#I didn't realize just how many crossovers I made lol

[arthdoesart]

Old gag comic that I did on IG (@niickiepie)

[hermesmyplatonicbeloved]

Annabeth and Percy/Annabeth Content (Critical)

DO NOT INTERACT if you like Annabeth, or if you like Percy/Annabeth.

If some of the things Annabeth says or does to Percy makes you uncomfortable, or if you're just questioning some of it (unsure about following mainstream Percabeth shipping) then this is for you.

This is part thirteen of my masterpost (that had too many links so I had to break it up lol).

Anyways, this section is all criticisms about the Percy/Annabeth ship, and some of Annabeth's behavior in the book series. Beware; this is not Annabeth friendly. I'm constantly editing and adding new links and content so please check out the original post on my blog for the updated version.

Enjoy!

Percy/Annabeth in PJO:

Double standards for Percy/Annabeth with paying respect to the other's immortal parent

Percabeth was only possible because Rachel and Luke took themselves out of the competition

Many of Percabeth’s scenes feel so much like foreshadowing for a realization from Percy that he’s in an abusive relationship (someone else's post but I agree 100%)

Percy is Annabeth’s rebound because her first love turned into an evil overlord and died.

Every time Annabeth is mean to Percy in PJO + Staff of Hermes (not mine, idk if I agree with all of these but it's an interesting list).

Annabeth is Percy's rebound from Rachel; and Percy is Annabeth's rebound from Luke.

Percy/Annabeth in HoO+:

Trust and Vulnerability in Percy/Annabeth's Relationship + Someone else's thoughts why Percy rarely opens up

Tartarus made Percy and Annabeth into the worst version of themselves

The judo flip + Percy's mortal spot: A Murder Attempt?!

A poll I conducted to see what Percabeth fans thought of the flip, and how/if that affected their shipping of Percabeth

Commentary on the Judo Flip by Piper Mcclean

Commentary on how well Percy and Annabeth know each other's backstories by Piper Mcclean

Comparison: Annabeth seeing Percy at his most powerful vs. Nico seeing Percy at his most powerful.

Percy/Annabeth fans claim everything Percy does is about Annabeth - Disproved

A poll I conducted to see what Percabeth fans thought of the "some things [poison] aren't meant to be controlled" scene

Discussions on Percy being scared of Annabeth, fans romantizing that and the effects of Rick's shitty, shitty writing

Commentary: Percy commenting on Annabeth's victim blaming tendencies

General: Percy deserves better (not mine but I agree)

Moment in the KC crossover where Percy admits he fears Annabeth

Percy's unaddressed trauma + Annabeth's tendency to get mad at/make fun of/insult Percy (not mine but I agree)

The judo-flip was done out of anger and as a (unrightful) punishment (not mine but I agree)

Percabeth stans are Annabeth stans and anti-Percabeth ppl are Percy stans: a theory

Percy/Annabeth in CoTG:

An Analysis of Percy/Annabeth's life together as adults

Criticism of Percy and Annabeth's relationship "Perc@beth is the gold standard and no-one is doing it like them."

Top tier analysis of what Percy/Annabeth's relationship outside of trauma bonding and wartime (and a few other topics like emotional vulnerability and jealously/insecurities). (not mine but I agree with it)

Annabeth (Critical) Content:

Fans give Annabeth credit for things she didn't do

Is Annabeth as badass, formidable in battle strategy and leadership as her fans claims she is? Evidence from the books.

Annabeth views Percy as a replacement for Luke (not mine, but I agree)

Annabeth stalks Percy with her invisibility cap while he's changing his clothes (pre-relationship).

Poll: What type of Annabeth Chase fan are you?

Anon ask: Annabeth's pattern of turning Percy's female friends against him (in the sense that they're still friends but they insult him jokingly to appease Annabeth)

Annabeth called Percy the coward when in reality she was the coward for never communicating (not mine but I agree).

Annabeth stans like to distract everyone from Annabeth's embarrassing crush on Luke & her Luke apologism by pointing at Luke and unjustly saying pedo.

A short spiel about general redemption arcs that I think would apply to Annabeth - no actual analysis relating it to PJO tho.

Annabeth stans really be out there saying that she has the most tragic backstory in PJO like no other character exists

Annabeth is incredibly aggressive to anyone who challenges her or doesn't fit into her perfect worldview/plan.

Annabeth stans may like her because they see themselves in her? (the aggression, entitlement, jealously etc.)

Poll: Does Annabeth acknowledge that Percy is smart?

Annabeth's worst crime is how she treated Tyson

[sensitiveheartless]

20 questions for fic writers!

Tagged by @feralrookie! :D Thank you for the tag!!

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

10! (technically, kinda)

2. What's your total ao3 word count?

379,547

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Just Bungou Stray Dogs! It's also the first fandom I've written for, actually. :D

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

This is how it feels to take a fall (Dazai goes feral, time shenanigans)

Plate :( (Dazai breaks a plate, experiences emotions)

Dazai and the Moving Detective Agency (Howl's Moving Castle AU)

Chuunyaa's Pawsitively Catastrophic Day (Chuuya is turned into a cat, it's short and pretty much just shenanigans)

Wish in one hand (First fic I wrote, and the first one I posted — Dazai has emotions about handholding)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to, but I've been absolutely terrible at it lately — whenever I'm particularly stressed I start worrying that the negative emotions are going to leak through into what I'm writing and make my tone sound weird, so then I end up turtling in on myself and not saying anything at all, no matter how much I want to engage with people. It's a bad habit, and I want to work on it, so I'm gonna try to catch up on comments! (I treasure every single one of the ones I receive, so for anyone who has left a comment and hasn't gotten a response from me yet, thank you and I am very sorry about my inability to form words in a timely manner skdjfksd)

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably An Unsent Letter, since it's pretty much just a short snippet of Dazai being sad while he's leaving the mafia. And even with that one, I have in my head that skk still get together after the four years apart, I just didn't write it. I am dreadful with sad endings — although the ending to "This is how it feels to take a fall" is a little bittersweet, perhaps.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Hmm...I'm gonna say Dazai and the Moving Detective Agency, because it's the one with the longest buildup, so I think it has the most catharsis, at least for me! But I tend to give all of my fics happy endings because, as established, I am a wimp when it comes to hardcore angst. I will say that Zut Alors I Have Missed One is probably a contender for happiest as well, just because that fic had no angst whatsoever and was just Unhinged

8. Do you get hate on fic?

Nope! Everyone's been lovely! I have gotten some for my art, but honestly it was pretty toothless and I couldn't take it seriously lol

9. Do you write smut?

...Yeh. :0 There was an attempt, at least — one fic, and I made it anonymous (so on the extreme off-chance that anyone notices a discrepancy between my total ao3 wordcount listed here and the summed up wordcounts of the fics viewable on my profile, that's why!) It's also another fic I need to finish, I hit my writing roadblock with that one at the same time as all my others, and it's almost doneeee I just need my brain to cooperate >:|

10. Do you write crossovers?

Not any proper crossovers, only things like the Howl AU and the Little Mermaid AU, where I took the settings/plots and put in BSD characters.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

...Possibly? I'm not actually sure, I've given a couple people permission, but I'm not sure if anything came of that, I haven't heard one way or another :0 I do have a tendency to use puns, which I realize might make things difficult for translations

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, not so far — and given how tempestuous my schedule has been, it'll probably be a while before I attempt anything like that! Sounds fun, though

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

...I mean, it's gotta be soukoku, because for all that I've enjoyed a lot of fictional pairings before (for example, Howl and Sophie specifically from the HMC books, Beatrice and Benedick from Much Ado About Nothing — I like bickering duos, what do you know — Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane, currently falling down the Hualian rabbithole because I'm reading Heaven Official's Blessing with my friend, and there's lots of other ones), for as much as I like all those, I haven't really had much of an urge to write anything for them.

So, purely in terms of me wanting to mess around with two characters and write them over and over and over again, it's really only skk! They hit the exact right combination of braincells, I guess lololol

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but probably won't?

Hmmm...honestly, most of my WIPs I still intend to finish at some point or another — first priority being the ones I've already started posting, of course! Although...just due to time constraints, I might not get around to writing the thief!Chuuya/detective!Dazai one I was planning a while back. (and I mean a WHILE lol) I didn't write very much of it, and honestly most of the reason I wanted to write it was for comedy — so maybe I'll turn it into a short comic series instead, because I do think some of the bits were funny :0

16. What are your writing strengths?

That's a hard one; I tend to look more at the ways I want to improve my writing then at what I like about it, and I nitpick just about everything I create, art and writing alike. But if I had to pick something, I would probably say dialogue? That tends to be what I write easiest, at least. I still want to get better at that too, though.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Descriptions and action scenes. I've been making myself write them more, so I think I'm slowly improving (the Howl AU has been great for that! It pushed me to write all sorts of scenes I wouldn't have normally :D ), but those two things remain what I get bogged down by the most.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Depends on the circumstances, I think? I'd include translations if I did. I do tend to include Japanese honorifics when I'm writing in the canon universe, because there's not really english equivalents and it feels like I'm leaving something out when I just do their names straight — although I did take them out when I was doing the Howl AU and the Little Mermaid AU, just as a setting thing.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Bungou Stray Dogs — like I mentioned in the ship section, this is the first fandom where I've really felt the urge. Although I did write things when I was little that very blatantly yoinked in various creatures and concepts from the things I was reading and watching, which resulted in stories with pirates and weeping angels and Ringwraiths all running around in the same place. But I didn't usually bother with bringing in actual characters from those pieces of media, or even using the settings, I just made ocs and had them run around in my own made up world.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

I like all of them for different reasons, but I think my favorite overall has to be Dazai and the Moving Detective Agency. It's the longest thing I've ever written, and when I started out I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it — so the fact that it's most of the way done (currently chipping away at the epilogue, it is getting to be a LOT of words) makes me really happy. And it's just been so much fun! Writing characters I hadn't before, piecing the world together, working out the magic system, writing Dazai being a mess and Chuuya being cool, it's all been a blast. And I seriously need to finish the epilogue, because the followups are living in my brain and they demand to be freed aksdfjksdjfk

But yeah! I'm not sure how many writers I know on here have already been tagged, so I'll just go open tags on this one! :D If any of y'all write and feel like doing this, then go for it!

[journalsouppe]

Ghost trick!!!! Loved this game it was exactly what I expected from a Shu Takumi game. I do hope they plan to make a sequel or crossover, I really loved the mechanics of this game.

Writing typed below! (plus some extra commentary)

Rating: 9.3 Played: Su 2023 Port: Nintendo Switch Favorite? Y Replayable? Y Recommend? Y

Comments:

LOVE missile

really fun premise - you died and don't know who you are

DON'T GET A CONCUSSION MISSILE

not the PM erotica T-T

LMAO Payne and Wright

the kazuma pose (skull)

I'm in love with Cabanela

Lynne not again T-T

Sissel in the painting...

NOT THE FEET OUT AT WORK T-T T-T

omg the security camera murder and the meory are different. I know your tricks Mr. Takumi (I didn't realize Yomiel shot the gun twice here LMFAOO)

mmm... chicken kitchen

is everyone in love with Lynne?

I'm actually so obsessed with the Ghost Trick art style

ALL of your medicine????

he's already dead... and they used an electric chair.....

THIS IS SO FUCKED UP

chicken kitchen and execution fates were really fun

man I really want an AAxGT crossover

love how oversized all the objects are

MISSILE IS BACK AHHH and he has different ghost tricks omg... then how did the lamp know about mine

so many mysteries omg I love it

how was I supposed to get sissel to the top (skull) (I was genuinely stuck and when I restarted the level it spawned me at a different place LMAO)

SISSEL? IN THE PARK?

HE SAW ME AND TURNED TOWARD THE SCREEN (Skull)

but his name wasn't sissel... who is the lamp....

love this crazy arm contraption

red suit man had radiation in his body... so I/Sissel died near it... but who am I... (I forgot about the cat LMFAOO)

Temsik... kismet... mmmm kismet (kismet is the name of my favorite restaurant)

STOP looking at the screen

yomiel...

I WAS YOMIEL'S CAT T^TT^T

ZAM RAY WAS OLD MISSILE

little Lynne T-T

Sissel has temsik...

Game Dev Notes

really fun animations and character design

unique gamplay - I love moving thru objects

love the character dialogue - great humor and timing

extra puzzles and challenges similar to professor layton

characters have tons of personality in design and posture

LOVE the cool toned shadows on the sprites

great music

fun and sweet ending credits

Summary

Shu Takumi has done it again (even though this is a remaster lol). What and incredible mystery game with really fun mechanics. There were definitely a couple times I was stumped on what to do or was stuck bc I missed my window of opportunity, but I think it worked well since the puzzles were difficulty and you couldn't just immediately breeze past them all. I also really enjoyed gaining missile's abilities later and having to think of the puzzles in different ways. The characters and animations/sprites were really fun. There's so much personality in them without even saying a word. The game also reveals character information in a really good way as you slowly learn more about the mystery of the game yet also feels like you're getting farther from learning who you are. I also just love how this game is just made with so much love for Takumi's real pets and how Sissel ended up being Yomiel's beloved cat... what a sweet ending oh my god. Each level had such a fun and unique design while also adding a twist to the puzzle, like the stealth level or submarine sinking level. The game also has many unlockable achievements to encourage replayability as well as concept art and other illustrations to unlock. There's so much added to this game and you can really feel the love and care the team put into this game, I hope there are more Ghost Trick games in the future or hopefully even a Ghost trick x Ace Attorney crossover -- I wonder how that would play out esp with Maya's spirit abilities. All in all, such a sweet and fun game. Not too long either. Can't wait to replay it to get all the achievements and make fanart!

[jesuiscenseedormir]

20 questions for fic writers

Tagged by @smilingbuckley

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

10

2. What's your total ao3 word count?

8,977

3. What fandoms do you write for?

So far, only 9-1-1

4. Top 5 fics by kudos

I want to eat your smile (1,341 words | G | Buck x Eddie)

Discovery (888 words | E | Buck x Eddie)

So… you're in love with me (1,246 words | T | Buck x Eddie)

You are my dad (1,322 words | G | Buck x Bobby)

Beautiful Scenery (1,250 words | M | Buck x Eddie)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I chose you. (388 words | G | Buck x Eddie)

It's a plotless ficlet with an open/ambiguous ending.

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

So… you're in love with me

8. Do you get hate on fics?

It's too early for that lol

9. Do you write smut?

I DO NOW! Discovery is smut (about puppy buck. of all the things I could start with...) and I have a plan for part 2 (about eddie's discovery)

10. Craziest crossover?

Haven't done any.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I'm open to it.

13. Have you co-written a fic before?

I don't have the mental space now, I'd love to do that one day :D

14. All time favorite ship?

I can't do all time favorites, I can barely do favorites in general. Right now, I'm obsessed with Buddie.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will

My first 911 wip, the one that started it all, is set post-season 5. It's about the Buckley-Han and the Buckley-Diaz spending some family time together. Except, well... Chim is pining over Maddie, Eddie over Buck, and Chris just wanted to play with Jee-Yun because Buck keeps gushing about his niece.

I didn't completely abandon it. I just realized after having outlined it and written some snippets, that the whole thing was way above my writing skills. So, it's just waiting for me to catch up.

16. What are your writing strengths?

......

Oh I know! I can write very sweet stories 🥰

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I can't do multiple scenes. Writing different moments and connecting them into a coherent story? I can't do that yet. (Hence my answer to question 15).

I want to go too fast in my strorytelling. I always have to force myself to slow down the story.

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language

Whole sentences? Dialogue? Nah. Unless I have a beta reader who speaks the language.

Single words, like pet names or interjections? Maybe. I'll probably end up in a multiple tabs research, but yeah why not.

also, IF ANYONE NEEDS A BETA READER WHO SPEAKS FRENCH I'M RIGHT HERE.

19. First fandom you wrote for

Technically, Agents of shields. I will not elaborate.

20. Favorite fic you've written

We're okay. (472 words | G | Buck x Eddie)

She's small and a little rough on the edges, but she's cute and she's the first fucking one! Kudos to her.

Tagging: @disasterbuck @aspecbuddie @made-ofmemories @your-catfish-friend @aroeddiediaz @elvensorceress @babygirl-diaz @monsterrae1 @exhuastedpigeon @captain-hen

[japanifornication]

20 fic questions

i was tagged by @mutxnts thank you ash!!

1. how many works do you have on Ao3?

21, ayyy, one less than ash!!

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

189,718. this does not surprise me.

3. what fandoms do you write for?

ace attorney and very rarely ff7 and the last of us.

4. what are your top five fics by kudos?

late night (257 kudos), tasting (121 kudos), finality (114 kudos), alive (91 kudos), distance (88 kudos) all of these are ace attorney, three of them are part of a series lol.

if we want to include my art that i've posted to ao3, holding would actually be in second place, with 218 kudos.

theoretically another fic should be in the top five instead but i left it out because i just don't like it and don't plan to update it again/will prob remove it at some point (it was my first in the fandom, was trying to do a case fic before realizing i am bad at them).

5. do you respond to comments?

i try to always respond but sometimes i just don't know what to say! that being said i am always open to chatting about my fics. please. please talk to me oh my god i want to talk about ace attorney.

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

oughhhh....... i guess no one told me it would be beautiful? it's one of my shortest fics and part of just a short series of a post-apocalypse au. it's not exactly the angstiest ending, i have another series in mind for that, but the whole fic has an undertone of angst, and series will too. i just write it in spurts when i feel the need to write something that isn't one of my WIPs.

7. what’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

i think most of my fics end on a sort of higher note! my fics have strong undertones of angst but with lighter endings, but i think the winner would go to status :) because it's the happy ending to the long angsty series! and also it just makes me happy, i feel like i really stuck the landing, we get to see the boys laugh over the most absurd situation and it makes me laugh too.

8. do you get hate on fics?

i've never gotten hate on a fic but shortly after i posted fic that met this description in the tags once, someone i follow made a post making fun of the idea that edgeworth would ever be a sexy dom. listen we are all playing in our own sandboxes.

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

we all know me, come on now. i write trans phoenix getting railed in all configurations smut. every e-rated fic has at least one creampie. we know this.

10. do you write crossovers? what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

i don't, but i do have one in mind. i've been planning a severance ace attorney fic for a long time.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

no

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

no

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

kind of? tybalt wrote a fic in the universe of one of my series! which kind of counts? idk! but he didn't feel like posting it so i did lol (he's co-author on it). but i do RP a lot, just none is published yet. maybe some day.

14. what’s your all time favorite ship?

of all time??????? tifa/cloud/aerith probably

15. what’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

ohhh god maybe my vampire fic, wait for the morning. i'm trying. i'm trying for the homosexuals.

16. what are your writing strengths?

i think i'm best at writing dialogue honestly, that is what i love to write the most, especially arguments. otherwise in the Real World i am very good at writing passive-aggressive but still somehow polite and professional emails to get shit done.

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

i have a lot of problems with just repetitive vocab.

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i have a lot of feelings on this i can't exactly elucidate well. i only speak english fluently. i have a very beginner's knowledge in french. i'm also indigenous, but i don't speak the language of my people, which despite being one of the largest indigenous speech communities in the US, still only has around 2,000 native speakers.

so... i have a lot of feelings about language that take up a lot of space in my chest. but i just am kind of stuck writing in english. if i need to write dialogue in another language, i try to source from friends who speak the language first, then elsewhere on the internet if i don't know anyone directly who speaks it (e.g. asking in a public discord or reddit or somewhere), and use online translation tools as a last resort.

19. first fandom you wrote for?

theoretically it was accidentally tomb raider when i was in 3rd grade but i didn't know that's what i was doing at the time. intentionally, the first fic i ever wrote fanfic for was ff7.

20. favorite fic you’ve written?

i really and truly cannot choose here. it's like picking your favorite child. for the writing skills alone i have to pick wait for the morning (unfinished, i'm sorry). clarity is another one i think shows off some writing skills, idk, i just like it! for the characterization, something about decadence really floats my boat. and for the one that really earns its e-rating, it's tasting (especially chapter 3), my magnum opus of smut.

i am tagging.... who am i tagging. i hate tagging ppl bc i get sooooo anxious that ppl will be annoyed but i am going to tag @sandboxer @m-aximumjoy @samioli if you want to do it, and i have forgotten everyone else's tumblr urls in this exact moment it's like the men in black just memory-wiped me

[almaadst]

for the artist ask: 2, 4, 5, 8, 14, and 17~ :3c

@andeborg Billy my sweetheart! <3 Thank you for your questions and patience 🙏(But like they say "save best for the last" <3) Although most of the questions I already answered here: 2, 5, 8, 17) but here are the other two:

4. Favourite things to draw?

That's a tough question actually! I think it will be female faces and female bodies overall and long hair 'cos I love making them nice shapes '3'

14. How has your art changed over the years?

That will be fun to answer! I have to open the folder with my old art and I will show you! '3'

<2010 I started my drawing journay with drawing animals like lions/wolfs I tried imitating "Lion King" style but I do not have any artwork from this time ;; But I have artworks from 2012 which I think I was quite good already (*￣∀￣) Here it is, my lioness OCs: Xena and Hexa! (daughter and mother)

2011 (left) - I started drawing humans (manga style) after watching Pandora Hearts anime. Anatomy was really wanky - I clearly didn't know how to properly draw the shoulder/chest area, the clothes design was "edgy" 'cos I was 14yo lol, and of course, I was hiding hands 'cos I couldn't draw them all! And I didn't have a graphic tablet back then so all was traditionally made with crayons. I mostly drew character designs and my OCs, here is Alex.

2012 (right) - I already got a tablet and I was making digital drawings. I had the courage to try drawing hands, but the whole silhouette was really long and thin, and I was afraid to put more decent shadows but I started doing a little background.

2013 (left) -I was making more complex pieces but I didn't know shit about perspective and composition lol

2014 (right) - It was definitely a "gap year" in my art life I didn't draw much back then but definitely, I started using photo references to improve my artwork

2015 - 100% art block year ;; I stopped drawing, using DeviantArt, and just quit for a while

2016 - I was drawing again thanks to Metal Gear Solid games - It was the first time I was so involved to draw fan art (before I was worried that "my ugly art style will ruin my beloved characters" lol) and I made Tumblr account for it!

2017 (left) - Was completely dedicated to Ao no Exorcist manga, it help me make art again and enjoy M&A again but I stopped drawing my OCs thou I practiced more while doing study characters, sketching more, teaching myself from YouTube, etc

2018 (right) - Here I was switching to My Hero Academia fandom but also I was making fan arts/ crossovers for different shows and I was improving my coloring/shading style etc and started making commissions

2019 (left) - Burnout year again;; I was drawing VERY little and mostly it was sketches for series I watched

2020 (right) - I decided to come back to drawing and open commission - I was doing mostly My Hero academia commissions and thanks to that I seriously started working on my background in artwork and my skill overall and I think it was a time when I realized that drawing come very easy that I had a certain level/skill which made less frustration about how and what I drew

2021 > I mostly focused on commission and improving my artwork!

That was a long post but so fun to make and reflect a little bit! Thank you to all people who sent me asks! I was really supries how many itwas (that's why I took me so long! ;;) I will do it againg in the future for sure! but maybe with questions made by me? who knows! (*￣∀￣)

Love you all, Alex 🌷

[mellythedork]

How in the ever-loving gourd has it been ten years? Time is an illusion that I stopped seeing ages ago.

10 years ago, at the tail end of 2013, I had a huge, friendship-ending fight that shattered me. In an attempt to keep myself together, I hid behind a character and wrote the most self-indulgent crossover fic I'd ever concocted. After 5 years, 2 rewrites, too many OCs to count, magic mechanics I didn't think through, and conversations with my former best friend about what had happened, I finally let that fic rest. I knew that if I tried to continue it, I'd never move on, as the very basis of it was focused on that fight.

But it was still such a colossal part of my life. 5 years to spend on a project is no laughing matter, and it felt like it was the only trustworthy constant as I struggled to make my way through everything going on around me. It invaded RPs with friends and basically everything I did...and that wasn't always a good thing. It was a coping mechanism that went too far, but I still cherished it so much.

Things never got anywhere near back to how they had been before that fight. But I learned a lot about myself and how to better handle problems I hadn't realized I was creating. I feel like being forced to think about it while writing the original Mooniverse helped me come to terms with it and move on--which was, of course, the intention all along! But it came to a point where I knew it had to end.

There was never any rhyme or reason to that fic, in any version of it. I wrote it purely to have fun and go wild. It's so odd looking back at the chapters now; I keep laughing at how things went without direction. But it was pure and adorable and I'll always look back at it fondly...beyond the cringing at how much I shoved it in my friends' faces.

For…I was going to say over a year, but I feel like 2 would be more accurate. For about 2 years now, I've struggled to create anything. Both art and writing have felt impossible. I burned out on most of my personal projects without realizing it until last month, but that realization took a weight off of me. And without that weight, as I realized the anniversary that was coming up, I was able to create something on nothing but a whim and enjoy it again.

My art block certainly isn't gone, and nothing about this is what I'd consider perfect. It's not even finished. But I set the sketch as my goal, trying to keep the pressure low, in hopes that I'd be able to post it at all. I do want to touch it up and finish it one day, but I'm not going to worry about that now.

I have been a bit inspired, though! I want to do more things like this. Like the original Mooniverse Melodia and the final one standing side by side here, I want to pull together more OCs with such connections and growth and see how far they've come. I don't know how much of that I'll accomplish, but it's been fun to think about for sure.

I hope everyone's holidays have gone well and that your plans for the new year are fulfilling. I think this year is going to go a lot better for me than the last.

--

From left to right we have: The original Annie along with the final Annie (Of course they'd be friends!)

The final Melodia (with slight modifications to her outfit in order to make a bit more sense; ditto to her bangs. Seriously, what was I thinking when I made that mess?? lol)

The middle-ground Moon (as I no longer have the design for the original, but wanted to include her)

The final Hope (in one of her alternate outfits)

The original Melodia (I didn't think I had any references left of her, but after about 2 hours of searching, I gave up only to stumble upon one by chance the next day. Sure was a surprise!)

And finally the middle-ground Myasu (just think of her & Moon as representing the first rewrite!)

-- I knew most of my art problems were from my difficulty and dislike of drawing bodies, so to make this possible at all, I used a base.

I also very much referenced the original image, the hair of Love Live and Idolmaster characters, and self-made bases from Shugo Chara, both due to time constraints and to keep my sanity. I'm very out of practice and didn't want to get so frustrated I abandoned the drawing altogether.

[blastthechaos]

Makoto!

1:My first impression of him.

Nice hoodie.

2:When I think I truly started to like him?

I think just seeing him in action made me start liking him lol. He's just cool.

3:A song that reminds me of them.

Honestly, there's many lol, I guess I just list these two.

4:How many people do I ship him with?

Junko, Celeste, Sayaka, Kyoko, Byakuya, Mukuro...I could go on honestly.

Then if we count Crossovers there's Storyshift Chara, Hina Kagiyama and a few more...

5:My favorite ship with him.

Man, I wonder what could it be? Could it be-It's Naejunko, at this point it's fucking obvious.

6:My least favorite ship with him.

None really, If I see a ship I don't like that he has I shrug and move on.

7:A quote of him that you remember.

"I refuse to get bored! I refuse to throw it all away! I REFUSE TO DESPAIR!"

8:Your favorite outfit of him.

The one from THH, it's a no brainer really, it has drip up the wazoo.

9:Your least favorite outfit for him.

Anything that isn't his THH outfit, it's just too cool for me to prefer anything else...though I guess if I had to pick one, it be the one shown at the end of DR3 as Headmaster.

10:Describe him in one sentence.

Unluckily lucky guy filled with Hope and Determination for eternity.

11:What's the first thing you think about when thinking about the character.

People don't realize how cool he is.

12:Sexuality HC!

Pansexual.

13:Your favorite friendship he has.

The one with the males from Class 78, also the one he has with Hajime and Shuichi in the UTDP/DRS universe.

14:Best storyline he has.

The one from THH all the way up to DR3.

Also the one he has in DRS where he saves everyone from Monokuma even if he got his ass kicked.

15:Worst storyline he has.

None that I think are bad.

16:A childhood headcanon.

I had a long complicated story in my head about how he obtained his hoodie that's too long to explain here.

17:What do you think his first word was?

"No that's wrong!" When his parents were feeling down on themselves.

18:How do you think he was a child?

A nice kid, maybe a little more reserved and a loner, though that's because I think he was more of a loner Pre-Hope's Peak

19:The most random ship people have with him.

It's not my place to say it

20:A weird headcanon.

I like to think he likes the delinquent/dark aesthetic which is why he dressed the way he does.

He also doesn't like being compared to an angel cause he likes the aesthetic and look of a demon more, a friendly demon obviously.

21:When do you think he was at his happiest?

In Hope's Peak with Class 78, his friends and his girlfriend Junko before everything went to hell.

22:When do you think he was at his lowest?

After the end of the first class trial after he found out that Sayaka backstabbed him and that she's now dead, plus the fact Leon died too.

23:Future Headcanon.

He holds out for Junko and never seeks another til his final days.

I think he's the last of Class 78...and the last person related to Hope's Peak during the time he entered the school to die, his luck was so potent that it kept him alive til his 150s.

24:What do you think is a secret he never told anyone?

That he wet the bed til 5th grade, what else?

25:When do you think he acted his most OOC?

Not really have an specific moment...I guess that he didn't broke out of the Despair brainwashing by his own?

26:When do you think he was "himself" the most?

Facing Junko in the last class trial and constantly standing up to her til he defeated her.

27:If he could meet a character from another series. Who would be the most fun of him to meet?

Aside from my crossover ships...

I guess meeting STC Sonic because how both of them are so similar yet so different at the same time.

28:The most unnecessary things he ever did?

...I guess him trying to save the Remnants? He didn't have to do it and nobody would have blamed him if he didn't, but he choose to save them anyways...and that's why he is so great.

29:How do you think he would be as a parent?

I think he be a nice and doting parent who let's his kids have their own space.

30:The funniest scene he had?

I think whenever he sasses up his classmates is funny, especially cause I always imagine him doing Ina deadpan manner.

[thebigoblin]

For your ask - 2, 7, 8 :)

Hi!! Thanks for the ask ❤ and I'm already sorry for the excessive rambling about to do 😂

2. Agreements - this one is a crossover between Spn and Teen Wolf. Sterek, Destiel, and a hell of a lot of other ships. Have had this idea for a year, but idk if I’ll ever write it soon. Or ever. Idk. But I have it all outlined, 14 chapters and all, in my notebook. 

So let's get the basic down for this one: ABO, Royalty, Ensemble Cast. Like really. I tried to fit as many characters as possible—from both Supernatural and Teen Wolf. It was hard, but I did it!! I think I did a good job too 😂

I tried finding the notebook I wrote the whole outline in but uhhhh I didn't find it, so I'll have to recount everything from my very bad memory. I hadn't thought of this idea in so long actually lmao, I literally just saw the doc and went: "Ohhhhhhhh."

Anyways. The idea is this: There's unrest in the Kingdoms, like it originates from the Hale Kingdom—Triskelle—and flows around to Arch (Archangels + Angels aka the Novak fam's Kingdom), Lawrence (Winchesters + Stilinski's; Winchesters are Royal Fam while the Stilinski's are important members of the council) and a few others. I told you I tried to have many characters as possible, okay, I have made many Kingdoms 😂

See, this unrest is because of the War looming over them all that has been going on for years, and obviously the Argent's Kingdom is the initiator of the war. The sudden increase in tension is because the Hales' Palace burns down to the ground. Wonder how that happened. And also John Winchesters dies in the battle, because yes lmao. But that's bad for Lawrence, they're small and they're dwindling down in numbers very fast. Cue Mary agreeing to marry herself off in a bid for power to Crowley—Dean tries to take her place because he's also an Omega, but that doesn't happen. Mary had already once married for the sake of the people, she can do it again if it means that her children can find the love that she couldn't.

That's the main theme for the fic: forging alliances through marriage. It's all very "for my [kingdom]" but they all find love along the way. Well, mostly. There's also death... but that's uhhh a controversial character anyways.

Okay, so, Arch is the most powerful kingdom, right, and the remaining Hales—Derek, Peter, Cora, Malia + Lydia—set off for there. Coincidentally, Derek and Stiles + Charlie and Adam (Dean and Stiles and Adam are Omegas, so Charlie (Dean's twin, and the eldest Winchester sibling) goes as the "protector" just to appease John Stilinski (these kids can't keep secrets smh)) are also going to Arch, and they all meet.

They're vary of each other, of course. Charlie and Lydia (endgame) passive-aggressively flirt; Derek's "involvement" in the fire comes out after it comes out who they are; Derek and Stiles befriend each other while Dean activates his older sibling mode and glares at Derek all the while. The others are just along for the ride lmao. Then for some reason they split; can't remember why exactly, but then Peter and Malia meet Chris and Allison (past Petopher was a thing), and tension just keeps on building as new apparent secrets comes out to the readers.

It's all Very Soap Opera Type, actually. But in the end everyone is happy and the Bad Argents are dead and ohmigod I love this idea so much but I don't wanna butcher what little I remember of it so I'll just end here lol. But yeah, this includes possibly every trope ever and it's kinda like all over the place? But whatever I seriously love this idea and now I wanna write this someday 😭

7. Prompt: Stiles & Derek leave BH after Monroe stuff

Okay this one is easier!! Thank God lol.

@deepestbelieverstranger sent me the prompt, and so far I've written very little for this, but rest assured Monroe is dead (thank you Lydia) and the Sheriff is sending Derek and Stiles out of BH before he follows them. Lydia and Jordan might come too.

It's basically Sterek realizing about their feelings and working through their traumas and building a quiet life together.

8. Prompt: 5 + 1 Fic - 5 times Derek showed he loves Stiles and 1 time Stiles showed that he loves Derek

This one is for @raisesomehale!! She asked for a 5 + 1 Fic and this idea has been in my head for some time now.

1. Derek notices Stiles' absence from the Pack

2. Derek brings lunch to Stiles at work

3. Derek lets Stiles snap at him

4. Derek forgives Stiles (with some sass)

5. Derek tells Stiles not to come to fight the MOTW

+ 1. Stiles takes a bullet near his heart that was meant for Derek. (cue love confession scene)

[cocastyle]

The In-Between Chapter 6

Stranger Things x It Crossover

with some Bill Denbrough x reader

Word Count - 7,455

Warning - cursing (if people don’t like that kind of stuff)

A/N- so I kind of got carried away with this chapter and wrote over 7000 words lol, but I couldn’t really split this chapter up considering what’s about to come in the next chapter so I just left it as is (the next chapter is going to have so many interactions with the two groups you won’t be ready!) I really hope you all like this chapter because I worked hard on it and am actually really proud of the way it turned out! leave a comment with your thoughts on the chapter and with any predictions that you have for the future🤩

if you would like to be added to the tag list, let me know!

T H E I N - B E T W E E N

Intro The Losers’ Club The Party Prolouge 1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Epilogue

"Wh-Wh-What is she doing?" Bill whispered as he gently nudged Y/N's side.

The girl stared ahead at Eleven who was busy putting a radio on a station that only had static playing before she glanced at Bill. She sent him a small smile that had him blushing and smiling back. "You'll see," she whispered.

Y/N let out a small gasp as she remembered something and quickly disappeared up the stairs and into her house before returning a few seconds later with a cloth in her hand. She walked over and handed it to Eleven who gave her a small smile before beginning to fold it and wrap it around her eyes like a blindfold.

"A blindfold?" Richie asked. He then smirked before winking in Eleven's direction. "Kinky. Now all we need is some handcuffs and-"

"Beep beep Richie!" the Losers Club cried out while the Party all looked at Richie in disgust.

Y/N shook her head at the boy before looking to the Party with an apologetic smile, "Sorry about him. He hadn't quite matured yet if you can't tell."

"Hey!" Richie complained.

"Oh hush," Y/N told him making the boy pout. She chuckled and ruffled his hair much to his annoyance before she turned her attention back to Eleven who was finished setting up.

"Remember, you have to be quiet," Y/N reminded the Losers, making a point to stare at Richie longer than the others. They all nodded before looking to Eleven who was now sitting on the ground, the radio static playing behind her.

The room was so quiet that one could have heard a pin drop. The prospect of Eleven doing something that could help them with their mission to find Mine being enough to make even Richie keep his mouth shut.

It took a minute, but Eleven suddenly let out a small gasp before whispering, "Mike."

Y/N noticed Wheeler frown a little at that seeing as she was talking about a different Mike instead of him. It was unusual that was for sure and Y/N had thought it was weird knowing two Mikes as well when she first moved to Derry. But since she had called him Wheeler since they were kids, calling Mike Hanlon by his first name hadn't been too weird for her.

"I. . .I see him," Eleven whispered out making the Losers all furrow their eyebrows and look to Y/N confused. She just gave them a look and gestured towards Eleven in response and they all looked back to the girl who had some blood starting to peak out from her nose.

"He. . .He's hiding by some water," Eleven said.

"The quarry," Y/N muttered as she looked to the others. Their eyes widened slightly and they watched as Y/N walked over and bent down in front of her friend.

Y/N reached out and gently took ahold of Eleven's hand, the girl instantly latching onto hers in return. "Tell Mike that we're coming for him," Y/N whispered, tears springing in her eyes. "Tell him he's going to be okay."

"Your friends. . .they're coming for you. Hang in there, Mike. You're going to be okay," Eleven muttered, although Y/N knew she was talking to Mike Hanlon.

"Hurry," a voice suddenly came from the radio causing the Losers and Y/N to jump in surprise at the sound of their friend's voice. "Please hurry."

Eleven's face then scrunched up in pain and she let out a loud gasp before ripping the blindfold from her face. Her eyes frantically looked around before locking with Y/N's. "He's okay," she assured him. Y/N wiped away her tears and gave Eleven a small smile before hugging her friend in thanks.

"What the fuck was that?”

The two girls pulled away from each other to see the Losers looking more confused then ever. "What the fuck just happened?" Richie questioned, his eyes wide. "What did she do and how the hell does she know that Mike is okay?"

Y/N took in a deep breath before standing up and slowly approaching her friends. "Guys, so Eleven kind of has these powers. She was able to mentally connect with Mike and get a picture of where he was and give him a message," Y/N explained.

"I'm sorry. What?" Stan asked confused.

"Powers like superpowers?" Ben questioned.

"I guess," Y/N replied. "I know it's hard to understand but-"

"Hard to understand? It's crazy! You know what, I'm calling bullshit," Richie announced.

"But Mike's voice-" Y/N began.

"We don't even know if that was his voice because all I could hear was a bunch of fucking static! How am I supposed to believe you when the only thing that I saw happen was that girl get a fucking nosebleed and bleed all over your basement?" Richie asked.

Wheeler narrowed his eyes at the boy and went over to his girlfriend who he helped off the ground while Eleven wiped the blood from her nose. He was about to say something when he saw Y/N raise an eyebrow at the boy and cross her arms.

"You want proof? Evidence?" Y/N questioned, not a look of hesitation on her face. Richie was silent before nodding his head. "Okay, asshole. Here's your fucking proof."

She then walked over to one of the closet doors of the basement before opening it and walking back over to the group. Richie was about to question her when the door slammed shut making him and the other Losers all jump in surprise.

The door then began to open and slam shut repeatedly and Richie was hesitant before he turned to look at Eleven who had one hand up in the air. The door slammed shut for a final time and Eleven lowered her hand before wiping the small bit of blood below her nose away.

"Holy shit! She's an X-Men!" Eddie exclaimed in disbelief making Dustin chuckle since he had thought the same thing when he first met Eleven.

Y/N smirked and looked to Richie while the other Losers and the Party watched the girl in amusement. "That enough proof for you?" she asked.

Richie made a face in response and Y/N chuckled before looking between the groups and clapping her hands together. "Now. . .we may know that Mike is okay right now, but that doesn't mean he will be forever. We need to start making plans and preparing because first thing after school tomorrow, we are going to the Well House to save Mike and kill those other motherfuckers before it's too late. Everyone okay with that?" Y/N announced.

The Parry and the Losers' Club all nodded in agreement and Y/N smirked.

"Great. Let's get to work."

- - -

Bill bit his lip in concentration as he used a ruler to draw lines through the map of Derry. His job, and the job of all the Losers, was to split a map of Derry up into four different sectors. When they left to go find Mike tomorrow, half of the whole group would be staying behind while the other half broke off into pairs and searched the specific sections of the Upside Down's version of Derry.

Since the Upside Down was pretty much a replica of the real world, Y/N had thought it would be a good idea to use a map of Derry to break up the sections. Because the Losers knew Derry the best, they had offered to split the map up while the Party got weapons ready seeing as they knew what would work best against a demogorgon if it were to attack.

Y/N had started out with the Losers at first, but it hadn't taken long for her to migrate over to the Party whom she had been spending the last hour with. The Losers hadn't thought much of it at first, but they couldn't help but notice the way she seemed to totally forget about them as she laughed and joked around with the Party, a smile on her face that looked nothing like the usual smile they got to see.

Bill had to force himself not to look up, reminding himself that Y/N was just excited to see her friends again. That's why Bill had put all his effort into the maps he was making, Beverly being the only other person to help him while Stan, Ben, Eddie, and Richie all watched Y/N and the Party with frowns on their faces and jealously coursing through their blood.

Glares were on the four boys faces and they only narrowed their eyes more at the sight of Y/N with her arms linked with Will as she talked to Steve and Lucas. "She forgot about us," Stan whispered softly, sadness laced in his voice despite his angered appearance.

"I can't believe it," Ben muttered, feeling awful at the idea that the Party made Y/N happier than they did. Him and the others could tell by the look of pure joy on her face just how much happier she was around the Party and that only fueled their jealousy more.

"Well believe it, Benny. We're yesterday's news," Richie frowned, glaring slightly as a bitter taste filled his mouth.

"Look how happy they make her. I don't think I've ever made her laugh that hard," Eddie muttered sadly as he too came to the realization that Y/N was happier around the Party than she was around them.

"It's cause you're not funny, Eds," Richie shot back. "No wonder Y/N left us. We're a bunch of losers literally."

"Sh-Sh-Shut up," Bill called out, tired of their behavior and tones.

Richie whirled around so fast that he whacked Eddie who let out a cry of protest. "Are you fucking kidding me?" he said as he looked at Bill in disbelief. When Bill didn't look up, Richie stomped over to his friend. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Are you really so blind that you don't see your girl over there with her arms fucking linked with another boy? He's stealing her right in front of your eyes, dumbass. How are you not the slightest bit mad or jealous?" Richie asked. "Cause me being Y/N's friend and seeing her talking to them and not us is making me mad and I'm not the one that had a crush on her."

Bill frowned at that and looked up, but he froze at the sight of Y/N  laughing at something Dustin had told her as she leaned into Will and wiped at her tears. Her arm was linked with Will's like Richie had said and she was resting her head on his shoulder as she looked up at Dustin with a huge grin on her face.

Bill's heart broke at the sight.

Bill cleared his throat and quickly looked away, blinking fast to keep the tears from coming. "Sh-Sh-She's not my g-g-girl. She can d-d-do whatever the h-h-hell she w-w-wants," he muttered.

Richie felt a wave of guilt wash over him once he realized how upset he had just made his friend, but Y/N's laughter had him turning back to look at her, a new wave of anger washing over him at the fact that she was now hurting Bill without even knowing it.

"How can someone be that funny? I mean, there's no way!" Richie exclaimed.

"Aren't they supposed to be gathering weapons anyways? Not joking around?" Stan asked.

"They did gather weapons," Ben pointed out as he gestured towards the few crowbars, bats, and other weapons they had gathered. "They even got flashlights and rope."

"Still, how are they so funny? Especially that Wheeler kid. She must be laughing at how funny looking he is," Richie concluded making the others raise their eyebrows at him.

Beverly rolled her eyes at Richie before glancing at Bill who was busy glaring at Will and Dustin. Beverly scoffed and stood up causing the Losers to all snap their attention over to her.

"Are you all being serious right now?" Beverly asked while the boys all gave her confused looks, not understanding what she was getting at. "You know that Y/N cares about each of you more than life itself, but you also need to understand that she can care about other people just as much. They were her first friends, guys. That group went through so much shit together just like we have and they haven't seen each other in two whole years!"

The boys didn't respond and Beverly just gave them an angry look as she narrowed her eyes. "I swear to God if Y/N hears one word from your jealous asses I will kill you. Now stop being self conscious pussies and be happy for your friend," she spat before she stormed away from the group and over to the Party.

They watched as Y/N's eyes lit up at the sight of Beverly before she grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her over to Max and Eleven, the four girls instantly falling into conversation. The boys all felt a wave of guilt wash over them, but none of them felt like going over and trying to talk to Y/N or the rest of the members of the Party.

It took only a minute before Richie, Eddie, Stan and Ben returned to their complaining as they watched their friend, but Bill took the longest to return back to what he had been doing before. His eyes were still on Y/N and his heart ached as he watched her.

He knew there was some truth to Beverly's words, but it was hard to believe everything she said after he had seen how happy Y/N was. How come he couldn't make her laugh like that? Or smile like that?

He would do anything to be in the receiving end of that smile. Hell, he would probably swoon at the sight.

Did she not like him the way he thought she had? For a moment he had thought she maybe returned his feelings, but now he wasn't so sure. If she had then he would be able to make her that happy, right?

Bill let out a small sigh and took in a deep breath before going back to the maps, trying everything in his power not to let his feelings get to him so much. But even he couldn't stop the one traitor tear from falling down his face as he realized he would never be able to make Y/N as happy as he had hoped.

If only he knew how he looked in Y/N's eyes. Then maybe he wouldn't have doubted himself and maybe he wouldn't have ended up hurting her later that night.

- - -

"Y/N!" Eleven cried out as she jumped onto the girl from behind, a laugh escaping her lips as she wrapped her arms around her giggling friend who had been busy sorting through the weapons with Steve and Wheeler.

"El!" Y/N mockingly yelled back as she looked over her shoulder at her friend.

Eleven chuckled and got off of her before glancing over at Steve and Wheeler. "I'm going to steal her for a few minutes," she said. She didn't bother waiting for a response from the boys before she was dragging Y/N away and over to where Beverly and Max were sitting.

"No, yeah I love your hair! I always wanted to try and cut mine short, but I'm afraid it will turn out bad," Max said as she looked at Beverly's haircut. "Who cut your hair because it looks so good!"

"I did actually," Beverly told her.

"No way!" Max gasped. "It looks so good, Beverly!"

"Thanks," Beverly said before she happened to notice Eleven and Y/N walking up to them. "Oh, hey Y/N!"

"Hey," Y/N greeted as Max also turned to look at her friends. Max's eyes lit up at the sight of the girl and she was quick to stand up before her and Eleven practically shoved Y/N into the place Max had just been sitting.

"Woah, okay," Y/N muttered as she adjusted herself so that she was more comfortable. When she looked back up, Eleven and Max were looking at her expectantly while Beverly gave her an apologetic smile.

"What?" Y/N asked, her eyes narrowing in curiosity as she wondered what her friends were up to.

"So we've been talking to Beverly," Max began. "She was telling us some funny stories about you when we heard some interesting stuff and-"

"Tell us about you and Bill!" Eleven interrupted, her eyes shining with excitement as she clasped her hands together and tucked them under her chin.

Y/N's eyes widened. "Me and Bill? Wh-What about me and Bill?" she asked. "We're just friends."

Max and Eleven both gave each other a look before raising their eyebrows at their friend. "Come on. We can tell by the way you look at him that you like him. Just admit it," Max prompted.

"What?" Y/N asked, her voice high and her face a dark shade of red. "Me like Bill?"

"Friends don't lie. You like him, Y/N. Admit it," Eleven insisted.

Y/N blushed even more before burying her face into her hands. "Okay, I like him," she whispered, not looking up to watch as her friends let out squeals and began to whack each other.

"We knew it!" Max exclaimed. "Beverly already told us, but like, we knew it!"

Y/N lifted her head to glance over at Beverly who smiled sheepishly. "They did already know it," Beverly said.

"So it's that obvious?" Y/N asked with wide eyes filled with horror at the thought of Bill knowing that she liked him.

"To everyone but you two," Eleven said.

"Yeah, Bill's kind of oblivious," Beverly agreed. "I don't think he knows."

Y/N let out a small sigh of relief causing Max to raise an eyebrow. "Would it be so bad if he did?" the red head asked.

"I mean, I guess not," Y/N whispered as she looked down. She would love to be able to tell Bill how she felt, to let him know just how much he meant to her even if he didn't feel the same way.

"But," Beverly said, already knowing that wasn't all the girl had to say.

"What if it ruins our friendship? What if he doesn't feel the same way?" Y/N asked.

The three girls' mouths dropped open at the same time before they all laughed. "First of all, he does feel the same way. It's obvious just by the way he looks at you like you're an angel walking on this earth," Max said.

"Secondly, it won't ruin your friendship," Eleven told her.

"What they said. I'm pretty sure that even if you and Bill went south that you two would still be friends. You two have been close ever since you moved here, Y/N. He wouldn't be the type of person to push you away like that. Besides, I wouldn't let him and I'm sure El and Max wouldn't either," Beverly said.

"Yeah, we'd beat his ass," Max agreed while Eleven nodded her head in agreement.

Y/N chuckled and smiled softly at her friends. "Thanks. I love you all so much," she said causing Eleven, Max, and Beverly to smile before they pulled the girl in for a group hug.

When they pulled away, they thankfully let the topic of Bill drop. Max and Eleven began talking to Beverly about her hair again and about her relationship with Ben while Y/N slowly zoned out.

She let her eyes flicker over to Bill who was across the room still working on the maps and trying to fold them. As if sensing her gaze, his eyes flickered up and locked with hers. Y/N sent a small smile in his direction, but to her surprise he didn't even smile before he just looked down at the maps again.

Y/N blinked in surprise before quickly looking away with a sad look on her face, not noticing the way that Bill looked back up at her sadly after.

- - -

It was around eleven o'clock that night before Y/N heard Ben call out, "We'll see you in the morning, Y/N!"

The girl quieted down her laughter and looked away from Lucas and Wheeler and over to where Beverly and Ben were standing by the stairs. Y/N was quick to get up and she smiled as she made her way across the room to hug both Ben and Beverly.

At the sight of her smile and the fact that she had left her other friends just to hug him goodbye, Ben suddenly felt a wave of guilt wash over him as he realized how wrong he had been earlier for judging the girl and for complaining about her hanging out with her other friends.

"Night, guys. I'll see you in the morning," Y/N said before pulling away to look for the others. Her smile slowly disappeared once she realized that Richie, Eddie, Stan, and Bill were all gone.

"Where. . .where did the others go?" Y/N questioned as she looked to Ben and Beverly confused.

Ben looked down at his shoes before saying, "They all left a little bit ago. Bill went first and then Richie, Eddie, and Stan followed not too long after."

"Why?" Y/N asked, trying not to sound upset. "They didn't even start goodbye."

Ben didn't respond and Y/N frowned before saying, "Uh. . .I guess I'll see you guys in the morning, yeah?"

Beverly and Ben nodded with small smiles before turning to go up the stairs. "Bye, Y/N," the two called out before disappearing into the night.

Y/N kind of stood there for a moment after the door closed behind them, her thoughts racing as she tried to think of a reason for her friends' sudden departure. Had she done something wrong? Were they okay?

Hands on her shoulders made her jump slightly, but she instantly relaxed when she looked over her shoulder to see Steve standing right behind her. He titled his head slightly and gave her one of his warm smiles before asking with a hint of worry on his voice, "You okay, squirt?"

Y/N turned completely to face him before smiling softly and hugging the boy. She dug her face into his side and he wrapped his arms around her with no questions asked. Y/N was silent as she breathed in his scent, a small feeling of familiarity and her childhood washing over her.

"I'm doing good," she whispered, her heart warm due to the fact that her two friend groups had finally met and she had them both by her side. "I'll be better when Mike's home though. He's so sweet and kind. We like to go out to his farm sometimes and I'll help him with the animals. You're going to love him."

"As long as he's not like Trashmouth, I'm sure I will," Steve laughed making Y/N chuckle softly as she pulled away to look at the boy.

"Oh, Richie's not that bad. He can take things far and curse most of the time, but he's got a kind heart and he is probably one of the best people you'll meet once you really get to know him," Y/N said, a smile on her face as she talked about her friend.

"They all are in fact. I mean, you've got Stan who is easy to relate with. When he knows I'm having a bad day, he always takes me bird watching and doesn't pester me with what's wrong, only stays by my side so I'm not alone. Then there's Ben who is the sweetest little human being you'll ever meet. He's the boy that will go to the library all the time with me just to research random things."

"We've got Eddie who is practically the mother of the group sometimes. He cares about my health more than I do and is always making sure that I'm okay. There's a little hammock in one of the group's hang out spots and he'll always sit with me and we'll read comics together. Then you've got Beverly who's a total badass. I tell her practically everything and I swear she knows more about me than I do. Every Saturday morning, we take a break from the boys and will go out to breakfast and catch up."

"Finally, you've got Bill. He's the one that I'm closest to out of all of them. He was my first real friend and helped me a lot on my first day of school," Y/N said. She looked down and smiled fondly as she whispered, "I'll never be able to pay him back for what he's done for me." She was quiet for a second before looking up at Steve and saying, "He means a lot to me. They all do really."

Steve smiled softly at the girl as she rambled in about her friends, a warm feeling of relief washing over him as he realized that Y/N has been fine and loved over the past two years.

"You really care about those friends of yours, huh?" Steve asked, a knowing look on his face.

Y/N smiled fondly and nodded her head as she softly said, "They're my best friends. I would do anything for them just like I would for you guys."

Steve's smile grew slightly at that, thankful that Y/N had some pretty great friends by her side. Y/N smiled back before turning to check and make sure that the weapons and maps were ready. Once she knew that they were, she clapped her hands together once before saying to the Party, "Okay, now that we have a plan to head out after school tomorrow and everything is all set up. . .who wants to watch a movie?"

The Party all perked up at that. "Yes! Star Wars please!" Will exclaimed.

"What? No, let's watch Back to the Future," Dustin complained.

"I vote Star Wars," Max agreed.

"Me too," Lucas said.

"No, guys. Back to the Future all the way," Wheeler argued while Eleven nodded her head in agreement.

"Back to the Future's the one where the mom is trying to hook up with her son, right?" Steve asked.

"I mean that's not the point of the movie, but yes," Y/N said with a small laugh.

"Okay, I vote that one," Steve said.

"Sorry, Will. I've got to go with Back to the Future which means that Back to the Future wins," Y/N said making the boy pout. Y/N just gave him a small smile which he returned before she gestured towards the stairs that led up to her house. "I'll be back."

In just a matter of minutes, Y/N had sprinted upstairs and found the movie. She had received a call from her parents a few hours before about how they had a last minute business conference an hour away that they had to go to and would be gone for the next couple of days, so it was no surprise that no one was around when she was running around trying to find the movie.

Upon finding the movie, Y/N began to make her way towards the basement when she paused next to the phone. She stared at it in silence for a moment before setting the movie down, picking up the phone, and dialing the number that she knew by heart due to the many late night conversations she had with the person on the other end of the line.

"H-H-Hello?"

"Bill?" Y/N said. "It's Y/N."

"Oh. H-H-Hi, Y/N," Bill muttered.

Y/N frowned slightly, but shrugged it off. "I just wanted to call and see if you were okay. You left early, so I wasn't sure if something was wrong," she said.

"I'm f-f-fine," Bill replied, leaving his reply at that and his tone coming out colder and sharper than usual.

Y/N blinked in surprise before nervously chuckling, "Oh, okay. That's good. Why. . .why did you leave without saying goodbye?"

"I w-w-was just tired which I s-s-still am. I'll s-s-see you in the m-m-morning, okay?" Bill told her.

"Oh, okay. Um. . .goodni-" but before Y/N could finish what she asked saying, the boy had hung up. Y/N stood there in silence, her grip on the phone loosening slightly as tears began to fill her eyes. Swallowing thickly, the girl blinked rapidly to stop her tears before taking in a deep breath.

Bill is just tired, she reminded herself. He's not trying to be mean.

Once she had calmed herself down, Y/N put a smile on her face and bounded down the stairs of her basement to have a movie night with her friends. They had all passed out within an hour, Y/N with her head against Steve's side, her feet in Dustin's lap and Will's head on her stomach. Just below them on the floor were Wheeler and Eleven cuddled up together and Max and Lucas doing the same thing.

Y/N found herself looking around the group for a quick second as she drifted in and out of consciousness. She couldn't help but smile as she remembered the nights like these that they used to have before she left Hawkins. Nancy and Jonathan had been with them too and Joyce and Hopper had been the ones to cover them all with blankets while they slept.

So with her friends surrounding her, Y/N fell asleep with memories of Hawkins and her old life filling her head.

- - -

Y/N didn't know what to think when she woke up the next day to find that everyone in the Losers' Club except for Beverly weren't talking to her. Bill hadn't even been waiting for her that morning like he usually did before they rode to school together.

Everyone was either avoiding her like Bill was or being weird and looking uncomfortable around her like Eddie was. Y/N didn't know what she had done wrong, so she went through the day having no one but Beverly by her side.

Y/N almost felt bad for having chosen to wear Bill's jacket to school that day, a sinking feeling in her gut as she thought that maybe that was only making Bill more mad at her. Beverly wouldn't tell her why he or the others were and at her in the first place, so Y/N didn't even know how to fix anything.

This meant that when lunch rolled around, it was even quieter than usual. It was actually completely silent and not even Richie had some snarky thing to say. The group all just ate their food in silence with Y/N sparing sad glances in her friends' directions while Beverly glared at the boys, pissed at the way they were acting.

Y/N tried to strike up a conversation a few times, but it always received a one word answer in response before silence followed. After a while, Y/N gave up and most of the lunch period was spent with the boys staring at their meals while Y/N stared at them with a saddened and hurt expression.

It wasn't until everyone was getting ready to leave that Y/N let out a sigh and said, "Hey, I don't know what I did, but I just wanted to tell you guys thank you for being so nice to my friends last night."

This surprised the group and they all slowly looked up at her, finally allowing their eyes to lock on her face.

"Those guys mean about as much to me as you guys do and I've been wanting to introduce you all for so long. I really hoped you guys liked them. Anyway, I'm rambling, but I really appreciate it," she told them as she gave them all a small smile despite the tears that had begun to fill her eyes.

The group all stared at her in silence as the bell rang behind them, signaling that the lunch period was over. Y/N let out another sigh and stood up as she grabbed her things. "Uh. . .I'll see you guys later," she whispered before hurrying away from the table and out of the cafeteria, leaving the boys feeling guilty.

Beverly shook her head at the boys as she stood up. "You guys are ridiculous. Not only did you not give her friends a chance last night, but now you're punishing Y/N for talking to her other friends instead of you by ignoring her? I'm disappointed in all of you," she said.

Her eyes flickered over to Bill and they narrowed. "Especially you, Bill. We all know you care about her, so why the hell would you treat her the way that you have been? She told me about the phone call last night. She called to check and see if your dumbass was okay and you were rude and snippy with her before you had the audacity to hang up on her? What the fuck were you thinking?" she asked in disbelief.

"You all need to apologize to Y/N for the way you have been acting. She has talked so highly of you to the others and you all have done nothing but prove her wrong. There's no way we are going to be able to help Mike and defeat the Upside Down and It with you all sad and not thinking straight. So man up and go apologize before you lose her for real," Beverly spat before she angrily got up from the table and stormed out of the cafeteria, no doubt going to try and find Y/N.

"Did you see how upset Y/N looked when she left?" Eddie whispered, a sinking feeling in his stomach as he broke the moment of silence that had fallen over them after Beverly left.

"She looked like she was about to cry," Ben said just above a whisper.

"We did that," Stan muttered, his head bowed as he stared at his hands sadly.

"Fuck," Richie muttered as a feeling of intense guilt hit both him and the other Losers. "We messed up big time, boys."

Bill was silent as he stared at the doors Y/N had walked through only moments before. He hadn't been blind and had noticed her wearing his jacket today, the sight making his heart flutter. But as he looked from the door to the jacket that Y/N had secretly left behind on her seat for Bill was enough to make his heart break.

Richie was right. They had messed up.

They had messed up bad.

- - -

The final bell of the day made Y/N feel both relieved and scared. Relieved because she was finally going to be able to save Mike, but scared because she would have to go back into the Upside Down and she had a sinking feeling in her gut about what was going to happen.

She hadn't seen the guys for the rest of the day, but Beverly had made sure to always stick by her side. That's how the two ended up leaving the school together with their arms locked and small laughs escaping their lips as Y/N told Beverly about the time Dustin sang the song 'Never-Ending Story' with his girlfriend Susie over a walkie talkie system for everyone to see.

"I'm not even kidding," Y/N laughed. "Just picture it. Everyone is either being chased by the fucking Mindflayer or trying to save the world and I'm sitting there watching Dustin sing his heart out with Lucas' little sister by my side. It was hilarious!"

Beverly laughed so hard that she snorted. "I bet it was. I can't believe-" she began, but she trailed off once she saw Y/N smile disappear as she froze beside her. Beverly turned her head to see what Y/N was looking at and instantly frowned at the sight of the boys all standing by their bikes waiting for the two girls.

Beverly released Y/N's arm and Y/an glanced at her friends before looking away and walking over to her bike. "I'm surprised you all waited for me," Y/N said in a monotone voice as she approached her bike.

Eddie was the first to break and he sighed before saying, "We're sorry for the way we've been acting."

Y/N froze at that and rested her hands on her bike handles before looking up at the group. "What?" she asked, both her and Beverly staring at the boys in surprise. Although Beverly was smiling slightly due to the fact that the boys were finally apologizing after a long day of no one talking to each other.

"Yeah, the way we acted was unacceptable," Ben agreed. "And we're sorry for that."

"We. . .we were jealous," Stan admitted making Y/N blink in surprise.

"Jealous?" she asked confused.

"We were jealous of your other friends. We. . .we thought you were forgetting about us, that you didn't care about us like you did them. So we turned into a bunch of fucking jealous assholes and hurt you in the process," Richie sighed and the fact that he was speaking his feelings was enough to make Y/N realize how serious they were being.

"Guys. . ."she whispered sadly, hating that she made them feel like that. "I don't want you to ever feel like that, okay? I love you all so fucking much that it scares me sometimes to be completely honest. I've known you for what, two years now? I've known the others my whole life, so of course things are going to be a little different around them. But that does not mean I don't love and care about you guys any less. The Losers' Club is my family, you guys are my family. You're my life honestly and I wouldn't trade moving here for the world."

The Losers' all teared up a little at those words and Ben was the first to drop his bike to go over and hug Y/N. The girl chuckled and hugged the boy back while the others quickly came over to hug her as well. She hugged Eddie and Stan before hugging Beverly and Richie who held her the tightest.

The one thing about Richie was that he tried to act like he didn't care when he actually cared the most, so Y/N made a point to hug him back just as hard which made the boy dig his face into her shoulder as he held her.

Once she had hugged each of them, she pulled away to see Bill kind of standing there by himself. The two hadn't hugged or even spoken to each other yet and Y/N knew that their talk was going to be a little longer and more personal than the other. Bill must've known too because he glanced at his friends and gave them a pleading look as he said, "C-C-Can you all give us a m-m-minute?"

"Yeah," Beverly said. "We'll ride on ahead and you two can catch up, okay?"

Then, before the others could complain, Beverly pushed the boys to their bikes and they all began to bike away. That left Y/N and Bill standing there at the front of the school with their bikes by their side.

Y/N looked down at her feet before whispering, "You done ignoring me now?"

There was a beat of silence and she slowly looked up through her eyelashes only to have Bill rush forward and hug her, the action making both of their bikes fall over and hit the ground. Y/N's arms were out in surprise, but she didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around the boy, closing her eyes as she breathed in his scent.

"I'm s-s-sorry," Bill whispered into her ear as he practically cradled her head against his body. "I'm so sorry. I let R-R-Richie get to me and the w-w-way I acted around you was un-un-unacceptable. I mean, even that ph-ph-phone call was rude. You w-w-were just checking up on m-m-me and I hung up on you w-w-without even giving a r-r-reason. I didn't mean to h-h-hurt you and I'm so s-s-sorry for that."

"Why'd you do it? What did Richie say?" Y/N asked softly as she pulled away to look at the boy.

"What Richie said wasn't important," Bill told her, his head bowed. "It was what I told myself that got in the way."

"And what did you tell yourself?" she questioned.

"I-I-I thought I c-c-couldn't make you as h-h-happy as they could," Bill admitted. "Th-Th-That I would n-n-never make you as h-h-happy as they could."

Y/N's face softened at that and she furrowed her eyebrows as she lifted a hand up and placed it against Bill's cheek. "Bill, why would you think such a thing?" she asked, the disbelief evident in her voice.

"The w-w-way you laughed. . .the way you s-s-smiled. . .I'd never seen you l-l-look that happy," Bill muttered.

"Bill, that's not true in any way, shape, or form," she assured him. Y/N lovingly rubbed her thumb against his cheek before smiling softly at him.

"I'm my happiest when I'm with you."

Bill blushed at that, his eyes flickering over her face before he leaned forward and rested his forehead against her own. The two both let their eyes close as they enjoyed this moment, their arms holding onto each other while their foreheads touched.

"I r-r-really am sorry," Bill whispered, not opening his eyes.

Y/N smiled softly and opened her eyes long enough so that she could push herself up on her tip toes and press a kiss to Bill's cheek. He instantly leaned into her touch, his arm that was around her pulling her even closer to his body if that was possible.

"I forgive you," Y/N assured him once she had pulled away, Bill turning his face so that their noses brushed against each other and their eyes locked. Both of their faces were red and they were silent for a moment before Y/N smiled and said, "You should know better than to listen to Richie."

Bill chuckled softly and pulled away to press a small kiss to her forehead before he pulled away from her and went over to his backpack. "Yeah, p-p-probably not my s-s-smartest move," he said as he opened his backpack and pulled out his jacket. The same jacket that Y/N had in her possession only a few hours before.

Y/N's smile dropped slightly at the sight. "Oh, I should've told you that I was leaving it for you. I hadn’t meant to keep it so long," she told him, but the boy only smiled and walked over to her with it in his hand.

"I-I-I want you to w-w-wear it," Bill admitted, both of the teens' faces growing redder by the second.

"Really?" Y/N asked, her face lighting up slightly and a hopeful tone in her voice.

Bill nodded and Y/N smiled before turning around. Bill held the jacket up and she slid her arms into the sleeves before Bill put the jacket on her the rest of the way. She turned around and gave the boy a teasing smile.

"So how do I look?" Y/N asked as she struck a few poses for him, a giggle escaping her lips as she did.

Bill chuckled and smiled fondly at the girl. "Beautiful," he told her. "Just like always."

Y/N blushed slightly before going to grab her bike. She picked it up before sending a small smile in Bill's direction. "Come on, Bill. It's time to go save our friend," she said.

And with that, the two got onto their bikes and began to bike after their friends, Bill's eyes locked on Y/N and his jacket that was blowing in the wind behind her.

* * *

Tag List

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[takadasaiko]

New Blacklist fanfic sneak peek

I’m not done with the HargraveDrabbles, but I do have an end in sight, so I’ve started giving a little sliver of my time to this new story idea that’s been battering around in my head and that I’ll probably write on over the summer hiatus for Blacklist that follows Tom as he tries to uncover if Scottie was set up to take the fall and, if she was, who set her up, and manages to uncover more secrets than he’d probably prefer to know at this point. This poor guy just wants to go home lol

Anyway, I promised @krism23 a sneak peek, so here we are. It’s filed away under Hidden Truths right now, but that’s definitely subject to change, as are many things with this story, especially depending on what is revealed by the Blacklist season finale, because this is definitely a crossover story. As of now I plan for it to have the full cast (probably including at least a little bit of Julian Gale). 

For those that are interested this is the opening scene as it stands right now:

This was a mistake.

It wasn't the first time the thought had flittered through his mind, and each time it did Tom Keen stopped, uncertain if he should turn and walk away or take the risk. He had made it this far, though, and he'd run into every wall he could in his investigation. She was his last resort.

He was supposed to be home right then. Back in DC with his family, helping Liz get ready for their daughter’s first birthday party, and finished with the stress of trying to figure out which parent was telling the truth and which was lying, but Kat Carlson had put a stop to those plans when she had shown up with a flash drive that she said held the truth. What that truth was, he wasn't entirely certain, and his mother's blonde righthand woman still hadn't woken up from the coma they had induced to give her time to heal from her extensive injuries.  

The jumpdrive contained evidence that might, at the very least, lead to the possibility that his mother had been set up. Financial records linked back to transactions made from Kat’s computer and phone, but the woman hadn't attacked herself. There was something to this, and Tom wanted to be careful not to jump to the wrong conclusion about who the him was that Kat had blamed for this.

Of course, Liz had told him to go to Scottie, and Tom could only resist the advice so long. She was probably right. She usually was.

“Name and ID,” the bored looking man on the other side of the counter said and Tom realized he'd made it through the door this time. No turning back now.

He cleared his throat, reaching for his wallet that held both his driver's license and Halcyon credentials. “Thomas Keen to see Susan Hargrave,” he said as he slid them over.

“Don't move,” came the gruff response as he stood, disappearing back out of sight. Tom stood there, his gaze sweeping the room out of habit. Cameras, guards, and protocols that were rarely bent as far as they eye could see. Scottie wasn't allowed visitors in general, but he had no question that his name was on a very, very short list.

The man returned, taking his time as he plopped back down into his chair and eyed Tom just a moment before handing him a visitor’s pass. “Through those doors and they'll escort you in. Pick your IDs up in the way out.”

Tom gave a curt nod and followed the instructions. He was led to a room with a little table in the center, a chair on either side. He took a seat and waited, nerves on edge and the desire to run almost overwhelming.

After what felt like hours but was really only a handful of minutes, the door opened and Scottie Hargrave was led in. They cuffed her to the table and she sat there silently for a long moment, those dark eyes of hers studying him. Tom squared his shoulders a little, refusing to back down. He could fake this. He could make her believe this wasn't the last place he wanted to be. He swallowed, ready to start, but Scottie cut him off. “Did you use your own name? Your father will know you were here.”

“Not sure why you think I need to hide that fact from him,” Tom answered, pleasantly surprised that his voice was steadier than he had expected it to be.

“Because your father is delusional, Christopher.”

“Tom,” he corrected. “My name hasn't been Christopher for a long time. Being here doesn't just wipe away everything that happened to me.”

“He's dangerous,” she pressed.

“He didn't have me beaten for information that I didn't even have or nearly have me put down in the street by a sniper. That was you.”

Scottie stiffened very slightly. “Howard told you about that.”

“He did.”

“I didn't…” She stopped, closing her eyes briefly before reopening them and offering him a thin, fake smile. “Why are you here, Tom?”

There it was. That control. He'd thought it was going to slip just for a moment, but her gaze turned cold and this was a professional meeting now. “Kat Carlson.”

“What about her?”

It was Tom’s turn to study her, looking for any small changes to signal that she had sent someone after her employee to set him on a different trail. “Does she have any enemies?”

Scottie looked a little startled by the question.  “Not that I'm aware of.”

“No one that would gain anything from hurting her?”

“Has something happened to her?”

“She was attacked.”

His mother’s façade started to crack a little. “How badly?”

Tom straightened in the hardbacked chair. “Her blood was found at a crime scene with a dead John Doe. His face was bashed in.” He held up his phone, a photo that he had managed to snag when he and Nez had snuck into the crime scene visible. “Any idea who he might have been?”

To her credit, Scottie looked a little ill at the photo. “Trevor,” she breathed.

“How did Kat know him?”

Scottie pursed her lips together. “She was sleeping with him.”

“How do you know that? You had her followed?”

“I know because I was sleeping with him too.”

Tom quirked an eyebrow. “Can you get me a last name for Trevor?”

“No.”

He pushed a long breath out through his nose. “Listen, Scottie-”

“I didn't know it.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

She shrugged. “Believe what you want. I don't know his last name. I'm fairly certain Trevor wasn't even his real name. Kat seemed to think it was Daniel.” She paused, watching him watching her. She was purposefully not saying something and Tom had no interest in giving until she said it. Scottie seemed to understand that and she gave him a showy sigh, rolling her eyes as she did. “He was an escort.”

It took a moment for Tom to wrap his mind around what she said and if he'd heard her right. “You were sleeping with a prostitute?”

“He was a good listener.”

There were some things he would have preferred going the rest of his life not hearing. That was one of them. “I bet he was. My guess is that he was also a covert operative.”

Scottie shot him a long suffering look. “I didn't tell him anything to compromise security.”

“Someone with access did.” Tom stood from his place.

“Tom,” Scottie called out, rattling the cuffs as if she had meant to reach out to them. He turned to see her gaze fixed on him. “I was set up.”

He paused, turning the words over in his mind before finally letting them slip out. “For this, maybe.”

With that Tom turned, tapping on the door to signal the guard. He had a starting point at least, and if she had been set up, he'd find out who did it and he'd bring those hidden truths to light.