#so patrick needs to get his shit together and sort things out and take some responsibility

[compress1repress]

it's so interesting because patrick is from an incredibly wealthy family but receives no attention from them and is basically ignored while, inversely, tashi didn't grow up with money but she has family around her constantly that all relied on her success/wealth... the contrast of 'nobody fucking cares about me so i can do whatever i want because i have no responsibility!!' versus the 'everybody cares about me so i can't do whatever i want and i have so much responsibility it's suffocating!!!'

[orbitariums]

do NOT hit me up i am thinking ab art and patrick's reaction to hearing you code switch for the first time and art being like "wow, the duality of woman. why did i feel somsthing" and patrick's lowkey like "two voices ? she can be two different women while she sits on my big ass white boy nose?"

i got this ask genuinely months ago but here we are

this goes along with this imagine... part two coming soon i swearrr guys *hasn't written a single word of part two*

code switching | black reader x artrick

i imagine that after the lil club incident, art and patrick are absolutely set on being around you and catering to you all the time. you knew they were into you but not like this— you’ve got them absolutely stuck. they help you with your homework, take you out to lunch when you’re free (and trust, they pay).

they’ve sort of become your guardians, the way they’re always lingering on either side of you while you walk around campus. you haven't hooked up with either of them since that night, but they still hang onto every word you say. they find themselves sharing sly glances at each other when you wear that pair of jeans they love (patrick never fails to tell you he loves those jeans on you, and when you ask him why, he not-so-discreetly glances over your shoulder and at your ass and says "well they just fit you really well."). they sit on your bed in your dorm room and help you pick out outfits when you're going out for the night, looking at you expectantly before you tsk and make them turn around. they're your little shadows, and even though you're making them wait to fuck you, you've honestly made good friends out of each other.

but as much as they've been around you, they've never heard or seen you get mad, not genuinely... and that's when something really shifts for both of them. you don't "change" your voice for them, but you also don't talk to them the same way you talk to your homegirls or your family. they've heard you code switch before, but this is different.

you're in the library working on a project on a big desktop computer while art and patrick fool around next to you — patrick's found a way to turn his mechanical pencil into a slingshot which art is combatting with his pen. you're actually locked in, typing away furiously, french nail tips swatting away at the keyboard. just earlier you were complaining about some guy in your group who wasn't putting in any work and was a general asshole, making weird comments about how you don't know what you're doing. you're silent, art and patrick doing their best to actually focus on the work they have so they aren't distracting you, although they are secretly hoping you'll say something just so they can talk to you.

so, it's quiet. you decide to take a break and hop onto myspace, scrolling mindlessly until you see a post from todd, your useless group mate. your expression grows increasingly disgruntled as you continue reading his status update. it reads: "CATCH ME AT DELTA NU TN, $5 MALES FEMALES GET IN FREE, BOTTLEZ FOR EVERY1!!!"

"is this dude deadass?" you blurt out, reading the status update over and over.

"what, what happened?" art and patrick both bolt up like they were called to attention, finally free from fiddling with their pencils and flipping aimlessly through their notebooks in the name of studying.

"this motherfucker todd is throwing a fucking frat party knowing damn well we have a group meeting tonight."

"want us to beat him up?" patrick offers, half-joking.

"man, watch out," you suck your teeth and get up, gathering your things. patrick and art sit up, at attention.

"hey, where are you going?" art nearly stutters, gazing at you like an expectant puppy.

"no, because this is the shit that be having me fucked up. art, i fuck with you and patrick, but y'all need to get your little white boys who don't give a fuck about their education or anyone else's because they're too busy doing stupid white boy shit," you curse, still gathering your things together. you're wearing these thick black glasses and pushing them up the bridge of your nose.

art is taken aback, but your anger and the way you're fiddling with your glasses only makes patrick smirk wide, watching you with his signature lustful eyes.

"hey, my education is very important to me. sit down, relax, we'll get him up for you, don't worry."

"the hell you will, i'm bout to fuck this bitch up myself. finna knock right on that door," you suck your tongue and shake your head. before they can say anything, you glance at them pointedly, eyebrows raised almost expectantly — you're telling them you have no problem directing your irritation towards them if need be. "be safe, y'all."

you practically pounce out of the library, hips swaying to and fro in a manner so devastatingly sexy it's hard to remember that you're mad. they watch you leave, your anger lingering in the air like a lasting, ever permeating fragrance they can't get enough of.

art's eyebrows are stuck up his forehead, and patrick is chuckling silently to himself.

art swallows, breaking the silence,

"i think i like when she's mad."

"that just gave me a boner," patrick blurts. he pauses for a minute, his eyebrows crinkling together like he's deep in thought. "should we get her mad so she can talk to us like that?"

he guffaws stupidly.

"idiot," art hisses, but then he considers it, placing his voice to sound as nonchalant as possible. "... what should we do?"

[peachhcs]

https://www.tumblr.com/peachhcs/766163417530875904/httpswwwtumblrcompeachhcs765958548506198016

em darling you can’t leave it like that!!!! i need to know what happened next!!

like does she eventually call him or he does he just show up because he so worried and can’t stand being so far not knowing what wrongs with his girl.

i lowkey feel like he can’t even be mad after he hears her reasoning and hates that samy is still learning to trust him because he screwed up if anything it makes him want to keep working on gaining her trust fully back

please and thank you :)

part 6 i think??? this is my new favorite side plot going on 😌 also yes small cliff hanger it’s my favorite thing to do. also if u didn’t know samy’s middle name is poppy and i think it’s cute to make luke call her pop sometimes :)

au masterlist

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 7

will woke up the next morning with the immediate thought to check his phone. he scanned though all of his notifications, hoping and hoping there was at least one from samy or luke, but when the blonde saw nothing his heart sank.

she hates him. she forgot about him. she doesn’t care.

he started spiraling, a cloud of anxiety forming over his head, but will tried knocking some sense into himself. there was a chance she was just busy getting tests and results back. she might be with her parents, or on her way home? she was caught up in all of it, she just hadn’t called yet.

that was understandable. yeah. she wasn’t ignoring him because why would she? he was her best friend. her boyfriend. they literally grew up together and told one another everything.

will tried shaking himself from the dark thoughts as he pushed himself out of bed and made his best attempt to get ready for practice and the rest of the day. maybe she’d call when he was at practice!

he just needed to think positive.

will did what he could to distract his mind as he went through his usual morning routine. he brushed his teeth listening to some music, washed his face, sort of did his hair, and then went downstairs to figure out what was for breakfast.

patrick and christina were already downstairs along with the younger boys running around getting ready for school. the two glanced over at the blonde, trying to read his expression.

“hi will, how are you?” christinia wondered.

“i’m fine. doing fine,” will nodded, but he didn’t really sound convincing. patrick and his wife exchanged a glance.

“any updates?” patrick dared to ask.

“um, no. not yet,” will shook his head, his lips forming into a tight-lipped smile.

“i’m sure she’s just talking with the doctors and getting discharged and settling back into home,” christina assured, rubbing the younger boy’s shoulder like he was her own son.

“yeah, i know. that’s what i’m thinking,” will nodded, moving further into the kitchen to grab a bite to eat before he needed to pick up macklin. he needed to busy his mind or else it would be the only thing will would think about all day.

the marleau’s watched in slight worry, but they knew not to push too far. they knew will could handle himself and samy would call soon. the hockey player rushed out of the house in a quick goodbye, climbing into his car and driving off without a second thought. the ride was silent besides the soft hum of the radio playing and when he pulled up to his friend’s place he braved a smile.

“morning,” macklin mumbled, tired and dreary-eyed like he just woke up ten minutes ago. will nodded, pulling back onto the road towards the rink.

the silence wasn’t unusual for them. usually, it was pretty silent on their rides in because of how early it was and how little sleep they got the night before. macklin didn’t say a lot and neither did will which he was glad for because the blonde wasn’t sure if he’d be able to take the million questions macklin sometimes had for him.

“hey, did you hear anything more from samy? is she doing okay?” shit. there it was. the brunette’s curious gaze slid to will’s.

“uh, she had to get surgery on her shoulder. a tendon tear or something,” will swallowed thickly.

“oh, shit. that fucking sucks. is she doing alright? i’m sure that’s gotta put her out for awhile. i texted with her for a bit last night just to see how she was but she never told me that. wow,” macklin didn’t notice the way will’s grip on the steering wheel whitened his knuckles nor the way his jaw clenched.

how many more people were gonna tell him they talked to his girlfriend before he even did?

“you were texting her?” will couldn’t help the anger in his voice.

“yeah, just wanted to check in after seeing that hit. it was brief, but she said she was doing alright and i said i was sorry that happened and i hope she bounced back soon. she hearted the message,” macklin explained their entire exchange and even though it wasn’t even a lot, it made something stir in the blonde.

“so she can text my fucking teammate and not call me?” will huffed under his breath which macklin did catch this time.

“what?”

“she hasn’t said a word to me.”

“wait, what do you mean she hasn’t said a word to you? you just said she had to get surgery,” the younger brunette became confused.

“because i learned all of that from her brother. samy hasn’t called or texted me since it happened,” the anger didn’t disappear from will’s voice.

“seriously? you’re her boyfriend. why wouldn’t she call you?”

“i don’t know, you tell me man. i don’t really know what i did wrong or why she won’t talk to me. i’ve been trying to reach her since last night,” will finally cooled off a bit, but his grip on the steering wheel didn’t.

“well, shit. i’m sorry, i didn’t know that. maybe she’ll call while you’re at practice or something. i’m sure she means to there’s just a lot on her mind.”

“yeah, sure,” will wanted to believe that but he couldn’t after hearing how she’s spoken to everyone but him.

meanwhile, in boston, luke was sitting in samy’s room with her after their parents asked him to bring something up for her from the cafeteria. the siblings were sitting in silence, luke texting on his phone and samy just staring the wall. her mind was clouded with calling will—something she still hadn’t done yet.

finally, the older hughes brother caught onto his sister’s quietness. he lifted his gaze and noticed the way she stared off into space and waved his hand in front of her.

“hey, earth to samy?” the girl snapped out of her daze.

“huh?”

“you okay? you look..worse than i would expect you to look after breaking your shoulder,” luke raised his eyebrow at his wording making her roll her eyes.

“i’m fine,” samy mumbled.

“why do you lie every time you’re keeping something from me? you know i can tell every single time, right?” luke rolled his eyes this time.

“just got a lot on my mind, luke,” his sister grumbled.

“seriously, what’s up? if it’s about mom and dad you know i won’t tell. not anymore at least,” the curly-haired boy chuckled to himself thinking he was way too amusing while samy didn’t find any of it funny.

“it’s not about them. it’s nothing, i promise,” she tried getting him off her back.

the girl’s phone buzzed in her lap where her lock screen lit up. the two saw the picture of her and will as her background and then it quickly clicked in luke’s head.

“have you talked to him?”

samy’s silence was his answer.

“c’mon, pop. you know you can talk to me. i’m not gonna judge you or whatever,” luke’s tone fell softer, pulling out the nickname he only called her since they were kids.

“i want to call him, but i just can’t. i..i can’t do it.”

“why not? did something happen between you two again?”

“no, but that’s the problem. i’m worried something will happen—like i’ll burden him or some shit. or like..i’ll run him out again by relying on him for everything when i shouldn’t or don’t need to. i just..i didn’t wanna burden him with this knowing i’m fine and he has hockey to worry about,” the tears fell faster than samy could stop then or even process that she was really crying now—harder than when she talked with ryan and gabe yesterday.

luke’s face fell. he hated seeing his baby sister so upset, so he reached his arms out to gently wrap around her frame for a hug. he didn’t say anything, just letting her cry it out and feel all the emotions.

they stayed like that for another good minute before samy finally pulled away. she embarrassingly wiped her eyes from her tears while luke just rubbed her knee.

“i’m sorry. this is so stupid,” the brunette laughed dryly—her poor attempt at humor.

“hey, don’t apologize. this isn’t stupid. you’re allowed to cry,” luke reassured her.

“i just don’t know why i can’t just call him. maybe it’s the pity i hate? or that i know he’d offer to fly out and drop anything but i don’t want him to do that just for me,” samy rambled some more while her brother just listened and nodded.

“can i be honest with you, pop?” the older boy wondered and samy nodded.

“i think you’re scared to let people care deeply for you and about you. you know how much will cares about you and i think that scares you. especially since he also hurt you,” luke kept an even tone, but his expression was soft. “if i know anything about will it’s that i know how much he loves you. he’d do anything for you and yes, i know it’s scary knowing how much someone cares about you to do that. however, you’re not a burden. you’re not gonna run him out. you’re not gonna annoy him. he loves you and he genuinely cares about you, i promise.”

luke’s words made samy cry harder. she buried her face in her hand, the tears pouring from her eyes all while the older hughes did his best to comfort her.

“what if he breaks up with me again because i didn’t call him right away?” now there was a whole new wave of anxieties to worry about.

“he is not going to do that. if he does, i’ll fly to san jose myself and punch him, but he won’t. i’m sure he’s waiting to hear from you and has been since yesterday afternoon,” luke nudged her good arm and nodded towards her phone. “it’s okay to let people in, pop. it means they care about you. i know it’s scary to trust again, but even i admit to how much that boy loves you and would do anything to gain your trust back.”

samy sucked in a deep breath as she found will’s contact again. she looked at luke who nodded before finally hitting call.

will’s phone vibrated by his leg. he was geared up for practice when he saw samy’s contact light up on his lock screen. the blonde’s heart quickly beat as he scrambled to answer it, stepping further away from the boys still getting ready.

“hello?” he breathed.

“will?” a wave of relief washed through him when he heard samy’s familiar voice on the other end.

[r0b1ns]

BOYFRIEND WHO GOES TO A PUBLIC SCHOOL - ELITE

X MALE READER

CHARACTERS: Samuel, Omar, Guzman, Ander, Polo, Patrick, Ivan, Valerio, Bilal

CW: none

WORD COUNT: 800+

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SAMUEL

He doesn't care.

Obviously.

You went to school together but separated when he went to the rich kids school.

You meet every day after classes to gossip.

If you need he helps you with school work

He's smart

He was never ashamed to admit to everyone you're dating

You like sitting on a cliff near you at night while he tells you about the assholes he goes to class with

GUZMAN

It took him long enough to actually start dating you.

Both because you're a guy and because of your money status.

So he keeps you a secret.

Of course you don't like it, but you understand.

You meet up almost every day in a secret place only the two of you know.

Or in your house, if your parents or whoever you live with know.

Eventually you get sick of hiding and you get into an argument.

You break up and he feels too miserable without you so he tells his friends first

And than his family

The don't take it so well, not because you're a guy, but because you're not rich.

But they get used to it

He invites you to every party he goes to

And buys you expensive things

You always tell him not to, he listens but occasionally still buys you something

OMAR

If you go to school together you're unseparatable.

You sit together every class, and if you have different ones you meet immediately after.

You try to keep it down and look life regular friends

So his family won't find out.

If you go to different schools you both snick in the middle of the day to meet halfway and smoke

Sometimes you get in trouble cause you arrive late to class

You love making jokes about samu and Nadia, how they're both with the rich kids they used to make fun of.

ANDER

He really doesn't care

Neither does his mom

You practically live with them

She really adores you.

You always go clubbing together, and Guzman really likes you

You make him happy and encourage him to send you to his father

Ander, unlike Guzman, doesn't buy you expensive shit.

He understands it makes you feel weird and respects it.

POLO

It took him time to accept it

He did grow up rich and IS rich

But with that character development I believe he'll be completely ok with it

His moms obviously dgaf about you being a guy, but the fact that you're not rich?

They'll accept it eventually too

He brings you to every event

He takes big pride in you, and if you have a school dance or something he'll absolutely go with you

He likes buying you stuff, but you made a deal it won't be too often or too expensive.

He even picks you up from school sometimes.

PATRICK

He doesn't care, but he does use it as a rebellious act towards his father

He invites you to his house constantly.

Doesn't buy you things, but he does pay for dinner, clubs, drinks etc..

He's afraid you're with him only for his money

He has some trust issues

So he pushes you away.

But you're stubborn and don't give up easily

You constantly have to reassure him you live him and he deserves happiness

IVAN

He honestly doesn't even thinks about that sort of things

He likes you because of you, not your money.

After his dad accepts himself he's very chill with you,

If you like football you're his new best friend.

Ivan prefers staying at your house, to escape all that partying his dad does.

He likes your house, it's small and cozy, and quiet.

He sometimes wishes he was normal like you, not famous dad, no too much money on his hands, but you have to remind him that he's very privileged and he needs to appreciate.

Doesn't like showing up at your school, there are a lot of fans and he doesn't like the attention

VALERIO

Totally ok with it.

Likes to shove your relationship to his dad

He's very handsy with you no matter where or who you're with

Takes you to every club known to men

Buys you so many drinks

Treats you like a prince

If someone says something about you he's already there kicking their ass

He likes randomly showing up to your classes and getting you in trouble so he can have more time with you

BILAL

Doesn't give two shits

He wasn't interested in your money status before and does not now

He even feels more at ease with you because he's surrounded with a lot of rich people, and you make him feel equal

Idk where he lives but you two like going out more than staying home

Just sitting in a random park or abandoned site.

It takes the pressure off of him to be with someone who gets him

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!GIFS ARE NOT MINE!

[twinker-bell-sparkles]

Steddie idea/ficlet???

Steve has know his was gay for a long time. Probably around middle school is when he put it together. With him and Tommy having those strange practice kissing and so forth. He knew he’d either be in a bread relationship or just miserable in a heterosexual relationship. However, getting outed was not on that list. He sighs as he looks at his locker. Faggot written in sharpie across his locker. Loud boots echo behind him. “Pardons m your highne- shit dude what happened to your locker?” Steve turns to see the other openly queer kid in school. Steve sighs “I got outed, someone found my journal at a house party and blabbed. Just- just leave me be Munson. I don’t wanna deal with more bullying today.” He turns back to his locker and starts to clean off his locker. “Harrington, dude that sucks, uhmm if you ever need anything call.” Eddie smiles and hands him a number. Steve smiles to himself, another thing he didn’t expect was to become friends with Eddie Munson. Maybe this year won’t suck as much as he thought.

- basically the idea is that Steve n Eddie are like rivals but become friends

- Steve is outed by Tommy which is revealed later

- Eddie teaches Steve dnd, Steve only says no to the kids bc he finds their campaigns boring

- Steve gets kicked out and lives out of his car for a couple of weeks til Hopper finds out n lives with Hopper, later moving in with Eddie

- Steve is actually rather gifted in math n science but struggles with English n history bc of his dyslexia.

- his style is veey different than the shiw, mind you this is historically inaccurate bc fashion trends n shiz, he wears a lot of pastel n soft sweaters, with jeans n boots.

-this takes place in the middle of S1 and go forth, everything is sort of the same except, Steve turns down Nancy, bc she doesn’t think Steve is gay. And Steve doesn’t wanna deal with that. So barb doesn’t die bc they’re away but bc Steve tried to save her and she just had too much water in her lungs. Her body got lost in the transferring at the hospital. S2 is the same except Nancy tries to start some drama, don’t worry she redeems herself later, gotta have some conflict, Steve finds out what Tommy did, billy is not great but not bad, has a redemption arc, Eddie n Steve start dating at the end of this season s3 is the same, except WLW n MLM solidarity happens in the bathroom scene n hopper lives Murray “dies” instead. S4 is very different, 1. Chrissy lives, 2. The hoppers stay in Hawkins, Murray comes back, Jason is convicted for the murders of Patrick n Fred. Steve comes out the the group.

That’s all I have so far for his fic idea.

[cheridraws]

hello i would like to know more about Patrick his story sounds interesting!

AHHHHH hello yes!!! I would love to talk about Patrick more!!!!!

So Patrick is an oc in this little story i've been developing over the last couple of years!! He's my main character (one of four) and is the most Fucked in my opinion, haha, so you know he's my favorite guy to talk about

Patrick is a character that has deeply fucked up in the past and spends sooooo much of his present trying to atone for those mistakes

So, beginning info:

broke as hell

was kicked out of his house at 18. this was mostly due to said family's struggle with poverty. this is important

has a twin bro (that i will get into later)

He spent some time in debt trouble with no help and was living on the run for a couple of years before he met this entity called Lasair (aka, a Spirit, which are basically the gods of this world). They bond, and it extends an olive branch to Patrick. Aka the guy basically desperate for connection and love. Lasair is an asshole who uses this to its advantage. I'm summing up a lot here, but in short, Patrick winds up helping Lasair with its plan to burn the world to the ground bc humanity sucks ass and we’re all terrible and deserve to be destroyed (but not actually!!!! The whole story is abt fighting this worldview). Eventually, after a lot of thinking and some convincing from some of their victims, he starts to have doubts,,, and oh well shit he’s got a brother doesn’t he. There might be a few ppl worth saving,,, oh no…. So he realizes that he needs to stop this right now actually (again, this is summed up, but that whole process takes a good few years of doubt in order to kick in. bestie's been thoroughly indoctrinated into lasair's thing for a while)

Patrick runs away, and vows to destroy Lasair's whole operation. Unfortunately, he's back on the run and is being chased down by some of Lasair's assets. Back to square one, basically.

BUT, he does have one hope!!! His twin, Philemon (Phil, who I often misspell as Phile, lol), who he has been estranged from for about a decade now, is still kicking, so Patrick runs over to him for help because who else is he supposed to ask. From here, the two of them begin to travel together (Phil, unwillingly at first) and try to find a way to defeat Lasair, later recruiting two more friends!! (who i'm still developing jskfjlj)

His character is sooo fun for me to talk about, mostly because he kinda fits most archetypes of characters i adore haha. Deeply fucked little guy who's learning how to love again <3 and is having to unlearn a loooooooot of stuff, holy shit

Speaking of which: he's got some real bad martyr issues, and believes that his actions during that decade he spent with Lasair define him; he thinks he is irredeemable. In life, anyways. His whole plan is to kill off or seal away Lasair in some big, grand, self-sacrificing act so he can a, destroy the monster he feels he created and b, somewhat redeem himself in death. Like,, he believes that this is the only thing that can redeem him to both his loved ones and family, so he's dead set on this ending despite his loved one's objections. Of course, over the course of traveling with Phil and the later members of their group, he sort-of begins to see the beauty in living, which becomes a nice contrast to Lasair's view of the world!! His whole character arc ends with him realizing that he wants to live and it makes me sob

anyways here's a few things I don't know how to work into this coherently but want to mention anyways:

he literally befriends the spirit of death. they're besties bc he nearly dies a lot. also death might kinda be into him,, bc apparently he’s a magnet for weird godlike creature’s attraction

is my ace icon <3

fucked a literal fire. like it was lasair but,, that spirit's made of fire my guy…. how are you doing….

O yeah,,,, him and Las were kind of in a relationship. I say kind of bc it didn’t have a label but like. Yeah. And it wasn’t good

actually yeah ask me abt lasair its design makes me unwell /posi so do all the other spirits

he decided the best course of action into getting phil to help him was a, break into his apartment, b, accidentally terrorize him with the people trying to hunt him down, and c, kidnap?? him??? (but only for like a minute)

those assets are called the Illusionist and the Mirror btw and i like them too

Actually Pls somebody help Phil all he wanted was to escape his hometown and become a big shot engineer he did not want to be roped into whatever the hell this is

anyways. I am completely unwell for him and think about him way too much,,, i really need to work on developing it more than i have,,, especially since i've got a whooollee lot of worldbuilding to do hehe. Thanks for asking about him though!!!! I hope this was coherent, haha, i've been dying to talk abt this fella for ages

(and feel free to ask me more i could write essays abt him)

[troubatrain]

runaway (part two) - n. patrick

a/n: shoutout to tumblr being down and not having work because i somehow cranked out both of these parts in one day. i’ve settled on this series being a small series of smut that sort of just follows a storyline and i’m really excited about it. anyways i’m tagging @hookingminor​ for reading this while i wrote it and gassing me up and @princessphilly​ & @texanstarslove​ because it’s whore hours here

warnings - smut this is all literally smut

part one - part three

It was St. Patrick’s day in Boston, and Nolan was hoping that a second round of luck was on its way. Nolan hadn’t seen much of you since you left to go home a few days after that night. You were living in his head rent fucking free, and it was unfair. It was unfair that he got to see every thirst trap you posted on Instagram, but he’d be damned if he thought about liking it. It was unfair that you were definitely Kevin’s favorite sibling and he talked about you all time. It was unfair he had to watch Kevin make out with some chick while he couldn’t do anything about you across the bar. And it was beyond cruel that you were shaking your ass with your roommates in a too big Celtics jersey and Nolan couldn’t do anything to ward off the dudes who had their eyes on you. His grip on his beer tightened, knuckles white and anger coursing through his veins while you rejected the like fifth guy that night.

“Hey dude, keep an eye on her okay?” Kevin asks, snapping Nolan out of his thoughts while he got ready to head out with his friend in tow. The Flyers had played a hard fought afternoon game against the Bruins, and with a day off promised the next day Nolan was sure it was going to be a late night, “I’m serious Patty, she’s two tequila shots with TK away from a mess.”

“I think I can handle your sister,” Nolan scoffs, eager to get Kevin the fuck out of that bar so he could talk to you for more than five minutes. He watched Kevin leave, turning his attention to you and smiling when he saw you laughing with your friends.

“Boston in Boston? It’s like seeing you in your natural habitat,” Nolan jokes, a hand landing on your lower back. You laugh, throwing your head and wrapping your arms around Nolan’s waist. You looked around, your brother was nowhere to be seen and you thought the coast was clear, “He’s gone.”

“Do I want to know?” You ask, scrunching up your nose knowing damn well why your brother left early. Nolan shook his head, sparing you the details and smirking at you, “And what about you Patty? Chasing a girl out of here too?”

“Unless it’s you,” Nolan husks in your ear, his deep voice sent shivers down your spine, a calloused finger slipping over the basketball jersey you stole from one of your brothers, “We had so much fun last time.”

You did have fun. You were sad and Nolan was making you feel infinitely better. Now some time has passed, the wounds on your heart healing and single life was good. Nolan’s eyes were staring into yours, holding your gaze while you decided what to do. On one hand, one time was one thing but twice was another. How long could you fuck around with Nolan before Kevin caught on? Probably a while given your brother wasn’t always the brightest, but he’d figure it out eventually.

“Take me home Nolan,” You breathe, sliding out of your phone and ordering the quickest Uber you could to your place. Nolan was grinning, hands wrapped around your waist when you were finally free from the eyes of his teammates.

Your apartment was the complete opposite of Kevin’s. Nolan’s eyes scanned over the art prints and pictures of your family that decorated the walls, his eyes scanning the titles that lined up against your record player. Maybe you had more in common than Nolan thought. He’d overthink it later, because your lips were on his neck and your fingers were toying with his zipper and if he didn’t find a release soon he’d lose it. You were the best he’s had, Nolan spent countless nights alone using that night to get himself off. You got him off. You were irresistible, and it was going to get Nolan in trouble.

Your fingers unhooked Nolan’s jeans, pulling the zipper and going down with it. Nolan groans, tilting your chin up to look at him, his finger ran across your lip. You took it into your mouth, Nolan’s eyes practically rolling to the back of his head, “You’re trouble.”

“Haven’t you heard, I’ve never done anything wrong in my life?” You muse, pulling Nolan’s boxers down, springing his cock free. Nolan had heard all about it, Kevin’s perfect baby sister, who was smarter than anyone he knew and had a heart of gold. You were perfect but it was more about how good your mouth looked when you took his cock into your mouth and less about what your brother thought. Your fingers were tracing his thigh tattoos, your mouth popping off his dick and your attention on those, “I like these.”

“Me too, but if you could maybe,” Nolan whines, an actual plea to get your mouth back where he needed it most. His hands were in your hair, and if he didn’t think you’d smack the shit out of him he would’ve moved your head himself.

“Like this?” You press a kiss to the tip of his dick, letting your mouth hover just above it. You bat your eyelashes, watching the way Nolan’s face was getting redder the more you egged him now. You lick the underside of his cock, tracing a vein as slowly as you could, “Or like this?”

“If you don’t start being a good girl I’m not going to let you cum,” Nolan growls, his voice deep and raspy, a chill running up your spine. You rub your thighs together, Nolan’s voice was fucking delicious. You take him into your mouth, bobbing your head while Nolan hit the back of your throat, “Fuck, can I-”

You nod, feeling Nolan’s dick twitch in your mouth and his cum hit the back of your throat, he let out a groan. You swallow as much as you could, finally take your mouth off Nolan’s cock and let the rest spill down your chin. Nolan slides his thumb across your jaw, picking up his cum and pushing it into your mouth, groaning when you happily obliged, “Do I get to cum now?”

Nolan chuckles, lacing his fingers with yours and letting you drag him into your bedroom. You tossed the jersey, sliding off your jeans and leaving yourself in the matching black lace set you were grateful you chose to wear, “Look at you.”

“You’re so fucking sexy.”

“All of this for me?”

“I’m going to ruin you.”

Nolan’s words were pressed against your skin while he took his time with you, running his hands all over your body. His hands grip your thighs, turning you around, “Get on your knees for me.”

You nod, biting your lip when you could feel Nolan’s breath fanning your pussy, his finger slips under your panties, sliding them down pressing kisses to your ass, “Nolan enough teasing.”

You were whining, whimpering when Nolan’s hand came in contact with your ass, his tongue was flat against your pussy, teasing even more, “I said good girl.”

A finger slid inside you, and you let out a moan that was embarrassingly loud, Nolan’s name slipping from your lips while you begged for more. You needed to get off, so worked up past the point of no return. Nolan slid in a second finger, curling his fingers inside you and pressing a kiss dangerously close to your asshole, “You can Nols.”

You were his dream girl, that’s it, you were Nolan Patrick’s dream girl and he couldn’t have you. He groans against your skin, his tongue rimming your hole and pushing his fingers inside your pussy faster. You were soaked, clenching around Nolan’s fingers and letting out a scream. You fish out a condom from your nightstand, tossing it to Nolan and muttering something under your breath, “What was that Boston?”

“Want you inside me,” You breathe you, shaking your ass in front of Nolan because you wanted him so badly. Nolan’s eyes went darker, rolling on the condom and slipping inside of you. He gave just a second to adjust before his hands were on your hips and he was pushing you into your mattress, “Fuck, I missed your cock.”

“Yeah?” Nolan muses, his pace steady while you fall apart underneath him, “I’m only the person who makes you feel like this huh?”

“Yes, fuck, Nolan I’m going to cum again,” You pussy tightened around Nolan’s cock, pulling his second high out of him and into the condom.

You finally fell onto the bed, fucked into oblivion. The grip you had on your sheets was released, Nolan admiring you below him. Slow breaths escaped your lips, your eyes closing and opening from how tired you were, “We’re never going to be able to stop doing this are we?”

“I think we’re going to have to do this a few more times,” You agree, poking one eye open while Nolan tossed you a t-shirt from your dresser, “I’ll be back in Philly soon.”

“Really?” Nolan smiles, kissing your head while he got himself dressed. He didn’t want to leave, another time where he wanted to hold you and press his lips against all the spots he marked on you, but getting caught wasn’t an option.

“I have a Grad School interview at UPenn,” You muse, sliding on the t-shirt and tucking yourself into bed, “It’s not a big deal-”

“Sounds like a pretty big deal,” Nolan disagrees, hoping he could steal you for a night away from your brother. He took one more look at you, biting his lip and thinking about just saying fuck it and staying but he knew he just couldn’t, “See you then Boston.”

Nolan heard one protest about how you hated that nickname, laughing to himself and throwing on the hoodie he thought was his. It was dark, and before Nolan could catch his mistake he was sporting a Boston College hoodie while he left your place - hoping there wasn’t a chance he’d run into Kevin. He made it to his hotel room without seeing anyone, a throat clearing when he finally got into his room. Travis’s voice echoed through the room.

“Is that Kevin’s? What is he dressing you now?”

[savoies]

ill take the floor - patrick moynihan.

summary: only one bed trope.

word count: 1.3k.

warnings: maybe one bad word.

a/n: so here it is, one of the only tropes i have not written yet. hope you enjoy and of course thank you to caitee (@joelsfarabees ) for saying do it. this went through about four drafts so uhm enjoy! italicized and bolded is going back in time.

taglist: ​( send in ask if you want to be added) ​@hartsyhart @nhlpetey @mitch-slap ​ @frostythegoalman @kirbysdch  @aria253264 ​  @josty ​ ​ @kaitieskidmore1 ​ ​ @kiedhara @laurenairay ​ @finnishmafiaa ​ ​ @alxvlasic ​ ​ @hockeyallthetime @barzy-baby ​ ​ ​ @bowenbyram ​ @martynecass ​ @joshsandersons  @connormcdavo @maattamatthews ​ ​ @joelsfarabees ​ @selenophileangel ​ @boqvistsbabe @ana-maa @stars-canucks @bowberrybyram @sidscrosbyy @2manytabsopen @wh0r3forpatrick

​tagging some buds: @simplyjosty @beauvibaby @heybarzy @tkachuk-yeah @cozycozzy

Summer. Something everyone looked forward to. No more school. No more having to worry about loads of assignments and time to finally wind down and relax. For certain people that meant going on trips, going to the beach, or just staying home. But for the Moynihan family that meant renting up a beach house or cabin.

It happened every year. Having Patrick away at college and not having much free time, it was a nice way to spend some time together.

This year Patrick suggested somewhere up in the mountains where him and his buddies from Providence had gone for winter break earlier in the year. Apparently everyone else on the east coast had the same idea as him because as they made their arrangements only one cabin was up for grabs and they took it without much consideration.

In three days they would drive out three hours to their destination travel spot. So after much talk Patrick and his sister Ciara were in their living room helping their parents set everything up that needed to be taken care of.

"So Pat excited to see Y/N?" Ciara said as she looked up at her twin brother.

"Considering i haven't seen her in person this whole school year yeah im pretty excited." He smiled as he thought about seeing you again. He missed you even though you guys talked whenever you could.

"So are you gonna make a move on her this year?" Ciara said suggestively as she wiggled her eyebrows.

"I dont know what you are talking about." Patrick said as he placed the rest of his bags by the door.

"Oh I see the way you look at her." Ciara said.

You were a mutual friend. But over the years of knowing each other you grew closer to Patrick, maybe even developing a small crush on him along the way. They had invited you over to the cabin to catch up. You being away at college. Ciara knew about your crush on her brother and how her brother felt about you so she had made it her mission to get you guys to get closer on this trip. Or at least for one of you to make a move on the other.

Everyone arriving safely at the cabin except some bickering between the twin siblings.

The kids ansty to go see what the cabin had to offer. "Here go ahead." Mrs. Moynihan said as she handed them the keys and they rushed inside piling their bags in the corner of the living room.

After seeing what was behind each door all of you walked back to the living room and Mrs. Moynihan spoke up.

"2 per room, so choose wisely who your roommate for the week will be."

"I choose Casey." Ciara spoke up almost too quickly. "Sorry Pat you're a snorer and Y/N you stay up way too late, i need my beauty sleep." 

"Are you ok with this?" Patrick turned to face you.

"Yeah i'm good. I mean we are both adults sort of. Yeah we can handle it." You smiled at him and shot a glance at Ciara.

"So now that that's settled let's start dinner." Mrs. Moynihan said as she led you all to the kitchen.

~~~

All of you sat around the fireplace outside as you finished dinner. Roasting marshmallows and eating smores.

The adults then going inside and leaving you guys outside as you talked and stargazed.

"I think i'm gonna head inside im getting pretty tired." You said as you got up and said your goodnights.

"What Y/N going to sleep before any of us, that's a first." Ciara spoke up.

"Oh shut up." You said hitting her shoulder playfully. Pat jogging up to catch up to you as both of you headed to the farthest bedroom.

"What not wanting to get bombarded on your love life by your sisters?" You raised your eyebrows playfully at him.

"Like i have one." He laughed.

"Oh really hotshot pat doesn't have a love life, i highly doubt that." Both of you laughing about it and stepping in your bedroom.

After both of you changed you each stood on one side of the bed.

"So uhm i can take the floor." Patrick said as he grabbed the pillow.

"Pat I am not letting you sleep on the floor. Not like we haven't fallen asleep together on the couch before. It's fine." You said as both of you got under the covers turning your backs against each other.

~~~

A few days had passed and it seemed that every day that passed both you and Patrick got closer and closer each morning waking up in each other's arms, the first night being kind of awkward.

Waking up you didn't expect to have Patrick's arm around you, less likely as tightly as it was.

Not sure what to do if you should wake him up or not you laid there staring at the high ceiling until he finally stirred awake.

"Shit my bad." He said as he quickly removed his arm from around your waist and blushed, you missing his warmth as soon as he did so.

"Well why are you avoiding eye contact." Ciara said as both of you walked out of the room and walked separate ways.

Bringing you back to the present where everyone was eating breakfast getting ready to head out to the lake.

"Y/N hurry up cause Casey is still asleep." 

You quickly heading to change as Ciara basically pushed the cereal down your throat for you to hurry up.

You looking through all of your bags, the car, the living room, and lastly the bathroom and not finding your bathing suit.

"Oh no. Oh no this can't be happening." You said as you thought about if you packed it or not.

"What's up?" Moyni questioned as he saw your distressed look.

"My bathing suit. I think I forgot it at home." 

"Well why don't you ask Ciara. She always brings like five because according to her they all look different on her depending on the weather." Pat said as you shouted thank you and ran out of the bedroom. But not before taking in his figure as he sat on the edge of the bed with his swim trunks and sandals.

'Hey Ciara, I forgot my swimsuit. Can i borrow one please?" You said as she soon laid out all of the options out and you picked out the one that would make you feel less insecure.

"Isn't it a bit small." You said as you walked out and covered your chest.

"I think it's cute. And someone else seems to think so also." She said as Pat was already looking at you when you stepped out into the living room.

"Pat close your mouth, you'll catch flies." Ciara whispered to her brother.

Everyone out on the lake that day having fun until they were physically exhausted. Both you and Moyni every so often looking at each other and averting eye contact whenever Ciara or anyone else would look at you guys.

"You know the sexual tension earlier was just wow." Ciara told you as everyone headed to their rooms for bed.

"Oh shut up." 

"You know it's the truth."

~~~

As time to head home neared both of you pretended to be asleep and cuddled into eachothers arms more often.

The last morning at the cabin both of you woke up as you curled into Patrick's chest. "You know i can get used to this." He said.

"Well maybe we should do it more often." You said as you smiled at him. Maybe it was a good thing that Ciara had been planning this all along, since after that trip both of you finally actually did something about the mutual feelings.

[ipuckwithhockey]

Tattooed Idiots- N. Patrick

a/n: I went months where I couldn’t even think about writing anything and now I’ve written two things this week? OK. I was also recently talking to a friend about tattoo placement and how they regretted putting one little tattoo in the middle of their arm because it doesn’t flow with how they want to do their sleeve... It made me think of Nolan’s boat tattoo.  

warnings: none? swearing

------

“Nolan James Patrick. In the flesh. I have to say, I feel honored to be graced with your presence.”

You hadn’t seen Nolan in almost four years, but here he was standing on the deck of your mutual friend’s lake house. A post college graduation reunion of sorts was planned for this summer, and a group of your childhood friends was now gathered for a week on the lake.

When Nolan left Canada for Philadelphia you left the same town for college in New York. The two of you were close growing up, but it seemed like the older you got the further apart you grew. Neither of you really knew why, and maybe it was just the physical distance that pushed your texts and calls further apart.  In retrospect this doesn’t seem likely as you have only been an hour train ride apart for the last four years.

You didn’t spend much time at home in the summers as you worked jobs and internships in the city, and it just so happened that your visits home never lined up with his. Your secret crush on your friend eventually faded, but now that you’re looking at Nolan’s bare back you can’t help but notice that his shoulders are broader, and his arms are thicker than they were back when you were kids.

Both of you had grown a lot over the last few years. You weren’t the same shy teenage girl and he wasn’t the quiet hockey player that dreamt of making it to the NHL. Going to school in New York had pushed you out of your comfort zone and had given you a newfound sense of confidence. Introversion was always a source of common ground between the two of you, as most of your friends were more outgoing and even a bit rowdy at times. For the last week you had racked your brain of what you would say when you saw him again. Would you fall into your old habits and close relationship or would be met with someone you didn’t recognize?

“I’m the one who should feel honored, you’ve only been avoiding me for about four years.”

Nolan turns around to face you and for some reason there’s a tinge of hurt in his voice that only you can probably pick up on.

“You know what, you’re right. You are lucky.” You chose to ignore that feeling and your quick retort takes Nolan a bit by surprise. He wasn’t expecting you to be so bold. He can’t do anything but laugh and as the day goes on you fall back into your old friendship and adjust to each other’s new maturities.

Later that day the group decides to make its way from the deck down to the to dock for a swim.  As you strip off your shorts and tank top to reveal your bikini clad body, you begin to feel a bit of self-consciousness sneak up on you. That, and you feel a set of eyes on you. It’s not until later that day that you find out who those eyes belong to.

“You know, a picture would last longer” You look over from the chair you are sitting in to see a rosy cheeked Nolan sitting on top of a cooler.

“You’re probably right... always were the smart one.” As he says it, you see him wink through his round rimmed sunglasses. Did he seriously just wink at you? Is Nolan Patrick seriously trying to flirt with you or is it just the day drinking talking?

Throughout the day you and Nolan continue to tease and banter, and in any other situation you would have definitely considered this flirting. Either way, you were having a good time and a little flirting felt harmless.

Later that night you’re all back on the deck after dinner.

“I need another Claw; anybody want anything from the kitchen?” You ask as you move toward the sliding doors.

“Yeah, I’m gonna get another beer.” You barely even hear his mumbled voice, but he follows you into the kitchen and you leave your rambunctious group of friends behind you. The next few minutes are quiet as the two you move around the kitchen in silence. You’re throwing some trash away that has begun to litter the counters and finally turn to face the sink as you crack open your well-earned drink. You can once again feel Nolan’s eyes on you as he leans against the counter behind you.

“Since when are you into tattoos?” You practically choke on your drink. His deep voice is now closing in on you, and his hot breath is now hitting your neck as he steps up and leans in close behind you. His bare chest is just inches from your back that is only covered by a strap holding your bikini top to your body. And his hands. His fingers are lightly tracing the delicate tattoo that now inhabits your right side. His hands are cold from holding his beer and he’s touching you so close to your breast, goosebumps now litter your skin. If it weren’t for him stepping even closer into you, you probably would have forgotten to breathe. His body is now touching yours and your short frame in being toward over.  You can’t help but lean back into him. Taking in his warmth and his familiar scent. His breath still hot on your neck as he mumbles, “You gonna answer my question or are we just gonna stand here all night?”

You wouldn’t have had any problem doing just that, but you clear your throat and turn around to face him. He takes a slight step back, but you’re still close enough to lightly touch his his upper arm and whisper, “Well, I’ve kind of had a thing for them since this guy I used to know got a little boat tattooed on the middle of his arm.”

You look up at him and he has that sly smile on his face that you hate but secretly love.

“You know, I used to have a massive crush on this chick who used to talk about how much she hated that little boat tattoo. She always gave me shit for putting a ‘tiny boat in the middle of my arm.’ She said I’d regret it one day when I decided to get a sleeve. She was probably right, but then she left and stopped talking to me.”

You jokingly push him back a little to distance yourself, “I didn’t stop talking to you, you stopped talking to me. And you didn’t have a crush on me. I would have known. Hell, I’m the one who spent my entire life quite obviously pining over you!”

You’re not arguing, you’re still just joking, but the mood in the air is becoming more serious as the two of you come to realize what has just unfolded. Years of mutual but unknown pining between the two of you finally comes to the surface and you’re both still processing what that  means.

You look up at each other, and you can’t help but laugh. Nolan laughs too, and he shakes his head, “I’m an idiot. I had no clue you ever liked me like that. I guess I always figured you were way too smart to be into me. Guess you’re just not that smart.”

“Who says I still like you?” You say it as a joke but there’s a moment when it dawns on Nolan that you probably don’t still like him.

“Nols, I’m joking. I definitely thought I was over you, but as soon as I saw you today I knew I was still fucked. You were right, I’m really not that smart.”

Your feet are moving you back into him and you’re met chest to chest again. Your hands hesitate but eventually reach up to his hair that he has let grow out, and his eyes close as he feels your fingers lightly tug on the wisps that fall at his neck. You’re still looking up at him, admiring just how beautiful he is just as your foreheads touch. They’re resting gently against each other and his arms have wrapped around your body to pull you close. You think maybe he’ll pull away, but you feel his hand take your cheek and then you’re kissing. Nolan can’t put how good your lips feel on his into words. Mind blowing may be the closest thing to accurate.

You kiss gently and his tenderness warms your heart but feeling his bare chest against yours and his arm wrapping around your waste, you can’t help but deepen the kiss. Soon the innocence is gone and you’re desperately holding onto each other. You bite at his lip and he can’t help but moan into you. Years of pining, years of tension, are finally being relieved.

Nolan pushes you back and traps you between him and the cold kitchen island. His lips dance over your neck and you gladly adjust to give him better access. You would have let him take you right there in the middle of the kitchen if you hadn’t been interrupted by an eruption of applause.

“Finally! God Damn!”

“We’ve only been waiting our entire lives for you two to get together.”

Remarks of relief and approval come from your group of friends who are now gathered at the back door. You bury your head into Nolan’s chest and you can’t help but laugh as you realize you really are the two most clueless idiots in the world.

“We really are idiots.” You look up at him and he looks back at you, smiling,

“Yeah, but you’re my idiot.”

[cringelordlikesplaz]

Ocean’s Eternity

So. I’ve been thinking about the end of Obsidian Age a little too much. Basically this is the 3000 years Plastic Man spent on the bottom of the ocean. I might do a follow up to this later.

When he woke, everything was dark. There was a sensation throughout his body which felt like suffocation, and there was this... itch. All over. But it was mild. It wasn't important compared to the other, more pressing matter at hand.

He couldn't move. He couldn't see. He couldn't feel or hear or smell or taste or do anything.

Well, that's not true.

He could wait.

~~~

He was on the ocean floor, this much he knew.

~~~

He wasn't being saved. After waiting for however long he'd waited, that was becoming clear. His team was most likely all dead. That was the only scenario he could see where they didn't save him. 

He was in the thick of it, that was for sure.

~~~

He was going to be stuck for a long, long time.

~~~

He mourned for his team. He would have cried if he'd had eyes, but he didn't. Not like the ocean needed any more salt water. He mourned for a lot longer than he should have, honestly. But it wasn't like there was anything else to do but sit there and be sorry.

What finally got him to stop, however, was the fact that they all probably went somewhere nice. Excuse his pun, but there was no way in Hell that the Justice League didn't go to heaven.

~~~

This couldn't be fixed.

~~~

He wasn't sure how long he'd been there. It had been a long while.

He'd taken to counting the seconds, unsure if he was anywhere near correct. No one really concerned themselves so much if the space between beats were too long or short enough. Maybe the Flash, actually. But even he didn't count the seconds.

Or maybe he did. He didn't know. He couldn't ask.

He was going crazy.

He was going very, very crazy.

He knew this. He was pretty sure crazy people weren't supposed to be so aware of their craziness. But when you are aware of nothing else but your mind, he supposed you had to be self aware.

~~~

Every once in a while, he'd have something happen to him that felt like a seizure. It was painful and sudden and sharp and he begged any gods that would listen to let him be. And maybe something out there listened. Maybe something took pity on this wretched thing on the bottom of the sea because when the seizure ended, he'd black out.

Peaceful oblivion.

~~~

He was mad. In more than one way, he was mad. He was pissed, would be the more correct term in this situation. He was mad at his team. At the Justice League. He was so, so angry. How dare they. How dare they?!

They talked shit about him. Sometimes behind his back. Sometimes to his face. They never gave him an ounce of respect. They never gave a damn.

And then they had the audacity to die and leave him there, on the bottom of the sea. Forever. With nothing to do but count the seconds which was probably wrong now that he was so worked up. Great job, Justice League, you made me lose count!

He fumed and raged and plotted and didn't scream because he had no mouth.

~~~ 

The itching was bad. It was really, really bad. It was so, so bad. It was the only thing he could feel. It was consuming every memory of every other sensation. He didn't remember what sunshine felt like, or the rain. He couldn't even feel the coldness or the water or the pressure that was certainly around him.

He could only feel that damned itching.

He hated it. He hated it so much. 

He wanted to turn into a monster and rake his claws across the Earth, he wanted to pull up the land and have magma flow out like the world's life blood. He wanted to shriek and yell and cry and tear his brain out of his skull and slam it into the center of their planet and then maybe- just maybe- he could finally die.

Or maybe he'd infect the planet with his strange body, and then the world and everyone on it would know his pain, know this madness that crawled like a million spiders made of razor blades just under skin that wasn't there.

~~~

His dreams offered no reprieve. His dreams were too lucid, nowadays. Too much time alone in your head would make you a master at your subconscious, he supposed. Except he was still very very very crazy, and so he wasn't quite a master at anything.

But sometimes- sometimes.... his dreams weren't lucid. Maybe he wasn't even asleep when he dreamed, anymore. Maybe it didn't matter. But sometimes, his mind finally calmed, the insanity put away for a few hours, minutes, seconds, all would be soft.

His dreams, the not-lucid ones, whether he was awake or not, had a common theme.

He would be spending time with his son. Whose face, despite so much time alone and insane and in pain on the bottom of the sea, had remained clear as day.

He would be holding someone's hand, and despite how he can't remember the warmth of the sun or a fireplace or a hug, would be warm anyway.

He would be smiling, calm, and happy. He wouldn't be so alone.

When he woke, the madness usually got worse.

~~~

He was no longer mad at the Justice League. He'd finally calmed down. He was still mad, he was certain of that, but that was in the sense that he was insane. He was no longer angry at his old, dead team.

Because rational thought, something he thought had died within him, had found a way to resurrect itself. Like some shambling zombie, it crawled its way up from the bottom of his soul and started to whisper facts to him.

And he was so, so tired of being mad.

They didn't put him here. They would save him, if they were alive. They'd pull him from the depths of this dark Hell and they'd put him back together, piece by piece. They would take away the pain and the darkness and they'd give him back his sunshine and his family and his heart.

Because they were the Justice League. And they were good. 

He mourned for them again, because they deserved to be remembered, even if the only thing that could remember them was the dust at the bottom of the world.

~~~

He was no longer mad. Probably. He wasn't in the best position to tell, honestly. Oh, and he means mad in the sense of insanity, this time.

He was no longer crazy.

It lost its appeal, strangely enough. If he was correct with his counting, it had been around a thousand years. Maybe more, maybe less. Maybe he was completely off. It didn't matter. 

What mattered was that, even though he was sane -saner- his mind was still a wreck. In the expanse of his mind, he stood, hands on his hips. He surveyed the damage. Memories shredded, emotions lost, fear and despair and loneliness on a rampage.

He cracked his metaphorical knuckles.

It was time to start picking up the pieces.

~~~

Slowly, very slowly, he pieced together his memories. Some were beyond repair. He tried to fix them anyway. With patience and care and all the time in the world, he glued his old life back together. His name was Plastic Man, Eel O'Brian, Patrick. Huh.

He was a thief. A hero. A father. 

He had a son. He remembered his son. He never forgot his son, despite it all. But his son's memory did get warped- he'd have to smooth that out.

But, he noted with no small amount of pride, he'd remembered his son's face. Not his height or his age or his voice, but he remembered his face. 

He also remembered that he wasn't a very good father. That came with much less pride.

~~~

In the wake of his madness came clarity. Acceptance. He made his peace with his eternal damnation. Some sort of thousand-year long five-stages-of-grief thing. With a lot more insanity than was usually recommended.

He wasn't going to lie to himself: it sucked. There was nothing good about his situation. But there was nothing he could do, and going mad had only made things worse.

In the wake of his madness came clarity, and with clarity came the realization that he was lonely. Eternally so. He was lonely and regretful and sad. He had so many things he wanted to do. So many places to go, people to see. He had wanted so much.

He didn't know if he deserved it.

He probably did.

~~~

So he was probably still a little bit crazy. Not like before. He was, what he considered, a healthy amount of crazy. 

Just enough to pass the time. Talking to yourself was never considered 'sane' anyway. 

~~~

He was still counting the seconds. It helped things stay in order. He was counting in his dreams, in the deepest part of his subconscious, he counted. He had built quite the internal clock for himself, it seemed.

~~~

Sometimes, he'd stop for a while. Not counting, of course. He had probably forgotten how to stop counting. But everything else. Sometimes, everything else would stop.

His mind would be ever so slow, and nothing truly mattered in those moments. He simply existed, pieces of plastic on the ocean floor.

And it would take a while to come back. He didn't really want to go back, but he always did. And when he did, he'd laugh.

He was plastic in the ocean. He'd been polluting the waters before plastic had even been invented.

It wasn't very funny, but he'd laugh anyway.

~~~

He was in the middle of replaying a baseball game in his mind for the nth time when something happened. Another seizure. Hadn't had one of those in a while.

But something- something was off. It-

He woke up. 

~~~

His thoughts were sluggish. There was- noises and- lights? Pressure. He must have really gone off the deep end now.

And he felt like a pile of mush- of goo or slime- and-

And the itching wasn't there.

The itching was always there.

And he could move.

He may have freaked out a little bit.

~~~

"Plastic Man, you need to calm down!" Superman yelled.

He snarled, "Don't tell me what to do! You're not even real!" 

"We are real! Please, we need you to listen to us-" Martian Manhunter was cut off as he wrenched up a metal panel from the floor and chucked it at him. It phased through the martian, of course, but it did seem to surprise the green guy. His hallucination was very convincing, he'd admit.

The sensations being too loud and painful and too much. The light too bright, the air too fresh. He didn't even know he'd remembered how to breathe.

Suddenly, Superman was in front of his face and was- well he was petting him. It was kinda weird.

But- but his hands were warm. Not only that they had- they had texture and he could feel how tense Superman was, but as the seconds passed and he calmed, so did the tension leave Superman's hands.

"Oh." He whispered. He reached up and took Superman's hand, inspecting it. It was strong, like steel, and he could feel a pulse beat just beneath the skin.

"Oh." He said, interlocking his fingers with Superman's. He gave a light squeeze and Superman squeezed back. He looked up at the man of steel, noticing for the first time he'd shrunken back down into a reasonable size.

A pressure was draped across his back- A black cape had been wrapped around him. He looked over to see Batman kneeling beside him, a hand on his shoulder. He touched the cape on his shoulders- it was heavy and thick and made of something smooth on one side and soft on the other. 

He dragged his fingers across it, reveling in the sensations.

Martian Manhunter was there too, now, and he reached out and gently touched the martian’s face. J'onn allowed him to do that, his eyes shut.

"Oh wow," He said, his voice strange to his own ears.

"...Is this real?" He asked, finally pulling away to look at his hands. They were melted slightly. His entire form was melted slightly. He was also naked. He hadn't even noticed. No wonder Batman covered him up.

"Yes." Batman said, his grip tightening like he could convince him through sheer force of will. Maybe he could.

"...Oh," He said, letting his hands fall.

He swallowed.

"Oh my God." He said, his voice cracking. He buried his head in his hands, feeling his body melt even further.

Someone hugged him. He wasn't sure who. He rested his chin on their shoulder. They put their arms around him and somehow that helped his body stay stable.

And everything was still too much and too close but it was real. It was real. 

He was back.

The Justice League saved him.

~~~

He knocked on the door. He stood there, anxious. The sky was dark. It was dusk. Clouds covered up the sunset. Smog was in the air. Cars drove in the street and the wind howled overhead.

He couldn't stop staring at it all. It was real. It was real. Real in a way he'd forgotten. Real in a way his mind couldn't replicate, not in 3000 years. Though it had come very, very close.

The door opened.

"Patrick," Angel greeted, "How nice to see-"

She paused, taking him in.

"Did something-?"

"Yes." He said, his voice hoarse.

She opened the door for him, and he stepped inside.

"Where's Luke?" He asked.

"Living room." she said, "Come."

Their apartment was small. But not too small. 

Luke sat on the couch, cartoons playing on the TV.

"Dad?" Luke said, brightening. He jumped up from the couch and hugged him tight. He returned the hug, stretching his arms out of his sleeves and holding his son close.

"Dad!" Luke said, pulling away, "You're back!" 

"Yes." He said, "And I'm here to stay."

He turned to look at Angel.

"If that's alright...?"

"Of course." She said, smiling softly, "But I'm going to need help around the house."

He smiled at her, and nodded.

"Dad?" Luke said, weary, "What happened? You and the Justice League saved the day, right?"

"Yeah, Luke. We did." He said, "But I'm not a part of the Justice League anymore."

There was a pause. Angel sat down in a chair.

"Did they kick you out...?" Luke asked.

"No, son, they didn't. I didn't do anything wrong, either. I just-" He choked back a sob, "I can't go back."

Luke hugged him tighter.

"I love you, Luke. With all my heart." He said, failing to keep the tears at bay.

Luke nodded into his chest. He thought he could feel his shirt getting wet.

"So I'm going to stop being Plastic Man."

[butgilinsky]

handshake // np

warning; fighting, anxiety, not proofread

summary; nolan gets into a fight at a game

word count; 2.2k+ 

the entire day had been an off one for the two of you. well, it had been off day for you, which in turn sent nolan into a bit of a mental spiral. nothing too major, but it wasn’t easy for nolan to be chippy or cheery when you were having an off day. 

your anxiety had come in waves. not every day was a bad one, but when you woke up this morning, you knew it’d be one of those days. a day where it was hard to motivate yourself to do much of anything. you had tried to push it off, tried to get over it since nolan had a game later that day. a home game, against the bruins. 

though you had tried to keep your anxious thoughts at the back of your mind, nolan knew you too well. he could see it in the way it took everything you had to pull yourself out of bed to take a shower, or how you didn’t speak much throughout the morning. you curled into his side, and he pulled you closer before running his fingers across the skin of your back gently, but there wasn’t much verbal exchange between the two of you. 

he saw that your smile didn’t quite reach your eyes, and noticed that your shower was slightly longer than your usual ones. he could tell something was off, and he knew nothing had happened to trigger the downward spiral you were experiencing. 

so he did what he usually did. he didn’t pester or push you about it, didn’t try to coerce you into talking about things you didn’t know how to put into words. he simply had lunch made by the time you were out of the shower, and stayed close by you, knowing you preferred not to be alone on days like this. 

it wasn’t until he spoke just after you’d taken a bite of your food, telling you that he wouldn’t be mad if you stayed home tonight, that your face scrunched in confusion. 

“i’ve never missed a home game, nol.” the corner of his lips turned up. he knew that. if you were in the same city as nolan on game day, you’d be there, and if you couldn’t physically be at the game, you’d be watching it on tv or checking up on how the flyers were doing. 

“i know, but i don’t want you to force yourself to sit in a packed stadium if your anxiety is acting up.” your expression mirrored his, your lips turned up in a soft smile at the sentiment behind such a simple statement. 

“i’ll be okay.”

he told you a few more times that you didn’t have to come if it was going to be too much for you, but you assured him you’d be there. and you were, just a few hours later, an orange jersey draped across your torso with his name sprawled across your back. 

it still felt weird to wear 64 and not 19, but as long as his name was written across the jersey, it didn’t matter to you. 

you sat in your spot in front of the glass, one of your feet brought up onto the seat so you could rest your chin on your knee while you watched nolan warm up. every once in a while, your eyes would drift off somewhere else, but they always found their way back to your boy. 

he looked at you more often than he usually would, making sure you were still doing alright and hadn’t fled the scene. he knew that being in a large crowd on days like this one made you feel slightly claustrophobic. but he didn’t know just how much you loved to watch him play. 

you flashed each other smiles every time your eyes would meet, and you’d roll your eyes when TK said something that earned a soft shove from nolan. the two of them never failed to make you laugh. 

just before the team headed back into the locker room, nolan skated right up to the glass in front of you, smiling when you dropped your foot back onto the floor and stood up to meet him. 

it was habitual for the two of you. you barely processed the movements anymore, finding it to be committed to your muscle memory at this point. you held your hand out and moved it in line with his, mimicking the motions of slapping your palms together, and then the backs of your hands. you balled your hand into a fist and hit the side of it on the glass gently. 

nolan smiled when you pressed your index and middle finger to your lips before pressing them to the glass and making half a heart, watching nolan’s fingers create the other half of it. 

it was a dumb handshake that the two of you had made up when you were kids. a way to tell the other that you loved them, and you were there for them no matter what was going to happen. it was simple, and almost childish, but it had stuck over the years. so much so that you had been tagged in countless posts of videos that people took of the two of you doing the very handshake. 

in fact, the lockscreen on your phone was a picture of the two of you smiling at each other through the glass, with your fingers pressed against the surface. it was your thing, and it was the only thing you needed before you faced the long night ahead of you. 

-

you knew it was bound to happen at some point. he was a broadstreet bully now, and it was practically written into the job description. it didn’t help that they were playing the bruins, either. 

you couldn’t hear anything, obviously, but that only made it harder to watch. you were sat on the opposite side of the rink, so you didn’t have the best view of what was going on or how it tumbled into what it was now. however, you knew that you weren’t seeing things when his name was being echoed through the stadium as the crowd started encouraging your boyfriend through the fight. 

it didn’t surprise you when almost everyone on the ice followed suit. both of these teams were known for this sort of thing, and the fact that one fight turned into five was nothing new for you along with everyone else watching. 

and though it looked like it ended fairly quickly, you saw the way nolan’s shoulders were rolled back and tense. you could see him still chirping at the bruins player that was dishing it just as much as nolan was. you knew it wasn’t over, even if no one else knew that. 

you knew that krejci threw the last nail in the coffin with whatever he said, because it was less than ten seconds later that nolan was shoving him once again, the two of them finally throwing off the gloves and going back at one another. 

you tried not to wince at every hit krejci landed, and you tried not to bite your lip too hard when nolan would throw one back. fighting had never been your favorite sight to see, but with your boyfriend being a hockey player, you were practically forced to watch fights. whether they included him or not. 

it was small, but you saw the final shove that nolan gave to krejci before skating in the direction of the flyers bench. you were glad the fight was over, but you were studying nolan as he skated off towards the bench, and you could tell that he was still off put by whatever was said in the past few minutes. 

he caught your eye just before he got too close to the bench, not flashing a smile like he normally would, but putting his fingers to his lips and miming half of a heart. you returned the gesture, offering a quick smile just before he stepped off of the ice and headed towards the locker room. 

your leg bounced after the fact, anxiously waiting for nolan to return to the nech or give you an update. you knew he was doing concussion protocol, and that would take a few minutes. when your phone buzzed in your pocket you reached for it quickly, completely forgetting about the game for the time being. 

meet me by the locker room? 

you flew out of your seat, not even bothering to write a response before you were racing up the steps and following the familiar path to the locker room. you knew most of the staff standing around the area, and smiled as each person you passed gave you a short nod and didn’t say or do anything to stop you. 

nolan was standing in the hall, back leaned against the wall as he scrolled through something on his phone, passing the time before you were in front of him. 

“nol?” he looked up at you and smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes. 

“hey.” he spoke softly, wrapping an arm around your shoulders when you stood in front of him. 

“are you okay?” you reached a hand up to his cheek, your thumb running across his skin that was slightly hot and tinted red. he nodded, leaning into your touch as you continued to caress his cheek. “no concussion?” he shook his head, which you were grateful for. 

“what happened?”

“just got fired up.” he shrugged, but you knew there was more to the story. sure, this stuff happened in hockey all the time, but nolan wasn’t the biggest fighter by far. 

“you think i believe that?” you asked gently, smiling softly at the soft chuckle that fell past his lips. 

“no, i don’t.” he whispered softly. he reached his hand up, gripping your wrist gently before he turned his head to press a kiss to your palm. “he just said something that flipped a switch.”

“and what was that, patrick?” you leaned into him, looking up at him with big eyes filled with pure adoration. the same eyes he found comfort in at the beginning of every day and the end of every night. 

“something about you.” confusion filled your mind. you weren’t sure what he would’ve said, given that you had absolutely no idea who he even was before he fought nolan. “just said something about you looking lonely or some shit. i don’t know-”

“nol,” you said softly, pulling him out of the headspace he was about to tumble into. 

he often relived things like this over and over again. he practically tortured himself with the way he thought about things repeatedly until he couldn’t handle it anymore. in some ways it helped him, like if it was about a game that hadn’t gone in his favor. some times it helped him learn and grow, but this was not a moment that you found that to be necessary. 

“just try to forget about it, yeah?” he nodded, eyes locking with yours and relaxing his shoulders. 

he pressed a soft kiss to your forehead, his lips lingering on your skin for a bit longer. it brought a smile to your lips, one that he saw after he pulled back and dropped an equally soft kiss to your lips. 

you hummed against his lips, the familiar warmth spreading through you at the feeling you could only describe as home. nolan was your home, and you couldn’t imagine life any differently. 

your soft moment was cut short by the loud commotion coming from the opposite end of the hallway. as the noise inched closer to the two of you, you gave him a knowing look, to which he sighed dramatically before looking over your shoulder. 

“patty! finally dropping the gloves, eh?” you rolled your eyes at TK’s attempt at a celebration, his arms outstretched as he beamed brightly at the two of you. “and you, patty’s little rabbit’s foot.” 

his hand fell to the top of your head, which you swatted at playfully before giving his shoulder a soft shove.

“nice to see you too, trav.” you laughed gently before turning back to nolan. “i’ll let you get back to your intermission activities.” 

“no!” travis whined playfully, but you rolled your eyes. 

“yes!” you mocked travis’ whine, smiling when he glared at you. “you guys have to do whatever it is that you do during intermission, and i want cheese fries.”

nolan laughed and nodded, though he didn’t exactly want you to leave him. he knew it wouldn’t be much longer, seeing as it was already the second intermission and he’d be able to go home with you after the game, but that didn’t make it any easier to watch you leave. 

you lifted yourself onto your toes to press one last kiss to his lips before instinctively rising your hand. this time there was no glass in between you two as your hand made contact. palms, backhands, fists, fingers to your lips, half a heart. 

“i love you.” he said softly to you, forgetting that his entire team was standing just a few feet away. 

“i love you.” he beamed brightly at you before you turned on your toes. 

“i’ll meet you by the car!” you held a thumbs up over your head as you walked through the path the boys cleared for you. 

“try not to get into any more fights in the next period, eh?” the lot around you laughed as nolan shrugged and held his hands out to his sides. 

“no promises!”

[lluvguts]

all better // reddie

pairing: teen!richie tozier / eddie kaspbrak

genre/warnings: fluff and angst, trauma, h/c

word count: 2111

summary:  Eddie has a bad day and Richie does his best to cheer him up.

check out my ao3

It’s just Richie’s front door.  

But no amount of convincing worked for Eddie’s mind as the sight of it warped into the small door in the sewer...With the grotesque face of the leper staring back at him. As he stared at the Tozier’s oak door he swore he saw a thick trickle of blood seep from the threshold and hear the sound of sickly, rasping breath from inside the hollow door. Just a few more moments and he’d be face to face with It..

It’s dark out, he told himself. That’s why I’m seeing things. But I’m here, Richie’s here. I’m safe. No need to be scared.

But that didn’t stop the nightmares that assailed him all night long—ever since they defeated It—keeping Eddie wide awake and strangled in worry for what could be lurking in the murky blackness outside. Eddie’s mother had caught on to his insomnia since the first week, making him take all sorts of supplements and medicine claiming to be a “sleep aid.” They did nothing to keep the images at bay. The noises. He only slept well on nights when Richie snuck over, or when Eddie drove to his house.

Richie could never know.

Eddie shook his head and knocked again. His eyes searched the window with its drawn curtains. I did tell him I’m coming, right?

But then the lock swung back and the door opened, showing the face that soothed all his worries. Richie grabbed Eddie’s arm and brought him in for a hug. He was suddenly pulled into Richie’s open chest and the familiar stink of cigarettes and black tea consumed him. It was a bold and comforting smell, one that Eddie loved. It made his nerves settle and for Eddie was unmistakably Richie Tozier.

“You look like shit, Eds,” Richie held him tightly, “On the phone you said it was a bad day, right?”

Eddie nodded against his shirt and they pulled away. I’m not entirely wrong. It was a bad day. He just doesn’t need to know exactly why. And that was the great thing about Richie: he didn’t need an explanation. He was more than happy to let his boyfriend curl up in his arms, his face still burning from fearful tears while Richie whispered little jokes or Voices in his ear until Eddie wiped his eyes and laughed. Most of the time they weren’t even funny.

“That’s alright, Eds. I’ll fix us some dinner, yeah?”

“You can cook?” Eddie followed Richie into the kitchen and sat on an island chair.

Richie pouted at him, his lower lip sticking out. “Don’t be hateful, sweetheart. Of course the Trashmouth can cook.”

“What’s on the menu then, Chef Tozier?”

“You’ll see.” Richie laughed and rummaged through the pantry.

Eddie glanced around the empty kitchen, not a single sound filled the house—except of course for Richie banging around looking for a stove pot.

“No parents?"

"Nope. My folks are out of town for the weekend, some family thing.” Richie said, dismissing the idea with a wave of his hand.

“And they left you alone?” Eddie asked, unable to help the smile that drifted into his voice.

“I’m seventeen. I don’t need constant supervision.” Richie growled.

Eddie pointed to him. “Yet you were about to pour marinara sauce into a pasta strainer.”  

“Okay, scratch that. I’ll always need you, Eddie my love...Plus I promised them I wouldn’t burn the house down.”

“What on Earth are you doing with all that?” Eddie caught sight of two boxes of macaroni, lettuce, and red sauce.

He tried to stifle his giggling, but it was useless. “Rich, are you trying to make spaghetti?”

“Maybe.” He replied defiantly with an embarrassed blush.

“With iceberg lettuce?”  

Richie inspected his ingredients again with his eyebrows raised, his eyes looked more doubtful now from beneath his glasses. “..That’s a thing, right?”

Eddie sighed and joined him at the counter. “You’re hopeless, Richie. Give me that ladle,” He loosely gestured to the wooden spoon next to him while putting back the lettuce.

“This is the wrong type of noodle.” Eddie held up the box of pasta while the marinara sauce simmered on the stove—the one thing Richie had done correctly.

Richie snorted and put his hands on his hips. “Not everything can be perfect like you.”

Eddie rolled his eyes and let Richie’s arms snake around his waist. “Okay, fine. Macaroni it is.”

He waddled over to the sink—with Richie still attached from behind—to pour water into the pot. As he let the faucet run Richie bent down and kissed his bare neck softly, his glasses poking into his skin.

Eddie stiffened. “What was that for?”

“For helping me with dinner. For being cute. Why, can’t I kiss you just because?”

“Of course you can. You’re just..distracting.”

“Oh? You mean like this?” Richie laughed and placed a trail of teasing kisses up his neck, making Eddie grip the handles of the pot tighter while he fought to breathe. He knows just where to kiss me.

“Am I distracting you now?” His mouth rested just above the space between Eddie’s jaw and earlobe, his warm lips and breath tickling him. One of Richie’s hands drifted down toward his pants and Eddie stepped on his bare foot.

“Cut it out Richie,” Eddie gasped. He realized in his daze that the pot of water was about to overflow and quickly shut it off. He carried it to the stove and set it to boil, then poured in the macaroni noodles.

He turned to him. “You’re gonna give me a heart attack one of these days.”

Richie returned his hands to his sides and smirked. “Awe, shucks. To think I have that effect on people.”

“Only me, dipshit.”

“And that’s just fine,” Richie pecked his cheek and hugged him again.

“Feeling any better, Eds?”

“After some dinner I will be.” Eddie replied while wrestling out of the bear hug to set two plates on the tile counter. Richie drained the pasta and Eddie turned off the burners.

“Like mother, like son.” Richie said philosophically at the sink.

“Be quiet,” Eddie gave his chest a playful shove and handed him the food. They sat at the table on opposite sides, and just as he was about to eat Richie stuck his fork at him.

“What are you doing?”

“Letting you try some!” Richie pushed the fork further towards Eddie’s mouth.

“I have some right here,” He gestured to his own full plate, “And you’ve been eating off that already.”

Before he could pull his fork away a few stray pieces of macaroni slipped off the fork and fell across Eddie’s shirt, staining the front with oily red sauce. Richie’s eyes widened, and he drew the fork back guiltily.

“Gross!”

“Oh, shit. Sorry Eddie! I’ll go get one of mine!” He hopped off the chair and dashed up the stairs. Eddie took the chance to eat some of the “spaghetti” before Richie returned with a fresh shirt.

“I am not wearing that,” Eddie said firmly, picking the noodles off his lap and into his empty plate.

“Just take that off and put on mine. It’s mostly clean, don’t worry. I’ll wash yours.” Richie held his shirt out to him, waiting with closed eyes for the dirty one. Eddie diverted his eyes and pulled his shirt up over his head. He threw Richie’s on hurriedly, his face was red the whole time. God, it smells just like him.

“Okay, you’re good.” Eddie told him and he opened his eyes. Richie examined him wearing his own clothes then flashed a grin.

“Why do my clothes look better on you? And the Cutie Award goes to..”

Eddie thrust the stained shirt at him. “My ass.”

“He’s not wrong, folks!” Richie shouted into the empty hallway as he went back upstairs to the laundry room.

“You want me to clean this up?” Eddie called. Richie had left a trail of dirty dishes and stray pasta noodles in his wake as they had cooked, not caring to pick up.

“Just come up here! We’ll do it later.” came his reply. By “later,” Eddie knew he meant “tomorrow.”

Eddie headed up the stairs and sat on Richie’s bed, waiting for him. Even without him there—just for a few seconds—the thoughts came racing back, like a flip of a switch, no matter if things were happy and easygoing minutes before.

He was no longer in Richie’s room. He was on the burning asphalt with a broken arm, he was running through the yard of the Neibolt house, desperate and out of breath. He was staring directly in the face of Henry Bowers, his entire arm engulfed in flames as searing as a hot iron with Patrick’s spit stuck in his eyes. He was reliving every memory.

“...Eds? What is it? What happened?” Richie appeared in the doorway but Eddie could hardly see him through the haze; he only heard his footsteps thundering in his head as he came to his side, taking his face and forcing him to look into his chocolate brown eyes.

“Eddie? Talk to me, please,” Richie was pleading, sitting down next to Eddie and keeping his hands placed firmly on his shoulders, helping to relieve his staggered breathing.

“It hurts,” Eddie said weakly but his words got choked up in a fresh wave of tears.

“Where, baby? Where does it hurt?” He searched his face and scanned his body frantically.

“God, Richie. My head..the memories, it hurts so much. They never went away,” He cried, truly feeling every ounce of that childhood pain. Richie grabbed his sides and pulled him into his lap, his face set into a hard, serious frown that left Eddie startled.

He’s always been there for me.

“N-no,” Eddie tried moving away, “I’ve been crying..It’s gross, Rich. Let me go wash my face or something.” He sniffed loudly.

“Shhh,” Richie shook his head and held him more fiercely, Eddie could feel the beating of their hearts together against his chest. He closed his eyes and counted each rhythmic thump of Richie’s heartbeat until he could breathe again.

He brought his face to Eddie’s cheek, wet with tears, and kissed him.

“Let me make it better,” Richie whispered. He moved his lips to tenderly kiss every spot on Eddie’s face: each tear, his pink nose, his eyelids.

“It’s gone, we killed It, everything’s alright now,” He kept his lips pressed to Eddie’s temple, and as he did the ache there subsided, “You’re safe with me, Eds.”

Eddie let out a shaky laugh. “You’re such a sap, Richie.”

“Only for you.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes with Richie running his hands through Eddie’s hair. He loved when Richie did this, when his gentle fingers sent shivers down his spine. His comforting touch made different tears slide down Eddie’s face.

“Is it still there? Did the nightmares go away?” Richie asked with another twinge of concern when he felt Eddie crying quietly again into his shoulder.

Eddie tucked his face into the crook of his neck to hide the embarrassment and mumbled, “No, they w-went away.”

“What’s wrong? Why are you still crying, Eddie?” Richie leaned against the headboard so he could see the smaller boy’s face and he cradled the back of his hair.

“I’ve never had someone be so..kind to me before. Not like this. No one would ever do the things you’re always doing for me. I-I don’t think I deserve it.”

Richie lifted Eddie’s legs up higher so he was more comfortable and the smaller boy snuggled in. He spoke with his chin resting on top of his head, “I know I’m kind of an ass most of the time, but I don’t mean to be. I’m always looking out for you Eds, even when you think I’m not...It’s cause I love you.”

Those three words silenced everything and left Eddie blissfully calm—despite his frantic heart.

He loves me?  

Eddie questioned it as soon as he said it, but after thinking it over he knew Richie wasn’t lying.

Who else would clean me up after a panic attack, or wake me from a nightmare, even if I was covered in sweat and tears and who knows what else? Who else would hold me the rest of the night, even if it meant he didn’t sleep?  

“I love you too,” Eddie said against his neck. And then, after a thoughtful pause,

“But don’t call me Eds.”  

[hockeyboistrash]

dreams | n.p

summary: you and nolan are best friends. over the summer it becomes something more.

The sun kissed your skin as you laid on the towel, enjoying the sun and the heat that the summer has blessed you with. You heard the splashing of water and giggling from your friends but you paid no mind to them that was until someone came and stood in front of you, blocking the sun. You didn’t need to open your eyes to know that it was Nolan and that he had a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Don’t even think about it." You warned.

"You look like you need to cool down a bit." You could hear his grin and knew he was up to no good.

"I’m perfectly fine here." You told him but it fell upon deaf ears. You felt a pair of hands hook underneath your legs, picking you up bridal style. "Nolan! I swear-" You exclaimed out of surprise, wrapping your arms around his neck so you wouldn’t fall even though you knew he wouldn’t drop you. "Put me down!"

"Okay." He grinned at you before letting you go into the lake. You tried to glare at him when you came back to the surface but you couldn’t help the smile creep through. You loved Nolan's laugh and you couldn’t deny that the water was nice and cooling.

"Will you help me get out." You huffed, feigning annoyance. The moment he held his hand out for you though you pulled him into the lake, laughing. "I can’t believe you fell for that." You said between giggles earning a splash from Nolan. You retaliated with your own starting a splash fight between you.

Laughter filled the silence around you that going out the lake brought. This is what Nolan liked. The carefreeness that spending the summer with you brought. He didn’t have to think, have to be Nolan Patrick drafted second for the Philadelphia Flyers, he could just relax and be himself around you. You didn’t expect any different from him. You just saw him as your best friend Nolan who you went to school with.

"We should probably go inside and help with dinner." He sighed, noticing your friends have gone inside now. He drew circles where he held your hips, enjoying the quiet moment between you.

"You’re right. We don’t want the place to burn down when we’ve got a few more weeks left here." You giggled, brushing his hair out of the way. "Come on."

Nolan reluctantly let you go, following you out of the water. He stayed close though, his hand brushing yours as you both made your way inside, grabbing a towel along the way.

The hushed whispers stopped when you and Nolan walked in. Addy grinned at the two of you while Dylan went back to attempting to cook. "So you two finally decided to join us." While she didn’t directly say anything, you knew by her tone that she was insinuating that something more happened out there. It didn’t though.

"Someone needs to make sure this place doesn’t burn down." You said, leaning against the bar. Nolan mumbled something about going to get changed which you acknowledged with smile before turning back to your friends who quirked their eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing, Y/N." Dylan jumped in before his girlfriend had a chance to meddle in yours and Nolan's relationship. You reluctantly accepted that as an answer, knowing that Addy was bursting at the seams wanting to say something. You didn’t press any further, mumbling that you were going to get changed too, disappearing around the corner to your bedroom.

-x-

You and Nolan were the first ones up so you decided to start breakfast. The two of you worked seamlessly together, passing each other things that were close to you. It felt very domestic. The humming, the giggles, the conversations about anything; it all felt like something more. It was unspoken though between you, always has been since the spark in high school that Addy never let you live down.

Someone clearing their throat brought you and Nolan out of you little bubble. You both turned around to see your two friends wearing amused grins. "Good morning."

"Morning." You mumbled. "Coffee's already brewed so help yourself." Dylan thanked you, immediately getting himself and Addy a cup before sliding back beside her, holding her hand again.

"We’ve actually got some news." Addy said, smiling at Dylan.

"You’re pregnant?" You gasped, your mind immediately going to that route.

"What? No!" She shook her head. "We’re getting married."

Silence fell between the group, the only thing heard was the 'shit' Nolan mumbled from burning his hand on the toast that had just popped up. You looked at him to make sure he’s okay to find him already looking at you, a surprise look on his face matching yours.

"Congrats, guys!" You said, finally finding your words after realising that neither you or Nolan have actually said anything. "When are you thinking of having the big day?"

"That’s what we actually wanted to talk to you two about." Dylan started. "We were hoping you could help us... this Saturday."

The sip you just took spluttered everywhere. Nolan instinctively rubbed your back to help alleviate the choking. Saturday. That was too soon. You weren’t one to put a timeline on love but less than a week to be engaged and plan a wedding was insane; and you were certain that they haven’t been engaged longer because Addy can’t keep a secret, especially one this big.

"Is everything okay?" Addy asked.

"Yeah just went down the wrong hole." You lied, your voice hoarse from the choking. "This is amazing news and we’d be happy to help." You said which was how you ended up spending the rest of your week with Nolan, wondering the streets of Winnipeg trying to find a last minute cake, flowers, decorations, and things to wear.

You were stood queuing in the flower shop, not that you minded as the air conditioning was welcomed from the heat outside. Various flowers covered the shop, it felt small and welcoming. You picked up your favourite flower giving it a sniff before putting it back, out of habit. "Have you thought about marriage in the future?" You asked Nolan out of nowhere, curious to see what he sees his future entailing.

"Can’t say I’ve really thought about it." He said after pausing for a moment to think about your question. "What about you?"

"Probably. I mean it would depend on if I found the right person, you know?" You answered and Nolan nodded in agreement knowing what you meant. "I’m also fine with not getting married. As long as we are happy and together it doesn’t really matter to me." You felt heat rise to your cheeks seeing that Nolan was looking at you intently, listening to what you have to say.

The moment was interrupted by the little old lady, who ran the shop, clearing her throat to let you know that she was finished with the previous customer. "What can I help you with?" She asked with a welcoming smile.

You began to tell the lady what you were after and the time constraints that came with it while Nolan just stood there. He wasn’t complaining though as he got to spend time with you. She nodded and went to look at what she’s got for you and Nolan. He was glad you weren’t standing too close as you would probably hear his heart rate speed up when you started humming to whatever song was playing on the radio, a smile gracing your lips as you tapped your fingers to the beat.

"So how long have you two been together?" The lady asked, surprising you both with her return from the back room.

"Oh, no- we- we’re just friends." You and Nolan both stuttered out, shaking your heads. You didn’t know why but your stomach dropped when Nolan said that, even though you also said it.

The woman was quick to apologise but the awkwardness had fallen upon the small shop. You excused yourself to take a phone call, for the cake and for a breath of fresh air, leaving Nolan and the owner alone. She smiled at him nodding towards the flowers you had smelt earlier. "You should get them. I think they’d like them." He looked at your favourite flowers and remembered how your face lit up when you saw them. He grabbed a bunch and went to add more cash to the total when she stopped him. "On the house. Go get them."

Nolan thanked her, ignoring her little comment about 'getting you'. He already had you. You’re one of his best friends. He couldn’t imagine his life without you.

"The cake is-" You started, stopping when you saw Nolan holding a bouquet of flowers. "sorted."

"They’re for you. I noticed you liked them and thought you deserved them for putting a wedding together in less than seven days." He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck out of nervousness.

"Well thank you, Nols." You thanked him, smiling into the bunch of flowers. "You have to let me buy dinner now though."

"Come on." He grinned at you and you hooked your arm through his walking to your favourite place to eat.

-x-

The backyard overlooking the lake was beautiful. Fairy lights were strung up around the trees with flowers intertwined between some of them. Music flowed through the space for Addy's and Dylan’s first dance as husband and wife. The ceremony was simple yet tear jerking, with Nolan having to give you his pocket square. It was just you two as witnesses, your friends not wanting to make a big deal out of there commitment for each other which you got.

Nolan had his jacket off, flung on the nearby fence, with his sleeves rolled up while the two of you swayed to the music. His hands were on your hips while your arms were crossed around the back of his neck. "You look beautiful." He said, heat rising to your cheeks.

"You don’t look too bad yourself." You returned. "I don’t get to see you in a suit. You’re always in them ridiculous shorts."

"Those are great shorts." Nolan grumbled while you giggled.

"I admire them, you know." You said after a moment of silence, looking at the couple laughing together before turning back to Nolan. "They just went for it, didn’t think about the consequences or whether they’ll last as a couple. They love each other right now and that’s what matters. Them two, not the forces around them."

When you finished, it felt like everything shifted. That there was an underlying meaning to what you were saying and maybe there was. Nolan seemed to have picked up on the change as he breathed out your name. You couldn’t look at him though, your thoughts full from all the times in your friendship that was something more than friends.

"We’re going to call it a night, guys." Dylan said, interrupting the two of you. Addy gave you a concerned look, noticing the change between you and Nolan but you just gave her a short shake of the head not wanting to bother her with your problems. "See you at the party tomorrow?" You nodded before following them back into the lake house.

"Y/N..." Nolan called after you. You didn’t turn around though, not wanting to face it, whatever it was, tonight. You were confused and Nolan deserved more than that.

-x-

"Okay, spill." Addy said, coming up to you with a new drink in her hand for you. You were moping around the party avoiding everyone. You came to support your friends announcing their marriage to your other friends but that also meant Nolan would be here and you have yet to talk to him since last night. "You’ve been moping all night and so has Nolan. What happened between you two? Everything was okay at the wedding and then it wasn’t."

You played with the cup in your hand thinking about what happened. She placed her hand on top of yours making you look up at her. "We were just talking, well I was, and I said something and now it’s weird between us." Addy didn’t say anything, wanting for you to clarify. "I was saying how I admired you two and how you didn’t think about the consequences of getting married, that you just did it."

"And you were thinking about Nolan while you said it." Addy finished, putting two and two together.

"I didn’t though." You insisted but your friend wasn’t having any of it.

"Look, you and Nolan aren’t stupid. You both know there is something more between you. That there has always been something between you. You’re both scared to do something about it though."

"Tha- that’s not true. We’re just friends." You said, your voice lacking conviction.

"Please, he mumbles all the time except when he’s talking to you. You do the exact same thing. You both look forward to this time of you and you miss him when he’s gone and before you say anything it’s a different kind of missing him then me and Dylan do."

You sighed, no longer able to fight all the feelings you have pushed to the side, knowing Addy was right. Deep down you knew but as with any friends to potential lover situations you were afraid of ruining your friendship, as cliche as it was. "It doesn’t matter anyway. He’s going back to Philly soon."

"And you don’t have a job yet." She simply said. "Just talk to him first. Don’t let this be the last thing that happens between you before he goes."

"Married life made you wise." You joked earning a loud laugh and a playful shove from her. She nodded her head in Nolan's direction telling you to go to him.

You looked at him properly for this first time all night. Like you, he was moping in the corner with an old drink in his hand, sending forced smiles whenever someone came to talk to him. You sent him a text asking if you could talk to him. Nolan looked over to you and nodded, following you to a quieter part of the party.

"I’m sorry for leaving like that yesterday." You started, not giving him a chance to sit down on the bed.

"It’s okay. I’m just confused more than anything. What did I do?" Nolan asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"You didn’t do anything. It was me." You assured him. He wrapped his hand around yours making you look up at him. His expression had softened, something it did when he was around you, you had noticed. "I said those things and it got me thinking..."

"About us." Nolan filled the silence. You gave him a short nod. He thought about what he was about to say. It was something that has been playing on his mind all summer. "I can’t stand the thought of leaving you again. Come with me."

"To Philadelphia? I-I don’t have a job, or a place to stay, and I don’t know anyone." You rambled.

"You can find a job while you’re there and you can stay with me. You know me and the team are really nice." He said, his hands moving to cup your cheeks. "Please come with me. Let’s figure us out together."

Your nose brushed his as you tilted your head up. Moving your entire life to another country for a guy was insane to you only it wasn’t just any guy. It was Nolan. Your best friend and the boy you loved. "Okay."

[miss-kittys-magical-library]

The Ides Of March

(A Darren Treacy x Jeanie Turner mini-series)

Prologue - Bad Romance

Word Count: 1815

Warnings: language, violence, murder, mention of sexual assault, angst

A/N: On Saint Patrick's Day, Darren and Jeanie start receiving ominous, cryptic text messages claiming to be from the future. Play the game; save Darren. Jeanie's rules are simple enough: If Dazz can catch her out in Dublin, he can have her any way and anywhere he wants. So how did a night of wild sex and whiskey lead to murder? *Spoilers for Love/Hate series 3*

Sequel to “The Sinner’s Prayer” Part 1  Part 2  Part 3

There are tiny moments that contain millions of choices we all make. It's not a choose your own adventure; there's not always time to think cohesively. Add in copious amounts of liquor and sex and a person may become impulsive. As Jeanie cocked the gun pointed in Nidge’s direction, she found herself in the middle of one of those flip-of-the-coin situations.

She followed every hint, every cryptic text from a burner phone that was meant to prevent this exact instant. But the vile leader of an IRA faction lay slowly dying from internal injuries at her feet. Siobhan, softly sobbing hid her face in Tommy’s shoulder. Darren, behind her, still held the keg by the handle. Nidge was the only one who could square up. He was pacing like a trapped animal, enraged and seething. Jeanie never faltered in her aim.

“We're done here, Delaney,” the words came out distorted. “Right now. This was a nice night. I saw a great concert. I drank loads of fucking liquor. I have had more sex in the last few hours than I have in the last few years. I literally got eaten out in a pub loo. I'm getting divorced, and if Trish was smart she'd get a divorce too.”

“Red-” Darren tried.

Jeanie spun on him, the gun pointed too close for either’s comfort. Darren’s eyes like a deer in headlights. “I'm not losing you. I'm not letting this life eat anymore of you. Siobhan already paid the price.”

“Just put the gun down please. I'm only trying t’put him out, love. Look at the bastard.”

“It's a butterfly effect, Dazz. You're already too much for them.” Tears threatened Jeanie’s eyes.

Darren put his hand on the muzzle of the gun cautiously and pointed it down to the floor. “What the fuck are ye talking about? Jeanie, you've been barking all night. Not that I don't appreciate the craic,” he smirked, “Or the shaggin’. The panic attack when we walked through the door earlier. How did ye know about Git?”

Jeanie fished in her cleavage for her mobile and tossed it to Darren. He opened it up and used his own for comparison. He studied the texts on both screens with confusion in his eyes.

“You've been getting them too, right?”

“But how?”

Only Darren and Jeanie existed right now. And the soft gurgling of Git as he drowned in his own blood. The choked crying of a young woman who had been assaulted. They were alone, but aware. So deeply aware of their situation.

“Oh please, can ye even fire a fucking gun?” Nidge’s voice broke through.

Jeanie whirled again, her arm around the side of Darren's friend. It was all fluid. Her arms moved with resistance like underwater. The gun aimed somewhere towards the back of the basement or front. No one was sure. It was just where she pointed the gun and pulled the trigger.

One by one dominos topped in a new pattern. Siobhan screamed, but the sound was deafening so her panic was muted. The gun kicked back causing Jeanie’s elbow to vibrate. Almost like someone checked her reflexes with a small hammer. A burst of concrete where the bullet hit a wall, and Darren dropped the keg with an even louder crash.

In Nidge’s terror, he went to flee from Jeanie's bullet . His entire weight landed on Git’s face. Nidge’s trainer came down with a sickening crunch like a knife in butter. Git’s face was the butter. The gurgle ceased.

The last domino fell. Jeanie dropped the weapon to her side and staggered backwards into Darren’s arms. He tried to take the gun but she jerked it away.

Instead he switched gears and mumbled nonsensical words of comfort. “I've got yous.” and “Jeanie, it'll be ok” She stared up at him as a tremble rolled through her. Darren put his hand on her face and sort of started fixing her hair. Then, with a turn of her head, Jeanie vomited absolutely everywhere.

“Lovely. Just fucking lovely,” Nidge said. “Typical Americans.”

Darren held Jeanie by the arms and bent to look her in the eye. “Alright, sweetheart? Nidge and Tommy and I have t’ take care of this. Why don't ye call Laura or Ewan, and have them come get the pair of ye. Siobhan too? Get her cleaned up and get some sleep. Crash at my gaff, ok?”

Jeanie was numb. Catatonic almost as Darren and Tommy formed a circle. Their heads literally together as they attempted a plan.

Jeanie straightened her back and made her way to Siobhan who held herself tightly. Like she was trying to fade into the background. She put her arms around the young woman who started with a jump but relaxed into Jeanie. The gun finally out of her hands and on the desk beside them.

“Here's what we're gonna do, ok? Do you want me to call Trish or Mary? You aren't gonna clean yourself or even pee. We're gonna take you to hospital. They'll clean you up and take samples. Then we can get you some tea and a warm shower and a nice bed. Dazz has a nice bed. Then I'll get Layton, and bring him to you. That sound good?”

Siobhan nodded softly in agreement, but her uncle wasn't having it. He shoved Darren and Tommy aside to bellow at the two women huddled in the corner together. His finger pointed in Jeanie’s face.

“She’s not gonna do a goddamn thing you say. You're gonna sit right here while Uncle Nidge and the boys clean up this bitch’s mess.”

There was not a single thought that went through Jeanie's head. Was this how Darren's brain was wired to live this lifestyle? Just react and pay for it later while you're trying to live until the next job.

But she was done, she knew that much. Done being left behind. Treated like she was the good little obedient housewife. Having men tell her what she can and can't do. Shut up, sit still and be a good girl. But open your legs. It was being done that caused her to hold the gun up again and point the barrel to Nidge's forehead.

“Darren doesn't work for you anymore, Nigel. Tommy, you can stay here or you can take care of your wife. No one owes him any loyalty.”

“Come on, I didn't mean bitch. We just have to fix it. Then you and Treacy can do whatever.”

Jeanie cocked the gun again until it clicked, “No. You can call Elmo or Fran. Can't call Aido can you? Seeing as you got him shot. Dazz gave you a lung, the love of his life, his sister and his fucking mind. He's not giving you or this bullshit anything else.”

“Red-”

Jeanie swung the gun on Darren without thinking. He flinched and ducked, But she kept her wits about her. She aimed the gun at Nidge once more.

“Dazz, take your shoes off,” she instructed.

“What?”

“You're standing in this cunt’s blood. Take your trainers off and leave them. Socks too, and stand behind me. Then text Ewan and tell him to meet us here with a car. We're going to your flat, then my hotel to pack our bags after we shower and set these clothes on fire. Then we are getting all of our money, our passports and our IDs. Say goodbye to Mary and the girls, and we are going away. Tibet. Phuket. Bali. I don't give a fuck, but we’re flying first class.”

Darren complied. Jeanie couldn't believe it. They shared a look. She couldn't tell if it was relief or the devil in his blazing green eyes, but she was emboldened by it as she bent to take off her own boots. Her focus on Nidge never faltered.

“Ewan said he'll be here in ten or so. Are you sure this is what you want to do?”

“I'm not above shooting this bastard in the head for you, Dazz. I'm not saying we are settling down and having babies and happily ever after or some shit. I'm saying I don't want you to die. If we have to run half way around the world to make that happen..” Jeanie's body started to quiver. The adrenaline was running out. “First I need a Bloody Mary and some French Toast.”

-------

Jeanie exhaled for the first time in nearly 24 hours. The exhaustion finally set in as she laid back in the ridiculous bed chair thing from“upper class.” She and Darren were beyond first class, they were elite now. Even if it was only for the twelve hours it took to get to Thailand.

She could see his far too short hair sticking out on the other side of the wall. She knew at one point he would sneak in to be with her if only for a little while. Jeanie made him look a bit nicer than his typical trainers and hoodies and denim. She was in a sundress herself. They both knew dressing up was not fitting in. Neither felt they fit in here.

“You good, Dazz?”

“I t’ink so. Still trying t’figure out how we went from shagging in coat rooms and back rooms and toilets to watching an IRA boss,” Darren raised his eyes, “to being on this plane. We have forty.. Enough money to live, maybe years where we're going.”

“You couldn't keep living that life, Darren. Nidge was off his fucking rocker, and everyone around him is gonna pay for it.”

“Rosie would've never done this, you know that right?” He looked plaintively over at Jeanie as she climbed up onto her knees.

“Her loss is my gain though. I know you love me, but I'm not sure about my own feelings. I do care about you alot. I'm probably a danger junkie, so we could end up bored of each other without the fear of being caught or you not having any jobs. Or you could wear colors and learn to meditate, and I'll get a pet monkey and cut all my hair off.”

“Don't ye dare!” Darren laughed. “I'll become a Buddhist, just don't cut that hair.” He twisted his fingers up in it before reaching up to kiss her sweetly. Just a hint of his tongue.

“Fine,” Jeanie rolled her eyes. “But I still want a monkey. We should get some sleep.”

They kissed one last time before she laid back down and closed her eyes. Jeanie knew Darren would be on his side when he would begin to dream. His hand tucked under his cheek and head, mouth slightly agape. She pictured it in her head as she drifted off herself.

“How DID we get here?” she thought before dreaming herself of a game that started in sex but ended in murder.

Tag list: @sean-falco @robertsheehanownsmyass @nightmonsters @super-unpredictable98 @elliethesuperfruitlover @slutforrobbiebro @frogs--are--bitches @forenschik @bisexualnathanyoung @sugdenyoung

[marvelslut16]

I Promise

Pairing: Stanley Uris x Bowers!Reader (young) 

Request/synopsis: “Hi! If you’re still writing Stanley Uris, could you write a little childhood piece taking place during the first movie where the reader is one of the bullies’ little sister and hates what her brother and his friends are doing to the losers and starts to hanging out with them and the boys make fun of Stan because it’s obvious that he likes her and one day they’re walking and end up on the kissing bridge and he just starts rambling to her about something he saw and she interrupts him by kissing him”

Word count: 4,390 I think I got carried away

Warnings: Swearing. Mentions of attempted murder? Use of the term flamer, it means flamboyant gay, Stan is called that by Patrick in the books. Mentions a lewd act that happens in the book as well. Violence from a brother. Bullying. Some angst? Pennywise, that should definitely be a warning lmao.  Blood/gore/violence, typical for the IT fandom. Sort of mentions character death.

A/N: Sorry if this wasn’t exactly what you wanted, I tried to do this request justice (since it was my first! Thank you to the anon that asked for it!) but I definitely took it on an angsty ride lol. I definitely focused more on Henry and the time in the sewers than I originally planned.  Sorry this took so long as well, I wasn’t sure how to fit all of my ideas together. I really like how this turned out, but it’s also like two in the morning so there could be typos. 

Do you like being Henry's little sister? Of course not. Siblings or not, Henry treats you like shit too, at least he has the decency to keep it behind closed doors. On top of that, everyone avoids you, expecting you to be just like your brother or Greta. Greta is relatively nice to you, or as nice as demon spawn can be, she never makes fun of you or bullies you, she even tries to include you in her shit. Thinking, like everyone, that Henry actually likes you; and this way she can make a good impression and he can finally ask her out. 

You walk out of the front doors of the school on the last day to see your lovely brother and his idiot friends teasing Stan and his group of friends, stealing the curly-haired boys kippah. Richie, being his typical self, starts screaming and insulting Henry, making him angrier. Henry takes said anger out on Stan, pushing him to the ground and pulling his leg back to kick the smaller boy in the side. 

“Hey!” you scream and rush over to the scene, before you can realize what you're doing. 

“Come to defend your boyfriend?” your brother sneers before laughing like a lunatic. 

“Back off Henry,” you glare at him, stepping between him and Stan. You can hear the poor boy behind you struggling to stand up.

“Or what?” Henry leans in, face inches from yours. He has never made his dislike for you public, even his friends are shocked by his actions. “You gonna run home and tell Dad?”

“Tempting,” you push him away from your face, mindful that your father is on duty somewhere in the ocean of students. As he’s distracted by the shove, you yank the kippah free from his grasp. “You want them, you go through me.”

“That can be arranged,” he grits his teeth, gesturing for his friends to grab you. 

They look shocked for a second, before Belch wraps his large arms around your middle to hold you back. Your brother smirks at you as he advances on Stan, preparing to punch him. Your pleas for him to stop advancing on the loser’s, as they’re dubbed, fall on deaf ears. 

“Let go of me you creep!” you yell at Belch, before slamming your foot down on his. He lets go of you before bouncing around in pain, like a stupid cartoon character. You run between Henry and the Losers, but not before he can shove Richie to the ground. “Go home Henry,” you shove his chest again. 

“You can’t make me,” he flips open his switchblade as he advances on you. The rest of the world seems to still and all you can think is will Henry really hurt you? You hear the muffled cries from the boys behind you get louder with each step your brother takes towards you.

“What’s going on here?” your dad's voice cuts through the haze, Henry backs off and hides his knife before Dad can see. 

“I was just offering her a ride home,” Henry scowls as he turns to your father.

“And I was telling him that I was going to go hang out with my friends,” you use your thumb to point at the boys behind you. Your Dad eyes them wearily before ultimately coming to the conclusion that they’re a harmless group of nerds. He nods at you and sends Henry a small glare that if you blink you’ll miss before heading back the way he came. 

“Watch yourself,” Henry warns before making his way to Belch’s car, friends in tow. You let out a sigh as they drive away, shoulders slumping as your adrenaline wears off.

“I think this belongs to you,” you smile at Stan, handing him his kippah.

“Thanks,” he breathes, he looks like he wants to continue speaking but no words come out. As he grabs the kippah from you, his fingers brush against yours and a blush creeps up his cheeks. You grin at how adorable he is. 

“Are you guys okay?” you glance between him and Richie. Stan just nods and Richie rolls his eyes at the doe eyed look his friend is giving you. 

“I’d say we didn’t need your help, but Stan the man here certainly liked being your damsel in distress,” Richie smacks a hand on Stan’s shoulder and laughs, you soon join in. Stan smacks the boy with the glasses harder than you think anyone realized he could. “Ow, that fucking hurt” Richie whines, rubbing his arm and sulking off to Eddie. 

“D-do y-y-you wan-nt to go-o to the qu-qu-quarry wi-with us?” Bill asks and Richie smirks at the idea.

“I should go before Henry gets even more mad,” you play with the hem of your shirt. “But thank you for asking.”

“Please,” Richie clasps his hands and blinks dramatically at you, sticking his bottom lip out in an over dramatic pout. 

“Why not?” you grin at the losers, but at Stan the most. 

--

Over the following weeks you grow closer to the boys; Bev, Mike, and Ben too when they join the losers club. One day the eight of you are at the quarry trying to ignore the whole killer clown thing. Stan looks nervous about jumping into the water, even though you’ve seen him do it multiple times already. So you decide to grab his hand and pull him down with you withput warning. He lets out a high pitched screech that you almost can’t hear over the wind whipping past you. 

Once you and Stan, the last two to jump down, break the water's surface Richie grabs Eddie repeatedly screaming the word chicken and shaking the smaller boy. Bev grabs Ben’s hand to which he grins at. Richie and Bill share a look before the stuttering boy wades over to you. 

“W-w-will you b-be my par-pa-partner?” Bill smiles at you, his eyes sparkling in the sunlight. 

“Of course!” you smile at your friend, happy that the group accepted you quickly even though you’re a Bowers. You don’t see the glare Stan is sending Bill as he pairs up with Mike. Richie smirks at the rest of the group, you and Stan oblivious to the looks they send each other and their plan to make Stan so jealous he tells you how he feels. 

--

“So Stan,” Richie sings.

“No,” Stan says, watching you and Bev ride your bikes to your house for a sleepover. Her dad was worse than normal lately and she needed an escape, and you loved the escape it created from your brother. 

“I never asked my fucking question,” the boy with the coke-bottle glasses pouts.

“Because nothing good ever comes out of your mouth,” Stan deadpans, finally turning to look at his friends. You rode past the curve at the end of the road effectively taking you out of Stan’s line of sight, so he had no reason not to look at his friends now. 

“You were holding hands with (Y/N),” Eddie speaks up from Richie’s side. “Which is just fucking disgusting! Do you know how many germs-”

 His voice is cut off when Richie slaps his hand over the smaller boy's mouth. The look of terror on the hypochondriac’s face is one that Richie won’t stop laughing at for years to come. 

“She pulled me off the ledge,” Stanley rolls his eyes, suppressing a blush as he remembers how soft and warm your hand was. “It meant nothing.”

“And big Bill doesn’t fucking stutter,” Richie rolls his brown eyes, which look like googly eyes since they’re magnified by his glasses. 

“What?” Stan asks looking at the road in front of him, not wanting his friends to see how red his face and ears are. 

“I thought we were coming up with obvious lies,” Richie shrugs. “You’ve been in fucking love with her since you two got paired up at the beginning of the damn school year.”

“Have not!” Stan tries to lie, but his face darkens three shades deeper. The red instantly gives his obvious feelings away to his smirking friends. 

“It’s that or you have rosacea,” Edidie looks up at the Jewish boy with mock innocent eyes. “Because your cheeks are bright red every time you're around her.” Stan doesn’t respond because he knows they’re right, so he just walks away from them.

--

“Do you like Stan?” Bev giggles at the sleepover. The two of you had been talking about her and Ben prior to the question. 

“Yeah,” you mumble, looking down at your hands resting in your lap. “He’s so nice, and so sweet, and so caring. Plus, he went out of his way to help me when I was confused in class this year.”

“Yeah-” you cut off the redhead. 

“And the way his curls fall in front of his eyes when he’s leaning forward, so he has to angrily huff at it to try to blow the curl away. And the way his face scrunches up all adorably when he’s concentrating on a hard problem.”

Before you can continue fawning over your friend, your door slams open. It hits the wall behind it with a loud crack, where you later find a hole in the wall the handle created. In the doorway is a pissed off Henry, steam practically shooting out of his ears. 

“I thought I told you to stay away from him and the rest of those fucking losers?” he shouts, you’re dad isn’t here to hear him. “And now I hear you talking about that damn flamer with the schools slut no less.”

“Funny that you call Stan a flamer,” you smirk at your brother as you stand from the bed, subtly stepping in front of  Bev so she’s behind you and away from your brother's wrath. “When Patrick gave you a hand job.” 

“How the fuck did you hear about that?” he slams his fist into the wall beside him, knocking off a framed photo of a bird Stan had sketched for you during the school year. 

“I saw it with my own two eyes, dumb ass,” you sneer at him. “Next time you want to get a hand job from your boyfriend, don’t do it at the dump.”

“I’m gonna kill you,” he roars, closing in on you. Bev lets out a small gasp behind you, you feel bad she has to witness this. Especially when she came here to get away from her dad.

“Go ahead, then run off to get your oral from him,” you laugh. Before Henry can do anything else, the front door opens and your dad calls for you two. You sigh in relief as your older brother storms out of your room. You and Bev never bring up what was said or what just happened. 

--

You got separated from Stan while in Neibolt, but luckily Bill was with you. The horrors you all faced in that run down house will forever haunt each and every one of you. You’re shaking slightly as Stan and you cling onto each other as the two of you walk out of that horrendous place. 

You gasp loudly and hide your face in Stan’s chest as Bill punches Richie in the face. Your body starts to shake slightly without your permission, being taken back to when Henry punched the wall a few days prior. Bev pulls you into her side as Stan and Mike help Richie up. Bill goes for Richie again, but Ben holds him back. Richie yells back in retaliation.

“Stop,” you whimper, body trembling worse. Visions of your dad and Henry yelling at each other and shoving one another flash through your mind. A memory of Henry punching the locker beside your head when you were the last two in school floats to the forefront of your mind. “Please.”

Stan immediately rushes over to you and pulls you into his chest, you don’t care if he finds out about your feelings anymore as you grip onto his striped polo. He’s an anchor in the storm of your mind. Even when Henry isn’t around, he’s still lurking in the back of your mind making sure he can hurt you. The rest of the group stops what they’re doing for a minute to glance at the two of you before walking in two separate directions. Bev gives your shoulder a reassuring squeeze as she leaves. 

“How about I walk you home? Stan offers, rubbing his hand in a calming motion on your back. 

“Can we go on a walk instead?” you ask nervously, pulling away slightly. He keeps his arms wrapped around you as he studies your face. He keeps his arm around your shoulder as you walk through the park. 

You and Stan take a seat in front of  the giant Paul Bunyan statue, soaking up the summer sun and the sounds of the birds singing. For the next several hours you and Stan lay side by side on the grass as he points out different birds and tells you about them. Your heart pounds every time your fingers brush against each other as they lay in between you. Your body and heart are aching to slip your fingers through his, but your mind is telling you no. You ultimately listen to your mind, feeling dissatisfied with yourself at the awkward wave he gives you as he drops you off at your house. 

--

The days where the losers are fighting rush by, each of them spent doing something with Stan. before you know it, it’s nearing the end of the summer and Pennywise is gone. You reluctantly take part in the blood oath, wanting to leave this town as soon as you turn eighteen and never look back. But you would do anything for your friends, even risk your life for them again. As you're hugging Bev goodbye, you can’t believe she’s really leaving, Stan comes up beside you. 

“Will you go on a walk with me?” Stan asks timidly, not meeting your eyes. The puffy bandages around his face make your heart lurch at the thought of how much pain he must have endured. 

“Sure,” you nod even though he’s staring at the ground in front of his feet. Bev gives you a smile and a slight shove in encouragement. You give her one last smile as you start off down the trail, Stan taking long strides to catch up. 

“What happens now?” Stan asks, his fingers brush against yours as you walk side by side. 

“My aunt’s moving here, so I’m staying,” you don’t turn to look at him, scared to face more disappointment. 

You stop walking when you two reach the kissing bridge, not that you expected anything to happen, but it was a nice view. You look down to see the small S inside the heart you carved earlier in the year, it sits near Richie’s R + E. You absentmindedly rub your wrist, Henry had grabbed you so hard he bruised you when he caught you with his missing switchblade. But it was worth it, in twenty or thirty years from now those markings would still be there, your own little mark on history. 

“I’m glad,” Stan says it so quietly he doesn’t think you’ll hear him, but you do. You glance up at him and immediately frown as you get a better look at the bandages wrapped around his face. It takes you back to the day in the sewers, the day he yelled at you. 

“Stan!” you scream in fear as you wade through the grey water. Your heart is pounding in your chest, this can’t be happening! You can’t lose him, not Stan. One minute he was with the group and the next he's gone. “What if IT got him?” your voice shakes in fear.

“You can’t think like that,” Richie says firmly, but you can hear the fear in his voice. 

Before you can respond you hear a scream, one eerily familiar to when you pulled Stan off the ledge at the quarry. “Stan!” you scream again as you run past your friends through the dark smelly sewers to find the curly haired boy that you care for. 

You reach the closed door at the end of the tunnel, opening the rusty metal on your own thanks to the adrenaline rush. Your friends' screams of Stanley get louder as they catch up to you. All six of you rush through the door and look for Stan in the large underground room. You walk around and come face to face with the creepy women from the painting he hates eating his face. A strangled sound somewhere between a gasp and a whimper escapes your mouth, alerting your friends that you found him. 

“What the fuck is that?” Richie asks as Eddie shines Stan’s discarded flashlight at the thing. The multiple rows of teeth finally let go of Stan and the lady looks at the lot of you.

“Get off of him!” you scream, reaching down beside you and grabbing a rusty pipe. You chuck the metal at the creature smacking it in the middle of the face, it opens its mouth and hisses at you before retreating. 

You all breathe a small sigh of release, until Pennywise peeks his head out from behind the corner. All six of you let out high pitched screams, but all you can think about is Stan’s safety not your own. As Pennywise hides behind the corner again you run and drop to your knees at Stan’s side, the rest of the boys quickly following suit. You reach out and touch his arm, muttering his name in a soft calming voice, but all he does is scream in terror. 

“Get off me!” he pushes six pairs of hands off of him as he scrambles away from you and the rest of the losers club. “You left me! You took me to Neibolt! You aren’t my friends!” 

“Stan, we were looking for you. We were so worried, I was so worried,” your hand gently touches his cheek, trying to see how much physical damage IT had caused.

“Get away from me!” he glares at you as he smacks your hand away from him. “You're no better than Henry! Worse than him! You tricked me into being your friend just so you could hurt me!”

You rip yourself away from the curly haired boy so fast you fall flat on your ass as you try to move away. You gasp and tears fill your eyes, Bill’s hand gently squeezes your shoulder. He had been with you at Neibolt, he saw that your fear was Henry. Your feelings for Stan were obvious, so the accusations made the rest of the boys angry at Stan for hurting you. Tears fall quickly from your cheeks as you stand and back away from the group. You need to get out of there, away from Stan, away from the pain. 

The rest of the losers back away from their friend and get ready to search for their favorite redhead. You all find Bev quickly, and you smirk as Ben kisses her to wake her up. Pennywise soon appears, attacking Bill first, the rest of you try to fight the clown but it doesn’t work.

“Let him go!” Bev’s plea reminds you of yours from earlier. 

“No, I’ll take him” IT shakes its head with a grin. The killer clown explains to the group how it will eat your flesh as it feasts on your fears. “I’ll take him and only him,” IT offers. 

“Leave,” Bill begs the losers.

“I’m gonna have to kill this fucking clown,” Richie complains. “Welcome to the losers club asshole!” he screams, hitting Pennywise in the face with a discarded baseball bat. 

Chaos erupts, everyone grabs for a weapon to fight the clown with. As everyone starts attacking IT with the garbage they found, IT manages to slip away. You all decide, stupidly, to split up and look for Pennywise. 

“Good morning sunshine,” Henry’s annoying voice whispers into your right ear, dialogue straight from an incident where he almost seriously injured you. “Dad’s not home.” You can hear the smirk in IT’s voice.

“This isn’t real! You aren’t Henry! You aren’t real!” you scream, the losers stop their search for the clown and watch on nervously. 

“It’s time to play sis!” IT laughs like a maniac as he walks in front of you, you're forced to stare up into IT’s eyes. Pennywise steps closer so you step back, which you do again and again. A replica of Henry’s switchblade pops open and is pointed directly at your gut. “Daddy dearest isn’t home to stop me!”

“Go through with it! Do it! Do what the real Henry never had the guts to do!” you scream at your brother- well Pennywise. He has you backed into a wall, switchblade dully pushing into you just above your navel. Your chest rising and falling rapidly as you pant, angry tears mixing with the heartbroken ones from earlier as you stare defiantly at the thing that had been after you and your friends all summer.  

IT backs away slowly, your brothers-Pennywise’s- head tilting to the side as he studies you. A grin too large to be humanly possible splits across Henry’s face, rows of teeth on display as IT laughs in delight. You see your friends inching closer to you and the clown, you make eye contact with Richie giving him a slight shake of your head. He sighs in defeat, grabbing both Stan and Eddie pulling them back, the rest of the losers halt when they realize what the trashmouth did. 

“You were easy to crack,” IT giggles loudly, shifting back into a clown. IT lifts a hand up, finger tracing your cheek down to your throat, stopping directly over your artery.   

“Take me and leave my friends alone!” you glare up at IT. 

As the clown goes to open its mouth, Ben comes out of nowhere and stabs IT right in the back. The rest of the losers start attacking IT again, the clown shifts from fear to fear in hopes of getting one of the losers to stop. It shifts to Bev’s father, so she stabs a rusty rod right down IT’s throat in order to make him go away. The clown convulses and backs away from the group. 

“That’s why you didn’t kill (Y/N) and Bev, because they weren’t afraid of you!” it’s the first time you’ve ever heard Bill not stutter. “We aren’t afraid of you. Now it’s your turn to be afraid, because you’ll starve.” IT flips itself into a hole that leads lower into the sewer system, letting go and disintegrating before Bill can whack IT with a pipe. 

You all stare in shock for a few moments before making your way out of the sewers and towards your homes. The losers all talking amongst themselves, all but you. you’re ahead of the group, wanting to put as much distance between you and Stan as you possibly can. Eddie too, he had already asked what you meant while Pennywise was still Henry. Two conversations you definitely didn’t want to have. 

“(Y/N/N)? You okay?” Stan’s distant and worried voice breaks you out of your memories. “Where were you just now?”

“I’m fine,” you lie and he can tell by the flash of pain that crosses your face. “Just thinking about the other day.”

“I didn’t mean what I said,” Stan frowns, turning away from the carvings on the wood to face you fully. “I wasn’t in the right head space-”

“It’s fine,” you murmur, fingers gently running over the S carved into the wood.

“No it isn’t,” he says firmly, you look at him with wide eyes. You weren’t expecting him to get so serious about it. “IT messed with my head, made me see things that weren’t true and I took it out on you.” 

“Stan, I get it. IT knew how to hurt us most,” you reach over and lightly wrap your hand around his in a reassuring gesture. He stares down at your joined hands for a moment, ears turning a vibrant red, before continuing with his explanation. 

“He showed me a vision of you and Bill kissing,” Stan flips his hand over and laces his fingers with yours. 

“What-” you’re eyebrows furrow as you watch his face grow from pink to red. 

“I like you, (Y/N). A lot. And when IT showed me that it broke my heart. Deep down I knew it wasn’t real, but it felt so real. I’ve liked you since the beginning of the school year, and I never had the guts to tell you. Because why would you like me? You could have any guy, how could you ever possibly want me-” you cut him off by gently pressing your lips to his. It’s a soft and fast peck, but you still pull away smiling. “What?”

“I like you too, you loser. For just as long, I was scared to say anything because of Henry,” you giggle at his shock, mouth open and eyes wide. “Close your mouth or you’ll catch flies.”

“Speaking of Henry,” Stan’s mouth snaps shut before his lips pull into a deep frown. “What did you mean back in the sewers?” You sigh, not wanting to admit it allowed. Stan pushes a strand of hair away from your face before cupping your cheek gently. 

“Henry thought I broke his Atari, so he screamed at me endlessly and threatened to kill me,” you admit softly, rage and sadness battle within Stan’s eyes as he takes in the information. “It wasn’t the first time he threatened that, but it seemed different that time. My dad had no idea, he only heard some of the yelling, which he screamed at Henry for doing. So that made Henry even more mad at me. But anyway, it turns out that it was Belch that broke it.”

“(Y/N),” Stan says softly, pulling you into his embrace. “I’ll never let anyone else hurt you.”

“Promise?” you ask hopefully, could you really finally be happy? 

“I promise,” he kisses your forehead softly. “I know this isn’t great timing, but will you be my girlfriend?”

“I’d love to,” you grin at him, gently caressing the bandages as you pull him in for another kiss.

tags: @crimson-knuckled-queen​ @rexorangecouny​

[benisasoftboi]

Unorganised thoughts on Trails of Cold Steel IV:

WHY ARE THEY CALLED CLASS VII?

WHO ARE CLASS VI?

Anyway - I started playing Trails in August, and I’ve finally, finally caught up (yes I know Hajimari I can’t read Japanese) and like... what do I do now?

It’s a fantastic series and I’m so, so glad I picked up Trails in the Sky on a whim last summer

This game was long. Is it longer than the other ones? It felt that way

The best part was the first chapter because Rean wasn’t in it and yeah I still don’t like him!!! But seriously, it was astonishing how much more I was enjoying things without him

I audibly groaned when goddamn bonding points returned in the second chapter

Actually that was a lie, the best part was Any Time My Angel Estelle Was On Screen

I missed her so much

I let her get the final hit of the game against the boss because she’s the best

Speaking of angels I caught three Wazy cameos!!!

Also Gilbert came back and if there had been a camera on me... I quite literally teared up a little I was so thrilled

I hate the curse it is dumb and rips all the nuance out of the characters. People do not need a goddamn evil curse to be swayed to extremes by overzealous nationalism. Trails I know you are better than this, I played Sky and Crossbell

Fav new location was Milsante (liked Alster too, though). I really like going to tiny little outposts and villages in JRPGs, they make the world feel more real

What the hell was up with the Osgiliath Basin? As in, Giliath Osborne??? Is this going to be a Hajimari thing?

Oh yeah, HOT TAKE, Alan Richard >>> Giliath Osborne. I was reading an LP of Sky FC while playing the game, and Richard’s motivation is clearer and less over-complex, more sympathetic, and he’s just generally a far more human character

Alan Richard best political antagonist in the series fight me (Rufus Albarea distant second)

For best supernatural/cult-y antagonist I’m stuck between Weissmann and Joachim. Or maybe Campanella lol

Oh uh speaking of characters named Georg I will never not hate everything about the George and Angie subplot. Angie should have died and George should have stayed evil, or it shouldn’t have happened at all. As it is, it was a complete waste of time - you could take it all out and NOTHING would change

Angie would have been the perfect character to sacrifice as well, she’s just important enough that it would feel like ‘oh shit’s getting real’ but not so important that it’s unbelievable

(like Olivier. I could not fully believe they’d actually kill him, and the moment Laura told me ‘they never found the bodies’ I was like, oh, so they’re definitely all still alive, cool)

I mean, it would be a Bury Your Gays, but honestly... there are things I like about Angie, but is anyone really looking to her as a lesbian role model? I hope not. Yikes

So yeah I guess I hate George now for getting my hopes up and then being boring. Shame

I did the Towa romantic ending, of course. I genuinely think she’s the best match for Rean, of all his love interests

Chaaaracters

Rean: Still the least interesting person. Not a good sign when I’m sadder about the robot dying than the main protagonist yeeting himself into the sun (side note, the two endings thing? Unnecessary and dumb). There is no reason girls would like him this much, blah blah I’ve said it all before. Liked his new hair. Honestly would have respected it if they’d had the balls to kill him off. I basically never even used him in battle lol, Juna became my new team leader

Juna: Honourary protagonist imo. I’ve changed my mind since CS3, she’s my fav new Class VII without a doubt. She’s just really good and full of personality and depth and OH GOD WHY IS SHE CRUSHING ON REAN WHY FALCOM WHY

Kurt: pls falcom don’t try to force this aroace king into a nonsense ship with Sully I liked her but what are you doing, anyway Kurt is great and he got cool new swords and he got to hang out with Mueller, who I adore, I love Kurt

Altina: I also love this little bunny. Her relationship with Millium is so lovely and seeing her grow and become her own person made me so happy and OH GOD WHY IS SHE CRUSHING ON REAN WHY FALCOM I LITERALLY SAID SHE HAS THE BEST RELATIONSHIP WITH REAN OF ALL THE GIRLS BECAUSE SHE DOESN’T DO THAT IN THE LAST GAME WHY DO YOU HATE ME????

Musse: Yeah I’m still not sold on Musse but I liked her better this time! I like a smart, confident girl! Just stop being weird about your teacher and we’d be golden!

Ash: Good boy. Sweet boy. Ash and Joshua game now Falcom

Alisa: Still cannot believe she’s presented as the deuteragonist by the marketing - but you know what? Solid arc, she got some closure with her parents, maybe she and Jusis can get together for tea and complain about their messed up families. She’s never going to be a character I like all that much, but I don’t dislike her. I just wish she hadn’t clearly been written as ‘Rean’s love interest’ before anything else

Elliot: I love Elliot, I really do. I mean, I wish he hadn’t been flanderised to the point of speaking in music puns half the time, but he’s a solid, consistently pleasant character

Laura: Goddamnit Falcom please give Laura anything resembling an emotion regarding her dad dying. Also you tell me she’s kind of oblivious and stuff but we never see it. I like Laura but she really could have been more

Machias: I love Machias, fight me fan base. He’s so funny to me. It feels like, at this point, all he really wants is a nice office job, near a nice coffee shop, where he files papers and sometimes gets to yell at corrupt rich people, but NO, he has to run about in dungeons and fight monsters, and are you FUCKING kidding me, ANOTHER crazy snake cultist!?!? It’s great, he’s the only one who’s just done with it all and love it

I low key headcanon that he and Jusis are kinda dating at this point, but we don’t see anything because the games are from Rean’s POV and they don’t want to tell him because they know he’d be weird about it

Jusis: I still really like Jusis! He’s interesting, and his surrogate brother-sister relationship with Millium is so sweet (yes, I saw that bouquet catch, Falcom, and I hate it, stop it, gross). Awesome to see him confront his brother, obviously I let him have the final blow. Rufus was a great antagonist. Jusis has some of the best development over the games, and is also really fun to use in battle (apparently I am the only one who feels this way though :/ ah well)

Fie: I was surprised by how much I liked Fie’s confession scene, seeing as I don’t like Rean/Fie at ALL. Fie finally gets to have feelings about her dad, and we see her working with Zin at the end! Very happy for Fie, best girl

Emma: Ahhh I still find Emma kinda dull and exposition heavy, but she also had a nice arc, I liked her relationship with Rose, all good

Rose beat me at Vantage Masters for 40 minutes lol

Gaius: It’s still extremely funny to me that Gaius became one of the most important people on the continent *off screen*. And he still doesn’t really do anything. He has his own airship now, I guess. Justice for Gaius

Sara: Kind of faded from relevance after CS1, but I do really like her all the same. And I loved her speech at the end

Crow: At the end his hair got darker and everyone was like ‘you’re back to normal!’ and I literally did not realise he was meant to have been looking different

But anyway Crow is a really good character and I literally never didn’t enjoy him. I love the bit where Jusis and Machias team up to call him a cringy edgelord, because they are right. Crow is fantastic

Towa: Towa has never done anything wrong in her life and all of Erebonia should pay for her therapy

Patrick: I cannot believe how much I love Patrick now, compared to CS1. He’s just such a sweetie. Good boy

Elise: Take her to the sun with you, Rean. Pointless character

Alfin: Is she the heir now? I hope so. She’s such a funny character, not my fav, but I enjoyed her

Angie and George: Should have died, moving on

Celine: I love her, but did she really need a human form? No, no she did not. Great character though

Tita: Special mention, because you know what? I do not like this version of Tita! Like I said, I was reading FC recently and she was so much better there! Now a third of her lines are just her saying ‘Agate’ in various different tones. And it feels like she’s lost a lot of her confidence, where’s the little girl who followed us up Carnelia Tower? I would have preferred them to just not bring her back at all

Duvalie: Haha I love Duvalie she’s great. Stop implying that she’s crushing on Rean. Literally WHY would she. Ugh

Rose: Everything about Rose is great, I would play a full game about her backstory. More Rose

Ships!

Obviously I like Machias/Jusis because I am BASIC

I didn’t like Olivier/Schera back in Sky, but you know what? They sold me. It’s cute (even if I feel Schera’s character was neglected in favour of Being A Love Interest, sigh). Though I’m not sure when Olivier made the switch from ‘Schera is one of many people I flirt with’ to ‘Schera is my one and only’?

But am I the only person who’s kinda on the Oliver/Schera/Mueller train? I’m not normally into OT3s, but Olivier and Mueller have one of the best dynamics in the series, and Schera and Mueller would probably get along great if they were ever allowed to properly interact. And you know Olivier would be down

Like I say, I do not like Jusis/Millium at all, it’s not a ‘I like another ship better’ thing, it just massively skeeves me out because of the maturity difference 

Ash/Tatiana was unexpected but adorable

Patrick/Elise, because I want Patrick to be happy and Rean to be mad

Also Elise/Alfin, sorry Patrick

I hope Anton and Sharon really do get together. Sharon deserves unconditional love and Anton deserves a happy ending

Sharon also deserves to hook up with Sara like once

I also sort of feel like Sara/Claire would be fun

I’ve actually like Gaius/Linde from CS1, I’m happy it’s kind of a thing now!

If Lila/Maybelle is the LET’S GO LESBIANS Trails ship, then Emily/Theresia is LET’S GO BABY LESBIANS

Vincent/Margarita. They’re both horrible people. At least this way no one else has to deal with them

Joining my Kloe/Josette in the ‘crack ships I love that have very, very little canon basis’ is Fritz/Kairi, based on their interactions in that one mission and then that they’re eating together at Mishelam. It’s pretty much just a height differences thing, lol

Miles/Elnan. I have literally no justification for this

Other stuff There was this one scene where Gaius says how nice it is that Mueller cares about Olivier and Mueller just snaps his head round and the scene ends, and I don’t think it was meant to be funny but I laughed for like a full minute

The intro to the music at Mishelam is extremely creepy to me

I love the Pom Party mini game a whole lot

There were... a lot of typos in the second half of the script. It’s massive, so I’m not mad, but I hope there’s a patch at some point

BERYL BERYL BERYL BERYL BERYL I love her

Uh if we’re still doing romance next arc please give us a gay option, no Crow did not count

I hate divine knight battles! I really do! That last one against Ishmelga was really hard and not in a fun way! In a ‘this is bullshit fake difficulty’ way. Please don’t bring them back!

The true final battle, though? FANTASTIC, now THAT is a final boss! One of the best in the series, like that’s such a fun gimmick!

I got it trapped in break state and spammed Heaven’s Kiss/Quick Star, because I’m a strategic gamer 

I am embarrassed by how long it took me to recognise Lucy

KLOE CAMEO!!!

Oh and I assume Kaela is going to be important next arc, since it’s in Calvard?

I love Thomas??? And Rosine???

Why was the grandmaster reveal hidden behind watching the ending twice, why do that? Great scene, though

My theory is that she is Aidios, I will cling to this for as long as possible

I probably have like a million other things to say that I’m just not remembering right now. Look forward to random shouts into the void about it in upcoming weeks, followers

I really enjoyed this overall, despite the problems I mentioned above. It was just fun, I like the cast, the gameplay is great... just a solid game

Trails is a really fantastic franchise - not perfect, but what is? I’ve had such a fun time with it over the past half-year, and I cannot wait to see what happens next. Thank you, Falcom, the localisation team, the VAs - stellar job all around

This is normally where I’d end on a joke but like. Nah, I’m just happy. Cue ‘The Whereabouts of Light’