#They've both realized what happened and they're freaking out

[minty364]

DPXDC Prompt #58 Part 6

Everything happened so fast that when Danny finally got to flop onto his bed at the Wayne manor he let himself sink into the covers with a heavy sigh. Everyone broke off into their own rooms to change into more comfortable clothing once they had arrived. Jazz and Danny both had rooms, they started out as guest rooms but were quickly personalized since they tended to spend a lot of time here. Danny even brought most of his models and other various precious items that he didn’t want broken accidentally by his parents (again). His and Jazz’s rooms were set up just like the other bedrooms in the manor, with an ensuite bathroom. They both had dressers, walk-in closets, queen sized beds with ornate nightside tables, and decent sized desks with windows looking out to the backyard garden. 

They were allowed to decorate it any way they chose so Jazz had her room painted a dark teal color with an extra shelf for some books she’d been studying, most being the field of Psychology. Danny meanwhile chose to paint his room a dark blue reminiscent of the night sky, complete with glow in the dark stars and some that didn’t glow, that were painted by Damian, they had all worked together to map it all out as accurately as they could. 

Danny briefly let his thoughts wander as he tried to process the day's events. Was he okay? He wasn’t even sure at the moment, he was pretty sure he was a ghost temporarily and the weirder part was the cool feeling he felt from his chest was still there. 

Danny with a change of clothes in hand went into the bathroom attached to his room. He looked at his reflection again and he looked rough, his eyes were red from crying and he looked exhausted. 

He turned away and quickly got into the shower to wash himself.

The water felt hot on his skin but he marveled at the fact that he could still feel it. These thoughts helped ground himself as he finished up with his shower and got dressed in the comfy PJ’s he grabbed.

He found himself staring at himself in the mirror again. He couldn’t help it, his ghostly appearance from earlier had scared him and his normal looking reflection he now had was comforting. 

He looked like a normal person, like he always did, his bags were now gone. Some small part of him thought maybe it was all a dream? That small part was wrong and Danny knew it deep down, but that small part still hoped.

Did he still have a pulse? He was still breathing and he was sure his heart was still pumping so he probably had one. 

Going back over to his bed he picked his phone back up and after a quick Google search on how to check and what his rate should be he held two fingers to his other hand and counted.

He ran his hands through his hair and took a shaky breath. He counted his BPM at 29 BPM while the normal rate for him was around 60. So it was now less than half what it should be. He wasn’t sure how worried he should be about that or if he should tell anyone or keep his mouth shut. He couldn’t be a meta now either. Him and Jazz had spent hours discussing what it would be like to carry the meta gene and one day get powers.

He watched his reflection from the vanity above his dresser, would he turn back into that pulseless form? 

A knock startled him out of his thoughts as he let out a small yelp. He almost didn’t register his eyes that flashed green for just a moment as he felt his heart skip a beat.

“Danny! Alfred called us down for dinner, everyone else should be down soon as well…” Jazz called from the other side of his bedroom door, her voice sounding like she was trying to keep up a sense of normalcy. 

“Right… coming!!” Danny replied, his eyes lingered on themselves for a moment before he let out a small sigh and grabbed his phone and followed Jazz down the hall.

A few moments passed as they walked side by side in silence, Jazz kept sneaking glances at him, like she couldn’t believe he was here either. She hesitated for a few minutes before speaking, “...Danny? Are you… Okay?” She spoke slowly like she was scared he’d disappear and at that moment he wanted to do just that. 

He wasn’t sure exactly what he should tell her, he felt okay but he wasn’t exactly sure. Everything felt the same but different, everything was the same as it had been before his accident but now he felt a weird dissociation with the world around him, like he wasn’t really there. He couldn’t explain that feeling to Jazz so he shrugged.

“Honestly your guess is as good as mine as we know about the same.” Danny answered with a sigh.

Jazz gave him a look that he couldn’t quite decipher, “are you sure you should be up and around then?” Her voice was quiet again like she was afraid he’d disappear. Danny couldn’t help but stop in his tracks as he thought about it.

“I mean, nothing has happened yet? I can’t really explain it.” He rubbed the back of  his neck with his hand as he looked down and refused to meet her gaze again. 

He continued walking after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence and soon they arrived in the Dining room.

[hello-eden]

dcxdp #33

I am back to continue the de Aged Ellie and Dan, a child of Danny and a bat boy agenda. this time with dick Grayson.

Ellie and Dan de-stabilized to a core form. Danny is of course panicking trying to figure out how to bring them back but they're safe for now. Clockwork tells him that he needs to incubate the cores himself but that it's going to take a lot of energy and that it's probably not safe for him at this moment. Clockwork sends Danny to the DC dimension to have a calmer time away from all the fighting and to make sure he can recover mentally and physically from everything that's happening in Amity. It basically turns into a summer holiday away from home/ vacation.  

Dan needed more than just Danny's DNA to stabilize Due to Dan being a hybrid of Danny and Vlad originally, so Clockwork sent Danny to the dimension to pick a donor not that Danny knew that. Danny decided to incubate both cores at the same time so that biological change also happened to Ellie. 

Danny meets dick while he is there and has a cute Summer Fling with him while he's in that dimension. In dicks timeline he's in the range of still being Robin or just going out to bludhaven. Danny starts incubating the cores while in the DC dimension around dick mostly because he knows it's safe for him there. 

He has one human doctor's appointment there and then goes back to his dimension for the rest of the technical pregnancy. Dick has no idea about Ellie or Dan as well as no idea about Danny being from another dimension. The two of them had a civilian Romance.

Danny later returns to the DC Dimension with Ellie and Dan years later after having a very bad run in with the GIW. All of them are recovering and Danny accidentally runs into dick. Danny doesn't know that due to being around dick in the start of the pregnancy caused a lot of changes in Elie and Dan's biology.

Danny and dick See each other a couple of times like going for a coffee before dick finds out that Danny has kids. Danny not knowing the kids are dick’s doesn't feel like it's relevant to tell him especially after the very bad run in with GIW which makes him overprotective.

The kids would be about 6 or 7. 

Dick meets the kids and does a little bit of mental math realizing that there is a possibility the kids are his. He is in denial for a moment thinking that Danny would tell him if they were his especially now that they've talked again but then he does research. He doesn't find anything on Danny except for the one doctor's appointment from when he was still in the dimension last for pregnancy. The doctor was heavily liminal so they understood what they needed to for pregnancies but they also did it in human terms to stop anyone from realizing the pregnancy is different on file. this definitely freaks out dick because they were still seeing each other when they went to the doctor.

[shepscapades]

looking through your docsuma tag.....love them. wish they had one more combined braincell so they could realize their feelings

HERE'S THE THING THOUGH OKAY the problem is actually that they're both too smart about their feelings. you've got me down a horrible rabbit hole okay let me do my best to explain without being a freak(reading this back over, i failed <3).

Xisuma takes longer to realize, first of all. He's got so much to deal with coming out of s8 and through the beginning of s9 that quite frankly he's really just grateful to have another friend he can count on and trust, and he's so consumed by getting the androids back in working order on top of his actual season 9 plans (on top of Cleo shoving self care down his throat and demanding that he make a better habit of taking breaks and taking care of himself, which takes a LONG time to adjust to, if it can be argued that he ever does) that he doesn't really realize he's developed feelings for Doc until his heart beats him over the head with it randomly one day. Probably sometime in S10. Even then, because of said busy-ness, I think Xisuma has a very hard time getting over the meta-ness of a creator developing feelings for his creation and the selfishness of that reality amidst all of his other responsibilities, and he is likely too scared/overwhelmed to entertain the thought of the feelings themselves, much less the likelihood of reciprocation or the fantasy of a relationship.

Doc, on the other hand, realizes he is developing feelings for Xisuma kind of steadily throughout the course of s9, since that's when they start spending so much more time together in the lab working on androids and improving android tech. As a general statement, Doc is very aware of himself, all of the time. His awareness of the self is very important to his sense of normalcy and control, so any time he experiences a new emotion, he notes it, logs it.

So, while he's very aware of the feelings he's developing as they happen, he doesn't quite put a name to it/realize what it actually is until he talks to Tango and Etho, funnily enough--It's definitely one of those moments where Tango or Etho or whomever are explaining their struggles with the physical manifestations of their... idk, lovesickness-- ie, thirium pump rate irregularities, temperature fluctuations, influxes of feelings they've described as a combination of longing, affection, want, happiness, yearning... and Doc, as the unbiased third party to put 2 and 2 together, explains to them that those are obvious signs of romantic attraction, only very belatedly realizing several hours later that those are the exact symptoms he hasn't quite been able to put a name to. Naturally he's exceptional about being quiet about this realization until he slips up during a maintenance check-in with Tango sometime after, who is not doing well in s9, and Tango (mid romance-ranting) catches the passing of a wistful expression on Doc's face and calls him out for "totally thinking about someone right now" (Teasing aside, tango promises to keep Doc's secret).

So, despite knowing well his feelings before X ever develops his own, Doc is actually very, very careful about them-- He knows more than anyone else how busy Xisuma is. He knows how stressed X is. He also knows Xisuma seems to be more knowledgeable when it comes to emotions and feelings, and despite the clear signs that Xisuma shows interest(?) in him as well, Doc can only assume there is a good reason nothing romantic has happened between them-- he trusts Xisuma more than anything, and he--firmly-- will not breach this trust by acting on something Xisuma does not seem to be ready for (or does not seem to want yet(yet?)). Therefore, Doc is patient, and even though as Season 10 develops and Doc becomes aware of the likelihood that Xisuma could return the feelings, he trusts Xisuma's emotional intuition more than anything. He, painfully, recognizes Xisuma's discomfort (or hesitation), concludes that there must be a missing variable in this equation he cannot grasp, and decides to let Xisuma lead because of it. He will not push farther than he feels Xisuma has.

It's definitely one of those "fell first" "fell harder" type situations I think. I'm normal about them. can you tell

[melodyatlas]

Tim's stalking escalates 👀 breaks into Jason's safehouse all the time, maybe steals some pair of pants, just rifles through his fridge to see what he eats, maybe even thinks of bringing some food to stock up stuff

Just, Jason is aware that someone is in his home almost daily, but he can never catch that fucker, at first he thought it was bruce but Bruce wouldn't let this much time pass without a confrontation and not daily

yesssss

The stalking is just normal behavior for Tim- for all the Bats really, but not to the same extent as it is for Tim.

They all traipse all over each other boundaries, breaking into each others places to steal info or tech or sometimes even just a little welfare check.

But Tim takes it to a whole other level; if stalking were an olympic sport, Tim would bring home the gold every time. Dick and Bruce are used to it- after all, its basically how he introduced himself to them all those years ago, breaking into Dick's apartment, and his safe, at the tender age of twelve.

If Jason had known that part, he probably wouldn't have had to jump through so many hoops trying to figure out who the hell was in his apartment all the time.

Look- it's not his fault his mind didn't immediately go to the little freak- he /really/ had no reason to assume it was Tim. At first.

He and Tim aren't /friends/, but they probably have the easiest relationship out of the rest of the Bats. There's a mutual begrudging respect there. And even after beating Tim's ass into the ground so many times over the years, he knows Tim isn't one to hold a grudge, or he wouldn't have bailed Jason out of tight spots so many times since then.

Tim doesn't really bother Jason unless he needs his help, or if Jason's doing something that interferes with whatever Tim is doing. They've managed to work more than a few cases together recently because of the accidental crossover, but it's not like it's something either of them /seek out/.

So yeah, he didn't jump to thinking it was Tim in his place when he noticed it was being broken into, because Tim would just come right to him if he wanted info, and Tim has no other logical reason to really sneak in.

When he first notices his little intruder, he thinks it's Bruce. Maaaaybe Dick. Nothing was missing the first few visits, just some stuff moved around. He wasn't worried about them actually stealing any intel from him, he keeps his shit under some pretty explosive lock and keys.

But it's still annoying as fuck.

He really doesn't need Bruce poking his nose into his daily life- it's not welcome and Bruce should already know that. It doesn't matter that they have a tentative ceasefire- Bruce should know that him breaking in crosses a line that would mean an end to Jason playing so nicely with him.

It's when it keeps happening that he realizes it's definitely not Bruce. The missing food items from the kitchen just /screams/ Dick.

Because of-fucking-course Dickface would break into his place just to make sure he's not doing something he shouldn't and help himself to Jason's food while he's at it.

He didn't think Dick would be so hard to catch in the act though. He's set up various new security measures, both deterants and new surveillance. But he still never catches him.

And he wants the hard evidence if he's going to accuse the golden boy. Last thing he needs is Dick to spin it into some sort of "Jason making excuses to be around him" sort of situation.

He thinks about going to Babs to make sure no one else could get around his new surveillance, but if it is Dick, Babs is more likely to be on his side than Jason's. They aren't together anymore, but they go through these phases where they're weirdly chummy again and right now they're playing besties.

It starts really getting serious to Jason when his clothes start going missing along with his food.

Because, who /the fuck/ is taking his clothes, for god's sake??

It knocks Dick down from the top of the list of probable perpetrators. But who else would he be replaced by at the top of the list? It has to be another Bat, otherwise they wouldn't be able to get through all of his security.

It's only then that he thinks of Tim.

And thinks. And thinks and thinks.

Because seriously- why the fuck is he stealing his clothes?

He has to find out.

So he decides to do some breaking and entering of his own.

Tim's security is good. Levels of security that one would expect from Red Robin all hidden beneath what civilians would expect from socialite Timothy Drake-Wayne.

It's involved enough that reminds Jason of his own measures, and mentally he can't help but give Tim a little pat on the back for getting through all of Jason's security every. single. day. The guy's got patience, Jason will give him that.

He sneaks into the fancy-ass kitchen first, and digs through Tim's cabinets. He deserves to be able to steal some of Tim's food to make up for the little bird's own thefts.

The cabinets are depressingly bare- lots of protien bars and microwavable meals. Alfred would weep if he saw this.

Jason takes a box of protien bars just for the principle of the thing- but really, he almost leaves the kitchen alone because of how sad it is to see.

There's a noise from further inside the apartment, so Jason takes his box of spoils and makes his way out of the kitchen and down the hall. He passes by the spartan living room, walks past the open door of a home office, and a bougie bathroom- he's on a mission, and there's a cracked door at the end of the hall, light spilling out.

Jason assumes it's the master bedroom, based on the rooms he passes on the way. It's definitely where the muffled noises are coming from.

He doesn't want to show his hand just yet, so Jason is careful to stay stealthy and silent as he approaches the door, peeking through the crack-

He nearly drops the box of protien bars at the sight before him.

Tim is leaned back up against his headboard, bare legs spread wide on top of his messy comforter. One hand is down between his legs, holding a dark red silicone dildo, the tip of which is disappearing inside of him, lower lips stretched to accomodate the length as he presses it further inside.

His other hand is covering his mouth, which makes sense as to why the noises Jason heard were so muffled- but it does make him wonder why Tim feels the need to keep himself quiet in an apartment he owns by himself.

Maybe it's a remnant of living at the manor? Or maybe he just likes the feeling of being gagged. Food for thought- but for later. Because the thoughts for now? Well, they're dominated by whats between the sight of Tim's two hands.

Jason's shirt.

One of his Red Hood shirts, actually. It's so big on Tim it nearly swallows him whole, hiding all of the toned muscles Jason knows Tim has. It makes him look younger and more fragile than he really is.

It also makes Jason's pants feel extremely tight.

Suddenly, his missing clothes make sense. Okay. Yeah. This is best case scenario, actually. Far better than Bruce or Dick being the ones breaking into his apartment. /This/ Jason can work with.

[toffeebrew]

Any errink headcanons? :D

Tumblr hates me so I had to rewrite this, anyway... [Note: all my hcs ofc nothing is canon but some may be based of canon information! Sometimes I may refer to non-canon past rps :P]

Error and ink do dumb rps with his puppets together, they've made a super dramatic soap opera plot.

I think Ink realizes Error would never change and he's content with that (sigh as much as I would love to say he would).

Ink finds error's six tongues fascinating, rather than gross. In a similar way, error is fascinated by ink's star eyes (I wonder what that hc came from).

If they ever kissed it would be the most disgusting revoltingly thing ever because error doesn't know how to kiss at all and he also has 6 tongues.

If you asked them how they became friends they would just look at you and shrug. Not even they know how to happened. All they can say is they "get eachother." Error deep down has always wanted a friend and Ink gives him that. Ink is willing to deal with error's bs and error is willing to deal with ink's. Ink can feel a little lonely in his own role and among a world that is fake and Error being an outcode like hin understands him a way others wouldn't. Not even mentioning their story parallels but I gotta stop my self before I start rambling. They're some of the only people who know some of other's deep insecurities.

Ink found Error's crashes funny before he knew how absolutely painful they were. Although not sure if he would ever trigger them on purpose even before he knew ngl.

more yapping under the cut

I would define them as whatever happens when you cross a friend an enemy and a partner.

Ink loves all of his shipkids and error... feels very conflicted about all of them.

They also think the other is a freaky than them when in reality they're both freaks.

Error still thinks about when Ink proposed to him at loveball, ink doesn't think about it at all. Ink also proposed to him with a ring pop that he found in the candy bowl in my head LOL.

Ink doesn't mention his dads to him .. maybe out of fear

Other people still make fun of Ink for proposing to error at loveball and ink always goes "IT WAS ONE TIME!"

Error and Ink are both quite short, Error is only a few inches taller than Ink.

Due to loveball, Error is always scared (in a playful way) when Ink starts drinking.

Error does feel guilty for the time he left ink in the antivoid. Not all of the time, but at times when hes sitting with Ink in the anti-void he can't help but reflect on it. If he would ever admit it? Probably not.

Error and ink's dancing at loveball was a beautiful disaster. Ink is actually an okay dancer but because Error was really nervous it threw him off and it was so off beat. It was really cute though, regardless.

Ink finds errorink ship art very amusing and he shows it to error just to freak him out sometimes.

Error always kills ink first in among us. Error also always blames ink as the imposter even if he isn't.

They have a "close but not too close" rule just close enough to feel the warmth of the other person but not enough to touch. (do skeletons give off warmth?). They do hold pinkies though fr fr. Also Error does lay his head in Ink's lap sometimes, typically when they're watching something. Ink may also give Error forehead or hand kisses.

I like to think Error runs quite hot, because he crashes all the time, so hes warm like a computer LOL. Ink who in my hc has a lessen sense of touch and runs sorta cold due to be soulless lovess sitting around him because of it.

Crack headcanon, when error's eyes glitch up or hes about to crash if you really listen you can hear the sound of computer fans going ham.

Ink will often just... walk up to error and put him a different outfit. Something about his being "too basic" and "his outfit has an ugly color palette".

If you know my pinkie sense ink hc Error doesn't know HOW it works but he fully believes him every single time. Even when ink is trolling, LOL!

Error and Ink call eachother "Ruru" and "Kiki" but only to annoy the other. Specifically if ink is pleading for something he'll do it to annoy him "please ruru :(" They also call eachother glitch and squid in a movking as well LOL.

They have friendship rings? platonic rings? idk if those are a thing made from blue string.

In my own error design, he has a big tooth. Because of it ink calls him a "big kitty" to make fun of him.

[theyapper0]

Litte details abt my Hazbin rewrite that i wanna share :)

OK SO!!! IT'S DOOOOOONEEEE!!!!!!

So I FINALLY finished drawing out everything I wrote out for some major plot point in my hazbin rewrite 😋 BUT!!!

There's some things that I have made art of or talked about that are sorta important (but they're really not, just some silly things that I pictured in this that I never got the chance to talk about yet LOL!!!)

If you don't really care, feel free to skip this but there are some little doodles here too that will basically get all my points across just as well!

-So first point, I've touched on this a little bit here but Niffty and Husk are BROS. Like fr ride or die with each other.

In this rewrite, I want Niffty to have been an overlord like Husk (or at least just as powerful as he is because I feel like Alastor is EXTREMELY attracted to power and he wouldn't just make deals with weak as shit people unless he was gaining something GRAND).

But Husk and Niffty, they both.... really hate Alastor. I think Husk is much more vocal with his hatred towards Alastor but do NOT be fooled, NIFFTY WANTS HIS ASS IN THE GROUND TOO!!!!!!

And I think it's because of this hatred, because of this shared, unfortunate situation that they've both found themselves in in regards to being contracted to the Radio Demon, I think they are really close. Like, they look out for each other and watch each others backs because who else is gonna do it? ALASTOR? LOL!!!!

-Here's my Sir Pentious and Cherri Bomb designs!! I realized when I was making all those drawings for the rewrite that I never drew them! So here they are! 😋

Pentious has prosthetic arms that he made himself not too long after he arrived in Hell YEARS AGO bc I wanted to REAAALLY lean into the whole snake thing. And I also made him more steampunk-y because I think it's cool and that he'd look super adorable with little gear markings on his scales

And I read that Cherri died in around the 80's so I wanted to give her an aussie rocker look LMAOO Wild hair, big ol' hoop earrings and tattered clothes because she's COOL!!

-Niffty is the (m)hotel's maid/rooms keeper still (and it was only SLIGHTLY degrading in the beginning). The biggest reasons Alastor made her the maid is because of her OCD (he's an old man from the 1930's, he thinks OCD means being a neat freak) and because she is able to control all kinds of insects and vermin- which the hotel is INFESTED with

Niffty is also the only one with a spare key to Charlie and Vaggie's house, she's honestly the one they trust the MOST out of everyone at the hotel to have a key to their place in case of an emergency (and she only abuses it SOMETIMES)

-HUSK IS NOT THE HOTEL BARTENDER IN THIS!!!!!!

When I designed the hotel to look more like a motel, obviously there was no place to put a bar and I WANTED THAT! Like, I understand the humor in having a bar in a rehabilitation facility (it IS REALLY FUNNY I KNOW) but I really don't think that, even in this, neither Charlie or Vaggie would allow Alastor or Angel or anyone else to tell THEM what the hotel needs.

Like, they LITERALLY built this place with their BARE HANDS, I think they're both verrrry resistant to any changes and such that others may want to implement (for both the good and bad), even if that person was THE Radio Demon

So instead, Alastor had brought him in as a sorta bodyguard for the hotel (as a huge middle finger to Vaggie, who is not only the hotel manager but also is a very ready protector of this place)

(Husk DOES still sell liquor though, like that is something that is totally happening, it's just very hush-hush. He keeps it in his room and sells it to the patrons of the hotel (sometimes Pretentious and most of the time it's just Angel. Charlie and Vaggie have no idea this is happening))

(Niffty 100% knows since she's the one who cleans the rooms but she wouldn't sell out Husk because that's her bro)

-And speaking of the Radio Demon!!! Neither Charlie or Vaggie are scared of him. I mean, they're not really scared of him in canon (they could be sometimes tho ig)

Charlie is one of the strongest beings in Hell and Vaggie is (secretly) an angel who, as far as they all know, can't be killed by a Sinner. So neither of them are really threatened by him. Vaggie definitely voices this more than Charlie does, in fact, Charlie is almost always more than happy to just let Alastor talk and threaten as much as he wants because she's not violent and is very humble (that's what good people do, right?)

Alastor is also just as good of a Facility Manager of the Hazbin Hotel as he is in canon, and by that I mean he does not do his job and when he does, he sucks at it LOLLLL. He is very unhelpful.

-Sundays are the only day where the hotel isn't doing any reformative work/lessons so it's everyones' day off (it's holy day AMEN!) 

(Charlie WOULD make them pray on Sundays if it wasn't for the fact that every time she would try to guide a prayer, she would bleed from every hole in her body) 

-AND THE LAST POINT IS....

The Hazbin Hotel doesn't JUST do lessons in goodness, they also teach about the 10 Commandments and go on “field trips” to do volunteer work (soup kitchens, cleaning parks, helping Hell with one smile at a time :)

Thanks for reading and be sure to check in tomorrow for the first page of a comic retelling Charlie's meeting with Adam in episode one!!!

[findafight]

The urge to write an S1 au where Steve is pursuing Barb instead of Nancy and Barb is like this fuckin guy but is, admittedly, charmed by his goofiness he only seems to show when they're alone or with just Nancy and/or Tommy/Carol. And she does like him, quite a bit. She plays it coy but Nancy is there giving her side eyes like girrrllll you just made out with school heartthrob, little bit of a slut, Steve Harrington? He's giving you dopey smiles in the hall?? Was that a flirty little finger wave I saw? And Barb is going shut up Nancy it's not like me to go around making out with boys or whatever he's just cute and kind okay he's bitchy too tho it's fun to flirt I guess and Nancy is like you are also bitchy? Seems like a good match to meeee? And Barb is like FINE okay we made out under the bleachers and I touched his butt. It was so much fun.

And the hangout happens etc but Nancy is like okayyy baaaarb I'm gonna ;) head out now ;) you okay here? And Barb is like Nancy for the love of fuck I am going to make out with him and he might even take his shirt off I will call you when I get home but Nancy goes it might be a bit late to call...maybe try in the morning;) and Barb kinda wants to die a little bit because her best friend is sorta living vicariously through her and it's embarrassing to have a crush but also. It's fun and exciting to have a sort of boyfriend who's clearly super into you but also backs off when you tell him to and lets your intense best friend come to what you are realizing may have been a casual double date, so she waves to Nancy and heads upstairs.

They sleep together and it's nice and she even got him to help her take her bra off while she felt him up under his shirt and she's pretty proud of how smooth she was. But she does have to go home, so she nudges him awake and he kisses her again and she tells him she's heading home but is also stealing his sweatshirt. He gives her a lazy smile and asks if he's picking her up for school tomorrow and she's like nu uh I'll see you AT school bucko. And he gives her a little pout but says goodnight and she starts walking the few blocks to her car.

She never makes it.

The next day at school Nancy is like Steve. Where is Barb. And he's like Nancy. Where is Barb. And both go ???? WHERE IS BARB!!

Cue them both kinda freaking out, and then finding out Jonathan took pictures of the backyard and had at some point looped around and taken a picture of Barb fiddling with her Keys with Something in the background. Steve still smashed his camera because what the fuck Jonathan, the picture he took was like. Ten seconds before her bra came off? But now they're all stuck together because they've gotta find Barb and Will.

Idk what else I just think Steve/Barb is an under used ship but it's cute.

[thisapplepielife]

Written for @corrodedcoffinfest.

Full Throttle

Day #1 - Prompt: Firsts | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: E | CW: Sex Acts, Bit of Exhibitionist Kink, Language | POV: Steve | Pairing: Steddie | Tags: Newly Gotten Together Steddie, Semi-Public Sexual Acts, Touch Me While Your Bros Play Grand Theft Auto Super Nintendo, The Boys of Corroded Coffin Are Tired of Eddie's Horny Bullshit

This has a sister fic, Scout's Honor, from Goodie's (Freak) POV. Either can be read standalone.

Steve pulls up in front of the little apartment, more of a duplex, really, and grabs his bag out of the backseat of his car. Eddie blew back into Hawkins a few months ago, and the sparks they've been throwing back and forth at each other since the spring of '86, finally caught fucking fire. 

It would have been more convenient for this to have happened that first summer after Vecna, or any time in the two years it took for Gareth to grow up and graduate, Eddie bumming around town with Steve. Friends, spending time together, hanging out, but never acting on what Steve's pretty fucking sure they both felt. 

That he felt, anyway.

He wishes it would have happened before Eddie packed up and left town with Corroded Coffin.

Or, before Steve finally bought a house and settled down. Got a real job. And starting building a life for himself, even if he didn't have anyone to share it with yet.

Eddie would call, would send funny postcards from the road, and Steve was happy for him. Sure that if something was ever gonna happen between them, it would have years ago.

But it didn't. 

And he'd made peace that that ship had passed, just like all the others in Steve's dismal love life.

But then Eddie came back, their guards down, and, well. Here they are.

"Hey," Eddie says, letting him in the door of the apartment, and the rest of the band is shouting, fighting over what appears to be a Nintendo. Steve pauses to watch Jeff running Luigi through the game, before falling to his death, Goodie cackling as it becomes his turn. Gareth hovering over the back of both of them, just waiting for his go. 

Eddie ushers Steve to the couch, and Steve sits beside him, before Eddie tugs on him, getting him to slide onto his lap. Kissing, touching, saying hello, and I missed you. Roaming hands, and whispered confessions of love and lust. 

Now, they're on the couch of this shitty little apartment the band is hardly ever in, hands running up Steve's thighs, over his hips and back down again, all too much. Eddie's rings brushing against bare skin where his shorts don't cover. And Steve grinds back down, even with Eddie's friends right over there playing video games. He can't help it. He feels drunk on being with Eddie, since they first started this thing. 

Steve hasn't felt like this about anyone since high school, and he watches intently as Eddie holds his hands in front of his crotch, and starts removing the rings off his right hand. Then he shoves them down in Steve's short's pocket, before he's digging in the couch cushion, pulling out a tube of K-Y, and Steve's dick is so goddamn hard.

Steve swallows, Eddie's cupping his ass in his shorts, squeezing, fingers dancing beneath the elastic waistband. 

Then, his fingers are fully sliding down the back of Steve's shorts, into his underwear, worming their way to his crack, and he runs a finger up and down, just feeling him out, teasing him, before easing the first one in, up to the knuckle.

"Can you be quiet, sweetheart?" Eddie whispers, and Steve nods. He isn't sure that's true, but he'll damn well try. First time for everything, he supposes.

The rest of Corroded Coffin are screaming and fighting over the game, shoving, wrestling over the controllers, and Steve closes his eyes and tries to block the sound of them out, just feeling Eddie, and the insane rush of doing this out in the open.

He didn't realize he was an exhibionist until Eddie Munson started dragging him ass first out into the light.

"Look at you," Eddie whispers in his ear.

Steve feels hot, overheated, as Eddie moves from one finger, to two, and onto three. He's so full, split wide on Eddie's fingers.

Steve stifles his sigh, and grinds down on Eddie's hand.

He needs to be fucked. Right now. This is good, but it's just the start of what he wants. The first course. Everything about Eddie is just the start of what he wants, this love they've found. At first tentative, unsure, but they've both easily kicked it into high gear, full throttle. Either it's gonna last, be forever, or crash and burn, destroying them both.

Eddie's on the road, trying to make a go with Corroded Coffin, and Steve wants that for him, but Steve wants Eddie to himself, too. Wants to just crawl into a bed with him somewhere, and never come out again.

Fuck the whole rest of the world.

Fingertips brush against this prostate and Steve whines before he can stop himself, and Eddie chuckles, his face pressed into Steve's shirt.

It can't be comfortable on his hand, but Steve's learned that Eddie will do anything to get him off, like it's his main goal in life these days.

Steve keeps his eyes squeezed shut, and grinds down on his hand, as subtle as he can, so he doesn't draw too much attention to what they're doing. 

"Jesus Fucking Christ, not again," Gareth says, low and annoyed, and Steve knows they're caught. Knows there are eyes on his ass.

"Eddie!" Goodie yells, and Steve jumps, accidentally shoving Eddie's fingers deeper, while Eddie just fucking laughs. Steve slides off his fingers, feeling their absence immediately, and heads to the bathroom, hoping Eddie will follow, so they can continue this in private.

Hiding in the bathroom. He's not embarrassed, not really. It's not like he wants a hole in the ground to swallow him up. Been there, done that, and he'd prefer to never see a gate again, thanks ever so much. He probably should be embarrassed, but he only feels like a teenager all over again, and not a grown-ass man. 

He's twenty-four. He has a mortgage. A job. 

And a hot boyfriend willing to stick three fingers in his ass, in a room full of his friends.

If you want to write your own, or see more entries for this challenge, pop on over to @corrodedcoffinfest and follow along with the fun! 🦇

Notes: This is inspired by Taylor's Swift song So High School. Steve knows how to ball, Eddie knows Aristotle. I don't make the rules.

Read Goodie's POV on this situation in Scout's Honor.

[guess-that-ship]

S10 Finals

Lightning Strikes Twice

The Blade has known only violence their whole life. Raised from childhood to be a weapon, they're an efficient, brutal killer. They strike like lightning, swift and deadly, with no room for anything besides the bloodshed they've spent their existence wading through. And they're perfectly fine with it, until they meet the Rope, who looks at them and sees something no one else has: a person, worthy of attention for more than the violence they reap.

The Rope is a cunning man, charming and roguish with a quick smile and a quicker trigger finger. He has big dreams for how to fix a world that's rotten to the core, but no means to accomplish them… until he meets the Blade. What starts as fascination turns to admiration, as he realizes this broken person raised by death might be exactly what he needs to burn away the rot.

Lightning strikes and a fire ignites. The Blade cuts down anyone the Rope asks them to, and the Rope lavishes them with love and praise for every life they take in his name. He gives them purpose and identity outside of what they were created for, and for that they are determined to always stay by the side. They say love changes you for the better, and the Blade is inclined to agree.

The Time Goddess and the Time Traveler

cw: spoilers

The goddess of time manifests herself on the mortal plane to take care of a problem with a villain who is messing with the fabric of time. While making her way to fight this villain, she meets a time-traveler who is also out to stop this villain. Though they are on the same side, her frustration with his flippancy around the time travel causes her to snap at him, but… he reacts unexpectedly by flirting with her. And she's never been caught by surprise like that before, being used to seeing all of time at once.

When the villain is defeated, the time-traveler should be erased from the timeline, since the future he traveled back from no longer exists. However, the goddess decides to keep him in the timeline as she's grown fond of him, though it is to her detriment, because she wants to keep being surprised. This unstable arrangement continues as the two of them grow to love each other, and she grows to love the life they have together… until the time-traveler begins to fade from the timeline anyway. To save him, the goddess ultimately decides to give up her godhood to remain with him, and to truly live a mortal life with the people she cares about.

friendship in solitude

cw: bullying, suicide implication, spoilers

ever since he was a child, K has been shunned. everyone at school saw his ideas as dangerous, and him as weird. A is in the same boat. their way of dressing was thought to be weird since childhood, too. at home, K had his mother and the kid next door, and A had their family. but at school, both were alone. until junior high school.

one time, in junior high, A went up to the rooftop for "no reason", and found K. the two became friends, and when they were at school, they would meet on the rooftop. they kept each other alive. while they were alone for the most part, they had each other. everyone else thought of them as freaks, but they thought of each other as friends.

however, K was a year older, and so eventually, he graduated from junior high without A. that year was awful for both of them. A would go to the rooftop, and remember… their only friend had already graduated. K wasn't better off, as nobody in his new school would be friends with him, either. they were both back were they started: friendless. shunned. alone.

the year had passed, and a new one began. A had now graduated from junior high. K moved schools. it just so happened that they were now in the same high school. they'd changed quite a bit in that year, but now, they had each other once again. they had other friends, as well, but what's important is that, while they were still seen as weirdos by some, they had reunited with the one who had once been their sole comfort at school.

[ihni]

Okay so I read a fic (in another fandom) that made me think, and this morning I woke up with ready-made fic idea in my head which I will ABSOLUTELY NOT WRITE, I have too many WIPs already, so I'll just ... write it all out here and then hope that's enough to get it out of my head.

So! Harringroveson-ish. Very rough, train-of-thought style.

Imagine Eddie and Steve smoking together and hooking up on the regular, because they both live in a small town and it's difficult and risky to find another guy who's willing to fool around in small-town Hawkins. So they've been doing it for a while, and they have fun and like each other kind of a lot and are comfortable with each other and all even though they keep it on the downlow for obvious reasons.

And then Billy Hargrove rolls into town, and he's mesmerizing and both Steve and Eddie can't really keep away from him. But Billy's acting so über straight that surely, none of them have a chance, right? So they may talk about him when they're together (for the Thrill or Sexytimes of it, idk), but they don't really think they have a chance. Until they start realizing that Billy's eyes ... wanders, if he thinks no one is watching. So they start talking about it, about trying to see if they can seduce him to the gay side of Hawkins, and it's mostly a joke between them, to get the other riled up when they're together; talking about what they'd do to him if they could. Because Billy's always taking girls out, and he's got quite the reputation - SURELY he's got a lot of sexual experience and would be up for whatever, right?

And like, they both think that THEY'd be the one to succeed to sway Billy over. Steve thinks that since he's the former King Steve and plays sports with Billy and they hang out in the same circles, of course he'd have luck with the guy than Eddie, but Eddie claims that with the music Billy listens to and the car he's got, he's obviously got more in common with Eddie than Steve ...

So they make a bet. Mostly as a joke, but a bet nonetheless; Which one of them will bed Billy first?

Meanwhile, Billy is of course secretly gay and has been moved to a closed-minded town against his will by his abusive dad for being found out just kissing another boy, and even though he's secretly eyeing both the former King of Hawkins High and the King of the Freaks, he does not fool himself into thinking something will happen. He can't allow himself to show a single sign of his preferences. So he takes girls out on dates, a string of them, and he parties and he flirts and he wraps Hawkins around his thumb, and only shows the careful mask he has created, and not an ounce of the real Billy, because he wants to live until graduation, thank you very much.

He had planned to just keep his head above water and survive until he could get the hell out of town, but that gets increasingly difficult when the two guys who he's been eyeing start to approach him. Trying to be friends? Trying to throw him off? Or ... check out the competition? Billy's not sure what's going on here, but he knows it's messing with his mask and his composure. Harrington didn't use to play this hard in gym, did he? Rubbing up on Billy like he is, now. Didn't use to smile at him and talk to him and like, stretch out in the shower after practice. And Munson had kept his distance until then, so what's up with the way he suddenly appears whenever Billy's sneaking off for a smoke, offering a good price on weed and inviting Billy to see his band play?

So, Steve and Eddie do their best to seduce Billy, mostly as a challenge between the two of them, but when they notice that Billy gets flustered when they touch him or lets his gaze for a little too long when they do things like stretch or lick their lips and so on, they start to suspect that this could actually happen. It's not so far-fetched as they might have thought. So they talk, and find it very exhilerating to imagine that maybe they both actually stand a chance, here ... but of course, the bet is still on. Who will have him first?

Billy's only human. And gay. And desperately alone in this sea of people, since no one knows the real him. So he's falling for it, even if he's hesitant and afraid (because of Neil, because of what if this is an elaborate prank, and also partly because all that he's done with a boy thus far has been kissing (Your choice as to what he has actually done with girls)).

Maybe both Eddie and Steve are getting bolder, right about now. Putting the moves on Billy, so that there's no mistaking their intentions. And Billy is tempted, so very tempted - but also so very scared. He backs off, or draws back, or maybe stammeringly mentions that his dad would kill him if he found out. "He's not gonna find out," whoever is with him says, but Billy bites his lip. Hesitates. Shakes his head.

But like, of course, eventually one of them - Steve or Eddie, your pick - succeeds. Billy gives in, gives up, throws caution to the wind. He gets to sleep with at least one of his crushes, and it's GOOD, it's so much better than he could have ever imagined sex to be and he can't believe he's so lucky that he gets to have this.

And of course whoever won the bet is thrilled. Both because they got to fuck Billy (who they are realizing that they LIKE, just like they like their other boyfriend), but also because of the thrill of winning the bet. So after, directly after or the morning after, your choice, they hurry back to their boyfriend to gloat about their win. Maybe they have to look for him, though, so they don't find him right away. Because of course for PLOT REASONS we need Billy to be at that place, too - feeling light, happy, and for the first time not feeling like a prisoner in this town - and overhearing. Overhearing the gloating, the "I won our bet" and "yup, fucked him good" and the "he was so sweet, you should have seen him". And then, for added angst, of course Billy sees the two of them kissing, making out. Looking very busy and into each other.

Billy should be angry, but he's so shocked and gutted that he can't bring up even a spark of anger.

And I want them to spot him there. Realize, by the paleness of his face, that he heard every word. That he thinks they've used him, made fun of him - and they kind of HAVE. But when they break apart and turn horrified eyes on him, Billy turns and runs. They go after him, try to stop him, but oh THERE's that anger (bubbling up to hide the HURT), so he rips himself out of their grip and snarls at them not to TOUCH HIM. Maybe he yells at them, for using him and stringing him along and making him think he meant something when really he was just a pawn, just a game. Maybe he doesn't say ANYTHING, just blinks away tears and leaves. I don't know which is worse.

But he leaves, and they feel horrible. They realize that they fucked up BIG TIME, they should have approached this differently, they never should have made that bet. They talk (again) and realize that they actually DO both like him, and they want him with THEM, all three o f them together. They decide to try to make things right, somehow. Explain to Billy, grovel at his feet etc.

But oh, it's not that easy of course. Because Neil has gotten wind of Billy being seen with some boy (maybe a neighbor saw him when either Eddie or Steve reached for his hand or pressed a kiss to his cheek or something, in the late stages of the seduction), and he punishes Billy for it. Severly. Billy's home from school for a week, recovering. Steve and Eddie thinks he's avoiding them, but eventually put their foot down like, enough is enough, if he doesn't come to us we'll come to him, so they go to his house.

Thankfully, Neil isn't home. But Billy is. And when he opens the door, still black and blue, they are horrified. Billy is afraid that anyone will see them and tells them to go, and even scrapes up some anger and tells them that this is their fault, which shuts down their attempts at apologies, and then slams the door in their face.

Eddie and Steve do some more talking, maybe some minor stake-outs. Realizes that when Billy said his dad would kill him, he meant it, and if the man knew what Billy had done, Billy might be lying dead in a ditch somewhere. They feel bad (as they should, and also because this is my fic and I live for the guilt).

In the end, I think they'd have to find a way to get Billy out of his abusive household, as a way to prove they are sorry, and that they're serious about him. Maybe they set something up to make sure Neil gets caught in the act, maybe they involve the police, maybe they blackmail the man or threaten him somehow. I don't care how. But they get Billy SAFE. And THEN they grovel. As they damn well should.

And I hope that eventually, they manage to convince Billy that in fact, they were BOTH into him from the start, and the bet was just a way for them to dare to act on it. They both wanted him, with them both. And they still want him.

And maybe Billy might just be lonely enough to eventually believe them.

[mixelation]

on itatori

tori and itachi late game plasticity: weird, horrible and mistrustful alliance, shaped by "you got my brother killed" and "did you know your deep conspiracy is even more insane than you thought. please help"

itachi early mutagenicity: i recognize your skills might be useful to me, and also, that letting you free could fuck over me and everyone i care about, and absolutely no one will be able t anticipate how

tori early mutagenicity: i'm annoyed by being strong armed into this, but i find itachi reliable and predictable in a comfortable way even if he's an asshole

the past couple weeks i've been writing rando scenes in some plot-heavy places (like the Get Rid of Danzo Arc) and actually it does end up making "oh, they're dating" an incredibly believable development from the outside. there's a short window where they think tori might be dead and itachi is visibly upset. he lies to minato to frame him sharing & withholding info as being about his close friendship with tori (it is, in act, about tori being an excellent co-conspirator and them murdering danzo). he tells his family he now has the mangekyou as a result of the trauma of seeing the mangekyou and thinking tori is dead. he makes all their super secret team 4 time traveler meetings happen in tori's dorm (and then apartment) because he makes her set up a bunch of wild seals for privacy because it would be the least suspicious place for her to be doing that... which means itachi goes and seeks out tori in her own home a lot.

from the INSIDE he does just tell tori he doesn't like danzo and she's like "then LET'S KILL HIM :)" because this is her favorite hobby most reliable way to maintain a sense of control over her life. this makes her 100x more appealing to itachi & tori enjoys the sense of fucked up empowerment she gets from it. she comes to him with the idea to start a book club and he immediately supports her. they've both just accepted each other's freak tendencies. they've gotten in too deep and they WILL get upset if the other is made upset in their enclosure. like the part where he didn't tell her they were dating was fucked up but this does mean she can take advantage of him now

dating stage 1: tori has no idea what's happening **short break up** dating stage 2: tori wants free meals and the social benefits of dating **longer break up bc they realize this is not sustainable** dating stage 3: itachi gets roped into mikoto-arranged dates and is Dying. tori misses having a fellow Freak around. who else will just stand there and watch while she harasses random civilians. no one **series of break ups because they're old enough marriage is on the table and they're both insane about it** dating stage 4: they get engaged and deidara thinks it's some sort of prank

[wisehearts]

i love the line of thinking with everyone thinking will just isn't into sex period because of his avoidance and perceived innocence cuz what if once they get together mike still hasn't put together the pieces that will was just staying quiet out of fear of his preferences (for mike and boys and sex with mike and boys) being revealed and still thinks that even though will is gay and in love with him hes not interested in him Sexually. and like even though mike would be into whatever will is into he's still kinda angsty about it and obviously super horny especially now that his fantasies have so much fuel now that their together. one time he mentions how will isn't into sex passively (and maybe wills been too cautious to actually initiate anything sexual himself yet) and will is like wtf no i've been fantasizing about your dick for years hellooo??

im just so obsessed with them finding out all the ways they love each other that they never thought were possible it makes me want to cry!!!

I'm obsessed with it toooo!!! These are great thoughts and I enjoy directions like these cos - even though of course we'd love them to dive right into bed instead of build up to it, and they might! - exploring a little layer of realism is fun and this sort of one is so likely. and tbh it doesn't mean it's happening over a long period of time, it can be like a speed bump they get over early on

I personally think it's likely will either doesn't initiate or freaks out if he does show his enthusiasm at the start, because of the guilt from all the fantasizing he's done about his best friend. Of course mike clearly likes him back, they're boyfriends and kissing and getting heated all the time, but there'd be a part of him that doesn't want to show he's into it, feels creepy for wanting mike so much and holds back since that's what's been drilled into his brain that people like him are. and we know he's the type to suffer in his head, old habits die hard!

But he'll also get to realize mike is technically going through the same social mental stigmas, and would relate to will more than will thinks! I'm picturing them having that conversation, how mike usually initiates but even he has been holding back a little for will's sake/less interest and they're both just like are you kidding me what are we doing!!!!!! and finally approach their arousal with less mental stress 😭

because it's true like you said, mike has will who wants his dick literally sososo bad and has for years, who feels like he's on fire whenever mike touches him, he just struggles to admit how easily he'd lose himself to mike doing anything with his body, by initiating first. And poor mike (a chill guy in a relationship, who happens to get chaotically horny) because all those new mannerisms and faces and noises he's learnt about will since they've been together... his brain is going a million miles a minute with what he wants to do but he turns to jerking off about it because he's patient with will. Lmfao I love them being young and still having things to learn about communicating, our silly boys.

once they get to "you're allowed. I'm serious about us. I want this." and will finally breaks that barrier down he is going to town finally enjoying the dick he's dreamed of, the body he's lusted over. The pure enthusiasm easily making up for the lost time

and then my faaaavorite aspect which is them seeing just how horny their best friend is and has always been, but especially mike learning this about will since will did have the innocence, and my god mike cannot believe this is his real life. can't believe he ever thought will wasn't into sex when he's a complete freak for it, a minx, and he wants to shout it to lucas and dustin just in that "you won't believe this" way but he can't ...well, in time he can 🤭 very hilarious conversations in their future. for now he just grabs will during and after anything sexual and gently shakes him going where was this hiding holy shit, to which will just giggles ❤️‍🔥

I love their private little world where they know each other best!!!

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

Survival | Coda

Okay, so, I just read Survival, and. yus. (/pos) All I keep thinking about is what if the Others encounter (their) human Virgil having an anxiety attack or feeling very overwhelmed & panicked? Like...how would they handle that? Would they have help from someone who knows a bit more about humans' nervous system? Would they also kinda freak out because they don't know how to help Virgil calm down? – anon

Read on Ao3 Part 1

Warnings: panic attack

Pairings: none

Word Count: 1682

"Roman? Remus, report to Engineering Main Hub." "What did you do," Roman mutters as they leave their stations, eyestalks flicking back and forth, "what didn't you do?" "It wasn't me! I didn't do anything wrong!" "You know that just makes you sound more suspicious, right?" Or, Virgil has a panic attack, and Roman and Remus are called in to help.

"Roman? Remus, report to Engineering Main Hub."

"What did you do," Roman mutters as they leave their stations, eyestalks flicking back and forth, "what didn't you do?"

"It wasn't me! I didn't do anything wrong!"

"You know that just makes you sound more suspicious, right?"

"Look, all I'm saying is that it wasn't my fault that the quantum field generator was out of alignment this morning because I spent four matrons aligning it last shift and when I left, everyone including Lieutenant Alvarez signed off on it saying it was fine, so if it's messed up again, it's not on me!"

"That's a lot of words for 'I don't know what I did this time.'"

Remus shoves him as his mandible chitters and the two of them manage to make it the rest of the way to the reporting station without breaking anything. It's a close thing, but they manage it. The supervising officer looks up and sighs, gesturing toward the ducts.

"You two are close with Human Virgil, aren't you?"

"We're friendly," Roman says, "but I wouldn't say close."

"That's good enough."

"What's happened with Virgil?"

The officer sighs again—that's probably not good. "I don't know exactly what's going on. Medical Officer Patton is over there, he's got a better grasp of humans than the rest of us on staff here, ask him."

"With all due respect," Remus points out, "we're not exactly experts on humans either, I'm not sure we're qualified to—"

"Well, the human's the one asking for you, so when they're in a state where they can talk coherently again, you can ask them."

Three things occur to both of them at rather alarming speeds.

One: Virgil is asking for them specifically.

Two: Virgil is not currently in a state where they can explain why they've asked for the two of them specifically.

Three: Virgil is so much in a state where they cannot speak coherently that a medical officer has been summoned.

"Where are they?"

The officer jabs a tentacle toward the ducts and they're off, dodging other crew members and murmuring apologies for their brusque journey across the floor, mandibles chittering rapidly. Sure enough, by the time they round the corner to reach the stairs leading up to the overlooking platform, they can hear the soft voice of the medical officer murmuring something.

"That's it, you're doing very well. Keep trying to take deep breaths, okay? That will help stabilize the oxygen levels in your body, which will help bring about the end of this."

"I know that—it's just—I can't—I—I—"

"You can. I know it seems hard right now—"

"No shit!"

"Medical Officer Patton?" Remus calls as they reach the top of the stairs. "We were called, is everything…?"

Roman shoves Remus aside as he too makes it to the platform, trying to see what's caused Remus to stop so suddenly. He then slams to a halt when he sees the bright blue of the medical officer's uniform nearly covering a small, curled-up ball of dark fabric that appears to be shuddering. Before he can ask if this is another stage of human development they're unaware of, part of the blob lifts and he lets out a soothing rumble before he realizes it.

Virgil, their human, is curled up so tightly in a little ball that it must be painful, and his face is all red and blotchy and—leaking?

"Virgil?" Remus's voice drops to the low register they use to communicate with fresh hatchlings, crouching down to make his silhouette smaller. "What's going on?"

"You—you came—you actually—actually—"

"Easy," Patton says gently as another horrible noise leaves Virgil's lips, "don't try and speak too much, you'll over stress your system. Here, let me—"

He reaches into the small toolkit on his belt and retrieves a comfort canister. A light hissing fills the air as it decompresses, the blanket within growing larger and larger until he can drape it over Virgil's shaking shoulders. The human lets out another thorax-wrenching noise as he huddles under the soft blue fabric, taking a fistful and bringing it to cover his mouth.

"What's happening?" Roman asks, crouching down too. "How long has this been going on?"

"I was called a few malton units ago," Patton explains, his eyes still on Virgil curled up under the blanket, "about a crew member in distress. He appears to be otherwise uninjured. I believe this is an exacerbated response from his nervous system."

"Is this related to his parasite?"

Patton's head whips around. "Parasite?"

"Not a literal parasite, uh, Roman, help me out—"

"I think he calls it anxiety? It's not actually a parasite, he just described it like that to us once—"

"Ah, yes, anxiety, I'm familiar with the term in humans. Yes, I think this is part of it. It's not uncommon for humans with anxiety to experience periods of time where their systems is overloaded with instincts that are not applicable to their current situation."

"Their system attacks itself?"

"In a manner of speaking. I believe human experts refer to them as 'panic attacks.'"

Roman blinks with both eyestalks. "Well, that sounds…unpleasant."

"No shit," comes Virgil's voice through the blanket, "it's a bitch and a half."

"Do you normally measure inconveniences in female dog lengths?"

"Figure of speech." The rattling breaths haven't stopped yet, and they can hear a few more drops of liquid hit the grating. "Shit."

"How can we help?"

"Protocol suggests surrounding the crew member with those familiar to them," Patton explains, "who may be able to offer comfort and security."

"O-oh."

The human thinks they're…safe? They've not had more than half a dozen conversations and they're nowhere near approaching brood mate status, they've not even seen each other that many times off shift. But Virgil is extremely distressed and if they can help, well, what are they supposed to do, refuse?

"What do we do?"

"Virgil?" Patton rests a hand carefully on the top of the blanket-human pile. "Roman and Remus would like to help. What would you like them to do?"

"Can—can you come closer?"

Both of them skitter along the platform and bracket the pile on either side. Patton removes his hand and shuffles back to give them space. Roman bumps an eyestalk against Remus as Remus lies flat, making it easier for Virgil to see him without having to move his head so much.

"Hi," he chirps, some of his feelers playing gently with the edge of the blanket. "We're right here. You look like a hatchling all curled up in the blanket."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Do you know a lot about how our species nests?"

"No."

"We make these really big colonies that are just devoted to rearing the young. We gather supplies from everywhere we can to make the environment as safe for them as possible."

"Which in Remus's case, means getting rid of all the dangerous things he hoards like a ravenous purple worm."

"Hey!"

"It's true," Roman says, stroking the blanket, "but once that's all done, we get these big bunches of fluff from the canyon lands and make nests out of them, kind of like this. Then we wrap the young in them so their limbs can get used to having ambient pressure and sensation in a safe way before they're big enough to try moving on their own."

"That's why I said you look kind of like a new hatchling, all bundled up."

Virgil sniffles, wiping at his face. "That sounds nice."

"Why are you leaking," Roman asks gently, "is there something we can patch?"

"'M not leaking, 'm just crying."

"Crying is something humans do to cope with overwhelming emotions in their systems," Patton adds quietly when they still look confused, "it helps with the release of extra things that re-stabilizes them."

"Oh. Keep doing it, then."

A watery huff. "I'm not gonna be able to stop anytime soon, don't worry."

"Do you want us to keep talking?"

"Y-yeah. Um, what are the canyon lands like?"

"They're these massive stretches of bare rock that reach from one side of the planet to the other. They're very treacherous for single or even double exploration teams, so we have to go in really big groups to be able to get around them safely." Remus's eyestalks wave back and forth. "There's not a lot of cover out there so we gotta be able to have eyes in all directions."

"It also gets really hot because of that," Roman adds, "so we take turns being at the top of the group."

"What do you mean, 'at the top?'"

"Oh, sorry—we travel in a horde when we go out in groups that big to make it easier on our legs for long distances. The ones at the bottom provide the power to keep the group going, the ones at the top are the eyes for the rest of us, and the ones in the middle provide stability to make sure no one gets left behind."

"That's…cool."

"But it gets really hot at the top so we change positions every so often to keep the group moving and stable."

"I don't get hot as easily as Roman does—"

"Hey!"

"—so I get to spend more time at the top."

"You just hate having to walk for yourself when you don't absolutely have to."

"I'll have you know I'm still the winner of the Marsh Dash for three galactic cycles in a row and you've never gotten in the top 200."

"Yeah, but that's for your pride."

Remus chitters in an affronted way and Virgil makes another little one of those watery laughs. The engine hums around them, just like the thriving colony of a healthy hive.

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[faytelumos]

Jason Todd

Give Me a Character

How I feel about Jason? I love him. He's my boy. He's a martyr. He's a cautionary tale. He's always been doomed since the day he was born. The very universe itself conspires against him because readers wanted him to die. So he dies. Again and again, in every universe, he dies, and he fights, and he tries to make the world a better place, and he wants to be kind, but he is doomed, always, every time, even when he comes back. It's tragic, and I hate what they've done to him, but without it, he wouldn't be the same person. He wouldn't be my blorbo.

JoyFire (Jason Todd x Roy Harper x Koriand'r) is my OTP for this guy. And I will say it out loud, I also enjoy JayTim and JayDick. I like JoyFire because it's like… the family you choose. Each of them has trauma about getting left behind in some sense. So they'll never leave each other. Even if Jason's a jerk sometimes, he will never, ever leave either of them hanging when it matters even a little. And they're the same for him. I like JayTim because Tim thinks Jason is so annoying, and Jason thinks Tim is so smart and capable, and so there's a little bit of pining in there? Especially in the opposite way one would expect by looking at them. But Tim knows that Jason's smart, and I kind of ignore a bunch of the ugliness that happened right around Under the Red Hood with them, to be honest. Not completely, but some of it. I think that Tim can admire Jason's ingenuity and persistence even when he's rolling his eyes at him, and I think that Jason thinks so highly of Tim, even when he refuses to ever say it out loud. And as for JayDick, maybe some of it is just me smashing my favorite dolls together. I freaking love Dick Grayson. Who doesn't? And I freaking love Jason, and they have a complicated relationship, but they love each other, whether you want it to be brotherly, friendly, or romantic. They love each other, and I'll take that in any flavor I can get it.

Non-romantic OTP is also Jason and Dick. You cannot tell me these two don't share the braincell when they're in a room together. But also, they can be hyper competent together. If they're both motivated and working together, they can do anything. Including building a heated roof pool out of cardboard, a carbon metallic alloy, and a "borrowed" shop vacuum.

(Also gotta mention that I adore father-son pair Bruce and Jason. The two of them are just so wonderful together, how Jason brings such joy into Bruce's life and Bruce just wants Jason to heal and realize his dreams, ah!)

Unpopular opinion about him? Willis was a good dad. [lifts a megaphone] Willis Todd was a good dad! He was a victim of a broken system and turned to crime because it was the only means he had to provide for his family! Any time he laid a hand on Jason or Catherine was still unjustified, but it was because Willis was a deeply frustrated and scared man who had no system or room to handle his negative emotions or feel accomplishment in his life! [puts down the megaphone] Domestic abuse is never okay, and that goes the same if a woman is the abuser. But Willis was not an asshole, he was a poverty-stricken petty criminal with the most minimal support system. He loved Jason, and he loved Catherine, and he tore himself up to do his best to provide for them all the way to the end. His story is a sad one, he was not the villain, and I hate it when people say Jason is better off without him and didn't mourn him or feel bad about his death.

There's a lot of things I wished hadn't happened to him in canon, but most of all, I hate what Zur En Arrh did to him.* It was absolutely terrible, and then the fact that nobody was left to give Jason any support at all after the fact because they were all chasing Zur really gets to me. The way that one panel just showed him trembling, so small, alone, asking anybody at all for help…. It breaks my heart. Because it's always like that for him. He ends up alone, on his own, because he's the black sheep and he's mad about it, and he defends people who others leave behind. And it breaks my heart in a way that actually very truly makes me sad. Because there are people who think he deserves it. Including the writers.

[ddejavvu]

Selectively mute puppy hybrid reader saying something to Steve and Puppy!Eddie for the first time!

Throughout the entire adoption process, you never uttered a word.The hybrid shelter explained that you went selectively mute a few weeks into being dropped off there and never understood why.Steve didn’t press you to talk to him,it was quite obvious that you were still very excited to be going with him,even if you didn’t express it verbally.Puppy!Eddie just about tackled you in a hug the minute you got home,asking you a million questions.You just kinda helplessly looked at Steve to which he explained to Eddie that she wasn’t much of a talker,but she’s still very excited to be here.Eddie was a little confused and thought Steve might have been lying to make him feel better.That is until you licked his cheek in greeting with a giddy smile and wagging tail.

Almost a month in and you still haven’t talked,but the three of you were thick as thieves nevertheless.Kisses,ear scratches,and big cuddle piles were the norm in this household.One day,Steve actually had to go in for work instead of working from home like he usually did.Eddie was obviously going to miss his favorite guy,but you were a lot more anxious about it.They both soothed you and told that he’d be back before you know it.You spent the next few hours playing with Eddie and taking naps to pass the time.When Steve finally pulled up in the late afternoon,you were just so excited!!You shook Eddie awake then you both ran downstairs to the door.Steve greeted you both with a “Hi babies” and you jumped into his arms,holding on sooo tight!

“Missed you so much!” You said,voice a little raspy from not being used for so long.Steve gasped and looked up at Eddie who was just as surprised,tail wagging and hands happy stimming.You actually talked quite a bit from then on,eventually explaining to them that you went mute because one of the other hybrids at the shelter told you that you talked too much :((( Steve and Eddie made sure to get you to talk as much as they possibly could from there on.

Sorry,I got a little carried away 😅

i adore puppy!reader she is so me :(((

you're just quiet!! honestly at first steve thinks you're mute, he doesn't realize that you're just refraining from speaking. he's fine with it, too, he's not going to dump you on the side of the road just because you won't chat with him. you seem friendly and happy though, all tail wags and butting your head against his hand for more ear scratches and crawling into his lap all wiggly and happy, so he trusts that he doesn't need verbal confirmation!! you wanna go home with him so bad :')

and yes eddie's so nervous at first :(( he really thinks you're just freaked out by him or that you don't like him!! he really wants you to like him, so when steve tells him you're just quiet, he's hoping that it's not just a consolation. but then you snuggle your face into his shoulder and lick up his cheek and he's so happy!!! he 100% becomes your voice before you speak around them, it's like he can read your mind. he'll drag you up to steve with your hand clasped in his and go 'she wants a snack. turkey sandwich.' and steve's like ?? how do you know ?? and he just knows.

they've definitely gotten some noises out of you!! a huff here and there, a relaxed sigh as steve scratches at your ears, a snore that you'll be teased about for the rest of your life.. but no words!! they're patient, though, they don't even think it'll happen so they're not pressuring you. but you have a really hard time letting steve go, it's the first time he won't be there, and even though eddie will, steve feels safer. what if someone came to the door and tried to kidnap you and eddie? steve won't be there to help. what if something happens to steve at work?? he won't come back :( you're just a little bundle of nerves and steve feels sosososo bad that he has to leave, but it's inevitable!!! after lots and lots of forehead kisses and cheek cupping and ear scratching and hair brushing and back rubbing he waves goodbye to you, and eddie acts as your personal stress toy for the day. he's always there if you want a cuddle, or if you need to cry a little bit into his chest he'll soothe you :')) he's been alone before but you're so nervous that it's making him sad and he just wants steve to be home!!

ohhh yes steve gets the greeting of his life :(( sooo many kisses, wagging tails, it's a big freakout!! but when you bust out your first sentence that either of them have ever heard you say he's floored, he almost drops you. eddie's practically vibrating with excitement as he joins in your hug, the two of them smothering you in congratulatory kisses and hugs and love :')) and yes omg they reassure you that you could never talk too much!! and they're sooo insistent on you saying everything now, steve pretends he doesn't know what cereal you're pointing at just to hear your pretty voice say 'reese's puffs, please' and then he pours you a big sugary bowl with a sweet smile on his face :'))

[performativezippers]

Could you share your thoughts about beats in writing, please?

OKAY HERE WE GOOOOO this is going to be long but honestly it could have been so much longer so oops!

tl;dr: Beats are when things in the story happen.

So in a mystery novel, for example, when does the crime occur? when do they think they've solved it, but they're wrong? when do they realize they were wrong? when is their life in danger? when do they know who did it? when does the reader know who did it? when is the b-plot introduced and when it is resolved?

These typically happen in a similar place in each mystery novel, because of course it wouldn't make sense if it went: (1) you think you know who did it, and then (2) the crime is committed. Right? or if the very first person they suspected did it and they catch them immediately! that's never what happens because then what's the other 200 pages of the book?

so there is relative order, and you know it even as a passive reader, so then the question is how spaced out are those things throughout the fic or manuscript?

in a romance, it's the same. typically we see:

meet cute/first meeting/first canon meeting (the pilot) e.g. alex meets maggie at the airport and they fight over jurisdiction, or jane and maura work a case together as usual but it's the first one where jane is scared, aka a new start to their existing relationship

why aren't they together off the bat? (aka why is this a romance novel and not a romance sentence?) e.g. alex thinks she's straight and they're good friends, or maura dates elon musk types and jane is, you know, not that

complication e.g. alex comes out and then asks maggie to be her gf but maggie says no because alex is fresh off the boat, or maura starts dating jane's dumbass brother

false high (if there is a third act breakup, this is the happy time before that) e.g. alex and maggie get together and are very happy kissing the girls they want to kiss, or maura dumps tommy because her life with jane is more important to her

low point (this is often the 3rd act breakup, but doesn't have to be) e.g. alex freaks out when family conflicts with romance and dumps maggie, or jane kills maura's dad

KISS KISS KISS (aka the happily ever after) e.g. alex apologizes and sanvers stays together forever because the show was cancelled, or jane performs surgery on maura in the woods and then they kiss forever because the show was cancelled

SO, all of those things have to happen, and beats are when. you can of course put your plot points whenever you want them. it's your life and your art and your hobby!! have fun! but if you want to learn "craft" or whatever, or get traditionally published, you need to know when the conventional beats for your genre are, so that you can show you know what you're doing.

You've noticed beats even if you haven't thought about them. Sometimes a fanfic feels like it's going on too long or ending too abruptly, which is because they didn't place their beats carefully. Maybe it's taking forever to get past the set-up, and then the ending feels rushed. Maybe they got to the end of the plot but kept writing little one-shots or vignettes that don't have any tension in them. Almost all pacing problems can be solved by beats!

There are two main beat sheets I use for writing romcoms, Save the Cat and Romancing the Beat. There are book and workshops for both. My spreadsheet I use for every book uses Save the Cat beats, which was originally developed for screenplays. Here's a screenshot of that from the spreadsheet i use religiously:

I try to focus on

inciting incident at 0 or 10% (catalyst)

fun and games 25-50%

mid point high right around 50%

Things get bad from 50-75 until dark night of the soul from 75-80%

Redemption 80-90%, climax around 90%, final snippet less than 1,000 after end of climax

I do the math on my word count and ideal final word count to reverse outline where i am. in my book that's going to be published, i was really struggling with how to fill the 50-75% chunk; it was perfectly paced up until the shattering of the false high at 50%, and I knew what would happen after the dark night of the soul at 75%, but my project was to figure out how i could keep the plot driving forward and interesting while the MC's mood and situation tanked for a full 25% of the book. It turns out in the most recent draft, that stuff is 52-86%, and is stuff i really love. i was able to work in other plot points earlier that had time to breathe and got the space they needed in that portion, as well as find the balance between 20k of boring moping and maintaining tension while the romance was tanked.

it's very very hard to use beats in a fic you're posting as you're writing it (which is most of the fics i post), but even having it in the back of my mind helps. For the Ultimatum fic i'm writing and posting now, i knew before i started posting what the midpoint false high would be, plus the dark night of the soul, plus the endgame. it's important to make sure any b-plots, or in the case other couples, get their shit resolved around the same times as Kacy does, so that we don't need too much wrap up/exposition after the kacy climax.

what other questions or thoughts do you have about beats and plot pacing? send them to me!