#and that’s also when her and Mike grew more distant

[sepublic]

It's really surprising to think about it, but it occurred to me that throughout the entire show, amidst all of her accomplishments, we technically never see Luz make a single human friend. This obviously doesn't count her parents, who are blood relations and (should be) friends by default. And it's not as if Luz didn't try, she quite explicitly did, although her attempts were dismissed by everyone else.

I don't think this is really a bad thing at all for Luz, because she has plenty of witch and demon friends, after all, and there's no meaningful existential distinction between humans and the Demon Realm's inhabitants by the end of the day, contrary to what others might claim. Likewise, there's the pretty obvious implication given by Yesterday's Lie that Luz could've made friends at the Reality Check camp, given how well Masha and co. resonated with Vee there and managed to retain their identities.

There's also those two kids (whom I named Mike and Bridget after the crew members they were based on) that invited Luz to the Halloween hayride, although Luz obviously had too much on her mind at the moment to be receptive. I wonder if Luz ever became properly acquainted with them once she started healing during the time skip, as the existence of the Earth and Demon Realm exchange program suggests that other humans have also been introduced to the Boiling Isles.

It's implied that Luz grew distant with Masha and co. after taking Vee's place, on account of technically having never been close to them to begin with; And like with those two kids that invited her, I suspect it had to do with Luz's trauma and the awkwardness of secrets creating a gap between them, in addition to Luz needing to help her friends adjust to Gravesfield. Under other circumstances Luz would've been eager to embrace her fellow weirdoes, but with her guilt over everything (including depriving Vee of her friends, I imagine) it just wasn't the time.

Again, I find the introduction of Masha and co. to be really effective because I think it rattles Luz's sense of self by making her question her decision to stay in the Boiling Isles; Because seeing Vee and her friends just suggests to Luz that maybe the Reality Check camp could've worked out, and she'd have been able to get friends without having to lie to, hurt, and be separated from her mother in the process. Which makes Luz second-guess herself, and in addition to Camila making her promise to stay, causes Luz to begin mistakenly regretting her decisions.

But as we all know, if Luz DID go to the camp, so many terrible things including genocide would've been allowed to happen without her, and so many people would've continued suffering. And she also got to live out her dream of being a witch, which you can't really blame her for attempting when she got the opportunity. What happened already happened and it's not as if Luz can be blamed for it, because how could anyone anticipate the chain of events, and ignore others who certainly did much more, with actual malice, to contribute to the trauma? Luz had to see things the whole way through and she did; Choosing herself helped others, it didn’t hurt them like Luz thought!

Anyhow, it's basically canon that Vee got to reconnect with Masha and co., and more than likely reveal her true nature and history, especially with Gus leading an exchange program she’s part of. So I like to think Luz DID make human friends in Masha and co., as well as the two who invited her to their hayride; I love how they seem to lowkey adore Luz as a fellow weirdo, and tbh, it's not as if Luz needs human friends when she already has human connections, because witches and demons are no less 'real' in terms of being people and all.

But it'd be nice if Luz ultimately found it reassuring, the realization that there were weirdoes in Gravesfield like her, and that she could've been friends with them; Especially if it did happen anyway because Luz chose both worlds and not just one. My point being, we need a lot more content with Luz meeting Vee's friends, and especially hanging out with Mike and Bridget, since we actually saw human strangers like Luz for being Luz!!! They’re canonically fans of Luz from her chaotic reputation (not the one Vee made) and were curious to see if she’d do a crazy costume again like last Halloween!!! And their existence reassures viewers that they needn’t go to another realm entirely to find weirdoes like them, because they exist right here on this Earth!!!

[swampgh0stt]

no, I'm probably not gonna shut up about Michael anytime soon bc he's my favorite

see that guy up there? that's Jordan Connor & he's my fc for Michael

Michael is biracial. His mother (Clara) is Lummi, having moved from Washington state after marrying William.

he's also trans (FtM), having socially transitioned from a young age. William was hesitant to accept this at first, but eventually gave in seeing how both Clara & Henry were supportive

Being the eldest, Michael was forced into third-parenting his youngest siblings. Elizabeth is four years younger than him & Garrett is six years younger. This absolutely causes some resentment in Michael, which he usually takes out on Garrett.

Michael's best friend is Charlotte Emily, who he used to have a crush on -- but backed off after she turned him down. They're still very close.

then there's Jeremy. He's always been in Michael's friend group, and he even shares a band with Sammy Emily! The two get closer after Charlotte rejections him.

Jeremy even picks up a job at Freddy Fazbear's just to spend more time with Michael. They'll sneak out and meet each other, Jeremy writes songs for Michael, etc etc -- but they still maintain that they are NOT dating.

it's bc Michael sucks when it comes to intimacy. His mother used to be loving, but grew distant over the years. After Michael shoves Garrett's head in Fredbear's mouth, Clara emotionally removes herself from her own child and turns neglectful. Any care for Elizabeth and Garrett soon falls on Michael's shoulders.

Despite what anyone else might assume: Michael's a great student. He never misses a day, he has straight A's in all his classes

There was an attempt to learn about robotics from William, but it was quickly dropped. Michael turned his focus on Henry next, who was more than willing to share his passions, albeit a little overbearing.

Michael excessively chews gum bc of stress. It's a better alternative than smoking, he tells himself.

He's quiet, but don't be fooled-- Michael's got the sass. When he's around someone he's comfortable with, he's a lot more open (like Jeremy, Charlotte, & Sammy).

Mike has a bad reputation for constantly getting into fights, but no one ever sees him fighting. It's a misunderstanding, since his fellow peers see bruises from William & just assume that Michael gets into fights outside of home/school. Why would they think William was doing it, after all? He's such a goofy man!

Michael likes to drag Jeremy into his work-out sessions & self-defense classes

After William disappears (Clara has already left for Washington again), Michael becomes Elizabeth & Garrett's legal guardian. Jeremy also moves in with them to help take some pressure off of Michael

Mike ends up getting a job as a robotics tech, giving Jeremy the chance to be a stay at home partner & focus on his music career

and just some general (angsty) ideas for FNAF 3 + PizzaSim:

Michael went for the job at Fazbear Frights after accidentally catching sight of the Spring Bonnie animatronic in some promotional material. He went in cautiously, but after confirming that William was indeed inside the suit? That's when he chose to burn the place down & return home to his family.

This was the same idea he had in mind when he joined Henry in setting up the PizzaSim location: get in, get the animatronics together, free the souls, burn the place down, go home.

It doesn't work out that way, unfortunately. Michael's escape route ends up blocked off by debris, trapping him inside despite his best attempts to get back home.

[bravevolunteer]

VERSE — MOVIE ( CONTAINS SPOILERS & CANON DIVERGENT, tw for canon-typical themes & suicide mention )

just to get straight to the point : it's mainly canon divergent in the sense that i will be altering details in order to make mike an afton. do i think this is going to happen in the movie timeline? no. do i think it's more likely that they're going to explain the oddly personal kidnapping through mirroring the emilys? probably. but it's MY michael afton blog and i can put on my tinfoil hat as much as i want about it. of course i am willing to adapt based on other's info / preferences but given that this isn't my main canon anyway it is meant for those that are interested.

Mike thought he knew everything there was to know about what happened to his family: what he was never told is who his real father was. He was too young to remember anything about William Afton before his mom separated herself from him entirely ( one night stand, breakup, what have you, i'm not picky- ), so he always thought of the father he grew up with as his dad, the reality never changed anything about that.

Until he was twelve years old and Garrett went missing, and everything fell apart. William followed the Schmidts there, taking Garrett in a targeted attack ( whether or not he was trying to grab Mike, took him out of spite, anything else is also flexible ). Everything grew solemn and tense, each of the Schmidts lost in their own individual grief. Slowly, they stopped having dinners together, stopped going out as a family, stopped being able to feel like things were normal. The grief and guilt only added to Mike's developing anger issues and depression. Although it wasn't on purpose nor with any malicious intent, his dad was the more distant of his parents at the time, serving as the first hint towards his biological parentage and simply because as much as he cared for mike, he was grappling with losing his biological kid ( think tse henry- well meaning but drowning in grief enough for the child to pick up on it ).

This is where Abby comes in, where the Schmidts have another kid in an attempt to feel like a normal family again. It almost seems to work, although there is still that underlying sense of collective grief. Mike was older by then, too ( while he graduates high school, he either doesn't go to college at all or doesn't finish it ).

Their mom dies and the brief sense of possible stability disappears again. It's when Mike is staying at home again for the funeral/to help with Abby that their father commits suicide, unable to take the grief. Mike has had custody of Abby since then.

The events proceed as they did in the movie, William's recognition of Mike in the office not only stemming from the kidnapping but the fact that it's his kid, although Mike doesn't find anything out beyond the fact that it's the man who took Garrett. There is potential for more hints towards this in past interactions with his aunt or birth records or even his dynamic with Vanessa, but for the most part this specific realization is left open.

Following the movie's events, he... does come home to his aunt in the living room. After reporting her death, Mike actually goes back to Freddy's one more time to get security footage in order to prove his innocence. Afterwards, he does his best to hold down another job to keep taking care of Abby in peace, but something about Freddy's gives him the sense that he'll come back to make sure nothing like this happens again.

[pizzaboat]

Long post

I know people complain that Mike and El pushed Will to the background in season 3 and that Mike stopped being Mike, but I wanna argue that the real Mike was suffering in silence and being pushed to the back during s2 and that's why he isn't himself anymore and why he's so insecure in S4 and why he's only starting to act himself around Will again

For example (and I promise I'm leading to something here), he was on "strikes" for his behaviour in season 2 because he was "acting out" (some of the acting out was normal kid things like drawing on the school bathroom wall).

He was told by his parents that it was time to start fixing his behaviour and that he'd had enough time to express his trauma from season 1 at this point. And he was made give some more of his toys away.

(I can't imagine what Mike could've done that was bad enough to give his attari away or anything like that and I personally think making kids give away their loved belongings is a messed up thing to do.)

It was a very forceful and pacifying way to get him to start getting with the program. Especially since his Dad is a massive moron patriot and was more than happy to sign an NDA with the goverment after season one, his mom too.

Meaning they never talked about what happened to Will or Mike or any of them. Mike just had to stew in that.

In contrast, while Mike's parents were ignoring his trauma because "it was over now"

Joyce and Jonathan were obviously showering Will (the focus of season 1) in a lot of attention and love. Because as far as they knew, he had PTSD and was subjected to something that would give all grown adults nightmares and trauma for years.

And that made Will feel more of a freak, because not only was he different to everyone in school and understanding that he was gay, now he had this supernatural shit that wouldn't leave him alone when all he wanted to do was play with his friends and do normal kid shit

And I think while Will was set on his path of feeling different and like a freak and that it was unchangeable and that he might always be affected like that

Mike could've been feeling like there was no room for him to be in any pain ever, or to have hang ups about anything- (Will the public freak that everyone fuses over and Mike the private freak who feels there's something wrong with him and he needs to change it and hide it)

And he didn't just learn that lesson from what happened in season 1 and how is parents raised him, because he's been raised like that his entire life. He's no doubt been told to suck it up and be a man for a very long time.

So its his instinct to bottle things up like feeling his relationship with El wasn't right, or he naturally would repress his feelings of being gay or atleast bi because he grew up being scorned for the same sensitivity that was nurtured in his crush Will.

(Will wasn't totally nurtured, he was bullied by his peers and abused by his father before Joyce left him, because his father thought he was queer)

Jonathan and Joyce always tried though, to make sure Will knew he was loved and they no doubt tried to have moments where they wanted him to know it was okay if he was gay, while also trying to keep in mind he could become defensive after growing up in the 80s version of society

And from what I gathered from season 3, Joyce is the kind of parent who talks to her kids and puts communication, love and trust above everything else, (which is good because Jonathan and Will deserve better than to be emotionally abused on top of everything else that has happened to them)

But back to Mike. There is no one trying to reach out to him like that. I think his mom was trying during the period of season 1, when Will was missing and she was worried for him (because I think she could see he was a sensitive boy like Will)

But his mom was growing tired of living in a loveless marriage and having strained and distant relationships with her kids, so she mentally checked out by season 3 and considered cheating and all that other shit. By this point her family was becoming less of a priority to her as she was balancing on a painful edge of throwing in the towel and accepting she wasn't happy

But Mike after s1 no one tried to reach out to him emotionally. He got a hug he desperately needed from Hopper when he finally snapped after El came back. (He spent that entire time worrying about her and feeling like he was going crazy wondering if she was okay).

That reaction was so raw and emotional, its easy to only associate it with it only being a mileven thing. But I also think that was the only place in all of this where he felt he had room to express how deeply hurt he's been by all this all along.

Because El was going to be his girlfriend, he found room to let all the other bottled up emotions he had about the other stuff rise out of him and he was able to break down and cry and scream and hit and be held like he deserved to all along

So, in regards to him repressing himself more in season 3 and no longer acting like the sweet boy he was in the past seasons, I think it was because he felt there was no longer and room for it. His growing up talk also covered his pain from season 1 and 2 and the things he learned by being raised the way he was, to also extend towards being gay or bi in a household that supports the president who's doing absolutely fuck all for gay people during the aids crisis

Mike's suffering is so silent and in the background, that only signs up about who Ted is voting for in his yard, and snapshots into how his parents are handling him, and comments about his dad mocking the idea of Mike being with a girl, and him being "sensitive" like Will in season 1 and 2, and how he's bullied and what's on the back of a news paper he's reading in S4(something about the aids crisis)-can only give glimpses into what's happening to him and why he is the way he is

[missmahgenta]

Ya know, I’ve been rambling a lot about about Vanessa Shelly/Afton since im hopeless when it comes to women and specially women like her (lol), but there’s something else itching my brain

That thing being Mike and Abby’s relationship. I wasn’t that close to my older brother due to personal reasons (nothing serious dw) yet the same time those two felt incredibly nostalgic to me. My brother is much older then me and was always very caring with me, even when I was being annoying lol (younger sibling shit, ya know). It still is like that nowadays, even though we are physically distant.

It makes me wish I had spent more time growing up with him. There are many things that I guess only him would understand as a sibling, stuff that you usually don’t share with your parents. I grew up quite lonely, and even while with friends at school, I still felt alone.

And afterwards, in a way I became the only child at home, and had to deal with the “older sibling family lore” shit, if you know what I mean. I was coddled hard while also having to grow up quickly and become emotionally self sufficient.

Idk, his situation makes me think so much. He has to be a father while never going through all the stages of growing up. I feel stunted like him, in a way. He has to be the adult, and wants to be the adult, but he’s not there yet, and the people around him see this.

I want to be a ‘grown up’, but I can’t. And any time I have the opportunity to be a ‘grown up’, I freeze. I want my parents. And I want them to let me be. I want to handle myself. I can’t handle my mistakes.

I wanted a brother to relate to. He probably wanted that to. Abby can’t be exactly his daughter, but she also can’t possibly fulfill a role of a sibling.

I guess we both missed integral parts when growing up, and now we are feeling the consequences.

[miraculousagentsofkrypton]

This is probably a sign of reading too much Wenclair fanfiction, but I had a fic idea:

The Addam's Family Love Curse, but flip it on its head and give it to the Wheelers.

Hear me out, hear me out. Let me explain.

Starting point, the Addams' Family and the Wheelers could not be more different. The Addams thrive in absurdities and strangeness. They are deeply devoted to one another. The Wheelers... attempt to appear as normal as humanly possible. I also think the majority of the ST fandom can agree that the Wheelers struggle with the concept of love.

Karen and Ted have a marriage of convenience, not love, and both are distant from their children for a variety of reasons.

Nancy struggles with how to love in general, partially because of the lack of positive examples in her life. She stayed with Steve for so long out of trauma and obligation. She's distant from her brother, and throughout the show, she's shown to be somewhat isolated and only in any real contact with her current boyfriend.

Mike struggles in a different way, in that he doesn't seem to fully get love. His relationship with El is somewhat born of misinterpretation of what his care for her means. He's in denial of feelings for Will, and has been out of touch with all his friend group for a while now.

We know nothing about Holly.

Here's where the Curse comes in. The Addam's Family Curse is usually portrayed as each Addam's having only One True Love and an Overabundance of Love for people in their inner circle. They can't escape their Soulmate, no matter what they do. The Wheelers are obviously not that. So here's what I'd do: The Wheelers also each have a One True Love, the only person in the world they will ever fall in love with. However, that someone is extremely rare and difficult to find due to the amount of people in the world. Until they do, their capability to feel and express all forms of love is hindered. Not gone, but definitely restricted.

Once they’ve formed a connection with their Soulmate, and it requires more than Love at First Sight to form, all the love that’s been building behind a dam basically gets let loose. The older the Wheeler is before they form a relationship with their love, the more intense the fallout, and therefore their attachment to their other half.  The majority of the sudden flood of built up feelings attach themselves to the Soulmate, overflow going to everyone else.

Mike became friends with Will too early in their lives to really recognize who Will is to him. There wasn’t any built up love to let loose. Despite his ability to feel love like any normal person most of his life, he still grew up surrounded by the rest of his Cursed Family, and experienced the trauma of that. 

Nancy is a lot older when she forms a relationship with (take your pick, Jonathan or Robin). The fallout ends up being closer to Cursed Wednesday’s typical Enid Worship. Because, let’s be honest, Nancy has a lot of love to give, but trauma and lack of options have hindered the way it presents itself in canon. After the switch in the curse, she doesn’t know what to do with it all, and it ends up coming across as somewhat obsessive. (This is a take on the Addams’ Family Curse After All and Nancy has some similarities to Wednesday.)

No one in the Wheelers’ Family is actually aware of their family curse, just of the generational trauma it has caused them, since it had been many generations since the last family member found a Soulmate. The effects of the two kids both finding theirs ends up causing all sorts of chaos, especially with the Upside Down madness they and their significant others get involved in.

[briamichellewrites]

13

Bria and Brad met Joyce and Donn at a restaurant in Agoura Hills, where he and his brothers were from. She had been there with Mike for Thanksgiving and Christmas while they were dating. It was a nice community with around twenty thousand people and mountains for miles! She remembered Mike telling her that he, Brad, and Rob grew up there. They were friends from high school, who went their separate ways after graduating. Rob was a couple of years behind them because he was younger.

But he was a great drummer! He found that out when they were in a band together. She thought of how cool it was to start a band with guys from high school. Blue Table was a trendy European-style café with vegan options. Perfect choice for them. She dressed comfortably but fashionably with a white t-shirt, button-up sweater, and a black skirt that went down to her knees.

It was elastic to give her stomach room to breathe. She didn’t want to buy maternity clothes until she was in her second trimester. Just in case. He approved her outfit before they left. His parents were liberal, but he still wanted her to make a good first impression. That meant not showing too much skin. She didn’t wear dresses that often because she found them uncomfortable. The fabric never kept her as warm as pants did. She wore them when she had to.

They hugged her while introducing themselves. Hi, I’m Bria. It’s nice to meet you. After sitting down, they asked her about her name. Where was it from? It was French. Was she French? Her father was. He was from Alsace, which was on the border of Germany and Switzerland. What about her mother? She didn’t know as she had died when she was six months old.

They got to watch her and Brad joke around, especially when she decided to order something with chicken. He jokingly called her a murderer. Tasty, tasty murder. He laughed. As they continued asking her routine questions, they found out her mother died from AIDS and how she was infected; her father’s death, and her schooling. She had gone to a French immersion school where she learned French, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese. Her Chinese was elementary level.

She spent a lot of time in Cannes with her father during school breaks. He had an apartment there. She and Mike talked about going there in the distant future. They also discussed going to Japan, though she would need to translate for him. How did she meet Brad? It was through Mike, who she was dating at the time. He introduced her to Joe, Brad, and Rob.

Brad mentioned how she liked to bring her cats when they were in the studio. How many did she have? Two.

“I adopted Tiny about a year ago. She’s a Scottish Fold. Then, I just adopted Garfield. He’s a Domestic Shorthair.”

“Tiny? Where did she get that name from?”

“The people who bred her gave her that name because she was the smallest in the litter. They didn’t think she would survive. Both cats are very friendly.”

“Is Garfield orange?”

“He’s orange and white. He reminds me of those frozen creamsicles you have in the summer.”

They knew what she was talking about. Though she was from a lot of money, they found her to be humble. They could see what their son liked about her. She was very beautiful but she was also very engaging and respectful towards them. What did she do for money? She was an investor. Investor? Yes, she invested in Apple computers. Brad mentioned how she offered to invest in their new record label. How much? Ten percent.

Donn thought that was a good investment. Since they recently discovered she was pregnant, they had yet to make any concrete decisions. They were more throwing out ideas. Joyce asked about her religion. She was raised without religion, though she respected other people’s beliefs and religions. They were Jewish, which she knew about.

Would she be okay if they raised their child Jewish? Yeah, she could keep an open mind. The only thing she would want was to follow the pediatrician’s guidelines for a vegan diet.

“If the pediatrician recommends that we don’t introduce a vegan diet until they are whatever age, then I’m going to follow that. If they say it’s okay for them to have meat substitutes, then that’s fine too. I would rather listen to the experts.”

“We have no problem with that. What about vaccines?”

“Oh, yeah. Of course. I’m not against that at all.”

Brad was thrilled his parents were getting along well with his girlfriend! He imagined they were more open-minded than Brad’s conservative parents. They were welcoming her in with open arms. While they might disagree on some aspects of how she raised their child, he could be sure they would work together on finding a middle ground.

They were not going to have a nanny, as she would be a stay-at-home mother. They would have to work around his schedule with Linkin Park. He did want to visit Cannes with her sometime. It sounded like a nice place. They were all happy that she was willing to learn about their Jewish beliefs. It wasn’t just a religion to them, it involved everything in their lives. Did they approve? Yes. They would invite her to join them in their family celebrations.

During their meal, they saw a homeless man being kicked out for not having enough money to pay. He tried explaining how hungry he was. Brad got the feeling she was going to do something. He was right when she grabbed her wallet and pulled out some money. Joyce asked what was going on. He told them to wait and see. They saw her talking to the waitress while handing her a fifty dollar bill.

“Get whatever you want. It’s on me.”

“Thank you! God bless you!”

Brad had to laugh. His parents were impressed by her generosity. That was just who she was. She never looked down on anyone. Donn commended her for what she did. Thank you.

When they got home, the cats were meowing loudly like they had never been fed in their lives! We’re starving to death, humans! Meow! They followed them into the kitchen, where she got their food out. After dispersing it evenly, she set the plates on the floor. Thank you, human! Brad looked down at them. Cats were demanding, especially when they were hungry!

“They act as if they have never been fed a day in their lives”, she joked.

He laughed. “I don’t think I’ve seen a more demanding animal.”

She excused herself to change clothes. He sat down with them. Yes, but they were so adorable. Garfield was bigger than his sister, even though he was months younger than her. Cats were interesting animals. They were dependent and independent at the same time. Garfield finished eating and found his way into his lap. Only his little ears stuck out. He reached in and petted him.

When Tiny was done eating, she looked for her little brother. He reached his paw out startling her. Hey! She poked her head in and swiped her paw back at him. Their play fighting reminded him of how he used to play with his brothers when they were younger. They used to annoy each other. That meant he usually got into trouble because he was the oldest. He missed those days. His brothers were older and he was so proud of them.

When Bria came back down, she was dressed in the same t-shirt but with sweatpants. She joined them on the floor. He put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. It had been a very fun afternoon. Now, she was ready for a rest. Being pregnant meant she got tired more easily. She was more than happy to just sit there and play with the cats.

@zoeykaytesmom @feelingsofaithless @alina-dixon @fiickle-nia

[lunar-years]

Some people think Nancy is popular and some people think Nancy is a nerd? Hmmmm.

In my head Nancy is academic-popular, which is very different from popular-popular. Like, she’s top of the honor roll every semester and she’s in Honor Society and she volunteers and she runs the newspaper and she takes only the advanced versions of every class. So the other smart kids are kind of jealous of her because she’s usually doing better than they are and could totally get in to an Ivy League college, and the more openly nerdy kids and band kids (such as Robin) don’t like her because she comes across as a priss and as someone who probably thinks she’s soooo superior to activities like band, which is pretty rich from someone who does the newspaper, and the weird and eccentric kids (such as Eddie) don’t like her for the same reasons, and besides, they think she’s just a goody-two-shoes, and everyone is at least a little intimidated by her. She’s pretty and she’s smart, so everyone knows who she is and people are largely friendly enough to her, but she isn’t close to anyone and has basically no real friends (after Barb).

Basically, she’s popular enough whereas other academic kids like Fred can say “you’re the most desired girl in Hawkins” and that can sort of be true, but if you asked say, Jason, star of the basketball team and an actually popular kid, if Nancy Wheeler was the most desired girl in school, he’d laugh in your face. There’s enough bleed through to where her dating King Steve was surprising but not so totally crazy, but it was very clear that while her proximity to Steve gave her an acceptable “in” to the more popular crowd, Barb was very much not invited in with her. Because that’s the other thing about Nancy, the people she associates with are weird. Barb, who is ‘uncool,’ then Steve after he’s fallen off his pedestal and is considered a bit of a loser, and finally Jonathan, the weird loner kid. None of these relationships exactly help to make Nancy an It Girl. Also, the “Nancy ‘the slut’ Wheeler” fiasco is so scandalous because it’s such a fall from grace from the “little miss perfect” image she was exuding up to that point. I’m sure her classmates ate that drama UP.

Obviously Nancy is completely a badass and is so much more complex than the persona she gives off, but I think the point is that very few people get to actually know who she really is. By season 3, it’s really only Jonathan? And that’s part of why her season 4 arc hits so well. Robin (and to a lesser extent Eddie) finally get to see her as her, and not just her within the warped social strata of a Midwest high school.

[yanderefnaf]

Nice! Could I please requests yandere headcanons of ghost Michael falling for female y/n? I imagine that since Mike dedicated a lot of his life trying to undo his father’s legacy he didn’t really fall in love with anyone before. Thank you in advance for writing!

note: I AM SO SORRY these took so long to do. i would use school as an excuse but no im just so slow at writing lmfao...hope the wait was worth it :,) i really like the idea of ghost yanderes this was very fun to write

warnings: yandere (but like. soft yandere. sort of) also angst. hella angst.

Yandere Ghost!Michael Headcanons

💜 - I think that, as a ghost, Michael would reside in his old home where he grew up. Visions of him and his little siblings playing together, smiling, laughing, playing before his eyes. Places where they hid from their father when he was mad at them, and where they would all sit and watch tv together, in a rare moment that everybody was in a good mood. But nearly every room was empty now, save for a few pieces of furniture, and even those had been replaced. Walls that were once chipped and cracking were replaced with new fresh coats of paint, any sign that anybody lived there before was gone.

💜 - A short while after that, you end up moving in. Michael finds it odd that you moved into such a big place, one surely meant to house a family, not just one person and her pet. He can't help the twinge of anger that festers inside of him when you start to move old furniture around, or certain rooms of the house go neglected when they need to be cleaned. He knows this anger is unreasonable, and that it isn't your fault, but watching his old home change, new memories being made inside of it, pains him.

💜 - As the weeks fade into months, Michael finds himself getting more and more attached to you. His eyes follow your every move, gaze lingering on your soft skin, your hair, your eyes. He's tried getting your attention before, by trying to possess certain objects or write on an open notepad, but nothing he did seemed to work. Although you might hear rumors from others, of the tragic deaths of Michael Afton and Henry Emily, his presence would forever remain unknown to you. The most you'll ever feel is a little chill crawl up your spine as his spirit passes right through you, arms held out to wrap you in an icy embrace.

💜 - Quickly starts to pick up on your little mannerisms. Tiny, insignificant things like the way you hold your pencil, little inflections in your voice when you pronounce certain words, hell, he's even memorized the tune of some songs that you hum to yourself. And could you blame him? All there is for him to do is watch you (not that he's complaining), admiring you as distant or as up close as he wants, a silvery, wispy hand enclosed over yours.

💜 - He soon begins to regret his reluctance to find a partner while he was alive. His mind had been too preoccupied to process the crushing loneliness, the empty hole in his heart only growing more and more as the years carried on until he finally had time to process these emotions when it was too late.

💜 - Sometimes you swear you can see a shadowy figure out of the corner of your eye. When you're walking down the halls late at night, you'll feel the rush of cool wind whisk by, or a blurry figure will appear at the end of the hall for a fraction of a second.

💜 - If you ever brought a partner to your home, Michael would be despondent, his brain wracked with rage, despair, and regret. He knew that you would inevitably find a lover. He is unable to do anything as he watches the two of you hold each other, whisper sweet nothings into the other's ears, and do all sorts of activities together. He wishes he'd found you sooner, and taken you away forever, kept all to himself to hold and love unconditionally. But that chance had slipped past his fingers, and now he could do nothing but watch, lament, and regret.

[untitled-byler-blog]

Who was Mike talking about in the Pizza Van?

Hi friends; it’s 7am and I whipped this up because I’ve been procrastinating it and people were talking about it in the tag last night and I don’t want someone to do it before me... sorry if this is incoherent!

*every time Mike looks at Will

“We could play DnD and Nintendo for the rest of our lives”* (Mike looks away before replying)

Mike gets distant because he doesn’t want to admit how much he wants this. Will interprets it as his missing/worrying about El – “she’s gonna make it”* – so Mike jumps on that, looking away before he opens his mouth:

“But*… but what if after all this is over, she (Mike looks in the opposite direction of Will)… sh… she doesn’t need me anymore?”*

Hesitancy on the word “she”

When has El shown her reliance on Mike? She’s shown a wish to be in a relationship with him, but Mike very seldom “protected” her… the only time coming to mind being when he tried to keep her from overexerting herself in s3, but everyone (El included!) is against him then.

“I keep telling myself that [she’ll always need me], but I… I don’t believe it.”*

El has been shown to not be coping well without Mike, going so far as to lie to him and get mad at him for what affection he tried to show her (the letters); whereas he and Will haven’t been in much contact. And it’s “El’s being bullied’ not Will, who was constantly the target in Hawkins. Especially prior to the ElMike fight, if Mike thought one of the Byers twins didn’t need him, I’d definitely think it was Will. Even after the fight, El wants Mike’s support. That’s why she wants him to say “I love you” and that’s why she makes a point of telling him “I have gone to become a superhero again” – I’ve gone to become what you want me to be so that you still need me.

“I mean, she’s special*. She was born special. Maybe I was one of the first people to realize that.”

I know this has been addressed by itself before, but… El grew up in a lab that experimented on her in order to develop telekinetic abilities – and Mike knows this – so in what world would Mike think himself the first person to see El as “special” ?? I think it more likely that he’s thinking again about asking Will to be his friend. “[I saw this boy all alone on the swings when we were five and decided to ask him to be my friend.]”

“But the truth is, when I stumbled on her in the woods, she* just needed someone. It’s not fate. It’s… it’s not destiny. It’s just dumb luck. And one day she’s gonna realize I’m just some random nerd* (the camera had been focused on Will, and when it switched back to Mike he was already looking at Will again.) that got lucky that superman landed on his doorstep. I mean, at least Lois Lane is an ace reporter for the Daily Planet, right? *But…”

So, if this is about Will, the “stumbling on her in the woods” is his meeting Will at the swings. And it also draws a parallel between Will and El: they both needed someone when they met Mike. While I agree with the idea that Will was alone because he “already knew how to handle being alone” I don’t think that means he didn’t want to make friends; and so Mike sees that as “dumb luck” because he was just in the right place at the right time to befriend this boy that he reveres so much; and now, with him seemingly thriving out in California, he’s worried his best friend doesn’t need someone to “look after him” anymore (like Mike was too willing to do in s2.)

I don’t think I need elaborate on the Superman line, especially when he uses the word “superhero” whenever he addresses El (403 fight, 408 monologue). And I think his jumping on the Lois Lane analogy without seemingly having a point he’s trying to make is because he realized his mistake “oh yeah I’m saying El is like superman and I’m Lois Lane – genders are irrelevant to the metaphor; I’m not trying to imply that I’m actually talking about a guy.”

And I think this ties nicely into Mike’s monologue in The Piggyback. By now, we (mostly) all acknowledge that everything Mike said was in response to what Will told him; but what if that was partially because he was pretending to be talking to Will when he was reassuring El. He only says “I love you” after being urged by Will – what if his hesitancy was his psyching himself up like “just pretend you’re talking to Will. You’re in love with Will, so you can say ily to him. Oh shit wait– ‘you’re my superhero. Listen to all this stuff that you (El, you’re EL) can do that no one else can so no one thinks I’m thinking about someone else!’” (My boy is, like, constantly in panic mode and I love him for that. Big mood – very relatable.) 

“No, I… it’s so stupid given everything* that’s going on” [with El, to be thinking about our relationship friendship]

M: “It’s just … I… I don’t know, I just… uh…”

W: “You’re scared of losing her”*

(and not just a glance, Mike full-on stares at Will, watching his every move as he takes out the painting.) [tender, emotional music]

His face lights up when he looks at the painting because he thinks “Holy shit, could Will feel the same way?” And I do also think that Mr. Rocks for a Brain could have connected the dots of “this is the painting Will was working on for someone he likes” UNTIL Will pulls out the uno reverse card of “El commissioned it” and suddenly Mike is dejected because 1) not the same painting, because El didn’t know what the other one was about and 2) he’s reminded that he was just talking about “El” and is sad that Will didn’t understand his double mean. (And, if Mike was genuinely talking about Will, I don’t think Will realized this, solely because he believes it impossible for Mike to return his feelings.)

In conclusion, this boy is so scared of losing his best friend because he’s in love with him.

Ok I’m done <3 ✌🏻👀😮

[dubiousdisco]

If vecna is eating/hiding memories to weaken will such as his birthday and mike meeting him at the swings, then Nancy's "Jonathan who?" from the 8flix script makes more sense? Especially since Steve has gone back to his crush on Nancy, saying their break up was over him being "immature" which is.... a take??? But hardly the main take? What break up is he talking about, because I assumed it was s2's with barb's parents but perhaps he meant s1 when he was, in fact, not mature (but he grew out of that, doesn't he remember??)

Vecna even showed her the barb memory he had, he might have kept some of it or other parts to himself.

So everyone's been forgetting will's birthday but vecna might be attacking the whole byers family AND the wheelers, since mike seems to always be in his way with El and will, why not Nancy and Jonathan as well? (ALSO JONATHANS DREAM COLLEGE WASNT EVEN THE SAME AS NANCY'S AND WE KNOW JOYCE KNOWS IT BUT SHE DIDN'T SEEM TO BE THINKING ABOUT THAT VERY MUCH OTHER THAN JONATHAN'S ACCEPTANCE LETTER AND JONATHAN DIDN'T BRING THIS UP EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT IT WASN'T HIS DREAM)

Eleven might think mike was lying in his declaration and he might have been (because he can only remember the meeting with her at that point and he even forgot meeting will in the swings so he literally only remembers his life from the moment he met el? As if his life literally started there because what came before was taken?) and is it possible that she also doesn't remember memories with him so she had nothing to remember during his speech? He had nothing to say except his feelings that might or might not be true but because he had few memories available to him, he had to make the most of what he had and he had nothing (and perhaps a declaration of platonic love that he was sure she wouldn't want right now). As for El, as much as she was upset, nothing came to her mind?? Her first friend? Maybe she was that upset, understandable, but also maybe she had memories taken as well?? Did she manage to keep all of them somehow or did she also lose them? She did have a bunch of secret memories brenner had to trauma induce out of her

And idk how this factors into this but lucas told Max she didn't disappear he just didn't look hard enough, like, maybe those memories are in fact available but only if you look as hard as Lucas did, and them being related to traumatic things, even if they are good, perhaps they don't want to look, like El? Max's memories were still all there once everyone called for her during her first battle against vecna after all even if she was a target, but I hardly think Will would want to think about Lonnie even if it's necessary to remember his brother coming to reassure him that he will always be loved, or Mike might not want to remember life before El because right before that Will disappeared, even if he needs to remember that to remember meeting Will.

Also if vecna takes always all of Will's "safety" memories, Will still feels he can keep fighting because he loves mike, in his own words, can vecna actually hide not only memories but LOVE??? He can't erase the painting, for example. He can destroy it, like max's drawing, but it was real and lucas remade it. If vecna cant deal with love he might just kill mike instead though. Althought EVEN SO. Does death stop someone from loving another? No that does not. so what's his plan here? If he needs will he will have to hide love itself or erase every conection will has to happiness and love, so maybe he will just erase mike?

ALSO WILL AND MIKE SAY ITS BEEN A YEAR BUT EVERYONE ELSE KNOWS ITS BEEN SIX MONTHS IS VECNA MESSING WITH THEM BY ADDING DAYS INTO THEIR LIVES TO MAKE THEM MORE DISTANT SOMEHOW OR IS THIS UNRELATED??

[r6shippingdelivery]

i think the thing that bothers me most about the whole zofia and ela thing is that it feels like a massive retcon. like did anyone else read Zofia bio? because to me it heavily implies that zofia might have killed their dad?? like ubisoft???? hello?? and it sounds more like zofia tried to reconcile with ela rather than Ela trying to reach out to her sister and being rebuffed?? idk whatever man

but i love the shot of the two opposing sides in the parking lot and you can see Thatcher in the background because the SAS are losing Smoke after all this time! like how did that conversation go?? was Mike just like a "disappointed but not surprised" dad when Smoke decided to go or was he more all out angry with him? and also Lion seeing Finka go! they were partners so it must be hard for both of them too! and he most likely doesn't know her reasoning since very few people know about her illness :(

Oh, I am so very annoyed that they retconned the lore of the sisters (although retconning lore is a staple of Siege's writers, they always change stuff to suit their needs atm, leaving a mess to piece for the fans). Although I do not really share the same conclusions you reached. Lemme explain:

We're told that the sisters grew up being distant due to Jan Bosak playing favorites, Zofia accepting his harsh methods due to the trauma of when bullying classmates almost drowned her - she wanted to become stronger so she wouldn't be vulnerable again, while Ela struggled and rebelled under her dad's strict authority. They did NOT work together in the early years of their careers, Zofia went overseas and met her husband in Mali, and Ela dropped off the military school, went to art school in Berlin, and later joined a small PMC group.

When Zofia went back to Poland to get married, her wishes of a small ceremony were hijacked by her dad, who turned it into a marked celebration, reuniting the clique of politicians who took power after the assassination of Poland’s president. Zofia was shocked to see two former suspects among the crowd, embraced warmly by her father. She left the party early, feigning illness. While investigating what she’d seen, Zofia discovered she was pregnant (literal excerpt from her bio). She kept that pregnancy secret, probably out of fear or uncertainty. And in the following months, her dad committed suicide. Allegedly.

After the death of her dad and the birth of her daughter, Zofia learns Ela is joining GROM and it's then when she attempts to reconnect with her sister while following her into Rainbow. None of that bullshit of "we were a team for years, but when father died you left me alone", it's the fucking opposite of what their bios say!!

From Harry's psychological report of Zofia, we learn that Zofia struggles with her father's death. She doesn't believe it was suicide and asked if I can recover his autopsy report (again, literal excerpt). So no, this indicates she's obsessed with uncovering the truth, she suspects those politicians who organized the assassination of the president killed her dad too, maybe to tie loose ends. And she's obsessed with discovering the truth, Harry even hints she's asked him to use his connections to let her access those reports, but he doesn't think he has those kinds of connections, nor does he think it's necessarily a good idea to indulge this obsession of Zofia, cause it won't bring her closure.

As for how they might react to some of the ops joining Nighthaven, I'm not about to especulate about what will happen cause they re-write and tweak the characters and their motivations every single time they make up something new 🤷

I don't think Thatcher was pleased, nor understanding. He is an old person with very rigid views of work (as seen in his interactions with Dokkaebi in The Hammer and The Scalpel), and I'd wager with a callsign of "Thatcher" he's conservative, patriotic, and old fashioned. So he would not take it well, nor be understanding like a dad figure, imo. As for Finka... do we really know she joined NH? The only people we see in the car with Kali are Ela and Smoke, the latter welcoming Ela to the NH family. We assume IQ, Pulse and Finka also joined cause they were around the cars too, but we don't know for sure. We don't know either if Lion and Finka are close or not as work partners. Although, seeing how last year she was siding with Ash and defending her and looking for a brawl with the people siding with NH, it would be a surprise for everyone if she joins NH. As you said, only Doc knows about her condition, so they wouldn't see it coming.

[fanmoose12]

the devil you know

Сharacters: Hange Zoe, Levi, Moblit Berner, Zeke Yeagar, Armin Arlert

Genres: Action / Drama

Summary: Can you still miss a person, if everything you knew about them was a lie?

Сhapter 7/?

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Сhapter 6

Life had never been particularly kind to Hange Zoe. Tragedies and heartbreaks followed her ever since the day she was born – kicking, screaming and nearly killing her own mother. Her mother never recovered from that blow, her health diminishing while vexation with her own child grew.

That day gave a start to Hange’s life – and to the endless stream of misfortunes she had to face.

Those misfortunes frequented, the amount of bad days increased as Hange was becoming older. But even as a child, driven solely by curiosity and fascination for the world, uncaring of the workings and the rules of the society around her, she had her fair share of frustrations. They usually appeared when her father was around – luckily, due to the nature of his work, he very rarely was. Hange didn’t know her father well, he was always absent, always somewhere else, doing something incredibly important, shaping the future of their country. He was many things - a leader, soldier, hero. But he was not a father. Hange had but a few memories of him, and after all these years she had forgotten the sound of his voice, couldn’t for the life of her remember if his hair was as brown as her own, or had she inherited that vivid color from her mother. But what Hange could never forget, what was etched into her memory for all eternity was the look in his eyes – full of incomprehension, bewilder, disappointment – that he always aimed at her. No matter what she did – excitedly gushed about her studies, showed him a shiny rock she found or urged to go and see the frog she caught, her father had the same reaction, always told her the same thing,

“I expected better from you, Hange.”

Those words were the first dagger that was buried in her chest. But it was far from being the only one.

Her father died before she reached her eleventh birthday. And despite the mourning clothes mother had forced her to wear, despite the endless eulogies she had to sit through, Hange didn’t feel the same sadness that everyone around her did, she didn’t – couldn’t – share their pain or understand their grief. Her father meant something for all those people, but to her he was just a stranger, an unpleasant one at that. When he died, a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Without him, it was so much easier to breathe.

But her sorrows, her frustrations— sadly, they didn’t end with her father’s death.

Once Hange finished her studies, completed her training, she was sent to the outside world, far away from Marley. And for a moment, for one fleeting moment, she was happy, excited to do what she always wanted – learn and explore. But she was not meant to busy herself with research, to familiarize herself with different cultures, she was sent to these distant lands as a soldier, a weapon of great Marleyan Empire. Instead of books and quills, she held a rifle and a knife. And the only thing she learnt was how much blood her motherland was spilling on the foreign soils.

Sleep was coming harder to her after that, her dreams were haunted by visions of red, by screams of pain and anguish. She had become a soldier, her hands made for creation were now covered in blood. Her brilliant mind was now broken by the horrors she had faced.

And so Hange decided to cover herself in thick armor, to hide behind a smile and false happiness. The bad days persisted, losses following after her like a shadow, chasing like an infatuated lover, but she didn’t let it break her, continued moving forward with her chin raised high and her lips curled up.

However, despite the positive attitude she had adopted, there were lots of days Hange considered bad, awful even – the day when she learned just how Titans were created, what price Eldians had to pay for that; the day when she realized that her teacher, brilliant Tom Ksaver was one of those so called shifters, that his days in this world would end abruptly; the day when she received her first wound and spent the night in infirmary, wallowing in pain; the day when she killed another human for the first time and saw the light fading from someone else’s eyes; the day when Wall Maria fell and she witnessed just how much destruction and devastation she helped to bring to this little island; the day when Mike and Nanaba died; the day when her squad perished; the day when she had to leave Paradis behind; the day when she was brought back.

There were lots of days Hange considered to be bad. But nothing – absolutely nothing – could compare to the fucking shit show that was waiting for her next.

___

This fateful day was off to a good, if only slightly weird, start. As always she was woken up by a knock on the door. However, this one was very different from Moblit’s – less rhythmic, and much louder. In fact, it didn’t sound like a knock at all, more like someone was kicking the door repeatedly.

Confused and still sleepy, Hange rolled from the bed and went to greet her guest, not bothering to put her glasses on. Behind the now opened door she found… a shape that could or could not belong to a human. She raised her hand, mumbled a quick ‘sorry’ and darted back inside the room, blindly searching for her glasses.

Once the specs took their rightful place on the bridge of her nose, Hange returned back to the shape that now took the form of a young, blonde man. She trailed her gaze down, to the tray he was holding. There were plates with pastries, omelet, sandwiches, sausages and a cup with brown liquid that had steam coming out of it.

“I’m sorry,” she spoke through her confusion, “But do I know you?”

“Not… yet?”

Hange couldn’t understand if his words were meant to be an affirmation or a question. Nevertheless, she took a step back, letting him in.

He went straight to setting up the table, humming under his breath as he did so. Hange watched him work, not knowing how to feel – puzzled or amused. She tried to catch the boy’s gaze and ask for his name, but, considering the amount of food he brought and how exquisitely delicious it looked, Hange already had a pretty solid guess about the persona of her visitor.

“Be my guest,” he gestured to the table after he finished setting it. Then, as an afterthought, he added, “My name is Niccolo.”

“I guessed it already,” Hange smiled, taking a seat. Her stomach growled, as the delicious smell of homemade food entered her nostrils, her mouth filling with saliva even before she took a fork in her hands. She forced herself to look away from the food, however, directing her eyes at the man who had prepared it all. “Thank you for the food, but may I ask what is the occasion?”

Niccolo didn’t answer right away. He took his time, dragging the chair to sit on the other side of the table, then absentmindedly fixing the napkin and pushing the plate closer to Hange.

She didn’t urge him, patiently waiting for him to start talking. She had a feeling that whatever he came here to tell her was going to be extremely interesting.

And Niccolo didn’t disappoint.

“I’ve spent most of my life hating Eldians. Like every good, conscious Marleyan, I believed them to be devils and abominations. When these people captured me I thought it’d be better to die than live among them. But then I’ve got to know them better, I cooked for them, I’ve talked with them, I… grew to like some of them.”

He took a pause, and Hange used this moment to push some food into her mouth. Just as she expected – it was finger-liking good. And it tasted even better, because she also had an intriguing story she could listen to while eating.

“And there is one person that I like most of all, more than anyone I had ever met. I’ve realized my feelings long ago - perhaps, they were born the moment that I set my eyes on her, perhaps, it was destiny that brought both of us together. And to think of it – a Marleyan and an Eldian. If someone had told me years ago that I’d fall for a devil from Paradis, I’d probably punch that person in the face, but look at me now…”

A Marleyan and an Eldian? Hange had heard that story before. Hopefully, Niccolo’s would have a happier ending.

“I wanted to confess to Sasha for a while now, but the time was never right, and I kept stalling… You know, I thought there was no reason to be hasty. but then Jean told me what happened during the attack on Liberio, how I almost lost Sasha and my chance to tell her how I truly feel, so…” Niccolo looked Hange in the eyes, his gaze shining with the love he had for Sasha. “I came to say thank you. For giving me another chance.”

Oh, what a sweetheart. Hange felt her chest warm at the sight of such devotion. She always was a sucker for a young, tender love.

“And?” she leaned over the table, eyes alight with curiosity. “What did Sasha say? She returned your feelings, right?”

“Um.” Niccolo brought a hand to his neck, rubbing the back of it. “I didn’t do it, didn’t, eh, confess. Yet.”

“And when—”

“Today,” he said, confidence returning to his voice. “I planned a dinner for Sasha, invited her family and friends. Actually… I wanted to invite you as well.”

Despite regret that spread through her, Hange curled her lips in a comforting, gentle smile. “Not the best idea, but I appreciate the thought. And,” she added, her smile turning into a cheeky grin. “I’ll be expecting another visit from you, where you’ll share all the details.”

Hange wished she could see it for herself – Niccolo standing before Sasha red in the face, stuttering his undoubtedly sweet confession, Sasha gasping, with her mouth opening in shock, their audience watching it all with a mix of mortification and amusement. Hange wished she could have the privilege of being the part of that audience, alongside a certain Captain, who would cringe horribly at the scene, unfolding before their eyes.

Hange wished— for many things. Alas…

“I’m sure your plan will work out perfectly, but just in case,” Hange winked, snickering, when she saw red spread through Niccolo’s cheeks. “Good luck.”

“Knowing Sasha’s friends… I’ll need all the luck I can get. But for now, I also need to get going, the dinner won’t prepare itself. So thank you once again.” Niccolo stood up, bowing his head. “For everything.”

“Make Sasha happy, that’s all the thanks I need.”

Niccolo nodded, showing her a smile. He headed to the door, and just before he left the room, Hange gave him thumbs up, wishing him luck once more.

As the door behind him closed, she slumped back in the chair and continued munching on her breakfast, a blissful expression appearing on her face.

So… not only a great cook, but also a romantic? Sasha was such a lucky girl.

___

Her next visitors were just as unexpected, and their conversation - a lot less pleasant. It was in that moment that Hange started to suspect that this day would take its rightful place in the collection of her awful ones. But she was far from knowing just how horrible it had the potential to become.

The moment that Armin tumbled inside the room without knocking, throwing the door open in his haste, and Mikasa trailed after him, her pace much slower but just as unsure, dread settled in Hange's stomach.

"Hange-san!" Armin was speaking in a quiet, but barely controlled voice. His chest moved rapidly, as he struggled to keep his breathing slow and even. Hange swallowed her worry, her thoughts running at a lighting speed. What could possibly have happened to make him so panicked? She chanced a look at Mikasa - the young girl wore the same guarded expression she always did, but her eyes kept shifting from side to side, hands clasped together tight enough to make her knuckles white. "We need to talk."

Hange gave them a cautious nod and stood up from the bed, the book she was reading moments ago all but forgotten now. Pieck's warning was loud in her mind, as her fear grew. Marley... they couldn't have attacked so swiftly, right?

Hange gestured for her guests to take their seats at the table that stood near the window. Absentmindedly, she wondered where Moblit was. He didn't show his face to her even once this day. What could he be so busy with?

"Your guard told us that you had a visitor today," Armin stiffly began. "Mind telling us who that was?"

Hange frowned, cocking her head to the side. If the guard told Armin about the visitor, didn't she also mention that it was Niccolo? The cooking boy had to be known around the barracks, if he was that close to Sasha.

"Niccolo came by, he wanted—"

"You mean, Marleyan came by." Armin corrected.

"Sasha's and your friend, if I understood properly," Hange protested.

"But he's Marleyan. Just like you."

So, Armin was accusing her. And not only her, but Niccolo too. Accusing them of conspiring, but for what purpose? By which means? Against who? Hange was so confused. Hange didn't understand. Armin was always so rational, so coolheaded. What could possibly make him so frantic? What drove him to such desperation, to such wild guesses?

"Armin..." any other time, with any other person who trusted her just a fraction more, Hange would have taken their hand in hers. She'd caress it gently, try to calm them down, but in Armin's state... Hange worried that it'd make matters even worse. "Armin," she repeated, lowering her voice ever so slightly, making it sound more trustworthy. "What happened?"

Armin didn't answer, lowering his eyes - in shame or indecisiveness, Hange couldn't guess. And so Mikasa took the word.

"Chief Zacklay is dead," she said. And if that wasn't mind-blowing enough, she added, "Eren escaped from the prison."

"Fuck."

What else was there to say? Everything was turned on its head - Paradis' biggest defender seemingly had gone completely off the rails. Hange wondered if the threat of Marley invasion was still the scariest crisis the island would have to face. The absence of the clear answer was… unnerving.

“We don’t know what to do, or where to look for Eren. That’s why… Armin hopes that you’ll shed some light on that.”

Armin hopes – an interesting choice of words. He didn’t think, didn’t speculate, didn’t hypothesize. He hoped – exhibited a desperate, illogical kind of feeling. So… it was that bad, huh?

“I know nothing about it.” Hange said truthfully. “As you’re aware I’m not even allowed to leave this room.”

“We know.” Mikasa agreed softly, pressing her hand to Armin’s. “But it’s hard to come to terms with it.”

“He is your friend.”

Hange didn’t understand what they were going through, she never had someone that close to her destroy the trust between them, but she knew it wasn’t easy. Eren had changed, Eren had already lied to them once, but he was their friend, they’ve spent years, believing him and in him. They couldn’t change their opinion of him in just one night, they couldn’t let a few mistakes kill what they had created over the course of their lives.

She couldn’t help but wonder if that’s how her friends felt. Was it just as hard to believe in her betrayal? Did Moblit and Levi feel just as lost and unsure? Were they just as desperate to come up with a reason for her behavior? Whatever they did, whatever they felt, Hange hoped she would never have to learn about it. She was miserable enough as it was.

But Eren knew what his friends were going through, had to be aware of the consequences of his actions, of what he was doing to his friends, how much he was hurting them. What drove him to his decision then? What happened to the boy with bright eyes and big heart?

“Do you have any idea what Eren is going to do?”

“I don’t think it’s Eren’s doing, Zeke is probably lying to him, but…” his eyes were still cast down, his finger weakly tracing some vague shapes, when Armin muttered, “Hange-san… do you by any chance know what rumbling is?”

Hange froze. Her throat constricted acutely, creating a quiet, choking sound. For one second, one terrifying second her heart stopped, ceasing its usual rhythm.

Rumbling? Did she hear correctly? Was Armin speaking the truth, did he mean what Hange was worried he meant?

Rumbling.

A short, but scary word. One that was mentioned in but a few frowned upon books. One that was only whispered amongst the members of Titan Society, too horrifying to speak it loud and clear. The word that meant death, the end of everything they knew about their world.

“We were meant to experiment with it,” Armin explained, wriggling his hands. “Nothing too serious, nothing too… devastating. Just a showcase of the power we yield, to keep the other nations on their toes. To keep them away from us. But ever since Zeke had appeared, Eren became so…”

Even since Zeke had appeared, Eren had decided to act on his own, distanced himself from his comrades and friends, joined forces with his brother. Hange would have believed, would have been convinced that the boy she once knew was incapable of such cruelty…

But Liberio, the heart of her homeland was standing in ruins. And it was Eren’s doing.

She narrowed her eyes, gave a scrutinizing look first to Armin, then to Mikasa. Hange really, really hoped that she was wrong. Against all sense, she hoped that they would drive away her doubts, that Eren’s closest friends knew him much more intimately than she ever could, that their opinion of him was right and just.

“Do you think he is capable of proceeding with it?”

“No,” Armin answered.

And the same time Mikasa said, “Yes.”

Yes, said the girl, who was in love with Eren, who was devoted to him above anything or anyone else. She said yes, spoke it quietly, in pained voice. But without a shadow of a doubt.

Hange shuddered.

She— they had to stop this. Somehow. Anyhow. Before it was too late.

"Eren can't activate the rumbling on his own," Hange mused out loud, biting at her thumb.

"Right," Armin confirmed. "He needs the bearer of the royal blood."

And that was good, that meant not all hope was lost. To go through with the rumbling, Eren had to find Zeke, and Zeke was out in the woods with Levi. He would never get away from Levi, and so the world was safe, but—

Zeke wasn't the only one with special blood. There was also—

Fuck.

"Historia, where is she?"

Armin's eyes widened, a gasp escaping him as he came to the same conclusion as Hange. "She arrived in the town... This morning."

And that was the morning Eren decided to make his escape. Hardly a coincidence.

"You don't think..." Armin began tentatively, his eyes pleading Hange to say that it was a joke, that she was wrong in her assumptions. She wished she could give him that reassurance.

"I don't know."

She didn't know what Eren's plan was, what was his goal, what was Zeke’s role in all of this. She didn't know what means Eren would use to ensure his success.

Would he go to his brother, would he trust him enough? Or would he go to Historia and risk hurting his friend?

And how Eren would get to them? Both Zeke and Historia were heavily guarded - Zeke as the hostage, Historia as a Queen and a future mother. But who was the easiest target?

With Levi being in charge of Zeke, Historia was an obvious choice, unless—

Hange swallowed heavily.

Unless Zeke was planning something too - some rouse, or a play, something that would fool Levi, make him lose his focus.

Make him lose Zeke.

And if that worked—

"Where is Historia?" Hange repeated that question. Hidden in the forest, theoretically, Levi was safe. He could hold his own in a fight against Zeke, Hange has seen him do just that in Liberio, even if some part of it was a spectacle. She also had seen Zeke after Shiganshina, personally tended to his wounds that refused to heal properly because of the amount of his injuries. Back then, every hiss of his was like a melody to Hange, a miniscule payback for the carnage he had born.

Zeke was far away from Eren, guarded by Levi. Hange had to trust him with that task. She had to hold onto hope that Levi would be safe. But Historia... Historia was another matter. She was here, close, and as good as her security was, they were not on par with humanity's strongest. They had to protect the Queen first.

"Historia chose this day to arrive because of Niccolo's invitation. She's probably in his restaurant, along with the others." Mikasa said.

So she wasn't alone, surrounded by soldiers and friends. Would that be enough to hold off Eren? Possibly, although, Hange wasn't sure.

But Eren was not alone, he had followers, the ones Moblit was so worried about. Would they be just as amicable? Would they not hurt the ones Eren cared so much about?

"Historia is our main priority. We have to go to the restaurant and make sure that—"

"We?" Armin interrupted.

Hange deflated. Of course, how could she forget? She wasn't their superior, their commander, their friend. There was no we. She was an outsider. She always were.

"I didn't mean to—"

"No." Mikasa curtly said. "We need you, Hange-san. We do," she repeated to Armin, who was already opening his mouth with a protest on his tongue. "We need all the help that we can get."

Armin studied Mikasa for a moment, then turned to face Hange, regarding her pensively. The intense look of his big blue eyes was unnerving, almost impossible to hold without flinching. There was a man Hange once knew with the same intent gaze. Oh, how she wished to see him again. He'd know what to do in a shitty ordeal they were facing right now.

"You're right," Armin sighed at last. "We might not have same goals or even enemies... but our concerns align. With you on our side, our chances are much higher. So, Hange Zoe," Armin offered his hand for a handshake. "Will you help us?"

An unlikely alliance then, huh? Hange could work with that.

She shook his hand with a smile.

___

Something was turning, twisting inside Hange on the way to the restaurant. Even the air seemed stiff, the landscape outside of the carriage bright, pretty but ominous all the same. Liberio - her city - looked just as lively before it got crushed.

And today, right now, she couldn't get that image out of her mind. The streets she walked through hundreds, thousands of times; bakeries she visited day after day; parks and playgrounds she admired from afar - everything was now gone, turned into debris, into nothing but broken stone and crushed glass.

And all of it - all the destruction, pain and blood and death - all of it was a courtesy of one Eren Yeager, the boy with bright eyes and passionate soul.

Would the same thing happen to another city? To all the cities in the world? To hundreds and millions of—

Hange took a deep breath, stopping herself before she screamed in fury, ripped something apart, overturned the carriage, or worse - started crying.

No. Nothing of the sort would happen to the other countries or their people. They would stop this— this catastrophe and Eren, and Zeke, and whoever else was involved. They would not allow another tragedy.

In the meanwhile, Hange did her damnest to focus on small, trivial things - the inside of the carriage, the bumps on the road, the subtle similarities between Mikasa and Levi, the sunbeam playing across Armin's face - anything to keep her mind from other, much scarier things. It didn’t really work.

"We are here," Armin announced, cutting through her morbid thoughts. He put a hand on her elbow - a tentative, but heartfelt gesture. Hange wondered just how disturbed she must have seemed to earn it.

"Let's go," she shook off all the worries, all of her fears. They weren't needed. They would slow her down, serve as a distraction, nuisance. And today, she had to be on her best. "We have no time to spare."

Mikasa and Armin seemed to be of the same opinion, and so the three of them left the carriage and started moving towards restaurant's entrance.

The place was much bigger than Hange had imagined it to be. She expected to see something small, but snug, something homely. But Niccolo's restaurant was grander than most buildings on Paradis. It didn't quite reach the luxurious and exquisite nature of restaurants in Marley, but— clearly, that was Niccolo's inspiration.

The restaurant - as big as it was - was packed, the merry sounds of laughter were heard even from the courtyard. People were celebrating, people came here to have some fun. Hange knew just how rare those instances were. And she hated being the one to put a stop to it. But she'd rather ruin someone's day and be wrong about her assumption or ruin someone's say and be right, than— Than not ruin someone's day, be right and waste precious time.

The three of them walked through the dark brown door, and instantly Niccolo stood in front of them, appearing seemingly out of thin air.

"Armin, Mikasa! I didn't think you'd make it! And you brought Hange with you!”

The happiness on his face was so endearing, so genuine. Hange was wrecked with sympathy for him. Niccolo was just a boy, who loved a girl, and decided that today of all days he'd make his feelings known. Unfortunately, the day he had picked turned out to be one of Hange's bad ones.

"Congratulations once again," Hange made sure to put on an extra gentle smile, in vain hope that it would soothe the effect of her next words. "But that's not why we are here."

"No?" the happiness was gone from Niccolo's face, suspicion overtaking it, but only for a second. Next came anger. "I thought we were over this," he leveled, glaring at Armin. "I thought we've already discussed everything you wanted. And I'm not going to deal with this bullshit again. Not today."

Niccolo whirled around, his leg raised to, no doubt, dramatically storm out. Mikasa's gravelly voice and a tight grip on his wrist stopped him. "If you don't want to ruin this day for Sasha, then take us to Queen Historia. Right now."

Oh. Even Hange felt shivers at that tone of voice, and the threat wasn't even directed at her. Was Levi teaching her his tricks? Or was every Ackerman just naturally good at being so scary?

Niccolo yanked his hand out of Mikasa's grasp, massaging it with a wounded expression. He didn't try to argue once again, though. And soon Hange, Armin and Mikasa were following after him to the banquet hall.

He took them through the lengthy hallway, past kitchen and washing room. At the edge of it, Hange could see two familiar figures - one tall, another short. They were standing next to a wooden cupboard, snickering quietly to each other. As they came closer, Hange realized that Jean and Connie were holding several bottles of wine, clearly having trouble choosing which one to open.

"Niccolo!" Connie yelled out, waving the bottles over his head. "Which one is better?"

"That's not for you, you idiots!" Niccolo snatched the bottles from their hands, his retort vicious— and more shaken than the situation truly called for. Any other day, Hange would have found it weird, would have paid more attention to it. Any day, but not during her bad day.

So she shrugged it off and after giving Jean and Connie a painfully awkward wave, continued following after Niccolo.

Once they were inside, Hange couldn't help but marvel at the amount of people gathered. There were lots of civilians, none of which Hange could recognize. And among them, there was a sea of green, representing the members of Survey Corps. Most of these faces were known to her. One of those faces in particular swiftly left the conversation he was having, gluing himself to her side.

"Hange-san? Armin? What is going on?"

Moblit had his mouth open, his eyes shifting between the three of them. Hange didn't know what he had seen there, what face she was making, but Moblit didn't ask another question, silently falling in step with them.

Sensing the change in the room, Jean and Connie hurried to do the same.

They all stopped in front of the table in the corner - one near the window and with a nice bouquet standing on it. The table was occupied by two - giggling Sasha, who was retelling some story in a rather animated fashion, and Historia, who listened to her friend with a joyful smile.

Looking at her, Hange couldn't help but be amazed. Last time she saw the girl, she had just become a Queen, still doubtful and unsure in her position. And, although, the woman before her eyes didn't look exactly royally – what, with her simple dress and long, loose hair - but Historia had certainly grown, become tougher, more confident in her abilities. However, she was still as pretty as a picture, and the motherhood had enhanced her beauty even further.

"Your Majesty," Hange was the first to take the word, but after that she faltered, not sure how to proceed further. Should she bow? Kneel before the Queen?

She was spared from making that decision. Because right in that moment, right when she was meaning to open her mouth and explain everything to Historia as curtly as was possible— her day turned from simply bad to straight up shitty.

"You!"

Familiar voice. The anger in it wasn't unusual too. Never before it was directed at her but—

Hange recognized the pride of Marley, the future Warrior right away. It was all she was allowed to do before getting promptly tackled to the ground.

"Traitor! Liar! How could you do that to us! How could you side with the devils?"

Gabi kicked and punched anything she could reach, accentuating her every word and accusation, but the blows were barely registered by Hange. She felt no pain, only huge amount of relief.

Gabi was furious, Gabi was loud. Gabi was alive and well.

A month, a whole month she spent worrying about these kids, only to have fate throw them back together in the most ludicrous way possible.

“Gabi,” despite her kicks, despite her loud shrieks, Hange smiled happily. She pulled the girl closer, wrapping one arm around her, while her other went to softly brush the girl’s hair. “Gabi, are you alright? You’re not hurt?”

“And why would you care?” Gabi suddenly sniffled, voice muffled by Hange’s shirt. “You never cared about us, did you? Only about those devils!”

“Gabi…” Hange sighed, finding herself at a loss of words. How could she explain something so complicated? Something she couldn’t understand herself?

Luckily, an unexpected help arrived.

"Don’t judge too harshly, child. You may not understand it yet, but humans' hearts are tricky things. No rules apply to them, they never listen to reason. They don't act like we want them to. They create emotions, make our lives brighter, and at the same time... So much more confusing. And accusing someone of caring for the wrong person… it’s just not right."

Hange looked up, surprised to see a middle-aged man standing before her. She was fairly sure that she had never met him before, but his eyes, his manner of speaking... Somehow, they were familiar.

Before she could connect the dots, however, her attention was ripped away once more, this time by Niccolo's deep voice.

"Eldians, Marleyans," he scoffed. "All of us are vile, devil is in each and every one of us. We're all imperfect, but all of us yearn to find the place where we belong, where we're loved. We don't choose who these people would be, we love others for what they are, not what they represent, or what side of the conflict they come from. And if loving my enemy is treason, I’ll gladly go down as a traitor."

Niccolo glanced back, meeting the eyes of the one he had dedicated this speech to. Hange caught Sasha’s bewildered, loving look and smiled, feeling her eyes go misty.

So, Marleyan and Eldian? Was a union like that even possible? Four years ago, on the dawn of the day when she left the one she loved the most behind, she'd say that it would never work out. But... times were changing, right? For the better, or so, at least, Hange hoped.

"Hange-san..." Moblit crouched beside her, painfully awkward. "Erm..."

Oh right. Only now, Hange realized that she was still lying on the floor. And that in on itself wasn't so unusual, but most of the times... she didn't have a ten or so pairs of eyes watching her.

Hange cleared her throat. Then, as absurdity of the situation caught up with her, snickered quietly.

"Hey, Gab," she stroked the girl's side. "Would you mind letting me get up?"

Gabi rose on her elbows, considering Hange. The frown on her face didn't vanish, but— her eyes weren't so full of rage anymore - clearly, the speeches had left an impression on her.

"I'm still mad at you," she said, lip stuck out petulantly. "But... I'm glad that you're here. Because it means they're coming for us, right? Commander Magath and Reiner— Reiner will save us, right? We just need to wait for a little longer, until they arrive."

They're already here, Hange wanted to say. If Pieck came, there was no way that Reiner would want to sit that one out— or be allowed to, anyway. Marley was coming, their guns blazing. But in the room full of members of the Survey Corps and Queen herself, Hange couldn’t say that, wasn’t yet ready to betray her country like that. She could only kiss Gabi's brow and promise, "You will be alright."

Reassured, Gabi nodded and let Hange get up. As soon as her feet had touched the ground, Hange found herself with someone once again wrapped around her. This time, however, the embrace was that much warmer and a lot less violent.

"Falco," she carded her fingers through his sandy blonde hair. "I take it you've missed me too?"

"You can't imagine," he spoke, his face pressed to her stomach. "Going on missions with Gabi is a torture! I could barely keep up with her!"

"You'll learn with time," Hange looked back, exchanging a look with Moblit. "It's not that hard to deal with annoying shits like us, right, Mob?"

He tugged at his collar, strategically evading her curious eyes. "Perhaps, after a very long while..." he reached out, patting Falco's shoulder. "And with the help of a good alcohol stash."

"Oi!" Hange slapped his arm. "He's only a kid!"

Moblit shrugged. "He has to know what is waiting for him."

"Don't listen to him," she gently consoled Falco. "He's joking."

Although... Hange had to agree with Moblit on that. If Falco continues running after Gabi like that, he'd have his first grey hair by the age of fifteen.

With the boy still clinging to her, Hange surveyed the room, swiping her gaze across Sasha and Niccolo, who stood side by side, wearing identical, enamored expressions, to Connie and Jean, who were whispering something to one another, and finally to Mikasa and Armin, who hid Historia behind their backs.

Right. She didn't come here for a cheerful reunion. The fate of the world was at stake. Hange pulled herself together and— pulled Falco away from her.

"Sorry, dear," she fondly ruffled his hair once again. "I need to go now, but I'll get back to you."

Could she do, though? Could she return to these kids, ask them to be placed under her care? Should she do it, considering that she didn't even know what was going to happen to her, where would she be one hour from now? Was it wise then to drag kids along with her? They were sharp and strong, more than capable, and they did survive on their own for so long— wait.

How did they manage to survive on a foreign soil, all by themselves? And why they were here today, in Niccolo's restaurant of all places?

"I guess these ducklings are yours?"

Oh. The familiar man that Hange had never seen was back, now standing in front of Hange, showing her a kind smile.

"We haven't been introduced, but it's hard to mistake you for someone else. Hange Zoe, right?"

"Right," Hange shook his warm, calloused hand. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Braus."

"The accent was a dead giveaway, huh?" he laughed, the corners of his eyes crinkling. He had a nice laugh, Hange decided, deep, heartfelt and genuine. She liked Mr. Braus, just as much as she liked his daughter.

"I understand that you're the one who had taken care of my ducklings," Hange giggled, catching Gabi's very much unamused look. "Thank you for that."

"And thank you for saving my daughter's life. For that deed I could never repay you."

"That was... that was nothing. I did nothing, just happened to be in the right place, in the right time."

"It's only because of you that we're here, celebrating, instead of mourning. So," he gripped her shoulder tightly, his brown eyes staring into hers intently. "Let me express my gratitude, for that is the smallest thing that I can do."

"I think," Connie inserted himself between them, his mischievous smile lighting up the room. "This calls for a toast!"

No more than a second later, Jean had produced a bottle of wine, opening it swiftly and skillfully. Once the bottle was dealt with, he filled a glass with wine, thrusting it to the person standing closest to him. Which— happened to be Gabi.

She took all but a tentative sniff from the glass, before it was roughly yanked out of her hands. The drink splashed everywhere as Falco hurried to finish it, before Gabi caught up and took it away from him.

There was just as a couple of droplets left, everyone watched the scene in amusement, until—

Until Niccolo screamed.

He pounced from his place, wrestling the bottle out of Jean’s hands. “It’s not for you, morons! I told you not to touch it!”

Ice spread through Hange’s veins, as she heard the desperation in his voice. If her first thought was the right one… she had to make sure of it immediately.

“Who that wine was meant for?” she seethed, grabbing Niccolo by lapels of his shirt, suffocating him in her white-knuckled grip and currently not caring about it. Everyone in the room tensed, Sasha jumping closer to them, but Hange didn’t care, ignored all of them completely. “Who that wine was meant for?” she shouted, shaking the boy like a ragdoll.

“F-for the military officials! It’s the good stuff, expensive, it was meant only for them!”

The good stuff, the best one they got, Hange reasoned. The next question was pointless, she knew the answer already, was the one who came up with this idea in the first place, but— Niccolo was a good guy, a sweet boy in love with a kind girl. Hange wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.

“What’s wrong with the wine?”

And that was it. That’s all she had to do to get to the bottom of it. One short, simple question, and Niccolo crumbled. He didn’t try to fight her, made no attempts to protect himself. He hanged his head in shame, avoiding the dozen pairs of eyes that now were boring into him.

“They made me do it,” he whispered, his hands, his lips— his whole body shaking. “I had no choice, you wouldn’t understand—”

Oh, but Hange did understand. Better than Niccolo knew. She knew how it felt to be forced to follow the current, accept every cruel tide. She knew just how frustrating, how painful it was to lose control.

So yeah, Hange understood. But she could not excuse.

However, she had no place to judge as well, she herself was a reason for so many tragedies and disasters. She couldn’t judge, and she didn’t have the time for it. The deed was already done, now they had to try and undo it.

“Who gave you the orders?”

The spine fluid, injected into wine, came from Zeke, that Hange had no doubt about, but Zeke was far away, deep in the forest, under Levi’s watchful eyes. So who had redistributed the wine? Who was the betrayer, the real culprit?

“It’s—”

He didn’t get to finish. For only now Hange had realized what had happened moments prior. Falco drank the wine. Falco. Drank. The. Wine.

Her heart thumping, Hange pushed Niccolo away, grabbing Falco’s hand instead. Armin, Mikasa, the Queen, let someone else deal with that shit, for now she had to try and delay the inevitable. She looked around, her eyes wild, mind racing. “Where— where is the bathroom or— or a—”

“I’ll show you.”

It was Moblit’s quiet, reassuring voice. He gripped her elbow gently, taking her away. Hange let herself be led, rubbing soothing circles into Falco’s palm all the while. She didn’t know what do, wasn’t even sure that spinal fluid can be taken out of someone’s system, but she’d be damned if she wouldn’t at least try. Falco, sweet, smart Falco, he didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve to be turned into a Titan, a mindless creature with no loyalties and feelings. Hange wouldn’t allow it, she was ready to do the impossible and then more to save the little boy.

Once they reached the bathroom, Hange set out to work - took off her coat, rolled the sleeves of her shirt, sat Falco down on a stool, pushed his head under the faucet, instructed him to try and rinse all the wine out.

It was possibly entirely pointless, Hange was pretty sure of it— but. What else could she do? Sit tightly and wait for the young life to vanish?

"That thing in the wine..." Moblit spoke up - calmly, but defeated, as though he had already surrendered to whatever tragedy that would befall him. "It's bad, isn't it?"

Hange tensed. Hange jumped to her feet, fisting her hand into Moblit's shirt so desperately, the fabric creaked in protest.

"Moblit," she croaked, her voice shaking, broken, eyes begging him to say that he was joking, that his inquiry was simple curiosity. "Moblit, did you drink that wine?"

"It was served at every government meeting. I couldn't refuse."

No. No. Hange couldn't believe, didn't want to believe it, Moblit— not Moblit, she didn't want him to fall victim to this, become another casualty in her long, extremely bloody career. Anyone else, but not— not him.

"It's the same tactic we used in Ragako village," she explained numbly. "Back then it was gas, this time the fluid that turns people into Titans was added into wine. It activates after Zeke screams."

"Ah," Moblit shook his head, a faint smile on his lips. "If - when - I turn, you could experiment on me. Just— don't give me a stupid name like Sawney or Bean, I'd like, I think, I'd like to be called Moblit. If I'd still have some semblance of consciousness by that time, if not - you can call me whatever you—"

"Shut up." Hange choked, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. She ignored them, glaring fiercely at him. "Shut the fuck up, Moblit, you will not turn into a Titan, I will not allow it, I'll do whatever I can—"

"Hange-san," he smiled, and it broke her heart. "It will be okay."

It won't. Because it was her damn creation, made to defeat faceless, unknown enemies. And now it was used against people she cared about.

She had to do something about it. With a start Hange realized that the solution was... fairly easy.

"Avoid Zeke at all costs." She told Moblit, urgency turning her speech more frantic. "Don't go near him, try— try to get away if he gets into city—"

But Zeke couldn't get into the city. Zeke couldn't get out of the forest at all, couldn't make a single move without Levi knowing it.

Levi was the solution. He would keep Zeke under his guard, he would keep Moblit, and the rest of them, safe. Hange finally could take a breath.

But the calm didn't last for long.

As soon as she returned to Falco's side to check on the boy's condition, a loud crash came from somewhere deep within the restaurant. Hange heard the sound of hurried footsteps, then a concerning scream.

She exchanged a look with Moblit. Both of them started running at the same moment.

When they tumbled inside the main room, they froze in shock.

Sasha's family, members of Survey Corps and among them— soldiers with rifles. Hange scanned the room once more, her eyes travelling further, to the table by the window. She breathed out in relief - Historia was guarded by Connie and Jean. At least, the Queen was safe.

But not the rest of them.

"Squad Leader Moblit," the ginger head took a step towards them, a too wide smile plastered on his face. Hange didn't like that man and his smile. And the gun in his hands. The gun that was now aimed at the ceiling but could be very well aimed at Moblit, or anyone else in that room. “You’re the one I need.”

Moblit inched closer too, his chin held high and eyes defiant. Hange didn’t miss the fact that his movement hid her behind his broad shoulders. Oh, loyal, caring Moblit. How could she leave him to his fate?

“I’m here,” he leveled to the redhead. “What do you need me for, Floch?”

If it wasn’t for the gun in his hands, or the smile on his face, the way Moblit spelled his name – the obvious aversion, unhidden contempt was enough for Hange to understand that this Floch guy wasn’t very nice. And, despite the Wings of Freedom on his back, he certainly wasn’t Moblit’s friend.

So. That was one of the famed Yeagerists? And the rest of them, the ones that held civilians on gunpoint were the part of the same group? Hange was so not impressed.

“You’re buddies with Captain Levi,” Floch continued. “That means you know exactly where he is hiding.”

“Perhaps.” Moblit nodded. “But what makes you think that I will tell you?”

Floch’s smile grew, and the gun that was held lazily in his hand, pointing at the empty air, moved. It was lowered down, its barrel now staring right at Moblit. But the gun didn’t stop there, it moved again, shifting just a little to the side. To where Hange was standing.

“Hange Zoe, right?” Floch tilted his head, so he could look straight at her. “I didn’t have the pleasure to make your acquaintance before, but I’m glad that life threw us all together. Especially now, for you see…” he lifted a hand, and a soldier took his place, his rifle raised, while Floch paced from side to side. “I’m not allowed to hurt them,” first he pointed at Jean and Connie. “Or her,” now at Historia. “I’m, however, allowed to do with the others whatever I want. And since hurting our dear Squad Leader Moblit wouldn’t bear the needed results…” he spread his arms, shrugging helplessly. “No one would miss a traitor, right?”

“Don’t you dare!” Moblit surged forward, shoulders shaking from the unbridled fury. But he made no more than a few steps, before he was immobilized, two soldiers coming from behind to grab his arms and twist them painfully. Moblit didn’t back up even then, continuing his fierce resistance. “Leave her out of this!”

“Ah, yes,” Floch chuckled to himself, observing Moblit’s struggling with morbid fascination. “The luck is surely on our side today. You will be useful after all, Hange Zoe. We will take you with us.”

No sooner than these words left his mouth, Hange felt a pair of hands around her, subduing and enabling to make a single move. She thrashed, she kicked, but to no avail.

“Floch—” Moblit grounded, pulling on his restraints.

“Don’t you worry,” Floch squeezed Moblit’s shoulder, showing him a look of feigned affection. “No one is going to get hurt, if you cooperate.”

No. They couldn’t cooperate. Cooperating meant leading Floch and his bunch to Zeke, and that meant leading them to Levi.

“Mob! Don’t listen to him! We can’t–” instinctively, momentarily forgetting about the arms that held her down, Hange reached out to him, trying to catch his eyes.

But Moblit turned his face to the other side, avoiding her gaze. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I can’t let you get hurt.”

Ah. Hange’s heart sunk, while Floch clasped his hands in delight.

“I’m glad you’ve made the right choice! And now,” he raised a finger, and Hange with Moblit were forced to move forward. “Let’s get going!”

___

Outside, the weather changed. The sun hid behind the heavy, grey clouds, the rain was now steadily falling down, creating puddles under their feet.

The gloomy weather further enhanced the trepidation inside Hange. The feeling, the certainty that something was going to get very wrong and very fast persisted, forcing her to grab the reins of the horse tighter, in vain hope of providing some miniscule outlet to her ever growing anxiety.

Despite the fear, Hange spurred her horse forward, doing her best to ignore the rifles pointed at her back. It was proving to be quite a vexing task, when the said rifles kept pushing her to move even faster but— it wasn’t the worst situation Hange had found herself in. That time when she and Zeke were captured by the enemy forces and put inside a fortified prison was so much worse. The prison had anti-Titan artillery surround the perimeter, they were alone and cut off from their allies. And still they managed to escape. Compared to that, a few Yeagerists were nothing.

Although, Hange had to admit – the stories did them no justice. In reality they were a lot more vile and disgusting.

But, apparently, Levi still trained some of them. And, boy, did he teach them well. One soldier behind Hange kept huffing, cursing the weather under his breath. Hange waited, and when he once again got distracted by the mud that splashed on his boot, she thanked Levi for his absurd obsession with cleanliness and acted, stealing that little moment for herself.

“Hey,” she leaned closer to Moblit who was riding right beside her, and whispered to him in a voice just slightly louder than the sound of the rain. “Remember that thing we did during Erwin’s coup-d'etat?”

Moblit winced, anxiety reflecting in his eyes. “When we punched people that were armed with rifles?”

Hange grinned. Atta boy, of course, he remembered. “I’ll give you a signal,” she nodded discreetly and returned to her previous position, now directing all of her attention on their fearless, redheaded leader.

“So Zeke is your main goal, right? You don’t actually need Historia?”

Floch scoffed, rising his nose up in distain. “The Queen is a back-up plan.” Wow, getting information out of them was that easy? Some devoted followers they were. Hange continued listening, eager to know what else Floch would reveal. “We’re not sure what exactly is going to happen, and Eren… doesn’t like hurting his friends.”

They weren’t sure what was going to happen. Only for these words Hange was ready to throttle each and one of them. What was going to happen? Mass destruction and death, a lot of unnecessary deaths.

But did these children care? Of course, they didn’t.

And would Zeke care about it? Hange wasn’t sure. Zeke was many things – cruel, violent, heartless, he never cared that much about other people. However, he was his father’s son, and, as much as he had loathed Grisha Yeager, Zeke still carried around the hero complex that his father fought so hard to plant inside him. Was it possible then that Zeke would be against the rumbling? Was it possible that he didn’t know of Eren’s true intention, that he blindly trusted his little brother?

Was it possible that their goals didn’t align? If so… then Zeke was a key player in this game of chess. He was a powerful figure they had to get on their side. If Hange could talk to him—

A loud sound, a crashing bang interrupted the flow of her thoughts, making her jump in the saddle.

That noise, it was similar to a thunder, but not quite. Hange knew that sound all too well, was the one who created the devise that was activated with the very same sound.

It couldn’t be— that noise couldn’t come from a thunder spear explosion. But… what other explanation was there?

“Let’s head there!” Floch commanded. “Something must have happened.”

Hange’s heart raced as they inched closer and closer to the place where the sound had come from. It wasn’t hard to find, the gory sight of the poor, wounded horse and the blasted cart was easy to spot.

They approached it slowly, and suddenly Hange froze, her eyes landing on something near the riverbank. Something that looked a lot like a body – a short one with strong stature and black hair—

“Moblit,” she whispered, begging him to clear her suspicions, to reassure her that she was mistaken.

But Moblit pursed his lips, and shook his head – brief, but resolute.

For a second, Hange froze, overcome with desperation and fear. Her heart stopped too, if just for a moment.

Levi, he couldn’t— but what if he did?

Ignoring the insistent shouts and strict orders to come back, Hange jumped off the horse, scrambling to get closer to the riverbank and to him.

She fell into the mud, uncaring of her clothes, of the mud she was splashing around. She felt nothing, the rain, the river, her captors, it all faded into background. She cared for nothing else, except the limp body in her hands.

Oh, please, please, please.

Her hands trembled as she turned the body to face her, careful as she could be. A bloody mess, her personal nightmare stared right back to her.

And in that moment— Hange felt her heart break, ripping, shuttering into thousands pieces. She thought she knew loss before, she thought she knew what pain was.

She was so wrong.

[knightsofeclipse]

Let's start with character "introductions", that makes sense as a starting point, right? The Winx Bloom: the lost princess of the destroyed kingdom of Domino. Also the assumed heir. She grew up on Earth with her adoptive parents, Mike and Vanessa Peters. Bloom knew she was adopted since around the 3rd grade, being introduced to punit squares in science class and seeing traits in herself that she didn't share with her parents. She does not know the circumstances of her adoption, just that she is adopted. She grew up next door to siblings Andy and Mitzi and was on-again-off-again friends with them both. At the time of the beginning of the story, Bloom works part-time at the Fruity Music Bar and helps the owner, Klaus, take care of his daughter, Roxy. Stella: since her parents recent divorce, Stella is the heir to both thrones on Solaria. She always knew her parents didn't see eye to eye on everything and that the whole realm was strained due to their marriage. Even so, their divorce felt like it came out of nowhere and Stella took it pretty harsh. The news came to her during her first year at Alfea and she responded by acting out. As in, take risks she wouldn't have dared to otherwise. So the chemistry lab was destroyed and Stella was expelled. But she couldn't return to Solaria. So, she stayed in Magix and has a small condo for when she or someone she cares about needs an escape. Stella is a help first, ask questions later type. And because of that, almost no one has a bad thing to say about her. She's also naturally brilliant, easily juggling her Alfea course load with her extracurricular studies about her kingdom and how to manage it. Aisha: she ran away at a young age, seeing it as the only way to be free of her strict upbringing. Under the name "Layla", she found herself in Pixie Village and spent her tween years there. Quiet and afraid of breaking the status quo, the Pixies helped Layla out of her shell to become the more outgoing girl the Winx meet. Bloom will come to liken her to Superman, that the only things Layla can't do are things she hasn't tried yet. Musa: the daughter of a famous singer, GAO Yinuo, and a songwriter, SONG Junjie. Musa, or Meixiao, had a very happy childhood until her mother fell ill and ultimately passed. After that, her father grew depressed. He stayed out later and later, growing more and more distant from Meixiao. She would believe it was because he was filling the void in his heart with drinks and other women, but in truth he had picked up a second, and then third, job to make sure Meixiao was still properly cared for. At the time of the beginning of the story, Meixiao does not know of her father's sacrifice. She feels alone and unwanted. Tecna: daughter of the current leaders of Zenith, a democratic monarchy (oligarchy?). A total geek. Tecna loves anything to do with technology. If she's not playing a video game, she's tinkering with something electronic. She's completely off in the digital world and the real world doesn't interest her much. She has a hard time connecting with real people. Flora: she wants to be a fairy godmother. She's kind, but due to her always being the older sister, it can come across as a bit condescending. (As you can see, Flora is the Winx I've put the least thought into. I just don't know what to do with her...)

[searchingwardrobes]

Ivory Runs Red: 4/6

Just look at this cover art by @cocohook38 !!!!! Isn’t it amazing? I just can’t stop staring at it. She is so talented and spent so much time working on this, please head over to her blog and give her some love. 

This chapter is sort of a bridge chapter (no pun intended) where we begin to discover connections between all the characters. Belle especially is tied to Emma in a surprising way. 

Massive thanks again to my beta @demisexualemmaswan​ and everyone in the @cssns​ !

Summary: When ebony flashes gold, blood runs cold. When ivory runs red, you’ll be dead. Killian Jones had heard the old rhyme his entire life. Every child did in Storybrooke, Maine. They heard it whispered in the dark at sleepovers as children; taunted as a challenge as teenagers. Killian never believed it was actually true. Until that fateful night …

Rated M for graphic depictions of violence, abusive relationships, and major character death (I mean, it’s a ghost story ya’ll, people are dead. BUT I promise, there is a happy ending. Trust me? *peeks from around a corner*)

Length: 6 chapters, complete, updated every Friday

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three

Also on Ao3

Tagging the usuals: @snowbellewells @whimsicallyenchantedrose @kmomof4 @xhookswenchx @let-it-raines @bethacaciakay @tiganasummertree @shireness-says @stahlop @scientificapricot @spartanguard @welllpthisishappening @resident-of-storybrooke @thislassishooked @ilovemesomekillianjones @kday426 @ekr032-blog-blog @lfh1226-linda @ultraluckycatnd @nikkiemms @optomisticgirl @profdanglaisstuff @ohmakemeahercules @carpedzem @branlovestowrite @superchocovian@hollyethecurious @vvbooklady1256 @winterbaby89 @delirious-latenight-laughs @jennjenn615 @snidgetsafan @itsfabianadocarmo @lassluna @distant-rose @courtorderedcake @winterbythesea @thesschesthair @killian-whump @thisonesatellite @batana54 @it-meant-something @xsajx @therooksshiningknight @gingerchangeling​

Chapter Four: Red

“Neal Gold,” Belle said, her voice trembling with excitement, “no wonder it got covered up.”

Belle struggled with an ancient tome on the top shelf in the library’s genealogy room, and Killian rushed to help her. When they set it atop the metal desk nearby, a cloud of dust billowed up. The genealogy room was hidden away in the basement too. 

“I still can’t believe Graham went to the bridge,” Belle continued. He’d never seen her so giddy with excitement. “This will show everyone Killian! You aren’t crazy!”

Killian nodded weakly. He knew it was true, and he knew that Graham getting Neal’s last name from Emma was a huge break for them, but he was starting to worry. He wanted to help Emma by solving her murder, but he also didn’t want to lose her. Didn’t ghosts linger because they had unfinished business? If he, Belle, and Graham, took care of Emma’s unfinished business, then would she . . . what? Move on to paradise? Cease to exist?

“Killy, did you hear what I said?” 

He shook the thoughts from his head and focused on Belle who stood over the huge book, her finger pointing to its binding. 

“Um, sorry. What did you say?”

“I tried to look up Swan, Emma, but the entire S section is missing.”

Belle’s fingers ran along the torn edges of several pages. Killian ran his hand wearily down his face. 

“Of course it is. So no birth certificate there either.”

“Wait a minute!” Belle exclaimed. “We know she died in 1894, and we know she was sixteen years old.”

“Which means she was born in 1878. We figured that out already. But the birth certificates from that entire year are also missing, remember?”

Belle nodded. “Yes, yes, the Gold family had money and power and were very thorough, but they may not have thought about baby announcements.”

Killian grinned. “Parents put baby announcements in the newspaper! Belle, you’re a genius!”

They ran down the short hallway to the microfilm room. Belle quickly pulled out the film for 1878 and put it in the machine. Once they figured out where the social section of the paper was located, they were able to scroll fairly quickly. And then - there it was. Just a few short lines: 

David and Mary Margaret Swan are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter, Emma Eva Swan, on October 22nd, 1878 at three o-clock in the afternoon. She is welcomed by her paternal grandmother, Ruth Elizabeth Swan, and her maternal grandfather, Leopold Blanchard.

******************************************************

“David and Mary Margaret,” Emma whispered. 

Killian tightened his hold around her shoulders and brushed a kiss against the crown of her head. “They were your parents.”

Emma nodded slowly, and he watched her facial expression under the light of the waning moon. He could practically see happy memories light up her face. 

“I remember them,” she whispered. “We didn’t have a lot of money, but we were very happy. We lived on a farm.”

She dropped her head onto Killian’s shoulder and let out a contented sigh. They remained that way for a long moment, silently watching the stars twinkle overhead. 

“She had a beautiful smile,” Emma told him quietly, “and he used to cup my head so tenderly whenever he hugged me. That’s all I remember, though. Their faces are even fuzzy in my memory.”

“I’m sorry.”

She turned in his embrace so she could look him in the eye. “Don’t be. I wouldn’t remember anything if it weren’t for you. Thank you, Killian.”

She pulled his head down gently so she could press her lips to his. They lost themselves in the passion of their kisses.

***********************************************************

Killian sat with Belle once again in the library’s musty basement. Books with cracked leather bindings were piled around them: genealogy records, property records, and marriage certificates. With names and the information that Emma grew up on a farm, they were able to piece together the history of the Swan and Gold families. 

There was no evidence, however, of the Swan’s reporting their daughter was missing. In fact, aside from the birth announcement in the paper, there was no evidence that Emma Swan had existed at all. Everytime they got close, records were conveniently missing. Pages had clearly been torn out of several books, and years worth of Storybrooke Mirror and Portland Press articles were missing from the microfilm records. 

“It’s so obvious, though,” Belle exclaimed in frustration, slamming yet another large book shut. “Neal Gold falls in love with Emma Swan, a poor farmer’s daughter. His family would never approve of the relationship, so he never plans on marrying her. She’s just a good time to him.”

“I’m still a little grossed out by how old he was,” Killian muttered. 

Those records hadn’t been missing. Neal Gold was absolutely, unequivocally twenty nine years old when he met fourteen year old Emma Swan. Which made him thirty one when he got her pregnant and murdered her. 

Disgusting. 

“Belle? Did you hear me?”

His friend had gone completely pale, her finger frozen in the center of a yellowed page. Killian got up and leaned over her shoulder. 

“What’s this?”

She flipped the heavy leather volume back to the cover with a deep sigh. Killian leaned further over his shoulder and read the title out loud. 

“The Life, Impact, and Genealogy of Storybrooke’s Founding Family: The Golds. Well that’s not pretentious at all,” he snorted. Belle giggled. “By -”

He cut off, reeled back, and looked at Belle, who nodded in affirmation. “By Roderick Gaston?”

“There’s more,” Belle told him, flipping back to the page that had left her frozen. 

It was a family tree, and Killian scanned it quickly. At the top was Robert Gold, the founder of Storybrooke, with his wife Milah’s name beside his. Below that, it listed their only son: Neal Gold. He married Tamara Gold in 1894, the same year Emma died.

“Well, there’s another motive for murder,” Killian murmured, “not only did he get a teenager pregnant, he was cheating on his fiance.”

“Keep going,” Belle whispered. 

Neal and Tamara had three children: Bonnie, Felix, and Gretchen. The oldest daughter, Bonnie, had married Roderick Gaston, and they had two sons: Lewis and Mitchum Gaston.

“Wait - isn’t Mike’s dad Mitch Gaston?”

“Yes,” Belle told him softly, “and I met his grandfather once, too. His name is Roderick. I never put two and two together before, but the man was the worst snob. He kept asking who my people were and going on and on about how the Gaston’s were connected to Storybrooke’s finest families.”

“So this means that your boyfriend -”

“Is the descendant of Emma’s murderer.”

*******************************************************

“Where the hell are you going?”

Killian jumped at the sound of his brother’s voice. He whirled away from the back door to find Liam standing in the kitchen with the phone in his hand. Killian could hear the loud, grating beeping of the line as it went dead. 

“Who were you talking to at 3 am?” Killian shot back. 

Liam narrowed his eyes then slowly put the phone back onto the receiver that hung on the wall. He took his time untangling the long cord before turning back to face Killian.

“Something’s happened, little brother.”

Liam’s voice was so full of fear, shock, and sadness that Killian didn’t even bother correcting him on the little brother label. 

**********************************************************

The girl in the hospital bed couldn’t possibly be Belle. Her eyes were wild and darted around the room, her hair was a tangled mass around her face, and when she saw Killian she began to scream. 

“I saw her, Killy! The ghost! The blood, the blood, the blood . . .” 

Orderlies ran in and grabbed her before she could lunge from the bed. She fought them tenaciously, her back arching and her eyes rolling back in her head.

“Ivory runs red, ivory runs red. He’s dead, he’s dead.” She started to laugh maniacally as one orderly managed to get a syringe into her veins. They wrestled her to the bed and strapped her down, but she continued to speak, her words slurring. “He’s dead, dead, dead.”

She arched her back one more time, mumbling about ivory and red, shaking her head back and forth. Then she began to say the rhyme they had learned as children, singing it to a morbid little tune. 

“When ebony flashes gold, blood runs cold. When ivory runs red, you’ll be dead.”

Killian felt the blood rush from his head, leaving his skin cold in the sterile room as he watched Belle’s breaths even out. He knew the kinds of drugs running through her veins, God did he know. He also knew no one would believe her. 

Mike Gaston was dead, and Killian couldn’t muster a modicum of grief. 

[scrunchi]

BREAKFAST CLUB AU (because I'm obsessed)

OK OK YOU GUYS!!!

So I think about this on a regular basis and it is a finished story in my head, but I can't write this, I wish I could, I'm not made for it.

I don't think the characters of both movies share a of lot similarities and that it's not easy to give each loser the exact same story line of one of the breakfast club members, I just think they fit into this situation so so good.

So, the clown happened, this is all canon, but they all forgot, despite staying Derry, but I like the ending for the kids part in the book for this, wich was that they just broke apart and didn't hang out in the group anymore. So they all go to highschool, even Mike, but they think they were childhood friends who just grew apart.

Richie and Eddie

So I also really like the idea that Richie and Eddie kinda had a bad fight, wich is why Eddie is really really not happy to go to detention that day, but of course they have it badly for eachother even if they haven't talked in years...

So they kiiinda follow the story line of Bender and Claire (but I don't like the idea of Richie beeing that giant asshole that Bender is, he is too sweet) but you know the teasing and bickering makes so much sense. They are in one room together again, in the safety of their old friends who didn't know them any different, so it's easy for them to be like this again. And maybe fall in love all over again...

Mike and Bill

Themmm... I love to think they stayed friends. Also I want Mike to be a popular jock, ok? He got into Highschool after being homeschooled before, so it was kinda a shock for him at first, but Bill made him joyn a club or team, so he made the football team and OF COURSE everyone liked him. Because this is my story and I want him to be happy :c

So Bill is very focused on writing and taking extra classes for that. He also works on his stutter but it's still there. It even gets worse when he steps into the detention room as the last one to arrive. He feels a weird mix of excitement and fear in his stomach to see all his old friends together again, and can't stop thinking that this can't be a coincidence. (And it isn't, it's one of the last things the turtle can do, so it tried to bring them back together sooner)

Stan

STAN AND PATTY MET IN HIGHSCHOOL AND FELL IN LOVE AND ARE HAPPY THIS IS MY STORY I DO WHAT I WANT!!!!

Ok but Stan has been really into his school work. I think he would also kinda be the one who would jump between the friends, like, he would still hang out with Bill, Mike, Eddie and even with Richie, but he would be distant and maybe he gave up bringing them all back together. I like to see him work as the glue of the group that could not make himself stick enough, but he tried, I appreciate it TwT

He also, of course starts the heart to heart they have after they smoked weed, and makes them all cry and talk, so he gets what he deeply wanted at the end. All his friends back...

Bev and Ben

They haven't been talking much either the past years. Ben has been hanging out with Eddie a lot lately because they got a few classes together and after all they were still losers, so they actually became friends again. I want him to be in like a poetry club or something (were he gets other stuff done than JanuaryAmbers I'm sick of this shit, think of something new) but also he started to do some exercise!! He just started to go running and get through to his mom that he want's to get healthy. (We remember the scene from the book) But he is still a bit chubby, because cute. Also he has it still badly for Beverly.

Bev is hanging out with Richie all the time, you know those two. They still smoke and are a lot in detention for it, partly because of one speciffic teacher that just seems to hate them (I read a fic that had Bob Gray as Vernon and I LOVED this idea so much, but I don't know if this would work so great because I still want the events from IT to be canon here with him being too weak???) She has a crush on Ben since a year or so when she noticed he got more confident, but she feels bad for not talking to him anymore because she chose Richies side when their group split up. Ben is not mad at her for it but pretty sad.

Both of them have a little heart attack when they see eachother that day and when Bev walks in as one of the last, she smiles at him and it is as if they really see eachother again. They finall talk again and thEY FALL IN LOVE!!

Everyone

So the message of The Breakfast Club is that deep down, we are all the same and we can be friends with everyone. It has such a bitter sweet ending in wich we don't even know if they stay together after that day. But again, I want OUR kids to be happy, so if this would have been the Losers, they stick together after it.

PLEASE let me know what you think, I love this AU so much I want more!!!

Also sorry if I misspelled stuff (UwU)