#and she probably doesn’t even know because she didn’t stick around to witness it

[jazzyoranges]

heyy i love how well written your works are, and i was wondering if there could be another tara carpenter x gp reader?? an enemies to lovers kinda thing, smut/fluff but it is totally up to you!! thankss❤️

All Mine

Tara Carpenter x gp!reader

Words: 2.8k

A/n: thank you!! also kind of a combination of this request and a prompt in this request

Warnings: reader has a penis, hate fuck? i think?, bottom!T, top!R, explicit sex, implication of breeding kink, teasing (lots of it), unprotected sex (your pullout game is weak), implication of alcohol consumption, no ghostface au

MINORS DNI!!

Tara hates three things in her life. You, hairless cats, and soggy bread. In that order too

She could handle hating hairless cats and soggy bread, but you? You were in Tara’s friend group. Tara hated you and to make matters worse, she was the only one that did

You were nerdy like Wes and Ethan, quick-witted and funny like Mindy and Amber, athletic like Chad, charismatic like Quinn, protective like Sam, and (allegedly) nice like Anika. You had nearly every one of her friends best traits, but Tara knew why she didn’t like you. You were really fucking annoying

Along with all of your positive traits, you were loud and obnoxiously social. Not that Tara was antisocial or anything, but god you were on a whole other level. It was mildly infuriating how you could go to a party you knew nobody at and somehow come out with more friends than you started with

All those people and you decided Tara was the one you’d annoy. A nudge to her shoulder made Tara look up from where she was putting her head down

“You look like shit” The brunette doesn’t respond and puts her head back down on the table

“Sam tase someone without your permission again?” Tara could practically hear the smirk in your voice

“Please for the love of god shut the fuck up. Your voice is the last thing I need to hear today”

“Woah, someone’s mad” You stick out your tongue in response at the glare Tara sends your way

“Suck my dick, (Y/n).”

“Don’t tempt me with a good time, Carpenter”

Tara abruptly leaves the lecture room. You think you really fucked up this time, but let out a breath of relief when you see that Tara didn’t grab her things. She was probably going to the bathroom to escape you. Which, who would ever want to escape you?

Apparently not Tara because she’s back in her seat just a few minutes before the lecture starts

“Aspirin?” You grab the bottle from a pocket in your bag, shaking it next to her

“You have Aspirin laying around?”

“Anika told me you were at a party, I figured it’s the least I could do”

“You’re trying to drug me, aren’t you?”

“If I was trying to drug you, I would’ve offered it to you at the end of class”

“Why weren’t you at the party?” Tara asks, taking the bottle from you hands and shaking out two tablets before downing them with some water

“Missed me?”

“Nope, just surprised you weren’t blackout drunk”

“Good to know you think highly of me. I was studying, thank you”

“You? Study?” Tara scoffs

“Don’t act like the idea is so out of this world”

“Right, because last time I remember you passing up a party was because your betta fish died and you forced all of us to have a funeral for him at the park”

“Trout’s death is not one to be made fun of!”

Before Tara can respond, the professor starts talking and the lesson begins. Unfortunately her head is still kind of throbbing with only mildly wanting to throw up. She had to accept she wasn’t going to get anything done until that Aspirin kicked in. Especially when she can feel you staring at her

The class goes as smoothly as it can and you notice Tara hasn’t made an effort to even try to take notes. The lesson eventually ends and when everyone gets up, the brunette begrudgingly does too

You bump your shoulders together and Tara glares at you with enough power you actually manage to feel fear for a split second until you realize it’s Tara. The girl was like two apples tall. Two and a half on a good day

The brunette doesn’t realize you were handing her a paper so you physically have to place it in her hand. Her eyebrows furrow in confusion

“What is this?”

“Notes, you need them”

“I’m not buying you Raising Canes if that’s what you want”

“Since I’m such a good friend, I’ll give it to you free of charge. Just make sure to bring it back with minimal damage”

“You’re not gonna make me Paypal you fifty bucks?” Tara doesn’t have any classes for the next few hours so you two made a point to walk to your next class. She didn’t know how it started, but you were okay to talk to when you weren’t being annoying

“In my defense, Trout recently died”

“We buried him in the fucking park, I don’t think that costs money”

“It was condolence money. I made everyone pay and I think it was pretty genius”

“I really do wonder how you still have friends”

//-//

Someone knocks on the door of you and Anika’s apartment. When you realize your roommate is probably listening to music that was too loud to be healthy, you get up from your very comfortable bed

You don’t remember ordering food and you’re pretty sure Anika didn’t invite Mindy over, so the person behind the door was probably just the nice old lady across the hall that made cookies for everyone

For better or for worse, you’re met with a Tara Carpenter that’s caught off guard when you open the door. Tara usually sees you in well put together outfits so you can only imagine her surprise when she sees you wearing boxers that outlined your cock and a hoodie that barely covered it up

“Eyes are up here- What brings you to the Mojo Dojo Casa House?”

“Can’t you just let me in?” Tara’s cheeks burn in embarrassment. Thank god you just glossed over… it

“It’s protocol you identify yourself and state why you’re here” You lean on the doorframe, actively blocking the entrance to your apartment. Tara knew this was a losing battle and hated how you looked hot while winning

“Anika and I have a project we need to work on”

“You didn’t identify yourself” you’re wearing that same dumbass smirk you have after telling a horrible joke

“Tara. Tara fucking Carpenter.”

“Unfortunately I don’t think we know any Tara Fucking Carpenters. Guess you can’t come in” you shrug

“God give me patience.” Tara rubs at her temples like you’re giving her a headache

“Isn’t it god give me strength?”

“If god gave me strength, you would be dead.”

“Point taken, but you still need a password”

“You didn’t say anything about a password!”

“Yeah, well, I don’t know if you’re the real Tara or not. Say a fact about me only the real Tara would know”

The brunette pretends to think for a moment, even putting her hand on her chin and looking off into the distance for effect. When she notices you’re starting to get suspicious of her antics Tara pushes you though the door, successfully getting in without a password or confirmation

You stumble back almost like a cartoon character and you can hear Tara let out a small laugh. You can see the dimples on her cheeks whe she tries to cover it up with her hand

“Nika, your friend’s here!” You lead Tara to Anika’s room, making sure to knock loudly while Tara’s busy either checking you out or trying to blow you up with her mind. It’s unclear, but you have to lean towards the latter

“Isn’t Tara your friend too?” Your roommate opens the door, headphones around her neck

“No.”

“Yes.” Both of you say in unison. The look you give each other is almost comical with how Tara’s glaring while you’re smiling. Anika stares blankly between you two and it eventually starts to make more sense

“Stop eye fucking each other, we have work to do” Anika pulls Tara into her room. You shrug, heading off to probably yell at ten year olds on Fortnite or something

“We were not eye fucking” the shorter girl huffs, sitting on Anika’s bed

“I literally opened my door and thought you two were about to make out”

“I didn’t expect to get interrogated when I came here!” Tara flops onto her back, covering her eyes and trying (and failing) to stop the red that dusted her cheeks

“Whatever, I’ll get you to crack later”

“Kill yourself.”

//-//

Tara doesn’t understand what she’s feeling when she sees some random girl grind against you

It’s like that one scene in Euphoria when Maddy and Nate stare each other down at the school dance, except you were looking far more more bored. That is, until you see Tara glaring at both of you

Like a switch turned on, you’re suddenly more interested in the girl. You encourage her grinding with a hand kneading her hip, using your other hand to take a sip of your drink. And just like Maddy, she’s tempted to find Chad to do the same to you. She doesn’t.

Tara fucking hated you. But she also needed you now.

Making you jealous would take too long. In theory she had the time, but her hunger to taste you was making her do things she would’ve never thought of before. One of those things being grabbing your hand and leading you away from any girl that tried to even look at you.

The girl who was grinding on you calls her a bitch among other things, but Tara knows it’s worth it when she sees you smile at her like she’s your entire world. Because she was your entire world

She leads you into an empty guest bedroom of the house, locking the door before getting close enough to you she can smell the alcohol in your breath

“What’s all this about, Tar?” You grin. Tara doesn’t know if she wants to kiss or slap that smirk right off of your annoying face

“You know what this is fucking about.”

“Do I? I think you should spell it out for me.”

“You know, I’ve had it with your attitude.” Tara jabs a finger at your chest, the back of your knees hitting the end of the bed. In one motion you sit down and bring Tara down with you. You make her sit on your cock

“Anyone ever tell you you’re fucking hot when you’re mad?” You smile, finding the blush on Tara’s cheeks absolutely adorable

“Only you.”

“Good. How about we keep it that way, baby?”

“You’re so annoying.” The brunette cups your face with both of her hands, your lips fitting together like they were always meant to

“I know I am” You say in between kisses, your hands finding their way up Tara’s shirt, kneading the spot right under her boob. She forces your hand to stimulate her nipple, eliciting a moan from her mouth

“You’re so pretty, Tar. I can’t believe only I get to see you get all hot and bothered” You smile breathlessly

“Fuck. S-Stop talking like that or you’ll make me like you” Biting a hickey on Tara’s neck, you take of her shirt and her bra in a flurry of heat

“I bet you’ll like me even more when you’re bouncing on my cock” You force Tara to grind on the bulge in your pants, earning you a small whimper that makes you smile

“C’mon, all you have to do is admit you like me and I’ll fuck you better than anyone has” It should be considered torture how much you were teasing Tara. You were biting hickeys on her neck, playing with her nipples, all while a few layers of fabric were the only barriers between your dick and her pussy. Fuck you knew how to overstimulate a girl

Laying Tara on on the bed, you could really tease the brunette better in this position. You can feel the Tara’s wetness through her soaked panties, and you’re sure she can feel the pre-cum leak out of your cock. Your hands are on her hips as if you were thrusting, yet you deny her and your pleasure for the sake of being an ass

“Don’t you want me to ruin you for anyone else? I promise I’ll stretch you out so good no other guys’ cock can fill you up like me.”

“Fuck you. I hate you, you’re s-such a fucking asshole, you know that?” Tara reaches for anything she can hold onto, your arms being the nearest thing

“I can think ways you could ‘hate’ me even more” You smile when Tara reaches to take off her panties but you find her hands first. You intertwine your hands together and the action is so soft Tara almost forgets about the situation she’s in. Almost

“Whenever I masturbate I think of you, did you know that? God, sometimes I have these hookups and all I can think about is you cumming around my cock”

Tara thinks it’s embarrassing how she’s about to cum just by your sickeningly sweet voice and the constant friction between you two. Tara also thinks she’d rather die than miss an opportunity of a lifetime.

Sure you were a cocky pain in the ass, but you were her cocky pain in the ass.

“Fuck- I admit it! I think you’re the hottest fucking person in the world. I like you.” Tara looks straight into your eyes, and the smile reserved only for her makes another appearance

“That wasn’t so hard, was it Tar?”

“I still hate you.” You unbuckle your belt and unbutton and unzip your jeans with watchful eyes. You pull down your boxers just enough so that your cock springs out, making Tara’s mouth water. Fuck you were big

Pulling Tara’s panties to the side, she’s dripping wet when you swipe your finger across her slit

“Fuck- (Y-Y/n)” Tara sings when you lick up her juices with your tongue. She buries her hands in your hair, bringing you closer to her dripping cunt. You moan at her taste and the vibrations are almost enough to get Tara to cum. Almost

You rise to your knees, lining up your dripping cock with the shorter girls dripping pussy. You decide to be evil and rub your dick against her slit before easing your tip into her hole. It was infuriating how slow you were going and Tara remembers why she hated you in the first place

Tara’s whining and whimpering under you and you can’t remember a time where you’ve been happier than in this moment

Tara on the other hand, has never hated you more in her life than in this moment

The younger Carpenter decides to be bold when she grabs your shirt and forces you forward. You’re caught off guard and over half of your cock finds itself nestled tightly in her pussy as you catch yourself with your arms

“Y-You’re sneaky, aren’t ‘cha” With your face so close to hers, Tara realizes you’re as much of a victim to your teasing as she is. She can tell it’s taking everything inside of you not to fuck her raw until your dick is limp and Tara’s legs are sore

“You can go fast. I can handle it, baby” Tara cups your face with her hand, stroking your cheek with such softness like you aren’t literally lodged into her cunt like a dog in heat

With that confirmation, you give Tara a peck on the lips and buck your hips in such a way you hit that spongey spot inside of her

The sound of skin slapping is louder than the blasting music downstairs, but your grunting and Tara’s moaning combined are louder than both. Thank god the owner of the house was your friend because you don’t know if you could come out of that room if this is what Tara sounded like

“Fuck- I’m close” You say a little too breathlessly for your liking

“Don’t p-pull out.” The shorter girl uses your shirt as leverage to keep you inside of her. Your eyebrows furrow in confusion

“T-Too messy, don’t feel like cleaning up.” Tara answers between moans like she can read your mind

The familiar heat you’re so used to finally snaps. Wrapping her legs around yours, you cum with almost a guttural whine. Your orgasm is enough for Tara to have hers and you fuck her through it, making sure none of your cum drips out of her hole

You pull out and a few dribbles of your semen flow out of her cunt. You plug her pussy with your fingers and Tara is far too sensitive to handle it

“D-Don’t tell me you’re tired already?” Tara jokes, but all air in her lungs leave when you let out a laugh of your own

“I’ve got all night, love.”

Tara has to remember to make you buy her a morning after pill.

[ironunderstands]

These Aventurine, Topaz and Jade comparisons are getting out of hand…

As much as I adore both of them, I think it’s very disingenuous to compare Aventurine and Topaz’s lore and be like “but they are the same!!!! If people like Aventurine and dislike Topaz that’s just misogyny!!! and like… no?

Topaz’s whole thing is that she doesn’t know the extent of the IPC’s evil, and believes that what she’s doing is genuinely the right thing to do. Even if she never had a choice in joining the IPC, she (incorrectly) believes what they did to her and her planet is justified, logical and moral, and for those reasons she stands with them. Part of this is likely IPC brainwashing, as she was probably very young when she became an indentured servant to them, and someone living on a planet on the brink of destruction would likely view anyone who stepped up to save them as heroes (imo the IPC likely waited for the point of no return to establish contact so her people had no other choice to except).

However Topaz got best end of the proverbial stick, her planet and its people were deemed useful by the IPC, and didn’t fight back, even if in the end they were still exploited.

Unfortunately, we have seen through Boothill, Belabog and Aventurine what happens when that isn’t the case.

Boothill’s planet got bombed and people genocided because they had a resource useful to the IPC, but were unwilling to cooperate with them or hand over their home, so the IPC decided to eradicate them.

Belabog had a debt owed to the IPC that was ridiculously high and very unfair to expect them to pay back, and had Topaz not convinced the higher ups to give them some time (which she got demoted for), the IPC would have taken Belabog by force

That leaves us with Aventurine, whose story is in no way on the same level of bad as Topaz’s. Unlike her, he has witnessed and experienced firsthand the truly awful shit the IPC can do.

They took custody of Sigonia and promised to offer the Avgin aid in their fight against the Katacans, at the very least protect them from harm. (Sidenote, since the IPC held control over Sigonia, they should have stopped the fighting in the first place). However, they simply stood by and did nothing, resulting in the deaths of around 6,000 Avgin, with around 3,000 went missing (or injured, I don’t remember, either way it’s bad).

But wait! It gets worse! Aventurine when he was still known as Kakavasha referred to the IPC as “the men in black/the men in black suits”, and his first master says he bought Aventurine from “the men in black/the men in black suits”, likely mocking the way he referred to them. Therefore THE IPC TOOK PART AND LIKELY EVEN CREATED A FUCKING SLAVE TRADE IN SIGONIA

Look being made into an indentured servant isn’t fun, but idk personally I’d take that any day of the week OVER BEING ENSLAVED

That’s not even to mention how horrible of a reputation Sigonian’s have in the galaxy, one likely spread by/resulting from the IPC themselves, as at least on Aventurines planet they do not have the mobility to make a name for themselves. (Honestly it’s a mini theory of mine that Aventurines scam is what partly contributed to this reputation, and his status as a slave is something the IPC conveniently left out in their broadcast about it-)

But, you might be saying, didn’t Aventurine have a choice to join the masked fools and leave the IPC, isn’t he free now? And to that I say, it’s complicated.

Considering the amount of suicidal shit Aventurine has done while being part of the IPC, he clearly hasn’t been having a fun time as a member of one, so why does he stick around, especially with the Fools invite? Even if he was a slave, does that absolve him of the crimes he’s committing now? What could justify his actions?

Revenge, plan and simple.

This is going to delve into some spoiler territory for the end of the Penacony 2.2 quest, something which I didn’t feel like mentioning earlier because I’m sorry but everyone and their mother already knows Boothill’s lore. Now, let’s get into it.

Aventurine accepts Jades offer to join the IPC, and when he becomes a Stoneheart, the first thing he asks about is the fate of the Avgin, to which he then learns that besides him, they are all dead. You see, from birth Kakavasha was pushed onto a pedestal as the savior of the Avgin, but now that there are no more Avgin to save, his primary motivator in becoming a Stoneheart (beyond not being enslaved anymore) is gone.

So what does he do now?

Simple, try to kill the motherfuckers behind it.

That’s why he takes on such risky gambles still, and why he wagers and wants Diamond to promote him to rank p46. The higher Aventurine gets the closer he gets to his goal of taking down the IPC for good.

Which is why his meeting with Boothill is so meaningful. I think Boothill is going to “kidnap” him and together they are gonna take down the wicked bitch that is Oswaldo Schneider for his literal crimes against humanity.

Mark my words, an IPC downfall is going to happen, and I think Topaz, Aventurine, Boothill and Ratio are going to be at the forefront of it.

However, Topaz and Ratio (and by extension the rest of the galaxy) have to learn/realize the true horrors of the IPC (although I can sense Ratio doesn’t really like them, and he’s learned a lot from Aventurine, I doubt he knows the full extent of the situation or is in any way happy about it). Therefore? Topaz mental breakdown arc? Ratio lore? PLEASE??!? The IP3 compliment one another so well and god I can’t wait for that to come to fruition.

I really want to see a Topaz and Ratio centered story leading up to an IPC smackdown, and I think we are gonna learn a lot more about how shitty they are in the later half of 2.2 and in 2.3 when the interlude and Jades release arrive.

As for the aforementioned Jade, she’s gonna need a Aventurine squared amount of trauma or reasoning behind her actions to seem in any way sympathetic, because right now she just seems like an evil bitch (in a semi good way, I will always respect the commitment to the bit) who loves her job and would make Machiavelli weep over how hard her ends are trying to justify her means.

[clerical3rr0r]

I’ve finally recovered from the latest episode of Malevolent enough to actually try to analyze it. It got very long and that’s not even all I wanted to say.

Malevolent 45 spoilers under the cut

First of all shoutout to Harlan Guthrie for making me cry. Was not expecting that tonight but I can’t even be mad about it because the storytelling was so good.

Second of all, the themes. Where do I even start?

As soon as they started talking about the Boy Brigade I knew things were going to take an interesting turn. As John and Arthur both point out, we rarely hear about Arthur’s childhood. He rarely thinks about it. It was a very difficult time for him and to an extent he treats it as if it’s best left forgotten. While it was a difficult time for him and it sounds like he has complicated feelings about much of what they were trying to teach him, it was where he made his first friend. That’s a good memory for him, and it always will be. In that and in other little moments there, he said he found hope.

Hope is a large part of this podcast and the entire point of this episode. When Arthur feels apathetic and discouraged by a lack of meaning, John reminds him that they can make their own and Arthur remarks that he feels hopeful. When Malam explains what he does, he says that children represent hope in this world. Hope is what he saw in the fire and what drew him in.

Personally, I’m seeing connections to season 4 when Arthur referred to John as a child. He meant it in the sense that John didn’t have the same emotional maturity as someone who spent decades living as a human, but it also works in the sense that John is so very hopeful. For all the horrors he’s witnessed, he hasn’t let them beat him down. Even when Arthur dies, he doesn’t stop fighting until he rewrites the narrative to bring his friend back to life. He still refuses to accept that Arthur will (probably) have to die eventually. And when Arthur brings up the admittedly good point that they could be on a fool’s errand, John argues that others might have failed, but they wouldn’t. It’s a simplistic, almost childish argument with no real logic behind it, but it worked. It was exactly what Arthur needed to hear.

Even though the fire had been lit for some time, Malam only appeared when Arthur had been cheered up while he was in the middle of talking about a point in his childhood where he found hope. I’m sure Faroe was a part of what led Malam to that fire, but Arthur’s newfound determination seemed to be the main lure.

And, of course, there’s Faroe. We know Malam can and has killed people in service of children. He did not harm Arthur. He simply spoke with him, granting him information and peace of mind. Faroe didn’t seem angry or resentful. She seems to be sticking around of her own free will. She believes in Arthur so much that Malam took notice and helped her help her father. Even after death, her belief in him empowered him to keep going in a tangible way.

If children represent hope, Faroe’s renewed presence has a double meaning. When she died, Arthur’s hope died along with her. All throughout the story, it was an accepted fact that she was dead and gone. Arthur had been without hope for a long time by that point. At least, he thought he had been. But even though Faroe was gone, she was with Arthur the whole time. Even if he couldn’t hear it or feel it, the hope was always there. The hope will always be there.

[adore-mimy]

Into the Shadows Au

Official Designs-Poppy, Branch, Viva, Clay, John Dory, Bruce and Floyd

All around the world is covered with Shadows. Although these particular shadows were not normal, and were out to spread and absorb energy for them to grow. These shadows were absolutely brutal in their ways of wiping out any thing standing in their way. They would attack and absorb energy and when they really feel desperate, they turn their victims into one of them. Now, all species all around are now being killed from these monsters and only limited resources can be found to protect themselves which caused riots and chaos trying to find resources. It brings out the worst in others when their lives are at risk.

Poppy

She had guilt built up from when she tried to befriend the shadows, that got branch attacked because she was being careless. She wasn’t gonna let that happen again

She witnessed her Father dying by one of the shadows, soon after the shadows had her father turned into one of them and it caused her to get attacked by him and get the scar on her face

She decided to keep her father being dead a secret from Viva because she didn’t want Viva to become overly paranoid about her safety.

Branch made the weapon she’s holding which she always kept with her.

She is the one that makes sure that Branch doesn’t do anything rash because of the fact that he is very upset that he has met up with his brothers after 20 years because of the outbreak

Branch

He wasn’t so static about seeing his brothers again. Not even Floyd. It only brought the memories of them leaving him behind.

He was the third to get attacked by a Shadow, he had took the hit for Poppy when she was trying to befriend them(it took him a week to get her to calm down)

Him and Poppy had different views on “the killing the shadows” situation which cause them to have a bit of an harsh argument about it. Afterwards made him feel upset cause this was probably one of the most difficult arguments they had and they never found a solution to it

He kept getting in arguments with his brothers but never really tried to solve them or anything. He always walks out on them even though he’d be extremely pissed off after

The knife he holds, he stole it from a empty Bergen house which later he found out was the house of the Bergen that ate his grandmother when searching around for food and found her heart-patterned sweater on the ground, he has it hidden under a non-working trapdoor in the abandoned golf course. He never told his brothers about it.

Viva

She got a attacked by a shifter troll which took her eye and now she can’t really feel half her face

Her and Poppy made decorative rooms for individual survivors just for them to feel comfortable

She sneaks out of the golf course when Clay is busy with making sure other survivors are safe so she doesn’t have to be suffocated by his overprotection

She wasn’t fond of Branch being with her sister but they talked it out and she became comfortable with him around ( she didn’t know branch was his brother until afterwards)

Clay made her bow out of sticks and the string with part of the sticky-hands they have and she sharpened candy-canes to be her arrows.

Clay

He made his weapons with Branch’s spikes once he came to the golf course and the sticky-hand that he had from being in the golf course for so long.

He tried to get along with Branch but with the arguments that starts between him, Bruce and John, it’s a lot harder than what he thought

He put in more clothing to cover himself up so he won’t be injured at much, he tried to convince Viva to do the same but she refused and told him it would make her slower.

He is the one that makes most of the weapons (with Branch’s help) for the rest of the survivors that they know of.

He is the one who is searching for Floyd while getting more resources. He doesn’t tell John and Bruce because he didn’t want to deal with any more yelling but he does let Branch search with him

John Dory

The Shadows turned on him when they understood his plan in using them, which cause him to get attacked

He was the only willing to go through extreme measures to get Floyd back.

His lack of sleep made him a very difficult person to talk to. He does tries his best to get the sleep he needs and try to talk his brothers more appropriately.

He knows how his brothers look at him now after finding out he let them out but he still sticks with his reason being to have power over bigger species and saving Floyd (mostly)

He still has Rhonda but she has been still ever since the shadows attacked him and her. She’s only been breathing and not able to move.

Bruce

He will immediately shut out anyone who mentions or speaks of his Wife’s death. He doesn’t won’t to be reminded of it.

He will not leave without his necklace and if he ever were to loose it, he’ll raise hellfire to find it.

He cooks food for the others but never does it alone. He’ll either ask Viva, Poppy or one of his older kids to help him with making food.

He got attacked by a shadow when trying to protect his children, in result he lost his eye. His children are the ones that helped him by bandaging up his face.

The axe he got was made from Clay, he appreciated it but only subtly because he still had feelings against Clay and John and wasn’t sure if he wanted to be around him that much

Floyd

He went back to get Velvet and Veneer at some point but when he did, they weren’t where he left them. Which led him to believe that they are either looking for him to get him again or they ran and took crimp with them.

He made his own weapon from Velvet’s and Veneer’s diamond bracelets. He broke them into pieces to make more weapons afterwards.

He wasn’t too happy to see his brothers. It was because after all these years they still have grudges against each other and never solved it, with the exception of branch cause he had every right to be angry.

He knows very well that Branch is still upset with even if he doesn’t show it, so when Branch started yelling at him, Clay, Bruce and John for leaving, it didn’t bother him at all cause he had no right to speak against it and he knew he shouldn’t have left Branch.

He had known that Grandma had got eaten because he encountered the Bergen that did eat her. He got infuriated when hearing the say that she was “a delightful snack” for him, so with that pissing him off he took a sharpened stick and stabbed one of the Bergen’s eyes and took out. Taking something from the Bergen for taking something from him.

[quillkiller]

microfic: bellatunia, explicit/mature, 1040 words

cw: stalking, dubious consent ??, sexual content, cheating

heavily inspired by (and dedicated to) @foursaints and their bellatunia anons sending me into a deep brain rot <3

Strange things keep happening around Petunia and she can’t help thinking about Lily. And magic. She remembers strange things happening around Lily all the time.

She remembers when Lily threw a tantrum and her hair had gone from red to a bright ugly green, only for a couple of minutes; and to this day Petunia still doesn’t know if Lily even realised it happened. She knows Lily noticed other strange things around her, like pencils levitating or the strange boy under the tree.

Petunia had been staring at her, wide eyes and eyebrows raised—- and Lily had only gotten angrier. Bright green hair and cutlery hovering slightly in the air around them. The floor had been vibrating underneath Petunia’s socked feet.

It was the first, and only, time Petunia had witnessed Lily’s peculiarity as something other than innocent. Instead it had been born from anger, made her hair a nasty shade of green, suffocating the strawberry red that everyone loved so much. Petunia had felt something close to spiteful glee watching Lily fall from grace— a victim to her magic.

Lily had tried to introduce Petunia to magic. She had taken her out to the backyard, making flowers bloom from just smiling down at them. Petunia had sneered, though she hates to admit, even now, the jealousy she had felt. Hates that she had tried to look at flowers in the same patient way Lily did, when no one was looking, willing them to bloom on command. They never did.

So, in a way, the strange things happening around Petunia lately doesn’t seem all that strange at all. Almost familiar in a sense, and it’s been years since she’s seen anything resembling the magic she tries so hard not to remember.

The hopeful child in her that hasn’t yet died had the brief fantasy that it’s her causing it. That maybe her magic was a sleeping thing when Lily got her letter; and now it’s finally awake. She had internally slapped herself for thinking such foolish things. Even after all these years it haunts her. Comes back to her in full force until the only thing that soothes her is scrubbing the surface of the oven until she feels dizzy from the chemicals.

Petunia is normal. It’s all she’s ever wanted to be and she’ll keep pretending to be happy until she finally is. Until it bloody well sticks.

She doesn’t want anything to do with magic. Ever.

But, a traitiourous voice whipers, what about the twisted pleasure you felt when Mrs. Davenport’s hair fell off right infront of you just last week?

It’s not just the strange things happening, Petunia knows, but she’s pretty certain someone has been watching her, too. There’s a sense of this something wherever she goes, and when she turns around she swears she’s seen a swirl of black wild hair just out of the corner of her eye.

Just out of reach.

She knows that the two are connected, the strange things and the person watching her, because both feel the same. Almost like when Lily would use her magic, but not quite. It feels darker, somehow. There’s something ominous about it. A little bit eerie.

Normal people wouldn’t get excited over it, but Petunia can’t sleep at night because of how hard she tries not to be. She swears there’s a looming shadow in the corner of the bedroom— that someone is standing right there— and she hates herself for hoping she’s right.

She is right, she knows, there’s not a single corner in this house that’s unfamiliar to her. She cleans every surface of it atleast once a week.

Because she’s a good wife.

Because she’s so fucking bored that if she didn’t she’d probably gouge her eye sockets out with a fork.

Normal people wouldn’t send their husband and child away for the weekend just to be alone with the shadow at their back.

Normal people wouldn’t slowly undress and wait for the sinister presence to return— wouldn’t get aroused from being watched by something they can’t watch in return.

And normal people wouldn’t tease their entrance and play around with the wetness there when the sinister presence does return. Wouldn’t gasp desperately into the dark when it feels like it’s looming over them. Wouldn’t rub their clit and arch their back from how they can feel the intruder's eyes on them like a hot brand.

She sees that swirl of black hair when she comes. She sees even darker eyes and almost sickly pale skin. She feels the caress of magic overwhelming her senses as she’s coming back down again. Petunia briefly wonders if imaginary friends are a thing in the wizarding world. She wonders if she might have a guardian angel.

Only, the presence doesn’t feel angelic. It feels wild and full of intent. Maybe she’s got her very own devil on her shoulder.

Petunia snorts and opens her eyes— only to realise she’s not alone; though she’s known that for a while already, even if she hasn’t seen her shadow.

There’s a woman standing at the foot of the bed, a wand pointed at Petunia. A thrill goes through her entire body.

Petunia realises that the woman has the same stormy eyes that she had envisioned. Had remembered. The woman’s eyebrows are knit together and her lips are trembling. Not out of fear, but something equally powerful.

She’s seen this woman before, she knows. Lily had mentioned something once about spells or charms making a person blur into the background to the public.

She knows she’s seen this woman before— and recently; and then she’s forgotten about it. But not entirely. Not without feeling her presence wherever she goes. Not without remembering her eyes.

Petunia looks at her, still naked on the bed. ”Tell me your name,”

The woman says nothing.

”I’ll forget,” Petunia tries, nearly pleads.

A sharp intake of breath. The woman lowers her wand slowly and Petunia shivers.

”Why are you not afraid?” The woman asks instead, voice like red wine as it spills out of her.

”Should I be?”

A pause, and then, ”Bellatrix.”

The room is dark again. There’s a thrum of magic in the air and pale lovely skin behind Petunia’s eyelids.

She falls asleep and dreams about being swept away by something dark and beautiful.

[youcouldmakealife]

LBTE: Jared (106-110)

Quick return to summaries, for: in which two dorks get married.

106 - Jitters

“It’s stressing me out,” Jared says. “Like, obviously I love Bryce, I wouldn’t be marrying him if I didn’t, but like, figuring out how to say it and not like, embarrassing myself in front of everyone? I dunno. It’s hard.”

“You are your father’s son,” his mom says, and Jared can’t even argue that. His dad’s fucking awful at this kind of stuff, so Jared inherited it honestly, he guesses. Like, it’s so really clear his dad thinks his mom’s the shit? Jared’s over being embarrassed by his parents being happy in their relationship. But his dad kind of sucks at the expressing good emotions bit, to the point where him saying something really nice is the kind of thing that sticks with you for a long time because of how rare it is, but at the same time, Jared’s never doubted his dad loves him, and Erin, and his mom.

Jared is SO MUCH his father’s son, in a way he generally refuses to acknowledge, and yes, they’re both straight up awful at expressing their feelings, but no one doubts Jared loves Bryce after any time spent around the two of them. Ditto Don with Susan. (It horrified Jared and Erin as kids, how gross in love their dad was. Marcus Mathesons will be able to relate.)

“You’re not going to be a troll with your grandkids, are you?” Jared says, doubling down on the making her feel old since she can’t make him set the table twice.

“Oh no,” his mom says. “I’ll treat them like gold and spoil them rotten until they doubt every story you tell about me being a troll.”

Rude.

“Oh god,” she mutters. “I’m my mother.”

“Grandma’s a saint,” Jared says.

“Well,” she says. “At least I know firsthand that the strategy works. Table.”

She is going to do it and it is going to WORK and none of the M&Ms will doubt their grandmas are saints, no matter how much Jared insists only Elaine is actually a saint.

With a week to go Jared realises he totally forgot to ask Arvan for time off, and he only realises when he hears Raf ask Arvan for time off, that time off being, oh, Jared’s wedding.

“Um, me too!” Jared says. “And Chaz. We kind of need to all take that off.”

Raf gives him an utterly disgusted look

Raf will tell this story for YEARS, along with Bryce and Jared meeting. So many unflattering stories about Jared that Raf was forced to witness.

“It’s cool if you’re — you know it’s normal, right? To have — doubts.” “Cool, but I don’t have any,” Jared says. “…do you have cold feet?”

Bryce makes a very dismissive noise.

Please, Bryce has been ready for years at this point.

Him and Julius go over to his parents for his last dinner as like, an unmarried man — weird — and Jared’s half waiting all dinner for his dad to like, grab his shoulder and go ‘if you’ve changed your mind…’ or something, but he doesn’t. Best behaviour. Mom probably threatened him.

Honestly proud of Don for not doing that. (Susan definitely threatened him)

How’s the lake house?”

“It’s huge,” Bryce says. “You’re going to be so annoyed.”

I love that Bryce’s first thought about the place is ‘wow, this is so nice — that’s going to piss Jared off’, and he’s RIGHT.

107 - Preparation

“Nervous?” Julius asks him over breakfast.

“My feet are toasty warm,” Jared says, and after a very confused look from Julius, breakfast is briefly derailed to explain the concept of cold feet and no, Jared doesn’t know why it’s called cold feet, and then they’re looking up the etymology and Julius is making disgusted noises because it’s just based on some dude writing the words and it sticking, no actual clarification as to why

Nope, no proper origin to this idiom either. Enraging. I am Julius in this matter.

His dad insists on driving, saying it’s because Jared will be distracted, but actually because he’s a control freak who can’t handle not driving himself. Jared doesn’t fight it — he doesn’t know the area around the lake house at all, and if they get lost his dad will be unnervingly backseat stressed about it — but the fact that Julius gets dibs on the front seat, because ‘he’s a guest’, in Jared’s car, on Jared’s wedding day?

Jared sulks in the backseat, bags stacked between him and Erin like a barricade.

Shades of the blanket already. The brother Jared never had.

Elaine meets them outside, steering them towards the main house — apparently Bryce is getting ready in the bunk house, and Jared is very tempted to like, cut and run in that direction. It’s dumb. He’ll see him in three hours. He’s still considering it. “Don’t even think about it,” Elaine says cheerfully, apparently wise to Jared.

“I wasn’t going to do anything,” Jared protests.

“Bryce made that exact face when we heard your car pull in,” Elaine says. “Gail and my mom have him covered, and Gordie’s been instructed to stop you at the door by any means necessary.”

Do not mistake Elaine’s kindness for weakness.

“Wait, are there bigger rooms than this?” Jared asks. Because if so, this place is insane: this room’s the size of their living room and dining room combined. Maybe Bryce was right that Jared would be annoyed by how big it is — stupid thing to be annoyed by, considering how many people need to stay over, but there’s big and then there’s obnoxiously big.

It is nice and Jared is annoyed, just as Bryce predicted.

How’re you feeling? Jared texts.

pretty great get to marry the love of my life today, Bryce says

Bryce.

“Yeah, me too,” Erin says. “But it’s a pretty dress, so.”

Cue another twirl.

With a dress that swishy, you gotta twirl -- Erin is only doing what is necessary.

“Honey,” she says. “There’s going to be crying today. You’re probably going to cry today.”

He refuses.

“Bryce has already cried at least three times already,” Elaine says. Oh god. Every time Bryce cries Jared wants to cry. This is going to be a disaster.

Jared often stubbornly believes things despite evidence to the contrary, but I continue to have no idea how he thought he would get through his wedding day without crying.

There are going to be many matching PJs in his life, won’t there? He can’t even bring himself to mind.

It’s gonna get REAL cute with three generations in the same pjs.

“Wait, you gave Erin the rings?” Jared asks. “Why does Erin have our rings?”

“Because I’m maid of honour,” Erin says, with a little eyeroll like ‘duh’. “I’m standing up there with you, so I get the rings.”

“Do not do something to them,” Jared says. “Don’t — pretend you’ve lost them, or drop them, or—”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Erin says, sounding almost hurt.

Jared does not believe her.

“I wouldn’t do that to Bryce,” Erin adds.

Bryce is the brother ERIN never had. Because her brother is much worse than Bryce.

“When have you even tied bow ties?” Jared asks.

“Haven’t since my own wedding, but I looked it up on YouTube just in case you needed the help,” his dad says. “Now quit talking, I’m focusing.”

“Okay,” Jared says, and it looks pretty good after the third time his dad subjects him to a ‘wait, fuck, I’m trying again’.

“Don’t tell your mom I fixed your bow tie,” his dad says. “She looked it up on YouTube too, and she even bought one to practice with, she’ll be annoyed with herself.”

This right here encapsulates the Mathesons. A lot of snark and plenty of faults, but these hobgoblins love one another a lot. (Also randomly sneaky about their kindness because can't be obvious about their loving acts, how embarrassing.)

His mom wipes his eyes for him. “I did a really good job on that bow tie,” she says, sounding pleased.

“A great job,” Jared says, and bites down a smile when his dad gives him a thumbs up behind her back.

<3 Mathesons.

108 - Impaired Judgment (and other excuses for falling in love)

I’ve said it before, but this was the original title of the series, shortened for a few reasons (mostly brevity), and it felt right to use it for this part.

“Your dad spent the entire morning of our wedding day convinced I wasn’t going to show up,” his mom says. “You’re doing fine.”

“I didn’t really think that,” his dad mutters. “It was just a possibility.” If Jared was marrying literally anyone else, that’d probably bring the freak out to a new height, except it’s Bryce, so it doesn’t.

Seriously, can you imagine Bryce not following through with it? I can’t. Jared can’t. Dude’s cried with joy three times today in the presence of his mom alone. Nothing could get him to miss this.

Chaz does this goofy salute at him when Jared glances over the crowd of people ready to witness the inevitable mortification, and Jared smiles back weakly.

The person unironically referring to his time at the altar as ‘inevitable mortification’ does not get to call other people goofy.

“I’m not hugging you,” Erin says, when his dad finally lets go.

“Didn’t ask you to,” Jared says, which apparently is the permission Erin needs to hug him.

It’s like he doesn’t know her at all. Of course that’s the permission. Also: every time Erin and Jared hug my grinchy heart grows two sizes.

Jared looks over, sees Elaine and Bryce coming out of the back door of the bunk house, their hair glinting gold in the summer light and Bryce’s tux tailored perfectly, some full on James Bond suave shit going on, and Jared just — he gets to marry him.

We have TWO soppy ass dudes in this relationship, I don’t care what Jared says.

Who would dare pointed cough at him in the middle of his wedding? It’s probably a Matheson. Or Julius. Jared bets it was fucking Julius.

Chaz had a ticklish throat, sorry for LIVING.

Who let Jared open his mouth, holy shit. Someone stop him.

An excellent summary of Jared’s vows and also Jared’s life.

“I was such an angry person when I met you,” Bryce says. “Angry, and unhappy, and not — I didn’t want to be who I was. I didn’t like me. I didn’t like pretty much anyone. But god I liked you. And I wanted you to like me back so bad. And somehow you did, even though I wasn’t someone who even close to deserved you. And my biggest goal since I met you has been to become someone who does. And I don’t think I’m there yet, and I don’t know if I ever will be, but I promise you that’s going to continue to be something I strive towards every single day for the rest of my life.”

Bryce Marcus in his feelings is my number one kryptonite, and it got me good again.

He shakes his head, because he knows Bryce worked on it. Draft after draft, probably, trying to articulate his feelings for Jared, managing to land on the most devastating words possible, because he’s devastating in the best way possible.

Jared inhales, exhales, tries to get his breathing under control. Bryce waits for him to try to put himself together, and if Jared hadn’t been sure he wanted to marry him before this — and obviously he was pretty fucking sure — that would have done it, all by itself.

I’m not crying, you’re crying.

109 - Wedded Bliss

“Have a great season, guys,” she says, and Jared’s all panicky, suddenly, wondering if she’s a fan, which team she’s a fan of, before realising like — maybe she is a fan, maybe she isn’t, no way to know. If he was her, signing a non-disclosure agreement, he’d be immediately looking up the names if he didn’t recognise them, wondering what made an NDA necessary in the first place. And even if she is a fan, she’s not going to snitch; like, she signed a binding contract that would open her up to being sued for everything she’s worth, and also she’d probably lose her marriage licence…thing or whatever.

Besides, no Flames fan would be able to tell an Oiler to have a great season with a straight face.

Jared going through all the possibilities before stating the obvious.

(This reminds me of a fun fact I learned recently: in a map showing most hated teams by state and province, Alberta’s most hated team? The Calgary Flames. Meanwhile the Boston Bruins has all of Eastern Canada and two of three territories, for the largest geographical spread, good work dudes.)

“No one’s going to look at a picture of you standing alone in a tux and say, ‘hey, he must have been getting married to a man who plays for his rival team’,” his mom says dryly, which — fair point.

I mean…

“Bear, come here for a sec? I need a favour,” Elaine says, and Bryce immediately stops mid-conversation with Chaz and Ash and trots over, like the momma’s boy he is. Ridiculous.

Jared blinks when Elaine’s phone goes off. “Much better,” she says. “Thanks, honey.”

“I didn’t —” Bryce says, sounding confused, and Jared shrugs at him.

Elaine knows all the tricks. Jared’s smile went from strained to soppy watching that jog.

But, then, fuck it. He doesn’t need excuses. They’re literally all at his and Bryce’s wedding, who’s going to complain about a little kissing?

“Hey,” Bryce says, wrapping an arm around him when he comes over, mouth surprised against Jared’s when he kisses him, but only for a second before he’s kissing back.

“Okay, no,” Erin says. “Stop.”

Erin. Erin will complain about a little kissing. (They're so happy they get to kiss in front of PEOPLE. While OUTSIDE. Downright giddy.)

Also, Jared is pretty sure at a normal wedding, him and Bryce would get first crack at the food, but nope, he’s got to wait in line like everyone else even though he’s starving. Julius won’t let Jared butt in front of him, all ‘just because you’re married now doesn’t make you special’. Julius is the fucking worst. Jared can’t believe he even invited him.

I’ve said it before, but: truly the friend Jared deserves.

“So Jared’s like ‘I’ve never hated someone more in my life’ and ‘what a stupid flashy car Bryce Marcus has, don’t you hate Bryce too, Raf, I hate him so much that I can’t stop talking about him’ and ‘how dare Bryce Marcus say a single word to me, doesn’t he realise how much I loathe him, that handsome bane of my existence’, and he’s blushing bright red every time Bryce walks within ten feet of us, and—”

IJ(aoe), Act I: a summary.

“You didn’t bring lube?” Bryce says.

“No?” Jared says.

“You forgot lube?” Bryce hisses.

From comedy to tragedy.

Jared has to get up to hit the lights — they played rock-paper-scissors for it and Bryce lost but then he looked so dejected Jared got up anyway

True love right there.

“Thanks for marrying me,” Bryce murmurs.

There are so, so many sarcastic responses on Jared’s tongue. So many. And Jared’s sure that Bryce is expecting one, wouldn’t mind, would probably even laugh. But like. He doesn’t want to say any of them. And if there’s any time he can be like, unselfconsciously sappy, he thinks his wedding night probably qualifies.

“It was my privilege,” Jared says, cheeks heating anyway, because apparently nope, there is no time that he can be unselfconsciously sappy up to and including his wedding night, but the smile on Bryce’s face, small and sweet and almost shy, the way it lingers when Jared kisses him, well, it’s worth any embarrassment Jared feels.

They’re so gross, I love them.

110 - Refuge

And they order Thai from their usual place, but Jared doesn’t know if the orders got swapped or someone was new or not paying attention or what, because his usual order is his usual order, except there’s shrimp instead of chicken in his noodles and he can smell shellfish the second he opens his soup, and Bryce is ridiculous when he calls them back, all ‘how can you not see ‘shellfish allergy’ in the notes’ and ‘do you want to kill him?’, like Jared would actually die and not just be moderately to severely uncomfortable if he ate it, which he hadn’t.

Jared is right on the verge of telling Bryce how ridiculous he is when he remembers his dad’s pre-wedding advice, and he bites his tongue and lets Bryce take care of it, even if Bryce’s version of taking care of it is a total overreaction.

Bryce is PROTECTING HIS MAN. And look at Jared listening to his dad’s advice.

There’s a tiny part of Jared that’s faintly appalled he hasn’t left the house for days, hasn’t put on a shirt in just as long — Bryce has offered to be the one to get dressed every time they order food

Bryce transparently wanting to be the provider. Also not wanting Jared to put any clothes on.

“So hey,” Bryce says. He’s trying to make it sound casual, but it doesn’t, and Jared squints up at him suspiciously.

"I want us to keep wearing our wedding rings,” Bryce says.

Bryce being the initiatior of the first step of many that leads to their eventual outing. (I mean, the wedding would also count, but these rings get scrutinized at the time and then down the line).

“You’re worth like, everything,” Bryce says. “You know that, right?” Jared presses his face tighter against Bryce’s shirt, Bryce’s thumb tracing the heated shell of his ear.

Oh kids.

“So you’re okay with it?” Bryce says.

“If you stop saying nice things to me for like, at least an hour,” Jared says. “Then okay.”

“I’ll do my best,” Bryce says solemnly.

“Okay,” Jared says.

“I love you,” Bryce says.

“Bryce!” Jared says.

“That’s not a nice thing, that’s just like, a fact,” Bryce says. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Jared says, then commences to pull Bryce’s shirt up and stick his head under it, because the only way Jared can maintain the absolute fiction that he’s not blushing is to hide his face.

Jared would protest vociferously, but: he is adorable.

Bryce sacks out early that night, exhausted from his day of lounging around the couch and like, complimenting Jared too much. Jared’s half tempted to poke him awake to just like, not have the honeymoon end yet, but that’s mean. He looks so peaceful, Jared can’t do that to him.

Jared’s a place Bryce can rest, and he takes that role seriously.

[deadlyterrorstonight]

Fritz and sibling headcanons!!!

Lol, this is for fun and something I’ve thought about before. I LOVE the fact he’s from a big family because so am I.😭

Here we go, my thoughts put on a platter for you people. May or may not write more headcanons for this but who knows.🤷‍♀️

Considering Fritz was the only boy in the family, he probably struggled to fight with his sisters. Not so much as in arguing but physically. He was normally the one to get the short end of the stick and would more often than not end up with his butt whooped when he was younger- BUT, as he gradually got older he figured out how to maneuver and be careful enough to fight back and considering he’s stronger than them (granted as long as it wasn’t 2 or 3 of his sisters fighting or holding him down) he’d win a fight easy. He didn’t always get in trouble- aside from a few times because “You aren’t supposed to hit girls.” But his parents knew the fights weren’t always caused by him so they didn’t rap on his case a lot.

Fritz has gone through the trauma of dealing with his sisters monthly’s. To say the least…he was in for a constant ride when it happened. Hiding was not an option for this man. Cravings? Told him to go out and get them something. Mood swings? YIKES, he was a witness to some fights and arguments between his sisters and sometimes it’d be over the stupidest thing. He also hated getting caught up in them- Doesn’t help if one of them was really sensitive about stuff and he had to choose his words carefully to not cause water works. He’s definitely glad he doesn’t deal with that in his house anymore now that he lives in Utah and owns his own apartment.

Dress up? Yeah..he knows the game all too well. Being nominated often and because his sisters thought it was funny. He didn’t necessarily dislike it because he thought it was funny too after he got use to it, but the blackmail they have on him…isn’t funny. Any future girlfriends? Oh wow, would you look at that! Pictures of Fritz in a dress and makeup. Also he would retaliate but he had to give in or they’d complain or he’d end up feeling bad.

Fritz was always getting advice from his sisters about being a good dude. So he’s not clueless on how to treat a girl (regardless, he already knew most of those things because of common sense and he wasn’t an idiot.) but he also learned something’s about girls because of all the talking he’s heard from his sisters and just in general being around them.

Everyone was normally around each other in his household. He’s used to things that are chaotic (part of the reason why he’s not phased completely by the dudes- Jeremy, Mike, Scott and Vincent- and their chaotic friend group. Reminds him of home somewhat.)

Pictures + videos of him being clumsy and making faces. Man..his sisters don’t have mercy and certainly have stories to tell. To his dismay but makes for great storytimes.

Although Fritz doesn’t really deal with the kids in the main area, he can handle them decently well because he knows how to deal with chaotic situations due to his family (he’s up there with Scott and Vincent when it comes to taking care of the kids.) and does a pretty good job at it. Doesn���t mean he always wants to deal with them though…kids are tiring and sometimes they can be little butts. Also depends if they are absolute menaces. Probably the kinda dude that’s responsible but ends up with cake smears or doodles on him from the kids. Might have even lost his hat unintentionally-

Fritz hasn’t had many girlfriends in his life, mainly due to the fact he’s seen the drama that can occur (CoUgh- sisters breakups) and just found it better to stay away from relationships because of it. The most he’s ever had was 3 girlfriends out of his lifetime as he’s 25 now. He’s single now..but the reason he’s not with someone now is because they were either caused by falling out of love (figured it was better as a friendship mutually.) The girl he was with fell for someone else, and the last one? She wasn’t who he thought she was but had some issues that caused him to deter away and break up with her. He wouldn’t say he wouldn’t date again, but he’s definitely trying to be careful about it and not just jump into a relationship.

Fritz hasn’t really struggled with his sisters stealing his clothes. They normally left him alone with that. But he has definitely witnessed more fights about them stealing from each other- Buncha complaining.

Fritz really does love his family a lot. Regardless of the siblings fights and banter and what not- he cherishes them. He cares a lot and if you screw with his sisters then you’re gonna have a problem with him for sure. He’ll come knocking on your door straight up throwing facts and questioning your ability to think if you’ve done them dirty.

Fritz is known for his common sense and being level headed, which is probably why some of his sisters liked talking to him about certain things. He didn’t know it then that he was being helpful but Fritz is good at being a voice of reason or asking the right questions. He’s also a good listener.

Family game nights were competitive and fun. That was for sure.

Getting dragged along on rides and to stores was something he grew to love when his older sisters wanted to take him out. Some days he would be annoyed but by the end of it, he didn’t actually mind and enjoyed it. And when he was older and had to deal with other things (“ Fritz, take us out!” - “ Take us here, blah, blah, blah.”) He got used to that too and just gave in.

Getting jumped by his sisters into random shenanigans was a thing. “Don’t ask!” They’d say and of course he wouldn’t listen and did ask but didn’t matter. He’d still be clueless until they were doing whatever they roped him into.

[noonaishere]

Online/Offline [C.S] - forty | we can’t keep meeting like this

You found Yeosang sitting on the floor next to his apartment door, asleep.

“Oh my god,” you whispered. 

You unlocked your own door, put your stuff down and got his spare key before going over and pushing his shoulder to wake him up.

“Yeosang.” You shook him. “Yeo.”

He woke up, startled, and looked at you.

“Get up, buddy.”

“Why are you home so late?” He yawned as he stood.

“Because today is the day I have my late shift and I had to do some grocery shopping right after?”

He nodded sleepily. 

“You know Yeo, we can’t keep meeting like this. If you wanted to talk to me you could just message me.” 

Yeosang fake laughed. “I’m so glad we’re friends again, what would I do without your wit?” 

“Um… not get into your apartment?” You went back to your door and opened it and spun around, trying to close it as fast as possible, but Yeosang shoved his foot in the space.

“Ow.” 

“Serves you right.” 

“Unlock my door please.” 

“Don’t fake laugh at me ever again.” 

“I’m sorry for fake laughing and I won’t do it again.” 

You brandished his spare key. “Move.”

He moved so you could leave and you unlocked his door for him.

“You know, you really need to do a better job of making sure you have your keys before you leave the apartment.”

“I’ve just been stressed lately from all the grading.”

You nodded.

“Oh, I was watching your stream a few days ago when Keeho revealed his hair for the new comeback. He’s really going to be gone for a month?”

“Mhm. It happens a couple times a year.”

“Do his fans abandon you for that time?” Yeosang rooted around in the cupboard for something to make for dinner.

“Some do. A lot of them stick around because I think they feel obligated to support us even if he’s not there.”

“That’s good at least.”

“We do streaming parties for the songs too because, like, why not?”

He hummed in affirmation.

You nodded. “Mhm. Also uh… I accidentally ended up with a replacement this time around.”

“Oh? Who?”

“Um? …San?”

Yeosang dropped the package of instant ramen he was holding onto the counter. “I’m sorry?”

You nodded. “Minsoo volunteered him.”

He blinked. 

“What?”

“That’s uh… quite the thing to have happened.”

“Amazing sentence structure.” You laughed.

“I’d give myself a B. But: she really volunteered him?”

“Yeah. I was just like ‘my streaming buddy is actually an idol and he’s going to be away doing a comeback for a bit,’ and first she was like ‘Oh my god, an idol?’ and then she was like, ‘What about San?’ and he happened to walk out of the kitchen at that moment and he… somehow said yes.”

“Does he know how to stream?”

“No. But it’s not like it’s too hard. I’ll get him set up and he’ll have us to talk to, so like… he’ll definitely have it easier than when I started out.”

“What happened when you started out?”

“I streamed to no one for a few weeks… probably because it was awkward as hell to have no one to talk to and also I was a goofy teenager. But then I told Keeho about it and he joined and we started getting fans around the same time.”

“Actually, I’ve been wondering: doesn’t Keeho get in trouble for streaming?”

“Like how?”

“Doesn’t it ruin his ‘idol image?’”

You shook your head. “So, his family moved back from Canada when he was in middle school so he could train, then he started streaming and that company told him he had to stop, but Wonderland heard about him through the grapevines and saw his subscriber count and headhunted him, they told him he didn’t have to stop streaming if he joined them, and he’s been there ever since.”

“Wow, really?”

“Yeah. Except for one time when another company tried to steal him away right before JUPiTER debuted.”

“Really? What stopped him from leaving?”

“The CEO talked to him.”

“About what?”

“The other company offered more money but Wonderland has a really humane contract. He made Keeho’s parents come in and review both contracts with a lawyer they chose.”

“Wow… that has to be unheard of.”

“Yeah. They basically had a meeting about the other company’s contract and the lawyer pointed out all the sneaky shit the other company had put in it. Like… if he was ever fired from the company or left, they would get his channel and all the rights to the VODs.”

“That’s really sneaky.”

“Mhm. They basically saved him.”

“Wonderland really give a shit about their talent.” Yeosang nodded and leaned on the counter on his elbows. “And um… what about the ‘Liking San’ thing? Because technically you won’t just be ‘coworkers who are kind of friends’ anymore, you’ll be ‘actual friends who see each other outside of work.’”

You stared at him, trying to intimidate him with your gaze. 

“You keep that up and you’re going to get wrinkles.”

You sighed and looked away. “I don’t know… he’ll still be my coworker so it’s not like I can suddenly ask him out or something. And, also, I can’t now that he’ll be streaming with me because it could be even more awkward if he says no. Or if we date and it sucks.”

“I mean… I guess.” Yeosang took out a pot and filled it with water. “You have a lot of fear.”

You blinked, thinking that maybe you knew what he meant but not really wanting to investigate the meaning or what your response to it would be. Yeosang stopped the water at the appropriate height and looked up at you, directly into your eyes. 

“...Okay, I don’t feel like thinking about this anymore. I’m going to go put my groceries away and probably also make ramen for dinner.”

“Later.” Yeosang put the pot on the stove and turned the heat on.

“Later.” You beelined out the door, closing it behind you.

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rachs-words •

[bvrningseas]

the last witness before the wave hits marvelling at god, before he feels alone one final time and marries the sea— imagine being loved by me.

full name: theodore griswold

nicknames: teddy, teds, tj, teej, grizz, theodore junior (if you want to be mean)

faceclaim: oliver stark

birthdate: july 22nd

species: siren

gender: cis man

pronouns: he/him

occupation: firefighter at the crestle cove fire department (volunteer lifeguard & swimming coach)

hometown: crestle cove

sexual orientation: bisexual disaster

relationship status: single

height: 6'4"

TRAITS: EASY-GOING, CHARMING, VAIN, LOYAL, GOOFY, BRAVE, SELF CONSCIOUS, GROUNDED, DISORGANISED, JEALOUS, BLUNT, OBLIVIOUS, GUARDED, ADVENTUROUS, SELF-SUFFICIENT, CLINGY, RECKLESS, AIMLESS, FACETIOUS, FAIR, HONEST, OVERPROTECTIVE, ARROGANT, WOOLLY, SELF-SABOTAGING. 

crestle cove born and raised, teddy is the third eldest of many kids. full of sunshine from the moment he appeared and at his most happy when surrounded by other people. 

when he turned ten his then eighteen year old brother, luke, died in a quad biking accident while on vacation with his friend from high school. his eldest brother went off the rails, leaving the house and town soon after. [wanted connect tba]

once luke died the family slowly started to fall apart at the seams. his ma went to bed one day and didn’t get up again for the next eight years, like a zombie when she could peel open her eyes.

teddy shouldered the burden. he showered his younger siblings every morning, made them breakfast, got them to doctors appointments and ran the house though they hated him for acting like a parent when he wasn’t. though he always showed up for the younger twins [wanted connect tba], he wouldn’t do the same for himself and nearly got kicked out of high school a few times for his acting out and ditching. 

didn't work out he had dyslexia until his final year of high school. works fucking hard.

when teddy turned nineteen, their ma lost her battle with addiction and teddy started working full time to cover everything.

as far as he knows he's human and fully blood related to his siblings: so what if he could taste the discord brimming in a roomful of kids, how they felt steaming off them in waves before they ever opened their mouths? so what if he gets 200 miles inland from the coast he starts to feel queasy, like something is hooked deep in his gut there? he likes it in town, thank you. so what if people are drawn into him as if by magnets but don't stick around long? he'll deal. he has no idea he is a siren. that information died with his parents.

theo is used to being completely reliant on himself and appreciates but isn’t the best at accepting help. has come to terms with the fact that passing on his scholarship at eighteen was one of the worst things he ever did and that he’ll probably never make it out of crestle cove. 

tj hates being alone more than anything and doesn’t really know who he is when he’s by himself. teddy tends to just mirror what he thinks people want from him and is easily taken advantage of because he’s always giving and giving. 

genuinely good at what he does, has an excellent bedside manner. (offers under the table triage/medical care to those without insurance/in dangerous situations)

takes too many shifts because he can’t stand the sound of an empty house, can’t stand having no one left to take care of, even though getting the others to college was all he ever wanted. 

talented swimmer who could have turned pro a long time ago, misses it every single day of his life and spends a lot of time lifeguarding or teaching at the local pool.

plays the bass and used to have a band in high school that inevitably wound up going nowhere. 

seeming happy-go-lucky to those around him and able to “i’m fine.” his way out of answering questions or by deflecting back to the other person, teddy is viewed generally as a good time and pretty untroubled to the reams of acquaintances that would slap him on the shoulder after a game in high school. 

has a rescue dog, a bull terrier mutt with three legs named spud who he loves more than anything. always wears a daisy yellow neckerchief. 

CONNECTION IDEAS

TBA

[gamesception]

lets read rgu chapter 10

So we ended off chapter 10 at the party from anime episode 3, only instead of Nanami’s disintegrating dress gag, Sionji shows up to try to kidnap Anthy and or murder Utena outright, something he didn’t get around to until like episode 9 in the anime.  I’m not even sure how this is going to end...

But I probably should have guessed it would end the same as Sionji’s episode 9 outburst, with Touga jumping in to protect Utena & getting hurt.

So we really are just doing the episode 9 thing, only without the weirdness of the whole dueling ritual falling apart and/or skipping to the end/the castle collapsing/Anthy returning to her coffin when Saionji forces events out of order.

In the anime that whole situation was explicitly set up by Touga to manipulate Utena’s feelings.  Here at least for the moment it seems like Saionji was acting on his own and Touga’s self sacrificial heroics were at least partially sincere.

I know Saito wasn’t working with a full summary or script, so this might be accidental rather than a deliberate move, but if it was intentional it strikes me as a good call, plot wise.  For one, it’s more believable for Touga’s eventual win if he has more time between his injury and the duel, for another the manga wants to put deliberately more emphasis on Utena’s relationship with Touga, and moving this moment much earlier in the plot helps enable that, giving Utena a reason to look past his playboy reputation and red flag behavior to this point.  This also effectively combines Saionji’s second duel and later rampage, saving some time.

At the emergency clinic Utena, Anthy, and the student council gather to wait on news of Touga’s condition, and, us, what are you doing Juri?

Um, I’m not sure what’s going on here?  Is Juri trying to warn Utena not to fall for Touga’s act?  Or... please don’t tell me she’s jealous?  If manga Juri strays so far from her anime characterization that she has a thing for Touga, I’ll be sorely disappointed.

Juri’s introduction is pretty hostile.  Miki by comparison seems much nicer, and sticks with the anime’s conviction that dueling over Anthy is wrong, a conviction I’m sure will prove every bit as fragile as in the anime.

Wakaba also shows up, which is nice, but we really only get her being possessive over Utena.  That was part of her anime characterization, but we’re still missing the more fun & funny aspects of her character.

The student council talks to Touga, & it’s not terribly clear if his actions towards Utena were sincere or not.  Apparently they discuss what to do with Saionji off panel, because the next scene is Juri and Miki confronting Saionji:

2 week suspension?  He attempted to murder another student in public with dozens of witnesses and severely harmed the student council president in the process.  In the anime he was expelled, and there were no independent witnesses there?

Anyway, Saionji argues he shoudln’t be punished for hurting Touga because Touga had interrupted a proper duel, but nobody buys it - Touga had to step in as student council president since it wasn’t a duel, just one student attacking the other.  Saionji counters that Touga only stepped in because he’s smitten with Utena, which Juri objects to, and...

“compared to you who loves Touga”?  Please, please don’t be going there.  Please let this either be a mistranslation, or Saionji being an idiot who doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

I don’t have much to say about the rest of the chapter.  Utena brings flowers to the clinic for Touga and Juri mocks her for it.  Juri and Miki talk about Utena while fencing.  While playing baseball utena knocks a foul ball into the fencing room and Juri catches it on the point of her sword...

That’s kind of cool at least.

The chapter ends with Utena and Juri staring each other down, but I’m still just distracted with dread over the direction the manga seems to be taking one of my favorite characters.

[driflew]

i got an ask on main about my witness, and looking over what i had of the sequel pieces... neither of them are done, but what i had written for both could probably stand on their own, so i'm just gonna post them here! first, here's the Tim piece

When the tape clicks off, it isn’t Jon that lingers in Tim’s head. It isn’t the fact that Jon apparently came back from the dead, just like Sasha. It isn’t that the three of them had all completely forgotten him despite the fact he’d been returned to them, even when looking him right in the eyes. It isn’t that Jon might very well be here, in the Institute, just a few flights up stairs up from where the three of them sit around Sasha’s desk. 

No, what echoes in Tim’s head long after the tape on the table stops spinning is his own voice, snapping “get out” over and over.

And sure, maybe he’d been right to panic seeing some stranger sitting at Sasha’s side. Maybe he’d been justified in going on the defensive, chasing the man out. Maybe it had been smart to assume the worst before it could happen. If it had been just about anyone else there, he’d probably have saved Sasha’s life—she’s certainly got the scars to prove it.

It hadn’t been anyone else, though. 

Tim wonders if he’d noticed the resignation in Jon’s voice when he’d had Jon in front of him. Had Jon looked as exhausted as he sounded on the tape? Tim doesn’t remember, but the defeat in Jon’s voice will—

But the defeat in Jon’s voice will stick with him. He remembers the defeat in Jon’s voice on the tape. He remembers Jon’s voice. 

[“The tapes,” Sasha had explained, back in February, when Melanie had come through and exposed the fake to her. She’d set down the tapes she’d dug out of the imposter’s desk, “are immune to the effects of the notThem. It’ll change our memories, and it’ll change digital pictures and videos, but anything analog stays the same. These are all we have left of the real Jon.”

Tim had already lost his brother to some skin-stealing imposter. He’d already watched some grinning thief rip the skin off Danny’s face. He wasn’t ready to listen to the tape, especially when Sasha told them what it was. 

“This one’s his meeting with the Distortion—with Michael. Jon’s whole statement’s here.”

“And this one?” Martin had asked. The look on Sasha’s face had told Tim everything he needed to know, even before she told him it was the tape Jon had carried when he’d found the table—he didn’t need to hear another person he cared for die. He wondered if Jon would understand.]

Jon’s voice is deep, far deeper than the fake’s had been, smooth and quiet and— 

And Tim is standing, up and out the door of Sasha’s office before he even realizes his feet are moving. Because if he can remember Jon’s voice—if he can remember Jon—if Jon is alive and just a few floors away, if Tim can actually do something to pull someone he cares about back from the Circus that took Danny and nearly took Sasha without him being able to do anything—

Tim hasn’t shown his face in Research in months, and he’s sure he looks somewhat unhinged, barreling in now. Most of the rest of the Institute thinks, perhaps rightfully, that the Archives staff is made up of unstable maniacs, and thus avoids anything or anyone Archives-related like the plague. Tim can’t say he blames them, but it does mean that there’s quite a few unfamiliar faces when he casts his gaze about the desks. Most of them are new hires, probably, but Tim’s looking for one very specific transfer. 

He doesn’t know what Jon looks like—any time he looks away from Jon he forgets. So he holds onto that. Tim looks over each stranger, then closes his eyes and sees what he can remember. 

The man standing by the door—Tim closes his eyes and recalls that the man’s hair is blond and he’s about Melanie’s height. No. There’s two men sitting by the window—eye’s closed, Tim knows one’s got a scar on his chin, the other’s giving Tim a weird look. Not either of them, either. There’s a guy at a desk in the middle of the room. Tim closes his eyes, and everything about him vanishes immediately. 

When Tim opens his eyes again, he sees a man with long, black hair, streaked with grey. He’s scrawny, covered in scars, and very resolutely looking down at his desk, though Tim doesn’t actually see any work on it.

Tim drags a chair over from the desk directly next to his sitting down. The man doesn’t really acknowledge Tim other than to glance at Tim over the rim of his glasses. 

He has no recollection of what Jon looks like. He’d asked Melanie, once, to tell him about the two Jons, but she’d ended up too flustered about how strange the whole thing had been to actually tell him anything. So Tim won’t know if the man in front of him is Jon unless he hears the man speak. 

Maybe-Jon is, however, completely content to pretend Tim isn’t there, and somewhere between being attacked by a worm woman and stopping the apocalypse, Tim seems to have forgotten how to socialize.

“So, uh,” Tim starts. The man raises his eyebrows a little, but doesn’t respond. “You’ve worked here for a while, right?” 

Something in the man’s expression crumples, and Tim winces with the realization that maybe new hire small-talk wasn’t his best choice. 

(But Jon isn’t brave.

He’s barely existed for months. He lost his friends and all legal proof of his life to a monster which stole his face and changed it. He looked his friends in the eyes and realized they didn’t know him at all, and there would be nothing he could do to convince them otherwise.)

“Yes,” is all he says, and it’s not enough for Tim to figure out if it’s Jon’s voice. Half an hour’s worth of recording isn’t a lot to go on, but it’s impossible if he can’t get Maybe-Jon talking. 

(He tried to help them anyway, even though there was absolutely nothing he could do for any of them, and got thrown right out by someone he once cared about but no longer has any faith in, someone who had been his first friend here, someone who doesn't know him at all, who already buried him but who can't even cherish his memory.)

“Have you always worked in research?” Tim asks. 

“No.” He doesn’t elaborate. 

(Then new people start forgetting him. Then Alina stops recognizing him even though they’ve sat next to each other every day for weeks, even though they only met after he came back.)

“Where did you used to work before? Library? Artifact Storage?” Tim asks, and he decides that actually, he doesn’t really care about subtlety at all, “Archives?”

That gets a reaction out of the other man immediately—he looks like he’s been slapped. 

(The Fears weren’t done with him, not when they could still feed on the terror he felt every time he looked in the mirror and wondered if his reflection would change again. He’s so very scared, all the time, of being forgotten again, and how could the Fears let him get away?

Avatarization is so often an accident, and when someone is so deeply marked, so totally without any idea what is happening to him, and so completely without a helping hand to keep him anchored… 

Jon never stood a chance.)

Tim would feel more guilty about that if his reaction weren’t incredibly convincing confirmation. After all, the Archives have only had seven employees in the last three years, and everyone who isn’t down there currently is either dead or Jon.

(And then Tim strikes up fucking small talk in the middle of the work day, like he used to with every stranger there? That is its own circle of hell, because Jon doesn’t want to brush him off, because when will someone come talk to Jon again? It’s achingly familiar but only to Jon, and Tim won’t even remember it when he walks away but Jon is probably going to think about this one conversation forever. Does Jon leave? Tim smiles at him and it’s friendly and this is unbearable and he wants to, but if he does, when will he get a chance like this again?)

Tim is almost sure he’s got the right man. He sits up a little straighter, trying to figure out how he should explain. He isn’t sure if he should be smiling or not, but it might be on his face anyway. The other man sees his expression and pales. 

(But Jon is not brave and he has never been brave and the best and only defense he has ever had to deal with strangers—because that's what he is, now, isn't he?—is to just put up a wall and get away, so he tries, and it sucks even more because this isn't even the first time Jon has done this to Tim but it's not like Tim knows, because Tim doesn’t, can’t know it’s him, and it's not like Tim is going to remember to try again, or care to, so this is all moot and pointless because it might as well be over immediately before it starts, and Jon needs to leave if he doesn’t want to be forgotten again, because he cannot handle being forgotten again, not by Tim or anyone else.)

“Look, I think I left my, uh—” he fumbles for an excuse, and coming up blank, he simply stands. He collects his bag up off his desk, and he looks anywhere but Tim. “I’ll— I’m busy. There’s— you know. I’ll see you around.” 

“Wait—” Tim tries, but he’s taking a full step away from the desk, and Tim doesn’t know what will happen if he walks away, but Tim refuses to forget again. Tim doesn’t have enough clear memory of what Jon’s true manner was like, or what his voice sounded like, even though they’d known each other for years. But Tim wants to remember, and though Tim wouldn’t recognize him anywhere, he thinks he recognizes this now—Tim wants to recognize this—and hopes that’s enough. 

“Jon!” 

And Jon—because that’s who it is, Tim is sure, even baselessly—freezes in the middle of his attempted escape, his head snapping back to Tim so quickly Tim thinks he’s going to break his neck. The look on his face is far too hesitant to be called hope, but it’s close, and Tim wonders the last time someone else called Jon by name.

“What?” Jon asks. 

“Jon,” Tim says, with a bit more conviction this time. Jon’s stance relaxes, just a fraction, and a knot in Tim’s chest loosens by the same measure. “I thought that was you.”

[gotatext]

JUDE & ANGEL — NIGHT THIRTY.

location :  hallway.

time :    evening, after dante takes romi to the hideaway, before jenny finds jude and straight up mounts him.

description :  a stub of a thread (bcos we ran out of time and i was working lots) where angel checks if jude is ok this thread is so so short does not need to be here but i love them so im posting it okay shut up !!!

featuring :    angel /  @dobits​

angel reid.

“hey, i was just coming to find you,” angel smacks a hand to jude’s shoulder, shakes him amiably. there’s definitely some sympathy in the gesture. he hadn’t seen the guy since dante and romi disappeared into the hideaway. “how ya doin’, bud? you wanna go make noises outside their door? we can tape up some saran wrap so they smack into it tomorrow morning.” 

𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘀𝗲𝘆.

honestly, if he didn’t have angel in here, he’d probably have walked. which feels fucking ridiculous, because he’s been here three days, he wants to see how things go with jenny, and if he’s lucky enough to stick it out in the main villa, there’ll probably be loads of other fit birds coming back anyway. but there’s a vulnerability that comes with having your ass handed to you on tv. he feels like a mug, and the worst part is, it’s his own fucking fault. angel grips his shoulder, and barely a beat passes before he’s wrapping his arms around the other in a bone-crushing hug. “yeah… honestly, not too golden, i won’t lie to you, brother.” angel’s dim-witted plan earns him a snort at least, though the laughter doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “nah, honestly. i don’t want to be anywhere near that place. fuck them, honestly. i feel sorry for jenny, dude. like she literally fucked the guy last night and now he’s in the hideaway with someone else? that guy is a dick, i’m serious.” a dumb dick, maybe. but still a dick. 

angel reid

oof punctuates jude’s brute strength, but angel squeezes right back all the same. “yeah, i know.” quiet, empathetic. when he pulls back there’s a cringe on his face, partly because he impulsively shys away from talking about dante like that - they are friends after all - but also because, well, jude kinda has a point. “that is kinda fucked,” he estimates, head craning. “have you talked to her? ‘cause,” he inhales through a growing smirk, teeth sinking into his lower lip with the giddy promise of gossip, “when me and her chatted last night, it was, like, all about you, man. didn’t even mention dante, for real. and if romi’s moving on anyway…” smirk melts to a sympathetic shrug, then he huffs. “fuckin’ dante. should totally be me in there.”

[waitimcomingtoo]

The Morning After

Pairing: Tom Holland x reader

Synopsis: no one knows you’re dating until the boys walk in on you and Tom after your first time

Requested by @iwantacertainlondonboy

Masterlist

“I’m starving.” Harry whined. “Why didn’t anyone make anything?”

“Because you divs used all the dishes and didn’t clean them.” Harrison shot back as his tummy growled.

“Well who was supposed to go grocery shopping?” Sam snapped. “You. Now, all we have is hummus and barbecue sauce.”

“The barbecue is starting to look real good.” Tuwaine mumbled.

“Let’s get Tom and Y/n and go get brunch or something.” Harrison suggested.

“They’re sleeping.” Harry whined again. “Why don’t we just go without them?”

“Because if we go without them, Tom won’t pick up the tab.” Harrison said as he tapped the side of his head.

“Smart thinking.” Sam agreed. “I’ll get Y/n.”

Sam got off the couch and made his way to your bedroom. He took a deep breath before knocking on your slightly open door.

“Y/n?” He asked softly as he pushed the door open. He tip toed into your room and gently shook the pile of blankets on your bed.

“We were all going to get some breakfast.” Ge continued in a soft tone. “Do you want to come?”

When you didn’t answer, he frowned and shook the blankets again.

“Y/n?” He asked. “Are you awake?”

Sam furrowed his eyebrows and pulled your blankets down. He saw that you weren’t in the bed and retreated back to the living room.

“She’s not in her bed guys.” Sam announced when he got back to the boys. “Did she get up already?”

“I haven’t seen her.” Tuwaine shrugged.

“Did you check on Tom?” Harrison asked.

“I was just about to.” Sam answered.

“Should we all run in there and scream?” Harry said while rubbing his hands together.

“Why would we do that?” Harrison asked.

“To piss him off.” Harry said like it was obvious.

“Yeah.” Harrison nodded in agreement. “Okay.”

The rest of the boys got up but Tuwaine stopped them before they could go through with the plan.

“We can’t do that.” Tuwaine shook his head.

“Why not?” Harry asked.

“We need him to pay.” Tuwaine reminded them.

“He’s right.” Harrison said. “I’ll go in there and wake him up.”

Harrison went ahead of the group and went into Tom’s room. When he opened the door, he saw you asleep in Tom’s bed. Even with Tom’s arms wrapped around you, it was apparent that neither of you were wearing clothes. Harrison caught sight of the splatter of hickeys covering your neck and his eyes widened. He quietly backed out of the room and went back to the boys.

“Is he awake?” Harry asked him.

“Um, see for yourself.” Harrison gestured to the door. Harry gave him a strange look before going into Tom’s room. He saw exactly what Harrison saw, also catching sight of your discarded clothes on the floor. He quickly shut the door and ran back to Harrison.

“Dude.” He said as he pointed to Tom’s room.

“I know.” Harrison nodded. Harry thought about what might have happened between the two of you and his eyes bulged.

“Dude!” He whispered harshly.

“I know!” Harrison matched his tone. “What’s going on in there?”

“What are you guys talking about?” Tuwaine asked them. They both silently pointed to Tom’s door in response. Tuwaine went into the room and came back shortly with a shocked expression.

“Dudes.” He said softly.

“We know.” Harry and Harrison said in unison.

“What’s wrong?” Sam asked. “Is he awake?”

“Uh, I wouldn’t go in there.” Harry stopped Sam before he could go into Tom’s room.

“Is he sick?” Sam wondered.

“Let’s just say, uh, the British are coming.” Harry answered.

“What?”

“I think they already came.” Harrison mumbled under his breath.

“What? What are you talking about?” Sam looked between the boys in confusion. No one wanted to be the one to tell him, so they all stepped aside and gestured to Tom’s door. Sam gave them a look before opening Tom’s door. He immediately tripped on Tom’s boxers by the door. His eyes went up the trail of clothes leading up to the bed, where he saw you and his brother tangled together. Tom stirred a little in his sleep and kissed your shoulder, making you smile in your sleep. Sam felt all the color drain from his face and before he knew it, he was screaming.

“AHHH.” He screamed, instantly waking you and Tom up. You both shot up in bed and screamed back.

“AHHHH.” You and Tom screamed in surprise.

“AHHHHH.” Sam screamed back and smacked his hands over his eyes. The rest of the boys rushed into the room when he heard the commotion.

“Whats all the screaming about?” Harry asked before his eyes fell on you.

“Woah, tiddies.” He chuckled as he pointed a finger at you. Tom quickly covered you with his hands and glared at Harry.

“Everyone out now!” Tom commanded. “We - we’re doing laundry!”

“I’m seeing an alarming lack of clothes for people doing laundry.” Harry snickered. Sam looked at him in horror for making light of the situation.

“Get out!” Tom said again. The boys scrambled to the door, knocking and tripping over each other as they went.

“Sorry!” Harry called as he shut the door behind him. You and Tom caught your breath once silence settled back into the room. You looked at each other in a panic as your heart rates returned to a steady rhythm.

“Do you think they saw us?” Tom asked you after a beat of silence. You looked at him for a long time as flashes of all the screaming played back in your mind.

“Yes, I think they saw us.” You replied.

“Oh no.” Tom groaned. “They’re gonna know.”

“Maybe not.” You shrugged helplessly. “Maybe they think we were just doing karate or something.”

“Darling, I don’t think they’re gonna think we were doing karate.” Tom chuckled as he brushed his thumb over your series of hickeys. You laughed as well as you took his hand off your shoulder and kissed the back of it.

Elsewhere, the boys were trying to process what they just witnessed in the living room.

“What just happened?” Harrison asked the group.

“They were just sleeping.” Sam said quickly. “They probably fell asleep watching a movie or something.”

“Naked though?” Tuwaine raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t think they were naked.” Sam’s eyes darted around as he lied.

“No. They were.” Harrison concurred. “I definitely saw some peen.”

“I saw boobs, so,” Harry shrugged. “I’m happy.”

“What do you think they were doing in there?” Tuwaine wondered.

“Definitely not laundry.” Harry muttered.

“Hm. Let’s think. What were two adults doing naked in a bed together?” Harrison asked sarcastically.

“Karate?” Sam suggested weakly. The rest of the boys looked at him, their silence deafening.

Back in Tom’s room, you tried to come up with a plan.

“What should we do?” You asked him. “Is it safe to go out there?”

“Let’s give them a minute to process it. I don’t want to get asked a million questions right now. I just want to stay here with you.” Tom said and he picked up your hand to hold it.

“I wanna stay here too.” You mumbled. With all the commotion of waking up, you had momentarily forgotten that you had sex for the first time last night. You leaned in to kiss him to thank him for a magical night. He immediately kissed you back, putting his hands on your face face to keep you close.

“I’m glad we did it. I’m less glad about being woken up by screams, but I’m glad it happened.” Tom chuckled as he stroked your cheek with his thumb.

“Me too.” You smiled softly. “I was really nervous, but now I’m just happy.”

“You were nervous?” Tom asked curiously.

“Yeah.” You said sheepishly. “I had no experience. I was scared I wouldn’t be any good.”

“Well, you were perfect.” He told you as he kissed your knuckles. “I’ve always thought you were perfect.”

You smiled and cupped his face to kiss him again. You kissed him multiple times before moving to press kissed all over his face.

“I’m so happy.” You beamed. “I’ve never been this happy.”

“Me either, darling.” He matched your grin. “I love you.”

You kissed him again and pulled him into a hug.

“I love you more.”

In the living room, the boys were standing around, impatiently waiting for you and Tom.

“Why haven’t they come out yet?” Sam whined as he paced around the room.

“Round two, perhaps?” Harry joked, giving Harrison a nudge.

“You seriously think they hooked up?” Harrison asked him. “That’s kinda bold for them.”

“Is it? You know how close they are.” Tuwaine shrugged. “Tom must have seduced her and lead her to his bed chambers.”

“Under our roof?” Sam gasped. “With us in the house? Those whores.”

“I mean, I personally saw this coming.” Harry raised his hand. “It was only a matter of time.”

Everyone else nodded, which caught Sam’s attention.

“You guys saw this coming?” He asked sadly.

“Yeah. It was pretty obvious they liked each other. And with all of us living together, some hanky panky is bound to happen.” Tuwaine explained. Sam stopped pacing and looked down at the ground.

“I just didn’t think she liked him back.” He mumbled.

“Maybe she doesn’t.” Harrison suggested. “Maybe she just wanted to get off and he was there.”

“I was there too.” Sam shrugged. “We all were.”

“Yeah, but, she picked him.” Harry stated. “Can’t blame her. I’d shag a superhero too if given the chance.”

“Have none of you ever heard the word “sex” before or…” Tuwaine said under his breath.

“Wait, shhh.” Harrison hushed the crowd “They’re coming.”

Tom sheepishly padded into the room, fully dressed now. His hair was sticking up in every single direction, worse then his usual bed head. His pajama shirt did little to hide the love bites on his jawline, and absolutely nothing could hide the grin on his face.

“Hello everyone.” He said, bowing a little to the crowd.

“Good morning.” Harrison smirked. “How’d you sleep?”

“Or did you not get much?” Harry quipped. Tom shot him another look and dropped his smile.

“I slept fine.” He rolled his eyes. “What did you guys see?”

“More of you than I ever wanted to.” Harry began. “But as much of her as I wanted.”

“Don’t be a div.” Tom smacked the back of his brothers head.

“You’re the div.” Harry insisted. “Who doesn’t lock the door?”

“It’s not our fault. We didn’t know it was gonna happen.” Tom replied.

“What did happen?” Sam asked wearily. Tom looked around at the group and saw everyone leaning in to find out more. He wanted to keep the sweetness of your relationship to himself for a little longer, but he knew was was caught.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but we had sex last night.” Tom said slowly. The group fell silent, then erupted into applause.

“All right.” Harrison cheered and shook Toms shoulders.

“It’s about time.” Harry clapped him on the back as well.

“Was it good?” Tuwaine inquired.

“Did she peg you?” Harry asked.

“Where is she now?” Sam spoke above the crowd.

“She’s bloody embarrassed after you all woke us up screaming.” Tom said with annoyance. “She didn’t want to come down.”

Everyone nodded, understanding where you were coming from.

Tom looked around the room before muttering, “Also, she can’t walk.”

Excited murders came from Harry, Harrison, and Tuwaine while Sam groaned.

“Oh my God.” Sam gagged. “I’m gonna be sick.”

Not wanting to hear anymore, he left the room and went to sulk in his own bedroom.

“Whats his problem?” Tom asked once his brother had left.

“Not sure.” Harry shrugged. “The rest of you are happy for you though. I don’t think any of us thought you had the balls to go for it.”

“Well I do.” Tom folded his arms. “Y/n can vouch for me.”

No one liked that joke as much as Tom did, and it showed in everyone’s faces. The room fell silent as Tom stood there, proud of what he had said.

“Don’t be gross, man.” Tuwaine mumbled.

Suddenly, you walked into the room wearing Toms shirt from the night before. You had sleep shorts sticking out under the shirt, barely hiding the hickies littered on your thighs. Tom caught sight of them and flushed, adverting his eyes to calm himself down.

“Good morning.” You said quietly. You stood next to Tom and wrapped your arm around his, feeling particularly clingy this morning.

“There she is.” Harrison clapped. “The girl of the hour.”

“How are you, beautiful?” Harry asked you. “Do you need anything? Water? Breakfast?”

“Plan B?” Harrison said in the same cheery tone.

“Shut up.” Tom snapped.

“Actually, I could use some water.” You laughed softly.

“I’ll get it!” Harry and Harrison said in unison as the ran to the kitchen. You could hear them fighting over a water bottle in the kitchen and looked to Tom for answers.

“Whats up with them?” You wondered.

“They saw your tits.” Tuwaine said timidly. “You could hit them with your car and they’d be okay with it.”

“Interesting.” You chuckled.

“Not interesting. Unacceptable.” Tom grumbled with jealously. “And I will definitely be hitting them with my car.”

“Don’t.” You rubbed his arm soothingly. “Let’s just have a nice day. No vehicular man slaughter.”

“Okay.” Tom smiled at you and kissed your forehead. At that moment, Harry and Harrison ran back into the room with water bottles in hand.

“Here you go.” Harry said as he presented you with a water bottle.

“Mines better.” Harrison smacked the bottle out of Harry’s hand and held his out. “It’s colder.”

You laughed and took Harrison’s water bottle with a grateful smile.

“Thank you.” You said before taking a long sip. You didn’t realize how dry your mouth was until you got some water.

“Do you need any?” You asked Tom, and he nodded.

“Yeah. Thanks, love.” He said before opening his mouth. You poured some water in, smiling as it ran down the love bites on his neck.

“Ew.” Harry scrunched up his nose when he saw this. You used the hem of your shirt to wipe Toms face free of water. He smiled gratefully before leaning down to kiss you.

“So, are you guys together or what?” Harry wondered. “Because if you just wanted to sleep with a Holland brother, might I suggest m-“

“Shut up.” Tom cut him off. “We’re together. We’ve been together for a few weeks now.”

“Really?” Tuwaine asked. “How come you didn’t tell us?”

“We were planning on telling you guys soon.” You said. “Just not like this.”

“None of us could have planned for this.” Tuwaine agreed.

“I’m happy for you guys though.” Harrison piped up. “I think you make a good couple.”

“Thank you.” Tom smiled proudly as he wrapped his arm around your shoulders.

“Just, you know, lock the door next time.” He continued.

“Trust me.” You sighed and patted Toms chest. “We will.”

You looked around suddenly and noticed one of your housemates was missing.

“Where’s Sam?” You wondered.

“Probably crying in the other room.” Harrison chuckled.

“Crying?” Tom furrowed his eyebrows. “Why?”

Harry and Harrison exchanged a look, neither wanted to be the one who broke the news.

“You should probably go talk to him.” Harry said. Tom looked at you curiously before nodding.

“I’ll be right back.” He told the group before leaving the room.

Tom found Sam in his bedroom, blankly staring at the wall. He shut the door behind him, making Sam jump a little.

“Mate, what’s going on with you? Is everything okay?” Tom asked. Sam looked at him for minute before looking down at his hands.

“I can’t believe you slept with Y/n.” He mumbled.

“Why?” Tom wondered. “You guys tease us all the time about how close we are. I thought you’d all see this coming.”

“I didn’t. I didn’t think you two would ever actually do something.” Sam sighed. “What even was last night? Was it a one night stand or…”

“Well, we’ve kinda been dating.” Tom said slowly. “Not for very long, though. We both agreed we wanted to be more than friends and I don’t know. Things just kinda happened from there.”

“Why didn’t you tell any of us?” Sam asked. “We live together, for Christ’s sake.”

“Because, I don’t know.” Tom shrugged. “I didn’t want anyone to know yet. It was just our little secret. Haven’t you ever had a secret?”

Sam opened his mouth and quickly shut it, feeling the irony of Tom’s question hit him. He didn’t want to lie to his brother, so he let out a sigh.

“I like her.” He said, barely audible but Tom heard.

“What?”

“That’s my secret. I like her.” Sam looked up. “I’ve liked her ever since we met. And now you…you ruined it.”

“What?” Tom repeated. “I didn’t ruin anything.”

“My older brother slept with the girl I liked.” Sam said fully. “That kinda ruins things for me, mate.”

“I slept with my girlfriend.” Tom corrected. “And it was a big deal for us, so don’t rain all over it.”

“It’s a big deal for me too.” Sam insisted. “I really liked her.”

Tom was about to raise his voice, but decided against it. He knew better than anyone that you could not help who you fell in love with. He knew that if he was in Sam’s shoes, he’d be just as upset.

“Look, I’m sorry your feelings are hurt.” Tom said as he sat down next to Sam. “I didn’t know you liked her. But you never said anything about it. How was I supposed to know?”

“Would it have changed anything if you did know?” Sam asked quietly. Tom though about it for a moment before he gave his reply.

“Honestly, no.” Tom answered. “I love her. Nothing would’ve changed my mind.”

Sam stayed silent, not happy with this answer.

“Would anything have changed your mind?” Tom asked. “Would you have stopped liking her if you knew I did as well?”

“No.” Sam realized. “I guess I wouldn’t.”

“So do you understand now?” Tom hoped. “I didn’t do this to hurt you. I love her. This was always about her.”

“I guess.” Sam huffed. “It still sucks for me, though.”

“Yeah.” Tom chuckled. “It does. But you still get to be her friend. And she still loves you. Just, you know, like a brother.”

“I wish it was different.” He mumbled. “I’ll get over it. But for now, I really wish it was different.”

Tom looked at his brother and sighed. He knew this wasn’t the kind of problem he could fix. Tom definitely wasn’t the person Sam wanted to be around right now. He patted his brothers shoulder and left the room, going to find you for help.

A few hours later, you spotted Sam sitting alone on the couch. He was staring at the wall, seemingly a little out of it.

“Hey, Sam.” You smiled at him as you took a seat next to him. He broke out of his trance to look at you, giving you a weak smile back.

“Hi.” Sam said timidly.

“What’s going on?” You asked as you pushed his shoulder playfully.

“Tom told you?” Sam knew right away.

“Yeah.” You gave him a sad smile. “He told me.”

Sam stayed quiet, feeling his cheeks flush with embarrassment. You noticed this and put a cold hand on his face.

“You know I love you, right?” You said softly. “So much, Sammy.”

Sam nodded and looked down at his clasped hands.

“But not like that?” He asked wearily. You folded your lips in and nodded a little.

“But not like that.” You repeated. He looked up, but not at you. You put your hands on top of his and gave them a gentle squeeze.

“I’m sorry.” You whispered.

“It’s not your fault.” He said. “We can’t help what we don’t feel.”

“I guess not.” You agreed. Sam nodded again, not trusting his voice enough to speak.

“For what it’s worth, you’ve always been my favorite brother.” You told him honestly. He finally looked at you and smiled a little.

“I won’t tell Harry.” He told you, assuming he meant favorite of the twins.

“Or Tom or Paddy.” You added. “It’ll be our little secret. Can you keep a secret?”

Your words caused Sam to think of all the times he wanted to tell you he liked you, but didn’t. He briefly wondered if things would be different had you known.

“Yeah.” He smiled sadly. “I can.”

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[clairecrive]

hi!!! can I ask for darkling smut after he and the reader get in an argument? like it starts out angry but by the end they're super passionate and cuddly? thank you and congrats on so many followers!!

A/n: you ask and you shall receive, hun! I love writing this so so much. I hope you'll like to read it too. Thanks for requesting and for your words xx This is also for this anon.

Warnings: angst, smut, fluff at the end

Word count: 2.9 K

Tags: @blackst0nes7077, @thefictionalgemini, @louweasleymalfoy @jupiterandbutterflies , @for-bebbanburg, @tarkanelima-blog, genre), @pansysgirlfriend, @acciorudolphx, @kaqua , @hannaxmaria, @vintagebitc, @deardiarystuff (if you want you can add yourself to my taglist by filling this form)

SHADOW AND BONE MASTERLIST

“You will not believe what-” y/n had the habit of not knocking before entering his room. The general had been more than annoyed with her initially, but she insisted that it was a way for him to distinguish her from everyone else.

Hear the door open? You don’t have to guess who it is, you’ll know it’s me, she used to tell him.

Now, however, she was wishing she didn’t have that habit in the first place. Stumbling into a room, your partner’s room, to find him standing way too close to another girl, wasn’t on her list for tonight. Maybe a warning would have been nice but at the same time, if she had knocked she wouldn’t have found them this way.

Her initial enthusiasm at the prospect of sharing this gossip with him had suddenly vanished. The smile on her face turned into a frown as Alina cleared her voice and took a step away from the general for decency’s sakes. Too late, y/n wanted to tell her.

It was painfully clear what she had interrupted. She willed her face to set into an emotionless expression but she couldn’t help a glance in Aleksander direction. Arms behind him, he looked nothing but proper and collected. But y/n knew him, probably better than anyone else in this world, and had learnt how to read his body. His jaw was clenched which meant that he wasn’t as calm as he wanted to appear.

Good, y/n thought, let him drown in guilt and misery.

Clearing her voice, she realized she had been standing there without saying anything for too long.

“I’m so sorry, General, I didn’t know you were busy. I should have knocked,” she excused herself without looking at them. “I’ll leave you to it.” With a slight nod, she added before hightailing out of the room.

She could feel Alina’s questioning gaze on her back as she closed the door behind her. There were already rumours going around about her supposed relationship with the General. No one knew for certain, neither y/n nor Kirigan had ever bothered confirming or denying them. Now though, she knew that words of this little encounter would spread, further cementing the already existing gossip.

Oh well, she thought as she walked to her room, by the looks of it there wasn’t going to be a relationship to gossip about anymore.

Her bedroom had lost every sense of familiarity and comfort a private space like this should have. She hardly ever slept in it anymore. Not since she and the general had become a thing. She only went there to change and so slipping into the bed felt weird and anonymous. As if she was in someone else’s bed and not hers.

Her sleep was doomed to be restless, she knew. However, tomorrow’s busy schedule prompted her to at least try and get some sleep. Even if it only was a couple of hours. Shuffling to change position she tried to keep Aleksander out of her mind.

An unachievable task, she was aware but she tried nonetheless. Things between them had been tense ever since he had come back to the Little Palace with her. y/n knew of his plans. She knew why he needed to do certain things and how Alina was involved. That didn’t mean she was fine with it though.

Not only did it bother her the fact that he was stripping the girl of her will and powers eventually but it also bothered her that he had chosen to get to her by manipulating her feelings. They had had countless fights because of this but nothing ever came out of it. A centuries-long existence meant that he was stubborn beyond belief and there was no way of making him change his mind once it was set on something.

After what she had witnessed today though, y/n wondered if the jokes were on him and he did end up feeling something genuine for Alina. Y/n herself had met her and spoke with her a couple of times and she had to admit begrudgingly that she wasn’t that bad.

Lost in her thoughts, y/n was snapped out of it by a loud knock at her door. As soon as she started to wonder who could be bothering her at this hour, the door opened and she stopped guessing.

Of course, it was him.

“I’m in no mood to talk to you, Aleksander. Please go.” She spoke, not bothering to turn towards where she knew he was standing. Y/n knew that while she couldn’t see him in the dark this wasn’t true for him. Shadows didn’t hinder his view like they did everyone else, they were an extension of him.

He didn’t speak but she also didn’t hear him walking away. She let out a sigh and that was the only way she was willing to acknowledge him. He wanted to stand in the shadow and stare like a creep? Fine, two could play this game.

Set on ignoring him, she stubbornly stared ahead of her. She was very aware of his eyes on her, stinging like needles. If sleep was arduous to achieve before now it was impossible. In any case, she closed her eyes and pretended to be at least. He wouldn’t know the difference and would leave her alone at some point.

But of course, she knew him well enough by now and he wasn’t as easily deterred. She didn’t know how much time passed but her eyes flew open as she felt her bed dip. Her breath hitched and she laid on full alert.

Then she felt the shadow of his touch on her neck and knew that he was close. Way too close that he should be. He was probably propped on his arm as she felt her pillow dip too.

“We don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.” He whispered close to her ears, his lips suggestively tracing her earlobe.

Despite the chills that his touch would usually send to her body, y/n stifled a treacherous gasp. Instead, her body stiffened and she almost pushed him away but she wasn’t sure that touching him wouldn’t backfire.

“If you think I’d let you lay a finger on me after you touched her, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“Who says I did?”

“Please, stick to manipulating one girl, okay? Move. away.”

He didn’t reply but the hand that was on her neck moved to her shoulder and pushed back so that she was laying on her back and facing him. Well, the darkness was too thick for her to actually see his face but she could feel his breath.

“Do not push me away.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.” Y/n bite back.

“You’re well aware of my plans, don’t act so betrayed now.”

“Well, maybe I’m tired of being a pawn in your schemes.”

“A pawn isn’t aware of its role nor of the whole plan.”

“Being smart with me won’t help, Aleksander. You want Alina? Fine, go get her. But leave me out of this.” Pulling her face free of his grip, she turned on her side. The shadows around him had dissipated a bit, allowing you to glimpse at his face.

“You cannot do this, y/n.” he growled, pushing her on her back again, “you said you were in this. You said you wanted me, that you were going to be by my side always. You can’t just change your mind. You can’t.” His voice was strangled with emotion almost breaking on some words.

Y/n had never heard his voice so filled with sorrow. Because that’s what he must be feeling. She thought that he was also feeling betrayed by her but then she realized-- no, he was afraid. Afraid of losing her.

He knew what he did and he also was aware that y/n was not one to mess with. She was just as stubborn as he was and just as prideful. What she had seen had hurt her and it was only what she felt for him that prevented him from being mindlessly dismissed and removed from her life. She had not resisted him more forcefully because she cared, because the wound was still french and that meant that there was still a tiny hope left.

“That was before you fell for another woman. I can’t stand by and watch you be with her. You can’t ask that of me.” She whispered, meeting his eyes. No matter how much she loved him, that was simply something she was not willing to put herself through.

“That’s not what I’m asking. That’s not what's happening.” He pledged. Y/n didn’t know if it was a trick of the moonlight seeping in from her window but she saw his eyes well with unshed tears.

“Isn’t it?”

“It isn’t.” He insisted, his hand on your jaw holding it closer. “Alina is a pawn, Alina doesn’t know what is going to happen, she doesn’t know me.” Heaving a sigh, Aleksander held her face, his thumb caressing her cheek.

“There is no one on this earth that has ever seen me more clearly than you do, solnishko. I know what you saw, I know what it looked like because that was intentional. But I trust you to know the difference between what it’s really happening and what it looks like because they’re not the same.” His eyes were alive with an intensity y/n had only seen a few times before. He was ancient and he was skilled at manipulation amongst other things. She always tried to keep that in mind but now, looking at him, she couldn’t help but feel like he was being genuine.

Why would he want me near? There wasn’t an ulterior motive for wanting her by her side. Yes, she was the only one who knew about his plans but that wasn’t it. If it was, he would have simply killed her. Took less time than this. Also, y/n knew that the power was in her hands. If she said no, that she couldn’t do this anymore, she was sure that Aleksander would let her go.

“But the way you were looking at her, Aleks, I just-” a lump formed in her throat as she recalled the look on his face, “you’re spending more and more time with her and I can’t help but fear that- I mean she’s literally the embodiment of sunshine.”

“You’ve never seen the way I look at you, then.” Thumb trailing over her lower lip now, he gave her a weak smile. “I swear that there’s no one dearer to me than you.”

“I’m not sure I can’t stand the idea of you kissing and touching her, Aleksander, I’m sorry.” Y/n insisted as well because she knew him and she knew that the way she worded things was crucial.

“That won’t happen then.” He assured but she was still not fully convinced.

“I promise it won’t come to that.” So Aleks rephrased. It was better but still not good enough. But they could work on that surely.

“It seems to me though, that I have not done a good job at showing you what you meant to me. I need to reinforce it, don’t you think?” He proposed, using the hand on her face to pull her closer to him.

“I agree.” y/n mumbled on his lips before they smashed together. She didn’t wait for him to initiate the kiss. She thought she had lost him tonight and had already been trying to plan her life without him. She wasn’t willing to waste any more time. She was going to show everyone that he was hers and only hers so as not to leave any more doubts around them. Fuck gossip.

Propping herself on her elbow she used it as leverage to reach up to meet him. The hand he had on her face moved backwards to hold her head while her hand did the same in his hair. Both of them pulled the other impossible close, not willing to leave the smallest of spaces between them.

Sitting up, y/n used her other hand to first the lapel of his kefta. She quickly unfasted the buttons to get rid of it before she pushed him on his back.

“She thinks she has a chance, uh.” She taunted as she straddled his waist, roughly gathering her sleeping gown around her waist while his hands instantly shot up to rest on her hips.

“She thinks she’ll be as lucky as seeing you like this?” she continued, her hands caressing his naked chest, “that she’ll have the chance of touching you? kissing you?” she leaned down, one hand at the nape of his head to make him meet her halfway. It wasn’t a long kiss, she needed to make a point after all. Pulling away, she bit his lower lip earning a moan from him.

“To feel you like this?” she whispered in his mouth as her hips wiggled over his clothed member. His hands tightened his hold on her hips, pushing her down on it increasing the pressure.

“She’s delusional,” Aleks gasped as her mouth trailed kisses along his jaw and neck where it nipped and sucked.

“Mh,” y/n agreed, “let’s make sure she knows.” She promised before her mouth went back to sucking a few hickeys on his neck. Aleks only moaned and gave her more space to work on. His hands trailed up from her waist, cupping her breasts before playing with her nipples.

As her mouth lowered on his collarbone, Aleks decided that enough was enough. His hands roughly gripped the end of her gown before hastily pulling it up and off her body. One arm snaked over her waist pulling her flush against him as he sat up.

“Enough teasing,” he warned as the hand that wasn’t on her quickly discarded his undergarments.

“As you wish, moy sovregni,” she whispered sultrily on his lips knowing fully what effect those words had on him. Aleksander growled on her mouth, his hands kneading her ass cheeks as he gently lowered her on him.

Gasping as she felt every inch of him enter her, y/n gripped his shoulders as she started to move. Aleks’ hands guided her as she set a steady pace.

“She’s never going to feel your hands on her body,” she breathed as Aleks’ hips snapped up, setting a rougher pace.

“You’re mine.” She growled possessively on his lips as her hips met his.

“I’m yours, y/n. Just as you’re mine.” His tone matched hers. He sealed his promise with a bruising kiss. The trusting was becoming more and more frantic and Aleks’ could feel y/n clench around him.

With no previous warning, he lowered his hands from her ass to her thighs so that he could hold her while he changed their position. Guiding her legs to wrap around his waist, Aleksander leaned on his knees while he pushed her upper body down with his chest. Y/n gasped on his lips not knowing if it was for the movement, for the change of position that meant that he was now able to reach deeper than before or because she could feel her orgasm approaching.

Whatever the reason may be, Aleks swallowed her gasp as his lips refused to leave hers. Snapping his hips, he moved his hands from her legs. One went to stimulate her clit while the other choked her lightly. He knew that this combo would prove to send her over the edge. Not long after, as a matter of fact, he felt y/n’s nails on his shoulders as well as her walls tightening around him. He was not behind.

While y/n whimpered his name over and over as her orgasm hit her, Aleksander’s thrusts began to falter. With one deep thrust, he emptied inside her, obscene sounds leaving his mouth.

He leaned over y/n’s body, both of their breaths heavy, they basked in the afterglow. Aleks’ head rested over her chest, comforted by her steady heartbeat while y/n’s hands trailed over his back.

Once their breath had levelled and they could regain control over their limbs, Aleks propped himself over his elbow, his nose nuzzling y/n’s making her giggle at the soft touch. She loved these rare moments of softness and intimacy between them. If she could, she’d never let them end.

“I promise you’ll never have to doubt me again.”

“If you keep this up, it’d be impossible for me to.” She chuckled, referring to her limp body. She couldn’t trust her body to move. Sex with Aleksander always had this effect on her.

“Good to know I can still satisfy you.” He smirked as he leaned down for a small kiss. Giggling on his lips, y/n pulled him close, making him rest his weight on her rather than his elbow.

“I’m thoroughly sated, my love. You have nothing to worry about in that department.” Aleks couldn’t see her but could feel the smirk on her lips. Intertwining their legs, he got more comfortable on her. Her arms held him in a tight embrace.

“You’ll do well to remember it, dearest.” His voice came out muffled since his face rested between her breasts but y/n got what he meant anyway. Laughing at the idea that she could ever need anyone else, y/n held him closer to her chest. The embrace her form of a promise to him.

She had everything she’d ever need right here in her arms.

[dxringred]

okay, here it is: how ronance can still win but won't because the duffel bags suck. also, full disclosure: i’m british. i have little to no clue about your college system and majors/minors, so i didn’t really. focus on that aspect. under the cut just because it’s a bit long. 

•  nancy is in college studying journalism. no, i don’t know where. she’s either since broken up with johnathon or they’re hanging by a thread so thin and frayed they’ve broken up in every way aside from actually saying it. (in the event of the former, i wouldn’t put it past the duffel bags to give her a new love interest who’s from her class and comes home to visit with her.) she’s stayed in regular contact with robin via calls, letters, and meeting up when she’s at home visiting. it was robin who reached out after she first left, but nancy does at least make an effort to respond and keep it up. she’s probably realized she’s bisexual at this point thanks to her college’s bigger and more diverse library but is still largely confused about how she feels towards robin and chalks the missing her to missing a friend even if she doesn’t miss her the way she misses, say, steve. 

• robin (option A) is also at college, albeit a different one, studying criminology or something along those lines. she always wanted to go but figured she wouldn’t get the chance because she’s poor, but when hearing of that, nancy helped her look into scholarships etc. and she was ultimately accepted somewhere. she is either still with vickie, albeit barely, or vickie has since broken up with her due to the distance. (because she gave me that kind of vibe after how fast she seemed to move from her boyfriend to robin.) she’s long since come out to nancy and also accepted that she’s had a crush on her for a while but largely ignores it because, as far as she knows, nancy’s as straight as a steel rod, there’s a lot of distance, and she’s happy enough with vickie.

• robin (option B) didn’t go to college due to financial constraints. for the first year, year and a half, she continued working at family video until she finally managed to save enough money to move into a cheap apartment where vickie is attending college and fulfill her wish of leaving hawkins behind. she stills keeps in regular contact with nancy and steve and will frequently (but reluctantly) drive down to hawkins to visit him on weekends. as time has worn on, she’s realized vickie might not be her type and/or that her crush was just that; a fleeting thing that didn’t hold much weight past the honeymoon phase. despite this, she’s stayed with her because she still loves her as a friend and, y’know, she’s a lesbian in 80s america. there aren’t a lot of options. (this part also applies to option A.)

• steve is probably still working at family video or somewhere else in hawkins. honestly besties, i know nothing about this man or his aspirations. i always read in fics that his family is rich, but he doesn’t act it since he has a part-time job. i like to think he’s sticking around until dustin and co. graduate, and then he’ll peace out of dodge at the same time as them afterwards. 

so. post-timeskip, it’s spring/summer break. nancy is back in hawkins to stay with her family. robin is back in hawkins to see steve and nancy but is staying with steve or vickie (depends which previous option you pick) rather than her parents because relations are rough if not completely severed. she sees both friends frequently but mostly nancy since she doesn’t get to see her in-person as much during the rest of the year. shit happens with the upside down and the three are dragged into it along with dustin and co. option A, vickie sticks around but is left in the dark for her own safety. option B, vickie sticks around and becomes a de facto member of the group at some point either by accident (because she witnesses something) or because robin just straight up tells her what the fuck is going on. nancy isn’t wild about the choice for reasons she can’t discern. steve has hopefully fucking moved on but probably hasn’t if V2 was anything to go by.

whatever plot the duffel bags haven’t even decided on happens. robin spends a lot of time with nancy because even though vickie is there, she doesn’t really understand the way nancy does since she was in the creel house with robin, and they share a lived experience. after multiple instances of third-wheeling robin and vickie’s relationship, it finally clicks in nancy’s brain that she’s jealous. (or, funnier, she’s ranting about it to steve one morning while downstairs, and he’s like, “girl you are either homophobic or jealous” “oh, okay, so bad or even more bad. thanks!”) the realization clearly shows in nancy’s behavior. she seems preoccupied and all but avoids robin, especially if vickie is around. (example: robin and nancy are researching something when vickie comes in with drinks, and nancy encourages robin to leave with her using some excuse about how she has a good enough lead to manage on her own now.) robin thinks she’s done something wrong. nancy reassures her and lies through her teeth about how it just reminds her of her failed relationship with johnathon. vickie has clocked on to the real reason and probably knows deep down (either from a while back or since they came back to hawkins for break) that nancy’s feelings for robin are mutual. 

blah, blah, upside down plot stuff. there’s a lot of ronance tension, especially when they’re left alone. nancy is aggressively trying to beat her feelings back into the basement with a huge stick. robin is a little melancholic about what could have been but hides it well until you see her giving nancy wistful looks in the background. robin gets injured after protecting/saving nancy from the big bad or some other creature, which solidifies what vickie has already pieced together. (bonus points for any kind of scene where a high-on-pain-relief robin keeps asking for nancy and/or seems largely uninterested in vickie tending to her.) 

in the second to last episode before the climax, where robin has to go into the upside down and/or help confront the big bad, there’s a heart-to-heart between her and vickie about how she might not come back which turns into vickie telling her that if this might be the end, then she should be true to her heart and go after the girl it actually belongs to. robin seems confused and tries to deny it, but vickie assures her that it’s okay; they had a good relationship and she’ll cherish the time they spent together, but not everything is meant to be. robin tells her nancy is a textbook heterosexual, but vickie laughs and tells her she might be surprised before wishing her good luck with a kiss to the cheek. 

more upside down/final battle drama. they defeat the big bad, but at the cost of one of them coming so close to death that they’re holding its hand. (bonus points for the other witnessing it and screaming their name like it’s the last word they’ll ever say.) there’s a mutual deathbed love confession. robin asks nancy if she can kiss her, because i feel like she would ask whether she was the one bleeding out or desperately trying to prevent it from happening to nancy. nancy, obviously, says yes. whichever one of them is dying seems to, well, die. fade to black as the other just starts fucking sobbing. fade back in to complete normalcy. 

now, here’s my super specific take. eleven (or one of the others in her group) is narrating what happened after the fade out. how whoever went into the upside down made it out. how things went back to normal. what everyone is now planning to do re: college and stuff. there’s a scene of robin/nancy (whichever one ‘died’) waking up in bed and the other bringing them breakfast or something before sitting next to them and resting their heads together. “for a while, we didn’t think A was going to pull through. it’ll be some time before they recover fully, but B is taking good care of her, and max told me she thinks there might be something more going on between them.” and then, like, whatever happens for the final final scene.

there. duffel bags, i give you this idea for free. realistically though, i know we won’t get anything even close. steve is going to still be pining for nancy’s ass. nancy’s time at college is going to have made her realize she can’t live without steve or she’ll realize that when he almost dies at the final battle. the end of the very last episode will have her pregnant with her first of six kids, and we’re all going to want to fucking die. the end. 

[vanderlustwords]

What if Steve leaves and she finds out she’s pregnant? I really love your alternate ending where he leaves for Peggy and wondering if you could write more about it. Doesn’t have to be him leaving a child behind that was just a question that popped into my head

Pairing: (past) Steve Rogers x Reader, Bucky Barnes x Reader

Please do not repost/translate anywhere. Reblogs/Comments are much welcomed ♥

Continuation of: This Dress is Karma || Alternate Ending

Warnings: unbeta'd. Angst ending for Steeb.

Note: I don't know how you roped me into writing a 2.3k continuation but here I am LOL

Count: ~2.3k

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

You shut the door with a soft click, waiting until you hear the quiet footsteps fade away. The lump in your throat gets harder to swallow as you turn around, leaning back against the door and let out a shaky sigh.

You can't help but think those were some brave words you said to Steve. You desperately wanted them to be true. You did want to be so happy that it would physically pain Steve if he were to ever witness it.

You wanted it to be true that you were never going to see him again because he had hurt you so much, and he needed to stay away from you.

But when you lift your trembling hand to your stomach, you wonder if everything you said had been nothing more than a brave front.

"You alright?"

You immediately look up and see Bucky stepping out of the guest room, fully dressed with towel-dried hair.

You swallow and force a smile as you drop your hand.

"Yeah, you ready to head out?" You ask him as you stand up straight.

Bucky nods with a grumble before he grabs a strand of his hair. "I need a haircut first, though. Do you think we could find a barber first?"

"Sure," you say, turning around and opening the door with Bucky following you behind.

"You sure everything is okay?" Bucky asks you again.

The way your throat feels raw, the hysterical words that want to escape your mouth make you feel dizzy. You want to put your hand against your stomach again as if to see if you could suddenly feel a bump.

But you refrain because Bucky would get suspicious. Well, he'd probably think you had a stomachache first, but if you didn't stop acting strange, he would pry.

"Everything's fine," you mumble.

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

As the weeks pass, more and more things begin to slip from you.

There is a layer of never-ending panic that sits right beneath your skin, crawling and setting your nerves on fire.

When you began to get morning sickness and threw up into the toilet, you began to shake.

The reality of your situation began to hit you.

You were pregnant.

With Steve's child.

Steve, who had abandoned you and was grey and old and probably would pass away soon.

The notion of it all had you throwing up in the toilet again.

You were alone, and you were scared.

What were you going to do? You couldn't rely on Steve anymore.

You looked down at your relatively flat stomach still, placing your hand against it.

There was a life growing inside you. What were you going to do?

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

It was harder to hide when Bucky came over almost every other day, even though he didn't live with you. He had stayed for a week after the confrontation with Steve but quickly found his own place.

Initially, that had made you feel more alone, like everyone couldn't wait to escape from you. But it had worked out when you needed alone time.

Bucky was currently in your kitchen, cooking up steaks for lunch for the two of you.

The smell of it made you deathly pale.

"What's going on with you?" Bucky asked with a frown as he set the steaks aside to rest.

You had to swallow hard before you could answer. "Nothing," you said weakly. "I'm—I'm sorry. I know you came all the way here to cook but I'm not really hungry."

"You've been saying that for days now, doll," Bucky pursed his lip. "I feel like I haven't seen you eat a proper meal lately. What's going on? I know things have been...hard. Especially since you last saw Steve, but this isn't okay. I need you to eat something in front of me that isn't pretzels, bananas, or bread."

The idea of sliding a piece of steak basted in butter had your stomach knot itself painfully.

You shook your head, but when Bucky insisted, slicing the steak and you watched the juices run, you couldn't hold it in anymore.

You took off to the bathroom in haste.

"Hey—" Bucky called out and took off after you, but you were quick to shut the door before you fell to your knees over the toilet and hurled.

"What's wrong?" Bucky yelled through the door, trying to jiggle it open but found you had locked it. "Open the door, doll. I just want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine," you said shakily as you grabbed some toilet paper and wiped your mouth, eyes hot with tears. "I just—I just haven't been feeling well."

The silence on the other side of the door only lingered for a moment before Bucky used his metal arm to turn the doorknob so hard, it broke open.

He found you sitting on the floor, over the toilets, eyes rimmed red and your face pale.

Bucky carefully walks in and kneels slowly before you.

He thinks back the couple of weeks and how you've been going to the bathroom a lot more, and how you don't like going to restaurants to eat. You've been eating at home and the strangest things and wearing more flowy shirts.

He looks at your face, and the way you're trying to hold back your tears makes Bucky feel dread.

"Doll..." he calls you softly. "Are you—Are you pregnant?"

You let out a choked sob in response, face dropping as you close your eyes.

Bucky's quick to hold you in his arms as he strokes your back, his heart dropping.

There was only one person who could've gotten you pregnant.

There had been some dumb shit Steve's done the entire time Bucky's known him. Always getting into scraps he couldn't finish, always prideful when Bucky wanted to help him.

But it had been the first time Bucky's ever been so fucking pissed at Steve. It was the first time Bucky couldn't defend or make an excuse for his friend.

"Bucky, what am I going to do?" You trembled in his arms. "I can't—Steve isn't—I want to keep it but I'm alone."

Bucky swallowed so hard it was painful.

There was no fucking way he was ready to be a dad or step up in any kind of way—that is, if you even let him.

Fuck, you two didn't even have feelings for each other or anything. There was something, maybe, Bucky thought for the future. But now?

"You're not alone," Bucky reassured, keeping his voice still for your sake. "I'm here. I'm here all the way and I'm not gonna leave you, doll. Ever."

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

You manage to keep the fact that you're pregnant under the wraps easily. It helps that since saving the world, no one really meets up anymore. A part of you worries because you can't find Wanda anywhere, but you know she can find you if she wanted to.

Sam might be the only other person who knows, and Bucky was begrudging when accepting his help.

Months pass, and you're surprised how dedicated Bucky is. You're pretty sure you're on the verge of a mental breakdown constantly. A part of you worries Steve will show up, but Bucky reassures you that there's nothing Steve could do even if he did show up.

"Fuck..." you swore as Bucky was in the middle of figuring out how to build the crib the two of you got from Ikea. He looks up at you alarmingly. "I think my water just broke."

"Oh, shit, okay, okay!" Bucky jumps up right away and starts running around to grab the prepared bag as he helps you out into the car. "Don't panic!"

"Bucky, I'm literally about to push a baby out of my body. I'm going to fucking panic if I want to," you snap, and Bucky bites his lip to refrain from speaking as he zips through traffic.

"Oh, god," you say under your breath. You were having a baby. You were actually going to have a baby.

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

"Bucky, you can't just carry her everywhere," you grumbled as you pushed the stroller through the park. "You're spoiling her."

"Yes, I can. She wants me to carry her and whatever my princess wants, she gets." Bucky declared indignantly at you while sticking his tongue out.

You sighed with a smile.

You couldn't believe a year has passed. Despite the time passing, you never really felt fully prepared as a mother. You were scared you were fucking it up all the time if you're honest.

Bucky holds your hand, and you give him a shy smile. That was new too. Slow and steady, as Bucky has always been, and you think you were falling for him because of that.

When you look up, your heart stops.

"Oh," Steve blinked.

Another year has passed, but you find Steve doesn't look too different. A little more tired perhaps, but still...Steve.

You feel panic creep up in your chest that threatens to become a panic attack before Bucky squeezes your hand.

"Breathe, doll," he whispers encouragingly to you, but it's loud enough for Steve to catch.

You do as he says, taking a few calming breaths. You want to keep walking, but it seems Steve can't stop staring at the child in Bucky's arms.

"Why don't you take Hazel to the pond? She really likes looking at the ducks," you tell Bucky, and he nods, warily looking at you and Steve. He sends Steve a curt nod before he takes the stroller with him and walks off.

Steve's eyes trail after Bucky.

You know then that he knows. It's not hard after all. Hazel looks like a spitting image of Steve, something that had been hard for you to deal with at first. Her blonde hair and blue eyes—the blue eyes were easier since Bucky's eyes were blue too, even if a darker shade.

But Hazel was so lovely; you loved her so easily.

"When did you know?" Steve asked.

You shrugged. "The day before we all saved the world."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Steve's voice was pained and betrayed, and you cocked your brow at him.

"Why? So you would stay?"

"Yes, I would have!" Steve insisted.

The sheer stupidity of the situation had you give a humourless laugh.

"The last thing I want is for you to stay because of a baby, Steve. You wanted to leave, despite everything, you chose to leave. We would only hate each other in the long run."

"That's not true," Steve denied. "When I made that choice, it wasn't because I didn't love you anymore."

"No, you just didn't love me enough."

The words rang clear, almost throwing Steve off-kilter.

The silence fell, and the two of you could hear Hazel laughing with Bucky in the distance as she shrieked.

"Don't you think I deserved to know about her?" Steve asked with his lips pursed.

"No," you answered honestly. "What do you, a 90 something-year-old man, have to offer her? You certainly can't step up and be her father. Your time keeps running out and the last thing I need is for Hazel to have instability. Did you want to be her grandfather? She's already met mine, so do you want to pretend to be Bucky's?"

"So, you're just gonna lie to her and let her think Bucky is her dad?"

Your eyes flash angrily.

"Bucky is her dad. He's the only dad that counts in every way. Do you know how hard it was for me? I was scared shitless, Steve. You can delude yourself into thinking otherwise, but you're unreliable. I couldn't come to you for help," you snap at him. "Do you know who was there every time I was puking my guts out, crying or screaming, or wanted pickles with peanut butter at 2AM? Who do you think was there for every appointment. Who bought fifty parenting and baby books to study religiously? It was Bucky. Even though I knew he was scared too, he was there. So, don't fucking try to make me and Bucky look like the bad guy. You have NOTHING to offer to Hazel."

Steve stood there wide-eyed, guilt crowding over his eyes. Steve doesn't want to say he regrets going back because that would mean a lifetime of regrets he can't get back.

"You're right," Steve said slowly, trying to appease your anger. "I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that. It's not my place to say anything."

Even though Steve says it, he looks over to the little girl squealing in Bucky's arms. He looks at her blonde hair that she clearly got from him and your nose.

He and Peggy had children—children he loved more than anything.

But...the idea of his child with you...that was another reality he missed.

It seems to be that way always for him, Steve thought somberly. He was always missing something. Maybe you had been right about him.

Steve listens as you take a deep breath in and exhale.

"Do you want to meet her?" You offer, and Steve can tell it's difficult for you to say those words.

"If you're okay with it," Steve said slowly.

You nod stiffly. "It's fine as long as you respect my wishes and refrain from telling her you're her bio dad. I want to save that conversation for when she's older and able to understand it more."

You don't say it, but Steve is already thinking how he'll most likely be gone by then.

The two of you begin to walk towards Bucky and Hazel.

"What will you tell her?" Steve asked.

"The truth," you shrug. "That you were the world's greatest hero and you loved her and would've loved to get to know her if you stayed, but you didn't and it wasn't her fault."

"Right, it was mine," Steve felt a sting in the back of his throat.

"I don't think it was anyone's fault," you tell him. "It's just karma, Steve. I wasn't enough for you and now you're not enough for Hazel."

Right, Steve thought somberly as he looked at you in your summer dress. It was different from the sexy red one that used to drive him insane.

It was a calm peace, a show of your motherhood and graceful maturity.

This dress is karma, too.