#red is dave/dove

[tmascyaoi]

not gonna fandom tag this because is a shitty doddle but anyway here's a doddle of some of my headmates because I love them!!!!

[ofantediluvian]

The littlest things give Dove euphoria

[prxshipping]

req for ° ° ° @kenny-pilled !

req: stridercest^3 [bro x dave x darcy] stimboard

[harpoonsnotspoons]

There will be cannibalism soon.

[squawkoverflow]

A new variant has been added!

Red-eyed Dove (Streptopelia semitorquata) © Dave Brown

It hatches from abundant, brown, characteristic, dark, dirty, insistent, other, pale, red, rural, urban, and wild eggs.

squawkoverflow - the ultimate bird collecting game          🥚 hatch    ❤️ collect     🤝 connect

[triangularz]

6-19-2025: I occasionally think about revving this back up, but need some direct input. Whether I do or not, please let me know specifically (dm) if you've found benefit using the list. See red text below for context. Yes we're consumers, but caring as a community isn't a one-way thing, and connection can happen simply be dropping a note. Does wonders for the heart and soul, yeah? And I ain't too proud to ask, babes.

@creatingblackcharacters thank you for your words a few weeks ago ♥️

4-24-2025: Alright loves, with no responses/feedback to the red-text paragraph below, I'm sunsetting updates. wish I'd heard from y'all; I'll miss this! besos 💋 -> hazel

◼︎

2-2025- List usage: Thoughts welcome- is it being used? This project is my little contribution to our space here on tumblr, having seen comments about difficulties finding black authors and artists. I'm familiar with an incredible number of creators now; I'm so proud of us. I choose to do this unsolicited and unfortunately, this may not be a needed solution. I formatted the list about a year ago and have maintained it, which I think is something important and unique about it (every entry checked about once a month), hoping it might be beneficial. Many of you send thanks for being added to the list. But within the last year, less than five individuals have shared with me that they've actually used it (likes and reblogs aren't necessarily indicative of that) and very, very few have either asked to be added or sent additional writers/artists my way. Those requests have been clear virtually since the beginning. Without feedback I assume the list isn't impactful and that's fine. I'll wait until the end of March to decide whether to continue. Love you all! ❤︎

IMPORTANT: Reblogged versions of the list may not be most recent; click here for the latest. Monthly upkeep: 2/3/2025. List includes blogs active within the last 3 months. See also "Inactive with Content" section

We're here: Support, enjoy, follow, comment, reblog- pin/save and spread!

List begins below housekeeping, then a few of my thoughts.

Using the list? If you find works you enjoy, let me know; I'd like to know whether this is helpful.

IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT THE LIST | #-G

H-O | P-Z

Welcome & Celebrate! Darlings: This is a directory of Black individuals who create- different backgrounds, experiences, interests, etc-incl. a variety of preferences, writing styles, subgenres, fandoms, etc. Remember as you read: We don't all look alike, talk a like, live alike- and that's to be praised.

The focus is fan works creators: You’ll see some original fics/original art, and plenty of original characters in general.

Initial seeds for the list here: Thanks to @cardierreh15 who posted a request for black creators -> I organized, aggregated and continue to add.

Growing it:

The list ISN’T exclusive, no requirements for inclusion**.

DM me- incl. fandoms and tags (see below). Please spell correctly. I strongly encourage masterlist and/or featured tags for your blog!

Tag examples- smut, fluff, plot (plot plot) drama, mature, comfort, angst, series, 5k+ fics, humor, dark content, lgbtq+; illustration, comics; or your own.

Upkeep: I check the entire list monthly for removed blogs, name changes, etc. If you notice something, let me know. I will remove your entry if you ever prefer that.

Check out: @blkwriters ( @ramonathinks damn, the tags the organization of it wow)

content tags are not all inclusive.

abbrevs/definitions/listing of genres, styles, etc. here

no masterlist? search within the blog for fandom titles, characters, etc.

Find something you love? Reblog comment repeat!

Looking for something in particular? DM me.

#

555sage (wwe- jay critch, dave east, more)

A

a-lumos-in-the-nox (harry potter, mcu- character x oc, fluff,

smut, angst, dead dove don't eat, series, multi-chapter)

abinitioart

@ablackfangirl (mha, jjk, h!!, naruto, aot, seraph of

the end,🔹)

ackee (original art; writing-ocs) akm87 (original art, ocs)

annie-manga (original art, ocs) aquiboni (original art, ocs)

arachine (stranger things, marvel, avatar- angst, fluff, dc,

nsfw) auraee (ds, genshin impact- sfw, fluff)

B

blkkizzat (jjk - smut, pwp, plot, ✒️ incl. 5k+,

black-coded reader)

bleach-your-panties (bleach, mha, aot, jjk, tr, tg, h!!, hxh,

ds, cm- smut, plot/pwp, dc, angst, fluff, x blk reader)

bluumey (original art, ocs, lgbtq)

bluesidez (miguel o’hara/astv- smut, fluff, angst)

boxofbonesfic (star wars, thor odinson, lotr/the hobbit,

h. cavill, marvel, c. evans, s. stan- angst, fluff, dc,

comedy, horror)

breyspage (aot, mha- fluff, nsfw)

bunnerscrib-28 (fanart, original art, ocs- toontown,

danganronpa, total drama, more)

bunnyboowrites (op- smut, occasional fluff, series)

C

c-nstantine (dc comics, marvel, mha, ocs)

c0pkiller (alt, jjk, ds, cm, hxh, op- sfw, nsfw, ocs)

caashmoneynae (tupac, method man, devante

swing, d’angelo, joey bada$$, more- plot, nsfw)

cardierreh15 (h. cavill- smut, angst, fluff, violence, series,✒️ )

captwaddledoo (xenoblade, final fantasy xv, octopath

traveler II- character study, introspection)

cevansbrat0007 (c. evans roles, a. mackie, s. stan (bucky

barnes)- plot, smut/explicit, series, ✒️ )

charee (original art)

@chrollohearttags (aot, ds, hxh, jjk, tr, kuroko no basket, h!!,

op- smut, fluff, dc, series,✒️ )

clouzyday (jjk- fanart and writing, series✒️ )

cocoamoonmalfoy (timothée chalamet, zendaya

and florence pugh characters, eivor varinsdóttir, loki

laufeyson, peter parker- various genres, series, ✒️ )

cocoadropp (aot, jjk, h!!, cod- smut)

cookiepie111 (marvel, könig, op)

cowinf (fanart, ocs, original art- deltarune, final fantasy, d&d,

berserk, more)

cozystars (fanart, original art- dungeon meshi, superstar

saga, more, lgbtq, mature themes)

creatingblackcharacters (art, writing, character design,

and racial sensitivity)

crescentmoontsuki (ds, jjk, mha, aot- fluff, comfort, angst)

crxssjae (honkai star rail, wwe- sami zayn, jey uso- smut,

plot, lgbtq, series,✒️ )

crystolnaut (original art, ocs, lgbtq)

cuddledot (original art)

D

darksideofthecocoamoon (timothée chalamet characters,

prince hal- dark content, series,✒️ )

darqchilddaydreamz (sons of anarchy, mayans, chicago pd,

good girls- humor, smut, angst, fluff)

dearkiryu (wind breaker, tr, mha, jjk, bungou stray dogs- sfw

& nsfw, smut, plot, dc, some fluff, series)

decodium (original art/fanart- iron giant, lupin the

third, lucky luke)

dejwrld (archived- aot, jjk, cod, h!!, mortal kombat,

vinland saga- sfw, nsfw, series,✒️ )

desavine (original art- lgbtq, blood, gore, horror)

dimikira (original art)

dreamsinfocus (roman reigns- smut/nsfw, series,✒️ incl. 5k)

dumbbunneybabey/regalityandcoffee- (ocs, wwe nxt,

william regal, jon morley, bret hart, dexter lumis, more- sfw,

nsfw)

E

ebonyslasher (slashers- michael myers, billy lenz, jason

voorhees, stu matcher, more- fluff, smut, humor)

elfqueen006 (sunny day jack- plot, horror, humor, plot, dc,

angst) ellethespaceunicorn (h. cavill, c. evans and

s. stan characters- explicit, mature, general, fluff, series,✒️ )

empressdede (wwe- smut, plot, series,✒️ )

F

fairune (original art, ocs) @fastlikealambo (hunger games,

dune, barbie, the last of us, marvel, dc, stranger things, feyd

rautha harkonnen- plot, series)

fineanddandy (character roles- brandon boyd, s. stan, aldis

hodge, charlie hunnam, manny montana, tess thompson,

more- plot, smut, angst, series,✒️ incl. 12k)

frogwhomp (original art)

G

gardenof-venus (euphoria, criminal minds, stranger

things, marvel- smut, fluff, angst)

getosbigballsack (jjk- smut, fluff, series,✒️ )

glorious-imagines (dc, marvel, naruto, tr, umbrella academy,

more- incorrect quotes, angst, fluff)

greyspaceghost (original art, ocs)

INACTIVE (>3 MONTHS) W/CONTENT OR ARCHIVED

(Then removed after six months of blog inactivity)

deathc-re (op, jjk, mha, angel of death, (marvel, more- suggestive, nsfw)

▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️

Some thoughts, with respect (roll your eyes if you’d like, it’s a lot of the same ole same old… if you do roll your eyes, send me a video of you doing it and I’ll try to care… jk I’m being cheeky, but there may be some newer folks here who might find this helpful!!):.

We’re very obviously diverse in artistic/creative style, speech, experience, philosophies, takes on the world, how frequently we post/ how prolific, our perspectives, personalities, all that… so find what you like, skip what you don't (Settings - Filtering for what you don’t want to fully see or just block). REBLOG (THEY’RE FAR MORE IMPORTANT THAN LIKES). GIVE PRAISE. THANK PEOPLE. particularly with specifics (I’m working on all this too, my lazy ass), we don’t need more of us to leave… ✔️

Creating and pinning a masterlist is SO HELPFUL! ppl can better find your original works OR use a unique tag for each of your works so that ppl can search within your blog. ✔️

Tagging is important for your works and what you reblog- character or fandom x black reader, x black!reader, x fluff, x smut, x smut with feelings, #blk fanfic writers, #blk writers, # blk fanfiction, see how others use tags, there are a shit ton more ✔️

Adding name and age to your blog is smart. Many, many folks have blogs that include explicit content and topics, and they choose to use age restrictions block those who follow or reach out to interact if a name/age aren’t listed on that person’s blog ✔️

▪️

Besos, Hazel 💋

blk fanfic writer, triangularz

▪️

**Nothing about this list is official or bound by any kind of external requirements/others' expectations- this is a project l've created. There are some content topics I'm uncomfortable with, so if I happen to skim, and note that a blog contains:

glorification of/detail recounting of themes like inc*st, harm to minors, r*pe/noncon, glorification of abuse or similar, I will not add.

As I spot check or if others notify me and I verify, I'll remove. I'll do so quietly, no call outs or big to do's

If I don't feel comfortable with other topics, etc. I have the right to exclude and again, that would be discretely. I'm talking primarily about content concerns, not blog exclusion because of petty foolishness or anything like that. I want as many of us as possible to be listed! ✔️

[pretty-little-mind33]

FEM!READER WITH AN ABUSIVE/TOXIC EX (ft. aaron taylor johnson characters)

warnings: mentions of being in a toxic/emotionally and physically abusive relationship with someone, mentions of violence, sexual themes

includes - in said order

~ James Potter - harry potter marauder's era (yes ik it's technically a fancast but 🥺 he's my baby)

~ Tangerine - bullet train

~ Dave Lizewski - kick-ass

~ Count Alexei Vronksy - anna karenina 2012

~ Tom Ryder - the fall guy

~ @trollsareadorable hope you like this lovie! 🫶 ~

• James is very intuitive. It doesn't seem like he is, but he is. He's just a really caring person so he notices things that others don't.

• If you were friends first, he would have definitely already known that your ex was toxic/abusive and would have hated his guts. "You deserve better than him," or "he doesn't treat you like a gentleman should," type of conversations.

• If you weren't friends first and you were flirting after your break-up, he wouldn't initially think your shyness or your nerves were because anything bad had happened. Instead, he'd find it cute and would be super patient with you and be down to take things at your pace.

• James is a gentleman. His mom raised him right (Euphemia is a queen!) and so the idea of hurting a woman, especially one you're supposed to love, is unthinkable.

• So when you tell him about your ex, about his emotional/physical abuse, he'd be livid.

• James is extra careful with you after that, to the point where you have to tell him you're fine so he'll stop treating you like you're made of glass.

• When you run into your ex one night at a party, James notices you're acting strangely. "Love, are you alright? You look like you're gonna be sick," he'll say as he rubs small circles on your back.

• When you don't answer, he'll ask again. If you snap at him, he'll be hurt but he'll know something is wrong instantly.

• "You can tell me, dove. What has happened?"

• At the first sight of your tears, James's heart breaks and he ends up ushering you into a bathroom and soothingly caresses your cheeks with his thumb. When you tell him you saw your ex, it takes everything in him not to leave you and beat his sorry ass. He could—he has the build for it (okay Quidditch Captain 😵‍💫)

• Instead, he stays by your side and hugs you as you cry into his shirt.

• You're embarrassed for making a mess and crying like a baby but James isn't having it. "Don't be sorry, lovely. It's okay to have feelings and to show them," he'll reassure you. Maybe your ex didn't like when you cried so you tried to hide it from him but James knows you better.

• "C'mon, let's continue having some fun so you can forget about that bloody wanker," he'd kiss your forehead and take your hand, making sure you're next to him all evening. You've never felt happier and safer and your ex is completely forgotten.

• Tangerine has a temper. We all know this—and we all know he also has a potty mouth.

• Maybe you were coworkers first and he noticed how sensitive you were when he would raise his voice, or use some curse-words, but he starts to notice something is really wrong when you're visibly afraid to talk to guys at bars, even if it's just for fun.

• So, he would talk to you about it in private when he has the chance. "Hey, darlin', are ya okay? 'Cause you don't seem okay, y'know that guy at the bar wasn't tryin' to hurt ya, he just wanted to flirt. Did he make ya uncofmrotable," Tangerine's voice would be softer than usual.

• You open up to him, touched he cared enough to ask, and the moment he hears about your ex, he sees red. Tangerine is many things but he would never emotionally hurt or lay a hand on someone he loved ever.

• He looks at you with wide eyes, imagining your fearful expression at the hands of your ex, and his blood boils even more.

• He makes it his mission to help you feel safer around men—around him—and eventually, he falls in love with you and you fall in love with him. It takes you some time to fully trust him, but Tangerine eventually earns your trust because he shows you genuine love.

• He refrains from yelling around you and he doesn't use curse words that would remind you of the disgusting things your ex would call you. He adjusts.

• He's adaptable 😏🍊

• If you see your ex at the bar while you're refilling your drink one evening, you come back to Tangerine and you're friends and you're really quiet. More quiet than usual.

• In the beginning Tangerine is oblivious because he's joking with his friends. However, when you grasp his arm, watching your ex move across the room, he knows something is wrong. He sees where you're looking and turns you towards him gentle, one hand cupped under your chin.

• "Where'ya lookin', luv?" he'd ask and frown when he sees your glossy eyes.

• Tangerine hates when you cry—not because he's mad at you but instead because he hates knowing you're sad enough to cry. It makes him feel helpless, like he'd failed you.

• When you lean into him for comfort and tell him you saw your ex, he frowns and his eyes snap up to find your ex in the crowd. You tell him you're okay and you just want to go home, but Tangerine isn't having it.

• "That bastard hurt you. He doesn't get to get away with it," Tangerine hisses and kisses your forehead, "I'm just gonna go have a little chat with him."

• By little chat he means punching your ex so hard he breaks his nose—which leads to you, Tangerine, and your friends being kicked out of the bar.

• You're secretly very pleased to see your ex in pain and you feel all warm and fuzzy inside knowing Tangerine is willing to protect you like that. You aren't mad at him, especially when he cuddles you back at your shared apartment.

• Dave is shy just like you, so in the beginning of your relationship he doesn't take your shyness as something bad. He likes that you're nervous, because he's also nervous.

• However, he also picks up on cues that something is really wrong—like when you over apologize, or do anything in your power to please him when he's being snappy/in a bad mood.

• Alarm bells ring in Dave's head and he asks you why you feel the need to constantly apologize or make yourself small when you think he wants it.

• Because he could never want that.

• When you tell him, he doesn't know how to react. His blue eyes go wide and his mouth opens. He feels angry and sad and confused all in one overwhelming ball of emotion.

• Who would dare hurt someone as kind and lovely as you? Dave simply doesn't understand.

• "Baby, I'm so sorry that happened to you," he whispers and holds your hand, squeezing, "I promise you I will never ever do anything like that to you. Ever, you hear me? You don't have to walk on eggshells around me."

• If you saw your ex at a party?! Dave would know immediately because you would find him and tell him. You trust him more than anyone and would need him comfort instantly.

• "Shh, you're okay, baby. We can leave if you want, yeah?" he'd say and kiss your cheek, holding your closer to him and ignoring his friends wanting him to stay.

• You see, Dave doesn't confront your ex. Dave isn't a confrontational person. Plus, he'd much rather make sure you're okay than go fight someone. He doesn't want you to see him be violent because it's such a contrast to his usual sweet self.

• But Kick-Ass? Kick-Ass can teach your ex a lesson without any questions or hesitation (he'll def ask Mindy for help bc she'd also be livid that someone hurt you).

• So that's what happens.

• Alexei is a very composed person. He's doesn't often show his anger and he never screams at you. Perhaps you were friend's first and then eventually he asked you to marry him—and that's when he began to see the signs that someone had been very ungentlemanly with you.

• You flinch when you accidentally break his crockery and it makes your cry—apologizing more than necessary which to Alexei isn't normal.

• He's wealthy after all! He can easily afford a new set and something like this shouldn't cause you any distress.

• Then, he sees how you cling to him during social events and always reassures him that when you speak to other men, you have no intention of being unfaithful and they're just friends. You would sound desperate, your eyes pleading with him to understand.

• Alexei never imagined you would and he frowns. "Whatever makes you think I'd assume you would play with another man? I trust you, sweetheart," he would whisper in your ear that evening, kissing your cheek.

• When you finally tell him the cause of your distress—an ex-husband (maybe he died)—and you tell him how he'd treat you extremely poorly and was extremely jealous and possessive.

• Alexei is shocked and disgusted but he is also offended that you would think so low of him and think he'd treat you the same way.

• However, he doesn't become angry and instead sees you need comfort and he whispers soothing words into your ear. "My darling dove, I would never lay a hand on you or make you feel dirty and less than me because you have friends. I am secure in this marriage. I know you only have eyes for me—as I only have eyes for you."

• Steamy, gentle, passionate sex to remind you that you deserve to be praised and worshiped and as your husband it's his duty to do just that. 😛

• Tom is an asshole. His ego is through the roof, he's immature, he mostly thinks of himself, he can be stupid, and he can be inconsiderate and crude. All these things are very very true.

• However, he also craves genuine intimacy and love. He's insecure like that (probably wasn't hugged enough as a child) so he's immediately drawn to your kindness.

• Say you're on the crew of his new movie (a camera girl? Makeup artist? Low ranking actress) and you're visibly nervous around him both because he's Tom Ryder and simply because of his reputation as a player.

• Players make you uncomfortable.

• He sees this and in the beginning, he likes teasing you. He thinks it's funny seeing you become flustered and hide from him.

• He thinks it's funny until one of his jokes goes too far and he makes you cry. Now, it's anything but funny and he feels like an asshole. He's not used to feeling like he's an asshole (he usually thinks too highly of himself).

• So, reluctantly he decides to apologize to you.

• He finds you outside the bathrooms, eyes teary and puffy. "Listen, babe, I didn't mean to make you cry so hard, kay? You look much prettier without all that snot on your face so gimme a smile, huh?" he say, still sounding like a bit of a jerk—he can't help himself—but he's trying.

• You're vulnerable so you end up spilling with a shaky voice that his joke reminded you of something your ex would say and you ramble on and on, unable to calm your mind.

• Tom's speechless (for once) as he listens.

• He may be an asshole, but he isn't abusive towards anyone he truly cares for so he doesn't understand your ex. He's now mad at himself and he's also secretly honored you opened up to him.

• He isn't use to sincerity or someone truly revealing themselves to him. He likes the feeling.

• Over the next weeks, he's kinder to you and he writes you little sticky notes and leaves them in your trailer/locker/wherever your stuff is with weirdly endearing messages.

• It's kinda sweet and eventually you crack.

• Tom Ryder is a surprisingly decent boyfriend. Sure, he still has an ego and he's still sometimes a jerk—but it's obvious he genuinely cares for you.

• He's by your side whenever you can be, reassures you when you're insecure and nervous around him and he's gentle with you.

• He knows you need that.

• "My sweet girl," he whispers in your ear between takes, making you feel like the only girl in the world, "So good for me, aren't you? I love you so much."

• And if he ever sees your ex and you end up crying or upset because of the jack-ass, he'll get his security team to hurt him. Badly.

• And then he'll buy you whatever you want to make you feel better! He likes spoiling you and he obviously has the money to do so.

[baronessvonglitter]

The Haunting of David York

Dave York x ghost!reader | WC: 2.6K

Summary: It's a typical Halloween night for Dave. The last thing he expects is for you to come back and get your revenge.

(Spoilers below the cut, so resume with caution)

WARNINGS: Rated M; Dead Dove Do Not Eat; mentions of wet work, murder, brief gore, threats of violence towards family, major character death (don't hit me)

Author's Note: this fic is for @mermaidgirl30 Jamie's Halloween Writing Challenge 👻 thank you for hosting this lovely fic challenge!

The idea for this started out as a random discussion about why we're afraid of ghosts if they can't really hurt anyone.. then I wanted to add our favorite suburban murder daddy to a ghost story and got some inspo from watching old school stuff like Creepshow and early seasons of AHS. (I haven't written horror in a very long time, so gimme a little break)

Shoutout to @yorksgirl for the Dave chit chats-- there will be a sweatpants scene in another fic, promise!

"Dave, not again!" Carol whines from the front steps.

"What?" he asks innocently, hefting the human-sized 'body bag' consisting of garbage bags stuffed with leaves and tied up with duct tape to fashion a corpse decoration in the yard for Halloween. Dave has been working on them all day. He's now up to seventeen.

"The HOA is going to complain," his wife shakes her head. "We got away with a warning last year. This time they'll definitely fine us."

"It's worth it to see the looks on everyone's faces," he insists. "Besides, I'll have them picked up and out of sight by the end of the night. I promise."

Dave doesn't love Halloween, but neither does he mind it. People dressing up to be anything other than themselves for one night only? Try doing that 24/7.

He doesn't get to parade around the Mr. Hyde aspect of his life. He doesn't get to knock on doors while in tactical gear, sniper rifle resting in one arm while he sticks an orange jack-o-lantern bucket out to get a handful of tooth-rotting sweets. He doesn't get to wake up on November first and pretend it was all for fun.

It's a silly holiday, but he likes scaring the shit out of the neighbors with the decorations. And his kids love planning their costumes months in advance. Alice is going as a zombie cheerleader (he never understands where these ideas come from) and Molly is some type of Pokemon Dave thinks is a squirrel but she insists is something called an Evoo or Evie or something completely asinine.

Carol usually insists on taking them out trick-or-treating, dressing up herself in a last-minute Minnie Mouse getup, a red sweater and black leggings, and a headband with sequined mouse ears to complete the look.

"You'll be okay here by yourself?" she asks, putting the finishing touches on her mouse whiskers and nose with liquid eye liner in the hall mirror as the girls wait impatiently to leave.

She asks that every year, as if something bad will happen on his watch, as if he can't hack it alone for a couple of hours.

"Unless Michael Myers or Pennywise show up, I'm pretty sure I'll be fine," he says, giving the girls a quick kiss before they go.

"What's Pennywise?" Alice asks as Carol herds them out the door, and she shoots her husband an annoyed glance.

There aren't as many trick-or-treaters this year, and Dave regrets that he'd bought so much candy. He dips his hand into the large tub of mini chocolate bars and fruit-flavored chews that stick to one's teeth and selects some Nerds, eating them straight from the tiny box. With barely concealed disgust he finds the candy corn, plucking the small packets of the hated sweets out from the bowl. He doesn't know how anyone can eat these. These can go to the next kids who ring the doorbell. When the next round of costumed kids come around he gives out huge handfuls. The less sweets they have in the house, the less sugar-fueled meltdowns he's likely to experience from his kiddos.

When there's more of a lull he relaxes on the sofa, mindlessly unwrapping a chocolate bar as the Halloween song hums from the TV, The Nightmare Before Christmas playing where the girls had left it on:

Boys and girls of every agewouldn't you like to see something strange?come with us and you will seethis, our town of Halloween

He finds his glass of Macallan pairs nicely with a mini Hershey's Special Dark chocolate that he knows the little trick-or-treaters won't appreciate. The candy rests on his tongue as he savors the lingering taste of the scotch while the movie keeps playing. He absorbs a little of it, a now thirty-year-old film that came out when he was his kids' age. He watches idly, letting the scotch lull him into a nice semi-rest.

This is Halloween, this is Halloweenpumpkins scream in the dead of nightthis is Halloween, everybody make a scenetrick or treat, 'til the neighbors gonna die of fright

Enough of the singing. He changes the channel. There's postseason baseball on TV, but his favorite team isn't in the playoffs, and the announcers are annoying. Click. Of course there's a horror marathon on every channel. All the Scream movies, which he can appreciate for their ingenuity, Psycho, Shaun of the Dead, the entire Friday the 13th franchise even though it's Thursday, the 31st.

He flips channels, mindlessly, watching tidbits of each, digging into the leftover candy once again when he hears a thud.

With feline alertness he mutes the TV and sits up straight in one swift move. He zones in on where the sound came from, waiting, his racing heart the most audible sound in his ears.

Most people listen for a sound and relax when they don't hear it again, chalking it up to the house settling, or a rodent in the attic. But Dave knows better. He's been on the opposite side of this type of situation countless times. He doesn't relax and just chalk it up to mundane things like other people, because he knows there are guys like him out there-- becoming one with the shadows, as silent as possible--

It's coming from the back door.

In stealth mode, he grabs his gun from the safe in his study and quickly, skillfully, loads it. Adrenaline sings in his veins, carries him towards the danger. He flips on the light switch for the patio and the lights glare into the dark, lighting up nothing. His gun is still in his hand as he slowly opens the door, listening for footsteps.

Quiet.

A little disappointed that he's gotten riled up for no reason, he sighs as the rush of adrenaline dissipates and leaves him weak for a brief moment.

He keeps the gun in the holster at his side as he returns to the sofa, a little more on edge. It could be just teenage assholes playing pranks out of boredom, but he doesn't want to risk it.

He shuts the TV off and the silence becomes the largest thing in the room, even louder than his thoughts. He's taut as wire, not allowing himself to relax just yet. He's listening for more sounds. Most are explainable: a slow drip in the kitchen sink that Carol told him about just yesterday, the notification pings on his daughter's tablet that she left on the dining room table.

"Fuck!" he curses in surprise as the TV turns on, The Nightmare Before Christmas still playing where it left off:

I am the one hiding under your bed,teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing redI am the one hiding under your stairsfingers like snakes and spiders in my hair

Dave quickly snaps the TV off, removing the batteries from the remote.

It's just some electrical glitch he tells himself. And then the power goes out completely.

"Shit," he mutters, using his phone to light the way to locate the real flashlight. It's not in the cabinet beneath the kitchen sink where it's supposed to be left. Carol must have moved it. He checks the garage. Through the windows he can see the neighbors still have power, so he grabs the trusty flashlight and checks the breaker box. After fiddling with it, it won't reset. The flips do absolutely nothing.

Heaving a frustrated sigh, he pinches the bridge of his nose, taking out his phone from his pocket. The battery shows 1% before fizzling out to a black screen with the gray spinning wheel before dying.

"You've got to be shitting me," he grumbles. With another curse, he shoves the useless thing back in his pocket, letting the flashlight guide him out of the garage. He may as well get the keys and go try to find Carol and the girls, who are probably several blocks over by now, maybe get them to stay at her mother's place while he gets things sorted out with the power issue.

And then..

he hears the sound of his name spoken, a sharp. accusatory whisper, as if it's right next to him. It's so real he can feel the cold breath against his ear. It makes him jump out of his skin.

Alert, his body tense and ready for action, his eyes dart around the room as he begins to get his bearings back and his heart goes back to its normal rhythm.

Stupid.. he curses himself, sitting upright again. Annoyance colors his face.

But the sound of it.. of your voice still rings in his ear. And he'd know your voice among a thousand others.

Now he knows he's imagining things, because it couldn't have been your voice at all.

You're dead.

He doesn't want to think about that day, a cold autumn day just like this. In fact it'll be one year exactly on November 14th. The last day you saw sunlight, the last day you ever breathed.

It's not that you were bad, you were just in the way. There was no room for you in Dave's perfect, clock-precision life. He tried to make your end painless, make sure you didn't see it coming.

Some secrets don't stay buried forever..

Nobody knows he assures himself. It's impossible.. He'd even kept it from his teammates, and they knew nearly every damn thing about him.

No, this particular job.. the handling of you, had to be done on his own.

Casting a glance at the backyard patio again, the light from his neighbor's back porch glows eerily, spotlighting the patch of earth Dave had avoided until finally he'd caved and erected a bird bath with a small garden, a surprise for Carol's birthday. His wife never suspected that you were buried there, beneath her gift.

Without thinking, he's already walking outside, gun in one hand, flashlight in the other, leading the way to your grave. He never comes out here anymore. The guilt has become too crushing and he's not a man who dwells on guilt. He does what he has to and revisits the issue if problems arise.

You won't arise, though. When he closes his eyes he can still see the bullet hole in your temple, the blank look as the light left your eyes.

Forgive me, he'd thought, unable to speak it aloud as he stuffed your body in a bag and placed you in the dirt on a moonless autumn night.

When he reaches the stone path that leads to your innocent-looking grave marker, he has to process what he sees:

there's a hole in the ground, where some of the rocks and flowers around the bird bath have been upheaved, and in the breeze his flashlight shines on a tattered, empty black body bag. The scent of death greets his nostrils as he pales, trying not to vomit.

He goes back to the house, immediately on the defensive, irrationally expecting to find you there, clothes dirty and hair caked with mud and blood, a specter of his own paranoia and guilt.

It's still shrouded in darkness, the home that is supposed to be his shelter from such dark things as yourself. It's his domain, his castle, and in this trouble, without his family, he feels like less of a king.

"There's no fucking way," he mutters, stomach roiling with fear and suspicion. He opens the patio door and steps inside.

The whole place smells of death, of the grave.

You're in every corner, quiet, waiting, watching. But not impassive.

He feels you everywhere, himself made small by your ubiquitous pall. The gun in his hand feels useless, and this makes him angry.

You feed off his anger. You love it. It's the only thing you can feel anymore. Pure, unadulterated hate.

You slither towards him, wicked grin growing bigger as you approach him. Dave gets the chills down his back, not knowing just how close you are to him.

"Boo" you whisper lightly, ghostly breath caressing the shell of his ear.

Your cackling thunders in his ears as he whips around, eyes wide with fright. You delight in the fear he's giving off. The scent of it it so intoxicating. It's the only good thing about being dead.

"I should make your death as nice and quick and clean as you made mine" your voice echoes all around the room. Dave looks equal parts pissed and afraid as he tries to track you.

"But I won't."

You've been waiting for this night, this one unholy night where you'd be allowed to come back, to gather the unearthly powers granted to you. Halloween: the one night of the year when the living come back to haunt the dead.

And the son of a bitch had the gall to kill you in November. You had to wait almost a whole year for your revenge.

Gonna make it sweet.

It takes a lot of energy to assume something of a human form, but as you grab onto the fear he's giving off, as you use the most ancient of forces to pull your corporeal parts together, it gets easier. You don't feel afraid. You haven't, not since he killed you.

"Consider yourself lucky it's only you I'm after. If I had my way your family's blood would be splattered on these walls along with yours."

Dave shivers violently. "Please, don't!" He's not used to begging or pleading. He's actually on his knees. He tries not to look at you; your visage is too grotesque. Your flesh is falling off your face and your eyes are sunken into your head, giving a ghoulish appearance.

You force his gaze upon you with the ice-cold touch of your hand. "Your family is safe. For now. Hell, there's always next Halloween."

With the cracking open of his ribcage and the spilling of his guts you reach into him, finding the fullness of the heart, the organ he uses the least.

All Dave can do is scream and scream and scream.

The next day Carol sits at the dining room table, two detectives with her. Her coffee has grown cold, barely touched. She still bears the remnants of the makeup she'd put on to complete her costume last night. The girls are upstairs. She couldn't bear sending them to school, having them apart from her. Not while Dave is missing.

"He was fine last night. Normal," she adds, shrugging as she dabs at her eyes with a Kleenex.

Because of his position as a government agent, his disappearance is being taken very seriously. Officers are en route, dispatched to start searching the area, especially the nearby woods, which Carol has always feared.

Dave's gun is there, his wallet, phone, and keys also left behind.

One of the field officers comes in (there have been many people coming in and out of the house today) and motions to the backyard. "Halloween decoration?"

"Yeah," Carol sniffles, smiling just a little. "Dave likes to shock the neighbors. He promised he'd put them away before the morning.. but he never puts them out back.."

Out of guilt, or maybe just to give herself something to do, she gets up and goes to put the decorations away. The detectives follow.

Funny. There's just one.. she thinks, looking at the lone body bag on the lawn, tossed haphazardly next to her bird bath.

It's heavier than she expects. She's too petite to pick it up. Sighing, she kneels, the crunch of the fallen leaves beneath her knees. She'll just take the leaves out and throw the bag away.

Ripping it open with her nails she's stunned a moment, not processing what she's seeing before she lets out a bloodcurdling scream.

Wrapped up in the duct taped body bag is what's left of Dave.

dividers by @saradika-graphics 👑

tagging @almostempty @itwasntimethatdidit40 @milla-frenchy @salingers @zascal

[dwellordream]

Best Reads of 2024

this year i read 300 books. which i think is impressive but not as impressive as it sounds bc many of these books were very short, easy reads meant to be like, stuff you read at the airport or sitting by the pool on vacation. so it's not like i was tackling the harvard classics. i also read extremely fast; it only takes me about an hour to do 300 pages unless it's a super dense complex text. that said, here is a list of all the books i read this year that i would rate 4 stars or higher, separated by genre: Fantasy/Magical Realism: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett Highfire by Eoin Colfer Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin Gifts by Ursula K. Le Guin The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi Chlorine by Jade Song The Passion by Jeanette Winterson The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter Realistic Fiction: We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride & Jo Piazza Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent Only Child by Rhiannon Navin Movie Star by Lizzie Pepper Prima Facie by Suzie Miller Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk The Subtweet by Vivek Shraya All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg Piglet by Lottie Hazell The List by Yomi Adegoke A Winter's Rime by Carol Dunbar The Resurrection of Joan Ashby by Cherise Wolas

Mystery/Thriller: Queenpin by Megan Abbott Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott Beware the Woman by Megan Abbott Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley The Guest by Emma Cline Advika and the Hollywood Wives by Kirthana Ramisetti Kala by Colin Walsh Descent by Tim Johnston Wahala by Nikki May When We Were Bright and Beautiful by Jillian Medoff We Could Be Beautiful by Swan Huntley Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll Nothing Can Hurt You by Nicola Maye Goldberg Fruit of the Dead by Rachel Lyon The Lagos Wife by Vanessa Walters Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson Yes, Daddy by Jonathan Parks-Ramage Cape Fear by John D. MacDonald Sea Wife by Amity Gaige Last Seen Wearing by Hilary Waugh The Black Cabinet by Patricia Wentworth Historical Fiction: Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch by Rivka Galchen Gilded Mountain by Kate Manning All You Have to Do is Call by Kerri Maher Cruel Beautiful World by Caroline Leavitt Payback by Mary Gordon A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley The Affairs of the Falcons by Melissa Rivero Longbourn by Jo Baker The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson Go to Hell Ole Miss by Jeff Barry The Divorcees by Rowan Beaird Consequences by Penelope Lively Iron Curtain: A Love Story by Vesna Goldsworthy Homestead by Melinda Moustakis Not Our Kind by Kitty Zeldis Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell Teddy by Emily Dunlay Science Fiction: Prophet Song by Paul Lynch Aesthetica by Allie Rowbottom Fever by Deon Meyer The Salt Line by Holly Goddard Jones Land of Milk and Honey by C. Pam Zhang Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins A Children’s Bible by Lydia Millet Briefly Very Beautiful by Roz Dineen

Romance: Everything’s Fine by Cecilia Rabess Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler Meant to Be Mine by Hannah Orenstein When Katie Met Cassidy by Camille Perri Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson American Royalty by Tracey Livesay The One by Julie Argy The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin Queen of Urban Prophecy by Aya de Léon That Dangerous Energy by Aya de Léon The Dove in the Belly by Jim Grimsley Fatima Tate Takes the Cake by Khadija VanBrakle Faro’s Daughter by Georgette Heyer Horror: Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian The Parliament by Aimee Pokwatka Cujo by Stephen King Night Watching by Tracy Sierra The Garden by Clare Beams The House of Ashes by Stuart Neville The Suicide Motor Club by Christopher Buehlman True Crime: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote Columbine by Dave Cullen Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou While Idaho Slept: The Hunt for Answers in the Murders of Four College Students by J. Reuben Appelman The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age by Michael Wolraich Fatal Vision by Joe McGinniss Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World by Tom Wright and Bradley Hope

History: Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbotham Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era by Laurence Leamer The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel The Burning Blue: The Untold Story of Christa McAuliffe and Nasa’s Challenger Disaster by Kevin Cook The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson Grace and Power: The Private World of the Kennedy White House by Sally Bedell Smith As Long as We Both Shall Love: The White Wedding in Postwar America by Karen M. Dunak Babysitter: An American History by Miriam Forman-Brunell Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin All She Lost: The Explosion in Lebanon, the Collapse of a Nation and the Women who Survive by Dalal Mawad Psychology: Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker The Anxious Generation: How The Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction by David Sheff Misdiagnosed: One Woman’s Tour of -And Escape From- Healthcareland by Jody Berger Stolen Child: A Mother’s Journey to Rescue Her Son from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by Laurie Gough Zig-Zag Boy: A Memoir of Madness and Motherhood by Tanya Frank I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy Us, After: A Memoir of Love and Suicide by Rachel Zimmerman Everything Is Fine: A Memoir by Vince Granata Juliet the Maniac by Juliet Escoria

Memoir: Upstairs At The White House by J.B. West A Mother’s Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy by Sue Klebold Goodbye, Sweet Girl: A Story of Domestic Violence and Survival by Kelly Sundberg This Boy We Made: A Memoir of Motherhood, Genetics, and Facing the Unknown by Taylor Harris I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O’Farrell

Fragile Beginnings: Discoveries and Triumphs in the Newborn ICU by Adam Wolfberg The Longest Race: Inside the Secret World of Abuse, Doping, and Deception on Nike’s Elite Running Team by Kara Goucher and Mary Pilon Remedies for Sorrow: An Extraordinary Child, a Secret Kept from Pregnant Women, and a Mother’s Pursuit of the Truth by Megan Nix Brazen: My Unorthodox Journey from Long Sleeves to Lingerie by Julia Haart Minding the Manor: The Memoir of a 1930s English Kitchen Maid by Mollie Moran Love in the Blitz: The War Letters of Eileen Alexander to Gershon Ellenbogan by Eileen Alexander Any Given Tuesday: A Political Love Story by Lis Smith

The Apology by Eve Ensler Wild Game: My Mother, Her Secret, and Me by Adrienne Brodeur

One Way Back: A Memoir by Christine Blasey Ford Biography: The Matriarch: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty by Susan Page Untold Power: The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson by Rebecca Boggs Roberts King: A Life by Jonathan Eig Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams by Louisa Thomas

American Girls: One Woman’s Journey into the Islamic State and Her Sister’s Fight to Bring Her Home by Jessica Roy Susan, Linda, Nina, and Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR by Lisa Napoli

Gender: Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family by Amy Ellis Nutt The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan We Were Feminists Once: From Riot Grrrl to CoverGirl®, the Buying and Selling of a Political Movement by Andi Zeisler All the Rage: Mothers, Fathers, and the Myth of Equal Partnership by Darcy Lockman Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism by bell hooks Enslaved Women in America: From Colonial Times to Emancipation by Emily West You’ll Do: A History of Marrying for Reasons Other Than Love by Marcia A. Zug The Red Menace: How Lipstick Changed the Face of American History by Ilise S. Carter Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America by Lillian Faderman

[another-delta-lover]

show me ur tf2 fan designs!!!! i want to see em :]

HELLOOOO SORRY I HAVEN'T REPLIED THIS IN SO LOOONGGGG, I'VE BEEN PROCASTINATING A LOTTT

HERE THEY ARE!! SORRY FOR ANSWERING LATE.. THE PROCASTINATION DEMONS.... ANYWAY. These are mostly based on lil pootis blu designs. not the RED ones bc they already exist. INFO ABOUT EM:

Blu Scout:

His name is jeremy

he's RED scout's twin, both are bio children of RED spy

he makes out with BLU sniper

out of the closet, BLU medic made his TRANS sugeries

BLU soldier:

his name is John Doe

he's traumatized. The war.

RED Soldier is his clone

Makes out with RED demo, but still in the closet

BLU pyro:

sad bc she can't light stuff on fire (he lives with the other BLU mercs IN A PLACE WITH SNOW!!1[lil pootis changed me as a person])

She's RED Pyro's clone

likes the BLU Spy's style teehee.

has shown their face to the team

BLU demo:

I forgot what name I gave her aughh

He's RED demo's clone

even tho she's mtf, she doesn't want to transition and still uses he pronouns, WHICH IS TOTALLY VALID.

Beautiful hair

WEARS A SCOTTISH SKIRT

BLU Heavy:

His name is Nikolai<3 sighhh...

he's the most perfect man you could ever meet. He's soso nice... 💕

he has daddy issues. He lived with like 10 brothers, he was the middle one. He wasn't treated right 😔😔😔

he would be the best dad ever AUGHHH

He's secretaly married to BLU medic teehee

BLU engie:

His name is dave :)

He's red engie's clone

he's taller than RED engie, they also like to spend time together even tho they're the same person

BLU medic:

His name is Frank (REFERENCE TO MY FAV BOOK)

His fav dove is called Viktor (ALSO REFERENCE TO MY FAV BOOK)

He's RED heavy's ex 😶we don talk about that tho.

He makes out hard with BLU heavy. He likes his organs. In taste, I mean. He a lil insane. but he'll be fine (<- me when I lie)

RED medic is his clone. He's terrified of him. He's the one that created the clones of all the mercs that have clones. He regrets it.

BLU sniper:

I forgot his name too aughh

He's BLU scout's partner

She's RED Sniper's clone

THEY HATE IT HERE. THEY HATE COLD. TAKE THEIR AUSTRALIAN ASS OUT OF THERE!!!

He has inmense beef with RED spy bc she's making out with his son XDD

BLU spy:

The salesman and the hooker.

she's RED spy's clone

they have the MOST PRONOUNS BC THEY WOKE🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

she likes to be annoying towards RED spy, RED sniper and RED engie.

he's a CUNT

IF U HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT EM I'LL GLADLY ANSWER EM ALL!! SORRY FOR YAPPIN TOO MUCH BTW

[jo-harrington]

Corroded Coffin Fest Valentine's Day Pop-Up: It's Complicated

Summary: Jeff, Gareth, and Dave all confront their feelings on the 30th anniversary of Eddie's death.

Word Count: 2189

Rating: M

Warnings/Themes: Grief, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Time Skip, Older!Corroded Coffin, Canonically Dead Eddie, Mention/Implication of Kas!Eddie, Post-Season 5 World/Vecna Defeated

Notes: Thanks to @corrodedcoffinfest for this wonderful pop-up. Oh I've been contemplating what to write for this for a while.

Dedicating this to my beloved @dr-aculaaa who had an idea as we were chatting about art. Has had me noodling for weeks at this point, and although this is not necessarily in line with that idea, it's a spin on it.

This can be read on it's own...but I would like to think that it can also be read as a bit of an off-shoot of my fic, As Above, So Below. There are no real plot spoilers for AASB, I just think it could happen.

You can find my masterlist here.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

Enjoy!

Hawkins, Indiana - March 2016

They didn't want to do it, but they knew that they had to.

They needed the closure, and 30 years was a long time to wait for it.

Because you don't stop thinking about the week your life changed forever.

The reunion almost didn't happen; they hadn't talked or seen one another in person in so long. It was the miracle, known as Facebook, that got them talking regularly again. Sending videos back and forth, commenting on each others throwback Thursday photos.

High school, then college, then jobs and families and vacations. Lives lived separate, when in another universe they might've stayed on the same trajectory together.

"Remember when we thought we were gonna hit it big?" Dave laughed sardonically after they'd greeted each other with handshakes and hugs and tears. They'd laughed and pointed out this beer gut and that thinning hairline. "Now I help people plan for retirement."

"Didn't think you were smart enough for that, Davey," Gareth chuckled, causing the older man to grab for him to try and put him in a headlock, just like he did when they were younger.

It was a beautiful day. Sun and fluffy cumulus clouds, unseasonably warm for March but none of them could complain about it.

"Leave it to us to not see each other in decades and we start off the conversation about the weather."

"You can take the boys out of the midwest but you can't take the midwest out of the boys."

They'd settled into lawn chairs, courtesy of Gareth, who hauled them all the way back to Indiana in his soccer-dad-minivan.

"Soccer, huh?" Jeff questioned mirthfully.

"Laugh it up," Gareth snorted. "I also have a kid that's an absolute menace. Couldn't be caught dead playing sportsball."

"Takes after Uncle Eddie, then, huh?"

They all went silent at that.

Because there were only three lawn chairs.

Three lawn chairs and a headstone.

They sat in front of it as though it was a television set, but there was only one thing on display.

Edward J. Munson Beloved Son, Nephew, and Friend.

The stone was chipped, weathered, covered in moss and other debris. There were also remnants of red paint clinging to the edges of the inscription.

People had gotten bored of defacing the grave a long time ago; no one cared about Hawkins anymore. No one cared about Eddie. The rest of the world had moved past the alleged murders and the earthquakes and all of the mysteries that had plagued the small town all that time ago.

Except the three of them.

That's why they were here.

"Do your kids...call him Uncle Eddie?" Gareth asked tentatively.

Jeff wasn't sure how to respond. How his old friends would react if he told them the truth.

"It's complicated."

There were a few beats of silence, before he spoke again.

"They do." Then he dove into an explanation. "They found a box of stuff at my mom's house a while back. Polaroids we'd taken at the trailer, at StarCourt, on Halloween. Copies of our fliers. Even my old Hellfire shirt. So I told them about Uncle Eddie, who taught me how not to be absolutely shit at guitar."

Gareth hummed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Come on," Dave lightly hit his arm with the back of his hand. "Don't act like you've never thought about him for the last 30 years."

"I've really tried not to."

"Then what are we doing here, Gare?" Jeff scoffed. "Why did I drive 10 hours to come and sit in front of his grave if you're gonna act like he wasn't our friend."

Gareth worried his bottom lip for a pensive minute, trying to keep his tears at bay.

"I was really angry for the longest time," he finally admitted. "My parents made us leave with that initial wave of evacuees...after the first quake. We only took what could fit in both of their cars. We left my drum kit behind. And I didn't...I didn't even know he was..." His breath hitched as he was unable to say the word; 30-year-old emotions kept it stuck in his throat. "...for a whole week."

He pulled it together, letting the necessity of stereotypical, stoic masculinity that he had to adapt over the years take over and lock away the 17-year old he used to be again. The one that had been allowed to be stupid and upset with his friends.

"Once I heard, I started to blame myself. Because if I hadn't told Jason Carver where he could've found Eddie...Eddie could've gotten out of Hawkins and he'd still be alive. And I know...I know...who could've guessed that Victor Creel's copycat killer would've been on the loose. Or that there'd be an earthquake. But he'd been running around...hiding because those assholes were looking for him."

On and on, he spouted off his theory about what that fateful week had looked like, the through line between the murders. How if Patrick McKinney hadn't been part of the group looking for Eddie, Eddie wouldn't have been anywhere near when Patrick was killed. And if that was the case, he wouldn't have died in the quake either.

Of course, Jeff and Dave still asked questions, trying to get some sense of logic out of everything that Gareth said, but he snapped at them.

"It's like Jeff said. It's complicated. I've had enough time to convince myself I'm wrong, and I still don't. That's why I don't talk about it; it's easier not to. I don't know what else to tell you."

A dog barked in the distance, a breeze blew through, and there was a flapping of wings.

"At least you believed that he was innocent," Dave piped up. "My mom and dad...god, they believed all of that insane devil worship stuff. You guys left Hawkins right away. We stayed...for almost a whole year before they decided enough was enough. They made me get rid of all my DnD books, all of my tapes. Anything that could be tied back to Eddie. I didn't even...I couldn't even say hi to Wayne if we saw him at Bradley's."

He gestured a few feet away, to another headstone with Wayne's epitaph carved into it. It hadn't been a shock to see that the old man had died. But only a year and a half after Eddie? That had been a surprising sting that they'd all felt.

"You don't know how bad it got," Dave concluded solemnly. "We might have made it out right before the second quake hit, but they never let up. Eddie Munson's name was not to be mentioned again in our house. So be lucky that you had the choice of whether or not to think about him. Because I certainly couldn't."

There was a somber tone in the graveyard for a moment as they all reflected on their years spent apart.

Because, though the subject mainly rested on Eddie...there was also the unspoken accusation that they'd all also conscientiously needed to give each other up too.

30 years was a long time to grieve over a dead friend. But had they ever grieved the loss of one another?

It had been easy to reconnect, as though they'd never been apart. They'd been excited, eager to chat online. None of them had hesitated when the possibility of this pilgrimage arose, to see each other. Now, though? It was clear to see how far the trajectories of their lives had gone from one another.

Always the one to resolve conflicts between them, Jeff suggested that they move on to another topic of conversation: lunch.

Dave ran to get the cooler from the back of his truck. It was packed with sandwiches and beers and all manner of snacks.

All Eddie's favorites.

They set an old bandana onto the ground and piled it high with a ham and cheese sandwich and raspberry zingers and all sorts of little bites that they'd left behind in their youths once their metabolisms caught up to them.

"I don't think I've had a Mountain Dew in years," Dave stated after the most refreshing, crisp first sip of the bright green soda.

"Remember when you used to be able to burp the alphabet," Jeff chuckled.

"Remember when you used to have the most toxic dorito farts?" Gareth laughed at him. "Eddie almost kicked you out of the van that one time because you just ripped ass on the coldest day of the year and his windows were iced shut."

"Remember when he kicked you out of the van for..."

On and on they went then, reminiscing. Back to old times together, rather than lamenting over times apart. The topic, invariably, strayed back to Eddie.

"Did you guys ever..." Jeff trailed off, then shook his head. "Nevermind."

"What is it?" Dave asked.

"Nah, it's stupid."

"Come on, Davey and I almost fucking cried, full snot and all, in front of you. Don't get shy now," Gareth insisted.

Jeff sighed and settled into his lawn chair as he contemplated speaking his mind.

It was silly, foolish. The first time the thought had crossed his mind, he'd been young and stupid, and he'd missed his best friend. He'd even had a dream, once, and he'd woken up crying. After that, he'd decided that he needed to move on.

But here they were now, and there was no better time than to bring it up.

"Have you guys ever wondered...if he didn't actually die?" Jeff finally asked.

The other two men's heads snapped towards him and they gave him looks that definitely made him feel like he was insane.

So, he elaborated, "I mean, you've heard of witness protection and what not. This place was swimming with the feds. They never caught the copycat killer, right? Or so we know? What if Eddie was the next victim on the list? Or he saw who the real killer was? And so they hid him away."

Jeff tapped his fingers against the sides of his soda can nervously.

"What if he did exactly what all of us did? He left Hawkins and he never looked back," he concluded.

Dave and Gareth let out sighs of relief.

"Well, we know he never became a heavy metal star if that was the case," Gareth offered. "Could you imagine if he had? Lucky bastard, I would've had to kill him myself."

"Where do you guys think some alternate identity would've taken him?" Dave wondered. "Someplace cool, do you think?"

"They probably shipped him off to Alaska or something," Jeff scoffed.

"Oh he would've hated that," Dave laughed. "Do you remember when he'd need to go out for a cigarette in the winter? Almost lit his mittens on fire?"

Jeff got out of his lawn chair and hopped around like Eddie had on the porch of the trailer, trying to keep warm because he'd never bundled up properly.

"He'd hate to live someplace warm just as much," Gareth pointed out. "Remember how insufferable he'd be in the summer?"

"Wayne would tell him to get a hair cut so he wouldn't overheat?"

They all did silly impressions of him this time, laughing all the while.

They all fell back into their seats with a sigh.

"I...It's stupid," Jeff muttered. "I wouldn't give up my life...my family for anything. But there are just some days where I wish that he would've gotten to grow up with us too. He was my best friend, and I loved him so much. And I know you guys did too. I...he...he didn't deserve this." He gestured to the headstone. "So I hope that...that my silly thought is really what happened."

The other two muttered their agreements, and they knocked cans together in a salute to the missing piece of their puzzle.

There was a beat of silence before Dave piped up again.

"You know, that's not as crazy as what I thought you meant," he chuckled.

Jeff eyed him suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

Dave lifted his soda to his lips. "Nah, it's...I thought you were gonna ask if we thought he'd actually made a deal with the devil or something."

"See, this is what we get for hanging out together after a thousand years, I was thinking the same thing," Gareth agreed. "That Jeff was about to say that he was some kind of vampire or demon."

"Oh shit, or a necromancer. Actually that could've been cool!"

"Only Eddie could've thought about a vampiric, demonic necromancer," Jeff laughed along with them. "His own homespun version of Kas the Bloody Handed."

They all complained about the last campaign they'd played with Hellfire Club, Eddie's Cult of Vecna, and then agreed that they'd plan a night where they'd play some kind of RPG-type game over Skype, in his honor.

They stayed in the graveyard until the sky turned shades of pinks and yellows, and then they parted ways with more hugs and tears and promises not to wait another 30 years before they got together again. Then they drove off into the sunset, the perfect end to their perfect day.

A day that Eddie had blessed them with, as he looked upon them and wished that he could join them too...but...that, too, was complicated.

[respirgender]

Valentinesiden / Valentinesdayiden

Description: A xeniden related to, based on, or connected in some way to Valentines Day.

Colours: Red, pink, white, and any other colours one may associate with Valentines Day.

Themes and aesthetics: Love, lovecore, love letters, hearts, cupid, roses, bouquets, relationships/dating/crushes, valentines day cards, bows/ribbons, kissing/physical affection, chocolate and other candies, gifts, secred admirers, friendship, romance

Name ideas: Valentine, Valentino, Valentina, Valen, Val, Rose, Rosy/Rosie, Roseanne, Romeo, Juliet, Ruby, Amor, Amora, Amoris, Amara, Freya, Mabel, David/Dave, Arrow, Amy, Dove, Honey, Scarlet, Aphrodite, Archer, Cupid, Venus, Beau/Bo, Bella, Lennon, Cara, Beloved

Pronoun ideas: val/valen/valentines/valentines/valentineself, valentine/valentines, val/valens, love/loves, letter/letters, heart/hearts, cupid/cupids, rose/roses, bow/bows, ribbon/ribbons, lace/laces, chocolate/chocolates, flower/flowers, kiss/kisses, card/cards, hug/hugs, candy/candys, gift/gifts, beloved/beloveds, ❤️/❤️s, 🩷/🩷s, 💕/💕s, ❣️/❣️s, 💞/💞s, 💓/💓s, 💗/💗s, 💖/💖s, 💘/💘s, 💝/💝s, 💟/💟s, 💋/💋s, 💌/💌s, 🌹/🌹s, 💐/💐s, 🍫/🍫s, 🎀/🎀s, 🎁/🎁s, 🥀/🥀s, 💔/💔s, 🧁/🧁s, 🍬/🍬s

Related terms: N/A

[wedgieplease]

Roommate Wresting

It's been awhile, but I wanted to add some new content for others to enjoy!

My roommate, we’ll call him Dave, and I messed around with each other on a daily basis. Nothing too major, just the casual wrestling on the floor and “accidentally” spilling our drinks on each other. What wrestling match is complete without a couple wedgies!

Before I get into it, let me set the scene: Our dorm was pretty standard. Big enough for two twin lofts and two feet of space between them. Oh, and two wardrobes and two desks. Dave and I didn’t know each other until we moved in. We could’ve gotten in touch sooner, but why bother? Anyway, Dave was a tall guy, at least 6’4”. Me, on the other hand, I wasn’t even 6’, so there was an obvious height difference. Dave being Dave, he teased me about it, things like “everybody loves a short king”. It was annoying at first, but then I got used to it. 

The first few weeks were a bit awkward, just the nature of living with a stranger. We got to know each other pretty well though, we went to the mess hall for dinner together most weeknights. At dinner, we’d swap stories about high school. Neither of us were jocks, but we weren’t dorks either. I was good (enough) at math and he understood chemistry. We bonded over our old friends and all the crap we’d get up to with them. Eventually, we got comfortable with each other. 

One night, Dave was on the chair underneath his loft watching some nostalgic cartoon. I wanted to watch my current series, but he refused and jokingly started to pout. I cracked a joke like “if you’re gonna act like a child then I’ll start treating you like one”. To that, Dave held up the remote and taunted “At least I’m not throwing a tantrum for not getting my way”. That was it. I went for the remote, but he was too quick and pushed me back. I grabbed his arm and pulled him off the chair and we both crashed to the floor. 

He landed on top of me and tried to pin my arms to the floor, but he wasn’t fast enough. I grabbed one of his arms and pushed with my leg to get him off me. As I got up, he dove to tackle me. I pushed his head between my legs so he couldn’t move, when I noticed the struggle made his shirt ride up. I immediately latched onto the black waistband and gave a yank. 

“Hey! No fair!” he protested. 

“All’s fair in wrestling war” I joked.

“Well, in that case…” Dave muttered as he lifted my leg up and pulled so hard I fell to the floor. Before I could regain my senses, he spun me around and had my undies up to my shoulder blades. 

“It’s been a while since I gave someone a nasty wedgie”, he said as he grabbed my now-exposed legholes and proceeded to drag me across the room. 

Once he let go, I flopped back to the ground, defeated with my red briefs ballooning out of my shorts. 

“Come on dude, that was way worse than what I gave you!” I told him off as I shoved the sea of red back into my shorts. 

“You shoulda thought about that before you started it!” He retorted.

“Let me even the score, man, my ass is wrecked” I begged

“Did I hurt your widdle butt?” he taunted as he stuck out his in my face.

“You asked for this!” I spat, wasting no time grabbing his black waistband, and the handfull of white fabric that was still above his shorts. 

“Ye-OWW!” Dave jolted as his waistband reached his shoulder blades. 

“I’m not done yet!” I said as I swatted his hands away and grabbed the legholes that were starting to peak out of his shorts. Giving one more triumphant yank, I stepped back 

And admired how his legholes sat just above his pantsline.

“Jesus fuck, dude, ow.” Dave said as he put the white back where it belonged. “I’m gonna need to change now.”

“How do you think I feel?” I spat back.

“Again, you started it.” he said.

“Maybe if you had let me watch my show…”  I trailed off. 

“You musta given alot of these the way you pulled” Dave said. 

“It was usually one-sided with me and my friends. Me on the getting end, actually.“ I said, slightly embarrassed.

“Well. Remind me not to cross you again. Damn.” he said.

And that was the beginning of our shenanigans

[homestuck-fanauthor-coalition]

The Homestuck Fan Author Coalition's January 2025 Competition was a split competition with a side for explicit fics, and a side for non-explicit fics. The prompt "Bard" meant that all participants had to write a fanfiction based on a song or album. Participants had one month to write any fic they liked based on this prompt, and votes were done to determine the awards.

All Explicit Fic Submissions and Awards

Walls Could Talk by @manifestmerlin

Seven years and Hal's still in between, the same fights since they were seventeen. / And they both keep fronting, but it's a closed discussion. / Been three days and He's coming back, four minutes till a real attack. / But He don't know / These. Walls. CAN. TALK.

Winner of the Eridan Award for Deadest Dove

Undress Rehearsal by @manifestmerlin

Director David 'D' Strider offers Jake English the opportunity of a lifetime, all he needs is a private audition to see if the kid can handle what's required of stardom.

The Island of the Misfit Boy (?) by @june-egbert-official

John is going through it. Enough to contemplate some very drastic solutions…unless Vriska can snap him out of it.

In which a demure seadweller's evening is interrupted by his best friend who has molted early and gone into troll-rut and the seadweller is overcome by the virile pheromones of the adult form his friend has taken and they fuck. Seven buckets filled. by @arealpeople

Eridan's evening is interrupted by a friend in need. Very in need.

Winner of the Gamzee Award for Best in Comedy

Six Shooter by @arealpeople

Dave Strider is an assassin with the useful ability to loop time when he dies. It makes a lot of things trivial. His most recent job, however, is giving him some issues.

Winner of the Calliope Award for Most Interesting Kink Headcanon or AU Winner of the Vriska Award for Best in Edging (the narrative) Winner of the Equius Award for Best in Gore

The Freedom Fighters (Have Dirty Hands) by @madam-melon-meow

After narrowly escaping their encounter with the pirates, Rose is determined to convince the gang that they should fly under the radar. Little do they know that they've wandered into occupied territory. But lucky for Karkat, a mysterious group of teens is fighting for the freedom of their forest, and their leader has an undeniable allure.

Winner of the Sun Superlative for Most Likely to Turn Into a Ridiculously Long Series

P★RNSTAR by @ambrosianlullaby

Flashing red light... Baby, you're a star.

Sis Strider gets off with her smuppets.

Winner of the Black Queen Award for Best Plot? What Plot?

Lone Digger by @ambrosianlullaby

Dave smiles, sweet and innocent. “Good Kitty.”

Karkat takes a sip from his water. At the same time, Dave throws his head back and slams his drink down the hatch. The empty martini glass hits the table with a clink, and the stripper’s hand moves to grab something else.

Karkat keeps a straight face.

Winner of the Vriska Award for Best in Edging (the narrative)

Dear Wormwood by @dave2olkat

“The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many died from the water, because it was made bitter.” - Book of Revelation.

The story of a soldier, a poet and a king, and how they opened a gate of hell, slayed a tyrant, and fell in love, though not necessarily in that order.

Winner of the Davepeta^2 Award for Most Creative Lyric Interpretation Winner of the Dave Award for Best Use of Diegetic Music Winner of the Davebot Award for Best Use of Non-Diegetic Music

take me out to eat at the true love café by @chronicangel

Jade doesn't know how to ask to have sex. Dave knows how to ask, but he chooses an interesting time and place to do it.

Winner of the Nepeta Award for Best Porn with Feelings

Receiver of Wreck by @chronicangel

When the game never gets played, the game's constructs die. The universe doesn't need them anymore.

But someone does.

Winner of the White Queen Award for Best Porn? What Porn? Winner of the Lil Cal Award for Most Stomach Churning

that angel puss is galactic shit by @myusernameisstolen

You go clubbing one night and meet someone you're not sure is real. You think she might be an angel, or maybe a demon - does the difference really matter once you start kissing them?

Tale of the Shadow by @orangestorapples

Vriska set upon the sea, in search of phantom sails from tales her ancestor left for her.

Winner of the Alpha Bro Award for Best Indirect Lyrical Inspiration

The Power of the Holy Ghost by @saberinblue

Every day I wake up we drink a lot of coffee and watch the CNN

Every day I wake up to a bowl of clover honey and let the locusts fly in

Winner of the Caliborn Award for Matching Hussie's Freak (Canon-Typical Violence) Winner of the Roxy Award for poppin taht cherry

[corazondebeskar-reads]

Fic Recs - Other

Fic recs featuring media other than Star Wars and The Last of Us.

Key: 🏴 = dark, 💕 = fluff, ⛓ = rough/bdsm elements, 💀 = dead dove do not eat

Mind the warnings, and please read responsibly. you control your own media consumption.

All Fic Recs

Jack "Whiskey" Daniels - "Kingsman: The Golden Circle"

it tastes like acid by @psychedelic-ink (oneshot)

summary: he came by every wednesday to ask for your services, he's a broken man, you can tell. however, you didn't expect him to break you in return.

Dieter Bravo - "The Bubble"

Celestial Navigation by @write-and-buried (series, complete)

summary: dumped and drowning in a summer storm, you duck inside a coffee shop to hide from your broken heart. Covered in plants and hand drawn images over exposed brick, it seems like a slice of heaven. The owner brings you a blueberry muffin and a promise; you’ll fall in love with him before the new year.

Red Herring by @nothoughtsjustmeds (one-shot)

summary: red herring (n.): an unimportant fact, idea, event, etc. that takes people's attention away from something important.

Dave York - "The Equalizer 2"

⛓🏴The Violence of You by @whataperfectwasteoftime (oneshot)

summary: You’re so fucking predictable. You have a bad night, and you come crawling to him, the only person who can take all this pain inside you and do something with it.

Black Jaguar by @oogaboogasphincter (one-shot)

summary: dave returns home from a job and can’t wait to indulge in you.

⛓ the dress series by @janaispunk (ongoing)

summary: You’re having an affair with Dave York. When he takes you on a week-long vacation, you realize that you have deeper feelings for him than you should.

⛓ Penance by @max--phillips (one-shot)

summary: dom!dave and boot worship

Ezra - "Prospect"

⛓B is for Bathroom Control by @max--phillips (oneshot)

pro-dom Ezra and piss play

I Forget About Time and Space by @psychedelic-ink (oneshot)

summary: you cook for ezra's guests, and seeing the sight of you being so domestic awakens something in him.

⛓ Plaited and Braided by @bonezone44

summary: Ezra gets a hold of a supersonic whip (aka bullwhip) and tries it out on you. There’s aftercare and then there’s sex.

Francisco "Frankie" Morales - "Triple Frontier"

🏴⛓ A Little Mishap by @lincolndjarin (oneshot)

summary: you and frankie return to base camp after an unsuccessful mission, each of you blaming the other for the outcome.

Miguel O'Hara (Spider-Verse)

distracted by @cool-iguana

summary: reader is sick of Miguel playing video games and not giving her attention, so she does something about it.

Max Phillips - "Bloodsucking Bastards"

i wanna do bad things with you by @chronically-ghosted (series; ongoing)

summary: you ask him to bite you, but he has some reservations. you agree to work up to it and test his limits.

Javier Peña - "Narcos"

Paranoid Heart by @goodwithcheese (ongoing)

summary: Maybe reckless hearts come in pairs.

Moon Knight

⛓ Be Lost by @juneknight (series; ongoing)

Marc Spector

summary: after a series of failures to find a dominant, your long time best friend Marc offers to give topping you a shot.

Crossovers

Welcome to the Carnal-val by @covetyou

ft. Dieter Bravo & Jack 'Whiskey' Daniels

summary: Ladies and gentlefolk, adults of all ages, come one, come all, to the Carnal-val. Witness the most spectacular sights, jaw-dropping feats of depravity, and awe-inspiring liberties taken with Pedro characters.

[homespark]

Taking a stab at asking while trembling in my boots

Could I get a davekat moodbard but specifically t4t (I’m a transfem Dave fictive and dating a transmasc karkat) ((also also my name is corvid but I’m fine with the tags or whatever being Dave/dove)) themes of just warmth in general would be appreciated

For Corvid and Karkat B)

A mooadboard with themes of warmth, late nights spent whispering, a distance that needs to be crossed, and the amber-red-pink of sunlight through translucent flesh. Home, in not so many words.