#anyways these two are so complicated and OH MY FUCKING GOD. breathes in and out and then explodes

[loserboyfriendrjl]

walburga’s eyes were sunk in anger, of faux superiority and betrayal.

she bitterly thought of sirius. sirius, who burned bright and scorching, much like his namesake. with so much passion, so bright it blinded, so warm it burned, him and everyone around him.

she thought she wouldn’t burn, though. because she was his mother, bitter flesh of hers, blue blood and aristocratic spirit that she held onto so dearly. she was cold, though, and that was the difference between her and her son; her eyes spoke of nothing but a hollow, caged woman, while his were of freedom and disobedience.

she was dead; not physically, because she was as alluring and bright as she had ever been, but her body did bot belong to her, but to her name. deep within her, she was a lost woman, a woman that had wanted to escape, and had rotted away for the sake of her family.

sirius, on the other hand, had other plans for himself. he had always been so stubborn, always getting his way. maybe walburga was to blame for that, as sirius was the broken glass, the shattered mirror, of what she had been.

he was the version of walburga that she could have been, in another life, in another universe, where stars can shine until they burn away, and then, they are free. but she shall burn for eternity, for that is a ode to her family, to her absent father, to her unloving mother.

sirius would hurt himself and destroy everything he had ever been given, if that meant he were to escape. walburga, quietly, admired and resented him at the same time, the very bitterness that was passed through generations.

she had thought her son would be hers forever, but when did he become someone else’s son, and when did the mother and son rot into strangers of resentment? when did they turn against each other, enemies of the same blade?

sirius looked up to her, with dark, poisoned love, or at least that was what she thought. spite kept both of them alive, and the thought that, no matter what would happen, there would always be a figment of the son that would long for his mother, and a figment of the mother that would miss her son.

they were both sinners, after all, were they not?

[i-prefer-base-twelve]

Ford x Reader x Sleep

It's not so much that you awaken as you're drop-kicked into consciousness. Heart racing, disoriented--it's still dark--Ford is sitting up beside you, panting, clutching the duvet to his chest.

Shit. Something's wrong. Fire? Intruder? "Ford?" You croak.

Ford looks in your general direction, confused. Then his eyes focus and his shoulders sag. He takes a ragged breath and smooths your hair.

"Nothing," he mumbles, voice shaky. "Nothing. Go back to sleep."

You frown up at him. "Bullshit," you say. "What's wrong?"

He looks out the window. Or, he would be looking out the window if the curtains weren't drawn. "Just a bad dream."

You prop yourself up on an elbow. Ford told you he had nightmares sometimes, but he's never startled you awake before. "It must have been pretty intense," you say. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

Silence. He stares hard at nothing. "You--" he stops, clears his throat, tries again. "You… he…" Ford closes his eyes. "He… possessed you."

No need to ask who HE is. Your stomach knots up on Ford's behalf. "Hey. Look at my eyes," you say softly, reaching out to place a hand on his cheek. "It's just me in here. He's gone. Forever."

Ford scowls, shoving your hand aside. "You think I don't know that?"

You flinch back. That stings, even if you know he's only angry at himself. "Hey, asshole, I'm trying to comfort you here. Either let me try or let me sleep."

At that, he grunts and lays back down, facing away from you. You stare at his back, wondering what you should do; you've never seen him like this and you might have just fucked it up. Before you can decide on a course of action, he rolls over to face you and rolls you onto your side and pulls you tight against his chest. You can feel his shaky breathing, his pounding heart.

You try to turn and look at him, but his arm around you is so tight you're pretty much pinned. If he doesn't calm down soon, you're gonna have bruises. And not the fun kind.

He clearly doesn't want to talk about it, so that leaves distraction. Distraction, distraction… ah! You say quietly, "Did I ever tell you about the moment I decided not to be a scientist?"

He shifts, arm loosening fractionally. "I didn't know you'd ever considered it."

You smile. This is totally going to work. "Yeah, I actually entered college as a chemistry major. There I was, all of 18 years and two weeks old, in organic lab, WAY over my head--"

"Organic chemistry as a freshman?"

"Oh. Yeah. I guess I tested out of a bunch of credits."

"You never told me that." There's a gentle admonishment in his voice. You try to find a tactful way to say I don't talk about my college days because I'm an adult and finally decide on, "It never came up. Anyway, there I was in my first real chemistry lab, surrounded by all this strange equipment, and I was just trying to get the melting point of something." Which you do by waiting for a chunk of it to melt and then reading a thermometer. Science is not always complicated. "I turned the heat on, but I knew this thing had a pretty high melting point, so I started writing up my report while I was waiting, but then I got distracted and forgot I was heating it up… until the machine got so hot the thermometer blew out of its housing and shattered against the ceiling."

Silence. Ford's body, pressed against you, begins to twitch with laughter. "You FORGOT?"

You shrug as best your pinned shoulders will allow. "It scared the bejezus out of the whole class. Thank god it wasn't a mercury thermometer! No one was hurt. But that's when I knew I wasn't cut out for life in a lab. Changed my major to computer science the very next day."

You feel Ford shake his head behind you. "Too bad. You would have made a great chemist."

You laugh at that. "Clearly I would not have! Anyway, no regrets. I made it through the CS program without breaking a single machine. Wait, did I… no. The printer broke itself. I just put it out of its misery. Which was honestly one of the more fun times I had in college..."

"Mmmm," Ford says. Your scheme is working; he's falling asleep. You stop rambling as you feel his arm go slack.

You open your eyes to find yourself in the middle of a chem lab. The air burns your throat and stings your eyes. The tables around you are full of improbable setups, Rube Goldberg glassware hosting all manner of sickly-colored liquids. As you look closer, you notice the liquids are flowing the wrong way through the glassware.

You jump at the sound of glass shattering on the floor behind you. As you turn around, the lights flicker. A voice speaks, seeming to come from all around you and inside your head all at once.

"AND JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"

You jerk awake, feeling cold sweat on your face. Ford's arm still drapes across your stomach, his breathing still slow and easy. Good, you didn't wake him up. You try to match his breathing, focus on the physical sensations of his warmth and weight against you, try to calm down. Dreams, man.

The next thing you know, a big hand is smoothing your hair. You force your eyes open to see it's morning. Ford is sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at you intensely. This isn't bizarre exactly, but it's not his normal pattern. Usually when you wake up, he's either long out of bed and knee-deep in mad science, or snuggled up next to you. You make an inarticulate questioning noise.

"I… made you coffee." He's strangely bashful, gesturing at the mug on your nightstand. Next to the mug is a plate of peanut butter toast and strawberries, aka the most breakfast you ever eat.

Ford brought you breakfast in bed.

Ford has never brought you breakfast in bed before. You didn't know he was even aware of breakfast in bed as a concept.

You sit up, turning to lean against him as you reach for the coffee. "Thanks," you say, not managing to keep the confusion out of your voice. He puts an arm around your waist and scoots closer.

Ford stays quiet, unusually quiet, while you drink your coffee. After nearly half a cup, he finally speaks. "No one's seen me like that before." He looks back to you, eyes locking onto yours. "I hope you don't think less of me."

You set your mug on the table and turn to face him. "Think less of you? No, of course not, why would I? Nightmares are scary."

He scowls, looking away. "You didn't deserve to be treated like that."

It finally clicks. He's embarrassed about waking up in a panic, and wants to apologize for snapping at you. You sigh, putting a hand on his knee. "Seriously, it's no big deal. You were freaked out, you didn't mean anything by it. Honestly, your reaction was pretty standard. I dated one guy who would actually wake up screaming--"

He looks at you then, pinching your hip playfully. There's the slightest smirk on his face. "I don't need to know about your exes."

You smirk back at him. "Point being, don't worry about it. I barely even remember waking up."

He looks relieved. "Were you able to get back to sleep ok?"

Were you? Now that he mentions it, you vaguely remember having an unsettling dream of your own. What was it…? Maybe you're just remembering feeling unsettled on his behalf. You nod and say, "Out like a light."

"Good." He takes your hand in his and squeezes it. And then, after a pause, he adds, "You know, before you, I would just spend the rest of the night awake. Pacing up and down the halls or writing in my journals. But with you…" he shakes his head, smiling. "I went back to sleep. You're a gift, and I intend to appreciate you better in the future."

You smile at him. "I like the sound of that."

He moves in to kiss you, and you gladly let him.

[seikosas]

you rock. | ellie williams

sypnosis: A dumb rock lands ellie at the school clinic. Unfortunately for Ellie, guess who volunteers there on the one day she needed to go there? You.

wordcount: 705

contains: fluff, loser!ellie, mentions of injury, highschool but ellie and reader are seniors (18 years old), mentions of joel, thats all i think

a/n: hi everyone!!!! I made this because I wanted to make a different multi-part story but decided to start small and build up (because I deleted my other story with two parts cause I hated it so I decided to start again and start small) so I hope you enjoy this and wish me luck on this journey of me working on my grammar bc english is not my first language 😍

Ellie was embarrassed to say the reason she had to go to the school clinic.

She was mad on the way to school due to an argument he had gotten into with Joel. It was stupid, but knowing the both of them, neither of them were willing to say they were wrong. Causing her to let her anger out on a rock, kicking it hard. Seems like the rock didn't take this lightly because as she kicked the rock, her leg swung so hard causing her to lose balance and fall head first on the rugged ground.

And that's how she ended up here. Waiting outside the door of her High School Clinic. When the door opened, she didn't expect to see that face. The face she had been dreaming of since Junior year, the face that when it smiles it causes her face to redden even if she wasn't the cause of it. That face. Your face. Fuck.

“Ellie?” you say with a confused chuckle. She says your name in return with a forced cool expression. It wasn't cool. “Come right in.” You open the door more and she enters.

“All right have a seat there and I’ll just get some things to clean up… that.” You say with a mixed expression. Were you happy? Were you laughing at her? Her heart starts to race at the thoughts racing to her head about the cause of your expression. Before she can think her head off to explosion, you come back in front of her with materials in a tray. “Okay so, this might hurt a bit” you apply the liquid to a cotton ball then press it on her forehead. It stings, but she remains a frozen expression as to not embarrass herself further by reacting to it.

“So, what happened anyway?” your attempts at small talk warms her heart. “ I- uhh. Forgot…” she says while avoiding eye contact to save herself from further embarrassment. What would be an obvious lie to anyone else, you took as a genuine statement. Your focused expression changes into one of Alertness, with a hint of concern. “Oh my God, are you serious? Shit. Hold on, let me call the nurse, this might be more serious.” You get up hastily planning to look for the phone when she grabs both your arms to stop you from getting up any further, so you sit back down with yours furrowed.

She takes a deep breath, “I- uhh, fell. While… kicking a rock.” She looks down saying the last part. Ellie felt embarassed confessing this, to you of all people. “That's it?” She finally looks up to see your face smiling from her confession. “... Uh, yeah. That was it.” “That's not that bad. Honestly.” Your attempts at making her feel better send a warm feeling all throughout her body.

“Last month someone left a banana peel on the floor of the grocery store and I fell because of it. Like a fucking cartoon.” You laugh at the recalling the memory. She laughs along with you, suddenly every stinging pain she felt miraculously vanished.

You get up from the chair and grab a pen and a piece of paper. Ellie sticks her head out as far as she can before it starts to hurt, wondering what you're writing. You finally get back to her, folding the piece of paper and handing it out for her to take, “Here’s my number, if any complications come up about your injury just text me.” Ellie fights the battle to not say what comes to her mind,“ Can I text you just for fun?”. Shit. At least you find it funny. “Yeah, of course.”

You walk with Ellie all the way to the door saying something before you close it, “See you soon, Ellie. Hopefully not here anymore.” With the way you're looking at her right now she just might fall to her knees. “Uh- yeah. See you.” When you finally close the door, she finally opens the note she had been holding on to:

Text if you wanna ask me something!!

xxx-xxx-xxx <3

Oh and, Ellie? You rock! ;)

She rolls her eyes playfully at the last part. She’s a dork, thankfully you happen to be one too.

[doc-pickles]

waking up in vegas | matthew tkachuk x hughes!sister (p. 2)

series masterlist

summary: the hughes-tkachuk family thanksgiving dinner from hell

warnings: mentions vomiting

a/n: here’s part two of my matty fic! hope y’all enjoy :)

xoxo

nina

Your parents' living room is loud and boisterous as everyone mills around for an early Thanksgiving dinner. The dinner had been a Hughes-Tkachuk tradition for as long as you could remember, but this year your stomach rolled uneasily at the thought of having to sit at a table and lie to everyone at it.

“Did the annulment go through?”

Matthew’s voice makes you jump as you turn to face him. His stubble has grown out into the beginnings of a beard and you can’t deny it’s a good look on him.

“About that,” your eyes shift down to your boots as you speak quietly. “They can’t annul it, we’re going to have to get a legal divorce.”

Matthew doesn’t say anything, simply drags you down the hall into one of the spare bedrooms before closing the door and looking at you with wide eyes.

“What do you mean we need a divorce? I thought we could get it annulled and pretend like it never happened,” Matthew's tone was incredulous as he stared at you.

“Me too but apparently when you marry someone with a multimillion-dollar hockey contract that complicates things,” you swallow down the bile trying to climb your throat as you look up at Matthew. His gaze softens and you realize you must look scared shitless right now. “Listen I’ll figure it out okay? It’s not a big deal.”

Without warning, Matthew pulls you into a hug and you breathe in his warm woodsy scent, grounding yourself in the contact. You take a shaky breath as he runs a hand down your back, “Let me know how I can help, okay? I don’t want you stressing over this and it takes two to tango anyways.”

You barely hold back the urge to laugh at his statement, Matthew not knowing how true his words are. Instead, you nod and stay there for a few more comforting seconds before he pulls away, “You okay?”

Nodding you meet Matthew's eyes, “Can we talk after dinner?”

“Sure,” Matthew nods and presses a kiss to your forehead before he gives you one last smirk and leaves the room.

When you leave a few minutes later, everyone is starting to sit down around the table. You take your spot next to Luke and across from Matthew who winks at you as you sit. He groans and you see Quinn glaring at him, assuming your brother had kicked him under the table.

“Table is getting full,” Keith chuckles as he looks between all of the kids, Emma now seated next to Brady. “Might need a bigger one next year.”

Your mother lets out a huff and as soon as you look at her you know whatever comes out of her mouth next isn’t going to be good.

“I’d say so. In fact, I think someone here has a little announcement they want to make,” as you scan the table and meet Matthew’s gaze your stomach drops, both of your faces blanching. “Who wants to share?”

You and Matthew break away from each other's stares to look around at all of your siblings. None of them look like they’re quite sure what’s happening, but they all keep flicking back to you and Matthew.

“Mom-”

“Anyone want to tell me why there was a pregnancy test in the guest bath? A positive one at that?”

Your mouth snaps shut at your moms admission and side glances immediately start flying across the table. Most eyes turn to Brady and Emma, the newlyweds shaking their heads. Emma grabs her wine and takes a hearty sip before answering your mom, “Not me, I’m very much still enjoying my wine.”

Eyes dart around the table again and you can tell the moment Luke spots your can of Coke next to his bottle of beer, a long and loud groan leaving him, “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”

“Luke Warren Hughes! Language,” your father scolds, but you can barely register his chastising as you lock eyes with your twin.

“Okay but who’s pregnant?” Jack asks cluelessly as he continues to look around the table. “If it’s not Emma it’s Taryn or- Oh my god!”

You can feel every set of eyes at the table fall onto you but you can only meet Matthew’s gaze across the table, his blue eyes wide and searching as he stares you down. You hold his gaze until Quinn and Jack both start yelling simultaneously.

“Are you kidding me? You knocked up my sister you fucking douche canoe!”

“Holy shit! Holy shit this is from Vegas? First, you marry my sister then you knock her up?!”

At Jack and Quinn’s outbursts, you push your head into your hands as all four of your parents begin to hurl questions across the table. The noise leaves your head swimming as bile begins to rise up your throat, everyone around you shouting.

“Wait, Matthew got you pregnant?”

“What the hell happened in Vegas?”

“Did he just say you're married? How long have you two been together?”

“Does this mean we’re all going to be grandparents?”

As everyone continues to yell over the table you do the only thing you can think to do. Leaning to your right you promptly throw up your meager lunch into the potted plant next to you. Everyone stops as you continue to throw up and you vaguely register your mom ushering everyone out of the room while a hand settles on your back. You’re not entirely sure who’s holding you but the hand on your back is comforting.

“S’okay, I got you,” you’re slightly shocked when Matthew’s voice sounds out as his hand rubs your back. “Fun dinner huh?”

You huff out a laugh as you finally stop retching, looking over your shoulder at Matthew, “No one got a chance to take a single bite.”

There’s a silent minute where you’re simply breathing and trying to ground yourself before Matthew asks with a small voice, “You okay?”

Nodding slightly you sit up and face him, “I’m fine. Besides single-handedly ruining Thanksgiving and not being able to keep any food besides cranberry sauce down all day.”

Matthew chuckles as he runs a hand over his face, “Hey at least we had the common sense to get married before having a baby, huh?”

You both sit in silence for a second before a bubble of laughter bursts out from you, Matthew joining in. You look at him with a small smile, leaning your head against his shoulder, “I found out last night, I was going to tell you after dinner. I didn’t want to freak you out before we had to sit down and lie to everyone about being married, but here we are.”

“It’s okay. At least we don’t have to stress about telling everyone,” you’re both quiet for a second before Matthew whispers his next words. “You… Do you want to keep it?”

“Yes,” you answer quickly as you focus on your fingers. “Yes I… I hope that’s okay.”

Matthew nods, pulling you closer before speaking, “I… Yeah. We’ll figure it out, okay? Don’t worry about it.”

“Did you stop puking yet?” Luke asks as he sticks his head around the corner. Seeing you and Matthew sitting together he rolls his eyes. “Good. Can you please go into the living room before someone in there combusts? I think dad and Keith are about to start throwing punches.”

Matthew helps you up and you walk hand in hand to the living room. Keith and your dad are yelling and Quinn is trying (and failing) to explain what happened in Vegas to your mom.

“You think if we slip out they’d notice?” Matthew whispers right next to your ear and you have to stop yourself from letting out a full body shudder at the feeling.

“Unfortunately, yes. Plus I’m getting kind of hungry so I want to wrap this up and get back to dinner as soon as possible.”

Matthew chuckles behind you and everyone seems to realize you two are standing there. Your dad takes a step forward, but you put your hand up to stop him from coming any closer as you step in front of Matthew.

“Okay so we’re not going to threaten to beat up the man you’ve known since he was five,” you fix your dad with a knowing look before eyeing your brothers over his shoulder. “You three are included in that.”

“Why don’t we just let the kids explain what happened,” Chantal broaches from her spot on the couch next to your mom. “Maybe we have the story wrong.”

“Ummm so we went to Las Vegas… And then we got married,” you can’t meet anyone’s eyes as you speak but Matthew grabs your hand again and squeezes it comfortingly. “So there-“

“You got married because you were drunk and couldn’t find something better to do,” your father asked as he stared at you and Matthew.

“Jim!”

“No, Dad-“

“Well it’s fine they can just get it annulled,” Keith says from his spot across the room.

“Not if she’s pregnant,” Chantal shrieks and you can feel your heartbeat pick up. “You are pregnant, right?”

You nod, feeling tears prickling your eyes as your parents begin to speak again.

“What if it’s not even Matthew’s?”

“Well you can’t have a baby out of wedlock! Even if it’s not his-“

“You saying my daughter is a-“

“I didn’t say that! I’m just suggesting-“

“Listen I know that all of this wasn’t planned but both of us are responsible adults who can make decisions on our own,” Matthew interrupts your parents bickering and you don’t realize you're harshly squeezing his hand until he pulls you back into chest. “Can we table this conversation and eat dinner? Please?”

Everyone files back into the dining room and you cast a grateful look to Luke who’s taken the seat across from you so Matthew can sit next to you. Plates get passed around and when everyone is eating you finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“So besides the impromptu elopement, how was Vegas?” your mom asks with a small grin and a chorus of laughter sounds from the table.

Left it kind of open ended but I love writing the Hughes/Tkachuk gang so maybe another part?

[ofstarsandvibranium]

Holy shit, Always on the Sidelines had to be one of my favorite fics. As a person with chronic pain I always feel like I’m pushed to the side and like I’ll never find someone who will love and care for me like that.

If you wrote more I would def be happy

(ok. im fangirling a lil bit because i absolutely LOVE your jamie tartt fics and i cant believe my fic has become one of your faves! anyway, here's a lil snippet after the events of Always On the Sidelines!)

Here On Out

Summary: You're out with Jamie and your friends, but then your leg decides to act up and you have a bit of a breakdown.

A/N: hurt comfort! also, i headcanon that Jamie is a 1D fan.

You're really fucking bummed out. You were having so much fun hanging out with Jamie and the boys, your friends, because, yes, his friends are now your friends and they all adore you and you them.

Anyway, you'd gone to a club with them that was having a One Direction night. Drinks were flowing and you were having so much fun dancing with Jamie, then singing at the top of your lungs with Keeley, taking shots with the guys. It was all so much fun...but then your knee started acting up.

You excuse yourself from the dancefloor and Jamie follows you with concern. But you brush him off, not wanting to ruin his fun.

"I'm just gonna rest for a bit. Go have fun." He hesitates and you practically push him back towards the dancefloor, "Go! I'll be fine!"

"Alright. But you tell me if it gets worse and we'll go, okay?"

"Okay," you shoo him away and as soon as he turned his back, you hobble your way to the bathrooms so you can cry.

As soon as you enter the women's room, you lean against the counter and let out a sob. You curse your knee for causing you so many issues. You can't play football, you can't be on your feet for long, you can't even last having fun with your fit as fuck footballer boyfriend! You felt so...broken.

Two women, a brunette and a red head, enter the bathroom laughing but then stop when they see you teary eyed. They immediately rush over to you, "Oh my God. Are you okay?" The red head asks.

"Do we need to kick someone in the dick?" the brunette asks.

You chuckle, "No. I'm fine...kinda."

"What's goin' on, babe?" the brunette asks, looking genuinely concerned for you.

You shake your head, "I had a knee injury a while back and it starts to hurt if I'm not my feet for too long or doing extensive movements."

"Do we need to get you someone?" the red head asks, wiping away some of your tears.

You shake your head again, "No. It'll go away eventually it's just," you let out a deep breath, "It just makes things complicated for me. Like, I came here with my hot boyfriend and we were having the best time and now my knee started hurting and I had to step away-"

"Why isn't your boyfriend with you?" the brunette asks.

"I told him not to worry about me. Didn't wanna ruin his fun."

The door opens again and Keeley lets out a sigh of relief, "Fucking finally! Jamie's looking all over for you! You're not answerin' your phone!" She suddenly takes note of your teary eyes, "Oh shit. I'm getting, Jamie."

"Wait, no-Keeley!" but your cries fall deaf on her ears as she rushes out in search of your boyfriend.

Red head looks back at you, "Wait, was that Keeley Jones?"

You nod, "Yeah."

Moments later, Jamie comes in, hand over his eyes, "Is everyone decent? No one with their undies down, right?"

You can't help but snort, "You're fine, Jams."

Jamie drops his hand and zeroes in on you, "What's going on?"

"Holy shit," brunette starts to freak out, "You're Jamie Tartt! You're-"

Keeley steps in, pushing red head and brunette out the door, "Right! Let's go dance, ladies!"

"But I still need to wee!" brunette exclaims.

"Hold it in!" Keeley replies aggressively.

It's now just you and Jamie left in the room. Jamie slowly approaches you, hands on your hips to steady you, "What's wrong?"

You let out a sob as you tuck your face into his neck, "I feel so broken!"

"Love, you're not broken."

"But I am! I can't keep up with you and I fucking hate it! I hate hurting all the time. I hate making you cut your time short when we're out with friends. I hate that you can't fully enjoy yourself when we're together. I-"

"Hey, hey. Look at me," he pulls back, gently holding your face in his hands, "You're. Not. Broken. Your injury doesn't define you. I mean, look at grandad! Sure, he had to retire 'cause of his leg, but he's still out there coaching us, giving us a hard time, still doing the things he likes to do. He doesn't let his injury stop him.

"And you shouldn't either. I don't care that if we have to leave parties or gatherings early because your leg hurts. All I care about is you and how you feel. I don't like you being in pain. That's why I always check in on you. I don't want ya sufferin'." He wipes the tears the slide down your cheeks.

"What if you get tired of me? Get tired of taking care of me?"

Jamie shakes his head, "Never. I experienced life without you and I was fucking miserable. Besides, like how cuddly you get when I take care of ya. Makes me feel loved and shit."

"Jamie Tartt, you're such a softie," you playfully say, nudging his shoulder.

"Only for you, love," he murmurs before kissing your forehead. You two stand there, just cherishing each other's presence for a bit.

Keeley then pops her head in and says, "You two coming out soon? 'Cause a line is forming and these girls really gotta go."

Jamie steps back and asks, "Can you walk?"

"I can limp," you reply.

He shakes his head, "Piggy back then," he turns his back to you, crouching down a bit.

You do your best to hop onto his back and he lifts you with ease. Keeley opens the door wider for you both, "Thanks, Keeley," Jamie says and his looks at the line of waiting women, "Sorry, ladies! Me girl wasn't feelin' well!"

Keeley follows the both of you to the booth where everyone was sitting and taking a break from dancing.

"Are you okay, Y/N?" Dani asks.

"My leg again," you sheepishly reply and the boys nod their heads in understanding.

"Feel better," Isaac says.

Colin chimes in, "Do you need help to the car?"

"Nah, mate, I've got it!" Jamie replies and pulls out a few hundred notes, passing them to Isaac, "Hope that covers our drinks and some of you lot!" the guys raise their glasses in cheers to Jamie and wave good-bye to the both of you.

Keeley and Roy follow you two out just in case.

"Can this count as some of me trainin', grandad?" Jamie asks.

"No," Roy rasps out and you giggle.

"Prick," Jamie mumbles with a smile.

When you get to Jamie's car, he helps you in and then gives Roy and Keeley a d hug good-bye. Roy nods at you and Keeley blows a kiss your way. You wave at them until Jamie drives away.

_____________

When you get back to Jamie's, he carries you to the bedroom you share. You undress while he runs a warm bubble bath for you.

Once it's ready you get in and he quickly undresses, sitting behind you. You sigh in relief as you lean back against his chest and he starts to softly massage your knee.

"See? Cuddly," Jamie murmurs against your neck and presses a kiss.

"I love you," you whisper as you close your eyes and let the water warm your body up.

Jamie's smiling wide. This isn't the first time you've said it to him, but it still makes him all bubbly inside when you say it.

"I love you too. Always will. From here on out."

[podcastenthusiast]

First part of a Astarion/Karlach thing I'm writing. Basically a little rewrite of some Act 3 scenes. Could become something bigger, who knows.

--

"Well, at least you've met my family now," Astarion says. "Pity. You and Violet would get on quite well. Haha."

His tone is light and dismissive, especially for a midnight familial attempted kidnapping. But there's a desperate edge to it, too, like he's worried she might finally see sense and run for the hills.

Karlach's never been accused of being sensible. If Astarion burning his brother in a sunbeam while his sister screamed didn't scare her off, this little evening interruption sure won't.

Karlach does hope she will have a chance to meet his siblings properly, once they're all free.

"I wouldn't've let them take you anywhere," she vows, chest heaving, still very much caught up in protective Mama K mode.

"I know. Deep breaths, darling."

Astarion still looks wary, as if he's expecting the other shoe to drop. She can't cool down, she realizes, not yet, because she's still angry.

Angry at him.

"You lied to them. About the ritual. Like it was easy."

He scoffs. "It was easy. They aren't exactly the brightest candles in the chandelier, you know."

"You're really gonna sacrifice your own brothers and sisters? Betray their trust in you like--like they're nothing." Like Gortash did, she thinks but doesn't say. There are some words you can't take back. She loves this pasty bastard too much to actually believe he'd go through with it, anyway.

"What does it matter? They're just my...colleagues in suffering. Expendable. Pathetic." Oh, Astarion's giving her the old monster routine, one of his thinner disguises. She can see the aelf-loathing clesrly beneath without even really trying. "And let's not forget they are vampire spawn. Hardly innocent."

"Fuck, Astarion, none of us are! You only give a shit about yourself, huh?"

"Why not? No one ever looked out for me. No one ever said a kind thing to me. You're the only one," he insists, getting a bit heated himself now. "Other people don't have a heart like you."

"Damn right, soldier," she replies quietly, tapping a fist against her engine as it ticks and whirs her numbered days away. The rage fades. "Sort of the problem, isn't it."

"I-- shit, Karlach, I didn't mean--"

There he is.

"Hey. It's all right."

It isn't, not really. Nothing is all right anymore. But they will be.

Karlach just can't be the only good thing he sees in this world. It's not fair to either of them. Gods only know how much more time she even has left, besides; Astarion shouldnt be alone, not after everything he's been through. She needs him to be okay without her, selfish as it is.

"Scares me when you talk like that," she admits. "Like other people are just things to you."

"I'm sorry, Karlach," he says, miserably. "I don't know if I can be anything else, here."

Karlach's mother always told her to never go to bed angry. After ten years in the Hells, it felt pointless and silly, but tonight with his siblings' blood staining the floor, she thinks she might understand the wisdom in that advice.

"C'mere, Fangs."

She opens her arms. Always gives him a choice; touch is complicated for both of them in a lot of ways. And, yeah, there's her cuddly Astarion after all. Must be exhausting pretending to something he's not all the time. Thought so since she met him that day by the river. All those masks and yet none seems to fit quite right. She knows the feeling, more or less.

"You're loved, you hear me?" she tells him. "So fucking loved."

His skin is a pleasant balm; hers is still smoldering a little. They don't let go.

"You make things so difficult," he complains softly against her collarbone, affectionate despite the actual words.

"Knew this wasn't gonna be easy. But I swear, tomorrow we'll kick Cazador's ass," she murmurs, holding him tighter. "I've got you."

"Ugh. Get a room, you two," Shadowheart grumbles from her bed.

They have a room, though. This room. The others will simply have to deal with that.

It's gonna be okay.

[callsign-bunnie]

How about rodolfo talking about the "incident" in the zombie au for the first time 👀

This is a later scene from the series, but you guys can have it! Massive trigger warning for description of rape.

—

Rodolfo sighed as he leaned his head back. It was so hot, despite it being the dead of winter outside. He looked at Ghost, who was still banging as hard as possible on the glass. “Ghost! It’s bulletproof! We’re not getting out of here!”

“Fuck!” Ghost growled. He ripped his mask off and all but tore at his hear. Then, he went back to slamming his elbow into it.

“You’re gonna break your fucking elbow! Stop!” Rodolfo got up and went over, yanking him away.

Ghost lashed out, half throwing Rodolfo across the room. Rodolfo panted and lifted himself up a little. “Fine, break your arm.” He muttered, going back to sitting against the wall.

Ghost sighed, somehow still keeping his face out of Rodolfo’s sight. “I’m sorry. I- I can’t do this. It’s too small in this room.”

“That’s why those bastards stuck us here.” Rodolfo muttered. “Freaking out is just going to waste our oxygen. And if you break your arm, you’re useless to us.”

Ghost slammed down on the floor, covering his face with his arms. “Fuck!” He screamed, shaking.

Rodolfo sighed and leaned his head back. He was sweating so hard. He wiped his forehead and sighed. “So you’re claustrophobic?”

Ghost was silent for a moment. “Yes. I guess so.”

“You just now finding out?” Rodolfo raised an eyebrow at his wording.

“Yes. No. I- it’s complicated.” Ghost sighed.

Rodolfo shrugged and closed his eyes. They were going to die there. Alejandro didn’t know where they were. The only ones that did was the fucking rat bastard who’d stuck them there.

He looked at Ghost. “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours?”

Ghost looked at him and Rodolfo’s breath caught as he saw his face. Acid scarring, a Glasgow smile still a little purple, cut scars. It was all over, too. But, Rodolfo kept his face neutral. Ghost made a face. “You’d tell me?”

“We’re dying here, anyway. Who are you going to tell?” Rodolfo shrugged, pulling his knees up.

Ghost didn’t seem convinced before sighing. “You know I was ex military. I was… our Squad Leader sold us out. To Roba. Valeria says you had personal experience with his cartel.”

“Personal.” Rodolfo agreed, already irritated at his name. “But, he was not our jurisdiction.”

Ghost sighed and rubbed at his face. “He tortured my unit. Had us raped. We had to fight each other, practically to death. He would do autopsies to me while I was still awake. Barely any anesthetic, just enough I wouldn’t die of shock.”

Rodolfo felt nauseous, he couldn’t imagine going through all of that. “None of that lends to claustrophobia.” He winced when Ghost glared at him. “That’s a lot more intimidating without your mask, you know.”

“Thanks.” Ghost sighed and leaned back again. “When it was all over… he put me in a coffin. With… the man who sold me out. Because the other two in my unit escaped. I was in there for three weeks, apparently, with nothing but him and an oxygen mask.”

Rodolfo covered his mouth. He was going to be sick. “That’s awful…” he frowned. “Mine is… not nearly as horrible.”

Ghost shrugged and went silent. Rodolfo tried to process it. He couldn’t imagine going through that for months. Oh god and Gaz had gone through a portion of that.

“Your turn.”

Rodolfo blinked, looking at Ghost, who’d been staring at him. “What?”

“It’s your turn. You said you’d tell me yours if I told you mine. So, I told you mine.” Ghost sighed. “So, it’s your turn.”

Rodolfo winced and then sighed. He’d said it on impulse and he was already regretting it. “Alright…” He hesitated before finally letting himself remember it.

“I was… offering aid. A small section of the city had been attacked by biters. There were a lot of injured people. So I and a lot of the other Vaqueros who knew how to administer medical aid split up to offer aid.

I found a group of men. Their friend had been bit and they’d cut his arm off. I felt… horrible for them for having to do that so I offered medical aid. I turnicated the limb and cleaned up the cut so it wouldn’t get infected.

When I was done, they didn’t thank me. I was confused, but I thought maybe they didn’t speak Spanish but… no. It was so sudden but one was holding me down by my wrists and the other was… yanking my clothing off and I-“ Rodolfo suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe, fighting back tears.

“They took turns…” he finally got out. “For hours, over and over. I’d never been in so much pain. When they were done, one stabbed me. They didn’t even speak. Just… did it.

Then they left me in the street. Bleeding out. I… was attacked by biters. Bit all over. I thought for sure I was dead. I don’t… remember how I got away. But I made it to a church and I… waited to die. Valeria found me. She got me back to health before… I went back to Alejandro.”

Rodolfo finally looked to Ghost. He was met with horror. He didn’t like that. Ghost shouldn’t have been making that face. It shouldn’t have been that horrific that Ghost of all people looked horrified. He looked away, unable to hold the stare.

“You didn’t tell anyone that at all?” Ghost asked. “Ever?”

“No. Never. And I never will.” Rodolfo shrugged. He touched his face, unsurprised at the wetness he felt. He used to cry at everything.

Ghost was silent for a bit. “I’m… not good at comfort.”

“You don’t have to be.” He mumbled and shrugged. “I don’t need it.”

“I can hug you?”

Rodolfo rolled his eyes and gave Ghost a face. “I’m good. I don’t like being touched.”

“Fuck I can imagine.” Ghost shook his head. “For the record, maybe it’s not worse but… fucking Christ, that’s up there.”

Rodolfo was quiet. “Would it be bad if I say that makes me feel better? It feels… validating.”

“You should tell Alejandro.”

“No.” Rodolfo shook his head. “Absolutely not.”

Ghost sighed. “I can’t push you, too hard. But… you should. He’d understand.”

“He’d think of me as weak. I shouldn’t have let it happen.” Rodolfo sighed.

“No. You didn’t let anything. Someone took advantage of you.” Ghost then went quiet, furrowing his brows. “You… had no choice.”

Rodolfo raised an eyebrow, getting the feeling Ghost was talking to himself just as much. “Personal revelation?”

“Maybe.” Ghost sighed. He frowned and then seemed to stare at something. “There’s a vent.”

“What??” Rodolfo looked up.

“It’s been painted over. Hey, get on my shoulders, you could peel it off.”

Rodolfo shrugged and got up.

[farahsamboolents]

As promised, here are the DELETED SCENES from I’m The First In Line (my steddie fic on ao3)

I’M THE FIRST IN LINE: DELETED SCENES

You might recognize some of these passages from the completed fic - the whole point of having a Deleted Scenes is so I can go through and pick out the buried gems when I find a good home for them. Pretty sure I just mushed two different phrases together there, but you get the point. These are all in here for the reusability factor (in either concept or wording), OR to make a point about why I didn’t use them and explain how it goes against the ethos of the completed fic.

(If I kept retrying the same scene over and over, I mushed them all together a little)

Steve breathed another heavy sigh. “I guess I could just pretend. I could still find a girl who wants to be a mother of six.”

“But you don’t want to.”

“No. I want him.”

[END SCENE]

Deleted because “no, I want him” sounded… too much? Right now he just has a crush, he’s not quite ready for marriage and six kids… with Eddie, anyway. The man is ready to build a goddamn family. Slow down. Turn twenty first.

“I can feel it, sometimes.” She said. “When people are in the Upside Down. And I can find them there, too.”

“Yeah, and I can tell when someone took too much, but only if I’m close enough.”

She looked back at him, studying him.

Eddie matched her gaze.

“I heard about that fucked up facility you went to,” he said softly, “they probably made it sound like it was all your fault, right? Like they could fix you?”

She nodded, looking away.

“I went to - not the same, obviously, no superpowers here - but I kinda had the same thing happen. It’s why I live with my uncle, he got me out of there.”

She met his gaze again. “Why?” She said.

He let out a deep sigh.

“Because god hates gays, or some shit.” She looked at him inquisitively, so he continued, “I like boys. Same way you do. Don’t spread it around or anything, there’s a reason I went there in the first place but, if we’re on the topic of things that aren’t our fault.” He shrugged, shoulders scraping against the concrete.

“It took a lot of time to unlearn the crap that they told me.

[END SCENE]

Deleted because I didn’t want Eddie to come out to El just yet, and didn’t have a way of explaining why he was sent away otherwise. HOWEVER, I still kind of miss the opportunity to have them bond over that. On the other hand, I really really want to make sure I treat that part of his backstory right, and coming out of the closet willy-nilly is dangerous now a lot of the time, and he’s in smalltown Indiana in the 80’s.

The door leading to the house slammed open just then, and they both jumped.

“I found them!” Shouted Mike’s voice, “They’re both by the pool!”

“Jesus,” breathed Eddie, hand over his heart, as he heard a chorus of oh my god and you scared us from the doorway, where everyone spilling out of the house.

He rolled over to get up, fighting against his stiff and aching joints. Fuck, something as easy as standing up should not be this complicated.

He yelped as the ground suddenly flew away from beneath him, limbs flailing wildly for… grip? Balance? He had no idea, but the ground came back, slower, and his feet were placed on the ground just as gently as his cane was placed into his palm.

El was smiling at him as she wiped her nose on her sleeve with the hand was outstretched in his direction just a second ago.

[END SCENE]

Deleted because too many people showed up, and I wanted it to just be him and Steve. I like the idea of El helping him up, though. What I would give to have someone help me up like that some days…

It was the first day of school, according to the walkie-talkie’s nonstop chatter the day previous. The vast majority of Eddie’s friends consisted of teenagers who coordinated a game plan for the first day of sophomore year. The first day of school was a day Eddie knew all too well, and yet, for the first time in six years, he had nowhere to be. It was an odd feeling. It might have even been a nice one, if he had a more pleasant reason to climb out of bed.

[END SCENE}

Deleted because I ended up setting Eddie’s panic attack in late September rather than the first day of school.

It felt peaceful, thought Eddie, to watch the sun rise with Steve by his side. They didn’t talk much, just watched as the sun slowly rose.

Eddie didn’t realize he had fallen asleep until Wayne woke him up with a mug of coffee under his nose.

He was surprised to find that Steve was still there. Wayne handed him a mug as well.

When Wayne ruffled his hair and then Steve’s in turn, Eddie wanted this moment - with Steve’s bashful smile, holding Wayne’s favourite mug, and a comfortable breeze - to last forever.

Steve eventually had to shatter the illusion by leaving for an appointment - some sort of test to make sure he was firefighter ready - but he left behind a warmth in Eddie’s chest, as if he had lit a campfire in there. It was only fitting, Eddie supposed, that he was camped out in there.

[END SCENE]

Deleted because this scene felt unproductive. I kept getting stuck. However, them napping on the front porch together? Golden.

Eddie to Max:  I didn’t even mean to tell you, but now that you know, it’s a 50/50 on reactions. So give me a minute before I play with that ratio again.

[END SCENE]

Deleted because I realized that he was outed to Robin and Vickie who both had neutral reactions (although technically Eddie interpreted them as negative, but that’s neither here nor there), and while I may have failed math, but I know that it’s definitely not a 50/50 anymore. Too bad, though, I liked that line.

He then paused, and his face changed to one of confusion, brows knitting even further into themselves, and his frown was so high that it almost disappeared under his moustache.

“What’re you smiling for, kid?”

Eddie was indeed grinning wryly. “I don’t know, Wayne, maybe because this is the first time since spring break that you’ve actually talked to me like I’m not going to shatter.”

Wayne blinked. After a pause, he said roughly, “You better not have been hurting yourself on purpose for me to get mad at you.”

“Not on purpose, no. I just,” Eddie shrugged, trailing off his sentence.

Wayne sank back into his chair and slowly slid Eddie’s mug back across the table. An olive branch.

“I’m sorry if I haven’t been talking to you right. I’m tired of you being hurt and didn’t wanna be the one doing it.”

[END SCENE]

Deleted because the tension died too fast. Also, has anyone else noticed I make my characters say half sentences and trail off? I keep catching myself doing that. It’s not always bad, but sometimes the quirk is out of character in the moment.

“The Upside Down fucking destroyed me,” he said, voice shaking with a half cooked combination of anger and fear, “And it destroyed you, and it destroyed our home, and it destroyed half of this goddamn town, and it killed Chrissy.”

He swallowed heavily. Wayne looked terrified. He simultaneously wanted to comfort him, and laugh in his face because now you know a fraction of how I feel.

[END SCENE]

I went from “the tension died too fast” to “wow the tension is too high and I don’t know how to pull back from it”. FIGHT SCENES ARE HARD, OKAY. Also I want to have Wayne be like “ok something is fucky with this Upside Down business” without having Wayne be, y’know, in on it. (…Yet.)

Eddie’s eyes flickered to meet Wayne’s briefly, but otherwise he didn’t move.

“I’m sorry.” Said Wayne. “I’m gonna need you to use that cane, though.”

“Oh goodie,” said Eddie, words laced with sarcastic delight, “I love telling people that their favourite murderer has an achilles heel.”

Wayne sighed. “I don’t have answers for you, kid. I just know that hiding from yourself is going to make it hurt worse in the long run.”

[END SCENE]

Might reuse that achilles heel line at some point.

The sirens finally pulled into the parking lot. Eddie felt himself go numb with relief as officers jumped out of the car, surrounding them and shouting.

Eddie wanted to watch Andy get cuffed, but couldn’t really complain when Hopper approached him and Steve.

“You two alright?” He said. Steve looked to Eddie.

“I’m,” said Eddie, and cut himself off. The numbness was giving way to all his injuries, new and old, starting with the pain of his throat from having been strangled.

“I’ll get back to you on that one.” He quipped with a strained smile. His voice was croaky, as if he had a bad cold.

He was dizzy.

Hopper watched him, concerned, and looked to Steve. “Can I trust you to look out for him, or do you two need a ride to the hospital.”

Steve looked back at Eddie again, who began protesting that he surely didn’t need to be hospitalized again, but Hopper cut him off.

“Harrington, I asked you for a reason.” Said Hopper.

Steve looked back and forth between the two of them. When his only response was an irritated expression from Hopper and a confused one from Eddie, his face melted into an embarrassed smile.

“Um, I actually can’t, I can’t hear right now.” Said Steve loudly.

[END SCENE]

Deleted for two reasons: One, why would Eddie go numb with relief at seeing the cops, he called them pigs literally 2,000 words ago (actually it was 1,999, I checked).

Two, I decided that Hop should know about the whole hearing thing ahead of time, since they’re both First Responders.

Steve had something tucked under his arm, and once Eddie was settled in to the ambulance, Steve flipped it around; it was a small whiteboard, and on it, in Steve’s messy handwriting, was. written DO YOU WANT ME TO GO WITH YOU.

Underneath it, in smaller writing, was written sorry for yelling.

Eddie grinned and nodded.

[END SCENE]

When Eddie was younger, he never got the opportunity to pass notes in class.

He wasn’t jealous of the note passing per se, especially when the teacher would steal the notes in question and read out that Tommy H. totally kissed Tiffany behind the gym!, but he was a little jealous of the easy friendship that it represented. He would much rather be passed a silly note in class than have that paper be used to blow a spitball in his hair.

Now, writing little notes back and forth on a spare notepad that a nurse had given Steve, he felt a childish glee as he waited for Steve to finish his sentence.

[END SCENE]

Once the ambulance was moving, Eddie found himself being lulled to sleep by the movement.

The paramedic snapped her fingers in his face. “Oi. Awake.” She said, “We don’t know if you have a concussion yet.”

She turned to Steve before Eddie could complain that he hadn’t hit his head. “You wanna help me keep him awake?” She said.

Steve smiled politely. “You want me to keep him awake?” He said.

[END SCENE

Steve was surprisingly good at hiding his hearing loss.

In the ambulance, the paramedic asked him to help keep Eddie awake. Steve just looked between Eddie and the paramedic, and said, “you want me to keep him awake?”

Eddie figured that it was probably just a logical conclusion to make, given the context, but he was impressed nonetheless.

Steve then whipped out a pen and a notepad out of his pocket and began a game of hangman.

Eddie thought it was a little on the nose, given his bruised neck at the moment, but played along. He laughed through the pain when it turned out the answer to Steve’s little game was Dorothy.

He stole the notepad to write who’s that? and doodled a little face that looked confused.

Steve grinned. No idea! He responded.

That was when the ambulance pulled up to the hospital. Eddie had assumed that being brought via ambulance would get him a room right away, but no, they were unceremoniously dumped in the waiting room.

Eddie should’ve been miserable, he knew. His neck ached, his windpipe felt like it was half the size it ought to be, and his tongue was bleeding through the gauze in his mouth, but he was resting his head on Steve’s shoulder as he filled out the paperwork he had been handed. He couldn’t help but focus on the warm little buzz he felt in his chest instead.

He was halfway through the paperwork - something about consenting to treatment, and he was here, wasn’t he - when Steve slipped a piece of notepad paper on top of the clipboard he had been given.

sorry for the dorothy thing I thought you knew

Eddie snorted.

He hovered his pen over the piece of paper for ages, trying to formulate a response, when his name was called. He looked up to see Dr. Owens standing in the hallway, beckoning him over.

It figured. Eddie hadn’t seen Dr. Owens since he had been discharged, but he had been in charge of Eddie’s care since the day that he had been cleared of all charges, and Mike had explained that he was some sort of Upside Down specialist. Eddie mostly remembered him from the absurd amount of blood draws he had taken; he remembered glowering at Owens’ inceasingly apologetic face and asking if they were planning on draining him completely.

Owens had offered him a lot of cookies afterwards, but Eddie had still been on a liquid diet. It really didn’t help matters.

Eddie made his way over, and Owens took the clipboard from him.

“We don’t need to worry about that, we’ve got you all figured out.” He said, “Although it looks like you might want this back?” He handed Eddie the notepad paper. Eddie pocketed it.

A wheelchair appeared behind Eddie, being pushed by a stern looking nurse.

[END SCENE]

I forgot that Steve was under the impression that Eddie was mad at him and should probably behave differently. Also, I thought it was hilariously on the nose to have them play hangman.

“So,” said Steve slowly, “what was the plan, then? Just so we’re on the same page about… you know, cuz we both find each other attractive here.”

“There really wasn’t one.” Said Eddie. “I’m not exactly the kind of guy that makes plans.”

Steve frowned. “Thought you planned out those games?”

“That’s different. That’s fiction.”

“So’s this.”

[END SCENE]

“You’ve got your walls up like the third little piggie, and I don’t blame you.”

Eddie snorted, surprised.

[END SCENE]

“Is trying to scare me away your current escape route?”

“Kinda.”

“Look, man.” Steve said, features softening. “If you really, actually don’t want,” he gestured back and forth between the two of them, “this, then I get it. You…” his mouth formed a frown, and Eddie broke eye contact to stare at the mug again as he braced himself.

“I can get over you, if that’s what you really want me to. It might… it might take a minute.

[END SCENE]

“You know, I always wondered why the Devil was supposed to be the bad guy.” Said Steve. In response to Eddie’s baffled expression, he continued. “Isn’t he just supposed to keep the bad people away from the good ones? It’s a pretty commendable service, if you ask me.”

[END SCENE]

“So, yeah.” Eddie waved his free hand. “And last time I tried to have, like, romance? It turned out to be shit. And I felt like, alright, that’s what I get, it’s, it’s shit. Compromise, you know? It wasn’t a good thing, but it was something.”

“But I… I don’t know. I don’t want to lose you, but I guess somewhere during all of this, this shit, you became something that I could lose. And you’re not shit. And it’s not like… it’s not like everything I lost went easy, you know? Like, the trailer, it…” He made an explosion noise with his mouth, accompanied by a hand gesture imitating a mushroom cloud.

Eddie finally met Steve’s eyes for good as he gave him a sardonic smile. “So. Now’s a good time for you to back out of, finding me magnetic or some shit.”

Steve leaned back against the driver’s side window, studying him. He had one leg up on the seat, wrist dangling casually off of his knee, his other wrist lazily hung over the steering wheel. A somber expression decorated his features.

“So, what’s the plan? Never be happy again?” Said Steve, voice gravelly but not unkind. He tilted his head to the side, eyes piercing Eddie’s like spears.

Eddie shrugged. “You know, outside of DnD, I’m not much of a plans guy. Honestly, I’ve been pretty consistently surprised every time I woke up alive for the past decade. My only plans at any given moment are to make sure there’s an escape route in sight.” He looked down at his shirt. “You think I planned on spilling my guts wearing this? There’s a hole in the armpit.”

Steve snorted. “Am I allowed to say that I still want to kiss you now?”

Eddie glared at him playfully. “Really, you horndog, I tell you all about my terrible childhood and all you can think about is getting in my pants?”

“Hey, you’re the one escalating here, for all you know I was just talking about a quick peck on the cheek.”

“Were you?”

Steve responded with a mischievous grin and raised eyebrows.

“You can continue talking about your terrible childhood if that makes you feel better.”

“No, actually, I think I’m more than done talking about it.” Eddie looked around the car. “I can tell you a little bit about my terrible adulthood, though, because the last time I was in this car I genuinely thought you were the Devil.”

“Well, the last time you were in my car, you said some pretty Devil-ish things.”

Eddie’s jacket was suddenly much too warm.

“Sorry.” Said Steve, looking bashful, “That was… that was probably a rough day for you. I shouldn’t have brought it up like that.”

“Maybe you really are the Devil.” Said Eddie, resisting the urge to fan himself like a prim victorian lady about to faint. “You’ve sure been to Hell enough.”

[END SCENE]

Guess who struggles with emotional scenes! I did like that last one, I just got a flash of inspiration that contradicted it.  

The fire station was located just southeast of Hawkins. There was a lake nearby, but it was the kind of place littered with rich people and country clubs.

Figured that the rich people would plop a fire station right next to a lake. Where on earth might they find water if one of their fancy candles fell on top of their silk tablecloths?

The trailer park, on the other hand, surrounded by the woods and subject to annual heatwaves, would likely burn to a crisp by the time the

[END SCENE]

Yes I did just stop midsentence. Anyway, I relocated the station to be north of Hawkins, and there’s no lake there, according to Hop’s map from season two. I’ve actually done a lot of research on Hop’s map, because I have a sequel in mind that requires specifics on where exactly everyone is, and it’s convenient for me to place the fire station closer to Loch Nora for… reasons… (actually I found a higher definition version of the map after I published the last chapter pre-epilogue, the fire station is right in the centre of town. Oops. Too late to change it within the fic.)

I also did research on the lake that I initially placed the fire station on. It’s called Tippecanoe Lake and there are indeed country clubs there. I don’t know if they’ve been there since the 80’s, but I already cut the scene so I officially absolve myself of research.

“Steve keeps looking for you.” She said, after handing a baffled Wayne his tickets. “He’s pretending he isn’t, but he keeps on staring weird at people who have canes, so either he got really rude to disabled people all of a sudden or he’s looking for you.”

Eddie nodded, fidgeting with his own cane and smiling.

“Are you doing your side job again?” She said.

Eddie jumped. “What? No. Who said -“

“Jonathan and Argyle were gossipping about it, they want to buy from you but they don’t know if you’re selling. Why, what’s your side job?” She gave him a funny look. “I’m just trying to figure out if you can buy another twenty.”

Eddie narrowed his eyes at her. “Where is Steve, exactly?”

She nodded towards the mayor, who was finally handing the microphone off to the Fire Chief. “Near the stage.” She said, referring to the small wooden platform at the front of the room.

[END SCENE]

“He’s like, the MVP of this freaking ball. They’re probably going to pull him onstage soon. And he started Project Child Endangerment 3.0.” She raised the basket pointedly.

The look Eddie and Wayne shared this time was alarmed.

“Are you in-“

“No, he’s just been forgetting that he owes me a lifetime supply of ice cream on top of what he owes me for being a saleswoman, and that’s my way of reminding him.” She gave him a falsely sweet smile. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have tickets to sell.”

She disappeared into the crowd, leaving Eddie and Wayne in stunned silence.

“Do you know what she’s talking about?” Asked Wayne. “Or is this like the fungus story again?”

Eddie shook his head numbly. “Three?”

[END SCENE]

In the first one, I felt like Erica probably wouldn’t capture that behaviour from Steve — it’s a little too subtle unless you were already looking for it, you know? Although I did find it cute that she didn’t understand what Eddie’s “side job” was, because as badass as she is, she’s twelve.

Also, would Steve be MVP or would he instead be mercilessly picked on for being a rookie? Apologies to my dearest Deanna who watched as I struggled with “would Erica use the term MVP or not” only to cut that line entirely. (The verdict was yes, by the way, she’s been to enough of Lucas’ basketball games that she probably would’ve picked it up if she hadn’t heard it elsewhere already.)

Eddie swallowed heavily before turning around to look Steve in the eye, and fuck.

“You clean up nice.” Said Eddie. Understatement of the century, he thought. He never thought he had a thing for men in uniform, but with Steve standing right in front of him in a fitted dark suit, Eddie had a hard time breathing all of a sudden.

Steve’s eyes drifted up and down Eddie’s body, and Eddie regretted the bell sleeves he had chosen to wear.

“I like that colour on you.” He said, to Eddie’s surprise.

[END SCENE]

Nah ,Steve should just disappear and be smug about how he just made Eddie just melt into a puddle.

Will met Eddie Munson for the first time when Eddie was hospitalized.

Mike and Will, and Robin and Steve, had both gone to visit Max independently of the other, each with books in hand, and arrived at the exact same time. Lucas, who was curled up in the lounge chair - lounge chair? - next to Max’s bed, looked up through heavy exhausted eyelids and bluntly stated that Steve and Robin could stay. When Mike began to protest, he pointed at another lounge chair, containing El, who was holding Max’s hand and concentrating.

“You’ll distract her.” Said Lucas.

Will thought that was a little unfair, because he had only met Robin a handful of times but already knew that when she started talking, it was like a woodpecker hammering on a tree, but Mike was already offering to introduce Will to the coolest guy ever just a few floors away, and, well, alright.

When they did meet this coolest guy ever, Will tried very very hard to keep his expression neutral, because quite frankly, his appearance was a little terrifying. He was skin and bones, tangled hair hanging limply off his head, and his skin was paler than the white bandages decorating his neck and arms. The only colour on him was the angry red gashes crosshatched on his cheek, and the stitches that held them together.

Eddie held his eyes wide, and he had a slightly manic grin on the undamaged half of his face as Mike and Will walked in.

“Baby Wheeler!” He cheered. “And… friend!”

An older man lounging in a chair identical to the ones in Max’s room huffed fondly. “They just doped him with something real strong.” He said, amused, not bothering to look up from his worn paperback. “Hope you didn’t come for chit-chat, his head is full o’ rocks right now.”

Eddie didn’t respond, just kept his odd grin as he eyed Will curiously.

“Hi Eddie!” Chirped Mike, almost breathlessly, in a tone of voice that was usually reserved for El. Odd. “This is Will, I’ve men-“

“Will the Wise!” Eddie raised his hands in the air,

[END SCENE]

My first few attempts at the epilogue wound up being set WAY too early, which made a wordcount impossible to manage because I kept wanting to explain everything. Also, I realized afterwards that Will probably isn’t the biggest fan of hospitals after the first two seasons. Poor fuck. However, I did want to work in that El was helping Max recover even before she woke up at first, but the poor thing would be way too busy.

Neither of the pair had partaken since they had arrived in Hawkins. Argyle said he had stashed his stash in a tree somewhere; the only thing scarier than a cop, he had said, was a cop who had just been resur-fucking-rected.

Also, he and Jonathan were staying at the Wheeler’s, and Nancy had guns.

[END SCENE]

Again, I set the epilogue way too early at first. They’ll partake eventually, this was the first few days after their arrival.

“Mm?” He gave her what the party had nicknamed his Parents Love Me smile, or PLM, pronounced plum. It was kind of obnoxious. The most obnoxious part was that it every parent fell for it.

[END SCENE]

Steve had a new version of the PLM; it was a slightly different smile where he acted strange and extra nice around Eddie, which the party was all very confused by until Argyle offered up the idea that maybe Steve didn’t know how to act around disabled people. DPLM didn’t have the same ring to it, though, so they didn’t bother to change its name. As long as they used it sparingly, it was easy to persuade him into something if they used Eddie against him.

They had yet to see the new PLM in action around Max, though. Steve visited her with his girlfriend Robin instead of with the group, but Max reported that he had a habit of cordially agreeing with whatever she said, especially if Robin wasn’t in the room, so they took that as evidence that the PLM was in full force around her, too. Max made it into a game for herself, to try and see what absurd thing she could get him to would agree to; the more tired he was, the more likely he was to politely laugh and nod when she said that demogorgons would make good pets.

[END SCENE]

The PLM was out and stronger than ever. Will, Dustin, Mike, and El exchanged excited glances.

[END SCENE]

“PLM.” Whispered Dustin pointedly, once Steve was focussed on opening more empty drawers. Eddie gave them an inquisitive look.

[END SCENE]

PLM was going to be a little recurring thing throughout the epilogue that got cut for wordcount. It was gonna eventually lead to a scene where Eddie thought the kids just really liked plums for some reason.

“My mom mom’d him.” Said Dustin, not bothering to look up from the character sheet he was filling out. He and Will had decided to make each other the most ridiculous characters they could think of, and whoever got a lower score in Pac-Man would have to play the character, voice included, in the homebrew campaign Mike was working on.

[END SCENE]

Dustin even took it upon himself to recap fake D&D sessions over the walkie talkie, in the hopes that Eddie would come back over the channel with a what the fuck, a cutlass isn’t a long-range weapon, Henderson, wherein they would have the opportunity to trap him into a conversation. But it was quite literally radio silence from Eddie. Instead, they occasionally got an irritated Steve or Robin - or, during one memorable and terrifying instance, Hopper - telling them to shut up already.

[END SCENE]

“I already promised Max I’d visit today, though.” Said Lucas.

Dustin sighed. “Yeah, okay, he’ll probably let you get away with that. He might even give you a ride to her place cuz he feels bad.”

It actually turned out that Steve wasn’t particularly happy about losing one of his promised crew unexpectedly - with all I do for you, c’mon guys - but begrudgingly gave Lucas a ride anyway. Lucas had to squish into the middle seat with Mike for the trouble.

[END SCENE]

“Did you know Steve was deaf?” Said Will, a week later, over dinner.

“He told you?” Asked Hop, as Jonathan and Argyle both exclaimed their surprise. Will’s mom made a surprised sound around her mouthful of burger.

“You knew!?”

“We’re both first responders, he told his team and mine. Paramedics know, too.” Said Hop, mouth full of food. “Seems real shy about it, I’m surprised he told you.”

“He did not.” Said El. “He was at the craft store and Robin and him were speaking with their hands.”

“You can do that without being deaf.” Said Argyle. “My cousins learned to do that so they could talk shit about our abuela. She’s kinda mean.”

“Yeah, but Robin had to yell at him to get his attention.” Said Will, as his mom gently scolded Argyle for his language.

“Then… yeah, he’s probably kind of deaf.” Said Jonathan.

“Of course he is, I just said so.” Said Hop, affronted. “He says it’s worse depending on the day, but he can usually hear pretty fine.”

Huh. Will wondered if this was why he relied on the PLM so much. Smiling and nodding could get you pretty far. Will knew this from experience.

[END SCENE]

Will was just glad that Eddie switched from teaching her ABBA after only a month - he hated the band. Instead, Jonathan and Argyle did the Thriller dance as she practiced her new music, which never failed to make her giggle.

[END SCENE]

This was the “holy crap I wrote so much and I have to cut stuff for the sake of my word count” section. I liked a lot of these concepts, though.

El was laying on the couch with her head in Max’s lap as she read a Wonder Woman comic aloud to her.

[END SCENE]

I wound up changing Max from “enthusiastic friend” to “well, she’s there” throughout the epilogue, but this line was really cute.

“I didn’t like, love camping.” Said Dustin. “Right, Will?” He gave Will a pointed look.

Later, Will would realize he was trying to subtly bring up their pact.

In the moment, though, Will shrugged. “I kinda liked it. And Max is right, Mike really liked it.”

[END SCENE]

This goes against them agreeing for Max and Will’s sake.

Eddie snorted. “You’re lucky my uncle is outta town visiting his pa. You lot would’ve been knocked into next week if you’d woken him first.”

“But he’s not, so, you’ll be a hospitable host and let us stay the night and meet your girlfriend?” Said Dustin brightly.

“I don’t think it counts as hosting when you just admitted to breaking in using a busted doorknob.”

[END SCENE]

He’s way too happy to be burgled.

“Come on!” “We don’t bite!” “It’s just us!” Cried all of their voices in protest.

Eddie just held up a single finger and said shhhh.

The continued complaning.

Eddie continued his unbroken shh. He had an impressive lung capacity.

They finally all quieted.

Eddie gave them all a smirk that really just told them that his patience was wearing thin.

“You little trespassers are lucky I’m not knocking you into next week.” He stated. “You’re real lucky that my uncle is visiting his pa, or I’d be calling the coroner right now. You are going to sleep in the spare room, you’re going to clean up your muck before I drive you home in the morning, and if I’m feeling generous, I might not tell all your parents about your life of crime.”

[END SCENE]

You ever write past midnight and realize that forget that you established that Max knows Eddie is queer? Also I keep trying to excuse Wayne’s absence.

“What do I know?” Said Steve.

“Not a lot.” Said Eddie.

[END SCENE]

He prooobably wouldn’t insult him like that, but that was just such an easy setup. I would totally roast my friends that way, and expect to be roasted that way in return.

[selamat-linting]

there was a few things i missed and got wrong on my homestuck liveblog yesterday. first of all, i mistook terezi with kanaya with that morallegiance chat with vriska. makes sense, they used to be roleplay buddies until that mess of an incident. not taking away vriska's responsibility from that clusterfuck but, wonder how much of it is doc scratch influence. good god girl, why are you gambling with a literal god? also WHY rose is trusting that white ball asshole? i dont like him at all. he's basically responsible to a lot of the mess the trolls and beta kids is going through.

anyway, at the last page i left off, terezi and vriska's attitude towards each other is largely shown in the boy-off with dave and john. with karkat screaming in the background (he always screams in the background). so its easy to miss that theyre very much in a weird complicated, frenemy state with each other. that in between space where you're not sure if theyre genuinely fucking hates each other or theyre ribbing on each other like two meanspirited friends do. i've been there sister, i've been there.

speaking of vriska (again, because she is my child who has every disease), oh her relationship/friendship with tavros is very conflicted and, i dare say, delicious? this is something that im sure would hit even harder if tavros wasnt relegated to the butt of ableist jokes more than he's treated as a character but. trust me. imagine youre tavros. your friend(?) is vriska. she crippled you, she saved your life, she berates you at every turn, she kissed you. deep down she only wants best for you. she wanted you to kill her. she wanted you to hate her enough to do it. she doesnt want to bleed to death alone. she's begging you to kill her. she's could have forced you to do it but she doesnt. because this is for you both to grow stronger and survive. thats all she wanted all along. for you both to thrive in a world that eats you alive. she needs you to kill her. oh god *head in hands*

-so its really really sad to see vriska being so lonely after killing tavros. she dug a hole too deep to get out alone and the remaining friends she had that could have accepted her again are all dead or too burned out of her. i wish they both can meet each other again. just to talk and find closure. like, tavros deserves to be angry with vriska and he deserves to have that peace he always wanted from her. and vriska deserves to start being a better person and getting some peace of mind. she deserves a chance, is all im saying. like, its okay if tavros cant give it to her. but some of her friends could. maybe terezi? the worst they ever do to each other in terms of direct harm is the eye injury. or maybe karkat? oh god i dont want to hear them arguing, i would go deaf!

-at least vriska has john! its nice to see them being friends with each other. Tbh john has been a breath of fresh air (hehe) in all the doom and gloom. im not looking forward to him meeting his dead dad but right now, my boy is walking around the village with one of the finest music i heard so far. and then he drive a flying car with WV. its just, he is so positive and amidst a set of characters who lost all of their innocence, he remains as the one guy who tries to enjoy the game and take everything in stride. he felt smug when the salamanders keep referencing in his title, he bought everyone hats and snacks, he gave moral support to vriska. the harley and egbert family is so positive about everything and its so endearing!

-AND JADE! fuck yeah she's starting to show how awesome she is. YES JADE say fuck you to karkat! its been long overdue!!! she also should say fuck you to vriska too as a treat. and fuck you to tavros too. and fuck you to that prince of hope (more like doom lol) who blew up her computer. she deserve monetary compensation to deal with that troll polycruel.

-special mention to dave btw. i dont remember him doing anything particularly exciting lately but i believe he's the one carrying the team. john and jade had to do their quest to be effective in defeating the english demon guy (the brits are all demons lol) and rose had to be their prime researcher and strategist, so he basically did the save everyone's ass part. i cant wait to see him hang out with terezi. Also is it bad of me to want him go godtier? Like, it would be interesting.

-and other time aspect characters i want to appreciate, aradia! babygirl have finally get rid of her hopelessness and come back to life! and now she's bringing the gang back together!!! and putting the pieces on why gamzee suddenly breaks. too bad gamzee never had a chance to show his personality. anyway, im starting to think i was wrong about lil cal. like, i think it was posessed but oh no its just bro moving him around, but somehow that fucking puppet is the one wrapped up in literally everything. aradia finds that shitty doll and somehow its connected to gamzee losing it and the game sgurb and doc scratch and... whats going on????

-in conclusion, timebound kids are always the one carrying the team. they are hard to find but theyre the one who could determine how you win or lose the game.

-but how can i forget? kanaya! she came through. i really thought she was dead! but she is alive, and she kills people with a chainsaw than apply lipstick to her bloodstreak lips. she is trying so hard to be Hinged. final girl behavior fr. i wonder how she's going to meet rose again. i hope she talked rose out of that suicide mission.

-and can we talk about karkat? man, imagine leading an army of kids who did kill and maim each other before the game even starts. imagine being the lowest of the social hierarchy and trying to make the most toxic friendgroup filled with racists and murderers to listen to you. imagine being able to do that despite all the odds, bring them to victory, and have the price right on your hands only for it to be ripped away and your friends devolve into chaos and murder several hours later. its a failure of untold magnitude. no wonder he's so disturbed and angry at himself and everyone.

-okay now that im done with the characters. i want to compliment how good everyone looks. the art and the fashions are all sooo amazing. the talksprite is also wonderful. im inclined to change my pfp into feferi's talksprite because i like her design so much. also because hooray! She's just dead, not corrupted by horrorterrors. in my mind she is laughing at tavros and doomed dave rap battle while surrounded by beautiful scenery

-also, i cant believe infinite stairs are referenced AGAIN with sollux and karkat. and SMUPPET ASS JOKE? on tavros dead body? lmao. okay i need to see smuppet ass on dave again. he was just so funny with it. and karkat shipping craze with jadesprite and jade. the jokes are really good, fr

[dargeereads]

Title: Crazy Apologetic Canadians

Author: Cathryn Fox

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Tropes: New Adult/College

Release Date: March 6, 2023

BLURB

"If you liked Crazy Rich Asians, you're going to LOVE Crazy Apologetic Canadians!"

I take one look at the grumpy Brit and know I’m in trouble. Not because he’s in Nova Scotia to tear down our beloved amusement park. Or because he wants to build an elite school on the lush property.

No, I’m in trouble because Colin Parker is superlicious – despite the stick up his British bum.

You see, I’m a free-spirited girl who knows her way around a lobster boat. He’s a rule follower who knows his way around a boardroom. Can you say polar opposites?

Oh, did I mention his mother is back in England planning his marriage? The sexy Brit with a debutante makes sense, right?

You know what doesn’t make sense? The two of us between the sheets and a montage of fun activities that finally put a smile on his face. But when the montage ends, and life turns messy and complicated—yet we still manage to find common ground—it leads me to believe we’re not so different after all.

Until he does the one thing that proves me wrong and I’m forced to make a decision I thought I’d never have to make.

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EXCERPT

“You can take the front. Sounds like you two have a lot of catching up to do, and I’d like to check my emails,” he replies.

“Suit yourself.” Emily flips the seat forward, and gestures for him to climb into the back. He puts one leg onto the floor of the back seat, pushes forward and grunts. I’m about to circle the car, but notice he’s not moving, or grunting. I’m not even sure he’s breathing. Great, I think we’ve killed him. We certainly have the motive. As I glance around, and contemplate on how to hide, or even move, the body, a loud groan reverberates through the near empty parking garage.

“Violet.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m…stuck.”

I admire his perfect ass, wedged between the back seat and the frame of my car. “Um, do you want me to push?”

“I think maybe you should pull.”

I take in the angle of his body and consider the logistics. “What do you want me to pull?” Emily chuckles beside me and I nudge her with my elbow. “Stop it.”

“Ow,” she complains.

I glare at her. “You’re not helping.”

She snaps her gum, enjoying this entirely too much. “What am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know. Go around the other side and push on his head.”

“I thought that’s what he wanted you to pull.”

“Ohmigod!” She grins, clearly proud of her quick-witted sexual innuendo. “Do you want to walk home?”

The car rocks as he tries to free himself, and I pray to God he hasn’t heard Emily, or think in any way that I want to pull his…anything.

Emily drops her gum back into her purse. “Fine.”

She circles the car, and I step up to him. “I’m going to put my hands on your hips and pull, okay?”

“Yes, I believe that will work.”

Pity once again hits me. The man is obviously embarrassed. The British are so stiff—do not think about head and stiff.

Dammit, I’m thinking about it.

Let me try that again. The British are stoic and reserved, and this must be mortifying. Then again, maybe he’s none of those things. People have misconceptions about Canadians too. Yeah, okay, it’s true. We’re ridiculously nice and overly apologetic. Sue me.

As he struggles, I take a fast second and consider drawing this out, letting him wallow in his embarrassment. I mean he is here to destroy our town, but because I only have one mean bone in my body—you did just hear me say we were ridiculously nice right—and I might need to use it later, I put my hand on his sides, and brace my pelvis against his rear.

Oh my.

I glance over my shoulder and pray no one is watching. The last thing I want to be accused of is bum-fucking some Brit in the back of my car. I’m not looking to cause an international incident here. I suppose I could just tell them I’m trying to remove a stick that’s lodged deep. That’s more believable, anyway.

AUTHOR BIO

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cathryn Fox is a wife, mom, sister, daughter, aunt and friend. She loves dogs, sunny weather, anything chocolate (she never says no to a brownie) pizza and red wine. Cathryn lives in beautiful Nova Scotia with her husband, who is convinced he can turn her into a mixed martial arts fan. When not writing, Cathryn can be found Skyping with her son living in Seattle (could he have moved any farther away?) shopping with her daughter in the city, watching a big action flick with her husband, or hanging out and laughing with friends.

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[fadinglights]

continued from here, @mconlight​

haneul hadn’t meant for this to go the way that it has.

this has been months in the making, truly. it started when he sent seojung a link to an announcement to a collection release he really wanted, and continued up until the week of the release with occasional whiny voice notes and voicemails about how hard it would be to get because of how popular the collaboration was. he knew it’d be next to impossible to get on the first release— by himself, anyway.

seojung was recruited, and the hours leading up to the drop consisted of haneul fretting over their phones and two laptops and a tablet to ensure he had the best chance at getting what he wanted. he knew seojung didn’t really get it— didn’t share the same passion for makeup that haneul had— but he sat on haneul’s couch anyway and unnecessarily refreshed the shop page every two minutes when haneul got too antsy to just wait patiently. and haneul’s grateful to be humored. it’s why he asked him for help to begin with.

when the time comes, one of haneul’s screens freezes. another refuses to display anything on the webpage. he manages to add what he wants to his cart on the third, but by the time he tries to check out, it’s sold out. and haneul honestly thinks that’s it— he’s shit out of luck and he’ll just have to hope and pray for a second release— until seojung voices a loud, “i got it.”

it’s all screaming from there (“you got it?” “i got it!” “holy fuck, you got it!”), including haneul’s overenthusiastic: “oh my god, i could kiss you right now!”

which seojung responds with, “why don’t you?”

and… haneul doesn’t have an answer to that. part of his brain thinks (knows, even) that he’s joking. because seojung always jokes like that. but the other part is looking at his friend’s face and that look in his eyes and isn’t so sure. the problem is that he’s not sure which side to listen to, so he sits, staring at seojung like a deer caught in headlights. it’s just— they’ve kissed before, right? they’ve shared a couple kisses between shots of alcohol and stumbling around seojung’s living room and just before they fall asleep after fumbling into bed together. why would it be different this time?

so maybe that’s why haneul leans in. their lips don’t touch, but he stops when he’s close enough to feel seojung’s breath against his. if he’s quiet enough, he thinks seojung might be able to hear his heart pounding. he stays— hands on either side of seojung’s hips, weight leaning on his palms, barely a nudge necessary away from pressing their lips together.

“i will,” he says quietly, “if you want me to.”

 it’s  complicated,  the  things  he  feels  towards  his  best  friend.  

 growing  up,  he  has  never  felt  much  of  anything  familial.  his  mother  was  his  only  chance  at  that  kind  of  warmth.  his  mother,  as  she  looked  down  at  the  young  child  with  a  steady  smile,  before  she  nodded  at  the  host  mistress.  yes,  he’s  the  one.  he  doesn’t  know  what  went  behind  the  scenes,  but  it’s  almost  as  though  she’s  only  shopping  for  a  puppy.  a  soft,  mushy  thing  that  would  look  back  up  with  adoring  gaze  no  matter  what  negligence  it  was  previously  subjected  to.  

 he  didn’t  know  her  smiles  would  be  so  hard  to  earn  later  on.  

 but  hanuel  —  haneul  was  different.  hanuel  with  his  sunny  smiles,  his  hands  forever  gentle.  hanuel  with  his  soft  gaze  and  softer  words.  eyes  that  saw  more  goodness  in  him  than  he  himself  could.  words  that  never  judged  nor  bit,  not  even  in  the  height  of  their  silly  bickers.    

 for  the  longest  time,  hanuel  is  what  family  is  to  him.  still  is.

 he  still  remembers  the  day  his  best  friend  melted  into  a  puddle  of  water.  the  way  the  tears  soaked  his  shirt  that  hanuel  was  leaning  against  and  clinging  onto  all  at  once.  it’s  as  though  he  was  caught  in  the  quicksand  called  grief  and  holding  with  all  his  might  to  the  closest  lifeline.  he  remembers  thinking  to  himself  that  it’s  the  day  he  promised  he’d  be  a  constant  in  hanuel’s  life  like  he  was  to  him.  

 then  why  is  it  that  he  has  been  feeling  like  this?  he  doesn’t  know  much  about  love,  but  these  are  not  the  things  he  should  feel  towards  a  best  friend.  he  has  noticed  the  way  hanuel  looks  at  him  too  and  how  it  feels  different  —  has  felt  different  —  for  the  past  couple  of  months.  it’d  take  a  hopeless  fool  to  notice  none  of  it.  but  he’s  still  a  hopeless  fool  if  he  knows.  knows  and  does  nothing  about  it,  because  he  doesn’t  know  how.  

 you  don’t  toy  with  romance  with  someone  who  matters  this  much.  you  just  don’t.  

“i  do.”  it  feels  like  a  wrong  time  to  squeeze  a  grin,  but  it  unfurls  on  his  pretty  face  anyway.  maybe  the  more  he  jokes  about  it,  the  less  real  it  would  feel.  the  daringness  in  his  voice  is  incongruous  with  the  hammering  of  his  heart,  perhaps  his  acting  lessons  have  finally  paid  off.  “are  you  finally  going  to  prove  the  bad  kisser  rumours  wrong?”  it  would  not  be  the  first  time  they  kissed,  but  it  may  be  the  first  he  remembers.  forever.  

[garfieldsladybird]

…. okay I’m not like trying to say she’s actually doing this but she (my stepsister) is telling the parent plans and asking if she can go somewhere (the mall) but the thing is she has to take the bus (she hates the bus; because it’s complicated)- but the thing is she’s telling them right in front of me and when I went to say something to my dad who wasn’t even paying attention to the her, she looked at me like fucking got whiplash to look at me, I didn’t even turn to look at her because I was just talking quietly like normal to my dad. But she then continued asking even louder. I’m just like okay.

I don’t really think she’s doing this on purpose, but it seems like she is. I don’t know where she is actually trying to do. Anyways, it ended in an argument between her and her mother. — She said, so many mean things on Discord about her mother, literally so many mean things. her mom literally does everything for her while her dad is literally a piece of shit and can’t even keep his own two kids for a whole weekend. (stepmom tells me lots of things) but she’s literally said on discord that if anything happened to her dad, she would be bawling but if anything happened to her mom, she wouldn’t care. She doesn’t even have to do her own laundry, make her own bed, make her own plate (her mother literally makes her plate most of the time), and she never does any chores. sits on her fucking ass all day 

Oh my fucking God I’m turning into my brother. I’m saying that because he always complained about me and I never did anything.

my stepmom also like doesn’t allow the kids to do any chores including me and my brother, and sister-in-law(but she’s like an actual sister to me).

I don’t know.

also, another thing she did ignore me when getting dropped off when I made that comment and posted it. I didn’t actually tell her that she was a straight a bitch, but if she ignores me again- no well, she ignored me today too. well actually her friend (who was my friend too, now isn’t because of her) was like walking behind us & shouted out her name, she didn’t hear it so I told her and then she waited for the friend and I just continued walking because I’m done with it. She was already ditching me when we were literally dropped off; right when we get out of the vehicle, she just starts walking ahead and doesn’t wait for me or anything.. 

before I started dating my boyfriend she would always wait for me or like we would literally just get out at the right time and then we would walk together, side-by-side, talking. But now it’s always, she ignores me and walks ahead of me, and for some reason she always has to be ahead of me like when I’m in front of her she literally makes it her mission to get ahead of me. Like bro, we’re literally just going to fucking school.. it’s not that big of a deal.

But any other time we are next to each other she literally just walks away, doesn’t talk to me. oh, and also, we always wait like at the door of our first period (theater), and like I saw a friend that was just around the corner right next to the door and I just want to say hi to them and then she comes and says hi too and then I go to like stand by the door and she just like runs, literally istg she turned instantly when she saw me go for it.

I didn’t wanna be around her, so I just like took a walk down the hall with a friend who she actually doesn’t know (yayayy).

im just ranting about her because I just wanna be her sister and friend again. And I know I should like be nice and like try talking it out with her but she has it stuck in her head that every day is a reset, and I’m gonna go off and only hang out with my boyfriend, and I’m gonna forget about everyone else = every day is a reset, and garfy is gonna go off and only hang out with her boyfriend, and forget about everyone else.

(it wouldn’t actually be garfy, it would be my real name, but whatever) the italics is basically was in her mind. ignore this.

eh okay. *takes a deep breath* (I’m gonna go smoke) <3

[sluttywonwoo]

pretend || j.ww x reader

Summary: reading thirst tweets with your co-star/boyfriend’s best friend makes things a little tense

Warnings: swearing, smut mentions (18+)

Word Count: 1.8k

a/n:  originally posted on my tom holland fic account ( @wazzupmrstark )

Masterlist

The sound of Mingyu cracking his knuckles next to you sent a shiver down your spine, making you cringe instinctively. You turned to glare at him and leaned away from the noise.

“I hate when you do that!” you groaned.

He smirked. “I know, that’s why I like doing it.”

You looked over at Wonwoo, who was sitting across the room with the crew, and pointed to Gyu. 

“Can you tell your best friend to stop being annoying?”

“Can you tell your girlfriend to stop being dramatic?” Mingyu retaliated.

“I’m not picking sides!” Wonwoo shouted back and held up his hands in surrender.

You let your jaw drop. “I’ll remember that, Jeon.”

“Baby, I-” Wonwoo started to defend himself, but fell silent when the producer got up from her chair and approached you and Mingyu who were sitting behind the camera. 

“Which one of you wants to take this?” she asked, holding up a large insulated jug full of paper strips. 

“I’ll take it,” Mingyu offered and set the cup in his lap. 

“What a gentleman,” you said, fighting the urge to roll your eyes. 

“You’re lucky you’re pretty,” he muttered, “because you’re so fucking annoying.”

“Thank you.”

“It wasn’t a compliment.”

The producer gave you both a sideways look. “Are you guys alright? Should we take a minute before starting?”

“No, we’re fine,” you assured her.

“We don’t actually hate each other,” Mingyu added, “this is just how... we are.”

She didn’t look any less concerned, but nodded anyway. “Okay, well remember what your director said about playing up your chemistry to promote the show. And when we call action just give a quick slate and start reading the tweets.”

She walked back over to her spot next to the cameraman and took a seat before looking over a checklist that had been handed to her and writing some notes on it.

“Nervous?” Mingyu whispered to you as you both waited for your cue.

“A little,” you admitted. “You?”

“I’m a bit on edge,” he concurred. “Mostly because your boyfriend is about to watch me read filthy comments about you on-camera.”

You glanced over at Wonwoo who gave you an encouraging smile and a thumbs-up. “He’ll be fine. How bad can they be?”

From a distance, the producer you had just spoken to called for everyone to be quiet on set and signaled the cameras to start rolling. You perked up and straightened your dress, waiting for Mingyu to take the lead. 

“Hi guys, I’m Kim Mingyu.”

“And I’m y/n y/l/n.”

“You might recognize us from our new Netflix series, Breaking Curfew, where we play opposite each other in what you might call a... complicated romantic relationship.”

“We’re enemies with benefits,” you summarized. “And today we’re here with Buzzfeed to read thirst tweets about each other.”

“Ladies first,” Mingyu said and held the cup out to you.

You closed your eyes and sifted through the strips of paper with one hand, selecting one at random. 

“Okay, this one’s about you. ‘Kim Mingyu has the prettiest eyes’.” You grinned as you watched your co-star’s cheeks turn pink. “He’s totally blushing right now! We haven’t even gotten to the good stuff!”

“Thank you very much to whoever tweeted that,” Mingyu said and cleared his throat. 

“I agree with this person,” you continued, “you do have really pretty eyes.”

“Aw, thank you, y/n.”

“You’re welcome.”

“My turn.” Mingyu closed his eyes and rummaged around the cup before picking one. “‘Someone tell y/n y/l/n that I’m single and I get a discount at Olive Garden if she ever wants to let me take her out on a date’.”

You chuckled. “I do like Olive Garden.”

“She’ll get back to you on that one, mate,” Mingyu said quickly and let the crumpled piece of paper fall to the floor. 

You took that as a sign to move on so you reached into the jug and pulled out another tweet.

“Oh, this one’s about me again. ‘Y/n y/l/n scissor me challenge’.” You clapped a hand over your mouth in shock and thrust the slip of paper towards Mingyu.

“You know what, props for being so bold. What do you think, y/n? Are you going to take them up on the offer?”

“I’ll think about it,” you managed to choke out, sending Mingyu into a laughing fit. You fanned yourself with your hand as you tried to recover and motioned for your co-star to read another one. “Your turn.”

“‘Kim Mingyu and y/n y/l/n are my dream celebrity threesome,’” he read. “What a compliment, don’t you think?”

“Oh, for sure,” you agreed and winked as you held your hand to your ear in a call me motion. 

“These are just getting more and more vulgar, aren’t they?” Mingyu asked. 

“I don’t know that anything can beat the scissoring one,” you pointed out as you fished another tweet from the bucket. “Another one about Mingyu, okay. ‘I wanna suck Kim Mingyu’s soul through his dick then spit it back in his face’.” You blinked at the piece of paper in front of you in shock, scanning back over it to make sure you had read it right the first time. “Jesus... christ.”

Mingyu smirked and nudged your shoulder with his. 

You ignored him and pointed a finger at the camera in disgust. “I cannot believe you made me read this with my own two eyes. I could have lived my entire life without seeing those words in a sentence together!”

“I think that’s the best compliment I’ve ever received,” Mingyu countered, running a thumb along his jawline cockily. 

“No, I have beef with whoever tweeted that now.”

“You’re just jealous that I like this tweet better than the threesome one.”

You sighed. “This interview was a bad idea. Your head is already so god damn big.”

Mingyu opened his mouth to retaliate, but paused like he had thought better of it and took a deep breath to compose himself. 

“Anyway, moving on.”

You watched as he sifted through the tweets and chose one from the bottom, reading it to himself and grinning slightly before reading it aloud. 

“‘Petition for y/n y/l/n to start an OnlyFans because I just know her tits are incredible. I can feel it in my bones’.”

You brought your hands up to your boobs self-consciously and laughed. “I don’t know about that, but thank you.”

“I’ve seen them,” Mingyu added nonchalantly, “and I can confirm that twitter user ‘geminisuns’ is correct.”

“Mingyu!” 

“What? Do you know how many sex scenes we had to shoot? We’ve seen each other naked plenty of times.”

You looked back over to the crew and made eye contact with the producer. “Do you see what I have to deal with?”

“Maybe we should take a quick break,” she suggested and motioned for the cameras to stop rolling. “Get a drink, freshen up and be back here in five.”

“Do you think they’re going to use that part?” Mingyu asked as he followed you over to the water cooler. 

“I don’t know, dude,” you sighed in annoyance, “but great fucking job. The whole world already thinks we’re boning.”

“I don’t know about the whole world.” You glared at him. “Wonwoo knows we’re not.”

Wonwoo. You had nearly forgotten that your boyfriend was there on set with you. You looked around for him, and saw him still sitting in his designated guest chair looking at his phone. You could only imagine what he must be thinking of all of this. You should probably say something to him. 

You told Mingyu that you’d be back and made your way across the room to Wonwoo. Even from a distance you could tell that he was upset. 

His knuckles were pale and his jaw was tight. He didn’t look up at you when you approached him. 

“Sorry this is taking longer than expected,” you said, brushing a stray curl out of his eyes. 

“Don’t worry about it,” he murmured in response, still not looking at you. 

You sighed and draped yourself across him, slinging your arms loosely across his shoulders as you leaned down to see what he was doing on his phone. He was scrolling aimlessly on Instagram, not even liking any of the posts. 

“If you’re bored you can leave,” you said curtly and stood back up. 

“I’m not bored.”

“You’re not even paying attention to the shoot.”

“Trust me, it’s impossible not to. I’ve been trying to tune it out for the past ten minutes with no luck.”

“Why would you not want to pay attention?” you demanded even though the answer was sitting right in front of you. “This is a big deal for me.”

Wonwoo swallowed and finally looked up at you. “I know, baby. It’s just- do you know how hard it is to listen to my best friend talk about doing all of these dirty things to you-”

“He’s my best friend too,” you pointed out in a quiet hiss. “The only reason we’re together is because of him.”

Sometimes you felt the need to remind Wonwoo that you had known Mingyu longer than you had known him. If Gyu hadn’t brought him to set all those times back when you were filming in the fall, you wouldn’t even know about each other’s existence. 

“I know that.”

“You’ve done interviews like this before,” you argued. 

“I know,” he repeated.

“Then why are you being like this?” He didn’t answer, so you kept going. “You know my bare ass has been on tv, right-”

“Don’t,” Wonwoo warned and grabbed your wrist.

You gasped and flexed your fingers gingerly in his grasp, challenging him. “Don’t what?” 

“Y/n,”

“Don’t... act like I want to fuck your best friend?”

He narrowed his eyes at you. “You’re enjoying this.” It wasn’t a question.

“Don’t pretend like I’d rather fulfill those tweets with him instead of you? Give the people what they want?”

You had to bite your tongue before you went any further and said something you might regret. Your words had already had the desired effect. You didn’t even have to look at Wonwoo’s lap to know that he was struggling not to get hard. 

You could see it in his eyes. The arousal that had turned the warm brown into black. The way he was looking at you told you everything you needed to know. You wondered if you would even make it back home before he’d break, if he would pull the car over on the side of the road and take you then and there. 

Your knees were weak at the mere thought of what you were in for later that night. Making Wonwoo jealous was admittedly one of your favorite pastimes, purely for selfish reasons. Possessive sex was arguably the best sex. The teasing, the hair-pulling, the choking, the face-fucking, all hit different when Wonwoo was reminding you who you belonged to. 

Wonwoo released your wrist from his grip and raised his eyebrows expectantly. “Are you finished?”

You shook your head and grinned. “Just getting started.”

lmk what you thought; i always appreciate feedback!!

wonwoo tags: @wonw00t

shoot me an ask to be added/removed from my taglist

[condorclaw]

Tommy frowned, staring.

Michael stared back.

Tubbo and Ranboo could only watch this scene unfold, somewhat expecting that this would happen between their friend and their son. What they didn't expect was how quiet Tommy was.

It was silent in the room for a minute or two more, before Tommy reached out a hand and softly booped the top of Michael's nose. The zombie piglin let out a honk of approval, making Tommy's eyebrows raise in amusement. With the piglin happy, the boy turned to face Michael's parents.

"I don't think this is a dog, fellas."

Tubbo and Ranboo both released large sighs of relief that they didn't even know they were holding in, Tommy slightly tilting his head in confusion.

"Well, we said he wasn't a dog, Tommy. We said he was our son."

"Some people call their dogs their kids, so I could only guess."

As the best friends talked, Ranboo gazed over at Michael with affection, feeling a grin spread across his face. What Ranboo didn't expect, however, was how closely Michael seemed to be watching Tommy.

Surprising Ranboo again, the piglin stood up on wobbly legs, trotting over to where Tommy was leaning on a piece of furniture. Snorting, he clutched on to one of Tommy's legs, leading Tommy to jolt from the sudden contact a little, before instinctively trying to lean away from Michael. Recognizing that Tommy was having a bit of a rough time at the moment, Tubbo leaned down and carefully removed Michael's arms from Tommy's leg, mumbling soft words of comfort and encouragement to both Tommy and Michael.

After Michael was removed, Tommy had to take a moment to catch his breath and clear his thoughts, his eyes shutting for a moment as he muttered unintelligible words to himself. Tubbo and Ranboo waited for him to recover, Michael watching with curiosity.

"A'ight, I'm okay now," Tommy inhaled deeply, letting out an equally deep exhale before opening his eyes again.

"I'm really sorry about that-" Ranboo began to apologize before getting cut off by Tommy.

"Nah, don't apologize, big man. Michael's a fetus, he doesn't know about complicated adult things like trauma."

Tubbo let out a snort of laughter, which Michael tried to copy the sound of.

"He's not normally physically affectionate like this on first meetings," Ranboo spoke, though mostly to himself more than anyone else.

Michael let out a squeal of frustration, alerting the trio to the piglin trying to wiggle out of Tubbo's arms. Tubbo and Ranboo's ears stood up in surprise at the sudden noise, the two looking down at their son worriedly. Tommy had looked startled when Michael began his outburst, but now looked much calmer as he leaned down a little to come face-to-face with Michael.

Tubbo and Ranboo's surprise grew even bigger as Tommy began to make squealing and oinking noises himself, causing Michael's fit to stop. The piglin's eyes were wide with excitement as Tommy spoke, his stubby arms starting to wave in excitement as he continued his excited honking, which Tommy responded to as well.

"What the fuck," Tubbo whispered in shock, his eyes wide, and Ranboo had to agree with him there.

Tommy proceeded to sit down on the floor, glancing up at Tubbo with a lopsided smile. "You can put 'em down, Big T. It's alright."

Following Tommy's instructions, Tubbo set his son down, who immediately sprinted towards the blonde at high speeds. He halted in his tracks when Tommy barked out another noise, one that Ranboo and Tubbo didn't understand, that brought Michael to a slower pace. It sounded somewhat familiar to Ranboo, but he didn't know why.

Michael ended up standing in front of a seated Tommy, the taller boy laughing as he reached out his hand slowly. The piglin stepped forward slowly, moving to grip one of Tommy's fingers gently, which allowed Tommy to carefully wrap his hands around Michael, lifting him up to eye level. Tommy let out a small noise again, causing Michael to oink in delight.

Smirking with satisfaction, Tommy looked back over at the stunned parents, sticking out his tongue a little. "Surprise, motherfuckers."

"HOW DID-" Tubbo began to belt out, quickly stopped by Ranboo by the taller boy pressing down on Tubbo's head gently. With this sign from Ranboo, Tubbo cleared his throat, continuing to speak.

"Tommy, and I mean this in the nicest way possible: how the fuck did you do that?"

"Wot? You jealous that I can speak piglin?"

Ranboo was learning so much today that he didn't expect in any way whatsoever.

"One," the enderman spoke, trying to keep his voice at a calm level while his husband stood slack-jawed. "Yes, I am. Two: how do you know piglin?"

The shit-eating grin on Tommy's face grew wider upon seeing how he stunned his friends, causing him to look back at Michael and speak in piglin once more, making the kid chirp out happily.

"Tomathy Danger Careful Kraken Innit Minecraft, you tell me what you just said to him right now," Tubbo folded his arms, trying to hide the previous shock on his face with little-to-no success. Ranboo, meanwhile, now had to process the fact that he had never known Tommy's full name.

"I just told him that I was cooler than the both of you," Tommy barked out a laugh, Michael giggling along with him as Tommy set him back down on the ground.

"Anyway," the blonde continued, watching as Michael began to walk in circles around him. "I learned piglin from Techno. He suggested we use it for commands in battle so nobody else would understand what we were saying."

It suddenly made sense what Tommy had said to Michael that sounded familiar. Ranboo had heard Technoblade use that exact sound when they were exploring in the nether, and had come face-to-face with a piglin squadron. "Wait, were you telling Michael to approach safely?"

"Hell yeah, Ranboob" Tommy gave a thumbs-up, Michael trying to copy the gesture with his own hooves. "When I was still living with him as well, I'd go to the Nether when we had nothing else to do. Yeah, the Nether is a horrible shitty place and I want nothing to do with it, but it was the only way I could make friends while I was still in exile."

"WAIT," Tubbo's eyes widened even more, his face looking like it might split open from surprise. "You spoke with piglins in the Nether!?"

Tommy's reply was shooting finger-guns towards his best friend with a grin, with Michael trying to copy them once more.

"As fascinating as this conversation is, and trust me, I'm absolutely going to ask you to death about this," Ranboo pointed at Tommy in a jokingly accusatory manner. "Tubbo, I think we just lost our son."

Tubbo looked towards Michael, the little one trying intensely to copy Tommy's movements. "God damn it Tommy, you stole our son."

"Hey, I'm not stealing him," Tommy protested with laughter, reaching over to gently pet Michael's head, Ranboo noticing how his touch lingered on the thin layer of hair, stroking it softly. Ranboo noted to himself that piglin hair seemed like a comfort texture to Tommy. He’d tell Tubbo about it later, but for now he’d play along with the bit of his friend stealing his son. “Oh really? Then why’s our son copying you?”

“Because I’m the coolest uncle.”

Silence stretched throughout the room once more, with both Tubbo and Ranboo’s eyes wide. The small on Tommy’s face slowly changed into a worried one, and he looked away from the couple and at the ground. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t know if-”

“Watch how hard I can cry,” Tubbo mumbled, his eyes looking bright with joy before he went to Tommy’s side, kneeling down to give him a genuine smile. “Tommy, dude, I think that’s the best thing I’ve ever heard in my life. Even better than Ranboo proposing to me.”

“Um, rude,” Ranboo giggled, kneeling at Tommy’s other side and allowing Michael to climb up on his lap. “But yeah, I know what Tubbo’s getting at. We weren’t sure if you would even want to be Michael’s uncle-”

“Wot?” Tommy sounded genuinely surprised at that, his own eyes wide. “Why wouldn’t I want to be? He’s my best friend-brother’s son!”

“I mean, yeah, but after what happened with Techno, we weren’t sure if piglins would...”

Tommy fell quiet, his eyes shifting to gaze at the ground as uncertainty crossed his face. After a stretch of silence, only filled with Michael’s occasional chirring, Tommy gazed back at the two parents. “As complicated as my relationship with Techno might be, that shouldn’t impact this little guy,” Tommy bore his fangs in a grin, making Michael clap with his little hands. “Besides, I can understand him while you two can’t. Who else is gonna teach you two piglin without fuss?”

“Are you holding our child’s language for ransom?” Tubbo was about to playfully punch Tommy in the arm, but appeared to suddenly remember the situation and placed his hand back down.

“Noooo, but now you two need me.”

Ranboo rolled his eyes, making Tommy pretend-pout at him. Tommy folded his arms, faking disappointment. “You’re so mean to me, Ranboo. I take back my marriage blessing.”

“My husband! No!”

“We can elope, Ranboo. Tommy can’t stop us.”

“I’m holding your whole son for ransom then.”

“Actually, I don’t need my husband anymore.”

“Tubbo! How could you do this to me?

And Michael squealed with delight as the three continued on into the night.

[khneltea]

daminette villainess au pt.1

@illiteratefucks @mgi-events

prompts: fantasy + last chance

marinette didn't expect to be transported to another world after falling asleep while playing the new otome game tiktok blew up about

she didn't remember anything about it.

at. all.

in her defence, she was playing it for the gacha rolls for dress up and because the clothing + graphics were really pretty

no it was not because one of the sub male leads had the prettiest green eyes she'd ever seen shut up

and she reincarnated as the villainness 'Marie', modeled after Marie Antoinette

basically, a brat with a ridiculously complicated updo who ate sweets all day long and threw frivolous parties to try and get the crown prince, Adrian

but she reincarnated when 'Marie' was 14, meaning she still hadn't travelled from the countryside (where her mother and 'father' raised her) AND BEFORE SHE WAS TAKEN TO THE CITY TO BE WITH HER BIOLOGICAL FATHER

aww her parents are bakers

wait omg this is why Marie was obsessed with sweets

it was because she missed her parents

"GAME CREATORS, WHY DID YOU ROB THIS SWEET GIRL OF HER PRECIOUS AND HEARTBREAKING BACKSTORY"

anyways

she misses her parents in the real world

and these new game parents 'Edward (everyone called him Ted)' and 'Celine' were so much like her actual parents

OH WHOOPS BIO DAD IS AN ASSHOLE AND IS LIKE "I'M GONNA KILL YOU TWO IF YOU DON'T GIVE UP MY DAUGHTER TO ME"

fuck you biodad

so Marinette goes to the house to save her parents cus she doesn't want them dying

surprise surprise, bio dad (who is a count) only wants her there so she can get a 'proper' lady's education and become a tool for marriage

"you might be a bastard, but you still have some uses."

marinette is furious

she sneaks out of the house at night

wears a ridiculously red hat because apparently that's what is in fashion according to her half-sister Dahlia

who suspiciously looked like the main heroine 'Lia' from the promotional content

so the only clothing she had was from her half-sister

who begged their father not to have to give up her clothes

but then in front of the servants, she started to cry on the spot about Marinette stealing her clothes

"but *sniff* it's ok because *sniff sniff* she needs them more."

servants don't like marinette now

SO ANYWAYS SHE'S SNEAKING OUT SO SHE CAN FRICKING BREATH AND GET SOME CLOTHES THAT AREN'T THE UGLY POOFY STUFF LIE-A GAVE HER

but then she gets stopped cus someone thought she would be easy to rob

"give up the money, or we'll kill you"

and the award for most original line goes to-

she scoffs at them and brushes past them

the guy pulls out a knife and tries to stab her with it

oh look, gravity works on her as she "trips", sweeping her flailing legs under his own and making him fall backwards as she stumbles forwards

she hears thumps behind her and whirls around to see a band of...teenagers?

they all looked like they came out of a fantasy novel

elf ears, daggers and bows and arrows, grey and black tunics, a few blue fabrics peeking out of the black cloaks they all wore, pink hair, purple hair, metal enhancements

AND DID ONE OF THEM HAVE GREEN SKIN?

the teenagers bring out their weapons

marinette is so done with this and she's about to bring out her makeshift sharp-rock-tied-to-a-scarf

when the teenagers help her

wham bam kapow

done

the green one spoke up first

"are you ok there, sweet stuff?" *gets slapped in the head*

marinette blushes

the purple-haired girl speaks

"sorry about him, he's always flirting with everyone"

"it's ok. thank you so much for helping"

the one who is obviously the leader of the group stepped up and oh my god

his outfit was ridiculous

who wore a yellow tunic with red pants and a green cloak??? who did that????

she broke out of her thoughts as he pulled back his hood and she saw his eyes past his green cloth mask

was it a mask if it was a piece of cloth tied blindfold style with slits for him to see through?

but back to the topic

"What are you doing here, alone, where you could possibly be robbed?"

oh my god its him its him

The teenage boy spoke up again, bite in his voice

oh my god it is, it really is— HOLY SHIT HE JUST THREW A DAGGER RIGHT BY MY EAR I COULD HEAR IT WHOOSH

"This is going to be your last chance to tell me. Why are you here, wearing that ostentatious, ugly hat?"

and, despite being faced with the threat of being harmed, she snorted

"Like I'd take fashion advice from you, Robin Hood."

yes, it was the most famous sub-male lead, the one with the deepest, most gorgeous green eyes to exist in this universe and her own, Robin.

[inertflouride]

Turmoils Of You- Part 5

Well, chaos ahead! (maybe fluff? angsty fluff?) *shrugs*

I hear Jake get in the car but I don't look at him or say anything to him. And, neither does he. I feel the engine revving up, I feel the car moving. I feel every damn shit except myself. Where is the person living inside me? Where is the guilt? I feel no emotion at this moment.

I grab my earphones and try to get lost in the music, but all it does is bring up the time from rehab. I can see the people I made speeches of staying clean to for 1 week, 2 weeks, 5 weeks to 51 weeks to 2 years. I can see them laugh at me, I can even see a few disappointed looks. Am I sure what I took was Xanax? Cause I sure don't feel any relief or soothe.

"We are here", Jake tells me, concern flashing in his eyes. "Are you alright though? You-"

"Yes. I'm okay", I interject him, trying to end the topic and get to work.

"Hey, look at me. What is it?", he asks me and takes my hand in his two hands.

"I just, it's complicated Jake", I try to avert from his gaze, trying to divert from this topic, trying to hurry him when strikes me: we are going to part ways from here. I won't see him again until he gets to me in Colville. I look in his eyes and hug him tightly, not wanting to let him go. He hugs me back, and nuzzles his nose in the crook of my neck. "How can you expect me to just let you jump in the fire? That's so cruel and unreasonable of you, Jake", I tell him as my eyes start welling up.

"Trust me. I too wish that the circumstances were different. It doesn't give me the slightest ease to leave you alone here", he reaffirms me.

I look up at him, trying to remember every part of his face. I don't know what destiny holds for us. I don't know if things will go the way we have planned, but what I do know is that I love him and that I need to have faith in us. Just... "Why does it have to be so hard?" I ask him, still not letting go of his hoodie.

He cups my face, presses our foreheads and tells, "Because we love each other hard, that's why" and pats my cheek, sitting back up. I straighten myself too upon his motion with a heavy heart.

"So, you know what you have to do, right?", he asks, getting back to business.

"I have to click the red button on your system once you reach the entrance. Then I have to track your pursuers and if they appear, signal you via the walkie talkie thingy... I know what to do Jake. It's not like I can forget it anyways", I sigh.

"Well then, I must get going now", he says and turns off the ignition of the car, grabbing his bag from backseat.

"You know, I wanted to save you. I wanted to be the hero and save you. How did I miss my chance?", I sob, tears raining down through my cheek.

"Please don't cry. Please don't make it more difficult than it already is. I-, Do you remember when I had to go into hiding?"

"Like I can forget." I roll my eyes.

"I told you then I would not allow myself to be captured because that would be the end of us", he voices, "that promise still holds true."

I look up at him, his pained eyes which still try to give me hope. He starts to get out when I fess up. "I love you, Jake".

He takes a sharp breathe in, grabs my nape and clashes his lips on mine. He kisses me, without permission, without warning. His tongue traces my lips, as if trying to remember each and every detail of them. How can I ever let go of him?

I gasp from the breathlessness, murmuring, "Don't you dare get caught by them."

"Like hell I would", he reassures me, then opens the car and swings the bag on his shoulder, going forward to the impending doom.

Suddenly, he returns and peeps his neck through the window and jabbers, "carry my mark with pride till then" and rushes back.

"Huh? What mark?" I ask myself and switch on the overhead lights to see myself in the rearview mirror. "Oh my god... this brat", I say as my fingers trace the hickey on my neck, "When the fuck did this even happen?" But oh, I'm so in awe with how it looks. Err, that sounds weird though.

While I was busy admiring my neck, the ping of my phone draws me from repetitively stroking it.

JAKE IS NOW ONLINE

Jake: I've reached. You can click the red button now. MC: Aye aye captain

As I boot his laptop, my smart-ass brain now reminds me that I do not know his password. Well, Jake must have thought through it. Right?

I find two profiles on his home screen, one of them for me. "Phew", I sigh in relief and click on it. I notice no icons, but oh, there's a minimised window down here. I maximise it and a red button titled 'HERE' flashes up. I press on it with the cursor and type to Jake.

MC: Mission accomplished! Jake: :)

JAKE IS NOW OFFLINE

I shift to the driver's seat without getting out and slump down, before averting my attention to the laptop again. The window I had opened before now shows a map with a red dot. Are those his pursuers? I zoom in to find their exact spot. Hmm, so this is a static map, the one which appears on google maps. Well, some familiarity.

I zoom further in on the red spot and find that they are around 500 km away from Colville. That's a relief I guess. I mean it does buy us some time. I sit back and keep staring at the tracker, waiting for some reaction.

Okay, tracking isn't the most fun thing to do. I open Spotify on my phone and start playing Joji because, why not? Let's get depressed over my fantastic love life and drown in the melancholy. And while I'm having fun getting depressed, my phone pings to destroy my few moments of peace. I open up and... "Ugh, seriously?"

ALAN IS NOW ONLINE

Alan: You were right about the Grimrock. MC: This is the part where I say "Told you so." Alan: I'll have to apologise for that and as you might have guessed, I am currently back on my way to Grimrock.

"Shit shit shit!", I exclaim in panic. Jake is literally IN there and this- Why does this person ALWAYS cause me inconvenience?

MC: No Alan, please turn back around Alan: What are you saying?

"Come on, come on. Come up with some lie!"

MC: The hatch is blocked off Alan: I think I'd better see that for myself Alan: And now please excuse me Alan: It's time to clear up this case

"I need to tell Jake about this nuisance", I groan to myself.

MC: Damn it! MC: Alan knows about the Ironsplinter mine MC: I tried to stop him but that idiot, he's on his way to you now. MC: Alan can't find you there no matter what!

If Alan reaches there, our plan is so screwed. Should I signal him with the walkie talkie? Nope, that would send off the wrong message. What should I do now? What if the messages don't go through? Dammit!

I slam my fists on the steering wheel in exasperation and a loud honk goes through the forest. Fuck, I'm so fucking exposed now. I hear a light beep from the tracker. I quickly jump at the sound and notice what is going on.

"Oh no", I say as the red dot now is 100kms less than what it earlier was. How did they cover so much so fast? Are we fucked?

Of-fucking-course.

PART-6