#this is going to get max 3 answers but I'm curious

[acracana]

I’m talking pure strength here nothing else

I’m curious because I’ve always interpreted Silver beating Sebek during their training sessions as him being more formidable, technique and strategy-wise, due to his ability to keep a level head and Lilia’s strategy training, rather than actually being physically stronger than Sebek. I always assumed Sebek was physically stronger (mainly due to being bigger and half-fae), but he can’t match Silver’s technical ability.

Though Silver is shown to be weirdly strong to the point other characters don’t expect it (that whole story with Ruggie and the shop owner, idk which groovy that’s from). However, Sebek also states that he carries all the heavy stuff in Diasomnia, but that’s probably just him trying to prove his strength more than anything, lol.

Is this the general consensus, or am I an outlier 😅

[willowsnook]

an experiment pt. 2

lando norris x reporter!reader

pt. 1 here

tags: @sarx164 @wildflowerrsszz, @jaematthews15, @opastries81 @armystay89

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

You hadn’t been back to F1 since that Austin race but as the IndyCar season ended, you got assigned to cover the rest of the F1 season. So here you were in Qatar, currently watching a colossal disaster by McLaren which in your mind, pretty much secured the win for Max even though it wouldn’t be official until Vegas. 

The yellow flag killed Lando’s race, and as much as you wanted to rag on him, you really didn’t think it was much of his fault. He was one of the last ones in the media pen and you were late to getting over to him, so you joined as some other reporters started asking questions. 

What does this mean for your championship race against Max?

Why didn’t you slow down at the yellow flag?

How do you move forward from this?

You could tell he was miserable answering the questions and about mid-way through Andrea joined him, causing Lando to straighten up. You felt a wave of irritation when you saw the man, which confused you. He was friendly and always open with the media but it was something about this season, how he seemed to be almost less supportive of his drivers that rubbed you the wrong way. 

“Y/n,” Lando called your name, sounding defeated. “Anything?”

You chewed on your lip for a second before turning to his team principal. 

“Actually a few for Andrea, if you don’t mind?” 

Lando looked relieved as Andrea smiled, turning his attention to you. 

“It seems like every other team in the vicinity warned their drivers about an upcoming yellow flag, did your pit wall just miss it?” You asked and he blinked in surprise. Lando gave you a curious look while Andrea started to answer. 

“Well, it all happened very fast,” he started but you cut in. 

“Was it any slower for any of the other teams?” You asked. 

“Well he had it flash on his steering wheel as well, so I think we were all slow to react,” he answered, shifting the blame onto Lando. You tilted your head. 

“Are you going to appeal the penalty?” You asked and he shook his head. 

“No, there is no reason to,” he said firmly, eyeing you warily. Lando looked deflated at his answer and you felt your heart clench. “Why would we?” 

“I think that Max Verstappen could get out of his car and punch another driver in the face and Christian Horner would have a binder of documentation ready to defend him in an appeal,” you said, earning a laugh from the other reporters around you. “So you aren’t even going to do the minimum of just filing?”

“That’s not how we operate,” Andrea finally said and you clicked your pen, putting your notepad away. 

“Clearly.”

A little while later you were sitting in the hotel lobby, having a drink while writing up your recap when your phone pinged. 

LN: thank you

You didn’t reply, you didn’t want him to get any ideas that you were friends, but it did make you feel good to hear. 

“Can I sit?” Someone asked and you looked up to see Oscar standing by your table.

“Sure,” you said, giving him a small smile. 

“I saw the clip from you and Andrea,” he said casually, and you met his eyes over your laptop. “I hope it helped Lando.”

“What do you mean?” You asked. “I wasn’t doing it to be nice, I just don’t think he was the one to blame.”

"Right," Oscar said with a knowing smirk. "And I'm sure your fierce defense of Lando had nothing to do with what happened between you two in Austin."

You froze, your fingers hovering over your keyboard. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Oscar leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "Come on, y/n. The whole paddock knows something went down between you and Lando that night. The tension between you two has been different ever since."

You felt your cheeks flush as you closed your laptop. "It was nothing. Just a... misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding that involved you leaving his hotel room at 3 AM?" Oscar raised an eyebrow.

You gaped at him. "How did you—"

"I have my sources," he said with a wink. "Look, I'm not here to judge. Quite the opposite. I’m happy with what you did and can only hope it gave him so kind of break from beating himself up.” 

“He’s been sensitive this season,” you said and Oscar nodded, agreeing.

“He’s having a hard time with all the noise,” Oscar said. “But it will get better.”

—-----------------------------------------------------

The new relationship you had with Lando quickly deteriorated after you published a blog recapping the battle for the world championship. You wrote the truth: mental mistakes and team instability were the main factors for Max to keep his lead and win. Journalism wasn’t the business of feelings and you couldn’t understand why people didn’t get that. 

LN: Seriously?

Y/N: Seriously, what?

LN: Don’t play dumb. You know exactly what I’m talking about.

Y/N: If this is about the article, I don’t see the problem.

LN: You don’t see the problem? You basically called me and my team a disaster.

Y/N: I reported the facts, Lando. That’s my job.

LN: Your “facts” make me sound like I threw the championship away.

Y/N: I never said that. I said mental mistakes and team instability played a role in Max winning. That’s not an opinion. That’s reality.

LN: Oh, so I’m just mentally weak now? That’s what you think?

Y/N: That’s what the results show.

LN: Wow. Good to know how you really see me.

Y/N: It’s not about how I see you. It’s about what happened. You made mistakes. The team made mistakes. That’s part of racing.

LN: And instead of backing me, you wrote that.

Y/N: Backing you? I’m not your PR rep, Lando. I’m a journalist. My job isn’t to make you feel better about a bad race.

LN: No, your job is apparently to humiliate me in front of the whole world.

Y/N: Oh my god, don’t be dramatic. If you’d won, I’d have written about that too.

LN: But I didn’t win, did I? And now all anyone’s talking about is how I “crumbled under pressure.”

Y/N: If you’re upset about the narrative, prove them wrong next season.

LN: Right. Thanks for the support.

Y/N: Lando be for real

LN: No, I get it. Journalism isn’t about feelings, right? Guess that means ours don’t matter either.

Y/N: That’s not fair.

LN: Neither was that article.

Y/N: …

LN: Have a nice life!

Y/N: Lando for fuck’s sake

LN: Message read.

What you quickly realized, in the aftermath of that article, was that you had never published anything that critical of Lando before, even if it was valid. So you were a little surprised when your social media started blowing up from his fanbase. The nastiest things you could ever imagine were messaged, tweeted, and posted about you. Fans found your personal accounts, pulling pictures to make fun of you. Making fun of and invalidating your career, saying you only got where you were because you slept with coworkers. Somehow your phone number got leaked and you immediately had to get a new phone. Fans were blowing up at ESPN, sending constant emails, demanding you be fired. It was insanity. 

As much as you wished you could pretend that this didn’t bother you, you were terrified. Terrified that someone would find where you lived, terrified you would get fired. You were a confident woman, but how many times could read the same hate comments over and over without starting to believe it. 

The week after, your boss called you into his office and you probably would have been nervous if you weren’t so dead inside. You took a seat opposite of him, not saying anything as he looked at you in concern. 

“I’m placing you on personal leave,” he said and you met his gaze. 

“Am I in trouble?”

He scoffed, “of course not. That article isn’t even close to some of the shit this company has written over the past couple of years. But I’m worries about you. You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

“I haven’t,” you admitted, looking down. 

“You are a good reporter but you need a break. Go somewhere to relax and don’t take your phone. The shit they are saying online about you in heinous, I’m sorry that you got caught up in it.” 

After thanking your boss for being a good human being you left the office and immediately booked a ticket to go back to your hometown. 

Lando’s POV

Lando was back at McLaren HQ after the season and was happy to see the Arrow McLaren drivers there as well. 

“What’s up guys,” Pato said, greeting both him and Oscar. “Congratulations on the championship.” 

“Thanks man,” Lando said and the three of them spent a little while catching up. 

“You guys had your testing week a couple of weeks ago right?” Oscar asked Pato who nodded. “Did you see y/n?” 

“No she wasn’t there, she’s on personal leave for the rest of the year I believe,” Pato said and Lando’s interest perked at that. 

“Taking a month vacation, not very professional,” he commented and both boys snapped towards him; Oscar with a look of warning and Pato with a look of fury. “What?”

“She’s not on vacation asshole,” Pato shot at him. “She was placed on personal leave because of your fucking mob.” 

“What are you talking about?” Lando asked and Oscar looked at him with a little sympathy. 

Pato shook his head in disbelief. "You seriously don't know? After that article she wrote about the championship, your fans went absolutely insane. They've been harassing her non-stop for weeks - death threats, leaked personal information, trying to get her fired. It got so bad ESPN had to put her on leave for her own safety."

Lando felt the blood drain from his face. "What? No, that can't be right. My fans wouldn't do that."

Oscar placed a hand on Lando's shoulder. "Mate, it's true. It's been all over social media. Some of the stuff they've been saying is horrific."

"But... but I never told them to do anything like that," Lando stammered, his mind reeling. "I was upset about the article, sure, but I'd never want..."

"It doesn't matter what you wanted," Pato said. “But I mean look at the way you two have publicly treated each other, it’s not crazy for your fans to think that you hate her.” 

“Have you heard from her?” Lando asked quietly. 

Pato shook his head, “Not personally. She’s good friends with another Indy driver, David, and he’s been hanging out with her for the last week. According to him, she’s thinking about not coming back.” 

Lando’s heart dropped hearing this. 

Later, when he was back in his hotel he pulled out his phone and logged into Instagram for the first time in months to post something to his story. 

“After not being on social media for a while, i’ve been made aware of constant harassment towards y/n. If you are part of the mass group of people attacking her online, know that you are no fan of mine. Y/n is a talented reporter who has done nothing but report facts and fair analysis of F1. I am disgusted by the responses of my “so-called fans” towards her. Get a fucking life.” 

Y/N’s POV

You were curled up on your childhood bed, scrolling mindlessly through your phone when a notification popped up. Your heart rate spiked seeing Lando's name, but you clicked on it anyway, curious what he could possibly have to say after weeks of silence.

As you read his Instagram story, a mix of emotions washed over you. Part of you felt vindicated that he was finally acknowledging the situation. Another part felt angry that it had taken him this long to say anything. And a small, traitorous part of you felt touched by his defense of your work.

Your phone buzzed with a text from Pato: "Did you see Lando's post?"

You sighed, typing back: "Yeah, just now. Too little too late though."

Pato replied quickly: "Maybe. I don’t think he knew, though. He seemed genuinely upset when I told him what was happening."

You knew that he wasn’t on social media much so it did make sense that he wouldn’t have known. Your phone buzzed again, and you looked down, expecting to see Pato’s name. 

LN: I bought a ticket to Austin, I need to see you. 

pt. 3

[crushedsweets]

Love Bonnie interacting with Toby and Kate, curious on how she'd act with the others. Sorry if this sort of ask was answered before!

You guys flatter me too much . I will self indulgent talk under the cut

ok i havent really thought THAT hard about bonnie in Creeped because 1. i only put her in self-insert OC worlds with my friends 2. she's not that interesting to interact with 3. i'm putting her in place of the hypothetical Y/N i wouldve done for a Creeped visual novel (not dating sim...just visual novel LOL) ....maybe i'll redo this with the ghost bride bonnie i made for a slender mansion AU? she's a lot more interesting

HOWEVER. i think with the main cast it could be kinda funny. cuz bonnies just kinda weird and awkward and difficult to talk to. she's so quick to just go right home.

with Nina, i could see nina fawning over bonnie a little. "your hair color is so pretty do you know how many girls at the salon would kill for this?" "oh my god where did you get that top" "smell my perfume do you like it let me spray you!". bonnie would get overwhelmed and unsure if nina is making fun of her or being genuine, BUT i think the second nina's like "oh yeah im from california too" bonnies like ! OK WE R LIKE THE SAME ! i could see bonnie inviting nina out to a cafe to study but ninas writing fanfic the entire time (unbeknownst to bonnie). bonnie would get along the best with nina, on account of them both being friendly girls with similar interests

With clocky. bonnie would 1000% frequent the restaurant clocky works at, always order the same stack of pancakes, and nothing else comes from it. clocky would be alright with her cuz bon tips well + cleans up her table before leaving (mom was a server so she developed the habit + she's nervous about being a bad guest LOL). BUT . as you can see in the pic. i think it'd be funny if bon immediately called camila(my friends oc) and started going on about "oh my god you wouldve fucking loved my server she was so tall dude come visit me im gonna make you come here" and walked past clocky with a coat so she didnt even realize it was her. dumbass

bonnie would have 0 reason to interact with jack... but bonnie has her issues with ghosts that land her freaking out in forests trying to get away from them. and she'd freak the fuck out if she saw jack, cuz bonnies anxiety/nerves/paranoia is already maxxed out all the time. now imagine a 6'7 grey man in an ominious mask being the only person youve seen in your involuntary hike through the woods after having ghosts swear theyre gonna kill you. shes gonna throw up

she'd have 0 reason to talk to jeff too. they would never be in similar circles(not that bonnie really Has a circle), but. i like the idea of them constantly coincidentally getting stuck on the same train/bus and it being hell on earth. for her, at least. he dgaf. maybe he had plans to kill her one night and started following her and something went wrong and he gave up. dunno

i legit struggle to get in-depth with bonnie and crp characters cuz she's just. so not in their realm. she legit just exists and has bad ghost shit happen to her and is like Guys this is really unfair.

[lovingperfectionsblog]

I'm Not A Spy?

Max Verstappen x Reader

Summary: There’s no way THE Max Verstappen got you flowers, absolutely no way. 

Warnings: Swearing, other than that, just silliness and fluff. 

Word Count: 1616

Authors note: This was literally a dream I had and I was encouraged to write it as a fic by my absolute dream of a friend @0-atmilk-latte so thank you sugar <3 I hope it’s okay. I really want to get back into writing my silly little stories so, let's try to do this. 

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______

Enemy territory. 

This is where Max stood currently. Dead center in front of the Mercedes motorhome door, where everyone could see him. 

And every single person to walk through those doors sent him glares that would make sure he knew he was on enemy territory. 

He knew it was risky. Redbull merchandise adoring him. Sticking out like a sore thumb. It was a risk he was willing to take. 

“Horner send you?” Toto stepped through the doors after watching Max stand there for the past hour, “Although, I can't imagine who Horner would be giving those to?” eyes flicking between Max’s face and the bouquet of flowers he was currently white knuckling. 

“No sir, these are for your assistant.” Max tried to sound confident but even he could admit Toto was a terrifying man and this entire situation was feeling far too similar to the idea of trying to get your fathers permission to ask you on a date. 

“From?” Toto knew he was making Max squirm, but the only thing that would bring him more joy was if it were Horner himself standing in front of him instead of Max. 

“From me sir.” Max tried to stop his hands from shaking, the rustling of the leaves and flowers becoming oddly unbearable as he tried to stand his ground in front of your boss. 

“Why?” As much fun as Toto was having, he was also curious. He knew Max had been eyeing you up these past few weeks, paying more attention to you, attempting to talk to you every opportunity he could. He had even caught Max attempting to make small talk with Lewis and George, which he was now assuming was a bid at getting closer to you. At the very least attempt to make everyone around you like him in the meantime. 

“Because I was hoping to ask her to dinner sir.” Toto couldn't hide his surprise at Max’s honesty. Expecting at the very least some work around to that answer after some back and forth. 

God Max irritated him. He had no choice but to add this to the increasingly growing list of things he respected Max for and it infuriated Toto to no end. 

It didn’t mean he couldn't stress Max out in the meantime. 

“Well,” he let out a chuckle, “good luck then son.” 

“Boss, what’s the redbull scum doing on our turf?” George shouted towards Toto as he made his way towards the motorhome. 

Toto didn’t even give Max an opportunity to answer before he was shouting back, “Apparently he’s here to ask my assistant out to dinner.”

“Oh, makes sense why he’s been so nice to me and Lewis these last few weeks.” George made his way up to the entrance, joining his boss and rival, “Is this why you wanted to hang out in Monaco the other day?” 

Toto and George could only laugh at the uncontrollable blush that had made its way across Max’s face at being called out. 

And the situation was only made worse by, “Morning Boss, George,” you eyed the odd one out, cocking an eyebrow up in question, “and Max?” 

“Well then, go ahead,” was all that came from your boss in lieu of a greeting from any of them. 

And suddenly Max felt shy. All that previous bravado had clearly been used up with Toto, leaving none for the actual important interaction. 

He had to do something and soon, because you were standing there staring at him, waiting, for, well, something. 

Next second there was a bouquet thrust in your direction, gripped to near smithereens between Max’s hands. Your eyes darted between the flower and the three men in front of you, one completely avoiding eye contact, the other two doing a poor job to hide their smiles as they watched the interaction between you two. 

“What’s this for?” you refused to take the bundle from Max, unsure of what was happening. 

“You.” It was all Max could get out. 

“From?

“Me?” 

“Why?” 

“Jesus.” 

Toto barked out a laugh at the near identical conversation he and Max had just had. 

The flowers rustled in front of you as you assumed Max shook them for you to take. 

He would never admit that it was his nerves. 

You hesitantly took the flowers, eyeline switching between max and the, admittedly beautiful, bunch of flowers you were now holding. 

There was a long silence as you just stared at the flowers, eyebrows furrowing. Neither Max, Toto nor George fully understood what was going on in your mind. The silence extended so long that even Toto began to feel nervous, so he could only imagine what Max was feeling as he just stared you down just as intensely as you were staring at those flowers.  

Just as Toto reached out to nudge Max in an attempt to get him to say something to you, you began violently shaking the flowers. Petals and leaves began flying everywhere. Whole flowers landed on the floor at your feet. At least one had hit Max in the face. Toto stepped back in fear. Max shielded himself from the onslaught. By the time you were done, all that was left in your hand was one measly flower consisting of maybe four petals and a few leaves. The rest lay at your feet after your massacre. 

All three boys stared on in horror as you stood there breathless. Eyes fixed on Max like he was your prey. 

Everyone could hear the gulp from Max’s throat as he took a single step backwards. 

“You think just because I’m some girl and you’re the Max Verstappen in your fast little redbull you can treat me like some pawn in your weird little game?” you spat the words at him. 

Max desperately looked over to Toto and George for some help, but even they looked too scared to intercede on his behalf. 

“This isn’t some game, I just,” 

“You just what? Thought you could spy on my team?” you didn't even let him finish before throwing out a secondary accusation at him. 

“Spy?” George hadn’t meant to have that come out as loud as it did, but suddenly all attention was on him as he hid slightly behind Toto. 

“Obviously George. He probably put a listening device in the flowers to spy on us.” All three looked at you like you were insane, “Why else would he be giving me flowers?” 

“To ask you on a date.” The silence that followed Toto’s comment was deafening. 

“No.” It was all you could get out. 

“No to the date or no to him giving you flowers for that reason?” Totot was desperately trying to be the voice of reason here. 

“To him giving me flowers?” You’d yet to look at Max since the original accusations. 

“Why would Max be spying on us? Redbull is the fastest team on the grid?” George was emphatically nodding along with what Toto was saying, trying to get you to see that this was completely innocent. 

“I’m not a spy?” Max had finally spoken up, far too alarmed at the accusations beforehand to offer much more than this, beyond thankful to Toto for helping him explain. 

“Then what’s with the flowers?” You were sharp and blunt and Max couldn’t help but fall just that little bit more for you as he watched you defend your team. 

“To ask you on a date.” Max hesitantly pointed at Toto, showing that the original reason that was offered was correct. 

“You want to take me on a date?” Max could only nod, “and these flowers were to ask me on a date?” Another nod, smile growing as he watched your cheeks flush, “in front of my boss?” you side eyed your boss, hoping he’d take the hint to get out of there. 

“In my defense, I didn’t expect him to come talk to me, not stick around” Max’s eyes refused to leave you, a little nervous to at this point. 

“I’m not going anywhere, is it a yes or not?” Totot refused to budge, his massive presence looming over both you and Max as George peaked over his shoulder to continue watching the interaction. 

“Yes,” you watched as Max’s smile grew even wider than before, him already grabbing his phone out of his pocket so you could put your number in it for him, “as long as you promise you aren’t a spy!” you emphasized by shoving his phone, now containing your number, into his chest as a warning. 

“Not a spy. I promise,” Max stuck his pinky out, waiting for you to reciprocate, giving you the most legal of all promises, the pinky promise, “so it’s a date.” 

You nodded as you wrapped your pinky around his own, “A date.” 

After a moment Toto coughed, catching your attention and forcing you to let go of Max and straighten out your attire, “We should go, yes, we have, there’s work, yes, job, okay, bye” and with that, you had disappeared through the Mercedes motorhome doors, soon followed by Toto who clapped a hand against Max’s shoulders, muttering a “well done boy” as he followed you in to begin the day, leaving Max to stare after you as George sidled up next to him. 

The two stood in silence, Max staring at you as Toto clearly teased you about the interaction, and George stared at Max, gearing up to do some teasing of his own. 

“Never thought The Max Verstappen would be into women who scared him” 

“Shit, she’s so scary.” Max nodded along with his own statement before making George choke on his coffee with the next one, “I think I’m going to marry her.” 

_______

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[seraphinitegames]

Hey, Mishka!!!

I've been replaying TWC over the last couple of months, and must say, it's been an entirely rejuvenating experience for me. Like, I was reading it the first time, although I've replayed the series quite too many (worrying number) of times already. And it still manages to amaze me, EVERY SINGLE TIME.

I've repeated this in the past, and I'll repeat it again. The Wayhaven Chronicles is a blessing for me and I'm sincerely thankful to have come across it when I did. And I'm grateful to you for making this lovely world a reality (and of course, the four beautiful vamps)! Really eager for Book 4 and have already player the demo; can say it's gonna be worth the wait. It every time is.

Replaying the series in the last few months, I had a certain uncontrollable urge to drop and ask a few questions to you. Apologize in advance for the long ask and message, but it had been bottling up inside of me for SOOOOOO LONG.

1. In Book 1, when we're to lead the investigation in one of the three directions, is there any way to get success in any direction without Bobby making a big joke out of our investigation in the newspaper?

2. In Book 2, when Nicole and Max Salinas come to report their incident, can Tina actually find out anything unusual? If so, what is actually needed to explain that?

3. In Book 3, I noticed if we choose to go the final mission alone, depending on the route chosen, Boddy/Doug will end up tagging along as well, jeopardizing everything. Is there still a way to complete the mission successfully and rescuing everyone like it happens when we go along with Rebecca?

4. Less of a question, but more of a plea. Please tell me we can get a pet anytime in the series. I was just curious if we can get one.

5. How powerful is the big baddie in Book 4 compared to Unit Bravo? You don't need to answer if this verges on spoiler-y territory.

Really sorry to overwhelm you with this, but it's just months and months of joy, happiness, and sheer ecstasy making me blabber on about this world like this. Thanks once again, for making this truly beautiful story, world, and the vampires a reality.

Have a good day!!!! Lots of love from India!!

You can never play a game you love too many times (I keep telling myself that as I gradually burn a hole into my poor old console playing Dragon Age over and over, lol!)! If it brings you happiness, then that's what is important! :D

Ok, let's see about the questions...it's been a whole since I've gone through the older games without being in editing mode, hehe!

I don't think so...Bobby is, well, Bobby. And that scene was there very much to establish their character and show the player what type of person they are.

I don't think so, again. If there's anything unusual or odd, then I usually like to let the MC find that instead of it happening 'off-screen' so it's more impactful for the player—unless it's Verda discovering stuff, because that needs to happen for…reasons.

Iirc, in the Bobby/Doug routes, you get the auction scene, so a lot of that branch involves focusing on saving yourself! But the other team that joins Unit Bravo will help in saving a lot of the captives in that version.

I would love that being a massive animal companion fan myself, hehe! But likely not, just because the MC is away a lot from home, and that's unfair on the pet, even a fictional one, lol. I was tempted to give the MC a supernatural pet that hung around at the facility—that was definitely a strong idea at one point just so I could write a pet in the series for those that wanted it (me, I was the one who wanted it, hehe!) :D

**BOOK FOUR DEMO SPOILERS AHEAD** It's not just that Book Four's villain is terrifyingly powerful (or will be. They are, thankfully for the MC and UB, in a weakened state for a while due to what's happened to them and what happened in Chapter Two) but it's a lot to do with the fact that their power specifically counteracts and weakens Unit Bravo's. So that's a double whammy!

Thank you SO incredibly much for the amazing message! It means more than you can know <3

[scraplette]

This is random but I noticed you mention you were a big Rung/Skids shipper and I'm curious about something. I wasn't active in the fandom where MTMTE/LL were coming out and I feel like I missed huge discourse or something, because I'm really confused about why I have always seen Rung/Fort Max and Rung/Whirl and MegaRung everywhere but nobody seems to ship Rung with the guy he was super close with from the beginning and committed suicide thinking about and coughed up crystals over? I know it's not because it's wrong for therapists and patients to date because all of those people were Rung's patients. Do you know why this is?

Hello there! Sorry for the late response, I wanted to do this on desktop and just hadn't found the time.

You've sent a really interesting question but, I'm sorry, I'm not sure I have an answer for you. Heck, even at the time the comics were coming out I was always surprised by the lack of content for the ship. There was some discourse about Rung dating paitents but, funnily enough, Skids was never really a part of it. He wasn't really considered by the fandom as one of Rung's paitents so it wasn't an issue. The storyarc we the readers found out that Rung was treating Skids, was also the same arc where Rung quit. You did have some folks producing some excellent content for it(@littlestowl is still hands down my fave writer for this pair and @herzspalter did some hecking good fanart!) but never to the same extent as other ships. Not gonna blame people for that, we all have our preferences! Live and let ship and all that! So, since I had no anwers of my own I decided to counsult THE COUNCI(my friends who like Transformers) for their opinions and they came up with the excellent points. We even gathered DATA(we looked at Ao3 XD) Nothing definitive, of course, because obviously we're just a group of robot fans and can't speak for every TF fan on the net. These are just our thoughts and general vibes. 1) Rung is just so darn shippable. He potentially works well with a lot of characters and was pulled in lots of diff directions. Speaking as the main Rung/Skids shipper of the group I sort of get this(stupid sexy Rung) but even with all the diff ships sailing Rung/Skids still seemed oddly small in comparsion. 2)Another friend brought up a good point, Rung/Skids are a lovely ship but they're very wholesome and nice. Now, there is nothing wrong with that but you can't deny that spicy ships oozing with, as they put it, DRAMA just get folks excited. Lots of the other ships had this in spades. 3) Another friend had a lovely thought to add to this and I agree with it 100%. I'm just going to quote them directly "Which is kinda a shame because they have other kinds of cool drama - Rung basically compromised his position for Skids! Skids revived Rung's memory! The non-goodbye! But not conflict -drama." 4)Perhaps the venn diagram of Skids fan and Rungs fans didn't neccisarily crossover. Looking at the DATA, we can see that the most popular ships for Skids(in order) were SkidsSwerve, SkidsGetaway, and SkidsRung. I'm not sure if the Getaway fics were written pre or post betrayl.

5) Not really important but something I thought was a cool detail. Rung/Skids was really popular in the Japanese side of the fandom. I even own a physical doujin anthology for the pair! I can't remember any names of the top of my head, it's been years, but there were lots of lovely pieces of Rung/Skids fanart on the JP art sites.

I'm always a little sad about Rung/Skids. I always thought here were always lots of hooks throughtout the story that could lead the pair to more. Lots of little quiet personal moments just for the two of them. Like, Skids defending Rung against Getaway's snide comments. Ratchet sending Skids to Rung because he things the little chap is lonely. That final weirdly tense exchange between them will always sit a bit oddly with me. I know at the time there was a theory that Skids might've been into Nuatica at the time but nothing seemed to come of it, so I geuss we'll never know. I think I remember reading that Alex Milne didn't realise that would be their last interaction together, otherise he would've done the panel differently* Thank you for your ask! It was lovely to look back on old fandom memories ^_^ I hope I gave you some insights. As for myself, I'm hoping to get back into fic writing so no doubt I'll be adding to my collection of Rung/Skids drabbles.

*IMPORTANT UPDATE EDIT THING! I couldn't drop the final goodbye between them and the Alex Milne thing(it was nearly a decade ago so I was worried I'd misremembered) so I hunted down the original tweet and I've misremembered!

Sigh, what a shame that the final on-page interaction of my fave ship is forever off key and weird because of Writer/Artist miscomunucation :<

[elviraaxen]

ive really been loving the pacing of your story and i enjoy the concept and the bits that have been released about the plot! youre doing really well, and i admire it greatly!!

ive been having trouble figuring out an overall plot in my own work, i just have character ideas and the vaguest idea for a storyline. i try to just write but then i usually end up taking a break (re: dumping it) because i don't have anymore ideas for how to complete the plot. i've laso been curious about how you go about writing for a comic (do you write then do thumbnails? do thumbnails then go back to figure out dialogue? a third thing?) so i was wondering if you had any advice or resource tips for writing? both for comics and for overarching plots, if that's okay

if you don't have any ideas tho, no worries. i was just curious. good luck with Felt World! i love everything that's coming out so far, thank you for gifting us it!!

Oh thank you so much!! I can't say I'm a comic book artist at heart because I really don't have much experience, I was only an illustrator for a short while and never wrote anything myself, but learning from past mistakes (i.e. I don't stick to plans), I've so far done this and it seems to work:

I'm one of those that don't like to plan strict layouts for the entire thing, because chances are I will not stick to it, so what I've done for felt world is just write a sketch for the overarching plot, the b-plot and c-plot, with rough estimates in what order I want the major plot points and settings to be. My current sketch looks like this;

(which is done in Miro) and as you can see there aren't that many plot points, because I want to have the wiggle room to come up with something on the spot. And also, my comic focuses a lot on interpersonal relationships, character development, and themes rather than the plot, which means it needs to be concise or else the comic is gonna take 6 million years to finish.

And now,, I think this might just be how I work, but I think it's easier to be creative when you have strict restrictions rather than all the choices in the world.

for me, personally, I restrict an update of 10 pages tops, because instagram only allows max 10 images per post! This means I have to 1) fit all I want to say in 10 pages, 2) it has to be concise or else I infodump on readers, and 3) I have to answer some sort of question within the update, or else I said nothing and I start over.

As for scripts, I tend to write one or two sentences of what's going to happen for the update, and then I get to thumb-nailing and sketching right away! I come up with most of the dialogue on the spot too.

And also, I think what's most important, is that you take your damn time! If you aren't immersing yourself in your own world, how do you expect your readers to do the same?

I'm very much a believer that the stories you are telling are something that comes to you naturally if you just sit with it and listen rather than demand that it makes itself known to you. When I brainstorm for felt world I quite literally sit in my bed and go "omg!! And then what? :0" TO MYSELF LMAO as if I'm not making everything up myself! I think that's extremely important that your story is engaging to you first and foremost!

And as for more practical tips

carry a notebook with you or use your notes app AS SOON as you get ideas to write them down! No you will not remember, lol.

set rules of what you're not allowed to do with your story so that you don't fall into lazy trope territory! You can do that when you brain storm, but finesse the story post brainstorm to just make it.. smarter.. if that makes sens For example, don't kill your gay characters, don't make sensitive men the butt of the joke, don't make your women fight over men (unless it's the point), etc.

set physical restrictions! For example, max amount of pages per upload, max amount of pages for the whole story, max amount of characters, etc.! That literally forces you to problem solve, which by definition is creativity! Like, oh you can't do this the obvious way? Do it the creative way! That's way more fun!

I could probably go on, but this is too long already! But I hope it at least helped somewhat!

[fezwearingjellybananas]

for the 5+ headcanons ask, a Barrisco au where their powers are switched? either for a short time or an au where Cisco became a speedster and Barry had vibes from the start. please? i love your power switches and role reversals ideas ❤️

Thank you so much, I'm glad you like them because I like writing them too. I have written a switched for a short time before (little while ago though), so this time let's go for a switched around from the start. Ish.

(Speaking of, here's a rec for @kitkatt0430's Help Me (He's Cute) which is a good Flashvibe role reversal)

Here's the thing. Eobard spent thirteen years planning this. He's been stalking Barry for thirteen years. He got Barry a scholarship to Sun City University to study organic chem and criminology, just like the Barry in his timeline. He as good as shoved Barry right back into that crime lab where Eobard needed him. He even had to save Barry's life a handful of times after he got himself into trouble looking for things. He has all this planned out perfectly, timed out to the second. Except Barry just missed his train.

2. The Speed Force isn't awake when Eobard uses the accelerator to open a path, just like the Negative wasn't awake until he connected to it once upon a time in the future. They're not conscious when they reach out, can't reach past the accelerator's reach and- unbeknown to Eobard- the replacement train Barry is on has been delayed and he's too far. Wally West is in Keystone, Jay Garrick is on another world, Max Mercury is miles from the epicentre, Avery Ho is across an ocean visiting distant family, Danica Williams isn't born yet, none of the people they dream about- that Barry chose for them- are there. But right there, right below them, is Cisco Ramon, right by the door is Cisco Ramon, right about to be blown up, and the other Forces are so deeply asleep even the Speed Force can't touch them, but they can reach out and offer a hand to Cisco.

3. Eobard Thawne wakes up in a hospital bed a few days later unable to move his legs. That's fine, he'll get his powers back now Barry's the Flash again. It's not until the hospital finally release him a few days later that he goes and asks Gideon to show him Barry and she reveals he's busy at work and did not get struck by lightning.

Well, grife. Now what.

4. Cisco wakes up in S.T.A.R. Labs nine months later with Caitlin telling him he got struck by what looked like lightning. Even though he was by the accelerator which is mostly underground. And also now he has abs. And when he very shortly finds out he also has superpowers, there's only one thing he can do about that.

5. Cisco meets Iris before he meets Barry. There's a reporter writing about him- like canon, Eddie and Joe were at the farm looking for Clyde Mardon (despite Joe's instance Barry's wrong about what he's found), but this time Joe was the unconscious one and Eddie was the one who is sure he saw a man made of lightning. Obviously he's going to go home and tell his girlfriend about that, and Iris is immediately in investigative mode. And, well. Cisco gets curious.

6. Joe is the one with the anti Flash ideas this time, not Eddie. He's still not ready to tell Barry he might be right about Henry, but he does see something too much like the nightmares Barry had for years, sees something he knows Barry is going to go chasing and get himself into trouble about. It's bad enough Iris already has

7. Iris is the one who introduces Barry to The Flash- he came to find her again to apologise for not being able to get to CCPD (he temporarily lost his powers), Iris answers his question about why she was looking for him, and Cisco instantly offers to help. And Iris, she can't investigate this without telling Barry that's what she's doing.

8. The Speed Force can't wake up, not without Barry. It's not fully dormant any more- Eobard can access tiny bursts of the negative- but Farooq was only able to (unintentionally) drain all of Cisco's powers because the Speed Force was barely clinging onto consciousness. Cisco deliberately seeking them out to reactive his powers gave them a little tiny bit more, but they're still sleepwalking through this, which is going to delay Eobard's plans even more than Barry Allen going and ruining everything at the last minute getting himself kidnapped by the sodding Green Arrow's friends who didn't even exist in Eobard's timeline- where's the Black Canary and Queen's gaggle of kids, those he could deal with- so Eobard needs another plan, and Mercury Labs have a tachyon device.

9. The Flash meets Barry Allen and a literal spark flies between them. Something about him is just so... Cisco doesn't know the words, but there is something about Barry Allen that makes Cisco want to reach out and never let go.

10. The Flash- apparently- breaks into Mercury Labs. But Iris and Barry think it was someone like Cisco who killed Barry's mother, and here's someone. Whether it's the same man or not, giving this man to CCPD is going to at least get Barry one step closer to getting proof, so Cisco might offer S.T.A.R. Labs' service to the police this time. Only the police do want to arrest the Flash still, so maybe he should do that as Cisco Ramon instead.

11. Barry marches into S.T.A.R. Labs despite Joe's best efforts at keeping him out of this. He is the best suited to actually understanding anything Cisco and Doctor Wells are doing, insists Captain Singh who does not want to be caught in the middle of this argument, and so there's Barry. Introducing himself and holding out his hand to a man he doesn't know he's already met. And Cisco takes it, gets momentarily worried about the look on Barry's face, and just goes right into his force field idea.

12. The hologram will put him and the Reverse Flash in the same room at the same time, even without being near the suspect list yet, Eobard wants that. But Barry Allen is right there and powerless to stop him and everything is going wrong and it's all Barry's fault, he's not going to pass up the opportunity to have Barry being the one dragged into the Reverse Flash's clutches.

13. The Flash is the one who comes to visit Barry in the hospital, sneaking in after hours, appearing in a flash of blue lightning. He makes his apologies, for not being there, for not being fast enough, and Barry just smiles and calls Cisco by his name. The same shock that happened when he first met the Flash happened again when he shook Cisco's hand earlier he explains, and there's something about Cisco that he can't quite put his finger on, but it's the same feeling he had about the Flash too.

(Neither of them know it's the Speed Force calling out to Barry they can feel, not yet)

(They're not going to find that out until the day Cisco disappears into them, and Barry rushes in after him)

14. They tell Iris Cisco's name too. It's going to be easier, if Cisco's going to help them follow up on this Reverse Flash, the one Barry is certain he saw that night. Doctor Wells seems unhappy about including them- Barry doesn't particularly like Doctor Wells either- and maybe he has a point that giving someone who works for the police a key to a building that technically has an illegal prison in it- wow Caitlin's right, Cisco needs a Pipeline alternative ASAP- but Caitlin is instantly friends with Iris and keeps giving Cisco knowing looks when Barry walks in and, well, Barry looks at Cisco like he's the answer to every wish he's made for the past fifteen years, how could he ever refuse to help him?

15. Barry really likes Caitlin. Cisco is like no one he's ever met. Barry loves the life Cisco has invited him into, and the trust Cisco immediately has in him to be the voice in his ear, the belief in him, it's so important to Barry. But something about Doctor Wells rubs him wrong and so when Iris comes to him to tell him what Mason, her mentor at her only had for a few months job, said about him, Barry is just curious enough to ask Caitlin if she can distract Wells while he has a quick look at the force field. Cisco built it, it doesn't make sense it would fail like that.

16. Cisco is running to stop a tidal wave. He's not there when Barry turns and sees the supposedly paralysed Harrison Wells standing in a doorway. He wouldn't be able to get back when Eobard Thawne starts his confession. Even if Barry could call him, he wouldn't be able to do anything when he finds himself on the floor, Eobard Thawne standing over him with a vibrating hand. And the Speed Force, they can't reach Barry, not now, not alone, not with Cisco running and drawing more from them than they have to give.

But the Speed Force always wakes up first, and never wakes up alone. The other Forces can reach too, can reach for Barry, and touch him and connect, and the Speed Force flairs to life.

And Cisco finds himself running back to yesterday.

17. Barry doesn't go to the trap the second time around. There's a thing with the Snarts and Rory and Dante's birthday and Mason Bridge is missing and Barry might be arguing with Joe about his dad again and the Flash and they have a different kind of mess instead. It's not all bad- Barry gets a kiss from Cisco at the end of it all, and he ends up crashing at Cisco's, falling asleep snuggled next to him. He dreams, he dreams about the trap and Harrison Wells standing over him and threatening him and Barry wakes, puts it down to a new variation on a nightmare he's had before, and lets Cisco's breathing send him back to sleep.

18. The Speed Force has always been plural. Strength, Sage, Still, Speed, the four forces are themselves and separate and one and something incomprehensible. Speed always wakes up first, always wakes up when Barry Allen takes their hand and shows them how to run, except someone else did that this time. Cisco might not have been able to fully wake them, but he gave them enough to pull the other three from deep inside and when they reached for Barry, it was all four Forces that grabbed him, each equally. Someone else did that once, in another timeline.

The Speed Force chose their speedsters by picking the people Barry wanted, though he never quite realised that. The four Forces together can give him the opposite, can give him the ability to disconnect a speedster. The four Forces together can give him the power to see the danger Eobard Thawne puts him in, and they can give him the power to protect himself in a way the three younger ones claim he never could as only a speedster.

They still aren't awake. Not completely. But they are waking up. And if the Speed Force took their hero, they're going to have to find someone else to be Vibe this time around.

[5+ headcanons for an AU]

[madaboutmunson]

A Lovely Way to Spend An Evening (Sweet Home Chicago Series - Part 3/4)

Summary for overview of the whole fic can be found here

For @eddiemonth (2023 - Better late than never?)

Week 3 prompts used: Committed, Curious, Tolkien, Introspective, Sci-fi/Tech, Cryptids & Folklore, Tenacious

Warnings: None that I could think of unless you dont like spaghetti?

Summary: In an attempt to help Steve achieve his dreams, Eddie offers to take some of his workload, but that involves asking Steve's Ma over dinner. Which would be fine if Eddie wasn't hiding a mass of curls under his hat, and hats at the dinner table are a no go.

Romance/Fluff Word Count : 10.2K

Ao3 Link -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eddie stares at himself in the mirror of the bathroom cabinet. He takes another quick, deep breath and holds up a chunk of his dark wavy hair. The perspiration forming on his palms contradicts his mouth's dryness, yet they are caused by the same thing.

The metallic gleam catches his eye as he brings his other hand, holding the scissors closer, letting the blades sit on either side of the antenna of hair he's made. He has to do this. He can't go back out there without doing something because, this time, he can't run. Eddie can't help feeling this is all his own stupid fault for being so impulsive. Well, that and not being able to say no to Steve Harrington.

Until now, Eddie had been living in a dream of a kind. His inspiration was back and flowing like someone had just stuck dynamite into a dam. He always said to himself that it was someone, but really, he had one specific muse, and that's his new best friend in the entire world, Steve.

Due to the temperature dropping rapidly recently, Eddie's writing table had been moved inside. It wasn't exactly warm in the store, but it was the Bahamas compared to the elements. At first, he'd elected to stay home in the apartment, but an hour or two into lack of inspiration and enough pacing and pondering to wear a path in the carpet and a hole in his head, there was a knock at the door. He'd quickly thrown on his hat to answer it.

When Eddie had opened it, he'd been met with the adorably cross face of Steve looking down the stairs, but then as soon as he turned to face him, his whole face relaxed in relief, "Jesus, Eddie, I was real worried! Not a call or nothin'?"

"Shit, I'm sorry, I just thought cus of the weather, it wasn't ideal for writing outdoors, you know? And I didn't wanna be a bother when I can write right here."

Steve's eyes had scanned him, and he leaned confidently against one side of the door frame and folded his arms, "Oh yeah? Let's see all 'dis writin' you been doin'."

Eddie had opened his mouth to say something, but when nothing came out, Steve smirked confidently, "Get your stuff. I moved ya table indoors, ya knucklehead," he laughed, and on that melody, Eddie had rushed to get his things and put his hair up properly. Leaving Steve to have a walk around the apartment.

Working inside the store was a little different. The pros were significant. Firstly, it was warmer. Steve even gave Eddie one of his knitted jumpers in case he got chilly. He and Steve could chat all day. He didn't have to wait for Steve to be on a break. They'd even draw together sometimes. And over time, he barely noticed Steve's accent anymore. His voice wasn't Chicago anymore. It was home. Because it was Steve's. Eddie had also gotten used to that charged syrupy espresso, biscotti every day, and cannoli every other day.

He caught glimpses of the other Harringtons occasionally. There were two girls, Robin and Max, and two boys he hadn't learned the names of yet, but one seemed distinctly shyer than the other.

Eddie would have introduced himself, but Steve wasn't overly enthusiastic about it, shooing them away from the store or distracting Eddie with something before he could say hello. Eddie found that very curious because, with both his mom and his friends, Steve had been very enthusiastic to introduce Eddie to them. Maybe, being an only child, there was something Eddie didn't get about the whole sibling experience or something.

There were really only two cons to this situation. One was that whilst Steve was very inspirational to be around, he was also very distracting. Eddie started counting seconds in his head to make sure he didn't stare too long at this beautiful man who just happened to want Eddie around as often as possible. But the second con was the worst. It made Eddie press his pen or pencil too hard into his paper. It made him excuse himself for smoking way too many cigarettes in a row or pulling at the fraying threads on the knees of his jeans.

Girls.

Whatever the weather, regular as clockwork, they would come. Like they had all pre-arranged at some point to create a schedule whereby they could have interrupted flirt time with Steve. Most were alone, but the younger girls were in giggling groups.

With the younger girls, obviously, Steve didn't really flirt with them. He just gave them sweet smiles, a free candy each, and called them young ladies, and that apparently was enough to set them off and have them squealing and sprinting out of the store.

The ones more around their age, however, were the problem. If he didn't know Steve and just watched these interactions with these girls, he'd swear he was head over heels for every single one, still with the baseline of sweet smiles, candy and young lady, but with the added leaning into their space, an occasional innuendo, brushing past them to reach for the thing on the top shelf that they absolutely had to have. The ladies older than them all received a kiss on the back of the hand. The ones older than that got him to run around the counter, a kiss on each cheek, before they pinched his face with glee and then he'd collect their shopping for them.

To look at him in the moment, you'd swear he was having the time of his life, but as soon as he'd waved them goodbye, he'd flop into the chair opposite Eddie, looking worn out, "Tell me something, Ed. Anythin'" he'd sigh, and Eddie with a pool of venomous jealousy simmering in his stomach would do just that. Tell him about something he wrote, an idea, something he just read about, or a story. Whatever it was would calm and recharge him, put a gentle smile back on his face.

There had been some other changes, too. Maybe because he saw these extra facets of Steve, but Eddie swapped the knight in his story for something else that had captured his imagination over the last few years. Science fiction. Extraterrestrials specifically. He found them in an odd way relatable.

In his mind, they'd travel the universe, studying the planets and other life forms to report back on, and didn't mean any harm for the most part. They were kinda strange looking and had weird ways and customs he could invent. He bet that if they did exist, their society would be so advanced it wouldn't have strange rules around what love is acceptable and what isn't. If it's all consenting adults, what did it actually matter? But apparently, on Earth, it still did.

He wished that wasn't on his mind as much as it seemed to be all the time lately. It felt dishonest to feel that way about his friend. He was trying his best not to, but it was difficult when Steve was so kind, funny, supportive, welcoming, handsome, and, even though he'd scoff or pull a face when Eddie would mention it, he was smart, too. Maybe he was not smart in the way a professor was, but he'd challenge any professor to get through any day of Steve's in one piece without struggling.

Sometimes, the register got jammed and Steve knew exactly the correct amount of leverage to use with his mom's nail file to open it without damaging it. His mental arithmetic was flawless. Pricing as he worked out percentage discounts at the drop of a hat. He was bilingual, quadrilingual if you counted the mixed language of Italian and English spoken around here as its own language, which Eddie thought it should be, and the silent hand gesture conversations he'd have with his mom. He knew the geography and history of this area better than anyone else. A cartographer in the making when anyone was lost looking for directions. 

Despite being able to list many things Steve seemed to be an expert at, one thing has illuded Eddie, and that is Steve's dream. He must have them. Eddie sometimes watches him daydream at the counter while waiting for one of the delivery guys to finish what he needs to do so Steve can sit with him again.

"Did you ever think of taking up art?" Eddie asked, without looking up, avoiding any pressure for him to answer.

"Nah, it's fun. Couldn't do it for a living, though," he said without looking up from the apple he had been drawing. Eddie was teaching him about shading techniques.

Eddie continued shading the side of an oddly shaped planet, "What about History, or I dunno, tourism? You know so much about this place, Steve. People would be interested in knowing about it. People who visit would pay hand over fist for a real tour of this part of Chicago. What with all the Al Capone stuff, Little Hell, and Death's Corner. The best time to hit the planetarium and Lincoln Park. The safe nightlife spots, the best pizza and coffee in town-" Steve's chuckle cut him off.

"Eddie," he said fondly, "You know those are things you like, not the general public. It's not sure money," Steve reminds him, and Eddie looks up with a slightly guilty smile, "I like it here. I like running this place. I've been doing it for years. I know this place and how it runs," Steve said enthusiastically.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that running this place wasn't enjoyable," Eddie apologised and attempted to take a chance, "I guess I talk to you about my dreams and ideas all the time, and I wanted to see if you wanted to do the same?" Eddie looked down quickly, afraid of the expression that might cross Steve's face.

But he heard a gentle "Oh, um," from Steve. Curiously, he sounded nervous, and in that realisation, Eddie thought this might be a mistake.

Eddie sat up and looked at him with a smile, "Hey, I was just wondering, you know? Just being my usually talkin' too much self," but Steve was just looking at him, a soft surprise showing on his face.

"I, uh, no, I wanna answer, just, uh, no one's asked me that in a real long time," Steve stumbled over his words. Eddie could see him chewing on his lip nervously, and it shouldn't, but it intrigues him. Steve hardly ever looks nervous. 

Eddie placed his pad and pencil down slowly and quietly, said nothing, just waited patiently and sipped his coffee.

"It's kinda dumb," Steve said forlornly, and Eddie absolutely cannot have that.

"Your dreams are not dumb!" Eddie said firmly, leaning across the small table.

"Well, you ain't heard it yet," a half smile twitched on Steve's lips, but Eddie knew that wasn't through amusement, not the way his eyes looked unsure. He looked between Eddie and the table a few times, "Don't worry if you wanna laugh, just laugh, okay, but don't tell anyone, alright?" Steve looked at him. Analysed his expression, and though their features differed, he recognised it from when he'd seen it on his own face. He knew the feeling that caused it. The anticipated hurt before the strike. Eddie would give anything to have reached over and clasped his hands in his own, telling him he would never laugh at his dreams, but instead, he just nodded.

Steve took a breath, looked directly at Eddie, and then wrapped his arms around himself. His hands holding his elbows. "I think I wanna, maybe, I dunno, something to do with food. Like a chef but not just shovelling out courses, ya know?"

Eddie thought he knew what he was getting at, but he wanted Steve to continue. He tilted his head and gave him a big closed-mouth smile, "Well, there isn't anything ridiculous about that, buddy. But can I ask you a question about it?"

Eddie watched Steve's arms fall gently to his lap, "Yeah, sure. Shoot," 

"Round here, there are a few restaurants already. Didn't you try getting a job there?"

"I did. I was a bus boy, helped out with prep and stuff, but then I couldn't do both and school. I gotta sleep sometime," Steve laughed.

Then suddenly, all the pieces started slotting together for Eddie. Steve has been running this place with his mom for years. He had to give up his restaurant job, and he mentioned school, so probably that, too. Eddie thinks back further. Steve gave his bike to Jonny. He never pursued any of the girls that came in here. He rarely went out. When he did, it was an errand or with him.

Steve's life was on pause. He was Eddie's age, and he was co-running a business, making sure his family had everything they needed. Through no one's fault, Steve was shouldering a burden that shouldn't have ever fallen to him to carry. But he did every day. Rain or shine. Eddie couldn't help but be reminded of one of his favourite characters, Frodo Baggins from The Lord of the Rings books. A sweet guy plunged into the unimaginable. His life turned on its head instantly, the fate of his loved ones hanging around his neck like a weight, draining the life out of him.

This was Steve's life now. His Dad wasn't going to magically turn up and save the day.

"Ed? You okay?" Steve looked concerned.

"Yeah, yeah, good. I was just thinking." Eddie swallowed down the lump in his throat.

"I told ya it was stupid," Steve said, shrinking before he stood.

Eddie leapt out of his seat urgently and grabbed hold of his arm. At the contact, Eddie remembered his breath leaving him altogether, not just because maybe grabbing an upset Steve might land him on the wrong side of a knuckle sandwich, but because of how Steve had looked at him. Perhaps he knew Eddie's deep, dark secret. Like Steve knew how glorious it felt for Eddie to feel his warm skin under his cool fingertips. How he felt the muscles of Steve's arm in his grip and had fought desperately not to give in and run his thumb over them. Eddie quickly looked to the table to avoid his eyes and guided Steve back to his chair with a much looser grip.

"That wasn't what I was thinking. I swear. Please, let me explain," Eddie said quietly. The shame made his voice small. To his surprise, Steve hadn't yanked his arm away but let himself be led back to his seat and sat down. As Eddie sat in his own chair, he couldn't help but notice Steve had placed a hand over where Eddie had grabbed him, and he wondered if that was because he hurt him or if he just felt weird about it. But Eddie couldn't take it back. He wished that he could.

"I was just thinking, maybe I could help out here sometimes. I mean, I'm here all the time anyw-"

"No! No fuckin' way! You're writin', an-and doin' your drawin's. For your book. No, and that's final!" Steve said sternly, and Eddie recognised that, too. The absolute horror of someone doing something for you out of pity.

He finally looked into Steve's eyes as if that was enough to convince him of his truth, "I can write and draw anywhere. Whether I sit here or behind that counter, and you know, sometimes it's good for my brain to take a break, to just think for a while. So it's more hungry to get back to what I want? Don't you want that, Steve? Don't you want to feel that hunger for your dream?" Eddie felt his chest noticeably rising and falling as he inadvertently worked himself up. His words increased with passion as the thought of Steve abandoning his dreams grew in his mind, and he wouldn't have it. He respected Steve, but this felt wrong. And it felt even worse to sit there and let him walk away, not knowing that Steve should have the same chances as everyone else.

Steve blinked at him, his mouth parted slightly, and Eddie wished he would say something. Anything. But he wasn't talking, and Eddie felt the desperation take hold, as he felt his friendship possibly slipping away as he revealed a more passionate side of himself. But he was in it and might as well say it all.

"I just think you've helped me so much. I wanna help you, and now I know your dream isn't this. I can't just sit here and pretend it is," Eddie's eyebrows pinched together, eager for Steve to understand, "You deserve a chance, Steve, and it's no one's fault that it's been pulled away from you. But I could maybe pull it closer? If you let me help."

Steve's expression didn't change much other than him biting his bottom lip. The world around them seemed to disappear for Eddie until finally, Steve spoke, "I'd have to ask, Ma. I don't want her to feel bad about all of this. It's not her fault either."

"No, I know that. I know, okay," Overheated, Eddie removed the knitted jumper. He didn't want to get it all sweaty. He began pacing backwards and forwards, deep in thought, until it came to him, "What about… Yeah, what about I ask your mom for a job? I could do with the money, and it could help me get to know people around here," he sees Steve shift in his seat at that. Maybe he thought Eddie might try and muscle in on the local girls, "You know, for writing."

"You wanna ask my Ma for a job, to work in this store, just so I can cook things?" Steve said.

"No. No, Steve!" Eddie said dramatically, rounding the table and crouching beside him, "So you can shoot for the moon!"

Steve's expression looked almost afraid, so Eddie backed up a little, "What if I don't make it to the moon, huh? What if I fail?"

"Then you'll be amongst the stars, Steve. You'll have tried. You'd have given it your best shot," Eddie's eyes darted between Steve's pleading as they plunged back into silence again, and it was in that stalemate he realised two terrifying things.

He wasn't just pleading with Steve. He was pleading with himself, too, don't give up , and more than that, he realised that maybe having a sense of normalcy in his life, like a job, might actually take the pressure off of himself to create. Especially when he was stuck. He could still get a sense of achievement out of something else. He could help out more at home.

But the thing that scared him the most was because Eddie realised at that moment how delusional he actually was about this situation. The worry that entered Eddie's head before he'd gotten so passionate was he couldn't face watching the person he loved not have everything they wanted. Like he and Steve were going to be like that forever. The crushing reality was one day, Steve would get married to whichever girl he chose, and Eddie would just be there occasionally for a beer or party. What they had these last few weeks would be long gone, even if it was just friendship. It still meant so much to Eddie.

And then there was that word. Love. Like a goddess, terrifying and beautiful, antidote and poison, cruel and kind, saviour and torturer. Something Eddie thought would never enter his world finally had. He wished he was back in Hawkins to talk to Wayne about all of this. And he really wished it hadn't happened between him and another man, especially not his best friend.

Eddie backed away again, stood up, sat back in his seat, scanned his eyes along a shelf of canned produce, and was about to apologise when Steve spoke, "You'd do that? For me?"

"Well, of course I would," Eddie replied like it was the most ridiculous thing on the planet, "You're my best friend," he said. I love you, he thought. He wanted to be his Samwise or at least his eagles.

"Maybe, uh, maybe you could ask her tonight, at dinner?" Steve muttered quietly.

"Yeah. Yeah, of course, I will," Eddie reassured him.

"You ever worked in a store before?" Steve asked, and Eddie didn't miss how the corner of his mouth ticked up into almost a smile. Eddie laughed with relief but also the realisation that he was asking for a job where he had next to no idea how to do. He shook his head in a no as the chuckles spilt out of him, and to his delight, they bubbled up out of Steve, too.

"Come on, lemme show you a few things. Get you a head start with Ma," Steve beamed at him.

For the rest of the day, Steve let Eddie shadow him. He showed Eddie how he rotates the stock, how the store is divided into sections to make it easier for customers to find what they want, where the price cards and the markers are, the knack with the register, and the tidbits of information Steve had about each of the customers who came into the store. Finally, he showed Eddie the back room, where all the stock is kept.

It was dark and cramped back there. A little wooden step ladder leaned against the shelves that towered over them and lined all the walls and in between. Even with the light on, it didn't quite reach some areas back there, making him a little on edge. Something brushed past his leg, and Eddie let out a less-than-flattering yelp of surprise, but Steve only laughed and bent down to pick the unseen offender up.

It was a big old moon-faced cat with deep black fur, and light eyes save for the void in its pupil. Steve held the cat up, and its head bumped his chin, "Security," Steve laughed, "His name's Caesar."

"How come I've not seen him before?" Eddie asked. It was a large cat, and the fact he hadn't seen it in the store or out front the whole time he'd been coming here seemed strange.

"Well, there are two reasons. He generally keeps to the back or upstairs and doesn't tend to like new people that much." Steve smiled at the cat, slowly blinking up at him, and Eddie could hear how loudly it was purring from where he'd stood, "The second reason is you only know he's there when he wants you to know he's there." Steve turned to Eddie, "Did he scratch ya?"

"No, just caught me by surprise, is all. Just against my leg,"

Steve scoffed out a laugh as he frowned, "Really? Hmmm," he looked back at the cat in his arms, "You cast your judgement, did ya?" The cat pawed at his face and purred loudly again, making Steve laugh, an adorably uncurated laugh that Eddie wanted to remember forever. He placed Caeser back on the ground and turned his attention toward Eddie, "You think you can handle all this?" Steve smiled.

"I think so, yeah. Well, I'm gonna try my best, and I am a pretty quick learner," Eddie beamed back at him.

Then he'd felt something unusual as if the air around him had become charged with something, and he'd become very conscious of how close they were together in this dim lighting. Which was strange because they had been closer than this so many times that day, but none of them had felt like this. Like something was going to happen, but Eddie had no idea what.

The muted light was playing tricks and tugging at his heartstrings. Making it seem like the highlights in Steve's eyes sparkled just for him. Or shadows beneath each of his lips had Eddie's name hidden within them.

Steve broke the atmosphere by turning his eyes to a box of tins that he handed over to Eddie and then grabbed his own. "You keep your eyes on me," he said, walking toward the door. Eddie followed quickly after him and came to a clumsy stop when Steve halted in the doorway and looked over his shoulder with a smirk, "Just like you always do, Eddie." 

Even standing pale in front of the mirror now, Eddie recalled how glad he had been that Steve couldn't see him then. His face must have been as red as the can of tomatoes he was carrying.

While Steve left Eddie to restock the tomatoes, the whirlwind of the rest of the Harringtons raced through the store. Steve handed out things from a box he had already made up of fruit and candy as they tore past. Robertina, who goes by Robin, Steve told him, took pause as Eddie saw her observe his empty table in the corner of the store. Steve nodded in Eddie's direction, and Robin made direct eye contact with him, almost making him drop the cans he was holding, but he managed to make the save and smiled awkwardly.

Eddie was used to the other Harringtons blasting past him and Steve waving them on to do their homework, not acknowledging him, but in that look, it was clear he was very much noticed. As she narrowed her eyes at him playfully, it still made him feel like he might be suspected, but when she said nothing, took her apple and jogged after the others, Eddie relaxed and turned back to the shelves.

Steve guided him through a gradual close-down, explaining that he stayed open a little longer for those running late from work, as they were only picking up cigarettes, drinks, or something grab-and-go. When one such customer came in, Steve grabbed the cigarettes he knew they'd buy while they grabbed their sodas and pulled Eddie in front of the register.

He wasn't sure if it was Steve's hand wrapping around his arm tugging him towards him or the anxiety of serving his first customer making his palms sweat and the numbers on the register look like symbols from an ancient civilisation. But Eddie took a breath and plugged in the numbers.

"New staff, Stefano?" The man asked as Eddie packed the small grocery bag for him.

"Hope so, Pauly. Hope so. Whats ya verdict?" Steve smirked as Eddie looked between the two of them nervously.

The man smiled warmly, "Don't be so nervous, kid. We ain't so bad."

Eddie smiled in return and handed the guy his change.

Pauly checked the money in his hand and nodded his thanks to Eddie, "Ay, would ya look at that. It is possible not to get shortchanged 'ere," he said, grinning at Steve, who immediately rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Get outta here. You ain't never been shortchanged here, Pauly. Just you expect a discount that don't exist," Steve called after him, laughing as he left and waved him away playfully.

Steve's eyes fell on Eddie, as did that dashing smile. Suddenly, the room became hot and small again.

"You did great today, Ed," Steve said, patting him on the back. The hand of which smoothed across his shoulder blade and rested on his shoulder.

"If Ma agrees, I can let you get more practice on the register and with the customers."

Eddie nodded, "Yeah. I definitely could get more practice with people, not one of my strengths."

Steve gave a light laugh down his nose and shook his head. If anyone had dreamed of doing that to him in the past, he would have painted it as condescending and immediately got his hackles up, but when Steve did it, well, when Steve did anything, there wasn't a drop of ill intent in it, and all Eddie could see and feel, were these bonds of friendship growing bolder and tighter.

How he wished that could be something much more. 

"Everyone I like that has met you thinks you're great. The customer thing is more to show people you aren't just a member of staff. You're one-a us," Steve smiled kindly and added quickly, "Not to be fucked with, ya know?"

Eddie was incredibly glad his hip was pressed into the counter because he felt like his knees had vanished for a moment when Steve made him part of his territory.

He knew that Steve meant so people wouldn't give him a hard time as the new guy, but in Eddie's dreams later, that was going to mean so much more.

He nodded dumbly in response because speaking was not an option.

"Stefano! Mangiare," he heard Steve's mom yell from upstairs.

Eddie had heard that enough to know it was a call to food, especially combined with the way Steve hurriedly took off his apron, dumped it on the counter, pulled out the register draw and started to head upstairs.

He paused to look back, "What ya waiting' for, Ed, a handwritten invitation or somethin'?" Steve said with a light laugh.

"No, I was just gonna head home to wash up and change," Eddie replied nervously.

"You can wash up here, come on," Steve said, nodding to the stairs, and Eddie was helpless to follow.

And that was precisely what Eddie had done. Steve had directed him to a small washroom with a toilet and basin, explaining that the one upstairs would have a queue but that Eddie should come up straight after.

 Eddie had happily nodded and agreed, headed into the small room, pulled the book latch over where the bolt should have been, and stood at the basin, his world had come crashing down around him.

As he looked at his reflection, he realised he still had his hat on. The hat he always had on because this is how he hid his long hair.

A cold chill ran down Eddie's spine. He was in a no-win situation. You cannot wear a hat to a dinner table , but he also couldn't bolt home because he'd be letting Steve down. All that talk about helping Steve with his dream would be absolute horse shit if he ran home now. Maybe he'd lose Steve's trust forever and his friendship.

He slid off his hat and removed a hairpin.

And that's why Eddie was standing in front of the old medicine cabinet with scissors poised to cut his hair. His hair could grow back, but his bond with Steve could be lost forever.

But as his world dropped to slow motion, the bright gleam of scissors he'd found against the dense darkness of his hair only made the lump in his throat harder to swallow.

He steels himself, trying to convince his mind that everything would be easier after the first snip. He'd do a countdown, just snip off the end, and quickly butcher the rest.

3, 2, 1

"Eddie? Are you ok in there? We're almost ready to plate up," Steve's smooth voice came through the door's wood.

"Yeah, I'll be right out just, a bit nervous is all," Eddie thought using the truth might make his lie more convincing.

"Hey, listen, you got nothing to be nervous about. You know everyone, and we don't have to do the job thing. It doesn't matter, just come and get something to eat, ok?" Steve requests gently.

Eddie can hear the disappointment in Steve's voice, and it's enough to snip the end of his hair off.

"Eddie, what was that?"

"Nothing. I'll be right there."

"What are you doing in there?"

"I'm just freshening up, I'll be right out,"

"Eddie, why are you lying? What is going on? Let me in. Whatever it is, we can talk about it. I'm happy here. I don't need the other stuff, ok?" Steve's voice drops quieter, but Eddie can hear his concern perfectly.

Eddie doesn't reply. He just holds up a strand of hair with the scissors at the base, vibrating with emotions of all kinds, staring at himself in the mirror when the latch lifted and the door opened.

"Sorry for barging in, Ed, but you're worrying-"Steve starts to say, averting his eyes until he realises Eddie is dressed at the sink, and then he looks over him and freezes for a second before closing the door quietly behind him.

"What is this?" Steve says, gesturing to what Eddie is doing, and then his eyes are everywhere all over Eddie's hair, his pride and his shame.

Steve's mouth is making a perfect o shape, but no sound is omitted from his lips.

"Steve, I can explain. Just please don't tell anyone else. I-I can just go," Eddie stutters, realising he's still wielding the scissors as he backs away from Steve in a tiny space. He sets them down on the sink between them as his legs hit the toilet bowl behind him. He raises his hands, palms out in defence, and screws his eyes shut for the incoming insult or thump.

But neither comes, just the sound of the medicine cupboard closing and the soft fabric on the lining of his hat on his fingertips.

"Put ya hat back on, and come to dinner," Steve says quietly with a slight smile as he clears the curl of hair from the sink.

"But you're not supposedta-" Eddie starts to protest, but Steve simply turns to him and repeats himself.

"Put ya hat back on, and come to dinner, Eddie," Steve says with those kind eyes that make Eddie want to cry because they keep giving him chance after chance, "Don't worry about what ya supposed to do, and do what I ask. I'll handle the rest."

Steve leaves him, closing the door behind him, and Eddie can hear him jogging back up the stairs. He can hear the muffled rise and fall in volume of a language he doesn't understand. One voice is unmistakably Steve's, the rest a cacophony of others until his mom silences them all with a few words, and with that, he hears the scraping of chairs and the general rumble of conversation.

He looks at himself in the mirror, neatens himself up, washing his face and hands, and finally puts his hat back on as Steve requested.

His heart pounds as he leaves the bathroom. Every stair he takes pushes a new worry in his mind of what excuse he could use and how disrespectful they might think he is being. Was it an insult to Steve's mom?

Before he can talk himself out of it, he's in the open doorway and can hear all the commotion and chatter inside. He awkwardly steps in, his hands clasped in front of him, before giving a swallow and shy wave, "Hi," he manages, looking around at the faces seated at the large dining table, but can't find the one he's looking for, Steve.

"Eddie, sweet boy, come-a sit down, Stefano is ina kitchen," She says with a warm smile, walking up to Eddie and taking his arm, guiding him towards one of two empty seats next to one another.

"Wait, maybe I should go help," Eddie offers, gesturing toward the kitchen, but she shakes her head in response.

“No Stefano, wona be long. You sita down," She ushered him into the seat between the empty one and the youngest sister, Max, with the bright red hair.

The young girl turns to look at him for a moment. She squints at his hat, which almost makes him break out into a sweat if it not for the clatter of swing doors as Steve reverses into the room, arms laden with bowls of food that he dishes out around the table. 

He serves his mom first, giving her a kiss on the cheek as he does so, and Eddie's heart thumps as he thinks this might be a custom, but is relieved to see that isn't the case as Steve puts some other bowls down in front of his siblings, to a mixture of faces ranging from excitement to disgust, as Steve weaves his body, primarily directed by hips, around the dining chairs and table corners.

"Hey, you made it! That door gets stuck sometimes. Don't worry. Happens to everyone," Steve gives him a sweet half smile.

"Yeah," the curly-haired brother scoffed, "I got stuck in there a full twenty minutes the other day, and someone wouldn't help me out."

"I was accepting a delivery. You know I gotta pay attention they don't mess it up Dus'" Steve says, pushing past the kitchen saloon-type doors again.

Dus widens his eyes at Robin, "And what was your excuse?"

"I was watching Steve accept the delivery," she replies without taking her eyes off her reflection in her compact mirror as she grumbles at a pimple emerging on her face.

"You were not!" Dus slams his fist on the table. "You were outside giggling with Max!"

"Oh, I suppose Will snitched on us, did he?" Max snaps back, rolling her eyes. 

"Don't take it personally, Max, Will snitches on everyone," Robin sneers in the young quiet boy's direction.

Will shifts uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact with his siblings. He takes a deep breath and finally speaks up, his voice barely above a whisper, "I didn't snitch. I just… I just said I heard someone laughing outside. I didn't know it was you. I was just trying to help Dus when he was stuck."

"Basta!" Mrs Harrington shouts, and the table falls to silence. Her expression softens, and she turns to Eddie, "Means, stop," she adds, reaching over to pat his hand.

Eddie takes a moment to look around at the food in the bowls, and his stomach sinks. He knows what this is. He saw it in a movie a few years ago. The one with all the dogs in. He's even heard his mom talk about how delicious it is, but he has never actually eaten it himself. 

Spaghetti.

He wasn't accustomed to food he couldn't shovel onto a fork or spoon and then straight into his mouth. And this was not that kind of food. Well, it could be if he cut it up. He decides to wait to see what the Harrington's do.

The kitchen saloon doors swing open again, and Steve returns with the last three bowls of spaghetti. One for Robin, and then he sits next to Eddie and puts their bowls down simultaneously, giving Eddie that smile that made the rest of the room disappear.

"Hope you like it, Eddie. It's a family recipe," he beams excitedly, and the sparkle in Steve's eyes means whatever this food tastes like, this will be his new favourite meal.

"Who's family? Not mine. There is a distinct lack of parm on the top here," Dus complains, Max hums in agreement.

"First of all, you can help yourself to as much cheese as you want, after prayer. Second, you should really think about cutting back on the cheese at your age," Steve says matter-of-factly.

Dus and Max are aghast, much to the hidden amusement behind Will's hand.

"You hear that, Ma? He called us fat!" Dus pleads his case to his mom, and she immediately leans over, strokes his cheek, and looks disappointedly at Steve.

"Stefano. Please. No talk about your brother like that. My sweet boy, look at his perfect angel face," She coos, pinching Dus' cheek.

Steve pulls an exasperated face at Dus, who is grinning back hugely, and then turns to his mom.

"Ma, I would never. I was just talking about how his body sometimes reacts after too much dairy, ya know? When you get to this age, you gotta watch that stuff. Could give him pimples."

His mom looks confused for a second. "Brufolo," Steve adds and pokes at his own face, making his mom gasp.

"No! No, my angel boy. Das it. No more for you." Mrs Harrington says with an urgency as she pats Dus' cheek.

"But Ma!" He protests.

"No, but ma, Destino, listen to your brother. Stefano always has the most beautiful skin."

Dus, Dustin, or Destino, as it appeared to be his full name, glares daggers at Steve, who easily bats them away with a pump of his eyebrows and smug smile laced with mischief.

Robin rolls her eyes, "Enough golden boy competition. The food is getting cold."

Max hums her agreement.

Eddie watches everyone bow their head and clasp their hands together. He pauses to take it in, and got a slight nudge from Max, and quickly follows suit.

He has little to no idea what Mrs Harrington says next. He recognises a few names. He is surprised to hear his own and his mom's and also makes out the words for food and thanks. He hears a few words repeated throughout, Dio and Signore. He makes a mental note to ask what they mean later.

He hears the familiar 'Amen', which the rest of the table says in unison, and Eddie mumbles on the tail end of it.

Then it is as if it's suddenly rush hour. Everyone is reaching for cutlery or grated cheese. Dus gets his hand slapped away by everyone except for Eddie whenever he goes for the cheese. Eddie notices that no one touches the salt and pepper even though it's on the table.

Steve passes Eddie a fork and stabs his own into his food, twirling it around and eating what was on the fork in one bite. He falls back in his chair and makes a noise that Eddie thinks might haunt his dreams for the rest of time as he chews his mouthful.

"Mmmmm, Ma. You've outdone yourself. Perfect. Bellisima." He gushes, kissing his bunched fingers and seemingly throws the kiss somewhere in the room.

Mrs Harrington beams proudly at Steve.

"Take it down a notch, Romeo. You already got out of doing the dishes by serving and making dessert," Robin snorts sarcastically.

Steve makes noise through his teeth at her like he's trying to shoo away a pesky stray.

"Robertina, be nice, and Stefano is no a Romeo," Mrs Harrington starts, pulling a disgusted face, "He's a good boy. No chasing strange girls or shoutin' up at de 'ouze" 

"You sure about that? He's always shouting up at this house. Ma! I'll do it once I've finished daydreaming! " Max points out, utilising an excellent impression of Steve, to Eddie's surprise.

There is a smattering of giggles from Steve's siblings, even a fond smile on Mrs Harrington's face, but all Eddie can read from Steve is worry. Was he concerned Eddie might think less of him because his family were teasing him?

"You know that's how I come up with a lot of my ideas," Eddie blurts out, and it's as much a surprise to him as anyone else, "I think we all do it a little for inspiration, whether it's poetry, comedy, science, adventure, cooking, problem-solving, music, any-anything really," Eddie started to get a lot quieter when every face at the table has turned to him.

At first, he's concerned he's talked out of turn, but every face has a gentle smile on it. He turns to Steve for direction, but he's met with a killer half smile that makes him feel like his heart might burst right through his ribs and top his spaghetti.

"Guglielmo, good day at school?"

"Mama, please, it's Will."

"I didda not spend hours in pain to call you Will under my roof," she frowns.

"Sorry, Mama," Will concedes softly and gives a quiet recollection of his day.

A gentle nudge in the other side of his ribs startles him, pulling his thoughts from their chaotic spiral. Steve's voice, low and warm, whispers into his ear, sending a shiver down his spine. "If you don't like it, I can make you something else. Ma won't mind."

Eddie shakes his head quickly, feeling a blush creeping up his neck. "No, no, it smells delicious. I just, uh..." His words fumble, faltering when his gaze met Steve's. 

There is something disarming in the way Steve's hazel eyes hold his own, but it is too much, too risky, so Eddie drops his gaze back to the bowl in front of him and grabs his fork in a desperate attempt to focus.

No matter how hard he tries, he can't get the damn spaghetti to stay on his fork. He almost gets it to his mouth a few times and fails at the last second.

Steve laughs softly, the sound vibrating through the air, wrapping around Eddie like a warm blanket. He sighs, offering an apologetic smile to the most beautiful man he's ever laid eyes on. Movie stars included.

"Like this," Steve said softly.

Eddie almost passes out because of what is happening. Steve is shuffled up next to him. Part of his chest is pressed up behind Eddie's upper arm, and it only adds to the passing out problem due to the impossible heat he can now feel where they touch. But it's about to get so much worse because Steve doesn't take Eddie's fork from him. Instead, Steve wraps his hand around Eddie's, his fingers warm and steady, guiding Eddie's trembling hand with ease.

The only safe thing to do is keep his eyes on the demonstration and whatever he does, not look up at Steve because if he does, then everyone will know. Every single person at this table will know about his gigantic crush on his best friend.

This had to be some kind of dream. Steve's breath was ghosting across Eddie's cheek now, and it took everything in him not to lean into it. The smell of Steve's cologne mixed with the faint scent of tomatoes, some kind of herbs, and the slightly sweet smell of powdered sugar. That last one he was more familiar with. That meant Steve had baked. He let a small smile break free from the knowledge that these little Steve details were neatly tucked away for himself.

But he must not look at him. Because if he did, if he saw that same warm, easy expression on Steve's face, there would be no hiding it. No hiding the fact that his heart was practically beating out of his chest, no hiding how desperately in love he is with his best friend.

His hand shook slightly in Steve's grip, and he prayed Steve didn't notice. He guessed he could blame it on nerves.

"Ed, you alright?" Steve's voice, quiet with concern, broke through his thoughts. Eddie's breath caught in his throat, and at the sound of his name wrapped in the most heavenly voice, he was met with Steve's soft, worried gaze. His honey eyes, always warm, always so full of something Eddie couldn't quite read, were locked on his. "Thought I lost you for a second there."

Then by some deity in the universe showing pity on him, he sucks in a breath and laughs weakly, "No, all the twirling. It's, uh, hypnotic."

There is a laugh from the end of the table, "He's right, with the sauce. It looks like the posters for that Vertigo movie," Will chuckles.

A small argument breaks out about how Will has even seen that poster, the blame falling on Max and Robin. Steve smiles then, slow and genuine, making the rest of the room fade away. For a moment, it's just them. The way Steve's fingers linger on Eddie's hand a second too long, the quiet intimacy of their closeness. Steve's smile, so disarming, sends a flutter through Eddie's chest, and for the briefest second, Eddie lets himself believe that maybe, just maybe, Steve isn't so unattainable after all. 

Then Eddie's fantasy world shatters as Steve releases him and gestures for him to put the spaghetti-constricted fork into his mouth, which he does without question.

At first, the textures are unusual, but the flavours are all recognisable as things he's familiar with. Everything tastes so fresh. Like they plucked the tomato straight off the vine, and it was bursting in his mouth. The cheese was saltier than he was used to, but the combination of it with the spaghetti was out of this world.

Eddie leans back in his seat, closes his eyes, and understands completely why Steve made that noise after his first mouthful earlier. This meal is delicious.

When he reopens his eyes, he is met with the smiling faces of Steve and his Mom, who quickly look back to their own food. Without eyes on him, Eddie tries again to master the spaghetti on his fork. 

The first few tries are a weak effort of a few strands of spaghetti making it to his mouth. Another time, he winds it so well he has enough on his fork to fill his entire mouth. A few unravel just before getting consumed, and he sucks them in as he'd seen Steve doing and, for his attempt, gets attacked by sauce flicking from the stray ends on the tip of his nose and on his cheek.

Eddie picks up the napkin his fork has been resting on and wipes his face and mouth as best he can. He's sure he is a complete mess, as is his shirt, but he would gladly throw this shirt into a furnace if it meant Steve turned and smiled at him like he was doing right now. Sweet, confident, maybe a little impressed?

"That was fantastic," Eddie said, rubbing his very full stomach.

"Not bad for your first time," Steve praises, and Eddie sits a little taller.

"You learn fast. That's very good, Eddie," Steve's Mom nods her praise, "Very smart. Very smart to be friends with Stefano. He's a good boy."

"Ma," Steve says with a laugh in an effort for her to stop.

"Too good for the girls in this city. They no appreciate him. He works hard, very kind, very handsome, very loyal, don't you think, Eddie?" She asks, holding Steve's chin and turning it towards Eddie.

He can see the slight rosiness on his cheeks of embarrassment and the rolling of eyes, but this is Eddie's chance to be honest, "Ma, please," Steve tries again.

"I think so, Mrs Harrington. Stev-Stefano is a really great guy," he answers fondly, and Steve gives him a bashful smile in return. his chin is let go of, and Mrs Harrington's eyes are fixed on Eddie, "My Mama thinks so too." Eddie adds quickly, "Want me to help clear the plates?"

Mrs Harrington shakes her head, "No, no, Eddie. You are a guest. Today anyway," she smiles mischievously. Eddie figures she means when he starts working there, he will be allowed to help out more, but he realises he has yet to ask her.

"Hey, Dus. Eddie has changed up his story. It's about all that space alien stuff you're into," Steve says as he starts gathering up the plates, and as he heads back into the kitchen, his Mom follows him.

"Really? You know about sci-fi? What about Cryptids? You know what they are?" Dustin quizzes Eddie, and he notices Will is also very interested in how this conversation will go. He pulls out a copy of Strange Tales from under the table and clutches it to his chest. Truthfully, it looks like it's on the verge of falling apart, but he seemed very attached to it.

"What like Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and the Jersey Devil?" Eddie asks in return. The duet of gasps from the boys meant he was on the money. They quickly move around, slamming two notebooks on the table to show Eddie their theories.

Amidst the hum of conversation, two things happen, the telephone rings, and someone starts coming up the stairs.

"PINA!" A deep voice yells up the stairs, "I got ya beef, and I left the baking stuff in the store room, cus ain't no way I'm dragging that and my sorry ass all the way up these stairs, because-" 

The exquisitely suited man in the doorway stops talking as his eyes meet Eddie's. He starts talking that non-verbal language all the Harrington's do.

His eyes rapidly scan over Will and Dustin, and the assessment is the age gap is too large for them to be friends. He doesn't even bother looking at Max and raises an eyebrow at Robin, who shakes her head at him. He frowns momentarily in thought, then raises both eyebrows, and Robin rolls her eyes in response.

He extends a hand out towards Eddie, who is already getting out of his seat to shake it when suddenly he is whisked out of the room by Mrs Harrington. Eddie can hear them talking, and due to hearing the word Americano so often, he thinks he is the topic of at least part of the conversation.

Steve quickly emerges from the kitchen with a box of cannoli, "Sorry to cut our evening short, Ed. Unexpected guest," Steve says with a somewhat regretful smile.

"That's ok. It's getting late anyway. I should head back," Eddie lies. He was just getting the hang of things here, but maybe it was for the best he left before he got too comfortable around everyone, "I even forgot to ask your Mom about the job," Eddie cringes at his failure.

"Oh!" Steve exclaims in realisation, "Sorry, Ed, I got so caught up at the table. I forgot to say Robin already told her. She asked me in the kitchen, and she said yes," he says happily as he almost guides Eddie down the stairs using the baked goods as bait. Not that he needed those to lead Eddie anywhere.

"That's great news, when can I start? When can you start?" Eddie asks eagerly as they enter the store floor.

Steve stops walking, turns, looks him over with a huge smile, and shakes his head with a laugh, "Eddie Munson. You're like a dog with a bone, huh? Committed. Bet you'll make someone a great husband one day. I could always put in a word for you with the local ladies."

"Oh no!" Eddie says much too quickly, leaving him wide-eyed and terrified, "Wh-what I mean to say is, uh, is..."

Steve tilts his head at Eddie, a smirk on his face, "What you mean to say is?" he teased playfully.

"That because of my writing, I don't have the time for dating. And if I was to, you know, date someone, I'd wanna give them my entire attention, right?" he laughs nervously, "Court them properly. Dances, flowers, dinners, romantic strolls and night drives, stuff like that," Eddie's rapid flow of words is punctuated with a nervous swallow.

Steve raises an eyebrow, and his smirk morphs into a smile, "Yeah, stuff like that," he laughs as he gets to the door to hold it open for Eddie and hands him the box once he's outside.

"Well, goodnight. Thanks for everything today, and please thank your family for me, too. That was so great," Eddie says genuinely.

Steve leans in the doorway, his arms wrapped around himself, looking at the floor, "Course I will, and thank you, Ed. I never thought I'd have this chance again. All my brothers and sisters are gonna go to college. Ma's getting older, this place is still my future. But maybe, with what I've now got the chance to learn," he toes the top stair and then looks up and makes direct eye contact with Eddie, and it feels like Steve can see right into his soul, "I can make some changes. Keep the name, but change the business to suit me more."

Eddie nods supportively, "I know you will."

Then that feeling is there again, like in the storeroom, and Eddie isn't sure what it is, but it's giving him goosebumps. Steve goes to take a step down, but he's halted by his own name.

"STEFANO! TELEPHONO. IS NANCY!" Mrs Harrington shouts.

Eddie watches Steve take a deep breath and shouts up to the open window she's leaning out of, "MA! I told her I'd call her back! I'LL BE RIGHT THERE!"

Steve pinches the bridge of his nose, sighs, and mutters about patience. It confuses Eddie a little. He knew Steve and Nancy were a thing, but she was with Jonny now. Maybe things had changed. It was probably an excellent opportunity to show Steve he had his back.

"Must be tough being Little Italy's most eligible bachelor," Eddie chuckles, even though his heart is sinking.

Steve looks confused and goes to say something.

"STEFANO. NANCY!" Mrs Harrington shouts again, but this time spots Eddie, "Ah. Good night, Eddie, see you for your next shift," She smiles fondly at him and winks before retreating inside and closing the window.

Steve looks a little harassed, "Listen, Ed, I really gotta go, but uh, you got any Halloween plans? We was gonna go to a spooky old house and then my Uncle's club. Do you maybe wanna come?"

"Yeah, that sounds great," Eddie answers, nodding so enthusiastically that he thinks his head might come off.

Steve claps his hands, "Yes! I knew you'd be game. Ok, so, uh, yeah, see ya tomorrow?" 

"Of course! Maybe you can teach me why Ms Fiore always picks the pasta on the top shelf, no matter what kind you put up there."

"If I told you that, you might not wanna work here," Steve laughs, "Night, Ed. Thanks for everything."

"Night, Steve. See ya tomorrow," Eddie says with a salute and takes the short walk around the corner to his place.

It should take Eddie much less time than it does to reach the steps to the apartments, but the ingredients of the cool night air, a handful of incredible fantasifull moments, really helping Steve, even with the extra squeeze of bitter jealousy, didn't spoil the feast that filled his heart and mind.

Once indoors, he puts the cannoli in the refrigerator, leaves a note for his mama to let her know she was sent one, and heads to his room.

He hangs up his jacket and hat, heads to the bathroom to start unpinning his hair, to let it free, and chuckles at the blunt cut end, the other part of which is currently in a Harrington trash can.

After brushing his teeth, he heads to his bedroom and is just about to turn on the light when a warm glow catches his eye.

From the darkness of his room, he can see Steve's bedroom and more exciting than that, he can see Steve, who appears to be looking through a tin of papers and adding another folded piece of paper to it. Love notes, no doubt.

Eddie bites his lip. He shouldn't spy. It's wrong, maybe even creepy, but he swears if Steve removes any clothing, he'll look away.

Luckily, Steve does nothing of the sort unless you count kicking off his shoes. He flicks through a large box, produces a vinyl record, and puts it on the turntable.

Eddie observes him pull the arm over, and as the stylus must meet the groove, Steve closes his eyes and clutches the album sleeve to his chest.

He turns around a few times to a rhythm and words Eddie can't hear, but whatever it is, has Steve thinking about someone. The way he sighs deeply and flops back onto his bed, eyes closed and a gentle smile on his lips, spells out he's in love. Nancy must be really something to make a guy, who most of the area want for themselves, turn to mush.

Still out of sight, Eddie leans his chin on his hand, with his own sigh of longing. What he wouldn't give for it to be him that Steve was head over heels for.

Before Eddie can spend too long on that thought, Steve's bedroom door bursts open, and he startles but laughs when he sees it's Robin.

It takes Eddie a second, but he eventually realises from her outfit, miming and mannerisms that she's pretending to be Steve. She gets a pillow thrown at her for her efforts.

Soon, another figure joins the party. Eddie can make out the red hair crammed under a brown curly dress-up wig, her nose stuck in a book. 

Eddie recalled drawing the girls when he sat on the steps that day, and it's clear from Steve's half-annoyed, amused face that they were teasing him. Which made Max, Nancy.

Max-Nancy walks past Steve, engrossed in her book, and walks into something, sending her reeling back, only to be caught by the capable arms of Robin-Steve.

Steve waves his arms around in complaint about something, but it's too late. Robin-Steve and Max-Nancy are already waltzing around the room, only to stop on occasion when Robin-Steve pulls out a small bunch of grapes to feed to Max-Nancy.

The display should make Eddie boil with envy, but it is much too funny, especially when Steve chases them around and out of his room.

Eddie chuckles quietly in the dark and thinks about heading to bed himself. He takes one last look over at Steve, who, to his horror, appears to be looking right back at him.

Eddie freezes on the spot. The icy chill of being found out charges down his spine, but the fear is short-lived. Eddie takes one last adoring glance at Steve before he draws his curtains, and Eddie is left alone again.

[cinamun]

Hey Cin,

Good morning! Hope all is well. I'm sure you've answered this somewhere but I'm sure I missed it.

Over the years you've added multiple characters, storylines and overall twist and turns. How do you manage all your characters and keep track of where their storylines go? I noticed you said you actually do play, not just go in CAS and do poses for your story. I'm curious how you keep from getting overwhelmed?

You've gone from just Indya to now five separate storylines.

I'm just so curious because I know eventually with my story, it'll happen and baby the way I get overwhelmed.

Thanks for any advice you can give <3

Good morning friend! I think my imagination just ran away and I had to catch that bitch and tell her to calm down lol. I get overhwelmed too, I'd rather be able to manage a limited number of households than a whole bunch of sims. If I had to manage too many sims I wouldn't even play anymore lol and I'm deadass. On to the next save fr.

Currently there's Indya/Darren, Mercy/HoJay, Dira, DJ. I decided that I wasn't going to write these equitably. There were going to be characters that get way more screen time than others. Initially I was going to focus on HoJay and the twins and keep everyone else secondary. Makes it easier for me to manage and focus. But then, as stated, my imagination laced up her air max and dipped out.

I would say that Mercy's arc put everyone else kinda on hold which was dope because then i could really focus on her. So that is what I do: when there is a major story arc its usually focused on one household and there's no switching back and forth.

I can deal with one family and some in-laws. Definitely not more than that. I would say be mindful of what you can manage, not everyone has to take center stage and don't hesitate to let a household marinate a while so you can develop the others.

I hope this helps!

[oddlyhale]

I got curious to see if there was any red flags of what lead to the shutting down of RT beside the obvious controversy and did I found a rabbit hole.

If you head to the RT reddit Chesla Atkinson made a post about the email she recieved from Jordan Levin the General Manager of RT about the cancelation of RTX2024

https://www.reddit.com/r/roosterteeth/s/Py84R0ELHy

Scroll down to a username by Bobthemine criticize how that RT is taking away big earnings for the company. To which Barbara Dunkelman the Creative Director answer that there are three things.

1) If it making the company lose money

2) people who are fraeting it don't want it anymore

and get this

3) not showing any signs of growth or potential for profitable

https://www.reddit.com/r/roosterteeth/s/tczkHYp2Eo

Barbara the commented to another post about how it confusing to supporters who are suprise at the cost of that RTX in order to make profit for RT as well as the hesitation for vol 10. To which she explains that JUST A MINUTE of animation of RWBY cost $12,500 to $35,000 she confirm they could no longer paid this amount of money thus the cancelation of RTX2024 and finding alternate way to make money.

https://www.reddit.com/r/roosterteeth/s/A8mRiuyzOu

Hence why the partner ship with Crunchyroll as RT couldn't be able to paid the cost anymore and why Vol 9 almost didnt happen. This wasn't the first time she mention this about the financial state of RT

https://www.reddit.com/r/RWBYcritics/s/7sQeGmFDeB

Now I'm not trying to be a crazy conspiracy theorist here BUT considering the fact RT stop airing the show on YouTube and if you wanted to watch the show or any other RT shows you had to go to their website. Then season 2 of Genlock being transfered to HBO MAX before being shutdown completely. And the cherry on top all of the scandals that was happening with the company itself.

Everything was a dam waiting to any moment now.

Sure it was popular and trending on Tumblr and Twitter. But just because it was popular here and other sites isn't enought to keep the company standing.

Now this is just my opinion. I really don't think any company is going to pick RWBY for nostalgia purpose yes but with all the controversy, bad handling of finances, and how Barabra states the show need to be profitable (which it hasn't been even with the partnership of Crunchyroll). RWBY will now forever be tied with RT failings and no company wants to touch that.

I also doubt know if RT was genuinely serious if RWNY found another home but with them being vague I'm pretty sure they actually meant it as "we are actually hoping for someone to but this show and we don't actually have a company in mind" so yeah #greenlit volume 10 is more like #please some help a us out

^ ^

Really interesting things that everybody should read!!

They really took RWBY for granted, that's what I'm getting out of this!

RT has a love-hate relationship with RWBY because they begrudgingly have to fulfill the show, but really they want to promote their other projects and 7 thousand podcasts that nobody cared about. They want the old-fashioned Roosterteeth back (gaming, jabbering, podcasting, bro-ing around), but with their fame dwindling and not catching up to today's mainstream, they basically put RWBY through the wringer just for attention.

They never grew up. They never took responsibility and they failed themselves.

When they're destined to shut this year, now they care about RWBY because they know the show is their money maker. Reality hit them like 5 freight trains and it forced them to get a grip. There's nothing wrong with needing help (begging for any company to pick up RWBY,) but they also need to do their part and fix their problems. No company would want to be back-loaded with their bullshit if they don't get themselves together.

I mean even Crunchyroll couldn't help them forever. I wouldn't be surprised if CR didn't want RWBY after their run with V9. If Amazon picks it up - because Amazon tends to pick up anything - then I may be intrigued. Sometimes Amazon airs hits or misses, just like A24 or Netflix.

[ladysomething]

Well, I lasted three update emails. I was holding out on starting your new fic so I could binge a lot of chapters at once, but after getting the update email today I just couldn’t wait and to no one’s surprise, I loved every minute of it! Such an interesting world you’ve created and it’s only going to get better (for us, for Charles who knows).

I do have to ask since I’m not a fic writer - when you say you’re expecting this to be around 150-180k is that daunting for you as a writer or exciting? Right now you’re averaging around 8,000 words a chapter so with that average that’s around 20 chapters and with possible (please don’t view this as pressure) weekly updates that’s 20ish weeks of fic! I’m always so curious if this seems overwhelming to writers? I know as a reader it’s so damn exciting.

lol can you tell I’m a numbers girl and not a writer?

ah thank you! I'm so glad you're enjoying it, and I totally understand the urge to want to wait. I'm excited you're coming along on the journey anyway!

moving on to your question, I'll try to be succinct but to nobody's surprise I am an absolute yapper so it probably will be a long and winding answer.

I think firstly, you kind of almost explained it yourself, but in the opposite way. I'm a writer, not a numbers girl haha. I personally (though other writers may have different experiences) don't really think about how many chapters it will be, or how many weeks of uploads, so there is really no opportunity for it to be daunting because it doesn't really enter my mind.

The outline I have for this fic IS broken into chapters, but I already am not sticking to it. When I'm writing, I often explore a scene in much more detail (and therefore many more words) that I expected when writing the note for scene. e.g. today's chapter was like "1. Charles goes into pre-heat 2. max claims Charles 3. Pierre shows up" and then it ended up being 10k. I just finished writing chapter 6, which is also at 10k, and I've ended up having to shift half of what I outlined for chapter 6 into chapter 7 because I found a natural end point and I didn't want to end up with a 20k chapter.

so, for me at least, when I write I make a lot of decisions based on my instincts. does this scene need more, or is it dragging? is this chapter complete, or does more need to be added? is there too much in this chapter, and should I split it?

all of which is to say - my estimate of 150-180k is based on how much I have written so far (55k) and at what point in the story am I up to (I honestly don't think act 1 is done yet). I suspect my estimate of 150-180k is very low, and it's not getting to that word count that's daunting, because it's not what I'm actually working towards.

what IS daunting is trying to tell the story itself. are the characters right? are their intentions coming through? am I hiding what I want to hide? do I have a note of plot I've started at the beginning so I make sure I follow it through to the end? working towards answering those questions is what I'm thinking about, and that is always daunting, no matter whether its 10k or 200k (though.... PWP is always fairly mindless hahaha).

but it IS exciting. especially when people love something. I've written a lot of fic in my time, long and short, complete and not complete, and I can absolutely guarantee that the difference between exciting and daunting is how people react. when people love something ... the nerves are there, but they're eclipsed by the sheer joy of knowing you brought a smile to somebody's face with your writing.

not to get sappy, but I whole-heartedly believe that my purpose on this earth is to make people happy through my writing. if I know that I'm doing that, I could write 200k fic after 200k fic and die a happy woman.

I hope that kind of answered your question anon! long and winding, but fairly thorough? haha

[maya-matlin]

hiiiii ashton <333 I know we've talked about it before but I recently was on a video and saw some comments that angered me and you know I ship leyton and brulian too but I just wanna hear your thoughts because you always give the best ones!! why do you personally prefer brucas over leyton? why don't you ship leyton? and what do you think about the comments from people saying how leyton were always supposed to be endgame even though s2&3 it certainly didn't feel that way!! and about the comments saying that chopia breaking up had nothing to do with it even though they broke up before brucas actually got back together and they could've very easily not put them together after chopia broke up if they wanted to lol I'm just very curious about your thoughts and don't really wanna discuss it in messenger tbh this is easier so I get all your opinions lol I love you so much and you always give the best responses and answers when I ask you things!! 💞💞💞

I literally don't, but thank you for saying that 💙💙 First things first, I did ship Lucas and Peyton in the past. So on some level, I understand the appeal because I also fell for them when I started watching One Tree Hill. Truth be told, one day I just snapped out of it. Before season 6 even premiered, I was watching my season 5 DVD and finding myself frustrated with the LP story line while appreciating the dynamic between Brucas. Anyways, since then I've watched every episode multiple times and analyzed both by myself and sometimes with others why exactly I don't root for Leyton and prefer Brucas. To me, they're representative of a lot of tropes that will never be my favorite. Meant to be from the pilot couples are always going to be a hard sell. The chemistry had better be something special and the ongoing story needs to be more than, "I immediately know you better than everyone else in your life after having a handful of conversations." There are always exceptions to this rule. Sometimes I fall for the ship fast (Stelena, sorry). Other times it takes until nearly the entire first season or until the second (Ephram/Amy from Everwood, Max/Liz from OG Roswell, Spelivia) for me to get past the beginning and appreciate what the couple is at the heart of it. Needless to say, this sums up Leyton (derogatory). So much of their connection is told to the audience rather than shown. From day one, it's automatically clear that this is the couple to root for. Their only real obstacle, Nathan, is a comically terrible, borderline abusive boyfriend, so the fact Lucas in early season 1 is the anti Nathan pushes him incredibly hard as Peyton's ideal match. Once Brucas starts up, there's an immediate difference in energy and chemistry. Both Lucas and Peyton take themselves so seriously. It's always deep feelings and angst and brooding and "oh, we want to be together, but the circumstances are just too hard." And meanwhile, it's only like episode 9. Brooke has deep feelings and her own insecurities, but on the outside she doesn't take life super seriously and is someone who acts rather than internalizing everything. Brooke's influence on Lucas's life feels like a breath of fresh air. Lucas begins to loosen up and see that there can be more to life than his preconceived ideas of how the world works and how everyone should be acting. On Lucas's end, he encourages Brooke to develop her intellectual side and see that she has so much more to offer than being the life of the party and someone who gets validation from sleeping with a lot of guys. Lucas is the first person Brooke wants to get serious with. Even better, this is a story line we actually get to see play out. When Lucas and Brooke talk about what they like about each other, it all tracks because we've been watching their attraction bloom and seeing how in a lot of ways, they're at their best together. Sorry, this is getting long. This is all solely based on season 1. By the end of the season, Lucas and Peyton cheat for the first time. This sadly becomes a pattern for them. Brooke is emotionally devastated. And though Lucas immediately seems to feel guilt over hurting Brooke, it takes him time to see how far he's strayed from the type of person he wants to be.

Season 2 is a massive gamechanger for Brucas. This is the first time they're truly able to be friends. Without the expectation of a relationship, Brooke and Lucas are able to connect on a deeper level. Yet again, this is something shown to us rather than told. This is the kind of relationship both took the time to develop. Much like in season 1, Lucas encourages Brooke to invest in her more intellectual, soulful side. Lucas himself works on being more selfless, taking the time to improve as a person. Unlike when Lucas pined for Peyton while she was dating Nathan and embarked on an affair during his first relationship with Brooke, this time Lucas allows Brooke's relationship with Felix to play out without any interference while still being a friend. Lucas is aware of his own feelings, but he also knows how badly he hurt Brooke in the past and has no reason to think a second chance is even a possibility. When Lucas kisses Brooke after months of close friendship and opening up to each other emotionally (albeit with Brooke understandably on guard post cheating and Lucas hiding his rediscovered feelings), it feels earned. The third season is a mixed bag. At its best, season 3 Brucas is a perfect mix of seasons 1 and 2 Brucas. Both seem to be equally emotionally invested in the relationship working out and view each other as basically their endgame. But the fun and the lightheartedness exist, as well. Brooke is still someone who brings light and fun to Lucas's life. On Lucas's end, it starts to get murky as the show gets closer and closer to the shooting episode. After spending so much time veering away from the possibility of Lucas and Peyton together with emphasis on Lucas's love for Brooke, the strength of the Brooke/Peyton friendship and even how Lucas and Peyton are actually able to be platonic, healthy friends themselves, everything gets destroyed so that the show can return to Leyton. On the one hand, it's not as though it's totally out of nowhere or implausible because again, the narrative went so hard in Leyton's favor during the first season. But at the same time, it doesn't feel believable to me when it finally happens. Lucas seems to flip flop from getting past his breakup with Brooke to declaring Peyton is the one he wants next to him when his dreams come true in mere seconds. The writers LOVE to make Lucas in denial about his feelings for Peyton. Past the first season, we don't get Lucas pining for Peyton. We just don't. We got Lucas pining for Brooke during season 2 and part of 3 and even Lucas wanting Lindsey back after she leaves him at the altar, but for the lion's share of LP's history, it's Peyton desperately wanting Lucas and somewhat being willing to sacrifice everything just for the chance of being with him. So because of this, Lucas becomes an almost passive love interest where he's told over and over again what he should want and what his true feelings are until he just kind of.. says fine, choosing Peyton. That alone is why I prefer Brucas. It's the more compelling story line and relationship. Plus, the chemistry.

And I hate to do it, but this vs this:

Chemistry is unpredictable, always up for debate, and shouldn't always be the deciding factor in what a person ships. My shipping preferences have been all over the place in this area. But when the writing is lacking and the chemistry isn't really selling the story either, these moments that are supposed to be powerful and come across as passionate somehow come across as phony and put on. In my opinion, Chad and Hilarie had buddy chemistry while Chad and Sophia had the passionate, in love type of chemistry due in large part to literally being in love and married in real life.

As a viewer, I really resent being told that Lucas was simply denying his true feelings for no other reason I can think of except maliciousness when he spent basically two and a half seasons wanting Brooke over Peyton. The romantic relationship with Lucas and Peyton during seasons 4 and 6 seems like the healthier option on the surface, but it comes back to how I feel about Lucas as a passive love interest and Peyton's arc being so wrapped up in whether or not she gets the guy. This is pretty much spelled out towards the end of season 3. During a conversation between Brooke and Peyton, Brooke confides in Peyton that during Lucas's absence she realized that she wasn't as reliant on his physical presence as she thought she'd be. From Brooke's perspective, all this means is that Brooke is somehow capable of loving and being happy independently of the man she loves. But on One Tree Hill, this is supposed to imply Brooke either doesn't truly love Lucas, is falling out of love with Lucas, or that Peyton loves Lucas more because she doesn't desire independence outside of him. It's a gross message to say the least. This brings me full circle, back to season 5. Between seasons, Lucas proposed to Peyton and broke off the relationship when she didn't accept his proposal. Objectively speaking, not the worst thing in the world and a valid thing to do if this is a deal breaker. But this causes the Lucas/Peyton relationship to be heavily imbalanced and in Lucas's favor over Peyton's. Lucas stops feeling like the kind of person who follows his heart and more this desperate guy who wants to marry someone to the point the bride doesn't actually matter. If I go along with the idea that Lucas was in love with Peyton throughout the intervening years, throughout season 5 and for the entirety of his romance with Lindsey, what does that say about Lucas? One, he's the kind of guy who is so out of touch with his own emotions that nothing he says should ever be trusted. Or two, he's an asshole and will willingly commit himself to another woman under false pretenses just because he didn't get what he wanted from his first choice on his terms. Peyton's love for Lucas is meant to be undying and unconditional, causing her to behave in such selfish, desperate ways. Lucas, on the other hand, proves that his affection for Peyton is very conditional. He's not willing to compromise. He doesn't want to wait around for Peyton to catch up with where he is.

And in the mean time, Lucas bouncing between Peyton and Lindsey actually means season 5 Brucas is a very good alternative for Lucas. It's all very unspoken, but the chemistry and the connection between Lucas and Brooke never goes away. Much like in season 2, the possibility of romance is very much off the table. Brooke returns to Tree Hill not to win Lucas back, but because she misses her hometown and sees herself settling down there. Because nothing is being pushed on either end, it's much easier for adult Lucas and adult Brooke to be friends in a way that's impossible for Lucas and Peyton. They're able to relate to each other outside of high school and their past romance. A flashback reveals that Lucas was the first person Brooke told that she wanted to have a baby. During the time Brooke is taking care of Angie, Lucas becomes the kind of person Brooke can depend on and lean on for emotional support. Even outside of season 5, there's a consistent theme of Lucas being the best, most selfless version of himself with Brooke. It's as though Brooke's influence in Lucas's life mixed with their season 1 history almost demands that Lucas be better when they're together. Both Brooke and Lucas are in the place where they're looking to settle down. In a moment that's kind of a contrast to season 3

Unlike in season 3 when Lucas was trying to fight for Brooke but kind of clueless when it came to working out what she wanted from him, this time Lucas realizes that no matter how strong Brooke seems to be, she needs him to show up for her. There will always be endless potential for season 5+ Brucas, in my opinion. Their strong bond and complementary desires for a future shine through even as the narrative reminds us over and over again that Peyton is the one who loves Lucas most and that anything that isn't about Peyton is merely "denial" or Lucas "hiding his heart." Anyways, Lucas literally fantasizes about marrying all of his major love interests, Brooke included. The dream sequence wants us to believe Brooke and Lucas want very different things, making them fundamentally incompatible. The entirety of seasons 5-9 disagrees with this, but Lucas still ends up with Peyton.

When it comes down to it, I don't like the people Lucas and Peyton are around each other. As friends, it's mostly okay. They certainly share common interests and Peyton lacks the trust issues Lucas's other girlfriends have considering she's always the other woman. But.. so much of their love story comes across as incredibly forced with so many holes in it. Their arc throughout the first six seasons does NOT hold water. Peyton isn't allowed to be a fully fleshed out person with goals that don't perfectly align with becoming Mrs. Lucas Scott. Lucas holds all the cards, resulting in him becoming far more selfish and almost childish in the way he acts like season 1 Lucas who is still butthurt his crush didn't want to commit to him after one make out session. Even in the final season, I don't see much if any growth. It's the final season for both characters and the show played out the beats of broken up Leyton, so they're put back together. So much of what happens between Lucas and Peyton is heavily reliant on the idea of everything coming full circle without any regard for how one or both have changed since then. Brucas doesn't have this problem. If nothing else, Brooke and Lucas's relationship goes through multiple changes, with each phase feeling much more mature and deeper than the one before. Even though their past and Brooke's trust issues are recurring problems, their actual dynamic always remains in the present.

As for your last question, I'll never know for sure what discussions were like behind the scenes circa seasons 2 and 3. But based on how season 2 played out, I think there's a very good chance the endgame shifted. The underlying tension and romantic affection between Lucas and Peyton was completely gone. Lucas realized he wanted to be with Brooke and never seemed to consider Peyton. Even Peyton, who has ambiguous moments that refer to possible feelings for Lucas even before the shooting, doesn't have this during the second season. She spends far more time pining for and loving Jake. When Peyton expresses displeasure over her relationship with Lucas, it's that he hasn't been the kind of friend that shows up for her emotionally. Lucas's response to this is to bring Jake back to town LOL. In terms of season 3, it gets confusing. Chad and Sophia didn't separate until multiple episodes into the first half of season 3. Meaning, the groundwork was already being laid for Brucas's failed friends with benefits/casual relationship to become a deeper romantic one even before Chad and Sophia split up. But at the same time, Lucas's friendship with Peyton was also being prioritized again with more references to their romantic past coming up outside of Brooke's insecurities. So with that in mind, it seems like LP was a possibility even as Brucas was rebuilding their relationship. However, I think the Chad/Sophia split permanently closed the door on any legitimate Brucas once their season 3 arc was completed. Personally, I don't think Peyton ending up with Lucas was set in stone until the end of season 3. Had Chad and Sophia never split up, I definitely think we would have seen another round of Brucas at some point because the chemistry alone would have demanded it. Plus, the gross producers capitalizing on the real life Chad/Sophia romance. In a universe where Chad and Sophia never broke up, my gut says Lucas ends up with Brooke. But nothing is 100%. To sum up my thoughts, I think there was a plan in place during season 1. I think another plan emerged during season 2. In season 3, the endgame was literally up for grabs. But Chad and Sophia's breakup sealed the deal.

I love you, too! I'm so sorry for making you read all this.

[localthumbcache]

60 questions abt max (pt 1)

Answering all 60 of these questions for Max. 30 for this segment! This is for u @simbleleven 😩

[1] What first impression do they typically make? Are they likeable from the get go, or take time to grow on people?

I wanna change my previous answer!

He's polite, but people could tell there's something “off” about him. He leaves them curious and creeped out and even makes them feel like they're dreaming. He's unsettling, yet comforting - like a nostalgic liminal space or a single lightpole in a thick, dark forest. You could almost see through him, like he's not actually there, but he very much is.

His connections with ghosts are far more genuine. There's just something about someone who's seen and been through shit that it makes him feel at ease. There's nothing to hide. People can cast you out of society and their circles, but ghosts have no room to judge. They're not a part of this world - they have no society to cast you out of.

[2] How does their social personality differ from how they act when they’re alone?

Not that different - he's himself!

[3] What emotion is the hardest for them to deal with?

Envyy. He will plot and plan and wish on somebody's downfall, which is an ugly side of him that he doesn't like.

[4] How physically and emotionally affectionate are they?

He’s like a cat when it comes to affection: he's distant, but you can still feel his fondness for you. He's uncomfortable with physical intimacy, but he might just allow a hug

[5] Are they good at keeping secrets?

He's very good at keeping secrets and will die with them!! :)

[6] How direct are they in conversations, do they speak in hints and riddles or bluntly say what they think?

He speaks directly, but it's not about what you say, it's how you say it. He says things as eloquently as he can but stays honest. Sometimes, he can be too blunt, tho.

[7] Are they a good liar, and what would they probably lie about?

He’s a scarily good liar. He doesn’t usually lie and only lies when he feels it’s absolutely necessary, but when he does, it’ll be as if he’s possessed by his father bc he turns into this.. smoothtalker. He’s cool and calm, and the charm is amped up to 100. Those honeyed words will be fucking delectable. He can convince the devil to get you out of hell. It’s scary to people who know him bc who tf is this guy. Why is he good at manipulating people…

It seems as much as Guidry The Fuckboy tried to hide it, Max picked up on his lying tactics.

[8] How open are they about their true feelings, both positive and negative?

He isn't as sensitive as Liv, but he isn't emotionally constipated like Phi. He'll say that he’s “just nervous” while feeling anxious. He'll tell you that he’s frustrated when deep down he's furious. Basically, he tells you what's going on, but not the full story.

When it comes to positive emotions, he's one of those “I'm so happy 😐” people lol, but he's more expressive when it comes to his passions. He just shows his emotions differently than most.

[9] What is their love language?

Gift givin! If he sees something that reminds him of you, he'll get it immediately

[10] How quickly do they fall for someone?

Never! :3

But ig for a platonic version: how long does it take for him to connect with someone? Long and not often, though it really depends on who you are

With Phi (very outgoing), it took lots of time. Generally, outgoing people drain him, but she was able to see that, so she toned it down (shes chill like dat)

With Nyon (socially anxious) they clicked quickly. Similar interests, able to relate on a lot of things, and their personalities just mixed well.

Mortimer (old) quicker than Nyon. They're on the same wavelength and they often have philosophical & intellectual conversations (Mortimer is surprised that such a young person can have stimulating conversations with him)

[11] What are small things that make them happy?

Gnomes, fish speakers but especially ones with good audio quality, the look and feel of hardcover books, sprite whispers, the sky and lightning in Mourningvale, chess pieces, seeing his breath in cold air, spiders and spider webs. Fun fact about that: his gallery is full of pics of spider webs, and he critiques them, telling the spider what it could've improved on and what it did well with. He posts some of these critiques on his Zutube channel.

[12] How high is their self-esteem?

Neutral. He doesn't have that many insecurities, is rather grounded, and doesn't think about himself too much.

He's aware of how others perceive him, but he doesn't gaf. He's in tune with his strengths. Others may think he's stupid, but he knows very well that he's not.

[13] What kind of sense of humor do they have, if any?

It can take a lot to make him laugh, but the only person who knows how to easily press his buttons would be Liv, with her dark humor. He likes dad-jokes, observational, and situational humor as well

[14] What does it take to make them laugh, and what does their laugh sound like?

Whether it be a dad-joke or smth out of pocket (Liv), you have to catch him way off-guard. ‘Tis the only way.

He giggles 🥺 they sound very cute and sweet. When he's laughing hard, it's joyous and contagious

[15] How do they act around people they don't like?

He'll he short and very blunt with them, more closed off and even a big cold.

[16] Do they easily rely on others to help them out, or prefer doing everything themselves?

He was raised to be independent, so he prefers to do things on his own. He isn't against asking for help, but he's very persistent.

[17] What is their biggest struggle that no one around them is able to understand or believe?

YAMACHAN!!! IS NOT!!! A PERSON!!! Nah but the real answer to this would be the fact that he doesn't feel like a human, like he's missing an integral part of what it means to be one. I mean, he knows that he is, but whenever he interacts with a fellow being, he feels so disconnected, like he's talking to an alien - he doesn't understand people, especially those within his age group.

[18] Do they ever have to hide their identity and for what reason?

He doesn't really hide who he is, yet he does? He's more of a listener than a speaker and hardly starts conversation, but every once in awhile shares bits and pieces of personal/unnecessary details out of nowhere, but manages to do so without stating who he is or what he's into or anything - sort of like an anonymous confession (“I knew somebody like that once. Died of an anal infection. But I digress, as you were saying?”) Basically, he overshares without elaborating, and if asked to do so, he'll give a vague answer. Both his silence and openness leave people with more questions than answers.

He doesn’t do it for any particular reason other than that's just how he is, but he likes it that way.

[19] If they could change one thing about their past, what would they change?

Honestly? Nothing… well, except for going to high school. It was short-lived anyway so might as well, but other than that, he's had an interesting and pleasant upbringing.

[20] When they’re sad or upset, do they need company or some time alone?

Alone time, but ghostly company helps a lot. A living person doesn't comfort him the way a ghost does. It just feels more “at home.”

[21] When they’re sick, would they want others to visit and take care of them, or they would rather prefer not to be seen at not their best?

Nooo he doesn't want to get anyone sick!! So he tries to avoid going out or having friends over. He'll reject any offers to pamper him!

[22] Do they have nightmares, and if yes, when did they start and what are they usually about?

Well, when he does sleep, he lucid dreams, and he's been to some very interesting places inside his mind (lucky bastard)! It's either that or night terrors, which he's been having since he was a teen, and they'd involve either a ritual, demons and poltergeists, getting beat up, running away, or most notably, a shadowy figure with a red aura that he would either have to fight, exorcise, or run from. She's so angry, vengeful even, and her rage makes his body heat up so much that when he wakes up, he's in a pool of hot sweat. It's strange - she seems so familiar, but he just can't find out who it is…

[23] What was the worst, the darkest period of their life that they have been through?

The first time he got possessed by a demon ☺️ ugly towards friends, self-harm, attempted suicide (all from the demons doing), sickness, rage, and just a general loss of himself. Cute, right? But he doesn't wish to turn back time to avoid that. Instead, he took it as a learning experience and now understands demons on such a different level than he did previously. So uh. Yeah he goes out of his way to “learn more.”

[24] How hard is it for them to not allow their emotions to cloud their judgement?

Ehhh it can vary. For the most part, he's level-headed - he listens to his heart and head and can make decisions based on both reason and emotion, but he is more logical.

[25] Do they have fears and phobias, and if they do, do they usually keep it to themselves or talk about it openly?

Memory loss terrifies him. He doesn’t want to forget the interesting things and people he learned about, the things he's experienced that most dont, and most importantly, his father. How is he to be convinced that his dad is a ghost, especially since he doesn’t even know his biological parents? And to potentially be afraid of ghosts, when most of his loved ones are. To forget his life means to forget himself, and he's terrified of that.

He doesn't mind talking about it, but he only discusses it with people he knows well.

[26] Do they have any physical or mental illness, how do they handle it and how open they are about it?

Not an illness but rather a disorder: he has insomnia. He takes medication for it. He doesn’t tell anyone he has it unless the conversation comes up.

[27] Do they have any scars, how did they get them and how do they feel about them?

He has a scratch on the top of his wrist (bullying), a cigarette burn on the lower-left side of his neck (bullying), scratches on his arm (possession)

[28] What is something that they will never be able to forgive?

If you broke an artifact of his on purpose (why would u do that ur just jelly). Hoo boy.

[29] How do they deal with loss, stress and anger?

Loss: He's desensitized to death but does feel sorry for the possible agony someone went through before/during their death and the anguish they might experience as a ghost. If it's a peaceful death, he won't grieve because there's a chance that he could still see them again afterwards, but should they choose to leave this plane for good, he'll distance himself and grieve privately. He goes through the stages backwards: first, he accepts it and goes numb, and then gradually falls off his hinges.

Bonus fact about this: when he’s befriending an old person and they won't answer a question, he writes in his journal “questions to ask __ while theyre dying/after they die” bc he knows they'll be vulnerable by then. Fucked up I know, but like I said, desensitized. And also Guidry is his parent

Stress: Boy needs space! He takes himself out of the situation and goes for a run/walk

Anger: Again, he removes himself from the situation before he says something stupid.

[30] What are their most healthy and most unhealthy coping mechanisms?

His healthiest coping mechanism would be exercise :3

Unhealthiest? Social isolation

[charles-leclerc-official]

Hi I'm Luci, your resident Charles Leclerc Ferrari blogger! I like talking non-stop about the silly men in the very fast cars 🏎️💨✨

Simple. Calm. Crazy.

Askbox is always open ❤️

You can find all my creations below 📝🎨📕📷

[ ao3 | edits | race analysis | F1 journal | fanart | text posts ]

Art print shop! bluesky

About Me and My Blog

I am an adult, and use she/they pronouns, in Pacific Timezone. Please no minors, I do post suggestive and nsfw content. I will block for not respecting this boundary.

DO NOT REPOST MY WORK ON ANY OTHER PLATFORM

1. My favorite drivers are: Charles, Lewis, Max, Fernando, George and Oscar(he's on short notice at all times because of Mclaren). Also of course Kimi (my first love) and Seb and Kmag <3 It should be evident that my loyalties lie with Charles and Ferrari(that's who I am cheering for in races no exceptions) If Charles is out, I am cheering for the other Ferrari. If they are both out, I am complaining.

2. THERE ARE NO STUPID QUESTIONS. If you are new to the fandom and are curious about something do not hesitate to ask, I will answer to the best of my ability <3

3. Just because I like one driver it does not mean I hate another driver.

4. I don't do driver hate on my blog, any asks that are overly negative and hateful get deleted. I will block for any nasty driver hate in my tags. That does not mean I won't be critiquing drivers, but I try to be fair and analytical and not just hate for no reason. I tag any driver critique so that you can filter those tags if you don't want to see. The tag format is "DRIVER INITIALS critical" ex "VB Critical" (neutral example)

5. Just because I am reblogging posts/videos of a driver does not mean I support them. I reblog posts I think are informative to a race weekend. This includes hearing from the drivers in their own words.

6. This is a pro rpf blog. I know it's not real, it's just for fun. I like to multiship. My favorite pairings are lestappen. maxcar, choscar, and chewie and a few other rare pairs. Feel free to send me anything about rpf and pairings I love talking about them all. We love rpf on this blog.

7. Always feel free to tag me in posts, send me asks, dm about F1. I love talking about it, even if it's not about my top teams/drivers. If you want to have a Valtteri Bottas party in my asks I am down for that.

8. I am autistic and if you send me a joke there is a good chance I will not get it and take it literally. No problems, but you've been warned.

9. Please do not send Twitter/X links for any sources or fandom discourse. I do not support the platform and am inactive on my accounts. Send links to articles etc and feel free to reference fandom discourse on other platforms (I also do not have tiktok so I have not seen anything on there, and if you send a link I probably won't watch it). I won't block or be mad if you do send these kinds of things, but know that I won't be responding.

10. I don't talk about WAGs. I don't follow them, they don't interest me. I'm not anti-WAG, but I don't follow any of them so I just don't have much to say on their goings on. You can ask questions about them but I probably don't know the answer.

12. Do not repost my work. That means art, fics, annotated race analysis graphs etc. I do not post on twitter, instagram or tiktok, if you see my work being shared there please let me know it is not being shared with my permission. I post on tumblr and bluesky. If I catch you reposting my work(especially my art) there will be consequences.

13. If you have any questions or concerns reach out, I will keep things private <3

Tags

"Luci answers" for any ask "Lucis text post" for text posts made by me "Lucis edit" for photo edits made by me "Lucis race analysis" for my race analysis posts "lights out and away queue go" for queued items(I finally came up with a clever tag) "Lestappen lore" for posts about important events in the lestappen timeline "Predestined things" for posts waxing poetic about Charles "Lucis race analysis" for my race analysis posts "Race analysis tips" for posts with advice on race analysis "Analysis resources" for posts that have resources for race and car analysis "Technical talk" for posts about the technical elements of F1 cars "the rpf of it all" for asks discussing rpf dynamics among the grid "Tyre screeches" for rambling thoughts

Queue set to post twice a day

[onboardsorasora]

Um, I love your Disney Princess AU, can you please write more?

Hii HitGirl!! Sorry I took so long. Thank you for this ask, I'm so truly happy you enjoy it so much! Please don't be hesitant to prompt me for this verse, I'm all too excited to write it- and I truly appreciate that people love it as well <3

I took a bit of extra time because I wanted to get all of Alex's cats right! so I went searching lol Also this is unedited so hopefully it doesn't suck

Part 1 | Part 4

Part 5

Getting to Alex's wasn't as difficult as Max worried it would have been. Considering all that has happened so far, Max thought Daniel would have had issues getting into a car. but it turns out the main problem ended up being getting Daniel out of the car. 

He loved to drive and he loved to race. Max had to promise to let Daniel drive at some point in the future. 

Pinky swears because those were unbreakable. Daniel's face had taken on a seriousness that Max found out of place. He agreed easily because he hadn't been lying and it was such an easy thing that made Daniel happy.

Lando had tried to prepare Alex, he really did. But there was nothing that could get you ready for seeing literal magic in real life– if you'd never experienced it before. Alex knew about magic, it was a cultural thing, but he'd never encountered it in exactly the way Lando tried to explain.

Daniel was in heaven. That's what Alex's house was! Alex was fun, he was tall and his smile was bright but then the noise had overwhelmed Daniel for a little. So many curious voices! And he was so excited to meet everyone.

Very soon he was in the middle of a kitty pile; there was Horsey but he also answers to Stan, Duckie, MooMoo, Sasha, Frooky, Goosey, Lookie, Gucci— there was no way Daniel was going to remember everyone. He apologized so many time already and Tino said it was fine. They were all just happy to talk to someone new and Daniel was so so happy to meet everyone.

He was overwhelmed in the best way and his grin told everyone just how ecstatic he was. Max could only stare at Daniel, while Lando and Charles tried to fill Alex in on what they knew. There wasn’t that much information other than what was happening in front of them.

Alex’s girlfriend Lily came home with boxes of pizza and Daniel swayed happily in his purring pile. She placed the boxes in the kitchen counter and bounded happily over to Daniel. Alex had been texting her updates and she wanted so much to meet Daniel.

“Hi! I’m Lily, its so nice to meet you!”

Daniel beamed at her, entranced by the glitter that sparkled over her eyes. It shimmered green in one direction and purple in another. Lily was beautiful and Daniel sang as much, he reached out for her face and the rose on the back of his hand bloomed more petals than it had before. 

The pile of cats vibrated with purrs that would probably register as a seismic event if Jimmy and Sassy were there as well. Tino and Otto started their own awhoos and then it was chaos because Alex joined in, awhooing with the dogs. Lando followed suit because he loved all forms of chaos. 

Max and Charles were left watching the madness from the kitchen, because even Lily fell to Daniel’s charms– giggling and blushing at the magic around her.

It took a little while for everything to die down, and reach a baseline level once more. Pizza was shared and Daniel positively vibrated out of his skin. He hummed the entire time that he wasn’t chewing or swallowing– though he did try hard.

“Lily…” Daniel asked when the boys started playing FIFA, it was interesting but he was way more interested in the glitter Lily wore. MooMoo said it was eyeshadow and Daniel believed them because they would know best. Cats never lie. Michelle never wore make up like this, she stuck to neutrals, this would look amazing on her.

“Yes?” She smiled sweetly at him, looking up from petting Horsey.

“How did you get the glitter– on your eyes? It's really pretty.” He asked shyly, biting the side of his finger.

“Oh! I can show you– come!” The cats shuffled away, letting them get up from the couch unhindered. Lily lead him out of the living room– Max’s eyes following them– to one of the bedrooms, but there was no bed. It had all sorts of sports tools and there was a desk with lights and a large mirror. Lily turned on the lights and started digging through a drawer. With an aha! She showed him three small pots of sparkly powder.

Grasping his left hand, she opened one of the pots and dipped her index finger in, before smearing a bright red shimmery pigment over his rose. Daniel’s eyes widened in surprise and his mouth opened in an O as he shifted his wrist to see how the colour shimmered in the light. The rose bloomed even prettier with the added colour.

“May I?” He asked reverently and she nodded, handing him a pot of bright sapphire blue. She uncapped it for him and he tentatively dipped a finger in, admiring how the whorls of his fingerprint were now shimmery. “So pretty,” he whispered before smearing the colour in the fluttering wings of his cherub. The tattoo smiled at him before shooting an arrow in glee.

“That’s beautiful!” Lily gasped, entranced by the site. Daniel smeared the rest of the pigment on the belly of the cherub who giggled, which made him giggle.

“I can’t wait to show Max!” Daniel smiled in wonder, his big brown eyes watching the play of shimmer as he moved his wrist and forearm. Lily smiled sweetly at him, “you should show him now.”

“But he’s playing–”

“He won’t mind.” She grinned conspiratorially and he grinned in return, nodding once before skipping out of the room, humming a happy tune.

“Max! Max– look! I sparkle!” He sang proudly, kneeling by the bewildered man who sat crosslegged on the floor and pushed his arm in his face. Lando and Charles snickered behind them.

Max looked at Daniel’s fluttering and shimmering tattoos before looking up at his beaming face, “yes, very beautiful Daniel.” He responded softly, his tummy swooped– as if he just took the checkered flag– when Daniel blushed.

Part 6