissing you so he can answer your question. "Yea i do and i'm so sorry for the way i acted, i could hear, see and smell everything, it was so... overwhelming and everything but raw meat made me feel sick" he signed running his hand through your hair "Yea i'm sorry about that." Zoro sighs running his hand through Sanji's messy hair as the cook turning to face him "You attacked us because i slammed the door open" Sanji laughed a little at that and shook his head "It's ok you didn't know. After i turned and had time to adjust things got better but i still had that hunger" looking down at his lap his eyes saddened. You lean up and wrap your arms around his neck holding him close to you "You have nothing to be ashamed of, you protected us" at your words Sanji seemed to lighten up a bit making you pull away, so he can place his lips on yours. His soft lips moved against yours feeling the warmth and love he was giving you and you gladly gave that back running your hand into his hair to stroke it.

Chopper walks in and places the clothes down on one of the chairs seeing you and Sanji kissing. he apologizes quickly before grabbing a book and leaves the room, Zoro thanking the reindeer before turning back to you two. Pulling away Sanji places his forehead against yours, Your eyes meeting his beautiful grey eyes, they seemed to sadden a bit and it made you concerned "What's wrong?" you ask Zoro looking over the cook to see if something was hurting him "That guy really wanted you dead, he wanted me to do it" Closing his eyes he moved his head into your shoulder "What?" Zoro asks running a hand up and down the cooks back. "In the forest. When he talked by head felt fuzzy and i almost...For a second i" with a sigh you make him pull away form your neck looking at his teary eyes as you cupped his face "You didn't though. Even when i hurt you, you didn't hurt me" your words seem to sink in making the cook smile a bit as he leans down to kiss your cheek "You're amazing you know" you replay leaning into him "You did everything you could to stop that wolf from hurting us. You could have died" you scold him a little but you can't be mad at him, he did save your life. "I didn't need saving" Zoro answer both of you turning to him as he scratched the back of his head "But.. i did appreciate the help" he continues holding you both close again and kissing the cook on he head.

Everyone in the crew slept in late, it being lunch by the time everyone was up, you took it upon yourself to make lunch as Sanji sat at the table next to Zoro making sure the cook rested and ate. The cook was desperate for a cigarette when he woke up this morning getting a little cranky but he seems a lot better now after his second cigarette. It was loud with Luffy, Usopp and Franky talking about the werewolf but you managed to focus on Robin's voice as she talked to the group around her. The book Franky gave her had a lot on the situation form last night, and she happily explained it to the rest of the group. Sanji and Chopper seeming to be paying more attention than the others. "To become something more than human, a perfect combination of mankind and predator could create a god like being. Im guessing that's what he wanted" The black haired woman flips through the book while sipping on a cup of tea "A werewolf is something along those lines but it's too animal like and unpredictable, it seems he tried to modify it using witch craft and science" Robin stops on a page before looking up at chopper "is that why Sanji looked so different?" the doctor asks looking down at the book "It seems so but the werewolf part was still there, Silver and heat were still a weakness." As she explained you walked over with two plates in hand setting one down at Luffy's end who almost grabbed all the food on the plate while the others tried to grab what they could. The second plate went down the other end setting it in the middle of the Robin's group. "Is that all he wanted? To be god like, a bit of a lonely existence" catching the group's attention they look up at you, Zoro pulling his chair back and patting his lap for you to sit.

Sitting on the mans lap and taking Sanji's hand over the table Robin smiles and nods. "What about the whole manipulation thing.. Its like he was trying to control me" Sanji sighs squeezing your hand while taking a bite of food watching as Robin flicks through the book again soon landing on another page and pushing it over to you three. "Its more of a wolf thing than it is a werewolf thing. The pack Alpha tells the others what to do, mix that with witch craft and you have a strong ability but it doesn't work on other Alpha's especially when there's... Mates involved" You can't help but smile and giggle a little at that as Zoro laughs out gaining Sanji's attention "What's so funny?" The cook glares at you two putting out his cigarette out before Zoro's arm goes around the cook and pulls him closer "Its not funny, its just.... Your just a horny dog" Zoro laughs harder as Sanji punches him in the arm "I am not" The cook yells causing some of the others to laugh too. Sanji's face goes red but you place your hands on his cheeks "We love you all the same" with a small laugh you place your lips on his giving him a quick kiss as the laughing dies down. Zoro leans his head into the cooks neck "We love you" he whispers so only the Sanji can hear who sighs with a small smile leaning in as the swords man places a kiss on the man's neck.

The rest of the day you and Zoro made sure Sanji rested. The others helped out if Sanji needed anything and Chopper checked up on him through the day. As it got closer to night and the full moon started to show you got a little nervous, even though Choppers medication worked you feared it would only be temporary. Luffy wanted to throw a party on the deck to celebrate so you all joined, Nami and Usopp helping you make food and drinks while Zoro kept Sanji out the way, the poor man didn't like being away form the kitchen for too long but you two wouldn't let him until tomorrow. Walking out the kitchen you looked up at the bright full moon, your worries fading away since Sanji hadn't been showing any signs. Handing out drinks to the others you finally made your way over to Zoro and Sanji who where sitting out of the way, the cook nuzzled up to the swords man watching the crew sing and dance. "Hay babe, finally joining us?" Zoro asks seeing you walking over with three drinks in your hands "Yep, Nami said she'll take over" sitting down next to Zoro you hand him a big mug of Sake and cup of tea to Sanji. "Thank you love, i'm sorry your doing all this" smiling at the cook you shake your head "Its fine, i want you to rest today. i'm not as good as you but i don't think i'm half bad" mentally patting yourself on the back you hear your cook laugh a little "Half bad? My love, you did amazing" leaning over Sanji places his lips on yours pulling away to place his head back on Zoro's shoulder. "You always get my Sake's temperature just right" the swords man leans down kissing your neck making you giggle before he moves to your lips, wrapping your arm around his bicep you pull away and lay you head on his shoulder watching the crew.

The rest of the night was filled with laughing, talking, singing and dancing, slowly but surly as the night went on the others started heading to bed. Sanji had fallen asleep on Zoro's shoulder at some point but you both deiced to stay up a bit longer before heading to bed. Once Luffy left for bed you and Zoro deiced to head to bed as well. Usopp was good enough to clean up sending you three a wave as Zoro carried a sleeping Sanji to bed with you in following. You couldn't help but look at Sanji as he slept, he's handsome when he's awake but looks so cute when he's sleep. You open the door to your shared bedroom letting Zoro in before closing the door, as your went to change into some pj's the swords man placed Sanji in bed taking off the mans shoes before covering him up and getting changed himself. Neither one of you wanted to wake him, knowing he needed all the rest he could get plus who could wake such a sleeping beauty. Pulling your top down you feel a pear of hands grab your waist pulling you into a broad chest "I love you baby" Zoro whispers from behind you, turning him his grip you wrap your arms around his neck and give him a smile "I love you too, Hun" leaning up he gladly leans down so your lips meet giving each other a long kiss before he picks you up and carries you to bed. Placing you down he gets in next to you and pulls the blanket over you two spooning you and letting his hand go around you to touch sanji. Facing Sanji you place your head close to his and close your eyes, feeling his steady breath on your face and Zoro's chest move behind you as he breaths.

#polly relationship #zoro x reader #roronoa zoro #one piece #sanji x reader #sanji x zoro #zosan #zoro x sanji #zosan x reader #sanji vinsmoke #black leg sanji #sanji #zoro roronoa #zoro #zoro x sanji x reader #one piece zosan #halloween #werewolf

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thebiggestfuckgiven · 6 months

Text

Ectoberweek 25: Will-o’-Wisps

Rating: T

Warnings: mentions of death, of being buried alive, descriptions of gore, brief mention of vivisection, true crime-esque horror, and general spooky vibes

A/N: I really wanted to do a lil something for the spooky month and what better to write than something for the fandom i’ve been sickeningly hyperfixated on for the past four months. Actual prompt had a two-sentence prompt as well, and i went with both <3

- 💜 -

October 2004

The things everybody tells you about small towns- everyone knows each other, ni things big happens, every day is a slow day, and the biggest local teen hotspots are the walmart parking lot or the big chain pharmacy/corner store —are true. The thing that everyone knows about small towns except for the majority of the people living in said town is that their minds are as small as the local post office.

This is especially true of the teens of Casper High in Amity Park, Illinois.

Sam’s black combat boots stomped against the warm pavement as she ran for the next block. Her breathing was ragged, coming out in harsh puffs of air in the autumn cold. She had gotten an SOS text message from Tucker seconds before the last bell rung.

Normally, she didn’t take the Foley kid very serious. They didn’t know each other that well and they barely hung out save for the couple of school projects they’ve worked on together and those rare lunch hour occasions where he’d sit at her table uninvited. Usually to avoid Dash, Kwan and the rest of their jock entourage.

She stumbled to a stop at a crossroads borderline wheezing. Running was so not her forte. Maybe it was cruel of her, but Same fully intended to ignore his SOS. That is, until she saw Tweedledumb (Dash) and Tweedledumber (Kwan) shove a screaming Tucker into their run-down jeep and speed off.

Hence, why Same was ruining her sickly goth pallor by chasing after them.

She glanced to her left just in time to see the run-down jeep screech to a halt. Christ, the stabbing in her sides was killing her. Sue her for walking. The jeep wasn’t going anywhere anymore. She stumbled a few steps, feet burning, as she held a hand to her sides like that would help her.

Dash jumped out from the passenger side, Kwan following shortly after, from the driver’s side. They opened the back doors on each side, where Tucker was. They cornered him. Dash reached in and was soon pulling Tucker out by his feet. Sam could hear his scream now.

“C’mon, guys, please just leave me alone! Let me go, Dash!”

The Wonder Jocks laughed in response. Kwan slammed his door shut, confident that Dash had Tucker handled now that he was out of the car. Kwan rushed to the sidewalk to roughly grab Tucker’s free arm.

“Guys, this isn’t funny!”

Sam was halfway down the street now and she dreaded the idea of having to run again to keep those two muscle-headed idiots from beating the crap out of the geek that for some reason imprinted on her. Ugh, caring for people was overrated anyways. She could still walk away. Save herself the hassle. No one care about her in this stupid town anyways. So, why should she care?

She slowed to a stop. Her feet ached.

Dash and Kwan were dragging Tucker towards the street corner, which just confused Sam, amidst her inner turmoil. Why even drag Tucker all the way out to his own neighborhood? His house was literally a street away, and there wasn’t even a bare-bones playground here. So what—

“No, no! Don’t put me in there, Dash, Kwan, please! Just let me go, guys, it’s not funny!”

Sam felt a sharp chill run down her spine. Something heavy dropped in the pit of her stomach at the sudden realization of where, exactly, they were.

“Shit.”

She broke off into a sprint as fast as she could.

Shithsitshitshit.

Another thing about small towns is that they all have a well-kept secret. A dark past, usually. Sam found that she thrives on such darkness; on those unwanted and discarded things. As it turned out, Amity Park had a surprising amount of those. She made it her personal business to grow intimate with her town’s buried gutter.

The things she learned were both shocking and, for all her boasting, a little horrifying. Things that would be permanently burned into her retinas. Unseeable and unforgettable. So, she scolded herself for not realizing sooner where they were dragging Tucker to. She would’ve run a little faster, cared a little more, if she had.

She zoomed past the jeep and turned the corner so sharply she nearly fell flat on her face.

Tucker wasn’t screaming anymore, but there were tears streaming down his face as he stared in terror at the behemoth of a house towering over them.

In all its abandoned, festering glory: the infamous Fenton House. Even in bright daylight, the house was obscured in awkward elongated shadows, made worse by the house’s freaky, Frankenstein-esque structure. As if imitating a child’s building blocks tower, there were partial structures jutting out of the house’s main body. They creaked in the cold wind, threatening to snap off and crush any trespassers. At the very top, there was a round dome of sorts with something resembling letters across it. They were black with rot now. Unreadable.

Sam wasn’t a fearful person, but she was a believer. The Fenton House was more than haunted. She’s read enough testimonies to not take it lightly. People have gone missing in that house. Hell, they’ve been found dead in there. She may not be friendly with Tucker, but that didn’t mean she was about to leave him to a tragic fate.

Body running on a sudden burst of adrenaline, she grabbed the nearest thing she could find (a sizable stick) and marched towards the two jocks.

“Hey!”

All three of the boys turned to look at her. She stood two steps below them, resolutely ignoring the way the house seemed to want to swallow them whole. Tucker’s terrified face shifted into one of pure relief. A new wave of tears was visibly threatening to spill over.

“Sam,” he croaked.

Dash barked out a laugh.

“Samantha Manson? What the hell are you doing here?”

“Hey, wanna help us lock this dweeb in the Fenton House?” Kwan smiled brightly, pointing at Tucker.

Sam scowled. People always confused her apathy for cruelty. She hated it.

“It’s Sam, and like hell I do. Drop the nerd, assholes, or else,” she said, pitching her voice lower in an attempt to sound intimidating.

Maybe she should’ve spent her time running thinking up a plan instead of hating on Tucker for making her run in the first place. She clutched the stick in her hand tightly.

Kwan scoffed.

“No way. I just said we’re gonna lock him in the house.”

“Yeah! We wanna know what happens when you put a techno dweeb with murder ghosts,” Dash said, smiling cruelly at a Tucker.

“He short-circuits. It’s not impressive. Let him go.”

Dash must’ve realized, finally, that Sam was being serious. He narrowed his eyes at her, the stick in her hand, and smiled.

“Or what? You’re gonna hit us with the creep stick? Ha. Last I checked, Sam, girls don’t have the balls to pull that off, so why don’t you get lost and forget you were ever here,” Dash said before adding to Kwan, “And Paulina says I’m not a gentleman.”

It was Sam’s turn to smile. She went up a step as she spoke.

“Like any girl would let you get that close, Dash. Besides, I promise mine are bigger than yours. Here, I’ll prove it.”

Before he even had time to blink, Sam jabbed the stick hard into Dash’s crotch. A gentlemanly oof broke past his lips and he let go of Tucker’s arm to clutch at his wounded pride.

“Augh, bitch.”

Kwan also let go of Tucker to check on his friend. Sam didn’t waste a second and grabbed Tucker’s hand.

“Run.”

They bolted down the stairs, Tucker nearly slamming into her from the sudden force.

“Sam, I didn’t think— I mean— shit, thank you. I thought- Ah!”

“Shit. Let me go, jackass!”

They had barely cleared the Fenton House’s shadow when a large, thick arm slammed into Sam and Tucker’s bellies as Kwan— just Kwan —grabbed them by the waist and lifted them up.

Note-to-self: never piss off a linebacker.

Sam knew Dahs and Kwan were big for their age, being football players and all, but jesus fuck this was insane.

She kicked and punched for her freedom, but either rage was a hell of a pain nullifier or her punches were child’s play.

Crap, and she dropped the stick when he grabbed them. Just her luck.

“You better let us go right now, Kwan!”

“Or what?”

He was effortlessly taking them up the stairs and— oh that’s the door.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, they— they can’t actually lock us in. There’s no key. We-we can just leave,” Tucker whispered, panicked.

“You don’t know much about the Fenton House, do you?”

Sam’s voice was small. She felt small.

They were about to be locked in a horror house.

Dash opened the door. Sam didn’t even see him get there.

“Sayonara, losers. Have fun in the Fenton House.”

The world tilted and blurred for a split second, Sam’s stomach lurching at the weightless sensation, before she and Tucker landed hard on the linoleum floor. Pain shot up her elbow and hip. Beside her, Tucker groaned.

“If you even make it the whole night! Ha!”

Bam!

Tucker scrambled up at once, but as soon as his hand touched the doorknob a sound like a lock sliding into place echoed throughout the empty house.

“Wha…”

Sam waited with bated breath. Then—

A low droning sound buzzed across the floor, seeping through Sam’s hands in an odd pins-and-needles sensation. Red emergency lights flickers throughout the house, bathing everything in muddy crimson, and the droning sound was replaced by the most horrifying screech of twenty-year-old rusted metal scraping against itself.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Thick sheets of metal began dropping over every conceivable entry. Including the windows and, of course, the door. Sam pulled Tucker back by the collar of his shirt just in time to keep his hand attached.

Tucker yelped, clutching his hand close.

“What the fuck—”

Warbled, distorted speech boomed from somewhere in the house, the voice and the words long ruined by time. It was like someone was trying to speak underwater. The message was only a few seconds long, but it was disgustingly haunting. Sam knew exactly what it said.

Ghost attack imminent. Fenton Security measure Christmas Ham activated.

If she remembered correctly, the measure lasted six hours. But the last time it was activated (that anyone knows of) was five years ago. Who knew how much the technology had deteriorated at this point. They could be here for a whole day.

Sam broke from her thoughts to glance at a hyperventilating Tucker. She couldn’t blame him. The Fenton House was creepy enough on the outside. Inside? With flickering red lights? Sam was making an active effort not to throw up from the fear writhing in her intestines.

The shadows kept moving in the corner of her eyes, she swore she kept seeing a green glow (but she couldn’t tell where from), and it was freezing cold. Colder than it was outside, which should be impossible, but it was the Fenton House. Impossible was inconsequential.

Sam shuddered. They had to find a way out.

“Tucker—”

“Sam- ohmygodSam- this is- I mean what the fuck was that? We’re literally trapped here. In a tomb with linoleum floors. Shit, and you’re trapped, too, cuz of me. I shouldn’t have sent you that text. Fuck it I shouldn’t have flunked Dash’s essay. Now we’re gonna die here and—”

“Tucker!”

Sam grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him lightly. Their eyes met, both wide with incessant panic.

“Calm down,” she spoke slowly. Tucker gulped and nodded shakily.

“Okay, okay, yeah.”

“Breathe. You’re good with computers and stuff, right?”

Tucker scoffed, but more in a self-deprecative way rather than an offended one.

“Sure am. It’s what gets me in trouble, isn’t it?”

Sam shook him again.

“Forget that. We need good with computers. The Fentons were notorious for their unorthodox advancements in technology. Supposedly had patents on really futuristic shit. Most of it buried, obviously. But they were good enough that their security system still activates nearly twenty years after their departure.”

Ridiculously good, she thought bitterly.

There was a moment of weighted silence as they looked around the house. The lights, the rusted yet intact panels over the windows. It was eerily quiet. She stepped a bit closer to Tucker, who thankfully didn’t say anything about it.

“Yeah, alright, okay,” he muttered to himself before clearing his throat. “The-there should be, uh, a circuit breaker somewhere. We could cut off the power—”

“Won’t work,” Sam stated, eyes furtively glancing around them. She had the weirdest sensation they were being watched. “The town cut the power away from the Fenton House ages ago. It runs on some kind of external power source, but nobody knows what.”

Sam kinda hoped they didn’t get to find out.

“Shit. Man, what the fuck. Who the fuck were these people?”

Sam let out a manic sort of laugh. The hysteria was boiling up in her like toxic chemicals.

“Do you want the short answer or the long one?”

“I have a feeling we’re gonna be here a while. Long answer?”

A pause.

“We should find a way out.”

“Yeah.”

Neither of them moved an inch. They stood in the middle of the living room. A trashed one at that. Although, looking closely from where they were, the whole house looked trashed. Wasn’t the place SWATted?

She spotted a flash of green in the hallway, right there in the corner of her eye, and snapped her head towards it with a small gasp. There was nothing there.

“Hey,” Tucker said softly. “Let’s check out the windows for loose panels or something and you can tell me about the Fentons’ own loose panels.”

Her mouth went dry, but she nodded.

“Sounds good, yeah. So, uh, what do you know about the Fentons?”

Tucker shrugged and went towards the first window, by the door. Sam followed closely by. He didn’t mention it.

“What everyone else knows. Mad scientists who went so crazy after their son’s disappearance that they tried to summon him from the afterlife. They got so obsessed that they never left the house and just, died here, waiting for their son to come back. Pretty sad.”

That window was a bust. So was the next, as well as the door. They ventured into the hallway. There were a few square and rectangle imprints on the walls, but only one hanging frame left. With a picture. Hands shaking, Sam reached up and snagged the picture from where it was, careful not to cut herself on what was left of the glass.

It was a family picture. A wall of a man stood at the back with a practiced, dashing smile. To his left and a little below him was a woman with short, bright red hair. They were both in brightly colored hazmat suits, goggles hanging around their necks.

In front of them were two teens. A girl with bright red hair as well, but styled much longer. Next to her was a boy, younger and slightly shorter than her, with black hair. They were all smiling wide and bright, except for the boy. His was more hesitant, not quite reaching his eyes.

Sam pointed at the young girl.

“Did you know the Fentons had a daughter, too?”

Tucker’s eyebrows went up slightly.

“No… Something tells me I won’t like why.”

“You won’t. Um, kitchen?”

Sam saw another green flash and was anxious to get away from it. They bee-lined to the kitchen, and Tucker checked the windows there.

“So… There’s a few things you got right. The Fentons—” Sam pointed at the two adults in the picture “—were renowned scientists. They did some impressive breakthroughs. Like the kind they still teach in universities, but with a disclaimer attached. The more they went into their work, though, the more obsessed they got…” she trailed off in a whisper, tensing.

The house was creaking.

Tucker stopped in his tracks, too, eyes wide but lips pressed tightly together.

Nothing happened. The house stopped creaking.

Tucker let out a slow breath, eyeing the cabinets.

“Think there’s anything edible left around?”

She glared at him sharply.

“If you open any fridge or cabinet doors, I’m leaving you here alone. This place is bad enough, we don’t need to add rats or rotted food to the list.”

Tucker pouted but conceded.

“Fine, I’ll just starve. Keep telling me about the creepy doctors and their stupid creepy house while we check upstairs.”

Sam sighed in temporary relief. She didn’t think she could handle seeing a fridge full of maggots. Even if it has been almost twenty years.

They continued up the stairs, carefully, and Sam went on with the Fenton tragedy.

“The Fentons started growing obsessed with other dimensions. Specifically… the afterlife, and its inhabitants.”

“Like… ghosts?”

Sam nodded.

“Exactly like. They became convinced they could create a doorway into the afterlife, at the cost of their reputation. They got ostracized by the academic community once they started referring to themselves as ‘ecto-scientists’.”

“Yeah, who wouldn’t. Bunch’a wackos,” Tucker muttered as they ventured into an organized room with cool colors. Light blue walls, light green bed sheets coated in blankets of dust, so the only reason Sam knew they were light green was because she’s seen pictures of what the room looked like twenty years ago. She ignored the uneven pattern of small dark spots on the wall.

It was the girl’s room. Jasmine Fenton’s.

Tucker went straight for the window, but Sam hung back near the entrance.

“They didn’t actually open a doorway, right?”

His voice broker her out of her thoughts. She blinked.

“Hm? Oh, uh, allegedly, yeah.”

This house probably sat on an open portal. There probably was an infestation of something murderous in it. Sam shook the thought away. She’ll drive herself crazy worrying about that.

“Supposedly,” she continued. “The doorway was one of their patents. They had the science backing it up and everything. But they… There were rumors, around the time the supposedly opened the doorway, that there was an accident in the house involving their youngest. Daniel Fenton.”

Tucker frowned at the blocked window. A bust. They made their way to the next room. A queen bed bare of any bedsheets, and a large chest of drawers with an equally large mirror attached to it. The Fentons’ room. It had an extra window.

“What happened to Daniel?”

Sam shuddered, goosebumps breaking out across her arms. The room got colder, so much colder than it had been. A soft crackling sound broke out, like frost taking over with a vengeance. She opened her mouth to speak but her breath got stuck in her throat.

She closed her mouth. Breathe. Another flash of green, this one brighter than the others. Breathe. It was so cold, her teeth started chattering.

“T-t-t-tucker—”

“Y-ye-yeah, I’m-m ignoring it,” he said simply, tugging at the panels.

Fuck, how can he ignore this. Sam was so uncomfortable, consumed by such a sudden unease, she wanted to claw off her skin. She tried to ignore it anyways.

“Daniel— jesus I’m freezing —he was out of school a couple of days after neighbors heard a scream. That same night, the power went out in the whole town, except for the Fenton House.”

The freezing cold seeped away, leaving behind a frost pattern that didn’t melt on the mirror despite the warming room. Sam blew out a breath, sending out a silent thanks.

She frowned, unsure why she did that.

“A lot of people theorize,” she went in, rubbing the remaining cold in her fingertips away. “That one of two things happened that night. One, a backfired experiment drove the Fentons all the way crazy to the point that they started experimenting on both their kids, thinking they were ghosts.”

“Wait, both of—”

“Two, Daniel died because of said backfired experiment and his parents somehow managed to either bring him or his ghost back.”

None of the windows opened. They started for the next room.

“That’s… actually insane. And what do you mean, both their kids?” Tucker stopped for a moment, meeting Sam’s eyes.

“Did something happen to their daughter, too?”

Sam pressed her lips into a thin line. That’s the part rarely anyone knew about the Fenton horrors. Daniel wasn’t their only kid. He certainly wasn’t their only victim.

“I’ll get there,” she replied instead, looking away. “It only gets worse.”

“Christ,” he muttered.

They walked onwards.

“A couple of weeks after that, Daniel disappeared. But in those weeks, the Fentons became obsessive, borderline manic, with ghosts. Their nature, their morality. How to trap them, contain them… kill them.”

They were nearing then end of the hallway, where the last room was.

Tucker shuddered, sporting his own goosebumps.

“I don’t like the way you said that.”

Sam grimaced, sticking close to him once more.

“Yeah, it’s pretty bad. What’s worse, the Fentons called off the search party after just one night. They claimed they didn’t want false hope, they just wanted to lay their son to rest. They buried an empty casket, and Daniel hadn’t even been missing three full days.”

Her voice was hollow.

“Shit. They…”

“Killed their own son because they were convinced he was a ghost? Most likely,” she said bitterly. As far as true crime went, Amity Park’s dark secret was the worst she’s ever read.

Neither said a word. For one long minute, intentionally or not, they remained quiet, mulling over the terror a kid must feel when they realize their own parents saw them as something to be killed. And to think, they were standing in the house where it happened. Where two parents killed their son. Allegedly.

And their daughter…

As if reading her mind, Tucker quietly asked, “What about the girl? It gets worse doesn’t it?”

Sam swallowed, her mouth dry and throat sore.

“They—” she sighed. “After their son ‘becoming a ghost’, they got paranoid. Extremely so. If one of their kids was a ghost… They couldn’t stand the idea of having an imposter in their own home. There were reports of screams two nights after the funeral. Like, really awful screaming that went on for nearly an hour, I think. Authorities broke into the house after multiple calls to find the Fentons in the basement and their daughter on a table just… cut open. She died before the paramedics could get to her.”

Again, neither said another word. Sam wished she’d run faster. Hit Dash harder. This house was tainted in blood and betrayal.

Tucker clutched at his chest and Sam realized his breathing was short and sparse. Crap.

“Tucker—”

“I fucking,” he gasped, trying to catch his breath. “Hate that we’re here. We’re trapped in like they were, but they— Fuck, they were kids. Their kids. Who does that.”

“Tucker, breathe,” Sam insisted lowly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He nodded, but only got a few gasps of air.

“I’ve been t-trying to hold it together but I just can’t— what if we can’t find a way out. What if we die here.”

“We’re not gonna die here,” she stated fiercely despite being unsure of it herself. “If the windows are a no go then we’ll just find a way to deactivate the security system, okay? We’ll be fine.”

Tucker nodded again, quiet.

It took another few minutes until he finally got his breathing under control. Sam squeezed his arm comfortingly, giving him a small smile. They’ll make it.

He returned the smile without a word and turned to the last room. They had windows to check.

She suspected it was Daniel’s room. It was the only one they hadn’t seen yet. Tucker tried to turn the knob but it didn’t budge. She frowned. Weird… thinking about it, all the other rooms had been wide open.

“Rusted?”

Tucker shook his head, shaking off another involuntary shudder. Sam suppressed her own. It was getting colder again. Tucker tried again to open it. No dice. The knob wasn’t budging. He let go of it, hissing through his teeth as he rubbed his hands together.

“The metal is freezing. It, uh, must be something with the heating.”

Sam gave it a try and immediately drew her hand back. Freezing was an understatement. A second longer and she would’ve gotten the world’s worst case of freezer burn.

“Tucker, I don’t think we’re allowed to go in this room,” she whispered, hugging herself to keep warm.

He gave her a look like she was crazy.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That’s Daniel Fenton’s room. All the other rooms were open but this one—”

“—is locked.”

“No. Look at the handle. There’s literal frost on it. There was frost on the mirror in the other room, too. I think—”

“If you say ghost.”

Sam glared at him.

“After everything I told you. Scratch that, haven’t you been feeling all the weird stuff in this house? The creaking, the frankly extreme cold spots, the fucking creepy green light!”

Tucker’s eyes went wide at that, mouth dropping open.

“I-I didn’t think you could see them. But that— that doesn’t mean—”

The house gave a violent creak, causing the floor to rumble threateningly. The temperature dropped drastically, covering the entire hallway in a light frost.

Sam’s teeth immediately started chattering from the cold.

“This is too much,” Tucker whispers, that underlying panic settling back in.

Impossibly, finally finally finally, they both saw the green flash at the other end of the hallway, flickering desperately before disappearing.

“Tuck,” Sam let out, mesmerized, overtaken by the overwhelming urge to follow that light. An itch she had to scratch, to claw at until it broke open. “He’s here.”

She didn’t know how she knew that, but she’s never spoken truer words. This she knew with absolute certainty.

“Sam.”

He was struggling not to fall for the light, but he couldn’t ignore this forever. Sam thought he’d be an idiot to do so.

She moved forward without another word. Shortly, she heard Tucker follow after.

When they reached the stairs, another flash of light burst to life at the landing, flickering that desperate staccato.

They continued to quietly follow the light wherever it appeared. It led them down the hallway of missing picture frames. Sam clutched the picture in her pocket. They reached a closed door. It was colder in this area, but the door knob was warm. It opened easily to reveal stairs to a basement showered in white fluorescent lights.

They went down the stairs with no hesitation, following that green light that was growing more and more desperate with each step they took. At the bottom, they were greeted by an empty expanse of white floor.

There were various metal tables, but all devoid of any machines or materials that one would expect in a lab. Because no doubt that’s what this basement was. There were discarded cords and metal scraps scattered across the room. But most notably, there was a large, round arch-like structure at the center of the furthermost wall. It was huge, its top scraping the basement ceiling. It had an indent, with two metal panels that interlocked in the center. As if it were a… door.

“Sam… is that—”

“Tucker, look.”

The little flash of green stopped by a blue button on the wall. It flickered swiftly, faster than any of the other times before it went out entirely.

They stayed there, standing, for a moment.

“Are we… are we about to find a dead kid’s twenty-year-old decayed corpse?”

Sam nodded shakily, not believing it either.

“I think so.”

They still didn’t move. God, it was so cold. She couldn’t feel her fingertips.

“What if something happens to us?”

“The thought crossed my mind.”

Two dead people found in the house during its abandonment. Three missing.

“And?”

She looked back at him, a soft smile edging its way onto her face.

“He deserves to rest. Doesn’t he?”

Tucker glanced between the blue button and the closed, arch-like door. Determination set into his features. He nodded.

They went towards the button. Tucker settled his hand over it first, Sam placing her hand over his. Their eyes met.

“This had to have been the world’s worst nap.”

Sam snorted and pressed his hand onto the button. The technology down here must be in better conditions because the effect was instantaneous. Concrete scraped against concrete as a rectangular hole opened up in the center of the lab.

From where they were, they could see it. A homemade metal casket that weirdly resembled more of an iron maiden. They found him. Daniel Fenton. He could finally, truly rest.

That’s when the pounding began.

Sam and Tucker turned to each other in horror. She felt a visceral tug in her gut she nearly threw up then and there. Instead she ran to the metal casket, dropping to the ground halfway there so she slid across the floor. The pounding grew louder, and it was definitely coming from inside. Tucker was frozen stuck by the button.

It only gets worse.

A faint sound, behind all the pounding. Sam leaned closer, listening. Her stomach dropped. Her head snapped towards Tucker, eyes a desperate frenzy.

“He’s crying. He- He’s still- o-oh my g- Tucker, help me get him out!”

This broke him out of his horrified stupor and he kneeled on the ground next to her. His hands were shaking.

“What do we do? What do we do?”

“Fuck, idunnoidunno- uh, grab, shit, shit, go to the other side. Maybe we can lift the lid.”

Stumbling, trembling, Tucker did as he was told and crawled to the other side. But he saw what was on the lid. Fuck.

“There’s a lick. Sam, it’s locked.”

She looked back up at him on the verge of tears.

“What! No, no it can’t be- it—”

“Just, hold on. I’m gonna go back upstairs. Maybe there’s something we can use. I’ll be back, I promise.”

She got the feeling he wasn’t really talking to her. The pounding quieted down but there was a muffled sound. A strained whimper.

“Shit,” Tucker whispered before running out and up the stairs.

Sam sniffled and laid a hand in on the biting cold metal of the casket.

“We’re gonna get you out,” she whispered, wiping at the tears streaming uncontrollably down her face. “I don’t really understand how this is even possible, but we’re not gonna leave you here.”

There wasn’t a response. Not a whimper or a knock. She was gripped by the fear that maybe they were too late. Twenty years buried and they were five minutes too late.

Tucker came stomping down the stairs, taking two at a time. She looked up to see he had an honest-to-god metal bat in his hands. Fully intact and not rusted at all. His hat was askew and his eyes seemed wild.

“He- he helped me find it. Nearly ran all over the house,” he said, panting heavily.

“Hurry up and break it,” she begged, not bothering to disguise the desperation in her voice.

Without another word, Tucker aimed the thicker end of the bat downwards and plunged it against the lock.

It broke apart with a resound clang.

“Help me with—”

But Sam was already crossing to where he was. Kneeling, side by side, they gripped the edges of the casket and lifted. A cloud of freezing cold air puffed up, obscuring their vision for a few seconds. They couldn’t see if they really did save a boy’s life, or if it was just his corpse playing tricks on them. But they heard heavy breathing coming from rattling lungs and not from either of them.

They’d both been holding their breaths.

The cloud dispersed. In front of them lay a young boy with matted white hair, brilliant green eyes drowning in tears and a grotesque muzzle caked from within with old and fresh blood. Metal clinked against metal. His wrists were chained to the casket. His knees scraped and bloodied from banging on the lid.

Tucker immediately removed the muzzle, which thankfully wasn’t locked. Sam’s heart broke. Shattered. The boy’s cheeks were caked, blanketed, with that same mixture of blood, his lips horribly scarred.

He sobbed, screwing his eyes shut against the bright lights.

“Thank you,” he rasped. His voice scraped against his throat.

Tucker and Sam held his hand. They cried with him.

“You’re safe with us.”

He always would be.

#ectoberweek2023 #day 25 #danny phantom #shit’s insane #i wrote this in one night #yes instead of sleeping #it ran away from me so quick #i wrote like a beast POSSESSED #when i tell you this story had me in a choke hold #there’s a lot of fenton lore for this one in my head in true crime format #i think said format really adds to the horreur~ of it all #things that didnt make it into the story: sam’s witchiness #she’s studying to be a green witch #tucker is the classic nerd #can you tell i tried to stick to the early 2000s vibes? pls tell me you can #alsoalso can you spot the teensy super tiny monster high reference #i couldnt help myself #badass Sam Manson #i love her #posted a little late but hope that’s okay #sorry for any grammar errors im pretty tired dkdj #tucker foley #he just wants a friend pls #i genuinely like how their personalities came out in this one #will o' the wisp #buried alive #infinite constant: the trio will always find each other

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bluesfortheredj · 2 years

Text

In another life.

A/N: Spoilers for volume 2 of Stranger Things season 4.

“You can be the hero Steve?” you scoff as the other three walk off into the darkness, leaving you, Eddie, and Dustin to do your bit, “get real.”

Eddie aims a frown at you and you roll your eyes, “you’re already a hero, idiot. You’ve come into this fucked up world to try and save a town that thinks you’re some sort of satanic serial killer. They don’t deserve you doing this for them.”

Dustin looks over at you both and nods, “she’s right,” he shrugs.

You were done with Eddie putting himself down all the time and saying that all he can do is run from anything when he was here, with you, in this hell hole trying to distract some freakish creatures so the others could kill Vecna. Truth was that you were head over heels for the guy, and he seemed to have no idea how you felt. Now that you were practically staring death in the face you were angry at yourself for still not having the guts to tell him your true feelings, and the only way to let out this anger was to direct it at him it seemed.

“I’ll start on the fences,” you announce, getting nothing but silence from Eddie.

“Dude, what was that?” Dustin asks as they collect panels of metal from the nearby trailers.

“What was what?”

“She called you a hero. Hello! She’s totally into you.”

Eddie sneaks a glance over in your direction as he drags a corrugated sheet along the ground, “nah. She’s just being nice.”

“So let me get this straight; we’re literally facing some sort of monster who could kill any one of us at any second, and you’re putting off telling her you love her because…?”

Eddie starts drilling to avoid answering the very apt question Dustin has put forward to him, then sees you’re caught up on a bit of wire fencing.

“I’ll go!” Dustin blurts out before Eddie gets a chance to move.

“Dustin,” he hisses, “Dustin! Don’t you dare!”

He shakes his head from side to side as he continues to fix the defences to the trailer and watches helplessly as Dustin begins to talk to you as he frees your jacket from the jagged edge you were trapped on.

“You were right what you said about Eddie,” he begins as he takes the other end of the fence.

You smile at him, “I know. I shouldn’t have said it so harshly though… or called him an idiot. He’s anything but an idiot.”

“Well he can be…”

“Not as much as I can, I bet.”

“Then maybe you’re just both as bad as each other. Ever thought about it that way?”

“How do you mean?”

He smacks one hand against his forehead and sighs, “come on! I thought I was meant to be the kid here. You two… you’re acting like children!”

His voice gets louder so that Eddie can now hear him, and the two of you look at one another as you and Dustin approach.

“Do I need to spell this out for you both?” Dustin asks, helping you hold the chain link against the side of the trailer so Eddie can secure it, “you’ve got thirty seconds to sort your shit out while I grab that panel, or I’m knocking your heads together when I get back.”

Dustin walks off and Eddie moves closer with the drill, “thirty seconds isn’t a very long time,” he states, “not for what I wanna say anyway.”

“You’d better do a quick summary then, because I don’t fancy having a headache on top of being in this shit hole.”

Eddie chuckles at your comment and briefly lowers the drill as he turns to face you, “so to summarise… I’ve sorta fallen for you, and after we get out of here I’d love to take you out, go see a film or maybe dinner or something?”

A smile tugs at your lips at the way he nervously fiddles with his hair with his free hand, and you nod enthusiastically at his proposition before leaning in and kissing his cheek quickly. His hand falls from his hair and he mutters a “fuck it,” before placing it on your jaw to keep you steady as he swoops in to kiss your lips.

“Finally!” Dustin sighs, breaking you two apart, “you two are such hard work.”

Eddie walks over to him and rubs his head through his hood lovingly, “cheers Henderson. You little cupid.”

“Pfft,” he laughs, shoving Eddie away playfully, “come on, we’ve got work to do.”

You take over drilling duties as the two guys continue to bring in reinforcements, then when it’s finally looking bat proof the three of you grab the essential gear; an amp, and the guitar. Eddie stands centre stage, as it were, plugging in the instrument to the amp and running his fingers along the neck carefully.

“Ready?” he asks, and both you and Dustin nod.

The plectrum appears and he’s playing the riff as if he wrote it himself as he stands there performing in possibly the craziest place he’s ever performed. Dustin keeps an eye on the horizon with the binoculars as you keep an eye on the immediate perimeter all while Eddie plays his heart out right next to you.

“They’re coming,” Dustin announces, turning to Eddie and giving him the signal for thirty seconds.

You can see the hoard of bats flying towards you, and your eyes dart from the incoming threat to the immense performance happening right in front of you.

“Twenty seconds!”

Your heart is racing as you look up at Eddie, completely enthralled by him.

“Ten!”

Suddenly you’re all surrounded and you get into the trailer within seconds, all of you panting with a mix of fear, anxiety, and pure adrenaline.

“That was so cool!” Dustin and Eddie sing in sync, jumping up and down with excitement.

Eddie looks over to you once they’ve calmed down and smiles, “that was pretty fucking awesome,” you agree as the creatures attack the trailer.

You jump forward against Eddie’s side as one particularly enthusiastic creature bangs on the wall next to you, and he puts his arm around you protectively, “it’s okay,” he reassures, kissing your head.

“Guys, they’re on the roof,” Dustin says, looking up at the ceiling anxiously.

The three of you stand there staring up at the vine covered roof, then all of a sudden Dustin notices the vent, just as the first bat bursts its way through. You all grab the spears from the floor and start fighting them off, making sure none of them got in, then Eddie slams one of the dustbin lids up over the hole to block it.

“Any other vents we should be worried about?” Dustin asks.

“Oh shit,” Eddie gasps, running towards the bedroom.

It’s too late as the creatures fly in one after the other in a frenzied attack, and you all run away as Eddie slams the door shut to stall them.

“Go go go!” he shouts as you all head back towards the gate, “go! Now!”

Dustin climbs up the sheets first, then you jump up and land with a thud in the normal world, and the two of you look on as Eddie begins to climb but suddenly stops, looking from you two to the bedroom door and deliberating what he should do.

“Eddie come on!” Dustin shouts.

“Please!” you plead, watching helplessly as he slides back down, “what are you doing?”

He looks up at the two of you with a smile, “I’ll distract them,” he moves the mattress, cuts the sheets, then disappears out of view leaving you and Dustin begging for him to return.

“What’s he doing?!” Dustin cries desperately.

“Nothing without me there,” you state defiantly, grabbing a chair and kicking the mattress to one side, “stay here because he will kill me if anything happens to you.”

“(Y/N), no!”

“Trust me, okay? We’ll need your help getting back through.”

Dustin grabs your arm as you back up for a running jump, “please bring him back.”

“I will,” you promise.

You use the chair for a bump up and grab onto the sides of the gate, determined to pull yourself through to the upside down once more, and you land with a loud bang on the hard floor of the trailer. Dustin looks up, watching as you stand and begin to hobble towards the door as quickly as you can. There’s no sign of Eddie, but you notice the swarm of bats down the street and one of the bikes from before missing, so you grab another and set about following the cloud of darkness that you could only assume was following Eddie. Your feet are peddling like they’d never peddled before until you come across the abandoned bike at the side of the road, and when you look to your left you see Eddie standing in the middle of an onslaught of bats, only a spear and the other dustbin lid for protection.

“Eddie!” you scream, realising just how underprepared you were for this as you look around for some type of weapon.

The bike was the only thing so you pick it up and run into the cloud of creatures that were surrounding him. The two of you had only just got your shit together enough to admit your feelings, so you were hell-bent on this not being the end for either of you, and you run into the swarm bike first, swinging the thing around to create a space for you both in the middle of it all.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Eddie shouts.

“I’m not letting these little shits ruin our date,” you reply.

One of the creatures wraps its way around Eddie’s neck and causes him to fall to the ground as others begin to bite his stomach, but you grab the spear he’d dropped and stab the sucker before chopping it in half so he can unravel himself.

“Come on!” you pant, grabbing his hand and helping him up as he pulls the others off of him.

There’s a trailer nearby that you spot, and drag Eddie along to it, opening the door and pushing him inside first just as the creatures attach themselves to you. There’s a struggle as you slam your back against the door to get them to release their grip while Eddie panics inside, but eventually you get in and hold the door shut with a deep sigh.

“I hate bats!” you shout angrily, locking the door and standing with your back against it.

“That was… uh… woah…” Eddie breathes in amazement.

“Bedroom,” you nod, feeling the creatures attacking the door.

“I mean, I thought you’d at least buy me dinner first,” he smirks.

“Well, we can’t waste any time can we?” you retort with a wink.

Now was definitely not the time for this, but my god if you were going to die you’d die happily knowing that your last words were used to flirt outrageously with Eddie Munson.

“I’ll block the window,” he says as you shut the door and move the desk in front of it, “holy shit, (Y/N), you’re bleeding.”

You turn to face him and point to his t-shirt, “so are you.”

“Yeah, but…” he trails off as your clothes turn to a deep crimson much quicker than he was comfortable with, but the adrenaline was obviously keeping you from feeling any of the pain so far so he quickly stops what he was going to say, “so how are we getting out of this one?”

“I have no idea,” you sigh.

Glass shatters outside of the door and you realise they’ve finally broken their way in, so you get up onto the desk and sit with your back to the door as they pummel the wood while Eddie holds up the mattress from the bed against the window.

“We’ll swap,” Eddie says, knowing you can’t take much more from the bats, “come on, jump down.”

You shake your head from side to side, “I’m good right here.”

“(Y/N), please, swap with me.”

The first creature breaks through to your back and latches on, causing you to cry out.

“(Y/N)!” he calls out in distress.

The second one finds its way through the wood and its teeth clamp down on you, then Eddie moves over as far as he can without dropping the mattress and reaches out for your hand. You extend your arm to him as well and as soon as your hands meet everything seems to stop; the bats drop to the floor and the entire place falls silent.

“What just happened?” you gasp.

“I don’t know…” Eddie says quietly, peeking behind the mattress to see nothing at the window, “they’ve… died?”

Still holding his hand, you get off of the desk and join him at the now clear glass. The two of you stand there staring into the abyss outside; all of the bats now seemingly dead on the ground, and you only let go of one another to move the desk out of the way and carefully open the door.

“Woah,” Eddie says, seeing the carpet of creatures that now greeted you, “lets go before they wake up or some shit.”

He gets a hold of your hand and leads you out of the trailer then back to the gate in his where Dustin still stands there looking through for a sign of anything.

“Eddie!” he screeches, “(Y/N)!”

You both manage to haul yourselves through back to Dustin, but as soon as you stand up the pain hits you like a train and you collapse on the floor in front of the two guys.

“(Y/N)!” they both shout.

The next thing you know you’re waking up to a bright white light, and for a second you think you’ve died until you hear Dustin’s excited voice calling Eddie’s name as you move and wince in pain. Two faces appear either side of your vision, both of them friendly and familiar, and you attempt a smile as you try to sit up.

“Hi,” you croak dryly.

“I’ll get you some water,” Eddie gasps, running out of sight.

“Where am I?”

“Hospital; Eddie carried you here after… everything.”

“Carried?”

“Yeah. A lot has happened since you were out… it’s been two days, but Eddie will explain.”

“He hasn’t been arrested?”

“No,” Dustin smiles triumphantly, “we… we sorted that.”

“How?!”

“One word: Jason,” he smirks.

Eddie appears again with a glass of water and helps you take a sip, “told you you were a hero, didn’t I?” you whisper.

He blushes, knowing Dustin must have told you how you got here, “well I had to make sure that date goes ahead,” he kisses your forehead and you lay back with a smile; the fact that everything calmed when you held hands was no coincidence, this was meant to be.

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson fic #eddie munson imagine #joseph quinn #stranger things imagine #stranger things x reader #stranger things fic #stranger things s4 #eddie munson fix it fic

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ashersanity · 5 months

Note

I'll be honest, I'm pretty interested to know more about your PCs. Could you list a few facts about each? Esme is super cute I don't even care if she's dangerous. I just wanna squish her and be tied up in her basement forever I might hold a bias when it comes to Johan because he's a foxboy from what I've seen and my PC is a foxgirl, and they're both defiant too so obviously I may or may not be interested in him the most 😭 I read that little thing you put about the PCs as yanderes and Asher seems so possessive I love it Please feed me I need - Degenerate anon :)

degenerate anon, you have no idea what you’re asking for, how much this means to me, for someone, other than myself (and a few) taking interest in my pc’s. you wanna know about MY PC’s?? REALLY?

SQUEEZING YOU, HUGGING YOU, CRUSHING YOU IN THE PALM OF MY HAND HHRRGGG. I FUCKING LOVE YOU, SO, SO, MUCH!!!

besides that awkward part, there’s a LOT of info on them, lore, backstory, their habits, behaviours, personalities, made them all yanderes just cuz why the fuck not, huh? so I’m unsure if I could fully answer all I truly want to say in one post unless I wanna bore you to death with my ramblings. so, I’m giving you the choice to ask for a specific post, wether headcanons sfw and nsfw, their reactions to certain things, opinions on LI’s and others, even their backstory and lore?? if you’re interested, of course.

take your pick on whichever PC you’d like for me to do first. johan, asher or esme. johan has the most fleshed out backstory and lore so far, it runs real deep. asher has a fuckton of nsfw shit going on and esme is that one :3 with blood on her face.

I’m going to put their current status for the time being and which character has affected, shaped their personalities the most.

Under cut for people who are actually interested. cw! INFO DUMP, LOADS OF RAMBLING!!! non-con, mentions of blood and violence

Johan, the disgraced. [FILE 1.]

Current status : [DETAINED] Stuck at the asylum after the [ACCIDENT] occurred. Harper just won’t fucking stop harassing him.

In a few words, how would you describe him?

“Sly, manipulative, two-faced, smug, psychotic, sadistic, selfish” The type of guy to a jab a knife in your stomach and get hard from the sight of you whimpering under him, sick grin on his pretty face

A stat unique to him : Sanity. Keep it high, please. If it drops below 30%. ..Better not to say.

3 main chars and their roles

Whitney. Wants him dead. Fuck, once he breaks out of this damn place, it’s utterly over. UTTERLY. FUCKING. OVER. Fantasizes about killing that motherfucker every night. The reason why he’s in this shithole in the first place.

Sydney. His beloved, his everything. Kept them pure, wishes to protect them from this sick town the same way he was unable to protect himself from it. Only person in the world who gets him soft and makes him drop the cold act.

Harper. Weird doctor that won’t stop asking him to come in. Knows something is up and can see through his tricks, the pen and hypnosis not working on the fallen angel. Harper may think that he has the boy in his grasp, but it’s the other way around really, has him in the palm of his hand like a lab rat. Oh, also, they fuck each other on a daily basis.

Asher, the disturbed [FILE 2.]

Current status : [DANGEROUS] Fresh out of prison from saving Kylar and now roaming around town, not what you’d expect from your typical teenage boy.

In a few words, how would you describe him?

“Hard to read, generally calm, repressed, obsessive, cold, a ticking time bomb” Type of guy to claim he doesn’t care about you before he’s trapping you over the desk, fucking you silly

A stat unique to him : Patience/Impatience. His cool demeanour will eventually crack if low enough. High impatience result in consequences.

3 main chars and their roles

Whitney. (again) Not the same way as Johan, may or may not have unexpectedly fallen for her despite having initially hated her guts. Rocky relationship that slowly developed into something more clear over time, that he’s unfortunately, utterly obsessed with her. Purposefully put a baby in her, fucker.

Robin. His childhood friend with weird tension going on there, loves them to death and has this obligation to protect them from this town. If anything bad were to happen to the poor orphan then Asher would only have himself to blame or so he claims. Lot of pent up guilt from when he found them at the dock, bruised and bloodied.

Bailey. Obviously so, the main antagonist, the one who’s responsible for all the shit in his life. Wishes to overthrow the sick bastard somehow, doesn’t exactly know how, but he’ll think of something for sure. Has a deep hatred for the man though he feels conflicted at times, whenever he and the caretaker are alone in his office, begging for an extra before payment.

Esme, the devoted [FILE 3.]

Current status : [STABLE] Going through her usual routine, school, spa and of course, hanging out at the park and arcade with her girlfriend.

In a few words, how would you describe her?

“Loyal, clingy, delusional, gets attached easily, naive, not entirely what it seems, loving.” Type of girl to always be there for you as long as you do the same! Or else. Wants load of cuddles too, please.

A stat unique to her : Devotion. This is entirely depending on how willing she is to do favors for you. Is proportional to her love. Keeping it high is recommended.

3 main chars and their roles.

Kylar. Her pretty, perfect girlfriend who’ll do anything for her and she’ll do the same too!! What? She’s crazy and psychotic? Nonsense, they can be insane together, giggling about this and that with the blood of their victims on their hands and faces. How silly.

Avery. Sugar mommy that she got herself attached to, sees her as a mother figure, the one she never had since.. she’s an orphan after all. Avery is more or less aware of this and doesn’t know how to feel about it, Esme getting sort of clingy at times though she may have a soft spot for her despite it all.

Great Hawk. That bird understands her more than anyone and you couldn’t possibly get it anyway. Probably because, just like Kylar, Esme is an outcast at her school and not entirely well-liked even with her soft, cheerful personality. The freak tanked that reputation down so now she cherishes every single person she meets, including the Great Hawk. Silly bird gifts her flower crowns and gems.

I’d do more, but fuck, there’s too much to talk about really.

#I went on a tangent #worst part is that this isn’t even the full story #or anything at all #shit #degenerate anon #I love you for asking #all time favourite anon now #johan the disgraced #asher the disturbed #esme the devoted #dol #degrees of lewdity #dol pc #asher gets asks

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satohqbanana · 4 months

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Dragonmage Pact

Drakenveyond AU times. Please enjoy this outline/summary/zero draft/whatever you call it.

I should probably write out some lore-related stuff next, if only to explain more of what exactly is going on here. It's actually more Aveyond than Drakengard; all I borrowed from DOD are lore and themes. (Also, I'm sorry that there are no evil flowers here that wishes to take over the world with flower power. I tried going that route once - I even had character designs in mind - but I just didn't like the ideas coming out of it. Fortunately, though, there's less fratricide.)

Summary: The world's most compassionate nymph incarnate and the world's most selfish noble enter a pact to save themselves from certain death, when an army of tireless, undead soldiers besiege it. Now bound as a duo of a large talking dragon and a nonverbal mage, Rhen and Lars navigate through their new self/ves, regroup with the other nymph incarnates and their guardians, and find a way to safely undo the pact. (And maybe save the world along the way as well.)

Warnings: Deaths; lots of deaths. Like major character deaths. Because there are deaths, there are also some killings. The nature of people's relationships are also mostly vague. Also this is way too long.

Edit: Added titles to parts to help any poor soul navigate this huge thing.

...

Part 1: The Curse of the Pact

A man named Ahriman is known to be the most powerful sorcerer of the land. While his actual abilities are limited to mind control, revival magic, and energy blasts, he is quite cunning. He protects himself by hypnotizing priests to defend him and hide his presence, and he manufactures an army by revitalizing the bodies of fallen warriors and using mind control to make them hack away endlessly.

He has once tried to take over the world before, and after a grand war with the Chief Goddess and her nymph daughters, has been sealed into a deep sleep. However, a prince who wanted power for his own reawakens him. After slaying the foolish prince and enslaving the boy's army, Ahriman's first target is the Kingdom of Thais. Rhen, the incarnation of a nymph who resides there as some saint figure, manages to escape the invasion.

While hiding in a nearby town, her foes catch up and seriously injure her. Fortunately, she finds Lars, a young traveling mage on the verge of death himself. To extend their lives, they hesitantly form a pact by merging their then-fractured souls. A pact is a magical contract that gives life and power to those who are willing to give up their most precious possessions. In this pact, it takes Rhen's identity and transforms her into a dragon, and it takes the main source of Lars' power, his speech.

Their relationship starts off rocky; neither one is willing to cooperate. As pact partners, they always hear each other's thoughts in their heads, and what wounds one gets, the other feels.

One of their first arguments goes like this: Rhen wants Lars to carry her now-useless possessions, one of which is a sword; he thinks they're uncool and she can carry them by herself once he gets them strapped across her body. She insults him by telling him he's basically an ordinary guy with no abilities, which forces him to carry the sword if only to look cool and powerful.

Their next major point of contention involves the treatment of their foes, majority of which happen to be brainwashed mortals. As the incarnate of the nymph of compassion, Rhen pities them; as a nobleman who thinks of himself first, Lars does not. They argue on the methods of dealing with these foes, on whether simply disabling them will keep them down long enough, on whether killing them is merciful or not, on whether a foe should simply disintegrate or deserved to be tortured with wounds before dying.

However, because Lars is unable to communicate efficiently and use stronger magic, and Rhen's current appearance frightens a lot of people which also affects her communication, the two realize they need each other. They form a truce that will take effect until they find a way to safely undo their pact and unbind their lives - because they have things to do and places to be, and they cannot afford to be tied down to each other until the end of time.

Part 2: The Incarnates and Their Guardians

Lars lets Rhen take him along to the other nymph incarnates, as they may know of a way to unbind the pact or so. Hence, they travel to the Land of the Mysten Far, where an older nymph incarnate, Talia, resides. To Rhen's relief, Talia is still alive and recognizes her from her aura. Talia informs her that one of the other nymph incarnates have fallen, so they must gather the rest before Ahriman's forces destroy them all. Hence, Talia and her guardian Devin joins them.

On the way to the next nymph incarnate, Talia learns that Rhen's guardian isn't Lars, but a healer named Dameon. Rhen confesses she hasn't seen Dameon since the fall of Thais, where they got separated. She cannot detect where he is and thinks he has been killed. Talia criticizes Rhen for forming a pact with a mortal to extend her life instead of reincarnating, for pacts are the double-edged blades of the desperate. Rhen however deems the pact a necessity for now, as haphazardly breaking it will kill her needlessly.

Meanwhile, Devin attempts to teach Lars swordfighting as an extra layer of defense, but fails terribly due to the lack of verbal communication. So, Devin helps him get books on magic in hopes of learning more spells that do not require speech.

Talia and Devin also notice that, while Rhen and Lars more or less accept each other as their pact partner, the two still have much room for improvement with regards to their new selves. Rhen is still clumsy with her dragon form, and Lars still struggles with non-verbal spells. Rhen assures Talia that this situation is only temporary and thus they would not require mastering their new selves. Talia doubts as there is no wide-known way to unbind a pact, but lets it be, since the two would simply end up frustrated.

The group arrives at the Kingdom of Harburg. There they find the next nymph incarnate, Mel, and her new guardian, Spook. Rhen and Lars temporarily part ways with their growing team to seek knowledge on pacts and magic based on Spook's lead, but find their journey to be a diversion when it drags on and Lars cannot sense potent magic in the area.

The two rush back to Mel - right on time. Talia had been drugged and lays unconscious, while due to thwarting an assassination attempt on Mel, Devin pays with his life. Spook reveals himself to be an excellent mercenary hired by Ahriman.

Rhen and Lars struggle in their battle against Spook. Spook has a form of power from both Mel and Ahriman. Several times Rhen has to defend Lars, but fails to counterattack. Several times, Lars tries to attack Spook, but is easily overpowered. Eventually, after much challenge, the pair manage to strike Spook down, but he rises, bloody and still full of life. As he lunges for an attack, Mel stabs him from behind, announcing that the incarnate chooses her guardian, and she chooses him to stop being hers.

Talia awakens and mourns for Devin. Meanwhile, both Rhen and Lars are mortified at their weakness and their reliance on the pact. Rhen, having been a swordsmistress herself prior to the pact, decides to mentor Lars in some form swordsmanship. Lars, as a master of magic theory, decides to help Rhen master her abilities as a dragon. Together, they discover that her sword can be a conduit for non-spoken magic, and that Rhen can now use the power of song, amplified by her bigger draconic lungs.

Meanwhile, Ahriman's forces grow ever bigger and stronger. He knows where Rhen and her team hides, for he uses her connection with her guardian, Dameon, to find her. Dameon is one of his priests now, having been corrupted by his desire to protect Rhen. Ahriman keeps him busy by preparing the ritual ground for the rebirth of the world in the Temple of Rebirth.

Part 3: Partners' Bonds

Back to the nymph incarnates, Mel informs the team that she had "lent" her former guardian, Edward, to a fellow incarnate, Stella, and suggests they visit her next. However, Talia prevents them from doing so just yet, as they do not have guardians strong enough to help them defend themselves, even with Rhen and Lars' pact or newfound skills. The powerlessness stings both Rhen and Lars with much humiliation and frustration.

They find Talia's words true enough during an ambush. Fortunately, a banished paladin and his vampress pact partner finds and rescues them: Galahad and Te'ijal. Though reluctant, the nymph incarnates employ the two to chaperone them. Galahad immediately takes to the task, while Te'ijal only agrees to add spice to her life.

As they travel together, the group learns of the duo's past. Galahad was loyal to a fault; he once served the corrupt King of Sedona, and in the greedy king's conquests, Galahad almost died. Te'ijal found him in this state, and since she had nothing better to do, she formed a pact with him. Their pact turned Galahad's right arm to stone and took Te'ijal's immortality, but thanks to it, Te'ijal has lightning speed and stealthy, silent movements, while Galahad has super strength that extends to the sword he uses. When Galahad went back to his King, he was dubbed a monster and therefore banished. Te'ijal on the other hand cannot live as a vampire would normally do, so she decided to make her days as fun and exciting as possible by persistently buzzing around Galahad. Galahad has survived thus far thanks to the blessed armor he wears, which automatically moves him out of the way from perceived oncoming threats.

The duo also learn of the nymph incarnates' agenda in full. Many centuries ago, in a grand war against Ahriman and his daevas, the destructive forces almost ripped apart the multiple realms of Aia. To keep the realms stable, the Chief Goddess of the World used herself and her daughter nymphs as Holy Seals. However, the power to keep the Holy Seals intact robbed them of immortality, so the seven goddesses must now reincarnate every few decades. The incarnation process is quick, but Ahriman aims to kill all seven incarnates within months to end the cycle, destroy Aia, and create a new world with him as the Chief God. The nymph incarnates now aim to gather their kin to unite their powers and use it to seal Ahriman and heal the world.

In silence, Lars supposes that this plan would also rob the incarnates of their lives and ultimately do as Ahriman plans. Rhen hears his thoughts and replies that if the incarnates are going down, then so is Ahriman. They agree it is not wise to keep the pact until such a time, and they must make haste.

The group soon reach the Kingdom of Naylith, which is currently being besieged by Ahriman's forces. They wade through the battle and successfully find Stella and Edward deep under the Naylithian caverns. While wounded, the pair are not in grave danger.

As the group recuperates from the weary fighting, Rhen and Lars find an old library and uncover different ancient scriptures that speak of sword magic, song magic, and dragon magic. With Lars being a fast reader and Rhen being quick to process magic, they take advantage of their shared mindspace to absorb the knowledge. Neither would admit it, but one or both of them at the time thought, 'Are pacts really so bad?'

Meanwhile, Galahad watches the other nymph incarnates. He thinks they are too young to be going through such a tragic fate. Stella appreciates the care, Mel finds that patronizing, and Talia laughs and calmly explains that their souls are older than anyone else's; it's their bodies and personalities that changes with every incarnation. Te'ijal then tells the three that Galahad doesn't 100% believe in magic and may not even fully believe that they are the highest-level deities only second to the Chief Goddess.

Before any argument can ensue, Edward suggests they leave immediately before the enemy can find them. Talia agrees with this and gets Te'ijal to retrieve Rhen and Lars from the library.

As the group leaves, Ahriman's forces follow them, so they split: Rhen and Lars will distract them, while Mel, Stella, Edward, Talia, Galahad, and Te'ijal make their escape. Rhen and Lars with their newfound powers decimate their pursuers - and immediately regret not taking any of their other companions with them.

Meanwhile, the other group struggle with the new addition to Ahriman's army: cyclopses manufactured from alchemizing people into one being. The fact renders Stella distraught and Mel has to calm her down. Talia, Edward, Galahad, and Te'ijal deal with the cyclopses. As the group triumphs, a weakened cyclops makes a final attempt to fight and takes Edward with it.

The two teams reunite. With the loss of Edward, Galahad offers himself as a guardian to the incarnates, but Talia says he shouldn't enter another contract with his pact intact. The guardian contract, like the pact, relies on binding lives together, so that the guardian may use a weaker form of the nymph's power. However, the guardian gets to live as long as their nymph incarnate lives in order to serve her sufficiently. As such, the nymph incarnates are sensitive creatures who assigns only those close to their hearts as their guardians, for the guardians are granted eternal life and youth, until they are killed in battle. As thus, the guardian contract is not something to make too light of, nor something that any stranger could be offered with.

Rhen and Lars briefly entertain the thought of having a guardian contract instead of a pact - then the guardian contract with the pact. Neither like it - Rhen does not think Lars can sufficiently aid her that way, while Lars dislikes the idea of having to actually serve somebody with his life.

Part 4: Conflicted Souls

Their next destination is the Kingdom of Sedona. As a banished paladin, Galahad stays behind. Something's off: the supposed nymph incarnate there, Lydia, is flaunting off her power at a time when incarnates needed to hide. She also has amassed a battalion of guardians. Furthermore, they do not sense the aura of a nymph from within her. The incarnates decide she is a fake and they ought to expose her, but where would the real one be?

They find the real nymph incarnate hiding in one of Sedona's provincial towns, Dirkon: Ingrid. She has her guardian, Boyle, with her. As the other older incarnate aside from Talia, she advises the rest to ignore the fake and proceed with their task, as the last nymph has been recently reincarnated and must be protected in her frailness. To boot, the goddess incarnate is being attacked in the Elven Vale. But the younger incarnates are stubborn about exposing Lydia.

Hence the group decides to split: Mel, Stella, and Te'ijal to confront Lydia and expose the fraud; Talia, Ingrid, and Boyle to find the new nymph; and Rhen, Lars, and Galahad to rendezvous with the goddess incarnate. They would later meet up in the Vale.

As the latter two teams leave, they are ambushed by Ahriman's forces. Lars finds their presence suspicious and wonders if, upon the death of the guardian, the contract expires. Rhen first considers dissolving the guardianship, but eventually decides against it. Even if he has betrayed her, Dameon is still important to her. So, the pact partners decide to sit down and meditate. Eventually, Rhen divines where Dameon is, and it's in the Temple of Rebirth, where he is trying to revive armies for Ahriman.

Devastated at the discovery, she falls into deep silence. She has no idea what she now feels for Dameon, and whether she wants him now to kill him to keep her memories of him "pure", to make him suffer for his betrayal, or to forgive him, if that will make him stay by her side again. Without her to verbally communicate for them, Lars tries to aggressively sign and gesture their way into being understood, a task made more challenging with Rhen's thoughts dominating his own. Galahad is confused. They're all frustrated.

Meanwhile, Mel, Stella, and Te'ijal observe the situation in Sedona. Despite the fraud, Lydia's "guardians" do have powers of their own. Hence, Mel uses her and Stella's status as incarnates to openly request a meeting with Lydia, which Lydia agrees to.

The confrontation turns into a battle of philosophies. Lydia claims that ordinary people need hope at a time of war and destruction, and she wishes to be that beam of hope. Mel accuses her of wanting to fulfill that role so that she could take advantage of the people's desperation and claim power, riches, and fame. As the two argue, Stella notices the peculiar necklace Lydia is wearing. Te'ijal acknowledges the jewelry as a soul pendant - one that binds people's souls to the bearer - hence Lydia is indeed controlling all her "guardians".

Heartbroken at this piece of information, Stella attempts to snatch the pendant from Lydia. Lydia puts up a struggle and calls her "guardians" to intervene. Mel and Stella hurry to fight Lydia alone, leaving Te'ijal to find creative ways to hold off the fake guardians. Lydia casts a strong spell, but Stella pushes Mel away to receive the attack in her place.

Angered, Mel relentlessly attacks Lydia. In the scuffle, the pendant slips away from their fingers and lands next to Stella. Stella manages to toss it out the window and smashes it to pieces. Lydia's control over the fake guardians vanishes, and she finds herself subjected to the mob's fury. However, the rest of Sedona gets thrown into massive hysteria and civil unrest at the loss of their "incarnate". Te'ijal immediately whisks the two incarnates away.

Meanwhile, Dameon grows weary of waiting in the Temple of Rebirth and working for Ahriman. Ahriman assures him that Rhen will soon come to see him, so he should prepare to welcome her. Dameon knows that dissolving a pact will require the contractees to give up yet another part of themselves, but he knows that the Egg of Resurrection, a relic within the temple, will help Rhen dissolve the pact without giving up her life.

At the Vale, the nymphs' group reunite. Talia, Ingrid, and Boyle brings along the last incarnate, Myst, who they found wandering by herself along a seashore. Talia gets everyone up to date with Te'ijal and Galahad's help, but Rhen stays quiet.

The group are met with a resistance force - at their head the guardian of the goddess incarnate, Ean. The resistance immediately serves the incarnates with food and bed. Stella's condition is serious, but she is unafraid to die now that the incarnates are all together again.

As the group enjoys a warm, hearty meal after long days of hiding and getting by on the road, the goddess incarnate makes herself known. She is a young girl named Iya, which concerns Galahad. Iya informs them that she had always dreamed of the events that now occur, but not many believe her, for the land itself was dying and the people's faith has decreased rapidly over the years. She foresees none of the current incarnates would continue the cycle - they were the last iteration in their lifetime. The power of the goddess has waned. At this, the incarnates fear - sans Myst, who is yet to understand her role, and Rhen, who is still deep in thought about Dameon.

Since Lars' head is filled with Rhen's endless questions and self-blame, he has been forced to simply follow the others' lead. Through this experience, Lars supposes that the pact had prioritized his voice over Dameon's, the way Rhen's thoughts sometimes drowns out his own, which is why Rhen hadn't been able to contact him. He takes the opportunity one morning, once they awoke, to ask Rhen if her connection with Dameon went down after they made their pact. Rhen confirms this, temporarily shifts blame on Lars, then apologizes to him and blames herself again.

The group's respite ends as the resistance informs them of the arrival of Ahriman's army. The nymphs and their allies deploy into the battleground to push the enemy away.

As the others prepare for what might be the last stand of all that is good in the world, Iya informs Rhen and Lars about the Temple of Rebirth and the Egg of Resurrection. The temple's powers does not only revive what has been slain or manufacture homunculi from parts that once lived. It also helps someone rebirth themself like a phoenix. Though Iya is unsure what will happen to their pact, the Egg will help Rhen regaining her nymph form and Lars his speech. That goads the pact partners into action and revitalizes Rhen once more.

As they leave, Lars hesitates. His thoughts are strong enough to make Rhen stop in her tracks as well. As Rhen asks Iya for permission to desert their post in the battlefield, Iya notes that the two of them seem so in-sync, like they have merged into one being. Nonetheless, despite the direness of the situation, Iya allows the two to head to the temple.

However, as Galahad assists the resistance, Te'ijal accuses him of curiosity towards Rhen, Lars, their pact, and their business in the Temple of Rebirth. At Te'ijal's insistence, Galahad decides to tell Iya and the other incarnates he will follow Rhen and Lars to assure their safe return. Though Talia, Mel, Stella, and Ingrid are unsure about this, Iya assures the group that this is for the best as well. Te'ijal whisks Galahad away to quickly catch up with Rhen and Lars.

The resistance reports to Iya that the enemy is surrounding them. The incarnates then stay in a magic room that would harness their energy, which then Ean and Boyle as guardians could use against Ahriman's forces and keep them away. Through Ean, Iya summons great divine beasts to aid the resistance. Until Rhen, Lars, Galahad, and Te'ijal return, all they could do is stand their ground.

With the power of the incarnates, the resistance manages to push back Ahriman's forces. Their victory and celebrations are short-lived. The battle continues; supplies dwindle and spirits dissipate. Ahriman's army is neverending. The walls to their fort are beginning to crumble under the enemy's onslaught.

Then the sky turns red. Iya's summons go down. Cyclopses tear through the Vale's fort. Wyverns cast hail storms. Massive armies of undead, tireless soldiers march through. The incarnates are forced to take arms and face the enemy on their own. Iya begins to pray that, whatever Rhen and Lars and Galahad and Te'ijal are doing, they can somehow make their way to Ahriman and take him down.

Part 5: The Seal of the World's Fate

At the Temple of Rebirth, Rhen and Lars go their separate ways - for the first time since they formed their pact.

Rhen eventually finds Dameon, but she can only stay still as he greets her and leads her around the temple. She is surprised that he still recognizes her as herself, when it is the incarnate who chooses her guardian, and Dameon confesses that he knows because he is her guardian. He fails to mention that he knows because he has used his guardian connection with her to identify where she is and has heard reports of a purple dragon among the other nymph incarnates.

Meanwhile, Lars finds the Egg of Resurrection. Through his mental link with Rhen, he sees that Dameon is leading her there, anyway. So Lars awaits with baited breath, not knowing whether to fight Dameon or welcome him as an ally.

However, Ahriman's presence shocks him. The evil sorcerer plans to use the Egg of Resurrection to become a god, and while Lars could care less about the old man's plans, he and Rhen need it to dissolve their pact and live separate lives once again.

Ahriman attempts to discourage Lars from pursuing the Egg of Resurrection, which only activates every 500 years or so. Ahriman uses his magic to subdue Lars and taunts the boy about his powerlessness, his reliance on the pact, and his plans to return to a life that will not be there for him. Lars cannot deny it: he is powerless without his speech, without Rhen, and that he gains only his independence and nothing more if he separates from her.

As Dameon leads Rhen through the temple, she weakens as she feels like being ripped apart. She realizes that the other incarnates are falling one by one, and the toll of the Holy Seal weighs heavily on her. She begs Dameon to take her to her sisters, but he instead convinces her to pursue the Egg of Resurrection, as she can locate their new incarnations later. She tries to explain Iya's prophecy of the last incarnate iterations, but she fails. With no other choice, she could only crawl behind him, plagued once again with self-doubt and self-blame.

Dameon then arrives at the Egg with Rhen in tow. Rhen is not in a good spot; the shared emotional turmoil between herself and Lars is too much. Lars too has almost succumbed to Ahriman's taunts. They thrash about on the temple grounds trying to ground themselves and fight invasive thoughts.

The sight worries Dameon, but Ahriman tells him to prepare the Egg of Resurrection. Ahriman has planned to use Dameon all along to simply activate the relic, and when the Egg is ready, Ahriman intends to swiftly kill everyone before using it for himself.

Fortunately, Galahad and Te'ijal arrive. Ahriman engages them in battle. The two understand they are no match for Ahriman's power, but they need to keep his attention divided. First, Te'ijal threatens to disrupt the activation of the Egg of Resurrection, and as Ahriman turns around to face her, Galahad attempts to land a hit. Next, Te'ijal gets the genius idea to make a show of trying to kill Rhen. That distracts Dameon, which annoys Ahriman, but Ahriman understands that to fully prepare the Egg, he needs Dameon's powers. Ahriman has no choice but to try to protect Rhen, Lars, Dameon, and the Egg - which proves difficult, when the Egg is a huge spheroid on one side of the hall, and Rhen in her current form is a huge dragon on the other side.

As the chaos ensues, Rhen manages to crawl over to Lars. Their thoughts never seem to settle down, and at one point the self-blame has began to bounce off each other. They also recall Iya's words - they must be becoming into one being, the final curse of the pact. The mental images horrify them as their own visions begin to divide, perhaps merge into one, in which they could see themselves from each other's eye.

Now, their thoughts begin to echo. Or perhaps, one of them is echoing the other's thoughts. They can no longer tell. Is this why the pact is a deadly contract? But didn't they grow stronger in different ways through the pact? What about the things they lost through the pact? The things they gained through the pact? The pact had much to offer, but much to take! The pact is too much to bear on one's soul!

At the thought of their souls, they realize one thing - their souls have already merged. Their thoughts get in a messy feedback loop because they are only one entity in the first place.They are reliant on the pact because they are already one being, in two separate bodies and two separate consciousnesses. The same way a single person fails to accomplish anything when they make two opposing decisions at once, these two cannot do much on their own when they fail to agree.

The single entity they are commands their bodies to get back up. Fortunately for Lars, Ahriman has become too busy trying to swat away Te'ijal and Galahad. Fortunately for Rhen, Dameon has finished preparing the relic. The entity demands that its soul be taken to the Egg. And so, Lars and Rhen summon their merged soul and walk towards the Egg, phase through its shell, and merge with it.

Meanwhile, Ahriman fumes at being played around with by Te'ijal and Galahad. He cannot let himself be outwitted by a mortal man whose lifeline had only extended through the pact, or a vampire who takes him too lightly. First, he tricks Galahad into harming Te'ijal, resulting in Galahad's sword stabbing her. Te'ijal falls from the immense pain, as does Galahad who is mentally linked with her. Then, Ahriman takes Galahad by the head, preparing to behead him - the quickest way to counter the effects of the blessed armor, which does not cover his head.

Suddenly, immense power pulsates throughout the temple. Ahriman shrieks - his plan has failed. His gambit with Dameon has come to bite him back.

The Egg of Resurrection cracks open, the first time since its previous 500-year-or-so slumber. A bright light engulfs the temple. When light dissipates, two pairs of wings unfurl in the air: one white and scaly and the other black and feathery. From the Egg rises Rhen, now in her nymph incarnate form, scales covering parts of her, and Lars, with horns on the sides of his head and feathers on areas matching Rhen's scale placements.

Lars can now speak, and his first words are expletives towards both Ahriman and Dameon. Though initially delighted, Dameon agonizes when he realizes the pact had not been dissolved, but rather strengthened. He pleads for Rhen to reconsider her choices, that giving up the pact will not be lethal for her, but she ignores his words. Instead, she takes him by his clothes. Lars assists Galahad and Te'ijal to their feet, and the group fly to a higher area of the temple, away from Ahriman's wrath.

Ahriman, humiliated, tries to do something, anything with the cracked Egg. There is no power from within it, so he resorts to using his own accumulated power to transform himself. To do this, he harnesses back all the magic he used to power all his army. He would later gain the power to be a god, after he kills Rhen.

Back in the Vale, the remaining resistance members are dumbfounded to find their enemies disintegrate into the air. They do not know what to make of it, but they are at least safer for a longer while. They recoup and survey the casualties. Ean finds Iya having been slain while trying to protect Myst, who too has perished. Boyle has died alongside Ingrid. Mel and Stella are lifeless next to each other. At last, he finds Talia, who is barely alive.

She tells him to gather the incarnates' bodies around her. She knows Rhen still lives, so Talia will use her remaining life to transfer the incarnates' now-dormant essences and powers to Rhen (and Lars). Ean does as he is told, and after completing the short ritual, Talia passes away.

The resistance mourns. The incarnates are gone. Their fate is still bleak. What will happen now?

When they exit the temple, the pact pairs are aghast at the discovery of a red sky. The ground rumbles, and they find Ahriman having transformed himself into a huge black beast with multiple limbs and no eyes, covered in all sorts of forbidden runes. He cannot move from his spot, but still he oozes with power. Rhen scolds Dameon for this mess, and as she does so, feels the surge of incarnate power within her.

Lars interprets Iya's prophecy as having come true. With the incarnates becoming one with Rhen, they now have acquired a goddess's power, or perhaps even greater. They would now be able to defeat Ahriman. Rhen decides that being merciful will not do anything here, so she swears to go all out on the battle. Hungry for violence and eager to get back at Ahriman, Lars agrees to this.

Ahriman summons hoards of unearthly creatures to aid him. Rhen reminds Dameon that it is the incarnate who chooses her guardian and not the other way around. She then uses the fraction of her power in him to summon Iya's divine beasts, now healed through the combined incarnate essences, and incites them to battle with Ahriman's new legion. Galahad and Te'ijal are to protect Dameon with what they can, as he acts as proxy commander to the divine beasts.

Rhen and Lars then fly to Ahriman, who creates more creatures to try and stop them. However, their magic has been amplified, so the pair easily defeats his new minions. They find, however, that Rhen's nymph magic and Lars' verbal spells do not work against Ahriman's new form. Rhen also sees that his magic is sufficiently countering theirs, so Lars suggests using the power of song instead.

The song they possess sounds like a harrowing banshee cry, with metallic bell-like tingles and sonorous cries reverberating alongside the noise. Back on ground, Dameon, Galahad, and Te'ijal cover their ears, disturbed by the haunting, broken melody that repeated over and over. The song magic casts destructive power onto Ahriman, and since he cannot move, he can only helplessly absorb this power that he does not know how to counter. Soon, his aura falters. His large body cracks into a hundred pieces and crumbles into black ashes.

The red sky brightens into a blue hue, and the sun is high up the clouds. In the unsure silence, Rhen feels the weight of the Holy Seal. She now shares the burden with Lars, but they still count for one entity. And, while they are safe right now, the one entity they are makes them a big target. If one of them perishes, this will also undo the Holy Seal. Rhen then thinks that with the goddess' power now in them, she could safely fragment their identity as one being into many different pieces they can scatter around the world. Lars isn't too fond of the idea, but agrees that there isn't any better choice.

Galahad wants to volunteer for the role (again), but Te'ijal beats him to saying it out loud. She expresses that she and Galahad wish to take a bigger role, no that their charges are gone and one with Rhen. Besides, her body having been stabbed by his sword is no longer as useful as before.

Though parts of the Temple of Rebirth is in shambes, some of its relics stay intact. Rhen makes Dameon draw power from the relics and do the ritual to transfer the seal onto Galahad and Te'ijal's shared soul - revealed to have not been completely merged like Rhen's and Lars' - then separate the shared soul into a thousand or so stable self-contained fragments, and spread these fragments across the world.

With no other way to show their gratitude for the companionship throughout their journey, Rhen and Lars share hugs and promises with Galahad and Te'ijal as they begin to vanish. Dameon completes the ritual and the starlight-like fragments scatter throughout the world. They all watch until the last glimmer of light disappears into the distance, before deciding to head back to the Vale, reunite with what is left of the resistance, and figure out what to do next.

But for now, the world is safe once more.

(Notes here for clarifications.)

#big shrug #i'm free of this mess finally #it's actually a nice mess tbh #but i wish to move on thank you #annelaurant writing #aveyond

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fukingyolo13 · 5 months

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Sink or Swim

This is my first fanfic and I thought this would be a fun one. (BTW Jesse is female in this so I will be using she/her pronouns)

Warning: Angst, fluff, and some inappropriate language

After defeating the wither storm, Jesse's gang finally got some down time and able to grieve. Jesse still felt guilty of Reuben's death, so she decided to go to the forest and pick flowers for a little tribute to him and Ellegaard.

While in the forest Jesse found a couple of poppies, and a dandelion which she was debating on wither or not to give to Lukas. She started to have a crush on the boy when her and Axel got back from Boom Town with Magnes. Saving from a creeper when we were walking to the base. He even rebuilt the entrance with Olivia.

While picking the last few poppies in the area it started to rain. Jesse thought it would be a good idea to get back home to build the tribute. When she got back Beacontown she noticed that Lukas and Aiden were talking and having drinks at this small bar. Jesse made a mental note to try and build up the courage later to talk to him and give him the flower.

Finishing up with the tribute, Jesse tried to encourage herself to go talk to Lukas. He was so nice and saved her a few times while in their adventure together so it could be very easy to talk to him. Peking outside it was still raining, but she did get a small glimpse of a blonde-haired boy, which made her grin. Slowly heading towards where she saw Lukas and Aiden in the bar, but she stopped when she heard what they were saying.

"Dude, don't get me wrong and all but you are really planning on stay with those losers after one adventure with them." Aiden seemed confused and upset by hearing from the tone of his voice, but he looked like he was about to burst out laughing instead. "Because you don't think their leader is strong enough physically and mentally?"

"Hey, I just want to keep them safe. I don't want them thinking their big shoots and getting hurt". He said almost like he was trying to explain himself. Which Jesse understood what he was saying, but it what was said next that made her heart sink. "I love her and all, but Jesse is too weak to be the New Order of the Stone's leader."

Right after those words left his mouth, he regrated it all. Seeing the sadness on her face felt like a punch in the gut to him. He didn't know how much she heard but he knew that she heard the last thing he said.

Jesse booked it out of there and ran as fast as she could. Hearing both Lukas and Aiden call for her, she didn't care, her pride and confidence was shattered when she saw the look of pity on Lukas's face when he saw her. She ran all the way into the treasure room and just cried.

The funny thing was that Petra finally even convinced her that Lukas should go on some adventures with them soon. Axel who didn't really like the guy when we just know him as one of the Ocelots. When they got to at least know each other more he actually started to find him enjoyable to be around. Olivia even liked how smart he was.

It was hard though because she never thought she was strong enough too. She hated herself for not being able to save Reuben and Ellegaard. It killed her when the people of the town started to call her a hero, but she just felt like a failure. It was already hard enough to put on a fake smile and say that she was fine, but it hurt even more that the person she had a crush on felt the same about her.

She sat in the treasure room silently crying when she started to hear yelling from the other side of the closed door.

"What the hell do you mean you're not going to let us in?" Not voice was odiously Lukas, but she couldn't tell who the other two were. Jesse stood up quickly started to look for a place to hide in case he does get in.

"Like I said blonde, I'm not letting you in because you made her cry. If you can't get that through your thick skull you might need to get that checked out." Ivor laughed at him like he had no brain cells. "And Petra are you really thinking that he has the right to see her after what he did?"

Ivor was protecting her was the only thing she was thinking about. WHY? It didn't make sense to Jesse that he would do this just for no reason. Maybe it was because he wanted her to trust him more, or for her to get him some powerful treasure after this. Just possibly he could just be doing this because they're friends, That's the one she is hoping for.

While sitting there hearing all their bickering Jesse just to go home and sleep. She got up and walked towards the door so tired from all the crying and opened it to see the three all have swords out almost about to fight. Jesse just didn't care anymore and walked past all of them to go outside. All three of them looked flabbergasted and ran after her.

"Hey, are you ok, we can all talk about what happen at the bar Lukas didn't mean a word that he said, right Lukas." Petra and Lukas got Infront of her before she could get outside.

"No Petra I'm not ok, but I rather drawn before talking about what happened at the bar. Any way he shouldn't have said it if he didn't mean it." Jesse said focusing her gaze outside.

"See I told you she wouldn't want to talk to him. So, stop trying to make them talk if she doesn't want to hear from him." Ivor said run down the stairs behind us. When he final got by Jesse's side he noticed how sad she really looked. "Hey, I don't think it would be a good idea to go in the rain today. How about you come with me and look at how amazing the library is?"

"I was hoping I would build a house finally, but I guess you're right." Jesse said already started going back up the stairs.

"Hey wait, you dropped this at the bar when you ran off." Lukas grabbed her hand and gave back the dandelion that she wanted to give to him. Looking at it now a couple of the petals were missing, and the steam was leaning to the side, it started to look frail which was what she felt.

"It was for you." Jesse whispered and placed gently back in his hand. She noticed that he still had that pity look on his face which made her so frustrated. She pulled her arm out of Lukas's grasp and followed Ivor.

Petra and Lukas didn't follow them up the stairs which made Jesse relief. She didn't want to talk to Lukas already, but hearing Petra defend him made her hate the situation even more.

Getting in a small corner of the library Jesse pulled out the book 'Habits of Endermen' by Soren. trying to imagine what it was like for Soren to write the book and what experiences he had to go through. Jesse missed Soren and reading his books made her remember the small moments she had with him.

"So, what happened at the bar?" Ivor asked curiously.

"He was being a jerk and talking about me to Aiden."

"Kid there has to be a reason what he said made you upset enough to hide in the treasure room of all places."

"Ok fine he said that I'm too weak to be the leader of the New Order of the Stone. That I wasn't physically and mentally strong enough for it." She shouted. After finally yelling out the feelings it still hurt, nothing changed. Out of nowhere she was embraced in a hug by Ivor.

"You are enough don't listen to stupid boys for their approval. You're stronger than them because you are the one that almost died so many times and still survived. You could have thrown your friends all away and just take all the glory and fame, but you were stronger and told the truth that the original Order of the Stone couldn't do."

She started to feel better about herself but still feel not enough for everyone around. She thought it might be better if they started some small talk about things that might make them both laugh.

"Ok if Petra is Gabrial, Olivia is Ellegaard, and Axel is Magnes does that make me you or Soren." Jesse giggled trying to lighten the mood.

"You are definitely Soren" he laughed. "You both worry a lot about people's opinions on things and especially about yourselves. You both need plans things ahead so everyone and thing is alright, but you both have a major fear of loss."

"Wait is that you saying that Lukas and you are similar?"

"I guess so, but don't you dare tell him I don't want him having a big ego."

Hearing knocking on the door they both adsum it was Lukas or Petra again.

"I should probably go get that, and thanks Ivor cheering me up." Jesse walks up towards the door dreading the conversation that she is going to have. When she opened it, she saw the back of Lukas. She never noticed until now how ripped and tattered Ocelot jacket is until then.

"You might want to get a new jacket soon; it looks like it's falling apart a little bit" Jesse informed. Lukas turned quick at her words she could tell that he was nervous as well now. She also noticed a burse that was forming on his cheek.

"I'm sorry in the bar I didn't mean you weren't strong I-"

"Then what did you mean by it because the way you were talking in there it made it seem that you knew what you were talking about." Jesse interrupted. She even started pouting trying to show how upset he really made her.

"I meant that I wanted to protect you and keep you safe because after the Wither Strom you were the leader and you almost died. Do you know how that would feel knowing that if I was there, I could have at least tried to save you?"

"Yes, Lukas I do know what it feels like because I lived through it." Jesse stormed off to the left trying to find a way to hide from Lukas without having to go back in the rain.

"I'm sorry Jesse I-"

"You know you say that a lot." She said in his face.

"I feel it a lot." When he said that it made her rethink this argument. She didn't want to hurt him she was just so annoyed that he felt like that was an okay way to describe her.

The two them just stood there staring back at each other. Jesse reached out for his hand and before she could grab it Lukas grabbed her face and kissed her.

#Minecraft #minecraft story mode #jesse x lukas #angst #fluff #aiden mcsm #jesse mcsm #lukas mcsm #ivor mcsm #petra mcsm

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fineiwillwritethismyself · 2 years

Text

It Had to be Witchcraft

I thought of this one and it came out out of me rather quickly. I think I'll do my next one where Travis has a family and is a father. This one is an enemies to lovers story that is full of smut near the end. So it's for mature audiences. #travis hackett x reader #travis hackett x F!reader #enemies to lovers #smut #cussing #blood and injury #hurt/comfort #happy ending She worked here for most of her life. She never thought that she’d stay in such a small backwater town such as North Kill, however, her heart to help others overrode any other desire. Since her hometown was so small, a lack of medical help was evident. So, knowing how bad accidents on the farms got and how sick children became in winter, she became a nurse. She was happy with her community. Everyone knew each other and it was a safe and quaint place to be. However, the only people she didn’t care for were the Hacketts.

The Hacketts thought they were royalty here. She scoffed, they only thought that because they had a famous mine with a famous history with prohibition. Also they had the very popular summer camp, Hackett’s Quarry. She has had the misfortune in treating both the mother and father of the Hacketts and they were unpleasant every time. Chris Hackett was acceptable. He was charming and always flirted with her and the other two nurses. His kids were dolls, that she didn’t mind. Bobby was difficult and uncomfortable to be around at times since he didn’t understand social norms but she didn’t fault him for that. But that cop, Travis, was such an ass. He was rude and never communicated enough. She butted heads with him hard since she was stubborn and well, so was he.

The other nurses joked that they were in love and she’d always have to shoot that down. There was no way an old jerk like that would make for a great partner with her. Though, no one at this town would. It was so small and the pool was so shallow that she couldn’t bare seeing herself settling down with anyone here. It made her depressed. She would be lying if she didn’t cry herself to sleep from despair and panic of never making a family. She just had to focus on the helping aspect. She was saving lives in her beloved small town and that should be enough. It should be.

Walking into work the other two nurses were grinning mischievously at her.

“What’s got you guys all smiling?” She said while tying her hair back.

“We got a call for a patient who needs a look over.”

“Can I guess who?”

They nodded at her.

“Frank?”

“Bingo!”

“Ok, where is he at?” She asked.

“You got to go to the precinct. He is in holding for yet another theft.”

She stopped her movements, “No…no way. Why me? I just got in! Can’t one of you two do it?”

One shook her head, “Nope I’m on lunch!”

The other smiled, “I have a patient in need of a…check up!”

She gave them a look, “A check up?”

“Yup!”

She rolled her eyes, “You guys suck. I don’t know why you’re constantly putting me in the same room with that asshole Sheriff.”

They giggled.

“It’s not funny. I’ll transfer if you keep it up.”

That stopped their laughing quickly, “You wouldn’t dare!”

She smiled, “Watch me.”

“Look we just want you to be happy. We know how hard it is to settle down in a town where it’s mainly filled with Franks. But we know there’s something going on between you and Sheriff Hackett. It’s something electric.”

“If by electric you mean like an electric chair, then yes.”

“Come on! You guys bicker for no reason, it’s not because you hate each other. You guys are basically one and the same.”

She wretched, “No we are not and it is because we hate each other.” She sighed, “I’ll be going now. But I expect an apology lunch by the time I get back.”

“Fine.” They both looked dejected.

She turned and left the small hospital with a huff. She couldn’t believe her annoying coworkers keep trying to push them together. The man was insufferable. They were delusional if they saw anything other than resentment. Grabbing the hospital's van and making sure the supplies were all accounted for, she made her way over to the jail.

It was unfortunately a quick drive over. Sighing in disgust she turned off the car and got out. Entering in she saw that it was the normal dead and barren place it usually was. Movement caught her eye and she saw someone come down the stairs.

“They sent you?”

She rolled her eyes, “I don’t like it either. Where is he?”

“Where do you think? In lock up.”

“I asked a simple question Officer Asshat.”

“What was that?” He glared after her and followed her towards the cells.

She chuckled to herself mentally mocking him that he was so old he was half deaf. Turning the bend she stopped once she saw Frank slumped over on his cot. She saw that he sported a black eye and a bloody lip. She turned to the Sheriff.

“Can you not abuse your power and make my job harder?”

“Abuse my power-? He was resisting arrest. I used the appropriate amount of force to subdue him.”

She shook her head, “Well your ‘appropriate’ is an understatement. Will you unlock it already.”

He came over with the keys and glared at her before turning to slide the key in, “Don’t stay long. If you do the door might find itself locked.”

“You wouldn’t be threatening me dear Sheriff?”

He gave a smug smirk, “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

With another eye roll she entered Frank’s cell. He rolled his head up upon seeing someone approach. A dazed smile graced his lips.

“Hey nurse! Nice seeing you.”

“Honestly Frank you need to stop stealing. We’re tired of treating you in jail.”

He shrugged, “Can’t help it. Some people are born to steal.”

“Well you can be trained out of it. Every time you do I have to drag my sorry ass down here and deal with that awful cop. You hate making me so sad right?”

He shook his head, “I am sorry, but I can’t promise to stop. I just have to get better at getting away with it.”

She chuckled, “Well it wouldn’t be terribly hard to escape that old Sheriff.”

They shared a chuckle but Travis was nearby and decided it was time to end that.

“Alright, you looked him over, it shouldn’t take this long.”

She turned to him, “Oh and now you’re telling me how to do my job?” She shook her head, “You can hardly do yours let alone even think about doing mine.”

He approached angrily, “Hey, show some respect!”

She smiled at Frank ignoring him, “Alright Frank, you’re all patched up. Please just at least try and not steal anymore.”

He smiled, “As I said, no promises.”

Sighing she shook her head with a smile and turned to leave. Travis stood aside watching her as she exited the cell. A soon as she was out he locked him in. She glance behind to look at him.

“Next time be gentle. I hate having to come down here and fix your mistakes Travis.”

“You will refer to me as Sheriff Hackett! And I don’t care what you say or think, I will do everything in my power to keep civilians and myself safe. Even if it includes brute force.”

She just shook her head and exited the precinct. He was left standing there, stewing in rage. Angrily tossing in the equipment and climbing in the drivers side, she took a breath. She hated him so much. And he did too for her. There was no chemistry there. She had no idea what her coworkers saw.

He had gone back to his desk fuming. What did she know? That lousy nurse who only did half-assed jobs. He had to remember to specifically ask for her to not come down here in the future. He didn’t need the extra headache. Looking outside the window he sighed. A feeling of emptiness and anger swirled in his heart. She brought out the worst in him. She was insufferable.

…

It was like a normal day at the hospital. There were the usual pediatric check ins or the occasional infected cuts from farmers. It was all going normal until another local came in drunk and bleeding everywhere. He had drank too much as usual and crashed into the bar’s window. His neck and face were torn to shreds. It took all of them and some on-call doctors to make sure he was stable. While trying to calm him down, she was in the process of restraining his hands. The drunkenness mixed with his pain and he was losing his mind seeing blood. As she went to tie down one hand he brought his other hand over that held a shard of broken beer bottle in its palm. He punched her in the face sending her back into the wall. She smacked her head and the shard cut down her neck. She was out. Her coworkers became frantic and called Travis over for help.

He arrived in no time, running in looking for where the commotion was. They ushered him over. The raving man was tied down but still conscious enough to be flailing about in the bed. Looking to his right he saw her slumped on the wall with the nurses near her trying to stop the bleeding. His eyes lit up with shock and he ran over to her.

“Is she dead?”

One looked at him and shook their head, “He just missed a major artery. She’ll probably have a concussion but she’ll survive.”

He nodded his head. The other looked at him and asked,

“Hey can you bring her to the other medical room? We can try it but we aren’t confident enough to make sure she doesn’t slip through our bloody fingers.”

His jaw tightened but he agreed. He knelt down and gently took her legs in his one hand and supported her neck and head with the other. Walking her around to the other room his eyes fluttered closed. She had on an intoxicating perfume. Snapping out of it he laid her in the bed and turned to go back to the other room.

“She’s secure. As for him, let me know when he’s able enough to come to the station. I’ve got some questions for him.”

“We will, thank you Sheriff!”

He gave a nod and walked out. Making his way back to the precinct he felt he was in a daze. What a shit show he walked into. He had a momentary concern if she was alright but he shook it from his mind. He didn’t care. It was his job to assist and that was it. Remembering the smell of her perfume though, was making him feel horribly weird. He felt a moment of panic. Parking he ran out of the car to go and try and distract himself inside the station. It was just the stress of the situation was all; all normal.

Waking from her knock out, her body jolted. She groaned and looked around. Her head hurt and neck felt stiff as fuck.

“Hey you’re awake!” Said one coworker.

“Yeah, what happened?”

“Well when you were restraining that drunkard over there he flipped out and punched you with his glass filled hand and sent you flying. But don’t worry, we were here as well as Sheriff Hackett.”

She groaned and rolled her eyes, “Great, what did that incompetent ass do?”

“He carried you to your room and made sure everything was alright with you.” They said with a wicked smile.

She shook her head, “I’m sure I have a concussion because I thought you said that Travis just helped me out.”

“You surprisingly don’t have a concussion and you know you heard me right!”

She sighed, “It doesn’t matter, it was his job and you asked him to do it I’m sure.”

“He was so gentle with you, like damn! It was if you were about to break into pieces the way he held you.”

She blushed and angrily stared, “I don’t need your interjections of what wasn’t there. I’m so tired and in pain, so I’d like it if you just stopped talking about that man.”

“Fine, fine, get some rest. I’m sure you’ll want workman’s comp?”

“Oh most definitely!”

“And what about pressing charges?”

She shook her head, “Rather not. It’s not like it was on purpose.”

They shrugged, “Suit yourself.”

It took a couple days for her to get back on her feet. The neck injury needed to be stitched up and any physical work had to be set aside. They also had to make sure that she functioned normally and had no underlying brain compilations. She staid at the hospital in bed so she could still technically work even if she wasn’t allowed to leave the bed. On one evening Travis walked in.

“Evening gals.” He greeted the two at the front.

They greeted him back spiritedly.

“How’s it here?”

“Oh normal.”

“Any more problems?”

“Not today!”

He nodded and looked around slowly before asking, “How’s uh, how’s she doing?”

The two vibrated with excitement, “She is well. She’s on bed rest from work but decided to stay here so she can do paper work and boss us around.”

He chuckled and looked down, “Yes she’s quite the controlling type ain’t she.” He turned to leave, “Well have a good night."

“W-Wait officer, would you like to go see her?”

He shook his head while walking out the door, “God no.”

As soon as he was out the doors they ran to her room.

“You wouldn’t believe who just came in asking about you!”

“I could take three guesses, but tell me.”

“Sheriff Hackett!”

A confused and disdainful look crowded her face, “What? Why?”

“He was asking about you! We told you there’s something going on between you two.”

“If you don’t get out of my face with that bullshit…Besides I don’t care if he came to see me or not.”

“Oh come on, aren’t you the least bit curious why he asked?”

“Nope, now get back to your post.”

“You’re no fun.” One said.

“He was right you are controlling.”

“Controlling-? How dare that little…”

The two ran from the room giggling.

She recovered without issue. Everything had fallen back into routine as it should be. It was the midst of summer so she expected more farmers coming in. She didn’t expect for Travis to be constantly coming in though. He would show up with scratches on his arms or neck. She’d avoid dealing with him and let her coworkers take over. That was until one night where he was bleeding from the neck and no one was available but her. She brought him into a room and sat him down to get a good look at it. It looked like drag marks from a woman’s nails.

“I really, really hope you have a great explanation as to why a woman’s claw marks are on you.”

He turned to move his head, “It’s-”

“Don’t move!”

He stilled, “It’s none of your business.”

“I’d say it is if you’re using that “brute force” of yours on women.”

“I am not! God you’re so annoying. I’ll have you know it’s of a personal, family matter.”

“Well your family is pretty fucking annoying. I can’t stand dealing with you and your rude ass parents.”

“You don’t talk shit about my family! You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I kinda do. I have had the misfortune in patching up your father and helping your mother. Both of which are very quick to anger and don’t like to be told what to do. I wouldn’t be surprised if your mother fucking hit you.”

He jumped up from his seat. He was turning red with rage, “You shut your fucking mouth! You don’t know what you’re talking about! I’d be bitchy too if I had to deal with you every time I needed medical attention.”

She was about to give a retort but saw a glimmer of moisture gather in his eyes. Did she hit a nerve? She had to admit, she felt she went a little far.

“Just…come here, I’m not done with you yet.”

“No. I’m good.”

He walked out and through the hospital doors. Walking to the front she gave a regretful look. Her coworkers turned their attention from him to her.

“What did you say to him?”

“Yeah I’ve never seen him so upset.”

“I…forget it.” She turned and walked away.

She felt guilty. She never wanted to hurt someone, even if it was him; regardless if he was a dick and had it coming. She was torn whether or not go and apologize. She hadn’t seen him since that day and the longer she waited, the worse it felt. Then the news came.

It rippled through the town like a seismic wave. The Hackett family was dead. Every one of them. All except Travis. She felt devastated even though she hated them. Chris and Kaylee and Caleb didn’t deserve it. Hell even Bobby didn’t. The guilt and pain weighed so much that it nearly broke her. She wondered what happened. She hoped he didn’t witness it. She hoped he didn’t do it.

Media tore its way through the town. They were able to gather bits and pieces of what happened. It was something about the counselors staying over one night too late and a form of ‘animal’ attacks were the thing to do them in. This sealed it. His family was viciously murdered and he might’ve been injured as well. She didn’t know how bad though since he has refused to come back. Sighing, she had to go see him. She had to set it straight.

“Wish me luck girls, I’m going to see Travis.”

“Oh! Going to comfort him?”

“No. I need to apologize and give my condolences.”

They began squealing and she ignored them as she walked out and headed to the jail. She decided to walk so as to give her time to think about what she was going to say. She felt nervous. Why did she feel so nervous? She hated this. Approaching the building she took in a gulp of air. Opening the door she crossed the threshold. Her steps echoed loudly around the dark and empty precinct.

“Travis?”

Silence met her. Looking up the stairs, she saw a door cracked open and a light coming through. Ascending them, she crept slowly up towards the door.

“Travis…”

They gave a small knock.

“Who’s there?”

She entered the frame, “Hey it’s me.”

“Get the fuck out, I have no tolerance for you right now.” He was sitting at his desk.

“Look I’m really, really sorry about what I said about your family. It was uncalled for.”

He slammed his pen down, “I won’t tell you again.”

“Please listen, I’m sorry. I heard what happened. None of them deserved that. You didn’t deserve that.”

He got up and threw his chair behind him, “Get out before I lock you in holding!”

“Hey I’m trying to apologize here!”

He charged towards her, “I don’t need an apology! Especially from you!”

As he came at her she couldn’t help but flinch away. A reflex from many angry and or drunk patients. He stopped as he saw her turn her face away and hold out her hands. He shuddered. There was no way he’d strike a woman, especially her.

“I didn’t mean to…scare you.”

“No it’s fine it’s a habit from work.”

Looking back at him she saw the tears flow from his eyes.

“Oh Travis…”

“They’re all gone. My entire world, my everything, is gone.”

She began to cry as well, “Come here.”

She wrapped him in her arms. He buried his face in her hair. He cried. She held him tight as he shook and felt overwhelmed. Running her hands up and down his back she realized just how strong he was. There was a faded cologne on his uniform and it immediately put her at ease. She wasn’t even aware of how relaxed she was feeling with him in her arms.

He was comforted by the smell of her hair and the familiarity of her perfume. He didn’t know why he wanted to literally cry on her shoulder, but he did. He felt safe. A safety he hadn’t felt in years. Someone he swore he’d hate until the day he died was now his biggest source of comfort. He moved away from her embrace.

“I’m good.”

“Are you sure?”

He shook his head, “No.”

“Well I can stay here for awhile if you like.”

He looked down at the floor, then into her eyes, “I would like that.”

She nodded, an understanding flashing through her features. She sat in the chair sitting across from his desk. She wasn’t sure what to do here while he worked away. She looked around the room but found nothing interesting to take some of her nervous energy. He wrote away on his pile of documents. The silence stretched on but as it did, they both sank into it. It grew more and more comfortable and after awhile, it felt natural. She smiled even. She was here helping out her enemy. And getting a real look at him, he wasn’t all that bad. He was just as human like her and just as broken. He might be worse off though.

Gazing at him she noted he had excellent posture and a muscular build. His brow creased in concentration and his large hand dwarfed the pen between his fingers. She felt warm looking at him. She never really looked at him before. He was, well, handsome. He always ticked her off so she just wanted to get away as quickly as possible. But she never took the time to sit down and get to know him or drink him in. She hated someone she didn’t really know. And now? She couldn’t say she hated him anymore.

He looked up at her, “I’m sorry am I bothering you?”

She snapped out of her daze, “What? Oh no, no! Sorry, I guess I was just resting my eyes.”

He nodded and went back to what he was doing. Shifting in her seat she tried to look everywhere else but him. Yet her gaze always landed back on him, no matter how many times she tried to distract herself. It always went back to him.

“There. I’m done with this for now.” He pushed the papers away and set down his pen.

“What do you need me to do?”

He sat back and stared at her. His eyes looked her up and down. It didn’t feel predatory or scathing but it was gentle. As if he was taking her in as well. Leaning forward he brought his elbows on the desk and folded his hands.

“I’m not sure.”

“Well if you’re free in the next couple hours I can meet up with you and we can go get a drink.”

He looked at her for a moment. She felt vulnerable as he did. She felt like he was analyzing her and she didn’t like it. He let out a sigh.

“That would be nice.”

She smiled and stood, “Alright! I’ll see you very soon…will you be ok until then?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine.” He rubbed his eyes.

She wrung her fingers together, “Ok…if you need me you know where to find me.” He gave a nod and she slowly walked her away out and towards the exit. Her mind was spinning. Her thoughts were screaming. The walk back was forgotten from how dazed she was. Entering in the hospital her coworkers nearly pounced on her to get any info but, she shut them down.

“I’m going to go work and get done early. We’re meeting for drinks.”

“Drinks!”

“Yes, he is not in the place to be left alone right now.”

“This sounds like what we’ve been saying is coming true!”

“I’m literally just helping him out. You didn’t see him. It’s bad.”

They were silenced by that.

“Call me if you need me.” She walked back toward the other side of the hospital.

She just sat there, replaying the scene over and over again. She didn’t know what to do or think or feel. She would never have expected a man like him to just break down like that. And to be vulnerable to her, someone he hates. It shook the idea of him that she held. And she was feeling so weird. She was going to see him tonight in a casual setting. For the first time too. Why didn’t this upset her or repulse her as much as she thought it would? Why wasn’t she feeling any sort of dread? Rather she actually looked forward to it. Was she going mad? Standing she caught the smell of his cologne in her hair. Her eyes fluttered closed. Her heart raced and she felt warm. Opening her eyes a panic glazed over them. That wasn’t good.

He hurried to get his work done. As he was rapidly typing on the computer he had to stop himself. Why was he rushing? The only thing waiting for him tonight was an empty house and her at a bar. But that thought thrilled him. He was so confused as to why he was looking forward to tonight. She was an insufferable nag and yet he wanted to see her again. He wanted to look into those eyes and feel lost and put back together. Shaking his head clear he tried to refocus on the work at hand. Yet his mind constantly would drift back to her; whether it be her intoxicating perfume, her warm embrace, her soothing voice…this was not good. He stood, deciding that work was done. He needed to do a quick patrol anyway. That should set his mind straight before this evening. Though, he knew that was a lie. He knew his mind was trained on her. He just didn’t want to believe it.

The hours ticked by quickly. They both looked at the clock and panicked. It was time to go. Feeling shaky with nerves she gathered her things and began to walk out.

“Good night guys.”

“Oh have fun with him!”

“Don’t get too drunk.” One winked.

She shook her head, “I won’t.”

She stepped out the door and was surprised to see his patrol car parked there. He stepped out of the car.

“You didn’t have to pick me up.” She said with a nervous smile.

“Oh I was just in the neighborhood after my patrol and thought, well…it would be beneficial if you were driven and didn’t have to walk.”

“Ah that’s very thoughtful of you.”

He nodded and climbed back in. She rounded to the passenger side and slowly got in. Her body was stiff with nerves. Breathing in, her entire body relaxed and her heart fluttered. His car smelled like him. His heart pounded in his chest. He put the car in reverse and pulled out in the street. He swore that if she’d ever be in his patrol car she’d be behind the cage, handcuffed, and yelling obscenities at him. But he never could’ve foresaw her sitting besides him in the passenger seat about to go drinking with her as if they were pals.

The drive over was silent. The tension was so thick that they both dared not look at one another. And unfortunately the town was so small that the ride didn’t last long either. Parking they both instantly hopped out to get away from that tension. They both walked into the bar independently. She hardly visited this place so she looked around to figure where she wanted to sit. He walked ahead and grabbed a table in the far back. She assumed that was where he sat normally. She followed him over and tentatively sat down. Boy did she feel awkward. Both of them were looking everywhere but at each other.

“Hey all, what can get I get you tonight? Oh Sheriff! Nice to see you again. Who’s your friend?” The waitress greeted.

“Oh uh, you should know her, she’s a nurse over at the hospital.”

The waitress eyes lit up, “Oh yes! Glad to see you coming out! We don’t see you often unless we’re sick.”

She smiled, “I’m glad to be out…”

Travis continued, “I’ll have the usual.”

“And I’ll have what he’s having.” She told the waitress.

“On it!”

She stepped away and the two were alone once more. Deciding it was time to break the horrible tension she spoke up.

“So…how was the rest of work?”

“Hm? Oh, it was work.”

She chuckled, “Yeah I hear that. So you usually come here?”

“Are you surprised?”

“N-No just…I don’t drink often so I never really come here. To think of it I don’t go anywhere really.”

“You’re just as much of a workaholic as I am. I need to find a way to unwind each night. This is the only other place I come to besides work and home.”

“Ah good.”

It was awkward. Very awkward. Fortunately the drinks came. It was a cheap beer. Taking a swig she did her best to not choke on it. He found it amusing but said nothing. Setting it down she smiled at him.

“Um, well…what do we talk about?”

“Anything I guess.”

“Ah yes anything. Well let’s see. What do you enjoy? Do you have any hobbies?”

“I um, I used to go hunting with my father and brothers in the summer.”

“God damn I’m so sorry…fuck!” She put her head in her hand.

“Don’t worry about it.” He shifted in his seat and looked around the room.

“Alright let me distract you.”

He laughed, “How will you do that?”

She smiled, “Oh I don’t know maybe make a fool of myself. Get up and sing karaoke or dance around with some dumb ass. Anything to get your mind off of everything.”

He laughed a hearty and real laugh, “There’s absolutely no way your prideful ass will get up there and sing.”

“You wanna bet?” She said amused and challenged.

“Of course!”

“Hold to it.” She said as she got up.

Walking over to the machine she picked a song. Turning around she saw everyone turn their heads at her. Oh boy she was going to not only make a fool of herself in front of Travis but the entire town. Swallowing her fear the song began. She missed her beat but jumped in a moment later. She was timid and was singing quietly for the first part. But as she found her footing and the buzz from the cheap beer calmed her nerves; she sang full on. It shocked the room. People were cheering and getting into the upbeat song. She couldn’t help but give a mischievous look over at Travis. His mouth was hanging open as he stared in awe. She won this one. Finishing the song and taking the praise she hopped down and rushed back to her seat.

“How was that!”

He cleared his throat, “It was fine.”

She rolled her eyes, “Please, I saw you. Your jaw was on the floor.”

“Where did you learn to sing?”

“Oh I picked up on it here and there. Nothing special.”

“Well it was pretty special.” He was feeling the booze.

She blushed, “Th-Thank you Travis.”

The night went on a lot more smoother than it started. They both became pleasantly buzzed drinking the beer. They laughed with one another and she even touched his arm. It was nice and warm and familiar. She forgot how much animosity she had towards him. He was a good guy. He was just stubborn and stern and well she was too. He found her company more enjoyable than he thought. He forgot how much she annoyed him and was so stuck up. But if he were honest with himself he could act the same way. She was something unexpected.

“I think it’s late Travis.” She mumbled looking at the clock.

He glanced behind and turned back, “Hm I guess so…”

“Want me to walk you home?” She offered.

“Nah I’m driving, I’m not near enough drunk. Come on I’ll drop you off.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

She ran after him and they hopped into his car. The ride was silent as before but, unlike before, the air between them was comfortable. She guided him where to go and he followed without question. It was a great night. She never would’ve guessed she would have had such a great time. He thought the same. Pulling up she thanked him and got out. He got out as well.

“What are you doing?” She asked with a laugh.

“I’m walking you to your door.”

“I can assure you I’m not as drunk as you.”

“I doubt that.”

She walked on with him behind. She went to unlock her door and in the process she stumbled forward. He caught her. His front pressed her back against the door. They were both startled and dazed at their predicament. They stared into each others eyes as they staid that way. His were full of something she never saw before in them. All that anger and hatred was gone. Her eyes gazed at him with a longing and a curiosity. Unable to take it anymore he kissed her. She wrapped her hands around him and succumbed. He ran his hands up and down her body.

As they were feeling each other, the door opened and they both tumbled down. They laughed as they both laid halfway inside and halfway out. He got up and helped her to her feet. Kissing her again she grabbed him and dragged him to her bedroom. She had him land on top of her on her bed.

He pushed himself off and gazed down at her, "What are we doing?”

“Something stupid.”

“Are we going to regret it?”

She thought for a moment as she gazed at him, then shook her head, “I don’t think so.”

He kissed her and they both began to strip. He reared up and took off her bottoms. He bent down and brought his face to her wet pussy. She spread her legs and instantly felt pleasure rocket through her. She moaned and gasped as she felt his tongue run up and down her clit. His huge hands wrapped around her thighs as he held her to him. His eyes were closed and he savored every moment of her pleasured sounds. Soon her breath hitched and she was still. He drilled in hard, inserting his fingers and lapping at her sensitive spots. He wasn’t sure if he was doing something wrong upon hearing nothing out of her, but the way she erupted into screams and felt her wetness in the next moment said it all. He closed his eyes and hummed in satisfaction.

Removing himself from her he gazed at her form. She was panting and sweating. Her hair was everywhere and her breasts heaved with the effort of her breathing. She was gorgeous. He moaned as he climbed on top. His dick ached with arousal. Bringing a hand to her face she looked at him. His eyes were tender. She couldn’t believe it. Looking from his eyes to his dick she saw him slowly lower himself and enter her. She let out a low moan as he did. He felt wonderful inside of her and she felt completely ready after her orgasm.

He gasped and let out shaky breaths as he slowly thrust in and out. His eyes closed and all he could feel was the pleasure; the intimacy; the warmth. Picking up the pace his breathing became ragged moans. She touched his face and ran her hands through his hair. She arched her spine and threw her head back as she felt him fill her. As he felt her caressing him and how good he was feeling fucking her, he began to lose it. His moaning grew louder and his pace quickened. He was hitting sensitive spots thanks to her orgasm and she clawed his back screaming. In the next moment he gave a shout and came within her. He thrust in deep and slow. Looking down at her he felt a warmth spread through his chest. It was so powerful he wanted to flinch away.

Removing himself he laid next to her. The two panted and sweated side by side. Both unsure of what to say next.

“Well…I guess…my coworkers were right.”

He looked over at her, “What?”

“My coworkers kept badgering me that we liked each other which is why he hated each other.”

“Oh…I don’t know if that was true but I guess this will prove them right.”

She chuckled, “That’s what I was afraid of.”

He brought an arm around her and brought her close, “Would that be so bad?”

She looked over at him and smiled, “I guess not.”

A moment of silence befell them. They enjoyed the afterglow and warm feelings they felt in their hearts. Neither knew if this was going to last or happen again but, they decided to just enjoy this moment.

…

The next day she arrived at work and said nothing to her coworkers. They were desperate to get anything out of her in what happened last night but she didn’t budge. They were losing hope by the time lunch rolled around. Then Travis entered in. They watched him intently as he made his way over to her. The two shared a smile and briefly talked about dinner tonight. Settling that they’ll have it over his place, he kissed her on the cheek and walked out. They were screaming. She was bombarded with questions and ‘I told you so’s’. She just smiled and accepted the loss.

They were an unconventional relationship but one that worked. They did fight from time to time but they always made sure to make up before either went to bed. Their stubborn nature didn’t allow any room for them to take a knee on their pride. But, they quickly grew to love the other and a fear would settle in. They wanted to make sure to set things right before one went to work or fell asleep. Pride wasn’t worth a win if by any given moment an accident could happen to the other before they could apologize and tell them they loved them. They grew into a healthy relationship and the talks about children was on the horizon.

She was happy. She never thought she’d find someone to settle down with in this back water town. Less so with Travis Hackett. But here she was proven wrong and happy that she was. He was happy just the same. He thought he’d die alone, especially with his entire family wiped out. He thought life was over for him, but she came in and softened his heart. She was his rock and he made sure she was appreciated every single damn day. North Kill would soon again see the rise of the Hackett family.

#the quarry #the quarry x you #the quarry x reader #the quarry fanfic #the quarry travis #travis hackett #travis x reader #travis hackett x reader #sheriff hackett #romance #smut #female reader #enemies to lovers #hurt/comfort #cussing #blood #injury #happy ending

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imagine-you · 2 years

Note

Steve Harrington/reader with them at the end of episode 6, beginning of 7. How they interact in that moment. Protective, hurt Stevie 🥺

You knew it was a bad idea from the start.

You tried to be the voice of reason. You tried to tell them that you should get the hell out of dodge while you still could. But, of course, your worries were cast aside in the face of trying to save Hawkins yet again from a multidimensional monster.

This Vecna guy was trapping people in their own minds before brutally murdering them? Well, of course the answer should be to run from the danger and not towards it. Every instinct you had was telling you that following the others to Lover’s Lake was a bad idea, but if Steve was going, then you had to as well.

You never got to know Eddie Munson all that well while you were at school, but even you had to agree with him when he said it was a batshit crazy plan to go searching for the possible gate to the Upside Down that had spawned in Lover's Lake.

The boat was likely moments away from sinking. Steve had tried to bar you from coming, claiming that there was no way it was going to support three people, let alone five.

"Alright, then," you said, shooting him a grin. "How about you and Eddie stay behind then?"

"What? No! I'm not letting you go without me."

"And I'm not letting you go without me," you told Steve.

"Y/N," Steve muttered, lowering his voice. He glanced at the others before looking back at you. "If something happens to you--"

"It won't," you promised. "Because we've got each other's backs, right? We’ve always been there for each other. That’s not going to change now."

Steve looked like he still wanted to argue, but Robin interrupted the two of you. "Hey, are you two lovebirds done here? We're kind of on a time crunch."

Steve shot her an irritated look before he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, fine. Just...stay in the boat, alright?"

"No promises," you told Steve, taking a moment to reach out and snag his wrist. "Hey," you whispered, pulling him towards you. "Don't do anything stupid and heroic, okay?"

"No promises," Steve echoed you before he leaned forward, brushing his lips against yours.

"Steve," you groaned, a feeling settling deep in your gut that told you something bad was about to happen.

You sat in the boat, pressed tight between Steve and Robin. You wished you could rewind time and stop all of this from happening. You wished you knew what Vecna wanted and why he was killing teens around Hawkins. You wished you knew how to stop him. You wished you could keep Steve safe, but you knew that if there was danger in Hawkins, Steve would somehow land himself right in the middle of it.

Steve volunteered to be the one to try to check out the gate. You wanted to tell him there was no way in hell, but then he had to go and bring up his history as a swim team co-captain and you couldn't exactly argue with him on that. Besides, if anything happened to him, you knew you would be the first in the line of fire to save him.

When Steve stripped out of his sweater and threw it to Eddie, you couldn't help but stare. From the first moment you met him, Steve had commanded all of your attention, and it hadn't changed once in years. When Steve asked you out the year before, you couldn't help but feel like it was inevitable. Even when you lost touch while Steve was busy playing King of Hawkins High, he was always on your mind.

Now, seeing Steve shirtless and vulnerable, you had to resist the temptation to pull him right down into the boat beside you. Steve was set on playing hero and you would have to let him.

Steve dipped beneath the water and you comforted yourself by keeping a tight hold on the pocket knife your father had gifted to you for your eighteenth birthday.

"Seems there's kids dying every year in this town," he grumbled, handing over the box. "Happy birthday, kid. Make sure you're protecting yourself, alright?"

"Hey, Harrington seems like a tough guy," Eddie whispered, reaching out to push half-heartedly at your knee, as if worried you weren't listening to him.

"He is," you told Eddie. "But it doesn't mean he never gets hurt."

You let out a breath of relief when Steve reappeared at the side of the boat. You reached out a hand, barely managing to feel Steve's fingers brush against yours before he was pulled beneath the surface of the water again.

"Steve!" You shouted, desperately searching the water for a sign that your boyfriend was okay. When he didn't come back, you turned to look at the others. You knew from the grim looks of worry that met you what you had to do. "Fuck this," you hissed before you started taking off your jacket.

"Whoa," Eddie said, glancing uncertainly at Robin and Nancy. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Steve needs me," you simply responded. You finished shrugging out of your jacket before you dropped it onto Robin's lap. "Keep that safe for me," you told her before you turned towards the water.

"Y/N--" Nancy started, reaching out to grab your wrist.

You glanced back at her, biting down on the impatient noise you wanted to make. Steve could be in danger. The longer you waited, the more likely he was to get hurt.

Nancy seemed to realize that nothing she said could stop you from throwing yourself in danger. Not if it meant saving Steve.

"I'll be right behind you," she promised, offering you a small smile.

You managed to flash her a grin before you faced the water again. You tightened your grasp on your knife before you dove into the water.

The water was shockingly cold and nearly stole your breath away, but that wasn't what concerned you the most.

Steve wasn't in the water. It should have been impossible, but there was a red glow beneath you that drew your attention. You knew that was the gate and you were sure that Steve had been pulled through it by something waiting in the Upside Down.

You followed the siren call of the portal, knowing you were about to enter a world full of creatures hellbent on killing you.

Slipping from your world into a completely different world was an experience you never wanted to repeat. The portal was sticky and gross, clinging to your skin as you pulled yourself up through the tendrils holding the nightmares back.

You gasped a breath as you crawled into the Upside Down. You could hear yelling and screeching and someone struggling. You blinked, your eyes stinging and aching from keeping them open underwater and settled your gaze on the sight of Steve struggling to free himself from the bat-like creatures attempting to eat him.

"Steve!" You called before you hurried to get to your feet. You ran forward, your thoughts a swirl of panic and worry. You immediately kicked at the bat trying to choke Steve before you drove your pocketknife into the body of the bat attempting to take another bite out of your boyfriend.

You heard a flap of wings before something was sinking into your back.

"Shit," you hissed, attempting to dislodge the bat with its claws digging into your skin.

You heard Steve call out your name, his tone worried. You felt something pinch your shoulder, the feeling followed by a trail of blood down your back.

"Duck!" You heard Steve call, prompting you to drop as far as you could with the bat still clinging to your back.

The weight was suddenly gone and when you looked up, Steve was holding an oar. There was blood dripping from his mouth and his sides were bloodied from where the bats had taken bites out of him.

"Shit, Steve," you breathed, your hands coming up to frame his face. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he easily dismissed. "Let me see," he prompted, his hands on your shoulders, forcing you to turn and show him your back.

"How bad is it?" You couldn't help but ask, your shoulder throbbing with pain.

"Not great," Steve answered. "We should get you back. Get that checked out."

You snorted, turning to gift Steve with a disbelieving look. "Me? Who knows what kind of diseases those things are carrying? You're going to need stitches at the very least."

Steve shook his head. "I'll be fine. I've had a lot worse. But you--"

"If you two are quite done comparing injuries," Robin interrupted, her tone harried, "then I really think we should be running now."

You blinked at Robin and then at Nancy and Eddie behind her. You hadn’t even realized that the three of them had joined you in the Upside Down, but you were fiercely glad to have them there with you.

Steve frowned at her. "What?"

"More of those things incoming," Eddie pointed out, gesturing towards the bats headed your way.

"That's not so bad," Steve mused, taking in the four bats in the sky. "We can take those, right?"

Before you could agree or disagree, there was an echoing screech before more bats took to the sky, flying in your direction.

"Nope," Eddie argued, shaking his head. "We should run now."

"The trees!" Nancy suggested, pointing to the skeletal trees that would provide some cover.

"Let's go," Steve agreed, reaching out to grab your hand. "Don't leave my side, got it?" He said, already tugging you along.

You felt a brief smile tug at your lips, relief at knowing Steve was there with you replacing the worry you experienced just moments before. "Wouldn't dream of it," you promised him before letting him pull you to safety.

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #stranger things #stranger things x reader #steve harrington imagine #stranger things imagine #reader insert #steve harrington x you #imagine #fic request #stranger things 4 #spoilers #my fic

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kalpasio · 2 years

Text

A Post Kalpas Odyssey

Welcome Home!

A Kalpas x Reader fic taking place in APHO, Chapter 2 below!

Having a strange guy you just met a couple of hours ago because he attacked you, joining your group was not something you were particularly happy about. You had to keep an eye on him as well as the new creatures that might attack you. On the bright side, he was a very skilled fighter, his Honkai compatibility might be higher than Adam’s, and it certainly was nice to stun your enemies. On the other hand…

“Can you stop getting hurt?” Sunita grumbled rather loudly while healing Kalpas for the fifth time after just as many fights.

“I don’t need you to heal every scratch I get,” he glared at her as she worked, and you quickly stepped in before the two could kill each other. They had argued at every possible opportunity, and your own patience was wearing thin with them.

“Look, if we just move a bit slower instead of running straight into things, I can take the enemies out without a full-on fight and save us all some trouble.” They both turned away from each other and crossed their arms with a huff, but begrudgingly agreed.

When your team came across another creature, you grabbed Kalpas’ arm and shook your head ‘no’ so he wouldn’t gain its attention. Approaching silently, you raised both scythes and brought them down, killing your opponent in one blow.

Things moved much faster after that, though Kalpas would grumble under his breath about how you were ruining all the fun. You had to assure him that there would be plenty of chances to fight in the future, and even then, he still thought you were lame for avoiding a battle.

“You wanna fight so bad? Come here!” Sunita pulled out her ring blades and held her hand ready to draw a sigil. “I’ll give you a fight!” Kalpas’ hands caught fire without a second thought, and you found yourself between the two again.

“We are not fighting each other,” you spoke in a stern tone. “Either play nice, or go back to base, but I am not putting up with you two arguing every five seconds.” Surprisingly, they listened. Kalpas extinguished his flames and stood straight with his arms crossed, while Sunita almost sent you an apologetic grimace and lowered her hand.

“There are some homes just ahead,” she said, and you looked over your shoulder to see where she was pointing.

“Let’s go give them a look,” you lead the way over with the other two following behind, making faces at each other.

All the houses blended into the town, clean and quaint, just like all the other buildings you’d seen so far. If there were front yards here, you were sure they’d all have white picket fences. After checking the area quickly for monsters, you tried the door to the first house and were practically welcomed in. The door was unlocked and swung open without a squeak.

Inside, there was a rug in the entryway, an empty shoe rack, and straight ahead of you was a kitchen that looked just as empty. Walking in, you saw a fridge, stove, sink, dishwasher, and even a few appliances sat on the granite counters, but it looked as though it had never been lived in. Just behind the kitchen, there was a TV and two couches that formed an ‘L’ with a bit of a gap between them, along with an empty bookshelf. A lone remote sat on the coffee table that was between the couches, but the batteries were long dead.

On the wall opposite the TV, there was a set of stairs that lead to a surprisingly large second floor. Five doors lined the hallway: one right at the top of the stairs, one on the left side of the hall, two on the right, and the last door at the far end.

“This would be good for the other squad members,” Sunita commented as you looked around. Humming in agreement, you pushed open the door directly in front of you. It opened into a rather large and rather empty master bedroom. A bathroom was directly to your left, and a queen size bed to your right.

There was also a closet (empty), dresser (empty), two nightstands (empty), and a wardrobe that was—you guessed it—empty. The whole place reminded you of moving into the dorms at St. Freya’s; all the furniture was there, but the rooms echoed, and it was hard to believe people had lived there at some point.

Further down the hall, the rooms on the right and left were mirror images of each other. Full size bed, dresser, desk, and nightstand, everything just as empty as the first room. The second door on the right opened into a bathroom, and the door at the end of the hall was another bedroom, only this one was slightly larger and had a window seat.

Going back down the stairs, you marked the house on your map and went back outside. “So, we just need two more with three rooms,” Sunita started leading you past some more shops.

“One more. I wanted one of those lofts above a shop, and I don’t think you two could make it more than ten minutes without killing each other.” Sunita pouted at your honesty, but she didn’t deny it.

“It wouldn’t take me that long to kill her,” Kalpas spoke while casually adjusting his glove. You sent him a scowl, but he ignored it and continued. “Your leader said you shouldn’t be out here alone. I’ll be fine on my own, but you two would be dead within the day.” Stepping in front of Kalpas, you stopped walking, forcing him to stop as well.

“None of us should be here alone. I had planned to find a place near one of the other houses, but if you’re so worried, all three of us can stay together.” You could feel Sunita glare at the back of your head at the bluff, but you pretended not to notice.

“Since we wouldn’t last a day out here, you can protect us, how does that sound?” Spite had always been one of your biggest motivators, even if it landed you in some hot water. If Kalpas wanted to treat you like a child, then you were going to make it his problem.

“Fine,” he spoke with no grumble or growl, or under-the-breath swearing. Just, ‘fine’, and then he took a step around you and kept walking.

That had not been the reaction you were expecting, and now you and Sunita were both looking at each other with wide eyes. You had just walked yourself into sharing a house with a stranger who hated your best friend—and by extension, you.

Shit.

Kalpas called for you both to hurry up, and you took that as an excuse to run away from the furious rant you were sure Sunita was going to be giving you.

It didn’t take very long to find two more houses with rooms for everyone, and you were happy to return to the base and get away from the tense atmosphere in your group. Carys thanked you for your work, then everyone ate and for the first and last time, you all slept on the floor of the base.

The next morning, your main goal was to get through the day with all the stiffness you felt from sleeping on a concrete floor. Other than that, everyone was going to set up their rooms. Personal items were pretty scarce, considering you were technically on a mission. It still took most of the day for everyone to move in, even with Timido and Kalpas’ terrifying strength.

Carole was bouncing off the walls, Sunita and Kalpas were at each other’s throats, and Mei and Bronya were stopping Carys from running away. Eventually, everyone got settled, rations were split among the three groups, and responsibilities were split among the housemates.

Sunita demanded that she be in charge of cleaning because she didn’t trust you or Kalpas. You would be in charge of the small garden nearby and making sure there were enough supplies and energy to keep everything going. Kalpas actually assigned you to that job because he wanted to do all the cooking, and you weren’t going to argue with that. You didn’t want to point fingers, but two of the three people in your house were very hard-headed, and you weren’t one of them.

In the next few weeks, some changes were made to your arrangement. Kalpas was now in charge of cleaning dishes as well because he would use every plate and fork in the kitchen just to make Sunita do more work. You added “Official moderator” to your list of jobs, and Sunita started helping with the garden because she wanted to plant some herbs that needed special care.

Since your team now comprised of ten people, everyone took turns completing daily tasks. Most times you were paired with Kalpas. Having two lightning users on a team didn’t make sense, and Timido would only work with you if Bronya was there. You and Adam got along, but he would do daily tasks twice to make up for the fact that Sunita and Lyle played support roles. Given that you were the only one yet to complain about working with Kalpas, that mean you were stuck with him.

Carole seemed completely unbothered by Kalpas’ rude comments, so she worked with you both as well. Despite how calm Bronya seemed, you could see her eye twitch when she spent too long with you both, and Carys really just wanted to go home. Nine times out of ten, your team was Carole, Kalpas, you, and Sunita, with Lyle covering the support role if your friend was especially fed up with Kalpas.

Sometimes your task was just exploring the area, trying to find hidden chests or resources, most times, however, you job was taking out bosses. Especially because Kalpas and Carole enjoyed picking fights, you often found yourself stuck clearing out difficult enemies, and if you were scouting, it was new areas that had more monsters to kill.

This week had been quiet, so when you and your team left base, Adam tagged along at Carole’s insistence, and Lyle left at the same time to do some work on his own. After taking out a chariot (thank you Carole), you continued along the bay until you reached the end of the sidewalk. Several umbrellas and inflatable boats made a path across the water to a location you couldn’t see, but you sure as hell were curious.

When Carole saw you eyeing the umbrellas, she made the first jump. Adam quickly caught on and followed after her. You went right behind Sunita; helping her stay balanced, and Kalpas was behind you. Passing under a bridge, you came around a corner and saw a carousel standing alone on a small island.

“That’s odd,” Adam spoke while circling around the area.

“How did this even get here?” Sunita asked, but everyone just shrugged. Walking around the carousel, you tried to find any hints as to where it came from, but when you looked up, your group was one short.

“Where’s Kalpas?” You knew he had come across the water with you, but again, you were met with shrugs. Adam hesitantly touched one of the horses while you checked the nearby water, and you were startled from your search by Carole’s cry.

“Senpai!” You and Sunita looked up to find your group short by one again. “He just touched the horse and disappeared!”

“We don’t know where he went, or where that thing might take us,” Sunita reasoned. “We should go get help before—”

You looked her dead in the eyes and touched the horse.

Next second, you had a beautiful view overlooking False Bay. The Ferris wheel was to your right, and the whole town lay before you. And then it was rapidly falling away; or rather, you were falling towards it. There was nothing nearby to hook your scythes into to stop your fall, all you could do was hope you got out of this with only a bruise on your ass.

When you did reach the ground, you had your eyes screwed shut, but the impact hurt much less than you expected. Opening one eye, you saw Adam sprawled on top of a very dazed Lyle, both on the ground. You, however, weren’t on the ground. You were being held by a set of very strong arms. Kalpas’ arms.

Sucking in a harsh breath, you squirmed, and he pulled his arms away, letting you drop to the ground with an ‘oof.’

“’Thanks for saving my ass, Kalpas,’” he mocked your voice. “Yeah, no problem,” he answered himself while glaring at you. Standing, you mumbled a quick ‘thank you’ and rubbed your hands where they were a little scratched up. Adam and Lyle were just pulling themselves up when two more yells were heard, and they both went crashing back down.

Carole was immediately on her feet and yanking poor Adam back up so she could give him a hug. “Oh, thank you senpai!” she grinned and if his bones weren’t crushed before, they sure were after that hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”

Sunita on the other hand, remained sitting on Lyle’s back, checking her fingernails for any (nonexistent) imperfections. “You really know how to put the ‘pillow’ in ‘pillow princess,’” she drawled, making Lyle let out a groan.

“Why couldn’t you catch her instead,” Lyle asked Kalpas, referring to the girl still using his back as a chair.

“You looked like you had it,” he shrugged, making Lyle shove his face back into the ground. Walking over, you helped Sunita to her feet as she spoke.

“So that carousel is some sort of portal, I’m guessing?” she brushed off her skirt, making sure some of the dust landed on Lyle who seemed content to stay on the ground. Adam nodded, then helped his friend up when it was clear he wasn’t going to get himself up.

“I touched one of the other horses earlier and didn’t go anywhere,” Carole pouted in confusion. “Why did it work for Senpai and not me?”

“Maybe only the one horse is a portal?” you suggested. “Short of trying every horse, I can’t think of a way to be sure.” Sunita rolled her eyes at your proposal.

“Yeah, teleporting to some unknown location and falling several feet sounds like a great plan.” You rolled your eyes right back.

“I was going to suggest we stay away from the carousel,” Carole gave a sad ‘aww’ at your words. “Teleporting is dangerous, and the carousel itself is so out of the way, I don’t see a point to investigate further.

“I wish it worked,” Carole pouted, and Lyle nodded in agreement.

“Yeah. I met the love of my life on a carousel,” he gave a wistful sigh.

“Yeah?” Adam snorted, “What was her name?”

“Christa,” Lyle responded right away. “Wait, no. Christina. Or was it Kiersten?” Sunita gave a grumble and grabbed your wrist.

“Let’s go. I don’t need to listen to this shit,” she dragged you off, not that you were complaining.

Reader said "I will turn this car around!" and Sunita and Kalpas (kinda) listened Also sorry if there's more typos this time! I didn't spend as long editing as I normally do, if there's anything really bad lmk

#kalpas x reader #honkai x reader #azaryawrites #tamalethebear #cross posted on ao3

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macwalsh · 1 year

Text

FULL NAME: Mackenzie Leonardo Walsh NICKNAMES: Mac, Mackie, Ken (Ew), Kenzie DATE OF BIRTH: February 14th, 1965 ZODIAC SIGN: Aquarius JOB: Cashier at Blossom Records MAJOR: Music Production SEXUALITY: Bisexual BIRTH ORDER: Oldest PETS: Garfield the Cat CHARACTER INSPIRATION: AESTHETICS: Spending hours getting lost in a record store, laying on the floor listening to your favorite songs, waking up early just to watch the sunrise, messy morning hair, the smell of fresh coffee at three in the afternoon, the sound of someone tuning a guitar, smiling at someone as you pass each other, secrets whispered under a blanket of stars, fresh guitar picks, standing outside of someone’s window with a boombox over your head, chewing on the end of your pencil

TW: Cult activity, child abandonment, mentioned homophobia

Laura Walsh has been “searching for herself” for as long as anyone can remember. One week she was killing herself for a spot on the cheerleading squad and the next she was under the bleachers with the burnouts. It was enough to give anyone whiplash, especially her older brother. Leo Walsh had always been her best friend and protector, but as the older they grew the less he understood her. He’d found his niche early, figured out exactly who he was before the clock struck twelve on his tenth birthday- and poor little Laura had always trailed close behind trying and failing to make something stick. So when something finally did... he just wished he could have been happy for her.

It all started with a boy, the way things always did when it came to Laura. A shiny new boyfriend who was into all the sorts of things pastors warned about on the nightly news. Leo had rolled his eyes at his parents’ concerns at first, blown off the notion that their new interests could be anything darker than they were on the surface. Laura was happier than he’d seen her in years and this guy had stuck around longer than a month- it was a win in his book until it wasn’t.

At sixteen Laura and David disappeared in the middle of the night, leaving only a half-finished note and a phone number on a torn piece of newspaper behind for Leo. He called and called and searched and searched to no avail, not until two years later when the couple showed up on Laura and Leo’s parents’ doorstep eight months pregnant. By then, the Walsh family had become social outcasts in the eyes of Cherry’s residents- a lack of savings, dwindling business at Mackenzie Sr.’s pharmacy and a hope that their daughter would return to them the only thing keeping them in town. The family’s presence was met with whispers wherever they went, of their daughter and the cult she’d ran off with and their son and who he chose to go to bed with at night.

They’d slammed the door in her face, the way they’d done to Leo a year before when they’d discovered his sexuality. So of course she’d found her way to her brother’s new apartment, and of course he’d welcomed Laura and David in with open arms and excitement for the new baby.

David didn’t hang around long enough to witness the birth of his son, and Laura followed behind just three days after returning from the hospital. Baby Mackenzie was left in Leo’s spare bedroom and Laura was gone without a trace, without even a note this time.

Giving Mackenzie up had never even crossed twenty-two year old Leo’s mind, and from then on the boy was raised as his own. Laura stopped in every now and then, when the guilt ate her up at night or she needed to borrow a couple bucks or a roof over her head. There were always presents for birthdays that had passed months before and promises that she couldn’t keep. And then she settled down, a few towns over with a banker husband and two beautiful children- finally finding her niche in playing the part of a shiny housewife. It was then that the visits dwindled and stopped, her first born fading into the background of the picture.

Laura and David have given nothing to Mackenzie but his looks and a deep fear of abandonment, one that keeps him clinging to people like Lux Lewis far longer than he should. It’s what sent his little feet flying towards Leo’s bedroom in the middle of the night growing up, what shocks him awake now with his hands reaching out- “are you still there?

Mackenzie wouldn’t trade his upbringing for the world. He grew up smothered in love by aspiring rockstars, who would prop him up on their shoulders at concerts and taught him how to play instruments and gel his hair.

And still, he can’t help but flinch at the looks thrown his way by locals who remember his mother, whispered rumors that his real father was a cult leader or that his conception was the work of the devil. There were rejected playdates when parents found out who he was and crying over an uneaten birthday cake for a party no one showed up to and the insistence that something deep inside of him was somehow wrong from the day he was born.

Maybe that’s the reason he stuck himself so close to the gang when Lux invited him in, and why he still feels like he owes them everything.

EXTRAS:

Mac is a HUGE Star Wars nerd

Guitar is his main instrument, but he knows how to play piano, drums, and bass as well

Mac moved out of Leo’s house and into an apartment with Alice shortly after Libby moved in

#cusaintro

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strangeite · 2 years

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your OCs, hand em over

Oh boy oh boy, I hope you're ready for the wall of text coming your way!

Let's start with Candor. A tiefling paladin, oath of the ambling rose (homebrew I got from an itch.io bundle) - it's his duty and his calling to go wandering around helping whoever is in need. Just a Real Good Dude. If someone were to specifically design the Goodest Dude, just a real nice, helpful, earnest guy, this would be him.

I played this motherfucker for two years (with some breaks) before the other players found out that that's exactly who he is.

Enter Izz, a changeling. Stolen from their family by the Changeling Protective Services when they were very young and placed with a changeling family, where they were raised and trained to be an information thief/assassin. Specifically to take on the family's Persona of Varna Shadowhawk, who has been passed down through the generations. As you might imagine, this was not a great time for Izz, or their two adoptive siblings.

They were very isolated, but, as another Persona Karim, Izz managed to make a friend. Veylan, a tiefling oath of the ambling rose paladin who passed through town every so often. Their friendship grew over the years, with Izz learning about this crazy thing called "morals" and slowly growing discontent with the role they've been assigned but keeping it secret from their family. (It should be noted that because of some cool homebrew stuff my DM is doing with changelings, the different Personas are really fully different people with their own memories, so it was really Karim becoming friends with Veylan; Izz only got what scraps of memory they could carry over from Karim, plus a handful of days where they met with Veylan as themself but looking and acting like Karim).

That worked out great... until their older sibling, Ged, caught on, and decided to take matters into their own hand and fix the problem leading their sibling astray. So they went and killed Veylan, while looking like Karim. Karim found Veylan dead, snapped back to Izz and killed Ged in a fit of grief and rage and probably a bit of a mental break (the homebrew stuff involves rolling on the madness tables in the DMG in certain situations if I fail a Wisdom saving throw (for which I have a -1); and even outside of mechanics Izz just straight up has a host of mental illnesses/neurodivergencies that they've never been given the tools to cope with and manage).

In a fugue state of grief and despair, Izz took Veylan's breastplate and holy symbol and made the Persona of Candor... and basically tried to replace themself with him and lived solely as Candor for the next 12 years. Cut to the party running into a certain assassin, one of our party members working for the Changeling Protective Services and coming to Candor for help looking for a changeling from the Shadowhawk family who's been missing for 12 years, and then Izz's younger remaining sibling, Yan, showing up in Candor's tent when the party is out on the road being worried about Izz bc they didn't know what had happened (and then stabbing them and running when Candor/Izz refused to come back to the family).... And the whole Candor/Izz situation is crumbling.

Turns out they didn't make Candor quite right and he's not as separate as a normal Persona, essentially sharing the same slot as Izz (or in terms of the metaphysical representation of their minds that the changelings have, is in the same room). He was able to remember some information from Izz that he shouldn't have, and Izz has access to all of Candor's memories (though most of their own are currently locked away thanks to 12 years of living as someone else), and they're able to switch between each other at will.

Izz has also (re)learned from Yan (who was captured and has basically been adopted into the party) that Varna isn't a normal Persona either, but more of a curse. She kills and consumes the other Personas until eventually it's just her and the core changeling Persona and they face off, but regardless of who wins they become her. "The Singularity." But apparently Izz managed to stop that, somehow, when they made Candor. I don't know what's up with that yet, cuz the one chance I've had for them to explore the house of their mind they couldn't get out of the first room (it required a Wis save, and they are apparently incapable of succeeding on those. Then they got interrupted cuz they gotta go rescue their vampire not-yet-boyfriend from the hornet's nest of undead hating clerics and paladins).

...So that's my buy one get two free OC (with plans to add more down the line. Avery is going to be a blast when she gets made). I hope you... enjoyed? And for those of you who have been following along at home, maybe all posts I've been reblogging for the last three months and the accompanying collection of tags make more sense now. Or maybe this just highlights what a mess it is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Clearly I am down to talk if there are more questions.

#asks #otter said a thing #izz et al #izz #candor #karim #varna #veylan

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endlynshortstories · 9 months

Text

The Harwell's Secret

In the town of Ecley, a ship, The Halwell, had been docked for the last 30 years. No matter how hard people tried. The wheel didn't turn, the anchor could not be wound up no matter how many men pulled, and the sails stayed up as if they had been glued in place.

Most assumed it was cursed because its history was a dark one. It had been owned by a fearful pirate crew. For thirteen years, the crew sailed unopposed until that fateful day. The crew attempted to board an abandoned boat when they found it was simply bait to catch them. They ran as fast as they could but had made a wrong move, and with their backs to a mountain and three Navy ships bearing down on them, they knew they had been cornered.

At first, they had been captured, left in the brig of their ship as the Navy sailed the ship to the closest port town. They tried to break out a few times, but the ones who did were killed. With only half the crew left, they decided not to die anywhere but on their ship. With one final battle, on the night the ship had been docked in Ecley, they were all killed. All of them refused to give up till either their enemies were dead, or they were.

Since they couldn't move the ship, The Navy left it docked, offering the town a small amount to take up the dock, which the city happily accepted. It was only supposed to last for a few weeks, but then the original owner appeared.

He had proof that the pirates had stolen the Halwell from him, and so he took over the dock fees paying to keep it in place for all this time. But not anymore. The owner had run out of money to pay for it, so the town was planning to scrap it tomorrow.

But Salcaro couldn't let that happen. It was beat up and run down, but he still thought it was beautiful. He had talked to the owner and had raised the money over time, enough to buy the ship for himself. He didn't know what to do with it, but he couldn't let it die.

There were only a few problems left with the ship; His promise to the old owner, "If you manage to set sail…", he didn't know how to care for her, and he was the only member of his crew. The last two issues would take care of themselves.

~*~*~*~

Even from Salcaro's untrained eye it was obvious there was a lot of work that needed to be done. He had spent most of his money buying the Halwell but had some leftovers for some supplies. He decided to work on the ship’s deck first. He was only a beginner, so if he made a mistake there it wouldn't cause her problems while sailing.

He bought what he thought was most important and carried them to the ship himself. Since the Halwell still couldn't sail, Salcaro was lucky the docks let him work there with no problem.

While he was cutting the wood to replace a hole he saw on the deck, someone walked up to him.

“Captain... Captain... Captain…" he was too busy sawing to notice her at first, "Shipowner...Shipowner…” After a while, he thought she was trying to get someone else's attention, "Hey You!” she banged on the box between them.

He looked up suddenly when she did that, putting the saw down before standing up and brushing himself off “sorry, how may I help you?”

She gave him a bright smile, “could you do me a favor and sell me your ship for half price?”

His eyes went wide, “no way.“

She pouted at him for a moment. “I don't have that much money. Do you think you can manage with only 1/4 off?” she looked at him up through her lashes, fluttering them slightly.

He took a step away from her. “I think you misunderstood. I can't sell this ship. Like at all,” he shook his head rapidly.

“Come on, big guy. Little old me needs this.”

He crossed his arms. “I'm sorry I spent all my life savings on this ship." She opened her mouth to say something but he cut her off "It's too beautiful to part with.” when she just stared at him, he felt a bit bad for his tone, "sorry."

The two just watched each other for a moment before she nodded and sat on the box she had originally hit “that works even better. So what are we going to do with her Captain?”

He sighed, looking up at the ship. “I haven't thought about it yet... Wait, we?”

She smiled at him brightly, “I was just thinking since it's just the two of us, maybe merchants? I'm great at sales.” she gave him a wink.

He quickly waved his arms out in front of himself. She was going too fast for him, “wait, stop, weren't you just trying to buy it from me?”

She nodded her head, “that was because I thought you were some rando who bought her for a quick buck. Not that you cared about her too.” she looked up at the ship, “she might be beautiful to you, but she is important to me.”

“We need to sail away from here,” he said, looking through an eyeglass made of cardboard.

“And where are we sailing to?” the girl said with a laugh, quickly moving the wheel a little to the left. The two always snuck out at night once a week, imagining they were pirates sailing the sea.

“They’re catching up to us.” he said, looking at her with a big smile.

“Then pull down the sails, we need them more open to go faster,” she said, pointing at them. He nodded his head and ran to the deck pulling on the rope, both imagining as if the sails were being unfurled. After that, he ran back up and looked behind her.

“We did it.” he laughed before turning around and pulling her into a hug. She sighed and leaned against him.

“Oh,” His remark seemed to bring her out of whatever daydream she was having.

She turned to smile at him again, “I have some very important moments on the Halwell with a very important person.”

He frowned “wait, she's been blocked from the public for years."

She laughed, “you can't tell me you never snuck on her to imagine you were sailing her.”

“No!” that made her laugh harder.

“Well anyway, I’m Chesura. It will be good to work with you.” she held out her hand to him.

He sighed and accepted her handshake, “I’m Salcaro. Let’s work well together.”

~*~*~

With Chesura’s money, they hired some carpenters to repair the big damage in the hull. They had the carpenters focus on getting her sailing. It took them two weeks, and while there was still slight damage to it, they were now ready to sail.

Salcaro had just been walking back home from watching over the carpenters to make sure they didn't mess up when someone stepped his way and pointed at him. "Hey, you!"

Salcaro blinked at them. At least this one had been more forward about getting his attention, unlike Chesura. "Yes?" Salcaro might not be the most observant but he couldn’t mistake this one.

"When you set sail I want to be on that ship." The person said with an upright and proper position. Even though he was facing Salcaro, his eyes were looking at the sea.

He slammed the door as he walked into the house. The slam brought his parents to the main room, "why are my classes set up like that?" He shouted.

"It was the best classes we could find."

"Why did you pick them. I was excited to pick my own."

His dad crossed his arms "we knew you would pick the wrong ones."

"You can't choose my life for me."

"It's for the best," his mother said with a sigh, "we want to set you for life."

"Set me for life! With how rich you two are, I could take my money and leave with no financial problems."

"And what would you do?"

That made him falter, "well...I…"

"Oh are you thinking of following that stupid dream of yours" his mother shook her head "no one makes money from writing. You'll be better off if you listen to what we say."

"But-"

"But nothing." His father interrupted. "You're too young to know what you truly want. Once you finish your classes, you can give that writing" the last word coming out as a sound of disgust "and see how worthless it is. But we don't want you wasting this precious time to set up your life."

He couldn't fight against his parents no matter how much he wanted to. "You promise."

His father blinked at him, "what?"

"You promise once I finish my classes, I can go off and try being a writer, and you two won't complain."

His parents chuckled "fine. At least then you'll have a proper job when that dream fails."

"Fine" Salcaro's words made the man flinch. He looked back at Salcaro, his posture easing a little. Salcaro needed more crew than just him and Chesura anyways. "So, what ship work can you do?"

"You expect me to work?" he crossed his arms and managed to stand even a little bit straighter.

Salcaro frowned, "of course. We have so few people on the ship we would need it."

"Not happening. I'm much too important to work. You're lucky I'm willing to pay my way onto the ship."

Salcaro’s frown grew. They did need that money as Chesura’s was running low with all the work the ship needed. The two weren't sure they could buy the rest of the supplies. "If that is the case, why don't you just pay to go on a passenger ship?"

He waved Salcaro's suggestion away "I've been on those before. They have planned routes they must take. It doesn't allow you to see the world."

Salcaro sighed, "I can't make this decision on my own. Meet me tomorrow in front of the ship to talk to Chesura."

The man nodded and walked off without saying another word.

The morning came faster than Salcaro wanted, but he got up bright and early to spend another day watching the ship get repaired. He was the first one there like always, but he didn't mind, he liked the silence.

Eventually, Chesura ran up to him, and he explained the situation to her. "So he wants freedom?"

Salcaro nods "that seems to be his reason for choosing us rather than passenger ships."

Chesura frowned "he would be a pain to watch over, but we kind of need that money."

"That's what I thought." He said, looking back at the town to see if anyone was coming yet. He was eager to have the Halwell fixed as soon as possible.

"Would you be okay with him joining us?"

Salcaro thought about it for a moment, "we were planning to make a short trip to test her after the repairs. We could bring him along for that and then just leave him behind if we can't stand him."

Chesura laughed "Oh, that's a good idea. Alright, when he gets here, let me do the talking. Need to get as much money as possible out of him."

Salcaro sighed but nodded. Slightly worried about what person he had accepted as his first mate.

It wasn't until midday when the man eventually arrived, introducing himself as Bolirin. Salcaro introduced him to Chesura, who was more than happy to have a long conversation with him. Salcaro could see all her flirting from where he sat. And with the amount Bolirin agreed on, he knew it had worked.

~*~*~*~

With the money from Bolirin, they were able to get a bunch of supplies to sell at their destination as well as enough food for all three of them for their planned short trip. It wasn't going to be long, only a few days since they wanted to make sure it could sail before planning anything longer.

They were walking up to her as they talked, "we bought everything, but we don't even know if it can sail." Salcaro muttered.

"The carpenters told us it would," Chesura said.

"No, I mean. When she was first docked here after…" she nodded, he didn't really need to say it. "Nothing moved. Not the wheel, the sails, or the anchor."

Chesura frowned, "well, some things changed."

"Why do you say that?"

"The wheel moved when I used to play on the ship. We never went further than turning it, but if that moves, maybe everything else will?"

Salcaro sighed "I guess." As the two walked by the ship's bow Chesura noticed someone replacing a few pieces of wood close to the top of the hull. They had fashioned a seat out of another piece of wood and seemed to be humming to themselves.

Chesura watched them for a moment longer before commenting, "did one of the carpenters come back to do more work?"

“no?”

“Then who is that?” she pointed to the person they just passed and Salcaro frowned before walking back over.

Salcaro had to shout to get heard over the sound of the hammering “who are you!”

The person jumped and almost hit their finger before turning to see the two and smiling. “Oh hey, cap." They waved at the pair. "Sorry it's so early I was just so excited.” They smiled brightly.

“What? Who are you?” he crossed his arms, having to glare up at them.

“Oh, sorry, I'm Danoy”

“And what do you think you're doing?”

“fixing the ship, I know the others did most of the work, but you can't just leave these holes.” both just watched them swing for a moment “look, Captain, I can't let you work on this masterpiece. You might wreck it.”

They heard the door slam as their father entered the house. They watched from their room as their dad sat at the kitchen table and put his head in his hands.

"Daddy?" They shouted as they jumped off their bed and ran over to him.

Their dad gave them a tired smile as he held his arms out for Danoy to run into. "How was today?"

"It was good. I had a lot of fun. How about yours? Was yours a lot of fun?"

Their father sighed and hugged them tighter, "it's much better now that I got this great hug."

Danoy giggled before pulling away "what happened?"

Their father stood up and moved to the kitchen window. From it, you could see the dock, he pointed to the Halwell. "You see that ship."

"Yep"

"It's slowly getting destroyed, and no one seems to care. I've been asking the dock owners to let me care for it but just keep getting turned away."

"You'll fix it," Danoy said, bouncing in his arms.

Their father smiled, "if I won't maybe, you will someday."

Danoy's smile only grew, "we'll work on it together."

“and you're a master?” Salcaro's shout seemed to bring Danoy back to reality.

They looked at their hammer that was old and worn, “well no…" the grip on their hammer tightened, "but I have more knowledge than you.”

“But I can't pay you,” Salcaro muttered.

“A little bit of a bummer but that's fine, just take me with you. I can't let this be destroyed.” they patted the Halwell lightly, avoiding the hole they had been fixing.

Figuring he couldn't really argue, Salcaro nodded his head. Danoy smiled before turning back to their work, going back to humming almost right away.

“That is the third person to love the ship. I wonder if they're more,” Chesura said as they headed to the ramp onto the ship. Today they had to load their supplies on since it was delivered early in the morning.

“Obviously, you aren't the only ones to grow up with that ship sitting pretty at the dock.” They both turned to see a man walking out between the boxes with a clipboard in hand.

“Who are you?” Salcaro muttered, not even surprised another person was there.

“Maromu. I assume Danoy asked to come along with you?” both nodded. “I thought so. I have arranged for extra food to arrive later today. Paid for by me, looking over what you bought previously, it should be enough for whatever journey you are planning."

“and who are you?”

"The name is Maromu. I already said that.”

"...and do you also love that ship?” Chesura asked, looking him over quickly.

“ No matter where Danoy goes, so do I.”

When Maromu left the building with his certificate, Danoy was waiting for him with a smile. "You did it." Immediately Danoy pulled him into a hug.

Maromu sighed and sank into it, making sure not to crush the certificate. "Wouldn't have without your support."

Danoy laughed, "what are you talking about? It's all thanks to that big brain." They kissed him on the top of the head, and Maromu laughed.

After enjoying the hug for a bit, the two broke apart before heading to a spot Danoy had prepared for a celebration picnic.

The two were eating and enjoying the sunset when Danoy spoke up again. "So where are you planning to go?"

Maromu looked at them, "what are you talking about?"

Danoy sighed and leaned back, "well, your skills would be wasted if you stay here."

"So that means I need to leave town?"

Danoy turned to smile at Maromu, "the world needs you."

"Don't you love me anymore?"

Danoy's eyes went wide, "of course, I still love you. Why would you ask that?"

Maromu nodded, "so then I won't be going anywhere."

Danoy's eyes went wide, "what!"

"I'm going to stay with you."

"Why?" Danoy looked down at the dock where the Halwell was, "I can't even leave because of my promise to my father. Why tie yourself down to me."

Maromu leaned over and grabbed Danoy's hand, "because I love you." He gave them a smile.

Salcaro frowned, "you'll leave town because Danoy decided to sail with us?" Maromu loosened his grip on his clipboard where he had been looking.

Maromu looked at him carefully, "I loved them enough to stay. Leaving isn't any harder. I don't want to be away from them." He had a small smile as they looked off to where Danoy was working before looking back at Salcaro.

Salcaro looked over at Chesura who was frowning "alright. We'll go plan out where stuff is going to go okay?"

Maromu nodded and went back to his clipboard while Salcaro led Chesura into the ship. "You okay?"

Chesura sighed, "I'll be fine. He left a few years ago now. And hey, I might see him while we travel." She gave a smile, but he could tell it didn't reach her eyes.

"Why did he leave?"

Chesura leaned against the wall, "His talents would be wasted here. Just...he didn't take me."

"I'm sorry," Salcaro muttered, touching her shoulder lightly.

Chesura gave him a small smile, but it was better than the one before. "What are you sorry about? You didn't do anything." Her smile grew even bigger. "If we do meet him, I just have to make him beg for forgiveness for leaving me." Salcaro sighed. For the guys' sake, he hoped they wouldn't meet up.

~*~*~

It was finally the day before they would take their first voyage. The last thing they needed to do was clean the rooms of the old crew. No one was looking forward to it, having avoided them as much as possible with the repairs. They had demanded the carpenters leave those walls alone, as well as not to enter those rooms.

Salcaro was there first, like always. He sat on a box looking at the Halwell, waiting for the others to arrive. They had agreed to do this together.

“I see you got your crew together.” Salcaro looked over his shoulder to see Alraslo standing there, leaning on his cane.

“Yeah,” Salcaro said slowly, standing up from the box and turning fully towards him. He knew what was coming but didn’t want to hear it.

“And you're going out on your first voyage tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Salcaro shook his head. Maybe he could convey his feelings without saying them.

“And you remember your promise when I let you buy the ship?”

That made him pause, he didn’t really want to answer that one, “yeah.”

Alrasio glared at him, “What was it?”

“When we set sail, you want to come along but…” Salcaro tried, but Alraslo interrupted him with a laugh.

“Don't want the old guy to spoil the fun? Don't worry, you'll barely notice me.”

“No that isn't it-”

“If you're going back on your deal-” Alraslo took a step forward, the clack of his cane sounding extra loud.

He took a step back, almost falling off the dock, “it's too dangerous.”

“I've been on the seas before, lad, unlike your crew. If anyone knows the dangers, it's me” he said with a frown.

“I know, but if you died because of me-”

“Do any of you know how to navigate?”

Salcaro frowned, "I learn some-"

"Enough for a small voyage for sure, but what about once you take longer ones? Once you're fully out on the ocean, you can't just follow coastlines."

"Well...I can learn."

"From who?" Alraslo watched him carefully. When Salcaro said nothing he nodded. “I thought so. I have sailed with a few tough Crews. You need me if you don't want to die.”

Salcaro sighed. Alraslo had him there. He only had one chance left, "only if the crew agrees."

"What?"

"I can't accept you if the crew doesn't agree."

Alraslo took a step forward "you going back on your word?"

Salcaro wanted to step back, but doing so would send him into the water. "I made that deal thinking it would just be me and some hired people. Now that I have people that chose to be on the crew they get to choose who they sail with." Salcaro bit his lip. Alraslo might be old, but that didn't mean he was weak. The two stared at each other for a while before Alraslo sighed.

"Fine, if your crew doesn't agree, I'll figure out a way to change our deal." Alraslo muttered. Salcaro sighed and went back to pacing in front of the ramp to the ship, trying to figure out how he would explain it to the crew.

Chesura was the first to arrive that morning. She practically skipped up to Salcaro, "here first as always." She said with a smile before noticing Alraslo, "who are you?"

Before Salcaro could say anything Alraslo spoke up "I'm the ship’s navigator" he said with his head held high.

"If the crew agrees," Salcaro said quickly. He didn't want Chesura to think she didn't have a choice. Chesura shrugged before moving to sit on the end of the dock, eager for the others to arrive. Salcaro went back to his pacing.

Danoy and Maromu arrived together walking up to the three holding hands. However, Danoy was pulling Maromu, who had a small smile. That smile fell when he noticed Alraslo, "who's that?" He waved at Alraslo with his free hand.

"The ship's navigator," Alraslo and Chesura said together, Chesura not even bothering to turn towards them.

"Only if the crew is okay with him." Salcaro muttered. Maromu looked at him, then to Danoy, who was staring at the ship.

Maromu rolled his eyes and pulled Danoy out of the way as they waited for their last crew member. Whispering to them to fill them in on what they probably didn’t hear.

When Bolirin arrived, he looked among the crew members he had already met, having met Maromu and Danoy when he came to check when they were leaving, when his eyes landed on the only one he didn't know. "Who-"

"The ship's navigator" everyone but Salcaro and Alraslo interrupted him. Alraslo smirked at Salcaro. who didn't even bother repeating himself. Everyone had decided it seemed.

With the crew all assembled, they made their way onto the boat and to the section that held the rooms. The boat had obviously been specially made as there wasn't a captain's quarters. Instead, there were a bunch of rooms all the same size. Each door had a different letter carved into it.

Before anyone could move, Alraslo walked over the door with an N on it, entering without another word and closing the door. "Why does he get to pick first?" Bolirin muttered.

"Because he used to own this ship. If he didn't sell it to Salcaro, none of us would be here." Chesura said, looking at the doors. "Looks like the pirates labeled them. Want to follow that?"

"I doubt there is an accountant," Maromu muttered.

"And it might be too far from mine," Danoy said, squeezing Maromu's hand tighter.

"I don't have a job," Bolirin said, looking along the rooms.

Chesura sighed. She pushed Salcaro to the door marked with a C which was the first room on the left, and to the right of the room Alraslo entered. She then stood in front of the door with an F which was the first one on the right side. "We'll take these two. You three pick wherever you feel fits best."

Bolirin went off to pick the one next to Chesura, this door marked with an M, but Danoy raised his free hand, "what if one room isn't big enough? Could I take a wall down between the two of them?"

Chesura looked over to Salcaro, who shrugged, "as long as it doesn't affect the ship, it should be fine." Danoy nodded and moved to pick the room to the left of the one Alraslo entered, marked with an Ca, with Maromu picking the one next to it, marked with a Ch. However, they all knew the two wouldn't have separate rooms for long.

Salcaro entered his new room and looked around. The room was musty and covered in dust, but there were still things left by the previous captain. He looked around the room and found a small chest hidden in one of the corners. He wiped it off carefully before opening it to see it was half empty. With the same amount of care, he took everything that belonged to the past Captain and placed it into the chest. Once he was done, he closed it again and put it back where he found it, placing a cloth over it.

Once that was done, he was more willing to go through and throw out everything else. While the furniture like the bed frame and desk could stay, everything else was gone. They had enough leftover from Bolirin's money to pay for a new mattress for everyone, and that would be done later today.

With the rooms now picked and set up, their plans to set sail on their small voyage were all ready. They met again the next morning and started sailing.

It wasn't easy with all of them new to their new jobs, but they slowly were figuring it out. Since Maromu had nothing to do while sailing, he agreed to be the crew chef and spent the first day cleaning the kitchen area. They also found a job for Bolirin when Danoy was sitting on some boxes on the deck holding a cloth to a cut in their arm.

Bolirin walked up to them with a frown, "what did you do?" He had spent a lot of time looking around the full ship their first day, and this was the first time most of them had seen him above deck that day.

Danoy smiled at him. "Oh, I just cut myself while removing wood from our room. Don't worry about it, it will be fine…" he removed the cloth to see the wound was still bleeding and replaced it "...soon."

Bolirin's frown only deepened "wait here."

"I wasn't planni-" but before Danoy could even finish, Bolirin was walking away, heading to the room area. He was only gone for a little while, but when he came back, he had a bag. "What is-"

"Let me see it." Danoy nodded and held out their arm for Bolirin to look at the wound. Bolirin pulled out supplies from his bag and started to clean it. Once he was done, he wrapped it before packing his bag away.

Chesura came over to watch Bolirin while he worked. Once he was done, she pointed to the bag "why do you have that?"

Bolirin frowned, "my parents forced me to learn medicine." He looked at the bag "despite wanting to, it seems I brought it with me."

Chesura smiled brightly, "that's it. You can be the ship's medic."

Bolirin crossed his arms "why would I need to work? I paid to be on this ship."

Chesura nodded "yes, that was for a one-way trip to our destination."

"One way? The amount I spent could have paid for ten people on a passenger ship."

Chesura frowned, "well, of course ours was more expensive. We have to protect you, and this is a historical ship." She rubbed the railing for a moment before turning with a smile, "but if you become the ship's medic, you don't have to pay anymore." Bolirin was silent and she fluttered her eyelashes at him "please?" Bolirin blushed but nodded slowly. Chesura cheered, Danoy joining in even though they didn't know fully what was going on.

The first trip was slow going but went smoothly. The crew was small, but then so was the ship, and when it got really hard for them to handle, Chesura could convince Bolirin to help out.

The few holes that needed to be fixed were found by Bolirin's wandering Danoy taking care of them right away. When they weren't fixing the ship, they spent their time in the kitchen bothering Maromu to try and get little tastes before they all ate. To make up for it, Maromu made them do part of the cleaning.

They got to the new town and sold their stuff right away. Chesura had a strong handle on sales, and with Maromu keeping track of their numbers, they were able to make a little extra when supplies were low. They planned out their next trip and bought the supplies. The profit was split between the entire crew. Bolirin hadn't been expecting to get money as well but was happily surprised to receive some.

~*~*~*~

Salcaro laid down for the night. The long voyage had been going well so far. Everyone was getting along and slowly learning how to do their jobs. And the ship was still going strong, all the repairs holding out even as they got into the deep ocean.

They had been sailing for a week so far and had no other ships or land in sight. They had anchored the ship, and most of them were sleeping besides Alraslo, who had announced he would keep watch. No amount of arguing from the crew could dissuade him.

It seemed like only a moment of closing his eyes before Salcaro felt a cold hand wrap around his arm and fling him from the bed. He crashed into the wall with a cry of pain, when he opened his eyes he saw a ghost standing over his bed.

The ghost was strong-looking but had tattered clothes. The thing that stood out most to Salcaro was that it wore a big hat. In all of his research, the only one allowed to wear one on the ship was the captain.

The captain floated towards him with a glare. "What?" Was all Salcaro could get out before the captain grabbed the back of his shirt and started to drag him from the room.

Once they made it onto the deck, he was thrown into a pile of the others as ghosts surrounded them on all sides. "Salcaro!" Chesura shouted as he tried to orientate himself.

Thanks to the full moon, it was very bright. All the ghosts seemed to shine because of it. He looked to see most of his crew now behind him. He noticed a girl he didn't recognize in the group but was more relieved to see Alraslo wasn't there. Salcaro was slightly glad that whatever was going to happen to them, Alraslo would be safe from it.

"Why are you on my ship?" The Captain asked, floating a little above the ring of ghosts looking down at the group with a glare.

The fear Salcaro felt surrounded as his crew was, made him forget for a moment why they were even there, "I...I bought this ship. So it's mine."

The captain's glare seemed to get even sharper, "you didn't buy it from me." The captain started to float towards the wheel of the ship "now what to do with you all?"

Salcaro heard the sound of the anchor being raised and watched as the captain turned the wheel sharply left. Salcaro’s eyes went wide "wait!" He said, reaching out with his hand. It passed through the ghost standing in front of him, and he was surprised by the sudden cold.

Captain turned to him "you dare to-"

But Salcaro cut him off "if you go that way the ship will crash."

"What?"

"There are some rocks that are just under the water. We avoided them today. You probably hate us, but I can't let you kill this ship. It's too beautiful."

The captain was silent but Salcaro breathed a sigh of relief when he turned the wheel all the way to the right. There hadn't been any hidden rocks that way. Though he gasped when the captain spoke again, "you may live. The others die."

"No!" Before Salcaro could do anything, the ghost in front of him grabbed his stretched-out arm and threw him towards the rooms. He turned to face the group but could do nothing as he watched his crew separated.

Chesura had now taken the position he was in, placing herself in front of the crew with her arms outstretched. It didn't do much good for her when two ghosts just grabbed both her arms, practically lifting her off her feet with how tall they were compared to her, to pull her towards the side of the deck.

The unknown girl stood to the left of the group. When the ghost was heading towards her, she curled into herself, covering her head with her hands. One ghost grabbed both her arms to drag her to the side, she planted her feet, but the ghost just pulled her harder.

Danoy and Maromu we're to the right, holding onto each other tightly, two ghosts walking towards them. A ghost grabbed each of them and tried to pull them apart. Slowly they were pulled from each other but kept hold of each other's hand. The ghost eventually gave up and just pushed Maromu into Danoy, sending them both into the railing. Danoy hugged Maromu close once again, putting his head into their chest. The two ghosts stepped closer to them.

As each person was pulled from the group, Bolirin moved back, allowing a wall of three ghosts to separate him from the others. He kept walking backward until his back hit the mass. He looked up at it as if surprised it was there before quickly grabbing one of the ropes tied to it. The three ghosts that had walked up to him reached out for him.

Somehow in all of the confusion, the clacking of Alraslo's cane was louder than anything for Salcaro. Salcaro's attention was pulled from the crew when he realized the clacking was getting louder and from behind him. He turned to tell him to get out of here, but it died on his lips when he saw Alraslo.

He was slowly walking down the hall, his jaw set, the feeling of bloodlust rolling off of him. Salcaro didn't know what would happen when he reached the deck but didn't want to be around for it. He scooted back, but once he felt cold he stopped knowing a ghost was behind him.

As soon as he stepped onto the deck though, everything seemed to go quiet. The ghosts all turned to look at Alraslo and seemed to freeze. He looked around the deck, slowly giving each ghost a once over with a glare. He noticed the ship was sailing and turned to the wheel, his mouth open to say something. When he saw the captain was the one steering, another word seemed to ripe out of him. "Kanibon?"

In all of his research about the pirates that owned this ship 30 years ago, Salcaro never found a single name, descriptions of what they looked like and habits they had were easy. There had been a few journals printed a few years after their death. But even in those, every single name had been scratched out. Salcaro had assumed it was to erase them from history. But with how Kanibon flinched, it was obvious that was his own.

Kanibon let go of the wheel and floated down in front of Alraslo, looking him over. Alraslo seemed to stand a bit straighter under the watchful eye. "Alraslo? You survived."

Alraslo nodded quickly, “thanks to your sacrifice.” he quickly glared at Kanibon, “not that I wanted to be pushed off the boat when you all were captured,” he muttered.

Kanibon shook his head then frowned at him, “you should have lived a happy and long life then.”

Alraslo sighed and moved to the edge of the deck. Where he went, ghosts parted, “I did. I spent years watching over her,” he said as he rubbed the railing. “as I worked on the dock helping soldiers and sailors alike.”

“Then why are you here?” Kanibon muttered.

Alraslo was silent for a moment looking out over the ocean, “after floating for a while I washed up in a small town. While healing up from almost drowning, I heard about what happened to all of you and the ship. Right then, I decided if she sailed again, I would be on her. I got to town and forged papers to claim you stole her from me. Got a job so I could keep her docked safely.”

“But you sold her?” Kanibon said.

Alraslo nodded, “I was being fired and heard them talking about scraping her to pay off my debts.” he chuckled before turning to look Salcaro in the eyes. “You have the same look as Kanibon did when you looked at the Halwell," He looked at the railing again. "Until you came along, I didn't know what to do. I couldn't let her be scrapped, but I couldn't care for her myself either."

Kanibon nodded his head "yes, that one I approved of."

Alraslo chuckled before looking at the rest of the group still held by the ghosts. No one had moved since the two started talking. When his eyes landed on the unknown girl, he smiled. As he walked over to her, the ghosts parted once again. When he was in front of her, he looked at the ghost holding her and she was let go. Alraslo patted her head, her shaking subsided a little.

He turned back to everyone. When he did she hid behind him grabbing onto his shirt tightly. He looked Kanibon in the eyes. "Could you approve them for me? They may not be up to your level, but they're good kids and are willing to learn."

Kanibon watched him for a moment before nodding, he looked among the ghost and crew. “If Alraslo gives his approval, then we can't argue." With that, all the crew were let go, Chesura stumbling when she landed. "Since our work is done we'll leave."

"Wait!" everyone turned to look at Salcaro. He shifted for a moment before taking a breath, "can you come out often?"

Kanibon pointed to the moon overhead. "We have more power when the moon is full. Which is why we attacked you tonight. We can't touch people besides when the full moon is out but can touch objects and interact with them every night but the new moon." Kanibon looked around to see his ghost crew moving to their favorite spots and the Salcaro’s crew watching them carefully "why?"

"I was hoping you all could teach us. We're all new at this, as Alraslo said."

"What!" If anyone hadn't been watching, Chesura's shout would have drawn their attention. "They tried to kill us and you want them to teach us."

Salcaro patted her shoulder lightly, "They know more than us. Any help wouldn't be a bad thing."

Before Chesura could reply, Kanibon spoke up " and why haven't you let Alraslo teach you?"

"They won't let me, Captain. They think I should relax while we're on the ship, and I hate it. How am I supposed to relax when I see them making beginner mistakes?"

Salcaro turned towards him, "I just don't want you to overwork yourself."

Alraslo shook his head "teaching a bunch of newbies ain't going to overwork me," he waved to the girl who was still hiding behind him, "I've been teaching this one just fine."

Salcaro frowned "I've been wondering who that was."

Alraslo smiled "yeah, I found her in my room the day we cleaned the rooms out."

"what!" This time Chesura shout was directed at Alraslo.

Alraslo sighed as he stepped onto the ship, the familiar sway under his feet was something he could never forget. Once the group got to the rooms, he moved quickly, he wouldn't let someone else take the room given to him by Kanibon. He heard them talking behind him but ignored it as he closed the door.

Once he was inside, he sighed once again. His eyes swept the room only to find a girl standing in the darker part of the room. He frowned. "Who are you?"

"I-i'm sorry." She muttered.

When she didn't say anymore, Alraslo took a step closer to her. She took one back. "What are you doing here?"

"I...I thought this room would be safe to hide in. I hadn't heard they had a navigator, so I didn't think anyone would pick this room."

"The rest of the crew didn't know about me till this morning." He wanted to move closer to her but knew she would only move more into the corner. He instead decided to sit on the bed. "We aren't leaving until tomorrow."

She nodded her head quickly, "I know. But I didn't know when tomorrow. So I felt sneaking on today would be my safest bet." She fidgeted for a moment "i-i can sneak off tonight. The rest of the crew won't even know I was here." She looked down at her feet.

Alraslo frowned "why did you sneak on anyways?" When she didn't say anything, he got up and moved closer to her. She tried to move back but bumped into the wall and started to shake. Once he was in striking distance, his grip on his cane tightened. He could see the bruise that was forming on her cheek as well as the black eye that had been hidden by the darkness of the corner. He didn't know who had done that to her but assumed there was more.

She closed her eyes tight when he stood right in front of her and flinched when he placed his hand on her head. When all he did was rub it, she looked up at him carefully. "I don't know who you're running from, but I'll help you get away."

"Really?" She whispered.

He nodded, "it will be easier for you to hide on the ship with us working together anyways." She watched him for a moment before tears streamed down her cheeks, and she pulled him into a tight hug. He rubbed her back as she let out all the tears she had.

Kanibon nodded his head, "ah, a stowaway like you."

Alraslo chuckled, "that's why I convinced her to stay after the short trip. If I just wanted to get her away from whatever, I would have set her up in the town we were just at." He looked back at her to see she wasn't shaking anymore "you should come out and introduce yourself."

She moved from behind him but kept a hold on his arm. "I'm Saycalin. I've been learning how to navigate and deal with the sails." She looked at Alraslo quickly, then back at the group "I'm sorry I stowed away on your ship."

Maromu frowned "but we haven't been low on food even though we've been feeding an extra mouth," since he was making the food, he knew exactly how much they used.

Alraslo shook his head "I've just been giving her half my food. That's why I have been eating in my room."

"then you should have just told me about her instead of going hungry!" Maromu shouted. Danoy pulled him into a hug, and Maromu sighed, "do we even have enough food for her on this trip?" He muttered.

Alraslo nodded "oh yeah, I bought double of what you suggested. I was trying to figure out some way to tell you all, but I was waiting till we were fully on the sea since you all didn't seem like you were the type to kill stowaways."

Everyone frowned at the notion, and Saycalin shifted, "sorry for the trouble." She brought her hand up to bite at her thumb.

Salcaro shook his head, "we needed more hands to help sail anyways."

~*~

With the ghost pirates now teaching the merchant crew, they learned how to run the Halwell faster than ever. It was weird for the crew at first. They would be tying a rope down when suddenly a whispered “not like that.” would come from nowhere. The whispered voice would then inform them how to tie it right.

Most of the crew couldn't always tell which ghost they were talking to but knew where specific ghosts spent their time. Like Kanibon who stayed near the wheel, and Cholaven, the pirates' lookout. She never left the crow's nest, not even on the night they had first attacked.

The exceptions to this were Alraslo, who had known them long enough to recognize their voice even as a whisper. The other was Bolirin. After they met the ghosts, he took whatever chance he could to talk to them since he didn't work unless people were hurt, which gave him a lot of chances.

He spent the days talking to them and writing down their stories or information they wanted him to. His room had a slowly growing pile of filled books. When he wasn't talking to them he found any secrets the pirates told him about and showed them to the crew.

Saycalin was slowly getting used to the crew too. The first few days, she spend any time not around Alraslo in the crow's nest. Which is how the crew found out about Cholaven. The two seemed to hit it off thanks to similar situations. Saycalin informed the crew that after Bolirin wrote down Cholaven's story, she had demanded only Saycalin was allowed up there. The crew, seeing the after-effects of whatever she had left behind, agreed.

After a few weeks, she stopped cowering every time they yelled or flinching when they raised their hand. She was still doing it every once in a while, but it got less and less with time. The crew assumed it was the time away from them and in the company of Cholaven that helped the most.

After the one attack, most of the trip was uneventful. They even made more money than they were expecting. Some bought supplies, like Bolirin bought more empty books, or Saycalin who bought a wide-brimmed hat to keep herself from getting burned.

The rest of the crew saved their money having most of what they needed though they all pooled their money together to get better food to cook. Maromu complained at first, but when Chesura offered to help, he agreed.

They spent a week in town slowly selling off their stock and trying to figure out what to buy to sell at their next destination. Salcaro and Chesura entered a jewelry store to see if there was anything worth it when they heard a gasp. They turned to the man standing at the counter, and Chesura frowned.

"Chesura, is that you? What are you doing out of Ecley?"

Salcaro looked him over. He didn't look that impressive. Chesura looked up to the roof as if counting something. Since she wasn't going to say anything Salcaro spoke up instead. "Do you know her?"

"Do I know her? Of course I do. I'm Lugarow."

That name meant nothing to Salcaro. Chesura didn't talk much about her past. She turned to look at Lugarow with a big smile. "I'm sorry it's been so long I forgot who you were till you said your name."

He frowned, "how could you forget? We were childhood friends." That made it click for Salcaro who this was. He took a step back not wanting to get in her way.

"Yes, but it's been so long." She leaned on the counter he was standing behind. "Actually mentioning our childhood, I'm sailing on the Halwell you know?"

"Yeah right."

"No, it's the truth. Isn't it captain?"

Salcaro blinked, being suddenly brought into the conversation. "Yep, I bought it from the old owner."

Lugarow seemed to straighten at that. "Prove it."

Chesura frowned and looked over at Salcaro, "can I bring him on the ship? Once he sees it, he'll know it's the real thing."

Salcaro shrugged, "I don't see why not."

"Great," she turned to look back at Lugarow, "come by tonight, okay? We're busy till then." He nodded and the two left the building.

"What are you planning?"

Chesura gave him a smile but it didn't reassure him, "what do you mean?"

"No one but us is going to be on the ship tonight." They took shifts to keep the ship safe, the rest slept at an inn.

"Don't worry about it. Also don't come back to the ship right after dinner okay?"

Salcaro sighed as he nodded his head watching as Chesura ran off with a wave heading in the direction of the docks.

~*~*~

Lugarow stood in front of the ramp leading up to the Halwell. He couldn't believe it was really here, that it was really sailing. "Chesura?" He called out.

"In here," a soft voice said from the ship. He could tell it was a women's voice but nothing else.

"Chesura? Is that you?" He started to walk up the ramp and onto the Halwell. Since he had been allowed by the captain he wasn't worried about getting into trouble. When his feet reached the deck, he was only met by silence.

He looked around, and old memories of playing with Chesura came back to him. He gave a small smile as he looked down the hall or rooms, remembering hide and seek they used to play, even if there were only two of them.

He started to walk towards them when the wheel creaking drew his attention. Instead, he walked over to it and looked out at the boat in front of him, a little lost in his memories.

He grabbed the wheel lightly and was about to turn it when a voice spoke up, "what are you doing on my ship." He looked to his right to say something but the words never came as he saw Kanibon floating there glaring at him.

"I….I….I have permission." He said but let go of the wheel, taking a step away from Kanibon.

Kanibon followed, "and when did I give permission?"

"The captain….the captain gave me permission." He said quickly, doing his best to slowly move back down to the deck. But with every step he took, Kanibon floated closer.

"I'm the captain." He growled. Once he hit the deck Lugarow moved a bit quicker to try and get off the ship. He took a moment to look in front of him only to find another imposing ghost blocking the ramp.

"I must have got the wrong ship." He said, backing away from the new ghost. He moved closer to the rooms knowing there were places he might be able to hide. "If you want I can leave now if you would ju-"

Kanibon interrupts him with a laugh, "no one leaves once they step aboard." Now two ghosts were heading towards him. He took a step back when suddenly a bunch of hands grabbed him from behind. He gasped and tried to pull away, but they held tight.

Suddenly he heard someone running up the ramp. Once she stepped on deck, he could breathe a sigh of relief as Chesura stood there breathing hard. "Chesura, save me." He shouted, drawing her attention to him and the ghosts' attention to her.

She glared at him, "why did you walk on the ship without me."

He frowned, was this really the time "you said you would prove it."

"I would have, but we need to ask before letting anyone on." She waved at the ghosts between them.

Kanibon stood between them, "so you were the one that broke the rule." It was a statement, not a question.

"No. He di-"

Kanibon interrupted her, "you know the rules. Either you let us have him or give yourself up for him."

"What but-"

"Chesura, please." She looked at him for a moment, then back to Kanibon who took a step closer.

With a quick shake of her head and a quiet, "I'm sorry." She ran down the ramp again, leaving him to the cold hands that gripped him.

He watched her retreating back with mouth open before he was suddenly pulled back farther and farther down the hall, farther and farther from the light. He fought against the cold hands that grabbed him when suddenly he was free. He ran down the hall and almost fully crashed into the mass, thinking it would take longer than ever to reach it. He looked to his right to see the city and his freedom and ran, not even bothering to look around as he moved. His feet hit the solid ground, and he only ran faster, trying to get away from that haunted ship as fast as he could.

Chesura burst out laughing as she watched Lugarow run from the dock. With how he was acting, she doubted he even knew she was standing right there with Salcaro.

Salcaro frowned up at the ship, "how did you convince them to do that?"

"These guys love scaring people. Plus, they get a new story to tell Alraslo." She said between her laughter. She was laughing so hard her stomach was starting to hurt.

He looked down at her as they started to die down, "Feel better?"

She sighed as she wiped a tear from her eye. "I felt better a while ago. This was just a bonus."

"Oh?"

She nodded as they walked up the ramp, "I realized that it wasn't him that made those moments so wonderful. But the offer of freedom the Halwell had. He just got that freedom before me." She said with a shrug.

Salcaro nodded, "but now you have even more freedom than him."

She chuckled, "yeah I win in the end" she pumped her fists into the air and Salcaro laughed. The two walked up the ramp to the cheers of the pirates.

~*~*~

They left that town behind with rumors that their ship was haunted. Since it didn't affect sales and was true, they didn't bother correcting it. Though Chesura did her best to avoid Lugarow the rest of the time they were in town. But with him avoiding the docks, it was easy enough.

They had set sail easily with all that they had learned. They had sailed for a few days when they were met with trouble.

Saycalin was the first one to alert them that a ship was coming towards them. Salcaro ordered the Halwell to be stopped since it still looked like a pirate ship, and he didn't want to cause a problem.

The ship came closer and closer until the people were able to come aboard, having both ships side by side. The people that came across were not fellow merchants, sailors, or officers but pirates.

The crew were surrounded pretty quickly; the only one escaping capture was Salcaro, who was still hidden in the crow's nest. "Not a bad catch today. A bunch of newbies we can take their ship and supplies from." Salcaro wanted to speak up, but with the swords pointed at his crew he couldn't bring himself to.

"Now, you'll be getting off my ship." The pirate growled as he moved the sword closer to Salcaro who stood his ground. He couldn't just let the ship be taken.

"This is my ship, not yours." Kanibon's voice floated around them.

The head pirate looked around "who's there?" Before anyone could say anything, the cannons on the Halwell went off, blasting holes into the pirate ship. Head pirate looked at his crew "I thought you collected all of them "

"They did." The head pirate looked up to see Kanibon floating above him. Kanibon was more see-through than at night but still visible thanks to tonight being a full moon.

"What!" The head pirate brought his sword up to stab into Kanibon who just looked at it.

"You can't affect me, but I can still affect you." Kanibon said as he swung at the pirate's arm.

The pirate cried out as he dropped the sword. "What did you do to me!" He glared at Kanibon as he clutched his arm.

Kanibon shrugged, "I've only numbed it. But you don't want me to hit the other one, or you won't be able to swim back to shore." The head pirate took a step back. "Crew?" Suddenly the deck was filled with ghost pirates. "Throw the intruders off our ship." Salcaro’s crew braced themselves, besides Alraslo, and we're surprised when the ghosts didn't even touch them, going after only the pirates. They might have been becoming friends with them slowly but we're still worried the pirates would change their minds at any moment. Even Bolirin who had been talking to them a lot.

Salcaro blinked at Kanibon "oh I thought you were going to throw us off too."

Kanibon frowned, "why would we do that?"

"We don't know if you would change your mind. And take back the ship as yours." He muttered. They had talked about it once or twice on the night of the new moon when they knew the pirates couldn't hear.

"you're part of the crew," Kanibon said, crossing his arms. "The part that moves the ship anyways"

Alraslo laughed "aw Kanibon I didn't think you'd come to like them that fast."

Kanibon didn't say anything while the crew looked at Alraslo "he does?"

Alraslo nodded, "he only lets people join the crew if he likes you. Otherwise, you're just helping hands."

Kanibon turned to Salcaro to change the subject. "You shouldn't have stopped the boat." Now that the pirates had been thrown off, the other ghosts were disappearing again. The crew went back to work, though they could still hear the Halwell's cannons going off.

Salcaro frowned, "what?"

"When you see another boat you should just keep moving."

"But the ship still looks like a pirate ship. I didn't want them to think we were pirates."

"That would be helpful to you. Other merchant crews would avoid you, and the navy would ask you to stop. Pirates are the only ones to attack other pirates."

"Oh." Kanibon nodded knowing his point was made. He looked out over the deck as the Halwell started to sail again with a small smile before disappearing. Salcaro stepped up to the wheel and knew he probably had the same look.

#ghost pirates #short story #original story #lgbt+

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