#OH OH WAIT HERES THE REAL KICKER

[dyketennant]

i’ve literally never wanted to stay home and do laundry soooo bad before but nooooo i have to go to this workshop/screening event for work because we need more attendance and my coworker said they’d feel better if i was there. life is so hard being your job’s emotional support goth

[imwritesometimes]

my heater has once again started to act weird so I guess no heat for tonight lmao fml ✌️

[momobani]

&TEAM hyung line + [semi] public sex

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!!!| smut under the cut| 0.6k

a/n: as an apology for being MIA lately, i'm dropping a hyung line post in addition to TWIHY chapters <3

K:

oKay, mans is a freak and an exhibitionist for sure; would fuck you on the balcony in the middle of the night, attempting to wake the entire neighbourhood (later, neighbours might be taking measures about wild foxes they heard in the night, who knows). Doesn’t even have to be your balcony, like a hotel balcony might be even better since you can, in his words, ‘enjoy the view’ lol. Maybe would try one of your building’s staircases, or restaurant bathrooms, and shop changing rooms are also not out of the question cuz when you two need to fuck, y’all need to fuck right now, regardless of who might be around. Sometimes he gets off on the idea of other people knowing you’re fucking and he’s making you feel that good and no one else is allowed to, but you get embarrassed easily so you really try to keep quiet, which only makes K fuck you harder.  

Fuma:

Probably the least likely to be into anything remotely public but stuff like the apartment, shared bathroom or shower when his roommates are out would definitely be an option, would feel bad for contaminating the couch so would bend you over the counter or any other furniture that could withstand the force (or the walls since he could hold you up with no effort lol). Would be open to car sex in a mostly empty parking lot - would get him so freaking hard if you suggested a quickie after your grocery run but would be real quick and intense cuz you have fridgeables. Here’s the real kicker - at a camp site since our guy loves camping so much where there’s other people in their tents only metres away from yours so he clamps a hand over your mouth and moves so incredibly slowly to keep the noise down. Or a caravan that everyone can see shaking from the outside oof-

Nicholas:

Oh hey freak number 2. Would shamelessly fuck you in the apartment regardless of whether his roommates were home or not, maybe on the beach when you’re on a night date (oh wait a minute, who wrote that?), under the moonlight, scaring all the seagulls (good, fuck seagulls, nasty bitches). Would ask you if you wanted to fuck in front of his friends (K, Fuma, EJ), just cuz he wanted to show off how gorgeous you were when he destroys your cunt, would definitely get a kick out of it when you say yes and enjoy putting on a show but no one else gets to touch you, they can just watch and drool. Also hotel pools, after everyone’s long gone and it’s horribly quiet, your swim turns into a makeout ses, which turns into fucking and avoiding the security guard lol. 

EJ:

Might not look like he’d be into anything too public, but honestly, he’d love a good romantic rooftop picnic fuck. Oddly specific but yes, just something about being outside albeit on the roof where everyone can hear you even if they can’t see you. Also bonus, you can watch the sunset as you cum, very romantic haha. Gets into it more often and would pull out a condom out of nowhere, and you just smirk at him and call him a ‘boy scout’. Would probably also be into either a quickie or oral in his laundry room where any of his roommates could walk in at any point. For sure finds it thrilling that you could get caught, his dick in your mouth or buried in your cunt, might even subconsciously want you to get caught so he starts suggesting riskier places (this lil adrenaline junkie i swear-).

a/n: thanks for reading and thanks for being patient <333

[floweroflaurelin]

wait you said you did an animatic on your main blog! is that for traffic series’s, is it posted here?

Oh right yes I was meaning to mention this here!! Thank you ahaha

Okay so YES! I did do an animatic, it’s for Empires SMP! No it’s not posted here yet because I am kind of unsure about what do with it… Let me explain.

Over the summer I had to do a big project for school, and it was entirely self-directed with no supervision. That meant it had to be about something I’m Really Passionate About to make sure that it would actually get done. So naturally I chose Empires! I got in touch with Pixlriffs and got his permission to use his audio for a school project (he said yes, thank you Pix <3) and then, audio in hand, went nuts and roughly storyboarded out 8min of an animatic in a single night.

When getting the project approved I told the professor, “hi I am going to do an 8 minute full colour animatic in two months while taking a full course load of classes” and he said

So the plan became to begrudgingly take a 2-3 minute excerpt of the audio and just do that for the class. And I did! And it slapped!! Full colour, rendered paintings you know and love from floweroflaurelin, except they’re moving a little bit. And Pixlriffs is there talking.

I figured at the time that once the semester was over I would paint the other 6 minutes of the animatic on my own time!! How hard could that be, right?? Except Things Kept Happening With School, and once it was over I was moving to a new place and getting sick and Tango’s desk mat took priority, and suddenly it’s over a month later with Do Those Other Six Minutes still on my to-do list.

The real kicker was that one of the Things That Happened With School resulted in me not getting feedback on the project—the teacher wasn’t able to really look at it. I got a grade, but a series of ridiculous circumstances meant that all that work was only briefly glanced at and a grade hastily entered, which was frustrating and resulted in me resenting the project a bit, since I worked hard on something I loved and it got no appreciation at all.

I’d love to share it with people who would appreciate it, which is to say, other fans!! But the thing is—as much as I want it to be Done the way I intended when I storyboarded it out initially, I won’t have the time to paint those six minutes any time soon: Huevember is in a couple weeks, and that’s a big commitment! But in my mind it’s not a complete project unless it’s a Complete Project. So I’ll put the question to you:

So yeah let me know! I’m still pretty busy but either way I want to revisit the animatic, either to paint more frames or to get it prepped for posting (something I’m not sure how to do yet).

(Also good news about Things Happening With School: I graduated yesterday!! Bachelors degree with honours, baby! Maybe now that school is behind me I can turn a new page where that project gets shared 😆)

[watermelonsugacry]

So yk how h has been posting accidentally to his public ig story instead of his close friends? One day he post some really cute picture of wifey and he adds all the cute stickers he uses and he erases it like rq. it’s like omg he posted her accidentally BUTTT the kicker is that he also captioned it something like cute and dumb like “happy wife, happy life” and exposed tf out of them lolllll bcs he is sooooo the type to say that anyway loves u

Oh my gosh I like this better than my original idea

So this is the post he makes on his Instagram story that’s supposed to go on his close friends story but then quickly deletes it.

And every social media platform is going crazy over what was only up for 18 seconds.

GUYS DID THAT JUST SAY WHAT I THINK IT SAID???

THE RING!!!!

WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN??

GUYS I DONT THINK THIS WAS A JOKE

THEY'RE FINALLY MARRIED?!!

HOW LONG AGO DID THEY DO THIS?

Aside from the obvious downside of Harry's fuck up, they actually had a plan on officially announcing their new marital status after their one-month anniversary... which was the next day.

(Here's their wedding chapter: Forevermore)

liked by harrystyles, prettypenny, and 7,879,203 others

yourinstagram 12/26 happy one month anniversary 💍❤

View all 98,786 comments

gemmastyles my sister!! ❤

annetwist my beautiful daughter-in-law

lizzobeeating A-YO!! so beautiful MRS STYLES

pillowpersonpp you looked so beautiful that day! ❤❤now mitch and I can call you hubby and wifey for real now

ynfan3 NOO WAY

ynfan2 I CANNOT HANDLE THIS RIGHT NOW

ynrryfan7 we finally got their anniversary date!

harryfan1 the way that twitter is blowing up right now

liked by yourinstagram, annetwist, and 7,675,236 others

harrystyles 12/26 finally married my best friend 💍❤

View all 764 comments

yourinstagram took you long enough

↳harrystyles I was waiting on YOU...but it was well worth the wait

↳jefezoff hey h, what happened to 'happy wife, happy life?' 😂

ynfan3 their bickering is so cute!

ynfan2 GUYS THIS IS REAL!!!

harryfan1 i've been manifesting this day for so long!

liked by annetwist, prettypenny, and 879,203 others

gemmastyles you guys were made for each other ❤

View all 798 comments

ynfan3 they're so IN LOVE 🥹

ynfan2 I NEED SOMEONE TO LOOK AT ME THE WAY HARRY IS LOOKING AT YN

harryfan6 it's rumored that they did a backyard wedding!

ynrryfan8 small wedding choice is so them

liked by yourinstagram, harryfan1, and 969,764 others

louis91 welcome to the family @harrystyles

(for all the times I've caught your asses kissing in the hallways)

View all 764 comments

yourinstagram mind yeh business lou

ynfan3 WAIT TELL US ABOUT THESE TIMES

ynfan2 literally half of 1d are now family

harryfan1 her and harry standing next to each other i can’t

liked by yourinstagram, harrystyles, and 979,783 others

niallhoran congrats to you both. love you guys 🥂

View all 231 comments

↳yourinstagram we love you more Nialler ❤

↳harrystyles thank you for being with us on our special day 🤍

harryfan1 NIALL WAS AT THEIR WEDDING AWWW

ynfan3 DID WE GET A 1D REUNION?? AND WE MISSED IT?

ynrryfan6 supposedly it was only Niall and Louis

liked by ynfan2, harryfan6, and 979,783 others

zayn it was only a matter of time

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yourinstagram ❤❤

harryfan1 look at them!! so baby 😍

ynfan3 after 12 years they're finally married!!

ynrryfan6 they don't even know what lies ahead of them

liked by ynfan1, prettypenny, and 502,203 others

lottietomlinson @louis91 & @yourinstagram the second they saw each other

View all 472 comments

ynfan4 I LOVE THEM

ynfan3 they're such siblings oh my gosh

harryfan1 they're five years old and i love it

liked by ynfan9, ynrryfan3, and 532,203 others

harryflorals more of Niall and Louis at YN and Harry's wedding!

View all 764 comments

harrfan6 i still can't wrap my head around what's going on

ynfan3 NOUIS!!

ynfan2 their brothers were there for their special day!!!!

harryfan2 i bet they both cried

liked by ynfan9, harryfan2, and 86,912 others

ynupdates Liam just posted this on his Instagram story!

View all 321 comments

harryfan1 THEY WERE SO LITTLE

ynfan3 fetus ynrry!!

ynfan2 wait was he not at their wedding?

↳harryfan4 why do i get the feeling that that was on him 🤔

liked by ynfan1, prettypenny, and 58,361 others

ynrry_updates YN's stepmum posted the first pic and then she reposted Mitch & Sarah's post on her Instagram story!!

View all 165 comments

ynfan6 stop this is so cute

harryfan4 harry's a lucky guy

ynfan3 the MR & MRS STYLES?!!

harryfan5 she looks so beautiful!!

.

.

SINCE 2010 masterlist

I write for free so if any of you lovies would like to help a college girl out and buy her a ko-fi i would greatly appreciate it :) 💚

taglist:

@wobblymug @be-with-me-so-happily @ashtongivesmebutterflies @kiwiskiwiskiwi @darlingdesire @obsesseddd @hopefulwastelandcreation @cacapeepee @breezie-b00 @harrysfolklore @theekyliepage @sunshinemoonsposts @nervousspiderling @tbslonelyhes @tenaciousperfectionunknown @harrystylesrecs @certified-nalayak @itsjustsel @iknowyouthinkimbulletproof @gviosca @behindmygreyeyes @twobluejeans @allisonxmcu @theemeraldbutterfly @jean-love @marvellover-sam @b-reads-things @reveriehs @rach2602 @thurhomish @perrypughstyles @luvonstyles @mxltifxnd0m @teamspideyman @c00chiemonster @juiceboxrry @s8tellite @folklorehrry @illicithallways @claramllera @eunoiaax @hoya122 @nichmedder @sleutherclaw @gloriousmoneyrascalbiscuit @harianaswhore @teawithcyb0rgs @vrittivsanghavi @vc55bughead @futuristiccroissantlampsludge @onecrazydirectioner @valluvsu @itsgabbysblog @awkwardbisexuall @rosehel @sucker4angstt @isalove @diorchives @mrshiddlestyles02 @fdl305

[icryaboutit]

It was all acting?!

SUMMARY: Imagine, somewhere in the timeline of Twst, Vil asked for GenZ!Yuu's assistance when one of the actors failed to show due to reasons. So GenZ!Yuu of course agreed to it cause why not. And the real kicker to it all is that the person they were replacing is a lover who got their heart broken, so crying was involved. Now IMAGINE, the sheer amount of suppressed trauma GenZ!Yuu have finally had a reason to come out.

or something along those lines

TAGS: Male Yuu, OOC, Angst?

WORD COUNT: 1,290 words

"What do you mean, they can't come?!"

The high-pitched voice of Vil's manager echoed through the place, garnering much attention from nearby crowds.

"Keep quiet Adeline, you are garnering unwanted attention."

Vil's calm yet somehow tired voice came from behind his manager, making her look at him with a distressed expression.

"How can I stay calm Vil! One of our actor is unreachable! And today is a big day!"

She exclaimed, clearly today's event was something that was of great importance. Which it is, the current event at play may help Vil rise in more fame, hell! It might even help him finally beat Neige LeBlanche.

"I know how important this is Adeline. But there is no need to fret and stress over something that we couldn't have known would occur."

"But Vil-!"

"Hmm? What's going on?"

This snapped the two out from their own world arguing, when a familiar voice had interrupted their talk.

"Ah, potato, what brings you here?"

Vil greeted, as Yuu stood there with some things in hand.

"Rook had asked of me to deliver this for you Vil-san."

Yuu said as he gave the stuff on his hand to Adeline.

"Thank you potato."

"No problem~ Rook promised to give me some trinkets for this trip so it wasn't really free labor."

Yuu explained with a shrug, as Vil looked at him up and down with calculating gaze. Feeling this, Yuu decided to make a quick ran for it.

"Well, then... I'll be off no-"

"Wait a minute, potato."

'Damn!'

"What is it Vil-san..?"

Yuu cautiously asked, knowing whatever Vil halted him for would end up in a disaster.

"Potato, how would you like to star in-"

"No thank you~!"

Yuu sweated bullets as he declined Vil's offer in a swift move,

"You haven't even heard the proposal yet potato."

"Whatever Vil-san was about to say, my senses were telling me that such sacred duties are bound for a much fortunate soul~!"

In short, "Hell, no, fuck off!" was what Yuu wanted to give off which was brutally ignored by Vil's next choice of words.

"Oh~? Do you think my eyes would deceive me once I see talent potato? You must have mistaken me for someone else's personality."

In short, "Give up, you have no choice." And thus, getting the message, Yuu was added in the list of actors at the last minute.

"Where did Yuu go?! I can't find him anywhere!"

"Henchman! Where are you!?"

"Maybe he just went to the bathroom?"

"HUMAN! REVEAL YOURSELF! YOU MUSN'T MAKE WAKA-SAMA WAIT!"

"You guys need to calm down..."

"Bold of ya ta even think they'll just calm down."

Currently, a group of first years were looking for a certain Yuu who still hasn't come on their meeting place.

Despite their current shenanigans, all of the first years were deeply worried as they wondered what kind of mess Yuu had gotten themselves involved in just by being in the area.

*Ping*

The sound of the notification on all of the first years' phones rang, informing them of the message that they had received.

Opening the message they were greeted by a text from the same person they were looking for.

YesImYuu: Can't make it guyz~!😥 Vil-san has me trapped!😭You guyz can go ahead and go🤧😞 AND BETTER BE ON TIME!😤

"..."

"So he's fine, good to know."

Jack who was the calmest exhaled in relief knowing that Yuu was alright. He then proceeded to push the flabbergasted group towards the entrance.

"So I can say whatever I want?"

"Yeah, we just need a way for people to gather towards us so that the plot can be constructed... I guess, I'm not sure either."

Yuu was conversing with his partner who was as clueless as him, since the one who got information about everything was the one who was currently unavailable.

"Okay... So like, do you have anything particular topic in mind?"

"Well I mean, we just need to cause a commotion that will enable Schoenheit-senpai and the female lead to meet through the crowd. And we thought, what better crowd gathering option there is but a lover's quarrel..."

At the mention of the words lover's quarrel, Yuu had a bright idea popping into his mind.

"Oh~! Then how about-"

And this was the start of the famous lover's quarrel, staring the prefect of NRC and some dude from Pomefiore.

The play had started, and just as Vil and his manager had expected, the theme garnered a lot of attention. Adeline only prayed that the scene where Vil and the female lead would end up meeting would be a success. Considering that Vil had made a choice to add an outsider the last minute.

The moment that scene appeared, the first years who were either only there for the free food, or because of some reasons or just genuine support, had their eyes widen at the sight of Yuu with some pomefiore guy as they argued in the background their voices inaudible.

Not to mention the prefect had a dress on, along with longer hair, and makeup that brought out his feminine side.

It wasn't only the first years who were shocked. Everyone who was somewhat close or friends with Yuu was flabbergasted and shocked to see him acting on the stage. Even more shocked as the play continues.

"Who are you referring to?"

Yuu's face contorted into that of confusion and anger.

"Camilla."

The man spat with a look of indifference. The fake crowd on the stage was now genuinely intrigued by what was happening with him and Yuu, as they crowded over the two who were "arguing".

"Why would I care about her?!"

"Because I care about her!!"

At the sudden explosion of emotion from the man the people couldn't help but flinch at it.

Yuu who was on the receiving end looked like he wanted to scoff at the unbelievable proclamation.

"Morning, noon, and night I care about her!.. And you hurt her."

The man looked angrier by the second, the look of insanity dancing in his eyes. Yuu on the other hand was silent, but his eyes told everyone his true feelings on the matter.

"If you hurt her... You hurt me."

There was silence as there was tension, the people watched in great apprehension as they watched the scene unfold.

The man held a broken and emotionless smile, as he stared at Yuu who held and expressed nothing on his face.

"Camilla is who I want, that is where my loyalties lie, that is who my priority is."

"Not the mother of your children?"

Gasps were heard as a big revelation came. The sky darkens as the weather visibly shifted to a much gloomier setting.

"Don't bring the boys into this."

"Alright, not the woman you married!!"

"I refuse to be blamed any longer for this grotesque misalliance! I wash my hands of it!"

It was then that thunder strike, yet none were paying any attention to the weird weather changes as they watched the two on stage.

*Slap*

It was also the time that Yuu seemed to have enough, as he raised his hands in the air, a resounding slap echoed through the stage. Yuu looked at the man with an unreadable expression, but the tears that fell from his eyes held every ounce of emotion that was left for the man in front of him.

Gasps were heard, and the sudden movement made the crowd move suddenly, as they unconsciously pushed off a woman from the crowd, who happened to be the female lead. Only to be caught by Vil, who happened to have positioned himself there.

Nothing about that act was in the plan. But in the end, the play ran smoothly.

[definitelynotafurinasimp]

Number 3 with Yae but the kicker is the reader just blurted it out after she helped them with a problem they’ve been struggling with all day (Also it’d be cool if the reader was close to immune to Yae’s teasing)

“Will you just marry me already?”

Characters: Yae Miko x gn!reader

warnings: none

a/n: I got three different messages requesting Yae with this one, so I guess I had no choice but to write her /hj

I hope this matches what you wanted, if you don't like it, just tell me and I'll try again once I have the time/motivation

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Yae Miko

Growing up with parents that liked teasing you as much as they liked to breathe air left you quite resistant to others trying to do the same. And while Yae was definitely on a whole new level, causing you to constantly struggle with trying not to lose your composure, with enough time you had gotten used to her methods to such a level that it took her quite some work to get a visible reaction out of you. Not like that would cause her to stop, instead serving as a challenge to her that she wouldn’t let pass by.

You couldn’t exactly remember how long you had spent on your little “pet project”, although you weren’t too sure anymore if you could even call it that anymore, the calming feeling it once provided having long been replaced by nothing but mild frustration at your inability to finish it, the only thing keeping you from just abandoning it being the idea of not actually finishing something. 

This all began a week ago when you thought it might be a great idea to build a small birdhouse, only for the project to increase in size with every stroke of your pencil you made while trying to draw a plan. And while the planning phase and most of the actual construction went pretty well, it just wouldn’t stand on its own, threatening to or just straight up collapsing when you let go of it. 

“Still working on it?”, Yae's voice cut off your trail of thought, forcing you back into the real world as you quickly turned your head to look up at her, your mood immediately improving as you finally weren’t alone with that damn thing. “Why don’t you let it be, seeing as all it does is cause you distress?”

“I can’t. I get the feeling that I’m really close to finally figuring out what was wrong, but I just can’t find my error”, you responded, sneaking one more look back at the not so finished birdhouse.

“Never took you for a person that likes inflicting pain onto yourself, but I guess even someone my age learns something new every day”, she joked only for you to let out a sarcastic laugh afterwards, watching her grab the plan you had made before glancing over both the paper and the actual construction.

“Now I’m not a professional, nor do I have any interest in becoming one, but don’t you miss this little thing here?”, she asked while pointing at a specific part of the plan, watching you as the cogs slowly started to turn in your brain, only for your eyes to widen in joy as you jumped up and threw your arms around Yae.

“You are a genius! Oh, will you just marry me already?”, you praised her before quickly trying to go back and finish your project so you wouldn’t forget anything, only to freeze up after a few seconds, your face turning slightly red as your brain backtracked to think of what you just said.

“No wait, that wasn’t a proposal or anything, I was just really happy”, you quickly tried to correct yourself, only for Yae’s smile to only increase in size.

“What? And here I was, thinking you actually loved me. How naive I was for actually thinking you meant it”, she recited in a dramatical voice only to let out a chuckle shortly afterwards.

Suddenly you felt like an idiot for even considering she might have misunderstood your comment as an actual proposal, your reaction only giving her an opening to finally tease you, the first one she got in weeks.

And by the gods, was she going to use it.

[missmeinyourbones]

IF YOU SQUINT, THE LINING IS SILVER 

a/n: wc 2.5k, based on a prompt from a list i can’t find but if i do i will link it! something along the lines of “fighting a stranger for the last bottle of wine at the grocery store” LOL

Sometimes, a bottle of wine is all it takes to solve your problems–or at least dull them enough to make them tolerable.

The past few days have been horrendous, a true burden to the roulette that is the game of life. Your washing machine breaking, a so-called friend gossiping about your love life (or lack thereof), a parking ticket charged to your vehicle demanding a ridiculous amount of money to the town, all leading up to the real kicker of the week–getting laid off from your lousy (but decently-paying) office job at the end of your Friday workday. 

After the longest week of your life, followed by the worst shift in all of recorded history, all you want to do is drown your sorrows in a bottle of red. 

Or white, or pink. Truthfully, you’re in no position to be picky. After all, beggars can’t be choosers.

That’s how you ended up here, sluggishly ghosting between the aisles of your local grocery market like a zombie with one thing on the brain.

The store is tiny, cozy. A simple family owned mom-and-pop with little selection, but often supplies noble finds at reasonable prices. Their alcohol selection is normally on the sparser side, but after what appears to be a rather successful week in liquor sales, it borders on barren as your heart sinks with disappointment. 

Suddenly, you see it. A glimmer of hope while approaching the seemingly empty shelves. 

A lone glass bottle twinkles in the reflection of the fluorescent lights from above, tucked away in the corner of the wooden ledge as if waiting for you to pluck it from where it sits and give it a new home in the warmth of your gut. 

It plays out like a movie’s climax; you can see the bottle, feel the glass smooth in your palm, practically taste the sweet syrup as you inch closer and closer and closer and–

“Woah–!”

A large hand collides with yours, clumsy and clanky as you both simultaneously reach for the lonely bottle on the shelf. Your fingers brush for mere seconds before you instinctually flinch away from the foreign intrusion of touch.

A stranger stands to the right of you, seemingly sharing your brilliant idea of snagging the market’s last bottle of sparking white wine.  

“Oh! I’m so sorry,” you begin to apologize, turning to the culprit who stands in the way of you and potentially the only positive thing to come you’re way this week.

The man’s tone is light and airy as he grabs the bottle, reading it’s label with a laugh, “Don’t be. Great minds must think alike, huh?”

You lift your chin to get a good look at him, and he’s surely a sight to see. He’s tall, almost alarmingly so as he towers over where you crawl between the stacked bags of chips and cookies lining the walls. A pair of dark sunglasses sits perched on the bridge of his nose, and you ignore the criticizing voice in the back of your mind that labels it a douchey move to be wearing them inside. 

Give him the benefit of doubt, you try to remind yourself. You don’t know this man.

Your slight optimism goes right out the window when he continues to hold the bottle as if he’s already purchased the item as his own, swaying it with his arm from side to side like the half-gallon jug weighs nothing in his hold. 

The awkward silence festers between the two of you as if you're blushing students waiting for the other's first move, dancing around one another’s footsteps in a crowded school hallway. 

You’re the first to clear the air, awkwardly gesturing to the light Moscato he clutches, “Are—are you—?” 

You don’t have to finish your question for him to read between the lines.

Still, he has the audacity to look surprised when you point to where he holds he bottle. He raises his eyebrows, almost as if silently challenging you to clarify your intent. 

“Am I what?” he lightly encourages. 

“I mean…” your patience wears thin as your attention returns to the wine with a humorless laugh, “we both grabbed it at the same time.” 

The store is practically empty, other than a handful of employees and your silent showdown happening towards the building’s back corner. From your peripheral, you see a woman in uniform mopping tiles along the floor. Her presence reminds you that it is almost 8 PM, she’s probably preparing for closing any minute now.  

The (handsome) stranger before you continues to stand his ground. “Yeah,” he agrees with ease before stating the obvious, “but you let go first.”

You click your tongue in disbelief at his gall. Whoever this man is, he’s picked the wrong person to argue with, right now. 

No longer anxious and now decently irritated, your tone comes out harsh and sarcastic. It hits him, cold. 

“That tends to be the gut reaction when you accidentally brush hands with a stranger.”

The store echoes with a silence that should be lethal, the only noises being the dull humming of the freezers from the backroom and the squeaking of a dry mop against the floor. 

“Really?” the man faux wonders with mockery. “Weird, my reaction is to grab on even tighter.” 

As if rubbing salt in the wound, he shakes the bottle around as evidence and you visibly cringe at the roughness of the motion. After the week you’ve had, you should be the one holding that bottle, treating its contents with the utmost care and respect. 

You wordlessly size him up for a moment before weighing your options:

You could cause a scene, get an employee involved and feign a victim as you childishly point fingers to the man in front of you. 

You could be the bigger person, head held high as you turn around and leave with your tail between your legs. 

You could rip the bottle from his grip–but he could be stronger than you. He’s a stranger, potentially a psycho who could genuinely hurt you over something as silly as a grocery store argument. 

Not loving your odds, you conclude with agitation, “So, you’re not gonna let me have it.”

Though technically a question, your tone leaves little room for him to debate.

The stranger's head slightly tilts to the side, making him instantly appear with an innocence ten years younger. “I never said that,” he shakes his head. 

His tone is borderline cocky, teasing almost, as he practically waves the bottle in front of your face. He’s tempting you, eager to see how far you're willing to go for this cheap bottle of wine–for what reason, you’re not too sure. But after the week you’ve had, something in you doesn't want to give up just yet. 

“Look,” your fingers squeeze the bridge of your nose before lowering your voice to an urgent whisper, “I really need that wine.”

He snorts, “What are you, an alcoholic?”

You rub the tension brewing in your sinuses, “I might become one after this conversation.”

The man sighs in faux disappointment before tsking your way. “In that case,” he swirls the bottle once more, “I probably shouldn’t be enabling you.”

“Well, why do you need it so badly?” you borderline snap out of frustration. 

His face lights up in the slightest, sunglasses falling slightly to reveal the glimmer of excitement swimming in the blues of his eyes. He presses his tongue flat against his bitten cheek, a lazy attempt to hide his clear enthusiasm at your little outburst.

With a smirk, he simply shrugs. “Had a bad day,” he reasons with no real conviction. 

Your head falls back in despair as your eyes stare directly into the harsh lighting hanging from the ceiling of the building. With any luck, it’ll render you blind and remove you from finishing this conversation. 

With a pathetic grumble, you whimper beneath a sigh, “I’m willing to bet mine was worse.”

Handsome Stranger fails to fight off another grin. “Convince me,” he breathes. 

“I’m sorry?”

“Convince me to let you have this bottle of wine,” he enunciates the words, dragging them out slowly as if his pronunciation was what beckoned you to ask him to repeat the foolish request. 

Too far into the argument to care, you swallow your pride in a struggling gulp. You’ve already come this far for the lousy bottle, what’s a little bit of begging? Hell, within the time you’ve spent arguing with this guy, you could’ve driven to an actual liquor store across town and purchased an authentic wine for twice the price. You decide that you’re leaving this store with that bottle, or you’ve failed in every meaning of the word. 

Finding his eyes, you bare your teeth in a growl, “I got fired today.”

“Ooof,” his lips contort to a pout as he winces with a phony sympathy. When your expression doesn’t budge in the slightest, he readjusts himself in surprise, “Wait, actually?”

“Yes,” you grit through clenched teeth.

He tugs on his lower lip, and you hate that it’s almost distracting you from your anger. “Was it deserved?” he beckons. 

You wince once more, “If it was, would I be putting up this much of a fight for a cheap bottle of wine?”

Now, it’s Handsome Stranger who’s sizing you up with a skeptical glare. “Touché,” he nods and your heart beams, but it’s short-lived as he quickly elaborates, “but I’m not fully convinced just yet.”

Your voice squeaks out in an exhausted plea, “What more do you want from me?” 

Almost condescendingly, the man leans down to be level with your height. He raises his eyebrows and squeezes in a saccharinely sweet voice, “A smile wouldn’t hurt.”

As if that’s all it took to pluck your last straw, his simple request ignites something rotten inside of you.

“Fine,” you scowl, readjusting your bag and turning your back to the asshole before calling out a bitter, “enjoy your nine-dollar wine.”

Clunky footsteps hurry behind you and the man slowly jogs around in front of you, preventing you from leaving the aisle with a pathetic frown curving on his lips.

“Hey, hey,” his solid stance ushers you to a halt before he waves a white flag, “you win.”

You eye him up and down, unimpressed with the riddle at hand. “What’s the catch?”  

“Lemme buy it for you,” he uses his free hand to scratch his neck, “seeing how I’m guessing you won’t be getting a paycheck this week.”

“Oh, that’s low.”

“Too soon, huh?”

His defeated tone has you chuckling beneath your breath. Though still weary of the offer before you, the hostility slowly flees from the situation at hand. Seeing your lingering hesitancy, he gestures back to the bottle in his palm. 

“Really though, I mean it. Consider it a thank you for dealing with my antics.” 

If that's the case, then he owes you more than a bottle of wine, the voice in your head snarls. Eyes still suspicious, you slowly nod your head, “Sure.”

The man’s grin grows from ear to ear as he nods his head at your acceptance. “Great!” he bounces a bit too enthusiastically, “I’ll let you finish shopping, meet me at the storefront in five?”

You nod once more before turning around to leave the aisle. The two of you take a combined five steps before you’re met with realization. With a sudden urgency, you whip your head back in his direction. 

“Wait,” you call to him from the opposite end of the aisle. He’s quick to turn around, smile still adorning his face and now paired with (what looks like) a blush. You narrow your eyes at him, “How do I know you’re not just gonna buy the wine and run?”

His nose scrunches as his hand jerks over his heart. “You wound me,” he whimpers with a smirk.

He jogs back over to you, not thinking twice as he hands you his luxury car keys, “I’ll need those before I leave.”

The metal is cold in your palm, the rings jingle together as he plops them down into your hand. Leaving with nothing but a charming wink, he disappears around the corner of the aisle and towards the front of the store. 

A bit overwhelmed, you mindlessly pick up a few things before making your way to checkout. The cashier shoots you a polite smile before ringing up your items: a new sponge for your kitchen sink, a cherry-flavored energy drink, a green patterned lighter, a pack of peppermint gum. 

You're not sure what you expect when walking through the automatic doors and out into the parking lot, but you're met with surprise when the man stands whistling against the side of the building’s brick, with a bag hanging loosely in between his fingers. 

He trots his way over to where you stand in front of the market’s display window. Coming beneath the warmth of the streetlights, the expression on his face is tender and hospitable–he wears a delicate grin that tickles the depths of your stomach.

“Here is your liquid gold, m’lady,” he presents the paper bag to you with a smug sense of pride, “all nine dollars worth of it.”

You accept the bag from his hand with a soft smile. Though clearly tired and worrisome, he thinks the flash of appreciation looks good on you. The stranger nervously shifts his weight where he stands on the sidewalk cement.

“I hope it does the job,” he adds on, and though the situation is silly, his tone carries a sincerity foreign to you. 

“Thanks,” you exhale in relief, before pulling his leg as he begins to walk away. “I hope next time you fight a stranger over the last bottle of wine in the grocery store, you actually get to leave with it.”

He laughs through a giddy smile, one that oozes a contagiously boyish charm, before turning around with a bounce. 

“If that’s the case,” he allows his eyes to drop to where his shoe kicks a rock across the cement, “then I hope the next stranger is you again.”

You crack open the sealed brown paper bag, half intrigued and half actually checking to see if the handsomely irritating man kept up his end of the deal. You sigh in relief–the wine sits happily in the paper where it belongs. However, there are more items scattered throughout the lining of the bag.

You almost call out to him, to flag him down and let him know he forgot his own purchases in the midst of your bickering. However, the contents of the bag make your mouth run dry. A thin bouquet of sunset colored tulips rustles against the cool glass of the bottle. There's a chocolate bar from the checkout sidelines with a receipt covering its brand name. You grab the paper, smoothing it out with your thumb in hopes of reading the cost of the purchase. Instead, your eyes instantly fall to the messy handwriting at the bottom of the receipt. 

“For making my day that a little bit better - Satoru” 

The note is scribbled in the whites of the margins, along with a shaky smiley face and an honest phone number. 

The stranger is nowhere to be found when you finally take in your surroundings. Though your eyes are still dripping with exhaustion, the name Satoru sits on your tongue like a silver lining to the end of your week.

[karriethemechtech]

//HAWK FOB SECURITY FOOTAGE //PRIVILEGED EYES ONLY //TRANSCRIPT AS FOLLOWS ------------------------- [[MECHBAY 5]] MT-01: Ok, ok. You gotta hear me out. MT-02: Oh great, this’ll be good. MT-01: No, serious! Hear me out here. MT-02: Alright…listening. MT-01: I think it might be Red. MT-02: …You’re kidding me! MT-01: Nah, you gotta listen. Here, here, look, I got proof. [MT-01 gestures wildly. MT-02 appears unimpressed.] MT-01: Nobody knows her. She’s completely new in the past week or so, just brought right on in after the Chief. MT-02: Yeah? Chief’s new too. MT-01: Exactly. And she spends all her time with the Chief too. MT-02: Yeah. And? MT-01: Chief comes right from the top. Special request by the General or something like that. So she knows things, she’s gotta. MT-02: Uh-huh. MT-01: And then the Chief brings in this whiz ‘Tech nobody knows and gives her run of the place whenever she’s not around. MT-02: …alright, you’re getting somewhere. MT-01: And then get this. Now, Tony talks when he’s not supposed to, and he says to me one day that they’ve got this ‘Mech in the hangar nobody’s supposed to know about. Top secret or whatever. Chief’s eyes only. [MT-02 whistles] MT-02: Yeah, I remember that. Had the whole of Bay 8 closed down. MT-01: And you know who Tony saw going in and out of that bay? MT-02: …I have an idea. [MT-01 snaps their fingers] MT-01: Exactly. Red. MT-01: Connect the dots here, man! She’s the only one allowed in under the Chief’s orders, she’s always in charge, and then…I mean look at her! MT-02: Look at her how? MT-01: She’s so honest, so chipper! Nobody’s like that, not really. Not always. But she is. She’s gotta be hiding something, something’s going on behind closed doors. MT-02: …you got a point. MT-01: So we got a top secret, straight from the top, liar of a ‘Tech who, I’m gonna guess, got to work on Spirit’s ‘Mech. MT-02: You think that’s Spirit’s ‘Mech that was in there? MT-01: Has to be. What else is top secret around here? MT-01: Plus. You’ve never seen the two of them in the same room, have ya? MT-02: …wait, no. I haven’t. Not that I’ve seen Spirit in general, only at a distance that one time… MT-01: Bingo. Case open and shut. [MT-01 pounds their fist into their open palm.] MT-01: It’s gotta be Red. MT-02: Huh. You owe me a drink if you’re wrong, though. [Third MechTech, MT-03, runs into view of the camera.] MT-03: Dude, dude, dude, you're not gonna fucking believe this. I saw what's in Bay 8. MT-02: ...You're shitting me. MT-03: I swear to God, I'm not. Listen--I was out late, don't ask why, it's not important--and I felt the ground shaking, right? Like something real heavy was passing by. So I figure, probably a 'Mech, right? MT-01: Right. MT-03: But get this: there's nothing. Not even a ghost of a 'Mech. So I look over towards Bay 8, right? And the doors are open. I'm like, 'what the fuck, that ain't normal,' go to take a closer look, and the doors start closing--but right before they close I saw what they're hiding in there. MT-02: ...aaand? [MT-03 stares blankly.] MT-03: And what? MT-02: What's in there? MT-03: Ah, see, that's the kicker. I, uh... don't really know. MT-02: You just said-- MT-03: I caught a glimpse, okay? It was there for, like, a second. All I saw was the cockpit. Looked like a Catapult, or one of those fancy Timber Wolves. MT-01: Ha! A Mad Cat! That's a Clan 'Mech! MT-02: And this proves your point how, exactly? MT-01: If you don't see it I can't explain. Guess I'm just better at this than you. MT-02: Oh please. As I remember it, you're the one who got welded to an armor plate a few days ago. MT-01: Don't you dare go there. ------------------------- //END TRANSCRIPT

[kairiscorner]

Hiii can I request going to an amusement park with Noir? Like they ride a Rollercoaster, Ferris wheel, and the viking? (Para may ref, isipin mo ung Enchanted kingdom o sky ranch) Salamat thanks!! :DDD

HI ANON 🫶🫶🫶oh that'd be quite the experience for him tbh :' )) i personally have never been to EK or sky ranch (oo alam ko na, nasa bahay ako buong buhay ko 😭😭😭) BUT HERE'S HOW I IMAGINE THAT'D PLAY OUT !!!

going to amusement parks with spider noir

he'd be a little overwhelmed, but extremely excited the first time he'd go with you. he'd be so giddy on the way there, like a child would if it were their first time :)

HE'D WANT A THOUSAND OF THOSE EK WIZARD HATS

he'd plop one on you, chuckle, and say, "look, love, you're finally as tall as me."

out of all three rides, i think the one that gave him the least anxiety was the ferris wheel. like, think about it, it isn't exactly anything too crazy compared to the other two, the only remotely scary bit of it is the part where you get to the top.

he's not exactly afraid of the heights, he's spiderman, he's practically on every height in the city. though when he notices you freaking out, even a little, he himself gets a little uneasy and doubts himself just a smidge.

but he tries to remember you need him, in the toughest and easiest of times. he'd gently bring your hand in his, look into your eyes and tell you, "we don't have to go through with it, love, if you aren't comfortable. if you still want to go anyway... i'll be right here to keep you safe. you're not gonna fall any time soon if i'm here."

and when you two get on the ferris wheel, he actually got super delighted :DD HE WAS REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THE PART WHERE YOU TWO KEEP GOING HIGHER AND HIGHER, BUT CLINGING ON TO YOU A THE WHILE INVOLUNTARILY

of course, you'd hold him back, and the calming effect you have on him is otherworldly. he calms down gradually and looks away from the ground and into your eyes, which are staring back into his. he blushes as he realizes how close he was this whole time, being near the prettiest person he's ever seen in the whole world, he refuses to believe this isn't a dream that just feels all too real.

"i, oh, sorry, i got... too close back there..." he'd whisper as he pulls away, BUT YOU'D PULL HIM BACK CLOSE TO YOU <333 "and i want you to stay close to me, pete."

HIS BLUSH WOULD REACH DOWN HIS NECK WHEN YOU'D SAY AND DO STUFF LIKE THAT

at the viking, peter would've been a little confused what exactly it was like. and when you explained it, he'd think, "oh, so like a swing?" and you wouldn't wanna intimidate or scare him at first, so you'd just reluctantly agree. "y... eah, yeah like a... like a swing!" you'd encourage him and he's watch the other people riding it and smiling to himself as he thinks, "oh, i can't wait to ride a big swing"

IT WASN'T JUST A SWING, HE GOT A LITTLE FRIGHTENED AND ANXIOUS AS THE RIDE JUST KEPT GOING HIGHER AND HIGHER (despite being spider man and being at really high places, he wants to be on the ground most of the time) SO HE HELD ON TO YOUR HAND THE HIGHER YOU GUYS GOT

"LOVE YOU PROMISED ME THIS WOULD BE LIKE A LIKE A SWING" "it is though, isn't it?!" "NO, SWINGS DON'T MAKE ME FEEL LIKE--" (screams)

but he enjoyed it a lot when he got a little more used to it, and besides, he got to use his fear as an excuse to hug you :>

THE ROLLERCOASTER WAS THE REAL KICKER THOUGH, i believe he threw up at least three times after getting on

HE'D BE TOO SCARED TO SCREAM HERE AFTER GETTING ON THE VIKING, he'd probably have fainted back in his seat when you two would do the upside-down part of the loop de loop.

and if the rollercoaster ride provided pictures during the ride, you'd laugh a little seeing peter knocked out while you're screaming out of excitement and a little fear.

"that was horrifying... wanna... go again?"

a/n: man i have date ideas for the atsv guys at amusement parks/fairs now fuck THANK YOU FOR THE IDEA ANON IT WAS SO LOVELY TO DO <333

tags !! @thecoolerdor @miguelswifey04 @sabcandoit @binibinileonara @k4tsu3 @fictarian @luvstarrstruck @maxoloqy @connors-cumslurper @ii01vq

[mostlymaudlin]

just read every single one of your fics and prompts. ur so good i literally love everything you’ve ever written ever. would you be able to write (or recommend if you don’t fancy writing it) some wymack just being so good to neil and or andrew? being there for them, understanding them, i love parental wymack

hi anon 🧡 ty for being so nice!!! it has been a while since you asked this question, sorry. ive read a lot of excellent portrayals of wymack, but i don’t know that i could name any fics that really focus on this? as you probably know, i wrote one wymack pov fic, but it’s still mostly about andreil hahaha.

ANYWAY. i know you said parental, but i was kinda thinking abt the very unique role he serves. And I did write a little scene abt Andrew’s midnight break-ins to Wymack’s apartment 🤪 cw for vague mentions of past abuse/self-harm.

rated t, <1k

“And here’s the real kicker, Coach.”

Wymack is fairly certain that the information Andrew is about to deliver will not be the kicker. He’s fairly certain that it will only lead Andrew to another line of outrage about the thing he is always rattling on about these days when he breaks into Wymack’s liquor cabinet: Neil Josten.

“He doesn’t even listen to music!” Andrew says. “I know you see him running on that treadmill too, eyes glazed over like a goddamn zombie. I heard Boyd offer to let him borrow his iPod, and he went, ‘oh, no thanks, I don’t listen to music.’ And Boyd kept pushing him, trying to find out if he liked an obscure genre or something. But he is ambivalent to it. Be honest, Coach — did he grow up in some kind of satanic cult? Is he brainwashed? Is he going to hear some code word and go ape shit on us?”

Andrew is lying on his back on the sofa, dirty boots on the arm rest and a bottle of Jack Daniels in one hand. He’d made significant progress on it before Wymack even got home, and Wymack can see it flushing his cheeks and ringing around his eyes.

Wymack has dealt with a lot of fucked up kids, but in some ways, Andrew is one of the most difficult. It’s not the violence or the bad manners or the obstinance — Wymack can deal with that shit all day long.

It’s nights like this that make Andrew such a challenge in Wymack’s head: Why does Andrew come here? What is he looking for? What has Wymack done to earn this frankly irritating privilege — and how can he make sure he doesn’t squash it?

Andrew doesn’t talk to anyone. Betsy doesn’t tell Wymack much about the kids, but even she has expressed worry at the layers of repression Andrew seems to hold.

But sometimes here, between casting Neil in various villainous roles or complaining about Kevin or stating his grievances with Palmetto State’s meal options, Andrew drops in something real. A comment about getting slapped by a foster mother. A crude joke about the scars Wymack already knows are on his arms. Hints toward some kind of big secret that Andrew seems to dangle in the air between.

It’s always casual. It always feels like a test. Wymack doesn’t know if he passes or fails — Andrew always just finds his next tangent and moves on.

Wymack rubs his temples. He must take too long to offer a grunt to indicate he’s listening, because Andrew looks over to where Wymack sits in his armchair.

“I don’t think Neil is religious,” Wymack finally offers.

“But would we really know?” Andrew asks. He sighs, dramatic, turning his head away again. “He doesn’t add up.”

“He’s hiding things,” Wymack agrees. “So is everyone else on the team.”

“Yes, but everyone else on the team isn’t as interesting.” Andrew brings the bottle to his lips again. “He’s a threat. But it would be less of a problem if he wasn’t so nice to look at. It’s very distracting.”

Well. Wymack didn’t see that coming.

Maybe he should have.

Andrew keeps his eyes on the ceiling, but the air is charged as he waits for Wymack’s reaction. Wymack holds in a heavy breath.

“Maybe you’re looking so much that you’re seeing stuff that isn’t there,” Wymack says.

“Ha,” Andrew says, but there’s little amusement in his voice. He tips his face toward Wymack, pointing with the bottle in his hands. “That’s a good one, Coach. But no. He’s definitely up to something, and I’m going to figure it out. How far is Millport from Area 51?”

“Far enough,” Wymack says.

Andrew hums. “He’s pretty fast. Maybe he escaped containment there and ran.”

Wymack snorts. “Report back when you’ve exhausted that theory. Preferably not in the middle of the fucking night.”

Andrew laughs. It’s not a joyful sound, but it’s familiar.

The are boundaries he’s supposed to maintain, and he knows Andrew wouldn’t want to have rules bent for him. The minute Wymack gives Andrew an open-door policy, he’ll never see him again. He’ll never get to see if he’s passing Andrew’s tests — he’ll never figure out if there’s something he can do.

So he’ll play the role. It’s not hard — he’s old and grumpy and tired. He’ll listen to Andrew bitch, even when it’s about these other kids whose names weigh heavy in his chest.

Maybe it will pay off, maybe it won’t. But this is the job. He has to be okay with these odds — they’re the best he’s going to get.

[meatmensch]

just had a really sick thought.

we're all familiar with the fact that dean has only been told "i love you" while he/someone's dying or he's in some sort of dream? yeah? ok good. and we're all familiar with the concept of dean being trapped in a cozy house in which he's a housewife and looks out for baby jack and waits for sam and cas to come home from a hunt instead of running rocky's with pam? yeah? ok good i sure hope so. now for the kicker.

baby jack would be what, sixteen months at this point? perfect age for learning some words. when cas and sam come into this illusion/fantasy and see dean chilling waiting for cookies to finish baking, holding fake baby jack, dean says, "oh hey guys! glad you're home in one piece. those wraiths seemed like nasty business. and you're here at the perfect time. look what jack just learned to say!...come on jackie baby, you said it for papa, now say it for dada and uncle sam." but jack is in dean's arms and just staring at dean and says, "eye...loave...yewww!" and dean throws his head back and smiles so wide and just about cries. he then says "i love you, too, little guy. now come on, look at dada and sammy and say it, you've got this." and jack does. and cas is so mesmerized by this whole scenario he's just about out of his mind. he's getting sucked in too.

but sam isn't affected. he's just devastated. he knows absolutely none of this is real. he knows his brother who used to be so sweet and gentle could be so once more, all the time. could get out and be happy and have a family and just stay home and bake cookies. he knows if things were better jack could've been a baby, had a real childhood, and dean would've showered him with all the love in the world.

but things aren't better. and dean hasn't really been gentle in a long time. and he's certainly never been happy. and he's not making it out of the life. none of them are. they just have to get dean out and keeping saving the world.

so sam says, "dean, this isn't real. we have to get you out."

[sailing-through-hawkins]

tagged by the bestie @a-little-unsteddie ( •̀ ω •́ )✧ who was gracious enough to listen to me ramble about this

rules: ✧ generate 5 random words using this generator and then write something using those words! ✧ tag 5 (or however many you want) mutuals to challenge! ✧ if you don’t like the five words you got, reroll them. this is meant to be a fun little challenge, not something to stress over. have fun!

✧ my words: stoichiometry, glenoid, secretion, encounter, fleam ✧ warning: this is some spooky stuff, lots of water imagery, stay safe ✧

If there's one thing Eddie hates more than sitting through another lecture from another townie about the dangers of the lake, it's being forced to listen to their made-up bullshit about what's out there.

They don't know a single thing about what lurks under the surface of the water.

They talk about the smell of blood, the sound of howling, the quick flash of fangs in the moonlight, all the typical bullshit they make up to scare kids away from the lake. They don't even put any effort, any imagination into the stories, being as vague as they can because god forbid the people of Hawkins add a little pizazz to their warnings.

And that's the real kicker really, that the scariest things they can come up with are so vague, so general it could be about any store-brand monster out there. The reality of the lake is unfathomable to them. It was unfathomable to Eddie too, once.

But he's had encounters. Real ones.

And now he knows.

The townsfolk would never talk about the goosebumps that prickle your skin when you're near the lake. The sense of awe and dread that soaks into your bones when you look at it, as though just the sight is enough to engulf you in the water. The way your limbs will lock for a moment, just a moment, when you step into old, wet footprints, the ones that leave the lakeside muddy, that make you think, wait a second, because those footprints don't go into the water.

They walk out of it.

And now Eddie is walking towards it, leaving his van and any chance of escape far behind him.

What a life.

With a grumble, Eddie stomps towards the cabin, rickety stairs creaking, and he pushes the door open.

"It's simple stoichiometry, my dear -"

"Hello friends and foes alike!" Eddie greets as he steps through the door. Or at least, he would have said that had he not been accosted against the wall with a firm arm crushing his throat to it.

He scrambles, staring into the black void eyes that glare at him. The snarl from something you can't really call a man, but there is no other word for the sight of him, echoing through his bones.

The arm against his throat pushes harder for a moment and he thinks, slightly hysterically, well, tit for tat, I guess. Not the usual tit I'd go for but beggars can't be choosers.

"Steve! Steve, it's okay, it's just Eddie!"

"Hey man," Eddie wheezes, grasping at Steve's forearm. "Been eating your greens, I gather?"

With a snort, Steve lets him go and steps away. Eddie takes a minute to gasp air back into his lungs, coughing out the instinctual fear that claws through his blood every time he sees - well.

"So," Eddie croaks out, rubbing at the skin of his neck, wiping away the cool water and the goosebumps that always take a while to fade away. "Why'd you call me here again, Henderson?"

Dustin gawks at him as Steve shuffles his way back to his stool. "I didn't call you!"

Eddie narrows his eyes and shoves his medallion, the one Will carved out for each of them, right in front of Dustin's face, making the kid go cross-eyed. "Oh yeah? So this signal wasn't from you, huh?"

"Wha - but - I didn't -" sputters Dustin, who then goes silent and turns around to Steve with his hands on his hips. "Steve."

What a sight he is to behold.

Leaning back on his stool, one arm supporting his weight from behind, Steve inspects the darkened nails of his other hand, not even gracing Dustin with a glance. It'd be the perfect rendition of the Kegstand King if it weren't for his sickly skin, always so cold and just on the wrong side of damp, and the way his face is perfectly still, no twitching, no blinking, no movement from any inch of him other than the droplets of water that drip from his hair.

Eddie always forgets that he doesn't breathe anymore.

"Steve," Dustin stresses again. "Did you call for Eddie on our emergency-only channel, the same one that has a limited amount of calls because of, oh y'know, Will's magic?!"

There's silence. Then Steve shrugs and Eddie laughs out loud.

"Steve!"

"Chill out, man," Eddie pats Dustin's shoulder. "We can always recharge the calls once your superhero girl comes back from the edge out there. She'll be back in what, two days?"

That doesn't seem to be enough to deter Dustin from glaring at Steve, who lazily looks back. An acidic taste rises at the back of Eddie's throat at how those voids stare, empty of intention, empty of the exasperated affection that he was so used to seeing.

Eddie clears his throat. "Did I hear something about science on my way in?"

And with that, the kid's face brightens up like the sun and he launches into his investigation into the "secretion from the roots closest to the lake, the colour is way off, way too green to be tree resin, and we couldn't cut through it, not even with Mrs. Byers' fleam so we figured -"

Throughout the rant, Eddie's eyes flicker between Dustin and Steve, his body freezing in place when the latter's gaze locks onto his own.

It's so bizarre to look at him. To look and see the Steve that protected the kids, the Steve that would gripe and groan, the Steve that would laugh goofily. But that Steve is a ghost, a memory laid over his body like those photographs Will brings to their sessions, proud and adamant about his brother's talent in - what did he call it? Double exposure.

This Steve doesn't laugh like that. He doesn't make much sound at all, beyond huffs and hums. This Steve doesn't look at Dustin with brotherly annoyance, or Lucas with cheerful pride, or Max with loving snark. This Steve looks at all of them with the same eyes, black and eternal, the same smile, hollow like a one-way mirror, the same tilt of his head, as if still contemplating who among them are prey.

This Steve doesn't take his eyes off of Eddie. And then he tilts his head.

"Okay, buddy," Eddie smacks a hand onto Dustin's shoulder, cutting him off. He glances back at Steve and sucks in a breath as he starts to lean forward. "Think it's time I get you home."

"What?" Dustin scrunches his nose. "It's not even sundown yet! And I still have to look at Steve's right glenoid, Robin said there might be some -"

"Kid." Eddie tightens his grip on Dustin's shoulder. Steve watches them. "Go sit in the van."

"Eddie -"

"Now."

With a grumble, Dustin gathers his books and equipment, hauling it all into his backpack. Steve doesn't look away from them. Eddie doesn't look away from Steve. Finally, the kid manages to get everything in and ready to go before he fucks it all up and sticks a hesitant hand out to Steve. "See you tomorrow?"

And then, then something incredible happens.

Steve blinks. He breaks his gaze away from Eddie, looking over to Dustin and his outstretched hand, and then he gives his own hand in return, bumping the two fists.

Dustin glows so brightly Eddie almost wants to grab the old pair of sunglasses he keeps inside his jacket pocket, the ones Robin told him to keep safe. The ones Steve used to wear.

"Bye Steve!" Dustin calls out as he leaves the cabin, snapping Eddie's gaze back to Steve.

Steve, who is smiling.

It sends shocks up Eddie's spine because that's Steve's smile, the sweet one, the warm one, the one so full of fondness it might as well have been carved into every crevice of his lips.

"Steve?" Eddie says quietly.

And just like that, those eyes snap back onto Eddie and in one smooth motion, Steve stands and stalks towards him, smile gone, warmth gone.

"Woah, woah," Eddie swears as Steve crawls into his space, the smell of wet grass invading his lungs. Steve has him against the wall again, arms caging him in, and face leaned in close. Eddie squeaks out, "That eager, huh?"

Steve tilts his head again before his mouth stretches out and up, a terrifying reflection of Eddie's nervous grin that makes sweat crawl down the skin of his back.

"Yeah, yeah." Eddie breathes out as Steve drags his nose down Eddie's neck, shivering at the ice-cold touch. "I'll be back tonight, just let me get Dustin home first."

The humming is the worst part. There's an odd melody to it, rising and lowering in pitch, as though he's using words. But he's not. He's just humming.

"Steve," Eddie whispers as the creature before him noses at his collarbone. "Just let me get Dustin home first. Please."

At the sound of Dustin's name, Steve sinks away. He stares up at Eddie, giving one, solitary nod towards the open door.

With frenzied nerves, Eddie makes his way over to the door and is just about to step outside when he hears a hum behind him. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Eddie glances back.

Steve is staring at him. None of the sunlight touches him, shadows creeping along the ground where he stands.

And then a hoarse, haunting sounds echoes through the cabin.

"Don't be late."

Eddie doesn't remember rushing into the van or the ride back to the Hendersons' place. By the time he settles back into his body, he's already standing in front of the cabin again, the sun sinking below the horizon, red skies bleeding into black trees.

Hawkins will always lament the terrors of the lake, Eddie thinks as the door creaks open for him. But they'll never know a single thing about what really lies down in it.

They'll never know who waits down there, with black eyes and hollow smiles.

They'll never know what he'd do to keep his family safe.

Who he would become.

"Welcome back," says a hoarse, lilting voice and Eddie hopes the people of Hawkins will never have to know.

and some no pressure tags:

@xenon-demon @unamusing-s @wynnyfryd @onirislanding @heartscoops

[banterismylovelanguage]

Analyzing my ship taste recently

In the most surface-level way possible

XIAOVEN

The og, the lovers across centuries, my OTP in Genshin.

Very wholesome and angst-ridden ship, I classify it lightly as having the characteristics of “childhood friends to lovers” due to the interpersonal knowledge they (would) have of each other in this ship.

Childhood friends to lovers has always been that devoted ship, “I choose you despite all we meet and will meet, and in every hardship I will stand by you”, and the loyalty that one has for the other is the defining characteristic of this ship for me.

This is how I see Xiaoven. So, despite the fact they’re not actually childhood friends, it has that same timeframe of a long time knowing each other and utter devotion to each other.

Now let’s look at another example of one of my “old” fave ships in Genshin.

JEANLISA (…anybody think I was going for Shenjin? It works for this, but Imma put it at the end because this ship better proves my comparisons)

Jeanlisa is prob best fit for friends to lovers but it has all the same characteristics of childhood friends to lovers. (Coworkers to lovers works as well, but I think that dynamic is more flexible in what type of coworker they are—enemies? Begrudging allies? Married couple? Or friends…)

Friends to lovers feels more like the oblivious “childhood friends to lovers” version of the dynamic. Both of them act like they’re committed to the other, but it takes one moment of “Oh shit, I actually really like you” for everything to hit it off. One starts to realize they know more about that person than other friends that they start to naturally seek touch or crave touch when it isn’t given; maybe there’s a moment or two of seeing a couple and wondering what the difference is between that couple’s relationship and their friendship is—to only realize there is no difference other than the label or the intimacy (that they would be utterly okay with!).

Again, there’s a dedication there, but it doesn’t have quite the long timeframe—yet. It’s wanting to have those long years with the other person.

Jeanlisa has that vibe, but it contains a touch of angst with one life being cut short, and perhaps that’s the kicker of a moment that brings them together into the next step of their relationship.

All right, onto the new ships…

WRIONEY

I’m so stereotypical for this, but I love a good enemies to lovers ship. I was so wrong for only seeing the women (Furina, Arelcchino) for Lyney’s potential ships, only to have my mind blown with Wriothesley’s introduction. This a good ship.

Complete opposite of Xiaoven, there’s no devotion or loyalty here—there’s not even an ounce of trust! Destruction, betrayal, blackmail—everything to break down any spark of a relationship here. And yet, why is the ship so appealing?

Well, any enemies to lovers ship is about seeing the worst sides of two people, being confronted with the honesty in the hatred, and finding a weird sort of trust in that consistency—this person may hide their motives from me and their real life, but at least I know my standing with them. There’s no front of trying to make one appear to be the best version of themselves in order to impress; there is teeth gnashing and blood drawn and lots of high-tension moments of bringing someone to the edge and waiting for them to snap.

EXACTLY what we get with WRIONEY. So where does the romance come in?

It comes from the honesty. Hatred is only a coin flip from love as they say (LOL don’t take that too seriously), and I believe that, in seeing the worst of each other, there’s a stronger connection that can be built through the pain.

It takes the timeframe needed from childhood friends to lovers and cuts it into pieces with one pivotal moment that spotlights the other character’s true self—that shows everything that the other needed to know—and then it’s slowly rebuilding everything you initially misunderstood about that person into something that aligns with the true self you saw earlier.

And it’s devastatingly romantic.

Let’s take another example:

ARLEFURI

Gonna be honest, saw someone characterize this as toxic yuri and I’ve been in such a mood since I’ve been waiting for Heartbreak Studios to release The Lovers.

This is obviously enemies to lovers, but with a fascinating dynamic.

LOTS of power dynamics, high tension, and danger in this ship, and I’m really looking forward to more scenes to get a better pin on Arlecchino’s character and WHAT IS HAPPENING WHAT with everything going on with them.

The hints I’ve been given to what their dynamic could be like certainly starts as enemies, but usually enemies (in the ship dynamic) are more seen on equal footing to their hatred of each other and thus the poisonous remarks exchanged between the two should be equal (or, at least, what I’m used to seeing).

Arlefuri isn’t quite on that level—yet, or maybe you see that happening behind closed doors, without an audience in your headcanons. It’s certainly an “enemy that hates the other, and the other that hates them too but is also desperately scared of them.” You get the captor/captive dynamic that is fun in of itself to explore.

Usually, the breaking moment in these dynamics is the captor performing some action of excellent standing, either fully for the captive’s benefit or for what the captive loves.

For what changes the captor, in Arlefuri’s case, I see a moment of the captive defying the expectations of the captor.

Honestly, thinking Furina is a selfish, worthless archon is quite in line for typical captor/captive dynamics.. from what I’ve heard or whatever (LOL).

IN CONCLUSION,

I’ve taken a turn for high-strung ship dynamics with Fontaine 😏

Okay, but seriously, these complicated ships are absolutely my jam and it’s quite fun to see so much potential for exploration of individual characters in ship dynamics, and Wrioney and Arlefuri are scratching those itches nicely.

(Anybody have any interesting ships or friendships with Navia? 👀)

Anybody interested in Shenhe ships additional note:

SHENJIN falls closer to strangers to lovers with a longer timeframe of gaining that friends to lovers title, but it still holds under a more wholesome ship.

For strangers to lovers, there’s an added spice of getting to know someone you have no opinion of recently (really, any ship ever) but as adults and with Yun Jin’s interest in Shenhe’s true backstory, you have the classic slow burn with the angst being the fear of letting someone in and know the true you. Who do you trust with the most delicate parts of your heart?

In Yun Jin’s case, who do you let see the most tired parts of yourself, under the makeup and after the performance?

SHENLAN is closer to my current fave ship dynamics, another version of strangers to lovers but in very fun “let’s add some death-defying moments!”

It almost feels like it should be an enemies to lovers ship, but Shenhe doesn’t really have that vibe of creating an intentional enemy, and Yelan could make herself an enemy and absolutely push people away, but it more feels like a childhood friend you try to shake off but never do despite their dedication to you, without the years of dedication.

It gives more the coworkers/buddy cop dynamic: I have your back and you have mine, but I don’t want you to risk your life for me and I will pretend I won’t risk my life for you.”

Fun, right?

Then there’s of course the pivotal moment of “Oh no you risked your life for me and now I see we’re in it for real and can I take you on a date next Saturday and truly get to know the real you—which I tried not to do all this time since?”

Anyway, hope you enjoyed these fun little thoughts.

[pluralprompts]

Prompt #786

A new headmate forms in a system, but assumes everything they're experiencing is just some kind of fever dream, so they go along with it. By the time Headmate A has figured out that everything going on is real, they've acclimated to the system well enough that all it takes is a quick crisis and they've accepted it.

Now, here's the kicker: no one else notices that they're new. Oh, sure, they notice that Headmate A exists, but not that they're a completely new headmate who has no idea what's going on. Perhaps they even mistake Headmate A as various other headmates, depending on what it is they're doing/have done. As Headmate A learns about the system and their everyday life with the mild interest of someone sure they'll wake up any minute now, the rest of the system (and those around them) slowly piece together that, hey, wait, do any of you guys feel like something strange is going on? Are we... missing something? Or even... someone?

[nancydrewwouldnever]

The Receipts: Anna Faris Unqualified Podcast

We need some levity and diversion up in this shithouse! Let's start the trip down Mr Dumb Dick Decisions Memory Lane!!

OMG, the Anna Faris: Unqualified podcast. The favor for a friend that probably was equivalent to an atom bomb for poor Megan, lol.

So, the AF:U podcast at first seemed to be one of those things that helped to support the rewrite of the Chris/Jenny timeline narrative to the friendlier PR timeline, because of the fact that it released on April 5, 2016, and a lot of people assumed that meant it had been recorded like a week before.

Nah. Nah. It was recorded on February 22, 2016.

So, in February, they're already way overly familiar in both the way they talk to each other, and the way they physically interact (all that play punching and hand holding under the table, really?). And Jenny lets loose little nuggets of info like they went to see Anomalisa at the theater together (note: Anomalisa was only in the theaters in L.A. between Christmas 2015 and January 2016), thus showing they've been hanging out together frequently. Oh, but the real kicker: he breezily offers to send her a dick pic in the actual recording. Like, what? To the chick who's talking about her husband through the whole interview? Yeah, something's not kosher here.

Oh, and then there's the photos taken the day of the recording:

I know everyone goes on and on about her look to him in the group shot. But look a the way he's holding her arm in the couples shot. His pinky finger is stroking her arm.

But, wait, there's more! A short time after the podcast release, the producers of AF:U do a basic "bts" podcast of the episode (sorry, that's since been deleted). Sim, his then-gf-now-wife, and another woman are talking about the situation that has since come to life between Chris and Jenny. The women both go over how uncomfortable they were that day with the way Chris and Jenny were acting with each other. Both believed then that something was going on between them, but wrote it off because of the fact that she kept talking about her husband.

And, wait, there's even more yet! In summer 2016, Anna Faris did a Vogue interview where she said:

So, thanks Anna, thanks. Thanks for outing that.

But wait, there's even more than that!!!

So, that timeline... so Anna's saying "a week and a half or two weeks later", but could it have been sooner than she's remembering? Because, three days after the podcast recorded, Jenny posted this to her IG while she was alone in NYC to do promo for Zootopia:

Your heart has a future heart-mate, Jenny? Doesn't your heart have a husband?

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

M-E-S-S-Y.