#are you telling me those freaks would see a chance to do shit with no real world consequences and not immediatly descend into war crimes

[fallenstarzz]

You know what? The Foxes DnD Nights would be INSANE.

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Hello hello!! I was not expecting requests to be open again so fast, but i am DEVOURING your writing, so i shan't complain!

What about Dogday getting saved by a teenager who’s desensitized to the horrors of the factory? Like of course, they’re perturbed, but aside from initially seeing Dogday(because holy shit), the biggest reaction they’ll give is a cringe and a “eugh” or some other mild exclamation of “that’s fucked up.” Essentially just Dogday interacting with a kid who’s weirdly chill with the circumstances and tries to be silly sometimes despite the persisting horrors.

Thank you so much and have a wonderful day/night!!!

Awe thanks! Have a good day/night too!

.......

"You..you're Poppy's angel..come to save us-"

"Eugh..what the hell happened to you?"

While back in the day, Dogday would've scolded you for using profane language...he finds it understandable considering you discovered him in his....erm..current condition.

The initial shock of seeing him would have anybody from outside the factory deeply disturbed.

But he's surprised that you're not fully freaked out and didn't run away.

Instead you manage to get him out of the Playhouse (while curbstomping a few little critters who tried crawling into his body along the way) and found a safe spot to rest.

Despite his insistence that you should leave him, you point out that he mentioned you saving him earlier.

"When you said "us", I thought that included you, too."

"I-I meant the others. The ones who can still walk..and still have a fighting chance. Look at me, kid. All I'm gonna do is weigh you down."

"....I mean, you are kinda heavy. But I've lifted worse with this grabpack. I got you."

He's confused by how oddly calm you are about everything.

If you were able to get down this far in the facility, you would've had to cross paths with Huggy, Mommy, Catnap, and Miss Delight at some point.

By all accounts, you definitely should've been traumatized at least from seeing all the bloody toys laying around.

Yet you're cool as a cucumber as you try your best to fix him (with assistance from Kissy, Ollie, and Poppy, of course, who are stunned you came out of the Playhouse alive)

Dogday remembers how scared the children were during the Hour of Joy, comforting them as he helped them flee the terror...so to be comforted by a kid now felt strange.

Yet your calm demeanor helps ground him whenever he starts to have a panic attack over Catnap finding him or if he feels like a critter or two is already inside of him, trying to take hold and eat whatever organs he had remaining (but it's just a sensation he feels from time to time).

You snap him out of it by asking rather silly questions.

"What if I stuck a flare in your mouth? Would that deter them?"

"...what? Um...I-I suppose that could work, but hopefully it's not a theory we have to test anytime soon.."

Even if Poppy decided to show you the Hour of Joy tape (which he had to look away from and tried persuading you to do the same), your only reaction is a slight grimace and a simple "damn wtf....you guys think any of those workers were running late or didn't go in that day?"

Dogday is shocked you'd joke at a time like this...but she knows you better and tells him you're just like That(tm).

You do care about them. You do wanna destroy the Prototype and save whoever you can along the way--including him.

It just may take some time for him to get used to your personality.

[angelltheninth]

Striker Fucks You Instead of Killing You

Pairing: Striker x Fem!Reader

Tags: nsfw, smut, assassin work, rough sex, degradation, tied up, slight knife play

A/N: Now that he went from cool badass to absolute unhinged loser I kinda like him more.

You were a very high paying job for him, a high profile target

If he could complete this he can break his terrible streak of failed kills he's been on lately

And really, Striker needed a win

But when he broke into your bedroom he didn't see a target that he needed to kill, he saw a perfect chance to fuck

Which is something he hasn't done in a bit, with him being more focused on making money so he could buy more angel weapons

He won't need those with you but a bit of rope won't hurt, too much

"Listen here sweet cheeks, you stay quiet and don't make a sound and we can make this go fast and easy." He spun his knife in his hand, the other pressing against your shoulder. "Give me any trouble and this is about ta get real ugly for ya."

You'd heard of this assassin before, your own family had deals with him in the past. "Are you sure you want to kill me? You know we can pay you a lot more right?" You tried to smile through the fear but he saw right through you, laughing in your face and pushing his weight on you to stop you from struggling.

What was... oh... that is not a knife or a gun down there. Was he some kind of sick freak that got off on killing his targets? It wouldn't surprise you that there were people like that in Hell.

"I don't really have to kill ya. Just ruin you enough that your dumbass family backs away from making a deal with my employee's competitor. But ya know, there are other ways to ruin a pretty little thing like yourself."

You felt your body warm up when his hips moved against yours

Indeed fucking an assassin for hire would be a bad look for your family

That is if he told anyone about it

Always a chance you can buy his silence after you fuck

Whatever his price you knw you can afford him, you're not royalty but your family is pretty well off

Striker spread your legs apart to make more room for his hips, "What's this here? Why so wet? Are ya a freak who gets horny from being threatened or some shit? Pervert." He didn't hesitate to rip your underwear to shreds with his claws, "Yeh, like I thought. A pervy little bitch."

"Oh please. You're flattering yourself way too much."

"Give me all the attitude ya want sweetheart. I'll fuck it right out of ya." Striker pushed his hard cock against opening, rubbing it up and down and gathering the wetness on his cock. You didn't even notice him pull it out of his pants. "Gonna make ya come harder then any demon ya've ever been with."

There was nothing gentle about the way he fucked you

Some of your other lovers went at least a bit easy on you out fear of putting bruises on you and getting caught up in your family's crosshairs

Not Sriker though, he fucked you like he hated you, probably because he did

His hand was over your mouth to silence the many high-pitched noises you made every time his hard cock slid back into you, his pace rough and almost abusing your pussyhole

Which was exactly what he seemed to want to do

"Making all kinds of pretty noises for me. I can tell ya ain't never gotten fucked raw like this. Your cunt is so responsive to me, fuck, I just might have to give it a creampie after all." His tail moved happily from side to side when he felt you tighten but saw your eyes go wide with fear. "What's the matter baby? Don't want to have some bastard imp's bastard kid? Aww, now that would really ruin ya."

You bit into his hand as hard as you could, letting him know exactly what you thought of that idea.

"Ouch! Ya little bitch, haha, ya got a lotta guts I'll admit that much. Fine. Maybe it'll be more fun if I ruin you slowly, over time." If a game of cat and mouse was what you wanted then he was more then willing to play it. More money in it for him at least. "I'm gonna come back here every time I'm done with a job. And ya better hope it goes well."

You couldn't stop your pussy from clenching around his cock, your head thrown back and releasing the loudest moan yet. Striker pulled out barely seconds from finishing, shooting his hot white cum all over your lower stomach. "Holy shit, ya really do get off on threats. This is gonna be so fun."

[mrlxys]

•°. *࿐ 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐘 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐊

➣ 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 ! jake x fem!insecure!reader

➣ 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 ! body dysmorphia, mental health issues

➣ 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 ! i have no idea what this is

You took a deep breath as you closed your book, putting it away as you got tired. It was almost time to leave, so you just scrolled on your phone for a bit.

“Y/N!” None other than Gina Linetti yelled to grab your attention. She succeeded. You looked up as she motioned for you to come over. You got on your feet, and walked over with a small smile, “The crew’s going for drinks later, you know, the usual, but I’ve heard you don’t want to come?”

“Uh—yeah,” You nodded as your brows furrowed, “Why?” Gina took a deep breath as she looked at you with a certain look that you read as ‘seriously?’.

“You’ve been missing out on going anywhere with us; is something up?” Gina intertwined her hands as she looked up at you, eyeing you, “Nope, I’m perfectly fine.” The lie immediately left your lips as you shrugged, “Just a bit tired. I’ve never been one for hangouts, anyway.”

“Mhm.” She nodded unconvinced, motioning as to tell you ‘okay, go’. You put on the smile you had and returned to your desk, sitting down in your seat. You then heard a loud laugh, making you turn your head in the sounds direction. It was Amy and Jake talking, Amy seemingly laughing at something Jake had said.

You involuntarily formed a sad smile, then looked away before anyone could see you look at them. If someone knew, you thought repeatedly. God, how you had the biggest crush on Jake. It started as a giddy middle school crush, before it turned into something more. It was long before Amy ans Jake got together, so it was so hard to try to make your feelings disappear. Not to mention you and Jake are very close friends.

Jake and Amy were the perfect couple. You would never do anything to damage their relationship, no matter what. Yes, you and Jake were close, but you and Amy were also friends. Sabotaging their relationship would be the last thing you would ever do. You wouldn’t blame Jake for getting with Amy, anyway. She was so incredibly smart, let alone gorgeous. You’re not jealous of Amy, but you just aspire to be like her.

“N/N!” Jake clapped in front of you, making you jump in your seat, “What the hell?” You furrowed your brows as you looked up at him. He crossed his arms as he looked concerned and serious at the same time, “Why’re you not going anywhere with us?” He asked as he narrower his eyes at you.

“I’m just not in the mood,” You sighed to stand up, before he pushed you back onto the chair. You tilted your head in confusion, “I’m being honest, Peralta.” You shook your head with a shrug.

“I somehow find that hard to believe.” He let out a breath as he grabbed a chair. He sat in front of you. You knew how this was gonna go. He wouldn’t leave you alone, bug you with questions before you finally admit what was up. Not this time, though. You literally could not bear to let your heart break even more, especially seeing them somewhere other than work. Besides, you wouldn’t have had a chance either way.

Your insecurities would get the best of you, and not let it down until you distanced yourself from him and eventually breakup. Well, that’s not how your relationships went. It’s what you were told during those relationships that affected you and made you the way you are.

“Y’know how lucky you are to be with me?”

“You were always something to pass time with.”

“Look at you. Why would I be with you out of all people?”

The memories flashed, causing you to swallow a lump in your throat. His hand went on yours, “Just tell me.” He was genuinely concerned. Jake always cared about his friends, something you loved about him. Loved, shit, you freaked out and stammered, “I gotta go.” You grabbed your bag and strutted to the elevator in a hurry. You felt everyone’s eyes on you, and you just closed your eyes as you walked into the elevator, before Jake threw one of Scullys’ bag of chips to keep the elevator opened.

“Okay, seriously, what is up with you?” He stopped the elevator, then turned to you. He cornered you, making your breath hitch, “What’s up with you?” You chuckled in disbelief as your hands pushed him away softly. He tilted his head in confusion now, “Just—leave me alone.” You turned to the button, until Jake grabbed your wrists.

“You should know me better than that,” He said as he blocked your view of the controls, “Please tell me.” He pleaded. You shook your head and backed up, suddenly feeling suffocated. Your mental health has gone to shit a while ago, your insecurities piling up with every passing minute, and the urge to breakdown was too much; not to mention overthinking. Sure, you may have overreacted before, but you had time to think about that later. Right now, all you wanted to do is get away from Jake Peralta.

You stayed quiet, head down, while you fidgeted with your fingers. He dropped his head back as a soft sigh left his lips. He knew you were stubborn, but usually he would’ve gotten through to you by now, “Is it really that scary you don’t wanna tell me?”

You looked up at him, giving him an answer without saying a word. He nodded, then moved to let you press the button, yet you paused, “If I could tell you, I would, but I’m not that kind of person.” Then pressed the button.

The next day was the same, yet you stayed quiet. You were more introverted than usual as you tugged the the hem of your sweater’s sleeves, in deep thought. You wondered if yesterday could’ve gone differently, but it couldn’t have. You felt Jake’s eyes on you, but you didn’t dare to even glance in his direction. You were finishing up paperwork, then got up to go to Captain Holt’s office.

“Y/N,” Gina grabbed you, making you almost lose your balance, “Hm?” You hummed. Rosa was stood beside you, making you jump a bit. Then, Rose hit your shoulder without warning, “What gives?” You hit her back, making her give you a glare you know wasn’t real.

“Did you tell Jake?” Gina sang. You knitted your brows together, obviously confused. Rosa sighed, “Did you tell Jake you wanted him in way too many ways?” She said casually. Your eyes widened and looked around to make sure no one heard, and thankfully, no one did.

“Say it louder, why don’t you?” You sarcastically stated as you crossed your arms, “Also, obviously not.” You continued.

“Well, why not?” Gina said as if it wasn’t obvious enough. “He is dating someone. I can’t ruin that, why would I? I don’t have a chance, anyway.” You shrugged, “Let it go. I’m not really bothered with this, and you both shouldn’t be either.”

“Yeah,” Gina hummed, “no.” She then continued, getting a nod from Rosa. “They’ve been talking about taking a ‘break’ for a bit, because they’ve been busy with work.” Rosa turned to you.

“That’s their business, and I will not interfere, so neither should you two!” You pointed at them with your index finger. You then walked back to your desk, ditching the idea to go to Captain Holt. Thankfully, it was time to leave, so you took your things and made you way to the elevator. And this time, Jake didn’t throw a bag of chips.

You were in your apartment, on the couch while you waited your pizza to arrive to start the movie. Then, the doorbell rang. Expecting it to be your order, you grabbed your cash and walked to the door, opening it to find Jake.

While you were about to slam the door shut, he put his hand on the door and pushed it open. You walked back to your couch, not saying a word as he shut the door, “Talk to me.” He sighed as you stayed quiet. You were in a pair of sweatpants and an oversized hoodie, with your hair in a ponytail. “What do you want me to say?” You faintly said, trying so incredibly hard to not look at him.

“Whatever it is that’s bothering you.” He honestly spoke, “I can’t do that.” You finally turned to him, the gap between you two not being much—catching you off guard. As you were about to turn and look down as you’ve done before, his thumb and index finger held your chin, forcing you to look up at him, “I can’t,” You tilted your head ever so slightly, the words coming out as a whisper.

Before he let out a word, the bell rang. You swallowed a lump that formed in your throat, then stood up and walked to the door. You grabbed the cash beforehand, then opened the door to find a sweet woman with a pizza box, “Thank you,” You mumbled with a smile, then softly shut the door and walked back to the couch.

“Y/N—“

“No, you seriously don’t understand; I actually can’t tell you. It’s best if I don’t, Jake.” You cut him off before he can say anything. He doesn’t understand how much you being in his mere presence hurts you so much. You wouldn’t dream of ruining what makes Jake happy, not to mention Amy. Amy was such a kind and special person, you were honestly relieved Jake was dating her.

You then felt him intertwine your hands, making you look up at him with a confused expression, “I understand.” He nodded as he locked eyes with you. You mirrored his soft nod, as you cupped his cheek before being able to stop yourself. Your eyes widened just a bit before going back to your previous expression; trying to not make your thoughts obvious.

“I really can’t,” You whispered as tears welled up in your eyes, although they weren’t very obvious. He nodded and got up, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” His lips formed into a thin line, making you suck in a breath.

As soon as he was out the door, tears freely rolled down your cheeks. Your knees were pulled to your chest, then grabbed the remote to put on your comfort movie. Everything has gone to crap—everything except your job, that is.

Mental health? Long gone.

Love life? Never existed.

Friendships? Either distance or are just fake.

Insecurities? Piling up by the passing second.

Life is truly not worth it.

[daisynik7]

HI BELOVED !!! i already requested meet me halfway BUT i also want to request “Mirrors” by Justin Timberlake for Suguru . . maybe angst to fluff ? 😁

Mirrors

Word Count: ~1.1k

cw: friends-to-lovers trope, a little bit of angst, fluff, explicit language

Summary: Suguru Geto, committed to never being committed, has finally met his match: you. When you come to him for comfort after being stood up on a date, he finally decides to make his move.

Author’s Note: Thank you for the request @invisible-mori! I appreciate you! This is a great song for the y2k karaoke party. I hope you like this! Divider by @/saradika.

Suguru Geto gave up on relationships years ago. He figured committing to one person for the rest of his life would eventually become tedious, boring. Besides, it’s easier for him to drift by unattached with all the freedom to do as he pleases.

He won’t deny it though. It’s gets awfully lonely living like this. 

It’s not until he meets you that his mindset begins to change. The two of you started out as friends, meeting by chance one night at a mutual friend’s party. You hit it off immediately; you were drawn to his mysterious charm while he gravitated towards your warmth and bright personality. From the outside, it seemed the two of you were complete opposites. The more you got to know each other, the more you understood how similar you actually are. You’ve been inseparable since. 

Geto was never interested in romantic relationships. Lately, his thoughts have been plagued with fantasies of you. A few weeks ago, you stay at his place after a night of drinking. Usually, he’d sleep on the couch while he lets you take the bed, but this particular night, he decides that it’s big enough for the both of you. It isn’t. Tipsy and desperate for sleep, he doesn’t think twice about cuddling you to prevent you from falling off the edge. He knocks out instantly, finding comfort in the way your body molds to his. In the morning when he’s completely sober, he freaks out at how natural it feels to have you in his arms, wondering what it would be like to have you like this every day. Normally, he wouldn’t linger on acts of intimacy. He’s used to the routine one-night stand to fulfill his sexual needs. But with you, it’s different. You’re different. Maybe he isn’t as frigid and closed-off as he thinks he is. Or maybe it took a worthy contender like yourself to challenge him.

It happens so fast that Geto doesn’t realize it until he’s already in too deep. Tonight, you’re supposed to be going out on a date with some guy you’ve been talking to on one of those dating apps. He doesn’t say it, but Geto thinks it’s pointless. He tries to get you to adopt his philosophy on dating. Deep down, he wants you to be lonely like him. He wants the two of you to be lonely together. The idea that you could leave him for somebody else makes him uncomfortable, to say the least. But he doesn’t say anything. In fact, he wishes you, “Good luck,” on the phone when you tell him you’re off to meet the other man. 

Nearly an hour later, there’s frantic knocking on his door. He answers quickly, uncertain who could be on the other side, surprised to find you, tears streaming down your face, crying. 

Immediately, he wraps his arms around you, holding you tight. It’s second nature at this point. Truth be told, he’s been longing to have you like this since it first happened that one night. Though, his heart aches to see you distraught. His hands massage your back, soothing you. “What happened?”

In between sobs, you manage to say, “He stood me up.”

Geto squeezes you tighter, suppressing the anger erupting in the pit of his stomach. If you asked him to, he’d find this guy and beat the shit out of him. Make him hurt the way he hurt you. But he calms down, focused on consoling you. He leads you to the couch, still holding you, his t-shirt damp with your sniffles. He reaches for the box of tissues on the coffee table, grabbing a few and passing them to you. You take it, blowing into them noisily, wiping your eyes, feeling like a fool. “I’m such an idiot,” you mumble. 

He shakes his head. “He’s the fucking idiot. Not you.”

“It was too good to be true. I should have known from the start it wasn’t going to work out.” You stare down at your lap, catching your breath, Geto’s big hands rubbing you lovingly. You always feel safe with him, like he can protect you from anything. That’s why you came to him for comfort. Why you craved his touch. 

“Those dating apps can be such shit sometimes,” he says. “I wouldn’t trust them anymore if I were you.”

You lean back against the cushions, sighing. “Then how am I supposed to meet someone?”

He follows you, sinking in beside you, shrugging. “Why do you have to meet someone?”

You nudge him in the arm with your elbow. “You might be okay with being a lone wolf, but I’m not. It’s lonely.”

He rests his head on your shoulder. “I’m not lonely. I have you, don’t I?”

Stuttering, you respond, “That’s different. We’re just friends. I want something more.”

He faces you, gazing into your eyes. “Do you want something more with me?”

You shake your head profusely. “No, you’re twisting my words!” As long as you’ve known him, Geto has been committed to remaining uncommitted. The possibility of him being a boyfriend to anyone, let alone you, never existed. However, recently, it feels like the two of you have been slowly teasing that fine line between friendship and something more. At first, you thought it was just your imagination, maybe even wishful thinking. But now, you can’t help noticing the subtle difference in your relationship. “Why are you even thinking that?” you ask, heat surrounding your cheeks, flustered. 

He shrugs once more, smiling, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. “I don’t know. I guess I just like being with you too much. It’s hard for me to imaging you with somebody else. Maybe that makes me a little selfish, I don’t know.”

You readjust in your seat to face him completely, perplexed by this sudden change of tune. You keep reminding yourself in your head that Suguru Geto does not do relationships. “What are you saying?”

He looks at you, scooting in closer, holding your hand in his. “I’m saying that maybe we should give this a shot. You and me. Something more.” The words spill out of him on instinct. It seems like an abrupt switch, but he’s been considering this for a while now. And tonight, he finally acts on it instead of waiting until it’s too late. Although he’s still upset at that moron for standing her up, if it weren’t for him, Geto probably wouldn’t have the guts to finally admit his feelings.

It takes you a few seconds to process what he’s saying. Eventually, you smile, leaning in to nuzzle your nose to his. “About time, you dummy.”

He grins, closing the gap to kiss you softly on the lips. Commitment isn’t so bad, as long as it’s with you. 

[a-twistedheartslonging]

Hiii, Harpy anon again.

I have more thoughts. Instead of making Idia a dog boy, I say we make him an insect. Mostly because there are some insects out there that just make sense for him. (Also because he kinda look like bug to me tbh)

For example, spiders. (Yes I know they aren't insects but they look insects and that's all that matters) Spiders specifically have a lot of significance in Greek mythology, so it would make sense for Idia (who is based off a Greek god) to have some kind of connection there. But also spiders tend to be solitary creatures, they don't live in groups and only come together during mating. And a lot of the time, during mating the males are killed by their female mates. Which..I feel like is why Idia would avoid Yuu like the plague. Because all he can think about near them is "Mate.Mate.Mate.Mate.MATE-" and he's scared if he tries anything he'll get killed immediately.

Now I don't know if we've talked about Ortho yet but I feel like he's a little robot bee. I know it doesn't really go with spider Idia but Robot bee Ortho would be so gosh darn cute. There was a study done on bee's that came to the conclusion that when bee's bump into eachother they make a little "Whoop" noise. IMAGINE BUMPING INTO BEE ORTHO AND HE JUST GOES "Whoop!"

AGSJSGAHSVSS

Ahem, sorry got carried away there for a sec. Bee's are also very protected of their hive and other bees in said hive, so I can't help but imagine if Yuu gets picked on Ortho immediately just pulls out the laser beams. Bee's can also smell fear. Giving bee Ortho this trait is like giving a toddler a glock and telling them to go do a crime. It is both horrifying and hilarious at the same time.

Robot Bee Boy.

BeeBot that makes cute noises when bumping into things.

So very cute. I don't have much to add to that except look at this cute bee butt.

Now...spooder Idia...

Did anyone else see Kar'niss from Baldr's Gate 3 and thought he was hella fine?

What kind of spider would he be? If he's one of the fluffy kinds I love the idea of his floof matching his hair. Would he have multiple eyes? Fangs on top of having those already pointy teethies?

Did you know an interesting thing that bee's and some spiders have in common his helping with pollinating plants?

Hmm drider's are usually big and people in general already don't like regular spiders very much. Poor Idia is just going to keep getting more reasons to not leave his room. 😔Oh Jeez Jamil would prob freak out seeing him.

Man, Idia and Azul have it bad. For females of both of their kind if they don't kill you after sex cuz doing the diddly works up an appetite, they might kill males that they simply rejected...or just because they got too close.

Another thing that both male octopuses and spiders have been shown to do to lower the risk is present their possible mate with food. Azul's an amazing cook with his own restaurant and Idia has a surplus of every kind of snack/junk food you can think of so at least they have that going.

Still, I would like to think that even if that happens with their kind in that world it's not nearly as bad or quite as common. Funny though to think of Idia screeching when he sees you and tossing a few bags of gummies and chips at you.

Also....to avoid getting eaten after sex some male spiders will actually tie the female up in his web and set her free after. Do with that info what you will.

Some spiders also do a mating dance, but you have a snowball's chance in hell of seeing him do that.

Still, it's just more things that get these types of nonhuman boys thinking that you the little would be the best choice when it comes to finding a mate. AMAB? Cool. AFAB? Well, human ones don't cannibalize so it's all good....well once the guys learned that they don't.

Plus, once he gets to actually know you and see how you're the least threatening thing in the school things will be easier.

Once he's comfortable around you get to see something amazing...

That he's a snarky little shit with so much sass. He's a weird combination of having issues with self-loathing while also having an ego.

One time you tried to bite him for mouthing off and he was legit scared for a sec but once he saw those little teeth of yours couldn't even make a scratch on the exoskeleton on his arm, he gets super freaking smug, and now he's even more of a shit when teasing you.

One of the cool things is that you can legit ride him places cuz he big spooder. It's too bad it rarely if ever happens with being a shut in.

He'll still let you sit on him like that when you guys are in his room.

A cool thing he can do is climb on walls and ceilings, does it often when trying to sneak to the vending machines on campus without being seen. He has unfortunately been seen once or twice though and it scared the hell out of the poor student to see a giant freaking spider on the ceiling and almost made Idia drop his snacks.

His webs are pretty and glowy, he kind of has them around his room set up like fairy light.

Weird fact, spiders can taste with their feet.

Cute fact, some spiders will keep a frog as a pet. Frog helps keep the spider's eggs from getting eaten and the spider protects the frog from other things.

I'm kind of picturing Idia as the spider and you as the frog. You are his emotional support human that he keeps close when he has to leave his lair.

He unintentionally gives you scary dog privileges.

Imagine working your shift at Twisted McDonald and a little human comes up to you with this big-ass sharp-toothed spider dude behind them, you are scared out of your mind but then the human says "Excuse me, he asked for no pickles."

[igotanidea]

Laugh: Jason Todd x fem!reader

requested by @thefandomdiaries07 - I AM SO SORRY!!

“Oh my god!” Y/N started laughing at another Bad dad joke Dick Just Said. Honestly, she wasn’t sure whether it made her giggle like a silly teenager because it was so stupid or because Dick was ginning and being so full of himself. 

“That’s a good one right?”

“No....!” she gasped wiping the tears away, smudging her mascara in the process. “It was terrible. Terrible, Grayson! I swear every time I believe you reached the bottom of the groaner well, you surprise me with another one!”

“Now that’s hurtful!” Dick grabbed his heart, pretending to be deeply cut by those words. “Your words are like knife to my soul!”

“Please stop watching soap operas….” She laughed even more at his choice of words.

“Hm.” Dick smirked. The position he was in allowed him to see behind Y/N’s shoulder and notice something she could not.

Once her laugh reverberated through the room in the Manor, Jason, who was just casually passing by, with his signature face expression being the mix of broody and smug, stopped in his tracks. To give it justice, he looked like he was just struck by the lighting by the sound. Rooted to the ground. Frozen. Transfixed. Taken into another dimension. Whatever words might come to person’s brain – he was just that. With his eyes almost turning into hearts he looked like a love sick puppy. Just because he heard her chuckling at something.

“Hey Jaybrid!” Dick called to his younger brother, unable to stop himself from a little bit of teasing. Todd might have been lying about how he felt for Y/N, denying the obvious, but his actions were pretty self-explanatory. Especially in the family of self-appointed detectives, trained to read into every detail and gesture. “You look surprisingly non-threatening.”

“Shut up Dickhead.” His face expression turned back to resentful, the slightest blush showing on his cheeks due to being called out like this. He was a grown ass man acting like a boy who saw a girl’s bra for the first time.

“What’s with the attitude, little bird? Someone step on your toe?”

“Shut up!”

“Oh come on, cheer up! How about I give you a joke to relieve the tension?”

“Oh, no!” Y/N cried out in despair, turning to face Jason “Jace! Save me! Dick won’t let me go until I die from the embarrassment from his jokes! Please, don’t let me suffer alone!”

Once she looked at him with those pretty, pretty, shining, smiling e/c eyes he was gone. Like gone. How could he possibly tell no to her? How could he…..

“Not in the mood…” he muttered, looking down, terrified to death to meet her gaze.

“Come on Jay! Pretty please? We’re friends. It’s kind of I’m in shit you’re in shit situation. You can’t run from it.”

“I hate you.” He hissed crossing his arms

“I give you a chance to realize that you hate Dick’s sense of humor more than you hate me. So? what’s it gonna be?”

Yeah, he couldn’t tell her no.

***

“Did you get home safe?” Dick texted a few hours later, once Y/N left the manor and got into her apartment.

“You could have given me a ride with that fancy porche of yours, so you wouldn’t have to ask after.”

“I was kind of hoping Jason will pick you on a bike and give you a romantic trip, but seemingly we can’t always have what we want.”

“Jason?” if they were talking not texting she would raise an eyebrow at the moment

“Sure? My younger brother? Do you remember Jason?”

“Fuck you Dick. Stop playing around. We’re friends. That’s all.”

“Y/N for crying out loud. I saw that boy almost snap his neck because he heard your laugh and wanted to see why you were laughing.”

What?!

“but yes, keep telling yourself you’re friends.”

What the hell?!

She lost her patience in an instant and dialed Dick’s number.

“Y/N.”

“What the hell was that Dick?!”

“I believe it’s something you call telling the truth”

“I believe it’s acting like a freaking gossip girl!”

“It’s not a gossip!

“stop playing with me!”

“Am not! Did I ever lie to you?” he trailed and for a moment there was silence in the phone as they both were thinking about the years of keeping a little secret of his vigilante persona. “It’s true. I swear. “

“so why tell me now?”

“Cause I am seriously scared of what injuries Jay maysustain if someone doesn’t speak up. Last week Steph did as much as mentioned your name and he fall off the stairs.”

“You’ll never let him live it down, will you?”

“Not a chance!” Dick laughed “but hey, we both know you have a crush on him too so…”

“This reverse psychology is not going to work on  me Grayson. No circus for tricks.”

“Please don’t tell me you tease him absolutely absentmindedly…..”

“Tease? Dick this is just who I am. I play and twist words with everyone. I do that all the time with you.”

“can you at least talk to him about it?”

“wouldn’t that make it a bit awkward?”

“sure. And I’ll be right by the corner with the camera to video it.”

“I swear to god you’re the definition of an older brother.”

***

For three days Y/N was trying her best to avoid the conversation. No matter what Dick said, Jason was her friend and taking their relationship to another level was…. Hard. Honestly, Y/N wasn’t even sure how she herself felt about it. Did she like Jason as more than friend?

Yes,

no,

maybe?

How do you even recognize the moment when you stop thinking of someone as a buddy and move to I want to be more stage?

Sure, there’s physical attraction but that is not necessarily the sign of deeper feelings.

Just cause you feel you want to kiss someone doesn’t mean you love him.

So how did she feel?

She was postponing even thinking about it, but there’s no escaping when you serve as an emotional support and voice of reason for the whole family of vigilante seeing them *him* on a day to day basis.

So yes, Y/N was pretty much conflicted and feeling like a silly teenager, even though her metrics was showing quite a different age number.

And she was sad.

And that was something Jason could not stand.

“did you switch the position of your bed lately ?” he asked her after a few days of her being shy, withdrawn and silent. Obviously he did it in-character with the teasing tone and that freaking edgelord attitude.

“What?” she raised her gaze from the bat computer, frowning in confusion “there’s still no place for you to crush at my place one way or another.”

“Oh, please…” he rolled his eyes, plumping onto the seat next to her “as if that was what I meant.”

“What did you mean then?”

“You seemed like you’ve been getting off on the wrong foot, hence the question. I thought you were smarter than that and will get the reference.”

“Haha… very funny Todd.”

“I’m serious though.”

“You are never serious.”

“I miss your laugh…..” he babbled without thinking and his eyes grew wide at the words. “oh, fuck…I mean… you have terrible laugh. Terrible. And I miss laughing at your laugh. That’s what I meant to say.”

“I swear you’re the only person I know who can both offend and complement someone in one sentence.” She scoffed, turning back to computer away from him 

“Yeah, kind of my signature.”

“You’re a terrible person Jason Todd and I hate you. God I swear you’re so annoying. I can’t believe Dick was thinking you likelike me….” She babbled and this time it was her turn to blush because of saying too much. “oh, shit….I mean… Dick is delusional obviously and I’m pretty sure he was drunk while using the word.”

“Grayson told you I liked you?” Jason smirked.

“Yeah…. Funny, right?” she chuckles awkwardly

“Extremely funny.” Jason looked down avoiding meeting her eyes.

“Haha ….” She muttered.

And then, once they mocked Dick and the whole situation to the most possible extend and there was nothing more to say the silence fell between them. At first it was normal since they were both lost in their heads but after a while it started getting uncomfortable. Even the air in the batcave became heavier and it was becoming hard to breathe.

“Y/N…..” he looked at her

“Jace…..” she looked at him

And when their gazes met they were gone.

Acting on impulse they both moved forward, meeting halfway when their lips connected.

It was not like they write it in the books or how you see it in the movies or not even how you imagine kissing someone you like.

It was their first kiss together and yet, there were no sparks, no electricity, no butterflies in the stomach.

No.

Nothing so obvious and, well, spectacular.

And yet, there was something more to this display of affection.

The deep sense of doing something right.

Something pure and perfect.

Feeling of finally belonging somewhere.

With someone.

The inner peace.

It was….natural, but it didn’t take away the wonderfulness of being in the bubble together with that person.

Getting out all those emotions they were trying to hide.

And at this moment Y/N knew she was fooling herself. She did like him more than friends.

“Y/N…..?” he pulled back after a second, both pair of eyes closed, foreheads connected.

“Hmmmm?”

“I like you.”

“Yeah, I kind of notice……”

“Y/N……?”

“Yes, I like you too.”

“So what do I have to do to make you laugh again?”

She pulls back, opening her eyes and smirking teasingly.

“You can just be yourself. I swear sooner or later you will do something silly or stupid enough to make me laugh. At you…..”

“I think you and I have very different definitions of liking someone.”

“Maybe….but if there’s anyone I want to work towards creating joint meaning…. It’s you , Todd.”

“Oh….” He cooed “don’t give me diabetes with all that sweetness.”

“enjoy it while it last, Todd…..” she laughs and hearing that sound after a few weeks of silence he couldn’t help but grin widely.

Like a man in love.

Who he was.  

[satellite-evans]

Back to You

Pairing: Chris Evans x wife!reader

Summary: "Souls tend to go back to who feels like home."

Word count: 1.716 words

Warnings: Fluffff, description of anxiety ( Chris has anxiety) Let me know if I forgot something!

A/N: Hello everyone! I hope everyone is doing well. I saw Chris yesterday at the MTV award and how he didn't want to be there lmao so I wrote something about it. Hope you all love it <3

English is not my first language, so I apologize if I made any grammar mistakes. Requests and feedback are always welcome xxx

This is an 18+ Blog. I do NOT give permission for my work to be translated or reposted on here or any other site.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Those were the only words that were going through Chris’ head right now. He couldn’t shake this feeling that he was too familiar with. He knew it all too well.

Anxiety.

No matter how old he was, or how many awards shows he went to, anxiety crept up his body and made him shake like a maniac. It felt like his whole body was on fire and no ocean in the world could put it out. He felt sweaty, like he ran 5 miles. But he was standing in the same place for 7 minutes. The way his heart was beating so fast felt so unhealthy to him, that he wanted to call 911 twice since he came to the awards show. But he couldn’t.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Chris asked himself the question why he came to these events all the time, but every question had the same answer : “Because you’re an actor, you meatball. You have to do this.”

It wasn’t the fan interactions he didn’t enjoy. No, those were his favorites, actually. It was the reporters and the news that came out the day after that freaked him out. What if he did something wrong? What if he didn’t look good enough? What if they started hating him?

Every what if question that possibly exists was keeping shooting at him while he stood there without protection. But one question kept bugging him constantly.

What if they disrespected you?

That’s where he drew the line. He might me a chicken without a head when it was about him, but for you he was a lion.

Now and then, a reporter ‘tries’ to talk about you with Chris. They tell him it must be hard for him you were not known in the celebrity world.

the truth was, it wasn’t. He actually loved that you were not known. It made Chris feel normal and warm inside. Knowing that he can come home to you, cuddle with you, watching a movie while you tell what happened at the office today. It felt cozy. Like home.

Your presence soothed him without a doubt. Hearing your laugh, seeing your smile. It made him feel comfortable.

Even on your wedding when he was shitting bricks. The moment he saw you, all the noise inside his brain went still. He only could feel his heartbeat in his ears. His heartbeat was so fast, it felt so unhealthy. But Chris didn’t want to call 911. Because if he died at that moment, he knew he would die as a lucky man.

He honestly wished you were with him right now, while he was repeating his most important script in his head.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

He could hear the crowd cheering and screaming at whatever they saw. Chris didn’t want to hear that. The only thing that he wanted to hear right now was your voice. Your sweet, angelic voice that was better cure than any medicine that he ever took in his life. You solved every problem that he had like it was an easy math problem for children. God, he needed you so badly right now. If he had the chance, he would race home and cuddle you. But he can't. He made a promise. He has to do it.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

“Okay Chris, here’s your microphone and the card where that says the winner on it, you’ll be on after they show a trailer for the Lightyear movie, alright?” He simply nodded, taking the microphone and the card from the man, waiting for his time to ‘shine’. While his eyes were on the screen, he wasn’t actually watching his trailer. He was thinking about you just before he left his LA apartment. You were on the couch, wearing his Patriots hoodie, cuddling with dodger. He kissed you on the lips a couple of times. He remembers you saying that you loved him so much. He still remembers that he felt a teardrop on his cheek. He felt so lucky at that moment that you were his wife.

“Okay, Chris, you’re on!”

With the courage that was left in his body, he walked on the stage, seeing hundreds of people cheering, screaming and clapping for him. He felt his cheeks getting warmer and smiled at the love he was getting.

“Wow, that was a fun entrance. I’m honoured and excited to share all new sides of Buzz Lightyear that I know you’re all gonna love as much as I do. Movies have the power to capture our hearts. Bringing us unforgettable characters that stay with us our entire lives. They give us heroes to cheer for and inspire us the find the hero within ourselves. Here are the nominees for best movie.”

After his speech, he took a deep breath, thanking God that he didn’t mess up and that everything went smoothly so far. He watched on the screen every movie that was nominated and hoped that one day that one of his movies would be nominated too. But that was good to be true for Chris.

After his speech, he took a deep breath, thanking God that he didn’t mess up and that everything went smoothly so far. He watched on the screen every movie that was nominated and hoped that one day that one of his movies would be nominated too. But that was good to be true for Chris.

“And the golden popcorn goes to…”

He opened the card and saw SPIDERMAN NO WAY HOME written on it. He was very glad that a Marvel movie won the best movie and kept in mind to send Tom Holland a text.

“Spider man No way Home!” he said with a big smile while the crowd were screaming as loud as they could. Tom appeared on the big screen, thanking everyone while Chris looked at him proudly, seeing how much he grew as an actor. After he presented the award, he went backstage and asked his manager to give his phone back, checking if you sent a message. And just like he thought, there was a new message on his phone.

Y/N💙 :

Just watched you present the award, honey. You couldn't look more handsome. I’m genuinely proud of you! I can’t wait to see you win of those bad boys yourself. And don’t say that it’s too good to be true, honey, because you are an outstanding actor. You know you are. I love you so much. You don’t have to come directly home, you can stay at the after party ( if there is one lmao) Dodger and I will be fine. Enjoy honey, you deserve it. love you 🤍🤍🤍

Chris felt his eyes watering at your words. How were you so nice all the time? There was one place in the world where he wanted to be right now. Next to you. He didn’t care about the stupid after party or getting drunk. He only cared about you. His home.

“Nick, I’m going back to Y/N. My job is done here, okay? See you later.”

His manager was shocked hearing that he won’t attend the after party.

“You sure, man? I mean, yeah, your job is done, but we can hit the after party together. I can introduce you to some people, maybe.”

“Nah man, I would rather go home.”

So that’s what he did. After saying goodbye to his manager and some friends he saw, he stepped into his car and raced home. He drove back to you.

When he entered his apartment, he saw you eating a pizza while watching the Incredibles.

“Couldn’t control those pregnancy cravings, could ya honey?”

When you turned to look at him, he saw that there was sauce all over your chin and man that made him laugh. You never looked cuter in his eyes.

“Hey, don’t talk like you don’t know your own daughter. The girl loves to eat pizza at midnight. Speaking of, honey, what are you doing here? It thought you were staying at the after party since you didn’t answer my message back.”

He sat next to you and licked all the sauce off your chin, making you giggle.

“Nah, I would rather come back to you. And my baby girl who loves to eat pizza at midnight. Plus, I’m too old for partying now. I’m at the age where I watch Disney movies while my wife shares her pizza with me.” After hearing him say that, you took the pizza box from the coffee table away from Chris.

“I don’t recall me saying that I would share with you, honey. You can order your own pizza. This is mine.”

“Really? I thought it was my daughter’s.”

You looked at him, seeing how much he was enjoying the conversation.

“ Well, yeah, but she is inside my belly, isn’t she? So I have to eat the pizza for her. I’m performing a service for your daughter here. You should be thankful.”

He was. He was so thankful that you were his wife and the mother of his child. Never in a million years would Chris think he was lucky enough to find his soulmate. But he was, and he found that soulmate in you. No matter where he goes, he would always come back, to you.

“I am thankful honey, always.”

You felt bad that you didn’t share your pizza with him, so you offered a piece.

“Honey, no, I was just kidding. You and our baby can enjoy the pizza. I just want to enjoy watching this movie while I cuddle you.”

Seeing that he was serious, you put the pizza box back on the coffee table and snuggled close to Chris. You hugged him while he put an arm around you. You took his other hand and put in on your swollen belly, stroking it with him together.

“We love you so much, Chris.” Without taking your eyes off the screen, you said those words to him with much adoration in your voice. Chris smelled your hair, put his head on yours and kept rubbing your belly.

“I love you both so much Y/N, you do not even know. You guys are my everything. The only place I want to stay at. My home.”

[jusalle]

☆ Jude Bellingham Imagine ☆

° Oh my days °

"Fuck"

You were currently at practice, you played for Manchester United.

The practice had just ended and they extended it so they added 4 more hours so now you were late than usual to get home.

Usually during practice you would check your phone every once in awhile to see if Jude had texted you or anything.

Although today, coach had you guys practice without any breaks. It was one of those days where everyone was tense and wanted to train hard especially since we lost our recent match.

As you were sitting on the bench, you looked at your phone and saw you had 17 missed calls from Jude.

You knew he was probably freaking out since you were 4 hours late

As soon you were going to call him your phone completely turned black.

What my fucking luck, it died

You groaned and signed and everyone looked at you and could tell you were irritated, so they didn't bother you.

You got up and went to the lockerooms and grabbed all your bags, not even bothering to tell anyone goodbye or even to change.

As soon you got into your car you stared to drive home to your lovely boyfriend Jude.

You felt bad because you knew he was probably shitting his pants wondering where you are.

He's definitely going to kill me

As soon you got home you got your bags from the car and walked inside. As you walked into the living room.

You saw a very angry Jude.

" It's almost midnight, where the hell were you?!" Jude said angrily

" Love, I'm sorry they made practice-"

" I was worried sick Y/n, I was calling and you never picked up. I thought something bad had happend to you" Jude said firmly

" Jude-"

" I was calling everyone Y/n, it's fucking midnight. I was literally going crazy over here Y/n."

"Jude let me-"

" you need to stop doing stupid shit like that Y/n"

" Darling-"

When is this man going to let me talk

" Y/n-"

" Jude let me explain please, you keep cutting me off" you said quickly so he couldn't interupt you once again.

He finally stopped so you took the chance to finally tell him.

" Darling, they extended practice and they added an extra 4 hours and I'm sorry for making you worried but coach didn't even let us have a break and the time I looked at my phone it was dead." You said softly as you got out your phone and showed your boyfriend that your phone was indeed dead.

" Love, I'm sorry I would never do that to you" you said softly as you approached Jude and put your hands on both of his cheeks.

" You don't have to worry now, I'm here now, I'm right in front of you standing love"

Once he felt your touch his body and emotions relaxed and he wasn't so tense anymore and looked at your eyes with guilt.

" I'm sorry my love-"

"There's no need to apologize my love" you said gently

" It's okay, I'm here Jude" you said and you gently placed a loving kiss on Jude lips which he gladly accepted.

" I'm okay, you're okay, we're okay" Jude said whispering to him as if reassuring himself.

His body instantly melted once you said that. Although you could tell that he was still was stressing since his face looked stressed out.

Your chest ached, it ached since you caused him to stress, you simply felt guilty.

" My love, go to bed it's already late, I'll make you something." You said softly with a soft gaze.

" Darling you don't have to do tha-"

" I insist my love, please" you replied as you pleaded.

Jude looked at you and could tell you wouldn't let it go, so he walked to the bedroom and followed your orders.

You decided to make Jude's favorite dish because you simply felt bad for the man. Also this was your way of saying 'sorry' in a way.

As you finished making the meal you took it to Jude.

As you walked into the room you noticed Jude sitting on the bed just on his phone. Once you walk through the door, you catch Jude's attention and looks at you.

" I made you favorite dish Jude" you said with a small smile on your lips.

Once Jude heard that, his face instantly smiled.

You placed the plate on his lap and he began eating happily with a grin on his face.

As he finished, he looked at you with a smile and pappered you with sweet kisses.

You simply laughed at his actions and you smiled happily.

" Thank you love" Jude said as he kissed you gently

" My pleasure, my love" you replied.

You gave him a quick peck and distracted him and grabbed his plate and ran to the kitchen.

" Where are you going!" Jude hollard to you from the bedroom and you could tell by his voice he was pouting which made you chuckle.

You began laughing as you knew Jude heard you.

Few minutes later you heard Jude yell.

" Thank you my love, I love you!" He yelled once again.

You simply laughed at his cuteness and replied.

" I love you to Darling!" You yelled to Jude from the kitchen.

☆•☆•☆•

Hello my lovlies, this one was cute in my opinion but I hope you guys enjoy once again!🤍

[rorywritesjunk]

I can’t tell where the journey will end But I know where to start

Prequel to my Kid Buggy fic, set about 11-ish years before that story.

Buggy meets you by chance when he needs his buttons sewn back onto his jacket. He’s young, up and coming, and he thinks everyone should cower before him wherever he goes, but all you do is smile at him.

Rating: PG-13ish just for some swearing. Warning: Buggy’s in his early 20s. He’s an asshole. He just is because I wanted to write him loud, demanding, everything. A known swordsman makes a brief appearance in this. Buggy is jealous and a bit insecure in this chapter. A/N: I have no idea when Buggy became a Captain, so he’s a fresh faced captain in this. No clue how long this fic will be. Also I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who reads, reblogs, and replies on this story. I love everyone of you and it makes my day brighter knowing there are people enjoying this! So thank you thank you thank you! <3

Title comes from “Wake Me Up” by Avicii.

TAGLIST: @lostfirefly @ane5e @kingofthemfingpirates @the-angriest-angel @tiredemomama @valen-yamyam16 @i-reblog-fics-i-like @plethora-of-fickleness @uhnanix Chapter 1 + Chapter 2 + Chapter 3 + Chapter 4 + Chapter 5 + Chapter 6 + Chapter 7 + Chapter 8 + Chapter 9 + Chapter 10 + Chapter 11 + Chapter 12 + Chapter 13 + Chapter 14 + Chapter 15 + Chapter 16 + Chapter 17 + Chapter 18 + Epilogue

Chapter 7

Buggy woke up to a bucket beside his bed, a glass of water on the nightstand, and a note telling him you were in the kitchen. He was confused as to why you left him a note because he didn’t know why you were there at first. He had fuzzy memories from the previous night: going to the shop, walking back to the ship, a drink, a marriage proposal, sharing his bed-

Oh shit. He fell out of bed, horrified by how he acted towards you. That was the last thing he wanted and he scrambled to find some clothes to put on. He found his shirt from the previous night and threw it on, ignoring the stains and smell of beer coming off it. Maybe you were still on the ship and he could explain everything, unless you left and never wanted to see him again. That was entirely possible.

You were in the kitchen when he came crashing in, eating a banana as you looked at the photos he showed you last night. He froze when he saw them and you looked up with a smile.

“Good morning, Buggy.”

“Where did you get those?!”

“You showed them to me last night.” You chuckled before taking a sip of your tea. “After you asked me to marry you.”

His hand shot off to grab them but you were quicker, moving them out of his way. You then pointed to the floating hand.

“Also, can you explain this?” You asked. “Miss Pins mentioned something about Devil Fruits but I didn't get it. and last night your body… was a part for a moment and it was…interesting to see.”

How were you talking so casually about all this? It was like discussing the weather, you were asking if it was cloudy outside. Others would have been horrified, thinking he was some kind of freak for what his body could do, but you were just eating a banana as you waited for an answer.

“I… have Devil Fruit powers.” He mumbled as he sat himself in a chair across from you. “I ate the Chop Chop fruit, so my body can split apart.” He scratched his head and looked at you. “Well? Aren't you disgusted or scared of me now?”

“Am I supposed to be?” You frowned as you finished your banana. “It's not like you bleed everywhere when it happens, right? If anything it's probably useful. You took your bottle back from me last night when we were walking, which was, admittedly, a little weird, but I had already seen it before. Just after you laid down last night I realized I wanted to ask you.”

“So…you're not disgusted that my body does this?”

“Buggy, I don't find your body disgusting.” You assured him as you sipped your tea. “Okay?”

He blushed and looked away. “Really? Even my nose?”

“I think it's cute.” You smiled. 

“Sh-shut up! Don't lie to me!” He shot back as he glared at you. 

“I'm not, promise.” You assured him as you looked back at the photos. “You were so cute as a kid.”

Buggy sat back in his seat, still glaring at you as you set the pictures down and got up to pour him some tea. Did you really think his nose was cute or were you just saying that? So far you'd never been mean to him, only occasionally teasing him, but he still was wary when it came to his nose. 

When his tea was ready you brought the cup back to him and pushed the plate of fruit over to him. “I figured fruit would be a good post-birthday hangover meal. You need to hydrate.”

He crossed his arms and eyed the plate before looking back at you. “Why are you still here? I figured you would have left.”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.” You told him as you picked up an apple and cut into it, separating it into slices. “You said stuff about me making you happy if I married you, and… I got worried.”

“I'm fine.” He grumbled as he looked down at his lap. “I was drunk, ignore what I was saying.”

You put the apple slices down on the plate before getting back up to find something with protein for him. He picked up one of the slices and shoved it in his mouth as he turned to watch you. He acted like a damn idiot last night but you stuck around to make sure he was okay. Did you want something from him or did you genuinely care about him? This wasn’t something he was used to or expected, so it was a little hard for him to understand. You found a jar of peanut butter in a cupboard and grabbed it.

“Here, have this.” You opened it, noting that it still seemed edible before finding a spoon to scoop some out for him onto the plate. He watched you suspiciously before he helped himself to the peanut butter. 

“You don't have to stay.” He said with his mouth full of food. “Your boss is gonna come looking for you.”

You shrugged as you sat back down in your chair. “I'll leave in a bit, but only if you walk me back.”

He glanced up at you with a frown, but you said nothing as you grabbed a towel and wiped his face for him. He grumbled and tried to pull away from you but you didn't let him, making sure his face was clean before you sat back down. He glared at you, face flushed as he finished his plate.

“Ignore everything I said last night.” He said again as he looked down at the plate. “I was drunk.”

“So you don't think I'm nice?” You asked with wide eyes, feigning surprise. “Or soft? You don't want to marry me then?”

“I-I do!” He said before slapping his hand over his mouth. You grinned at him and leaned back in your chair. He glared at you. “You're cruel.”

“I thought I was nice.” You teased as you sipped your tea. He crossed his arms and huffed in annoyance as you grinned at him. “Let's finish up, I need to head back. I have a customer returning today and I need to make sure he gets his order.”

He just grumbled as he drank his own tea. You got up and tidied up the kitchen, making sure to wash the dishes and dry them. He watched you as you moved about, enjoying how you already felt comfortable on the ship, that you seemed to know where everything was already in the kitchen. It was a sight he could get used to, he decided, but he didn't know if it was something you'd want.

“Let's head out, okay?” You said with a smile.

Buggy just nodded, but instead of leaving the ship you led him back to his room to put the pictures back while he pulled his boots back on. You found him a clean(er) shirt to wear and held it out to him, turning you back so he could change. He didn't know why, you obviously saw him shirtless (and he had a brief flashback to what he thought was going to happen last night and he momentarily died of embarrassment before straightening back up), but once he was ready he reached to put his bandana back on when you stopped him.

“Can you leave it down?” You asked, your own cheeks pink as you reached out to touch a lock of his hair. “It's um, just so pretty. I’d like to see it.”

He stared at you, wondering if you were teasing him again, but you weren't. A lock of his hair was entwined in your fingers as you ran your thumb over it, and when you realized what you were doing you let go and put your hands behind your back. 

“Sorry.” 

“No, it's…fine.” Buggy said as he tossed the bandana aside. He always put his hair up, finding it to be a nuisance as it got longer. His Devil Fruit made it difficult to get a haircut, it just reattached itself whenever he tried to cut it, so he gave up and let it get long. He didn't think it was a feature someone would care about, like his nose.

You smiled at him, he felt his face heating up and he looked away as he held his arm out to you. When you linked your arm with his he straightened up before he marched out of his room with you on his arm, thinking today would be a good day.

~

When he saw your customer he was horrified by how handsome he was. Dark hair, cheekbones, sharp, yellow eyes. And you were nice, helping your customer into his coat, explaining what you did with his request, and when you touched his shoulders Buggy couldn't help but feel jealous because you did that for him too, you always made sure his coat fit him, but it was obvious now that you did it for everyone. Buggy had no reason to feel special. 

When you finished up, your customer kissed your hand before leaving. Buggy was seething. You just shook your head before grabbing Buggy by the hand and leading him to the backroom.

“I have a present for you, Buggy.”

He tried to ignore Benji saying how cool that guy looked or Miss Pins commenting how that customer was so handsome because he knew they wouldn't think that way about him, so why would you? He said nothing as you let go of his hand and retrieved a small white box from a pile of other ones. He crossed his arms, glaring at his feet as you walked back over to him and held it out.

“Happy birthday.” You said, but he wouldn't take it from you. “Buggy?”

“You didn't know it was my birthday until last night.” He mumbled. “How do you have a gift for me already?”

You shrugged as you opened the box for him. He still wouldn't look at you. “I thought of it this morning. I did some hand stitching on this for a customer who never came back for it, but thankfully he prepaid for it.” You pulled out a square of silk, a light purple color, and held it out to him. He finally looked up, reaching out to touch it with his fingers carefully. “I thought it would look better on you than in some box.”

He hesitated and pulled his hand back. He didn't deserve a gift like this from you, especially considering on your own birthday he was an asshole to you. You said nothing as you rolled the fabric loosely before draping it over his neck. You pulled his hair out from under it before you looped it into a knot and tightened it just a bit. 

You smiled as you tugged on the front of it gently. “It looks good on you, Buggy.”

Buggy swallowed heavily and nodded. You were so close to him right then. His heart was pounding and his palms were sweaty. If he didn't do what he wanted to do right then he would regret it. You'd get romanced by someone else, some more handsome pirate, and he had to make it up to you for what he did on your birthday.

Without a word he leaned forward, pressing his lips to yours, nose bumping and-

Honk!

Buggy froze and pulled back from you, a look of horror on his face at what just happened. You stared at him, but before he could bolt you grabbed the front of his shirt and kissed him back, tilting your head just enough to avoid bumping his nose. He kept his arms at his sides, unsure where to put them. 

It felt like it went by too quickly when you pulled back from him, smiling brightly as you pecked him on the cheek.

“Is this a belated birthday gift, Buggy?” You teased as you let go of his shirt. He was red in the face but he grinned, shrugging his shoulders as he tried to be smooth.

“D’you want it to be?” He asked. You touched the silk around his neck and leaned into him, but he leaned back, expecting some kind of surface to support him, but instead he fell backwards and crashed onto the floor. 

You immediately knelt down and helped him sit up, checking him for injury. He seemed fine, just embarrassed, so you kissed him on the cheek.

“It could be, but I wouldn't say no to flowers.”

[utilitycaster]

What ACOC fanon are people getting so upset over?

Come traveler. Let me tell you a tale. For I, too, was unaware of it until they went absolutely bugfuck all over Twitter. But if you don't want the whole long-winded epic: people shipped Belizabeth Brassica and Saint Citrina and while there has been no evidence indicating this will or not be confirmed or even mentioned they FREAKED OUT about how Matt would OBVIOUSLY destroy the "widespread" fanon (it is not widespread), specifically implying he'd do so in a bigoted way. Then some D20 guests noticed because the people saying this are not like, unknown fanartists (in fact one implied they had been asked to create art for the season but forgot to check their DMs) and were like "this is entitled and stupid and needlessly cruel to Matt, who is like, a guy we personally know and generally like." The people then, rather than saying "my B" and taking this to the DMs like a normal person who wants to talk shit, repeatedly doubled down. As of a few hours ago they were accusing Jasmine Bhullar of subtweeting them when she was in fact merely promoting an entirely unrelated show, it's sparked both a heartfelt discussion about how Matt's discussion of body dysmorphia has helped people and a conversation about how there's toxicity in all fandoms but the D20 community refuses to even acknowledge it; and also I think they've burned their chances of ever doing fan art for an actual play of any size in LA, Chicago, New York, London, or the centroid that represents an equidistant point from all the McElroys which is, I believe, hilariously for Amnesty fans, in the Monongahela National Forest.

Anyway POV we're around a campfire, I'm drinking something lightly alcoholic, and you wish to hear of The Drama At Length:

Do you remember Belizabeth Brassica, aka Broccoli Pope loosely based in appearance on Queen Elizabeth I (technically renaissance rather than high medieval but like...people constantly mix those up in D&D so it's fine)?

Great. Now do you remember the Rocks Sisters? Not the twins played by Siobhan and Emily; Amethar's four older sisters who died in the Ravening War, before the story started: Rococoa, Lazuli, Citrina, and Sapphria. Rococoa was a general; Lazuli an archmage (and Caramelinda's wife before she died; Caramelinda then married Amethar because while Lazuli had been a love match, this was a beneficial marriage for political purposes); Citrina a devotee of The Bulb; and Sapphria a spy and diplomat. They get talked about a lot, for sure, but their presence in the story is to be absent and to haunt the narrative.

Anyway the fanon is that Citrina and Belizabeth were in a relationship. In canon, I believe all we know is that both were devotees of the bulb; that Citrina held positions that might be considered heretical by some (she was a passionate believer in love matches and supported Amethar's marriage to a commoner in the Dairy Isles) and that Belizabeth ordered that she be killed.

Here's where this gets fun. So ACOC aired pretty much exactly three years ago, and while I think it's considered by many to be a high point in D20's oeuvre, a lot of fans have, you know, kept up with D20 on the whole and not dwelt on it in depth. But a small group of people have been consistently focused on this ship between an NPC who is vitally important to the narrative but shows up in fewer than a third of the total episodes; and a character dead before the story ever started. Which, I need to stress, is fine; the joy of headcanons is playing in the empty spaces.

Flash forward to 2023: a creative director who was generally opposed to revisiting past campaign settings and preferred standalone has just amicably parted ways. Neverafter has gotten mixed reviews (I have to see the last 8 episodes; this is anecdotal but some of the editing choices, plus the both dense yet meandering plot, brought the momentum of a truly fantastic TPK and resolution early on to a shuddering halt), and really nothing but A Court of Fey and Flowers has truly stuck for some time. The fandom has been clamoring for Fantasy High Junior Year for quite some time to no avail. The switch to 10-episode sidequests from 6 episode sidequests has met lukewarm reception. In short: D20 could use something flashy to revitalize their next sidequest. Enter: Matt Mercer as DM.

Now, a lot of D20 fans who are not part of the (significant) overlap with CR fans hate Matt Mercer. This is in part because a lot of people who got Big Mad about ships in Campaign 2 went to D20 and proceeded to badmouth Critical Role, a show they happily watched and made art for until roughly episode 107-ish of Campaign 2, proclaiming it homophobic (wrong two women kissed); racist (one of the women who kissed is a dark-skinned woman played by a white woman, which would have still been true if she kissed the other woman but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯); and probably problematic in other ways. To be clear I am not saying Critical Role is above criticism, and it has made its missteps, but like, the fact that these complaints showed up conveniently only when a ship didn't happen and mostly from like, white teenagers who proceeded to simultaneously call the cast transphobic and deliberately get their names wrong means this is not the criticism that is valid and worth considering, as is the fact that technically Matt had nothing to do with the ship not happening, but they've realized being an asshole to Marisha about her character's romantic choices will rightfully get you flayed alive. Also some D20 fans just hate Critical Role in the way that if you live in Boston you're supposed to hate New York and vice versa but if you say "why? what if I just want the baseball boys to have a good time together?" no one can answer.

Anyway here's a diagram to illustrate the group I'm talking about; they're the green dot:

So: a couple of them decided a smart thing to do on Twitter in front of God and everybody was to say that they were worried Matt would contradict this "widely established" fanlore because he is not plugged into the ACOC fandom. They then proceeded to specifically (jokingly, but like, in a shitty way, still where everyone could see it) say that Matt would probably introduce Belizabeth as being married to her husband because she is 100% straight.

Now there's a bunch of problems here, and people pointed them out. Namely:

This is a weird thing to assume Matt would do, ie, automatically make an arbitrary NPC definitely straight, even if you're joking about it; like, he has a pretty decent track record for making NPCs of varying genders and sexualities, especially by C2 and C3.

This is not even widely established fanlore; this is a tiny group of fans of ACOC. See below for more on that.

Even if it were widely established fanlore, it's unlikely Brennan would know either.

Even if it were widely established fanlore and Matt or Brennan were aware of it, they are under no obligation to adhere to fanlore, because it's fanlore, not the established canon of A Crown of Candy. This does not make fanlore bad! It just means that creators are allowed to ignore it in the same way that fan creators are allowed to ignore canon; this is a two-way street.

Therefore, because this is fanlore, even if Matt did say "here is Belizabeth and her husband, and she has only ever been involved with men" this would not be homophobic because the character's sexuality has never been established and straight is one of the possible sexualities she could have. Obviously if he went super hard on her straightness that could get weird but that's a fucking bonkers stretch.

When people pointed it out, this group and a few other people who just fucking hate Matt kept dismissing them as CR fans. Then it caught the attention of various D20 guest cast members or people in the broader TTRPG scene, who have pointed out that like...the actual play and TTRPG industry is a place where basically everyone in a particular region knows everyone else and they are all good friends and this is shitty. The D20 fans mad that Matt is DM-ing The Ravening War kept doubling down and started making outright ad-hominem attacks on Matt (notably his appearance and dress which is like, shitty and irrelevant to this fanon thing anyway even before you consider the body dysmorphia) and whining that because they've made some charity fanzines, a thing people have been doing since the dawn of Star Trek TOS, they deserve...something. People rightfully called them out as 1. entitled brats and 2. needlessly cruel. They keep whining that CR fans are dogpiling them when in fact like, the entire TTRPG community including, as far as I can tell, the D20 community who overlaps with CR fandom and even the D20 community that does not but is neutral on CR, is like "you suck, you started it, this fandom is not exempted from typical fandom toxicity, and you will look back on this in 5 years and vomit from embarrassment."

Anyway this is all kind of tiresome, but also pretty funny because literally I'm expecting a bunch of fanartists who are immensely high on their own farts to be 100% blacklisted from ever receiving a commission from like, any Actual Play of note and also a lot of fans; there's an outpouring of support for Matt that far outstrips what there would have been without a handful of idiots starting shit; and also the season is fully filmed anyway so if this ship was confirmed noncanon, it happened a few months ago anyway and there's nothing anyone can do.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, pretty much all these losers are still 100% going to watch The Ravening War anyway so like, this has all amounted to a net positive for everyone but them.

[heartthumpnovel]

Heart Thump: Chapter 7

“Growing Pains”

Word count: 9437

Just got this wrapped up before I leave for a week! This is gonna be insight to how Jason is dealing with the new big changes in his life (I am not sorry). This chapter was very fun to write because it has my favorite character in it; Oliver :> By they way, since it seems people are getting interested in this story, I've seen people do tag lists for each chapter. Let me know if you're interested in that!

cw: Cursing/Swears

Last chapter: Seeking Answers

Next chapter: It Came From Outer Space

---

 Atlas Gang Group Chat November 9th @  3:00 pm

Jason: Just got out of the doctors office.

Jason: Won’t be dying anytime soon, but, It seems like I did get electrocuted at some point on the golf course. 

Ellie: FR??? Are you going to be okay?? 

Natasha: HOW?? OH MY GOD JASON HUN I AM SO SORRY!! I SHOULD OF GOT YOU TO THE HOSPITAL!!!! D’:

Motor: Shit dude. F.

Jason: Now don’t get too upset @Motor.

Jason: But to make this clear, @Natasha you have nothing to be sorry about. It wasn’t obvious and I had a bit too many drinks. I am still not sure what shocked me but I have those lighting scars on my back…

Ellie: Like Lichtenberg Figures? At Least those are the coolest scars to possibly have right? 

Jason: @Ellie I guess... I am just lucky I managed to live through it.

Motor:  bro you realize you don’t have to @ everyone you’re trying to talk to right??? It’s literally just the four of us here.

Jason: It’s called being efficient @Motor.

Motor: I don’t wanna hear pinging coming for you every five seconds. IT'S CALLED BEING ANNOYING.

Natasha: uh hey are we just gonna ignore the fact Jason nearly died from electrocution or??

Jason: Awh @Natasha It’s quite alright! The doctor said that I had little to no damage and the shock passed right through me. He did say that it was a risk considering my heart condition but, I am overall unharmed. However, he did write me up for two weeks of rest just to be on the safe side.

Natasha: Consider the call in done. Imma also gonna look into that golf course to see if there’s any loose wiring problems and give them hell!! >:(

Ellie: YEAH GIRL GET THEM!!!!

Ellie: And here I thought golf courses couldn’t get any worse. 

Ellie: But uh Jason, wasn’t there anything else the doctor … found out about your condition or?

Jason: No. Just pain medication and rest.

Motor: yeah no big deal..no BIIGG deal at all. >:3

Natasha: :/ ????

Jason: Shut it @motor. 

Natasha: Uhhhh

Ellie: Don’t worry about it Nat. :’D 

The phone screen went dark as Jason pressed the side button on his phone and shoved it deep into his pants pocket. He didn’t need the stress that Motor was giving him for nearly spilling the beans on the whole giant fiasco. It felt like the entire thing was one stupid joke away from giving away the big secret. He laid back in the bus seat and stared down at the small paper bag filled with the prescription antibiotic cream and tylenol that was settled in his lap. 

Thinking back on the doctor appointment, Jason wished he could have told his doctor everything that was happening to him. Maybe he could have gotten more than just stuff to treat the surprise scars on his back. But, the troubles that would have come from telling his doctor would have been extremely bad. His doctor could have thought that he was either having a mental breakdown, ran out of the room screaming if Jason were to prove the claim, and may have probably called the government to take him away to be then experimented on for the rest of his life. Yeah, there’s no way he was going to take those chances.

However, Jason was told that his heartbeat was now more noticeable and beating faster than usual. Not enough to be at the regular rate but a definite improvement than before the incident.  

“Huh, cure me a little bit and in exchange turn me into a freak of nature… Not really a fair trade is it?” Jason quietly mumbled to himself as he placed a hand on his chest. Looking outside the bus window to check for his stop, his mind began to wander as he witnessed the rain outside fall into the streets of Seattle. Sure, he does believe now that he was right in the middle of this weird phenomenon but it still felt so unreal. A monkey’s paw’s finger must have curled as he always wanted to be a few more inches taller, feel more happiness and have a clean bill of health. At this cost however? 

Definitely not worth it.

While listening to the bus’s public radio talk about this newly discovered meteor that was currently in orbit of the solar system, The bus slowed and pulled up to the bus stop where Jason needed to get off. He rose from his seat and stepped off the bus as quickly as he could. He just wanted to get home. Before he could make his walk back to his townhouse, Jason couldn’t help to notice the inky spot on the road that was across the bus stop. His memory started to jog and wondered how that lady with the crushed minivan was doing. 

Wait, had he seen that minivan before? Consequently, he could feel a slight pain emerge from his foot and once he put two and two together; He remembered. 

During that fateful night, he remembered getting the boot from a ride-share car. Jason couldn’t recall for the life of him why he was removed from the car or how he even was able to summon one in the first place. However, his drunk/electrocuted brain was thinking of Natasha for some reason and with the knowledge Jason gained about what happens when she enters his thoughts… 

He could only recall pieces of the night. Losing one of his nice dress shoes, stumbling in the streets, buildings slowly shrinking around him, and the moment his foot accidentally stepped on a hunk of metal that blared loudly as it was crushed beneath his weight. 

The pain in his foot stung worse and Jason immediately started speed walking down the street. He needed to get home ASAP before he unexpectedly grew again and caused more damage. If only he could repay that woman for her van and make it up to anyone else who was a victim of his carelessness. Though that would be very expensive, and he would have to admit that he was the giant freak that did it. Perhaps these one-time sins from when he didn’t know better could serve as a lesson to Jason to not let himself get carried away. 

That fast paced walking turned into a sprint as he had no faith in his wandering imagination. Thinking back on the bus ride, he realized that could have ended badly as well and Jason mentally scolded himself for putting people in danger. The few people he ran past stared at him and Jason for once didn’t care what they thought. He needed to put himself away at home where he could focus on NOT focusing on those lovingly destructive thoughts. 

He stumbled onto the stairs on his front door and shoved a hand into his pocket, fumbling on grabbing his keys. His two feet tapping anxiously on his welcome mat, and Jason using his other hand to search for the keys as well. Wait- where was his prescription bag!? His gaze darted below him and his head snapped to the bottom of the porch stairs. Jason spotted his nearly spilled out shopping bag on the sidewalk and just as fast as he sprinted there, he quickly shuffled his way down the stairs and nabbed his bag with a swift snatch. Muttering a few quiet ‘oh come ons’ before he managed to shove his key into the front door.

The front door swung open and slammed closed. Jason laid on the other side of the front door, trying to catch what little breath he had. It took the man a couple of deep breaths to find his bearings as his shoulders dropped. Though he did snap back to reality when he felt a comforting presence press on his calf. “Meow.” Jason looked down to see that his orange companion, Oliver, was already complaining about waiting for his dinner. The lovable dope had his tail raised and was rubbing his face into Jason’s pant leg, getting fur stuck on the fabric. “Awh is the little pumpkin hungry?~'' Jason cooed as he bent down and picked up Oliver by the sides to hoist the cat to be cradled into one of his arms, “Sorry I’m late, Daddy’s dealing with reality shattering stuff lately.” Jason walked into his cozy living room and dropped the prescription bag off at the coffee table while his orange fur-baby was meowing complaints. As he made his way to the kitchen, Oliver kept staring at Jason with his one eye and began to purr loudly as he lay comfortably in Jason’s scrawny arm. 

What a strange little creature.

Oliver didn’t stay in Jason’s arm for too long as he jumped off when he saw his food bowl come into view. A cat has his priorities after all. Going through the cabinets Jason started to tell his thoughts to his cat, just like any cat owner would even if the cat had no idea what the heck their owner was talking about. It wasn’t like Oliver could snitch on him or anything. 

“I honestly don’t know what’s happening to me Oliver,” Jason said as he peaked through the cabinets, “I’ve become a ticking time bomb overnight and now I am a threat to society without even meaning to be…” Jason grunted when he didn’t see the cat food in the usual place. 

“Wha- oh goodness I thought I just bought you a palette recently..” Jason spoke as he pushed some cans of soup aside and he tried to rack his brain on where in his house the cat food could be. It was about a week ago he went grocery shopping, and consequently that night had also been board game night with his friends from work. He did pick up some extra snacks for that night and Motor, while annoying he can be, actually offered to help Jason with the heavy groceries. 

He felt his blood run cold. Jason arched his neck up to the high cabinets in his kitchen. While it probably was a stupid idea for a short man like Jason to rent a home which felt like it was specifically made for tall people, it was a really good deal at the time considering he was living in Seattle. Besides, he had managed to live with it this long and had no problems since he had a step stool on hand. Though he had to admit, Motor putting the heavy cat food stack on a high shelf was seriously infuriating. 

Jason sighed and turned to find that step stool buried deep in the pantry. However, his feet stopped half way through the turn as he had a small thought sprout in his mind. What if instead of spending more precious time digging through his pantry to get the step-stool, Jason could just simply put that new side effect to good use. Jason shook his head for a moment, “Oh heavens no-” He mumbled as he took a step towards the pantry, “That’s ridiculous, I wouldn’t want to risk it…” He cleared his throat as he reached his hand over to the pantry door. The hand halted before it could grab the handle and Jason took another glance at the high up cabinet. It had never looked so close yet out of reach… 

“I mean,” Jason spoke towards Oliver, “Just maybe a little bit couldn’t hurt… Now I know about what the cause is..” “Meow.” “Yeah, it could end up being safer than throwing my back out! Smart boy, Oliver.” “Meow.” It has been decided, then. 

He made his way back to below the high up cabinet and stretched out his arms as if he was going to be entered in a weight lifting competition. A long concentrated deep breath came from him as he closed his eyes. Feeling a bit anxious from this but, if he only thought of her for a moment then it should only be a few inches right? “Alright Oliver, keep your distance.” Jason said as pushed up his glasses and wondered what he should specifically think about. Obviously nothing too intense, probably? He actually wasn’t sure when the point of no return was. His hands came together and made them hold each other. Maybe just the thought of holding her wonderfully soft palms might do the trick-- 

BANG

CRASH

“HISSSS! ROWWEEERRRR!”

CLANK

“AGGH! BOLLOCKS!!”

[Image Description: Jason grew too tall and ended up slamming his head on the ceiling. This caused him to fall back onto the kitchen island and he got smacked by a pan and is in pain.]

In one brief moment, the kitchen descended into chaos. The height that Jason had desired was passed up very quickly and his head punched itself through the ceiling, causing a huge crack to form. Debris fell and blinded Jason for a moment- causing him to stumble backwards onto the kitchen island. In a different time, it was nice to have a really good cast iron steel set of pots and pans. At the moment however, the back of Jason’s head didn’t appreciate it as he tumbled into them. His back was sprawled across the counter and all he could do was hold the back of his head, seizing in pain.

“Oooowww-” The now 10 foot tall Jason moaned, “How... have I not gotten brain damage?…” He opened his eyes to a horrifying sight, not at his ceiling being caved in nor his expensive cooking equipment being scattered everywhere; but the sight of his poor fluffed up baby boy huddling in the corner and hiding his scared face behind his puffed up tail.

“Oh… oh no pumpkin I’m so sorry...” Jason cooed, feeling like an absolutely disgusting human being, “I-I didn’t mean to scare you, It’s still me Oliver…” Jason managed to flop himself over so he could lay on this stomach comfortably. He reached out a large hand to Oliver, who at first backed up from the offered hand. The man’s heart dropped from seeing this and expected Oliver to sprint towards the bedroom to hide from the big scary monster that invaded his home. 

Instead, Oliver slowly raised his head from his tail and stared at the hand with his good eye. His nose reached over to Jason’s huge fingers and gave them a couple of small sniffs. From this new perspective Jason gained, Oliver could have been mistaken as a kitten on how small he looked. This almost made Jason’s heart soar with glee as he’d never got the chance to meet Oliver when he was a baby cat, but what really brought him glee was when Oliver rubbed his fuzzy head into Jason’s palm and let himself be wrapped by his owner’s large fingers for scratches. Tears of happiness covered Jason’s knocked askew glasses.

Forgiveness was granted. 

----

After giving Oliver double the serving that he usually had for dinner, Jason crawled through his own home to get to the bathroom. The hallways of the townhouse had become more like service tunnels as he had to duck throughout the home. While he was careful to not smack his head on any light fixtures, his feet were having a hard time adjusting to the new walkway. The pain in the back of his skull was still stinging slightly from the incident so he used his free hand to massage it while the other large hand traced the walls and grabbed onto the door frame that entered the bathroom.  

“Ugh, the new pain meds are comin’ in handy today..” Jason mumbled before he looked up at the mirror, “AH!!-- Oh… oh.” 

He yelped for a brief moment before realizing that the bathroom mirror had only reflected himself. However, he almost didn’t realize it was him due to the fact he was now completely covering the doorway and he was crouching to be able to get inside the bathroom. 

Watching his reflection, Jason's emotions morphed from surprise to a tinge of sadness. It dawned on him why his coworkers had initially been apprehensive around him. With a resigned sigh, he maneuvered into the bathroom, barely leaving any space to spare. He chuckled at the thought that he had once considered this compact bathroom relatively spacious for townhouse living. Without further ado, he removed his glasses to splash water on his face.

“...Wha- Wait what!? Are you kidding me!? Noooo,” Jason spoke out of disbelief as his glasses suddenly shrunk right as they left his face, “How the hell?...” 

Try as he might, he couldn’t put them back on his face as they just simply wouldn’t fit. Jason couldn’t exactly get himself to fit the glasses either as the pain in the back of his head made it near impossible to concentrate. 

“Oh, that’s just great…” Jason said sarcastically as he placed his glasses on the bathroom counter, “That’s how it’s going to be then.” He rubbed the arch of his nose before gingerly turning the faucet on. Splashing cool water on his face did make him feel a little bit more grounded despite the weirdness. He patted his face dry with a teal bath towel before eyeing his sweater vest and polo. 

“I guess I’m not expecting visitors or going out like this…” He mumbled to himself as he grabbed the bottom of his polo and started to pull it over his head, “But I’ll leave the trousers on for now- Ugh!” Jason grunted as he was having a bit of trouble trying to get his upper wear over his shoulders. His elbows had hit the ceiling and the lack of space made it hard to yank the polo combo off. Undeterred, Jason persisted, shifting and shimmying until he successfully removed the polo shirt. 

Jason held onto the clothing and was rather stunned as he saw that it too, had shrunk back down to his normal clothing size. This brought on more questions from Jason; Why did his clothing shrink back to normal when he took them off? Does anything in his pockets change size too? How is his clothing growing along with him and not getting ripped to shreds?

Jason shivered, perhaps he should just be grateful that he gets to remain fully clothed as the alternative would be a whole new set of problems to deal with. 

He tossed his clothes into the hamper to put an end to those thoughts and looked back at the mirror. His large hands nearly eclipsed the bathroom counter as he gingerly placed his palms on it. His eyes traced the scrawny ribs and various fresh bruises that marked the kitchen incident. An uncanny feeling was raised from within as it felt like a crime against nature itself for a body type like his to be able to fill an entire room.  

Spotting the end of the lighting scar on his shoulder, Jason reached out his fingers to touch it and turned a little bit to get a better look at the wound. The appearance of this scar shocked him as he hadn't felt pain from it till days after the incident. His muscles tensed up from touching the scarring and he pulled away to just stare at it. While getting a Lichtenberg figure from a lightning strike wasn’t uncommon, what was strange about this scar was that the entry point looked shaped like a cartoon heart. Probably a silly coincidence or a mocking branding. 

Coming to terms with his condition felt impossible, it wasn’t like anyone else in the whole world that could relate to him. He could no longer stare at the freak in the mirror and hung his head low, thoughts wondering if this meant he could never truly find happiness in a relationship. While he didn’t want to be in a relationship, now it was as if he no longer had any say in the matter. Tightness built up in his chest; what did this all even mean and why him? Perhaps he was being selfish for falling hard for someone who could be fired and have her life ruined if he’d dared to act on his feelings. 

“Meow.”

“Oliver? Oh bloody hell I left the door open didn’t I?”

“Meow!”

His eyes squinted to try to make out the fluffy orange blob that passed under his legs and was rubbing his ankle dramatically. The flick of Oliver’s tail made Jason’s frown curl into an appreciative grin. Oliver’s paw twitched a little bit from the unexpected puddle on the floor, Jason looked back up in the mirror and realized his face was completely wet with tears. 

“I-I’m sorry for crying like a big baby Oliver, That’s very unbecoming of me…”

“Meowwwwww.”

Jason reached down gingerly to hoist the fluffy noise box off of the tile and into his arms. Oliver squirmed a little as Jason tried to find a comfortable position for his fuzzy son due to his arms being much longer. It only took a few seconds to adjust and Oliver was once again cradled like a newborn comfortably. 

“Oh my gosh Pumpkin you’re so tiny~”

Jason sniffled as he used one finger to lightly pet Oliver’s fluffy tummy as he turned away from the mirror. Truthfully, It was awkward trying to shuffle out of the bathroom with a bundle that demanded attention. The kitty’s insistence was a little bit annoying, but the annoyance was overpowered by how Oliver wields his cuteness to his advantage. 

While it took a minute to navigate his home, he managed to get to his living room. Thankfully the ceiling was raised considerably, so he didn’t need to stress his back anymore. Getting to his usually comfy leather couch, Jason ever so carefully lowered himself down. The squeals from the wooden legs made him flinch and held onto Oliver for support. When he managed to sit completely down onto the couch, he sighed in relief that it didn't give way. Looking around his living room, he started to notice the fragile photographs that adorned the walls, the expensive television across from him, and plenty of breakable items that are precious to him. More things he could quite easily destroy without meaning to. 

He’d let go of Oliver and the orange fluff cloud pranced onto the low coffee table, sitting down regally with his tail covering his front paws. “Well,” Jason said, leaning down to his right and attempting to make himself comfortable on his ‘new’ loveseat sized couch, “I think it’s about time to reorganize the place, just to be on the safe side.”

The couch creaked in protest, as Jason laid his back to toe cushion and his neck cradled haphazardly on the arm rest. His long legs found it uncomfortable to curl up on the couch, so they stretched out over the opposite armrest, and the soles of his feet rested on the floor. Finally, he had managed to find some comfort in this new body of his.

He took a deep breath and- SNAP

Oliver leaped off the coffee table in response to the loud noise, caused by the couch's plywood giving way under the weight it was never meant to bear. Although it startled Jason for a moment, his body sank back onto the broken couch with a disappointed sigh. What else was new?

------

A Ravine [ Dream II ]

She was farther than ever before;

Across the Ravine.

Upon looking down, 

He couldn’t comprehend the unseen.

Before he could plead,

His chest burned.

No fear, no regrets

He took the leap.

The blue moon loomed

Claws dragged his ankles down,

Before he could cross;

Abyss cemented his doom.

Down he fell into the ravine;

Knowing he will never be seen.

Darkness consumed all,Lost forever within the Ravine.

------

It wasn’t a recent development for Ellie’s hatred of college level essays about the unclean parts about mental health. Though she didn’t like writing essays in general, she really had to double her effort from having to research grotesque subject matter. While it was necessary for her future career, damn if it wasn’t a mood killer. The blank document’s cursor flickers in mockery at Ellie as he sat on top of her bed sheets. Curled up with a nice warm cup of matcha on the side and held a firm grip on the sticker covered laptop on her lap. Sadly, she couldn’t use her love birds as an excuse to procrastinate as they were in the middle of their mid day cuddle nap. Ellie rubbed her nose in frustration, her mind pulling out blanks for an introduction for a tricky subject such as this.

After another embarrassing date going south, she wasn’t in the mood to chat up potential bachelorettes either. This left her with just herself, and the doomed assignment. 

Usually when she found herself stuck on inspiration for stuff like this, she’d head over to her best friend that was conveniently next door for guidance since he’d always had a knack for essay writing. Unfortunately, he wasn’t available and hasn’t been for a week. Ellie missed the days where they’d open their bedroom windows to chat nonchalantly about their weekend or gossip about their coworkers. It was one of the reasons why they rented these townhouses as they could stay in touch and get those sweet discounts on the places. However, every time Ellie peaked through her bedroom window to check to see if Jason was there, his curtains had remained closed. Ellie did think about heading over there herself to check if he was okay, though her deep rooted fear held her from going. It wasn’t like she was scared of Jason necessarily. What monster would be afraid of their best friend suffering from an unknown sickness? On the other hand, her sleep had been tormented with imagery of being unknowingly squashed under a heel and feeling like a helpless bug in an uncaring universe.

This part of herself she knew, long before this mess. A deep sinking feeling of panic brewed when she passed by unthinkably tall buildings and passed on Motor’s movie night ideas. If she could diagnose herself, she'd guess it was a classic case of megalophobia. That fear was usually unfounded and didn’t affect her life day to day usually so she wasn’t that upset about it. Until now. While she did manage to push through it during their experiments in the forest for her friend’s sake, she did have to binge through videos of kitten fostering videos to cope through the tears.

Ellie noticed that she was gripping the sides of her laptop and biting her tongue as her stress boiled over. Her laptop was pushed onto her bed and she rose from her sheets with a determination filled with obligation. She rushed to her drawers and got dressed into her usual autumn weekend outfit.

Her heart couldn’t take the communication break down anymore. Ellie needed to make sure Jason was alright and the thought of abandoning her friend when he needed her most made her feel like a disgusting coward. 

Ellie snatched her keys and rushed by her chirping lovebirds as she made her way to the front door. Once she shuffled down the front steps, her gaze turned to Jason’s front door. At first she couldn’t find the strength to move her feet, the mere thought of what could be happening in there made her blood run cold. Though it was too late to bail now. 

With one last look at her front door, Ellie sighed and her heavy feet walked up to the front door of Jason’s home and she knocked her fist on the door. Ellie’s shoulders jumped when she heard a dramatic thud coming from within the home. Her concern only grew from there as the noise was followed with a few scraping noises and then silence. 

“Uh, Hey man are y-” Ellie said before the front door suddenly swung open, revealing a normal sized, but uncommonly disheveled Jason with a deceitfully wide grin. 

[Image Description: A very concerned Ellie staring at Jason, who has opened his front door and is leaning on the door frame with a wide guilty grin.]

“Heeeeey Ellie,” Jason said, with fake cheerfulness, “It’s so nice to see you! Man alive, how long has it been?” “Uh, about a week…” Ellie said, trying to peek her head behind Jason, “Wanted to check in on… things.”

Jason shoved his head in the way of Ellie’s eye line while he kept that telling grin on his face. “OH! Things have been just swell! ” Jason paltered.

And as if the universe itself took offense, a shelf crashed to the floor. 

Ellie peered further over Jason’s shoulder and decided to push him aside despite Jason’s protest. To no one’s surprise; everything wasn’t swell in Jason’s abode. Bits of the ceiling fluttered onto the carpet and the cardboard boxes that had been hastily taped up. Once Ellie looked up, she could see multiple sized dents in the ceiling with a few expensive looking holes.

“Jason…” Elllie gasped, turning to look at Jason who at this point was hiding his face with his fingers. “I know…” Jason groaned, “the landlord is going to bloody kill me.”

Ellie gestured her hands towards the disaster in his house, “You did all of this in a week!?” Her voice raised, more so out of concern than disbelief. Jason kept his head low and moved past her into his ruined living room in shame as he laid a hand on one of the boxes. “Getting used to this disease has been harder than I anticipated…” Jason confessed, “I’ve been putting everything breakable away and haven’t left the house for days.” At this point he had completely dropped the act, his face darkened in shame. 

“Oh gods…” Ellie said as she reached a hand out to Jason’s shoulder to comfort him. Though right before she could, she heard a familiar yowl come from the couch. Her attention was shattered and she cooed at Oliver, who was trying to take a needed nap and was rudely woken up by the commotion. Ellie bee-lined towards the couch and scooped up the orange fluff ball into her arms. 

“Right, that’s why you came over,” Jason said with snark as he approached the two. 

“Nooo, I did come over to see how you were doing,” Ellie said as she bounced Oliver like a newborn, “But I mean, come on look at him!” She hoisted Oliver up in her arms and the look in his eye showed that there was truly a void of nothing behind it. 

Jason couldn’t wallow forever and acquiesced with a chuckle. He petted the top of Oliver’s head and kept his eyes on his little furry friend as he spoke to Ellie. “He somehow still loves me after all of this mess, ” Jason said, “Though I’m not sure how long I can control myself to keep him safe.” 

An awkward silence filled the room after that. Ellie sighed as she looked at her dissonant friend and she gave herself a moment to ponder the situation. She took note of the crater’s in the ceiling and the clearly evident eye bags below Jason’s eyes. “How much sleep are you getting?” Ellie asked as she set Oliver free. The cat pranced out of Ellie’s arm and onto the back of the broken couch. Jason sighed as he put a hand on his forehead in foggy thought. “None,” Jason complained, “I’ve been having a lot of dreadful nightmares and I’m afraid I’ll wake up to find myself homeless.” 

Ellie anxiously tapped the broken remains of his couch and took a deep breath. She gave a comforting gaze to Jason despite her own comfort. “Why don’t you come over to my place?” Ellie suggested, “We can try to do research on this thing, just like what we used to do in college.” She put a firm hand on Jason’s shoulder as he recoiled in shock. Before his stuttering could refuse, his head shook vehemently and he tried to pull away. “Wh-what!?” Jason exclaimed, “N-no! No, that's a terrible idea! Do you want me to get you in trouble with the landlord too!?” Ellie thought to argue that. “Look around, You’ve been isolated for way too long and it’s gonna drive you nuts!” Ellie said as she gestured her hand to the disastrous state of Jason’s living room, “Besides, I know that you’re gonna be extra careful if the house isn’t yours, you’re too considerate.” Jason folded his arms. It was very rare that he was unsure of his friend’s judgment, though at the moment, his doubts were plenty. “It’s dangerous,” Jason said, “I’m not keeping myself locked in my house for no reason Ellie.” He pushed Ellie’s hand away grimly and stared at the floor longingly. 

Well, Ellie didn’t care for that one bit. She took it upon herself to scoop up Oliver, who chipped in surprise,  from the couch and marched towards the door. “In that case, I’m sure Oliver would love to study with me to find out how to cure your stubborn butt.” Ellie said while she headed straight towards the front door with a sly grin on her face. “Wait- WAIT ELLIE,” Jason called after her and clumsily followed her trail like a helpless puppy, “You can’t just take my cat! Hey- ELLIE! HOLD JUST A SECOND-!!” 

------

If one were forced to think of one word to describe Ellie’s living room, it could very well be ‘serene’. The place definitely looked lived in, but it was a very clean mess of psychology textbooks on the handed-down oak coffee table, that had been gifted to her by her mothers. Pots were placed around the room that cradled many different types of plant life, and in one corner, Ellie's cassette collection laid haphazardly near her vintage boombox. Despite the apparent disorganization, she never had trouble locating any mix-tape in that pile. Music selection was not a frequent problem, though, as her two very vocal love birds' cage occupied a central position in the living room.

Jason had been sitting quite uncomfortably on her bequeathed bargain couch, though not due to the lack of support from the couch, but because he was essentially held hostage there. His traitorous kitty decided he wanted to spend time with auntie Ellie after being catnapped. He crossed his arms pouting, trying to ignore the smug look she had on her face as she entered the kitchen. “Whatcha want to drink?” Ellie asked.

“Earl grey,” Jason said, “Also you’re evil.” “I know,” Ellie playfully replied as she disappeared through the doorway. 

As much as he wanted to right then, Jason couldn’t seethe forever and eventually released the breath he was holding. He knew she was just trying to help but he was more scared than angry at her insistence. His gaze checked around the room for anything potentially breakable and expensive. By the end of the first week of being a circus freak, he’d picked up a new awareness of how fragile things can be and how much of a hassle it would be to replace them. Jason stood up from the couch, not wanting to dwell on how much money he was already losing, and made his way over to the pair of love birds. 

“Ah! Hello Mango and Papaya,” Jason greeted them as he leaned over to the cage,  “Oliver is in the guest room right now so you two can stretch your wings, yeah?” Mango squealed in agreement as the door to the cage was opened and she hopped excitedly onto Jason’s hand. Papaya decided to stay cautious and only peaked her head out to check on Mango’s well-being. Mango had always been the more approachable one out of the couple. Jason’s thumb scratched the love bird’s neck and ruffled her head feathers. She leaned her head towards his hand in merriment, as her closed eyes smiled in bliss. For a minute, Jason completely forgot that he was forced to be there against his will. He showered the bird in affection until their wholesome interaction was cut short. 

Despite the desperate neck stretches and opening her beak to show authority, Jason didn’t realize that Paypapa wasn’t going to let her soulmate be taken by some human tart. She thought to rectify this slight and confronted Jason with a hard bite on the fingertip. “Owch! Okay fine I’ll put her down, god-” Jason stammered as he let both birds onto the top of their cage. He rubbed the small bite mark on his finger as he saw his aggressor frantically groom Mango. Despite the pain of being chomped on, Jason chuckled after the fact. “My apologies,” Jason said, “I almost forgot you’re a bonded pair.” While he was not a bird expert, it was obvious that Papaya was just trying to protect her sweet girlfriend.  How romantic.

Only for a moment Jason got lost in thought, unaware of his surroundings as his mind was swooned by the very idea of soulmates and his longing desire to have one for himself. To be honest, he did feel a tad jealous these birds have a better love life than he ever will. The train of thought crashed as he heard a loud gasp, tea being spilled and the feeling of the ceiling pushing down on his head. 

“Oh gods, J-JASON!” Ellie stuttered, trying to regain her composure from nearly suffering from a heart attack by the sight of a giant suddenly appearing in her house.  Panic flooded onto Jason’s face as he realized he wasn’t as careful as he thought he was. “I-I’m sorry!” Jason begged as he tried to crouch down, trying to make him seem smaller in vain, “I’ll try not to break anything on the way out.” Before he could start crawling towards the front door in a fit of panic, Ellie rushed to set the un-spilled mug of earl gray onto her coffee table and approached him. “Wait!” Ellie said, with her phobia and compassion at war with each other, “You don’t have to go! It’s fine, I swear!”  

Jason halted and looked at her in disbelief. While he wasn’t the best at reading people like Ellie was, even he could tell that Ellie was terrified of him and was just trying to be polite. “I know you’re scared of me,” Jason said bluntly, “My feelings aren’t hurt, I’ll just take my leave.” 

A harsh tug on the bottom of his t-shirt stopped him from turning around. He looked over to see that Ellie is gripping the fabric as if she was able to actually keep the man the size of a Honda from escaping. Though that sad desperate look in her eyes may as well have bolted him to the floor.

"No! I might be scared, but I'm even more terrified for your well-being!" Ellie argued, “No matter what horrifying thing you turn into; Giant, cockroach, hell, a giant cockroach! I’m still not going to abandon you!” Jason sighed heavily and before he could even begin to formulate an argument, Ellie cuffed her full hands together. “Please let me help you,” she pleaded, “you don’t have to deal with this alone.”

Jason felt this stomach tie up in knots. He’d already felt guilty for being a terrible house guest, but he couldn’t just say no to her insistence. Jason stared at the floor in shame as he admitted defeat. “Fine,” Jason said, “I’ll stay.” 

Ellie smiled, releasing her shaking hands and turned to pick up the spilled tea mug off of the floor. “We’ll figure it out,” Ellie said, “Besides, what kind of a cat dad leaves their precious baby behind?~” Jason groaned, “Don’t push it.”

----

This impromptu study session really did bring back those college freshman memories when Ellie and Jason had to cram for exams. However, the tension wasn’t being built by a demanding deadline. Ellie felt the stress when she peaked over her laptop and saw the gargantuan man sitting next to her couch trying to gently sip the tiny mug in his massive hands. His fingers fidgeted around the mug's handle uncomfortably. He also kept hesitantly pulling the cup towards his lips but, whenever it got near his mouth, he pulled away reluctantly. Watching this constant backpedaling was starting to be unbearable to watch. “Dude, I can make you tea in a mixing bowl,” Ellie commented, glancing over to see Jason’s grimacing face being offended by the mere suggestion.

“What? No,” Jason said as he tried to ‘properly’ hold his mug, “I don’t need to feel anymore out of place than I already am.” He uncomfortably shifted as he glanced down at his remarkably large hands that nearly enveloped the little mug. Ellie rolled her eyes, sharing that same gaze to his mug. “Getting accommodated doesn’t make you weird,” Ellie said, taking a sip herself before turning her attention back to her internet browser, which had several open Wikipedia tabs. They’d been looking at a variety of human body size disorders that could fit the bill. None of them helped in the slightest, since it seemed like Jason’s condition was anything but normal for a human. Ellie started to mass-close all of those useless tabs as Jason sighed in defeat and sat the mug onto the coffee table gingerly. 

“I don’t even know why we’re bothering trying to search this… thing on the internet,” Jason said, folding his arms, “It’s not like some other poor sod could be going through the same deal, and if we do find something, it’d be some weirdo’s fantasy writing.”

Ellie thought for a moment before snapping her fingers. “Myths! We can look at legends around the globe for answers,” Ellie said excitedly as she started to type search terms in the browser bar. “Why myths?,” Jason asked, “Shouldn’t we be looking for, you know, factual evidence?” “There’s a nugget of truth in a lot of cultural tales,” Ellie explained as she pulled up more web pages filled with different stories concerning giants, “Maybe one of them is actually true.” “You’re sounding an awful lot like Motor,” Jason said as he pushed himself a tad closer to Ellie and arched his neck so he could get a look at the kind of ridiculous stuff she was searching for. The listings had notable large figures such as the treacherous Gogmagog to the vastness of the Daidarabotchi, though many of these listings seemed to pull up gods or malevolent creatures. Jason was sure he was definitely not either of those things.

Probably.

While Ellie may have been on the right track, Jason couldn’t see how any of these beings and monsters had any relation to him. Though it was getting hard to read her laptop screen as she kept tabbing through websites at top speed. While this made Ellie great at procrastinating and getting away with it in her college classes, Jason wanted to research too.

A brief flicker of recognition flashed registered in Jason’s brain as he spotted golden fur for a split second through Ellie’s browsing. Quickly Jason leaned over her and without thinking, slammed his hand next to hers. “Hold on! Can you… Ellie?” Jason attempted to ask before he realized that Ellie’s body froze suddenly. The only thing that was moving was her shivering hand. It felt like her entire soul left her chest and seeing a huge hand that could have weighed more than a brick nearly missed hitting her frail fingers. Ellie’s neck craned slowly tilted her head upwards hesitantly to be met with Jason’s wide chest. Ellie was rendered speechless and Jason eventually picked up on that. He lurked away from her, sputtering apologizes as he proceeded to sit on his hands. “I’m so sorry I-I didn’t think about- I’ll keep myself right here,” Jason nervously trembled as he watched Ellie let go of a sigh of relief she herself didn’t realize she was holding.

“Warn me next time will ya? Geeze,” Ellie said as she tried to regain her composure and sense of safety, “could’ve lost my writing hand.” Compulsively, Ellie rubbed her wrist as she kept her eyes off of Jason for the time being. For now, she pushed down that icky feeling of distress and flicked through some of the back pages silently to see what Jason nearly broke her hand for.

“...It’s uh- … the golden dog I think,” Jason muttered with his gaze glued to the floor, “It looked familiar.” After a quiet moment that felt like ages, Ellie finally spoke up again after taking a swig of her tea.

“The Golden Beast,” Ellie began to read out loud, “A phenomenon seen around the world of a large golden canine that is very elusive, but it is said to be a symbol of great change and good harvest.”

Jason waited for a moment to listen intently to Ellie’s lecture, but nothing else came. “... and?” Jason asked, though he got his answer when Ellie shrugged with a disappointed look. “That’s it, not much information written down here,” Ellie responded as she went ahead to search for the term elsewhere on the internet. Both of them would be lying if they said they weren’t disappointed, especially Jason. 

“I swear I’ve seen something that looked similar but,” He commented as he easily finished off his tea with a single sip, “I just can’t seem to recall anything.” He sat the mug down and watched Ellie peruse through a few websites, but in the end didn’t seem to find much else about the mysterious beast. 

“Another brick wall… bummer,” Ellie said as she stretched her arms outward, making sure her wrists weren’t getting sore. Her bones cracked as she rolled her shoulder, she had attempted to loosen up and let go of the pent up anxiety she had plenty of. In her peripheral vision she could see Jason reaching his head to the side to look hopelessly at Ellie’s laptop without having to get too close to her. 

“There really is nothing that can help me is there?” Jason said as he slumped, “Figures.” The two of them sat in silence for a while, unsure of what they could possibly do next or even find a trail to follow for the answers to their building questions. Ellie even half-mindly scrolled through news sites for anything unusual happenings. Though other than a couple of strange meteoroids being found around the globe, it was all mostly just news of politicians lying, groan worthy e-celebrity drama and a heartwarming story of a local pit bull named Twinkles saving a bus full of deaf school children from falling into the Vancouver River.

Ellie took a deep breath, “Jason I’m sorry I can’t…” Before Ellie could properly apologize to him, she noticed that Jason had a few visitors perched on the top of his head that were tugging tufts of his hair. Though he didn’t seem to notice it himself until he saw the despair disappear from Ellie’s face and she started to chuckle. She couldn’t keep a straight face for even a second. 

[Image Description: Mango and Papaya are playing in Jason’s hair and Ellie is just sitting there. LAUGHING. ]

“Hey, what are you two doing!?” Jason exclaimed, trying to gently shoo away the uninvited guests. The birds of course, did not even acknowledge Jason’s attempts to evict them. Papaya just tugged at tufts of his hair to see if she could make a nest and Mango naively rolled around in the strange grass they discovered. If he had just been a little more stern, he could have negotiated with Mango and Papaya to retreat. However, Jason’s hesitant hands and soft voice made it clear that he wasn’t going to risk being slightly rough with Ellie’s pets.

“Uh- a little help please?” Jason asked as he turned his awkward gaze back to Ellie. She stood up from the couch, and from there, she had to hold on a second to take in how large her friend had become. Her mind could still barely comprehend a giant human being real and be sitting in her house. However, that pleading look in his eyes that paired with his helplessness from the invasion of her birds made one thing very clear: Despite her skin crawling, he was still a harmless dork. “They probably think you’re a tree,” Ellie giggled, feeling confident enough to wave him down closer to her. The giant hesitated, unsure if he really wanted to loom over her like a beastly ogre and give her heart’s well being a run for its money. That thought ended quickly though as Papaya started to nip at the brim of Jason’s glasses. “Oh good grief,” Jason mumbled, rolling his eyes and leaned down towards Ellie’s direction. His shadow engulfed Ellie as he eclipsed the ceiling light to draw closer. The heart in her chest might have exploded in fear when he bowed his head at her. Though upon seeing the little trouble maker’s untroubled play in his hair, Ellie’s shaking ceased. Perhaps, there wasn’t anything for her to worry about after all. Ellie reached her hands out to coerce her babies onto her shoulder and pushed aside tufts of hair to get to them. Though she froze when she felt a huge sigh brush against her legs. “I don’t know what to do,” Jason groaned, “no one in the world is going to know how to help me, never mind fix me.” His fingers halfheartedly fiddled with his socks, not really giving Ellie’s fiddling with his hair much mind. Ellie frowned, placing her birds onto her shoulder and gave the crown of Jason’s head a few pats. “Thanks,” Jason said. “No problem…” Ellie responded, though she did pause for a moment to contemplate a suggestion that Jason probably wasn’t going to like very much.  “You know, ” Ellie continued, “there is someone who knows a lot about giants and he already knows about this curse.” “No way,” Jason objected, raising his head up to look Ellie in the face. She stepped back in a panic, trying to not be in the path of his drastic head swing. “Wait- hear me out,” Ellie pleaded, “Motor might be a bit… eccentric, but he might be our only available expert on how to handle yourself when you’re like- big.”

“He’s not a professional Ellie, he's a nerd,” Jason said, folding his arms indignant, “all he’d be able to teach me would be how to level a hospital.” Jason kept coming up with complaints while he watched her carry her birds back to their cage. Though most of those unwarranted complaints went through one ear and out the other. “And he’s just not all that bright honestly, how could I trust that ido… ” Jason’s rant was cut short by the daggers Ellie was staring at him, “My bad.” He learned to shut his mouth and sat there with gripped hands on his knees. “I know you two aren’t always on the best of terms,” Ellie said, “but he wants to help you and might be your only option for insight.”

The very idea of Jason having to grovel to Motor for help was already humiliating enough, but reaching out to him about this life threatening disease? Jason would almost rather stay indoors for the rest of his life. Realistically however, it would be only a matter of time before he hurts someone or destroys his house. Unfortunately it would seem like getting help from Motor was going to be his only option even if it was going to be an agonizing experience. 

“Augh, Alright then if I don’t have a choice,” Jason said with a defeated sigh, “can’t help to feel that this is going to be a big mistake.”

Ellie closed the bird cage behind her, “Come on man,” she said as she walked back to Jason with a smile on her face, “What’s the worst thing that can happen?”

“Something terrible I reckon,” Jason responded, his fingers gripping his knees with another long sigh, “Also uh, can you help me shrink back to normal please?”

-----

Nothing happens in Stanley, Idaho. Well, that’s how one particular citizen would like to keep it. 

This unassuming older woman stepped out of her lifted jeep with little effort and made her way inside the tea shop. A subtle exchange of knowing nods were exchanged between her and the front store worker as she walked past the meticulously put together display of various tea leaves. Upon reaching the elevator in the back of the shop, she proceeded to press the following buttons: Lobby, 1, 9, 8, 7, and pound. The elevator closed, and took her below the ground floor, which shouldn’t be possible for a two-story building. 

As the elevator took its sweet time, she glanced down at her Hamilton military watch and gripped onto her steaming hot americano in her other hand. Seeing the watch read ‘5:00am’ made her groan with distaste. It was way too early for her to be up at her age. Duty calls, however, and she begrudgingly accepted.

After waiting for what felt like an eternity for the elevator to stop on the correct floor, she stepped out and was greeted by a long metal corridor that was barricaded with several security doors. Unperturbed, the woman walked up to each door, the same song and dance she always put up with to get to her damn office. Fingers to the hand scanners, eyes to the headache inducing retina scanners, and the most embarrassing of all, sticking her tongue out to a DNA analysis to let her through the final door. She had wondered if the engineers thought that last trial was some kind of bad joke. 

Nevertheless, She slogged into the massive intelligence operation room that was filled with the panicked voices of government workers. They have all been responding to all sorts of calls for assistance to deal with found anomalies and confused 911 operators. However, the older woman was used to this chaos, and promptly walked past all of the pesky underlings trying to ask her questions. Even if she wanted to answer their queries, she had no idea what was going on or what she was called in for during her vacation. 

Once she got to her office, she took off her windbreaker coat and wearily donned her standard issue FAIRA director’s coat. Before she headed to her desk, her hand shuffled through her windbreaker coat’s pocket and pulled out an opened box of cigarettes. Today was going to be difficult, why else would her superiors spring a surprise call-in on her? It didn’t take long for her to sit down at her desk and log her passwords into the computer with the help of her countless post it notes. The video call did not take its time either, ringing the moment her desktop loaded. She rolled her eyes and answered. 

“Witch reporting in, receiving you loud and clear Eagle,” the director spoke before she heard the ear-grating voice come from the other end. 

“EEEY BLAIR! How’s it goin’ grandma?”

“Sir, we have discussed this, we need to use our code names, also do not refer to me as grandma ever again.”

“OOOOH YEEEAAAH… I forgot.”

“Of course, sir. Anyway, was there any godforsaken reason why I was pulled from my vacation?”

“Calm down grandma! This is your crop and you gotta be the cream of it, ya hear?”

“Just get to the point.” “Aye soooo, we got a situation brewin’ up in the lil’ Washington, oooh yeah. You gotta take care of this ASAP. Ya see, they found these shiny rocks fallin’ out of the sky and it looks like your ring, if you catch my drift.”

“Right, so why isn’t NASA leading this operation?” “HMmmmmm uh, remember those budget cuts?” “I see.” “And while I love my guys in camo, they ain’t got the brain cells like your eggheads do, ooohh nooo.” “Fine, I’ll dispatch my team in the pacific northwest immediately-” “Oh no sister! You’re goin’ to pack your bags too!” “What!? Why?” “Cuz I noticed yer always sitting on your ass in that chair for years and I think you’re forgettin’ what it’s like to be one of your men, grandma.”

“My way of running things does not hold any relevance to the situation and for the last time; stop calling me grandma. I have a codename, Eagle, use it. ”

“It does more than you think chica, with somethin’ this big, I don’t think you should skimp on it. Plus, it’s the big Eagle’s orders so ya got no choice ya hear me?” She groaned, “…Understood sir.”

[harrywavycurly]

Sarah I swear every single time I leave your blog for a few days I come back to madness and now it’s Eddie with triplet girls?? Since you’ve caused emotional distress I think it’s only right you give us some conversations with Eddie when the reader is pregnant with the girls😭😭😭

Hiiii babes! Haha I am so sorry you had to come back to Triplet Dad Eddie😂 I will gladly do this for you since I caused you some distress lol enjoy babes!!💖

*Eddie is freaking out and has one thing on his mind…he needs three of everything.*

“I’m sorry you said what now?” “We are having triplets…” “triplets…that sounds like it’s more than one…” “yes Eddie it’s three.” “Three…three little tiny things are just…hanging out in your stomach right now?” “Don’t call them things Edward that’s fucking rude.” “Sorry sorry baby I’m just…” “in shock? I know. Welcome to the club.” “Jesus…three…babies.” “Munson party of two is now Munson party of five.” “Holy fucking shit.”

“Just because they are girls Eddie doesn’t mean everything has to be pink.” “Tell that to Wayne baby it’s not me buying everything in pink and white.” “He’s excited to be a grandpa isn’t he?” “Oh he’s told everyone in Hawkins and has their ultrasound photos in his wallet.” “He’s gonna spoil them rotten.” “Without a doubt.” “Did he buy these pink dresses with white flowers all over them?” “Yup dropped them off this afternoon.” “They are size 2T…” “he said something about they can grow into them.” “You think he’d listen if I tell him they don’t need anymore clothes so he doesn’t need to buy anything else?” “You’d have a better chance at getting Harrington a date than Wayne agreeing to not buy anymore shit for the girls.”

“We need three of those right?” “I don’t think so. It’s just a play mat. They can all be on it at one time.” “We need three cribs and diaper changing things though?” “Three cribs yes but I think sharing one diaper changing thing would be fine?” “What if all of them need changed at the same time?” “Then they can be changed on the floor? They won’t care.” “We can’t show favorites right out of the womb baby. The one who gets changed on the diaper thing will feel superior to her sisters.” “Eddie…they won’t remember. Trust me.” “Let’s just get three.” “They already have you wrapped around their little fingers and they aren’t even here yet.” “I’m choosing to ignore that. Now what about high chairs? Three of those too?” “We don’t need those right now we have time to get those.” “Three bouncers for sure I hear those things are great.” “Yeah we will want three of those.” “How the hell are we gonna have three car seats in one car? The van doesn’t even have backseats…” “uh the van was never an option they will fit in my car don’t worry.” “All of them? Just like in a row?” “Yes in a row.” “Do they make a stroller big enough for triplets? Or do we have to like get one custom made?” “Eddie…honey I need you to take a few deep breaths okay? It’s going to be okay we don’t need all these things right now we have time okay?” “Okay…yeah…okay you’re right we are fine right now…I’m fine.” “I love you.” “I love you too sweetheart.”

“Oh wow is that a foot?” “I think so? Could be a hand.” “They just kick you like that all day?” “Not all day mainly after I eat they get all excited.” “Oh that felt like a foot.” “Probably…here put your hand right here…feel that?” “What the hell is that?” “I think it’s one their heads but…then again I’m not sure.” “How are you not sure?” “I can’t see what’s going on in there Eddie I don’t have X-ray vision you dingus.” “Oh right…it’s just crazy how much is going on in there.” “Right? Like there’s three little girls just wiggling around in there…” “so…we are like good right? After this?” “Are you asking if I want more kids?” “Yeah because I’m gonna be honest with you baby I’m terrified it’ll be triplets again and I…don’t know if I can handle that…” “you’re so dramatic the odds of us having triplets again is super rare.” “So were the odds of us having triplets this time…” “true…but yeah I think three is good we can revisit in a few years and see how we feel.” “Okay…I’m fine with that.” “Ohh did you feel that? That had to be a hand.” “She didn’t like us talking about having other babies I guess.” “Yup she’s a Munson…using her hands to get her point across.” “Just like her mother.” “Don’t be rude Eddie.”

[this-is-krikkit]

Hii! If you're taking prompts then can you plz do some levihan on this:

'I've been born in the wrong timeline and the wrong gender!'

'And you realized that after sixteen years?'

hello! you're the first anon i don't feel i have to apologize to for taking too long to reply to a prompt lmao, hope you'll enjoy this!

of swords and crushes (1.4k words)

tags: levihan, modern AU (coffee shop AU if you squint), game of thrones references but you don't need to be a big fan to get em, GOT-typical violence mentioned

divider source

“I’m telling you, I was born in the wrong timeline and the wrong sex!” Hange exclaims, trading their branded apron for their civilian coat and giving a last minute check to the coffee shop for any obvious task they might have forgotten.

Levi clicks his tongue at them, not for the first time that day, and gestures for them to leave out the front door with him.

“And you only realized that after sixteen years, while watching a blockbuster series about sword fights and magic?”

“Yes! No? I don’t know, I just know I want to be a knight!” they whine, using the tone they know their coworker can hardly stand.

“You want to be a knight, or you want to do one of them?”

“Levi! How dare you put your dirty thoughts into my pure and innocent mind!”

“I may not watch that shit show myself, shitty glasses, but I’ve seen enough screen caps and memes to know no one innocent watches it. Not with those casting choices anyway.”

Hange’s glasses reflect the setting sun and hide their eyes even as they grin devilishly at him, and he groans at his own slip up.

“Oh, you’ve seen enough screen caps to have an opinion then? Tell me, which one strikes your fancy, Neat Freak? The sadist bastard who tortures people into becoming his slaves, or the annoyingly rich golden boy who had three kids with his own sister?”

He just stares at them for a minute, then shakes his head as he locks the front door.

“I swear this show gets worse every time I hear about it,” he mumbles under his breath. “Either way, the one I like best has green eyes, and I think his father was in Lord of The Rings or something?”

“Oh… You mean, Robb Stark?”

Levi glares their way, because how the fuck would he know, again? But Hange, as always immune to his stink eye, just pulls their phone out and hands it over after a quick search.

“Here, is that him? Oh my God, you’re blushing, it’s totally him!” they squeal before Levi can even confirm it with words.

“Shut up and help me pull this down,” he requests, gesturing to the iron shutter they have to secure before leaving. “He is cute,” he still feels the need to argue defensively as Hange complies.

They chuckle and bump their shoulder to his when they squat down to help him with the heavy padlock that secures the system in place.

“He is,” they agree with a reassuring smile, before letting a sigh out. “Shame that he dies in season three though.”

“What? I thought he was, like, the main character!”

“Well, he is, until, you know... he gets his throat slit at his cousin’s wedding, right after he sees his pregnant wife getting stabbed straight into her belly.”

Levi picks up his jaw from the floor and turns to face his coworker, waiting to see if there’s any chance they could be trying to pull one on him —they don’t usually have a strong enough poker face to actually trick him, but they’ve surprised him before in the year they’ve been sharing shifts on this shitty part time job.

“She dies too, of course! Along with everyone who was with them then,” Hange adds right away, like that’s somehow reassuring.

“Why the fuck do you watch this shit, Four Eyes?” he asks, genuinely confused about it all.

“Ah, sorry, I know you’re weird about this stuff. We can talk about something else if you want,” they offer with a sheepish smile, scratching the back of their neck in discomfort.

“I’m not weird about it,” Levi corrects, dismissing their concern with a wave of his hand, “and it’s fine to discuss. I just don’t like violence for the sake of violence, or for shock value. Feels lazy to me.”

“That’s not all there is to it!”

He gives them a pointed glance, and Hange has the decency to blush a little.

“Okay, it’s probably a big part of it… But the plot does justify it most of the time so far, and some characters are really interesting and fun to try to figure out, I think you’d enjoy it! Besides, the fighting scenes are so badass, Levi!”

They launch into a mock choreography of what he can only assume is one of those scenes, and Levi doesn’t bother holding back a chuckle as he walks alongside them. He ignores the puzzled looks from people who pass them by, throwing a glare or two whenever someone dares to stare for too long with judging eyes.

“How do you have so much energy after the shift you just pulled on top of a day in class, for fuck's sake? I really feel like I’m the older one here sometimes.”

And alright, Levi does have another, early and demanding job to go to while other kids his age are in school, which might explain his own state of tiredness. But Hange truly is something else, stamina-wise.

“That’s because you’re an old soul, Levi, whereas I’m brand new and enthusiastic about what the world has to offer! And about swords!”

“Yeah, right. Why don’t you sign up to fencing lessons and get it out of your system for good?”

“Sure, let me give up this side job I only took for the fun of it, ask my imaginary butler to fetch my thousand dollars allowance from my billionaire parents and I’ll do just that!”

He bites the inside of his cheek to prevent his smile from stretching too wide, even though he knows Hange will be able to tell they got him with that one anyway.

“Point taken,” he gives in.

The walk back to their subway station is silent, a little less comfortable than usual when they’re both painfully aware that Hange’s now thinking about their own financial issues —the unfortunate reason they even took this job and met Levi in the first place.

He looks around the industrial neighborhood they’re walking, and spots two long rusty metal pipes hanging out from a bin nearby. In a fit of renewed energy he didn’t suspect he could have, he rushes over there, grabs them —heavier than they look, but he knows they can both handle it— and throws one at Hange’s feet.

“Here you go, Sir Hange Zoë,” he declares, feeling absolutely ridiculous as he stands in what he hopes looks like a sword fighting position —he sure hopes Hange will give him a break, it’s not like he has a wide frame of reference for this. “Fight me.”

They chortle, the sound immediately brightening the mood —and Levi’s day.

“You don’t have to do this, Levi. You were right, it’s kind of childish.”

He frowns and charges, hitting their shin lightly with his shabby weapon. Hange’s eyebrows shoot up on their forehead, and he can tell they’re slowly giving in.

“Levi! You can’t attack a defenseless maiden, that’s not gentleman-y at all!”

“You’re not a maiden, dumbass. And who said I’m a gentleman?”

Next time he lunges, they block the blow thanks to their own pipe and send him stumbling back —with a force that would surprise anyone else considering how lanky they look in their baggy clothes, and a fire in their eyes that would no doubt freak them out too. Levi, however, has known for months now that the tall nerdy weirdo look is only a mask hiding a fierce, passionate kid who might just be the strongest person he’s ever met —in more ways than one.

Sadly, they’re also much more —how did they put it again? Oh, right— enthusiastic about the whole fighting thing than he’d foreseen, and he soon finds himself having an actual hard time holding them off. One of their well placed hits shatters the pipe he was holding in his hold, and he thanks his lucky star that the combat has to end as he puts both hands up.

“Alright, I yield! You’re right, Four Eyes, you would have made a great knight.”

“Thank you!” they reply with a wink and a graceless curtsy.

Hange throws their pipe back into the trash can, before holding out their hand to ask for the some of the hand gel Levi’s already rubbing on his palms. He throws them a disapproving look, more for show than anything else, and gives them some —really, he’s kind of excited that they’re finally getting some of his neat freak habits, as they always call them.

“So, I won, right?” they ask him when they start walking again.

“Tch, I guess you did,” he grants them, not up to point out how questionable that statement is when really, breaking your opponent’s weapon has to be against the rules, right?

“Then my prize is... that you have to watch the next season with me!”

He spends the rest of the walk and the three subway stations they share trying to get out of that commitment.

(He fails.)

[dragonmama76]

Beginnings Part 3

Sorry for the wait. A combo of writers block and life happening kept me from working on this. Hope you enjoy!

Catch up here: Part One, Interlude, Part 2

The jagged glass bottle dropped to the floor and Steve was free. He wasn’t dead.  Eddie hadn’t killed him after all.  As his senses returned he registered that there was shouting.  So much shouting.  “How dare you lay even one single finger on him!” Steve had never seen Robin so furious in their time together, not even when confronted with the Russians.  “After what you did to him…put him through!”  she was half screaming and half crying now and Steve gathered her in his arms, “Robbie, Rob, Bobbin it’s okay. Shhhhh.  Listen.  We’ve gotta get through what’s happening now.  It’s more important than anything that happened to me in high school.”  She gradually  stopped fighting and allowed herself to be held and only then did Steve manage to glance over at Dustin.  He was white as a sheet frantically looking between Steve and Eddie.  “Eddie?”  his voice cracked, “Eddie…what did you do?”  

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

Steve and Robin stared transfixed at the screen as the reporter gave few details concerning the murder of a Hawkins High student.  Steve’s stomach clenched and his first thought was for Max but the trailer on the screen wasn’t familiar to him.  It wasn’t her trailer.  Lost in his racing thoughts, he jumped as the bell over the door rang out and Dustin and Max both rushed in.  His relief was short-lived, though, as it became clear that they were looking for help to find Eddie Munson.  Of course the Freak was at the center of all this, and now his kids were getting involved.  “Maybe let the police handle this one?” Steve suggested, although he knew it was futile.  As far as Dustin went, Eddie could do no wrong.  He exchanged meaningful glances with Robin.  Her eyes were wide as she tried to sort out if it was better to help the kids or convince them to stay far away from the situation.  Steve grabbed her sleeve and pulled her aside so they could talk.  She was babbling before he had a chance to get a word in.

“Oh my God, Steve, you always said he was dangerous and I didn’t believe you.  I’m such an idiot.  Did he actually do it?  Did he actually, you know, hurt someone?  Like that?  What are we going to do?”  

“Shit, Robin," Steve shook his head, "I don’t know.  But we can’t let Dustin and Max do this alone and you know they will, so we’re going to help them and you and I are going along to keep them out of trouble.  I don’t think Munson would actually hurt Dustin, so let’s just find him and get his side of the story.  From what Max said, it sounds like this could be upside down related and if it is…well, better that we know.”

********

There was silence in the boathouse and Dustin asked again, “Eddie…what did you do?” Eddie watched in horror as Dustin’s enormous brain made those lightning speed connections.  It was like he could see the wheels turning and the horror dawning as Dustin’s worldview was rocked by Eddie’s former crimes. His dirty truth.  His eternal shame.  He was about to turn and run, where he didn’t know, maybe just straight into the lake when Steve broke in.  “Dustin, whatever you think you know right now, put it aside.  We need to know what happened to Chrissy.”  Eddie felt, rather than saw Steve shift his attention back to him even as Dustin continued to glower.  “Okay, Eddie, it's time.  Tell us what happened and don’t leave anything out.”  Something loosened in Eddie’s chest and it all came tumbling out.  Chrissy coming to his trailer looking for help.  Chrissy floating.  Her bones snapping.  Her eyes.  He knew it all sounded insane, each detail worse than the one before but the more he spoke, the more knowing the glances around him became.  

********

After dropping Dustin and Max off for the night with promises to meet up in the morning for a strategy session, he and Robin headed back to his place to crash.  Steve didn’t feel at all bad leaving Eddie in the boathouse overnight to stew in his own juices.  He could see the man was terrified, but maybe that was simply payback for all the terror he had inspired in Steve.  It felt good.  Really good.  Steve finally had the upper hand over Eddie and wondered if this was his opportunity to enact some revenge.  Saving the world notwithstanding.  That would come first.  He sat with that feeling for a minute while Robin got settled on the couch.  And then he paused.  Well, shit.  Wasn't this exactly what Eddie had done back in high school?  Was this how he felt every time he saw Steve cringe or duck into a classroom to avoid him?  That's not who Steve wanted to be.  He had flirted with the concept of bullying back when he was friends with Tommy H. and decided it wasn't for him and he had worked too hard to shed his King Steve persona to turn it back on now.  Sometimes growing older and gaining perspective sucked.  Steve thought about Eddie watching him these last few months and wondered if he had gained perspective as well.  No one should be blamed for stupid things they did at fifteen, he really believed that, so maybe he would have to forgo the opportunity for revenge until he truly saw Eddie in action.  Ultimately Steve didn’t know how to feel about the fact that he was now technically helping Eddie, but he was willing to put his feelings aside until this current crisis was resolved.  Robin, it seemed, was not.  

“Steve, you know don’t have to be a part of this.  And maybe we shouldn’t be anyway.  It’s okay if you want to leave Eddie to figure this out on his own, you know.  You don’t have to help him, especially not after everything he did to you.  When I saw him grab you…and the look on your face…I hate him, Steve.  I hate what he did to you and I don’t get why you’re being so calm about this!” Robin’s voice was verging on hysteria and Steve sighed.  He was so tired.  “Robin, I love you and I understand that you think you’re helping, but every time I tried to talk to you about this you dismissed it and I’m gonna be honest, it made me feel like shit.  So you don’t get to have an opinion on how I’m handling this right now.  I’ve been dealing with Eddie on my own for years and you’re going to have to trust me when I say that I know what I’m doing.”  

Robin’s face fell and she looked absolutely devastated.  “Steve,” she gasped, “I didn’t..I’m sorry…I…”  

“Forget it.”  Steve’s face was hard, but his voice was kind, kinder than she thought she deserved.  “Look, Robs, whatever happened, it was in the past and if I choose to move on or ignore it that’s for me to decide.  You didn’t take it seriously before and that really sucked and I guess seeing it up close and personal changed that for you and that’s great, but this is and always has been my problem to solve.”  

“Okay.”  Robin’s voice was weak, “Okay, Steve I trust you.  Of course I do.   Just….I want you to know that I get now that I wasn’t there for you in the past and that I was too wrapped up in my own assumptions and drama and I need you to know that I’m really here for you and I’m on your side whatever that means.” 

“I know, Robbie, and that means a lot.  Really.  Let’s get some sleep and we’ll figure it all out in the morning.”

********

The last couple of days had been a real mindfuck, and now Eddie watched in horror as Steve slipped beneath the surface of Lover’s Lake for the second time.  He couldn’t let Steve just die, not with everything between them so unresolved.  It was less than a minute before he was diving in after him.  Eddie was sure he wasn’t thinking straight.  What exactly was he going to do?  Maybe he could grab him and bring him back up?  But then it didn’t matter because there was no time to think and he was sucked through a hole, a gate they called it? And the lake bed was dry and then there were birds, no, not birds. Bats. Bats with no faces diving and attacking from every direction.  Steve was on the ground fighting them off and suddenly Eddie was charging in as if he had any idea how to help.  Whatever he was doing must have worked because there was a moment when the onslaught stopped and Eddie gaped as Steve bit clear through the creature wrapped around his neck.  Metal.  

Back at Skull Rock Eddie watched as Nancy carefully wrapped Steve’s wounds with makeshift bandages.  He paced back and forth knowing his mind should be on the current danger but in reality worrying over the fact that Steve could have died and Eddie would have never had the chance to clear the air.  He needed to apologize like he needed to breathe.  This was such bullshit.  Before Chrissy had floated and died he had felt so close to being able to approach Steve once and for all and beg for forgiveness and now it felt like he was starting from square one.  Maybe he needed to make a plan?  He was so good at plans, but fuck it, there was no time for a plan.  Not here, not now.  The ground shook under his feet.  Goddammit.

“Steve,” Eddie panted, trying to keep up while also avoiding the vines littering the path ahead, “Can we talk for just a second.”

“Not right now, man.” Steve avoided the man’s gaze and continued to follow the girls.

“Please, Steve, just let me say one thing and then I’ll shut up, I swear.”  Eddie pleaded, stopping for a minute to catch his breath.

“Fine.” Steve waved his hand, “One thing.  Go.”

“I…” the words caught in Eddie’s throat and he floundered as Steve rolled his eyes and turned to go and then everything bubbled to the surface and came tumbling out in a vomit of emotion.  “FUCK!  I’m sorry, Steve.  I’m sorry for everything.  The name calling, the pushing, the knife.  It wasn’t right and I was stupid and I’m just…sorry.”

Steve stood and looked at him long and hard and Eddie cringed, waiting and knowing he deserved whatever came next. 

Steve’s face gave nothing away as he sighed out, “Eddie, man, I want to believe that you are serious about being sorry, but this isn’t the time.  I don’t know what it will take to forgive you or move past this and I really can’t do this right now.  I can’t fight monsters and my own personal demons at the same time.  Truce for right now, okay?” 

 “Yeah, yeah okay.”  Eddie wanted to stop there, but he needed more, “ I just…I just don’t get why you would help me after everything I did to you.”

Eddie watched Steve grow frustrated and felt even shittier for being such a needy bastard.  “It’s not about you, Eddie, okay?  This is so much bigger than you and your problems and whatever fucked up shit you did in high school.  So yeah, I’m helping you because helping you means protecting my family.  The people I love.  And that also means protecting  everyone else in this godforsaken town.  Even you.  So for the sake of the whole fucking world, can we just pause and pretend that you never hated me and that I don’t hate you back for like 24 hours?”  

Eddie nodded and whispered, “Yes. Let’s do that. Sorry.”  As he resumed following Steve and the girls every step was punctuated by the nagging thought, Steve hates me.  Steve hates me.  Steve hates me.  He had never felt so despondent and if he didn’t owe it to Steve to help them all out of this situation he would be tempted to go ahead and disappear here in the Upside Down.  Find a place to hide and curl up and die.  A monster in a monstrous place.

*********

When Dustin cornered Steve outside Max’s trailer he wasn’t ready.  So much was happening so fast.  They needed to figure out what had happened back there with Nancy.  They needed to figure out how exactly they could keep Max safe.  They did not have to figure out Steve’s past trauma and how it affected them.  

“I cannot believe you, Steve, how could you let me just let me get involved with Eddie knowing what he did to you?  You picked me up from Hellfire, you listened to me go on and on about him and even suggest you two should be friends!”  Dustin was so angry and Steve didn’t have anything to say.  What excuse did he honestly have for keeping Dustin in the dark this whole time?

“Look Dustin, it wasn’t like that.  I mean maybe it was, I don’t know.  I didn’t want to get in the way of you having a good freshman year.  It seemed like you were okay, so I figured why mess with that?”

“No. That’s not it.  You tell me what was so important you couldn't warn me about Eddie!" Dustin pushed until Steve cracked.

All at once, Steve felt the weight of all his relationships crashing down upon him and let the words fall out, “I don’t know, all right?  I don’t know why I didn’t tell you.  I don’t know why I let you all hang around him.  It just didn’t feel right.  Everyone around me was constantly telling me what a good guy he was and I’m nothing.  I’m nobody. I'm not a nerd, I’m not cool, I’m just the goddamn babysitter and I thought if it came down to him or me that you wouldn’t choose me.”  Steve sat heavily on the ground and put his head in his hands.

“Woah.”  Dustin sat next to Steve.  “Dude.  You are not the babysitter, Steve.  You are my brother and no matter what happens that’s who you’ll always be.  Eddie might have seemed cool, but at the end of the day he’s just some guy.  You on the other hand are Steve Harrington, the most badass guy I know and nothing will ever change that.”

Steve sniffled and knocked Dustin’s hat off to tousle his hair.  “Hey man, not cool!  I’m baring my soul here so don’t mess with the hair.”  Steve laughed and pulled Dustin into a hug.  

“I’m sorry for not telling you.”  

“You want me to kick his ass for you?” Dustin looked up at Steve so earnestly that Steve thought his heart couldn’t bear it.  

“Nah, man.  Look.  It does honestly seem like he’s changed since I knew him and he’s always been good to you, right?”

“Yeah…” Dustin acknowledged.

“It’s okay.  I promise.  I don’t know if we’ll ever be friends, but I don’t want to be his enemy and I don’t think he wants to be mine, at least not anymore.  Let us work it out, okay?”  Steve steeled himself to follow his own advice.  It was time to find Eddie and end this.

********

Sitting in Max’s trailer wasn’t working for Eddie.  He needed to get out.  He needed to move.  It was the middle of the night, so if he slipped out the back it wasn’t like there would be a hoard of townsfolk with torches and pitchforks ready to grab him.  Probably.  He figured it was worth the risk.  “Uh, I’m taking a smoke break,” he muttered as he slipped out the door into the inky black night.  He heard footsteps crunch in the gravel behind him and spun around ready to run but stopped when he realized it was Steve.  

“Munson, we’ve got some downtime here so I think it’s time we talk.” 

 “Yeah.  Okay.” Eddie began, “I don’t know how many ways I can apologize without it sounding hollow, but I’m willing to grovel…”  

Steve cut in, “I honestly just want to know one thing.” 

“Oh, um, yeah, okay?”  Eddie paced nervously in front of him and waited for him to ask.  

“Why me?  What did I do to you?  I wish I could remember, but it was like you hated me on sight and I don’t even understand why.” Eddie expected Steve to be angry, but instead he looked so sad it made Eddie want to cry.

It was the question Eddie had been dreading.  But he had to fess up and he had to be totally honest.  He knew it was the only way he could ever make amends with the boy he had hurt so many times before.  

“Look, the thing is, Steve, and there’s no way to make this sound less stupid and awful, but I never really cared about who you were back then.  I had this idiotic idea that if I could make a preppy jock afraid of me that I wouldn’t get bullied at school anymore.  I picked you pretty much at random, decided you fit my profile and then executed the plan.  And the worst part was that it worked, you know?  No one bothered me ever again and it kept me and my friends safe for years.  It’s not an excuse.  There is no excuse for what I did to you and I will bear that guilt until I go to my grave.  But you should know, it was never really about you.  You were good looking and confident and rich and looked like you had it all. I didn’t hate you because I didn’t know you.  I hated what I thought you stood for.  And now that I do know you, I could never hate you.”

“When exactly was it that you flipped and decided I was someone worth knowing?” Steve asked warily, like he was pretty sure of the answer.

Eddie shrugged resigned to his fate.  “It was when Dustin and the other kids started talking you up.  They never had a bad word to say about you and…”  Eddie trailed off but Steve motioned him to continue, “They told me all about your freshman year and the problems you had…with me…which, they apparently didn’t know it was me and I can’t believe you never told them or tried to keep them away…but I had to take a good hard look at myself and I promise you I did not like what I saw.  So…for a while I tried to justify it by watching you whenever I could so I could catch you being an asshole or whatever,”  

Steve jumped in, “I KNEW you were stalking me!  Goddammit!  Robin kept trying to tell me it was a coincidence or whatever, but you were fucking everywhere!” 

Eddie groaned rocking back on his heels, “Fuck fuck fuck.  I’m sorry.  Again.  I swear to God I wasn’t trying to make you uncomfortable.  I just…needed to see for myself and then…okay, this sounds worse and maybe it is….I got kind of invested?”  

Steve’s eyes widened, “Invested?  What does that even mean?”  

“Mmmmmm,” Eddie groaned again and tried to hide under his hair, “….you just…you’re a good guy, you know?  It was hard to look away when you were so kind and happy and bitchy, like in a good way, and just completely not what I expected.  I’m sorry.  I promise when this is all over I’ll leave you alone forever. I’ll fucking disappear if that’s what you need.  I should have left this god awful town a long time ago anyway.”  

“Okay, well, no need to banish yourself quite so soon.”  Steve sighed.  “I’m not like Mother Teresa or anything here.  I lived up to a lot of your expectations, so maybe I deserved it.”

“You didn’t.”  Eddie broke in quickly, “You didn’t deserve any of the things I did.  I mean, no one would, but especially not you.  I have a feeling if it wasn’t for me, King Steve wouldn’t have even existed.  Dustin always says he wishes you and I had been friends and if I wasn’t such a creep, maybe we would have been?”  

“I dunno, Eddie, you can say whatever you want, but I was pretty fucked up all on my own in high school in ways that I can safely say had nothing to do with you.”

“Steve, can we maybe start over?  I know I'm not worthy of a second chance, but….what the hell…”  Eddie slowly reached out with one hand, “Hi, I’m Eddie Munson.  I play the guitar and do a lot of nerd shit. I’m also currently living in a nightmare world”

Steve looked at his hand and made a split second decision, reaching out to shake, “Hi Eddie, I’m Steve Harrington.  I’m a babysitter, carry a nail bat and am very familiar with your current nightmare.”  Eddie let out a slow breath as they shook hands.  It wasn’t everything he wanted or needed, he knew Steve hadn't forgiven him and that was probably as it should be, but it was a start.

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Part 4 coming soon (ish?) Comments and reblogs are my lifeblood so....do it?

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[slasher-key]

Ice Cream Makes a Great Apology (Pt.2)

Part 1 , Part 3

Pairings: Rory Culkin x Fem!!Reader 

Warnings: None but lots of cursing from Destiny

It’s been a few months since what happened at the beach with Rory and Jack. Jack and Destiny’s relationship has been going on for a while they are really cute together, But you and Rory it hasn’t been going the best but hopefully he can redeem himself after your last date didn’t go very well.

Hope you enjoy!!!!!!

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Rory’s POV:

“How do you do it man?” I yell at Jack from the kitchen. He and Destiny have been together for almost three months now and I can barely get a good date in with y/n. “I don’t know, I guess I just have that charm, and also Destiny is very clear with what she wants. So I just give it to her.” He replies keeping his eyes on the TV in front of him. “You hit her in the face with a volleyball and she happened to find you cute, that’s not charm that’s luck.” I say, walking into the living room where he is sitting on the couch. “Well maybe you should try hitting y/n in the face with a volleyball, maybe she’ll find you cute after too?” He suggests laughing at my relationship issues. “Ummm……….. No , she would probably murder me.” I reply slightly thinking about how it would play out. “Well then I don’t know what to tell you.” He says going back to focusing on his show.

You see y/n and I have been getting slightly closer since we met at the beach. I did end up calling her and we went on another date, but they kind of ruined it. And by they I mean Jack and Destiny.

Let me explain. Y/n and I were talking for a while after we met at the beach. I wanted to ask her out, but I didn’t know how. So who knows a girl better than anyone? Her best friend. So I went to Destiny to see what she liked. She told me everything and we put together a plan so I could ask her out.

I build up my courage, asked her out, she says yes. The day finally comes we’re on the date and it goes to complete shit. I did everything that she liked, The date with just the two of us went very well. But when we went back to my place shit hit the fan.

I told jack that we were coming to the house to just make sure he knew and wasn’t going to be an inconvenience. But once we walked through the door I was fucking shocked. The lights were dim, candles lit, rose petals, and the worst part of all the air mattress that was laying on the floor where the couch should’ve been. See most people would think oh this is so romantic, until you realize that this is our first date and the songs they played over the surround sound speakers jack and I had were about nothing but sex. At the moment the song playing was In Those Jeans by Ginuwine, which is literally about trying to get in a girl’s pants. I just know Destiny picked that one.

I look over to y/n and written on her face is pure shock. I see tears well up I her eyes. “So is this all you wanted?” She asked, looking at me for the first time since we stepped in the door. I couldn’t speak I was in shock I didn’t know what to do, So I just stood there. “You took me on this amazing date, just to try and get me to give it up to you? You are a sick fuck Rory.”  She continues, then runs out of the apartment. I didn’t even chase after her I just continued to stand there like an idiot.

So yeah there it is. Destiny and Jack confessed and told her that it was them who came up with the whole thing. And she gave me another chance. Now I’m panicking and praying that it goes well. 

------------------Time Skip to the date---------------------------------------

I pick her up from her house and we make our way to the restaurant. I made reservations a while ago so we wouldn’t have to worry about anything going wrong.

“First off I just want to say you look fucking gorgeous tonight, and second I’m sorry again about our last date. I really didn’t know they were going to do that.” I say, keeping my eyes on the road. “Thank you Rory, and I know, it’s okay, I freaked out over nothing, I just thought you were using me so I let my mind wonder to the wrong thing and I didn’t let you explanation.” She replies. “I understand, but thanks for giving me a second chance.” I say back giving her a reassuring smile.

We make it to the restaurant, and our reserved table is ready for us. “This is amazing Rory.” She says looking around with a bright smile on her face. We order our food and the night is going well. Were laughing, talking and even flirting. 

At one point she gets up and goes to the bathroom. I am sitting waiting when i feel a tap on my shoulder.

“Hey man you’re doing great, just stay calm and keep doing what you’re doing.” That same person whispers in my ear. I look to my right and see Jack. “What the fuck are you doing here?” I whisper yell at him. “Destiny and I wanted to see how the date goes, you know, maybe even help a little bit.” He says, looking back at a booth in the corner, where Destiny sits in a hat and sunglasses same as Jack. “No Jack go home now both of you, do you remember what happened last time you tried the help,” I said “Oh fuck she’s coming back go go go.” Jack runs back to his booth.

The rest of the dinner went great. Except knowing that Destiny and Jack were watching us the whole time. We make our way to the car and she stops me. “I had a great time tonight Rory thanks for asking me out again and giving us another chance .” She says holding both my hands in hers. “No y/n, thank you, I was the one that screwed up last time not you.” I say “That was also partially my fault though, I shouldn’t have just assumed that you were trying to just use me.” She replies. “Well I would’ve thought the same, so I don’t blame you.”

We both laugh thinking about the situation after out first date. The laughter dies down. I look up at her taking my gaze off the ground, she’s already looking at me. She brings her hand up to my face and slowly moves in. Our lips connect.

My hands go to her waist pulling her in, trying to get her as close as possible. She brings her arms around my neck doing to same. The kiss lasts for a while until we hear. “Get a room assholes.” We both look to where it came from and see Jack and Destiny standing there with huge smiles on their faces.

“What the hell are you two doing here?” Y/n asks. A confused expression written across her face. I act as if I am shocked as well so she doesn’t think I am in on their little plot. “We felt bad about what we did on the last date so we just wanted to make sure this one went okay for you guys.” Destiny replies “Ohhhhh really, I understand, but if you guys keep inviting yourselves to our dates, I will kill you both.” Y/n says, glaring at the couple in front of us. They both put their hands up in defense with a “won’t happen again” from the both of them. “Good, now let’s go home Rory.” She says grabbing my hand and we head to the car.

“She isn’t really going murder us right?” I hear Jack whisper to Destiny as we walk away. “Trust me she will, how about we focus on our own relationship for now they seem like they’re doing just fine.”

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Hope you enjoyed!!!! Thank you for reading ❤️❤️