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wonryllis · 7 months

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daddy issues, my little girl (m) | park jongseong.

﹙ 🎬 ﹚ ぃ ────𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹,

preview. you had always had daddy issues, for as long as you could remember. so when jay came along with his caring nature, how could you possibly keep your feelings at bay? not to forget, your roses of love have wilted long before you even knew what love meant but jay, he’s here at your doorstep with a watering can. will you be able to refuse?

or where, new neighbor dr jay park is asked to babysit you over the week. ironically the only man you have ever had a crush on. you are so determined to put aside the feelings but jay makes things so much harder. he is way too sweet and caring and you are way too pessimistic and insecure. how is it going to work with you gravitating towards him in inadvertence and jay welcoming your presence with candor radiance? especially with all of your buried issues coming to life more than ever. false hopes and reserved secrets, reluctant truths and feelings that linger deep. he is right there, two doors away to reach. so why is it that love still feels so far?

meet the cast. daddy park jongseong(jay) with his doll fem!reader

genre. neighbour to lovers, age gap (like 7 years), romance, SMUT MDNI!!, comfort angst, fluff, happy ending, doctor(might change that)!jay with his precious girl. jay literally always at his girl's beck and call, he cares about you a lottttt trope. the "i know you can do it, but let me do it for you" trope. kinda ddlg concept idk? he's like your pillar, comfort person and just everything you have ever needed. practically your dream man come to life. subject to additions later on.

word count. 18-19k so far, est around 35k revamp + second installment.

warnings. DARK THEMES: hints of: daddy issues, attachment anxiety, inferiority complex, abandonment issues, depression, childhood emotional neglect, philophobia, insomnia, social anxiety, hints at emotional/psychological abuse, gaslighting, hints at being suicidal, people pleaser syndrome, mommy issues, thantophobia, atelophobia, atychiphobia, pistanthrophobia, avoidant personality disorder, body dysmorphia. more could be added on release and nsfw warnings will be mentioned in full fic.

theme song. daddy issues by the neighborhood and future by red velvet. on the side you can listen to: love letter by bolbbalgan4, adore you by harry styles, pacify her by melanie martinez, cool kids by echosmith, your existence by wonstein, teenage dreams by katy perry ..

RELEASING. TBD, progress ! 57%

"i’m home!” slipping off your converse, you put the pair inside the shoe cabinet near the entrance and close the wooden door in a sigh before trudging in. the lights in the living room are dimmed, something your parents would never do. it catches you a tad bit off guard but nevertheless you try not to think too much. considering the silence surrounding you they most definitely are out for work and as usual forgot to turn off the lights. with cautious steps you walk futher inside, with all intention to sneak in a pack of chips from the kitchen like a thief even though at this point you’ve practically come to the conclusion you’re home alone, but one can never be too careful.

a cat like shriek leaves you when your eyes land on the back of a figure sitting on the couch, your phone almost slipping through the grasp of your fingers as your eyes widen in shock. startled, your heart more or less stopping in a screeching brake for a split second.

the man visibly flinches at the sound of your voice,“who are you?!-” standing up and turning around to face you,“jay?”

“god y/n, you’re gonna make me deaf,” he complains, face contorting into a tender, teasing expression; a small smile gracing his lips as he walks around the couch and leans against the top of the backrest. you watch as he looks at you, so softly that it makes you wonder, has anyone ever in your entire life looked at you like that? a look radiating such gentleness. maybe not, not until now that is.

“you got home early today, i thought you’d be out for two more hours?” his brows raise in a questioning manner as his gaze shifts to go over the time showing on your living room clock.

“uh, well i was working on a project the last few days but i finished it yesterday so,” you speak unsure if you should even be telling him this instead of asking what he’s doing in here.

“oh okay, that’s good,” taking off his overcoat he walks into the kitchen, folding up his dress shirt’s sleeves on the way,“what do you want for lunch then? do you want to eat takeout? or should i cook you something? you must be hungry,” he takes out a bottle of cold water from the fridge and pours in a glass for you, sliding the cup on the countertop towards you as you approach the space in hesitant and confused steps.

his questions dumbfound you, leaving your brain at a loss, still dazed from his presence before you,“what? why are you asking me that? and what are you doing in my house?” you ask, looking completely clueless when jay turns to look at you expecting it to be some kind of a sarcastic remark. but the lost look in your eyes has him surrendering even if it does turn out to be some joke.

“taking care of you,” jay smiles, straightening his posture in an upright position and moving closer to the counter across which you stand,“technically, babysitting,”

“babysitting? me? but,” it baffles you, is this some prank or are you supposed to know something you don’t? your mind’s mechanical gears slow down, friction arising in between them. you don’t remember anything regarding or relating to the term babysitting. there’s no way he’s serious.. right?

“doll, didn’t your parents tell you they’re gonna be out on a business trip for a week? they asked me to look after you while they’re gone,” what.

yes these past few days when you couldn’t catch a hidden, one-sided glimpse of him in the elevator you did feel weird. and you definitely did subconsciously wish to run across him again, even though you were on a mission to avoid him, but this; this is not what you would’ve liked, this is not what you wanted. this is far from what you can handle, what your messed up self can accept.

“no?” the look on your face has jay almost spilling a laugh, the way your features contort to a whiny crying expression. how cute. he thinks.

“that’s okay, now you know,” trying to imitate you, he scrushes up his nose in a slight pout, reaching out to pat your head twice. and there goes your heart. you never thought you’d like head pats this much, you only remember getting them twice from your father but it felt different. it used to annoy you because he would mess up your hair but the way jay caressed your head it felt you had accomplished something, so gentle and careful yet still close to a ruffle.

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waratah-moon · 2 years

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Gremlin

Four times Dustin was clueless, and the one time Lucas spelled it out for him. Shout out to @lfaewrites for proofreading & encouragement!

masterlist / read on ao3 < bonus smutty drabble posted there ;) I Think We’re Alone Now < smut add on

Pairing: dad!Eddie x mom!reader

Word count: 5.1k

Warnings: Teen pregnancy (not elaborated on), cheerleader!reader, shitty parents, enemies to friends platonic!steddie Steal my writing and I will hex you

1. Eddie’s trailer

Eddie opened the door of his trailer and was very surprised to see Dustin Henderson on his doorstep.

Dustin didn't wait to be invited inside, pushing past a bewildered Eddie, “do you have my book report? I lost it after the last Hellfire meeting and I really don't want to rewrite it."

He'd never been inside Eddie's trailer before. It was slightly cluttered but in a homey-lived-in kind of way. The walls were lined with baseball caps, and a collection of novelty mugs hung above the couch.

“What, no hello? You need to work on your manners, Henderson.”

“Sorry,” Dustin looked around the living room, taking in an array of stuffed animals on one end of the couch and a pile of picture books on the coffee table. He wasn’t about to judge what Eddie Munson did in his spare time. “Nice place. Do you have my book report?”

"The one on Grapes of Wrath? I wondered who that belonged to. Let me find it," Eddie disappeared into what Dustin could only assume was his bedroom.

Dustin looked around the trailer, eyes landing on a couple of baby photos that he guessed were of Eddie. He stepped forward to get a closer look, but stopped when he felt something under his foot; it was a small toy that looked a lot like the Muppet Babies version of Fozzie Bear. Before he could investigate further, the phone rang.

Eddie came racing out of his room and breathlessly answered the phone. "Hello?" He waited for the person on the other end to respond, a smile crossing his face when they answered. “I mean, maybe. How difficult is it?” Eddie was grinning now and Dustin could swear he was twirling the phone cord like a teenage girl. “I think I can manage that. How did Gremlin do?”

Eddie's smile turned to a soft pout. He spotted Dustin out of the corner of his eye and turned away, “I’ll see you soon, okay?” Dustin heard him mumble something into the receiver, but couldn't quite make out the words.

Once Eddie hung up the phone he walked into the kitchen and began fiddling with the knobs on the oven.

“Eddie?” Dustin raised his eyebrows as Eddie pulled a casserole dish out of the freezer and put it on the bench.

“Oh, shit. Your thing. Right. I think I know where it is. It got mixed up with the one shot we did last week,” he disappeared again, and Dustin thought he could see a glimpse of a floral patterned bedspread through the door of his room.

Eddie reappeared and handed him a few pieces of paper. "Thanks, man.” Dustin looked at the casserole dish on the bench. “So what’s for dinner?”

Suddenly, Eddie was herding him out of the trailer, “as much as I’d love for you to stay, I have a hot date.”

2. Family Video

Dustin was sitting behind the counter at family video, something Keith had adamantly stated was not allowed. Steve was the only one working, and he didn't care what Dustin did, just happy to have company during the slow part of his shift. Dustin had brought takeout from the diner up the road, only offering to share his fries when Steve had complained. "C'mon, dude, it's gonna stink of fast food in here."

The door jingled and Steve absentmindedly began his ‘welcome to Family Video’ spiel while twisting a Rubik’s cube, only stopping when he looked up at the woman who’d arrived at the counter.

“Real customer-focused service you’ve got here,” you smiled, hoisting the toddler you were holding higher up on your hip.

“Oh hey!” Steve grinned, ducking down so he was on eye level with the little girl, “how’s my favourite Cabbage Patch Kid doing?”

Cabbage Patch Kid? Dustin thought, pushing his food aside to watch the interaction.

The little girl smiled shyly, hiding her head of dark brown curls into the crook of your neck.

You sighed, “Steve, I’ve told you before, stop insinuating my child looks like a Cabbage Patch Kid.”

“But she has the dimples,” he stood up straighter, poking his tongue out when the little girl showed her face, causing her to emit the world's cutest giggle.

“She gets those from her father, not Coleco,” you kissed your daughter's cheek, smoothing down her unruly hair. “Did Care Bears come in?”

“Sure did,” Steve pulled a tape from the counter below, scanning it.

“Great!” You looked around the store, eyes landing back on Steve. “Can you watch her for a sec while I grab a couple more?”

“‘Course!” Dustin watched as Steve held out his arms and you passed the toddler to him. The little girl’s hands instantly reached to pull for his hair while you darted off to the horror section.

“Not the hair,” Steve groaned, attempting to tilt his head backwards and away from the prying hands.

“Pretty,” the little girl mumbled, tugging a lock of Steve’s hair. Dustin stifled a laugh.

“Me? Why thank you, I think you’re very pretty too, the prettiest little Cabbage Patch Kid around,” he bumped his nose against the toddler’s, kissing her forehead. Dustin gagged.

The scene was adorable, but it went against everything he thought he knew about Steve Harrington.

You'd found what you were looking for and arrived back at the counter, setting down two more tapes; A Nightmare on Elm Street and Splash.

“Interesting double feature,” Steve remarked, the toddler now clutching her arms tightly around his neck, refusing to let go.

“Date night,” you grinned sheepishly, holding out your arms to collect your daughter. Steve attempted to pry her off his neck, but she was clinging on for dear life.

"Seevie stay," she whined, tightening her grip on the man.

Steve scanned the tapes using his free hand, seemingly unfazed. “Oh, did you hear about Ethan Carroway?”

You dug around in your purse, finding the correct amount of money to pay for the tapes, “and Ivy Tech? I know! How dumb can you be?” You handed over cash.

“I mean, he seemed like the type though, right?” He put the tapes in a plastic bag, a bit of a challenge with only one hand but he managed, handing the bag across the counter to you.

You hummed in agreement. “Some people just don’t change. Others surprise you,” you smiled, taking in the sight of 'King Steve' Harrington pulling faces at your two year old. "C'mon Gremlin, let's get home and see if Dad taped Muppet Babies."

"Aminal?" Your daughter loosened her grip on Steve and looked at you.

"Yep," you held out your arms and she finally let Steve pass her back. You smiled at the man behind the counter. “Thanks Steve, I’ll see you later.”

"See ya," Steve called after you as you exited the store.

Dustin was gobsmacked, his mouth hanging open as he watched Steve go back to fiddling with the Rubik's cube on the counter.

"What the hell was that?" Steve jumped when Dustin spoke, seeming to have forgotten about the young teen's presence.

He managed to keep his cool, nonchalant tone, "what was what?"

"Were you just flirting with her?"

"What?!" Steve sounded offended. "With her? Of course not."

"She has a kid, Steve."

"I know," Steve had turned to look at Dustin now, leaning with his back against the register. "She has a boyfriend too. We went to high school together. She was a cheerleader, I was on the basketball team. We're friends."

"I didn't know you had other friends," Dustin cocked his eyebrow with a grin. He vaguely remembered his mom gossiping with Mrs. Wheeler about a cheerleader who got pregnant a few years ago.

Steve rolled his eyes, turning back to face the front door, "and you don't know as much about your friends as you think you do, Henderson."

Dustin frowned, "what's that supposed to mean?"

"Eat your burger."

3. Max’s trailer

Storm clouds hung over Hawkins, and rain had been attempting to sprinkle all morning. Riding their bikes all the way to the Forest Hill Trailer Park probably wasn't the smartest idea, but it was Dustin and Lucas's only mode of transport since Steve decided to pick up more shifts at Family Video.

They pulled up to Max’s trailer, the wheels of their bikes spitting up gravel as they skidded to a halt. Max had watched them ride up from the window, and she was already standing in the doorway when they reached the porch.

“What are you two doing here?”

“We were wondering if you wanted to see a movie, or go to the arcade," Lucas asked, he always sounded nervous talking to Max.

"Or do anything," Dustin added. "We're so bored." It was true. Mike was on his weekly phone call to El, and since the mall had burnt down the activities in Hawkins had become severely limited.

“I can’t," she had her headphones slung around the base of her neck, her trusty Walkman in her hand. "I’m babysitting.”

"Babysitting? Since when do you babysit?" Dustin peered over her shoulder inside the trailer, but Max moved to block his view. Over her shoulder he could see an animated movie playing on the TV, it looked like the Care Bears.

“Since we moved in here,” she shrugged.

“Huh?”

"I like her parents, they're cool, so I offered to look after Gremlin whenever they wanted some alone time. Plus her mom always brings over cookies. This time it’s peanut butter chocolate."

"You offered?"

"Is that so hard to believe?" She squinted, her tone accusatory.

"Kind of, yeah," Dustin said, groaning when Lucas elbowed him in the ribcage.

“What Dustin means is that you seem to have other interests that don’t coincide with babysitting.”

Max rolled her eyes, moving to put her headphones back on.

“Wait! Can we at least come in and hang out?”

“Nope. I’ve got other interests that don’t coincide with hanging out,” her smile didn’t reach her eyes as she shut the door in their faces.

Lucas sighed, but Dustin was already making his way to the trailer opposite Max’s.

“What are you doing?” Lucas watched, before quickly following after his friend.

“Eddie’s home, his van is out front.”

“And there's another car next to it, he has someone over," Lucas added, pointing at the red Ford Fairmont parked next to the van.

But Dustin was already knocking on the trailer door to listen to Lucas.

The door swung open, revealing a flushed and wild haired Eddie. His eyes were dark, and his tee-shirt was on inside out; when he took in that it was Dustin at the door, his expression turned from annoyed to pissed.

"Henderson? What the fuck are you doing here?"

"We were in the area," he started, turning to see that Lucas had not joined him on the porch but had stopped halfway between Eddie and Max's trailer. He continued, "do you want to hang out?"

"I'm a bit busy right now, dude," Eddie folded his arms across his chest, still glaring at Dustin.

"Do you have a girl over?" Dustin tried to peer into the trailer but only managed to spot a bowl of popcorn and a couple of VHS tapes on the coffee table.

Eddie rolled his eyes, "sure let's go with that. Are we done here?" He started to shut the door, but Dustin stuck his arm out.

"Wait! Who is it? Is it Shelley Keibler? She was totally flirting with you at lunch last week."

Eddie looked disgusted, "ugh, no, dude. She buys from me and she was flirting to get a discount; which I didn't give her, by the way."

"Then who?"

"Don't worry about it, Henderson. I’ll see you on Monday." He grinned and shut the door.

4. Hawkins High

Dustin thought Eddie was acting strange. He hadn’t said anything about Dustin’s ill timed visit when he saw him on Monday, and he hadn’t been in the cafeteria at lunch on Tuesday or Wednesday. Mike had sworn he’d seen Eddie in the library when he’d gone to get money off his sister. He seemed back to his old loud, rambunctious self on Thursday, but during Hellfire on Friday he was constantly watching the clock. When the clock struck 6pm, he was packing up, even though they were in the middle of a high tension fight.

“I’m sorry guys, I have places to be.”

“Where?”

“Oh, that little bar on the corner of nunya and business,” he grinned, stuffing his binders in his bag.

Dustin followed him out to the parking lot, expecting to watch him get in his van and drive off. Instead he was greeted with the same red Fairmont coupe that had been parked in front of his trailer.

The following week proceeded much the same as the week prior, except this week Eddie cancelled Hellfire. And Eddie never cancelled Hellfire. The table erupted in disgruntled yelling when he broke the news over lunch on Friday, but he just sat back in silence, letting the members spit their disdain.

Dustin finally got a chance to speak with Eddie after school was let out, catching up to him in the parking lot as he was leaving.

“What’s going on? Why are you suddenly acting all weird?”

Eddie sighed, looking over at the red Ford that was parked next to Steve’s BMW. “You do know I have a life outside high school and Hellfire, right? I don’t only exist to further your quest, Henderson.”

“I know that-”

“I’ve been busy, alright? I’ve got some stuff going on.” He studied Dustin’s face, as if he was trying to figure out damage caused by a d20. “Look there’s a one shot I’ve been working on,” he grabbed a notebook out of his bag, ripped out a page, and scribbled something down before handing it to Dustin. “Come to this address tomorrow night, 7pm. Bring Wheeler and Sinclair.”

+1. Hellfire Club

Dustin, Mike, and Lucas weren’t sure where they were going, but surprisingly Steve did. In fact Steve hadn’t put up any kind of fight when Dustin asked if he could drive them somewhere for DnD. Sure he’d sighed, but that sigh was quickly followed by a shrug and a “sure.”

Steve pulled up in front of a small one story house, parking his car behind Gareth’s. Two cars were already in the driveway, a two-toned station wagon, and the red Ford Fairmont that seemed to be everywhere.

Eddie swung the door open, a grin on his face. “You’re here!” He glanced over the boys in front of him before his eyes landed on Steve. “Harrington?”

Steve held his hands up. “Don’t worry, I’m just dropping them off. Thought I’d say hi.” He pointed to the station wagon in the driveway. “Is that your new car?” Eddie nodded and Steve added, “a wagon. Very sensible.”

“I’ll have you know that’s a ‘74 AMC Matador. It has a V8 401 engine, 230 horsepower-”

“I’m going to stop you right there, I have no idea what any of that means.”

“You drive an E23. Dude, a 733i!”

“Doesn’t mean I know anything about it,” Steve shrugged. “Finally traded in the van for a family car, hey?”

Eddie rolled his eyes and turned into the house. “Babe, Harrington’s here,” he called out, before turning back to glare at Steve.

After a moment, you appeared behind Eddie, wiping your hands on a dish towel. “Steve, hey!” Dustin recognised you instantly as the woman from Family Video.

“Hey,” Steve smiled, giving you a little wave. “Wanted to see your new place.”

“Can you stay for a soda? I’ll give you the tour.”

Before Steve could move into the house, Dustin held his arm out to stop him. “Uh,” Dustin looked from you, to Steve, to Eddie, and finally to Mike and Lucas. “What’s going on?”

“Oh right! You guys haven’t met,” Eddie wrapped his arm around your waist, pulling you close to his side, and introduced you to the teens. “This is my girlfriend.”

Once the shock had worn off, Eddie had led the boys inside to the dining room table, where the older Hellfire members were already sitting. You lead Steve in the other direction, making good on your promise of a house tour.

“So this is your place?” Mike took in the surroundings; they were sitting in a dining room that was attached to a small kitchen. Various picture frames dotted the walls and a large potted plant sat next to the china cabinet.

“Yep, we moved in last weekend. The trailer was getting too crowded now that Gremlin’s decided to grow into a tiny human,” Mike had no idea what Eddie was talking about, but Eddie sounded horribly offended at the idea of Gremlin growing. “We’ve been planning the move for ages, but we finally had enough money to do it. Wayne seemed sad to see us go, but I think he’s happy to have the place to himself. Kind of annoying we lost Mayfield as a babysitter, though.”

Dustin seemed to have a faint inkling as to what Eddie was talking about, “I saw your girlfriend at Family Video a few weeks ago with her daughter.”

As if this was the craziest news in the world, Mike blurted out, “a kid?” His eyes darted around the room, finally taking in the several picture frames embedded with the image of a curly haired toddler.

“Yeah, Eddie’s girlfriend has a kid,” Dustin said casually, proud that he’d figured out this fact about his mentor before Mike. “It’s pretty cool you’re a stepdad.”

Eddie’s eyes widened, but Gareth, Jeff, and Grant just laughed. “Stepdad ? Henderson, no, no, no.”

Lucas shook his head, pointing to the closest picture frame; the little toddler was sitting on Eddie’s shoulders, her fingers gripping his dark brown curls, identical to her own unruly mess of hair. She looked like a mini version of him, both had mischief gleaming in their chocolate button eyes. “That’s obviously his kid.”

Like a sign from above signifying the revelation, an egg timer went off in the kitchen.

Dustin choked on his soda. “You have a kid? How did that happen?”

Lucas whacked him on the back, attempting to stop his friend's spluttering. “How do you think it happened, dipshit?” It seemed to work.

“No,” the tips of Dustin’s ears turned pink, his voice still hoarse. “I meant-”

“You want the story,” Eddie grinned, and Gareth, Jeff, and Grant groaned. He leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped behind his head. “Settle in boys, for this is a tale for the ages.”

Gareth snorted, “What the hell are you talking about? Indie is the product of too much alcohol and an expired condom.”

“Excuse me, but Gremlin was born from an epic love story that crossed not only class barriers, but changed Hawkins society as we know it.”

Steve entered the dining room with a can of cola, you following close behind him.

“Babe,” you rolled your eyes, having heard the conversation. You set a plate of pizza rolls down in front of the boys. “I think Gareth is a little closer to the truth. It wasn’t West Side Story .”

“You don’t think our story is romantic?”

“Our story? Sure. Teen pregnancy? Not so much.” Steve snorted.

Dustin had calmed down a bit, but he still had a lot of questions. “Wait, I’m confused. Steve said you were a cheerleader. How did you get with Eddie? You’re way out of his league.”

Surprisingly, Eddie didn’t look offended, instead he pulled you into his lap and tucked his chin over your shoulder, looking at the young teens. “You’re dead right, Henderson, she is way out of my league.” You scoffed, ready to disagree with him but he cut you off, “do you want to tell the story, babe?”

You adjusted yourself so you were sitting on Eddie’s thigh, his hands firmly gripping your waist. “My family moved to Hawkins at the start of my sophomore year. I didn’t really notice Eddie much that first year, he was a junior and we ran in very different circles.”

“I noticed her though. Straight away. Especially when she wore her cheer uniform-”

You flicked him on the shoulder, continuing with your story. “Anyway, school was out for the summer. Remember the heatwave in ‘83? I was driving down Millbrook and it was at least 100 degrees outside and the hood of my car started smoking. So I pulled over and began freaking out, because you know Millbrook, it’s all farmland and there’s no one around for miles.”

“But I just happened to be driving down Millbrook.”

“Yeah, Eddie was my knight in a Metallica cut off. He figured out what was wrong with my car, drove us to the auto shop, bought whatever it was that my car needed and fixed it for me.”

“It was super easy, she’d just run out of-”

You cut him off before he could begin to ramble about cars and the importance of checking the coolant level. “I bought him a milkshake to thank him and we’ve been together ever since.”

“And your kid?” Mike asked through a mouthful of pizza rolls.

“Gareth wasn’t far off. Pretty sure it happened after the homecoming dance that Eddie refused to attend. He snuck in my window when I got home with a bottle of peppermint schnapps and…” you drifted off, noticing the wide eyes at the table, as well as Steve's smirk. “I’ll spare you the details. Nine months later Indie was born.”

"Indie? Like Indiana?" Lucas asked, he wouldn’t admit it but the story was romantic.

"No, Indie like Indigo. Indigo Ripley Munson," Eddie said proudly, and you smiled. He'd snuck Ripley on the birth certificate before you could protest, but you had to admit your daughter couldn't ask for a better role model than the badass heroine from Alien.

It was as if her name summoned her. A bleary eyed toddler in pink footie pajamas entered the dining room, rubbing her eyes.

“Hi sweet pea,” you hoped off Eddie’s thigh, picking up your daughter and smoothing her hair. “Did we wake you?”

“Not tired,” she said, instantly contradicting herself by yawning. “Want Dadda to tell me a story,” she pushed away from you, reaching for Eddie. “With princesses.”

As much as you wanted to be her favourite, it warmed your heart knowing how much she loved her Dad.

Eddie held out his arms to take her from you and she instantly snuggled against him. "Dad’s playing a game with his friends, do you want to listen? There’s no princesses but there are lots of monsters." She nodded, smiling.

You knew it was futile to try and get her to go back to sleep now that Eddie had promised her a story. Knowing Eddie it would be a gory and violent story, but having sat in on many of Hellfire's campaigns, Indie was used to it. You thought it was creepy that she was enamoured with monsters, Eddie thought it was adorable.

You crouched down next to Eddie so you were on eye level with your daughter. "See those boys over there? That's Dustin, Lucas, and Mike. Do you want to say hi?"

She stuck out her bottom lip, contemplating the question before shaking her head. Dustin grinned, he liked this kid, she had spirit.

"How did you manage graduating with a kid? I mean Eddie obviously didn't," Mike said. The table went silent. Surprisingly, it was Steve that spoke up.

"He could have graduated, he just chose to put his family first, right Munson?"

Eddie looked at Steve and smiled. You stood up to glare at Mike, "Steve's right, Eddie should have graduated in '84, but he had different priorities that year."

Turning his attention to Mike, Eddie sighed, “My first senior year was when we found out about the pregnancy. My uncle got me a job working nights at the plant, so I slept through most of my morning classes. But the money was good and we were able to afford most of the stuff we needed for a new baby without asking for help. But I failed pretty much all my classes.”

You nodded. “My parents cut me off when they found out we were keeping the baby. They already hated that I was with Eddie and were looking for a reason to disown me; teen pregnancy was it. So aside from the secondhand stuff we got from the Holts’ and the Mitchells’, and that Wayne never made us pay rent, we did it pretty much all on our own. Eddie’s second senior year was also my senior year, but it was our first year with Indie too.”

“I didn’t want her skipping class, she’s too smart to not graduate. So I stayed home with Gremlin. Wayne helped out when he could, but I still managed to miss most of my classes.”

“But now, I have a job that lets us afford daycare and rent, and Eddie’s been working real hard at school. You know what they say, third times the charm.”

“This is my year, I can feel it.”

“Damn right, babe.” You leant down to kiss his cheek. “And Indie and I will be right there cheering you on when you cross that stage.”

It was all too much for Dustin to handle, hearing about this part of Eddie’s life; his girlfriend, his daughter, his connection to Steve. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, threatening to spill at any moment. He was filled with a newfound desire to protect his friend; he had a family to think about after all, hell he’d traded in his ratty old van for a station wagon.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Dustin wasn’t sure if he felt more hurt or betrayed that Eddie had kept such a big part of his life a secret.

“I never hid it, Henderson, you just never asked.”

Dustin thought back to what Steve had said all those weeks ago, ‘you don't know as much about your friends as you think you do.’ He was right, Dustin didn’t know that much about Eddie. He knew he was in a band and liked metal music, but he hadn’t asked him much in the way of personal questions.

“I’m sorry Eddie, I-”

Eddie cut him off with a lazy grin, “Relax, Dustin, we’ve got the rest of the year right?” For some reason the use of his first name instantly put Dustin at ease. He let out a breath and smiled at Eddie. “Now are we playing?”

“And that’s our cue,” you nodded at Steve, leaving the boys and Indie to their game.

Later that night, after everyone had gone home and Indie was finally tucked up in bed, Eddie said something that surprised you.

“I think we should make Steve Indie’s godfather.”

“What? You’re not religious.”

“No, I know. I don’t mean it in the whole ‘teaching faith’ way. I just,” he ran his hand through his hair. “I know he’s important to you, and he loves Indie. If something was to happen to us, I know he’d take good care of her.”

“I think that’s a great idea, babe. Is this about what he said to Wheeler?”

Eddie’s cheeks flushed, he hadn’t wanted to admit that Steve’s approval had affected him. “Maybe.”

You grinned. Steve had been your friend for a long time, since you first moved to Hawkins. You’d known him through his douchebag phase, and you were his only friend from his high school days he’d kept in touch with since he’d mellowed out. But he and Eddie had never gotten along; Eddie was too loud and brash, and Steve still held an air of elitism that although he’d mostly gotten rid of, still reared its ugly head whenever Eddie was around.

Today, though, the two of them somewhat made an attempt at a truce. “How about we invite him for lunch and ask him?”

Eddie groaned, “ugh, can’t you just ask him?”

“It was your idea!”

“Fine, we’ll do it together.”

Baby steps.

Okay okay... I would really appreciate feedback as I worked my ass off on this one. And guys... I was so nervous my mum read this... that's the first time she's read my writing since I was in high school. @a-lil-pr1ncess @livsters

#eddie munson #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson imagine #stranger things #dad!eddie munson #dad!eddie x mom!reader #eddie munson smut #maggie writes #Eddie Munson gremlinverse #dad!eddie

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breezingby · 5 months

Video

youtube

American Pie ~ Don McLean

A long, long time ago I can still remember how that music used to make me smile And I knew if I had my chance That I could make those people dance And maybe they'd be happy for a while

But February made me shiver With every paper I'd deliver Bad news on the doorstep I couldn't take one more step

I can't remember if I cried When I read about his widowed bride But something touched me deep inside The day the music died

So bye, bye, Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye Singin' this'll be the day that I die This'll be the day that I die

Did you write the book of love And do you have faith in God above If the Bible tells you so? Now do you believe in rock and roll? Can music save your mortal soul? And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Well, I know that you're in love with him 'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym You both kicked off your shoes Man, I dig those rhythm and blues

I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck With a pink carnation and a pickup truck But I knew I was out of luck The day the music died

I started singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye Singin' this'll be the day that I die This'll be the day that I die

Now for ten years we've been on our own And moss grows fat on a rollin' stone But that's not how it used to be When the jester sang for the king and queen In a coat he borrowed from James Dean And a voice that came from you and me

Oh, and while the king was looking down The jester stole his thorny crown The courtroom was adjourned No verdict was returned

And while Lennin read a book on Marx The quartet practiced in the park And we sang dirges in the dark The day the music died

We were singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye Singin' this'll be the day that I die This'll be the day that I die

Helter Skelter in a summer swelter The birds flew off with a fallout shelter Eight miles high and falling fast It landed foul on the grass The players tried for a forward pass With the jester on the sidelines in a cast

Now the halftime air was sweet perfume While the sergeants played a marching tune We all got up to dance Oh, but we never got the chance

'Cause the players tried to take the field The marching band refused to yield Do you recall what was revealed The day the music died?

We started singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye And singin' this'll be the day that I die This'll be the day that I die

Oh, and there we were all in one place A generation lost in space With no time left to start again So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick Jack Flash sat on a candlestick 'Cause fire is the devil's only friend

Oh, and as I watched him on the stage My hands were clenched in fists of rage No angel born in Hell Could break that Satan's spell

And as the flames climbed high into the night To light the sacrificial rite I saw Satan laughing with delight The day the music died

He was singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye And singin' this'll be the day that I die This'll be the day that I die

I met a girl who sang the blues And I asked her for some happy news But she just smiled and turned away I went down to the sacred store Where I'd heard the music years before But the man there said the music wouldn't play

And in the streets, the children screamed The lovers cried and the poets dreamed But not a word was spoken The church bells all were broken

And the three men I admire most The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost They caught the last train for the coast The day the music died

And they were singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye Singin' this'll be the day that I die This'll be the day that I die

They were singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye And singin' this'll be the day that I die

----------------------------------------

The repeated phrase "the day the music died" refers to a plane crash in 1959 that killed early rock and roll stars Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens, ending the era of early rock and roll; this became the popular nickname for that crash. The theme of the song goes beyond mourning McLean's childhood music heroes, reflecting the deep cultural changes and profound disillusion and loss of innocence of his generation – the early rock and roll generation – that took place between the 1959 plane crash and either late 1969 or late 1970. The meaning of the other lyrics, which cryptically allude to many of the jarring events and social changes experienced during that period, has been debated for decades. McLean repeatedly declined to explain the symbolism behind the many characters and events mentioned; he eventually released his songwriting notes to accompany the original manuscript when it was sold in 2015, explaining many of these, and further elaborated on the lyrical meaning in a 2022 interview/documentary celebrating the song's 50th anniversary, in which he stated the song was driven by impressionism and debunked some of the more widely speculated symbols.

#youtube #Music #Don McLee #American Pie #lyrics #Folk Rock #1971

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wakeupthemembersofbylernation · 1 year

Text

I don’t even know how to respond to this. Like not only is the relationship they’re describing pretty unhealthy (“if your relationship leads aren’t unable to breathe properly outside of each other’s presence then what’s even the point?”)- hello codependency- it’s also not… true?

Does this look like El is unable to breathe properly outside of Mike’s presence?

And Mike obviously does struggle with inadequacy/codependency, but does this look like Mike is truly “unable to breathe” outside of El’s presence? Or is there something else going on?

He literally crumples her letter- the last letter he may EVER get from his girlfriend that he apparently “loves too much”- and throws it unceremoniously in the trash. Be serious for a second. The Magic Treehouse is on fire.

I think Mike is unable to properly breathe, but for a different reason lol.

“Mike wasn’t able to verbalize his feelings because they were too intense”

My cousin in Casper, he couldn’t even WRITE down his feelings. El gave him multiple chances to explain himself, to do ANYTHING, to give any sign of life/genuine romantic feelings, and he couldn’t even do that. Go on girl, give us nothing.

This is NOT the fight a couple has when their problem is being too in love. This is NOT how a teenage boy reacts when he is afraid to express his feelings for his girlfriend because he’s apparently bubbling over with them. If that was the story the Duffers were telling, it would simply be written differently and portrayed differently.

Mike spends the entire season actively trying to find some loophole, some way of escaping his relationship, and Will keeps pushing him back in. Mike literally tells Will his crush that maybe meeting El was dumb luck and that he was just some random nerd who got lucky that Superman landed on his doorstep! And then the next episode, he monologues his deep-seated feelings of love-at-first-sight that have apparently been there all along? How does that make sense?

“Mike and El are desperately clawing at each other.”

“The good ending is them using their protective instincts and working together as a well-oiled power couple.”

… They’ve had two seasons as an official couple to do this. How has this worked out for them? Ah yes, that monologue fixed everything. Now they will definitely be a power couple in the apocalypse as the sad, gay, bowlcut boy watches on in sadness, forced to accept the bitter truth that his best friend is straight and that queer kids don’t deserve happy endings and should settle for paltry crumbs of acceptance.

#byler #mike wheeler #will byers #El hopper #I’m convinced Melvins are watching completely different shows #there must be a different M1leven I’m not aware of #on a show called straighter things

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mediawhorefics · 8 months

Note

hiii, hope you're fine, was wondering if you have any recommendations for murder mystery books? idealy sapphic

hiiii i've been fine (pretty atrocious actually my entire life is falling apart hence why i haven't been able to maintain this second blog) i'm always here for book recs tho !!!!

this is actually a bit of a tricky one for me because i'm a big mystery fan, but i'm not huge on murder mysteries in general. i do love a challenge tho, so i'll see what i can find for you!

the last binding trilogy (freya marske) -> not quite murder mystery but a historical fantasy series ft. some murders and some mysteries. each book focuses on a queer couple and the second one ft. sapphics trying to solve a magical murder on a cruise ship. its mainly a romance series with a great magical mystery overarching plot. 10/10

i kissed shara wheeler (casey mcquiston) -> again a general mystery rather than a murder mystery but it's a sapphic ya romance about a prom queen disappearing after kissing her academic rival and said academic rival's obsession with finding her.

bury the lede (gaby dune) -> graphic novel about an intern at a newspaper stumbling upon a gruesome crime scene. (full disclosure, i dont remember anything about this one... i read it ages ago rip)

sadie (courtney summers) -> ya mystery novel. after her sister's murder, sadie, disappointed by the official investigation, skips town in pursuit of the murderer and justice for her sibling. meanwhile a radio personality overhears sadie's story at a gas station and becomes obsessed with finding her, starting a podcast to track his progress. not sapphic particularly and tw applies. it's a pretty harrowing book, but keeps you on the edge of your seat. apparently the audiobook is amazing.

big bad wolf series (charlie adhara) -> okay it's mlm and it's technically werewolf porn, but the mysteries in this ex-fbi agent partnered with a werewolf to solve werewolf crimes series are actually good and engaging and keep you on your toes. no one was more surprised than me.

the will darling adventures trilogy (kj charles) -> again mlm and more general mysteries than murder mystery specifically, but it's so good and there is a sapphic side pairing later in the series. it's set in the 1920s... will darling is a wwi vet who just inherited his uncle's second hand's bookshop which lands him in a world of trouble when both a gang of criminal and the war office end up on his doorstep looking for the same information. which he's pretty sure he doesn't have.

hither page (cat sebastian) -> sorry this one is mlm too rip. post wwii. a gruesome murder shocks a small community with a sprinkle of romance between the village's doctor and the spy sent undercover to solve the crime.

here are some books that fit the vibe that are on my to read and i'm excited to pick up, but obvs can't vouch for yet

last night at the telegraph club (malinda lo) -> sapphic love story set in 1950s san francisco chinatown

lavender house (lev a.c. rosen) -> described as knives out with a queer historical twist. set in the 1950s.

even though i knew the end (cl polk) -> historical fantasy murder mystery ft. a sapphic detective trying to catch a notorious serial killer to ensure she can have a future with the woman she loves.

a million to one (adiba jaigirdar) -> girl gang heist on the titanic. historical ya and sapphic.

meddling kids (edgar cantero) -> paranormal/horror/mystery grown up teen detectives reunite to solve a paranormal mystery fro their past. also queer.

the dead and the dark (courtney gould) -> paranormal/horror/mystery/ya/sapphic. logan, daughter of two ghosthunters, is determined to solve the mysteries of snakebite, oregon where weather patterns are odd and teenagers keep disappearing/showing up dead.

alright, i think that's all i can think of for now ??? i'll add to the list if something pops in my head, but hopefully that covers what you were looking for, at least a little? sorry i didn't 100% follow the brief for some of these haha.

#books #book rec #books rec #book recs

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masterwords · 1 year

Text

all the wrong things on fire

Summary: An attempt at clubbing post break-up leaves Haley wanting somewhere safe to land and she winds up drunk and horny on Hotch's doorstep. He's confused, still battered pretty good after the bomb in NYC, and does a piss poor job of telling her no. (Post Lo-Fi/Mayhem)

-or-

A really awkward way that Haley finds out about Hotch & Morgan's relationship.

Words: 6.7k

Warnings: sexual harassment, dubious consent (touching/kissing, no sex), borderline infidelity, awkward sexual situation, alcohol & bad decisions, depression, grief...

Pairings: Hotch/Morgan (with a little Haley action thrown in)

Read on AO3: all the wrong things on fire

Notes: This is written for @tobias-hankel's Pre-Whumptober challenge. I got the prompts I wanted, but the use of them is about as dubious as the consent in this fic. It's supposed to be "sexual harassment" but it's...more than that. And different than that. I don't know what you'd call it. Borderline assault? Dubious consent? All or none of the above? And I was supposed to go with a boss as the person doing the damage, and I did write 4 other versions of this going that direction that I may very well turn into full-fledged stories someday but they were getting so complicated and I am not up for taking on another multi-chapter experience right now. I can barely be trusted with the ones I have. Anwyay. On with the show!

*****

He shouldn’t have opened the door. The moment he saw her standing there, looked at her through the peephole, he knew it was going to be trouble.

Haley didn’t just pop by his apartment. Not ever.

But he did open the door, because she looked pointedly up at the peephole like she knew he was right there. She looked at him (he knew it was silly paranoia, that wasn’t possible but he felt that shock of electricity that accompanies eye contact and he couldn’t shake it. Just a flick of the deadbolt and he was pulling the door open.

The smell of tequila on her breath startled him, she didn’t drink often and whens he did it certainly wasn’t tequila. That drink was saved for girls nights, or he supposed now nights on the town, prowling for a spot of fun. Her smile was wide and bright, made easier by the tequila sunrise. Sour and sweet, mixed with a perfume that reminds him of his senior year of high school. Hours spent deep in the woods, their backs up against a tree, hardly able to keep their hands to themselves. His hands on her thighs, roaming up under her cheerleader skirt, her tearing at his raggedy old sweater. Wild, insatiable teenage lust. She hasn’t worn this perfume in a long time, this soft vanilla and cherry blossom scent that made him crazy once upon a time and now just makes him feel hollow.

“Haley,” he said quietly, his fingers twitching at his side. His movements were stiff and slow, a far cry from his usual fluid grace. A bomb going off in your face, an explosion sending you flying through a downtown New York street will do that to a body. He leaned against the door frame automatically for support. She didn’t seem to register the movement, she was staring intently up at him with a look that he would describe as hungry. It made him feel uneasy.

“Hi Aaron,” she purred. He could barely hear it over the ringing in his ears but she smiled to punctuate the statement and his face remained carefully neutral. “May I come in?”

She lifted her arm and waved a bottle of wine in front of his face like it was the ticket to her entry, like he’d jump at the chance to get drunk with her. That prospect was far from his mind, though. All he could think about was whether or not she drove (probably not) and what she was doing there.

“Where is Jack?” he asked, his voice a little louder than necessary like it was going to help. She’s not the one who can’t hear, anyway. His body still blocked the door, blocked her entry. His ears were buzzing with all the rage of a mad hornet’s nest, it’s been a long painful week and he’s really not in the mood for her inquisitions. What he wanted to do with his night was lay on the couch in his silent apartment and wait for his date to arrive, wait for dinner and a movie. This surprise didn’t sit well.

“He’s with my sis-ter,” she enunciated it awkwardly and he felt a pang of guilt for making her stand out here so long so he decided to let her in. Her entry was a bumbling attempt at a glide in heels she was not used to wearing. Heels that she hadn’t worn since before Jack was born but Jess told her they made her legs look incredible so she gave it a shot. Jess was right, judging by the sheer number of men who bought her drinks at the club...the club that made her feel old and like a fraud. Everyone was so young, no one else was a middle aged divorced single mom...they were all hot twenty-somethings with mistakes still left to make. After a few tequilas, a cab ride to someone who had already made enough mistakes to make her comfortable seemed like a good decision. As she entered, she tried to play it cool. Like she’d been here a million times. Like she belonged here. Like this wasn’t the first time she’d dropped by his apartment for what amounted to a social visit since he moved in – occasionally she would step into the main hallway, meet him near the mailboxes to exchange Jack. Rarely had she ever stepped inside his domain. What she jokingly referred to as his bachelor pad, even though she knew him well enough to understand it was more of an artificial dwelling. Like someone in deep cover. He lived in his office.

Something about it was too sad even for her, that he should have gone from their beautiful colorful house to this...tiny apartment with its beige and brown and sad. Without asking for permission, she began poking around in his life. Sauntering through the place with the neck of the wine bottle firmly gripped in her hand, she searched the bookshelves for familiar boring titles – same old Aaron. She peeked into the laundry hamper sitting on the machine, opened and closed cabinets and drawers, inspecting the way he lived. His kitchen cabinets were empty save for a few boxes of Kraft mac n’ cheese and cereal, quick and easy food he kept on hand for having Jack over but nothing for himself.

“Where’s the oatmeal?” she asked, shutting the cupboard. “The Aaron Hotchner special.”

“I ate the last of it this morning,” he replied quickly. It was the truth. They’d been out on a case, his kitchen needed restocking but he hadn’t felt up to grocery shopping yet. He hadn’t felt up to much of anything the last couple of days. Not activity and certainly not sleep. He was a wreck. “Are you looking for something in particular?”

“Nope,” she said with a cheeky wink as she headed down the hall toward the bathroom to have a peek inside his medicine cabinet. At this point he knew it was some kind of a game and he was much too tired to play it. He couldn’t even pretend to care what she found. Instead he just stood with his back to the door, a stern look on his face, willing the latest dizzy spell to pass so he could walk to the kitchen. The vertigo was almost as bad as the pain.

Her trip back down the hallway was slower, almost seductive. She’d taken the opportunity in the bathroom to freshen up – let her hair down so it cascaded around her shoulders, she was letting it grow out. Her skirt was shorter, hiked up just enough to reveal the gentle curve of her thighs. He noticed these things not without interest and what this sudden change implied made him uneasy.

“What’s going on Haley?” he asked, finally steady enough on his legs to move toward the kitchen. He was going to make coffee, sober her up. Maybe ask if she wanted to talk, because that made more sense than anything else. She was seeking comfort from him in some misguided way. It was the only reason he could imagine for her to be in his apartment this late on a Friday night, reeking of tequila and perfume she knew would get him worked up. Would spark some memories both painful and sweet.

“I miss you. Can’t I miss you? Is that not allowed, Aaron?” She shot him a look that made his head spin. Dismissing it, he turned back to measuring the coffee. His shoulders moved painfully stiff and slow in their sockets, and another wave of dizziness overtook him while he poured the water into the machine. “Aaron?”

The far away sound of her voice made his chest feel tight. Sounds had an echo chamber quality that made him feel sick, surround sound for the lost at sea. The ground bucked beneath his feet and he gripped the counter in front of him, leaning forward, closing his eyes. Damn the vertigo.

The pain of her voice, of her telling him she missed him, somehow surpassed the deep ache of broken ribs and burst eardrums. That was the worst part. It got in deeper, twisted around inside of him. She was going to slice him wide open with that smile.

“Do you miss me?” She was picking at the cork, still nestled tight in the neck of the bottle, with one manicured fingernail. Knowing now that the bottle would likely remain unopened, she’d resorted to using it as a distraction. Something to take her nervous energy – some part of her was having regrets, but she’d made the decision and intended to stick with it. She was here, and horny, and dammit...Aaron probably hadn’t had sex in a year by her best guess, he’d be ready and willing. The thought of his hands on her hips gave her strength to carry on.

“Excuse me?” he asked in a raspy, quiet voice. He could barely hear her. She was being coy and he could assume plenty by her behavior but it was so at odds with how she’d been treating him since she left that he couldn’t make sense of it. And he couldn’t hear her when she dropped her voice into that range where she thinks she’s being some kind of Marilyn Monroe sexy but she’s just really being too damn quiet for his damaged ears to get hold of. The mixed feelings, the anxiety, was starting to make him frustrated.

“I said do you miss me?” She said it louder, enunciating it with a little air of annoyance. “Pay attention.”

Huffing indignantly, he turned around to face her. Of course he missed her. Every single day, every cell in his miserable body missed her. But he’s worked hard and made his peace with it, too, and he couldn’t indulge this without dealing that peace irreparable damage. He’s moved on, he’s seeing someone new, he’s patching his heart up. She gave him no choice. When he begged her to reconsider, to try counseling, she told him to move on. She already had. It was over, he wouldn’t ever change and she wasn’t going to sit around and waste her life waiting for something that would never happen. And so, he was forced to do the same – stop wasting his life waiting around for her to come back, to love him again.

But he was never meant to be armored against something like this. He never had been and suspected he never would be. She would always have the key to everything inside of him.

“I heard that you were...that your car blew up in New York? Ka-boom.” She made a funny hand motion on that last bit, a strange drunk way of easing tension. He didn’t think it was very funny though. He was still in far too much pain to find anything about that night, or the days after, amusing. .

“How did you hear about that?”

The coffee pot began sputtering to life, startling her. After bringing up the bomb, she began wandering again and found herself near a bookshelf where she lost a full minute staring at a photo of the two of them. His senior prom, tucked away in the corner of a shelf with yearbooks she’d insisted he keep. She didn’t want them, they made her feel old. He was the sentimental one. She stepped out of her heels and down into the carpet, walking closer to the photo to get a better look. He was so scrawny in his tuxedo, and her dress was enormous, took up half of the photo with tulle and lace. A sign of the times. When she lifted the picture and examined it, her gaudy makeup and fried hair, she felt her own heart thump a little too hard. That was regret, she recognized it. She shouldn’t be here doing what she was doing. It was cruel. But these sorts of things had their own momentum, and she couldn’t imagine a way for her to step backward and out of it. “When were we ever so young?” She whispered it to herself before clearing her throat and putting the photo back on the shelf. Done with that. He was the sentimental one, not her. He didn’t hear it, he was still watching her while he stood stiff in the kitchen, guarding the coffee pot. Turning around, she squared her shoulders and remembered his question. How did she hear about the explosion. She felt guilty now about bringing it up, about making light of it. His face was all torn up, covered in mottled purple bruises and bright red scabs. There was obvious swelling in his jaw and a wad of what looked to her like cotton stuck in one of his ears. He looked like he was hurt. Really hurt. She wished she could take back the ka-boom.

“I heard it from Jessica. She heard it from Sean who saw it on the news…”

Aaron hummed and nodded. Sean did send him the obligatory ‘what the fuck?’ text after it happened but by the time he saw it, he was already halfway home and not about to ask Derek to turn them around just to go say hello to his worried little brother. And besides, Sean probably didn’t actually want him to stop by, he just wanted to have the upper hand. The last person to reach out always had the upper hand, fleeting though it were. And furthermore, when he didn’t hear from Aaron right away he called Derek and got the whole story – a good thing, too, because a week later Aaron could still barely hear out of one ear and he wasn’t much in the mood for telling stories. It did hurt though that Jessica knew and didn’t call him. That stung.

“I wasn’t in the car,” he pointed out, as if it really made any difference.

“Well, I can see that...but you still look like shit. And Jess said that Kate died. I always liked her.”

“No you didn’t.”

Haley smiled and it looked to him like the smile of a wolf. A hungry wolf, and she’s hunting for something he was probably weak enough to give her if she kept at it. He wouldn’t fool himself. Between the pain he was in and his grief over Kate and the way that he and Derek have been trying to patch up the cracks in their own foundation, he’s an easy target and she knows all of the places where his armor wears thin.

“Are you hurt?”

“I’m alright.”

She gave him a look that said she knew better, that she doubted his truthfulness, and he offered her a defeated little shrug in response.

“I’ll be okay,” he corrected. “Just sore.” She would allow the lies to a certain degree, she always had let him have his dignity with little fuss, hoping that he would be honest when it really mattered. She didn’t care much anyway, it wasn’t her problem to deal with anymore. He was upright, he was walking and talking, and he didn’t have Jack. There was nothing to worry about so far as she was concerned.

She touched the bottle of wine on the counter as she passed, a sort of wilting caress knowing that he didn’t plan to open it. She was welcome to, she could find the corkscrew and he wouldn’t stop her but she had already realized she didn’t need it. No, it might make things worse. Sloppy. She didn’t want sloppy.

Before he knew what was happening, she was sliding up behind him, her hands gliding up the knotted muscles of his back and up over the mound of his shoulders where she began kneading. He winced, it didn’t feel good in the slightest as she pressed and pulled at deep bruises and swollen joints, tearing at barely healed road rash she had no idea was there. He wanted to tell her to stop but it’s been almost a year since she last touched him and it felt electric, he was powerless. He couldn’t bring himself to ask her to stop. It was all wrong and it was going to end badly but he let her knead at his neck, her thumb pressing into a particularly painful place behind his ear that makes him bite into the meat of his cheek just to keep quiet. The pressure lit up his head, igniting a pain in his head that felt like fire.

“You’re so tense.”

“Haley what are you doing?”

She pouted and stepped back, looking offended. The relief he felt when her hands were off of him was instant and powerful. “You don’t like it?”

“I don’t understand what’s going on.”

Except he did. He’s had just as many mouths whispering in his ear about her as she did him. Word spreads fast when small town heroes make waves, even in big cities far from home. They couldn’t escape each other. Everyone was talking about how she’d broken up with her...whatever he was. The phone call, he’ll never forget the way his veins ran cold when her phone rang in her purse as she gritted out the final ultimatum. Her little piece of side action that couldn’t hack it when he became the main attraction, Aaron guessed. And now what? Was she having second thoughts or just lonely and bored? He knew very well what this was, well aware of how these sorts of things played out...he would be a distraction from her sadness and he could easily make her just as much a distraction from his grief over Kate or the fear he feels that his hearing might never return to normal.

“I miss you,” she said again, this time approaching him, stopping with just barely a breath between them. The room around him spun as he breathed in the scent of her perfume and something else now, something heated and musky. “I thought maybe we could...you know...for old time’s sake?”

The coffee pot spit out the last of its nectar into the waiting pot and he bit into his lip. He doesn’t have to hear every word she says to know what she means by it. “How about some coffee? We can talk. You’re not…”

There was no warning, so soft kisses or tentative foreplay before she decided to charge ahead with her plan.

Her hand slipped easily into the front of his track pants, fingers wiggling their way down into the space between boxers and skin. He felt the warmth spread, it was involuntary and subtle at first but even this felt normal. At the coffee pot in the mornings, she might slip up behind him and give him little choice where their morning was headed...except he was a willing participant in those memories and this time it was different. Everything about this was wrong, dirty, made him flush with shame. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings, to make her feel bad or stupid but god he just wanted her to stop touching him. Against every bit of willpower he thought he had, every last shred of dignity he tried to muster, he could feel himself getting hard in her hand. He grunted and shifted and pulled away. It was weak at best but it stopped her briefly. She still had her hand wrapped around his dick but she wasn’t moving, she was just looking up at him with those huge pleading bedroom eyes and he couldn’t remember a time in his life he’d ever told her no. “Haley please.”

He could beg too. Just not for the same thing.

“You don’t want me anymore?” She was pouting. “If you’re worried about feelings...don’t be. This doesn’t have to mean anything...just one night...to kill the loneliness. People do it all the time…” she was purring against his pulse, her lips tickling warm skin. He shivered. “Two people who know each other so well...”

“People might, but we don’t. You’re better than this. We can’t do this.”

She let out a barking laugh and rocked her hips against his before reaching up, hooking his neck, and pulling him down into a bruising kiss. It hurt his neck, made his ear pop painfully and he whined until he was locked in. When their lips met he felt himself giving in. Kissing her back.

“I don’t want to be better than this. I want you. Now.” That made him stop, it made him pull away – he could feel the lie in it like a dagger through his heart. A sugar coated lie hurt worse than sharp truth. That brief feeling of lust he felt for her was replaced with the burn of tears in his eyes.

“What about Jack?” he pleaded, desperate and breathless, overcome with a self-loathing that nearly devoured him whole. He should have brought up Derek, it would have stopped her, but he had so desperately been protecting that. Coveting it, keeping it private. Bringing it up now would cheapen it.

“He won’t know. One night isn’t going to matter…” she wrapped her fist in the collar of his shirt, holding his lips beside hers. “I know you want it too.” She stroked him and smiled as his body curved toward hers involuntarily, his eyes wild and desperately seeking an argument or some willpower but his body had already become hers to do what she wanted with. She’d won. “We can be quick...”

The lock clicked and the door knob turned, a strangely ominous sound that shattered whatever trance she’d let herself fall into. Who would be walking into his apartment? Who had a key to the place? She remembered him locking the door behind him. Slowly, confused, she turned to look and Aaron frowned following her attention as it focused on the door. He hadn’t heard the door. The realization of what was happening came in slow motion and he felt a burning in his chest. He was going to be sick. Coughing and turning his head to the other side as the taste of bile rose in his throat, he was powerless to the pull of his body. Mortified, filled with shame, the vertigo was coming back full force. There was no way he could look at the door, and he couldn’t look at Haley either. He couldn’t look anywhere so he closed his eyes, disgusted with himself.

“Haley,” he whispered, his palms against her shoulders trying to leverage her away from him without losing his cool. He was almost crying at the painful burning in his chest, the way his stomach twisted angrily. He needed to get away, get to the sink and quick.

“Aaron?” came a voice from the doorway. Haley unhooked herself and stared, mouth agape, at Derek Morgan standing in the doorway with a plastic bag filled with takeout and a bouquet of flowers held under his arm like a football. Aaron took her moment of distraction to stumble away from her toward the sink, hands gripping the edge until his knuckles went white, until he was dry heaving into the dirty dishes. Derek watched, confused. “What’s going on?”

Aaron could barely hear him, but he knew what the question would be anyway. He would ask it too, if he’d walked in right then. There was only one thing he could possibly have questions about. “I don’t know,” Aaron gasped around wet, ragged breaths because it was the most honest answer he could muster. He turned away from the sink, pressing one palm flat against his sternum, all the color drained from his features. There was one precarious moment when bright white began creeping in at the edge of his vision and he thought of fucking course, I’m about to pass out. But he didn’t, he remained with them and steeled himself as he looked at Derek. He had to see Derek, he had to look at him. Hiding was only going to make it worse. There was hurt on Derek’s face like he’d never known, hurt that was magnified by the still fresh wounds of New York...but Derek didn’t turn to leave and that had to be something. More than Aaron figured he deserved. “I don’t know.” He repeated himself like it helped anything.

“Derek,” Haley said, finally finding her voice. Clearly Aaron wasn’t going to say a damn thing, he wasn’t going to get them out of this or make it seem okay. Maybe that was fine. She didn’t think she had anything she needed to explain, she had every right to be here in his apartment. She was invited in after all. They were grown adults. “What are you…?”

It dawned on her suddenly, when she took stock of the flowers and the food and the way he was dressed so casually. Not work casual, real casual. Track pants and a t-shirt, shoes he kicked off in the doorway...like this place belonged to him too. Like he wasn’t coming over he was coming home. There was a toothbrush in a cup beside the kitchen sink, and the laundry basket beside the washer had a lot of clothes in it she knew Aaron would never pick out. In fact, what he was wearing now suddenly struck her as odd – a worn brown t shirt and soft navy sweatpants that hung a little too low on his hips, sweatpants that were emblazoned with a Northwestern University logo that was cracked and worn. She’d seen it all when she walked through his place snooping out loud, but she hadn’t really given it much weight. Now it all made sense and she felt like Aaron had the right idea. Maybe he’d move over and let her be sick at the sink too. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

But how could she have known? He didn’t say anything, dammit. He never said anything. He knew all about her post-divorce love life and she didn’t know a damn thing about his.

Derek set the food and flowers down on the kitchen counter, still staring at the two of them. “About what?” he asked, unwilling to do the work for them. He’d be damned if he was going to fill in the fucking blanks, they were going to say it out loud to his face. This was always a fear, something that tickled in the back of his mind, the possibility that this wasn’t over...wouldn’t ever be over. He lived with the possibility, but fuck. Why did it have to come so hot on the tail of Kate Joyner? The universe was really fucking pushing his buttons.

The counter was digging into the small of Aaron’s back but he didn’t trust his legs to try and move so he stayed put. Haley was there, right next to Derek, standing like she was frozen in place.

“I didn’t know,” she said quietly, wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand. The hand that had been in her ex-husband’s pants a minute before, she realizes that part a moment too late and feels the bile in her throat again. “I’m sorry.”

Without another word, because at this point what can she possibly say that won’t just make this worse? She grabbed her purse and rushed out the door. Her shoes were in her hands and she’d worry about that outside when she called a cab to take her away from here, away from this moment of shameful loss of control. She’d already started doubting herself before Derek showed up, as the tequila wore off and the reality began to set in. What a fucking tragic mistake. “I’m never drinking again,” she whispered to herself as she stormed down the hallway.

Derek didn’t bother to watch her leave. He didn’t care. He just stared at Aaron for a long, silent minute. Sixty seconds that felt like a lifetime.

“You gonna tell me what’s going on or do I have to guess? Because my guess is gonna make you look like a real fucking asshole.”

Aaron didn’t want to throw Haley to the wolves, some part of him felt an urge to protect her. She was suffering, she was just looking for connection. Misguided and predatory as it were, he couldn’t fault her for it. Not really.

“She just showed up a couple of minutes ago. Said she missed me…” There were big tears in his eyes now, and Derek could see that he was in real pain. He didn’t even seem upset that Derek walked in on them, that didn’t seem to register as the problem. Derek knew that he hadn’t walked in on anything that he needed to worry about, that much was clear in the way Aaron didn’t try to shy away from him. He wasn’t hiding anything, he was just ashamed at his weakness.

Without a word, Derek poured a mug of coffee and left the apartment knowing Haley can’t have gotten far. He figured he needed to give Aaron a minute to himself, to collect his thoughts, and Derek needed to talk to Haley a lot more than he needed to badger Aaron right then. She was the one who owed him an explanation. He found her sitting on a bench across the street waiting for her cab, slipping her feet wearily back into her ghastly heels. Glancing at the lack of traffic, he jogged across as quickly as he could without spilling the coffee and handed her the mug as he sat down beside her. Preparing himself to have a very awkward conversation with his boyfriend’s ex-wife when all he wanted was a quiet night with calzones and a stupid movie. A reprieve from the insanity, not doubling down on it.

“I’m glad you walked in when you did,” she whispered, her voice ragged and thick with emotion. She swiped at the black mascara tears that streaked down her cheeks. “I don’t know what I was thinking but I’m glad you stopped me before I made a really big mistake.”

“You’re lonely and he’s safe, that’s what you were thinking.” He said it like it was obvious, and it dawned on her that he was right. That was exactly it. The men at the club hitting on her had made her feel old and worn, but more than that they made her feel frightened and vulnerable. Aaron never made her feel that way, and the tequila made her horny and stupid.

She smiled sadly and sipped the hot coffee. “I’m such an idiot.”

He didn’t argue with her, it wasn’t his job to make her feel less like a fool for what she’d decided to do. He was certainly not going to make her feel better about it. What she did was stupid and was cruel, but he could see that she was hurting and what he said was true – Aaron is safe and she clearly needed safe. It was cruel in a sense, deciding that in her loneliness she could play it safe and use him for her immediate needs...Derek wasn’t about to make her feel better about that, but he was going to extend an olive branch. He had to. For Aaron, maybe, or for Jack. For the fucked up little family that he was still trying to be part of.

“I’m willing to forget about this,” he said finally. “As long as it never happens again.”

“Do you love him?” she asked, ignoring his statement. He sighed and considered not answering her at first, but it wouldn’t do any good. Maybe she needed to hear it, to sever whatever tie she had to this back up plan in her mind. Aaron can’t be her safety net, not like this.

“Yeah. I do. Sometimes I really hate him, too, but yeah. I love him and I’d really like this to work out.”

“He’s always had a thing for you,” she said, finishing the coffee. “Did you know that?”

It’s her own attempt at an olive branch, maybe. He didn’t want it but he did take it. “Yeah. It was mutual.”

She smiled as the cab pulled up in front of them, brakes squealing and tires grinding in gravel. There wasn’t anything else for her to say – she wasn’t going to congratulate Derek on landing her ex. She didn’t feel happy about any of it. But she didn’t destroy their relationship with her sad night of desperation and that had to count for at least one pathetic little smile. “Nothing happened,” she said finally. “I mean, I tried to make it happen but...he did try to push me away. He did try to get me to stop.”

Derek nodded, but he had nothing to say to it. It wasn’t like he couldn’t have played the whole thing out in his head, he knew Aaron well enough to write the script verbatim...but that didn’t stop the hurt. It didn’t make him feel better.

“Would you tell Aaron I’m sorry? I don’t think I should talk to him for a while.”

“Yeah. I’ll tell him.”

Derek sat on the bench for a while as the cab drove away, watching the lights fade into the distance. He turned the still warm mug around in his hands and stilled the thunder of his own angry heart. He had a choice to make – he could just get on his bike and leave. Aaron would expect it, he might even already think it had happened. He could shoot him a text saying that he needed some time – wasn’t that what people did? How this sort of thing played out?

But they’d been through hell already and this wasn’t a storm they could deal with better on their own than together, and that thought alone made him stand and walk toward the apartment instead of away. The door was open, waiting for him, and he walked through it just as sure as he did the first time, this time clicking the lock behind him. The lights inside had been dimmed and Aaron was sitting slumped over on the couch, his head cradled in his hands. The place was silent except for the sound of his crying and the gentle steamy hiss of the coffee pot keeping things warm. Haley’s scent had been replaced by coffee and calzones.

“I’m sorry,” Aaron whispered in a voice so soaked with tears that Derek could hardly hear it. He sat down beside Aaron on the couch and folded his hands in his lap. There were only a few inches between them but it felt like a canyon.

“I know. She said she is too, by the way.” He paused, licking his lips, searching for the most diplomatic voice he could muster. One of them had to stay emotionally neutral or things were going to get ugly. Really fucking ugly, and they’ve had too much of that lately. Usually he was up for it...not now. Not like this. “Aaron…” He didn’t know how to ask what he needed to ask. How to make this not seem like breaking up. He knew what Haley said, and he believed it...but he needed to hear it from Aaron. “If I hadn’t shown up, would you have stopped her?”

Aaron stared miserably at the floor, barely breathing. Not blinking. He watched a thick tear plop against the carpet and pool there beside his foot. “I tried.”

“You’re twice her size. You could have walked away pretty damn easily. Would you have?”

Aaron’s shoulders began shuddering and he buried his face in his hands again, fingertips digging into his eyes. He’d already been crying but this was different, it was a panic cry, shame and guilt tearing him up from the inside. Derek squeezed his hands together to keep himself from closing that gap and taking Aaron into his arms. Not yet. Everything in the entire world hinged on Aaron’s answer.

“Would you have stopped her?” he asked again, quieter this time. More serious. Even through the pounding in his head and the screaming in his ears, Aaron heard it loud and clear.

“I don’t know.”

Derek nodded solemnly and stood, walking over to the counter where he’d set his belongings. Slowly, methodically, he pulled out cardboard boxes and began popping the lids open to see whose food was inside. He busied himself with gathering plates and utensils, lovingly putting the flowers in water and arranging them. His favorite vase was on the top shelf and he had reached for it automatically, wondering if Haley would have asked him about love if she knew he brought over flowers often enough to have a favorite vase. It didn’t matter, the thought only served to make him angry when he was working in the opposite direction. He was satisfied with Aaron’s answer – not because he liked it, he hated it. The way it made his stomach grind and ache, made his blood turn to lava flow. He wanted to put a hole in the wall and cry out for mercy, he wanted to shake Aaron and ask if he wasn’t enough, but he wouldn’t. He was satisfied with the answer he hated because it was honest and he can work through anything in the whole miserable fucking world world...except a lie.

They could work through this. Not tonight, there was nothing to be gained by discussing it now. Tomorrow, maybe, when heads were clear and hearts were guarded, when tongues weren't so keen on spitting fire. Tonight was date night, dammit, and he was going to protect the sanctity of that with his last shred of sanity.

“What movie are we watching tonight?”

The question startled Aaron. He dragged his hands slowly down his sticky cheeks and glanced up, half half-expecting to have seen Derek grabbing his food and heading for the door. Instead, he was approaching with steaming calzones on plates and the flowers he brought were on display on the dining room table. A beautiful spray of deep garnet colored tulips. Derek liked to bring him red flowers, bright crimson or deep garnet, he said it made the apartment look less like a cave.

“I’m not sure,” Aaron rasped, unable to contain the surprise in his voice. He rubbed at the stubborn tears clinging to his lashes and accepted his plate from Derek with both hands – he could smell the mushrooms and jalapenos and olives inside. His mouth watered. Derek groaned at his response to the question, as if it were the biggest inconvenience of the entire night.

“Aw come on. You had one job, man.”

Aaron smiled a little shy and that was when Derek realized he was bluffing. Letting out an irritated little huff, he sat down and rested his plate atop his knees.

“I asked Penelope for recommendations. She gave me two. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and Killer Klowns From Outer Space.”

They both sounded equally terrible to Derek, about the last things in the entire world he’d ever choose to watch if it were up to him but he was secretly glad that neither of them sounded emotional or heavy, not romantic or dramatic. Nothing to make him feel anything. Just a goofy good time with a few jump scares thrown in for good measure. They felt safe. They felt like the type of movies that would make Aaron curl into his side and fall asleep, the kind of movies he could lose himself in, the kind of movies he could turn his whole brain off for. They sounded awful but perfect.

“They both sound like big steaming piles of dogshit.”

Aaron nodded in staunch agreement. He’d already harassed Penelope about them, but she assured him they were perfect. “They do. But unless you brought any movies over, these are your options.”

“Don’t look so smug,” Derek spit with a smile, wavering back and forth between bad and worse. Killer tomatoes or killer aliens that looked like clowns. It was bound to be a shit show no matter how he broke it down. “Well,” he said finally, glancing at his calzone oozing hot tomato sauce all over his plate with unease. He knew the movie was going to be lame, wasn’t going to scare him in the least, but the night already had its fair share of discomfort and all he wanted was some distraction. Their dinner made the choice for him. “Bring on the clowns.”

#aaron hotchner #haley hotchner #derek morgan #hotchgan #criminal minds #fanfiction #hotch x morgan #mind the warnings!

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tobiasdrake · 6 months

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Ace Attorney 4-3 Turnabout Serenade, Investigation 2

So, that last trial was surprisingly uneventful. But at least it gave us a direction to move in for our second investigation day.

What's interesting about this investigation is that we sort of know who the killer is? Lamiroir told us outright at the end of the previous trial. While Daryan and Gavin were onstage for the third set of the evening, Daryan was backstage shooting Romein with Romein's own gun. That is what we know, according to the only witness to the crime: A woman whose ability to witness said crime has already been disproven.

Officially, Lamiroir was lying to protect Machi and never witnessed anything. But what she specifically didn't witness was Daryan, a man whose alibi is upheld by thousands of cheering fans and his bandmate Klavier Gavin himself.

Impossible witness Lamiroir has named an impossible killer as the perpetrator of this impossible crime. Unpacking that web of illusions and theatrics is going to be our focus for today's investigation. It is physically impossible for Daryan to have done it and physically impossible for Lamiroir to have witnessed it.

And yet. It sure would be weird if Lamiroir turned up dead over this, wouldn't it?

She's okay. Apollo finds her in time and she's able to be hospitalized. But there's only one person who would homicidally want to secure her silence, isn't there?

This is going to be a hell of a case to unpack. Especially when, this time, Apollo doesn't have anyone to guide him.

Throughout Ace Attorney 4, the game has been gradually building up Apollo using Phoenix as his mentor. In 4-1, Phoenix laid out the breadcrumbs and walked Apollo step-by-step through what he needed Apollo to do. Directly stepping in to help shape his way of thinking.

In 4-2, Phoenix took off the training wheels and set Apollo out into the world, but remained nearby to offer advice and guidance. Multiple times, Apollo checks in with Phoenix to discuss the case with him, but the act of putting it together and proving the defendant's innocence landed squarely on Apollo's shoulders.

Now, in 4-3, it's Apollo's time to fly. Phoenix has gone near-fully hands-off for this case; He'll turn in a brief appearance at trial tomorrow to give Apollo a nudge, but he has other things to be doing right now. Apollo needs to bear this case on his own, to stand as a true successor to the legacy of Phoenix Wright.

Only then will he be ready for what Phoenix needs of him in 4-4.

Getting to the case, there are a few unanswered mysteries from yesterday as well. One of which shows right up at the Wright Agency's doorstep. The opening minutes of this investigation finally properly introduces the vanishing Golden Fucko!

Valant Gramarye, whose name I keep misreading as Valiant, is a professional magician who worked on the concert. He's also a close personal friend of the family to Trucy.

Oh that's how Phoenix managed to spawn a teenager in seven years. Trucy's entire existence is a magic trick. She was conjured into existence through a sleight-of-hand feat called "adoption".

Trucy's father, Zak Gramarye, has already been introduced to this game under our noses. That is, of course, his photo hanging on the wall for Trucy to remember him by. But he won't enter the picture as a major plot point until 4-4.

Trucy has an... admirably cheerful way of describing what Zak did that day. Factually accurate but. Wow. Someone get this girl some therapy please. The fact that she is this well-adjusted is a testament to either her psychological fortitude, Phoenix's parenting, or both.

Seemingly out of nowhere but actually relevant to this case, the main plot of Ace Attorney 4 has arrived.

Troupe Gramarye is deceptively important both to this and previous cases. Though the full extent of that importance will only be felt in the next case. For now, Valant's involvement with this case is limited. His services were retained for the concert for one particular piece of showmanship in the second set.

Gavin's guitar erupting into flames was not an intended part of the trick but Lamiroir's teleportation was. A feat of stage magic worthy only of the greatest magician in the world, and a clue to what will be the greatest mystery of this case.

Speaking of Gavin, his personal involvement in this case continues to be a high point, as we get to see more of his personality outside the courtroom. AJ may be the most story-driven Ace Attorney game in the brand, with a lot of moving parts and time spent with the important players in the early cases until it all comes together for the finale.

For Gavin, 4-3 is about conveying the artistic element of his character. To that end, his relationship to Lamiroir and to the music they've created together explores his pure love of art.

It seems the destroyed instrument is a greater tragedy than had been apparent yesterday. That guitar was a precious memento with tremendous sentimental value.

Starting to get the full picture of why Gavin was furious yesterday, after his guitar caught fire mid-show.

Though we spend surprisingly little time in this investigation chasing down the possibility of how Daryan could be the killer (which is good because that's more for Trial 2 to do), we do begin to put together context for why this murder took place.

It all centers on the guitar of The Guitar's Serenade. This was what was so important that a man had to die for it. Well, not this specifically. But it is the key to this mystery.

Lamiroir is confused and worried by the revelation that Romein was an Interpol agent. Neither she nor Machi had any knowledge of this. He'd only been assigned to her as her manager recently.

So far as she knew, Lamiroir was simply an international singer who travels the world writing songs of each country she visits. The "Landscape Painter in Sound" was her gimmick, and she never thought anything more of her careers than that.

But with the revelation that she was under investigation from Interpol, it's clear that she's been swept up in something. Something dangerous. Something criminal. And something involving this.

We have ourselves a smuggling case. Romein LeTouse went undercover with Lamiroir and Machi to track down a Borginian Cocoon that they were illegally trafficking into Japanifornia.

The discovery of the Borginian Cocoon makes a lot of pieces begin to fall into place. Lamiroir has an international reputation as a traveling performer who creates music for each country she visits? Yeah, you're right, that would be a great cover for smuggling.

Here, a motive comes into picture. We see something that's worth killing over. Something that continues to be worth killing over, as the murderer reveals his hand to shut this investigation down entirely. First by trying to silence Lamiroir once and for all. Then by stopping us from talking to our own client.

Investigation 2 ends with no possible question left as to who the killer is or why the murder took place. It's the how that remains unsolvable. We know who shot Agent LeTouse, but it doesn't matter if we can't prove it.

This case introduces us to the intriguing new character of Valant Gramarye, while also giving good character moments to Gavin, Lamiroir, and even Daryan himself. It leaves us with the knowledge that tomorrow is going to be a circus of a court. Because. Yes. We are going to need to prove that a man who was onstage during the show was somehow also backstage shooting the victim.

Overall, Investigation 2 is pretty solid. We learn a lot of new information about the context surrounding the crime, while leaving its greatest mysteries for Trial 2 to uncover. We can't solve the case here, but we gain necessary context that we'll need to solve the case tomorrow.

#ace attorney #ace attorney apollo justice #revisiting aa4

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unhingedwomandiaries · 5 months

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Another day, another tragedy. Today's burnt offering to chaos comes courtesy of Owassa, Oklahoma, where a transgender kid named Nex was bullied into an early grave. The specific details are murky (if not outright conspiratorial), but the broad outline is painfully clear: Kid gets harassed by small-minded jerks. Kid retaliates. Kid gets suspended. Kid sees no exit from an unlivable reality. Kid checks out. And we're left to pick through the ashen remains of a life that needn't have been sacrificed to the great volcanic maw of rural ignorance.

I can sadly relate to the hopelessness of being bullied as a kid. When I was 9 years old, some girl punched me in the eye during a fire drill just because she thought my curly hair made me look ugly. The teachers saw it, my classmates saw it, and nobody did a damn thing besides a half-hearted "stop it." My parents tried taking it to the administration and were stonewalled. The bullying only escalated from there. The cruel taunts over AOL Messenger in middle school, the relentless mocking about my awkward appearance. By 12 years old I had a suicide plan hatched, seeing no way out of the torment. Even asking to be homeschooled was denied by my own mother, who incredibly rationalized that "bullies are everywhere, just deal with it." Yeah, great advice.

So I know the feeling of wanting to just exit this reality altogether, to preemptively abandon a cruel existence that doesn't seem destined to improve. The self-hatred bullying breeds is a toxin. I'm grateful I hung on, but also still deeply angry at the cyclical abuse society allows under the guise of kids just "being kids." This normalization needs to end.

Which brings me back to poor Nex. What's the ultimate difference between homicide and suicide here? The semantics don't change the underlying truth: This kid was bullied to death. Whether the final blow came from an assailant or the victim's own hand is almost irrelevant—Nex died because small people have big fears, and they expressed those fears through cruelty. The school failed by suspending Nex instead of the perpetrators. The town failed by harboring the sort of anti-difference hatred that crushes gentle souls. Nex's parents failed by being unable to create a safe space. And we all fail when incidents like this just become think-pieces instead of catalysts for actual change.

This isn't a new story, sadly. It's the same tired tale conservatives love to ignore until it lands on their doorstep, then sweep under the rug with half-truths about psychoactive drugs and mental illness. The same culture war garbage that gets trotted out whenever reality inconveniences the regressive agenda. I can't muster much more energy than an exhausted sigh.

But here's the important part, penned directly to any LGBTQ+ youths who might find my diary: It gets better. Being a teenager is a temporarily horrific condition, but it won't last forever. The high school hellscape will eventually give way to a bigger world where you get to surround yourself with people who embrace your uniqueness. Everything feels terminal when you're young, but human existence is startlingly malleable. The alluring permanence of the grave ends up being the ultimate impermanence. You've got to hang in there and pursue the chance to build a life where rubbing others the wrong way isn't punished by ritualized torment.

It's tragic that Nex never got that opportunity. But we'd multiply the tragedy by allowing the next gender-nonconforming kid to meet the same fate. Maybe next time it'll be different. But today is just another day of profound disappointment in my fellow humans.

#nex benedict #diary #news

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sotiris-rp · 2 years

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Sasha “Stella” Soverall (she/her) is a 56 year old Venpalan who works as a Sergeant in the Collective Starfleet and looks a lot like Saoirse Ronan.

BIOGRAPHY

though she had always liked the feeling of dipping her fingers into grass, reed and the muddy ground underneath, it was the feeling of being weightless that she truly loved (if someone was to ask her about her first session in a gravity simulator when she first joined the starfleet academy, she would always tell them that it was ‘great’, while she did in fact end up throwing up everything she ate for lunch right when her feet touched the ground again).

growing up on palaven, sasha was passed around from family to family. her biological parents had always wanted children, just not a child like sasha - the job offer her manufacturer - as she liked to call her father - received when she turned three months old turned out to be the perfect excuse to leave a helpless child behind. the young girl lived up to her past and caused as many problems as possible - at ten she was caught stealing by a starfleet officer, but she managed to run from him, back to her assigned foster family. said starfleet officer turned out to be the ensign of a smaller-sized starship, who showed up at her doorstep a few weeks later. ensign soverall offered to take her in after learning about her life situation (his pregnant wife had passed some time ago and he was feeling rather lonely, anyway). the captain didn’t even need to mention the possibility to join him on missions, of joining the starfleet academy or getting private training lessons from him for her to agree to living with him. he saw her potential when she managed to flee - and she took the chance of getting a fresh start.

since she never had a real mother, she never really learned how to take care of her curls and clothes properly (and an ensign walking around in uniform 24/7 wasn’t really one to help with that), so she was all lion’s mane and messy clothing. paired with herself being rather quiet and careful when it came to talking, she didn’t make a lot of friends in her first few years as a soverall. when sasha turned 17, her father met a new woman, aneida, who he decided was worthy of dating, and she started to love sasha like she was her own daughter. as a curly haired woman herself she was able to help her out when it came to taking care of her hair. when she moved in she let the teenager borrow pieces from her closet and when she had issues, she would take her for fun little trips. aneida was also there when sasha fought with her dad, when she almost ran away from home one time and when she enrolled into the starfleet academy. sasha was 25 when they married and 30 when her younger sister was born.

the venpalan women chose the career of a fighter pilot, though she learned quickly that she was rather keen on following her father’s footsteps and after training for a long time, she managed to get hold of the position of a sergeant on a standard-sized starship. she was part of the first contact with leora months ago, originally planning on returning to palaven after a month of residing there, but immediately after landing she was hit with the news of her father, the rest of the crew and the starship he was assigned to disappearing during a mission. she had a big fallout with aneida after and hasn’t had contact with her or her sister since.

after a month of residing in sotiris, sasha had to face some unfinished business with tiago ixora. that and her father disappearing led to her taking a job offer, stationed on leora. she currently works as an instructor for starfleet academy students.

PERSONALITY

for her students or to someone she has just met she could be a role model, someone who has worked her way up the ladder, or she could be an observant, well-worded and well-raised starfleet sergeant that lives for her job. sasha is kind-hearted and cold-eyed, has a resting neutral face and can even be a little frumpy. revealing personal information? absolutely not her thing, everyone knowing that her father disappeared is definitely an awful experience for her (though it is an well-guarded secret that she was adopted, with her father claiming that he kept her a secret until she was old enough to be introduced to the society).

an observant eye may notice her multiple nervous habits, including tapping her fingers against every surface near them and feet shuffles when she’s unfocused. these unfocused moments rarely ever occur, though, since a pilot always has to keep their guard up. her appearance is deceptive, she’s smart, cunning and an excellent spy and instructor, as well as a perfectly trained collective-style combat fighter. sasha loves to learn and to read and to get better at things she’s already good at.

depending on the situation sasha can be either introverted or extroverted, but most of the time she’s a well balanced ambivert. the laid back pace and work schedules of leora are driving her slightly nuts, since she’s an absolute work animal (and the traditions of a foreign planet definitely don’t stop her from working from 9am to 11pm). generally, she is a really respectful person, but she is also very reserved and careful with her words and secrets.

since her father has disappeared and she had the fallout with aneida, though, her personality and behavior has changed. she's prone to taking risks and tempted to overstep boundaries, isn't afraid to speak her mind (when she isn't busy with keeping everything to herself).

Welcome home @credinaa ! We’re happy to have you in Sotiris.

#accepted per sotiris;#saoirse ronan

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actuallysaiyan · 2 years

Text

The Girl Who Came To Stay; Chapter Two: Stomach Tied In Knots

Author: @beneathstarryskiess Word Count: 3,035 Summary: Mina faces off with the trio of devil hunters. When she comes face to face with Vergil, she makes a rash decision that lands them in a place Vergil never thought he’d see again. Warnings: Mina (oc) x Vergil, suggestive themes, canon typical violence, trauma Author’s Note: None!

Masterlist

Flashes of green light and black smoke surround the devil turns into a young woman. She’s dressed in a tattered dress and long blonde hair spills over her face and she pushes it back. Mina is dazed for a moment before stepping forward, making her way to the dead wolf laying on the ground a few feet ahead. She kneels beside it, her fingers curling through the gray fur as tears sting her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers.

It’s difficult to know this poor animal died so horribly at her command. She hadn’t expected that to happen. Usually, these devil hunters couldn’t make it past a wolf, much less all the way to her. She knows the only reason the fight didn’t go on longer is because of her powers, she was able to keep the devil hunter distracted with her scent.

So many questions tumble through her mind as she stumbles to the small cabin she’s called home since she was a teenager. She’s still thinking about what’s happened as she gets a shovel and returns to the wolf. Having potential devil slayers come to the forest wasn’t a new occurrence for Mina. Often she’s been able to scare them away by sending animals after them, but when that doesn’t work she doesn’t have any issues taking them down. That woman was different. She’s never seen another devil before…She can’t help being curious about it.

She’s just finishing up burying the wolf when she hears someone walking through the woods. She looks up, half expecting a fight, but instead, she sees George walking toward her.

“Dad,” she cries as she runs to him.

“Are you alright, Mina?” he asks quietly as he holds her close.

“I’m okay,” she sniffles as she looks up at him. “She just ran off.”

“She’s coming back with help,” George frowns. “The mayor is really serious about it this time.”

“I don’t want to do this anymore, Dad. I don’t want to hurt people anymore.”

“Maybe I haven’t done right by you,” George says sadly as he looks down, noticing the fresh grave.

From the moment Mina showed up on their doorstep, he feels like he’s made the wrong choices to try to keep her safe. His sweet, unassuming daughter has blood on her hands and deep down he knows it’s his fault. He resigned her to the fate of being the devil that lurks in the forest.

“I should leave,” Mina says finally.

“They should be returning tomorrow. You need to rest tonight. I’ll try to hold them off tomorrow to give you a chance to leave.”

“I’ll send a signal when I leave,” she sighs. “A rabbit.”

He nods, “I’ll be on the lookout.”

They bid each other goodnight before going their separate ways for likely the last time. Mina returns to the cabin and starts cooking dinner. There’s not much for her to pack to take with her. In a small leather bag, she packs a few family mementos she wants to keep with her. After dinner, she cleans up and changes into some fresh clothes.

She tries to rest, knowing she’ll need it, but she can’t bring herself to sleep. Her mind keeps wandering back to the devil hunter. She was different than the others. She was strong and capable…And she was a devil. It makes Mina wonder how different her own life could truly be. Was all this hiding and killing truly necessary?

The idea that she’s been wasting her life in this forest for nothing makes her chest tighten. She tries to remind herself that George was acting in her best interests. She was just a kid when these powers began to show and that terrible accident happened.

Briar, Dante, and Vergil arrive in Aston around noon. Briar parks the car a bit outside the village, and the three of them walk towards the gates. She scowls when the mud sloshes under her feet. The mayor is anxiously awaiting their arrival, wanting more than anything for this business to be put to rest. He’s suspicious when he sees the two large, white-haired men following Briar.

“This is a nice place,” Dante remarks sarcastically as some of the villagers eye them suspiciously.

“Is this your backup?” The mayor asks.

“Yeah,” Briar answers curtly. “If they can resist getting seduced, that is.”

“I’ll escort you,” the mayor starts to follow them.

Vergil shifts uncomfortably when the mayor falls in behind him, “That won’t be necessary.”

“Sorry about him, he lacks charm,” Dante pats the mayor on the back. “We can take it from here.”

The three of them walk through the village and through the fields. Briar lets out a groan when she spots George coming out of the barn. He doesn’t hesitate before making his way to the trio. Briar notices he seems even more uptight about her presence than he was the day before.

“You back so soon?” he asks, trying much too hard to sound relaxed.

“Gotta finish the job,” Briar answers, she tries to move past him but George stays close.

“You know, maybe you ought to leave it alone. The only people who ever get hurt are the ones who go in there trying to start trouble.”

Briar stops suddenly and turns to the farmer with furrowed brows, “Didn’t the mayor say this thing killed your daughter?”

“That’s his theory,” George says quietly.

“Then what’s yours?”

George fumbles for an answer, looking towards the treeline with a pained expression. Dante and Briar both wait for his answer, their curiosity piqued by the farmer. Vergil follows his gaze, and he sees the small brown rabbit that the farmer is watching jump through the fence. He notices the green aura around the creature and the glowing eyes. It all clicks in his mind. Without saying a word to the others, he begins walking towards the forest.

Dante follows “Where are you going, Vergil?”

“This devil didn’t kill his daughter,” Vergil says as they keep walking. “The devil in the forest is his daughter.”

“You got some balls, farmer!” Briar says before running after the other two.

Mina is making her way to the other end of the forest when she senses the entrance of the three devil hunters. Her heart pounds when she feels how much demonic power surges in them. She tries to keep running, hoping to lose them but in only a few seconds she can feel them closing in on her. She’s not sure she has the energy to trigger yet after not sleeping all night.

“We should split up,” Vergil suggests. “To cover more ground.”

The three go in separate directions, and Mina jumps up into one of the nearby trees to keep track of where they are. She sees Dante walking in her direction. Vergil keeps straight while Briar heads in the opposite direction. An idea enters her mind as she jumps from the tree, landing a few yards away from Dante.

Her eyes begin to glow as she silently beckons him to her. The smell of cigarettes catches his attention, and although he remembers what Briar had told them about this demon he can’t help following the smell. The closer he gets, the more intoxicating the scent becomes. Hints of clove and coffee mix in. It’s as though the scent is curling under his skin, taking over his senses. Before he knows it, he’s standing in front of Mina but he can barely make her features out through his hazed vision. His eyes glow green as she reaches up to cup his chin. She pulls him down to be face to face, and he bends for her with ease. Looking into his eyes, it’s easy to see what Dante desires.

“Sweet man, you want to be loved.”

“Y-yes,” Dante slurs.

“By that woman? You want her underneath you, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“Go get her.”

Dante turns away, an aura surrounding him as he stumbles in the direction of Briar. Mina lets out a breath of relief before taking off running again. She feels a little guilty for manipulating the man in that way, but she’s relieved it didn’t come down to violence like before.

She sees Vergil in the distance, and she quickly changes course to try and avoid him. He seems to have keener senses, as he easily finds the direction she’s in. Mina gasps when a glowing, blue sword whizzes past her head and lands in a tree ahead of her. Before she has time to blink, Vergil is in front of her. A faint afterimage lingering in his trail is the only hint that he’d moved at all. She comes to a stop so quickly she skids and falls backward. Her heart pounds as Vergil steps towards her.

“It’s hard to believe such a little thing has caused so much trouble,” he says.

“Please,” Mina whimpers. “I just want to leave.”

He stands at her feet, towering over her. Mina doesn’t know what to do. She doesn’t have the energy to trigger and this man feels more dangerous than the first. She summons up a bit of energy, her eyes slightly glowing as she does so.

Vergil frowns, “Are you trying to trick me?”

The smell of leather bound books draws him in despite his best efforts to resist. Mina manages to scramble to her feet, putting out more energy.

“Stop this!” Vergil growls.

She steps towards him now, filling his senses with geranium. Vergil steps back when he feels warmth tingling across his skin. He almost feels like he could fall to his knees now, but he won’t be forced into submission by a silly girl.

“Please, I just want to leave,” she keeps walking towards him until they’re inches apart and Vergil is completely taken by the smell of books, geranium, and spiced tea.

Mina swallows hard, “Help me.”

Before he realizes what he’s doing, Vergil is unsheathing Yamato. Mina watches as he turns away from her and he slices through the air in a cross. A portal opens up, and he grabs her by the waist and pulls her through it with him.

They step into an old, dusty house. Mina tries to pull away, but Vergil’s grip stays tight around her waist. The scents she’s giving off awakens a deep longing he’s hidden away. He leans in close, dragging his nose over her neck as he keeps breathing in her scent. His palms drag over her waist, and Mina almost loses herself to his touch. Guilt tightens in her chest when she remembers he’s not exactly acting on his own accord right now.

As soon as Mina breaks the spell, he’s pulling away with a deep frown. He looks around the room in a bit of a daze, unsure exactly what happened. He mutters curses as he sheathes Yamato again.

“Dammit, woman,” he growls.

“I’m sorry,” Mina steps away. “I was scared.”

He shakes his head as he turns away, looking around the room to figure out where he’d taken them. It seems to be Arkham’s house, a place he never thought he’d step foot inside of again. He crosses his arms as he thinks of what to do next.

“I didn’t want to hurt anyone,” she whispers.

“You couldn’t hurt me,” Vergil says without looking at her.

He paces the room, still unsure of what to do with this situation. Mina looks down at her feet shyly.

Mina leans against the wall, “So, um, where are we?”

“All that matters to you is that you’re out of the forest,” Vergil opens the front door and steps out on the porch.

“What’s your name?” Mina steps outside with him.

He looks at her out of the corner of his eye. She looks so small and shy standing beside him now. Her hands twist nervously around the worn-out strap of her bag.

“Vergil,” he sighs.

“I’m Mina.”

“Come on then,” he steps back into the house and begins his trek up the creaky old steps.

Mina struggles to keep up with his pace, but she tries not to fall too far behind. She has to admit that she feels a little relieved not to be in the forest anymore. It might be unwise to trust Vergil, but something about him makes her feel safe. He seems so sure even though the situation was beyond his control. She can’t help letting her eyes linger over him, her cheeks burning. She’s never really been around a man aside from her father before. Sure, there were teen romances (which unfortunately led to her exile in the forest) but neither of those instances compares to Vergil. He’s different from anyone she’s met. Strong and elegant, yet so quiet.

“You don’t have to stay with me,” she says quietly.

“Am I not the one who brought you here?”

“Yeah, but…I made you. I know it must not be what you want.”

Vergil can’t explain his own motivations at this point. He should be angry about what she did to him, but he can’t help feeling a bit endeared at her resourcefulness. Part of him relates to that determination to survive, even if it means using whoever is closest to do it.

“You must promise not to do that to me again,” he says as they go through the old, rusted gate.

“I won’t.”

“I said you must promise.”

“I promise.”

A rotten step shatters beneath her feet, pulling a squeak from her lips as her feet fall through the wood. In her struggle, she reaches for the banister, only for it to fall apart when she grabs with more strength than intended. Vergil turns to her with a huff and wraps an arm around her waist. She gasps and grabs onto the lapels of his coat when he lifts her with ease. He sets her on the step with him, but their eyes stay locked as neither of them loosens their grip. His hands feel strong and steady against her waist.

“Thank you,” she whispers shyly.

“Isn’t it much better when people help you of their own accord?”

He releases her from his grip and continues up the last of the stairs. They come to a long, dark hallway. Vergil flips a switch, and Mina is surprised that the lights even come on. This didn’t look like a place anyone would bother keeping the electricity turned on at, but someone did. Vergil walks a few paces down the hallway and stops in front of one of the wide, oak doors.

“This was my room when I stayed here before,” he says. He points to a door across the hall, “You can stay in there. It used to be occupied by a young woman. You may be able to find clothes.”

“Oh, so I’m not the first girl you brought here,” Mina’s joke falls flat as Vergil’s frown only deepens. “Right, sorry.”

Mina swallows hard before going to the room across the hall, she looks over her shoulder to look at him again but is met with the sight of the door closing. She sighs before going into the room. The room is cold and most of the furniture is covered in white sheets. She crosses to the window and opens it up to let some fresh air in before uncovering some of the furniture in search of the wardrobe. She frowns slightly when she finds the wardrobe and opens it up to find a variety of short skirts and dresses. She was hoping for a pair of pants at least. She wonders if there are other options somewhere in this old mansion, but she’s too tired to worry about it right now.

She falls onto the old bed and tries to rest. Only her mind is still running wild with what happened today. She tosses and turns for a while until she gets out of bed. She goes across the hall and knocks lightly on the door. There’s not an answer, and she lingers dejectedly for a moment before trying again.

“Come in.”

She lets out a sigh of relief before pulling the door open and walking into the room. Vergil sits on an old ragged sofa, his coat neatly laid across the arm beside him. When she walks in, he doesn’t look up from the book propped open on his knee. Mina practically tiptoes closer. She looks around the tidy room before coming to sit on the opposite side of the sofa. Vergil spares her a brief glance before letting out a sigh.

“You should at least look for some new shoes. You won’t make it far barefoot.”

“I made it all the way here,” Mina smirks.

He returns to reading, only to be pulled away when he feels her leaning closer. The scent of geraniums hits his senses when she’s close, but she doesn’t seem to be doing it on purpose this time.

“What are you reading?” she asks, and he quickly closes the book before she can see that he’s doing research on seducer demons.

“Nothing,” he sets the book on the small table next to him. “What are you doing?”

“I was bored.”

“That’s not my problem,” he mumbles.

“And yet, here I am.”

“You need to watch your mouth.”

She narrows her eyes, “Why?”

“Because I could take you back to that woman who wants you dead,” Vergil reminds her.

Mina pouts slightly as she settles back against the sofa, “You know, you’re not stuck with me. I’m sure I could make it on my own.”

“You don’t even have shoes,” a smirk flashes across his features so quickly she almost misses it.

“I did look through the clothes,” she blushes slightly. “They weren’t very practical.”

“Yes, she had a particular taste.”

“Was she your girlfriend?”

Vergil scoffs, “Of course not.”

“Hey, just asking.”

She stands up from the sofa and wanders around the room a bit more. Her eyes wander over the bookshelves slowly, noting an assortment of demonic texts sitting side by side with works of poetry. Vergil watches her from his seat on the sofa before finally letting out a sigh.

“You should go back to your room and get some rest.”

Mina pouts softly, “Fine.”

#bacon.writes #dante x oc #vergil x oc #devil may cry #devil may cry fanfiction #dante devil may cry #vergil devil may cry #devil may cry x oc #devil may cry dante #devil may cry vergil #dante x fem!oc #vergil x fem!oc #dmc fanfiction #dmc vergil #dmc dante #the girl who came to stay

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kanisema-blog · 4 months

Text

My Naughty Deity

The clatter of teacups echoed in the dusty attic, punctuated by the exasperated sigh of Mrs. Abernathy, my ever-reliable housekeeper. "Another mess, Miss Amelia! And what, pray tell, is this?" she sputtered, holding up a golden goblet overflowing with glistening purple grapes.

"Just a little snack," I chirped, a mischievous glint in my eye.

Truth be told, the grapes weren't exactly a "snack." They were a stolen offering from the temple of Dionysus, the God of Wine and Revelry. Stealing from deities was a habit I'd picked up after my rather unfortunate encounter with the mischievous deity himself.

It all began five years ago, when a freak lightning storm deposited a very annoyed Dionysus on my doorstep. He'd been banished to the mortal realm for a particularly raucous toga party on Mount Olympus, and his form was reduced to that of a grumpy, grape-loving teenager. I, a bookish introvert with a penchant for herbal remedies, was the least likely candidate to become his companion during his exile.

But Dionysus, with his mischievous charm and surprising depth, slowly chipped away at my carefully constructed walls. We'd spend evenings reading forbidden scrolls by flickering candlelight, his laughter echoing through the silent house. He'd weave tales of celestial tantrums and Olympian gossip, leaving me breathless with laughter. He, in turn, discovered a quiet joy in the simple act of tending my herb garden, learning the names and properties of each plant with an insatiable curiosity.

Our bond deepened, defying the boundaries of god and mortal. But as his exile neared its end, a bittersweet pang settled in my chest. Dionysus, restored to his divine form, stood at my doorstep, a mischievous glint in his golden eyes. "You've shown me kindness, Amelia," he said, his voice a rumble of thunder, "and for that, I shall grant you a gift."

Before I could protest, he placed a finger on my forehead, a current of energy jolting through me. "Now," he winked, "you can understand the whispers of the wind, the secrets hidden in the rustling leaves… and the location of the juiciest vineyards."

With a flourish, he vanished, leaving me with the legacy of our friendship – the ability to understand nature and, more importantly, an insatiable craving for purloined grapes.

Life after Dionysus' return was an exhilarating dance between the mundane and the miraculous. I continued tending my herbs, using my newfound knowledge to concoct potent remedies. The whispers of the wind, however, often led me to Dionysus' hidden stashes of heavenly nectar, much to the consternation of both the temple priests and Mrs. Abernathy.

Our stolen rendezvous became a cherished routine. We'd meet under the cloak of night, sharing stolen peaches and discussing everything from the constellations to the latest gossip swirling around Olympus. His divine mischief, however, often landed me in precarious situations – a particularly disgruntled nymph seeking revenge for a misplaced love potion, or a territorial dryad guarding an ancient grove. But his mischievous delight in rescuing me, with a well-timed bolt of lightning or a diversionary storm of laughter, only deepened my love for him.

Though our love story is unconventional, a tapestry woven with stolen grapes, whispered secrets, and divine intervention, it is no less genuine. My naughty deity, the God of Wine and Revelry, stole my heart not with grand gestures but with shared laughter over stolen fruit and whispered conversations under the stars. And who knows, perhaps one day, our tale will be whispered alongside the myths and legends of Olympus itself – a testament to the enduring love between a mortal girl and a mischievous god.

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space-oreos · 1 year

Note

to cure your boredom (and to be annoying bc im bored too):

A long, long time ago, I can still remember

How that music used to make me smile

And I knew if I had my chance

That I could make those people dance

And maybe they'd be happy for a while

But February made me shiver

With every paper I'd deliver

Bad news on the doorstep

I couldn't take one more step

I can't remember if I cried

When I read about his widowed bride

But something touched me deep inside

The day the music died

So, bye, bye, Miss American Pie

Drove my Chevy to The Levee, but The Levee was dry

And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey in Rye

Singin', "This'll be the day that I die

This'll be the day that I die"

Did you write the Book of Love?

And do you have faith in God above

If the Bible tells you so?

Do you believe in rock 'n' roll?

Can music save your mortal soul?

And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Well, I know that you're in love with him

'Cause I saw you dancing in the gym

You both kicked off your shoes

Then I dig those rhythm and blues

I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck

With a pink carnation and a pickup truck

But I knew I was out of luck

The day the music died

I started singin', "Bye-bye, Miss American Pie"

Drove my Chevy to The Levee, but The Levee was dry

Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey in Rye

Singin', "This'll be the day that I die

This'll be the day that I die"

Now for ten years we've been on our own

And moss grows fat on a rollin' stone

But that's not how it used to be

When the jester sang for the king and queen

In a coat he borrowed from James Dean

And a voice that came from you and me

Oh, and while the king was looking down

The jester stole his thorny crown

The courtroom was adjourned

No verdict was returned

And while Lennon read a book on Marx

The quartet practiced in the park

And we sang dirges in the dark

The day the music died

We were singin', "Bye-bye Miss American Pie"

Drove my Chevy to The Levee, but The Levee was dry

Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey in Rye

Singin', "This'll be the day that I die

This'll be the day that I die"

Helter Skelter in the summer swelter

The birds flew off with a fallout shelter

Eight miles high and fallin' fast

It landed foul on the grass

The players tried for a forward pass

With the jester on the sidelines in a cast

Now, the half-time air was sweet perfume

While the sergeants played a marching tune

We all got up to dance

Oh, but we never got the chance

'Cause the players tried to take the field

The marching band refused to yield

Do you recall what was revealed

The day the music died?

We started singin', "Bye-bye, Miss American Pie"

Drove my Chevy to The Levee, but The Levee was dry

Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey in Rye

And singin', "This'll be the day that I die

This'll be the day that I die"

Oh, and there we were, all in one place

A generation lost in space

With no time left to start again

So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick

Jack Flash sat on a candlestick

'Cause fire is the devil's only friend

Oh, and as I watched him on the stage

My hands were clenched in fists of rage

No angel born in Hell

Could break that Satan's spell

And as the flames climbed high into the night

To light the sacrificial rite

I saw Satan laughing with delight

The day the music died

He was singin', "Bye-bye, Miss American Pie"

Drove my Chevy to The Levee, but The Levee was dry

Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey in Rye

And singin', "This'll be the day that I die

This'll be the day that I die"

I met a girl who sang the blues

And I asked her for some happy news

But she just smiled and turned away

I went down to the sacred store

Where I'd heard the music years before

But the man there said the music wouldn't play

And in the streets, the children screamed

The lovers cried and the poets dreamed

But not a word was spoken

The church bells all were broken

And the three men I admire most

The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost

They caught the last train for the coast

The day the music died

And they were singin', "Bye-bye, Miss American Pie"

Drove my Chevy to The Levee, but The Levee was dry

And Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey in Rye

Singin', "This'll be the day that I die

This'll be the day that I die"

They were singin', "Bye-bye, Miss American Pie"

Drove my Chevy to The Levee, but The Levee was dry

Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey in Rye

Singin', "This'll be the day that I die"

Thank you, I thoroughly enjoyed that 😌

#j #spacefriends

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breezingby · 2 years

Video

youtube

Don McLean ~ American Pie

A long, long time ago I can still remember how that music used to make me smile And I knew if I had my chance That I could make those people dance And maybe they'd be happy for a while

But February made me shiver With every paper I'd deliver Bad news on the doorstep I couldn't take one more step

I can't remember if I cried When I read about his widowed bride But something touched me deep inside The day the music died

Well, I know that you're in love with him 'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym You both kicked off your shoes Man, I dig those rhythm and blues

I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck With a pink carnation and a pickup truck But I knew I was out of luck The day the music died

Oh, and while the king was looking down The jester stole his thorny crown The courtroom was adjourned No verdict was returned

And while Lennin read a book on Marx The quartet practiced in the park And we sang dirges in the dark The day the music died

Helter skelter in a summer swelter The birds flew off with a fallout shelter Eight miles high and falling fast It landed foul on the grass The players tried for a forward pass With the jester on the sidelines in a cast

Now the halftime air was sweet perfume While the sergeants played a marching tune We all got up to dance Oh, but we never got the chance

'Cause the players tried to take the field The marching band refused to yield Do you recall what was revealed The day the music died?

Oh, and as I watched him on the stage My hands were clenched in fists of rage No angel born in Hell Could break that Satan's spell

And as the flames climbed high into the night To light the sacrificial rite I saw Satan laughing with delight The day the music died

And in the streets, the children screamed The lovers cried and the poets dreamed But not a word was spoken The church bells all were broken

And the three men I admire most The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost They caught the last train for the coast The day the music died

They were singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye And singin' this'll be the day that I die

(Don McLean wrote the song American Pie as a tribute to Buddy Holly. The lyrics are enigmatic and seem loaded with allusions. What do they mean?)

Link: https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-1182,00.html

#youtube #Music #Don McLean #American Pie #lyrics #1971

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transias · 3 years

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Can you do an Eli Moskowitz x Reader series and it’s angsty but fluffy like Eli Moskowitz turns into Hawk which leads the reader to get beat up somehow? Please !!

Thank you !!!!!!

Sticks and Stones.

Pairings: Eli Moskowitz (Hawk) x Gender Neutral Reader

Warnings: Mentions of blood, reader getting the shit kicked out of them.

A/N: I’m writing this on mobile so I apologize for any inconveniences! Also I tried my best i’m so sorry if this is shit </3

〰️

Hawk had asked me to drop by his house earlier today, he had just gotten out of a break up with Moon, then onto another break up with another girl named Jamie, and then onto a relationship with me.

After that, he pretty much had put a small pause on dating.

Well that was until:

Hawk and I were hanging out at the park, we needed a small escape from the world and we were each other’s safe place.

We had been friends since middle school, it was only until freshman year of High School when I started forming a crush on him.

Hawk was now in the middle of a vent, I’m telling you, (Y/n). I think i’m seriously done with dating. Maybe i’m a terrible boyfriend.” He ended.

I shake my head, “No. Trust me, I think any girl would be lucky to have you. I just- nevermind.”

He furrows his eyebrows and glances at me, “Just what? Come on, you can’t just leave me hanging!” He gently nudges at me.

I scoff, “Hawk, you are so blind. Can’t you tell?” He pauses, a confused look on his face. “I’ve been in love with you since 9th grade! Even before you became Hawk, i’ve loved you since you were simply Eli!” I exclaim.

He looks at me, a smile forming on his lips. He takes ahold of my shirt and pulls me into a kiss, it’s rough yet filled with so much passion.

One of his hands runs up to my waist and the other one to the back of my neck.

After a few seconds, I groan gently before pulling away. Hawk looks a little worried, “Did- did I do something wrong?” He asks. I shake my head, “Of course not. I just needed some oxygen, that’s it.” I chuckle.

“I’ve always loved you too. I just thought I wasn’t good enough for you.” He mumbles, leaning his forehead onto mine. “Eli, you’re more than good enough.”

I was walking towards his house when I notice a group of teenagers walking behind me.

I can feel them staring daggers into my back, I start walking faster only for one of them to catch up to me and grab me by my backpack strap.

“You (y/n)?” A girl with ginger hair asks.

“Uhm… yeah, who’s asking?”

“Tell Hawk, Jamie says hi.” I feel a sharp pain on my nose. I lift my hand up and wipe a bit of blood off of it.

She goes in for another punch but thankfully i’m able to dodge this one and kick the behind of her left leg, causing her to fall and kneel onto the ground.

A few of the girls and guys from the group try and hold me back. I try and wiggle out of their grasp only for Jamie to stand back up and land another punch on my stomach.

They push me to the ground and start kicking me. Various emotions run through my body, mostly confusion as to why this was happening to me? And anger, it was an unfair fight.

With one final rough kick to my face, I can hear their footsteps, abandoning me on the rough sidewalk.

〰️

It takes all of my strength to get back up, I felt myself growing more tired and tired with my wounds.

A few tears run down my eyes, wiping away and leaving a clear path on my bloodstained face. Hawk’s house was only two minutes away, I needed to get there fast.

With a deep breath, I start sprinting towards his home and trip on his doorstep. “Fuck!” I cuss, forcing myself back up and ringing the doorbell.

The door opens, Hawk’s face dropping as soon as he saw my state.

It went from shock to sadness and then to anger. “Baby, who did this to you?” He asks, leading me inside into his room.

“Jamie, oh yeah, she says hello by the way.” I groan as he settles me onto his bed.

Hawk shakes his head and pinches the bridge of his nose, “This is my fault. I should’ve known Jamie was gonna do something to you!” He angrily kicks his nightstand.

“Hawk, chill out. It’s fine, i’ll be fine.” I place a hand on his arm.

He sighs and shakes his head, “No it’s not. She did this to you! I’m so sorry, I should’ve kept you safe.” He replies, an upset tone in his voice.

I sit up and wrap my arms around him, placing a kiss on his neck.

He leans into my touch, gently playing with my hair. “I’m so sorry, babe.” He sadly spoke.

“It’s not your fault. I understand how you feel, but just know that you can’t always be there to save me. Maybe you’ll be happy to know I at least got a punch in before her idiot friends held me back.” I shrug.

He quickly glances at me, “It wasn’t a fair fight! You were alone and she had friends?!”

I roll my eyes, “That’s not the point! The point is that you can’t be there to protect me all the time, but you can teach me.”

Hawk sighs before nodding, “You’re right. I guess all those nights of playful fighting and training paid off, didn’t they?” He smirks.

I nod, “They helped. Plus, we should be planning a prank to fire back at her as revenge.” A playful smile on my lips.

He looks over at me and chuckles, “You’re a fire cracker, babe. Now let me treat your wounds.”

#karate kid imagine #karate kid headcanon #cobra kai headcanon #cobra kai x reader #cobra kai #eli moskowitz #eli moskowitz x reader #jacob bertrand #hawk (eli moskowitz)#hawk x reader #cobra kai hawk #karate kid #miguel diaz #miguel diaz x reader #miguel diaz imagine #eli moskowitz imagine #hawk imagine

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lune-hime · 3 years

Note

I just love your writing and have been reading a lot of your stuff these past few days. I really enjoyed how you wrote Logan Howletts character, you did an amazing job. I think of those two stories you wrote as connected, and seeing that your requests are open, could you write possibly how they meet or moments in their relationship? Whatever comes to mind.

Hope your well and enjoy writing this if you decide to take it. ❤️

It makes me so incredibly happy that you have been loving my stories and my portrayal of Logan :’). Logan and reader’s first meeting had been previously requested so I went with a few moments in their relationship. Thank you for being patient with me in posting this, I hope you enjoy and that you are doing well <3.

↞↠↞↠↞↠

A Second-First Meeting

“You’re Logan.” Storm let out a melodic chuckle, her realization breaking the silence within the jet.

“Uh...yeah.” He said with a quirked brow. The ivory haired woman’s jaw went slack and another giddy laugh erupted from her. Logan's eyes darted from the oddly acting woman to Rogue who only shrugged, looking just as confused as he was.

“Logan from Canada.” She stated in semi-awe, looking him up and down as if comparing him to information she already had. It made Logan feel like he was missing something.

“He looks dirtier than she described.” Scott let out a snarky huff from the pilot’s seat.

“Okay, what is this?” Logan rose his voice to just below a growl, irritation evident in his tone. Storm put her hands up in harmless defense.

“You met Y/N in the summer. Saved her from becoming a prune all alone in the woods, remember?” Storm said and beamed brightly. Logan’s eyes widened as the memory came flooding back. The bears, the beautiful girl, the thunderous storm and her lightening energy.

“You know Y/N?” He said in disbelief.

“Know her? She’s my best friend.” Storm giggled. “She told us all about you; how she fended off that bear but didn’t have to fend you off when you guys huddled up in your car.”

Storm winked at him as he narrowed his eyes at her teasing. Rogue let out a little giggle of her own at Logan’s speechlessness.

“We’re landing.” Scott announced as everyone began feeling their smooth decrease in altitude.

“All jokes aside, thanks for looking out for her.” Storm added with a kind smile before she swiveled in her copilot’s seat to help Scott with their descent.

⇷⛒⇸

“Hey, kid, is Y/N here?” Logan asked the child in front of him. He found himself on the precipice of a new life it seems, but more literally on the precipice of the lounge area in Xavier's Mansion. He was exhausted after an abrupt and confusing flight from his little slice of Alberta to New York. His head was spinning from all of the information about Mutant Brotherhoods and Striker that was just laid upon him. And now the remembrance of the girl caught in the rain who had once told him she lived at this very school.

“Ms. Y/N? Yeah she lives here.” The child said nonchalantly. Each time he blinked, a new channel would appear on the almost theatre sized TV. “She sometimes teaches my kinetics training.”

Logan let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. Relief washed over him that he would have at least one familiar face here.

“Where can I find her?” He asked the boy who still hadn’t taken his gaze away from the television. He briefly paused on the Disney channel before continuing his search.

“Why would I know? I’ve been watching TV all morning.” The kid huffed as if it was the most obvious fact in the world. Logan grumbled and sauntered out of the room and back into the many mahogany halls of the massive building.

As he neared the large eastern courtyard, he caught a glimpse of just the woman he was looking for. Through the immaculately planted dormant shrubs he observed you standing next to an ornate fountain chatting with a girl who looked to be around middle school age. He felt that same energizing hum in his chest as he did a few months ago when he took in your appearance. The way you smiled so sweetly at the student, the way your hair was gently pulled from your face by the brisk winter wind, in how your legs bobbed back and forth in place as they fended off the early afternoon chill. He waited for you to finish your conversation with the child before he made his presence known.

“Y/N?” He called tentatively as he eased his way between the garden boughs. You looked up towards the direction of your summon. When you saw who it was, your eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Logan!” You chirped and jogged over to him. “How was the flight?”

“You knew I was coming?” He asked, surprised at the lack of surprise in your reaction.

“I did.” You answered with a guilty smile. “I’m a part of the team now too so I was there when Charles made the call to find you.”

Logan’s mind tried to connect the dots between the sweet yet snappy, soaked girl he met before to the cleaned up, self assured one standing before him. He pictured you using your abilities to fight opponents rather than bears and guessed you would be goddamned good at it with sparks like yours.

“I’m really glad he did…” You trailed off with the beginnings of a goofy grin. “That he found you and brought you here of course, not that you’re being targeted by the Brotherhood-”

“It’s good to see you again.” He confessed, his honeyed voice coating your rambling and effectively adding to the chilly redness of your cheeks.

“You too.” You replied softly, trying not to ogle at his casual attire of heather gray sweatshirt and joggers.

“I think you owe me, though. I gave you a free ride back then.” He declared with a smirk.

“Fine, do you need a ride to the nearest tractor supply for a new wardrobe?” You quipped back. Logan let his half smile bloom into a full crescent moon.

“Sure, if I can take you out for a drink after.” He proposed with a look that made you feel like the New England snow had suddenly melted around you and you were now in a humid jungle.

“Well, I did have another date tonight…” You began, looking up at the taller man through your lashes. If you hadn’t already been looking at him, you wouldn’t have noticed the minute clench of his jaw.

“Buuuut, I don’t think he would be able to handle being accidentally zapped as well as you would.” You continued playfully. Your suitor paled in any comparison to the old acquaintance that had just arrived at your doorstep. The amusement in your eyes was contagious, spreading to Logan’s forested green orbs and down to his boyish grin.

“I’ll take that as a yes, then.”

Firelight

You hummed in utter bliss. The warmth of the campfire kissed your bare legs as your tired eyes gazed upon the moon basked lake in front of you. You nuzzled deeper into the crook of Logan’s neck as the crickets and the treefrogs serenaded you with a private summer evening concert.

Logan’s hand lazily ran the expanse of your hip and thigh from your position curled across him in the camping chair. He was about to close his eyes in complete relaxation when a boisterous banging erupted from one of the cabins in your section of the campground. The clanging was followed by a teenage chorus of muffled curses and cackles. The two of you had volunteered to be counselors of sorts on this weeklong camping trip Charles held for his beloved students each summer. Logan groaned at the disturbance, slightly annoyed with your rowdy group of students.

“They’re just having fun. As long as no one comes out on fire or with a leg missing it's fine.” You spoke up, tone laced with amusement. “Admit you love them-and spending quality time with them out here.”

You felt Logan huff against you at your wholesome accusation.

“I love being out here in the woods, with you.”

Logan’s answer wasn’t to your satisfaction. You zapped him gently with a single crackle of your energy just beneath the rib cage. When he jolted from the surprise attack, you folded yourself to him so that you were now straddling his lap.

“Sure. Not like I saw you earlier spending an hour teaching Rogue how to fish properly after she got her line all strung up in the nearest tree. Or how you, willingly I might add, played hide and seek with the younger ones when you were supposed to be taking a break. Or when-”

You rambled off his sweet acts in adoration until he leaned up to press his lips to yours. You sunk into his embrace and sighed at the euphoric feeling.

“Alright, alright. You’ve proved your point.” He grumbled half heartedly. In the fading natural light, you could see the lazy smile that adorned his face had become dusted with your lip gloss. You returned his response with a triumphant grin as he gingerly grasped the back of your head and pulled you to him once more. His heated palms sailed over your curves like a forest fire as your kisses deepened. You let out a small moan when he discretely bucked his hips into yours.

Or, what the two of you had thought was discrete.

“Gross. I’m just trying to get to the bathroom.” Bobby complained with a grimace as he walked by the two of you towards the community restrooms. You let out a chuckle as Logan brought his fist up to Bobby’s line of vision, a single adamantium claw extending to flip the younger man off against the firelight.

#fanfiction #marvel #marvel fanfiction #marvel x reader #Marvel x Y/N #x men #x men fanfiction #Logan #logan x reader #logan howlett #logan howlett x reader #wolverine #wolverine x reader #reader insert

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