#heart of lincs

[bryonyashaw]

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Appreciating the little things in life involves focusing our attention on what is pleasurable, nurturing, and sustaining in our lives and away from those events that are annoying, frustrating, or hurtful. It means practicing gratitude for those everyday things that are easy to take for granted or miss altogether. Adopting this outlook won’t stop negative events from occurring, or change happening, but it may help prevent us from over-emphasising their importance in our lives and accepting time moves forward.

We are generally pretty good at marking the big moments in our own and others’ lives; birthdays, weddings, graduations, once-a-year family gettogethers. What would happen if we gave ourselves permission to celebrate the little things? The how and what of celebration will depend on what’s important to you.

Here are some ideas:

🌼 When the sun finally appears after a week of grey skies grab a friend or loved one and go for a walk to celebrate the good weather and regenerative effects of rain.

🌼Pamper yourself after getting through a daunting or tedious task, such as cleaning your room or writing a report, by doing something you enjoy.

🌼Look for the good stuff - like the small miracles that occur around us all the time.

🌼Focus on the fantastic aspects of people and situations

🌼Let go of arrogant, erroneous notions like, “I already know that,” or, “I’ve seen it all,” or, “No big deal."

So, take a moment right now to pause and put your attention on all of the simple things you can appreciate at this moment.

[graves-doodles]

Not me obsessing over putting Woody's outfit on everyone, Yeehaw lil man

[bigfeelingsdyke]

Pete + Linc + their soda pop date

(from 1x08 "The Price of Terror")

[feymarche]

gotta get all my LINCOLN thoughts DOWN while im relistening to this godforsaken podcast. here's just some stupid observations that i wrote a whole thesis about for no reason

here's two things we know:

- lincoln was raised to always be honest about his feelings

-- despite this, we consistently see lincoln distracting himself whenever big, hard feelings come up

after the grant sauce scene outside the classroom in episode 7, lincoln doesn't take the time to process anything that his father has said to him. he asks normal if HES doing okay after the conversation with Sparrow, and then immediately changes the subject and tells everyone that they should ditch school and go to Sonics so that he wouldn't have to think about it.

and hey, that's all fair; that was some heavy shit to lay on a teenager, and he'd need a lot of time to process it, but we see Linc consistently choosing not to process it.

later, during the grant arc on earth, linc chooses to drive specifically because it's easier not to think when he's driving. when he leaves a voicemail to Marco telling him that he might never talk to him again, a really hard conversation for linc to have, linc ends the phonecall saying, 'no, this was a bad idea, everything's fine-- prank!'

(and it's not fair to say that linc telling scary that they should look for her stepdad first is also evidence that linc does this when part of it was a structural thing to mimic season 1's anchor order, but it IS consistent with linc avoiding hard emotions)

and all of this isn't even inconsistent with him being raised to always be honest! linc never had to deal with big, hard emotions like this, he's only ever been super sheltered and homeschooled and safe. if linc ever felt lonely or bad, his dads would find a way to accommodate him through some form of enrichment, and if the enrichment didn't help, matts made it clear that lincoln's favorite time of the day is when he can just be alone in his room in the space under his bed where it's calm and peaceful and he doesn't have to think about anything. linc is honest about his feelings up until they become so complicated or painful that he doesn't know how to be honest about them. linc is extremely blunt up until he doesn't know how to think about his feelings without getting hurt

grant talks about how he worries linc's relationship with soccer is an emotional distraction. he worries that linc is using soccer the way grant used violence to shut down his thoughts. and sure, linc genuinely loves soccer, it's a harmless interest to have (especially when you don't have the opportunity to have many other hobbies), but Grant recognizes that linc is using it as an emotional crutch-- or at the very least worries that that's what he's doing.

and thats the one thing that grant cant really explain to linc as a parent! if grant stops him from playing soccer JUST because he's worried, he'd have to explain WHY he's worried, and grant cant really do that. he can't talk about how much he likes killing people around his son if he isnt sauced.

and with the main big, scary emotion that lincoln faced in his backstory being mr. kicks, i'd bet lincoln dealt with that feeling by doing a lot of the same. distracting himself with soccer or zoning out entirely. i'd bet grant watched linc avoid any and all discussion about mr. kicks and instead focus on getting better at soccer. there's no way to prove that, but it's consistent with matt's character choices.

so here linc is, going through puberty, spiraling into apathy and avoidance and being like WHATEVER and WHO CARES to everything. this most recent episode was the biggest change in his character yet; he gave up soccer, said it was a waste of time, and broke that goddamn pick.

he doesn't really NEED soccer anymore now that he's learned that he doesn't need an excuse to be dismissive or avoidant anymore; he can just do it. he can just say whatever now. he can just brush people off. he can be abrasive and distant, just like scary.

and it's sad because man, he did really love soccer, even when he was using it for the wrong reasons. he really did love his family and friends. he had the strongest values and the strongest moral compass and he really, really believed in being a good person. but now he's having to deal with big, scary emotions for the first time, and he has no way to know how to deal with them, even with all the therapy his dads gave him. agughghhghghg lincoln li wilson

[radical-rapscallion]

the fandom, generally adopting a trans headcanon: :D

me, who also headcanons them as trans but in the opposite direction:

[janexromantic]

GASP

DIDN'T EXPECT THIS THING TO COME BACK BITING ME IN THE ASS SO SOON. AND CONNOR OF ALL PEOPLE.

[alltimefail]

Sarcastic himbo MC Joey, you will always have a special place in my heart (right next to this exchange)

[itlivesproject]

tbh thank u to lincoln and to y'all for creating lincoln for many reasons but also bc my love for him is all that prevents me from flirting with matthias . every day the devil tempts me and every day he gives me strength to resist 😔🙏💗

matthias may be hot and the horny for him may be strong, but your love for lincoln is stronger and i respect the shit out of that

[leavesandsweaters]

(season 2 episode 23 spoilers in the tags kinda)

you know you have problems when the people you relate to the most in dungeons and daddies are Grant, the doodler, and Lark.

[ibcelloarms]

finally saw Return of the Mod Squad for the first time ever and Linc being a teacher is so so so so good

[janeyseymour]

Dancing On My Own (Tiesto Remix)

Summary: You're a Cowboys fan in Eagles territory. Melissa finds out.

WC: ~2.05k

You have a secret- a deep, dark secret that you never ever want your fiery, die hard Eagles fan girlfriend to find out. You’re terrified of what will happen if she does. You’re a Dallas Cowboys fan. Okay, so maybe you were a second-hand Cowboys fan, but your dad bought you one of the jerseys because he absolutely adores them. And when you go home to Texas (how you ended up in the one state, one city that hates Dallas more than anything, you’ll never know), your dad always drags you to a game.

Upon moving to Philly, you took down every indication that you would ever associate yourself with the team that the Eagles love to hate. You couldn’t risk becoming an outcast before you even start your new life here.

And it did you good. You somehow land in the heart of the city, and you work for a school that absolutely bleeds Philadelphia. The principal adores the Eagles, Mr. Johnson is constantly yelling ‘Go Birds!’, Janine has a few trinkets in her room for each of the Philly Sports teams… even Gregory has come around to love Gritty. And then there’s Melissa Schemmenti. She’s had to go to court for throwing a corn cob at Ben Simmons when he pissed her off, she has ins with those who worked the demolition at the Linc,  she’s a season ticket holder for the Phillies and the Eagles… and she absolutely detests the Cowboys- more than most Eagles fans too. She’s gotten into more trouble for heckling the Dallas team than she’s willing to admit- knocking over portapotties when Cowboys fans are in them, throwing Philly cheesesteaks, hurling eggs and Molotov cocktails at the bus. 

And yet, she’s your girlfriend. How? You’re nearly perfect. You’re smart, you’re funny, you can sing and play instruments to make her swoon, you’re a wonderful teacher and great with the kids, and you’re more than easy on the eyes. And that was what she knew of you before she fell madly in love with you. 

With the season coming up, your girlfriend is more than excited. She’s been waiting for the season tickets to go on sale, but even then… if she doesn’t get them the legal way, she knows a guy.

She does end up getting them. Of course she does. And as soon as she does, she’s coming into the teachers lounge doing her happy dance and making her way over to you. She kisses you soundly before proclaiming that she is 100% taking you to an Eagles game.

“And,” she notes. “I’m gonna make sure it’s a good one… Eagles versus the fuckin’ Cowgirls! Go birds!”

She’s met with a chorus of ‘Go birds!’ right back, but you stay quiet.

She turns to you with a curious look, amused grin now gone. “Babe, aren’t you excited?!”

You shrug. “I just… haven’t ever really been into football?” you offer weakly.

“Well, I’m gonna make sure that you have a great time there. I’m gonna get you an Eagles jersey, a Jalen Hurts one, and you’re gonna have the damn time of your life!”

Again, you shrug your shoulders, looking unsure.

“Aye, if she ain’t gonna use the ticket for good, I’m right here!” Mr. Johnson points to himself. “You know we’ll have a good time.”

“Nah, Mr. J,” your girlfriend rolls her eyes. “I’m taking Y/N, and she’s gonna leave the Linc a die hard Eagles fan, right?” She looks at you in a way that tells you there’s no convincing her otherwise unless you want to out yourself right now as a fan of the Cowboys.

You just nod, knowing you can’t have this conversation in public- you do not want to be shunned by the rest of your coworkers. You could potentially lose this job; Ava has fired people for less despite the fact that she really couldn’t afford to fire them and that’s why both you and Melissa are teaching two different grades at a time.

That’s the end of that conversation.

Until she comes over to your apartment that night, ready to cook dinner for you and stay over. 

“You gonna tell me why you got so weird about going to a football game with me? Is it because we might see our students at the game?” she asks. “Because if it is, I promise you… you know Philly is pretty cool about LGBT stuff.”

“I know, I know,” you say softly. “I’ve just… could we go to a baseball game instead?” You never pledged your allegiance to any baseball team, so you would be willing to wear a Harper or Nola jersey.

“I mean, I could get us tickets to a game,” she tells you as she puts the meat into the pan to start cooking. “But I really love football and the Eagles, and that’s something I want to share with you.”

“Does it have to be a game with the Cowboys?” you ask.

She turns to you at that. “Those are the best games.”

“I-” you sigh. Deciding to just rip off the bandaid, you take off the Abbott sweatshirt that you’re wearing to reveal the Day Prescott jersey your dad had given you the last time you visited your hometown. 

Her jaw drops, and her eyes fill with a fire. “When the fuck were you gonna tell me that you were the enemy?” she seethes.

“Mel,” you say softly, trying to calm her down.

“Don’t ‘Mel’ me right now,” the redhead hisses. “What the fuck?! What the actual fuck?!”

“Melissa, honey,” you continue. “Please-”

“I- no,” she stops you from getting any closer to her when you attempt. “Don’t. Don’t you even fucking dare.”

She’s out of your house before you can say anything else, and the only thing that you can hear is the flank steak sizzling quietly in the pan on the stove.

When you get to school the next day, you head straight for her room to try to talk to her again.

“Melissa,” you knock on the door, a cup of her favorite coffee in your hands as a peace offering.

“No.”

You set the warm drink on her desk, which she promptly smacks into the garbage can under her desk. She stands hastily and storms out of the room in the direction of the staff room.

“Melissa, please!” you beg as you chase after her. “Please!”

“I have nothing to say to you,” she hisses as she rips her arm away from you when you catch her gently. She storms into the break room and heads right for the coffee mugs.

“Please!” your voice cracks, and everyone that is already gathered there turns at the commotion.

“Ooh,” Ava says. “Trouble in paradise. Spill.”

“This one-” your girlfriend, if she even still is after your reveal last night, points to you and looks at you with disgust. “-is a Cowgirls fan, and decided not to let me know until last night!”

“Boo!” Mr. Johnson heckles you. You give him a nearly murderous look.

“Just let me explain!” you plead.

“You have nothin’ to explain! You’re a traitor!” the redhead barks at you before turning back to the mugs. She slams the door as she closes it, slams her coffee mug down on the counter, and storms her way to her seat next to Barbara. She makes it so that there is absolutely no way you could sit next to her.

All eyes are on you, and you hate it. So you do what you know how to do: run.

You avoid the second grade teacher at all possible costs for the next few days, giving her the chance to cool down. Finally, at the end of the week, you attempt to talk to her.

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” she huffs. She doesn’t even bother looking up from her nails. She doesn’t even give you the chance to explain yourself. “I ain’t dating no Cowgirl.”

You cry the entire way home. You lost your girlfriend, and all because of some stupid football team.

You call your father that night, a sobbing mess.

“You were dating an Eagles fan?!”

“Dad,” you cry. “Please. I don’t- I just need you to tell me that it’s all going to be okay.”

“It is,” he promises you. “But, seriously?”

You hang up on him.

He calls back a few minutes later, apologizing for his words. You forgive him of course. You love your father more than anything. 

“If you really love her, you’ll get her back… even if it means you betray our team,” he tells you.

“R-really?” you whisper.

“You’re in Philly now,” your dad sighs softly. “If you can’t beat ‘em, and the lord knows you can’t because no one can beat Philly fans, join ‘em.”

That’s all you need to hear to know what you’re going to do. “Thank you, Dad.”

“Of course, kiddo. Just know that when you come home to visit, you are back on my team.”

“I know,” you chuckle through your tears. “But if I bring Mel back home, there is to be absolutely no football talk.”

“Deal,” he laughs. “I’m not trying to get our house lit on fire.”

You thank him again, tell him you love him and hang up. 

That weekend, you go out and buy a bunch of Philadelphia sports apparel; your credit card statement this month is going to be a doozy. But if it means you’ll get Melissa back, it’ll be worth it.

On Monday, you show up in your baseball gear, rooting for the Phillies as they play against the Cincinnati Twins. It gets the redhead’s attention, just slightly. But she turns her head when you look in her direction.

You wear your Flyers gear the next day. That gets Gregory’s attention.

The Sixers are the next. Janine grins.

You had even bought a Philadelphia Union jersey that you wear on Thursday. Jacob tells you how massively underrated they are and that he thinks they deserve to have a bigger following.

When you come in on Friday, not clad in Eagles gear like Melissa thought you would be, that is the final straw for her. She has you backed into a corner telling you that you can pretend to bleed Philly all you want, but at the end of the day you’re just a traitor.

You let her get up in your face, red with anger. You know that you didn’t wear it because you’re saving it for Monday- when they play.

You actually managed to get a ticket to the game, one next to hers- not that she knows it. You thank Barbara profusely when she’s able to get you the name of Melissa’s guy and where her tickets for this game are. Your plan is to show up in your new Jalen Hurts jersey that you spent a fortune on and win her back. You don’t want to lose her. Never. 

You race home after school to change out of your green shirt that you wore to school and into your Hurts jersey and a pair of leggings. You grab the baseball cap that you bought and pop it on your head before heading out to your car.

You park your car for the ridiculous amount of money they’re charging before going to find your seat. 

As you approach though, you see someone new with Melissa- someone you’ve never seen before. She has an arm around the woman’s waist like the way she used to hold you. You convince yourself it’s just a friend and continue on your way to your seat. But then she plants a kiss to the new woman’s lips, and your world shatters.

You might be at a football game, but you should be at a Phillies game with their unofficial anthem playing.

I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her, oh no

And I'm right over here, why can't you see me? Oh no

And I'm giving it my all

But I'm not the guy you're taking home, ooh

I keep dancing on my own

So far away, but still so near

The lights come on, the music dies

But you don't see me standing here

[babacontainsmultitudes]

Great teen talk overall, but honestly I was particularly interested in what Matt had to say about where Lincoln is at right now (and that we might get a better glimpse into this next episode? Which has me both nervous and excited but I'm trying not to think about it *too* much cause I'm already super nervous about how things are gonna pan out for the twins next episode).

It all tracks- Lincoln's increasingly nihilistic view of the world impeding on his ability to feel much of anything but nevertheless caring about how *his friends* are feeling and what they want. Being too deep in a dissociative state to process his own grief (and everything else) but caring that *Normal* is sad and doing what he can to help him.

I think Lincoln is a funny and incredibly fascinating character because if you look at his words, honestly no one can deliver a blow like Lincoln- a trademark of his brutal honesty, and in most stark contrast to Normal's "toxic positivity", neither being inherently better or worse than the other just inverted, and reflective of different values (something something cheerkicks is doomed by the narrative they should kiss etc. etc. not what the post is about). Conversely, if you look at Lincoln's actions (and Lincoln is, at his heart, an action-oriented character), truly nobody is putting their ass on the line for the people around them quite like Linc is. I've stated on several occasions that I believe Lincoln is the most selfless of the teens, and I stand by this, but this is a virtue as much as it as a flaw. It's heroic, to put yourself in a line of fire to save your friend's dad, or impale your leg on a candy cane twice to get an anchor, or hug your friend to show them you care even if it literally winds up killing you- but it also reflects self-preservation instincts that somehow manage to be even weaker than those of the guy who tried to throw himself out of a building thinking that a parachute would save him (god I love Taylor).

Lincoln cares immensely about his friends (despite his growing numbness to the world around him), but dangerously little about himself and what becomes of his own life. As a less dire example, "Apollo Four Teens" acts as a great demonstration of how Lincoln will stretch himself thin for everyone around him until there's nothing left, but forgets in the process to stop and register his own emotions and tend to his own needs. Combine this with Lincoln's perpetual "keep calm and roll with the punches" attitude towards the nonstop bullshit the teens have gone through over the course of the season, including an extensive list of unresolved issues related to Grant (which by now I've outlined fairly thoroughly), and you have a serious recipe for disaster. Characters like Normal and Scary are, relatively speaking, pretty obvious and emotive with respect to their pain, even when they are trying not to be. This is good, since it makes it easier for other characters to recognize that they need help in the first place and try to look out for them (they may not always know how to do so correctly, but the intent is there). Lincoln, in contrast, shuts down and becomes less emotive in response to his own pain (in a manner that is somewhat similar to Darryl, more similar to Glenn, and of course most similar to Grant, but ultimately different from all of them), silently building his walls up higher and higher but being no safer for it. It is partially for this reason that other characters very rarely think to check in on Linc and see how he's doing (Taylor to his credit tried after the titanic episode, but that got interrupted, and Grant does also try but- much like his own dad with him- fails to meet his son halfway in being honest and vulnerable and hence fails to make any progress), leaving him to mostly suffer in silence perhaps without even truly realizing it himself.

I guess the gist of what I'm saying is, Lincoln is in deep water, all of this has been a long time coming, and if nobody does anything about it soon... (Metaphorically-speaking of course-) that boy is going to drown.

[fakebloodenthusiast]

thinking about how lincs build a bear analogy is so spot on . like hermie 2.0 is not a person. he is a thing. he has been selected for his empty skin, and stuffed with a little fabric heart (hermie's personality), and a little audio recording (hermie's acting ability) and together they built him from the outside in by asking scam for exactly what they wanted. a new hermie with willy's name. the only difficulty is, how do you look at the face of the boy you loved and remember that this is not him, but a /thing/ designed to look and sound exactly like him? does it make a difference? do you even care?

[laylaisthename]

ILW // Here they are! All 7 different end cards you can get in the many many more variations of the niche endings available in the game.

Google Drive Link to the cgs here

I am beyond honored to have been allowed to leave my own mark in the game like this, and honestly never in a million years expected to actually become involved with the game.

Everyone is fine to use these as phone backgrounds but if you do youre legally required to tell me which one is your favorite.

Putting it under the cut for length, but here's a breakdown of each card;

Starting with the Evil!MC end cards, that are lovingly dubbed Judas' Kiss if you stayed with Matty, or Scorched Earth for MC's solo end.

The images really mostly speaks for themselves; the flaming heart, hand in atrocious hand if you chose to share the power with Matthias, but then when you put it next to the solo end is where it got fun for me. The heart is broken, its just you now, but the glowing eyes are smiling. My first time testing the judas kiss route I did not hestiate for a second to hit "kill him"

Next is the death card

I really liked the idea of (if your mc wasnt a huge dick anyway) that they give you a grave outside the cave, something for people to leave Rowan flowers and gifts. A classic grave didnt quite feel like it fit so I settled on a cairn. It felt very fitting with the Power being a respect for nature and such. I set it to be at night, with moonlight streaming down on the grave to give it a melancholic sort of feeling, with the sun charm sunny gives you strung off it, and then placed flowers at the grave to kinda show that people have come by because they care about Rowan. Meanings for the flowers are below and while not canon, I like to think each of the LI's left behind one of them; red roses from Abel, blue violets from Amalia, sunflowers from Lincoln and the marigolds from Joss, though really they were all chosen more generally.

Onto the blood end card! Which I named New Horizons, and not because of animal crossing. A winding road in the mountains at sunset; the road has been long, it has been hard and now youre choosing to move on. Symbolically what i wanted this card to be is that feeling of leaving everything behind. The sun is setting on your old life as you go to embrace the normal life that Blood MC wants so much. Youre on the top road moving around the bend, not sure where life will take you but that's alright, you have the rest of your life to look forward to figure out where you'll go.

Onto my own canon end; the Mixed end!

Lovingly called "Best of Both Worlds" because mixed rowan is playing that hannah montanna life. More seriously; this card in contrast to the blood end is not about leaving everything behind, but embracing what you are. The card itself is set at dawn to contrast this; soft yellows and pinks, morning dew and fog clinging to the forest floor with a streak of Power playfully dancing among the trees. Its the dawn of a new day, seeing everything in new light after the darkness of the past weeks/years rowan spent trying to understand themselves. It's my personal favorite end even if my mc and Linc gotta do long distance for a while. But to me its about accepting yourself; moving on from the grief of losing your family without alienating yourself from your memories of them and embracing that Power side of yourself without being changed by it. The life you built after being ressurected is your own and no one can take that from you.

Next up my almost canon end, that does live rent free in my mind because I love angst.

Closed gate shadow end, Far, Far away (yes this is a shrek/starwars/nerd refrence); its a fairly straight forward card, thought it does have one of my personal favorite little details. This is the second draft I made of it after this scene from Lincoln's shadow goodbye stuck with me; looking up through the trees at the night sky.

I really wanted to hide an eye shaped constellation in the stars but couldnt make it look good sadly :sob: But my favorite little detail are the fireflies and how some of them are cyan; touched by the power Rowan is now again a part of. Not canon, but I like to think these little cyan fireflies come to sit on the LI's heads next they wander too close to the woods (Fireflies by Owl City starts playing).

Shadow end is just. Its so beautiful really. From sharing your experiences with the wisps, how Rowan's wisp has been changed by their time as a person, how despite their grief they are not sad or unhappy, melancholic yes but this is where you want to be. Its a cosmic love, the joy of having lived, coming inside on a cold winter day to find your home warm and inviting, your family waiting for you to tell them about your day. The card itself is a little whimsical, hopeful despite the closed gate that the power will forever be part of the world, even if its been cut off. And this brings us to the other shadow ending card; the flower

Eternal Bloom, a ghostly hand reaching out to hand this flower over to the world, a final gift, a final goodbye. Maybe a promise of "I'll see you soon" but first and foremost, it is a promise of love.

Thats right babes. Its all about Love. Unfading Love.

symbolically there isnt anything hidden in the card, but thats also in part of it at face value telling you all you need to know; its about love! its a gift, for you, to remember me by. You have not forgotten me, and even changed as I am, I have not forgotten you. Rowan's change in personality after merging shadow was sooooo heart breaking tbh but ITS SO GOOD. You found joy in what you were, but its time to come home, take off your coat, hang it up, take off your shoes.

And it is all about love! All these cards (well, not all of them) were for me made from the heart, trying to keep in line for the different themes each end resolves to give the players something to remember each route by.

To anyone that made it this far, let me know which one is your canon card/which card you like best! And im kissing you on the lips I love rambling about my thoughts and if you got to here then you deserve a reward. So.

[tech-sapphy]

hi dndads fans

…okay y’all here’s how oakworthy can still win-

---

Normal was sobbing. 

His son was sobbing over the body of this other kid, holding tightly onto him. A kid who Sparrow had only ever heard about in passing.

Sparrow wasn’t stupid, he knew his son… and he knew that look. It's not just grief.

Plus, it doesn’t take a genius to piece it all together after hearing that kid’s parting words.

Seeing a kid who was his son’s age lying on the ground, cold, pale, and unmoving… for a split second he almost pictured Normal in his place. It hit him, now, just how wrong it was to ever let his kids get dragged into this mess he created. He couldn’t undo all the trauma that was done to them. Their kids were too deeply implicated now. He knew that he and the guys wouldn’t be able to fix all of this on their own.

… But Sparrow could still fix something.

And when he saw his son put his head to this kid’s chest, clearly trying to hear a heartbeat, something, anything? And saw the way that Normal only cried more as the seconds passed?

It was a nearly instantaneous decision on Sparrow’s part. Thank everything he still had a couple spell slots left.

He didn't notice normal glare at him, nor did he notice the way it shifted into shock when Sparrow put a hand on Hermie’s shoulder and cast revivify.

——

He was breathing. 

Hermie was breathing and the color was returning to his face.

Sighs and looks of relief from Scary, Linc, and Taylor were loud and evident, and Normal felt his dad putting a hand on his shoulder and felt a little better. But all of it was an afterthought. Nothing else mattered as he now had the energy to pull Hermie into a hug. A gentle one, considering how weak he was, but a hug nonetheless. One where he could feel and hear Hermie breathing.

It’d be too awkward to put his head on his chest again now that he was conscious, as tempting as it was, so Normal settled for putting his head in the crook of his shoulder, feeling his pulse and listening to the sound of his breathing.

He had one spell slot left, and his dad’s healing is what gave him the dredges of strength he needed to cast cure wounds on hermie. Normal felt him start to breathe a little more steadily. He felt Hermie's head moving around slightly, probably trying to figure out what was going on. Maybe it was selfish for him to still be holding onto him, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. He was alive. 

Would it be nice to know if he actually meant what he said? If they could kiss and have this trauma all go away? Yeah. But after seeing Hermie lying cold and dead in his arms, Normal would take whatever he could get, as long as he was okay. 

So he started to move away from the hug and gently set Hermie down.

But then he caught a glance of a smirk-adjacent smile on Hermie’s face, right before Normal felt Hermie's arms wrap around him and pull him back in.

He felt a hand on the back of his head, and then heard a whisper; meant only for the two of them to hear.

"We have seriously gotta stop meeting like this."

Normal broke out into laughter, crinkling his eyes shut. Of course he’d bring this back.

When he opened his eyes again, his heart started racing even more. They’re so close together. It’d be so easy to put a hand on his cheek, and just lean in a little more.

He doesn’t want to hesitate anymore.

It looks like Hermie doesn’t either.

It only takes a slight move forward for them to finally meet in a kiss. Just like a musical reprise. They had gone through literal hell and back and finally found a way back to each other.

It was messy, they were covered in blood and surrounded by hellfire for a little while back there… 

But at this point, that mess was starting to feel like home. 

Maybe Hermie would, too.

——

That night, Normal was tossing and turning.

Finally back in San Dimas, he was in his own bed. But he couldn’t sleep.

He knew Hermie was alive and fine, staying over with Taylor for now, but… all he could see and think about was his slumped over, cold body. 

Yeah, he wasn’t sleeping tonight. Unless-

He plucked his phone from his nightstand. No notifications, but for once, he didn’t care that there wasn’t anyone reaching out to him. Because he was going to do it himself.

hermie 🎭💕

hermie!! are you awake?

He stared, waiting for a response. 

…

Maybe he shouldn’t have reached out at all. of course Hermie was sleeping, or maybe he wasn’t, after everything, and yeah, they kissed, but maybe he wanted to be alone after everything, oh god he was being clingy again, why couldn’t he just-

Of course

Oh. okay. So he probably wasn’t angry at him, even if he did wake him up. That's good. 

Now he just has to figure out how to ask him if he can come over without it sounding weird. Maybe when he has reassurance that he really is still alive, normal will finally be able to rest a little. 

can’t sleep :(

After all of -that-, who possibly could?

can i come over?

darn it, he couldn't help it, he just had to ask. quickly, he sent a clarifying text.

if you're okay with it!!! i just wanna see you and make sure you’re okay!! 

Well, I'm texting you, so clearly I'm okay.

But maybe I want to see you too

That was all the affirmative Normal needed. He grabbed his jacket which had his house keys already in the pocket, glad Taylor’s house was within walking distance.

be there in five!!

Door will be unlocked. I’ll be there.

Or maybe I won’t. You’ll have to come here to see.

—

Normal rushed over, antsy and anxious, only to pause at the front door.

He hadn’t thought this far ahead- what was he supposed to do?

Definitely not ring the doorbell. Knock? No, Taylor's a light sleeper. 

Uhh…. 

He would go throw rocks at Hermie's window, if only he knew which window was his.

He was starting to write out a text to Hermie letting him know he was there, but the door opened while he was writing it.

Hermie, looking bedraggled and tired, was smiling. it wasn’t a grin or a smirk. A smile. A small one, but it looked genuine, and he held the door open to invite him in. 

Hermie's smile was infectious, and he grabbed Normal’s hand, leading him to sit down on the couch.

Normal resisted every urge to just hug him right then and there, instead holding out his arms as a gesture.

Hermie must’ve been exhausted, because he fell into Normal’s arms immediately. 

As they cuddled up together, Normal leaning back on the arm of the couch so Hermie had more room to comfortably lay down, he finally gathered his nerves. Hermie wanted him there, after all, so… he liked him. it was mutual.

“Can I listen to your heartbeat?”

Silence. Normal’s nerves twisted back together.

‘Oh no, that’s stupid, That must be weird, you can say no if you want, I’m sorry Hermie, I know you’re having a hard time, I don’t want you to feel like-‘

Hermie just looked up at him and pointed upstairs.

“Shush, you’re getting loud. They’re still asleep.”

Normal’s heart dropped a little. 

“Right, sorry-”

“And stop apologizing.” Hermie said as he scooted back up, holding out his arms to Normal. An invitation of his own.

It would’ve been embarrassing how quickly Normal hugged him, if not for the pure relief he felt hearing the steady rhythm of his heartbeat again. He was alive, and here, and alright.

That's what gave him the strength to lean back into the arm of the couch and pull Hermie back into a position where he was laying down in Normal’s arms. As a reassurance.

“I’m sorry-”

“I told you to stop apologiziiiing.” Hermie sang in his little sing-song cadence. Normal let him, but continued with his apology regardless.

“I’m sorry for letting that happen to you, Hermie. I promise, I'll notice you next time. And I won't let that happen again.”

Silence, again. 

…Hermie hugged him tighter. 

“Well, well, well. A true knight, you are.”

Normal caught a little waver in his voice when he said that. He smiled, happy that Hermie liked him back and that he was helping Hermie by being there. In a surge of affection, he kissed him on the forehead.

“For you? Always.”

—

And if Cassandra found them asleep on the couch in the morning, cuddled close together?

Well, considering everything Taylor had told her about what went down yesterday… that was no one else’s business. She just put a blanket over them before leaving.

[chat-miaou]

Anyone else absolutely heartbroken by Dood's line of "I thought my heart was with you guys" when Linc said "home is where the heart is"???

AND none of the teens seemed to have heard them 😭

Like I'm absolutely sobbing