#anyway i've plotted out most of the rest of the fic finally

[bree-cheesy]

Sticky Club

Older Eddie Munson x fem!reader

A/N: Look at me pumping out two fics within like a day and a half. Be proud of me. I decided to try out the Older Eddie hype since I've seen these fics everywhere lately. I hope I did the whole trend justice. It's a little short, but I didn't want to write a huge fic and just wanted to get straight into the shit y'all wanna read anyway.

Side Note: I deleted this cause I wasn't super proud of it at first, but I'm reposting this because I feel like it definitely could've done better than it did. Not to be cocky or anything.

Credit to @patrick-stewart for the gif!

Warnings: SMUT 18+!! MINORS FUCK OFF! Porn with a little bit of plot. Not much plot in this. (kissing, dirty talk, sort of rough eddie, fingering, nipple play, public sex (club bathroom), dirty club dancing, unprotected p in v sex, doggy style rough fucking, loud reader, giving of hickeys.) Older Eddie Munson (early 30's), Younger reader (mid 20's), language. No use of Y/N. Strange guy tried to grind up against reader on the dance floor. I think that's it. As always, let me me know and I'll fix it!

Word Count: 1873

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You were kind of a hermit. You didn’t like to go out much and parties just weren’t your scene. You obviously went out occasionally, but it was probably once a month if that. It’s not that you hated people, you were just focused on your college work and trying to keep up good grades. Your best friends Robin, Nancy, and Steve were avid party goers. They always tried to get you to go out with them, but being the youngest of the group and the only one still in school, there just wasn’t much free time to go out with them. Tonight was different though. It was the end of the semester and all grades were final so you could finally let loose a little. Your friends were taking you out to a concert. It was for a band you hadn’t heard of before, but they said it was an old friend they all had from high school.

“Girl, you look great, don’t even.” Nancy looked at you and smiled. You were wearing an outfit you usually didn’t. Most of your outfits consisted of jeans and sweatshirts, not short tight skirts and tank tops like this. You frowned and looked at yourself in the mirror again.

“You sure?” You pulled the skirt down a little. “Seems a little… skimpy.”

“Trust me, you will be getting laid tonight wearing that. Trust me.” Robin announced, barging in the room uninvited. She looked you up and down and gave you a thumbs up. “You ready? Steve and I are ready to leave.” Nancy nodded and pulled her shoes on before walking out. You sighed and followed the two girls out.

You got to the club the band was performing at and noticed it was packed. There were huge groups of people everywhere. Girls wearing tight band tees and skirts that pretty much showed their whole ass. It smelled like sweat and vodka. Kinda made you gag a little, but you toughed through it. Nancy led you over to the bar to order drinks for everyone while Steve and Robin claimed a booth. You two walked back with the drinks and you slid in the booth next to Robin. You were all talking when a tall man with long brown curly hair, a guitar strapped across her shoulder, and had a t-shirt of the band on it.

“Eddie!” Nancy stood up and hugged him tight. Steve fist bumped him and Robin gave him a high five. Steve introduced you to Eddie and you noticed he stared a little longer than normal. You blushed softly and nervously sipped your fruity drink when he complimented you. “We’re super excited you’re finally performing here! We missed being able to see you.” Nancy scooted over so Eddie could slide in next to her.

“Yeah, missed seeing you guys! This will be good, I promise.” Eddie chuckled and stole a sip from Steve’s drink. Steve scowled and snatched the drink back.

Eddie soon left and the rest of you got up to get close to the performance. You were so nervous. The spark you felt with Eddie was such a huge shock, now you were scared to be so up close to him. The performance started and you didn’t notice how hard you were biting your lip while staring at Eddie until you tasted blood. He glanced at you and smirked while playing the guitar when he saw the blood on your bottom lip. You blushed and looked down. When he started singing you were dancing with Robin while Steve was dancing with Nancy. Eddie’s eyes were on you like a hawk. God, he couldn’t look away. That tight skirt you were wearing was riding up while you swayed your hips. He could almost see the bottom of your black lacy panties.

At the end of the performance, you were still dancing with Robin. You felt someone come up behind you and the strange hands held you tight against the body behind you. You turned your head and saw a weird man practically drooling at you and grinding up against your ass. You pushed him off and Robin stepped between the two of you. He put up a fight with Steve until suddenly he was thrown on the ground. Eddie pushed him to the ground and got security to kick him out.

“You okay?” Steve looked at you and put his hands on your shoulders. You nodded and smiled.

“Yeah. He didn’t do anything serious.” He nodded and let go of you.

The group, with Eddie, sat back down at your booth and Eddie slid in next to you, pushing up close to you so Robin could fit in next to you two. Your breath caught in your throat. He smelled like sweat and faded cologne. It was a scent you could get addicted to. It was dangerous. You learned Eddie was 32. He was a little older than the rest of the group, but that just made him all that much hotter.

“How’d you meet these idiots?” Eddie asked, looking at you with a smile and a tenderness in his eyes.

“Oh, I met Robin when she was graduating and the rest of them kind of just took me in.” You looked down at your drink and sipped it. Eddie put an arm around your shoulder and pulled you close to him, squeezing you slightly.

“Well, any friend of these people is my friend.” You chuckled nervously and glanced up at him.

Steve was talking about something that happened at his job when you felt Eddie’s hand on your thigh. You gulped nervously and felt him run his fingers in soft circles on your inner thigh. You bit the inside of your lip when he leaned a little closer into you. He squeezed your thigh and raised his hand higher. You put your hand on his, stopping him from going further. He cleared his throat and kept his hand on your knee.

The group had all gotten up to dance and Eddie took your hand, pulling you with him. You gasped softly when he pulled your back into his chest and held onto your hips, swaying the both of you to the music. You bit your lip and shut your eyes, leaning your head back on his shoulder. He ran his hand up your thigh and over your belly, lightly rubbing your breasts over your shirt.

“Eddie…” You moaned softly and he leaned his head down, kissing the side of your neck. You reached a hand back and tangled it in his hair. He tucked his fingers into the top of your skirt and squeezed your ass with the other one. He kissed up your neck and pressed his lips against your ear.

“Feel good, sweetheart? Everyone’s looking at us. Some of the girls look like they wanna kill you.” He flipped you around and you gasped, wrapping your arms around his neck. He grinned and grabbed your ass with both hands, pressing your hips more up against him. “Such a pretty girl…”

You moaned softly and he pressed his forehead against yours, grinding harder against you to the music. “Eddie… please…” 

He grinned and grabbed your hand, pulling you to the bathroom. He locked the door and pressed you up against the sink. His lips crashed down on yours and you groaned into his mouth, kissing him back almost immediately. You hitched your leg up around his waist and he lifted you up onto the counter. Your hands went to the buttons on his black dress shirt and started undoing them, running your fingers over every expanse of skin you exposed. He kissed down your neck and sucked a few marks into it. You smiled and moaned, pushing the shirt off his shoulders. He pulled your tank top off and dropped it on the floor. He kissed you again and squeezed your breasts over your lacy bra.

“Eddie, fuck… that feels so good…!” You moaned into his mouth and he grinned, reaching back to take the bra off, throwing it off somewhere in the sticky club bathroom.

“Yeah? Feel s’good when I touch you, baby? Wanna feel my mouth?” He pulled back and wrapped your legs around his waist. You nodded and moaned, digging the heels of your heels into the back of his thighs. He grinned and his lips instantly attached to your nipple, sucking and biting it. You cried out and threw your head back, tangling your fingers in his hair.

His hands went down and hiked your skirt up so he could slip his hand in your panties. “Fuck… So goddamn wet already…!” He groaned and swirled the tip of his tongue against your nipple. He rubbed your clit in time with his tongue and you panted heavily, grinding up against his hand. “Such a good fucking girl…” He grabbed your thighs and pulled your panties down your legs, shoving them in his back pocket. He slipped two fingers inside you in time with his thumb rubbing your clit. You instantly clenched down around his fingers and moaned, grabbing onto his shoulders.

“E-Eddie, your fingers a-are so big…!” You whined and bucked up harder against his hand. “I need… I need more… Please, Eddie…”

“Please what, honey? Use your words.” He mockingly pouted and fingered you faster.

“F-Fuck me! Please fuck me!” You cried out and sobbed in pleasure, pulling at your nipples.

He pulled you off the counter and bent you over it. He pulled his aching cock out and spit on his hand, stroking it a little before slowly pushing in. You groaned in unison, creating a song of pleasure between the two of you. He didn’t hold back at all. He growled like an animal and fucked you hard, the slapping of skin loud and could be heard over the muffled music behind the bathroom door. You sobbed, your eyes filling with tears of pure pleasure, moaning and gripping the counter hard.

“Goddamn, baby… So fucking tight around me… Gonna fucking milk me dry, huh? Want my cum deep inside you, honey?” You nodded and moaned louder.

“Y-Yes…! Please cum so deep inside me! I want it so bad…!” Your mouth hung open and he went faster.

“Cum for me first, baby. I’ll give you anything you want if you cum all over my cock.” He groaned and rubbed your clit in time with thrusts.

You cried out, finally given permission and came harder around his cock, squeezing hard around him and moaning loudly. Eddie grunted and groaned, grabbing your chin and pulling you up to kiss you hard, still pounding into you from behind. You begged and pleaded with him to cum and he finally granted you your wish, cumming deep inside you and moaning into your ear. You both caught your breath and your eyes shut as you slumped against the counter. You heard him grab some paper towels and get them wet, wiping your sensitive cunt clean before helping you fix your clothes. You both walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later and your group all gave you knowing looks. Eddie grinned and kissed your cheek while you blushed and buried your face deep in his chest in embarrassment.

[bcbdrums]

This One's For You

A Soul Eater fanfic. Read on: AO3 | FFn

Seventh in my series of 31 prompt-based one-shots. Prompts from this list.

AND... Monthly OTP prompt fills from this list for Spirit and Stein, because I cannot stop writing about them. I’m happy to hear recommendations each month for which prompt to write next.

A/N: This started with a tiny, vague mental image I've been holding for months that I needed to express, and a plot formed around it. My hope was for a short fluffy something, but, Stein decided otherwise... Yeahhh the characters took complete control of this one. I had next to nothing to do with this until near the end when...a song that is tied to these two for me decided to jump into the story too. And I don't write songfic, haha. Aaahhhhh this one might be out of character, I'm not sure. They're teenagers. Spirit is 16 which would make Stein 13, in my headcanon. I also headcanon that Spirit played electric guitar as a teenager then gave it up. There's an Easter Egg for another of my fics in this which gets revealed in the end notes if you don't catch it yourself. And of course, don't read the end notes cuz spoilers. Oh, there's one line directly implying something NSFW that I'll leave up to interpretation. But just a warning that it exists, I guess. That's why the "teen" rating. And, it doesn't get mentioned in the story, but I'm compelled to inform everyone that Spirit's hair is in a ponytail. Because. Yeah. Okay, anyway. 7. Bells (from the December list) 4. Peace (for April, from the monthly OTP list)

This One's For You

Spirit was half-reclined on his bed when Stein walked into their shared bedroom. Half, because it was nearly impossible to play his guitar properly if he lay flat the way he truly felt like doing. Instead, he had most of both of their pillows shoved up behind his back and up under his elbow so he could lean his head and shoulders against the wall with the guitar nearly flat across his lap, though his legs were crossed to help elevate the neck of the instrument.

He plucked two strings together in harmony, listened to the sound through the amplifier and the way it decayed with the delay setting he'd put on, and then plucked another two in the progression.

The full light of the sunset was blocked from entering the windows by the thick of the trees outside, but the room was still beginning to turn pink from the glow that couldn't ever be fully shut out, and golden pinpricks of light were hitting the wall above Spirit's head where they broke through the foliage.

Spirit glanced up at his partner still standing in the open doorway as he plucked another chord. He took in the tense posture, the stiff set of Stein's jaw. Watched his bright, ever-calculating eyes study his position on the bed before Stein finally reached behind him to push the door closed. The meister's gaze shifted to the window, blinds closed on Stein's half but raised on Spirit's.

Stein crossed the room briskly, pulled the cord to close the rest of the blinds to perhaps five inches—a height that would still allow enough light in as long as the sun was up, but that would block the view of the interior to any passersby.

Stein's hands were empty, and except for the way he was holding himself Spirit couldn't see anything amiss about him to provide evidence as to the meister's seeming sour mood. He shifted up slightly on the pillows and pulled the body of the electric guitar nearer to his stomach as he observed his younger partner.

He plucked another two strings, and Stein turned from where he'd paused at the window.

"Writing another song for some girl?"

There was a bite to his tone that Spirit recognized wasn't truly meant for him. Whatever had upset his meister, he was apparently going to take it out on him rather than talk about it. Which wasn't really a surprise.

Spirit lightly shook his head. "No. Just playing around."

He picked a simple pattern across three strings, and Stein's brow furrowed.

"Can you turn off the delay?"

Spirit couldn't help but smile as he shifted again, leaned forward to flip the switch on the amp at the foot of the bed, and then attempted to get comfortable again.

When he looked back at Stein, the meister's brow had furrowed. It was clear to Spirit that he was looking for a fight, but the weapon was in no mood to give him one. But the alternative, experience had taught Spirit, was that if he didn't provide something then Stein would simply leave and manage his frustrations elsewhere, whatever they were.

Experience had also taught Spirit that more often than not, that didn't end well for either of them.

"Come here."

"What?"

The furrow in Stein's brow deepened and he raised his head just so, so that the overhead light reflected off his glasses and hid his eyes. His jaw had tensed further, and a frown was just visible at the corners of his mouth.

"Come here," Spirit repeated just as gently.

He shifted further upright on the bed, laying the guitar across his lap for a moment to tug up his jeans as he uncrossed his legs and pulled his collared t-shirt back into place, it having become a bit twisted in his relaxation.

Stein looked uncertain, but after a moment he moved forward and crawled up onto the bed to sit next to the weapon. He pressed his back against the wall as he shifted nearer, which Spirit found telling.

He lifted the guitar into Stein's lap.

"Let me show you."

"What? No. I've told you, I don't need to try it to understand how it—"

He cut himself off abruptly as Spirit moved right next to him and set his arms around him, made more difficult by the posture Stein had chosen; Spirit had to wiggle his chest between Stein's back and the wall to get even remotely near enough to aid in the holding of the guitar.

The meister had gone tense and yet pliant as Spirit shifted the guitar to an appropriate angle, took hold of Stein's left hand as his own right hand muted the strings.

"I'll just show you some really basic chords. Here. Third finger, third fret, first string. If you only strum the first four..." Spirit held Stein's finger to the string and then lightly strummed. The processed sound came through the amp, sounding a bit strange pointed away from them and too soft to truly ring through the space. "That's a simple G-chord."

Spirit could feel Stein's heart pounding through his back, no doubt from anxiety at the unexpected contact. But he'd not pulled away. Spirit had learned that sometimes, despite the meister's seeming aversion to touch, it wasn't completely unwelcome. It was simply that he didn't really understand what he wanted.

Stein had no response, visible or otherwise, to the chord that resulted from Spirit's holding his finger to the string.

"Give it a try," Spirit encouraged, lifting Stein's right hand so he could strum the chord.

After a moment, the meister swallowed and blinked into focus. His thumb moved inelegantly over the strings, and the sound bled through the amp.

Spirit let go of his left hand, and Stein's instantly released the string. The remaining echo became discordant.

"You have to hold onto it. Here, this is an easy C. Just four strings again."

He manipulated Stein's fingers into the shape, and this time the younger boy held on when Spirit let go. Spirit strummed the chord, and then moved his hand out of the way. After a moment, Stein's tentatively came up to copy the action.

"And, ah... An E-minor, that's the easiest. First and second fingers, fifth and fourth strings, second fret."

He waited, and Stein slowly copied the instructions to hold the strings down. His brow had furrowed again, and Spirit could feel his heart rate starting to relax.

"There, see? You can play a lot of songs with just three chords. And a capo, haha."

When the minor chord had finished ringing from the amp, Stein carefully slid the guitar toward Spirit.

"You play something."

Spirit's smile tightened in disappointment. "You don't want to give it a try?"

Stein shook his head. But, Spirit noted, whatever frustration the meister had been trying to bury when he entered the room was gone from the bright, green eyes. In its place was a different sort of anxiety that Spirit didn't fully understand, but recognized was something Stein only allowed him to see.

Spirit took the guitar and carefully shifted back into his spot against the pillows. He kept his surprise hidden when Stein followed, kneeling to face him as Spirit got comfortable again and positioned the guitar.

He was about to ask if Stein had any requests, but the meister preempted him.

"Not something you've written for some girl."

Spirit huffed quietly. It was always 'some girl' with the younger teen. He had teased before that Stein would understand soon enough, and his partner had teased right back that his hormones were overactive and that he could probably take something to treat that.

It had been a very awkward end to the conversation when Spirit quipped that he had his own treatment, and Stein hadn't immediately processed the meaning. He'd gotten to it without Spirit spelling it out, but the meister had definitely behaved differently toward him since then, Spirit suddenly realized. He supposed Stein really was still just too young for that sort of thing.

"Why not?" he couldn't help but ask.

Some of the anger rose again behind Stein's eyes. "Because they're not important."

"I work hard on those—"

"You're usually on to the next girl in less than a month. So the songs can't really mean that much."

Spirit's lips had parted in surprise, and he held the annoyed gaze of his meister. There was more Stein wanted to say, he could tell. Everything in his posture and eyes and the renewed set of his jaw spoke of frustration.

Spirit was disappointed that his attempts at soothing his partner had backfired, but it was momentarily forgotten as irritation mingled with the guilt Stein's words had stirred deep in his soul.

"Do you even remember them?"

The accusation cut even harder, and Spirit wondered if Stein meant the songs or the girls. His brow furrowed in defiance even as he realized that for both, and for most, the answer was no.

"How can you care so little about something?"

It would be an insult to think Stein meant the songs with that question. Not that it was impossible, but, based on the absolute ice that was touching the meister's voice, Spirit knew otherwise.

It wasn't that he didn't care... It was that they just weren't really looking for a relationship. Neither him, nor the girls he flirted with. It was something mutually understood that didn't even need to be spoken. They were just teenagers having a good time, after all. It's what teenagers do. Stein was just too young to understand.

He took a long, slow breath and closed his eyes as he realized he'd been frowning so hard that his forehead hurt. It wasn't Stein's fault. He was only seeing things in the way he knew how. He would understand someday. And then, Spirit could tease Stein about his girlfriends and remind him about how he had been so sure it was a waste of time. It would be something they could laugh about together.

His mood resolved, he sighed and opened his eyes to reply. But then his lips parted again when he saw Stein.

The meister had dug his fingers into Spirit's blankets and had his eyes tightly closed, head downcast as he scowled at whatever was in his mind. Spirit bit his lip, and then turned the guitar volume down before reaching out to gently touch Stein's shoulder.

"Hey..."

Stein didn't pull away, but Spirit felt rather than saw the sudden hitch in Stein's breath at the contact.

"It's not..." he began softly, unsure what had Stein suddenly so upset. "It's not that I don't care. I do. But they only care so much, too. They care the same amount that I do. It's just...not anything serious."

Stein looked up. His eyes were bright with unshed tears, and Spirit's stomach swirled in unease. Whatever anxiety Stein had come back to their room with that Spirit had been trying to help him forget, he'd clearly made much worse. And he wasn't sure what to do now that Stein had turned his stress fully against him.

"Why are you okay with it?" Stein finally hissed on a single breath, immediately clamping his jaw closed again as he struggled to regain control of his emotions.

Spirit puzzled over the question. He thought he'd just answered that. It was mutually understood between he and anyone he pursued that it was just casual.

"I thought..."

Spirit focused on Stein's face again.

"I thought you were better than that."

Spirit frowned. Stein wasn't anyone to suddenly come in and be his moral judge. Not with the things he did, the worse things he imagined doing...

It must have shown on Spirit's face, because Stein suddenly scoffed and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Spirit was quick however, not even watching the fall of the guitar as he reached up and gripped the boy's arms, halting his escape before he'd even stood up.

"Stein!" he said. The meister tensed under his hold.

He wanted to be angry. He wanted to tell Stein that it was none of his business what he did with any girls. But he knew that couldn't really be what was bothering his young friend, and getting to the bottom of that was far more important. He slowly let out a breath, let his fire cool again.

"Stein. It's okay, I promise you. They're okay with it. There's nothing wrong with any of it..."

Stein tensed further, and Spirit frowned quizzically.

"Why do you care, anyway?"

The only reply was silence.

Spirit watched the taut muscles of his partner's neck, watched as he barely breathed under the weapon's hold. A golden-pink light from the window was reflecting off the front of Spirit's guitar, heralding the sun's departure.

The moments passed, and Spirit started slowly turning his thumbs in circles against the tight muscles of Stein's shoulders.

"Just play your guitar, Spirit," Stein said hoarsely.

Anger forgotten, Spirit's chest ached as he realized Stein had begun crying. What was truly upsetting his partner? Was it something he had done?

"Only if you stay."

It was a feeble plea, as Spirit knew Stein didn't really care for his guitar playing one way or another. And apparently, given his opinion on Spirit's usual endeavors with it, he probably disliked it entirely.

Silence again. Spirit watched the light on the windowsill slowly change to amber, dust floating through its beams.

"Then let go of me."

Spirit let go, banking on Stein keeping his word, and grabbed up the guitar from where it had fallen on the bed.

"Come back here."

Spirit watched as Stein reached up and took off his glasses, wiped his face with his sleeve, and then slowly turned back around on the bed and tucked his feet under him. His expression was as flat as he could make it, given the circumstances, but in his eyes Spirit still saw that anxiety that only he was permitted to see.

"Just... Relax," Spirit said, even as he couldn't help but frown.

The conversation had unnerved him, and as he continued unnecessarily shifting around for comfort, he couldn't think of a single thing to play.

He heard Stein sniff, and when he glanced up the meister was wearing a rarely-seen expression of distress that he rapidly hid away again behind the impassivity he preferred to show the world.

Spirit considered the issue as he tried to think of something to play: why would Stein care about his dates? It wasn't like he ever brought them back to their place. They were never in Stein's way...

Spirit's eyes widened as he slowly sucked in a breath.

Was that the problem?

He always came back at night—most nights. But with as much time as he spent taking girls out, he barely even did his homework lately. He supposed that outside of class and their extracurricular assignments, he really...hadn't been spending much time with Stein.

Had Stein been surprised to find him at home that evening?

A different guilt had Spirit's stomach turning with that revelation. He leaned back on the pillows and after adjusting the volume set his fingers to the guitar strings, decisively shaping a chord. And then as an afterthought, he stretched one foot toward the amp and pushed the corner of it so it turned on its dolly and wasn't facing entirely away from them.

Stein was watching him, his glasses folded in one hand but face as still as stone. Spirit began plucking out a practiced melody, suddenly self conscious about singing, and hoped it could at least be a beginning to an apology he realized now was necessary. Part of him still wanted to argue that Stein would be no different in a few years, but that didn't absolve him of the hurt he had apparently caused in the present.

He shifted his attention to the song, picking out each note with precision as he tried to work up the courage to sing. He had never been nervous around Stein with this sort of thing before, but the sudden realization that his every action of late was being watched and judged had him uncertain how his partner would respond.

"Are you making this up?" Stein asked suddenly.

"What? No," Spirit said, brow furrowing.

"I haven't heard it before."

Spirit sighed.

"I don't play this one in front of you."

Spirit watched as familiar curiosity began to rise in Stein's eyes despite the anxiety and the hurt, and he shifted back again as he focused on adding more complexity to his playing, strumming the chords before picking out the melodic lines.

Stein shifted too, reaching back to turn the amplifier the rest of the way to face the bed and then set his glasses on top of it.

"This one is different."

Spirit didn't look up, intent now on getting the song exactly right.

"This one is more interesting."

Spirit pursed his lips as a mixture of pride and affection started silencing the disquiet in his head.

"Ah... I hope so. I've been working on it for months."

He looked up and paused in the middle of the progression, letting a suspension chord ring out.

Stein was looking at him in yet another way Spirit had never been able to make sense of despite the years he'd had to try to understand. He had looked at him that way the very first day they'd met, and sometimes would even stop mid-conversation to just stare at him, usually after something Spirit had said; it was something deeper than curiosity, but seeming just as without explanation to even the meister as it was to his weapon. For awhile it had been unnerving, but Spirit knew at least there was no ill intent behind it. And whatever it meant, it was yet another expression that Stein reserved only for him.

Now, his attention was pulled away from Stein's wide, searching eyes to the way the rosy-orange beams of the sunset were making the edges of his hair seem to glow around his face. Spirit reached forward and Stein's focus instantly shifted, following the motion of his hand, but he didn't shy away when Spirit feathered Stein's hair between his fingers.

The light brought shining life into the thin strands of silver, and they sparkled almost translucent in the golden rays. The contrast of this radiance—all drawing his gaze back to Stein's verdant eyes staring back at him—with the dull overall appearance the meister seemed to want to effect had Spirit smiling.

For as much as Stein was an enigma, Spirit knew him better than the facade he showed the world.

A question had formed in Stein's eyes as to what suddenly had the weapon's so soft, but he didn't voice it. He only stared back as Spirit smoothed down the hair he'd disturbed and then returned his hand to the guitar.

"This one's for you."

"...What?"

"It's not perfect yet... I'd wanted it to be a surprise. But..."

Spirit started the song over, felt his fingers shake suddenly as he became more aware of his audience. His voice was no steadier than his hands as he began singing to the softly strummed chords.

He didn't glance up as he felt Stein shifting, heard a pair of shoes fall to the floor, and he knew without looking that the younger teen had taken up position on his knees with his feet tucked under him, hands likely fidgeting with the seams of his pants.

"'And I think we're chosen, like our fates are woven...'"

Spirit grew no less nervous as he sang through the lyrics, but Stein had asked him to play. And he owed him this he supposed, if his guess about his meister's current melancholy was correct. Finished or unfinished, he shouldn't ever leave Stein in doubt of his place in his life.

He reached the end of a chorus and paused in playing again, finally looking up. Then, his face fell.

Stein's expression was tense, confused. His brow was furrowed and his eyes unfocused where they were directed at Spirit's left hand on the strings, and his fingers were gripping tightly into the blankets again.

"You...don't like it?" Spirit asked quietly, amazed the words made it past his lips as his heart began to sink.

Stein's eyes, suddenly bright with something Spirit couldn't identify, snapped up to his. When his lips parted to speak, they trembled.

"I do."

Bewildered now, Spirit's heart ached in the fear that he'd somehow made everything worse.

"Come here," he said, almost a plea as he shifted on the pillows again and moved the guitar to lean more against his stomach.

Stein hesitated, but then awkwardly moved not to sit beside him, but to lie partially across Spirit's crossed legs with his head touching the body of the guitar. Spirit's brow rose, but Stein met his eyes in quick explanation.

"I want to feel it."

Spirit considered a moment, the angle making it impossible for him not to touch Stein's hair while playing at the least. But given the meister's chosen posture, he supposed that didn't matter.

He also decided not to mention that Stein would feel the vibrations far better by being next to the amp, and once he'd found an acceptable angle for his right arm, he strummed a chord.

Stein shifted slightly, raising his knees and gripping his hands over his middle. But his eyes stayed locked onto Spirit's. Spirit strummed another chord, and then picked out some of the melody of the song as he watched Stein curiously.

He realized all of a sudden that his partner's expression had changed. Stein was looking at him in that private way again, but deeper in his eyes behind that mysterious look was...hope.

Hope for what?

Spirit felt another pang of guilt, and he glanced at his left hand to cover the nerves he suddenly felt.

"I'm, ah... I'm going to cancel my date tomorrow night," he said. He plucked out more of the melody. "If you're not busy... We should do something."

Against his thigh, he could just feel Stein's heart rate increase through his back.

He looked down again, his own heart pounding as he met Stein's eyes. An instinctive yearning joined the race of blood in his veins, and before he could think about it, he was tentatively curling his soul wavelength along the edges of Stein's.

Stein's brow rose, and Spirit's stomach turned nervously as he saw hesitation in his meister's eyes. Since when had Stein ever been uncertain about resonance? But it faded quickly, and as Stein's soul slowly entwined with his he watched a soundless sigh escape his partner's lips.

Somehow resonating still gave no clarity to the look in Stein's eyes, and there was something in his soul that he was keeping guarded. But there was also such a great relief in the connection that Spirit felt his own anxiety begin to calm in time with Stein's.

Outside the window, the sun dipped below the lowest branches of the trees and sent brighter beams of light piercing the room, illuminating Stein's face and Spirit's hands and reflecting brightly off the guitar. Stein closed his eyes against the invasion and shifted to be more comfortable on Spirit's leg, the side of his head still leaned against the instrument.

Spirit cleared his throat as he shifted his hand up the neck of the guitar and shaped the next chord, readying to sing the song's chorus again. Stein's soul was relaxing into his, and Spirit's own slowly calmed in response. He wished he could convince Stein to let go of whatever it was that still had his heart pounding, but he was grateful for the trust he'd been given; if Stein wanted him to know, he would tell him eventually.

He strummed the chord. He watched Stein's expression soften with the sound, the lines of tension in his forehead ease. Their resonance matched effortlessly to the frequency, and Spirit strummed the chord again.

He sighed and reached down to Stein's chest, and the meister's eyes opened briefly when Spirit separated his hands and wove their fingers together.

Spirit sang, and soon his voice was the only audible sound as the last echoes from the amplifier died in the small room.

The tension on Stein's face continued to ease. He turned slightly to press his forehead into the now-silent guitar, but it didn't block the light and he kept his eyes closed.

Stein's wavelength was still gradually relaxing, and Spirit wrapped his around the younger teen's and let the warmth and safety in the sound take him. He let go the If nothing else, he hoped Stein felt the same assurance that he did—that there was no greater sanctuary for his soul than in harmony with his partner.

Spirit released Stein's hand to strum another chord, letting his fingers brush silver hair after following their natural path across the strings. When he reached for Stein's hand again the meister's was already blindly seeking his, and when the smaller fingers folded between his they held on tight.

Spirit continued to sing. And as the sun finished its descent, he watched the light slowly fade from Stein's face.

A/N: I imagine Spirit wrote something far more interesting, musically, but the lyrics I couldn't help but reference are from this song which I'm obsessed with because of this incredible art. So I selfishly put those in. I also have no skill whatsoever in writing lyrics and I needed lyrics, so, why not pull from my obsession...lol. Those lines also hit the right vibe as in...the song Spirit wrote is about them, their relationship. Just kinda...two hard-hitting lines to get the point across. But no, Spirit wrote something far more interesting. Pretend as much or as little of that song is part of this as you want, I didn't think much past those two lines. Even though that song is them to me, it's not them as teenagers so yeah. And if anyone even remembers, this song he wrote for Stein here is fact the song he played in Cadenza. I cannot help myself but to reveal... The tragedy here is that Spirit only partially-understood Stein's distress. And Stein ain't gonna tell him. Augh. Angst. (I'll tell if asked.) Okay, anyway. Thanks for reading!

[rayslittlekitten]

Mommy and Daddy Time

“Dad Will” Masterlist

A/N: It's been a hot minute since I've posted a fic. Sorry, I've been writing here and there, working on different WIP. My inspiration and creative juices haven't really been flowing much lately. Also, some life stuff going on which is why I've pulled back a bit, but I promise i am still writing. Just at a snail's pace. Thanks @lovebarefootblonde for taking a gander at this for me.

Word Count: 877

Pairing: Dad!Will "Ironhead" Miller x Wife F!Reader

Plot: Your alone time gets interrupted by your husband.

Contains: banter, fluff, some sexiness before it gets too spicy

The house is quiet, save for the music you’re blasting while you’re soaking in the jacuzzi tub. It’s Friday night and Lucy is out with her friends while Will is linking up with Pope who's back in town for a few days. They rounded up whoever could meet up at such a short notice. It has been a long while so you left the boys to do their own thing. You, on the other hand, stayed home because honestly, it's rare you get the house to yourself. You had ordered takeout and made ooey gooey brownies to indulge in later with some ice cream after your relaxing bath. Will and Lucy had bought you some bath bombs for Mother's Day earlier in the year and you haven't had a chance to use them.

Your eyes are closed and your head is leaning back, resting on a towel as you belt out along with the soft R&B song playing, doing a terrible job when trying to hit the high notes. You're very well aware that you cannot sing to save your life. It's been compared to nails on a chalkboard, but you still very much enjoy doing it anyways, really feeling the song. After your concert for one, you open your eyes to reach for the cup of wine you've been sipping on to clear your throat, getting ready for the next song but you get startled, spilling some wine into the tub when you see your husband leaning on the bathroom door frame with his arms crossed, staring at you with the goofiest grin on his face.

"Jesus Christ, Will!" you yelp with a hand over your chest.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," he finally says, chuckling.

"How long have you been standing there for?" you ask, putting your glass of wine back down where you’ve been keeping it.

"Long enough."

"Most people would announce themselves, you creep," you chuckle as you lower your music.

"I tried when I got home and all I heard was music blasting so I followed it. Then I saw you singing your heart out so I let you finish." He pushes himself off the doorframe and starts walking over to you. “You were really in the zone.”

"You mean screeching like a hyena?" you laugh.

"Whatever you wanna call it, you were enjoying yourself so I didn't want to ruin the moment. You're just so darn adorable and sexy when you're in your happy place," he adds.

"How much have you had to drink tonight?" You eye him suspiciously.

"Not much," he scrunches his nose. "A few whiskeys maybe. But I come home to freshly baked brownies waiting for me in the kitchen and then my wife naked and wet, listening to baby making music? It's like you purposely planned this whole thing out for me to find," Will says while toeing his sneakers off. 

"Hope I wasn't interrupting anything." He puts his hands up in defense.

"You did not eat the brownies before me!" you gasp, sitting up straight. Although, you're not surprised. Your husband can't resist anything with chocolate in it. It's one of his guilty pleasures.

"I only had a tiny piece." Will pinches his thumb and forefinger together, squinting an eye, before pulling his polo shirt over his head.

"Left just enough for you," he winks.

"Babe, what are you doing?" you laugh as you watch him undress.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Will asks as he's unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans, then pushing his bottoms down until he’s wearing nothing but a smile.

"What happened? Did you guys get into another contest on who can pick someone up? Did a pretty girl get you all riled up?" you joke.

"Nah uh," Will says, shaking his head as he climbs into the tub, making the water slosh around and overflow when he sinks in. 

"This… “

You feel him grabbing your hand underneath the water and then guiding it to his erection. Your jaw drops and you giggle.

“…is all you."

"William! What if Lucy comes home and catches us?"

"We'll just tell her we're having mommy and daddy time," Will replies as he starts on your neck.

"Let's not traumatize our daughter," you laugh but a moan slips out when you feel his soft tongue caressing a sensitive spot.

"How are the guys doing by the way?" you ask as his mouth continues its assault on you.

"Can we not talk about the guys while I'm trying to make love to you?" he responds as he settles his body in between your legs.

"Is that what you're calling you sucking on my neck? Making love to me?" you giggle. "Also, we are not having sex in here. The water is gross. I've been soaking for the last thirty minutes in this sparkly shit."

"Yeah, it's actually pretty slippery in here," Will agrees. "Let's take this into the bedroom before we prune up."

He lays a deep passionate kiss on you. You smirk when you taste a bit of whiskey and chocolate on his lip. When he finally pulls back, he gets out of the tub to help dry both of you and takes your hand to lead you into the bedroom.

[outtoshatter]

20 Questions for fic Writers!

finally getting to the tag games i've been forgetting! thanks for the tag @sugareey-makes-stuff this looks so cute and fun!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Just 93....for now! I have a secret little goal to hit 100 before the end of the year but realistically that probably won't happen.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

1,864,258! I'd like to hit 2mil eventually :D

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Just Teen Wolf for now! Although I've been trying to get myself to be inspired by others, it's just not happening. Although i finally finished watching Superstore the other day and intensely plotted out a fic that would fill in some missing stuff that was bugging me. but I likely won't do that lmao

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Haaa Son of the Sheriff [Teen Wolf, G, 3k words] Nature of the Beast [Teen Wolf, M, 56k] No Mercy [Teen Wolf, M, 64k] Love Don't Lie [Teen Wolf, T, 2k] Ride with me [Teen Wolf, T, 4k]

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

I do! almost always. sometimes I don't know what to say but I try to respond anyway. I didn't before, at first because when I joined ao3 the authors' whose works I commented on didn't respond so I just thought that was the culture, and then occasionally now because I'm just...very drained from pulling the story out of my head. MOSTLY though I genuinely love talking about my stories with people, especially when they have questions about my worlds; I put a ton of thought and care into my worlds and LOVE when people are interested!

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

Ah...hmm. I don't know! i always aim for happy endings, they bring me the most joy in writing. Uhhh maybe Pulling Strings? It's more open than angsty, buuuut it is less outright happy than my other fics!

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

HAPPIEST. That's so hard!! Because see above, all happy endings. I'll say an even tie between The Next Chapter and Fractured Starlight, just going by most recently picked fics!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

klfjsalkfslka I don't know that i'd call it outright hate. but i've gotten some WILD comments before. That were unquestionably FUCKING rude. But i don't know if it counts as hate. I have an entire folder i have named Hall of Shame of some of the worst offenders. It's gotten less bad now that I've archive locked all my fics, which made it so much more fun to post. I think the worst was either the several-paragraphs long, two part comment about how the reader was disappointed in me (??) and just a bunch of other rudeness, OR the person who, after I deleted their comment that pissed me off, pasted their comment back in with a bitchy little addition to let me know they felt entitled to leaving rude stuff on my fic. so i deleted it again c:

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I don't write a lot of it! Definitely not PWP. Just emotion-focused sex scenes if it happens and works for the rest of my plot! it's just not as fun as action scenes for me most of the time c:

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Nope!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I'm hesitant to call it stolen but someone did ask me permission to translate my fic, and I granted it, but they did not link me to it, or even post it on ao3, which bothered me. but i found it. and. they had translated it, sure, but they'd also changed it from a sterek fic....to a Derek x Peter fic. which was. a weird thing to do. that was not what we had agreed upon so i just messaged them mainly asking like. for why.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

LOL. Yes! 4 on ao3, and two out there...on other sites. that was annoying D< I am flattered people wanted to translate my fics! I now have a blanket statement on my profile for this sort of thing, including that I want translations only on ao3, and not posted elsewhere because of...well. #11 lol

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

No :c I'd like to try! But i have so many to-write fics!! I have some vague plans for a fic with @dappledawndrawn but like. my list. it's so long. (Also add in my fears that I'd be overbearing or something and i will procrastinate this forever.)

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

I'd have to say sterek lmaooo. I have others I like and even love a whole lot I just haven't become obsessed with finding out how to fit those other ships in a whole bunch of other worlds like I have with sterek. Maybe one day! Mostly they're book ships hahaha

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

Oh man. ;-; the third of my fairy tale series. I started it like 3 times but could never get it right! i had it all planned out and everything it just would not work. So annoying.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Worldbuilding for sure. Plotting, foreshadowing. Building the tale itself i guess? And action oh man am I obsessed with writing action and I am good at it. I love building worlds, blowing things up, and telling the tale of why, taking the reader on the twisty, interesting, exciting journey to the satisfying conclusion.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Personally, I think I need to work on my descriptions of characters, and tbh I have trouble writing emotional scenes! I'm working on it though.

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

I've done it before! Looking back, I was annoyed at myself xD I mostly now stick to just writing it as regular dialogue, then "-in [x language]" afterward. I don't have anything against it I suppose, but usually it's not really important to the plot to have a single line in a different language than the rest of the fic (special cases happen) so I just don't hahaha

19. First fandom you wrote for?

e.e This question always happens on these things lkfdsalkfjdskaf SIIIGH it was Maximum Ride. c,:

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

I am ever proud of Are You Ready? it's my baby, my love, I am so so proud of it and how my writing improved just trying to do justice to that story. So.

Thanks for the tag! Tagging @raisesomehale @rosieposiepuddingnpie @2dents @cephalog0d @halevetica @tkwritesdumbassassins @evanesdust and anyone else who might want to play who i didn't tag lfkjdslakjfs sorry

[galvanizedfriend]

hi, yokan <3

I read that in Brazil there's a week-break because of carnival, therefore I hope you're finally having a bit of rest!

I was wondering if you could post an outtake with the klaroeve scene? from you comment I understood that there was more than that little scene in the latest chapter, and I would LOVE to read it!

sorry if I sound rude or pressuring, it's not my intention at all :(( I'm just Eve's third parent, I need more scenes with my babygirl being adorable 😭😭

I totally get why you don't put more of her in the main story. I ALWAYS say that babyplots are terrible due to a lot of factors, one of them being the constant present of a baby who basically does nothing (rightfully, since, yk, it went out of the whomb last year) and that adds nothing to the plot but just terrible fan service.

I think most people would agree with this, maybe even you!

HOWEVER, my little wolf/fish/mermaid is THE exception and I would love to see more of her, and, since u have a series dedicated to those fluffy moments that don't exactly fits with the plot, I really wish you will post something there 😭😭

sorry for bothering you, I hope you'll have a good day!

P.S.

totally off-topic but I also read some of your comments in Portuguese (AT LEAST I think it's Portuguese 😭) and I understood like 80% of it, privileges of being Italian ‼‼ so lol now you really can't escape me >:)

Yes, it's Carnaval right now! It's a nearly weak-long holiday, but it sadly ends on Wednesday. 😢 And I was technically on call yesterday, so 😂 But I am very much enjoying not doing anything 🤷‍♀️

About the baby thing, yes. 😂 I've been so lucky to get some passionate readers almost from the start with this fic and to have people who are still reading it a ton of years later, but I've also had to read some very mean things over the years that have stuck with me. It has made me extremely self-conscious about this story. I sometimes find myself almost apologizing for writing it, like I'm commiting some kind of crime against fandom or like I should be banned for inflicting this upon people for as long as I have. I wish I could be the kind of person who just doesn't care and remains blissfully unbothered, but I'm not. I'm not a naturally confident person in any way, and that kind of thing does get to me.

It's gotten better, of course. I care a lot less now than I used to, and the fic is not as popular as it was a few years ago either, so there's that But some of that stuff has just ingrained itself into my brain. Objectively I know this is stupid and I don't owe anybody anything, I don't have to apologize for writing a fanfiction for god's sake. There's room for everyone in fandom. I can have a corner to rewrite the show and have a magical Klaroline baby, fuck it. Who cares, you know? But it's almost stronger than me sometimes, I don't realize I'm doing it. I get this feeling that I need to be more critical otherwise people are going to think it's ridiculous and OOC and nobody's gonna want to read it anymore and etc etc. It's exhausting. And it's obviously nobody's fault, it's just me in my own head, but that's how it goes.

The scene you're talking about in particular. I had it written years ago. Literal years, maybe 2021 or early 2022. Some of my friends had even already read it a loooong time before the chapter was finished. And I was convinced that it was so cute and totally fine. Then as I wrapping up the chapter, I started getting this itch that it was actually ridiculous and the folks who had read it didn't say anything because they were being nice, they didn't want to hurt my feelings, and I had to get delete it. So I did. In all truth, I think the chapter is more polished like this. But then I removed a family scene and ended up writing smut that also had no place in the chapter, so. 🤷‍♀️

Anyway, I'm sorry for the rambly response. 🥲 I'll tell you this: I will read the deleted scene again and if I feel it's not dumpster-fire bad, I will post it here. But I need to check it first, because there is chance that it's not just my paranoid head telling me to get rid of the baby scenes and it really is just that bad. 😂

And as for the last part, yes, it's Portuguese. It's my native language. And it's so funny how Italian, Spanish and Portuguese can be so similar. I understand Spanish much better than Italian, but I do get some of it as well. Latin languages 🤜🤛 (except French, I don't understand French at all 😂)

[therealrosebuddies]

That’s Bullshit, Baby

Part Two of ‘What’s love got to do with it?’

Steve Harrington x Babysitter!Reader

Desc: You’re barely a friend to Steve Harrington- if anything, you’re maybe slightly more then acquaintances. But it turns out, if you help a guy save a small town, he tends to stick around more then you like. And now? He’s making you go to Prom with him. It’s strictly platonic- because that’s the only reason you finally broke down and said yes. And it’s going to stay that way.

Right? 

(set between season 2 and 3!)

Notes: Sorry this chapter got so long! Now that I've established the idea of this fic, the chapters may stay a little long from here on out. But, if it's easier to read in smaller chapters, just let me know! I had fun writing this one, and I'm excited to get the plot really rolling. A few of these chapters will include flashbacks to things that happened in season 2, mostly because I like throwing babysitter!reader into them, but I don't want to write a whole fic of that. Anyway, this chapter will be one of them. Thanks for reading!

warnings: definitely some language and sexual content- though nothing explicit

Part 1 Part 3

read on ao3

*

“I think I like you a lot better like this.”

“Like-” Steve groaned as you pulled at the top of his head, kissing down his cheek and settling into his open neck. “Like what?”

Your eyes flashed, stomach burning in anticipation. “Quiet.”

His surprised chuckle caught in his throat as you sucked on the soft skin of his jaw, pressing hard into bone and sweaty skin. Your teeth grazed the spot as you tilted your head to look back up at him. You did like him like this- at least better than usual. You couldn't say you actually enjoyed being around him… but you guess this was tolerable.

Especially when he was touching you like that.

Steve’s slim fingers were suddenly strong against your waist, slipping under your shirt and sliding yourself closer down his thighs. Breath hitching across his cheek, you faltered in your ministrations. He took that opportunity to duck his head and push you away from his neck, slotting his mouth against yours.

Damn it.

The moan you let out was embarrassing. Mortifying. Especially because Steve had been the one to wrench it out of you. Cheeks aflame, you shuddered at your battling emotions. You hated this guy- you didn’t like him and you didn’t want to be around him. You knew he felt the same way.

But?

But he was really good at this. Ridiculously so. You liked- doing whatever this thing was- so much that you hated him just a bit more for it.

“I think-” Steve mumbled against your open lips, warm words tumbling across your skin and lighting a fire down your spine. He took a moment to continue, hands diving down to cup your thighs. He squeezed, nails digging into flesh. Stuttering out a gasp, you wrapped your hands around his neck as you became airborne, suddenly hanging off Steve like a baby koala. “I think I like you like this.”

Dick.

He was a total dick.

Face alight and hair askew, you looked and felt totally debauched, pressed up high against the wall by Steve Harrington of all people. Your legs now rested taut across his back, heels kicking his spine.

Eyes dark, he was looking at you like a meal. Like he had you right where he wanted you.

You hated it.

“Speechless?” Steve prompted, gaze set firmly upon your lips.

Determined to save your dignity, you let out a small breath through your nose. “Hardly.” You lied, a hand snaking up back into his hair, scratching delicately at the nape of his neck. It was gentle- much different than you had been before. He noticed. The smile that had graced his face fell, replaced by lazily parted lips.

Ha.

Who couldn’t talk now?

Thoroughly satisfied, your hand cupped his neck and brought his lips flat to yours. Steve didn’t seem to mind. He followed your lead, the push and pull of your lips, your hands, and most especially your body. You felt your own lipstick rubbing down across your skin, smearing as you kissed. It was probably all over his lips. And... and you decided that you really wanted to see it. Badly.

Fingers curling hard into his hair, you moved to wrench your head back and get the ideal view. Instead, Steve followed your retreating lips, teeth clinging to your bottom lip. Pain erupted from your skin, zipping down into your toes. Your legs tightened and you tried to pull him closer- but he stopped you, shifting so he had an entire arm supporting you against the wall. The other lay across your thigh, tingling against bare skin. You gasped and he pulled away, breathless, brown eyes boring into yours.

“Can I…” Steve trailed off and you followed his eyesight to his hand.

Oh.

Oh, okay.

You nodded, nose grazing his cheek as you snapped back up to look at him, half-wild. You wanted him to touch you. You needed him to. Steve saw that and wasted absolutely no time, crushing his lips back against yours and pressing your skull against the wall. His hand dove to your jeans, ripping at the button and-

And you jolted awake, inhaling sharply at your blaring alarm clock.

Your eyes flickered wildly, quickly taking in your reality. You were in bed, sprawled across the covers you had been too lazy to turn down. There was a crack of light creeping in through your blinds, highlighting a few of the posters on your wall. You had been sleeping… and you just had a wet dream about Steve Harrington.

“Shit.” You whispered, eyes wide. “ Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!” You groaned, rolling onto your stomach and pounding your fist in time with the muffled cursing. Your head snapped up. This wasn’t happening. You hadn’t just… there was no way you had just had a dream about him of all people. You glanced to your wall, making eye contact with your poster of Tony Danza. “Why couldn’t it have been you?”

Despite your question, Tony didn’t reply.

Letting out another groan, you rolled out of bed and stomped to your bathroom. You need to get ready for school. No matter what insanity you had just imagined- you had to be ready for your Calc test today.

Despite that fact, that was all you were thinking about the rest of the morning.

Brushing your teeth? In your head, all you could see was Steve’s mouth on yours.

Doing your hair? Pulling on his.

Getting dressed?

Your thoughts kept drifting back to his hand on your thigh, drifting farther and farther and farther-

Ew.

Even as you drove up to school, that was all you could seem to think about. Not Max, Lucas, and Dustin in the backseat, screeching at you to change your music, not the ever-present annoyance of getting a parking spot, or even the early humidity that hung in the air. No, all you could think about was Harrington.

Why?

Why had you even dreamt about that in the first place? You had never thought about him that way. And you definitely had never seen him in that kind of… predicament. Whatever the reason, you knew you could never talk about it- with anyone. This would be an accident that only you would know about- a secret you would take to your grave. You would just have to give yourself some time before the shock would wear off, and then all of this mess would be like a… well? A dream.

And it was going to stay that way too- until somebody found you around the fifth period.

“How’d the test go?”

You jumped, hand clenching around your backpack strap.

Steve stared at your reaction, mouth turning crooked, brows rising. Just that look from him made you flush violently.

“Why, are you going to ask for some of the answers?” You asked, voice strained as you tried to keep it level, the stupid, stupid images once again resurfacing.

“No, of course not.” He replied easily, sounding surprised. “I don’t even have Calc. I’m surprised you didn’t know that.”

Your head whipped to face him, brows low. “Why would I keep track of your classes?”

Steve raised his hands slightly, perplexion written across his face. You tried not to think of all the other things you had seen on his face. “I’m not saying you should! I’m just saying that sometimes you pick things up when you’re around someone, like their schedule for instance-”

“Well, I’m sorry I didn’t remember you aren’t in Calc.” You cut him off coolly, going back to staring straight ahead.

This wasn’t going well.

Just one sentence out of his mouth and you were already frantic- trying desperately to keep it cool. And that should’ve been easy. You should’ve been able to walk down the hallway like a pro, tolerating his quippy way of talking and his need for attention. You had done it for the last few months- so why not now?

You grit your teeth, supremely annoyed. All you needed to do was get through the next few days, and everything would be back to normal.

You turned the corner abruptly, knowing exactly where you needed to go. Steve lagged behind slightly and then jogged after you, craning his head over your shoulder once he had caught up. You did a double-take, once again snapping to face him when you felt his breath coast across your neck.

“Hey, are you okay? You don’t seem normal angry.”

“Normal angry?” You repeated, tongue heavy in your mouth as your eyes traced across his jawline and up to the curve of his ear.

“Yeah,“ Steve said, hand coming up to hover next to your shoulder. “You know, you’re usually angry with me,” He made air quotes around the angry, “but in a fun, begrudgingly charmed way.” He explained and then smiled, a finger rising up to point at your face. “See, there it is. All you needed was a-”

You stopped in your march down the hallway, eyes wide. Steve turned to look back at you, slowing. Face on fire and deciding you had had enough, you resumed your stride, grabbing Steve’s backpack as you walked by. Pulling him along with you, you found the closest, least used alcove- the one right in front of the Hawkins High Pool. Nobody would be going in or out of that door- so you were safe to do this.

“Steve. I can’t go with you to the Prom.”

“What?”

“I can’t go with you-

“No- I know what you said.” He assured you, voice heavy with an emotion you didn’t care to name. “I just don’t know why you’re saying it.”

You shrugged in a fake show of dismissiveness.

“I have to study.”

Steve let out a disbelieving bark, eyes narrow. “Study? (F/n), even for you that was a bad lie.”

“I’m not-” You stuttered, meeting his eyes and then quickly redirecting to the glass of the pool door. “I’m not lying.”

Steve folded his arms, waiting expectantly.

You caved, knowing you had to get to class soon. This conversation couldn’t take all day. “I just can’t, okay? Find someone else.”

“There’s no one else but you.” He says, and a tight little knot forms inside your chest- different than your relentless embarrassment. That knot grows tighter as he looks down at you, eyes scanning across your face, looking for a tell. The way he was looking at you? You didn’t like it. You didn’t like the way that little knot pulled, tighter and tighter as you realized how sincere Steve could be. It was breaking your perception of him- and you needed to believe he was a pompous goof to keep him at arm's length. He let a frustrated sigh out through his nose, gesturing out into the hallway. “You think any of these girls are half of what you are? You’re my friend- and you promised.”

At the word promise, you bristle, finally tearing your eyes away from the stagnant pool. Steve’s brows are creased expressively, held back just enough that he could say none of it really matters- if it came to that. He still had his guard up- but for a moment, you had heard and seen everything needed to convince the sucker deep down. You had no other choice but to take it all back.

Because what were you supposed to say?

‘Oh, sorry Steve, I can’t go to the Prom with you, because apparently even the thought of spending an entire evening with you sends my horny, teenage body into a ridiculous, all consuming spiral. I hope you can understand.’

No.

No, that wasn’t going to happen. Not in a million years. And as he had already pointed out: you were a terrible, terrible liar. That only left one option.

“I know. I know I promised. I’m sorry.” You began, looking away so you didn’t have to watch his expression. You knew what it would be- hope. Hope that he was being saved from social suicide by a friend willing to wear a dress. And he wasn’t wrong- but you just didn’t want to look. You were exhausted just by looking at him. “I was just getting cold feet.”

You could practically hear the smile in his voice. “So you’re still going to come?”

Despite your efforts, you caught a glance of him in the foggy glass. He was playing it cool- as always, nodding with his hands in his pockets. But the wide, closed mouth grin and the tone of his voice told you everything you needed to know. You tore your eyes away from the glass, turning back to Steve.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll still come.”

He lets out an over-the-top breath, catching his chest dramatically. “Good. I thought you were really going to leave me hanging for a second.”

You rolled your eyes, ignoring the way you immediately zeroed in on his strong fingers. In reality, you didn’t know how they felt. But your filthy little brain kept begging for scraps, no matter if it was real or not. You shouldered your bag and started your walk back to class. “You’re just lucky I’m a sucker.”

“That I am.”

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

Well, it was official. You had a date to the prom and there was no wriggling out of it.

At this point, you felt like there was no backing out, no more flaking. You weren’t one to flip flop on your decisions… and you didn’t relish the idea of facing a crestfallen Steve. He may not have been your favorite person in the world, but the guy had the uncanny ability to look like a kicked puppy. You loved puppies.

That, and the tickets had been bought.

Steve had asked you if you could pick them up for him.

He insisted that you were the only one who could’ve done it- mostly because he had basketball practice longer than they were keeping the tickets on sale. You had agreed- but you hadn’t exactly been thrilled. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you had always imagined your date buying the tickets and presenting them to you in a grand gesture- something straight out of a romantic comedy. Obviously, that’s not what you had gotten. Instead, you had picked up some of the last few tickets from the office, Mrs. Feldman hardly giving you a look as you traded out the tickets for a pile of cash. Anticlimactic and a little embarrassing, it was a far shot from what you imagined as a little girl.

But, you shouldn’t have been disappointed. You knew what this was.

That, and you honestly wanted to see Steve as little as possible. That is, until you got over that stupid dream. When you could actually look at him without getting weak in the knees.

Cracking your last egg into a bowl, you looked down at the yolky mixture, a sigh escaping your lips. At least you were doing something you enjoyed- and you knew exactly what would come of it: a three-tiered, sugar-high inducing, chocolate cake. You were going to be making the icing too- as well as decorating the dark pastry with cherries. Using exact measurements and ingredients, you didn’t have to worry if your cake may or may not turn out how you wanted it. It was a sure guarantee of success, and you oh so adored that promise.

That, and you were making it for someone who actually liked you.

It was Eleven’s birthday tomorrow, and you had volunteered to make the cake for her party. It was a smaller event, composed of all the people she knew- and only the people that Hopper allowed her to know. He was still on edge about the whole government experiment thing- but you couldn’t say you blamed him. Just last year, you had seen a whole trope of kids with similar powers to Eleven causing more than enough trouble to attract government attention. So much so that you were surprised it hadn’t come back to bite her yet.

Or you.

You had been the one who drove her.

Luckily, the last few months had been Upside Down and government free. No sign of creepy crawlies from either side of the material plane. Sure, Hopper often reminded you to keep an eye out, but you weren’t worrying about that now.

Right now, you wanted to give Eleven the best birthday she’d ever had.

(Which you knew was a pretty easy goal, since she really hadn’t ever had a birthday- but that didn’t mean you didn’t want to try.)

You flipped a page in your recipe book, glancing down at the next few directions as you incorporated the eggs. You needed oil next. Turning to the cabinets behind you, you focused for a moment on your living room, getting a chance to watch your episode as your body moved on autopilot. You smirked as Marvin the Martian scuttled around the screen and wrapped your hands around the desired bottle. Maybe you would show Eleven the Looney Tunes sometime. She may or may not like them, but you felt like it was important for her to see Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck at some point in her life.

Suddenly, your doorbell rang.

Turning in surprise, you set the oil down on the counter, leaning backward to try and get a look out your front door. Unable to do so and currently without company in the house, you closed the cabinet quickly, making your way across the wood floor on old fuzzy slippers. You were opening the door before you even thought about what you were wearing.

Bad decision.

Throwing open the door, you came face to chest with Steve. He was mid-knock, poised for another attempt to enter your house. But before he could even get out a proper hi, his mouth dropped, gleefully surprised. “Heyyy, I didn’t know Strawberry Shortcake was in town.”

Breath halting in your throat, you snap your head down to see the frilly, pink, 70’s era apron, complete with cutesy fruits and flowers. Scrawled across the chest in curly letters was the phrase: ‘I’m berry happy to see you!’

“Ha ha.” You choked, trying and failing to recover from the embarrassment that flooded your body. “Very funny. (Y/n) is wearing her mother’s apron.”

“You mean you don’t wear that all the time?”

“No. I’m just using it tonight. Tomorrow- it’s all yours.”

At your fiery retort, Steve smirked, throwing up his hands in mock surrender. You let out a breath through your nose as your shoulders relaxed, hands patting down the front of your apron. Relieved to have escaped the ‘Shortcake’ teasing, your brain finally seemed to catch up with the situation. You slowly looked up at him, eyebrows pinching. “What are you doing here?”

Steve shrugged against the doorframe, gesturing wide with one hand- as if it was obvious. “I’m here to get the tickets.”

What?

“The tickets?” You repeated, arms quickly folding over the ‘berry happy’.

“Yeah.” Steve answered, seemingly confused as to why you were asking again. “Is that not okay?”

Tony Danza.

You just needed to imagine him as Tony Danza.

“No. No, that’s fine.” You lied, backing away from the doorframe and giving Steve the room to follow behind you. “But you need to come in- I can’t leave the batter long.”

That, and you didn’t feel like standing out in the cold in nothing but your pajamas and an apron. You walked back toward your kitchen, trusting he would follow you. And from the sound of his squeaking footsteps- he quickly caught on. In direct contrast to the world outside, your home was softly lit, a lamp on in both the kitchen and the living room. The air inside was hazy and warm, thick with the smell of cocoa, flour, and whatever else your Mom used to clean. It was comfortable. Goosebumps receding, you walked back over to the bowl and looked up, expecting Steve to be right behind you. Instead, he was slowly making his way toward the other side of your kitchen island, gaze set firmly on the TV.

He looked at you with quiet amusement. “Looney Tunes?” He asked, pulling out one of the bar stools and sitting down across from you. You blinked, looking back and forth between him and the TV.

“Yeah?” You answered, wondering why he was even pointing it out. It didn’t seem that big of a deal. "I like them."

“Aren’t those for kids?” He prodded, gaze sticky on your hands as you unscrewed the oil cap. “You know, so kids can run around with toys of that… gladiator?”

You frowned. meeting his all too innocent gaze. You wanted to be mad- to tell him to stop teasing you. But he was being sincere. He honestly didn’t get why you were watching.

Moments like these, you understood why people actually liked Steve. Of course, he was charming most of the time- so that was probably why most people liked him. But that hadn’t been true for you. For longer then you could remember, you had honestly believed he was full of himself, riding on the absolute high of being the ‘King of Hawkins’. Until a short while ago, nothing you had seen proved your belief wrong. But when he asked you that kind of question with such a sincere, wondering air, it was easy to forget how much you hadn’t liked him before.

Actually, the first time you had really hung out with him was when you had noticed it- his sincerity. You still remembered his voice like it was yesterday- but probably only because it was a few months ago.

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

Well, if you were being exact- it’s was Halloween night. You had been walking back to your car after your short visit at the party, looking forward to just crashing back into bed. Unfortunately, fate had other plans.

“Oh. Hey (F/n).”

“Steve- what the hell!” You exclaimed, turning away and pressing a hand up through your hair, breathing out the terror that had built inside your lungs.

For a single, blood-chilling moment, you had thought it was the Demogorgon. But then your second shadow had risen up, catching itself in the lights of a passing car as it groaned- revealing Steve. You turned to face him, wide-eyed and expectant. “You scared the shit out of me. What are you doing over here?! God- I thought you were…” You trailed off, huffing out a tense puff of air.

The brunette winced at your reaction, shoulders bent apologetically. “Yeah. Sorry, my bad. I forgot who I was dealing with.”

You made a face at him, hands finding their way onto your hips as you looked up and down the street, still alive with cars and trick-or-treaters. You felt his gaze on your face, even from below the cheap sunglasses. You glanced back at him, suddenly curious.

“What are you still doing here?”

He met your eyes, jaw tense. “I uh… my car is stuck between someone else’s… and I don’t have a ride home.”

“Oh.” You breathed, lips separating in understanding. You looked back at your car, down the sidewalk a few feet away. “I can give you a ride.”

At this point, you still weren’t sure how to feel about Steve. You had your own opinions of him before the Upside Down mess, but now everything had changed. You were friends with Nancy- and by proxy him. This left you in a weird limbo, unsure of how to act. Because of this, you were stuck with acting in an awkward, forced politeness toward him. Such as driving him home.

Accepting your offer as nonchalantly as he could, the two of you had made your way to your beat-up car, easily sliding out of your spacious parking spot. For the first few minutes you road in silence, slightly grateful that it looked like your passenger was going to be out for the count.

That fantasy was quickly shattered.

“Do you think I'm bullshit?”

You blinked in surprise, hands tight on the wheel as you glanced at Steve.

And honestly, you really shouldn’t have. He looked freshly devastated, big, brown eyes downturned and slightly wet as he began to melt into his jacket. Something about him made you want to pull the car over and give him a hug- or at least wipe that expression from his face. You had never seen Steve Harrington so defeated- and you didn’t like how much you were sympathizing for him.

“Bullshit?” You repeated questioningly, keeping your eyes trained on the road and not on the pathetic thing next to you.

“Yeah. Like, fake. Or just- I dunno…” He shifted next to you, car cushions creaking. “Not real, like whatever I’m doing doesn’t matter.”

“Are you trying to say inconsequential?”

“If that’s what bullshit means, sure.” Steve almost spat, teetering between frustrated and sulking. Usually, you would’ve bristled at his tone. But while you had been at the party, you had seen something that let you excuse Steve’s apparent shortness. Nancy, stumbling away from Steve, was covered in punch. She had looked pissed… and confused and wanting to be anywhere but with Steve. The last you saw of her, Jonathan had been leading her outside. What happened to them- you weren’t exactly sure. But you knew that was what was bothering Steve. That, or Billy had gotten to him more than he let on...

So despite your initial need to take his tone badly, you bit your tongue and inhaled slowly. If the guy was going through what you thought he was, you needed to give him the benefit of the doubt. Flicking on your turn signal, you gave yourself a moment to think as you turned the car.

“Did Nancy… did she say you were bullshit?”

Steve looked at you in slight surprise, mouth screwed up across his face. “You’re not answering my question.”

“I’m getting to it!” You reassured, trying to sound less annoyed than you were. Honestly, you weren’t even sure why you were answering him. What were you even supposed to say? “It helps to have context.”

As if thinking for a moment, Steve shifted in his seat, arms folding across his chest as he leaned back against your door. “Yeah.” He answered, his voice sounding much less harsh than it had been a second ago. “Me and the relationship.”

This time, you actually turned your head to look at him, eyes wide. You gave him a quick once over, one that you were sure he registered. You knew it was bad- but you didn’t know it was this bad. Calling a relationship bullshit and then being sent home with another guy? It wasn’t sounding great for Steve and Nancy.

“Did you guys-”

“(F/n). Am I bullshit?” He cut you off, the small spark of frustration once again creeping into his voice.

“I don’t think I know you well enough to say-”

“It’s a yes or no question.” Steve insisted, one hand tugging through his hair as he gestured outward with the other. “It shouldn’t be this-”

“Maybe?!” You blurted, and then immediately slapped a manicured hand over your mouth.

“What?” Steve asked, sounding like he had been shot in the chest. Despite his insistence on wanting to know, he doesn’t sound like he had been ready for any response besides ‘no’.

You groaned, leaning forward as you shook your head, trying to rapidly backtrack. “No. I don’t mean that you… you aren’t bullshit-”

“But you said maybe!” He exclaimed, collapsing downward into his hands with pained realization.

“Maybe that’s just how people could perceive you! Not how you actually are. It’s just how a guy like you might act-”

“And what kind of guy do I act like?”

“You know what you act like.”

“(F/n).”

“You want to know how you act? Steve, for a while, I thought you were a dick. I didn’t want to be around you. And you still act like everything is the same. You aren’t friends with those assholes anymore- but you act like you are. Like they all matter. Like any of this stuff matters.”

“You’re saying I’m self absorbed?”

“I’m saying you might kinda give off that kind of attitude. Steve. We literally had our lives changed forever- people died. And you’re still worrying about your social status at school.”

“It’s not like it doesn’t matter. (F/n), we go through it all day. That kind of stuff still matters. I can’t just act like I’m not in highschool anymore.”

Huh.

That sort of made sense.

Steve looked at you expectantly, waiting for a response. “You think that’s bullshit don’t you? You think I’m full of shit- just like her.”

“No.” You blurted, a knee-jerk response to the pained words. “ But- I just don’t know you very well.” You reminded him, starting to find it difficult to navigate down the road as well as the conversation. “So how am I supposed to know if you really are the guy you act like you are?”

“I’m not going to lie to you.” He answered immediately, face screwed up seriously. “Why would I lie to you? Like you said, we really don’t know each other. Why would I care to look cool in front of you right now?”

You blinked at his words, hands tightening on the wheel as you felt his words like a punch in the gut. Luckily, Steve must’ve realized what that had sounded like, eyes widening as he straightened up in his seat, gaze firm on his fidgeting knees.

“Not that I’m like, saying you don’t matter, but it’s just that I feel like I have to be honest around you. We’re some of the only people who know about the truth of this town- and I feel like it’s weird to lie when we both know about it.”

You let out a breath, that sinking feeling easing slightly, you threw a look his way, questioning.

“Like… shared trauma?”

“Sure, because of our shared trauma, I can’t lie to you.” He agreed, and you nodded, starting to catch his drift.

It wasn’t that he felt like it wasn’t worth lying to look cool in front of you- he just felt like you understood, despite your unfamiliarity. He was being honest with you now because you both had a similar experience- and he was trusting you with what he was feeling.

You watched the blurred, white lines on the road and took a readying breath. If Steve was giving you the benefit of his trust, he deserved some advice in turn. “Okay. Well, I think that’s what Nancy means- she doesn’t want to lie. She feels like it’s bullshit to only be truthful around people like us. She probably feels like she can’t go back to the way it was.” You explained, keeping your gaze on the road.

Steve was silent for a few moments before you heard the sound of his clothes wrinkling with his movements. “Can you?”

You cocked your head ever so slightly, once again caught off by his words. You hadn’t been expecting this conversation to be redirected to you. And when you thought about his question, you weren’t really sure if you wanted to find the answer. Instead, you shrugged and buried those thoughts deep, deep down.

“I’m doing my best.”

Steve made a sound at your words, face unreadable at this point in your relationship. If this had been anyone else, he would’ve slapped on a smile, adding to Nancy’s ‘bullshit’ theory. Instead, he slumped back against the seat, once again falling quiet. He didn’t feel the need to perform around you and instead chose to stay quiet.

It had surprised you.

That show of sincerity.

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

“-I mean, what does he have against Donald Duck anyway?”

You blinked, tearing your gaze away from your half-mixed batter. Steve was still facing the TV, mouth half-open. The sight of it made you smile.

“Marvin the Martian is just staking his claim to the moon.” You explained, pulling his attention away from the TV. He looked back at you over his shoulder. “And that’s not Donald Duck- it’s Daffy.”

“You’re trying to tell me that cartoon duck isn’t named Donald? (F/n), I think everyone knows who Donald Duck is.”

“Well, if that was true for you, you would know that Donald Duck-” You popped the cap off the oil and poured it into your measuring cup for dramatic effect. “Is white.”

“Bullshit.” Steve retorted, turning all the way back to you and leaning across your counter. You just snorted at his response, focused more on making your cake than wasting time with him. Quickly retrieving and prepping the last of your ingredients, Steve watched you, unusually quiet. You were dividing your batter into pans when he finally spoke up.

“What’re you making anyway?” He asked, one hand propping up his head, while the other drifted over to the tickets.

You winced slightly as you missed your mark on one of the pans. “A cake.”

“What for?”

“For El’s party,” You glanced up at him quickly before dropping back to your falling batter. “You’re going right?”

“Oh. Yeah, I’m going,” Steve assured, picking up the tickets and looking them over. “Dustin keeps yapping in my ear about the present they went in on. Do you know what kind of gift these kids are getting for her? You’d think it would be pretty cool- considering they're pooling their money for it… But it’s pretty lame, if you ask me. I’ve told them to buy her a walkman or literally anything else- but they don’t listen to me.”

You smile, entertained by the thought of the kids utterly ignoring Steve’s advice. It seemed to knock him down a peg when they did, not enough to really hurt him, but enough to keep his ego in check. He catches your reaction, letting out an amused scoff.

“You wouldn’t think it’s so funny if you heard what they’re getting.”

“I don’t want to know.” You insisted quickly, pulling out an oven mitt from the drawer. “I like the surprise.”

“It’s not even your present.”

“I know.”

Steve watched with perplexion as you began to slide the pans into your oven, the heat blasting across your bare skin. He idly played with the tickets, the sound of slapping paper obvious even with your back turned.

“So, if it’s okay to ask, why were you trying to back out this morning?” He pried cautiously, sounding forcibly nonchalant. “Of the prom, I mean.”

At his seemingly innocent question, you straightened like a released spring, spine snapping into the air. The oven shut with a slam, echoing through your mostly empty house. You thought you had moved past this. It made sense that he was asking- but you hated, just hated that he had. The simple question was all it took for those troublesome images to flood back into your brain, licking at the corners of your mind.

Licking.

Ugh.

But, you had prepared for this. Eventually, you knew he would ask. You would’ve if it were you, so it only made sense for the question to finally be popped. You had been able to come up with something in your free time, determined to not be caught lacking.

And not caught when you lied.

“I, uh-” You began, pursed your lips as your voice sounded strained against your ears. You needed to sound relaxed, casual. You recentered yourself, turning and pressing the small of your back to the oven. “I was worried about the dress. I have no idea what I’m supposed to do, or where I’m supposed to buy it-”

“I know the perfect place. We can go there Saturday.” Steve said immediately, skimming over your strange reaction completely. It was like it had never even happened. All of your previous worry shot out of your chest. Then, you realized what he had actually said.

“We?”

“Yeah” He confirmed, meeting your gaze without a hint of suspicion. “We can head over to that new mall- it’s supposed to be the best place to find stuff for prom.” He flashed the tickets at you, teeth appearing under a cat-like smile. You looked between him and the tickets, fingers tightening against the oven handle.

“No- I get that. But why are you coming?”

You didn’t know if you could handle a whole day with Steve. You could barely talk to him right now without combusting- or thinking back to that stupid dream. If you were going to go to the mall with him, it had to be for a good reason.

Or at least one you couldn’t argue your way out of.

“We need to match. That’s what you do with your date. I don’t wanna go through the hassle of trading ideas back and forth. It’s better to just go shopping together.” Steve answered easily, now looking at you like you were the one who hadn’t known the difference between Donald and Daffy Duck. He tapped the tickets against the counter with an air of finality, leaning closer over the counter as his gaze burned into your face.

On all accounts, it was a good reason. You didn’t see any way to dissuade him or convince him you didn’t need help to pull off the prom look. If you were being honest, he had much more experience than you in that respect. You of course would never, ever admit that to him, but there were a lot of things you were starting to keep from him.

You were starting to understand how it felt to bullshit.

You let out a resigned, minuscule sigh as you stepped away from the oven, reluctantly mirroring his forward lean onto the counter. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly, as if pleased by the display of your crumbling resolve. You steeled your nerves, banishing the imagined feel of those lips pressed against yours.

You’d be damned before you let a dream- and much less Steve Harrington- bully you into submission. You’d go with him to that mall and there wouldn’t be any problems. Just reluctant acquaintances trying to look like a couple for Prom.

Yeah.

No problem.

“Saturday?” You asked, meeting his gaze with new resolve.

Steve’s relaxed expression broke into a close-mouthed grin, dark eyes triumphant.

“I’ll pick you up at one.”

[illwynd]

omg. can't believe u finished LMD. (not as in i cant believe u were able to finish it. just like. it was such a cool and long fic and a big project and i can't believe it is over and complete.) what a fic! your writing is always so special. do u have a next fic ur planning or are u just resting a bit after such a massive undertaking.

aaaah thank you nonny! LMD definitely ate my brain for a while (although admitted a good chunk of the time it took to finish the last few chapters was the fault of a failed hard drive that took a bunch of work with it. multiple backups, folks. make multiple backups.) but i am so happy anyone was still around to read and enjoy the ending that i had been eager to finally share for so long XD

and lol funny you should ask... the last few days i've been seriously getting into the swing of the next one i'm working on, and since it is similarly sprawling and ambitious (it's the long-awaited Skrull Thor fic, essentially a rewrite of IW but better IMO, focusing on Thor and Loki) I'm trying to decide whether to break my rule about waiting till i've got most of it written before posting, since that may be a while and it's not like doing so prevented long delays last time anyway lol.

but for now i'm just having tons of fun plotting and scribbling and researching and figuring out all the many pieces. never before have i had to write with a huge whiteboard timeline of who was where when. 3d chess for writers or something.

[tippenfunkaport]

SPOP Horse / Riding School / Equestrian School AU

For the prompt I Just Want Them To Be Happy 😭

The Horse / Riding School / Equestrian School AU (that you will notice was a choice you could vote for as something I might post for the anniversary so if this sounds interesting, the power to read it is in your hands) has a real name but I'm not going to share it until the fic is ready to post. But the entire idea behind it was literally that I wanted something less epic and meticulously plotted like most of my fics and just show the gang hanging out and having fun.

I've been talking about doing some kind of ongoing, Never Really Ends, chill and episodic modern AU for a while and friends kept suggesting I do a coffee shop AU but the thing is… I am not really a coffee shop girl so i think I would struggle to come up with enough to happen in that. But you know a place I have spent WAY too much time of my life? The local horse barn. I actually worked as a groom, rode and taught at a local riding school for years and then it hit me that I could totally use this. Especially because the 80s She-Ra canon has SO MANY canonical horses for me to use!

Some random things about this AU (set in the last year of hs and we'd probably eventually go into college)….

Adora is trying to raise enough money to buy the horse she's renting (Swift Wind) while her parents think riding is a distraction from getting into college. Yes, I finally get to write the rest of Adora's family wooo!

Glimmer is Adora's best friend (my first fic ever where Glimmer and Adora just get to HANG OUT and BE BUDDIES i am so EXCITED) trying to figure out the mystery of a horse at the stable whose boarder seems to have abandoned him.

Mermista, Perfuma, and Frosta all ride at the stable with Glimmer and Adora that Mara owns. Sea Hawk is a cringe glam rocker at a dive bar we'll meet later.

Catra is trying to get a riding scholarship to college even though she hates the stuffy show scene and would much rather just be goofing around with her rescue horse, Melog.

Scorpia and her moms live next door to Catra, who lives with her temporary guardian Hordak (yeah, neither of them are real happy about that arrangement) and his partner Entrapta. Emily is a sassy motorcycle and Darla is a classic car she's restoring.

George and Lance are basically American Pickers But Gay, traveling around for antiques and collectibles they can resell in their store (where Catra works part time)

and what's going on with Bow is A MYSTERY cackles evilly

Anyway, everyone's going to be in this, ensemble fun, endgame every canon couple. Now the biggest challenge is that I need to try to resist the urge to plot the heck out of it like I do everything and just kind of go with the flow and pants it so it stays fun!

[sorryimananti-romantic]

hi!! it’s the anon who wrote the long ask on how to begin a story, and i’m sorry to say, but i’m back with another question. that question is : how do you come up with your story concepts? because aurora, be with you, guerrilla, sunrise, and where do i go are all conceptual masterpieces. like serial killer!yunho with a crime novelist? GENIUS! king’s right hand!seonghwa and an exiled former royal spy? BRILLIANT!! soldier!san and soldier!reader with suppressed feelings who are forced to confess because they might die? (in my opinion) ROMANTIC AS HELL!!! your mind is a goldmine for amazing ideas.

personally, ideas come from dreams, movies or shows, or just random bouts of inspiration. and sometimes those ideas aren’t even actual storylines. sometimes it’s dialogue or a specific scene. but then if i really like it, i have to come up with the rest of the story. also, thank you for your advice! i’ve been trying to just move past it because i’ve just been writing for myself, but i still can’t really get past like one and a half paragraphs. granted, i also get confused and stuck on if the punctuation is correct, but i’m trying.

anyways, congratulations on finally finishing your jongho story! i know you’ve been stressing about it for some time, and while i haven’t read it yet, i bet it’s awesome and i can’t wait to! good luck on whichever project you’re working on now!

ahaha omgg welcome back!

thank you i try 😭😭 you're right, most of the ideas come from dreams, movies/tv shows, or just a random inspo. and yes, sometimes it is a scene or a dialogue that i want to write and i shape the story accordingly. sometimes it's just that i know the roles of the characters and now have to come up with the plot.

for stories like aurora, i saw the yunho pic i used for the moodboard- the one from the limitless mv and i was like, i have to use this. it looks like a military uniform and originally i was going to make it a typical 'he's loyal and you're a spy' story but personally, to me, when it starts to look like a typical trope, i try adding a twist to make it unique! so for aurora, i came up with the 'he's forced to be loyal' and worked my way from there- why would he be forced to be loyal if he was originally a loyal soldier and strategist? what was big enough that he could risk betraying the system?

sometimes i just come up with a concept first and think of who in ateez could fit the role. like in be with you where i initially only had the king's right hand x exiled former spy who'll use the right hand to get to her revenge. or in sunrise- military agents, yes, but the thing that i wanted to write about was how military agents must live knowing that they could die any day, what they want to do the most, how they would be hesitant to love bc loving means losing too. similarly, with where do i go, i had the bodyguard x whatever reader but it was a result of being heavily inspired by the kdrama mr. sunshine!

so yes, the motive for writing each fic is very different! it doesn't always have to be very unique- like ice prince x fire princess (white love) is not new, i just have to make sure the plot is unique and make up a backstory to fit that. prince x princess arranged marriage (promise) is also a very commonly written trope. but i think whenever you're coming up with the basic details of your fics, you first have to decide what will make your fic unique. think out of the box (i know its hard to do it sometimes) but i'll let you in on what i do-

i like to talk about what i'm thinking about a fic. i only became friends with loren recently and she's been my go-to person to exchange ideas with, and she's been such a help. it's great when you have someone you can exchange ideas with, get wild, think of possibilities that seem impossible until you think 'wait, i could make this work'. but i've been a writer longer than i've had loren LOL and before that (i'm gonna sound like a loner but it's bc no one irl knows i write) i used to exchange ideas with...

myself. oops

i'd simply open boring old notepad and start a dialogue with myself (only when coming up with ideas for fics and i still do that sometimes when im stuck) bc it helps me take in every perspective. it's a series of what ifs and me contradicting my own what ifs, me roasting my own ideas in the middle of that LOL and finally having some outline which i can work with. and then we start writing and see how it goes from there

i'm happy to learn that you've been trying to write and i hope it gets better!! i kind of relate to you now bc cyberpunk has to be my first real challenge. i've never struggled as much with a fic as i did with cyberpunk and all bc i was hell bent on writing this concept (i did this to myself oops). it took me 8 months to finally finish it. i came up with the first concept 8 months ago, wrote like 3 pages, stressed over it bc i felt like it was too dark and heavy (it was) and then i scrapped it. i came up with another plot, wrote like 6 pages and i thought this time i had it, only to realise that it was going to be the most boring thing ive ever written. it had no oomph factor. left it to sit in the drafts and collect dust, visiting every once in a while, meanwhile writing and posting other oneshots. and when i finally came up with a new plot and all?

i got too busy with real life to write it 😭 like i swear i was buzzing i was on a roll i was writing like 2k words every day but then it stopped and it was hard to get back to writing but i finally, finally finished it. all i had was droid!jongho x programmer!reader and that's it. i'll admit i hate droids im never writing droids again but at least i overcame this challenge, and i know you will too! if you ever need someone to bounce ideas with, i'm here. i love doing that. good luck <3 hope my rant was meaningful LOL

[thompsborn]

Hello!!! i’m so interested in the HB2 plot! I feel like we see peter angst way more commonly than Harley—so if you ever feel up for rambling about it under a cut or a spoiler tag this is a free space to do so! He really is my blorbo and you’re my favorite fic writer so I know whatever happens it’ll be amazingly done but I’m dying for hints at more of what that’ll look like! Are we talking, like, caught in the literal crossfire or devastating hostage situation 😂

okay before i do the harley rambles i!? I’m your favorite fic writer??? my guy what the FUCK that’s so sweet but also have u read any of sarah’s fics?? oddy’s parkner fic or oddy’s parksborn fic??? ANY of the Classic Iconic parkner fics circa 2020-2021?

i’m actually very VERY slowly making a parkner fic rec list to post at some point but just. WHAT. there are So many INCREDIBLE fic writers and saying i’m your favorite is BONKERS to me but also so nice i ??? thank you??? oh my god???? ❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙

okay anyway sorry to what the ask was actually about pfkfj, HARLEY!!! i agree it’s definitely a lot easier to come across peter angst than harley angst, which most likely has to do with the fact that there is a LOT of material to draw from for peter’s character—various movies, comics, shows, timelines and universes and the games. it’s a lot easier to come up with angst for peter because there’s a lot of canon angst to choose from AND there’s so much content for him that it’s a lot easier to get a grasp on his character and create angst based on that, you know? but as a fandom we have definitely created many ideas of harley based on when he was a kid in im3 and his cameo in endgame, plus the WEB comics + ride at avengers campus, so harley angst is for sure out there but like you said it is NOT easy to come across lmao

as for the HB2 plot—i have an ask in my drafts from like a month or two ago asking for more information about hb2 and i’m gonna try to finally finish answering that and post it sometime today, so that post will definitely include some insight in what to expect from the sequel, but harley in hb2 specifically? i GOTCHU.

OKAY !!! let's do this!!

so homeward bound, as i've said before, is PETER'S story post no way home, right? but in hb2 it's peter AND HARLEY'S story post homeward bound. the first chapter is a recap of the first fic from harley's pov with a lot of extra bits thrown in, starting on the day that thanos first snapped and ending either where the first fic ends or maybe in the summer between school years. unsure as of now but one of those, for sure. so that's going to offer a lot of perspective about harley's character in homeward bound - his thought processes, how he was feeling in a lot of key moments during the first fic, things he was doing while peter wasn't around, etc etc etc.

but in hb2, after the recap in the first fic, it picks up at the start of their second year at ESU. he might still be roommates with harry. he might not be. it won't be the same room at the very least, so no matter what, there's going to be some changes, right? but also:

everything is different.

there are the small changes - not the same room, harder classes as they climb their way through the pre-reqs, potentially a different roommate, some stuff happened over summer, etc.

but also there are the BIG changes, like his dynamic with peter, and knowing that peter is spidey and now being a part of keeping that a secret due to peter not wanting anyone else to know. he also knows about the spell and he knows that peter is someone tony loved, someone that pepper and morgan and happy and rhodey knew and cared about, and none of them remember him, but they know harley.

with harley's pov comes the reintroduction of the rest of the world, basically. peter has no one, right? his old life was completely destroyed and erased, leaving no connections to the people he used to know, so he's been VERY closed off from everyone and everything.

harley, however, still knows pepper and morgan and happy and rhodey. he still talks to them on a regular basis. he has his mom and his sister. he isn't closed off in classes like peter is, actually having conversations with his classmates, even if he has no interest in befriending them. peter's pov has been very limited because his world has been completely changed. harley's has been changed too via the loss of tony and him being dead for five years while his mom and his sister had to adapt to a life without him there, but it's not been changed to the extent of peter's, you know?

harley is going to have a few struggles in hb2, some centered around peter, some not. there's going to be family stuff. there's going to be this urge to tell pepper and them about peter because he thinks that peter would benefit from having these people in his life again but also he wants to respect the fact that peter doesn't feel ready to do that.

there's going to be some conflict about the people in his life learning that he's involved with spider-man's business somehow. there's going to be people getting angry at spider-man because of it.

a lot of mental and emotional turmoil is going to come out of all this. but, in the physical sense, he's not going to be entirely safe, either. again, people are going to realize he's somehow connected to spidey. he's going to want to do whatever he can do to help peter, to the point where he's going to get a little reckless with it sometimes.

caught in the crossfire? yeah.

hostage situation? no. at least, not in hb2. not that i currently have planned. that could change, but as of my current plans, no.

hope that's enough information to build some intrigue >:)

[livingdeadmlm]

me writing an actual fic?!?! lol, I hope you guys like this that jolyne one is coming soon with a similar plot to this one cause I think it works with them both tbh anyway I hope this is good!!

Gyros boots clicked against the porch of the saloon. The loud music inside was slightly muffled due to the doors. He was upset, angry even. some rumors have been spreading around about him and he was sure he knew the person who was telling.

Practically kicking open the door multiple heads turned to see the cause of the loud noise. gyro scanned the bar with a huff finally catching a very familiar set of eyes that had barely spaced him a passing glance.

The music kept going as he made his way to you, a few people went back to their conversations while still focused on him, and his footsteps quickened. Reaching out he grabbed the back of your shirt spinning you on your barstool.

Gyro stalled a bit, as the bartender left from behind the bar yelling at the two men to break it up. His face quickly turned a bright pink almost burning red.

"We have some business to work out, this one right here has been spreading some rumors about me that aren't quite nice.." his sentence was drawn out more and more as his grip returned back on your shirt and got tighter and tighter pulling you closer maintaining eye contact.

"Not in my bar you aren't, I'm going to get the sheriff this instant!" All of the patrons had quickly run out of the saloon due to being wanted or just to avoid being involved. The band made their way into a backroom and the bartender keeping his word made his way out of the bar to the sheriff's office which was pretty far and would take a while for him to arrive. The retreating footsteps felt as if they were thundering due to the silence.

The blond man turned back to you dulled anger in his eyes as he was practically between your legs holding the collar of your shirt in his hands. With your back against the bar, all you could do was grin at him.

"Well gyro, you have me now... what rumors have I been saying huh?" Your tone was mocking him which sparked back most of his anger.

"we'll I've heard some people talk about the little meetings we've been having! I didn't take you as the type to kiss and tell (name), and I don't take kindly to those types!"

your head fell back with a laugh, the laugh he loved to hear. It was beautiful, and that smile across your face, no doubt you were the prettiest boy he's ever seen, but he wouldn't admit that at the moment.

"Well Gyro, I haven't said anything I keep out little 'meetings' to myself, have you been doing the same?" the grip he had on you loosened as he took in this information. Then who was?? he sure wasn't, he likes these meetings between you two he didn't want to mess that up.

"Of course, I've um been keeping them to myself it's rude to expose people's personal life." he was no longer gripping your shirt, his hand just rested against your chest, his thumb caressing the soft skin which was exposed from the opening of your shirt.

"Well, then we just have to be a bit more careful cause that means someone has been seeing us." he nodded more focused on your outfit. The button-up you wore had more buttons undone than usual which definitely caught his attention. His eyes wandered further down, his other hand lifting

"Stop staring cowboy, I just said we need to be careful.” You gently pushed gyro back to stand from the creaky stool.

“Come on the sheriff will be here soon and,” you lowered your voice slightly leaning in closer to the blond man, “ my place isn’t too far from here, why don’t you join me?” You spun on your heel not waiting for an answer.

The thudding of your boots filled the silence as you made your way out of a back door in the saloon, the clinking of spurs gave you your answer.

You smiled the start of a very exciting night had begun.

[n7punk]

It’s kind of a shame that your most popular fics are the more expkicit ones. I mean, I get it, but still! All your fics are great, you can just really see where ppls priorities are in the hit counts lol

this is super long sorry i had Many Thots.

honestly that could be a false correlation. at the top of my views are my long form AUs, and a lot of those are explicit (the non-explicit ones being ditm, the greys, 3m2, lotd, wdtfd, mnohl, tdhfy, & reflection - and only 3 of those are T, with the rest being M). long form fics get recommended more and they naturally have a higher view count because for one person to read to the end of one with 10 chapters, they have to view it 10 times. a lot of my T-M AUs are shorter (longest being 7 chapters) than my E AUs (the longest being 23 chapters....) so they get less views.

additionally, i think all of those T/M AUs except ditm, the greys, & maybe 3m2 were posted after ao3 changed how it counts views (only counting them from logged in users, not guests), so all fics posted after that date have a lower view count because a lot fewer are registering. i dont remember exactly when this happened, but thats a factor. a lot of the lower rated stuff is newer, so it has had less time to rack up views (not to mention the number of engaged fans in the catradora fandom naturally shrinking some as time passes from the end of the show).

for all these reasons, i would mostly look for correlation when it comes to one shots. There, you do see a lot of the explicit fics near the top, but i think you see something interesting if you sort by kudos instead. one shots are put on more even footing with long fics and you get an idea of how many individual people liked a story (now, you no longer get an idea of how many times they went back to reread it, which is a factor in enjoyment, and there's still the "sharing" bias for long fics, but i digress).

if you sort by kudos, you suddenly see a lot less bias for explicit ones (in fact, i would say its gone, given like a third of my fics are explicit). for instance, 3m2 becomes my 5th most popular fic.

this kind of leads to my final theory, which is that people are more likely to "reread" an explicit fic. because, well, they already know the plot, so they are less likely to randomly decide to reread that, but they are drawn back to the smut when they want to... be horny. anyway, ive suspected this is a phenomenon for a long time and looking at the view counts now, i definitely feel it has weight.

this makes the explicit fics seem more popular, and i guess you could argue they are, but if somebody is coming back just to read the smut, i dont know that really counts as them "rereading". its possible they'll then be like "oh yeah, i like this" and reread the whole thing, but it all depends what you put weight in personally.

so yeah. fic popularity is hard to rate. i kinda went off there but tldr, i don't think it's so much a correlation in popularity as it is in hit count.

now (i know, more after the tldr, i have a lot of Thots), i will say i think there is a bias in writers (me, at least) to make long form things explicit. i know for a fact there are people who look at an 80k fic that's rated T and go "why am i gonna get that invested and they dont even fuck at the end", so they skip that fic. this can be solved by including just one smut scene and not a bunch of them, but i also know for me personally, i would rather have multiple or none, because it feels like a waste to rate it E for one scene knowing that's also boxing out the people who dont like to read smut.

I'm also not so interested in writing "smut for smut's sake" so i usually only include it as part of a larger narrative where the plot just happens to include fucking (or it allows me to explore the characters in a new way). In general, i've really been feeling M fics lately because I feel like I can write whatever I want and still get most of the plot impact of smut, but I don't "have to" actually write it, which I just haven't been interested in.

I dont know if people who dont want smut also filter out M fics (i know before i started posting myself i didnt know the difference between M and E), but as i've said many times, i'm writing for myself, so how much i care runs out there if they do lmao. the fic that's upcoming is T, to be clear, this is just where i am generally.

[straighttohellbuddy]

HELLO SO THAT FIC U POSTED???? CHANGED ME FOREVER. I relate to that other anon deeply my brain chemistry will never be the same. it frankly hasn't been the same since the fic was just snippets you posted abt once in a while and now it's posted and it's A 25K DELIGHT AND I JUST---- *SCREAMS**SQUEALS**CRIES*

I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW PRESENT IT'S BEEN IN MY MIND SINCE FOREVER KQMCLWKFS I'm dying. reader is great her thing with Wilbur is great I am screaming and crying and Oh My God thank u for sharing it w us I am. /SCREAMING./

no but genuinely I've been grinning and letting out like. fickin SQUEALS for over an hour kqmflsjxkalck like I'm so glad and happy I got to read it istg. u have SUCH a way with words?????? and characterisation??????? and like. developing relationships hello????????? I am in shambles. every once in a while I return to ur writing bc it's just So Good and now I got to do it thru this fic I've been excited for for the last????? TWO YEARS I THINK. idk how long it's been but it's been A WHILE so thank u thank u thank u thank u not only did it live up to my expectations it also absolutely went over them. thank u genuinely you've made my past two years pretty much. for the last however long there hasn't been a week in which I haven't thought abt reader and Q's interaction (the snippet of ‘this is how it started the last time’) for at least an hour straight genuinely like. and haVING CONTEXT??????

anyway basically this is like a huge thing for me and I just thought I'd tell u that😭💕 like I hope u know your writing has been v important to me for a while, from what you love you devour to like. everything kinda but wylyd just struck a chord w me if that makes sense lmao and like. I would've totally gotten it if you'd lost interest but I'm glad u didn't and decided to share that absolutely amazing fic💕💕

(*25K*!!!! oh my god!!!!! I wasn't before either, but now I will literally never stop thinking abt it)

((THE GHOSTBUR STUFF WAS SO SWEET)) ((and heartbreaking in the most PERFECT manner)) ((and don't get me STARTED on Dream. and Q. and WILBUR OH MY GOD WILBUR WILBUR WILBUR WILBUR-------))))))(and reader oh my god reader I will never shut up about reader)

I'm gonna rotate your message in my head like a microwave dish for the rest of my life I love you so much 💖💖💖 I've been meaning to answer this for days but I wanted to take the time to properly answer it because I'm going to ramble about this fuckin fic I hope you know!!

this fic means so so much to me and I'm so glad that I finally got it published, but also that I ended up publishing it like this, like I definitely could have added more but I think it would have ended up kind of bloated, and it's already such a huge fic 😅😅 the vignette style makes me feel like I'm getting snapshots of the important moments while still getting the sense of the reader having a life between scenes, and the rest of the dsmp plot still going on around them

I mean this so genuinely, WIPS are always In Progress, I never forget a fic, I still reread what I have of my Mafia!Corpse AU from 2019 and wonder what I should add next, same with the other like, 20 drafts I have. 😅😅 I hope they all get published eventually, but I feel very lucky to have come back to this and recognise that it's good enough to put out there ☺️☺️

but OKAY I WANNA TALK ABOUT THE READER'S RELATIONSHIPS WITH ALL THESE FUCKING CHARACTERS BECAUSE THEY MAKE ME YELL !! im making this into it's own post because i literally wrote so much just talking about the reader and dream and i have so much to say about them and Q and WILBUR and i'll tag u xx i LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND I LOVE THIS FIC IT STILL MAKES ME FERAL

[meowstix]

ok so like idk how much i've talked about this fic idea before. but basically the jist of this at it's core is like. basically what if the digital sacred beasts affected their users in. much more physical ways to say the least! hence the whole body horror thing. uhh gonna put this under a read more since. well see the body horror part. but i do implore you to read more i have a fuck ton of text to write out.

funnily enough while yuya's fate is still fucked, and unsurprisingly probably more fucked up than in canon, BOY do the remaining like. 2 or 3 deaths? i don't know yet tbh but they get a LOT more fucked up. relatively speaking getting impaled several times is at the very least quicker, or atleast probably i wouldn't know i've never been impaled but YOU GET THE IDEA! anyway yeah while it's already kinda odd that in canon kai was the only person affected by Witnessing A Kid's Fucking Death. but here yeah no EVERYONE there, both the main gang and the saint shields, you do not just see someone go out like that and just go on as if you didn't just see some horrific shit.

so right off the bat. yeah! shit's fucked up! cut to later, the battle tower matches are abruptly cancelled. not sure exactly why this happens yet but it's not good that's for sure. so yeah Those Fuckers decide to stay in.. wherever-the-fuck-in-japan-this-is, and very quickly it becomes clear that there's something Off, though to varying degrees throughout the group since they've been using those fuckin. cyber beyblades or whatever the hell for varying amounts of time. but yeah soon enough there's very much starting to be signs of some sort of physical change, just enough to realize some REAL fucked up shit's going on here.

the red flags only become more obvious when. sigh. Jim (i forgot to mention the fun thing about kane and salima being the only relevant ones means i get Two free fucked up deaths in addition to the existing canon death) just seemingly vanishes altogether. the rest of the team doesn't acknowledge that he's gone at all, simply saying he's "staying home for the day" Every Single Time. and technically he Is still alive though to pretty much anyone Not in the horribly fucked up state of mind Those Fuckers are in he'd very much seem dead. very, very dead. someone miiight catch a glimpse of him in this weird fucked up state i'm not sure the details yet but yeah just know at this point cyber draciel, or more specifically it's sacred beast, is literally the only thing keeping him alive. eventually though he does very much die, at that point practically being an unrecognizable mess of wires and metal and probably some.. remains buried deep within there. it's only at this point, several days after most would have considered the guy dead, the rest of the team finally acknowledges him as well. dead.

see at this point. the digital sacred beasts are effectively parasites, or i guess the proper term is parasitoids? whatever you get the idea. point is, the digital tortoise as it's never Called but there's enough of the naming convention established that i can assume that's what it's called, it needs a new host. so the remaining 3 Those Fuckers decide (granted at this point it's pretty much the digital sacred beasts deciding) to give cyber draciel to the bba team. unsurprisingly they very much Do Not want it, but in the end they're pressured into taking it in a moment that very much confirms all their worst fears of what's going on (besides any involvement from psykick that is because those motherfuckers have Long left the picture at this point). so now max (because 1. no shit the person with draciel is gonna end up with it's cyber equivalent and 2. i Gotta give him a W in the end just this once no matter how fucked up the circumstances are) is stuck with This Fucking Thing and there's a new priority now: figure out how to destroy it as soon as possible.

this kicks off a plot thread that while it will still probably be pretty fucked up it might end up being a bit more lighthearted than the rest if only because i get to write some potentially fun interactions, in the "unauthorized fucking thing blow it up Now" gang we've got max, kyojyu, and ozma (because i WILL let the saint shields participate in this dammit) trying to find a way to stop the digital sacred beasts.

and then i'm uh.. not really sure. i know salima and Maybe kane will make it out of this alive, i'm not entirely sure on the latter though because with one idea i'm having he would very much end up dead in the end. salima will be fine though atleast in terms of being. alive.

anyway here's some other notes on this before i go to sleep:

i literally have zero ideas in terms of anything for hiromi to do but i'm not letting her be doomed to not-doing-things so i'll have to figure something out.

being the 1st and 2nd most involved people in The Yuya Incident kai and dunga are probably gonna end up having to go after cyber dranzer together. this is another one for fun interactions but also things will DEFINITELY get pretty fucked up too.

i was looking back at the battle tower matches and looking at how the digital dragon is able to "take over" the battle tower... yeah i'm definitely keeping that in mind for a final confrontation.

i'm probably forgetting some stuff but whatever i need to sleep. o7

[icyandthefrostbites]

accidentally clicked this when trying to follow you because I'm a dumbass who couldn't see that this clearly said kiss my ask, lmao.

Anyways, a question I guess. Do you write and what's your writing process like?

Lol. That's fine XD

I do write! My writeblr is actually @icy-writes. I have quite a bit of reblogs over there, as well as advice, prompts, and whatnots.

My writing process varies for project to project. Sometimes I can write half a story in three days, chugging caffeine, not blinking. These stories are sometimes the strangest. I have one fic that hasn't been posted where the first whole book was written in three days during the middle of the winter while I worked at a hotel.

Sometimes I can spend years on something that should only take me a week, max.

Usually, though, I at least have to have a baseline for what I want to write. Like, who are the characters, what's the main plot, what's the basic idea of the story and what do I want to explore in it, what are some scenes that seem to be the most fun to write. There are times when I actually write those scenes beforehand and they don't end up making it into the final draft. It just kind of depends.

I try to let that sit for some time on the back burner before I even try writing the story. Why? I don't really know, many of my stories end up being that way.

If I need to, I'll use this time to do some research to help flesh out the story and maybe create a timeline. I'll also compose a playlist of songs that vaguely represent the story as a whole.

When I feel like I have enough research or like I'm ready to start writing, I'll take a stab at it. If not... it'll sit on the back burner for several days/weeks/months/years.

I've written other things where I wrote a complete summary and/or of what was going to happen and just busted it out after 2 or 3 years of research.

Remember the fic I mentioned earlier? The one I wrote at the hotel? Yeah, the rest of the series -- 5 70k stories, 2 novellas, and 11 one-shots -- are are plunking along with maybe one or two things ending up being finished a year.

Like I said, everything kind of depends on the story.

[tenelkadjowrites]

What I loved about AK especially was how understanding they both were of one another. Such an odd pairing, yet they worked. There was no judgement really. Seonghwa teased Y/N for her "church" outfits, but he still liked them, not only in THAT way, lol but he admired her for not being afraid of being different. And Y/N was supportive and encouraging towards the way Seonghwa presented himself as well.

I really appreciated their dynamic and I'm glad you can see that you've done a great job. (Don't get me started on how many times I read a certain collar scene...)

Yes to everything you said about writing, because that should be a general rule and something writers need to remember. It's not always easy to stick to it and not feel pressure either external and/or internal, but in the end this isn't work, it's a hobby that should mostly bring pleasure.

So true about Seonghwa, see I draw and at this point I'm unable to draw anyone else than HIM. I may attempt to draw another person, but nope, swerving right to Seonghwa. It's a curse I think... but he is very inspiring what can I say.

I finished AITD! I had to read it twice, because originally I stayed up late and stopped reading after the restaurant scene despite not having much words left, but my eyes were about to fall out. 💔 I wanted to pick it up from there the next day, but realized I read everything so quickly I didn't give it enough thought. Anyways, that Blue Hawaii reference, I see you. I started giggling at the Lisa part, lmao. And not him throwing up, noooooo, but points for realism for sure, hahahha. Most importantly I enjoyed the fic, it has ended the way I predicted, I knew Hwa's parents would try to pay Y/N off. It's a shame he was ready to believe them, I can't blame him too much, but it's still sad. The running in the rain to see the love of your life reminds me of that one scene in Bridget Jones's, I don't know if you've seen it.

I'm looking forward to more Hwa content. Are there any AUs in particular you want to explore? Omg this ask is long, I'm shutting up now!

i loved creating the sort of odd couple pairing in AK. it was fun to write and i wanted to make it clear that they both adored one another for how they were even if they looked like a strange pairing in public. the reader never judged hwa for his past, for sleeping with many people and hwa never judged her for the sort of cutesy demeanor and style of dressing. like you said, it was always based off a mutual respect for one another that was really important to me.

writing is truly my one big love. i've written stories, poems and journals since i was a little kid. i can't imagine ever not writing. it is really just my passion and anytime someone enjoys a fic of mine i am really happy that my love of writing shines through.

my basis of AITD was that i really wanted to have a typical "romcom" type finale. i had the finale in place before i even planned the rest of the fic. i wanted to make sure that throughout the fic it was evident hwa was going to struggle with the relationship he had with his parents and that he would be too afraid to fully let go until it reached a boiling point. the entire fic sort of flowed towards the finale of the 3rd act fight, the discussion with his father and the racing towards the restaurant to stop hwa. the fic really built itself around the final act. (which is common with my longer stories, i always seem to figure out the ending first and use that as a lighthouse to craft the rest of the plot.) i am really happy you enjoyed it so much and thanks for taking the time to read it.

i have SO many fics ideas and AUs i want to explore that it overwhelms me. i think my next few fics will just be a lot shorter and simpler, most likely some good old fashioned smut with just a little plot lol. i have a few different ideas for longer fics bouncing around in my head but AITD took 3 months to write so most likely just some shorter fics ahead for now. (i say this but if i get an idea that really captivates me then all bets are off lol.)

thank you again for such a long thoughtful message. <3